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Church of England demands donation for violent PS3 title
It's not like Sony hasn't been under fire from outlets in America and abroad before, but the latest quibble is coming from none other than the Church of England. Turns out that Sony reportedly took it upon itself to recreate the historic interior of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man without first asking permission, and now there could be hell heaven to pay. Currently, the Church has asked Sony to "apologize and contribute a large donation from the game's profits as it did not pay a commercial fee to use the cathedral as a backdrop." Additionally, Sony could face two other demands -- one that requests the withdrawal of the game altogether, and the other to modify the section of the cathedral's interior. Notably, it's been no secret that certain sects of the UK have been dealing with rashes of gun crime, and while Sony hasn't succumbed to paying up or recalling all copies of the game just yet, it did say that it would "contact the cathedral authorities to understand their concerns in more detail."
Wii for love, Wii for life
Just hours after we heard that Wii kills marriages, we see evidence of the opposite: play Wii for a stronger marriage! Guess the difference is that the couple that Wiis together, stays together, amirite? A reader sent this into fellow Nintendo obsessives GoNintendo, and we couldn't resist sharing it with you guys.The Wii certainly does seem to be something that a couple can share, even if both parties weren't big gamers prior to the console's debut. We have seen a lot of fellows with bruised egos, however, complaining that their non-gaming ladies beat the pants off them in one game or another. We thought you guys liked that sort of thing, and now we even have photographic evidence that it brings us closer together. So suck it up, fellas! Anyone want a round of Wii Sports?
When good toys go bad IV: explicit CD player triggered during mass
While we've seen quite a few toys pulling stunts that they should definitely be ashamed of, the latest edition ups the ante by doing its dirty deed in a Roman Catholic cathedral. Following the "if it blinks, obliterate it" mentality so well exemplified at various Boston transit arteries, a team of Santa Fe bomb squad experts were called onto the scene after three CD players were triggered to start blasting "sexually explicit language in the middle of an Ash Wednesday Mass" at the Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Reportedly, the players were "duct-taped to the bottoms of the pews," apparently causing the innocent church dwellers to assume the worse -- you know, like C4 explosives camouflaged as a mid-range driver. Nevertheless, the bomb squad removed the devices, took them outside, and probably had a thrilling experience whilst detonating two of the players as a safety measure. Once the crew realized the only explosive tendencies were captured in the inappropriate lyrics, they salvaged the third unit to comb for fingerprints and hopefully arrest the perpetrator(s). Now, which cop is going to cave in and post the fireworks on YouTube?[Via BoingBoing]
NFL oks Super Bowl viewing in churches, as long as no one pays
Whilst many may be aware of the strong reputation that churches hold for repeatedly pulling off successful annual gatherings, a recent letter sent by the NFL to the Fall Creek Baptist Church suggests that this particular organization isn't quite so clued in. The letter, which caused the church in question to cancel a planned "Super Bowl Party" sparked a litany of other cancellations by churches scared of attracting the wrath of the league. The NFL has subsequently attempted to rectify the situation it got itself into -- some would argue the sports equivalent of "cancelling Christmas" -- by stating that their original claim was that churches could display the game, as long as they didn't charge for entry, or display the game on anything other than "a television of the type commonly used at home": in the case of the kitted out Fall Creek Baptist Church, they were hoping to broadcast the game on a TV measuring more than a divine 55-inches diagonally. Unfortunately for the groups that arranged and then subsequently cancelled their parties, it's a little too late to re-advertise. Fortunately, God's omnipresence comes in handy for these sort of screw-ups, so the solution for watching the game at home with the ultimate authority is as simple as leaving a space on the couch. Whether or not he digs your set is an entirely different matter, and one that's entirely down to thickness of your wallet.[Via Tom's Hardware]
NFL shuts down church's Super Bowl Bash, ratings to blame
C'mon folks, everyone and their grandmother will likely be watching the Super Bowl this coming Sunday (even across the pond), and even if you have no interest in the Colts, Bears, or large men in awkward suits, someone in your family probably feels otherwise. Nevertheless, the NFL showcased its mighty power (and terrible decision making) by condemning Fall Creek Baptist Church's "Super Bowl Bash," saying that advertising a fee-based party that utilized "license-protected words" was against regulations. Furthermore, ditching the door charge and the taboo language wasn't good enough to solve the problem, as "the law" limits Super Bowl (wait, can we say that now?) party TVs to a quantity of one, and that single set must not be over 55-inches. Needless to say, we don't doubt that good few of you fine, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens will be catching the big game with a couple of your friends on your 60-inch plasma (or 100-inch projection screen), but we'd highly recommend building an underground bunker between now and Sunday to make sure your plans are safe. Of course, bars and other eateries are somehow exempt from this bogus rule, and as expected, all the grumbling stems from Nielsen's obvious inability to estimate just how many folks are watching a single tube on this advertisers' dream night, but ratings drops or not, we wouldn't mess with Touchdown Jesus.
Holy high definition?
Now that the football season is coming to a close, we must find a new source of reliable Sunday HDTV content. Well, there is always a higher power to look towards (no, not satellite). We're talking about the new $10 million Hope Community Church in Raleigh. So why is the church your best option on Sunday and not a den of sin and iniquity like ESPNZone? Besides a cafe that serves Starbucks, there is also a game room with Xbox's and PS2's (I'm guessing that WWJD? doesn't cover those "who scores the flag?" situations in Halo). The three "giant" HDTV screens (no word on exact size or resolution, but we have our own ideas about divine inspiration) should definitely get the spirit moving within you. We were going to baptize Ben there, but apparently 1080p falls under the definition of a false idol, so it may be best for us to stay away.
