Ashanti
Born
in Glen Cove, NY, Ashanti S. Douglas first sang in a gospel choir
at age six. Her R&B singing career began in 1994 when she performed
at a local talent show. Her strong soulful voice caught the attention
of industry insiders and she immediately signed on with a management
team and began showcasing her talent with performances at the Soul
Cafe, China Club, Madison Square Garden, Caroline's Comedy Club and
Greek Fest 2000 at Jones Beach to name a few.
Signed to AJM
Records, Ashanti quickly caught the attention of multi-platinum producer
Irv Gotti of Murder Inc. who recognized her exceptional singing and
writing talents and set the stage for her introduction to the music
world. Ashanti is featured on Ja Rule's current single "Always
On Time" and appeared with him on MTV's Making the Video. She
also appears on two other tracks on Ja's current platinum CD Pain
Is Love as well as Big Pun's smash hit single "How We Roll"
from his Endangered Species CD. Ashanti has also worked with Murder
Inc. recording artist Cadillac Tah on his singles "Thug Love"
and "POV City Anthem". Ashanti also released a solo track
titled "When A Man Does Wrong" in addition to being featured
on rapper Vita's remake of Madonna's "Justify My Love" on
the soundtrack of the Vin Diesel movie The Fast and the Furious. This
multi-talented singer songwriter is currently writing and recording
her first studio album and writing singles for Jennifer Lopez and
Christina Milian.
Ashanti's talents
extend beyond the recording studio. She began her dance training at
the Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center and performed with the Senior
Pro Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Apollo Theater,
Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Black Spectrum Theater. Her dance
credits include the Disney TV musical "Polly" directed by
Debbie Allen and starring Phylicia Rashad, the 1994 Caribbean Awards
and dancing with Judith Jamison of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company.
With the same
creative and seductive energy that Ashanti has captured the attention
of the music industry, she will captivate the public, with the power
of her voice, lyrics, melodies and natural beauty. Look out for her
first single release coming soon.
James
Marsden
The
Cyclops of X-Men
Bearing the kind of cocksure, "all-American boy"
looks that summon comparison to Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and countless
Abercrombie & Fitch ads, James Marsden used both his talent and
photogenic features to become one of the more talked-about young actors
of the late '90s. Winning his first starring role in Disturbing Behavior
(1998) -- yet another film to take advantage of the late-'90s teen
horror craze -- James weathered the critical and box-office indifference
surrounding that project to quickly resurface in Bryan Singer's fantastically
successful adaptation of the X-Men in 2000.
A native of Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he was born
on September 18, 1973, James grew up with a sister and two brothers.
Following a short stint at Oklahoma State University, he dropped out
of school to move to Los Angeles and pursue his interest in acting.
His move led to work as a Versace model and to a brief role as the
original Griffin on Fox's Party of Five (the part would later be taken
over by Jeremy London), as well as brief stints on a variety of other
TV series.
James got his first big break with his lead on the
short-lived ABC series Second Noah; although the show didn't last
long, the young actor received enough exposure to win the hearts and
hormones of a loyal group of teenage girls. James' growing fan base
got another boost when he was cast alongside Katie Holmes and Nick
Stahl in David Nutter's Disturbing Behavior; despite the film's lackluster
performance, in part abetted by an overabundance of teen horror films,
James was able to nab the plum role of Cyclops in Singer's X-Men.
One of the most highly anticipated films of 2000, it allowed the actor
to work alongside the likes of Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Anna
Paquin, and Famke Janssen. Furthermore, its warm reception among critics
and audiences alike made James one of the hotter young stars of the
year, and also made it possible to overlook his involvement with Gossip,
a college thriller that was one of 2000's most unequivocal disappointments.
James' rising popularity was reflected in his busy schedule the following
year; among his projects was Sugar and Spice, a black comedy that
cast him opposite fellow up-and-comer Mena Suvari and a role on hit
series Ally McBeal.
The show had lost viewers in it's 4th series, so David
E. Kelley decided to hire new and fresh stars for it's 5th. This didn't
save the show, and James only appeared in the first half of the series.
He can next be seen in the sequel to The X-Men early
2003, and when he's not busy shooting James is at home with wife Lisa,
and their child.
NSYNC's
Justin
Justin
Randall Timberlake was born on 31th January 1981in Memphis,Tennessee.
This musically historical place had already produced musical idols
like Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. This cute boy was given the
nickname " Curly ". Justin gained his first stage experience
through various talent shows. When he was twelve he was discovered
at an audition for the " Mickey Mouse Club " kids show.
He moved with his mother to Orlando, where he not only gained more
showbiz experience but also got to know JC.
Curly is the natural
comic in the group and he takes enormous pleasure in making others
laugh. This skill is only aided by his ability to act goofily. As
well as being an excellent dancer and talented musician Justin is
also very sporty. His favourite sport is basketball but, because of
his hectic schedule with 'N SYNC he has admittedly little time to
devote to his hobby.
Advanced for his
age, Justin is a purposeful and ambitious young man, who knows exactly
what he wants. This must explain why, despite all the stress, he still
has enough energy to successfully continue his schooling through a
special correspondence course for young artists. His favourite subjects
are maths and physics.
At the beginning
of 'N SYNC's career, on those rare occasions when he made a mistake
during the dance routines, this smart young man, being the perfectionist
that he is, often reacted by pulling sweet, tormented faces. As frontman
alongside JC, he carries a heavy load on his young ( albeit broad
) shoulders being the main focus for the cameras. His likeable, friendly
smile has captured the hearts of the majority of 'N SYNC fans. Despite
his great success Justin remains modest and can't quite come to terms
with his effect on girls. He simply can't understand why the fans
become speechless when he looks at them.
Ideal woman: "
She definitely has to have a sense of humour. But she has to be intelligent.
I want to be able to talk to her. I guess I want just an all - over
picture. Everyone deserves the best and everyone has somebody out
there for them. The first thing I notice is the way she presents herself
and carriers herself. If she's confident, then she's true to herself,
and that's something that attracts me to a girl. "
JT Favourites:
Justin Timberlake's favourite things include: the colour baby blue,
his Grandma's peach cobbler, Oreo O's Cereal, Cap'in Crunch Cereal,
playing basketball and burping. Burping is his worst habit and if
he didn't have a career in singing he would want one playing
basketball.
Nicks: Justin
Timberlake is sometimes better known by his nicknames like Bounce,
JT, Ju Ju, Shot and Curly. (Gee, wonder why they call him Curly?)
GF
& BFF: Justin Timberlake's best friend is Trace Ayala (who is
working on specialty clothing for FuMan Skeeto,) and he just recently
split with long-time love Britney Spears.
PC Game Review
The Elder Scrolls III
Bloodmoon
Expansion packs
tend to get less interesting with each consecutive release after the
original game. While successive releases may be more polished, the
game's engine gets a little more dated and it's difficult to offer
gameplay that isn't repetitive. Expansion packs for role-playing games,
in particular, face the difficult task of rekindling interest in the
original while offering new environments and adventures that collectively
provide only a small fraction of the gameplay offered in the original
game. Bloodmoon, the second expansion pack for Elder Scrolls III:
Morrowind, largely overcomes those problems by appropriately building
upon the strengths of the original game while also providing an ample
amount of new territory to explore.
While the previous
Morrowind expansion, Tribunal, was set exclusively in a segregated
city that wasn't even on the map of the original game, Bloodmoon adds
a new island just to the northwest of Morrowind's recognizable landmass.
Morrowind's dark elf populace hasn't yet successfully colonized Bloodmoon's
island, which is dominated by fierce Nord tribes and barbarians. The
beautiful arctic landscape is covered in snow and ice, coniferous
trees, and rock formations that appropriately resemble Celtic ruins.
The thunderstorms and dusty gales of Morrowind have been supplanted
by delicate snowfalls and fierce blizzards. While your character is
happily impervious to the setting's frigid temperatures, the change
in climate and the distinct terrain make even random exploration interesting.
And unlike the Tribunal expansion, Bloodmoon doesn't restrict you
from freely exploring the expansion's new landmass. While Tribunal
provided a story-driven series of largely sequential quests, Bloodmoon
offers more open-ended gameplay and a larger territory for free-form
exploration, which were key aspects of the original game's appeal.
Bloodmoon's island
is also apparently the Elder Scrolls' equivalent to the Galapagos
Islands, since it's populated entirely by unique and interesting flora
and fauna. There are more than a dozen interesting new animals and
monsters, including packs of wolves, spriggan tree creatures that
need to be killed thrice to stay down, and speedy undead draugr. There
are no new flying creatures, and the sole water-dwelling animal is
largely passive, so explorers don't have to worry about being constantly
interrupted by Morrowind's flying cliff racers or pesky fish. If you
don't elect to travel through the now tranquil air or water, however,
you'll have to deal with hordes of rapidly respawning arctic denizens,
since the island is practically overflowing with hostile inhabitants.
The creatures are also much more powerful than those in the original
game, and battles are rarely duels with solitary enemies, as creatures
now frequently attack in groups. Despite these new threats, battles
are still relatively brief, bludgeoning affairs if you have a well-equipped
adventurer from previous excursions, although you can always increase
the challenge using the difficulty slider that was added in a patch
after Morrowind's initial release.
If you chose to
maximise the details of its impressive graphics, the original game's
engine was capable of forcing even the most formidable computer systems
to run at occasionally choppy frame rates. Since Bloodmoon features
even more detailed and populated environments, the practical system
requirements have also been correspondingly increased. You should
expect the game to play at least a few frames per second slower when
you're traveling outdoors, especially since it's easy to quickly pick
up a whole band of hostile pursuers if you're trying to rapidly travel
between destinations. While Bloodmoon's additional graphical richness
helps to justify the occasionally choppier gameplay, the resulting
reduction in frame rates actually worsens one of the main problems
that many players had with the original game. The developer also apparently
paid minimal attention to sound effects and music, which are almost
entirely recycled, although nonplayer characters do occasionally bark
commentary that accurately reflects the results of quests or other
plot developments, which is a welcome addition.
Bloodmoon does
include one of the most frequently requested features of veteran fans
of the Elder Scrolls series--it allows player characters to become
werewolves. In the previous core game in the Elder Scrolls series,
Daggerfall, players could contract lycanthropy or vampirism and adventure
as one of those creatures of the night. Morrowind retained the ability
to become a vampire and allowed players to partake in a brief series
of quests for one of several competing vampire clans. While vampire
characters weren't really feasible for ongoing adventures in the original
game, since they were ostracized by most guilds and groups that imparted
quests, in Bloodmoon, werewolf characters can seamlessly integrate
themselves into society provided they are not observed while undergoing
a metamorphosis. If sighted changing between man or beast states,
your character will be permanently known as a werewolf and attacked
on sight by all other characters, even if you promptly assassinate
all of the observers.
In addition, while
vampirism was almost an "Easter egg" secret that many players
remained unaware of, werewolves are prominently featured in Bloodmoon,
and the main story consists of completely different quests and cutscenes
for werewolf characters. Playing as a werewolf is also far more challenging
than playing as a regular adventurer, since your health will slowly
drain unless you kill at least one NPC nightly, and you're prohibited
from using weapons, armor, magical items, or casting spells. While
an experienced and well-equipped adventurer will be able to quickly
dispatch most of Bloodmoon's threats on the default difficulty level,
werewolf characters will have to rely heavily upon stealth, coupled
with quick strikes and prudent retreats, just to survive. Werewolves
are gifted with enhanced hit points, formidable melee skills, and
the ability to sense other characters at great distances, but they
receive increased damage from the silver weapons wielded by the native
inhabitants. Without magical protection, it's also possible to be
rendered helpless by monsters that drain strength such as greater
bonewalkers, which are frequently summoned by one of the most common
new enemies. The unique werewolf attributes and increased vulnerability,
combined with the werewolf's significant role in the setting's lore,
make playing as a werewolf a more interesting and challenging alternative
to regular adventuring.
