B12 is Important for Proper Brain Function

Doom 3 is a pretty bitchin’ game. It’s got it all, zombies, spider zombies, headless, bloody zombies with rusty chainsaws and disembodied screaming zombie heads that shoot flames out of their open mouths. As a throwback to the old school “Doom”, and as a modern 3D masterpiece of blood, violence, gore, and creepy sound effects, both of the offending demons and the gigantic, cartoonish but very awesome artillery you use, it’s very effective.



I’ve had the game for about three months and managed to blast my way through just about every level of the “Marine Outpost of the Damned.” I’ve splattered the metal grating of many a storage sector in that military outpost with the sticky guts of a giant zombie-spider, but it seems the novelty has worn off.



Like any economical gamer, I listed my game (unscratched with original box and inserts) on eBay, hoping to recoup enough money to buy Unreal 2 or Resident Evil 4. I listed, it didn’t sell. Oh, well. I listed again, dropped the price, content with the fact that I would probably lose about five bucks in the end. I just got an email from eBay informing me that my game had sold, barely passing the minimum reserve I’d set, ending at $9.99 plus $5.00 shipping and handling. Since I ship from the office, it’s gravy anyway, so I’m coming out of this on top. In the email it lists the winning bidder’s user name as “deepfriedtofu.” I clicked on the username to discover his email address is deepfriedtofu@hotmail.com.

Being of a curious lot, I decided to run a Google search for that email address, to see what websites he frequents, perhaps figure out where he lives. I do this routinely, I don’t know why, I’m just an insanely curious type. His name is Nick Atwood and he lives in West Palm Beach Florida. Originally from Minnesota, Nick attended Macalester College in St. Paul and went on to receive an M.P.A. in Non-Profit Management from New York University. Nick is also an extremist, an animal rights whack-job and a terrorist.



In May of 1995, Nick got his name in the papers as part of an organized protest of the Shriner Circus in Minneapolis. “A popular argument for circuses is that they teach children the value of endangered animals. But that is false," said Nicolas Atwood, a Macalester College senior who protested the circus. “What kind of an image does seeing an elephant on a ball or a bear on a bicycle create? I don't think seeing them do that encourages people to protect their habitat,'' Atwood said."

In 1997, Nick was arrested for climbing on top of the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile wearing a pig mask and screaming, “Meat is murder!!” Dave Barry apparently penned an article about he incident entitled “A Frank Exchange.” In that same year, Nick was listed as a “patron” of No Compromise, a militant “direct action” animal rights group that supports violence by providing means, organization and even instructions for building crude, incendiary devices, presumably designed specifically to not harm any animals except humans. My favorite line of the website is the disclaimer,

“The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the steering committee, contributors nor volunteer staff. No Compromise is not intended to encourage illegal/unethical activity or behavior. The information herein is solely intended for entertainment, educational, research, academic, or other lawful purposes and is from sources independent of No Compromise.”

Laughable.



In 1998, Mr. Atwood was arrested along with Eric Phelps, husband of PETA big-wig “Lettuce Lady” Kristie Phelps, for defacing, damaging and spray-painting a statue of a swordfish outside the Broward Fishing Museum in Palm Beach, FL. Three years later, in 2001, Atwood started a promotional website for the Animal Liberation Front, Bite Back, in which he advocates “direct action” (read: violence) against a myriad of targets such as farmers and researchers. I just got an email from Paypal informing me that Nick has paid the $14.99 for the game, the mailing address he provided is the office for Bite Back.



Terrorism - The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.

I’ve never met Nicolas Atwood, but I dislike him severely. I disagree with virtually everything he stands for and think anyone that resorts to violence to further their cause, has already lost the battle in the realm of ideas. While I have no evidence suggesting that Nicolas Atwood himself is a terrorist, he has spent many years in support, both financially and ideologically, of terrorists and their actions. Here in the U.S. they’re called “eco-terrorists” by the media, handling the issues with kid gloves, purposefully separating the religious fundamentalists from the ELF and ALF, but this separation is neither prudent nor necessary. Terrorism is terrorism, regardless of your motivation, be it religious fundamentalism or “animal liberation,” you’re still a whack-job with no concern for human life and you need to be in chains, being force-fed Vienna sausages by Colonel Sanders armed with a rusty shovel.

I suppose I have no choice, on account of eBay rules, to sell Nick my copy of Doom 3, especially since he already paid me. I’m not happy about it however, and I think I’m going to include a photo of myself rubbing a picture of Rod Coronado all over a fresh steak.