last night jackson, tn got hit with a tornado that tore down most of the dorms and left our campus in ruins. i got out ok (glass in my hand, but that's about it) and all of my close friends are account for and doing well. unfortunately my car got totalled, and my room has been quarantined so i can't get to it. what really stinks is that my room contained well over $2,000 worth of gaming apparatus (including a pc which ran WoW, a 360 elite, multiple controllers, a psp, ps2, tv, sound system, and a couple hundred dollars worth of games). now i'm homeless (staying with friends) and bored as mess because i don't have any games to keep me company!

...when it comes down to it, it's just stuff. admittedly fun stuff which can make for a fun evening when nothing else is going on, but just stuff. i found myself giving thanks to God for my life and the lives of my friends, and as a side note, asking that my material posessions be spared.

''One's in jail, one's in the hospital,'' she said. ''I won't know exactly what happened until I talk to [my son]. He's incoherent yet; they have him heavily sedated. (My ex-husband) did the shooting but it was an accidental thing that took place"

Clearly the Xbox 360 was really just a catalyst in what appears to be a long standing major family dysfunction. Sad, sure. Weird, definitely. But seriously, you couldn't make this stuff up.

When boy said 'shoot me,' dad did, police say [The Morning call]

...what you can't find is what it was that made Akihabara buzz in the first place. It wasn't just anime, manga, and video games that built it, or continue to sustain it even today. Instead, Akihabara was the side effect of collective fantasy and private desire desperate to find expression through technology, through commerce, molded plastic, pixel, and drawing paper. Now, those dreams are threatened by a dull and dreary reality.

A four-year-old British toddler Madeleine McCann was kidnapped from a Portugese resort several weeks earlier. Sadly, the parents had left the toddler in bed while they had dinner nearby. The girl has gone missing ever since, and it's believed that she's in Morocco. In hopes of capturing her, soccer star David Beckham (above) has even made a public plea, and posters of Madeleine are now being posted in Second Life at prominent in-world locations. According to Jim Gamble of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center (CEOP), this shows dedication on the police's part. Not sure how many Second Life inhabitants were at resort during the kidnapping or how many actually have information pertaining to the little girl's whereabouts, but every little bit helps. Brian Ashcraft

Virtual Search [CNN via Flame War ADVANCE]

A 330 pound (150 kilogram) Chinese man spends "almost all" of his seven day holiday playing online computer games and dies. And guess what's blamed for the 25 year-old's death? Yup. Says a local teacher in LIaoning province where the man passed away:

There are only two options. TV or computer. What else can I do in the holiday as all markets, KTV and cafeterias are shut down?

Are you sure there are only two options? Brian Ashcraft

Gaming Blamed For Obese Man's Death [CNN]

Astute Kotaku reader Jacob says he came across this banner ad while strolling the net. He didn't say where he was when he saw it, so I suspect a porn site. Just kidding Jacob. (No, really, porn.)

Today's Education appears to be a site that collects informaiton from several online colleges like University of Phoenix (aka Cop College), Penn Foster, Everest and event the Colorado Technical University.

What I love is that they're willing to accept the fact that you can't kick your World of Warcraft habit, but they think they can pack some schooling into your busy schedule of leading raids and hunting for XP. Way to shoot for the stars. Brian Crecente

Proving that American doesn't have a monopoly on fucked up, Japanese university student Hiroshi Shimura has admitted to murdering a 61 year-old man and his 86 year-old mother at their home in Tokyo. His motive? The suspected killer says:

I spent the money at video game arcades. I murdered them so I could steal some money.

He was arrested after unsuccessfully attempting to withdraw money from the dead man's credit card. Though, something tells me young Hiroshi wasn't just killing them for spare change. Brian Ashcraft

Arcade Killer [Mainichi via Japanator]

Eleven-month Brianna Dastine was killed. And Thomas J. Brunell III attempted to get a PS3 out of the ordeal, police say. After a fatal car accident cost the child her life, trucker Brunell was called in to tow the overturned 1998 Nissan Quest. Police authorities say the trucker took more than US $700 worth of video game equipment that includes a PS3, a controller and a PS2 game. Says the tow company's co-owner Pat Rossnagle:

If he did it, this is dead wrong. If he didn't, let's find out who did it... I don't know how to cope with it [the investigation]. Over 40 years (in business) and we never had this problem, never had a question — ever.

The wrecker's company is cooperating with the investigation and has even suspended Brunell for the time being. Brian Ashcraft

Wrecker Accused Of Stealing PS3 [Courier News Online via D-toid]

Ack! What cruel bastard owns this poor cat?! And making him pose with an Xbox 360 controller no less! There must be laws against this in Japan. More equally disturbing pictures after the jump. Brian Ashcraft

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!! This. Must. Stop.

Revenge Of the Freaky Cat [pya!]

And you thought your mom loved you more? Ian writes in to point us to a link of a Zelda quilt his mother made his brother.

As if she hadn't proved that she loves my brother more than me enough, my mother has provided him with an incredible quilt based on the stained glass promo images from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.

Wow, that things beautiful. Your mom must really hate you Ian. Brian Crecente

Zelda Wall Hanging [Free Play Gaming]

I can t believe they are still holding Pac-Man tournaments, but apparently they are. Are very own Alice reports over on Wonderland that some sad, hat-wearing guy scored 54,450. Won. Smile guy, that's a good score.

Pacman Tournie [Wonderland]