• Mawidge

    Watch Lord British Officiate Zero-G Wedding

    Earlier this month, we heard that Richard Garriot — son of an astronaut and granddaddy of science fiction/fantasy games like the Ultima series — would officiate a wedding in zero gravity. More »
    06/22/09
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    Comment by Veritas7Ax: In space, nobody can hear you have just cause not to see these two be married. 35 Responses | Other threads

  • the short goodbye

    Video of Tabula Rasa's Final Moments

    Last night NCSoft shut off Tabula Rasa's servers. Early word had it that the Bane horde would either wipe out humanity, or humanity would do the job itself with a doomsday weapon. More »
    03/01/09
    37,884
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    Comment by Danny Page: So even in their last moments, the game still fails. Wasn't mankind NOT supposed to win? 6 Responses | Other threads

  • closing time

    Tabula Rasa: Humanity Dies Tomorrow

    The forces of humanity make a final stand tomorrow night, as Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa celebrates its final day with an all-out alien invasion. More »
    02/27/09
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    Comment by VanHelden: This series is still alive? 10 Responses | Other threads

  • heavy metal

    Giant Robots Help Kill Tabula Rasa

    NCsoft's doomed massively-multiplayer online science fiction game Tabula Rasa may only have weeks to live, but the developers are making those weeks count, with giant player-controlled mechs storming the title's final moments. More »
    02/11/09
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    Comment by Southrncomfortjm: Its pretty lame that post World of Warcraft MMOs can't even get off the ground and have a chance to... 23 Responses | Other threads

  • Earth Below Us

    Garriott Will Get Back To Gaming One Day

    Sure his head is up in the clouds at the moment, but Ultima creator Richard Garriott hasn't forgotten where he's from. In an interview with GameDaily, Garriott discusses an eventual return to gaming. More »
    01/15/09
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    Comment by taftsearlobe33: My god people he made a bad game let it go. You act as if he personally raped you.... 11 Responses | Other threads

  • mmo

    Looking at "The MMO Crash of 2008"

    Hellforge posits that 2008 was the worst year on record for MMOs. But the "collapse" had nothing to do with the genre's viability, and everything to do with hubris and poor decisions by game-makers. More »
    01/11/09
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    Comment by will52: WoW is the only good MMO. And that ain't saying much. 33 Responses | Other threads

  • rest in peace

    Where Bad Games Go To Die (RIP Tabula Rasa)

    Upon their death, great men are afforded a sending off befitting of their stature. Pity Tabular Rasa, then, as EB Games in Canada seems more content to roll its lifeless corpse into the nearest ditch. More »
    01/05/09
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    Comment by Aegd: They should have thrown Richard Garriott in the same dumpster. 25 Responses | Other threads

  • the wake

    Tabula Rasa Goes Free A Little Early

    Previously scheduled to become free to play starting on January 10th, NCsoft's has set sinking MMO Tabula Rasa free a month early, because really...what was the point of waiting? More »
    12/23/08
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    Comment by stoutbear: They should give away the source code! The open source community would turn this lump of coal into a diamond. 11 Responses | Other threads

  • tabula rasa

    NCSoft Doles Out Freebies to Tabula Rasa Subscribers

    I suppose you could call this the silver lining for Tabula Rasa players. More »
    11/21/08
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    Comment by Jay: Ironically, the reason I started playing this game is because I was a subscriber when Auto Assault closed and I... 8 Responses | Other threads

  • richard garriott

    Richard Garriott Bids Farewell To NCsoft

    Man, a guy fulfills his lifelong dream of going into space and suddenly has more important things to do than work on his video game? Richard "Lord British" Garriott announced today that he will be leaving NCsoft, the company behind his recent MMORPG Tabula Rasa, to pursue other interests. More »
    11/11/08
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    Comment by NKato: He's probably taking a sabbatical. 9 Responses | Other threads

  • tabula rasa

    Tabula Rasa Cheaper Than A Double Cheeseburger

    We knows that McDonald's, Wendy's, and other popular fast food restaurants are offering amazing deals on crappy food these days, but how much gaming can you get for a dollar? How about an entire MMO, filled with aliens, and guns, and lasers, complete with a free month of gameplay? Despite NCsoft's plans to tighten up the graphics on level three, Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa hasn't done all that well at retail. GameStop.com has stopped selling it, but if you act now you can snag it from Amazon.com for a mere $.96. Note the decimal point there. That's 96 cents. That's extremely sad. More »
    11/05/08
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    Comment by NaryaMithrandir: Thanks for this! Just bought one. And since there's a free one month trial to amazon prime right now, you... 4 Responses | Other threads

  • tabula rasa

    Tabula Rasa Going All FPS On Us

    One of my main complaints with Tabula Rasa was that it felt like a shooter trying to be a 3rd person MMO. How does NCsoft address such complaints? By introducing a first-person shooter mode, of course! Revealed in the latest edition of Feedback Friday last week, Graphic Programmer John Styes introduces the new camera system that effectively turns the game into a pseudo FPS. More than just a new way to look at the game, the system now allows for cockpit views while in vehicles, as well as sniper scopes, which is amazing news for anyone who chose the Ranger path at level 15, like me. More »
    11/03/08
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    Comment by Valhawk: That and the grind was just horrible. Were talking Korean levels of grind. It had an interesting story... 6 Responses | Other threads

  • guild wars

    NCSoft's Multi-MMO Halloween Plans

    The best thing about MMOs is that they are constantly updated, making way for fun, holiday themed events. The best thing about Halloween is the fact that I get to use the word spooktacular, and so I present NCsoft's multi-MMO Halloween Spooktacular of Values! Okay, no actual values, but events are running across all NCsoft massively-multiplayer titles, whether people play them or not. Guild Wars' event kicks off on October 24th with the return of Mad King Thorn, with mini-games, jokes, riddles, and prizes, in what many people have told me is the best MMO-Halloween celebration available. City of Heroes players will be fighting off zombies and collecting classic costumes for badges and trick or treating fun. Tabula Rasa has some quests. Poor Tabula Rasa. More »
    10/22/08
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    Comment by LemmingX: Guild Wars is still the best MMO i've ever played. 10 Responses | Other threads

  • oh lawd british

    Richard Garriott Sends Cryptic Message From Space

    You know, they say sometimes people go CRAZY on these long trips. They get the, eh... SPACE MADNESS. More »
    10/15/08
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    Comment by TheHeartless: He's just a big kid with too much money. Which might be endearing if I was, say, a close... 6 Responses | Other threads

  • rumor

    NCSoft Cutting European Staff, Closing Tabula Rasa?

    GamesIndustry.biz has posted a rumor this morning regarding big changes in store for MMO publisher NCSoft. According to "sources close to the company", the developer / publisher is planning on cutting 50 positions from their European office in Brighton, England following a decision to stop working on an unnamed MMO being developed there. More »
    09/10/08
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    Comment by linadragon: Aion as well as Blade and Soul look promising (the latter looks f'king awesome if you've seen the gameplay vids... more » | Other threads

  • rumor

    NCSoft To Kill European Studio, Kill Tabula Rasa

    According to "a number of sources close to the company", the British offices of developer NCSoft are to be closed following the cancellation of an unannounced MMO currently in development at the studio. Bad news, yes, particularly in the wake of recent layoffs at the company's Austin studio, but it gets worse: the same sources say that troubled MMO Tabula Rasa is on its last legs, and will be killed off in the next few months. A shame, that, since Lord Briitsh deserved better, but then with the game having failed to grab the attention of, well, anyone, it's hardly a surprise. More »
    09/09/08
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    Comment by DrXym: Tabula Rasa was doomed from the start. Who the hell thought a grungy space marine MMO had any broad appeal... 4 Responses | Other threads

  • Operation Immortality

    Dragonlance Co-Author Joins Project Immortality

    No matter what eventually happens to Crecente's DNA, be it used to create a clone army or otherwise, he'll surely be in good company when his cells are committed to the International Space Station as part of NCSoft's Operation Immortality. Best-selling author Tracy Hickman joins the cellular cast of the operation, his DNA traveling with Space Richard Garriott when he is launched into space on October 12th. Hickman is best known for co-authoring the original Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy with Margaret Weis. More »
    08/14/08
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    Comment by kimsama: @daddybojangles: I'm a big GRRM fan. I just wish he wouldn't take ninety years in between each new book... more » | Other threads

  • ncsoft

    NCsoft Lays Off 21

    Today NCsoft confirmed to Kotaku that they are indeed laying some folks off from their Austin offices. More »
    08/13/08
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    Comment by justhesh: They fired Crickette, the bastards! more » | Other threads

  • ncsoft

    NCSoft Austin Also Rumored To Be Hit With Lay-offs, Publisher Denies It

    Earlier this week, we were told by an anonymous source that Korean publisher NCSoft was planning on laying off between 140 and 160 employees at its Austin based studio. That's the home to MMOs Tabula Rasa and Dungeon Runners, the former being the Richard Garriott helmed sci-fi title and the latter a free-to-play action fantasy outing. That's something NCSoft reps have denied, though. More »
    08/12/08
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    Comment by Cocytus: @BoringJob: Pretty certain that there has to be 2 consecutive quarters of negative growth for there to be a recession,... more » | Other threads

  • operation immortality

    5211: World Braces for Crecente Clone Army

    Last month NCSoft announced that they would be seeking out bits of DNA from gamers in order to shoot them off into space with Richard Garriott. More »
    08/06/08
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    Comment by astronautcowboy: What a second...Q-tips? Where's the cup in which to deposit your seed? more » | Other threads

  • tabula rasa

    This Could Be Your DNA in Space!

    We told you earlier about General British's (formerly known as Lord British) magnanimous move for the human race by offering to preserve the genetic material of a few lucky gamers aboard the International Space Station. In this brief video we take a look at the General's inspirations in pursuing the creation of this archive (flash drive) for the betterment of humanity in the face of a possibly impending global catastrophe. More »
    07/30/08
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    Comment by Ariel_Wollinger: @El-Suave: did you hear that audio? most beloved humans? WTF??? MANKIND IS DOOMED!! more » | Other threads

  • tabula rasa

    Richard Garriott Wants Your DNA!

    Richard Garriott is going to have 40 gamers with him when he travels to the International Space Station in October. But the lucky clutch of gamers won't be there in person, but rather in digital DNA. More »
    07/30/08
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    Comment by Shockadin: Digital backup? Umm the computers of 50,943 will not support these types of files :P more » | Other threads

  • city of heroes

    NCSoft Seeds Retail Game Cards With Exclusive Goodies

    The game card aisle in your local Target isn't just for gPotato and NEXON cash anymore. Beginning just this past weekend, NCsoft, in conjunction with technology firm InComm, have begun releasing specialized game cards to retail outlets throughout North America. More than just game time cards, The City of Heroes and Tabula Rasa cards both offer full access to their respective titles, meaning players can pick up a card, download the game, and go. Meanwhile their Exteel card contains 1,000 NCoin (plus 200 bonus) to purchase upgrades for your killer robots. More »
    07/28/08
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    Comment by vactoxic: I picked up the boxed copy of Dungeon Runners, they bundled the Exteel game with it. Not bad for 20... more » | Other threads

  • tabula rasa

    Tabula Rasa Doing Just Fine, Thanks

    Phew! And here we were all worried that Richard Garriott's latest MMO endeavor was doomed to failure! NCsoft has been in touch with Eurogamer to assure them that everything is rosy in the world of TR, with things looking up every day. More »
    06/11/08
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    Comment by Galvatron: I played TR for about 2 months and really enjoyed it until I got to instances that required more fire... more » | Other threads

  • tabula rasa

    Tabula Rasa Offers Free Re-Enlistment Week

    Tabula Rasa has only been up and running for six months, but they've already lost a sizeable enough chunk of folks that they'd do anything to win you back. Since release they've had 8 new content updates, introduced alien hybrids, and added respec tokens to the mix, and for the week beginning May 5th and ending May 12th players who've passed on the action can log into their accounts and see how the game has been shaping up, completely free. I played the game a bit during beta as well as a good month after launch, and it just couldn't hold my attentions, but I'll log in next week, just in case it was just a case of bad timing.
    04/29/08
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    Comment by Tei: Obligatory comment: "is this the patch that add teh fun?" I have read that TR is full of Planetside exiles. So I... more » | Other threads

  • oddities

    The Official Seiko Richard Garriott Space Watch

    Ultima and Tabula Rasa creator Richard Garriott loves two things: Space and rattails. Man not only has his own sputnik, but his own rattails. This October, Garriott and his flowing locks will be blasting off to the International Space Station. He plans on making a spacewalk, which would make him the first civilian with rattails to do so. Historic! To commemorate the event, Seiko is creating a titanium spring-powered "Spring Drive Spacewalk" watch, which will be limited to 99 pieces only — at a price! But really, can you put a price tag on a Richard Garriott watch? Yes, yes you can. More »
    04/08/08
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    Comment by amadeus3000: @Fyren: Sorry, but I think "badass watch" applies more to something from Lange&Söhne. more » | Other threads

  • mmo

    Further Tabula Rasa Reassurance

    Update on that MMO Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa clusterfuck. The game bombed, and The Korea Times reported that heads rolled at the developer's Austin Studio. So now that the dust has settled, Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa producer Starr Long now says: More »
    03/06/08
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    Comment by psychobaka: Make the game free-to-play like your wonderfully successful Guild Wars series and maybe it'll come out of the gutter... more » | Other threads

  • rumor

    Tabula Rasa Totally Tanked? NCSoft Austin Downsizing?

    Apparently, MMORPG Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa bombed. And when games bomb, heads roll. If true, it's at NCSoft's Austin Studio! The Korea Times reports that the Austin subsidiary "has proven to be a financial disaster." Making Tabula Rasa was no cake walk, with rattailed Richard Garriott restarting the project several times, costing NCSoft added expenses. In a conference call, NCSofts chief financial officer Lee Jae-ho said: More »
    02/19/08
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    Comment by piccolo3nj: affected. Jesus Christ. more » | Other threads

  • clips

    Tabula Rasa Adds Fuel-Efficient Hybrids

    Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa has from the start been a story about humanity, but since before the game launched players have been clamoring to play something outside of generic human number five. The lack of character diversity is one of the main things I didn't like about the game, but that's all changed now. Patch 1.4 saw the introduction of human alien hybrids - human characters spliced with alien DNA to create something entirely new. Thrax, Brann, and Forean hybrids, each with unique stat bonuses, are unlocked via quests that start at level 15. In order to help facilitate the new options, new emphasis has been placed on player stats, clones can now reassign ability points, and an option to hide your helmet to show off your new blue head have all been implemented. Enough to draw me back into the game? Only free time will tell, my friends.
    02/05/08
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    Comment by That Girl Hates You: mkeep I'll have to check it out. I haven't been on in a while 'cause I'm obseesed with my 360. more » | Other threads

  • charity

    Be a Character in Tabula Rasa, Help Child's Play

    More »
    12/21/07
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    Comment by Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.: @kidko: Now in City of Heroes, discounting Wolverine clones you'll never see two characters that look alike! Dammit, I'm a walking... more » | Other threads

  • almost really hot

    Playboy's Annual "Tribute" to Gaming Ladies

    Playboy is paying a fourth annual tribute to the fine virtual ladies of video gaming by displaying them buck naked in their December issue hitting newsstands today. The 'Playing Rough' foxes include "Keaira" from Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, "Church & Black" from Jericho, "Morenn" from The Witcher, "Yoko Retomoto" from Kane & Lynch, "A'Kanna" from Conan and "Sarah Morrison" from Tabula Rasa. Ooh, for a moment I thought I saw Morris as in "Zack Morris," and uhh....was totally grossed out. More »
    11/02/07
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    Comment by RawSteelUT: @belo: That's a problem in and of itself. You don't see this as a technique to get people to... more » | Other threads

  • sweet release

    Tabula Rasa Is Live

    Six years and one major revamp later, Richard Garriott's science fiction MMORPG Tabula Rasa is now live. Gamers across North America and Europe can now purchase the game and try to catch up with the preorder folks, who've been playing nonstop since October 30th. Damn head starts.
    "Now the fun begins! I can't wait to join thousands of other players in this exciting galactic war," said Richard Garriott, the game's executive producer. "It is time for us to release Tabula Rasa to the players. I am eager to see player reaction to the game, and am ready to build on what we've started here. We've got plans for new features and expansions for the foreseeable future and I'm hoping the players will enjoy the game and get excited about what's in store for them next!"
    NCsoft was kind enough to send me a retail copy of the game yesterday, and I have to say I am really enjoying reading the game manual in the bathroom. As soon as I have some time to actually play the game I'll let you know how that works out. More »
    11/02/07
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    Comment by PogieBait: I like it. I used to play the hell outta COH/COV. This is a nice change. Graphics, weapons, armor, it's... more » | Other threads

  • halloween hangover

    How NCSoft Celebrated Halloween

    The gang at NCSoft held its annual Halloween costume contest recently, and it appears that at least eight of the employees—but probably nine—are big fans of Valve's Team Fortress 2, an extremely popular group costume choice. Sorry, tipsters, we might not get around to posting everyone's fabulous video game-themed costume, but I'm pretty sure we're going to do at least one more. More pics of the team in fabulous costumes and the new official Richard Garriott photo at the Tabula Rasa site. More »
    11/01/07
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    Comment by reno84: @visigoth: Wow, my congratulations then, it really does look badass! Woulda been even better with a rotating barrel, although I... more » | Other threads

  • final frontier

    Garriott Scarred For Life By Space Travel

    In a recent theater review, we see that while attending a show in his swank Curtain Theater "royal box" seat, NCSoft's Richard Garriott (man in front of the flames) flashed... well, we'll tell the story directly:
    when asked about his recent operation to remove a mole-like spot on his liver — the better to travel in space a year from now — he gamely raised his shirt to give everyone a gander.
    Oh, and he told a story of how a truckload of Tabula Rasa copies was stolen, all of which will be trackable by serial number. But we're more interested in the PG strip show, honestly. More »
    10/31/07
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    Comment by Furious_Liver: @Tastes_like_chicken: "HEY, THIS AIN'T HALO 3!!!" more » | Other threads

  • new games

    Week in Games: Spooky Halloween Edition

    Here we are again at another week full of games that threaten to drain my bank account. I haven't even gotten through last week's "must have" list and here comes Manhunt 2, GH III, The Simpsons Game, Hellgate: London, Dementium: The Ward. My Christmas wish list grows longer with each passing day while my time to play games grows ever shorter. What's a poor gamer to do? More »
    10/28/07
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    Comment by mcderek3000: I'll take the Witcher, though I could try Hellgate: London SP. more » | Other threads

  • pc

    Hit up Tabula on Halloween and Get a Pumpkin Head

    More »
    10/09/07
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    Comment by ShineyBlueShoes: @h0ghead: Played the beta? more » | Other threads

  • all is not well

    Korea's NCSoft at Crossroads?

    There's been some mixed press for NCSoft as of late: their European arm has just gotten a hefty grant from a British foundation, but profits are sagging and employees in the Korean office have been jumping ship on a fairly regular basis. The Korea Times has an article talking to NCSoft's CEO, Kim Taek-jin. With a pretty high turnover rate for employees and profits stagnating, it would seem that the company needs to do something different - and soon. More »
    09/30/07
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    Comment by Mithan: Well, Tabula Rasa isn't going to change their fortunes. more » | Other threads

  • meet and greet

    Tabula Rasa's Sarah Morrison

    NCSoft has just released a huge character profile on Sarah Morrison from the upcoming Tabula Rasa. If she's familiar it's because you saw her in the teaser trailer we published not so long ago. And while I was seriously digging the teaser and the new CG stills are incredible, the in-game screens (minus the shot with all the computers and electricity) are a bit of a disappointment—even for an MMO. Am I crazy/blind/biased from the gorgeous prerenders? More »
    09/14/07
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    Comment by Suto: Looks like the chick that shows up in the direct x (8? 9?) developer demos, and also in the very... more » | Other threads

  • clips

    Tabula Rasa Logos Academy Video

    Last week I was given the chance to visit Richard Garriott's estate and tour his house as part of the Logos Academy event to promote Tabula Rasa, NCsoft's upcoming sci-fi MMO. While I covered the event as best I could, some parts of the evening just didn't translate well into pictures. Luckily for me, NCsoft was on hand with video cameras, and they cut together this little clip for your viewing enjoyment. If you pay close attention, you might catch a glimpse of my giant shaved head in several scenes.
    09/14/07
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    Comment by CountingConflict: Yeah I live pretty close to Nassau Bay too.. (deer park) and it amazes me that anyone from this area... more » | Other threads

  • austin gdc 07

    Fahey's Big Austin Adventure

    It was only Thursday before last that I found out I was heading to Austin for the Austin Game Developers Conference and some Tabula Rasa themed events. Since then I've taken a ton of pictures, hung out with some industry legends, had a childhood dream come true, inadvertantly LARPed with Richard Garriott, and taken a metric asston of pictures. Here's a rundown of what I did on my trip to the Texas state capitol. More »
    09/10/07
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    Comment by rainofwalrus: . Austin rules! be sure to grub on some cornflake chicken from Chuy's and Mexican Vanilla Icecream from Amy's. I wish I... more » | Other threads