Basically (for those of us who know nothing about video games and the like), when you play this game you have a big gun and you do a lot of shooting. Let me put it another way for you: I know when my roommate is playing this game…because I hear gun shots coming from his room.

Still this M-rated military game, which was released on Tuesday, earned $310 million in opening-day sales alone. According to Daniel Terdiman, a blogger for CNET news, 4.7 million copies were sold in the United States and the U.K. alone in order to break this record.

Just to put this in perspective for you, The Dark Knight made $155 million in the opening WEEKEND. The next top-selling video game was Grand Theft Auto IV which also made $310 million in first-day sales worldwide. (Modern Warfare made $310 million in just the U.S. and U.K.)

So, for those of you who are against violent video games, you may not want to join the millions of people who have purchased this game. I’m not into video games so much, but for those of you who are… What do you like about this game? Why is it so popular?

Something I find rather interesting about this little tidbit news story is the fact that the only reason the media are all over this and everything else related to Ms. Prejean is because she apologetically offended the gay community. The girl freaking spoke her mind and actually spoke it quite eloquently for a southern California valley girl and the world still can’t get over this woman’s tactful exhibition of…. Wait for it…

Free speech.

The last time I checked, this was still a free country and one that supposedly values the right to free speech so highly that we made part of our very first amendment.

Anyway, so all the gossip news now is covering Carrie Prejean implants, Carrie Prejean Playboy, and overall Carrie Prejean pictures. I guess everyone wants a look at those unnatural boobies so that we can once again dig up more reasons to make the gay community feel better about itself by trashing an otherwise decent American woman.

I’m so over this.

Don’t believe me? Check out the latest situation with “Balloon Boy.”

If you were paying any type of attention to the news today, you’ll know what I’m talking about when I refer to the “Flying Falcon.”

If not, I’ll do a short summary. (You can find more in-depth information if you search for 6-year-old Falcon Heene in your favorite search browser.)

Earlier today in eastern Colorado, Falcon’s parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, told authorities that their son had untethered their mylar balloon and was suspected to be inside of it.

Well, it ends up that the little child wasn’t in the balloon at all. He was hanging out in a box in the attic.

Great family! Also, it turns out that awesome family spent some time on the television show Wife Swap.

This made for some incredibly entertaining television. It also made for some interesting tweets for those who, apparently, have nothing better to do with their time.

According to CNN, the whole world was watching. Al-Jazeera reported on it. Australia reported on it. I guess it could be said that I’m reporting on it too.

I mean, it’s a pretty stupid story if you think about it. What I’m interested in is how viral this became all over social networking sites.

Like I said. What did we do before the Internet?

However, the list I’m about to surrender to you, some of Associated Content’s Strangest Phobias, is something I can’t relate to in the least, let alone pronounce most of the names. Good luck.

1. Zemmiphobia – Fear of…wait for it…the great mole rat.

Yeah, most are naked and crazy looking — those ones usually tiny — but what’s so bad about a big fat rat? Okay, never mind… I think I can understand this one.

2. Anablephobia – Fear of looking up.

Is this for real? Who doesn’t love a blue sky? Suck to be these people.

3. Consecotaleophobia – Fear of chopsticks.

But forks are no fun when it comes to sushi!

4. Geniophobia – Fear of chins.
This one makes me think of the “Ball-Chinians” from Men in Black II (the one that sucked and doesn’t count). I guess big fat butt chins might make sense…but (no pun intended) I don’t get it other than that.

5. Taphephobia Taphophobia – Fear of being buried alive or of cemeteries.

Duh. This one actually makes sense. Finally.

Scandalous.

On Thursday, Letterman announced that he is a “victim of extortion attempt over charges of sexual affairs with staff members,” according to the New York Times. Letterman was approached by someone who asked for $2 million to keep the racy information a secret.

According to Reuters, Letterman states that about three weeks ago he received a package from Robert Joel Halderman, a producer for the CBS documentary news program 48 Hours. In it was a screenplay showcasing all of Letterman’s affairs. Also, there was a note inside that said “I know you do some terrible, terrible things.” It asked for $2 million. Letterman immediately went to the Manhattan district attorney’s office where he was advised to write a fraudulent check for $2 million.

Halderman faces attempted grand larceny charges. He is due to appear at New York State Supreme Court later on Friday.

As I searched for information concerning this case, I was shocked by something that not many news Websites were discussing. I’m talking about the fact that a married man (and father) was having multiple affairs.

Letterman has been with (now) wife for nearly 20 years and they have a 6-year-old son.

This behavior isn’t acceptable.

I don’t care if someone was trying to extort him. Letterman’s actions are just as inappropriate as those of the Halderman’s. Just as Halderman faces a maximum sentence of 15 years, Letterman should too.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to him or anyone else considering he had an international warrant for his arrest from a 1977 “unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor” case.

As a well-known director of films such as Chinatown and Rosemary’s Baby, Polanski is used to being in the public eye, and his life has been nothing less than controversial.

Perhaps you remember Charles Manson and the pregnant woman that he destroyed? Yes, that would be Polanski’s wife and child. That was in 1969.

In 1977, Polanski got involved with a 13-year-old girl…sexually. The details are hazy (as usual) but he’s had a warrant for his arrest ever since.

Initially charged with rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, and furnishing a controlled substance (methaqualone) to a minor, Polanski fled the U.S. a year later. He’s been living in France since and recently directed The Pianist, which he accepted a directing Oscar in absentia.

This weekend, as Polanski was flying to Switzerland for the Zurich Film Festival in which he was being presented with an honorary award, he was set up for interception.

He was caught and is now in Swiss custody.

The U.S. has yet to request a formal extradition and have Polanski brought back for trial.

How fun.

As of now, no real information has been released as to what this hard object might be, exactly where this may have taken place (Los Angeles somewhere), and exactly what condition our beloved late night Irish comedian might be.

(It’s Hollywood. Does that really surprise you?)

What information has been released, however, was reported by The New York Times. That information is simply that O’Brien was not able to finish the show and was taken away for medical attention, obviously to a nearby hospital.

The statement released by NBC, and as reported by the Times, again, was that O’Brien “hit his head doing a stunt and the show was not finished.”

Whoa. Now that says a lot. Thank you NBC. My fears have all been pushed away now. I think I’ll let out a huge sigh of relief after all that information. Ahhhhh…

As far as any other details go, that’s about all you’re going to get at this very minute, sadly. Though I’m 110 percent positive some real information will be surfacing shortly. It’s about Conan O’Brien for God’s sake. The media are just dragging this out, as they always do, to generate more interest.

Woo.

Wait..! This just in! As reported by the Associated Press: NBC also released a statement attributed to Mr. O’Brien, which said, “Last thing I remember I was enjoying the play with Mrs. Lincoln and the next thing I knew I was in bed being served cookies and juice.”

Better? I didn’t think so. But before you go searching for things on Google like “Conan O’Brien hits head,” “Conan O’Brien hospital” or my personal favorite, “Conan O’Brien dead” (yeah, some people…), just give it another hour.

Thankfully, there are people dedicated to sharing with the world how ridiculous people can be. One Web site, known as The People of Walmart, has truly upped the ante.

This viral Web site is guaranteed to make you laugh…or cry. At least it should (in theory) make you feel better about your life choices.

Developed in August by three friends, the site is designed to showcase ridiculous looking people who shop at Walmart.

“Let’s face it. We’ve all seen people who obviously don’t have mirrors and/or family and friends to lock them in a basement. Of course, these are the folks who strangely seem to congregate at Walmart.

It’s not everywhere that you can shop for milk at 10 a.m. next to a 400-pound mother of six wearing a pink tube top, leopard tights, and hooker heels,” The People of Walmart’s About section reads.

The creators of the site have chosen to only give their initials, AJK, ADK, LDW. Whoever they are, I say that you’ve done a great job. This is a hilarious Web site, and a great outlet for people to laugh at themselves and others.

Understandably this will get some negative feedback. The truth is that humor should be a part of life. Taking life too seriously can really get you down. And… It’s always nice to know that you’re shopping with someone who thought it was a good idea to glue rainbow Trolls to their car.

The latest on the rapping egomaniac is that his little “stunt” on stage might actually have been just that, an act, as reported by Pop Eater.

Honestly, it was the first thought to pop into my mind, but that was before I knew much about him, besides having heard a few of his songs, by chance, on the radio.

Kayne West was once quoted as saying something along the lines of — since I’m pulling from memory and can’t find the exact wording — ‘The only thing in life I will regret is not being able to watch myself live in concert.’

Wow. Ego anyone? I think West has enough to share with the six-plus billion on our planet right now, though I doubt he’s willing to give any up.

I don’t think the act was staged. Just look at this guy’s ego’s record to see for yourself. If that last quote, unquote didn’t give it away, what else do you need? The man’s all about himself and obviously believes he can do anything.

Well, he’s certainly provided the world with one more pointless story to cover as “news,” as I’m sure Kayne’s big mouth will continue to do in the future. I just hope this one doesn’t last as long as the true King of Pop’s, may he rest in peace, finally.

Every time that he has an outburst, such as the “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” comment made around the Hurricane Katrina victims, they tend to get bigger and flashier because the public is quickly becoming desensitized to his attention-whoring tactics.  

That seems to have backfired this time with his mess at the MTV Video Music Awards. Kanye West quickly became Kanye Mess in the process.

Kanye’s outburst caused a general uproar from the Twitter-verse, with everyone from journalists, critics, celebrities, Joe blow and Internet Hitler all taking aim at the controversial rapper.  The biggest name to perhaps throw a tomato on the public-relations-challenged artist is none other than President Obama.

Obama slams Kanye in a leaked “off the record” interview and simply calls him a jackass for his hijacking of Taylor Swift’s award acceptance.  It may have been the best move of Obama’s presidency, and one that he should file away for later use against political enemies: The Obama Donkey Punch.

While many people will cry and whine that the president wasn’t proper or polite, I argue against that sentiment.  The president is just like any other person, and as Wilson spoke his mind when he called Obama out during his health plan speech, Obama spoke his mind about something that no other reasonable American would disagree with: Kanye West is a jackass.