Okay actually a lot's happened the last several days. To begin with, I'm recovering from some sickness. I think it's just an expansion from the cold, to include a mild flu (maybe even stomach flu?). I still feel a bit off right now, as my head is throbbing, but I feel much better than the other day (Tuesday).

January 9th, Silk Road closed down to end the 2nd Beta testing period. This is a definitely a good thing, because in a few days Beta 3 will be out, and the updates are huge! Rumored updates so far (I'm not very up-to-date on the rumors) include implementation of the Oasis Towns system, and the implementation of the western country, which according to Mikko is Greece, but according to the website and from the looks of the trailer is "Roma". I find it odd that Greece will be implemented first from the Persian area, but oh well.

Anyway the Oasis Town system is sort of like War of Emperium in Ragnarok Online, in that, the town is owned by players, and can be taken siege of. The town's type will be determined by the owners, whether it'll be a hunter headquarters, a merchant stop-over, or a bandit den.

Also rumored in the update will be the implementation of the Item Mall, and many new items, including potions/scrolls that increase the amount of exp you gain for long periods of time. I don't know much else about how these will work. They're also implementing a 9th degree set of equipment for the Chinese (I think it comes in standard for the western country).

Okay enough about Silk Road. You can already tell I'm friggen excited about it. Time now for some b-boy news. I just downloaded a couple of videos again from Style2Ouf.com, and it seems to me that the trend, at least in French b-boy communities, is learning to do master swipes and combos spawned from that. I may have to step up my learning a large amount. First off, I gotta develop more strength so I can hold my weight better in a handstand position, especially a dynamic one. Second, I need to get used to spinning. Windmills, 1990's/2000's and flares will help. Now I desperately need some space to practice these in.

Finally, Pump It Up news. Pump: Zero has finally been released in Korea, and is scheduled for international (?) release on February 1st. The game features 131 songs, new game modes/difficulties (missions, newbie and "another" step charts), "better graphics" and a new "user-friendly interface". Man I can't wait for this. One of the new songs is Rapper's Delight, which is just screaming oldsk00l b-boy. I hope the Freestyle steps are fun.