The federal appeals court in Washington D.C. ruled Friday that the district's 30-year-old ban on handguns in the home is unconstitutional. That's a victory for common sense. What's more important is that, for the first significant time since United States v. Miller, the courts have given an opinion regarding the question of individual firearms ownership.

Gun control advocates will try to sell you the idea that the Second Amendment is either: a) an antiquated throwback to the days of colonial resistance from King George or b) that it refers to the national guard and not individual citizens. Both assertions are patently false.

The Second Amendment guarantees the right of Americans to keep and bear arms in defense of liberty. Period.

Over the last couple of decades, there's been a discernable cycle of creativity (or lack thereof) in Hollywood. It goes like this:

Find a director or a screenplay with some degree of originality
Throw some money at the project and hope it pays off
If a=yes, make as many clones of said project as the public can stomach

When GOTO 1 is no longer an option, the Hollywood establishment falls back on the tired practice of "remaking" old movies and television shows, often with no respect for the original property. We're then treated to a few summers of half-baked retreads until something new and bankable comes along.

In some respects, the videogame industry is quite similar. Sequels are easier to make than new concepts, and it's far safer to fall back on proven formulas than risk it on new ideas. If you've got a movie license, then it's even easier: just smack some tired old game mechanics together and string along the story.

I originally panned Lost Planet based on a rather underwhelming demo, but I kept hearing great things about the final version from other gamers, so I broke down and bought it.

Turns out the demo really didn't do the game justice. I've really been enjoying it, and the multiplayer is an absolute blast, easily matching the frenetic rush of Battlefront. Thing is, this is still online gaming, which means I sometimes find myself dealing with the lowest-common-denominator sorts.