Topic: Best Pets
This week's Best Pet comes to us from Gamesviller Mamahooter777 of Obrien, OR. Meet her charming Silky Soo!

Distinguishing Personality Traits

Mamahooter777 says, "Our precious Silky Soo was born 4/21/09. We knew she was unique as she was white with unusually silky hair, while her mama Kibbles is jet black with courser hair. Kibbles and Silky bonded deeply and have been inseparable since Silky's birth. But Silky is also quite the quirky kitty. She will sit and watch TV at least once a day for 15 to 20 minutes straight and will snag daddy's socks everyday as he gets ready for work. She insists on sitting on 'shower step' when anyone showers and always waits for me to make the bed so she can take her mouse toy under the covers."

Want to share photos of your own favorite pet with the Gamesville community?

Send photos to: members@gamesville.com

In addition to your pet's picture, please be sure to include:

• Your Gamesville member name
• Your pet's most distinguishing personality trait

If we publish your pet as a "Best Pet," we'll give you 5,000 GV Rewards. Submit your pet today!

Topic: Technical Difficulties

Please note: Gamesville will be offline for approximately 15 minutes beginning at 4:00 AM EST on Thurs. 10/01/09 as we perform routine maintence. The outage should last only about 15 minutes. Thank you for your patience.

Good gaming!

Oh! Ryan Kelley

Community Manager, Gamesville.com

Topic: Cash Competitions

Magic 21 is a game of luck and skill. It takes a true card shark to master all five columns of 21, but there are some not-so-well-known secrets included in the game to help you rack up those bonus GV Rewards. While these tips won't ensure you a jackpot win, they'll be sure to help you nab those bonus GVs and catapult you into the coveted top five! Here are five tips to help increase your chances of scoring higher and revealing more GV Rewards:

• One-Eyed Jacks: Place a Jack as the first card in a game column. Then place a 10 or an Ace on it to get bonus points (and collect GVs).
• Suicide Kings: In Magic 21, the Suicide King is the King of Hearts. You need an Ace and King of Hearts combination to get the Suicide King bonus. (A good hint is to reserve your Ace columns and King of Heart columns to make this combination.)
• 5-Card 21: If you can place five cards in a single column, you can clear it (and reveal GVs) even if the column doesn't total 21. However, you do not earn game points for doing so.
• Lucky 7s: Place three 7s in a single column to make 21 to earn bonus points (and reveal GVs). Hint: Once you start a seven column, do not place any cards but sevens in that column. Try to keep at least two columns of sevens in any game. In addition to winning the Lucky 7 bonus, this will also set you up for a Streak which will earn you even more points.
• Streaks: These can be difficult to set up, but can be very rewarding. A streak is when you are able to clear multiple columns in a row. For example, if you clear one column, and then clear column with the next card to come down, then you will have a streak of 2. The longer you can continue a streak, the higher your bonus points. Streaks trump everything else in terms of gaining points, so if you're on a streak in Magic 21, use your Ace cards to continue the streak even if it is not a One-Eyed Jack or Suicide King combination.

Have a secret to your success in Magic 21 that you're willing to share? Let us know by leaving your hint in the comments section. 

Topic: Hollywood

With the second season premier of FOX's Dollhouse last week (airing Fridays at 9:00 p.m. EST) we got a chance to sit down with the series' creator Joss Whedon. Best known as the creator and head writer of the well-known television programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly, we caught up with Joss to discuss the new season of Dollhouse and his thoughts on how the series is progressing.

Gamesville:  There were a lot of people who were worried that you might be cancelled after your first season. What do you think it was that convinced FOX to sign you on for another season?

Joss: I think it’s the nature of the business and the nature of the fan base. The nature of the fan base is they’re in it for the long haul, and they’re nurturing, and they’re intense about it and they will see it through. They will stick with it and that means years after it’s cancelled. Firefly still sells, Buffy still sells, and that’s also a business thing for the studio. They’re in it for the long haul because they know the long haul is how my work pays off. I don’t make hit shows. I make shows that stick around, that people come to long after they would have stopped generating revenue in the old system.

With the advent of DVD and the eventual monetization of Online, there’s a market there that exists beyond your Nielsen numbers, and the fans showing up and DVRing, and buying a DVD, and proving on all my other projects that they don’t do these things lightly, that it runs deep in them, means that the base doesn’t have to be as broad for the studio to think it’s worth it to try and eke out another season.

Could you talk about how you approached the idea of new viewers following the show?

We try and make the premise clear enough so that if you haven’t been watching it, you don’t have to do a huge amount of math, especially in the first episode of the season. There’s a lot of exposition in the first pilot and in the first episode of this season to help that. But at the end of the day, you do have to go, 'Well, if they don’t get the premise,' and we’ve even rejiggered the opening credits to make it clearer, than they’ll either become involved in these peoples’ stories or they won’t. You have to move slow enough so people can grab a hold and jump on with you, but you have to keep moving.

[Dollhouse star] Eliza Dushku had a hand in developing her character for this role. How has she helped shape who Echo has become and will become?

Eliza has specific things she’s interested in, specific things she feels comfortable with. Sometimes I like to go to that place because I know that she can knock it out of the park and sometimes I like to go in the opposite direction to take her out of her comfort zone because that’s the best thing you can do with an actor.

The fact is she shapes it because she is very specific as a person. She’s very specific in the way she presents and even though there are many different aspects to that, the people don’t usually get to see how funny she can be, how elegant. It was a conversation about all of the different things she was supposed to be, or had been, or was trying to be, or trying to get away from that led to the creation of the show.

How will Echo come in to her own this season?

Basically, through force of will. She had all those personalities dumped into her at once and as we pick up we’re going to find out that that’s starting to affect her. Rather than be at sea in between engagements, she’s much more directed and driven, and even in her doll state is growing, learning and starting to try to access these personalities to see what they can help her with. She has a mission that she understands now, which is to get back to her personality and get everybody back to theirs.

Summer Glau is joining the cast this season. What was that casting decision like and what’s in store for her character?

The casting of Summer was based on the knowledge that Summer existed and the character was created with the hopes that she would play it, which she is right on stage right now doing. She’s playing the programmer of another Dollhouse. It’s a somewhat eccentric part but hopefully different than what we’ve seen her do before. The most useful part of that is that the writers work twice as hard to make sure that the character really pops and pays off because they know that it’s going to be played by somebody extraordinary.

Can you talk a little bit about the relationships that are coming up this season – what it’s going to be like with Echo and Paul, and even among the dolls this year?

Victor and Sierra just can’t keep their hands off each other, and they’re like monkeys and it’s something that we’re going to be treating, they’re going to be seeing through for a while. It makes some people very uncomfortable and sometimes it’s just extremely sweet. Sometimes it’s just funny.

But Echo is very much building herself and she sees it as an indication that they’re ready to be pushed to a level like hers. She’s looking for allies and Paul is the first person she’s going to turn to for that. But then a lot of the season is going to be her attempt to put together some kind of team, even though she has trouble articulating it at first. She’s looking for the sense of family that I think the audience was looking for last season. So we’re going to be seeing who’s on her side and who, not so much.

Dollhouse airs Fridays, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time on FOX.

Topic: Members
Congratulations to Gamesviller Whitetoe08 of Lansing, MI, who swept up a lucky $777 jackpot on Saturday playing Magic 21. He was one of two BIG jackpots over the weekend as Cat34608 of Springhill, FL, took home an even $888 on Friday playing CatchUp CoverAll.

Useless Facts!

Whitetoe08's hometown of Lansing, MI, is host to the annual Old Town Oktoberfest, Mid-Michigan's only German-style event. The Old Town Oktoberfest draws hundreds to the Old Town neighborhood featuring authentic German food, live polka music, dancing and 12 oz. mugs fulled with world renowned German-style beer. This two day event attracts visitors from all over the Midwest and kicks off October 9th & 10th. Learn more about Lansing's Old Town Oktoberfest...

Topic: Weird Wire™

An Indonesian woman has given birth to an 19.2-pound baby boy, the heaviest newborn ever recorded in the country, a doctor said on Wednesday. Doctors commented that the boy's massive size was likely the result of his mother, Ani, 41, having diabetes. The boy is in a healthy condition despite having to initially be given oxygen to overcome breathing problems. The heaviest baby ever was born to Anna Bates of Canada in 1879, according to The Guinness Book of World Records. Read the full story at the Telegraph...

Topic: Best Pets
This week's Best Pet comes to us from Gamesviller Itsyoli of Spring Valley, CA. Meet the muttering Captain Morgan!

Distinguishing Personality Traits

Itsyoli says, "This is our bird Captain Morgan, a male Sun Conure who has a lot of personality and who shows a lot of affection. The Captain loves eating ice cream and taking naps with us. We literally we have to rearrange the way we sleep around him so that he is safe to lay down with us. He does not speak very clearly but he does mumble all day. The only clear word he can make out is when he's told to stop doing something and clearly mimics 'NO!' We love him dearly."

Want to share photos of your own favorite pet with the Gamesville community?

Send photos to: members@gamesville.com

In addition to your pet's picture, please be sure to include:

• Your Gamesville member name
• Your pet's most distinguishing personality trait

If we publish your pet as a "Best Pet," we'll give you 5,000 GV Rewards. Submit your pet today!

Topic: Hollywood

With the return of FOX's sci-fi series Fringe (airing Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. EST) we had the opportunity to talk with one of the show's stars Joshua Jackson about the progression of his character and what we can look forward to in the upcoming season.

Gamesville: What can you tell us about your characters particular story line this season?

Joshua: The entire first season for Peter and Walter was about this father and son reconnecting through the craziness of their circumstances and actually becoming something of a family.  And Season two has carried that forth. In the beginning Peter is really invested now in being part of this team and actually belonging to this Fringe family, but eventually he’s going to find out that this horrible happened to him as a child and that’s going to blow up his relationship with Walter and probably with Olivia I would imagine.  To me, that’s the great thing hanging over Peter the entire season and it gives me something to move toward as they go forward.

When we first met your character in season one we got a sense of this kind of dark background that you had, doing arms dealing and such. Will we get back to that this season?

Yes. We actually delved right into that very early in the season. We kept on hinting at it last year, but never showing it. Walter has as part of this Fringe team and we spent the first season explaining exactly why Olivia Dunham in particular, as opposed to any other FBI agent, had to be the center of this Fringe team. What we never really got into until the final episode was why it is specifically Peter that needs to be a part of this. Now that we’ve brought him in, this season we’ve gone a lot deeper into actually showing rather than just talking about this prior life that he had.

What is your reaction when you get the scripts and it’s some new crazy thing that they’re bringing into the story?

That’s the beauty of our show; if we don’t have a new crazy thing, something’s gone horribly wrong so I take it always as a positive thing. Each week it’s a little bit of a science lesson for the class, it’s a little bit of a vocabulary lesson for the class and it always presents you with some other kooky thing. The great thing about our show is that if we can dream it we can do it.

What do you enjoy more as an actor, when you get to do an episode in which there’s lots of action, fighting, racing around, when it’s crazy science elements or when it’s simply doing a scene with the cow?

It’s a little known fact that the cow’s a diva. I don’t know that I have a particular favorite. I think if I did any one of those things too much each one would become boring in their way. I would tell you that the thing I spend the time thinking about is trying to keep the dynamic between Peter and Walter truthful and growing, but the beauty of being on a television show is that you get to do a little bit of everything all the time.

Do you think that Peter and Olivia will have some sort of romantic? What are your feelings about that?

I feel like this is more of a family dynamic than a romantic dynamic. What’s unique and what’s great about our show is, as opposed to having just a leading man and a leading lady, you have this crazy father in the center of it. That would be a very, very awkward love triangle so I don’t think they’re going to go in that direction. I see Peter and Olivia as more brother and sister rather than lovers on this show. Where they’re going to take it, I have no idea, but for right now I run under the assumption that this is father, son, daughter rather than boyfriend, girlfriend, dad.

What does shooting the show in Vancouver actually add to the show?

The gray rainy-ness of it all actually seemed to add to sort of the natural moodiness of a show like Fringe; I think that’s a positive. Then whereas last year we were in New York, which has all of the obvious things that New York and that backdrop add, it’s difficult to shoot there because there are the other 14 million people that you have to deal with. It makes our production life, I think, a lot easier being up here, just the things that you’re allowed and capable of doing on the streets of Vancouver.

Fringe airs Thursdays, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time on FOX.

Topic: Members
Gamesviller Tammyleemcnutt59 of Truro, Nova Scotia, recently won $445 playing CatchUp CoverAll.

What was her moment of victory like? What three songs could she listen to for the rest of her life? Find out below...

Gamesville: Congratulations! What was it like when you realized you won?
It was a complete shock when I realized that I won, I could hardly believe it! My husband was in the room with me and I'm pretty sure he thought I was kidding--until he came over and looked at the screen.

What will you spend your winnings on?
I love to shop so it won't be too hard to spend, maybe some earrings or shoes and a nice dinner out.

What do you do for a living?
I work in a bridal shop selling wedding gowns, tiaras, veils, etc. I like my job very much because it is fun and never boring. Exciting to help someone choose what they will be wearing on their special day.

What three songs could you listen to for the rest of your life?
In no particular order: The Beatles - Hey Jude (just a great song), Donny Osmond - Puppy Love (Donny was my teen idol) & George Strait - I Cross My Heart (my wedding song and I love it).

What do you treasure most in the world?
My children, my grandchildren and the relationship I have with my husband, who is the very best.

What does your Gamesville member name mean?
As you can see my member name is not very original (lol). It had to be something that I could remember, simply my name and the year I was born.

Thanks, Tammyleemcnutt59 - and congratulations again on your win!

Topic: Members

Congratulations to Gamesviller Sandy22green of Poland, IN, who scored $600 yesterday playing Magic 21. She was one of two BIG jackpots this weekend as Glorann2 of Westville, IN, took home $409 on Saturday playing CatchUp CoverAll.

Useless Facts!

Sandy22green's hometown of Poland, IN, is located near the city of Terre Haute, IN, home to Indiana State University. Indiana State is the first public university in Indiana to require incoming freshmen to have a laptop. ISU offers Dell laptops to incoming freshmen with high high school GPAs of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) as part of its Laptop Initiative. Learn more about Indiana State University...