Insomnia

...ba href=/insomnia/a/b of bomb-blasts in the Baghdad darkness outside.

I would curl up like an animal in my bed and thumb through the predictions of this present folly.

I read a fearful prophecy by the evangelical preacher Pat Buchanan written five months before we illegally invaded Iraq.

"This invasion will not be the cakewalk neo-conservatives predict," he said.

"Terrorist attacks in liberated Iraq seem as certain as in liberated Afghanistan.

For a militant Islam ...

will never accept George Bush dictating the destiny of the Islamic world ...

Pax Americana will reach apogee but then the tide recedes; for the one endeavour at which Islamic peoples excel is expelling imperial powers by terror and guerrilla warfare." There were the dreary precedents.

Muslims drove the Brits out of Palestine and Aden; the French out of Algeria; the Russians out of Afghanistan; the Americans out of Somalia; and Beirut, the Israelis out of Lebanon.

As Buchanan wrote, "we have started up the road to empire, and over the next hill we will meet those who went before." However, we shall not count the bodies.

What was it Bush told us a few weeks ago?

That 30,000 Iraqis had been killed since the invasion, his very words a racist admission; for what he actually said was: "30,000 more or less".

More or less, give or take a few hundred.

Would he have dared to say that US casualties were "2,000 more or less"?

Of course not.

Our dead are precious; they are individuals with widows and children.

The Iraqis?

Well, they are ...

...ba href=/insomnia/a/b as part of an MSc in acupuncture at the University of Wales.

As I lay down on the treatment bed, Irina told me she was going to "use a very nice spot" on my forehead which would make me feel "nice and relaxed".

That sounded good, but it still involved piercing my skin with a needle.

I wasn't convinced.

She told me to breathe in - and when I breathed out she would insert the needle.

As I exhaled, I felt a tiny scratch on my forehead followed by a sensation I can only describe as how I imagine being high on drugs to be.

For several seconds, I felt like I was floating - and thought I might pass out - but I then felt incredibly relaxed.

When I described how I was feeling to Irina, she told me acupuncture was used to treat drug users going cold turkey because the sensations it provoked could be similar to those experienced by people on drugs.

This talk of drug users reminded me to check if the needles Irina was sticking in me were being taken from sterile packets - they were.

I began to enjoy myself, and was disappointed subsequent needles did not have the same effect as the first.

The feeling of calm that emanated from that first needle stayed with me all day and into the next.

In fact, I was concerned I might not be able to drive back to work - but Irina insisted I had not had enough needles to be strongly affected.

She said: "Most people are pleasantly surprised the feeling of the needle being inserted is nowhere near as uncomfortable as they were expecting.

"The needl...

...ba href=/insomnia/a/b isn't a problem, but sadly, IGN missed a trick when asking Moore about the Microsoft gaming handheld rumours.

Moore was allowed to refer only to the Origami, which we now know is a red herring: "We've made no announcements at all.

Don't be confused.

Origami is a portable device that's more about portable computing that had entertainment layered in.

It's not being done by our division." Moore also gave a hint of what Microsoft can be expected to do at E3: "E3 is all about the holidays.

We will have as strong a lineup as I've ever gone into E3 with.

This year will be a very interesting E3.

It almost gets to be a put-up or shut-up situation for some people.

Our primary focus is on showing you great games.

We'll be unveiling new games for the holiday as well as giving you a better perspective on Gears of War.

"For Sony, E3 a year ago was all about high-powered video, CG, and my suspicion would be that they feel the pressure to have hands-on playables." He's right in that respect, although since Sony is adamant that the PlayStation 3 will launch in November, it is obvious that the company will have to showcase a decent portfolio of playable PS3 games if it wants to be taken seriously once more.

And he's right that it's going to be quite an E3.

As ever, we'll be there, sending dispatches from the gaming front line.

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