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Research Topics
Shrihari S Kadkol
Affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago
Country: USA
Detail Information
- Comprehensive analysis of CBFbeta-MYH11 fusion transcripts in acute myeloid leukemia by RT-PCR analysisShrihari S Kadkol
Departments of Pathology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA
J Mol Diagn 6:22-7. 2004....
- MLL-SEPT6 fusion transcript with a novel sequence in an infant with acute myeloid leukemiaShrihari S Kadkol
Department of Pathology, University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
Cancer Genet Cytogenet 168:162-7. 2006..The findings emphasize the importance of combined cytogenetic and molecular analyses in the workup of acute leukemia, especially in those leukemias that occur infrequently...
- Increased neurotensin receptor-1 expression during progression of colonic adenocarcinomaXianyong Gui
Department of Pathology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Peptides 29:1609-15. 2008..NTSR1 may thus be a potential target for preventive or therapeutic strategies in colon cancer...
- Osteopontin expression and serum levels in metastatic uveal melanoma: a pilot studyShrihari S Kadkol
Department of Pathology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 60612, USA
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 47:802-6. 2006..This was a pilot study conducted to examine the expression of osteopontin in uveal melanoma and to determine whether serum osteopontin can be used in detecting metastatic uveal melanoma...
- pp32 reduction induces differentiation of TSU-Pr1 cellsJonathan R Brody
Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, USA
Am J Pathol 164:273-83. 2004..Thus, reduction of pp32 in the undifferentiated TSU-Pr1 neoplastic cell line induces differentiation and thus may be an element of a differentiation control pathway in both normal and neoplastic cells...
- Expression of GCMB by intrathymic parathyroid hormone-secreting adenomas indicates their parathyroid cell originAlexander Maret
Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
J Clin Endocrinol Metab 89:8-12. 2004..Finally, intrathymic PTH-secreting adenomas express the parathyroid-specific GCMB gene, which suggests that these tumors were derived from parathyroid cells that migrated errantly during embryogenesis...
- Identification of a functional mutation in pp32r1 (ANP32C)G John Kochevar
Department of Pathology, Texas A and M University System Health Science Center, College Station, Texas, USA
Hum Mutat 23:546-51. 2004..The pp32r1 mutation could thus be causally associated with the neoplastic growth properties of PC-3, and be of potential clinical significance...
- Authenticating cell lines in ophthalmic research laboratoriesRobert Folberg
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, Michigan 48309 4401, USA
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 49:4697-701. 2008


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/ News / Deco & Visual communication / MacGlide: A world premiere innovation at the Paris Nautic show
An ecological revolution is on the way
On the occasion of the Paris Nautic Show, and in world premiere, Mactac will present the innovation MacGlide, an antifouling biocide-free self adhesive.
Thanks to its non-stick properties, MacGlide protects the hull from the colonization of marine micro-organisms without spreading toxic substances into the ocean.
A boat will be equipped with this coating and installation demos of the TuningFilms will be organized every day with our new TF FlexChrome films and many other colors.
Mactac wrapping films, your boat, your colors!
Nearly 70 colours, gloss, matt, chrome, textured effect ... to give personality to your boat! Tuningfilms give you the freedom to change the color of your hull and protect it durably.
>> Go to Mactac stand n ° C02 - Hall 2.1 from Saturday 3rd to Sunday 11th December
Mactac MacGlide Press Contact:
Mactac Europe
Daniele Perotti
Tel.: +32 67 34 64 03
E-mail : email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Chelsea [2] manager Roberto Di Matteo [3] has said speculation linking former Barcelona [4] manager Pep Guardiola [5] with the Blues doesn't affects him, and added that he is very confident of his abilities.
The Champions League-winning manager also rebuffed suggestions that he is just keeping the Chelsea hot-seat warm for the Spaniard.
Di Matteo was confirmed as permanent Blues boss last month, almost four weeks after lifting the European Cup in Munich's Allianz Arena.
But he only got the nod after Guardiola made it clear to Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich that he is taking a year long sabbatical of football.
Now seasoned Chelsea watchers reckon Guardiola could be parachuted in at Stamford Bridge next summer, despite Di Matteo signing a two-year contract worth 60,000 pound a week.
"I don't feel any shadow above me or behind me. There has been speculation about other managers since day one and I have always lived with it pretty well. Everyone can say what they want," The Sun quoted Di Matteo, as saying.
"I will just focus on my job and try to do the best I can. I'm pretty happy with my new contract and that's why I signed it. But I have been in football all my life and I understand how this business works," he added.
"I clearly know that managers are judged by results. It's no different for me than anyone else. The pressure is always there. Chelsea are always looking to win things and last season was not easy even if the end of the campaign was a pretty fantastic time," he said.
Di Matteo further said: "There were never any doubts for me and I'm very happy to be here. Now I'm looking forward to working with this group of players and bringing more success to the club." (ANI [6])
[1] http://www.syndigate.info
[2] http://www.chelseafc.com/
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Di_Matteo
[4] http://www.fcbarcelona.com/
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josep_Guardiola
[6] http://www.aninews.in


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The SSD Diaries: Crucial's RealSSD C300by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 13, 2010 12:39 AM EST
Random Read/Write Speed
The four corners of SSD performance are as follows: random read, random write, sequential read and sequential write speed. Random accesses are generally small in size, while sequential accesses tend to be larger and thus we have the four Iometer tests we use in all of our reviews.
Our first test reads/writes 4KB in a completely random pattern over an 8GB space of the drive to simulate the sort of random access that you'd see on an OS drive (even this is more stressful than a normal desktop user would see). I perform three concurrent IOs and run the test for 3 minutes. The results reported are in average MB/s over the entire time.
The C300 offers by far the best random read performance of any SSD we've tested. This applies to both the 256GB and 128GB versions of the C300, and while operating on a 3Gbps SATA controller. There's a roughly 38% performance advantage over the SandForce based OCZ Vertex 2 and Intel X25-M G2. There's hardly any benefit to moving to a 6Gbps controller here as the transfer rates don't even saturate 1.5Gbps SATA.
Random write speed is similarly high, but not quite as dominant. Intel's X25-M G2 simply shows its age here. You must keep in mind that the G2 was a mild update to the original X25-M, an architecture that was designed back in 2006 - 2007 and first sold in 2008. The X25-M G2 is simply an old architecture by today's standards. While it makes a great value SSD, there should be no surprise that a C300 is over twice as fast in our 4KB random write test.
It's the SandForce comparison that's less cut and dry. By default Iometer uses data that is highly repetitive in nature. While our random test writes data to random addresses, the contents of the data itself isn't random. The Vertex 2's SF-1200 controller recognizes the obvious pattern in the data and just doesn't write most of it to the drive. This is the best case scenario for the SandForce controller architecture. Now it's absolutely a realistic workload, but not always likely.
Using a custom build of Iometer we are able to write completely random data to the drive. This data can't be compressed and effectively defeats SandForce's write amplification reduction algorithm. I'd argue that this scenario is even less likely than one where the data is nearly infinitely compressible, at least for a desktop user. SandForce claims that an install of Windows 7 + Office 2007 requires less than half the writes on one of its drives compared to a traditional SSD.
The point here is that while I can present performance in both cases, the real world write performance of the Vertex 2 and other SandForce drives will be somewhere in between the two numbers you see represented in the chart above. And compared to the 128GB C300, I'd say it's likely that the Vertex 2 has the advantage in 4K random write performance. The 256GB drive improves performance enough where I'd be comfortable saying it's probably a tossup between the two.
The 6Gbps performance is an odd story to tell here. The 128GB drive actually performs the same regardless of whether or not it's on our 6Gbps controller, however the 256GB drive takes a performance hit going to the 6Gbps controller (HighPoint Rocket 620, using the Marvell 88SE9128 controller similar to many motherboards). This is purely a fault of the controller and unfortunately one of the tradeoffs you'll have to make with the move to 6Gbps. It's very difficult to beat Intel's own SATA controller.
Many of you have asked for random write performance at higher queue depths. What I have below is our 4KB random write test performed at a queue depth of 32 instead of 3. While the vast majority of desktop usage models experience queue depths of 0 - 5, higher depths are possible in heavy I/O workloads:
While the 128GB C300 is slower than the 100GB Vertex 2, the 256GB version hangs with the SandForce posterchild. If you need the capacity, the 256GB C300 is easily a good performer even at high queue depths.
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Breit - Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - linkyes, a sandforce drive should be slower in general when used with third party encryption as all data seems random to the drive then and the compression algorithms have nothing to compress. i'm not sure if the sf1200 controller can, but the sf1500 controller definitely can encrypt the data on the drive by themself storing it in an aes-128 encrypted format.
quote from the sandforce site:
"DuraClass technology automatically stores data in a secure, AES-128 encrypted format. This also prevents would-be thieves from extracting data directly from the flash memory should they ever have access to the drive."
question is how good or usable their implementation is?! :) Reply
sparkuss - Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - linkI asked this question in a previous review and once again you note your "using the Marvell 88SE9128 controller similar to many motherboards".
Did you only use the WIN7 MSAHCI and INTEL IMSM 8.9 on both the onboard SATA2 and Rocket 620?
This is of interest to many on the Crucial boards concerning the lack of TRIM support in Marvell drivers for their 9123/9128 controllers. Reply
mattgmann - Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - linklast year the ssd market was pretty cut and clear with what was good and what wasn't. There have been a lot of advances recently, and it's getting hard to keep track of what manufacturers with what controllers work well in what configurations. I'd really love to see an SSD buying guide with all of the current drives, possibly separated into workstation, laptop, and server use sections.
thanks Reply
willscary - Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - linkI just sent my first SSD back to Crucial. I called. They RMA'ed me and will send a replacement ASAP. I am impressed. I have 5 year warranties on the M225 series SSDs, and they never even blinked...send it back and they will replace it.
This was the only M225 that I have installed that does not have 1916 firmware.
My comment is on the prices. If any of you recall, I was the guy who already had bought, installed and used 5 Crucial M225 128GB SSDs when I decided to try Sandforce in the OWC SSD. After I bought the SSD and ON THE DAY IT SHIPPED, OWC changed their website and said that the controllers were Sandforce 1200 and not the 1500 that I was told when I puurchased. It was still a good deal, but I was upset with the bait and switch, so I refused delivery and had it returned.
I then purchased a Crucial M225 for myself, this one the 256GB flavor.
I want to say that I have had no problems. Peak reads reach about 240MB/s and average reads are about 215MB/sec with large files. Writes are less, about 175-180MB/sec for larger files. With small files like Anand uses, my writes are about 125MB/sec and my small file reads are about 145MB/sec.
Very small files read and write much slower, in the 5-25MB/sec range, but those are files that are very small...in the 4-20KB range.
What amazes me is the speed. While 5MB/sec may sound slow, it is not, at least when you consider that these are 4KB files. These small files write and read nearly instantly.
I paid $525 for the drive. I have seen them as low as $509. This is a great price! Now that I have seen the newest article here by Anand, I really understand that my outdated M225 is still a great deal at $525.
I would like to see this drive, or a comparable one, listed in the lineup with these newer drives. While not as fast, I believe them to be a good value when sale priced. I even saw a Western Digital 128GB SSD a few weeks ago for $219 with free shipping. They were gone very quickly! Reply
Makaveli - Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - linkThat was a good read thanks. Reply
pesos - Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - linkHi Anand,
Thanks for the followup review - I have been using a 256gb C300 on each of my Poweredge T710 servers for the last few months with great results.
I am curious - does applying the destructive firmware update restore the drive to peak performance, or should it be coupled with some kind of secure erase?
Wes Reply
elimliau - Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - linkHi,
Has anyone made the above work, mine cant?
elimliau Reply
sparkuss - Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - linkelimliau,
You need to head over to the Crucial SSD forum. I have seen several threads and posts on that specific card/board.
http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-Drives-SSD... Reply
sparkuss - Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - linkEDIT: You may have to register to get that link to work, sorry Reply
foo-bar - Friday, July 16, 2010 - linkThis is all very interesting, and new SSDs seems to hit the market constantly. But the differences seems to be mostly software related i.e firmware. What are the bottleneck to get full SATA speed? Is it the NAND flash them selves? And if so, what is on the horizon when it comes to this type of memory? Reply


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Come visit our Farm Stand at the entrance of the Veggielution farm and pick up some farm fresh veggies, harvested every week by our staff and volunteers. Don't forget to bring your own bag, or purchase a Veggielution tote bag during your visit.
We are committed to providing fresh, locally grown produce to the community at an affordable cost. Our produce will always be sold at prices set lower than market rate for organic fruits and veggies. We gladly accept cash, debit, credit, and EBT (food stamps).
What do we do with the unsold produce? We donate it to Recovery Cafe.
And while you're at the Farm Stand, grab a copy of our Veggielution Cookbook ($20) to discover healthy and creative ways to enjoy your farm produce.
You can also purchase Veggielution merchandise to show your support. Items available at the Farm Stand include T-shirts, tote bags, garden trowels, stickers, pint glasses, water bottles, healthy snacks, as well as various herbs and seeds to grow in your own garden. Veggielution merchandise also make great gifts!
If you can't make it out to the Farm Stand, you can now also buy our merchandise online.


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Establish feedback protocols. Give staff regular, timely feedback which improves efficiency by reinforcing the job performance you want and discouraging behaviors you don't want. Feedback helps you work better with your team because employees appreciate knowing how they are doing and how they can improve. Don't forget to solicit feedback from staff as well which further assists in efforts to improve hospital operations. Address any employee concerns and strive to facilitate creative problem-solving.
Develop managers. Managers play an integral role in employee engagement. First and foremost, managers must be engaged themselves before they can be a driver to increase employee engagement in the practice. If managers are frustrated and unhappy about aspects of their job, they aren't likely to be a positive influence on the rest of the team. Formulate a plan to increase managers' engagement if they are not fully engaged.
Create employee developmental plans. Employee developmental plans improve job satisfaction and employee engagement because they facilitate training and career development. If the hospital is slow, there is no excuse not to spend time on training and staff development. Tailor developmental plans for each team member. Set quarterly or monthly goals for employees to undergo training necessary to achieve new skills or proficiency levels.
The above strategies will improve morale for your team and help the practice reap the benefits of employee engagement. Engaged employees are committed to your business and happy in their jobs which translates to higher employee retention and productivity. Engaged team members help elevate the level of patient care and client service which also helps drive practice profitability.


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Choose a department:
Our UK deliveries will normally take between 3 and 6 working days to arrive.
All bulk wholesale deliveries are at cost and excluded from free delivery.
For rates to UK Islands and International destinations see our Delivery page
Echinaforce With Echinacea 250mg ingredients: Extract of Echinacea purpurea herb and root, lactose, starch and magnesium stearate. One 250mg tablet contains extract of Echinacea purpurea equivalent to 270mg of whole fresh plant or 60mg of whole dried plant.
A. Vogel Echinaforce drops and tablets are made from extracts of fresh, organically grown Echinacea purpurea, which is important as research has shown that not all Echinacea is the same. Those made with extracts produced from fresh plants contain almost three times more active substances compared with those obtained from equivalent amounts of dried herb.
Recommended Dosage : Adults: 2 tablets to be taken 2 to 3 times daily. Children: (6-12 yrs) 1 tablet to be taken 2 to 3 times daily.
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Pasco River Ridge Middle School gets new principal
Shifts continue in the leadership of Pasco County schools, with the appointment of Sunlake High assistant principal Marcy Maxwell to run River Ridge Middle.
Maxwell replaces Jason Joens, who moves over to the principalship of Gulf Middle School. That slot came open with the retirement of Stan Trapp.
A teacher since 2003, Maxwell has taught at Wesley Chapel High, where she also was an assistant principal, a job she also held at Land O'Lakes High and Sunlake. She has not worked in a middle school before, but said she was "excited" at the prospect.
Her transfer opens a position at Sunlake High, which will be filled by Weightman Middle assistant principal Tracey Bruno.


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Star Trek Voyager Communicator BadgeItem #: 21925
Add the product directly to your basket by clicking the checkbox
Star Trek Voyager Communicator Badge
An officially licensed fan item for true Star Trek fans
"Star Trek" is an American science fiction franchise. Star Trek books, numerous tv series' and films make up the main canon of the epic science fiction story. Even afterdecades Captain James T. Kirk and his science officer Mister Spock are very likely to be the most famous Star Trek characters of all. In the fourth television series "Star Trek: Voyager" Captain Janeway is the the first female commanding officer in a leading role. With the Star Trek Voyager Communicator Badge you too can become a member of a starship and meet the challenges of outer space.
The officially licensed Star Trek Voyager Communicator Badge is made of hand-painted silver and gold coloured metal and resin. Its design was based on an original prop from the series. The two-piece badge features a strong magnetic claspso it will safely adhere to your Star Trek uniform. The Darth Vader Lightsaber and the Stormtrooper Costume are some more of our cool accessories for science fiction fans.
- Includes: 1 x Star Trek Voyager Communicator Badge
- Colour: silver / gold
- Size: approx. 5 x 5 cm
- Material: metal / resin


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Officials from Dune Medical Devices announce that the company has received CE approval for compliance with the European Union's medical directive for its next generation MarginProbe System console. The MarginProbe System Type 1.2 is a more compact and portable version of the MarginProbe System console which will allow users greater flexibility while locating the hardware component of the MarginProbe System in their operating theaters. In addition to its improved aesthetics and compact size, the improvements in overall design allow for streamlined manufacturing and overall lower manufacturing costs.
"We're excited to have achieved another significant milestone as we bring the benefits of the MarginProbe System to more and more patients throughout Europe. This new and improved version of the MarginProbe System allows easier transport for our customers and for our sales representatives and we believe will help to expand the use of MarginProbe in more and more breast surgery cases in the EU," states Dan Levangie, CEO of Dune Medical Devices.
About Early-Stage Breast Cancer Treatment
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer affecting women in the U.S., with over 285,000 women diagnosed each year.i Increased breast screening awareness and advancements in imaging technology such as mammograms now catch more breast cancer cases in earlier stages, when they are most treatable. In fact, over half of all breast cancer diagnoses are for early-stage cancers. Many of these cases are non-palpable, meaning a tumor cannot be felt during a breast exam.
It is estimated that 60% to 75% of breast cancer cases will undergo a lumpectomy procedure as their initial treatmentv versus mastectomy, which involves the removal of the whole breast. Lumpectomy in combination with radiation therapy is as effective in combating breast cancer as mastectomy, as long as no cancer cells are present on the rim or edge of the removed tissue, also known as "clean margins." Research shows there is no significant difference in overall survival between the two procedures;ii,iii however, if there is cancer at the edge, or a "positive margin," the risk of recurrence increases significantly.
Following a lumpectomy, surgeons will send the removed tissue to the pathology lab where it is analyzed for cancer on the margin. This is critical information because if there is cancer present on the edges of the removed tissue, there is a possibility that cancer still remains in the breast. Once a tissue sample is sent to pathology for analysis, it can take approximately one week or more to receive the lab results that determine if the patient must undergo a repeat surgery.
Inability to know if all cancerous cells have been removed from the breast during the initial lumpectomy procedure results in repeat surgery rates ranging from 30% to 60%.iv
i Journal of the American Medical Association: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1104931#Abstract
ii American Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/document/acspc-030975.pdf
iii Fisher B, et al. Twenty-year follow-up of a randomized trial comparing total mastectomy, lumpectomy, and lumpectomy plus irradiation for the treatment of invasive breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2002;347(16):1233-1241.
iv Fisher B, et al. Twenty-year follow-up of a randomized trial comparing total mastectomy, lumpectomy, and lumpectomy plus irradiation for the treatment of invasive breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2002;347(16):1233-1241.


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Ordesia Empire
Areshia Spirit Academy
Team ScarletOne of the three teams representing Ordesia Empire.
Kamito Kazehaya
Voiced by: Makoto FurukawaThe Hero of our story. Three years ago he won the Blade Dance as Ren Ashbell. Now, having lost his contracted spirit, he is lured to Areshia Spirit Academy by Greyworth to compete in the Dance once more.
- The Antichrist: As the reincarnation of the Demon King, he is potentially this.
- Anti Anti Christ: He's trying not to lose himself to his powers.
- Attractive Bent-Gender: Oh ye gods.
- Brought Down to Badass: Three years of inactivity greatly weakened his abilities as an Elementalist. However, he's still much stronger than a lot of Elementalists.
- Battle Harem: He has one, though surprisingly not everyone in his harem is in it.
- The Berserker: When he starts to accept the power of the Demon King sleeping within him, he becomes this.
- Butt-Monkey: Gets blamed for pretty much everything, with nearly every girl in the world believing that he's a complete pervert.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Jio exploits this by gunning for his teammates, which usually leads to Kamito tanking powerful attacks in order to protect them.
- Clueless Chick Magnet: To an extent. He flirts with girls and teases them for fun, but it doesn't occur to him that they could end up having serious feelings for him. Justified as the two women he had interactions with before were Restia and Greyworth. It's basically the only way he knows to interact with them.
- Conspicuous Gloves: He always wears gloves on his left hand in order to hide the spirit seal of Restia. This is because any Elementalist whom sees it would immediately realize that he's Ren Ashbell.
- He later drops it after he loses Restia's seal and his subsequent reforming of contract with her, considering he's no longer even trying to hide his identity at all aside from keeping the remaining members of Team Scarlet who are still in the dark Rinslet and Ellis hopes and dreams for Ren Ashbell alive.
- Cool Sword: He has two of them. Both of which turn into beautiful girls.
- Diagonal Cut: Violet Flash, a single strike so fast most opponents can't see it. Also the attack Greyworth beat him down with on their first meeting.
- Deadpan Snarker: Any time he isn't teasing someone.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: He's often weakened or wounded in some way so he doesn't immediately curb stomp most of his opponents.
- Dual Wielding: His original style.
- Gloriously brought back when he wields both Est and Restia.
- Embarrassing Nickname: The Demon King of the Night, much to his dismay.
- Eventually expands to ''Demon King of the Daytime'', ''Demon King of the Afternoon'', ''Demon King of the Morning''....
- After the Blade Dance, he also received the name the Sex Elemental Lord.
- Eventually expands to ''Demon King of the Daytime'', ''Demon King of the Afternoon'', ''Demon King of the Morning''....
- Enemy Mine: In the 13th Volume, fought along side Luminaris Saint Leisched.
- Everything's Better with Spinning: Shadow Moon Waltz, an anti-army technique.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Unfortunately for him, he is subject to being called a pervert. It even spread to other countries.
- Hero-Worshipper: Much to his dismay, nearly every Elementalist of his generation views his Ren Ashbell persona as such, with the tales and exaggerations reaching the point of Folk Hero/Purity Sue levels. This is one of his reasons for not revealing his secret, even to his friends, so he wouldn't break their dreams.
- Insistent Terminology: Insists on being addressed by his given name during his first encounter with Est.
- Lightning Bruiser: Back during his days as Ren Ashbell. Just about the only opponents that could give him a hard time were Elementalists with Holy Elemental spirits, as Restia, being of Darkness Element, is at a serious disadvantage against.
- Master Swordsman: Was one back in the day as Ren Ashbell. He regains his former power over the course of the series, and surpasses it when he dual wields Restia and Est
- Only Sane Man: Is often completely dumbfounded by the antics of his friends.
- Real Men Cook: Is capable of making dishes from canned food.
- Red Baron: Was known as the Strongest Blade Dancer during his days as Ren Ashbell.
- Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: Before her defeat, Ren Ashdoll sealed her power within humanity itself and would manifest onto individuals throughout history. All have either gone crazy or were destroyed by her power. All, except for Kamito.
- Spam Attack: Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance, his finishing move. The number of hits in the attack varies.
- This technique was designed to kill Archdemon-Class Spirits. Even nerfed as he is, few people take it and survive.
- Submissive Badass: Willing follows Claire's orders. Though some compare it to putting up with a spoiled kitten.
- Supernatural Martial Arts: The Absolute Blade Arts techniques he learned from Greyworth.
- The Tease: Is not above teasing the girls, especially due to their lack of knowledge around men.
- Tranquil Fury: when he is truly pushed past his breaking point.
- Unwanted Harem: Oy vey. Claire, Fianna, Est, Ellis, Rinslet, Muir, Restia, and Leonora. And these are only the primary characters.
- Willfully Weak:
- Despite being weakened due to his three years of inactivity as an Elementalist, he still holds back against his opponents. Justified because his true fighting style involves techniques only Ren Ashbell and Greyworth knew, so using it would reveal that he is Ren Ashbell.
- Eventually he starts using them anyway, and tries to pass it off as having studied under the same master as Ren Ashbell. It works... for a while.
Claire Rouge/Claire Elstein
Voiced by: Ibuki KidoA young girl Kamito meets on his way to the Areshia Spirit Academy. After seeing Kamito form a contract, she declares him her slave spirit and forces him to form a team with her. She is actually the younger sister of the Calamity Queen, Rubia Elstein, a fact which has caused her to be ostracized from nearly everyone. Her wish is to meet her sister and discover why she betrayed the Elemental Lords and her country.
- A-Cup Angst: She has small breasts.
- A Date with Rosie Palms: Tried massaging her chest to make it grow. Kamito walks in and immediately closes the door and walks away.
- Action Girl: While she isn't on Kamito's level, she is an extremely skilled combatant in her own right.
- Big Sister Worship: Holds her sister, Rubia, in high regard and won't stand for it when someone speaks lowly of her.
- Broken Bird: Kamito learns that the reputation of her sister also rubbed off on her as a result of her betrayal. Because of that, she lost everything, and is extremely protective of anyone trying to take him away from her, fearing she'd lose him as well. Fortunately Kamito realizes this, and tries not to do anything too rash that would cause her to feel he'd abandon her.
- Broken Pedestal: Her sister's betrayal of the Flame Elemental Lord and the resulting consequences to her parents completely shattered her world and changed the shy, timid girl into the current Fiery Redhead.
- Catch-Phrase: Turn into charcoal! (Turn to ash)!
- Childhood Friends: To Rinslet. The feeling is mutual, not that either would ever admit it though.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Does not like seeing Kamito around other girls, whether it's Rinslet, Ellis, or even his contracted spirit Est.
- Covert Pervert: Actually reads and enjoys rather risque novels.
- Embarrassing Nickname: "Zannen mune", owing to her lack of feminine assets.
- Expressive Hair: Her hair tends to flail around when she's angry. This is because Elementalists can take on attributes of their contracted spirit.
- Fiery Redhead: She has red hair and appropriately enough, has a short temper.
- Freudian Excuse: The reason she acts like a little brat is because she lost everything after her sisters betrayal, and was nearly universally scorned for her relation to Rubia. This happened when she was ten years old.
- Girlish Pigtails: Of the two side up variety.
- Lethal Chef: The food she cooks resembles charcoals.
- Loners Are Freaks: She feels she has no one to rely on, mostly because of her relation to her sister who earned a very bad reputation amongst people after her betrayal and disappearance. Despite that, Kamito sees that there are people who still care about her, such as Rinslet, though they're both too proud to ever admit it.
- Playing with Fire: Her primary element.
- Rebuilt Pedestal: After learning the truth from her sister.
- The Rival: To Rinslet.
- Schmuck Bait: Rinslet tells her that if the boy she likes rubs her breasts, they'll grow bigger. Claire has an Imagine Spot of that happening. Fianna later tells her it's not true.
- Shana Clone: Fills most of the requirements of this role and like the prime example she does eventually grow out of it.
- The Strategist: Surprisingly for her character type, she is the leader of Team Scarlet in more than name, and repeatedly gives out effective winning strategies.
- Tsundere: She's nearly as bad as Louise at first, though she warms up significantly.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Before Rubia's betrayal happened, she was an adorable little Moe Blob.
- Vitriolic Best Friends: With Rinslet, though she won't admit it.
- Whip It Good: Her Elemental Waffe. She uses a normal one to direct Scarlet in battle, and to hit Kamito.
- Zettai Ryouiki: A bonafide Grade S. Tsundere? Check! And the Girlish Pigtails too? Got it!
Terminus Est/"Est"note
Voiced by: Ai KakumaA Steel Elemental Spirit that takes the form of a young girl. She was sealed within a sword and is the most powerful Steel Elemental Spirit in the world.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Especially against other swords, as Est is a Steel Sword Spirit of the highest class, most opposing swords are destroyed by her on contact.
- Anti-Magic: Est has the ability to completely negate and repel magic. Everything she negates is actually absorbed into herself, and once it reaches a certain point, will be transferred to her master, killing them.
- BFS: Can turn into this.
- Big Eater: Loves to eat, especially sweets. Once, she ordered and consumed all the sweets on a restaurant menu. As a spirit, she doesn't actually need to consume human foods. Her desire to eat was due to the influence of her previous master, Areshia.
- Brought Down to Badass: Due to her incomplete contract, she can't even bring out 1/10th of her true power. Just note that even in her current state, she's still fully capable of one-shotting most spirits and can completely negate all but the most powerful spells.
- It's been stated that at her full power, even the Elemental Lords were terrified of her.
- Cast from Hit Points: Her powers gradually becomes this for her master.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Acts like this around Restia, since Kamito is her master. She also gets upset when he kisses Claire to form a contract, and says she's within her rights to kiss him as well.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Est unknowingly killed Areshia Idriss, her previous master, when she absorbed all of Est's stored curses throughout the years.
- The Dreaded: Restia mentions that even she would not dare make fun of Est if she was her original Sacred Sword self. Even the Elemental Lords are terrified of her.
- Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: As a Steel Elemental Spirit, she naturally have a harder time against Shield Elemental Spirits. "A harder time" as in it takes a little more effort for her to cut through them.
- Emotionless Girl: How she normally acts.
- Establishing Character Moment: When she first shows up in human form, Kamito sees her completely naked except for some thigh-high stockings. Later Rinslet has Fenrir attack him out of jealousy, only for Est to then put the wolf in its place. She also ends up bending Ellis's sword after she assumes he's being a playboy with a new girl.
- Innocent Fanservice Girl: When he wakes up in the morning, Kamito almost always discovers Est sleeping next to him almost completely naked (almost, in that she's wearing thigh-high knee socks). Justified because she's actually a spirit and her attitude towards Kamito is not much different than say, Scarlet treating Claire.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Due to her incomplete contract with Kamito, her memories are fragmented and she can't recall much of her past.
- Legendary Weapon: Est is potentially The Sacred Sword of Severian, the legendary sword that Areishia Idriss once used to defeat the Demon King. However, Kamito notes that there are rumors of the Sacred Sword's possible location from all over the world. She really is the Sacred Sword.
- Light Is Not Good: Est certainly is good, the way her powers work on the other hand...
- Morph Weapon: Can freely change shape into any type of sword in order to suit her master's needs.
- Red Baron: Known as the Demon Slayer.
- Serious Business: In her human form, she has no issues being completely naked other than wearing some thigh-high stockings. But if she suspects Kamito wants her to take those off, she acts as if he were asking a normal girl to strip off her underwear. He does lampshade the silliness of that logic.
- Split Personality: As a result of her incomplete contract with Kamito, Est was split into two personalities. The current Est, with limited recollection of her past, and Sacred Sword Est, her past self.
- Undying Loyalty: To Kamito. Her original had this to Areshia as well. As they have become separate entities, Est's loyalty is now totally with Kamito. To drive this home, she declared that if Kamito became the Demon King, then she would be the Demon King's Sword rather than betray him.
- Unholy Holy Sword: She's actually a Demon Sword. All the resentment/curses from the spirits slain by Est are absorbed by her and will eventually pass it onto her master. In the past, she unknowingly killed her previous master, Areishia Idriss and as a result, sealed herself in seclusion in order to never harm anyone ever again. Despite this, Kamito accepted Est, and upon victory in the Blade Dance, plans on using his wish to truly turn Est into a Sacred Sword.
- Zettai Ryouiki: She wears knee-high socks.
Scarlet/Scarlet Valkyrie, OrtlindeClaire's hellcat contract spirit. She is a spirit passed down the Elstein family.
- Cat Girl: Her true form.
- Playing with Fire: She is a flame spirit.
- Sinister Scythe: She wields one in her true form.
- Super-Powered Evil Side: Is temporarily given a chaotic enhancement, which spreads to the other spirits.
- Valkyries: Her true name is from a Valkyrie from The Ring of the Nibelung.
Rinslet Laurenfrost
Voiced by: Kana YukiThe eldest of the Laurenfrost family.
- An Ice Person: Specializes in ice magic.
- The Archer: Her Elemental Waffe is an ice bow and arrow.
- Childhood Friends: To Claire. The feeling is mutual, not that either would ever admit it though.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Doesn't take it well when she first meets a naked Est in the same bed as Kamito, especially as the latter was clinging onto him. She even goes so far as to have Fenrir attack him, though Est quickly puts the wolf in its place.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has blonde hair and has an affable personality.
- Mama Bear: Her reaction to Claire being bullied is to pull out her bow and point it at the bully's face.
- Meido: Hilariously, to her own personal maid.
- Ojou: The most high class of the Academy of high class ladies.
- Supreme Chef: Is really good at cooking. Taken Up to Eleven when her cooking is enough to summon an Elemental Lord.
- Tsundere: Type B to Claire's Type A.
- Vitriolic Best Friends: With Claire, though she won't admit it. As a result, Kamito does comment that Claire, despite what she thinks, does have people who do look out for her.
FenrirAn ice wolf spirit. He is Rinslet's contract spirit.
- An Ice Person: An ice spirit.
- Big, Friendly Dog: Doesn't mind Claire using him as a pillow.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Named for Fenrir of Norse Mythology.
- Stomach of Holding: Can store items in his stomach.
Ellis Fahrengart
Voiced by: Shizuka IshigamiA student at the Areshia Spirit Academy and the current leader of the academy's Sylphid Knights. A serious girl whom is charged with maintaining order and discipline to the students, as well as protecting the citizens from hostile spirits.
- Boobs of Steel: The strongest of the main (human) female cast in physical combat. Also coincidentally, by far the biggest bust.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Doesn't take it too well when she first runs into Kamito walking around with Est. She even points her sword at him, prompting Est to bend it as if it were paper.
- Cuteness Proximity: Towards Scarlet.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She started out as an antagonist. She's now the team member who tag teams with Kamito the most.
- Flight: Can fly due to her control over wind.
- Razor Wind: Her spear elemental waffe is capable of doing this, as even if you were to evade her attacks, you can still be cut by her wind.
- Tomboyish Ponytail: Has her hair up like this.
- The Worf Effect: Despite being noted as a strong and skilled knight, she is often either defeated or has a hard time against her opponents in order to show off the strength of their opponents.
SimorghEllis's contract spirit.
- Blade on a Stick: Transforms into a spear as an elemental waffe.
- Blow You Away: A wind spirit.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Named for the Simurgh of Persian Mythology.
- Tears of Joy: Ellis usually finds other spirits cuter than him, causing him to cry when Restia calls him cute.
Fianna Ray Ordesia
Voiced by: Saori OnishiThe Ordesia Empire's second princess.
- Big Breast Pride: She's quite proud of her large bust, and enjoys teasing Claire about it. Subverted later when it turns out she was using pads, partly to hide her bloodstone, but partly because she heard men like big breasts. Kamito tells her some men like smaller ones too, which gives both her and Claire some hope.
- Embarrassing Nickname: The Lost Queen is one to her.
- Faux Action Girl: She isn't of much use in combat because of her lack of training, along with losing her contracted spirit years earlier after a fight with Claire's sister.
- Forgotten First Meeting: She and Kamito actually met three years ago, but he doesn't remember until she pulls her hair back into the same style from that time.
- The Gad Fly: She really loves to tease Kamito in front of Claire to provoke the latter into getting mad at him.
- Intimate Healing: Because Kamito's body rejects holy magic she is forced to do this when treating him. Not that she minds.
- Lethal Chef: Her cooking is terrible, but she normally adds sleeping medicine so her unfortunate victim never really notices.
- The Load: Secretly resents the fact that she is this to her team. As a result, she's trying to secretly force summon Georgios' elemental waffe.
- My Greatest Failure: Being unable to defeat Claire's sister.
- New Transfer Student: She immediately transfers to the Areshia Spirit Academy the moment she learns that a "newly" discovered male Elementalist is attending, knowing it must be Kamito.
- Rescue Romance: Falls in love with Kamito when he rescued her in the forest several years earlier.
- Royal Rapier: Her elemental waffe, but it is not used for direct combat.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Though she claims she's no longer royalty and has been officially erased from their history books, she is still treated as one by Kamito and Claire, especially when they stop Jio from breaking Jorgumand's seal.
- Secret Keeper: She's one of the few people whom knows that Kamito is actually Ren Ashbell. Doesn't stop her from mercilessly teasing him about it though.
- She Is All Grown Up: Why Kamito failed to recognize her.
- Squishy Wizard: Has no actual direct combat training. She gets tired after just running for a short time and relies completely on Georgios and her friends to protect her.
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: She tells Claire and Kamito that she lost her contracted spirit a few years back, and was hoping to win the latest Blade Dance in order to regain it. However, that proves unnecessary after her strong desire to protect Kamito from Jio Inzagi's attack recovers the spirit and allows them to defeat Jio.
- The Tease: To Kamito. Especially to Kamito.
GeorgiosFianna's holy knight contract spirit.
- The Dragonslayer: He is a knight spirit and specializes in fighting dragons. At least one-on-one.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Takes the form of a knight.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Name for Saint George.
- Stone Wall: Georgios has a strong defense and it takes a lot to take him down.
- Treasure Chest Cavity: He can hold items in his chest.
Sylphid KnightsAreishia Spirit Academy's knights who are made up of students. They act like a public morals committee.
RakkaA member of the Sylphid Knights and friends with Ellis and Reisha.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Her contract spirit, Cabracan.
- Drop the Hammer: Her elemental waffe, Rock Breaker.
ReishiaA member of the Sylphid Knights and friends with Ellis and Rakka.
- Braids of Action: Has them befitting a Knight.
- Cool Sword: Her elemental waffe is an ice sword.
- Long Hair Is Feminine: Has long hair in braids.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Has tea colored hair.
Velsaria Eva FahrengartEllis's older-step-sister and former leader of the Sylphid Knights.
- Brought Down to Normal: After Kamito defeats her for the second time and removes the Cursed Armament Seal from her body, she ended up losing all her abilities as an Elementalist. It may be years before her power returned, if it ever will.
- The Bus Came Back: She reappears 10 volumes later in Volume 13, being imprisoned next to Jio Inzagi and Vivian Melosa.
- Covert Pervert: When Rubia arranges for Team Scarlet to act as Kamito's concubines so he can act as a Demon King, Velsaria demands to know why she wasn't chosen for that role too, though she tries to deny that she actually wanted to be a part of it.
- Disc-One Final Boss: She serves as one at the end of the anime.
- Happily Adopted: She was adopted into the Fahrengart family and Ellis treats her like she is her real older sister.
- Powered Armor: What her elemental waffe, Silent Fortress, originally took form as three years ago.
- Power at a Price: In order to gain more power and face Ren Ashbell again, she ended up using a Cursed Armament Seal. While it did end up greatly increasing her power, it also rapidly destroyed her body and altered her personality.
- Put on a Bus: After her defeat in Volume 3, she was sent to Balsas Prison.
- Secret Keeper: She realized that Kamito is really Ren Ashbell after being defeated by her/him the second time.
- Shipper on Deck: Unsurprisingly, she ships her sister and Kamito.
- Shoulder Cannons: The original weapons of her elemental waffe.
- Single-Stroke Battle: How she lost against Ren Ashbellnote three years ago.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Her anger towards Ren Ashbellnote wasn't so much losing to her, but rather because she didn't even so much as acknowledged her as her opponent.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Became this after losing to Ren Ashbellnote . The reason was due to the Cursed Armament Seal that she used on her body.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Played for Laughs. She expects Ellis and Kamito to have only held hands at most and even then, she considers that to be a swift development in their relationship. This isn't the case due to Seirei being a harem series.
Greyworth Ciel Mais
Voiced by: Mai NakaharaThe principal of Areshia Spirit Academy. Former winner of a Blade Dance and former #1 of the Numbers. Taught Kamito her Absolute Blade Arts.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: At the end of Volume 14, she's being controlled by the Holy Kingdom of Lugia.
- Brought Down to Normal: Losses her abilities as an Elementalist after teaching Kamito Absolute Blade Arts-Final Form, Last Strike. At least until the Holy Kingdom of Lugia got their hands on her.
- Cool Sword: Her elemental waffe, Storm Bringer.
- Fountain of Youth: She can turn into her younger form.
- Red Baron: Known as Dusk Witch.
- Retired Badass: A former member of the Numbers.
- Supernatural Martial Arts: The Absolute Blade Arts. She was the one who taught Kamito.
Freya GrandolThe teacher in-charge of Raven Class.
- Casting a Shadow: Her contract spirit allows her to travel through shadows.
- Motherly Side Plait: Her hair style in the anime.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Being a teacher, she is smart.
Other Students
Adamantine Elementalist & Demon Mirror ElementalistTwo senior students who are antagonistic to Claire. They were former members of the Sylphid Knights.
- Dirty Cop: Until Ellis booted them from the Sylphid Knights.
- Full-Boar Action: The Demon Mirror spirit became a boar with a shell when it's Elementalist was affected by the Cursed Armament Seal. Averted in the anime where it just becomes a more demonic looking version of itself.
- Hidden Depths: It is learned in the 3rd Volume that they were former members of the Sylphid Knights who were expelled by Ellis for their unknightly conduct.
- The Marvelous Deer: The Adamantine spirit became this when it's Elementalist was affected by the Cursed Armament Seal.
- Averted in the anime where it just becomes a more demonic looking version of itself.
- No Name Given: Both are only identified by their contract spirits.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: The anime gives the Adamantine Elementalist long lavender hair and the the Demon Mirror Elementalist short lime hair.
NumbersThe Twelve Knight Generals of the Ordesia Empire.
Lurie Lizaldia / YggdraThe empire's highest ranking healer. She is the current #8 of the Numbers.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She at first seem nice and kind, but in reality is a traitor.
- Blood Magic: Her contract spirit's elemental waffe, Mournblade, can take in it's user's blood to strengthen itself.
- Cool Sword: The elemental waffe of one of her contract spirits, Mournblade.
- The Medic: Is the highest ranked healer.
- Red Baron: Known as, Lurie the Miraculous.
Virrey BranfordAn Artificer, she is the current #9 of the Numbers and part of Umbra.
- The Gunslinger: Uses guns to fire spirit crystals.
- Boyish Short Hair: Has short hair and often disguised as a boy on missions since normally there are no male Elementalists.
Dunei LampertAn Elementalist who contracted with an earth spirit. She is the current #4 of the Numbers.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Has a contract with an earth spirit.
Leschkir HirschkiltA gravity Elementalist who is #3.
- The Mole: Like Lurie, she's working for the Holy Kingdom of Lugia.
- Sadist: She enjoys using her gravity to torture others.
Dame Arakeel
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Is loyal to the emperor of Ordesia.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Her Elemental Waffe is this combined with Power Fist.
Ordesia Royal Family
Fianna Ray Ordesia
See above
Arneus Ray OrdesiaThe Ordesia Empire's first prince.
- Despotism Justifies the Means: He's willing to side with Lugia if it means getting crowned.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Despite his arrogance, it's repeatedly stated that the Holy Kingdom of Lugia is the one in control while he's relatively unimportant as an antagonist.
Linnea Ray OrdesiaThe Ordesia Empire's first princess.
Elstein Duke Family
Claire Elstein
See above
Rubia ElsteinThe eldest daughter of the family.
Laurenfrost Family
Rinslet Laurenfrost
See above
Mirelle LaurenfrostThe youngest daughter of the family.
Judia LaurenfrostThe second daughter of the family. She was frozen in ice by the Water Elemental Lord.
- Demonic Possession: Got infected with Otherworldly Darkness and the reason Iseria Seaward froze her.
CarolRinslet's personal maid.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: She is extremely clumsy that she isn't good at her job but its okay since she is cute.
Dracunia Empire
Knights of the Dragon Emperor
Leonora LancasterAn Elementalist of Dracunia, and leader of the Knights of the Dragon Emperor.
- The Berserker: When her Dragon's Blood activates, she starts losing control and thirsts for battle.
- BFS: Her elemental waffe, Dragon Slayer, is as big as she is.
- Going Commando: Princess Maidens whom serve the dragons don't wear underwear.
- Nice Hat: Is almost always wearing a beret.
- Red Baron: The Dragon Princess.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: When her Dragon's Blood activates.
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Ironically, aside from Fianna, despite knowing Kamito the shortest among all the girls, she figures it out before the rest of the girls.
- Worthy Opponent: Sees Kamito as one. She even ignored a chance to face against "Ren Ashbell" because she viewed Kamito as a more worthwhile fight.
Yuri El CidThe second in command of the Knights of the Dragon Empire.
- Blade on a Stick: Her elemental waffe takes the form of a halberd.
Quina Empire
Four Gods
- Anime Chinese Girls: All members are from the in-universe equivalent to China.
- The Four Gods: All members have contract spirits based on the Four Gods, with Linfa having the Kirin.
Linfa Sin QuinaThe third princess of Quina Empire and the commander of the Four Gods.
- Older Than They Look: Is the same age as her companions (16) but looks like a child.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something
Shao FuFour Gods' Ace.
- The Ace: The best fighter of the Four Gods.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Fights hand-to-hand.
- Panthera Awesome: Her contract spirit, White Tiger.
- Power Fist: Her elemental waffe, Divine Tiger Fangs.
Rao RinHakua's older sister.
- Cool Sword: Her elemental waffe.
- Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: Her contract spirit, Azure Dragon.
HakuaRoa Rin's younger sister.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Her elemental waffe.
- Turtle Power: Her contract spirit, Black Tortoise.
Rion SharmaFour God's scout.
- Carry a Big Stick: Her elemental waffe.
- Giant Flyer: Her contract spirit, Vermilion Bird.
Holy Kingdom of Lugia
Sacred Spirit Knights
Sthal Loewe
Luminaris Saint LeischedLeader of the Sacred Spirit Knights. During the previous Blade Dance, she made it to the final round only to be defeated by Ren Ashbell/Kamito and is often regarded by him as his strongest opponent.
- Enemy Mine: In the 13th Volume, she fought along side Kamito still unaware that he was the Ren Ashbell that defeated her.
- Knight Templar: She will follow the orders of her nation without question. During the Blade Dance, she was ordered to kill Restia and attempted to do so, despite not knowing the reason and that doing so would go against the rules of the Blade Dance.
- Red Baron: The Paladin.
- Red Herring: Kamito would mention in nearly every volume that during the previous Blade Dance, she was by far his toughest opponent and that he's not eager to have to face her again. Even an encounter with another team from the Sacred Spirit Knights taunted him about facing her. Despite all this foreshadowing, not only do they not fight during the entire Blade Dance, they never even encountered one another until the closing ceremony. Lampshaded before Scarlet defeats her, as she expresses her dismay that she cannot be defeated here and she still needs to resume her duel with Ren Ashbell and win the Blade Dance.
- The Unfought: To Kamito in the current Blade Dance. Despite nearly every volume giving mention to her and everything foreshadowing their upcoming battle.
- The Worf Effect: After being mentioned as Kamito's strongest opponent, spending most of a volume defeating Restia and hunting down/curb stomping Claire, she was almost immediately defeated to show off the power of the awakened Scarlet.
- This Cannot Be!: Before being defeated by the awakened Scarlet, she expresses her dismay that she cannot be defeated now, since she still needs to resume her duel with Ren Ashbell and win the Blade Dance.
Elemental Lords
Fire Elemental Lord «Volcanicus»The lord of fire spirits. Often depicted as a warrior wielding a blazing sword.
- HeelFace Door-Slam: After being stabbed by Est, he was supposed to be purified, but he ends up reincarnating in the Holy Kingdom of Lugia, which wants to use Otherworldly Darkness for their own ends. Needless to say, his prospects look rather grim.
Wind Elemental Lord «Belphal»The lord of wind spirits. Often depicted as a boy with kind eyes.
Earth Elemental Lord «Lode Gear»The lord of earth spirits. Often depicted as an iron mallet-wielding giant.
Water Elemental Lord «Iseria Seaward»The lord of water spirits. Often depicted as a woman hugging a water jug to her chest.
- Hair Antennae: Has them.
- HeelFace Turn: Since she's the first Elemental Lord to be stabbed by Est, she's also the first to be freed from Otherworldly Darkness.
- The Smurfette Principle: Is the only female Elemental Lord ever since Ren Ashdoll was erased.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Has blue hair.
Holy Elemental Lord «Alexandros»The lord of holy light spirits. Often depicted as an aged man with a scale and bishop's staff.
- Have You Seen My God?: For some reason, he's the only lord who wasn't present at either Blade Dance.
Darkness Elemental Lord «Ren Ashdoll»The lord of darkness spirits. Had her presence erased after losing the Spirit War ages ago.
Restia Ashdoll
Voiced by: Yoko HikasaA demon sword, she is the most powerful Darkness Elemental Spirit in the world and takes the form of a girl. She was Kamito's previous contracted spirit, but she disappeared three years ago for reasons unknown. Discovering her whereabouts is Kamito's main goal. She is actually the embodiment of the will of Ren Ashdoll, the Darkness Elemental Lord. Her goal is to ensure the awakening of the current vessel of Ren Ashdoll's power. ie: Kamito.
- Anti-Magic: Her black dress actually possesses powerful anti-magic properties, but is completely powerless against Holy Elemental attacks.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Acts like this around Est.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Zigzagged. She starts out as Kamito's contracted spirit, only to get corrupted by Otherworldly Darkness. This turns her into a Sink-or-Swim Mentor who is willing to sic all kinds of villains and rampaging spirits on Kamito to make him stronger. However, she willingly stabs herself with Est to purify herself and save Kamito from corruption.
- Dark Magical Girl: She is among the most powerful of the Darkness Elemental Spirits and can use the highest levels of darkness magic.
- Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: As a darkness spirit, she is naturally weak against Holy Elemental attacks.
- Grand Theft Me: She will eventually be taken over by Ren Ashdoll, along with the mysterious corruption that infects her.
- Heroic Sacrifice: She uses Est to kill herself so that Kamito doesn't get corrupted by the Otherworldly Darkness.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: She's brought back without her memories or abilities.
- Morph Weapon: Can fully change her shape into any type of sword in order to suit whatever her master needs.
- Red Baron: Known as the Vorpal Sword.
- Shock and Awe: Vorpal Blast, which is considered Ren Ashbell's signature move.
- Sink-or-Swim Mentor: She wants to get Kamito back to his prime and accomplishes this by teaming up with or manipulating his immediate antagonists. However, she drops this role when Rubia and Laevateinn prove to be unbeatable without her and Est's combined power.
- There's No Kill Like Overkill: Uses Hell Blast, the most powerful Darkness Elemental spell, for everyone including Elementalists, demons, and degenerated spirit ghosts.
Kamito: Completely merciless...
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Everything shes done was to prevent Kamito from becoming the next Demon King.
"Ren Ashbell" Rubia ElsteinAn Elementalist using Kamito's Ren Ashbell identity and is participating in the next Blade Dance. One of Kamito's objectives in the next Blade Dance is to figure out what she's up to. She is eventually revealed to be Rubia Elstein, the Calamity Queen and Claire's older sister. She joined the Blade Dance in order to awaken Kamito as the Demon King.
- Big Damn Heroes: Team Inferno help Kamito and his friends escape from prison in Volume 14.
- Broken Pedestal: She started losing faith in the Elemental Lords after the destruction of Dylus along with countless incidents. Her faith was on the verge of shattering completely after the Flame Elemental Lord demanded Claire's sacrifice, and was completely lost after witnessing the corruption on the Flame Elemental Lord's throne.
- Brought Down to Badass: After her contract with Laevateinn was severed, she lost all her ability as an Elementalist but still retained her Elstein Flames. Claire sealing the Demon King within Kamito also greatly reduced her power.
- Catch-Phrase: Do you want to be turned into charcoal?
- Enemy Mine: She's made alliances with many groups that she knows have differing agendas from her and ends up getting backstabbed a lot, like with the Alphas Theocracy and Murders.
- Fiery Red Head: Her true hair color.
- Hazy Feel Turn: While she and her group become more benevolent towards Kamito, she's still willing to work with just about anybody for the sake of defeating the Otherworldly Darkness, including Murders and Jio.
- Lady of War: As the result of being the Sacred Maiden, she is automatically granted the full combat skills needed to battle the Demon King.
- Pet the Dog: She's sympathetic to the plight of the Alphas Theocracy refugees who were persecuted by Sjora Kahn, since their situation reminds her of the suffering that Elstein's citizens went through.
- Red Baron: The Calamity Queen.
- Reincarnation: She is the reincarnation of the Sacred Maiden, a power bestowed by the Five Great Elemental Lords in response to the Demon King's awakening.
- Rescue Romance: She falls for Kamito after he saved her from Laevateinn, though she didn't realize what she felt meant.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: She gave up everything and was willing to lose both Claire and her own life in order to revive the Demon King. She succeeded, and then it's abruptly undone essentially because Claire refuses to cooperate. Then she throws everything she has at Kamito in a last-ditch effort to re-awaken him, and he kicks her ass without the Demon King's power. Jerk Ass she may be, but everything she had fought for was unraveled in front of her because Claire and Kamito basically said "no".
- And the worst part? It was never going to work in the first place. She wants to kill the Elemental Lords to eliminate The Corruption, but the Demon King is also corrupted. If Kamito had awakened, he would have destroyed the world in exactly the same method that she was trying to prevent.
- Strong as They Need to Be: As the reincarnation of the Sacred Maiden, her strength is directly proportional to the power of the current Demon King. As the Demon King grows in power, so will her own. On the other hand, the weaker the Demon King becomes, the weaker she will become in turn.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: She realized the insanity of the Elemental Lords along with the corruption and seeks to awaken Kamito, the current incarnation of Ren Ashdoll so that he may kill them and separate the spirits from the human world. The resulting chaos will possibly kill millions of people, but humanity would be saved as a result.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: She has a lot of Cursed Armament Seals on her body in order to control Laevateinn, which may explain her drastic descent into ruthlessness like with Velsaria.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After her defeat in the Blade Dance, Hierarch-possessed Sjora Kahn decided to silence her, but was ultimately prevented by Muir and Lily.
Jio Inzagi
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu MatsuokaA former Instructional School assassin.
- Always Someone Better: Refuses to acknowledge Kamito as the Demon King's successor.
- An Arm and a Leg: Had his arm cut off by Kamito at the end of Volume 2. He now swears revenge on him.
- The Bus Came Back: He returns 11 volumes later in Volume 13.
- Butt-Monkey: Gets this treatment when arguing with Team Inferno.
- Curb Stomp Battles: Gave these to the Sylphid Knights, as well as Team Scarlet initially.
- Dark-Skinned Redhead: In the anime.
- Freudian Excuse: This may or may not be canon due to being shown in the manga. In the Instructional School, one of the instructors invested a lot of time and hope into making Jio the next Demon King. However, Kamito and Muir ended up outranking him, causing his instructor to lash out against Kamito and was forced to fall to his death as a result. After that, Jio harbored a grudge against Kamito and wanted to upstage him in order to avenge his instructor.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Refuses to believe that Kamito is better than him, as well as him being the true Demon King successor.
- I Just Want to Be Special: He wants to be the Demon King in order to surpass Kamito. In the manga, his secondary motivation is to avenge his master.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Restia inflicted this on him to prevent him from leaking info on Kamito and to make it harder to take revenge.
- Put on a Bus: Was sent to Balsas Prison after being arrested in Volume 2.
- Stockholm Syndrome: In the manga, Jio's instructor seems to treat him more like a trophy than an actual human, which is likely par for the course in the Instructional School. Despite that, this trope is in play due to the instructor raising and praising Jio.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: He's the first opponent Kamito and the others face off against that actually gives them a hard time in a fight. It takes their entire group working together to defeat him.
Vivian MelosaAn Elfim merchant belonging to «Murders» who had infiltrated the Academy Town to sell Cursed Seal Armaments to students.
- The Bus Came Back: Returns 10 volumes later in Volume 13.
- Pointy Ears: Being from the Elfim race.
- Put on a Bus: Was sent to Balsas Prison after being caught by Greyworth in Volume 3.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Has green hair.


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Dec 10 2012
Poorly Kate says "fuck that" to a Royal Nanny. Meanwhile, mystery still shrouds Jacintha Saldanha Suicide.
The Daily Mail. Foreword by Chris Spivey.
Spivs Comment
Here we go again, three more stories from the MSM designed to make us marvel, pity and sympathise with the Royal parasites. All three stories are bollocks in my opinion.
The third story deals with the suicide of the nurse who took the prank call from the two Australian DJ's. I'm afraid that I don't buy it. Prank shows have been around from the 1960's; Candid Camera, Game for a laugh, Noel Edmond's Saturday show, Beadles about and Trigger Happy TV, to name but a few.
Who remembers the 'alien meeting' prank on Beadles about? For those who don't, I believe that I'm correct in saying that it made the front pages of the newspapers. Jeremy Beadle had a gullible woman believing that she was speaking to an alien from outer space… Yet she didn't commit suicide.
There is in fact no evidence to confirm that Jacintha Saldanha killed herself as a direct result of the prank call. Certainly, she showed great naivety in putting the call through to Kate's room. She should have known that Bizzy Lizzy would never personally make the call. An Equerry would have rung first. Moreover, the other nurse who took the call from Jacintha and gave out some details of Kate's condition should feel far more ashamed and foolish… Yet she hasn't topped herself either.
The Hospital have confirmed that neither nurse had been reprimanded or faced any disciplinary action. Therefore, I can only conclude that Jacintha was either, very overly sensitive, in which case she was in the wrong profession. Or, She was on the verge of topping herself anyway. Or, someone had her bumped off.
The 3rd reason that I put forward is not as far fetched as it sounds. What kind of Mother with 2 young children kills herself 3 weeks before Christmas, just for being gullible?
Then ask yourself who had anything to gain by her suicide? The Royal family certainly did. At a time when their popularity is at an all time low, taking the piss out of them isn't going to help. So, in order to put anyone else off taking the piss, what better way than having the victim commit suicide? To re-enforce that 'no piss taking' point, the old bill are now involved as reported by the BBC:
"Scotland Yard has been in touch with Australian police over the death of a nurse from the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated for morning sickness".
Are they not busy enough whitewashing Operation Yewtree? Mind you, I would like to see the arrest of the two DJ's. Talk about Comedy; "You are under arrest for being funny".
Jacintha's death is a tragedy. Unfortunately, if you think that the two Australian DJ's are to blame, then I'm afraid that you are just as gullible as the nurse.
The Second story is just about Kate's morning sickness causing Big Willie to cancel his appearance at some pomp and ceremony bash… A bollocks story designed to get us all feeling sorry for her. My daughter is pregnant and seemingly throws up every 5 minutes, yet she wouldn't dream of going to hospital. Pregnant women do get Morning Sickness, and like my daughter, Afternoon, Evening and Night time sickness too.So, Instead of feeling sorry for her, to me, it just demonstrates how fucking pampered and out of touch with reality the inbred family are.
The first story is designed to make us marvel at the parasites. Wow, Big Willie and Gold digger smith are not having a Nanny for their baby… Rather like the other 99.9% of the population.
Course, I wouldn't take too much notice of that claim. The following is from my article Monsters Inc:
Fact: Kate and William's wedding has been revealed to have impacted negatively on both UK tourism and economic growth. Furthermore, their earlier PR failed them after announcing in late 2010 that they would have no servants… then in June 2012 they were caught, errr… Advertising for servants, Doh!
The article does however try and convince the reader that the couple will be true to their word, while at the same time somewhat contradicts the above fact taken from Monsters Inc:
"The couple do not employ any staff at their home in North Wales, where the Duke serves as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot at Anglesey, apart from a cleaner who visits weekly."
So, reading that, they do employ staff in the form of a cleaner although people not paying too much attention would take the Daily Mails claim as being that; the cleaner is all they employ. However, what we actually have here is proof of how the MSM are ordered to portray the ponsing freaks in a good light.
In doing so the Daily Mail contradicts itself being as a couple of days ago they ran a story about how Big Willie may have to be away from Gold digger Smith for a couple of months since he is due back on RAF duty. If the couple have a residence in North Wales, why couldn't Kate go with him?
The answer is that they don't have a residence as such. He has a cottage (more than his colleagues get) which the spoilt brat is too fucking lazy to clean himself. The following is from the Pro-Royal family website www.britishroyals.info:
This location can mean either one of two things: (1) an extended long distance relationship with Kate for the next 3 years; or as Daily Mail suspects, (2) spending the first few years of married life with Kate in family quarters close to his base, and away from London. Which will it be? We'll just have to "wait and see"…
William has in recent months been living in a secluded cottage in RAF Valley, where Kate could visit privately. He's likely to keep this residence for the rest of his posting.
What the paper also neglects to mention is, that while Big Willie and Gold digger Smith may only employ the one slave to clean their tiny cottage, they do actually employ a full staff at their Kensington Palace home.
Mind you it is interesting that Big Willies Nanny, Tiggy Legge Bourke gets a mention in the article. In fact, she is mentioned in very favourable terms:
"Tom, William's godson, is the youngest son of Alexandra Shân 'Tiggy' Pettifer, known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who was hired as a nanny to Harry and William after Charles and Diana announced their separation. Tiggy helped comfort the princes after their mother's death in 1997. She was so close to the boys after their parents' divorce that she, memorably, once described them as 'my babies'."
Once again however, the propaganda rag neglects to mention that Prince Bigears was shagging Piggy Tiggy, while still married to Little Willies Mother, Diana and shagging Camilla Horseface. The rag also neglects to mention that Piggy Tiggy had an abortion after Jug Ears shot his load up her.
Hmmm, perhaps the paper is telling the truth after all and the couple are not going to employ a nanny. Maybe Gold digger Smith has forbidden it in case Big Willie is a chip off the old block. We shall see, won't we?
Until the next time,
Much love,
No nanny for hands-on parents William and Kate: Royal couple plan to break with tradition by not employing full-time help
Nannies have played an important role in the Royal household for generations.
Prince William was so attached to his nanny Olga Powell, who was at his side throughout his childhood, that he cancelled four high-profile engagements to be at her funeral earlier this year.
But the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge plan to break with royal tradition by not employing a full-time nanny.
The couple are determined to be 'hands-on parents' and Kate is planning to look after her child without the help of someone 24 hours a day.
Kate and Wills may employ a part-time nanny who will fulfill the role as a 'babysitter' by looking after their baby when they have to attend events.
But Kate's parents Carole and Michael Middleton will also be there to lend a hand as much as possible.
One of the couple's friends said: 'Catherine and William are determined to be hands-on parents.'
- Two Australian DJs behind royal hoax call have gone into hiding as it emerges one is 'close to breakdown'
- 'I miss you, I love you': Teenage daughter of tragic nurse who transferred prank phone call to Kate's hospital reveals her devastation over mother's death
- Cybersquatters cashing in on Kate's pregnancy by registering websites linked to Royal baby
'Her parents are very excited about the baby and will help out as much as possible.'
'They will, probably, use a part-time nanny to help them out when they have to attend events and don't have a babysitter, but they don't want a full-time nanny.'
Their decision not to employ a full-time nanny will be a major break with royal tradition.
But it is not first time the royal couple have decided to forgo the services of full-time help.
The couple do not employ any staff at their home in North Wales, where the Duke serves as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot at Anglesey, apart from a cleaner who visits weekly.
Kate has spoken of how she enjoys doing the cooking and household chores.
And at university William and his housemates took it in turns to do the cooking and shared household chores – including shopping for food.
The Duke of Cambridge's nannies played such an important role in his life that the son of one of them, Tom Pettifer, was a page boy at the royal wedding.
Tom, William's godson, is the youngest son of Alexandra Shân 'Tiggy' Pettifer, known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who was hired as a nanny to Harry and William after Charles and Diana announced their separation.
Tiggy helped comfort the princes after their mother's death in 1997. She was so close to the boys after their parents' divorce that she, memorably, once described them as 'my babies'.
She retired from the Prince of Wales's service when she married in October 1999.
In October, William attended the private funeral of his former nanny Olga Powell, cancelling four high-profile engagements in the north east, which his wife had to attend alone.
Mrs Powell was at his side through both childhood and the most important days in his adult life.
The loving, but strict nanny, was widely credited for having a massive impact on the lives of both Prince William and Harry as they were growing up.
Mrs Powell, who was widowed after just six years of marriage when she was 52, came to work for Princess Diana when Prince William was just six months old.
Although very loving, she was renowned for not taking any nonsense from the young boys, and famously would give them a clip around the ear if they were ever naughty.
Another nanny, Barbara Barnes, was sacked by Diana when William was four because she envied their strong bond.
In world's apart, Kate Middleton was brought up by her mother, Carole, a former air stewardess who spent her early years in a council flat in Southall, an unfashionable London suburb.
The woman considered to be most influential in the Prince of Wales's life was his beloved nanny Mabel Anderson, employed by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to care for their four children.
She had such a special place in the hearts of the Royal family that she was called upon to represent the Duke of York at a funeral at the Chapel Royal, in St James's Palace, earlier this year.
Mabel's 80th birthday party was arranged by Charles to take place at the royal residence, Clarence House.
When she retired, Charles secured her a lifelong grace-and-favour home in a wing of Frogmore House, Windsor Great Park, and personally supervised its re-decoration using his own designer.
Mabel, who was once described by the Prince of Wales as 'a haven of security, the great haven', was said to be a great friend of the Queen's.
The Queen met Mabel, a policeman's daughter from Elgin, Scotland, in 1949 after she replied to an advertisement, not knowing it was from the royal household.
It was to be an assistant nanny to help the then Princess Elizabeth who was pregnant with Charles.
Despite her lack of formal training, Mabel, at 22, was chosen by the future Queen because Her Majesty liked her quiet, unassuming manner.
It was Mabel who put the children to bed, told them stories, patched up their cuts and bruises and hit upon the idea of teaching the royal corgis hide and seek with Princess Anne so that she wouldn't miss Charles when he started school.
She even sent Charles bottles of Vosene shampoo for his dandruff at boarding school.
Each Christmas, Prince Charles sends a chauffeur-driven car to take Mrs Anderson to Sandringham, where she is treated like a cherished member of the family rather than an employee.
A St James's Palace spokesman said: 'It is too early to say whether the Duke and Duchess will employ a nanny.'
The news comes as it was revealed by the Mail on Sunday the couple are considering skipping Christmas at Sandringham and may instead spend December 25 with Kate's parents Carole and Michael.
'It is being discussed but has not yet been decided,' said a source.
'Carole is keen for Kate to spend Christmas with the family. It will be their last Christmas at the family home before the Middletons move house.
'At home Kate will be able to relax and put her feet up. Christmas at Sandringham can be very busy and stressful with everyone arriving. There is always lots going on, big dinners and lots of outfit changes to contend with.'
The family have reportedly bought a £4.7 million, seven-bedroom mansion.
Duke of Cambridge pulls out of military event tonight after pregnant Kate suffers another bout of morning sickness
The Duke of Cambridge has pulled out of attending the British Military Tournament tonight so he can spend time with the Duchess, who is recuperating after spending three nights in hospital.
The royal couple had both originally been due to attend tonight's event but all of Kate's forthcoming public engagements were cancelled after she received treatment for severe morning sickness.
It comes after Prince William, 30, joked at an event yesterday evening that morning sickness should be renamed as Kate suffered it all day and night.
Prince William is to spend this evening with the pregnant Duchess who is recuperating after spending three nights in hospital with severe morning sickness
It now appears unlikely that the Duchess will attend the premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey film in the West End on Wednesday, and may not make another public appearance for several weeks.
A St James's Palace spokesman said: 'The Duke of Cambridge will no longer attend the British Military Tournament at Earl's Court this evening, but will spend Sunday privately with the Duchess instead.
'It is well known that hyperemesis gravidarum often recurs and, until further notice, to allow the Duchess a degree of privacy during her pregnancy, we do not intend to offer regular condition checks or advise of routine developments associated with it.'
- 'I miss you, I love you': Teenage daughter of tragic nurse who transferred prank phone call to Kate's hospital reveals her devastation over mother's death
- Queen to make TV history with 3D Christmas message
- Two Australian DJs behind royal hoax call 'in hiding with one close to a breakdown' after 'humiliated' nurse was found dead
The cancellation of Prince William's attendance at the event, billed as 'the largest display of military theatre in the world', comes after he last night attended a charity event.
He went solo for the first time since the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge, also 30, was discharged from hospital.
He attended a glittering charity tennis gala, the Winter Whites Gala, held in aid of homeless charity Centrepoint, at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
He was due to be accompanied by the Duchess, but she is resting after suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, an acute – and potentially dangerous – form of morning sickness.
The Duke, who is patron of Centrepoint, was congratulated by many on the news that a baby is on the way.
Former Centrepoint chairman Michael O'Higgins said: 'He said they shouldn't call it morning sickness as it's a day and all night sickness.
'All I've seen of him is his amazing ability to relate to people and I think the care he's shown for his wife this week says a lot.'
Prince William, looking smart in black tie, joined tennis greats John McEnroe, Björn Borg and Boris Becker as well as celebrities including Sam Branson and Sadie Frost at the event.
The Royal Albert Hall was turned into a winter wonderland.
Inside, guests were greeted by actors dressed in costumes with a Dr Zhivago theme.
The Duke said it was a 'great pleasure' to be at the charity event as he later gave a speech.
He told guests that some of the most inspiring moments of his life had been with the young people of Centrepoint.
Referring to the night he spent on the streets in 2009 to experience what it is like sleeping rough, he said: 'Of course, this was just one night.
'I was cold but safe, and I knew I had a home waiting for me.
'Many others have no such luck. The cold streets are the only reality they know.
'And yet so often their spirit shines through.
'What these unfortunate men, women and young people could achieve given the right opportunities is limitless. I really believe that.'
He said that afterwards, he and Centrepoint chief executive Seyi Obakin had decided to set a goal to eradicate homelessness in the next 10 years.
He added: 'We are now several years into that decade and the problem remains as acute as ever. Centrepoint hasn't given up on that ideal.
'These deserving young people haven't given up.'
Former British number one Tim Henman won a match against Croatian Goran Ivanisevic at the gala.
Kate's brother James Middleton also watched the game in a separate box from William.
The event ended with William presenting the Centrepoint Great Britain Youth Inspiration Award to Novak Djokovic.
The world number one, who is a Unicef ambassador, was recognised for his humanitarian work to raise awareness of the importance of early childhood education in Serbia.
Tim said: 'William seemed in good spirits. I just congratulated him on the impending birth and obviously said I hoped she was feeling better.'
The Duke laughed in disbelief as he spoke to some guests who had travelled all the way from the U.S. to attend the event.
Dr Natalie Monticciolo, from Tampa, Florida, was with other charity workers from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
She said: 'He joked 'which one of you has come the furthest? It was magical to meet him. He thanked us for coming. We congratulated him (on Kate's pregnancy) and he said thank you.'
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge delighted the world this week when they announced that Kate was pregnant.
The couple were forced to announce the eagerly-awaited news after Kate was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in London on Monday after she fell ill at her parents' house in Bucklebury, Berkshire.
She was put on a drip and spent three nights in hospital.
Kate returned to Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace and cancelled upcoming engagements to rest.
Mrs Saldanha was found dead at King Edward VII hospital's staff lodgings.
Only three days before her death, the 46-year-old nurse had transferred a hoax call from two Australian DJs who obtained intimate details about the Duchess of Cambridge while she was staying at the hospital.
Pictured: Proud family photo showing tragic hoax nurse with her beloved husband
The tragic nurse who apparently killed herself after being hoaxed by a pair of Australian DJs is pictured here alongside her beloved husband.
Jacintha Saldanha, a 46-year-old mother of two, was found dead on Friday morning in nurses' accommodation at the London hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge had been treated for acute morning sickness.
Yesterday her husband Ben Barboza, 49, an NHS accountant, said: 'I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances.'
Today, flowers and tributes were left outside the hospital nurses' quarters, where Mrs Saldanha was discovered.
And in a poignant message posted on Facebook, the couple's 14-year-old daughter Lisha said of her mother: 'I miss you, I loveeee you.'
Mrs Saldanha's sister-in-law Celin D'Souza added: 'I will really miss her a lot. She was good-natured. I cannot forget her, she was so good.'
Three days before her death, Mrs Saldanha was manning the hospital switchboard when she took a call from two Australian radio presenters – Mel Greig and Michael Christian – impersonating the Queen and Prince Charles.
They were transferred to the Duchess's ward and broadcast confidential information given to them by a second nurse. Although she wasn't blamed in any way for what happened, friends said Mrs Saldanha 'took it very badly'.
Described as popular, quiet and 'profoundly caring', she is said to have made clear to her family the depth of her anxiety when the prank was broadcast.
Others have described her as feeling lonely and confused, though the hospital said it supported her and stressed she did not face any disciplinary action.
Mrs Saldanha's husband raised the alarm after failing to reach her by phone on Friday. Friends said the speed with which he did so reflected his concern for her wellbeing.
Last night the chairman of the King Edward VII Hospital in Marylebone, wrote to the owners of the radio station, 2Day FM, condemning the 'humiliation of two dedicated and caring nurses'.
Tragic: The grieving family of nurse Jacintha Saldanha who died in a suspected suicide have told of their devastation at her death. She is pictured centre, with son Junal and daughter Lisha
Anxious: Although she wasn't blamed in any way for what happened, friends said Mrs Saldanha 'took it very badly'
Family grief: Jacintha Saldanha's Indian family, pictured, was informed about her death last night when her partner Benedict called in tears
Lord Glenarthur, chairman of the hospital, called the decision to broadcast the prank 'truly appalling' and said the consequence of the presenters' actions was 'tragic beyond words'.
Caught in an international backlash, Greig and Christian were yesterday in hiding, where they were said to be receiving medical assistance amid growing fears for their 'physical and emotional wellbeing'.
While it is not thought the presenters broke any laws, they are expected to be interviewed by police. Scotland Yard is preparing a report for Mrs Saldanha's inquest and requires statements from them.
Yesterday the dead nurse's family were being comforted by relatives and friends at their terrace home in Southmead, Bristol.
A friend who answered the door said Mr Barboza, Lisha and the couple's 16-year-old son Junal were 'very, very shocked and unhappy'.
Mrs Saldanha, from Valencia in south-west India, married Mr Barboza, from the nearby village of Shirva, in 1993. They moved to Bristol nine years ago. When she was working in London she lived in nurse's quarters behind the hospital, returning to the family home on her days off.
Mr Barboza's mother Carmine, 69, said the family returned to India to visit her every two years. She said neither her son nor daughter-in-law had told her about the hoax call.
'Everything seemed normal,' she said. 'But then we got a call last night from Benedict informing us that Jacintha had died. He was crying and couldn't speak much.
'We don't know whether we'll be able to bring her body back to India but we desperately hope so.
'We spoke to Benedict again this morning and he said he hasn't been allowed to see her body yet because of legal formalities and she'll not be handed over before Monday.
'Jacintha was a very caring woman. We just cannot believe what has happened.'
Yesterday a wooden cross with a British flag was left outside the King Edward VII Hospital, while flowers were placed outside the nearby nurses' block.
A note read: 'Dear Jacintha, Our thoughts are with you and your family. From all your fellow nurses, we bless your soul. RIP xxx'
Backlash: 2DayFM DJs Mel Greig, left, and Michael Christian, right, have been bombarded with abuse online since Jacintha Saldanha's death at King Edward VII hospital's lodgings was announced
Distraught: Mrs Saldanha's body was found at staff lodgings close to King Edward VII hospital in London yesterday
Neeraj Singh, a former colleague who worked with Mrs Saldanha at Southmeads Hospital in Bristol, said news of her death was 'devastating'.
Mrs Saldanha once described herself as 'a very nervous person' in a testimonial penned for her driving teacher's website.
Instructor Jeff Sellick recalled her as quiet and sometimes needing a confidence boost, adding that he felt the prank call would have 'played very heavy on her mind'.
DJs Greig and Christian have told station bosses they want to 'express their remorse publicly.'
Friends say ex-model Mel Greig is 'close to a breakdown' and undergoing 'intensive psychological counselling' along with colleague Michael Christian – and both are being 'wrapped in cotton wool'.
Today their bosses at Southern Cross Austereo, 2Day FM's parent company, said the tragedy of a nurse who took the call being found dead was 'unforeseeable and very regrettable', insisting 'immediate action' was being taken.
The duo will provide statements to local detectives after a request from the Met to their New South Wales counterparts – and the company said they have 'expressed a desire to speak' to the media.
A spokesman for Southern Cross Austereo spokesman added today: 'We haven't ascertained when they're ready for that (to speak to the media) and how we're going to organise that, but they certainly want to.
'They are still being wrapped in cotton wool at the moment and we are very mindful of their situation.'
New South Wales Police deputy commissioner Nick Kaldas, confirmed the request, saying: 'It hasn't been indicated to us that an offence has occurred and they have not actually asked for anything yet.
'They've simply touched base, let us know of their interest and they will get back to us if they actually want something done,' he told Sky. 'Nothing has been requested of us yet.'
Bosses at Sydney radio station 2Day FM pleaded for sympathy for the breakfast show co-hosts as they faced a boycott by advertisers not wishing to be associated with their brand of 'humour'.
Sandy Kaye, a PR for the radio station, said: 'We are very concerned for the well-being of our talent. They are very, very distressed. Mel is very vulnerable. She has been vulnerable in the past.
'So we are very concerned about her. She is in a very fragile state and we are concerned for her. We are giving them professional care. They are receiving counselling.'
Southern Cross Austereo is holding an emergency board meeting to consider what action it should take over the prank phone call, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
Chairman Max Moore-Wilton added: 'The chief executive officer (Rhys Holleran) is responsible for the operations of the organisation within the framework that the board broadly sets.'
Miss Greig's father Sydney said at his home in South Australia: 'I don't know where she is. I can't say anything. I am very concerned for her. I am not sure where this is going. I have spoken to her but I have been told not to say any more.'
A 2Day FM source said the two DJs were being looked after in the devastating wake of their show and were now both in 'lockdown'.
A close friend of Miss Greig said: 'Everyone who knows Mel fears for her mental state. Yes, there are very real fears that she could self-harm and nobody wants that.
'Of course, she is blaming herself for what has happened. What was done in fun has turned out to be a horrible tragedy. She is close to a breakdown.'
The station could face action over the fateful call as under Australian law it is illegal to record someone or publish a taped conversation without the person's permission.


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Release Date: 2012 |
EoinMcKenzie (2)Becoming more understated and quiet doesn't help The xx this time around....Grant Thomas (3)Minimizing the minimal....fish (4)Don't call it a sophomore slump...GiantMan (4.5)The XX take on the club scene and make it their own....
Robbie Byrne (2.5)Copy and paste formula fails to enthral as much as its predecessor....Andru Okenuf (2.5)Though the XX have become better and more well-rounded musicians, they've lost much of t...
Album Rating: 3.5Excellent review, have a pos.
I started my own write up for this but it was coming out like shit, glad someone's done a positive one.
Album Rating: 4.5Ali, dude, I hear ya, something similar happened to me. I was planning to write a 4/5 review for this but I've had some bad writer's block lately or something. Also, Luddite, props from me as well, have another pos, great review.
Holy shit what a fucking coincidence~!
I didn't enjoy this album nearly as much as their debut but I loved your review. =)
Album Rating: 4.0Thanks folks. I'm notorious for long reviews, so this time I really made an effort to strip this one down to the essentials, in a way almost mirroring the essence of Coexist.
Album Rating: 2.5Except your review had more substance
Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound OffLoved the review.
Album Rating: 3.5pos'd!
Album Rating: 3.0
At its heart, Coexist is essentially the same difficult question asked over and over again --- can two damaged people, however much they want to, ever make a broken relationship work? I'm not sure it ever gives an answer.
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


text:
All Product Details
Born in Nebraska in 1924, Marlon grew up unaffected by the Depression but scarred by a brutal father and fatally alcoholic mother. After a turbulent childhood, Brando made his great escape to 1940s New York and fell in love with a city bristling with postwar optimism and vibrancy. Soon New York fell in love with him, toohis stunning Broadway debut as Stanley Kowalski made him an instant star at age twenty-three.
Brando then decamped for Hollywood, and Kanfer illuminates his performances in early movies like The Men, Julius Caesar, and On the Waterfront. Starting in the late fifties and continuing throughout the sixties, though, Brando transformed from bright young star into something more complicated. By looking at such films as The Young Lions, One-Eyed Jacksthe one and only movie he ever directedand Mutiny on the Bounty, Kanfer gives us a real understanding of Brando's breathtaking talent and sexual power while also giving us a sense of the vulnerable man behind the towering image. Through assessments of his performances in critically panned movies like Reflections in a Golden Eye, Candy, and The Appaloosa, an intricately woven portrait emergesshowing not only Brandos genius, but also his self-destructiveness, womanizing, constant dissembling, and evolving ambivalence toward his fame and his craft.
With the role of Don Corleone, Brando pulled himself out of his slump for his careers third and perhaps most interesting act; Kanfer turns his critical eye on The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and Last Tango in Paris, the last arguably Brandos most intimate and disturbing appearance onscreen. After these, it was once again a downhill slalom for Brando, both professionally (the movies he made in the last fifteen years of his life were hardly worthy of him) and personally, as he lived out his finale in the shadow of horrific family tragedies.
With the surest of hands, Kanfer gives us the first truly comprehensive examination, not only of a life and a career, but of how the two came together to create the icon we know as Brando.
From the Hardcover edition.