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Good hello.
I'm Milo, and I'm here to rant at your faces about video games. These days though, things like Maths studenthood and snorting cocaine from whores are keeping me from having ANY console at all. One low end lappy that barely plays TF2. Sadness occurs.
But meh, I can still whine a good one.
Re: "No Russian" Rev Rant
Following (9)
Peniless? Cash flow trouble? Cheapskate? There are free games out there you know, and they're not all bad.
on 09.02.2009
The world of video games is, lets not beat around the bush, bloody expensive. Unlike music and films, the price of your disk can cost upwards of thirty-five pounds, and thats not including the console needed to play it, and the inevitable DLC that might arise. So, its safe to say, the market of free gaming is certainly an attractive one for any prospective gamer, but the act of finding quality in such a game is akin to finding some shit in a bucket of crap. Hell, to even get some people through the door of a free MMO you need to
wave a nice shiny laptop in front of their face.
Its true though, most are shit, but there are some which do deserve some attention, and one of the bigger companies who provide entertainment for us penniless gamers is Korean company Nexon, and its two of their games Ill be cross examining for you now: side-scrolling MMO MapleStory, and the twitch-reaction shooter known as Combat Arms.
Well start with MapleStory. Developed by South Korean company Wizet and published good ol Nexon, MapleStory is about as simple as one can get with an MMO. You make a character, you give him a weapon, and you kill everything that moves in this 2D-world in a bid to reach the godly heights of level 120. Ok, so maybe theres a plot attached you are a new resident of the island of Erev and newest candidate to join the Knights of Cygrus, a crack team of soldiers designed to beat the Dark Wizard. You spend the first 15 or so levels on this island learning the ropes before youre plugged into the main world, Victoria Island.
Earlier players of MapleStory, like me, might find that above explanation different from the experience they had, and theyd be right this is the new Knights of Cygnus expansion pack, and it does give the first 15 levels and choice of class some structure, and also guides you a bit on main Victoria Island. Combat is done with hilarious ease at first you just move, jump with Alt, and attack with Ctrl, later on youll receive other special moves relative to your choice of class. This simplistic combat, in addition to the wholly 2D side-scrolling world, makes the game exceptionally simple to pick up, and, even though the first few fights are just a matter of mashing Ctrl until everything dies, the addictive quality of the game already starts to become apparent. As you progress, new attacks and enemies are given to you and the difficulty curve rises rather nicely.
However, after the mid-20s you begin to see something pretty obvious every quest you receive is either a kill X monsters, or get X items by killing Y monsters. And in between those quests you train up for higher level quests...by killing monsters. Yes, its well documented that MapleStory is very much a grind-fest, youll spend most of your time killing monsters. But, of course, the reason MMOs like this are so popular is exactly that the drip feed of experience you will receive for killing the millions of monsters you will. Unlike World of Warcraft, where kills take at least half a minute, MapleStory could have you kill 20 monsters a minute, and youll receive XP for every one, not to mention money and loot. The simple act of hitting a monster, landing the killing blow, and picking up loot from the floor all feel very satisfying and its a good job too, because youll be doing a lot of it.
This feeling is thanks in no small part to the lovely graphics. The whole world is rendered in brilliant cutesy-anime style, character models all look precious with their oversized head-to-body ratio, and the background environments are also just as pretty and very diverse you could be in a green leaved forest or a red-stone canyon, both as visually appealing as each other.
But this lovely facade is not enough to hide this game biggest flaw youll only be killing monsters. Sure, you can join guilds, families, and even get married, but you wont do any of that until much later into your game, and if you do play the game past level 60, youll find the experience needed to level is horrendously high. Not only that, the penalty for death is 10% experience loss in later levels, this could be literally millions of experience points lost. The community is also a bit dodgy theres quite a lot of kill stealing and shit talk from the other players youll see, but a good feature of MapleStory is the ability to change server mid-game, without the need to log out, so if youre being abused you can easily hop to another channel.
So, if I were to sum it up in a sentence: its got the looks and charm of a Japanese Castle Crashers, but the gameplay can get monotonous if you dont see the appeal of experience gaining. Now, well jump to the other side of the gaming spectrum: Combat Arms.
Combat Arms, is an online shooter, again published by Nexon but this time developed by the funnily named Doobic Studios. In the game, you shoot other people, and the people you have to shoot depend on what flavour mode youve chosen. Elimination pits team Alpha and Bravo against each other in a straight-forward Team Deathmatch, One-Man Army is the standard free for all Deathmatch, Search and Destroy is a shameless carbon copy of the Call of Duty gametype of the same name one team plants the bomb, the other team tries to stop the planting of the bomb, and good ol Capture the flag. These are the bog-standard modes that come packed with almost any shooter, but Combat Arms comes with two more interesting modes, Spy Hunt, and Quarantine. Spy Hunt is a weird mix of FFA deathmatch and capture the flag there are five intelligence cases scattered around the map, and if all of these are collected, your stats are boosted and you gain an big advantage. Quarantine is, of course, Combat Arms way of shoehorning zombies into their game to boost popularity. 2 players are chosen each round to be the first zombies, and the remaining humans must survive three minutes. For a free shooter, there are enough modes to keep you interested, and the winning of money and experience will interest you even longer.
Gameplay wise, its not unlike MapleStory, that is, its as simple as PC shooters can get. Aim with mouse, shoot with click move with WASD, change weapons with numbers. You shoot who you are supposed to shoot and they die within a reasonable amount of bullet hits. What nice about how Combat Arms works is that it treats every kill as a big achievement your first kill will be displayed on the screen as 1 KILL!!!! in big stylised letters, and it counts up your kills such like for every kill you get. HEADSHOTS, DOUBLE KILLS and the infamous NUT SHOT are also dealt with in this manner, and it really makes you work for your kills.
Experience is tracked with a Call of Duty-esque military ranking system, and you use your money to rent new weapons. Yes, thats right, you RENT weapons. Newbies get a free weapon pack, and you also get free rentals after achieving certain ranks, but apart from that, you need to earn money for your own rentals. You can rent them for as little as 24 hours or as long as 90 days, and the system does smack a bit of an injustice the more skilful players will earn more money, and therefore have access to the better weapons, the rich will most certainly get richer here.
Graphics wise, the game looks okay. Not brilliant, not crap, but most certainly accurate. And thats really as much as I can say about it, you shoot, theres bullets, then blood, then death. And it all looks pretty meh-ish. But, with free games is usually the graphics that suffer, especially in 3D games. But is it worth getting? Certainly. The most fun is to be had with Quarantine mode repelling zombies is always fun, and theres `a real thrill in becoming a zombie, finding where the humans have hidden, and causing one more infection to fuck up everything and cause a mass outbreak is very satisfying, as is being the last man standing and hiding well enough to escape the infection. Its a shame there is only one map for Quarantine, but you wont find that problem with the other game types.
The game, in short, is Counter Strike on the cheap...well, on the totally free. Certainly for a free game its quite deep and there are plenty of guns to buy and maps to play. Most certainly worth a download.
So there you have it. I would give both games a 7, and, in my opinion, a 7 is as high a free game will ever receive. All free games will be built on a stringent budget, and so games like MapleStory and Combat Arms will probably never reach their true potential. But, to be honest, if youre looking for free games with no strings, youre gonna have to deal with a bit of a quality drop.
Or, you could just flash your Xbox and make your own pirate games. Your call.
Review: Mass Effect DLC, Pinnacle Station
on 08.26.2009
But before we get reviewing, WOOO my banner finally got there, and it only took 2 weeks after I submitted it. It looked far cooler in Paint, I'll tell you that, but minimalistic is cool these days. I know I'm right. Anyway, Pinnacle Station.
Pinnacle Station is the second slab of Mass Effect DLC, after the very competent Bring Down The Sky. Unlike Bring Down The Sky, which saw you fighting a new alien race to save a human colony from the brink of destruction (which, so it seems, Shepard does five times before breakfast), Pinnacle Station sees you taking on a far bigger threat - THE ULTIMATE EVIL OF VIRTUAL REALITY!!!!! The station itself is a top secret human facility, built for the training of the various races of Citadel space. You dock with the station, a big wig from the Alliance fleet introduces himself, a Turian soldier belittles your ability, and a salarian whizz-kid plugs you in to the simulation.
As far as story goes, that's pretty much it. There's no huge ties to the main plot and your squad doesn't even make an appearance until you get down to the fighting. So, you'd better do just that, plug yourself in and get fighting.
The simulator is designed for four types of mission - Time Trial, Hunt, and Survival and Capture. In Time Trial, your goal is to kill everything in the level - the faster, the better. Hunt requires you to kill as many enemies as you can within an alloted time, with each kill netting you a few more seconds. Survival is exactly how it sounds - wave after wave of enemies will attack, and you must hold out for as long as possible, and Capture tasks you with capturing three or four points around the map as fast as you can. These missions are played out on four different 'arenas': Warehouse, Volcanic, Tropical, and Subterranean, and give a maximum of 12 combinations of mission (each mission type supports three arenas each). Scores/times are recorded against your fellow NPC combatants, with your goal, obviously, to claim the top spot in each mission.
As far as gameplay is concerned, its your standard Mass Effect affair - you shoots teh gunz, and teh robots fall downz. Enemies are no different from normal (except they disappear in a Tron-like fashion when you slay them), you can pick two fellow team members, alls good. The mission themselves aren't particularly taxing to the mind - you either shoot fast, run fast, or shoot and run fast. Out of the four missions, however, I found Capture to be the most fun. The act of sprinting to a point, sticking yourself against some cover and holding off the enemies as best you can whilst the 'capture' bar fills up torturingly slowly is actually quite a satisfying one. Survival, however, seems a wee bit broken. The point of survival is to steadily raise the difficulty of your enemies until survival proves almost impossible (see Left 4 Dead for the perfect execution of Survival), but here at Pinnacle station, difficulty starts at medium-hard and sticks there like a magnet to a fridge. Its supposed to be a case of "its not IF you die, its WHEN", but in every instance of Survival I actually had to seek out my own demise after seven minutes of fighting.
Of course, perhaps this is because I was playing the game on Normal mode with full Spectre gear on a stat-maxed Rufus Shepard. As such, I found most of the missions unchallenging, with minimal problems taking the top spot on my first try for each assignment. I imagine that a lot of the missions would be a lot more challenging with a new character or on higher difficulty, and its something I strongly suggest if you don't want to be bored out of your skull. The final bonus mission for perfecting all the rest is a bit of a challenge, but again, I bested it on my first try. I'm yet to try it with my far weaker Zara Shepard, so I'll keep you posted on the difficulty there.
Barring the difficulty, there is one huge issue I have with Pinnacle Station - it just feels like a rushed money-spinner. The arenas are actually re-hashed parts of the main story planets, it doesn't take a genius to think of 'Survival Mode' and there is probably less than six minute of original dialogue in the whole 2 hour experience. Case in point - after you finish a mission, the Admiral in charge gives you a one-liner depending on your victory or defeat, and I heard the same line repeated 5 times. Come on, Bioware, there's only TWELVE missions, would it have killed you to think of TWELVE little one-liners praising a victory?
In the end though, its 2 more hours of Mass Effect for a meagre 400 Microsoft Space Bucks, and you'll certainly have fun for those two hours, so if you do have a copy of Mass Effect you want to dust off, I do suggest you get it. It just feels like such an arbitrary addition to a great game, and such a pointless thing to produce, especially this late after Mass Effect's initial release. But, hey, its five bucks. You could certainly do a lot worse.
In other things:
I'm resolute now that I will post at least one entry a week in this infernal blog, probably on a Wednesday. If you enjoy reading my drivel then do add me to your friends list, and I'll certainly reciprocate.
Also, I bought I MAD3 A GAME WIT ZOMBIES IN IT!!!11, and its pretty awesome, especially the song that plays throughout. If you've got change from your Space Dollars, be sure to pick it up.
I suck at games: This game's loser is...me!
on 08.04.2009
It seemed like a pretty good proposal at first. I'd already had the day booked with a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet but, what with my brilliant quirk of always appearing at such events fashionably early, my friend Joe and I decided to head to our local game dealership and pick up a copy of Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Well, he picked it up. I watched. But we both agreed it was pretty awesome. What with all the hype the game carried on its broad shoulders, and with the fact that we had both shelled out hundreds of pounds on our beloved Wiis, we had no qualms with feeling excited with the prospect of beating eight shades of idiocy out of each other with our favourite Ninty mascots. So we (read: he) paid for the game and took it to the Chinese buffet, ate Chinese food with friends, and gaped over the shiny poster that came with the game. The excitement was palpable.
In the end, the buffet couldn't end fast enough. Some of us headed back to Joe's place to Brawl the night away (well, evening, I'm scared of the dark) and, we all agreed, it was pretty fun. For a night of lovely button bashy fun, it's quite enjoyable, and the fact that I was new at the game, and that one of my opponents was asian, and therefore particularly good at this sort of thing, excused the fact that I never reached the dizzy heights of first or second in any 4-player match we had. All's fun, all's good.
Since I knew SSBB was a multiplayer game through and through (I'd heard horrible things about The Subspace Emissary and the enigmatic Great Maze) I never picked up a copy myself, instead piggy-backing other people's copies to get my fix. Still, I couldn't break the ceiling separating third and second. I blamed it on many things, like the amount of vodka I'd drunk, the fact that I'd been forced to use the horrible classic controller, or that I hadn't read the instruction manual, and therefore couldn't compete with all of my sober, learned and Wii-remote equipped friends. But how could I excuse it when these conditions were filled? I read the booklet, I stuck to orange juice, I flailed around like a caught fish with the Wiimote, but still nothing was happening for me - third was as far as I was getting.
At the time, it was only mildly irritating. Most of the people I was playing with were seasoned gamers themselves, and I've never advertised myself as the uber-leet mega gamer who could kick anyone's butt at anything. My experience of the game was also lacking - others had bought the game long ago and had had the multitude of experience that the single player experience would give. So I kept my worries inside, not wanting to seem PMS-like in front of my friends.
However, the irritation grew. Casual gamers started beating me. Eight year olds started beating me. I couldn't even make the halfway point on the Subspace Emissary without turning it to the lowest level. I tried every character, trying to find one that might fit my style, eventually settling with Link, but I still lost every time. Things did look up slightly, however, in a 4-way Brawl on Pictochat I managed to score a second place, albeit only by one kill, and albeit preceded and followed by 4 consecutive losses, but second place is second place, and it cheered me up somewhat. But this wasn't to last. One night, I had stayed over at Joe's house, and he, being weak and feeble, had fallen asleep. This gave me the chance to commandeer his Wii while he slept, and I didn't sleep one minute that night, resigning myself to the practice mode with Link and learning every nuance of his fighting style, with the hope of being able to best my friends at the art of Brawl. I felt like I was learning, I was suddenly dispatching computer opponents with ease, with combos unlike that I had ever pulled off. I felt like I was ready, roused Joe at about 8 in the morning, and hoped that my new-found knowledge would see me to my first 1v1 victory.
It didn't. I lost. Badly. The same went for any 4-way I played, with more last places than ever.
I couldn't understand it. My last hope of attaining any competence at Brawl had gone, the well-worn phrase of "Practice makes perfect" had suddenly vanished before me. I ended up renting the game to practice on my own time, but it was doing nothing. I actually lost sleep because of it. I know, that's pretty sad and pathetic, but it's something that really got to me. I've been a gamer since longer than I can remember, and yet I could wrap neither my brain nor thumbs around this perplexing beat-em-up. Another nail in the coffin was that this was a Wii game - I sucked at a WII GAME. A console marketed for the young and the geriatric, and I COULDN'T DO IT!
Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I didn't suck at the game, but the game sucked at me. Next to the other fighters that I'd played over the years, such as Tekken, Street FIghter and the like, SSBB was a totally different animal. Whereas in Tekken and SF, suckage could be explained by your choice of character, in SSBB, the fighting system was so simplistic that the characters were pretty much interchangeable (something else which put salt into the failure wound). I also took encouragement from the words of web reviewer and general criticism-monger Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, whose SSBB experience could be "accurately simulated by hurling the controllers down a flight of stairs". This gave me hope that maybe the game itself was flawed, rather than my hands and brains.
So I boycotted the game. I gave my rental back to the shop and turned down every opportunity given to play it. Even having the game on in the background annoyed me. It felt like all of Nintendo's mascots were laughing and mocking me, the crippled freak who couldn't handle the magnitude of the Brawl. It even affected the other Wii games I played. Suddenly I couldn't fix my patients in Trauma Centre, I couldn't pip Toad to the line in Mario Kart, and the Corruption proved to much to handle in Metroid. I assumed this was purely psychological, and that keeping away from the Brawl for a week or two would make it okay, but nothing changed. Suddenly all of the games I played on the Wii weren't even slightly fun, suddenly the movement-sensitive controls felt gimmicky and embarrassing. I had loved the Wii up until now, loving my slice of individuality next to all the other 'hardcore' gamers who had opted for Playstations and Xboxs, but now I was suddenly feeling what they were feeling. This is childish and stupid, and the games all drop down to random flailing at the screen.
The Wii was finished in my eyes. And all because of that stupid Brawl and my stupid incompetence. So, I sold it, and bought an Xbox. And I've loved every game I've played on it. In the end, sucking at SSBB helped me find truly brilliant games like Fallout, Mass Effect, Bioshock and Braid, all of which I'd have never experienced had I kept Ninty's box. And now I've realised that sucking at games isn't a bad thing. So there's your lesson, kids - if you suck, just ride it out, because a bit of serendipity might come your way.
Let's just pray against an SSBB release on the Xbox.
Dtoid's GOTY 2007 - Bioshock. Its pretty good.
on 07.03.2009
Copied and pasted from my GameFAQs account. And I know its a bit long. Aight?
What with all of the hype surrounding Bioshock prior to its release, and a full 12 months of my gaming chums telling me what an astounding game it is, I was expecting Bioshock to rock me to the core with infallible gameplay, beautiful graphics, a roller-coaster of a story line, and spine tingling atmosphere, from the first second to the last kill.
Well. Three out of four ain't bad.
Bioshock, the proud brainchild of 2K Games - developers of the critically acclaimed System Shock 2 and the brilliantly underrated Tribes: Vengence - is a game that truly stands out from the pack. But in a far different way than one might expect. Plot twists, gruelling violence, stunning artsy graphics, and tension up the wazoo - all tied together in the best 15 hours of single player FPS action you will ever experience.
The game starts with a plane crash in the middle of the sea, where you (you being main voiceless protagonist only known as Jack), are forced to swim to a nearby lighthouse as the sole survivor of the crash. Not noticing the weird happening of there being a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean, you go on in looking for help. However, there is no crew manning this lighthouse, and the only piece of working technology nearby is a strange looking sphere, which looks like its travels one way - down into the ocean. There is no other survivors or rescue boats in sight - so you take your chances and jump into this sphere, which, sure enough, take you down into the ocean - to the city of Rapture.
Rapture was a city built purely for humanities best and brightest. The city's builder, Andrew Ryan, built Rapture for a place where "the strong would not be constrained by the weak." But as your vessel hits Rapture dock, and you look through its front window, you can clearly see that something has gone horribly, horribly wrong. Mainly because you see an insane lady disembowel a cowering man, using the two rusty hooks strapped to her hands. All this while the wall lights flicker and die and sea water leakage plagues every wall.
Welcome to Rapture.
Now, Bioshock is an FPS, and it works just how FPSs normally do. You start with a wrench, before moving on to a revolver and advancing to more powerful weapons such as a crossbow, a grenade launcher, and a classic 50s tommy gun. Just like in other FPSs, you point the shooty end of your gun at whatever it is you want dead, and press RT to fire. Simple.
However, what is DIFFERENT about the guns in Bioshock is that each weapon has two different types of ammunition, in addition to bog standard metal slugs. For example, the tommy gun has regular bullets, but also anti-personnel bullets, which give a damage bonus to normal human enemies, or anti-armour bullets, for armoured defences like gun turrets. Like wise, you have standard shotgun shells, but you can also choose from Exploding Shells, which can set the target on fire, or Electric Shells, which can stun the enemy with an electric shock.
I quite like this nice addition to the guns, it spices up the gameplay well, however, unless you look in every single nook and cranny of Rapture, you'll often have a distinct lack of bullets to use. For a game which is purely about killing and in no way encouraging you to conserve ammo, this is a bit of a flaw. Also, there is an aim feature on most weapons, wherein your sight zooms in, for a better shot at your enemy. But this is quite awkward, as this action is mapped to the pushing in of RS, and that could lose you a few precious drops of life in an important firefight. And, you can't change the mapping of the buttons at all - you either like it, or lump it.
So, weapons-wise, its your standard FPS. But what makes Bioshock not so standard is the additon of Plasmids, a special kind of drug that changes the genetic code of your body in order to do magic powers. (Hang about, what decade are we in again?)
Throughout the game, you can gain many powers for use against your enemies, from shooting bees at your enemies to setting them on fire with a click of your fingers, to throwing chairs at them using telekinesis. Or, you can enrage one of your enemies and have it attack someone else other than you. But, these little gems of power do not come under an unlimited tap - you need EVE, a special drug which powers up your plasmids, and appears as a little blue bar underneath your health. You can keep this topped up using the EVE Hypos that you can find on the corpses of dead bodies in Rapture.
My only issue with Plasmids is that most of them aren't particularly useful. The three mandatory ones that you get in the course of the story are the only ones that are useful throughout the game - and thats Electro Bolt (for shorting out gun turrets), Incinerate (for clearing ice from an entrance), and Telekinesis (for returning enemy grenades and using items as shields). These three attacks also have nifty little effects on the environment around you. See some enemies in a puddle? Use Electro Bolt and they're all toast. Is there an oil slick leading towards a gunman? Use Incinerate and he's...well, toast again. And Telekinesis? Well, everything around you can be thrown at enemies or used as temporary shields, should you need time to get to cover or reload. There are a few other plasmids in the game, but their uses are limited to very specific situations, and even then, once you've changed to the Plasmid you want, that situation will probably have passed - the citizens of Rapture are no slouches. In addition, these additional Plasmids all have one huge downfall each that make them very awkward to use in battles - for instance, Winter Blast, which freezes an enemy, kind of gives the same effect as Electro Bolt - a temporary stun. But if you kill an enemy who has been frozen, you smash him into a million pieces and get no loot. Just a tad silly.
Of course, you only get three plasmids from playing through the story. If you want some new ones, you'll have get your hands on some ADAM. And this is where the Little Sisters come into play.
You need ADAM to spend at Gatherer's Garden machines that are dotted around Rapture, and these machines can give you new plasmids, improved versions of old plasmids, or maximum health bar/EVE bar upgrades. But to do that, you'll have to find a Little Sister. The little Frankensteins of Rapture, these seemingly innocent little girls collect ADAM samples from corpses around Rapture. So they'll be full to bursting with the ADAM you need to buy some shiny new techniques. However, every little sister has a bodyguard - otherwise known as the Big Daddy. Big Daddies come in two flavours - Bouncer, who wields a huge drill arm and is a melee attacker, or Rosie, who sports a huge Rivet gun to do massive damage at long range. Only when you eliminate the Big Daddy can you get to the Little Sister, and thats no cakewalk. Big Daddies are tough, strong, and can whittle your health down quicker than child's teeth on Easter. But, if you do manage to beat the escort, then the little sister is at your mercy, and you can either choose to HARVEST her, for maximum ADAM, or RESCUE her, for less ADAM, but you'll receive the odd gift along your travels.
Gatherer's Garden machines can be used to trade ADAM for Plasmids, but you can also buy Tonics - passive abilities that improve your aptitude in battle. For example, you can buy SportBoost in order to run and do melee attacks faster. Another example is Electric Flesh, where you take less damage from energy based attacks. But the number of Tonics and Plasmids you can have equipped is limited - the right choices before battle could make all of the difference.
There are many other types of vending machines in Rapture as well. There is the 'Circus of Value', where you can buy First Aid Kits and food, the 'Ammo Bandito' for Ammo topups, and heal stations, which will heal you to full health. Of course, these things come at a price - but not ADAM this time, only dollars, and this can be found on pretty much every enemy you kill. Other machines on the walls of Rapture include 'Power to the People', which gives you a one-time upgrade of any weapon in your arsenal, and the slightly unnecessary 'U-Invent', which lets you create Ammo, items, or tonics from the raw materials you collect in the game. 'U-Invent' seems quite pointless, however - the ingredients you get from enemies is purely random, so you have no rock solid way of getting one particular material you need.
Any of the machines above can be hacked by you, in which you play a mini game not unlike the Arcade game Pipe Dream, in which you must guide the fluid through a series of pipes to get it to the exit. A successful hack on a machine will result in a price decrease of all the items in it - quite useful if you have a perpetual hole in your pocket. This mini-game is quite fun the first few times, but it gets quite boring and repetitive, and some of the endgame hacks are exceptionally hard. After 20 or so hacks, you'll probably want to pay the extra money for items just so you don't have to hack!
One more aspect of the gameplay is how death is dealt with. Well...it isn't. Vita-Chambers are dotted along Raptures streets - if you die, you'll respawn at the last one you passed, with half health and half EVE. This really makes dying more of a minor inconvenience than a real punishment, since nothing else respawns no matter how many times you do - for instance, if you fight a Big Daddy and get it down to half health when it kills you, it will still be on half health after you track it down for a second time. Very unchallenging - makes dying almost comparable to corpse runs in World of Warcraft. In fact there were even times where I thought ' You know, I would rather die and get revived than waste a first-aid kit here." That statement just SCREAMS bad game design.
Riiiight...that was 12 paragraphs on the gameplay. Yes, there are many things to do in Rapture and most of these twelve things compliment each other quite well, but the awkward switching between gun and plasmid and the fact that some plasmids are hardly ever useful don't work at all. Kind of like how cheese compliments ice cream.
BUT, like I said, this game will impress you in a very different way. After three hours of playing, you will be sucked into the wonderous world of Rapture and forget these minor gameplay flaws.
For starters, the story is masterfully woven, with plot twists and set pieces brilliantly choreographed. You can get a good chunk of the story just by playing through the with minimum diversion from the true path, but searching the nooks and crannies of Rapture can reward you with dicta phones of the old citezins of Rapture, which tell the secrets and facts about the city under the sea. In addition, every tape makes sense on its own - missing a tape every so often will not leave you with huge gaps in the plot.
The game is also very, very pretty. Especially in its water graphics (but what d'you expect, its set underwater!). The rooms and chambers of Rapture are perfect, and capture the 50s era in perfect style. However, I think the character graphics could've used more work. He we are, in a beautiful realistic looking city, and yet some of the characters look positively - comic book like. It kinds of puts a dint in the rest of the glorious visuals - but I'll be honest, its not much of a dint.
But, if there's one thing that puts Bioshock ahead of the other next-gen FPSs is simple - the atmosphere. Every room as flickering lighting, some has none at all, you can here the shrill cries of enemies from quite far away so you're always looking over your shoulder, and, even though there Vita-Chambers everywhere, the atmosphere alone makes you want to survive, and makes you want to not have to open those damn Vita-Chamber doors every five minutes. Even better is the fact that you hardly ever see any friendly characters - you only catch glimpses of your buddies over the radio - and this just heightens the tension further. Plus, the jolly and happy music of the 50s really does contrast beautifully with the violent slaughter and screams of dying people.
HOWEVER, there is one huge disappointment coming up. And thats the ending. I'll try and get through this paragraph without spoilers, but you really do have to be told. The time it took from the last bullet to hit the last boss, to me seeing the main menu again was a grand total of seventy seconds. SEVENTY SECONDS???? The last two hours of Bioshock are a pulse-racing thrill-o-rama, but this thrill is stopped dead when the end of the game comes so fast!! Its like trying to break a car going at speed, except you don't use the breaks, you use a wall made from iron girders. Seriously. Major disappointment. That right there lost this game a whole point.
AND, there are two different endings depending on how you treat the little sisters, an evil and a good one, but they differ so much, its like comparing Martin Luther King to Adolf Hitler. Its hard to see how 2K games will squeeze a sequel out of that.
Bioshock, then. It loses a point for the minor gameplay flaws, and it loses a point for the crashing-to-a-halt-super-quickly ending(s). Regardless, if you own an Xbox, then this is most definitely a must buy. Despite the flaws, it truly is a remarkable game. And, I think, its a huge step forward for FPS games in general. We've got the basic gameplay system of an FPS down now, all we need to do is make great stories for them, and we'll be up to our ears in masterpieces.
This isn't a masterpiece. But it brushes so close...I do feel sorry for it.
A solid 8 out of 10
First Impression of a bunch of things, or, what I did instead of going to the prom
on 07.02.2009
Because, as we all know, the prom sucks, and Xbox does not. Unless your a Sony fanboy. But no-one would want a Sony fanboy at a prom. Well, I definitely wouldn't.
Anywho, instead of prom-based activities I could've been participating in two weeks ago, I did what I did every night - stay up all night playing video games with pizza. Hell yeah, my prom pwns the snooty OFFICIAL prom. Of course, I meant to write up the shit two weeks ago, but I didn't, so I'm doing it now. Then I'll go have a bath. Wheeeeee!
Firstly, we have anti-hero city crawling freeroamer Prototype, which I had a lot of time watching my brother play before I had a chance to grab the reigns. The first thing I thought was "This is Spiderman." And it is. You jump around from building to building using various super shiny acrobatic moves, hell, you can even stick to walls to scale them. Although you won't, considering you can sprint up them at twice the speed. The only button you need for this rooftop motherfuckery is RT, which does everything you could ever need. It makes you sprint, run up walls, and if you mis-time a jump, and land in the streets below, holding RT as you run makes you jump over any obstacles you come across. Even though only one button is needed to traverse the entire playground, it still feels really satisfying to do. But trust me, its the only satisfying thing that can be done in Prototype.
I suppose I'll touch on the story before I lay into the horrid gameplay. You play as the delightfully cheery Alex Mercer, a dude who's infected with a virus that slowly working its way through Manhattan. He also has amnesia. So its your job to help him piece things together. To be honest, I couldn't give a crap about the story. The minute amnesia worked itself into it I pretty much tuned out the cutscenes altogether but no amount of tuning out could relieve me of hideous voice acting. Alex Mercer suffers from Albert Wesker Syndrome - everything he says is just so fucking hilarious, but only due to the crappy, gravely voice that spouts from his stupid, hooded face.
As for other gameplay stuff, well, Alex's trick is to shapeshift, so you can change his arms into claws, blades, hammers, whips, or other stuff. You can also consume any civilian or enemy around to regain health, or disguise yourself. Missions generally land into two categories - kill everything, or disguise as someone then kill everything. You're given the basic ways to kill everything in a very lovely and action packed opening sequence, where Alex can use all of his tools, but two seconds later you lose all of that stuff and have to be content with only your fists for a bit. Basically, imagine you're given one bite of a huge rump steak but then are forced to eat a plate of sausages instead. You want that steak back? Well, you're gonna have to work for it, sonny jim.
That's a lie. You don't have to work for it at all. I certainly didn't. I'd given up on the game right when I was supposed be destroying some water tower or something. Why? Well, its just not fun. It had all the ingredients of something brilliant - varied mission, cool ways to kill things, and the ability to free roam and massacre the innocent (which is always good for lulz). And yet, somehow, it just...isn't. Pretty much any human dies in one hit from anything, thus removing the challenge, but the challenge then comes back with the force of a frying pan to your skull, when the hunters are introduced. Basically, hunters are big ol' monster type things, with shitloads of health and the ability to hit you no matter what combo you might be doing. And he hits hard. Many times. And they never let up - one actually followed me to the top of the Empire State building.
The game tricks you into thinking you're invincible for the first few hours, then it just gets stupidly frustrating to do anything. The targeting system is god-awful, apparently deciding that an incontinent old lady is more dangerous than the huge tentacled monster of the moment, and all the military seem to have horrible long-sightedness, not spotting you after you've killed twenty of their comrade in front of them, but easily able to spot your big toe from the top of the Chrysler building.
Sure, maybe I suck at the game. But I've sucked at other games before and still had fun. I've tried again and again to give it my attention, but its just not doing it for me.
Wow, that went on for a while. Screw it, I'll just write about Dead Space and finish up, and complain about Quake Live tomorrow.
So, Dead Space then. Unlike the garbage I've written above, I'll actually give this one some structure and talk about the plot first. You play as Issac Clarke, an engineer who is sent with his team to a mining ship where his spouse once resided. They have to fix something or other. However, once they get on board they see its inhabited by monsters, crazy miners, and dangerous strobe lighting effects.
In a nutshell, think of Dead Space as the gameplay of Resident Evil, plus the brilliant storytelling of Bioshock, in space. If that didn't pique your curiosity, then you obviously have a heart made of coal. You walk around as Isaac through dimly lit corridors of the, frankly, HUGE ship, and shoot at the evil looking ghoulies that plague you. Two things differ from Resi Evil - you can move and aim, and you can melee when you want. However, one of the more interesting things is that these particular aliens are weak against limb shots, rather than head shots. Its a very curious mechanic that works quite well, although the form of the later enemies make it hard to determine where the limbs actually are. It also lowers the difficulty somewhat, as most enemies have more limbs than heads, so you have more places to shoot.
Don't get me wrong though, the game isn't easy. I'd say it had a perfect difficulty curve, again, akin to Resident Evil. You'll find the first few encounters to be hard graft until you're comfortable with the controls (although the stuff about going for the limbs wasn't really subtly implied - more pushed into your face like a custard pie of knowledge) and after that, the only difficulty is trying to keep piss and shit from leaving your body. Yes, its a scary game. I honestly haven't felt this scared in a game since Silent Hill 2. Isaac doesn't help with this either - if he's hurt, he stumble and breathe heavily whilst walking, and you'll be praying for no enemies to come out of that ominous vent in from of you.
What Dead Space achieves is an absolutely awesome sense of immersion. There is no HUD as such - health bars and other stuff is displayed nicely on Isaac's back (which you'll be seeing a lot of) and ammo counters come up as little projections on the guns themselves. The menu and inventory screen is also dealt with in the game world, with Isaac carrying a device similar which projects maps and inventory from his arm. All of this is done in real time, however, so be sure to clear the room of enemies before you go messing around with medikits and such.
However one criticism is this...remember how I said it was like Resi + Bioshock in space? Well, Dead Space takes an AWFUL lot from these games. A lot of the back story of the fate of the crew is told through audio logs found within the ships, and, apart from radio contact, you're on your own, with only fleeting glimpses of your allies. Isaac is also one of my video gaming pet peeves - a silent protagonist. All VERY Bioshocky. As for the gameplay, well, its just Resident Evil 4 with bells on. Isaac's manoeuvrability is very similar to Leon/Chris's, the movement of a tank, so to speak. The fact is that Dead Space is kind of a Frankenstien's monster of different games - sure, the setting and story are original, but its being told through very unoriginal ways.
That's not to say its bad, its actually really good. But I have my game critic pants on, so I have to dish out the bads as well as the goods. Its a game you definitely have to try.
Bleh, I've written lots here and I need to bathe. You'll hear about Quake Live some other time.
Gears of War 2 Online - flawed, but fun
on 07.01.2009
Didn't it look BRILLIANT?! Magazines and gaming websites across the globe who were lucky enough to have a crack of the Gears of War 2 multiplayer pre-release were jizzing in their pants before, during, and after. Its broken Halo's record for most consecutive online players, with a staggering 1.5 million players. And Epic certainly have been kind to it, with
map packs
map packs
, and
more map packs on the way
. Oh yes, only since Halo has an online component been given such hype. But does it deserve it? Short answer: yes.
Long answer: It depends. I'm pretty sure Epic wanted to change the fact that a lot of the games in old GoW1 were solved by shotgun battles, and they wanted a subtle and tactical cover-based shooter instead. When GoW2 was announced, with changes such as a less powerful shotgun and being slowed down by oncoming bullets, to stop endless shotgun rushes, its seemed like Epic were heading down that road. But something slipped along the way.
You see, you won't get very far in GoW2 just finding a nice chest high piece of rock, slamming yourself against it, and shooting at enemies with your Hammerburst. No sir. Nearly every gametype now runs on 'Execution' rules, meaning that downing someone is all well and good, but you can only finish off your downed foe from point blank range. To me, this is a bit of a silly set of rules. What's the point of even trying to kill your opponent from afar, when he'll go down only to be revived by an incoming team-mate, before you can claim your kill? What's the point, when you'd be better off running in to score a one hit kill with the shotgun? And, since falling to your knees makes you invulnerable to anything but a curb stomp or otherwise, the price for being downed isn't very steep, and the chances are you'll have a helpful teammate to help you up.
All these things are definitely not encouraging players to bunker down and pick of their targets, but to run in, shotgun or chainsaw aloft, and turn as many enemies into pate as they can. And it usually pays off.
This isn't the only problem. The weapons you'll find on the battlefield, such as the Boomshot and the Longshot Rifle, can pretty much all score one hit kills. Its not so bad with the aforementioned two weapons - claiming a headshot with the Sniper does require a great deal of skill, and the Boomshot is quite hard to handle in close or far distances. But other weapons such as the mortar and Hammer of Dawn can kill in one hit whilst totally bypassing any cover you might be hiding behind.
Yessir, you're not getting anywhere in GoW2 without mastering at least one form of one shot kill. Whether it be shotgun gib, rifle headshot, or laser-from-space obliteration, you'd better be ready to throw your Lancer away. Unless, of course, you want to use the one-hit kill chainsaw attack. <_<
All of this one hit kill nonsense is very much changing the game of Gears. Both teams are ignoring the capture point in Annex to fight over the Boomshot. Wingman is practically decided by which weapon you spawn next to - if you spawn next to grenades, then you're honestly screwed. I think Epic's grand master plan went a bit awry here, the constant scrambling for the power weapons is akin to Halo of all things, and we all know how that sucks.
Am I saying to abandon the Gears ship forever? Of course not. Its still as gleefully fun as ever it was, if you don't mind a bit of lag here and there, and the (FUCKING STUPID) fact that it still runs via host and not server. I just get the niggling feeling that perhaps, had it been given a few months thought, it could've been unlike and multiplayer experience in gaming. Now its just like all the others, where ROCKET LAUNCHER = WIN, and any amount of tactics you were hoping to implement are lying on the floor in chunky giblets - kind of like what you'll be like if you don't grab that Boomshot fast.


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Approximately 4.8 million Canadians -- that's one in seven -- live in poverty.
This week, Citizens for Public Justice and Canada Without Poverty, two groups that address issues of homelessness, early childhood education and how to organize around anti-poverty activism, released a national action plan to address income insecurity among Canadians.
"It is never acceptable for a rich country to do nothing about poverty, and now is certainly not the time," said Canada Without Poverty's Executive Director Leilani Farha in a press release.

subset: commoncrawl


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Nuala O'Connor Kelly bio at DHS
"Ridge taps privacy chief"
"TSA tinkers with privacy plan"
An understanding husband, two dogs with no sense of respect for titles and a new membership at a downtown gym. These are things Nuala O'Connor Kelly hopes will relieve the pressure that comes with overseeing protection of individual privacy at the Homeland Security Department.
The job of chief privacy officer at the newly created agency is one that comes with plenty of potential pitfalls, many of which extend from the debate currently raging over the Transportation Security Administration's passenger screening plans and the concerns over the numerous systems coming online to consolidate information across the 22 agencies that are now part of the department. When the topics of homeland security and privacy intersect, a debate is almost guaranteed.
O'Connor Kelly is certainly familiar with such challenges. Much of the respect that helped get her the job came from helping define and defend the privacy policy at DoubleClick Inc. after critics assailed the national Web firm for wanting to use personal information to guide its marketing and advertising services.
"There are very few people who could do this job effectively," said Ari Schwartz, associate director of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, D.C. "She, in fact, may be the only one."
For O'Connor Kelly, this is not about gaining a higher profile — and it is certainly not about getting a bigger office. She occupies one of many windowless cubicles in a government building at L'Enfant Plaza in downtown Washington, D.C. For her, as for so many at DHS, "This is personal."
"I've wanted this position since it was a twinkle in the president's eye," she said, pointing to a framed copy of the New York Times that is immediately recognizable as the cover of the Sept. 12, 2001, issue, and is only one of many personal photos and items lining the walls of her cubicle.
At the time of the attacks, she was living in New York City, but she was born in Northern Ireland, where she witnessed the impact of terrorism and counterterrorism on the lives of the people there. She wanted to be involved in achieving not only physical safety for U.S. citizens, but also personal safety, which means protecting both the tangible and intangible aspects of a citizen's well-being.
"I like to really challenge the conventional wisdom that [says it's] either privacy or security," she said.
Much of her family is still in New York, and "having folks out in the real world, out past the Beltway, is a really good way to keep yourself grounded," she said. She also escapes from the office by spending time with her two Labrador retrievers — a love she shares with DHS Secretary Tom Ridge, who has three.
At the same time, "it's hard to put [the job] down at the end of the day," she said. "It's a life-changing opportunity for all of us, and that's what keeps us going" through long hours, political push and pull, and the need to schedule "dates" with her husband in order to see him some weeks.
"I've had to develop some more positive coping mechanisms," she said, admitting that this is where the new gym comes in. "I am trying to remember to keep a little bit of sanity."
O'Connor Kelly's job at DHS is the first chief privacy officer position to be created by law. Members of the Bush administration, Congress and the private sector shaped it. Her responsibilities stretch from education and oversight inside the department to communication and collaboration with the private sector and the public, which leaves very little in the way of free time. She keeps a copy of the section outlining her responsibilities under both the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the E-Government Act of 2002 taped to the wall above her desk.
The chief information officer's staff generally develops privacy impact assessments for new systems, and the program management staff ensures Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act compliance. "Having these two processes intertwine in my office means we have the cross-functional dialogue," she said. "I see [the internal oversight] as a much more proactive effort, trying to help people ward off problems before they really become problems."
O'Conner Kelly may not deserve all the credit for the change in the privacy notice for TSA's Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS) II from an unintelligible document to one that can be read and used to find answers to personal questions by nearly anyone, Schwartz said. But he added that there is no way to deny the drastic improvement in the department's communication on privacy issues since she arrived.
Educating other agencies on privacy issues is not part of her job, but coordinating with them, particularly the Federal Aviation Administration and the Justice Department, is a must. This is because of the importance of the information that passes back and forth everyday in order to keep the homeland security mission on track.
The interagency privacy group that the Office of Management and Budget recently restarted is central to this effort because it allows all of the privacy officials across the government to get together to share ideas and problems and form personal relationships, O'Connor Kelly said. She used the example of the relationship she has with Zoe Strickland, the chief privacy officer at the U.S. Postal Service.
OMB officials themselves, including Dan Chenok, branch chief for information policy and technology at OMB, and Eva Kleederman, the lead privacy analyst working under Chenok, "have been a tremendous help," O'Connor Kelly said. But she is also well aware that her position is seen as a test case and a model, and other senior privacy officials are keeping a careful eye on how well she fares as they attempt to raise their profiles and positions within their agencies.
When it comes to external communication, technology both helps and confuses the issue. O'Connor Kelly and another staff member have access to the firstname.lastname@example.com e-mail account, which, she says, gets "tons" of messages each day. Messages range from technical questions from lawyers to personal comments and complaints from people around the country.
Before, in the all-paper world, queries were limited to a select few. E-mail has largely removed that barrier. But with so many different kinds of questions, many of them necessitate individual responses, which is a time-consuming process.
With two wireless phones, a beeper and a personal digital assistant, O'Connor Kelly can attest to the fact that "an outgrowth of increasing technology and increasing access is that you're going to have more feedback."
Many agencies are struggling with this volume, and O'Connor Kelly said her experience in the private sector has helped with handling that volume and range of messages. However, her office is also trying to set up an automated response on the general e-mail address so that people know someone received their message, at the very least, she said.
The Nuala O'Connor Kelly file
Title: Chief privacy officer, Homeland Security Department
Appointed: April 16, 2003
Born in: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Now lives in: Arlington, Va., with her husband and a pair of 2-year-old Labrador retrievers.
Other government jobs: Chief privacy officer, chief counsel for technology and deputy director of the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning at the Commerce Department.
Private-sector experience: Vice president of data protection and chief privacy officer for emerging technologies at DoubleClick Inc. Previously worked at several Washington, D.C., law firms.
Quote: "No matter what I do during the day, I have to come home and clean up after the dogs."
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My name is Jang-soon Hwang.
I love Travel, Adventure and Life.
I is always ready to meet and gentlemen.
Wish you a pleasant stay in Seoul will be happy to help you.
Look forward to seeing you in Seoul.
Welcome to Seoul!
Jang-Soon has completed online and offline ID verification.
Jang-Soon was a very accommodating host and helped give the taxi driver directions. The apartment was very clean and it was a short walk to the middle of Itaewon. I would definitely stay at Jang-Soon apartment again. Thanks.
Mr. Jang-soon and his wife were very welcoming host. They met with me the first day to ensure I understood where everything was and how to use them. The apartment is clean, cozy and very comfortable. I would definitely stay here again on my next visit to seoul. Thank you Mr and Mrs Jang-Soon for your kindness and hospitality :0)
처음 예정보다 일찍 도착했음에도 불구하고 너무나도 친절하게 맞아주셨어요! 찾아가는 길도 미리 잘 설명해주셔서 쉽게 찾아갈 수 있었답니다. 먼저 사진 그대로의 모습의 공간이여서 무척 만족스러웠고요, 교통편도 역은 물론 버스정류장도 가까이에 위치해있어서 이동시에도 편리하게 다닐 수 있었어요. 또한 궁금한 부분도 친절하게 잘 설명해주시는 것은 물론이고 가는 당일까지 하나하나 너무나도 잘 챙겨주셔서 무척이나 만족스러웠습니다. 이곳에서 보낸 2주동안 아주 편안하고 만족스럽게 지냈답니다.
It was a nice place at a convenient location. Very friendly owners and a good value for the money. I'd go there again if i went back to seoul.
The apartment looks like the pictures and my boyfriend and I we're very happy about it. I enjoyed my stay in this clean and cozy apartment. We were late for the check in because we couldn't find it. Because it was a bit down in an alley. if you know where it is than its no problem!! I haven't seen Jang Soon but lucky he send his wife to welcome us!! I'm still so sorry about it that we were late. It was great near the subway and all the great food of Itaewon. Will come back again!!
Room is exactly like the picture, nice and cozy. Owners are v responsive and helpful. Road leading in is a little narrow so not all taxis want to drive in, a note for those with alot of luggage. It's very accessible to Itaewon main road through the back alleys. The automatic air freshener in the room may be uncomfortable for those with a sensitive noise though ...
Comfortable flat about a 5 minute walk from Itaewon station. Lots of food (though particularly non-Korean) in the area. Great place to stay for a couple of nights.
Jang Soon's wife pick me up at the exit 4. Thank you for that otherwise I will be lost finding the place. The room was just like in the pictures. There are snack, tea, and coffee provided. If you stay in Itaewon, I'll recommend you to stay here.
Our stay at the apartment is wonderful. A quiet place and near to the subway with lots of shop nearby. Halal food and mart is everywhere.The plc is clean n accessible too. Complete with all the accessories as mentioned. Mr Jang Soon is very helpful when I had lots of question. Mr Jang Soon wife waited for us at the apartment although we r late. They even came in at night juz to help us with the charger n to show us the washing area. Will def come baq and stay here agen. Thank u!!


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I love it!Submitted by SettingSouthernersStraight (not verified) on Wed, 03/18/2009 - 3:03pm.
If you want to pollute the air and your body with some cancer sticks go right ahead, but you need to be taxed. I say, increase it more! $1.35 is not enough, raise that up to $2.00!
I will gladly pay 5% more on any alcohol purchase I make. I am not dependent on it, and I'll gladly pay that tax if I feel the need to have a few cold ones.
If you don't like it, the one thing you can do is stopping buying the product. You'll survive without the nicotine. Or is it that you won't know what to do with all those 10 minute breaks you are taking at work.
Reply |


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Tendal One, manufactured by Durasol Awnings, is a motorized, retractable solar awning system designed for balconies, decks, verandas, terraces, and roof gardens. The overhead unit extends out and reaches partially or fully down to the ground to provide shade from the sun's glare while allowing light and airflow. The wall-mounted cassette, top, and side-support framework are constructed of rustproof high-grade extruded and cast aluminum.
888-387-2765; durasol.com
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230 Auburn, NH Lighting Designers and Suppliers
A well-lit home is essential for both functional and aesthetic reasons. Lighting designers will analyze your Auburn, NH home's layout, structure and needs to create an effective lighting plan throughout your home. Though electrical engineers or interior designers can take on the task of outfitting your home with the appropriate lighting, a professional lighting designer explores lighting as a technique. More
Doreen Le May Madden
(617) 484-6400
Lux Lighting Design is a Full Service independent Lighting Design firm led by award-winning Lighting Designer Doreen Le May Madden; Residential and Commercial Lighting Design for... Read More
The House of Lights
(207) 883-0174
The House of Lights has become the premier retail residential Lighting showroom, with 70+ manufacturers, from light bulbs to fixtures, recessed, portables, shades & wall control systems. See my projects
Northern Outdoor Lighting LLC
(978) 987-9845
Northern Outdoor Lighting is an award winning professional landscape and architectural lighting system design and installation firm. We take an artful approach to the science of... Read More
Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery
(757) 874-7795
Step into a Ferguson Showroom and you'll be surrounded by the latest styles in kitchen, bath and lighting design from the industry's leading manufacturers. See my projects
Lucia Lighting & Design
(781) 595-0026
Winner of Best of Boston Home and Best of Boston, Lucia Lighting & Design's 8,000 square foot showroom showcases the largest selection of lighting in New England. Featuring custom... Read More
(617) 423-9790
Light Power/genuine antique lighting offers original Antique light fixtures for historic homes such as Victorian, Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, Townhouse, Arts and Craft,... Read More
Light + Color Collaborative
(603) 289-2110
lighting design and color consulting for residential · vacation · boutique retail · restaurant · salon + spa · office Read More
Amy Pierce, Hammerton Northeast territory
(781) 774-9498
We are a luxury lighting manufacture with our beginnings in Park City Utah. We also specialize in custom lighting for the "one of a kind" need of your affluent clientele Read More
Wolfers Lighting Inc
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Two Time Best of Boston Winner Wolfers Lighting, is Greater Boston's best lighting resource for consumers and professionals. Read More
(978) 443-9412
We are a third generation family business created in the 1930's and are expert purveyors of lighting and reproduction furniture.From custom lighting fixtures designed to your... Read More
Oscar Lighting, LLC
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Oscar Lighting units are high-end decorative pedestal lights that create warmth and ambiance to any room in your home or office. Read More
Neenas Lighting
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Neena's Lighting is your online source for the best collection in modern lighting and transitional lighting. Our promise to you is responsive, knowledgeable and caring customer... Read More
Light Positive
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A boutique lighting design firm specializing in integrated solutions for architecture and landscapes, performing arts, event, and exhibit lighting. Read More
Delande Lighting
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Delande Lighting is a full service showroom providing the highest level of services and lighting concepts in the area. Our sales team is trained to design complete lighting... Read More
Maria smith
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Crescent Harbor is the new online presence of The Lighthouse, based in the historic seaside hamlet of Kennebunk, Maine. The Lighthouse has been in business for 35 years and is in... Read More
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Residential and Commercial Interior / Exterior Solid Brass UL Listed Lighting in a wide variety of finishes. Read More
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We are a direct manufacturer of LED lights in Shenzhen,China.
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LED Spotlight , LED Globall Bulb,LED tube light, LED Flood light,LED strip light,
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Product Description
Available while supplies last.
Sunpentown 3.2 cu.ft. Double Door Refrigerator
Flush back, compact design is ideal for college dorm room or office. Reversible doors offer versatility. Features separate freezer and fridge compartment, adjustable thermostat and fresh food section.
- Stainless steel door with black cabinet
- Adjustable thermostat
- Freezer compartment temp range: 5 ~ 23°F
- Refrigerator compartment temp range: 35 ~ 59°F
- Manual defrost
- HCFC-free
- Slide-out wire shelf for storage versatility
- Transparent vegetable storage drawer with glass shelf
- Front leveling legs
- Ice cube tray
- Can dispenser and tall bottle rack
- Input voltage 120V / 60Hz, Power Input 95W / 1.1Amp
- Noise output 40 to 44 dB
- Freezer interior dimensions: 13.25"W x 15"D x 7.5"H, Fridge interior dimensions: 15.75"W x 15.75"D x 17.75"H
Materials: | Metal, Plastic | |
Weight: | 75 Pounds | |
Listing: | , Quick Ship | |
Warranty | 1-Year Warranty | |
Refrigerator Features | No Water Dispenser |
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Group # | 1376562 |
Category | Refrigerators - 1429 |
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Sales Rank | 66 |
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Article Preview
Former Watertown bar owner sentenced for tax evasion
Published 10/25/2011
SIOUX FALLS (AP) — The former owner of a Watertown bar has been sentenced to 10 months in prison and fined $30,000 for tax evasion.
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CONTENTSVIDEOGame of the Week27 Teams in 27 DaysFriday Night FlightsSports OvertimeScholastic Ball ReportSport Stars of TomorrowSCORESMEDIAPARTNERS |
2014 Boys Cross Country RegionalsNovember 4, 2014 • Owensboro High SchoolCongratulations to Warren Green for quailifying for the Kentucky State Cross Country Meet. Warren finished 25th overall with a time of 17:57.98. Also scoring for the OHS boys team were Gavin Miller (37th, 18:33.34), Keaton Fitzgerald (40th, 18:39.36), Muhan Nard (47th, 18:57.67) and J More » |
Cross Country Teams Headed To StateNovember 4, 2014 • by AJ Stadelmeyer • Ashland Paul G Blazer High SchoolGood Luck Tomcat And Kitten Cross Country At State State Meet Saturday November More » |
Back to Back Regional TitlesNovember 2, 2014 • by Chris Davis • Bishop Brossart High SchoolTwo titles defended and one to go More » |
Hornet Boys Finish Runner-UpNovember 1, 2014 • Hancock County High SchoolGeorge Marsch leads Hornets to a Second Place Finish in Region 2 Class A in Cecilia More » |
Lady Hornets Win Regional TitleNovember 1, 2014 • Hancock County High SchoolHeavily Favored Lady Hornets Run to Title More » |
Snapp Advances to State as Panthers Compete in the Region 5 ChampionshipNovember 1, 2014 • Augusta Independent SchoolsCold, windy, and no sun in sight. That describes the conditions at the Region 5 Class "A" Cross Country Championship held in Mason County on November 01. More » |
Jeff Paulin and Jacob Frommeyer make 10th Region TeamOctober 29, 2014 • Bishop Brossart High SchoolThe Mustang Nation would like to congratulate Goalkeeper, Jeff Paulin and Outside Midfielder, Jacob Frommeyer on being named to the 10th Region All Tournament Team. Both Jeff and Jacob are Seniors this year. Jeff is the best goal keeper in Northern Kentucky and proba More » |
One down, 2 to go for Boys' Cross CountryOctober 27, 2014 • by Chris Davis • Bishop Brossart High SchoolPlace 4 in top 8 at NKAC to blow away the competition More » |
Boys Soccer 3rd Region All Tournament TeamOctober 27, 2014 • Owensboro High SchoolOHS placed three players on the 2014 3rd Region All Tournament Team. Senior Demond Taylor, juniors Skylar Lovette and Mayes McFarland were named to the team. Congratulations to these Devils for a great tournament and for representing OHS in a first class way. Go Devils! More » |
OHS 0 - DCHS 1October 27, 2014 • Owensboro High SchoolOHS Boys Soccer Team hung tough but fell to Daviess Co. in the 3rd Regional Boys Soccer Championship Game Saturday afternoon, October 25 at Apollo's Eagle Field. DCHS one goal but made it hold up to end the Devils season. This game marked the 4th games these 2 teams had faced each oth More » |
Boys XC Dominate at Meet of ChampionsOctober 27, 2014 • by Jon Boultinghouse • Apollo High SchoolThe boys cross country team competed in their last regular season meet this Saturday at the Western Kentucky Meet of Champions. The boys dominated the competition placing four runners in the top five and seven in the top More » |
E-Gals 9th District Champs!!!October 24, 2014 • by Jon Boultinghouse • Apollo High SchoolCONGRATULATIONS TO YOUR APOLLO E-GALS. . . .2014 VOLLEYBALL DISTRICT CHAMPS!!!!!! The team played an impressive 5 set match against Owensboro Catholic losing the first two sets and coming back to win the last three, a nearly im More » |
Montgomery County's Gifts dooms Mustangs in PK shootout 5-4October 24, 2014 • Bishop Brossart High SchoolThe Bishop Brossart Mustangs, who have the best defensive goal differential in all of Kentucky were no match for the Assistant Referee tonight. Both Montgomery County and Bishop Brossart battled hard and the Mustangs defense More » |
Augusta's Snapp Wins the "Run for the Water Barrel"October 24, 2014 • Augusta Independent SchoolsFor the final regular season meet of the year for Augusta's cross country team, the Panthers competed in the "Run for the Water Barrel" hosted by Clark County at Lykins Park. More » |
All 9th District Volleyball TeamOctober 24, 2014 • Owensboro High SchoolOHS places 3 players on the 9th District All District Volleyball Team. Congratulations to out to Aja James, Camille Armstrong and Tyreesha Phelps. Great job and congratulations! Go Devils! More » |


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"Thus always teasing others, and days teas'd, His only pleasure is to be displeas'd"
William Cowper
"How happy could I be with either, / Were t'other dear charmer away! / But while ye thus tease me together, / To neither a word will I say."
John Gay
"They've been teasing us with buses for four days."
Daniel Edwards
"The trumpet does no more stun you by its loudness, than a whisper teases you by its provoking inaudibility"
Charles Lamb
"The still must tease with the promise of a story the viewer of it itches to be told."
Cindy Sherman
"Everyone has been teasing me, 'Well, you definitely have the prettiest car here.'"
Kevin Harvick
"I tease her all the time because she'll need to take an afternoon off here and there to sing at someone's funeral. I told her when I die, she better sing at mine. She's really good - she'll move you to tears."
Cheryl Anderson


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Jason Motte
FaceTime with Jason Motte
FaceTime with Jason Motte Description Transcript share 0 Tweet 0 0 Close More Videos BEST OF THE WEB Powered By The 10 most memorable women from sports movies
FaceTime with Jason Motte
FOX Sports Midwest reporter Jim Hayes talks via FaceTime to Cardinals reliever Jason Motte , who has been pitching in Florida in extended spring training as he continues to rehab his elbow after Tommy John surgery. Motte says his arm feels good and he is hoping to go somewhere soon on a rehab ...
FaceTime with Jason Motte
FOX Sports Midwest's Jim Hayes talks via FaceTime with Cardinals reliever Jason Motte , who is pitching in extended spring training in Jupiter, Fla. Motte , who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, says his elbow feels good and he hopes to begin a rehab assignment somewhere soon.
Jason Motte Interview
Jason Motte talks about his beard and more on FOX Sports Midwest.
Cardinals Extra: Jason Motte
Cardinals Extra: Jason Motte Description Transcript 0 0 0 0 0 Close More Videos + SHOW COMMENTS + Powered by Livefyre
Three reasons to watch the Cardinals in 2015
Key additions: RF Jason Heyward, 3B/1B Mark Reynolds Key subtractions: SP Shelby Miller, RP Pat Neshek, RP Jason Motte , IF Daniel Descalso *Projected records courtesy of FanGraphs share 0 Tweet 0 0 0 Comments You may use your Facebook
The Cat and Motte denied tour of the Trop
Jason Motte wanted to go up on the cat walk at Tropicana Field, but says Jim Hayes was too scared to go.
Cubs, reliever Motte finalize $4.5 million, 1-year contract
Reliever Jason Motte and the Chicago Cubs finalized a $4 ..... million more in performance bonuses. Motte was one of baseball's top closers in ..... 1-0 with a 4.68 ERA in 29 games. Motte is eligible for up to $2.5 million
AP source: Cubs, Motte agree to 1-year deal
of the deal says veteran reliever Jason Motte has agreed to a $4.5 million ..... increase the value to $7 million. Motte was one of the major leagues' top ..... with the Cardinals. The deal with Motte gives Chicago another big arm for
Mozeliak: State of the Cardinals
GM John Mozeliak talks about the Cardinals' brutal stretch of road games to start the season, the pitching rotation and provides an update on Jason Motte's recovery.


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Rounded tips extend smoothly on either side to frame and protect your choice of centre diamond. Los bordes internos son redondeados para ofrecer mayor comodidad.
The ring is gorgeous and the diamond is absolutely beautiful. I couldn't be happier with my fabulous engagement ring, I love showing it off and would recommend blue Nile to my friends and family
Lynn, Forres, Moray – June 2013
Beautiful ring and we are both really happy with our decision. It was a surprise engagement and my fiance says she couldn't have picked any nicer!
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Amazing Diamond Amazing Service
Robert, Dorset – September 2012


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Product Description
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Office landlords survive soft market
PUBLISHED: 05 Sep 2013 00:09:12 | UPDATED: 05 Sep 2013 09:13:44PUBLISHED: 05 Sep 2013 PRINT EDITION: 05 Sep 2013Blue-chip property groups hope that lease expiries and tenant demand will help them ride out a slow office office market.
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Companies | Dexus Property Group, Commonwealth Prop, Mirvac Group |
Topics | Property - Commercial /Property Trusts |


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Apple, Orchard, Apple Tree, Basket, Apple Orchard, Fruit, Autumn, Harvesting
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Leaf, Crop, Fruit Bowl, Red, Freshness, Autumn Harvest, fall harvest, Autumn Fruit, basket of apples, Ripe Apple, Food And Drink, Nature, Industry, ripe apples, red apple, Healthy Eating, Copy Space, Raw, Refreshment, Horizontal, Low Angle View, Ripe, Focus On Foreground, apple basket, fall fruit, fresh fruit, Courtland Apples
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Most Montgomery Parks facilities and offices will open at 10:00 a.m. today due to inclement weather. Visit www.MontgomeryParks.org/weather for informaton on all openings, closures and cancellations.
Visit Wheaton Ice Arena's new Micosite, which has been designed to help you more easily find your events, classes, schedules and more at WheatonIceArena.com.
Montgomery Parks offers fun-filled half- and whole-day summer camps throughout June, July and most of August. Camps are open to all children in Montgomery County, Frederick County, Howard County, Prince George's and beyond. Be sure to check out camps that offer Early Bird Registration discounts! It's easy to find your favorite camps with our new search tool. Click to start your search.
Montgomery Parks is launching a new program to remove snow from the Capital Crescent Trail this winter. Find out more here: CCTSnow.
We're celebrating Black History Month at Josiah Henson Park with free guided tours and spoken word poetry events.
Visit our new microsite at CabinJohnIce.com for events, classes, skating schedules and more. Tell us what you think.
M-NCPPC Montgomery Parks has begun construction on the Stone Barn and Carriage House at Woodlawn Park, which is expected to last through the spring of 2015.
The grounds around Woodlawn Manor House, gazebo garden, event tent and Underground Railroad Experience Trail will remain open during construction. Visitors are urged to use caution near construction areas. Click here for additional information or call 301-495-2595.
If left unchecked, deer populations can grow exponentially. As the number of deer continue to increase, it is likely that deer-related conflicts will continue to increase. Habitat will degrade and in the long run, the deer will suffer as the population becomes malnourished, unhealthy, and susceptible to disease. A program of deer population reduction can reduce both deer-human conflicts and deer impacts, and must be considered as a tool in the long-term reduction of deer-related conflicts in Montgomery County. The County's Deer Management Plan outlines methods of population reduction for public and private lands.
Montgomery Parks has recently updated its 1997 policy for siting telecommunications facilities on Park property. More info
WSSC is rehabilitating manholes and sewer lines throughout their collection system. Construction has begun in Magruder Branch, Sligo, Rock Creek, Seneca Creek, and Long Branch Stream Valleys. Construction is expected to begin this spring in Paint Branch, Watts Branch and Northwest Branch Stream Valleys. There will be temporary access roads built and sewer bypass pipes along roads and hiker/biker trails. Although trails will be accessible to park patrons, caution should be used around construction sites. Work will likely continue through 2016. For more information, please visit the WSSC Sewer Repair, Replacement and Rehabilitation Program site or call 301-206-8732.
Are you planning a birthday party, reunion, or other event? We have just the location for you! Park Activity Buildings are conveniently located throughout Montgomery Parks and include kitchen facilities and the interior space to handle events ranging in size from 40 to 180 people. Find photos and floor plans, check availability and reserve your Park Activity Building online now!
Did you know that since 2004, Montgomery Parks has reduced electricity use by 33%, natural gas use by 37%, propane use by 46% and water and sewage use by 30%? Montgomery Parks and Montgomery County Planning implemented a comprehensive utilities management program in July 2003 that established projects and programs to more efficiently use energy and water resources.
Review the Fiscal Year 2014 Resource Conservation Plan presented to the Montgomery County Planning Board on January 31, 2013, and learn what programs, projects and savings the Department has implemented and plans to work on.
Stay connected with Montgomery Parks through online and social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. Tell us how we're doing, find our Program Guide and event calendar, and several other ways to connect and communicate with Montgomery Parks.
Have a question? Notice a problem in a park? We can help. Report a Problem or Ask a Question.
Hillandale Road between Little Falls Parkway and Willett Parkway is closed due to the partial collapse of a culvert pipe that crosses underneath Hillandale Road. The road is closed until further notice while the pipe is being replaced. Montgomery Parks is working with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation to expedite the design, procurement, and installation of a replacement structure and will reopen Hillandale Road as soon as it is safe to do so. Please check this web page for updates or call 301-495-2525.
Montgomery Parks has completed an Interim Transition Plan to bring the park system into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This document provides an overview of the park system, identifies barriers to accessibility, and outlines a long-term strategy to remove those barriers.
The Interim is a status of Montgomery Parks efforts through mid- 2014. The Final Transition Plan will be submitted on or before August 2016. Download 2014 Interim Self Evaluation and Transition Plan. Visit Accessibility Information for Montgomery Parks for updated information and to provide your comments regarding the plan.


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Shop Our Store
Select your preferred location and we'll note which parts are ready to be picked up TODAY.
Pulley, Electric Water Pump, Gilmer-Style, Plastic, 14-Tooth, Each
Estimated Ship Date: Today Would you rather pick it up? Select Location
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Brand: Moroso
Manufacturer's Part Number: 97252
Part Type: Accessory Drive Pulleys
Product Line: Moroso Electric Water Pump Drive Pulleys
Summit Racing Part Number:
Pulley Type: Water pump
Pulley Style: Gilmer
Tooth Quantity: 14
Underdrive: No
Overdrive: No
Crankshaft Nose Cover Included: No
Hardware Included: No
Pulley Finish: Black
Pulley Material: Plastic
Quantity: Sold individually.
Notes: Designed to fit Moroso electric drive water pump kits.
In-Store Pickup: Choose In-store pick-up (OH, GA, NV) on our web site.
These Moroso electric water pump drive pulleys will allow you to change the speed of the water pump. They come in two different tooth counts to allow the speed change. These pulleys are made from aluminum and feature a hard coat, anodized finish for durability.
Some parts are not legal for sale or use in California on any pollution-controlled motor vehicles
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Boys Tennis: Irish win their first match
After opening the season without its full lineup in a loss at Hastings, and then competing in a doubles tournament, the Rosemount boys tennis team was finally able to get into a regular schedule the past week.
The Irish's roster has settled, for the most part. And with three matches during the past week, it allowed the opportunity for Rosemount to get into a groove.
Last week, the Irish posted their first victory with a 4-3 win at Prior Lake.


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Learn how to save time by recording actions and automating common tasks in Photoshop.
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Chaz Muth
News Articles
Articles by Chaz Muth
Nuclear summit stirs new religious expectations from Vatican, activists
Dec. 11, 2014 Global, Peace & JusticePope Francis calls for solidarity in creating a world without nuclear weapons
Dec. 8, 2014 Global, Peace & JusticeOkla. bishop to replace cardinal at Latin Mass
Apr. 22, 2010Religious charities gain in a down year
Jun. 12, 2009Pray for a nation on path to a 'culture of death'
May. 8, 2009- 1 of 2
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In This Issue
February 27- March 12, 2015
- Francis tells cardinals not to be 'closed caste,' seek contact with marginalized
- Kayla Mueller's encounter with a suffering God
- Ohio Congressman describes 'evolution' from pro-life to pro-choice
- This issue's Special Section: Colleges & Universities
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Clayton Homes for Rent
BusinessWeek "Best of the Web" Winner 3 Years Running
Search Clayton Home Rental Market
Now that I have a new rental, I don't have to worry about noisy neighbors blaring music and coming in and out of the building at all hours of the night. I haven't slept this well in years! - Clayton,WI
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Want the inside scoop on Clayton? Check out our Clayton Local Talk for local tips and information about Clayton. You can also get answers to your Clayton questions from our local experts by using the "Ask a Question" feature.
Houses for Rent in Cities Near Clayton, WI
MyNewPlace can help you find the Clayton, WI home rental that will work best for you. Using our rental home search, you can view townhomes or condos for rent if you want to live downtown, or check out the rental listings for single family house rentals in the surrounding areas. Try one of these cities below for more rental houses near Clayton, WI.


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Things just got real between former Real Housewives of Miami cast member Joanna Krupa and current Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Celebrity Apprentice star Brandi Glanville, who had some unsavory words to say about Krupa and her personal hygiene, among other things. The following letter was sent directly to Glanville via Raymond Rafool, Krupa's attorney, who explains that the letter serves as notice of Krupa's and husband Romain Zago's intent to sue the outspoken Glanville for libel, slander and defamation. Read at your own risks and preferably not on a full stomach.
June 26, 2013
Before the Grand Canyon there was even grander cleavage: Nik Wallenda walks the line at Miami boob doc's party
If you thought walking across the Grand Canyon with no safety net and in mom jeans was a boob move, consider the fact that #Skywire daredevil Nik Wallenda was part of the entertainment in February at Miami plastic surgeon Lenny Roudner's annual bash at his Hibiscus Island manse. We have a feeling Wallenda wasn't the only one crossing lines that night and there's little doubt that the drama and cattiness below was far more treacherous.
June 26, 2013 in Plastic Fantastic!, Sports | Permalink | Comments (0)


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Fashion Designer Toluwaloju Olowofoyeku is the owner and head designer for Toju Foyeh. The new choice for elegant and glamorous cocktail and evening dresses, Toju Foyeh launched her first collection in Lagos, Nigeria at Arise Fashion Week in December 2010 and has since then styled magazine covers including; Thisday, WoW, FAB magazine, A-list West African celebrities and more.
A graduate of Istituto Marangoni Milan, Italy with a diploma in Fashion Design, Toluwaloju also holds a Bachelors of Law (LLB) degree from the University of Reading, England, a Masters in Intellectual Property Law (LLM) from the University of Manchester and is a Barrister at Law (BL)
Her desire to be in the fashion industry began at a very early age as she was surrounded by her stylish fashion conscious family, and many seamstresses. Growing up Toluwaloju was inspired by Elie Saab, Valetino, Alexander Mcqueen, Armani, Deola Sagoe, Bunmi Koko. Her innate ability to study trends and then develop a unique trend of her own is what sets her apart. Toluwaloju's goals include opening a flag ship store in Lagos, New York and London with a roaster of A-list celebrities around the world as her clients.
Website: http://www.tojufoyeh.com/
Phone: 07056603571
Country: Nigeria


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Darrelle Revis cleared to practice fully
Darrelle Revis is scheduled to begin practicing fully. (Getty Images) |
After suffering a concussion in Week 1 and missing Week 2 when the Steelers' offense rang up 275 passing yards and two passing touchdowns on New York, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis has been cleared to practice fully with contact, Rex Ryan said Thursday.
Ryan said Revis passed all of his baseline tests, and the Jets expect Revis to play Sunday vs. the Dolphins.
"There's only one Darrelle Revis. It's hard not to smile when he's out there," Ryan said, via the NY Daily News.
Still, Ryan also said he would make sure to lean on the team's doctors and trainers before the Jets send Revis to the field on Sunday.
"Hopefully he'll play," Ryan said, "but we'll see."
For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, and subscribe to our Pick-6 Podcast and NFL newsletter. You can follow Josh Katzowitz on Twitter here: @joshkatzowitz.


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The World's Largest Coalition of Nontheists and Nontheist Communities!
http://www.change.org/petitions/irs-commissioner-douglas-h-shulman-investigate-catholic-church-cardinal-dolan-for-tax-exempt-violations#share We need to get as many signatures as we can on this.
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- Published: New York : Random House, 2006.
- Year Published: 2006
- Description: 110 p. : col. ill. ; 20 cm.
- Language: English
- Format: Book
Reading Level
- Lexile: 590
ISBN/Standard Number
- 0736423745
- 9780736423748
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"A Stepping Stone book."
Lily, a garden-talent fairy, finds an unusual seed in the forest, plants it in her garden, and hopes that she will not be forced to uproot the plant it produces.
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janadvorin received 66 entries from 25 designers. View this project »
Project | Category | Award | Time left | Entries |
Insurance Marketing Project | Print design | $1000 | Complete | 66 |
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