text:
NOTE: This story takes place 5 months after "The Tides of Hope and Fear" and 2 months before "The Tides of Ruin and Destruction" (both stories (c) Rain--Dance ) Also it happens after Season 2 (the final season). This ties into Rain--Dance's fanfics so you might miss a few things if you haven't read them though mainly there are just references. No sweat! Spoilers if you haven't read them but if you have it's nothing new though revisions are being made. (Up to chapter 6 was posted on Mediaminer)
~This is a revised version of what was posted on Mediaminer. Edited for grammar, spelling and the sake of storytelling! Closing up plot-holes~
Also you might catch some salutes and references to other fandoms
((If you have not watched the show or any anime, I suggest you don't read this as it is a bit dumbed down and has heavy used of "sweatdropping" and veins pulsing. It's written as if it is the actual anime show so forgive the illogical words and actions/display of emotions. **Also emphasized words are in bold or at times CAPS and not italics like usual writing. Instead foreign words are in italics. Translations to the italicized words (Japanese) will be in the Author's comments or the character will translate themselves. Thoughts and telepathic linking are also in italics.))
~Now back to Kibou Hoshi: Ch 6 The Enemy's Icy Threshold~
"Nani-temë?!" The orange gundamess growled, her brown eyes narrowed as she looked at each of the rescue party. She certainly did not look friendly nor happy to find them there in the room. Besides the obvious dislike and distrust, the way she exclaimed what sounded like a foreign question was rather rude. In her hand she clutched strange pieces of paper with symbols written on them but otherwise no weapons were present.
"Looks like the enemy has finally shown their face." GunEagle spoke, his emerald eyes upon the feminine figure of his species. "Their tragically beautiful face."
"Ugh, get a room and go write a poetry book." Zapper looked grossed out though he tensed at the sight of the enemy. The enemy who had brainwashed him and incased him in a slab of ice like a piece of meat inside a freezer-- like he didn't have enough trouble with being a supposed organic lover...
"Quick, get rid of her before she blows us all up or freezes us all or something!" Grappler instructed, obviously talking to the SDG members as his crew was without weapons save for his clawed hand.
"What's she going to do, paper cut us to death!?" Zapper demanded though he did not let down his guard for an instant; This enemy's powers and abilities were unknown. While she obviously was not the face of the true evil she was most definitely one of the evil minions.
"Captain, can't you understand what she's saying?" Bakunetsumaru asked the Neotopian gundam, the musha gundam ready to draw his blades, unsure if this figure before him was a true enemy. Normally his twin katana blades would be out in an instant but something inside him nagged him not too. What was it?
"No, I can't. Parts to sound familiar to foreign vocabulary in my data banks, but nothing I can decipher into clear understanding or something that I can relay back to her." Captain's blue eyes stared intently at the gundamess, his library of data quickly being processed through while he scanned the female, trying to determine her origin and other bits of information about her. In a low voice he addressed the group, "Don't draw any weapons on her. If this is a misunderstanding, showing hostility will cause an immediate backlash and prove we are enemies. We want to avoid any unnecessary battles."
"Yeah, but what if she is the enemy!?" Shute exclaimed, his green eyes wide, afraid at not knowing what the orange gundamess would do. Still everyone held their ground as they watched the opposing figure cautiously, ready to defend should she attack.
The newcomer appeared to be frowning though she still held her defensive position. "Wakarimasu-ka?" She spoke once more, this time her tone a bit curious. After a moment of blank stares she sighed, mumbling what sounded like, "Gaikokujin... Baka i-jin..." as she shook her head, causing the turquoise ribbon flowing from the back of her helmet to sway.
"Perhaps I can establish some understanding." GunEagle suggested, puffing his chest out. If he had been a human, one would swear he'd toss his hair up, letting it be gracefully ruffled in some random but well timed breeze before flashing a bright white smile that would blind any viewer watching. "I do after all have quite the way with women!"
"Heh, yes, quite." Bakunetsumaru murmured, rolling his brown eyes though he now had slid his blades partially out of their sheaths, still watching the inquiring yet dangerous looking female gundam.
Ignoring the Ark gundam's remark, GunEagle took a step toward the orange gundamess, holding out his hand. "Pardon me, my good lady, but it seems that we have startled you. Perhaps you could show us a way out? Though I wouldn't mind being stuck here with you."
Shute looked shocked as well slightly embarrassed, just about giving into the urge to pull his hood over his face to avoid watching the impending negative reaction. Bakunetsumaru looked like he was going to gag but was still fighting to maintain his warrior's stature. However both Zapper Zaku and Grappler Gouf were rolling their eyes and doing mimics of sticking their tongues out and pointing their finger to the back on their mouth (that is they tried since they lacked open mouths as well as tongues).
Zero watched the gundamess out of the corner of his eye but was focusing most of his attention on Star, trying to get the turquoise gundamess to wake up once more by calling her name. Still he felt slightly weak, as if part of his energy and soul had been taken from him. It was not painful, rather it felt like something was missing, like some heavy burden had been lifted from his body but instead caused fatigue.
The orange gundamess held her ground, her eyes narrowing more, still posed in an attack stance. After a moment she said, "Oshaberi." but did nothing, though her eyes were obviously on Star's still form. Her hand tensed, grasping her mysterious pieces of paper tightly.
"Hey, Captain! I think she understands!" GunEagle 'grinned' back at his superior officer before deciding to take another step forward toward the orange gundamess. However, before anyone could react, the gundamess moved in a blur, suddenly stepping forward to meet the rookie. In a quick spin, her foot knocked GunEagle's legs out from underneath, causing the aerial gundam to go face first into the ground with an "Oof!"
"Sawannai-de!" She spat and with a quick flick of her wrist released the tags from her hands. Instantly they landed on GunEagle, seemingly attaching themselves to him like magnets, binding his hands and feet like coils of rope. The young Neotopian gundam let out a yelp of surprise, his bright green eyes full of confusion and bewilderment.
"Uh oh, Captain!" Shute said, horrified. "It looks like she's interested in Star and is not very happy to see us! I don't think she's on our side!"
"So you are foreigners." The gundamess suddenly spoke before Captain could respond to Shute, speaking perfectly understandable in their own language rather than her native one which she had been solely talking in moments ago. "I should have known when I first laid eyes on you... everyone of you baka."
"Uh, what's a baka?" Destroyer Dom asked in his deep voice, cocking his head at the orange gundamess.
"Idiot, moron, fool, take your pick." The strange gundamess shrugged, though she hardly looked relaxed or in the mood for socializing. "It's what you all are anyways for thinking you could mess with me and get away with it! Especially for trying to harm Hoshiko! I should have known HE would try something like this! Summoning warriors from another world!"
"Whoa, whoa whoa, let's stop for a moment!" GunEagle shouted as he struggled, trying to get out of his bound state. "This is all a big misunderstanding, babe! This here is a rescue party not a what-ever-else-crew you think we are! Sure some of us might look strange-" Various glares were shot at the rookie but he continued, "but we're not enemies!"
"The only thing you have right is that we're from another world." Shute replied though after receiving a seething glace from the orange gundamess the boy added softly, "Miss."
"And warriors!" Bakunetsumaru quickly interjected, feeling his pride of being a fierce and just samurai was at stake. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Shute doing a face palm while Grappler rolled his eye upward. Zapper muttered out of the corner of his mouth,
"Nice going, moron. Now she'll see us as a definite threat."
"Wait!" Zero cried out, directing all attention to him. "We're not enemies but how do we know you aren't?" The Lacroa gundam felt only hostility from the strange gundamess but no true evil malice as he had now grown accustomed to feeling thanks to his previous battles with evil. Still her intensions were unknown and it made him uneasy, especially when she seemed ready to pounce like a tigress. Still one question remained that he had to ask as well, "And who's Hoshiko?"
"She is Hoshiko." The tense gundamess replied, pointing at Star. "Obviously you baka don't know that. She is my sister through oath and having pacts with the summon spirits." Her brown eyes then hardened even more, "And she my leader."
"How come you can understand us? You didn't seem to only a few moments ago." Grappler demanded, his pink eye narrowed in suspicion as well as dislike.
"I can understand you because I was taught multiple languages that exist within the universe, them revealed to us by the power of Kendra's heart and our communications having spanned to multiple worlds in past times. Also certain spells can give me some basic understanding to what you are saying. Mainly as soon as I slapped a certain tag on your cheap buddy here, I was able to detect your dialect." The orange gundamess stiffly replied, "I was not sure if you could understand my native language or not so I naturally spoke it first. I was testing to see if you indeed could speak my language, but obviously you cannot." At this she indicated to GunEagle with a light nod.
"If she's your leader then you were breaking in just now to save her, right?" Shute quickly asked, the human boy feeling a spark of hope and having found a possible diversion to a fight. "We're all on the same time then! We've come here to Kendra to save her!"
"Nani?" The orange gundamess exclaimed, her surprise undeniable as well as the instant look of doubt and suspicion. "Uso!" She growled, her brown eyes narrowing, "Sonna-no uso-yo!" She took a hostile step toward GunEagle, ready to use him as a hostage or means for barter in order to get ahold of Star. "Deceivers." The word was spat with much distaste.
"Star, I mean Hoshiko, has contacted me through what I can only deem as a telepathic magic connection to ask for my assistance." Zero quickly spoke up, trying to straighten himself but struggled as he still gripped the unconscious gundamess, suddenly feeling some energy leave him. "I am ashamed to say I have only just arrive despite her previous pleas. Please take my word and honor as a knight of Lacroa that I am here to protect her as well as try to help you restore your planet back to its original state. I failed my promise before, but let me regain this trust."
The orange gundamess watched the Lacroa gundam closely, her brown eyes locked on him like a hawk on a mouse. After what seemed like long moments, she spoke, her tone surprisingly lighter, "I believe you. I believe you're not the enemy. If you were truly villainous you would have attacked me as soon as I captured your comrade and accused you."
"Phew, well that's good." Shute sighed, the young human's heart taking it as a cue to slow down on its quickened pace. "Now we can all get along and stop intimidating one another."
"But just because I believe you doesn't mean I'll trust you completely. Right now let's simply call this a truce and get out of here." The orange gundamess wagged a finger at the boy, giving all the members of the group a hard look. She then straightened, placing her hand over the purple orb in her chest. "I am JunMai. JunMai the spirit blessed Summoner and second in command to Hoshiko."
"I'm Zero, the Winged Knight of Lacroa." Zero dipped his head in a politeness. "These are my friends and comrades."
"I'm Shute and this is Captain Gundam." The brown haired boy gestured to himself then to his military gundam friend. Now that JunMai had relaxed a bit and could be seen better, Shute noticed that her body armor design reminded him a bit like Cobramaru without his snake armor. "We're from Neotopia."
"I am Bakunetsumaru, Blazing Samurai of Ark." The samurai took a step forward, striking a warrior's pose.
"Save introductions for later." Zapper Zaku suddenly cut in before more names could be given. "My circuits are running cold standing in this refrigerator besides I have a bad feeling."
"Yeah, I agree." GunEagle added, the rookie calling attention to himself, "But first if you don't mind, could you undo these?"
With a snap of her fingers, JunMai's strange pieces of paper seemingly loosened and fell off of the aerial gundam. Once unattached, the long thin cuts of paper flew back into the orange gundamess' open hand. Other than that, the female gundam did not cast her gaze toward GunEagle, turning a blind eye. "We need to leave this place immediately."
"Sure just lead the way but I for one am not going the way you came in." Grappler folded his arms, nodding his head toward the hole in the wall. "Besides with all that racket from the explosion, I would be expecting some sign of the enemy by now."
"Pardon me, but I was expecting to break in, grab Hoshiko and then get out before something could happen." JunMai shot a look at Grappler. "However if I can get in a place I can get out. So if you plan on coming with me, get going." The orange gundamess waved the group toward her. "I know a passage we can quickly get out of, plus it will be hard for anyone to pursue us."
"Why didn't you just take the tunnel up into here?" Zapper asked, skeptical of this so called second in command. He had more experience then this female when it came to making up plans; Though nearly none of them were fool proof.
"You would rather run through a blizzard to get away? It was possible I could set something off getting in here through the tunnel, causing it to collapse. They're constructed so you can get out but not in though getting out is a challenge. At least, that's how that tyrant willed this place to be though even then he changed how it works; our escape route is uncertain." JunMai quickly explained as she headed for the doors they came through. "I'm counting on you to guard Hoshiko while I lead the way, otherwise I would do it."
"Willed?" Shute whispered, just realizing how much power this unnamed villain had. He had made this castle with his magic? If not, he at least had enough power to influence the interior.
"Uh, is it just me or did something move just now?" GunEagle questioned, the rookie not sounding sure though caution was in his voice. "I thought statue used to be over there." He gestured where now there was a large gap between a couple of the statues. The large path of nothingness did have some eerie feeling about it once everyone turned their gaze upon it. It was another strange feeling that in fact GunEagle had noticed that simple detail, very uncharacteristic.
"Watch out!" JunMai yelled, tackling Zapper Zaku as something suddenly lunged at him, its jaws snapping at where the burgundy gundam had just been standing, causing the zako soldiers to scatter as they emitted shrill cries. Together the gundamess and the robot slid away from the attacker, JunMai scrambling to get up while Bakunetsumaru let out a yelp, his pupils small in horror.
"W-what is that!?"
"Kōri no hugo-sha! Ice guardians! This whole room must be filled with them!" JunMai exclaimed as the massive ice statue swung its head, searching for its escaped intended victim, dragging its claws across the icy floor. It was non other than the one GunEagle had nearly run into earlier: The massive monster dragon bird. How unfortunate.
"When we released Star and took her past a certain point it must have set off some kind of booby trap." Captain exclaimed, his green scanner flicking over his eye as he pulled out his beam sword, ready to fend off the enchanted creature. "Refrain from use of missiles and bullets! We may weaken the room structure on accident and cause it to collapse on us."
Naturally the biggest sculpture in the room had to come alive. What was worse was that it was intelligent, not acting as a bind attack dog. As it swung its head away from Captain to avoid a blow, its pupil-less eyes turned toward Zero and the unconscious Star to which a grin formed on its face. It knew what prey it was suppose to recapture.
"Yeah but I hate to tell you, Captain, that that's not the one that's missing!" GunEagle shouted just as a shadow passed over him. The rookie bent and did a barrel roll, barely escaping the snapping jaws of another ice sculpture that had sprung to life. "Uh, never mind I think I found it!" With emerald eyes on the smaller ice guardian, GunEagle pulled out his beam saber. "Let's see just how much an energy beam works against a walking Frosty."
"Ugh! I should have known he had set something up like this!" JunMai fumed as she pulled out more pieces of paper. "He doesn't care if you get in. He wants you to stay in so he can capture you and drain your power then set you up like a nice frozen trophy!" The orange gundamess shouted the last sentence, emotion tinging in her voice. Her brown eyes were hard and full of hate as she looked at the creations of her planet's torturer and Star's captor.
"I've always wanted to do some ice carving." Grappler Gouf smirked as another statue came to life, advancing toward the blue robot. Flexing his clawed hand, the ex-commander leapt forward just as the wolf like ice guardian did. With practiced strike, Grappler's claws sunk into the ice creature's face, sawing through as he pulled to the side. With a quick recoil, Grappler ripped his claws out his opponent, ripping off the creature's bottom jaw. The creature took a step back, seemingly surprised though it didn't utter a cry as it tried to open and close its mouth. Grappler's smile widened, "Hah! Not so tough without a mouth, eh?"
"Hey! Frostbite!" Zapper Zaku called out, getting the wounded ice guardian's attention. With a loud shout, the maroon robot charged and in football style slammed into it with his shoulder, driving his shoulder spikes into its body. The wolfish creature's legs kicked and it let out noise of frustration, only to be silence as Zapper ran it into the wall, the force being enough to cause cracks to form across its body. It then dropped to the ground, unmoving as the cracks continued. The dark red robot took a few steps back, puffing for breath though he stuck his chest out as he pointed at his fallen opponent. "Just because I don't have any guns doesn't mean I'm out for the count!"
"Shute, come over here so I can protect you and Star." The Winged Knight called out, beckoning the boy to his side. He had to watch the human boy while Captain was fighting or else Shute might get hurt if another ice guardian suddenly appeared. Besides he needed help getting Star out of the room. They had come too far to just let her get recaptured. He wanted to fight but he sensed that his magic was weakening and his energy was dropping, making him most likely useless in this battle, if not a hindrance.
"Can you lend me some strength to carry her?" Zero asked as Shute scuttled over to him as quickly as he could, though still shouting encouragement at Captain. The brown haired boy nodded his head and prepared himself to take on some weight as he went on the opposite side of Star. Shute could not help let out a grunt as Star's weight pressed on his shoulder but he was determined to help Zero out.
"We have to get out of this room and seal it off!" The boy exclaimed to the Winged Knight, a horrified look at his face. They were basically standing in the middle of a nest of these false creatures and to escape they would have to barricade the monsters in.
If they could all get out.
"Hn, ya!" Captain shouted as he jumped at his opponent, swinging his beam sword, aiming it at its leg. The animated ice sculpture dragon bird flapped its wings, causing a gust to knock the military gundam back. Moving its head like a snake, it quickly struck out at Captain, aiming to catch him in its jaws. When it missed the swift Neotopian gundam, the large creature lashed its taloned foot out, causing a tremor to shake the whole room. Trying to stabilize himself as the ground quivered, sounds of ice cracking reaching his sensors, Captain exclaimed, "Shute! Zero! You two go for the exit with Star while we keep these things occupied!" JunMai rushed to assist the military gundam while Bakunetsumaru cut into what looked like a ice version of a typical gargoyle only it was spitting out chunks of ice as a form of attack.
"Grr, ugh. Man you're one tough snow dude." GunEagle spoke to his opponent, the creature's blank eyes fixed on him. He had managed to whack off an ear and the tail which it had become accustomed to whipping him with but it was still standing. What was worse was that it did not seem tired and it was much bigger than him by perhaps five feet. "You sure you're not related to Frosty? How about Jack Frost?"
The creature only let out a growl and dropped down to all fours as it had been standing upright. It was like a crocodile and some dinosaur mixed together with some other unknown creature.
"Whoa!" GunEagle exclaimed as he barely dodged the severed creature's tail. It landed with a thud behind him with what looked like a stinger at the end twitching since it had missed puncturing his armor. Psh, as if ice could pierce gundamium... or could it on this wacko planet? His mindless opponent took a chance with the distraction and leapt for the gundam, claws and teeth ready to latch on.
"Dah, make enemy go boom!" Destroyer Dom's voice caught the rookie's attention as the large robot was grappling with what looked like a strange ice hippo with razor sharp teeth. With not so much a grunt, the largest ex-Dark Axis lord grabbed the hippo thing behind its front legs and lifted it while it tried to swing its head around to latch onto him. Then with a throw that was certainly herculean, the black and purple robot tossed the creature toward GunEagle's opponent. Instantly the two of them collided, knocking themselves into a pillar as they began to crack in response to the tremendous force. Sure enough the two began to shatter though they continued to move, only much more sluggish, reflecting their damage and process of dying.
"Ah, much obliged big guy." GunEagle thanked, giving a small 'smile' to Destroyer Dom who looked very pleased with himself. The rookie guessed some help once in a while wasn't a bad thing, though eventually he would have taken that thing down. Still there was more then enough to go around as more of the creatures were appearingsome rather large ones in fact, almost big enough to rival the ice dragon bird.
"You! Baka-maru!" JunMai shouted as she let another spell tag fly through the air, it latching onto the cheek of the ice dragon bird. Guided by a quick hand motion the paper glowed before letting out a 'boom'. The massive ice guardian emitted a shriek as it stumbled, now blinded in one eye with part of its face missing. Captain quickly took advantage of the blind spot and came from the injured side. The orange gundamess masterfully distanced herself from the biggest opponent, receiving an nod of thanks from Captain.
"Come over here! I need you for something."
"It's Bakunetsumaru!" The musha gundam corrected but hastened over to where JunMai stood, but not before blocking and countering an attack from another ice guardian with his twin katana blades. "Um, no offense but I don't think your pieces of paper are enough to stop these guys. Even if they explode I think they'll just get angrier."
"You're right, they can't since those monsters can't feel pain except for when it comes to being blinded, but I do have something that can, with your help. I need to buy time for all of us to escape and get Star out of here." The orange gundamess pulled out a strange looking spell tag, different from the others, her brown eyes confident. "Just protect me as I preform the ceremony, please. With that, you shall witness the power of a spirit blessed Summoner." Without another word to the samurai, JunMai closed her eyes and did a pivot, dragging one foot on the ground to make a visible circle in the ice as she did a 360 turn.
In an enchanting voice, JunMai spoke as she spun, performing light steps within the circle. "Oh great spirit beasts with whom I have a pact of a life time; A promise to fulfill my duty of honor and servitude to uphold the laws of my homeland and protect the people, please heed my call for your bidding." Bakunetsumaru had no idea what was going on. With all these "summons" though he figured it might be something to do with beings like Fenn and Scourge. Still the musha took on the enemy even without being told for that was his duty as a warrior, as a samurai: To protect those in need.
JunMai continued her ceremony as Bakunetsumaru fended off any ice guardians targeting the orange gundamess, cleaving one's head in two. "I bring forth the contract with the spirit of the heavenly currents to beckon your service. Now answer..." Her brown eyes opened, focused as they glowed purple as well as her orb in her chest. With a flick of the wrist, she thrust her hand forward, pinching the spell tag between two fingers. "I summon thee! Come forth, Kaze no Seishin! Kazane!"
A pillar of light exploded from the circle, with JunMai as the center before it expanded out, knocking several of the animated ice sculptures back. From the expanding light something shot out, a shrill but melodious sound echoing in the icy room. When the light dimmed it revealed a large light sea green colored bird like creature with a long neck and tail that had multi colored feathers. As majestic as it looked, something about it was overpowering and frightening, wildness obvious in its eyes and form.
Bakunetsumaru stared in shock and awe as the creature dived down toward the remaining lifeless statues that had not yet sprung into action, opening its beak to unleash a torrent of song and wind, causing the ice creations to shatter from the high frequency. A low moan caught the samurai's attention, causing him to turn his eyes toward JunMai who was teetering. Quickly he rushed to her side, catching the orange gundamess before her knees hit the ground. "Are you alright? T-that... that was amazing! I doubt Zero can even do something like that!"
"Heh, thanks. You make a great yojimbo. Bodyguard." JunMai spoke weakly, the Kendrian gundamess looking shook up, her irises now brown once more. "I just need to catch my breath first though. I used up too much energy before the summon and didn't prepare enough time so I'm light headed. Stupid." She slapped her head with her hand, rolling her eyes upward out of frustration. "But go back to your fight, I can take care of myself and not be a burden to you. Thank you though." The orange gundamess sat up rubbing her head before giving her protector a nod.
The Blazing Samurai figured it would be useless to argue anything different. Besides, JunMai looked very capable of taking care of herself. She certainly was not the damsel in the distress type. When Bakunetsumaru turned he swore GunEagle was looking at him rather hard. It was as if he said "I saw what you did there" but the Blazing Samurai was completely clueless as to what. He was just doing his duty as an honorable samurai.
"Gah, making ice thingies go boom. They keep coming though." Destroyer Dom commented as he gave a feline like ice sculpture a whack with a pole he had managed to find and now brandished as a makeshift weapon. "Me wish I had bomb or gun. Need weapons."
"I hear you bud." GunEagle commented as he was suddenly tackled by what appeared to be a winged snake with arms. The rookie let out a grunt as the ice guardian grabbed at him, managing to wiggled out of its grip and kick it while delivering an upper cut with his fist. Seizing the moment to escape, GunEagle swung his beam sword's blade at the creature, managing to slice one wing and arm off. "Snakes!? Why must there always be some kind of snake I end of fighting lately!?"
"If I had any bullets I'd make sure they all ate lead!" Zapper shouted as he instead punched his opponent in the mouth, causing his fist to erupt through the back of its head. Quickly he rotated his wrist and pulled it back out as he gave his opponent a kick, causing it to fall away from him.
"Guys! Come on!" Shute exclaimed as he and Zero neared the exit with Star still unconscious between them. Fortunately for them the ice guardians were focused on the other members of the rescue party and were not attacking.
"What he said! Head for the exit! Kazane will take care of the rest of the creatures and buy us some time! Now go!" JunMai called out, waving her hand toward the exit as she tried to regain her strength, determination in her brown eyes as she stood up. Still she pulled out a multitude of new spell tags, each between a finger and threw them at the alive statues nearing her. With a quick hand sign from JunMai their moments were instantly restricted and they were struggling on the spot to get free as the orange gundamess made her way toward the exit with her binding spell in obvious effect.
"Alright, you heard the lady! Let's go!" Grappler announced, kicking an ice guardian as it tried to get up from the spot it had fallen yet still trying to attack him.
The giant ice dragon bird seemed to know what JunMai had said for it lashed out and slammed into the entry way, causing it to collapse as the doors crumbled and a pillar fell over. Shute and Zero immediately halted their escape, standing in horror as they held onto the unconscious Star, their escape route now destroyed.
"Ugh! The exit is blocked what do we do?" Zapper shouted as the maroon robot slid to a stop as he too had started to retreat, the mixed membered group now caught between a blocked exit and a giant ice monster.
"Quick, to the other side of the room! Captain shouted as he whirled his beam sword around, cleaving an animated ice statue's head off its body. The Neotopian gundam waved his free hand toward the direction as he had a split second to spare.
As fast as they could, those on the side of the blocked exit raced to the other side of the room. Catching the movement, the giant ice bird tried to snap at them but JunMai's summon creature, Kazane, slammed into it, ramming the enemy into the wall. The wind bird then let out a cry as it banged the false ice bird against the wall but the large ice guardian snapped at Kazane, raking its sharp ice claws into the flesh and blood summon.
"This is beyond nuts!" Grappler shouted as he let out a yell as he dove onto the ground to avoid being slammed by Kazane as the giant bird fell crashed to the floor from its opponent's attack.
"All we're doing is running around like chickens with our heads cut off!" Bakunetsumaru exclaimed as he dodged another normal sized ice guardian, quickly maneuvering both his katana blades to slice off its head.
"Any more intense battling in this room and the whole place is going to collapse on us!" Shute whitened as the human realized their situation was growing grimmer by the second, the pillars quivering as the two giant beasts fought and rammed into the walls. Still he clutched harder onto his burden as Zero tried to lessen the weight of Star by shifting her more onto his shoulder but their pace across the room was still far from swift due to the deadweight gundamium person.
"Jump!" JunMai screamed as she chucked another spell tag, it glowing brightly before attaching itself onto one of the large ice gargoyles who was just coming to life. As soon as the tag made contact its light grew even brighter before exploding, leaving a cloud of smoke. The creature lurched forward through the smoke, only to reveal it now lacked a head but still ready to fight. Its limbs thrashed around as it grasped blindly for its victims.
"I do believe Miss JunMai is correct! We must jump if we want to escape here with less injuries as well as our lives." Captain shouted as he tried to give some cover to the fleeing rescue party.
"Jump!? Jump where!? There's nothing but a wind-oh..." Bakunetsumaru began but stopped, his pupils growing small upon realization of the orange gundamess' order. The red musha gundam slowly edged toward the giant hole in the wall where JunMai had entered through. He froze as he looked outside, the snow storm blowing savagely. What scared him however was what was below. Nothing. Absolutely nothing but the blindness of snow except for brief gaps that revealed a dark below. It was a sheer drop.
"Just juuuuump!" The orange gundamess screamed once more, barreling into the Blazing Samurai. Instantly Bakunetsumaru let out a yell of terror as both gundam beings tumbled out the window and fell into the white abyss below, the sounds dying away as the howling wind muffled them and the noise of battle above roared over.
"Bakunetsumaru!" Shute exclaimed as his friend disappeared from view. The human could not help loosen his grip on Star as he let go to rush to where the samurai had disappeared.
"Shute! Here!" Captain called out as he slice and kicked an out reaching ice guardian with a bear-like appearance. Quickly the military gundam grabbed Shute's arm and pulled the human close, "Stick close to me so I'll protect you from the impact. My flight boosters should ease our landing a bit." Shute gave a nod though his green eyes were full of worry and fear, not sure if Captain would be able to prevent any harm from happening to either one of them.
"Out of my way!" Grappler exclaimed, pushing past the gathering gundams. "If it's die up here due to lack of weapons or chance surviving a giant fall, I'll take the fall." With that the blue robot summoned what courage he could muster and leapt through the giant makeshift hole that served as a window to the outside. Instantly Grappler flipped around and dug his clawed hand into wall he was falling past. With the sharp claws sunk into the layers of ice and snow coated on the ice fortress's wall, the blue robot's decent slowed a bit but he still descended at an accelerated rate.
The small horde of zako soldiers quickly took a look back toward the amassing ice guardians and the large leader who was still battling with JunMai's wind bird, Kazane. They trembled in fear as they looked out the window but as the savage living ice sculptures advanced toward them, the little robots decide to take their chances outside. Quickly all of them huddle together and jumped out the hole in the wall, letting out terrified screams of "Zakoooooo!" Falling they formed a small ring as if they were merely skydiving but coupled with hysteric screams due to lack of assurance of a safe landing.
"Zero, you won't be able to make it carrying Star too!" GunEagle suddenly exclaimed as the rookie backed up to where the others were, eyeing the nearest foes who were still struggling with their spell tag binds. "Even I can't carry another gundam, especially one who is a dead weight, even as pretty of a dead weight she is."
"He's right, Zero. We don't have much time. Perhaps GunEagle could jump with Shute while I take Star since I believe my current form could support her weight. Though I am not entirely sure."
"I..." Zero began but the Winged Knight was not sure what to say nor was he able to continue for he was interrupted.
"Dah... Me will take unconscious lady gundam. Me strong and big enough to carry her." Destroyer Dom surprisingly volunteered, the large robot lumbering over.
"That's mighty charitable of you big guy." GunEagle commented giving the large robot a quick pat on the arm as it was impossible for the gundam to reach his shoulder by simply standing.
"Alright, if Big D says he will do it, let him do it." Zapper exclaimed as the maroon robot tried to work up his courage to jump out the hole. If he looked down he would be frozen with fear. "In the mean time, I'm going!!" He then rushed toward the hole and took a flying leap before letting out a terrified scream as he tumbled downward, not knowing what awaited him below. "I insist that I'm not a lemming!"
"Uh, Captain." Shute spoke pointing at the binding tags on the ice guardians which were starting to glow and tear. "I think we should go now!"
"Zero, I'm taking Shute down. If you don't follow within five minutes I shall return."
The Winged Knight nodded as Captain stepped toward the hole, Shute wrapping his arms around the military gundam's neck to assure himself a sure grip to not be separated from his friend. With determined dark blue eyes Captain launched himself outside, holding Shute tight as they began their rapid decent, Captain's fight boosters kicking on to counter against the massive gravitational pull.
"Alright Dom, you may take Star. Just... be careful with her." Zero turned toward Dom as he supported Star's weight completely now that Shute was gone.
"Dah, I will." Came the simple reply though as Dom reached down and lifted Star off Zero's shoulder, the large usually brutish robot gently grabbed the unconscious gundamess before placing her in the crook of his arms. Star's arm dangled limply to the side, causing her to look even more lifeless in addition to her dimmed optic screens. Securing his hold on the gundamess Dom gave a slow nod to Zero before he too jumped out the window. Zero felt his vocal processors fail him as he watched the two of them disappear, his chest immediately hurting from the mere watch of the plunge. The only thing he could do was hope that everyone was safe and that Destroyer Dom would keep his word.
"You go next, Zero. I'll cover you. Besides, shouldn't a man stick with his girl?" GunEagle spoke, surprising the Winged Knight.
"W-what?" Zero stuttered but was met by a wink from GunEagle who waved the Winged Gundam to go as Kazane and the giant ice guardian slammed into the ground together, causing the whole room to shake. He was about to protest about GunEagle's remark but instead responded with a nod, "Alright, but you'd better be right behind me!"
"Of course! Can't keep a good gundam like me down!"
Zero decided to put his trust in GunEagle and turned toward the escape route once more. Feeling the orb in his chest pounding with an anticipation the Winged Knight said a silent prayer to Mana and guided this thoughts toward his homeland and Princess Rele. Then he jumped, plummeting through the unknown distance toward the ground. The chilling wind around him bit at him, howling in his audio receptors. Instantly Zero kicked on his flight boosters and his decent halted for a moment.
It only took a few more seconds for Zero to reach the ground due to his speed. Still as soon as he landed the Winged Knight was thankful to be on the ground for once. The icy wind alone was enough to chill him and cause his circuits to ache. The rest of the group was nearby save for GunEagle who lurked above. JunMai however was preoccupied with examining Star whom Destroyer Dom was still holding.
"Just how did you get up there!?" Zero gawked as he looked up from where he had jumped.
"I climbed of course. Then I used an explosive spell tag to break in while using part of my power to enhance my jump ability." JunMai quickly explained, not delving into details.
"W-w-where is GunEagle?" Shute asked through chattering teeth as the human boy mentally fought against the winter elements. Now out of the palace there were no structures to serve as a shelter against the snow and winds. Even in his attire meant for somewhat severe weather the cold still managed to nip Shute.
"Look out below!!" An all too familiar voice called though it was instantly drowned out by the ferocious icy winds that raged above. Within moments GunEagle's figure was seen descending from above, his beam sword in his hand.
"Phew! What a ride!!" The rookie exclaimed as he too landed on the ground, instantly turning off his beam sword. "Though I think we'd better book it out of here. Your big bird up there wasn't looking too good right when I leapt out plus those freaky ice statues were starting to swarm toward the opening in the wall."
"Kazane won't last much longer as the time for the summon is almost up." JunMai replied, looking up from checking on Star. "I only summoned him to buy us time and I'll owe him one."
"Yeah, so I suggest we get out of here before those freaks decide to try to join us down here!" Grappler snapped irritably as he lightly shook from the cold as it began to get into his armor and near his circuits.
"What he said and also before we are turned back into giant ice pops again!" Zapper added, trembling as well and looking equally irritable.
"Miss JunMai, is there a shelter some where nearby we could take refuge in to regroup? We won't fair long in this weather though I am particular worried about Shute. Humans are unable to bear this sort of weather." Captain responded, gesturing to the shivering boy. "Also it is urgent that I establish contact with our home world."
"Anything to get us out of this cold!" Bakunetsumaru exclaimed, the musha gundam particularly not enjoying the weather. Being the Blazing Samurai in harsh winter conditions made him uncomfortable. That and he didn't feel right, the fire within him seeming different then usual, not feeling its strongest nor warmest.
"That's my intention; I need to get Hoshiko back to our camp as soon as we can. She's worse off then I thought." JunMai waved her hand to her unconscious leader. "You are all welcomed to come along as I owe you for aiding me with the rescue. But we must be swift as it is far from this place and the enemy will be right on our tails."
"I agree, our time for short respite is over unless we want to get caught or freeze to death on the spot." Zero spoke, knowing that they were in the open for any enemy's attack. Still he could not deny the creeping feeling that not everything was alright, particularly the still not moving figure of Star worried him. Would she be alright? Would they be alright in this foreign ice land?
Just then a roar from above caused everyone to freeze.
"I uh, I think now would be a good time to play follow the leader." GunEagle spoke up, pointing a finger upward to indicate the enemy that was some where above them.
"Alright everyone, let's move!" Captain instructed, giving JunMai the signal to show them way to their only hope of shelter against all the forces that the planet threw at them.
"I just hope all you gundams and other sorts are fast on your feet." JunMai quickly replied before she gave instructions to Dom to hand Star over to her, not fully trusting the carefulness of the large robot to not drop or shake Star too badly. "We're going to be fast and honestly I don't think any of you are use to snowy terrains."
"Oh sure, how hard can running on snow and ice really be?" Grappler smartly replied as Zero joined JunMai's side to carry Star. "And really, let the big bot carry the deadweight, he's actually good at it."
Unfortunately Grappler as well as everyone else quickly found out what a true challenge it was to cross the frozen land on open terrain. Only the roars from the castle were the things that hastened their pace as well as their battle against the biting cold.
Now it was just a race against time before they all froze to death.
Or were eaten.
<< Ch 6 pt 1 || Ch 7 >>
This is the last posted chapter on the web, first posted on Mediaminer. A brand new, never before released chapter is still in the works and hopefully will see the light of day at the end of this month or April. Sorry for the wait, though I'm not sure if anyone is reading these!
Hope there was plenty of action to make up for the lack of excitement previously! Also I do hope the big reveal of Star and JunMai wasn't too disappointing! Living ice statues? Honestly that would creep me out so badly!!
And just so you know I am not aiming to make Bakunetsumaru and JunMai a couple so you can all relax. Pairings are limited in this and I swear there is no obvious canonxOC like that. I just throw them together because they are unlikely and it just bothers GunEagle to bits!
I'll be posting a picture of Kazane soon too so you'll get to see that big fluffy bird :V
This is based on the summoning scene: [link]
This is all real Japanese
*Nani-teme // Who do you think you are? (rude, masculine tense)
*Wakarimasu-ka // Do you understand?
* Gaikokujin // Foreigner ("person from outside the country." Apparently a slightly rude term)
*Baka i-jin // Stupid/Fool alien
*Sawannai-de // Don't touch me!
*Baka // Idiot/Fool/Stupid
*Nani // What?
*Uso // Liar/Lie
*Sonna-no uso-yo // That's a lie!
*Kaze no Seishin // Spirit of Wind
-Hoshiko // Star
-JunMai // Obedient Dance
-Kazane // the sound of wind.
Star (Hoshiko), JunMai and the writing (c) Me!
SD Gundam Force (c) Bandai
Am I losing steam with these? I don't want to swam people with the posts of these but it'd be nice to know if people read them. Do you think the preview images drive people away!?
This is the last posted chapter on the web, first posted on Mediaminer. A brand new, never before released chapter is still in the works and hopefully will see the light of day at the end of this month or April. Sorry for the wait, though I'm not sure if anyone is reading these!
Hope there was plenty of action to make up for the lack of excitement previously! Also I do hope the big reveal of Star and JunMai wasn't too disappointing! Living ice statues? Honestly that would creep me out so badly!!
And just so you know I am not aiming to make Bakunetsumaru and JunMai a couple so you can all relax. Pairings are limited in this and I swear there is no obvious canonxOC like that. I just throw them together because they are unlikely and it just bothers GunEagle to bits!
I'll be posting a picture of Kazane soon too so you'll get to see that big fluffy bird :V
This is based on the summoning scene: [link]
Thanks for reading!
This is all real Japanese
*Nani-teme // Who do you think you are? (rude, masculine tense)
*Wakarimasu-ka // Do you understand?
* Gaikokujin // Foreigner ("person from outside the country." Apparently a slightly rude term)
*Baka i-jin // Stupid/Fool alien
*Sawannai-de // Don't touch me!
*Baka // Idiot/Fool/Stupid
*Nani // What?
*Uso // Liar/Lie
*Sonna-no uso-yo // That's a lie!
*Kaze no Seishin // Spirit of Wind
-Hoshiko // Star
-JunMai // Obedient Dance
-Kazane // the sound of wind.
Star (Hoshiko), JunMai and the writing (c) Me!
SD Gundam Force (c) Bandai
Am I losing steam with these? I don't want to swam people with the posts of these but it'd be nice to know if people read them. Do you think the preview images drive people away!?
Also, replace "Baka-maru' with "Bakanetsumaru" (just to toy around with his name because "Baku" and "Baka" sound similar. Bellwood actually called Baku that in the manga lol)
Oh I plan to, haha. The insults evolve!
Again, thanks for the insight!
Again, thanks for the insight!
When do you plan on writing the next chapter, btw?
I've been writing the next chapter for a long while now. I have no idea when I'll post it since I'm not done with it. I do aim to write more this weekend though since this chapter needs to be finished. There should be about... 3 more chapters after this, including an epilogue.
"Baka" just means the thinks "dumb" if you want to describe a person who is stupid, the correct terms would be "Aho" or "Bakamono". "Bakamono" is more threatening than "Aho", so you choose.
Thanks for the insight! I know Aho/Baka though I've seen Aho translated as "fool/idiot" too. I appreciate the tip!
I read them!!! I'm actually loving this fic! I've read it on mediaminer and am excited about the rewrites/new stuff. And I think the preview images are fine, The moment I see them I know it's a new chapter!
Aw, thanks for letting me know!! Your feedback really helps let me know I'm doing something right! And I hope the revises are good! Again mainly it's grammar stuff but minor plot stuff has been better explained and what


text:
Archive for January 2013
China launches MITM attack on GitHub
No comments · Posted by Lance Cottrell in Censorship, China, Online Privacy, Security Breaches, Surveillance
It appears that China recently launched a poorly executed Man in the Middle (MITM) attack on GitHub.
Greatfire.org has all the details.
In short:
GitHub.com is an https only website, so the only way to monitor it is to use a MITM attack to decrypt the contents of the communications. There is evidence that GitHub is widely used in China for code sharing, so the backlash from blocking it completely was too large, and it was unblocked a few days later.
The attack happened on January 26. It was poorly executed in that the faked certificate did not match the real one in any of the meta-data and it was not signed by a recognized certificate authority. This caused most browsers to report a security error. The MITM attack only lasted about an hour.
Based on reports it only impacted users in China, which strongly suggests that it was government backed at some level. My work in censorship circumvention over the years has shown that China is far from monolithic. This could have been the work of a local government or regional ISP. I have not seen an analysis showing if this was country wide or not. It seems very ham fisted for the central government.
The speculated reason for the attack is to monitor access to a list of people who have been involved in creating the Great Firewall of China, which is hosted on GitHub, and is connected to a petition on Whitehouse.gov proposing that those people be denied entry to the US.
censorship · china · man-in-the-middle · security breaches · surveillance
Dark alleys of the Internet not actually the dangerous parts.
No comments · Posted by Lance Cottrell in malware, Spyware and Malware
For years I have been telling people to be especially careful when they venture into the dark back alleys of the Internet. My thinking was that these more "wild west" areas would be home to most of the malware and other attacks.
Dark Reading analyzes a Cisco report which says that online shopping sites and search engines are over 20 times more likely to deliver malware than counterfeit software sites. Advertisers are 182 times more dangerous than pornography sites.
So, I guess I need to change my tune. Be careful when you are going about your daily business, and have fun in those dark alleys!
Have you seen your digital footprint lately?
No comments · Posted by Lance Cottrell in Anonymity, Guest Post, Online Privacy, Personal Privacy
A Guest Post by Robin Wilton of the Internet Society
We are the raw material of the new economy. Data about all of us is being prospected for, mined, refined, and traded…
. . . and most of us don't even know about it.
Every time we go online, we add to a personal digital footprint that's interconnected across multiple service providers, and enrich massive caches of personal data that identify us, whether we have explicitly authenticated or not.
That may make you feel somewhat uneasy. It's pretty hard to manage your digital footprint if you can't even see it.
Although none of us can control everything that's known about us online, there are steps we can take to understand and regain some level of control over our online identities, and the Internet Society has developed three interactive tutorials to help educate and inform users who would like to find out more.
We set out to answer some basic questions about personal data and privacy:
- Who's interested in our online identity? From advertisers to corporations, our online footprint is what many sales driven companies say helps them make more informed decisions about not only the products and services they provide – but also who to target, when and why.
- What's the real bargain we enter into when we sign up? The websites we visit may seem free – but there are always costs. More often than not, we pay by giving up information about ourselves – information that we have been encouraged to think has no value.
- What risk does this bargain involve? Often, the information in our digital footprint directly changes our online experience. This can range from the advertising we see right down to paying higher prices or being denied services altogether based on some piece of data about us that we may never even have seen. We need to improve our awareness of the risks associated with our digital footprint.
- The best thing we can do to protect our identity online is to learn more about it.
The aim of the three tutorials is to help everyone learn more about how data about us is collected and used. They also suggest things you need to look out for in order to make informed choices about what you share and when.
Each lasts about 5 minutes and will help empower all of us to not only about what we want to keep private, but also about what we want to share.
After all, if we are the raw material others are mining to make money in the information economy, don't we deserve a say in how it happens?
Find out more about the Internet Society's work on Privacy and Identity by visiting its website.
* Robin Wilton oversees technical outreach for Identity and Privacy at the Internet Society.
No tags
The Privacy Blog Podcast – Ep.4: Data Privacy Day – Privacy Legislation, Social Media, and Corporate Data Security
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (21.6MB)
Welcome to first podcast of 2013. In honor of Data Privacy Day, which falls on January 28th, I'll be discussing current data privacy and security issues facing both consumers and businesses by taking you through the pros and cons of privacy legislation, privacy in the context of social media, and corporate data security at the human level.
Hope you enjoy January's episode of The Privacy Blog Podcast. Please leave any feedback or questions you have in the comments section below.
anonymity · business security · corporate security · Data privacy · data security · online privacy · Podcast · privacy legislation · social media
A peek at the cybercrime economy
No comments · Posted by Lance Cottrell in Computer Security, hacking, Security Breaches
The latest Java exploit has given another view into the workings of the cybercrime economy. Although I should not be, I am always startled at just how open and robustly capitalistic the whole enterprise has become. The business is conducted more or less in the open.
Krebs on Security has a nice piece on an auction selling source code to the Java exploit. You can see that there is a high level of service provided, and some warnings about now to ensure that the exploit you paid for stays valuable.
hacking · java · vulnerability

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Release notes for April 21, 2009
By tbonnema on Apr 22, 2009
A quick note on yesterday's failed deployment:
We ran into a few issues during the deployment process. Mix went down, and we had to revert back to the previous release.
When we brought the site back up after about 45 minutes total down time, we then discovered that somewhere along the way we had lost the folder containing our profile images (for both people and groups).
We were quickly able to restore the images from our backup. However, about half a dozen profile images had been lost permanently. Apologies for that. We have notified the affected Mix members.
We are looking into ways to prevent this from happening in the future.
Things should be back to normal now. Please let us know if you still spot any errors or abnormal behavior on Mix. Thanks!


text:
Forgot Password? | Not a User? Sign up
Your browser does not support iframes.
SHEPHERDSVILLE – The Wal-Mart planned for Shepherdsville is still on the plans. It just appears the retail giant won't open the doors until next spring.
SHEPHERDSVILLE – Law enforcement officials pledge to protect the public.
PIONEER VILLAGE – More housing opportunities appear set to be offered in northern Bullitt County.
SHEPHERDSVILLE - The Shepherdsville City Council is working with the city's fire department to replace a ladder truck.
Shepherdsville Fire's truck was totaled after flipping over during an emergency run on May 27. Three firefighters were involved, with one serious injury reported.
Fire chief Layne Troutman updated the council on the situation. He said Shepherdsville Police investigated the incident.
According to Troutman, the firefighter driving the truck was a well-trained veteran who had completed numerous driving courses.
SHEPHERDSVILLE - Patrick Soorasarang isn't new to the restaurant business.
With concerts, games, and festivals in full swing this summer, many fans are eager to purchase tickets to their favorite events. However, before committing to a purchase, BBB warns to beware of ticket scams!
Many tend to seek out tickets on classified sites. Unfortunately, this is where many scam artists lurk. For instance, fake tickets are often posted on Craigslist, with "too-good-to-be-true" prices. The seller asks the buyer to pay through wire services, like Western Union then the buyer never receives the tickets.
MOUNT WASHINGTON - The Mount Washington City Council unanimously passed the 2013-14 city budget but that wasn't a surprise.
SHEPHERDSVILLE - A split 4-2 approval vote made the proposed 2013-14 fiscal year budget official after a lengthy conversation.
Local singers will have the chance to see who's the best at the Bullitt County Fair this year.
For the third consecutive year, the Bullitt County Vocalist of the Year competition will be held at the fairgrounds from Monday, June 17, to Saturday, June 22.
The contest, which is sponsored by the Bullitt County Arts Council and Bullitt County Public Libraries, will have tryouts in the pavilion Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. Finals will be held at the inside stage in the main building on Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Mount Washington AARP Chapter solicited donations on June 7-8 at the Valu Market. The collections were to benefit the Mount Washington Community Ministries food pantry. Cash donations of $252.58 were just part of the story as many pounds of food was also donated, with an estimated value of $2,200, which is $200 more than the food drive in March.
Copyright © 2016
The Pioneer News Online is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Bullitt County and Shepherdsville, KY, and the surrounding area.


text:
Prototype 2 Review
An action-packed sequel that offers more value to newcomers than original fans
Fans who wanted more of Prototype will get their wish, but it comes as a disappointment because the game is, for the most part, unchanged. You still have the same powers to unlock, ranging from claws to whips and hammer fists, though it feels like the game takes its sweet time letting you have everything. It can be especially annoying to fans who played the original and already know what Heller should be capable of – but when it takes well over half of the story missions to unlock the last few powers, and even something basic like ability to hijack enemy vehicles and choppers – the pace of progression begins to suffer.
The game does make strides for improvement though, most notably with combat. The camera is now more responsive, providing you with precise and satisfying control during fights. Infected creatures are your common foes, though they are fewer in number and take longer to take down, thus eliminating the sometimes frustrating chaos of the original game in favor of more satisfying and coherent brawling. Most of the action now focuses on dodging the enemy attack and then unleashing some of your own, which can be a bit repetitive. Prototype 2 is also rather easy overall, with almost no enemies possessing the ability to reach you in the air – so you can simply perform aerial attacks all day long and barely worry about your health. There are some kind of bird-like infected you may have seen in the promotional material, but these only show up once in the game and you can't even attack them directly.
Campaign missions in Prototype 2 can be entertaining, but they suffer significantly from repetition. Most are either about sneaking into an enemy base/building and consuming a key person, or destroying a threat. There is some variety, but it arrives far too late into the game to offset the amount of repetitive legwork that you've already had to do. Enemies now have a field of view and if you fail to stealth consume someone, the game will helpfully point out which enemies see you and thus must be eliminated or you wait for a better angle. Bases now also have special virus detectors, and if you're within the scan radius will reveal your disguise after a brief amount of time. It's a mechanic that was supposed to add some urgency to the infiltration, but it fails to do so as the detectors are easily avoidable (and even if you are caught, the game's gentle difficulty means you might as well wipe out the whole base anyway).
Being an open world game, Prototype featured a ton of side missions, races, challenges, and collectibles. It wasn't anything original, but at least it made the world feel a bit more feature-rich. With Prototype 2, that offering is all but missing – most of the side content includes finding and consuming a specific enemy target, who can be found with the game's "ping" mechanic. By sending out a pulse, you can track down the enemy based on where the wave returns from – it's a mechanic that only serves to make a basic feature seem more complex. Consuming said target reveals new story elements via a cutscene. You can also collect audio fragments around the city, but these are completely irrelevant to the plot. And that's about it – with that said, the city map in the game looks bare.
Commentsblog comments powered by Disqus


text:
This may sound like a charity group in support of children's rights, however; as parents we are all faced with the question of age appropriateness of our children's experiences. School is almost out and summer vacation brings boredom and the search for things to do. Having chores for children to do will provide answers to the ever asked question, "I'm bored, what should we do?" Games, toys, books and movies are labeled with suggestions as to their contents and age suitability. Clothes, shoes and even foods are "age suggested". It seems to be up to the parents to decide on how old their child should be before receiving an allowance and/or doing chores. Here's a list of tasks that sets some guidelines for those who aren't sure:
For Ages 2-3
- Picking up toys and put into a toy box
- Stacking books on a shelf
- Picking up dirty clothes and put into a laundry hamper
- Throwing away trash
- Carry firewood
- Folding washcloths and simple articles of clothing such as matching socks
- Setting the table
- Dusting baseboards
For Ages 4-5
- Spraying and disinfecting doorknobs
- Watering houseplants
- Feeding pets
- Clearing the kitchen table
- Making his or her bed
- Using a hand-held vacuum
- Sorting clean silverware
- Wiping up spills
- Straightening up his or her bedroom, putting away toys and clothes, etc.
- Preparing simple lunches or snacks
For Ages 6-7
- Gathering and Taking out trash
- Replacing toilet paper rolls
- Folding towels
- Making salad
- Dust mop or sweeping floors
- Raking leaves and pulling leaves
- Emptying the dishwasher
Ages 8-9
- Loading the dishwasher
- Clearing and wiping off the table
- Washing laundry
- Walking the dog
- Baking cookies, scrambling eggs and other simple cooking chores such as grilled cheese, etc.
- Hang up and fold clothes
- Dusting furniture
- Putting groceries away
Ages 10-11
- Sweeping out the garage
- Mowing the Lawn
- Cleaning countertops, kitchens and bathrooms
- Vacuuming
- Bringing in mail
- Preparing simple meals
Ages 12 +
- Mopping floors
- Changing light bulbs
- Washing windows
- Baking bread, cakes, brownies, etc.
- Washing windows
- Washing and vacuuming a car
- Trimming hedges
- Painting walls under supervision
- Learning simple home repairs
- Babysitting younger siblings
Parents know their children best. Always use your best judgment as to what or how much your child can handle. We want to challenge them without stressing them to their limits. As for allowance, well that's another article.


text:
A colorful, canvas promotional business briefcase with zippered main pocket and easy access front Velcro pocket.
Perfect promo logo sport duffle to show off your logo at the gym or at the beach.
Keep your expensive gadgets protected inside this custom sling backpack by elleven that has plenty of pockets for storage.
This custom cooler bag features a convenient flip open flap to quickly get your ice cold drinks out.
Our 600d PolyCanvas Custom Logo Boat Tote features fashionable nautical themed design.
A custom sling backpack with bright accent colors are becoming more and more popular.
Everything for the perfect picnic will fit into this rugged Vertex Promotional Cooler Bag.
Made of microfiber, this promotional lunch bag will see daily use from home to work or school.
A custom insulated lunch bag that bowling enthusiasts can really get into!
These water resistant convention style custom tote bags easily attaches to wheeled carts via the back slip pocket.
These lightweight and dependable custom messenger bags will carry your logo and business essentials with style.
A sturdy, practical expandable Custom Saddlebag.
Durable nylon blend custom sling bag built with ergonomic solutions in mind that improve carrying comfort.
100% recycled 140g non-woven promotionaL messenger bag.
A Nylon promotional laundry bag is a classic favorite for colleges, camps, overnights and more!
A sports locker promotional bag allows you to keep your clothes separate from your shoes and dirty clothes.
A promo laptop sleeve designed to fit laptops up to 15.6"
A water resistant logo tote that is perfect for beach goers.


text:
blinc is proud to introduce its latest innovation in liquid liners with the blinc ultrathin liquid eyeliner pen. This remarkable new eyeliner boasts a brush of only 0.01mm, the most precise brush available in the cosmetics industry! This allows it to provide the thinnest, most exact line possible, allowing for unparalleled versatility. blinc ultrathin liquid eyeliner pen cannot fade, smudge or run, even if you cry or rub your eyes.
It glides on smoothly and the ultra fine brush provides for extreme accuracy, allowing you to create virtually any look you desire, from a thin classic line, to dramatic, winged looks. blinc ultrathin liquid eyeliner pen is unique in that it features a brush so thin that it allows you to add intense black color as close to your upper and lower lash line as possible!
blinc ultrathin liquid eyeliner pen water proof, smudge proof and fade proof. It will take you through your busy day and easily into the night with no need to reapply. Only when you are ready, blinc ultrathin liquid eyeliner pen can easily be removed with a swipe of gentle makeup remover.
Net Weight: 0.025 oz. / 0.7 ml
Ingredients: Water, Ammonium Acrylates Copolymer, Carbon Black (Ci 77266), Propylene Glycol, Laureth-21, Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylparaben, Disodium Edta.
Disclaimer: Ingredients are subject to change at the manufacturer's discretion. For the most complete and up-to-date list of ingredients, please refer to the product packaging.
If you need any help for applying these offers or any other issue please call us toll-free at 1-866-830-6161.
Gift with Purchase: FREE Blinc - Black Mascara Trial Size with the purchase of Blinc products, some restrictions apply. See details �
Gift with Purchase: FREE Blinc - Black Mascara Trial Size with the purchase of Blinc products, some restrictions apply. See details �


text:
DoD Programs and Implementation
DoD Green Procurement Program (GPP)
DoD's Green Procurement Program (GPP) strives to enhance and sustain mission readiness through cost-effective acquisition and procurement that achieves compliance and reduces resource consumption of solid and hazardous waste generation. DoD's GPP defines green procurement as the "purchase of environmentally preferable products and services in accordance with federally-mandated "green" procurement preference programs [include link to programs?]. The DoD's GPP comprises elements of Eos 13423 and 13514, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Farm Bill, Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005, and Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007.
The goal of DoD's GPP is to achieve 100% compliance with mandatory Federal affirmative procurement programs in all acquisition transactions. This goal includes all acquisition from major systems programs to individual unit supply and service requisitions. The following are DoD's GPP objectives:
- Educate appropriate DoD employees on requirements, roles and responsibilities, and opportunities.
- Increase purchases of green products and services.
- Reduce the amount of solid waste generated.
- Reduce consumption of petroleum and increase use of alternatives.
- Increase in the use of renewable energy.
- Reduce the use of ozone depleting substances and hazardous and toxic chemicals.
- Improve the procurement of green electronic equipment.
- Increase the use of biobased products and reduce dependence on fossil fuel-based products.
- Reduce consumption of energy and natural resources.
- Expand markets for green products and services.
The DoD's GPP is jointly managed by the Deputy Under Secretary for Defense for Installations and Environment (DUSD(I&E)) and the Director, Defense Procurement & Acquisition Policy, (USD(AT&L/DPAP). For more information, Click Here.
DoD Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP)
The first public version of DoD's Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan was published on August 26, 2010. The DoD's SSPP fulfills requirements established by EO 13514 and is updated annually. The SSPP defines DoD's vision of sustainability as it relates to national defense as, "the ability to operate into the future without decline – either in the mission or the natural and manufactured systems that that support it. DoD embraces sustainability as a means of improving mission accomplishment."
DoD's SSPP comprises four objectives with eight goals and 21 sub-goals. The objectives, goals, and sub-goals are as follows:
- Objective 1: The Continued Availability of Resources Critical to the DoD Mission is Ensured
- Goal 1: The Use of Fossil Fuels Reduced
- Sub-Goal 1.1: Energy Intensity of Facilities Reduced by 30% of FY 2003 Levels by FY 2015 and 37.5% by FY 2020
- Sub-Goal 1.2: 18.3% of Energy Consumed by Facilities is Produced or Procured from Renewable Sources by FY 2020
- Sub-Goal 1.3: Use of Petroleum Products by Vehicle Fleets Reduced 30% by FY 2020 Relative to FY 2005
- Goal 2: Water Resources Management Improved
- Sub-Goal 2.1: Potable Water Consumption Intensity by Facilities Reduced by 26% of FY 2007 Levels by 2020
- Sub-Goal 2.2: Industrial and Irrigation Water Consumption Reduced by 20% of FY 2010 Levels by FY 2020
- Sub-Goal 2.3: All Development and Redevelopment Projects of 5,000 Square Feet or Greater Maintaining Pre-Development Hydrology to the Maximum Extent Technically Feasible
- Objective 2: DoD is a U.S. Government Leader in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Goal 3: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Scope 1 and 2 Sources Reduced 34% by FY 2020, Relative to FY 2008
- Goal 4: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Scope 3 Sources Reduced 13.5% by FY 2020, Relative to FY 2008
- Sub-Goal 4.1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Employee Air Travel Reduced 7% by FY 2020 Relative to FY 2011
- Sub-Goal 4.2: 30% of Eligible Employees Teleworking at Least Once a Week, on a Regular, Recurring Basis, by FY 2020
- Sub-Goal 4.3: 50% of Non-Hazardous Solid Waste Diverted from Disposal in Landfills Not Owned by DoD by FY 2015, and thereafter through FY 2020
- Objective 3: The Ongoing Performance of DoD Assets Ensured by Minimizing Waste and Pollution
- Goal 5: Solid Waste Minimized and Optimally Managed
- Sub-Goal 5.1: All DoD Organization Implementing Policies by FY 2014 to Reduce the Use of Printing Paper
- Sub-Goal 5.2: 50% of Non-Hazardous Solid Waste Diverted from the Waste Stream by FY 2015, and Thereafter Through 2020
- Sub-Goal 5.3: 60% of Construction and Demolition Debris Diverted from the Waste Stream by FY 2015, and Thereafter Through FY 2020
- Sub-Goal 5.4: Ten Landfills Recovering Landfill Gas for Use by DoD by FY 2020
- Goal 6: The Use and Release of Chemicals of Environmental Concern Minimized
- Objective 4: Continuous Improvement in the DoD Mission Achieved through Management and Practices Built on Sustainability and Community
- Goal 7: Sustainability Practices Become the Norm
- Sub-Goal 7.1: 95% of Procurement Conducted Sustainably
- Sub-Goal 7.2: 15% of Existing Buildings Conform to the Guiding Principles on High Performance and Sustainable Buildings by FY 2015, Holding Through FY 2020
- Goal 8: Sustainability Built into DoD Management Systems
- Sub-Goal 8.1: All Environmental Management Systems Effectively Implemented and Maintained
- Sub-Goal 8.2: Sustainability of Transportation and Energy Choices in Surrounding Areas Optimized by Coordinating with Related Regional and Local Planning
- Sub-Goal 8.3: All DoD Installations Have Integrated Pest Management Plans Prepared, Reviewed, and Updated Annually by Pest Management Professionals
Several of the SSPP objectives, goals, and sub-goals relate to sustainable procurement. For example, progress toward Goals 1 and 2 can be achieved through procurement of energy and water efficient technologies as well as biofuels. Sub-Goal 7.1, however, explicitly directs 95% of procurement to be conducted sustainably. DoD Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP), Sub-Goal 7.1, 95% of Procurement Conducted Sustainably
The DoD's SSPP establishes metrics for the enumerated objectives, goals, and sub-goals. For Sub-Goal 7.1 95% of Procurement Conducted Sustainably, the SSPP sets the following metric:
"The percent of contract actions (new contracts and modifications) that adhere to the principles of sustainability by containing requirements for (as relevant and where such products and services meet DoD performance requirements): energy-efficient (Energy Star or Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) designated), water-efficient, bio-based, environmentally preferable (e.g., certified by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool), non-ozone depleting, containing recycled content, and/or are non-toxic or less toxic alternatives. The sub-goal applies to products and services, including task and delivery orders, but excluding the acquisition of weapon system and their components and spare parts. The Federal Procurement Data System will be used as the source of data on contracts meeting these requirements."
The annual targets set by the SSPP for Sub-Goal 7.1 are 95% of procurement conducted sustainably from 2011 to 2020.


text:
5 posts tagged with Mini and computers.
Displaying 1 through 5 of 5. Subscribe:
Mac Mini: Yes or No?
My husband and I are Apple noobs and can't get a straight answer from any sales people: is the Mini adequate for our needs? [more inside]
Mac Mini Magically Misplaced Music
Mac Mini Sound Stops Working When I Push The Top of the Case [more inside]
Is G5 to new Mac Mini a downgrade or upgrade?
The wife and I have a Mac G5 tower, the PowerPC single processor, only 800Mhz (yes, we got caught--bought it a month too soon--damn you, Jobs!). It's 2 years old. We have a cinema display (sweet) and all the stuff we need, but now that the new Intel Mac Mini is out, we're seriously considering scrapping the G5 and going with the Mini. What should we do? Which would be faster? My wife thinks the G5 would still be faster, but I think that's nonsense.
Defecting to OS X recommendations
I've taken the plunge, and purchased a Mac Mini. I've used Windows primarily for most of my life, with a bit of Debian Linux. What recommendations do you all have for general use, software, etc etc?
How can I get my Mac Mini to display properly on a 17-inch flatscreen Viewsonic monitor?
I just hooked my Mac Mini up to a new 17-inch flatscreen Viewsonic monitor. At unpredictable intervals, the display fades to blue for a moment and then comes back. What's going on? Are my settings wrong or is something broken?
Page: 1


text:
College Hockey:Division III NCAA Brackets Announced
INDIANAPOLIS — Undefeated RIT and NCHA-champion Wis.-Superior were named top seeds as the NCAA Division III men's tournament brackets were announced today. With six automatic bids and RIT garnering a surefire spot, the drama came down to the final at-large bid, which went to Wis.-River Falls over NESCAC runner-up Amherst.
Quarterfinal action takes place at the home arena of the higher seed Friday and Saturday March 9 and 10. Teams will play a two-game series, with a mini-game following Game 2 if necessary.
In one bracket, RIT will host ECAC Northeast winner Lebanon Valley while Wis.-River Falls will host the winner of the ECAC East, New England College. In the other bracket, Superior will host MIAC champion St. John's, while SUNYAC champion Plattsburgh visits NESCAC winner Middlebury.
RIT is making its sixth consecutive visit to the NCAA tournament, and its eleventh since the Division III championship was started in 1984. RIT received the tournament's Pool B berth, as the top team not a member of a conference eligible for an automatic qualifier. The Tigers (24-0-1) have Division III's most potent offense, averaging 7.40 goals per game and the nation's most effective power play, scoring better than 44 percent of the time with the man advantage.
Facing that daunting opponent is Lebanon Valley (18-7-2), a hockey program in just its third season, making its first trip to the NCAA tournament. The Flying Dutchmen, fourth-seeded in the conference tournament, beat the fifth and third seeds before downing No. 2-seed Wentworth, 4-3, for the league crown.
River Falls (21-8-2) returns to the tournament for the first time since 1998. The Falcons received the Pool C at-large bid as the highest-ranked team not winning its league title among the six conferences with an automatic qualifier. River Falls finished second in both the regular season and in the NCHA playoffs to Wis.-Superior.
River Falls' opponent, New England College (20-8-0), returns to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the Division III championship's inception in 1984. The Pilgrims, seeded third in their conference tournament, beat second-seeded Salem State in the league semifinals, and then earned the automatic bid with a 2-1 win over the defending-national-champion Norwich Cadets for the ECAC East title.
Superior (27-3-1) gained the automatic bid from the NCHA with a win and a tie against Wis.-River Falls in the conference championship series. The Yellowjackets are making their third straight NCAA appearance, having finished second to Middlebury in 1999, and losing a semifinal overtime game to last year's champ Norwich.
The Yellowjackets will take on St. John's (15-10-4), the third seed in the MIAC playoffs. The Johnnies outlasted fourth-seeded Bethel with an overtime mini-game win after two ties in the conference final series to gain the MIAC automatic bid.
Middlebury (23-2-1) makes its seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA's. The Panthers outlasted Amherst in an overtime thriller, 4-3, in the NESCAC conference final for an automatic bid. Middlebury was the national champion in its first five NCAA tournaments, but saw that streak end when the defending champs were ousted last year in the quarterfinals at Plattsburgh.
The Panthers will host Plattsburgh (25-5-0), which won its fifteenth SUNYAC championship by defeating Potsdam in a three-game series to earn an automatic bid. The Cardinals return to the NCAA tournament for the fifth consecutive season.
The following is a self-policing forum for discussing views on this story. Comments that are derogatory, make personal attacks, are abusive, or contain profanity or racism will be removed at our discretion. USCHO.com is not responsible for comments posted by users. Please report any inappropriate or offensive comments by clicking the "Flag" link next to that comment in order to alert the moderator.
Please also keep "woofing," taunting, and otherwise unsportsmanlike behavior to a minimum. Your posts will more than likely be deleted, and worse yet, you reflect badly on yourself, your favorite team and your conference.


text:
Women's Golf Heads for Ivy Championship Tournament
The Princeton women's golf team will head to the Ivy League Championship at the Seaview Golf Resort in Galloway, N.J. this weekend. The tournament will run Friday through Sunday with one round each day beginning at 8 a.m.
Complete information through the Ivy League office, including results, can be found here.
The Tigers have finished in the top four in every championship tournament since the first one was conducted in 1997. The tournament has included seven Ivy teams, all except Cornell, since 2004 after starting with five and adding a sixth in 2000 (Penn) before Columbia became the most recent addition. Princeton won titles in 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2005 while finishing runner-up in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007.
Princeton has also claimed the most individual titles of any school, winning eight of a possible 15. Mary Moan '97 (1997), Julia Allison '01 (1999, 2001), Avery Kiser '05 (2002, 2003, 2004) and Susannah Aboff '09 (2008, 2009) have been Princeton's winners.
The Tigers finished third at last year's Ivy League meet, which was held at Atlantic City Country Club. Princeton had three players in the top 10, with Rachel Blum '11 tying for third, current sophomore Kelly Shon tying for fifth and Kate Scarpetta '11 tying for eighth. Shon and Wonji Choi, who would be competing in her fourth Ivy League Championship tournament, are the only members of last year's fivesome who can compete this time.
Earlier this spring, Shon became the first Tiger since Aboff in October 2008 to win medalist honors at back-to-back tournaments, winning the Low Country Intercollegiate in South Carolina and the Brown Invitational in Rhode Island.
Yale won last year's title by four shots over Harvard while finishing seven in front of third-place Princeton. Current sophomore Michelle Piyapattra of Columbia was the individual champion at 2-under, winning by 10 shots over Harvard's then-senior Mia Kabasakalis.


text:
The Marshfield Clinic and Ministry Health Care heart care team provides heart care nationally recognized for outstanding quality. With over a dozen clinical locations throughout Central and Northern Wisconsin and two advanced treatment and surgical centers, it's the heart care team chosen most often in the region,
Offering more heart specialists…
Performing more heart procedures…
Treating more complex cases…
At more convenient locations…
While conducting more clinical research...
than any other provider in the area.
You may need to consult with a heart care specialist for one of several reasons:
If you have a primary care physician, you should start by discussing your condition and your options with him or her. Their knowledge and opinions will help you make an informed choice. If your doctor is part of another health care organization, it is important to realize that the ultimate choice is always yours. You can choose the Marshfield Clinic and Ministry Health Care heart care team for all your advanced heart care, or simply schedule a visit for a second, independent opinion.
Visit oneheartcareteam.org for more information on this award winning partnership.
Ministry Health Care also provides cardiac rehabilitation services at Saint Elizabeth's Hospital in Wabasha, Minnesota and Ministry Door County Medical Center in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
To find out more about Ministry's services:
Submit an online Request or Contact Us by phone.
Door County
Eagle River
Park Falls
Stevens Point/Plover
Read Real-Life Patient Stories from People With Heart Disease
Ministry Health Care


text:
to page content
to site navigation
Explore the Entrepreneurship.org Resource Center to find resources. Designed with entrepreneurs in mind, our resource center allows you to find materials to grow great ideas.
The 2007 National Export Strategy
This article quickly and clearly helps inventors and entrepreneurs understand the overall patent process and some of its pitfalls. (US patents are good only in the US, for example, not other countries.) If you're inventing or working with visionary technology, be sure to read this article before telling the world about your achievement.
An updated design for your product may be the key to beefing up sales. Business 2.0 provides success stories focusing on new ergonomic designs, including Listerine, Solo Cup, and Gatorade.
With recent changes in consumer shopping habits, many companies are adopting sales and marketing strategies that reflect a more personalized approach to servicing their customers. This tool focuses on personalization and on ways you can gear your business to provide products and services individualized to your customersand#39; tastes and needs.
This article provides a general sequence of steps to follow for developing the pricing of a new product. A bonus is frequent links to references in connection with business terminology used in the article.
This link is itself a collection of useful links offering a wealth of information about managing products and services.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, early investment analysis, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment
The U.S. Department of Commerce's Trade Compliance Center (TCC) helps American exporters and investors overcome foreign trade barriers and works to ensure that foreign countries comply with their trade agreement obligations to the United States.
How can you come up with innovations as a scientist would? You need to dream big, come up with an expansive set of goals, and then break your plan down into a series of simple steps. Also put in place the best possible team and be sure to develop your plan B.
This searchable list includes all official trade missions and trade events sponsored by the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Want to get connected? Sign up to receive regular news, polls and updates from The Kauffman Foundation.
A robust online curriculum for entrepreneurs.
Explore Founders School >
A network of U.S. cities facilitating a weekly entrepreneur education program. Go to 1 Million Cups >
Whether you are starting or growing a company, FastTrac will help you live your dream at each stage.
Get started with FastTrac >


text:
Hydration tube holder.
Can be stitched on bags/clothes.
Directly sewable to the garment, thus this product will not swing.
No attaching machine reguired.
Let air in/out of its belonging items through the holes.
The bungee cord,which is going through the hole in this cord holder,
helps to holds steady the hydration tube.
Just pick and draw the earphone cord, and you can use the portable electric device in your bag without opening the bag.
Materials· TPU
Item Variation
Care Information / Remarks
Our plastic hardware should be used in appropriate applications.
If you have any concerns regarding safety, laws and regulations related to the use of plastic hardware in personal flotation devices (PFD), baby carriers (baby sling) etc., please contact our sales representative.
Related Items (Link to Products Page)
YKK cannot guarantee that a product is suitable for a particular application therefore you should always conduct your own tests. Please contact a YKK representative for details if you have any questions and concerns.


text:
Hip-hop, rock 'n' roll performance set tonight (April 6) on Harbor stage
Jesse Orozco is organizing a hip-hop and rock concert tonight at the Harbor Performing Arts Center. The concert will benefit the Brookings-Harbor Community Helpers Food Bank. The Pilot/Scott Graves
Spurred by the cancer-related death of his cousin, Brookings 18-year-old Jesse Orozco has spent the last few months planning for tonight's event: a hip-hop and rock concert benefiting the local food bank.
The event, also the focus of his senior project, is scheduled for 5 to 10 p.m. at the Harbor Performing Arts Center, 97900 Shopping Center Ave.
Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults. Anybody who brings in a grocery bag full of non-perishable food gets in free.
The food and concert proceeds will benefit the Brookings-Harbor Community Helpers Food Bank.
"We're going to have a lot of great music and it's for a great cause. I hope everybody can come," Orozco said earlier this week as he worked on final details.
The concert will feature Crescent City's popular surf rock band The Mudsharks and several local and visiting hip-hop artists including Maniac & Seandon, Dirty Dollaz and HiTT3R and Taz.
Orozco, a Brookings Harbor High School senior who will perform as Young J, always dreamed of being a music star, but it took the death of his 22-year-old cousin two years ago to inspire him to try and realize that goal.
"Before he died of cancer, my cousin told me I could do anything I put my mind to, so that's what I'm doing," Orozco said.
To kick-start his music career and that of other local musicians, he decided to plan, organize and host the concert.
Local individuals and businesses quickly jumped in to support Orozco. Sponsors include: Artistic Trends, The Book Dock, Rays Food Place, Fred Meyer, Whale's Tail Candy and Gifts, In Motion Graphics and Design, Mark Rogers Painting, Marlene's Salon, Brookings Home Services, Blue Coast Inn and Suites, KURY Radio and the Pilot.
Many sponsors donated cash, up to $3,000, that Orozco needed to hire the acts, rent a sound system and promote the event. He has also been mentored by established community event coordinators such as Dori Blodgett and Bruce Ellis.
Orozco is no stranger to helping others Over the years, hehas volunteered for community organizations such as the Leo Club, Brooking Fire and Rescue, KASPER, the Chetco Community Public Library, and Brookings-Harbor Community Theater.
Now, he hopes the community will return the favor by attended the concert.
"I want to showcase local artists, get kids interested in music and support a good cause: the food bank," he said.
Blodgett, who admits to not being a big hip-hop music fan, help Orozco with staging the event and printing out promotional posters.
"It's awesome to have a young adult step forward and do something new and different like this," she said. "I hope the community will put some funding behind his dream."
In an earlier interview with the Pilot, Julie Davis, manager of the food bank, said she appreciated what Orozco was attempting.
"I think what he's doing is innovative and generous; I'm so proud that young people are so willing to give," Davis said. "We're thrilled that he's doing this."


text:
Tai Chi Hero Movie (2012) Free Online
Watch Tai Chi Hero Movie Free Online
Story Line:
Yang Tai Chi Master Luchan, now has become the world's most popular style of Tai Chi, founded in the 19th century to the early year's blockbuster Steampunk Chinese martial arts. The second installment of the trilogy, "Tai Chi" knowledge wonder of Tai Chi amount Luchan Mechanical Steampunk soldiers wear the incredible army of growth and talent of the children in the village to help saved his forehead plump tour continues its people and its collection.
- Original title:
- Also Known As: Tai Chi 2: The Hero Rises
- Director: Stephen Fung
- Stars: Qi Shu, Daniel Wu, Tony Leung Ka Fai
- Genre: Action | Adventure
- Writer: Kuo-fu Chen
- Release Date: October 2012 (China)
- Language: Mandarin
- Run Time: 100 min
- Country: China
- Sound Mix:
- Filming Locations:
- Production Co: Diversion Pictures, Diversion Pictures, Taihe Film Investment and Huayi Brothers
- Taglines:
- Plot Keywords: Steampunk | Second Part | Sequel
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA):
IMDB Ratings: 5.8/10
Box Office
Budget: (estimated) $40,000,000
Online link FreeWatchInHD: Tai Chi Hero 2012 Streaming Free
Online link VioHDMovie: Tai Chi Hero 2012 Watch Online
Online link putlocker: Tai Chi Hero 2012 Film Free
Online link sockshare: Tai Chi Hero 2012 Full Movie
Online link nowvideo: Tai Chi Hero 2012 Free Online
Online link filenuke: Tai Chi Hero 2012 Download Movie
Online link uploadc: Tai Chi Hero 2012 Watch Full
Online link vidbux: Tai Chi Hero 2012 Watch Movie
Online link vidxden: Tai Chi Hero 2012 Online Movie
Online link movshare: Tai Chi Hero 2012 Online Streaming
Online link divxstage: Tai Chi Hero 2012 Free Movie


text:
Reflections on Microsoft BUILD 2011
I'm just back from Microsoft's BUILD conference at Anaheim in California, which lived up to the hype as a key moment of transition for the company. Some said it was the most significant PDC – yes, it was really the Professional Developers Conference renamed – since 2000, when .NET was introduced; some said the most significant ever.
"Significant" does not necessarily mean successful, and history will judge whether BUILD 2011 was a new dawn or the beginning of the end for Windows. Nevertheless, I have not heard so much cheering and whooping at a Microsoft conference for a while, and although I am no fan of cheering and whooping I recognise that there was genuine enthusiasm there for the new direction that was unveiled.
So what happened? First, let me mention the Windows Server 8 preview, which looks a solid upgrade to Server 2008 with a hugely improved Hyper-V virtualisation and lots of changes in storage, in IIS, networking, in data de-duplication, in modularisation (enabling seamless transition between Server Core and full Server) and in management, with the ascent of PowerShell scripting and recognition that logging onto a GUI on the server itself is poor practice.
The server team are not suffering the same angst as the client team in terms of direction, though the company has some tricky positioning to do with respect to Azure (platform) and Server 8 (infrastructure) cloud computing, and how much Microsoft hosts in its own datacentres and how much it leaves to partners.
What about Windows client? This is the interesting one, and you can almost hear the discussions among Microsoft execs that led them to create the Windows Runtime and Metro-style apps. There is the Apple iPad; there is cloud; there are smartphones; and Windows looks increasingly like a big, ponderous, legacy operating system with its dependence on keyboard and mouse (or stylus), security issues, and role as a fat client when the industry is moving slowly towards a cloud-plus-device model.
At the same time Windows and Office form a legacy that Microsoft cannot abandon, deeply embedded in the business world and the source of most of the company's profits. The stage is set for slow decline, though if nothing else BUILD demonstrates that Microsoft is aware of this and making its move to escape that fate.
Its answer is a new platform based on the touch-friendly Metro UI derived from Windows Phone 7, and a new high-performance native code runtime, called Windows Runtime or WinRT. Forget Silverlight or WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation); this is a new platform in which .NET is optional, and which is friendly to all of C#, C/C++, and HTML5/JavaScript. That said, WinRT is a locked-down platform which puts safety and lock-in to Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Store ahead of developer freedom, especially (and I am speculating a little) in the ARM configuration of which we heard little at BUILD.
BUILD attendees were given a high-end Samsung tablet with Windows 8 pre-installed, and in general the Metro-style UI was a delight, responsive and easy to use, and with some fun example apps, though many of the apps that will come as standard were missing and there was evidence of pre-beta roughness and instability in places.
The client strategy seems to me to look like this:
Windows desktop will trundle on, with a few improvements in areas like boot time, client Hyper-V, and the impressive Windows To Go that runs Windows from a bootable and bitlocker-encrypted USB stick leaving no footprint on the PC itself. Many Windows 8 users will spend all their time in the desktop, and I suspect Microsoft will be under pressure to allow users to stick with the old Start menu if they have no desire or need to see the new Metro-style side of Windows..
Page 1 of 2 | Next page
Related posts:
- Windows Phone at Mix 2011: what Microsoft said and did not say
- What next for Windows as Microsoft announces Build 2014?
- Microsoft Build Sessions published: Windows Phone XAML and HTML/JS apps, new Azure APIs and more
- Microsoft Build 2013: Love the platform?
- Three questions about Microsoft's cloud play at TechEd 2011


text:
Hardware Bracelet
Product Actions
Additional Information
Complete your look with this romantic lock embellished bracelet.
- Hinged lock hardware embellishment.
- Turn-lock closure.
- Polyurethane, Copper.
- Imported.
- Measures approximately 7" in length.
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®by PowerReviews
Reviewed by 1 customer
Comments about BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP Hardware Bracelet:
While I enjoy the overall look of this piece, the first time I wore it some of the white paint along the edges rubbed off and now there is a yellow outline on the trim... making the piece look much cheaper than it is.
- Size and Fit:
- True to size
- How old are you?:
- 25 to 34


text:
Once called "a musical healer" by High Times magazine, NYC-based producer/DJ Nutritious brings us a soul-nourishing mix for our newest edition of Naked Fridays. Trish (is it okay if I call you that?) balances his time between curating his weekly show Gratitude, hosting his own parties in the city, and dabbling in holistic medicine. And by dabbling, I mean he helped write Montel Williams' New York Times bestseller on health and wellness.
Somehow Nutritious found a break from his schedule to contribute a mix to us, and we're stoked to premiere it. True to form, elements of both partying and aural nourishment manifest themselves in this mix, which spends its time fluctuating from posi-party vibes to more spaced out, cosmic ones. You can check out the entire Naked Fridays mix when it premieres today at 4 p.m.
In the meantime, preview the tracklist below:
01. Nutritious - Intro
02. Rayko - Little Baby
03. Stretch - Why Did You Do It
04. Beca - Let's Run Wild (Ashley Beedle Vocal Mix)
05. Prinzhorn Dance School - I Want You
06. Rokyoursoul - The Alpine Touch
07. MustBeat Crew - Mutha Phukin Reel
08. Dimitri From Paris & DJ Rocca - Ero Disco Theme
09. Francis Jilla - Walking on a Beam
10. Jazzanova - I Human
11. Moon Rocket - White Flowers