text:
My Profile
Invite Comrades
My Settings
Xbox 360
Xbox One
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo 3DS
PC Games
PS Vita
More Reviews
SAMURAI WARRIORS: Spirit of Sana Review
Age of the Sengoku.
Cities: Skylines - Mass Transit Review
I recommend the blimp.
More Previews
Let It Die Preview
Seems like Suda51 saw Frozen, played Dark Souls, and then got the lyrics mixed up.
PES 2017 Preview
We Happy Few Preview
Release Dates
Persona 5
Release date:
Out Now
Utawarerumono Mask of Deception
Release date:
Out Now
SAMURAI WARRIORS: Spirit of Sanada
Release date:
Out Now
MotoGP 17
Release date: 06/15/17
Xbox 360
Xbox One
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo 3DS
PC Games
PS Vita
Take-Two Has a "Highly Anticipated New Title" in the Works that Isn't Red Dead Redemption 2
Far Cry 5 Is Headed to Montana, Gets Teaser Trailer
FFXIV: Stormblood Has Substantial Changes, Including Paid Level Boosts, Story Skips, and More
Friday the 13th: The Game Won't Have Console Pre-Orders, but Release Is Unaffected
Mass Effect: Andromeda's Latest Update Has Made A World Of Difference
Mystery Solved: Ghost Recon Wildlands' Yeti Turned Out to Be Just a Guy
Wargaming Rep Apologizes to YouTuber after Community Manager Threatens Copyright Claim against Negative Review
Here is Every Overwatch Anniversary Event Skin
It's a good batch.
Tell GR: What's Your Favorite Rockstar Games Title?
Making it rain.
Paladins: Champions Of The Realm Sha Lin & Bravado Set Giveaway!
Grab a free character before you head into the fray.
Little Nightmare's Story Explained: A Look At Its Monsters And Ending
Diablo 3 Necromancer Impressions: A Spectacular Summoner Of The Dead
A Guide To Dragon Quest Heroes 2's Vocations And Their Best Skills
GR Strips 135 - Thank You (Final Comic)
Xbox 360
Xbox One
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
Nintendo Wii U
Nintendo 3DS
PC Games
PS Vita
More Cheats
Injustice 2
Crash Arena Turbo Stars
Built for Speed
More Cheats
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto IV
More FAQs
LATEST FAQs
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of V FAQ
Prey (2016) FAQ
Persona 5 FAQ
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe FAQ
Member Reviews
Rocket League
Halo (Xbox One)
Gears of War 4
Gears of War Ultimate Edition
Visit the Forums
Relaunch Logo Rework
Cleaning out a PS4
GameRevolution Relaunch Beta Test
Favourite environments in gaming?
2017 Completed Games List
Read More Member Blogs
Welcome Back to the West
By oneshotstop
Posted on 08/01/16
The only thing that stops the dust is the rain. It's a sweet reprieve, but there is no middle ground. The land is either as dry as the Betty Ford clinic, or as wet as the ocean floor. Everything can be seen from the ridge overlooking Armadillo as John Marston gently bounces along atop...
Member reviews
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Member Review for the PC
1- 1
Out Now
Contains Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
What do these ratings mean?
REVIEW For The ELDER SCROLLS 5: SKYRIM- LEGENDARY EDITION
Genre: Open-World, Sand Box, Adventure-Fantasy Role Playing Game
Gaming Platform: PC
Release Year: 2011
Developed by: Bethesda Game Studios
Published and Distributed by: Bethesda Softworks (Retail Disc) and Steam (Online Download)
Media Format: DVD ROM Software
Operating System: Windows 7/ Vista/ XP (32 or 64 Bit)
Processor: Dual Core 2.0 GHz or Equivalent Processor
Memory: 2 GB System RAM
Hard Disk Space: 9 GB Free HDD Space
Video Card: DirectX 9.0c Compliant Video Card with 512 MB of RAM
Sound: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
Memory: 4 GB System RAM
Video Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible NIVIDIA or AMD ATI Video Card with 1GB of RAM
Instruction Manual: 2 Page Insert in Black and White, Plus a Single Card Insert about the Official DLCs 'Dawnguard,' 'Dragonborn,' and 'Hearthfire.'
Additional Content: Map Insert if the Fictional Province of Skyrim Plus a Single Card Insert about the Beta Version of 'The Elder Scrolls Online' (PC Version)
ESRB Content Rating:
Rated 'M' for MATURE 17 Plus (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol)
Series Legacy:
The Elder Scrolls: Arena; The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall; The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind; The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion; The Elder Scrolls Online
On the distant world of Nirn, there exists a legend of the "Dragonborn," a warrior who descends from a dragon bloodline over the centuries. This hero is set to return when Alduin, the dragon that seeks to destroy the world, emerges to cause chaos all over Nirn.
In the province of Skyrim, there is a civil war going on between the Empire and the Stormcloak Rebels. Both sides, bickering over religious rights and political issues, are completely oblivious to the impending doom that looms over them all. Indeed, Alduin is not the only dragon to return. Many other dragons, servants and allies of the world-eater, begin to attack the province of Skyrim and its citizens.
What path will the Dragonborn choose: that of a hero or a villain? Will he or she choose to side with Stormcloaks or with the Imperials? Will the Dragonborn fulfill his/her destiny in destroying the dragons and finally defeating Alduin, once and for all?
The storyline in 'The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim- Legendary Edition' (TES5: S-LE) is a grand and epic one, that involves the doom or welfare of the entire world around your character. After creating your character, you venture out into the country of Skyrim. You choose to help or hurt people you encounter. Helping people typically earns you their thanks, or some other reward, like a weapon, money, access to a home or shop, or a special item. Hurting or killing people means you can then loot their body of whatever items you want, but you get a bounty and a very bad reputation in the village, town or city where you committed the crime. With a bounty on your head, City Guards may attack you on sight or try to arrest you. Other characters you have stolen from or wronged in some way may hire thugs and mercenaries to attack you later on when you least expect it.
You are doing more than just being nice or nasty to the local population. As the Dragonborn, some of the people you encounter will give you quests to undertake. Completing these quests earns you gold, weapons, special items, and loads of gameplay experience, all helps you to level up your character. The higher your overall skill and experience level, the more powerful and effective your character becomes overall.
The further along you follow the main quest line, the more the story of the invading dragons and the Thalmor involvement in the Skyrim Civil War, becomes unlocked. Before the end of the main storyline, the Dragonborn will encounter a variety of different groups with different agendas like the Companions, the Greybeards, the Dark Brotherhood, the Blades, the Imperial Legion, the Thieves Guild, and the Stormcloak Rebels. If you have the time and interest, you can even join the College of Winterhold or the Bard's College in Solitude.
No doubt there is plenty to do as an original created character, wandering around in the world of Skyrim. You can choose to follow the main story, or branch off and perform side-quests to earn extra experience, more Septims (gold coins) and other useful items.
The main story line becomes very deep and very involved at certain points, partly because of the way some characters are urgently telling about the evil that the dragons pose to the world of Nirn.
Unfortunately, sometimes the story becomes too complex and too convoluted to remain interesting. There are too many relevant names to keep up with, and there is way too much back-story that is brought up, most of which ultimately does not play any significant role in understanding or enjoying current overall story in this game.
Fans of the very long-running Elder Scrolls series will enjoy all of the bits and pieces of lore scattered throughout the world of Skyrim. The lore is typically in the form of different books you find, read and collect, while journeying through the world.
However, if you don't like to be bogged down reading a huge amount to text in many of the in-game books, you may choose to skip reading the books. Of course, some of the books (Skill Books, in this case) help to automatically level-up some of your gameplay skills, so you are tempted to at least open the first page of each and every book you find, in the hopes of leveling up one of your skills.
The best way to enjoy the lore is through encounters with other characters found throughout the province of Skyrim. Some of these characters will tell you the history of locations, ancient characters, enchanted weapons and items. These dialogue encounters are by far the much more interesting ways of learns about the vast lore of the previous TES games, which are continued in this game. The dialogue explanations of the lore are the preferred way to learn about the Skyrim and Tamriel histories; certainly more preferred than reading endless amounts of text in books.
Another confusing aspect of TES 5: S-LE lore are the so-called '9 Divines.' These are what the characters call their 'gods.' The story involves a dispute in which the Nords of Skyrim worship a god name Talos, who was once a human, but the Thalmor who are made up of Elves oppose this Talos Worship. It sounds interesting at first, because it points towards religious intolerance. Talos is the 9th Divine added to the 8 others, who are worshipped all across Nirn. However, it serves mostly as a "background lore theme" more so than a concrete part of the story. In other words, it never goes anywhere.
Fictional deities in video games are nothing new, but some real-life gamers (depending on their real-life faith or beliefs) may not be too keen on having the character they create and play with in Skyrim, go to worship any of the so-called gods in the game. Some gamers may not be comfortable with the whole idea of their created hero, engaging in pagan worship, even if it is within the context of a fictional video game. And, there are 9 gods to contend with, not just one or two; essentially a lot to keep track of.
Thankfully, you are not compelled to worship all of them, but you will undertake quests for some of the 9 divines, if you want to obtain special item rewards, or special skills and abilities that will help make you a better warrior or craftsman. Some quests even require your character to "pray" to one of the gods, or pay some sort of homage to them.
Other times, you are required to pray at a shrine of any of the deities in order to get healed of any disease your character may have been infected with. This practice is also optional, since you can use Potions you buy, make or loot, to heal yourself instead. Again, some real-life gamers may not be comfortable in using their character to serve pagan gods, even within the context of a fictional video game.
GRAPHICS and ANIMATIONS
Better hope your PC is up to specs, because for a game released back in 2011, the requirements are pretty extensive (see the introduction of this review for all the system requirement details for TES 5: S-LE).
This title impresses visually. Skyrim is the cold world of the Nords, so expect to see snow, ice and frost in a lot of in-door and out-door locations. When there is heavy snowfall, there are a lot of snowflakes visible on screen, and it all holds up very well without slowdowns or crashes, in most cases anyway.
Color is in short supply on purpose, because the province of Skyrim is meant to be bleak and dark in many ways. There is some color displayed in some decorated interior homes and palaces, and maybe with certain vegetation outside. Still, the overall world in the game has mostly subdued colors.
Each weapon swing has its own animations. In fact, depending on which weapon you are using, your characters idle and attack animations change. For example, if you equip a great sword, war hammer or battle axe, your character will use both hands to hold and swing such weapons. If you equip normal swords, war axes or daggers, your character will hold and swing them with just one hand.
Since you can cast magical spells, you have animations in which you charge up and blast a variety of elemental energies at your foes. The spells typical have a variety of colors to match whatever elements they are representing. For example, fire spells are orange in color, while ice spells are white in color.
Spells that are blasted on enemies and on surfaces also leave residual visual effects on them. For example, you can see black burn patterns on the ground or wall where fire spells were fired. You can also see ice spikes embedded into enemies you shoot frost spells at.
Attacks with physical weapons like swords, bows, arrows, axes, hammers and daggers, all draw blood, whether you strike foes with them, or whether you are the one being attacked by them; this all looks fairly realistic during first person or third person combat.
Citizens, soldiers, bandits, and monsters all have very distinct looks and styles to them. Soldiers wear certain colors and styles of uniforms, which let you know if the troops are either allied with the Imperials or with the Stormcloaks.
Citizens like miners, blacksmiths and woodcutters, wear different styles of worker clothes, which easily let you know that they are part of the labor force.
Monster like Draugr look like decaying warriors, with skeletal faces. They are fearful in appearance and are armed to the teeth with a variety of weapons. These cursed freaks typically can be found guarding ancient Nord tombs.
Falmer are monsters that are blind under-dwellers, who can typically be found near of within Dwemer ruins. Relying mainly on their super sharp hearing, they have elf-like ears and wear loin clothes and are also armed and dangerous. The more powerful Falmer wear body armor made from hardened Chaurus hides.
Dwemer constructs are automations (robots) which guard Dwemer ruins, in the absence of their disappeared masters. These Dwemer guards look like machines with humanoid or arachnid features. For example, some Dwemer Centurions looks like humanoid giants made of metal, while other much smaller Dwemer guards look like mechanical spiders.
The number of wild animals range from saber-cats, wolves, the rat-like skeevers, goats, deer, foxes and even mammoths. Humanoid giants even domesticate and herd mammoths in the wilds of Skyrim.
Ugly dragons round out the pinnacle of beasties that you have to face and kill. They look like dragons typically do: like giant winged reptiles who breathe not just fire, but frost as well. If you mange to get up close to any dragon and survive, you will notice the great amount of detail in the scales covering their body.
Some of the Nord buildings resemble what looks like Viking halls that existed in the past on Earth. That is all intentional on the part of the developers, who partly used Viking lore and mythology to create the fictional Nord culture and architecture.
Killing certain enemies will earn you a 'Kill Cam' Animation. At random intervals, your final strike with a weapon or unarmed, will sometimes trigger a fatality animation. Basically, it is a dramatic action sequence of your created character finishing off an enemy. This could range from killing wolves, to bandits, all the up to the elaborate fatality performed on a dragon.
Some Kill Cams are simple, yet stylish. For example, killing off a foe with a Projectile Spell or with an Arrow, leads to a dramatic, slow-motion, rotating Kill Cam. Just like regular Kill Cams, these animations occur at different, random intervals and not all of the time. Kill Cam Fatalities change depending on which weapon you currently have equipped.
AUDIO and SOUND
The developers of Skyrim claimed to have actually created an original dragon tongue language, which your character has to learn some of, in order to weld words of power called "Shouts." This dovah-speak can be heard been uttered by dragons you encounter, as well as been used as attacks by certain enemies like Draugr.
These dragon shouts your character learns are made up of 3 words, which you typically learn one at a time. Sometimes, the Dragonborn has to travel to different parts of the world in order to find "Word Walls," indoor or outdoor structures which have ancient dragon language inscribed on them. As the Dovahkiin (your character) gets close to one such Word Wall, you hear a strange musical, chanting laced with drumbeats. You can then use that sound to guide your player character to find the hidden Word Wall. Once you stand right in front of the curved Word Wall, you will magically learn the single Word of Power. Then, you need to use an absorbed dragon soul to unlock the Word of Power, after which you can now use that Shout as a verbal weapon.
Dragon Shouts can consist of spewing out fire or ice at enemies to damage them. Other shouts can slow down time for everyone around you to give you a tactical advantage, while other shouts just blast away even the strongest foes.
Dragon Shouts have a cooling down period, so don't expect to just use one shout after another, in rapid succession. It won't happen, since after each shout, you can't shout again until a set number of seconds have past first. Once that time has elapsed, you can then use any of the shouts you want. This is to prevent your character from becoming too over-powered during the course of the game.
The main theme song is a very dramatic variation of the traditional Elder Scrolls main theme. The Skyrim main music tune relies heavily on subdued drums beats, along with mainly male vocals, who all sound like warriors chanting war songs.
Encountering enemies in the world of Skyrim also triggers different variations of battle music. After you defeat all enemies present attacking you, the combat music comes to an end. This type of music applies to when you are been attacked by any type of foe, ranging from mud-crabs, bandits to skeletons and dragons.
Softer, more soothing music plays while your character roams around the open wilds of Skyrim, as well as when inside villages, towns, cities or holds. This includes when you are buying or selling items, or when you are engaging in craftsman activities like blacksmithing or alchemy.
Swinging an axe, sword or hammer all have their own sets of sound effects. Pulling on the string of a bow and firing an arrow also have their own series of very realistic sound effects. Stabs, slashes and slices with edged weapons also have realistic sound effects, especially when you perform a kill move on an enemy.
Magical Spells also have their own unique sets of sound effects. For example, lightning spells have very distinct crackling audio effects, whether you are charging them up in your hand or firing them off at opponents.
Sometimes, after making use of a magical spell, there are annoying left-over sound effects, which linger long after you have ended combat, and are no longer using magic. This is an irritating audio bug/glitch, which continuously loops the sound of the crackling lightning spell, as it was still been used actively, even when it is not.
Animals from bears to wolves to dragons, all have their own distinct sounds, from growls, to snarls and to roars. When they are dying as you deliver them the death blow, they also give out a howl as they collapse.
Chatter is plentiful in Skyrim, as many citizens have numerous lines of verbal dialogue, some which they say when they are near you, others they say when they have encounters with other NPCs (Non-Playable Characters). Some of these spoken words are necessary for you to hear because they inform you about the current location you are in (like a village or town). Other times, the dialogue is told to you to inform you about a quest that you are being sent on. Some parts of these dialogues can be repeated by speaking to a particular NPC a second time, to hear the instructions for or the objectives of a particular quest.
The voice acting is very well-done in Skyrim in general. Some characters have accents, others don't, but their lines of dialogue are delivered professionally. The main NPCs, particularly does involved in major questlines, tend to be done by some popular and well- known celebrities. The one noticeable draw-back of the voice-work in Skyrim is that many of the same voice actors are the voices of many of the NPCs in the game. So, one character in one town may end up sounding like another, unrelated character in another village all the way across the may.
Beginning a quest will trigger an instrumental sound effect, to let you know that you have started a new questline. Whenever you have completed a quest objective, you also hear sound effects that let you know this. This is also true when you complete or fail an entire questline.
GAMEPLAY CONTROLS and MECHANICS
PC gamers will no doubt use the standard computer mouse and Keyboard to play TES 5: S- LE. Console gamers may want to play this title using an Xbox 360 wired controller. Either way, you get to choose which kind of control-scheme you desire to use.
ESC: Pause Menu/ NUMBER KEY 1 TO 8: Hot Key Items
TAB: Skills, Magic, Inventory, Map
Q: Favorites/ E: Activate/ R: Ready or Sheath Weapon/ T: Wait/ I: Inventory/ P: Spells
CAPS LOCK: Walk, Run, Toggle/ W: Forward/ A: Left/ S: Back/ D: Right
Person Camera/ J: Quest Journal
SHIFT: Walk/ C: Run Straight/ ALT: Sprint/ SPACE BAR: Jump/ CTRL: Crouch
/: Skill Menu/ M: Map Menu/
MOUSE: Move Camera/ Click on buttons for Right Hand and Left Hand functions
SKYRIM: XBOX 360 GAME PAD as a CONTROLLER (Default Settings)
LEFT TRIGGER: Left Hand/ RIGHT TRIGGER: Right Hand
A-BUTTON: Activate/ X-BUTTON: Ready or Sheathe/ B-BUTTON: Character Menu
Y-BUTTON: Jump/ RIGHT STICK: Toggle POV Camera/ LEFT BUTTON: Sprint
RIGHT BUTTON: Shout or Power/ LEFT STICK: Sneak
BACK BUTTON: Wait/ START BUTTON: Journal
Remember, if the Default Control Configuration is not to your liking, then you can go into the options Mode and change any all the settings until it's just right for you. This is true for both the Xbox 360 Control Pad as well as the Mouse plus Keyboard.
Pay attention to the bottom of the game screen: you will see a Red Health Bar in the middle, a Blue Magicka Bar on the far-left, and a Green Stamina Bar on the far-right. If your health meter empties completely, due to damage taken from attacks, bobby traps or from a fall, then your character will die. If your stamina bar drops to zero, your character can't run or perform powered weapon attacks. If your Magicka runs out from over-use or from enemy attacks, you can't cast spells. Basically, it is in your best interest to keep you health, stamina and magicka gauges full or close to being full at all times.
Certain elemental and magic attacks will do more damage to each of these meters. For example, frost attacks will deplete your stamina, in addition to causing damage to your health meter. Lightning based magic hurts you and reduces your magicka bar very fast. Fire attacks cause extra damage to your health meter. Remember that you can also do the same thing to the energy meters of your foes, so use this knowledge to your advantage in slowing down enemies and defeating them in combat.
Skyrim may not be set on Earth, but it still follows the rules of combat found on our world in ancient times, namely the use of swords, axes bows and arrows.
Armors protect you if you wear the matching entire set: the helmet on your head, the gloves/gauntlet on your arms/hands and the boots/grieves on your feet/legs. This way, you take less damage from most types of attacks in the game. Heavy Armor cause you to run, move and attack slower than if you have on Light Armor. Heavy Armor can protect you better in battle than Light Armor, but the latter can allow you to move around faster, and make it more difficult for your enemies to hear you when you are sneaking around near them.
You equip a weapon to either your right or left hand, and you swing or used said weapon by pressing the corresponding right or left triggers. So, you can equip a shield in your left hand, while equipping a sword in your right hand. Essentially, now you can block attacks with your shield, while alternating with sword attacks.
Bare in mind that you can only equip 1-handed weapons to one hand each. 2-handed weapons, like war hammers and great swords, need both hands to equip and use. Thus, you can only actively use one 2-handed weapon at a time. You attack animations are slower when using 2-handed weapons. You can still block in-coming attacks when you are holding a 2-handed weapon, but it won't be as effective as blocking with a shield.
You can equip two 1-handed weapons by putting one weapon in each hand. For example, you can equip two swords, or two axes or two maces, one in each hand, and duel weld them. The advantage of using two 1-handed weapons at once is that you can unleash a stylish flurry of fast attacks on an enemy. The disadvantage of welding two 1-handed weapons at once, is that you cannot block, like you would be able to, if you had a shield or a larger 2-handed weapons.
Bows and arrows also require using both your right and left hands; one to hold the bow, and the other to draw on the string and fire the arrow. You can shoot in 3
Person or in 1
Person View. You get a zoom-in feature in 1
Person View, for more precise aiming and more accurate shots.
The Spell systems of combat work in much the same way as the physical weapons combat, with some key differences; you also equip spells to one or both hands. After that, you can then charge-up then fire or instantly fire off the equipped spell at your target. You can get creative by equipping a physical weapon 1-handed weapon in either your right or left hand, while equipping a spell in another hand. So, now you can alternate between using 1-handed weapon attacks and blasting monsters with elemental energy. You can also duel weld two spell attacks, by equipping one spell onto your left and the other into right hand. So, imagine shooting off fire from one hand and ice from another hand while in combat, which is perfect for a magically designed character build.
Your character can also ride on horse-back, all while cutting and slashing enemies, as they charged into battle. There are obviously some changes that have to be made to horseback combat versus normally comeback while standing on your two feet.
The more mundane gameplay functions include opening doors, chests, barrel lids, or activating buttons and levels to trigger a specific mechanism. These events are usually accompanied by a specific sound effect and a short animation, to let you know that the object or door or lid has successfully been opened or closed.
If you go to blacksmith or create potions at an alchemy table, you get a series of very specific menus, which direct you as to what you need to do. All of these Skill Crafting activities require different tools, parts and ingredients to gather first, before you can make use of them effectively. These activities are actually part of gameplay in Skyrim, because you can create items like weapons and armor (in blacksmithing) and potions (in alchemy), which you can then use to aid you on quests, or you can just sell them off, to make yourself more money, of which to use and buy any other goods.
Blacksmithing helps you create new weapons and armor which you can keep to use during quests or in combat, or to sell for money. You will need things like Iron and Steel Ingots, along with leather strips, to make most basic weapons and armor sets. Other more advanced weapons and armor require much more rare, expensive and exotic metal ingots and parts, which you can purchase, steal, or pick-up during any of your adventures in the world.
The more you blacksmith, the more your blacksmithing skills increase. The more your black smithing skills increase, the better weapons and armor you will be able to create. With improved smithing skills, your armor would be able to withstand more damage, effectively protecting your character more. With improve smithing skills, the newer weapons you create can also cause increased damage to enemies you attack, killing them in fewer hits. With increased smithing skills, you can improve the overall quality of any current weapon or armor you own. This way, you can choose to keep any weapon or armor set you like, and just use your increased smithing skill to improve their overall quality. The best quality battle gear earns you more money, if you so choose to sell them for profit.
Alchemy helps you to create both Potions and Poisons. Potions are drinks that give you temporary abilities, powers or magical effects, such as turning invisible. Other potions increase your body's resistance to the damaging effects elemental and magical attacks. Still other Potions can cure you of any disease or poison. There are also potions that either quickly or gradually restore your Health, Stamina or Magicka when you drink them.
Poisons are applied to the weapon you are currently holding, and they can have effects like making the next person you hit with it to become weaker to frost-based magic and enchantments. Other poisons just do significant amounts of damage to the Health, Stamina and Magicka of your enemy.
The better your alchemy skill is the longer lasting and more powerful the effects of both potions and poisons become. Just remember that you need all of the right combination of Alchemy Ingredients to mix and make both potions and poisons. The better quality potions and poisons tend to fetch you more gold coins, if you decide to part with them for a price at a merchant's store.
There is another aspect of gameplay that involves non-active combat, but which can affect combat immensely. This is the skill of Enchanting. You use an enchanting table to destroy enchanted items you buy or pick up as loot during your quests. Once you have destroyed the item on an enchanting table, your character automatically learns of the magically enchantment on the piece of jewelry, armor or weapon which you bought, stole or looted. After that, you can then use your newly learnt enchantment to apply it to another piece of jewelry, armor or weapon.
Enchantments on apparel you wear can offer you protection against elemental or magical attacks, by providing fire, frost or shock resistance. Enchantments on weapons can allow you to apply elemental effects to your weapons. So, for example, you can turn a regular steel sword into one that can now not just cut your foes, but also burn them with fire damage.
For enchanting of any kind to work, you need Soul Gems. Soul Gems are crystal-like objects, which can contain the souls of most (not all) enemies you slay in your various combat encounters. You will need a specifically enchanted weapon, which can absorb the soul of a fallen foe, before you can then fill a Soul Gem. From there, you can use your filled Soul Gems, to power-up, refill or enchant any weapons and or armor, at an enchanting table. Depending of the type of enemy you kill with your enchanted Soul absorbing weapon, he, she or it, will release different sizes of souls, which will then fill up different sizes of Soul Gems. These range from Petty, Lesser, Common, Greater, Grand, all the way up to Black Souls. For example, the rat-like Skeever will release typically a Petty soul, while other larger animals will release souls that fill up "Lesser" to "Common" Soul Gems. Living Humans and Humanoids' souls fill in Black Soul Gems only.
Perks are special combat and skill advantages that your gain as your character levels up. With each new level you achieve, you gain one Perk Point to spend. Select the Skill Options in the Menu Tree and you will be taken to a very colorful Skill Screen that resembles a type of fictional astrological zodiac.
As soon as you enter the Skill Menu, you must first choose which Energy Meter you want to increase permanently: your Health, Magicka or Stamina. Once you pick which meter to improve, it's time to spend your Perk Point or Perk Points on specific Skill Trees of your choosing.
Under each Skill Tree, you get to spend one Perk Point on improving your Combat, Smithing, alchemy, Enchanting and Magical Skills. These major skills are all divided into numerous other Skill Trees that cover how to improve everything from your 1-handed weapon abilities, to improving your armor skills, to improving how you summon creatures and cast magic. Basically, you choose which Skill Tree gets which Perk Point.
The best way to describe the game content is VAST; too vast to cover completely in this document. It's probably more convenient for the purposes of this review, to list and explain the main quests, side quests and DLC (Downloadable Content) that are available for TES 5: S-LE.
The main quest line involves your character, the so-called "Dragonborn" (aka Dovahkiin), slowly uncovering your connection with the return of dragons, which are now invading Skyrim. You will encounter people who send you on quests to retrieve specific items, typically magical or enchanted ones. You slowly uncover clues that would eventually led you to groups like the Blades, the Greybeards and the Thalmor, all of whom are connected to either the Skyrim civil war or to the events surrounding the return of the dragons.
"Dawnguard" is the DLC add-on that adds new gameplay features and weapons like Crossbows. The Dawnguard are actually a group of ruthless vampire hunters who are in a seemingly losing battle against an every increasing vampire threat. Other groups like the Vigilants of Stendarr are also partially featured in this DLC. Werewolves and Gargoyles are other monsters that are increased in number during the course of DLC. Your character has an option to actually join the vampires and to in fact even be transformed into a vampire, gaining all of their strengths as well as their weaknesses.
The "Dragonborn" DLC tangles your created character with ancient foes from the distant past. Cultist devoted to an old and now evil Dragonborn, will harass and attack your character during the course of this DLC as you strive to uncover the identity of your new foe and find a way to defeat him.
"Hearthfire" DLC adds into this game, the ability for you to create a series of houses within Skyrim. It's like a "Create-A-Home" mode, which is seamlessly integrated into the overall game. Upon reaching certain levels and gaining favor with certain holds (districts), the Jarls (rulers) of these holds will now sell you plots of land, on which you can now go and build up your own home. Like with blacksmithing, enchanting and alchemy, new menus open up at the workbenches near where you want to build your new house. Follow the guides in the menus, and obtain all of the very many and very necessary raw materials (like straw, iron ingots, wood, lumps of stones, glass, etc) in order to build up your house. Inside your house, there will be interior workbenches at different corners in most main rooms. From these interior workbenches, you can further renovate and alter the furniture and the designs of your house. From the exterior workbench, you can choose to add a library in which to store all of the books you collect, or to make in-door garden, which will provide for you, all of the many alchemy ingredients you will need to make potions and poisons.
All of this gameplay content is essentially tied-in together with the vast, open world gameplay that is Skyrim. Whether on foot, on horseback, or fast-traveling, your actions within the world of Skyrim will affect the world around you, as well as be affect by the world around you. All of the main content and DLC for Skyrim will also play a part in adding to and enriching you overall gameplay experience.
"Followers" are individuals found throughout the world of Skyrim, who you can talk to and convince to follow you. Sometimes you have to have a "friendly brawl" with them first; if you win, you gain their respect, and after that you gain a new dialogue option which allows you to recruit them as followers. Once they follow you, they will accompany you almost anywhere, especially in battle. Your followers will attack and kill any enemies that attack you or attack them. This essentially gives you an extra warrior to assist you almost any fight you find yourself in, whether you are on a quest or just roaming the wilds of Skyrim.
Other followers require you to go on specific quests for them first. If you successfully complete the quests for them and get the item they want or perform the service they require, then a new dialogue option emerges, which will then allow you to recruit them as your follower.
"Hirelings" are essentially followers you can simply hire to join you. Think mercenary, primarily because you have to pay them a set fee to join you. You can't just talk them into joining you. Hirelings can be found typically at bars or inns throughout Skyrim.
If you tire of having followers or hirelings within your company, you can part ways with them by simply selecting a dialogue option to dismiss them. They will leave your service and return either to their homes, or back to the places where you initially found and recruited them. You can choose to hire or recruit your followers and hirelings once again, for an unlimited number of times. You can only actively hire or recruit one follower or one hireling at a time. You normally cannot have more than one follower in your party, unless you are on a quest that makes special exemptions (like quests where you have to escort another NPC who can fight for themselves).
SUMMARY and CONCLUSION
The term "illusion of choice" tends to come to mind when you have played Skyrim long enough. This means that you seem to be given an over-abundance of choices to make during the course of your gameplay, but the truth is that there are far more limitations blocking your paths and far less real choices for you to make any meaningful use of.
Sure, Skyrim is an open world game that allows you to customize very many aspect of your world. Unfortunately, there are many limitations which could have been avoided, or at least refined.
For example, there are many "Invisible Walls" in the world of Skyrim. "Invisible Walls" are basically digital boundaries you cannot see, which block your path and prevent you from advancing forward in a particular direction. You are unable to climb up the side of certain cliffs, hill or mountains, for example.
Also, some quests have you talking to certain characters you may not like. However, you may not be given the dialogue option to express your dislike for them. Also, you may have to help, join or assist such unsavory characters, with little or no way to stop or oppose them, without failing the mission outright if you attack or kill them.
To be fair, there can be numerous options at your disposal, in terms of how to tackle a mission or quest. You can choose to use enchanted armor, invisibility potions and magic to enhance your sneak-ability, so as to quietly take out bandits one by one, all while raising little to no alarms.
Or perhaps your archery skills are up to the task, so you essentially act as a sniper and pick off foes from a long way off with your arrows, before your enemies ever know where you are shooting them from.
Maybe you are an armored warrior who decides to use his brutish might to crush all enemies before you with his over-sized 2-handed weapon.
Like fighting with magical powers? Then over-whelm your opposition using elemental magic to freeze, shock or burn any necromancer, Falmer, bandit or Forsworn foe foolish enough to face you.
Basically, whatever your approach to combat is, chances are there is a gameplay option to support your play-style.
The Create-A-Character Mode at the beginning of the game is adequate, though limited. You can create a male or female character, and you can choose which humanoid race you want them to be. You cannot control things like muscle mass and height of your character, at least not to the extent you may want to. Primarily, you are editing the face and hair of your Dragonborn hero. You get an option later on in the city of Riften, to revisit the Create-A-Character Mode and edit the head (face and hair) of your character. Aside from the start of the entire game, this will be the only other time you can edit your facial features, and you can only do so for a fee. You have to find and pay an in-game NPC to alter your looks, as many times as you like, as long as you can afford it.
In Skyrim, there are audio and graphic bugs and glitches which can be irritating at best, but not completely game-breaking. There are unfortunately instances when your entire game completely locks-up and freezes on you. In other words, you can't play anymore, unless you somehow exit the game or reset your computer. Game Crashes are also problematic, because you are inexplicably forced out of your active gameplay session from within Skyrim and you are automatically sent right back to your desktop. This is an occasional problem in Skyrim called "Crash to Desktop" (CTD).
The fictional religious aspects of the Skyrim culture may not be welcomed by all gamers. The developers chose to go into extreme details, including the option of worshipping anywhere from 1 to 9 "divines." Thankfully, you aren't forced to make your character worship any of these so-called "gods" within the game, if you don't want to. But, there will be quests where you will have to do tasks for them or even pay respects to them. There are even instances when you given opportunities to serve or oppose the demonic beings known as the Daedra, which some might find questionable to begin with. Depending on your religious or personal beliefs in real life, these very specific aspects of the Skyrim lore may or may not appeal to you.
One major drawback to this title is that there is no "ending" in Skyrim at all. Whether you finish the Alduin quest, the Dawnguard and Dragonborn storylines, you will never get any official ending sequence. This can lead to a sense that you have no really accomplished anything significant, despite all of the work you have performed. From the main Title Screen, you get the option to select the Game Credits at any time you want.
The future of Skyrim gameplay lies in "Mods." Mod is short for "Modification" or "Modify" and these are DLC made by fans and shared with the online gaming community. Mods are free and tend to include anything from new weapons and followers, all the way up to new houses, monsters, homes, cities and quests. Mods are added into Skyrim and can be used during the course of your future gameplay. Mods either modify an existing aspect of Skyrim by adding to or taking away items, characters, gameplay abilities, locations, etc. Other mods deal with changing the appearance of your character.
In the end, Skyrim is an Open World Role-Playing Fantasy Adventure, where you assume the role of a character, completely of your own creation. Despite some technical limitations or unnecessary lore information forced onto you, you ultimately choose how you want to play and experience this fictional world emerging around your character.
Reviewed by
More information about The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Views: 8378
Review rating:
Reviews by other members
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim review
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim review
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim review
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim review
comments powered by Disqus.
comments powered by
Destiny 2
Destiny 2 gameplay reveal trailer.
Total War: Warhammer II
Total War Warhammer II gameplay trailer.
NASCAR Heat 2
NASCAR Heat 2 official trailer.
Rise or Fall trailer.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
Open World trailer.
Wargaming Rep Apologizes to YouTuber after Community Manager Threatens Copyright Claim against Negative Review
Jim Sterling: Wargaming Rolls Back Claims that YouTuber's Negative Reviews Contain 'Hate Speech'
A New Life Is Strange Game Is on the Way, DONTNOD Confirms
5 Tips I Wish I Knew Before Starting Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
All the Ways People Have Underestimated Dota 2
15th Anniversary: Why Final Fantasy XI Was One Of My Favorite Games
5 Tips I Wish I Knew Before Starting Endless Space 2
How To Access The Darkseid DLC In Injustice 2
Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War's Open-World Featured In New Trailer
Disgaea 5 Is The First Nintendo Switch Game To Have PS4 Trophies, With Notifications And All
Injustice 2 Cheats
Crash Arena Turbo Stars Cheats
Built for Speed Cheats
Kill Shot Virus Cheats
Faily Tumbler Cheats
Final Fantasy XV Cheats
Resident Evil 7 Cheats
Prey (2017) Cheats
Battle Bay Cheats
Super Senso Cheats
More On GameRevolution
15 Things You Don't Know About Nintendo Switch
An Interview With Overwatch-Playboy Creator
5 Insanely Expensive PC Gaming Accessories
GameRevolution.com is a property of
CraveOnline Media
, LLC, an
Evolve Media
, LLC company. ©2017 All Rights Reserved.
monitoring_string = "9825918b2b361fb0e003f4935ce18ae6"


text:
|Message view
|« Date » · « Thread »
|« Date » · « Thread »
|svn commit: r636767 - in /jackrabbit/branches/1.4/jackrabbit-core: RELEASE-NOTES.txt pom.xml
|Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:03:46 GMT
Author: jukka Date: Thu Mar 13 07:03:42 2008 New Revision: 636767 URL: http://svn.apache.org/viewvc?rev=636767&view=rev Log: 1.4: Updated jackrabbit-core version and release notes Modified: jackrabbit/branches/1.4/jackrabbit-core/RELEASE-NOTES.txt jackrabbit/branches/1.4/jackrabbit-core/pom.xml Modified: jackrabbit/branches/1.4/jackrabbit-core/RELEASE-NOTES.txt URL: http://svn.apache.org/viewvc/jackrabbit/branches/1.4/jackrabbit-core/RELEASE-NOTES.txt?rev=636767&r1=636766&r2=636767&view=diff ============================================================================== --- jackrabbit/branches/1.4/jackrabbit-core/RELEASE-NOTES.txt (original) +++ jackrabbit/branches/1.4/jackrabbit-core/RELEASE-NOTES.txt Thu Mar 13 07:03:42 2008 @@ -1,15 +1,15 @@ -Release Notes -- Apache Jackrabbit Core -- Version 1.4.1 +Release Notes -- Apache Jackrabbit Core -- Version 1.4.2 Introduction ------------ -This is the 1.4.1 patch release of the jackrabbit-core component of +This is the 1.4.2 patch release of the jackrabbit-core component of Apache Jackrabbit, a fully conforming implementation of the Content Repository for Java Technology API (JCR). -This release fixes a binary property regression (JCR-1346) as well as other -issues reported against the Apache Jackrabbit 1.4 release. See below for -a full list of changes in this release. +This release contains fixes to a number of issues, most notably the +concurrent modification exception reported in JCR-1359. See below for +the full list of changes in this release. See the Apache Jackrabbit website at http://jackrabbit.apache.org/ for more information. @@ -21,18 +21,18 @@ this patch release only contains the jackrabbit-core component. The component is distributed both as a source archive and a pre-compiled binary. - * Source archive (jackrabbit-core-1.4.1-src.jar) + * Source archive (jackrabbit-core-1.4.2-src.jar) The source archive contains the full source code of this release - in a "jackrabbit-core-1.4.1" directory. Use the following commands + in a "jackrabbit-core-1.4.2" directory. Use the following commands (or the equivalent in your environment) to build the component with Maven 2 and Java 1.4 or higher: - $ jar xf jackrabbit-core-1.4.1-src.jar - $ cd jackrabbit-1.4.1 + $ jar xf jackrabbit-core-1.4.2-src.jar + $ cd jackrabbit-1.4.2 $ mvn install - * Pre-compiled binary (jackrabbit-core-1.4.1.jar) + * Pre-compiled binary (jackrabbit-core-1.4.2.jar) Core of the Apache Jackrabbit content repository implementation. @@ -50,23 +50,21 @@ You can look up individual issues for more details in the Jackrabbit issue tracker at http://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/JCR + Improvements + [JCR-1375] Limit fields read from index + Bug fixes - [JCR-1046] Non-versionable children of a versionable node should not be ... - [JCR-1227] Restore of empty multivalue property always changes property ... - [JCR-1305] JNDI data sources with BundleDbPersistenceManager: ... - [JCR-1318] Repository Home locked not released despite ... - [JCR-1322] Cluster information is not persisted to database when ... - [JCR-1323] When using QueryImpl.setLimit() and QueryImpl.setOffset(), ... - [JCR-1332] CLONE -Aggregate include ignored if no primaryType set - [JCR-1341] Cluster Journal directory should be created automatically - [JCR-1346] InternalValue.createCopy for binary properties (jcr:data) ... - [JCR-1358] Cluster revision file not closed on repository shutdown. - [JCR-1372] [PATCH] Fix possible Null Ptr exception in ConnectionFactory - [JCR-1374] [PATCH] DbDataStore: Make sure streams are closed - [JCR-1376] SearchIndex parameter cacheSize is ignored - [JCR-1379] AbstractExcerpt uses wrong logger - [JCR-1380] CachingHierarchyManager synchronization problem - [JCR-1389] setProperty("name", new Value[0], PropertyType.LONG) loses ... + [JCR-1275] NullPointerException in AbstractVersionManager.... + [JCR-1359] Adding nodes from concurrently running sessions cause exceptions + [JCR-1414] Data store garbage collection: inUse not correctly synchronized + [JCR-1408] Invalid query results when using jcr:like with a case ... + [JCR-1459] NullPointerException on startup if IndexingQueue has ... + [JCR-1449] Registering nodetypes with empty namespace prefix causes ... + [JCR-1427] XPath query with child axis predicates + [JCR-1453] Allow access to journal inside ClusterNode + [JCR-1415] Clustering configuration documentation for syncDelay ... + [JCR-1432] Saving a node deletion that has been modified externally ... + [JCR-1460] Typo in repository.xml Known issues [JCR-43] Restore on nodes creates same-name-sibling of ... @@ -101,11 +99,14 @@ [JCR-1211] QueryManager does not throw exception if jcr:deref is used in ... [JCR-1223] Occasional NPE on node checkin [JCR-1248] ParseException if search string ends with '!' - [JCR-1275] NullPointerException in AbstractVersionManager.... [JCR-1334] Deadlock with XA enabled [JCR-1354] Repository shutdown reposts ERROR: failed to close connection - [JCR-1359] Adding nodes from concurrently running sessions cause exceptions [JCR-1360] Parsing built-in CND and XML nodetypes does not result in ... [JCR-1362] DatabaseJournal improperly finds tables in external schemas ... [JCR-1367] Exception when closing connection under db2 [JCR-1387] Lock token not removed from session when node is removed + [JCR-1440] NPE Thrown when two Cluster Nodes are hitting the same ... + [JCR-1450] move method of the MemoryFileSystem may accept invalid ... + [JCR-1461] Deadlock on concurrent commit/checkin operations + [JCR-1463] Core: Failing version tests (testRestore...) + [JCR-1469] Data store garbage collection: ScanEventListener not working Modified: jackrabbit/branches/1.4/jackrabbit-core/pom.xml URL: http://svn.apache.org/viewvc/jackrabbit/branches/1.4/jackrabbit-core/pom.xml?rev=636767&r1=636766&r2=636767&view=diff ============================================================================== --- jackrabbit/branches/1.4/jackrabbit-core/pom.xml (original) +++ jackrabbit/branches/1.4/jackrabbit-core/pom.xml Thu Mar 13 07:03:42 2008 @@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ <version>1.4</version> </parent> <artifactId>jackrabbit-core</artifactId> - <version>1.4.1</version> + <version>1.4.2</version> <name>Jackrabbit Core</name> <description>Jackrabbit content repository implementation</description>
|View raw message

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In San Marco's district, apartment for 4 guests tastefully furnished
Size50 m²
Floor No.2
- Kitchen
- Air conditioning
- Hot tub
Accommodation summary
|Calle Larga San Marco, 30124 Venezia, Italy
|Property type
|Property ID
|Acceptance rate
|Response time
|1 day
|Calendar updated
RESIDENZA DEL DOGE can be easily reached both by those coming from the railway station and by those coming from Piazzale Roma. It is a few meters from the beautiful Piazza San Marco, vibrant city with all its elegant cafes. Just minutes from the apartment you can find shopping, "Mercerie" and "Via XXII Marzo", the Venetian calle which is famous thanks to boutiques like Gucci, D & G, Valentino, Prada and more. In the neighbourhood of the flat you will have a choice  of restaurants where you can eat good fish, meat or pizza or, if you prefer, you can cook food directly in the flat.
House rulesSupplement fee for late arrival: €20,00 from 8pm to 10.00pm; €40,00 after 11000pm
At your arrival, as security deposit, communicate numbers, expiration date and the 3 numbers on the back of the credit card, as per rental conditions;
meeting point VALLARESSO water bus stop.
From August 24th 2011 also Venice will enforce a new tourist tax for visitors:
The City of Venice will enforce a new tourist tax for visitors staying overnight, starting from August 24th (with no retrospective effect). The decision was taken by the City Council last June 23rd, when the new tax regulations were approved.
Tariffs will vary according to season (there will be two fares, one for low and on for high season), location (three areas have been identified: Venice old town, the islands and the mainland) and to the type of accommodation (hotels, bb, campsites, holiday village, etc). In fact, there is a series of tax reductions foreseen for accommodation facilities located on the islands in the Lagoon (30%) or on the mainland (40%) and during low season (up to 50%). Children aged between 10 and 16 will pay half the tax fare, whereas those under 10 will not be charged at all.
The tax goes to a maximum of 2,50€ to a minimum of 0,90€ per person for day until 5 day of stay.
|Check-in after
|Check-in before
|On arrangement
|Check-out before
|Cancellation Policy
Reviews of this property
Nice landlady, great location, very central, cozy apartment, unfortunately beds totally worn out and a bit dusty.
Nette Vermieterin, super Lage, sehr zentral, urige Wohnung, leider Betten total durchgelegen und etwas staubig.
+ Very central and quiet location - It was not enough toilet paper available - coffee maker was broken - The dishes were not clean
+ Sehr zentrale und ruhige Lage
- Es war nicht genug WC-Papier vorhanden
- Kaffeemaschine war kaputt
- Geschirr war nicht sauber
Bellissimo e caratteristico appartamento proprio a 10mt da piazza S. Marco.
Il ragazzo che ci ha consegnato le chiavi è stato molto disponibile e gentile oltre ad averci dato qualche dritta sui ristoranti.
Unico neo sono i 20€ da dare se si arriva dopo le ore 20.
Noi lavoriamo e il tempo x arrivare non basta x non pagare la quota. Alcuni così si sentono obbligati a cambiare alloggio o arrivano la mattina del giorno seguente ma nel mio caso preferivo pagarli ma essere già sul posto per non perdermi la festa in piazza nel periodo di Carnevale. E il prezzo della camera è stato molto onesto e la camera caratteristica moltissimo apprezzata dal mio ragazzo.
Reviews for this host's other properties
great location, ideal for 4, 6 a challenge
perfect place, clean, nice location and good and kind organisation of the host.
Beautiful apartment in the most beautiful city in Italy. He met all my expectations. Knowledgeable Lord gave us full information. In the apartment everything worked flawlessly. SUPER
Piękny apartament w najpiękniejszym mieście Włoch. Spełnił wszystkie moje oczekiwania. Kompetentny Pan udzielił nam wyczerpujących informacji. W mieszkaniu wszystko działało bez zarzutu. SUPER
luxury? dark, noisy and VERY VERY DIRTY
sending pictures if interested
de lujo?oscuro,ruidoso y MUY MUY SUCIO
envio fotos si interesa
The Gold-Apartment kept all its promises: it is ideally located in a quiet road and only a few minutes from the vaporetto stop of Ca d'Oro. The apartment is smaller than the pictures on Wimdu might suggest, but it is modern, good colours and furniture (quality beds!), very clean and all the appliances /apparatus worked well.
We were 2 couples occupying the appartment over 5 nights and very happy with our selection. The only point to mention: hard to believe that 6 people would share this appartment - much too small in our opinion.
Very central location, functional and practical furnished quiet apartment. Kitchen basic but equipped with the most necessary utensils. Especially in spring, especially in the evening cool. A few repairs would be appropriate. Very well suited for a stay with children. Very close to the vaporetto station.
Sehr zentral gelegene funktionell und praktisch eingerichtete ruhige Wohnung. Küche einfach aber mit den notwendigsten Utensilien ausgestattet. Besonders im Frühling vor allem abends kühl. Ein paar Reparaturen wären angebracht. Sehr gut geeignet für einen Aufenthalt mit Kindern. Sehr nahe zur Vaporettostation.
- Quality assured accommodation
- Every host is verified by telephone
- Secure payment via SSL encryption


text:
Taylor Swift Getting Katie Holmes A New Boyfriend, Claims Magazine
Taylor Swift is "playing matchmaker" for her The Giver co-star Katie Holmes, claims Star.
According to the tabloid's source, "Taylor is obsessed with finding the perfect guy for Katie. She teases her about setting her up with a cute younger guy who will rock her world!"
Who's on the list? Actors Kellan Lutz, Liam Hemsworth, Robert Pattinson and country singer Kip Moore are all mentioned by Star. Katie's 35 and not so sure about dating a younger man, but Taylor's totally pressuring her into it, telling her it's exactly what she needs right now," explains the mag's source.
What Star needs right now are better insiders. Because they've got some real lousy ones. Oh, the magazine has terrible sources! In the past, the magazine even wrongly claimed Swift and Holmes were in a love triangle with their The Giver colleague Alexander Skarsgard. The outlet also falsely reported that Holmes was dating Jason Segel, the ex of her former "Dawson's Creek" co-star Michelle Williams.
In any case, a rep for Holmes tells Gossip Cop exclusively that this new Swift set-up story is "not true."
Media outlets must CREDIT and LINK to Gossip Cop on this exclusive.


text:
Matthew Archambault necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 50 diseños de 13 diseñadores freelance.
The Financially Secure Artist
My name is Matthew Archambault, I own and run Drawing Tutorials Online.com.
I am creating a new product that will help artists become more financially secure. I need a simple elegant logo that I can put on a top banner plus a DVD.
I am looking to brand the colors of red silver and black. All of my websites have those colors. No yellow, no blue at all.
Professional illustrators, fine artists, designers creative people who freelance.
I need a logo that is scalable to a large size and small size. I need to be able to change the size of the logo in photoshop for it's various uses. I need a font that will transfer onto my computer after I pay for the project.


text: To celebrate reaching 2000 likes on my Facebook page I'm running a fun giveaway. The first prize is a chance to be written into book 3 🙂 If you win you get to tell me a bit about yourself and I'll make sure you make a guest appearance somewhere in the book. The first prize also includes an e-copy of book 3 on release day, as well as a signed paperback when they are available. There're also another 5 e-copies of Book 3 up for grabs (obviously once the book is released in November). http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-… or mobile friendly link http://is.gd/UvTqvc


text:
May 23, 2013
There are exactly 100 days until It's Football Time In Tennessee! The Vols officially open the Butch Jones era on Aug. 31 against Austin Peay at Neyland Stadium.
Over the next 99 days, UTSports.com will re-introduce the Vols Jersey Countdown presented by DISH. Each day, former Vols will countdown the days until the opening kickoff. Vols stars will be profiled and former players will explain why they wore their uniform number.
We will be asking fans for their favorite player to wear the number that corresponds with the days until the opener via Twitter @Vol_Football and on Facebook.com/VolFootball.


text:
Go Green:
Cleaning Products
if you want to avoid shopping at irresponsible companies...
Get Green Cleaners
There are a host of companies listed in the National Green Pages™ offering green cleaning products for nearly every cleaning job.
Businesses in the National Green Pages™ regularly offer discounts to Green America members on products and services. Join now and save money when you buy green.
Make Your Own Green Cleaners.
To avoid toxic chemicals, consider making your own cleaners. Household items such as baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, and club soda, can be combined to clean everything from carpets to toilet bowls.
Get a copy of Annie Berthold-Bond's Better Basics for the Home for a complete collection of green cleaning recipes and suggestions. Buy it now through BooksWeLike and a donation will be made back to Green America.
Let Your Houseplants Do the Cleaning!
Some houseplants—such as Boston ferns, English ivy, rubber plants, and peace lilies—can help clean your indoor air by absorbing toxic chemicals. .


text: GREENVILLE S.C., July 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- InnoVenture.Com, a value-added web platform that connects entrepreneurs, technologies, companies, and capital has launched an enhanced web-site to facilitate global connections. InnoVenture.Com is a "network of networks" that reduces the time and cost for enterprises to find new ideas or companies that may have developed the "next big thing." InnoVenture.Com's growth in the past 12 months has been significant, with double-digit expansion of robust industry networks churning already. InnoVenture's business model "disintermediates" traditional business development activities, resulting in faster time to market, new relationships, and possible acquisition targets. It expands the exposure of individual entrepreneurs, innovators and technologies to potential customers and capital sources. InnoVenture.Com is a paid service for corporate networks and enterprise clients due to its proprietary accelerant role, but for now it's free for individual opportunity-seekers. InnoVenture.com is much easier and less expensive than other methods of generating high quality business leads. John Warner , CEO and Founder of InnoVenture.Com, said, "We believe InnoVenture.com will become the industry standard for corporate development activities, and open innovation networking . Our corporate networking service is being rapidly adopted by users and industry alike, seeking successful partnerships. Our Enterprise Clients and Marketing Clients are finding new companies in which to invest and partner, and our individual members are daily finding new customer and capital raising opportunities—all through the social power of the Internet. CEO Testimonial: The largest InnoVenture.com network is InnoMobility , focused on sustainable multimodal transportation. In just months, that network has grown to 71 ideas followed by 800 collaborators with deep resources. Corey Clothier , CEO of COMET in Detroit, said, "I have been introduced to 10 potential collaborators and customers through InnoVenture.com, and am excited about the synergy between my project and other InnoVenture.com members." CEO Testimonial: Steve Townes , founder of Ranger Aerospace and CEO of Louis Berger Services, Inc., said, "Our InnoVenture pages have led to specific new business discussions and acquisition queries from potential target companies for our large technical services group. It is also generating positive buzz among companies looking to expand, relocate, or invest in the burgeoning aerospace sector in our state." Visit www.InnoVenture.com for details, and check out who's already making valuable connections. It's FREE. SOURCE InnoVenture.Com


text:
The Affordability of College Through Financial Aid and Scholarships
Many parents that are getting ready to send their children off to college know too well the financial strain it might place on them since college is getting so expensive. Many of these parents feel stressed, frustrated, uncertain, intimidated and confused about the financial aid application process...
Top 5 Schools For Scholarships
You don't always know what scholarships you're going to get when you apply to a college, but picking out a school that's generous with their cash always helps increase your chances. Finding a school that sees potential beyond sports or super-smarts and is willing to help fund that can make all the difference in both the financial burden and overall quality of your education. So if you're looking, here are five schools that aren't stingy about scholarships.
10 Things You Need to Know Before Applying for Financial Aid
Financial aid is a form of concept typically developed to cater to the needs of low-income group students to help them achieve academic grace just like any other normal college-going student. These are usually those grants that students don't need to pay back. Though there are certain types of loans that might require you to pay a specific amount, they typically differ from the types mentioned above.
Bizarre College Scholarships You Might Not Know About
These days, education is an expensive, but required commodity. Attending a college or University means that you have to be prepared to pay. However, there are some alternatives to consider such as a student loan, grants or scholarships. Debt related to student loans has reached an all time high. For that reason, many college students are trying to seek other ways to pay for college.
What Financial Aid Specialists Want Students to Know
Financial aid specialists have a job of helping students of all different backgrounds, gain valuable information when it comes to paying for school. High school graduates do not always receive the best advice regarding financial aid services available to them once they attend a college or university.
5 Tips To Get A Head Start On Financial Aid
Financial aid is a necessity for most students, but it's not always the easiest thing to figure out. Getting ahead on your financial aid can save you a lot of time and stress when it comes time for classes to start, though, leaving you to focus on your studies when everyone else is stressing out.
College Education: What You Should Know About Financial Aid?
Every year in January, parents and students are faced with the daunting task of making preparations for college. This includes the completion of financial aid applications. The school will determine whether each student is eligible for financial assistance. It can be a "nail biting" and mystifying experience for families that are relying mostly on financial aid to get into college.
5 Scholarships That Let Students Know Grades Aren't Everything
Academics are just as important when it comes to getting into college. Good grades help you get in, great grades help you get in with some money in your pocket. But what about students who are certainly college material, but who need recognition that goes a little beyond a GPA? Here are five scholarships any college-bound student can go for to prove grades aren't the only thing that makes a great student.
Avoid Fake Financial Aid Companies on the Prowl
It's sad that on top of the application essay, the supporting materials and having to decide their major (and if they even want to go to college), high school students are now having to face another challenge as well: fake financial aid companies trying to scam students and their families out of fees for false services.


text:
Create a free account to check out faster, store multiple shipping addresses, view and track your orders in your account, and much more.
Please enter your password to continue.
I'm a hand cream addict. I'm always trying everything I can find in search of the perfect cream. Also, I need a cream with SPF for the day, and a stronger one for night time. I had high hopes with this Elizabeth Arden because of the traditional Eight Hour Cream. Maybe I was expecting too much, it doesn't have a lasting moisture effect, it was actually a bit drying. I won't purchase it again, instead just use what is left as a quick solution for chapped hands while on the go.3


text:
Mitch and Edi Making Love
Edi's IMDBEdi's Reel
Edi's Bean Dip Videos
Hi. Edi recurs on BLACK-ISH, and she was recently a series regular on FX's PARTNERS with Kelsey Grammer & Martin Lawrence. Some other TV credits include THE LEAGUE, 2 BROKE GIRLS, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, CALIFORNICATION, WEEDS, THE EXES, and guest-writing for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. She also stars in the upcoming dark comedy/horror film YOU'RE KILLING ME. Edi's a member of IMPRO THEATRE- they perform improvised plays at places like The Falcon Theatre & Pasadena Playhouse, and she's 1/2 of improv duo MITCH & EDI MAKING LOVE with Mitch Silpa. @EdiHasAUnicorn
MANAGEMENTParallel Entertainment
Matt Van De Water310.279.1123
COMMERCIALAKA323.965.5600VOICEOVERImperium 7323.931.9099


text:
There is scant doubt the people of Egypt currently are in the early stage of a bloody civil war that will erupt over the coming years. At least 30 percent of the people of Egypt are conservative followers of religious leaders and believe those to whom they have given allegiance are being persecuted by the military government which now rules the land. Bombs went off at Cairo University, a center of student action.A significant number of Cairo University students follow the Muslim Brotherhood and believe that former President Mursi is being persecuted for his religious beliefs. Actually, the only punishment he has received stems from his inept rule by the force of ignorance. Anmyway, initially two bombs exploded and then a few hours later came a third boom. At least one police officer is dead and several wounded.
Some students have seen too many movies and have concluded that being engaged in war and conflict is rather neat. Unfortunately, one day some of these men will be tortured and brutalized,even to the point of death. It is time to return to the initial Egyptian student plan of demonstrations and working without resorting to violence.


text:
Here are Three Things the Next Mayor Should Do for NYC's Youngest
It's been one year since the Bloomberg Administration launched EarlyLearnNYC, an ambitious model aimed at improving the quality of the city's contracted child care system for children ages 6 weeks to 4 years old. As we look back at its first year, we see that EarlyLearn, while laudable, has not been fully realized.
As it exists, the current EarlyLearn system is under-funded, decreases the capacity of the contracted system, and includes rates that are inadequate for providers.
According to the Mayor's Management Report, EarlyLearn enrollment in fiscal year 2013 was 30,096, a substantial decrease from the more than 45,000 children enrolled in the contracted system the year earlier.
When we look at total enrollment in the contracted and voucher systems, we see a 19 percent decrease in the number of children served by ACS in 2013 (101,852) compared to 2010 (120,809). This decrease in the number of children served is particularly troubling in light of the fact that ACS has found that only about one third of all eligible children are being served as it is.
The numbers are moving in the wrong direction.
We see a path for the next mayor to take to truly maximize access to a high-quality, affordable, full-day early childhood education experience. EarlyLearn's overarching goal is to deliver a higher level of service; something that early childhood education providers and advocates agree is of vital importance in preparing high-needs, low-income children for kindergarten and beyond.
Here are three things we want to see the next mayor do to ensure the early childhood system's success:
1. Stop the annual budget dance. First and foremost, the more than $60 million of one-year City Council discretionary funding for child care must be baselined so that the money is permanently in ACS's budget. This would eliminate the annual budget dance where the City Council restores the one-year funding each June and would result in a more stable system.
2. Increase funding. The city must address the EarlyLearn rate so that it is sufficient to fund the high-quality services that EarlyLearn envisioned. The per-child rate must be increased so that providers can meet standards, retain appropriate and credentialed staff and meet the costs of operations, administration, and materials for children.
3. Respect the staff. We must ensure early education staff has adequate compensation and benefits. An investment in the early childhood education system must include resources for the workforce, including professional development, support for obtaining credentials and advancing education, and improved compensation and benefits, including affordable health care coverage.
Subsidized child care is an investment in New York City's future. Every child deserves access to safe, high-quality, and affordable early childhood education.
Going forward, the next mayor, public advocate, comptroller and City Council members must have a plan for making high-quality, affordable early education available to every New York City child.


text:
Create a free account to check out faster, store multiple shipping addresses, view and track your orders in your account, and much more.
Please enter your password to continue.
We always thought of quinoa as a healthy lunch staple, but LiQWd's lavish hair treatment is putting the super grain to a whole new use. This nourishing deep conditioner uses quinoa proteins to smooth stubborn tangles and guard against heat damage. A touch of grape and pomegranate seed oils hydrate dry strands, lending them silkiness and shine.
I don't really have any particular problems with my hair but I'm always looking for something to make it a little bit more lustrous. I used up the sample in one use and it really felt just like any other conditioner. It didn't make my hair any oilier or weigh it down at all but at the same time, I didn't really notice any particular improvements. I've had cheaper treatments in the past that seem more effective. Maybe I just need to give it more than one try.3
I have not been blow away by some of the other products from this brand but I really love this one. I see alot of reviewers have mentioned that it makes your hair greasy, but this IS a deep conditioner - if your hair isn't that damaged this probably isn't the one for you. I typically use this on my ends 1x per week and a "lighter" deep conditioner on the rest of my hair. Love it for dry and damaged goods. Definitely a great value for the amount, as well :)4


text:
Date of Stay: October, 2013
The staff was very friendly and helpful. The park was very clean. Overall, we enjoyed our stay. The park is pet friendly, which is great if you have pets. However, hearing dogs barking didn't rank high on my list for a relaxing weekend. The only other negative to mention is that some sites such as the one we stayed on (55) is very small. It would have been almost impossible to sit around a fire without catching someone's RV or vehicle on fire.
Date of Stay: July, 2011
Nice, quiet campground in the woods. It is not a luxury park. The site we stayed on (305) was uneven, and we couldn't use our awning because of trees. It was shady so we didn't really need it anyway. They have doughnuts and coffee every morning as well as other activities. The bathhouse does not have AC. They do provide a shuttle to the attractions to the park, but we didn't use it. We enjoyed it, and will most like go again.
Date of Stay: June, 2011
We just stopped over for the night at Magnolia. It was a pleasant experience. The pool was nice and clean. The kids enjoyed it. We ate at nearby Joanna Cafe, which we enjoyed. They serve country style food and burgers.
Date of Stay: June, 2011
We have stayed at Ocean Lakes several times over the past few years. It is one our favorite! The amenities are great, especially for kids. There are always activities going on to keep you busy. There is a restaurant, store, laundry mat, and entertainment galore; no need to leave the park. They hold a church service every Sunday. We attended and enjoyed it very much. The beach area was much more crowded this time than on previous visits.
Date of Stay: April, 2011
We loved this park! We enjoyed the landscaping with privacy from our neighbors. The ponds were great for fishing. There are wonderful places to walk or bike. Close to shopping and restaurants. Be prepared to walk a distance to the beach or be on time for the tram that runs every hour on the hour. Bring a wagon or cooler on wheels to take your stuff to the beach. No Wi-Fi, but we heard it is coming soon. We will definitely go back.
Date of Stay: July, 2010
Nice facilities, especially for kids. The office is inside a gas station: weird. Our first site was not level so we moved to another one that was much better. Sites are not paved so when it rained, everything was a mess. Overall, a nice place to spend a few days while site seeing in Charlotte.
Date of Stay: July, 2010
Great for overnight. We arrived late, and the camp host was still up and helped us get situated. Didn't use any of the facilities.
Date of Stay: July, 2010
We enjoyed our stay at American Heritage. Nice pool, laundry facilities, and basketball court. Staff was helpful and courteous. Sites are small, and roads are gravel.


text:
Delhi v Baroda Ranji Trophy Elite Day 2 summary at Delhi on Nov 29-Dec 2, 2011
Ranji Trophy Elite Group B
First-class match
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
29November-2 December 2011 (4-day match)
Highlights of Day2
Delhi made 250/6 (P Bisht 114*, S Sehrawat 14*, 60 ov) with 2 wickets left in the 1st innings of Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match at day 2 stumps on Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. Baroda 1st innings comes to end at 318 in 102 overs. A Nehra picked up 6 wickets for 102 runs in 26.1 overs. Brodas' RK Solanki hit 113 runs 16 boundaries for his team to reach over 300 runs.Delhi made 336/8 and they lead by 18 runs with 2 wickets left in the 1st innings before this report.
Full Scorecard Baroda vs Delhi
‹ Australia v New Zealand 1st Test Day 1 summary played at Brisbane,Dec 1-5, 2011 India vs West Indies 2nd ODI match prediction at Visakhapatnam on Dec 2, 2011 ›


text:
Model: Tecra 720CDT
Operating System: Windows 95 (Note: might work with other versions of this os.)
File: cswin95.exe
Before downloading: Run Free Scan for Instant Driver Updates
Toshiba Tecra 720CDT Driver. Crystal CS4232 Win95 sound driver for Tecra 720CDT and 710CDT. Self-extracting diskette image. Run CSWIN95 A: to create installation disk.File Contents:


text:
We are really enjoying your trip! Thanks for the report and pictures.
Cesky Krumlov: Up the Vltava & Off the Beaten Path
Trip Start May 24, 2010
26Trip End Jul 21, 2010
Map your own trip!
Loading Map
Loading Map
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
Where I stayed


text:
Attention, Metro pass holders: Beginning Tuesday, there'll be no more free rides - at least not on DASH and Commuter Express buses.
Metro officials decided earlier this month that they'd had enough of picking up fares for Metro pass holders traveling on DASH and Commuter Express buses operated by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.
Last year alone, Metro had to fork out about $760,000 to reimburse LADOT. That amount covered only about half the rides, so Metro thinks LADOT could take in some $1.5 million in 2008 thanks to the change.
Metro officials said it's not unreasonable to ask riders to share in the rising costs of transportation.
"Costs go up every year," said Terry Matsumoto, Metro's chief financial officer. "What we need is to keep our income stream in line with the costs."
Metro riders using Commuter Express could pay $36 more a month if they ride the bus to and from work, at 90 cents a pop.
But those using DASH buses twice a day at 25 cents a trip will only have to spend an extra $10 more a month.
"While costs do rise for all transit service, we're proud of the fact our DASH services are remaining at 25 cents a ride," said Bruce Gillman, LADOT spokesman.
This month's decision affects 20 percent of the 30 million annual boardings for DASH and Commuter Express buses.
To save money, regular Metro bus and rail riders with $62 monthly passes could consider switching to the $70 EZ-transit pass, which will still be honored by LADOT after Jan. 1.
The monthly EZ-transit pass - which costs $35 to seniors, Medicare recipients and the disabled - is recognized by 23 different public transit carriers across Los Angeles County, excluding Metrolink.
Monthly LADOT bus passes cost $40.
Rides on DASH buses continue to cost 10 cents for seniors, the disabled and Medicare recipients.
firstname.lastname@example.com 818-713-3746


text: We bought a 2006 Impala LT w/ the 3.5L v6. The car had 24,000mi and was leased from and serviced by the local dealer that we bought it from, I was able to see the service history when we were looking to buy it. We really like the car but during the past two weeks there have been times when my wife cannot get it out of Park. With the brake firmly depressed, she can't get the button on the shifter to push in and allow the shift lever out of park. I had her apply the parking brake b/4 letting up on the foot brake after placing the car in Park. Now I notice that when we park the car, after shifting into park, letting up on the foot brake allows the car to roll forward 1 to 1.5 in. I wondered about this but the car seemed fine for the first three months. Tonight I get a call and she is still in the parking lot @ work been struggling w/ it for 15 min. so I jump in the truck and drove over there. First I had her release the foot brake and I pushed back that 1.5" and then had her step on the brake, it did not move. then I tried the same from the rear and it did not move. Then I climbed in the passenger side and wrapped both hands around the knob and squeezed and it clicked and came out of Park. It is going back to the dealer on Wed. Has anyone had this problem w/ this era Impala? :grrrrrr:


text:
Introducing Panasonic WV-CF/CW300 Series Cameras Add Five 24/7 Security Solutions to Panasonic Surveillance Line-Up
Panasonic System Communications Company Europe (PSCEU) has introduced five new day/night fixed analogue box and fixed dome cameras with high resolution (650 TV lines), high sensitivity with true day/night functionality and a 16-axis matrix colour compensation function for a wider range of natural colour adjustment.
Advanced functionality is available in the WV-CF/CW300 series of day/night fixed dome cameras, with high light sensitivity resulting from the day/night function; capturing colour images is possible at just 0.08 lx in the WV-CF314L/WV-CW324L and 0.15 lx in the WV-CF304L/WV-CW304L. This is in correlation with the 20 m IR LED irradiation of the WV-CF314L and the 10 m irradiation distance of the WV-CF304L and with the 50 m IR LED irradiation of the WV-CW324L and the 20 m irradiation distance of the WV-CW304L
Additionally, all five models incorporate an infrared (IR) cut filter that switches on and off for greater light sensitivity in B/W mode, enabling scenes and images to be captured in total darkness, at 0 lx. The infrared light is used to illuminate the images, facilitating the 'true day/night' feature along with auto back focus (ABF) which allows for quick installation and sharper images*.
The true day/night feature combined with the IP 66 rated housing ensures that the WV-CW300 series is the perfect fit for outdoor installations.
Able to capture scenes and images even when the sun is down and the lights are out, the WV-CF300 and WV-CW300 series are the ideal analogue solution to 24/7 surveillance; with true day/night and infrared capabilities, as well as options to suit outdoor installations, a model can be found to suit each challenge and installation.
For more information visit business.panasonic.co.uk
About Panasonic
Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products in three business fields, consumer, components & devices, and solutions. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of 7.85 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 2012. Panasonic's stock is listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and New York (NYSE:PC) Stock Exchanges. The company has the vision of becoming the No. 1 Green Innovation Company in the Electronics Industry by the 100th year of its founding in 2018. For more information on Panasonic, its brand and commitment to sustainability, visit the company's website at http://panasonic.net
About Panasonic System Communications Company Europe (PSCEU)
PSCEU is the European branch of Panasonic Systems Communications Company, the global B2B division of Panasonic. PSCEU's goal is to improve the working lives of business professionals and help their organisations efficiency and performance. We help organisations capture, compute and communicate all sorts of information: image, voice, and textual data. Products include PBX telephone switches, document printers, professional cameras, projectors, large visual displays and rugged mobile PCs. With around 500 staff, engineering design expertise, global project management capability and a large European partner network, PSCEU offers unrivalled capability in its markets.


text:
Cool, indeed, it is - a far more modern, schmick affair than the comfy, chilled-out "local" I'd envisaged. It didn't match my expectations, but that's not to say it wasn't pretty excellent.
I arrived early and waited for a bit under a heater out the front. The fairy lights overhead added a magical touch (but then, I'm a sucker for pretty lights) - as did the gold lettering of the restaurant's signage. Through the window, I could check out the goings-on inside: it seemed very clean, bright, and not overly busy, but it was early yet. By the time we left, it had filled up completely.
A central bar in a strange, rounded, sort of kidney shape seemed to be the hub, with seating along its edge, good for individual diners or couples. Table seating around the room comprised tall, bar-style, wooden tables with stools - not overly comfortable, but funky and space-saving. The hard floor and white/black design base made for some strange acoustics, and overall I'd say the design favoured aesthetics and impact over comfort and practicality. They did have business cards printed with glow-in-the-dark lettering though (apparently by Press Print), which were pretty cool. (And memorable!)
A helpful, friendly Kiwi lady helped me decipher the solid wine list. I was interested to try what was termed an "orange" wine (and not from the locale, either): it was actually orange in colour, or close to it - more like a soft salmon hue. Like pink sparkling or moscato, the skins of the grapes are left on for a time during the fermentation process, colouring the wine and sometimes adding further sweetness. This one was not overly sweet though, and was utterly delicious (I think it was the Italian one by the glass on their wine list). It was also biodynamically produced, something I'd like to learn more about with respect to my problem with sulfites. One glass turned into two, which turned into a bottle to share. Magic! I also very much liked the mouse printed on the glasses as a measurement marker.
|Better representation of the wine's actual colour
When my friend arrived, we ordered, and thus began a journey through some aesthetically amazing and technically impressive dishes. They all tasted excellent and were perfectly cooked, so I won't bore you with detailed descriptions, but the captions identify them by how they're listed on the menu. Oh - except for the roast cabbage, which is their signature dish and TOTALLY DELICIOUS. It's surprisingly filling and oddly diverse in flavour, which I wouldn't normally expect from a dish based mainly on one, traditionally 'samey' tasting item.
|The Town Mouse menu, as nicked from their website on 2/09/2013
|(My description) DELICIOUS crusty bread with DELICIOUS seaweed butter
|Goat's cheese profiterole, caraway, thyme & [house-made] honey
|Oysters served with chardonnay vinegar sorbet & lemon
|Venison tartare, pickled radish, nashi pear, ginger & wasabi
|Pork jowl, charred octopus, ink, turnip, kohlrabi & chickweed
|Slow roast red cabbage, prune, parmesan & red apple
|Smoked hapuka, salt baked celeriac, lemon verbena, matcha & lime
(I'd actually made a note that this was Barramundi, hmm)
All of these dishes were fantastic, however, of a much higher standard than I'd expected for a little local wine bar. By extension, this also meant dinner was a more pricey affair than I'd expected. But I didn't mind - it was worth it! I would recommend The Town Mouse for more of a weekend event or dinner though, rather than popping in for a few tidbits on the way home.
Having said that, we quite happily finished up with a drink or three for the road. Behold, the martini:
The Town Mouse is absolutely worth checking out.


text:
Smartphones and efficiency go together like Homer and Marge. In one little pocketsize device you get a diary, telephony, text, GPS, camera, voice recorder and 80 per cent of the power of your computer, points out business performance guru Debbie Mayo-Smith.
New users sometimes get excited about the powers of smartphone apps and widgets. Yet a smartphone and all the productivity apps under the sun aren't going to make the most inefficient person efficient. Only by tapping the power of the technology will that happen.
Here are some tips:
1. Take time to do the setup: one of the most important things to make yourself more efficient says Telecom Business Hub Wanganui owner Shane Nottage, is to take the time to customise your new or existing iPhone, Android, Windows Phone or Blackberry smartphone. Trawl through the settings menu and set the smartphone to the way you work.
2. Use the calendar: unlike a paper diary or personal computer, a smartphone is never far from its owner's fingers - day and night.
Nottage has set up his calendar so it's the first thing he sees on his home screen when he glances at his smartphone. The defaults such as standard length of meetings and reminder times are customised to take away the need to re-enter this information with every appointment. His reminders, and tasks sync automatically with his office PC.
3. Set up alarms: use the most annoying ring tone you can for tasks that need to be done, says Nottage. Alarms can be set to auto repeat until you snooze or dismiss. If you're dismissing too many, then consider the way you are using the phone.
4. Explore the smartphone's other built in features: the next step is to use the built-in grunt of a smartphone. Mayo-Smith, for example, uses her iPhone's video camera to tape testimonials from clients. Most smartphones have a GPS, which makes visiting clients or tracking company vehicles easier.
5. Use voice: smartphones are a great way to make hay in the downtimes everyone faces such as standing in queues or catching public transport. Wherever possible Nottage uses voice commands. For example he can pick up the smartphone and dictate calendar entries, or record a voice note and assign it a reminder. Voice can be used to activate the GPS to navigate as well.
6. Take photographs: if you see something you want to follow up take a photograph and attach a task or reminder to it, so that you can attend to it back at the office.
7. Turn your smartphone into a modem: a smartphone can even be set up to work as a modem for a laptop, which is great for working anytime virtually anywhere.
8. Tap into the quick launch buttons: part of the setup is customising the home screen and quick launch buttons. Nottage has set up his quick launch buttons to be the five most important applications for him, including a Car Mode one that launches the six things he uses in the car most often at the touch of one button.
9. Force yourself to use the new features: whenever Nottage gets a new smartphone or app, he forces himself to use the new feature religiously for three weeks, by which time it becomes habit.
10. Before choosing apps: take a stocktake of the applications you use on your personal computer or laptop. If you use them then it's usually best to set up your smartphone to sync with them, rather than choose a fancy new app that doesn't sync or needs a complex setup process to do so. Microsoft Office, Lotus, or Google users, for example, can set up apps and widgets on their phone that interface with those applications. Only then should you look at productivity apps such as To Do lists, time trackers, and other time management tools.


text:
Page Tools
FOOTBALL dominated last week's Melbourne TV ratings, with the weekend's two AFL preliminary finals on Channel Ten making the week's top five and Nine's Footy Show in the top 10.
The complete 312-hour telecast of Friday night's game between St Kilda and Sydney averaged 765,000 viewers in Melbourne, and from the first bounce to the final siren the figure was 843,000. In Sydney, where the AFL's national push has met viewer resistance in the past, the game averaged an impressive 449,000. Nationally it averaged 2,006,000, the highest preliminary final figure since the OzTam ratings system began in 2001.
On Saturday afternoon the West Coast/Adelaide preliminary final in Perth averaged 544,000 viewers in Melbourne.
In Perth it averaged 336,000 viewers, 100,000 more than any other program last week. In Adelaide the game scored 307,000 viewers. Nationally the game averaged 1.5 million.
For Nine, the Footy Show's figures were looking good after a lean season in which it was battered by Seven's aggressive programming of Lost and The Amazing Race against it. With 425,000 viewers, it was well clear of Ten's Law & Order: Trial By Jury (268,000) and Seven's struggling Alias (159,000).
It was a week in which SBS's coverage of the final two days of the fifth and deciding Ashes cricket Test diluted the numbers watching the other channels. Hence, Nine won the week but with a reduced share of 26.2 per cent of all night-time viewers. Ten was second on 24, followed by Seven (23.7), ABC (16.2) and SBS (9.8).
Seven's top scorer was Dancing with the Stars (584,000) and Nine's was 60 Minutes (580,000).
Apart from the football, Ten's best figures came from the Wednesday night US medical drama House (527,000). Australian Idol failed again to make the top 20.
On the ABC, the Sunday 7pm news was the top rater with 387,000 viewers, followed by the British cop show New Tricks (380,000) and the science magazine Catalyst (374,000).
In the crucial 6pm to 7pm timeslot on weeknights, Seven continued to close the gap on Nine.
At 6pm, Nine's news averaged 428,000, compared to Seven's 379,000. But that was only a third of the gap that existed between them, on average, in 2004.
At 6.30pm, Today Tonight was neck-and-neck with A Current Affair, each averaging 417,000.
Among Australian-made dramas, Seven's All Saints was the winner with 477,000 viewers, ahead of stablemate Blue Heelers (402,000), Nine's McLeod's Daughters (382,000) and The Alice (251,000), and Seven's Last Man Standing and the ABC's MDA, each on 208,000.
So far this week, the highlights have included a win for Nine's Australian-made telemovie Little Oberon, which was Melbourne's most-watched program on Sunday night with 557,000 viewers; and Nine's coverage of the Brownlow Medal count on Monday night, which averaged 725,000 viewers but peaked on 828,000.
1. AFL Preliminary Final: St.Kilda V.Sydney (10) 765,000
2. Dancing With The Stars (7) 584,000
3.60 Minutes (9) 580,000
4. Nine News/Sunday 549,000
5. AFL Preliminary Final:West Coast V.Adelaide (10) 544,000
6. Backyard Blitz (9) 543,000
7. House (10) 527,000
8. All Saints (7) 477,000
9. Nine News/Weeknights 428,000
10. The Footy Show (9) 425,000
Get The Age home delivered for as little as $2.70 a week*