text:
< Aversa
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With Male AvatarEdit
C SupportEdit
- Avatar: Hey there, Aversa.
- Aversa: I beg your pardon, little man?
- Avatar: Um...hey there? It's a greeting. You know? ..."Hey there"?
- Aversa: A greeting that borders on insolence! Your familiar tone mocks me. What is your business here? Did Chrom send you to spy on me?
- Avatar: What?! No! I was just seeing what you were...doing.
- Aversa: Also called "spying"!
- Avatar: Look, we don't spy on each other in the Shepherds. And you're one of us now.
- Aversa: Am I now? My, my, my... You ARE a trusting bunch.
- Avatar: Look, Aversa. I know this... I mean... Everyone's sitting down for supper. Why don't you join us?
- Aversa: Trusting AND stupid! Oh, but what a delightful combination. Your friends would sooner slit their throats than break bread with me, little man. Or have you forgotten how many times I tried to take their lives?
- Avatar: No, we all remember that quite well. But you're here now, and so... Look, you're going to have to break the ice sometime. Might as well be tonight.
- Aversa: When it comes to former foes, I'll take ice over fire any day.
- Avatar: But...
- Aversa: We are finished here.
- Avatar: *Sigh* Always such a pleasure...
B SupportEdit
- Avatar: Oh, hey there, Aversa! Uh, I mean... Hello! Er, greetings. I hope the day...finds you...well?
- Aversa: Are you speaking to me, little man?
- Avatar: You know, I DO have a name. And it's not "little man."
- Aversa: ...What do you want?
- Avatar: What? Um, nothing really. I just saw you over here and thought maybe—
- Aversa: What? That we could be friends? That we might share secrets and giggle long after dark like idiot schoolgirls?
- Avatar: No! I just thought you might like to sleep at camp instead of out here in the woods.
- Aversa: So you can slit my throat in the night?
- Avatar: No one is slitting anyone's throat!
- Aversa: My, my, my. SUCH the gentleman. Truly, you are your father's son.
- Avatar: ...Don't say that.
- Aversa: Oh, please. Don't deny it. Not to me. We're FAMILY, after all!
- Avatar: We are NOT family! You're adopted! And I didn't even know my family!
- Aversa: What a convoluted family tree we make! More like a tangled shrub, in fact. I'm older than you, and yet I was adopted AFTER your birth. Hm... I suppose in a way that makes you my older brother? How delightful!
- Avatar: I'm not your brother, and you know it.
- Aversa: Silence, the matter is settled. ...Big Brother.
- Avatar: ...Are you coming back to camp or not?
- Aversa: Only if my biiiiiig bwother pwomises to pwotect me!
- Avatar: That's IT! That's IT! Shut up! Just shut up already!
- Aversa: Aww, really? Will you really be so cruel to your wittle sister?
- Avatar: You know what? Stay here. Get eaten by a bear. I don't give a damn.
- Aversa: Aw, pweeeeeease, big bwother! Don't weave me here with the big scary bweahs! Kyaaa ha ha ha ha!
A SupportEdit
- Avatar: ...Hey.
- Aversa: Goodness! I feel the icy chill of a cold shoulder. I find that rather sad, Big Brother.
- Avatar: Just... Look, please don't call me that.
- Aversa: Where's the harm? It's just the two of us. There are no eavesdroppers here. Besides, I thought you wanted to be friends! ...... You...did...want to be friends? *Sigh* I'm... All right. I'm sorry. I won't call you that anymore. I suppose it's good that someone in this camp even comes to see me.
- Avatar: Oh, come on. Lots of people... Well... Okay, people have been busy. But I can say for a fact they've been talking about you!
- Aversa: I...
- Avatar: What is it?
- Aversa: I've just been thinking... I really don't have a place in this world. I was played for a fool by my father. Now I fight for my former enemies... I'm a slack-eyed puppet that dances to music everyone but me can hear.
- Avatar: No you're not. You're Aversa.
- Aversa: That's just a name.
- Avatar: Yes, but it's yours! You know where you come from and who you are. I don't have that. Hell, I don't even have my memories to help me. I came into this world without friends or family, but now I have both. The Shepherds gave me a new chance, and they could do the same for you. You just have to trust them.
- Aversa: That sounds...nice. Gods, I can't believe I just said that...
- Avatar: You're starting to feel like this could be home. ...Aren't you?
- Aversa: How...did you know?
- Avatar: ...I've been spying on you.
- Aversa: I KNEW it!
S SupportEdit
- Avatar: Er, Aversa? What are you doing?
- Aversa: Cleaning and oiling our weapons, checking our food stores...
- Avatar: You cleaned that entire rack of swords?!
- Aversa: I thought I could make myself useful. Is there a problem? Do the Sheperds think I would sabotage their weapons? I may not be their friend, but I'm certainly not their foe. Not anymore...
- Avatar: Of course we trust you...
- Aversa: Well, all right. Maybe I misspoke. I feel I do have one friend. One person I feel close to.
- Avatar: Oh?
- Aversa: It's kind of odd, because... Well, because it's you.
- Avatar: This better not be about that "Big Brother" thing again. You do realize we're not related in the slightest, right?
- Aversa: I know, Avatar. And in truth, I'm...glad. I'm not all sarcasm and snar, you know. I have emotions, too. And lately, I've found myself thinking about you. ...A lot.
- Avatar: Eh?
- Aversa: I know this must sound mad, seeing how we fought each other for so long.
- Avatar: You're thinking about me...how?
- Aversa: Gods, you're dense! I want to be with you!
- Avatar: As... As allies?
- Aversa: Dunderhead! I want to be with you! I want to marry you!
- Avatar: But...why?
- Aversa: Because there's no one else. Chrom believed in me, but not like you... You make me want to be a better person. You give me hope. And...you make me smile. Is that enough?
- Avatar: ...I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about this myself.
- Aversa: I imagine your friends will have all sorts of objections...
- Avatar: Let them. I'm a grown man who can make his own decisions.
- Aversa: It's strange. I spent so much time fighting and scheming that I never...
- Avatar: ...Realized what you wanted was right in front of you?
- Aversa: Something like that, yes. Kya hee hee!
- Aversa: From now on, I live only for you. And as you may have noticed, I'm the fiercely loyal type.
With Female AvatarEdit
C SupportEdit
- Aversa: ...Which concludes my report for today, my lord. I'll now return to my duties. If you require anything else, you have but to summon me.
- Avatar: ...Was that Aversa? What was she doing in Chrom's tent? Hey, Aversa! Hold a moment!
- Aversa: Why, if it isn't the former tactician. What do you want with me, woman?
- Avatar: Former? What do you mean by that?
- Aversa: Just what I said. Oh, you've done a decent enough job as tactician up to now... But I think we all agree it's time you took a break and let the professionals take over. Go put your feet up, and have a cup of tea. Chrom's little army is safe in my hands now.
- Avatar: You scheming witch! I'M the tactician. I always have been, and I always will be.
- Aversa: Heh. Well, that's not really up to you, now is it? Chrom and his soldiers need the best, and the best happens to be me.
- Avatar: Are you saying you know more about running a battle than I do?
- Aversa: Must I spell it out for you? When we faced off against each other, whose fingers got burned the most?
- Avatar: I'll grant that you were a challenging foe, but it was I who claimed ultimate victory.
- Aversa: Ah! I think I see the source of your confusion... Allow me to clarify. You think Chrom won BECAUSE of you, whereas, in fact, he won DESPITE of you. Trust me. When I'm his tactician, this campaign will go much more smoothly.
- Avatar: You try and twist the words around your forked tongue, but the truth won't bend. I know what I've done, what I've achieved. Your lies don't change that.
- Aversa: Well, well! The little woman has some fire in her yet... Clearly she won't give up her playthings without a tantrum... Still, time and ability are on my side. I'll soon have your precious position. Then Chrom will realize it's me that he wants! ME! Hoo ho ho hee hee heh!
- Avatar: ...I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by any of this, really.
B SupportEdit
- Aversa: Chrom? CHROM? ...Now where did he go? I was sure he was around here somewhere.
- Avatar: Hello, Aversa. Looking for Chrom? If you have a message, perhaps you can leave it with his tactician.
- Aversa: When a lady needs to see her lord, there's no need to involve former staff. Especially when it's of a personal nature. Chrom and his NEW tactician have private business. ...So run along.
- Avatar: I see your fantasy life is as rich as ever. To think such a delusional fool would ever become tactician. Ha!
- Aversa: Delusional? I think not. Chrom is a hot-blooded young man, after all, and young besides. And when two young, passionate people are thrown together in such situations... Well, sparks can fly.
- Avatar: Two young people? You must be a dozen years older than him if you're a day.
- Aversa: Why, you insolent little... Eight years! That's all I have on him! Eight!
- Avatar: It might as well be a century.
- Aversa: Gya! If it wasn't for my impeccable social graces, I'd teach you some manners...
- Avatar: Hah! I'm sure an alley cat like yourself can do little more than scratch and hiss... But I won't be found brawling in the mud like a circus act. Strategists must set an example. ...Which you should know.
- Aversa: You would lecture me on decorum? After your comment on my age? Very well. Since you refuse to see reason, you leave me no alternative... I challenge you to a duel!
- Avatar: A duel?! Pah! You truly see that as an appropriate way to decide who becomes tactician?
- Aversa: Yes! My second will let you know the time and place. If you flee, or do not appear, I will win by default.
- Avatar: Wait, what?! Hold on! I didn't agree to anything!
A SupportEdit
- Aversa: So you've come for our duel. ...I must confess, I'm surprised.
- Avatar: This is absurd. We're supposed to be battling a common foe, not each other. But if it's a fight you want, then a fight you shall have.
- Aversa: To the victor goes the spoils! Now, might shall decide what's right!
- Avatar: Come and get— ...Hold on. ...I can't help but feel like we're being watched. Are you certain we're the only ones out here?
- Aversa: Of course I am. ...Unless you planted an ambush!
- Avatar: Why in blazes would I bring it up if they were my own men?!
- Aversa: If they aren't yours... And they aren't mine... They must be... The enemy?!
- Avatar: Then your defeat will have to wait. We must join forces until we can get back to camp. Agreed? Now let's move!
- Aversa: And here I had such terrible things planned for you... *Sigh* Yes, we fight as allies for now. Let's go.
- Avatar: *Pant, pant, pant* We should be *pant* safe now... Enemy won't dare...come this close to camp...
- Aversa: *Pant, pant* Th-thank the...gods... Not used *pant* to r-running...so fast...
- Avatar: ...Still, you...saved both our skins. If it wasn't for that trap you sprung, they would have been on us... Although... When'd you set that trap? Planning to cheat in our little duel?
- Aversa: You're one to talk! Who was it that cut the escape route through the woods? You wanted to make sure you had away out in case our fight didn't go your way.
- Avatar: You weren't complaining about it when we fled to safety, were you?
- Aversa: ...Well, I may have been a LITTLE glad for it at the time.
- Avatar: If we didn't have each other, we'd both be in Risen stomachs right now.
- Aversa: Who would have thought we'd make such an effective team? Perhaps... Perhaps you and I should try working together for a change.
- Avatar: Are you offering to help with tactical planning? Hmm... You would bring a lot of experience, at least...
- Aversa: It's settled, then. We shall help each other. For now. But make no mistake. I'll be right behind you... And the first time you slip up...
- Avatar: You'll jump in and install yourself as Chrom's right-hand woman? Hah, got it. Don't worry, Aversa. I know EXACTLY how you think. But you know what? Sometimes the company of rivals can be a good thing.
With Morgan (Female) (Daughter)Edit
C SupportEdit
- Morgan: Hmm... I wonder why I have no memory of my mother... All my memories of Father are so crisp and clear... I remember what an amazing tactician he was, all the time we studied together... But nothing at all about my mother. It's one big blank.
- Aversa: What are you doing, squirt?
- Morgan: Mother! That's amazing! I was just thinking about you! Is this fate?! This is totally fate! Family-style fate! ...Wait, no. How did Father put it? "We're not pawns of some scripted fate. It's the invisible ties we forge that bind us." So yeah, it's not fate. It's the whole invisible bond-link...thing!
- Aversa: Well, I suppose that's...something.
- Morgan: Yup! Even without my memories, there's an invisible thread that links us. Er, but that reminds me... I was wondering how I could have possibly forgotten you, Mother. Do you think maybe you could help me get those memories back?
- Aversa: ...Oh, all right. If I must. After all—
- Morgan: Yay! Thanks so much! I'll start preparing. Oh, I can't wait to get started!
- (Morgan leaves)
- Aversa: Heh. She's certainly full of energy, I'll give her that...
B SupportEdit
- Morgan: Mother? Do you have a moment?
- Aversa: I suppose.
- Morgan: Perfect! Then let's get started on Project Get Memories of Mom Back! Step one—figure out how we're going to trigger some flashbacks. I've already tried banging my head against a post, but nothing. I mean, it made me dizzy and nauseated, but it didn't unearth any hidden memories. What do you think, Mother? Perhaps a stone wall would work better?
- Aversa: Let's just...hold off on the head smashing for now, shall we? I guess you could try just staring at me? ...It works for men, anyway.
- Morgan: Argh, that's perfect! You're a genius! I must have seen your face a million times in the future. It's bound to bring SOMETHING back if I stare at it long enough. Okay, sorry to invade your personal space here, but... Here goes... ...... ......... ............ ............... Drats! It's not working. I don't remember a thing. It's like... Have you ever stared at a word so long it kind of fell apart? And you think, "Is that how that's spelled? Wait, is that even a real WORD?!" Except here it's "Is that what Mother looked like?"
- Aversa: Er, right. Maybe that's enough of the memory project for one day, hmm?
- Morgan: Sure... I'm still a little dizzy from banging the post earlier, to be honest... But this doesn't end here! I'm not giving up until I remember you, Mother!
A SupportEdit
- Morgan: *Sigh* No luck today, either... I'm going crazy trying to remember you. I feel so useless! I'm just so... *sniff* Why can't I... *sob*
- Aversa: Come now, Morgan. Is this REALLY worth crying over?
- Morgan: B-but I know I must have loved you just as much as I loved Father. I bet we had a million memories together, and the thought of having lost them... I feel like I failed you. Like I... Like I... *sob*
- Aversa: For the love of the gods, child, pull yourself together.
- Morgan: *Sniff* S-sorry. I guess I got a little carried away there... Ngh! M-my head! ...Wha—?!
- Aversa: What now?!
- Morgan: I...I remember something! Just one tiny little memory, but...I remember! You were smiling at me...and you called my name... Ha ha! Yes! You looked a little bit older, but it was DEFINITELY you! Oh thank you, Mother. I never would have remembered without your help. And hey, this is great! If I can get one memory back, maybe I can get the rest! It may take time, but I won't stop trying until I remember everything about you.
- Aversa: Take all the time you need, Morgan. I'm not going anywhere...


text:
New Delhi, Jun 18: The Delhi government today said that over 80 per cent taxis of two app-based cab aggregators, Ola Cabs and Uber, were found "unfit" to operate in the national capital.
Last month, the government had directed both the taxi aggregators to submit details of their drivers and vehicles if they wanted to "regularise" their services in the city.
Also read: Uber offers free helicopter rides for a day in Thailand
"Many of the vehicles also turned out to be diesel-run which is against the rules laid down by the transport department," Transport Minister Gopal Rai told PTI. The
Minister said that as per data, there are around 10,000 taxis of Uber and 8,000 of Ola Cabs. Rai also said that drivers attached with Uber and Ola Cabs are being "misused" by them as most of them possess All India Permits which is against the norms.
"Most drivers, who are attached with Ola Cabs and Uber, have All India permits. That's why they cannot run their vehicles on local routes. But the two taxi aggregators are making them run cabs in Delhi and in view of this, they are misusing them," Rai said.
Also read: Government contemplating pan-India ban of Uber, Ola, and TaxiForSure Apps
On June 4, the Delhi transport department had rejected fresh applications for licence by US-based taxi booking firm Uber and two other such service providers Ola and TaxiForSure.
According to the government, applications of the three taxi aggregators were rejected for not filing undertakings stating they were complying with a ban imposed on them.
The three operators had filed the applications under the modified Radio Taxi Scheme introduced five months ago.
Yesterday, Delhi High Court refused to grant any interim relief to Uber on its plea challenging rejection of application for licence to operate in the national capital, saying that it was not supposed to ply if it did not have any permit.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The HR Awards kicked off in fine style last night with Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) scooping the coveted HR team of the year award for the second year in a row.
BLP's innovative HR policies helped the team win three awards. It scooped the most effective internal communications award and the prize for excellence in training.
Pinsent Masons' Jonathan Bond bagged the gong for best HR director for the lasting impact he had made at the firm. Tyco scooped the best in-house recruitment campaign.
The star of Marion & Geoff, actor Rob Brydon, was on fine form as host, revealing that it was a childhood dream to be involved in a night that rewarded the pursuit of human resources excellence in the law.
Here's the full list of winners:
Team of the year
Winner: Berwin Leighton Paisner
Highly commended: Allen & Overy, Shoosmiths
Director of the year
Winner: Jonathan Bond, Pinsent Masons
Highly commended: Jill King, Linklaters
Most effective internal communications
Winner: Berwin Leighton Paisner
Highly commended: Baker & McKenzie
Best branding campaign
Winner: SJ Berwin
Highly commended: Linklaters, Lovells
Best in-house/public sector recruitment campaign
Winner: Tyco
Best recruitment website
Winner: Addleshaw Goddard
Highly commended: Lovells
Most innovative recruitment campaign
Winner: Nabarro
Highly commended: Berwin Leighton Paisner
Best international recruitment initiative
Winner: DLA Piper
Most effective diversity programme
Winner: Allen & Overy
Highly commended: Shoosmiths
Innovation in talent management and retention
Winner: White & Case
Highly commended: Allen & Overy
Most effective employee benefits scheme
Winner: Reynolds Porter Chamberlain
Highly commended: Simmons & Simmons
Best graduate trainee recruitment campaign
Winner: Browne Jacobson
Highly commended: Nabarro
Award for excellence in training
Winner: Berwin Leighton Paisner
Highly commended: Eversheds, Lovells, Stephonson Harwood
See storyfor a description of all the shortlisted HR teams and their programmes.


text:
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text:
The White Goddess
The ship seemed to skim over the surface of sparkling water as if a cord tugged on it from beneath. Jules let the boat run its course, realizing that its direction was now out of his hands. The sunny day had an adventure in store for him, but currently, his freedom only extended as far as the shining deck.
He turned to look the way he'd come. It was haunting and peculiar. He could barely remember where his voyage had begun. There had been a busy city port beneath an overcast sky, a dark, sizzling rain, and--Jules frowned. His mind was blank as he gazed at a horizon bare of all memory, a deep blue, sliced across a distant sky of stormy black. He shivered and turned back to the sunny island that continued to grow closer.
Jules moved to the bowsprit, his imagination casting ahead into the bay where a single light winked at him from the shores.
All he knew was that he loved this moment of adventure. The ocean was where he belonged. Exploration was his passion. It was all that mattered.
But as the ship swiftly sailed into the bay, a stiff suspicion came to him as the shores spoke softly of abandonment. A small village was due ahead, and every building was scorched black and crumbling.
The boat gently nudged against a dock of torn cedar where charred sticks and metal lay strewn across the planks, hot beneath the sun as if still alit with the violence of the pillaging pirates who must surely have passed through.
Jules hopped down from the vessel, caught his bearings, and walked carefully along the off-balance dock toward the sturdy shores. As soon as he'd set foot, he felt a rush of air pass through him. He turned, startled, and watched as the ship slipped away in retreat. He frowned and returned his attention to the abandoned and scarred village.
The dirt road was littered with bricks and ashes, the houses looked across the bay with dead eyes, and glass sparkled across the ground with a shattered message of chaos. But the entire scene of disastor was given a sharper tone by the stunning contrast that sat upon the hill.
Jules gazed up the stone steps in awe. A tower sat perched on the hill, rising from the trees with the stony muscles of a supernatural beast, its sharp peak shining with a harsh yellow light that stared down upon him with the glare of a mighty eye.
Jules stood in silent fright as the tower beckoned to him. But his uneasiness soon dropped in shock as a figure appeared abruptly at the window. It was a white lady in a white dress with white flowers within her jet black hair.
Standing upon the deserted street by the water, Jules met eyes with this goddess, and watched as she smiled.


text:
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Words are a sequence of mystic combinations that provoke imaginative visions. When positioned in specific arrangements, you find yourself immersed within a world that it foresees. There are so many words throughout various different languages that are capable of creating a blend of mesmerizing stories. Without words or scriptures, there would be no history of the past. All would be hearsay, and tales would transform between each storyteller. The lives of our ancestors would be nothing more than a folktale.
I never appreciated how much literature meant to me up until recently. As a child, I remember writing a short science fiction story. I was so pleased that I had written a 30-page paper. It was nothing extravagant, but having included all of my friends and a crazy escapade was an accomplishment all in its own. I shared it with fellow classmates and had mostly encouraging reviews. My family was glad that I was doing something productive. It was the catalyst I required to initiate my journey of storytelling.
However, I took the compliments given to me with a grain of salt. I knew I was competent. I had a knack for illustrating my emotions through pencil and paper. But instead, I stopped writing and began drawing. I found a passion in designing enactments or outlining characters from beloved fiction. I still possess my original portrait of Link and Zelda I sketched when I was 13 years old. It's the one and only item I look after that inspires me to continue with my artistic mind.
Although I still experiment with drawings today, it had soon paralleled with my fondness of reading. My imagination developed further with each novel. It alleviates the mind and soul and blossoms into extraordinary thoughts. Everyone should read at least one book in their life. I've read several fictions and gained knowledgeable amounts of information. Doing so also triggered that notion that once again I should share with the world my visionary prowess.
I've written a few articles online within the past month. Some have gone unnoticed, while others have generated considerable reaction from the gaming community. I began writing a video game script, which is a new experience, but enjoyable nonetheless. I also have a science fiction novel in the works. I finally valued my calling, and adore every minute that transpires. It may start erratically, but my dedication will never withdraw. My desire is narrative, and before long the world will be entangled in my words.
How often have you ever been terrified during a video game experience? Not just the quick 'jump scares', but the ones that cause trembling anxiety and paranoia when approaching every corner. Having to constantly watch your back every second in fear of something lurking in the shadows. Or hiding in a corner for what seems like a lifetime until you think it's safe to move on. Provoking panic in a player is a tough process, but when done correctly, the results can manufacture everlasting nightmares.
There have been a few occurrences I recall which scarred me for life, possibly the reason I have claustrophobia. I'd say the initial creation of such fear was spawned after watching Critters as a child. It may have been life-altering, but it shaped a path through a genre I would admire growing up. Although movies created this category, I find Survival Horror video games to be much more desirable. Walking the streets of Silent Hill triggered an involvement you couldn't gain from the big screen.
Since the days of Silent Hill and Resident Evil, though, there have been far fewer moments which provided the world to true horror. Many titles have tried, such as Dead Space and Dead Rising, but the modern world seems to have forgotten what elicits such a frightening experience. That is, until the mention of current titles scheduled for release in 2014. This list will provide what I believe is to resurrect the much needed Survival Horror genre.
After hearing Shinji Mikami was in works to create a new horror title, I was extremely happy. Resident Evil was the first terrifying game I ever played, and it was awfully gratifying. For being the creator of such a groundbreaking title that reinvented the horror genre, I have little doubt The Evil Within will fall to the ranks of shameful attempts by others.
Space has always been a playground for the science fiction enthusiasts. The quiet atmosphere delivers an emotion not felt in common surroundings. Routine appears to continue that route, and the trailer depicts certain panic to be attained down every hallway of an abandoned moon base.
Hospitals have shared its halls with a few ghastly creatures in the past. Zombie Studios previously attempted to join the horror franchise with its two Saw titles, but didn't quite break the threshold. Now hard at work with Daylight, a procedurally generated game situated in an abandoned hospital, the company plans to continue once more with great success in mind.
If there is one game I can say I'm disappointed I haven't played yet, that would be Fatal Frame. I know, hate on me all you want, I deserve it. I will make an effort to play it soon, though, in hopes of finishing before the much similar DreadOut is released. Using a combination of smartphones and digital cameras, players must unravel a mysterious and horrifying incident in an Indonesian town.
Although there are plenty more to be released, these four have the most potential to begin a new era for horror fans. The developers working on these titles understand the logic and psyche involved in creating innovative and hair-raising moments. If all goes well, this could ideally pave the way for the neglected road full of miscreation.
Is there anything you feel I left out or should have replaced? Lets share thoughts in the comments below!
Considering myself a pretty avid gamer, I've been subjected to quite the assortment of adventures throughout countless virtual worlds. I was both confused and curious the first time I sat down and entangled myself in Mario for the Nintendo. I was 5 years old but I would sit there forever attempting to spoil the kidnapping of that damsel in distress from the maniacal Bowser. It was refreshing. It created this euphoric fictional reality that enveloped around you. A place that once only existed in dreams. And the nostalgia doesn't just originate solely on that experience, it's equally the thought of being at my grandma's house doing so that brings me to tears. Its moments much like that which push me to further myself in the gaming industry. To bestow that same emotion I went through as a child.
But these days are far more diverse than those of the past. The advance in technology since then has spawned remarkable life-like encounters and characters that entire communities have witnessed firsthand. The emotions set into narrative deliver compelling bonds that render it fairly personal. It's incredible how much thought and creativity are imbedded into these stories. Essentially because we have control over the lives of the characters we play. It's becoming less than just a pastime and more about developing relationships. And I can attest being part of a situation where I felt empty and speechless.
This past year was introduced to a variety of memorable titles. From the metropolis in the clouds of Bioshock: Infinite to the return of the energetic city of San Andreas in Grand Theft Auto V. The events shaped in these worlds are unrivaled, and will certainly be remembered when paving the road to the future. We beheld the conclusion of a few trilogies and the beginning of brand new voyages. Some were thrilling and action-packed, while others left you hunched over in your seat balling your eyes out. Not many games can pull this off, but when they do, it packs a hell of a punch.
I'm caught amongst determining which title pulled my heart-strings the most. The storyline of Battlefield 4 was impressive (mostly due to the voice work of Michael K Williams), but it just didn't have that emotional connection in the end. Dead Space 3 exceeded itself again with tantalizing visuals and impressive cut scenes. What it lacked was that 'true' survival-horror gameplay that brought the series to life. Clementine's return in The Walking Dead: Season 2 was satisfying (that incident in the shed still makes me tremble), but I'm just not sure yet if it'll fill that void without Lee in the mix. That leaves me with two probable games that managed to captivate me within the fictional universe.
Bioshock: Infinite had one of the best sequence of events ever fashioned in a video game. You're reminded of all things familiar when you first begin, and then suddenly you're introduced to this exotic floating city rich with a society set in early 20th century. Taking control of Booker DeWitt, your objective is to locate an imprisoned girl in order to get rid of gambling debts. Nevertheless, what really connected with me wasn't gameplay or visuals at all. The finale of this epic tale was nothing short of a masterpiece. And a certain trip 'down' memory lane was a nice touch. But living in an infinite universe with multiple consequences was such an overwhelming turn of events. The gospel choir in the creek really added to the emotion, leaving me frozen in awe as I watched his own daughter reveal everything to him so tranquilly. All the puzzle pieces abruptly connecting in those final moments were so heart breaking it was nearly too excruciating to watch. And in those closing minutes, upon realizing the truth, a naive yet tragic sacrifice must be made to rewrite the past.
Equally as captivating is The Last of Us. Joel and Ellie deliver a performance naturally only seen on the big screen. The connection between the two are so heartfelt you could practically guarantee they were father and daughter. There were a few scenes throughout this story that I believe deserve the most attention. Before the epidemic, we're shown the affectionate bond between Joel and his daughter Sarah. After seeing her father shoot a man that had broken into their house, Joel's brother Tommy arrives and they head toward the city. Eventually held up by a military officer, gunfire unexpectedly ensues and a tragedy befalls. I literally had to pause the game afterwards regarding such a shocking scene. You can feel the pain through the character as he holds the motionless body of his own flesh and blood. I can imagine that being troublesome for any parent to watch. After 20 years, Joel meets Ellie, and as the story progresses, so does their connection. Having protected each other from certain demise in a number of occasions, they continue their exploration for a cure. Eventually they find their way to the Salt Lake City, where Joel and Ellie have a very touching experience. In the midst of such a decaying and formidable world, they manage to find a moment of serenity. Ellie observes the world as it once was (all things considering), accompanied with a tower of giraffes and a quiet and beautiful view of the scenery. In that instance you couldn't help but feel remorseful for Ellie.
These are what define the scale of a hugely successful video game. You can take away the cutting-edge visuals but you're still left with words that resonate endlessly. Images and videos are kept in mind, but it is narrative that conveys life to the imaginary world. Without it, all you have remaining is a wretched wasteland of impractical knowledge.
So the next-gen consoles are now officially released worldwide, and gamers everywhere are strapped in their seats ready to dive into a brand new experience. But with these new consoles also comes a brand new engagement to the already derelict battlefield of an ongoing war.
No matter what website or magazine you browse today, you're almost guaranteed to find something within addressing sales and popularity of consoles. Its been this way for years now. The leading companies are always finding some way to outperform the competition, which you'll find in any business, but lately things have been getting too ridiculous. I remember being able to talk to all of my friends about video games peacefully, without the debate of which console is better and which is more visually appealing. Everyone could just talk about their favorite video game, whether it be on a console, handheld, or computer. I was born in the 80′s, so I grew up with the Nintendo's and Sega's. I played anything that looked interesting, and didn't care what had a better rating or looked "real". I played it because it's a "new world", a reality that differs from anything this world could ever witness. I consider myself a hardcore gamer. I will play anything that pulls me in, whether it be on an Xbox, Wii, or PC. It doesn't matter to me, and it never will.
Apparently that's not the case these days.
Since the release of these next-gen consoles, everywhere I turn I see comparisons between graphics and game play. It's getting to the point where I won't even bother visiting certain sites anymore. The only thing that these "authors" and "editors" are doing is fueling a fire that has already been spreading too quickly. Video games are meant to be appreciated equally, but instead get hated on because the designer decided to focus on a single console. For instance, Bungie released their first major hit, Marathon, on PC, followed by Halo with the Xbox, and now Destiny, which will release for both consoles. The biggest concern here is Halo, which received an excessive amount of hate by Sony fans. But now that they decided to port their new title to Sony, everyone can be "happy". Fans of computer gaming, however, are now also throwing hate toward Destiny, claiming the company started with PC gaming and should be included with the new release. So no matter what the situation, there always seems to be a dispute between gamers.
To be honest, I don't see it slowing down anytime soon. As long as there are multiple consoles providing exclusivity among games, there will always be a power struggle in the gaming community. One console releases new content, the other releases two. This battle of superiority is and always will be firmly increasing, and the end result could potentially be devastating for one, or possibly all, of the competing corporations. But, like I said, who knows if and when that will happen. With new hardware on the horizon, such as the new Steam console and the Oculus Rift, this warfare could go either way. In my eyes, there is no winner. I'll be playing video games on everything until my time is up. There's nothing I enjoy more in my spare time than relaxing and wandering the worlds of a fictional character (Master Chief, Gordon Freeman, Mario, or Nathan Drake, it doesn't matter). I just wish the rest of this world would follow my action.


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Some things may last forever, but the barn at the Pleasant View Rest Home is not one of them. Morry Demarco, maintenance director for the county courthouse and justice center, told the Pulaski County Commissioners this week that the barn is well past its prime, and he's not sure if it can even make it through another winter.
"The barn's getting in pretty bad shape; the wind and the weather have taken its toll. We have no use for the barn anymore. The roof's starting to come off of it; the doors are blown off of it. If there was some use for it at a farm, that'd be great, but just for the few items that's stored in there it's pretty well served its purpose," said Demarco.
The structure is in such bad shape, in fact, that Demarco has been finding sheet metal and wood that has fallen off the barn.
The barn isn't currently used to store anything except old, unclaimed stuff that has settled there over the years, so there's no use for it. Commissioner Michael Tiede suggested finding someone who may be interested in taking it because he doesn't feel the taxpayers should have to pay for the barn to be taken down, but if no one steps up to take it, it will have to be dismantled by the county.


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oi thanks for replying! yeah, i was pretty hyped about the tinkercad app when it came out, i was playing around with the web version before the assembling charas thing came, but then, when i try to learn the most simple stuff on blender, i end up yelling at the screen. Its not that i dont understand it, but the first investment seems long and difficult, and sadly im at that point og young adultness in wich i dont have much time. I agree most 3d apps kinda suck. :/
Im actually trying to do my own charas and its been a frustrating learning process :(View Instructable »
I was so hyped till i hit the the " learn 3d" step problem. I dont understand why there isnt yet an app that lets you make 3d models easily , from pictures or scratchView Instructable »


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King Silk Art makes silk embroidery wall art, 100% hand-stitched by Master Artists in Suzhou, China. Our artwork, Susho, is completely natural, created with tiny needles and pure silk thread. Susho is a 2500 year old family tradition, with a unique and fascinating history.
In Chinese culture, the color red is very important. Legendarily, over 5000 years ago, the Chinese people were being terrorized by an enormous beast called the Nian, or, "Year" in English.
The Nian would appear every New Year's Day, which is the first day of lunar calendar. Nian would devour the people's crops, livestock and even children . . . especially children.
No one could stop Nian, but one New Year's Day, the people saw two things. Nian would not eat children wearing red, and some firecrackers frightened Nian. Nian fled before destroying everything and the people decided to prepare for the next year.
The people put red lanterns on their doors and windows to keep Nian out and lit firecrackers all day long. Nian never returned, but the people have been doing these things ever since on New Year's Day, just in case.
So red is a not just a lucky color, but it is also protective. Red attracts good fortune and frightens away bad fortune.
In Chinese culture, finches are revered for their singing. There is a saying about a sign of nobility being a voice so cultured, it sounds like the singing of a finch. In Feng Shui, finches are symbolic of resourcefulness, simple joys and are an omen of impending fun times. Finches are a reminder to enjoy the journey and not focus only on your destination.


text: Microsoft has today opened a European Cloud & Interoperability Center (CIC) in Brussels. Located within the Microsoft Executive Briefing Center, Microsoft has invested 5.3m Euroes into the CIC – designed to drive innovation and economic growth across Europe through business use of cloud computing. The center is set to provide a reference point on cloud computing across the region to help Europe develop as a technology leader; bringing together government representatives, researchers, small businesses and others to experience technology which will positively impact the daily lives of millions of Europeans. Microsoft and Living PlanIT Partner to Deliver Smart City Technology Via the Cloud New technologies on display at the European CIC will provide a vision of productivity improvements and cost savings that will help governments meet the pressures on public budgets and societal challenges such as health, skills and education, research and the environment. In addition, the CIC will provide demonstrations of the latest public sector, enterprise and consumer cloud applications, envisioning future technology today, enabling more efficient and effective health, education and environmental solutions. Read the full press release on the opening of the CIC here. In addition, Microsoft today announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Living PlanIT, the technology company enabling the development of innovative, intelligent and sustainable urban-scale environments. More Microsoft Opens European Cloud Center


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David Avadon
Dec. 11, 1948
Los Angeles County
California, USA
Aug. 22, 2009
Santa Monica
Los Angeles County
California, USA
Magician, Illusionist. For more than 30 years Avadon was known as America's "premier exhibition pickpocket". He began practicing magic as a hobby while in elementary school and later studied theater at UCLA. In his 20s he changed his last name from Hutchins to Avadon and began appearing as a professional illusionist at clubs in Hollywood and went on to become a featured performer at the Magic Castle for more than 30 years. He gained national attention in 1977 when he began working with a rabbi at a synagogue in the San Fernando Valley. The rabbi saw Avadon performing for children outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and was so impressed that he asked the magician to team up with him to present Sabbath services. While the rabbi told a Biblical story, Avadon contributed visual aids and illusions from center stage. Attendance at the services rose from the usual 150 or 200 worshipers to crowds of 750, including many children, when Avadon began participating. In addition to his stage act, which he performed all around the world billed as the 'Desperado of Deceit', he educated police officers and security guards on techniques for spotting pickpockets and lectured on the topic. He was also a technical advisor on pickpocketing for television and motion pictures and wrote the book, "Cutting Up Touches: A Brief History of Pockets and the People Who Pick Them.". He died from a heart attack while exercising at a fitness club.
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Hollywood Forever Cemetery
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Paris attacks: Psychologist confirms ripple effect of TERROR, watching news can cause PTSD
EXCLUSIVE: Mental health expert reveals the confronting footage of the tragic events in Paris can cause anxiety, depression and even post-traumatic stress disorder .
express.co.uk (Date:11/16/2015 11:46)
The Real Terror PaymastersWritten by William F. Jasper
In the quote above, Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa, head of the DIE, the KGB's little sister in communist Romania, reveals a conversation he had with chairman Andropov, the Soviet leader. "We needed to instill a Nazi-style hatred for the Jews throughout the Islamic world," Andropov told Pacepa, "and to turn this weapon of the emotions into a terrorist bloodbath against Israel and its main supporter, the United States. No one within the American/Zionist sphere of influence should any longer feel safe."
Gen. Pacepa, who defected to the United States in 1978, recounted this story in an August 24, 2006 article for National Review entitled "Russian Footprints." "According to Andropov," said Pacepa, "the Islamic world was a waiting petri dish in which we could nurture a virulent strain of America-hatred, grown from the bacterium of Marxist-Leninist thought. Islamic anti-Semitism ran deep. The Muslims had a taste for nationalism, jingoism, and victimology. Their illiterate, oppressed mobs could be whipped up to a fever pitch."
Gen. Pacepa explained how this was put into operation:
A July 1997 article by Associated Press writer Anthony Shadid provides one measure of the impact of this Soviet KGB (and ongoing Russian FSB) strategy. The AP story, "Marxism Makes Way for Islam," profiles a number of influential Marxist-Muslim intellectuals. It begins with the observation that "on the bookshelf of Adel Hussein sits an odd collection for one of Egypt's leading Islamic thinkers." Titles like Socialist Integration, On Communism, and Planning in the U.S.S.R. by leading Marxists, notes Mr. Shadid, "speak more of class struggle than the hand of God."
Like a surprising number of others across the Arab and Muslim world, Adel Hussein "is a one-time Marxist and nonbeliever who has turned to Islam, part of a new intellectual generation reshaping the religion." "I benefited from Marx in both theory and practice," Hussein told Shadid, "but now, Islam is my starting point and my framework." That doesn't mean he's abandoned Marx, however. "Hussein, for instance, says his goals have not changed," Shadid reported. "But he now sees Islam, through its ability to persuade and to mobilize, as the best tool." In other words, Islam for Hussein is a means to an end, and the end is a Marxist world.
Adel Hussein, says AP's Shadid, is representative of a significant number of today's influential imams and mullahs. "In a jarring twist, they are the same thinkers who a generation ago drew the ire of religious Muslims because their Marxist disavowal of God was seen as the biggest threat to Islam," Shadid reported. "Today, they are often the public face of Islam — writing in leading Arabic newspapers, speaking at conferences and on television talk shows, enjoying the support of many younger, more political Muslims interested in their attempts to rethink Islam's relationship to democracy, minorities and the West."
Evidence for the existence of an ongoing Soviet/Russian strategic plan to foment and use Islamic extremism is very extensive and goes far to explain the inordinate hatred of Muslim fundamentalists for America and the West. Not only is al-Qaeda aligned with the Kremlin (see the related article "Behind Islamic Terror"), so are the other major "Islamist" terror groups including PLO/ al-Fatah, Hamas, and Hezbollah (see "Who's Who in Terrorism"). Of course, none of those groups would amount to much if not for the immense assistance they receive from Iran and Syria, regimes that were primary client-state terror sponsors for the Soviets and continue in that role for Russia under Putin.
Putin continues to build Iran's nuclear program and upgrade its long-range missile program, not to mention provide Ahmadinejad's regime with all of the conventional weapons that Tehran and its surrogate terrorists can use. Likewise for the longtime terrorist-sponsoring regime of Bashar al-Asad in Damascus. In January 2005, Putin welcomed President al-Asad to Moscow and forgave 73 percent of the $13.4 billion debt owed by Syria to Moscow. Then, a couple months later, he sold Strelet surface-to-air missiles to Asad and has been showering him with weapons.
Moscow Masterminds
In the 2005 action film Lord of War, Nicolas Cage plays Russian arms dealer Yuri Orlov, whose merchandise — guns, tanks, grenades, missiles, planes, bombs — spreads slaughter and genocide across Africa. The fictional Orlov is a portrayal of the real-life Viktor Bout, a "former" KGB officer who has built a global empire with his fleet of Soviet transport planes and helicopters and his unmatched access to a bottomless supply of Soviet armaments. It would be difficult to find a war, civil war, revolution, terrorist organization, dictatorship, coup, or attempted coup in Africa, the Middle East, or Central Asia over the past decade and a half that hasn't been fueled by Bout's deadly merchandise.
Viktor Bout was for years the main arms supplier for the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He subsequently became a major supplier to the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance. While operating a dizzying array of companies and shell companies out of Belgium and the United Arab Emirates, Bout has always maintained a home base and safe haven in Russia.
When the Belgian government issued an international arrest warrant for him in 2002, Bout fled to Moscow. "Asked if Bout was in the country when the arrest warrant was issued, the Russian foreign ministry said no, even though Bout was giving live radio interviews from studios in downtown Moscow," note Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun, authors of Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible. "The next day, officials grudgingly acknowledged he might be in Russia but said they had seen no evidence that he had committed any crime, and therefore could not act."
According to Farah and Braun and other investigative reporters, Viktor Bout more recently has been running arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the forces of the radical Islamic Courts Union in Somalia. Bout's status as a private entrepreneur provides protective deniability to his bosses in the Kremlin — including the top KGB/FSB man himself, Vladimir Putin — but it is obvious that they are supplying him and protecting him so he can continue stoking the fires of terror and revolution that they have sparked and fed for decades. Incredibly, Western governments that verbally condemn Bout's sinister blood trade are more than willing to do business with his companies. For instance, the U.S. Defense Department has paid Bout's air transport companies millions of dollars to fly supplies into U.S. bases in Afghanistan and Iraq.
As indispensable as Viktor Bout has been — and is — to the Kremlin's ongoing terror strategy, there are others who are even more important. One of the most important is Yevgeniy Primakov, the former KGB chief in charge of Middle East terrorism during the Cold War. Primakov has been at the pinnacle of Soviet politics for decades: Soviet Politburo member, former Russian Foreign Minister, head of the Russia Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), and Russian prime minister. Now he is Putin's right-hand man as a "private citizen." As head of the Russia Chamber of Commerce, he continues his role directing Russia's client terror states and terrorist groups while on commercial visits throughout the Mideast.
In 2006, Primakov presided at the founding meeting of Russia's new forum for Muslim countries, the "Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group." The new group held its first session in Moscow on March 27-28, attended by delegates from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, and 12 additional Muslim states. Putin greeted the delegates. Significantly, the "statesman" who presided at the meeting was Primakov, a renowned Arabist who played a key role in formulating the Soviet Union's ties with the Muslim world during the cold-war era.
Jihadist Hatred for America
Is the ongoing Soviet/Russian propaganda and terror strategy really at the heart of the militant jihadist hatred directed at the United States? The overwhelming evidence would seem to answer resoundingly in the affirmative. After all, the jihadists should have good reason to view as enemies the regimes in Moscow, Beijing, and the Commonwealth of Independent States that have killed Muslims on a daily basis. In fact, the Soviet Union murdered over one million Muslim Afghans and made over five million of them refugees. Post-Soviet Russia brutally subjugated Muslim Chechnya, killing tens of thousands of civilians and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. The Soviet Union persecuted (and present-day Russia continues to persecute) tens of millions of Muslims in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan. The current openly communist government of Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan carried out the Adijan massacre of 2005, slaughtering as many as 5,000 Muslim civilians, with Moscow and Beijing both publicly voicing support for Karimov's action. Communist China has carried out a decades-long ruthless persecution of its Muslim Uighar minority.
Communist regimes have forbidden study of the Q'uran, publicly burned countless copies of this sacred text of Muslims, imprisoned and tortured Muslim believers, and beaten Muslim clerics and then paraded them in public humiliation. Contrast that with the Western countries, where Muslims are granted full political and economic rights, can worship freely, and can obtain a Q'uran at any library or local bookstore. Yes, the jihadists have used our military presence in Iraq to fan the flames of hatred against the United States, but how about the communists?
Do the jihadists hate America more than the non-Muslim communist states because we are uniquely decadent? It is true that Western post-Christian culture, especially as seen in popular fashions and through Hollywood's ubiquitous and depraved lens, is offensive to devout Muslims (as it is to devout Christians). But Russia is not pristine by comparison. Putin's Russia boasts one of the largest pornography industries in the world, featuring the most hard-core kiddie porn. Russia's mainstream media is much more salacious than its counterparts in the United States. Russia and the Muslim-populated (but non-Muslim-ruled) countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.) are also notorious for forced prostitution, gambling, and the production, consumption, and export of drugs and alcohol, all of which should earn them condemnation from the militant Muslim faithful. Instead, the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, al-Fatah, and other "Islamic fundamentalists," not only ignore the transgressions of their infidel sponsors in Russia and China and the cries of their persecuted Muslim brothers, but they regularly break bread with and publicly support the atheist persecutors of Islam.
We in the Christian West should not kid ourselves — as certain "liberals" would have us do — into accepting the false proposition that Islam is perfectly compatible with our social-political system. It is not. And we must not succumb to their arguments that we should accept new waves of Muslim immigrants. But neither should we allow ourselves to be further dragged into a military "clash of civilizations" (as we already are in Iraq and Afghanistan) by "Muslim" front men for our so-called allies in Moscow and Beijing.
In his October 11, 2001 news conference, President George W. Bush characterized the new global conflict as "a war against all those who seek to export terror, and a war against those governments that support or shelter them." Striking the same theme, but with greater specificity, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol declared in a July 21, 2006 article, "Radical Islam Takes On Democracy," that "our focus should be less on Hamas and Hezbollah, and more on their paymasters and real commanders — Syria and Iran."
But why stop with the middlemen? The real paymasters and commanders aren't in Damascus and Tehran; they're in Moscow and Beijing, as they have been for decades. These paymasters and commanders are also patient strategists. They will not try to engage us in head-on military conflict when they can more easily wear us down by leading us into many "quagmire" conflicts with their surrogates.
Related articles:
Behind Islamic Terror
Who's Who in Terrorism
[end of the article]
After having taken knowledge about the weeding between Soviet Marxism and Jihad, it is time to turn our attention again to al-Zawahiri, a man trained by the post-Soviet KGB, renamed FSB, in 1998: Everything is clear now. Read the second part of the article:
"...................Monday, 03 September 2007
Behind Islamic Terror
Written by William F. Jasper
FBI's "Most Wanted" Terrorists
Very likely, one of the specific reasons for Alexander Litvinenko's liquidation was the publication of his exposé, Blowing Up Russia: The Secret Plot to Bring Back KGB Terror. Litvinenko's explosive book provided an FSB insider's confirmation that the sensational terrorist bombings in Russia attributed to Chechen Islamic nationalists were actually the work of Putin's FSB Special Operations Groups, part of the restructured and renamed Soviet KGB. Extensive evidence already published by independent investigators and journalists had pointed to the same conclusion, but having that conclusion confirmed by Litvinenko undoubtedly unnerved the Russian commissars.
However, Litvinenko upped the ante in 2005 when he revealed, from his ex-FSB contacts, that "Islamic fundamentalist" Ayman al-Zawahiri had been trained by the Russian FSB. This is incredibly significant since Dr. al-Zawahiri is the reputed operational mastermind behind al-Qaeda and is second only to Osama bin Laden on the FBI's "Most Wanted Terrorists" list. "Ayman al-Zawahiri trained at a Federal Security Service (FSB) base in Dagestan in 1998," Litvinenko told the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, in a July 17, 2005 interview. "He was then transferred to Afghanistan, where he became Osama bin Laden's deputy," the defector said. "I was working in that section at the time and I can confirm the fact Zawahiri was not the only link between the FSB and Al-Qaeda."
Bin Laden and Zawahiri had been closely associated in jihadi activities for more than a decade by that time. By 1998, Zawahiri formally merged his Egyptian Islamic Jihad with bin Laden's al-Qaeda, creating a single unified command.
Is there anything besides Litvinenko's sensational charge indicating that Zawahiri might actually be an FSB operative? As a matter of fact, yes. We will digress to 1996 and an account of three travelers in Azerbaijan. Parts of this story have been told in various public sources ranging from the Wall Street Journal to the websites of intelligence analysts from the Jamestown Foundation and Axis Information and Analysis (AIA). We have drawn from these and other sources to put together this brief rendering of a very telling episode.
In December 1996, a minivan carrying three men was headed toward Chechnya, making its way across the narrow strip of Russian territory between the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea. Near the city of Derbent, the men ran into a Russian roadblock. Lacking visas, they were arrested and turned over to the FSB for interrogation. One member of the trio, a "businessman" traveling on a Sudanese passport, carried $6,500 worth of cash in several currencies, a satellite phone, a laptop, and other electronics equipment. The laptop contained many coded messages in Arabic. The Sudanese "Mr. Amin" was, in reality, the head of Egyptian Islamic Jihad — Ayman al-Zawahiri. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Dr. Zawahiri spent the next six months in a crumbling jail, fretting that the Russians would discover his true identity." But, in the end, "his cover held, and he was freed."
The authors of the 2002 Wall Street Journal article, Andrew Higgins and Allen Cullison, are inexplicably willing to accept at face value Dr. Zawahiri's wildly implausible explanation for his travels in Russia and his even more unbelievable account of his release. Higgins and Cullison write:
Another news account quotes an FSB spokesman named Sergei Ignatchenko who says that Zawahiri "had four passports, in four different names and nationalities. We checked him out in every country, but they could not confirm him. We could not keep him forever, so we took him to the Azerbaijani border and let him go." Which is even more fantastic than the Journal's account.
Keep in mind that this episode takes place during a period when the FSB and the Russian military were waging a vicious genocidal war against Chechnya because, they said, the Chechens, aided by outside Islamic fundamentalists, were carrying out a terrorist campaign against Mother Russia. Now think in terms of how the Russian FSB might respond to three foreign Arabic men who are traveling under false identity, have multiple aliases and passports, claim to work for a non-existent company, possess sophisticated communications equipment and a laptop with coded messages, and are detained trying to sneak through a little-used back door to the embattled area, under the pretext of checking out the market potential for health foods and leather goods. After their arrest, guards report that the men are visited by Islamic radicals who petition for their release and leave coded messages that investigators cannot decipher. Would the FSB not have uncovered their identities, and have let them go?
"Perhaps most difficult to believe from Zawahiri's version is that his captors would not have read the Arabic information contained within his laptop computer," commented Dr. Evgenii Novikov, a Russian defector and scholar in Islamic affairs who is now a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation in Virginia. "Russian intelligence has probably the best Arabists in the world.... These individuals would have been able not only to read Zawahiri's Arabic text, but also to decode his encrypted messages without any problem."
But we are supposed to believe that a generous Russian judge and some kindly KGB/FSB guys simply said: "Gee, fellas, you've really stumped us with your codes here, and nothing in your stories checks out, and everything else about you is incredibly suspicious, but we're in an especially good mood. So here's all your money, fake IDs, computer, and spy stuff. Be sure to be more careful next time. So long now and drive safely."
More likely, says Dr. Novikov, the KGB/ FSB would have realized very quickly who Zawahiri was and would have applied to him the torture and blackmail techniques for which they are infamous. Zawahiri, after all, was a well-recognized and much-photographed leader of one of the world's major terrorist groups, Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Novikov believes Zawahiri "broke" under torture and became an asset of the FSB. Which makes much more sense than the Journal's story.
However, there is another explanation that makes even more sense, and that is that Zawahiri was already working for the FSB when he was "arrested" in 1996. That is, he was thrown in jail as a cover (a common ploy of police and intelligence agencies) while he and his superiors worked out future terror plots. This fits with earlier suspicions among the Afghan Mujahedeen concerning Zawahiri's ascendance there following the assassination of Sheikh Abdullah Azzam.
Sheikh Azzam, a Palestinian professor who had mentored young Osama bin Laden, urged Arabic Muslims to declare jihad against the Soviets for their invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. Setting up camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sheikh Azzam, backed by the wealth of bin Laden, soon was the recognized leader of the Arabic Mujahedeen.
Ayman al-Zawahiri. At the right hand of.... Putin?
Zawahiri sought Azzam's influence over the wealthy bin Laden, and with that objective in mind Zawahiri soon became the young billionaire's personal physician. He also began placing his Egyptians in critical slots around both bin Laden and Azzam. Zawahiri tried to get Azzam to change his focus from fighting the Soviet invaders and their communist Afghan appointees to instead directing the Mujahedeen to attack America and overthrow secular Arabic regimes. When Azzam adamantly refused, Zawahiri began spreading rumors that Azzam was a CIA spy. On November 24, 1989, Azzam and two of his sons were killed when their car was blown up while on the way to the Peshawar mosque.
Many who were close to the situation have expressed their beliefs that Zawahiri was the one who ordered the hit. Finnish terrorism expert Aansi Kullberg is among those who state it as a fact. Regardless, we do know for sure that the murder of Azzam resulted in bin Laden and Zawahiri inheriting Azzam's Mujahedeen army. They began its radical reorientation into a virulently anti-American terrorist group.
Much more could be said to support Mr. Litvinenko's thesis that Ayman al-Zawahiri is a Russian agent, rather than an Islamic fundamentalist. And he is not unique in this regard. In fact, as we show in "The Real Terror Paymasters" and "Who's Who in Terrorism," many other important leaders of "Muslim" terrorist organizations possess similar pedigrees, demonstrating that Islamic terrorism is joined at the hip with the international terror network sponsored by the Soviet Union/Russia.
[End of the article]
[The trap - not visible by the authors of the above quoted excellent articles, is located in the fact that the exceptional hatred developed from the mixing of Marxism with Islamic Sharia, would have been used to unite the world or better, to unite Catholicism and Orthodoxy.]
See also:
....in:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 5th Edited 02 November 2015
The occupation by USA of Afghanistan helped Putin to distract the centrifugal forces of Sunnism in Russia.(........)XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 1st Edited 03 November 2015
Enter: AL ZAWAHIRI...
Monday, November 2, 2015
Crash the Plane - to Crush the Veteran [EU-Russia Provokatsyia]
"....Yet while Erdoğan is an outspoken politician who rarely hesitates to criticize the EU, the U.S., and Israel, he has been -- comparatively -- mild in his rhetoric towards Russia. At no point over the past four years has Erdoğan issued a harsh reproof of Putin, not even after Russia's recent aerial bombardments, about which Erdoğan merely expressed his "regret and dismay."
Monday, October 12, 2015
Appendix to "Correction: etc": the Cat, the Mouse, and the CHEESE.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Vatican-Iranian Provokatsiya 2 - Iran, infiltrating & destroying Turkey
Sunday, November 15, 2015


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BeschreibungThis volume contains the proceedings of EMSOFT 2001, the First International Workshop on Embedded Software. The workshop was organized October 8-10, 2001, at Tahoe City, California. The steering committee of the workshop has the following members: G¿ erard Berry (Esterel Technologies, France) Paul Hudak (Yale University, USA) Hermann Kopetz(Technical University of Vienna, Austria) Edward Lee (University of California, Berkeley, USA) Ragunathan Rajkumar (Carnegie Mellon University, USA) Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli (University of California, Berkeley, USA) Douglas Schmidt (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, USA) Joseph Sifakis (Verimag Grenoble, France) The workshop was sponsored jointly by the DARPA Information Technology O?ce within the MobIES (Model-based Integration of Embedded Systems) p- gram (Dr. Janos Sztipanovits), and by the National Science Foundation (Dr. Helen Gill). The workshop URL is www. emsoft. org. Embedded software is software that interacts with physical processes. As - bedded systems increasingly permeate our daily lives on all levels, from micr- copic devices to international networks, the cost-e?cient development of reliable embedded software is one of the grand challenges in computer science today. The purpose of the workshop is to bring together researchers in all areas of computer science that are traditionally distinct but relevant to embedded software devel- ment, and to incubate a research community in this way.
InhaltsverzeichnisHeterogeneous Modeling Support for Embedded Systems Design.- Hierarchical Hybrid Modeling of Embedded Systems.- Some Synchronization Issues When Designing Embedded Systems from Components.- Synchronous Programming Techniques for Embedded Systems: Present and Future.- From Requirements to Validated Embedded Systems.- Usage Scenarios for an Automated Model Compiler.- Embedded Control: From Asynchrony to Synchrony and Back.- Verification of Embedded Software: Problems and Perspectives.- A Network-Centric Approach to Embedded Software for Tiny Devices.- Storage Allocation for Real-Time, Embedded Systems.- Interface Theories for Component-Based Design.- Giotto: A Time-Triggered Language for Embedded Programming.- Directions in Functional Programming for Real(-Time) Applications.- Rate-Based Resource Allocation Models for Embedded Systems.- The Temporal Specification of Interfaces in Distributed Real-Time Systems.- System-Level Types for Component-Based Design.- Embedded Software Implementation Tools for Fully Programmable Application Specific Systems.- Compiler Optimizations for Adaptive EPIC Processors.- Embedded Software Market Transformation through Reusable Frameworks.- An End-to-End Methodology for Building Embedded Systems.- An Implementation of Scoped Memory for Real-Time Java.- Bus Architectures for Safety-Critical Embedded Systems.- Using Multiple Levels of Abstractions in Embedded Software Design.- Hierarchical Approach for Design of Multi-vehicle Multi-modal Embedded Software.- Adaptive and Reflective Middleware for Distributed Real-Time and Embedded Systems.- Modeling Real-Time Systems - Challenges and Work Directions.- VEST - A Toolset for Constructing and Analyzing Component Based Embedded Systems.- Embedded Software: Challenges and Opportunities.- Embedded Software in Network Processors - Models and Algorithms.- Design of Autonomous, Distributed Systems.- Formalizing Software Architectures for Embedded Systems.- Reliable and Precise WCET Determination for a Real-Life Processor.- Embedded Systems and Real-Time Programming.- Embedded Software for Video.
Untertitel: First International Workshop, EMSOFT 2001, Tahoe City, CA, USA, October 8-10, 2001. Proceedings. 2001. Auflage. Book. Sprache: Englisch.
Verlag: Springer
Erscheinungsdatum: September 2001
Seitenanzahl: 488 Seiten
Format: kartoniert


text: Maxon Cinema 4D R17.048 SP2 HYBRID Win/Mac ISO | 7.4 GBCinema 4D R17 makes the easiest-to-use professional 3D software more efficient than ever before. New tools as well as expanded and completely reworked features help you turn your ideas into reality even quicker and with less effort. The improved workflow helps you meet the tightest deadlines. Weve even gone so far as to re-invent the line! Work Fast, Play More Smooth workflows bring creativity to life. Thats why workflow is front and center in Cinema 4D Release 17. Onboard spline tools with real-time feedback Release 17 comes with a complete splines toolkit - no need to switch to an external tool. Easily create and modify splines with Cinema 4Ds new Pen tool, sketching, smoothing, arc tool, and boolean commands. Intuitive and efficient organic modeling Dozens of new features and improvements in Cinema 4D Release 17 make sculpting a true delight. Use Sculpt to PoseMorph, for example, to speed up character animation. Easily sculpt hard-surface models with Edge Detection. Release 17 makes sculpting in Cinema 4D easier than ever. Better variability and usability with the new Variation and Formula Shaders Release 17 offers new and expanded shaders to increase usability and performance. With the new Material Override function you can easily override specific channels of selected materials to create clay or matte renders. Greatly improved Motion Tracking features Integrating 3D assets into video just got easier. The Motion Tracking feature in Cinema 4D has been enhanced by adding the ability to correct lens distortion and by adding an intuitive tool for quickly eliminating problem track points. and more... System Requirements: Windows: - Windows 8.1 64-bit (all versions) - Windows 8 64-bit (all versions) - Windows 7 64-bit (all versions) - Windows 2012 Server 64-bit OS X: - Apple Mac OS X 10.8.5~(and higher) Home Page - Code: http://www.maxon.net/products/new-in-cinema-4d-r17/overview.html Link Download: Code: Download Via Nitroflare http://www.nitroflare.com/view/7AF77363DF9FF86/MaxonCinema4DR17SP2.part01.rar http://www.nitroflare.com/view/C409D1C4BAF5861/MaxonCinema4DR17SP2.part02.rar http://www.nitroflare.com/view/3936EC91B8BED62/MaxonCinema4DR17SP2.part03.rar http://www.nitroflare.com/view/A767D96469EA998/MaxonCinema4DR17SP2.part04.rar http://www.nitroflare.com/view/B304D95FCCE725B/MaxonCinema4DR17SP2.part05.rar http://www.nitroflare.com/view/2855F85742801E5/MaxonCinema4DR17SP2.part06.rar http://www.nitroflare.com/view/33BD9A12DE1ADD4/MaxonCinema4DR17SP2.part07.rar http://www.nitroflare.com/view/23B83DCC18DB49B/MaxonCinema4DR17SP2.part08.rar Download Via xxxxxxxx http://xxxxxxxx/folder/rjgfxn Download Via xxxxxxxx http://xxxxxxxx.net/folder/2821588/Cinema4DR16Mac.html


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Tuesday, April 22, 2014 |
The Writers' Trust of Canada has announced the creation of a new $25,000 annual award for poetry.
The Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize, sponsored by the Latner Family Foundation and administered by the Writers' Trust, will recognize a mid-career Canadian poet's "exceptional body of work" and "hope of future contributions to Canadian poetry," according to a press release issued on Tuesday.
The prize defines mid-career as having published at least three collections of poetry that "demonstrate outstanding mastery in the art of poetry."
The inaugural prize will be presented in November at the annual Writers' Trust Awards, and will be decided by a three-member jury that includes poet and creative writing educator Stephanie Bolster, Governor General's Award-winning poet Lorna Crozier, and Fred Wah, formerly Canada's Parliamentary Poet Laureate.
The Writers' Trust also administers several other annual literary awards, including the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, the Writers' Trust/McClelland and Stewart Journey Prize for short stories, and the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.
Poetry on CBC Books


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Discussion in 'Bug Reports' started by Donato, Sep 12, 2016.
is hack Torokon99 fly
Report players here https://www.cubecraft.net/forums/
Also you need video evidence to report a hacker I would reccomend setting up Obs or getting the free version of bandicam for reporting hackers.
@Reddog37 @hackerdontwin pls lock
Please no report here
This is the wrong section to report players. If you want to report somebody please do it here: https://www.cubecraft.net/forums/report-a-player.24/ Next time you may use these guidelines to help you in your next report. That can be found here: https://www.cubecraft.net/threads/player-reporting-guidelines-and-formating.136047/
When you are recording somebody hacking, you must use Video evidence of the player breaking the rules. Screenshots are not valid evidence to someone that's hacking.
Some recording softwares you may use are stated below:
After you record, you may upload your video evidence to a video hosting website. (eg: YouTube)
I'm sorry to say but this player will not be banned. You would need video evidence in order for him/her to get banned.
~ Locked.


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I am quite busy at the moment...
I started collecting my Lightroom presets and categorized them. So expect some of them as a pack in the future. I became aware that I use them quite often before I proceed adding textures in Photoshop. One can easily set a mood & tone and there is still the opportunity to play around with the settings to accommodate the image it was used upon.
This was the case with my image FLUX.
Here is a sequence of the main stages
The original picture was shot around noon on a stormy day in the south of the island La Palma /Canary Islands. This rocky beach belongs to the volcanic part of the island, there is barley a plant only black lava stones and ash. The first picture is out of the cam, before I applied a Lightroom preset. These kind of landscapes or seascapes are ideal for my kind of surreal treatment. The hardest thing sometimes is to find the right tones for the mood I want to express. A lot of this is experimenting until I have the feeling " Yes, that is something I can build upon".
The cloudless blue sky was in need for one of my cloud textures. I chose JUNO from the Build-your-own-texture-pack but wasn't satisfied when I added it. I felt the need to further abstraction. I added a motion blur and did the same to the water. I took quite some time to select the water, but finally the result was quite satisfying.
There still was something missing - I decided to add a seagull heading for the rock.
Have a look at the layers:
From bottom to top:
I used the picture processed in LR and selected the water Most of the time I use Photoshop's Quick Selection tool and later do some fine tuning. As you can see I also used a layer mask and smart filters to have more control on the blur.
Added the bird and gave it a little motion blur
Added a bit light/haze on the water close to the horizon, thought that the clouds would reflect like that.
Added part of the sky texture and merged it with the background a bit by making it shine through (see layer mask)
Finally added some textures from the Vintage-Film-Photography-Pack
The first curves layer enhanced light and contrast.
The 2nd curves layer was for a correction of tones. I reduced the yellow and added a bit blue in the blue channel.
Further contrast enhancement with the help of the Levels tool.
Again, thanks for reading and have a nice weekend!


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From Lola's Catster Photos[ View profile page ]
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Very nice!
Your cat loves a clean toilet -- don't we all? Catster's singing Cat Lady, Sarah Donner, explains why.24
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April 10th 2014 at 11:04 pm
Copyright © I-5 Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.


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Featured Author
Elaine Marie Cooper
Award winning novelist, ELAINE MARIE COOPER is the author of the Deer Run Saga (The Road to Deer Run, The Promise of Deer Run and The Legacy of Deer Run.) and Bethany's Calendar among others. Her passions are her family, her faith in Christ and the history of the American Revolution, a frequent subject of her historical fiction. She grew up in Massachusetts, the setting for many of her novels.


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Some things in life, you put off and put off. The source of the procrastination may be tedium (all those red utility bills yellowing on the doormat), or fear about a medical problem such as tinnitus, which is probably no more than a whooshy noise in the ear, but might prove a symptom of a benign tumour (acoustic neuroma) if you took it to the doctor.
Which of those analogies best represents Ukip in the mind of the Prime Minister, I have no idea. Nigel Farage may strike David Cameron as something to be paid off to avoid being disconnected from Downing St at the next election, or as an ailment that needs investigating to establish whether it poses a real threat. If, on the other hand, he would rather continue ignoring Mr Farage and his gaggle of blazered patriots, one understands the temptation.
For me, ignoring Mr Farage during all the years in which he has buzzed away more as irritant than searing pain has been the only course, though not because he appears to be particularly unpleasant. Far from it, if you fancied buying an MG from a Mayfair showroom in 1959, he would be the ideal salesman. He'd take you into the office, schmooze you over a G&T (ice and slice), proffer the cigarette case, shoot a cuff, tell a risqué joke ("A Scotsman, a Jew and a Belgian Eurocrat..."), and knock off thirty quid because you seem a decent sort of cove.
In so far as I have ever considered Mr Farage – a name he pronounces to (almost) rhyme with mirage, not marriage; there's a hint of the golf-club Hyacinth Bucket, despite the public school/commodities broker background – it is as an affable hybrid of spiv and snug bar know-all. A cross between a less engaging Terry-Thomas and a less repulsive Peter Alliss, he strikes me as a fine fellow for a brief chat about birds, jazz and mashie niblicks at the 19th, though not necessarily someone you'd care to find in the next seat on a Boeing 777 to Melbourne.
Stuck with Mr Farage for the long haul, however, is what we seem to be. With Ukip up to 14 per cent in one poll, and apparently heading north, this comic figure must be taken seriously. According to another amusing politician, the insanely bewigged Conservative vice-chairman Michael Fabricant, Ukip's dilution of the core vote will cost the Tories 25 to 40 seats unless an electoral deal is cut. Both Messrs Farage and Cameron, who once described Ukip as closet racists, dismiss that idea at least for now. If the Mexican stand-off persists, Mr Farage may propel comparatively Eurotolerant Labour to power, and do for Ed Miliband in 2015 what a left-wing environmentalist did for George W Bush in 2000. Mr Farage could yet be our very own Ralph Nader.
If that is to be his sentence under the law of unintended consequences, he has the resilience and immunity from embarrassment to bear it lightly. Others whose light aircraft crashed on general election day because the Ukip banner got entangled in the tail fin would have taken this for an omen. This remarkable MEP doughtily went on to reclaim the leadership of his party, with the self-belief with which he famously told the EU President, Herman Van Rompuy, that he had "all the charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of a low-grade bank clerk".
Deal breaker
The attraction of such blunt speaking of perceived truth to power in hated Brussels has enabled him to ride out scandals that might have sunk others. A Latvian woman called Liga claimed once to have made love with him seven times, with ice cubes involved, after they met in a Biggin Hill pub. He laughed it off, insisting that while he passed a night under the same roof with Liga from Riga, he merely slept. Ukip if you want to, as he might have put it, the laddie's only for kipping.
With a cocktail of self-deprecation, bonhomie, tenacity and better political smarts than mainstream thinking has credited him (he has been typically cute in taking advantage of blue-rinse antipathy to gay marriage), he has fashioned himself into a mainstream player. By dint of a rigid consistency born of principles which, whether one likes them or not, are obviously genuine, he has come to speak for a sizeable minority of Thatcherite Tories (and, to a lesser extent, traditional Labour voters) with as clear and authentic a voice as his hero Enoch Powell.
All of this leaves the PM three options. He can offer a deal whereby Ukip withdraws parliamentary candidates from marginals in return for a post-election, straight in-or-out EU referendum in which Mr Cameron would have to fight for "in", knowing that his defeat and immediate resignation would be odds on. He can seek to nullify Ukip by moving the Tories so far to the right – on immigration, welfare and taxation as well as Europe – that he cedes every inch of the centre ground to Ed Miliband and virtually ensures a Labour victory. Or, hoping to God that it's idiopathic background noise and not a tumour, he can go on trying to live with that infuriating buzz as best he can. Which is the least hideous option is hard to call, but a hunch says he can forget the last. The time for ignoring Nigel Farage has passed.Reuse content


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This is somewhat similar to one I posted here years ago, but, I suspect, is much harder. Be warned.
A hat (upside down, of course) contains a black jelly beans and b orange jelly beans. You reach in and randomly remove a jelly bean. If it is black, you return it to the hat with a probability of p, otherwise you eat it. If it is orange, you return it to the hat with a probability of q, otherwise you eat it. What is the probability that the last jelly bean in the hat will be black?/orange?
Note that p and q are independent of each other, and cannot be one.
Good luck.
"I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defense the only arms I allow myself to use -- silence, exile, and cunning." -- James Joyce
Hard Jelly Bean Problem
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City Auto Celebrates 25 Years by Adding 200 More Vehicles
This year we're marking 25 years in business with an expansion that will allow us to offer more inventory and better service to our customers! Read about our 25th anniversary celebration, recognition in Auto Dealer Monthly and record sales.
In addition to the dealership's expansion, City Auto is running a series of sales promotions and sweepstakes to celebrate its quarter-century in Memphis. In June, the dealership awarded a 42" flat-screen Samsung TV and DVD collection to the lucky winner of their 25th Anniversary Facebook promotion. Additional giveaways, special sales and promotions are planned throughout the year.
City Auto's anniversary coincides with the announcement of Auto Dealer Monthly's 2011 Independent Retailer Awards. With 6,430 vehicles sold, the dealership was only 228 units short of the top spot on the list of largest independent pre-owned auto dealerships in the U.S. City Auto has been in the top three since the inception of the Independent Retailer Awards in 2006, and owner David Andrews was named the Independent Dealer of the Year in 2007, 2008 and 2009. 2010 marked City Auto's largest sales total to date. By comparison, average sales among the top 50 Independent Retailers this year were 1,787.
Since 1986, City Auto has experienced consistent growth and high levels of customer satisfaction. Stan Norton, General Manager, credits their unique business model as a key to their success. "Unlike a typical used car dealership, City Auto is a cooperative group of independent auto dealers, each responsible for the sale of his own vehicles. Because there's no middleman, customers enjoy a direct, zero-pressure shopping experience."
City Auto is located at 4932 Elmore Road in Memphis. The majority of their inventory can be viewed online at CityAuto.com.
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STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Press Junket Recap
Disclosure: Disney sponsored my travel, accommodations and activities during my stay in Los Angeles.
If you caught my announcement this past Saturday, you may know by now that I just returned home from a top secret STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS press junket. Or you just stumbled here with a big, "You did what?" Either way, welcome star traveler.
I've been to press junkets in the past, but this one was very different. Security was the highest priority (I even went through a metal detector) and legit credentials were a must. Once I did made it in, it was like attending a mini Star Wars conference.
As you know, Star Wars all about the merchandise and there was plenty of it at this event.
There were also fun gadgets and technology available, like the new Google Cardboard and Disney Infinity characters (not sure why I didn't capture of the characters, my apologies).
The new Star Wars ice cream flavors were available to sample, too.
photo credit: AllMommyWants.com
By the way, my favorite flavor is The Light Side. I guess I'm a good guy after all.
One of my favorite elements of the junket was the fun photo opps available, like posing with R2-D2, C-3PO and BB-8.
As you probably know, the plot of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS has been tight-lipped, so there is very little to go on as far as what will actually happen in the movie. I was hoping for a few clues through the costumes on display. I'm not sure that I know more about the new story, but I at least know that the costumes are ON POINT and frankly, badass.
There was also displays of amazing Star Wars art, as well as fan art and sculptures.
Of course, the interviews with the cast of Star Wars was the icing on the cake. My group was fortunate to have a smaller, more intimate set-up to conduct these interviews. I'll be sharing the interviews in the coming days, including the one and only Harrison Ford that will be published tomorrow. 🙂
Check back for more STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS updates in the coming days and weeks. If you haven't checked out the trailer, watch it below.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS arrives in theaters everywhere on December 18th!
Season of the Force
At the end of the press event, our group was treated to a quick trip to Disneyland to experience a taste of Season of the Force! Season of the Force is a celebration of all things Star Wars, and the exciting experiences at Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida are entertaining fans of the movie saga and guests who are looking forward to future Star Wars-themed lands.
Disclosure: Disney sponsored my travel, accommodations and activities during my stay in Los Angeles.


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Memory and Men
I hate typing on this big laptop because the H, Y and U often don't work; I should have done something about it at the time, I know but here I am stuck with it now so that I have to make sure I bang the letters down or check back. Lazy, yeah that's me all over; there are a lot of things I should've done at the time and if I'd done them I wouldn't be here in the life I'm in but then I can't negate the presence of my children and if it wasn't for them I might be saner than I am although I like being a bit different...and think that even they like that about their mother.
It's Father's Day and on Facebook some of my ex-in-laws are regaling their dead father as if the sun shone out of him – it definitely didn't and they mostly hated him at the time. That re-writing of history really gets up my hump, as do these made-up days. I mean, Father's Day wasn't around when my children were young (nor was their father for that matter) it was only invented after that mad mob Fathers For Justice reared their heads dressed in super-hero costumes on a bridge.
It was my sister-in-law who set me off, I mean that uneducated slavish pouring of late and undeserved love made me sick, so much that I wanted to slap her, to yell and remind her that her life hadn't been a bed of roses because of her parents – hell she didn't even have the comfort of thorns. They were half-starved so he could have enough money for alcohol!
Ramble over; let the fathers of the world live in peace…but you know what really gets my goat? It's this thing where men don't listen to women and treat them as nothing – I mean, you wouldn't do that to your best friend, ignore them I mean. Would you? They wouldn't stay your best friend for one thing. Yet, husbands laugh at how their wives moan and groan about how little they do in the house – these men turn the women they're supposed to love into naggers, they change the dynamics of the relationship then make jokes about it, about their best friends. Yes, that's been on my mind this week too. Thank God I live alone; there's less chance I'll be had up for murder.
Thanks for this space that was fun!