text: So, you're going to Granada? http://internationalstudies.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/Spain-Granada_004.pdf At the University of Granada, there are two levels: Curso de Lengua y Cultura Españolas, which is the Intermediate level and Curso de Estudios Hispánicos, which is the advanced level Into which level will you place? This is difficult to know for sure. If you have already completed several ISU Spanish classes at the 200-level, it is more likely that you will place into the Curso de Estudios Hispánicos. If you have only taken 116.15 or 213.15 at ISU, it is likely that you will place into the Curso de Lengua y Cultura Españolas, but you won't know for certain until you take the placement test upon your arrival. What if I plan to be in the Curso de Estudios Hispánicos and end up in the Curso de Lengua y Cultura españolas? This is why you must have a back-up plan. You must write down what you would take should you place into either level. You must also have backup elective courses. Some students are unable to get into the elective course(s) that they had planned for. Write a list of these backup courses for each level. Do you know which Spanish classes you have left to complete your major or minor? Look at the handout that I have given to you w/your specific details on it. Look on your Progress Toward My Degree under your major or minor plan and make a list of courses that you still need to take. Use this list to help you choose classes to take in Granada. You can also use this list as you register for the semester following your study in Granada. Look at your General Education courses. How many do you have left to take? Make a list of the ones you have yet to complete. Look to see if you can get credit for any of these in Granada. You can also refer to this list while as you register for the semester following your study in Granada. Keep in mind that when you register for Spring 12 while in Granada, you may need a "Prerequisite Override" because the computer does not recognize what you are taking abroad. Registration for any class requiring the prereq. of 213, 215, 233 or 243 will require this override. Contact me for this. Filling out the Course Placement Sheet: DO's and DON'T's Fill out all of your personal information at the top Fill out the course title and the ISU equivalent number under Host Institution Course #/Title Write which requirement will be met (major/minor, Gen Ed or Elective) under Requirement Fulfilled Write 3 credits next to each course name in the Credits column Do not write anything else. Credits earned here Fill out course title and course number here: Write which requirement is fulfilled: major/minor/ Gen Ed or elective credit All personal info goes here: Major/minor advisor must sign here: Which classes do you HAVE to take? Intermediate level/Curso de Lengua y Cultura Españolas: •Nociones de Gramática Española (213.15) AND •Producción oral y escrita (223.15) Advanced level/Curso de Estudios Hispánicos: •Producción oral y escrita (223.15) •but NOT the grammar class You will earn elective (287.15) or repeat credit if you have already taken a course but must take it again in Granada. How should I fill out my form? Nociones de Gramatica 213.15 or 287.15 Produccion Oral y Escrita 223.15 or 287.15 Curso Intensivo 214.15 or 287.15 Literatura 233.15 Cultura Espanola 243.15 Historia de Espania 243.15 or 305.15 Other electives (see next slide) write down AS MANY electives as you can. Which classes do you NEED? Curso de Lengua y Cultura Españolas Choices: Literatura Española (hasta XIX) OC-H 233.15 Literatura Española (S. XIX-XX) OC-H 233.15 Historia de España 243.15 or 305.15 Civilización y cultura españolas 243.15 Curso Intensivo 214.15 or 287.15 Electives: Variedades de Español 360.15 Intro al español de los negocios 240.15 Geografía de España 305.15 Historia del Arte en España OC-FA 305.15 Cultura islámica en España OC-SS 305.15 Civilización y cultura hispanoamericanas 244.15 Sistema político en España y en la Unión Europea 305.15 Economía Española y Latinoamericana 305.15 Curso de Estudios Hispánicos Choices: Literatura Española (siglo XIX) OC-H 233.15 Literatura hispanoamericanan (hasta XIX) " " Introducción a la lingüística 215.15 Civilización y cultura españolas 243.15 Curso Intensivo 214.15 or 287.15 Electives: Variedades de Español 360.15 Intro al español de los negocios 240.15 Geografía de España 305.15 Historia del Arte en España OC-FA 305.15 Cultura islámica en España OC-SS 305.15 Civilización y cultura hispanoamericanas 244.15 Sistema político en España y en la Unión Europea 305.15 Economía Española y Latinoamericana 305.15 You may take more than one 305.15 class You may take more than one 305.15 class Other elective choices from the Curso de Estudios Hispánicos Politica y gobierno en España 305.15 Actualidad económica de España 305.15 Actualidad sociopolítica en España 305.15 Flamenco y músicas tradicionales 305.15 Historia de la música española 305.15 Traducción ingles-español 287.15/300.15 (level) Didáctica del español como lengua estranjera 287.15 Didáctica del ingles para hispanohablantes 287.15 Historia de España (1. Edad Moderna) (2. del S. XIX a la Guerra Civil) (3. desde Franco hasta la actualidad) 305.15 Arte Español (1. de la Antigüedad al Renacimiento) (2. del Barroco a la Actualidad) 305.15 Historia del Cine Español (FALL ONLY) 305.15 Estudio comparativo de la literatura y de las artes visuales (SPRING ONLY) 336.15 How can you earn General Education credit in Granada ? There are several courses that meet Gen Ed credit, including these below and others. OC-SS: Cultura islámica en España OC-FA: Historia del Arte en Esp., Historia de la música Esp. OC-H: Literature classes You can also earn global studies graduation credit by taking Civilización y cultura hispanoamericanas and Islamic Culture in Spain. http://internationalstudies.illinoisstate.edu/study_abroad_nse/study_abroad/students/docum ents/Granada_Articulation_Course_List.pdf When in Granada, for quick reference go to: http://internationalstudies.illinoisstate.edu/study_abroad_nse/study_ab road/students/documents/Granada_Articulation_Course_List.pdf What will I earn credit for in Granada? Everything that you take! What you see on these pages and on the link to Int'l Studies is exactly what you will get credit for. All classes transfer back as 3 credits each Your grades in Granada count at ISU! You do not need to email me to ask if the classes you take in Granada will give you credit. They do. If you wonder if classes will meet major/minor requirements, refer to the Academic Planning form that you take w/you to Granada and Progress Toward My Degree on iCampus. Plan for your Spring 2011 courses What will you have left to take in Spanish when you return to ISU? Write this on the back of your form. Open a Word document, transfer this info. and save it to your email account for future reference. While in Granada, if you have questions, be sure to have referred to all resources (ISU course articulation link, your iCampus, as well as your advisement sheet) when emailing me. I want to see that you know these things. International Studies minor Several courses that you might take at ISU and abroad can be applied to an International Studies minor. The program's features include a background in foreign language, a focus on issues related to internationalization or globalization of society, a focus on a geographic area of the world, and participation in a formal study abroad experience. Academic advisement is essential to this highly individualized program in order for students to construct programs that will fit their individual needs. Requirements for Int'l Studies minor — 24 hours required, including LAN 115 or equivalent; 6-12 hours in Category A; 9-15 hours in Category B; and participation in a study abroad or alternative international experience. CATEGORY A—International Issues: — 6-12 hours required. Courses in the student's first major may not count toward category A requirements. A maximum of 2 courses from any 1 department or school maybe taken. Choose from the following: AGR 201; ANT 175, 185; ART 275; CJS 369; COM 355, 369, 372; ECO 210, 245, 345; ENG 206, 255, 261; GEO 135; HIS 104, 230, 270; IDS 203; INB 190; LAN 206; POL 140, 150, 151, 251, 252, 254, 255, 344, 351, 358, 363; SOC 108, 366; THE 271, 275.01, 275.02; WGS 120, or other courses approved by the International Studies Advisor. CATEGORY B—Area Studies: — 9-15 hours required. Only courses taken in 1 area listed below may be counted toward the minor. Many Illinois State University Study Abroad program courses count. Category B-Int'l Studies minor cont. — Latin America: HIS 263; LAN(SPA) 116, 244, 305; POL 140, 240, 340. — Europe: ART 372, 379; GEO 240; HIS 102, 229, 234, 237, 366; LAN 116 (FR, GER, ITN, SPA), 217 (GER), 218 (GER), 243 (SPA), 305 (FR), 305 (SPA); POL 141, 242, 341. — Africa: GEO 250, HIS 266; LAN 325; POL 140, 246. — South and Southwest Asia (Middle East, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka): GEO 255; HIS 272, 378; PHI 207, 208; POL 140, 245, 247, 349. — East Asia: GEO 255; HIS 373, 375; LAN 116 (JPN), PHI 208; POL 140, 245, 345. Who to contact if you want to add this minor: International Studies 308 Fell Hall, Campus Box 6120 (309) 438-5365 Advisor: Allison Anson 369 Fell Hall (309) 438-7604; firstname.lastname@example.com MINOR IN LATIN AMERICAN, CARIBBEAN, AND LATINO/A STUDIES Director: Dr. Maura Toro-Morn, Department of Sociology and Anthropology 361 Schroeder Hall, Campus Box 4660 (309) 438-8290; firstname.lastname@example.com Advisor: Janet Claus Academic Advisement 340 Fell Hall, Campus Box 4060 (309) 438-7604 24 hours required A plan of study approved by the advisor including courses from at least three of the following groups. Group A - Department of Curriculum and Instruction (Bilingual Education): C&I 319, 320, 321, 322. Group B - Department of Languages, Literatures,and Cultures: LAN (Spanish) 115, 116, 233, 240, 244, 325, 336. Group C - Department of Geography and Geology: GEO 235.02. Group D - Department of History: HIS 104.03, 263, 282, 283. Group E - Department of Politics and Government: POL 240, 336, 340. Group F - Department of Sociology and Anthropology: SOC 109. NOTE: Other courses with appropriate content may be approved by the advisor, particularly LAN (Spanish) 305, 360; HIS 306; and IDS 203.15 when topic is Latin America. Have you contacted Dr. Shively? Everyone must have an interview with Dr. Shively as part of the application process. Please sign up on the appointment form on Dr. Shively's door. Meetings are March 3-4 in (STV 218) Questions? Email firstname.lastname@example.com You MUST make a copy of this form Give a copy to your parents Take a copy to the Registrar's Office in Moulton. Take a copy with you to Granada (Don't email me from Granada asking me how your courses will transfer back to ISU – you should have this form to help you with that.)


text:
A high speed diarrhea event, which upon hitting the water, splashes all over your buttockal area, much like the graffiti that is splashed throughout the subway.
If Bob had not decided against adding crackers to his jabenero chili, he may have avoided the Subway Splash.
by TheSein September 13, 2011
The vengeful act of crapping on a lover's chest while they sleep.Buy the plush

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Job Summary
The West Ann Arbor Health Center – Parkland Plaza is the newest Ambulatory Care facility dedicated to providing high quality health care services for adults and children. The brand new 2-story facility is located 380 Parkland Plaza in Ann Arbor. We are actively seeking compassionate, enthusiastic, and patient-oriented individuals who will share in the goal of creating the ideal experience for our patients, families and employees.
To be considered for this position, a cover letter is required and should be attached as the first page with your resume. The cover letter should address each of the following points:
Describe your background and qualifications and why you believe you would be a good fit for this position at the West Ann Arbor Health Center – Parkland Plaza.
Outline your service excellence skills and experiences which would be applicable to this position.
In your most recent position, how was service excellence emphasized?
Describe a situation in which a customer or colleague was upset and the steps you took to resolve the issue to a reasonable conclusion.
Serve as an essential member of the West Ann Arbor Health Center – Parkland Plaza Leadership Team. Selected individual will be responsible for coordinating medical assistant schedules, managing requests for time off, and ensuring adequate coverage within the Adult Primary and Specialty Clinic. Manage complex procedure room schedules, MiChart admin inbasket, provide faculty administrative support, train staff, and promote practices for patient centered excellence. Ensure that patients with urgent needs are scheduled appropriately, and monitor patient access, patient flow, and patient wait times to optimize patient care experiences. Serve as a point of contact for complicated issues and patient concerns. Manage faculty schedules, including adjusting existing templates, adding new days and closing days. Monitor faculty time away calendars. Collaborate closely with faculty, allied health, and administrative staff.
Selected candidate will work as a functional supervisor and will lead daily huddles, and embrace and incorporate "lean in daily work" concepts.
Required Qualifications*
Individual must exhibit strong leadership skills, possess a professional and positive image when interacting with patients, faculty and staff. They must also adhere to a high standard of personal and professional conduct; possess excellent customer service, interpersonal, and communication skills; and demonstrated ability to interact with a diverse population and effectively manage and lead staff.
Candidates must be able to work effectively with a multidisciplinary team, handling multiple responsibilities in a fast-paced environment. In addition, candidate must demonstrate flexible and creative problem solving skills, proficient computer and keyboarding skills, and excellent attendance.
Desired Qualifications*
- Previous supervisory experience.
- Medical Assistant Certification
- BA or BS degree with experience in health care setting.
Work Schedule
Monday- Friday with potential future expansion to include rotating Saturdays and evenings.
Work Locations
As part of the orientation training process, training will be held at multiple locations for the first few months of the position.
Background Screening
Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings. Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act.
Mission Statement
Michigan Medicine improves the health of patients, populations and communities through excellence in education, patient care, community service, research and technology development, and through leadership activities in Michigan, nationally and internationally. Our mission is guided by our Strategic Principles and has three critical components; patient care, education and research that together enhance our contribution to society.
Application Deadline
Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.
U-M EEO/AA Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.


text:
A card I made for the holidays/Christmas. Two children having fun sledding through the fresh snow during their holiday break. =)
snow holidays christmas white children child boy girl fun game sledding sled sledge ink
Love it!
What sweet christmas cards!
This is so gorgeous!
Gorgeous christmas card:)
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New Braunfels Herald Zeitung Newspaper Archives
December 06, 1991
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New Braunfels Herald Zeitung (Newspaper) - December 6, 1991, New Braunfels, Texas Working on the line (Jihei action* taken by tile court included the I olio wain; • Cotiuiussionci* amiced ta the woik-drop to slop um; of lite courthouse s (Miking garage ann foe a trull 30-day period after Jan. I. lf the trial goo well, the court may decide later to allow free parking in the garage. turn ml aa mmmm wk ' fmf4 I Cheer Fund drive mounts The New Zauurg's Mraar,_ Th* got! of ate fti*iinfai« Herald* JZ. IT .. , — Chaw Fund drive now S3 (MI 19 '*wW Best wishes The New Braunfels Herald Zeitung sends birthday wishes today to David Randolph Klcinjan, Edith Beetler, Dwayne Kocpp, Albert Spaulding, David Mendoza, Gregory Klar, Audnanna Urias and Erwin Henke. Sa# ST AM MUSCH, Pag# 2A It will be sunny arid cool unlay with a high temperature around 65 degrees. Tonight's low will dip down ut about 35 degrees. For more weather information see (luge 2A. Inside: CLASSIFIED.......... ..............3 SB COMICS............... ............. 2B CROSSWORD....... .................3A DEAR ABBY......... ENTERTAINMENT. OPINIONS.............. ...............4 A RECORDS.............. RELIGION FOCUS SPORTS TV LISTINGS jflL 25 Cents Vol. 140, No. 12 Citizens air concerns of being slighted By LARRY ROWE Staff Wrltar Citizens of District I pleaded for neighborhood improvements at a town meeting Thursday, many expressing a frustrated belief that they are neglected as the "poor side of town." "We're not asking in our district for a covered swimming pool like some other districts are," said resident Kookie Bar boza. "All we're asking for is the basic things.'' The meeting, held at the Holy Family Church on S. Hidalgo St., was one of four scheduled this month so that city officials can gather ideas from citizens on capital improvements. The officials will then prioritize the suggestions for a possible bond election. Many of the citizens asked for better police patrol, lighting, drainage and streets. And much of the dialogue was characterized by frustration, some residents arguing that their requests have been overlooked. Stella Rodriguez of West Katy Street said some of the district's residents feel the city docs not respond to their problems, and the feelings of neglect are picked up by their children. "At this age, they already feel that nobody cares what happens to them "At this age, they already feel that nobody cares what happens to them just because they live on the poor side of town." — Stella Rodriguez. just because they live on the poor side of town." But Mayor Pro Tem Ramon Chapa Jr., who presided over the meeting as the district's council representative, said the city has made significant strides to improve the arca in the past five years. "We made a lot of progress but we're not done yet," he said. Several residents of Walnut Avenue also showed up to oppose the idea of widening that road. Albert MacNaul of Stonewall Street suggested the city turn Walnut and the next road parallel to it into one-way streets to cut traffic congestion. One immediate outcome of the meeting was that a second neighborhood meeting will be scheduled next week lo discuss lighting and to form a crime watch group. New telephone prefix added in New Braunfels By ROBERT STEWART Staff Wrltar There is a new telephone dumber prefix in New Braunfels, said Doyle Rebec, Southwestern Bell arca manager for community relations. "It is already up in service," Bcbec said. "The new code will handle theoretically about 9,900 new telephone numbers, but you take off about one third of those for test numbers and that sort of thing." The prefix, 608, becomes the fourth prefix for New Braunfels in addition to 620.625 and 629. Southwestern Bell added the exchange because growth in the area has exhausted the supply of numbers in the existing prefixes, Bcbec said. And because of growth, in November 1992 Southwestern Bell will enact the new (210) arca code for die South Texas area that include New Braunfels and Canyon lake. Stammtisch Library filing cards away for computers By LARRY ROWE Staff Wrltar Patrons of the Dittlingcr Memorial Library soon will be punching a keyboard instead of flipping through hundreds of catalog cards to find a book "We feel that it is the computer .age, and this is a much more efficient way for the public to tiave access to what is available," said Dona Bruns, president of the library's advisory board. "I think dun libraries are chang ing," said Vicky Hocker, Dittlin-ger'i Ida ary director. "I think dun people are becunung more and more dependent on libraries lo pro vide them with information about any number of dungs." . And ai libraries across die country enter the computer age lo meet this demand, Ditdmger expects to j join them by this lime next year, she said Patrons who haven't yet I befriended computer technology have nothing to tear because die system will be simple aud stall will be on hand to help, she said Hut many of the kids who use die library for school projects are already well into die computer age. "I do know how to use die computer and yes, I dunk dial might be a lot easter," said Rebecca Stock lair st, 9. "I'm leat lung to use die computer at my daddy's workshop," added sister Elizabeth Stockiest, 8. "Ii would be easier because durn you'll find out wlial books are in aud you won't bump your heads" when other* crowd around the catalog, said Yvette Villanueva, ll. Hie library tuts scut out proposals to seven computer vendors, and expects to clumse mc rn March 1992, Hocker said "It would be easier because then you'll find out what books are in and you won't bump your heads." — Yvette Villanueva ____ pm is that we will have our card catalog on a computer and our patrons will be able to retrieve more mioritiauon about our oolite non." Hocker said the project actually stalled two years ago. the San Antonio Area Libiary System, which includes DnUinger, gave each of Us member* equipment and databases so they could begirt conveiung their catalogs to computer disk "Many of the larger libraries in the suue have been on tins for quite a while," Bruns said. "San Antonio is automated and most of the tai get cities, ll will increase stall productivity and facilitate the sharing of library resources throughout the community." Hocker said she did not want lo speculate yet on the cost of the system, but the money for it will come from the library'! uust and agency account, which does not include city funds. She said the automation will also mean that staff will be more available to serve the patrons. "Such a system would perform many of the clerical tasks that our sud! now does manually — a lot of the soiling, filing, alphabeting and counting," she said. Hocker added that some patrons may feel intimidated by the computers ai lust, "but I think once they discover how much easier ii is to use than the card catalog, and how much more information they csii locale about the collet uon, they'll switch." PT Rubato* Stockhorst, 9, at loft, and bar stator Elizabeth, 8, say thoy look forward to using a computer terminal to find library books instead of thumbing through Ute old card catalog (Photo by Larry Rowe) Hie ctiuscn system will include eight on-line computer catalogs for book scaldic*, as well as a computerized circulation system. "Our books will have barcode* on them and the patrons' library cards will have barcode* on them too," Hocker said. "The strongest Friday— December 6, 1991 Two Sections, 18 Pages 19 shopping days to Christmas Stray cats scratching at coffers Serving NEW BRAUNFELS and COMAL COUN. .0 c O'^V ■< ^ el ■ ,"e Millett ?K=> - Good Day POES SANTA ' HONOR US WITH HIS PRESENTS OR HIS PRESENCE ? By LARRY ROWE Staff Writer Comal County officials may consider "getting out of the cat business" to lighten the leash on rising animal control expenditures. David Young, the county's animal control officer, said as Thursday's workshop for the Commissioners Court that the county should turn to the thousands of dollars spent on stray cats to trim the animal control budget. "The nuisance problems that cats do cause art just that — nuisance problems," Young said. "Cats don't chase you. Cats don't accost kids. Cats don't attack deer. Cats don't attack joggers." He said the county should continue to provide assistance when citizens call about cat problems, but commissioners should consider having the caller pay the expenses. "We're trying to get out of the cat business because of the amount of money we're spending each year trying to provide a full service for cat problems." Young said the commissioners may even want to consider removing cats from the Animal Control Order. When a cat strays into another yard. "according to our ordinance, that's an animal running at large," and some citizens find it strange to leash a eau he said. "All of that will be debated at length, because these are major decisions as far as the people are concerned,'' Precinct I Commissioner J.L. "Jumbo" Evans said about possi hic changes to the order. Young said the county now averages IO to 15 cat complaints per week. but the numbers soar during breading seasons. In a recent example, a woman at Canyon Lake started with one female cat and wound up with 18. For each cat that must be boarded and euthanized, the county now pays atoial of $18, he said. And because of a sharp rise in complaints, the animal control budget rose from a total of $40,000 in 1990 to $77,000 so far in 1991. Much of the 1991 cost paid for a second amma! control officer und additional equipment to meet the risuig demand. Young said. Of the $15,000 cost fix animal boarding, lending and euthanasia of cats so far this year. Young estimated that $4,000 of thai was spent on cats. Young's suggesuon, which commissioners are expected to discuss at a later date. is to have citizens borrow a county cat trap for a $10 deposit and then (lay the cost of dealing with the animal alter thai. bi another cost-culling measure for aionial couuoi, the commissioner* opened proposals for animal lending, bowling and other services. The court decided on Nov. 14 lo request proposals in an attempt to find chcapci service. Young said that oui ol 19 prospective kennels, human society organizations and veterinary climes thai were contacted, only four met the county's criteria. these were the Humane Society of New Braunfels, the Seguin Animal Hospital, the Williams Veterinary Clinic in Hays County, and the Comal County Veterinary Medical Association, which the county cuneuUy uses. Construction has begun to smooth the bumpy railroad crossing on Walnut Avenue near Lands Street. That section of road will be dosed through Monday. Union Pacific Railroad is upgrading the crossing and city workers will even up the road. The crossing became so bad that the city installed a temporary 'bump" sign on Walnut Avenue to warn motorists. (Photo by Bill Ervin) ;
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I think it's fair to say that Assassin's Creed II is one of the must-plays of last generation. The franchise overall is likely one of the most controversial in the industry, due in no small part to its huge success and every game sells 10 million copies - which means that 10 million people have strong opinions about it. Something that isn't helped by the fact that - for better or worse - Ubisoft is now putting out at least one new game every year. After playing II I would've said I was okay with this; after all, it's a pretty great game. Flawed, but when it gets things right - atmosphere, side questing, music, platforming - then it's a ton of fun.
But then I played Assassin's Creed III. Which I would describe not just as a let-down after its predecessor, but one of the more aggravating gaming experiences I've had in some time.
It's hard not to compare the game to II, and I think for that reason - with all the accompanying expectations - accounts for no small part of my frustration. II worked better for a number of reasons, among them being that it didn't take too long to get into the main part of the game - letting the gamer go free with optional side activities and world exploration alongside the main quest - and also because it just generally had a better environment.
III looked to introduce a fair new amount of mechanics and ideas, which I'm not patently opposed to; expect for the fact that many of them are taking the series farther and farther away from a game about, you know, being an assassin. Naval battles? The American Revolution? This isn't really the kind of thing I'm looking for in a game. And it doesn't help that many new concepts tend to be introduced with a high rate of failure in initial attempts and almost no tutorial. Also, some of the new ideas are just downright terrible; I'm glad eavesdropping only cropped up a couple of times because the first encounter I had with it, I spent a solid 45 minutes trying to complete something that should've taken less than 5. There's also the option for hunting that the game spent half an hour teaching me, and yet never demonstrating to me why I should care or ever come back to using again.
It takes forever for III to get started, which really just kills the pacing. By five hours in, I was kind of marveling that I still hadn't made it into the main, go where you want, do what you want, section of the game. Which is a shame, because the idea behind it is actually pretty clever: exploring the story first from Haythem's pov - with the twist that he's really a Templar - before meeting Connor was great. But there was a ton of wheel-spinning in the process, and the longer it took for the game to get going, the more impatient with the overall experience I became.
And then there's the settings and environments. It's probably because I grew up learning about the revolution in so many history classes, but it's just not that exciting a time period to me. Re-living so much of it made me feel like I was back in school; I found the appeal of II to largely be the exotic nature of its environments - getting to explore cities in Renaissance Italy was incredible. One of my favorite parts of the game. And it's one of the most fundamentally interesting parts of the entire Assassin's Creed series. It also doesn't help that this felt too much like self-important American ego that likes to trump up its own birth in terms of relevance in the entire history of the world. A lot of the game just felt like an excuse to insert the player into key moments during the revolution, which was to me a bit boring. Also because the gameplay itself was nothing to get excited about: yes, I participated in the battle of Lexington and Concord, which basically entailed walking between three different groups of soldiers and ordering them to fire. If I tried to implement any kind of strategy, I lost.
What's more, the environments here just never felt alive to me. Not the way Florence and Venice did. It made the overall world experience and exploration a bit hollow by comparison. A lot of basic mechanics were altered to such a degree that I couldn't always figure out their new implementation. Fast travel? No idea. How to lower my notoriety? Posters appeared at my initial raising of that little number, but they never appeared in-game again. Also, it's surprising how much of a difference music can make. Basic city exploration in II has the most wonderful little themes that help enhance the atmosphere; whereas in this game, it was mostly silent.
I actually found the Haytham-Connor relationship to be one of the most interesting parts of the game, and wish more had been done with it. It was much more engaging than the American Revolution; the few chapters I spent with them traveling together were tense and thrilling. In no small part because it's not entirely clear just exactly how Haytham feels about Connor. And that ambiguity easily could've served a larger portion of the story. I love that the game forced them to work together - the entirety of the Assassin-Templar war represented in these two characters. The only area in which I felt robbed was that it was never indicated when and where Connor had learned Haytham was his father, or that Haytham even knew that he had a son.
I also spent far too many portions of the game feeling unclear about where to go next, or how to accomplish the set task that had been given to me, with the directions at times being almost painful in their lack of clarity. And playing this game allowed me to realize my main issue with the combat and platforming (something present but less prevalent in II) being that it's essentially automated - player control is a bit of an illusion. Instead of direct, one-to-one, manual control, you hit a button or series of buttons to automate the game into choosing - according to circumstance and environment - how Connor will act. It's why he'll frequently turn and jump onto a railing or wall when I'm trying to get him to run in a straight line; or the almost randomness of the button-mashing combat. I'm sure I wasted more time trying to get through frustrating combat situations than almost anything else; something not helped by how often you're pitted against a dozen people, that it's easy to lose track of which character on-screen is Connor, and that there's no way to control who you're targeting when surrounded. It's the first time I've ever felt myself longing for stealth kills, which were more of an option in the second game.
To the game's credit, I did appreciate that much of the synchronization was optional. Not least of which because if a number of those tasks had been mandatory, I probably never would've finished that game. I barely made it through a large portion of aggravating chases and fist fights as it was; trying to accomplish secondary tasks like not taking fire damage or limiting the number of kills would've just made things worse. Which is essentially my backhanded way of saying it's a nice little extra bit for completionists who actually can endure all of this.
Of course, one of the most bizarre parts of the game is its juxtaposition with the modern day. At the end of II, the sudden reveal about the presence of the First Ones - who were essentially gods - was the most jarring part of the game. Here, I found it to be the most engaging. And it developed to such a degree that it was practically an entire separate game itself. It's no longer directly tied in the Assassin-Templar war - where they could be fighting about anything; but a race that pre-dated humanity thousands of years ago and were wiped out by sun flares? I want that to be its own separate game. And the two individual stories are no longer geling together coherently or by necessity.
After I finished Assassin's Creed II, I went back and spent extra hours exploring, catching eagle feathers, finding all the viewpoints, and just generally enjoying the environment. I was pretty well feeling converted to the franchise, and that I would like to try every successive iteration. But after playing III, I'm not so sure. Even with all the praise IV has gotten, the naval sections were hardly my favorite. And in the end, Assassin's Creed III really goes a long way to demonstrate how hit and miss this franchise can be.