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Mohamed Mansour
Software Engineer at Microsoft
Occupation: Software Engineer at Microsoft
Followers: 143,239
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Mohamed Mansour has been at 4 events
|Mohamed Mansour
|So GibSec released the full disclosure of hacking SnapChat, since SnapChat didn't respond back for over 4 months. So I am curious if it still works. So this Hangout On Air, will try out the Source Code for the hack that GibSec released here. http://gibsonsec.org/snapchat/fulldisclosure/ Basically, the hack does this, given *anyones* snapchat username, you can get their email address and phone number. Ouch ...
|Showcasing the SnapChat Hack, serious flaw. Warning: Python Code Involved
|2013-12-26 09:38:13
|Maria Quiban
|oh My!! What a Monday it's going to be here at +FOX 11 Los Angeles in our #HOA !!! Check out the guests we're expecting for YOU to hangout with! 1) Joe Manganiello, Actor, "True Blood" "Magic Mike" Twitter:@joemanganiello 2) Roselyn Sanchez, Actress "Devious Maids" #deviousmaids
|Meet Roselyn Sanchez & #True Blood's Joe Manganiello
|2013-06-17 17:30:00
|Fifty years ago, President John Kennedy challenged us to go to the moon within the decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. As we remember Neil Armstrong this week – the man who, with a single step realized the hopes of a president, this nation and the world – we are recognizing the extraordinary achievements of the past five decades achieved by our nation's space agency and where the passion to explore will lead us in the future. President Barack Obama has set NASA on course toward an asteroid and to send humans to Mars within the next two decades. This goal is not without notable challenges, but using the knowledge, expertise and American ingenuity that has been the trademark of NASA scientists and engineers for the last half-century, NASA continues to make possible that which is seemingly impossible. At 3:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, September 12, NASA astronauts, scientists and engineers will hold a Google+ Hangout to talk about NASA's rich history of innovation and ingenuity and talk about NASA's future goals for scientific discovery and human spaceflight. During the event, we'll be joined by: - Dan Dumbacher, Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development in NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. He is the former Director of Engineering at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Previously, he was the deputy director of safety and mission assurance at Marshall. - Ron Garan, astronaut who lived and worked aboard the International Space Station. He has been in space for 178 days and has conducted four spacewalks. - John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. He is an astronaut and researcher in high energy astrophysics, cosmic ray physics, and in the emerging field of exoplanet studies. He was also the deputy director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, managing the science program for the Hubble Space Telescope and the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope. - Michael Lopez-Alegria, the President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. He is a former Naval Aviator and test pilot (Capt., U.S. Navy, Ret.), NASA astronaut and International Space Station (ISS) commander. To join the event, visit http://plus.google.com/+NASA at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Ask your questions of the group in the comments below or using hashtag #askNASA :
|50 Years Later: NASA Discusses Using Innovation and Ingenuity to do Big Things
|2012-09-12 21:00:00
|Vic Gundotra
|Join us for a night of interactive simulations, hands-on experiences and live musical performances from Train and Paul Oakenfold. If you're attending, make sure to grab the latest Google+ app for your Android phone and turn on Party Mode to share your experience with the world. #io12
|Google I/O After Hours with Train and Paul Oakenfold!
|2012-06-27 19:00:00
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Top posts in the last 50 posts
Most comments: 151
2014-07-31 03:20:57 (151 comments; 39 reshares; 336 +1s; )
What is happening in Palestine is genocide, so I support this hash tag #FreePalestine
Many celebrities voiced their concerns and receiving death threats because they added that hash tag to their tweets ... Zain Malik, Rihanna, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Pedro Almodovar, Mark Raffalo, Rob Schneider, Mia Farrow, John Cusack, Selena Gomez, Russell Brand, etc #Gaza #GazaUnderFire
Most reshares: 133
2014-03-12 18:51:03 (57 comments; 133 reshares; 299 +1s; )
Hot from Twitter: What happens when non-tech people discover web developer tools
Most plusones: 336
2014-07-31 03:20:57 (151 comments; 39 reshares; 336 +1s; )
What is happening in Palestine is genocide, so I support this hash tag #FreePalestine
Many celebrities voiced their concerns and receiving death threats because they added that hash tag to their tweets ... Zain Malik, Rihanna, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Pedro Almodovar, Mark Raffalo, Rob Schneider, Mia Farrow, John Cusack, Selena Gomez, Russell Brand, etc #Gaza #GazaUnderFire
Latest 50 posts
2016-10-20 18:30:29 (5 comments; 2 reshares; 20 +1s; )
Hey friends! Introducing DealWatcher for iOS
Our team has been hard at work using the many Bing technologies to find the best deals from all over the web and roll them up together in an amazing app experience.
If you would like to check it out, you can sign up for the beta and we're excited to get some real feedback from people like you:
An example of a cool deal I found in the app was a $175 Dyson Vacuum which originally costs $399 (in Costco), it came through a push notification.
I was fortunate to help building the internal prototype with Mk 'Lemon' Li and Karthikeyan and after proving internally many Bing engineers formed a little team to take over and build a real backend and a beautiful UI (Other platforms coming really soon). Check out our post in the Microsoft Garage site:
... more »
2016-08-29 20:24:39 (5 comments; 1 reshares; 15 +1s; )
Updated 'Reload All Tabs' Extension to v4
I had the need to reload all the tabs in my current window (around 10), so this 7 year old extension I created, stopped working. And it still has 50K users who installed it. So I decided to update it and add more feature.
1) Context menus (Customizable)
2) Keyboard shortcuts (Customizable)
3) New look and feel
Enjoy this developer tool!
Source code available in GitHub:
2016-08-09 20:18:26 (2 comments; 10 reshares; 26 +1s; )
I just published "Introducing fBlock, AdBlocker for the new Facebook"
So this morning over at Techmeme, Facebook said this: Facebook Will Force Advertising on Ad-Blocking Users. So I created a Chrome Extension to defeat that. Open Source as usual
2016-07-21 07:58:42 (7 comments; 18 reshares; 68 +1s; )
So how do you generate a random string? :-)
2016-05-16 17:14:43 (7 comments; 1 reshares; 21 +1s; )
Isn't Spaces a rebranding to Google+ Communities? I am so confused
2016-05-11 07:58:43 (5 comments; 11 reshares; 38 +1s; )
Pretty cool Machine, amazing to watch :)
2016-05-11 07:43:59 (16 comments; 1 reshares; 20 +1s; )
Who else is going to #io16, this year is going to be interesting, will be my 5th time! If you are planning on going, lets hangout :) I will be attending the Android and VR talks mostly !
2016-04-26 17:52:22 (7 comments; 0 reshares; 14 +1s; )
As a Canadian, I would be proud to see a ruler like +Bernie Sanders in America, the words coming out of his mouth makes me proud living here!
2016-04-23 20:41:58 (4 comments; 30 reshares; 160 +1s; )
Pretty funny :) Code Written by A CS 101 Student vs Hackathon , A Startup , Large company , Math Ph.D. , your Cat.
(source) http://biblipole.com/top-rated/code-written-by-a-cs-101-student-vs-hackathon-a-startup-large-company-math-phd-your-cat-995
2016-04-13 07:48:04 (2 comments; 2 reshares; 20 +1s; )
What are the different kinds of USB C-to-C cables?
Now that everyone has more and more #USB #TypeC phones, tablets, and laptops and we're getting more and more USB Type-C hubs and chargers, let's talk a little bit about C-to-C cables. Not Legacy. :)
The USB Type-C Specification (available here : http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/usb_31_032516.zip) defines 2 different kinds of C-to-C cables. I've listed the parts of the spec for convenience in reading.
What are the major differences between these two kinds of cables?
Section 3.4.1 : USB Full-Featured Type-C Cable Assembly -
This type supports USB 3.1 functionality up to 10gbps. This kind of cable requires between 15 and 18 wires in total.
As an additional requirement, these cables are now required in the Type-C spec to have e-marker identifier chips, increasing the complexity and... more »
2016-04-12 06:16:58 (1 comments; 1 reshares; 11 +1s; )
Well written article!
2016-01-20 09:53:56 (9 comments; 2 reshares; 32 +1s; )
I wish I can vote, @SenSanders will make USA great again! But I can't, I am just some Lebanese/Canadian :)
2015-10-29 22:45:00 (9 comments; 63 reshares; 126 +1s; )
The funniest chart I have seen in a while. The subjectivity chart in the tech workplace :)
2015-09-06 03:59:25 (7 comments; 3 reshares; 30 +1s; )
The circular crown is a great UX, love it!
2015-05-01 02:23:54 (10 comments; 7 reshares; 34 +1s; )
Loving this new Angular 2, makes development more organized! Loving the Typescript annotations too! @View @Component
2015-03-23 05:41:37 (20 comments; 7 reshares; 48 +1s; )
Ughh USA and Liberia are the only two countries that won't switch
2015-03-17 02:54:44 (3 comments; 1 reshares; 18 +1s; )
Angular 2 looking great!
2015-03-05 22:24:11 (9 comments; 3 reshares; 33 +1s; )
"Angular 2 Built on TypeScript" collaboration between the Angular & TypeScript teams. Awesome framework for tomorrow! Been using Angular.JS at work for the past 6 months, looking forward for Angular 2
2015-01-09 04:19:32 (0 comments; 1 reshares; 49 +1s; )
So I watched Blackhat yesterday in SF. The hacking scenes were funny cause it felt real :) I wish there was more hacking and less action, but at the end it is a really nice Michael Mann hit!
I have wrote more about the movie (spoiler free) over at IMDB if you wanted to know my thoughts on it :)
2014-12-26 21:51:20 (2 comments; 9 reshares; 64 +1s; )
To the woman and child who sat at table 9, I did not introduce myself to you. My name is Tony Posnanski. I have been a restaurant manager for fifteen years now. My day consists of making sure my restaurant runs well. That could mean washing dishes, cooking and sometimes even serving tables. I have also dealt with every guest complaint you can imagine. A few weeks back, you came into my restaurant. I was very busy that night. I was running around helping the kitchen cook food. I was asked to talk to a table close to yours. I did and they said your child was being very loud. I heard some yelling while I was talking to that table. I heard a very loud beep from a young girl. I started to walk to your table. You knew what I was going to ask. You saw the table I just spoke to pointing at you. I got to your table and you looked at me. You wanted the first word. You said…
"Do you know what it is like... more »
2014-11-12 19:33:43 (16 comments; 52 reshares; 115 +1s; )
.NET is now officially open sourced!
Available on Linux, Mac, and Windows!
Under our new leadership, Satya Nadella is finally open sourcing .NET and its entire family. Microsoft is providing the full .NET server stack in open source, including ASP.NET, the .NET compiler, the .NET Core Runtime, Framework and Libraries.
Exiting day for us :)
2014-11-09 03:23:27 (7 comments; 1 reshares; 19 +1s; )
The last 2 months at work, I am working on this new web project, and I decided to use +AngularJS with TypeScript. It is a pretty great combo for whoever is starting a new project. I have a team of five and TypeScript makes it so organized. EcmaScript 6 is great!
I am really considering to use ReactJS because I want to learn the differences. I want to wrap my mind around new Shadow DOM style.
What are your thoughts about this?
2014-11-07 22:43:52 (67 comments; 2 reshares; 87 +1s; )
Hello :)
I am sorry ... I accidentally deleted my hangout circle :( Let me do the introduction, so I can add back my hangout friends who comment on this post. I want to come back to G+
Hi my name is Mohamed, and I currently work at Microsoft. I used to create a lot of "Chrome Extensions" around Hangouts and Google+. Since I started at Microsoft three years ago, I started working on exciting stuff, so since 6 months ago I am part of Bingcubator, I get to work with a team of 5 people on anything I want :)
2014-10-14 19:18:55 (4 comments; 3 reshares; 27 +1s; )
Checkout Skype Qik ! I have been using it for the past month on my Windows Phone (available as well on Android and iOS) and it is pretty great. It allows you to have quick casual conversations with your friends, and the videos go away after some time.
2014-10-06 16:58:43 (7 comments; 17 reshares; 56 +1s; )
Pretty cool new research that combines Machine Learning + new thin film transparent sensing surface to create a variety of interactions. #MicrosoftResearch
2014-09-23 16:23:05 (10 comments; 3 reshares; 49 +1s; )
Yay, we just shipped Bing Translator for iOS 8! The app I built that was showcased in WWDC keynote to show off the Action Extension capabilities is now live on the App Store Lots of work was done with the iOS Bing team, and I believe the end result is beautiful.
If you have Apple iOS 8, download it now :)https://itunes.apple.com/app/id345323231
If you are interested in the internals on how it was done, you can read my blog post on how it was implemented here https://medium.com/@mohamedmansour/how-to-communicate-between-javascript-sandboxes-21371be0c01f See More
2014-09-11 22:05:42 (9 comments; 39 reshares; 188 +1s; )
Everyone used this !
2014-09-06 06:19:06 (3 comments; 11 reshares; 56 +1s; )
Brilliant for those who have kids!
2014-08-05 20:33:26 (19 comments; 56 reshares; 215 +1s; )
Who experienced these 6 stages of debugging :)
2014-08-04 14:57:34 (37 comments; 129 reshares; 198 +1s; )
Anyone remember this ... "Take The Internet with you wherever you go - it fits in your pocket!" :)
2014-08-03 05:21:15 (5 comments; 3 reshares; 9 +1s; )
I am excited to attend #defcon this year, who else is going?
Any of you going to attempt the Tamper Challenge, diffusing the bomb :) Test your skills against a variety of traps, alarms, and tamper-evident sensors. If you were there, what would you do to win this challenge? You cannot cut the wires!
2014-08-01 05:54:10 (4 comments; 5 reshares; 54 +1s; )
The new CEO at Microsoft is changing our internal culture rapidly :)
For example, last month we launched //oneweek, it was a way for us to spend time with our hackathon teams and see our products in action at the product fair. There were over 10000 hackers participating! Some of projects can qualify to the Bingcubator round where they will spend three months bringing their idea to production (I am participating in Bingcubator in my second term now).
For example, do you remember Steve Gleason?. The hackathon team built an incredible demo using eye gaze technology to control a wheelchair.
Exciting times at Microsoft. I never would have imagined our culture changed this much that quickly. All barriers are getting unlocked. More innovation is being discovered.
2014-07-31 03:20:57 (151 comments; 39 reshares; 336 +1s; )
What is happening in Palestine is genocide, so I support this hash tag #FreePalestine
Many celebrities voiced their concerns and receiving death threats because they added that hash tag to their tweets ... Zain Malik, Rihanna, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Pedro Almodovar, Mark Raffalo, Rob Schneider, Mia Farrow, John Cusack, Selena Gomez, Russell Brand, etc #Gaza #GazaUnderFire
2014-07-28 20:40:56 (23 comments; 12 reshares; 44 +1s; )
Writing papers with LaTeX has become easier!
ShareLaTeX updated with a new face lift!
When I was writing papers in University, everyone used LaTeX, I don't know if they still use them today, but it was the thing ... They just released a nice new UI (it looks Googley too). I just use Office Word now, and Markdown, but it is nice this has an easy to use visual editor for LaTeX
2014-07-27 21:32:16 (20 comments; 8 reshares; 92 +1s; )
Eid Mubarak to you and your family :) كل عام وانتم خير
2014-07-23 20:35:18 (3 comments; 9 reshares; 29 +1s; )
"In order for side projects to truly succeed, they have to be stupid"
This is what Spotify's design lead said in this great article.
1) Let yourself be stupid
2) Take it one step at a time
3) Ditch your obsession with growth
4) Trust yourself more
And it ended well "I didn't build it because it stopped being fun. It stopped being stupid"
2014-07-15 00:50:39 (6 comments; 9 reshares; 35 +1s; )
At Microsoft we released Project Adam, the most powerful deep learning system, watch the video below and see what our brilliant researchers are building!
2014-07-14 16:24:25 (12 comments; 0 reshares; 21 +1s; )
Halt and Catch Fire is such a great show, anyone else is watching it? It is on AMC ...
2014-07-07 16:38:50 (8 comments; 32 reshares; 49 +1s; )
Grab your 150 Free Microsoft eBooks
Check them out in case you are interested in one of them. There are eBooks on how to manage Windows 8.1 to books on how to program with C#, using Azure, etc.
2014-06-27 04:31:55 (16 comments; 1 reshares; 120 +1s; )
Google I/O 2014 has ended!
It was a great two days of learning and fun! Met nice people +Melissa Daniels +Ade Oshineye +Michael Mahemoff +François Beaufort +Josh Armour +Derek Ross and many more!
- Chromebook is finally getting useful, Android apps finally integrated.
- New Android NDK tools from partners, loving the NVIDIA GPU debugging toolset!
- Android Material flat design is beautiful
- Android Wear, Auto, TV and Xbox Controller look like a nice family of products under one operating system. Great for developers.
- Oculus Rift cloned for under a dollar :-) - Lots of company swag, you can never run out of shirts (need more drawers) The best one this year was duolingo stuffed animal :)
Google should really not allow Runtastic to do that squatting competition, that area was full of sweat (people were dripping sweat)! People were squatting for li... more »
2014-06-16 22:48:07 (5 comments; 7 reshares; 61 +1s; )
Yay! Unicode 7 released today! 250 Emoticons :) This will be great for vectored icon support ...
2014-06-16 05:16:26 (2 comments; 0 reshares; 37 +1s; )
See you all at Google I/O! This will be my fourth time attending and I believe one of the most exciting years. Hope to see some of you there ...
2014-06-09 09:48:28 (3 comments; 3 reshares; 26 +1s; )
How to communicate between Sandboxes in JavaScript Extensions
#javascript #extensions #ios8 #wwdc14
A month before WWDC, I was invited by Apple (representing Microsoft) to help them create a Bing Translate extension on iOS 8 Action Extensions. I just published an article that explains a technique I used to communicate between different JavaScript sandboxes when dealing with Extensions in iOS 8. The same thing applies in Chrome Extensions
Let me know what you think :) As usual, the code is open sourced on GitHub https:/... more »
2014-06-01 23:02:20 (13 comments; 3 reshares; 118 +1s; )
Apple WWDC 14 badge acquired! Yosemite mural so beautiful
2014-03-12 18:51:03 (57 comments; 133 reshares; 299 +1s; )
Hot from Twitter: What happens when non-tech people discover web developer tools
2014-03-11 15:55:44 (13 comments; 0 reshares; 15 +1s; )
Damn muscle memory! "sd sync" -> "git sync" -> "git push", I have only been here at Microsoft for a year and ten months ...
2014-02-24 19:28:48 (19 comments; 3 reshares; 79 +1s; )
I'm mentioned on the Microsoft blog! Many people ask me why I joined, so here is why I made the move to Silicon Valley
You can read about it here: https://bitly.com/1c7I8dE
2014-02-10 19:28:27 (3 comments; 9 reshares; 54 +1s; )
Bill Gates just answered a question about Bitcoin on Reddit! And it is his first day back in Microsoft!
2014-02-10 18:37:44 (8 comments; 3 reshares; 33 +1s; )
Bing now supports Real-time Bitcoin conversion!
Yay, my side project feature got launched From prototype to production, cross team collaboration (Seattle, California, and Hyderabad), all in our spare time! I love our stack, so agile :)
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text:
by Staff Writers
London, UK (SPX) Oct 15, 2013
The iron in the Earth's inner core weakens dramatically before it melts, explaining the unusual properties that exist in the moon-sized solid centre of our planet that have, up until now, been difficult to understand.
Scientists use seismic waves - pulses of energy generated during earthquakes - to measure what is happening in the Earth's inner core, which at 6000 km beneath our feet is completely inaccessible.
Problematically for researchers, the results of seismic measurements consistently show that these waves move through the Earth's solid inner core at much slower speeds than predicted by experiments and simulations.
Specifically, a type of seismic wave called a 'shear wave' moves particularly slowly through the Earth's core relative to the speed expected for the material - mainly iron - from which the core is made. Shear waves move through the body of the object in a transverse motion - like waves in a rope, as opposed to waves moving through a slinky spring.
Now, in a paper published in Science, scientists from UCL have proposed a possible explanation. They suggest that the iron in the Earth's core may weaken dramatically just before melting, becoming much less stiff. The team used quantum mechanical calculations to evaluate the wave velocities of solid iron at inner-core pressure up to melting.
They calculated that at temperatures up to 95% of what is needed to melt iron in the Earth's inner core, the speed of the seismic waves moving through the inner core decreases linearly but, after 95%, it drops dramatically.
At about 99% of the melting temperature of iron, the team's calculated velocities agree with seismic data for the Earth's inner core. Since independent geophysical results suggest that the inner core is likely to be at 99-100% of its melting temperature, the results presented in this paper give a compelling explanation as to why the seismic wave velocities are lower than those predicted previously.
Professor Lidunka Vocadlo, from the UCL department of Earth Sciences and an author of the paper said: "The Earth's deep interior still holds many mysteries that scientists are trying to unravel.
"The proposed mineral models for the inner core have always shown a faster wave speed than that observed in seismic data. This mismatch has given rise to several complex theories about the state and evolution of the Earth's core."
The authors stress that this is not the end of the story as other factors need to be taken into account before a definitive core model can be made. As well as iron, the core contains nickel and light elements, such as silicon and sulphur.
Professor Vocadlo said: "The strong pre-melting effects in iron shown in our paper are an exciting new development in understanding the Earth's inner core. We are currently working on how this result is affected by the presence of other elements, and we may soon be in a position to produce a simple model for the inner core that is consistent with seismic and other geophysical measurements. "
'Strong pre-melting effect in the elastic properties of hcp-Fe under inner-core conditions' was published in Science.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
The federal government has appointed investment bank Lazard as its key business adviser on the sale of Medibank Private, ordering the participants of its scoping study to investigate how the government can maximise profit from the biggest privatisation since rail company QR National.
Law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has been appointed as legal adviser, Ernst and Young as accounting adviser and the Australian Government Solicitor as process and probity adviser.
All four will contribute to the scoping study, which is due by February 2014, in order for the findings to be taken into account for the next full-year budget.
Finance Minister
"The Coalition is committed to progress the sale of Medibank Private through a proper and methodical process provided market conditions are right for the sale," Senator Cormann said.
"It is important to stress again that the government has not made any decisions yet regarding the timing and structure of any sale."
The Australian Financial Review


text:
Chapter 5- Two Men Enter
Silver had trouble sleeping. Wincott's taunts had him tossing and turning for most of the night. Tomorrow, Silver would have to contend with that cheater. The idea to stoop to Wincott's level and cheat back kept cropping up every once in a while. On one hand, it would put them on even footing and ensure that Wincott would not win, but on the other, Silver would sacrifice his integrity and honesty, not to mention Blaze's respect. He did not think he could cheat anyway, so he continued to push the thought aside each time. For added insistence, Stewart's advice echoed in his mind as well. "The ends do not justify the means," Silver mouthed.
At some points, when Silver did dream, he dreamed of winning the tournament. Of defeating all the competitors in the remaining rounds, being crowned king, but most importantly, having Blaze as his own to love. It seemed so real each time and whenever he would wake from the dream, he was left disappointed and bitter as the reality of his situation crashed back down around him. He had to fight for Blaze's freedom, he reminded himself. That did not ease a growing desire to win her heart. That opportunity as a prize and his denial of it was causing his love to run rampant through his mind, planting seeds of what-ifs. What if he won the tournament? What if he won Blaze's hand? How would she feel?
She would be upset. But would she really? The prospect was very tempting. He threw the idea back and forth between the urges to cheat.
Morning soon came to Silver's bedroom window and brought with it Brimble, Slate, and Gardon. As his squire and bodyguard helped him outfit himself, Gardon gave him a pep talk. "Now, you should have an easier time today. It's the melee round and from what I've seen, you should be able to nail this. Have you thought about what you'll use?"
"A sword and shield," Silver said. It was the most comfortable set-up to him and he could conserve energy with it.
"Good," Gardon said. "I actually had a shield created for you." He left the room and returned holding a green shield. Silver's red feather and borders were painted on it. He knocked on it for show and handed it to Brimble. "With any luck, you'll take out the toughest competitors and leave room for Blaze."
"What if I go up against Blaze?" Silver asked.
Slate jammed the helmet on Silver. "Then you let her win. Duh," he said.
"Even if she has to go up against one of the harder opponents, I'm sure she'll be fine. You'll have cleared a path and made it easy for her, so they will be tuckered out," Gardon said.
Silver nodded, but was a little unsure. Blaze could end up facing Wincott and need some help. Or Silver's expertise in sword fighting. Should she win? He shook his head. Of course she should. He was doing all this for Blaze after all so she would not be forced into a loveless marriage. Stick to the plan, he thought. He squashed his doubts and selfish desires deep down.
Once Brimble and Slate finished, they headed down to breakfast. Silver joined Blaze and Stewart once more. They heartily welcomed him. "Feeling good about today?" Stewart asked. The way he looked at Silver, it was if he could tell that Wincott had shaken him up a lot.
"Yeah," Silver said, digging into the food already laid out. "I'm good. Just a little tired." He collected a sampling of eggs, flapjacks, hash, and some fruit.
"Better wipe away the last of your sleepy eyes then," Stewart said, scarfing down his eggs. "You'll need it for the melee round."
"So what will you be using?" Silver asked.
"I probably shouldn't tell," Stewart said, chewing thoughtfully. Then he shrugged. "What can it hurt? A sword and shield. How about you?"
"The same," Silver said. He turned to Blaze. "What about you?"
She did not appear like she would answer at first, but eventually said, "A spear." It did not surprise Silver. She had proven to be proficient with spears during their training.
Training. He had trained against Blaze. She knew his footwork and style of fighting. Silver panicked. Blaze would discover his identity. Maybe she already had by the way he fired arrows yesterday. Stupid! Stupid! Silver scolded his carelessness.
Then, another thought entered. Blaze would not rat him out. After all, he could be in a lot of trouble if he was discovered, and she would not bring that upon him, just as he would not bring that trouble down on her. They were in this together and would keep one another's identities a secret. Blaze would be upset for certain, but Silver could handle that compared to any punishment for entering the tournament under false pretenses.
And who was to say he would even fight Blaze? She would be too busy with her own battles. Silver calmed down and enjoyed his meal, feeling much better.
After breakfast, the competitors saddled their horses and trotted out to the field where the archery tournament had been held. Now the targets were gone and were replaced by wooden rings, sitting at waist-level. Silver counted at least a dozen. Closer to the audience were weapon racks housing every kind of close combat weapon one could imagine. He eyed a decent-sized sword to match his shield.
Thomas walked onto the field, once again addressing the crowd and participants. "One round is over, but that does not mean that victory is assured! This tournament is still anyone's game and anyone can win! That said, today will be the melee round. Two men will fight in each ring at a time. We have taken strides in our effort to ensure fair matches today."
It was then that Silver noticed the various knights from the castle standing closer to the rings alongside other officials. He sweated under his helmet. He knew several of the knights. What if they recognized him? "The one to survive all the eliminations will be the victor," Thomas continued. "Let the round begin!"
The crowd was no less wild than yesterday. In fact, there were more cheers and banners flown to match those the bannermen held. Silver even picked out a few of Blaze's fabricated insignia waving above the crowd: a yellow background pinpricked by numerous, small red and orange crosses.
The first round for everyone proved to be unexciting. Many matches were one-sided. Silver won his quite easily, as did Blaze, Stewart, Wincott, and several others. The second round was where Silver ran into a tougher opponent- Sir Arcantos the Tempest, a white wolf that abandoned any shield in favor of two long swords, the blades slithering out of dragon hilts like long, silvery tongues. Silver sized his opponent up. Arcantos was slim, making him seem taller. Given his opponent's weapon choice, Silver thought he might be able to wear the wolf down through defense and counters.
Arcantos smacked his breastplate, drawing attention to the blue dragon on it. His helmet was also dragon-shaped, causing his head to look like it was about to be swallowed up by the iron-wrought beast. "Ready to lose?" he asked, his piercing blue eyes already assured of victory.
The match started and Silver held up his shield. His sword was at the ready, twitching in anticipation of an opening. But Arcantos did not attack. The wolf held his swords up defensively, only occasionally probing Silver's shield with some quick thrusts.
Silver switched tactics and attacked. He swung low, but his sword clanged off one of the wolf's swords. Arcantos hit his shield hard and fast, stumbling Silver. He brought down both sword ends onto the shield, pushing against it. Silver gathered up strength and shoved back. Arcantos tripped, but blocked Silver's next attack.
Silver narrowly dodged a sword tip aimed at his head. The blade sliced off a tuft of fur. He stabbed at Arcantos' face, hoping the wolf would take the bait. Arcantos did. He blocked Silver's attack, scissoring the sword between his own. He leapt back to his feet, holding the sword firmly.
Gotcha. Silver yanked to the right, then quickly to the left. He nudged Arcantos' swords just right so that one flew across the ring. Now there was one more. He let Arcantos batter his shield. Then Silver smacked Arcantos' arm with the flat of his sword. The wolf looked worried. He constantly eyed the fallen sword, but Silver stood between him and the weapon.
An idea crept into Silver's mind. He smacked Arcantos again, then leapt far out of reach from a swing. Arcantos rushed for his sword, somersaulting as he picked it up. Silver was on him in moments. They clashed, the swords ringing in the air. Arcantos stayed on his knees, needing both swords to keep Silver's at bay. He was not paying attention to the shield.
Wham! The shield collided into Arcantos helmet and he fell back. Silver held his sword at the wolf's throat. When he came to, Arcantos reached for his swords, but stopped when he saw his position. "Do you yield?" Silver asked.
"Yes," Arcantos said. He panted, flopping back onto the dirt. Silver bent over and helped him off the ground. "Good match." He shook Silver's hand.
"You too."
Arcantos held up Silver's arm and the crowd cheered wildly. He could not escape from the grasp, so Silver went along with it. He was bashful, not wanting to be the center of attention. He slowly waved at the people and they went crazy. He started to enjoy it a little. The people were cheering for him and his fighting prowess. It was so surreal to him.
He headed over to Brimble and Slate. They cleaned off his armor and checked his weapons. "Good fight," Brimble said.
"Good? That was excellent!" Slate said. "Keep that up and it should be easy street for Blaze."
"Yeah," Silver said. Where was Blaze? He located her in one of the other rings, lording over her victory. She bowed to the crowd that cheered her name. He grinned. Things were definitely looking up compared to yesterday.
The next rounds were tough, but nothing that Silver could not handle. Big or small, all his opponents yielded to him. Each win brought more fanfare and more praise from the audience. Silver savored more and more each time, happily waving to the people. At one point, he almost threw his helmet into the crowd like another victor had done. Thankfully, his common sense broke through the frenzy, reminding him to keep all of his armor on.
At one point, Blaze had to face off against Wincott. She, in her gleaming armor, selected a spear to match her small shield, emblazoned by her crest. Wincott chose a rapier. His own shield displayed a vicious, hungry mutt snarling fiercely.
Silver sat on pins and needles as the round began. Blaze thrust at Wincott, but he was shockingly swift. Several times, he connected his sword's tip to Blaze. He never pierced the armor, yet it was enough to scare Silver. The hedgehog felt the urge to do something, but the officials and knights nearby made that impossible. He considered using his powers when Wincott pressed the attack. No, no. That would not be right, Silver thought. The ends do not justify the means.
Blaze sidestepped an attack and stabbed. Wincott howled, reeling back. He checked his leg and snarled. Then he ducked low, striking her legs. Blaze cried out. Silver leaned forward. Had her armor been broken? Was she bleeding? Was she alright?
Wincott kicked a cloud of dirt into Blaze's face, blocking Silver's view. She coughed and sputtered as he drew back his sword for a final strike. That does it. Forget means and ends. Silver concentrated hard, watching those around him. They were too busy watching the fight to notice the ever so faint glow from his greaves. Thanks to the rolling dust, no one could see Silver pull Wincott's legs out from under him. The dog fell to his knees, frantically searching for the unknown force.
It was all Blaze needed. She seized the opportunity and whacked Wincott in his open helmet. Wham! Down he went, moaning. She pointed her spear at his throat. "Do you yield?" she asked, loud enough for all to hear. He only groaned some more, rolling away from her. The judges took that as a yes and Blaze moved on to the next round.
Silver congratulated Blaze when she exited the ring. "Great fight," he said.
"Thank you." She looked back at Wincott, who was being dragged off. "I think something happened in there. He seemed to lose his balance."
"Oh, really?" Silver said, averting his eyes. Behind him, he saw Brimble and Slate, listening closely. They exchanged looks with one another, then stared at Silver. "Maybe it was all the dust," Silver said, again turning his gaze elsewhere. Unfortunately, he landed upon Gardon, who sat near the front of the audience. The stern expression Silver received from him returned Silver's eyes back to Blaze.
"Maybe," Blaze said. She held her leg, covering part of her armor.
"Do you need any help?" he asked. Silver could not see any blood past the hand, but her leg was turned from his view.
"I will be fine." She walked off, leaving him to face Brimble and Slate.
"For Blaze after all. As long as she wins, right?" he said. They did not answer. Both glanced at each other once more and walked back to Silver's equipment. As for Silver, he trailed behind, frustrated. I did the right thing, didn't I? I couldn't let her lose. He might have seriously hurt her.
The fights continued, stopping for only an hour around lunch. Silver was not very hungry. He sat beside his team and Gardon, who joined them later. Brimble and Slate did not talk to him except to comment on the current tournament standings. It was looking more and more like Blaze would end up in the finals. Silver only hoped that he could take out Stewart in the process to help her. He was doubtful if she could win. She had a noticeable limp when she left.
"You got all that, Locksley?"
He looked up from his food. Gardon had been talking about something involving the finals. He just nodded. "Yeah."
"Good. Now, as for Sir Percival, they have bandaged his injury as best as possible. He has a limp, however the swelling is under control." Silver noticed that Gardon put a subtle emphasis on "he" and "him". "He won't be able to move very quickly, so keep that in mind Locksley if you're paired up. Make it look convincing. You know what you have to do."
Silver nodded again absentmindedly. He knew that he had to take a dive. However, the more he thought about it, he wondered if that was the best option. Blaze had a lot going against her in this round of the competition. Could she defeat Stewart if she fought him? It sounded like her leg would hinder her. Allowing her to go up against Stewart would exacerbate her injury at best. Her time in the tournament would most likely be over.
Silver hoped it would not come down to that. He hoped he fought Stewart before she could or that she might lose or give in, allowing him to fight Stewart in her stead. He chuckled. Give in? Not for Blaze. She would never throw in the towel. She was stubborn like that. One of the many traits he and she shared. They frustrated each other at times because of it, yet it was one of the things he loved her all the more for.
"And Locksley, one more thing." He raised his head to face Gardon. "No using your powers. I don't think I need to remind you that you should fight fair, do I?" So he had caught the glow from his position in the seats. Silver shook his head, but the koala appeared unconvinced. "Using your powers would also out you. You don't need that. Got it?"
"Got it," Silver said, mumbling and returning to his food.
When the matches started again, Silver soon found himself and a handful of others aiming for victory. The competitors were eliminated one by one. Stewart stayed strong, defeating every foe in his path. Silver lamented each match that did not pair him with the expert knight. Stewart made it to the final round, cementing Silver's worst fear. The announcer read off the penultimate match. "Sir Locksley the Unyielding versus Sir Percival the Keen!"
Silver gulped. Of course it would be his luck to fight Blaze. Whoever won would take on Stewart. He swapped out his sword and shield, opting for a long spear. "She knows my footwork," he said when Brimble asked about the change.
He marched into the ring. Blaze did as well, carrying her spear and shield. Her gait was stiff, awkward even. The limp was weighing her down. There were some bandages around her legs, bulging out the armor. He could almost see the pain she was in.
Off to the side, Silver saw Gardon watching. The koala was far from relaxed, although his face seemed to remind Silver to let Blaze win. However, there was a hint of worry in his eyes. The same worry was present in Silver's teammates. Then he saw who they were all staring at: Stewart.
The formidable knight was no more tired than when the morning started. In fact, he had a glow to him. Fueled by adrenaline, Stewart was pacing the outside anxiously. He was already geared up. Now he waited impatiently for his next match, his arms dangling by his sides. Silver had not been watching Stewart's matches, but his reputation as a skilled swordsman held true. There was hardly any blood on his armor, no wound open on display, or anything to speak of save for scrapes on his shoulders.
Silver turned back to Blaze. There was no way she could beat Stewart. Not in her condition. She was struggling to hold her battle stance at the moment. If she went up against Stewart, she might hurt herself. She was stubborn to the last. Blaze would not relent until she was broken, unable to continue at all. Losing would be the least of her problems then.
The precarious impasse Silver found himself at froze his body. What should he do? Gardon and his team's faces clearly said to let Blaze win. Yet the more he watched her, the more his own rationale told him that path would send her to the slaughter. He loved her too much to see her hurt like that.
I'll finish it quick, he thought, making his decision. He gripped his spear tight. For Blaze's sake. He spread his legs a little wider than normal, hoping to throw Blaze off if she suspected his identity. He moved to the left when the match began, knowing it was her strong side. If he could be fast in his attacks, perhaps she would not notice his fighting style. Or that was what he was hoping for.
Silver thrust his spear. Blaze easily blocked it and stabbed back. Her leg took its toll when she stepped forward. Silver heard her hiss. Her leg twitched, but she righted herself, coming at him again. She stabbed a little faster, managing to catch his side. He yelped painfully. It stung something terrible. He poked at her side, breaking through her defenses. He was careful to hit using the wooden part below the spear. He connected to her gut.
Blaze stumbled, yet she bounced back. She attacked viciously, all too slow for Silver. The limp and shield were weighing her down. Blaze must have realized that for she discarded the shield. Silver jumped at her, unleashing a flurry of strikes. Side of helmet. Shoulder. Low torso. Uninjured leg- he was careful to choose the correct leg. The last hit threw her off balance.
She fell to a knee, whimpering from the pain. I'll hurry this up, Blaze. Silver tried to force her yield. But she pushed back his spear. They each grabbed the ends and clashed, face to face, up-close. The spears had become staves. The stalemate blows came harder and faster every time.
His side was getting worse. Every move strained it, as if he were yanking the skin back further. Silver waited a moment, stepping out of her range. Blaze fell forward. He jammed his spear's handle into her helmet as hard as he could. She fell back, her weapon tumbling from her hands. Silver held his spear at her head. "Do you yield?" he asked.
"Y-Yes," she said, groaning.
As the announcer named him the winner, Silver helped her to her feet. She cried out, leaning on him for support. He carefully helped her over to her squire, who took Blaze off his hands. "You did good," he said, trying to reassure her.
"Thank you. You did as well," she said. Then she limped away, hanging from her squire.
He held his side. It was flaring up fiercely. Silver turned around, walking into the glares of his team. "What was that?" Slate asked.
"What? You saw how badly she was hurt. She couldn't take on Sir Stewart in her condition," Silver said.
"What are you going on about? That's what was supposed to happen!" Slate said, throwing his hands up. He was drawing the attention of those around. Silver tried to calm him down. "Gardon outright told you!" he continued, dropping his voice. "At lunch! Remember?"
"What do you mean?" Silver had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Stewart's arm got busted in one of the matches. Haven't you noticed he hasn't been using his right arm? His good arm, I'll remind you." He pointed to Stewart, who was still pacing. Only now, Silver saw that his right arm was almost immobile compared to his swinging left one. "That's why her leg was wrapped up good and well. She may have been slow, but she could've used her weapon of choice. He can hold a shield, but he's really limited to weak arm. Weren't you paying attention at all?"
Silver's tongue swelled more than Blaze's leg. He felt foolish. Stupid! Stupid! You didn't listen! He was at a loss for words. Slate and Brimble eyed him, waiting for an answer nonetheless.
"But now she doesn't have to strain herself," Silver said, arguing. "She might've seriously hurt herself."
"Like she's any better now?" Brimble said, clucking his tongue.
"Yes," Silver said. "I went easy on her. Even after she sliced me." He showed them his side. There was a gash there. The bleeding was subsiding, but a crimson splotch was already smeared on his armor. She had stabbed him very hard.
"You call that easy?" Brimble asked, his accusatory tone directing Silver to Blaze. Her squire tending to her. She held her arm protectively, cradling it. Her head was tilted back and her squire was dabbing through a slit in her helmet. The clothes used were pulled out blood-soaked. Blaze sat wobbly in her seat, nearly falling over several times.
"I- I didn't mean
" Silver trailed off. Had he hit her that hard? There was no possible way he could have, yet the proof was shakily sitting before him.
The announcer interrupted the questioning. "And now, our final match for the melee round! Sir Locksley the Unyielding and Sir Stewart the Stout! Please make your way to the ring!"
"I guess you had better go," Brimble said, crossing his arms.
He had to win this. For Blaze. "I'll fix this," he said, picking up his sword and shield. "Could you guys help her out in the meantime?"
"Of course," Brimble said.
"I'll win the tournament for Blaze. Don't worry." He would make this right. He had to. He headed for the ring
"The tournament? Don't you mean the round?" Brimble asked.
Silver stopped. "That's what I said, wasn't it?"
"No, you said the tournament." Now their eyes grew dark as they watched him.
"It was a slip of the tongue. You understand, right?" Silver looked at each of them. It had been a slip-up, had it not? He was fighting for Blaze. For her freedom, he added lest his own mind accuse him.
"Oh, we understand perfectly," Brimble said. He and Slate turned away, leaving Silver standing there.
"No! You don't-" he tried to call to them, but the announcer asked for his presence in the ring. Fine! They don't want to believe me. I don't have time to convince them. He held his shield high enough to cover his gash. He snatched a handkerchief from his equipment and stuffed it over his side. Silver hoped it would staunch the bleeding for now.
He walked into the ring. Stewart stood on the opposite end, wielding a mighty sword in his usable arm. The other, damaged arm was covered by his gold-ringed red shield. Stewart held his shield at around waist level, grimacing.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, our final round of the competition begins! Who will come out on top? Sir Stewart?" People cheered at the name. A gaggle of women threw their affection to him. He accepted their applause gracefully, smiling at the spectators.
"Or Sir Locksley?" Several people whooped and hollered for him. Silver shyly waved at the people pumping their fists for him. His eyes caught Gardon's, who turned away and left the stands. Silver lowered his arm. He could not concentrate on that. He would explain himself later. For now, he had to win the match.
The round started and they circled one another. Stewart was not one to be taken lightly. Even with a bum arm, Silver was sure he was still challenging. His own side ached, but he pressed on, continuing to step to the side.
At the same time, they ran forward. Their swords sliced the air, catching the sun's rays. Their weapons clashed, clanging hard against one another. Each pulled back as if burned by the sparks emitted. Then Silver met Stewart in another clash. Clang! Clang! Clang! The swords played their cadence for the ferocious dance. Silver met Stewart's blows, strength for strength, edge for edge.
Silver jumped to the side, aiming for Stewart's midsection. Stewart turned around and whacked Silver's shield. The hedgehog was knocked back several feet. He's good. Silver came at him again, dragging his sword low. He graced Stewart's legs before the lizard hit his sword away. Stewart chopped at Silver's sword arm. It was a close call, but he blocked the hit in time. He's very good. The injured arm did not appear to slow Stewart down in the least.
Every opening Silver tried, he was blocked off. The shield stood sturdy against Stewart's arm. At the head or legs, Stewart was too fast in countering. Silver's only option was the chest. He thrust low, hoping to pierce some point on the torso. Again, Stewart stopped him. His sword bounced off Stewart's shield, leaving Silver wide open.
Before he could recover, Stewart stabbed his knee. "Agh!" Silver yelled. Stewart had been lucky to find a chink in his armor, cutting the skin. Silver could move, but it stung awfully.
Stewart continued his attack, exploiting any opening there was. Silver was barely holding against him. How can he keep going? Where was all Stewart's energy coming from? Was the lizard using all his energy to end the battle soon? Silver had to fight back. He had to win. If he did not, Stewart would win and then only need one more victory to claim Blaze for Alans.
No! I won't let him win! He can't have her! I will win this tournament! Silver concentrated on Stewart's legs. A faint glow appeared around one. Silver pulled his hand to the side a little and the foot shifted. Stewart slipped on the dirt. That was all he needed.
Silver unleashed a fury of blows, all smacking against the shield. His merciless wailing was without end. Again and again, he hit the shield. Again and again, Stewart barely straightened his only defense back up.
You won't win! Silver's sword came down hard. He can't have her! The shield had a few dents. No one can have her! A faint, blue glow appeared around the shield. She's mine!
One final swing and Silver knocked the shield away into the air. Stewart hissed, his bad arm taking some damage in the process. Silver raised his sword up, breathing hard. His side was screaming for him to stop. His leg trembled, straining under his weight. He gulped down air, looking down at his beaten opponent. He brought the sword down. Stewart's eyes enlarged to the size of dinner plates. Silver stopped when the weapon's tip was right between the lizard's eyes. "Do you yield?" Silver asked, panting heavily. He could see stars emerging around his vision. Hurry up.
"Yes," Stewart said, calming down. "Yes, I yield."
The sword dropped from Silver's hand, clattering on the ground. He leaned over, clutching at the gash. Now that his adrenaline was slowing down, the pain was intensifying. He held out a hand to Stewart and helped him up. Even that gesture strained his side. Stewart supported him, holding him steady as the audience applauded. He had won.
Stewart raised Silver's arm high. The hedgehog enjoyed the reception, but was searching for Gardon and his team. He spotted Brimble, who frowned. Silver knew his appointed bodyguard had seen that final attack. Unlike the majority, Brimble knew he cheated. If he knew, then Gardon knew as well. Silver's stomach dropped. He had been expressly told not to use his powers.
Brimble did not say anything. He merely backed away, disappearing into the exiting crowd.
Silver shuffled from the arena. Stewart bared much of his weight, helping him to the edge. Outside, Blaze stood there, watching him. Silver choked up. Had she witnessed his power as well? Did she know?
She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Here, let's get you some help. Where's your squire?"
"He ran off somewhere," Silver said. He inhaled sharply. It was becoming painful to talk.
"Come with me." She tried to help, but Silver waved her off. "Please, it's the least I can do. I'm the one who gave you that after all."
You are dirt, Silver told himself as she helped him over to a seat. He had severely hurt her. He should have forfeited the match and tended to her needs. She was struggling to assist him. She winced when she moved too fast. Together, Blaze and her squire cleaned and dressed Silver's wounds, packing his side thoroughly with bandages.
"Thank you," Silver said when they finished. The blood still clung to his fur, but at least the pain was less intense.
"Thank you as well," she said. "Your squire and bodyguard helped dress my wounds too." She showed the various visible injuries he had given her, all wrapped in white cloth. Silver frowned, feeling ever more like a heel.
"Well, thank you again," he said, standing up. "I had better go." He hurried away before she could protest.
When Silver returned to his room, he expected to be visited by Gardon and his team, all three ready to deliver an earful. Only Gardon came, baring news of Brimble and Slate. "They won't come to see you. They're under the belief that you entered under false pretenses. Pretenses other than what we've entered you as," he added. "Something about how you plan to snatch Princess Blaze away for yourself."
"No, I
" Silver's tongue grew weak. He could not deny that he desired Blaze. He had tried to shove those feelings aside, but had they taken hold of him? They must have at some point during the round. Somewhere between receiving adoration and furious fights, he had lost sight of his goal. He buried his head in his hands. "I messed up," he said, moaning.
"That's an understatement," Gardon said. "I told you not to use your powers and what do you do? You sink to Wincott's level, cheating to get ahead. Victory at any cost."
"I didn't mean to," Silver said. "I didn't. I'm only trying to help Blaze."
"So you mean to tell me that all your love you harbor for her has no effect?" Gardon asked. When Silver did not answer, choosing to hang his head, Gardon sighed. "Silver, I've known you for years. I know that you have the princess' best interests at heart. You always have. But I fear your love is clouding your judgment. Using your powers? Not only was that unethical, but what would happen if you were caught?" Gardon leaned down, catching Silver's eye. "We would all be in trouble. Princess Blaze would be in trouble. If we're lucky, then at the very least, we would lose all our jobs. At the least," he stressed. "Most likely, we'd end up in the dungeon."
"I know," Silver said. Even though Blaze ordered that it be well-lit and the basic necessities be provided to the prisoners, it was not a place anyone wanted to end up. Silver had been there several times and always left as quickly as possible.
"My gut says I should strip you of all this and just claim you forfeited the rest of the tournament," Gardon said. "It would certainly be easier." He heaved a heavy sigh and closed his eyes. "Yet the princess needs our help and you're the only one who can aid her." He clasped Silver's shoulders. "You need to get it together. There's only one more round. Now can I count on you to help Princess Blaze and put her interests first?"
"Yes," Silver said, nodding his head.
"Good," Gardon said. He turned to leave. "I'll try talking to Brimble and Slate. With any luck, they'll at least still help tomorrow."
Then Silver was alone, left only with his thoughts. He reprimanded himself. What had he done? I was stupid. He punched his bed, grounding his fists into it. I was selfish. I don't deserve Blaze. How could she ever like a selfish person like me? In the corner, his shield laid propped on its side. He picked it up and threw it against the wall. His side strained itself. He kneeled over, holding onto the bed to steady himself. The wound did not bleed. Blaze had done an excellent job dressing it.
I'm not noble. He sat down on the bed. I'm certainly not a knight. A real knight would have acted differently.
A real knight. One like Sir Stewart. An idea slowly formed in Silver's mind. Stewart worked for Lord Alans. So far, Stewart had been everything a respectable person should be: fair, honest, strong, caring. Someone like that must have represented only half the qualities of their employer. In other words, someone who could care for Blaze. Someone who deserved her more than he did. He could see that clearly now that he was down from his selfish haze, putting Blaze's interests first. Perhaps Stewart and Alans could even help. Stewart fighting in Blaze's stead rather than Silver would please everyone more. After all, he was an honorable person.
Silver skipped dinner, planning what he would say to sway Stewart and Lanas. When he was sure everyone was finished, he quietly slipped out of his room. He left behind his armor. If he was going to convince Stewart and Alans to help, he needed to be as upfront and truthful as possible.
He walked down the grand halls, searching for Lord Alans' room. The more he formulated his idea, the more it proved to be the best for everyone. Blaze would have help from someone with her desires at heart, Gardon could strip Silver of his effects, and Brimble and Slate would not have to help a knight they had doubts about. It worked out for everyone.
Except you, his mind said. Yet he did not deserve anything, he reasoned. He had already lost his chance.
After searching for a little while, Silver found Lord Alans' room. Light filtered from underneath the closed door. He raised his hand to knock, but heard a loud shout come from within. "I don't care if you even lost your arm!" Who was that? Silver pressed his ear to the door gingerly.
"You are supposed to be the best! So far, all I've seen is a washed-up has-been who can't keep up." A person inside stomped to the door, then away from it. "I can forgive the archery. It's my Achilles' heel to be forgiving even when I shouldn't. But you should've had this. What happened out there?"
"I was bested." Stewart. He was defending himself. From Lord Alans? Silver's mind told him to leave, but he stayed, intent on listening.
"Bested? Bested? Bested is a hard-fought battle against a tough opponent. You were thrashed by a no-name whelp!" Silver bristled at that. "What do you think I'm paying you for? Or would you prefer to continue living the destitute life, suckling on crumbs of your former glory?"
No answer. More stomping. "My father could never have dreamed that I would be so close to taking this, not when he was too focused on scheming and removing anyone in his path to Lord. My eye is on this juicy apple of a kingdom. Thanks to this tournament, it's ripe for the picking. That's just peachy with me and fortunate for the princess."
Silver did not like what he was hearing. What had Alans planned for Blaze? "But if you fail this, I will have to resort to my previous plan. The blood from the civil war will be on your hands."
"Civil war?" Stewart asked.
"A civil war is expected when you no longer have a princess," Alans said. He let the sentence linger before continuing. Silver's throat tightened. "Of course I'll be there to guide everyone to an age of peace and prosperity under my rule. But can you live with the lives lost because you failed to win this tournament? It all rests on you after all."
Stewart did not say anything. "Then get this through that thick skull of yours. If you lose, then your lands are forfeit. If you lose, then your family also loses. Get the picture?"
"Yes," Stewart said.
"Good. Cheat if you must. No! I don't care about your glorious 'honor'. Just get it done."
Silver backed away from the door. All plans to bring in Lord Alans were ditched immediately. He had to get back to his room. He had to warn Gardon and the others. Blaze was in danger!
"Hey! What are you doing?" Silver spun around. Facing him were several guards, all sporting Alans' insignia on their armor. They drew their swords, rushing him. Silver cast a green barricade in front of him, cutting them off.
He turned to escape, but a fist collided with his face. He stumbled backwards. Then another shot hit his bandaged side. Blinding pain coursed through his veins. Another punch to the head and Silver blacked out.
"You sure you don't want to take this up with Princess Blaze?"
When Silver woke, he was cold. Very cold. His throbbing side soon overwhelmed all else. He moved a hand to cover it, but heard a rattling. A rattling like chains. His eyes snapped open and Silver saw he was sitting on the floor of the dungeon, his arms chained to the wall. In front of him was the warden, swinging a set of keys while talking to Alans and Stewart.
"No, no. No need to trouble the princess with this. She is taxed with the duties of a kingdom, not to mention the tournament. Just keep him here until the tournament is over. Then we can deal with him," Alans said.
"Still, hard to believe he attacked your guards."
"They have the bruises to prove it."
The warden shook his head. "Guess you never know some people."
Alans noted Silver coming to. "Would you leave us alone for a few minutes?" he asked. "I'd like to talk to him. See if he will tell me why he attacked."
"Sure," the warden said, catching his keys together. "I'll be right outside if you need me. Don't worry. I'll have my best men posted here to watch him."
"Thank you," Alans said. He waited for the warden to leave, then jerked his head at Stewart. The lizard walked over to the door and stood guard. Alans returned his attention to Silver. "Now, I'm going to assume you heard everything. So I'm sure you understand why I cannot allow you to interfere. It's nothing personal. It's politics. The most dangerous game after all." He chuckled. The dark slits in the middle of his golden orbs drew Silver in like yawning caverns.
"I understand you're one of the princess' lapdops," he said, leaning down. "A trustworthy soldier. I commend that. Truly I do. To tell the truth, I'm a little envious." He cast a glance at Stewart. The knight's arm was in a crude sling, but he was no less formidable in his armor. "All my dogs have to be beaten now and then to remind them who is in charge."
Silver relaxed a little. Alans had not made the connection between his wound and Sir Locksley. The noble must not have been close to the ring to see him. He groaned. His side was splitting open.
"Again, I apologize. Usually I'm not so barbaric. But I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. I'm quite forgiving after all. I could actually use someone like you in my employ. I could use some honesty around me. Wouldn't have to watch my back so much." He held up a hand. "Now, I know you're going to say 'no' at first, but I'm already going to rule this kingdom anyway. So you might as well be on the winning team. Think about it: you can keep whatever position you currently have, but with some added perks. I know sleeping in the barracks cannot be comfortable. You'll have a room in the castle. Some honor, title, or maybe a little summer home off in the countryside. You can settle down with a wife and kids."
"Blaze," Silver mumbled. His vision was fading in and out again. It was becoming harder to stay awake. The pain was unbearable. Alans paced in front of him, his golden tail flitting back and forth.
"Ah, yes. The princess. If Stewart's martial prowess proves up to the task, then you needn't worry. He should have won already, but that's what I get for hiring cheap." Alans shrugged.
"You don't care about her," Silver said slowly. He inhaled sharply, his ribs complaining as they expanded. "You don't love her."
"Love?" The bone-chilling cackles resounded off the empty dungeon walls. Alans held his stomach and wiped his eyes. "Love he says," Alans chuckled, the last of his laughter ending. "Let me tell you a little thing about love." He leaned down to Silver's face, their noses nearly touching. "You commoners only care so much about love because none of you will ever rise above your position. So you fool yourselves that love is the end all, be all of forces. That nothing is greater than love. That's all well and good since it keeps anyone from changing the status quo, but make no mistake. You will still die poor and a nobody.
"Not like us nobles," he said, standing up. He walked in front of Silver like a teacher instructing a student on a subject. "We die, but we're immortalized. Our power is written in history books the world round. I will admit I've often pondered what it would be like to marry for love. Certainly must be nice," he said, scratching his chin. "Not that I would know. I had to learn to give up love. You know why? Because marriage for us nobles is a little more complicated. We marry for money, land, power."
Alans grinned at Silver. "Yes, marriage for us is hitching your daughter to a count's son so they one day have an heir, giving you ample reason to go to war to press the claim. Marriage is poisoning a spouse who plans to have you killed to take your titles. That's marriage for us. A game of politics. Princess Blaze is just another pawn used in my greater game."
Silver mustered up a frown. Alans reciprocated the expression and clucked his tongue. "Oh, don't be like that. I cannot help myself. It's my weakness to need more. See, that is one thing you will never have to contend with." He squatted before Silver, baring his trembling teeth like a madman. "I need it. I cannot live without my position. Without my power. I need more of it all the time. It's my vice. An incurable one at that. So try to understand that I am helpless, as much a victim as you are."
If he could manage to, Silver would have laughed in his face. A victim? That was the most ridiculous notion he had ever heard. Yet all he could do was moan out short sentences. "Can't marry her," Silver said. "Don't love
" His voice faded. He no longer had the energy to speak.
Alans frowned. "Love again? What? Are you love's proponent? Championing its value in all cases?" He studied Silver's eyes, peering deep into them. Silver could barely return the stare, dropping his gaze to the stone floor. "No, that's not it. There's something- Wait." Alans moved back, recoiling as if a monstrosity had burst forth from Silver. "Are you- Are you in love with Princess Blaze?"
Silver could not answer. He only looked up, then hung his head once more. "That's it, isn't it? You are in love with the princess." Alans clapped his hands, stamped his feet, and laughed heartily. "Oh my!" he said, holding his forehead. "A commoner in love with royalty! No, the bodyguard even! Oh this is rich!"
He walked behind Silver. "My, my, my. This is the kind of thing you read about in trashy romance novels. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that yours will have a bittersweet end to it. But I'll tell you what I'll do." Alans pressed his mouth close to Silver's ear. "To prove I'm not a bad guy, if all goes well, I'll try and divorce Princess Blaze as soon as possible. I'll take her titles of course, but you can have her. See if she loves you too. Maybe that can comfort her as you two live out your lives in squalor and poverty like everyone else. But I doubt it."
Alans turned to the exit, but before he left, he said to Silver, "Think about my offer." Stewart cast a sidelong glance at Silver. There was a knowing look to the knight's eyes. Did he recognize the wound? It would not surprise Silver. So why did he not say anything? Was he keeping it a secret? Silver was thankful either way.
When the warden came in, Silver was teetering on the verge of consciousness. Someone cleaned his wound and redressed it. The dungeons were not inhumane like some believed and that was a welcome reprieve. He saw the warden slamming his cell shut afterwards and two soldiers positioned outside it.
"Blaze," he said. He had to reach her. Had to warn her. Had to save her. However, all too soon, Silver passed out.
Property of The Pen Vs The Sword. Please do not use without permission.
Hero and Maid: Chapter 5 by ThePenVsTheSwordWatch
©2013-2017 ThePenVsTheSword
So here's the next chapter for the story requested by I'm Not Mad-I'm Alice. As usual, all Sonic related characters belong to Sega. The story belongs to me, so please do not use without permission. Thank you.
Sword: We belong to him too!
Also, Arcantos belongs to Tempest of Reach. To be honest, the ending eluded me for a while. Or Alans' behavior. But after playing a certain game-
Sword: A fun game!
-I got an idea for him. So after a lot of thought-
Pen: And acting it out like an idiot.
-it came out well, I think. But let us know your thoughts on the story. Any feedback is appreciated and welcome.
Chapter 4: [link]
Chapter 6: [link]
Sword: We belong to him too!
Also, Arcantos belongs to Tempest of Reach. To be honest, the ending eluded me for a while. Or Alans' behavior. But after playing a certain game-
Sword: A fun game!
-I got an idea for him. So after a lot of thought-
Pen: And acting it out like an idiot.
-it came out well, I think. But let us know your thoughts on the story. Any feedback is appreciated and welcome.
Chapter 4: [link]
Chapter 6: [link]
Loved it! So much suspense! Also, you typed lanas instead of Alans in the eavesdropping scene. So sorry if I sound annoying!
;u; I'm really glad I'm reading this later, so there isn't a long wait between chapters. I'm exited to read more! *Clicks on chapter 6* ;u;
Hope you enjoy the rest!
Oh no! Silver! D: Loving the story btw ^^ Gah! Silver's such a hero (even when he hasn't done much yet)! Alans seems so... evil? Sly? idk XD I just love it ^^ What's going to happen next I wonder?
Thank you! ^^^ Well, big things are brewing for Silver. You'll just have to read to find out!
You Need To Continue If You Can I Love This Story!!!
; U; that was beautiful. I can't wait for the rest! !! (I hope it's soon!)
This was the hardest chapter for me to read! half the time I wanted to kill Silver!
AAAANNNNDDDD my prediction of what would happen next just flew out the window. That's a compliment to you though, I despise predictable stories. And this one just took a turn I wasn't anticipating, and I'm loving every minute of it.
This came out very well. I can't wait to see what happens next!
This came out very well. I can't wait to see what happens next!
Thank you so much! Glad you're enjoying it! What did you predict would happen?
We'll start working on the next chapter soon!
We'll start working on the next chapter soon!
Uh, basically everything from Lord Alans ordering his knight to cheat onward was pretty unexpected. The rest of it was a tangent off what I expected. I don't actually remember what I predicted, I just know what you wrote wasn't it. XD
Can't wait to read it!
Can't wait to read it!
Ah, ok. Well, it's like I've said, if people saw the 90's Robin Hood movie, they can kind of see what's going to happen.
The fight is really getting complicated now! Silver wants for Blaze to win, but I wonder if his true feelings will get in the way even more.... very interesting chapter as always
Thank you so much! They just might. Who knows?
No problem You're good at getting readers hooked on your stories. And I see you like your share of cliffhaners as well.
OWO! cool!
The way this chapter went reminds me of The Cerinian in Me.
Thank you so much! Never seen that show.
Well, the next chapter hasn't even bee started yet. Love your icon by the way.
Well, the next chapter hasn't even bee started yet. Love your icon by the way.
XD Thanks...
No rush. Take your time
And if you haven't seen Merlin, I would very, VERY highly recommend watching it. (Final episode of the series aired recently, and I'm scared to watch it cuz I don't want it to end)
But yes, it's just 5 seasons long (13 episodes per season). Yeah, um...I love it. XD
No rush. Take your time
And if you haven't seen Merlin, I would very, VERY highly recommend watching it. (Final episode of the series aired recently, and I'm scared to watch it cuz I don't want it to end)
But yes, it's just 5 seasons long (13 episodes per season). Yeah, um...I love it. XD


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The Candy brothers, developers behind the One Hyde Park apartment complex in Knightsbridge, have scored another victory after winning planning permission for a major residential scheme near Tower Bridge.
Designed by award-winning architects Foster + Partners, the Sugar Quay project includes 165 flats over 11 storeys and will involve the transformation of a Seventies Tate & Lyle office building, into what the brothers said will be an "exceptional living experience" on the north side of the Thames.
The plans had been in doubt after the proposals were referred to the City of London's planning committee amid concerns over the number of flats, but the 280,193 square foot site got the go-ahead today.
Christian Candy said: "This is a unique site directly on the river and the redevelopment will make a major contribution to this part of the Thames, whilst delivering an exceptional living experience in a prominent location."
Grant Brooker, senior partner at Foster + Partners said: "We believe Sugar Quay will reactivate a very significant piece of London's riverfront and make a positive contribution to the Unesco world heritage site, just 100 metres from the Tower of London."
Christian Candy and his brother Nick's SQ Guernsey company paid £34 million to the official receiver for the site last March. The purchase was the first buy-up since the brothers spent £959 million on the Chelsea Barracks site, with the backing of Qatari Diar, in 2008.
That design was scrapped after high-profile opposition, including from Prince Charles, and the brothers later won a High Court case against the Qatari royal family over breach of contract. They have since sold their stake in the barracks site, which has yet to be developed.
One Hyde Park is billed as the world's most expensive apartment building. The Candys made their first property deal in 1995, buying a flat in Earl's Court for £122,000, aided by a loan from their grandmother, and sold it for a £50,000 profit.
- More about:
- Architects
- Architecture
- Artists
- Sugar


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 2/5/2014 (1179 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
This particular gash is taking forever to heal, David Magida explains as he points to a triangular scab on his shin. The other angry red marks crisscrossing his legs, however, are nothing serious. They're just the natural result of sprinting through the woods while ignoring errant branches, pointy rocks and the absence of a trail.
"So let's start running," Magida says encouragingly as he takes off into Washington's Rock Creek Park.
I only manage to keep up for a few feet. Then he's suddenly on the other side of a small stream and scrambling up a hill, and I'm still stuck contemplating how to cross the water via mossy stones without twisting an ankle.
Worrying isn't something Magida, 27, spends much time doing these days. The devoted obstacle racer is way too busy crawling beneath barbed wire, hopping across logs and scaling award podiums. Usually, he's engaged in these activities at Spartan Race events as a member of the Spartan Race Pro Team. That's an elite group of 10 men and 10 women who are ambassadors for the series, which has set its sights on dominating the burgeoning sport of obstacle running.
There are plenty of other hard-core obstacle runs out there, most notably the Tough Mudder -- or "the orange guys," as Magida calls them because of the race's signature colour. But while most of those events are about finishing, the Spartan Race is focused on winning.
The business strategy seems to be exactly what goes through a participant's mind at one of these races: Be prepared to do whatever it takes.
One tactic Spartan Race has employed is offering prize money to lure top competitors. That's built up a loyal following among athletes such as Magida.
And it's growing like crazy. Spartan Race expects to have a million participants in more than a dozen countries in 2014, including Canada (for Canadian events, go to: ca-en.spartanrace.com).Not bad, especially when you consider it started in 2010 in Vermont with 500 people.
This month, Spartan Race chief executive and co-founder Joe De Sena is releasing Spartan Up! a book that lays out the philosophy behind this movement. "We forgot we're animals. We sit inside perfectly climate-controlled environments all the time," says De Sena, a seasoned ultramarathoner and extreme-adventure racer. It can be scary to run wild, he admits, but it's what we were born to do.
His dream is to turn obstacle racing into an Olympic sport.
For now, the plan is to encourage more people to commit to doing a race -- one that's only a few kilometres. If they do that, there's a good chance they'll get hooked on doing more and going farther, just like Magida.
"I knew from that first eight-foot wall," Magida says, reminiscing about his debut obstacle event in 2011. "It was a trial by fire. Literally, because there was fire."
Spartan Race recently developed its own group exercise program, Spartan Coaching.
Magida is an instructor certified in the Washington area. To get a feel for how this will work, I asked Magida to let me tag along for one of his workouts. That's how I ended up chasing after him in Rock Creek Park, crawling across stones, bounding over roots and losing my footing repeatedly.
Mercifully, that run ended pretty quickly; it was just the warmup. But another one was about to begin. We moved over to a muddy field, where Magida instructed me to pick up an 18-kilogram sandbag, a.k.a. the Spartan pancake. He sometimes takes it on long runs, but all I needed to do was sprint with it across the clearing and back.
Again, I found myself lagging far behind, only now I had streaks of mud running down the backs of my legs. When we stopped, it was time to get the fronts of our bodies equally dirty by pumping out a set of mountain climbers.
As soon as we completed a six-minute interval of assorted exercises, we sprinted again with the sandbag, then launched into another interval: squats, kettlebell swings, pushups, switch lunges. We repeated that sprint and interval structure a few more times, always with different moves to tackle.
I wasn't surprised one of them was the burpee. (Squat down, put your hands on the ground, jump your feet out, do a pushup, jump your feet back to your hands, then jump up with your hands overhead.) In a Spartan Race, if you can't complete an obstacle, the penalty is 30 burpees. (According to De Sena, that's because of an analysis the race organizers did: "It's painful enough punishment to motivate you to try the obstacle.")
My muscles were screaming and my heart was pounding when Magida finally told me to stop and handed over a spear. Being able to calm yourself and throw with accuracy is one of the most difficult challenges a Spartan Race participant faces, he explained.
I missed on my first throw. "Not terrible" was Magida's official review.
He then showed how he could back away and still sink the spear directly into the centre of the dead tree stump he uses as a target.
I tried to copy what he did and sent it instead into a patch of grass. Quite a few times. Just as I was ready to give up, I heaved the weapon once more, and it flew from my hand and stuck in the stump.
I was tired. I was muddy. But I felt pretty darn good.
-- The Washington Post


text:
The 'Voice' coach shares an Instagram photo of him posing with the 'Fine China' singer and captions it, '#staytuned #Loyal.'
Usher has hinted at a collaboration with Chris Brown. The 35-year-old singer recently took to Instagram to share a photo of him posing in a car with the "Fine China" hitmaker, who has just completed his 90-day rehab stint.
"Yep me & @chrisbrownofficial What happens next....#staytuned #Loyal," Usher captioned the black-and-white snap. No further explanation was given, but he's probably readying a remix to Brown's single "Loyal" which is taken from his upcoming "X" album.
Usher has been musically quiet since releasing his latest album "Looking 4 Myself" in 2012. He is currently busy with his role as a coach on NBC's "The Voice", which premiered earlier this week.
As for Brown, the 24-year-old artist is almost finishing his long-awaited project "X" which is now scheduled to hit the stores on May 5. " 'X' is by far my best album yet," he said when announcing the album's release date late last week.
Brown has also hinted at a collaboration with pop singer Ariana Grande. Earlier this month, the two stars tweeted what might be the lyrics of their new song. The Nickelodeon star, who released her debut album "Yours Truly" last summer, then told her fans, "A song u haven't heard that is coming out in march."


text:
The Wanted… Were They Forced to Break Up?
The Wanted is out on their "Farewell Tour", but did the boys really want to go their separate ways or were they forced to?
According to Gossip Cop, the band that has been together since 2009, was forced to break up by their record label, Universal Music. Apparently it's very expensive to keep boy bands together, I mean… look at that hair, they must be spending thousands in hair products alone.
Even though their record label feels like dropping them is the best move, their longtime manager, Scooter Braun, said he is "standing by the boys" if they ever want to try and get back together.
Well, if they are being forced to break up and don't really want to, couldn't they find a label or a way to stay together?
What do you think, do you find is shocking that it's too expensive to keep The Wanted together, after how successful they've been? Comment below.


text:
The Francis Marion University ARCH (Advancing Rural and Community Health) Program will sponsor a series of free health screenings that are open to the public at the following locations:
The screenings will consist of blood pressure check, fingerstick blood sugar, lab work for cholesterol and kidney function and a health survey. Assistance with completing a Universal Medication Form will also be provided for all patients who bring their medications.
The ARCH Program was established at FMU to provide a variety of health awareness services in rural communities including health screenings, health awareness seminars and lifestyle education programs. Under the direction of staff physician, Paul DeMarco, students enrolled in programs leading to careers involving health care, mental health, social work, and related fields are involved in providing these services, with emphasis on rural communities in the Pee Dee Region.
The programs and services are provided in community-based venues, including schools, community centers, churches, civic organizations and other appropriate locations.
For more information about the screening or the ARCH program, contact the ARCH office at 843-661-1846 or email firstname.lastname@example.com. Visit the ARCH website at www.fmarion.edu/students/arch.


text:
In December 2010, I made a foolish and public declaration that I would devote myself for a whole year to one typeface and one typeface only—Helvetica.
I hastily added a caveat that if I was working for a client, I would work within their existing branding and would be exempt from using Helvetica in these cases, but boldly declared that every other piece of written communication designed for my own purposes would be set only in the dreaded, boring and ubiquitous Helvetica.
This declaration was met with cries of disbelief from my friends and co-workers, all fellow graphic designers. "How could I be creative if I had to use that awful typeface?" "How could I possibly express myself with something so … so … common?" "A whole year? It's impossible".
I found their responses fascinating, and entirely predictable. I would be responding in much the same way, were I in their shoes, but the reasons I made this declaration were twofold: firstly, I had just seen Gary Hustwit's excellent documentary 'Helvetica' and was convinced by 'Build' designer Michael C. Place's self-initiated challenge to "make something beautiful out of something ordinary", (which he was apparently doing very well) and secondly, I had become tired of the typographic elitism that was settling in amongst my peers over which font you should use, what was cool and what was not, and I thought it would be such a relief not to have to engage in such discussions for a while.
I am pleased to say, the year has gone remarkably well. I think it was one of the best 'foolish' decisions I have ever made and the tactile typography pieces that emerged from the project have given me enormous enjoyment and satisfaction.
Looking back over the year, I will admit that the relationship wasn't perfect—there were times throughout when I wasn't entirely faithful. I strayed once or twice, usually to the subtle curves of Museo, or Bebas when I needed something sleek and skinny, but for the most part, Helvetica served my needs admirably, and we made some beautiful visual music together.
And so, the year is up and the time has come to say goodbye to Helvetica.
This installation marks the cathartic end of a wonderful yearlong relationship that has been rewarding and productive. The relief of not facing an arduous decision-making process every time I turn on a computer has been delightful and I am sure has saved me many hours of my life. I have also really enjoyed proving to myself, and everyone else, how beautiful this cold and emotionless typeface can be if it is treated with some love, care and attention.
Goodbye Helvetica. It's been fun.
The show will open on Valentine's Day, 2012


text:
North Vancouver
School District 44
Current Job OpeningsData updated on: 7/21/2017 2:13:45 PM
- Speech Language Pathologist
- Elementary and Secondary French Immersion Teachers
- Secondary French Immersion TTOC & District on Call – Francais Langue – Seconde-Immersion, Sciences Humaines and Sciences Naturel
- Temporary (1.0 FTE.) - Secondary Concert Band & Jazz Bands Teacher position
- Teacher Teaching On Call (TTOC) - Elementary
- Elementary & Secondary Counsellors
- BC certified Elementary French Immersion Teachers - Full-time positions available!
- Teacher Teaching on Call (TTOC) - Elementary & Secondary Music
- Elementary & Secondary Librarian - Teacher Teaching on Call (TTOC)
- Teacher Teaching On Call- Technological Education
- Teacher Teaching On Call (TTOC) - Secondary
- Elementary Learning Assistance / Learning Support Teachers & TTOCs
- Secondary Learning Assistance / Learning Support Teachers & TTOCs
- School Psychologist
- International Baccaulaureate (IB) TTOC's
- School Psychologist
- Senior Accountant (full-time, 12-month temporary position)
- Application Support Coordinator (12 month continuing contract)
- Program Manager
- Records Clerk (35 FTE. continuing contract position - 12 months)
- Janitor – On Call (Casual)
- On-Call (Casual) Adult Crossing Guard
- Education Assistant (EA) On-Call (Casual)
- Supervision Aide/Clerical
- Load More Job Openings
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At a Glance
- Number of Schools
- 32
- Elementary
- 25
- High School
- 6
- Alternative
- 1
- Number of Students
- 15800
- Number of Employees
- 2225
District Overview
Our purpose is to ensure that each learner can succeed in a challenging educational program. With the wide variety of programs we offer, every student has an opportunity to be successful. Our mission is to promote academic, social and personal development; honour diversity; encourage equity; and practise democratic governance.
Regional Diversity
From coastal beaches to mountain forests, North Vancouver's natural setting offers year-round recreational opportunities. The rich multiculturalism of our district is reflected in a wide array of programs and services, including our commitment to supporting the history, culture and traditions of the First Nations communities on whose traditional territories we are located.
Specialty Programs
Our specialty programs include band, the Artists for Kids gallery, early and late French immersion, International Baccalaureate, Aboriginal education; international education and distributed learning. Special needs students are well supported. The district has strong participation in extracurricular athletics, band , choir and student leadership. We are also very proud of our residential environmental education centre located near Squamish, BC.
Community Culture
North Vancouver is the perfect location for individual, family and community pursuits. Just minutes from Vancouver, we're only a short commute to the additional cultural activities and sporting events in the broader Metro Vancouver area.
Draw for Employees
We are a provincial leader in developing instructional programs and curriculum resources such as Reading and Math 44. We value teaching and learning, high standards of accountability, innovation and creativity, community involvement, and collaboration and collegiality. North Vancouver is "the natural place to learn" and for staff, "the natural place to work."
Salary and Benefits
Teachers typically receive a comprehensive benefits package including:
- medical, dental, and extended health plans;
- group life insurance benefits;
- teachers' pension;
- extended health benefits for dependents of deceased employees;
- accidental disability insurance;
- salary indemnity plan benefit;
- supplemental employment benefits on maternity leave;
- employee and family assistance programs.
Teachers in positions with special responsibilities, e.g. department heads, teacher consultants, teacher coordinators, counsellors, psychologists, alternate school teachers, speech pathologists, may receive a financial allowance of $2,000-$4,000 annually.
Teachers working in remote and rural schools may also receive a recruitment allowance, and an annual retention allowance. Learn more about teacher salaries with the Salary Finder tool.
For specific details about North Vancouver's compensation, salary, and benefits, please refer to their collective agreement.
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text:
The Program Manager coordinates the implementation of all program activities and supervises the program specialists at a volunteer-led day camp.
Read the Program Manager's Responsibilities and Qualifications
- Complete all required training as sponsored by both River Valleys and the Day Camp Leadership Team.
- Maintain ongoing communication with River Valleys and Day Camp Director.
- Supervise the planning, implementation, and evaluation of day camp programming.
- Ensure the Girl Scout Mission, Promise, and Law are the basis for decision-making and delivery of the Day Camp Program.
- Assume responsibilities of the Day Camp Director in their absence.
- Train, supervise, and provide support to the Day Camp Program Specialists.
- Coordinate and supervise all program activities including scheduling, all-camp events, and ceremonies.
- Work within the program and ratio expectations as outlined in the Girl Scout Safety Checkpoints.
- Where applicable, ensure that all campers are educated on and practice the "Leave No Trace" philosophy.
- Work with the Day Camp Finance Manager on the ordering and purchase of supplies and equipment.
- Assist with the maintenance of equipment, supplies, and inventories.
- Collect, review, and submit any end-of-season reports on time with the Day Camp Director.
- Assume other responsibilities as assigned by the Day Camp Director.
- Follow all GSUSA and River Valleys policies, standards, and procedures.
- Currently registered adult member of GSUSA.
- Willing to fully participate in volunteer application and screening process.
- Practice welcoming and inclusive behavior toward people of all ages, races, religions, cultures, abilities, sexual orientation, gender, educational, and economic backgrounds.
- Committed to speak and act in a manner consistent with the Girl Scout Mission, Promise, and Law.
- Demonstrate excellent group and interpersonal communication skills.
- Complete all required trainings and respond to River Valleys'staff communications in a timely manner.
- Have a genuine liking for girls; understanding and respecting their individual differences.
- Ability to be flexible; evaluate and make desirable changes.
- Ability to make good judgments regarding programming.


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king krule in nylon guys
Watching the throne with Archy Marshall...
king krule in nylon guysIn the summer of 2010 when we stumbled across an mp3 called "Out Getting Ribs" by a mysterious artist called Zoo Kid which landed us HERE. There was little to be known about the artist, just a few songs but that's all we needed to get hooked, and we were. Fully hooked. Fast forward three years and Archy Marshall, once Zoo Kid now King Krule has amassed hundreds of thousands of fans, just released his first full length record 6 Feet Beneath the Moon and is selling out shows around the globe. We were lucky enough to meet Marshall and see him play which you can read about it on page 96 of this months issue. Read all about this young dude's writing process and journey to becoming the king.


text:
5 April 2011
Unite response to Health Select Committee report into commissioning health services
Reacting to the publication today (Tuesday) of the report by the influential cross-party health select committee, Unite the union said that the coalition's chaotic changes to the NHS are now so widely reviled they cannot be saved by the government.
The select committee has warned that the forthcoming changes lack accountability and that the secretary of state cannot abandon his role as the politician responsible for the performance of the health service. It also warns that the new system of GPs taking charge of both purchasing and providing care could result in serious conflicts of interest. The report is the latest in a long line of criticism of the government's health and social care bill.
Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary said:
"The committtee raises profound questions about the government's competence when it comes to the NHS. It rightly warns that massive £20 billion cuts to health spending at a time of rising care demands is a fundamental challenge to the NHS's operations. To then pile a chaotic, bureaucratic restructuring of the service on top of massive cuts can only be regarded as irresponsible. Far from improving our NHS this government is setting it on the road to certain ruin – and privatisation.
Trust is now the issue at the heart of this debate. The government promised no top down reforms to the NHS but is forcing through changes so huge that, as the NHS chief executive said, they can be 'seen from the moon'. They promised no cuts to health spending, but we now have the repugnant situation of queues for care growing while billions of taxpayers' money is being spent making doctors and nurses redundant. They said that the NHS would be safe in their hands yet within months the service we know and trust will disappear with patients left to negotiate a bewlidering array of providers if they need treatment when all they want is one-stop care.
With not one single professional body commending these changes and not one iota of proof that they will deliver any improvement in health, the only conclusion that can be drawn from the government's continued support for this bill is that they are totally committed to destroying the NHS.
There is no case for the bill. There is no way it can be redeemed. It will never have the trust of the people. It must be dropped now and every emphasis put on stopping patients suffering from these horrendous spending cuts."