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This course is designed for those who feel called to a private practice in personal, one-on-one spiritual direction, and who anticipate working with clients from a variety of faith traditions. It is also well-suited for those who intend to do group spiritual direction, and for those of other helping professions who want to add a spiritual guidance perspective to their current work (such as psychotherapists, social workers, health practitioners, ministers and chaplains). Upon successful completion of the program, participants are qualified to provide spiritual direction in the context of their choosing.
This offering is designed to inspire, nurture and educate those who are called to serve as Spiritual Directors in an Interfaith capacity in our increasingly diverse world. Our innovative course features a combination of the study of world religions, an exploration of personal spirituality, and spiritual direction skills... all in a creatively infused context.
Our Interfaith Spiritual Direction Program teaches a non-directive interfaith approach. We do not believe in telling people how to think, what to believe, how they are supposed to feel, or what they do in any specific circumstances. We believe that the person who comes to us for direction is the expert on his or her own spiritual life, and that the person knows, deep down what is best. Thus we teach skills to help people discern their own deep inner wisdom and to live with a deeper sense of connection and alignment with Spirit.
Spiritual Direction Skills
World Religions
The Spiritual Experience
Personal Development & Integration
To be certified as an Interfaith Spiritual Director, students are required to complete:
Each month a team of core and guest faculty guides students in an integral learning experience, incorporating theological, academic, creative and experiential elements. Class content at the modules flows between didactic and experiential, artistic and reflective modalities. Although each module is different, all of them contain elements of spiritual direction, spirituality, and personal development. Class sessions run from approximately 9am to noon and 1pm to 5 pm each day. Participation at all sessions is required.
Each student is required to have had a minimum of three spiritual direction sessions prior to beginning the program. In addition, during the course of studies, students are required to complete 30 sessions with a spiritual director. Spiritual directors must be approved by the program director. Spiritual Directors are hired independently of the school and are compensated for their services directly by the student. To download the Course Catalog, which includes the above information, click here.
Students provide actual spiritual direction sessions to clients to develop and hone their spiritual direction skills. This contextual learning gives each student the opportunity to integrate their learning into the flow of lived experience. This is where students can test their wings and begin to grow their skills within the supportive structure of our learning community.
Students meet 12 times with a qualified spiritual direction supervisor to review and reflect on their practicum hours.
Each student is required to have a personal spiritual practice to which one is committed. The options for a personal spiritual practice are multiple and flexible. Examples include attendance at a weekly worship service, daily meditation or prayer based on a primary faith tradition, yoga, art, journaling, and so on.
Reading of sacred texts from the correlating faith tradition, such as Islam's Qur'an, Judaism's Tanach, Christianity's Bible, Buddhism's Dhammapada, and Hinduism's Bhagavad Gita.
This is a modular course. It features hybrid distance learning in order to serve students from near and far. Our goal is to join the best features of classroom teaching with independent learning to serve the needs of people who cannot spend a great deal of time on a campus and attend classes week after week.
In Person instruction: Students attend four 5-day intensives called Intensive Learning Modules. Students travel to Berkeley, California for important interaction and instruction for the development of personal, interpersonal, and theoretical skills. Information about travel is here.
Independent Study: Between the Intensive Learning Modules, students work independently on reading, practicum, and spiritual practices. They communicate with faculty and classmates via email and social media.
ChI's curriculum has been designed to meet the growing need for inter-religious understanding as a tool for serving the diversity of our world today. Our educational approach is one of multi-modal education, always reaching for the balance of engaging the body as well as the mind and spirit, so that our students may learn to their greatest capacity, while having useful skills and tools with which to serve others.
In addition to recognizing the varieties of faiths and culture in our student body, the curriculum is designed based on the knowledge that individuals learn and receive information in a variety of ways. Renowned educator Howard Gardner, author of Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, identified a variety of styles through which individuals learn.
Over our years of teaching, we have discovered what Gardner calls "multiple Intelligences," and what we call "ways of knowing." Some of us know the world through movement or singing; these are kinesthetic or musical learners. We may know the Divine through walking or singing—or, like the Sufi Dervishes, as we turn or dance as a form of prayer. ChI has found that the most effective education begins in the cultural comfort zone of didactic presentation and providing foundational context, as a strong framework for study and understanding. Subsequently we build on this foundation, weaving all the elements of our program together through experiential and creative learning modalities.
This educational methodology of interweaving promotes an exciting learning environment and encourages individual ways of knowing—as well as serving as a foundation for understanding differences in the ways that others come to know themselves and their relationships to family, community, and Divinity.
The landscape of Interfaith may seem as foreign to you as Morocco, or Nepal. For this reason you need guides on the journey who are knowledgeable, who speak the language because they have been there and have learned from experience, or who can join you in finding the way to ask the questions that will point to the next step on the path. Our Interfaith Spiritual Direction Faculty help to expand students' working language of Interfaith Spiritual Direction. They interact with the student's unique gifts of calling and aspiration for spiritual direction in order to support the student's attainment of the skills and competencies necessary to being a professional and successful spiritual director.
Rev. Dr. John R. Mabry is the Director of the Interfaith Spiritual Direction Certificate Program for ChI. He has been teaching spiritual guidance for more than ten years. A United Church of Christ pastor, John pastors Grace North Church minister in Berkeley, CA and teaches spiritual guidance, world religions, and comparative theology at Bay Area schools. He is the author of several books on spirituality and interfaith ministry, including Growing Into God: A Beginner's Guide to Christian Mysticism; Noticing the Divine: An Introduction to Interfaith Spiritual Guidance; and Faith Styles: Ways People Believe, among many others.
Willie Ruth Harris, ChI Interfaith Spiritual Direction student, 2014-2015, Tallahassee, Florida
ChI offers you an opportunity to become more fully connected with your spiritual sense and whatever you may call your higher power, and you leave the program with tools that you can use to help you on your way. And because it is interfaith, it gives you a sense of confidence and a sense of know-how and knowledge about the direction to go, and it just connects you with a platform from where to start. It gives you a sense of home, a place to belong, because you develop new relationships with people that you can call upon that you didn't have before, and it doesn't matter what they may call their higher power because the language is universal. I just love everybody at ChI. It is an amazing experience.
To download the Course Catalog, which includes the above information, click here.
Spiritual Direction (or spiritual guidance) is the art of companioning people on the spiritual journey. To seek to live in alignment with path and soul can be challenging, exhilarating, sometimes even heart-wrenching. A skilled Spiritual Director listens carefully, asks lots of questions, points out things he or she notices that the client may have missed, and supports the client's spiritual unfolding. More ...
August 21 - 25, 2017
October 23 - 27, 2017
January 22 - 26, 2018
April 23- 27, 2018
Sessions run for 5 days, Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 4:30 pm each day, with occasional evening classes as well, from 6-9 pm, in Berkeley, CA. Attendance is required at all sessions.
Applications are accepted on a first come, first served basis.
The course is limited to a total of 25 students.


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Arrr, shiver me timbers, and all that stuff since its time for me to review the pirate roleplaying game from the Overworks development team over at Sega. Released on the dreamcast in 2001 it is Skies of Arcadia. With the game being re-released soon for the Playstation 2 and the Gamecube, it seemed only fitting to review this game. So lets get on with it. The Details... Well as said up above its a roleplaying game, which means you get turn based battle, your normal kind of roleplaying game, but with a little difference. Instead of standing in a straight line, the characters move around the battle ground, and so do your enemies. Another innovation into this genre, and the most attractive invention, are the ship battles. Yes, you can take your own pirate ship into the skies and battle against the scourge of the skies. Apart from that though, its your normal RPG with your normal battles and your normal story, but talking about the story, lets get onto it. The Story... So it goes like this, it's an entirely different world you're on, but you're still human, there's no water, barely any land, and the world seemingly has no bottom. This adventure takes place above the clouds in the land called Arcadia (Hence the name, clever eh?). The world is covered in little islands floating in the sky and some rather big ones as well. But it's all like the world we live in, there are the jungles, there are the ice caps, there are the run down cities. You take control of a young pirate named Vyse, who has a patch over his eye (Creative) but this patch serves as a magnifying glass. He's joined with his childhood friend Aika, and they are aboard a pirate ship. They then run into a mysterious woman under the siege of the evil empire (Again, creative). The young girl is saved, then all three of them embark on a mystical quest to find crystals across the world, which control giant ancient monsters called the gigas, which the empire
want to control for themselves. So the rest of the game is a race against time between the three and the empire, with lots of characters being introduced and some plot twists. Now that you know about the game, here comes the criticism. Not enough actually happens. It really is just "Oh no, we have to find the crystals to save the world" and you go to a place, get the crystal, go to another place, get the crystal, etc etc etc. Then the plot twists, aren't they great, by acts of betrayal all the crystals are taken away, and you must get them back. It just reminded me too much of a child's cartoon, rather than a serious RPG. The story is just mediocre. The story though is helped along by the usual RPG script. It's all text based as usual and nothing really special to write home about. Unfortunately though the script is filled with one liners and is buzzing with meaningless optimism. Even if someone dies, they're only unhappy for one line then they've already forgotten about it and ready for the next task. It might be just the translation, but the script is just awful, again, it's like a childrens cartoon, but the game is intended for teenagers. Overall the story and the script don't really impress me, it just seems... weak, especially compared to more meaningful RPGs such as the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series. But on a brighter note, the story does have its highlights towards the end, and the optimism does create some great events. But describing these in detail would unfortunately give away some of the story. The Gameplay... As described earlier this game is the usual RPG. Turn based battles are the only real means of interaction. So yes, it's the same old thing, you run around with your character, exploring the surroundings and looking for those crystals. Really it is just run around, press a button, run around some more. But that's not exactly a bad thing, it never seems to get monotonous, due to
the lack of it when compared to the battles. So let's get onto the battles. First thing that will come into your mind is how different it looks. Your people actually move around, something that hasn't been done in an RPG since Chrono Trigger. It is good idea, really bringing the RPG genre forward, but it just feels like so much could have been done to the system, make it so that you could control where your person goes, instead of it all being random. And unfortunately, it doesn't really make much of a difference that your person runs around, which is disappointing. What will also strike you before the game is done, is how many battles you've actually been through. There are a lot of random battles in this game. When I say random battles for all you non-RPG fans, I mean this: You walk around minding your own business, then the screen goes funny, a funny sound is made and you're instantly transported into a battle, this is a random battle. But when I say there are a lot of random battles in this game, I mean, there are a LOT! of random battles in this game. It certainly does get tedious when you sometimes can't even go 3 footsteps without another random battle breaking out. But it's time to move on. Ship battles, the focus of the game, and which people will tell you is one of the highlights of the game. This is a great feature that's fun to play, works the same as the normal battles, but this time you can make 4 moves at one time, and the four turns play out. It incorporates a lot of strategy, and is always a treat to play. One problem though. The difficulty. You just can't seem to lose a ship battle, regardless of how hard the competition is supposed to be, even in the lowest of ships, you will always win. It is really disappointing that the enemies pose no danger. This leads to another problem though, repetition. Some of the enemies you face in the ship battles have a lot of health points, which will take you an hour to kill. I
t's not fun after that hour, trust me. Through all the faults though, the system tries to be innovative, and succeeds to a certain extent, but it fails at the same time due to careless mistakes in the programming, it is far too easy, and it is far too common, problems that could easily be countered. But it's fun to play, if somewhat tedious at times. The Graphics... This is where the game starts to shine. The graphics are clean, crisp, colourful, detailed, and the 60Hz mode comes as well, meaning the characters move brilliantly. The actual graphical style is hard to explain. The characters are normal size, yet have an anime look to them taken from a children's anime such as Pokemon. Also the faces of the characters are funny, after a line their faces change to meet the mood of the line, with some funny frowning and angry faces from Aika for example. The special effects in the battle are amazing, they're moves which are like the limit breaks in the final fantasy games. When they strike with the move, the entire screen fades out of the battle, and the background becomes just a fantastic light show, be warned though, those with epilepsy should take care into playing the game due to the effects. The ships graphics are also amazing, they just look like toy ships in their style, and come across graphically as clear and bright as the characters. There is one let down on the graphics though, they incorporate a graphics trick where the area around the person is clean and crisp, but the area outside of it is filled with slightly blurred visuals. This is only a little problem though, but if you're playing for a long time, it will just seem like a let down. But overall the graphics are just great, typical dreamcast graphics that rival most playstation 2 games. The Sound... Both good and bad points to come from this. The good part first. The sound effects, there might not be any speech, but the characters do say somethin
g in the form of the occassional sound effect with words such as "Yay", how can you not fall in love with such a cute yay? Also on the special moves and at the end of battles, the character makes a sentence, with such memorable phrases as "Come on, dance for me" and "There is light, there is darkness" all firmly remaining in your mind for weeks after you've finished the game. Now the bad, the music score, just can't help but imagine this sounds familiar. Kind of like Zelda. But it's nothing special, which is a shame, and it certainly doesn't emphasise the environment or the situation, and can get annoying at times. Overall though the sound is of a good quality, and the small bits of speech are fantastic. The Value... The game comes on two discs, and they seem to go pretty quickly, but in reality it's about 30-40 hours of gameplay. This is pretty good value, and certainly beats rental status, but the only problem is, like most RPGs, you won't want to play it after, so if you're like me who plays games religiously first time, you'll be done with it in a week and never touch it again. This is a bad point, definitely, but if you like to enjoy it in moderation, then it will last you a while. There are little extra features though, you can download a new island from the website, but isn't really worth it, and the sub quests in the game are pretty straight forward, but at the end of the day it all depends on how you play them, from my point of view, it doesn't hold good value. The End... Well that wraps it up. The game has nice graphics, nice sound, nice innovative battles, nice length, but is unfortunately let down by a mediocre storyline, shallow characters and too random battles that are far too easy. I would rate this game higher, but the faults are just too big. I really hope they sort out the battle system for the Ps2 and Gamecube versions, since that is what is
really stopping this game from getting anywhere near brilliant. So this game gets a 2 star, since an RPG relies on storyline and battles, but fails to deliver on either.
Pinta Quest is a mini-game for your VMU that you can download from Skies of Arcadia. Upon you VMU, 83 blocks would be taken from the space you already have. The map is of fair size and is bigger than the screen on your VMU. Some of the spaces on the map may contain land, air or land and air. You can choose which part of the map you want to fly above. When you are flying, a series of things could happen: 1) It could show a message that does nothing 2) You could find an item - either A,B or C, where A is the best and C is the worst 3) You could find a ship which can either be a pirate ship or a trading ship 4) You can get headwinds or strong winds where on headwinds you press A and B alternately and on strong winds you have to dodge a load of rocks To beat the pirate ship you have to fire your cannon. When you have beaten the ship, finish the headwinds or dodged the rocks, you gain gold and EXP, uploadable to Skies of Arcadia.
You looking for an RPG? Well firstly get you hands on Shenmue and if that does the trick go out and bu Skie of Arcadia! Unfortunately many people seem nobody seem to think it's that good, but it is definitely a game not to be overlooked. The role you play-a air pirate, and your mission is to rescue and save the "moon crystals"-powerful stones brought into the pirate world! Of course you will have bosses to fight along the way and you will have to gather a team of people together to save the world from domination! I found the story is a little OTT but the graphics and gameplay definitely make up for this. The game follows a "Final Fantasy" theme where you have to fight every 2 minutes but after you get use to the idea you realise that the moreyou fight the better and more powerful you become. A great game that the DC should be pround of, but be warned you need patience!
It takes AAGGGGEEEESSSS To get a decent RPG on a console and it is also true of the Dreamcast as we have ahd to wait a while to play this game one of the best Dreamcast games around. After playing Silver i believed the Dreamcast wouldn't get a decent RPG and although it has been long overdue. and after getting Grandia II we believe wee are getting ready for a smash hit in this but Skies of Arcadia completely destroys Granadia 2, an altogether superior experience; longer, gorgeous graphics, better characterised and more enjoyable than previously thought possible. this rules!!!!!!!! There is a massive and i mean hugggge world to explore and with the game being desperatly hard you will notice weeks and weeks of your life past by until you finally complete the game. Lots of interaction and immersion with mauch inter-play relationships and as it is made by ex- Phantasy Star Online producer and it being female it kind of makes sense The visuals are gorgeous the sands of Maramba is stuff to make Shenmue go green with envy.It is married with amazing artwork and is so detailed you will not believe with detailed and stunning carvings. The fighting system which is either in air or hand to hand is perfect and brilliant. Without it this RPG would fail and it is sooo good and overworks have done it so well that this game doesn't feel clumsy but makes it even better! Both combat systems are turned base, but the one in the air is slightly different giving you the opportunity to plot out three actions along a grid. So you canc hoose if it is bast to defend or attack. So musch more stratagy is required to be used! Huge bosses and a huge array of weapons and spells makes this game immense and indeed one of the greatest Dreamcast games around. Dringo
Sega enter the epic RPG war in style If you're a Spank! regular then you might just have noticed the general dislike of RPG's shown by the team. More often than not anything with a press release announcing a new RPG will be met with groans and moans of derision. "Oh God, another one for the beards and sandals brigade" is the general thing you'll hear Tick, Mork and 8Ace cry out on a Monday morning as we open up the post, only to find eight more games involving orcs, goblins and pixie princesses. Well, I hate to disappoint, so I'm gonna have to say that I have about as much time for your traditional PC Dungeons & Dragons RPG as I have for piles. The good thing about RPGs on console format is that they tend to have nothing to do with D&D, and plenty to do with some truly inspired and gorgeous Japanese game making genius. Basically if it looks anime style I'll give it a go, and the more kooky, wacky and generally Japanese it is, the better. So unlike the rest of the Spank! mob, who dismiss these sort of things out of hand along with the dull PC efforts, I like Grandia, Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star and so on. Right then now that my credentials are sorted, and you lot trust me to be fair on this one, on with the review. Skies Of Arcadia is set in a very different world from usual. Many years ago the moons rained down moon stones on the planet, breaking up the world and making hundreds of floating islands. The sky is in effect a vast ocean, and the only way to traverse these windy seas is by flying boat. With me so far? Good. And, as everyone knows where you get flying boats, you get flying pirates. And where you get flying pirates, you get good flying pirates, who rob from the rich to give to the poor. And where you get good flying pirates, you get an evil empire, intent on enslaving the free world and destroying the good flying pirates. And where you get an evil empire, you obviously get a kidnapped mysterious princess wit
h the secret to a lost civilisation, who desperately needs saving by a dashing young fellow. Which is pretty much where you come in.
Dreamcast is a console lucky enough to be graced by a huge number of Role Playing Games; Phantasy Star, Shenmue to name just a few. However these games are not true RPG's and cannot be compared to the Role palaying game daddies with Final Fantasy. They are excellent in their own right but do not stick to the foundations of RPGs. Shenmue is too realistic and gets monotonous and PSO centres arund the online modes which are not as hardcore as many true RPGS. Skies of Arcadia definately fills that gap. it fits perfectly into the RPG genre. As you travel around the vast and beautifully rendered skies with Vyse and his other pirate friends you engage in many amazing and action packed battles. you also are able to roam the skies exploring the vast word of Arcadia. The game also, unusually makes full use of the VMU with a mini game avaidiable from the end of the first level. With all of these great features, this is a game not to be missed!
Argh, Jim lad! This be a pirate game from Overworks, and I don't mean a copy of Sakura Taisen bought from that dodgy bloke down the market. Ooo argh! For those who don't speak Pirate (or haven't played the Monkey Island games), Skies of Arcadia is a pirate themed RPG developed by Sega group developer Overworks, who also handles Red Companies hugely successful, yet virtually unknown in the west, Sakura Taisen games. Set in a world consisting of islands suspended in the air, Arcadia sees people sailing the skies in flying ships. Divided into seven continents, under seven coloured different moons, the world of Arcadia is frequently showered with Moon Stones, each of which has its own specific properties. These stones are also refined to power the engines of the ships and weapons of the world and used as ammunition. In SoA you play Vyse, a young pirate who upholds the steal from the rich, give to themselves, and use the cash to help those in need. In his travels he meets Fina, a young girl from the mysterious Silver continents on a mission to collect the Moon Crystals, highly potent moon stones which were in the past used to power the Gigas, hugely powerful war machines created to fight a great war centuries earlier. Fearing the Gigas will be reawakened, Vyse - along with his best friend Aika - join Fina and set off to collect them. Of course, they have competition in the form of Valua - the powerful military statue residing under the yellow moon. Valua, of course, wishes to collect the moon crystals for their own purposes. Essentially, the plot to Skies of Arcadia is the same a Gamearts Dreamcast effort Grandia 2 - just replace Gigas and Moon Crystals with parts of Valmar. In execution, Skies of Arcadia comes out the clear victor in terms of story telling. The twistier and slightly more meandering of the game gives it more time to develop characters, and the villains do a better job of being, well, villainous. Whilst essentially
predictable in its overall nature, the amateur dramatics of SoA prove fairly charming and quite gripping. Characterization is fairly typical of this type of game, but is generally well done. The characters are the normal RPG stereotypes – a gallant, persistant here, a mysterious girl, the lovable womaniser and the dopey, bungling villians are all present and accounted for. Interestingly, there is also a character modeled after Moby Dicks Captain Ahab, a sailor whose sole purpose is life is to hut down and kill a gigantic whale. Character design is generally solid, with some fairly distinctive costume design. Good character work is backed up with a more anime-esque look to the characters than is evident in most 3D role playing games, some of Aika's facial expressions proving to be particularly amusing. A solid, if unremarkable, translated script does a good job putting forward intent. Game play wise, Skies has some interesting dungeon designs proving a good mixture between the straight forward and the puzzle led stages. Combat, however, is rather mediocre. Arcadia uses the same random encounter style system as the Final Fantasy series, only encounters are frustratingly about twice as common (often more, depending on location). Combat itself is a traditional, sub-FF turn based affair. Choose your moves in advance and watch your party execute them. Repeat until either dead or victorious. Spicing this up is the usual selection of magic spells, and individual 'special techniques' for each character. Special and Magic attacks can only be executed if the party-wide 'spirit' gauge is high enough to support it. The spirit gauge increases at the end of every combat round, as well as when a character uses the 'focus' move. Combat against all but the bosses tends to consist of using a multiple-target attack in the second combat round once you have enough spirit points. Not good. Slightly more entertaining is the sh
ip battles which take place. You are given a grid showing the next eight rounds of combat. Each column represents a round, and in the top of the column is a colour or logo representing the inherent danger or advantage of attacking or defending in that round. For example, a red column is dangerous for you to remain undefended. For each round you determine the action to be taken for the first four columns of the grid (one for each character). An action can be firing your cannon, using an item, casting magic or Focusing. All actions in ship battles consume spirit points. Because of this ship battles later on into the game tend to revolve around focusing a lot and concentrating as much firepower as possible into one round. A little dull to be honest. In addition to the normal RPG town-trawling and shopping, Arcadia has a few nice diversions. Scattered across the world map are various hidden 'discoveries', sites of special interest. Finding these locations, signified by the compass rotating quickly, allows you to sell the information about them at the sailors guild. Finding discoveries is a pretty entertaining diversion. Later on into the game, you get the opportunity to recruit your own crew to man your ship (and base). Whilst the base building elements are sadly underdeveloped, finding all 30-ish possible crew members is diverting, if not as much as finding Suikodens 108. It also has a diverting VMU game called Pinta's Quest, which basically involves a set of mini-games which will see you gaining items and cash for use in the main game. Five minutes spent playing Pinta here and there will vastly improve your chances of making it through the game quickly. Visually Arcadia is a mixed bag. Ship battles, whilst minimalist, tend to look great. Many of the towns and dungeons, however, look like high-resolution n64 games rather than Dreamcast titles. That's not to say all of them do, but that only makes it all the more disappointing
. The animated cut-scenes - all rendered by the game engine - look great, but the characters movement proves to be stiff, especially in comparison to the Final Fantasy games. Normal combat reiterates the stiffness, with none of the dynamic camera swinging of Grandia 2 and rather rigid turns for character movement. Special moves - abundant with anime speed lines and fast cuts - look nicer and mercifully can be skipped once they become dull. Magic attacks, however, all look pretty much identical are prove dull. Opponents special moves are annoyingly unskippable, and often prove a little too long. Musically, the game is pretty good, if nothing special. Overall, this review is probably sounding a little negative. The game is well above average, being in a similar quality bracket to Final Fantasy 9 and Grandia 2, but not up there with likes of the original Grandia or Xenogears. Truth be told, I found this game much more entertaining than Squares latest FF installment. For all its flaws, Arcadia does a lot right. The story, whilst atypical, is executed well enough to be gripping and entertaining, cut sequences tend to look great and serve their purpose well, and the music fits the game as well as you could hope for. If only they had tightened the combat up the game would have been a classic.
Feel like Dreamcast has been left out of the quality RPG department? Well yo ho ho, you're in for a treat, matey. Have a few dozen hours to kill? Ever wanted to take a schooner into the sky? Looking for a way to further alienate yourself from the outside world? Fortunately for you, the great minds at Sega have heard your pleas (or cries for help), distilled some pure RPG goodness and bundled it all into a neat little package. Skies of Arcadia is one of those rare games that not only sucks you in, but pins you down and gives you noogies as time passes unmercifully. The usual "OK, one more level" rationalization used while playing action games until 3 a.m. morphs into a somewhat more dangerous "OK, one more gorgeous, beautifully designed dungeon." Suddenly it's four or five in the morning, your living room floor is littered with, ummm, "soda" bottles, your hands are cramping in the best possible way, and you still can't figure out why you're having so much fun. More than likely, it's because Skies manages to simultaneously evoke the glory days of old-school console RPGs while tweaking the formula just enough to keep it all from seeming stale. And, let's face it, there is a pretty rigid formula that RPGs somehow feel obligated to stick to. Convention dictates that your party has to have at least two of the following members: The impulse-driven young man (check); the beautiful, but headstrong woman (check); the gruff curmudgeon with a heart of gold (check) and the character with a mysterious quest of her own (check). You also need to have an overwrought story with a short-sighted civilization intent on awakening an ancient power that just so happens to have destroyed the last bunch of goons who tried the same exact thing. It's up to the player to intervene and prevent the forces of evil from acquiring the necessary jewels/stones/crystals used to get their wicked groove on. And Romeo a
nd Juliet is a story about a boy and girl who die. This is such a solid chunk of entertainment it's hard to even know where to start singing its praises. If you have even a fleeting interest in RPGs or like to explore, you need to buy this game. If you felt like Shenmue's characters were flat and undeveloped, this game will ease your pain. If you wasted your money on any of the first batch of Dreamcast RPGs, I'm sorry. Now get this freakin' game already! Console RPGs are a pretty risky investment. When a player is expected to follow characters through an extended story line, these elements had better be crafted well enough to make it all seem worthwhile. Otherwise, it's like an uninitiated viewer watching a soap opera - people you don't know doing a bunch of stuff you don't care about. A good RPG will keep you itching for more. More weapons. New people in your party. Flashier spells. You may even be compelled to (ugh) draw a map, which is quite possibly the worst thing a game can ask of someone. A great RPG will become a nearly unhealthy obsession. Must... get most powerful weapons. Can't... sleep until I finish off this boss. Why... do my eyelids no longer work? Worst of all, after beating it you may be compelled to start the whole damned thing over from scratch. Just in case you missed something. Skies parts company from the rest of the pack by combining the swashbuckling romance of the high-seas with elements of magic and technology. It's such a great idea that it's hard to believe that it hasn't been done a million times before. Let those other guys wallow around with medieval weaponry in the future. Sky piracy is the sport of the future. The premise is that Vyse, our young hero, is a member of the Blue Rogues. Imagine Errol Flynn in Robin Hood and mix in Errol Flynn circa Captain Blood. Or let's just say that they're pirates, but in a good way. They fly around in their winge
d ships (yup) and steal from the rich and help out those in need. Vyse is joined by Aika, his best friend. Without spoiling the story, let's just say that Vyse and his band or merry men (and women) get into trouble with some powerful people, and it's up to him to save to day. Sound like every other epic adventure you've played? Wrong. Sure, there are a lot of similarities between it and other well-known RPGs (*cough* Final Fantasy), like the interactions with people in towns and the turn-based combat, but the differences are notable. Combat, for instance, may seem like deja vu at first, but after a few fights its differences from other games become clear. You have the usual options when meeting an enemy, including running, blocking, attacking or using magic or items. The interesting part comes with S-Moves. During battle, an S-Meter appears at the top of the screen. Using magic consumes magic points as well as SPs or Spirit Points. Players have the option of focusing for a round, which fills the S-Meter up a little bit. After enough points have built up, players can use their S-Moves. S-Moves are both offensive, like the majority of Vyse's sword-based attacks, or defensive, like Fina's mass blessings. S-Moves can be gained by saving and consuming moonberries (there's a lot of moon talk in the game, get used to it), which are dropped by certain enemies or found in chests. Since there aren't usually enough moonberries to go around, players are forced to decide whether to build certain characters up or spread the wealth evenly. Another cool twist is the ability to change weapon types in order to increase damage and build up spell libraries. There are six different colors that weapons can be, representing the various types of Moon Stones. Red is fire, green are healing spells, purple are ice, etc. During battle, the colors of weapons can be switched, which increases the amount of points that color group
will get after a successful encounter. After a certain number of points are acquired, new and more-powerful spells are learned. Magic is impressive, but not to the point where each spell takes minutes to display. The usual repertoire of fire and ice spells are present, as well as the ever-popular heal and revive incantations. Enemy encounters are random and there isn't usually any warning, other than the Dreamcast's see-sawing sounds. Battles take place on foot, on the decks of ships, and between ships themselves. Ship battles are dramatic and drawn out, and it's almost a relief that they don't happen more frequently. The battle system with ship battles is somewhat different, with players plotting their moves on the Battle Grid, then watching the fights unfold. These altercations involve lots of swooping camera angles and massive amounts of damage, and can easily exceed 10 minutes in length. The Battle Grid is poorly explained, though it is easy to figure out after getting smeared a few times. Exploration is done by controlling Vyse or a ship through the world. The map is massive, and most of the towns require a significant amount of time to fully explore. It's all so much fun that flying halfway across the world for the next plot point is actually fun, instead of something to dread. As Vyse's knowledge of the world expands, so does his reputation. Feats of heroism will advance Vyse's stature in the world, while acting with cowardice will make his journey more difficult. Eventually, players will get their own ship and the ability to outfit a private hideout with special buildings and a crew. That's another place where Skies stands out: There's so much to do! There's a sailor's guild in each town that buys and sells information about landmarks. When players fly around, they'll occasionally notice unusual-looking sights. Keeping track of these finds becomes a mini-game of its own, giv
e the more-obsessive players one other thing to worry about. Yes, there's also a VMU game, where players can collect extra items. And Cupil, a strange little beast that must be fed Chams, which are hidden in levels. These can be found in towns and dungeons, and Cupil will start beeping wildly to alert players of their existence. All of these things are optional. Giving players the freedom and incentive to explore is something that not enough games do. While Skies is fairly linear, the numerous sidequests and detours make the experience something to savor. The dialogue is also a high point. Skies is funny. There are parts where you will probably laugh out loud. It's funny in a natural way, and the humor comes from great characterization rather than poorly translated text or fart jokes. Characters establish themselves early on, and everything they do is believable (if you believe in flying ships) and an extension of their personalities. Sega decided to go with a mix of text and voice acting, which works surprisingly well. Personally, I prefer text in RPGs. You aren't stuck with bad actors (only bad writing, usually) and you can zip through dialogue as quickly as you can read. The bulk of Skies' dialogue is written, but there are lots of little sound cues mixed in. For instance, a character might be see something amazing and while the text "Wow, this is really something else," pops up, you hear that character say "Wow!" It seems silly and gimmicky at first, but these little aural interludes happen just when they're needed, and add to a great narrative. The facial expressions and actions convey feeling well, and there aren't as many wild limb flailings as in other games. The designers give players the benefit of the doubt that they can figure out what's going on without having to turn characters into overacting caricatures. The writing is also sharp and witty, and there aren't a
ny glaring typos. Music is well-scored, and manages to convey emotion without being overly sentimental. The battle songs will make you want to rush off to the nearest Air Pirates recruiting office and enlist. There are also the standard chirping birds and barking dogs in the towns (when there are birds to chirp and dogs to bark), and the background sounds do an excellent job of maintaining the proper mood. The designers and developers loved this project, and it shows. Though the in-game camera (which is wonderfully unobtrusive, by the way) usually trails a few virtual yards behind, players can switch to a first-person perspective on the fly to get a better look at things. More often than not, this is just a great way to soak in all of the incredible sights. One dungeon is flooded and the moonstone (see jewels/stones/crystals) lies at the bottom. Vyse (he of the magnifying-glass "eyepatch" and gartered sleeves) finds doors that he can open to let the water escape. In most games, Vyse would find the door, drain the water, and be on his merry way. Not so with Skies. You can just barge on in, but if players look at the doors closely, they'll see tiny rivulets of water sneaking beneath the cracks. That's one of Skies' greatest points: There are hundreds upon hundreds of tiny little details like that. When ships are guided into Pirate's Island, a little guy stands near the entrance waving signal flags. When there aren't any ships around, he yawns and uses the flags to scratch his back. It's easy to take the graphic splendor for granted. Everything looks exactly as it should, so you hardly even notice how great it all is. You can almost feel the humidity in the forest levels, and the jungle actually looks like one, with its clearly defined trees, leaves and vines. The Egyptian-inspired temple actually feels as massive as it should, and the great lighting effects enhance the experience. And what an e
xperience it is. In conclusion- GO GET THIS GAME!
With the promise of a fantastic role-playing adventure, a huge game world and all of the brilliance you come to expect from Sega's camp of developers, welcome Skies of Arcadia. This time it's Overworks turn to treat Dreamcast owners to yet another AAA title. The game hasn't arrived with quite the same bang as say, MSR or Shenmue, but it deserves as much, if not more attention than both. It looks set to follow the footsteps of Grandia 2, which also didn't get the reception it deserved. This is a huge shame, the game is amazing, yes it maintains traditional RPG elements and requires patience and persistence, but the rewards are worth every hour you put into the game. Skies of Arcadia is, at heart, a traditional turn-based RPG, similar to the Final Fantasy series or Grandia if you like. At it's most basic, Skies of Arcadia involves you controlling your party of between 2 and 4 characters, exploring a vast game world and endulging in turn-based battles. I wont give away much of the story, but I will say while it's not the most original, it's told so well that you'll be playing well into the night. This is mainly due to the characters and how they progress through the story. As Vyse, the main character and hero of the game, you begin working on your dad's ship and are destined to leave your home island and eventually captain your own. Then there is Aika, your plucky young female companion, Fina, whom you rescue near the beginning and other characters that join and leave your party throughout the game. Because of the relationships between the characters and because each have their own individual quests and triumphs, it adds so much to the depth of the game and you will feel strongly about some characters and despise others. It's this closeness you feel to each character that adds much to the emotional impact of the game and is why the story will grab you and refuse to let you go. The game prom
ises between 50-100 hours of exploring, talking, battling, buying, selling, discovering and best of all, flying, and I can safely say after finishing in just under 60 hours, Overworks have delivered an absolute monster of a game. I've yet to see all that there is to see and have many undiscovered, err, discoveries still to find. The battle system is one which has been met with some criticism, and after the joy that was Grandia 2's time-based system, it is fair to say that it is a little disappointing. But it is by no means poor. You'll come across random battles every 20-30 seconds, you'll learn to live with it, and because of the tactical element of the battles, they are not just an obstruction. Each battle ends with the distribution of experience points (EXP) and magic points which build up your characters abilities. So it keeps with RPG traditions, but building up your characters is fun, learning new moves and magic spells is rewarding and overall there is a definite incentive to head into battle. Of course, you can run if you want. . . The games world is amazing, after the opening hour or so, you'll begin to realise the sheer scale of Arcadia, and the game itself. The world of Arcadia is host to several continents of floating islands, there is Valua, the evil empire that are looking to control the world, Nasr, the desert based civilisation that appear to be in direct competition with Valua, the Ixi-Takan's, a peaceful tribe that inhabit the grassy area of the south-west, and others that are discovered as you progress through the game. All the civilisations have their own distinct look, building architecture, weapons, armour and items. Exploring the huge game world can sometimes seem like a difficult task, which is often the case, but this makes it all the more rewarding when you uncover a new discovery or island that will guide you on your quest. Skies of Arcadia excels in the visuals department, wi
th everything maintaining a colourful, chunky look. The cartoony characters fit effortlessly into the vibrant backdrops, and everything from the special moves, magic spells, cut scenes and islands all look amazing. Sailing over some of the continents is a delight and once you land on an island, you'll be even more amazed. The scale of the islands is incredible, even your home town Pirate Isle initially seems huge until you sample the delights of Ixi-Taka and Nasrad. Best Bit - Ship Battles Something that I haven't mentioned yet is this stroke of genius as a slight variation from ordinary battling. As the game takes place in the skies, the obvious choice of transport for the inhabitants of Arcadia is floating ships, the early stages of the game involve you scrounging lifts off various ships until eventually, you get to captain your own. These ships are upgradable with new canons, torpedos, armour and items, but not for the sake of it. Regularly throughout the game, you are faced with a ship battle against enemy ships, ranging from basic troublemaking pirates to Valuan Armadas and Gigas (I wont spoil it for you). In a similar way to ordinary battling, each crew member selects his/her move before the 'round' and then the battle is set into motion. Attack is your main command, where you have a choice of 5 weopons (canons, torpedos etc) depending on how you upgraded your ship. There are also options to repair your ship, cast magic spells, evade enemy attacks and focus (this allows you to regain spirit points and perform more moves in the next turn). Because of the pre-planning involved, tactics are very important, you need to keep your ship's HP up, and guard enemy special attacks otherwise it's game over. The 'chance' bar helps determine when your attacks will be more effective and when enemy attacks are most destructive. This is certainly a fantastic idea, and one that is put to great effect, Overworks should be commended!
I find it hard to fault the game other than it's occasionly annoying random battles and sometimes baffling scale, and this is why it deserves any Dreamcast owners attention. It's the most fun and rewarding solo experience i've had on a console and I recommend it to anyone. If you never play this game you're missing out!
When the Dreamcast first arrived, people complained that there weren't any good RPGs. They kept on complaining until games such as PSO and Grandia II came out. Now the console is getting the games it deserves and the next fantastic title to soar across the DC skyline is Skies of Arcadia. The game starts with a dramatic attack on the evil empire, who have just kidnapped a strange girl (Fina) in their giant metal sky ship. Sounds familiar? Well it reminded me of the first few minutes of Star Wars and has that same epic feel to it. Pretty soon you'll find yourself, as sky pirates Vyse and Aika, attacking the imperial guards and making your way into the heart of their metal sky ship to confront the prince and rescue the girl. Your father, the captian of the pirate ship, helps you get aboard and after a short while you will be wondering around challenging all-comers to a battle. From this point on you can get used to the control system of both the players and the pirate ship as you sail a course for home and fight monsters that attack you on the way. Soon enough you'll find your way to the lovely Pirate Island and your mother, who welcomes you home with open arms. Of course, things don't go as planned and the Empire soon catches up with your friends and family on the island, as you return home from a mission to rescue a piece of moonrock, you find the place burnt down and your father missing. It's your job to rescue Fina and your father from the evil empire and find your fortune as a pirate on the high skies. The game plays magnificently, combat being similar to the Final Fantasy games, with magic and special attacks producing some wonderful graphical displays. Wondering around is straightforward and the clear graphics make finding things a doddle. Puzzles start of easy too, letting you slowly get into the game, then increase in difficulty at a nice steady pace. The whole game just oozes quality and you'll find yourself
immersed in the characters and storyline straight away, wanting to find out more and more as you progress through the game. The ships, which can be bought and customised, are your main form of transport in the game, letting you travel great distances and combat your foes in the air. The only problem you may find is that air travel can become repetative, especially if you haven't planned your journey well and get lost. Fighting lots and lots of monsters can get on your nerves after a while, but it's good practice and you often get new spells to learn or special moves from it. Travel to many lands and meet people who can help you out, while increasing your pirate status to Swashbuckler through a series of decisions. There are huge monsters to fight and lots of friends to meet and the whole scale of the game is just overwhelming at times. This is one truly epic game and will have you up to the small hours just finding out what happens next. There are some neat ideas and the whole game just oozes quality. Fantastic stuff.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
(Intro). C Am. G. Am
C A m. G. Am
I'm your student and I don't know much
C Am. G. Am
And I seem to break everything I touch
C Am. G.
And you don't come back from the things I've
C Am. G. Am
And sometimes I feel like I'm the only one
C Am G Am
C. Am. C. Am
Teach me, won't you teach me (x2)
C Am. G. Am
God I know I broke your heart again
C. Am. G. Am
Every time I let the devil in
C Am. G. Am
Then they crucify your Son once more
C Am. G. Am
When I live the way I was before
C. Am. G. Am
(Chorus) Teach me, won't you teach me (x2)
G. Am. C. Am
Now I know you've set a master plan
G. Am. C. Am
One that saves me from the devil's hand
G. Am. C. Am
Now I know I'll hear you call my name
G. Am. C. Am
And I know I'll never be the same
(revised chorus)
C. Am. C. Am
Because you teach me, how you teach me
C. Am. C Am
Teach me, yes you teach me
C Am. G. Am


text:
But fear not - there is plenty to explore...Shop all Oakley Shop sale Oakley
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text:
Penn Libraries Joins Japan-US Global ILL Framework Project
Penn Libraries recently joined the Japan-US Global ILL Framework (GIF) Project, facilitated by the North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources (NCC). Participation in the GIF Project will benefit both Penn and Japanese academic libraries by establishing ease of lending and document delivery and enabling closer collaboration and stronger reciprocal relationships between institutions.
Membership in the GIF Project will also allow faculty and students engaged in Japanese studies at Penn to obtain materials related to their research that previously required travel to Japan in person, thereby vastly increasing opportunities for specialized and advanced research at Penn.
The GIF Project is a reciprocal InterLibrary Loan (ILL) agreement between North American and Japanese academic libraries and research institutes to provide North American researchers with access to materials not available through normal ILL channels, and Japanese researchers access to materials not held in Japan. More than 160 Japanese libraries and 90 North American libraries participate in GIF.
Penn's participation in the GIF Project comes at a time when Japanese Studies at Penn have been increasing in popularity. Established at the University of Pennsylvania in 1952, courses in Japanese studies are now offered through the department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations as well as through the Center for East Asian Studies.
The Japanese collection at the Penn Libraries has grown to support the research needs of the Japanese studies programs and contains unique materials held by no other libraries in North America, and some not even in Japan. Above is a rare magazine from 1884-1885 owned by Penn Libraries; H?bunkai chi is held by no other library in North America and only a handful are owned by libraries in Japan. The Penn Libraries offer more than 65,000 volumes of monographs and subscriptions to 179 journals in Japanese. Today, the scope of Japanese studies research at Penn includes the humanities and the social sciences, with particular strength in literature, religion, performing arts, political and diplomatic history, medieval studies, the history of philosophy and women's studies.
The Penn Libraries' collections comprise more than seven million volumes, one million of which are in electronic form; over 100,000 journals; and extraordinary rare and unique materials that document the intellectual and cultural experience of ancient and modern civilizations.
To learn more about the Penn Libraries, visit www.library.upenn.edu


text: Beloved wife of the late Lester L. Libby, loving mother of Leslie (Scott Lewis) Swaha and Valerie (Mark) Wagner, dear grandmother of Gregory and Christopher Wagner, great-grandmother of Brianna, Jacob, Cassie, Carson, Alexis and Ethan, loving sister of the late Donald Foncellino and Robert Foncell, also survived by loving nieces, nephews and friends. Passed peacefully and quietly from heart failure on Thursday December 17, 2009. Age 96 years. Grace and Lester's Ashes will be scattered together in the Pacific Ocean. If so desired, memorials may be made to Hospice of Cincinnati, PO Box 633597, Cincinnati, OH, 45263-3597.


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The former pro-wrestler and sex tape participant made reality star, Hulk Hogan, has expressed his intention to open a Hooters style restaurant in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Hogan was also excited to discuss his new business venture with The Tampa Bay Times:
"It's going to be Jimmy Buffett's [Margaritaville] times 10; Hooters times 10. It's a logical extension of the Hogan brand, with my image and likeness… In 36 years I've become so tangible to the public, and not just Americans. We have a chance to have an international draw."
Your thoughts?


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Regarding Craig Cannon's column ("This started in Benghazi," Aug. 9): Much of this article relies on unnamed sources which, in my opinion, is not fact.
The article does refer to information from CNN. This highly respected news agency reports substantiated facts, not opinions of CIA "intimidation," as the article states.
I find it impossible to believe that "dozens" of CIA agents were on the ground in Benghazi during the attack on our consulate and did not intervene, as the article infers.
Requirements of CIA agents to take mandatory monthly polygraphs to prove they didn't "spill the beans" on the Benghazi attacks, relocation to hide from media and, most ludicrous, a mandatory name change would be most offensive and would necessitate a "whistle to be blown" if, indeed, a cover-up took place.
The question "What did it take 24 hours to get troops from Tripoli to Benghazi?" was answered by a high-ranking military expert and accepted by a congressional investigative panel.
The author had a problem with the number of embassies closed (17). Why so many? Because 17 was the number determined to be in peril by the intelligence community. Better safe than sorry, regardless of the number.
During questioning by Chairman Issa's panel, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was continuously accused of misinformng the public about which group attacked the consulate. (On Sept. 12, 2012, President Obama declared that terrorists were responsible.) She responded to the misinformation by saying: "What difference doe it make? Four Americans were killed."
Mr. Cannon failed to include her full statement. Instead, he chastised Clinton, saying, "Indeed, it does make a difference when four of our embassy people are killed."
Since Clinton will be a formidable Democratic presidential nominee in 2016 (should she run), perhaps this caused the omission of her response in full.
Lee Varon


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EHA-ISTH Joint Fellowship
The EHA-ISTH Joint Fellowship is a collaborative program between EHA and the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. It is intended to support the study of physiology of coagulation, bleeding or thrombosis.
Call for applications is closed.
Open Call for Applications: March 1, 2015
Deadline for applications: August 3, 2015 NOW CLOSED
Notification of the winners: December, 2015
Award Presentation: At the EHA Congress (June 2016), Copenhagen
The award amount is € 50.000 per year for a maximum of two years.
- Applicants must be MDs or PhDs.
- MD applicants must be within 12 years of post-graduation. PhDs must have less than eight years of post-doc experience after graduation. Applicants holding both an MD and a PhD must be within 12 years of MD-graduation.
- Applicants must be EHA member or EHA Guest or member of ISTH and have paid their membership fee
- Applicants must have a mentor working in the candidate's proposed research field. Basic research, translational and clinical projects will be considered.
- Applicants located within and outside of Europe are eligible to apply. Mobility will be positively considered.
- Awardees must submit their study results for presentation at the Annual Congress of EHA and/or ISTH.
- The applicant may not have any other career development funding provided by EHA at the time of application.
An interim report highlighting the project's progress and summarizing the use of funds is required at the end of the first year. A final report is required at the end of the second year. Awardees are required to respond to EHA's and ISTH's requests for information related to their career progress following the active grant.
A joint EHA and ISTH review committee will review applications and select the final awardees.
How to Apply
1. Download the application template
2. Access the online application system
3. Complete all information and upload the completed template on the system
Detailed information and required application template can be downloaded here. Please complete all parts of the application template, including additional pages when necessary. Please save this as one single PDF file as LastName_FirstName-EHA-ISTHFellowship2015.pdf
The applications are handled via EHA's online system, please click the link and follow the steps. Then upload the full application template in the online system to complete your application submission.
Should you have any questions on the EHA-ISTH Joint Fellowship, please contact the EHA Executive Office at email@example.com.
Previous winners of the EHA-ISTH Joint Fellowship Program


text:
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- msnbc
Get hints at the story and see new gameplay in this trailer for the massively multiplayer online game "Star Wars: The Old Republic." Play as a jedi, sith, bounty hunter, and whole lot more thousands of years before the Star Wars movies.
"D.C. Universe online" is a new massively multiplayer online game where you can make your own hero or villains and fight alongside your favorite character. Msnbc.com's Todd Kenreck reports.
This week, exceedingly popular computer game "World of Warcraft" undergoes a cataclysm, reshaping not just the game's landscape but how you play in the game. But "WoWs" reboot is nothing compared to the turmoil the entire genre is undergoing. Full story
"Star Wars: The Old Republic" is a new massively multiplayer online game that lets you play Bounty Hunters, Jedi, Sith, Smugglers, Soldiers and more.
The Sith have returned in the new massively multiplayer online game. Play as a bounty hunter, Jedi, Sith, or trooper in "Star Wars: The Old Republic".
Sith, Jedi, and bounty hunters are a few of the characters you can play in the new massively multiplayer online game "Star Wars: The Old Republic". Msnbc.com's game reporter Todd Kenreck reports.
"Star Trek" goes on online in the new massively multiplayer online game by Cryptic Studios. Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich talks with Msnbc.com reporter Todd Kenreck about the video game.
"Champions Online" is the latest MMO from Cryptic Studios, creators of the "City of Heroes", and "City of Villains" games. Msnbc.com's Todd Kenreck spoke to Cryptic Studios community relations manager Victor Wachter about the cel-shaded video game.
Future studies may include more massively multiplayer online games, where players can customize their character appearances. The video game census only included one of the most popular MMOs, World of Warcraft . Credit: Blizzard Entertainment


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High School in the Spotlight: Union High School
Based on user demand, BWW is taking our commitment to arts education one step further with the launch of the BWW Student Center - High School Edition. This directory features upcoming show listings for more than 1500 high schools nationwide with more being added each week. Schools can register for 'enhanced' listings on the site - adding in photos, cast lists, videos, links and more. Productions that take advantage of this will receive highlights on our listing pages, extra editorial mentions and potential spotlight features.
And just like we do with our College Center, each week BWW will be selecting a high-school program and featuring it as our 'School in the Spotlight: High-School Edition'.
Today, BWW is thrilled to showcase the talents of The Union High School Performing Arts Company (UHSPAC) at Union High in New Jersey! UHSPAC is comprised of a theatre department, a choral music group and an instrumental musical program. All programs offer a range of performing arts events throughout the year with Fall and Spring musicals and plays, a marching band season and a touring swing choir.
Under the direction of James Mosser, the school's Theater Department has been recognized numerous times by the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for its artistic achievements. Past shows produced by UHSPAC have earned such honors as Best Overall Musical, Best Direction, Best Ensemble as well as recognition for Best Actress and Supporting Actor.
Recent show offerings include '42nd Street', 'The Wiz', 'Cabaret', 'Noises Off!', and 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat', winner of the aforementioned Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Start Award in the category of Best Musical (2010). To see photos of past productions, click on the show tabs here.
For this year's Spring Musical, the Theater Department produced 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum' which played March 23 thru April 1 and starred Noelle Hedgcok, Denly Morisset and Christopher Damas and Jessica Braham as 'Hero' and 'Philia' respectively. Check out photos of the production on UHSPAC's Facebook page here!
For more information on The Union High School Performing Arts Company, please visit http://www.uhspac.com/
Congratulations UHSPAC for your successful school year and for being named this week's High School in the Spotlight!
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Thu Dec 27, 2012, 03:03 PM
Fire Walk With Me (38,893 posts)
Fort Hernandez evicted by 100 LAPD
Last edited Sun Dec 30, 2012, 04:36 AM - Edit history (5)
The story NOT told by KTLA (family tricked into foreclosure, attempted to work with the bank for years, found six items of foreclosure fraud). If you've ever wanted to see how the media LIE this is it, through omission:
Family Evicted from Fort Hernandez in Van Nuys
VAN NUYS, Calif. (KTLA) Deputies have evicted a family from a Van Nuys home thats been the site of an ongoing anti-foreclosure demonstration by Occupy protesters.
The Hernandez family was evicted from their home in the 14600 block of Leadwell Street early Thursday morning without incident.
The L.A. County Sheriffs Department carried out the eviction with armored vehicles and nearly 100 police personnel. Dump trucks were brought in to break down the encampment.
The home had become known as Fort Hernandez, after the family of Javier Hernandez tried to save the foreclosed property by refusing to leave.
Thursday mornings ouster comes after four years of neglected payments by the owner.
Police said that 18 protesters and five dogs were cleared away from the home. The group had been camped out for more than 100 days to protest the eviction.
(The comments all run on the premise that the eviction was due to the family not paying rent. Bear much false witness, KTLA? Told by banks and the 1% what to report?)
Protesters Removed From Van Nuys Home in Eviction Operation
Nearly 100 personnel from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department carried out an eviction operation Thursday morning at a foreclosed Van Nuys home that became a rallying point for protesters.
The home at 14620 Leadwell St. was at the center of a long-running neighborhood dispute. In 2007, Javier Hernandez bought the home, but his payments stopped after his adjustable rate increased.
The home became a make-shift fortress that included a sign that read, "Save Our Community, Stop Foreclosures." A group of Occupy LA protesters had been living at the home in protest of the homeowners' eviction for nearly two months, according to the sheriff's department.
(More text at the link. Gee. NBC also seemed to somehow miss reporting that the family were tricked into foreclosure and that there were six items of FRAUD against them.)
Van Nuys' 'Fort Hernandez' sit-in ends; deputies evict Occupy protesters, family
Gee, another story which SOMEHOW fails to mention that the family were TRICKED INTO FORECLOSURE BY BANK OF AMERICA.
Your Tax Dollars Just Paid For Armored Vehicles and 100 Law Enforcement Personnel to Evict A Family.
Fort Hernandez stood for more than four months, surviving police harassment and even the sic'ing of the Department of Public Health and the Department of Child Services (responding to bogus complaints that the residence did not have running water) on the Hernandez' by the powers that be.
I don't know why Bank of America wouldn't negotiate a deal with the Hernandez family. But one thing we can be pretty sure of given all we know about the practices of BofA and other large banks -- they are almost certainly lying:
(More at the link.)
samslovick @samslovick
LAPD rolls out "Red Carpet" for Bank of America / #FuerzaHernandez EVICTION (VIDEO)
Fuerza Hernandez announce that their case is now at the Federal level and that as such, the LA sheriffs have made a violation!
Hernandez Family Foreclosure Sparks Anti-Eviction Outrage
Javier Hernandez purchased the property for his mother seven years ago. At the recommendation of the bank, he stopped making payments in order to receive a loan modification but was met with repeated rejections. His story is typical of those people, predominantly Black and Brown, who were sold subprime mortgages at the height of the housing boom. Like so many others, Javier's father was deported, Javier lost his job, and the value of the house plummeted. His younger brother Ulises' affiliation with community activists and an eviction notice led to the encampment action. Javier has since found employment, so, just days before the bank ordered the eviction, he came to a settlement with the mortgage trustees and was waiting for court approval. He elaborated, We presented sufficient income to make the payments, and yet they still came in and evicted us right before New Year's Eve.
With the block closed off by police vehicles, the protestors gathered a block and a half from the home. Heather commented on the scene right after the eviction. Mama Lupe is sitting on the curb, the guy shows up in his Mustang with six trucks, a moving truck and a tow truck, he tells the police 'I'm with the bank,' and the police just wave him on. When we started yelling at him, the police surrounded his car in protection.
A police cruiser pulls out, and someone shouts, Donut run! The early morning scene is a game of taunting the police and dueling video cameras, interrupted by media crews. But the protestors' underlying determination is implacable. As Adam explains, The LAPD and the Los Angeles Police Department committed a gross and violent of violation of the United Nations Declaration's human right to housing under Article 25. What we see here is an extension of the police state. Look at this: forty sheriffs' deputies, a hundred and some odd cops, this is ridiculous, all with messed up attitudes, all standing there like they're not messing up this family. There's something in court to stop all this but they don't care. The justice system is not designed for the people. It's an injustice system, it's only a justice system if you have money. That's done.
Bilal adds, Multitudes and masses of police officers came for an eviction. We're not done, we're not through, we're going to keep up the resistance, we going to keep up the fight for the human right to housing. Jesus frames the events in the worldwide economic failure: It's another clear example of why capitalism doesn't work. Profit before people, right? Isn't that the logo? The fact that we think still have people who think we have the courts on our side, that's crazy. At least we made it through Christmas.
2 replies, 1681 views
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Fort Hernandez evicted by 100 LAPD (Original post)
|Fire Walk With Me
|Dec 2012
|Dec 2012
|Fire Walk With Me
|Dec 2012
Response to Fire Walk With Me (Original post)
Thu Dec 27, 2012, 03:31 PM
lunasun (9,701 posts)
1. 18 protesters and five dogs and family =
An eviction with armored vehicles and nearly 100 police personnel ???
Response to lunasun (Reply #1)
Thu Dec 27, 2012, 03:33 PM
Fire Walk With Me (38,893 posts)
2. It should be clear to all US citizens that the banks have a private army. n/t


text:
ESCONDIDO -- Administrators in the Escondido Union High School District may face a 2.2 percent salary reduction and be told to work fewer days in the next school year in order to save the district about $1 million.
One week after trustees in the district agreed to lay off teachers in about 16 full-time positions, the board voted Tuesday to notify all administrators and supervisors in the district that they may work five fewer days in the school year beginning in July and take a 2.2 percent pay cut.
"These are interesting times," Superintendent Ed Nelson said in making the recommendation to the board, which passed the resolution unanimously.
But just as the layoff notifications to teachers may not result in actual job loses, the pay cuts may never happen.
State law requires districts to notify teachers by Sunday if they may be laid off in the next school year. Because the deadline for notification happens before districts adopt their final budgets in June, such notices often are rescinded.
The resolution adopted by the board noted that the same Sunday deadline might apply to administrators and supervisors. Nelson recommended sending out notices now to all employee groups so none would be exempt if the cutbacks later are considered.
"I think we all recognize that we're all in this together," Nelson said.
School districts throughout California are adjusting their budgets after the state cut about $11.6 billion from education in its revised budget. In Escondido, the high school district is trimming $1.6 million from its current $67.4 million budget for the 2008-09 school year and $3.1 million from its projected budget for 2009-10.
At Tuesday's budget workshop meeting, Trustee Kurt Marler said he had heard from district employees that they also would be willing to take salary reductions to prevent job losses and balance the budget.
Nelson said such negotiations would have to be done through bargaining units and could not be done with individual employees.
During the budget workshop, Assistant Superintendent of Business Barry Dragon recapped the district's and state's financial forecast for the next two school years. Two state initiatives, Proposition 1A and Proposition 1C, could bring more money to education, as would an anticipated federal stimulus package.
"I don't want to sound like the Grinch, but those are one-time dollars," he said about the federal money, which would contain an unknown amount for education.
On Monday, trustees in the San Marcos Unified School District agreed to send layoff notices to teachers in about 50 full-time positions and trustees in the Poway Unified School District agreed to lay off about 400 employees. The Vista Unified School District is sending layoff notices to 200 teachers, and the Oceanside Unified School District is sending notices to about 75 teachers.
Throughout the state, 17,777 teachers and 9,000 other school employees have received layoff notices this year, according to a press release issued by state Superintendent Jack O'Connell, who has scheduled a Wednesday teleconference with the Education Coalition to comment on the cutbacks.
Revenue in the Escondido Union High School District has been declining in recent years.
Last June, the board approved a budget with $67.4 million in revenue and $67.3 million in expenses after trimming $2.3 million. In the 2007-08 school year, the revenue for the district was $71.1 million and the expenses were $71.3 million, and in the 2006-07 school year, revenue was $73.5 million and expenditures were $68.6 million.
Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or email@example.com .


text: I am getting ready for next spring summer 2003, and I think me scratching out a design on apiece of paper has got to go. I am reading alot of people like pro landscape, what about earthscape? Does anyone else have any Ideas or comments about either one? Or is there a better one out there? Any help would be appreciated. I think that if I buy the program now and play with it all winter I should now what Im doing as far as the software is concerned, I now that I dont know anything else. Thanks


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Haley picks 34-year-old attorney to lead LLR
Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:40:24 GMT —
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Gov. Nikki Haley has chosen a 34-year-old attorney to lead South Carolina's labor and business licensing agency.
Haley on Friday introduced Holly Gillespie Pisarik as her choice to run the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Pisarik will serve as interim director while legislators debate her confirmation.
She graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2007 and worked as an attorney in Columbia. Last year, she became an attorney for the agency, where Haley says Pisarik helped then-Director Catherine Templeton streamline the agency of about 400 employees.
Templeton was confirmed this week to lead the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. The Republican governor had chosen her to run the labor department because of her legal specialty in fighting labor unions.


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