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Walkthrough - Guide for Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
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Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo B A L L A D O F G A Y T O N Y --------------------------------------- BY: zukalous(at)gameintestine(dot)com THIS FAQ CAN ONLY BE POSTED ON THE FOLLOWING SITS: www.gameintestine.com www.gamefaqs.com www.ign.com You should follow me on twitter: Gameintestine Or on my website: www.gameintestine.com --------------------------------------- The Ballad of Gay is a landmark game. It marks the first time that the star of a video game is a Dominican. Well first time since "Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001." By the way - "its so reaaaal" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBazo5uciVc). Disclaimer for when I need to get security clearance or run for president: there are times in this game when you actually have to shoot a member of a fictional law enforcement agency. You must do it to advance the game. Therefore, since I am describing how to beat this game, I must write some variation of the phrase "kill the cops." I never, ever would condone that. I actually think that this game's plot (the story of a reformed convict who is putting his life back together by being a club bouncer) would be better serviced if the main character was sympathetic to the police. So please Fox News, when you publish this document on my inauguration night, don't clip out the phrase "kill all cops on the street" and say this is my master's thesis. I am really excited about this game. Besides the fact that this is a short GTA game, it just sounds fun to see the backrooms and back dealings of a nightclub. Furthermore, what would a ballad about the trials and tribulations of a gay club owner sound like. Would it have a house-beat? So put on your best open-collar shirt, pour yourself a vodka cranberry and push the start button....... Tony Missions: I love LC ------------------------------------------------ (x01) Practice Swing ------------------------------------------- (x02) Chinese Takeout ------------------------------------------ (x04) Bang Bang ------------------------------------------------ (x08) Blog This (Part I) --------------------------------------- (x12) Boulevard Baby ------------------------------------------- (x13) Frosting on the Cake ------------------------------------- (x14) Blog This! (Part 2) -------------------------------------- (x15) Not so Fast ---------------------------------------------- (x16) Ladies Night --------------------------------------------- (x23) Ladies Half Price ---------------------------------------- (x24) Party's Over --------------------------------------------- (x25) Departure Time ------------------------------------------- (x26) Yousuf Missions: Sexy Time ------------------------------------------------ (x07) High Dive ------------------------------------------------ (x10) Caught With Your Pants Down ------------------------------ (x11) For the Man Who Has Everything --------------------------- (x22) Mori Missions: Kibbutz Number One --------------------------------------- (x03) This Ain't Checkers -------------------------------------- (x17) No. 3 ---------------------------------------------------- (x18) Mom Missions: Mamma's Boy ---------------------------------------------- (x05) Corner Kids ---------------------------------------------- (x06) Clocking Off --------------------------------------------- (x09) Bulgarin Missions: Going Deep ----------------------------------------------- (x19) Dropping in ---------------------------------------------- (x20) In the Cross Hairs --------------------------------------- (x21) _____________________________________________ | I love LC - Tony (x01) | We hear whispering. A man, who is lying chest down on a shinny floor, says that he is going to take down these men. "These men" appear to be in the middle of robbing a bank. Either that or they are hanging out in a ski lodge that is themed like a Bank of America. While the bank robbers take a moment to fight amongst themselves, the whispering man demonstrates why unfettered application of the 2ND Amendment won't reduce crime. He pulls out a hand gun and shoots one of the men and then the other masked bad guy just shots him. And he does it with a shotgun. The bomb the masked men planted goes off and then everyone screams and the scene transitions to the Grand Theft Auto Title Card. Later the cops arrive to investigate what happened. After completely evading an investigator's questioning, the man who was laying on the ground and didn't pull out a gun walks away. He is Luis and he gets his grade-A, Saturday-night-live-esq strut on down a Liberty City boulevard. Along his walk we are treated to cameos by Niko Bellic in a passing car, Johnny Klebitz on a speeding motorcycle and Luis's mom on his cell-phone. His strut ends when a woman in a white blouse passes him and he gawks so obviously that we can be sure that he is not the one nicknamed "Gay Tony." Luis buzzes in to an apartment and he is called upstairs. The place is a nice, pre-housing-market-meltdown style loft with exposed brick, track lighting and paintings of Chinese opera masks that look like they could be by Andy Warhol or Patrick Nagel. As Luis explores the space, a man in a white shirt greets him. Mr. White-shirt sets up his own exposition: he is a gay owner of two night-clubs. One club caters to the rich and the other to the gay. However, the club business is not good anymore. Luis, who is his body guard and business partner, unsuccessfully tries to console him. However, Tony's bitching is cut short by two Italian men who help themselves in. Because this is a GTA-game, we can assume that they are mobsters. At gunpoint they commandeer Tony's money because he is late on his shady loans. The scene resumes outside of Tony's apartment and he asks Luis to drive him to each of his clubs. They stop by the Hercules club and Gay Tony calls over the bouncer to ask him how the club is going. Not good. Tony says that the club business is going down and asks where his club-bailout money. That is a joke that is already old in real life but because it is made in a video game, it seems shockingly current. Luis and Tony stop at his other club, Maisonette 9. The club is themed like Beatlejuice with black and white stripes along all of the walls. There is a modest dance floor in the corner and some private booths along each wall. Tony releases Luis from his immediate bidding and tells him to work the club floor. For a high-end club bouncer, Luis sure does look like a high school quarterback who got to skip out of homeroom. Don't most clubs of this caliber ban sports wear? The bouncer is keeping a couple guys from entering the bar. Based on their generically Latin-American accent they must know Luis. The bouncer says their style of dress is the reason for their restriction. Tony prances by and says that they all look bad, including Tony - which is what I was just saying. Luis gets Tony's car and must take his pal back to their place of residence: Northwood. For a game named Grand Theft Auto there is an awful lot of car lending going on. As they drive, they banter about the bad economy and how Luis is not making much but since he came back from prison Tony has been taking an interest in him for some reason. After driving them back to their 'hood, drive back to Luis's apartment. Luis's apartment is a nice departure from the stained mattress and porno-mag coffee tables of typical GTA protagonists. Luis has a large book case filled with actual books, a picture of Luis or possibly a relative in a uniform. There is a platform bed, an Ikea lamp, lots of shoes, comic books. Looks like Tony had a hand in the decorating. Before leaving do a couple of things to advance the mission - Go to the bedroom and save your game - Head to the full-length wardrobe and change your clothing. - Sit at the TV and flip through them: The Internet is abuzz about Princess Bubblegum. Just don't watch it if your mom is in the room. Head back outside to receive the text message from Tony. He needs you so drive over to Tony's House or to the club indicated club. You can find both of them by opening the map screen and zooming into the map. Tony's location is marked with a "T". Click to set a way-point on the T and you will be given turn-by-turn directions there. _____________________________________________ | Practice Swing - Tony (x02) | Difficulty - 6* Enjoyment - 6* Length - S When Luis shows up to his apartment, Tony is a nervous wreck. Tony sold his business to two separate people and they both think that they own the clubs. Very casually Luis says that he will kill them if they actually think they actually own the clubs. Drive Tony to the mistaken club owner: Rocco. Rock - as they call him - is at the river-side driving range and when they approach he is teeing up. He quickly slurs both of them in a barrage of derogatory terms. Luis offers that Rocco's club investment is not a good idea. He totally ignores the offer and instead says that he needs help beating up a union guy who is tied to the front of a golf cart. Surprising that Luis agrees to this. Wasn't it just 5 minutes ago that Luis said he would kill this guy and put him in the VIP room at the bottom of the West River? You must hit the union guy 3 separate times. Here is how to aim and strike the Teamster: - Aim using the control stick. Line the target up right on the guy. - Hit the A button and to start the white line. Wait for the white line bounce off of the top of the meter and click A again when it lines up with the black bar. - If you timed it correctly, the ball will land exactly where you aimed it. - Rocco drives the Union guy around again to a new location, so re-aim and repeat these steps. After you successfully hit the guy 3 times, the teamster's mob ties drive up. - Hide out and shoot most of the mobsters. - When prompted, jump in the golf cart, not the caged one with Rocco - head for the open-air one. - Drive off and follow Rocco while avoiding the guys in the black SUVs. Don't worry about killing them all. Just flee. Louie is Dominican. By the end of it Rocco is still not conceding anything, they are not square on their club deal. HOUR 1 - 5* - This is regular old GTA, nothing interesting done in the game play. I really like the character of Gay Tony though. _____________________________________________ | Kibbutz Number One - Mori (x03) | Difficulty - 8* Enjoyment - 6* Length - M ** Before starting this mission be sure to have a gun, preferably an automatic one. body armor would be good too. On Tony's advice, Luis must visit the other man who owns a share of the clubs. Mori is a short, orange, and q-tip-headed mass of a man with a taste in Mark Rothko paintings and homo eroticism. His hobbies include belittling his younger brother Brucie who we first met in GTA 4. Luis agrees to head down to the docks with Mori. Mori needs help because he is renegotiating with some old business associates. When they get there, the business associate, a guy who looks like he would have his own HBO comedy hour, says he will will not deal with him because he ripped them off before. Then he starts shooting at Mori and Luis. Quickly dive and take cover behind one of the pallets. - Press Left Bumper to take cover and pop out only to shoot. - Advance to the next pallet when the first line of guys is clear. Stay close to the right side of the dock (the side closest to the water) to avoid the guy launching grenades. - By staying on the right side of the dock, you can have a better view of the grenade launcher who is on the upper floor of the building. Take him out. After you have killed everyone in the construction yard, a few remaining thugs flee to the boat. They make the fatal flaw of all GTA antagonists by leaving an open boat at the dock and stocking it with sticky bombs. Luis and Mori jump in and speed off in pursuit of the thugs. - Drive the boat up on the right side of the slowest boat. Press A to toss bombs onto the boat then drift to the right of the boat to avoid the splash damage of the bombs. - When clear, press down on the control pad and the boat explodes. - Repeat this with the other boats. Mori, despite killing all of his clients, wants to continue doing business, and doing it with Luis. Luis declines but Mori says he has no choice because he technically owns Tony and by the transitive rule owns Luis. _____________________________________________ | Chinese Takeout - Tony (x04) | Difficulty - 9* Enjoyment - 8* Length - M * Before starting this mission, purchase grenades because you will be fighting guys who like to take cover and stay there. Luis ducks into the club to see two business guys obnoxiously dancing with two women. My favorite move is when the bald guy points at his bicep in a rhythm that barely matches the song. Luis pushes into the backroom see Tony who is, as always, loudly negotiating something illegal. Together they leave for Dragon Heart Plaza because Tony still owes a few favors to Rocco. When they arrive at the Dragon Heart, the scene switches to Billy Grey from the Lost and Damned bike gang dropping off some "smack." Do people still call it smack, and do they still do it? How retro! The recipient of this "smack" is a Chinese fellow. Just before the Lost and Damned guy leaves he lets loose with a barrage of passive aggressive digs at the buyer's nationality. The subject of these barbs floats from filial devotion, capitalism, Chinese- style-Leninism to the financial crisis, and then the Korean war. Mr. L+D leaves just as Tony and Luis arrive. The Chinese guy called them here because Rocco promised that Tony and Luis could help him acquire a liquor license for their under-construction house of ill-repute. Luis says they can't do it. The Chinese guy doesn't buy it and says that they can't leave until they settle on an agreement. Then, to increase the legitimacy of his demand, he pulls out a pistol. Despite the fact Luis still has a grenade launcher after the last mission, and has enough gumption to wield it, he decides not to use it and kicks the gun out of his hand and punches him out. The rest of the mission is a hallway rampage. Luis must lead Tony out of this Chinese market place. Here are some tips: - There will always be a guy coming around every corner and up every stairwell so have your gun drawn. - Have your gun pointed at every turn and get ready to shoot. - Check your radar for red dots that indicate foes. - Don't go running around the corners. After the first stairwell, the gunmen throw grenades. As long as you hide behind the corner you remain unscathed. - Use the grenades I told you to get to flush out guys who are taking cover behind copiers and boxes. _____________________________________________ | Mamma's Boy - Mom (x05) | Difficulty - 6* Enjoyment - 6* Length - S Relenting from the insistent cell-phone calls, Luis visits his mom. It is a nice place, cozy, with a 1970's sitcom look to it. Think Maude or The Jeffersons. Mom is sweet and is clad in a paramecium-print house smock. Another man is in the room who I hope is not a sugar daddy. His name is Mr. Santos. Mrs Luis's mom needed the money to pay the mortgage and instead of asking her hustler son she borrowed it from a loan shark. She was late on her payment and so the man, Mr. Santos, is here to squeeze the money out of her. After minimal negotiation with this surprisingly pleasant loan shark, he agrees that Luis can settle her debt. It is unclear what this "settlement" is but Luis has to follow Mr. Santos. The loan shark leads him to the conveniently-located neighborhood pit- fighting club. To earn the money that is not coming from his mom, Mr. Santos is relying on Luis to throw a fight. Of course throwing a pit fight is quite easy from a video-game standpoint so you will have to actually fight these out to pass this mission. The fights are one-on-one brawls with other guys who, I assume, are also fighting their way out of late mortgage payments. Please don't let a network exec hear about this pit-fighting for debt-forgiveness unless you want to see "UFC: Troubled Assets" in the Fall lineup. The first opponent is dressed in a soiled chef's jacket that is cut at the arms and coupled with a jazzy pair of parachute pants. Based on the ensemble I assume he is the third-shift fry cook at a Lubby's cafeteria. Here is my method for beating him: - Backup up until you are close to one of the cage walls. - Lock on to the opponent by holding the left trigger and rotate around him. - Start in with a series of kicks to push the opponent up against the cage wall. - If you are lucky, the toothless spectators will grab him freeing you to send an barrage of unanswered punches. - I think the AI kind of breaks when he is cornered because if you continue to button mash with attacks he will fall. When the cook goes down, the next fighter enters. You know he is tough because he has a shirt that says muscle. - To beat him, use the same method of attack that use against the fry cook. The third fighter is wearing a nice striped shirt and a clever pair of denim overalls that are sensibly rolled down to his waist. It is a clean look and the word "professional" seem all the more appropriate when describing him as a "professional fighter." - To beat him, use the exact same method of attack as all the other fighters. Luis beats all three opponents - a clear lesson that you do not F*CK with the bouncer at a gay dance club. Quick to condemn Luis for not throwing the fights, Mr. Santos yanks him out of the pit-fighting club. In the back alley, he pulls a knife on him. I can only hope that you have a gun to finish him off. When Luis returns to his mother to tell her that her debt has been fulfilled, she scolds him for not taking better care of her and not being a baseball player. Seriously. _____________________________________________ | Corner Kids - Mom (x06) | Difficulty - 8* Enjoyment - 4* - stupid shootout Length - M While walking through his old neighborhood, Luis happens upon Armando and Henrique who are dealing drugs on a street corner. Luis is expressly disseminated that his childhood friends are stooping to such a lowly means of making illegal money. He even disregards their dealing style. Armando's rejoinder that Luis is just the fun boy of some club owner seems to hit a nerve with Luis. Instead of letting it slide, Luis gives a motivational speech that all GTA leads must give at some time: this is "Liberty F*cking City" and that anyone can advance as long as they try hard and makes something out of themselves. Despite the inspirational speech, Armando and Henrique do not give up the drug trade and actually convince Luis to come along on their next big transaction. The threesome arrives in the shell of a brick warehouse. A lone tree stands in middle and under it is a man in a ball cap. Armando greets baseball cap man with a boisterous handshake that ends with them re-enacting the winning hit to a baseball game that never occurred. By the time the greeting is over the police begin firing on the place. Was this a no-bro zone? Are the police now anti-assembly? One of the boys says that it was a setup as they desperately take cover behind the crumbling bricks. But by whom? I don't know. If this is really a super-shady drug deal maybe they shouldn't haven't picked a location that is open on all sides. Inexplicably Luis has an enormous assault riffle. With seemingly little reservation, Luis becomes a cop killer as he shoots his way out of this drug raid. The police have the place completely surrounded which seems like a heavy-handed way for arresting a couple of lowly street dealers. - Aim at the cars to blow them up and knocking out the guys who are taking cover behind them. - Advance to the brick piles and shoot any of them hiding behind the columns - Move up to the columns and shoot out the next line. Follow your friends to the next area and aim at the cops who are on the roof. When the roof cops have been taken care of, take cover behind the burned-out car: - Take out the cops hiding behind the SWAT van to the East - Continue to your buddies and knock out the other clutch of cops behind the SWAT van. The guys advance to the car and an attack helicopter hovers overhead. Somehow Luis acquires an RPG. Aim at the helicopter and it blow it up. In what started out as a couple of thugs passing out dope quickly escalated to a full out act of terrorism using military-grade weapons. What happened? Is Rockstar satirizing themselves now? This mission didn't make any sense unless it was a joke about how over-the-top sandbox games have become. After their night of massacring half of the police force Luis drops Armando and Henrique at their house and he says "talk to you later." The mission ends. 2 HOURS - 6* - it is more Rockstar, but some of the missions are overly ridiculous like Corner kids _____________________________________________ | Sexy Time - Yousuf (x07) | D - 8* E - 7* L - M Luis enters Yousuf's apartment. The place is a garishly decorated with the trophies of a billionaire with the cultural sensibilities of a eleven-year- old. There are large TVs, framed sports memorabilia, arcade machines and in the very center, a scale model of Liberty City made entirely out of gold. The big screen TV seems to be showing a sunset with the end credits to another GTA game. As Luis circles the gold city, the TV aligns with it so it looks like the sun is setting over the model. He also has rooms full of ladies of loose morals. He tells Luis about how they are so hot and what he will do with them - which as you can image, would not be something that any of their fathers would like to hear. Yousuf says he has dreams of running this city. As he talks, Yousuf drops the N-word like he learned to speak American from Boyz n the Hood or any of the earlier GTA games. Interestingly, Luis reacts negatively to this language and says that it is not cool. Yousuf says that he wants you to steal a helicopter to show his dad that he can do something. This, somehow, can lead Yousuf to owning the entire city. As Yousuf says adieu, he yells upstairs "Ladies, prepare to suffer" ... from disappointment. The helicopter you are going to steal is on a yacht, so drive to the Marina. You must steal a boat to get to where it is anchored. Park your car and before you head to the boat, catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. - Commandeer one of the parked boats by jumping to it and then pressing "Y" - Head out into the harbor, the yacht is a ways off-shore, just west of the statue of liberty When you get close to the yacht, a cut scene shows you that there is a patrol boat. To avoid it, position your boat so that the patrol boat is always on the opposite side of the yacht. - Coast your boat to the back of the yacht, - When close enough, press Y to let go of the steering wheel. When close enough, press the jump button. You are aiming for the rear platform that doesn't have any railing. - If you fall into the water just swim over to the yacht's rail-less platform and pull yourself up. When on board, the scene switches to a bunch of WASPS lounging in their yacht living room with their loose women and talking about being rich. The loud guy says the chopper is called the Buzzard. - From the rear deck of the boat, climb two flights of stairs to the top deck. - The helicopter is parked on the back of the ship. Immediately jump in it and hold the accelerator trigger to take off. - Fly the chopper away from the boat and towards the red spot on your radar. - However, as soon as you get too far into the river, Yousuf commands you to head back and blow up the yacht. *In the next part of the mission you might die several times. If you crash the helicopter too many times you will call Yousuf to tell him that it is a little damaged, he will forgive you but you will not get the chopper to him. If this is important to you, click the phone button and choose to replay the mission again. You must hit the boat three times with missiles. It is hard to control the aircraft and aim your guns but here are some tips. Try all of them because what works for you may depend on your play-style - You must hit the boat 3 times - Hold the machine gun and missile buttons down at the same time. You have unlimited ammo so you might as well bullet hose them. - You can also try aligning the flight path so that you fly down the length of the boat, point your craft downward and hold the shoot buttons. Maybe you will hit it. - You can also try hovering along the boat's broadside. Hang just above the water and fire at it without moving. - You should be able to avoid the missiles that are fired from the side of the boat as long as you move when you hear them fire. The boat sinks in a slow, Titanic-esque way except that the crew falls into the river matrix-style. Also there are exploding lounge chairs. Three patrol boats escaped so you must destroy them too. - Fly low in order to see them. If you can see the texture of the water and the splashes from your mini-gun, you are close enough. - Approach slowly behind the boats. When I got close enough I let go of the accelerator and let the momentum of the helicopter carry me to them. - Hold down both the missiles and mini-gun button. Rock the chopper up and down so that you spray the escaping boats with in a parallel direction. - When the missiles come after you, jam on the accelerator and go straight up. - Repeat. When the boats have been destroyed, fly to the indicated way-point and land the craft to complete the mission: - You can shoot rockets at the city with no consequences - The helicopter pad is on the top of a medium-height sky scrapper on the east side of Manhattan I mean Algonquin - To land it, try and slow down to a near hover. - Slowly inch towards the rooftop - move the camera with the right stick to make sure you are on target - Press the break to slow down the prop and slowly land it. Yousuf is obsessed with what they won't sell him. HOUR 3 - 6* - the missions are starting to get more interesting and I like the Yousuf character _____________________________________________ | Bang Bang - Tony (x08) | D- 8* L - Medium E - 6* From the title I know this one s going to be about sex. Luis is in Tony's loft again and a guy with frosted hair is listening to "man eater." Get it? Heh. Ugh. Evan is they quintessential gay boyfriend: a Schrodinger's cat of relationships. One who is simultaneously involved with Tony and on the outs with him. Tony is in the bedroom, sleeping, drunk, or high, or drunk and high. Disappointed, Luis comes to Tony's aid and wakes him. Even gets in the way and is generally not helpful so Luis headbutts him. When Tony comes-to he says that the union guys and Rocco are threatening to burn the club. Tony's idea of dealing with it is to blow up parts of the city - well the Union controlled parts of the city. Tony wants to do it himself, but Luis considered his current state of mind and knocks him out so that he can do it himself. The first stop is to bomb the crane of a construction yard. When you get there walk up to the base of the structure. Select the sticky bombs, hold the right trigger to aim and fire them onto the crane's base. Do this 3 times, back away and detonate. Next, follow the way point and keep going through it to jump onto the train tracks. As long as you didn't push the break while you were on the hill, you can land on the tracks with all for wheels on the ground. Drive down the tracks following the train. Throw the bombs out the window so they stick. Detonate it after you have put a couple on it. I couldn't find a good way to get my car off of the track so at the nearest stop I jumped out of the car and ran for the nearest car. Follow the GPS to drive onto the tarmac. The targeted plane is stopped on the tarmac ready to taxi. Drive around it throwing bombs out the window. They don't have to stick to the plane, just around it. Drive away and detonate. You then need to escape security. Driving around on the tarmac will not get you far enough away so you must find the nearest exit. Your security level is really high so try and stay outside of the red and blue circle that is indicated on your map. If you stick to long straight highways, you can get going real fast and escape the cops. _____________________________________________ | Clocking Off - Mom (x09) | Luis's returns to his mom's now-paid-off house to find Armando and Henrique sitting on the couch. His mom is serving them a plate of something that looks like black mush. It is probably rice and beans. Luis calls these guys out so they can go on more hair-brained adventures. His mom complains that dealing drugs is not a way to make it out of their situation. Luis says that things will be OK because knows the good people form the bad ones. He then turns over a comically large bundle of cash which she gladly takes. On the way to their drug-related destination Luis's cronies upbraid him for talking down to his mother and somehow the conversation quickly turns to talking about pussy. Henrique needs Luis to help manage the couriers who are importing drugs from the boats. Of course, just like any GTA mission this one goes wrong and shooting will sort it all out. In this case a rival gang tries to steal their loot. - From the water side dock, run and hide behind the blue shipping crate. Take cover here to shoot out the gang members who are on the next floor up. - When they stop shooting at you, run up the stairs to the next level. - Clear out this floor, make sure that you also shoot the guys who hide behind the parked gangster SUV. Head up the back flight of stairs to surprise the guys who are on the top floor. - The top floor is wide open and gang members can hide behind all the cars and flat bed trailer there. Use your radar to identify where the guys are hiding. With the gang completely murdered, return to the car. Two SUVs have been loaded up and Luis must follow the other car so they can stash them. Keep close so you don't get lost. The parking lot is just around the block. 4 Hours 5* - This game is alright it still feels like every GTA _____________________________________________ | High Dive - Yousuf (x10) | E - 9* - you get get on the top of the empire state building. D - 8* L - M Yousuf is on his gold -phone phone and is pleading with his father. It seems that his dad is withholding money because of his predilection for prostitutes. This is one of those awkward moments when you have to listen to your friend's embarrassing phone calls but they give you that hand wave like "This will just take a minute, stay here." But you have nothing to look at or hide behind so you just have to stand there while they describe their bunions or last sexual encounter to their phone-friend. If I were Luis I would go over to the arcade machines. With the call over, Yousuf straddles a motorcycle game called Total Outrage and says that he was in Vice City. "The rich that were there were tacky" he says as he tucks his gold phone into his gold track jacket. Hey Yousuf has a painting that looks like a Roy Lichtenstein (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Lichtenstein). I tried to look up the painting but I couldn't find it, I think the GTA designers just made a painting that looks like a Lichtenstein so they didn't have to pay royalties or whatever you have to for the art of dead painters. I think the GTA designers are using these quite obviously placed paintings to describe the characters. Mori had a Rothko painting which symbolized his brutish masculinity, Tony had his 80's style Warhol/Nagel paintings to symbolize his party lifestyle. I would say the Lichtenstein symbolizes Yousuf's attempt at adopting American pop culture and expensive tastes. I figure he would buy this painting not because he appreciated the art or the pop-culture but because it seemed American and rich. Yousuf makes Luis drive him to the Empire State Building doppelganger and drop him off so that he can meet his brother and an associate. However, Yousuf panics at the last minute and says that Luis should go instead. So, Luis heads up to meet them. When they see him they are totally panicked because the plan has changed. This was a setup to trap Yousuf. To escape, Luis pushes the bald friend, Tahir, off of the building. Ahmed escapes and the NOOSE (aka SWAT team) descends to finish what Tahir and Ahmed couldn't. Use the exploding shells that Yousuf gave you to take out any troops that stand in your way. You can also use the shells to take out helicopters. Here is how to navigate the tower without getting killed. - Do one loop around the tier you are on and shoot out all soldiers and helicopters that are in your way. You need to make sure that there is no one left on the tier so they don't sneak up behind you when you move to the next tier. - Behind the stairs on the first floor is a bullet proof vest, you need it. - Head up the stairs to the next tier of the tower. This tier is not too heavily guarded but still make sure you clear it out. - Before you climb the latter, pan the camera up so you can see the next floor. If you climb up without killing them, the troops shoot you before you can get off of the ladder. - Do another lap around the next tier to clear it of soldiers. Shoot down the next helicopter too. - Climb the next short ladder and do one more circuit around the tower. - Climb up to the tall ladder that is on the tower's huge antenna. When the Empire State Building was constructed, this metal tower was added so that people could tether dirigibles to it. Back when the ESB was built, people actually though that blimps and balloons would be a viable form of transportation. I kid you not. - At the next platform another helicopter appears, take it out too. I was lucky enough to be at this point as the sun was rising and I stopped to watch. There is no rush, Ahmed will not be going anywhere. Note: #EMERGENT GAME PLAY + 10 At the top, Ahmed cautiously gives Luis the parachute before being scared backwards and heads for the ground the fast way. Jump off and press the jump button again to open the parachute. _____________________________________________ | Caught With Your Pants Down - Yousuf (x11) | E - 9* - you get get on the top of the empire state building. D - 4* L - M If I were Luis, I would start bringing blinders every time I visit Yousuf. This time he is holding a golden machine gun and dancing over the golden model of Liberty City with a prostitute named Jonell. She stops to do a line off of Battery Park. Yousuf is wearing a pair of underwear with a tiger that covers his python. He starts handing out money and says they are going to take over a NOOSE tank. Then a man walks in who is dressed in a white suit and Middle-eastern head dress. He is accompanied by a body guard who looks like N'gai Croal?!?. It is Yousuf's dad. Comically Yousuf tries to disguise what he is doing. Pointing at the prostitute and Luis he says that they are married friends were just visiting.... and that he, somehow, lost his pants. Papa is disappointed in his son. Thankfully Yousuf lets Luis go outside before the scolding starts. Yousuf calls moments later to say that he has to stick around until he can give his dad the slip. Meet him at the Burger shot in Star crossing. When Luis gets there, Yousuf lands a giant helicopter in the middle of the intersection. Yousuf needs you to fly this choppers so that you can pick up the NOOSE tank he was talking about earlier. - Fly towards the red dot. The target is an air crane that is carrying the tank across the city. Fly close enough and Yousuf takes the controls so that Luis can equip a sniper rifle. - Shoot the yellow bolts that are on the four outer corners of the tank. They are real small so you must zoom in to see them. - Zoom in by pressing up on the left control stick. - Try to shoot the bolts that are closest to you. After the front two are gone the tank starts rotating so you can have a shot at the back two. When the thank is free, jump out of the helicopter and parachute to where it landed. (Is that possible without getting decapitated?) - Get in the tank. you must kill some cops until you are told to flee. - The most effective way to destroy everything is to drive to one of the long, cross-town freeways. - Hit the gas, and just hold down the fire button. While firing, turn the turret around backwards and aim at everything that moves. - After you blow up enough cops, you are prompted to escape from them. - Drive down the long freeways again. You want to stick to roads that are wide open so the NOOSE tank can pick up speed. Surface streets are too tight and require frequent turns. - After evading the cops, take the tank to the indicated spot At the meeting place, Yousuf is in a crane. He picks up the tank and takes it off-screen. 5 HRS - 8* _____________________________________________ | Blog This (Part I) - Tony (x12) | E - 3* - cute jokes boring mission D - 0* L - S Troy, the door guy, approaches Luis quietly. He confides that he wants to stop working Hercules and work at Maisonette 9. The gay club is hurting Troy's chances with the women. Obviously Troy is not aware that many women prefer the clubs of gay persuasion because of their nearly no-pressure atmosphere, better dressed patrons, and near lack of insecure men. It can also be a great honor to take a girl to a GAY, BAR, GAY, BAR, GAY BAR (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTN6Du3MCgI). Tony arrives, and asks Troy how the door is going. Troy says not good and Tony has a total freak-out. If I were Troy I would want to work there just for the chance that my boss would crap himself like Tony does so regularly. Tony commissions Luis to drive him and Gracie to her house. As soon as they all hit the road, Gracie starts throwing her female parts at Luis who, without hesitation, turns down every offer. Tony interrupts the sexy-time- talk to complain that the Celebrinator, a gossip blogger, is speaking bad about Tony's clubs. Luis offers to check it out at the nearest Internet cafe. After you drop them off and get to the indicated cafe, sit down at one of the computers and click on the Celebrinator link. The blog is a clear Perezhilton send up - they even included the Microsoft-Paint phalluses. The top story gossips that Luis and Tony are so enamored with each other that Tony doesn't have time to run a decent club anymore. Click "comment" and Luis writes an open club invitation to a blogger. You don't have the option of writing "first!" And yes, that is the entire mission. You just got fake-points for logging on to a fake Internet and placing a fake blog comment. The endless hall of mirrors of video game simulacra has bent itself over. _____________________________________________ | Boulevard Baby - Tony (x13) | *Warning about this mission: If you don't have any guns because you got arrested or died, stock up on an automatic weapon and some body armor because there one is a lot harder if you go in unarmed. The scene opens the on Maisonette 9 again and a Russian guy shows his ID and points at his card and his face and says "its me, see? see? see?" I am totally going to do the next time I get carded (Russian accent too). Luis approaches the entrance and sizes up a woman who is in a short one piece with a pink stripe down the side. While she is at the bar, Luise whispers in her ear the camera cuts to a bathroom scene that proves that despite the rumors of the previous mission, Luis is not in anyway interested in Gay Tony. Maybe the reason Tony is having so much trouble filling his clubs is because the staff is using the bathrooms as their personal bath houses. What would the health inspector have to say? They did do it on the sink so there is a good chance they will wash their hands but GROSS. GROSS. With the bathroom sink montage barely fading from my singed retinas, we switch to Tony who is having a one-on-one meeting in the back office with a bottle of wine. Luis arrives at the end of Tony's meeting. When they patrol the floor, Tony stops by two guys who look a little bored. They are Russian (one of them was the see?, see?, see? guy). The Alpha (or whatever the first letter in Cyrillic is) male is Ray Bulgarin and wants to buy sexy-time with all the women in the club, even the actresses. Tony buys them a drink and calls in Luis to charm them so they don't actually try out their Russian method of courtship. Despite buying them a drink, they still don't like Tony but the do like Luis. Probably because he smells like woman's perfume and hand soap. With more important things to do, Tony takes Luis to sabotage the rival club at Bahama Mama's. Rocco has a plan to force Luis to sleep with the club- owner's girlfriend while he is out of town. The ensuing chaos will damage the club. Luis resents the fact that he is being used as a crime-syndicate gigolo but he probably eager to see the Bahama Mama's bathrooms. Follow your way through the club to reach the girl who apparently has a GPS transmitter on her. To dance with her: - move the two control sticks around, somewhat energetically, but treat them softly - like a lady. - When the "HOLD" text comes up, hold the sticks where they were when you saw the text, and tap the triggers in time to the beat. - When the the dancing is successful she pulls Luis into the backroom. Despite not being in his favorite location, Luis slums it and settles for a BJ in the main office's black leather chair. Wouldn't you know, the club owner comes back and heads right for the backroom. The club owner punches his promiscuous girlfriend in the gut and after having enough time to pull up his pants, Luis stops him. Switch to a gun and mow the club owner down. Shoot your way out of the club. - Duck out of the backroom and hide behind the short pony wall. You know, the wall where all guys who are too afraid to dance hang out and stare at the dance floor. - Shoot the guys with riffles from here. - Proceed to the club entrance and hide here poking out to shoot the other guys in the hallway. - Run out the club and head for higher ground. 6 Hrs. _____________________________________________ | Frosting on the Cake - Tony (x14) | D 8* E - 8* L - Tony has company. Evan, Rocco, and two women are all sitting around Tony's living room. Its board game night. Well if you consider a giant coke-mirror a board game. Tony is collapsed on the ground and despite the fact they are sampling his blow they are mocking him for being so wasted. Holy crap, I think the character that looks like Fran Drescher is actually voiced by Fran Drescher. Luis dutifully stands-up for Tony and helps him get cleaned up. The party breaks up and Luis is tasked with driving Evan to the docks so they can receive two million dollars worth of diamonds. On the ride over Evan teases that he is taking over the business and that Tony really doesn't care about him. Luis's tension is palpable and Evan says it is because he is jealous of him. At the docks Tony, Evan, and Luis meet the guy who is wearing a chef's smock. The guy, who they call the Chef, pulls over a little bag. With the diamonds and cache now within reach of each-other the two parties argue about the terms of the deal. Meanwhile a bunch of thugs sneak up on them. The problem with meeting in the docks is that there are so many shipping crates to climb over and around. Tony and friends make the deal and grab the diamonds. The gang is after them though. Luis, hands over the driving to their driver and instead takes roost with a backpack full of bombs. Your goal is to get back to the club without exploding. Do this by killing everything else before it has a chance to hurt you. - Always check your radar so that you can anticipate where the bikers will be. - Toss the bombs ahead of where the bikers will drive so that you can detonate them as they approach. After outrunning the gang, the police setup a blockade in the middle of one of the boulevards. Destroy the middle car and the rest of the blockade explodes into a slow-mo burn. This, however, queues the NOOSE tank. - The tank is slow so lay a bunch of bombs on the ground in front of it. As it drives over them, detonate. - Repeat this until the tank is gone. The police then send a helicopter. - Aim the bombs high so they ark towards the distant chopper - You don't have to stick the bombs on the side, just detonate them as they get close. Splash damage counts. Finally while driving at a barricade, the limo driver (and Right Said Fred impersonator) is shot in the face. Luis takes control. As soon as you are behind the wheel, drive as fast as you can through the barricade. - You need the speed so you can out-run the cops. - Continue to speed straight on through and hope that the cops are slow. - When you get outside the blue and red flashing circle you are moments away from escaping. Keep an eye out for the circles that are hunting for you. Dip into side streets to avoid them. - Just keep driving and don't stop. - If that doesn't loose them, head for the nearest long boulevard so you can gain speed and outrun them. The idea is to find a runway where you can pick up enough speed to escape. When the battle is over, they soon realize that Evan ran off with the diamonds. Tony thinks he is dead but Luis knows better. Tony checks Evan's Bleeter (aka Twitter) account and finds a transcribed, onomatopoetic, account of his death. _____________________________________________ | Blog This! (Part 2) - Tony (x15) | E - 7* D - 6* L - S With word that Tony has convinced the Liberty City's blogger, the Celebrinator, into a borrowed helicopter, Luis meets them to teach him a lesson. Jump in the helicopter and.... - Follow the red rings to fly over Happiness Island - At the right altitude, Luis gives up the controls and starts punching the Celebrinator before pushing him out of the chopper - Luis just wants to scare him so jumps out to grab him. Hold the left stick to dive. When you are close enough, he automatically grabs a hold of the blogger. - As soon as you grab him, open your parachute. - You must land on the island, if you are too far over the water, press the air breaks (L and R triggers) to float down more slowly. You land together, safely and Rockstar ends this triumphant moment with a poop joke. Mission over. By the way, to get off the island, head to the docks on the west side of the island. There are a few boats there you can use to float back into town. _____________________________________________ | Not so Fast - Tony (x16) | D - 10* E - 3* L - M Back to the club and there is a long line waiting to get in. Troy, the door guy, the one who wanted to move to Maisonette, doesn't care anymore that he is a bouncer at a gay club. He got his own reality show about his life as a doorman despite the fact that he looks like a cross between an MBA-majoring in accounting and an Edwardian-era dandy. It is actually a funny scene solely because of the great voice acting and the nonchalant motion capture. The way he points and waves in patrons made me laugh, and for the first time it wasn't because the motion capture looked cheesy. Also, watch the people waiting in line. They shake their IDs in a really funny way. Luis arrives and Tony is drunk. He philosophizes that the gay community is settling down and doesn't need him anymore. Instead of being self-loathing slouches who got there kicks by wasting their money on clubs, they now are happy and in relationships. Tony heard that the diamonds are still around and that they are being sold in the Libertonian. He sends Luis off to go get them. Fly the chopper to the Central Park area. En-route to the museum you can see that the level designers chickened out and didn't add the Guggenheim. When you locate the neo-classical building that is the Libertonian, park the Buzzard between the sky lights on the roof - there is a marker there. Get out and climb down the nearby scaffolding. Luis peers through the window and spies six men who, despite my multiple, failed attempts to land a helicopter on the roof, are unaware of his presence. They are deeply into the exchange of the diamonds. Hey! one of them is Niko Bellic. They brought two Jewish jewelers with them to identify the diamonds. As soon as they confirm that they are authentic, Luis opens fire. He kills everyone who isn't a speaking character or Jewish. One of the diamond IDers hides under a table and says he will split the diamonds with Luis if he lets them go. In response, Luis just cracks him with the riffle butt and takes all the diamonds. At this point you can join a huge gunfight through a museum (one of my all time favorite video game settings) or you can just climb back up the ladder and continue the mission. If you are having trouble deciding, you should note that the dinosaur skeletons are completely destructible. When you are ready to continue the mission, turn around and go back up the scaffolding that you took to get in here. Press Y to climb the ladder on the way out. Climb back in the helicopter and get ready for the hardest mission in the entire game. This is classic Rockstar: cool setup coupled with extremely clumsy controls. "Not so fast" is to BOGT as the RC mission is to GTA:SA. Get ready and don't throw your controller. I will try to help you to the best of my writing abilities. - As soon as you have control of the helicopter go straight up. Don't bank or anything. You just need to get altitude for the next fight. - Press select to zoom out so you can see more. - When the first helicopter approaches hold B to get a view of it. - The other chopper should approach you so don't try to chase it. Just rotate around so that your chopper is pointing at it. - Turn by letting go of the accelerator a little so that it is only 75% depressed. Also, don't push the control sticks to the max or you will just start swinging around wildly. Everything has to be in little corrections. - Hover when you are shooting at the other chopper. Don't try to turn when you are accelerating otherwise you will loose control. - When you are facing the chopper, hold down both X and A at the same time to fire both of your guns. - With luck you will hit the police chopper with the missiles which grounds it with one hit. With the first chopper down, go straight up again. you need altitude. Two more choppers approach. - Press B to zoom to the two. - Wait for the choppers to approach and just hover. - If you want to just turn around, hold back and the direction you want to turn. But don't pull the sticks all the way back. Just a little bit. - Again, hold X and A and hope that you hit one of them. - When they fire the heat-seeking missiles, accelerate up to avoid them. - Just keep at it and you will eventually beat it. I consider it luck that I finally got through it. With the choppers down, land the chopper where indicated. Tony is there to meet you in a car - drunk. like he couldn't get a driver while he is in his condition. _____________________________________________ | This Ain't Checkers - Mori (x17) | E - 7* D - 2* L - M After positioning a bunch of tiny candle sticks in a weird checkers-like game, Mori points a finger-gun at Brucie's head. Mori says check-mate real slow. Then he brags that he also got into two Ivy League schools. This is all posturing and Luis is sick of it and he wants out of his commitment to him. Realizing he is not wanted, Mori says he will free Tony of his debt if Luis wins a one of his custom challenges. If Luis looses, Mori gets everything Tony owns - including his eternal services. Wait a minute. This is the plot to most of the episodes of Saved By The Bell. The challenge that Mori is proposing is a triathlon of skydiving, boating, and driving. A plane takes Mori, Luis, and generic-NPC-model #3 over Happiness Island. The race starts as soon as they all jump out the plane. Event 1 Skydiving: - As you fall, aim for the west side of the island. If you can land on one of the boats there you can get Rockstar points. If you can't make it to the boat, at least try for the dock. Event 2 Boat race: - Don't do anything crazy to try to get ahead - especially in the beginning of the race. In the long run your boat will outrun Mori's. There are some real long straightaways towards the end of this race and you can pass him there. Event 3 Car race: - Pick a car and follow the markers. - The cars have nitro but you should only use it on the long straightaway at the middle of the race. - While boosting, tap the break to turn it off. - You can probably win this race without boosting so unless in trouble, don't use it. _____________________________________________ | No. 3 - Mori (x18) | E- 2* - I can never tell where to go, I need checkpoints D - 10 L - M Luis hears enough of Mori's bullying and tells him that he should be nicer to his own brother. Just seconds before this cut scene turns into a PSA, Mori agrees and offers to spend the day with Brucie. Luis comes along too. Hold on tight because this mission is a long and excruciating onslaught of Mori. It is interesting because Mori could be the scariest monsters in all of video games. You see, if game designers really want to make something that can out-scare a survival-horror game, they just need to prey on the gamers' barely-healed emotional scars that were inflicted by an adolescence of peach fuzz, braces, glasses and, most importantly, bullying. When they arrive at Mori's garage they split up and each take a vehicle. These are stolen vehicles and Mori is tricking Luis and Brucie into taking them to the ship yard. God this mission sucks. You will be falling off the pier a few times and loosing the trail even more. Luckily Mori takes the same path over and over again. Here is the best path from the start: - The first major obstacle is to watch out for that taxi van that crosses the center line EVERY - SINGLE - TIME. - Mori veers into the back alleys and river-side drive. You should go real slow in this part so you don't flip into the water. I depressed the accelerator to about 50% through this entire area. - When you get to the jumps, you should speed up. But don't go so fast that you jump over the landing strip At the end of the drive, the three cars crash-land into a flat bottom barge. Mori encourages Luis to keep following him so that he can learn the ways of being a d-bag. Luis, stunned, tells Mori off. Then Brucie accidentally roid- punches Mori in the face and they both cry. _____________________________________________ | Going Deep - Bulgarin (x19) | D- 8* E - 4 * L - L Luis arrives at a quite nice house in the wooded suburbs. At the door, a guy in a track suit answers. Luis asks if Mr. B is there. The door guy steps outside and looks to the left and the right. Like cops haven't figured out that every thug looks outside like that when someone comes to the door. No one is there of course, and the jumpsuit thug calls Luis in. Ray says that the department of security enforcement is after him. He asks Luis to kill them for him. Luis balks but Ray posits that with enough money a man would cut off his own leg. Ray then offers a lot of money to complete the job and Luis agrees. They head off for the garage where they will make their stand against the military team. In the car ride over, Ray asks Luis, like every other thug in town, to leave Tony and join them. Luis says that at least with Tony he doesn't get locked up. Even though he totally should be. Drive Ray's SUV to the garage and park it where indicated. Throw a bomb on the grill of the vehicle. Meet Ray in the empty parking space. Duck and hide. The NOOSE team storms the vehicle assuming Ray is inside. When prompted, detonate the bomb to blow up the commander and half of his team. Ray encourages that they are all bad and they deserve it. Eliminate the rest of the NOOSE squad using the following tips... - As soon as the shooting starts, run to the back corner of the garage and hide behind the parked car there. Hiding in the back corner prevents the NOOSE from sneaking up behind you. - Press the right bumper, to hide behind the cars. Although it might not seem like much, it protects you a bunch from the cross fire. - Wait for the police to approach before you shoot them. Don't waste your ammo. - After the first wave, the cars start to get damaged so watch them. If a car that is just a few cars away catches on fire, retreat further back. A single explosion can cause a domino of explosions that takes you out. - If you run out of bullets, try to get in one of the parked cars or, if you can do it safely, the NOOSE van, and run over the cops. ESCAPE - When prompted that the coast is clear, glean the room for the leftover armored vests and guns. - After you clear out the cops, grab the NOOSE truck or better yet, the lighting-fast BUFFALO sedan. - Take an immediate right out of the garage and head for one of the cross- town boulevards so that you can out run the cops. This whole mission was to clear out the security protection that Maki has. On the way out Ray teases Luis and tells him that his share in Tony's club is just an illusion so that Tony can hang out with him. Luis is just security. Ray tell Luis that he will hire him and teach him how to make something of himself. 8 HRS - The missions are more difficult and Rockstar's clumsy controls are showing. _____________________________________________ | Dropping in - Bulgarin (x20) | D- 6* E - 8 * L - M Luis walks in on Ray's man-servant, Timur, playing some nasty fuzz-tone guitar. Ray is dancing with his AK-47. Luis doesn't take to this Russians' sense of hospitality and nearly takes it out on Timur. Taking it all in stride, probably so they can get down to business, Ray orders Luis to kill the owner of the sought-after Hockey team, Maki Ashvilli. Luis balks. He takes a somewhat arbitrary stance that he is no hit-man. A cop killer, yes, but not as despicable as a hit-man. Despite his objections, Ray forces him to get in there and kill and to take Timur with him. On the way, Ray's personal thug has a philosophical debate with Luis as to whether he really is a horrible man. Despite what he says, Luis argues that he is isn't just a mindless killer. The two killers board a chopper with the goal of dropping Luis onto the roof Maki's office building undetected. Jump out of the chopper and aim for the Helli-pad on the roof-top. From the roof... - Shoot your way down the abandoned looking hallway. - Jump down the elevator and be ready to turn around and fight the guys who are ready for someone to just drop down the shaft. - Fight through the hallways and wind through the rooms. You can identify the doors that you can walk through because they have a triangle warning symbol on them. - Open doors by shooting them. This technique allows you to have a clear shot into the room without having to actually go through the door. - After you get to the circular, main desk, look behind the filing cabinets in the corner because there is a big, green health pack. Mikil is just around the corner in a conference room overlooking Time's Square. - When you kill Mikil, jump out the window, open the parachute and float down to Times Square. After 9/11 I truly thought that it would be a good health initiative to equip all high-rise buildings with parachutes as an alternate to fire escapes. Similar to what they do with fire extinguishers. This mission proves that my idea is at least partially feasible. - When you land, find a car fast. The other body guards are right behind you. - When you get the car, drive off and once you get a safe distance away the mission is over. _____________________________________________ | In the Cross Hairs - Bulgarin (x21) | D- 8* E - 7* L - M This time Ray is without his trusty man-servant. He commands Luis to head for a rooftop that is downtown to protect Timur while he does something shady. On his way out, Luis orders a sniper rifle from one of his weapons dealers because he will be doing some precise shooting. But shouldn't, in the world of assassins, weapons be part of the contract? Luis must get paid for gas and mileage. Doesn't he? Why not weapons too? When Luis gets to the roof of the building, Ray calls him and directs him to a small box that is in the corner. Inside, just like the end of Seven, is a head. But this time of the cook that sold them the diamonds. Those diamonds Tony bought were originally stolen from Ray. It doesn't matter how a person got them, if they touch the diamonds, Ray wants them dead. This rooftop is the trap to get rid of Luis. At the top of the building... - Duck and press the left trigger and zoom with the left stick when the attackers stop shooting, - If you are locked on to a wall, you cannot view the sniper scope. - Check your map, the snipers are indicated with red circles. The arrows indicate their elevation relative to you. Shoot them all After the first set of snipers have been eliminated, Luis tries to get off the roof. It is locked and a chopper circles the building. - Hide behind the raised wall, it protects you from the snipers and machine gunners. Your first task is to get rid of the chopper. - Instead of wildly chasing the chopper with your scope, hold the sights steady in its flight path. When the chopper gets into your sights, fire. - Aim for the pilot to down the chopper or the gunner to protect your head. After you shoot down the chopper, work on killing all the guys on the surrounding rooftop.... - After the first wave of snipers are dead, the rest come trickling out like a bizarre Russian version of Mary Poppin's chimney-sweep scene. Except, of course, no dancing. - When they are all killed, jump over to their rooftop. More will pop out. - Kill all the guys who stand in your way and continue jumping from rooftop to rooftop towards the marker. - When you get to the fire escape, clear out the guys below, and run down to the now vacant cars. - Drive far enough away and you beat the mission Luis calls Tony to apologize. He had met with the Russians behind Tony's back. The diamonds that they bought were stolen by the cook and Ray was just luring Luis into his trap to get back at him. _____________________________________________ | For the Man Who Has Everything - Yousuf(x22)| D- 8* E - 6* L - M Yousuf enters with his normal inappropriateness. Luis is at his construction site. Yousuf gloats that his ancestors built ziggurats and that this building is going to be great. He says the building is going to be totally over indulgent and too expensive for anyone else. It sounds as if he is describing his childhood tree house. Yousuf called Luis so that he could get a ride to his chopper. Yousuf wants a subway car and Luis is going to clear the way so that he can pick it up. It is going to be part of a huge resort in the Gulf. Yousuf drops you off on an overpass. Stand at the marker but don't jump until the train actually comes by. After you land on it... - Move slowly towards the front. - Your main objective is destroying helicopters. Moving to the front is secondary. As soon as you see one, start firing. - Push down the left stick to duck. You must do this for the low bridges and particularly climactic scene about under a helicopter. When you finally destroy all the choppers and move to the front car, Yousuf comes in with his helicopter crane and grabs the subway car. _____________________________________________ | Ladies Night - Tony (x23) | E- 7 D- 7* L - M Tony is upset. Gracie has been kidnapped. Instead of planning something, the two men start bickering about which one of them is a bigger junkie or low- life psychopath. Tony grabs a gun and says that he is the one who is holding Luis back and tries to commit suicide. The gun jams or was never loaded. Luis knocks him out and they run off to find Gracie. From the chopper, follow the car. Hold the B button to keep the camera centered on him. - You don't have to follow too closely, and can maintain a pretty high altitude to avoid the buildings. - When he heads into the tunnel, go to your map. The tunnel is that two-lane, dark gray line that heads west under the river. - Follow that line, if you hold B it will kind-of track where the car is. I used my map to find the other end of the tunnel - If you followed him to the other side successfully, he continues into a parking garage. - Circle around the garage until he reemerges. - He drives another two blocks to an apartment. Tony "phones it in" and tells Luis to fly back to the nearby helipad. _____________________________________________ | Ladies Half Price - Tony (x24) | L -S D - 3 * E - 4* Brucie is there at the door trying to get into Maisonette. He compliments Luis as an adventurer, a lone wolf, but one with a sensitive side. Then Brucie arrives within an inch of getting fresh with Luis. He stops, gets offended, and covers saying that he is not gay. Luis totally brushes it off instead of acting like a insecure prick. Luis takes Tony to the pier and so they can surprise the kidnappers by arriving by water. When Luis lands at the pier they practically stumble over the kidnappers. When Luis confronts them, they demand the diamonds in exchange for Gracie. Luis is fearful though because the Russians also want the diamonds who will kill to get them back. They land and Tony is determined to give the diamonds back. The captor is Niko Bellic. Gracie is gagged and Luis fabricates the exchange rules by putting the diamonds in the middle and sending Gracie over. It is a strange fusion of Red Rover, Red Rover and Snatch the Bacon. Gracie asks why we didn't kill them. Luis starts shooting as Tony pops pills and runs back to the boat with Gracie. There is nearly a firefight but Luis decides to skip the bloodshed much to the whining of Gracie. _____________________________________________ | Party's Over - Tony (x25) | D- 9* E - 7* L - L Rocco and his uncle are hanging out in the worst secret meeting spot EVER! - a bathroom in Central Park. Luis arrives to negotiate with them based on a tip they sent him. They tell him that Ray and the rest of the Russians are after him and Tony. Luis has the power to appease them; all he has to do is kill himself or Tony. The two Italians don't mention Luis's other, and more likely option, which is to shoot and explode everything that moves. Taking this in stride, Luis leaves to find Tony. As he enters the club, the Italians are already there holding Tony at gunpoint. They must have used fast-travel. Tony pleads that he is good for the money but Luis confirms what the Italians are saying: one of them has to die. Rocco throws Luis a huge handgun and he looks Tony in the eyes apologetically. Just as Luis is about to pull the trigger, he turns it on the old Italian and kills him. Rocco, unscathed, says that this carefully orchestrated plan is falling apart. The Russians are coming. He runs off. And the Russians do come flooding down the tiger-striped stairs. Tony and Luis, unwisely, take cover behind a delicate, bamboo lattice. There are 3 or 4 waves of Russians. Here is how to deal with it - Each wave is made up of two types of guys: guys who blitz and those who just stand and shoot. The guys who blitz are the most deadly because they come up to the deck and shoot you from behind. - When the first part of the wave comes, don't even try to shoot the Russians. Instead, take cover behind the pillars with the Maisonette TVs so that your back is protected from the shooters who are standing below. Face the stairs and when the blitzers come up, you can take them out before they take cover and shoot at you. There are usually 2 blitzers in each wave. - When the blitzers are done, turn around and blind fire at the guys standing and shooting. Be sure you stay in cover behind the pillar with the Maisonette 9 TV screens. - Repeat this for each wave. - If you need health, turn around. There is a med kit stapled to the wall in the corner. If you have to ask why a VIP room needs a med-kit, you clearly haven't been in a good one. After the waves are done, follow Tony to the front door. - Take cover behind the wall on the non-hinge side of the front door. - Shoot the door to open it. - Blow up the cars first so you have some nondestructive cover later. - Shoot all the guys that you can see from your vantage point. - There are guys that you just can't see because the door doesn't swing open all the way. Sneak out to get them, but only when the easily shoot-able guys have been killed After essentially committing mass genocide against all Russians in Liberty City, Luis and Tony head outside. Tony says he is leaving, this is too much. He then leaves. Luis warns that they will still find him anyway and then he leaves. HR: 10HRs - 7* - Really exciting and I want to see what happens next _____________________________________________ | Departure Time - Tony (x26) | D- 8* E - 6* L - L Tony is packing while drinking which always ends well. He is getting out of Liberty City. Luis verbally smacks him and then Tony holds it against Luis that he tried to kill him. Luis says that it will always be the two of them against the world. They head to Funland because the word is that the Russians are receiving a big heroin shipment. Luis thinks that by shutting off their income stream he can stop Ray B. - Fight through this really cool ending level that is set in a run down carnival. So creepy. - When you get to the SUV, take cover against the walls and peak around the corner to shoot the huge number of Russians there. - After the area is clear, shoot the duckling that is made of compressed H. - There are two more ducklings that are hidden next to the round-and-round rides. - Hiding behind the ticket booths is a good idea while you are advancing on the other Russians. - When you destroy the last duckling, head back to clear out the other side of fun-land. After clearing out the other side of Fun-land, Timur yells at Luis and tells him that Ray is heading out of the country. - You must kill Timur, but don't worry he never runs far so you don't have to make any risky attacks to get him. - Follow the radar and head for the red dot. Kill him. He is easy. He doesn't even turn into a Mecha-Timur or breath fire. He doesn't even have body armor. Follow the map to the bike and head for the airport to get Ray. En route to the airport, Yousuf make his return. He does it much like Han Solo but in an attack chopper and shoots out any aggressive cars. When you get to the airport, Ray is taking off in his Leer Jet. Race down the tarmac and get close enough to red marker icon on the let side of the plane to start the cut scene. Luis jumps aboard. Hey that was in the trailer. In a Modern-Warfare-sort-of-way Luis shoots his way to the cockpit. Ray is there and holds a grenade threatening that if he dies the plane blows up. Shoot him despite the warning and the plane does, in fact, blow up. Luckily Luis's line of work demands that he wear a parachute at all times. Float him back to dry land. Find a car and drive Luis to the park. As Luis rounds the corner, looking for Tony, he collides with a bum. In the scuffle the diamonds fall out, which, humorously, the bum finds. Luis finds Tony sitting at a park bench overlooking that giant globe sculpture. They talk about their childhood dreams. It really is a great moment and strange that two video game characters have a conversation for this long that doesn't involve aliens, portals or guns. It is a real hear-to- heart and they congratulate themselves on keeping each other alive. This article really nailed how good the relationship is between the two of them and how it shows that this is a game that is adult in a good way. http://www.crispygamer.com/features/2009-11-05/the-ballad-of-gay-tony-who-is- the-man.aspx Before it gets too sentimental, Yousuf arrives swearing and slurring his way into convincing the two buddies to move with him and start club franchises around the world. The scene fades to gray and we say goodbye. The credits roll as a crane shot pans over the globe. The music plays and it feels like the end to a Rodney Dangerfield film. FINAL TIME: 11Hr 23 MIN 7* Good final mission, fantastic, cool ending. ----------------- Legal -------------------- Copyright 2009 Zukowski This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.


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Evolution System Tack Panels, Kewaunee - Each : The 30.5cm (12") high tack panels, mounted in between columns, are covered in fabric that is color coordinated with the workstation accent strip. Support bracket is included.
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subset: commoncrawl


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I just need to understand what information I should provide to a c++ code if I had a tunnel session established with the following configuration
I'm on a window 7 computer.
I successfully configured a ssh tunnel session via putty.
In putty, set my local port to be 4000, the remote unix server / port are: remoteName:3000
So I assume my c++ code will now access the remote resource if I use host="localhost" port="4000"?


text: "A one-off custom-built Maybach was unveiled in May 2005 at the Tempodrom in Berlin. Commissioned by tyre company Fulda, the Exelero is a chopped-down two-seater coupe, though it's more than just a show car – in tests at the Nardo high-speed oval, the prototype reached a speed of 218.38mph, despite weighing over 2.66 tonnes. It is capable of acceleration from 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds. The car's design was the result of a competition amongst students at the Pforzheim Polytechnic Department of Transport Design, which has worked on show vehicles for Fulda in the past. The design of 24-year-old Fredrik Burchhardt was chosen, and his work was co-ordinated with that of the Maybach design centre in Sindelfingen. The project, based on the Maybach 57 limousine, required a certain amount of re-engineering; the A-pillar and doors had to be shifted rearwards, and the steering column, pedals and gearshift all re-located. The standard 550bhp V12 engine was bored out to 5.9 litres, and tuned for 700bhp and over 738lb ft of torque. With final dimensions of 5890mm long, 2140mm wide and just 1390mm high, the car was kitted out with a full-spec interior, including leather, neoprene, aluminium and carbonfibre finishes. Maybach says the car, built by Stola in Turin, is "a one-off vehicle created to showcase the new ultra-high performance Exelero tyre range from leading tyre manufacturer Fulda"; it's not the first time the two companies have teamed up, as back in 1938 Fulda demonstrated its tyres on a Maybach SW 38 limousine. There are, however, "no plans to produce the model in series", though it has been certified for on-road use." – read more here


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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
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ya..know....i think it might be that little high iq matt, he didnt look freaked out about the sab...i just dont know, but give me a mintue, or until bb says who it is and i will get it so happy to be back in bb land, and here with you beauitful, wonderful ..dolls
I can almost guarantee it! thanks to DVR! I went back and watched in slo-mo she was sitting on the couch, when the lights went off she was not. Then when they came back on she was back on the couch. Can't Trick Me Big Brother!!!!!Honestly, I will be shocked if it is not.
I disagree. I think its stupid to lie about your job. It all comes out sooner or later. When it does it looks like you're lying. I just hink it's funny that everyone thinks they are too smart so they are not telling anything. Dr.? Genius? Chemist? Come on!!! Like it matters!
I wonder how long the lights really were out. It seems there was a lot of moving around. looking at the first picture just after the blackout. Is that really Matt? Or is it Brendan? Hard to tell. Now I have it down to the same three. Kathy is my least probable now.
I have to say the editing is really crappy and probably for a reason. They show Andrew messing with the door, then flash back to a living room shot with Andrew in the chair. BB is trying to keep us in the dark! No pun intended.
I'd be following BB 12 even if I'm in the Philippines. I love the idea of BB Saboteur!
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Start climbing hard – our first ever BLOCBUSTER, all levels all ages bouldering competition is coming!
There will be $1,000 in cash + prizes for the taking, goodie bags, DJ Chris Scott + a pizza party. Don't miss out.
Sponsored by: Clif Bar / Adidas Outdoor / Califia Farms / The Village Voice / Five Ten / Health Warrior / Friends of Douglass Green Park / SoILL


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There is perhaps no better way to show off the sheer size and scale of an airport runway than by inviting people to experience it on foot.
At nearly five kilometres long and over a metre thick, Calgary International Airport's new runway requires a good 20 to 30 minutes of brisk jogging to traverse. And if you're walking it with kids in tow — stopping at displays and maybe grabbing a bite to eat along the way — then getting from one end to the other can take all morning.
It's a different perspective than the one you get from inside a plane, and it's one that 12,000 Calgarians have now experienced. Over the weekend, the Calgary Airport Authority welcomed the public to explore, play, and even run on its new, $600 million piece of concrete.
"It's one of the most unique events in Calgary. You'll never get the opportunity again to come out to the runway," Jody Moseley, spokeswoman for the Calgary Airport Authority on said on Sunday. "The response has been incredible — we opened up registration and within a week, we were full."
Calgary International Airport is the third-largest and fastest-growing airport in Canada, and in recent years, has faced a systemic shortage of landing slots during the peak hours of 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The new runway, which took three years to build, will not only ease congestion, but its extra length will allow the airport to land the largest aircraft in the world without any payload restrictions. Airport authorities have already dubbed the runway, the country's longest, the "most important 14,000 feet in Canada."
"The airport's really an economic driver for the entire city," said Moseley. "When you see a healthy, busy airport, you see a healthy city and a healthy economy."
The first flight will take off from the new runway at approximately 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 28. But over the weekend, the public got the chance to scribble on the concrete with sidewalk chalk, check out an array of aircraft on display, build model planes, and sample the fare from some of the city's food trucks. There was also a Run the Runway fun run on Saturday.
"I think it's wonderful," said Calgarian Nathan Smith, who attended Sunday's festivities with his nine-year-old daughter, Jasmine. "The new runway can only be good for the city and the economy. It's terrific."
Chris Avery, WestJet's vice-president of Network Planning, Alliances, and Corporate Development, said the new runway will enable the growing airline to continue to expand.
"We'll have more capacity for more flights, more opportunities for landings at times when the airport is busy, which will help with our on-time performance," Avery said. "Calgary is our hub. We continue to add more flights out of Calgary, via Calgary, and from Calgary internationally to Mexico, the Caribbean and the U.S. We're looking forward to being able to continue to grow more."
The runway is the first completed phase in what has been a major ongoing expansion project at the airport. The second phase, a new 22-gate international terminal, is expected to be complete in the fall of 2015.
Construction of the new runway also required construction of a new, larger NAV Canada air traffic control tower as well as the purchase of additional emergency response vehicles and snow removal equipment. The runway is the only one in Canada to be lit entirely with energy-efficient, LED lighting.
The Calgary Airport Authority reported in February that 14.3 million passengers travelled through YYC in 2013, an increase of 4.9 per cent from 2012 and an all-time record for the airport.
Moseley said the new runway will help the airport handle that traffic, and also make it easier for airport officials to entice new airlines and new routes.
"It's a really important part of our future as an airport, and for Calgarians as well," she said.


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Akamai will record this transcript. Please read our privacy policy for more information. By proceeding you agree to the recording and the use of your personal data.
Cambridge, MA |
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading global service provider for accelerating content and business processes online, announced today that it will participate in the Thomas Weisel Partners 2007 Internet & Digital Media Conference. Chief Financial Officer, JD Sherman, will present an update on Akamai's service offerings in San Francisco, California.
|Tuesday, March 6, 2007
10:55 AM (Pacific Time)
|The Four Seasons Hotel
757 Market Street
San Francisco, California 94103
|Presentation: Review of company service offerings
A live audio web cast of the presentation and a replay will be available on Akamai's website at http://www.akamai.com/html/investor/index.html. Please go to the "Events Calendar" section of the Akamai Investor Relations Web page to access the presentation.
Akamai® is the leading global service provider for accelerating content and business processes online. Thousands of organizations have formed trusted relationships with Akamai, improving their revenue and reducing costs by maximizing the performance of their online businesses. Leveraging the Akamai EdgePlatform, these organizations gain business advantage today, and have the foundation for the emerging Web solutions of tomorrow. Akamai is "The Trusted Choice for Online Business." For more information, visit www.akamai.com.


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Taylor Ellwood's latest book Pop Culture Magic 2.o is now available for pre-order from Immanion Press! The book will be in print in either September or October of this year.
In Pop Culture Magic 2.0, Taylor Ellwood explores how pop culture magic has continued to evolve. In this book you will learn how to make any pop culture into pop culture magic as well as why you might want to. You'll also learn how pop culture is becoming the mythology of our time and how older mythologies are showing up in contemporary culture. If you've wanted to practice pop culture magic or are just curious as to how magic and pop culture go together this book is for you. You will also learn:
• How to work with corporate entities in pop culture magic
• How to develop your own system of pop culture magic
• How to integrate social media and modern technology into your magical practice.
• How to use contemporary holidays in your magical workings
• How role playing games can help you with your identity work
• and much, much more!
If you've wanted to integrate contemporary culture into your spiritual work, look no further! Pop Culture Magic 2.0 can help you develop a modern system of magic that is relevant to you and allows you to take the pop culture you love and turn it into a spiritual practice that changes you


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Liquid "alternative" investment strategies have been among the most popular but least understood investment innovations of recent years. Liquid alternatives burst upon the scene in 1997, after an obscure but important rule governing mutual funds—the short-short or 30% rule—was repealed as part of Bill Clinton's Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Repeal of the rule made it more practical for mutual funds to engage in short-term trading and short selling, ultimately opening the floodgates for mutual fund and ETF strategies that emulate hedge funds.
In the last three years, alternative mutual funds and ETFs have gathered $60 billion of assets, and the category as loosely defined by Morningstar has reached $120 billion in assets.
Wealthy investors and endowments historically have invested in hedge funds to enhance returns or to reduce portfolio risk. In recent years, Yale's success investing in hedge funds and private equity has influenced the investment strategies of many advisors, while individual investors have been drawn to the eye-popping returns of the hedge funds that were big winners before or after the financial crisis.
Interest in hedge funds that provide downside protection is also a natural response to the financial crisis, as traditional investments thought to provide diversification failed to protect portfolios during the bear market. Consequently, individual investors have wanted a way to participate in the action, and increasingly are turning to liquid alternatives as the vehicle to do so. Previously, individuals have used liquid vehicles to follow their institutional counterparts in formerly exotic investments such as real estate, emerging markets equities and commodities; liquid alternatives are the next chapter in that story.
The benefits of liquid alternatives in comparison with traditional hedge funds are compelling. Liquid alternatives, whether in mutual fund or ETF form, provide easy and low-cost access to traditional hedge fund strategies. Liquid alternatives offer daily liquidity, have low minimum investment requirements, and provide more investment transparency and regulation than traditional hedge funds.
As Rick Lake of Lake Partners puts it, liquid alternatives provide a "kinder and gentler" way to invest in hedge funds.
What Are Liquid Alts?
Liquid alternatives cover a wide range of investment strategies that don't fit neatly into a single classification. Morningstar defines alternatives as investments that fall into one of three categories:
- Non-traditional asset classes, such as futures and currencies.
- Non-traditional strategies, such as short selling or hedging.
- Illiquid assets, such as private equity, private debt or distressed debt.
Some strategies aim to be fixed income alternatives by providing bond-like returns and risk, while other strategies are more equity-like from a risk-return perspective. It's important to understand the objective for each alternative investment strategy, and to understand the approach taken to achieve the objective.
In our view, the primary alternative strategies are long-short equity, event-driven, long-short bond, and macro.
The remainder of part one of this column will review long-short equity strategies and event-driven strategies.
Long-Short Equity Strategies
Long-short equity strategies include long-biased strategies such as 130-30 (a strategy in which a manager invests 130% of the portfolio in long investments while having short positions equal to 30% of the portfolio) as well as strategies that typically hold more long positions than short positions, but have less than 100% market exposure.
Long-biased strategies typically are used in equity allocations, providing exposure by either taking advantage of a manager's ability to identify both long and short selling opportunities or by providing equity exposure that is designed to be less volatile than that of the market. Many of the strategies are promoted as providing less risk than the market, though they are still directionally correlated with the market.
Equity market neutral funds invest in offsetting long and short positions, hedging market risk while providing absolute returns designed to be independent of the direction of markets. Many market neutral managers utilize quantitative strategies to identify long and short positions in equities and their derivatives with offsetting risk characteristics. Market neutral strategies are often used as fixed income substitutes, as the risk/return profile provides bond-like attributes while diversifying portfolio risks.
We are supporters of the conceptual reasoning behind equity market neutral strategies, but caution investors to understand that a manager can at times be wrong about both the long side of a trade as well as the short side, creating risk that, though theoretically uncorrelated with the market, can still carry a significant risk of capital loss.
Short selling or bear market strategies have a net short position and are designed as portfolio hedging tools. Many bear market funds are more suitable for short-term trading than for long-term ownership.
Event-Driven Strategies
Event driven strategies include merger arbitrage, activist and restructuring-oriented investments. Merger arbitrage strategies are easier to provide in liquid form and represent the majority of event-driven assets offered in 1940 Act products. Activist and restructuring-oriented investment are more difficult to deliver in registered products, as the concentration or illiquidity found in the typical private hedge fund product is harder to replicate in a mutual fund or ETF.
Merger arbitrage strategies typically invest in stocks that are the target of an announced stock for stock transaction, while selling short the stock of the acquirer. Some aggressive merger strategies will also invest to take advantage of unannounced but suspected transactions based on investment research. In all-cash deal,s merger arbitrage funds buy the target stock while shorting calls of the acquirer. Conceptually, merger arbitrage investors seek to capture the premium paid for the target.
Merger arbitrage strategies are often used as fixed income substitutes, providing steady risk-adjusted returns in normal market environments. Merger arbitrage strategies can struggle in times of crisis when deal flow dries up, when deals are more likely to fall through or when financing costs unexpectedly rise.
In part two of our series, we'll look discuss long-short bond strategies, macro strategies, and provide some thoughts on how to select a liquid alternatives product.


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Greencork is a wine bar with a modern twist. They have four Italian-made Wine Emotion Wine Dispensing Machines. Each one chambers eight bottles, and all are tied into the computer at the register. When you come in, you pre-pay as much or as little as you want on a card, and then you can use that card to select 2, 4, or 6 oz. pours from the machine.
I am generally not a fan of wine-by-the glass at restaurants or bars unless I really trust the server. If the bottle was opened yesterday, the wine will be OK, but if it was opened and recorked three weeks ago, it will be sour. The culprit is oxygen, and the Wine Emotion system avoids that by using the inert noble gas argon. Argon is pumped into the bottle to dispense the wine, meaning that each pour is just like opening a fresh bottle. (And before you get concerned about chemicals, argon makes up 1% of our atmosphere. You're breathing it right now.)
2156 Young Avenue
Memphis, Tennessee 38104
(901) 207-5281
Tuesday-Thursday 5 p.m.-10 p.m.
Friday-Saturday 5 p.m.-11 p.m.
There are 32 wines available at any given time, and the lineup changes depending on what's available and customer demand. The prices for full 6 oz. glasses are quite good compared to most restaurant wine lists, and even the basic 2 oz. pours would allow you to try through a lot of interesting wines without spending a lot of money. I think that the highest amount I saw was $14 for a full glass, but most of them are in the $6-8 range.
The staff is friendly and knowledgable, and the selection of wines is eclectic. While I saw a lot of California wines, I also spotted gems from Oregon, Chile, Argentina, and France. There may be opportunities in the future to sample some higher-end, well-aged bottles using this interesting bit of technology. I like the way they have the wines broken up into four categories: Light-Bodied Whites, Complex Whites, Medium-Bodied Reds, and Bold Reds. Each grouping is kept at the optimal temperature, and on the day I visited, they had a dessert wine snuck into one of the cases with smaller pour amounts. The wine's name, price, and the unit's temperature can all be controlled from the central computer at the register. When you insert your card, you get a readout of how much money you have left.
Eric Painter, with many pieces on display. The complex twists and turns of his oil paintings are fascinating to study while swirling wine in your glass.
I had a great afternoon hanging out with the staff before they were officially open for the day. It's a comfortable, pleasant spot, and I think it's an excellent pre- or post-dinner bar for gathering with friends when you're in Cooper-Young. Check it out the next time you're in the neighborhood, and let me know what you think.


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This website has met the highest requirements for 2019 5-Star MedicareWebWatch recognition
|Title of the site:
|Kaiser Permanente
|Web home address:
|Date of initial review:
|April 2009
|Date of last subsequent review:
|February 2019
|Current status:
The above website has met the highest requirements for 5-Star MedicareWebWatch recognition including:
Medicare Advantage plan content
Member connectivity and solutions
Website design and navigation
Website transparency
Important Disclaimer
MedicareWebWatch.com is a proprietary website maintained by HealthMetrix Research, Inc. and is not associated with, endorsed, or authorized by the Social Security Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services or the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This site contains information about Medicare Advantage plan websites but is not an endorsement for any Medicare health plan or product. If you would like to find more information about the Medicare program, please visit the Official U.S. Government Site for People with Medicare located at www.medicare.gov.


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DS Podium Lady 33mm
Reference: C034.210.16.427.00
Diameter: 33.00 mm
A sporty and elegant timepiece with a small case and an innovative Precidrive™ quartz movement, it brings precision and day-to-day glamour to the female wrist.
EUR 335.- Recommended retail price (incl. VAT)
Case: DS Concept Stainless steel 316L
Bezel: Stainless steel 316L
Glass: Sapphire crystal Antireflection treatment on one side
Dial: White Mother of Pearl Index + Arabic
Movement: Swiss Made Quartz PrecidriveTM End Of Life
Water resistance: Up to a pressure of 10 bar (100m)
Bracelet: Leather Embossed cow leather alligator look alike
Lining: Synthetic
Buckle: Stainless steel 316L Butterfly clasp with 2 push-buttons
Mother-of-pearl dial
Mother of pearl is the inner shell layer of certain molluscs, such as some mussels. As the material is very brittle, it has to be handled extremely carefully. The naturally developed nature of the material and its very individual shimmer and hue make each pearl dial totally unique – no one piece is quite like the next.
Slim lines
Sportiness and elegance are by no means mutually exclusive – on the contrary. With this model, a particularly slim case profile assures casual comfort for the wearer and an elegant silhouette.


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Choir touring Egypt in May
March 20, 2013
Cappella Nova, one of three choral groups on campus, will be traveling to Egypt this May for its first international tour in more than 30 years.
"We're really excited about this concert tour," said Katherine FitzGibbon, assistant professor of music and Cappella Nova conductor. "We chose Egypt because of the rich cultural history and because of the fortuitous timing: we have a senior student in Cappella Nova, Zein Hassanein, who grew up in Cairo."
The 31-member mixed choir will perform multiple times in both Cairo and Luxor. Beyond performing and sightseeing, the students will have the chance to advance their musical education while abroad.
"We have the opportunity to study with master musicians who specialize in North African singing traditions while we are there," Fitzgibbon said. "We will also be able to do some sightseeing with an Egyptologist guide."
The trip will take place from May 19 until May 30, with students leaving the day after graduation. Along with FitzGibbon, several students are playing an active role in planning the trip.
"I am incredibly excited to share my homeland with my friends in Cappella Nova," Zein Hassanein CAS '13 said. "There is so much to learn historically, politically, and artistically from Egypt and the Egyptian people, and I am thrilled to help direct this journey."
To support the tour, Cappella Nova has recorded a CD, Cappella Nova Live in Concert, that is available through the music department and the Lewis & Clark Bookstore. Plans for a benefit evening later in the spring are being finalized.
For more information, or if you would like to donate to the Egypt Tour Scholarship Fund, please visit the tour website.
Blue Lassiter CAS '15 contributed to this story.