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I once posted a thread with the beginnings of this idea, but this more developed. I call it "Marvelous Evil," an alternate universe combining elements of Resident Evil with the Marvel Universe.
The events taking place in the background of the Resident Evil games largely proceed unchanged. In the late '60s, Ozwell E. Spencer, Sir Edward Ashford and Dr. James Marcus founded the Umbrella Corporation, the secret goal of which was exploiting the ancient Progenitor virus found in a rare African flower. While Ashford and Marcus thought to create bio-weapons to sell to the highest bidder and gain temporal power, Spencer had a different idea: use the mutagenic viruses to remake mankind and stand atop a new world as a god. Dr. Marcus was betrayed and murdered, but eventually restored by his own creation in the Tyrant virus (or "T-virus"). He attacked Umbrella in turn, causing the outbreak at the Spencer Estate in Raccoon City where our story begins.
The soldier transport carrying Billy Coen is actually returning him to the Arklay Facility when resurrected Marcus strikes the Umbrella train, Ecliptic Express, and unleashes the T-virus. Billy Coen is an escaped test subject for Umbrella's "Weapon X" program, which mutates a host and grants both incredible regenerative powers, heightened senses and in Billy's case a set of retractable bone claws in his hands. He's the only successful test subject and Umbrella wants him back to dissect and figure out how to replicate the process.
Meanwhile, the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team has come to investigate the Arklay Facility after a series of cannibal murders and animal attacks rocks Raccoon City. They pinpoint the Spencer Estate as being at the heart of the area covered, so they come to investigate. Their helicopter suffers a serious malfunction and they make an emergency landing in the Arklay Forest. Bravo Team is not hurt by the incident, but quickly come under attack by packs of vicious zombie dogs. Some of the team is killed, the others driven to the Spencer Estate, except for Rebecca Chambers. Separated from the others, she encounters the derelict Ecliptic Express and Billy Coen, a man whom Umbrella has framed with false allegations of murder and military treason. The two are forced to work together to survive once they arrive at Dr. Marcus' Umbrella Training Facility, and eventually defeat the monstrous Dr. Marcus himself (after he transforms into a gigantic Queen Leech). Rebecca allows Billy to go free and makes her way to the Spencer Estate. She survives this mess largely thanks to her own powers — possibly a mutant of some kind, maybe Shadowcat.
S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team goes in after Bravo, led by the treacherous Captain Wesker. They land in the Arklay Forest and come under attack while investigating the whereabouts of Bravo Team. Barry Burton, Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield and Albert Wesker reach the Spencer Mansion and what they assume is safety, though Wesker has at this time already enacted his own devious plans. He forces Barry to secretly help him by threatening his family, while Jill and Chris explore the estate and discover the twisted secrets lying beneath the surface. Jill is helped by her experience as a former burglar of great skill, called "the Black Cat" in her day.
The events of the game proceed largely as normal. In the aftermath, however, several important things occur. One is that Barry discovers that Wesker had already killed his family and only bluffed that they were alive and under threat. Barry becomes a magnum-toting Punisher, out to put an end to these criminals that shield themselves from the law with money and influence.
Meanwhile, after confronting the mutant horrors and human evils of Umbrella in the Spencer facility, Chris Redfield returns to the government with evidence of Umbrella's wrongdoing. He volunteers for a new project that uses similarly mutagenic viral agents (sold to them by William Birkin, one of Umbrella's scientists) to enhance a soldier to the peak of human ability, known as Project: Rebirth. Feeling that he must become the best of humanity in order to fight the worst inhumanity, Chris is given a unique shield made of the only known vibranium in the world. It suits his status as a protector. He is Captain America.
Even as Chris and Barry depart Raccoon City and Jill remained behind to fight Umbrella's corruption, the city was doomed. The T-virus had leaked into the city's sewers and then into the city's water supply, while infected rats also brought it to the surface. The result was that most of the population was infected before they knew it, and by late September, the outbreak overtook the city. Most of the population became zombies and some of Umbrella's nastier creations got free of the overrun labs.
Unaware of the hell that awaited, Claire Redfield (looking for her brother) and rookie cop Leon Kennedy (first day on the job!) came to Raccoon City. They both quickly discovered the horror gripping the city, but it was too late to escape easily. They made their way to the RPD station, where they encountered other survivors: young Sherry Birkin, daughter of William, and Ada Wong, a superspy. They fought their way through the sewers into a hidden Umbrella facility beneath Raccoon City, and Claire was bitten by one of the giant spiders infected by the T-virus. Its venom, instead of killing her, mutated her DNA into a spider-human hybrid, and when she awoke, she soon discovered that she'd become something of a Spider-Woman.
Leon, meanwhile, fell in love with Ada but then had to watch her die, and vowed never to let someone he cared about fall victim to such madness again. Together Leon and Claire confronted the Tyrant, a huge bio-weapon soldier created by Umbrella, and destroyed William Birkin after he mutated himself with the new G-virus into a horrific monster. They escaped the city with Sherry Birkin, unaware that Ada had survived.
Jill remained in Raccoon City and found herself in the midst of a zombie epidemic. She also found herself hunted by an implacable monster called the Nemesis. He hunted down the last remaining S.T.A.R.S. members, including Jill, who desperately tried to escape Raccoon with the help of Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service, an elite group of soldiers trained for recovery and data elimination. Nemesis nearly killed them all, but Jill finally destroyed him with the help of Carlos Oliveira, a U.B.C.S. agent, and an experimental rail gun. They escaped Raccoon City shortly before its nuclear destruction.
However, the inert remains of Nemesis absorbed some of the radiation from the lab and the blast and regenerated in the smoking aftermath, becoming something even more powerful.
So, those are the basics. I do have some thoughts for RE4 and later, but there are some questions about what to do with characters thus far. Players playing in this setting might want to play as one of the canon characters now become a superhero, or might want to make up their own. Only certain things really fit: no magic, no cosmic stuff. But that leaves the question of what to do with some of these?
Barry Burton: Becomes the Punisher, with a high-tech magnum as his signature weapon.
Rebecca Chambers: I've often thought she could be a mutant, like Shadowcat, or maybe gained powers some other way. Not sure what powers they might be, though.
Billy Coen: As Weapon X and a tough bastard, he certainly managed to escape the forest and remains at large. No adamantium, but it's not needed.
Leon Kennedy: Leon I'm really not sure about. I thought perhaps he might wander the world, seeking to perfect himself and become Iron Fist, but I'm not sure if that'd be a little too close to magic and clash with the setting. It might work, though, given that the viruses often work wholly supernatural-like effects. I thought also he might become Iron Man, piloting a suit of high-tech armor designed to counter the threat of monstrous mutants.
Carlos Oliveira: I'm not sure what he should do, but he needs to become a hero of some kind. Maybe he has powers, maybe he doesn't, but I'm not sure what kind of role he'd take on.
Chris Redfield: He's Captain America and goes on to oppose Wesker as a paragon of humanity, finally defeating him in RE5.
Claire Redfield: Given spider-powers, she fights Umbrella by sneaking into their facilities and ends up on Rockfort, where she encounters Steve Burnside and the Ashford twins.
Jill Valentine: I thought she could be Black Cat, maybe replete with luck powers, maybe not. It might fit her novelization background as having been a thief, though. If not Black Cat, I'm not sure what Marvel role to give her off the bat.
Albert Wesker: Remains more or less unchanged.
Ada Wong: She could well the equivalent of Black Widow, which fits her general personality and background.
Meanwhile, Nemesis becomes the setting's Hulk. Resurrected and empowered by the radiation of the atomic bomb, he becomes nigh-unstoppable, with godlike strength and durability. Rather than getting stronger when angry, he just basically becomes unkillable, his regenerative powers heightened to such a degree that maybe only complete disintegration can stop him. So rather than strength, it's toughness that increases for him, making him one of the worst foes our heroes can encounter.
Marvelous Evil
Discuss Freedom City, Paragons, Wild Cards, or your own campaign settings here.
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- Comrade
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Marvelous Evil
Claire Redfield • Onyx Path Freelancer
Demon: The Descent, Blood & Smoke, Book of the Wyrm and Umbra 20
Demon: The Descent, Blood & Smoke, Book of the Wyrm and Umbra 20
Re: Marvelous Evil
I shall be following your career with great interest.
2 posts • Page 1 of 1


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Find out who's climbing Cleveland's corporate ladder.
Going Places: Oct. 29-Nov. 2, 2012
ARKINETICS: Rob Donaldson to project manager.
JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY: Joan Coyne to assistant dean, graduate business programs, Boler School of Business.
LORAIN NATIONAL BANK: Leah Goodrich to assistant vice president and branch manager, North Ridgeville. S&T BANK: Stephen Hendricks to senior vice president, commercial lending and regional manager; Jamie Taylor to vice president, commercial lending; Steven Zickefoose to senior vice president, commercial lending.
APPLE GROWTH PARTNERS: Jason Bogniard to shareholder principal. DEIMLING FORBES & ASSOCIATES INC.: Thomas Alfonso to senior accountant. LEAGUE PARK ADVISORS: Karim Botros to director.
CUYAHOGA COUNTY: Gregory Zucca to senior development finance analyst, Department of Development.
BRAVO WELLNESS: Cheryl Tidwell to executive vice president, business development. EMERITUS AT CANTON: Carol Lynn Capocci to life enrichment director.
MEDICAL MUTUAL: Ray Mueller to executive vice president, chief financial officer.
DODD, L'HOMMEDIEU & MCGRIEVY LLC: Anthony J. Viola to of counsel. FISHER & PHILLIPS LLP: Stefanie Baker to associate.
LINCOLN ELECTRIC CO.: Bruce Chantry to director of marketing, North America. PSC METALS INC.: Ricardo Iriart to chief financial officer.
AQUENT STUDIOS EASTLAKE: Mark McCue to manager of rich media production, Dynamic Digital Content. GREEN DOOR MEDIAWORKS: Chad Whaley to media specialist.
BUCKEYE INDUSTRIES: Carmen Siciliano to sales professional. CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE: Maribeth Flowers to humane officer. FUND FOR OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE: Colette Taylor to manager of operations; Lisa Fuentes to manager of finance.
MARCUS & MILLICHAP REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT SERVICES: Michael L. Glass to national director, National Manufactured Home Communities Group.
SIGNET JEWELERS LTD.: James Grant to vice president, investor relations; Christina Janice to vice president, human resources compliance and associate general counsel.
OECONNECTION: Tom Strain to manager, applications. PREDICTIVE SERVICE: Ralph DeLisio to executive vice president.
FIRSTENERGY CORP.: Jon Taylor to vice president, assistant controller; Jason Lisowski to assistant controller, FirstEnergySolutions/First- Energy Generation; Kelley Mendenhall to vice president, strategy and planning, FirstEnergy Solutions; Trent Smith to vice president, sales and marketing, FirstEnergy Solutions; Don Moul to vice president, commodity operations, FirstEnergy Solutions; John Skory to regional president, CEI; Dave Karafa to regional president, Ohio Edison.
HELP FOUNDATION INC.: Michael C. Brink (Tucker Ellis) to president; Julie Ann Sweet-Buntin to past president; Eric R. Chance and Tara Nieberding to vice presidents; William T. Beargie Jr. to secretary; JoAnn C. Hirsh to treasurer.
CONTENT MARKETING INSTITUTE: Jackie Bebenroth (Muse Content Group) received the Content Marketing Leader of the Year Award. OHIO HOTEL & LODGING ASSOCIATION: Antoinette Wimberly (InterContinental Suites Hotel) received the Supervisor/Manager of the Year Award, City of Cleveland.
Send information for Going Places to Deborah Hillyer.

subset: commoncrawl


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Atg223 necesitaba un nuevo diseño de otro y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 11 diseños de 4 diseñadores freelance.
Fantasy Sports Hour
We are a fantasy sports company that has started one hour games. A typical fantasy sports league lasts the whole season or there are even daily games, our games last one hour. You choose 6 players and the stats they accumulate during that hour determines your points. Highest score wins. Customers pay to play and win cash! Our website is http://www.fantasysportshour.com .
The fantasy sports audience range across all ages over 18. The audience is over 90% males. 67% are married with disposable income. Our game is intended for Fantasy Sports fans who quick action. Our customers can sign in, pay to play and win cash in just over an hour then play again. This ad will be sent to current fantasy sports players of another website who we hope to attract to our site through the ad.
As stated in the target audience we are looking for a one page email to be designed to attract the recipients of the email to our website. The ad should highlight the one hour game, ability to win cash, and easy to play. Our logo is attached along with some graphics we have used. The logo is the only thing that needs to remain consistent. The graphics are just to give you a feel for our site. I have also attached our gametracker which is what customers see while they are playing the game.


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From the editor's desk: Let's start the conversation
Editor's Note: Greg Moore has also launched a video blog titled "From the Editor's Desk". His first post is his conversation with National Rifle Association president David Keene.
I talk to readers every day who ask a simple question: Why did you do that?
Often these turn out to be good conversations with readers who really want to understand why a story was put on Page 1A or why a story was on Page 13. Sometimes those readers remind us that we blew it by failing to pick up on a story they learned about someplace else.
Now, we are going to let you in on the conversation and occasionally even offer a visual peek at how we do business.
I, along with a number of other editors here, will contribute to this blog, Editor's Notes. We'll share the thinking that goes into selecting stories for the newspaper, why we think things are important and explain, among other things, why we treat stories on the web differently than we do in the newspaper. We might even post some videos from the newsroom.
My hope is this will be a civil dialogue and we look forward to engaging with thoughtful readers. We will admit when we are wrong or make mistakes. We will try to earnestly explain why we do certain things and agree to disagree. More than anything, we're doing this because we believe many of you care about The Post and are sincerely interested in what we do and why.
Right off the bat, I can tell you I am not looking forward to all of the emails I am going to receive over our coverage of the immigration debate. I understand this is a hot-button issue, but I have been shocked at the venom that defines some of the reaction I get.
Our only interest is in covering the issue fairly and in a balanced way, and I believe our coverage has been defined by those values. Yet, people leave obscene voicemails and even resort to calling me vile names because they don't like particular stories or the fact they are on Page One.
Immigration reform is going to be a big issue this year because of the focus in Washington and at our own Statehouse. I can promise you we will give voice to all sides of the issue, provide data backing up various arguments wherever possible and bring context to the debate.
I often get calls in reaction to positions taken by our editorial board, which has supported the DREAM Act and other pieces of comprehensive immigration reform. I patiently explain that the newsroom is separate from the editorial page, and our coverage is not influenced by the editorials we publish. Sometimes that explanation is accepted and other times dismissed. But it is the truth and having this blog will give me a chance to explain that beyond the individual calls I'm taking.
Being proactive and transparent about this and other issues will hopefully promote greater understanding about what we do. And if we become more civil in the process, so much the better. We are looking forward to the opportunity.


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Jackson Browne wrote:What is the least often heard sentence in the English language? That would be: Say, isn't that the banjo player's Porsche parked outside?
Albert Einstein wrote:Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ
from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even
incapable of forming such opinions.
Dave Brubeck wrote:We don't know the power that's within our own bodies.
Jack Brymer wrote:The ability to play the clarinet is the ability to overcome the imperfections of the instrument. There's no such thing as a perfect clarinet, never was and never will be.
Peabo Bryson wrote:I have miles to go before I sleep.
Peter Buck wrote:Almost all the fans I meet are pretty cool people. They're intelligent and tend to think about things a bit more than your average rock 'n roll fans: sensible people I wouldn't mind having a drink with.
Jimmy Buffett wrote:Humor has bailed me out of more tight situations than I can think of. If you go with your instincts and keep your humor, creativity follows. With luck, success comes, too.
Boz Burrell wrote:I've been to two stadium gigs in my life. One was James Brown and the other was Pink Floyd. They both sounded the same. I couldn't tell the difference between James Brown and Pink Floyd. I've never liked stadiums.
Jonmisc wrote:Writing well means never having to say, 'I guess you had to be there.'
-- Jef Mallett
Cliff Burton wrote:Every once in awhile we may fall on our face, but we insist on doing what we wanna do.
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1933 June
Massachusetts - President Hugh P. Baker, Massachusetts Governor Joseph B. Ely, Trustee and Treasurer Fred C. Kenney and Dean William Machmer, all with their backs to the camera, greet and hand out diplomas to graduating seniors. "Commencement - 1933 M.S.C. - Prexy, Gov. Ely, Mr. Kenney, Dean Machmer" handwritten on back. "Janice Munson" also written on back. She was a member of the Cla... more


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YELLOWKNIFE — The surest way to a Canadian's heart is through centre ice and Prince William nailed that one on Tuesday — even if he missed the net.
Extending the playful tone of the second half of the royal tour, the Duke of Cambridge joined a game of shinny on the sunny shores of Frame Lake in Yellowknife, gamely taking a few shots on net and delighting a crowd that didn't seem to care that he was shut out.
Shooting right-handed, Will was stopped on a glove save and then a stick save by 20-year-old Calvin Lomen of Fort Liard, N.W.T. On his third and final shot, Will tried something a little trickier, pointing to the upper-left corner of the net with a grin and then deking a bit before taking a shot that lurched wide of the net.
"Yes I have, and I'm sorry," Lomen said later, when someone pointed out that he'd just shut out Canada's future king. Then Lomen flashed a sweaty smile that didn't look even a little bit sorry.
Still, Lomen was generous in his assessment of William's novice hockey skills.
"I heard him say he doesn't know how to play, but he seems like he has a natural talent if he practises more," he said.
Before Will took his shots on goal, he and Kate were presented with personalized Team Canada hockey jerseys — hers numbered 1 and his 2, both with the surname Cambridge emblazoned across the shoulders — to the whooping, howling delight of the crowd.
"Put it on!" someone in the crowd yelled. Instantly, a group of about 50 young day campers sitting on bleachers began chanting in unison, "Put it on! Put it on!" but Will simply turned to them, laughing, and shook his head.
The players lined up before providing the royals with a demonstration of shinny, but when someone handed Kate a stick, she kicked out a foot, pointed at her spindly stilettos and laughed sheepishly.
On a day that defied a rainy forecast by reaching a sunny 21 C, the duchess wore a cream linen three-quarter sleeve dress by Danish designer Malene Birger.
Earlier in the day, William thrilled a crowd of about 3,000 gathered in a park on the shores of Frame Lake when he told them how excited he and his wife were to be "north of 60."
"This place is what Canada is all about: vast, open beauty, tough, resilient and friendly peoples, true nature, true humanity," he said. "Thanks to you who travelled such great distances to join us today. Catherine and I are deeply honoured. "
As at other stops on the tour, his mention of his wife sparked a new wave of cheers, but the crowd exploded in appreciation when he concluded his speech by thanking them in Dene, one of eight aboriginal languages with official status in the territory, and Inuvialuktun, one of three Inuit dialects spoken in its northern region.
"We have been here just 12 hours but we have already sensed the extraordinary potential and the irrepressible spirit of adventure that marks out the peoples of the territories and defines this land," William said. "We are so excited to be here."
Following the speeches, the couple embarked on an extended walkabout on their way to the shinny game, pausing to take in demonstrations of traditional aboriginal arts and athletic skills.
At a station where young players demonstrated the sleight-of-hand skills of handgames, Kate asked questions and laughed, pointing as the boys used elaborate hand movements to trick their opponents, with a drum chorus providing thumping accompaniment.
The street hockey game was ostensibly in progress when the royal couple arrived at the concrete circle where two teams of teenagers in home and away Team Canada jerseys were squaring off, but all eyes — and digital cameras — were aimed at Will and Kate.
Later, defenceman Tye Hand, 16, offered some diplomatic advice when asked for his assessment of William's shooting technique.
"Just keep practising," he said. "It comes from the hips more than the shoulders and arms."
Still, Hand admitted to feeling "a little" pressure himself out there on the pavement.
"You don't want to mess up in front of the prince and princess," he said. "But at the same time, it's just about having fun and showing them what hockey is about."
Even the loud entreaties of the crowd couldn't convince Kate to take a shot on net, but she earned loud cheers when she dropped an orange neon ball to kick off a game, providing a youthful, informal echo of William's grandmother dropping the puck at a Vancouver Canucks hockey game in 2002. Kate seemed confused when one of the young players handed the ball back to her, as tradition dictates, but the crowd was too enamoured of the royal foray into Canada's national sport to do anything but cheer when she dropped the ball a second time.
After the street hockey game, Will and Kate chatted with the younger children in the bleachers, who wore bright purple T-shirts beckoning "Welcome Duke and Duchess of Cambridge." At one point, William gestured for a group of them to squeeze together while he snapped a photo. The crowd moaned audibly in disappointment as the couple disappeared into their motorcade to depart, but the children on the bleachers saluted the rookie hockey fans with a group wave as they roared off.
The royals struck another blow in their nationwide charm offensive on Tuesday, announcing that they will make a stop Wednesday in Slave Lake, an Alberta community that was ravaged by fire in May. The couple wants to personally thank the rescuers and emergency workers there, as well as surveying the damage and meeting the families most affected, said Kevin MacLeod, the man overseeing the royal tour as the Queen's Canadian secretary.
"Since Slave Lake is en route from Yellowknife to Calgary, it was deemed very important that Their Royal Highnesses actually visit with local residents and see firsthand what they're experiencing," he said, adding that they delayed announcing the visit until the last minute because they didn't want to detract from rebuilding efforts.
More than 300 homes were destroyed by the wildfire that swept through the northern Alberta town on May 15 and all 7,000 members of the town were evacuated.
Earlier Tuesday, the Insurance Bureau of Canada said that the fire caused more than $700 million in damage, making it the second-costliest insured disaster in Canadian history after the 1998 ice storm that hit Quebec and Ontario.
Following the Slave Lake visit, Will and Kate will continue their cross-Canada tour with 24 hours of private time somewhere near Calgary and then help kick off the Calgary Stampede when they reappear in the public eye.


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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A former Indiana truck driver convicted of offering to assist Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq has asked a federal judge to let him out of prison, but prosecutors say he should remain behind bars.
Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban, 61, remained in the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colo., on Friday, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website. Prosecutors last week filed documents in federal court in Indianapolis opposing Shaaban's motion to vacate his conviction and set aside his 13-year sentence, essentially scoffing at Shaaban's claims that he and a long-lost twin brother had worked as covert agents for the U.S. government.
Shaaban, who was born in Jordan and earned a doctorate in Russia, was working as a truck driver in Greenfield, a city of about 20,000 people about 20 miles east of Indianapolis, when he was indicted in 2005. The following year, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison and stripped of his U.S. citizenship after a jury convicted him on charges that he acted as a foreign agent for Iraq before the U.S. invasion in 2003.
Federal prosecutors alleged Shaaban traveled to Baghdad in late 2002 to sell Hussein's government the names of CIA operatives in Iraq for $3 million and to coordinate human shields once the U.S. invaded, but was unable to seal the deal.
Court documents say Shaaban used at least three different names, including "Joe Brown," and apparently had two wives, one Russian and the other American.
Shaaban's attorney, Bernard V. Kleinman of White Plains, N.Y., declined comment Friday, saying only that he would file a response to the government within two weeks. The U.S. attorney's office also declined comment.
In his petition, Shaaban sought to have his conviction overturned on procedural grounds and again raised what prosecutors called "the dead twin defense" — that most of the acts he was accused of had actually been done by a twin brother from whom he was separated at birth and did not meet until both were adults. Shaaban said his twin brother, whose existence was questioned by the judge, had died in a bombing in Chechnya in May 2003.
Shaaban said members of his family overseas could have confirmed his twin brother's existence, but they were denied U.S. visas to testify at his trial.
Shaaban's petition also argued that he was needlessly placed under special security measures without due process. Shaaban was initially housed in the federal prison at Terre Haute, but was later moved to the Colorado Supermax prison. The "super maximum security" prison houses some of the nation's most notorious criminals, including Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski.
Follow Charles D. Wilson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_cdwilson


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The story begins where Killzone 2 left off, with Visari, the vicious Helghast dictator, lying dead at the feet of Special Forces soldiers Sev and Rico. The battle may have been won but the war is far from over. Visari's death has left behind a world of political scheming, infighting and outright murder. Meanwhile his parting gift, a nuclear bomb detonated in Phyruss, the Helghan Capital, has decimated the ISA invasion force. With no re-enforcements and supplies quickly running out, you must now fight against ruthless Helghast war machine alone.
An epic cinematic war experience
With levels ten times bigger than in Killzone 2, this is Helghan like you've never seen it before. You'll face brutal combat in a host of environments that threaten to bury you on the deadly planet. Killzone 3 will see you trudge through toxic nuclear wastelands, get lost in a lethal alien jungle, fight in bitter arctic conditions and take the battle into space as you fight against Helghast domination – with every location featuring a distinct gameplay style for you to master.
Killzone 3 will be fully playable in Stereoscopic 3D, immersing you more deeply into the ferocious world and putting you at the heart of the action. But be careful. While you experience this world in incredible, High Definition, Stereoscopic 3D detail – you'll learn to fear what's around every single corner.
The Helghast are back and they're bigger and fiercer than you've ever seen them. From Jetpack troopers to enemies wielding portable weapons of mass destruction, your enemies will be tougher, scarier and equipped with a host of new toys in their quest for destruction.
Prepare for battle!
More articles about Killzone 3


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Posts Tagged 'protest'
Editorial: Occupy Librarianship: 5 Variations on a Theme2011–10–26 | 11 commentsTags: budgets, change, occupy wall street, protest
by Kim Leeder and Editorial Board Introduction Over the past few months, several of us at Lead Pipe have been watching the Occupy Wall Street movement with interest. How does one protest something that seems to be part of the foundation of a culture? And when a foundational institution benefits only a small subset of…


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If you suffer from allergies or asthma, an air purifier just might be your ticket to a healthier home. Many people don't realize just how crucial indoor air quality is to respiratory health. Contaminants like pollen, dust, ragweed, airborne viruses and bacteria contribute significantly to lung illnesses. If you're not sure whether or not you need an air purifier, our Home Indoor Air Quality Quiz may help you get a better idea. If you're in the market for an air purifier, you've come to the right place. These four air purifier filters happen to be at or near the top of the Consumer Reports list of recommended room air purifiers:
1. Whirlpool AP51030K Air Purifier
The Whirlpool Whispure 510 Air Purifier for Large Rooms (up to 500 square feet) was recently awarded a Consumer Reports Best Buy, receiving high marks for the removal of allergens such as dust, pollen and smoke on its highest setting. This lightweight HEPA air purifer captures 99.97 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns, and is one of the quietest air purifiers on the market. With four fan speed settings, you can customize the speed, sound and filtration levels to suit your needs. This purifier also has two separate filter change indicator lights that let you know when it's time to replace the HEPA filter and the pre-carbon filter. The filter life is approximately six months to one year.
The Whirlpool Whispure 510 is one of several Whirlpool Whispure Air Purifiers available at Filters Fast. It is an upgraded version of the Whirlpool Whispure 450 for Large Rooms, featuring a few new settings, including an additional fan speed, a touch pad control panel, and a sleep mode setting for better energy efficiency at night. For medium-sized rooms, we also carry the Whirlpool Whispure 250. For the price, this line of air purifiers is hard to beat!
2. BlueAir 503 HEPASilent Air Purifier
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3. BlueAir 650E HEPASilent Air Purifier
The BlueAir 650E is rated just underneath the BlueAir 503 HEPASilent purifier. It has similar features, but is made to work in larger rooms of up to 700 square feet.
4. 3M Filtrete Ultra Clean Air Purifier
The 3M Filtrete Ultra Clean comes in two sizes, the FAP02-RS for small rooms of up to 160 square feet, and the FAP03-RS for larger rooms of up to 360 square feet. Filters Fast carries the smaller version of this air purifier. Even more effective than a HEPA unit, this model captures up to 99.9 percent of airborne particles. Consumer reports gives it high marks for the removal of contaminants such as dust, pollen and smoke on its high setting. The Filtrete Ultra Clean also features a filter change indicator that lets you know when it's time to replace the filter.
Order your air purifier from Filters Fast today and receive our low shipping rate of $1.99 on any orders over $99!


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This paper is very easy to read. It is delightful in its simplicity. It summarizes the design of Apache Kafka and Apache Samza and compares their design principles to the design philosophy of Unix, in particular, Unix pipes.
Who says plumbing can't be sexy? (Seriously, don't Google this.) So without further ado, I present to you Mike Rowe of distributed systems.
Motivation/ApplicationsI had talked about the motivation and applications of stream processing in the Facebook post. The application domain is basically building web services that adapt to your behaviour and personalize on the fly, including Facebook, Quora, Linkedin, Twitter, Youtube, Amazon, etc. These webservices take in your most recent actions (likes, clicks, tweets), analyze it on the fly, merge with previous analytics on larger data, and adapt to your recent activity as part of a feedback loop.
In theory you can achieve this personalization goal with a batch workflow system, like MapReduce, which provides system scalability, organizational scalability (that of the engineering/development team's efforts), operational robustness, multi-consumer support, loose coupling, data provenance, and friendliness to experimentation. However, batch processing will add large delays. Stream processing systems preserve all the good scalability features of batch workflow systems, and add "timeliness" feature as well.
I am using shortened descriptions from the paper for the following sections.
Apache Kafka
Kafka provides a publish-subscribe messaging service. Producer (publisher) clients write messages to a named topic, and consumer (subscriber) clients read messages in a topic. A topic is divided into partitions, and messages within a partition are totally ordered. There is no ordering guarantee across different partitions. The purpose of partitioning is to provide horizontal scalability: different partitions can reside on different machines, and no coordination across partitions is required.
Each partition is replicated across multiple Kafka broker nodes to tolerate node failures. One of a partition's replicas is chosen as leader, and the leader handles all reads and writes of messages in that partition. Writes are serialized by the leader and synchronously replicated to a configurable number of replicas. On leader failure, one of the in-sync replicas is chosen as the new leader.
The throughput of a single topic-partition is limited by the computing resources of a single broker node --the bottleneck is usually either its NIC bandwidth or the sequential write throughput of the broker's disks. When adding nodes to a Kafka cluster, some partitions can be reassigned to the new nodes, without changing the number of partitions in a topic. This rebalancing technique allows the cluster's computing resources to be increased or decreased without affecting partitioning semantics.
Apache SamzaA Samza job consists of a Kafka consumer, an event loop that calls application code to process incoming messages, and a Kafka producer that sends output messages back to Kafka. Unlike many other stream-processing frameworks, Samza does not implement its own network protocol for transporting messages from one operator to another.
Figure 3 illustrates the use of partitions in the word-count example: by using the word as message key, the SplitWords task ensures that all occurrences of the same word are routed to the same partition of the words topic.
Samza implements durable state through the KeyValueStore abstraction, exemplified in Figure 2. Samza uses the RocksDB embedded key-value store, which provides low-latency, high-throughput access to data on local disk. To make the embedded store durable in the face of disk and node failures, every write to the store (i.e., the changelog) is also sent to a dedicated topic-partition in Kafka, as illustrated in Figure 4. When recovering after a failure, a task can rebuild its store contents by replaying its partition of the changelog from the beginning. Rebuilding a store from the log is only necessary if the RocksDB database is lost or corrupted. While the changelog publishing to Kafka for durability seems wasteful, it can also be a useful feature for applications: other stream processing jobs can consume the changelog topic like any other stream, and use it to perform further computations.
One characteristic form of stateful processing is a join of two or more input streams, most commonly an equi-join on a key (e.g. user ID). One type of join is a window join, in which messages from input streams A and B are matched if they have the same key, and occur within some time interval delta-t of one another. Alternatively, a stream may be joined against tabular data: for example, user clickstream events could be joined with user profile data, producing a stream of clickstream events with embedded information about the user. When joining with a table, the authors recommend to make the table data available in the form of a log-compacted stream through Kafka. Processing tasks can consume this stream to build an in-process replica of a database table partition, using the same approach as the recovery of durable local state, and then query it with low latency. It seems wasteful to me, but it looks like the authors do not feel worried about straining Kafka, and are comfortable with using Kafka as a work horse.
Even though the intermediate state between two Samza stream processing operators is always materialized to disk, Samza is able to provide good performance: a simple stream processing job can process over 1 million messages per second on one machine, and saturate a gigabit Ethernet NIC.
DiscussionThe paper includes a nice discussion section as well.
- Since the only access methods supported by a log are an appending write and a sequential read from a given offset, Kafka avoids the complexity of implementing random-access indexes. By doing less work, Kafka is able to provide much better performance than systems with richer access methods. Kafka's focus on the log abstraction is reminiscent of the Unix philosophy: "Make each program do one thing well. To do a new job, build afresh rather than complicate old programs by adding new features."
- If Kafka is like a streaming version of HDFS, then Samza is like a streaming version of MapReduce. The pipeline is loosely coupled, since a job does not know the identity of the jobs upstream or downstream from it, only the topic names. This principle again evokes a Unix maxim: "Expect the output of every program to become the input to another, as yet unknown, program."
- There are some key differences between Kafka topics and Unix pipes: A topic can have any number of consumers that do not interfere with each other, it tolerates failure of producers, consumers or brokers, and a topic is a named entity that can be used for tracing data provenance. Kafka topics deliberately do not provide backpressure: the on-disk log acts as an almost-unbounded buffer of messages.
- The log-oriented model of Kafka and Samza is fundamentally built on the idea of composing heterogeneous systems through the uniform interface of a replicated, partitioned log. Individual systems for data storage and processing are encouraged to do one thing well, and to use logs as input and output. Even though Kafka's logs are not the same as Unix pipes, they encourage composability, and thus Unix-style thinking.
Related linksFurther reading on this is Jay Kreps excellent blog post on logs.
Apache Bookkeeper and Hedwig are good alternatives to Kafka
These days, there is also DistributedLog.


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Patterson Dental Software
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7 Items
TNG is a Gallup-based organization focused on innovation to drive customer success.
Founded in 1985 by Larry Gaynor, 35 years later, TNG manufactures more than 2000 products that make up its Signature Brands portfolio consisting of: EMMA Beauty, ForPro Professional Collection, Ginger Lily Farms Botanicals, Paraffin Wax Works, Pure Essential Oil Works, Pure Himalayan Salt Works, Scentworks and XHI Professional Tool Works.
TNG products are sold throughout the USA by major retailers, full-service salons & spas and specialty marketing companies.


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Colin Farrell has been offered the male lead in Akiva Goldsman's directorial debut, Winter's Tale. The female lead is set with Jessica Brown Findlay playing a dying young woman who falls in love with a thief who breaks into her West Side Manhattan mansion. Farrell, if he takes the role in the Warner Bros. picture, would play the thief in this supernatural drama that occurs both in the 19th century and in contemporary times. Winter's Tale, based on the 1983 novel by Mark Helprin, also stars Russell Crowe and Will Smith in supporting roles. Shooting is set to begin in New York on October 15th. Hit the jump to see who else could fill the role if Farrell opts out.
Variety reports that Farrell has yet to enter negotiations for the role which could prevent him from landing the part; apparently, Farrell is seeking a sizable paycheck due in part to his summer release reboot Total Recall, which is reportedly picking up steam. If his involvement falls through, the studio has previously looked at a number of young leads, including: Benjamin Walker, Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans, Aaron Johnson, Garrett Hedlund and Liam Hemsworth. Surely any of these up-and-comers would be a fitting thief to steal the role out from under Farrell. Check out the synopsis of Helprin's novel below (via Amazon):
New York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built, and nothing exists that can check its vitality. One night in winter, Peter Lake–orphan and master-mechanic, attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side.
Though he thinks the house is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the love between Peter Lake, a middle-aged Irish burglar, and Beverly Penn, a young girl, who is dying.
Peter Lake, a simple, uneducated man, because of a love that, at first he does not fully understand, is driven to stop time and bring back the dead. His great struggle, in a city ever alight with its own energy and beseiged by unprecedented winters, is one of the most beautiful and extraordinary stories of American literature.


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Last week, Mitch Joel of Six Pixels of Separation announced he is working on a project of best practices in social media marketing.
Here's my third Social Media Marketing Best Practice: Reach out to others. Most people don't find you by accident, they find you through referrals. No matter how large or small your following, you can increase readership and visibility by reaching out to others. Here are six ways to do that:
1.) Write a guest blog post for someone else. The key to making this work is that the blog you are guest writing for MUST have the same, or very similar, target audience as yours. If you write for a blog with a different target audience, there will be minimal beneficial effect. I found this out the hard way. I gave a big news scoop to someone else, but did not see much increase in traffic after the initial surge. And even the initial surge wasn't as big as I was expecting. And I think it was mostly due to less overlap in target audience than I thought we had.
2.) Ask a popular blogger to write a guest post for you (simultaneously mentioning the guest post on their own blog). Figure out what you can do in return for the guest post, or perhaps the cross-promotion will be enough of a fair trade. Or you can ask others to talk about/link to your article on their blog. Again, the target audience must line up for this tactic to work. If your friend has a distinct readership from your own, his/her referral will drive traffic and awareness your way.
3.) Develop a blogger outreach program. I first ran across this concept being employed by Mabel's Labels. Mabel's Labels' blogger outreach program includes giving away free samples. What kind of free samples or schwag could your company give to bloggers?
4.) Comment on others' blogs. Many bloggers want feedback, critique, and reinforcement on what they are writing. By commenting on others' blogs, you are increasing awareness for your own. Not only will the author most likely check you out, the author's readers may also check you out (though the rate of readers clicking through to you might not be very high).
5.) Put your friends' and target audience's names in lights. People enjoy reading about themselves. When you blog about someone, be sure to a.) let them know about the fact that you blogged about them, and b.) tag your post with their name. This EverythingCU World 2.0 Adventure blog receives many hits on people searching for other people's (or their own) names. When a person meets someone for the first time, and are interested in furthering the relationship, whether its business or personal, nowadays people will google their new friend to learn more. Why not have your blog come up in search results on the people you are writing about?
6.) Ask other bloggers to write about a subject that is important both to you and to them. That's exactly what Mitch Joel did to touch off this meme. It's only a few days old, and already its been written about by Chris Brogan, Corby Fine, Liz Strauss, Drew McLellan, SuzeMuse, and Kate Trgovac. A benefit for Mitch is that all of these blogs are now linking back to his blog, increasing his visibility among all of these blogs' readership, as well as search engine rankings, such as Technorati. That Mitch Joel is one smart cookie!


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Chrysler 300 New Car Offers at Atlantic Chrysler Jeep FIAT near Egg Harbor Township 08234
Looking to buy a new vehicle? Check out our Chrysler 300 new car offers Atlantic Chrysler Jeep FIAT near Egg Harbor Township 08234. Here at Atlantic Chrysler Jeep FIAT, we're always giving you great incentives so that you can drive off our lot with the Chrysler 300 of your dreams.
Because being able to get around is so important, we know how vital it is for you to have a Chrysler 300 that can take you places and do the errands you need to get done. Whether it's for going to the grocery store, picking up the kids, commuting to your office, or hauling your work tools, there's a vehicle within our inventory that is destined for you. Compact cars, midsize sedans, luxurious coupes, crossovers, SUVs, trucks, sports cars and more!
Getting a vehicle doesn't have to be an ordeal. Explore your options, talk to one of our finance department representatives and see what plan fits your budget and circumstances. We offer financing and leasing on select vehicles to make your car buying experience go as smoothly as possible. View our Chrysler 300 new car offers Atlantic Chrysler Jeep FIAT near Egg Harbor Township 08234 right here on our website. We are constantly updating our promotions to give you the best offers. Our deals may include items such as low- or no-interest financing and leasing specials, cash back, rebates, or even seasonal promotions.
You can view all of our new and used inventory on our Atlantic Chrysler Jeep FIAT website to make shopping easier for you. You can narrow your search down by model, make, year, and price. If you want to be more specific, you can also pinpoint the color, body style, fuel economy, or drivetrain you're looking for. Confirming availability is very simple, too, and you can do so from the comfort of your home right on your computer, mobile device, or tablet. If you're curious and wish to know more about your vehicle of choice, you have the option to request more information, schedule a test drive to experience what it feels like to get behind the wheel of the Chrysler 300, or go one step further and start the process to get pre-qualified.
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The Sims 3: Seasons expansion will link with Supernatural content
The Sims 3 is all set to receive its eighth batch of extra content. Seasons seems like a jolly old time for all, right? Wrong. If you own the Supernatural expansion, Maxis has got one or two tricks up its sleeve.
Supernatural headlines
The Sims 3 Supernatural magically lands on PC today
The Sims 3 Supernatural has launched and EA is celebrating the fact with new screens and a launch trailer. The shots below show folks casting spells, looking goth, fairies kissing, and a monster under a child's bed. The video shows all sorts of things, courtesy of GreatScottOTT.
Zombies and fairies step into The Sims 3 Supernatural spotlight
EA has released a new set of screenshots and character renders for The Sims 3 Supernatural, and some gameplay details to go along with the images.
Supernatural Expansion Pack for The Sims 3 releases in September
EA Maxis has announced the Supernatural Expansion Pack for The Sims 3. The expansion allows players to live as a witch, werewolf, vampire or fairy. Players will have new traits as well as new gameplay aspects for each character such as spell casting, "volatile elixirs and magical abilities in a world of strange happenings, spooky […]


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Tchaikovsky BalletPrivate Company active 8 years, 8 months ago
The theatre was constructed in 1874-1879 under the direction of R. Karvovskiy.
On August, 20th, 1921 the theatre reopened with its first theatrical season following the civil war.
The theatre building underwent complete reconstruction 1957-1959 and in 1965 the name of P. Tchaikovsky The title "Academic" was awarded in 1969.
The ballet company became a permanent institution in 1920 with the establishment of the first ballet school in Perm. A performance of Giselle opened the first ballet season on 2 February 1926. During World War 2 the Kirov Ballet Company and the Vaganova Ballet Academy was moved to Perm and performed for three years in the city. This gave new impetus to the Perm Ballet Company and School and now it is the nation's third most important ballet company, sharing the standards and the style of the famous Kirov/Mariinsky school, the Vaganova Academy.
The Ballet Company is unique in that it draws all of its dancers from its own school , which is one of the most prestigious training institutions for ballet in Russia.
The opera was founded by Sergei Diaghilev in 1870. In 1896 the theatre was placed in the care of the municipal duma and opened its first season under municipal management with a performance of Aida.
This is a private company. To join you must be a registered member and send request to join it.


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Friday, August 23, 2013
Super Grammar {GIVEAWAY}
Earlier this year, I discovered Super Grammar. It's a fun guide for teaching your kids about grammar using a superhero theme that engages readers and describes all those pesky grammar rules in a way that most kids can understand.
It was written and illustrated by two Latino illustrators: Tony Preciado and Rhode Montijo. In an interview, Tony told me that he wondered, "Why was English grammar so hard for me when I was a kid in grade school?" I suspect that a lot of us feel that way, especially those of us - and our kids - who are visual learners.
I encourage you to read my full review of the book and how I've been using it to teach my own kids grammar. They absolutely love it. It is an EXCELLENT tool for both teachers and parents whose students/children are struggling to understand all the tedious grammar rules. Honestly? Kids of ANY age (and maybe some of you parents, like me!) will benefit from reading this book.
TWO (2) lucky MommyMaestra readers will receive a Super Grammar set that includes the book, plus four posters that feature the four Super Teams, like the Completion Team that is made up of The Subject and The Predicate who must work together to form a complete sentence.
To enter this giveaway, just use the Rafflecopter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
17 comments:
This looks amazing! I think I might even be able to get the boys interested in grammar!ReplyDelete
You are having some awesome giveaways!ReplyDelete
We checked it out from our library - my daughter thought it would be a good idea to get a copy of our own. How lovely it would be to get selected!ReplyDelete
My girls love superhero stories! It would really be fun to help them learn more about grammarReplyDelete
Hi! I've never heard of this, but it looks great to teach or remember grammar rules! Thank you! MartaReplyDelete
abilingualbabyblogmarta (a) gmail.com
This looks like fun - not a word we usually associate with grammar! I think my kids would be into it.ReplyDelete
- Laura P.August 23, 2013 at 5:08 PM
Grammar can be tricky. This looks like a fun way to learn about it.ReplyDelete
Fun, fun fun. that is what we need. Thank you maestra!ReplyDelete
This looks really great! I think the boys (and I!) will benefit from these! Thank you for the chance!ReplyDelete
I'm crossing my fingers! As an ELA/Reading teacher this is perfect for me!ReplyDelete
Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies
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- Paige WyattAugust 25, 2013 at 12:04 PM
I love Super Grammar! Thank you for this giveaway. I teach high school and my older students love it!ReplyDelete
I am loving this Super Grammar Program. The theme in my class this year is Super Heroes, so this is perfect!!!ReplyDelete
These would be great for my 2 boys since we homeschool I am always looking for work for themReplyDelete
As a new homeschooling family, this set would be a great addition to our library!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 26, 2013 at 7:24 PM
Thank you for the giveaway!ReplyDelete
- Joe West
- Jenelle SuarezAugust 28, 2013 at 12:47 PM
This looks like fun. Something Mommy and kids could have while leaning :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 28, 2013 at 4:24 PM
This would be great for my boys!!ReplyDelete
Kristen Weigel
kjeffries@comcast(dot) net


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Mission awareness trip to India
Oct. 2-13, 2009
The drought this year and just recently the worst flooding in 100 years have caused serious problems for families such as father Narsing, mother Radhika , their 7-year-old sponsored daughter, Archana, and her 5-year-old brother, Pradeep. They plant mainly rice on a 3-acre plot. The family also cares for the grandparents. We are indeed honored to be associated with this beautiful family.
At the inauguration of the CFCA Community Centre in Balanagar Zone-Subproject JGG, we enjoyed a large fiesta. Sponsors handed out Christmas presents. Especially impactful for the sponsors were the 100 or so sponsored girls living at the Divine Word Home. Just a short time ago, they were the throwaway children, the rag pickers in the garbage dumps of Hyderabad. They not only know their sponsorís name, they also know their CFCA ID number.
After telling us her sponsorís name, Veronica said:
"Our golden age began when Mr. Prakash and Mr. Suresh visited us in August 2002. They saw our poverty and our need. Soon CFCA started to look for sponsors. This has helped us leave our rag picking. Now we are attending a prestigious English medium school. We promise you that we will remember you always in our prayers and that we will make good use of this precious chance you are giving us Ö so that we will be able to help others as you help us today."
What itís all about
At our project in Hyderabad, mothers of sponsored children are taking leadership roles to help their families and communities. More than 600 mothers groups and 10,000 members help manage and operate CFCA programs in Hyderabad and outlying areas. Mothers groups join with social workers to assess needs and design benefit plans. Besides giving mothers a voice in the sponsorship program, the groups help raise the status of women in their communities. Savings plans and low-cost loans to fund small business startups or meet critical family needs are also part of the groups. CFCA currently impacts the lives of more than 11,500 children, youth, aging and their families here.
Visit to Subproject CCP
We heard testimony by a young woman, Jeevan, who is a former sponsored girl and now works as a professional staff nurse. Remarkably, Jeevan herself sponsors a little boy named Malesh. Jeevan is Catholic and Malesh is Hindu. We also heard a high-energy speech by a mother who, before CFCA involvement, was so shy she could not leave her house. Now she is more confident and very active in her mothers group.
Janagam subproject
In Addabata village, I was able to visit my own sponsored child, Archana, together with her mom, dad and little brother. They are a young farm family struggling first with drought and now with flooding. They traveled the 5 kilometers (3 miles) from their home to the main highway on their aging scooter.
After lunch at the major seminary, we visited the 37 aging and 56 children at the leper colony at Karunapuram. The enthusiasm of these lepers and recovering lepers is inspiringóreminds me of recently canonized St. Damien of Molokai.
Visit to CFCA Project Warangal
The Warangal project has started to form mothers groups and at present, there are 65 groups. They have monthly meetings to discuss topics like health, cleanliness, livelihood programs, developing kitchen gardens, childrenís education and community activities. Each mother deposits 50 rupees (about $1) into an account every month and CFCA matches that amount. The buildup of these funds will allow the mothers to obtain micro-credit loans from the group in the future.
Iím looking forward now to our board formation day and regular October board meeting. Following the board meeting, I will meet my wife, Cristina, in Guatemala, and we will head for the mission awareness trip in Chile. Before signing off, I want to say that I am deeply grateful to have shared parts of this India trip with Ilene and Sara from CFCAís International Department in Kansas City.
God's blessings,
Bob Hentzen


text: Double degree The University of St.Gallen is a pioneer in double degrees. Working together since 1990 Since as early as 1990 we have been working together with leading business universities around the world. Double degree partnerships Today, we maintain more than a dozen double degree partnerships that are either bilateral or are part of our network. This means that double degrees can be obtained in virtually all majors of the University of St.Gallen at the Master's Level. Combination and specialisation options Our students benefit from the high quality of our partner institutions' programmes and the unique combinations and opportunities for specialisation in various cultural contexts.


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Washington makes light of outfield mishap
ARLINGTON -- Leonys Martin and Shin-Soo Choo had a fly ball drop between them in left-center field in the fourth inning of Wednesday's 3-2 victory over Seattle.
Television replays showed that Martin was clearly taking charge in center field and calling off Choo, but the outfielders bumped into each other. The ball deflected off Martin's glove, and Mariners catcher Mike Zunino was awarded a hit. Manager Ron Washington joked that it was a case of voice inflection on the part of Martin, who has high-pitched vocals.
"We're trying to work with Leonys on getting some bass in his voice," manager Ron Washington joked Thursday morning. "Then Choo would have heard him. It's just communication, that's all.
"[Leonys] said he was calling it the whole way, but he was at a tenor voice and it was mixing in with the crowd," Washington said. "We've got a speech coach we're bringing in to help him get some bass in his voice."
Martin ended up being the hero of the game for the Rangers with a bloop single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give Texas a 3-2 walk-off win over the Mariners.


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Luckily for you, your new HTCP controller comes pre-named: meet Mimi. She costs $US145 and lets you surf the internet on your TV without the painstaking juggle of a keyboard and mouse plugged in. Veho has seen fit to add a mouse to the keyboard and gamepad, plus two joysticks and digital buttons to boot.
It might look like it lost a fight between an Xbox 360 controller and a keyboard, but there are enough buttons on there to suit any command. It works with both Mac and PC (by plugging in a USB dongle), from up to 10m away, and the battery is good for 20 hours - which might be long enough for a Call of Duty 4 sesh. [Firebox via Everything USB via Engadget]


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The 28th Annual Biggie Awards
for the love of movies.
Celebrating achievements in film for the year 2016
So 2016 has come and gone. A year I had big hopes for about 15 months ago turned out to be quite a dud in the grand scheme of things. It was even worse than 2015. For the second year in a row, I rated no theatrical release a '9' on IMDb. There were no masterpieces, no all-time greats. There were some really good movies, and I put almost 20 more films on my "Movies I Love" list, but in terms of quality and the ability to stand the test of time, even the second or third-best movies of most past years would have easily won my Best Picture award over this lot.
Me waiting for 2016 to be over.
2016 also broke a pretty long streak of spectacular even-numbered years. It was such a mediocre year that it even gave us a Steven Spielberg movie I couldn't bring myself to watch (The BFG). General cinematic malaise aside, there were, as always, some highlights…
Continue reading 'The 2017 Biggie Awards (and my Top 10 & Bottom 5 of 2016)'


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3 cups fresh blueberries
3 tablespoons warm water
1 tablespoon vanilla paste
4 teaspoons gelatin
16 oz cream cheese, softened
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 10-inch graham cracker crust
Puree 2 cups blueberries. Set aside. Pour the warm water into a large bowl. Sprinkle with gelatin. Allow to sit 10 minutes. Add the blueberry puree and vanilla paste and mix until well combined. Beat in cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Fold in remaining blueberries. Pour into pie crust. Refrigerate until set, at least 5 hours.


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To help prevent recurrent episodes of cellulitis — a bacterial infection in the deepest layer of skin — keep skin clean and well-moisturized. Prevent cuts and scrapes by wearing appropriate clothing and footwear, using gloves when necessary, and trimming fingernails and toenails with care.
Factors that may increase your risk of cellulitis include:
Cellulitis usually makes the affected skin hot, red, swollen and painful. Your skin may look pebbled, like an orange peel. Seek prompt medical attention at the first sign of a skin infection. Treatment is usually with antibiotics. Some people who frequently develop cellulitis may benefit from long-term antibiotic treatment to prevent recurrent infections.
Lawrence E. Gibson, M.D.
Original article: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cellulitis/expert-answers/cellulitis/faq-20058135
Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.
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Bambu Baby Bamboo Utensils, Fork & Spoon 2 sets, 4 pieces total
Brand: Bambu
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My kids have been hooked on Greek mythology since they were tiny, beginning with D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths and working their way up to Percy Jackson and beyond. When author/illustrator George O'Connor began publishing gorgeous graphic novels about Zeus and his ilk, all of us were thrilled. Now in its fifth installment, O'Connor's Olympians series continues to captivate with a look at the many moods of the god of the sea: Poseidon: Earth Shaker, published by First Second Books.
Melissa Wiley: George, thanks so much for agreeing to chat with us about your work! You have a lot of fans in the GeekMom crowd. And in my house. We're all impressed by how you manage to bring something new to the storylines we know so well – that's no mean feat.
Tell us about the genesis of the Olympians series. You mention that you fell in love with the Greek myths when you were a kid – how were you introduced to them? What are your favorite versions (both now and as a kid)? When did you decide to write graphic novels about them?
George O'Connor: I was always the kid who liked to draw pictures and tell stories, and I especially liked to draw pictures and tell stories with monsters in them. When I was in the fourth and fifth grade, I was part of an experimental educational program where, for a couple days a week, myself and a group of other kids left our regular classes and spent the day in a very interesting immersive study program – we did a lot of creative writing and journaling, we made our own Rube Goldberg inventions, all kinds of cool things. A lot of what I was exposed to then is still the stuff I am most interested in now.
We spent a month studying the Algonquin and Iroquois people, and that in part inspired my first graphic novel Journey into Mohawk Country. And the biggest thing for me, we spent the last couple of months of my 4th grade year studying Greek mythology, and that changed everything. I became a Greek Myth addict, and I read everything I could find about the myths, and drew the gods, heroes and monsters constantly.
Like every budding mythophile, my favorite mythology book growing up was D'aulaires' Book of Greek Myths – I never actually owned that one, but I took it out from the library every few months, and would re-devour it. D'aulaires' still holds up well for me – the illustrations are so weird, but it does a great job of knitting together the unwieldy tapestry of Greek myths into a coherent narrative.
Strangely, despite this lifelong love affair with Greek mythology, it wasn't my idea to create the Olympians graphic novel series. I had actually been working on another related idea, about the gods in the modern day, that would have been a more adult, satirical examination about society in general, but it wasn't quite pulled together fully yet. One day I was hanging out with my Roaring Brook picture book editor Neal Porter at his apartment, and he compared a mutual acquaintance of ours to Cerberus, the drooling three-headed hellhound of Hades. I responded with some equally geeky Greek reference to a Cyclops or something, and Neal fixed me with a look, pulled a book off the shelf and said "What if you did a graphic novel, about this size, retelling the Greek myths?"
It was a real Eureka moment for me, and I raced home. I came back 2 weeks later with the first draft of Zeus: King of the Gods and plans for eleven more books.
MW: I love your recounting of the tale of Odysseus and Polyphemos. Seeing it play out visually made for a really powerful, hair-raising encounter, and I marveled at how vivid and tight your depiction was. It felt like a completely fresh story – and Odysseus's hubris has never hit me quite so hard before. When he reveals his identity to Polyphemos, thus invoking Poseidon's wrath and revenge against him, I was like the person in the movie theater screaming at the character not to open the door. Was it hard to limit yourself to just that segment of Odysseus's story?
GO'C: I'm loving the mental image of people in a theater yelling advice to Odysseus – Don't go in that cave, you fool! You're gonna get eaten! Odysseus is such an amazing character – too clever by half, resourceful and heroic, but so deeply flawed – and this is made more amazing by that, chronologically speaking, he comes along so early in the development of our civilization. The Odyssey is one of the earliest written works we have, and it's already an incredibly sophisticated piece of storytelling. The Greeks set the bar so high, they skipped all the baby steps. It's like an architect who just started out and made the Great Pyramids or something.
I reread The Odyssey every few years (most often the Lattimore translation, if anyone's interested) and the task of interpreting that, even just a tiny part, was very daunting. I chose to only relate the Polyphemos section because, well, it's so harrowing and gruesome, and also it's very key to the story – it explains the whole reason of Poseidon's enmity toward Odysseus. I want to mention also that I stuck very, very close to the way that the story is told in The Odyssey itself – all that intense scary stuff is right in there, you just have to read it carefully. That's one of the things that is so great about comics – the combination of visuals and words can make the immersion in the story so easy, so complete.
MW: Major geek bonding moment here, because the Lattimore translation is my favorite, too. I'm also fond of Padraic Colum's The Children's Homer. Okay, with such an immense body of material to choose from, how do you decide what parts of the gods' stories to tell in detail?
GO'C: In a perfect world, I would be able to clone myself a hundred times over and every Greek myth would get the graphic retelling treatment. Well, actually, that wouldn't be a perfect world – might be a few people out there who would want to see a complete O'Connor take on the oeuvre of Greek myths, but I bet I could count that number on one hand, and I wouldn't be one of them.
When I set out to make Olympians I made this huge spreadsheet of all the gods, and which stories I most wanted to tell about them, stories that were instrumental to an understanding of the god. I knew that a lot of these stories would interweave through one god's story into another, so I was careful to make sure I would introduce a key element in one god's book that would be key to understanding another god later. Each book will stand alone, and hopefully will paint a full portrait of the god or goddess in question, but if you read the whole series all together, a more rich, more complete picture will be revealed.
And sometimes I just want to draw something so unbelievably cool I just need to fit it in, no matter what.
MW: Poseidon's dream – his life as a horse – was my favorite part of the book. Gorgeous and wrenching. In your author's note you talk about how that sequence made the book come together for you, gave you the insight into Poseidon that you needed. Can you speak a bit more about how you arrived at that scene?
G O'C: Yeah, that was a risky story to include, I felt, and I was worried its strangeness might lose some readers, but most folks really seem to dig it.
In ancient Greece, there was no Bible-equivalent, no codified selection of stories that stood as the official canon. Stories varied from town to town, and in some areas of Greece there was a tradition that Poseidon, like his little brother Zeus, was also spared the indignity of being devoured by his father Kronos, and instead lived his early life out in disguise as a stallion. I liked that because it explained the apparently incongruous connection between a god of the sea and horses, but I had already established, in Zeus, that Kronos had indeed swallowed Poseidon upon his birth. But Poseidon hadn't died – like his siblings, he had grown up in his father's belly. What had he done that whole time? This was my chance to use this other tradition of myth, that Poseidon had a whole lifetime as a stallion, galloping over green fields with his mare and foal, and reveal that he had dreamed it while he slept in his father's belly. Then one day, he was literally vomited out of the only life, the only form he had ever known, into the ocean and, well, it's not hard to guess why he's such a temperamental god.
MW: Who was your favorite god or goddess when you were a kid? Has it changed?
GO'C: Hermes was my favorite god as a kid – I even dressed up as him to deliver an oral report back when I was in fourth grade – and he still is now. I think he ends up getting most of the best lines in Olympians. My favorite goddess is Hera, who gets most of the good lines that Hermes doesn't. She wasn't necessarily a favorite when I was a kid, though I did feel most authors gave her an undeserved bad rep. Of course she's mean sometimes! She has the worst husband of all time!
MW: Ooh, good point – has working on these books changed the way you look at any of the other gods or goddesses? Any you now like more or less than you did before you started?
GO'C: A really cool part of working on this series is that as I finish each book I do feel like I have a much better understanding of the goddess or god in question. In fact, it's kind of fair to say that the subject of which ever book I most recently completed is my favorite (sorry Hermes!). I just finished book six, Aphrodite, and I came away from that with a deeper understanding of the goddess of love, and how difficult it must have been for her to marry into the ultimate dysfunctional family of the Olympians. I'm a huge Aphrodite booster now.
Sometimes the act of writing the book will completely change the way I feel about a character – in Hera: The Goddess and Her Glory I tell the story of Heracles and I was always pretty blah about him before, but after getting into his head he is now my favorite hero. Conversely, growing up my favorite hero was always Theseus, and in writing his story in Poseidon: Earth Shaker, I realized what a total jerk he was and wrote him pretty much as a straight up villain.
MW: Yes, I appreciated your take on Theseus. Your depiction of Ariadne alone on the shore, waiting, waiting, is just devastating. Okay, next question: who are some of your writing influences?
GO'C: This is a tricky question – I have a lot of writers who have influenced me, but hopefully that occurs more on the subconscious level – once I notice I'm being influenced by a particular writer, I try to dial back that influence a tad so I'm not burying my own voice in their style. That said, I am very aware that I've taken quite a bit from both Philip Pullman and Neil Gaiman, but hopefully not to the point where I seem derivative. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that. Walt Simonson, and the way that he told mythological stories during his run on The Mighty Thor, is also a pretty clear antecedent for my writing.
MW: How about artists?
GO'C: Oh, so many influences to list here, but some of the biggest that spring to mind are Bill Watterson, Mike Mignola, P. Craig Russell, and the aforementioned Walt Simonson.
MW: Can you tell us a little about your process? In the author's note, you mention writing three different drafts of Poseidon before you found the right approach, so I'm guessing that means you work from script first. Do you thumbnail as you go or wait until the script is complete? How does the process unfold from there?
GO'C: No, unfortunately I don't just work from a script – for me, at least, since comics are such a synthesis of words and pictures, I tend to create both at the same time, building up the images and text simultaneously. So, the bummer about that is that when I tossed the first two drafts of Poseidon it wasn't just scripts – it was two full dummies with drawings and everything (well, a full dummy and change – I only got through about two thirds of the second draft before I jettisoned it).
MW: Ouch.
GO'C: I start by reading every myth I can that relates to the subject until my head is literally swimming with cool stuff, and then I draw a ton of pictures and snippets of text in my sketchbooks. I assemble these elements into thumbnail sketches (the hardest part!) that tell a coherent story, and then I make a dummy of it, which is what I'll show to my editors, with a separately typed script. After that, I go to finishes.
MW: In Poseidon you use a palette of really rich, saturated blues and greens, which of course is perfect for the god of the sea. I'd love to hear about how you approach coloring for all your books, how you arrive at the right palette, and so forth.
GO'C: Coloring was something I was very insecure about for years – I don't feel like I have a very subtle color sense. I'm not very good with grays and browns (they look very similar to me) so I tend to have a very saturated palette with a lot of very bold colors. I feel like I've gotten a hang for it and most people seem to really like what I do with color which has been very rewarding for me. I tend to have an idea before I begin a book of what the dominant color scheme will be, and I envision the final colors as I draw the black and white artwork. Poseidon was always going to be about the deep blue greens, Hades was all about the deep cool purples, Aphrodite is all teal and pink. I've hardly used red in the series up until this point because the upcoming Ares is going to be all about the red and I wanted to really hold it back for that book.
MW: Do you still draw on paper with pen and pencil or have you gone digital?
GO'C: I still draw on paper, with a g-nib pen and brushes for Olympians. I get a certain amount of drag with the pen and brushes drawing on paper that I don't get on a slick Wacom tablet. I do a certain amount of drawing and retouching digitally, but about 95% of the black-and-white artwork is on the paper.
MW: Besides Greek myths, what were your favorite books and comics as a kid? And what are you enjoying reading these days?
GO'C: My reading is all over the place, when I have a chance to do it. Lately I've not had much time to read, and the stack of things I want to devour is growing. I'm thinking of getting an Audible account so that I can at least listen to books while I draw. As a kid, I read a lot of comics and comic strips, and a lot of nonfiction, particularly biology-type stuff, animals and dinosaurs and things. I also really like humorous books – stuff like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – that don't take themselves too seriously but are so, so clever and funny.
MW: You mentioned that book six in your Olympians series is Aphrodite. What else can you tell us about it?
GO'C: It's all about love and the power it has – and not just love as a romantic concept but as the all-powerful generative power of life it fuels. Aphrodite is the outsider, the stranger of the Olympian family, and it's an exploration of her struggles to fit in and get along with a group of very powerful deities who feel threatened, in different ways, by the fact that she is the very embodiment of the power of love – in that sense, she might just be the most powerful Olympian, a fact that especially doesn't sit well with the frequently-smitten Zeus.
MW: At GeekMom we're constantly talking about our geeky passions. We'd love to hear to hear about yours! What are you into besides mythology and comics?
GO'C: Oh man, I'm the king of geekery, it's almost alarming. I have a pretty sweet collection of Masters of the Universe action figures – I grew up with them, and they make these deluxe collector versions now that I have an almost complete set of. I also have a pretty decent Lego town that I'm working on very slowly. I'm pretty geeky about standup and improv comedy too. The list could go on and on...
MW: Spoken like a true geek. George, thanks so much for chatting with us! I can't wait for the next installment of The Olympians!
George O'Connor's website.
Publisher website.
More about The Olympians.
Follow George O'Connor on Twitter.
Review copy received from publisher.


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Milestone Victory
Unnoticed in yesterday's come-from-behind FOX TV win is the fact it was the 9,000th victory in the history of the Phillies. We're the ninth club to reach that number, joining the Braves, Cubs, Reds, Dodgers, Yankees, Pirates, Giants and Cardinals.
For franchises that have remained in the same city since birth, we're the sixth team to do so. Braves (Boston), Dodgers (Brooklyn) and Giants (New York) began in other cities.
Media didn't write anything or air anything about the milestone win. They sure didn't miss our 10,000th loss a couple of years ago. They were all over that story.
For more history on this topic, check out baseballreference.com.
Offense Explodes
For a while there, yesterday looked like a second straight St. Louis victory. Three great catches in the outfield kept the Phillies from getting five early-game runs. The Cardinals came from behind to take a lead but our offense exploded.
J-Roll's grand slam was our eighth, tying the club's single-season record (1993 and 2005).
Shane had his fifth four-hit game of the season, tops in the majors.
Heading West
Team leaves on a Delta charter flight after today's game for a seven-game trip: three in Phoenix and four in San Francisco.
With the trading deadline coming up at 4 p.m. (EDT) on Friday, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is on the trip. He's joined by assistants Scott Proefrock, Benny Looper, Chuck LaMar and Mike Ondo.
Don't know what will happen but I have a gut feeling we will make a move or two.
Phillies Insider can be found on twitter.
1 Comment
Hey Larry, stop by my blog of you get a chance…got photos of a bunch of Phillies players with my stuffed Smurf doll (J-Roll Smurf) on Photo Day….I think you will get a laugh out of it :O) I know I did! And Ryan Howard was especially happy…LOL


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| 1.2°C Belfast
A man suspected of stabbing his flatmate to death has been detained under the Mental Health Act.
The 36-year-old man was initially arrested on Friday after a disturbance in the Handsworth area of Birmingham.
A man aged in his 50s was taken to hospital from the scene of the incident, which happened at about 9.20am in Thornhill Road, but died a short time later from multiple stab wounds.
A police spokesman said the 36-year-old had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act last night.
The spokesman added: "He will be assessed by mental health experts who will determine if he is fit to stand trial or be held indefinitely in a secure hospital."


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Brisbane: Australia's bowlers must make the most of second new ball if they want to get anything out of the rain-disrupted first test against South Africa after disappointing on the opening day, coach Mickey Arthur said on Saturday. The second day of the contest was washed out by the Brisbane rain but, if the wet weather relents on Sunday, Australia will still need to dislodge seven South African batsmen before they get a chance to bat.
The tourists had reached 255 for two on Friday with Hashim Amla (90) and Jacques Kallis (84) at the crease in an unbeaten third wicket partnership of 136. Australia's pacemen James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus were about to get hold of the second new ball when bad light brought an early close to play on Friday. "(Our bowling) probably wasn't good enough, I thought we got our lengths wrong, I think we needed to be a bit fuller," Arthur conceded at a rain-soaked Gabba.
"We weren't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but we weren't as clinical as we had been and as we had hoped to be. We weren't able to put South Africa under pressure for long enough."So, on our report card, probably disappointing. We discussed it, and I was confident the guys would have come back today and executed better. "We still have the second new ball up our sleeve, that's the one trump we have and we have to make that work for us."
Arthur said that the "massive hype" before the series, in which South Africa's number one test ranking is on the line, had perhaps made some of his seamers nervous. "When I say disappointed, I say that lightly because first and foremost I thought South Africa batted very well," he said. "Maybe nerves played a part, but that is something we have to overcome because we have to be on the money from the first ball." Arthur gave South African batsmen JP Duminy his test debut when he was coach of the Proteas on their last tour of Australia.
Duminy was ruled out of the rest of this tour after rupturing his Achille tendon while training on the Gabba pitch after Friday's play. That left South Africa with just 10 healthy batsmen for the match at the Gabba but Arthur's first thoughts were with the player. "To see a guy get injured and be out for six months is a tragedy," Arthur said. "My thoughts go out to him and I'm sure he will be back fighting fit in six months."
Arthur also expressed his surprise that South Africa had gone with four pace bowlers and dropped specialist spinner Imran Tahir - a decision that looks something of a gamble now they have been deprived of Duminy's spin. As to how the match would pan out after South Africa dominated the first day and the second day was lost to rain, Arthur said it was still too early to tell. "There's been a huge chunk of the game taken away, we've still got to play very, very well to give ourselves an opportunity to win it, or if we can't win it, make sure we don't lose it," he said.
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