text:
Nova Scotia, Are YOU on a quest to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Get Recognized?
This post is a result of two posts by my friend Richard Weisser down in Georgia. The first post was "How do you expect to get drenched in the rain if you don't even want to get your feet wet?" dated 5/21/09 in which he offers 6 suggestions to those of us here in Active Rain. In addition he also offers his personal guarantee "So, for those of you that want to succeed at blogging, I offer you this challenge. Before you throw in the towel, write at least one hundred quality posts before you make your value assessment. It takes that long to develop the correct skills and disciplines and also to create a body of content large enough to have a significant SEO impact on your business. Now that is some guarantee wouldn't you say? Richard then follows that post with another post titled "Achieving national celebrity status as a result of ActiveRain blogging becomes a reality! (of sorts)" where he talks about a recent interview with Realtor Magazine on line where he was interviewed about blogging for business. So, IMHO, Richard is not only a celeb but one that knows where of he speaks.
With the numerous posts talking to newbie's here in Active Rain on how to be a success in their blogging venture to improve their visibility to the public I am setting out on a quest. I am not going to suggest things to newbie's or those that are less active on AR; I am on a search for some of these folks for introduction to our AR family. Here is my 3 step plan:
- Go on a state by state search and post between 5 and 7 people each Saturday
- Then you the MEMBERSHIP will be able to see and encourage them by responding to their most recent post
- A NEW qualification, the post must be done since January of this year.
The end result will be, hopefully, an increase in activity with more members becoming visible. Now there is a really BIG problem with this plan. I will not be able, my rule, to suggest those that have not done a post and posted their picture to their profile. You see there won't be any secret agents, lenders, stagers, inspectors, etc. shown. Sorry, if you want to be considered I need to see who you are, sorta like your picture on your business card.
Today I am looking at Nova Scotia, where Active Rain has a total of 180 AR members as of this morning. I would say that Tina Parker #1 and Paul Viau #2 could have some competition coming up behind them. So, say hello to:
Alastair Buchanan with A&H GMAC Real Estate in Dartmouth, NS.
Kelly Pidgeon with Exit Realty Optimum in Halifax, NS.
Naomi Schriver with RE/MAX Options Inc. in Halifax, NS.
Lindsay Maillet with Exit Realty Metro in Bedford, NS.
Carole Pelletier with Exit Realty Optimum in Halifax, NS.
Be looking for your state coming soon to a post near you. Next I will be off to Quebec; if you know of someone celebrating a birthday in Quebec next week just email their name to me and I will acknowledge one person.
Please stop by and encourage these guys and gals and let's see if we can improve some of the participation. Thanks for stopping in.
If you are looking for a very simple way to move up in your standings for the state that you live in, here are three small suggestions:
Make one comment on someone's blog post.....Just pick one of the Featured Posts and read it then comment on what you read and
Complete your profile and then if you are looking for other suggestions,
Click here and here and here for more help.
Thanks to Active Brad Andersohn and Jeremy Blanton for their contributions. BTW, don't let these guys scare you they are really docile.
Don Rogers is a licensed REALTOR® in Missouri. I specialize in St. Charles County Missouri and have called O Fallon MO my home since 1993. If you are looking to buy or sell or you are relocating to the area and would like information about the St Charles County MO area do not hesitate to give me a call at 314-954-6775 or if you would prefer to send me an email.


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After the success of SCEE's 2001 release, Dark Cloud, it was only a matter of time before the critic-defyingly popular, not to mention massively playable original got itself a spruced-up sequel. And Dark Chronicle succeeds in outdoing its predecessor on pretty much every level. Back with an oh-so-fashionable cel-shaded graphical overhaul, all-new invention features, and much-improved upon Georama world-building system, Dark Chronicle melds traditional RPG elements with action-adventure and sim gameplay to create a hugely ambitious and totally unique experience.
Set 100 years after the first instalment, Dark Chronicle follows the adventures of techno whiz-kid Maximillian and sword-swinging princess Monica on a quest to stop a time-travelling madman intent on global domination (aren't they always?) and restore peace and order. With the plot not a million miles away from the original, Dark Chronicle sets the scene for a truly epic adventure that'll see you traversing treacherous dungeons, taking on evil minions, and generally saving the world.
Retaining the patented Georama system that made the original outing so unique, developer Level 5 has gone to great lengths to update and improve the world-building gadgetry, with greater flexibility included when creating towns, and the ability to customise houses adding to the Metropolis Mania-style mix. As you journey through the dungeons on your quest, you'll acquire the raw materials essential for constructing your very own villages, and garner advice and tips on exactly how to go about creating the world, chez moi. The landscapes in which you assemble the Georama pieces are beautifully realised, with forests, rocks and rivers all adding to the depth and feel of the environments. And one of the most interesting things about the updated Georama mode is the time-shifting element of the system. Max must build towns according to certain criteria, and travel through a Time Gate to view the outcome of his exertions. But the main meat of the game can be found in the dungeon quests, which are astonishingly time-consuming - all in the best possible way of course.
The dungeons are absolutely huge, and there's easily enough challenges to keep you busy for days, weeks and quite possibly months. Max and Monica use different styles of attack to fend off the various enemies roaming the world's nether-regions, and both come equipped with long and short range weapons. For Max, there's a comedy oversized wrench to batter baddies senseless, and he can also get his mitts on a handgun for those hard-to-reach adversaries. Monica, being a princess from the future and all, has a more modern approach to exterminating evil, taking the bad guys out with a Wonder Woman-style armband. She can cast spells, such as fire and ice attacks, or make use of her rather large sword in close-combat situations.
Max and Monica also have special abilities which can be called upon in conflict. Max's includes his 'Ride-Pod' "Steve", a huge, lumbering robot that can be upgraded to use machineguns and other such nifty bolt-ons. Monica has the ability to morph into monsters at certain points during the game - and can converse with other monsters of the same type to gain helpful hints and tips, if she should happen up on any.
As well as having an array of weapons on hand, Max can also create gadgets with Dark Chronicle's funky new invention feature. Equipped with his trusty camera (complete with zoom lens apparently), Max is capable of snapping a variety of objects, then mixing them up to create something useful. So, for example, if you combine a window, a wooden box, and a river, Max will come up with an aquarium. Which leads us nicely on to the minigames, which include a fishing game and a golf-style game called Spheda. The word minigame is somewhat misleading, however, because both of these side-quests are huge. They're practically games in their own right, such is the level of detail and depth.
Graphically, Dark Chronicle has been given a gorgeous cel-shaded look, creating a fairy-tale feel which complements the story perfectly. Max and Monica inhabit a beautifully rendered world, complete with atmospheric lighting and weather effects, stunning landscapes and charming character animation. And if you like lavish cut-scenes with high production values, then Dark Chronicle will have you in raptures from the outset. Max and Monica's adventures are interspersed with lovingly animated sequences that seamlessly blend into the gameplay.
For all those RPG aficionados out there, Dark Cloud's sequel will no doubt be met with a warm reception, and quite rightly so. Dark Chronicle masterfully blends conventional role-playing elements with real-time fighting to create a wonderfully absorbing action adventure, chock-full of extras. If you're new to the genre, then Dark Chronicle could just see you becoming a convert.
See it in action

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Chrome users are up in arms again, this time over Google's plan to automatically disable some browser add-ons, according to scores of messages posted to Google's support forum.
"If I wanted my browser to hold my hand and treat me like I don't know how to use a computer I'd use Internet Explorer," said scottt732 in a message posted Wednesday to a long thread on Chrome's support discussion forum. "Now, I wake up to find that you took the pegs off of my bike and installed training wheels. Thanks for that."
scottt732 and others blasted Google for the latter's new policy, which automatically disables most extensions -- also called add-ons -- that were downloaded from locales other than the Chrome Web Store, Google's official e-mart. The only extensions that can be installed in Chrome are ones from the store.
Google has been talking up the auto-removal of unsanctioned extensions since November, when the company characterized the policy as a security necessity, claiming that "bad actors" were using loopholes to continue installing malicious add-ons without user approval or knowledge.
Google has already turned on the stricter rules in the Windows version of Chrome 33 Beta, one of three development channels it maintains. While not as popular as the Stable channel, Beta is used by millions who have opted for the previews.
There are some minor exemptions from the only-from-Chrome-Web-Store policy: Businesses and software developers can still offer add-ons from their own servers, but those extensions must also be published on the store.
Users, many of whom didn't realize they were running the Beta channel of Chrome -- or had forgot they'd switched in the past from the Stable build line -- were very unhappy when some extensions suddenly disappeared.
"You just disabled my Norton Identity Safe [extension]," bemoaned Annelies Van Gysegem Tuesday on the same long thread. "We have used and trusted Norton for years and I cannot believe you just disabled our security software."
Others reported that the Chrome extension for RoboForm, a popular Windows password manager, had been crippled. "I can not use my vendor-distributed version of RoboForm now because of the immediate implementation without warning of this policy," said dccsched. "To continue using Chrome, I am being forced to use a free Lite version of the product that is several versions old."
Many objected to the new policy on principle, saying that they weren't about to be told what extensions they could run alongside Chrome. "For the record, this sucks. I'm capable of making my own decisions, thanks," said myuniqueplacename last week.
"Absolutely ridiculous. I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't need Googlenanny to tell me which extensions are or are not allowed for me to run," echoed Nyx Valentine.
Chrome 33 Beta, which already enforces the new, stricter requirements on add-ons, displays this when it sees that the user has installed extensions from any source other than the official Chrome Web Store. (Image: Radu Banciu.)
The criticism of Google's plans for extensions was similar to the reaction users have had to other changes in Chrome, including a redesign of the new tab page and a push toward the user interface (UI) design of Chrome OS, Google's browser-based operating system. Both sparked a large number of complaints.
Those complaints have had mixed success in making the Mountain View, Calif. company change its mind. Even after months of griping about the new tab page revamp, Google has not caved to demands, but instead upped the ante by removing a setting in the advanced "chrome://flags" option page that once let users restore the older design. However, the company has said it will restore scrollbar arrows, also called "steppers," to the browser UI.
It looks like there's little chance it will reverse the extensions policy.
"Keeping our users safe online is a top priority and this change, along with others we're making, like enforcing our single-purpose extension policy, will help alleviate our users' top complaint: keeping browser settings and behavior from being compromised by unwanted extensions," a Google spokesperson said in a statement today when asked to provide the company's reaction to the backlash.
In a message to that thread Feb. 21, SarahMM, a Google employee who monitors the Chrome support forums and frequently posts messages, was clearer about plans. "[Chrome] Beta will remain as it is, so if you want you can move back to Stable, but be aware this change is coming to Stable," she wrote. "If those extensions are extremely important to you, please contact the developers and encourage them to apply [to] the Web store. Your other alternative is to move to Canary."
Canary is Chrome's roughest build, one even less polished than the Dev channel, and analogous to Firefox's Nightly channel.
Yesterday, Google announced it was postponing the implementation of the extension "kill switch" on Chrome's stable build until or after May 1, a new deadline it gave add-on developers for publishing their wares on the Chrome Web Store.
Under that timeline, it's likely that Chrome 35 for Windows will be the first stable build -- the one most people run -- to enforce the extension policy.
The policy does not affect the OS X or Linux versions of Chrome, or the Dev or Canary versions of the Windows browser.
Even that galled some.
"There is NO reason why a user should have to use the Dev channel to re-enable [the extensions]," said Jacob Henkel last Saturday. "As it stands, the Dev channel's ability to re-enable them should be present in all versions. If this is unacceptable for whatever reason, there should be a setting to enable this in [chrome://flags/] or as a command line argument."
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed. His email address is firstname.lastname@example.com.
See more by Gregg Keizer on Computerworld.com.
Read more about internet in Computerworld's Internet Topic Center.


text:
Learn about DokuWiki
Advanced Use
Corporate Use
Our Community
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.
It's better when it's simple
Learn about DokuWiki
Advanced Use
Corporate Use
Our Community
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.
This is an old revision of the document!
DokuWiki is a web application and is often used on public servers, reachable from the Internet. This means it is at a greater risk to be attacked by malicious people than, for example, a local application on your desktop system.
DokuWiki is developed with security in mind. We try to find a balance between user friendliness and security, but favor security when no satisfying compromise can be found.
This page should give you an overview on what aspects you should have an eye on to make sure your DokuWiki is secure.
When you discover a security issue in DokuWiki, please notify us. The preferred ways to do so are:
The first two ways should be preferred except for very serious bugs where making the bug public before a patch is available could endanger DokuWiki installations world wide.
All previous security issues can be seen in the bugtracking system.
Depending on the severity of a found security issue it will be fixed in a future release (on very minor issues) or a bugfix release will be made. In the latter case users will be informed through the update check mechanism.
You should always run the most current release of DokuWiki as there are no security fixes released for older versions.
DokuWiki stores configuration and page data in files. These files should never be accessible directly from the web. The distribution tarball contains a set of
.htaccess files which usually tell the Apache web server to deny access to certain directories.
If you don't use the Apache web server or your Apache does not use
.htaccess files you need to manually secure your installation
The following directories should not be accessible from the web:
inc (isn't dangerous when accessible, though)
To check if you need to adjust the access permissions try to access
http://yourserver.com/data/pages/wiki/dokuwiki.txt. You should not get access to that file this way.
If your directories are not properly secured, read the following subsections on how to do that.
The simplest way is to enable
.htaccess support in your Apache configuration. Please see the Apache .htaccess Tutorial.
DokuWiki already comes with correctly configured .htaccess files. The contents of a .htaccess file to block all access to the directory it is in should be as follows:
order allow,deny deny from all
Remark : Using apache2 on Ubuntu, the .htaccess does not work until you activate the 'mod_rewrite' in apache2 (sudo a2enmod rewrite && sudo service apache2 restart)
It seems that Apache2 in general, or it might be specifically to Ubuntu, is configured slightly differently than Apache1.x.
In the /etc/apache2/sites-available you need to modify the file default (or the file default-ssl if you use https rather than http)
There you'll find:
NameVirtualHost * <VirtualHost *> ServerAdmin firstname.lastname@example.com DocumentRoot /var/www/ <Directory /> Options FollowSymLinks AllowOverride None </Directory> <Directory /var/www/> Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews AllowOverride none Order allow,deny allow from all </Directory>
Default for AllowOverride in the <Directory /var/www/> is none, should be all
/etc/init.d/apache2 reload to refresh your apache configuration and your .htaccess files should now work.
(See http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=47669 for the full thread)
[you can make this change also for the particular directory containing your DokuWiki installation, ie.
/var/www/path-to-dokuwiki instead of changing that globally]
The other way is to use
LocationMatch directive inside
VirtualHost definition - it's a little bit more efficient than
.htaccess. Just below
Directory directive add:
<LocationMatch "/(data|conf|bin|inc)/"> Order allow,deny Deny from all Satisfy All </LocationMatch>
However see the "What to use When" section here http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/sections.html#file-and-web for a statement that "Location" directives should not be used for protecting filesystem objects, only virtual (e.g. database-generated) paths. IMO if .htaccess isn't available or sufficient, then putting directory-specific restrictions directly in the hosts conf file would be the safest approach. This http://ada.adrianlang.de/dokuwiki-php-execution#solutions_in_the_configuration seems a solid approach - but this document should be "canonical".
The above could cause a problem if you have another "root" that includes the directorys data|conf|bin|inc. For example another wiki installation. You can avoid this problem by extending your LocationMatch within your wiki installation folder.
<Directory /var/www/dokuwiki> order deny,allow allow from all </Directory> <LocationMatch "^/dokuwiki/(data|conf|bin|inc)/"> order allow,deny deny from all satisfy all </LocationMatch>
Access to the mentioned directories can be disabled in IIS' configuration settings.
In IIS7:
Repeat for "/data/media" and choose "Always Allow" (otherwise your images and other won't be visible). In IIS 7.5 do not add the quotes. It should read /data/media in the URL.
Note: By default, the Management Console snap-in for Internet Information Services 7 does not have UI access to "IIS Request Filtering" section. However, can be enabled by installing "IIS Administration pack 1.0" by using the Web Platform Installer.
Also note: Ensure you enter "/data/" and NOT just "/data", otherwise pages that start with "data" will be inaccessible.
If you can't access IIS configuration options (as in shared hosting sites), you can put the following web.config file in the directories you have to protect.
inc (isn't dangerous when accessible, though)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <configuration> <system.webServer> <handlers accessPolicy="None" /> </system.webServer> </configuration>
Using a URL re-write you can deny access to the above directories. In your lighttpd.conf file adding the following URL rewrite rule should be sufficient to keep people out. It suppose your Dokuwiki files are installed under http://yourwebsite.tld/dokuwiki/. Don't forget to uncomment
"mod_rewrite" in the
server.modules section.
url.rewrite-once = ( "^/dokuwiki/(data|conf|bin|inc)/+.*" => "/nonexistentfolder" )
Or use
"mod_access". More examples available here.
$HTTP["url"] =~ "^/dokuwiki/(data|conf|bin|inc)/+.*" { url.access-deny = ("") }
Access to aforementioned directories can be disabled in DokuWiki server section of Nginx configuration file. In your nginx.conf file add the following location to prevent access to secure directories.
location ~ /(data|conf|bin|inc)/ { deny all; }
Also disabling access to .htaccess files is recommended:
location ~ /\.ht { deny all; }
(comment: nginx does not use htaccess files, so the above directive is meaningless)
It is relatively easy to forbid access to those directories using Cherokee. In cherokee-admin, select the virtual server where dokuwiki is installed and select rules management.
then add a new "Regular Expression" rule and put the following in it :
Then go in "Handler" section and select HTTP Error. Finally select "403 Forbidden" in HTTP Error.
Securing the
data directory is most important. If you cannot move directories out of the webserver (see below) or can't configure your webserver to deny access (see above), then you should at least make it harder to guess the name of your data directory.
To do so, rename your data directory to something cryptic (eg. a long row of letters and numbers) and reconfigure your savedir option in your
conf/local.php file.
The most secure way to avoid any access to the mentioned directories is to move them outside the so called "Document Root" of your Webserver.
WARNING: If you are planning to use the installer, you need to install your wiki executing the install.php script first before you can do this step. If the Move Directories operation is done before, the installer execution will fail.
data directory (and all its contents) out of the document root
data directory.
For example, if the
data directory is moved to
/home/yourname/data, add the following line to
$conf['savedir'] = '/home/yourname/data';
conf directory (and all its contents) out of the document root
inc directory and set the
DOKU_CONF define to the new location of the
conf directory.
For example, if the
conf directory is moved to
/home/yourname/conf, create the following
<?php // DO NOT use a closing php tag. This causes a problem with the feeds, // among other things. For more information on this issue, please see:w // http://www.dokuwiki.org/devel:coding_style#php_closing_tags define('DOKU_CONF','/home/yourname/conf/');
The bin directory contains CLI tools. If you don't have shell access on your server anyway you can simply delete the directory and its contents. Otherwise just move it out of the document root. No further configuration needed.
There is currently no easy way to move this directory out of the document root. But since it doesn't contain any sensitive data it isn't worth the effort to try anyway.
DokuWiki contains several configuration settings that have an impact on various security aspect of the installation. Please refer to the documentation of each setting to learn what they do and what suggested settings are.
DokuWiki has lots of community contributed plugins. Plugins add new functionality to DokuWiki by adding new code. This means the code has practically any access to your server. Additionally plugins are distributed separately from DokuWiki in an entirely ad-hoc manner. They are not subject to the same degree of attention and review that the core DokuWiki code base gets. So security precautions are necessary before installing a plugin.
Here are some tips to help you with choosing the plugins you install.
lib directory, which is directly accessible from the outside. Review what a plugin contains and lock down access with .htaccess files as appropriate.
See also: How to report security issues in plugins
With Access Control Lists (ACL) you can restrict which pages and/or namespaces users have access to. You can give read and write permissions depending on the user group or single users.
Here are a few more internal and external pages related to security.
I've configure DokuWiki with ZBBlock: http://www.spambotsecurity.com/zbblock_download.php Works great. Stops a lot of nasty attacks…


text:
If you missed the supplemental Gruden Camp episode for supplemental draft candidate Terrelle Pryor on ESPN last night, then what you essentially missed was public harassment on a national broadcast. In a nice way!
We're familiar with Gruden's shtick by now, and we even kind of like it — anything is better than listening to Mark Schlereth babble about his glory days — but Pryor should still be commended for quietly (if bewilderedly) sitting through the former coach's torrent of noises and "Sanzenbacher" pronunciations for the better part of an afternoon.
He should not be commended for wearing boat shoes.
Earlier: Here's Jon Gruden Saying Weird Shit To Future NFL QBs
Thanks for your continued support of Deadspin. We're calling it early, but The Hickey-Dickey Show will join you for the long weekend.


text:
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) is a world-class facility where Air Canada and Air Canada Express (operated by Jazz only) services are operated from a state-of-the-art single terminal building
|Fast and Efficient:
Departing from/Arriving at Toronto Pearson International Airport
- Check in at Terminal 1 for all flights to Canada, the U.S., and all international destinations.
- All Air Canada flights are gated at Terminal 1.
Super Elite 100K, Elite 75K/50K/35K, Star Alliance Gold, Business Class
Super Elite 100K, Elite 75K, Elite 50K and Elite 35K and Star Alliance Gold members, and Business Class customers commencing travel in Toronto and utilizing private transportation to Toronto Pearson Terminal 1, should request drop-off on the departure level curb as follows:
Travel within Canada or to an international destination:
Request drop-off at posts 4 to 6
Super Elite 100K Guests
Check in at Aisle 1
Elite 75K, Elite 50K, Business Class, Premium Economy and Premium Rouge Guests:
Check in at Aisle 1
Elite 35K and Prestige 25K Guests:
Check in at Aisle 3
Flights between Canada and the U.S.:
Request drop-off at posts 28 to 30
Super Elite 100K:
Check in at Aisle 12
Elite 75K, Elite 50K, Elite 35K, Business Class, Star:
Check in at Aisle 12
Customers Requiring Special Assistance
If you require special assistance and are utilizing private transportation to Toronto-Pearson Terminal 1, please:
- Request drop-off on the departure level curb at post 21.
- The drop point is on the inside curb; just look for the sign showing Special Assistance and a wheelchair symbol.
- An assistance phone is available at post 21 for curbside assistance. Simply lift the receiver and follow the instructions to be connected.
- The drop point is on the inside curb; just look for the sign showing Special Assistance and a wheelchair symbol.
- Upon entering the terminal, proceed to the special assistance desk located at aisle 8 to check in for your flight.
Connecting through Toronto Pearson International Airport
Travel documents
In addition to the normal travel documents required to get into Canada, other documents may be required, depending on your country of origin, even if they are used solely to land in Canada and re-board a connecting flight.
Researching and acquiring these documents is the responsibility of the passenger. See our travel documents page for more information.
Terminal information and maps
View the various terminal directory mapsOpens in New Window to see where shops, restaurants, and other services are offered throughout the airport.


text:
Book Summary -
The 1988 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are best remembered for Kirk Gibson's dramatic home run, Orel Hershiser's pitching dominance, and manager Tommy Lasorda's masterfully corny motivation, but there was much more that made the season memorable, bittersweet, and controversial, and this book explains it all. Using hundreds of hours of new interviews with players, coaches, broadcasters, and fans and combing through newspapers and magazines, Josh Suchon takes a new generation of Dodgers fans back to their memorable 1988 championship season. From the end of Don Sutton's Hall of Fame career and the memorable 46-day stretch of pitching by Hershiser that hasn't been equaled since to unlikely playoff heroes Mike Scioscia, Mickey Hatcher, and Mike Davis, Miracle Men encapsulates the fever and fervor that surrounded the team and the city of Los Angeles in the summer and fall of 1988.
- - - -
On sale now. You can purchase it by clicking here.
Suchon will be on a book tour. You can meet him at the following locations. I need to get myself a signed book.
July 15, 2013 (Tim Leary, a starting pitcher on the 1988 Dodgers, is expected to attend this event as well)
Barney's Beanery
1351 3rd Street Promenade
Santa Monica, CA 90401
July 16, 2013
Brent's Deli
19655 Partenia Street
Northridge, CA 91324
July 17, 2013
Barnes & Noble
Bella Terra
7881 Edinger Ave, #110
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
Good luck Josh!


text:
Sony just released a new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man, the movie they supposedly hate. They kept calling this "the untold story," which seemed like a ballsy movie considering this is essentially the same origin story from the Sam Raimi/Spider-Man. But there are a couple of changes, probably the biggest of which being that this time around, it's not the spider bite itself that gives Peter Parker superpowers, but rather the bite simply activates something that was already in his genetic code – he's kind of a designer superhero now, a la Wolverine. And now he has to figure out what happened to his parents and who he really is. Which is great, because I always wished Spider-Man could be more like Abduction. (*shoots fart noises from web slingers*)
The other big change I noticed was that Andrew Garfield (Scarfield, as we like to call him), who's British, seems to have achieved this accent by studying Shia Labeouf's portrayal of Sam Witwicky in Transformers. Finally, that abrasive, sarcastic, belittling, New York A-hole superhero we've all been waiting for. "Eh oh, loogit this queer, he thinks I ain' gonna shoot my webs on im ova heah. Hickory dickory dock, which one a dese crooks is gonna suck spidah man's cock?"
Yeah, that was Andrew Dice Spider-Man. I regret nothing. Opens July 3rd.


text:
308: The State of Gaming Nature
Pages 1 2 3 NEXT
Judging by Fallout: New Vegas and Red Dead Redemption, centuries-old philosophers Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau would've made pretty good game designers.
Definitely an interesting take on the games. I never really saw them that way, but you do have a very good point.
Good thought provoking article. I really enjoyed reading this and the comparisons made between the game were interesting and original :)
Ahhh it's always great to see someone who understands the true meaning behind Fallout: New Vegas, and the original Fallout's too.
I see too many people complain that New Vegas sucked because it isn't "post-apocalyptic" enough.
That was indeed an excellent article, very thought provoking and carefully structured with deep analysis. I am siding with Red Dead Redemption's outlook on it however, with the simple belief that while the old west was harsher than modern society, it was more honest, as people knew morals and how to conduct themselves properly without needing 'society' to beat it into them. In a place like the old west, people with malicious intent cannot expect to last long in a world where people will defend themselves and each other.
Plus I'm a sucker for a good old six-shooter. ^^
Interesting take. RDR did a wonderful job of evoking sadness at the passing of a way of life, but I had never thought of it as a bookend to Fallout. Makes sense though.
Well now I should probably get around to playing Fallout.
I think that rousseau is right in a way. Man is enslaved by our current society. But our society if very flawed and doomed to fail. In different kinds of society, man would be born free, and could continue to live freely.
In the end, I would go with the New Vegas message. Without civilization of any kind, Humans are little more than animals. Our civilization isnt perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but as the evolution of life, so the evolution of societies will keep improving on what we have now.
What's interesting to me about both Hobbes and Rousseau is that neither seemed to really get into how the genesis of "society" plays into our state of nature. They seemed to speak as though Society was somehow imposed on us by an outside force, some unseen "zookeeper," rather than constructed by mankind itself. Society isn't in conflict with our nature. It reveals our nature, or rather what we feel about our nature, because we created it.
The nature of a man, when you get right down to it, is self. Myself and my needs are the first things I know and understand, all else be damned. I'm hungry, so I cry until food is brought. I want a cookie, so I take it from the jar. We are selfish by nature.
Now, the problem with that statement comes when we try to assign a moral weight to being "selfish." Selfishness is morally neutral, neither good nor bad on its own. We are only so because, at the beginning, Self is all we know. Later, we begin to learn to utilize other people to help meet our needs (such as crying because we understand it will cause others to fill those needs). Even later, we begin to understand that behaving in certain ways (sharing, being polite) greatly expedites this process.
Much later, after much practice, we begin to really understand and empathize with others. We say, "Please," and "Thank you," and, "I'm sorry," because we understand how we would feel in the other person's shoes... but still, we are understanding those feelings through the filter of self.
In the end, society and its rules developed for two reasons: fear and empathy.
Hobbes focuses on the fear: We'd love to take whatever we want, but we know that a world in which that is permissible means it can be done to us. There will always be someone stronger, so we know that we would constantly have to protect what is ours. In a sense, we fear the freedom that others might have, so we forfeit a bit of ours to establish something of an armistice.
Rousseau focuses on the empathy: As social creatures, we understand that we need each other to best survive and thrive. Your broken leg means neither of us will eat tonight, unless I help you. Additionally, if I help you when you're in need, you'll do the same for me when my time comes.
And both men are right, though seemingly opposing. They're entering the same room through different doors, and that room is Self. In the Hobbes-ian view, we fear for our Self and what others might do against it. In the Rousseau-ian view, we empathize with the Self of others because we know what they can do for our own.
Rousseau's angle is the more advanced, to be sure. A person has to be willing to put aside or delay gratification of the Self to truly feel and act upon that empathy. But the fact that such a thing takes effort (and, for many, law) demonstrates that something about it runs counter to our nature. Meanwhile, Hobbes's approach doesn't account for the fact that society somehow emerged from that brutal and selfish nature--something about the "law of the jungle" also conflicts with our nature.
As for the games themselves, I really found New Vegas to provide a more accurate representation of our nature, in that it doesn't put the player in either camp. It shows us both sides (with the raiders on one end, and the Followers on the other, and other factions strewn in between), and then lets us choose--gradually. It's not just a matter of "choose to do combat and leave the helping," or "choose to do the helping and shun the combat." You can make those choices within a single quest, based on how you resolve it.
An interesting take on two games I've read up on but haven't played yet. I like.
Very well thought out article OP, that was a cracking read.
In a way both games deal with the same issue however: the loss of a way of life. RDR mourns the loss of the old ways and resignedly gives them up to the inevitable march of 'progress', whereas F:NV carries a more positive message in the desire of mankind to recover the civilisation that it has lost. Or maybe it's just that the grass is always greener on the other side of the field...
Just wanted to add that in F:NV you can choose to kill Mr.House and drag away the NCR and Caesar leaving Vegas in complete anarchy.
Well written and thoughtful article. Nutritious food for thought.
That was a great and thought provoking article, A very good first piece. Though I can't speak for everyone but reading about Red Dead Redemption always makes me romanticise the game, strangely for what little you do at times in that game I still remember it so fondly, just like GTA4 in fact.
The article only reminded me of the absurdity of pre-darwininan social philosophies.
Civilisation is in our nature, the only reason it exists is because we evolved in such a way that fostered its development.
As for games, the only one that has even come close is GTAIV. Every character is a victim of their nature, and Nico is the aggregate of all the ideas expressed throughout the game.
In Red Dead Redemption you - as Marsden - proceed to murder your old life one gang member at a time. To say that civilisation is the only corrupt force in the game is a little absurd considering that Marsden himself was, prior to the game, a murderer and thief. If he is supposed to represent the 'best of man', then he has left a lot to be desired. This is not to mention that you are very often beset by bandits who plague civilisation from their hideouts in amongst the wilderness. And that the Wilderness itself often likes to come tumbling out at you in the form of a mountain lion or - god forbid - bear.
As for New Vegas, the Mojave isn't something in need of restoration. It's humanity that is broken. The world itself operates as it always has.
This is a really interesting article... sorry that's not very constructive, but there's not a lot to add ;)
even more to the point is how games are effected by philosophy, morality and politics. (the most important thing is that the sentence still works if you replace the word 'games' with the word 'art')
On the other hand. Given the number of quests in RD:R that involve you fighting bandits who, given the oppertunity, would & do burn down everything & everyone in their way for the fun of it. It is arguable that RD:R is also Hobbian, just in a bittersweet way in that for all the beauty & simplicity of life that a character like Marston could find in the Wilds, it's still a brutal place in which he has comitteed more than his fair share of atrocities. It's as much about finding the little things that make even a horrible life worth living (but a life that, ultimately, can only be happy when it ends), as an ode to the desirability of the wild life.
Great article.
I guess I'm in the minority here, because aside from the brief mentions of Hobbes and Rousseau, what is this article saying? Nothing. Brief summations of two games with no real commentary on either.
I haven't been reading the Escapist that long, relatively speaking, but week to week, month to month the content seems to be getting thinner and thinner.
Wow, what a great article. A very interesting take on two games I love. I never thought about it like that, but your points make perfect sense. The beds, especially.
oh wow.... I can't give you enough internet points for all that. Thank you for being my post of the day (or maybe the week). I've never really thought of the Hobbes/Rousseau contrast like that.
...and then there's Dawkins, who argues that the genes that cause us to aid people who are genetically similar to us are often favored by natural selection.
Basically, if me and my brother share the gene that causes us to help each other out, the gene is more likely to be passed on because we are aiding each other than an alternative gene that would cause us to fight against each other. Parents caring for their offspring is the strongest example of this.
The main functional difference between Dawkins' view and Hobbes and Rousseau's view is that Hobbes and Rousseau try to approach it as an individual making a rational decision about what is in his best interests, while Dawkin's view approaches it as innate behavior that has been built into out natures.
Ultimately, I think, all three are correct. There must be some genetic basis for both behaviors (as well as many others), but as (relatively) rational beings, we sometimes seek to rise above instinct and make more reasoned choices. The desires for civilization/organization and for freedom/individuality are both present in everyone. This is part of the duality of human nature; the Yin and Yang of existence.
Not to beat a dead horse, but the these concepts are so well expressed through the medium of video games - better, I would argue, than through film or drama, and possibly even literature - that anyone trying to argue that video games can never be art is just ignorant or foolish. No other medium allows the viewer to be a participant that can experience the message in a first-hand sort of way. All forms of art try to give the audience a different perspective, but only video games can make it so direct and meaningful.
Plus, they can be a hell of a lot of fun!
I suspect, like all things, the real answer is a compromise of both viewpoints. Humanity is neither evil or good, but flawed
Sir, you have dared to bring science to a philosophy debate, so now I will force you to stand by your principles.
Why? You have just made an unsupported statement
EDIT: Sorry I was far too harsh towards your excellent and noteworthy contribution.
2. Human behaviour can deny instinct. Correct
3. Therefore we can only control our behaviour by recognising the our instinct and it's origins??
The logic doesn't follow. Particularly if you are talking in an evolutionary sense. Neither Gandhi or Martin Luther King studied evolution to come up with their fantastic philosophy and instinct breaking behaviour, but merely philosophers and religious figures.
In a general, psychological sense, we need it to understand humans, but I think it's too much of a logical leap (and probably incorrect) to suggest we need it to be able to modify our behaviour appropriately. It tends to work the opposite, people use it to argue that there is no moral foundation and that they should have sex with as many people as possible and be a douche because that's in line with what genetics has taught them. The study of overriding instincts is what comes after studying instincts and presumably relies (and therefore relies on understanding) a completely different or higher level of mechanism
I agree with most everything you say :D Especially the part on videogames being the best medium through which to explore a philosophical theory. There was a pronounced difference in my feelings towards interactions in both of the mentioned games, and I have never so fully understood and accepted Rousseau's theory of morality as I did when I played Red Dead Redemption, though I personally have to disagree with it.
I would also like to add that I think a game could be added to the discussion to greatly enhance it. A few games can be mentioned which don't shift from civilization to wilderness which disprove both theories. They are quite thoughtful and show that morality doesn't exist in a vacuum, that in the prolonged absence of culture, or at least non-hostiles, insanity can set in, warping what is acceptable and unacceptable. In the presence of culture, the different cultures themselves dictate the morality of a situation. Every game with a morality meter takes culture's effect on morality into account (consciously or unconsciously), as it is the culture of the player character, how they were raised, that dictates whether an act is moral or immoral. Killing an innocent carries as much karmic penalty in a town of innocents as it does when a group of bloodthirsty bandits are telling you to in order to initiate you.
Oh gods dammit, no spoiler warning.
even before playing either of these, I felt that had many commonalities. both games really appeal to me for similar reasons. Guess I'm a fan of westerns then
Eh, I'd say that if it is genetic, that doesn't alter our experience. I help Billy move his couch because it feels like the right thing to do, and because I believe it means he'll be more inclined to do the same for me. Now, if those feelings and beliefs are genetically influenced, does it negate the fact that I experience them as feelings or beliefs? If I'm genetically predisposed to have strawberry as my favorite ice cream, does that somehow diminish the sense of enjoyment I get while eating it?
The decision is still a rational one, whether or not it's genetically influenced. I'd say the compromise point between the three would be to say that it's not a conscious decision in the vast majority of cases. That leaves it open to influence from a multitude of genetic and environmental factors. What matters is that we do it because, one way or another, we understand it as being in the interest of Self.
Glad to be of service!
That's a new way of looking at it... Interesting... All the more reason I should play Fallout! XD
I agree that society is not in conflict with our nature, however, it can't be said that society reveals nature, or even how we feel about it (after all, society changes how we perceive nature). Society is our nature, as much as selfishness is; our ability to communicate and empathize with others is probably biologically encoded, not simply trained, which is a strong argument that humanity did not simply create society.
Yet even if that was not the case, and humanity did create it, then society still creates a great deal of our nature, without our willing participation or knowledge of it. Now, as you mentioned, our biological realities shape how we interact with the world, but society still affects how we go about meeting those.
Moving back to your main point: if humanity did create society, even then it is an engine which largely runs on its own, which is in direct contrast to society revealing humanity because humanity constructed it. It would be barmy to claim that humanity has no impact on society, but ultimately humanity as we know it did not create society.
My point is, society and humanity cannot be extricated; society formed us, and we, in a small way, have formed society, much like a child learning a language has their own particular idiolect. There is a dialectic there, I don't wish to sound a determinist, but I find it odd to mention how humanity has shaped society without hitting on how society has shaped humanity.
I don't think we're really disagreeing in any particular way. Mostly, it seems to be how things are phrased.
Certainly, society has a huge impact on how each of us develops, and that development shapes the future of society, which shapes the future generation, and so on. It's a feedback loop, no question about it--akin to the "art imitates life imitates art" cliché.
My point is that society itself grew out of the interactions of the individuals that made up our species at the time. As such, it is a product of our nature--first there was us, and then there was society. Certainly there are layers upon layers of cause-effect twisting in modern times, but at the most basic level we (as a species, not as a modern generation of humans) created society.
And that is what I mean when I say society "reveals" our nature: it's because it was originally a product of that nature. And afterwards, we got into the whole chicken-or-egg feedback loop that defines us today.
It's a good, thoughtful article, and I'm glad to have read it, though I do wish there was some more focus on the morality systems more blatantly in play. New Vegas with its Karma meter and Red Dead with its honour. I think it's important to note the game's own opinion on the morality of the individual as well as the philosophy of the world. We can say that it's not the same as morality because we use the words "karma" and "honour," but no one really buys that. I personally like how Dragon Age does it.
I would also argue that the wilderness is not so nice as claimed in Red Dead. I mean, Bears, for one thing. I feel about as awful when I see a bear as when I see a Deathclaw at low level. Rare yes, and the wilderness is more about plant life in Red Dead, but I get the feeling of outside hostility all the same. In addition, the most efficient method of travel is by horse, and Marston is then generally stuck to well-worn pathways if he wants to make any kind of good time moving from place to place. These pathways can't be called anything but constructs of society, and it clearly shows that society is efficient and the only way to progress.
To take that last sentence a step further, we know that Marston's only real mod of progressing is through interactions with other people. It is society that makes him better, that gives him purpose, even if the society is seen as corrupt and flawed, it is the only place to live in the world. Marston's attempts to escape it, however noble, will inevitably fail, because he seeks a static existence. This static quality exists in Rosseau's idea of the free man of nature, but not in Hobbes'.
So ultimately it seems that Red Dead becomes about the futility of Rosseau's ideas, as much as it attempts to tout the moral highs of it. The civilized world, while a sometimes cruel and unforgiving place, is the symbol of progress, and progress is the birth and death of places, ideas, peoples, and philosophies. The "Old West" gave way to the young culture.
Great article.
Usually when I see articles like this, while I may actually like their idea, I roll my eyes at the notion that they were actually deliberately inserted, remembering one article on Portal (the first) that went on a tangent about how it empowered women by replacing the phallic weapons used to assert your dominance by ejaculating bullets onto your enemies with a magical uterus that creates a opening though which you are reborn into new challenges. (Yeah.) But still, this seems like a deliberate approach - whether civilization/society is good or bad is one of those thinks people feel intrinsically one way or the other and automatically assume everyone feels that way. It may be that this contrast exists not deliberately but subconsiously, as a result of what the people creating those worlds feel intimately. It's essentially impossible to write a perfectly neutral essay, exactly because of the intimacy of those ideals that becomes inseparable from our selves, (and sure we may be aware of a few of our tendencies and do our best to rein them in, but all of them? never!), so why should video games be any different? It's just that the combination of the large amount of people necessary to create a game and their usually low-brow choice of subject matter tends to dampen this choice to a homeopathic degree, something also seen in popcorn summer movies, but when allowed to take a more central spot they do.
I didn't think about any of that while playing rdr. I just wanted to shot things on horse back. But then again I am the one that likes all the pretty songs and I like to sing along, but I don't know what they mean.
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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) UConn sophomore guard Ryan Boatright had the letters ``SH'' on his left cheek.
The UConn men's basketball team played its first game since the shooting that took place Friday morning at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
A brief pre-game ceremony was held before Monday's matchup against Maryland Eastern-Shore in honor of the 26 victims who were fatally shot at the school.
There was a moment of silence as 26 students holding candles and players formed a circle at midcourt. Eight members of the Governor's Foot Guard of Connecticut stood with flags stood at attention.
UConn players wore patches on their game jerseys to honor the memory of the 20 children and six adults at the school who were shot.
The rectangular patch had a green background, black outline and the letters ``SH'' in white. The school colors are green and white.
In addition, UConn bench personnel and others associated with the game wore special green and white ribbons.


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New York black radio-pioneer Hal Jackson dies
NEW YORK (AP) -- Radio pioneer Harold "Hal" Jackson, a staple of New York radio, has died. He was in his late 90s.
Jackson died Wednesday in a hospital, said Deon Levingston, vice president and general manager at WBLS, a station owned by Inner City Broadcasting, which Jackson co-founded.
Paul Heine, senior editor at Inside Radio, a trade publication, said Jackson "was the godfather of black radio."
"His longevity and his breaking down the doors, breaking the color barrier, he really made it possible for African-Americans who followed him to work in the medium," Heine said.
Jackson had been on the air as recently as a couple of weeks ago, hosting a Sunday show on WBLS.
"His energy was amazing," Levingston said.
Heine said Jackson still continued to show up at radio conventions, as well.
"He didn't need to do these things," he said. "He was so passionate and so dedicated to the medium."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg described Jackson as a "legend."
"Hal was not only the first African-American voice on network radio or the first African-American play-by-play sports announcer, but an iconic legend who -- during the Civil Rights movement -- gave voice to the many who simply did not have one," he said.
Jackson began his career in Washington, D.C., as the first African-American play-by-play sports announcer. He moved to New York in the 1950s where he hosted three different radio shows, broadcasting a mix of music and conversation, including jazz and celebrities.
Jackson later co-founded the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, one of the first broadcasting companies wholly owned by African-Americans. The company acquired WBLS, which pioneered the urban contemporary format. Jackson continued to host a program each week on WBLS.
In 1995, Jackson became the first African-American to be inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.


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2 Members and 6 Guests are viewing this topic.
Yes you do, want me to replay one of your rants for ya?
DO IT MASONS.jpeg (136.4 kB)
It's a pawn.
Utter revulsion would be a more accurate description. I am informed about many things including space travel but I'm not an astronaut. Perceived ills? So the medical and psychological problems unique to gays really don't exist. Congress should be informed of this so it doesn't commission any new studies like the ones to investigate the rash of STDs and rectal damage among gays.It's no fixation, it's an objection. Since I started participating in online discussions a few years ago, I have noticed an increasing amount of gay trawling/grooming taking place on various boards dedicated to topics of interest to me and it is offensive especially when it is directed towards me. Using this medium as if it were a gay lounge here to satisfy liscentious homosexual pursuits cheapens and spoils the experience for those who think that one man buggering and felating another man is repugnant behavior and do not want to witness such acts being facilitated on a thread they follow and post on. If one is into that sort of thing at least be honest enough to start a gay hookup thread so that the unsuspecting are not exposed to your shit on other threads. I am not singling out BellGab as a forum where homosexual trawling/grooming is rampant but I have become very sensitive and reactive to posted material that suggests that the discussion is headed that way.
Gays literally suck and you are a humorless bitch.
Fine..I was waiting for Kid to trigger...
Where do I say I hate gays?
Lol!And what about lesbians, do they 'literally suck' too? I mean the spite should be equal, but is it???
you'll have to ask one
That was well written. Thanks for reposting it for me. Where do I say I hate gays?
Maybe, but you'll have to ask one.
I thought starting with an old queen like you would be apt...
I don't hate all gays. Just obnoxious old queens like you.
It's an actual rag.source: I recently re-subscribed to daily paper delivery, largely so I would have emergency scrap available to soak up spills.
Gee, that was original.
She told me you died in a fire.
Wouldn't masons naturally like the building of walls? I think there a lot of people who would profit from the wall(s) including some that some people might not consider as beneficiaries. Like Sr Gonzales of Cemex, which is obvious, but even criminals and the cartels. Price rises from making transport of certain drugs, sex trafficking, human smuggling, etc more difficult. Even the local independent coyote would benefit from the wall because he could charge higher prices. And making it harder for OTMs to cross means they might be stuck in Ol' Mexico and so available for use in the sex industry, illegal mining and labor, drug trafficking, or simply as gladiators in Cartel games or domestic workers. Maybe even for "parts" by the elites in Mexico (especially people coming from clean, rural regions who haven't, yet, polluted their bodies.)
You utter MORON! Did you not read the timeline on the two agreements?
Yeah, seriously. You called me out on NAFTA and when I provided evidence to support my statement - you altered the discussion. This is nothing new and the reason why I consider engaging with people like you a waste of time.
That was very nice. She wanted to spare you the story of your Uncle Daddy.
You think you deserve "original" cupcake?
author=Metron2267link=topic=12374.msg1281278#msg1281278 date=1543173824]Ouchies on that bill, glad it wasn't worse, a cracked pan beats a trashed suspension.
Just curious, where did the day find you and was it a good one?
Well Weiner you have "family" right here and thanks for all those road pics you share with us. Makes me feel like I'm riding shotgun. Say...if you ever need a lumper...
You and I could probably be friends , if you wrote to me as tenderly as you did Kidnostan3
But you're not hung like Jack, so your only talent is likely as a sub bottom.
I think she was just embarassed about what a huge faggot you are.
So where is South America in your timeline?
What man says "ouchies?"
The same one that PWNS you lock, stock, and bent barrel!LOL! Now I kinda regret not meme-ing your sultry ,upside down kitchen pics.
Sultry pics? That photo happened to be on my camera roll. I posted it to show that I was not the Shriner wearing a fez in a photo that I included in an earlier post.


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New Rules Affect 2006 Hunting Seasons
Big game, upland birds affected; crane ID test required; Department of Animal Health bans hog hunting. Several new regulations and statutes will affect the 2006 Kansas hunting seasons. Hunters should be aware of these, as well as all other hunting regulations, which may be found in the 2006 Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary, available Sept. 1.
The following is a list hunting of rules that are new in 2006:
Big game
after Dec. 30, deer hunters may purchase Antlerless Only Deer game tags valid during the January season without having first purchased an antlered deer permit;
unlimited archery antelope permits are now available to nonresidents (firearms and muzzleloader permits still restricted to residents only); and
the elk unit has been expanded to include the entire state of Kansas except Morton county.
Upland birds
pheasant season opens the first Saturday in November;
quail season opens the second Saturday in November;
quail units have been eliminated;
quail season ends the third Sunday in January 2007; and
prairie chicken season opens the third Saturday in November, as it did last year.
Sandhill cranes
all sandhill crane hunters must take an online crane identification test before obtaining a sandhill crane permit. The test may be found at online at https://secure.ksfishandwildlife.org/crane/.
a new Department of Animal Health statute states that "no person shall engage in, sponsor, instigate, assist, or profit from the release, killing, wounding or attempted killing or wounding of feral swine for the purpose of sport, pleasure, amusement, or production of a trophy"; and
"owners or legal occupants of land, the employees of such owners or legal occupants or persons designated by such owners or legal occupants may kill any feral swine when found on their premises or when destroying property. Such designees shall have a permit issued by the livestock commissioner in their possession at the time of the killing of the feral swine."


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Exclusive, Live, Behind-the-Scenes Looks at "Dancing with the Stars"
During the ABC Premiere of "Scared Shrekless" on Monday Night
Music Sensations Justin Bieber and Boyz II Men Take to the Stage
With a Premiere Televised Performance on Tuesday Night
"AT& T Spotlight Performance" Features a Live Performance from
Singer-Songwriter Christina Perri on Tuesday Night
"Episode 1307 & 1307A" -- Monday's "Dancing with the Stars" kicks off live from the ballroom with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the remaining couples as they get ready for their big Halloween night during the special ABC premiere of "Scared Shrekless," which airs Monday,
October 31 from 7:58-8:30 p.m., ET. Inspired by the hit feature film "Shrek," viewers will join Shrek (Mike Myers) as he celebrates his favorite holiday, ogre-style. Shreck ditches the standard tricks or treats and challenges fairy-tale characters, including Donkey (Dean Edwards) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), to a scary storytelling contest. Just as the contest is set to begin, they all discover they must spend the night in Lord Farguaad's haunted castle, and the last one to be scared "Shrekless" will win.
Then, the Halloween Night event continues with an exciting Halloween-themed episode of "Dancing with the Stars," filled with thrilling performances from the remaining six couples. Each pair will light up the ballroom floor with killer costumes and an electrifying dance to some of Halloween's favorite spooky tunes. Later in the night they return to the floor when Team Tango's J.R & Karina, Nancy & Tristan and David & Kym, dancing to Rihanna's "Disturbia," battle Team Paso's Ricki & Derek, Hope & Maksim and Rob & Cheryl, dancing to Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life." The gripping 90-minute show airs MONDAY, OCTOBER 31 (8:30-10:01 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
This week on "Dancing with the Stars the Results Show," global pop sensation Justin Bieber and the best selling R&B group of all time, Boyz II Men, collaborate for a television premiere performance of "Fa La La," accompanied by pro dancers Mark Ballas and Chelsie Hightower. "Fa La La" is from Bieber's Christmas album, "Under the Mistletoe," available November 1st. Bieber will hit the stage for a second time with a knockout performance of his megahit song, "Never Say Never." Pro dancer Derek Hough joins "So You Think You Can Dance" dancer Alison Holker for an exceptional Latin infused choreographed number. Additionally, this season's second "AT&T Spotlight Performance" will truly be an emotional and unique dance performance, accompanied by hot new recording artist Christina Perri singing her smash hit, "Arms." In the end, the sixth couple eliminated must say goodbye, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1 (9:00-10:01 p.m., ET).
Global phenomenon Justin Bieber begins his third year on the world stage with the November 1st release of his first Christmas album, "Under the Mistletoe," produced by Kuk Harrell. The album is a seasonal mix of traditional Christmas standards and newly penned holiday music largely co-written by Bieber. The album features guest appearances from Mariah Carey, Usher, Boyz II Men, Busta Rhymes and The Band Perry. This will be Bieber's fifth album release since he first arrived on Island Records/RBMG in November 2009 with "My World." "My World" included his worldwide debut hit,
"One Time," the follow-up "One Less Lonely Girl," and two more chart hits, "Love Me" and "Favorite Girl." With that, Bieber became the first solo artist in history to send four songs from a debut album into the Top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 prior to the album�s release. To date, he has attained more than 11 million in worldwide CD sales. Bieber has recently been nominated for Favorite Male Artist and is set to perform at the "2011 American Music Awards�."
A truly iconic band, Boyz II Men redefined R&B and revolutionized the genre. Celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, the band has penned and performed some of the most celebrated songs and timeless classics of the past two decades. The group's 4 Grammy � Awards are just the tip of the iceberg: throughout their 20-year career, Boyz II Men have also won a whopping 16 American Music Awards �, 9 Soul Train Awards, 3 MTV Awards and 3 Billboard Awards. This iconic group, composed of Nate Morris, Wayna Morris and Shawn Stockman, has earned the honor of being the best selling R&B group of all time, with an astounding 60 million albums sold. Given the monumental success of their albums and the timeless quality of their vocals, it's easy to see why Boyz II Men remains an inspiration to some of the most successful stars in the industry. The band continues to tour across the country and around the globe, performing a mix of their latest tracks and treasured classics. And to celebrate their landmark 20th Anniversary, Boyz II Men has recently released a brand new album, "Twenty," which features new material for the first time in 10 years. It was released October 26th on the band's own label, MSM Music, with partners Benchmark Entertainment.
The "AT&T Spotlight Performance" features and celebrates people whose lives have been changed forever by dance. This week "Dancing with the Stars" has chosen to spotlight 16-year-old Victoria Rose Viren. At the young age of 14, the gifted young dancer was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had to undergo intense treatment. The ballerina did not let this get in her way of her passion for dancing, and instead used dance to help her get through her treatment. Now fully recovered, Victoria will be dancing live on "Dancing with the Stars the Results Show," accompanied by recording artist Christina Perri. Perri, a very talented singer-songwriter and musician, was a struggling artist until her first break on "So You Think You Can Dance" last summer, with her performance of "Jar of Hearts." The 24-year-old Philadelphia native captivated the hearts of listeners across the country with her raw and emotional performance. She later went on to sign with Atlantic Records and released her debut album, "Lovestrong," which combines her soaring, bittersweet voice with expressive piano playing to sketch out her stories. Perri's first single, "Jar of Hearts," was Top 10 on iTunes Pop chart and landed at No. 25 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Her latest single, "Arms," is also from her debut album, "Lovestrong."
By Tuesday evening's end, one couple will be eliminated, as determined by a combination of the judges' scores and viewers' votes on dances performed on Monday's performance show. Who among the six couples will be the next to leave the ballroom?
· DAVID ARQUETTE, actor and producer, and partner KYM JOHNSON.
· NANCY GRACE, TV host and journalist, and partner TRISTAN MACMANUS.
· ROBERT KARDASHIAN, reality star, and partner CHERYL BURKE.
· RICKI LAKE, talk show host and actress, and partner DEREK HOUGH.
· J.R. MARTINEZ, veteran and actor, and partner KARINA SMIRNOFF.
· HOPE SOLO, World Cup star, and partner MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY.
Hosted by Tom Bergeron ("America's Funniest Home Videos") and Brooke Burke-Charvet ("Dancing with the Stars" Season Seven Champion), the celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which will be judged by renowned Ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.
Viewers may cast their votes for their favorite teams via phone on Monday night during and up to 30 minutes after the "Dancing with the Stars" performance shows. AT&T customers may also text message their votes by texting the word "VOTE" and entering the number that corresponds to the team
they want to support (message and data rates may apply). AT&T will also offer customers exclusive mobile video footage of weekly backstage highlights to keep fans connected to some of their favorite couples all season long. Viewers may also vote online at www.abc.com starting from the opening of each episode on the East Coast with voting closing at 8:00 a.m. PT/11:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday mornings.
"Dancing with the Stars" is the U.S. version of the international smash hit series, "Strictly Come Dancing." This version is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Conrad Green serves as executive producer and Ashley Edens-Shaffer and Joe Sungkur are co-executive producers. Alex Rudzinski directs. "Dancing with the Stars" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound. This program carries a TV-PG,L parental guideline.
About BBC Worldwide Productions:
BBC Worldwide Productions, led by Jane Tranter, is based in Los Angeles and develops and produces scripted and non-scripted projects for U.S. cable and broadcast networks, as well as digital platforms. The production company is responsible for the smash hit Dancing with the Stars (ABC), Top Gear (HISTORY), What Not to Wear (TLC) and Torchwood: Miracle Day (Starz). BBC Worldwide Productions sits within one of six core businesses that form BBC Worldwide, the main commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).