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This article is the third in a series of investigations involving #MagicGate. Please read:
#1 "Magic: The Manic Hypocrisy"
Magic: The Gathering (MTG) is the world's most popular fantasy-themed card game. There are an estimated 20 million players, of all ages, around the planet. MTG is played both with cards and online. Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the publisher of MTG, generates $100s of millions a year. They are owned by HASBRO which is a multi-billion dollar corporation.
The executives of both WotC and HASBRO have been negligent in protecting their community, and particularly children, from men convicted of pedophilia-related crimes as well as other non-sexual related offenses. By failing to set, and ambivalently enforce, common sense protection policies WotC and HASBRO executives have greatly contributed to the climate of complacency which now plagues the MTG community.
During live MTG tournaments, where the winners are awarded thousands of dollars, inevitable disagreements arise. To ensure fair play volunteer members of the MTG judge program preside over various disputes and conundrums which arise during tournament play. In their capacity as arbiters judges have access to, and authority over, all tournament players regardless of the player's age.
Pedophilic criminals can access children during MTG tournaments to satisfy their depraved sexual appetites. Similar stalking techniques are used in parks by pedophiles, but in tournaments, they are able to conceal their purposes out in the open. A variety of instances show pedophiles have joined the judge program as well. WotC does not have policies in place to prevent individuals with criminal histories from playing in tournaments or joining the judge program. Over the years WotC has ignored all demands for a new preventative policy because their current policy is working just fine, or so they say.
In a move which reeked of desperation WotC's Vice President of Global Brand Strategy and Marketing, Elaine Chase, attempted to clarify the company's position. It seemed Chase intended to perform preemptive damage control with her five poorly crafted and clearly rushed nonsensical tweets. The response she received was not one of a pacified public. The stunt, as detailed below, rightfully blew up in her face.
Recently, misinformation circulated on social media regarding Wizards' policies, event staffing, and Magic judges. #WOTCstaff 1/5
— Elaine Chase (@ElaineChase) January 2, 2018
Safety at Magic events is our top priority. We have a zero-tolerance policy for sex offenders. Our standard and long-standing practice is to suspend offenders from the DCI and/or remove stores from the WPN. #WOTCstaff 2/5
— Elaine Chase (@ElaineChase) January 2, 2018
If one were inclined to blow the dust off of aged history books dating to 2015 they'd find WotC's definition of "zero-tolerance" has many meanings. For example, convicted rapist Zachary Jesse's criminal history became public fodder on May 10, 2015 after placing in the top-eight during a high profile tournament. Rather than ban him immediately, WotC took nearly two months to make a decision. On July 1, 2015, 51 days after the fact, Jesse's banning was declared not with a megaphone but, in an effort to save face, a whimper. WotC marched out their corporate stooge Patrick R. Jarrett, the editor-in-chief of DailyMTG.com, to break the news on Reddit. Jarret's post read:
We work hard to make sure all players feel welcomed, included and safe at our events so that they can have fun playing Magic. We don't generally comment on individuals or provide position statements in the abstract, but we take action to address player issues and community concerns when we feel it is necessary.
There are two points to be made. First, note Jarret's tiny statement as opposed to officially detailing the entire scenario. Jarret could have recounted Jesse's rape of a 19-year-old unconscious college student he did not know. It would have required him to methodically review how Jesse bent the woman over her own toilet and viciously penetrated her vaginally and anally. Heroically honest descriptions are against the WotC's best public relations interest. They would not want the public wondering why 51 days passed before a decision was made.
Secondly, Jarrett's statement is contradictory to Chase's statement. WotC's policy cannot be, as Chase claims, "zero-tolerance" and simultaneously enforced "when we feel it is necessary" as stated by Jarrett. Which is it? "Zero-tolerance" means zero-tolerance for any iteration of what is not tolerated. Otherwise, the policy is "some tolerance", or more aptly, "Whenever we feel like it-olerance."
Further, Chase's claim of a "long-standing" policy could not possibly be true as the statements are in conflict with one another. This is particularly evident when one considers Jarret's post came 30 months before the "long-standing" lie Chase disastrously attempted to pass off as fact. Although, perhaps Elaine Chase isn't a liar and she uses the opposite definition of "long-standing" just as she does for the definition of "competent" as it relates to her job performance.
These conclusions generate further questions. What, precisely, is WotC's official stance on sex offenders? Why did Elaine Chase cite this "zero-tolerance" policy so matter-of-factly and not provide any documentation? She could have prevented any confusion by including a link in her tweet-bomb. She didn't, however, which I am sure was a mere oversight on her part. Chase is terribly busy drafting her next Twitter marketing campaign and who could blame her considering the success of her first.
For the policy to be official it must be published in the rules somewhere. That's common sense. Chase obviously has the entirety of every rule related to MTG memorized, so she doesn't need to cite her sources. We're not nearly as brilliant, or as busy, as she so we will have to find it for ourselves to scratch this itch. (tl;dr? scroll past for conclusion)
The place to begin should be the official WotC sanctioned MTG "Rules and Documents" page.
The Magic: The Gathering Basic Rulebook says nothing about sex offenders or really anything about conduct at all. It does recommend to "get a friend" which are wise, but harsh, words.
The Casual Play guide gives tips on preparing vegan food, but nothing about sex offenders.
The Premier-Level Tournament Information guide bans certain clothing, but not sex offenders.
The Magic: The Gathering Judging at Regular REL (updated 10-14) Player are removed from the building if they are aggressive, violent, harassing, or abusive. Cheating, wagering or stealing cards are also bannable. Nothing about sex offenders.
The Magic Infraction Procedure Guide (updated 9-17) is for high-level tournaments. The rules do not change regarding theft, wagering, harassment, etc. There is nothing mentioned about sex offenders, but there are curious aspects. A player must "show remorse" to avoid a penalty, but does not specify how. Apologizing? On their hands and knees? Begging? Flowers? Candy?
The Magic Tournament Rules (updated 11-14) surely this 52-page tomb will contain something about a sex offender ban. Right?….
Rule 1.4 on page 5 says anyone can participate EXCEPT FOR:
People with a banned DCI number, under age 13 without a parent, if one is prohibited by law, tournament organizer "Other individuals specifically prohibited from participation by DCI or Wizards of the Coast policy."
What does that mean? If they are specifically prohibited, list them with specificity! The rule continues, "such determination is at Wizards of the Coast's sole discretion." Sole discretion is not "zero-tolerance" and implies tolerance is possible. Nothing about sex offenders. There is no such list of "specifically prohibited" other than the DCI which was already mentioned.
Rule 1.10 on page 6 outlines player responsibilities. Is being not a sex offender one? No. Players must be respectful, report rule breaking and not to steal or cheat. Nothing about sex offenders.
Rule 1.11 on page 7 describes spectators and does NOT ban anybody. But one must remain "silent and passive." If one is "silent and assertive" they are removed. No mimes allowed.
Rule 5.1 – 5.6 on pages 24-25 prohibits Cheating, bribery, and wagering. Players must "be polite at all times" (hence why this game is not for me) and refrain from swearing. Making one *feel* bullied, harassed, or stalked is banned. Not actually doing those things mind you, but a player feeling such a way is a violation. There is not a single word about banning sex offenders.
Strange. Those were all of the official MTG guides. They've been archived here. None made reference to what Elaine Chase described in her tweet. Where else should we look? How about official WotC rules?!
WotC's official Code of Conduct is not particularly thorough and deals more with perception than anything else. Harassment, violence, cheating, stealing, sexism, racism, homophobia, etc are prohibited. These rules also claim WotC can ban a player for things they do outside WotC's sphere. It's complicated and stupid. I described why previously. While many behaviors are banned, this guide says nothing about a zero tolerance policy for sex offenders.
The Privacy Policy of WotC mentions nothing about sex offenders, but it does tell parents to discuss the Internet with their children. That's top-notch advice.
WotC's official Terms of Service finally answered the question. Section 2 says WotC may terminate services "anytime" for "any reason." Ahh, there it is.
Well, there you go.
There is not a website, document, pamphlet, or a scribbled on cocktail napkin which could be produced to show the official existence of this "policy." Because WotC does have not one. They simply believe you're all too stupid and lazy to notice.
What WotC does have are thousands of words of rules that outline everything from being passive to vegan food and yet there is not enough space to specifically ban sex offenders. Why? Is that because a sex offender's presence loosely violates other rules by making players uncomfortable? Is it because Elaine Chase claims this "long-standing" policy exists and WotC deserves to be trusted? I previously profiled convicted pedophile Ross Prajzner in "Magic: The Pedophile Conspiracy" and proved WotC was asleep at the wheel. All the while Elaine Chase claimed to keep a vigilant watch deflecting any blame which deservedly came her lazy way.
Prajzner is a former tournament judge and avid player of MTG who was arrested for child pornography in 2013. WotC did nothing and he continued to judge and play around children. He pleaded guilty in a courtroom in 2014 and again WotC took no action. He began his sentence in early 2015 and was released by the end of 2015. Prajzner began circulating in the MTG tournament scene again while WotC did not lift a finger.
WotC was warned for months. WotC was warned in June, July, and December of 2017 about Prajzner. In December 2017 he was removed from the judge program's website. Big deal. He remained eligible to play tournaments despite WotC having over four years to take action. Google Cache shows as late as January 4, 2018 he was eligible. Is that a "no tolerance" policy?
Finally my article forced them to take action. Not out of concern for children, but to prevent their own embarrassment. Of which it was too late.
Clearly, the "zero-tolerance policy for sex offenders" claims were made by Elaine Chase with all the sincerity of one who cuts a person's eyelids off only to demand their victim wink.
What about the case of former lvl 3 judge David Park? He's a disgraced high school teacher who was convicted in December 2015 of having sex with two students over the course of several years. He judged his last MTG tournament February 22, he was arrested February 24, and WotC banned him on February 25. That certainly has the appearance of fulfilling Chase's zero tolerance rhetoric, does it not?
Except it was in name only. If one looks into the details they will see WotC's tolerance of convicted pedophiles is, in fact, quite high. David Park was levied a mere 5 year ban. He'd be back looking at teenage girls at MTG tournaments by 2020 and he was counting the minutes.
This ban stood from February 25, 2015 through January 4, 2018. Until I pointed out the glaring discrepancy on Twitter.
As WotC's mouthpiece Elaine Chase chooses to be reactive rather than proactive. She has shown WotC will only be bothered to ban pedophiles from the MTG community, which thereby protects the safety of children, after they are publicly shamed into taking action. Not before.
Minutes after my post went live David Park's ban was increased to lifetime status. Where it should have been the entire time had WotC been doing as fine a job as they claim to do.
To study how not to handle a public relations crisis all should watch Elaine Chase's wild flailing. Chase's inability to extinguish the flames of outrage and succeeding at fanning those flames to a roar makes me gaze in awe at her incompetence. However, Chase's termination from WotC is all but inevitable at this point. Though one should fear not for her as she will do quite well at a new career writing short stories on the backs of crackerjack boxes.
The evidence presented below is not "misinformation" as Chase described shamelessly in her previous, and now disproved tweet. The evidence will speak for itself whether Chase wants it to or not and she will be once again left holding the bag.
Luke Sebastian Flora is an avid MTG player and high-level employee at StarCityGames.com. Flora is also a disgraced former high school Spanish teacher. He taught at Bassett High School in Bassett, Virginia beginning in at least 2005. Flora was 30-years-old when he was arrested on August 24, 2012 for 6 counts of "Taking indecent liberties with child by person in custodial or supervisory relationship." Flora admitted to having an ongoing sexual relationship with his student between May and June of 2012. At the time of his arrest he faced 30 years in prison.
According to the various local news reports Flora did not have sex with his student on school property. The student was 17-years-old at the time. This causes some to insist the student was not a victim, but a willing participant which is nonsense. Flora abused his position of authority. While there are varying levels of culpability regarding sexual abuse Flora betrayed all who trusted him. He married his wife in 2004 and his first child was only several months old at the time of his sex crimes. Flora was officially fired by Henry County Public Schools October 4, 2012.
Flora's six charges were combined to a single count on February 22, 2013 to which he pleaded guilty. After pleading guilty to having sex with his student and losing his job he was hired by StarCityGames.com, which is known as "The World's Largest Magic Store", on April 10, 2013. The timeline is curious as another infamous MTG player, lvl 3 judge Sam Straus, was arrested April 22, 2013 for soliciting sex from a 13-year-old girl online. Both were employees of StarCityGames.com at the same time.
It is clear that Flora's conviction of having sex with a student was of no concern to StarCityGames.com. He was placed in charge of the store before had had even been sentenced.
Two months later Flora was sentenced for his sex crimes. Stunningly, the judge suspended Flora's 5-year sentence and gave him 18 months on probation while requiring he register as a sex offender for life. The judge also ordered Flora to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation to determine his status as a sex offender. However, the evaluation was a formality as the state of Virginia requires any person convicted of Flora's crime to automatically be designated as violent.
No information is available publicly regarding Flora's victim as she was a minor at the time and cases involving minors are sealed from the public. However, I did speak with a source who wished to remain confidential that told me, "It wasn't as bad as it sounded. Luke made a mistake."
Under more limited circumstances one may find that argument persuasive, but Flora engaged in this sexual relationship over a month and had sex with his student at least six times. That would, therefore, mean he made six mistakes. Over and over and over and over and over and over again. This person also told me Flora almost lost his marriage. but that he and his wife were still married, and that he had learned his lesson. This is a point of which I beg to differ heavily.
Flora showed himself to be a person in a position of authority who, when given the right opportunity, would abuse his authority when he thought he could get away with it. He is not to be trusted around teenage women. Unless of course, one believes Flora drew his line in the sand at 17. No lower than that! Is the age of his victim why more individuals are willing to give him pass? What is the cut-off line exactly? 16? 15? 14? And therein lay the problem. All of the answers are wrong. However, years passed while Flora moved undetected in the gaming community.
Eventually, Flora was promoted. On June 27, 2017 he was named StarCityGames.com's Customer Relations Coordinator.
Soon the convicted sex criminal began traveling around the country attending numerous gaming events. He often worked with WotC employees, which Chase apparently thinks is ok if sex criminal employees or partners are around children at MTG tournaments.
Which entirely dismantles Chase's statement about WotC having a "zero-tolerance" policy towards convicted sex criminals. Those rules are only for people who do not make WotC money, silly! Here's Flora creating the official MTG tournament posts on Reddit for StarCityGames.com:
Not to mention Flora has been playing MTG the entire time as well, which is in direct violation of Elaine Chase's statement of WotC's zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual criminals.
Want some proof? He literally won an MTG tournament less than two weeks ago.
Flora remains in his position of authority at StarCityGames.com as apparently, the organization doesn't care a sexual predator is amongst them. WotC doesn't care because Flora helps to make them money by working with vendors to help peddle WotC's goods at various conventions.
WotC had made idiotically calculated decisions to ignore the realities of evil which exist in the world in pursuit of profits and dividends for HASBRO's shareholders. It is time to say no more to the hypocrisy and greed which endangers children. One is duty bound to rebuke WotC's cynical policies which have been tolerated for far too long.
When will Luke Flora's DCI number be banned?


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As promised, yard cleanup before and after pictures
Our anniversary present to ourselves: saving our backs. We did that by hiring a landscape crew to do our yard cleanup for us. Some of the best money we've spent! Here's the proof…
Side by side comparisons of before/after the cleanup… sadly, it isn't quite as dramatic in the pictures as it is in person:
Now all we need to do is maintain it… shouldn't be too hard, right? RIGHT?

subset: commoncrawl


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Dear John: You have suggested that the government allow people to access their own 401(k) funds without the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty. Is anyone in Washington listening to you on this? J.K.
Dear J.K.: First, let's correct what I've been proposing.
I've suggested that the government change the rules on withdrawing all retirement funds as a way to stimulate the economy without increasing the federal budget deficit. Specifically, I think people should be allowed to withdraw money from retirement accounts like 401ks and IRAs in order to purchase real estate.
There would be restrictions, like how much of your retirement dough could be used for this purpose.
Yes, I think these withdrawals should be exempt from the tax penalties when you take money out early. I also think people should be charged reduced, or even no, ordinary tax on these withdrawals.
After all, we are trying to get them to participate in this plan.
This'll boost the housing market without costing taxpayers billions — like the $8,000 first time homebuyers credit is doing. In fact, my idea will cost nothing except lost revenues in the future.
And my plan will distribute the benefits over a wider part of the population.
Is this idea getting any attention in Washington?
Funny you should ask that, because over the past two weeks I've been engaging in an e-mail exchange with someone who is working on economic policy in Washington. But we are doing so through an intermediary on Wall Street, so I don't know who exactly is on the receiving end of my idea.
The Obama Administration said recently it was looking for cost-free ways to stimulate economic growth. Well, that's good, because if they spend much more, the financial system of the US may never recover.
What I'm suggesting is the only way I can think of that would accomplish the cost-free alternative that President Obama is seeking.
But I've been warned that there are lots of egos involved in Washington, and not to expect too much. So I'm not, until they are absolutely desperate. That time should come in a few months.
Send your questions to Dear John, The N.Y. Post, 1211 Ave. of the Americas, N.Y., N.Y., 10036, or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Monday, April 11, 2011
OLIVIA - FACES OF AUTISM | Goodhart Photography, Northern Virginia and Loudoun County Family and Portrait Photographer
This is Olivia. She's beautiful.
She's also intelligent, emotional, and kind. She loves nature, animals, and singing. Listen to her sing the Star Spangled Banner below.
Olivia is also autistic.
She has many gifts, but her autism does make some things much more difficult for her, such as friendship. The negotiating, the give-and-take, the body language, the way inflections change the meaning of words -- much of this is beyond Olivia's abilities right now.
Her intelligence serves her well, however. One day at school a group of girls were playing, and Olivia wanted to join in. So she went to the nicest girl in the group and asked if she could play with them, and the girl said yes. Later that evening, Olivia drew a picture in her diary of a group of girls, and she wrote, "I'm part of the group". As her mother questioned her, she realized how extraordinary this was, all of the complex steps Olivia had taken to achieve her objective:
1. She realized she wasn't part of the group
2. She wanted to be part of the group
3. There was an impediment, one or more of the girls were likely to say "No" to Olivia if she asked to play
4. She choose the nicest girl to ask, thereby increasing the likelihood of success.
Other challenges Olivia faces include remaining calm when her expectations don't meet reality. She can cry easily at school when, for example, a substitute teacher makes a new request or changes a routine that the regular classroom teacher has established.
And she also has anxiety, not just about routines being changed, but sometimes about ideas or images that she can't help perseverating on.
She knows some people in school think she is "weird", but she also knows she isn't "weird", she just has autism. Listen below to hear her message about autism:
To learn more about autism, visit The American Autism Society
6 comments:
- AnonymousApril 11, 2011 at 2:01 PM
Olivia is one of my favorite people and you have got her just right in these photos and words. Thank you for this.ReplyDelete
- Diane HarveyApril 11, 2011 at 3:50 PM
You captured her wonderfully Angela! Such a beautiful, precious girl!ReplyDelete
- Lisa ScottApril 11, 2011 at 6:19 PM
Angela,these pictues are beautiful. And your description and insight into her world is priceless. Thanks for sharing her story with all of us. And what a beautiful voice!ReplyDelete
This is a wonderful project and your pictures are great!
What a beauty she is. Loved her voice. Again wonderful work.ReplyDelete
Beautiful pictures, beautiful story, and a beautiful girl. I feel enriched for having viewed this. :)ReplyDelete
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How should I go about introducing a new cat to old pets?
This could be very easy, and it could be a long, frustrating process. It depends largely on what kind of other pets you've got, how old they are, and how old the new cat is.
Generally, you should acclimate your old pet to the smell of the new animal before they are formally introduced. Keep the new animal in a separate room for a day or so, and give it a towel or something in its bed to sleep on. You can let the old pet smell the sleeping area and the room alone to get somewhat used to the concept of a new animal. After a day or two of this, you can show the new cat to the old pet in person. Make sure both have someplace to run away to - if one of them gets aggressive, you want an escape option so there's no fighting.
If you're getting a new kitten:
If you're getting a kitten, you'll probably have an easier time of it. Most dogs will be fine with a new kitten and won't mess with it except maybe to play around - but you should supervise any interaction they have for at least a few weeks. The reason is that some dogs have hunting instincts to attack and chase smaller animals, and the kitten will be too young to jump away from the dog and too weak to withstand rough play. When you're not around, the kitten should be locked away from the dog in another room.
If it's a new kitten and an old cat, you don't have as much to worry about. Older cats will be more territorial and less likely to make friends with a new kitten - but they also aren't as likely to hurt it. If they're declawed, there's little risk of injury to the kitten. It will get swatted, learn to be wary, and the old cat will go off and sulk. If the old cat seems more aggressive or won't leave the kitten alone, then separate them and only allow them around each other when you're there to supervise. Kittens grow pretty fast so it should be big enough to fend for itself or hide pretty soon - and generally cats will learn to at least tolerate each other.
One other thing to remember is that when the old cat or dog is in the room with the kitten, focus your love and attention on them. They'll act just like children - jealous of the newcomer and angry you're not paying attention to them. So show them the kitten isn't a threat to your affection.
If you're getting an older cat as the new pet:
If this is your situation, then it's going to mainly be about avoiding fights for the first week or so. Older cats will not have as much of a problem with dogs. They'll probably be afraid, they might swat them, but they aren't usually going to seek out a fight. As with above, it's the dog's instincts you've got to watch for. If you're introducing two older cats to each other, then there will likely be hissing and yowling. The cat you already have in your home will want to defend its territory. Try to solve this by giving them each separate parts of the house to live in for awhile - the spats are going to be about who gets what space, so each cat should have separate litter, food, and bedding in a different room where they can hole up and ignore each other. They will gradually get to know each other and it won't be as much of a problem. Just control the interaction at first, make sure it's limited and gradually get to the point where they can both wander around the house at will.
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BIG Income Cut ApproachingMay 17th, 2008 at 01:47 pm
My son graduates from high school in 3 weeks. According to the terms of my divorce decree, that is the point at which my child support will decrease. That means this is the last month I will get the amount of child support I have been used to receiving for 9 years ... $1,319. Beginning next month, I will be receiving $795, or a decrease of around 40%. Since I have only just begun to get a grip on my financial situation this year, I have not planned for this event. I'm starting to feel some fear!
I did get my car air conditioning problem repaired, although it might just be a temporary fix. I went with the mechanic who gave me the third opinion on the problem, because he actually took the time to LOOK for the real problem, his estimate was reasonable, and he actually seemed to be leveling with me honestly. The first mechanic told me to take the car to a dealership because he thought there was a problem with the car's computer and he did not have the proper equipment to diagnose/repair it. (I heard "computer" and equated that to $$$.) The second mechanic told me I needed a new evaporator core, which would necessitate removing the entire dash of the car, which would mean a charge of over $900 in labor alone! I decided to get a third opinion because the first two were different, and I couldn't see spending my entire baby EF only to find the evaporator core or computer was not the problem to begin with! The third mechanic, after spending a LOT of time looking, found a wire that wasn't connecting to the compressor, or to something else connected to the compressor. He also added freon because it was low. Why do I say this might be a temporary fix? Because I might have a leak somewhere in the system, since the freon level was low ... it might be a slooooow leak, or I might find myself back in the shop in a couple of weeks with no A/C again. So far, so good (it's been just over a week), so I am hopeful that IF I do have a leak, it will be one of those slooooow ones.
It just seems like it's always something, you know? At least I had my stimulus money this time, so I was able to use that for my repair bill and I didn't have to dip in to my baby EF!


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Animal Videos: Bingo Hein the Service Dog's "Lick It List"
A few weeks ago, we told you about Bingo the service dog and his human, Cole. Now we have video of these two best friends that will warm your heart even more. I love seeing humans be just as awesome and caring as animals can be!
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While a small piece of good advice can take you a long way to build a strong social media community, one bad advice is enough to destroy all your social media efforts. So for once ignorance isn't bliss.
When you're looking for social media do's and don'ts to create a social media strategy you will come across quite a few ideologies that contradict with one another. For example, 'social media automation is sin' against 'automate your social media updates'. Some of them are outrightly wrong, while some are partially incorrect; you have to be careful while sorting the wrong ones.
1.You Should be Active on Every Single Social Media Platform
"You gotta be active on social media!" This is a highly recommended piece of advice from the so-called marketing experts. But the question is, do you really have that much time and resources to spare only after social media sites? Practically you must have hundred other things to do for your business apart from actively participating on each and every social media site.
Yes, you can choose to open an account on all the popular social media sites, there's no harm in being present. But it's always better to be master of a few than being a jack of all. Also, remember it's not just because it is difficult to maintain an active presence on all sites, but it's not worth to spread yourself thin on all sites as its not going to work for your brand too. For example, if you are a local florist or into wedding photography business, you won't get the desired response from LinkedIn as it's rather a serious community, whereas you may get overwhelming response from Facebook or Pinterest. Likewise, if you are in a legal business like holding law firms or a financial advisory company, little you can make out of Pinterest.
2. Automate Your Social Media Updates
Social media demands a lot of time & patience. Unless you have a dedicated social media team to handle your updates on your behalf, you can't be doing it all day. Though there are many social media management tools which allows you to schedule and post updates on social media sites automatically, but there's also the need for engaging with your audience further. You have a solution, but that doesn't mean you will be completely dependent on it. Nobody will be interested to participate in a one way robotic communication.
Social media is more about building relationships through interactions and engagement. People prefer to tell their own stories than to listen to your brand messages all the time; they prefer dialogues over monologues. To create engagement you have to interact, which doesn't happens in an automated process and there comes the problem.
Again, it doesn't mean that you can't automate anything. You can do it for sure, like you can schedule the updates, posting links to your latest articles or even links to your old content, but you have to support them with real interactions and conversations. "To utilize social media tools effectively and properly, you must absolutely generate spontaneous communications in direct response to what others are saying or to what is happening in that moment. Be yourself. Be conversational. Be engaged."
3. Posting the Same update Everywhere
This is one of those worst pieces of advice you frequently get. Each social media site has a different culture and a unique set of audience, and not all types of content performs well everywhere. Not only that the conversation tone and publishing guidelines are also different from one site to the other. So the updates need to be in compliance with the same. For example, Facebook gets better response on image based updates where as Twitter shows better engagement on text based updates.
Also, if the same update gets published at the same time on different social media platforms, it won't be just monotonous for your readers across all these platforms, but it will also give the whole process a mechanical feel, and nobody likes to be friendly with a robot.
4. Post as Many Times as You Can
Many a times you will come across the so called social media 'Gurus' advice to post as many updates as possible on your social media pages. But they often tend to confuse higher engagement with greater number of updates. At times, one single update stirs the whole audience and generates huge response which even tens of them can't do, so it's just not about numbers; it's about the content you share and it's impact.
Simultaneously it is a fact that posting in numbers also works for many to maintain a certain level of engagement throughout the day. It all depends on your audience; but make sure you are not killing it by flooding their timelines.
Also this posting in numbers seems to be a misinterpretation with the insights provided by social media management apps like Buffer and HootSuite, which says that there is a best time to post your updates rather than doing it whenever you can. Though you can trust these useful apps to auto schedule your updates at the best times according to them, you can also test it on your own to see the response from your audience.
5. Don't Show and Respond to the Negative Comments
If you ever take this advice seriously, you will be damaging your own reputation sooner than later. As a business owner it's nearly impossible to satisfy each and every customer, something or the other can go wrong, and that is very natural; you can't control it all the time.
Social media is a democratic medium of conversation and every social media user is free to share his/her own opinion. If some how any shipment gets delayed or reimbursement takes more time than usual, it's very much possible for your customers to take up your social media pages to complain or show their disappointment, this too is obvious. But, if you try to cover up the mistake or try to ignore them just by deleting their comments or leave it unanswered, you are definitely committing a big mistake. 'To err is human' and your customers can very well understand that. Instead of ignoring this kind of complaints if you simply apologize and assure them or clarify the misunderstandings you can easily convert service complains into customer care appreciation. But yes, there are certain abusive and similar spammy messages which you definitely should moderate to maintain the general code of conduct and the sanity of your page.
The path to social media mastery isn't elusive, but it's time to face the facts. Be honest and be human while engaging across these social media platforms. Test what works for you then blindly following what others are doing.
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Speaking to GameInformer , Yosuke Hayashi, the director of Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden Sigma, claims that he was able to make his batch of PlayStation 3 devkits "smoke."
He explains:
"We've made a couple of devkits smoke, but we haven't had any actually blow up yet.[laughs] As far as using the hardware to its fullest... initially we didn't think that we were going to be able to do as much as we have been able to, which is something good about the PS3, because we weren't necessarily limited to what it says on paper.
As an example,we had originally planned to only include self-shadowing during the cutscenes, but once we actually started coding, we found that we were able to have cutscenes in real time, fully implemented throughout the entire game and while you're in the middle of the action."
He also had a lot to say to people who were complaining about the Sony PS3 being too hard to develop for:
"I think all those developers who are saying, "We don't want to do a PS3 game," or "It's really difficult to do it," should shut up and make their games. If you have time to complain about it, then you should be spending your time working on getting the most from the hardware."
I like how he thinks. He takes his game, and actually uses his resources to truly make a great re-vamped next-gen game. He lets the game speak for itself. I believe he once said that releasing a game with such a small user base would be risky only if you didn't have confidence in your game. I think all of their hard work will pay off in the end because PS3 gamers won't see it as a port, but as a dedicated remake for those who may not have enjoyed it before, but now we get 60fps, self-shadowin.
360 fans should be glad to have them workin on NG2, they will make it shine.
Are reasons why NG2 is definetly going Multi-Platform. It just makes sense. They see how much raw power they can get out of the PS3 without nearing any limitations. They are going to want NG2 to outshine Sigma. They will have to do it on the PS3.
is gonna turn out..........
If Ninja Gaiden turns out to be everything that was said and shows everything that was said the PS3 can do. All the negative news of the systems limitations would be erased. This will apply to half-assed ports be Ubisoft or EA and they will be called on it.
Now, I'm not flaming here, but NG for Xbox STILL looks hot, and better than some games on PS3,Wii,360.
I can't wait to get my grubby hands on this little gem!
Some devs are proving that the PS3 is worth to develop for. And I think we will see more great things from many devs if this keeps going on. Oh and NG2 is coming to the PS3, mark my words.....
it will put more pressure on devs to put out more quality
Once the NDA's start to lift you will see alot more of this, there's alot of happy studios out there at the moment, the new EDGE technollogy that Sony has put together is only going to push this further...
Ninja looks good, I watched the HD video of it but im surprised they made the hardware smoke. I mean, the game visually isn't mind blowing is it.
Depends which way you meen mindblowing, if you take in the art direction, FPS, Resolution and action on screen at any given time then it's mindblowing.
If your taking into consideration that the characters don't look like real people well that's just the art direction...
it didn't literally smoke............
just make it work like it never has before
I consider graphics like that shown in the KillZone 2 trailer mind blowing. It's a system seller.
Ninja Gaiden is not. Not even on those visuals shown in that video. They were good, no dout about it - but only a fool would call it mindblowing especially when the PS3 is allegedy capable of doing.
If NG made the hardware smoke, then playing KillZone 2 would be fatal for the player.
lol dude that's in devving. To make Ninja Gaiden they blew up three xboxs...that's what they are reffering to. It's not a crazy metaphor as the title suggests.
I do think Ninja Gaiden looks very impressive...especially with real-time self-shadowing, 60fps, 1080p...not been done so far. I'm impressed :(
Players won't be playing this game on devkits in their living rooms.
Please read the article.
When I clicked on the link for comments I knew, I KNEW someone was going to infer that the PS3 has a technical issue too.
DOA4 is one of the (if not) most solid game on 360. Not many games on 360 do 60fps especially with no pagetear. And I think NGS looks better. I can't wait to see this one in 1080p/60fps !!!
True and in a way i agree...
This is still the game that GamePro has just said that "people's jaws will hit the floor" so let's wait and see, the last video i've seen was of really poor quality footage...
wanna see FF13 and Killzone 2
when does Sigma come out?
Well if they blew up hardware before to make Ninja Gaiden, and now making this new hardware smoke - even though the visuals, in my opinion look no better than "very good", then there is something wrong with their programming because I honestly do not see anything that is really testing the PS3.
Lol could this game bring "green light of death" to PS3's ;)
lol well then there we go...it isn't testing the ps3. Believe what you like. Of course the ps3 has much further to go...but trust me when you see this game in person it'll be the best looking action game on the market. (for how long is another matter) they are pulling out stuff they never thought they'd be able to do...like self-shadowing...and 1080p. So really I'd wait until you see it in person on the shop floor :)
ps. To test a piec of hardware you don't have to blow it up...if anything that's a sign of poor workman ship. lol I don't think they built in any three red lights...as they knew it would be reliable... (kidding)
"I think all those developers who are saying, "We don't want to do a PS3 game," or "It's really difficult to do it," should shut up and make their games. If you have time to complain about it, then you should be spending your time working on getting the most from the hardware."
I wish these guys made a ton more games for PS3.
I believe he is referring to John Carmack on rather spending time on interviewing and expressing opinion on TV on how PS3 is hard to develope, use that time to figure how ot use assymetrical core properly.
Damn...I like these guys now.;) They have that SFTU and program attitude!
They loved the orginal xbox now it seems the love the ps3
you keep talking about NG sigma doing things that has never been done before an 1080p at 60 fps. well for one thing NG was an xbox1 game to start with made to run at 480p, but with the power or the xbox1 they were able to run it at 720p with no problems.they reused alot of the character models an everything just added more detail an better lighting with the PS3. so with the power of the Ps3 they should have been able to get an xbox 1 game to run at 1080p at 60 fps(but it was made to run in 480p)just think about this!! all the games that was built from the GROUND UP for the PS3 to run at 1080p what happen!! they didnt make it!!(RFOM, motorstorm) both heavy action games with alot going on an the system couldn't run those games at that resolution.they tried because they both said they were AIMING for 1080p but the final product was 720p.now theres VT that runs in 1080p but all thats there is 2 characters an a ball, nothing like RFOM or motorstorm.an you act as if 1080p gives you better graphics or something. 1080p is a resolution it gives you CLARITY an SHARPNESS, hell you can make MS. PACMAN run at 1080p at 60 fps, does that give that game better graphics or clearer picture.
now about this game dropping jaws!! this game dropped jaws back when it was released a couple of years ago an not many people got to play the game, so with the remake an the attention to detail being done on the PS3 its dropping jaws again but not to the point to weres its the best looking action game on the market.have you not see stranglehold.but put YOUR fanboyism aside, you dont think that these companies should be able to make ALL built for last gen games run at the max. if sony remade GOW2 for the PS3 dont you think it should run at 1080p an 60fps.
if you notice I didnt not once mention the xbox 360, or the 360 having better graphics or NG2 so dont come at me with this fanboy crap besause I dont wanna see it!
lol dude I don't see your point.
Lair will be 1080p, Wardevil will be 1080p, Burnout will be 1080p...all built from the groung up.
And Ninja Gaiden Sigmas was built from the ground up from what I understand. I don't see why you are picking fights. Real-time self-shadwoing at 1080p, 60fps is a great feat for a game. I don't see the problem in recognising it...whether it was on an xbox before doesnt have any grounds on whether it'll run on the ps3? I don't see the logic there. The ps3 game was built up from scratch to run on the ps3 and so pointing out Launch games that had to be out quickly that dont reach 1080p slightly loses me.
I think it's impressive, and I think the original is impressive. I fail to see that people won't give props to a developer when they make an mazing product, and only because they don't like the system it's been developed on.
I'll only give props to a game and the developer and I think it's great what they've created. And I think it will be the best looking action game on the market. I really do and I would think the same if it came to the 360. That is until other action games come out...like HS. So what's your point dude?
Why can't you just give props to the devs who know how to properly program and utilize a system? 1080p, at 60fps, and self-shadowing is an impressive feat, just say it. If you have a 1080p TV, you will get more clarity and it will look amazing. And stop saying, 'oh we already enjoyed this game', it's obvious that they didn't release it for you. They knew they had an audience to capture who hadn't played this yet and they took the time, and not half-assed it, to make it a worthwhile purchase.
Give props. Say it with me, 'Good job Team Ninja'
This dude si DAMN right. I do like this guy, i like teh way he thinks. I hope he keeps making games on the ps3. If NGS looks really good, then i can't wait till Killzone 2 and MGS4 come out, they will be the daddy, and don't forget about the mom "HEAVENLY SWORDS".
The ps3 "ROKS THE HIPS"
You must be the biggest fanboy i've ever heard. If you read the article you wouldn't say all that crap that you just said. And if you trynna say that XBOX 1 was better or is better than the ps3, you are the biggest fanboy i've ever known, even the ps2 kicked XBOX 1 @ss, and ps2 kicked its @ss so bad that even MS forgot about XBOX 1. So do me a favor, go back and read the [email protected]#4 article again.
first off ALIEN I see you CANT READ!! you must illiterate, because where in my post did I mention the xbox 1 being better than the PS3 or even close to the PS3. so you my friend need to shut up. an besides I directed my post at DEEPBROWN. at least I know I can get an intelligent debate with him but you sir NO!!
ok deepbrown back to you!! you said those game WILL be in 1080p!! no they want them to be in 1080p.until that game is released running at 1080p its still up in the air, because if you can remember motorstorm an RFOM were both supposed to run at 1080p,but when it almost got to launch they announced 720p.
also I'm not trying to discredit anyone for the great job there doing! all I said was the game dropped jaws then an it will drop jaws now with it being remade for next gen. but I also said that the game wasnt built from the ground up because it is an old xbox 1 game!! but they did dress it up beautifully. for some reason you keep thinking im downing the game im not,but I have played the old one an seeing this one reminds me of the first just prettier, but you on the other hand who have never played the first one just dont see where im coming from!!
lol seriously we're fighting over nothing. I know where you're coming from. I know it was the best action game last gen and I'm sure it's reign will hold for a while this gen.
Oh and about lair...it's designed to be in 1080p...it's also releasing in June/July and is still said to be 1080p. WarDevil is designed to run in 1080p...that was it's thing back in 2005...the engine is actually called RTE1080 :) Burnout...well we'll see on that one aye.
I think the devs have pulled out a few good things on the ps3 with Ninja Gaiden Sigma...and if it was on the 360 I would be just as impressed and I know you would be too.
if that's what it reminds you of when you watch a small little video on the net then that's fine...but there have been mechanics and action changes...go read it. He said it's an insult to call it a port or a remake and I think we should take his word for it...because I believe there are lots of surprises coming for it. Let's give the game some hype because it deserves it and it deserves a bigger fanbase than last-gen :)
g below. I would never take your bubbles dude. I was quite enjoying our debate over a GAME...not over a system. So don't pull the fanboy stuff on me. You better not have voted against me just cause you thought it was me :( that'd be sh*t and I would vote you outta here son!
Now that I've seen how great their work ethic is. I'd love to see them bring over more franchises to the Playstation platform, especially after seeing what they've achieved with Ninja Gaiden Sigma.
deserve for me to loose another bubble!! had 6 now back down to five!! see the way I see it, as big as fanboys you(deepbrown, DJ)are to the PS3 im a fanboy on the 360 an I'll admit that, an we all can argue(debate) over something without all the name calling an insults. an hopefully not voting me to loose bubbles because I never vote for you guys to loose bubbles even though we disagree on almost everything. but if you guys do it to me then it really is a shame!!
just to let you know, I think when you complain about losing bubbles in a post, it makes more people vote for you to lose more bubbles. just an FYI
Is definetly going to bring out NG:2 on the PS3. This is similar to Lost Planet and DMC4 for the Xbox360. Sigma is going to do better than Lost Planet and is going to bring home Ninja Gaiden 2 on the PS3. Lovely.
you're totaly right! If SIGMA sell well on the ps3, NG2 will be on the ps3 as well. I liked the first NG on the XBOX 1, it was really cool.
I think all those developers who are saying, "We don't want to do a PS3 game," or "It's really difficult to do it," should shut up and make their games
would like to see some new ips from this guy {its nothing new}
If ninja gaiden sigma is exclusive to ps3 why wouldnt NGS2 be exclusive to 360? Hmm thats because it will be exclusive to 360. Plus itagaki is making NG2 while some younger newer developer is making sigma and believe me he is nowhere near as talented as itagaki. NG2 will stay exclusive to 360 and will completely outshine sigma. Mark my words.
"If ninja gaiden sigma is exclusive to ps3 why wouldnt NGS2 be exclusive to 360?"
that's one of the dumbest things i've ever heard. If hows about this question for you Jake2baller..
If ninga gaiden sigma is exclusive to ps3 why wouldn't NG2 (not SIGMA 2) be multiplatform?
think it about it that way, sounds like you're just another confused fanboy and once NG2 becomes multiplatform you'll be sure to eat your words.
This guy was hand picked by Itagaki himself. Itagaki said in a interview that he taught this guy everything he knows and is confident that he will do a good job with Sigma. So far his trust in his "pupil" seems to be paying dividends already.
Ha! Well, next time PS3 fanboy's try saying the 360 's reached it's limit, I'll remind them that Ninja Gaiden Sigma made the devkits smoke!
Anyway, to be honest, it looks good, but not as impressive as alot of other games I've seen. It really does look like an updated game of the original XBox game, although I know everything has been totally rebuilt. Either way, it will look much better viewing the game on a proper 1080p HD TV: But still, even with 60 FPS, I've seen PS3 games with more fluid animation (HS).
And just because the game can do 1080p self shadowing at 60 FPS, doesn't increase the possibility of NG2 coming to the PS3: NG2 has always had a chance of coming to the PS3 since they decided to do NG Sigma. NG Sigma selling well will increase the chances of NG2 being ported to the PS3 not how many FPS it can do.
apparently, Itagaki made more than one 360 *EXPLODE*, so i don't see what your boasting about.
the point of the anecdote is that they were both pushing the units so hard that they practically fell apart. well, the 360 did, but apparently, the PS3 just smoked. big difference here.
in either case, it's not relevant or useful fuel for any type of fanboy flame wars.
doesn't matter if a devkit smokes or explodes, considering how frequently they're being worked by the devs, what matters is that the retail machines are in fine working order.
and we all know that 360's out in the wild aren't prone to crashing, freezing, overheating or breaking down for no apparent reason. oh, wait...
I am aware that the original Ninja Gaiden made XBox dev kits explode. I'm just saying, some PS fanboy's like to claim the XBox 360 has reached it "full pontential" which ofcours is not true, so I'll just remeind them that Sigm made PS3 devkit's smoke.
Anyway, doesn't matter, it was just a joke.
no one knows what games will be exclusive unless it shows up on that system only and never shows up on the other systems.as for yosuke hayashi,jada,the man worked under itagaki.still works under his leadership.you don't know what he's capable of.he could have been the main reason some of the games you played on xbox were as technical as they were.same with 360.
ninja gaiden was xbox only.doesn't look like that anymore.unless you work for team ninja and know better,stfu.and i'm not directing this towards you jada,but fanboys in general.microsoft would have to buy ng2 as an exclusive.but the reason they(team ninja)are making ng sigma is to get used to making games for ps3.and to make money.why waste time making games for ps3 unless you plan on making more games for it.use your brains.
i do agree on some comments above about it's graphics.team ninja games on xbox were great looking.ninja gaiden looked great.seeing this one would seem not so great if you played the other game.i felt the same way about DOA4.it didn't look all that different than DOA ultimate.but you can see the difference in animation and detail.it will be the same with this game.it will be in the details as deepbrown was trying to say.
1080p(which fanboys said you couldn't do on ps3)
60fps(fanboys said this was not possible either on ps3)
self shadowing.(showing fanboys that ps3 is capable of doing much more if you work at it.got to love that cell chip)
as for smoking the dev kits.i wonder how those xbox 360 devkits were fairing when team ninja was making DOA4 and extreme?same with ng2.i would bet many a dev had red ring systems replaced by microsoft.if the first batch of systems were busted.don't you think the dev kits were too?think about it.
The graphics of NG on xbox1 was amazing, and even the majority of 360 games don't have as good graphics as the original NG xbox1.
Now, IMHO, and I'm repeating this from another thread and you already read and comment on it, from what I can tell from the videos, NG Sigma have as good graphics as Gears of War (and I finished that game BTW).
And both NGS and GOW graphics are clearly WAY better than the original xbox. You seem to forget that there were CGI cutscenes in NG xbox, while in NGS, all the cutscenes are ingame. NGS is not a simple port. Apart from the MAJOR graphical enhancements, there are animation enhancements, more weapons, Rachel playable, fight against Doku in the ninja village, more weapons, more monsters (as Hurricane Pack and NG Black did from NG), all bonuses that every NG fan would like to get their hands on, and make the game a complete different experience from previous NG.
to be released. NG on Xbox was the truth. I just wish SNE would hire Yosuke Hayashi to personally consult with all developers for the PS3 on how to do their jobs (except for the guys at Bethesda of course.lol).
with someone thinking like him, i can't help but to buy this game.
i agree.any dev willing to stick his neck out with those comments and is pushing his programming abilities and his team,deserves $65 bucks from my pocket.i love when someone is willing to push him/her self to become better and not complain.complain after the work is done and it hurts physically.
but i will say my system had better not fry playing his game.lol.
I don't know why any 360 fan would hate on this game.....its always been one of the best looking games on any platform, so I'm sure it will look amazing on a next gen platform for the PS3, what else would you expect? It looked amazing on xbox (BTW it plays great too) so of course it should look better on the PS3, if it was on the 360 I'm sure the same would apply. I think its great that PS3 fans will be able to enjoy a NG game, the game [email protected], but at the same time just remember what ever you call it its basicly a remake of a xbox 1 game that many 360 fans have already played, sure its got added content and better graphic's but I would expected nothing less of Team Ninja when, I'm sure they want to WOW PS fans, and you don't do that by just porting a old game with "minor touch-ups", especially when its a whole generation leap in hardware, and of course dev's speak highly of anything they are working on (hype the game) -Why wouldn't they?, I mean honestly dev's have made alot of claims prior to releasing their games, and I'm not saying they "failed" or the game wasn't good, I'm just saying that alot of times the "amazing picture" they paint don't actually end up "AS" great as they claimed.
Yeah, I like his attitude but saying other dev's should just shut up and spend time working on the game is just more of a figure of speech than what the REALITY may be, because dev's obviously will always do "interviews" while working on their games (just like he's doing) and in those interviews they are "suppose" to express their *honest ideas and beliefs/opinions (just like he's doing). -Why else do an interview, or should they all just "worship" the console their working on? So if they share their problems with the hardware, then who's to say its wrong? -Also just by expressing this opinion during and interview does NOT imply you aren't working hard trying to make the best possible game for the PS3.
As far as the entirely new game NG2 is concerned I'm sure it will be a monster, Itagaki said so himself and he also said in an interview that 360 remains is his main focus, and he's working on something very special for "it", of course that could mean alot of things and we can all speculate but saying you know NG2 will be on the PS3 is just wishful thinking, I "think" based on his words its likely it will be 360 exclusive but I could be wrong also....hell we have seen MGS games which had previously been released only on PS2 come over to the xbox but that apparently the "new" MGS4 is only for the PS3. So you just have to wait for the M$, Sony, the dev's or the companies themselve's to confirm a games status.
I do remember hearing that the 360 would be the main development platform for Team Ninja.
In fact, Itagaki (the self proclaimed core of Team Ninja) says so right here.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsS... First page, bottom paragraph for those of you who don't want to read a half year old interview.
It may be an older interview but I would imagine the statement still stands.
PS3 may or may not get NG2, but regardless, I'm playing this game the day it comes out. I plan on playing Sigma first though because I lent someone my copy of NG for Xbox before I beat it and never saw it again. :(
a lot of what you said, but there's nothing wrong with speculating about Ninja Gaiden 2 coming to the PS3.
i mean, really, why create the first one on the PS3, if you're just going to make the sequel exclusive to another console?
in all of their interviews, Itagaki and Hayashi have expressed, quite adamantly, that they want Ninja Gaiden to have the biggest install base possible.
what would be the point of getting PS3 fans hooked on Ninja Gaiden (via Sigma, for those that never got to play the X Box version), and leaving them high and dry?
they won't.
if the PS3 doesn't get Ninja Gaiden 2, you better well believe that it's going to get *something* Ninja Gaiden, even if it's a sidestory adventure.
my money is on NG2 coming to the PS3, however. whether it's day and date should be speculation, but whether it's coming or not, shouldn't be. it probably is. we just don't know when.
i'd much rather see great 3rd party games go to as many platforms at will do that game justice, so we can see more, then just hog it up, due to, whatever you want to call it. fanboyism, loyalty, etc.
i don't want what happened to Clover Studios to happen to any more creative developers.
back to NG2, even in this interview, Itagaki says that he views Sigma as the start of the Ninja Gaiden franchise on next generation [consoles]. he said "consoles." not "console," or "X Box 360," but "consoles," at the very least, implying more than one. and considering that even the DS is getting a Ninja Gaiden game, i think the title is no longer console exclusive.
this isn't a bad thing.
there's a difference between Ninja Gaiden being exclusive, and MGS4 being exclusive.
for one, Itagaki or Hayashi have never, clear-cut stated that NG2 would be console exclusive this time around. all Itagaki has said is that he won't let 360 fans down, or, in general, the fans of his games down.
Kojima has outright said that MGS4 is not meant for other consoles. that it's tailored to the PS3. Konami has very little real pull anymore on what platforms MGS will end up on, as Kojima has broken away and formed Kojima Productions. he owns that company. if Konami tries to push him and force him to make the game on a platform he's not ready to tackle yet, he could very well make Kojima Productions independent, which would hurt Konami more than just keeping a game exclusive. when he was employed by Konami, he was obligated to go about their wishes. the last time MGS was on the X Box, it wasn't too good (framerate issues, poor commercial reception). this wasn't due to any problems with the X Box, but more with the game being optimized for the PS2 first.
MGS4 is being tailormade for the PS3. a 360 port, i think, would be disasterous, unless he was given enough time to optimize for the 360. he doesn't want to do this. he wants to do something new and unique for the 360 (which is what i'd personally like to see. i'm tired of all this console overlap in some ways. i've yet to find a compelling reason to plunk down for a 360, and now that i have a PS3, any multi-platform titles are getting purchased for that. more games like Mass Effect, Fable 2, Alan Wake, etc, is what's needed to get me on board the 360 train this year).
hell, i bet a game like Zone of the Enders 3 will probably be on the PS3 and 360. both consoles would do the franchise justice.
i wouldn't mind seeing a console version of Boktai, with maybe using your system's internal clock to gauge the time of day for sun power.
anyway, sorry to get off topic.
uh, Ninja Gaiden, yeah. Sigma is going to kick ass, NG2 is going to kick even more ass (well, it *has* to. it's what sequels are supposed to do), and i can't wait for either one, on any console.
Ninja Gaiden 2 is an upcoming sequel to Ninja Gaiden (2004). It is being developed by Team Ninja and published through Tecmo. While not much information is currently available regarding the title, the game was acknowledged in an interview with Tomonobu Itagaki from E3 2006. However, specific information, such as an official title for the game or all the systems which it may be released on, were not officially announced.[1]
On 2006 Tokyo Game Show the 1UP site interviewed Itagaki and suggested the game will most probable to be Xbox 360 exclusive. When asked the possibility comes to other platforms (PS3) Itagaki responded "Hardly" because Team Ninja is very busy in the next 5 years. He also said - "...if you're working on a game like Ninja Gaiden 2, where it's really important that enemies are smart and challenging, then we might use up to two threads on AI." As if that weren't blatant enough, he was pressed about the game's existence. "I won't upset anybody by denying your expectations. I like to see people's expectations fulfilled." He might be telling us what we want to hear, but then, it would be just as easy to tell us to hold on.[2]
/////Its clear he wants to develope a super AAA(SUPER NG) title useing the 360's harware I'm sure it will come out on the PS4 when some one gets bord on his Dev Team or when he needs money so he can develope Xbox 3 titles. "TI" is a rock star! seems kind of high on his horse which is cool as hell to me. NICE POST #31.1.
but it doesn't mean it's yosuke hayashi's focus.as people say,making games is getting expensive,so you have to spread your games around if another company doesn't foot the bill for your game and you don't have big money.
many companies are creating separate teams in making games on each system.sega,EA,namco for example are third parties that have devs making the same game but for different systems with different teams.while yosuke is making games on ps3,itagaki can just over see the project to make sure it is well in range of his standards while making games for 360.but working under itagaki,yosuke probally has the same standards as itagaki.he may be even more nitpicky in making games.
most third party games are up for grabs now.even final fantasy.unless there is extreme loyalty from the devs for one system,a large willing fanbase,and complications to moving the game over,it's open season.
but for those that say that ps3 is weak or incapable of next gen looks as well as speed and multiple characters,you no longer have an excuse and can no longer pull out weak multiplatform lazy ports as your proof.especially when we all knew that ports are not representative of any hardwares abilities.
Yah! Yah! yAH!... nO ONE HAS EVER SAID ps3 IS NOT POWERFUL. AND IF FOLKS ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH IT, THEY'RE HAVING TROUBLE WITH IT.
#37 AS IF THIS GAME(ps3-ngs) WOULD BE THE MILESTONE IF IT WERE ON THE OTHER NEXT-GEN CONSOLE. LOL
CARRY ON MY ASS!. You can carry on with your Wishful thinking. TI never said his version of NG2 would be exclusive for the 360 and the other handed to his co-worker he said the next game in the franchise is 360 exclusive. Carry on with your BS.
Remaking a 5th generation Xbox game on a next-gen console isn't a good examlpe of the industry just being lazzy, all it means is that they are show-boating because they got skill and could work wounders on any console giving to them with enough resourses, I'm sure they'll be talking sh*t when NG2/360 releases that will make an over 100 post thread.
what they are having trouble with is someone else's preference in games.not the system. i'm glad you agree.
carry on.
NG2 will come to the PS console sometime in the future, they are working on NG2 for the Xbox 360 as of yet and they will not release it on another console until they has finished the game and feel happy about it. Now lets all wait until July 13h for E3, maybe some big news will come out.
reading (not gonna call anyone a fanboy) the "supporters" of each system go back and forth about ps3, xbo1, smoke, what was better, blah blah blah. ummh. this guy/team has made an excellent game for ps3 owners to play. we should all be very happy. its thier first go round on the ps3. they are impressed. im impressed that they are impressed. if you dont think its special. your entitled to your opinion. let those who are happy be happy!
good day


text:
Grand Mercure Phuket Patong
Read more about this Hotel
Grand Mercure Phuket Patong is within walking distance of Patong's nightlife and the Andaman Sea. The hotel features a outdoor swimming pool and gym. Guests can enjoy Thai and European cuisines at the restaurant. Ideal for those seeking a relaxing holiday/
How far is the nearest beach?
This hotel is located 500m from the beach.
Distance from Airport
This hotel is located 42km from Phuket airport.
All rooms are equipped with an en-suite bathroom, air conditioning, hairdryer, telephone, minibar, safety deposit box, tea/coffee making facilities and Wi-Fi access.
Food & Drink
Guests can enjoy a daily breakfast which includes freshly brewed coffee and homemade bakeries. It has an a la carte menu which includes authentic Thai, European and Asian cuisine.
Sports & Entertainment
Facilities include a outdoor swimming pool, gym, tennis court, minigolf, and bicycle rental.
- Air Conditioning
- Gym
- Hairdryer
- Internet Access
- Minibar
- Safety Deposit Box
- Sunbathing Terrace
- Sunbeds
- Swimming Pool
- Tea/Coffee Making Facilities
- Telephone
- Terrace


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Well, I suppose the time has come when we should start looking into the family of 3-ring postal markings in a more systematic way. For now we shall just display what types we can if they are sufficiently presentable. The set thus far of the six or seven dozen alleged:
BHADARWAH as 2-ring.
The 3-ring circular date stamps, which first appeared in late 1890, start showing up in earnest in the spring of 1891. There is a marked, presumably diplomatic, absence of British stamps in this so-called "Unified Period" as the process to eliminate the native Offices begins.
JAMMU. The example of the 3-ring shown above for regular mail is what Séfi and Mortimer called the "normal form," their Type 77. It has no western dating in the central area. The dating here is 10 sāvan in a rather odd rendering, but it is consistent with the Western dating. Some post offices seemed disinclined to use the date insertions, or were disinclined to change them. English and Dogri datings are sometimes inconsistent and the inserted numerals sometimes appear backward or upside-down.
KROHIN. Here is our prize example so far, for it is a rare enough whether or not it represents an actual postal use. We have indulged by making it a little larger, not least because of the interesting Dogri rendering. The date seems to be 25 har ~ 7 July 1891. The stamps are ½a orange re-issues, appearing on our screen rather less orange than they really are.
KATHUA. The earlier type (shown at the left in the form of Séfi & Mortimer's Type 81) appeared in this mutant dating format in which English dating occupies the central area normally reserved for the native dating. The other type (right) reverts to standard pracice.
BHIMBAR, RAJOURI, and NOWSHERA. Letter despatched (where?) on 10 baisākh 1950 ~ 21 April 1893, this cover passed through Bhimber on 24 April. After an interlude of a full week, the ½a State stamp was cancelled at Rajouri on May 1, and the cover was struck again the next day, May 2 ~ baisākh 21, at Nowshera, the stated destination. This is a seeming backtrack of half the 55-mile distance between Bhimber and Rajouri. Jawab notation in purple (upper-right) refers to dates in the middle of the mystery period, i.e., a baisākh 13 and 14 [19]5[0]. A curious and tardy detour.
SRINAGAR. Dated in the center māgh 31 [19]47 ~ 10 February 1891. What looks like an '89' at the bottom of the central ring is the native '47'. One notes the unusually oily character of the ink in this example.
SIRINIGAR [sic] REG[istration] and PAR[cel] types. The former strike has a '48' in native character at the bottom of the central ring, where samvat 1948 is here 1891. Some of the 3-rings came in for more than their share of mere philatelic play. The parcel type is shown here on a postcard.
Another Srinagar postmark was for the CHECK OFFICE, the precise purpose of which was not certain to Séfi and Mortimer, who report that such cancellations are found on parcel paperwork. A.S. Bard in India Post 09 86 (1975) reports the Check Office as having been a temporary local post office in Srinagar. The latest date we have so far seen is 18 April 1892. Those authors speak also of a scarce type of 1892 CAMP POST OFFICE that those authors suggested might be associated with an officials' travelling post office. There are also a couple of DEAD LETTER OFFICE types, which we presume are also of Srinagar.
The 3-rings struck in purple ink by Messrs. Staal and Sharma in 1981 comprise the following types, where the numbers are the number done: 4 Banhal, 4 Bhimber, 4 Bhimber MO, 4 Camp PO, 3 Dansal, 3 Dead Letter, 9 Jammu, 5 Jammu', 5 Jammu Parcel, 5 Jasmergarh, 5 Jasrota, 4 Jasrota MO, 2 Kathua, 6 Khui Ruttah, 5 Nowan Shahr MO, 1 Parat, 4 Parol, 1 Rajouri, 2 Sanbha, 5 Seri, 8 Sukhchainpur, and 3 of an illegible type.
BHADARWAH, a Jagir PO. Séfi and Mortimer Type 84. Those authors claim a date-range from May 1892 to
July 1893, but the example shown here is 8 September 1891. Bhadarwah is
in the eastern part of Jammu Province bordering Chamba. An exceptionally
difficult runner line connects it to Jammu via Ramnagar. The stamps
are ½a orange reissues.


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"Julia was a pleasure to work with! She was responsive, quick, and provided me just what I wanted!"
Bethie Hungerford, founder of Hungermama.com
About julia
I love lettering. Love it.
I started in the creative industry in 2007 with a degree in product design, but it wasn't quite the right fit. I'd spent a few years during and after uni running a market stall selling my handmade greetings cards, which I loved, so I set out to become a greetings card designer, which led me to work for Hallmark and then Moonpig.com for many years. During my journey as a designer I discovered illustration which I really enjoyed, but again it just didn't feel quite right.
Then I discovered hand lettering. Oh my. Something in my head clicked and I was instantly the biggest nerd buying every pen possible and filling sketchbook after sketchbook. It looked terrible. But I kept going and a few years later I'm not half bad if you listen to Instagram comments. A lesson in calligraphy in 2014 further opened my eyes to the possibilities and again I was instantly obsessed, practicing whenever I had a spare moment and constantly covered in ink.
So here I am today - making a living from creating beautiful words! I'm available for freelance lettering projects, specialising predominantly in brush and digital lettering along with modern calligraphy and a load of chalk thrown in. I am also a teacher for Quill London, teaching wonderful people Beginners Modern Calligraphy along with all kinds of other lettering and composition skills.
If you have a project that needs a giant lettering nerd who works efficiently and with top notch communication, drop me a line here:
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Buzzfeed UK \ Little, Brown \ Penguin Random House \ Revolution Beauty \ Seven C3 \ Mr President \ Glamour Magazine \ In the Moment Magazine \ Dolce & Gabbana \ Caffe Nero \ Elle Style Awards 2017 \ EC One \ Moonpig.com


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You know the $40 million Sheikh Mohammed didn't spend on yearlings in Book 1 of Keeneland September this year? He's put it back in the marketplace now, and then some. Having spent upwards of $200 million buying every top stallion prospect he could find on both sides of the Atlantic, he is now buying a few mares to go to them. John Ferguson signed for eight broodmares or broodmare prospects in Kentucky for a total of $33.5 million, and he's followed up in the first two days of Tattersalls December Sale of Mares, etc, with nine more purchases.
That makes it 17 fillies or mares for a total of around $74 million, which is an average of somewhere in the neighborhood of $4,353,000 per item. Tattersalls finished off their first two days grossing over 60-million guineas (about $130 million), including a blockbuster session yesterday that shattered last year's single-day European mixed sale gross. Ferguson bought nine horses which constituted 30 percent of the first two days' gross. Sheikh Mohammed may have single-handedly caused the Keeneland September Book 1 gross to fall by 20 percent, but his 17 purchases, all by themselves, have comprised over 10 percent of the combined $700-million mixed sale market in Kentucky, Ireland and Britain.
We used to go to the November sales and ask ourselves, as mare after mare went through for impossible prices, "don't they remember what happened in September?" This week we were asking ourselves, "don't they remember what happened last week?"
To which the answer must be—it would appear not. It wasn't just at last week's Tattersalls December Yearling and Foal sales, either; for most of the last three weeks, lower-end commercial horses have been experiencing a brutal clearance rate, often 60 percent or lower of the horses offered. Even during the record-shattering last two days, the clearance rate was 69 percent (compared to 81 percent last year), so there are plenty not getting sold even here, in the strongest of markets, where the two-day gross was up 23 percent from last year's European record and the average up a staggering 39 percent.
We talk about "the market" because these horse sales all have the auction format in common, but everybody knows there are actually several main tiers to the market, and recent results make it abundantly clear that what we might call the "lower-commercial" tier of the marketplace is being hit hard by the effects of overproduction.
Two-hundred-and-fifty more horses were catalogued for the foal sale than a year ago, yet the number sold and the gross were very close to the corresponding numbers from last year. This strongly suggests there is a finite number of horses the market can absorb.
There is one worrying aspect of Sheikh Mohammed's nearly $300-million spending spree on breeding stock this year, though, and that is the creation of a huge gap in what used to be the top tier of the market. Up until this year, the top one or two percent of the market saw a linear progression to the very top, but this year, Darley's stallion and now broodmare acquisitions (the stallions privately and the broodmares at auction) have resulted in the top one-tenth of one percent of sales now belonging almost exclusively to Darley and Coolmore—when Coolmore decides to take Darley on.
No fewer than five mares during Tattersalls' first two days sold for 3-million guineas (about $6,450,000) or more; four went to Darley, the other to London Thoroughbred Services' James Wigan, who last year signed for the then-record filly or mare, Magical Romance. It is unbelievably strong at the very top, but the very top is now such a rarefied atmosphere that very serious players after very serious stallion and broodmare prospects are being frustrated at almost every turn.
Extract by Bill Oppenheim TDN 5.12.07


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After Sleep Cycles by Jennifer K Dick, After Sue Chennette's What Was Offered
The dangerous part of sleep is the afternoon.
The dastardly truth about fatigue, it gets desperate
For reason. Getting desperate for reason is a feller
Getting desperate for women, liable to choose the wrong one,
Maybe live with her a long time. Although keep in mind
Wrong reason, come winter, is certainly better than none.
Winter's funny because light gets cold, specifically light
In the bones. Wherefore I say light, bones, and reason
Should not endure nightly. They should all either sleep
Or die. Too much enduring makes anything crazy.
Have a look at our crazy lie.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The Dangerous Part of Sleep is the Afternoon by Jonathan Regier
1 comment:
- Jennifer K Dick said...
Oh my goodness, we are referencing WINTER already in our poems. This is a bad bad sign, the cold of Paris, the grey and rain! Where has the heat, sun, green, yellow, beiges of August gone?
- September 10, 2009 at 12:14 PM
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text:
Every parents goal is to raise a happy and healthy child. There are many books which provides information about different ways of raising children successfully. Experts in their respective fields strive to give parents the most up to date information whether it is about health, nutrition, child development, education, or parenting. But one simple thing we all tend to overlook is, children from birth to adulthood need time and attention from their parents.
Sometimes its really difficult for working parents to spend time with their kids. From my personal experience, being a full-time working mother can lead to feelings of guilt and stress because of divided attention between work and family. The best gift you can give your child is your love, time and attention. Here are list of simple things I do everyday to spend quality time with my child.
Meal Time
Meal Time can be family time, here you can not only bond with your child but also other family members. During the meal, children and adolescents can be encouraged to talk about what is interesting to them, and not necessarily the usual topics like school and work.
Another way for spending time with your child is while doing their school assignment, you can help your child with their work. You can further know about their weakness and their interest . Kids do better in school when parents are involved in their academic lives.
Bed Time Stories
Bed time stories have been long known for parent-child bonds and also prepare children for sleep. Stories also helps kids to inspire creativity and imagination, sharpen child's memory and improve their listening.
Attend school events together
Never miss attending your kid's school events. Go to sports events and concerts, student exhibitions, parent-teacher meetings, parents' night, and awards events. You can know more about your child by doing so, when parents get involved in their children's education, children are more likely to do better in school, be better behaved, have more positive attitudes toward school, and grow up to be more successful in life.
Play outdoor games
Rather than getting lost in phone and laptops, playing outdoor games is a must. You can do outdoor activities like riding bikes, playing football, walking and so on. Playing outdoor games not only gives you quality time with your but also helps in their physical development, reduces stress and promotes social skill.
Do chores together
Another fun idea for spending time with kids is help you doing household chores together. Kids will gets to learn new life skills, you get to spend time together, and as you get better at working together, you'll get through the to-do list faster!
Craft Activities
Hobbies such as drawing, crafts, collecting are great fodder for conversation.