text:
At Glamifornia Style Lounge on Coast Highway in Malibu, the customer will find quality and artistic work in hair, makeup, fashion, art, and wellness. This unique business brings a network of creative artists and experts together to make one feel and look good.
Terah Tidy
Terah Tidy, Owner of Glamifornia commented, "Glamifornia began a couple of years ago when I saw the movement that everyone was loving California Glamour. Glamifornia is a juxtaposition of art, beauty, fashion, and wellness. I began with a concept to make it global about four years ago. The physical location has been around for two years."
Terah continued… "It was to really work with artisans and artists… I saw the trend that it wasn't just beauty, it wasn't just fashion… and wellness being the number one industry… I wanted to merge all of these together. I went to Italy and launched it with a group over there and I came back to Malibu and thought I also need a physical space."
The space ended up being the original Malibu Courthouse where the Sheriff had his office too. There is a jail cell here as well where some famous people have been locked up such as James Dean and Charles Manson. Around this historic building, Terah Tidy created her Style Lounge.
"There are beauty bars everywhere, but the style lounge is the best of the best."
This is what a style lounge is. It's where a client can come and be intimate and exclusive. They can come with their friends and actually lounge around while getting beauty treatments. It's private. It's relaxed. It's in a beautiful, historic space.
"I found that the trend with beauty is to save time and to enjoy ourselves. And we enjoy ourselves when we are getting ready with each other like the old days when girls would put on their makeup in a group and have that special time," Tidy said.
Young girls feel safe here because they can come with their friends and they can ask each other about what they think of their style and find their voice. Women who have had been at the beauty game for years know what they need and can be relaxed with their friends. The beauty artists that work at Glamifornia are chosen very carefully by Terah Tidy.
"I cherry pick my artists who work here. They do other things, they're editorial artists, they might work for manufacture companies, they work in Beverly Hills and Malibu. Some bring their clients here once a month to get the Malibu experience," Terah revealed.
Each day of the week something different goes on at the Glamifornia. It's never the same. You will see Artists from fashion, beauty, wellness and Art work at this place. The artists in the beauty end are micro-blading for eyebrows, eyelashes, spray tan, three or four hairdressers, makeup artists, a special wedding team, and massage people.
They also have artisans that make their own clothing and do special trunk shows, a perfume maker who has done workshops, and different artists will showcase their art. Mondays and Wednesday nights Glamifornia has a yoga guru who teaches.
"California glamour is inside and outside of you. That's our philosophy."
Christine Peake of the Peakprgroup invited The Hollywood 360 to visit the Style Lounge and do a photo shoot with models Rachel McCord and Yilin. High Tech Automotive Center – North Hollywood contributed a classic 1957 Thunderbird. It was a typical gorgeous sunny day in Malibu. The Pacific Ocean sparkled across Coast Highway.
Terah Tidy is proud to be a resident of Malibu and at the same time operate a successful business here.
"I have lived in Malibu for sixteen years. I raised my children here. I believe we can work and live in the same town. I consider myself a small business owner.
She concluded: "Malibu is where the mountains meet the sea. I never want to leave. I love the nature, the beauty and I love the ocean and the breeze. It's a creative town with a lot of artisans. I want to be world renowned here – and be that someone who lives here, who is grass roots, and make it all work. Malibu supports me and I support Malibu."
To contact Glamifornia: http://glamifornia.com/
21323 Pacific Coast Hwy, #103, Malibu
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/glamifornia/?hl=en
Twitter – https://twitter.com/glamifornia?lang=en
Linkedin – Glamifornia
Makeup artists for the photo shoot were:
Steffanie Paige
Laura D'Antonio
Photo Credit: Sheryl Aronson / The Hollywood 360
Tags fashion Linita Masters malibu
Sheryl Aronson is an award winning entertainment reporter for The Hollywood360 and also has a blog, "Arting Around" in Agenda Magazine. She is a published author of the Memoir, "Passing Myself Down to the Grave," and is in private practice as a Marriage, Family Therapist in Los Angeles and Orange County.
Call of All, composed of Hunter Watson and Cody Webb, Release their debut album War & Illusion @callofall
Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Guillermo Del Toro and other stars forced to evacuate their homes due to massive Woolsey Fire.


text:
Fabian Blum (* 7. März 1995 in Pfaffnau) ist ein Schweizer Rollstuhlsportler. Er ist aktiv in der Startklasse T52 bei Sprint-/ und Mittelstreckenwettkämpfen.

Leben
Fabian Blum war seit seiner Kindheit bis 2014 als Kunstturner aktiv, stürzte jedoch am 1. November 2014 bei einem Doppelsalto im Rahmen des Trainings und ist seitdem vom 5./6. Halswirbel abwärts gelähmt. Seit seinem Unfall ist Blum als Rollstuhlsportler aktiv und trainiert im Schweizer Paraplegikerzentrum in Nottwil. Bei den Leichtathletik-Europameisterschaften in Berlin 2018 gewann er Bronze über 1500 Meter. Blum belegte bei den Leichtathletik-Weltmeisterschaften der Behinderten 2019 in Dubai den 10. Platz über 100 m und den achten Platz bei dem Wettkampf über 1500 m.

Blum lebt in Pfaffnau.

Einzelnachweise

Schweizer
Geboren 1995
Mann
Rennrollstuhlfahrer (Schweiz)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Массовые убийства в Сисаке (, ) — преступления против гражданских лиц, большинство из которых были сербами, совершенные в городе Сисаке в 1991—1992 годах. Всего в списках погибших и пропавших без вести значатся имена 611 человек, из которых 595 сербов, 14 хорватов и 2 боснийцев-мусульман. Из общего числа жертв 120 женщины.

Первые инциденты в Сисаке начали происходить уже летом 1991, а участились с сентября того же года. Людей арестовывали на работе или по месту жительства и уводили в неизвестном направлении. Часть из них позднее были найдены мертвыми. Это привело к потоку сербских беженцев из города. По сообщениям ряда журналистов, о событиях в Сисаке знало хорватское руководство во главе с президентом Франьо Туджманом.

Хорватский жупанийский суд за совершение военных преступлений против гражданских лиц приговорил бывшего полицейского Ивицу Мирича к 9 годам тюремного заключения. Также продолжается расследование в отношении других подозреваемых по этому делу.

Примечания

Литература

Ссылки

Хорватские военные преступления в Югославской войне (1991—2001)
Массовые убийства сербов в югославских войнах
Война в Хорватии


The best camera is always the one you have with you, which for most people in most situations these days means the camera on their phone. Cameras on phones like the iPhone 5S and the Samsung Galaxy S5 are so good that pocket-sized point-and-shoot cameras are becoming increasingly irrelevant, and it's rare that I'd get excited about one.
Congratulations then to Sony, which has changed all that with its freshly unveiled Sony RX100 III. An upgrade on last year's RX100 model -- widely lauded as the best compact of the year -- this camera is the snapper that even the pros will want to carry in their back pockets.
The key here is a 20.1-megapixel CMOS sensor which, despite the RX100 III being smaller than its predecessor, has remained the same size. It's been paired with a seriously powerful image processor, the BIONZ X, which is also used in Sony's high-end, full-frame dSLRs. There's every reason to be excited about the crisp, detailed pictures this combination of tech could potentially produce.
There's a new, specially developed Zeiss lens on this camera, which covers the 24-77mm focal length. While it's shorter at the telephoto end than the lens on the previous RX100, it also has a brighter and wider aperture. With an aperture ranging from f/1.8 ranging to f/2.8 at the telephoto end, it will be really exciting to see what the RX100 is capable of achieving in low light (Sony claims it can let twice as much light in as the previous model).
Being able to capture wider shots and grab fantastic snaps in low light seems like a worthwhile tradeoff for those lost 20 or so millimetres zoom ability at the top end in my opinion.
As if that's not enough, Sony has managed to squeeze a high-resolution pop-up electronic viewfinder into the RX100 next to the retractable flash. Considering this camera is so tiny, this really does seem like an astonishing feat of engineering.
Previously the only option to add a viewfinder to the RX100 was to buy an expensive unit to fit on the top, but that's no longer necessary and it's a big boon as a viewfinder is something that those serious about their photography don't like to compromise on.
Even though the camera is likely to be more expensive than its predecessor at around $800 (£476), at least there's no need to splash out on a pricey extra module.
Another reason to be excited is that this is the first of Sony's compact cameras able to capture HD-resolution video at a rate of 50 mbps, which should result in high-quality footage. On the back is an LCD screen that tilts 180 degrees, meaning that there's no need to compromise on the quality of your selfies either.
Of course, all this said, I've yet to try out the RX100 and until I do I can't verify it lives up to all that is promised by its heritage and specifications. It's released in June and I have high expectations that once I get my hands on it I won't want to let it out of my sight.


Articles Tagged "Jerome J. Schmitt"
For over 350 years, some of the greatest minds of science struggled to prove what was known as Fermat's Last Theorem - the idea that a certain simple equation had no solutions.
Since the Enlightenment scientific progress has relied upon publication of logical and empirical "proofs" for new theories and theorems. This practice serves to disseminate the new knowledge generated, resulting in peer review. Specialists in the field have the most interest in reading particular publications; they potentially have the most to gain from the new learning, and they will likely have the most relevant things to say in response. Honest scholars seek the truth and are happy when an error in the record is corrected. However it is not necessarily known a-priori who is the most expert among the readership, or who will deliver the best, most cogent replies that might either concur or differ with a proposed new theory. Therefore true scientists seek the widest possible audience for their work. In an intellectual process akin to crowd-sourcing, the most reliable, truthful theories emerge over time.
"Despite large prizes being offered for a solution, Fermat's Last Theorem remained unsolved. It has the dubious distinction of being the theorem with the largest number of published false proofs."


Rishi Bhargava is part of Solution Consulting Team with Adobe India. He is a frequent speaker in Adobe and non-Adobe events. His areas of interests a...re digital process automation and optimization and building Enterprise Architectures.
Learn how, using Adobe Livefyre, you can use social content to transform your website & mobile apps into an interactive social experience that involves customers and prospects. Adobe Livefyre is an all-new Experience Manager capability that lets you tap into everything shared on the web to create a constant flow of fresh and high-quality content on your own sites. It is more than just social content curation platform join and find out why?
Are you tasked with creating social media walls for your websites and portal platforms?
Are you able to filter out right social posts for your mobile apps and website?
What is your strategy to engage visitors on the website?
If you publish someones Tweet or Instagram picture on your website did you take the permission? How will you automate it?
How will you turn user-generated content into a safe source of high-quality assets that are everything youre looking for and nothing youre not.


text:
Former patients sue area doctor, claiming medical malpractice
Durrani subject of more than a dozen lawsuits
Updated: 6:53 PM EST Feb 20, 2013
Andrew Setters
A Tri-state physician is the subject of more than a dozen medical malpractice lawsuits.
A Tri-state physician is the subject of more than a dozen medical malpractice lawsuits. "After surgery I was 20 times worse than I was before surgery because I never wanted surgery, ever," said former patient Julie Martin. Another patient, Jacob Feltner, said he can't do what other kids his age can, and he's also part of the lawsuit accusing Dr. Abubaker Atiq Durrani of medical malpractice. Their attorney, Eric Deters, said the suits make similar claims. "If people want to still go and see Dr. Durrani, fine, but it's important that they know that we perceive this to be a very serious problem," Deters said. Feltner said spinal surgery performed on him as a child by Durrani has left him still dealing with pain. "I got denied to the Marine Corps, (and) I can't do a lot of things around the farm," Feltner said. "I'm depended on at the farm, and it's an obligation I can't fill." Stephanie Herrin-Threm and her husband said they were given a hard sell on surgery by Durrani. "He told me that I at risk of either becoming paralyzed from the neck down or of death," Herrin-Threm said. "He made it sound like if we got another opinion that wasn't the same as his that we would be taking her life in our hands by not going forward with this," said her husband, Chris Herrin-Threm. The couple said other doctors have told them the surgery was unnecessary. Martin said she told Durrani during weekly visits that something was terribly wrong after her surgery, and she said she was only getting worse. "He would say, 'I did nothing wrong, everything I've done to you is right,'" Martin said. "That was his answer every time." Durrani was unavailable to comment on the suits. Deters said he was representing 13 clients in the case.
CINCINNATI —
Attorney: Accused spine doctor used unapproved medical implant
Spine surgeon indicted on 10 federal counts, faces 125 years
Warren Co. spine surgeon arrested on federal charges
"After surgery I was 20 times worse than I was before surgery because I never wanted surgery, ever," said former patient Julie Martin.
Another patient, Jacob Feltner, said he can't do what other kids his age can, and he's also part of the lawsuit accusing Dr. Abubaker Atiq Durrani of medical malpractice.
Their attorney, Eric Deters, said the suits make similar claims.
"If people want to still go and see Dr. Durrani, fine, but it's important that they know that we perceive this to be a very serious problem," Deters said.
Feltner said spinal surgery performed on him as a child by Durrani has left him still dealing with pain.
"I got denied to the Marine Corps, (and) I can't do a lot of things around the farm," Feltner said. "I'm depended on at the farm, and it's an obligation I can't fill."
Stephanie Herrin-Threm and her husband said they were given a hard sell on surgery by Durrani.
"He told me that I at risk of either becoming paralyzed from the neck down or of death," Herrin-Threm said.
"He made it sound like if we got another opinion that wasn't the same as his that we would be taking her life in our hands by not going forward with this," said her husband, Chris Herrin-Threm.
The couple said other doctors have told them the surgery was unnecessary.
Martin said she told Durrani during weekly visits that something was terribly wrong after her surgery, and she said she was only getting worse.
"He would say, 'I did nothing wrong, everything I've done to you is right,'" Martin said. "That was his answer every time."
Durrani was unavailable to comment on the suits.
Deters said he was representing 13 clients in the case.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: How do I configure eslint to ignore my root folder and to only include my src folder? When I read the eslint docs, it seems like I should be able to get it to work with just 1 or 2 lines of code.
You see, here (https://eslint.org/docs/latest/user-guide/configuring/ignoring-code#ignorepatterns-in-config-files) they say:

You can tell ESLint to ignore specific files and directories using ignorePatterns in your config files. ignorePatterns patterns follow the same rules as .eslintignore. Please see the the .eslintignore file documentation to learn more.

Well those docs are just a little further down (https://eslint.org/docs/latest/user-guide/configuring/ignoring-code#the-eslintignore-file) and there they say:

Lines preceded by ! are negated patterns that re-include a pattern that was ignored by an earlier pattern.

So, I thought then, that it should work to have this list:
ignorePatterns: ["*", "!src/**/*"]

But it doesn't. And I really don't understand why... VSCode stops linting all files, and when I run my npm run lint command, I get this message:

You are linting "src", but all of the files matching the glob pattern "src" are ignored.

Oh and just to prevent misunderstandings, I don't need this for my npm run lint command. Because in that command I can already configure eslint to only look into my src folder. The reason I want to get these ignorePatterns to work like I described is because I want VSCode to stop trying to lint files that are outside my src folder.

A: Okay I managed to get it to work. I read on another stackoverflow thread that if you start a pattern with a slash, that it will automatically mean that that pattern will start from the root folder and as long as you don't add any ** into the pattern, it also won't go any deeper than the root folder.
So for example: "*" can mean any file or folder anywhere in the project. But "/*" can only mean any file or folder in the root of the project.
And then I also read the following on the git docs about gitignore:

An optional prefix "!" which negates the pattern; any matching file excluded by a previous pattern will become included again. It is not possible to re-include a file if a parent directory of that file is excluded. Git doesn't list excluded directories for performance reasons, so any patterns on contained files have no effect, no matter where they are defined.

(emphasis mine)
So before when I did this previously: ignorePatterns: ["*", "!src/**/*"], it didn't work because the "*" matches every file and folder everywhere, including all the parents of every file and folder in src. Which means that I couldn't re-include them.
Anyway, the fix was therefor fairly easy. Namely, this:
ignorePatterns: ["/*", "!/src"]

Because "/*" matches all files and folders in the root folder (but not the root folder itself), and so no parent of src was already ignored and therefor I am allowed to re-include src with "!/src".

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Location: Tambon Chumkho, Amphur Pa Thiew. Far from downtown Amphur Pa Thiew for about 10 kilometers.
How to get there: From downtown Amphur Pa Thiew, take the same road to Chumphon airport to the beach road to get to Bo Mao Bay.
In the past, Bo Mao Bay was deserted and no dwelling, but abundant with nature and marine creatures. Nonnative villagers enjoy fishing here and digging for freshwater under Cha-Mao tree, thereby the name Bo Mao.
Bo Mao Bay is a half-moon curving beach. In low tide, it reveals the wide flat beach stretching far. Every evening, villagers are combing on the beach to collect crabs and shellfish. In high tide, the clear water is perfect for strolling on the beach and swimming.


Observing the utilitarian control, you're designing decisions that will have the major great effect on stakeholders. You'll be able, nevertheless, for two moral people to produce different decisions within a circumstance. Prior to making any kind of final decisions, utilize the up coming simple steps to make you need to are producing honourable decisions. The 1st way is to use their very own honest decision making to further improve productivity. Producing ethical small company decisions is just like walking upon open fire.
A small business version is known as a vital part of any company which usually wants to thrive in the long-run. The organization unit is the main factor valuable. one particular vital component in turning into a unicorn because you can imagine is around finding the proper little business model.
A decision is going to be a fantastic candidate whenever taking the wrong one is going to damage your business. The virtually all suitable decision won't be the one which gets you the virtually all money, but nevertheless, this may deliver different advantages. If it is a considerable choice, in some cases it could even now accurate that you should simply just determine, nonetheless you may spend even more time assembling action designs that can assure success. Although pursuing the actions outlined over can help you generate more successful decisions, there are a few problems to view out with regards to. As you can imagine, it could important to appreciate whether or certainly not a particular decision is the perfect prospect with regards to decision building. Hard decisions come daily. Adding important computer data about a suitable time scale will permit you make important organization decisions.
Whether your company enterprise goal is to enhance revenue simply by 20% or perhaps find some new customers, choose a timeframe to attain your purpose. Achievable online business goals are based on the present conditions and facts of the provider issues. Organization objectives and objectives merely typically get performed whenever there is time structure tied to the goal-setting practice.
The number one idea to search for in a business proprietor is somebody whom will test you to much better every single time, conditions Suneera Madhani of Fattmerchant. By starting a small firm, the organization owner is definitely acquiring charge of her or his potential. With a wonderful watch to the statistics and several very careful research, virtually any business user can appreciate what is going right and what's not on track. Small organization owners will be somewhat more likely to construct personal relationships using their clients, being aware of a great deal of these people by simply brand. They can be a great integral part of the communities through which they live and work. In addition to adding to the area community's completely unique identity and being involved locally, that they help to build an impression of community.


MUNCIE — The Delaware County Historical Society's February program will be "Dating Historical Photographs", at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, in the Resource Center of the Delaware County Historical Society, 120 E. Washington St.
This program, presented by James Waechter, director of the Delaware County Historical Society, "is a must for family historians and genealogists," a release stated. The program is open to the public without charge. Information: Delaware County Historical Society, 765-282-1550.
MUNCIE — Volunteers are invited to join the Minnetrista Horticulture team for opportunities to help maintain and further its lively gardens.
"Volunteers will learn and grow in their knowledge of the gardening alongside helpful professionals," a release stated. "Whether clearing and preparing garden beds for future seeds or digging and planting, there's always plenty of work to be done"
MUNCIE — The Indiana Youth Institute, United Way of Delaware County and Ball State University will present "State of the Child," a presentation of the 2019 Indiana Kids Count Data Book, 9:30-11:30 a.m. March 1, at the Ball State University Alumni Center, 2800 W. Bethel Ave.
A revealing look at statistics and demographics affecting Delaware County, the program will discuss best practice research on successful approaches to key issues including smoking and vaping, substance abuse and bullying will be discussed.
Youth workers, community leaders, and youth advocates are invited, as well as key stakeholders. The event is free and open to the public.
The event will be live streamed on the United Way of Delaware County Facebook page, facebook.com/unitedwaydelco/.


text:
Q: How can div hide bydefault onload event I have a dropdown list which by default shows 'select' option on page load.  Below that is a DataGrid which contains some data. How do I hide the data in the div when the dropdown has 'select' selected? When I change the option to something other than 'select', I would like it to show the data.

A: Assuming that when the page loads, the dropdown is without selection (so 'select' is showing), just hide your DataGrid with css by default by adding something like this to your css file(s):
#myDataGrid{
   display: none;
}

and when the selection changes, show it (using jQuery for example):
jQuery('#mySelect').change(function(){
    //(this assumes that your select option has value 'select')
    if(jQuery("#mySelect").val() == 'select'){
        jQuery('#myDataGrid').hide();
    }else{
        jQuery('#myDataGrid').show();
    }
});


Clustered Instance of SQL Server.
Separate group for MSDTC resource in cluster.
Here are the three commands we can use to fix the mapping.
Msdtc -tmMappingSet -name DTC_INST02_Mapping -service "MSSQL$INST02" -ClusterResourceName "MSDTC-INST02"


All our boiler parts are new, genuine spares, many of them obsolete. We DO NOT deal in refurbished parts. All our boiler spares are clearance lines hence the discounted price.
We offer free delivery on all boiler parts.
If you have any questions regarding our boiler spares, please don't hesitate to contact us.


SUNNYVALE — A 4-year-old child suffered "significant injuries" after falling from a fourth-story balcony Monday evening, authorities said.
The fall was reported at an apartment complex on the 1200 block of Poplar Avenue about 5 p.m., according to Capt. Jim Choi of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.
As of Tuesday afternoon, authorities did not release any other information, including an update of the child's condition.
A neighbor told KGO-TV, this news organization's media partner, that he found the child unconscious on his first-floor patio.
A family friend and neighbor told KGO that 4-year-old boy is in critical condition and celebrated his 4th birthday last week.
The child landed on Moulik Soni's first floor balcony.
Choi said the 4-year-old was treated at the scene and rushed to a hospital for further care.
The circumstances surrounding the child's fall are under investigation.
Choi said family members were home at the time but apparently didn't realize the child had fallen until the neighbor reported it.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office and the Department of Family and Children's Services were notified, which is standard protocol when a child is seriously injured in the county, according to Choi.


When it comes to making well-rounded business decisions, a little bit of schizophrenia goes a long way. If you work on your own or need to make decisions on your own, schizophrenic considerations might make things a little easier ..and possibly more effective.
Working by myself. I am in fact responsible for all roles, decisions and types of work: HR, finance, business development, sales, innovation… If I get stuck in one of them, it is always to the detriment of another.
If I were working in a company, there would be a management board to make decisions; if I was on a project team, we might decide together. Everyone would come with their own "2 cents", defending their own territory and striving to achieve their own goals. If the team is good, the company or project does well.
Why not use the same principles for your own work? Or if you work alone, like me, for your own company?
When faced with a decision to make, first list all the different points-of-view (or thinking hats) from which you might see things.
"Financial" – Which choices will maximise my revenue for 2013?
"HR" – What will develop my strengths and talents as a worker?
"Business Development" – What will help me find and develop new clients, products and services?
"Employee Satisfaction" – What will make me uber-happy in my job?
"Customer Service" – What will give my existing customers the best experience?
"Family" – What will get me home more, picking up the kids from school?
How you actually choose will not be changed doing all of the above. But your decision will be more informed and more rounded. More schizophrenic. And the potential outcome may be quite different to just doing "more of the same". Try it. See what happens.


Adamu of the Pleiades speaks through his channel "Zingdad (Arne Allingham) of South Africa. Adamu is one of my favorite sources.
A momentous occasion, my friends!
I greet you. I am Adamu of the Monadic Entity of the Pleiadian civilisation speaking to you through Zingdad.
Today I wish to address the British vote to leave the EU. Those of you who know me might find this odd as I have never before felt the need to address specific current affairs or political issues. But what occurs now is different and notable. Allow me to explain.
My friends, this group of people whom we usually call "the Illuminati," this group who collectively own the world's banking system and therefore collectively own the world's money supply and therefore collectively own the world's resources is not a group who is used to not getting their way.
You see, this group has many internal disagreements over many things right now. They struggle with each other over many things, which is why the world seems to be at a constant pre-World War III simmer. But amongst all their many disagreements, the one thing they all agreed upon was that the EU should remain intact.
Today the Emperor declared to Britain that they would remain in the EU and the British people just showed him a rude sign and shuffled off.
This is a massive strategic win for the side of the Light.
The process of obtaining this win against the Illuminati has been quite exciting to observe. I have been privileged to be able to see all the action from behind the scenes as an impartial observer. And what I have seen is the 4D and 5D forces of the Light playing the most nuanced and delicate game. They knew this was a truly pivotal moment for bringing as graceful as possible an end to the Illuminati hegemony. And so the first thing they did is to make it appear as if this was not an issue that they were contesting at all.
Do you see what this means? There is another good analogy involving emperors but this time without clothes.
If the emperor's decrees are not obeyed, then their world has lost all direction. As far as they are concerned, anyway.
But for the rest of you. For those not embroiled in the world of corporate executive leadership, high finance or macro-economics. For the massive majority of you. I wish you to know that this is good news.
I don't promise that this will not bring any measure of hardship to anyone. When economies wobble people do get hurt. The jobs market shrinks and things get tough. But you have been warned for a very long time that tough times were coming. And we continue to warn you. Because a certain quotient of tough times is necessary to effect the change that is now underway.
And what is underway is the changing of the guard. Because you, ordinary Earth humans, you are changing. You are choosing what is really good for you rather than what you are told is good for you by people who do not have your best interests at heart. You are individually and collectively beginning to find your own truth to be more valid than that which is shovelled down your throats by so-called experts.
And that changes everything. You stand up from your victimhood and begin to claim creatorship.
My friends, it is a very small step in the right direction. But it IS in the right direction.
And now there is much to do to bring the glorious new age of humanity to fruition. And I will be updating you upon this… upon what YOU can do to bring your life into a state of blessed, joyful abundance and to support the rest of humanity in doing the same thing too. This information will follow the next time I speak with you.
Until then, I wish you a steady heart.
Zingdad: Adamu, I wish to ask you a question or two, if I may?
Z: Well, firstly, you say you are an impartial observer. Are you not on the side of the Light?
A: As a being of true unity consciousness, I know myself to include all polarities, including both the Light and the Dark. I have total acceptance of all of myself. I don't love one part of myself more than another. And as a being of unity consciousness, I also know all others to be "another Self." So, I am truly impartial in this battle. Or at least, I would be if divine will was not, at this time, on the side of the Light.
You see behind you lies the long epoch during which darkness had to prevail. It was in accordance with divine will that this might be so. This is the only way for the deep forgetting to occur which has allowed for all the expressions of separation that were necessary for the divine to be fully expressed into duality.
It's a complex thing to understand in all of its magnificent glory. But in principal, what I am saying is that what lies behind you is a period during which life moved into ever deeper states of forgetting, separation and individuation. The time of darkness.
This time now is the time of the turning of the tide. Or, if we adhere to the analogy of light and dark, then this is the time of the dawning of the Light. From here on out there is a flowering of consciousness. Remembering, healing, reunification and expansion into Oneness.
And since universal will is aligned with this, it is an inevitability that the forces of the Light will now begin to obtain victories. And, I must admit, that it is a little difficult not to find satisfaction in that fact.
It is often easier, is it not, to love the Light within ourselves than the Darkness. It is easier to enjoy a time of awakening than a time of forgetting. A time of healing than a time of hurting. And so, while I reiterate that I am inherently impartial I can also freely admit that I am enjoying seeing the dawn finally come.
A final word. The use of the words Light and Dark is an analogy. A way of understanding the polarities that are at play. There is nothing objectively darker about that which lies behind – or those players that have actively sought to create greater separation and forgetting. There are not less photons present. And the night time is not less good than the day. Or anything like that. There are always those that take this analogy altogether too literally.
Z: You have indicated that this vote is a turning of the tide. That we, Earth Humans, are now choosing for our own power. Why would all of Earth's humans put that choice in the hands of the British?
A: Oh no, you misunderstand! This is the time of transition. There is a window of time during which humanity needs to come to certain crucial decisions about itself. That window began to open a few decades ago. The centre of the window was 2012. That was the real meaning of the importance of that date, that it is the time of choosing.
The Illuminati have a powerfully vested interest in keeping the vast majority of humanity in a state of "choosing not to choose." As long as you do that, you give them your power. They remain the planet's de-facto owners as they further expand and entrench their power and control.
But that is not what divine will has decreed. This is a time of awakening. But it is not for anyone other than you, Earth humans, to decide for yourself how you will awaken, when you will awaken, and what you will awaken to, when you do awaken. You must choose all of these things.
And so we have been encouraging you, supporting you, offering input and guidance. And the 4th and 5th density beings who are themselves still within polarity have been in the trenches with you. But we have no foreknowledge of when you will decide it is time to awaken, how you will decide to do so, and what you will decide when you do.
There have been opportunities before now to begin to declare for yourselves that you have passed up. But these opportunities were HEAVILY contested by the Illuminati. And they continue to do battle to control opinion on these issues.
A: I could offer you many. An obvious one is the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center. It served the Illuminati interest to perpetrate this attack upon humanity. Because, yes, the whole of humanity was attacked on that day. So much hatred was spawned. So much division. So much willingness to go out and kill people that had exactly NOTHING to do with the attack but that could, by the Illuminati propaganda machine, be tenuously and fallaciously linked with it.
And so much hatred in return. The groups and nations that felt unfairly targeted by the war-machine response have been riled into a rage of animosity. I could go on and on about the wound inflicted on the psyche of humanity upon that day.
But in order for that attack to bear the fruits the Illuminati wished it to bear, you had to swallow a story about what happened there. A falsely concocted pack of lies. And to make things worse, the lies were poorly thought out and full of obvious logical holes.
But they threw their weight behind those lies and conducted a campaign to enforce agreement amongst those that mattered, which was quite sufficiently successful. Still, today, you will get no traction if you decide to do something about those lies. You will be branded a conspiracy theorist and pushed to the fringe and your calls for transparency will not be heard.
But for all that, there was a time when it was a near thing. Humanity COULD at that time, have chosen to awaken. Many in the Light thought that was their moment. They worked feverishly to cause an awakening around that event. But it was too hotly contested by any enemy with too much entrenched power. That battle is all but over and lost now.
And the Illuminati have been toasting their victory thinking that the Light will never win. And today, they lost a battle that they didn't even know they were fighting. Suddenly they are on the ropes.
But it didn't have to be today. It could have come before now. And if this battle was also lost it could have come at a future date.
Z: So it's not predetermined?
A: Absolutely not. What is predetermined is that there is a long epoch of forgetting. And then a turning. And then a long epoch of remembering.
There are fluctuations in both directions. There are mini-awakenings heading into forgetting and there are mini-forgettings heading into awakening. But the general trend is un-mistakeable. From the moment of the Big Bang until now has been, largely, the time of forgetting. From now until universal singularity is, largely, the time of awakening.
But that is what occurs on a universal scale. What occurs on a planetary scale is open to such a vast range of possibility.
But these are complex issues. And I will keep addressing them so that you can come to complete understanding. Right now it was important just to let you understand the significance of this moment.
In a following transmission, I will talk about the choices before you. And then I will teach you how to make a choice from the core of your soul and how to bring that choice to fruition. And after that I will take the time to tell you the WHOLE STORY. How life came to this galaxy. How humanity was born. How humanity came to Earth. How humanity struggled for its right to exist on other planets in this galaxy. And why the choices you make upon Earth now impacts the rest of the galaxy.
It's a great story! And it will allow you profound comprehension of your own place in the universe. But it's going to take some time to tell.
to gain an understanding of the present situation.
I would also invite readers to sign up for our newsletter if they wish to be informed we release new transmissions.
(1) A reference to the Wizard of Oz.


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Home/Principles of Legal Liabilities
Principles of Legal Liabilities
Theories of responsibility can also be created by legislation. For example, under English law, with the enactment of the Theft Act 1978, it is a criminal offence to dishonestly evade responsibility. The payment of damages generally releases liability. Some liability can be covered by insurance. As a general rule, however, insurers only cover liabilities arising from negligent tort and not from wilful misconduct or breach of contract. Swiss law follows the basic principle of "fault-based liability". In some exceptional cases, strict liability exists, but certain legal relationships between the liable party and the damage are required. There are exceptions to this principle. In some cases, no fault on the part of the person responsible for compensation is required, but there must be a specific legal relationship between the responsible party and the damage. The following examples show cases in which this "causal liability" (strict liability) applies. Although most of the principles of tort law derive from English common law, Indian courts have modified them to meet local requirements.
Here are some important principles of tort law: If these four factors are true, the employer must be liable for the tort. The justification for this legal principle is that the employer is best placed to bear the financial burden, that employers can protect themselves against this burden with insurance, and that the costs can be passed on to customers through price increases. [5] On the other hand, if it has been determined that the employee has misappropriated or frolicked, the definition of the scope of employment becomes more difficult. The rule of omission and detour changes the application of liability. An antics is when the employee commits an illegal act when performing an activity that has nothing to do with his work. If it turns out that the employee had fun, then the employee would be liable for the damages. For example, if a delivery driver does not finish his deliveries for a few hours to be able to do personal shopping, and on the way to the store, he meets a pedestrian. A detour is rather small. The employee is always engaged in a non-work-related activity, but the activity does not constitute a significant disregard for the duties of the work. An example of a detour would be when, on the way to the delivery of a package, a delivery man stops at a passage to get something to eat.
As he drove away from the restaurant to make the delivery, the driver encountered a pedestrian. In this case, the employer could still be held liable for these damages, since the detour was minor. [8] Offences laws are essentially civil damages that result in civil damages. These are rights that people in general have vis-à-vis the whole world. In order to enforce these rights, the law recognizes certain principles of tort. Since tort law is not codified, we must rely on case law to understand these principles. Insurance is purchased to protect against losses and a major cause of losses, especially in this contested company, is legal liability. Legal liability is the liability of a party imposed by a court for its acts or omissions and for which the courts award damages to repair the damage.
A legal injustice is either a violation of a person`s rights or a breach of a legal duty on behalf of a party. SC`s lack of visibility may result in legal liability. To give an example, in December 2019, the human rights firm International Rights Advocates in Washington DC filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of 14 parents and children from the Democratic Republic of Congo, naming Apple, Alphabet, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla as defendants. Some of the complainants were as young as six years old. They were kidnapped to work in the mines. Ten of the complainants were seriously injured or maimed. "John Doe 3," who worked in a mine operated by a subsidiary of a Chinese mining company, had lost his leg.56 The lawsuit alleged that the deaths and serious injuries of several children who claimed to work in the cobalt mines were aided and abetted by the defendant companies, which were "knowingly committed by. brutal abuse of young children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo" (www.iradvocates.org/sites/iradvocates.org/files/stamped%20-Complaint.pdf). As a byproduct of copper and nickel mining, cobalt is used to power rechargeable lithium batteries used in these companies` products such as smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles. The plaintiffs claimed that the cobalt mines where the children were employed were at the bottom of the defendants` SC ladder and therefore had a responsibility to pay damages for forced labor.57 The injured families and children also sought additional compensation for "unjust enrichment, negligent supervision, and intentional infliction of emotional distress." 57 This chapter identifies the existing law in which behavioural dependency is relevant to judicial decisions. It is these areas of law that are most likely to be affected by DSM-5 recognition of behavioral dependence as a diagnostic category.
While it is difficult to predict future legal developments or harmonize the different bodies of U.S. federal law and the laws of all 50 states, a discussion of the potential legal significance of behavioral addiction has value. Advice is provided by reviewing existing laws that have considered or may consider behavioral addiction as a relevant legal issue. Since the legal decisions to be discussed are generally considered expert opinions of psychotherapists, the chapter concludes with a discussion of expert statements in such cases. Medical negligence is relatively rare, but it is more common in product liability lawsuits. A party seeking comprehensive certification is usually required to prove that there are general questions of law or fact and that the class action is superior to individual actions. Even in a case where the same legal cause of action is raised by several people – for example, a lawsuit brought by a group of patients in a similar situation against a surgeon seeking damages for alleged inferior spine surgery services – the facts, circumstances, cause of the damage, and specific damages vary from patient to patient. The courts generally refuse to certify them.
Both principles impose liabilities on industrial and commercial enterprises when their commercial activity causes harm to the public. They essentially state that liability should arise in certain cases, even in the absence of intent or negligence. In law, liability means "responsible or legally liable; legally obliged." [1] Legal liability concerns both civil and criminal law and can arise from different areas of law, such as contracts, tort, taxes or fines imposed by public authorities. The plaintiff is the one who wants to establish or prove responsibility. Economists use the term "legal liability" to describe the legal obligation to pay the debt. [10] Compare the following attributes to the tort principles to which they refer. In order for vicarious liability to arise, there must be a legal relationship between the defendant and the third party. In other words, the law must be able to assign and extend liability to the third party. Indeed, the mere loss of money or monetary value is not a crime. To constitute a crime, there must be an actual violation of certain rights in the form of damages. Liability insurance (also known as liability insurance) protects against losses resulting from liability lawsuits. Liability insurance generally covers the insured`s legal defense and all damages awarded by the court up to the policy limit.
Some liability insurance is usually included in certain types of insurance, such as auto insurance and home insurance. However, the amount of coverage for these types of insurance is usually small, so wealthier people usually supplement their coverage with personal umbrella insurance (also known as excess insurance), which significantly increases liability damage coverage. However, roof insurance usually requires the insurance applicant to have basic coverage through auto insurance or home insurance, as roof insurance is considered a deductible. An aggrieved party who seeks damages by bringing an action is called a plaintiff; The party who allegedly breached a legal obligation owed to the plaintiff is the defendant. A plaintiff may sue one or more defendants for the same misconduct; Co-defendants held responsible are called accomplices. In a class action lawsuit, plaintiffs are similarly situated individuals who are jointly represented by a plaintiff in litigation against one or more defendants and who raise the same cause of action and damages. Damnum sine injuria is a Latin legal maxim that essentially means damage without injury. This means a real loss that occurs without violation of legal rights. Every person has certain legal rights. An error of law is a violation of a person`s legal rights or a breach of a legal duty to a person, business organization or company as a whole. For certain types of liability, the law may impose absolute liability (also known as strict liability) on certain parties, thus avoiding the need to prove fault in court.
For example, manufacturers are held strictly responsible for defective products they manufacture. Respondeat superior is a legal principle that dictates when an employer is responsible for an employee`s actions. Employers should be concerned about this rule if the employee commits a tort or felony if he or she acted in the course of employment at the time of the incident. The term "field of employment" refers to the fact that an employee performs a job assigned by his or her employer or performs a task that is the responsibility of the employer.


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Rumor: Photograph shows a dogfighting event sponsored by Heineken beer.
Claim: Photograph shows a dogfighting event sponsored by Heineken.
I found the picture below on FaceBook. I know that photoshop can be very good, but this looks real. Is there any way to check to see if Heineken really did sponsor this dog fighting event?
boycotts against the Amsterdam-based company.
However, further investigation revealed that the photo had been taken back in 2010 at a nightclub in Mongolia, and Heineken had neither been aware of the dogfighting activity nor had it sponsored it. The club's owner confirmed the Heineken banners had been put up for a promotional event held at the club the night before and had not been removed by the time the dogfight took place the following day.
Images continue to circulate in social media channels showing a dog fight, with Heineken banners clearly visible in the background. This is very distressing and totally unacceptable. As a company and a brand owner, we do not and would never knowingly support any event, outlet or individual involved in this type of activity. It is against our company and brand rules and — more important — against our company values.
The venue owner has formally confirmed that Heineken banners are visible in the pictures because the previous evening the club had been decorated for a promotional event and he had failed to remove the banners once it was over. This event was in no way related to the dog fight.


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Home Lifestyle Home Inspector Found Dozens Of Love Letters, What He Decided To Do...
Home Inspector Found Dozens Of Love Letters, What He Decided To Do Will Warm Your Heart
Jane Angeles
Technology seems to be very fast nowadays. From sending letters down to telephones and now mobile phones that almost everyone has it. A generation passed and the way of communication is getting easier and accessible to all. But it is still sweet to remember the memories that you had during those good old days. Writing a letter nowadays is considered to be sweet but sadly only a few prefer to do it.
Bob Nau is a home inspector who found dozens of love letters from a home in Arizona. He was trying to inspect different parts of the house when he came across the attic. He was surprised seeing a bunch of love letters that were written back in the 1950s. He was touched by the sentimental notes that he has read and it seems like he wanted to look for the owners of those love letters. He found out that the author was a Navy sailor named Roger Wright who passed away at the year 1981. However, Bob still determined to search for the family members who have the right to keep the letters.
We all have something that is close to our hearts. We have things at home that we keep and take care of because it serves as a sweet memory of our loved ones. Watch the video below to see Bob's reaction when he found the love letters from the attic.
Bob Nau
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I get the question a lot whether or not the last week of school we "do anything". Of course we do. I consider it one of the most important weeks of school. We not only DO things and learn, but we have the most fun of all.
It's a time where we review in really fun ways.
Here are some things we've done this last week.
The PM Class is still focusing on COLORS, colors, COLORS! We played a lot of matching games this week then talked about the different colors.
Shape/Color BINGO is a favorite. Today we played with marshmallows.
This group of AM kiddos (4/5 year old) is SUPER smart. They are my number class. I have really had to challenge them this year. This last week we have been ordering numbers (1-20). This is a fun Smart Board game.
I absolutely LOVE my kiddos, all of them, but these ALMOST Kindergarteners have a very special place in my heart. I've had them for 2 years and am very sad to see them go. I have watched them grow and mature. They are ready for Kindergarten!!
Take a look at our Graduation Slide Show. This was played before graduation. Mrs. Roder and Miss. Wiecken's classes are also in the video.
We had so much fun at the YMCA. Thank you PTO for allowing us to go!
We entered the Eric Litwin "Keep Rolling" dance contest.
I'm pretty proud of how it turned out.
This is a glimpse at our CENTER TIME! At Early Childhood we believe learning happens through play.
We give our students plenty of opportunities to play.
Elena and Alliana were putting an alphabet puzzle together at first. Then they decided on their own to sort the letters by color. After they sorted, they counted. There was no prompting by a teaching. Smart girls.
Javier made a ramp for his cars.
He was making all sort of noises to go along with his play.
These girls were in the dress up area. Erika and Amaya decided Aleena was sick.
They were playing Doctor. They gave her medicine and she felt much better.
Hunter loves puzzles. This puzzle is a hard one where you have to match pieces (community helper to job site). He was successful in the end.
I'm sure you all have seen these papers come home and wonder what it is. Well this is our "paint center". It's an easy clean up for me. The students use paint markers to paint. This center allows students to strengthen their wrist muscles.


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Elizabeth is "the heart and soul" of Bioshock Infinite
Posted on March 28, 2013 by Gerard Campbell	Leave a comment
On Tuesday, I finished Bioshock Infinite.
According to Steam, I'd sunk 22-plus hours into it but then I realised that about five of those were when I had to go out and left the game paused, so I'm putting it at around 16 hours.
Since I finished Infinite, I've been thinking about it a lot. It left me with a lot of questions. And while I felt that the game lost its momentum a little at times and one of the game's most hyped "characters" (Songbird) was underutilised, Bioshock is a thoroughly enjoyable game that is one of the best I've played in a long, long time.
It's crowning glory, though is Elizabeth, the young girl that the game's main character Booker DeWitt has to rescue from Zachary Comstock, a self-proclaimed profit prophet who rules over the city-in-the-sky Columbia. It's a game of twists and unexpected events.
I've got a review coming for the game soon but until then, here's an interview I did with Irrational Games' Bill Gardner about the game and Elizabeth, one of the best game companion's I've encountered in a long, long time.
Of all the achievements Irrational Games has made in Bioshock Infinite, the one that Bill Gardner, Irrational's user experience specialist, is most proud of is Elizabeth, the young girl that Booker DeWitt must protect.
Gardner, who has worked with Irrational's founder Ken Levine for 11 years, said he hoped gamers formed an emotional attachment to Elizabeth.
''We spent a huge portion of our effort in getting her right. She is very much the heart and soul of the story and in a lot of ways in game play. When we initially set out to build the game we said we wanted to have a companion character, primarily because we wanted to find these new ways to innovate in story and to take our unique brand of game play and narrative and merge them together.
"With Booker and Elizabeth we had this opportunity to create this attachment, to create this relationship that the player doesn't really see in other games. When you see her [Elizabeth] from start to finish and see the path that she goes on I think that is the piece that I'm most proud of and the piece that will turn the most heads.''
It wasn't an easy task creating Elizabeth, says Gardner.
'I think we all have recurring nightmares about the uncanny valley. It's incredibly challenging [creating a character like Elizabeth] but that was why we were drawn to it: To get a character that's not only believable but endearing. We spent a tremendous amount of time getting her eyes right. I don't just mean the look of them but we spent a lot of time studying the human eye and the way it moves and the way it tracks people. There are all these subtleties and you put it into the game.
"'Eventually people start to react to her as a human and starting to react to her as a character. And when you can do that, and people start talking about her as a person, then you know you've done something special. We hope people will get an emotional attachment to her. I really do believe people will.''
Gardner describes himself as Irrational's "internal editorial force" and much of his job on Bioshock Infinite was giving feedback and offering suggestions to both game play and narrative.
''How can I try and help the game get better? I look into my crystal ball and find what is and isn't working. I put myself into the shoes of the gamer, something that is difficult to do. Ken [Levin] noticed that I had the ability to do this.''
One of the most notable game modes in Bioshock Infinite is 1999 Mode, which, in part, harks back to the game play found in the acclaimed – and scary – System Shock 2, which influenced the original Bioshock. 1999 Mode made player choice matter, says Gardner.
''When you think back to games like System Shock 2 and the way Bioshock evolved as a spiritual successor, in that evolution there were a number of gamers who felt that the choices weren't as meaningful as they used to be … we got feedback that people wanted some more meaningful choice.
"When I played System Shock 2, I remember standing in front of a weapon or an upgrade station and being ''Oh, my God, what do I want to pick?''. I'm sweating over that choice so we wanted to make sure that [in Bioshock Infinite] we captured that feeling that when you make a choice it means something and you don't go 'Oh, I made a choice. Big deal'.
''To some degree Bioshock was about letting players have a huge toolset and let them have fun and if you make the wrong choice, just try something else. With this mode [1999 Mode] you're basically forced to make very careful decisions in your upgrades, very careful decisions in what tools you're using and if you deviate from those positions you're going to have a much harder time and you'll probably end up seeing the 'Game Over' screen'.''
Gardner says Bioshock Infinite's game world, set in the floating city of Colombia, has a unique visual feel to it and while it feels ''eerily familiar'' to Rapture in Bioshock it is very different from the ''dark, dank, oppressive'' environments of that game.
The stakes are high with Bioshock, says Gardner, but Irrational didn't want to take the easy road with the game.
''We could have easily taken the easy route but we're challenging ourselves, and gamers themselves want to be challenged. We want to amaze people with a world that they haven't seen before and with a narrative where they've never been before.''
Gardner believes part of the appeal of the Bioshock universe is the "unique vision and aesthetic" and the interactivity in video games sets it apart from more traditional forms of media.
"The interactivity is what sets us apart so embracing that is important, not only in new ways to innovate but in new ways of storytelling. We pushed the narrative in a different direction by introducing Elizabeth and Booker, two characters that really evolve as human beings, and to see that evolution is really unlike anything that I've seen in a game.
"We take these chances because I think gamers appreciate them and I think gamers are willing to take on challenges and new things. Frankly, I don't think enough games give gamers that kind of credit and give gamers that leeway and they kind of have a tendency to go with what is safe. We take risks.''
Tomb Raider: teaching an old girl new tricks
Posted on March 11, 2013 by Gerard Campbell	One comment
New-look Lara: younger, less sure in the world but just as deadly.
This talks about some of aspects of the new Tomb Raider game in detail but it doesn't spoil any of the story. At least, I don't think it does: what I think isn't a spoiler, someone might think is. If you don't want know about things in the game, then perhaps wait till you've finished the game before you read this. Just a thought.
Perhaps the most shocking moments, for me, in the re-booted Tomb Raider were Lara Croft's deaths.
They are deadly and gruesome, each one seemingly more horrific than the last.
The very first time Lara Croft died while I was playing through Crystal Dynamics' origin story of the famed English adventurer (who is a much more realistic and naturally proportioned than the original large bosumed one) I was shocked.
Croft had to escape a collapsing underground cave and as she runs through a gap in the rock, a rough hand form a pursuer grabs one of her ankles, trying to pull her back.
A quick time event is activated but if you get a "waggle the stick/keys left and right then press the right button" sequence wrong she's crushed by a giant bolder, her left hand stretched out towards the camera, twitching as the life drains from her now crushed body. The screen is drained of colour and the last checkpoint is reloaded.
In another death, while Lara is parachuting through a thick forest, tall trees needing to be avoided, clipping too many outstretched branches results in our young adventurer being impaled on a spiky branch, the wood piercing her chest. In another death sequence, Croft is impaled through the throat by a steel spike. This is a much more violent, much more graphically jarring Tomb Raider.
This is a Tomb Raider for today's gamer, too: gritty, realistic and unflinchingly violent that sort of feels like a cross between Uncharted and Lost, the TV show. I didn't like Lost but I liked Uncharted, so I'm OK with that comparisons.
When we first meet young Lara Croft she is on-board the research vessel Endurance, excited about the adventure ahead and what she will find, but shortly after the ship that she and her companions are on snaps in half in a violent storm, and they're shipwrecked on the mysterious Yamatai island in the infamous Dragon's Triangle, she's a scared, lonely young girl – barely in her 20s – forced to fight for her life and rescue her friends, captured by violent mercenaries led by a deranged man called Mathias.
It's the game's opening moments that you find that this is a more vulnerable, more innocent Lara Croft than the one we've been used to. In an attempt to weather the storm, she starts a fire under a rocky overhand, and in an effort to keep warm, pulls her knees up to her chest, desperate to heat the chill running through her bones. She looks scared, vulnerable and out of her depth. It's a Lara Croft the likes of which we've never seen before.
That said though, this is a video game and gamers demand action, so it's isn't long before Croft becomes a merciless killer, necessitated by the situations she finds herself in.
The first death at her hands comes moments after she is forced to fight for her life with a mercenary, shooting him dead after a struggle with a loaded pistol.
It's at this point that any chance of a passive Lara Croft trotting through to the end of the game is ancient history and it's a case of kill or be killed as she searches for her friends and a way to get of the island, a place shrouded in Japanese mythology and the supernatural. As the game progresses, and her abilities increase, she's able to silently kill enemies by choking them with her bow, dropping them to the ground quietly.
Tomb Raider initially arms Croft with a meagre but still formidable arsenal: a bow and arrow (scavenged from a dead body), a pistol (taken from the mercenary she shot) and a rudimentary climbing axe (found embedded in an animal carcass in an underground bunker). A neat thing is that all the weapons can be upgraded, using skill points and salvaged weapons parts, recovered from dead bodies and small crates littering around the island, so soon enough her meagre weapons are quite powerful, especially the bow which I favoured quite a bit.
For me part, the reason this Tomb Raider is so good is the strength of its exploration. Yes, there's the obligatory on-screen objective marker activated at the push of a button, triggering Croft's Survival Instinct mode (her form of Batman's detective vision), but there is so much to explore that it's easy to put the main objective aside and search for relics, lost diaries and other interesting items. Explore as much as you can. I recommend you do.
As far as tomb raiding goes, hardcore fans will be disappointed as the actual tomb stalking takes a back seat in this Tomb Raider – exploring tombs and crypts is now entirely optional – but it's worth deviating and investigating tombs when you stumble across them. The puzzles in these tombs aren't as taxing as those of old but they'll do.
Sometimes, though, the game wrests control from the player to maintain its cinematic presentation, such as automatically crouching to get under an object or will initiate a cut scene mid-action, and that will annoy some gamers. Last year, when I first played the opening sequence to the game at Tomb Raider demo at last year's EB Game Expo
in Sydney I did fear that the game might be too reliant on cut scenes and cinematic sequences, and there are plenty, but such treatment didn't seem to detract from the game play. Other times, the game will hold your hand by highlighting what objects can be climbed (wooden walls are splattered by white paint), but it didn't worry me. And, as if in a nod to traditional gaming conventions, orange barrels that can explode are here in abundance, especially in tightly compacted environments. When will bad guys learn?
I felt that the Quick Time Events were overused at times during the combat, especially to take down larger, heavily armoured enemies, and it does make me question whether we really need QTEs anymore.
Personally, I found the re-booted Tomb Raider a shot in the arm for the series, and it was pleasing seeing a Lara Croft that is more grounded in reality than previous incarnations. It's also amazing to think that this Tomb Raider is from the same console generation that also bought us Tomb Raider Legend: The differences between the two games are stark, not only graphically.
I found Tomb Raider a lot of fun and it shows that there is still life in the old girl yet.
The Last of Us: a new take on survival horror?
Posted on March 5, 2013 by Gerard Campbell	One comment
Happy to see me? Joel has his hands full with one of The Last of Us' clickers.
Clickers are not the sort of thing you want to tackle head-on.
Appearing in Naughty Dogs' post-apocalyptic The Last of Us, clickers are humans turned into monsters by a deadly fungal infection. Clearly, it's something a little more potent than athelete's foot then.
They might be blind and have a head that looks as though a mushroom has imploded in on itself, but they're deadly, thanks to their heightened sense of hearing and a guttural sonar-like clicking sound.
If they hear a noise they'll become alert, their head moving from side to side to locate the source. They can move pretty quickly, too, and trying to down them in a frontal assault results in a painful death – as I found out several times during my hands-on time with alpha code of the game. Clickers go for the neck, leaving little to the imagination.
In his first encounter with a clicker, in an abandoned, shadowy, partially-destroyed building, Joel, the hero of The Last of Us with a sketchy past, has two options: skirt around the creature silently, making sure not to attract its attention, or pick up one of the myriad objects lying around – say, a bottle or a brick – and throw it, creating a distraction. That'll get the clickers attention.
I guide Joel behind a set of drawers, picking up a brick then lob it towards the corner of the room. The lone clicker perks up – what's left of his head turning to the direction of the noise – and he shambles forward, trying to pinpoint where the noise came from.
Before entering the room I fashioned a shiv – a makeshift knife – out of a pair of scissors and some tape that I'd found discarded in a room. Supplies are in short supply so you quickly learn to pick up whatever you come across. You never know when you'll need it. The shiv is going to come in handy with clickers. Of course, you can use guns and pipes against them, but clickers are a hardy bunch and take a lot of bullets to down, leaving you open to attack from other infected nearby. Ammunition is also in short supply so stealth is often the best option in some situations.
But back to our friend the clicker.
The shambling monster is now sniffing around some desks in the corner of the room, investigating the noise. His back is towards me. My PR minder urges me to run towards the creature – done so by holding down the PS3 controller's L2 button – hoping to initiate a silent kill. I hesitate too long and the clicker turns around, his teeth sinking into Joel's neck. Clickers are only distracted for around a second so stealth kills need to be quick and without hesitation.
I try again: tossing a brick into the corner of the room, attracting the attention of the clicker. I run towards him but this time I had realise I'd forgotten to fashion a shiv so have nothing to stab him with. The last checkpoint is reloaded.
I try one more time, shiv made and no hesitation. I rush the distracted clicker. An on-screen prompt appears. I press the triangle button and Joel stabs the clicker, its twitching body falling to the ground. Be warned: Stealth kills on clicker must be flawless and perfectly timed. There is no room for error.
This was an easy kill. It was just one clicker, but things get much tougher when confronted with several clickers and runners, a form of infected human that can both see you and runs towards you. Fast. A variety of strategies need to be used if you want to survive in The Last of Us' unforgiving urban wasteland.
Unlikely pairing: Joel is gruff and has a mysterious past; Ellie is a 14-year-old girl is a dab hand with a handgun.
Tagging along with Joel is Ellie, a 14-year-old girl that he met while exploring the city, and Tess. Ellie's had to grow up fast and she's handy with a gun, although in my time with the game she was a little too eager at times. I died a couple of times from clicker attacks to the neck while silently creeping up behind one because she decided to start shooting at it!
The Last of Us forces you to assess a situation then act. Gung-ho actions will result in death. If there's a lone runner, then taking him out quietly, usually by strangulation, is the best option. And never use your gun if you don't have too, especially if other infected are nearby. The noise will attract nearby infected.
To help in assessing a situation, Joel has the ability to go into "listening" mode, activated by R2, which lets him see where the zombies are and plan his moves accordingly (quite how he is able to do that, I'm not sure). It's a handy tool for seeing where clickers and other infected are.
Another useful item that can be crafted is molotov cocktails, fashioned from scavenged bottles and petrol. Molotov's are incredibly useful in clearing out three or four clickers congregating together, especially in the infected's hive. A shotgun works wonders, too, but again, ammunition is in short supply and is the noise it will create worth it? Taking several clickers out at once is less terrifying than creeping around in the shadows, fearful that one will appear around a corner when you least expect it.
The Last of Us manages to give you edge-of-the seat scares without being over-the-top frightening. It's a survival horror game that forces you to think before you act and use your resources wisely. I like that.
It's out in June on the PlayStation 3.