text:
Talk about general things concerning Forged Alliance Forever.
Moderators: FtXCommando, Ze Dogfather
by FtXCommando » 07 Apr 2019, 08:57
For those of you that are not aware, The Council has decided to have two positions operate under a yearly election cycle. These two positions are mine (Player Councillor) and the Maps and Mod Councillor.
I'm making this thread to serve as the general announcement that the process of gathering applicants and voting on who will take these spots will be beginning now. However, I'd like to lay some general groundwork about how things will work for the upcoming months in this election process:
- The first month (so ending around the first weekend of May) will be devoted to applicants that desire either position presenting themselves in the appropriate thread for the council position. Similar to other elections, candidates will explain who they are, what they would like to do, what their plans are on reaching those goals, their credentials, and anything else they deem noteworthy in advancing their case for helping the community.
- People will be able to join in the threads and ask candidates questions in order to learn more about them and their plans. As the elections are a democratic process, people are encouraged to be involved through the whole process. However, once the first month is over the election threads will be closed.
- Once we enter early May, a poll similar to the one held for PC Elections last year will be done for both positions. A person will be able to rank their first and second choice for each position and several rounds will be done eliminating the person with the least votes and redistributing the votes as necessary. If you are curious how it was done, you can look back at the documentation of the 2018 PC Election.
- Around early June the results will be announced and FAF can continue under their visions.
In addition, I'd like to remark that this is going to be an interesting election because it's going to be the first time FAF is going to have one where someone is running for reelection instead of just being replaced. I will be throwing my hat back into the ring for Player Councillor this year.
However, SilentWarrior has expressed to the Council that he no longer wishes to continue with his duties as Maps and Mods Councillor. Due to recent real life obligations he no longer feels he can spend the time he feels is necessary to maintain his sector of FAF and feels it's time to transfer the position to someone that can build on the infrastructure he laid out. His work is greatly appreicated in consolidating the Mapping and Modding area and I'm eager to see how people plan on using his work to build a better FAF.
On that note, good luck everyone and I hope we see as much participation as possible!
Player Councillor Thread:
https://forums.faforever.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17393
Maps and Mods Councillor Thread:
https://voting.faforever.com/vote
Vote is live
Are you upset? Are you happy? Are you a FAF Player? Come to the PC Discord and share your thoughts and build the community!
https://discord.gg/Y2dGU8X
FtXCommando
FAF User Name: FtXCommando
Re: Upcoming Elections
by Morax » 08 Apr 2019, 20:56
May I inquire as to why only these two annual elections?
I think some other positions deserve to be contested so if anyone in particular may be better suited, or the current councilor needs motivation, there is backing.
Maps and Modifications Councilor
M&M Discord Channel
Come join us and help create content with the artists of FAF.
FAF User Name: Morax
by keyser » 08 Apr 2019, 22:02
which one ?
Zockyzock:
VoR is the clan of upcoming top players now
FAF User Name: keyser
by Geosearchef » 08 Apr 2019, 23:43
I thought promo councillor was elected aswell. Which happened just recently.
And the others cannot be elected. (administrative councillor(legally), dev councillors(really bad idea, also a legal issue due to server access probably), moderator councillor(legally))
Developer, Server Admin, ICE, currently working on Team Matchmaking, FAF Client
Geosearchef
FAF User Name: Geosearchef
by Mountain » 09 Apr 2019, 06:48
I (promo councillor) was appointed, not elected.
FAF User Name: Montana
Yeah they had to ensure moon did not win.
Morax wrote: May I inquire as to why only these two annual elections?
Council decision (basically unanimous on this part) was for effectively every position to be elected. However, this didn't mean for every position to be elected by the general public. The idea is that for several positions (devops, game code, moderation) involving the general public would be a needless complication that makes performing duties harder. For devops and game code, you now risk people promising things that can't actually be done as well as simplistic explanations that do not adequately explain certain situations or conflicts. For moderation, well, it's kind of like electing your cops or judges (and the danger of that can be seen in some US counties).
The conclusion was to create some sort of system that allows for the group said councillor LEADS to be the people that decide on the position. Devs vote for dev ops, game coders vote for game councillor, moderators vote for mod councillor, etc. This is basically what led to Gorton gaining his seat.
This also means that if those under a councillor feel the councillor is not doing his job, some sort of petition process can be done to initiate elections (if they are not annual).
There were three areas of controversy that arose during this decision:
Some felt that Balance Councillor should be publically voted on. I and some others disagreed because of the fact it seems to inevitably come down to a popularity contest (as the BH v Zock election certainly had this element) and it encourages an oscilation in balance policy. People that dislike balance changes will be predisposed to actively push for a change in balance and will try to get a councillor that pushes back against the change. Said councillor gets the spot, revokes changes, and now the faction that made the initial changes would be booted from the balance team (losing experienced members) and try to do the same thing to the new balance faction. This oscilation will destroy the stability of the community and eventually it was agreed to keep the vote within the balance team.
Admin Councillor voting was one that could either not be possible due to legal reasons as it would involve a lot of transferring of certain FAF accounts and might pose a security risk or it would be a decision done by the Council itself. Kind of like a board of directors choosing a new CEO if they feel the current one is unsatisfactorily handling his duties. No real decision was reached on this matter so currently Admin isn't a position that can be touched.
Last controversy is the Promo Councillor seat. It's not really a controversy so much as me disagreeing with the overall decision, though. Basically, I wanted to have a general election for promo because I saw no real reason for why the general public would harm the integrity of the position or be unable to understand the platform of candidates. Others felt that the position held too much power as it gave access to things like the FAF Facebook and Twitter and so if a risky candidate got the position they could harm the FAF brand.
So this leaves us with Maps/Mods and Player for annual elections.
First and foremost, good summation and history - appreciate it!
Balance will always be an oscillation of mixed opinions and like/dislike. I don't think that means it should not get a chance to see if perhaps there's a better person out there.
Jagged is great, don't get me wrong, but why the solidification in his hold exists is beyond me.
Moon bear could have at least been given a chance much like yourself. People doubted you and you turned out to not set out to destroy the community.
As an example, the general player on FAF is an 800 rated astro crater/dual gap player. In order to appeal to said player, are people going to be arguing about the need to allow cheaper t2 stage to make 5x5s easier or is the general debate instead going to hover around whether we need to introduce a t4 mex to make the late game more fun?
The balance forums themselves seem to be an excellent look into the sort of discussions that will be inevitable if the balance spot becomes a publically elected spot and that really doesn't seem like the right way to go for me. I'd feel a lot more comfortable keeping it between the balance team, particularly since the balance team as it is now isn't just a hivemind of similarly minded people. To me it looks like the balance team is a solid curation of the people that know what they are talking about in regards to game balance issues and if someone is unhappy about the ways things are progressing they should try to see if they could help the team/get involved in conversations.
We did give moonbear a chance in that he had an interview just as the other 3 candidates for promo did. However the Council ended up going with Mountain. If you mean that it should have been elected, well, I don't disagree with you. But the rest of the Council decided it wasn't a good idea to make it an elected position and so here we are.
FtXCommando wrote: If you mean that it should have been elected, well, I don't disagree with you. But the rest of the Council decided it wasn't a good idea to make it an elected position and so here we are.
As long as you disapprove of the council being tyrannical then I approve of you.
Cute how politics at all levels involve changing around things in favor of who is currently in power.
Jump to: Board index › Forged Alliance Forever › General Discussions


text:
Belconnen Premier Inn Easily Tracks Wage Spend with Employment Hero
Belconnen Premier Inn operating in Canberra, ACT
Using Employment Hero Premium and HeroPay Premium
Read this case study if you:
Pay mostly to timesheets
Need to keep track of various certifications
Are concerned about time theft
Premier Hotel and Apartments in Belconnen, Canberra offers beautifully-designed rooms that are perfect for both leisure or business trips. The hotel is both stylish and affordable and its team of staff are passionate about providing the best experiences possible for their guests.
To provide this, Operations Manager Jason Ingram knows how important it is for internal processes to be as efficient as possible. When it came to managing his staff, he knew there was room for improvement – especially when it came to rostering and timesheets.
Manual HR and Payroll Falling Behind
"Everything was manual," says Jason. "Payroll used to take five to six hours. Rosterings was all in a spreadsheet and every time we created a roster, we'd have to double check it against the requested time off and make sure everyone was available."
With over 60 staff to manage, the burden of manually processing rostering and timesheets was becoming increasingly difficult and it was time for Premier Hotels to consider an HRIS. The hotel signed with Employment Hero a year ago, choosing to implement Employment Hero Premium and HeroPay Premium, which would solve all their rostering and timesheet headaches.
Employment Hero Gives Greater Visibility Over Rostering and Timesheets
"It's so much easier to keep track of the daily wage spend and to see if we're on budget, as well as when we need to pull it in and tighten up a bit. Rostering is so much easier as well."
With HeroPay, time and attendance is easily managed through Clock Me In, an app that records when employees arrive, take breaks and again when they leave. "We were saving money straight away because the casuals couldn't fudge their timesheets anymore, which was a bit of a problem before."
And where payruns used to take 5 to 6 hours, Jason says it doesn't take more than an hour with Employment Hero.
Keeping Track of Certifications
With its own onsite restaurant and kitchen, Premier Hotels also has a number of certifications that it needs to keep up-to-date. "It's now a lot easier to keep track of food handling and food safety certifications. They're all uploaded on Employment Hero and not in a file that can get lost; it's made that side of the business fantastic."
Hotels like Premier Hotel and Apartments benefit greatly from fully integrated HR and payroll management platforms. Employment Hero and HeroPay work together to automate award interpretation, time and attendance, rostering and timesheets, as well as helping to manage certifications and help Jason and Premier Hotels stay compliant.
If you're struggling to manage a large number of casual staff being paid under different awards, then book a demo with Employment Hero and see how your business can benefit from a fully integrated HR and payroll solution.
Jason Ingram
Operations Manager, Belconnen Premier Inn

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A rowing device might help you to definitely provide the ideal result in entire body workouts. This equipment is able to operate with each other while in the technique of cardio-vascular so it will probably be great for your health. Actually, this equipment is built to offer one of the simplest ways to maintain your healthier and that means you will are aware that it can be really valuable for you personally. If you want to purchase it and get the top a single for the desires, just look at this informative article out to assist you to in doing the right acquire.
I see that I confront this issue in my life on a regular basis, so the adhering to success tactics aren't simply "pie from the sky techniques", but proven means to obtain your self to go even if you do not really feel like carrying out something.
Other illustrations: It's possible you're a home loan broker who feels like sleeping in. Inform by yourself that following the up coming a few mortgages you shut you may choose your kids for the reasonable, or your husband or wife to your videos. Some insights on logical waterrower review. Probably you may give you an evening on the town with previous pals.
Get enough rest. Provide the leisure the total overall body requires over the evening may also help keep starvation down in the working day, making it less difficult to adhere to the burden reduction application that is serving to you tone up your arms. Experts have found that individuals who snooze about eight hours an evening commonly are inclined to have lessen amounts of a hormone termed ghrelin, which happens to be in reality popular to cause food items cravings, and higher levels of a further hormone leptin which makes you are feeling comprehensive. Definitely, after you aren't acquiring adequate rest, our system linked with much less hrs of snooze with the excessive decrease in power, and so try and compensate for and needs us to eat a lot more.
Following a whilst he observed a employed rowing machine the exact same as mine and procured it. Now he compensated just a fifth of what I did and that i form of fifty percent envisioned that he'd get what he paid out for. But it is really been a 12 months now and mine is jogging very well. Nevertheless the point is, so is his! Now do not get me incorrect I am pleased for his bargain because it actually ended up educating me an excellent lesson – check around for used exercising machines before just buying a new one!
About one month afterwards my good friend who had seriously be taken by my new rower received his individual. He also had stopped visiting the gym and was tests out my machine to check out if he favored it.
The displays, PM3 and PM4, are modern types that present an important metrics for monitoring your pulse and rowing stats. Your pulse is monitored by a tool that you simply strap throughout your chest. You could possibly imagine it will probably be visible and become awkward, but but it truly is really the alternative. I can inform you from what I've seasoned that you will by no means know a coronary heart amount watch is strapped throughout your upper body when you're training. The info within the sensor is actually transmitted for the PM3 or PM4 for processing and exhibit.
Other illustrations: Probably you're a counselor who actually won't would like to spend the day hearing persons. Your affiliation may be that it's going to be dull, or that you will be inside of when it is actually sunny outdoors. In its place, re-associate oneself into the fact of the make a difference: Another person is going to be far better off because of your care and issue. Think about your clients as well as development they have been generating lately and exactly how you may have been part of that.
Reducing weight generally is a complicated activity. There are lots of various programs to pick from, so selecting the program which is ideal for you generally is a pretty challenging job. The following information is based with a analyze in the Middle for Human Diet in Denver and it offers us some insights concerning the method to go.
Prior to now, it had been considered that every one starch in food is digested and absorbed through the human body. On the other hand, present-day exploration has discovered that a good portion of starch cannot be digested and may be expelled from our human body. This portion of starch is referred to as resistant starch.
Women's get diet plan ebook on line should really comprise details that will help you drop some weight inside of a wholesome method. Which means no trend diet plans or crash weight loss plans. These are unhealthy and will not present you with everlasting bodyweight loss. What on earth is the sense shedding weight if it is not long term? One more thing that ought to be contained inside the books differs physical exercises. Should you adjust up the way in which you workout you confuse one's body producing it burn off a lot more energy and it'll also provide you with a more quickly fat burning capacity. A speedier rate of metabolism usually means burning extra body fat.
Just how long does it actually consider so as to receive a 6 pack and also have the abs you may have dreamed of? Dependant upon who you ask, you're going to get an insane amount of money of conflicting information on the subject. I want to share a pair tried out and legitimate methods to carry out it, in addition to a key technique for discovering the exact things which perform for the wide range of folks. Some ideas on quick strategies in nutrisystem craving crusher. Obtaining a 6 pack and attaining the right abs you wish doesn't have to generally be rocket science any more.At 1 issue or a further, every single man wishes to own six pack stomach muscles and glance like one of those six pack ab designs. But, the issue is, the way to definitely receive a six pack and what's genuinely the reality about six pack abdominal muscles program and just how can it support me to have perfectly sculpted and toned stomach muscles? Nicely I have terrific information for you or any person, old or youthful, that needs to.
It wasn't right up until I discovered with regards to the buildup of unpleasant plaque and parasites in my intestinal tract and bowels that made me prevent and choose recognize. Maybe you happen to be within the exact boat I was in. The good news is I found out I used to be likely inside the appropriate path.
It does not have to be a damaging know-how. In fact, it may be a really optimistic encounter. The answer just isn't discovered inside a magic tablet or trend diet program plan. It is found by looking again in time when meals was truly "food" and we nevertheless went exterior for any walk. Back again then weight problems wasn't a problem. It`s not a mystery. It`s just forgotten or dismissed.
If your muscle groups are now unfastened, and a few are restricted, extend individuals tight types twice so long as the some others. Target within the sites that give you one of the most issues. By carrying out this, it is possible to enhance every one of the areas that need help meanwhile developing your entire body symmetrically. When you exercise, you'll be able to also utilize the system when executing other physical exercises.
Don't get upset with slight setbacks. There may be situations any time you will get rid of significant weight and there'll be situations whenever you really don't reduce even quarter pound. Ups and downs are bound to be there. Even when you did not drop some bodyweight for your 7 days, chances are you'll have decreased the cholesterol stage, improved heart price, lessened blood sugar degrees and countless other advantages. Often appear within the much larger photograph and proceed to follow a fantastic effortless food plan strategy that is based upon healthy balanced diet program and workout.


text:
gal-dem interlude series episode 3 (part 2): living in limbo
Ifama
Interlude episode 3 (part 2) follows on from its previous episode, continuing to discuss our experiences as part of the millennial diaspora, exploring the power of language to both unite and separate, defining home by location and the inherent fluidity in the foundation of our stories.
"It was so exhausting and draining to be constantly told what I am, rather than what I was telling other people what I felt I was." – Juliette
A strong factor within this episode is a clear articulation of unique experiences. This highlighted that although we, as people of colour, share underlying connections and a sense of empathy with each other, our stories cannot be homogenised into a single one-dimensional story representing the entire diaspora.
Some of us can speak our mother tongue, some of us speak multiple languages fluently, some of us get by with a few words here and there, some of us feel isolated by not being able to speak the words of a nation we associate ourselves with and for some it isn't a vital part of embracing our culture. It's these differences within our stories that are important for us to articulate ourselves, through our own language and on our own terms.
"I can't speak my mother tongue, so I can't speak Punjabi; but I can understand it [so] not being able to speak it makes me feel like I am missing out on a large part of my culture." – Simran
"Speaking Ngala is really great cause means I can connect to all my family everywhere and it's also this thing that's really easy for me to plug into watching Congolese films or Congolese TV….and I feel like if I didn't have the language it would be a lot more difficult for me than people from Nigeria or Ghana as they can still speak in English. I would have no way of speaking to my family at all." – Liza
The call to constantly define our identities through procedures that fail to acknowledge multifaceted experiences can be an exhausting and isolating process. Interlude episode 3 draws familiar underlying connections between the members of the diaspora while the women share varying experiences of what it means to live in limbo.
"If they're telling you, just sit and listen. You don't always have to have a response. Just hear what they're saying and just learn from it." – Chelsea
This is interlude, a moment to consider subjects you may have disregarded or never even noticed. It's us digging up buried conversations, working our way through dialogue from the often silenced perspective of people of colour. We're examining the norm, reversing patterns and asking questions – uncomfortable ones.
The traditions that keep us connected to our heritage
gal-dem staff
I'm relearning Urdu to help me cope with losing my nani
Um-E-Aymen Babar
Where to find black and queer POC nightlife in Spain
Kemi Alemoru
These short Netflix docs prove that Britain is not boring
Kofo Ajala
Nanny uses West African mythology to demolish the American Dream
Matene Toure
Watch Ilẹ Wa, a short film about finding inner peace in your homeland
Tschabalala Self's painted women find power in domesticity
Precious Adesina


text:
Q: Как узнать сколько памяти занимает каждая переменная в скрипте PHP Появилась необходимость узнать, сколько занимает ОЗУ каждая переменная в скрипте PHP. Есть ли способы, кроме прописывания миллион раз memory_get_usage()?

A: function sizeofvar($var) {
    $start_memory = memory_get_usage();
    $tmp = unserialize(serialize($var));
    return memory_get_usage() - $start_memory;
}

A: переводить  и копипастить немогу, да и смысл.?
могу посоветовать тот инструмент, которым пользовался, есть xdebug, включен в phpExpertEditor PHPDesigner и в стандартную библиотеку ПХП но отключеа в php.ini
дальше можно загуглить xdebud и настроить его под себя. Он не сложный.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Are you brave enough to wear a quirky bow tie? If the answer is yes, then purchase our circles patterned in yellow and blue bow tie. We want our customers to feel confident in wearing a stylish bow tie with our with quality craftsmanship suits.


text:
Reality TV contestant accused of breach of contract
On Behalf of Law Offices of Levi Williams, P.A. | Jul 23, 2013 | Contract Disputes |
The Biggest Loser is a popular reality television program on NBC. In this competition style series, individuals compete to see who can lose the most weight in a set amount of time. Many of these contestants have been able to lose upwards of 100 pounds. Not only does this new lifestyle allow them to be healthier and more physically fit, but also it can lead to public recognition and endorsement deals.
After Tara Costa lost 155 pounds on the seventh season of The Biggest Loser, she was hired by FC Online Marketing to be a spokesperson for their company at public appearances and in photo shoots. This contract, which began in 2011, has been the subject of multiple legal battles over the past few months. In May, Costa sued FC for the unauthorized use of her image, although that lawsuit has since been dropped. Now FC is suing Costa in the state of Florida for breach of contract and copyright infringement.
The company claims that Costa has violated the terms of her contract by gaining too much weight. An executive for the company estimates that she has gained about 45 pounds since she became their spokeswoman. They claim that this weight gain prevents her from representing their brand. The company alleges that her contract contains a fitness clause in which she agreed to "maintain her current level of fitness and conditioning."
Before you sign a business contract, it is essential that you are aware of everything in that document. If you are looking for assistance with contract negotiation and counsel, a lawyer may be able to help.
Source: The Huffington Post, "Tara Costa, 'Biggest Loser' Contestant, Sued Over Weight Gain," Cavan Sieczkowski, July 9, 2013


text:
Home > Categories > Movies > Action > Crimson Tide review
« Adobe Acrobat v8 Professional review Stellanova Floating Globe - 20cm diameter review »
Score: 8.8/10 [2 reviews]
ProdID: 1305 - Crimson Tide
Crimson Tide product reviews
A stellar cast including Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, Viggo Mortensen and James Gandolfini resurfaces in a greater-than-ever Extended Edition of this intense hit thriller.
In the midst of a global crisis, the USS Alabama receives unconfirmed orders to launch its nuclear missiles - signaling the start of World War III! The tension escalates as the sub's respected commander (Hackman) and his brilliant executive officer (Washington) clash over the validity of their orders.... Battling each other for control of the sub!
As this epic stuggle rages under the sea, you take the command of edge-of-your-seat excitement and never-before-seen footage!
Check out Roadshow (NZ) Ltd online
Rating: 7.8 Shrek 2
Rating: 8.8 Final Destination 3
Rating: 5.0 Angels & Demons
Rating: 9.4 True Lies
Rating: 9.0 Hours
Rating: 9.8 Kindergarten Cop
Rating: 10.0 Begin Again
Rating: 8.0 The Lazarus Effect
Rating: 6.5 soundbreaking
Rating: 9.5 Earth: One Amazing Day
Rating: 8.5 Aquaman
Rating: 7.0 Apollo 11
Rating: 10.0
Review by: mizim (Miriam)
Dated: 28th of February, 2014
This Review: 9.0/10
Pay to see it again:
Attention Span:
Believeability:
Special Effects:
A very interesting movie.
Crimson Tide possesses one of the most intense moments in film: two great actors eye-to-eye, portraying characters absolutely certain of their actions, absolutely convinced that the other's course will lead to disaster. A submarine commander (Hackman) and his second-in-command (Washington) are both shouting at the same time, each ordering the next ranking officer (Dzundza) to arrest the other. Washington believes, with good reason that Hackman is unfit to command because he is disregarding naval procedures. Hackman believes, with good reason, that Washington is disobeying an order and instigating a mutiny. A possible nuclear exchange and the deaths of billions hang in the balance. Dzundza knows that he must make the correct decision, regardless of his like or dislike of each of his superiors.
There are traditional incidents that arise in submarine stories: fires, floods, sinking to the bottom, torpedoes, loss of communication. (After all, what more can you do in such a small set?) Crimson Tide has its share, but does them well: you won't be bored just because you have seen subs in the same situation before. The movie's major conflict arises over a very tense, crucially significant incident, a believable situation that could arise and, unresolved, lead to catastrophe for more than just the boat.
Hackman is always excellent portraying a character with depth. As the captain he can command respect and obedience with a growl, a steely look, an angry shout, or a wicked joke. In contrast, Washington's calm, strong, logical intensity is the immovable rock to Hackman's irresistible force. When his eyes bore into you (as in remember Glory and Philadelphia?) you feel his sincerity and strength in your bones. Crimson Tide has genuine, believable characters, edge-of-your-seat tension, and crackling, intense interchanges between two of my favorite actors. I recommend it as a thinking person's submarine movie.
My husband hasn't seen this yet, so it is a must watch for sometime in the future.
Review by: boggie (Hayden)
Crimson Tide is a very interesting action movie with a very believable story in today's world. It is not all about the explosions telling the story, the actors play a big part - and amazing actors it has too. Denzel Washington (Courage Under Fire, Remember The Titans) and Gene Hackman (Enemy Of The State, and a lot of westerns) deliver the goods in keeping the viewer interested.
It is also a very intense movie, with a tension that grows the more we learn about the 2 characters, whose opinions are as different as their skin colours.
The backup actors such as Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings) and James Gandolfini (Sopranos) do their jobs well in adding to the onboard conflict when sides must be chosen.
Another good point of the movie is there doesn't seem to be a bad guy, leaving it up to the viewer, in a way, which keeps you thinking right to the end.
This edition of Crimson Tide is an extended version, but I didn't see that the extra footage explained anything of great importance to the movie. I always get a little annoyed when they release extended versions of movies I've already purchased, but that's just me.
To sum it up it's a good submarine/modern-threat movie, that won't grow dust on your dvd shelf.
Random listing from 'Movies'...
Product reviews for listing 7813: The Man Who Invented Christmas - Directed by Bharat Nalluri
Using real-life inspiration and a vivid imagination, author Charles Dickens brings Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim and other classic characters to life in "A Christmas Carol," forever changing the holiday season into the celebration known today.
"Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?"


Another day of thirty degrees and an intense sun.
It's unusual for Swedish summers to get this warm. You usually need to plan ahead to find shelter for the rain; this day we hardly found shade.
This particular day and the images from it, are very important to me for various reasons. The first reason is that it's the wedding of my brother and my lovely sister-in-law. All of the people I hold near were there.
The second is that my grandmother was very tired on the day and couldn't make it to the wedding. Johan & Sofie couldn't imagine her not being part of their wedding day, so they came to her instead.
Actions like this one, is what makes Johan & Sofie one of my favorite couples. Not only do they bring out the best in each other; they are incredibly caring and always make sure that the people around them are in a good place.
This turned out to be the last time we visited our grandmother, who passed away two weeks later. I'm happy our last memories together are so vivid and so bright, filled with the kind of happiness only a wedding can bring.
This is the story of Johan and Sofie's wedding day. Pure joy.


Code accurately and efficiently with Carol J. Buck's 2012 ICD-10-CM Draft Standard Edition. Using Netter's Anatomy illustrations and the Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (OGCR) with a format designed by coders for coders, this handy reference simplifies diagnosis coding to ensure accurate billing and optimal reimbursement for outpatient medical services. Illustrations and explanations of A&P, pathology, and medical terminology make it easier to develop the knowledge needed to assign the appropriate codes.
Coverage of ICD-10-CM codes prepares you for the new code set replacing ICD-9-CM Volumes 1 & 2 for physician-based (outpatient) coding.
32 full-color Netter anatomy images are included in the front of the book, helping you understand complex anatomy and how it affects coding.
Photos and illustrations help you understand difficult terminology, diseases/conditions, and special coding considerations.
Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (OGCR) are included within the list of codes and in a separate index for fast, easy access to coding rules when you need them.
Numerous Annotations and Items throughout the Disease Tabular explain common diseases and conditions, helping you code more accurately.
Symbols for Unacceptable First-Listed Diagnosis, Use Additional Character(s), Unspecified, Complications and Comorbidities (CC) and Major Complications and Comorbities (MCC), Includes and Excludes, Code First, and Code Also clearly identify codes that will need special consideration to ensure accurate coding.
Present on Admission symbol highlights the diseases that will always be coded as present on admission.
Hospital Acquired Condition symbol notes specific conditions that will always be coded as hospital acquired for easier recognition.


The failure to spot a fractured bone is one of the most common complaints against Accident and Emergency departments.
If you fractured a bone which was left undiagnosed, call Imperium Law on 0800 633 5730 to find out if you are entitled to a payout.
suffer ongoing pain and discomfort.
the fracture will heal incorrectly.
complications may arise which could mean an invasion surgical procedure then becomes necessary.
In addition a person who has an untreated fracture may continue to use the part of the body which is affected when it should be kept immobile.
This could mean that treatment to correct the problem becomes more extensive, and there could be a longer recovery time than if the fracture had been spotted early.
No x-ray requested due to the inexperience of the examining doctor.
X-ray requested but the fracture was missed.
X-ray results were not passed on to a doctor for further action.
Each case is unqiue therefore call 0800 633 5730 to find out if you have grounds for a claim.
the doctor failed to act reasonably in assessing the injury.
the doctor's failure resulted in the true nature of the fracture being missed.
delayed diagnosis caused further injury.
If you have suffered injury at the hands of a negligent medical practitioner you have a right to seek compensation if their negligence caused you medical complications and you experienced further health problems.
Choose a specialist medical negligence solicitor to represent you as claims can be highly complex.
To discuss the details of your case with a medical compensation solicitor call 0800 633 5730.
We have a team of experts with specialist knowledge and experience of this area of law.
We are dedicated to getting claimants the compensation they deserve.
We can work on a 'No Win-No fee' basis.
We do not ask you to pay our costs unless we win you a payout.
To find out about making a claim for medical negligence call us free on 0800 633 5730 for no obligation advice.


A FULL NURSERY: Young plants are nurtured in the "veg" room under blue-spectrum light.
From the outside, the $6 million BOLD Team medical marijuana cultivation facility looks a bit like a prison and smells like a skunk. A sniffing, and naive, reporter thought the smell was coming from its mammalian source just outside the concertina-wired fence that surrounds the nursery in a fallow field in the middle of Cotton Plant (Woodruff County), but a savvy photographer set her straight.
Things are brighter on the inside, with long rooms of healthy, green plants nurtured and tended scientifically, with special grow lights, thermostats and air measuring devices, and vats of varying mixes of liquid fertilizer. Fans to blow air over the plants, fans to remove exhaust. A laboratory and a Brandeis University-trained chemist. A computer monitor tracking humidity fluctuations.
There are nine nurseries: The "mother" plant room, where clones are rooted; a "veg" nursery for "teenage" plants; and seven growing rooms, each holding 656 mature, budding plants. Each of the veg and mature nurseries are nearly 9,000 square feet.
The plants budding now will produce the first legal marijuana harvest in Arkansas, on April 22 or 23. BOLD Team's products, which include 24 strains, should be on the market by May 10. Those products will include flowers and pen cartridges filled with distillate for smoking.
CLONES: Robert Lercher shows the rockwool matrix the clones are placed in.
BOLD is an acronym of names of owners Danny Brown, Kyndall Lercher and Mark and Misty Drennan, with inventory director Cayne Orman as the O. Kyndall Lercher's husband, Robert Lercher, is the director of public relations. With the exception of Brown, they hail from Beebe, down-to-earth folks who, besides their venture into medical pot, own other businesses. Robert Lercher owns a company in McRae that repairs hail damage; Mark Drennan worked for the ABF trucking company in North Little Rock and owns a roofing business with Orman; Danny Brown owns Willy D's Rock & Roll Dueling Piano Bar. He's in another business that gets people high, too: Altitude Trampoline Parks.
THE 'MOTHER' ROOM: Where plants are rooted.
In the mother room, clones of Cannabis sativa and C. indica were happily rooting, either in small cubes of a nutrient-saturated fiber called rockwool or an aerial form. They were growing under lights in the blue spectrum, at a wavelength that benefits baby marijuana plants (and, as it happens, boosts alertness in humans).
After rooting, the plants are potted in a medium of coconut shells and perlite and over the next several weeks are moved to long, clear-roofed growing areas. First stop: the "veg" nursery for their three-week adolescence. Here, pipes carrying fertilizer from three large vats provide calibrated nutrition to the plants. A PAR meter, which measures light photons, keeps the light in prime photosynthetic range and makes sure the teenagers don't get sunburned: When it hits a high reading, it will turn off half the lights in the room; in direct sunlight, the meter will turn off all the lights. Another device measures temperature and carbon dioxide levels.
At seven weeks, the plants are moved into the facility's seven flowering rooms, where the mature plants — now at around 7 weeks old — are encouraged to flower under high-pressure sodium lights in the red spectrum, 12 hours on and 12 hours off, mimicking the end of the growing season.
Should the growing rooms get too hot, panels into a cooler common area between the growing rooms will lift and its roof can open. Should that not do the trick, a system of cold water will pour down over the walls. Lercher, 35, and Drennan, 46, have seen a demonstration; they figure the Arkansas summer will trigger the system for real.
THE TEAM: Danny Brown, Cayne Orman, Robert Lercher, Misty Drennan and Mark Drennan will be the first to produce medical marijuana products in Arkansas.
The growing process, from clone to harvest, takes 16 weeks, Drennan said. After harvest, plants are dried or turned into oil and samples are sent to the lab for testing for substances spelled out in state law, such as pesticides, and to measure the percentage of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) in the samples. Discarded plants are weighed, that information is provided to Alcohol Beverage Control, and the vegetation is rendered unusable by being ground up and mixed with a nonintoxicating substance, like dirt or grass clippings, equal to the weight of the waste.
BOLD Team will sell the medical marijuana in both bud and oil form. To make oil, buds are loaded into tanks and reduced by pressurized propane and butane in an hour-long process only a chemist could understand. It takes 20 pounds of buds to make 3 pounds of oil. The oil, too, must undergo lab testing.
What's happening at BOLD Team is a far cry from putting a bunch of pot plants under a grow light in your basement and hoping for the best. "We had no idea," Misty Drennan said of the science involved in production.
During a tour of the veg room, where 2-foot-tall strains of Elite Limonette, Gelato and others were spending their teen days, Robert Lercher — a consummate wisecracker — said BOLD Team hopes in the future to be able to give new names to some of the strains it offers. The strains have been developed over the years by marijuana growers all over the country — people, Lercher said, who must have started the process when they were children "because of the names they gave them." That would be names like Bubblegum, Fruity Pebbles and Purple Urkle (strains not necessarily at BOLD Team). Other pot jargon includes lollipopping, which means pruning the plants so they'll put more energy into their buds.
In the flowering room, a couple of BOLD Team employees were going from plant to plant, lollipopping off leaves and stems to encourage bloom. (The only leaf parts not thrown away are those with tiny trichromes on which resin has crystallized. Trichromes are used in making hashish.) BOLD Team, which employs 14 people on its grow team, will hire several more people when it begins to process the plants and additional employees when it begins the packaging process.
IN BUD: Mature marijuana plants close to harvest at BOLD Team's facility.
The difference in C. sativa and C. indica were more pronounced in the room with the most mature plants: Indica grows short and bushy; sativa is taller and skinny. Both species produce THC, the chemical in the plant that causes a "high," and CBD, which, because it works on different receptors in the body, does not. Lercher said — that is, he's been told — indica makes people sleepy, which he remembers by thinking "indacouch." If you're awakened from an indica-induced snooze, Lercher said, "You'll eat your entire refrigerator."
Pointing to a room of mature plants not yet in bloom, Lercher called it "magic" how fast marijuana grows. He mentioned that the company's consultants "tell us plants are a lot happier when they are listening to music." But there is no music playing in the nurseries, and Lercher said it was because ... well, what if they don't like the music chosen? "What if they're more like Christian Rock plants?" he asked. Perhaps because merely standing among thousands of healthy marijuana plants was having some sort of mind-altering effect, a photographer suggested BOLD Team play "One Toke Over the Line" for the plants in bud. Or Alice in Chains, Lercher said, adding, "It's a fair assumption they all like Rastafarian music."
In the flowering rooms are 16 tables with 41 plants each. BOLD Team's production plan is to harvest 656 plants a week. Those numbers may seem random, but are based on the ratio of plants per tables: Too many, the bunched leaves will block the light and cut down on the flowering; too few, and "you're shorting yourself," Lercher said, on what you can produce. "You've got to have that perfect canopy."
As the plants are harvested, the best and brightest baby plants will be selected from about 800 clones in the mother room for moving to the veg room, so that weekly harvest is steady.
If Cotton Plant was counting on a huge workforce at the plant, it will be disappointed. However, BOLD Team has committed to giving the city 1 percent of its gross profits every year. The town, a truly sad spot in Woodruff County, with only a couple of businesses besides the cultivation facility, more empty buildings than occupied ones, and an enormous tire dump, will appreciate that. Drennan declined to put a value on what a harvest will produce or when owners expect to break even, saying an estimate would be premature because BOLD Team had not sold anything. Lercher is visiting dispensaries to see what they'll need and when.
Next up in the race to provide the medical marijuana to Arkansans are Osage Creek Cultivation in Berryville (Carroll County) and Natural State Medicinals' cultivation facility in White Hall (Jefferson County), both of which were approved by ABC inspectors in March to begin growing operations. Dispensary inspections will begin in April.


text:
Kalli Dakos
Kalli Dakos has been delighting readers with poetry since the release of her best-selling book, If You're Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand. She has six IRA-CBC Children's Choice Selections, such as Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig and A Funeral in the Bathroom. A former reading specialist and frequent visitor to schools, Kalli has celebrated a love of reading and writing in schools all over Canada and the U.S. and as far away as Hong Kong. She presently resides in Ottawa, Ontario with her family and has an office in Ogdensburg, New York.
Kalli Dakos 's Books
Why Am I Blue?: A Story about Being Yourself
Author: Kalli Dakos Illustrated by: Viviana Garofoli
827341 (Hardcover)
When a frog questions why he is blue and not green like the other frogs, his friends try to make him see how special being blue is. He comes to understand that he is blue because he is blue and that's enough of an answer. This is a sweet story about identity and self-acceptance, one that children can apply to varying situations they may face. Includes a "Note to Parents and Caregivers" written by Gayle Pitman, PhD.


text:
Q: Compiling LaTeX from notepad++ and opening with sumatra. ForwardSearch doesn't work if file path contains umlauts I've had this small problem for quite some time now and I haven't been able to find a solution even after excessive googling.
In this guide it is described how LaTeX can be written and compiled using npp++ and nppExec together with SumatraPDF.
Through some clever scripts and the use of DDE commands (through CMCDDE.exe), it is even possible to use sumatra's ForwardSearch to jump back and forth from the .tex to the .pdf. Everything works great, unless the path to the .tex file contains a character that's not in the English alphabet (for example åäö).
The CMCDDE command then fails because the path sent to sumatra's ForwardSearch reads (for example) C:\†"" instead of C:\åäö. This has to be an encoding issue and I haven't been able to find a working solution.
So, if I have this .tex file C:\åäö\MWE.tex with
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Hello World!
\end{document}

it won't open correctly when using the batch script described in the link above. These are the problematic batch file lines:
::Writes the commands that are to be executed using CMCDDE.exe (through cmcdde.tmp)
echo SUMATRA>"%~dp1build\cmcdde.tmp"
::%~dp1build transforms into C:\åäö\build for the MWE
echo control>>"%~dp1build\cmcdde.tmp"
echo [ForwardSearch("%~dp1build\%~n1.pdf", "%~f1", %2, 0, 0, 0)]>>"%~dp1build\cmcdde.tmp"
:: This gives the following line in cmcdde.tmp: [ForwardSearch("P:\Documents\†""\build\MWE.pdf", "P:\Documents\†""\MWE.tex", 3, 0, 0, 0)] (in ANSI encoding)

"P:\Documents\localtexmf\cmcdde.exe" @"%~dp1build\cmcdde.txt"
:: This fails because the path P:\Documents\†""\build doesn't exist (P:\Documents\åäö\build does)

Ideas I've had and tried:

*

*I tried changing the encoding by using chcp 65001 and chcp 865 but
haven't been able to get it to work.

*I have also tried using a
search and replace
script to go through the cmcdde.tmp file before executing it but it didn't
succeed (I'm not sure which signs I should search for to exchange for
åäö, †"" or åäö or ├Ñ├ñ├ or other?)

*I have also tried putting
cmd /c or cmd /a /c before the echo commands (as sort of described
here)
but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Please let me know if something which parts of the question that are unclear.

A: I managed to find a solution. Turns out using the code page 1252 solves the problem.
So putting chcp 1252 at the beginning of the batch file is the solution. However, if you're using other none standard characters than me (other then the ones in the nordic alphabet), I'm guessing you might need another code page.
Experiment and test different ones until you get it working.


Freedom of choice: it's more than just a slogan on the side of a 64 oz. Double Big Gulp.
Ron Paul, the onetime presidential candidate who claimed that the U.S. government would force you to get a doctor's prescription for vitamins, has joined the light bulb wars.
Paul, a Congressional representative out of Texas, has joined with Joe Barton and 19 others to repeal the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. The law, among other provisions, creates regulations that would phase out inefficient incandescent bulbs.
Earlier this year, Michelle Bachmann mistakenly attributed the law to the Obama administration. It was passed by Bush. Bush also promoted ethanol production; W. is beginning to look a downright lefty these days.
The Center for Competitive Enterprise, a web-based group founded in 2009, has called the law an "outrageous" limitation on consumer choice.
There are a few ironies here. First, light manufacturers have already begun to phase out incandescents in favor of solid state lighting, so repealing the law would actually hurt manufacturers. Consumers and businesses would also suffer in the long run because of the higher power bills that the prolonged consumption of incandescents will cause. A new and burgeoning industry would also shift overseas: China, Europe, Australia and several other nations have passed laws phasing out incandescents and promoting solid state lighting.
Fred Upton, the Republican Congressman who is attacking the EPA, was one of the chief sponsors of the 2007 law. To date, Bachmann and Paul have yet to attack Upton for this, but hope springs eternal.
In the end, repealing the law would likely hurt the economy, drive up the price of power, hurt us competitively and make us even more reliant on foreign exports. Thus, it will likely become popular with some segments of the voting public. It probably won't pass, but it won't go away quietly either.
--BMW created a $100 million venture fund. Strategic VC investing has been an increasingly prevalent fixture in green. General Motors, TSMC, UMC, Intel, Cisco, Bosch, ABB, General Electric, Dow and others have all created funds or have actively invested in startups. We applaud BMW's efforts, but it remains to be seen how serious the effort will be. VC investing is simply not as popular in Europe and among European companies as it is in the U.S. or Asia. Car companies, historically, are also reluctant to incorporate outside technology into their products. BMW has also been less active in promoting electric cars than even domestic rivals like Volkswagen and Daimler. The all-electric Mini is a prototype, not a production car. So, this is a wait-and-see.
--The California legislature passed a bill that would make the goal of getting 33 percent of the state's power from renewable sources by 2020 into law. Right now, it's just an executive order. Count on this one passing. California has passed a 20-percent-by-2010 law. The three big utilities missed it, but will likely achieve compliance by 2012, or one year before the grace period ends.


The adorable little adventure game from ex-Dreamworks animator Lionel Gallat will soon become a reality.
When I last wrote about Ghost of a Tale, it was in a bit of a sorry state. Developer Lionel Gallat, an ex-Dreamworks and Universal studios animator, was desperately posting content in a last-ditch effort to reach his modest funding goal of 45.000€. With just nine days to go and over 20.000€ to raise, it did not look good. Gallat said if he couldn't raise the money, he would have to scrap the project entirely.
Thankfully, after getting exposure from a variety of different sources (including The Escapist, hopefully!) Gallat has finally reached his funding goal, which means Ghost of a Tale will become a reality. "WE MADE IT!!!" writes Gallat in an announcement on the game's IndieGoGo page, "That's incredible! No, really; it is. Why? Because a month ago Ghost of a Tale wasn't on anyone's radar. No journalist was aware of anything in regard to the project."
Ghost of a Tale is an adventure game staring a mouse with a lute. Gallat describes the game as taking inspirations from movies such as Disney's Robin Hood and Winnie the Pooh, as well as videogames such as Zelda and Ico. "My goal is to craft a small yet beautiful game with environments that look a bit like movie sets and characters that have a sense of stylization in their design, while retaining a certain simplicity and immediacy as far as gameplay is involved," he says.
Gallat, who has been a supervising animator in the movie industry for more than 15 years, and whose portfolio contains work for Despicable Me and The Lorax, wants to thank everyone who made this happen. "Thank you to each and everyone of you who have contributed to this campaign, whether from a financial or moral standpoint (and often both)." He says he will try not to think of the success as a heavy pressure weighing him down, "but rather I should think of it as an huge mark of affection for the project."
A Ghost of a Tale official website and forum should open soon, but for now, Gallat is happy to take any suggestions or inquiries by email at seith [at] seithcg.com. If you want to help fund the game, there are still 20 hours left (at time of writing) for the game's IndieGoGo campaign.


text:
Republic of Ireland news
Former Taoiseach Brian Cowen tells of recovery following stroke
Former Taoiseach Brian Cowen has revealed how he was unconscious for two weeks and initially confined to a wheelchair after he suffered a stroke in July 2019. Picture by Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Brian Cowen, a former Minister for Foreign Affairs, spent almost one year in hospital after suffering a stroke in July 2019. Picture by Julien Behal/PA
FORMER Taoiseach Brian Cowen has revealed how he was unconscious for two weeks and initially confined to a wheelchair after he suffered a stroke.
The 62-year-old, who was taoiseach from 2008 to 2011, had been in the Beacon Hospital in Dublin in July 2019 to undergo a minor procedure when he suffered a brain haemorrhage.
The politician, who was already under anaesthetic when the haemorrhage occurred, was immediately transferred to St Vincent's, which specialises in treating brain bleeds.
The episode happened just hours after he had been at an Oireachtas Golf Society event in Lahinch.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr Cowen said he was unconscious for "a couple of weeks" and it "wasn't looking good".
"It was very hazy," he said.
"When you're coming out of unconsciousness, you don't say, 'Here, I'm back', it's the people around you that are telling you, 'You're back'.
"You don't know anything about it yourself because you're not with the programme".
Mr Cowen, who said what had happened was "a big shock for everyone", was transferred to the Royal Hospital in Donnybrook, where he spent around nine months.
Following treatment, he was allowed back to his family home Tullamore, Co Offaly, which had to be modified as he was initially confined to a wheelchair.
"The way it works is that the first six or 12 months, you make the most part of your recovery, really, and after that it's about constant rehabilitation to pick up the 25 per cent you're short," he said.
"I'm still at it. I'm doing physical rehabilitation – it's all done at home. I'm also doing three days a week in the pool locally because the buoyancy in the water helps.
"The walking is good, but if I go a distance or if I'm going to a match I bring the chair".
Mr Cowen said he is now looking towards the future.
"I'm enjoying life," he said.
"Everything is good – there's no reason to think otherwise. The family are good and the kids are all finished college and are working away so they're happy. Everything is well on that side.
"We came through it. And everyone does. And life goes on and, thankfully, we're able to enjoy life and for me I've learned a lot. When you have a period of sickness or whatever, hospitalisation, you're grateful for small mercies. I'm glad I'm in good shape."
Brian Cowen
06 August, 2022 03:00 Republic of Ireland news
More in Republic of Ireland news
Four-year-old girl dies after being injured in Co Sligo caravan park
Man dies six weeks after Dublin shooting


I just check bluefly and they got some great new stuff in. Also, lots of Chanel bags too!!
I think the Fendi doc bag is a really hot bag. I saw photos of some celebs carrying it and it looks very classy. You should get it and post photos for me to drool on it.


text:
West Virginia Route 161 is a north–south state highway located entirely within McDowell County, West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 16 in Bishop less than  from the Virginia state line. The northern terminus is at U.S. Route 52 in Elkhorn.

At Bishop, WV 161 enters Virginia for approximately . The state line follows Jacobs Fork and Horsepen Creek, which form a tight bend. There are no signs or visual indications of the state line. West Virginia maintains the road in Virginia.

Major intersections

References

161
Transportation in McDowell County, West Virginia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Kenny Omega Is In Japan "Not Representing" AEW In Official Capacity
It's interesting to note how AEW announced today that the Tokyo Game Show will feature live matches with AEW stars later this week, as seen in the tweet below. There's no word yet on if suspended talents Nakazawa, Daniels, or Omega (all who are currently in Japan wrestling) will be involved with those matches.
The AEW Fight Forever video game will be heavily promoted at the convention.
For what it's worth, Chris Jericho is featured in the graphic to promote AEW's presence at the convention, we have reached out to AEW to ascertain if Jericho will be traveling to Japan after wrestling Bryan Danielson on tonight's Dynamite.
Early Tuesday morning, the official Twitter account for Sega posted a photo of Omega and Sonic at Sega's offices in Japan.
"Guess who visited SEGA office??" the account tweeted.
Omega is in town for the Tokyo Game Show convention, where he was expected to be part of the presentation for the upcoming "AEW Fight Forever" video game, which Omega was heavily involved with. While it's not confirmed whether Omega is still there on official AEW business, his presence could signal that he's not expected to miss much time in AEW following the conclusion of the investigation. As of this writing, Omega, nor anyone else involved in the post-All Out backstage brawl, has commented on the situation.


Matthews PM., Johansen-Berg H., Reddy H.
Modern cognitive neuroscience provides a powerful framework in which biological models of recovery and neurorehabilitation can be constructed and tested. The widespread availability, relatively low cost and informativeness of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has made it the most popular of the techniques available to help with this task. Here, on the basis of functional imaging studies of stroke, diffuse microvascular disease and multiple sclerosis, we argue that processes of motor control and learning in the healthy brain share common mechanisms with those for adaptive functional reorganisation during spontaneous recovery after brain injury or with neurorehabilitation. Relatively stringent criteria can be met to confirm that adaptive functional reorganisation limits disability even in the adult brain: functional brain changes are related to disease burden, can be found in patients with demonstrable pathology but no clinical deficits and can be defined (in motor cortex) even in the absence of volitional recruitment. Initial studies of neurorehabilitation responses using fMRI and transcranial magnetic stimulation demonstrate that adaptive reorganisation can be manipulated directly with both pharmacological and behavioural interventions. The combination of strategies based on a strong biological rational with monitoring their effects using highly informative functional brain imaging methods heralds a new era of scientifically-founded neurorehabilitation.


Susan G. Komen San Diego | We reached our goal — It's all thanks to you!
16 Nov We reached our goal — It's all thanks to you!
We are ecstatic to announce we have officially blown past our fundraising goal of $915,000 dollars! And it's all thanks to your relentless fundraising, self-donations, commitment to our fight, and the pink wave of walkers who joined us in Balboa Park.
You are helping us ensure women and men in our neighborhoods get the support they need through every step of their breast cancer journey. Let's take a moment to celebrate this victory. Thank you for sharing your laughs, hugs, tears and strength at the Race for the Cure.
While we are thrilled to have reached our goal, we know that there are more people in San Diego that need our help. If you have not had a chance to donate, there is still time to join the movement against breast cancer. Funds stay local.
The Race for the Cure was a culmination of thousands of supporters and community partners coming together in the fight against breast cancer. Here's a glimpse of our day at the Race.
Don't forget to share your pictures with us on social, tag @KomenSanDiego. Click here to view our 2018 Race for the Cure Facebook Photo Album.


text:
Tag: brian k vaughan
Image Comics Final Thoughts – Saga, Vol. 5
Saga's fifth volume separates our main cast, which feels like a natural evolution for the series while still focusing on its great characters and fantastic art.
Of course, occasionally I may even explore comics outside of Marvel if they come highly recommended or simply peak my interest. Like my gaming Final Thoughts, this will be full of spoilers. You've been warned!
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Issues: Saga #25-30
The last volume of Image Comics' magnum opus left our star-crossed family in a dire predicament. Alana and Marko were separated for the first time. The former was captured by a distraught rebel while the latter teamed up with an enemy. Meanwhile Team The Will has become Team The Brand as they search for a cure.
Saga's fifth volume is the most different so far, relying heavily on an intriguing but separate A-B-C narrative structure. It feels like a natural evolution for the series while still focusing on a small cast of characters, and the phenomenal writing and art I've come to expect. Continue reading "Image Comics Final Thoughts – Saga, Vol. 5"
Author roguewatsonPosted on September 2, 2016 Categories blog, ComicsTags brian k vaughan, fiona staples, image comics, saga, Volume 5Leave a comment on Image Comics Final Thoughts – Saga, Vol. 5
Saga Volume Four focuses a bit too much on predictable family drama, but remains one of the best stories in modern comics.
The following phrases were exclaimed during my time with Saga's fourth volume:
"Awww."
"Crap crap crap"
"Holy hell."
"Oh shit."
"Oh snap – hell yeah!"
I devoured Saga Volume Four in a single day. The incredible (yet incredibly relatable) adventures and drama of new parents Alana and Marko continue to be one of the most impressive stories in modern comics.
Vaughan effortlessly builds an intriguing cast of wacky guest-stars and returning favorites, and isn't afraid to kill or main them (or have sexy time) in a maturity level that would make Game of Thrones blush. Fiona Staples continues to be one of my favorite artists working in comics. While Saga Volume Four may be the weakest volume I've read thanks to some predictable family drama, that's mostly due to how amazing the first three volumes were. Continue reading "Image Comics Final Thoughts – Saga, Vol. 4"
Author roguewatsonPosted on October 5, 2015 Categories blog, ComicsTags brian k vaughan, fiona staples, image, image comics, saga, volume 42 Comments on Image Comics Final Thoughts – Saga, Vol. 4
For 18 issues now Saga has refused to disappoint and Volume Three finally brings our various storylines and characters together in a tense, dramatic moment.
Saga continues to blow me away with every volume; soon I shall catch up to its current issue and experience the agony of having to wait for the next volume. For now I'm still catching up on back issues, and Volume Three finally brings our various storylines and characters together in a tense, dramatic moment that's deliciously spread out between issues #17 and #18.
The end of Volume Two featured an epilogue that we now know took place a bit in the future – Prince Robot IV meeting with D. Oswald Heist, the cyclopean, eccentric author that wrote the star-crossed romance book that so infatuated Marko and Alana. The two start with verbal jabs, then relax into a casual interrogation, then go to full blown standoff. Volume Two ended with the 'camera panning up' to reveal that Marko, Alana, Klara, Izabel, and Hazel had already been there for weeks, and currently hiding from their robot pursuer.
Volume Three jumps back in time a bit to have out heroes first landing on the planet Quietus, and the remote lighthouse that Heist lives in. First they're attacked by bone-creatures in a very Dungeons & Dragons moment, and Klara (Marko's recently widowed mom) loses an ear in the fight. Artist Fiona Staples has never shied away from explicit sex or violence, but always in service to the story and never particularly gory or gratuitous. In both the strong language and portrayal of mature themes I'm constantly reminded that I'm not reading a mainstream Marvel comic, in a good way.
Our heroes make it to Oswald Heist's and the slightly crazy but lovable old author instantly becomes a delightful character, if he wasn't already from his introduction at the end of Volume Two. The universe is filled with all manner of inventive alien creatures, and thus far Vaughn and Staples have done an excellent job creating a truly memorable supporting cast. This creates a constant state of anxiety as, like Game of Thrones, you never know when they're going to actually kill someone off! In fact, most of my favorite characters have been slain (The Stalk, Barr), and sadly Heist also does not survive the end of this Volume.
You can tell Brian K. Vaughn really loves the Heist character, as he's an obvious cipher for many of his thoughts and opinions on being a writer, and a writer's relationships with artists, other writers, and the audience. Much of Marko and Alana's scenes in Volume Three are mostly just them hanging around Oswald's place talking books, relationships, or the nature of war, and I'll be damned if it isn't riveting.
Of course that story is only part of the Volume. Our other team, The Will and his partner Lying Cat, has grown over the course of 12 issues to include a rescued slave girl from the sex planet Sextillion and Marko's ex-fiance Gwendolyn. The Will was hired to track down Marko and Alana, and Gwendolyn arrived with a personal vendetta and a desire to keep The Will focused and on target, despite his recent loss of his ex-girlfriend, The Stalk, back in Volume One.
After the climactic star ship battle at the end of Volume Two, The Will and crew have been stranded on a lovely grassy planet. The Will begins to have doubts about the mission, wanting to hang up his life as a bounty hunter, but Gwnedolyn will have none of it. We get a few nice scenes of her learning to use his exotic lance-saber weapon and dealing with repair guys, but it all comes crashing down for them when they learn (too late) that the food on the planet contains a powerful hallucinogenic. The slave girl is coerced by the planet's visions of her mom to stab The Will in the neck. Gwendolyn realizes what's happening (thanks to Lying Cat) and saves them all, though now ironically she renews their pursuit of Marko, this time to learn a healing spell to save The Will.
Like the end of Volume Two our stories intersect in an exciting way. The timeline finally matches up with that scene of Prince Robot IV and Heist. A wounded Heist was just about to get through to Prince Robot IV when Klara, spurred by her feelings for Heist and her general passionate demeanor charges from their hiding spot and attacks, leaving both her and Robot IV wounded.
At this point Gwendolyn, dressed in The Will's magical bullet-proof cloak, barges in the front door. Lying Cat pounces on Klara, and Gwendolyn and Heist see each other with weapons drawn. Gwendolyn reacts first by slashing him through the eye with The Will's lance, killing him instantly. Nooo! Gwnedolyn's reaction is equally incredulous as issue #17 comes to a crazy close.
In the final issue, a very distraught and upset Gwendolyn advances on Marko and Alana on the top of the lighthouse. Marko doesn't exactly say the right things and Gwendolyn attacks, causing him to push his wife and newborn off the edge. Turns out Alana's wings do in fact work – and she blasts Gwendolyn and everyone escapes. For a volume that was mostly talking and not a whole lot of action, these two final issues were exhilarating and fantastic, a very satisfying payoff to all the events thus far.
Even so, our characters are split up again and most end up surviving (save for poor Oswald). Both Prince Robot IV and The Will are very wounded and I'm not sure if Lying Cat permanently lost one of her eyes when Klara gouged it. We're introduced to another viewpoint in a pair of journalists on Landfall asking questions and seeking the truth about Marko and Alana's escape and possible union. Their queries get them attacked by another freelancer, The Brand, that poisons them and prevents them from continuing their investigation. At the end it's revealed that The Brand is The Will's sister, so our roster may be expanding even more.
So far Saga has focused almost entirely on the relationships and situations of our main and supporting cast without pulling back the scope to the greater war around us. The political implications of Marko and Alana having a baby haven't really been explored yet, other than our two pursuers being hired to catch them. I'd love to see that make headway, as long as it doesn't sacrifice the excellent plot and pacing that Saga has provided so far. For 18 issues now Saga has refused to disappoint and it's quickly becoming one of my all time favorite comics.
Author roguewatsonPosted on May 4, 2015 Categories blog, ComicsTags brian k vaughan, fiona staples, image, image comics, oswald heist, saga, volume 31 Comment on Image Comics Final Thoughts – Saga, Vol. 3
Saga's sophomore volume continues to teasingly expand the fascinating sci-fi world while keeping the focus on the burgeoning family dynamic and relationship between our two star-crossed lovers.
Issues: Saga #7-12
I'm one of those lame comic book fans that still mostly only thinks of Marvel/DC and superheroes (and Transformers!) when people mention comics. The fact is there are a ton of really fantastic sci-fi, fantasy, noir, etc themes and genres out there just waiting to be discovered by the intrepid comic fan.
I'm still in the tentative early stages of exploring comics beyond Marvel, and Image Comics' Saga represents my first real steps outside of my comfort zone. I couldn't be more impressed. Brian K. Vaughan's fantastically relatable and grounded writing coming out of Fiona Staples' insanely creative alien mouths is an amazing combination. Saga's sophomore volume continues to teasingly expand the fascinating sci-fi world while keeping the focus on the burgeoning family dynamic and relationship between our two star-crossed lovers.
Volume 2 picks up right where the first volume left off: Marko's parents magically teleported to his and Alana's treehouse rocketship after he breaks the family sword. Marko introduces them to his wife, a winged Landfall woman that is his people's sworn enemy, and they are understandably not amused. Before they can even sit down, Marko teleports down to the nearest planet, where his mom had banished the ghost teenager Izabel that was acting as baby Hazel's babysitter and soul host. This is getting crazy to type and would be absolutely impossible to follow without reading the previous volume. Saga is definitely made in the mold of modern serialized television shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead where the ongoing narrative assumes you've kept up since the beginning.
For the first few issues our family splits between Marko and his mom Kara on a hostile planet, and Alana and her father-in-law Barr back on the ship. Barr and Alana's relationship starts out tense, but quickly warms up as he's surprisingly accepting of her. His skill as an armorer comes in handy as he crafts Alana a form-fitting, bullet-resistant outfit, and the two quickly form an adorable bond.
Marko's mom is decidedly less thrilled with their actions, and the two butt heads even while running into giant naked alien ogres and creepy witches with upside-down faces. Fiona Staples' masterful art style particularly shines with exotic and crazy alien creatures and Volume 2 presents several delicious opportunities to show them off. Thanks to a trick dream sequence we also get to see more of my favorite alien from Volume 1, the spider-like The Stalk.
While Marko's and Alana's stories deal with the older generation, the hired bounty hunter The Will continues on his journey to hunt them down, and gets the majority of the B-story line. He's still thinking about the underage slave girl back on Sextillion, the one he wanted to rescue but couldn't. A representative of the Wreath council that hired him shows up to personally persuade him to continue the job, even while he wades in despair after The Stalk was mistakenly murdered by Prince Robot IV in the first volume.
Her name is Gwendolyn, and she happens to be the ex-fiance of Marko, whom we'd only been teased about previously. She becomes a major cast member as she joins The Will and Lying Cat, helps rescue the slave girl using both her political acumen and magical skills, and reach the tree-ship right as all hell is breaking loose on the nearby orbiting planet.
Marko and Kara had found Izabel and returned to the ship, just in time to see Barr succumb to his terminal heart condition from pumping more magical power into the tree-ship. Poor Barr, and poor Alana for briefly meeting what would've been a fantastic grandfather to Hazel. And poor Kara I guess, though we're not really given a chance to glimpse beneath her stony and aggressive exterior just yet.
The planet breaks apart and hatches a giant space creature. Gwendolyn, fueled by her own personal vengeance toward the man who spurned her, fires a missile at Marko and Alana. They decide to ram the missile, knowing it wouldn't explode that close to its own ship. The missile bounces off and hits the space creature, who retaliates by blowing a hole in The Will's ship. The entire sequence is action-packed and exciting, and a fantastic way for our two main storylines to converge without even having the two sets of characters meet each other.
That sequence happens in issue #11, so we get one more to end out the volume. Issue #12 finally returns to a major character from the first volume, Prince Robot IV, who has an old-school television set for a head. I'm honestly not sure if we're suppose to sympathize or hate his character, and his backstory and situation seem complicated and much more embroiled in the wider politics of the ongoing war compared to the others. He essentially represents the winged Landfall faction's hunt of Alana & Marko while The Will obviously represents Wreath's.
Prince Robot visits his only lead on his hunt for the AWOL prison guard Alana and escaped prisoner Marko – the author of the cheesy romance book that Alana was crazy about. There's some fun flashback sequences in nearly every issue of Volume 2, including when Alana and Marko first met. Apparently she was super into this book that represented two different alien creatures coming together to love each other. Prince Robot hunts down the one-eyed author on a remote planet, and the two have a tense and interesting conversation on the nature of war, peace, and writing.
It's revealed at the end that the whole situation is a bit of an Anne Frank/Inglorious Basterds moment, as Alana and company hide out upstairs during the exchange. Volume 1 ended with the cliffhanger of the grandparents appearing, and I was satisfied and intrigued that Volume 2 continues with another great lead-in to the next Volume, which I've already purchased!
Saga continues to impress, making me fall in love with its characters and reread nearly every page to absorb the fantastic art and writing as much as possible. I simply cannot recommend this series enough if you love really creative science fiction.
Author roguewatsonPosted on April 16, 2015 Categories blog, ComicsTags brian k vaughan, fiona staples, image, image comics, saga, volume 21 Comment on Image Comics Final Thoughts – Saga, Vol. 2
Marvel Comics Final Thoughts – Dr. Strange: The Oath
The Oath is the perfect introduction (or further reading) into who Dr. Strange is and why you should care about the Sorcerer Supreme.
Artists: Marcos Martin
Issues: Dr. Strange: The Oath #1-5
Ex-surgeon turned Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Stephen Strange is not a hugely popular Marvel hero, yet he crops up nearly everywhere as the resident magic expert. Any time a superhero has to deal with magical foes or spells or summoned creatures, they call Dr. Strange.
Despite his usefulness he hadn't warranted a solo series since the mid 90s, instead cropping up in a few limited series but mostly as a recurring guest star in Amazing Spider-Man or joining the New Avengers after the Civil War.
My options for exploring Dr. Strange's modern, solo adventures via Marvel Unlimited are, ironically, quite limited. Thankfully there's one fairly high regarded series that explores Dr. Strange's background and origin in five issues called The Oath.
Acting as a bridge between Civil War and Stephen's stint with New Avengers (though the timing of the series really doesn't matter), Dr. Strange is carried into the Night Nurse's secretive, superhero friendly office by his apprentice Wong. Strange has been shot! A mercenary known as the Brigand stole a magical elixir that Strange had procured to heal Wong's brain tumor, and the foe was armed with the magical mojo of Hitler's own gun, penetrating Strange's defenses. All of this is told by the good Doctor himself via his famous Astral Projection even as the Night Nurse operates on him.
The series is written by Brian K. Vaughan, whom I've previously had the pleasure of reading in Runaways and Saga. Vaughan's style is incredibly relateable and down-to-earth. Dr. Strange's background as a sorcerer is effectively given the broad strokes treatment and we're allowed to peer into the kind of person that Stephen is and has become, rather than focus on what he can and can't do with magic.
Stephen Strange's personality and story closely mirrors that of Tony Stark. He began as an arrogant surgeon that cared only for money and furthering his own career, until a fateful car accident ruined his hands. Seeking to repair them by any means, he traveled to Tibet to learn the mystic arts, tutoring under an old wizard known as The Ancient One.
And that's pretty much it. Dr. Strange becomes a powerful sorcerer and vows to help people. The oath that the title refers to is the Hippocratic Oath that all doctors take – Strange is adamant about saving the life of his faithful servant and friend Wong. Since he can no longer operate with his hands, he uses his mystic knowledge to research a cure and goes into a crazy dimensional realm and defeat a giant monstrosity to recover a panacea – all in the span of a few pages.
Turns out this elixir not only would cure Wong's cancer, but all cancer and illness everywhere on Earth. Dr. Strange first has it analyzed in a lab (though he practices magic, his background as a surgeon makes him amiable to the sciences) and it's there that his secret is betrayed and he's robbed. Strange goes on a quest with the dying Wong and the resolute Night Nurse to recover the elixir and discover the one who sent Brigand after him.
After some nifty scenes of spell-flinging and mind-ripping, Strange learns the identity of his true foe, an old colleague of his, Nicodemous West. Dr. West had been tracking down Strange to try and bring him back to the practice, and in doing so learned the same magical arts from The Ancient One. Thus Dr. West becomes the anti-Strange, a former surgeon turned magician, only West is still concerned with himself and money as he takes orders from a shady board of directors at a pharmaceutical company.
West and Strange's confrontation is fun and satisfying, as they both get to sling guilt-trips and regrets at each other, as well as the interesting moral and scientific ramifications of suddenly introducing a mass cure to society. Ultimately their battle takes them to the rain-soaked rooftops (as all climactic fights should) and West produces an artifact that nullifies their magic. The two go mano y mano, and Strange reveals that Wong is both his apprentice and his master. After sustaining a few blows he proceeds to kick West's ass with his superior kung fu. West slips and falls off the building, shattering the elixir on the ground below.
Predictably there is only a single drop left and our hero is forced to make a choice – take the time to reproduce it and provide a cure for all the world's sicknesses, or heal his dying friend. Wong's state had deteriorated over the course of the series lending a sense of immediacy and urgency to Strange's quest, and by the time West falls he's completely unconscious.
Strange saves the life of his dear friend, gains the respect and love of the Night Nurse (who never reveals her name) and warms his way into my heart. The Oath succeeds in delving into Dr. Strange's background and personality while still providing a fun, action-packed adventure. New readers worrying about delving into a psychedelic, magic-fueled ride need not fear. Vaughan uses the magic stuff sparingly and keeps it easy to follow, while the focus remains on the strong characters and excellent supporting cast.
The only real bummer is the art style. Martin's work isn't bad at all, I just didn't find it very memorable. I think it tries to evoke an old, Silver Age Jack Kirby style but mostly comes off as a little plain. Still the overall series is the perfect introduction (or further reading) into who Dr. Strange is and why you should care about the Sorcerer Supreme.
Author roguewatsonPosted on March 19, 2015 Categories blog, ComicsTags brian k vaughan, doctor strange, dr. strange, marvel, Marvel comics, Stephen Strange, the oath1 Comment on Marvel Comics Final Thoughts – Dr. Strange: The Oath
Issues: Saga #1-6
The story of Romeo and Juliet is the classic tale as old as time. It's note quite as cliché and overused as Man Gets Revenge for Murdered Family, and the actual tale of Love Conquers All usually takes a backseat to the tragedy and hardships that both characters face. In Saga, comic superstars Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples successfully craft the timeless tale of two star-crossed lovers in a wildly creative sci-fi universe by grounding all the characters and events in very human emotions.
The biggest wrench that Vaughan throws into the story serves as both the opening hook and brilliant past-tense narrator: the birth of Hazel, the love child between former prison guard Alana and prisoner of war Marko. Alana is a winged native of Landfall, the largest planet in their galaxy and technologically advanced. Marko hails from Landfall's only moon, Wreath, home to a race of horned magic-users. Both races are distinctively different yet still very humanoid, and I especially liked that there's a lot of racial diversity within the groups (different kinds of wings and horn styles).
With two such different people in relative close proximity, war was inevitable. Since directly annihilating one side could send the other spinning out of orbit, the war between Landfall and Wreath has been mostly been outsourced to other planets, and other races.
The first six issues follow Marko, Alana and Hazel as they attempt to find a spaceship and get off the backwater planet of Cleave. While making their way through hostile territory they are also being hunted by both sides. Landfall sends Prince Robot IV, a humanoid creature with a decidedly retro-sci-fi look of a tv screen for a head (who's softcore sex with his robot wife should cement the series as Mature Audiences Only). Wreath hires an infamous bounty hunter from the Freelancers called The Will (a generally normal looking dude) with a giant hairless cat called Lying Cat. It can, uh, tell when you're lying, and has some great scenes with The Will despite its very limited vocabulary.
Neither of our hunters quite reach our fated pair; that honor goes to another freelancer and former love interest of The Will, The Stalk, one of the most inventive and unsettling alien creatures I've ever seen. Half-spider woman wouldn't even come close to doing the creative art work justice. Fiona Staples' heavy shading and pencils take a few pages to get used to but I absolutely loved her emotive facial expressions and character focus as much as the violent action scenes.
A sci-fi world full of wonderfully bizarre creatures could easily get lost in its own spectacle, but Vaughan keeps everything incredibly grounded by focusing on Marko and Alana's very human survival stories, both in keeping their relationship together and surviving the hostile world around them. The casual and strong language is also refreshing and keeps everyone in the story much more realistic.
By the end of the first volume, Marko took down an entire platoon by himself (then swore off violence…again), Hazel is bonded with the upper torso of a teenage ghost named Izabel (her first babysitter!) and they find passage off of Cleave in a tree-like spaceship. A fun cliffhanger suddenly adds Marko's parents into the mix as they're summoned onto the ship, and I can't wait to read more of their adventures.
Saga came highly recommended and I can easily see why. The world is incredibly interesting and adheres wonderfully to the 'show, don't tell' creed as it teases out information and characters only as needed. The small cast keeps the focus tight, and it's an interesting balancing act keeping the A-B-C stories of Marko/Alana, Prince Robot IV, and The Will hovering around each other. Vaughan's writing is wonderfully human and real, and I absolutely adored Staples' art work. If you enjoy character-driven sci-fi adventures, especially the struggles that a new relationship and a child can bring layered into a new universe, Saga is an absolute delight.
Author roguewatsonPosted on February 27, 2015 Categories blog, ComicsTags brian k vaughan, fiona staples, image, saga4 Comments on Image Comics Final Thoughts – Saga, Vol. 1
Marvel Comics Final Thoughts – Runaways Vol. 1
Thanks to Marvel's popular and successful foray into films with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I've finally decided to get back into comics. I grew up a big fan of X-Men and other superheroes but haven't really kept up since the 90s. Thus begins my grand catching-up of the last ten years of Marvel comics, events and stories.
Artists: Adrian Alphona, Takeshi Miyazawa
Issues: Runaways (2003) #1-18
I've always been a fan of the Young Adult genre. It's full of clichés, archetypal characters and super tiresome sci-fi plot devices, but damn it if most of them aren't super fun and full of some neat ideas and memorable characters.
Runaways was basically Marvel's version of a YA comic series. It stars a fresh batch of teens with a decidedly YA hook – they find out their parents are all super villains and part of their own secret cabal known as The Pride. Being a comic book the kids band together, discover their own latent powers and abilities and have a series of adventures before culminating in a final showdown with their evil folks.
Writer Brian K. Vaughan has become one of the most beloved original writer in comics. By original I mean he specifically likes to write his own created characters, such as Y: The Last Man and Saga (the latter of which I recently purchased). Having a single writer tackle their own creation is immensely rewarding for a reader, creating a cohesive flow with the both the characters and overarching plot.
The initial plot hook is fun but relatively slow compared to most comic storylines. It takes several issues for the kids to formulate a plan and go on the run once they witness their parents killing a young girl in ritualistic sacrifice, and even more time to go to their various homes and reveal who they really are.
The Runaways are refreshingly diverse and pleasantly mostly female: there's Chase the typically sarcastic teen and son of inventors (his powers are one of the lamest as he simply equips his parent's mechanical fist things that spew fire), Karolina the haughty daughter of two movie stars that turn out to be extraterrestrial light creatures (she can fly, shoot energy and blind people, and her powers are inhibited by a special bracelet she removes), Alex the de facto leader who has no natural powers but makes up for it in charisma and leadership skills (I guess), Nico who absorbs her parents' magic staff and can summon it when she cuts herself (bit of a weird message there), individualistic Gertrude who's time-traveling parents give her a pet velociraptor that she's psychically linked with (at this point I'm completely on board with the series), and little Molly who's only just hit puberty and realizing she's a mutant with super strength.
The entire first arc is spent introducing our new heroes and their situation, but it's their dialogue that really makes everything shine. Vaughan has a keen grasp on how teenagers react to situations and with each other, and the way the runaways handle these sudden extraordinary events are supremely entertaining. It's also interesting to see a comic book set specifically in Los Angeles; nearly all superhero stories take place around New York City and New England (if set in USA).
The entire 18 issue series begins and ends with The Pride but in between the runaways have a few side adventures, mostly in uncovering the mystery behind what the hell their parents are up to. Some side plots work better than others – D-listers Cloak and Dagger show up at one point for a meaningless but fun battle (which The Pride shows up and mind-wipes them afterward, literally making the whole thing pointless) and the runaways run afoul of a lame teenage vampire that nearly takes the whole group down from within.
Silly side stories aside, the main plot is still engrossing as we discover the world-changing plans behind The Pride, and like any classic villains they bicker and conspire amongst themselves. While it's incredibly silly that all their parents wear coordinated costumes it's neat that they remain a major force in the storyline.
The end has our young heroes infiltrate their parents' hidden sanctum (of sorts) and come face-to-face with the giant demon-god-things that The Pride is working for. In a neat twist (though it's kind of predictable) Alex betrays the group and reveals himself as the mole that's been undermining the team the whole time! He quickly gets his just desserts as the Pride's plans are still ruined, and the parents end up sacrificing themselves so the rest of the kids can escape. Then Captain America shows up and tells them everything will be alright.
Overall it was a fun read and a neat way to introduce a new generation of readers and superheroes. The 'our parents are evil' hook is fun and remains relevant throughout the series, though it's a shame the side plots couldn't quite keep up. The real seller is the excellent writing and relationships between the characters. All the kids feel like real people that love, cry, fear and hate. Most of them also had some really inventive powers and abilities (namely Gertrude, Karolina and Nico). By the end there are 4 women and 1 man on the team, which is pretty much unheard of in comics, and supremely cool.
This initial 18 issue series run nicely concludes the main storyline but due to popularity Runaways was resurrected in 2005 and penned by Joss Whedon (Astonishing X-Men – read my Final Thoughts). I haven't decided if I want to continue following these young heroes as their actions and adventures have very little to do with the larger Marvel Universe (which is perhaps one of its greatest strengths), but I can definitely recommend this first adventure to anyone looking for a standalone YA adventure in the Marvelverse.
Author roguewatsonPosted on December 19, 2014 Categories blog, ComicsTags brian k vaughan, comic book, marvel, Marvel comics, runaways3 Comments on Marvel Comics Final Thoughts – Runaways Vol. 1


text:
Rurouni Kenshin, Volume 14
VIZ Media LLC, May 4, 2005 - Comics & Graphic Novels - 192 pages
Packed with action, romance and historical intrigue, Rurouni Kenshin is one of the most beloved and popular manga series worldwide. Set against the backdrop of the Meiji Restoration, it tells the saga of Himura Kenshin, once an assassin of ferocious power, now a humble rurouni, a wandering swordsman fighting to protect the honor of those in need.
A hundred and fifty years ago in Kyoto, amid the flames of revolution, there arose a warrior, an assassin of such ferocious power he was given the title Hitokiri: Manslayer. With his bloodstained blade, Hitokiri Battosai helped close the turbulent Bakumatsu period and end the reign of the shoguns, slashing open the way toward the progressive Meiji Era. Then he vanished, and with the flow of years became legend.
In the 11th year of Meiji, in the middle of Tokyo, the tale begins. Himura Kenshin, a humble rurouni, or wandering swordsman, comes to the aid of Kamiya Kaoru, a young woman struggling to defend her father's school of swordsmanship against attacks by the infamous Hitokiri Battosai. But neither Kenshin nor Battosai are quite what they seem...
User Review - watertiger - LibraryThing
For American readers it may help to know that RuRouni Kenshin takes place in about the same time frame as the post Civil War era in the United States. If you have ever seen the movie The Last Samurai ... Read full review
Disliked it, read on...
User Review - Otaku Cutie - Borders
This manga exceeds at having a good plot for a long time and a long series but fails at being entertaining and exciting the reader even with violent sword fights. The art is beautiful, crisp and clean ... Read full review
Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire. 12
Nobuhiro Watsuki,Gerard Jones,Kenichiro Yagi
He won an honourable mention prize in the Shonen Jump. "New Manga Hop Step Award" with the work Podomakku. Later, while he worked as an assistant, he presented works such as Sengoku No Mikazuki (Crescent Moon in the Warring States) and Rurouni-Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (Meiji Swordsman Romance Story). The serialization of Rurouni Kenshin started in 1994 and concluded in 1999. His hobbies are to draw, read, play video games, read American comic books, and make model figures.
Title Rurouni Kenshin, Volume 14
Author Nobuhiro Watsuki
Illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Publisher VIZ Media LLC, 2005
Comics & Graphic Novels / Manga / Historical Fiction
Comics & Graphic Novels / Manga / Media Tie-In