I totally don't know how to decide who gets what armor or weapons. Pointers?
I'm on my first play through, and I'm having a hard time knowing what type of armor to match up with which character.
For my main I picked a Tanky paladin (based on a guide I read) mostly because I wanted to have a lot of dialog options. But now I'm just overwhelmed with all the armor types and weapon types. I kind of get that probably for my tank characters I want heavier, then lighter toward the guys in back. What throws me off are the details. Should I choose leather or scale for my ranger? Or hide? or any of them. I'm just not sure what to use.
Here's a screenshot showing my main six characters and their stats. I also have the Cipher and the Druid, and just haven't gotten the paladin yet because I already have one. These are just the story characters.
I don't think at the start of the game it matters that much defensively because there isn't that much difference between 5 and 9 or was that 10. I use a small shield for 8 deflection. Since I'm assuming I don't get the accuracy hit with a small shield.
On a bow ranger I personally want high damage so I go with lighter armor but I don't like the look of hide so I go leather.
I think fighters get a talent that makes them pause less with their armor.
for your party members check their character sheet for any weapon focus feat.
For yourself, just pick the one you prefer for its visual and awesomeness and pick the feats that increase your accuracy with it.
On armor, you just gotta test yourself during a few battles to see if your recovery time is alright. If its ok you pick up the best armors with that recovery time.
For the guys on the back its a good idea to let them have as little recovery time penalty as possible (specially the archers). While for at least the 2 main tankers in the party its best to make them use the best armor you can find.
Based on your stats for your Paladin you should go for the heaviest armor that you can. With a 3 dex you already have a -21% action speed, might as well throw on full plate for another -50%. With the low dex and might, damage output will be very low anyway so better to maximize his survivability with the highest DR armor you can get.
A good general rule of thumb is that you want the highest DR armor on guys who will get hit a lot and the lower DR and faster action speed on guys who will be doing a lot of shooting and not getting hit.
High DR armor makes a big difference on a guy with a high deflection. Less hits doing less damage result in guys who do not get dropped.
A mage in full plate might take two hits to kill instead of one but will cast spells 50% slower. Better to go with light or no armor and lay down the smack faster.
A high damage melee guy can do well with lighter armor if you can either hold engagement with a more heavily armored guy or attack with long reach weapons from the back row.
With armour, you basically trade damage reduction for recovery time, i.e. attack speed. Heavier armour leads to slower attacks.
People in the front, esp. a tank paladin, should get quite heavy armour. For a frontline fighter, it's also useful.
The guys in the back should pump out their spells and attacks as fast as possible, so for them lighter armour is better.
Chanters, OTOH, chant at a constant speed; their singing is not affected by recovery time. So Kana, in my party, gets heavy armour so he can double as emergency tank should anyone come from behind or get through the front.
On top of that, however, come the special enchantments. My Edér still uses his personal armour, because I find the Second Chance enchantment to be useful. The same with Aloth and his Overseeing.
That's meant as a general direction. Whether you have DR 7 and 35% recovery penalty or DR 8 to 40% (numbers may not be correct), is mostly not that important. In those cases, choose what looks good or where you get better enchantments. Esp. on Easy and Normal you do have that kind of leeway; the game doesn't force you to optimise the hell out of it.
Quick weapons for casters and tanks, slow weapons for damage dealers, heavy armor for tanks, light or medium for everyone else depending on unique armor bonuses.
Note about wizard, their passive Blast works with wands, rods and scepters only if I recall correctly - check the description on the char sheet.
Eder, my tank, has heavy armour, My dual wielding fighter wears medium (35-40%) armour, rogue wears 25-30% armour, Aloth wears his Leather and Durance wears a padded armour atm.
I found that even backline characters can get hit often due to enemy ranged mobs and things like Shadows teleporting, so having some armour on them does help, and really up to 30% recovery penalty isnt that bad.


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Finally, our Television debut on German TV! Last September on our small group tour to the Rhineland area we were joined by a German TV crew after a journalist had contacted me asking if we would allow them to follow us around. We said yes and they were with the group for a couple days but mainly followed one of our tour members on her visits to her ancestral hometowns. Of course hours of video apparently ended up on the cutting room floor, 😕 and we had to wait until it ran on TV (which was today in Germany) before I could share the clip. It is over dubbed with German but you should get the story. Congrats to our star: Sherry and it brings back great memories of a fantastic trip.
This entry was posted in Germany and tagged ancestral hometown, ancestry, family history, familytreetours, Germany, heritage, travel, tv. Bookmark the permalink.


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Identity Stunt #4
Writer: Joe R. Khachadourian
Artist: J, Briscoe Allison (artwork), Juancho Velez (colors) A. J. Scherkenbach (Lettering)
Publisher: Markosia Enterprises (December 2018)
Here comes the final act of the film.
Flip your collars up, push up your sleeves and tighten the straps on your cut-off gloves.
If you've got a toothpick or a match-stick in your mouth, bite down hard on it.
Adjust your aviators or your ray bans and check your clips.
It's GO time!
If you've just hit the play button on your VCR after a long pause, the shit has hit the fan.
Sami Nasser is knee deep in crazed acolytes. His lady love, Tracy, has joined the dearly departed, and his daughter Alyssa is in the menacing clutches of Dominus Smith as he stands at the cusp of seeing his plans come to fruition. Sami has back up though, Beatdown and Knuckleball are right in the mix. Making this issue an all-in brawl as well as a race against the clock.
Will Sami save his daughter in time? Will Beatdown stop Dominus for good? Isn't Sami Beatdown? Did dominus lie to us all? Will Knuckleball get his own spin-off?!?!
If you want answers to the big questions in this review, look elsewhere. Spoilers are evil, and Sami Nasser said to always punch evil in the face.
If you want nitpicking and criticism exit stage left as well. No series is flawless. But if you're not down with the action-packed fun and insanity by now you need to wake up, go back to the start, and read it again. Hell, grab it in trade form while you're there. This series is a rare thing. An easy read with depth and punches in equal measure. It wears its tropes and influences on its sleeve and charms you into strapping in for the ride.
Joe Khachadourian shows, from the first page, that he's a writer who can consistently deliver character and dialogue with honesty and authenticity. He can also deliver on some sharp twists and turns and has maintained mastery of pace throughout this series.
Beatdowns hard-boiled dialogue really would make Frank Miller's god damned All-Star Batman smile.
Briscoe Allison needs to do a team book next. He needs to be on all the books from now on. Making all the money to boot. I was impressed early by his Maduereira-like style and his detailed eye (honestly there are so many Easter-eggs to watch out for in this book), but this issue also makes a strong case for his gift for panel layouts and sequential story-telling powers.
The movie literacy of this series has been one of my favorite things. There are A-team references and Butch and Sundance lines to spare in this issue. But their use in a story set in Hollywood's stuntman scene, in a series that is an impressive entry into the buddy/action genre, are deployed with brains and precision.
Yes, there are clichés running rampant in Identity Stunt. But clichés become endearing and stand the test of time for a reason. The creative teams employ of the clichés in this issue show that they understand that.
But there's also originality born from exploring these clichés. Knuckleball both encapsulates and benefits from this particularly. When they make a movie of Knuckleball, my favorite asshole in a uniform, the tagline must be "oh you've got to be fucking kidding me…"
The ending is tight enough while still leaving a few loose threads for the sequel.
Everyone knows these types of films are made to have sequels.
Lethal Weapon. 48 hours. Rush Hour. Even Bad Boys. All the best ones should have sequels.
Catch your breath boys.
Cauterize your wounds and hit us with Identity Stunt 2: Stunt Harder, soon!
This entry was posted in comics, recent release reviews and tagged action, batman, cinema, comic books, comics, fiction, identity stunt, markosia, movies, reviews, throwback. Bookmark the permalink.
Doomsday Clock #7
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank (pencils/ inks), Brad Anderson (colours) Rob Leigh (Lettering)
Publisher: DC Comics (November 2018)
In no way is this issue of Doomsday Clock a jumping on point for the series. If you've just joined the action then all I can guarantee you are gorgeously rendered illustrations, sharp dialogue, and a lot of questions. That goes double for you if you have no idea of the source story this series builds on. Watchmen (the 1986 series that deconstructs super-hero storytelling) is such a watershed moment in comic book lore that it extends beyond the medium. Doomsday Clock is a series that integrates the characters of the Watchmen universe into the current world of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman. Delivering it to readers garbed in equal measures of mystery, noir, and realism.
The issue opens with a condensed history of the original Green Lantern, then expands out to unite all the key players introduced by the series thus far. Saturn Girl, Johnny Thunder, and Rorschach (all characters of questionable sanity) are met by Ozymandias (also someone whose sanity is unstable). These four then rescue Batman and The Comedian (who you could also say are both at least a little insane) from the torturous clutches of The Joker, The Mime, and the Marionette (so insane that I feel I owe the others an apology). Dr. Manhattan disrupts the gathering and whisks some characters away. He reveals some shocking truths and leaves the arc of each character upside down and in disarray. What we get essentially, is a smart, inverting, and entangled display of Joseph Campbell's refusal of the call.
I mentioned the gorgeously rendered illustrations and I emphatically stand by that. Gary Frank has been drawing comics since the early 90s. He has never fallen below excellent. His clean lines and comedic expressions eventually developed into a realistic style, instrumental in controlling storytelling pace. He conveys emotion with a sense of purity often overlooked in comics. You forgive the book its continued delays if the reason for them is so that Frank can tug on one more heartstring or make that last hair on the back of your neck stand to attention and salute.
Geoff Johns, honestly the torch bearer for DC superhero mythology, re-establishes that he is a brilliant writer. Layered, constantly innovative, and without limits. This isn't just hyperbole or pandering to an industry heavyweight. Geoff Johns breathes love and veneration into every detail, every word, of these characters. He bows courteously to the original Watchmen series, treating it with the reverence of someone entrusted with minding a Faberge egg. But he also builds on its mythology, explores the psyche of today's society, and works beautifully to exist both inside and outside of the comic book medium. The book feels like it comes from the same Reaganomics-driven-post-Nixon climate that Watchmen was born from, yet it also exists simultaneously in our world today.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you can jump on to Doomsday Clock with this issue and find yourself in the middle of something special. A legitimate event comic.
If you do, you'll put it down. You'll run to wherever you get your comic book fix from and pick up the previous issues of the series.
Hurry, before it's too late.
Before the Doomsday Clock hits midnight.
This entry was posted in comics, recent release reviews and tagged batman, comics, dc, dccomics, doomsdayclock, garyfrank, geoffjohns, recent release reviews, reviews, superman, thejoker, watchmen. Bookmark the permalink.
Deadly Class #35
Artist: Wes Craig (pencils / inks), Jordan Boyd (colours)
Publisher: Image Comics, Inc. (June 2018)
Do you cringe at the memory of the late 80s?
If you're not a fan of that decade's movie tropes; smash- mouth action, over-the-top violence, and deliciously bad stereotypes, then stay away.
If you read it despite my warning, then you're about to be converted. Baptised in blood.
This is the conclusion to the four-part opera of violence that has been Love Like Blood.
The kids of Kings Dominion are on the run and fighting to stay alive.
What's Kings Dominion?
It's the Hogwarts for the criminal underworld that this series centers around. The handful of students it focuses on are the Breakfast Club with guns, knives and deep criminal tendencies.
The Love Like Blood storyline sees the cast cornered like rats in Mexico trapped in the crosshairs of a yakuza power struggle. The issue opens with a showdown between original cast members (and previously presumed dead) Marcus and Maria and main series villain Viktor (Ivan Drago's steroids on steroids). Last issue's bare-knuckled, broken-toothed, beat down has reached a climax with Marcus primed to shoot Viktor dead. But in a surprising turn of events he instead reasons with Viktor. A very raw conversation follows about duty and whose footsteps we choose to follow in as we build our own identities.
Following this, Marcus and Maria link up with the rest of the students in the nick of time, saving them from crazy hillbilly Brandy, only to again face imminent death at the hands of the yakuza. The outcome of the face-off sees life lost, trusts broken, fences mended, and the characters leave more scarred and broken than before. Does anybody walk away from this story unscathed?
This is a series where the stakes are always sky high and out of reach. While there's not really been any significant lull in the two-plus years' worth of issues, the conclusion of Love like Blood is another peak for the series.
The theme of forgiveness and the hints of redemption and sacrifice in this story don't just play with our emotions. They sadistically torture them. The heart and earnestness in the writing, amidst the blood and betrayal, is a testament to how well-crafted the characters are and how much agency each is given to speak with.
The pitch of the action is at scarlet fever for the entire issue. It's matched by a pace that is at cardiac event levels. It's unbearable and at the same time impossible not to be utterly transfixed.
I cannot talk about Rick Remender's writing and Wes Craig's separately. They work in perfect synchronicity to elevate each other. The sheer trauma conveyed in the story is a product of this. Is it on the faces of each character? Or is it in their voices? It's THAT hard to call.
Jordan Boyd's colours, however, do deserve a spotlight. The colourist adds so much to the story with such a simple palette. It comes across as so virtual, so tangible and hard-hitting, that you'd swear your knuckles were just as bruised and battered as the characters by the end.
Bruised and battered. That's exactly how this issue will leave you.
Bruised and battered and begging for more.
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Daredevil Deadpool '97 Annual
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Bernard Chang (Pencils) Jon Holdredge (Inks)
Publisher: Marvel Comics (September 1997)
Sometimes it doesn't pay to dig up the past.
Sometimes you should just let a sleeping dog lie.
But because Daredevil season 3 is about to hit Netflix, because Typhoid Mary is enjoying her spotlight on Iron Fist's second season, because there's an inexplicably undying love for all things Deadpool: because of all these reasons I decided to dig up the past and wake up the sleeping dog that was this single issue.
The basic story has Deadpool develop twisted empathy for Typhoid Mary and track her to New York. She's there to hunt Daredevil, the man she believes responsible for all her woes. Deadpool hopes to encounter Daredevil first so they can have the classic comic book team up and get Mary the help she needs. Daredevil is skeptical but sides with the less psychotic (no really) Deadpool. The conclusion sees all three use a battle (because this is still 90s comic book storytelling) to work through their issues and tie the story up in a neat little bow. It leaves nothing for the next writer to build upon and no reason for the reader to continue following these characters other than for completions sake (because, again, this is still 90s comic book storytelling).
I was into Kelly's Deadpool at the time, I was a pre-teen smart ass that liked reading characters who were also smart asses. The art on the regular Deadpool book was cool and innovative for 1997, and the art here by Bernard Chang was clean, fluid, well-constructed and didn't fall too deep into exaggerated physiques that were all the rage back then. His expression work was good too. But he seemed to favor Deadpool over Daredevil and the story suffers as a result.
Joe Kelly had worked on both eponymous characters. In the case of Deadpool, his work was what rescued the character from being a Spiderman-with-guns-clone from the with-guns-clone-factory that creator Rob Liefeld was operating with impunity.
Kelly's writing, on reflection, wasn't yet what it would become by the mid-2000's. His strength was comedy and super-heroics, not so much theme and character. He wasn't right for Daredevil. The characterization is way off. Daredevil feels like a bit player in a book whose title bears his name. He should be a cocktail of Atticus Finch, Rocky Marciano, and Robert Redford. Instead, he comes off here as a cardboard stand-in with no volume.
The psychological aspects of the story are left undeveloped. There are at least two characters with which to explore themes of mental illness, adolescent troubles, and identity construction. These are missed opportunities that would have given the story more depth and substance.
A shame, because Frank Miller's Daredevil had balanced all of this with great action. Although expecting substance and depth from most titles was a big ask at the time, there were still creators who were pulling it off on elsewhere.
In the conclusion to the story, we're led to believe that, for the characters, digging up the bones of the past can help mend things, bringing them some absolution.
If only that were the case with revisiting the issue itself.
This entry was posted in comics and tagged bernard chang, comics, daredevil, deadpool, joe kelly, marvel, marvel comics, recent release reviews, reviews, typhoid mary. Bookmark the permalink.
Who Can Save Us Now?: Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories
Authors: Scott Snyder, Sam Weller, Jennifer Weiner, and others
Publisher: Free Press, 2008
At a time when superheroes are at the forefront of popular culture, dominating the box office and littering every channel on television. A time when the daily news is a constant stream of growing social awareness, political freak shows, looming terrorist threats, and rising global injustice. Comes Who Can Save Us Now? a book that toys with the pure and idealistic concepts of how heroes are perceived in modern society. Testing each virtue (and vice) to see if they can exist in our complex world.
This enticing premise is where the book succeeds and fails. Each of the 22 short stories are written in a post-war (or post golden age era for comic readers) world, but the broad time setting is a deterrence, creating an uneven reading experience. The other major flaw the book suffers from is the disparate length from story to story. There are some strong ideas that have their potential for greatness dashed by the main villain of the work: space to develop. Of course, there are some stories overcooked by heat vision that would benefit from a shorter page count
Across the board, the uniting strength in these stories are the vivid use of setting and the excellent display of the writer's super-powered dialogue, most of these writers come from working in comic books or have a deep affinity for the scripted medium and it really shows with realistic exchanges that ring true for any lover of the four-colored literature.
The most endearing stories are the ones that play cleverly with simple comic book lore and archetypes, making for a great story with a cynical, modern take. Stephanie Harrells Lois Lane/Superman deconstruction of 'Girl Reporter'. The ever-present nods to comic book fan knowledge in Noria Jablonskis 'The Snipper'. The magazine expose-style take on a Batman-like figure in 'My Interview with the Avenger' by Tom Bissell.
Other standouts of the work play closer to real-world scenarios and tone down the fantasy and wonder. Such as 'The Lives of Ordinary Superheroes'by David Haynes, an almost chamber piece story that reminisces over the erosion of modern values and serves as a fitting final story to the book. Or the Sean Dolittle penned, action-packed, gritty blue-collar 'Mr. Big Deal'.
The book is written with a lot of love for a genre that has existed long before it became a marketable, blockbuster machine for moviegoers. It speaks to the diversity in theme and subject of comic books. Most of these tales echo the emotional experience the writer has derived from their reading experience. Under the cape and cowl of the stories are somber, deep emotional tales of living with dissatisfaction, without purpose, identity, or hope. Make no mistake, there are plenty of laughs as well. A mix of comedy and tragedy that slightly favors the latter. When it's at its best, the book will serve to remind the reader of the values of imagination and inherent good. That behind the trials and tribulations life throws, there is potentially a hero in all of us, waiting to save the day.
This entry was posted in books and tagged book reviews, comic books, comics, fiction, reviews, scott snyder, superheroes. Bookmark the permalink.
Preacher: The Story of You-Know-Who
Author: Garth Ennis
Artist: Richard Case (pencil and inks), Matt Hollingsworth (colours)
Publisher: DC/Vertigo (1996)
Garth Ennis' Preacher series is a look at values, morality, love, and meaning in a modern world. The titular character embarks on a literal quest for God and encounters all manner of characters who embody our times. Ennis' tells the story of one of those characters Arseface, downtrodden Eugene Root, while exploring coming-of-age themes of teenage isolation, domestic abuse, suicide, and pop-culture obsession.
Eugene's story, appropriately, is an ugly one. He has been psychologically and physically tormented by his small-town sheriff father. His mother lives in bottles of vodka and jars of prescription pills. At school Eugene is despised by his peers and ridiculed by the teachers, a victim of daily bullying. His only 'friend' is Pube, a grunge infatuated teenage slacker who constantly puts Eugene down. Every attempt at social interaction is met with either neglect or ignorance by everyone. Every attempt to make a stand and assert some control over his own life falls flat. After a constant cycle of humiliation, abuse, and depression that culminates with the news of Kurt Cobain's death, Eugene and Pube make a suicide pact, no longer able to endure their torturous existence. Only Eugene survives and re-emerges into the world, disgustingly disfigured but with a new-found optimism on life, as Arseface.
If you can get past the over-the-top use of profanity that is a hallmark of Ennis' style, this work is both heartfelt and heart-breaking. Ennis writes Eugene's troubles with such earnestness that you feel every kick in the gut. You can smell, taste, and hear the authenticity in the words and in the art. The art is awkward, nervous, skittish, and dark. It perfectly captures the emotional state of the characters. The colours, even in the few scenes of hope, are bleak and grimy, there's nothing Hollywood about the world we're in or the themes that it wallows in. The only time this atmosphere gives way to clarity is when we zoom in on the perfectly placed, emotional expressions and reactions to the events (or non-events) of Eugene's life.
Pop-Culture permeates every panel of the book. From the musical, generation-spanning chapter headings (a musical tour bus through teen rebellion from the Beatles' 'a day in the life' to Bowie's 'rebel, rebel' to The Moody Blues 'new horizons' before finally ending at Nirvana.), to the opening and closing riffs on Forrest Gump. This book places the reader, with all their post-pubescent angst, as close to their own lives as possible. It makes sure things hit home, like a baseball bat to the ribs.
Despite the writer's penchant for black humor, satire, and the grotesque, teenage depression and suicide and the silent sufferings that lead to it are treated respectfully and lead to some powerful proclamations. Characters rally against expectation and pressures of their miserable lives, constantly getting back up off the floor to keep searching for hope and a better tomorrow. There's a strong message in here to think about the consequences of your actions.
The real gift of this book though is its inversion of the ugliness that lives inside everyone and that it takes something special to overcome, and sometimes that something special is a fella with a face like you-know-who.
If you or someone you know is struggling with any of the issues mentioned in this review, please speak to someone. There is hope and help available at services like Lifeline (13 11 14) or Kids Helpline (https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/ or 1800 55 1800) is Australia's only free, private, and confidential, phone counseling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25
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Watchmen was never going to be an easy project for the person who was brave enough to finally adapt it to the screen. For years it had been tackled by director after director, each time ultimately shelved. How would you adapt the bible, in all its entirety, and succeed? It's impossible. How then would you adapt what is revered as the greatest piece of graphic fiction ever published? The Citizen Kane of comics? Something so glued to its medium that no one would have faulted the notion it could never be done at all.
A story that is essentially a murder mystery while also serving as social commentary. A deconstruction of the super-hero genre. A parable of the human condition. Not just what it is to be a super-human. But what it is to be simply human.
How would you adapt the story of a team of superheroes who were shut down by a government act? Decommissioned by the country and the laws they served. Who shed retirement to reveal the truth behind the death of one of their own and to save a world that doesn't want to be saved along the way?
Zack Snyder gave it his best shot.
Zack Snyder cast this movie almost perfectly. From the principal cast, it's too hard to pick a stand out between them. Billy Crudup's tragically human portrayal of an omnipotent being who has lost his faith in humanity and his actual humanity along with it. Patrick Wilson as the idealist crime-fighter whose life is an empty shell, without a sense of self or purpose. Jackie Earle Haley's unhinged vigilante who may be the only sane person in a world gone insane. Even Matthew Goode who seems unconvincing as the world's smartest man, the perennial overachiever, peels back that layer to reveal his removal from a realistic portrayal is necessary for a character who is ten steps ahead of the rest of the film.
Zack Snyder picked the perfect soundtrack to carry this film through time. From the ingenious opening credits that move thematically to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-changing" to the hollow echo of "The Sounds of Silence" to "All Along the Watchtower". This soundtrack is on the cutting edge of relevance. Think of the great compilation soundtracks at the forefront of movies that are identified by them. From Easy Rider to Saturday Night Fever, to Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction to Trainspotting. This soundtrack belongs rightfully among them.
Zack Snyder captured the look and feel of the comic perfectly. He gets the balance right with the costume design. That perfect point in between ridiculous and realistic. Functional and silly. He gets the tones and colours spot on, grim when it needs to be, bright when it has to be. Initially, you'll think this is a dark film, and you can't argue, given the subject matter, it is. But the colours, the costumes, the settings of this film are all perfectly placed. Even the black and white in this movie has a visual flair.
So why hasn't Zack Snyder made a perfect film?
Was it written too "in its time", that the cultural events that lay the framework for the plot points have been done to death?
Was it not what an audience, that is ever growing attached to its big screen comic book movie adaptations, want from its comic book films?
Is it too smart for its own good? Is the subject matter too dense? Are there too many stories happening at once?
Surely it isn't the one glaring difference that Zack Snyder made in the story from book to film… That change was a necessary one.
Why didn't Watchmen succeed when there is so much to enjoy and appreciate in this film?
It all goes back to the question of how do you do it?
How do you adapt watchmen for the screen?
The answer's simple.
You're not supposed to.
You don't.
This entry was posted in film reviews and tagged alan moore, cinema, comic books, comics, dave gibbons, dc, dc comics, film, movies, reviews, watchmen, zack snyder. Bookmark the permalink.
In this season Matt, Foggy, and Karen cross paths with Hell's Kitchen's newest vigilante, the Punisher. Daredevil is ripped apart at the seams by his double life. An important figure from Matt's past, Elektra battles against the mysterious ninja cult called The Hand, and Hell's Kitchen become divided over what a hero is and what kind of hero it needs.
Season two draws its influence from a rich comic book history, taking aspects of 'The Man without Fear' series and 'The Devil in Cell Block D' storyline, as well as Garth Ennis' Punisher tale "Kitchen Irish".
After an incredible season one, Daredevil season two improves on everything that was great about the first thirteen episodes.
If you liked the fleshed-out characters of season one, this season will not let you down. The writing delves even deeper into Matt's turmoil of doing what's right without going too far. The disregard for his own self and the sacrifices he makes as Matt Murdock so that he can protect the city he loves as Daredevil is a fascinating downward spiral that will knock the wind out of you and never let you get up.
The introduction of the Punisher, who antagonizes Daredevil as something that will never ultimately fix Hell's Kitchen, is intriguing enough to make you question your own ethics. But his portrayal by Jon Bernthal as a man over the edge and the remarkable way this character is presented, as one man's operatic tragedy of violence, is explosive.
The creators of this show have taken a one-dimensional, one-note character from the comic books and added dimension, depth and heartbreak to breathe something new into Frank Castle. He becomes a violent force of nature over the course of the series: you fear him, you despise him, you empathize with him, and you eventually cheer him on before realizing that you still fear him.
Speaking of characters you cheer on, the growth of Foggy Nelson in this season could be its own show. You'd tune in to see his legal exploits and loveable hopeless good guy personality week in week out if this is all the show was.
The same can be said for Karen Page. If you want a show about a strong female character that doesn't bend to conventions, forget Jessica Jones. You won't need that. Karen went from damsel in distress to strong female lead in season one. In season two she builds immensely on that and is one of the truest and well-crafted characters on TV today. The writers have given her agency that is rare in any genre.
Unfortunately, the show's intended ass-kicking female, Elektra, isn't as well crafted. Her flashback story with Matt provides the viewer with an adrenaline rush of on-screen romance and sexually charged tangoing. But as a vigilante, she is the least fully realized character and doesn't work as well as the other parts of the show. Even this, though, isn't a major complaint, just something to develop in the inevitable season three.
The handling of violence in this show has to be mentioned. If the hallway scene in season one was what you're looking for more of, you will be pleased. There are at least three set pieces like it in this season that exceed the bar set by season one. The fights are innovative, to say the least.
And while this is gruesome and bloody, it's all in aid of the realism, it's not gratuitous. It's well choreographed, well shot and every bit as balanced and entertaining visually as the show is well written and acted. You will watch season two of Daredevil, experience every high and low and feel like you have come out of a great legal drama, Kung-Fu flick, revenge tale, romance, or human drama. You'll feel like you've just stepped out of a great movie that gave you exactly what you asked for and then some.
You'll forget that it's television.
This entry was posted in TV Reviews and tagged binge, comic books, comics, daredevil, jeph loeb, joe quesada, marvel, mcu, netflix, reviews, streaming, tv, TV Reviews. Bookmark the permalink.
Captain America: Civil War is the latest entry into the Marvel cinematic universe. It picks up after the events of both the previous Captain America films and Avengers: Age of Ultron. In the wake of destruction left by events of any Marvel moment when someone throws a superheroic punch, the Avengers are being held accountable for their actions and are asked to sign a U.N backed accord. Iron Man agrees and becomes the figurehead of the new act, Captain America doesn't and the heroes from previous films, plus new additions Black Panther and Spider-Man, choose sides.
What do you expect from a Marvel film?
Whatever you answer with, guaranteed, this movie has it. Marvel has got its formula for pleasing all audiences 100% right by now. They're the new Pixar. They can do no wrong.
The action set piece in the center of the film is more satisfying than anything in the whole two hours and 21 minutes of Age of Ultron. This is THE definitive example of the spectacle you sign up for when you pay to see these films.
The performances from the entire cast exceed excellently. There needs to be a new term to replace "scene-stealer" because this film goes beyond that.
You will admire Paul Bettany's portrayal of Vision trying to understand his humanity.
The internal conflict you will feel when deciding who to side with will tear you apart.
You will go back and watch Ant-Man again after this and love it more than you did before.
You will look (even more) forward to the coming Spider-Man film and will wonder why you ever questioned plans for a Black Panther movie.
You'll even watch Hawkeye and wonder where the hell THIS was in both Avengers films and why he hasn't had his own film yet.
It's not riddled with faults. There are no questionable editing decisions or cheesy sound choices. It doesn't suffer from bad writing or confusing cinematography. It's clean. It's polished… And when your excitement dies down. When you leave the cinema, get back in your car and stop gushing about it with your friends or online for five minutes you'll realize this movie is just "process" now. There's no real ultimate consequence…
I mean… There is implied consequence… (Cant…go… into detail…trying…not… to spoil). But it lacks change.
It's just another of the now numberless moving parts of the mighty Marvel movie money-making machine.
Civil War, The comic that this movie gets its title and basic framework from on the other hand. That was a game changer.
There WERE consequences.
The story world landscape was changed for a long time afterward.
There's a reason it's widely considered in the world of fandom as the greatest Marvel universe story of the last thirty years.
Civil War the comic follows the same major plot as its film version. After a disastrous, destructive event… the heroes of the Marvel universe are asked to register their powers and identities with the government. Heroes (and villains) choose sides.
Villains (and heroes) switch sides.
People die. (No…NO!!! no spoilers…NO SPOILERS DAMN IT!)
The art was incredible… clear, detailed, emotional… The writing had gravity and rang surprisingly true for something based in such a fantastical world. It was born out the events of 9/11, it placed a real problem into a fictional world and asked how heroes define themselves, where their conscience lies in the face of a world that has never been further from black and white. It treated its themes with dignity, with respect and honesty that most people wouldn't expect from the four colour medium of comics, but by now probably should.
Captain America: Civil War is a well-made meal.
You'll eat it, even if you weren't hungry, even if you didn't NEED it… You'll eat it all up. But you won't be dying for another serve afterward.
You'll just feel like… "I'm full now. What else is there to do?"
This entry was posted in film reviews and tagged captain america, chris evans, civil war, comics, mark millar, marvel, marvel comics, mcu, reviews, russo brothers, steve mcniven. Bookmark the permalink.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Officials looking to fund Nurse-Family Partnership expansion in Albany Co.
Becoming a parent can be scary, especially for mothers who don't have a support system. That's why local officials want to see the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) program expanded to Albany County.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said there's a great need for the program, but the expansion would cost about $1 million. He and other advocates are asking lawmakers to find that money in the budget.
McCoy said lack of prenatal care for mothers in Albany County has led to higher rates of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and developmental disabilities.
"These babies are born, they're premature, they have a lot of illnesses that come with them then we have to take care of them," McCoy said. "They end up on assistance and that costs us more going in."
Though it's an investment, McCoy said it will save money in the long run.
"For every one dollar invested in this, $5.70 is saved," McCoy said. "I mean that's better than playing the odds."
Kristin Duffy is the government affairs manager for NFP.
"Our nurses support the mom by ongoing visits to the home throughout the mother's pregnancy and then stays with the mom and the family until the child turns 2," Duffy said.
Duffy said expectant mothers in Upstate New York, in particular, have trouble getting the services they need. She said social isolation can play a big role in that.
NFP is already operating in upstate cities like Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. McCoy and Duffy hope to add Albany to that list very soon.
"Right now, the budget is ongoing and we're hopeful that we will receive more state funding to help expand our programs," Duffy said.
"It's a better outcome for the people that I represent and if we truly want to change people's lives and outcome, we need to do this here," McCoy said.
If lawmakers aren't able to find the money in the state budget, McCoy said he'll probably go to the Albany County Legislature to see if they can fund the expansion.
Stay with NewsChannel 13 for updates on this story.
Emily Burkhard
Updated: March 12, 2019 07:42 PM
Created: March 12, 2019 06:19 PM
Washington County man found dead in a Vermont field


text:
Google and the FTC
https://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2011/06/google-and-the-ftc
"The Federal Trade Commission is poised to serve Google Inc. with civil subpoenas," the Wall Street Journal reports, attributing the news to anonymous "people familiar with the matter."
There are a number of remarkable things about this situation. From the Journal article: "Though the outcome is uncertain, the agency fought hard with the Justice Department to handle the case, said people familiar with the investigation, and so is thought to be unlikely to walk away without taking any action." There's an interesting dynamic: The FTC's action, by this account, will be governed not merely by the law but by internal government power politics.
More: in a classic antitrust case, the government intervenes to protect consumers or other customers from having to pay high prices to a business with monopoly pricing power. But in the case of Google, many of its products and services are not highly priced; they are free. In the case of other Google-offered products and services, such as enterprise email or such as display or search advertising, Google has made profits and revenues by entering competitive markets — corporate email, advertising — and charging prices that are lower than the prices charged by competitors.
The Journal claims: "In the U.S., Google has sparked complaints from travel services like Expedia Inc. and TripAdvisor LLC, local listings services like Yelp, as well as Google's perennial rival, Microsoft. Many of them say Google promotes links to its own websites, starving their sites of vital traffic."
So what's really happening here is that the FTC is stepping in not to protect ordinary consumers, but to advance the interest of other companies. Expedia's board is chaired by Barry Diller and also includes Liberty Media's John Malone. Tripadvisor is owned by Expedia. Yelp's investors reportedly include Bessemer Venture Partners, Benchmark Capital, and Elevation Partners, where a partner is Bono. Microsoft has a search engine, Bing, that competes with Google, and Barry Diller's IAC has its own search engine, Ask.com, that is also a Google search competitor. Both Microsoft and Ask Jeeves (Ask.com's predecessor) were founded years before Google.
Is this really what we have the FTC, or federal antitrust enforcement, for? To protect Barry Diller, Bono, and John Malone from Larry Page and Sergey Brin? You'd think maybe those guys would be rich, powerful, or good enough at business to protect themselves by building their own businesses without needing the government to come in and subpoena their competitors. And anyway, if Google skews its search too much to results that aren't useful but that are Google-owned, consumers may eventually get irritated enough with bad results to turn to other, competing search engines.
Disclosures: I own some Google stock. I also use Google for search, for email, for an RSS reader, and for Web site analytics. Some of the ads on this Web site are served by a Google ad network from which this site derives revenue.
by Ira Stoll | Jun 23, 2011 at 5:18 pm Related Topics: Google, Regulation receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list
Ira Stoll
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Attacking the good for being good [105 words] John Gillis Jun 24, 2011 18:38


Instead of working on the Blockhead Baby Quilt, I quilted and bound the Wavelet.
This was the first quilt top that I completed this year, so it seems fitting that it is a completed quilt at the end of the year.
I just picked up a quilt from a local long arm quilter, so the next project is to get it bound.
I wish everyone safe travels and a Happy Thanksgiving.
Simple and sweet. Congratulations on a finish!


Many novelty-shaped sommerso pieces were produced in the 1950s. Italian glassmaker Murano is best known for this type of multi-coloured, multi-layered sommerso, meaning 'submerged' glass.
Smaller pieces were mass-produced as souvenirs - impulse buys that could fit easily into a tourist's well-packed suitcase. The larger more refined pieces were produced in smaller numbers and more vulnerable to damage, making them scarcer and therefore more valuable today.
The more charming and colourful the novelties are, the greater their appeal. Typical Murano novelties include glass eggs (less than £100), egg-timers (£150-£200) and animals. The 1950s Murano sommerso swan pictured above (37cm high) is valued at £150-£200.
While this gorgeous Fifties Murano 'sommerso' duck below, with a green foil sticker, 16cm high is valued at £25-35.


A short autobiography of Kay Illingworth (inventor of The Diet Plate®), charting her journey through weight gain and weight loss.
People put on weight for many reasons - some eat for pleasure, some for comfort. I fell into the comfort eater category.
Having been sporty most of my life, a size 12-14 and about 67 kilos, weight was never really an issue. However, when my marriage of 19 years collapsed, I took shares in a popular chocolate company and practically kept them in business. I used to buy family packs of various bars every day, with king-size ones to fill in the gaps when I was out of the house and amongst strangers.
Always a natural 64 kilos, size 12, with no real worries about weight or life in general.
Inside three years I hardly recognised myself. By this time I had gotten over my separation and was thinking more clearly about my goals in life, what I wanted and how I was going to get it. However by the time my head was back on the right way round and I was more than ready to embrace life to the full again, I weighed nearly 114 kilos and was no longer a size 12 but a size 26! Looking in the mirror that day was a real shock, I can tell you!
This weight (over 44 kilos) was put on during 3 years of desperate unhappiness. Comfort eating non-stop and with no control over her appetite, Kay munched her way through chocolate and cakes to hide her unhappiness behind the weight. At nearly 114 kilos and a size 26, Kay reached breaking point - she had to resolve the cause of her unhappiness and do something about it.
So there I was, invisible to the world, but raring to go and join in life again. The weight had served its purpose of being a shell to hide myself away in, but now I wanted to be seen and heard, as I had plenty to say! In any case my knees were giving out to the strain of the weight and I missed horse riding dreadfully.
To lose the weight, I needed to cut out all the unhealthy choices I was making. I was told by my dietician to weigh out my protein and starchy carbohydrates, eat lots of salad and free vegetables, whether frozen, fresh or tinned. I was also informed as to the secret of weight loss - eat fewer calories than your body needs and exercise more if you can. If you eat 2100 kilojoules a day less than the average 8400 then you should, in theory, lose 0.5 kilo per week, which is just right for your body. At a steady rate your body will be more likely to adjust itself and keep the weight off.
BUT being told to weigh hot food is something only the dedicated will actually do and then, with all good intentions, probably only for a week at the maximum. I, being naturally creative, thought I could do better.
So I ignored weighing out my portions and settled on guesswork instead. After three weeks on my new programme of healthy eating this did result in a weight loss...of 0.5 kilo! Having received a ticking off from the dietician for not following her advice, I decided I had better check that what I was about to serve for dinner was correct.
My visual perception of my pasta dinner was definitely a cheat. I thought I had about 170-198g) in front of me (not the 85-113 g which I was allowed). So I tipped the plate of food onto the scales and "OH MY GOODNESS!" - it weighed 454g, nearly half a kilo!
Buckled legs and crying all over the kitchen, I shouted, "What does 85g look like then?" At that moment, the proverbial cartoon light bulb came on and I had a stroke of genius. I thought about calibrating a plate, using different measurements for each food group and for every combination of different recipes I could think of.
It was 1995 and The Diet Plate® was born.
Kay visited a dietician who gave her a healthy eating plan and asked her to weigh out all the food each time she cooked. She thought this an unreasonable request and, in a flash of inspiration one night, came up with The Diet Plate® and proceeded to lose nearly six stones using it. Here she is pictured with some of the first run of 500 plates for The Diet Plate® Ltd. A happy day - the very start of her new company.
Five years later, having patented and registered it, I had saved enough money to get it manufactured and start The Diet Plate Ltd. Then, in January 2000, I sold 75 of them!
When most sensible businessmen would have probably thrown in the towel at the huge financial loss, I threw in every penny I had and every ounce of energy in my body. I had something here. The first woman ever to own The Diet Plate® in the country had lost over 32 kilos and I too had lost an amazing amount of weight - reducing my dress size from a size 26 to a size 16.
I wrote to over 1000 dieticians here and in the USA telling them all about my portion control plate and within weeks many had requested samples. Several unscrupulous people in the USA then copied the plate model even though I had patents and trademarks, but then I did get on CNN Headline News - right in the middle of the Super Bowl!
I pressed on and the news was soon full of the buzz phrase "Portion Control", which was already so familiar to owners of The Diet Plate®. RIGHTLY SO! The dieticians realised how valid a method of weight loss this was and, with The Diet Plate®, a person automatically adopts a healthy balanced diet purely because of the way the plate is designed.
From that slow start we are gradually building up a brand that is starting to sweep the country. A brand which centres around products that provide an innovative, easy and honest method of weight management.
So as you read this, welcome to a tried and tested, innovative and easy to use method of weight management. The Diet Plate® is a durable product, a one-off purchase and the only weight loss product you will ever need to buy to succeed in reaching your target weight and maintaining that weight.
People are recognising how the plate works, appreciating the simplicity of it and understanding that it fits in with their lifestyle. They realise that The Diet Plate® can help protect their family's health and thanks to that it is gracing dining tables all over the world.
It's durable. It's the only weight loss resource you will ever need. And it works. You have nothing to lose but weight!


text:
Assessment and collection of the following taxes levied by the State:
probate duty (introduced Dec 1870 and abolished Dec 1983 - continues to apply to estates relating to deaths prior to 1 January 1984)
gift duty (introduced Jan 1972 and ceased December 1982 - continues to apply to gifts made prior to 1 January 1983)
WorkCare levy collection and registration of employers as agent for the Accident Compensation Commission
Receipt of
state deficit levy (introduced November 1992) from municipal Councils
Entertainments tax
Collection of state deficit levy by municipal Councils -
The earliest taxes imposed in Victoria were customs duties which were placed upon a range of imported and exported goods and were administered by the Department of Trade and Customs (VA 606) from 1851. Of all colonial taxes, import and export duties were by far the most significant, accounting for approximately one quarter of the Colony's revenue, however jurisdiction for all customs duties was transferred to the Commonwealth upon federation in 1901 - see customs.
Throughout the second half of the nineteenth century the government introduced a number of taxes and duties administered by various offices within the colonial government. The most notable of these were duties on estates of deceased persons, land tax and duties on the production of tobacco and beer.
Duties on the estates of deceased persons (probate duties) were introduced under the Duties on the Estates of Deceased Persons Act 1870 (34 Vic., No.388). Payment of probate duties was initially made to the Master-in-Equity, Supreme Court.
An early form of land tax was introduced under the Land Tax Act 1877. This tax was administered by the Chief Secretary's Department to 1884 and then by the Department of Crown Lands and Survey.
Income tax was introduced into Victoria in 1895 under the Income Tax Act 1895 (No.1374). This Act imposed a tax on all income derived by any person either by personal exertion or from the produce of property. It also introduced a tax on the revenue of companies. In order to administer this tax an Income Tax Office was established within the Treasury.
Circa 1903 responsibility for the administration of land tax transferred to the Treasurer expanding the ambit of the Taxation Office. Circa 1911 the Taxation Office within Treasury assumed responsibility for probate duties.
Although the Commonwealth introduced a separate income tax prior to the Second World War, the states remained the major collectors of income tax until the 1940's. However due to the increased financial demands placed upon it during the Second World War the Commonwealth Government passed legislation in 1942 effectively removing from the states the right to collect income tax and establishing a uniform national tax system. To compensate the states for the loss of their income tax revenue a system of annual grants from the Commonwealth to the states was introduced. Initially these arrangements were to cease at the end of the war, but they were later extended indefinitely, the basis upon which grants were made changing from one of compensation for loss of previous tax revenue to one of states' needs.
In 1942 the State Taxation Office dealt with the assessment and collection of State Income Tax, Federal Income Tax, Special Income Tax, Unemployment Relief Tax, State Land Tax, Probate Duty and Entertainments Tax. By late 1943 the State Taxation Office only handled the collection and assessment of State Land Tax and Probate Duty. At this time the Office undertook the recording of all sales of properties and changes of ownership as well as particulars of ownership and values of most of the properties in the State. Nine departmental valuers were employed in checking and revising values not only for Land Tax but also for Stamp Duty and Probate Duty purposes and for other Government Departments.
Throughout the 1950's and 1960's the Victorian Government introduced a number of indirect taxes to compensate for the loss of its income tax revenue. The state continued to administer probate duties, land tax, taxes on the issue of a range of licences, motor vehicle registrations and on betting through the TAB and bookmakers' takings, amongst others.
From 29 December 1962 entertainments tax was levied in Victoria only on admissions to horse racing and trotting meetings.
A division of the Department of the Treasurer continued to oversee the administration of these taxes and from the early 1970's onwards became known as the State Taxation Office or State Tax Office. On 1 September 1971 the right to impose payroll tax was transferred from the Commonwealth to the states and in Victoria the Payroll Tax Act 1971 (No.8154) established a system for administering the tax. Since that time payroll tax has been the State's most important source of tax revenue.
As from 1 January 1972 the Gift Duty Act 1971 (No.8176) imposed duty on gifts (including gifts and settlements of property) formerly imposed only under the Stamps Acts. The Gift Duty (Amendment) Act 1981 (No.9626) effectively removed gift duty from gifts made on or after 1 January 1983. Gift and death duties were also imposed by the Commonwealth Government until 1979.
In the 1980's the Commonwealth Government alone exercises the right to impose customs and excise duties, sales tax and personal and company income tax. The ambit of taxation now left to the states comprises motor taxation, stamp duties, liquor, land, lottery, racing, payroll and entertainment taxes. The collection of gift duties is shared between the Commonwealth and the states as are probate duties. The latter were abolished in Victoria on 1 January 1984. Since that time the State Tax Office has collected duties on a decreasing number of estates relating to deaths prior to 1984.
The State Revenue Office was established under Administrative Arrangements Order No.106 effective from 28 April 1992. The Order effectively merged the Stamp Duties Office and State Taxation Office which were operating independently within the Department of the Treasury. The Order also created the position of Commissioner of State Revenue to replace the positions of Commissioner of Taxation, Comptroller of Stamps, Commissioner of Pay-roll Tax, Commissioner of Land Tax, Commissioner of Probate Duties and Commissioner of Business Franchises.
Entertainments tax VF 371
Finance VF 5
Income tax VF 390
Land tax VF 29
Liquor licensing VF 94
Municipalities VF 397
Pay-roll tax VF 368
Stamp duties VF 370
Taxation appeals VF 365
Tobacco sellers, licensing of VF 359


The public indecency offence was committed last month between Glasgow Central and Clarkston stations.
A CCTV image of a man who is believed to have flashed passengers on an East Kilbride train has been released by British Transport Police.
Officers are today appealing for information on this man who they believe may be able to assist with their enquiries in relation to a public indecency offence on board a train between Glasgow Central and Clarkston stations.
The incident happened shortly after 9.47pm on Saturday, February 9.


SNAPA, Calif. – swampUP – May 23, 2016 – Mesosphere, creators of the world's first datacenter operating system, and JFrog announced today that JFrog Artifactory will become a standard universal artifact repository and container registry in Mesosphere's DC/OS, the first open and comprehensive platform for building, running and scaling modern enterprise applications.
The integration of JFrog Artifactory, the industry's only universal artifact repository manager, with Mesosphere Velocity, which supports continuous delivery on top of Mesosphere DC/OS, is designed to enable organizations to better manage and automate their Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) and accelerate software delivery cycles.
JFrog Artifactory provides package hosting for all major programming languages, including Docker, allowing developers to easily build and store their applications in a local repository with minimal effort.
With JFrog Artifactory and Mesosphere Velocity both running on DC/OS, enterprises can have a complete continuous delivery solution – from building an application from source code, to building and hosting a container image, to deploying the container to a running cluster.
Some of the world's top brands – including seven of the top 10 financial services companies, seven of the top 10 telcos, and eight of the top 10 internet and software companies – build their CI/CD pipelines on the JFrog platform, which provides the only way to automate end-to- end software delivery from developers all the way to consumers and devices.
Companies such as eBay, Samsung and Yelp rely on Mesosphere Velocity – which is architected around the open source Jenkins project, the world's most popular continuous integration software – to provide scalable and reliable infrastructure for application lifecycle management.
Mesosphere Velocity is built on the Mesosphere DC/OS, which provides enterprises with a single platform for running everything that modern applications require – from Docker containers to big data systems – all on the same set of shared resources.
JFrog and Mesosphere will officially introduce the new offering at swampUP, JFrog's annual user conference, taking place May 23-24 in Napa, Calif. Leading developers and DevOps engineers from around the world will gather at swampUP to exchange knowledge, new ideas and best practices around CI/CD. Mesosphere is a Blanc-level sponsor.
Mesosphere (Twitter: @Mesosphere) is leading the enterprise transformation toward distributed computing and modern applications with its Datacenter Operating System, and is the principal founding member of the DC/OS open source project. DC/OS is a production-proven datacenter-scale platform for container operations and simple installation of complex distributed systems – including HDFS, Apache Spark, Apache Kafka, Apache Cassandra and more. Mesosphere was founded in 2013 by the architects of hyperscale infrastructures at Airbnb and Twitter, along with the co-creator of Apache Mesos. Backed by A Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Data Collective, Fuel Capital, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Triangle Peak Partners and Microsoft, Mesosphere is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in New York and Hamburg, Germany.
More than 2000 paying customers, 60,000 installations and millions of developers globally rely on JFrog's world-class infrastructure for software management and distribution. Customers include some of the world's top brands, such as Amazon, Google, LinkedIn, MasterCard, Netflix, Barclays, Cisco, Oracle, Adobe and VMware. JFrog tools, comprising open-source, on-premise and SaaS cloud solutions, are revolutionizing the way companies and individuals develop, release and distribute software. JFrog Artifactory, the Universal Artifact Repository, and JFrog Bintray, the Universal Distribution Hub, are used by millions of developers and DevOps engineers around the world. The company is privately held and operated from California, France and Israel. More information can be found at www.jfrog.com.


This event will take place on April 25-29, 2016 at the Exhibition Grounds Hall 27, C 66, in Hannover, Germany. This is Europe's largest trade fair platform for hydrogen, fuel cells and stationary batteries. More than 150 international exhibitors from 25 countries will showcase their latest products and services. The focal point of the Group Exhibit will be the storage of renewable energy by hydrogen generation or in stationary batteries directly. Numerous energy topics include Wind, solar, hydro and geothermal power, energy storage, power plant efficiency and many more! The Exhibit is part of HANNOVER MESSE the world's leading trade fair for industrial technology.


text:
@interface ZYPlayingMusicViewController ()
/// 记录正在播放的音乐
@property (nonatomic, strong) ZYMusics *playingMusic;
/// 歌手背景
@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIImageView *sigerIcon;
/// 音乐名字
@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UILabel *musicName;
/// 歌手名字
@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UILabel *sigerName;

@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UILabel *songTotalTime;

- (IBAction)exit;

@end

@implementation ZYPlayingMusicViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {

    [super viewDidLoad];

}

#pragma mark - 对音乐播放的控制
- (void)startPlayingMusic{

    //拿到正在播放的音乐
    ZYMusics *playingMusic = [ZYMusicTools playingMusic];

    if (playingMusic != self.playingMusic) {
        self.playingMusic = playingMusic;

        //设置界面的数据
        self.sigerIcon.image = [UIImage imageNamed:playingMusic.icon];
        self.sigerName.text = playingMusic.singer;
        self.musicName.text = playingMusic.name;

        // 3.播放音乐
        AVAudioPlayer *player = [ZYAudioPlay startPlayMusic:playingMusic.filename];
        self.songTotalTime.text = [self stringWithTime:player.duration];

    }
}

/// 停止播放音乐
- (void)stopPlayingMusic {
    // 1.清除界面数据
    self.musicName.text = nil;
    self.sigerName.text = nil;
    self.sigerIcon.image = [UIImage imageNamed:@"play_cover_pic_bg"];
    [ZYAudioPlay stopPlayMusic:self.playingMusic.filename];

}

#pragma mark - 对控制器的操作

/// 显示控制器
- (void)show {

    // 0.判断播放音乐是否发生改变
    if (self.playingMusic && self.playingMusic != [ZYMusicTools playingMusic]) {
        [self stopPlayingMusic];
    }
    // 1.拿到window
    UIWindow *window = [UIApplication sharedApplication].keyWindow;

    window.userInteractionEnabled = NO;

    // 2.设置view的frame
    self.view.frame = window.bounds;

    // 3.将自身的view添加到window上
    [window addSubview:self.view];

    // 4.给self.view添加动画
    self.view.y = self.view.height;

    [UIView animateWithDuration:1.0 animations:^{
        self.view.y = 0;
    } completion:^(BOOL finished) {
        window.userInteractionEnabled = YES;
        //开始播放音乐
        [self startPlayingMusic];
    }];
}

/// 退出控制器
- (IBAction)exit {

    // 1.拿到window
    UIWindow *window = [UIApplication sharedApplication].keyWindow;
    window.userInteractionEnabled = NO;

    // 2.执行动画退出
    [UIView animateWithDuration:1.0 animations:^{
        self.view.y = self.view.height;
    } completion:^(BOOL finished) {
        window.userInteractionEnabled = YES;
    }];
}

#pragma mark - 计算时间私有方法
- (NSString *)stringWithTime:(NSTimeInterval)time{
    NSInteger minute = time / 60;
    NSInteger second =(NSInteger)time % 60;
    return  [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%02ld:%02ld",minute,second];

}

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Wattpad sets its sights on brands, publishers and Hollywood with Wattpad Studios
Wattpad, a popular site where authors can share stories with readers, is announcing its broader ambitions with the launch of a new division called Wattpad Studios.
The company describes Studios as a way for Wattpad to partner with the entertainment industry, and it said the new division will operate like the multi-channel networks that work with online video creators.
Wattpad Studios builds and includes a number of existing Wattpad initiatives. For example, the company launched a Wattpad Stars program last fall, which connects popular Wattpad writers with brands and publishers for paid work. And the TV5 Network in the Philippines worked with the Wattpad Presents program to create 200 episodes adapted from Wattpad stories.
As for making inroads into Hollywood specifically, Paramount Pictures acquired the rights to After by Anna Todd, which was a hit on Wattpad, and the company has also partnered with the high-powered agency UTA.
Aron Levitz, who previously launched Wattpad's native ads, will be leading the new division.
"As the largest and fastest-growing platform for stories, we can easily spot the voices that resonate with audiences around the world and the stories that have an established fan base," Levitz said in the announcement release. "Wattpad Studios will help industry executives make smarter decisions, faster."
In addition to Wattpad Stars (which the company says will be "the engine of Wattpad Studios") and Wattpad Presents, the Studios division will include Wattpad Words for publishers and Wattpad Insights, which identifies the type of stories that are trending on Wattpad.
Wattpad says it reaches an audience of 45 million people every month, with nearly 250 million stories uploaded.


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text:
About Other Spaces
Productions …
All productions
Collection of Imaginary Beings
Posthuman Theatre
Elisenvaara-Pieksämäki: Reconnections
Avalokiteshvara Superclusters
Humanoid Hypothesis
Wolf Safari
Reindeer Safari
Tripit
Operation Snowflake
Photo Jaakko Ruuska
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE WILD? EXPERIENCE THE CITY AT NIGHT AS A MEMBER OF A WOLF PACK WITH THE OTHER SPACES COLLECTIVE!
In the nocturnal wandering performance Wolf Safari, the civilized urban space collides with the untamed nature. The participants encounter the city from the perspective of a wild, social predator. The protagonist, the wolf, embodies more than a metaphorical conflict. On one hand, we know that it is one of the most socially developed and organized creatures. On the other, it's one of the most hated animals, on which humankind has projected all its undesirable traits. Only two real solutions exist for this dispute: either we rid ourselves of wolves for good, or we renegotiate our relationship with them.
Wolf Safari is an extended collective exercise in which the participants encounter each other as wolves at night in an urban environment. The transformation from human to wolf is based on a simple set of behavioral patterns borrowed from wolves and adapted for humans. The participants howl in the night, search each other, create a pack and go hunting for an animal of prey. After the hunt, the participants attend a final discussion, where they can share their experiences and discuss their findings.
Welcome to the Wild Side! Please bring comfortable shoes!
WRITINGS AND REVIEWS
Erica Cirino: The People Who Pretend to Be Wolves, Citylab 20.3.2018.
Maria Säkö: Susisafari-vaellusesityksessä katsotaan maailmaa suden näkökulmasta, Skenet 13.03.2014.
FOR PARTICIPANTS OF WOLF SAFARI
If you are participating in the Wolf Safari, we recommend getting acquainted with the Wolf Knowledge part of this page, where you can find information about wolves that we have collected. After this you can pass the Wolf Knowledge Quiz.
WOLF SAFARI HEADQUARTERS
You can enjoy the Wolf Safari either by participating in this nocturnal adventure as a member of the wolf pack itself, or by following the hunting of the wolves at the Wolf Safari Headquarters.
Remote camera by a path with wolves – Youtube video linked from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPYy9XbHu9g#t=18, user ahven88.
Photo Paula Tella
WOLF KNOWLEDGE
The wolf or grey wolf (Canis lupus) is a carnivorous mammal and a member of the Canidae family. Biologically speaking it is of the same species as the domestic dog, which makes it possible for the domestic dog and the wolf to breed and to produce offspring capable of sexual reproduction. The wolf is a highly adaptive, intelligent and gregarious animal that mostly lives and hunts in packs.
Nowadays wolves are mainly found in North-America and Eurasia. For instance in Great Britain wolves are extinct, whereas in Spain there is approximately 2000 individuals. In Finland wolves have been declared critically endangered and they are a protected species. According to the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute there were 120 to 135 wolves in Finland in the beginning of February 2013.
The information found on this site has been collected by the Wolf Safari team by interviewing wolf specialists and from public sources. If you want to deepen your understanding of wolves and you are fluent in Finnish, we warmly invite you to also explore some of our main resources listed below.
Finnish and English Wikipedia
Laaksonen, Mervi. 2013. Susi. Maahenki.
Kauhala, Kaarina. 2000. Koiran villit sukulaiset. WSOY.
Tunturisuden susisivut, osoitteessa www.tunturisusi.com
Luonto-Liiton susiopas. 2013. Suden suusta. Linkki nettiversioon
The Wolf and its Relatives
The wolf (Canis lupus) is part of the Canidae family that includes approximately 35 species. Canids can be found all over the world.
The wolf has most likely evolved from the small, narrow-skulled Canis lepophagus that lived about two to ten million years ago. It is also the probable ancestral candidate of the coyote. Lepophagus fossils have been found in Texas, among other places.
The wolf has about forty subspecies. A familiar one to us is Canis lupus familiaris, a. k. a. the dog, that evolved through domestication during the last 20 or 30 000 years, although estimates on this vary. On the other hand the Canis lupus dingo, native to Australia and South-East Asia, evolved through domesticated dogs going feral.
Artic Fox (Vulpes lagopus)
Dhole (Cuon alpinus). South and Southeast Asia.
Bush dog (Speothos venaticus).The most primitive member of Canidae family.
Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus).
Coyote (Canis latrans), North and Central America.
Dingo (Canis lupus dingo). Free-ranging dog found mainly in Australia.
Domestic Dog (Canis lupus familiaris).
Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes).
Kultasakaali eli sakaali (Canis aureus) elää Pohjois- ja Itä-Afrikasta aina Myanmarille asti.
Lycaon pictus found only in Africa.
Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus). South America.
Raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides).
Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis). African Savanna.
Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). North America.
Photos: Wikipedia
Habitat and distribution
The main habitat of the wolf is the northern forest with its pines, spruce, firs and larches. Wolves thrive where deer, its main prey thrive. But the wolf is highly adaptive and can live in a variety of habitats.
In the Northern Hemisphere the wolf can be found from the arctic tundra to the dry deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. The main factor limiting the distribution of wolves is human activity. The strongest wolf populations can be found in areas where unpleasant (from the wolves perspective) encounters with humans are least likely.
Wolves in Europe. Dark green – strong population, Green – occasional, Light Green – rare. Photo: tunturisusi.com
Anatomy and senses
In the Fennoscandian area the adult wolf generally weighs 30-45 kg. The male is slightly larger than the female. The wolf closely resembles a large prick-eared dog, which is why it can be easily confused with several breeds of dogs, i.e. the Siberian husky.
The wolf is a slender, powerfully built animal. It has evolved to be an agile and enduring runner. Wolves are digitigrade, which means that they bare weight only on their toes and not the entire sole of the foot. They're unable to rotate their forelimbs, which gives the superb stability while running. When moving in snow they spread out their toes, which prevents them from sinking. Their strong jaws are able to crush most bones. Their long canines offer a good hold on their prey. The wolf's brain is significantly larger than that of the domestic dog.
The colour of the wolf's fur varies greatly, from grey to grey-brown, to white, ochre and black. Its winter fur is extremely warm due to its thick under fur that is kept dry by the longer guard hairs. The wolf can comfortably rest in temperatures down to -40 c by curling up into a tight ball and covering its snout up with its tail so that the loss of body heat is minimal.
The wolf has extremely acute hearing. In the right circumstances it can hear the howl of other wolves from ten kilometers or up to 16 kilometers on open ground. It can also effectively locate the sound source.
The wolf has a keen sense of smell, which is probably the most crucial of its senses. From the scent of the tracks it can for instance tell which direction whatever left the tracks was heading. The wolf can catch scent of its prey from a couple of kilometers away. In addition to hunting, scent plays an important part in communication amongst wolves. We can only begin to imagine the dimensions a sense of smell can offer that is one million times stronger than that of a human.
The wolf's eye can perceive movement very accurately. The wolf sees "faster" than a human. This has been proven by experiments that have revealed a wolf can see a light source flashing, when the human eye perceives it as constant. It's likely that the wolf can't see sharply very far, but they have extremely good night vision. There's no research on the wolfs possible colour blindness, but we do know it can distinguish yellow and red the best.
Puppy stage
A litter of wolves has normally four to six pups. The newborn pups are blind and deaf and totally dependent on their mother. While the mother concentrates on nursing the pups, the father and the rest of the pack provide food for the mother.
The pup's eyes open when they're about two weeks old. Their senses and coordination develope rapidly. The pups learn to recognize the members of the pack and seek their attention. If the pups venture too far from the den, the mother carries them back by the scruff of their neck.
The mother weans the pups when they're five to nine weeks old. When the pups are not dependent on the mother's milk any longer, the mother returns to the hunt. After this the mother and the father care for the pups equally and also the rest of the pack carry them food. There is always an older member of the pack looking after the pups, a 'baby sitter' that's often a young wolf from the last years litter, that has stayed with the pack.
The wolf pups are very playful. They wrestle, play tag and 'king of the mountain'. Playing develops their motor skills and is practice for hunting. Play is also important in developing social skills.
At about four months age the pups start participating in the hunt with the pack. Wolves are mature when they reach about one year of age.
Wolf feed the puppies. Lupa "rigurgita" (alimenta) i cuccioli. Fauna selvatica (Canis lupus). Youtube video linked from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7udgOVExzg4, user Masssimo Colombari.
The wolf is a social animal. The pack can be described as a family consisting of the breeding couple and their different aged offspring. The size of the pack is commonly from three to fifteen wolves, but larger packs are not unheard of. Lone wolves are commonly young migrant individuals.
Unlike with some other large predators, the wolves' courting habits are quite gentle and considerate. When the wolf couple locate a suitable area to establish as their territory, they start a family. The territory is normally about forty kilometers in diameter and it's marked by scent every 200 meters or so. The territory and the members of the pack are defended from other wolves, and the family doesn't normally accept outsiders as members of the pack.
It's often said that wolves have a strict hierarchy inside the pack. The pack is lead by the so called alfa couple and the youngest members of the pack are the lowest in the pecking order. However, researchers following wolves have observed relatively little dominant behavior amongst individuals. There is also no constant struggle for dominance within the pack. Instead of hierarchy, we might want to speak of different social roles within the pack. Instead of alfa female and alfa male, we might refer to the breeding female and breeding male, or even mother wolf and father wolf.
Wolf communication is complex and diverse. It consists of gestures, sounds, smells and touches. Communication facilitates coordination within the pack and prevents unnecessary conflicts.
The pose and the stance of the wolf speak a great deal about its state of mind. A large array of bodily movements and gestures with ears and tail comprise its physical language. Also the expression in the eyes and mouth tell of the wolf's thoughts and intents. In the pack the wolves lead a mostly peaceful life, but every now and then there are conflicts. These are mainly resolved by appeasing and ritual behavior. Even when confrontation is unavoidable, the battle is conducted through a ritualistic pattern, so damage is often avoided.
Wolves vocalize by wailing, whining, squealing, yelping, growling, barking and howling. Barking is most often connected with puppy communication. A wolf greets another with a friendly whine. With low-pitched 'woofs' the wolf can warn others of approaching danger.
Howling is useful for long-distance communication. Wolves howl when they are trying to find their way back to the family pack. Howling is also a way of strengthening fellowship within the pack. For instance when awakening wolves might enjoy a 'good morning' howl together. When howling, wolves use different pitches, so the pack might appear larger than it actually is. When humans are near, wolves a more reserved in their howling, so that they may not give away the whereabouts of the pack.
The wolf's motivation for journeying is mainly hunting and territorial maintenance. The wolves wander around their territory renewing their scent markings and searching for prey. The size of the territory is determined by the density of the wolf population and the frequency of prey. In Finland the average size of a wolf pack's territory is approximately 800 square kilometers.
The typical way of journeying for a wolf is a loose and easy trot. As they move the wolves observe their surroundings attentively. The wolf can jog along at about eight kilometers an hour for long distances at a time. At its fastest it can reach up to 70 kilometers an hour. It is quick and nimble in its movements and can leap up to seven meters in one bound.
Weather conditions hardly effect the wolf's movements. Wolves sometimes travel during the day, but mainly at dusk and nighttime. On average the wolf journeys about 20 kilometers a day, but it's possible for a day's journey to reach 70 kilometers. Young wolves can wander over a thousand kilometers when they're searching for a new territory to set up home in.
The wolf's diet depends greatly on what type of deer and other prey live on its territory. The Finnish wolf mainly dines on eurasian elk (Alces alces), but it also preys on white-tailed deer, reindeer, Finnish forest reindeer and smaller mammals like beavers, voles, hares and birds. It can also supplement its diet with berries and grasses.
The daily amount of food eaten varies greatly. The wolf can go without eating for a week, but it can also devour ten kilograms of meat at one meal. On average the wolf eats three to five kilograms of meat per day. When the prey is large the pack often stay for days by the kill. If food is left over, the wolf might also hoard it away for later.
Elk (Alces alces)
Photo: Frank.Vassen (Flickr CC 2.0)
The wolves prepare for the hunt with a game of tag with the pack. One of the wolves plays the prey and the others 'hunt' it with complex group maneuvers. The pack might also howl together before they set out on the hunt, possibly to arouse the prey and set it in motion.
It seems possible that wolves have varying learned traditions of the hunt that affect their manner of hunting. The experienced wolves guide the younger ones. As they hunt the wolves communicate by looks and gestures, working in a controlled and coordinated manner. When the pack has detected an elk, it approaches it with care, trying to stay unnoticed as long as possible. The wolves weigh up the preys capacity for defence and act accordingly. When the pray flees the wolves follow in persistent pursuit. The wolves commonly attack the hindquarters, weakening the prey with bites. When they manage to force the prey to stop, it is killed by bites to the head and neck.
When the kill is large enough the whole pack eats together. If the prey is smaller, the breeding couple start the meal. The last ones to get fed are the young adult wolves that have been left to babysit. When this is the case they try to approach the kill by displaying appeasing ritual behaviour, for example moving very low and ears laid back.
The working group of the premiere and the preceding demo performance: Eeva Kemppi, Esa Kirkkopelto, Lauri Kontula, Minja Mertanen, Outi Condit, Antti Halonen, Timo Jokitalo, Anton Krylov, Jaakko Ruuska, Daniel Boy (Invisible Playground) and Christiane Hütter (Invisible Playground).
Planning of the Wolf Safari in 2014 was participated also by: Kati Korosuo, Pyry Kääriä, Sanni Priha, Paula Tella and Miikka Tuominen.
Wolf Safari premiered 16.-18.10.2014 at Hamburg as part of the NordWind Festival (Kampnagel), preceded by a demo performance in Helsinki 15.3.2014.
Wolf Safari has also been performed in Italy at the Il Giardino delle Esperidi festival 16.7.2016, Theatre ILMI Ö in Helsinki 28.10.2016, Lahti Adult Education Centre 4.-5.11.2016, Cultural Centre Vernissa in Vantaa 11.11.2016, Baltic Circle Festival in Helsinki 18.11.2016, The Access Point Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, 4.-5.8.2017, Little Rebellions Festival in Aarhus, Denmark 25.-26.8.2017, Dansehallerne in Copenhagen, Denmark 1.-2.9.2017 and at the Brighton Fringe Festival, UK, 4.-10.5.2018.
Toisissa tiloissa ry
Kaasutehtaankatu 1/33 rak.6


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