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Naming NBA All-Star Game Lineups After Season's First 2 MonthsJanuary 2, 2013
Naming NBA All-Star Game Lineups After Season's First 2 Months
I'm not one of those guys that believes the NBA All-Star selections should be taken away from the fans. It is true that it isn't always an accurate representation of the league's best players, but that's what the All-NBA selections are for at the end of the season.
The All-Star Game and festivities are for the fans.
That said, if the game was played on Sunday, and the most deserving players were selected, the stars in this slideshow would represent their teams and conferences.
Flip through the slides to see my take on the most deserving players, and click here to see the leading vote-getters for the game on Feb. 15 from Houston's Toyota Center.
East Reserves: Philadelphia 76ers PG Jrue Holiday
Holiday has been great the first two months of the season. He's the only player in the East averaging at least 18 points and eight assists per game.
In an offense that doesn't have a clear star, Holiday is the closest thing to it for the Philadelphia 76ers. Barring injury or a significant drop-off in production, Holiday deserves to be selected to his first All-Star game.
He had a huge night against the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 25. He put up 33 points and 13 assists in that game, and it was one of his eight double-doubles this season.
East Reserves: Cleveland Cavaliers PG Kyrie Irving
Irving has missed 11 of his team's 32 games this season due to injury, but he has been amazing in the games in which he's played. The injuries are the only reason I didn't place him in the starting lineup.
He's easily the highest-scoring point guard in the Eastern Conference averaging 22.7 points per game. He's also dishing a respectable 5.6 dimes per game for a team that doesn't have a ton of weapons to help him.
He's only failed to reach double figures twice, and he's scored 25 or more points in 10 games. That includes a 41-point explosion at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks on Dec. 15, and a 34-point performance at the Barclays Center against the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 13.
I guess he really loves New York.
Unfortunately for Irving and the Cavs, both performances came in losing efforts. Still, he is clearly one of the six best point guards in the NBA right now.
This should be his first All-Star selection.
East Reserves: Boston Celtics SF Paul Pierce
You might hate him or think his game is ugly, but the Truth will set you free. Anyone that knows the game must admit that Pierce is still one of the NBA's premier wing players.
Through the first two months of the season, Pierce is averaging 19.9 points, 3.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game. That's as balanced a line from any small forward this side of LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
Rajon Rondo may be the catalyst for the Boston Celtics, but Pierce is still the go-to man when the team needs a bucket. He should be selected to his 11th All-Star game, and his sixth in a row.
East Reserves: Indiana Pacers SF/SG Paul George
Speaking of balance, the uber-athletic swingman from the Indiana Pacers has shown his all-around skills through the early going of the NBA season.
He has taken on more of the clutch-scoring role in Danny Granger's stead. This season he's averaging 16.5 points, 3.5 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Beyond the scoring, rebounding and assists numbers, George has continued to assert himself as one of the better perimeter defenders in the league as well.
He's averaging 1.4 steals per game, and he still draws the toughest perimeter defensive assignments late in games.
He deserves to be a first-time All-Star selection.
East Reserves: Atlanta Hawks SF/PF Josh Smith
Josh Smith is one of the most underrated and under-appreciated players in the league. Sure, he still has a penchant to fire up the occasional ill-advised jump shot, but Smith is a demon on both ends of the floor.
He's an elite shot-blocker and a better-than-average rebounder and scorer.
He's averaging 16.9 points, 3.7 assists, 8.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. No other player in the NBA is averaging at least 16 points, three assists, eight rebounds and two blocks.
It is a crime that he's never been voted to an All-Star game. Hopefully, this is the year he gets the nod.
East Reserves: Chicago Bulls PF/C Joakim Noah
Noah has been one of the best defensive players in the NBA this season. He is eighth in the league in blocked shots, and he leads all centers in steals with 1.4 per game.
Besides his usual solid work on defense, Noah has stepped up his offensive production as well.
He's scoring a career-high 12.8 points per game, and that includes a 30-point, 23-rebound performance against the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 7.
He is pulling down 10.3 rebounds per game and he has 14 double-doubles this season. This should be yet another first-time All-Star in the Eastern Conference.
East Reserves: Brooklyn Nets C Brook Lopez
Lopez isn't getting the credit he deserves for a solid season. Noah and other East centers seem to be garnering more respect, but Lopez's 18.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game are near elite numbers for a big man.
If his rebound totals were higher, he would have been my choice as the starting center in the East.
He's still had seven double-doubles this season and has been a more-than-dependable scoring option on the block for the Nets.
How many All-Star games has Lopez been to? You guessed it, none.
He also deserves to make his All-Star game debut, barring a change in production.
West Reserves: San Antonio Spurs PG Tony Parker
Tony Parker has been up to his old tricks, and that has nothing to do with text messages.
He's averaging 19.3 points, 7.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game for a Spurs team that refuses to fade. He's had seven double-doubles, four 30-point games and two 30-point, 10-assist games this season.
Parker is sometimes overlooked when it comes to elite point guards, but his name definitely belongs in the discussion.
This should be his fifth All-Star selection.
West Reserves: Los Angeles Clippers PG Chris Paul
If you asked me which point guard I'd want to run my team, my answer would be Paul, but he doesn't deserve to be the All-Star starter in the West this season.
Despite averaging 16 points, 9.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 2.7 steals and leading the Clippers to a 25-7 record, there is someone out West playing just a little better.
I'll get to him a little later.
That said, Paul may ultimately end up getting a healthy number of MVP votes at the end of the season. The Clippers just saw their 17-game win streak snapped, but if they march to the best record in the West, as the team's leader and catalyst, he has to be considered.
The fans will likely vote him in, but he'd be a reserve on this year's team if it were based entirely on production.
West Reserves: Houston Rockets G James Harden
In nearly any other season, a player averaging 26.1 points, 5.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game would deserve to start in the All-Star game, but not this season.
That still doesn't take much away from the first two months Harden has had for the Rockets.
He's only been held under 20 points five times this season, and his play-making has been a huge help alongside a mediocre Jeremy Lin.
Harden has scored 30 or more points 10 times. He's another player that will get some MVP votes, though his Rockets aren't likely to finish high enough in the standings to make him a serious contender.
Unless the Mayans come up with a new doomsday date, Harden will be making his first All-Star game.
West Reserves: Dallas Mavericks G O.J. Mayo
The Dallas Mavericks haven't been very good this season, but imagine where they would be without Mayo. He leads the team in scoring with 18.2 points per game.
He's also been a solid rebounder and assist man from the guard spot, averaging 3.8 and 3.7 respectively.
While the Mavs wait for Dirk Nowitzki's health to come around, Mayo has held down the fort. He has a player option to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Based on what he's done, I'd say he has out-performed his current $4.02 million salary. Check off another player that deserves to be a first-time All-Star.
West Reserves: Portland Trail Blazers G/F Nicolas Batum
Batum has long been known for his defensive prowess and athleticism, but his scoring, rebounding and passing have all improved this season.
The 16.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game are all career highs for Batum.
His defense hasn't taken a dip as the rest of his game has improved, either. His 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks are also career highs for the 24-year old swingman.
While he isn't one of the prominent names at swingman in the NBA, thus far he's having one of the best all-around seasons of anyone at the position.
West Reserves: Golden State Warriors PF David Lee
Lee is quietly the only player in the NBA averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds per game. Were he a little more of a presence on defense, I'd consider him as a starter.
As it is, he is still having a great season.
Over the past four years and the first two months of this season, Lee has averaged 18.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. If his 2012-2013 pace holds, it'll be the second time he has averaged 20 and 10 in a season.
Still, he has only made one All-Star team in his career. There is no good reason this shouldn't be his second trip.
West Reserves: San Antonio Spurs PF/C Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan is having an amazing season for a man of any age, but considering he's 36, his first two months are even more special.
He's scoring 17 points, grabbing 9.7 rebounds and still blocking 2.5 shots per game. Duncan is the only player 35 years or older averaging near a double-double.
His continued excellence on the defensive end gave him the nod over the Memphis Grizzlies' Zach Randolph and the Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin.
He is still the rock of the seemingly ageless Spurs, and he deserves to play in his 14th NBA All-Star game.
East Starters: Boston Celtics PG Rajon Rondo
Rondo's combination of rebounding and play-making makes him one of the most unique players at the point guard position.
He leads the NBA in assists at 11.6 per game, and he's second among point guards in rebounding with 5.1 per game.
If Rondo were a better shooter, he'd easily be the best point guard in the NBA. As it stands, he's still in the top five, and is the best non-injured point guard in the East.
Rondo is only keeping this spot warm until Derrick Rose returns to form.
East Starters: Miami Heat SG Dwyane Wade
Wade may be having a down year by his standards, but his 20.4 points per game is still tops among all Eastern Conference shooting guards.
His 4.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds are down from what we saw from him five years ago, but even Flash gives way to father time.
He is, however, shooting a career-high 51 percent from the field, and that has made him much more efficient.
The Heat are still the team to beat in the NBA, and Wade is still an elite shooting guard.
East Starters: Cleveland Cavaliers C Anderson Varejao
It was close between Carrot Top, Long Hair Don't Care AKA Joakim Noah and Short-Hair Don't Rebound AKA Brook Lopez, but Varejao gets the nod from me.
The guy is passing the ball nearly as well as Noah, averaging 3.4 assists per game. He's scoring nearly as well as Lopez putting in 14.1 points and he's out-rebounding them both with 14.4 boards per night.
Because of his production and the Cavs' struggles, you have to wonder if Varejao will finish the season in Cleveland.
He's a flopper and an irritant, but he deserves to be an All-Star starter.
East Starters: New York Knicks F Carmelo Anthony
Melo and Kobe Bryant are the most-skilled scorers on the planet. Kevin Durant and LeBron are obviously skilled when it comes to putting the ball in the basket, but they also benefit from elite athleticism.
Melo's game will translate even when he's lost a step, and he won't need to develop much that he doesn't already have.
He's second in the NBA in scoring at 29.2 points per game, he's averaging a respectable 6.2 rebounds and he's the figure-head in the Knicks' resurgence.
Even if he doesn't win the MVP this season, he'll likely get more votes than he ever has in the past.
East Starters: Miami Heat F LeBron James
Who else?
You could call him the CM Punk of the NBA, because he's the best in the world, only King James doesn't need a script to prove it.
The numbers are as consistent and ridiculously good as they always are with James: 26.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game.
He's shooting 54 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range. Both are career highs.
When the best player on the planet establishes a career high in shooting percentages, that says something. On the down side, that has to be the ugliest expression ever made in a Bleacher Report slideshow.
West Starters: Oklahoma City Thunder PG Russell Westbrook
Westbrook is tough as nails and no point guard in the NBA is playing better. He's scoring, distributing and playing defense at an elite level.
His 21.5 points per game is sixth in the NBA and leads all point guards. His 8.7 assists is sixth in the the league, but he is the only player in the NBA averaging 20 points and eight assists per game.
I mentioned defense. He's fourth in the NBA in with 2.1 steals per game. Were it not for his spider-like teammate, he'd be a serious candidate for league MVP if this production continues.
West Starters: Los Angeles Lakers SG Kobe Bryant
The Mamba is leading the NBA in scoring with his 30.3 points per game. That's really a remarkable feat considering his age and the tread on his well-traveled tires, but the dude is truly special.
He's not just scoring well, but he is also grabbing 5.4 rebounds, collecting 1.5 steals and dishing 4.7 assists.
The Lakers are struggling to live up to expectations, though. Part of the reason is because Bryant is taking too many shots. He leads the NBA in field-goal attempts per game wit 21.8, and he plays with Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol.
That may also explain why he's also averaging 3.5 turnovers per game.
Nonetheless, he's obviously the premier shooting guard in the NBA this season. Still, a little sacrifice on the offensive end would help the Lakers overall.
West Starters: Los Angeles Lakers C Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard looks frustrated and less than his normal dominant self, but he's still the league's best center.
When 17.3 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots is considered a slow start, you know that you're talking about a special player.
What's more impressive is that he's getting his offensive output with Kobe out-shooting him 21.8 to 10.7.
Something tells me if those two numbers were a little closer, the Lakers' overall chemistry might improve.
All that aside, no center is having a better season than Howard.
West Starters: Minnesota Timberwolves PF Kevin Love
Love began the season injured, but he has wasted no time getting back to the business of racking up double-doubles.
He's only played in 16 games, but he's already put up 12 double-doubles.
The 16 games isn't enough to qualify for leader status in Love's favorite category, rebounding. However, he's on pace to give Varejao a run for his money in the race for the NBA's top board man.
He's grabbing 14.1 rebounds and scoring 19.1 points per game. With Ricky Rubio missing most of the first two months of the season, Love has done a good job leading the team and keeping it in sniffing distance of the playoffs.
West Starters Oklahoma City Thunder SF Kevin Durant
Durantula is always going to score.
Yes, he's pouring in 28.5 points per game, but he's also grabbing eight rebounds and dishing 4.5 assists per night as well.
He's been in double figures every game this season and over 30 points 13 times.
With the Thunder sporting the NBA's best record in the NBA at 24-6, he and LeBron are likely going to battle for the league MVP, and possibly face each other in a rematch in the NBA Finals.
Those are two races we may have to get used to in the next three-to-five years. For now, he's an easy selection as an All-Star starter.
Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay on YouTube and Twitter for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games


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Songs of the Centenary (SOTC)
Songs of the Centenary (SOTC) is a global quest for songs of Commemoration, Remembrance and Unity created by children. This search will draw from submissions in partnership with the Never Such Innocence Poetry & Art Competition.
SOTC officially launched in Liverpool on Thursday 17th November 2016 at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. SOTC is now open for entries!
We are incredibly excited to be in partnership with Dave Stewart Entertainment on this journey. Together, we are enlisting the support of leading artists to create music, and of children to write lyrics. Fused together they will create The Songs of the Centenary...
We have created an online platform, powered by Trackd (which you have free access to), providing a secure environment to create music. A key element is collaboration and via our App, you may write a song, add drums, guitar and sitar, with other young people across the British Isles, and the world.
Alternatively, you might decide to write your own music and record it directly onto Trackd, or upload pre-existing music via Voice Notes, Dropbox or similar.
Why not apply for an Arts Award? You'll end up with a portfolio or arts log that shows off your creativity and gives you a recognised national qualification or award to put on your CV.
The judges' selections will be performed at the NSI and SOTC Award Ceremony, and every entrant will receive a personalised Certificate of Commendation.
Deadline for entries has been extended to Friday 30th March 2018.
In 2018 we shall create one Centenary album, a collection of Songs of the Centenary. From these songs we shall create one Centenary anthem, the Song of the Centenary, a song of unity performed by children and leading musicians.
How to get started?
1. Ask a teacher or parent to download the Trackd app
2. Follow the instructions to make a profile (username must not have any spaces)
3. Pick your trade (songwriter for SOTC)
4. Choose a profile image
5. Pick your instrument (singing for SOTC)
6. Begin the tutorial (can replay at a later date by going to Settings)
7. After the tutorial you will land in the Workspace (default page). To find SOTC, click on Feed (far-right option)
8. Once in Feed (far-left option), click on People and search for SOTC
9. Here you can select music you would like to use for your song, if you click the download symbol it will take you back to your workspace where you can get started
Submit entry via Trackd by clicking on Share and then 'share by email' and send to firstname.lastname@example.com. Unclick 'post to stem' to keep your music private. If you post to feed you have two options:
1) Post as stem (green button) – people can hear and add to your song
2) Unclick post a stem (button turns red) – people can just hear your song and like it!
If you have any special educational needs you would like our judges to be aware of, please make a note in the body of your email.
Alternatively attach your entry as an MP3 or MP4 on an email to firstname.lastname@example.com
- The email must include the following: Name, Age, School, Song Title
- If you have any special educational needs you would like the judges to be aware of, please include details in your email
The competition is open to all children aged 9-16 and is free to enter. The songs will be judged by a panel of music professionals. No cash or prize of monetary value will be awarded. All writers will retain the rights to their original material - with the exception that a submission will grant a license in perpetuity to SOTC to exploit the song (meaning if you submit a song, we can play it…and if it makes any money, you will be paid accordingly). Parents must submit songs for children under 13. If entering music as a group there must be a lead collaborator who will submit on behalf of the entire group. We would encourage teachers to manage their school's SOTC profile.
Songwriting tips from our Artist in Residence, Marty Longstaff of The Lake Poets.
- THEME - Think about something that you care about, that has moved you or that you want to raise awareness of. For example, you might care about animal welfare, or you might have been moved by a sad story you read about someone during the First World War. When you have a theme that you hold dear to you, words come easily.
- IMAGINATION - Your imagination is a powerful tool and to write a good song you need to use it. Try to think a little differently to others and see different takes on things. If your songs theme is about a soldier, try to think about what he is thinking and feeling, or what his family back home are thinking and going through. Put yourself in the shoes of another and dream.
- STYLE - Pick a style of music you like and then write a song like that. You might like sad mellow piano songs, or loud noisy guitar songs. You might like happy, bouncy pop music, or heavy, rhythmical hip-hop. Once you have style in your mind the process of getting a 'feel' for your song comes quickly
- WORD POWER - Use tricks and techniques you know from English class such as rhyme, alliteration, metaphor, and simile to add flavour to your writing. Be descriptive, contrast and compare, make full use of adverbs and adjectives, and get your point across as concisely as you can. You don't have long in a 3 minute song to make a point, and these features of language help your words stay in the mind of the listener
- HAVE FUN – Song writing is meant to be fun, it's meant to be expressive and it's meant to make you feel good. If you aren't having fun, step back and look for another route to get where you want to be. There are no rights or wrongs when it comes to being yourself and saying how you feel about something. Now get writing!

subset: commoncrawl


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The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is currently conducting an investigation into the attempted suicide of 19-year-old Justis A. Burgos, who was in custody at the Pinellas County Jail.
According to investigators, at about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 6, 2016, detention staff found Burgos hanging from a bed sheet around his neck that was tied to a top bunk. Detention staff was assisted by medical personnel who performed life-saving measures.
Burgos was booked into the jail at 2:45 a.m. on Saturday, November 5, 2016, on charges of fleeing/eluding a police officer, possession of marijuana, and driving while license suspended or revoked.
Burgos was transported to Bayfront Medical Center.
According to investigators, he is currently in intensive care with life-threatening injuries.
The investigation continues.


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Jethro was walking down the Newer York streets, when suddenly, he saw a mutant squid terrorizing the city. He Pulled out his discombobulator and jumped up on a building next to the squid. "Yo, squidy" he said - not getting any attention at all from the squid. "*sigh* how am I supposed to make this kill epic if he doesn't even see me?" Jethro shot the squid with his discombobulator. squid guts went everywhere, but at least he killed it. Jethro jumped to the ground and continued his walk.]]>
A pair of legs were standing up in mid-air. They started creeping up towards him. John John threw a vacuum tube at the pair of legs, but the legs kicked it aside. John John picked up an object from the ground, thinking it was a sword, but when he looked, it was a pair of socks.
The socks laughed evilly, and JJ screamed for the sixth time and ran away back to his home of Kent, where mutant tractos and farmers turning into Flood type characters destroyed the yearly crops and cereal.
John John said " NO MORE! " bravely, but ran away and screamed. He was very good at screaming.... unfortunately, the tractors and farmers ran towards him.
JJ wet his pants, but then an almighty bang exploded and knocked the T's and F's out.
It turned oot tay be his wife, with a really burnt plate of lasagne.
" Oh! There you are honey! Can you help me with this? It's a bit burnt..... "
" I can see that, " JJ replied]]>
Sorry folks, the narrator has been telling lies to cover up the dull, true story. Here is the real version.
Burgher tied his towel around his neck to look like a cape, had his portable tape player at the go on his hip, inserted a tape that read "play while saving the day." Running up the subway stairs, he looked at the squid, and continued running... the opposite way! Darting behind a corner, Burgher switched the tape to "Side B," and skipped to Track 5. Turning around the corner to face the squid, the crazy-but-heroic man hit "Play," and Mozart's Requiem ensued, starting with Dies Irae.]]>
John John awoke to find himself in a jellied stomach, obviously the hamburger. He got out a scalpel that was 16cm long and cut away at the jelly. It collapsed and the burger realised that John John was free.
JJ screamed for the third time and ran away. He kept running until he ran out of breath, only reaching 5 metres away.
The Burger threw grenades at JJ, but John John deflected them with his scalpel. The Burger exploded into 201 small pieces.
The extra one floated away, laughing evilly.
John John got out another camera and shot three pictures of the wreckage. Then the Mother Hamburger* came and disintegrated the camera....
JJ screamed for the fourth and final time,........ then screamed again.
He kicked the MB* out of rage that he's wasted about £8 on Tesco camera's.
" RARRGH!!! " he shouted.]]>
The burger laughed and formed razor sharp teeth and edged closer and closer to John John.
JJ screamed once more, and fainted like a sissy lass..............]]>
Name: John John
Age: like, 30 or summin'?
Occupation: Dentists
WOC: Dental syringes, needles, drills and head-lamp
Description: John John is a dentists who lives in England with his wife and four children ages, 3, 8, 13 and 19. John John is always talking and can never shut up, due to this, people have ACTUALLY punched him, to make the point more clearer. John John is a terrible dentists but does not really realize it. Thus, he has no customers, apart from people who don't know him.
Personality: Odd, weird, and such...
John John sipped some stale orange juice that had expired a year ago, and sighed with sadness. He wished he could be a better dentist, somehow..... but he was a nice person. Or he thought so... He continued to sip the OJ, when an almighty bang appeared and a giant Hamburger operated by a giant squid, followed by an army of them. Lasers shot down tree's, destroyed cars and crushed the pavements.
John John got out his camera, which he bought for £4.99 at Tesco's and snapped a couple of shots, running outside his dental office.
" Oh my god, this is AMAZING! " he said.
Then a laser shot disintegrated his mortal camera in hundreds of pieces, which melted into the ground, forming a cheese and onion crisp sort of smell.......
John John screamed.........]]>
Character: Burgher M. King
Age: Unknown (believed to be 28)
Occupation: "superhero"
Weapon of Choice: Whatever he can get his mitts on
Description: Well, he doesn't dress like a king. In fact, there are some times where he doesn't dress at all. Otherwise, he looks like this
Personality: Half schizophrenic, Burgher (or simply known as Walter by the voices in his head, who are called Jane and Red) thinks that he is constantly late for his office job, while he lives in the Dumpster of Justice, monitoring enemy activity whenever he isn't out "fighting crime". Unfortunately, not being strong tends to make him lose a lot of fights against crooks, who just laugh and spit in his face half the time. He is also convinced that the KGB is after him.
Isaac woke up in his penthouse in the Space Needle. He had occasionally entertained the idea of defecating over the edge while the building spun slowly, thoroughly coating the bystanders below with crap, but he didn't have diarrhea and thought the idea was largely stupid anyway. After eating a breakfast of pizza and toaster waffles, he took the elevator downstairs. He drove his hover converted 1970 Ford pickup to New Washington to have a beer with Dave Grohl and James Hetfield. He loved politics. He then heard of the giant mutant squid, and remembered that he was the krakenkiller! The perfect man for the job. He hopped in his truck, painted on the side with the slogan "Ride The Lightning!", with a FF shield on the hood. Isaac strapped on the crowbar and katana, and flew off to Newer York.]]>
I don't know if I'll be around much but here's a quick character sheet, if all else false she can fall victim to the giant squids.
Character: Sunshine Summers
Age: 22
Occupation: University Student
Weapon of Choice: Her sharp tongue, weapons will only add to climate change of course
Personality: Typical uni student, wants to save the world but has no idea how to do it, only knows what's been drummed into her head by Greenpeace and the voices that talk to her at night (sounds remarkably like Hannah Montana's voice). Can talk the leg of a chair without even breaking a sweat.
Description: Mousy, thin and flicks her hair over her shoulders way too much. Oozes self importance, if she'd been prettier she may have been a cheerleader.
Background: Sunshine is currently study a Bachelor of Arts and dreams of one day becoming a Manager at McDonald's. Of course she wants to moonlight as a superhero but seriously lacks any sort of powers what so ever. Therefore it's not uncommon to find Sunshine around nuclear facilities (supposedly protested but she actually wants to be exposed to the radiation so she gets super powers). Obviously she's not the smartest cookie.
Sunshine was skipping class again, this time it was due to a protest outside of the Sylvester Stallone Nuclear Waste Facility. In her hands she held high a sign saying "No More Sly Wastage" she'd thought the moto rather clever. But dammit she couldn't see any ways to easily get inside the complex.
Plus the security guards were just way too old and ugly to consider even thinking of seduction. However for some strange reason seduction never seemed to work for Sunshine. On the bright side, she was able to render someone so bored from her rantings that she was almost certain that she would one day perfect the skill of sending them into a deep, deep sleep.
Her train of thought was easily derailed as she heard some screaming from the back of the crowd. She opened her mouth in shock and immediately let loose, "What the freaking hell is that? Who let ugly loose from the zoo? Honesty this climate change thing is messing with our animals."
For there was a giant squid in the process of eating a Mr Coffee named Ronald-84.
"Dammit R-84 made a good brew," Sunshine growled and stormed forward with her protest board, determined to do something and if for some reason she was thrown into the nuclear facility during the fight, all the better.]]>
However, this one also intends to be more overtly humorous than others. Here is the basic plot:
The year is 2046, and humanity is still essentially the same as it is in the present. The differences are:
A top secret terrorist organization called the Super Terror Against Relatively Big Un-evil Conglomerates that Kills Suspects is constantly attempting to kill everyone on earth. They are frequently thwarted by the heroic organization called P.I.N.G.A.S., the Protectors of Innocent Non-criminal Government And Stuff.
Mexico has been taken over by the Soviet Union. This leads to some confusing food.
France is now in the jurisdiction of Chuck Norris, while Spain is under the leadership of Adam West. These two giants are in a tenuous alliance currently.
Mutant squids are all over the place.
Jimi Hendrix was accidentally resurrected by some bored wiccan college students, and is now the President of the United States.
Mr. Coffee machines have obtained self-awareness and are now integrated into modern society.
Hannah Montana, while unfortunately still alive, has been ordered to death 57 times, and has somehow survived. After it being discovered she is in fact a homunculus for the devil, she was shipped to a secure holding facility where she cannot harm anyone except her extremely unlucky cellmates and security guards.
Other than that, it's pretty much like present day. So moving on to the rules (most of which were shamelessly stolen from Mel):
1. You may create any character you want. Clarify their name and species so others can follow their actions easily.
2. You can kill characters you create but you can't kill other people's characters unless they say they have been killed in battle with you.
3. You can have any weapon you want but you can only have what your character could physically carry - otherwise they wouldn't be able to move.
4. Be consistent, eg if someone says they blew up a building, don't suddenly be assaulting it.
5. If you have sustained many wounds you will have to either get medical help or eventually die.
6. Follow the storyline, sure add a few twists and turns but allow others to see where you want to go so they can help you get there.
7. Have fun.
8. Feel free to let your funny flag fly. That's the point here. Be as dry, witty, sarcastic, innuendous, self-referential, and British as you want...or just resort to "Yo Mama" and the occasional fart joke. However, please refrain from jokes that are offensive or overtly crude. Thank you.
The story: It's just another day in the world mentioned above, in the city of Newer York, (New York was bought in 2021 by Elvis Costello, who came into a great deal of money in 2018 when he pawned of the last oil drum in existence for 20 babillion dollars. The U.S. Government then built Newer York...which is 20 minutes outside of Memphis.
Kirk Dunford got out of his bed in his suburban apartment and stumbled into the shower, hitting his head on the glass and falling on the floor.
"...Ow." Kirk grumbled. He staggered to his feet, put on some clothes, and walked out the door to his extremely depressing job.
"...And how does that make you feel?" Kirk said into his mouthpiece as he boredly drummed his fingers on a desk. "...well, I think you just need to talk with her before you do something like that. I'm sure she would feel terrible if you went through with this. It would ruin her life. Does that make you want to rethink this?" Kirk said to the caller. "Great." Kirk promptly hung up and dialed in his next caller.
"Suicide hotline, this is Kirk speaking, what was her name?" Kirk said, reciting the opening line he had learned as an intern.
Suddenly, there was a loud sound, like a giant subwoofer.
"...hold on for a second." Kirk said, putting his caller on hold and carelessly selecting the waiting music for the caller, accidentally selecting "Jump" by Van Halen. Kirk looked out the window to see... A MUTANT SQUID TERRORIZING THE CITY!!!!
"How the heck did a squid get into Tennessee?" Was the first thing out of a shocked Kirk's mouth. The squid, roughly the size of three school busses and Cedric the Entertainer, was busy destroying buildings in the opposite direction, so Kirk absent-mindedly resumed his call.
"I'm sorry for that mister...hello? Hello? Must've worked it out for himself..." Kirk said. Suddenly the entire building shook as the mutant squid had apparently turned around and decided to attack the building Kirk was in.
"Oh Holy--" Kirk yelled as the world seemed to go sideways, though it ironically would remain round in doing so.
Character: Kirk Dunford
Age: 29
Occupation: Suicide Hotline Operator
Weapon of Choice: Heck, he'll use what he can get.
Personality: Surly, easily annoyed, very down on his luck. Given his job, he is good at pretending to care, which may lead others on for awhile.
Description: Basically Ryan from The Office, but with a small brown goatee.
Background: Fresh out of college, Kirk was a guy who used to have dreams, you to have ambitions, the kind of guy Smells Like Teen Spirit was written for, but then he learned how tough life is in the real world, especially this world, where his mom was mauled by a mutant squid when he was 11 and his cousin is a Mr. Coffee called Brett-37. Nowadays, Kirk is basically meandering about his current life, just coasting through, waiting for something exciting to happen.


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European Markets Halt Slide
Stocks and Bonds Largely Bottomed Out From Thursday's Sharp Selloff
European stocks and bonds steadied Friday after an abrupt selloff the previous day that was fueled by signs of sluggish economic growth.
Analysts have warned for weeks that bets on bonds and stocks in the erstwhile riskiest parts of the euro zone, such as Greece, were becoming overcrowded. That certainly appeared to be the case on Thursday, with assets in Europe's one-time trouble spots taking a particularly heavy blow
But the...


text:
113 €
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Our products have a warranty period of 1 year.


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Mary, In [1], you submitted the following comment on the Last Call Working Draft of XSLT 2.0 and XQuery 1.0 Serialization on behalf of the XML Schema Working Group: << [F] [Section 2: Serializing Arbitrary Data Models] The first paragraph of this section states: "An instance of the data model that is input to the serialization process is a sequence. The serialization process must first place that input sequence into a normalized form for serialization; it is the normalized sequence that is actually serialized. The normalized form for serialization is constructed by applying all of the following rules in order, with the initial sequence being input to the first step, and the sequence that results from any step being used as input to the subsequent step." We think wording in this section tends to imply a required implementation, which, given the destructive nature of the implementation described, leads to the conclusion that serialized data models cannot subsequently be used for anything else. We believe what is intended is the description of a mapping between data models and normalized data models, without attempting to constrain implementations. We request that the text in this section be recast in a more declarative fashion to make these intentions clear. >> Thanks to you and the working group for this comment. The XSL and XML Query Working Groups discussed your comment, and decided to make the following changes to Section 2 of Serialization. These changes are with respect to the July 23 draft of Serialization.[2] o Change the second sentence of the first paragraph to make it clear that the process is not destructive: << Prior to serializing a sequence using any of the output methods whose behavior is specified by this document (3 Serialization Parameters) the serialization process must first compute a normalized sequence for serialization; it is the normalized sequence that is actually serialized. >> o Reword the items in the numbered list so that it's clear that the result at each step is a new sequence: << 1. If the sequence that is input to serialization is empty, create a sequence S1 that consists of a zero-length string. Otherwise, copy each item in the sequence that is input to serialization to create the new sequence S1. 2. For each item in the sequence S1, if the item is atomic, obtain the lexical representation of the item by casting it to an xs:string and copy the string representation to the new sequence; otherwise, copy the item, which must be a node, to the new sequence. It is a serialization error if an atomic value cannot be cast to xs:string. The new sequence is S2. 3. For each subsequence of adjacent strings in S2, copy a single string to the new sequence equal to the values of the strings in the subsequence concatenated in order, each separated by a single space. Copy all other items to the new sequence. The new sequence is S3. 4. For each item in S3, if the item is a string, create a text node in the new sequence whose string value is equal to the string; otherwise, copy the item to the new sequence. The new sequence is S4. 5. For each item in S4, if the item is a document node, copy its children to the new sequence; otherwise, copy the item to the new sequence. The new sequence is S5. 6. It is a serialization error if an item in S5 is an attribute node or a namespace node. Otherwise, cconstruct a new sequence, S6, that consists of a single document node and copy all the items in the sequence, which are all nodes, as children of that document node. S6 is the normalized sequence. >> May I ask you to confirm that this response is acceptable to the Schema working group? Thanks, Henry [On behalf of the XSL and XML Query Working Groups] [1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-qt-comments/2004Feb/0266.html [2] http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/WD-xslt-xquery-serialization-20040723/#serdm ------------------------------------------------------------------ Henry Zongaro Xalan development IBM SWS Toronto Lab T/L 969-6044; Phone +1 905 413-6044 mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com on Wednesday, 8 September 2004 14:56:14 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Wednesday, 7 January 2015 15:45:21 UTC


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Superman TM 1978 vs Man of Steel 2013, was the world ready, what do you think?
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 3,273
Re: Superman TM 1978 vs Man of Steel 2013, was the world ready, what do you think?
Originally Posted by
Isn't there already a thread on this?
Superman the Movie has so much nostalgia for me, I first saw it as a 3 or 4 year old (can't quite remember which) my Dad sat me down to watch it, it was Christmas time (think it might have been boxing day) and he said you'll like this. I just remember been blown away, the opening credits came out at me, Krypton was so beautiful, seeing the costume and him fly just made my jaw drop, it was such an amazing experience. One that has always stuck with me. Over time and as I got older I discovered more things I loved about this film and of course a few things I didn't care for as much as time went on but still its always been a film I've revisited over and over. Christopher Reeve will always be my childhood Superman, his performance in this film is legendary and he was a huge part of the reason I believed a man could fly. I won't get into my minir negatives if the film as I've mentioned them before. Its still a 9 out of 10 for me.
Where Man of Steel is concerned, I honestly don't think I've ever been so excited to see a film in all my life. Its amazing, the big thing for me was I finally got a Superman film with modern FX and I finally saw a live action Superman punch someone in the way he did in the comics. Henry Cavill was every bit as good as Christopher Reeve yet different. There are of course other reasons I love this film but again its something I've talked about before so I'm not gonna go into it. Its a 9.5 out if 10 for me, it beats Superman the Movie by a .5, its about as damn near perfect as a film gets for me. Its my favourite film of all-time with STM just behind it, and I don't think there's any shame in that.
Now I know that wasn't really the question but I don't really have any other way of answering it other than saying which one is the best for me.
Actually, that was exactly the question, you've answered precisely what I asked.
It feels weird quoting myself but ...
This is not intended to be a thread where people should feel the need defend MOS at all costs, or in the face of reasonable suggestions/opinions. If you preferred SMTM, I want to know why, and respect everyone's personal taste. If MOS was more your style, again, why ? Which is the better film, and as always, why ?
So actually, you did precisely what I was hoping people would do.
Not sure if there was a thread on this already, maybe, but some questions need to be answered more than once.
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Highlights of the new blog design
I thought I would take a moment and go over some of the enhancements of the new blog design. Many of these enhancements were at your request. Thank you for your input.
(And by now, nearly all of the glitches have been ironed out. If you find one, let me know.)
Here are som…


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Whether you're a boy or a girl, straight or gay, this gets old. When it comes to the person you're dating, they don't need to hear about your exes. It's one thing to mention one or two things, but don't make it a habit of saying, "my ex used to..." "I ended things with a girl who was notorious for [this]," says Jeremy, a 30-year-old single man. "If he had nothing to do with me, why bring him up all the time? Your focus should be on me now."
Or anything that solicits a similar reaction, for that matter. Ladies, don't ask your man, "Do I look fat?" if you're going to hate a particular answer. "My girlfriend asks me if she looks fat in almost everything she puts on before we go to a big party or something, and it always ends up starting a fight," says Alex, who's been with his girlfriend for two years now. "It's not like I call her fat, but the question gets old after awhile, so when she asks, I just don't answer anymore." The silent treatment Alex gives his girlfriend infuriates her and they end up arguing before every big party or event they have to go to. "It's not fun," he says.
"My mom, my sisters and my girlfriends used to all do this," says Jim, who's now happily married. "They'd knock themselves down or talk down their accomplishments. For awhile I didn't understand what it was all about, then I realized they just want me to tell them how great they are." Jim says this annoyed him more than anything -- he prefers a woman who's not passive-aggressive and tells it like it is. "My wife is a straight shooter -- she tells me what she wants to hear, so there's no fishing involved," he adds. "It's heaven."
As it turns out, gay or straight, this one bodes for everyone. Mike, a gay man, was in a car with three other gays and a straight man when we asked him "what guys hate to hear." His committee of friends answered as a collective: "Guys hate to hear 'you're like a brother to me.' It means [you're not getting any] booty," they say. "If you're on 'brother status,' it's time to move on." So ladies, if you really like the guy you're dating, don't compare or liken him to your brother. That's relationship suicide in guy world -- gay or straight.
For Purnell, who's currently on a girl hiatus, it's not so much about what girls say. It's about what they've left out. "It's usually what you don't hear that ends up complicating things, right?" Purnell points out. "Once I dated a girl who, after we stopped dating, revealed that she had been on anti-depressants throughout our short-lived relationship." For Purnell, this information would've been significant and useful when they were dating. "The patterns I noticed -- lethargy, passivity -- that eventually turned me off may have been induced by [medication] and may not have reflected her true character," he realizes. "I'll never know."
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An original full-cast audio adaptation of the New York Times best-selling graphic novel sensation from Noelle Stevenson, based on her beloved and critically acclaimed web comic.
Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic from Noelle Stevenson. Adapted for audio, this brilliant production is perfect for the legions of fans of the web comic and graphic novel and is sure to win Noelle many new ones. This full-cast audio edition is performed by Rebecca Soler, Jonathan Davis, Marc Thompson, January LaVoy, Natalie Gold, Peter Bradbury, and David Pittu and features original music by Loren Toolajian, with sound effects throughout.
Nimona is an impulsive young shape-shifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are. But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.
©2015 Noelle Stevenson (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers
There are no listener reviews for this title yet.
"Great cast!"
Great cast! I listened to the audiobook while reading the book and it had more details than the book and gave the story more life. Fun and amazing. A great book to read and to listen to.
"Best with audio and the graphic novel together"
I listened to this while also reading the graphic novel. There were a few changes made in the audio version. Some scenes appeared in a different order than the book and that felt unnecessary. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I wasn't also reading the graphic novel at the same time. But together they were excellent. I love that it makes the graphic novel accessible to more people. A lot of print in the graphic novel is pretty small and inaccessible to people with low vision. I wear glasses and was struggling with some of the panels. I'm so glad I found this audiobook and I hope more graphic novels are adapted for audio. The performance was good. Get this and the book and you won't be disappointed.
"Great! Recommend having the comic while listening"
Readers did a great job! I recommend getting the comic to look at while you listen though, the narrator does his best to set up scenes but fights can be confusing without the comic to follow.
The story was really good I just wish they went into how Nimona really got her powers
"simply amazing"
i got thos book on a whim, and a facebbok post lol. but im so glad i did, I'd never heard of the comic so i was going in blind but it totally blew me away and was deeper than i thought all in all a great listen
"Excellent audio, character voices & sound effects!"
A fun story with wonderful voices and sound effects. Loved it! I highly recommend it!
"Delightful and Entertaining"
This was fun, crazy, and hilarious. The cast is excellent at capturing the emotions of the characters. Get it! You will not regret it!
What a brilliant full cast audio of a graphic novel! This was a wild ride and super fun! I liked the focus on the bad guy and his evil sidekick. I did find some of the names amusingly sexual; Goldenloin, Girthrod. Hahahaha what?! I loved this story and thought it was great. When does the next one come out? Now I want to check out Lumberjanes!
"extremely good book!"
Story plot is very fun and explainable and sound affects in story is awesome, very suggested book!
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Well, that's mighty white of you...
Thanks. The suspense was just about killing me. So, any wagers on the number of times he says "nukyular"?
Bush to Announce Social Security Plans
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - President Bush is ready to begin talking with Congress and the public about specific steps he supports to ensure the future of Social Security and will announce his ideas during a prime-time news conference Thursday.
Bush was also using the formal question-and-answer session with reporters — his first in the evening in over a year — to talk about skyrocketing gas prices. The White House asked television networks to broadcast the news conference, scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EDT in the East Room of the White House.
The focus of the president's planned 10- to 12-minute opening statement was to be Social Security, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
A prime-time audience for what amounts to a speech at the top of the session allows Bush to seek to move the focus of public attention away from the alleged ethical improprieties of a key White House ally in Congress, House Majority Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and the troubled nomination of Bush's choice to be the next U.N. ambassador, John Bolton. Both controversies have dominated talk in the nation's capital in recent weeks.
"I understand THIS much of what is in my 'Social Security Plan'."


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Video: Jag XJ220 goes cross country
Video: Jag XJ220 goes cross country
Want to see the fastest Jag ever built drift merrily across fields? Head this way…Read More
Latest news
Man hoons hypercar collection
Watch an owner rag his Enzo, F50, EB110, XJ220 and Phantom like he stole 'em. He didn't .More
Hammond drives the icons: Jag XJ220
Hammond's been driving the most expensive Jaguar ever made, the legendary XJ220.More


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Dungeness Crab Season Set to Open; Fishermen Still Negotiating Price
Dungeness crab season officially opens tomorrow, but it could be delayed. Local fishermen are in port today negotiating a price for the crab.
"We do the dance every year between the fleet and the processors, trying to reach a price," says Larry Collins, president of the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association. "And we're doing the dance right now."
This season could be the last before a new law transforms crabbing in the state. Earlier this year, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 369, a bill that for the first time sets limits on the number of crab traps boats can use, based on what they caught from 2003-2008. The limits range from 250 traps allowed for those with the lowest historic catch to 500 for those with the highest.
"It's definitely going to make a difference. I think it's going to flatten the playing field a little bit so there's not so much inequity between the big boats and little boats," says Collins.
Sponsored By
The few weeks of crab season are grueling for fishermen, as they race to catch all they can before the crabs are fished out. The majority of Dungeness crab is caught in the first two weeks.
"[The new law] will take traps out of the water," says Collins. "The maximum traps should be about 175,000 traps for the state. I would guess that there could be up to a quarter million traps fished this year." Collins says the new limits will also mean that fresh crab is available to consumers later in the season.
The new rules won't be instituted by the Department of Fish and Game for at least a year. "Knowing that the legislation has been passed and signed, I already feel better," says Collins.
Sponsored By
Last year was a banner year for local crab boats with more than 27 million pounds of crab caught. Collins says it'll be tough to match it. "It was the biggest season in history."
Crab season in waters north of Mendocino County will now open on December 15th – two weeks later than normal.


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I don't use ebay all that much, and I've never had any issues in the past, so I'm not sure what 'proper' protocol is on this.
I purchased an "As Is" laptop. The description stated it was missing the power cord, so the seller didn't know if it turned on or not. I figured I might get lucky and it just needs an AC adapter, however if the motherboard was in fact dead, that's fine too since I can replace that and still resell it for a decent profit. It also stated it was in "Good" condition.
So, I get the laptop, and several things I notice.
-The hard drive is 250gb, auction said 320gb. Not a huge deal, but still, not what I bought.
-The hard drive adapter (the 90 degree part that connects the sata port on the drive, to the sata connector on the mb) is missing
-The AC port, the port that the power cord would go into, is completely missing. There's literally a hole there.
-The bottom panels covering the RAM, HD, and WiFi cards are broken and taped back together. All of the screw holes have been torn from the chassis. The WiFi panel is literally glued back on.
-Two of the keys are broken. Even worse, the keys are glued back onto the keyboard.
-Several bits and pieces of plastic from inside the chassis fell out, parts of screw mounts and other unimportant parts
The laptop is otherwise in functional condition. I took the hd connector and battery from my other laptop (same model, part of the reason I grabbed this one) and fired it up and installed Win8 on it and it runs flawlessly, outside the fact that I can't charge it. I already ordered a new hd connector ($2) and the bottom chassis with all the panels is only about $13.
My main gripe is that this thing is NOT in 'good' condition. Do I have any leverage on this, or does the "As Is" label act as a legal coverall for any damage? I'd rather not return it, as that will cost me money, and I can actually FIX all these things relatively cheaply. I just feel like I didn't get what I was sold.


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Co-Op to Sell First Euro Bonds in Six Years as Bank Risk Falls
Co-Operative Bank Plc, the 140-year- old U.K. mutual lender, is selling its first bonds in euros in almost six years as the cost of insuring financial institutions' debt fell to the lowest in 15 months.
The Markit iTraxx Financial Index of credit-default swaps linked to the senior debt of 25 banks and insurers fell two basis points to 176 at 4 p.m. in London, the lowest since July 2011. Bonds of Societe Anonyme de Gestion de Stocksde Securite, or Sagess, fell as the French refiner sold its first euro bonds since January.
Co-Op, which agreed to buy 632 branches from Lloyds Banking Group Plc in July, is considering selling senior unsecured bonds as companies rush to take advantage of a five-month rally fueled by the European Central Bank's plans to fix the debt crisis. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said yesterday a Greek default "will not happen" as European Union leaders prepare for a summit in Brussels on Oct. 18-19.
"It's been a risk-on environment for some time," said Elisabeth Afseth, an analyst at Investec Bank Plc in London. "I'm slightly cautious as to whether it can continue."
Bank of America Merrill Lynch EUR Corporates, Banking index shows investors demand 163 basis points more than the benchmark swap rate to buy financial bonds, the lowest since July 2011. The premium compares with 333 basis points at the end of last year, the data show.
New Bonds
The Co-Op last sold euro-denominated securities in January 2007 when it raised 25 million euros ($32 million) from floating-rate notes due 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. BNP Paribas SA, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Natixis and UBS AG will manage the sale of the new bonds, said a banker, who asked not to be named before the transaction is completed.
The Manchester, England-based lender issued bonds in November when it raised 600 million pounds ($963 million) from 4.75 percent covered bonds due 2021. The notes trade at 116.7 pence on the pound, up from their 99.21 pence issue price, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
"We are looking to diversify our funding," said Gary McDermott, a manager at Co-Op's capital markets desk. He confirmed it is the first time since 2007 it seeks to raise cash in the euro market in the senior unsecured market though it sold mortgage-backed securities in the currency last year, he said.
Sagess sold 700 million euros of seven-year bonds to yield 50 basis points more than the swap rate. The spread on the refiner's 4 percent notes due 2024 widened to 84 basis points from a two-week low of 82 on Oct. 12.
Corporate Debt
The cost of insuring European corporate debt fell, signaling improvement in perceptions of credit quality.
Contracts on the Markit iTraxx Crossover Index of 50 companies with mostly high-yield credit ratings dropped six basis points to 535. The Markit iTraxx Europe Index of 125 companies with investment-grade ratings was unchanged at 127 basis points.
A basis point on a credit-default swap protecting 10 million euros of debt from default for five years is equivalent to 1,000 euros a year. Swaps pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities or the cash equivalent should a borrower fail to adhere to its debt agreements.
To contact the reporter on this story: Abigail Moses in London at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Armstrong at email@example.com


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Saxon Snowblazer SUV 235/70R16 106S BSW
This listing is for new Saxon Snowblazer SUV 235/70R16 106S BSW Tires. Manufacturer part number: 1440054. Studdable winter tire for superior ice and snow traction. Innovative traction tread design provides excellent performance in wet or dry conditions while providing a quiet ride. Innovative D-Square sipe design enhances traction in wet and winter weather.
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