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Yowzer, I don't care for it either. Oh, and Blank Page is so obviously a Sia song. Sadly Diamonds (Rihanna) is much better written, though...
Yowzer, I don't care for it either. Oh, and Blank Page is so obviously a Sia song. Sadly Diamonds (Rihanna) is much better written, though...
So I was watching old seasons of X Factor (UK) today and this performance came on
I actually really liked Christina's look over here. I do think though that it's a bad idea to pair her (or any other amazing female vocalist) with the female contestants on the show because Christina literally sang her off the stage. I love Rebecca but I thought this was her weakest performance of the season. She was too awestruck by Christina
And she (Christina) walks down the steps like a total queen
@NBCThevoice 's latest tweet:
Just purchased Lotus, it has some good tracks,
'Lotus Intro' is my favorite so far.
'Sing For Me' is maybe my second favorite.
'Circles' is interesting because I thought of Nicki Minaj
and as part of the Deluxe Edition, the Your Body remix is pretty cool.
Make The World Move liveeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed it!!! It was awesome and she looked like she was having so much fun. Her outfit was HOT!! And I loved the little touch the Hips Don't Lie trumpets gave the song. I'm happy, this got me excited!
the performance was all over the place
but that was at least you expected before since Christina n Cee Lo together on the stage
Im still loving the pink afro wigs she's wearing back when Halloween Party last month
and that last long high note
she's so pitchy hahaa, I dont know maybe it's kinda noisy with so many things going on the stage
or she could not hear her voice with her ears (you can see her adjusting her ears with her hands)
but overall it's so fun!!
I think it's a performance for them since they will not be there on The Voice 4
and a Hips Dont Lie trumpets kinda a welcoming music for Shakira next season
Im gonna miss them, I mean miss the chemistry from those 4 coaches together
Just for fun...
Try not to get pissed at me
Just A fool would make sense as a single. The song is powerful and It could really go well with a little bit of promo.
Anyone seen the live of Make the world move ??
Aguilera needs to stop hitting the high notes if she can't do it. I mean it's Ok to mess up with one live song. But lately she has been destroying every live performance she did. I mean come on christina, we re used to sthg better coming from u !
Anyway, at this point, I dont thnik they will ever do something with th record. They wont promote any singles, and she'll go on tour hopefully with the Lotus project behind her already.
yeah im not very optimistic but even if any of Cease fire, circles, just a fool, let there be love or army of me could goes out as a single, RCA an aguilera wont promote it. It's just my opinion.
Lotus is good, it's not as good as Bionic, back to basics & Stripped, but it's entertaining.
Now chiristina get it all together, think straight and come back next year with Back to basics 2.0
That's disappointing given all the free promo she gets on The Voice every week and stuff. I was expecting at least a 100k+ debut, especially because at this time of year album sales are the strongest (holiday season).
Guess this might be Christina's second album in a row to miss the Platinum mark.
^I still don't get the One Direction appeal, musically or looks-wise even, they all look like jailbait. I prefer the boys of The Wanted, and like some of their songs too.
But Christina is dangerously close to being a has-been. I still don't understand her need to put out generic radio crap on both Bionic and this album (Your Body, I'm looking at you). She was like so different, fresh, and unique when she came out with Back to Basics. The entire sound of that album was so different than anything on mainstream and I don't understand why she didn't stick to it. She's basically sending "musical wallpaper" songs to radio now. It's like you go in a room, notice the wallpaper for a second and then don't care anymore. That's how I feel about her recent releases. You recognize her voice and then it's like "oh okay, so what?"
I don't think she cares anymore about being the big popstar, she hasn't promoted this album as much as she should've, she released Your Body 2 months ago and we didn't even get a real performance until Tuesday's and it was completely different song (that I loved BTW but still) and the next one we'll get is the AMAs and we know nothing else. She just doesn't care I guess. As I fan it's kinda sad but I've made my peace with it, I'm happy to enjoy her music and her "presence" as a celebrity but I don't expect her to be in the league of Rihanna, Katy Perry or Justin Bieber right now. She's not even trying.
I do think it is strange that she made probably the most commercial album since her Genie days, an album with the potential to have multiple hit singles, but she still doesn't bother to get her ass off her couch and promote.
But with Lotus the problem is completely the opposite, the music is really commercial and radio friendly so that's no problem, the problem is the lack of promotion. Most people don't know about Lotus unless you are a Christina fan. Her promo was based on posting Youtube clips and tweeting...that's bullsh!t! Those tweets and Youtube videos are only seen by her subscribers and followers...HER FANS. The general audience that doesn't care enough to follow or subscribe doesn't even know anything.
I mean the only Your Body performance we got was the one on Jimmy Fallon with a freaking stapler for God's sake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL. I swear this bitch loves to troll us.
The biggest problem isn't lack of promotion. It's the material she chooses to record and put out to radio. Seriously. WTF is radio friendly? If you listen to Adele's 21 album none of the songs fill the description of being "radio friendly". It's an entire album filled with ballads. She made radio love them, as opposed to making songs that the radio loves by default. She didn't give a shit about what was big on radio then.
That's what Christina needs to do. I don't give a flying fuck about "radio friendly" crap. You don't use a 4 octave once in a generation voice to make radio friendly crap. You dictate what radio should sound like. If we want radio friendly we can just switch to Rihanna, Katy, GaGa and what not. Those ladies are all radio friendly material which is why they can hit the top of the charts for 10 weeks even and then a year later nobody gives 2 shits about their hits and they have to consistently put out new songs or we forget them.
None of them can make a song like Beautiful and have people praising it even after a decade of its release. They cannot. Nobody gives a flying fuck about Just Dance, I Kissed a Girl, We Found Love, Umbrella, etc anymore. They are all radio friendly. But they are not iconic. They have a short shelf life.
Christina needs to grow a fucking pair and stop giving a shit about what radio wants and instead put out good music instead of putting out absolute generic music. It doesn't do her any justice. It's an insult to my intelligence if Christina camp thinks I will approve her singing shit ANYBODY else on radio could have recorded.
I want Back to basics 2.0
imagine if she did promo like her previous albums
Stripped - live performance at MTV, VMA appearance, magazine cover, radio
Back to Basics - ANOM debut performance at MTV Movie Awards, magazine cover, and branding people she was a BABY JANE
even Bionic had it - Oprah, Today Show, Good Morning, performance at Leno, magazine cover etc etc
while Lotus
just several interviews from her home, Jimmy Fallon, and others but she was promoting The Voice
20% promoting Lotus
I miss her performance at Good Morning America too
After all she problly makes more money with the voice than she does with LOtus, that makes sesn to promote the voice then LOL
I don't know what Christina you're talking about but you're getting it all wrong, her music hasn't been about "what radio wants" for the past 10 years (I'm not complaining, that's just how it was). Neither Back to Basics nor Keeps Getting Better nor Bionic were radio-friendly and even though I applaud her bravery and originality, that's part of the reason why she lost so much appeal with the general audience. She's back making a very pop and radio friendly record but it isn't going anywhere bc of promotion, so it all goes back to my previous post.Christina needs to grow a fucking pair and stop giving a shit about what radio wants and instead put out good music instead of putting out absolute generic music. It doesn't do her any justice. It's an insult to my intelligence if Christina camp thinks I will approve her singing shit ANYBODY else on radio could have recorded.
Is that why Adele can send a ballad straight into the top 10 and have other ballads top the charts while Christina's radio friendly song just tanks?
Is that also why Somebody Like You went to #1 for 8 weeks depite sounding like nothing that was on the radio at the time of its release?
Is that also why fun. managed to also score big hits with rock songs when radio was all pop-RnB at the time they released We Are Young?
And is that also why Ellie Goulding's Lights, an indie song, became one of the biggest hits this year?
Yea okay.
After giving Lotus a solid listen, Bionic is still vastly superior. No idea why it tanked to be honest. Lotus will bomb because the other 932542 albums released this year by the same producer/crew are taking up the chart space and RCA is full of nasty fuckers that use their teeth too much when blowing you. That's all.
Taylor Swift, 19 year old beautiful girl that talks about breakup and releases pop-ish country songs (yeah POP-ish, I don't think that's real country). She's as comercial as you can be, I think you're misinterpreting my point, I don't mean to say that everything needs to sound like Britney's technopop in order to be successful, the term "radio-friendly" is a lot wider than that, its simply about a record that is easy for the general audience to digest, whether it is technopop or not. And Taylor Swift is as easy as it comes! A 19 year old girl talking about breakup??? The teenager girls are eating that up!!! Plus she's part of the new teen craze along with Justin, Selena, etc...That being said, let me know where she's gonna be in 4 or 5 years.
And Adele I already told you.
You really want Christina to make a "different" sound that stands out from everything that is being played on the radio? SHE ALREADY DID. It's called Back To Basic and Bionic. And I love those records, but I as already said, the fact that she changes her sound so much record from record means she alienates a big part of the audience everytime and it doesn't really give her a musical identity; she does have a trademark sound in her VOICE but after everything she has experimented with, a "Christina Aguilera song" can be pretty much anything and that can be a good and a bad thing. Right now I think only her hardcore fans (like me) are the ones who keep following her. So again, promotion is the key now, if nobody else but her hardcore fans know and care about a new record, that reflects on sales and everything else.
If your point about promotion were true, Bionic would have been a success. It wasn't. It was a disaster and she promoted the hell out of that album prior to its release (Oprah and what not). Promotion isn't the biggest problem here. Good music will eventually promote itself. Christina has severely lowered her standards. It doesn't matter if you promote the hell out of shit. If it isn't what is expected of you nobody will care. If it is good music it will eventually turn around and end up drawing attention . Take note of the quote on Lights, which managed to climb all the way up to #2. Where was the promotion? It slowly found its way to being a hit.In the United States, "Lights" was a sleeper hit, spending one year and three months on the Billboard Hot 100 before finally reaching number two on the chart in August 2012, after being released in May 2011. The song was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with sales of over three million downloads in the United States.
And, brand new artists which successfully charted this year and took charge the Hot 100 for 23 consecutive weeks this year. So yes for 23 weeks (that's over 5 months) you had brand new artists who came out with little to no promotion commanding radio all of a sudden.
Take note I always say promotion isn't the biggest problem. I acknowledge the fact that it is important, but you need to have good stuff to promote. Lately, Christina doesn't. Her new releases don't do her any justice because she attempts to record stuff which is basically already out there.
Good stuff + promotion = Back To Basics is a major hit.
Bad stuff + promotion = Bionic.
Bad stuff + no promotion = Lotus.
Bad stuff + promotion for Lotus = Bionic 2.0
When what fans really want and deserve is Back to Basics 2.0.
Yes, is not all about promotion. Is about good music as well, but both go hand in hand specially if you take 2 or 3 years between albums (people forget reaaaally fast that's why Sh1thanna is cashing in on her moment releasing one album after the other).
.Take note I always say promotion isn't the biggest problem. I acknowledge the fact that it is important, but you need to have good stuff to promote. Lately, Christina doesn't. Her new releases don't do her any justice because she attempts to record stuff which is basically already out there
I agree with what you say about promotion here, but I disagree with your thoughts about Xtina's music. Lotus has the potential to be a hit in every sense of the word, songs like Just A Fool (that is climbing the itunes chart as we speak without promotion), Around The World, Sing For Me, Circles, Best of Me, Lotus Intro, Red Hot Kinda Love and even Your Body have HIT written all over them.
Hmm I think the Back to Basics jazzy kinda sound is what suits her voice the most, but I don't know if I'm prepared for another record like that right now. I love pop music, and I love when she makes pop music, GOOD POP, e.g. Stripped.When what fans really want and deserve is Back to Basics 2.0.
@ not knowing who Ellie is. God, if you want anything remotely decent these days you have to listen to British artists. America is total shit at the moment.
'Lotus' is pretty damn good IMO. I don't care for the production on some of the songs and some of the lyrics are a little amateur but I think I enjoy just about every song.
'Light Up the Sky', 'Best of Me', 'Make the World Move', 'Just a Fool', 'Cease Fire' and title track are some of my favorites already.
Just saw this video...I absolutely love it!
AfterElton's Louis Virtel once described Christina as "artistry-deaf" and I think that perfectly sums up why she hasn't had a hit song in a decade. She has no musical identity, she doesn't know what's hot at the moment, she has no idea what audiences want to hear, she makes no attempt to appeal to listeners... She's ultimately clueless. That's why she's wandering around the "Your Body" video dressed as a gourd-shaped Peggy Bundy, singing cartoonishly hypersexual pop drivel -- because she thinks she's "with it" when in fact she's pathetically out of touch.
Yes, I'm aware of when the critically-derided, hit-free Back to Basics was released.
Also Lotus will bomb and its because Christina isn't taking herself seriously. I'd understand if all she did was sing and nothing else but that's not the case. She co-wrote many of the songs on the album. On the good side even if this does bomb it won't affect her that badly. She still is a multi-millionaire who could call it a day and take the rest of her life off.
Just A Fool is officially single #2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy!!!!!! They heard us!!!!! I think Lotus is gonna rise.
I love Just A Fool
I hope country radio supports it too
and Best Pop Vocal Collaboration fro Grammys!!
And no, just because two singles charted does not mean that they were hits. Ask a random, average pop music listener to name some Christina Aguilera songs and they'll be unable to cite anything released after "Fighter".
Details of the performance tomorrow at the AMAs!!!
Christina Aguilera arrives at the NBCs The Voice Season 3 at House of Blues Sunset Strip on November 8, 2012Christina Aguilera is hard at work rehearsing for her big performance at the 2012 American Music Awards on Sunday and Access Hollywood has the exclusive details on what the pop diva will perform.
The superstar singer will treat fans to a medley of new songs off of her latest album, Lotus, including, Let There Be Love, Army of Me and Lotus, a source inside Christinas closed AMA rehearsal revealed to Access on Saturday.
The Voice coach will begin her performance in a pink dress, before vanishing for about one minute in, then reemerging rocking a glittering black bustier.
Christinas performance will feature an anti-bullying theme, the source said, with her dancers dressed as misfits (including bikers, drag queens, etc.), and carrying signs featuring words associated with bullying, such as doubt, hate and fear.
Catch Christinas performance (along with performances by Psy, Carly Rae Jespen, Kelly Clarkson, The Wanted and more) on the 2012 American Music Awards Sunday at 8/7c on ABC.
In other news, this is an amazing Dateline interview. Very personal and different from all the interviews we've seen so far. Her son Max is so cute!!
Ain't No Other Man
- Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2007 ceremony.
Hurt, Candyman, and Slow Down Baby all charted strongly as well. Candyman also got a Grammy nomination.
The Back to Basics Tour
- Grossed over $90 million worldwide with 80 dates.
- It was the most successful by a female artist in the United States for 2007 grossing $48.1 million there alone
- DVD titled Back to Basics: Live and Down Under came out on February 5, 2008 and debuted at #1 and stayed for 2 weeks.
That AMA Performance was one BIG GAY RAINBOW UNICORN FARTING GLITTER EXPLOSION! XD
I see the performance was already posted. Here's her cameo on Pitbull's performance and her red carpet interview:
I liked her performance, liked the way she looked, and the big woman with curly hair and leopard print (don't know if she was a drag queen) was daaaaa best! Lol.
OMG her AMA performance was AWFUL =X Oh goodness...
I think Kelly Clarkson had the best AMA performance!
^Girl can sing her face off!


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People can shop for just about anything online.
Teenagers often clog their web browsers with social media and other retail sites. But now their tech savvy shopping carts are also illegally filled with items like vodka, rum, beer and wine.
"It's not the smart thing to do," Karl Daniel II said.
He's like most 16-year-olds when it comes to being in love with video games, but he also said the reality is some of his classmates are interested in other extracurricular activities.
"I hear some crazy stuff, like different drugs like acid and cocaine and all that," Karl Daniel II said.
Despite the pressures, his father Karl Daniel Sr. said he taught his son right from wrong. He's the owner of the Empowerment Zone in Greenville County, which is a community center with after-school programs and mentoring sessions for children.
He said at the center and at home he teaches young people to make good decisions.
"I don't expect anything from the world, but I expect everything from my son," Karl Daniel Sr. said.
And that's why he and his son agreed to take part in a FOX Carolina Investigation.
"It all boils down to choice," Karl Daniel Sr. said.
During the investigation, a FOX Carolina camera crew wanted to know if alcohol would be dropped off at the Daniels' doorstep without an ID check after an online order - especially since both Karl Daniel II and Karl Daniel Sr. have the same name.
Karl Daniel Sr. logged onto a web site Drink up NY and bought a bottle of vodka for $23.99. He checked a box for overnight delivery and read the disclaimer for consumers under 21 years old.
"I understand that a person 21 years of age or older must sign for the order upon delivery," Karl Daniel Sr. said.
During a delivery attempt, a United Parcel Service driver asked Karl Daniel II if he was 21 years old or older and when he said he was not, the driver said he could not sign for the box.
The UPS driver left without leaving the package, so with Karl Daniel Sr.'s permission a FOX Carolina crew along with Karl Daniel II went undercover to see if the 16-year-old would be able to pick up the package.
A clerk asked to look at Karl Daniel II's driver's license then asked him to sign for the package. Karl Daniel II was able to walk out with a packaged bottle of vodka. When he returned home, he handed it to his father unopened.
"I'm not shocked, not shocked," Karl Daniel Sr. said. "My son could've taken that alcohol, come home, got drunk, got in the car and drove and crashed."
Although he ordered the alcohol online, he said the investigation proved how easy it is for teenagers to order online if they wanted to, or to intercept a delivery.
"I believe it happens more times than not," Karl Daniel Sr. said.
A UPS spokesperson, Susan Rosenberg, released this statement to FOX Carolina:
"While it is the responsibility of the seller to ensure alcohol is sold only to legal age adults, UPS takes the delivery of wine to minors seriously. UPS has gone to great lengths to develop a "Wine Shippers Program" to guard against shipment of wine to minors while providing for the needs of licensed commercial distributors and meeting the requirements of those states that allow inter- and intra-state wine shipping to consumers.
"Shipment of beer or spirits is only accepted in the UPS system for business-to-business shipments to licensed distributors or retailers. Our three-pronged approach defines a clear process for shipping customers and within UPS operations, sophisticated technology and network training to recognize labeling and adult signature requirements.
"Our process includes follow up with customers that do not comply with our policies. UPS reserves the right to discontinue service with repeat offenders."
FOX Carolina also tried to contact the online company Drink up NY and had not received a response as Thursday, April 25.
Copyright 2013 FOX Carolina (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Black Sea, Exxon, Exxon Mobil, Fracking, Hydraulic Fracturing, Lisichansk Oil Refinery, Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA), Russia, Shale Gas, Shell Oil, Skifska, Ukraine, Ukrainian Government
Shell to Drill First Wells in $10 Billion Ukrainian Project
Western oil majors including Chevron (CVX), Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) likely will reassess deals to drill in Ukraine, where the political crisis threatens a promising source of new profits and the country's drive for energy independence.
Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDSA), which signed a $10 billion shale gas deal with the Ukrainian government this year, expects to start drilling in the Yuzivska field next year. Shell will need to drill as many as 15 wells to complete the initial exploration appraisal of the 8,000 square-kilometer (3,100 square-mile) Yuzivska field in the eastern part of the country, Graham Tiley, the country manager of Shell Ukraine, said in an interview in Kiev On Nov. 6, 2013.
Separately, the company has also completed drilling its first well in the Kharkiv region and is preparing to drill two more next year, he said. Ukraine, which depends on expensive Russian gas imports to cover more than 60 percent of its consumption, is pushing to develop its own reserves, both onshore and offshore, in the Black Sea . The government signed a production-sharing agreement with Chevron Corporation (CVX) for extraction of shale gas, and plans to complete negotiations by the end of this year with an Exxon Mobil Corp-led group, which includes Shell, to explore off Ukraine's western Black Sea coast.
"If you look across all these different projects, and if you look at interests of not just Shell but major oil and gas companies, you would say Ukraine has a good chance to boost its output," Tiley said. "The sector has been under-invested and I assume over time the domestic production will increase."
The country could hold as much as 42 trillion cubic feet (1.2 trillion cubic meters) of shale gas, the third largest reserve in Europe, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimate from 2011.
The use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, upended the U.S. gas industry, which overtook Russia as the biggest producer. "Until we get out there, drill some wells and test them, we simply won't know how much of the area is going to be commercially productive," the executive said. "Right now the testing phase will take some months before we have some results, and that will be only from one well." When Shell and Ukraine signed the deal in January, Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky said $10 billion would be invested if the geology met expectations, according to the Financial Times.
While the oil companies can always spend their money elsewhere, the potential $10B in investment [was] vital to Ukraine's quest to pull away from Russian control and revive an economy on the verge of collapse.
Russia's Rosneft says no plans to cut activity in Ukraine
– Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) attended the signing of an agreement between state-controlled Russian oil company Rosneft and Exxon Mobil at a port on the Black Sea in 2012.
Russia's top crude producer Rosneft has no plans to cut its activity in Ukraine, the company said on Wednesday.
It said in a statement its Lisichansk oil refinery was undergoing scheduled maintenance and would be back in action only after an examination of its economic viability.
"Rosneft has not rolled back and has no plans to make changes to the scale of its operations in Ukraine," the company said.
Exxon is also pressing ahead with large-scale investments in Russia, as well as a Black Sea oil project just east of Crimea, they said.
Negotiations on a production-sharing agreement with the Ukrainian government were underway in the weeks before street battles with government opponents led the country's president to flee to Russia.
Exxon Mobil senior vice president Andrew Swiger told an analysts in New York that the company was continuing its license in Skifska.
Rex Tillerson, Exxon Mobil's chairman and CEO, said the company's Russian projects were moving ahead.
"There's been no impact on any activities or plans at this point, nor would we expect there to be any, barring governments taking steps beyond our control."
"In terms of our view of country risk, geopolitical risk, other than things like sanctions, we don't see any new challenges out of the current situation," he said.
Exxon Mobil signed a giant joint venture agreement with Russia's Rosneft in 2011 that opened the way for exploration in seven Russian Arctic Sea areas, parts of Western Siberia and a strip along the Russian Black Sea near Crimea.
Swiger said that drilling was expected to begin in the Russian Black Sea prospect either later this year or in 2015. He said the prospect was promising because of natural oil seeps and seismic work that showed several potential oil-bearing areas stacked on top of one another.
Ukrainian officials hope the Skifska offshore area will help it lessen dependence on Russian natural gas. Government estimates indicate the project would cost about $10 billion to $12 billion. So far, no drilling has taken place in the Skifska area, although Exxon Mobil has found natural gas in the Black Sea off the neighboring coast of Romania.
During a meeting with analysts, held at the New York Stock Exchange, Tillerson emphasized that Exxon Mobil's holdings were spread across the world in such a way that it could withstand geopolitical or other disruptions in any one country.
"It is difficult to compete and be successful without the scale and capacities that organizations like us have, and to manage the risks," he said in answering a question about whether the "supermajor" oil companies have grown too large.
Tillerson said Exxon Mobil is cutting back on capital investments this year and expects to keep below the 2013 level out to 2017. Even with that, the company plans to spend $39.8 billion in 2014.
Side Note –
World's top oil producer
Russia retained the title of the world's top oil producer with 2013 output reaching a post-Soviet high as rising exports to China and strong prices allow the Kremlin to maintain record spending from an overstretched budget.
Energy has been the engine of Russia's growth during more than a decade of leadership by President Vladimir Putin, with oil and gas accounting for more than half of budget revenues.
A production ramp-up at Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz brought Russia's oil output, the world's largest, to a new post-Soviet record high of 10.59 million barrels per day (bpd) in October, Energy Ministry data showed on Saturday.
Below are details of Russian oil output:
- Russia's oil production peaked at 11.41 million bpd in 1988 when it was still part of the former Soviet Union, according to the International Energy Agency. Russia accounted for 90 percent of Soviet output.
- In 1991, in the final days of the Soviet Union, Russia's output fell to 9.24 million bpd, down 10.5 percent from 10.32 million bpd in 1990 and off 19 percent from the 1988 peak. Many analysts say the slump in oil production and a drop in prices contributed to the fall of the 70-year-old Communist empire.
- In 1996, when Boris Yeltsin was re-elected as Russia's president, oil production went into a three-year period of stagnation amid under-investment and slowing demand.
- Russian oil output grew by about 1.5 percent in 2009 to the then post-Soviet high of an average of 9.925 million bpd for the year and in September exceeded a monthly level of 10 million bpd for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- In 2010 Russia overtook Saudi Arabia, which restrains its output when it deems it necessary, as the world's largest producer as new fields were launched, including Vankor, Uvat and Talakan.
- In 2012, Russia's oil output reached a post-Soviet yearly record high of 10.37 million bpd. – Reuters
Yuzivska gas field
Russia–Ukraine gas disputes
Court accepts claim on agreeing draft PSA on Yuzivska field
Chevron Corporation (CVX) news: Ukraine economy
Ukraine economy hangs on investments from Chevron
Exxon Mobil puts Ukraine gas prospect on hold
STOP (the) WAR
Government portal :: Yuzivska gas field development
Providing insight to the world of Earthstaff & the market
#UKRAINE – Global Public Alert – (Unite Yourself Together)
UN Concerns High Over Crimea Crisis
Shell will start producing gas in Ukraine in 2015 at Yuzivska
Ukraine Signs Drilling Deal With Shell for Shale Gas – NYTimes.co
Orchestrating Ukraine's Propaganda | lisaleaks
Mustafa Nayem: Ukrainian Journalist and Activist | lisaleaks
Russia's Rosneft refuses to allow TNK-BP to join £10bn Arctic
Exxon Russia ambitions show oil trumps political rivalry |


text:
Two children, one woman killed in Denver shooting
By The Associated Press
This article was published February 6, 2013 at 10:20 a.m.
DENVER Denver police say two children under 10 years old and a woman were killed and a third child was wounded in an apparent shooting at a house in the northeast part of the city.
Police Lt. Matt Murray says that child is in critical condition.
Investigators are waiting for a warrant to re-enter the house.
Murray says it appears to have been an isolated shooting and there's no indication the gunman is still on the loose.
The neighborhood is in industrial area, surrounded by warehouses and a trucking terminal, near the National Western Stock Show complex.
Neighbor Debbie Martinez says the house was recently sold.
Comments on: Two children, one woman killed in Denver shooting
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text:
Waterloo: Cyril M. "Dan" Vogt, 96, of Waterloo, died Friday, December 7, 2012, at Covenant Medical Center.
He was born October 22, 1916, in Garnavillo the son of George and Mary Meier Vogt. He married Diana M. Beasley on November 9, 1940, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Waterloo. She died July 7, 2007.
Mr. Vogt served in the Army Air Corp during World War II. He was owner and operator of Vogt Heating and Cooling until retirement. He was a lifelong member of the Cedar Falls Gun Club and an avid trap shooter.
Article Photos
Survivors include: five daughters, Lynda (Merv) Sealock of Clutier, Judy (Dana) Anderson of Waterloo, Carol Vogt of Waterloo, Nancy (Jim) Falk of Clive, and Pam (Frank) Gibson of Cedar Falls; 14 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Bernice (Wayne) Eisele of Waterloo and Clarissa (Les) Allison of Fort Collins, Col.
Preceded in death by: two brothers, Raymond and Leo; six sisters, Rose Leppert, Loretta Webb, Florence Wilson, Verona Fuhr, Gertrude Gierlach, and Mildred Eckert; a great-grandson, Brett M. Sealock.
Services: 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 11, at Queen of Peace Catholic Church with entombment in Mt. Olivet Mausoleum. Full military rites will be conducted at the church by Waterloo Amvets Post 19 and Evansdale Amvets Post 31. Public visitation from 4-8 p.m. Monday at Hagarty-Waychoff-Grarup Funeral Service on West Ridgeway, where there will be a 4 p.m. Legion of Mary rosary. Visitation also one hour prior to services Tuesday at the church.
In lieu of Flowers Memorials: may be directed to Cedar Valley Hospice or the church.
Online condolences may be left at the website hagartywaychoffgrarup.com


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Southampton slumped to a 2-0 defeat against German side Schalke 04 in a pre-season friendly in Austria.
Despite a promising opening 45 minutes, the Saints eventually succumbed to defeat following some defensive frailties that haunted the south coast outfit for much of last season.
The Premier League side had the better of a competitive first half, with new signing Victor Wanyama looking impressive alongside midfield compatriots Jason Puncheon and Lloyd Isgrove. The Kenyan demonstrated his physical strength on numerous occasions.
Southampton applied pressure in the early stages, but chances for Jay Rodriguez and Isgrove were snuffed out. Youngster Calum Chambers fizzed a brilliant cross into the path of Rickie Lambert, who could only head straight at Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand.
Academy graduate Isgrove showed a quick turn of pace to race away from his man before lashing a shot wide of the near post. Puncheon was next to test the 'keeper from range, with a 20-yard pile-driver. Once again, Hildebrand coped with little fuss.
Michel Bastos burrowed his way in behind the Southampton defence, but was denied by the onrushing Kelvin Davis, who was alert to the danger. Bastos' second chance of the game quickly followed, as he saw his half-volley saved by Davis.
As the sides moved towards the break, there was a brief moment of panic for the Southampton coaching staff when new signing Dejan Lovren landed awkwardly after rising for a header. Fortunately, the Croatian defender was able to continue.
Half-time saw numerous changes for both sides, as they looked to mix it up and experiment with their squads ahead of the new season.
Substitute Klaas-Jan Huntelaar tested Davis in the Southampton goal, but the Saints stopper was equal to the Dutchman's header.
Huntelaar would not have to wait long however, as he broke the deadlock after capitalising on some comical defending from the Southampton comedy double-act of Jose Fonte and Davis just before the hour mark.
Last season's top scorer Lambert was presented with a golden chance to level the scores, but could only side foot over from close range.
Mauricio Pochettino opted for another six changes, replacing Davis, Chambers, Wanyama, Lambert, Rodriguez and Luke Shaw with Paulo Gazzaniga, Nathaniel Clyne, Danny Fox, Morgan Schneiderlin, Emmanuel Mayuka and James Ward-Prowse.
Shortly after, some defensive hesitancy allowed Joel Matip to slam in a volley from close range, beating Gazzaniga at the near post.
Southampton pushed forward once again, with Clyne lifting a ball for Adam Lallana to attempt to control before going for a bicycle kick. The ball struck the hand of the Schalke defender, but the handball went unnoticed by the officials.
The Saints continued to fade out of the game, as Neustadter lashed a vicious shot just over Gazzaniga's crossbar. Half chances for Huntelaar and Clemens followed.
Southampton had one last chance, but Mayuka's half-volley deflected wide and the resulting corner came to nothing.
The first-half performance may have been cause for much enthusiasm from Saints boss Pochettino, but the second-half will only leave question marks to brew in the Argentinian's mind.
Southampton now have just three games remaining before the start of the season. They face Besiktas in Austria on Saturday, before travelling to face Celta Vigo in their penultimate pre-season fixture.
The Saints round off pre-season with a St. Mary's tie against Champions League outfit Real Sociedad on August 10.
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"We Shall Remain" Discussion
Time: 7 pm
Date: May 12
Where: Hampton Branch at Oak Hill, 5125 Convict Hill Rd.
Join the Austin Public Library on Tuesday, May 12 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Hampton Branch at Oak Hill, 5125 Convict Hill Rd. for a follow-up discussion of the award winning PBS American Experience series "We Shall Remain". As the final episode of "We Shall Remain" concludes, Dr. Loriene Roy, past president of the American Library Association and an advisor for the series, returns for a follow up discussion that allows viewers the opportunity to connect and share the histories and contemporary life-ways of tribal peoples across the nation. "We Shall Remain" is a provocative multi-media project that establishes Native History as an essential part of American history. The discussion is free and open to the public. For more information please call 512-892-6680 or visit www.cityofaustin.org/library.


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Lady Comanches end season in area playoff
The West Texas High Lady Comanches made the long trip down to Paducah looking for their second playoff win of the year. They took on the district 8-1A Bryson Cowgirls in the area contest, and it was evident from the start that these teams were very evenly matched. The Cowgirls outlasted the Lady Comanches, though, in 4 sets: 21-25, 25-18, 19-25, 14-25.Bryson struck first in every set, but the Lady Comanches stuck right with them. The first set was tied nine times, and neither team was ahead by more than two until the end. DeLapp had a tip over the net early, and Tull served up an ace to put WT up 5-3. Hopkins and Tull then went to work at the net, and a block from Tull tied the game at 10. Hopkins kills it twice to put the Lady Comanches up by a point. Tull was relentless at the net, smashing down every ball that came her way, and a kill from her made it 20-19 WT. Bryson fought their way back in it on a few hitting errors from the Lady Comanches, and the Cowgirls tip it over for the win, 25-21.Set two began with Bryson scoring first, but WT was right there in it because of a block from Tull. Two more Tull kills put the ladies up 7-5, and a Summers assist to Hopkins kill put them up 8-6. There were a few more hitting errors on the Lady Comanches, but they only fell behind by one. Another monster kill from Tull and two Bryson errors put WT up 16-13. Tull had another two kills and an ace and the Lady Comanches were winning 20-17. Hopkins kills it, Bryson can't handle Summers' ace, and Hopkins kills it again with authority to win set two, 25-18.Set three was up and down for the Lady Comanches. They started out strong with a tip from Hopkins, but found themselves down 6-3. A kill from DeLapp ties it up at 6, but errors found the ladies down by 5 quickly. Hopkins and Tull go to work, with Hopkins having two kills and a tip, and Tull with a kill. An ace from Summers put the score at 15-14 Bryson. The Lady Comanches fell behind again, this time by seven. They tried to fight their way back in it with some great hustle from the Wallace sisters on defense, but they couldn't find their groove. Bryson takes it 25-19.Set four was a must win for WT, but unfortunately it was all Bryson. The set was close early, with a DeLapp kill, and two from Tull to keep it tied at 5. Hopkins had a kill, and Bryson couldn't handle B. Wallace's serve to tie it at 7. Hopkins killed it again to put the ladies up by a point, but that would be the last time they saw a lead. Errors plagued the Lady Comanches as they tried to fight their way back in. R. Wallace has a nice serve that Bryson couldn't handle to make it 15-10 Cowgirls. Despite some late kills from Tull, WT was too far behind. Cowgirls take the set and the match, 25-14.Tull led the Lady Comanches with 17 kills, and Hopkins finished with 13. Tull also had 4 blocks and 38 digs to lead WT. Erin Summers finished with 31 digs and 17 assists. DeLapp had 16 assists. Tull and Summers finished with 2 aces a piece. WT finishes with a 19-16 record on the year.The Lady Comanches had a great year, and it was a joy to watch them improve over the season. Congratulations to Coach Patterson and the Lady Comanches on their successful year!


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With branches in Jackson Heights, Rochdale, Jamaica and East Harlem, service is threatened to thousands of seniors currently enrolled in the program, a multi–age housing development originally built for seniors and now home to a wide range of aging residents.
NORC residents Arthur and Rita Steftel, ages 84 and 74, said they have relied on the centers' social work services after Rita had a serious knee surgery, stroke and a fall.
"After a stroke, my wife suffered while in the hospital, she was in total confusion for months," Arthur said. "NORC stepped in by organizing in-home therapy and individualized care. Without these services, it would have been a disastrous situation."
In an effort to secure these services in the coming years, dozens of local elected officials rallied with seniors last week at a NORC center at 33-04 93rd Street in Corona.
"NORC provides a wonderful service for our seniors that must be protected," Dromm said in a statement following the event.
A petition was presented to Dromm and others at the rally with nearly 1,200 signatures calling for funding in 2015.
Assemblyman Michael DenDekker added that seniors rely heavily on a wide range of services when they enter senior living centers, and it is the city's responsibility to find a way to "maintain funding for the NORC."
"Hundreds of seniors in the community depend on the social work, cleaning services, visiting nurses, recreational activities, and other resources provided by NORC so that they're not forced out of their apartments and into nursing homes or other assisted living facilities," DenDekker said.


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ChiroTouch and the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance Partner to Present Technology Conference
San Diego, CA – Oct 1, 2012 – ChiroTouch™, the nation's leader in chiropractic software, and the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance, a visionary leader in the chiropractic technologies industry, are pleased to present the Simplify Chiropractic Technology Symposium. This first-of-its-kind technology, one-day conference is designed to provide chiropractors with a clear road map to integrating all-empowering technologies into the practice, and takes place in Chicago, IL, on November 10, 2012.
"ChiroTouch and the CLA recognized a significant need within the chiropractic community to learn how to fully capitalize on available technology, and we're thrilled to be able to address that need though this groundbreaking Symposium," said Robert Moberg, President of ChiroTouch. "Attendees will learn how to fully integrate innovative and efficient technologies in order to simplify their practices, giving them more time to spend on both their patients and practice."
The landscape of hardware and software technology has evolved from tools used to accomplish a specific set of tasks to fully integrated digital systems that play a critical role in improving patient care, increasing practice efficiencies, and connecting the patient, the practice, and the provider. And while the power of technology has made the complex simple, how it's implemented in the practice environment is just as important as the technology itself.
Just a few of the topics being presented at the Simplicity Symposium include:
"The Symposium will connect attendees with the most powerful technology available in the industry and show them how using the right technology in the right way for the right purpose can create immeasurable efficiencies in their practices," added Robert.
Tickets are just $49.00, and include one free guest pass.
Visit www.simplifyconference.com to learn more and secure your spot!
About ChiroTouch
Chiropractic Events


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Meridian, Miss.
Many of you have seen Tony Pasko play local venues in and around Meridian over the last few years, but what you don't see is him spending countless hours in the studio producing music for albums and TV. Pasko grew up around music, with both of his parents in the church choir and his dad in a band. He always knew he wanted to do music for a living, and it was his father who helped push him.
"He was already doing it, so it was a very realistic goal for me to obtain because that's what he already did, so growing up I had that influence of 'this is very maintainable, this was going to happen one way or the other, I just had to put the work in it.' If things didn't work out musically when I was growing up, he'd always say 'you've just got to work harder.'"
After graduating high school, Pasko decided that the rock star life was for him. His band was opening for big artists and he signed a deal with Warner Brothers, but it wasn't meant to be. It was that failure that led him to where he is now. After traveling the world and going to trade shows for US Music, Hartley Peavey found him and brought him to Meridian 8 years ago. It was that encounter, and the rich musical history of this area that sold Pasko on moving from Chicago to a small town in Mississippi.
"This town has a history that the whole world is a better place because of. American music came from here, and a lot of the country and the blues and stuff like that."
Unknowingly, it was his decision to move here that lead to one of the biggest successes of his career so far: contributing music to Duck Dynasty. Not knowing anything about Duck Dynasty, the production company contacted his record label, and his managers decided he was the perfect pick to send some demos.
"'They need music from where you live.' That was their description. The production company is in Beverly Hills, so I'm thinking 'They probably have some of the best session players, but obviously none of them have that touch.' What they were looking for was something a little more authentic."
His authentic touch would soon make his music heard by millions of people each week.


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Welcome Parents, Family and Friends!
Searching for the right school can be a challenge. We welcome your interest and consider it our pleasure to participate in your educational goals. Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing offers Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees. Our first priority at the College of Nursing is student learning. Students receive excellent hands-on clinical experience along with a low faculty to student ratio in the clinical setting.
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Several student organizations promote belonging and leadership, and provide students with assistance in meeting their educational and social goals. Read More
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UN chief calls for joint effort against climate change
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appeals to policymakers in Abu Dhabi forging pact on global warming
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Nations secretary-general on Sunday urged world policymakers to do more to address the threat of climate change as negotiators attempt to forge a new global warming pact next year.
Speaking to hundreds of international delegates at the start of a climate gathering in Abu Dhabi, Ban Ki-moon warned that time is running out to reduce harmful emissions and that political leaders need to offer bold commitments to drive meaningful change.
"If we do not take urgent action, all our plans for increased global prosperity and security will be undone," he warned.
Ban was in the United Arab Emirates capital to mark the start of a conference meant to lay the groundwork for a climate summit he has called for world leaders in September.
More than 1,000 participants, including former US Vice President Al Gore and dozens of government ministers from around the world, are taking part in the two-day Abu Dhabi Ascent meeting. They aim to focus on a range of strategies to address climate change, including deployment of renewable energy, efforts to improve energy efficiency and the use of more sustainable agriculture.
Ban's September meeting in turn is designed to provide impetus for efforts to secure a sweeping climate deal involving rich and poor nations in 2015. That is the target year negotiators in a UN-led process have set for themselves after a 2009 summit in Copenhagen ended in discord.
The aim of the process is to get governments to agree to cut emissions after 2020 to keep warming below 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 Fahrenheit) compared to today's levels. Global temperatures already have risen 0.8 Celsuis (1.4 Fahrenheit) since record keeping began in the 19th century.
No major breakthroughs are expected to emerge from the Abu Dhabi meeting, though organizers hope it will boost momentum for upcoming talks.
The secretary-general told reporters that negotiations that fall under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have been "disappointingly slow," and that this week's meeting aims to accelerate the process while helping policymakers to look beyond domestic political considerations.
The head of the UN's expert panel on climate change last month said the cost of keeping global warming under control would be "relatively modest" if the world acts quickly to reverse the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. Doing so would require greater investment in low-carbon sources such as wind and solar power and less dependence on fossil fuel.
Abu Dhabi controls the bulk of the vast petroleum reserves in the UAE, a seven-state federation that ranks among the largest oil exporters in OPEC.
Although it owes much of its wealth to fossil fuel, the emirate has sought to position itself as a leader in clean energy and has invested billions of dollars in the sector. It is home to the International Renewable Energy Agency, as well as a government-backed initiative known as Masdar that is investing in renewable energy technology and developing what aims to be an environmentally sustainable model city in the desert.
Emirati Foreign Minister Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nayhan told delegates his country aims to produce 24 percent of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2021. That figure includes ongoing efforts to boost solar power use as well as the development of the country's first nuclear power plant.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.


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From the Wires
Interior Design Magazine Awards Lorcan O'Herlihy 2012 Best Mid-Size Office for His Design of Grupo Gallegos Headquarters
By: Marketwired .
Feb. 4, 2013 01:53 PM
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/04/13 -- Interior Design Magazine recently announced the winners of its Best of Year 2012 project. The award for Mid-Size Office (25,000-50,000 sq feet) went to Lorcan O'Herlihy of LOHA for his design of the office for Grupo Gallegos, an independent, creatively-driven marketing solutions and advertising agency, located in Huntington Beach, CA.
A former movie theater, Grupo Gallegos's 40,000 sq foot headquarters was completed in the summer of 2011. The space looks over the iconic Huntington Beach Pier and is far from ordinary, but instead boasts an all-purpose sports court, ping pong game room, espresso lounge, floating conference rooms, surf board storage room, and umbrella-lined ceiling.
O'Herlihy, founder of LOHA Architects and winner of sixteen AIA/LA design awards and over 60 national and international awards, calls the Grupo Gallegos office a "livable working space."
Part of the creative IM Pei team that developed the Louvre glass pyramid in Paris, O'Herlihy was challenged to create a space for Grupo Gallegos that would be flexible, in consideration of the company's doubled size since 2009 and anticipation of further expansion.
The unique office has received a multitude of media attention in addition to Interior Design's Best of 2012 award, including a listing as one of Inc. Magazine's 20 Coolest Offices Worldwide, and features in LA Egotist, Office Snapshots, and Thee Blog, to name a few.
About Grupo Gallegos:
Grupo Gallegos was founded in 2001 by California born John Gallegos, who was inspired to start the agency with the idea of creative marketing solutions for a multicultural audience. Grupo Gallegos leads the Hispanic market with campaigns for Comcast, The Clorox Company, California Milk Processor Board (Got Milk?), JCP, Valvoline, and Foster Farms, to name a few. The agency's success in revolutionizing how brands communicate with the growing Hispanic Market is due, in part, to John Gallegos's mantra: "Look for courageous clients who are willing to challenge convention."
About LOHA:
LOHA Architects was founded by Lorcan O'Herlihy in 1990. This 23 year span of experience has seen the building of over 60 innovative projects, all of which focus on sustainable living through innovative designs. Their success at this has earned them over 60 design awards (30 by the American Institute of Architects). LOHA is also the recipient of LA 2010 Firm of the Year, with designs that have been featured in The New York Times, LA Times, The Architect's Newspaper, Abitare, Phaidon's 20th-Century World Architecture, Wallpaper, Metropolis, and more.
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Bookmarks has not yet published a review of this book. We may do so in the future; in the meantime, please see the other review sources to the right and browse the information from Amazon.com below.
400 pages
Product Description
A National Book Awards Longlist Selection

A New York Times and Washington Post bestseller

A story of the transcendent power of love in wartime, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a work of sweeping breadth, profound compassion, and lasting significance.

 Two doctors risk everything to save the life of a hunted child in this majestic debut about love, loss, and the unexpected ties that bind us together. "On the morning after the Feds burned down her house and took her father, Havaa woke from dreams of sea anemones." Havaa, eight years old, hides in the woods and watches the blaze until her neighbor, Akhmed, discovers her sitting in the snow. Akhmed knows getting involved means risking his life, and there is no safe place to hide a child in a village where informers will do anything for a loaf of bread, but for reasons of his own, he sneaks her through the forest to the one place he thinks she might be safe: an abandoned hospital where the sole remaining doctor, Sonja Rabina, treats the wounded. Though Sonja protests that her hospital is not an orphanage, Akhmed convinces her to keep Havaa for a trial, and over the course of five extraordinary days, Sonja's world will shift on its axis and reveal the intricate pattern of connections that weaves together the pasts of these three unlikely companions and unexpectedly decides their fate.
400 pages
Amazon.com Review

Q&A with Anthony Marra

Q. Where did you study in Russia? How did that pique your interest?

A. As a junior in college I studied in St. Petersburg. War journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya had recently been assassinated; wounded veterans of the Chechen Wars trawled the metro cars for alms; street gangs routinely attacked people from the Northern Caucasus. Yet as an American I knew little about Chechnya. As soon as I began researching its incredible history, I never looked back.

Q. The setting of your book takes place during the Chechen Wars. Why did you choose this period of history as the backdrop of your novel?

A. Chechnya is a corner of the world largely mysterious to most Americans, yet it's a remarkable place populated with remarkable people who have become accustomed to repeatedly rebuilding their lives. To quote Tobias Wolff, "We are made to persist…that's how we find out who we are." These characters commit acts of courage, betrayal, and forgiveness as they persist in saving what means most to them—be it their families, their honor, or themselves—from the destruction of war.

Q. The title of the book has a story. Can you please explain its meaning?

A. One day I looked up the definition of life in a medical dictionary and found a surprisingly poetic entry: "A constellation of vital phenomena—organization, irritability, movement, growth, reproduction, adaptation." As biological life is structured as a constellation of six phenomena, the narrative life of this novel is structured as a constellation of six point-of-view characters.

Q. Your writing style is unique in that you move back and forth between the present and the past. Was that a conscious choice?

A. Very much so. I wanted to write a novel expansive enough to cover the decade of the two Chechen Wars without losing the drama and suspense inherent in a more tightly coiled plot. By weaving the five-day story of a hunted girl through a larger backdrop, I hoped to combine the tension of a character-driven thriller with the richness of a historical epic. Also, moving through time shines a light on the seemingly trivial moments, relationships, and allegiances that affect characters in profound ways years down the line.

Q. What has had the greatest influence on your writing?

A. My mom has six siblings and my dad has four sisters and between them all there are more cousins than I count, which means that family events have always been filled with voices, stories, and laughter. From an early age I learned from them that stories are how we understand one another, how we preserve the past, and how we make meaning from the chaos of our lives.

 An Amazon Best Book of the Month, May 2013: In A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, Anthony Marra takes us to snow-covered Chechnya during the Second Chechen War. The novel, a remarkable decade-spanning debut, opens with eight-year-old Havaa looking on as her father is dragged off by Russian soldiers for a crime he did not commit. The soldiers set fire to Havaa's home, and next-door neighbor Akhmed attempts to hide her at nearby hospital. Sonya, the doctor who runs the facility, is hesitant to harbor Havaa, as the child invites unnecessary risk to her barely functioning hospital, but both she and Akhmed realize that Havaa represents something greater than a single life: she is the key to maintaining humanity in an ethnic conflict that is absurd and unjust. "There are things a person shouldn't understand," Akhmed says. "There are things a person has a moral duty never to understand." But by the end of Vital Phenomena, we do understand--with deeply emotional characters and gripping depiction of wartorn Chechnya, Marra makes us understand. --Kevin Nguyen


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From the Wires
Thousands of Bigfoot Attack Seattle in Clint Romag's "War of the Sasquatch"
The Sasquatch Encounters Six Is Now Available on Amazon.com
By: Marketwired .
Jan. 29, 2013 12:55 PM
LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/29/13 -- Clint Romag releases "War of the Sasquatch" Book Six in his Sasquatch Encounter series. Sasquatch from across North America have been secretly gathering in the Cascade Mountain Range waiting to unleash their rage on the human race. The Grandfather leads this unstoppable horde from out of their hiding places into open war, powered on by their dark master Shimzazael. A force of thousands head west into the night destroying town after town as they advance towards Seattle.
Andrew Bridgeton helplessly watches the destruction from his home in Seattle quickly realizing that some of the Sasquatch are coming for him. All he can do is prepare and fight for his life to the very end. Other Sasquatch head into Southwest Washington to free Shimzazael and let his evil spread. Chad Gamin, with the help of his new found allies, will make a final stand to stop these monsters knowing that if he fails, darkness will fall across the world.
"The series has been building to this point where all hell breaks loose and the Sasquatch unleash all of their rage on mankind," Clint Romag said. "What's scary is it is not a mindless rampage, but behind the scenes a dark power has awakened and is guiding this destruction. The main characters Chad Gamin and Andrew Bridgeton will face their darkest challenges yet and will have to confront new, deadly horrors. The stakes have been raised and it is exciting to finally get here."
Artist Jahrome Youngker returns creating the artwork for the cover. "Jahrome captures a great scene in the novel as the Sasquatch cross a bridge over Lake Washington into Seattle," Romag said.
"War of the Sasquatch" is available on Amazon.com as an ebook: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Clint%20Romag&search-alias=digital-text
The Sasquatch Encounters include:
About the Author
Clint Romag grew up in Longview, WA, where stories of Bigfoot roaming the forests outside his small town influenced the direction of his writing. He graduated from Western Washington University, and currently lives in Los Angeles. Romag has written several novels including "Damnation of the Werewolf" and "The Bigfoot Experiment."
Note to Editors: The Author is available for interviews. Review copies of "War of the Sasquatch" are available upon request.
For the latest news: http://clintromag.livejournal.com
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Wax On, Wax Off: How to Fix Up After a Candle Spill
- Caitlin Ganswindt
Here at Kempt HQ, we often receive letters from our readers—most of it adoring fan mail, but every so often we get a nude photo. Also every so often we get an inquiry from a wayward soul who we feel compelled to answer...
Thanks in part to your advice over the years, I was able to find and get a very handsome suit that was at the top level of my budget. And then, in its debut outing (at a wedding), some knucklehead knocked over a candle near me, which (of course!) managed to spill hot wax all over my trousers and shoes (not new, but still). Now what? Is the cost sunk? Can I at least write it off on my taxes?
Great to hear our words have guided you to the perfect suit; quite tragic that such a sartorial victory was followed by a real-life verse on irony. But this doesn't necessarily mean a total loss. There are a few things you can try.
Starting with...»


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ENTWISTLE — First there was a large boom. Then flames erupted. Eventually, emergency workers came knocking.
Evacuees from the tiny hamlet of Gainford were still trickling into the Entwistle Community Hall late Saturday morning, following a fiery derailment about 85 kilometres west of Edmonton.
In the town about 14 kilometres west of the accident, the hall was packed around 4 a.m., but was empty by mid-morning. By early afternoon, nearly 100 people registered with Parkland County, which had set up there to ensure evacuees had accommodations, meal vouchers, supplies of medication and emergency rations of pet supplies.
Elaine Hughes, who lives in a trailer park near the derailment site, woke to a blast that rocked her home. She immediately remembered the Edmonton tornado of 1987, which struck just doors away from her home at the time. Her room was bathed in orange light from flames she estimated were about 100 metres away."I went flying out of bed and I go look out the window, I could see great big flames way high in the air," Hughes said. "Then the flames went out and there was nothing but black smoke."
Hughes told her husband there was a fire, but eventually decided to go back to bed. At around 9 a.m., a firefighter came knocking on the door, telling the senior citizens to "grab your dog and get out."Devon Cadwell, 15, was in bed in his home about two kilometres away from the scene, but awoke to a blast "so powerful it shook the house." A short time later, officials told his family about the derailment near Range Road 61 and to be ready to evacuate. "We could see puffs of smoke and fire," Cadwell said.
Cadwell's mother called Tyler Grahame, her nephew who lived about 15 minutes away, to help bring in livestock in case the explosions caused a panic. Cadwell and Grahame corralled their horses, leaving 30 cattle still out. At about 5:30 a.m., the family was evacuated. But they still worried about the livestock.
"We did see the red sky, even out at our place," Grahame said. "Our animals mean a lot to us. To have them in harm's way bothers us."
Cheryl Cascegna lives near the Gainford Hotel, not far from the train tracks. Since there are often banging noises nearby, she didn't think much of the explosion that woke her up.
After Cascegna and her daughters left their home to get milk at around 11 a.m., they weren't allowed back home afterwards. Cascegna worries about her 60 turkeys that might not survive long without water.
The accident also caused community members to spring into action. Coun. Tracey Melnyk, the local councillor, was awoken at around 3:30 a.m. and quickly got to work. She knocked on doors to wake up local business owners, who would ensure evacuees had places to go and emergency workers could get supplies.
One of the first doors she knocked on belonged to Frances Fujczak, manager at the nearby Journeyman Inn Motel. Fujczak opened the gas bar at 3:30 to allow RCMP vehicles to fuel up. The scene was chaotic as evacuees were placed in roughly 20 rooms, Fujczak said. But the motel staff is used to a quick turnaround.
"We didn't panic, we just had a job and that's what we did," Fujczak said. "We do what we can."


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Distracted driving is believed to be the cause of a deadly accident on Highway 21 Friday afternoon in Madison County, just west of North Zulch.
That accident brought traffic to a halt for hours on a busy Friday afternoon commute.
Investigators say the driver who died may have been looking down at something when the accident happened.
While we don't know what he was doing, investigators say 59-year-old Jack Ernest LeCroy of Spring was distracted when the crash happened around 12:30 Friday afternoon, resulting in his death.
Mangled metal and glass littered Highway 21 near North Zulch after a Delta Mechanical plumbing truck rear-ended an 18-wheeler.
DPS Troopers say 59-year-old Jack Ernest LeCroy died after being transported to the hospital.
The crash closed the highway for more than 3 and a half hours.
Colton Campbell was heading from College Station back home to Tyler, and got stuck for 45 minutes. TxDOT initially estimated the road would be closed until 6 P.M.
"I guess we are going to try and turn around and see if we can find a detour a little shorter. If they are gonna be here 'till six I don't feel like waiting that long," said Campbell.
DPS Sergeant Charles Booker says the driver of the white semi, 37-year-old Ike Sheppard of Caldwell wasn't injured.
"He was stopped and had his truck in neutral and had his emergency flashers going and he looked up and realized that the truck coming up from behind him was not going to stop. He said that he could see that the driver was looking downward and at the last minute he looks up," said Booker.
Investigators say no brake marks were found from LeCroy's box truck.
"Traffic was at a standstill because everything was being diverted into one lane, so they were having to alternate the traffic from the east and the west to allow everybody to get through this construction zone," explained Booker.
"Prayers go out to that guy's family," said Campbell.
The investigation into the accident continues.
Investigators aren't sure at this point if LeCroy might have been on a cell phone or other device at the time of the crash.
Traffic was reopened on Highway 21 around 4 P.M. Friday.
6:48 P.M. Update*
The Texas Department of Public Safety has released the identity of the man killed in an afternoon crash on Highway 21 in Madison County.
59-year-old Jack Ernest LeCroy of Spring died after the commercial box truck he was driving rear-ended an 18-wheeler that had stopped for construction work.
DPS Troopers say cars were stopped waiting to navigate through one lane of construction traffic when the accident happened.
Investigators believe LeCroy was driving distracted and say no brake marks were found at the scene.
The driver of the other vehicle 37-year-old Ike Sheppard of Caldwell was not injured in the crash.
*Update, 4:24 p.m.*
The Texas Department of Transportation says Highway 21 is back open following the fatal wreck. The Department of Public Safety has cleared the accident. A cause is not yet known, and the name of the person killed has not been released.
*Update* TX DOT Now says Hwy 21 will be shut down in both directions until sometime past 6PM
If you are heading towards North Zulch on Highway 21 from either direction, a fatal wreck has traffic backed up.
A south bound 18-wheeler was struck from behind by a commercial box truck on Highway 21. The driver of the box truck was killed when the cab collapsed in on him.
Madison County Sheriff Travis Neeley tells News 3 the wreck scene should be cleared by 3PM.
Neeley says the driver of the big rig was not injured.
Because traffic is backed up for miles, authorities are advising drivers to stay away from the area until the scene is cleared.


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The mission of the computer science department at Bucknell University is to provide degree programs and courses, consistent with the missions of the University, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Engineering, that meet the full range of needs of the talented, primarily undergraduate student body. To do this, the department provides the following:
The department's philosophy has the following four principles: Departmental programs are based on a common core curriculum that supports the breadth of the discipline. Computer science courses focus on principles; where appropriate, specific systems are studied to illuminate the principles. Courses in the core curriculum typically have a substantial faculty-directed hands-on component in the form of a regularly scheduled laboratory. Departmental degree programs provide the background and experiences appropriate for entering the workplace at the entry level or a variety of graduate programs.
Computer Science degree graduates will be successful professionals in computer science or other fields, and will be recognized for qualities associated with their Bucknell educations. Such qualities include critical thinking, problem solving and effective communication. Graduates will be prepared to pursue life-long learning such as professional or advanced education.
The program must enable students to attain, by the time of graduation:
(a) An ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to the discipline
(b) An ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing requirements appropriate to its solution
(c) An ability to design, implement, and evaluate a computer-based system, process, component, or program to meet desired needs
(d) An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal
(e) An understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security and social issues and responsibilities
(f) An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
(g) An ability to analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and society
(h) Recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in continuing professional development
(i) An ability to use current techniques, skills, and tools necessary for computing practice.
The following links are virtual breadcrumbs marking the 27 most recent pages you have visited in Bucknell.edu. If you want to remember a specific page forever click the pin in the top right corner and we will be sure not to replace it. Close this message.


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text:
GLENDORA, Calif. (AP) -- Four teenagers are hospitalized after their car plunged off a Southern California mountain road.
The Nissan went over the side of the Angeles National Forest road late Wednesday near the mile marker 6.2.
Although the teens managed to get out of the Nisan Sentra and climb to the road, a Los Angeles County fire dispatcher tells City News Service that two of them were airlifted to a hospital in critical condition.
It's not known how far the Nissan traveled over the side of the road.
The names of the teenagers, who range from 17 to 19 years old, are being withheld.
KTTV-TV says winding Glendora Mountain Road is frequently used for street racing and investigators believe believed the Nissan was involved in a race at the time of the crash.
All contents herein copyright San Diego Source ® 1994-2018


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Melbourne swelters as mercury peaks
Parts of Melbourne baked in almost 40-degree heat on Sunday as the city sweated through its hottest December day in two years.
The mercury peaked at 39.2 at Melbourne Airport in Tullamarine, 39 at Essendon Airport and 38.8 in Avalon.
The state's top temperature of 41.9 degrees was recorded at Walpeup in state's north-west at 3.18pm.
Temperatures in the Melbourne CBD reached 38.3 shortly before 5pm, and remained above 34 at 7.25pm.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Terry Ryan said the cool change was forecast for about 9am on Christmas Eve.
''A very warm night is expected for most of suburban Melbourne,'' he said.
The bureau is predicting a top of 28 degrees for Melbourne on Monday, with a 50 per cent chance of rain.
Christmas Day is forecast to have a morning shower or two and a maximum temperature of 22 degrees.
Sunday was the hottest December day since New Year's Eve in 2010, where a top of 41.1 was recorded.
Total fire bans have not been declared for any Victorian regions for Monday, although the Country Fire Authority says the fire rating is high or very high for all districts.
On Sunday, a total fire ban was declared for the Mallee, North Central, Northern Country, Wimmera and South West districts.
With KRISTIAN SILVA
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Anguilla Crewed charters on a Cruising Boat
Yacht Charter starting Anguilla :
The tiny island of Anguilla is a British colony. The island has miles of white beaches and coral reefs. The best snorkeling and diving can be found at Prickly Pear Cays. Anguilla is known for its strict rules regarding the number of passengers permitted on charter boats.
Many Other Crewed charters in Anguilla
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Location :
Leeward Islands Catamaran Anguilla
Spoken languages : English, Spanish, French, German, Italian
Leeward Islands
Sandy Ground Village


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Submission + - Idiot Left Driver's Seat In Self-Driving Infiniti, On The Highway
cartechboy writes: Self-driving cars are coming, that's nothing new. People are somewhat nervous about this technology, and that's also not news. But it appears self-driving cars are already hear, and one idiot was dumb enough to climb out of the driver's seat while his car cruised down the highway. The car in question is a new Infiniti Q50 which has Active Lane Control and adaptive cruise control. Both of which essentially turn the Q50 into an autonomous vehicle while at highway speeds. While impressive, taking yourself out of a position where you can quickly and safely regain control of the car if needed is simply dumb. After watching the video, it's abundantly clear why people should be nervous about autonomous vehicles. It's not the cars and tech we need to worry about, it's idiots like this guy.


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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is backing Phil Jones to become a more accomplished player than Chelsea captain John Terry, and says the youngster has 'more in his locker' than the former England skipper.
Jones has impressed since signing for Manchester United from Blackburn in the summer transfer window of 2011, although injuries have prevented the 20-year-old from realising his full potential.
Ferguson, though, holds the versatile defender in very high regard indeed, and expects Jones to reach greater heights than Terry has managed during his career with Chelsea.
The Manchester United boss is, however, complimentary of Terry but sees in his young charge a player with the potential to reach the very summit of the game while he is at Old Trafford.
Jones has featured for Manchester United in a variety of positions - including full-back, centre-back and central midfield - and it is this versatility that Ferguson believes marks him out as a future great.
"He's got more in his locker than Terry had to be honest with you but Terry gathered experience and became a fantastic central figure for Chelsea," said Ferguson, as reported by The Sun.
"Obviously, he was the main man at Chelsea but, as a young player, I think John would be the first to admit he didn't have the pace of Jones.
"He's a very versatile boy while John is a centre-back. Jones is proving himself everywhere."
Jones has made 52 appearances for Manchester United in over 18 months at Old Trafford, although has been restricted to only seven games so far this season.
The former Blackburn youngster has, however, featured in Manchester United's last four outings as he bids to overcome his injury problems and cement his place in the first-team.
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"A primitive genius."
Here he is on Letterman:
"If you want to be a different fish, you've got to jump out of the school."
AND: You should know "Trout Mask Replica."
Late in the 1970s, as Van Vliet rehearsed with yet another lineup, Devo's Mothersbaugh met his hero. He found him intimidating, yet childlike.
"Everyone in the band complained about what a pain in the ass he was, how ridiculous he could be at times," Mothersbaugh says. "But they all took care of him, and they all loved him, and they all respected him. And, uh, they were almost all acting like babysitters that they all loved but that frustrated the heck out of them."


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BOOM video 7669
The concern isn't that Digital Extremes can't handle the job but whether or not the PC version was being shuttled away as an afterthought. Speaking with Kaos multiplayer designer Brian Holinka, we decided to focus our attention on answering the questions offered by the Shacknews community. Is Homefront on PC being forgotten? What did the team learn from Frontlines: Fuel of War? How will Homefront's currency system affect in-game balance? These questions and more after the break.
Shacknews: I was in Montreal a few months ago when THQ showed off the single-player portion of Homefront. From the feedback at that event it was clear that the Shacknews community had a plethora of questions for the team at Kaos Studios. What I did--as you know since you're an avid Shacker--was solicited questions from our community.
Brian Holinka: Right.
Shacknews: So, most of these are coming directly from the hardcore gamers Homefront is obviously targeting.
Let's start with something I'm not a fan of bringing up in pre-release interviews: downloadable content.
Brian Holinka: You know, a lot of people are asking about that and I honestly don't know what I'm allowed to say. What I can say is that we do have a DLC plan for Homefront.
Shacknews: One reader wants to know if the DLC will only feature multiplayer content or if some single-player DLC will be launched.
Brian Holinka: Multiplayer.
Shacknews: So, no single-player content?
Brian Holinka: Not that I know of.
Shacknews: Great. Let's move on. Your job is focused on the multiplayer aspect of the game but one Shacker wants to know, how do you balance scripted events and regular or emergent gameplay?
Brian Holinka: Well, I can talk about single-player. You know in Frontlines, we tried to do this Battlefield-esque single-player where you would have this big, open world and you were just doing these objectives. That ended up being a really challenging problem to tell a story in. Obviously, we don't want to get super linear with everything but the only thing is that--for instance--that bus ride [in the beginning of Homefront] is like a Half-Life-style transition into the game. That's where you can really tell really awesome story moments.
On one hand, we do have some very scripted events that happen but we try to guide the player towards those. We always talk about a "lion-circle" mentality. Funnel the player towards the event and it creates this open space and play into the storytelling moment. That's how they try to manage that.
Shacknews: Related to that, I wonder--and I imagine this may be difficult to do as your multiplayer component is not story-driven--does Homefront have the same dark tones in multiplayer? In the single-player experience, players are introduced to a world that is very dark. I wrote about the child who watches his parents get executed and crawls into their arms. That's dark and gruesome. Can you achieve that kind of storytelling in multiplayer? Can you pull that kind of emotion?
Brian Holinka: I wouldn't say we have those types of moments in multiplayer at all because it would be pretty challenging to do. I mean, that isn't what our goal was. Our goal was to really capture that audience that's playing the most popular games online. We felt like what they want was that hyper-competitive, fastpaced multiplayer game. I mean, we still can provide that in a unique way with our vehicles and all of our experience. But we did want to bring it down and streamline it a little bit.
Shacknews: So, it's objective based and more geared toward what players are familiar with?
Brian Holinka: Right, I mean, I've played multiplayer games that try to tell a story. You're faced with "this objective" and "that objective." In Frontlines we tried that: "repair the SAM site, now destroy the SAM site." In the end, it just gets really confusing.
We really just wanted to simplify what the objective-based gameplay was in Homefront. So, we just kept it simple.
Shacknews: I'll get back to these Shacker questions but I wanted to bring up the sales data released by the NPD Group. The December numbers--and year end numbers--have Call of Duty: Black Ops at number one. How does a developer approach a situation where they are tasked with facing off against a behemoth? How are you going to pull in those gamers and retain their interest in Homefront?
Brian Holinka: We feel that step one is just give them an option. To make them not have to commit completely. Say if our control scheme was totally different and our weapons were really different, those players would come in and it would feel clumsy. They would have to come in and want to play it so badly that they would accept those things. So instead we said, "Let's not break what's working. Let's make them feel utterly and completely comfortable. Let's not mess with their muscle memory."
Step two was to offer something new and unique on top of that. On one hand I think it's vehicles. I think, if you took our vehicles completely out, [Homefront] would feel very similar.
Shacknews: To Black Ops?
Brian Holinka: To Battlefield or Call of Duty. But that's just the control scheme I'm mostly talking about. And on top of that, we have our vehicles and our progression and I think they are really well integrated in the infantry/vehicle combat.
Shacknews: This ties into a Shacker question: there's three styles of game going on here--like Battlefield features--that being infantry, armored, and air combat. Then on top of that is the progression system. How does balance testing function for all of those factors? Is it quality-assurance testing to death?
Brian Holinka: In some ways I think it's easier and in others I think it's harder because we introduced the Battle Points system. If you play another game you can just hop in a vehicle immediately and if you're an ace in that vehicle, you may never get out of it, right? So, on one hand, you have to nerf that vehicle because it could be annoying. With Battle Points we have this new thing we have to adjust but we can set a cost that we think works and set all expectations based on that cost. If a player has a tank, he has a certain expectation. But when he sees the cost--2400 points--he has an exact worth associated with how powerful that thing should be. We just totally steer towards that. Here's a good set of costs that we think our vehicles should be at and also our special weapons and we adjust that.
For example the helicopter drone--the assault drone--we didn't want that to be too expensive. If it was nerfed it would just be annoying. People wouldn't care about it, they would kill it quick. So, you buff that up a little and you bump up its cost and suddenly it's worthwhile.
Shacknews: The first match I played, I picked up the assault helicopter drone and I was able to buy it pretty early on and I ended up finishing 30 and 4. The majority of my kills came from that and I can see how that will get on people's nerves.
Brian Holinka: At the office we already bumped up the cost on that so you don't see it immediately. But it's really interesting how bumping things up 100 or 200 points really changes the perspective around buying it. You know, if you spend like 800 points on something and it dies then you're not so quick to spawn another one. So, that's one way we balance things.
Read on for more on the PC edition of Homefront, and what Kaos learnt from developing Frontlines: Fuel of War.._PAGE_BREAK_
Shacknews: Kaos is working on the console version and Digital Extremes is taking care of the game on PC. I think, because Kaos is doing the push on promoting the game, there's some concern the PC version is being hidden from the public. What is the status of Homefront on PC?
Brian Holinka: You know, Frank Delise--one of the co-founders of Desert Combat--he's firmly committed to the PC version. Making it a great PC product. It's not a port. I want to talk to those guys about all the great things the PC game has. But I know that things that annoy people about games that are cross-platform, this will not do those things. Like, we have user-generated servers, so players don't have to rent them from us. They can create the communities they want to create on PC.
Shacknews: When I interviewed Danny Bilson in Montreal he was adamant that he was a proponent of the PC platform. And, you're a Shacker, you know the PC is king on Shacknews--we cover it all, but PC is what drives a big portion of our community. But after that interview and the announcement that Kaos wasn't working on the PC version in-house, there seemed to be a fear in some sections of our PC community that Homefront on PC would be an afterthought.
Brian Holinka: That's not the case with this. It's way more than that. There's a whole team really, firmly committed to it. There are designers committed to it. There's engineers and artists committed to it. It is really its own product. Obviously it shares things like the single-player and the multiplayer modes but those guys are really building their own product in that way.
Some people are unforgiving but if you think about what Kaos Studios did. We started as a mod team out of nowhere and said, "Okay, we're going to make a game that's, like, as big as Battlefield but we're also going to do a single-player game. We're going to do it on PS3, Xbox, and PC." It was a lot of work to take on. We had like ten guys. Yeah, the product was not as good as we would have liked, for sure. But this is going to be a different story.
Shacknews: Well, that's what's confusing because, as you mentioned, Kaos started as this PC community of modders but you've given the PC version of your new game to another developer. Why aren't you doing that in-house as well?
Brian Holinka: Well, in terms of why we aren't doing this as well is that there's a team there. So, we could either build a new team here to work on PC or there's a team available and we can work with them. They have experience with this, why don't we just do it. It just made more business sense. That allowed us to focus more on the consoles, which--in my opinion--is probably a better thing. Because, I'll be honest, if we also had to do the PC SKU, I think it would probably end up hurting the PC version and not help. Like, we'd probably want to balance it all as one thing, you know? I think it really is the best way to go.
Shacknews: Enough grilling for a second. Some of our readers are wondering if there will be a demo or a beta for the game.
Brian Holinka: We want to.
Shacknews: On all fronts?
Brian Holinka: I think on all fronts, we want to. I think they're just working out the details on whether we are or not. We want to.
Shacknews: Last thing is regarding Frontlines and the lessons learned there. Speaking with Danny Bilson, he told me that, for THQ, Homefront is the big shooter franchise for the company. That's a heavy weight on your shoulders [the team at Kaos] and on the shoulders of Digital Extremes. So, looking back on your previous titles, what did that game accomplish that you want to bring to Homefront? What failed? nope
Brian Holinka: We felt like our multiplayer formula was pretty good. We felt like we had good knowledge about the guns and the fundamentals. It felt like, there [in multiplayer], we were comfortable and confident. And we did not feel confident about single-player at all. At the end of Frontlines, we were not sure if we were doing it right.
Over the process of the last two and a half years, we've really learned, "here are the elements we need." We brought a lot of people in--some Medal of Honor people, some Call of Duty people--and we really got familiar with what you have to do to tell a really engaging and compelling story.
The biggest mistake in Frontlines, I think, is that you didn't actually play as anyone. You didn't have a character. You were just this innocuous soldier. Repeatedly beating yourself against the wall. In Homefront you are a character. You play out that character's story. You have these other characters that you're familiar with. Frontlines was not like that and it really suffered.
Shacknews: Now is your time, talk to your fellow Shackers and explain to them why they should be anticipating Homefront.
Brian Holinka: One thing is they'll be able to have Shack servers. That'll be big for them. Things they can control and monitor. I think it's going to be more of a spiritual successor to the games that they really love and that they're used to. If they played Frontlines and they expect that level of quality, they're going to be really surprised. The bar is way, way higher. We're lightyears ahead. And they can call me a liar in Latest Chatty if I'm wrong.
Disclosure: This preview is based on an event hosted by THQ in New York City. THQ invited Shacknews to the event and provided one editor travel and accommodation to and from the three-day event for the purposes previewing the company's 2011 line-up.