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"How did you sleep?" Rowanna enquired of her mother, as she finished brushing Míranna's hair as gently as she was able and did her best to braid it into some sort of order. Míranna sighed.
"Not with great ease, my dear, I must admit - "
"I thought I heard you stirring before dawn. Were you dreaming again?" She tucked her mother's braid into a net and plumped her pillows a little for her. "Nightmares?..."
"Hard to say." Míranna frowned a little. "They were all mixed up; some things were terrible, and yet an instant later they were gone. I saw a great army of Men of the West before the gates of Mordor, sinking under terrible black waves of orcs and Easterlings; but then the White Tree blooming on a mountainside, and then a dark-haired woman sitting on a stone bench in a garden and weeping as though her heart would break..."
"It sounds rather like the visions of the Lady Galadriel's Mirror, and from what I am told, about as much use," Rowanna grumbled, "showing what has been, and what might be to come, and what might not! What do you think the –" She was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Let's see who that is – it's a little early for Narwen..." She rose to answer it.
"The Steward?" Rowanna stared at the errand-boy of the Houses who had brought the message.
"That's right, mistress, my lord Faramir – he asks whether, if you are at leisure, you would be kind enough to join him in his rooms around the ninth hour this afternoon to take some tea. He says to tell you that he hopes Master Meriadoc the perian will be there also." The lad glanced past Rowanna into the room. "And he further asked me to say that he knows of the charge upon your care, and that if your lady mother's condition does not permit of your joining him, he will quite understand."
"I – well, I –" Rowanna in her turn glanced back towards the bed; Míranna, who was looking distinctly amused, nodded firmly. "Please tell my lord Faramir that, unless my mother should take an unexpected turn for the worse, it will be my pleasure to join him." As the errand-boy grinned acknowledgment and strode back down the hallway whistling, she sat down heavily on the end of Míranna's bed.
"Tea? Perhaps Denethor is not the only one of his line to have lost his mind in the siege of Minas Tirith! Here the whole City waits on a knife-edge, driven half mad for want of news from the East, and the Steward is mustering tea-parties?"
"Oh come now, daughter." Míranna was smiling. "Perhaps the waiting is precisely what the Steward seeks to ease for those from far-flung lands he may think of as his guests." She coughed a little, and Rowanna quickly shifted to pass her the beaker of water from her side-table. "Or would you prefer to continue gazing out of that window all day while you gnaw your nails to the quick?"
Rowanna looked down at her fingers and grimaced. I can't gainsay her there. Two days since the Captains of the West had ridden eastwards; two days of the ten or more the anxious White City must wait for news, since it would be a week's march at least till the army could come to the Black Gate, and several days more for even the hardest rider to cover the many leagues back to Minas Tirith with tidings – good, or evil.
Is it better, that we hear nothing?.. She and Merry had debated the possibilities the previous day – in the privacy of Merry's room, since the folk of the City in general presumably knew nothing of the One Ring, and thought only that their captains had ridden out on a last brave, desperate attempt to overthrow the Dark Lord by force.
"They could be ambushed long before they ever get to Mordor," the Hobbit had pointed out, hugging his knees as Rowanna sat at his bedside. "If Gandalf and Aragorn are right and there are thousands more Orcs and Easterlings and Haradrim still ready to do Sauron's bidding..."
"And if Aragorn couldn't hold them back..." Rowanna shivered. "Then those scratch companies of archers and infantry that Bergil says are being drilled daily down on the Pelennor, and Elfhelm's éoreds, would be all we'd have left. We might not even know of it until - "
"Don't." Merry pulled the blankets up nearly to his chin. "Remember – there is just one other message that might come back westwards sooner. If Sam and Frodo..."
He broke off, turning away, and Rowanna thought she saw tears glitter in his eyes. Nearly a month, now, since he parted from them at Parth Galen, and two hobbits set off to walk alone into Mordor with the Ring. And yet – Sauron surely cannot have got It back, for if he had, we would all have been doomed when they attacked the City. So what can have become of Frodo and Samwise?... She reached for the Hobbit's hand and squeezed it. "That's true. Let's just keep hoping, Merry; I think that's all we can do..."
"So you truly think it is but a social invitation?" she demanded now of Míranna, who nodded.
"I cannot imagine what else, unless – no, surely - "
"What is it?"
"Well – you came riding into the City down the West-road just as all women and children had been ordered out, and I refused to leave. The pair of us have not exactly been obedient to the edicts of the Stewards in recent days, have we?" She broke off to sip at her water. "Or, in my case, for many years – but then..."
" Firstly," Rowanna pointed out, "Faramir was, what? Nine, when Father was killed? How likely is it truly that he would remember you refusing all Great-grandfather Andamir's demands that you come back to Gondor, even when the Steward added his name to the petition?" Though his brother did, she recalled with a shiver, I am still sure of it, when I first told him my name the evening after the Council in Rivendell... "Secondly, the Steward must have more pressing concerns on his mind at this point than either your transgressions of a quarter-century ago, or our minor infractions of the past week. And thirdly, if he truly did intend to hold either of us to account, is it really likely he would be inviting me to tea?" She looked down at Míranna, who to her relief was beginning to chuckle. "If you want something to worry about, tell me this – what on earth have I that is fit to wear?..."
In the event, a freshly laundered gown borrowed from the Houses' store of linen had to suffice for the afternoon's appointment, while one of the Healers' assistants who had a deft hand with a brush put up Rowanna's hair for her. If the Steward but knew it, she reflected as she made her way down the staircase to the more spacious rooms on the ground floor, I am a good deal more presentable than when I last saw him, when my shirt-tails had been turned into bandages and I was bloody to the elbows... Repressing the thought with a shudder, she came to a halt as the errand-lad leading the way knocked at a half-open oak door and announced to the room behind it,
"Mistress Rowanna, my lord Steward, Master Perian."
Before she could urge him not to get up – for clearly he did so with a little difficulty – the black-clad man in the armchair opposite had levered himself stiffly to his feet, and made a sketchy and careful attempt at a bow. Of course, Rowanna remembered, even before the nightmarish business with the pyre, he'd fallen in the retreat, hadn't he? They said he took a Southron arrow, and – yes, a cracked rib or two, by the look of him... He was half a head taller than she, long and lean of build, blue-black hair falling a little unruly into a fine-boned face bearing yellowing bruises all down one side. I would never have known him kin to his brother! she thought, remembering Boromir's great bear-like bulk – until she was appraised by a keen grey-eyed gaze which, just for a moment, took her back to an uncomfortable first encounter at the door of Master Elrond's feasting-hall.
"My lady; I am Faramir. I do apologise for calling you from your mother's bedside. May I ask how she does?" His voice was a little ragged as though from fatigue, and looking at him again Rowanna was struck by his pallor and the deep black hollows under his eyes. He must be weary half to death, she realised. He is, what? Five years older than I? And yet he looks as burdened as a ruler twice his age...
"The Healers say she is doing well, my lord, I thank you. She has been awake longer today, and with more strength to converse, though she is still far from getting up from her bed. And she could not be better cared for, I don't think, than here in the Houses. Please, my lord, do not stand any longer on my account – I know you are far from full fitness yourself..."
"Ah, but having been fool enough to get to my feet, in some ways it is easier to stay standing than to try to get back down into that chair!" the Steward responded with a rueful smile. "In fact, I fear that either I must prevail on your good nature and Master Meriadoc's to assist me, or someone will have to ring for one or two of the Healers' aides – oh, thank you, my lady, that – ow..."
"Hold on, my lord – there –" Rowanna reached for cushions from one of the other chairs and tucked them behind him. "Does that help?" She winced in sympathy as Faramir sank back. "Ribs?"
He nodded, grimacing. "The Healers are in dispute as to whether
I've cracked any or merely badly bruised them, but frankly the distinction seems to me rather academic at this point. Ah – tea!"
"And please," he added as a small table was brought up and the tea-things arranged, "I cannot stand upon ceremony with two guests who have already been called upon to help me back into my own chair! Call me Faramir. And, if I may – Rowanna and Meriadoc?"
"Merry, please," the Hobbit broke in as he looked over the tea-table approvingly. "Oh, Rowanna, look – these are just like those amazing pastries you used to devour in Rivendell –"
"Merry!" Rowanna protested. "Must you reveal me to the Steward as a glutton when we've only just – my lord?" For the Steward had suddenly sat up in his chair, and then been brought up short with a pained breath hissing through his teeth. "Faramir?"
"It's all right, I – Rivendell? You were there too?..."
"I was, though not for any reason connected directly with Merry, or with Frodo's quest," Rowanna admitted, pouring tea for Merry and Faramir – another useful skill I acquired from Bilbo! she thought with a flash of nostalgia. "But that is a tale to take up the whole afternoon, and - " she hesitated - "I confess I did wonder whether there was anything more specific you wished to talk to Merry and me about? Your invitation was – somewhat unexpected..."
"Forgive me for that. But yes –" the Steward took a long, grateful pull at his teacup – "there was something; or rather someone. Someone with whom I know that Merry rode to war – and with whom, the Warden tells me, you have also prior acquaintance, Rowanna. I am rather concerned for the state of mind of one of my fellow-patients here in the Houses; and so I am hoping that you will both be kind enough to tell me a little more of the Lady Éowyn of Rohan."
Rowanna felt a sharp pang of guilt. Now that Éomer has ridden out again, and Elfhelm is patrolling the West-road – are there any left here in the City who would look to her in friendship? I should have thought – I have been so much with Mother, and with Merry, but I could have gone to see her too...
"One thing I do wish to say to begin with, Merry," Faramir went on. "I know, believe me, that there must be much that has befallen since you rode from Dunharrow with the Rohirrim which you would rather not dwell on. I promise you you need speak of nothing that you do not wish to, and I will not press you."
"All right." Merry reached over the table and piled his plate as though to fortify himself. "I don't know how much help I can be to you, Faramir – but I'll try."
"Tell us perhaps first how you came to be riding with Éowyn," suggested Faramir, and Merry began; the Hobbit's natural enthusiasm for tales overcoming his initial reticence as he described his desolation at being left behind in Dunharrow, and the kindness of the one he thought a young rider named Dernhelm.
"I thought him younger and lighter in build than the others, but I had no idea at all that it was the lady Éowyn – Dernhelm said almost nothing, and we were in the saddle most of the time. And of course she'd had to leave Dunharrow in disguise, for the King had forbidden her to ride – and she was leaving when he had put his people in her charge..."
"She did what?" Rowanna narrowly avoided spluttering tea all over the room. "Éowyn? Abandoned the women and children and the old folk of Rohan? - they had been left in her trust?"
"That surprises you?" Faramir put down his cup and gazed keenly at Rowanna.
"It – it shocks me beyond measure, Faramir, in truth. When I last saw her in the bakehouse of Meduseld, ordering the rations, taking thought for all in Edoras down to the most lowly, who should have been her father's care had he not been under Wormtongue's poison – holding herself and the city together against all the world even as that vile creature sought to coerce her..." Rowanna shook her head to clear it of the memory. "I... I cannot imagine how desperate must have been Éowyn's torment, that she could do so. I do not think she can have been in her right mind."
The Steward nodded slowly, turning his teacup round and round in his slender fingers. "And you, Merry? What say you to this?"
"I – well, I do not feel in any position to rule on what great lords and ladies do in matters of command, or how they order things in time of war." Merry chewed his lip for a moment reflectively. "But – I'll tell you what I thought whenever I saw the face of the one I called Dernhelm, through all the days we rode to try to reach you, and never knew if we'd be in time: there goes one who has lost all hope, and who looks only for death." He sighed gustily, and took a gulp of his tea. "And she nearly found it, too. Poor Éowyn!"
Faramir frowned. "You do not think that what you saw was only the battle-readiness of the Rohirrim, Merry? You know what is said of them – that they have no fear of death on the field, and ride to meet it singing…"
"I saw that too," the Hobbit agreed, "when we charged across the Pelennor, and you could feel every heart lift and the battle-blood rising, the joy that we were not too late and there were yet great deeds to do. But that felt different somehow – the Riders embrace the fight, and laugh in the face of death without fear; but that's not to say that they ride to the combat seeking only to die, and will be disappointed if they wake and find themselves still living!"
"You truly think Éowyn wished to die?"
"I know it, Faramir. I saw it when –" he suppressed a shudder – "when the Witch-King was towering over us, black and terrible, and she stood before him with drawn sword and laughed in his face. Her only fear then was that he was too great a foe for her to thwart, that she could not keep him and his horrible steed from the King. She wanted death, as long as she could bring him down with her! If she hadn't felt like that – then I don't think she could have done it. Not when everyone else was fleeing from him or …crawling in the dust…" His plate rattled violently as he put it hastily down on the table, and buried his face in his shaking hands.
"Merry!" Rowanna was on her knees beside the Hobbit much faster than Faramir could begin to move, and hugged him tightly. "It's all right – you're safe now, he's dead and gone…"
"He – was so terrible!" Merry gasped into her shoulder. "The darkness, and the cold…"
"I know, Merry. I do know!" She rocked him a little, patting his back. "And so does Faramir. None here would think shame of any who were brought low by that dark power, for so have we all been. And all of us brought back. I by Master Elrond – " and again by Legolas! she thought, embracing the warm memory for an instant – "and you and Faramir by Aragorn." She sat back and looked affectionately at the Hobbit, who was hastily scrubbing at his eyes. "So you see, this tea-party has more common ground than I first thought! Come on – let me just refresh this teapot," she reached for the jug of hot water and did so – "and in a moment I'll pour you some more tea…"
"I am sorry, Merry." Faramir turned a little in his chair, though clearly it hurt him, and laid a hand gently on the Hobbit's arm. "I had no wish to distress you, and like a fool I took you straight back to a place none of us wants to revisit, even in memory. Please forgive me."
"It's all right." Merry took a deep, steadying breath, and reached gratefully for the refilled teacup Rowanna passed to him. "It happened, after all, and I can't make it go away; I just have to learn to live with it, I know that. And Rowanna is right. Strider – I mean Aragorn – brought us back again; the Shadow wasn't strong enough to hold us against his will. So it can be defeated!"
"By the King," Faramir agreed.
'By loyalty, and friendship, and love…' Rowanna thought, as an image flashed into her mind of Merry, on his hands and knees, crawling despite his terror to Éowyn's aid. Oh Legolas… Powers, let it yet hold true!
"Rowanna?" The Steward was looking at her with anxiety in his clear grey eyes.
"I'm sorry, Faramir – I was miles away for a moment." Before the Black Gate…
"I think," said the Steward firmly, "that we all need not only more tea but more cake. Merry, would you do a kindness to my aching ribs and reach for that bell-pull?"
By the time Rowanna took her leave over an hour later, the idea that the new Steward might ever have wished to call her or her mother to answer for disregard of official edicts had retreated into the realm of the absurd. Faramir had listened intently to the tale of Miranna's illness, especially to Aragorn's view of how it had come to overwhelm her and then to recede. Rowanna even found herself, somewhat to her own surprise, telling him in detail not only about her time in Rivendell, but how and why she had come to be there, and what she could remember of her own drawing back from the Shadow by Elrond. For Faramir was, she found, remarkably easy to talk to, full of curiosity, and never seeming to judge.
She had wondered whether talk of Rivendell would wound him, since it must inevitably lead to thoughts of his brother;
but the Steward's eyes lit up when Merry talked of the Hall of Fire and the feasting, and positively sparkled when Rowanna recalled her long afternoons with Bilbo in the library.
"The lore-books of Master Elrond – all the histories of Númenor and Aman! I only wish – but that doesn't matter now. What's done is done."
He wanted to know, too, all that Rowanna could tell him about Éowyn, and she recounted what she knew of recent weeks in Meduseld; the White Lady burdened by cares for her people, her brother and her King, all the time menaced by the slippery presence of Wormtongue.
"If I could get my hands on him! –" Faramir muttered.
"You'd have to wait your turn behind most of Edoras, then," retorted Rowanna with a chuckle, "and you'd all be lucky if by the time Éomer King had finished with him there was anything left for you to do but dance on the pieces!"
The Steward burst out laughing, then clapped his hand to his side and winced. "Milady – please don't do that! I don't think I have ever before asked a guest to be less witty or entertaining, but if you must – at least warn me first!" He sobered. "We knew of Gríma, but we had no idea matters had become so dire – at least, I did not, and I don't think Father did either. Well for us that Mithrandir came to Edoras when he did, or who knows what answer might have been made to the Red Arrow?"
Once Faramir realised that Rowanna had been brought up in Éomund's great hall in the Eastfold while her mother worked as broderess to Lady Théodwyn, he wanted childhood tales of the Mark too, to which Merry, who had not heard them all before, also listened with delight.
"I would tell you the one about the time she finished by pitching her brother into the dungheap," Rowanna concluded, "but I fear, my lord, your ribs are not up to it – that one will have to wait for another day!" She replaced her plate on the tea-table and brushed crumbs from her skirt. "And if you will both pardon me, it's time I thought of returning, in case Mother needs anything. She was growing drowsy when I left, but she has been having strange dreams, and I think they unsettle her more than she will own – "
"What does she dream of?" The Steward had looked up sharply from the table.
"Strange fragments of things, I think – she says they make no sense taken together; everything from the White Tree to people weeping in gardens. Back in the Mark I would have told her not to trouble herself, that dreams were of no account; but since dwelling in Rivendell…"
"You have learned that they may be much more?" Faramir nodded slowly in agreement. "Rowanna… do you think your mother might be well enough for me to pay my compliments to her tomorrow? Will you ask her if I may?"
"Gladly – she is beginning to fret already about keeping to her bed, I think, and it will be at least a week yet, the Warden says, before she is strong enough to rise from it; company will cheer her. Good even to you both – no, Faramir, don't get up from that chair! I'll see you tomorrow, Merry – sleep well."
But Rowanna's own sleep that night was troubled; in the small hours she woke sobbing from a terrible dream of Legolas lying broken and bloody on a black and stony plain, his long knife shattered beside him and the great war-bow of Lothlórien trampled into the dust, and the light gone from his clear blue eyes. Not wanting to get up for fear of disturbing her mother, she buried her face in her pillow to muffle the sound of her weeping, and cried until the sky began to lighten and she fell at last into exhaustion.


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Book Rights Have Been Acquired by Muse Entertainment Enterprises
Book Traces the Story of the Kennedy Family Since 1968
(Albuquerque, NM) Thursday, November 15, 2012 - ReelzChannel - TV About Movies(R) today announced that the rights to J. Randy Taraborrelli's bestselling book After Camelot, which is a personal history of the Kennedy family from 1968 to the present, have been acquired by Muse Entertainment Enterprises and that REELZ has entered into a co-development agreement with Muse Entertainment Enterprises to produce a miniseries. Muse Entertainment Enterprises will be responsible for production of the miniseries and for international distribution. Keri Selig of Intuition Productions brought the project to REELZ and will serve as an executive producer. The miniseries based on After Camelot marks the third collaboration between Muse Entertainment Enterprises and REELZ including the Emmy Award(R) winning The Kennedys and the WWII-era drama series Bomb Girls.
"With The Kennedys miniseries we saw tremendous response to powerful storytelling along with an intense interest in this remarkable family. In his book, J. Randy Taraborrelli tells the incredible true story of the Kennedys from 1968 to today," said Stan E. Hubbard, CEO of ReelzChannel. "The Kennedy family is truly a part of the fabric of America and we're thrilled to once again work with our partners at Muse Entertainment Enterprises to bring our viewers this fascinating and continuing story."
"The Kennedy family continued to make an indelible mark on the life of America and the world after Robert Kennedy's assassination, including universal healthcare and the creation of the Special Olympics," said Michael Prupas, President and CEO of Muse Entertainment Enterprises. "We are privileged to collaborate with REELZ, with J. Randy Taraborrelli and with Keri Selig to bring After Camelot to television audiences."
"J. Randy Taraborrelli is one of the great biographers of our time and I'm proud to be working with him on this project," said Keri Selig, Owner and Founder of Intuition Productions. "As soon as I read After Camelot, I knew that REELZ, with their dedication to high-quality television and respectful handling of The Kennedys miniseries, was the perfect home for this modern epic. I'm thrilled to continue my collaboration with Muse having worked with them on the movie It Must Be Love and I look forward to forming a new relationship with REELZ on this miniseries for After Camelot."
After Camelot - A Personal History of the Kennedy Family 1968 to the Present is based on J. Randy Taraborrelli's extensive research, including hundreds of exclusive interviews and captures the wealth, glamour and fortitude for which the Kennedys are so well known. Like the book takes its readers, the miniseries will take its viewers on an epic journey of the ongoing saga of the nation's most famous - and controversial - family.
After Camelot is the most recent of J. Randy Taraborrelli's 13 New York Times bestsellers. He is also the author of Jackie, Ethel, Joan - Women of Camelot, another New York Times bestseller for him in hard cover and paperback, as well as a highly-rated miniseries for NBC starring Jill Hennessey as Jackie Kennedy and Lauren Holly as Ethel Kennedy. Moreover, he is the author of Michael Jackson - The Magic and the Madness (also nominated for a W.H. Smith award in England) as well as Call Her Miss Ross; The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe; Madonna - An Intimate Biography and Elizabeth Taylor, all New York Times bestsellers.
When The Kennedys made its world premiere on REELZ, the miniseries brought in record viewership for the network, reaching 17.5 million viewers* in its premiere month and grossing more than 35 million viewers since debuting in April 2011. (*Source: Nielsen Media Research data 4/3-5/1/2011. Reflects Live+7 P2+. Reach based on a 1-minute qualifier.) This Thanksgiving, viewers will see where it all began when REELZ airs two marathons of The Kennedys miniseries. On Thursday, November 22, 2012, all eight hours of The Kennedys air back-to-back starting at 8am ET/ 5am PT.
Episode 1 - "Joe's Revenge" at 8am ET/ 5am PT
Episode 2 - "The First Campaign" at 9am ET/ 6am PT
Episode 3 - "Bay of Pigs" at 10am ET/ 7am PT
Episode 4 - "Bobby's War" at 11am ET/ 8am PT
Episode 5 - "Life Sentences" at 12pm ET/ 9am PT
Episode 6 - "Cuban Missiles" at 1pm ET/ 10am PT
Episode 7 - "Lancer and Lace" at 2pm ET/ 11am PT
Episode 8 - "My Brother's Keeper" at 3pm ET/ 12pm PT
Then, Oliver Stone's Academy Award(R) winning JFK will air at 4pm ET/ 1pm PT, followed by another marathon starting at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT giving viewers a second chance to see all eight hours of The Kennedys airing back to back.
Episode 1 - "Joe's Revenge" at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT
Episode 2 - "The First Campaign" at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT
Episode 3 - "Bay of Pigs" at 10pm ET/ 7pm PT
Episode 4 - "Bobby's War" at 11pm ET/ 8pm PT
Episode 5 - "Life Sentences" at 12am ET/ 9pm PT
Episode 6 - "Cuban Missiles" at 1am ET/ 10pm PT
Episode 7 - "Lancer and Lace" at 2 am ET/ 11pm PT
Episode 8 - "My Brother's Keeper" at 3am ET/ 12am PT
The Kennedys relives the public and private joys and tragedies of the most influential family in the world including fraternal rivalries, mob associations, the drugs and the women. The miniseries recreates the political crises that John F. Kennedy dealt with in the early days of his presidency including the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war and the Civil Rights Movement. Viewers will see every twist and turn of this family's extraordinary story up to and including the assassinations of JFK and RFK.
Boasting an all-star cast led by Emmy(R)-nominee Greg Kinnear as John F. Kennedy (JFK) and Barry Pepper who won the Emmy Award for Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his portrayal of Robert F. Kennedy, The Kennedys also features powerful performances from Katie Holmes as Jacqueline Kennedy and Emmy-nominated Tom Wilkinson OBE as Joseph Kennedy, Sr. Nominated for 10 Emmy Awards, the miniseries won a total of four as well as three Gemini Awards, five Directors Guild of Canada Awards, a History Makers International Award, a Directors Guild of America Award and a New York Festivals International TV & Film Grand Trophy Award. The Kennedys is a Muse Entertainment Enterprises production in association with Asylum Entertainment.
About Muse Entertainment Enterprises
Muse Entertainment is a leading film and television production company known for its well-crafted and high quality productions. Since its founding in 1998, Muse has produced, co-produced or provided production services on more than 160 TV movies and miniseries, television series and feature films and has won 95 awards and garnered 299 award nominations! Muse Entertainment's most recent television series are Bomb Girls (Seasons I, II) and Being Human (Seasons 1, II, III). In 2011, its topical 8-hr. historical drama, The Kennedys, earned 10 Emmy Award nominations. Its Pillars of the Earth also won many awards. Muse's other award-winning programs are Durham County (Seasons 1, 2, 3), Ben Hur, The Last Templar, Impact, Human Trafficking, Answered by Fire, This is Wonderland and Tales from the Neverending Story. The company's head office and its Quebec production centre are in Montreal. Muse also maintains development and production operations in Toronto and Los Angeles. For more information please visit www.muse.ca.
About ReelzChannel
ReelzChannel - TV About Movies(R) is the only cable and satellite network devoted to delivering entertaining and informative programming that is all about movies, including the celebrities, fashion, music and stories behind the stories. The network is also home to ambitious television events, miniseries and series featuring big stories and big stars as seen with the Emmy(R)-winning The Kennedys and Ken Follett's eight-hour miniseries World Without End. With shows featuring movie and entertainment experts, including Leonard Maltin, Richard Roeper and Sam Rubin, viewers get trusted insight into movies wherever they're playing, whether in theaters or at home.
ReelzChannel reaches more than 64 million homes on DIRECTV channel 238, Dish Network channel 299, Verizon FiOS TV channel 233, AT&T U-verse channels 799/1799HD and cable systems nationwide. Find ReelzChannel in your area by entering your zip code at www.reelz.com/watch. Owned by Hubbard Media Group, ReelzChannel is headquartered in Albuquerque, NM with national ad sales based out of New York City with offices in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles and an entertainment bureau in Los Angeles.

subset: commoncrawl


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There are many cases where this is evidently true. Car manufacturers compete for better price points and deals...
However price != TCO.
The constant battle for lower prices has pushed quality and reliability to absolute lows.
You're obviously not a car person.
Car quality is at the highest it's ever been. The number of major defects/ 1000 vehicles is far lower overall decade over decade despite the complexity of the vehicles. There's no way you can cite a statistic to back your statement. Individual models vary year over year, but the average car today is far safer, more reliable and performs better than what was on the road 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 50 years ago.
Whether we like the styles or prefer heavy steel to plastic and fiberglass is another conversation.
Every single component has grown in reliability and performance. Cars are far safer than they ever were and fatalities are far lower despite more being on the roads. All of that is due to competition. Regulations merely condify industry practices & innovations after they've been proven.


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Also added the single 'Forming Colours' …. Played support act to these guys more times than I can remember, great songs, great band, pity about the personalities and egos.
The band issued it's debut single Living Inside My Head on the Basketcase label in December 1984. Ups and Downs then issued a second single called Perfect Crime on Basketcase before venturing down to Sydney. The Waterfront label re-issued Perfect Crime in September 1985, by which time Ups and Downs had built-up a strong cult following on the Sydney inner-city music scene.
The bands second single on Waterfront, In The Shadows in April 1986, was a gorgeous slice of harmony-drenched guitar pop and one of the best independent singles for the year.
Ups and Downs signed a new deal with the True Tone label (through PolyGram) which resulted in the release of the mini-album SleeplessThe Living Kind. To coincide with the singles release, Ups and Downs supported US visitors The Flamin' Groovies on their Australian tour. in August 1986 and the single


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Lost Hope
Bella has become depressed after Edward's untimely departure.
1. Chapter 1: An Unfortunate Decision
Rating 5/5 Word Count 637 Review this Chapter
The heart wrenching pain of being alone, of losing the one I love, had become unbearable. Charlie seemed to have taken my depressed and distraught state as being suicidal and locked away all of the potential weapons in the house. I found myself wondering more and more if Edward would miss me, if he would even care if I died and I was tempted to taunt those emotions. Charlie had been putting in a lot of overtime at the station. I overheard him saying it kept him from seeing my hollowed out existence, my zombified life. His extra time away left me with more time to myself, cooped up alone and void of emotions with only thoughts as friends.
Since Jacob's absence, I felt empty. The velvety voices I so often heard were gone and so was my reason for living. I laid in bed an extra hour that morning, watching dazed as memories played across my closed eyes and a subconscious decision became clear. His godlike face and his dazzling smile flashing before me as if he were real. I snapped my eyes open, unwilling to see anymore. With blurring eyes and burning tears and ran downstairs to the kitchen, hunting for any knife that could possibly have been left out. A dark and devious smile spread across my face as I noticed Charlie had been in too big a rush that morning to do the dishes. I searched the sink and found what I was looking for, a glorious steak knife with a wooden handle and a gleaming sharp edge. He must have forgotten to wash it after dinner last night.
I dried the knife off and ran up to my room. I set the knife carefully on the desk and proceeded to scribble down a letter to Charlie, complete with date and signature. I picked the knife up and stared at it for a moment, contemplating myself and the final decision I was about to make. I felt the tears flowing down my face as I made myself comfortable on my bed. I took a deep breath, one of my last, and held the knife above my left wrist. I closed my eyes and pressed the tip of the knife against my skin. I winced as it sunk in and the blood began to seep out. I jerked my hand sideways and let my left hand fall to the bed, the two inch gash bleeding profusely. I gasped at the relief I seemed to feel and raised up my left hand to grasp the knife again.
My hand was shaking as I touched the tip against my right wrist. I laughed in defeat and broke the skin. I was only vaguely aware of a knocking on my window but it didn't interest me in the least. I made a two inch slit on my right wrist and threw my head back to laugh. A moment of regret washed over me as I thought of how Charlie and Renee would feel, but it was gone as the relief set in. My arm dropped, hanging slightly over the edge of the bed and the knife began to fall. All was silent and I relaxed.
I was startled by the crunching sound of breaking glass and a familiar growl. I opened my eyes wearily, I must be dead already. My angel stood, shocked before me, growling hungrily and staring at me with coal black eyes. I always thought I'd go to Hell for dating a Vampire, but it seemed I was in Heaven. Edward growled out my name and began to advance towards me, conflict plaguing his gaze. The sounds around me got fainter and fainter and my vision darkened. I felt an ice cold touch on my wrist before the darkness consumed me.
- Author
- KitsuneKikei
- Rating
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- Reviews
- 20
- Words
- 2063
- Views
- 1
- Published
- 02 Feb 07
- Updated
- 11 Mar 07
- Status
- In Progress


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Wednesday, February 06, 2013 11:56 am
Boy band The Wanted sign on for E! reality series
The Associated Press
The British fivesome announced Wednesday that their show will debut in June. A press release said the behind-the-scene series will be "unvarnished" and "nonglossy."
The Wanted broke onto the U.S. music scene with the Top 5 hit "Glad You Came." They dropped their self-titled U.S. debut EP last year, and have released two successful albums and multiple singles in the United Kingdom.
The group is planning a full-length album and international tour for the fall.
Their U.S. manager is Scooter Braun, who also manages Justin Bieber. The band members include Max George, Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker and Siva Kaneswaran.


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STOCKTON - His customers - friends and fans, really - know him simply as Leo. He's the owner of Leo's Jewelers on Pacific Avenue who was tied up and beaten by three men during a brazen daylight robbery Monday afternoon.
STOCKTON - His customers - friends and fans, really - know him simply as Leo. He's the owner of Leo's Jewelers on Pacific Avenue who was tied up and beaten by three men during a brazen daylight robbery Monday afternoon.
The Record is withholding his full name and location while Stockton police continue to search for the suspects. Meanwhile, Leo, 63, is recuperating from a serious blow to his head and possible concussion, along with cuts to his face that did not require stitches. He is out of the hospital after two days and, according to friends who visited him this week, in good spirits.
"He's not only a jeweler, he's really our friend," said Sandie Lohsen, a Burson resident who was brought to tears when she learned of the robbery and assault.
"Those men not only hurt him, they did a discredit to the whole community," said Sandie Lohsen's husband, Bill, referring to Leo's reputation as an efficient, honest and respectable business owner who goes out of his way to help customers.
To date, what police have released is that around 2:50 p.m. Monday, three men wearing ski masks and carrying hammers managed to get through two locked security doors and take over the store, tying up Leo and assaulting him while they took an undetermined amount of jewelry from several glass cases. One suspect possibly had a gun, police reported. The three men fled when a customer entered the store.
The store is in a small strip mall hidden from Pacific Avenue by O'Reilly Auto Parts. A worker at a nearby business described the immediate area as "pretty safe." Numerous customers reported the jewelry store has a video surveillance system and everyone has to be buzzed through both front doors by Leo to get into the store.
The first store anyone can remember Leo owning in Stockton was next to the site of the former Kmart on Pacific and Robinhood Drive. When that was torn down to make way for Stonecreek Village, Leo reopened at 4110 N. El Dorado St.
In August 1996, two armed men entered his jewelry store intent on robbery. That store had a locked security door as well. A gunbattle ensued with five to 12 shots being fired by Leo and the suspects, according to a Record story at the time, citing police and witnesses. Leo was shot five times and reportedly still carries a slug in his abdomen from that incident. Earlier that same year, another Stockton jeweler, Vuth Hong, 35, was shot and killed at his home by robbers seeking access to his March Lane store.
Bill Lohsen said Leo is no stranger to violence. A native of Vietnam, he was shot by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Leo returns to his homeland every two years, Lohsen said.
The Lohsens travel to Stockton regularly just to see Leo's latest jewelry creations using gold, silver, diamonds and gemstones, or have him repair their jewelry. The couple, married 47 years this week, have done business with Leo for 15 years and become quite close to him. They said he had customers from all over the country who would ship jewelry to him for repairs.
While the Lohsens talked about Leo this week in front of his closed store at 6360 Pacific Ave. - scheduled to reopen Monday at 10 a.m. - at least half a dozen customers drove up either because they were unaware of the robbery or wanted to check on their friend.
Maria Handy, 25, came by to have her wedding ring sized.
"He's the only one who has good online reviews around Stockton," said the newlywed who indicated she had never met Leo but had talked with him by phone hours before the robbery. "Everything was fine. I'm glad he's OK now," said Handy, indicating she would return when Leo is back in his store.
Marci Valverde of Stockton stopped by to pick up a repair. "He's such a good man. He gets referrals from other stores for fixing watches. He's always so pleasant and fair," Valverde said.
Longtime Stockton jeweler Scott Hoag with Annette's Fine Jewelry on Pacific Avenue said hardly a day goes by that he doesn't make a referral to Leo's Jewelers.
"Leo's about as reputable as you can get. He's straight up and fair. You couldn't ask for a nicer person. We ask customers for at least 24 hours on repairs. Leo does it right now, while you wait. People also go to him for Asian-style jewelry," Hoag said, adding: "I never liked his location."
Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/goldeenblog.


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Gary Neville
Football Expert @GNev2
Gary Neville: Arsenal must keep their unfashionable five fit and firing for title bid
Gary Neville names the players Arsenal can't afford to lose - and it's not who you might think.
Last Updated: 06/10/13 11:27am
Arsenal's forward players have caught the eye for much of the season, but Gary is keen to focus on their defensive improvements and the free signing of Mathieu Flamini.
"I've always thought Arsenal had character, particularly over the last few years coming back from what looked like difficult positions and qualifying for the Champions League.
"This season they have Mathieu Flamini and probably the strongest back four they've had for a while. I think when you dig beneath Arsenal's squad and you lose a couple of those players it gets a lot weaker. Those five are the key players to keep fit over the next few weeks."
Arsenal's striker Olivier Giroud is another player that his been in fine form this season with six goals in all competitions, but with Nicklas Bendtner the only back-up striker on the bench, Gary says Arsene Wenger must be nervous about Giroud picking up an injury.
"I think the two centre-backs staying fit, the two full-backs, Flamini and Giroud staying fit are as important as what you would call the 'stars' of the team - your Jack Wilshere's, Ozil's and Ramsey's, because I always think Arsenal have got a lot of players they can replace them with - Tomas Rosicky can come back in, Theo Walcott isn't fit at the moment and will come back. I think it would be easier than replacing Giroud at the moment.
"They obviously tried to get Luis Suarez in the transfer window and it didn't happen and I would think Arsene Wenger would be nervous about losing Giroud. I still think that those players that are not as fashionable are the ones that need to stay fit at this moment in time to continue the run of form they are in."
Arsenal have been the most clinical team in Premier League this season - scoring with 21% of their chances and much of that has been down to the resurgence of Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who has scored eight goals in 12 appearances. Gary says the 22-year-old has been outstanding.
"He's been absolutely brilliant - again, you have to talk about a response of character. Manchester United wanted to sign him a few years back and at the time it was between Arsenal and Manchester United - he chose to go to Arsenal, but he was a player that was liked at Old Trafford as well.
"That injury set him back though and affected his confidence, but now it shows what belief Arsene Wenger had in him and what belief Aaron Ramsey had in Wenger; it shows what stability can provide and now he's thriving. It's a good story for everyone in football - sticking with young players, believing in them when times are tough because you'll get there in the end. Ramsey has been the outstanding player in the Premier League this season."
Many thought it would be the Gunners' £42million summer signing Mesut Ozil that would steal the show this season and the German put in a sparkling performance in Arsenal's 2-0 Champions League win over Napoli this week. Gary thinks the best is yet to come from 'The Wizard of Oz'...
"He's been good and I think we'll see more from him [especially after Tuesday night's Champions League performance] but the best is yet to come. I think he's a fantastic player and the best player to sign to the Premier League in summer and there was a lot of money being spent - he's a genuine world-class player.
"At moment in the Premier League he's been slightly overshadowed by Ramsey and Olivier Giroud who are obviously having a really good run of form. He's bedding in to a good period for Arsenal who are playing well. When we see the best of him it's going to be something special."
Do you agree with Gary? Which player can't Arsenal live without? Ozil? Ramsey? Giroud? Flamini? Or somebody else? Let us know your views in the comments box below...


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Mon, 23 Apr 2012
A major objective of IUCN's Building Coastal Resilience (BCR) is to link provincial level investments in climate change adaptation with explicit needs based on assessments of vulnerability and community capacity at the community level. On April 4-6, 2012, IUCN organized a Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop for government and partner staff who will be involved in the Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) workshops in BCR's five focal provinces in the Mekong Delta. To learn more about the TOT workshop, click here.
Work area:
Marine and Coastal Ecosystems
Viet Nam
Viet Nam


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About this Publication TitleMedal of Honor Recipients, 1863-2013
Recipients come from all five branches of service: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Each listing contains the name of the recipient, rank, organization, and personal information when possible, although some are incomplete. Citations become lengthier and more detailed after World War I, but all are highly descriptive of why the recipient was awarded our nation's highest award for military valor.
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[Great win yesterday, and I'm obviously very happy, but in true Wolverine fashion, I need to find something to complain about. ;)]
I'm worried about Fitz. Previously I'd chalked this up to changes in the O-line, particularly the loss of Molk. And he did look good in the 2nd half against ND. But more and more I'm convinced its something else. I mean, Denard is running just fine, and when Rawls came in yesterday he tore it up (albeit in garbage time). Do you think:
A. Fitz has lost a step
B. Defenses have committed to him, in a way they didn't last year
C. He's not getting the right playcalls
D. No, it really is the O-line
if you think it's A, then I have to ask why? Is it an outgrowth of getting suspended, or something else? If B, what is it they are doing? If C, what kind of run plays should he be getting. And if D, where exactly is the problem and why is this only affecting the RBs?
Also, do you think it's time to start Rawls and see how that goes, or should we stick with Fitz?
Note: I have no predetermined views of what the answer is


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No reward.
Star Wars: The Old Republic -- "Let's re-skin World of Warcraft!"
How's their reward doing?
On the other hand, City of Heroes shut down last night. It was everything those games aren't -- Innovative, fast, cheap, true 3-D travel, very powerful compared to monsters, which come at you in masses.
And it ran out of enough subscribers, too.
Says one guy on the internet.
Clearly the market didn't agree with you.
A 3% return on 20 million units is preferable to a 100% return on 20,000
I work in the film industry and the story is about the same; this is why we seem to keep making marginally-good $200 million films, instead of twenty $10 million films, 16 of which bomb because they don't find their audience. If you want to do something really edgy an original, you can do it, just don't go to Paramount (or EA in this case) and expect them to front you the money, and you're much more likely getting your money back if you premiere on Netflix.
I'm not sure this is an Earth-shattering tragedy, it has a lot to do with the way large corporations make decisions, and organize themselves around their distribution chains.
If you want to do something really edgy an original, you can do it, just don't go to Paramount (or EA in this case) and expect them to front you the money, and you're much more likely getting your money back if you premiere on Netflix.
The trouble is that some genres work better with physical buttons than with, say, a touch screen [pineight.com]. Most mobile devices open to indie developers lack a gamepad, and I've been told most users aren't willing to buy a gamepad just for one game. And though Xbox 360 controllers work wonderfully with a PC (or, in fact, a Nexus 7 with a USB host cable), I've been told most PC users aren't willing to plug in one Xbox 360 controller let alone two to four.
The summary is wrong in its implication. Kickstarter is about the most risk-free fund raising you can do. It's a formal way to solicit donations. Non-refundable, no-promises, walk-away-and-keep-it-all money. Legally a Kickstarter project that funds has no obligation to do anything at all. Some percentage of them (so far small, and small amounts of funds) don't.
Venture capital, on the other hand, will insist you field a AAA-class team, will insist on majority ownership, and will insist on installing a suit as an executive, and will want signatures in blood for your first born if the project fails (or as much of whatever as they can recover, which very likely includes exclusive intellectual property crap like trademarks and any copyrights that have attached). So if you fail, you lose everything and can't even try again. If you succeed, you pay your investor the majority of the profit.
If your Kickstarter fails, you owe nothing to anybody and retain 100% ownership so you can try again later (though probably not with another Kickstarter). If your Kickstarter succeeds, you retain 100% ownership, deliver on your Kickstarter promises (which is usually a vehicle to get you even more money, if you're doing it right), and keep 100% of the profit.
The classical venture capitalist could easily go the same way of the dodo as the classical publisher, at least for projects below the level of capitalization that crowd-funding can generate. And that ceiling is already higher than anybody expected. Whether or not it continues is anybody's guess, though the number of successful deliveries is high enough that the odds are good. Venture capital, meanwhile, is also mercurial and unreliable long term. It goes through fads of its own on a regular basis.
Disclaimer: I'm a author of summary.
Well, Kickstarter *looks* like it's risk free from finansial point of view. However, if you completely fail to deliver or walk away with money your reputation is tarnished at best. With choosing Kickstarter it's like burning bridges with publishers - while they do like money, they don't like to be talked about like they're ignorant about good bets - and if you went KS, they will put a stigma on you (I know mentality of these guys). And if you collect your money and don't
I really don't understand why some of the current PC gamer generation don't like controllers.
Because they prefer mouse and keyboard genres (FPS, RTS, MMORPG) that take advantage of the separate view per player that a desktop or laptop offers, as opposed to the multiple-gamepad shared-screen model. Shared-screen is traditionally associated with consoles, but which also works with set-top PCs and even desktops now that desktop PC monitors are bigger than 19".
Braben raises money by his name alone
Once he retires, how should an indie developer start to make a name?
Publishers used to be needed for funding and access to the sales&distribution channel. Sales&distribution has become trivial if you don't need to get boxed games to WallMart. A lot of games are digital distribution only and are doing fine.
Publishers are still necessary if you want your game to get signed by a cons
Ouya, Google TV, and Even Apple TV could be big winners for inde developers. Apple TV has Bluetooth so it would be easy to support controlers. While not all games would work ports would be pretty easy. Frankly an Apple TV with the guts of the iPad without the screen or a Google TV with the guts of a Nexus 10 without the screen would be plenty for a lot of games. Seems silly that Google and Apple do not jump into that market.
I've probably bought a dozen gamepads for my PCs over the years, and I might still have half that many, if you count adapters which permit plugging in console controllers. I still have an adapter I bought from Lik-Sang, I think, to let you plug a playstation controller into Xbox, PC, or Gamecube, with a Xbox memory card port. But now I mostly use an Xbox 360 controller, as you say. They're pretty cheap used at Gamestops, and these days you can get repair parts very reasonably so it's not even a bad idea to
I've probably bought a dozen gamepads for my PCs over the years, and I might still have half that many, if you count adapters which permit plugging in console controllers.
So have I [pineight.com]. But as CronoCloud might say, you and I are edge cases. I'm told most PC gamers associate the PC platform with one mouse, keyboard, and monitor per player, and most players appear to expect major PC games (apart from some token cases [pineight.com]) to be designed around this assumption. A developer apparently must pay his dues by developing successful mouse-and-keyboard or touch-screen games before being allowed to develop games that take full advantage of a capability that consoles are known for and PCs have
I am lousy with a controller. I cannot do anything meaningful with one, and have no interest in learning. I have bought and eventually sold several game consoles because I *wanted* to be able to play them, but in the end each time I got rid of it because the result (for me at least) was far worse than playing a PC game with a mouse and a keyboard (or the Joystick I have for games that utilize that).
Consoles suck ass for me. I prefer PC games and my mouse. I don't think I can adapt, nor do I want to. I can't
I have a co-worker who told me mouse and keyboard in FPS games was "cheating". I laughed.
the Joystick I have for games that utilize that
By joystick, do you mean a flight simulator joystick or an arcade-style joystick?
I can't understand how someone would drop the keyboard and mouse and pick up a console controller hooked up to their PC, when the resulting level of control seems to me to be inherently inferior.
If you live alone and never have anybody come to visit, and you play mostly FPS, RTS, and RPG, a keyboard and mouse may be ideal for you. But if you have multiple gamers in one household, either living together or visiting, a gamepad is better than having no control at all because you're waiting for the player with a keyboard and mouse to finish his turn on a single-player or online game. Even fewer PC games support multiple mi
Art that is profitable to the artist, isn't really art.
Tell me, what's it like living in a world without art?
Bullshit, the majority of what we've called "artists" never starved and lived adequately. The problem video games regardless of their art status are a mass prodction good that needs to find a serious outlet to recoup their investment. They're arguably more expensive than TV and movies to produce and have only a slightly better success rate than TV but a worse rate than movies. The problem is big game publishers aren't that thrilled to produce every game they see unless niche markets want to pick up the
Yeah but one thing you are missing is the long tail and lack of competition in this genre. We got a billion "fat space marines that love Chesty McWallHigh" but a good flight sim (needs to work good with keyboard and mouse as well as stick) can be sold for years and years.
Hell just a few months ago I went out and bought yet another copy (my third) of Freelancer...why? Because i had lost my disc in my last move and thanks to the mods there are hundreds of star systems, and factions, you can go lone wolf and
I've always seen the Long Tail with videogames to be a bit touchy, since game platforms seem to go through periodic upgrades and it becomes more and more difficult to get your hands on $ARBITRARY_GAME, let alone structure a business model to collect revenue from them. The HUGE hits are sometimes kept in bundles and updated to new platforms, but they disappear.
Movies are quite different in this regard, because they can be replicated to new platforms mechanically -- you don't have to hire developers to keep t
Uhhh...you go to Amazon, type in name of game, done. And with Steam having even fricking genesis games i honestly don't see why a game can't have a crazy long tail, its not like there aren't hundreds of millions of Windows PCs out, and after a game has been out a year or two frankly even the IGPs (well if you are using AMD, Intel takes longer) will be able to run your game.
Hell look at Team Fortress Classic...that was originally a Quake TWO mod wasn't it? and it was released...what? 1998 or so? Yet Valve is
>you're much more likely getting your money back if you premiere on Netflix.
How do studios get paid by Netflix streaming anyway? Just something I've always been curious about.
Netflix pays an amount-per-view, either against an up-front access fee or not -- it's a small amount, but it's something. their model to charge subscribers a flat fee and simply have such a huge number of titles available that people are willing to pay a premium over what they actually consume, just to have the full-time access to the titles.
Netflix lost the Starz content because Starz wanted an amount per subscriber-month, like a premium cable channel, and Netflix (probably rightly) deduced that having a p
Yeah or, you know, you could look at Star Citizen.... 100K unique users and 7 million total in funding (not sure why they say it's 2 in the summary, that's completely wrong for the overall total).
100K clocks in at a need for $6 of profit per copy to equal your 3% on 20 million. Even if we account for cost variances and other things, Star Citizen is going to make a metric fuckton of money for its creators before the game ever even gets out the door.
Wrong. Let's see the what the best selling games are (source: vgchartz.com/weekly):
1 X360 Call of Duty: Black Ops II 1,239,686 [generic FPS, sequel]
2 PS3 Call of Duty: Black Ops II 1,183,752 [generic FPS, sequel]
3 X360 Kinect Adventures! 615,283 [sounds innovative enough, risky]
4 X360 Halo 4 607,817 [generic FPS, sequel]
5 Wii Just Dance 4 569,302 [sequel]
6 PS3 Hitman: Absolution 501,081 [sequel]
7 X360 Hitman: Absolution 488,127 [sequel]
8 PS3 Assassin's Creed III 471,345 [sequel]
9 X360 Assassin's Creed III 402,324 [sequel]
10 WiiU New Super Mario Bros. U 372,169 [sequel]
MYTH BUSTED! Risk is for suckers, what the wallets want is more sequels.
Sales figures alone are meaningless.
Not trolling, genuinely curious... what statistics (i.e. actual numbers with verifiable sources) do you have that are a better representation than sales figures? Or can be quantifiably used to meaningfully modify the value of sales figures? I agree that those sales figures sound incomplete but unless there are other "real" numbers out there, how do we know whether they're only marginally inaccurate or way off base?
Sales figures measure popularity and little more. You need to look at the big picture.
Yes... but back to my original question. What numbers are available to tell the big picture?
If there aren't any, then the "big picture" is invisible because there is no way to reasonably construct it. Everything except the sales numbers are speculation.
Markets certainly reward franchises. There's room for innovation, but now is not the time for it. Right now is the end of a console lifecycle and no one wants to go too far out on a limb on this generation.
Note that Borderlands, which isn't on your list was a brand new franchise not too long ago, Xcom has done very well which is a resurrection of a very old genre. You only need to sell about 500 or 600 k copies to make a decent amount of money on a moderate sized title (you aim for a million for a consol
The only big new IP lately is Dishonoured, which is a sort of action stealth game in cyberpunk world
Are you sure it's not just a slight remodelling of Thief: The Dark Project, which was a stealth first person shooter, set in a medieval steampunk city?
Hence: reasonably generic.
IMHO there's absolutely nothing wrong with a good sequel. Chances are extremely good you didn't get everything right and you didn't have the time or budget to implement everything you wanted to do. You'll probably also learn a lot from the feedback from the first game that you don't get in alpha/beta testing or possibly to late to do anything about it. It doesn't matter if it's the modern games or the classics, I'd be pretty sad if they stopped at Ultima I, Final Fantasy I or Civilization I and said that was it, on to the next thing. Not to mention you have a bunch of fans, people now know what the game concept is and they're hopefully looking for more. By all means if you have a cash cow, milk it.
That said, if you drop anything that isn't a cash cow today chances are good the customers will eventually get tired of the same old rehashes and you'll slowly head into the sunset. Most cash cows started as a risky proposal. Sure, for example "The Sims" is now out in two sequels and dozens of expansion and stuff packs but the original was a very risky game. I perfectly understand that companies don't want to bet the farm on unknown projects, but in this case I think it's too much next quarter thinking. That chance game that may lead to a decade long series of sequels making us money is probably going to be a loss on next year's performance. It's like R&D for the game industry, except it's a lot more accepted to not do any.
No, what the wallets want is good games, end of story.
However, human beings are risk adverse and if they know a game was good when hedging bets on next (expensive these days!) games purchase they will instinctively head to a sequel of one they enjoyed. However, if they play something new that's really good they'll buy that. That's why games demos / sharing and dare I even sugest piracy is good - it may detract a little from the sales of the production line sequels but it massively raises awareness of differ
You're demonstrating the assumption of familar=good.
Mission Impossible 2 did very well *because of MI:1*, not because it was a good film. But by your logic, it was fantastic.
Which means that Justin Bieber is one of the greatest musicians of all time.
Call of Duty Black Ops 2 did $500 million in sales on its first day alone. The game takes very little risk. It is just another CoD game. Minor tweaks and updates but it is basically the same formula that has won time and time again and yet again it has won big.
While it isn't true that it was zero risk, they did outlay a fair bit of money (8 figures) in development and marketing, it was pretty low risk. Past CoD games have done very well, there was no reason to believe this one wouldn't too and indeed it did.
In the games industry, the safe road often leads to great rewards. People seem to want that which they are familiar with.
Ahem. sorry for shouting. Why is this modded informative? Seriously, you people don't realize that those numbers are bullshit, right? Just like album sales?
I've seen this number trotted out recently elsewhere, but don't we realize that it comes from the total amount SHIPPED TO RETAILERS, not the number of people who actually bought it?
If you want a small sample, go have a look on Steam and see how many copies are floating out there (it is a Steamworks game so all PC copies are on it). Remember that the copy only appears in someone's account after they've paid for it.
I know there's this irrational need from some people to pretend like the game is a flop because it is a very samey shooter, but it isn't. It is a massive success. I'm not saying that is a good thing, I'm saying it is the truth. Trying to spin it doesn't change anything.
EA risked 300 million dollars on SWTOR and lost 200 million.
They will, eventually recoup some of that money, depending on how long it last and how well the F2P transition actually goes. But there's only so much tolerance for risk, and when you gamble and lose big like that you need to lick your wounds for a while.
There's nothing wrong with some risk but the last big space games were freelancer and the Jump to Lightspeed expansion to SWG, earth and beyond tanked and Eve has 300k players. Star Trek online i
so true. but Star Citizen went home with $6.8 million, not just 2.
Star Citizen raised over $6 million dollars ($2 million via kickstarter, $4 million via paypal). Since the campaign it has raised nearly $1 million dollars more (total $6.9 million).
Expect that figure to climb. Star Citizen is also much more tangible than what we've seen from Elite. They just released footage [robertsspa...stries.com] of what one of the space ports will look like. For the early adopters (people who invested prior to 11/26) all ships purchased will be insured [robertsspa...stries.com] for the life of the ship (the insurance transfers with title, hello second hand market value). In addition to that, additional ships may be purchased and accounts may be upgraded for the next 12 months. I wouldn't be surprised it if breaks $10mil. They've given this a lot of thought, one of the points raised was how will this prevent people from simply ramming ships? I recommend reviewing the link and giving the FAQ (and comments) a once over.
Some of the models they're releasing images of show the insides of the ships which players will be able to move around in. They've got a pirate style 2 man ship which enables the passenger to board a vessel. Very cool stuff if you're into that sort of thing. Now, about that Constellation...
That just looks so sweet, heck yeah.
Have to agree - Elite was my favourite C64 game (and I played very many C64 titles back in the days). Whoever posted this article - a big thank you! - and I have just reserved my digital copy of this game - wouldn't have done so without slashdot.
One of the key advantages of something like Kickstarter is that so many of the "sales" are up front: you don't have to worry about the game being a total flop and selling nothing, because you've already "sold" $2m+ worth of the game before starting! I would've expected major studios to try to get in on some of that pre-order action by mobilizing fan enthusiasm: stuff like, if we get X preorders by $date, we'll make a sequel to $game. Or is it that actual preorders of un-made games have more legal trouble th
I believe Obsidian has said that they were approached by publishers to do something along those lines, but they refused. The spirit of Kickstarter isn't compatible with that idea, really. It's supposed to be for projects that otherwise would not be possible or viable to make. Publishers have plenty of money, that they don't want to try making more niche games is their problem. People like Roberts or Braben, while certainly not poor, don't have the kind of money to make games from scratch from their own pock
The only reason why we won't see another Freespace is because Interplay are dicks, and refuse to sell the IP. My hope is that they die a fiery screaming death with all their IP's up for sale so developers like Volition can get their hands on them.
The space sim is a really hard sell (unless it's that one mission from Halo: Reach) and frankly, even with a joystick, games of this sort can be notoriously difficult. Companies only really want to make games that are like other games or sequels to previous ones since it's more of a business now than a genuine love for games (unless you're "indie").
The X series of games trundles on year after year though I don't think they'll ever have a blockbuster hit. There's also the Evochron series, but it's even more niche. Then of course there's Miner Wars 2081 though it's determined to bill itself as Descent's closest relative. Like the article you linked to suggests, any modern Space Sim is going to have to be 100% playable with mouse and keyboard, the way Freelancer was because the joystick just isn't standard for PC gamers any longer.
Kickstarter demonstrates again that it is a fantastic vehicle for game development. It's not always about the Mega Millions. For instance The Pinball Arcade used Kickstarter to get financing for The Twilight Zone [kickstarter.com] and Star Trek: The Next Generation [kickstarter.com] tables (both closed and made target). Pinball is a bit of a niche market and there's a pretty good free pinball simulator out there.
Without Kickstarter to pay the high upfront licensing cost, these tables would not have seen the light of day. There's really no sh
I wouldn't go as far as saying that kickstarter is fantastic for game development, there's much room for improvement in the system (which is to be expected as the concept itself is young). Rather, a large corporation is inherently bad at game development (and creating music and other arts) because art is stifled by the requirement to profit.
But I can't really agree with it.
As someone who played Elite on the BBC B in the 80s, let's look at the what made different:
i) massive, open ended universe and freedom to make one's way, within a convincing universe of varying dangerousness
ii) strong element on trading, and with combat as a means to grab extra goodies and facilitate profitable acquisition of cash
iii) missions, and a progression of deadliness - that unlocks cooler gear and more dangerous missions and story progression
Does that not sound like
I have eleite for a couple platforms, its a space shooter with some menus tossed in there
its much less risky than pumping a shit ton of money into something only a small percentage of people will remember, let alone be fond enough to play nearly 30 years after the fact
Elite was a huge consumer of my time during my teenage years. I'd originally tried it on the 8bit Acorn Electron (the BBC Micro's baby brother), but was a bit too young to really get it and was hopeless at playing the game. But when I got my first PC, I was able to really get into it, spending hours playing when I should have probably been studying for my GCSEs, eventually getting the missions and the coveted Elite status.
All this was done on the CGA version, low resolution in four colours. On loading, a menu would allow me to select wireframe graphics only, or if the PC was really fast (6Mhz 286 or greater I seem to recall...), then you could select solid filled polygons. I had a 20Mhz 286 so could enjoy the enhanced version. Didn't matter though, because the imagination filled in the gaps.
When Frontier:Elite 2 came out, I was amazed at all the things we wanted to do in the original could now be done (landing on planets with a seamless transition between space and atmosphere, different ships that could be bought and equipped, more missions). But the flight model was a bit too complicated and lacked the immediacy of the original. I was never really taken with the "Star Dreamer" time acceleration feature either as it was too easy to skip through things (like docking).
Never played Frontier: First Encounters as I think I had moved onto girls by then, but having read that it was released by the publisher in an unfinished state, it sounds like I've not missed that much.
But Elite:Dangerous sounds like the sort of game I really want to play! A huge universe as a playground? Flying through the clouds of a gas giant? Mining asteroids? Teaming up with friends to complete missions? Yes please!
So far I've pledged a little, with the expectation I'll pledge more before the Kickstarter finishes. As a [very] occasional gamer these days, this is something I want to spend my evenings playing.
The most difficult part of Frontier was fighting through the copy protection, which required entering a specific word from a specific place in the manual, except it was never really clear which lines counted and which it ignored (headings, etc?). I seem to remember we eventually found a list of all the answers on Usenet, which rather defeated the point.
Isn't it ironic - someone who has raised money based largely on the nostalgia for what he done in the past... commenting on the gaming industry making games just like the ones they've made in the past.
Seriously, as much as the Slashdot demographic complains about endless remakes, and the mining of the past... at every possible turn they demonstrate exactly *why* the entertainment industry keeps doing so.
What is risky here?
People give you money, and you don't have to give anything in return but empty promises of delivering a game at some point.
The alternative is asking investors for money, who will expect a working business model, 4 times as much as what they invested in returns, and who will sue you if you mismanage the money.
The entertainment market is cyclical.
Genres go in and out of style.
Successes and failures in other media can make or break you.
Star Trek and Star Wars have been so long identified with space opera that there is scarcely any room to breathe here. That both franchises are looking rather old and tired isn't helpful.
The mainstream publisher/distributer takes more chances then the gamer geek is often willing to admit:
From EA. Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Arkham Asylum/Arkham City. From Rockstar, Red Dead Redemption
...learned this ages ago. "Nobody wants to be first; everyone wants to be second."
....and a whole bunch of piracy from people that don't accept a full-price-game that contains a single change.
FPS, for example - now with slo-mo! now with hiding-behind-objects! now with (etc.) - bleat about piracy killing games all you like, but when they're nearly all reduced to two or three genres of copying original C64 games, that's not really what most would consider an 'industry' anyway - and it's this problem that means pirates will never really care about costing EA money when that's exactly what E
I played Elite in both solid and wire-frame versions from floppy. Braben's target is Oolite ; he has to beat that, not match it, to meet his prior status.


text:
The Washington County Board of Supervisors are set to meet tomorrow and as part of their meeting they will be making Board appointments. These appointments will be made to the Washington County Board of Health. They will also acknowledge the approval of award for acquisition of the Richmond sanitary sewer system property.
They will discuss the establishment of departmental guidelines and recommendations for the formulation of the fiscal year 2013 county budget. The Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting is tomorrow morning at 9:30 in the Washington County Courthouse.


text:
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The lanky right-hander from Adel, Iowa, had already spent quite a bit of time at various baseball venues across the country before he arrived at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Alec Rash, a 6-5, 190-pound hard-throwing senior at Adel ADM High School, had already performed at the 2011 Perfect Game National Showcase in June at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Fla., and at the 2010 PG Junior National Showcase at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
He also sent his junior year in high school at Pelham (Ala.) High School, which is in the Birmingham, Ala., suburbs, playing on all sorts of high school diamonds in the Birmingham area. He is back at Perfect Game Field this weekend taking part in the PG Midwest Top Prospect Showcase, which is running in conjunction with the PG Midwest Underclass Showcase.
The two-day dual event features nearly 130 prospects from the classes of 2012, '13 and '14, mostly from Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and Missouri, and numerous points elsewhere
It should be noted that three players who attended last year's PG Midwest Top Prospect Showcase – Iowans Derrick Loveless, Braden Shull and Dakota Freese – were selected in June's MLB First-Year Player Draft. Six Midwest Top alumni, including the Rays' Jeremy Hellickson and the A's Ryan Sweeney, have reached the major leagues.
2001 alumni Chad Billingsley and Cesar Carrillo were first round selections in the draft.
Rash, whose fastball reaches the low-90s, has been at nine Perfect Game events since 2009, including four seasons in the popular PG Spring and Fall Wood Bat Leagues. PG ranks Rash as the No. 2 top prospect in the state of Iowa in the class of 2012, trailing only Bloomfield right-hander Calvin Mathews, who is also here this weekend.
"It's good baseball and it's good for exposure," the soft-spoken Rash said of his Perfect Game experiences.
He received a lot of that exposure at the 2010 Junior National and even more at this year's PG National Showcase. While playing at City of Palms – the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox – at the National, he was teammates with Perfect Game All-Americans Clate Schmidt and Jesse Winker.
"It was fun to play at a major league kind of a place with a lot of good players," Rash said, adding that when he was surrounded by that many other top prospects it seemed to elevate his level of play.
At the conclusion of the National Showcase, Rash received PG's top 10.0 rating, and a scouting report noted that he has "all the pitches and should keep getting better."
Rash left the comforts of his home in Adel, Iowa and his familiarity with ADM High School (Adel-DeSoto-Minburn) before his junior year to accompany his mother, Lora, to Pelham, Ala. – a suburb of Birmingham – due to his mother's job transfer.
Because it looked like his mom would be transferred again, he decided to return to Adel for his senior year in high school. The year spent in Alabama served him well.
"It was really good," Rash said of the level of play at the high school level in Alabama. "I learned a lot."
Rash spent this summer getting ready for baseball, football and basketball while also doing work at a farm near Adel. He played a football game Friday night – Adel ADM beat Boone, 49-13, in its season opener – then made the trip from central Iowa to Perfect Game Field in eastern Iowa for Saturday's baseball showcase.
"It's not that tough," he said about maintaining his focus. "It's just a matter of staying busy. Baseball is my sport. I just decided to keep going with football and basketball for a little while."
Rash has verbally committed to Missouri, where he will narrow his pursuits to simply baseball.
"I wanted to play in the Big 12 and it's close to home. I think I made the right choice," Rash said. "I loved the coaching staff, I loved the pitching coach (Matt Hobbs) down there and they have a great campus."


text:
I am so sorry that Frodo has passed . Run free sweet Frodo
I am so sorry that Frodo has passed . Run free sweet Frodo
Darcy - Blenheim - 17th Sept 2005
'Life is a balance of holding on and letting go'
I'm do sorry. You can just feel how loved he was. God bless. And hugs to you.
Thanks you guys <3 Went to bed crying, woke up crying. Weird not being able to hug him in the morning. I'm just trying to remember all the times he was really happy, and not the past few weeks of him sick.
Frodo and Mabes
Sending hugs to you...take care
Mumma to Leonardo (Leo to his friends)
Waiting at the bridge
I'm so sorry for your loss. May you find peace in knowing that you truly did try everything to find out what was wrong.
Cindy and Claire
Claire was born on Feb7, 2010
So sorry for your loss, Frodo will be always in your heart.
In memory of :
Gus(blenhiem) Nov 2001 - Dec 2015 Pippin Feb 2004-Nov 2017 (tri) DJ(ruby) June 2004 - Nov 2015
I'm so sorry -- I know you had been looking for answers about his illnesses and this was a very sudden loss.
Cavaliers: Tansy : Mindy Connie Roxy Neasa Gus
In memory: My beautiful Jaspar Lucy Leo Lily Libby
I'm very sorry about Frodo. Sending you hugs.
Spangle born 24/11/07 (Blen)
Poppy (Blen)who went to Rainbow Bridge aged 13 and a half.
Thanks again everyone <3
Frodo and Mabes
I'm so sorry, this must be heartbreaking for you. My thoughts are with you.xx
Thomas (tri-colour) & Jade (blenheim) waiting at the Bridge


text:
Experience Death Valley, one of the most inhospitable places in the world, on Nature at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Tune into Masterpiece Mystery! Sunday at 8 p.m. to watch Inspector Lewis investigate the death of a prominent Oxford don.
Find out if a newly discovered bridge in South Carolina marks the location where the Confederates burned the bridge to thwart General Sherman's attempt to cross into Columbia to continue his scorch-and-burn campaign Monday at 8 p.m. on History Detectives.
Take a trip down the Colorado River from its headwaters in Rocky Mountain National Park all the way down to Mexico on Wild River: The Colorado Monday at 9 p.m.
9.13.08 Hurricane Ike Monday at 10 p.m. takes you to Galveston, Texas to view the destruction of one of the most devastating storms to ever hit Texas.
Learn how a remote lake in Southeast Asia conceals evidence of Earth's greatest volcanic cataclysm of the last 100,000 years. An eruption that may have caused of earth's Ice Age and pushed ancestral human populations to the brink of extinction Tuesday at 7 p.m. on Nova.
Explore the vast geologic story of Yellowstone, from glaciation to mountain-building to the gigantic caldera of a volcano Tuesday at 8 p.m. on Yellowstone: Land to Life.
PBS Previews: The National Parks: America's Best Idea Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. presents a preview of the new Ken Burns documentary series; the story of an idea that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone.
Discover what it's like to have power over life and death through the story of acclaimed British neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, who has traveled to Ukraine for 15 years to treat patients who have been left to die Tuesday at 9 p.m. on P.O.V.
Explore Alaska's visually spectacular region of glaciers, peaks, dramatic valleys, wild rivers, and a variety of wildlife in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park on Crown of the Continent 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Newshour coverage of President Obama's address to the nation.
Your Life, Your Money at 8 p.m. Wednesday presents a broad range of fundamental financial information for young adults; from basic banking to credit debt and encourages young people to be smart and proactive when it comes to their money.
Wide Angle at 9 p.m. Wednesday continues it's unprecedented, award-winning 12-year documentary project, Time for School. The series returns in 2009 with visits to seven classrooms in seven countries to offer a glimpse into the lives of seven extraordinary children who are struggling to get what nearly all American kids take for granted: a basic education.
Grammy Award-winning band, the Foo Fighters, rock the ACL stage with songs from their latest album on Austin City Limits at 10 p.m. Wednesday and at 9 p.m. Friday.
Sit in with Texas Tech University head football coach, Mike Leach, on Texas Monthly Talks Thursday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Take a closer look at downtown living and the concept of urban density at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on Best of Downtown.
Get an insider's perspective when Inside flies along with the world's best aerobatic pilots as they twist and tumble through the sky Thursday at 8 p.m.
Live From the Artists Den at 9 p.m. Thursday profiles vocalist/guitarist Craig Finn and his anthemic, classic rock-inspired band The Hold Steady as they revisit their roots to bring the Old Emigrant Savings Bank Building to life again for this special performance.
Sarah McLachlan graces the Austin City Limits stage at 7 p.m. Saturday in support of her greatest hits set, Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan. British rising star Duffy follows with grooving pop soul.


text: Streptococcus pneumoniae (ATCC® BAA-2307™) Strain Designations: 88441 / Type Strain: no / Biosafety Level: 2 General Information Characteristics Culture Method History Documentation Print Email Share Share this product Facebook Twitter Google+ Permits and Restrictions View Permits Strain Designations 88441 Application Respiratory research Isolation Human respiratory tract, 62 year-old female.Isolation Date: August, 2009. Biosafety Level 2 Biosafety classification is based on U.S. Public Health Service Guidelines, it is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that their facilities comply with biosafety regulations for their own country. Serotype 10A Product Format freeze-dried Preceptrol® no Type Strain no Serotype 10A Medium ATCC® Medium 44: Brain Heart Infusion Agar/Broth ATCC® Medium 260: Trypticase soy agar/broth with defibrinated sheep blood Growth Conditions Temperature: 37.0°CAtmosphere: 5% carbon dioxide. Name of Depositor K Nichol Isolation Human respiratory tract, 62 year-old female.Isolation Date: August, 2009. Year of Origin 2009 Permits These permits may be required for shipping this product: Customers located in the state of Hawaii will need to contact the Hawaii Department of Agriculture to determine if an Import Permit is required. A copy of the permit or documentation that a permit is not required must be sent to ATCC in advance of shipment. Basic Documentation Product Sheet Certificate of Analysis SDS


text:
Create a New Culture for Healthy, Happy and Convenient Lifestyles ONLYONE CJ2016 Sustainability Report PDF Download
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text: The Salvation Army is in need of volunteers to ring bells at businesses throughout the area. Deb McCreedy, a volunteer coordinator says while many people have been calling about volunteering, more are still appreciated. She says those that still want to participate can work either a one or two hour shift any of the next two weekends. She says to be prepared for cold weather and she notes that even though they have already exceeded last year's donations, more money is always welcome. If you would like more information or if you want to volunteer, contact Deb McCreedy or Ron Bennett.


text:
Writing Tutors Needed
June 14, 2012
Gordon-Conwell's Online MAR program is looking for qualified individuals to grade writing and research assignments during the online IS502 course, and to provide on-demand writing assistance and feedback to students through the Virtual Writing Center.
- Acknowledge submissions within 24 hours. Provide written feedback on drafts within one week of submission.
- Respond to student postings in the IS502 message forums and on the message forums of the Virtual Writing Center as assigned.
- Provide written feedback on student papers submitted to the Virtual Writing Center.
- Assist students in the process of writing a research paper.
- Conduct synchronous chats with students via Skype or Adobe Connect as requested.
- Maintain a log of interactions with students in IS502 and the Virtual Writing Center.
- Has earned a master's degree from an accredited seminary, or is an advanced student in a seminary degree program
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Excellent research skills
- Thorough knowledge of Gordon-Conwell's library system
- Thorough knowledge of academic writing standards and common citation styles
- Must be comfortable with using a computer, Sakai, and Microsoft Word
This position pays $100/student disbursed in three installments as students complete each module of the course.
Interested individuals should contact Cindy Wheatley, Associate Dean for Hybrid Learning, at (321) 663-7819 or email@example.com.


text:
from ARGENTINA : +54 115 252 1423
from ITALY : +39 024 032 6417
from MEXICO : +52 554 628 2555
from USA : +1 866 376 7831
from UK : +44 203 318 6993
from SPAIN : +34 911878153
Salil Sukhumvit Hotel Bangkok is a small boutique hotel boasting extraordinary Thai-Colonial architecture. The Salil Sukhumvit Hotel 27 luxurious rooms are beautifully decorated in Thai-Colonial style which provides you with the ultimate bygone era in Thailand experience. There are different room designs ranging from 25 sqm to 35 sqm from stylish one-bedroom units to roomy suites-all fully furnished and equipped with deluxe amenities. All rooms have 29" LCD TV, DVD player, Satellite TV channels and in-room movies. The sparklingly stylish coffee shop with its open-air terrace, provides a welcoming atmosphere for all-day dining. Sumptuous buffets are presented for breakfast, with a huge assortment of Thai, Japanese and international dishes, but there is also a full bar service and inclusive à la carte menu offering simple snacks or full meals. Salil Sukhumvit Hotel Bangkok is ideal for both business and leisure travelers. Salil Sukhumvit offers complimentary free WIFI internet access to its guests.
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Description: The luxurious Superior rooms are beautifully decorated in Colonial style, 25 sqm and fully furnished and equipped with deluxe amenities. Unlimited WiFi Internet access! Room Facilities: Air Conditioning, 29" LCD TV, DVD/CD player, Free DVD movie/CD/books rental, Complimentary tea and coffee making facility, Refrigerator, Mini bar, Complimentary of 2 drinking water daily, Hairdryer, Keycard lock, Electronic safety box, Laundry service, Deluxe amenities:Shampoo,Conditioner,Shower Gel, Soaps.
Occupancy: 2 Adults
Description: Cafe de Salil, our sparklingly stylish coffee shop with its open-air terrace, offers a friendly welcome for all day dining. Lavish buffets are presented for breakfast, with a wide selection of Thai and international dishes, but there is also a full bar service and comprehensive a la carte menu offering everything from a simple snack to a full meal. Open from 6:30 am – 23:00 hrs.
Dress Code: Casual
Breakfast: 6:30 - 10:30
Lunch: 10:30 - 16:00
Dinner: 16:00 - 23:00


text:
Commercials in GTA III
|This page needs to be cleaned up to meet the standards of Grand Theft Wiki.
The myriad commercials are written by Dan Houser and Lazlow (the latter of whom also produced them). They are fairly convincing as real adverts as they adhere to many typical marketing clichés and tricks. Several adverts mention telephone numbers and official websites. Rockstar actually created these websites, and although many links eventually lead back to the Rockstar site, some are more detailed. The Petsovernight.com website, for example, displays pictures of animals and promises "If it's got a central nervous system, we've got it ready to go in a box to your house", tying in with the humor of the commercials. Some examples of commercials within the game are:
- Dormatron - An invention that burns calories while sleeping — by moving the limbs strapped to the device while the owner sleeps. Exactly how the subject is strapped in is never explained but is implied as a form of bondage in Liberty City Stories. Parodies 'miracle' weight-loss products that are either ineffective or repackaged versions of proven methods.
- Equanox - (not to be confused with 'Equinox') Alertness pills from Zaibatsu Pharmaceuticals, with a long and concerning list of side-effects. Parodying No-Doz, as well as dangerous pharmaceuticals. The name appears to be a portmanteau of Equus (Horse) and Nox (Sleep), which suggests that the drug is a horse tranquilizer. Zaibatsu, meaning "conglomerate", is a commonly used word in the GTA series as well as a faction on Grand Theft Auto 2, Zaibatsu is advertised as a pharmaceutical company, not to be mistaken with Maibatsu, a fictional car manufacturer parodying Japanese manufacturers in reality.
- Eris Running Shoes - Parodies the controversy over Nike's controversial outsourcing and labor practices (Eris, like Nike, is a Greek goddess). This sneaker company employs children ("It's fun! We get to play with knives!", "Yesterday, I made a dollar!" "My friend Joey sewed his hands together!"). Eris' slogan is "Eris Running shoes, always running...from something". Eris appears in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as one of the clothing brands, and are promoting their "Rampage" line.
- Fernando's New Beginnings - "A revolutionary new way to save your marriage", explained further during Fernando's stint on Chatterbox FM.
- Liberty City Survivor - A Battle Royale-esque reality show with "20 recently paroled guys...equipped with grenade launchers and flamethrowers". They have to hunt each other down until only one man is left standing. Parodying reality television, especially the very early 2000s trend towards more degrading formulas such as Fear Factor. Liberty City Survivor is also a reference to a promised-but-cancelled multiplayer mode in GTAIII. However, "Liberty City Survivor" would come to frutition as the multiplayer mode in Liberty City Stories. The voiceover is from Jeff Berlin.
- Maibatsu Monstrosity - A sports utility vehicle by a Japanese brand (possibly a parody of the Toyota Land Cruiser or Mitsubishi Montero) notable for its size ("It's so big; we lost little Joey in the back and couldn't find him for an hour") and low gas mileage ("So what if it only does three miles to the gallon, I'm a mom, not a conservationist"). The Liberty Tree says in its newspaper that there were problems with the prototype in the 1990s with a few injured persons. Parodies the elephantine sports utility vehicles that were commonplace on American roads in the 2000s, there is also an advertisement in the GTA 3 handbook for the Maibatsu Monstrosity showing a larger Landstalker.
- Petsovernight.com - A dot-com company that ships its customers live animals (including exotics), anywhere in the country. A parody of some of the decidedly ridiculous dot-com enterprises at the time of the game's release. "Delivering little bundles of love.. in a box.. directly to your door."
- Pogo the Monkey - A platform action game where players play as a monkey with a banana cannon who attacks scientists and steals gems. Pogo's final mission is to take over the White House and become president of the United States. The radio adverts make particular parody of the merchandising blitz surrounding popular platforming games that featured anthropomorphic protagonists such as Crash Bandicoot and Sonic the Hedgehog. A fake arcade version of Pogo the Monkey can be found in several places in Vice City.
- Rakin & Ponzer - Mocking compensation culture, this law firm commercial urges listeners to sue anyone for anything. The first of a recurring ad theme encouraging insurance fraud.
- The House of Tomorrow - A specialist electronics retailer promoting high-tech items such as 3D virtual reality helmets of questionable usefulness as vital in the digital era, a parody of such real life retailers as The Sharper Image.
- The Medieval Millennium Fair - A Renaissance fair that takes place every weekend at Liberty City Park, and sells spells, potions and other medieval artifacts.