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They inspired generations of musicians worldwide, served as the blueprint for countless rock bands, including Nirvana, and got a second life as reunited alternative rock idols. Now the Pixies say they're forging ahead while still looking for a new sound.
The Boston quartet released their debut, the EP Come on Pilgrim, in 1987. Their college radio hits include Monkey Gone to Heaven, Here Comes Your Man and Where is My Mind. They disbanded in the early 1990s and reunited in 2004.
Since then, the band had released only one song, Bam Thwok, in 2004.
But that changed in June, when a video for a new single, Bagboy, showed up online unannounced. A few weeks later, the band surprised fans again with an online collection of four new songs released under the name EP-1 and the announcement of a global tour.
Have they found the Pixies sound they want? "Not yet. That's still to come," lead singer Charles Thompson, who goes by the name Black Francis, said behind the scenes of the Lollapalooza rock festival in Chile.
"Rome was not built in a day. I think we need a little more time to really create something that's absolutely different, but we're in the process. With this record, we're moving in that direction."
The Pixies hired Argentinian bassist Paz Lechantin in December after Kim Shattuck was fired from the position after less than five months on the job. She had replaced beloved long-time bassist Kim Deal, who quit the Pixies in June after more than 25 years with the band.
"I like the new gal. She's smart, funny, plays really good bass, she surfs, she sings great, she's bilingual," Thompson said.
"And she makes us laugh," guitarist Joey Santiago chimed in. "She feels like home, she was meant to be with us."
Drummer David Lovering said she's pushing him to continue learning: "She is making me play better. She is a great bass player, and I don't want to embarrass myself."
Thompson said the band plans to tour more and he especially hopes to visit Paraguay because he admires Agustin Barrios, the late Paraguayan classical guitarist and composer.
But for now "the Pixies is the future", Santiago said. "I just see us. We're going to record more albums, tour more." – Sapa-AP


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Hmmm. What I wonder is: Why is he surprised? Real people — in the flesh — cause a lot of trouble. Works of art — including bad but amusing art like porn — can be enjoyed at leisure and turned off at will.
I arrived at the linked blog post — "Algorithmic Online Dating and the Paradox of Choice" — after I Googled "The Paradox of Choice," the title of a book that I referred to yesterday. This notion that choice won't make us happy is — or I've been calling it — a liberal meme.
From the Algorithmic Online Dating" post:
[Barry Schwartz's "The Paradox of Choice"] basically says if you need a jar of jam and you go to a supermarket that has 3 types of jams you'll leave much happier than when you go to a supermarket that has 30 different types of jams on the shelf. This is a beautiful dilemma, in the first case your chance of buying the best jam available is 33 percent and even if you fail to chose the best jam there is 66 percent chance that you will get at least the second best jam or better. In the second case the likelihood of buying the best available jam is only 3 percent. So you'll be less happier knowing that you have probably selected the jam that is not the best.But what do I care about whether I'm picking the best of the 3 things the store happens to have? It might have 3 mediocre jars of jam. A store with 30 jams probably has some excellent jams in there. Is Schwartz saying that when you can only see 3 jams, you don't get any big ideas about how good jam can be, so you're happy with Smucker's, but when you see 30 jams, you imagine that jam can be really amazing, and you're left feeling hollow and hopeless when the Bonne Maman doesn't give you an orgasm?
The problem is that assortative mating is a very complex game theoretical problem. If you have watched the movie, beautiful mind, you probably remember that John Nash (Russell Crowe) talks about the best strategy to get the blond lady!Here. Watch that scene.
Now add 5 million more online single guys to the pool of competitors and you got yourself an unsolvable game theoretical problem....Why? First of all, the John Nash character in the movie was talking about the group dynamic in a real-life room in which 4 males encounter 5 women. If the men all go for the most beautiful one — "the blonde" — then no one gets anyone because the guys block each other's way to "the blonde" and simultaneously alienate the 4 less-than-most-beautiful women. By contrast, a dating site is virtual space in which you interact one-to-one without seeing your rivals and without letting your target see her/his rivals. If you arrange to meet in the flesh, the rivals won't be there. Of course, it's probably going to go badly, but whose fault is that?

subset: commoncrawl


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A Chaos Space Marine, also sometimes called a Traitor Marine or a Renegade Marine, is a former Loyalist Space Marine of the Imperium of Man who has chosen to betray the service of the Emperor of Mankind and dedicate his soul to the service of Chaos and its foul deities. Such corrupt Astartes normally belong to one of the 9 Traitor Legions that betrayed the Emperor during the ancient civil war called the Horus Heresy more than 10,000 standard years ago, while others come from Space Marine Chapters created long after the Heresy ended that have turned Renegade. Chaos can corrupt Astartes of any time and place just as its siren call leads many lesser men to their damnation.
During the Horus Heresy, the terrible Imperial civil war that pitted the Battle-Brothers of the 18 known Space Marine Legions against one another, there were two factions. These were the Loyalist Space Marines who continued to serve the Imperium and the Emperor of Mankind and the Chaos Space Marines of the Traitor Legions who betrayed the Emperor's trust and pledged their souls to the dark service of the 4 Ruinous Powers of Chaos. Some Traitor Marines pledged their service to all 4 of the Dark Gods, a force known as Chaos Undivided, whilst others preferred to dedicate themselves to the worship of only a single one of the Ruinous Powers. The Traitor Legions were led by the Warmaster Horus, once a Primarch of the Imperium and the Emperor's most trusted friend, son, and adviser before he was corrupted by the promises and lies of the Dark Gods and his own inner flaws.
The Traitor Legions were the most powerful component of the Forces of Chaos which fought during the Heresy, which also included the myriad daemons of the Warp, human Traitors from the Imperial Army, the Dark Mechanicus and Chaos Cultists drawn from across the galaxy. The flesh and Power Armour of Chaos Space Marines often warps and twists into new, darker and inhuman forms under the influence of the Chaos energies they are exposed to as their shapes morph to embody the corrupted Astartes' new allegiance. Chaos Space Marines fight for everything they were once forbidden to indulge in as the ascetic servants of the Emperor and the selfless guardians of Mankind. Pleasure, wealth, but above all else the power to rule their fellow men in the name of the Chaos Gods, is the driving ambition and goal of every Chaos Space Marine.
The Traitor Legions of the Chaos Space Marines represent 9 of the 20 original First Founding Legions of Space Marines who were created by the Emperor of Mankind from the genomes of his 20 Primarchs in the late 30th Millennium to fight the Great Crusade that forged the Imperium of Man. At this time Horus, the Warmaster of the Imperial forces and Primarch of the XVI Legion, the Luna Wolves, (which the Emperor allowed him to rename the Sons of Horus in his honour before the onset of the Horus Heresy to demonstrate his status as first-among-equals among the other Primarchs), was corrupted by Chaos and instigated the galaxy-wide Imperial civil war known as the Horus Heresy in his determination to replace the rule of the Emperor with his own.
After the death of Horus at the hands of the Emperor aboard his Battle Barge Vengeful Spirit during the Battle of Terra that ended the Horus Heresy, the remnants of the 9 Traitor Legions fled, along with the other Traitor Imperial forces that now served Chaos, into an area of the galaxy where the Warp bled into realspace, creating the permanent Warp Storm known as the Eye of Terror. Due to the nature of Chaos, and the temporal instability of the Warp, many of the very same Chaos Space Marines who revolted against the Emperor more than 10 millennia ago continue to fight against the Imperium today, having effectively been granted a tortured immortality by the will of the Ruinous Powers.
The Traitor Legions have kept their old names, with the exception of the Sons of Horus who were renamed the Black Legion by their new leader, Abaddon the Despoiler, once Horus' chief lieutenant and the First Captain of the Luna Wolves before he followed Horus into damnation. Besides Horus, 2 other Traitor Primarchs were killed during or shortly after the Heresy (Alpharius of the Alpha Legion and Konrad Curze of the Night Lords). The 6 surviving Traitor Primarchs have since been transformed into Daemon Princes by the Chaos Gods they serve. These daemonic Primarchs rarely take part in the affairs of their Legions or are major players in the affairs of the galaxy. Four of the Traitor Legions have pledged a singular loyalty to one of the great Chaos Gods. while the others serve the interests of Chaos as a whole in the form of Chaos Undivided. Due to the nature of Chaos and those who choose to serve it, not long after the end of the Heresy the Traitor Legions, save for the Word Bearers, largely stopped operating as unified military organisation and instead devolved into a series of separate and often competing warbands. The Traitor Marines who command these warbands, all potent Chaos Champions, sought their own personal glorification and the eventual opportunity to become Daemon Princes in their own right by earning victories in the cause of Chaos.
Due to the fractious nature of the Dark Gods, the warbands in service to a particular Ruinous Power often view other Traitor Marine warbands who serve its patron's rival deity as even more appropriate targets for their wrath than the servants of the Emperor. With such an attitude prevailing among the corrupted Astartes, it has often proven impossible for the Traitor Legions to present a united front against the Imperium since the death of Horus, which is one reason why they have never enjoyed a similar series of military successes over the past 10 millennia. The closest thing to unity that has appeared amongst the Traitor Legions and other Chaos Space Marines was when Abaddon the Despoiler, the successor of Horus as the Warmaster of the Black Legion, launched one of his periodic Black Crusades into Imperial space under the banner of Chaos Undivided, which is a temporary period of unity amongst all the Forces of Chaos when they seek to overwhelm the Imperium's defenses surrounding the Eye of Terror and drive on Terra once more. Abaddon is the only Champion of Chaos since Horus himself who is able to command, however begrudgingly and briefly, the loyalty of all 9 Traitor Legions, and he has led 13 Black Crusades out of the Eye of Terror against the Imperium of Man. The latest, the 13th Black Crusade, was launched in 999.M41 and has proven the most successful for the Forces of Chaos since the Horus Heresy. The Chaotic troops were able to seize a foothold on the surface of the Fortress World of Cadia, though the Imperial Navy has so far managed to blockade Abaddon's Traitor Marines and the other Forces of Chaos from breaking out into the Cadian Gate, the only clear pathway through the Warp from the Eye of Terror into open Imperial space. Should the Chaotics manage to eventually break out of the Imperial Navy's stranglehold, the Chaos Space Marines may at last, after 10,000 years, bring down the realm of the Corpse Emperor and gain their vengeance for long millennia of exile. Then the galaxy will tremble as the servants of the Dark Gods at last throw down the Corpse Emperor and claim the souls of Mankind for their own.
Chaos and Loyalist Space Marine Differences
"Rejoice brothers! Your slavery to the false Emperor ends today!"
- —Chaos Lord Araghast the Pillager
All men of power can choose to devote their lives to the pursuit of great good or great harm to others, and the Space Marines are no different from other mortals in this respect. Genetically engineered as an adolescent to be a superhuman warrior, and armed and armoured with the Imperium's most advanced technology, a Space Marine is intended to serve as the ultimate defender of Mankind. Not only is his body protected against the weapons of his foes, but his mind has been toughened through the use of potent psycho-conditioning and indoctrination methods to expunge all fear, pain and temptation. To become an Astartes is to surrender one's own life and aspirations to the service of the Emperor and Mankind, and to wholly dedicate oneself to this singular purpose forever more. Those who live secure behind the shield of valour created by the Space Marines can never truly understand the true enormity of the sacrifice that the Astartes have made for their fellow men -- for they have sacrificed their own humanity in service of those they have sworn to protect.
When an Astartes falls from grace, he will fall further than other mortals. A lifetime dedicated to self-deprivation and selflessness is simply thrown aside and the Space Marine indulges his newfound independence in thought and deed to its fullest extent. Freed from the constraints of the discipline, traditions and responsibilities that define the Adeptus Astartes, a Chaos Space Marine can exercise his every whim, whether it be for bloodshed, mayhem, sensual pleasures long denied, ambition, love or simple vengeance. Given full reign to his long-supressed personal desires, his incredible physical powers and mental strength can be turned to the pursuit of the most malevolent acts, untrammeled by any sense of either mercy or guilt. When an Astartes' will finally breaks, the result is catastrophic as the whole edifice of his purpose and psyche tumble into an often violent maelstrom of unleashed and pent-up desire.
Having been created for combat, most Chaos Space Marines first turn to the only thing they have ever known -- the pursuit of war. Though their ideals and goals may have been cast aside, their superhuman bodies and tactical and strategic skills remain intact. Released from the confines of the need to follow orders and pursue missions prescribed by others, a Chaos Space Marine can become a cold and psychopathic killer without morals or restraint. He pursues this bloody life to its fullest extent, glorifying in the power of his genetically enhanced body and the ability it renders him to unleash death and misery upon those he once served.
Some Chaos Space Marines never grow past this point and remain bloodthirsty Renegades, corsairs and pirates for the rest of their long lives. Others, now free to explore the temptations of the galaxy all around them, reach out in all direction to widen their mental horizons and experiences. Once a subservient cog within their Legion or Chapter's machinery dedicated to the service of a distant Emperor, a Chaos Space Marine may come to relish the chance to be a master rather than a servant, enslaving nations and whole worlds into the service of himself and the Ruinous Powers. Other prefer to pursue other avenues, such as the study of once-illicit texts or a passion for technical or sorcerous knowledge forbidden to the servants of the Imperium. Some Chaos Space Marines prefer to inflict pleasure and pain upon themselves, pushing their bodies and minds to the limits of what they can withstand and beyond, desperate for a sensual reward that mortals, even Astartes, were never intended to experience.
To be a Chaos Space Marine is ultimately to feel a near god-like power over other beings, particularly one's fellow men. Having been freed for decades, if not centuries, from the experience of fear and now released from responsibility, a Chaos Space Marine does not dread either retribution or punishment for his deeds. For most Chaos Space Marines, all memories of their heroic pasts are soon lost amidst the rivers of blood and the ecstacies of new sensation, and any thoughts of the future are but half-imagined cravings for more...more power, more killing, more pleasure, more pain.
By dedicating himself body and soul to the Dark Gods, an Astartes not only finds a patron who approves and encourages his new life, but who will actually reward him the further down that path he walks. For one whose sole existence was once defined by the necessity of self-denial and utter obedience, the euphoria of this realisation of true freedom can be an even more potent intoxicant than the pride he once felt at being accepted as one of the Emperor's Space Marines.
It is this temptation that constantly beckons to all Loyalist Space Marines. They cannot claim to be ignorant of its existence, as the teachings of their Chapter and its Chaplains remind them daily of both their purpose and their duties. No Space Marine casually walks away from these once-welcome bonds, no matter what might occur in his life. For an Astartes to turn to the service of Chaos he must consciously make the choice to walk a radically different path, to chose profane freedom over righteous service. Once made, it is a decision that can never be recanted, for from the moment that a Space Marine renounces his service to the Emperor, he is truly lost and irrevocably damned.
The Chaos Space Marines have the same genetic origins as the Space Marines in the gene-seed created by the Emperor from the genomes of the 20 Primarchs, and thus have the same physical abilities as their uncorrupted counterparts. Due to their allegiance to Chaos, Veteran Chaos Space Marines often suffer from extreme mutations (or Chaotic "gifts" depending on the point of view). Traitor Marines are virtually immortal due to their sojourns within the Warp, and their millennia of experience afford them levels of tactical mastery and advanced battlefield skills that the much younger Loyalist Space Marines have not yet have earned.
Chaos Space Marines are equipped with the ancient patterns of Power Armour and weapons they had when they initially betrayed the Imperium at the start of the Horus Heresy, which are broadly the same as those used by the current Loyalist Space Marines (although some differences now exist with regard to Jump Packs, Power Armour appearance, etc). At present in the late 41st Millennium, some 10,000 standard years after the Horus Heresy, the Imperium of Man has made a few, mostly minuscule technological advancements, due to the recovery of certain Standard Template Construct (STC) technologies from the interstellar human civilisation that existed during the Dark Age of Technology, though in most ways the Imperium has either completely stagnated or even regressed from the technological level prevalent across the Imperium during the Great Crusade in the early 31st Millennium. Chaos Space Marines have far more limited access to the handful of new inventions that have appeared on the galactic scene in the last 10,000 years. In general, anything developed since the Heresy is unavailable to the Traitor Marines unless it has been captured or was already deployed among Space Marines who went Renegade in more recent centuries; for example, the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion is well-known for capturing and using more modern patterns of Imperial tanks and armoured vehicles. While Chaos Space Marines may possess older technology than their Loyalist counterparts, they compensate for this weakness through the ability to summon daemons from the Immaterium and make use of daemonic technology like daemon engines, as well as the unbridled power of arcane sorcery drawn from the Warp without fears of limitation or corruption.
Because the Chaos Space Marines have all dedicated their souls to Chaos, they are extremely fearful of death, knowing that their souls will ultimately be consumed by the Ruinous Powers, unless they can earn the rare promotion to become Daemon Princes in their own right. The Chaos Gods do not truly care for their Chaos Space Marine servants, any more than they do for any mortals who serve them. The Dark Gods would gladly see them tortured for all eternity within their realms in the Immaterium simply for their own pleasure. Worshipers of Khorne are cursed to feel eternal rage but denied the ability to slaughter, the children of Nurgle are forever consumed by despair and the wracking pains of a hideous death, those who serve Slaanesh as their patron will be tortured for the sheer pleasure of the Prince of Chaos until the end of time, and the servants of Tzeentch know only endless insanity as their souls constantly change in form and the knowledge of the universe they crave is forever placed just out of their reach. In theory, those souls who choose to serve Chaos Undivided are either shared or fought over by the Chaos Gods in the afterlife of the Immaterium.
Only the promise of eternal life as a Daemon Prince, a dubious honour earned through unbridled success in the service of Chaos, reassures those mortals who pledge their lives and souls to Chaos. This fear of death, however, does nothing to slow or halt the vicious might of the Chaos Space Marines, who are quite sure that the power they have received from the Chaos Gods in return for their souls will ultimately provide them with rule over their fellow men, as is the right of every Astartes. It will also provide the opportunity to earn the necessary glories required to appease the Dark Gods and claim the daemonic immortality they offer as ultimate reward.
Champions of Chaos
In the Immaterium, similar thoughts and emotions of the sentient beings of the galaxy join together like rivulets of water running down a cliffside. They form streams and flows of anguish and desire, pools of hatred and oceans of pride. For billions of standard years these tides and waves of psychic energy have flowed unceasingly through the Warp and such is their power that they eventually formed creatures hewed from the energy of the Empyrean. These instinctual, formless entities eventually gained rudimentary consciousness and the Chaos Gods were born -- great psychic presences composed of the best dreams and worst nightmares of the galaxy's mortals. As the sentient races of the galaxy prospered and grew, their hopes and dreams, their rage and conflicts and their loves and hatreds, all fed the growth of the Chaos Gods and nurtured their power. Eventually, the gods reached into the dreams of mortals to demand both their praise and their service.
A Chaos God can only increase its power through the collective actions and thoughts of the galaxy's mortals, regardless of their species of origin. Those who worship a Chaos God and behave in a way that feeds its psychic nature are rewarded with strange gifts, mutations, extraordinary psychic powers and potentially the greatest reward -- ascension as an immortal Daemon Prince. As the Chaos Gods battle one another within the Warp and the Realm of Chaos, so to do their followers wage war upon one another in the material universe. The victors of these battles earn more power for their masters, although the machinations and natures of the Chaos Gods are such that often a victory is unnecessary, merely the acts of sacrifice and battle in and of themselves.
When the devotees of Chaos die, their psychic energy, their souls in the Warp, do not fade away to an unknown destination, are not destroyed and are not devoured by daemons like the souls of others. Instead their souls are swallowed by the collective power of the gods, sustaining them and increasing the eternal power of Chaos.
Although untold billions of sentients worship the Chaos Gods under a myriad of different guises, names and aspects, for the majority of those who serve Chaos, the Dark Gods offer simply the chance for more power and wealth in a universe where such things are rarely easily attained. But there are those few men and women who dedicate their lives to becoming true warriors of the Chaos Gods. For these devotees, the allure of Chaos is even stronger. The Champions of Chaos have a deep, fervent belief in the Ruinous Powers and their committment is total: they swear themselves body and soul, in this life and beyond, to Chaos.
Those who dedicate themselves to the service of Chaos are doomed to an all-or-nothing existence as Chaos Champions in the service of one of the Dark Gods, or even of Chaos Undivided. The reward for those who please their god is ultimate power; for those who fail it is only eternal oblivion. To achieve greatness in the eyes of their god, Chaos Champions will perform any act, no matter how immoral, insane or vile. A Champion of Chaos does not simply praise and venerate the Chaos Gods, he swears his life and soul to their service, bargaining away his own essence in exchange for power and the rewards of their patronage. Granted the forbidden knowledge and strength of Chaos, a Champion can lead armies, conquer whole worlds and achieve greatness and ultimately, immortality. At the same time, the gods who choose to favour this Champion can bring their influence to bear upon him, so that even as he furthers his own ambitions, he also furthers the dominance and plots of his patrons. Chaos Champions are the leaders of the Forces of Chaos and the majority of them are Chaos Space Marines, though some have far more mundane origins. It is a great irony that the same abilities that make Space Marines the greatest defenders of the Imperium are also extraordinary assets for those who would become the most potent warriors of the Chaos Gods.
The genetic alterations that create a Space Marine also make Astartes more resistant to the mutational affects of exposure to the energies of Chaos, which allows a Chaos Space Marine to better survive the attentions of his often-capricious new patrons. Just as their bodies benefit from the changes wrought upon them by the ancient technologies pioneered by the Emperor, so too are the minds of Space Marines honed to an incredible focus and possessed of a potent force of will. These are qualities that stand a man in great stead if he wishes to become a Chaos Champion. Those who lack a certain clarity of thought, the mental steel required to be successful, will soon be engulfed and lost in the constant anarchy of service to Chaos or will be swiftly overthrown and slain by more ambitious and ruthless subordinates and comrades. Chaos cares little for loyalty -- power is given to those strong enough to claim its rewards.
Chaos Space Marine Warbands
Save for a few Champions dedicated to the most pure service of Khorne, Chaos Champions do not live and fight alone. Other followers of Chaos are drawn to them, either through the will of the gods or through the draw of a Champion's own glory and reputation. These groups form the warbands of Chaos and they can vary in size from a handful of individuals to massive hosts that rival an Imperial Guard regiment in size and power. The most successful Chaos Champions command vast armies of devoted warriors. For Chaos Space Marines these warbands are mostly composed of comrades they fought alongside in their Traitor Legions or their Renegade Chapter. Yet it is not uncommon for Renegades with very different histories to find a common cause in their service to the Ruinous Powers, as Chaos recognises neither hierarchy nor structure, only results.
These warbands compete with each other as much as they fight against xenos and the forces of the Imperium. Resources are precious and hard-won in the Eye of Terror and the Maelstrom and control of cities, continents and worlds is vital to the maintenance of power. Most valued over all other things is the favour of the Chaos Gods. Champions and their warbands must constantly prove their continued dedication to their patrons. The Chaos Gods are embodiments of the question: what have you done for me lately?
Champions earn rewards from their gods by destroying their patron's enemies and succeeding on obscure missions and quests. On the Daemon Worlds in the Eye of Terror, hundreds of warbands struggle in battle to best each other for possession of daemonic artefacts, ancient knowledge, weapons and war machines left over from the days of the Horus Heresy and from before the Fall of the Eldar. They are pitched into eternal conflict as sacrifices to their gods and to earn the power to summon daemons to their cause. When not battling one another, the warbands of Chaos Space Marines are a roving threat, for they are wandering bands of nomadic warriors intent only on slaughter and loot. From bases hidden in asteroid fields and upon the surfaces of deserted moons, aboard painstakingly maintained starships that date back to the Great Crusade, they watch and wait for their prey to appear, gathering strength wherever a new blow can be struck against the despised Imperium of Man and its hated Corpse Emperor.
In the end, every Chaos Champion faces one of three fates. A life of constant warfare is a dangerous one and most will die upon the field of battle, forgotten by their god as just another failure but immortalised in legend by their remaining followers and comrades. These Champions are nothing more than blood-soaked sacrifices to Chaos, their goals and ambitions forever unfulfilled.
A Chaos Champion who survives the constant battles will slowly gain more and more favour from his chosen god. These rewards come in different forms. Some Champions may be "sent" more followers. Those with a taste for such things might learn potent spells of psychic sorcery, while all Champions will eventually exhibit strange, inhuman powers. Most of the "gifts" offered by the Chaos Gods take the form of physical and genetic changes -- mutations. Some mutations are beneficial, some are harmless -- and others are downright debilitating.
Though such changes can make a Chaos Champion a fearsome warrior, he risks receiving so many such "gifts" and become so mutated, that he loses all control of himself and degenerates into the hideous creature known as a Chaos Spawn. Even the superhuman, genetically-engineered body of an Astartes can only withstand so much genetic corruption and can contain only so much unnatural power. When this limit is finally breached, the Space Marine or other Champion will be lost forever, transformed into a gibbering and mindless Chaos Spawn. Driven insane, Chaos Spawn are nothing more than mindless, howling monsters of tortured, mutated flesh. Most die quickly and painfully, their bodies ripped apart by cascading and uncontrollable mutations as the power of Chaos is made wholly manifest within them. Of those who do not die instantly upon surpassing the limit of the Chaos power that their bodies can withstand, some are abandoned by their warbands to wander the Daemon Worlds until they are slain, while others are kept as pets and war beasts by those who were once their followers.
But the third fate of a Chaos Champion is the reward to which all devotees of Chaos dedicate themselves: ascension to daemonhood. The Champion's ultimate reward is ascension to become a Daemon Prince of his patron god. His flesh is transformed into the immaterial substance of the Warp and his mortal life is entirely cast aside. A follower of Chaos who ascends to become a Daemon Prince is an immortal and all-powerful warrior who will serve his god for all eternity and never know death or fear again. Some Daemon Princes leave their mortal followers behind and join the nightmare hosts of the Daemons of Chaos to plague worlds across the gulfs of space and time as embodiments of the power of their gods. Others choose to remain the leaders of their warband, now granted an eternity to bask in the adoration of their minions and earn perhaps even greater and unimaginable power from the Dark Gods that they have served so well.
The Traitor Legions and Renegade Space Marine Chapters
Chaos Space Marine Traitor Legions
Each of the 9 Astartes Traitor Legions fights using a different style of warfare that is defined by their Legion's culture and nature; also, 4 of the 9 -- the Emperor's Children, the World Eaters, the Thousand Sons and the Death Guard -- are dedicated specifically to the service of 1 of the 4 major Chaos Gods, Slaanesh, Khorne, Tzeentch and Nurgle, respectively. The other 5 Traitor Legions essentially serve the interests of all of the Ruinous Powers collectively in the form of Chaos Undivided.
The 9 Chaos Space Marine Traitor Legions who joined the rebellion of the Warmaster Horus against the Emperor, fully one half of the Space Marine Legions created during the First Founding are (in order of their Founding):
|Legion Number
|Primarch Status
|Emperor's Children
|Traitor (Slaanesh)
|Alive (Daemon Prince)
|Iron Warriors
|Traitor (Chaos Undivided)
|Alive (Daemon Prince)
|Konrad Curze (Night Haunter)
|Night Lords
|Traitor (Chaos Undivided)
|World Eaters
|Traitor (Khorne)
|Alive (Daemon Prince) Currently banished to the Warp
|Death Guard
|Traitor (Nurgle)
|Alive (Daemon Prince)
|Magnus the Red
|Thousand Sons
|Traitor (Tzeentch)
|Alive (Daemon Prince)
|Black Legion
|Traitor (Chaos Undivided)
|Word Bearers
|Traitor (Chaos Undivided)
|Alive (Daemon Prince)
|Alpharius Omegon
|Alpha Legion
|Traitor (Chaos Undivided), possibly still Loyal
The Emperor's Children
The Emperor's Children were one of the earliest of the Space Marine Legions to declare itself for Horus and his Traitors, fighting at his side against its own Loyalists during the Istvaan III Atrocity and against the Loyalist Legions during the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V. The III Legion and its Primarch Fulgrim had been corrupted following its encounter with the Slaanesh-worshipping xenos race known as the Laer and their world of Laeran late in the Great Crusade. The rot spread quickly through the Legion, and the Emperor's Children embraced Chaos, particularly the Prince of Pleasure, in all its depravity. Little trace can now be seen of the original armour and equipment of the Emperor's Children, covered as it is by skins of iridescent fur or scales, jewels, or the fantastical renderings of screaming faces or rutting beasts. The Emperor's Children fight for sensation and sensory overload, bringing a clashing cacophony of sound, colour, and energy to the battlefield.
The Iron Warriors
The Iron Warriors once formed the Emperor's legion of siege troops. They fought on a hundred worlds in the Great Crusade, laying siege to alien citadels and the palaces of Heretics with equal gusto. The Iron Warrior's Primarch, Perturabo, excelled in the arts of siege and trench warfare above all else, and his treatise on fortifications and their reduction formed the basis of several sections of the Tactica Imperialis. The Iron Warriors betrayed the Emperor on Istvaan V, their mazes of bunkers and razor wire becoming a death trap for their Loyalist brethren instead of the sanctuary they promised to be. The Iron Warriors wear relatively unadorned armour that is commonly pieced together from the older marks for its heavier frontal protection. They favour heavy weaponry like Lascannons or Missile Launchers for long-range engagements, although well-equipped Iron Warriors Assault Squads are also rightly feared.
The Night Lords
Led by their saturnine Primarch, Konrad Curze (also known the Night Haunter) the Night Lords were greatly feared even before the Heresy. Curze believed in the use of terror as a weapon and his foes quickly learned to fear the night. The Night Lords were one of the first Legions to join Horus' rebellion, turning on what they saw as a weak-willed Emperor incapable of having the strength to lead. Even after Horus' defeat the Night Lords have continued to wage an unremitting campaign of terror against the Imperium. The Night Lords refuse to follow any of the Chaos Gods, and have become cynical, hard-bitten, and frighteningly ruthless warriors. They fight for the pleasure of it, and for the material rewards it can bring, and not for the worship of some deity. They look down upon their more dedicated brethren, whether they are fanatical Chaos Space Marines like the World Eaters, or zealous Loyalist Space Marines like the Dark Angels.
The World Eaters
Under the Primarch Angron, the World Eaters underwent psycho-surgery that transformed an already fierce legion into bloodthirsty berserkers through the use of cortical implants known as the Butcher's Nails pioneered on their Primarch's homeworld of Nuceria. When they betrayed the Imperium, it was of little surprise that the vast majority dedicated themselves to Khorne. The XII Legion fractured after the Heresy, scattering into warbands across the galaxy. However, any member of the World Eaters is likely to be bloodthirsty and violent. As is fitting to their patron God, the World Eaters wear armour as red as arterial blood, edged with brass and decorated with skulls and symbols of Khorne. Most disdain long-ranged warfare, preferring to close with the enemy to kill them with Chainaxe, Power Sword, and (if need be) Bolt Pistols.
The Death Guard
The Death Guard followed Horus into heresy, their sense of loyalty to their Warmaster and their Primarch, Mortarion, triumphing over their duty to the Emperor on distant Terra. The rebel Death Guard Legion was marooned in the Warp during the long journey to Terra to join the attack on the Imperial Palace. A mysterious, unstoppable contagion spread through the trapped fleet, putrefying all it touched. Mortarion himself became infected and in his delirium he called upon the Powers of Chaos to aid his Space Marines. Mortarion's fevered ravings were answered by Nurgle, and Mortarion became Nurgle's foremost mortal Chaos Champion and eventually his Daemon Prince. The Death Guard survived but they continue to bear the marks of Nurgle's first blessings upon them. Their once-white armour became stained and cracked where the bubbling foulness of their mortal bodies has erupted to the surface. They bear the three-lobed mark of Nurgle rendered as flies or rotting heads upon banners and shoulder guards. Their Bolters and Chainswords are caked with filth and rust but are no less deadly. Plague and contagion have become the Death Guard's primary weapons and they can be found anywhere in the galaxy spreading Nurgle's foul blessings.
The Thousand Sons
The path to damnation for the Thousand Sons Legion of Space Marines was longer than most, but its final plunge more complete than any. Even before the Horus Heresy the Sons' cyclopean Primarch Magnus the Red led his sons in the study of arcane lore and the practice of sorcery despite the Emperor's disapproval and the outright ban on such practices at the Council of Nikaea. When Horus gathered his forces the Thousand Sons tried to use their occult powers to warn the Emperor of the Warmaster's betrayal. Disastrously the Emperor was mistrustful of anything tinged by Chaos such as the use of psychic sorcery that He had expressly forbidden at Nikaea and He declared the Thousand Sons' Primarch to be taken captive and brought back to Terra for his disobedience. Leman Russ and the Space Wolves Legion were sent to devastate the Thousand Sons' homeworld of Prospero. To survive and protect their accumulated wisdom, the Thousand Sons sought the patronage of the Chaos Power Tzeentch, Changer of the Ways, greatest master of magic among the Chaos Gods. During the terrible battle known as the Burning of Prospero, Tzeentch transported Magnus and his surviving sons to the Daemon World in the Eye of Terror called the Planet of the Sorcerers. The surviving Thousand Sons have been split by internal schisms, their pursuit of occult knowledge estranging them to each other and even their cyclopean Primarch. A cabal of renegade Sorcerers led by their once-Chief Librarian Ahriman unleashed a great magic upon the Legion to prevent further mutation and corruption of its members by Chaos. This Rubric of Ahriman reduced most of the Thousand Sons to soulless suits of animated armour known as Rubric Marines, but left the surviving Sorcerers unmatched in power.
The Black Legion
The Black Legion is the only Traitor Legion to have changed its name in its ten thousand years of exile. In the First Founding the XVI Legion was created as the Luna Wolves. The Emperor subsequently allowed his favoured son Horus to rename the Legion "the Sons of Horus" in recognition of its accomplishments in the Ullanor Crusade and in honour of its Primarch. The Sons of Horus willingly followed their beloved Primarch and Warmaster into rebellion, fighting at the very forefront of his most important campaigns. When Horus was defeated by the Emperor at the Battle of Terra, the Legion's morale was shattered; their patron, their father, was gone. After the battle for the Imperial Palace the Sons of Horus renamed themselves the Black Legion, changing their Legion colours to black in memory and mourning of their fallen Primarch. They gave themselves to the worship of one Chaos Power after another and lost many of their number through possession and madness. The hardened survivors lead warbands against the Imperium to this day, still eager to expunge the bitter memory of Horus' defeat. The Black Legion has been reforged under the strong leadership of Abaddon the Despoiler, the former First Captain of the Sons of Horus, who has claimed Horus' mantle as the Warmaster of Chaos Undivided.
The Word Bearers
Lorgar, Primarch of the Word Bearers Legion, was a scrupulous and dedicated follower of the Imperial Cult, and in many ways was the founder of the religion of Emperor-worship called the Lectitio Divinitatus that would one day become the Adeptus Ministorum. He led his XVII Legion in the building of vast monuments and immense rituals during the Great Crusade to secure the faith of those that were conquered in the God-Emperor. The Emperor rejected Lorgar's efforts however, telling him that he needed his Space Marines to fight, not worship and serve the secular Imperial Truth which disdained all religion and superstition. Lorgar's disillusionment with the Emperor's impiety drove him to worship of the Chaos Powers during the Pilgrimage of Lorgar undertaken some 43 standard years before the start of the Horus Heresy, entities that truly demanded worship and sacrifice from their followers. When Horus raised his banner the Word Bearers, who had largely driven Horus into corruption by Chaos from behind the scenes, eagerly followed him into rebellion along with a thousand hidden Chaos Cults they had established on the worlds they had brought into Imperial Compliance in the last days of the Great Crusade. The Word Bearers' fanatical zealotry has become dedicated to the worship of Chaos in its purest form, unadulterated by the veneration of any particular Chaos Power over the others. They are the only Traitor Legion that still maintains the rank of Chaplain, the darkly twisted individuals holding this office now known as Dark Apostles and leading their brethren in heretical prayers and insane catechisms. Immense cathedrals and rune-etched monuments still rise in the wake of the Word Bearer's conquests, but now they are blasphemous dedications to the glory that is Chaos.
The Alpha Legion
The Alpha Legion was the twentieth and final Legion created in the First Founding. During the Great Crusade the XX Legion earned renown for its strict discipline and organization. The Alpha Legion strove hard to outshine its brethren in all things and prove their worthiness to be among the older Legions. The war-lust of the Alpha Legion easily led them into heresy when Horus declared himself against the Emperor, though some legends say that the Alpha Legion secretly remains loyal to the Emperor in perhaps the greatest of the many deceptions and ploys it has worked. Here at last was their chance to prove themselves against opponents just as tough, as battle hardened, and ferocious as themselves. The Alpha Legion did much to ravage the Eastern Fringe during the Heresy, pursuing their own set of objectives far from Terra. In the ten millennia since they have continued to strike from bases hidden all over the galaxy. Unusually the Alpha Legion actively cultivates Chaos Cultists and rebels, multiplying their impact many times over. The Inquisition holds a special loathing for the Alpha Legion for their part in spreading Chaos Cults and fanning the embers of heresy into the raging fires of outright rebellion.
Renegade Space Marine Chapters
Through the passing of the centuries since the Horus Heresy, the Forces of Chaos have been further swelled by those Space Marines from the later Foundings who have turned from service to the Emperor of Mankind to pursue their own agendas. According to the current records of the Inquisition's Ordo Malleus, approximately 50 Loyalist Chapters or elements of Loyalist Chapters have turned Renegade in the ten millennia since the Horus Heresy. Examples include the Sons of Malice, the Damned Company of Lord Caustos, the Violators, the Thunder Barons, and the Astral Claws (known as the Red Corsairs since their rebellion against the Imperium during the Badab War). A more complete list can be found here.
Freed from the Imperial dogma and traditions of their Chapter, these so-called Renegade Space Marines fully indulge the needs of their superhuman bodies and their militant minds. They most often become corsairs, pirates and mercenaries, using their unparalleled combat skills to garner wealth and power for themselves, rising as tyrannical masters of pirate fleets and the masters of desolate frontier worlds. As they explore their new freedom from the discipline and strict purpose of the Adeptus Astartes, these Space Marines inevitably turn at some point to the Chaos Gods to gain more power to do as they will. From this point on, they are fated to walk the path of the Chaos Champion as much as any of the original Traitors of the Horus Heresy. These Renegades are hunted men -- loathed by all the other Space Marine Chapters, who consider it their foremost duty before the Emperor to destroy any Renegade Astartes lest their vile shame and dishonour leave a black stain upon all the Loyalist Space Marines who have never turned their face from the light of the Emperor or their duty to Mankind for their own selfish gain.
Though never equal in size or power to the original Astartes Legions, a modern Space Marine Chapter is a potent military force in its own right and when an entire Chapter turns Renegade it presents a grave threat to the Imperium. With all the resources of a Space Marine Chapter at their disposal, the Renegades of Chaos destroy Imperial armies, conquer Imperial worlds and despoil whole sectors of the Imperium. Such events warrant an extreme response from the Imperial forces, not to mention the other, Loyalist Space Marine Chapters. It is perhaps the greatest test of faith for a Space Marine to fight another Astartes and these internecine conflicts often have a terrible effect on other nearby Chapters. In these circumstances, such inter-Chapter wars tend to escalate quickly, engulfing many worlds with bloodshed. On Occasion, those forces sent to deal with the Renegade Chapter may actually end up, in whole or in part, becoming corrupted and joining with those they were sent to destroy, just as happened to many among the Traitor Legions so long ago.
An example of just such an outcome infamously took place in the 34th Millennium during the Obscuran Uprisings. During the course of 400 Terran years of anarchic separatist rebellions that shook much of the Segmentum Obscurus, at least 7 Loyalist Space Marine Chapters broke their oaths to the Emperor and took part in the looting and pillaging of hundreds of these Imperial worlds. Of these Chapters, 2 of them, the Sons of Vengeance and the Silver Guards -- had at first fought on the side of the Imperium but turned Renegade after their actions against the Chaotic Free Council of Hannedra II.
Forces of the Chaos Space Marines
The Forces of Chaos
The Forces of Chaos is an all-encompassing term that includes the Chaos Space Marines and all the other beings and entities who serve the Ruinous Powers of Chaos and make war upon the Imperium of Man and the many other intelligent races of the Milky Way Galaxy. Among their number are included the Traitor Legions and Renegade Space Marines, human, mutant and alien Chaos Cultists, Traitor Imperial Guard, Traitor Titan Legions, the Tech-priests of the Dark Mechanicus, Chaos Spawn cannon fodder, and daemons of every shape and level of power as well as countless other foul beings too horrific to be mentioned here. All of these forces can be led into battle by the Chaos Space Marines, who are collectively the most powerful mortal servants of the Ruinous Powers who have ever lived.
The Lost and the Damned
There are also many normal humans and mutants who serve the Ruinous Powers as Chaos Cultists or belong to ancient regiments of the Imperial Army, the Traitor Titan Legions or the Dark Mechanicus. These groups joined Horus in his rebellion and then fled with the Traitor Legions into the Eye of Terror 10 millennia ago after Horus' defeat. These groups are often used by the Chaos Space Marines to bolster their ranks. These Traitors, mutants and heretics are collectively labelled the "Lost and the Damned" by the Inquisition.
- Black Crusade: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 27-29
- Codex: Chaos Space Marines (6th Edition)
- Codex: Chaos Space Marines, (4th Edition)
- Codex: Chaos Space Marines, (3rd Edition)
- Codex: Eye of Terror, (3rd Edition)
- Codex: Space Marines, (5th Edition)
- Codex: Space Marines, (4th Edition)
- Deathwatch: First Founding
- Imperial Armour The Horus Heresy - Betrayal: Book One
- Index Astartes I
- Index Astartes II
- Index Astartes III
- Index Astartes IV
- Realms of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness
- Realms of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned
- Eisenhorn by Dan Abnett (Novel)
- Dead Sky, Black Sun (Novel) by Graham McNeill


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XMind is mind mapping and brainstorming software with management elements to capture ideas, clarify thinking, manage complex information, and promote team collaboration.
In this release, the team brings forward eight big new features and a dozen significant improvements, along with most of known bugs fixed.
For third-party developers, the platform features and API of XMind are said to be stable.
New in this release is the "Idea Factory", a function to record and collect inspirations further and faster.
"A timer stays to let us control the session time. The night mode decreases light and protects your eyes in a dark room. Full-screen and a stress-free scene, here, makes you take all attention on capturing the inspiration and sparkles in your mind. Then, you'll find the solution is hidden within them. We can discover it by evaluating, organizing, and connecting the ideas," said the development team.
As a popular note-taking and archiving application, Evernote is used by tens of millions of users, also including a large number of XMind users. So now we see support for saving XMind files into Evernote note include: image, attachment, and text. By this way, we can send our maps across different devices and get access to them easily.
According to the development team, "Our new Theme Editor provides you an efficient way to easily modify your favorite themes and design a new theme. You can preset styles of central topics, main topics, subtopics, and floating topics. Also, the styles of relationships, boundaries, summaries, and the wallpaper. Edit the properties and then save it to the theme view for future usage."
A full list of new features can be found here.


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I'm at a point where I'm wondering if I need to stop labeling my books A Bone Secrets Novel. My publisher loves series titles and even though my books are all stand alones with different main characters, I wonder if I'm hurting future sales by having a series title. At my request, my books are not labeled with numbers. I believe when a reader sees a book labeled #4, they pass it by because they automatically think, "I haven't read the first three and will be lost if I buy this book."
But when readers see my series name, A Bone Secrets Novel, do they think they need to read the earlier books first? What ties my books together is the variety of forensics professions that I highlight in each book. And my main character had a secondary role in a previous book. Now I just wrote a book that has no forensics; it's FBI centered, but the main character has been a big secondary character in three previous books. Should it have the same series name?
By using a new series title, would I open my books up for new readers? I'm toying with the idea of a similar series title, like A ____ Secrets Novel.
Sue Grafton's Alphabet series, JD Robb's In Death series, and JR Ward's Black Dagger series are all going great guns. Proof that a series works. BUT I think these are more the exception than the rule; there are plenty of series that have fizzled.
A benefit of writing a series is that if a reader gets one out of order and loves it, they often go back and buy the rest of the books. But wouldn't they consider buying your backlist anyway?
Decisions, decisions.
When do you give up on a series? What is your favorite series that you grab as soon as you see it without reading the back cover?


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Offseason Odds and Ends
Presenting Unleashing the Utah Jazz's 2010-2011 Victory-Assuring Secret Weapon: FESENKOSTEIN.
2. Did anyone else catch this Millsap quote from Siler's locker clean-out blog posts?
Q: If the Jazz re-sign Carlos Boozer, would you be all right with that or would you ask for an opportunity elsewhere?
A: I don't know what I would do. Have to wait and see. I don't know.
Sounds like Millsap will no longer [quietly?] come off the bench. Seeing how he's under contract and his hands are tied when it comes to starter/sub status, are we going to see a [quiet] trade demand down the line if the Jazz re-sign Boozer?
It's interesting that Sap now says he "doesn't know" and would have to "wait and see" what he would do when 1) he's generally one of the quietest players on the team and never says much; 2) earlier in the season he spouted the party line about doing whatever's best for the team, etc. It's entirely likely that during the season, Sap was working under the assumption that Boozer would be gone next season and his time (as a starter) was around the corner–a stance shared by many Jazz fans.
3. When asked whether he would like to stay in Utah, Fes said yes because 1) he knows where to eat; 2) the fans love him; 3) he wants to take over Kyle Korver's sexiest Jazz player position.
It looks like Fes will once again skip out on the Jazz's summer league to play for the Ukrainian national team (which worked so well last year–second note under "Other Stuff"). Whether he really does want to play for the team or he's just using it as an excuse to get out of summer league duty, Fes is saying that he was convinced by AK to do it: "A.K. [Andrei Kirilenko] explained it to me, 'It's your country, you have to play for it.'"
Another item on his summer agenda is flying to LA to meet with his agent, Dan Fegan.
4. Um, DAN FEGAN???
[I didn't realize this part would get so long. It's been spun off into its own post.]
5. As I said in the recap of the final game of the season, I'm ready to move on…aka no season recap.
Several Jazz sites have put up recaps so far, and I particularly liked this one (despite no mention of AK). So if you're in the mood for a season recap, head over to Sloan'd.


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At The Plate – Wild game in Iowa today that saw a total of twenty-four hits and nineteen runs between the two teams, unfortunately Iowa came up one run short. Logan Watkins was 2-for-4 with a walk, and RBI, and a run scored. Ryan Sweeney just doesn't stop hitting, he was 2-for-4 with a walk, and two runs scored, he's hitting .377 on the season. Brad Nelson is a huge man, he had a huge day going 4-for-5 with two doubles, three RBI's, and two runs scored. Brett Jackson seems to be settling in at the plate, he went 1-for-4 with a walk, a home run, two RBI's and a run scored.
On The Mound – Rough go of it for the Iowa pitchers in this one. Nick Struck got the start and worked three innings giving up five runs on four hits while walking four, and striking out one. Esmailin Caridad didn't fare much better out of the pen going three innings giving up four runs on four hits while walking three and striking out five. Cory Wade worked two innings giving up one run on three hits while walking one and striking out one. Blake Parker was the only Iowa pitcher to escape unscathed in this one as he worked as scoreless inning while walking one and striking out two.
At The Plate – Not a lot of offense in this one, but just enough for Daytona as they squeaked by the Cardinals 2-1. Daytona just couldn't get the big hit in this one to open the game up, they were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Dustin Geiger had a solid game and a huge hit, he was 1-for-2 with a home run, a walk, and a run scored. Javier Baez continues to hit, and make errors, he was 1-for-3 with his eleventh error of the season, it will happen, and he will improve. Chad Noble and Ben Carhart each had a double in the win.
On The Mound – Yeiper Castillo was disgusting good in this one, unfortunately he didn't factor in the decision. Castillo went four scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking one and striking out eight. Luis Liria was solid out of the pen going two scoreless innings giving up one hit and striking out one. Hunter Cervenka blew the save, not really his fault, but also got the win. Cervenka went two innings giving up one run, unearned, on one hit while walking one and striking out four.
At The Plate – Game one was as good as it gets when it comes to pitching as the game was scoreless into the last of the seventh. That's when Jae-Hoon Ha came off the bench and walked off with a three run shot to give the Smokies a 3-0 victory. That was really the only offense for the Smokies in game one as they managed seven hits, with only one extra base hit, the Ha home run. Rubi Silva was 1-for-3 with a stolen base, and a run scored in the win.
On The Mound – Kyle Hendricks was brilliant in this one but did not factor into the decision. Hendricks went six scoreless inning giving up one hit while walking one and striking out eight. Marcus Hatley came on in relief and earned the win after working one scoreless inning, striking out two in the frame.
At The Plate – Game two had the same final score, unfortunately the opposite result as the Smokies could only manage two hits all game in the defeat. Matt Szczur and Ronald Torreyes were each 1-for-3, and that was it.
On The Mound – Eric Jokisch had a rough go of it early, but then settled in to have a decent outing, but took his first loss of the season. Jokisch went five innings giving up three runs on six hits while walking one and striking out one. Frank Batista and Tony Zych kept things close as they both worked a scoreless inning out of the pen, unfortunately the Smokies couldn't get anything done offensively.
At The Plate – What a crushing loss for the Cougars in game one, I guess the good news is that there is another game right away so they can forget this one. The Cougars led 6-2 heading to the last of the 7th (7th inning is the last inning in DH games) and they gave up five runs to lose 7-6. The Cougars only managed six hits but they were awfully productive in scoring six runs. Daniel Vogelbach blasted his third home run of the season, he ended game one going 1-for-4 with said home run, two RBI's and a run scored. Rock Shoulders joined the fun as well as he launched his fifth home run of the season, he finished game one 1-for-3 with two RBI's and a run scored. Willson Contreras was 2-for-3 with a stolen base, and two runs scored.
On The Mound – Felix Pena did everything possible to earn the win as he went six inning giving up two runs on five hits while striking out three. Then things went south, and quickly. Ian Dickson was the first out of the pen, he was only able to get through two-thirds of an inning giving up four runs on two hits while walking two and striking out one. Matt Iannazzo added fuel to the fire in relief of Dickson, as he didn't retire a hitter and gave up one run on two hits while walking two to get the loss.
At The Plate – Game one's disaster just zapped any energy that the Cougars might have had, and they still could have won this one. For the second time today the Cougars blew a late inning lead, this one wasn't as bad as the first game though. The Cougars could only manage two hits in game two, I know, not very exciting. Daniel Vogelbach was 1-for-3 with another home run, an RBI, and a run scored. Oliver Zapata had the only other hit, a single, he also walked.
On The Mound – Michael Heesch pitched well early, then struggled late. Heesch worked five innings giving up four runs on six hits while walking one and striking out seven. Steve Perakslis worked a scoreless inning out of the pen, but it was too little too late.
Thanks for reading,
– George


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What is Adobe Premiere Elements 15?
Premiere Elements 15 is an app that makes your movies look great, so you don't have to worry about your camera skills or capturing the perfect footage. Make movies your way, and style them with cool effects and motion titles. Quickly share them on virtually any screen — the software automatically recommends the best export settings. And always find any video fast thanks to easy search options.
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What's the difference between Premiere Elements and Premiere Pro?
Premiere Elements offers options for every level of user with Quick, Guided, and Expert modes, so it's easy for video enthusiasts to get started making great-looking movies. Premiere Pro provides the ultimate toolset for professional video production.
What are the top new benefits of Premiere Elements 15?
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- Access inspiration and tutorials from Elements Live, right within the product.And share your movies virtually anywhere, including YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and more.*
I own an older version of Premiere Elements. Can I get upgrade pricing?
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Does Adobe have trial versions of Photoshop Elements 15 and Adobe Premiere Elements 15?
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If you already have a trial version of Photoshop Elements 15 or Adobe Premiere Elements 15 installed on your computer, you can continue using the software without interruption by purchasing the product for unrestricted use.
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Photoshop Elements and Adobe Premiere Elements offer the option to install the application in any one of many languages available. If you would prefer to install a purchased product in a language other than the one you installed during your trial period, simply go back to the original installer (whether DVD or Electronic Software Delivery), install the correct language, and then enter your serial number.
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Still deciding? Start with the free trial.
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4k supported cameras include GoProHero 4 Black, Sony XperiaZ3V, SONY FDR-AX100 4K HANDYCAM, Panasonic DMC-GH4 (MP4 and MOV), Motorola Moto X (2014), and Xiaomi Mi4.


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At Peak Pharmacy Online we offer FREE delivery on most orders over £29, we aim to provide the best price and service at all times. With genuine products dispensed from our UK pharmacy, we aim to offer a website and service that strives to help you choose the most efficient, suitable medicines for you and your family.
We display the Registered Internet Pharmacy Logo that shows that we are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council and allows you to check out the registration details of our pharmacy and the pharmacists behind the website. Please take care when using overseas websites or sites that do not display the GPhC logo as inappropriate or fake medicines pose a serious risk to health. The qualified pharmacist responsible for this site is Andrew Walton, MPharm, registration number GPhC 2063964. The premises registration number 1089485.
Manor Pharmacy is the trading name of Manor Drug Company (Nottingham) Ltd. The company is registered in the UK.
Certificate of incorporation 923390
Vat Registration No. 616702944
Manor Drug Company (Nottingham) Ltd T/A Manor Pharmacy. The business trades from Manor House, Merlin Way, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 4RA
Manor Pharmacy have stores throughout the East Midlands, such as Derby, Ilkeston, Nottingham, Belper, Alfreton, Burton, Long Eaton, Mansfield, Kimberley, Newark, Matlock, Breaston, Arnold, Beeston, Heanor, West Bridgford & Kirk Hallam.
At Manor Pharmacy we want to make sure that the website we operate looks as good as possible but also is easy for you to use. To help us to do this, our website uses cookies.
Cookies help us to assess how you use our website and also how we can improve our website. This means we have the information we need to regularly evaluate whether our website really meets your needs. Some of the cookies we use improve the functionality of our website, so if you choose to disable cookies on your browser, you might find that you can't access some aspects of our website, or that parts of the website don't function in the way that you might expect them to.
Please see the "How We Use Cookies" section for more specific details about how we use cookies.
Need advice? Before getting in touch with us direct, why not see if we can answer your question below...
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Imagine being at school, looking across the classroom, and seeing Ashton, Luke, Michael, and Calum sitting in your geography lesson. We would probably yelp and then try and shut our heads in the desk out of sheer panic.
You definitely wouldn't get much work done anyway, because their adorable faces would be a pretty massive distraction. You're probably thinking that they would have been part of the cool crowd at school, but the 5SOS boys have revealed that they were actually sort of the opposite, which just makes us love 'em even more!
Confirming that they're literally the boys of our dreams, Ashton explained that although they're massive rockstars these days, they weren't too popular in school, which meant that they stuck together and became even better friends.
Chatting to VEVO, he revealed: "I think we sort of gravitated towards each other 'cause we were like the outcasts at school. It just wasn't cool what we were doing. No one thought that it was special or anything like that and no one really cared."
Michael explained: "It kind of drove us as well. All these people were saying 'You guys suck.'"
"5 Seconds of Summer was just a joke to them, we really worked hard to be a good band, we did everything we could to be a good, credible band," Ashton added.
Ahh, yet more proof that all the popular people at school will disappear into obscurity once you leave, and the quite slightly weird Dragonball Z nerds will become the awesome ones that you want to be best friends with. JUSTICE!
Check out the full 5SOS interview with VEVO below to hear all about how the band was formed back in the day, their first ever gig, and all sorts of old-school secrets:
Love that the boys weren't always the coolest and how it motivated them even more? Comments please!
10 Times 5 Seconds Of Summer Were So Insanely Cute You Could Barely Breathe
5SOS: 7 Things You Need To Know About Music's Next Big Thing
5 New Hot Guy Bands To Crush On!
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Originally Posted On: Sugarscape.com
From: Sugarscape


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Recent Stories
Marshall High Innovates Lunchtime
Statesmen Station launches pilot lunch, whole, fresh food bar, at ribbon cutting.
Tasting food, listening to a student-led, food-themed rap performance and celebrating healthy food was the agenda at school Thursday, Sept. 12 at Marshall High. Principal Jay Pearson and the Real Food For Kids group launched "the Statesmen Station," a pilot lunch program featuring fresh foods, in the form of a soup, salad and sandwich bar. With a ribbon cutting, volunteer-parent organization Food For Kids, which advocates for more fresh food in Fairfax County Public Schools, started the new lunchtime innovation.
Angry Birds Rumored to Appear at Burke Centre Festival
... but not in the wine tent, please.
The word around the neighborhood is that Angry Birds are preening to make an appearance at the Burke Centre Festival, with sidekicks Spongebob and Elmo, too. They'll be at home in the whimsy and sport that is the Burke Centre Festival, at 6060 Burke Centre Parkway, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. They might not be at the wine garden though (5-10 p.m. Saturday only). But everywhere else? Fair game.
An Insider's Guide to the Arts in Northern Virginia
A selection of upcoming arts productions, happening right where you live.
There are more artists of every stripe making art in Northern Virginia than you may realize. Populating the bedroom communities, small towns, growing cities and metropolitan areas of Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria are your pick of dance, theatre, choral, symphonic, visual and performance, music and fill-in-the-blank groups. Look beyond Wolf Trap and Jammin' Java to the Torpedo Art Factory, the Workhouse Arts Center, and smaller, quality groups like ArtSpace Herndon and McLean Project for the Arts to cast their creative spell (that's only to name a few). Delve in and, we dare you, let your stereotypes of an artless string of suburbs dissolve. In place you'll get something much better than stereotypes: some culture.
Area Chambers of Commerce: Meet Your Vienna Business Contacts
Meet the Vienna business associations and chambers of commerce who want to meet you and get to know your business too.
The New Filmmakers of Fairfax
Clifton Film Fest selections reveal creative class in the county.
The latest short films of independent filmmakers producing and directing in the county drew a crowd to the Clifton Film Fest, held on the Workhouse quad in Lorton Saturday, July 20.
Mediterranee Promotes Local Art
Nikole Smith exhibits bold, abstract art.
In their series highlighting local artists, Mediterranee owners Ashraf Hussein and Eddie Marine have chosen to follow up D.C.-based impressionist Frank James Ellis' in-restaurant exhibit with Nikole Smith's abstract paintings.
A Two-time International Winner
McLean native and TJ student Joe Broom is first to win International Euphonium Institute Festival twice.
For his 16th birthday, McLean native and rising junior at TJHSST Joe Broom specifically asked his parents not to get him a car. This was because he had something better in mind: a new euphonium.
iCharge Services Celebrate Fairfax, Herndon Festival
Cell phone batteries were as drowsy as the weather at the 32nd Annual Celebrate Fairfax event at Fairfax County's Government Center in Fairfax. iCharge has proof of that: the startup saw 300 phones plug in to its iCharge Kiosk charging stations over the course of the three-day festival.
The Faces of MCC
Elections give 2013-2013 McLean Community Center Governing Board seats to three adults, two teens.
Five McLean tax district residents have won seats on the McLean Community Center's 2013-2014 Governing Board.
Lynbrook Elementary First to Fly Air Quality Flags
Lynbrook Elementary School, in partnership with TrailsforYouth.Org, is raising special, colored flags every morning to help teachers, students and members of the community be aware of daily air quality conditions. The effort is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's School Flag Program. Lynnbrook is the first public school in Fairfax County to start a new flag program to identify air quality pollution days to help students and the community to stay healthy.


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Today it's hard to imagine that nuclear bombs exploded all the time in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s. Yet more than 2,000 nuclear bombs were tested all over the world, contaminating the land and air and affecting people everywhere.
Raise your voice for a safer, more secure world. Join the campaign to Close the Door on Nuclear Testing!
In 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty put the brakes on this madness. But until all the countries of the world support the Treaty, the threat of further testing and a renewed nuclear arms race looms over us all.
It's time to take a stand against this nuclear recklessness. Let's call on all politicians, governments and States to honour the Treaty. Let's look to a future of hope, where we don't have nuclear weapons. Let's close the door on nuclear testing, now and forever.
Make your voice heard! Add your "Close the Door on Nuclear Testing" message to the CTBTO's campaign!
Alternatively, send in a picture of yourself closing a door or holding a "Close the Door on Nuclear Testing" sign. Submit to [email protected]
The best entries will be included in a compilation and broadcast worldwide. But the greatest reward of all will be a safer and more secure world for everyone.
Source: CTBTO
The Brussels based United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe - UNRIC provides information on UN activities to the countries of the region. It also provides liaison with institutions of the European Union in the field of information. Its outreach activities extend to all segments of society and joint campaigns, projects and events are organized with partners including the EU, governments, the media, NGOs, schools and local authorities.
United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC Brussels)
Residence Palace, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 155, Block C2,7th and 8th floor, Brussels 1040, Belgium
Tel.: +32 2 788 8484 / Fax: 32 2 788 8485


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Students circa 1925 stand before earliest buildings at Texas College of Mines
Students circa 1925, early buildings at Texas College of Mines
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A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table,
the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.
After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, "I'm sorry, your duck Cuddles,
has passed away."
The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead," replied the vet.
"How can you be so sure?" she protested.
"I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or
The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room.
He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner
looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination
table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and
shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room.
A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately
sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed
softly and strolled out of the room.
The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry,
but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."
The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed
to the woman. The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she cried,
"$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!"
The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been
$20, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $150."
Until next time
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
A Joke for Today
16 comments:
Hahaha! Thanks for the giggle this morning =)ReplyDelete
LOL! I love this.ReplyDelete
Ha ha ha. That is great. I saw the cat scan coming, but this is the first I've heard of a "lab report".ReplyDelete
Ha Ha Ha!ReplyDelete
:) That was Funny!! Thanks for the laugh.ReplyDelete
That's a good one. I didn't see where it was going.ReplyDelete
*rofl* That is funny! Was wondering where it was going with the dog & cat ... one worth remembering.ReplyDelete
Excellent! That was fun.ReplyDelete
Good one!ReplyDelete
Heard it before, but it makes me laugh every time. Thanks for posting.ReplyDelete
Thanks for the laugh!!!!ReplyDelete
Sounds like a good price for such professional opinions!ReplyDelete
It's so nice of you to take the time to visit. I appreciate your stopping by and commenting on what I've written. Even though I sometimes don't have the time to reply to each comment, I do enjoy reading them.


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Several months later than originally expected, DCMS – which meanwhile has become DDCMS, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – has produced, not the expected decisive action about FOBTs and advertising, but instead a further consultation document which postpones the decision on FOBTs for another several months and contains a string of other disappointments.
No decision yet on the Fixed Odds Betting Terminals
Government accepts that large losses are being experienced by players of B2 machines, that there has been no reduction in the prevalence of problem gambling and that the industry's self-regulatory measures introduced in 2013 appear to have made little difference. It concludes that the maximum stake on a single play on a B2 machine should indeed be reduced, as has been widely suggested, from the current £100. This is the single part of the document that the media has picked up on, making it look as if Government has been listening and is taking decisive action. Unfortunately this is far from being the case. It is stated that evidence is lacking to inform their decision about what a new maximum stake should be. The document goes on to outline four illustrative alternatives: £50, £30, £20 and £2, although anything between £50 and £2 is possible. Since a reduction to £2, which would bring B2 machines into line with other categories of gambling machine, is what has been widely called for (by the Local Government Association and 93 local authorities across England and Wales, by a variety of campaign groups, charities and faith groups, by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on FOBTs, and by the campaign group 38 degrees which submitted a petition with over 100,000 signatories), whereas £50 would scarcely alter the nature of B2 machines at all, this is a surprisingly wide range of possibilities. It is difficult to know what is going on. Does this indicate that there is a major divergence of views on this issue within DDCMS which is playing for time? Does it suggest that we are being prepared for a compromise £30 or £20 which might be acceptable to the industry but which would preserve the special nature of B2 machines as high stake/high prize, high-powered machines with addiction potential, very different from other gambling machines capped at a much lower stake-level?
Gambling industry wants no change on FOBT stakes but increases elsewhere
Unsurprisingly the industry argued for maintaining the status quo on stake limits. But not content with defending abnormally high stakes on B2 machines, the industry had also made other proposals which clearly indicate their intention to press forward with further innovations which put people at risk. For example, the industry proposed increases in maximum stakes on B3, C and D category machines, increases in prizes in categories C and D, more machines in casinos, and a 500% increase in the maximum progressive jackpot prize for B1 machines in casinos. The British Amusement Catering Trades Association (BACTA) also made a further extraordinary suggestion which indicates the way they are thinking. They proposed a new sub- category of machine in amusement arcades, a B5, which would have a maximum stake of £10. They argued it would allow operators to offer a more varied selection of products including what they describe as 'low stake roulette'. So, not content with having turned betting shops into mini casinos in the high street, they have now set their sights on doing the same for amusement arcades. To their credit, DDCMS are not persuaded about the need for these changes at this time and propose maintaining the status quo, at least for now.
No change on gambling advertising
If we were also hoping for decisive action on advertising, we will have been disappointed. In defence of its proposal to do nothing much about gambling advertising they argue that existing Advertising Codes and the industry voluntary code already restrict the content of gambling advertising. They repeatedly cite the review carried out a few years ago, published by industry-led Responsible Gambling Trust (now GambleAware), and much quoted by the industry, which came to the controversial conclusion that the impact of advertising on problem gambling prevalence was 'likely to be neither negligible nor considerable, but rather relatively small'. The DDCMS report refers to what they call a 'package of measures and initiatives... intended to address concerns about gambling advertising...', but this appears largely to consist of making the existing regulations clear to everyone, tightening up on them a bit, welcoming the proposals of the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) to produce new guidance, and supporting GambleAware, broadcasters and industry groups who have drawn up proposals for a major responsible gambling advertising campaign. Such campaigns are of doubtful effectiveness and in the case of gambling may do as much to promote the normalisation of gambling as to reducing harm.
Nothing for local communities
The new consultation document contains yet more disappointments. It is made clear that Government intends to do nothing new to help local authorities control the concentration of betting shops in their communities, and the wider impact of the normalisation of gambling in society is not addressed at all.
Complacency about treatment for gambling problems
In a short sub-section on Treatment, there is a rather extraordinarily complacent statement: 'Problem gamblers can already access treatment services in primary and secondary care including specialised mental health services. Local authority commissioned specialist drug and alcohol services may also be able to offer treatment…'! There is nothing at all in this section, or anywhere else in the document, about services specifically for affected family members, that largest of all stakeholder groups who are harmed by gambling.
Worst of all, a Government that supports gambling growth and is committed to taking a backseat
But there is even worse. The Executive Summary contains a clear statement of the overall position of the Government in relation to gambling regulation and its own responsibility in the matter. There are two statements in particular that stand out. This is the first: 'The objective of the review was to ensure that we have the right balance between a sector that can grow and contribute to the economy, and one that is socially responsible and doing all it should to protect consumers and communities, including those who are just about managing'. That makes it abundantly clear that Government wants to encourage the growth of gambling in Britain. This is strange for a Government that must be concerned about its public image, since survey evidence is quite clear that the majority of the public do not want more gambling, in fact most people think there is too much of it already. The second, equally revealing and worrying, statement makes it clear that the present Government intends to take a back seat, giving the industry a central position: '... we want to see industry, regulator and charities continue to drive the social responsibility agenda, to ensure that all is being done to protect players without the need for further Government intervention...'.
It is Government's overall position on gambling in Britain that needs to change. We will not see serious reform while Government continues to support the growth of gambling and refuses to contemplate a proper national debate on the role of gambling in modern Britain and a proper national gambling strategy which mandates cross-Government-department action on the prevention and treatment of gambling harm.