text:
"Okay, um…" Kid Flash shifted against the colorless den wall, asking uncomfortably, "So… who is this kid and why does he look like he is having way too fun with the kitchen knives?"
Robin exhaled aloud beside him, pinching his thumb and index finger into the thin bridge of his nose.
"…Why weren't you paying attention to the briefing an hour ago?"
"It wasn't a mission briefing."
"And that's an excuse?"
Kid Flash shrugged his shoulders up to his ears, unbothered by irritated bite in Robin's voice but cringing outwardly when one of those twirling, razor-sharp knives lodged itself into the wooden carving board near M'gann's emerald-skinned elbow as she cheerfully and obliviously rolled up powdery dough into snake-like pieces on some cellophane and hummed a nameless tune to herself.
"I want to leave." The thirteen-year-old boy announced, tossing another knife aside. This time it embedded into the cabinet door above his head, its handle wobbling. "This place smells like ass."
"Oh…" M'gann murmured to no one particular, a pout tugging her lips. "The recipe said fresh pork …"
He drawled, eyeing her disdainfully through his unique-looking green mask, "Are you a servant?"
"No," she replied, smiling momentarily at him before returning to her open, stained book.
"Then why are you cooking?"
"I enjoy it."
"Tt—… this place's definition of 'fun' is retarded."
Kid Flash resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the grumpy-faced boy lounging in the kitchen.
"But no really, dude… who is he?"
"He's… Robin. A Robin from another universe." At the surprised glance, Robin added with some doubt, "He's claiming to be Batman's son. He says that he was with… well, me from the another universe and there was some sort of mad scientist and a screwy teleportation box that Batman and I still aren't clear on because he refuses to explain it and something boomed and…" He gestured. "Here he is."
"So when can he leave?" Kid Flash's frown deepened as another knife was flung dangerously in the air.
"Batman is investigating a way to return him. He wanted Damian here so he couldn't cause trouble."
"Damian?" The speedster made a face. "He has a name?"
Robin insisted, giving him a masked side-glance, "That's what he calls himself—"
"—Since both you and Father refuse to refer to me to my proper title, which you insist upon using…" Damian interrupted him, shuffling over to face them both, folding his arms carefully and huffily underneath his gray and yellow paracape. He observed with a sneer, "My, don't you both look cozy."
For a brief moment, Kid Flash's freckles darkened.
"What's that suppos—?"
"You need to put the knives back into the cutlery drawer," Robin said sternly. "People eat with those."
Damian's fingers fanned the two remaining knives with ease.
"Spar me for them." He leaned into Robin's space a little, lowering his voice, "…I want to know if you are good as Grayson."
Robin told him darkly, sensing his mocking nature, "Batman told you not to use that name outside the Cave."
"Then teach me a lesson, pretender." Damian made a grunt, as if the very chances of that were miniscule, leaning away and eyeing him through his mask unimpressed before heading for the corridor.
Kid Flash grabbed his arm as Robin followed after, green eyes widening in shock, "You aren't really…"
"Relax, KF." Though his voice was steady, it began to ice over, "It's only sparring."
The training simulator lit up fluorescent-white beneath their feet.
"Here are the ground rules. Training knowledge only. No gadgets. No weapons." Robin emphasized, undoing his utility belt, "No knives."
The other boy smirked haughtily, undoing his hooded cape and discarding everything else along with his own belt. "Do not underestimate my combat proficiencies. I can still beat you."
"Prepare to be overwhelmed."
"And here in this reality, I expected you to be less of a wordy imbecile."
"Your lack of faith is… turbing." Damian's expression grew displeased as Robin twisted up his mouth bemused and muttered, shaking his head, "No, no… that wasn't right. That wasn't right at all."
"…Just shut the hell up and fight me already."
The speedster perked up from his sulking fit, straightening from the den wall at the sound of M'gann's voice, grinning with a mouthful of chocolate bar. "Whuuutccchzzeeeeeddd?"
"How important is the expiration date to pork?"
His grin faded. Kid Flash swallowed the now bitter and disgustingly thick contents in his mouth. "Hey, um, I think I'm gonna check on Rob. We'll… have this conversation another time, beautiful." He sped out into the hallway without waiting for an answer and nearly threw himself into a nearby wall when he spotted Damian, Robin, and a very not happy Batman talking out in the corridor. Oh man.
"—what is clearly needed here is an attitude adjustment," came Batman's growl of a voice.
Kid Flash tensed up. Oh… jeez. They both got caught. 'Way to go, Rob.'
He settled down on the floor to listen. Damian's voice rose calmly, "Father, we were merely sparring…"
"That's not what it looked like."
"Be quiet." Robin made a small, obedient noise. "Damian, your utility belt will be confiscated until you can prove to me that are not a menace to others and that you can practice restraint. Understand?"
"Yes, Father."
"Robin, can I trust you to act more civilly from here on out?"
"Yes, sir."
"Given that I raised you both for several years under my rules, regardless of version or reality; I expect better behavior. Do not disappoint me again."
Kid Flash sank further to his hiding space.
Robin's gut felt like a miserable weight as Batman stormed the hallway and probably towards the exit of Mount Justice. His face lifted from staring intensely at the floor and he started walking away.
"We're not finished," Damian protested after a moment, blocking him and seemingly unaffected by the lecture.
Robin snapped, "Believe me, we are." His fists began shaking. "You are… insane, did you know that? I could have popped your arm out of your socket back there. What were you even thinking then?"
"One must use whatever means to break an opponent's hold on them." The other boy raised an eyebrow coolly, superiorly. "What, are you simple?"
"Are you?"
Damian's teeth clenched at the insult. "Fuck you."
"Wow." Robin stifled a cackling laugh but it was without feeling, without any happiness. "Just… wow. I must be a saint where you are from. Do I have a statue there? I think I should have a big statue."
"You were certainly more befitting to your position than you ever would be here."
When Robin jostled him aside to pass him, he felt the other, stronger boy force him against the wall, trapping both of his wrists into one of his hands and above his head. Robin's spine arched up at the feel. "Stop struggling, dammit…" Damian swore quietly, avoiding an excellent kick in the shin, "My intention isn't to hurt you."
Uniformed chest heaving wildly, Robin allowed himself to play 'victim' long enough to hear the explanation.
He narrowed his eyes behind his mask as the other boy spoke up seriously, "It actually annoys me how similar you both are… you still hold yourself the same way, as if your worth means little to you and to everyone else around you… you still crack jokes under the most inopportune conditions and you insist upon flirting with everything that has a clean, white smile and a prink…"
Damian's stubby, calloused fingers cradled up his chin. Robin sucked in a hurried, noiseless breath as his green, gloved thumb pushed down the soft angle of Robin's lower lip in a long stroke, "It doesn't matter what universe you are in, Grayson. You are still mine."
Without ceremony, or much grace to the action, Damian's greedy lips replaced his thumb.
They were rigid and chapped and flush against the line of Robin's mouth. When Robin managed to turn his head escape him, gasping, Damian's fingers seizing his chin forced him back, and he redoubled his efforts to kiss him. "Sto-" Robin found himself silenced with the poke of a tongue attempting to jam past the barrier of his teeth. Instinctively, he bit down, and Damian clamped down in response onto his upper lip. HARD.
Something hot and foreign shot through into Robin's groin and the skin on his thighs burned and he let out a confused moan as Damian instead explored the expansion of vulnerable skin on his neck with his open, wet mouth. "Please…" Robin begged, panting heavily, fingers straining into themselves and clawing into his own skin as the other boy pressed the flat of his teeth to his collar, "…y-you…."
"—shit!" A faint thud. A blur of yellowish and orange vanishing out of the hallway.
Robin's heart sank along into his gut.
Everyone had turned in for the day. Somewhere two levels up, Damian was probably sleeping in an extra room. Or training.
He seemed like someone who would train instead of getting a night's rest.
Underneath his soft blue sheet on his cot, Robin's head poked like the top of a tent. Underneath the sheet, he wrapped his arms around his knees pressed to his chest. The keypad from outside his room beep-beep-booped. Narrowing down his list of two people he trusted with the security number to his room, Robin guessed correctly to who would show at this time of night as the edge of the sheet was lifted and Kid Flash poked his head in curiously.
"Hey…" he greeted with a half-smile, climbing under with him with a lit flashlight.
"Hey…" Robin greeted back, setting his chin on his knees sullenly as the pajama-clad speedster tented the sheet further with his height difference, his orange bangs touching flat to his forehead.
"Can't sleep either?"
At that, the younger boy shook his head a little, refusing to glance up. Refused to know how he was looking at him. Robin picked at a thread on his own long, suede-feel pajama pant leg absently.
"Hey, Rob…"
Robin's stomach leaped. 'Oh no.'
"Are you…" Kid Flash rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, summoning the courage to go on. "He didn't hurt you or nothin', right?"
"Naw, man. I'm…" The eyes of Robin's mask slit with confirmed apprehension. "You were there, weren't you?"
"When Batman started talking about 'attitude adjustments'."
"Do you… hate me?"
"No!" Kid Flash insisted, scooting closer on the mattress. "Will you just…?" he grumbled, his freckled hands clasping Robin's shoulders lightly. "You didn't want it… did you?"
"This… kind of stuff is new to me," Robin admitted, "…I don't know."
The hold on his shoulders squeezed for a moment but it didn't hurt. "Why?" He questioned, staring up puzzled, "Wally, are you…"
Kid Flash let him go, blinking. "Wh-…dude, no, that would make me… gay or something." Even with such little light in the bedroom and under the sheet, there was no mistaking how flustered he was. Biting back a grin, Robin flopped himself down in the other boy's lap, settling his head in the space where his legs folded, and pointed up the bright flashlight. Right into his goofy, freckled face.
"Dude…!" The fifteen-year-old complained, shielding his eyes.
"There are a lot of orientations," The acrobat recited perceptively, not moving from his comfy spot with his head cradled, "Falling in love with a guy when you are one doesn't exactly make you gay."
"You're gonna freakin' blind me, cut it out…!"
Robin grinned upside down. "Then admit that you've been harboring a secret crush on me for two years…"
"What!" Kid Flash's freckles darkened again.
With a giggle, Robin began flipping the on and off switch on the flashlight up at him and Wally grinned back, shouting and crawling over him and wrestling him for the object. During their roughhousing, something knocked over on the nearby dresser that crashed loudly and someone may have lost a button for good but Robin couldn't say he cared for consequences as Kid Flash's arm draped across his back possessively, as Robin's cheek rested into the softly rising chest underneath him when he finally fell asleep exhausted.
"A closing wormhole to your reality?"
"Did I stutter, Grayson?" Damian scoffed, pushing up his gray hood. "You are slowing me down. Father is waiting." Robin watched him hesitate, a foot posed ahead, before speaking up, "I was… exceedingly… forward the other day…" He cleared his throat gruffly. "My objective was not to-… You reminded me of the other…"
Robin tried to switch the tone of the… sort of apology. "Does that mean that there… um… Are we…?"
"Ttch. We're brothers," Damian glowered, muttering with a bitter note barely concealed.
The other boy turned an astonished, nasty red.
Damian said decisively, "I suppose you can… be at ease now under the assumption that you will no longer be accosted in hallways by transdimensional visitors."
"…" Robin cocked an eyebrow at him behind his heavily tinted shades, smirking. "…did you just make a joke?"
"…If you ever tell anyone, Grayson—I'll find you."
He slapped a hand over his mouth to keep back giggles as Damian sneered.
"I'll remember that."
Posed over the kitchen table, cross-eyed and with the tip of his pink tongue posed at the corner of his mouth, Kid Flash took a pair of tweezers to the multifaceted and mechanical remains of the team's broken M.O.N.Q.I from storage. He made a victorious noise when one of the arms glowed faintly, twitching its digits. As Robin soon joined him, he said inattentively, "The little jerk gone?"
"He was around my age, wasn't he?"
"Your point?" Kid Flash teased, snickering to himself.
He received a unexpected whack across the face with the creature's vividly glowing electric-green tail. "OW—The fu—!"
"Fingers slipped," Robin rationalized flatly, wriggling his posed over the circuit remote.
Kid Flash made a suspicious cough, leveling his magnification headgear back over his eyes and tweaking with another wire. "…Are you…upset about it or something?"
A muscle in Robin's jaw clenched at the hidden accusation. Was he…
Robin slammed his hands on the smooth, pewter-colored surface, rattling it with his surge of strength.
"You—" The redhead gawked at him fast approaching around the table with mounting dread.
"are—" He growled forebodingly, jerking the LED-light sourced eyepieces out of Kid Flash's face.
"so—" Robin's fingers dug into the fleecy fabric of Kid Flash's school sweatshirt, yanking him up out of his seat.
"I can't even find a prefix for you that's how bad it is—!"
"Shut up," Robin ordered him firmly, shortly.
With the space between his eyebrows wrinkled with concentration, he messily sandwiched their lips together, dragging a garbled noise from the other boy. What was he doing…? This wasn't what a first kiss between two people was like… not forced… like… And just as Robin was considering pulling away to run like hell and disappear into the Batcave for maybe twenty years… the heel of Kid Flash's palm came up to gently apply pressure into the space behind his Robin's ear.
An ecstatic moan against him — and the speedster slackened his fingers to lace them into locks of black.
Robin dropped him back into his seat with a plop when the kiss broke off, fixing his shades bumped about during their session. Kid Flash removed his headgear, parting and closing his lips. The acrobat resisted rolling his eyes. The one time where Speed Mouth didn't have a comeback…
"Next time, KF… own up."
An sheepish laugh. A thumbs up.
Gotham City, New Jersey
The return had been overshot by several miles from the building where they had found the faulty device that sent Damian to the other Gotham. Not that calculations were always perfect. A wave of post-dimension travel nausea washed over him and Damian held his trembling breath a moment, wiping his forehead as he waited patiently for it to pass. Note to self… a killer on the inner ear.
On his way down from the shipping dock's platform by the bay, he looked up to see Dick — the right version — sprinting towards him, the cape of the Batsuit fluttering behind him like a massive, raging dark cloud at his heels, that sheltered them both from wandering eyes as the man dropped down on Damian's level and pulled him into a wild, abandoned hug. "Damian! Oh thank god!"
Keeping his face composed from revealing emotions he may have been enduring, keeping his arms at his sides, Damian said pointedly, "Grayson, stop embarrassing yourself in public while in uniform."
"I was scared that you… " Dick blabbed on frantically, pulling away to hold the palms of his gauntlets against Damian's face, and he tilted forward to roughly kiss the center between Damian's lowered eyebrows. For a moment, just the briefest of moments, the boy savored that unabashed warmth directed towards him, that overly affectionate and rude gesture, before shoving Dick away offended.
"Are you under the impression that I cannot handle myself in an alternative reality without you?"
Dick's blue eyes exposed from the undone Bat cowl grew nonplussed as the younger dusted himself off primly. "I know you can, kiddo."
Damian stopped, prickling. That horrid pet name…
"Don't… " He said slowly, aloud, "Don't think that I will allow you to further condescend my position next to you… " Damian frowned intensely. "Did you not swear to me that we were equals?"
The man blinked, and then smiled reassuringly, chuckling. "You're right. You are my equal," he affirmed, slipping back on his cowl and preparing to stand, "I'm sorry, Damian, for—" Dick made a surprised, winded groan as Damian threw himself with a merciless amount of strength at him, wounding his arms around Dick's neck and burying his face deep into his Kevlar front. "—okay."
The smile returned brighter as Dick tucked an arm under his clinging charge, lifting him fully into his arms. "Let's go home and talk there. Are you hungry?"
A muffled grumble. Damian's green, armored fingertips dug into the nape of the Batsuit. "Not for Pennyworth's sorry excuse for professionally prepared cuisine."
"… … McDonalds it is."
Batman comics and Young Justice doesn't belong to me. I cannot take full credit for this idea with Damian showing up. My co-conspirator for this entire thing was Vladbride and I thank her with all my heart for guiding me through the outline process and creating some wonderful ideas and proofreading this for me. BWAHAHA YOU DIDN'T GET TO SEE THIS LAST SCENE. DEAL WITH IT. This is one of the longer oneshots I've been working on. XD It doesn't seem all that long but man... well I hope you had a good time reading and enjoyed the story. Comments fuel my brain. Like Butterfingers Snackerz. Yes. Nomnom.


text: In-Game Examine Window Fiery Jewel of the Underfoot (Quest Item) other resources EQ2U · LootDB · EQ2LL · ZAM · Census xml EverQuest II Item Information Type: Quest Item Fiery Jewel of the Underfoot An arcane flame burns within this jewel. TREASURED NO-TRADE Required by the Quest'Fiery Jewel of the Underfoot' Obtain: Received during or used in the quest 'Fiery Jewel of the Underfoot' What does this information mean? NotesEdit Retrieved from "http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Fiery_Jewel_of_the_Underfoot_(Quest_Item)?oldid=460754" Categories: Items Quest Item (Item Type) Treasured Items Items required by quests Articles missing itemlink Add category Cancel Save

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A parallel meeting called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha on Tuesday passed a resolution demanding creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland.
The meeting asked the Centre to create "a separate state of Gorkhaland comprising areas of Darjeeling and contiguous areas of Dooars," GJM president Bimal Gurung said.
The meeting came ahead of an all-party meeting called by state Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in Kolkata today to discuss the Darjeeling issue.
GJM central committee member D K Pradhan claimed the meeting was attended by 13 parties including BJP, Indian National Congress, Trinamool Congress, CPI, All-India Gorkha League, Sikkim National Front, Indian Muslim League, GNLF-C, a breakaway group of GNLF, CPRM, a breakway group of CPI-M and Hill Congress.
However, Congress and Trinamool Congress sources in Kolkata said that they had not authorised any party man to attend the meeting.
Trinamool general secretary Partha Chatterjee said Gopal Singh Chhetri, who attended the meeting claiming himself to be a Trinamool repressentative was not authorised by the party.
A CPI leader in Darjeeling and former MLA from Kalimpong Mohan Singh Rai attended the meeting, but party state secretary Manju Majumdar said in Kolkata that Rai had not informed the party before attending the meeting.
"This violates party decision and we will initiate action against him," Majumdar said.


text:
I have a few bottles like this and had the same problem. I got empty 1/6 oz. roll-on bottles on eBay for cheap and use an eyedropper to put the liquid in that, and use the roll-on decant to apply it. You don't have to worry about spilling it, contaminating it with skin oil or foreign substances and is just overall easier than using the original bottle.
here's the page of the eBay seller I got mine from:


text:
World of Tanks Grille 15 is tier X German TD and game by Call_me_Frank_dont_ask.
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text:
Steven Levitt News
'Top Line' at the Movies: 'Freakonomics'
Five years after "Freakonomics" became a surprise bestseller, with its unique insights that merge economics with popular culture, now comes "Freakonomics" the documentary.
Lack of Estate Tax in 2010: Now Cheaper to Die?
Well, 2010 has arrived -- and because Congress devoted so much effort toward health care reform, we may have ourselves some death panels after all. While critics have dismissed Sarah Palin's "death panels" to dole out medical care as fiction, a tax loophole may in fact give the heirs of some
Hawking From the Grave: a Tribute or a Disgrace?
Chris Farley Joins Cast of Deceased Performers Who Have Something to Sell You
Could Your Doc's Tie Make You Sick?
Steven Levitt and Stephen governors last book free economics has sold nearly three million copies worldwide their formula. You take a complex fascinating topic and break it down any unique irresistible way they're new book. Super free economics takes on a range of issues from the economy of
Do We Really Only Care About Ourselves?
What Makes People Give? Economists Say Charity Almost Always Has Strings Attached
5 Simple Solutions to Global Problems
How to Combat Global Warming, Malaria, Hurricanes, and Save the Polar Bears Too
Are You Born Great or Made Great?
'SuperFreakonomics' Authors Say 'Raw Talent and Genius Are Vastly Overrated'
Turning Conventional Wisdom Upside Down "20/20" Reports on "Superfreakonomics" airing Friday, October 23
How can a doctor's tie kill you? Can a simple hose stop global warming? Who has gained the most out of women's liberation – a teacher, a trader, a coach or a call girl? Such are the questions that swirl...
Hand Washing Rate Low Among Doctors
Actress Nearly Died From 'Flesh-Eating Disease;' 'SuperFreakonomics' Authors Say Hospital Infections Are Preventable


text:
Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip PotionRs. 2,5001 Shades+Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Lip Pencil - BrickRs. 1,6501.2gm
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- Description
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Expiry Date : Click Here March 2018
All our products are far from expiry, and procured directly from the brand/authorized resellers of the brand.
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By suruchi solanki
I bought the shade Strange bloom from EL store. Though the shade is very good but I didn't like this lipstick overall. For being such a high end product I expect it to stay long which it didn't unfortunately. It is highly transferable. My Mac Retro matte liquid lipstick is much better than this and stays for so so long.
Posted on 2/13/2018
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Its a beautiful nude colour for fair to medium skin tone. If you are darker than nc 42 this can wash you out..
Posted on 8/16/2017
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Posted on 4/27/2017
By Matty
is a perfect daytime color, goes on easily, stays all day. The only cons I have are that it is a bit drying by the end of the day, which is to be expected
Posted on 4/27/2017
By Matty
I have been patiently waiting for this shade to come out & was slightly disappointed at how drying it was. I own several shades of this same product, & for some reason, this one is dry and wears off quickly.
Posted on 4/27/2017
By Matty
I wouldn't go so far as to say it's hydrating, but it's not nearly as drying as others. I wore this all day, ate several meals, and drank lots of water and there was basically no color loss.
Posted on 4/27/2017
By Matty
This is my second liquid lipstick and I'm amazed! While my other matte liquid lipstick is very drying, this one feels a lot better.
Posted on 4/27/2017
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I really love the formula on this product. It isn't too drying but does wear off after eating. However, the wearing process is even and doesn't end up looking blotchy.
Posted on 4/27/2017
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Posted on 4/27/2017
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Posted on 4/27/2017
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text:
Written by: Michael Den Boer on July 15th, 2013
Theatrical Release Date: China, 2012
Director: Stephen Fung
Writers: Chia-lu Chang, Kuo-fu Chen, Hsiao-tse Cheng
Cast: Yuan Xiaochao, Qi Shu, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Angelababy, Eddie Peng, Daniel Wu, Stephen Fung, Peter Stormare, Yin Tse, Di Wu, Jade Xu, Wei Ai Xuan, Biao Yuen
BluRay released: July 2nd, 2013
Approximate running time: 106 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 Mandarin, Dolby Digital Stereo Mandarin, DTS-HD 5.1 English, Dolby Digital Stereo English
Subtitles: English
BluRay Release: Well Go USA
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.98
Narrative wise Tai Chi Hero picks up right where its predecessor Tai Chi Zero left off.
Now married Yu Niang the daughter of the villages master arts grandmaster. This film's protagonist Yang Lu Chan still finds himself at odds with the majority of the villagers. With his only hope of learning their legendary fighting style falling squarely on the shoulders of his bride.
Of course that is just the tip of the ice berg as this ends up being a minor threat when once again the village is being threatened by outsiders who are determined to destroy their way of life. Fortunately for the villagers they once again Yang Lu Chan comes to their rescue.
Though one could easily draw many similarities between Tai Chi Hero and its predecessor Tai Chi Zero. It is the way in which Yang Lu Chan gets from A to B that makes Tai Chi Hero the stronger of the two films. Also Tai Chi Hero does a much better job with back-story and establishing everyone's motivations are? Where the events which unfolded in Tai Chi Zero feel rushed and the resolution all to abrupt.
The steam punk visually style that was such an integral part of Tai Chi Zero is also prevalent throughout and dare I say even more impressively realized. And though the visuals are often striking one must overlook the superbly executed again set pieces. Which where once again choreographed by Sammo Hung (Magnificent Butcher). With this film's most jaw dropping moment being a fight sequence between Yang Lu Chan (Yuan Xiaochao) and Li Qiankun (Yuen Biao) who gracefully fight a top kitchen panels as people prepare food below them.
The most surprising aspect of this film was how much more I enjoyed the performances then I had been while watching Tai Chi Zero. With that being said, this might be more with me being familiar with the characters this time around. Then the actors performances actually being that drastically different between these two films. Since these two films where shot closely together.
Overall Tai Chi Hero is a solid action film and one of those rare instances where the sequel is superior in every way to its predecessor.
The BluRay:
Tai Chi Hero comes on a 25 GB single layer BluRay. The film is presented in a 1080 progressive anamorphic widescreen. Quality wise the transfer for this release is on par with Well Go USA's transfer for Tai Chi Zero.
This release comes with four audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Mandarin, a Dolby Digital Stereo mix in Mandarin, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English and a Dolby Digital Stereo mix in English. Range wise all four audio mixes get the job done as dialog always comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced. The fight scenes especially sound great on the DTS-HD 5.1 mixes. Also included with this release are removable English subtitles that are easy to read and follow.
Extras for this release include two trailer for the film and a 'Making of' documentary (1 hour and 50 seconds – anamorphic widescreen, Chinese with English subtitles). Topics discussed include stunts / fight choreography, the look of the film and various other production related topics. Other extras include trailers for other titles also available from Well Go USA. Overall Tai Chi Hero gets a first rate release from Well Go USA.
Note: This film is also being released by Well Go USA on DVD.


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Cher Lloyd lets her barriers down and gets personal in her new "Sirens" music video.
In it, the Sorry I'm Late singer gets caught up in some trouble thanks to her partner and his friends. The police even storm their home as Cher sneaks out and sets fire to a mystery bag to save everyone.
Choosing the power ballad "Sirens" to be her lead single off of her next album, Sorry I'm Late (out May 27), is quite a departure for Cher. She usually releases upbeat, danceable pop tunes, such as "I Wish (feat. T.I.)" and "Want U Back."
The singer even acknowledged the departure on Twitter last week:
I can't put into words how personal my new video is. I've let my barriers down for the first time. Thank you for always being there for me ????
— Cher Lloyd (@CherLloyd) April 24, 2014
We'll always be there for you, CherBear. Always.
What do you think of Cher's new video? Let us know by leaving a comment below!


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Separate (but equal?)
Ryan Williams | Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Over this past summer, the Catholic University of America announced that it was abandoning coed student housing and reverting to a model of single-sex residences beginning with the class of 2015. In an editorial piece published in The Wall Street Journal, university President John Garvey argued that the change would help reduce the prevalence of binge drinking among undergraduates, and would also prevent further development of a "hook-up culture" on campus.
Garvey graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1970 and served as a professor in the Law School from 1994 to 1999, so it is not surprising that he waxes nostalgic for the single-sex dorms and parietal regulations that we are so fond of here.
What is a bit more surprising is that he believes his strategy to reduce binge drinking and the number of casual hook-ups will actually work. As anyone at Notre Dame can attest, these two issues do not magically disappear merely with the presence of single-sex dorms, as they are certainly present here on our own campus.
Moreover, a convincing argument can be made that in this day and age, universities no longer have the right to meddle in the personal lives of their students, and thus must be wary of instituting policies designed to change student behavior.
A more disturbing potential consequence of the switch to gender-segregated housing has been highlighted by George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf, who has filed a complaint against Catholic University on the grounds that the new policy violates Washington D.C.'s 1997 Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing and education on the basis of numerous categories, including gender.
Banzhaf argued that separating students into male and female dorms is no more justifiable than placing all Jewish students into one dorm and all Muslims into another, or establishing distinct calculus courses for men and for women. The university countered by noting that the Human Rights Act only forbids a school from conditioning the use of facilities for a discriminatory reason, and because the new housing policy treats both sexes equally, there is no discrimination occurring and thus no violation of the law.
Whatever your position on the validity of these arguments may be, they certainly raise important questions about our own housing situation here at Notre Dame. Like Catholic University, Notre Dame maintains a single-sex housing policy that strives to achieve equality for all students. In practice however, this standard often falls short of its stated goals. To see evidence of this, one merely has to take a walk around Notre Dame on a Friday or Saturday night and observe that all the parties being held on campus are taking place exclusively in male dorms.
The reason for this is the gross disparity between how men and women are treated in their own residence halls. In most male dorms, parties with loud music and alcohol are generally allowed so long as they remain within reasonable levels of control. The University has wisely concluded that college students will party regardless of whether there are rules against it, and so it has determined to try and keep the partying on campus where it can better look after the safety and well-being of its students.
In female dorms, however, there is no such tolerance for this behavior, and any student attempting to host a party with loud music and free-flowing alcohol would quickly find herself facing consequences far more severe than anything experienced by her male counterparts. It is unclear whether the rectors and resident assistants in female dorms are simply significantly stricter, or rather if there is a concerted effort by the University to limit the partying to male residence halls, thus reducing the number of dorms requiring monitoring on any given night.
Either way, the end result is that the women of Notre Dame are increasingly treated like second-class citizens, a reality that hardly aligns with the mission and ideology of this University. Its time for us as a community to reopen the discussion on single-sex housing and work together to eradicate discrimination at Notre Dame.
Ryan Williams is a junior. He can be reached at [email protected]
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily that of The Observer.


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text: Anomaly ANM005 – THE MUSIC'S END EP CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW AND/OR BUY 'ANOMALY' is excited to be able to present the release of their fifth EP – THE MUSIC'S END EP! This release sees the return of Kranky & Lethal, again bringing you two very contrasting Jungle Tekno tracks. ANM005-A: Kranky & Lethal – The End is Coming Kranky & Lethal's much anticipated 'The End is Coming' is a dark, brooding and energetic monster which successfully fuses elements of Dubstep and Jungle Tekno together. Combining heavy kicks and snares, powerful breaks, nasty hoovers, a killer bassline, eerie effects, along with haunting vocals which prophesy the end of days, this track will send any dancefloor into a frenzy. ANM005-B: Kranky & Lethal – Stop the Music In contrast to 'The End is Coming', Kranky & Lethal once again show their versatility with 'Stop the Music' - a deep and heavy roller, pushing the boundaries of Jungle Tekno - a tribute to classic early-to-mid 90's atmospheric jungle but with a modern edge. With tough breaks, a hypnotic and infectious bassline, smooth melodic pads, driving hoovers, a classic moog riff, and atmospheric sound effects, this track will captivate any audience. DJ Support Anomaly releases are currently being supported by DJs the likes of: Tango & Ratty (UK), Pilgrim (UK), Doc S Gachet (UK), Kenny Ken (UK), Luna-C (USA), Secret Society (UK), Outrage (UK), Madcap (UK), Glenn Aston (UK), Mulder (UK), AST (UK), JayTee (UK), Vinyl Junkie (UK), Requiem (UK), JRampage (UK), Evil (NZ), DJ Firefly (NZ), FlekC (NZ), Organikismness (NZ), Erther (AUS), Kranky (AUS), Lethal (AUS), and many more... CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW AND/OR BUY For more information regarding Anomaly, including news, preview clips of forthcoming tunes, interviews, etc please visit us at... Anomaly Digital Recordings Website: http://anomalydigital.com or on these other popular websites - Myspace: http://myspace.com/anomalydigital Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/anomalydigital Youtube: http://youtube.com/anomalydigital Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=113680246371 Twitter: http://twitter.com/anomalydigital


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Woman's death in Mazomanie ruled homicide
- Associated Press
- February 25, 2014 - 5:30 PM
MAZOMANIE, Wis. — Authorities say a woman found shot to death in her south-central Wisconsin home had notified law enforcement that she was a victim of domestic abuse.
The Dane County medical examiner's office says 43-year-old Cheryl Gilberg was shot in the head. Her death was ruled a homicide.
A family member found Gilberg in her home in the Village of Mazomanie (may-zoh-MAY'-nee) Sunday evening.
Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney says Gilberg contacted his office earlier this month to report the domestic incident that happened in December. Mahoney says Gilberg also was obtaining a temporary restraining order.
The Wisconsin State Journal (http://bit.ly/OA5tMZ ) reports investigators have talked to that person and he has been cooperative. Mahoney says nothing points to Gilberg's death as an act of domestic violence.
No arrests have been made.
© 2018 Star Tribune


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Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and its characters do not belong to me.
AN: Thanks for your patience. This chapter proved a bit more difficult than I expected to write. Partly because I told the story of it to myself so many times over the years that it got stale and hard to record. I hope you enjoy it!
No more pussyfooting around: a Ranma ½ fanfic
By Indygodusk
Chapter 30: Sex Ed in the Park
Then suddenly he was in the Tendo bathroom again. Akane was standing in the doorway looking up at him with those big, liquid brown eyes. "I need to know if you are keeping any other big secrets from me, Ranma. Are you?"
The dream froze. Cat fist Ranma slunk out from behind Akane and hopped up onto the counter. "You… are an idiot," he drawled in disgust. Then he kicked Ranma hard in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall. That's when Ranma woke up.
Needless to say, he didn't sleep very well after that.
Friday morning, Akane woke up with a smile on her face. It felt better than waking up on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning, when she'd immediately started examining her interactions with Ryoga, feeling depressed, getting nowhere new, and miserably cycling through bad emotions like a hamster trapped on a wheel. Ranma keeping it a secret from her and her disregard of his hints would pop up in her mind too, like her running hamster was being pelted with rocks.
But today was different.
This morning she felt better. She felt… safe and cared for. Akane couldn't think of a better way to describe it. Clearing the air by talking to Ranma yesterday had helped. That hug last night had also done a lot to make her feel better.
On top of that, she'd had some of those cat fist dreams about Ranma again. They'd been strange but good. Last night, the dreams had been disjointed flashes of different times and places, but they all had one unifying theme. In every dream, cat fist Ranma had been doing everything in his power to protect her.
Only the first dream had been a little unsettling. It was a repeat of that strange dream she'd had while sick in Okinawa. The one with the three aspects of Ranma – man, woman, and cat – forcing her back from the gates of death to live again. She'd mostly forgotten about it until the dream last night reminded her. Akane still didn't know what it meant, if anything. She'd woken briefly after that one, disturbed, but had quickly fallen back to sleep.
Unlike that first dream, the rest of them were much more pleasant. They were also all familiar. The dreams ranged from cat fist Ranma saving her from enemies and dangerous situations, to his cat side trying to 'save' her from suspicious socks and plastic bags. It was funny that her mind put all of those memories into Ranma's perspective instead of hers though. Whatever the case, the dreams simply reminded her that no matter his mental state, Ranma would go to extreme lengths to protect her.
The reminder made her feel better about what he'd done. He wasn't perfect, but neither was she. It was a mistake, but she could get over it, because in the end there were more important things. Deep down in Ranma's core he cared about her. He cared a lot. Akane hugged that knowledge to herself.
As Akane got dressed, she couldn't help but notice the envelope sitting on the top shelf of her closet. She'd glanced at it every day since putting it there over a week ago, but had yet to pick it up again. She knew its contents. The envelope held all of the sex ed pamphlets she'd picked up at the women's clinic for Ranma.
Akane was torn. There had been so many awkward conversations in the last week that Akane didn't know if she wanted to risk another one right now. But Ranma had humbled himself enough to apologize to her and had even asked about her feelings. That was pretty big.
Plus, she had promised herself that she would talk to him about this no matter what. She cared about Ranma. He deserved her protection too. If that protection came in the form of information, then she needed to give it to him.
Considering that he was willing to have uncomfortable emotional conversations right now, this might be the best time to corner him. If she waited too long, the machismo could surge up again and make it difficult to get him to agree to listen. Besides, her own conversation with Miaka tomorrow might get her so distracted that she'd keep on putting this off for months. It needed to happen today.
Firming her lips, Akane decided to ask Ranma to meet her for a conversation after dinner. She'd ask him at breakfast, so she couldn't chicken out later. Then, after their talk, they'd have the whole weekend to avoid meeting each other's eyes.
Despite the insult and warning from his cat side, Ranma still didn't want to tell Akane about the Ki tie he'd forged between them. However, he knew her should do it anyways. Several times during breakfast he found himself opening his mouth and starting to say something, but each time he veered off into another topic, commenting on the food or weather instead.
Finally, he accepted that while he probably needed to tell her at some point, he was going to put it off as long as possible. Akane looked so calm and content this morning that he hated to ruin it by bringing up something difficult. She was just barely speaking to him again. Forgiveness was fragile, and he didn't want her mad at him again so soon. At this, a little voice in the back of his mind mocked him for being a coward and whispered that he was going to regret not telling Akane while he had the chance.
However, the cocky side of his mind boasted that it'd be fine. She hadn't even noticed the tie, and it wasn't hurting her, so it wasn't that big a deal. Maybe in the future Ranma could even come up for a reason to pretend to make a Ki tie with her, like when they got married, and then if anything happened he could date it from that. Pleased with his plans, Ranma forcefully shoved away the memory of the warning and ignored his feelings from the night before as he finished his breakfast.
On their walk to school, Akane walked close by his side. Ranma walked next to her instead of up on the railing. That way, their fingers could occasionally brush together as they walked. They talked of random, inconsequential things. It made Ranma feel warmly content.
After they passed the canal, he noticed Akane fiddling with the edge of her coat nervously. Then she asked, "Hey Ranma?"
"Yeah?" he replied, slightly cautiously.
"I was wondering if we could go for a walk to the park after dinner," Akane asked.
"It's still a little cold for walking around after dark," Ranma said before his brain could catch up to his mouth.
She fidgeted. "That's what coats are for. I have something I need to talk to you about, and I don't want to do it at home where our fathers could walk in at any moment."
"Oh, right," Ranma said. He wondered what she wanted to talk about that hadn't already been said, but he guessed he'd have to wait until tonight. Maybe she wanted to talk about making their engagement official, maybe even set a real wedding date? Could he be that lucky? "Sure, Akane," he answered with more enthusiasm. "We can sneak out after dinner, no problem."
"Great," she said, before turning the conversation to other topics until they reached school.
After dinner, it was ridiculously easy to sneak out. Akane told Kasumi she was leaving while Kasumi was washing the dishes. Her sister gave her a vague reply and returned to singing along with the radio. Their fathers were drinking and playing a game with the TV on in the background. They probably wouldn't even realize that anyone was missing before they passed out.
Akane had noticed that the two men had started drinking and carousing more heavily lately. Both men were probably unhappy about their impending separation this summer when the Saotomes finally moved back in with Mrs. Saotome. The dads might just be trying to cram as much 'fun' in as they could while they had time.
However, Akane suspected it wasn't quite that simple. From what she could tell, Mr. Saotome seemed almost afraid to move back in with his wife (not without cause). Then there was her father and the approaching anniversary of Akane's mother's death at the end of April. Her father always did get worse in the spring. It made Akane sad, so she tried not to think about it too much.
Although she loved her father and even Uncle Saotome, she didn't have a lot of respect for them anymore. Sometime in the last few years her father had fallen from his pedestal. She would always love him, and she knew that he loved her, but it hurt that she couldn't rely on him for very much. Not only was he not perfect, he usually wasn't even very competent. He lived in the glory of the past instead of dealing with their problems in the present.
As Akane had struggled to master her temper, she'd realized that one of the biggest things that frustrated her about her father was that he let his negative emotions control him. If he was angry or sad, he immediately acted upon it without thinking things through. It had crippled him, and soured his relationship with his daughters and his martial art. This realization had made Akane even more determined to learn to control herself. When she had a family one day, she would do her best not to repeat the mistakes of her father, or the myriad mistakes of Mr. and Mrs. Saotome.
Akane had meant to sneak past the living room without a word, but just then her father let out a belly laugh. Glancing over, Akane saw his head tipped back and his dear face creased with laugh lines. Love swelled up, swamping her critical thoughts, and she couldn't help but walk over and drop a kiss on his forehead.
He opened his eyes and smiled up at her. "What was that for?" he asked with a smile.
"Just because I love you," Akane said.
"My little girl," he began with eyes starting to swim, but before he could get going, Mr. Saotome shouted at something on the TV and distracted him. Both men jumped to their feet and began yelling at the referee on screen.
"See you later, Daddy," she said quietly as she stepped back into the hall and opened the closet door to get her coat. She was starting to get nervous about the upcoming conversation. When she went to close the closet door, a hand suddenly grabbed it out of her hand, making her jump.
"Sorry," said Ranma, "I didn't mean to startle you. I just need to grab my coat too."
Stepping back, Akane told herself to calm down. She checked inside her purse to make sure she'd grabbed the envelope of pamphlets. Then she slipped on her shoes and waited for Ranma by the door. He quickly joined her and they left the house.
As they walked in silence towards the park, Ranma began fidgeting. Lacing his fingers behind his neck, he looked at her sideways and finally asked, "So what did ya wanna talk about?"
"Let's wait until we get to the park," Akane demurred. That put if off for a little bit longer at least. Her palms were sweating. She didn't know how to start this conversation. It had been so much easier in her head when she was mad and annoyed at him.
Finally they reached the park. Akane walked them over to a semi-enclosed pavilion a few twists off the main path. You had to walk up a few steps to get inside. In the middle of the peaked roof hung an electric lantern. It had two walls of solid rock and two walls of iron filigree railings. Stone benches lined the walls. Luckily the pavilion retained some heat from the recently set sun, and the lantern light cast a further warm glow. It was almost, dare she think it, cozy.
At least until she looked out, and noticed the strange and menacing shadows cast on the grass and trees by the lantern light creeping out through the iron filigree.
"So, Akane?" Ranma's voice trailed off inquisitively as he sent her an encouraging little smile and wagged his eyebrows. He was so cute sometimes. It just made it more difficult for her to start.
Akane drifted over to the railing on one wall and traced a metal vine with her fingertip. "Right, well…" she stalled. "Um, did you ever have one of those maturation seminars in elementary school?"
"Matur-what? I dunno, we moved around so much that I never attended much elementary school. So I probably missed it. Why?" Ranma asked. "Is it important?" He looked very confused.
Swallowing, Akane tried again. "What about a health class in junior high, you took one of those, right?"
Ranma scratched his head. "Was it required? I don't know, maybe I did. I can't really remember. Though I might have tested out or something since I know all about first aid and anatomy from training with my pops."
A smile quickly appeared as he added, "I remember that there was this old fogey at a dojo down in Shikoku who Pops got to teach me muscles, bones, and nerves. He always smelled like stale crackers, for some reason, but man was that guy crazy smart. He was super strict during the lessons, and would swat my arms and legs with a switch when I didn't answer fast enough, but afterwards he'd always let me have some of his wife's bean cakes. Man, I haven't thought of him in years."
Huffing in frustration, Akane walked over to one of the solid walls and leaned back against it with a thud. "Just as I suspected."
"Um, Akane?" Ranma said, "What is this all about? I thought you wanted to talk about our relationship."
"Oh," she breathed guiltily. Is that what his little smiles all day had meant? Well drat. Maybe they could instead… but no. She had to finish this or she'd never get up the nerve to try again. "Not exactly, but this is sort of about what happens in a relationship…" she trailed off again.
Blowing out a sigh, she forced herself to begin again. "You know how knowledge is power and ignorance is weakness during a fight? Well some things recently have made me worried that you are missing some important knowledge."
"About an opponent or technique?" he asked suspiciously as he crossed his arms.
"Sort of," Akane said awkwardly. Suddenly frustrated at herself and the roundabout conversation, Akane reached into her bag and opened the envelope. Then she strode forward and thrust the pamphlets into his hands, "Here."
"What are these?" he asked as he looked down and began fanning them out. Then he froze. Only his eyeballs moved as he looked up at Akane, looked down at the pamphlets, and looked up again with a suddenly beet red face. "Wh-wh-what? Wh-wh-why?"
Suddenly, Ranma unfroze, crumpled the pamphlets in his fist, and scuttled back until he was up on a bench with his back pressed against the wall. His eyes jerked back and forth, looking for escape, but he'd scurried in the wrong direction and had accidentally put Akane between him and the exit. "I don't wanna and you can't make me."
"Ranma," Akane sighed as she rolled her eyes at his childish dramatics. Taking advantage of her distraction, Ranma leapt up on top of the iron railing on one wall. He was about to fling himself out into the woods and escape!
Oh no you don't, Akane thought. Lunging forward, she grabbed hold of his pigtail just as Ranma lifted one leg to leap out. With a grunt of effort, she flipped him back inside and slammed him onto the ground. A puff of dust and a few dead leaves rose up from the impact.
Ranma lay spread eagled, groaning. "You are one mean gorilla of a woman," he grunted as he rose creakily to his feet. Akane scowled at his comment. Rubbing at his tender scalp, he began dusting himself off. Then he seemed to realize that he was dusting himself off using the crumpled sex ed pamphlets.
"Gah!" he yelped as he threw them into the air and hopped back, hands extended in defense. "I ain't reading those! Besides, half of 'em are about girl stuff. I'm a guy! I don't need to know about things like that," he spat in disgust and embarrassment.
Akane's crossed her arms and huffed. He was so exasperating! "Yes you do," she demanded. "Can you honestly tell me that you know the basics of sex ed and about preventing STDs and using birth control? You didn't even know what a woman's period was until a few months ago!"
Pacing back and forth between the walls like a caged animal, Ranma yelled back, "I'm not stupid. I know enough! I wouldn't sleep with a girl who had an STD so I don't need to worry about getting one. And girls get pregnant, not guys, so the girl takes care of the birth control stuff. Guys don't have to worry about that."
Akane caught her breath at the rage invoked by his idiotic words. "Well newsflash, Ranma. You can't just sense if a person has an STD or not. STDs can be hidden, and even good people can get them. And as for the girl being the one responsible for getting pregnant or not," she forced herself to ask, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt before she continued biting his head off, "is that your opinion, or are you parroting your father?"
Ranma flinched and looked away. "Pops always said," he mumbled before trailing off. He crossed and uncrossed his arms uneasily.
Huffing in disgust, Akane continued. "Well, we all know how wise and honorable his advice always is. If she ends up pregnant and destitute, or disowned by her family, at least it won't inconvenience you, right? Never mind the effect on her and your unwanted, fatherless child. You would just continue on your merry way." She waved her hands in the air sharply.
She paused to suck in an angry breath and then continued. "Of course, not all scenarios would be so convenient for you. What if a girl like, oh Shampoo for instance, slept with you trying to get pregnant, and then went to your mom with the news, saying that honor demanded you marry her and return to China because of the child? Or what if someone drugged you to get you to sleep with them? What would happen then? Think for a minute Ranma!"
Ranma flinched again, but he seemed to be actually listening and thinking. The silence stretched. Ranma shifted, sat down on a bench, stood up again, began pacing, and then finally stopped. He looked longingly at the dark woods outside before glancing up to meet Akane's eyes. "I- I suppose I haven't ever really thought about it before. I never even thought about kissing a girl until we moved here, much less other stuff. It didn't seem important, and I was too busy training."
Looking away from her eyes, he shrugged uncomfortably and continued, "Although I wouldn't want to be trapped into marriage like that, I would never abandon a child of mine, no matter how it came to be. But I wouldn't just sleep with some random girl, and I wouldn't sleep with Shampoo. You should know me better than that."
Taking a breath, Akane tried to get herself to calm down. "I thought I did, but then you spouted that ignorant, arrogant crap about not taking any responsibility for sex, and it forced me to wonder if I know you as well as I thought I did. I thought you were a responsible man, Ranma. Someone I could rely on, someone I could even have a relationship with. But being responsible doesn't just mean accepting the consequences when they come, it means avoiding the actions that cause bad consequences in the first place. How can you do that when you don't have the knowledge to even recognize which actions are which?" she plead.
Firming his lips, Ranma nodded once sharply before crouching down to pick up the scattered pamphlets. "All right, I get your point. I'll read the stupid things." He frowned darkly as he gathered them up before standing again. "There, are you happy now," he grumbled.
Akane crossed her arms defensively. "I didn't give you those to make you feel bad or to score some kind of points. This is awkward for me too, you know! But I did it because you're my best friend and I worry about you. This is information you need to know whether we end up together or not. To be honest, there was a lot of stuff in those that I didn't know myself," Akane offered humbly.
"We're 18 now, Ranma. In a few months we'll be graduated from high school. We aren't kids anymore. It is time for us both to start acting like responsible adults. This is part of that." Pausing, Akane just watched him for a moment, letting her words sink in.
"Besides," and suddenly Akane's mouth ran ahead of her brain, "it seemed like you were about ten seconds from picking me up and throwing my down on my bed the other night. It doesn't make me feel special to know that if I'd gone along with it, you would have taken your pleasure and then blamed any consequences on me. I guess you've never given any thought to protecting me or keeping me safe in that way." She gulped a breath and looked away, shocked at her audacity. Why had she said that out loud? Stupid, now he's going to get mad again!
But he surprised her. "Akane," Ranma said helplessly. "Akane," he repeated more steadily, "look at me." She glanced up into his eyes. She expected more squirming, but he suddenly seemed very serious. "Your safety and happiness are extremely important to me. Your protection is more important to me than my own."
Akane sucked in a surprised breath at his words. "I am serious," Ranma said in reply to her reaction. "Ignorance is my only excuse for what I said before, but I'll fix that. Ok?" Akane relaxed slowly and gave him a nod and small smile. Both of them released a breath of tension and just sat in silence for a moment.
Then Ranma surprised again her by sending her a wry, flirtatious grin. "Besides, even in my ignorance, I know enough to not want to just take my pleasure from you. I only want to share it – the pleasure, that is. My responsible side is glad we never made it to your bed and thus avoided any problems, and my honorable side says we should save that for marriage anyway, but the rest of me is doing its best to drown out those two by demanding I kiss you everywhere you'll let me get away with at the first opportunity." His smile turned into a grin as he ducked his head shyly, "I mean, if kissing is still on the table."
Blushing, Akane felt her heart begin to race as she grinned back at him. "I could be persuaded to grant you some limited access. If you can prove that you deserve it," she teased as she stuck her nose into the air haughtily.
"Oh, I think I can be persuasive enough," Ranma flirted back as he began stalking forward slowly.
A quick gust of wind blew through the pavilion, and Akane felt something flutter against her ankle. Looking down, she saw it was one of the pamphlets on birth control options for girls, including the morning after. It acted like a cup of cold water in the face, reminding her of why they were here. Scooping it up, she bit her lip and offered it to Ranma.
Glancing down at the title, Ranma took a step back and raised his still paper-filled hands. "Nuh uh. I'll read this stuff here, but that one's just about girls. I don't need it."
Akane felt her good mood plummet. "Yes, you do," she replied with weary displeasure. "We just talked about this. You need to know about all this stuff."
His face took on a mulish cast. "There is no reason I should ever need to know what birth control options are for girls. I'm a guy. It's not relevant."
"It is! Not only will you be with a girl, but you also turn into a girl. That especially makes it relevant!" Akane rebutted. He was such a stubborn idiot!
Ranma jerked back and his face screwed up in disgust. "That's gross! Don't even joke about that. No guy is ever getting his junk anywhere near my girl side. I'd castrate him first." He skirted her jerkily and began walking quickly towards the doorway, allowing shadows to darken his unhappy face as he fled the lantern light and conversation.
"Ranma," she started, but he interrupted her before she could martial any more arguments.
"No! I said I'd read the rest of this stuff and I will. I'll take it seriously. But I'm a man. Nothing like that is ever gonna happen, so leave off, Akane. We're done here." He shoved the wad of pamphlets into his pocket and fully turned his back to any more of her words.
As she watched Ranma walk down the steps of the pavilion, Akane felt her chance disappearing. Yet he needed this information for his girl side too. It was important. Maybe important enough to actually tell him about the things that happened in Okinawa. That incident was what prompted her to start this conversation in the first place. She had to do it. She had to explain. Only the truth would get him to stop now.
"But it did!" Akane yelled at his dimly lit back almost swallowed by the blackness of the looming trees. "It did almost happen! In Okinawa, last fall. That's why."
Ranma paused. She could barely make out the muscles of his shoulders tensing in the darkness. Then he swiveled and stalked back up to the pavilion. Stopping in the entryway, he braced his hands on either side of the doorway and loomed, trapping her inside as he skewered her with a hard look. "What are you talking about," he demanded, white lines of tension bracketing his mouth.
Gulping at the slightly wild look on his face, Akane forced herself to tell the story she'd been hiding from him for months. "Last fall, when we were kidnapped in Okinawa, we both got knocked out by that purple smoke. Remember?"
At his sharp nod, Akane continued. "Do you remember anything from when you first woke up, or from before we got rescued?" She couldn't bring herself to just blurt it out, as much as she wanted this over with. The words were hard to pry forth, as if residing in a bog of sticky muck deep in her mind.
Ranma huffed and then said, "I woke up on a boat first and started to fight, but they put some sort of wet cloth over my face and knocked me out again. Then I maybe woke up for a second in a room with you? That part is pretty foggy. But I remember waking up later in a cave at dawn. You were asleep in the back. I wasn't aware for long, as a bunch of cats showed up and knocked me into the cat fist." His eyes lost their focus as he seemed to search his memory. "Then there's a flash of waking from the cat fist in a building with people fighting, but pretty soon another darn cat showed up and knocked me out of it again. Then I woke up on your sick bed at the women's monastery. You were sick from being in the water and the stress."
Suddenly, Ranma's eyes focused sharply as he looked at her and finished, "at least, that's what I thought at the time. Why don't you tell me what really happened, Akane, since you seem to be implying something else? What did I miss?" He did not look pleased. In fact, he looked like he was ready for a fight, suspiciously relaxed and standing on the balls of his feet. As she tried to get her words in order, she saw him looking at her side, the one with the scar.
"When I first woke up," Akane started haltingly, handing him her side of the story carefully, like something fragile and liable to break if dropped. Or maybe she was the one liable to break. Shaking off her dark thoughts, Akane decided to jump right into the deep end. "I was tied up and gagged on the floor of a room. You were tied up too, and unconscious. A man was crouched over you, trying to pull your pants off, but luckily your new belt was too tight."
Despite her best efforts to stay detached, she felt her eyes lose their focus on the pavilion as her memories rose like a tidal wave, towing her under the waters of memory back into that horrible room. She could practically taste the mustiness of the gag in her mouth and feel the pounding of her sore head. "I tried to jump up to help you, to stop him, but I was thrown back onto the floor by another man. My head hit the floor so hard it dazed me. I couldn't even struggle as my skirt was pushed up out of the way. Then the man standing over me started to take off his pants, and the man over you began cutting your belt off. I managed to find the strength to fight the first man off, but then the one trying to rape you jumped up and stabbed me with his knife. Everything hurt. I wanted to give up, I felt so awful, but I had to protect you. You were still unconscious. I couldn't quit. Somehow, I managed to find the strength to knock him out too."
Akane felt the breath dragging fast and heavy in her lungs as she relived those tortuous moments. "During the struggle, I'd knocked over this chest and a dirty black string fell out. There was something wrong with it, something strange. I fell on top of it after the fight and bled all over it while I was cutting off my ropes. When I finally managed to get up, I went over to you. You wouldn't wake up at first, and then the string became a rope of pearls, and I wanted to put them on. There was something swimming inside them, little pink forms that I woke with my blood. It sucked in all of our spilled blood, I think, but mine the most. It liked mine best. It needed more. I wanted to pick them up and put them on. The pearls were so beautiful, and they needed me so badly…," Akane trailed off, hypnotized by the memory of them, seeing them so clearly in her mind, as if they hung suspended in the air before her now. She felt as if she could touch them if she just reached out her fingertips.
"Akane, Akane! Snap out of it!"
Suddenly, someone was shaking her, and Akane broke out of her memories to find Ranma roughly digging his fingers into her arms as he shook her hard. His face was almost white and he looked sick to his stomach. When he saw her focus on his face, he released her and took a couple of steps back.
"Are you okay?" he asked shakily.
"Oh, yeah sorry," she said as she rubbed her face briskly. That memory had been much stronger and more disturbing than she'd expected. Maybe the monks had been right when they'd warned her not to talk about the pearls or the demon, but it was too late now. She had to finish the story now that she'd started.
"Where was I?" she asked before answering herself. "In the room about to escape, right. Well, you woke up for a minute and then passed out again. I got you tied up on my back and we escaped to the river, leaving the pearls behind. I grabbed onto a log and floated us downstream until I found that cave where you woke up. We got attacked by those Iriomote cats, and you fought them off. Then a boat of male monks came down the river and picked us up. I directed them back to the fortress to rescue the female monks, which your cat side helped with, and then we all left the Island to go back to Okinawa. You know the rest," Akane finished quickly and succinctly.
"So when I woke up and you were sick," Ranma asked lowly, choosing that out of everything to focus on right now, probably because everything else was too horrible, "it was because the cut in your side was infected. Not because you had caught a cold from the stress of being kidnapped." His nostrils flared as he breathed in angrily. "You lied to me," he snapped.
Akane shrugged uneasily and looked away. "I didn't lie. I never said why I was sick. I just never corrected you when you made assumptions. I didn't want to talk about it."
"Why not?" Ranma demanded harshly as he loomed over her.
The threat in his posture was too much, and Akane snapped back with her own anger, "Because! I didn't want to talk about it because I still don't know if I was raped or not! I'll never know! We were both unconscious, and I never did find my underwear. It was gone when I woke up. It's a horrible memory, complicated by those evil demonic pearls. Unlike you, I didn't have pants and a belt on, and I wasn't blissfully unconscious through the whole thing either. There was no one to protect me, so I had to protect myself and you as best I could!"
Sucking in a deep breath, she continued. "So don't you dare take that tone with me. I'm telling you about it now, and I'm giving you the tools to deal with it if something like this ever does happen to your girl side. No one gave those tools to me. I had to go and find them by myself. So don't you dare throw away my help and act the victim here. I kept you from being a victim, I kept your girl side from being raped while you were unconscious, and I'm trying to make sure you stay safe if, god forbid, something horrible like this ever happens again." Akane glared at him fiercely.
Ranma jerked away from her and began stalking back and forth across the room. She could see him almost physically pulling himself together. "Right, sorry, right. You did protect me, and I failed to protect you, and that's what this is about and," he sucked in a deep breath and suddenly bent over, face going white as he braced his hands on his knees and stared at the ground. Concerned, Akane was jerked out of her anger.
She was about to step forward and touch his shoulder when he jolted back up and said, "I'll be right back. I promise. Just give me a minute and don't go anywhere, okay?" His voice was strained and his eyes burned with some strong emotion as they bored into Akane's. "Wait here. Please."
"Okay," she answered hesitantly, cowed by the emotion lurking behind his tortured face. As if her word had been a trigger, Ranma sprang from the pavilion like an arrow shot from a bow. He stumbled to a halt at the edge of the trees, bent over, and was sick to his stomach. Then he lurched upright and started running again. Akane quickly lost sight of him in the black night cloaking the forest. For the first time, she noticed her breath steaming in the chill night air. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself and tried to rub some warmth back into her body.
Had she made a mistake telling him about Iriomote Island? What was Ranma thinking right now? What was he doing?
Her questions became at least partially answered when an enraged scream suddenly split the silence of the park. Birds and bats shot into the air and leaves crackled as flustered animals ran for cover. Several booms and cracks sounded next, accompanied by strobes of light which dimly lit up the canopy of trees in the distance. Ominous silence reigned for a few seconds. Then more sounds of destruction.
Finally quiet descended again, followed by the sound of groaning wood and a cacophony of splintering crashes, rustling leaves, and alarmed animal calls. When the echo of falling trees finally stopped, the wood held absolute silence, as if hiding from further destruction. She could only imagine how many trees Ranma had just destroyed.
Akane strained her eyes, trying to look for Ranma, but she couldn't see anything in the darkness. The moon either hadn't risen yet or was smothered by clouds, and starlight was no match for the looming canopy of trees. After a few minutes, the crickets slowly began calling again, and a lone owl hooted.
Finally, a minute or two after that, Ranma coalesced out of the blackness between two trees. He paused for a minute, face and form still mostly shrouded in shadows, and something kept Akane from calling out to him. Finally he moved, walking slowly like an old man back into the lantern light.
Stepping up to the base of the stairs leading into the pavilion, Ranma stopped and looked up at Akane where she hovered above him in the doorway, one hand pressed to her chest. A red flush rode high on his cheeks and his knuckled were bruised and bloody, but his face was controlled and his voice held a steely calm. "I have a few more questions, if that's alright?"
"Of course," Akane said, stepping back awkwardly to let him into the pavilion. She didn't know what to say now. Obviously what he'd just done in the woods was off limits.
It was getting a little cold to stay out talking much longer, but he didn't seem to notice the temperature. Considering the uncertain state of his emotions, she didn't want to bring it up. Sinking down onto one of the benches, she dug her hands into her pockets and waited for him to talk.
Ranma went to the bench on the opposite side of the pavilion. On the way he picked up the birth control flier from where Akane had dropped it on the ground and folded it up carefully before putting it in his pocket. Placing his hands on his thighs, Ranma turned and sat down.
"You mentioned in your story a set of demonic pearls. Do you know anything more about them? What I mean is, are they something we need to watch out for?" Ranma tilted his head at her inquiringly.
Biting her lip, Akane tried to figure out how to answer his question. "The monks said I should probably be alright if I stay away from Okinawa, demons, and demonic objects, at least for now. When I talked to the female monks about the pearls, Sachi, a monk specializing in spiritual disorders, read my aura. Based on some things I overheard in the place we were held, we think it might be a cat demon influencing the pearls. Sachi said that it looks like I do have at least one, if not more, entities infesting my spirit in ways they shouldn't be, and in ways that could be dangerous for me, but she's not an expert on demonic possession. I sort of vaguely mentioned that part to you in Okinawa, if you remember," Akane paused and waited for him to nod. He had a strange look on his face, like he'd just realized something awful, but this whole night was probably awful for him so she didn't bother worrying about it.
Akane continued her explanation, "You said it might just be all of the crazy things we've run across over the years lingering in my aura. That's what I've been hoping ever since, at least, though that's probably blind optimism." Akane chuckled darkly, and then forced herself to stop before she got hysterical. "Sachi went in and choked off as many outside influences as she could find, but she said she couldn't get everything. I'm not supposed to really talk or think about the demon part too much or else it could draw the demon's influence and weaken my spirit. She's out researching it now, and then she said she'd come and see me to try and fix the rest of it. To be honest, I'd hoped to see her before now, but she hasn't shown up yet."
Ranma leaned forward and frowned. "Do we need to try and contact the monastery again for you? Or get some other people working on this?"
An unhappy frown twisted Akane's face. "Sachi did call to check in a couple of months ago, but she didn't have any news. The monastery called me this week and said that they haven't heard from her in a few weeks. I haven't mentioned it to anyone because I didn't want to make the problem with my spirit worse, but I'm just about out of patience myself. I was going to finally confess to Dr. Tofu, but then he had to run out of town. So far I've been mostly just trying not to think about it. If there are any demonic remnants in me, at least they don't seem to be doing anything that I've noticed." Though after saying that, Akane began wondering about her dizzy spells.
Standing up, Ranma began pacing in the limited space. "I wish I'd known about this from the start," he muttered. Then he glanced her way and said reassuringly, "But I know now and I'll do my best to keep you safe, Akane. I can start asking around for you privately and see if I can find us any help. Maybe that Monkey Priest who helped us with the oni possessing Kasumi will know something. I'll see if I can track him down. I won't let anything bad happen. Not if I can help it."
All of a sudden, Ranma stopped pacing and gripped the base of his braid, tugging hard. He was facing away from Akane, so she couldn't see his expression. Concerned, she leaned forward.
Ranma took a deep breath and then blow it out. "Akane, there's something I need to tell you. I should've mentioned it earlier but," he turned around nervously. Then he yelped, "Gah!" and jumped forward, pulling her up off the bench and twirling her away towards the opposite wall.
"What? Ranma!" Akane shrieked in surprise.
He put her back down on her feet. "Rats," he said, gesturing towards where she'd been sitting with a grimace.
Looking back, Akane saw that the bottom of the bench was lined with at least ten mangy brown and black rats, with several more hanging by their claws from the iron railing right behind where her head had been. Their beady little eyes were all focused on her. Shrieking, Akane leapt up off the floor and into Ranma's arms, winding her arms tightly around his neck.
"I hate rats!" she squeaked. The rats started chittering as they wound round and round each other in the shadows. Several more rats appeared at their call, climbing up on the outside of the railing and scurrying inside.
Ranma wrinkled his nose. "Let's get out of here." Tucking her more securely against his chest, Ranma jumped over a rat waddling across the floor and loped out of the pavilion. He held her the whole way home, not giving her a choice, and if his grip was a little tighter, and his face a little fiercer than usual, Akane didn't comment on it.
They separated at the house without a word. There had already been enough said tonight. Akane crept up the stairs to her room, emotionally exhausted from the evening. Once inside, she quickly changed clothes and then went straight to bed. She couldn't wait for this day to be done. As she finally started to fall asleep, she thought she heard something rustling in the room, but sleep dragged her down before she could do anything about it.


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July 8, 2008
Warnings Ordered for Some Antimicrobials
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it's notified makers of fluoroquinolone antimicrobial drugs that a boxed warning is necessary for those products.
The FDA said it is also requiring those manufacturers to provide a medication guide to patients about the increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture.Fluoroquinolones are effective in treating certain bacterial infections but healthcare professionals and patients need to be aware of the increased risk associated with the use of these drugs of developing tendinitis and tendon rupture, particularly for certain patient populations, said Dr. Edward Cox, director of the FDA's Office of Antimicrobial Products.
The federal agency said the risk of developing fluoroquinolone-associated tendinitis and tendon rupture is further increased in people older than 60, in those taking corticosteroid drugs and in kidney-, heart- and lung-transplant recipients.
The FDA said medications involved in the action are: Cipro and generic ciprofloxacin, Cipro XR and Proquin XR, Factive (gemifloxacin), Levaquin (levofloxacin), Avelox (moxifloxacin), Noroxin (norfloxacin) and Floxin and generic ofloxacin.


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Xvfb + Firefox
Posted Sat, 08 Apr 2006
Combine something simple like Firefox and Xvfb (X Virtual Frame Buffer), and you've got a simple way to run Firefox without a visible display.
Let's start Xvfb:
startx -- `which Xvfb` :1 -screen 0 1024x768x24 # Or with Xvnc (also headless) startx -- `which Xvnc` :1 -geometry 1024x768x24 # Or with Xephyr (nested X server, requires X) startx -- `which Xephyr` :1 -screen 1024x768x24This starts Xvfb running on :1 with a screen size of 1024x768 and 24bits/pixel color depth. Now, let's run firefox:
DISPLAY=:1 firefox # Or, if you run csh or tcsh env DISPLAY=:1 firefoxSeems simple enough. What now? We want to tell firefox to go to google.com, perhaps.
DISPLAY=:1 firefox-remote http://www.google.com/Now, let's take a screenshot (requires ImageMagick's import command):
DISPLAY=:1 import -window root googledotcom.pngLets see what that looks like: googledotcom.png
While this isn't complicated, we could very easily automate lots of magic using something like the Selenium extension, all without requiring the use of a visual display (Monitor). Hopefully I'll find time to work on something cool using this soon.
Problems with screen scraping and other website interaction automation is that it almost always needs to be done without a browser. For instance, all of my screen scraping adventures have been using Perl. Browsers already know how to speak to the web, so why reinvent the wheel?
Tie this back to unit tests. Instead of simply displaying results of unit tests, have the page also report the results to a cgi script on the webserver. This will let you automatically test websites using a web browser and have it automatically report the results back to a server.


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He doesn't buy the comparison of older workers to women entering the workforce and says others' arguments on older workers expanding the economy don't make sense when there are so many unemployed people. If there was a surplus of jobs, he said, there would be no problem with people working longer. But there isn't.
"I can't imagine how you could refute that. The older worker retires, the employer looks around and hires another worker," he said. "It's like refuting elementary arithmetic."
Melissa Quercia, 35, a controller for a small information technology company in Phoenix, said she sees signs of the generational job battle all around her: jobs once taken by high schoolers now filled by seniors, college graduates who can't find work anywhere, the resulting dearth of experience of younger applicants. She doesn't see economists' arguments playing out. Older people staying on the job aren't spurring new jobs, because companies aren't investing in creating new positions, she said.
"It's really hard to retire right now, I understand that," she said. "But if the younger generation doesn't have a chance to get their foot in the door, then what?"
Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who edited a book on the subject for the National Bureau of Economic Research, said it's a frustrating reality of his profession: That those things he knows as facts are disputed by the populace.
"If you polled the average American they probably would think the opposite," he said. "There's a lot of things economists say that people don't get and this is just one of them."


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Join us for the first of Momentum Winter Nights, which will be taking place ** Every Thursday Evening 6 - 8:30pm ** at TSSA building Walkden House, 10 Melton Street, London NW1 2EJ. Everyone is welcome.
This week we'll be phone-banking for the Grassroots Now campaign. We'll be calling Momentum supporters in key marginal constituencies, asking them to join Labour's national campaign day on the NHS this Saturday in their local area to spread the word in their communities about Labour's plans to bring the NHS back into public hands, as a high-quality, properly funded health service, available to all.
Help us call to mobilise as many people as possible this Saturday in the key marginal constituencies that Labour needs to win
You can also call for Grassroots Now from home at https://call.peoplesmomentum.com/
& Join us on future Thursday evenings for Momentum Winter Nights to help us keep the Momentum going! Join the Momentum Winter Nights Facebook Group for updates
10 Melton St
London, London N1 3DZ
United Kingdom
Google map and directions


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English Department Brings Authors to Campus This Spring
Posted: February 16, 2005 at 1:00 am, Last Updated: November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am
From a hieroglyphic mystery to a memoir about growing up in Mississippi in the 1960s, the visiting writers and special guests hosted by the English Department this semester are quite diverse. Poetry, nonfiction, and fiction will be represented throughout the semester, and all readings are free and open to the public.
The Visiting Writers series sponsored by the Creative Writing Program invites two poets, two fiction writers, and two nonfiction writers to campus each semester for a public reading and workshops with students. The first of the visiting writers this semester, Steve Yarbrough, will give a reading tonight at 8 p.m. in the Grand Tier III of the Center for the Arts Concert Hall. Yarbrough is the author of three novels, most recently last year's Prisoners of War, plus three collections of short stories. His honors include the Mississippi Authors Award, the California Book Award, and a Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award.
Azar Nafisi, writer of the best-selling memoir Reading Lolita in Tehran, will be on the Fairfax Campus Thursday, March 10, to discuss her book and its success. Nafisi's memoir tells of meeting weekly with seven of her most committed female students in post-revolutionary Islamic Iran to read and discuss forbidden Western literary classics. The students and Nafisi risked being caught by the censors in order to explore the works of Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov. Critics say the book serves as a celebration of the liberating power of literature. This reading, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Johnson Center's Dewberry Hall, will be presented in partnership with the Fairfax County Public Library.
English faculty member Matt Bondurant will read at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, in the Grand Tier III of the Center for the Arts Concert Hall. Bondurant just published his first novel, The Third Translation, a book of "seduction, conspiracy, and betrayal" that takes place in modern-day London.
Also reading this spring is Tom Harpole, a journalist with more than 15 years experience reporting on and writing about such subjects as the aerospace culture shock suffered by the first American astronauts to fly Russia's Mir space station; mujahedin fighters in the Philippines; street children in Sao Paolo; and border patrol agents in northern Montana. He will appear Wednesday, April 20, in the Grand Tier III of the Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
Other visiting writers include poet Susan Howe, reading Wednesday, March 9, at 8 p.m. in the ballroom of SUB II. Poet and Mason alumnus Jeff McDaniel will read Monday, Feb. 21; novelist Danzy Senna will read Tuesday, March 1; and Ralph Eubanks will read Tuesday, March 22. All three will begin at 8 p.m. in the Grand Tier III of the Center for the Arts Concert Hall.


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The inspiration for Les Copains was more literal with prints across bodycon or skater dresses at the former and more a concept based at the latter - or clocked as motif decoration on the ensembles that wavered between two worlds: fantasy and reality. [CONTINUE READING...]
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First General Meeting & Mentorship Mixer
WICS's first general meeting blasted off last Wednesday on September 30 with over 100 attendees fed by yummy Costco pizzas. The WICS Co-President Angela Liu and Vice-President Shirley Zhu began the meeting introducing the organization's goals, the hardworking committee and board members, past events, and the events planned for the current Fall Quarter. Afterwards, WICS ended the meeting by putting on our traditional raffling of various swag prizes, including an Android plushie, swag bags filled with mystery prizes, and Adobe and WICS shirts. General members learned how WICS could support them throughout their time here at UCI and be a place to make lasting friendships and experiences.
Then WICS switched gears to hold the mentorship mixer. This is where underclassmen meet with upperclassmen and graduate students from the various disciplines under the school of ICS to ask them about classes, internships, research, and life. The mixer started off with a human bingo game so that everyone has a chance to get to know one another. After that, mentors were directed to sit in tables with their respective interests (Artificial Intelligence, Art/Graphics, Algorithms, Database, Networking, Development, and Research). Mentees could choose any table to go to and talk to the mentors about the topic (or about life in general) and there were 3 rounds of rotation to allow them to explore various interests. The mixer allowed mentees to get to know the mentors and the different fields and helped them decide whom they want as their mentors.
WICS would like to thank our members for coming out and also the awesome people that volunteered their time to set up the chairs and tables!