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When I had to visit police station after watching a movie
This incident goes back to the time when a Hindi movie "Ghajini" was released. The Aamir Khan starer had created a huge buzz.
Back then, I was studying engineering in Amravati – one more degree that I have in my collection.
Being a movie buff, 'watching a movie in the theatre' was one of the basic needs for me.
Thus, my friend Suresh and I went to a single screen theater to watch the movie – the city didn't have any multiplex.
People had mobbed the theatre as if there was no tomorrow. As balcony tickets were sold, we had to buy Reserve tickets.
As there was half an hour for the show, everybody was waiting for the main door to get opened. Tired of waiting, people started banging the door with their hands – usual scenario at the Reserve.
I was wearing a cargo pant and a shirt. Being in the moment, I completely forgot that I had kept my mobile in my pants front right pocket, which had a broken zip.
The moment the door was opened, people started rushing in crazily. We as well joined them.
All of a sudden, when I was going in, I sensed a hand in the same pocket. Someone was trying to steal my mobile. I tried grabbing his hand. But I was so crowded that I could barely move my hands. I couldn't even turn back and look at the culprit.
With all my might, I tried reaching the pocket. It was empty. My first mobile was gone.
Still checking my pocket in disbelief, I informed Suresh. He took out his phone and dialed my number. It was switched off. I was wondering if the thief would still be in the theatre. But no thief would stay at the same place after stealing something.
Suresh suggested that we should go to the police station. But I had lost the hope of getting my phone back. Plus, we had bought the tickets for the show. I didn't want him to miss the movie because of me.
And watching it could elevate my mood. So, we watched the movie.
Being a revenge drama, it influenced me to take a necessary action for my lost mobile. Thus, we went to the Police station afterwards.
At the Police station, we sat across a Police Inspector to register our complaint. I informed him about my stolen mobile.
First, he enquired about the place where this incident took place. I told him it happened just down the street. Then, he asked me the time when it happened. It must be around 6 pm. I informed him. In surprise, he looked at his watch. It was 9 pm.
He couldn't understand why it took me 3 hours to reach the Police station, if this incident took place right down the street.
I told him I watched a movie.
Unable to believe his years, he managed to utter just one word: "What". Before he could judge me, I narrated him the entire incident. He started laughing at me.
Calling his subordinates, he told them that even though my mobile got stolen, I preferred to watch a movie. He was laughing while pointing his finger at me. His subordinates also joined him.
I did not like it. Widening my eyes, I tried to justify myself and said:
"It was 'Ghajini'".
P.S. I was watching the movie for the second time.Share this if it made you laugh:


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


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The man accused of stabbing a Carol Stream boy to death outside a Sikh temple in Palatine was charged Tuesday with two more felonies in connection with the child's brutal slaying.
Satpal Singh Sanghera, 23, now faces the additional charges of aggravated kidnapping and armed violence. He has been held on $1 million bond since his Dec. 18 arrest on a murder charge in the death of 4-year-old Steven Sahota.


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RALEIGH —Governor's Highway Safety Program Director Becky Wallace announced today that state and local law enforcement officers cited 3,147 motorists for driving while impaired during the Holiday "Booze It & Lose It" campaign, which ran Dec. 7 – Jan. 2. A total of 110,692 traffic and criminal citations were issued statewide.
"These numbers show how the efforts of dedicated law enforcement officers across the state are making our roads safe," Wallace said.
During the GHSP campaign, officers statewide conducted 13,445 sobriety checkpoints and dedicated patrols. Counties with the highest number of DWI citations were Guilford (257), Wake (246) and Forsyth (191).
Officers also issued 6,381 safety belt and 1,134 child passenger safety violations, 30,364 speeding violations and 3,543 drug charges. In addition, they apprehended 3,009 fugitives from justice and recovered 184 stolen vehicles.
For more information regarding county-by-county citation totals or other "Booze It & Lose It" activities, visit the GHSP website.
Click this image to view at original resolution


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The TV personality appeared on SiriusXM Radio on Wednesday with Jenny Hutt to set the record straight that she is not returning to The Real Housewives of New York City.
She explained, "I'm going in and out of Bravo, I'm talking to Andy [Cohen] about two different projects, because he's got a production company now… I haven't signed or decided to do anything. But it's not what everyone thinks it is."
Frankel was pretty vague about the projects she was discussion with Cohen, but it sounds like they want to continue to work together. The reality star not only was a part of RHONYC, she had her own spin-off series, Bethenny Getting Married and Bethenny Ever After with her ex-husband Jason Hoppy.
Even though the Skinnygirl mogul had her own talk show, Bethenny, canceled in February after one season, she's not ruling out reality television just yet.
"I don't know that I'm going back to reality TV. There are some shows that I'm talking about that have a little bit of structure in reality. But if you're asking me if I would ever do that — or if I would be afraid to do that because of [that] — I would say no. Because whether it's write books or do interviews — I haven't really done interviews in a long time, this is the first week because of the book… If I'm going through something negative, very often I can help somebody else who's going through something negative," said Frankel.
Frankel left RHONYC in 2010 after three seasons.
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text:
Well... the DCMI Abstract Model [1] says that a 'described resource' is a 'resource' (i.e. an rdfs:Resource): resource (http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#Resource) Anything that might be identified. Familiar examples include an electronic document, an image, a service (for example, "today's weather report for Los Angeles"), and a collection of other resources. Not all resources are network "retrievable"; for example, human beings, corporations, concepts and bound books in a library can also be considered resources. so in the context of current DCMI thinking your interpretation is too narrow. (I haven't looked at the FAQ but I'm not sure how well maintained it is, nor whether it has been updated in line with the language used in the Abstract Model). Historically, DCMI used to talk about document-like objects (DLOs) as being the kind of things that DC metadata was optimised to describe. Some of this legacy remains in, say, the definition of dcterms:format (which is pretty horrible in any case) [2] and the DC Type vocabulary [3] and in more general attitudes and practice. To make matters worse, I think there are probably a wide range of views about what DC metadata can reasonably be used to describe within the DCMI community - and indeed on the value of things like Linked Data :-). I tried to touch on some of this in my recent talk at the ISKO Linked Data - the future of knowledge organisation on the Web conference a few weeks ago [4]. One of DCMI's problems is that its longevity means that there are a wide range of attitudes and practices to accommodate. Overall though, I suggest that there is a general trend towards the acceptance of using an appropriate mix of DC terms to describe any kind of resource. If nothing else, DC terms are used to describe DC terms, which are themselves conceptual :-). (Note that I was one of the authors of the Abstract Model and therefore tend to use it as my reference point rather more heavily than others do. For info, there is a current conversation within DCMI about the continuing need for a separate DCMI Abstract Model, as opposed to simply using the RDF model.) [1] http://dublincore.org/documents/2007/06/04/abstract-model/ [2] http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/#terms-format [3] http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/#H7 [4] http://www.slideshare.net/andypowe11/linked-data-the-long-and-winding-road Andy -- Andy Powell Research Programme Director Eduserv t: 01225 474319 m: 07989 476710 twitter: @andypowe11 blog: efoundations.typepad.com www.eduserv.org.uk -----Original Message----- From: email@example.com [mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com] On Behalf Of Dave Reynolds Sent: 11 October 2010 22:54 To: Linking Open Data Subject: Domain of Dublin Core terms This is a back to basics kind of question ... What sorts of entities are we happy to describe using Dublin Core Terms? The Dublin Core Abstract Model [1] talks about "described resources" which are described in the FAQ [2] as "anything addressable via a URL ... including various collections of documents and non-electronic forms of media such as a museum or library archive". I've always taken this to mean that such resources are Information Resources in the sense of http-range-14, not abstract concepts. So I've been happy using, say, dct:spatial to talk about the area covered by some report or some data set (c.f. its use in dcat [3]) but not happy to use it for, say, the area affected by some public project or administered by a local council. Various discussions have led me to question whether I'm being too restrictive here and whether the LOD general practice has evolved to use dcterms more broadly than that. The published schema for dcterms has no rdfs:domain declarations for the bulk of the properties and no class representing describable resources. So from a pure inference point of view using properties such as dct:spatial on an abstract thing like a project does no harm. The question is whether the informal semantics or best practice expectations suggest avoiding this. Dave [1] http://dublincore.org/documents/2007/06/04/abstract-model/ [2] http://dublincore.org/resources/faq/#whatisaresource [3] http://www.w3.org/egov/wiki/Data_Catalog_Vocabulary/Vocabulary_Reference#Property:_spatial.2Fgeographic_coverageReceived on Tuesday, 12 October 2010 09:17:19 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Wednesday, 7 January 2015 15:16:09 UTC


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Inside Google and Facebook's India Courtroom
Facebook Inc., Google Inc. and several other Internet companies are battling a criminal case in New Delhi filed against them by journalist Vinay Rai.
He accuses them of violating India's criminal code by hosting material on their sites that could disrupt public order and incite communal passions. If the firms are found guilty, punishment could include several years' jail time for executives and hefty fines. The companies are appealing to quash the case in arguments at Delhi High Court.
More In Censorship
- Makers of Bollywood Drug Thriller 'Udta Punjab' Win Case Against India's Film Regulators
- Report: Internet Freedom Improves in India
- Indian Porn Ban is Partially Lifted But Sites Remain Blocked
- India's Requests Rise for Information About Facebook Users
- Indian TV Channel Protests Rape Documentary Ban
- India Orders Blocking of Websites for Alleged ISIS Content
The case has attracted widespread attention for the momentous issues involved: Web censorship in the world's largest democracy and the prospect that managers from some of the world's best-known companies could face prison time.
But you'd hardly know that from a visit to the High Court deliberations last week, when the trial was in full swing.
First, the court room itself is hard to find. It is only roughly 40 feet long and 25 feet wide. The room is basic: tiled floor, whitewashed walls, a false ceiling and more than a dozen wooden chairs.
Anyone with an "entry pass" to the Delhi High Court can stroll into the court room – if you manage to find the correct one. The court room is tucked away in a far corner of a giant "waiting room," which is typically packed with lawyers, petitioners and defendants.
Given there are no placards or boards to indicate the numbers of the rooms or the cases they are hearing, the "court number" on your entry pass is unlikely to help. Instead, the easiest (and perhaps the only way) to find the correct court is to peek into all six courtrooms off the "waiting room" until you come across one teeming with lawyers and reporters.
One morning last week, more than 40 lawyers and a handful of journalists jostled for prime position to witness the proceedings. Most of the lawyers silently penned each argument put forth and reporters discussed the case in hurried whispers. But not everyone was all ears for the two-hour long proceedings last Tuesday.
Dressed in a white sweater and faded blue jeans, Mr. Rai sporadically strolled out of the court room. A junior advocate seated next to Facebook's advocate periodically glanced at a web page on his Blackberry Curve. He was browsing ESPN's cricket news service. (India miraculously tied a cricket match with Sri Lanka that evening.) A Facebook India spokesman declined to comment.
An hour into the hearing, a middle-aged woman identified as a Google official seated about an arm's length from Google's advocate seemed visibly bored. Clad in a dark green salwar suit, the official opted to play 'Angry Birds' on her Android smartphone. The official declined comment and a Google India spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment. [Update: The spokeswoman responded by saying that this "is a case of mistaken identity."]
The hearing was dominated by Mr. Rai's advocate, N. Hariharan. But a surprising face-off took place between Google's advocate and the Delhi state government counsel who were seated next to each other.
"We have not seen a case where the Union of India comes rushing into matters of private concern," Google's advocate, N.K. Kaul, remarked toward the end of the proceedings. "It might be a case of malafide intention," he added, addressing Justice Suresh Kait.
Justice Kait observed that the court deemed it necessary to consult the Indian government. But it wasn't long before another diversion took place. This time over dates for the next hearing.
Lawyers for Facebook and Google proposed Feb. 16 and Feb. 23 as dates for the next hearing. However, the Delhi government counsel objected since he had a "family function to attend" on Feb. 23. Justice Kait thereafter announced that the court would resume on Feb. 16 and Feb 21.
Advocates from Facebook and Google declined to comment after Tuesday's hearing. Mr. Hariharan chatted with a few reporters at a small coffee counter.
"As of now, we have a watertight case," he confidently remarked. There is "no chance" that our case will be quashed, he claimed.
Following Mr. Hariharan's departure, Mr. Rai, who edits the Urdu weekly publication "Akbari," took it upon himself to offer "friendly career advice" to reporters who gathered outside the coffee counter.
"You see, print is the best form of journalism," he claimed. "A journalist's lifespan in television is not longer than five years but in print, you can let the wisdom of your pen do all the talking for years to come," he added.
When asked questions concerning the trial, he responded: "What happens in court stays in court."
You can follow India Real Time on Twitter @indiarealtime.


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FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. Services for Lois E. "Patricia Sue" Carleton, 72, Fayetteville, were Tuesday at the Sequoyah United Methodist Church in Fayetteville. Burial was in Fairview Memorial Gardens in Fayetteville.
Mrs. Carleton died Friday, July 2, 2004, at Washington Regional Medical Center.
She was born May 22, 1932, in Lawrence, Kan., the daughter of Harry Houlette and Justine Vera Manual Elliott.
Mrs. Carleton was a homemaker.
She was a member of Sequoyah United Methodist Church and the Order of the Eastern Star Hesperia Chapter No. 172.
Survivors include her husband, John J. Carleton Jr., of the home; a son, David, Kansas City, Mo.; two daughters, Deborah J. Halbert, Fayetteville, and Linda Carleton, Hannibal, Mo.; and six grandchildren.
A son, John Judd Carleton III, died earlier.
The family suggests memorials to the American Cancer Society, 901 North University, Little Rock, Ark., 72207.
Copyright 2018 The Lawrence Journal-World. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. We strive to uphold our values for every story published.


text:
|Do you know where your variables are?
Re^4: My code randomly stops workingby blue_cowdawg (Monsignor)
|on Mar 27, 2013 at 17:19 UTC ( #1025761=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
Well... the newest version of the software I cited doesn't run out of memory quite as fast. The developer re-architected it completely (he inherited the code originally) and it behaves much better and more efficiently.
Peter L. Berghold -- Unix Professional
Peter -at- Berghold -dot- Net; AOL IM redcowdawg Yahoo IM: blue_cowdawg
In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom


text:
When it comes to connecting diabetes devices and assuring that they can "talk to each other," the small but mighty startup Glooko is making surprising progress. But it's doing so with what is essentially a clever workaround -- the first and only plug-in cable between popular glucose meter models and the iPhone/iPod, which debuted in November 2011.
Touting the motto "free your data" (sorely needed!), Palo Alto, CA-based Glooko has been busy on Amazon.com selling its $40 cables that automatically suck up your BG data into an at-a-glance logbook-style app you can easily transmit to your doctor electronically, or print out. The cable connects to a total of 17 different meters and downloads glucose data to iOS devices, and users can also add notes about carbs, insulin doses and other health info.
But, a connector cable? In 2013? Doesn't it seem like PWDs (people with diabetes) ought to be able to take advantage of the advanced wireless capabilities built into all other kinds of electronics these days?
Well yes, but we are clearly not there yet. A combination of FDA limitations (they're still mulling over mobile health guidance) and vendors' reluctance to open communication protocols means one of the most exciting startups in diabetes right now is a cable company!
Yep, Glooko is popular. And the start of 2013 brings new developments that are certainly pluses for anyone in the D-Community wanting to use this connection solution.
The company recently received FDA 510(k) approval as a Class 2-compatible device, meaning the connection cables are now designated in the same category as glucose meters (read: actual medical devices). This is key to making Glooko a tool for care, rather than just an "accessory" and way to move your numbers around, according to spokeswoman Molly Leebove.
Previously, Glooko cables were designated Class 1 devices -- the type with the least amount of regulatory control and which don't need FDA approval for marketing, but are not allowed to interpret or "manipulate" data from a medical device in any way (they can only transfer data in its original form). This meant the Glooko product couldn't create graphs or charts of the data collected -- a huge drawback for a logging tool. But with the new clearance, they can introduce in the U.S. their new Glooko Logbook Charts product, which was available only in Europe up until now.
"Prior to Glooko Logbook Charts, there was no way to see the blood glucose data from your Glooko Logbook app in graph format," Leebove said. "Now, users can visualize their readings by time of day, day of week, analysis by day of week and summary statistics."
How exactly does Glooko's new Charts product work? Not as easily as we might like, as observed by fellow D-blogger Bennet Dunlap.
First, you upload the data from your meter to the Glooko Logbook app on your iPhone or iPod. Then you send yourself a CSV file and open that file on your computer. From there, you click to download the new Glooko Logbook Charts, where the data can be viewed in an Excel spreadsheet on either a Mac or PC.
From there, you can view the BG data in all kinds of charts and formats and play with it by date, by high or low value, and start identifying trends.
Yes, you are sidestepping the whole mobile device platform to use this new charting program, which as Bennet notes, seems like a step backward. He wondered if the FDA mandated this, and curious about that we asked Glooko to explain.
Leebove's response: "Our Glooko Logbook Charts meets the needs of our power users and health care professionals today. Longer term, we hope to extend this innovation to our mobile platforms in new and exciting ways."
Vague, to be sure. But that's apparently where things are at for now.
For the time being, the company will continue to sell Glooko products exclusively over Amazon.com, but does plan to expand to over the counter sales in pharmacies sometime soon; they're not releasing any details on that yet, according to another spokeswoman, Rita Sharma.
We also asked about insurance reimbursement for Glooko products, of course. "We have not looked at reimbursement for any of the products. That's not to say it will never happen -- it's to say that we have not put attention there yet," Sharma says. That seems odd to us. They must be pretty convinced that enough PWDs will pay out of pocket for this particular logging solution. Hmm...
Leebove said Glooko decided to hold off on announcing the Class 2 FDA approval until this month to coordinate with other news -- largely the release of the Logbook Charts product here in the States. This isn't the end of the company's news stream, though.
Later this year, Glooko plans to go beyond the iPhone market and finally tap the Android smartphones with a new connection cable (I'm a Droid user, so this makes me smile!). Glooko hasn't laid out specific dates yet, but Leebove says the Droid-expansion will be in 2013.
Right now, the Glooko cable only works with iPhones and iPods, but not with iPads... so we'll have to see if that materializes anytime soon, as well. Leebove also says that later this year, Glooko will also be connecting with even more meters. The brands and companies aren't yet being disclosed.
Other news nuggets that came with the mid-January announcement were that Glooko has launched its very own "community blog" where it's sharing news and updates. The company also announced two new executives who've joined the company: former Intuit Health exec Rick Altinger as CEO, and former Epocrates executive Dean Lucas as the new VP of product development (he could very well be the strategic brain behind bringing Glooko to the Droid).
"Lack of support across multiple meter types and differing data transfer methods have long withheld a truly unified diabetes management solution.
"By creating a universal diabetes management platform, Glooko is beginning to crack the code... as a unifying force in a disjointed ecosystem."
— new Glooko CEO Rick Altinger, in a January 2013 news release
"Kudos to the Glooko guys for fighting the good fight and shame on the blood sugar meter manufacturers for making their job hard," wrote type 1 tech blogger Scott Hanselman in a seminal post on the "Sad State of Diabetes Technology in 2012" not long ago.
Of course, now that we are seeing Bluetooth 4.0/Smart in action and paving the way for low energy data merging between blood meters and smartphones, one has to wonder what the future of Glooko might actually be. With new products like LifeScan's OneTouch Verio Snyc glucometer on the horizon, it seems we are finally on the path to built-in wireless sharing becoming the norm, which will eliminate the need for clunky connection cables.
In an interview last summer, right after Glooko launched in Europe, company chairman and co-founder Yogen Dalal said they are looking at low-energy Bluetooth and "alternative ways to connect glucose meters to smartphones." One possibility might be that Glooko adopts the same method used by mobile-payments company Square -- connecting through the phone's headphone jack.
Can Glooko continue to triumph when the trend is clearly moving away from the need for connection cables? Only time will tell -- since reading the diabetes tech future is never easy. We don't yet have an app for that.


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text:
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|ModusLink Global Solutions acquires Tech for Less expanding its aftermarket capabilities
ModusLink strengthens its position as a leading provider of integrated returns processing, technical repair and value recovery services for consumer electronics and business technology companies
Based in Colorado Springs, Col., TFL acquires returned and excess technology products from retailers, e-tailers, distributors and manufacturers. TFL tests and repairs the merchandise and remarkets it to consumers via its highly trafficked website (www.techforless.com) and other direct channels.
TFL provides ModusLink with a robust business-to-consumer asset recovery channel for technology products, strengthening ModusLink's existing value recovery capabilities. TFL's services will become part of ModusLink's Aftermarket Solution offering, which is designed to manage the complete range of post-sales activity for high-tech companies, from customer service, technical support and multichannel returns management to testing, repair and asset disposition.
"Tech for Less is an innovative business that will expand the value
ModusLink brings to clients in the aftermarket supply chain," said
For the twelve months ending
"With Tech for Less now part of ModusLink's supply chain solutions, TFL
customers will continue receiving the high-quality products and service
they have come to expect," said
This release contains forward-looking statements, which address a
variety of subjects including, for example, the expected benefits of the
transaction, the expected impact to earnings and cash flow, the expected
financial performance and contribution of Tech For Less and the
expansion of capabilities expected to occur as a result of the
transaction. The following important factors and uncertainties, among
others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those
described in these forward-looking statements: There can be no assurance
that projected financial results will be attained; the success of


text: John Birrell <email@example.com> writes: > I hope this is not another area where NetBSD and FreeBSD will diverge > again. Writing lkm device drivers that work on both NetBSD and FreeBSD > is _really_ messy. Sigh. They had interest in a new LKM structure as well... > Can you at least add the prototypes to sys/lkm.h? Please. 8-) I thought those functions were static... If not, sure. --Michael


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Indological Papers, Volume 1
Vidarbha Samshodhan Mandal, 1971 - India
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On the Rgvedic Verse II 33 7
SalaSuktas in the Atharvaveda
Sanskrit Grammar
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Abhinava Acaryas accent according affix Alamkara Anandavardhana anudatta appears Asoka Atharva Veda basis Bharata Bhasa Bhattoji Brahmana Citra concept cult Dharma divine dvirvacana example explained expression first-acute given gods grammar grammarians Guna Hence Ibid idea India jalasa Kasika Katyayana laukika liability mantras meaning Mimamsa Mitaksara nature Nirukta Nyaya option origin pada Padapatha Panini Paninian pasu Patanjali Pathya pause pay the debts pdda philosophy poet poetry position pragrhya Prakrit prakrti Pratisakhyas pratyaya punishment Rasa realised recited reduplication refers relation respect Rgveda Riti Rudra rule sacrifice Saiva Saivism Sakalya Saktas Saktism sala samhita sandhi Sankhya Sanskrit Sayana says scholars sect Sir Bhandarkar Siva Sivasvamin Smrti speech subanta suggest sukta sutra svara Tantric term Devanam-priya theory treated udatta vaidika Vaisesika Vamana vartika Veda Vedanta Vedic modes verse 46 Vijnanesvara Visvarupa Vocative vowel word and sense worship writings Yajnavalkya Yaska yosidgraha


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Captivate Starfield
Captivate Starfield [G(E]You say, strength is found in weakness[D/F#(B/D#] Peace in incompleten[Em7(C#m]ess So why do I hold o[C2(A2]n? You look, For a heart that's open For beauty in the broken So why am I withdrawn? Pre-chorus [Am7(F#m]My soul's screaming out[D7(B7] [Am7(F#m]To be found in You [D7(B7] (Chorus) [G(E]Spirit draw me to my kne[Em7(C#m]es [Am(F#m]Captivate all of me, all of me[D7(B7] [G(E]Here before You honestl[Em7(C#m]y Am(F#m) C#m(Am) G(E)(hold) Captivate all of me, all of me (same as in verse 1) I'm so messy and distracted Undisciplined and tactless Here on the inside I thought age would tell the secrets But the secrets are still secret And the years are passing by [Am7(F#m]Teach me to wait in th[D/F#(B/D#]e moments of my need[C2(A2] Am7 D C2. Teach me to hear the melodies of peace P.S originally played on capo 5..figure it out yourself! A x Normal Lyrics Chords Tabs ChordPro x Small Medium Large x Start Pause 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 x Text color: Chord color: Chord grids:Images No Images Font size:XS S M L XL Page size:A4 Letter Save settings Print Preview variations - click chord images
Important: The song above is NOT stored on the Chordie server. The original song is hosted at www.guitaretab.com. Chordie works as a search engine and provides on-the-fly formatting. Chordie does not index songs against artists'/composers' will. To remove this song please click here.


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Starbucks Corp. investors on Wednesday rejected a shareholder proposal to prohibit the world's biggest coffee chain from making political contributions or forming a political action committee.
The Starbucks board had recommended rejection of the proposal, sponsored by shareholder John Harrington, chief executive of Harrington Investments. It was introduced at the annual meeting by a representative of Corporate Accountability International, where Harrington is a board member.


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The APA shares results from their annual sales survey
APA reports continued strong audio sales
By July 23, 2015on
The Audies® | July 2013
By July 17, 2013on
APA Announces 2013 Audies Nominations
By February 21, 2013on
Douglas Brinkley's Cronkite, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Chester Himes's A Rage in Harlem, L. Ron Hubbard's Trouble on His Wings, and Elton John's Love Is the Cure are among the diverse range of 142 audiobooks contending for the 2013 Audie Awards® in 28 categories, which the Audio Publishers Association (APA) announced February 19. "It is always […]
Geeky Friday: Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein Alive, Alive! Comic, Avenger$ (cha-ching!), James Bond Skyfall trailer, Hubbard Audio Gold, Sgt. Pepper Turns 45
By June 1, 2012on
Audio Publishers Association Announces Audiobook of the Year Finalists
By April 17, 2012on
Report: Audiobook Sales Rise, with Downloads on the Upswing
By December 7, 2011on


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| Originally Posted by cmmdee
I have stayed at this RIU complex several times, at both the Merengue and the Bachata. (The bachata has a nicer pool, the Merengue has nicer hotel rooms).
It's a lovely complex.
The only thing I will tell you offhand is that if your guests stay at a different RIU within (eventhough, you can use all 3 different resorts),
i.e. The wedding is at the Bachata and they are staying at the Bambu or Merengue, you still have to pay "day passes" for them to be at your resort PER PERSON to be at your wedding. So make sure everyone stays at your resort because you will have to pay.
I have a ton of pics if you'd like to see them.


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If at 35 and after his 12th NFL season,
That was the facetious question posed to Goodwin on Monday morning.
"Maybe so," he said, smiling. "I wouldn't complain."
The query's origin: Quarterback
"It's definitely something I won't forget," said Goodwin, who last carried the football in high school. Fun "until I turned around and saw two blue shirts running at me."
On the next play, Kaepernick covered the rest of the way toward the end zone with a touchdown heave to wideout
This wasn't the last time Goodwin touched the ball in Sunday's NFC title game – he touched it on the 49ers final, unsuccessful offensive play – but was he playing in his final game?
"Deep down, I'm still willing to," Goodwin said, who cited retirement as a possibility in a chat with reporters last month. "What creates uncertainty for me is being a 35-year-old free agent, which in this time of the NFL, can be tough.
"If I get any offers, I'll sit down with my wife and agent and go from there."
A veteran of four seasons with the New York Jets, five with the New Orleans Saints and the last three in San Francisco, Goodwin played at Pro Bowl-caliber level this season, according to his offensive coordinator.
"He's just incredibly smart at getting everything organized quickly" Greg Roman said earlier this month, "and recognizing it during the week."
And it would be tough for "Goody," who started all 16 games for a third straight campaign, to exit his playing days with a conference championship game defeat right in his rearview mirror.
"There's no words I can really use to explain how that feels," Goodwin said, alluding to another crushing loss earlier in his career. "At the end of the day, we're going to think we missed our opportunity to go to the Super Bowl."
On Sunday in Seattle, Goodwin and his offensive line 'mates kept pressure off Kaepernick for much of the game. San Francisco's signal-caller was sacked only once more, although Goodwin wasn't in the right place and right time a second time: Kaepernick was sacked by pass-rusher Cliff Avril and Bennett found the football first.
The team's less than ideal execution in the fourth quarter – Kaepernick would turn the ball over three times overall in the final 15 minutes – would seem to give Goodwin more reason to return.
Given his experience level, however, Goodwin didn't need to be told how hard it will be this offseason to maintain the 49ers roster.
"In this day in age, with the salary cap and things like that, it's tough to keep teams together," he said. "You have your windows, opportunities to keep your players. Hopefully, there are ways to work around that and keep guys here.
"It would be nice to give these guys another shot."


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DIScuss | Manning the Empire
Jesse Darling is an artist and occasional essayist currently based in London, UK. S/ he works in installation, digital and video, "dasein by design," and the space in which performance becomes unmediated experience.
Hegemony is hermetic. The fantasy of total power is a fantasy of absolute control. Efficiency. Singularity. A million bodies acting as one. It's a fantasy of homogeneity. Since no human body resembles another and absolute unity of expression can only ever be a fragile state of temporary synchronicity, pretty much everything is at stake in preserving this fantasy. Leaks and holes and contingencies, circadian rhythms and hormonal cycles – that shit is for chicks and pussies. Chelsea Manning's crimes were biopolitical and have been punished with the severity accorded to what is genuinely transgressive. She ruptured the closed-ranks fantasy of a hermetically sealed nation-state – made the US Army look like a pussy! Showed the imperial anus of America to the whole goddamn world! – and the fantasy of biological masculinity. Everything is at stake. It's not about pronouns.
The ideal qualities of Man – by which I mean the ideal qualities of "Human", from which we extrapolate the human rights detailed in the US constitution – are modeled on the ideal qualities of empire. Virtue is derived from Virtus, derived from vir, the Latin for man. In Ancient Rome, virtus denoted a specific set of qualities pertaining to ideal masculinity, often ascribed to emperors, and later personified as a deity. Other ideal qualities of masculinity include: unyielding loyalty (which is to say servitude), moral impeccability (which is to say unproblematic adherence to a received code of behavior), virility (which is to say the [re]productive mobilization of the phallic apparatus, rather than being on its receiving end), diligence (which is to say uncomplaining adherence to your labor, which is to say the system of labor relations, which is to say capitalism, but that's another story). To acknowledge that all this – as well as the notion of biological gender – is a totalitarian biopolitical construct that enables and advances the unspeakable violence of US imperialism and the hypocrisy behind the constitutional bill of rights – that shit is for pussies, pinkos, fairies, faggots, greasers, niggers, hippies.
Manning's most serious charge was in "aiding the enemy." But the enemy of empire is indiscrete, ubiquitous, indefinite and ineffable – as Bush reminded the world back in 2001, when the hermetic imperial hegemony was shockingly ruptured in an attack ritually described in the rhetoric of rape (being invaded/bombed/penetrated is for pussies, faggots, arabs etc unless you're the embodiment of virtus in the form of a global military superpower). "You're with us," said Bush, "or you're against us." And by us he meant all those whose interests are served by hegemonic imperialism, the apparatus of war, colonialism, of global capital. Liberal bitches all stressing and straining to assure you and one another that they're not among this number. It's not about pronouns.
Trans* identities rupture the fantasy of biological gender that fuels the labor relations that fuel military imperialism and global capital. All delinquent bodies, who in their particularity threaten to expose the fantasy of total control as just that and not some god-given state-decreed bill of rights for some but not all (see also: Trayvon Martin), are enemies of the empire evoked by Bush, the empire that Chelsea Manning swore an oath to protect. In opening up, or revealing, the leaking hole at the heart of the superpower, she pointed a way out – for herself, for us, for everybody. Gender is over if you want it, but the war's not over yet. It's not about pronouns – but you gotta start somewhere. Are you with us?


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Amesbury Door Hardware Adds New Business Unit, Appoints Grayson Sales and Marketing Manager
Amebury Door Hardware has added a new business unit, Amesbury Locca, and has appointed Amber Grayson to the position of sales and marketing manager for the new unit.
In her new role, Grayson is responsible for managing the launch and sales of several new products, being brought to North America under the new business unit. New target product categories include remote control access for homes and small businesses with emphasis on limited mobility, elderly and disabled persons (see the December issue of DWM for more information on these products*).
Grayson has been with the company for four years, and has held several positions, including corporate marketing coordinator and door hardware product line specialist.
"I am very excited to be leading the charge for the new wireless innovations in door hardware, plus several other exciting products for homes and small businesses," Grayson says. "Amesbury Door Hardware is a great company, and I look forward to continuing my efforts in sales and marketing for Amesbury Locca with this expansion of home automation products.
* at press time the December 2007 issue of DWM was still in production
Need more info and analysis about the issues?
to subscribe to DWM magazine.
DWM is a registered trademark of Key Communications Inc.
Publisher does not accept responsibility for statements or claims made by advertising
placed on this website.
Signed articles represent the opinions of the writer and not necessarily those
of the publisher.
All information published on this website is believed to be accurate.
No responsibility is assumed for losses incurred due to errors in text and/or
graphic content.
No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.


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Taake a look at the below list of Top 10 Best Selling Ultrabooks for Christmas 2016-2017. When you go looking to purchase an Ultrabook, you do only want to get the best, and that is because the best represents the finest of all portable computers that are available on the market. Simple as that. It doesn't matter if you are looking to get one for yourself or someone close to you that you love. The purchasing of a computer is something that must be done with lots of thought and care. However, if you are aware of what is what, as far as what are the top 10 best selling Ultrabook's for Christmas 2016. You are actually doing yourself a service and that service is not to have to search far and wide for good computer choices.
List of Top 10 Best Selling Ultrabooks for Christmas 2016-2017
1. Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575G-53VG Laptop
The Acer Aspire E 15 ES-575G-53VG Laptop is a very special laptop. It is also every inch budget friendly in all the right ways. What this laptop does have is lots of features and some of them are associated with gaming. It also offers very powerful hardware for a price that is extra nice for those who can only afford to spend a certain amount on a computer. It has a full HD display and dedicated NVIDIA GeForce 940 MX graphics card.
2. Asus 15.6 High Performance Premium HD Laptop
The Asus 15.6 High Performance Premium HD Laptop is one of the newest of all laptops that Acer has out on the market. It is truly an exceptional computer for a number of reasons and these reasons are something that only make it a top choice for a laptop to give at Christmas or to get as a gift. It has an Intel Core i5-5200U Processor with 6GGB DDR3L RAM.
3. HP 14-AN013nr 14 Inch AMD Notebook
The HP 14-AN013nr 14 Inch AMD Notebook is a top of the line computer for all the right reasons. What makes this laptop stand out is clear and that is due to all its awesome features. What are some of these features? First of all, it has the very latest, when it comes to an AMD processor that gets the job done as it should. It also has plenty of ample storage space and a crisp HD screen that lets you enjoy everything from photos to videos to website pages in the most vivid color and detail possible.
4. Acer Chromebook CB3-131-C3SZ 11.6 Inch Laptop
The Acer Chromebook CB3-131-C3SZ 11.6 Inch Laptop is a special laptop that comes available with a ton of high level specifications. What are some of these specifications? They are no other than its Intel Celeron N2840 Dual-Core Processor with Intel Burst Technology up to 2.16GHz and Google Chrome operating system that makes for one truly exceptional OS.
5. ASUS C201 11.6 Inch Chromebook
The ASUS C201 11.6 Inch Chromebook is another high quality and best ultrabook for a number of reasons. This laptop comes complete with Rockchip 1.8 GHz Processor, 4GB DDR3 Memory, Chrome OS, HD Camera, and loads of other great features. It is a laptop that knows how to adapt to work and to play equally. This is one of the Top 10 Best Selling Ultrabooks for Christmas 2017.
6. HP Notebook 15-Ay011nr 15.6 Inch Laptop
The HP Notebook 15-Ay011nr 15.6 Inch Laptop is a laptop that will prove its true worth each and every day. Why is that? The answer is abundantly clear. It is a special laptop that is truly empowered to do more and does just that from the onset. It can tackle whatever comes its way. It doesn't matter if it is daily tasks, games, or whatever else. A laptop that is built to be strong, powerful, and at the same time lasting is one that anyone would be proud to own.
7. ASUS F555LA-AB31 15.6 Inch Laptop
The ASUS F555LA-AB31 15.6 Inch Laptop is a high quality and top laptop for a number of reasons. A lot of the reasons have to do with its list of key features that make a laptop all the more appealing and desired to be a must have by many. The ASUS F555LA-AB31 not only has the latest 5th generation Intel Core i3 processor, but it also, does have a not touch Full HD 15.6 display as well. It also is a laptop that is stylish and has a sleek design about it. It also has a keyboard that is every inch ergonomically designed and IceCool technology keeps the palm rest very cool and comfortable as well.
8. Acer Aspire ES 15 15.6 HD Intel Core Laptop
The Acer Aspire ES 15 15.6 HD Intel Core Laptop is a computer of the best kind and why is apparent. It isn't only a device that has a known and trusted brand. It also is a laptop that has it all for those who want a computer with lots of various features that can make a difference. Some of these features do include a 6th generation Intel Core i3-6100U Processor, 4GB DDR3L Memory, Windows 10 Home, and up to 6.5 hours of Battery Life.
9. Apple MMGF2LL/A MacBook Air 13.3 Inch Laptop
The Apple MMGF2LL/A MacBook Air Laptop is all the fine things that an Apple computer should be and then some. It comes completely loaded with all sorts of wonderful features. Some of these features do include a 1.6 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 with 3 MB shared L3 Cache, 8 GB of 1600 MHz LPDDR3 RAM, Intel HD Graphics 6000, and up to 12 hours of Battery Life.
10. Samsung Chromebook 3 Laptop
The Samsung Chromebook 3 Laptop is a laptop that should always be a number-one choice. Why is that?
The answer is clear. It is all about awesome security that will protect your computer from getting any nasty viruses and malware. What this laptop has is a very strong and reliable built-in security like no other. Secondly, you will get to navigate your world with the capable help of Google, and the help of Google means everything Google from Google Maps to Gmail to Docs to beyond. The Samsung Chromebook will give you all that you need indeed with its 4GB of RAM and much more.
The top 10 best selling Ultrabook's for Christmas 2016-2017 presented here are a great start to going shopping for a top of the line and high quality portable computer. Each of the ultra-books that are listed here aren't only popular for their own reasons. They are also very unique and special in their own ways as ultra-books for one to have as part of their life.


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By SLJ Staff, 8/23/2011
Our nation's graduating high school class of 2011 had a 32 percent proficiency rate in math and a 31 percent proficiency rate in reading, leaving many to question whether schools are adequately preparing students for the 21st century global economy, says a new report. U.S. students fall behind 31 countries in math proficiency and behind 16 countries in reading proficiency, according to the recent study, "Globally Challenged: Are U.S. Students Ready to Compete?" by Harvard's Program on Education Policy and Governance.
Although math performance levels among countries that ranked 23 to 31 aren't significantly different from that of the U. S., 22 countries outperform the U. S. in the number of students reaching math proficiency. In six countries—plus Shanghai and Hong Kong—a majority of students performed at the proficient level, while in the U.S., less than one-third did. For example, 58 percent of Korean students and 56 percent of Finnish students were proficient. Other countries in which a majority-or near majority-of students performed at or above the proficient level include Switzerland, Japan, Canada, and the Netherlands. Many other nations also had math proficiency rates well above that of the U. S., including Germany (45 percent), Australia (44 percent), and France (39 percent). Shanghai topped the list with a 75 percent math proficiency rate, more than two times the 32 percent rate of the United States.
When it comes to reading, American students performed reasonably well compared to most European countries, and only 10 countries outperform us by a statistically significant amount. In Korea, 47 percent of students are proficient in reading. Other countries that outrank the U. S. include Finland (46 percent), Singapore and New Zealand (42 percent), Japan and Canada (41 percent), Australia (38 percent), and Belgium (37 percent).
The proficiency rate in the United States varies considerably across students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, the report says. While 42 percent of white students were identified as proficient in math, only 11 percent of African American students, 15 percent of Hispanic students, and 16 percent of Native Americans were proficient. Fifty percent of students with an ethnic background from Asia and the Pacific Islands, however, were proficient in math. In reading, 40 percent of white students and 41 percent of those from Asia and the Pacific Islands were identified as proficient. Only 13 percent of African-American students, 5 percent of Hispanic students, and 18 percent of Native American students were proficient.
"Given the disparate performance among students from various cultural backgrounds, it may be worth inquiring as to whether differences between the United States and other countries are attributable to the substantial minority population within the U. S.," the study says, explaining that to examine that question, researchers compared white American students to all students in other countries. "We do this not because we think this is the right comparison, but simply to consider the oft-expressed claim that comparisons do not take into account the fact that the United States is a much more diverse society than many of the high-performing countries."
It found that while the 42 percent math proficiency rate for U.S. white students is much higher than the averages for students from African American and Hispanic backgrounds, white American students are still surpassed by all students in 16 other countries.
"A better than 25-percentage-point gap exists between the performance of U.S. white students and the percentage of all students deemed proficient in Korea and Finland," the study says. "White students in the United States trail well behind all students in countries such as Japan, Germany, Belgium, and Canada." In reading, only 40 percent of white students are proficient, but that proficiency rate would place the U. S. at number nine in the world.
What do these findings mean? "The United States could enjoy a remarkable increment in its annual GDP growth per capita by enhancing the math proficiency of U.S. students," the study says. "Increasing the percentage of proficient students to the levels attained in Canada and Korea would increase the annual U.S. growth rate by 0.9 percentage points and 1.3 percentage points, respectively. When translated into dollar terms, these magnitudes become staggering."
For example, if you calculate these percentage increases as national income projections over an 80-year period, it could potentially total a trillion dollars a year, the report says.
"Those who say that student math performance does not matter are clearly wrong," the study adds.
The report looked at student performance on two tests: the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the exam administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the 2007 National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), headed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics.
This article originally appeared in the newsletter Extra Helping. Go here to subscribe.


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02-01-2011 #1Administrator
- Join Date
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- 25,305
How to Create Custom Dynamic PS3 Themes
How to Create Custom Dynamic PS3 Themes
This (roughly translated) guide comes from Eustolio at: http://www.scenespain.net/foro/tutor...boot-raf-5934/
A related guide is HERE for how to create a Custom PS3 Boot Logo by editing the Coldboot.raf file.
Those who have followed the tutorial step to a step, you will be able to start editing themes dynamic without major problems, and also if you keep reading to find load mode p3t via incustrarlos without therein.
Therefore, we focus on the issue. P3t for subsequent loading customized theme bypassing the step of image-editing and packaging for being dealt with previously.
Incidentally, and to whet your appetite, you will find material here to go to work
- Heavy Rain.p3t
- PrinceOfPersia.p3t
- make.believe.p3t
- Wakeboarding.p3t
- AngelSenki.p3t
- etc...
Edit / insertion in Theme.p3t
So far not released the version of p3tcompiler (to my knowledge), which is supposed ability to compile anim_1.jpg / raf in the theme, so again we use the method manual with hex editor, and the invaluable help of SKFUs Exploit Loader.
SKFUs Exploit Loader
SKFU this theme by making a call from dev_usb0 loadme.fu.
Loadme.fu, like many of you know, is a dynamic theme and as I aim, load from the location dev_usb0, this last very useful view to testing the themes published without risks.
Well, the trick is to open SKFUs Exploit Loader.p3t (loader.p3t) with the hex editor and change makes the call to dev_hdd0 dev_usb0 also change the text loadme.fu by theme.fu.
Thanks to this change of location, our p3t loaded from the hdd without having to be connected USB and gaining comfort. Below I show a screenshot of the edition.
The next step is to send a dev_hdd0 theme.fu!
However, it should be noted that this method does not charge us any icons on the xmb, since that theme has none inserted. Thats the handicap...
Therefore, and to follow an order:
1 It is always advisable to go testing the theme edited since dev_usb0 to avoid mistakes.
2 When we are ready is when SKFU.p3t Hex Edit
3 Once we locate theme.fu published in dev_hdd0 via ftp or similar applications.
4 Reboot and enjoy.
I think this whole mess opens the door for good designers, and thereby enjoy the process as I did myself, leaving me many hours of attempts, Here is a video with my results:
02-02-2011 #2OGroteKoning Guest
Thanks alot for this! My fiance is a graphics designer and I will ask her to have a look at this and see if she can creat some themes... maybe I can get her to become a member of the site, but for now all she is interested in (as far as the PS3 is concerned) is LBP and watchin movies and sitcoms... lol.


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Mass Effect 3 Ending Controversy
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see, this is what im talking about. if you actually played the damn thing, you would see how very wrong you are. a subversion is making you think something will happen so that it is a shock when it doesnt, not giving you exactly what you expected (choice) in the most hackneyed, lazy way. that is just plain bad writing. they said 16 endings, and we got 16 endings, its just that they are 98% the same fucking thing. if they intended that as a subversion then they failed completely and as artists should have known people were just going to think they were lazy designers and they just failed to deliver what they wanted to. it is glaringly obvious that they wanted to give you choice in the ending, just utterly failed at it.
you seem to have fallen to the common fallacy that this is about not having a "happy" ending. a tragic end would have been absolutely acceptable, and was indeed expected by a lot of people. some have proposed the "indoctrination theory" that says the ending is a mind-control hallucination, and that your choices really reflect whether you submit to control or rebel against it: and most agree that if true it would be fucking brilliant. this is an ending where your best option leaves in the same desperate situation you were in before taking a laser beam to the face. this is NOT about people failing to understand a tragic tale. tragedy is like THE oldest fucking form of written story telling. understanding it is almost as primal as understanding our lust for sex and violence.
if a character you care about dies, you feel sad, which is actually GOOD because it makes you feel human and that your emotions are functioning properly. its the unspoken reason parents give their children pets: so they can eventually deal with the pain of death in an appropriate, manageable way.
this is the important distinction: proper context. a sad ending is only good if it makes sense. if all the characters in a story are unrelatable assholes, then if it ends with everyone dead and sad music playing, the sadness you feel is because you wasted 2 hours of your life on this bullshit, not because it was an effective tragedy: simply making you feel a certain way is not art, if it is then uwe boll is the greatest director of all time because of his stupid, bleak betrayal of countless source materials. art is about making you feel something(anything) in what your mind believes to be the proper, healthy way. bioware didnt rip the foundation of choice out from under you in a gripping tale of betrayal, they forgot what the foundation was and veered off into deus ex's story. the betrayal you felt wasnt in any logical context, it was simply what some people's brains defaulted to after seeing that nonsensical mess of an ending. it made you feel frustrated, like you should feel something and cant, which is the ANTITHESIS of art, and the ultimate failure of an artist. a lot of people fail to recognize this difference, people like children, hipsters, teenagers, and art snobs. this is how we get pretentious "artsy" films that dont make any sense; the creators believe that making you feel emotion in ANY form is art, that ANY sadness or disappointment is a satisfying conclusion. they believe that their overly-complicated and obtuse expression is perfectly reasonable. they fail to separate their own personal idiosyncrasies from the deeper workings of human emotion.
there is a big difference between negative emotion brought on by a gripping story and negative emotion brought on by frustration. a distinction you would probably know if you PLAYED THE FUCKING GAME. please dont reply to me until you actually play the series, because i have a feeling im just going to keep answering things that you would understand if you just knew what you were defending. the temptation to explain myself is just too great to resist, so please, take it upon yourself to either not continue this conversation, or wait until your play the games and actually experience this supposed "great" ending the way it was intended.
OXM got the interview: http://www.oxm.co.uk/39736/revealed-the-mass-effect-3-ending-bioware-canned-before-release/
I think this author is missing the point. The dissapointment with the game conclusion is not because we think it is a poor ending (it is). The dissapointment comes from being told that the decisions one makes as they progress three games will ultimatly change the story being told, that includes,....THE END. The endings are all nearly identical, how can you tell a player that the choices they made throughout the game really, "changed" the outcome? Ohh sure, blah blah survived, blog blog died, Kelly is alive but can't be romanced but, so what. The ultimate conclusion of the story needs to be affected. Are we looking for a happy everybody good wins and the badguys loose ending,...sure. But I'm also looking for The badguys win and the good guys loose with a myriad of inbetweens. That is what has got the uproar going. So...frankly the article you wrote, just a red-herring to try and play, "devil's advocate." Sorry, didn't work.
Once again, I feel I must reiterate my position. I agree with everyone here that the ending was mishandled and poorly executed. What I'm saying is that the idea behind the ending is what I'm praising.
Let me just paste in a conversation I had with my friend who I discussed this with originally.
This entire debate you've decided to present here just comes from a misunderstanding on your part, and an admittedly not entirely clear first post on my part.
We good? We're good.
EDIT: Woo, 6666th post.
It is a subversion, without a doubt. The problem is, it's not an effective subversion. Every sign points toward it simply being a subversion for the sake of a subversion -- a means to manufacture controversy and "lots of speculation from everyone!", in the lead writer's own words -- and that sort of subversion is just as hacky as any by-the-numbers, drawn-by-committee Hollywood ending. In fact, it's worse in my opinion, since it's pretentious and is done to suit the writer's own ego and at the audience's expense.
Also, to clarify what Frotality means in regards to your "perspective" had he more tact: You don't really have a reliable place of perspective, because you have no real first-hand knowledge on the matter. You're basing assertions of the quality of a narrative from second-hand information. Would you perform a critical analysis on the greatness of a book you've never read or of a film you've never seen?
Don't talk down your nose to people who understand a work better than you do. The Mass Effect series -- a series you've only barely played and are admittedly only tangentially familiar with -- was never built up as a tragedy -- not in the classical sense you're referring to. It may have included some tragic subplots, but the core story was never really about tragedy. Catharsis also isn't as effective when the tragedy in question is simply sprung onto the unsuspecting like a trap. Instead of catharsis, it simply causes emotional whiplash in the audience, and that, combined with the sheer volume of plot holes and unanswered questions the ending raises, is the result of what we're seeing here.
Again, subversion for the sake of subversion isn't ballsy. Any hack can do it and claim intellectual depth they do not possess. This subversion makes no statement and reinforces no themes -- especially in the flaccid and slap-dashed form it takes.
Also, and I may be assuming here, but those older, sad, futile science fiction stories you like -- I'm guessing they probably didn't start out as 600 pages of rollicking, good-time adventures and then throw genocide and rape in your face in the last five pages, everyone dies, the end, cut to black. They probably properly set their tone and foreshadowed the nature of their conclusion well ahead of its finish. There's a reason why movies and books like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings don't start out the way they do and then suddenly and without warning end like Sophie's Choice or 1984. It's because each type of narrative has its place and function, and people generally don't like it when they start to merge into a repulsive chimaera that toys with your expectations and emotions for its own sake.
Thank Christ! This was the sort of response I was hoping for. I'm honoured that you chose to use your first post on this.
Now to respond to the individual pieces.
I agree, as I've said (and perhaps not entirely clearly), I agree that the ending was poorly delivered and constructed. I just applaud the idea of the ultimate failure of the player character for once.
Once again, I agree. I am putting forward a perspective that is more than a little uninformed. But I feel that it's a perspective that's at least worth sharing, if even for good discussion like this.
This is where we semi-part on our thoughts. I agree that the form it took did take away from what they could've done with the ending. What we disagree on is that it was just subversion for subversion's sake. Obviously, I'd have to play through the games myself to fully back up this statement, and I may do that now that I have someone worth discussing this with.
To be honest, it was sort of half-and-half. Sad things happened along the way, but the saddest of these happened between chapters and "off-camera". And yes the the tragic endings where foreshadowed to set the scene. But this just really fits into what I said about the ending being poorly executed. If they decided to go slightly darker at the beginning and foreshadow a little tragedy for the final game, I would say that the ending would've ended up better.
All I'm saying is that I like the idea of everything being completely futile in the end. If they could have found a better way to implement that, I doubt we'd be having this conversation.
And there you have the biggest flaw in your logic, the idea that there should be one single outcome. The idea that no matter how you played the game, no matter what story you created through the series, all your decisions ultimately come down to one damn ending. It doesn't matter if the ending was 'happy' or 'bittersweet' or even just 'bitter', if there's only one of them the entire series is betrayed. At this point in the series players have earned the right to decide how they end their journey.
And don't pretend a tragic ending is somehow indefinitely better then a happy one, the phrase "rocks fall and everyone dies" is just as lazy and shallow as "they all lived happily ever after", at least in the latter people will expect you to show what happens afterward.
My thoughts exactly. All the fleets jump through the Sol mass relay, Shepard goes "Let's eff them up" and an epic space battle takes place. There's an ending for you.
And, just not to create another post: some people say that some fans hate the ending because it ends Mass Effect franchize. As in "you hate it because it the last story in the series"
Another misinterpretation. If you, out of all of the people in the universe throughout all time were the only person to have defeated the reapers, it would have been completely ridiculous. The fact is, it shouldn't come down to your choice alone. One man/woman does not decide the fate of everything, endless factors decide, and I'd argue that most of them are out of your control and out of your favour.
And that's completely subjective and a useless statement. This is all a subjective opinion of mine. I believe that a sad ending would serve this series better, you don't. We have to leave it at that.
Nice to see someone's with me on this.
The problem with this article is that you continually kept saying that Mass Effect 3 is supposed to be the conclusion of the story. This is not true at all. Bioware has NEVER said that. They've always said the story will continue. There will be a Mass Effect 4, apparently it's slotted to be one of the first big releases when the next Xbox hits. They've ALWAYS made it clear that Mass Effect 3 was the end of Shepard's story, not the Mass Effect story. They didn't say it was the end of Garrus, Liara, Joker, etc. They said Shepard's story ends and that's all they've ever said. Everybody keeps crying over unanswered questions and plot holes. But don't you understand that much of that is likely the set up for the next game? Don't you get that the next game will likely revolve around the destruction of the relays and the stranding of the races?
Good article.
I would like to add a couple of extra examples (we need more? Yup. This ending was wrong on so many levels it is nearly incomprehensible that nobody at Bioware stood up and said "you know what, this makes no f@&*ing sense" before it was released), in LOTR terms because it's fun, the ending just did not work:
Suddenly, a plot element is introduced and the user told that this is what the game is about, when it clearly was not. Imagine at the end, Gandalf rides into Mount Doom and lectured Frodo that we should not judge people for getting addicted to the Ring, and his quest should have taught him this. Frodo says "I know, that's why I didn't kill Gollum straight away when I met him, and look, he turned out to be useful!". Gandalf tells Frodo to shut up and listen to his wisdom.
This is how I felt when suddenly, I was told that Mass Effect was about organics vs synthetic. It was not. This was one of many themes, one that I thought I had already concluded by bringing together the Quarians and Geth, and helping EDI develop a human personality. So, what happened to the themes of sacrifice, coming together to defeat all odds, and co-operation over war? Nah, they were all just minor issues. The real moral of the story is machines=bad.
The other is the old Deus Ex Machina. There are examples where this plot device can work, but they are very few and far between. Most story tellers regard them with the contempt they deserve. So, Frodo is standing over the Crack of Doom holding out the ring, having an immense internal struggle, when suddenly an orc walks up to him, stabs Gollum who is sneaking up behind him, takes the ring out of Frodo's hand and throws it into the lava. The Orc turns to Frodo and offers "we hate our existence" as a means of explanation, before offering Frodo an ice cream (in strawberry, mint or blueberry flavour, this is an RPG after all!) and walking off. Frodo just stands staring at the space this unknown character occupied for such a short time, and the reader throws his book at the wall shouting "what the hell!?"
The introduction of a hitherto unknown character to solve a weighty problem serves only to diminish the implications of the problem, not enhance them. The Starchild (seriously, if there are any writers out there, if you have a character named "Starchild" your story needs work) suddenly expects us to understand his motivations despite them being introduced out of nowhere. There is no option for Shepard to even question the Starchild, you just choose your explosion colour. Why can't Shepard tell the Starchild to stuff it? Why can't Shepard say "you know what, I have a pretty big fleet here, I'll take my chances". We are railroaded into accepting, without question, this brand new introduction to the story and it does not work.
If Bioware want Mass Effect to take the place it rightly deserves as the Paragon (ho ho) of Video Games, this ending needs to be fixed. Bioware is possibly the most interactive game company out there: senior staff members speak with the fans on a frequent basis to throw around ideas for stories, concepts and mechanics. It is not unheard of to change endings based on fan feedback, from Sherlock Holmes over 100 years ago to Fallout 3 more recently, and Bioware need to give this masterpiece the ending it deserves.
These words sum up my thoughts entirely; good ending really isn't necessary for Shepard; I mean they were intending a Shepard trilogy, no more for the character, but it would have at least been nice if the ending rounded everything about Shepard and the other characters off and the ending shouldn't be so game-changing either.
Personally, big battle, Shepard dies/is mortally wounded, Reapers defeated (somehow, with a better, less pulled-out-of-ether means) and then the species of the galaxy have to start figuring out where they're going to go from there would have been superb. And don't just show it in a short cutscene that explains pretty much nothing.
It is not an easy fix. They basically need to cut out the entire ending sequence and replace it with something that makes sense and not a huge plothole which contradicts itself. Even if the basic 3 endings stay the same.
Once again, Shamus entertainingly delivers wisdom and sense to the Internet. Thanks! BTW I laughed my head off at "life sucks... yeah, we already know that".
The ending sucks, but if Bioware is going to rewrite it it's going to suck even more, because they're rewritting it out of a sense of damage control.
I said it before and I'll say it again; Bioware needs to cut their losses, learn from their mistakes, and move on to something else.
I'm afraid all those fans yearning for a rewritten ending are setting themselves up for an even bigger disappointment.
I've to agree, the game is a great game. The ending is lazy and has more plot holes than the comics.
In a sense, yes.
Probably the 5 or so threads per hour on BSN that pop up claiming that IT was always Bioware's plan, and they've lied to us the whole time to keep it secret, and that we're all stupid if we don't realise it, and we'll see when they do release it, and we shouldn't ask them to change the ending because they're already doing this, and they've seen the light and forgiven Bioware - it seriously gets too much too fast.[/quote
At this point I think Bioware wanted to go with the indoctrination, but changed their mind half way through/changed the ending after the leaks happened a year or so back, but were too lazy to remove the hints. Theres just so much evidence, its impossible that its all just incidental.
'Evidence' is speculation by fans. Its like saying there is evidence for God existing and creationism by the fact that the Earth and everyone on it exists. Bioware have stated they stand by there endings, and if there was an ending that was dropped due to spoilers it was the Dark Energy ending that was hinted towards throughout ME2.
I never expected to come out of this game happy. I fully expected that a decision I made somewhere in my past coming back to haunt me and destroy me, like saving the rachni, seeing them destroy fleets with indoctrination or having to lose many allies in order to make the "perfect" decision.I doubt many other people saw the ending this way, but it's how I saw it.
Yeah, well, no. Its not.
If you want to throw around invalid comparisons just for the fuck of it you can do it by yourself. I'm out.
Well said Shamus
Of course I read the second page. I assume you are referring to the FCC filing part? Because the rest of his article is pretty well balanced. In other words a fair report that covers both sides, without being condescending. If anything he is being critical of Bioware poor choice of story telling. Not the fans because they are upset.
Maybe you refer to the last part where he tells them to stick to their guns? You have to take that in with the whole article, and not take it out of context. By saying that he is telling them if this bad ending is the one they wanted, being as piss poor as it is, then keep it. With the under tone that its your bed, you lay in it now. He is trying to touch on the core of the problem. What I believe he is trying to say is they have a problem, they need it fixed before they go off writing another game, and fall into the same problem again. Because in the end he is right. If Bioware has a problem with how they write their games, it is a much larger problem then the ending to ME3. And I agree. They have a hell of a mess to fix with ME3, and as it stands a fix isn't likely coming.
I absolutely hate the ending of ME3. As it stands right now I've lost all interests of ever playing it again. I've spent about 400 hours, in play through of all three games. I wont be buying any ME3 DLC, and find the "Be sure to drink your OVALTINE" at the end of the credit insulting, after the plot hole ridden ending. Just like in a Christmas Story I find out the hero is nothing more then a marketing machine trying sell as much as they can to the sheep listening. Yeah I know that's a bit dramatic =)
In what sense?
So what you're saying is that you'd rather believe the game lies to you than accept the ending just blows...?
I agree that this video offers as much solid evidence in favor of indoctrination as anything else out there. That amount is 0.
"Nobody sees the kid." There's no proof of this. The game never shows any other ships docking with the citadel, that isn't evidence that no other ship can dock with the citadel.
Shepard's bad dreams can just as easily be interpreted as him being haunted by the ghosts of those who were killed by the reaper forces, including himself. Trees in London is not especially telling since...
You start the tutorial with infinite ammo right after you and Anderson are the only two people who survive your building being hit by reaper beams. Why is one clearly plot armor and the other "obviously" indoctrination?
If BioWare wants to release DLC for the game or ME4 and in those say that Shepard was indoctrinated or a replicant or a unicorn, that's a retcon. But until and unless they do, the theory remains fanfic.
So, hang on.
The Reapers are as powerful as it's possible for a synthetic species to become, yes? So... why wouldn't they just kill the synthetic species that the organic species create, rather than killing the organic species before they can create the synthetic species? I mean, I've heard of cutting out the middleman, but this is ridiculous.
In the sense that you are no longer observing a characters actions, but rather influencing them, maybe dictating them outright. That automatically makes it the readers story as much as the authors.
3 weeks,one more and the gaming community might as well go nuts.
Just to make it clear I don't believe most of the "evidence" for indoctrination hypothesis I've seen thus far, or at least don't see it as concrete proof.
Pretty sure I already said in this thread that the only pieces of evidence that has caused me to think "heh maybe it's possible..." was sheperd getting indoctrinated eyes at the end (and it really is indoctrinated eyes, with the distinct double orb around the pupil) and the kid being in that exploding building way before you meet him. But that's hardly enough for me to go totally on board with the hypothesis.
Point was though that people HAVE been showing evidence in support of the theory so to say they haven't is just a lie. Now whether you think the evidence is BS or not is a completely different matter.
Well, I can't say I've never had a bad joke go awry, so I can't hold it against you. XD
Spot on as always, Shamus. And great link to how it should have ended! Now I really don't know if I prefer that or the indoctrination theory...
My feeling on the matter is that it wasn't Bioware's story to tell. Mass Effect, to an unprecedented level, asks you to BE Commander Shepard, not just play through his or her story. Mass Effect is the PLAYER'S story, and Bioware decided to try and retake it, which was a terrible idea because that was never going to make anybody happy. If this were any other franchise I'd say that no, changing the ending would be a terrible idea and set a bad precedent, but Mass Effect isn't any other franchise - it belongs to the players, not to Bioware.
The ending also strikes me as rushed as hell. The dream sequences? How much of the game world do they actually affect? How frequently are they referenced? It seems to me that they were tacked on at the last minute, a hurried and poorly written conclusion to an otherwise epic franchise. This is why the Valve/Blizzard 'When It's Done' approach to game development works so well - they take however much time they need to make their games well, and Bioware certainly has (had?) the auteur license, if you will, to do that. The fanbase would wait, and they should have realized that and taken their time. At this point Bioware can only do damage control, and no, they will never please everybody, but they should at least try. Mass Effect's fanbase is devoted to this franchise because they are an integral part of it; they ARE Commander Shepard. Mass Effect 3 tried to take away this series' best attribute - the player's integral importance to the story, and did it with a poor Deus Ex Machina to boot. Because the fanbase is so integral to the story the players are much more directly hurt by the way this game ended, which is why we've seen the huge furor we have; if Half Life 2 Episode X ends with Gordon Freeman being squished by a giant space walrus or something people will be upset with Valve, but they certainly won't come out in such numbers with such anger as they have with ME3 and actually demand, en masse, that Valve change the ending. People are invested in Gordon's story, but Mass Effect 3 is the *player's* story, not just some random avatar.
You've got some fine points. But I'd argue that the fundamental difference between altering a book's plot to suit the audience's expectations and altering a game's is that the reader had *no* part in determining the outcome of the book's story. They were quite simply just along for the ride. A gamer playing a game like Mass Effect has not only been placed *into* the story, but they've been told to expect that their choices would impact the course of the story and it's ultimate conclusion.
Thank you for writing this. Now that the dust has settled, it nice to see that the more rational voices criticizing the ME ending can be heard.
That fan fiction you linked seems to be cropping up in every forum. I think its on its way to becoming the new canon. Its not like Bioware is opposed to using material from deviantart.
exactly that abandoned ending is the abandoned flotation device while we got tied to the anchor because the captain thought we would like it better
and now that they got called on it they are trying to dredge us up from the bottom, with the end result being a bunch of drowned and bloated bodies...or upset fans who have had their faith in the company and game series shaken, but i prefer my analogy
I can understand some of the outrage over the ending of ME3. Twist ending with no closure. I don't have a problem with the twist, but the lack of closure after all of the major choices made throughout the series makes all of those choices meaningless.
Finally, I know I will probably be flamed for it but: I enjoyed the series and the ending as it stands. Could it be done better? Of course. I never expected sunshine, rainbows and ponies but a little bit of closure would have been nice.
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I posted this on the Minecraft Forums, but nobody has responded to it. Hoping I can get help here.
Long story short, I used to host a few small minecraft servers. I didn't for a few months, and was going to fire them up again. Nothing has changed since I hosted them previously, except that I got a new router. I've tried making a new server as well, and am running into the same issue of Minecraft not being able to detect the server.
I have port 25565 (which is also what's in my server.properties) open on 192.168.1.2, which is the internet address for my computer. When I open minecraft with the server running, it can't find the server.
Notably, when I ping that port/address on http://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports, my server log even SHOWS it's getting pinged. So obviously the connection is working.
Right now I am testing with server and client 1.5.1 (since thats what I was on last time it worked) however the problem is still present in 1.5.2.
Also, when I previously made the original post on the other forums... My server log would even show my computer pinging the server (but still couldnt find it). This behavior has since disappeared.