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Annual outdoor events
Here is a list of major outdoor events that are taking place in Brighton & Hove in 2018. This list isn't exhaustive as our events programme is continually changing. Use the website links in the table to find out more. You can also look at our Events Diary for dates or contact the Events Office for a more detailed events list. The city hosts over 400 outdoor events each year.
Please note that events taking place on Madeira Drive, Brighton Seafront, will result in the closure of the public cycle lane for the whole day. Cyclists are advised to dismount and walk through the event if possible, or use Marine Drive as an alternative route. The middle level terrace along Madeira Drive is currently closed to the public.
|February 2018
|March 2018
|April 2018
|May 2018
Historic Commercial Vehicle Run, Ladyboys of Bangkok, Spiegeltent, Brighton Festival, Brighton Fringe City, The Great Escape Music Festival, Children Festival, Stonewall Equality Walk, Circus Vegas, Mini Rally,
|June 2018
Classic Car Run, Martlets Midnight Walk, British Heart Foundations London to Brighton Bike Ride, Take Part Festival,
|July 2018
Race For Life, Pretty Muddy, Paddle Round The Pier, Brightons Big Screen
|August 2018
|September 2018
National Speed Trials, Ace Cafe Reunion, Brighton and Hove Triathlon, Fiery Foods Festival, Brighton Boundary Festival, Apple Day
|October 2018
|November 2018
|December 2018
Sunday 25 February - Brighton & Hove Half Marathon, Brighton seafront. The first major event of the year the Brighton & Hove Half Marathon is organised by the Sussex Beacon. The race covers 13.1 miles of seafront and city centre, starting and finishing at Madeira Drive. This event is one of the longest established and most popular seafront road race events in the UK. Further details can be found at www.brightonhalfmarathon.com
Sunday 18 March - Pioneer Motorcycle Run, Madeira Drive. The Sunbeam Motorcycle Club has organised this London to Brighton run for veteran motorcycles since 1930. The Pioneer Run is open to all motor cycles and tricycles manufactured before 1915.
Sunday 15 April - Brighton Marathon. Runners will complete a 26 mile race .The 10km race will be open to more runners this year, as well as the return of the children's Mini Mile Races on the Saturday morning in Preston Park. Find out more by visiting the website www.brightonmarathonweekend.co.uk
Saturday 21 April - InCarNation. Presented by Ace Cafe & Fueltopia, the fifth year of this event is a free to attend drive in and display event for high performance and modified cars in the UK. Some of the most impressive vehicles in the country will be on display for the day on Madeira Drive.
Saturday 5 May to Monday 7 May - Foodies. Hove Lawns will host this fabulous food and drink festival. Visitor's can expect to experience wine tastings, cooking demonstrations from some of our favourite chefs, sampling of food both sweet and savoury while being able to listen to live music and watch various dancing displays. Tickets can be purchased via the website www.foodiesfestival.com
Sunday 6 May - Historic Commercial Vehicle Rally. First Sunday in May held on Madeira Drive. One of the greatest displays of historic commercial vehicles in the world. Enthusiasts portray a living history of the commercial transport scene and show the developments which have taken place since the turn of the century.
Thursday 3 May - Monday 14 May - No Fit State Circus on Hove Lawns an Internationally renowned company NoFit State Circus present their dazzling new production Lexicon at Brighton Festival 2018 - a daring, seductive and utterly contemporary take on the circus experience
Thursday 3 May to Sunday 3 June - Ladyboys of Bangkok. Throughout May on Victoria Gardens. If you enjoy popular music, entertainment and thai food all in one package, this is a show not to be missed! 16 of the world's most entrancing beauties in stunning costumes will entertain you in The Sabai Pavilion. (Return to List)
Thursday 3 May to Sunday 3 June - Spiegeltent. Throughout May on the Old Steine. A pop up venue hosting music, cabaret, spoken word, children's events as well as offering food and drink each day to members of the public. You don't need a ticket to a show to visit the Brighton Spiegeltent, just come along and chill out in the Spiegel Gardens.
Throughout May - Brighton Festival. Various outdoor performances take place in numerous locations across Brighton & Hove, and beyond. For further information on the festival visit www.brightonfestival.org
Throughout May - Brighton Fringe City. Brighton Fringe is the largest multi-arts festival in England and a completely open-access platform for events. It runs alongside Brighton Festival. Visit www.brightonfringe.org for further information on all shows, including the outdoor elements of Fringe City.
Wednesday 16 May to Saturday 19 May - The Great Escape Music Festival. Purchase a wristband for the weekend and get the opportunity to see a variety of music gigs both indoors and outdoors across Brighton & Hove. Some of the biggest acts today have been seen for the first time at this festival in Brighton. For futher details and the latest line up please visit www.greatescapefestival.com
Saturday 5 May - Children's Parade. First Saturday in May through the city centre and along the seafront to Madeira Drive.The Brighton Festival Children's Parade produced by Same Sky has grown over the years into one of the most spectacular community events of its type in the country, with up to 4000 participants and an audience of over 10,000. Sixty participating local schools and community groups form the heart of this procession.
TBC - Stonewall Equality Walk. Several hundred people will celebrate this sponsored walk for Stonewall, a leading organisation campaigning for equality and fair treatment for lesbian, gay and bisexual people worldwide. The walk takes place in the city centre and along the seafront, with entertainment beginning at 12 noon in Pavilion Gardens.
Thursday 10 May to Sunday 20 May - Circus Vegas Festival Circus located in Preston Park for two weeks during May.
Sunday 20 May - Mini Rally. Hundreds of minis make the journey from London to Brighton (Madeira Drive). Expect many variations of colour, size and engine capacity.
Sunday 3 June - Classic Car Run. All cars over 25 years old are eligible. The event also includes the London to Brighton Kit & Sports Car Run, hosting a display of kit, sports and replica cars. Vist the organisers website www.classicmotorevents.co.uk for further information. (Return to List)
TBC - Martlet's Midnight Walk. This women only night time sponsored walk is the Martlets Hospice's biggest fundraising event of the year. Women can choose either a 6 or 13 mile route which both start at Brighton Racecourse at midnight. Entry details and further information can be found on the Martlets Hospice website www.themartlets.org.uk
Sunday 17 June - British Heart Foundation (BHF) London to Brighton Bike Ride. Third weekend in June. With 27,000 cyclists taking part each year this is the biggest cycling event of its kind in Europe. The bike ride has a huge positive impact on the city and is the largest of the British Heart Foundation's sponsored events. For further information please visit www.bhf.org.uk
Saturday 23 June - Take Part Festival – A celebration in June of community sport, dance and physical activity with events taking place across the city open to all ages and abilities with something to do for everyone.
TBC - Capital to Coast Bike Ride. Raising money for three fantastic charities - Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Norwood, and Down's Syndrome Association, this is the alternative London to Brighton Bike Ride. With a choice of two different routes, this event finishes in the picturesque location of Hove Lawns. Further information can be found on the organisers website www.capitaltocoast.org.uk (Return to List)
Saturday 30 June to Sunday 1 July - Race for Life Stanmer Park. Early July. This is Cancer Research UK's biggest fundraising event. It is a very popular 5k women only run and it has now been extended to two days in Brighton & Hove. For further information please visit the events website www.raceforlife.org
Saturday 30 to Sunday 1 July - Pretty Muddy Held in Stanmer Park on the same weekend as Race For Life, this event is a women's only obstacle race also raising money for Cancer Research UK. A fun, more challenging alternative to Race For Life.
Saturday 7 July to Sunday 8 July - Paddle Round The Pier. First weekend in July. Europe's biggest free beach and watersports festival located on Hove Lawns. This event features the best in water, street and urban sports, live music, children's entertainment and have a go opportunities, plus the fantastic location adjacent to the beach. Find out more on the website www.paddleroundthepier.com (Return to List)
TBC - Brighton's Big Screen. Brighton's free beachfront cinema returns in June and will be showing games from the World Cup in Russia. There shall also be a selection of iconic films throughout the duration.
Saturday 4 August - Pride Annual parade and party in Preston Park, the event this year is on the f.irst Saturday in August. Details for this year's event are still being confirmed so please check the Pride website for information www.brighton-pride.org
Saturday 11 August - Brighton Big Dog. A day of cycling activity in Stanmer Park, suitable for both beginners and those experienced in trail cycling. Find out more on the website www.brightonbigdog.com
Saturday 18 August - Sunday 19 August - Thai Festival. A cultural festival that takes place over two days in Preston Park.
Thursday 16 August to Tuesday 28 August - Zippos Circus. Throughout August on Hove No1. Lawn. The annual circus comes to town - jugglers, acrobats, horses and budgies make up this traditional spectacular. See www.zippos.co.uk for further details.
Saturday 1 September - National Speed Trials. This historic Brighton seafront event has been running since 1905. The event on the first Saturday of September this year allowing spectators to watch over 200 cars and motorcycles travel along Madeira Drive racing against the clock. The organisers are Brighton & Hove Motor Club.
Sunday 9 September - Ace Café Reunion, Madeira Drive. 40,000 motorbikes descend on Brighton in a celebration of biking and the original Ace Café on London's North Circular. Further details can be found on the organiser's website www.ace-cafe-london.com (Return to List)
Saturday 15 to Sunday 16 September - Fiery Foods Festival. The festival takes place on Victoria Gardens based on all things chilli like. Expect chilli drinks, chilli food both sweet and savoury and the now infamous chilli eating competition. Visit the website to find out more fieryfoodsuk.co.uk
Saturday 15 September - Sunday 16 September - Brighton and Hove Triathlon. Swimming, Cycling and Running for thousands of participants along Hove seafront. For further details please see www.brightonandhovetriathlon.com
Sunday 23 September - Apple Day. A popular annual event held in Stanmer Park to celebrate the harvest season. Please be aware that there is a charge for parking at this event, but the event itself is free. Suitable for the whole family.
Saturday 29 September - Brighton Boundary Festival. The annual music festival in Brighton returns to its successful location Stanmer Park. For further details please see www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/others2016/boundary
Sunday 14 October - Brightona. Annual motorcycle event with stunt shows, live music, trade stands and over 5000 participants on Madeira Drive. All proceeds go to the Sussex Heart Charity
Saturday 6 October - Brighton Breeze VW Split Screen Run. A variety of VW vehicles converge on Madeira Drive. See the Split Screen Van Club website for further details www.ssvc.org.uk
Sunday 4 November - Veteran Car Run. 1896 was a red-letter day in the history of British motoring: the 'Emancipation Run' from London to Brighton (Madeira Drive) celebrated the passing of the Locomotives on the Highway Act. This raised the speed limit for 'light locomotives' from 4mph to 14mph and abolished the requirement to be preceded by a man on foot. The event is not a race, the cars are limited to an average speed of 20mph and the only reward for a successful run is a Finisher's Medal (awarded to all who reach Brighton before 4.30pm). See the www.veterancarrun.com for further details.
Sunday 18 November - 10K Road Race. The Brooks 10km run is a fast, flat accurately measured course along the seafront, with start and finish on Madeira Drive. The race is the Sussex AAA 10K Men's and Women's Road Race Championship. The race now takes place entirely on the road, making it much easier to get that personal best!
Friday 21 December - Burning the Clocks Winter Solstice event. An annual community event consisting of a community lantern parade through the city centre finishing with a firework display from the beach adjacent to Madeira Drive. Conceived to celebrate the winter solstice, this event now takes place on 21 December each year and attracts around 20,000 spectators. Find out more at www.samesky.co.uk


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< Back to Informally Cooking...
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Not everything I cook merits its own blog entry, but I still want to remember what I've been up to. Here's what could be found on my table during the last couple of weeks:
- Rice, beans, and fresh salsa for lunch happened quite a bit.
- Homemade tomato sauce always in the fridge.
- Soon dubu jigae.
- Tofu stir-fry with carrots and the black fungus K gave to me.
- Warm spinach salad.
- Israeli couscous with roasted veggies.
- Simple salad of baby greens, Parmesan cheese, and Italian dressing.
- Fresh hummus.
- Roasted potatoes.
- Korean wrap.
A creature of habit, indeed.

subset: commoncrawl


text: The cepezed and cepezedinterior-designed new Technova College in Ede is officially completed. This monday, the keys were handed over during a festive gathering in the new building. It took two years to design and build the school for the technical trainings of what is now still the ROC A12 for intermediate vocational education. The building was realized by a syndicate of three local companies in Ede: Bouwbedrijf Kreeft, ITN Installatietechniek and Bruil Bouw. A unique aspect is that the syndicate is also responsible for all maintenance and energy for the next 25 years. This responsibility was partly reason for a strong focus on sustainability. The building is energy-neutral. It will be fully furnished this summer and taken into use the upcoming school year. The offical opening will take place on October 18.


text:
By. Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan
Just caught Peter and Paul, of the famed freedom and justice singing trio Peter, Paul and Mary, on the Tavis Smiley show. Goodness, they were magnificent! It was quite good to hear them sing some of the folk songs of the Civil Rights movement while describing the climate surrounding their music and activism. They have a book out titled, "Peter, Paul and Mary: 50 Years in Life and Song". As I heard their music and reflections, I became inspired by the fact that the sacred work of Civil Rights and freedom has always featured a multicultural, multifaith cast of bold, risk-taking, visionary people who had the audacity to sing their faith and convictions as they delivered truth to power. While our contemporary climate does reveal amazing levels of progress since the 1960s, the rivers and streams of everyday life continue to reveal toxic amounts of waste products such as hate, bigotry, violence, and discrimination of many forms that poison too many of our environments, physical, political and cultural. I am not altogether sure of the many songs we sing when we gather nowadays, but I sure think it is time for our music to recapture the passion and poetry of the songs of people like Peter, Paul and Mary, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and so many others who sang about freedom, justice and peace and therefore provided us with a soundtrack for social progress. During a contemporary era where large segments of society seem to congratulate themselves for not knowing or accepting the histories, values, and aspirations of people who differ from themselves, we need right brain inspiration that can liberate us from the prisons of our linear, individualism-colored world views so that we may actually see ourselves caring for our neighbors by acknowledging then dismantling walls and systems of nullification and selective privilege, by helping each other to succeed, and by learning each other's story. Now is the time for music that teaches us, transforms us, and then transports us so that we may create earthly places where the long dictatorship of fear comes to an end, where a warm smile can melt glaciers of arrogance, and where people are willing to walk or roll hand-in-hand into a future punctuated by peace, with progress for everybody, and the trivialization of nobody. When we sing songs with these kinds of themes, we open ourselves to God's still awesome ability to transform the world. I am ready to sing! How about you?


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Planetary Annihilation: TITANS is the official standalone expansion to Planetary Annihilation and comes with a raft of new features, including:
- An interactive tutorial
- A host of new units
- A wider variety of terrain, including multi-level features
- Balance changes and improved bot / vehicle differentiation
- Unit wreckage to reward defence
- New bounty game mode
- Better notifications and sound alerts
- Access to mods like the Legion Expansion and Queller AI
- Lots more improvements
This expansion is free for all kickstarter backers, and available at 66% off for owners of Planetary Annihilation. Owners of Planetary Annihilation: TITANS are still able to play against players without the expansion.
Owners of Planetary Annihilation: TITANS are still able to play against players without the expansion.
Balance Changes
There have been quite a lot of subtle changes, but here are some of the key ones:
- Units in the orbital layer are visible at all times by all players even while being built
- Because of this Deepspace Radar no longer exists
- Bot, vehicle, air and naval fabbers are now all different in terms of speed and build power
- Vehicle fabbers build the fastest and are the most efficient but are also the slowest when moving
- Bot fabbers are nimble but build slower and less efficiently than vehicle fabbers
- Air builds faster than bots, slower than vehicles and is less efficient than both.
- Torpedo Launchers can be built on land as well as sea and now lob their torpedo into the water
- The Grenadier has a smaller (90 degree yaw) angle of fire, it can no longer run away and shoot behind itself
- Units leave wreckage – this doesn't block movement or shots
There was a patch to classic PA as well on release, so some of these changes will be found there too.
Click here for a full changelog following release.
Bounty Game Mode
Specifically made for FFAs to encourage aggressive play and avoid the turtle stalemates of the past.
With this mode enabled, when a commander dies the enemy that killed them gets a percentage bonus to their income, this bonus is set in the lobby. Someone self-destructs? Last person to attack their army gets the bonus. No more hiding, you fight or you die.
And for those of you who prefer a more passive game, fear not, this game mode is entirely optional.
Planetary Annihilation: TITANS
Seismic Titan
- Tier 2
- Bot
- Devastating damage to everything nearby
- Amphibious
- Attacks land, sea and undersea targets
eXodus says
Perfect for forcing an engagement, you just keep pushing and your opponent has to respond. The denser they're packed the harder it hits. It doesn't have any anti air measures so make sure you have some anti-air nearby. If you're facing this beast and it's travelling through the water, be aware that it's only targetable by torpedos.
Rolling Fortress
- Tier 2
- Vehicle
- Near invincible
- Long-range
- Heavy damage
- Hover
- Attacks land and sea targets
eXodus says
A unit which you should micro to keep it at range. Take advantage of its hover capabilities to keep it safe and strike from unexpected directions. Think of it as a hover Leviathan. With much more powerful guns.
Lightning Titan
- Tier 2
- Air
- Heavy damage over a wide area
- Attacks any targets except orbital
eXodus says
A great weapon for sniping any Commander not hidden behind five miles of air defence.
Invasion Titan
- Tier 2
- Orbital
- Can link with a teleporter and send units directly to a planet's surface
- Attacks everything
eXodus says
Limited anti-land/air capabilities, but far more interesting is its teleporter. The ultimate planetary fortress breaker and Commander sniper. Deploy in the orbital layer over your target, drop a Manhattan to clear the area, follow up with troop invasion. Victory is yours. If you see one coming at you then make sure your Commander is on the move.
Doomsday Titan
- Tier 2
- Destroys the planet it's built on once finished
eXodus says
If you can't take that world, why should they? Establish a foothold and then build this. Only titan that can't be built by an orbital fabber. There's a short wait between building it and the world being destroyed, so get ready to dig in.
Tesla Bot
- Tier 1
- Very high damage over an area
- Uses energy to fire
- Attacks land targets
eXodus says
With its low speed this is best at taking out short-range swarm units such as the Boom and Locust. Good at protecting your Commander from snipe attempts. Keep an eye on your energy though, otherwise those reload times will render the unit worthless.
Nanobot Swarm
- Tier 2
- Extremely fast
- Cheap
- Close range
- Devastating damage
- Attacks land targets
eXodus says
Attacks through reclaim, so the cheaper it is the faster it dies. Absolutely amazing against buildings and can devastate an undefended base in no time, but steer well clear of high metal value targets like Commanders.
Proxy Commander
- Tier 2
- Builds advanced structures and titans
- Durable high damage
- Attacks everything but orbital
eXodus says
The fastest and most efficient builder in the game with access to almost every building. Don't put this on the frontlines unless it's building a firebase. Be careful with your hotkeys because – like the combat fabber – this unit is selected by combat hotkeys.
Hover Tank
- Tier 1
- Fast
- Can cross water and lava
- Attacks land and sea targets
eXodus says
As the only ground layer unit able to traverse lava it will redefine systems like Forge forever, so beware of backdoor attacks. On land you're better sticking to the Bolo, and it will need air support since it can't take Spinners with it.
Flak Tank
- Tier 2
- Damage over a very wide area
- Only attacks air targets
- Devastates Air units
eXodus says
For when the Spinner isn't enough. Be wary of the Wyrm though, it's more than capable of bombing a Storm.
Mobile Nuke
- Tier 2
- Detonates a nuke on death
- Slow
- Extremely durable
- Self-destruct attack
eXodus says
It's slow, but will nuke on death. Give it cover until it's close to target, or take advantage of its amphibious capabilities. Perfect for use in conjunction with the Helios.
Solar Drone
- Tier 1
- Produces energy
- Mobile but slow
- Weak
- Attacks land, air and sea targets
eXodus says
Keeps your energy safe against a ground based threat, but you shouldn't use it as your primary energy income as it's incredibly vulnerable to Hummingbirds. Do not rely on that weapon to defend against anything more than single Dox.
Siege Bomber
- Tier 2
- Durable
- Slow
- Devastating damage
- Attacks land and sea targets
eXodus says
If your enemy is building up the Flak then the Wyrm is what you need, its health allows it to punch through defences. It's incredibly slow though, an alert enemy will have Hummingbirds on their way to intercept long before it arrives.
Support Platform
- Tier 2
- Repairs nearby units
- Intercepts homing missiles
- Does not attack
eXodus says
More interesting than the repair function is its interception capabilities which appear to extend beyond missiles to allow projectiles. As fragile as any other air unit.
Support Barge
- Tier 1
- Repairs damaged ships
- Builds and detects mines
- Cannot help build things
eXodus says
Perfect when combined with high health ships for turning the tide in any engagement. Taking on the role of the combat fabber which can no longer go underwater, it has more health and a 50% better repair function for the same energy cost.
Drone Carrier
- Tier 2
- Builds and launches missile drones at enemies
- Attacks land, air and sea targets
eXodus says
So long as you have the energy to produce Squalls, this has a higher DPS than a Leviathan, though a shorter range. Use where the enemy has limited AA capabilities, or even as a means to bolster the capabilities of your air force as the Squalls are controllable.
Missile Drone
- Launched by Typhoon
- Fast
- Fragile
- Attacks land and air
eXodus says
Once they leave the Typhoon these become units in their own right, losing health steadily over time. Control them directly for best effect.
Hover Destroyer
- Tier 2
- Long-range
- Durable
- Hover
- Attacks land and sea targets
eXodus says
Your naval advantage no longer needs to become irrelevant when the shores are clearly, now you can easily transition into a powerful land capable force. Don't underestimate its power on the water though, it has the health and gunnery you expect from a naval unit.
Space Probe
- Tier 1
- Fast
- Cheap
- Expendable
- Provides ground vision
- Does not attack
eXodus says
A cheaper version of the ARKYD without its radar capabilities. Two-thirds the vision for one-quarter the cost. For when you simply want eyes on target, or have smaller worlds to scout.
Orbital Battleship
- Tier 2
- Rapid-Fire
- Very durable
- Heavy damage
- Attacks everything
eXodus says
Crushes Avengers like they were nothing and has limited anti-ground/air capabilities. Beware the Artemis, which outranges the Omega.
Railgun Platform
- Long-range
- High damage
- Very low rate of fire
- Uses energy
- Attacks orbital
eXodus says
Gets rid of those pesky Anchors and can tackle the Omega if microed well. Be careful that it isn't swarmed by Avengers. Costs 200 energy a shot, so make sure you have a healthy eco.
New Buildings
Bot Launcher
- Tier 1
- Builds and fires bots at nearby targets
eXodus says
If you want pure buildpower for Dox this will produce more in a given period than an unassisted botfactory. Can be built on water and provides a safe means to project a land threat from sea.
New Maps
Terrain has been a big focus and a lot of new plateaus have been added to the existing biomes. Some maps have been updated to, with PAX being completely overhauled, and new ranked maps have been added that use plateaus a lot too.
Below is an overview of the new maps TITANS introduces.
Clutch (2-4 Players)
The type of game you get here will vary greatly depending whether you spawn on the mainland, or the small offshore island. A relatively traditional game can occur on the land, albeit with plenty of opportunities for sneaky backdooring, but from the islands you'll want to explore the new possibilities ships offer you, while maintaining a strong air force to limit enemy expansion. Consider pushing inland with Kaiju supported by Typhoons.
Added to the ranked ladder map pool.
Lock (2-6 Players)
A great map for some 1v1 action which favours raids and artillery. The metal is spread out, but access to your base is controlled by just a few ramps. Don't be fooled into trying to fortify them though, there's still enough that you opponent will find a way in, just guard key entrances where you don't have a real mobile presence.
Strike with Dox to keep them on the back foot, then follow up with Grenadiers and avoid their main force while firing up on them from the lower levels.
For maximum joy form an honour guard and roll a Manhattan up the central ramp into their base.
Added to the ranked ladder map pool.
Crag (2-6 Players)
A map of two halves, with one having concentrated metal on plateaus and the other spread out amongst the crags. Artillery will do well one one half, while the other can favour some fast raiding and more traditional direct fire compositions.
In a FFA it can be tempting to ignore the crags and just make a grab for the concentrated plateau metal. Don't fall into that trap.
Added to the ranked ladder map pool.
Bedlam (2-8 Players)
A wonderful FFA map which allows you to see almost all the new TITANS content. It's very open, but access is controlled by rivers. You will start out with a land game, but later transition into control of the all important sea which at T2 has the capability to shell almost every metal spot, but there's not enough metal in the sea for you to ignore the land.
Beware of sneaky attacks by amphibious and hover units. And while your opponent just across that small stretch of sea may feel a long way off, keep an eye on them or you'll have an Atlas wading across the narrow strip to bring your end.
Changes Since Planetary Annihilation Launched
Perhaps though that it's not just TITANS content that's new to you. If you haven't been active in Planetary Annihilation for a while you might have missed some of the many, many additions that have been made post-release. Leading up to TITANS, Planetary Annihilation has received significant content updates every few weeks on the stable branch, and almost one a week on the public test environment (PTE).
Check them out.
- Offline mode
- Ranked 1v1
- Unit Cannon
- Barracuda attack sub
- Krakken stealth sub
- Phoenix interplanetary fighter
- Save/Load
- Improved Galactic War
- Spawnable asteroids
- Massive performance gains
- Better pathfinding
- Continuous AI improvements
- User interface scaling control
- Better System Designer
- Graphical improvements
- Continuous balance improvements
- New modding APIs
Even if you don't feel ready to make the jump to Planetary Annihilation: TITANS yet, give the original game a try, it might just surprise you how much has changed for the better.
Interview With The Developers
On launch day I got a chance to speak with Tom Vinita and Steve Thompson, the Project Leads for Planetary Annihilation TITANS. Learn about the process, the plans, the thinking behind it all and, most importantly, what their favourite unit is.
Apologies for the audio quality, Uber didn't have access to their best microphones for this interview.
Thoughts From The Players
I and a few others were lucky enough to have early access to TITANS to put it through its paces for Uber. Here are our thoughts:
Cola_Colin – PA Stats
After the initial WOW of seeing TITANS for the first time I started looking for more subtle balance changes and was happy to find that for example different kinds of fabbers now have different purposes. Also unit wreckages are obviously something I have been looking forward to and I am pleasantly surprised that Uber managed to not only turn unit wreckages on, but also to have infinite lifetime scorch marks. The planets now really turn into a scorched mess after a while and you can really see that a war has waged on them.
Some of the new units are real oddballs and I am curious to see how they will integrate into the game once people start fighting over the top spots on the ladder.
This is the addon I've been waiting for.
mikeyh – PA Lobby
TITANS expands Planetary Annihilation with new units and deeper game play that will make both causal players and seasoned RTS fans want to stomp around and blow stuff up.
Favourite quote from the tutorial: please don't die.
PRoeleert – Hotbuild2
I've had a lot of fun playing TITANS already, it brings so much soul and fun to the mix. Even if you lose in a FFA you stick around to spectate mode cheering on the other players to spread destruction with the TITANS.
The Bounty Mode is very interesting had some cool fights to get or deny the ecoboost. The Angel Support Air unit is definitely my favorite new non-Titan unit it shoots down practically anything.
Can't wait to see all the units in action in upcoming tournaments.
Quitch – All Round Great Guy
I've found the expansion content an absolute joy, adding new strategic depth to the game without falling into the trap of more units for more units sake. Of course, the proof is in the pudding as they say, and it's when the uber level players get theirs hands on it we'll see how it shakes out. Suffice it to say that I've enjoyed trying out new things, and I may have an unhealthy love for the Atlas Titan.
I've spent more time on Bedlam than any other map, and combined with Bounty mode which encourages much more aggressive play, I think I may be involved in more FFAs in the future.
My favourite change is probably the reintroduction of fabber build differentiation which disappeared some time during beta/gamma. I love the additional flavour it provides the game, making decisions based not only on the unit mix you want, but also the most efficient way to expand your economy and production.
TheWrongCat – Head of The Realm
I giggled like a schoolgirl playing the first mission of the tutorial. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't for that gigantic colossus of a machine to rear up and stamp on the enemy Commander's head.
I feel like TITANS can do for Planetary Annihilation what Forged Alliance did for Supreme Commander. The unit roster feels much more comprehensive and fleshed out. In particular the Orbital layer now feels much more like a complete experience and an engaging theatre of war in its own right.
With this expansion I'm really excited for the future of Planetary Annihilation. This will appeal to die-hard Supreme Commander fans and Total Annihilation fans alike, and I can't wait to see what the modding community will do with it!
What Now?
So you've read about all the changes, what do you do now? Well, go play the game! If you're completely new to Planetary Annihilation then check out our guides section for more assistance. Consider stopping by PA Chat, community members are always happy to lend a hand or setup a game. If you're interested in really digging into the stats then hop over to PADB. You might also want to grab PA Mod Manager which will allow you to tweak the UI, install new effects, or even run mods which add new units or overhaul the balance.
We'll see you in the game!


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My rating: 2.5 of 5 genies
Genre: YA, Paranormal Fiction, Romance
Published: February 15, 2011
Pages: 453
Publisher: HarperCollins / Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Library Loan
Format: Paperback
Goodreads Summary
First there are nightmares.
Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.
Then come the memories.
When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.
Now she must hunt.
Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.
My Thoughts
I decided to do something interesting with this review and have an interview-type questionnaire regarding this book and my experience with it and its characters. This way, I get down to the gritty without really beating around the bush. You like? Proceed!
Q: What did you make of Angelfire as a whole, did it meet or surpass your expectations?
A: Well, in some cases it really did see to my expectations and I really couldn't find much to complain about. Sure, the plot was a little elementary - I saw some things coming from a mile away - but otherwise, it was alright.
Q: Biggest like of the book as a whole...Go!
A: Will! Will was very nice and at some instances he was the only thing making sense. When Ellie was being kind of a pain, I looked to Will.
Q: Any big issues with the book? What do you dislike about Ellie?
A: I hated the lack of choice, I mean, why does Ellie have to do it; why does one immature teen get the charge of saving the world from eternal damnation? I was very starved for choice. There should have been someone else, a wild card; Will should have had some hand in the life-saving other than just being there for Ellie. The boy was a lot more than an emotional crutch and his potential just wasn't met.
I think I kind of let my problem with Ellie out of the bag with the statement above. I disliked that she was really whiny at times and didn't fully grasp the role she played. See, this is what went down between her and Will every time he told her to practise harder on her heroism:
Will: Ellie, practise is tonight, don't miss it.
Ellie:'Oh noes, but Will, I missed movie night for the 3rd time this month because I was practising.
Will: You do understand that people die while you're away chomping down on those maynards and caramel corn, right?
Ellie: Just get someone else to do it, I gotta hang with the group. Any more cancelled dates and they'll, like, dump me from the crew!
Will: And this is more prevalent than someone's state of eternity, how?
Ellie: Ugh. Will, you just don't get it. I care about those people...sort of. Ooh, is that Marc Jacobs's new fall design?!
See? It was hard not to cringe a little, she could be airheaded at times.
Q: If you could change one thing about this book, what would it be?
A: The progression of the story. At times, the action dragged, like, it would take 2-3 chapters for the story to pick up again, which was kind of ridiculous. I would also change the cover, because Ellie is really nothing like the 30 something cover model. She's supposed to be bubbly, beautiful and popular. The girl in the picture gives off the impression of staidness and long nights spent reading in cemeteries; I guess she has friends, if latent spirits from another world count.
Q: Why 2.5 out of 5 stars, what made you rate the book this way?
A: Like I mentioned, the predictability could have been helped and character development kind of lacked. It went from Ellie being this clueless teenager to suddenly a saviour struggling to put back the pieces of her previous lives, because she's been reincarnated before, without so much as an appropriate enough explanation. The character development was unrealistic, and then there was the whole issue with her not taking her duties so seriously. To be honest, Will was kind of dry too, this is why I can't really fangirl about him, but the way I see it, he was better than Ellie even then. I don't hate the girl, but she needs work. Just putting it out there, things were wrapped up poorly in the end, I wasn't impressed with the interpretation of who Ellie really is, let's just say, Gabriel and I are not pleased.
Q: It's been great talk, thank-you for chatting with us. Any closing words, recommendations to those still on the fence about Angelfire?
A: I guess the only thing I can say is, read the book if you're interested. If you see it and think, 'hey, why not?' I'd give it a try just out of curiosity's sake. It isn't a bad book, and Ellie could be sweet at times; she wasn't all bad, and having Will around didn't hurt!
2.5/5 genies: This novel had its perks, I wouldn't read it again, but it was an okay read.


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Nouriel Roubini : "Karl Marx had it right. At some point capitalism can self-destroy itself because you cannot keep on shifting income from labour to capital without not having excess capacity and a lack of aggregate demand, and that's what's happening." - in an interview with The Wall Street Journal this week
Smiling Dave breaks it down. I'll make explicit the silly notions, then show why they are ridiculous:
- Capitalism shifts income from labour to capital. The simplest thing is to ask where and when this happens. Marx has his well known answer, based on the labor theory of value, which has been proven ridiculous many times. He argues that since the worth of an object comes from how much labor was put into making it, and the worker, by definition, does all the work, then his employer deserves none of the profits.
Here are the well known flaws in the Labor theory of Value, compliments of David Gordon:
First, the value of some goods seems clearly not to depend on the labor time needed to produce them. Böhm-Bawerk noted that wine often increases in value the longer it is stored. The labor required to gather the grapes and turn them into wine contributes very little to the price of wine.
Second, the circular definition involved in "socially necessary". Marx realized that an expert works much faster than an incompetent, yet they both might make identical products. So the amount of labor in otherwise identical objects differs depending on who made it, but the prices are the same. Marx got round this by saying that what counts is the "socially necessary" labor needed to make it. And how much labor is socially necessary to make, say, a pizza? That depends on the market price of the pizza. If it sells for $10, then ten dollars worth of labor is the socially necessary amount.
We have a circular definition here. The market price of a good comes from how much socially necessary labor went into it, and how much labor is socially necessary comes from the market price of the good. Put another way, why doesn't the pizza cost $20, based on the labor of the guy who takes twice as long to make it? On the other hand, why doesn't it cost a buck, based on the labor of the expert who makes pizzas ten times as fast?
[Have a look at Gordon's book to see another variation of this fallacy that Marx makes.]
Third, Marx admitted that in the real world, the Labor Theory of Value just doesn't work. He tried to weasel his way out of it, but has been shown to be mistaken. We refer the interested reader to Gordon's book.
Continued in Part Two.


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Special Events
Special Events
To Sunday, June 03, 2018
The Deerfield River Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited is hosting a Fly Fishing Tournament on the Deerfield River. This is a fun event designed for every level of fly fisher, from beginner to advanced. Participants choose three copies of a single fly pattern for each day and tally the inches of trout they catch and release. The event occurs on free fishing weekend (the first weekend in June) so participants do not need a fishing license.
The entry fee of $35 for non-members ($25 for members of TU) includes admission to the event, breakfast Saturday morning, and a cookout Sunday afternoon. All participants are entered into a raffle for fly fishing-related prizes, including a rod and reel. Sign up for the event and see more information. This event is intended to showcase the Deerfield River as one of the best fly fishing destinations in New England. We also hope to promote camaraderie among fly fishers and bring more members into the Deerfield River Watershed chapter of Trout Unlimited.
This is a wade fishing, catch-and-release-only event. During free fishing weekend, the dam operator provides low flows (weather permitting) over the entire weekend, making the river safer and more accessible for wade fishing. Participants are encouraged to fish with a partner for safety.


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Is it accurate to say that you are becoming weary of working at just half proficiency? This rundown of speedy tips, enhancements and efficiency techniques will make them work at 100% power in a matter of seconds.
Perused them, apply them, and look as your work yield enhances, your time input diminishes, and your way of life shoots up significantly. How about we go:
Individual Productivity Tip #1: Micro-test your work times.
Do you regularly find that you're more effective and profitable in the mornings? Shape your work day around those circumstances.
For instance, spent possibly 14 days working with various day times for your real workload, and see which one creates the best outcomes. After the speedy trial, shape your workday around those pinnacle times and watch your outcomes increment.
Individual Productivity Tip #2: Remind yourself to work.
This can be as basic as posting a message on your tablet screen or setting another desktop backdrop.
Get a motivational quote, an individual message, or even only a content document saying "accomplish more." These progressions aren't tremendous, yet they'll show you how to enhance individual efficiency like no other.
Individual Productivity Tip #3: Limit and confine yourself.
Is it true that you are regularly enticed to sit around idly on unessential sites? Utilize a Firefox connect to (Leechblock is one of the best) to ensure that you don't squander any additional time on sites that aren't specifically identified with your work yield.
Individual Productivity Tip #4: Don't search for advancements, search for significant changes.
What real issues are sucking up the vast majority of your work time and limiting the measure of time that you can spend on your workload? For some, the things that waste the most time aren't the things that are simplest to change.
Spend a little while chipping away at the enormous changes, and after that utilization the little advancements to enhance your steady work stage.
By applying these snappy tips, you'll figure out how to enhance individual efficiency, help your work yield, and appreciate a way of life that isn't 100% overwhelmed by work.


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Mental Health Channel
Topics & Medications
Related Channels
Precautions and Warnings With Bupropion Hydrobromide
You may not be able to use bupropion hydrobromide if you have certain medical conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, or bipolar disorder. Being aware of the precautions and warnings with bupropion hydrobromide can help ensure a safe treatment process, so make sure your healthcare provider has a list of all medications you are taking and any medical conditions you have.
What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider?You should talk with your healthcare provider prior to taking bupropion hydrobromide (Aplenzin™) if you have:
- Seizures or epilepsy
- A brain tumor
- A history of head trauma or brain injury
- Diabetes
- An eating disorder, such as bulimia or anorexia
- Bipolar disorder or a family history of bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression)
- Heart disease
- Had a recent heart attack
- A history of suicide attempts or suicidal thoughts
- Liver problems, including liver failure or cirrhosis
- Kidney disease, including kidney failure (renal failure)
- Any allergies, including allergies to foods, dyes, or preservatives.
Also, let your healthcare provider know if you are:
- Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant
- Breastfeeding.
Make sure to tell your healthcare provider about any other medications you are taking, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
Bupropion Hydrobromide Drug Information
List of references (click here)
Aplenzin [package insert]. Bridgewater, NJ: sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC;2011 July.
Briggs GG, Freeman RK, Yaffe SJ. Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation. 8th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins;2008.
National Library of Medicine (US). Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMED). NLM Web site. Available at: http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?LACT. Accessed May 17, 2010.
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD


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Upper Body Supports
When life gives you lemons, you know what to do. But do you have the right tools to do it with? These stainless steel citrus squeezers get the job done with style. Featuring bold European design, they make adding a fresh squirt of lemon to fish, tea or any dish you're cooking up a snap.
All lemon squeezers are definitely not created equal. The two in this collection are some of the most elegant ones available. Perfect for a fancy restaurant or upscale kitchen.


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Another great week for the figurehead of the UFC as President Dana White takes us to Germany, New York and then Detroit, site of Saturday's UFC 123 event.
A hungover White, a 'net celebrity and Matt Hughes talking White into upping the bonuses for Saturday are highlighted. As always, these are quick and fun watches.
Josh Nason is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in FIGHT! Magazine, CBSSports.com, BleacherReport.com and MarketingProfs.com. Support his cause to get ESPNBoston.com to cover MMA, follow him and check out his audio archive of appearances.


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This blog is about teacher professional development courses that I conduct in Singapore and other countries.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
DCM201 MicroTeaching on Subtraction of Mixed Numbers
It is promising that I see at least one very good lesson in every microteaching session. teaching is a complex activity that defies description in words. one has to see it being played out before one's eyes. I hope the trainee teachers in my group who are observers are capable of seeing good examples of instruction. This is why I assign them the roles of 'students' and 'observers'. On the days they are the 'observers' they can divert all their attention to witness the complex activity of teaching without being distracted.
In Rendra's ;esson, we saw the use of PowerPoint to model the subtraction process. I wished he had stuck to this. Unfortunately, he moved to doing the subtraction in abstract symbols too soon. In Naz lesson, which was brilliant, I saw him being able to handle the complexities of being a teacher bringing a lesson plan to life. In particular, the pictorial-abstract linkage was well done. He used the 'models' to explain the symbolic manipulation. The subtraction process can be made obvious using suitable straegies that trainee teachers should be able figure out. In Hafeez' lesson, the idea of regrouing was not modelled by the pictorial representation. The use of a strory was good. especially if the teacher can act the situations out by making voices for Mr Gopan and whoever else in the story. Also, the pizza was impressive,
Posted by Dr Yeap Ban Har at 7:51 AM
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About Max Muscle
Max Muscle, established in 1990, is the premier franchise specializing in Sports Nutrition. Max Muscle offers a diverse but integrated product mix of innovative nutritional supplements, fashionable athletic apparel and magazine publishing that targets a broad consumer base with a true passion for fitness and health. This combination is unique within the industry and has allowed Max Muscle to establish itself as a market leader within the health and fitness industry.
The fitness industry is growing very rapidly and Max Muscle enjoys a premium position within the specialty end of the market. The sports nutrition market is a $22 billion dollar industry that, prior to Max Muscle, was without a nationally organized specialty franchise system to support it. Max Muscle is the original and only national franchise for this exclusive market.
Currently, Max Muscle has over 100 franchise locations operating across the United States with a projected 750 new franchises in the next 5 years. Max Muscle began its nationwide expansion in 2004 and has recently added many new store locations and has added a larger regional franchise offering to qualified, business oriented individuals. Max Muscle has created a new brand image along with a dynamic new store design to give customers a truly one of a kind in-store experience.
Founded by athletes committed to living a healthy lifestyle that exercise and nutrition provides, Max Muscle manufactures a high quality line of sports nutrition products and custom athletic apparel that has remained popular for over a decade.
To learn more, visit our web site


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Hi there, A "HTTP 502 - Unable to Connect to the Origin Server" messages are not blocks or the Firewall isn't working properly. It can mean one of the following: 1) Your Hosting Server is Offline 2) The Hosting Server is Blocking us via Software Firewall or Other Security Tool (like mod_security) 3) Your Application is Taking More Than 3 Minutes to Answer 4) Too Big HTTP Header Here are the logs we have in regards to issues with the host server: https://pastebin.sucuri.net/e8mtn5px4h6zr We would advise to review all plugins and theme. Disabling each plugin and enabling them one by one to identify which are causing the hosting errors. I would suggest chatting with our hosting support team for further assistance with the 502's.
I am having problems with my shared wordpress site w/ sucuri firewall. I keep getting 502 errors and am bouncing back and forth between godaddy support and the sucuri support. What should I do to get my site to be fully functional again?
Hey there @ryanmusante
I've actually found this one to usually be a combination of things.
Usually one of those things will correct the issue. If that doesn't work, something may be wrong on the backend and you should put in a support ticket.
Once your issue is resolved,
please be sure to come back and click accept for the solution
Get Better Support on the Community Boards!
Etiquette When Asking for Help from the Community


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Denise Duhamel's Original Chapter One:
Mr. Rogers and Me
I started writing "books" in the fourth grade while sequestered in Crawford Allen Children's Hospital in Providence, RI. A severe asthmatic, I befriended other kids with ailments who became the basis for my characters. In one such "novel," the girl with cancer has magical, witchy powers because of her chemo treatments and cast spells turning our foul tasting medicines into apple juice. In another, the boy with cystic fibrosis has a cape and, curing all our illnesses, leads us in an escape from the hospital. My one of a kind, self-published "books" were hand written on 3-hole lined paper, tied together with ribbons to form a spine, and decorated with my own cover art. The backs spouted fake blurbs with celebrities popular in 1971: This book changed my life!— Mary Tyler Moore. Or Possibly the best book of the century!— Mr. Rogers.


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Rice is one of those foods that you should never cook on an empty stomach. If you do, you tend to rush it. When you rush the process, you end up with a pot of partially/hard cooked rice—Rice Al dente. There are two ways to derive al dente rice: adding too little water or turning up the fire too rapidly. Al dente rice is hard, gritty, and frankly, doesn't quite hit the spot. It's difficult to retroactively correct rice that has already been cooked al dente. It's hard, not impossible. In order, to rectify the mistake, the key is to add more water, and turn down the heat. Here is the other key—patience. Correcting al dente rice is more frustrating and time consuming than making rice that was cooked according to the proper specifications.
At times, many of us Christians live Al Dente Spiritual lives. We want a life that is soft, fluffy and free from grit, but we either have too little water or we crank up the fire in an effort to expedite the refining process. Jesus said the water He will give us will give us life eternal (John 4:13-15). However, if we have too little water (too little Jesus), we end up hard and unrefined.
The other element of al dente rice is rapid fire, and rapid fire seldom yields the desired outcome. For example, whenever silver is refined, the temperature has to be precisely gauged to yield the correct product. God does not refine us with fire, but he refines us with the "furnace of suffering," (Isaiah 48:10). If we try to rush the process (trying to work on our own accord), we become unrefined—unfinished products.
The principle of al dente rice also applies to our blessings. Whenever we rush our blessings, we end up with blessings that are short of perfect and not as edifying. Having an al dente life versus a life of fulfillment is simply the difference between settling for life's good versus waiting on God's best. I'm sure the par cooked blessing is great and could probably quell our hunger, but it's not as satisfying as the finished product.
Even though al dente rice can be corrected, very few of us will go back to rectify it because it takes too much time. It's too difficult. We push past the gritty texture and resign to semi-fulfillment. However, I refuse to live an al dente lifestyle when God has promised me the same land that He promised my ancestors—a land of milk and honey. The truth is, in our spiritual lives, we are never just waiting on the manifestation of a blessing. We are always waiting on God, whom, in all my experience, is worth the wait.


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Thursday, August 02, 2007
Face-Lift 391
Guess the Plot
To Serve in Heaven
1. Tired of not fitting in with the other angels, Shem joins a company of dysfunctional misfit angels. When demons and wizards unite against the angels, Shem gets his wish: his first chance to fight against evil. Also, an eccentric swordmaster.
2. Upon dying, Michelangelo sees the angry face of God . . . who didn't like how his portrait turned out. Now, Michelangelo has been charged with painting a much larger ceiling--the ceiling of Heaven itself--and getting the details RIGHT this time. Will God's micromanagement ruin Michelangelo's artistic vision?
3. Satan couldn't believe it when his performance review came in. No longer would the board of directors allow him to reign in hell. Now he must serve in Heaven. And God is a lousy tipper.
4. Sometimes the afterlife isn't all it's cracked up to be. Joe was a bartender in life, and while he narrowly escaped eternal damnation, in Heaven he's a busboy. Maybe that deathbed conversion wasn't such a great idea.
5. Hell just wasn't any fun. Sure it sounded good when Satan used that famous recruiting line: It's better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven. The trouble was, Satan was the only one who did any ruling. Everyone else suffered eternal torment. Can Elgin find that elusive chink in the brimstone that will allow him to escape? Also, a clock that runs backwards.
6. Jury duty in heaven is hell. After 1,562,354 years, Molly learns she still can't talk about Satan's trial after his fall from heaven . . . which means she will never, ever get to be on Oprah. This leads her to the biggest existential crisis she has ever faced. Luckily for her, she has plenty of time to think about it.
Original Version
Dear {Agent}
The Grigori—or, Watchers—is ostensibly an elite order of angels chosen to protect the City of Lights. In truth, it is a haven for the disaffected. [Angels. You just can't trust 'em.] Volunteers come seeking escape from the council's oversight [What council?] and the company of other misfits. A magician driven by obsession with forbidden research develops spells for the order. A berserker indulges his taste for blood. An eccentric swordmaster finds a use for his gifts—even if he'd rather be a dancer.
The day after young Shemyaza joins, the order's leader is found dead in a snowbank, murdered by demons. It's final proof of what Shem suspected all along—the demons and wizards have once again united against the angels. What he didn't suspect was that the ruling council would appoint him head of the Watchers despite his lack of seniority. [Is this the same council as the one in the first paragraph? Because earlier you said misfits joined the Watchers to escape the council's oversight. Now you say the council appoints the Watchers' leader, which implies they have mucho oversight.] Evidently, the other Watchers are too dysfunctional to be trusted.
The outbreak of war is the best thing that ever happened to him. Shem finally gets his to chance to fight evil—and is suddenly swimming in more respect and praise than he can handle. But the war isn't going well, [If his first chance to fight evil is going badly, why is he getting so much praise?] and he blames the council. Some days it seems they aren't even trying. [They're the Randy Moss of angelic councils.] He begins to investigate the council's origins, fining only secrets and misdirection at every turn.
Desperate for information about his own homeland's history, he turns to an unlikely source: Cain. The First Murderer and enemy general mistrusts his supposed allies, too; an alliance of necessity is formed. [I can see turning to Cain if he needs an ally; why did he turn to Cain for information about his homeland's history? Cain was, after all, an unlikely source. Aren't there any likely sources? Plus, if I'm a leader and I'm at war with demons and wizards, I think I'll put off the history lesson till things quiet down.] Shemyaza knows he's playing a dangerous game, but if he can win the war, isn't it worth it? Even if achieving peace means [destroying the entire universe?] betraying Cain and the Council?
To Serve in Heaven is a 90,000 word fantasy of power and divided loyalties. Set in another world, but infused with biblical symbols and imagery, it chronicles a young angel's growth from a naïve pawn to a canny iconoclast. May I send you the completed manuscript?
We don't need the 1st-paragraph list of examples of the types of angels who are Watchers. You could start with the second paragraph, adding what it is Shemyaza joined.
According to Wikipedia, the leader of the Watchers was named Samyaza. He also had several aliases, including Shemyazaz, Shamazya, Semiaza, Shemhazi, Semyaza, Amezyarak, and Shemp: the fourth Stooge.
So was Shemp appointed leader because they thought they could use him, or because the others were too dysfunctional? It seems the plot starts when war breaks out. The Council appoints Shemp as leader, thinking he'll be their stooge, but he surprises them and leads his team of misfits to victory. That sounds interesting, but I'm not getting that from the query.
Wait a minute, a bunch of misfits save the day--isn't this the movie Stripes, with Bill Murray as Private Shemyaza?
13 comments:
- Anonymous said...
Um...just recently read a couple of books with Grigori in them. Romances, though. Maybe yours won't seem like a repeat.
- pacatrue said...
"Wait a minute, a bunch of misfits save the day--isn't this the movie Stripes, with Bill Murray as Private Shemyaza?"
I was thinking Police Academy 9: Heavenly Hijinks.
EE, love the Randy Moss and [Angels. Can't trust em.] jokes.
As for the query, the idea does sound interesting, but the query confuses me as it is.
- Dave Fragments said...
try something like:
Demons and Wizards have declared war on the Angels in Heaven and the angel Shemyaza, reluctant leader of the Watchers and bumbling nerd, has to find a way to save the Celestial City.
Then you have to make a suspenseful and exciting statement about how or why Shemyaza elists Cain's aid to win the war.
Now I have a philosophical bone to pick. Isn't Shemyaza's solution a little existential? Doesn't making the end (victory) justify the means (dealing with the damned) seem just a little "situational ethics" to you? Let me ask it this way - is Shemyaza morally ambivalent and ethically ambiguous? That's more exciting than a nerdy, clumsy angel BTW.
- Anonymous said...
Shemyaza is, of course, a Jesuit.
- Kate Thornton said...
Loved the GTPs - I couldn't pick out the real one!
I am confused about the story, though. Is it set in Paris (the City of Light) or Rome (the Eternal City) or Waukegan (the clocks stopped here)?
And the council is confusing to me, too. What exactly is it that they do?
I love these religious fantasy stories - but I need to know more about what goes on in this one.
- Robin S. said...
Well, I've learned a lot here today, Googling all over the freakin' place, to find out who Randy Moss is, to find out about
Grigori, and, earlier today, to find out about Melanie Mills and her 'gang' of aliases.
Apparently I don't get out much. All this time, and I never knew that.
Anyway, while confused a little by the plotline drawn by the query, (my guess is this is one that reads better than it sounds in this iteration of its query form) I'm also interested.
(And also, may I just say that when I looked these guys up on wikipedia, following in EE's footsteps, I was more than a little bummed to find out that when angel guys and human women got together, their offspring turn out to be hideous giants. I mean, what's that about? Angels + beautiful women = GIANTS?! What the hell - so to speak. That's the only choice? Well, honestly. What a comedown.)
- writtenwyrdd said...
Storm Constantine (I think it's him anyhow) has a whole series of dark fantasy books about the Grigori, btw.
I think the letter is not yet doing the story justice. Dave's version sounded good, and I really liked his point in the second paragraph. The situation is a bit off for what one might expect of the judeo christian heaven. Not that I care, seeing as I am neither jewish nor christian. Just sayin' it might make this a strange one to sell. Then again, Sympathy For The Devil made Hell a bunch of bureaucrats.
I'd expect this to be a high fantasy sort of story, based on the elements you describe. And it sounded like it could be a good read. Good luck on the revisions.
- none said...
Storm Constantine is a her not a him!
- Stacia said...
I agree. Sounds like the story is better than the query.
An I read about Grigori in Garth Ennis' Preacher. EE, I'm shocked you haven't read that one.
- GutterBall said...
They're the Randy Moss of angelic councils.
God, I'm glad it's almost football season again. I missed it.
- Anonymous said...
It seems that the word "misfits" means something different to most of you than I had intended. Shem is neither bumbling nor a nerd; he's a courageous warrior whose impulsive, independent nature gets him in trouble with authority.
@Dave. First off, as something of an existentialist myself, I'm not sure your characterization of existentialism is fair. Existnetialism is perfectly capable of informing moral action.
That said, ignoring the word "existentialist" and addressing your question-- Shem isn't morally ambivalent. He always does what he thinks is right. He is, however, quite ethically ambiguous. As a matter of fact, in the first draft he was called "Lucifer."
I do like your suggested opening though, and am working on a query based on it.
- Anonymous said...
I shall await your rewrite, Orion! Please post it. Just stepped in here while watching "Fallen," which also has Grigori in it, which made me think of your query and all the awesome GTPs. This was one of the better lots of GTPs as far as consistent snortiliciousness! Just have to commend all the GTP authors!
Others have addressed my same concerns with the query, with one exception. Is this really set in another world, in an alternate reality, on another plane or what? Just wondering how/why Cain is still considered the "First Murderer" if this is another world. I could easily get biblical allusions related to heaven and hell on another world, but not earth-history-related allusions.
- Anonymous said...
To answer your question, Phoenix, it's set on another world entirely, but with named analogues to many biblical (and extrabiblical) phenomena. Besides angels and demons,we have the Trinity, the Tree of Life, The Messiah, Adam and Eve, and more.
(I don't cram all that into one story, of course, but it's out there in the setting)
While I'm working on the re-write, could anyone still reading tell me which of these is a better hook? Neither is perfectly polished, but I'm having trouble deciding. Combined with Dave's suggestion, that's three possible directions.
In a flying city paved with pyrite, the Council of Archangels reigns. For centuries they've, used demons and angels, kings and wizards like pieces on a chessboard. The trouble begins when a white knight tries to break the rules.
Young angel Shemyaza has had one wish as long as he can remember: to exterminate black magic and those who use it. When the war breaks out, his dreams should come true. Instead, he discovers that the greatest obstacle to victory is not his enemies—it's his friends.


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Yesterday in Nalles, the last-but-one competition of the Internazionali d'Italia Membrana Respira Cup has taken place. Such important results for the KTM International Team managed by Gianfranco Bechis.
The first athlete at the starting line has been the French junior Claire Hassenfratz who has taken part to her first competition in Italy. A third place, which follows the eight position, got at the event of Houffalize devoted to Junior category.
The next competition scheduled for the KTM International Team will be the Bundesliga race, which will take place next weekend in Heubach.
For more information
ktm international team – press office
SAM Italia Sas di Massimo Bechis e Simona Cattelan
Phone (+39) 393.9399967 – (+39) 393.9889519
Email [email protected] – [email protected]


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Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Brian Kilmeade to express what he calls the embarrassing and frustrating situation of a looming government shutdown. Lankford said the Senate needs at least ten democrats to join republicans to avoid a shutdown and with the exception of possibly Senator Manchin, the rest of the democrats are voting no to protest DACA not being part of the continuing resolution. Senator Lankford described how he was disinvited from the bipartisan meetings on immigration reform because he wants to have border security tied into any deal on DACA. When asked for a prediction on avoiding a government shutdown, Lankford said he can't imagine a deal will be struck because democrats refuse to talk border security.
Listen here:


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Listed below are books I've read that I recommend anyone to add to their library.
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin – Best book I've read so far in 2018
Predictable Success by Les McKeown – Decent read, not super intriguing. This is probably most helpful for a manager in a large organizations.
Principles by Ray Dalio – This is one of the longest books I've read in a while, but certainly worth the read. Two thumbs up.
The Art of War by General Sun Tsu – Fabulous book.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni- One of my top five favorite books of all time. It's an easy read that can be polished off in a few hours. Very, very good book.
What to Say When You Talk to Yourself by Shad Helmstetter- I've had this book for nearly 10 years and finally decided to read it over the Christmas holiday. It was better than I thought it would be.
Dollars and Sense by Dan Ariely – This is a must read for anyone interested in the psychology of money and how we value it.
Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool – Great book about how all of can achieve extraordinary things by engaging in deliberate practice. Debunks the myth that greatness is innate.
The Obstacle is The Way by Ryan Holiday – Great book about embracing difficulties and overcoming obstacles. Instead of avoiding obstacles, this book teaches that the obstacle is actually the way.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz – Ben chronicles his experience as a first time CEO and provides tips and advice about how to handle the hard things that you normally can't find in management books.
The Money of Invention by Paul Gompers & Josh Lerner – This book provides a thorough history and background on venture capital both domestically and internationally
The Creator's Code by Amy Wilkinson – This book is about the six essential skills of extraordinary entrepreneurs. It is a very well-written book.
Rework by Jason Fried & David Hansson – Two entrepreneurs explain why rejecting commonly used business processes and culture is better for business.
Sprint by Jake Knapp – Three Google Ventures employees outline their strategy for how to solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days
The Intelligent Entrepreneur by Bill Murphy Jr. – A venture capital insider reveals how to get from your start-up to IPO on your terms
Mastering the VC Game by Jeffrey Bussgang – A venture capital insider reveals how to get from your start-up to IPO on your terms
Business Valuation by David Perkins – Concise overview of business valuation of small and midsize private companies
Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur by Dermot Berkey – Obtain funding from venture capitalist at the best terms possible
The Third Wave by Steve Case – An entrepreneurs vision of the future and the role technology will play in everyone's lives (♥)
Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb – Things that gain from disorder
Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb – The hidden role of chance and life in the markets
The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins – Critical success strategies for new leaders at all levels
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
The Rainforest by Victor Hwang and Greg Horowitt – The secret to building the next silicon valley


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Today you are used to platforms being all about the booking, but we understand that making a booking is only one step of the travel experience. Create seamless approval workflows to suit your travel program.Learn more
Finding the right flight, hotel and ground transport can be very time consuming and painful. Travelport Locomote was designed to work the way you work.Learn more
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Travel risk management and duty of care are high on any company's list of concerns. We've made it easier to enhance your compliance standards.Learn more
The platform enables provider customers and their evolving technologies to deliver the widest choice of relevant content for travel buyers and consumers.Learn More
Assess your travel policies performance, while having the ability to isolate areas of improvement to help you reduce costs and save time.Learn More
Every company is unique, that's why Locomote was designed to work the way you work. Book, edit, chat and view your itinerary all on the go.Learn More


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Migration means, 'move from one place to settle in another'. When piercings migrate, they literally travel through the skin and settle in a different position from the original piercing.
A piercing that migrates will usually move a few millimetres out of its original location. This is also called 'parking'. Sometimes this is because the piercee might be allergic to the metal and so should also display the signs of metal hypersensitivity.
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Latest Release!
Unshakable Love- Book 1 in the new Shelter Sisters series
He's watching.
Meena thinks that she has it made when she wins the lotto with her five closest friends. They have big plans and she's thrilled with the chance to spend more time with her three-year-old son, Deven and create her one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces. But then the emails start coming.
In Haiku.
Her new pen pal is totally devoted, and totally freaking her out. She already gets recognized for winning the lotto, and this makes her even more paranoid about going out in public.
Army Paratrooper Kaleb Muller is thrilled when he runs into Meena while he's off his Army base running errands in Leavenworth. He tells himself he just wants to make sure his best friend's widow is okay, but when he spends time with her and Deven, he realizes the feelings for her that he had been trying to ignore are still there. When he learns about the stalker, he's determined to help. If he can get to her see him as more than a friend along the way, all the better.
Read the first pages by clicking here.
Four easy Christmas candy recipes
I love Christmastime and all of the delicious Christmas treats. When I was growing up my mom spent several evenings making scads of treats to give away to friends and neighbors. Though I don't live in such a close-knit neighborhood and many of my friends are too far...
Frog-Eye Salad Recipe
One of my family favorite edit for gatherings at any time of year is Frog-Eye Salad. I've also seen this called Hawaiian pasta salad or just acini de pepe salad (after the pasta in the salad). I've seen it with a custard base, or with boxed pudding mix. with two cans...


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The doors in your home play an essential role in protecting your property from the harsh Midwestern elements and unwanted intruders, so shouldn't they meet the highest standards of quality, efficiency, and durability? Getting the replacement doors you need to protect your greatest investment is easier than ever with Your Home Improvement Company, and we offer a wide range of products and services that include:
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Cupfone gives users a messaging board that they control. It is completely private to the point that you aren't even searchable. Instead, the web app lets you create intimate connections with the people you constantly contact, in a closed off conversation.
Each conversation is one simple feed, and you can invite people to connect with you through your own Cupfone link. You can also star messages and share pictures. You can use your birth name or nickname, and pseudonyms are encouraged. You can also rename your contacts without them knowing that you have. Because Cupfone only focuses on messaging, the application is very simple to use and there aren't any other distractions.
Unlike email and social networks, the "noise" level in Cupfone is completely removed. You can have one connection or a dozen, you decide who you invite. Spam is removed because there is an invitation system in place. Cupfone is your own messaging board, that respects your privacy.
Last updated 6 Aug 2015