Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a man in a wealthy nation.  This man was the head of a popular political family in this country and had a lot of wealth and influence in the nation.  Eventually this man would go on the be the most powerful man in the country, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. 

During this time, there was a country across the sea which was causing him trouble, so he decided to invade.  The war was a bloody one, but in the end, our leader was forced to withdraw his troops and call it a loss.  Though he was praised for some minor victories, he could never forget the goals he did not accomplish there.

Not long after that, his son came of age, growing in popularity and also becoming commander-in-chief.  Throughout his childhood he heard the laments of his father over his losses across the Sea and also took on a hatred for these people.  He vowed to take up the cause of his father and to finish what is father had started. 

As soon as the opportunity presented itself, enhanced by propoganda against the foreigners, the son invaded the land across the sea with a huge force that he was sure could win the war.  After fighting and fighting, winning many battles but loosing too many men for his popularity and supply to last, he too was forced to give up.  And though he won some battles, was forced to admit defeat…

He resigns, goes home, and becomes  a popular statesman. 

–

This is the story of Hamilcar and Hannibal Barca, Carthaginian generals in the Punic Wars against Rome.  This sounds too familiar to many people today though as it is a story that is repeated often throughout time.

Philip wanted the known world united by Macedonians, and Alexander made it happen, only to die prematurely and have his work divided and dissolved right after his death.

Marcus Aurelius the philosopher-king and poet groomed his son, Commodus, to rule with love and an appreciation for the classics.  However, in learning about Greece and the things his father loved, he only began to love himself.  He named himself Hercules and Zeus.  Eventually he would come to be known as the Beginning of the End of the Roman Empire.   

These stories go on and on to modern times.  Each story of a son trying to win the fights of his father end poorly.  And in the end, it seems that the nation, not the son himself seems to suffer much.  Sons are lost, empires fall, orphans are made: all for naught. 

To my knowledge in all of human history one son has come and fulfilled the work of his father, perfectly.

Persian soldiers, on a glazed relief from Susa, now in the Louvre.

You can leave it to archaeologists to make exaggerated claims and you can leave it to journalists to swallow the nonsense. The readers of this little blog know that I have introduced the Ctesias Scale to measure poor archaeological journalism. A possible example of wilful disinformation was the announcement, earlier this week, that the remains of Cambyses‘ lost army had been found: go here or here for examples.

The story: in 525 BCE, the Persian king Cambyses conquered Egypt. After that, he sent an army to the west, to conquer the Oracle of Ammon. It never reached the place, and the Greek researcher Herodotus says that it was destroyed by a violent desert storm. Now, two Italian archaeologists, the twin brothers Alfredo and Angelo Castiglioni, claim to have found remains of the army, partly on a sheltered place where people might have tried to find cover against a sandstorm.

There are two reasons to be suspicious.

In the first place, Herodotus is not a very reliable author. Not because he is not interested in the truth: on the contrary, he is certainly one of the most truthloving writers of the ancient world. But it was hard to get correct information, and Herodotus was standing in a tradition that appreciated an artful presentation. So, in his Histories, Xerxes‘ failed expedition is mirrored by the failures of earlier Persian rulers. So, Herodotus says that Cyrus was defeated by the Massagetes (according to Xenophon, Cyrus died of natural causes); that Darius lost a navy in a storm at the Athos; that Darius also lost an army during a Scythian campaign; and that Cambyses lost an army in the desert. These stories are not necessarily untrue, but the repetition makes one suspicious. I would not be surprised if some of these stories were created by Herodotus because he believed they had to have happened.

But even if we assume that Cambyses sent out an expedition to the Oracle of Ammon, there is still a reason not to believe the claim by our two Italian archaeologists. What they have found, or claim to have found, is a set of Persian weapons (e.g., arrowheads), skulls, and bones. Even if we assume that they are indeed Persian, it is a serious logical fallacy to assume that they belong to soldiers of Cambyses’ campaign. The Persians controled Egypt for more than a century (from 525 to c.401) and there must have been dozens of occasions on which soldiers were sent to the west. All these expeditions may have found itself lost in the western desert. What archaeologists can find, is evidence that a Persian army got into trouble; but stating that the finds belonged to a particular expedition is introducing a secundum quid. I think we must be suspicious.

Postscript

Perhaps this message at Andie Byrnes’ Egyptology Blog may be relevant too; although it leaves the Cambyses story itself unchallenged, it suggests that the Castiglionis are not completely bona fide. That may be mudslinging, but I think that suspicion about the report is completely justifiable.

Postpostscript

It helps to check the facts; David Meadows investigated the case. The journalists who swallowed this nonsense, ought to be under orders to read his article.

No, this isn’t going to be yet another of those postings where the author announces that they’re going to stop posting for a while and signposts this with an hilarious pastiche of Test Card F wherein the girl’s face is replaced by that of Scatman John or somesuch. No siree, Out On Blue Six would never resort to such a cliched tactic, and anyway, as everyone knows, whenever there’s going to be no posts for a while because of mentals getting angry about people laughing at half hour comedy shows and how New Doctor Who is full of gay agenda not like good old Meglos, this is invariably heralded by a stroppy message, a picture of some obscure Francoise Hardy EP, and Catherine Tate taking over for a week. Instead, in the popular Out On Blue Six tradition of surreally ridiculing ancient TV continuity devices, it’s time to take a look at some of the more bizarre variants of Test Card F, with illustrations provided as ever by our old pals at TV Ark:

The original and, depending on how you look at it, best! Yes, it’s weirdly-dressed Carole Hersee and her unsettling gaudy-assembly-of-primary-colours pal Bubbles (“this shit ain’t right, sir”) poised immobile in their Seventh Seal-esque unending game of noughts and crosses, rightly revered for their spooking of entire decades’ worth of youngsters who had accidentally turned on before TV ’started’ and couldn’t understand what in the name of Sara & Hoppity this weird programme actually was, and looking exactly how you try not to remember it. But hang on a minute…

What madness is this? Granada?? It seems that our favourite fear-causers are not content with their hold over the unwary BBC audience, and have decided to implement a ‘no escape’ policy and branch out by taking the ITV regions by force. Like some crazy Murders McFadden & Whitehead, there Ain’t No Stoppin’ Them Now…

Onto something slightly less terrifying, then. Just as the BBC used to sell Play School in ‘kit’ form to overseas broadcasters, so they could refashion the props and scripts to suit their own purposes and dye Humpty in ‘poison’ colours etc, so they would strike similar deals with Test Card F, allowing our global compatriots to opt for slightly less chilling combinations of girl/clown. Here’s how Sweden’s Sveriges TV, famous makers of Xerxes, interpreted the classic design, incorporating a girl who appears to have stolen the top half of her wig from Ken Korda and the bottom half from Pat Sharp, and what is very clearly a discarded Hamble from their own concurrent Play School purchase.

Meanwhile, here’s a more thoughtful and spiritually-leaning interpretation from MBC, the curious Arabic cable channel of the early nineties that only seemed to show about three programmes at a million o’clock in the morning, all of which appeared to have been made in the same room. Also, someone came down the chimney on one once.

Over on The Comedy Channel, being somewhat less concerned with meditative contemplation than they were with Bill Cosby putting all of the plates in the dish washer so that they can be of washed up for the lunch, they opted instead for a not-particularly-comedy-related shot of some goldfish swimming around a deep sea diver out of one of those ‘Bill’ and ‘Dean’-centric Fisher-Price Adventure Playsets. Mind you, it’s really only here in the absence of the legendary Test Card adopted by its spiritual heir Paramount Comedy for the conclusion of a hard day’s showing of endless variations on Greg fretting because Dharma couldn’t understand why she should let ‘them’ stop her from wearing sweaters as trousers – an utterly bewildering photo of a giant chicken standing astride a gridlocked ‘freeway’ of randomly flashing car lights with an Flaming Lips-like orchestra of elongated car horns sounding in the background.

And here’s BSB, early sattelite home of hour upon hour upon hour of nothing interspersed by clunking satire shows featuring the young Armando Iannucci and Stewart Lee (“BOO! HISS!”) and marathon showings of Doctor Who linked by writers who had lost the ability to say anything bar ‘Padmasambhava’, trying to lure in the overnight viewers with Sky Magazine’s idea of a ’sexy’ female posing as a director. Clearly a resounding success.

And finally, what you’ve all been waiting for – a station devoted exclusively to the showing of William Hartnell-era episodes of Doctor Who. Free Delegates For All!

Well, that’s about it for now, but why not treat yourself to an official Televisions Namnden Countdown Clock? Just give it a try and you’ll agree zagreb evrem zlotyk diev!

The darksome gods of yesterday aren’t as dead as we would like to think, their horns exposed from time to time by shifting sands and forgotten maps leading to the wrong destinations. They live in our minds and memories, in places sequestered and black but pulsating with sparks of life. As long as their names are known and spoken they shall be worshiped, for speech itself is a sort of devotion.

Amun still lives among the oases, an asp in a sun bleached skull, an endless field of bones strewn across the Sahara, in the same places his oracles danced and prayed in ammonia fed dreams that felt like waking life. He is hidden like the fifty thousand Persian corpses lost in the sand, is revealed through his power, like the searing desert wind that disinters their lost skeletons, is gleaming like the exposed gold they once wore. Stepping effortlessly over the bloated decay of three thousand years as if they were but Cambyses or Xerxes, history is a thorny spiral adorning his crown.

How little things have changed.

All the king’s officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect. … Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire. Their laws are different from those of any other nation, and they refuse to obey even the laws of the king.” (3:2,8)

My paraphrase:

Marty stepped on Harry’s toes. So now Harry very vocally argues that Marty and his ilk are unrepentant, unredeemable lawbreakers.

Haman suggests that the king make a decree for all the Jews to be killed. Haman offers to bribe the king, but the king turns it down, and seems to non-chalantly issue the decree, or, rather give Haman the authority to issue the decree.

I wonder how often ancient kings made decrees like these. Just in the Bible, there are at least three decrees like this that come to mind: one by the Egyptians, one by Xerxes here, and one by Herod. This is the most extreme of the three. I understand that ancient life was very brutal, and victors often slaughtered wholesale the losers. But I still wonder how often this happened. It seemed to be a non-event to Xerxes, so he was either really insulated and out of touch, or did this kind of thing fairly frequently. Either way, kind of scary. Again, it makes me grateful that I live in this era in this part of the world. It also makes me sad that this type of thinking still exists.

I also was thinking a little bit more about the way the king seems to make these decrees: first that all men will rule their wives; second that all Jews will be killed. The run up to them seems to follow a pattern:

1. Somebody gets offended and worked up by something one person does.
2. They decide that the punishment needs to be generalized to all of the offender’s peers.
3. The king is presented with a decree.
4. He says, “sure”.

A couple of points about this, in relation to the king’s power.

First, the king’s power ends up as an implement of his emotions. Like I mentioned when talking about chapter 1, this seems to be an example of a common problem with kings. Western governments are set up to obstruct this kind of runaway emotional flexing of political muscles. In the US, Congress vs. President and Senate vs. House (theoretically) provide a check on this kind of power. Given the audience of the book of Esther, this kind of absolute power does not come across in the best light. While many religious people might gloss over the decree in chapter 1, when you get to the decree in chapter 3, it compels you to reexamine the quality of the decree in chapter 1. In general, this (and just about everything else in history) make me very wary of snap actions of any government.

Second, I wonder how much the king felt obligated to wield his power just because he had it. In chapter 1, a solution to his marital difficulties could have been to seek counseling. Or, he could have quietly relegated Vashti to his “been there” harem. Or he could have very publicly dismissed her. Or, he could have very publicly dismissed her and used his unique power as king to emphasize the point. In chapter 3, the root of the problem (Mordecai’s unwillingness to bow to Haman) is totally lost by the time the king is confronted. He just knows that there is a Problem that only the king can deal with, and here is a Solution. I assume he was busy and didn’t have time to learn all the details of everything he dealt with. But it also seems that he felt obligated, because he alone had kingly power, to deal with these problems with his kingly power. So, I guess, this is a reminder that you don’t always need to meet every challenge with your top guns. Sometimes, a more subtle reaction is better.

Esther becomes queen in this chapter. Not much of a reason is given for her ascent other than her beauty and that she pleased the king.

The general tone of the chapter reminds me of the beginning of Daniel — an exile who gains the favor of a foreign king.

The timelines caught my attention. Xerxes had only been king 7 years when he made Esther queen. Esther spent a year preparing to meet the king. I was surprised how little time Xerxes had been in charge, and how long Esther (and all the other candidates for queen) devoted to preparation.

Abraham, the Patriarch of the Jewish faith and the spiritual forefather of Christians, as per chapter 18 of the Book of Genesis, in The BIBLE, when in conversation with the angels who had come in the guise of wayfarers to announce the birth of a son to Abraham and Sarah broached on the topic of Sodom and Gomorrah,  asks the angels in disguise, if there were 50 righteous people would they spare the city of Sodom from destruction. Thus Abraham in multiples of 10 reaches the last ten, asks the angels if they would desist from destroying the city, if there were only 10 righteous persons? The angels agree and depart. We know from the latter part of the book of Genesis that there were only 4 who would find grace and also out of that 4, one became a PILLAR OF SALT (Lot’s Wife).

Let us look into the BOOK OF ESTHER in The Bible, where the minister HAMAN has a running feud with Mordecai, the Cousin of Esther the Queen to Xerxes. Haman to spite Mordecai gets a decree passed by Xerxes that  anyone could plunder the Jews and pillage and kill them and that the Jews would not have the protection of the state. The state was by no means small. 127 provinces stretching from Ethiopia to India. So here we have a character HAMAN who wants all the Jews to be slaughtered so that the people of Mordecai could be wiped out.

Contrast this with the first part of the blog. ABRAHAM wanted to save the city for the sake of 10 good men and HAMAN wanted to destroy an ethnic group just to settle his personal scores with a single INDIVIDUAL. This attitude of Abraham was LIFE ORIENTED and the attitude of HAMAN was ANTI-LIFE. It is that which brings about the downfall of the man Haman.

PRO LIFE attitude breeds and sustains LIFE, whereas ANTI-LIFE attitude brings about death , destruction and chaos.

What Haman missed out was a crucial piece of information. HAMAN did not find out the ethnic background of ESTHER- in that she was a Jewess. Mordecai had instructed her that she should not divulge that she was a Jewess. Hegai did not probably know, or did and concealed it well. Why did Mordecai want Esther to conceal that she was a Jewess? Could be a zillion reasons. One is that Jews were as greedy then as now and there was a general ill-feeling and therefore to avoid further heartburn had instructed Esther to conceal, or that the Jews having survived the onslaught of the Assyrians, Babylonians and being in exile did not think it wise to advertise their occupation of crucial positions within the political hierarchy. In any case that was a good strategy!! Otherwise Haman would have had a whiff of the ethnic lot of Esther and would not have ventured to get the decree passed. And Jews would not have instituted PURIM to disguise the moral fall of a Jewess, who went to get married to a non-jew Xerxes!!

IN ALL, LIFE BREEDS LIFE AND ANTI-LIFE ALWAYS BOOMERANGS!! ABRAHAM LIVED AT LEAST 80 YEARS AFTER THE EPISODE, BUT HAMAN DIED ON THE SECOND DAY OF THE BANQUET!!

History vs. 300

When you watch the movie 300, the first impression you may get is, “This can’t be what really happened?”

Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 does not really depict the accuracies that history intends to have.  However, there are the names and battles that really did happen. However, the way the movie portrays them are off.

Let’s start with what we can clearly find in our history books. The main character of the movie, King Leonidas, really did lead 300 Spartan warriors against the Persian Empire, and not alone. Aided by other Greek city-states, the 300 Spartans totaled to about 6,500 all together.

What we also know is the Persian king, Xerxes. Though in the movie, Xerxes is portrayed as a giant of a man. From ancient carvings and readings, the portrayal of the Persian king in the movie is not accurate at all.

Other characters of the movie were also factual people. The Persian Immortals were shown in the movie as ugly-masked beasts who could barely understand normal human emotion. The Spartan traitor, Ephialtes, did show the Persians a passage way to get to the Spartans as the movie had shown and also, the description of the days of battle was correct.

So, after review, this movie did have some facts correct with names and battles, but putting King Leonidas as the main character presented some issues because there is not enough background on the real person. The movie and novel had to create a false story for him so the movie could be interesting.

When you watch 300, if you are planning on getting an in-depth, fact-base story, you will be sorry.

In this one, History wins.

Do predictions ever come true or are they predicated on good luck and providence? A throw of the dice, a flick of Tarot cards and the turn of the Ouija board have been used as means of determining the rise and fall of Empires. Hitler was known to be heavily reliant on Clairvoyants and sought advice before venturing into battle.Alexander the Great in the spring of 331 BC visited the great temple of Amon-Ra, Egyptian god of the sun which the Greeks worshiped and identified with Zeus to determine his divinity and to find out whether those associated with his father’s death had been suitably punished.. Julius Caesar prone to superstitions and fears had sought Ministrations from an Augury who had informed him that it was unsafe to visit the Capitol on the ides of March. Calpurnia, his wife had a dream in which she saw Caesar prostrate on the senate floor and the Roman hoi polloi had bathed their hands in his blood, but he persisted anyway and he was assassinated by Brutus and his cohorts.

The Spartan King, Leonidas sought assurance from the Temple of Delphi before going into battle against Xerxes at Thermopylae in 430 BC.He was warned that he would not come back alive, but he chose destiny over common sense and changed the history of Europe forever.. Do predictions come true? According to legend, the Roman emperor, Augustus ran into a young fellow named Galba and had said to him in latin”Tu quo que,Galba de gustabis imperiium” which translated into English meant as follows “You, too Galba will taste of Empire”.Galba went on to become emperor of Rome after the suicide of Nero in 68 AD.

Emperor Domitian (Dominus et Deus) had a dream the night he was assassinated that a golden head grew out of the nape of his head.The prophecy came true.The succession that followed him turned out to be golden times for the Roman empire. It referred to the reign of the five good emperors (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius). Caligula dreamt that Jupiter deserted him the night he was struck down by assassins who sought to impose a Republic on Rome.

During the War of the Roses, Henry VI had said to the young chap who gave him a pitcher of water; “Here is the lad who will inherit the labors for which we strive”. The lad went on to become King Henry VII of England. There was an olden saying in the past that “when HEMPE is spoone, England is donne”. This was interpreted to mean the demise of England after the reign of the Tudor Monarchs (HEMPE meant Henry V111, Edward V1, Mary, Philip of Spain and finally Elizabeth the first).In reality it meant the accession of the Stuarts after the demise of the last Tudor Monarch, Elizabeth, the first on March 23, 1603 and the change of name from England to Great Britain.

The French Astrologer, Nostradamus was especially keen on predictions. His book,Centuries divided into quatrains gave a forecast of the times to come. Referring to the Great Fire of London in 1666, he said as follows; “The blood of the just will be demanded of London burnt by fire in three times twenty plus six. The ancient lady will fall from her high position and many of the same denomination will be killed”.
Regarding the abdication which rocked the British Royal family and forced Edward VIII from the throne of England he said as follows: “For not wanting to consent to the divorce which then afterwards will be recognized as unworthy, the king of the islands will be forced to flee and one put in his place who has no sign of kingship”. The brother in question was George V1, the father of the Queen of England, Elizabeth the second.Nostradamus was also alleged to have predicted the 9/11 attacks on the Twin towers of the World trade centre and the rise of Adolf Hitler.

I am awful at making predictions. But I am almost certain that the only prediction that I make in this blog will come to fruition. Barack Obama will certainly win a second term of office as President of the USA come 2012.

So here we are, at my newest Problems and Perspectives post! This means that I need you guys to give me your opinions on the matter so I can try to figure out how best to tackle the problem and help the team. I know I’ve made a post in the past on the Loreon Gods, but this one is focused primarily on one subject: The Loreon gods, and how best to represent how strong they are.

The Elemental Lords

A Common Misconception

The Elemental Lords have taken a massive place in several events in the past. From the Storm war in DF, to the Devourer Saga in AQ, the Elemental Lords are an ever present power and one that you never truly get away from. Yet there is one massive mistake many people make when they think of the Elemental Lords.

Power.

Many people think that the Elemental Lords are nothing more than overgrown humans with super powers. However, this is not the case. At all. Warlic’s defeat of the Avatars of the Elemental Lords was a major point that makes the Elemental Lords appear weaker than even the demi-power of War. But let there be no mistake, the Elemental Lords are all power.

Falerin’s Take

One of the main reasons I made this post was to both show how AE could fix this massive problem, and to show people just how powerful the Elemental Lords are in the world of Lore. Falerin made a post in the Speculations&Theories area of the Battleon Forums which really sheds light on this issue. The entire post can be found here. Here’s an important quote by our resident God of Evil:

The Draconic Avatars are quite decidedly weaker than the elemental lords. It is quite curious that people always want to demote the elemental lords to some sort of lesser god. They control every aspect of the elements in every thing in which that element is contained. The elemental lords of Fire, Water, Wind, Energy, and Earth could all end life in a being without even trying and in some very unplesant ways. Light Darkness and Ice also could do so though in somewhat less direct ways.

Just a few examples:

Fire in the biological sense includes very basic things like cellular respiration. The breaking down of glucose into ATP and ATP into energy. Fire could stop ANY thermal process dead. Or accelerate it so far out of control that the person burns from within.

Energy could stop the flow of all ion channels in ones neurons and end life instantly without thinking.

Water is a given right. Living beings and most unliving beings depend on water for most everything.

Earth controls the very basic cohesion of solid matter.

Their control over their own element is absolute excepting where the Paraelemental and Quasielemental intersections occur and it is there that their work together is so required. Living beings are the single strongest evidence that the lords are not at war as were it so life would cease. The elemental lords are the arm of Lorithia herself. They are the vehicle by which creation is driven.

You can plainly see just what the Elemental Lords are capable of.

A Few Solutions

So now that we’ve all seen what the Elemental Lords can do, what can be done to right the problem?

There are several ideas that have been tossed around, and I’ll post them along with some of my own.

Powerful Beings

Beings in the world of Lore often seem far too ambiguous in their power. Warlic is able to go toe to toe and defeat the Avatars of the Elemental Lords, but unable to break down Drakonnan’s barrier in DF for fear of  generating too much mana. Xerxes was able to successfully fight and even (Once) defeat War Incarnate. Limkragg was a Draconic Avatar, but we were able to defeat him rather easily with some help from Cyrus and Galanoth.

What do all these things have in common? They ruin the scale of power in the games. The best solution to all this would be to add very simple and concise explanations to quests where beings of amazing strength are seen. Have an NPC explain just how these people are able to do what they do.

Lady Celestia: Warlic is able to stand up against the Elemental Avatars because of the massive amount of mana that he has at his disposal. However, using that much power take a massive toll on him.

Cyrus: Xerxes has spent his entire life fighting and training, and the power of a very.. Special party, gives him an added advantage.

See? A few simple dialog boxes not only deepens the story, it also gives people an idea of just how powerful these people and things are.

More Cutscenes

Yes, I am a cutscene buff, but that is not the only reason that I include this as a point.

Too often in AQ, things are left a little too much in the grey area. I realize that many things cannot be done due to engine limitations and confusion, but something as massive and integral as the very gods and powers that shape the universe that AQ takes place in is something that should be thoroughly explored and at least partially explained.

Adding a few books to Falerin’s library (That are accurate, unlike the books on the Devourer found there) would be a massive step. Having the character speak with Falerin directly would be an even better move, since he is our resident Loremaster. This would be a purely optional area, where Falerin would explain a variety of subjects. From Lorithia and The’Galin to beings on the same scale as Warlic, Falerin would be able to clarify just where everyone stood in terms of power.

Having a god from another realm tell the player just what was up would make people perk up and take heed. Falerin is a popular and cool character, and one that would be able to effectively, realistically, and thoroughly explain the Loreon pantheon.

Battling the Avatars

Yes, I know that this is a very touchy subject, and one that many people have tried to push in the past to no avail.

I by no means suggest that the player character fight with one of the Elemental Lords themselves. It would be pure stupidity in the highest measure. However, unless my guess, Fiamme and the other Avatars from DF will may than likely exist in the AQ world as well. Allowing the player character to fight a being like this (And of course lose horribly) would help people understand just what the Elemental Lords can do. It would be akin to what The’Galin did to you in the Last Battle, albeit in a much quicker fashion. This is the most sketchy of my ideas, and if the other two were done well enough, this would be completely unnecessary.

Final Statements

So there ya go. The problem, its solution, and various ways to not only heighten the story, but also prevent any problems from arising in the future. The gods of Lore are an important part of all the games, particularly AQ, which may see visits from other pantheons in the future. It’s a great benefit to those who wish to understand the story, and something grand enough to (possibly) pull people who normally skip cutscenes into the game.

Thanks for reading guys! As usual, I need all of your opinions on this one!

Title: The Spartans
Author: JJPOR
Rating: Teen
Word Count:
Characters: Second Doctor, Polly, Ben Jackson, Jamie McCrimmon
Setting / Era: 5th C BC Greece, Xerxes

A proper, glorious historical with everybody perfectly in character. There really isn’t enough Two, Ben and Polly left in the archives, but fan fiction like this makes up for a lot. And then, as a historical, it’s great, not just in the obvious way, but in dealing with Ben and Jamie’s now also historical attitudes to things. And everything involving Two and Polly is just wonderful. So, yes, go read – now!

This week saw the end of the massively important War saga. Many secrets were revealed, still more were created, and some truly awesome rewards were created as well. Let’s get down to business.

Big Bad Vartai! (The Destroyer: Part 3)

About

The time has come. After your defeat of Panic and Carnage, only War and his lap dog Mayhem remain to be dealt with.

You, Galanoth, and Cyrus all stand on a hill near the mountain where War’s altar can be found. The three of you are planning your next move while waiting for Xerxes to arrive on the scene. Massive explosions and the ruckus of battle can be heard in the distance, and Mayhem enters the scene, promising that you and your friends will be dealt with soon by his master. He then summons a swarm of his corrupted minions to combat you, and the battle begins.

After dealing with four of his beasts, Galanoth and Cyrus both wonder if this onslaught may be the end of them. The scene shifts to Mayhem, who promises that with is power and new body, he will be unstoppable, and able to produce as many servants as he wishes. Suddenly, a red circle with red runes appears beneath his feet. A shout of defiance leaves his lips, and Mayhem is blown off-screen by a massive blast of fire. Shiela and Gaspar, siblings of Cyrus, have arrived.

After dealing with the remaining minions, Mayhem once again promises death to the heroes, but a strange thing happens. His hair slowly turns yellow, and Hollow’s voice can be heard, straining to free himself from Mayhem’s control. He succeeds, and breaks his bond with the beastly creature.

Mayhem sends a few more minions our way and then retreats back to the altar. Into the scene walks Xerxes, with War Incarnate close behind him. The battle, though tough even for War, even though he is a Demi-God, is one that is being lost by Xerxes. Cyrus is shocked by this fact, and War explains that even a powerful mortal cannot defeat the power that War has. Cyrus attempts to transform into a half-dragon, but is smacked away by War’s massive blade. War the offers the defeated (But still alive) Xerxes to Mayhem, and a dark glow suffuses Xerxes’s body, leaving his eyes and axes darkened and red, an evil glow to his body.

After dealing with still more minions, the scene shifts to Xerxes and War. War muses over the power having Xerxes as a slave will give him, until Mayhem steps in.. Behind the supposedly possessed Xerxes. He’s not in there, he tells his master. ‘Oh for the love of me..’ War manages to say, and then the empowered Xerxes and War resume battle. After the most powerful strikes are unleashed by both sides, Xerxes emerges the victor.

War is shocked by his loss, but more than ready to call on all the power of his altar to combat Xerxes, who seems to be empowered by a being called ‘Ser’Mathis’. Xerxes tells War that he has called down the wrath of a god, and that he has no hope of winning. Xerxes’s body glows red, and he strikes at War, intent on never allowing the beastly creature back onto this plain of existence again! War parries the attack, if only barely.

Cyrus enters the scene, telling his brother that in order for them to able to win, they must destroy the altar that War draws his power from. Xerxes, for once, agrees with his brother, and the two rush off. War summons Mayhem to him and gives chase. At the entrance to War’s altar, you halt, and attempt to hold back Mayhem and War with Gaspar’s help while Cyrus and Xerxes deal with the altar.

After defeating Mayhem, his body changes. This man has green eyes and black hair, and a much different demeanor. He thanks you for freeing him, and then fades into thin air. War slaps away Gaspar and Shiela and proceeds into his lair, to kill the meddling Vartai who have caused such an annoyance.

Cyrus and Xerxes both summon the avatars of two of the Draconic Pentumvirate. Cyrus summons Limkragg, whom we’ve seen in the past, and Xerxes summons Ser’Mathis, a dark and powerful dragon, presumably the Dragon of Destruction. These two powerful Demi-Gods breathe fire upon War’s altar, and it is destroyed. They collapse from exhaustion, leaving only you and war in the cavern.

You fight the abomination that is War and his powerful attacks, barely managing to pull out a win. War stands, regenerating and as strong as ever. He claims that he will never be stopped, that he is more powerful than the Elemental Lords, and almost manages to claim to be more powerful than some other group, before Xerxes manages to get up enough strength to ambush War and distract him while Artix, who has recently recovered from War and Panic’s last attack, appears and heals you. He then leaves to take care of the others, and you are once again left fighting the power of War.

You win. Cracks cover the surface of War’s armor, and he curses your name, claiming that he will ruin not only your life, but that of all your descendants as well. Then  a white glow envelops him, and War Incarnate, at least on this plain of Lore, is no more. Your fatigue claims you, and you lose consciousness.

When you awaken, you find yourself near Medrovia. Cyrus tells you that War did some serious damage to you, and that he’s impress you survived at all. Shiela tells you that Artix took care of all your wounds, and then followed Xerxes into the nearby mountains. You decide to do the same.

When you find Artix and Xerxes high in the mountains, they’re both standing near a grave set amidst the ice and snow. Xerxes never truly explains whose grave it is, but tells you that he has come here to think now that the conflict with War is finally over. When you ask if the Vartai will be done working with humans now that the conflict is over, he tells you that, in order for something like this not to happen again, the humans and Vartai will have to work together more than ever, and that Cyrus is planning on opening Medrovia completely soon, so that humans may visit as well. Your character says that he looks forward to it, but hopes that he and Xerxes will not have to cross blades again any time soon.

Xerxes laughs, and claims that you’re really no fun at all. He  explains that the guard exists for more reasons than just fighting though. Then, a small blue moglin enters the picture, and Xerxes turns around to face it. The moglin exclaims ‘Aww.. Looks like the big dragon man needs a hug!’

The scene shifts back to Cyrus, Galanoth, and Gaspar, who hear a massive sonic boom. Looking up, a blue moglin can be seen flying through the air and landing somewhere far, far away. Cyrus chuckles over comic relief breaking the sound barrier, then turns his attention to more serious matters. Galanoth asks is, now that it’s obvious that humans and Vartai can work together, if their massive feud can come to an end. Cyrus says yes, now that Medrovia is being opened to all humans, that it’s high time he made a proper alliance with the Dragonsalyers and humans in general. Peace has come, and the fires that were the hatred between Vartai and Dragonslayers have been quenched.

In a realm opposite Lore’s, War can be seen, furious over his defeat at the hands of Xerxes and the other Lorians. A mysterious being enters in from behind him. This being carries a massive bow, and has sickly green skin and a head covered in green flames. It chastises War for striking too early, and promises that, when the time comes, he will succeed, where War has failed..

Pros

I’m not even going to say anything about how good the story is. The length of my above post should be enough to explain how fantastic this quest was.

The enemies posed a nice challenge, with War and Mayhem being two major challenges, as they should have been. Both took strategy and power to defeat, which makes sense, since they’re both extremely powerful beings.

The rewards were splendid as well. Though they lacked in certain areas, they are all very powerful armors, and well worth the effort of fighting through  Mayhem and War to get.

This armor once served as the vessel of War himself! Nice ain't it?

In addition to being a great quest with great rewards, this also opens up the possibility of travel to Medrovia, and promises great things as that brother of War shows himself sometime in the near future..

Cons

As I said above, the rewards were somewhat lacking in a few areas. This is not a Mastercrafted item, of course, but it could have been, which would have given people the kind of reward they were looking for at the end of an event this massive.

In addition to this, it was rather odd for us not to have a war against War himself. It would have tied in the entire ‘Vartai and humans working together’ idea, and also made a lot more sense, considering the massive power War has. But hey, this was also fine.

Other than this, the quest was as perfect as I’ve seen a release in quite a while.

Final Grade of Release

Combine the amazing storyline of this quest with the beautiful battle scenes it had, great rewards, and overall nice challenge, and you have the pinnacle of what a quest can be. I am thrilled to give this release 9.99 Punted Moglins, out of 10.

“Men have said of many of their works, “They shall endure for ever,” but how much have they been disappointed! In the age succeeding the flood, they made the brick, they gathered the slime, and when they had piled old Babel’s tower, they said, “This shall last for ever.” But God confounded their language; they finished it not. By His lightnings He destroyed it, and left it a monument of their folly. Old Pharaoh and the Egyptian monarchs heaped up their pyramids, and they said, “They shall stand for ever,” and so, indeed, they do stand; but the time is approaching when age shall devour even these.

So with all the proudest works of man, whether they have been his temples or his monarchies; he has written “Everlasting” on them, but God has ordained their end, and they have passed away. The most stable things have been evanescent as shadows and the bubbles of an hour, speedily destroyed at God’s bidding. Where is Nineveh, and where is Babylon? Where the cities of Persia? Where are the high places of Edom? Where are Moab, and the princes of Ammon? Where are the temples of the heroes of Greece? Where the millions that have passed from the gates of Thebes? Where are the hosts of Xerxes, or where the vast armies of the Roman emperors? Have they not passed away? And though in their pride they said, “This monarchy is an everlasting one; this queen of the seven hills shall be called the eternal city,” its pride is dimmed; and she who sat alone, and said, “I shall be no widow, but a queen for ever,” she hath fallen, hath fallen, and in a little while she shall sink like a millstone in the flood, her name being a curse and a byword, and her site the habitation of dragons and of owls. Man calls his works eternal—God calls them fleeting; man conceives that they are built of rock—God says, “Nay, sand, or worse than that—they are air.” Man say he erects them for eternity—God blows but for a moment, and where are they? Like baseless fabrics of a vision, they are passed and gone for ever.”

Charles Spurgeon

Here is the trailer and a couple of other clips from George Frederic Handel’s comic and delightful Italian opera “Serse” (Xerxes).  This production is very enjoyable, the music performed beautifully, and the staging is an interesting art deco in subdued colors and tones.

- VIVA O PHOTOSHOP!  Exclamam as modelos e as revistas masculinas. Tudo é tão maquiado, retocado e melhorado que nem mesmo as ´´pequenas imperfeições´´ chegam às páginas das revistas. E há aqueles que usam o Photoshop também para nos divertir de outras formas. Veja só como ficariam os cartazes de grandes clássicos do cinema misturados:

Ao invés do inofensivo E.T. do Spielberg, a bicicleta decola com o Alien ( Seu grito não será ouvido no espaço…); A Sininho no lugar da Uma Thurman ( As duas gostam de espalhar um pózinho…); Prepare-se para o gelo – ´´Aguente firme, Rose! Esse Xerxes não é de nada…´´; E um crime capital para cada anãozinho.

Aliás, boas dicas para um cineminha!

I wanted a respite from the dark-themed books I had been reading for the R.I.P. IV Challenge. Something opposite these, I thought.  My eye settled on this religious fiction by Rebecca Kohn which had been  forever in my TBR pile.

Author :  Rebecca Kohn

Date of Publication : 2005

Publisher : Penguin Books (mass paperback)

ISBN-10: 0143035339

No. of pages :  384

The Story :

This is a story of how a young Jewish orphan, Esther, became Queen to one of the most powerful rulers of the ancient world, King Xerxes. But her story is unique because she goes down in Biblical history as one of those really rare heroines in the Old Testament who succeeded in saving her people from annihilation.

Hadassah, for her own survival, embraces the name Esther and becomes a closet Jew when she is abducted to serve in Xerxes’ harem as part of a crop of young virgins from which he would choose his new bride. (Xerxes had banished his beautiful but cruel wife, Queen Vashti, in a drunken pique for her refusal to appear before his party guests on his command.)

Esther comes to live in the harem, doing the best she can to get along with everyone.   She learns that in such an autocratic and hierarchical-sensitive environment,  the virtues of obedience, submissiveness,  generosity, respect of and deference to authority make life tolerable and endows her with the ability to influence others.

Upon her first presentation to the King,  Esther captivates him and in one night, makes a meteoric rise to Queen.

But her new life is threatened when Xerxes’ issues an edict calling all Jews to be annihilated, as per Haman’s, his corrupt chief advisor’s, whim. Haman is incensed that the Jew, Mordechai, the treasury official and in secret, Esther’s cousin, refuses obeisance to him, and so extends his wrath to all Jews.

Queen Esther is faced with a dangerous dilemma :   save her people by exposing her true lineage and forcing an uninvited audience with the King (an unsummoned presence before the King can earn one the death penalty) to plead for her people’s lives or keep mum about her Jewish parentage to save her own life and her position as Queen.

And so goes one of the most romantic stories in the Old Testament.

My Review :

The tale of Esther is a very powerful and moving story of courage and selflessness.  It is a tale of  a woman’s style of patriotism that necessitated giving up her life for one’s country/people.  It also has very significant religious points that reinforces the belief in (1) God’s existence;  (2) His constant vigil over His Chosen People and (3) His divine will and purpose for each person’s existence.

Rebecca Kohn  tries to capture this with by sticking quite closely to Esther’s story,  narrating it in her florid, romantic style  that makes her descriptions so rich and vibrant:

” The eunuch stopped before the door to the harem court.  On the doorjambs before me, a molded relief of the king fought a rearing lion monster with no more than a dagger in his bare hands….the eunuch rasped,…’You will live here in great comfort until your breasts sag and your sweet honeycomb shrivels…’….I looked at the eunuch , my eyes wide with terror…The lion monster on the doorjamb lunged for me.  I fled from the creature’s wide mouth and sharp claws into the harem court.”   — p.43

Her character, Esther, is a refreshingly different take on the ideal of a strong woman. Here, we see a girl who was strong without having the usual feminist aggressive, adventurous, stubborn, iron-willed character that a lot of writers favor to make their heroine so interesting.  Instead, Esther’s subservience and obedience coupled with her grace and feminine charms realistically favors her successful adaptation  to a masculinely dominated world where women’s subjugation are part of  its culture.   She succeeds without having to be obvertly defiant or wilful;  she simply does what she morally thinks is right in her own firm, quiet, patient way.

However, as a whole, the novel just didn’t quite make it to my standards for an outstanding rating.  Somehow, it just fell a little flat for reasons I cannot really define.  Perhaps, it was the ending which I felt wasn’t quite satisfactorily resolved and  rather anticlimactic at that.

In A Nutshell :

As a debut novel though, “The Gilded Chamber” is a good first effort.  I’ve taken to her writing style so that I’m not put off  from reading other novels Kohn may have churned out by now.    Moreover, for those looking for a fast read, this novel is it.   Aside from being a light read,  it’s got much more intellectual “meat” than say, a vampire or chick-lit novel;  so a good choice for that next beach read.

My Mark :  Very Good

]]> http://hanayasha.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/xerxes-break/ Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:17:48 +0000 Hanayasha http://hanayasha.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/xerxes-break/

Hi Hi desu

en estos días he estado muy impaciente por Pandora Hearts y no es solo por la trama que cada vez se pone mejor si no por los bishonen que aparecen. son muchos pero ya saben como fan siempre hay uno que es tu favorito pues ahora verán que tengo un extraño gusto. el mio es Xerxes Break…sip ,el piero (payaso en japones) me encanta su forma de ser (tan cute) gracias a la madre de Sharon quien lo cambio un poquito aunque tambien puedo variar un poco y estar loca por Vincent Nightray o el Duque de Barma (Rufus Barma).

BREAK BREAK BREAK volvamos a Break antes de que me pierda en los ojos del duque.

casi todas las escenas graciosas tienen que ver con Xerxes aunque por ejemplo en los episodios 21 y 22 tiene una historia bastante triste. según recuerdo paso así: el (en ese tiempo se llamaba Kevin Regnard) fue al Abyss deseando poder cambiar el pasado ya que a la familia que servía había fallecido por culpa de un traidor. solo quedo una niña que había salido con el. el se hecho la culpa porque no estuvo ahí para defender a todos. al llegar al alocado Abyss/abismo le quitan el ojo derecho cual se lo regalan al Chesire (CUTE) neko. después de perder su ojo Vincent aparece en escena y le dice algunas cosas a Alice ( coneja blanca) como por ejemplo que Jack (super bishonen) Bezarius estaba en Sabrie cubierto de sangre  y muerto. esto lleva a la locura extrema a Alice que trata de destruir toda la dimensión. Break no se da por vencido y pide con toda su alma su deseo. se lo concedió pero no era como esperaba. cambio el pasado de tal forma que el traidor jamas apareció y la familia siguió viva pero con el tiempo fueron muriendo y la familia desapareció (se extinguieron por así decir) ya que ni la niña que se había salvado antes del cambio sobrevivio.

aqui dejo algunas imagenes…

sonrie lindo, no???

ahi  tiene el pelo largo y su ojo

tan cute!!!!

alerta, momento bishonen!!!!

oficialmente añadido a mi bishonen list

nombre: Xerxes Break  ザークシーズ ブレイク(Kevin Regnard)

edad: super desconocida

seiyuu: Ishida Akira

manga/anime: Pandora Hearts

creado por: Jun Mochizuki

bye bye

My knowledge of this book came from reading a blogger’s take on the movie, “300“.  I do not recall the site anymore but I do recall the blogger’s disappointment in the movie’s distance from historical facts. (As per another blog, “300″ was supposed to be based on some comic book  and was meant to be more of a visual treat rather than a factual account on the Battle of Thermopylae.)  This book is one he expressly recommended as one of the best fiction novels on that famous battle as the events and descriptions thereof are well-researched and hold true to history.

Author  :  Steven Pressfield

First Publication Date :  October 20, 1998

First Publisher   :  Doubleday

This Edition’s Publication Date :  September 1999

This Edition’s Publisher :  Bantam Books

No. of Pages :  460

ISBN : 0-553-58053-I

The Story :

After the Persian’s victory at the pass of Thermopylae, a Greek soldier is discovered as the sole survivor of that horrendous battle.  At King Xerxes’ command, the man, Xeones, is spared and nursed as much as could be done for a man with grievous wounds.  It is Xerxes’ desire to know his enemies  whose paltry numbers have decimated a staggering multitude in his army.  As much as his desire is so,  it is also the Greek’s urgent need to tell the story to immortalize the men who valorously held the pass against insurmountable odds.

He begins his discourse with his life’s story, from a homeless boy of a conquered city to a helot in service to a Spartan master.  Of  Sparta he describes its military way of life, where self-discipline and subordination of the needs of one for the many are paramount virtues.  Boys, as young as 12, are subjected to military training, a way of life that would make them into formidable warriors and therefore, real men, ready to defend their state for honor.  Battle training does not merely mean molding superb physiques and extraordinary fighting prowess.  There also exists the Spartan psychology of war in which battle philosophies are inculcated to create a strong foundation of selflessness and a state of mind that renounces fear in the face of death.  This has made Sparta’s military might superior to all as their battle readiness is a product of complete physical, mental, and emotional endurance.  Even Spartan women are physically fit  and stoically ready to give up husbands and sons to defend Sparta.

Under the huge threat of the Persian invasion, Sparta rallies other Greek states to counter this dangerous intention.  The Spartan king, Leonidas, selects 300 soldiers to march to Thermopylae to defend this narrow pass into Greece.  These 300, along with their Greek allies totals a handful 7,000 against 2,000,000 Persian enemies.

Xeones’ narrative breathes life into the personalities behind this historically famous “last stand” and earns for the Hellenes, in particular Sparta, the respect of the enemy who are awed by Greek determination to defend their country to the last man.

The Review :

Few books on war may ever enthrall one as much as “Gates of Fire“, Steven Pressfield’s brilliantly executed story on the Battle of Thermopylae.  The story is done with great mastery for depicting human nature, Spartan culture and psychology, and ancient Greek warfare and battle tactics.

Although war and the violence of  hand-to-hand combat may be alien to most of us, Pressfield makes the sights, smells, sounds, and emotional experiences of the fight so palpable, it intrudes the comfort of one’s reading chair.  One can feel the grit, the determination, the almost inhuman physical and mental endurance, and the nobility of it all.

The characterization is very good.   His ancient warriors do put a new dimension on the concept of  “real men”.   Aside from pure brawn and unimaginable stamina, they are able to transcend basic human nature in the face of insuperable odds.  One may be drawn to how humanly vulnerable the characters are to many weaknessees, like fear, the desire for self preservation, etc. and be filled with admiration for their ability to rise above themselves for the good of the many.

Pressfield’s writing has a poetic quality, rich in metaphors  and analogy, which greatly enhances the descriptive style of his work.

“…Instead each warrior’s lungs pumped only for breath; chests heaved like foundry bellows, sweat coursed into the ground in runnels, while the sound which arose from the throats of the contending masses was like nothing so much as a myriad quarrymen, each harnessed to the twined rope of the sled, groaning and straining to drag some massive stone across the resisting earth. ” — p. 297

What may please one more is that although “Gates of Fire” is a fictional novel,  it is , I believe, laboriously researched and therefore historically accurate.  The author’s knowledge of the battle and characters seem so intimate as to make one believe he had been there himself.  What also makes the book more special is the fact that it also deals with interesting Spartan psychology and philosophy of war:

“War not peace, produces virtue.  War, not peace, purges vice.  War, and the preparation for war, call forth all that is noble and honorable in a man.  It unites him with his brothers and binds them in a selfless love, eradicating in the crucible all which is base and ignoble.  There in the holy mill of murder the meanest of men may seek and find that part of himself, concealed beneath the corrupt, which shines forth brilliant and virtuous, worthy of honor before the gods.   Do not despise war….do not delude yourself that mercy and compassion are virtues superior to andreia, to manly valor.” — p.157

“How does one conquer fear of death, the most primordial of terrors….Dogs in a pack find courage to take on a lion.  Each hound knows its place.  He fears the dog ranked above and feeds off the fear of the dog below.  Fear conquers fear.  This is how we Spartans do it, counterpoising to fear of death a greater fear:  that of dishonor.  Of exclusion from the pack.”  — p.265

“Habit will be your champion.  When you train the mind to think one way and one way only, when you refuse to allow it to think in another, that will produce great strength in battle. — p. 159

The excerpts above may appear verbose or too lofty for some when taken as is, but as part of the book it doesn’t seem so.  Steven Pressfield manages to balance his writing to create a wonderful reading experience of a novel — a  remarkably inspirational gem I think few of its genre can equal.

To Read Or Not To Read :

Definitely, a must read!  I must say this is one of the best “battle books”  I’ve ever come across.  It’s a testosterone-laden narrative full of blood, guts, muscle, and masculine stoicism;  yet it is poignant too for the tremendous sacrifice, honor, and virtues  all upheld in this story as well.

For budding ancient war enthusiasts, you will be thrilled by the accurate depiction of battle techniques, strategies, rigorous training methods and the unwavering mindset one must have to become truly Spartan.

Somehow it is hard to believe that men with such physical and mental endurance such as these Spartan warriors ever existed.  But the  mind-boggling part is that they did!  The human mind and body is actually capable of so much more than what we believe so.

Imagine tearing your hamstring (agonizing enough in itself)  and still getting up to fight, using tremendous leg power to push against a human enemy wall, pushing back in return, all the while carrying a spear and a massive oak and bronze shield.   This you should do without surrendering to pain and self-pity, for hours on end with hardly a respite for food and water.   Sounds ridiculously incredible?  Yet this could have been what a warrior must have endured to keep the phalanx intact:

“…I could see the warrior’s feet, at first churning in disarray for purchase on the blood and gore-beslimed earth, now settle into a unison, a grinding relentless cadence….With a heave, the warriors’ shield-side foot pressed forward, bows-on to the enemy;  now the shield-side foot planted at a ninety-degree angle, dug into  the mud; the arch sank as every stone of the man’s weight found purchase upon the insole, and, with left shoulder planted into the inner bowl of the shield whose broad outer surface was  pressed into the back of  the comrade before him, he summoned all force of tissue and tendon to surge and heave upon the beat.  Like ranked oarsmen straining upon the shaft of a single oar, the unified push of the men’s exertions propelled the ship of the phalanx forward into the tide of the enemy. “— pp. 296 – 297

Well, if such “supermen”  existed before, one may come to think :  how come we don’t make many of them anymore?  Tee Hee!

As An Aside :

It is interesting to note  : “‘Gates of Fire‘ is on the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ Reading list. It is taught at West Point and Annapolis and at the Marine Corps Basic School at Quantico.”  — Wikipedia

It has been floating around that this movie will be adapted to cinema.  However, this project is still in development with no particular date in sight.  Don’t be lazy though and wait for the movie.  Pick up this book;  it’ll be well worth your time.

In A Nutshell :

Steven Pressfield is now on my personal list of fave authors for “Gates Of Fire“, a very beautifully written graphical novel which showcases the author’s superior writing talent.    This is one of those books you can read again and again through the years.  Definitely a keeper and a treasure on my shelf.

My Mark :  Excellent;  Superb!

]]> http://whatsoninmelbourne.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/this-week-at-the-melbourne-recital-centre/ Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:21:09 +0000 mediatique25 http://whatsoninmelbourne.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/this-week-at-the-melbourne-recital-centre/

XERXES

Performances Dates:

Saturday, 15 August 2009 at 7.30pm

Tuesday, 18 August 2009 at 6.30pm

Thursday, 20 August 2009 at 7.30pm

Venue: Elisabeth Murdoch Hall

‘Xerxes is great fun and shows Handel at his wonderful baroque best’. Victorian Opera Music Director Richard Gill

Amastre yearns for Xerxes, who yearns for Romilda, who yearns for Arsamene. One of Handel’s rare comic operas, Xerxes is a light-hearted romp through the tangled web of love: its happy reversals and missed turns; its forfeits and rewards. A superb score illuminates the enchantment of this diverting story, and includes the famous ode to a plane tree, Ombra mai fu. Victorian Opera’s new production of Xerxes is conducted by John O’Donnell and staged by Roger Hodgman. Tobias Cole sings the magnificent title role.

Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Pricing:

Tickets Premium – $138 (all tickets)  A Reserve – $88 ( Senior $82, Concession $70)  B Reserve – $55 ( Senior $51, Concession $44)  C Reserve – $38 (Senior $35, Concession $30)

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Benaud Trio – Songs of Scandinavia

Well yet another day well spent in my bedroom….
I forgot to tell ya yesterday but we have a carpenter ( haha no, not Jesus) installing our new wooden floors in our hall, so I havnt dared leave my room for hours…dunno why, feels just a bit akward.
-My mom said to me ” Why are you afraid of going out in the hall, scared youre gonna fall in love?!“
…some mom Ive got

But anyways, I am getting ready to go out for dinner with my friend.

I was planning on going out during the day but the weather absolutely sucked balls…rain, rain, rain.
I hate rain, what kind of summer weather is this??
Oh I forgot , this is Sweden.

Either way, I have good plans for this week:

-Tomorrow, meeting with friends!
-Wednesday, Dunno.
-Thursday, meet with friend
-Friday, meeting the Producer to see a Swedish movie “G”
-Saturday, hopefully be going swimming
-Sunday, cum day!

Anyways…something hot!

Found this ’super’model; Claudia Lynx!

She is freaking hot!
AND, to my suprise she is natively from Iraq, but born and raised in Europe, which is cool.
Still, only and the hottest Iraqi Ive ever seen…Mouah!

An almost equally hot arab, is persian God King Xerxes!

Haha I dont know where persians got their sense of style from…but damn…

No, seriously though.
Xerxes the 1st must be the biggest homofag badass persian villain of all time…come to think of it he is the ONLY one!
Haha!

But however, Rodrigo Santoro, the man behind the mask; is quite charming.
Awesome makeover and acting for the charcater Xerxes, extremely impressive and unusual.

Thu Aug 6 00:08:02 2009
A few weeks ago I mentioned the quintessentially Greek virtue of metis, using brilliant stratagems and cunning to defeat stronger opponents. We see it portrayed in Epic and History as essential to winning the Trojan and Persian Wars and personified in characters like Odysseus, Themistocles and perhaps Alcibiades. Could Alexander have captured the city of Tyre without artillery and the construction of the mole? Certainly. Like any good Greek hero he could have used deception and cunning to outwit the city. For example he might have moved on with the greater part of his army leaving only a small garrison to lure the Tyrians into attacking. While the small garrison force is pursued by the Tyrian forces, Alexander can return, storm the largely empty city and force them to surrender.

At least that is how Polyaenus describes the conclusion of the Siege of Tyre in his Strategmata (4.3.4). The story reminds me a great deal of Herodotus and his description of the Greeks during the Persian Wars. Actually, the description of Alexander in Arrian also reminds me of Herodotus. The descriptions of all the construction, especially the mole–turning the sea into land you can walk across–are very similar to Herodotus’ descriptions of the Persian approach to war used by Darius and Xerxes. I don’t know which of these stories is true, if any, but I get a sense that Alexander at this point is acting more and more like a Persian and less like a Greek. Or at least that is how he wants to be perceived.

Speaking from his Twitter account, Jozy Altidore has announced that there will be an announcement on his future at a 2:30 press conference tomorrow, adding a wink wink and telling us that the clubs first match is against Chelsea FC.  Information from Tuesday had Altidore linked with Fulham and Hull City of the English Premier League.  Checking the schedule against Jozy’s post would indicate that he has found a home at Hull City, team voted most likely to be relegated this season after barely escaping the drop last season.  Now while another American International in the EPL will boost the position of American soccer on the global front, is it really a good move for the young American?

I think it is.  After being sold to La Liga side Villareal by MLS side New York Red Bulls, Altidore found himself first on the bench then on the way out the door on loan to the Spanish second division side Xerxes.  Altidore did not find much favor in either place spending the majority of his time on the bench in his first season abroad, but strong performances with the US Mens National Team over the past year has garnered interest from other clubs.  The rumors circulating earlier this summer were that Altidore would find himself in Greece with Olympiacos, but when the loan deal fell through it was looking as if Altidore might find himself on the bench for another season.

This season is important for Altidore as he needs as much time on the pitch as possible leading up to next summer’s World Cup in South Africa.  With Fulham and Hull City both interested in the young American it was hard to decide which club I would rather see him at.  With Fulham he would most likely find the bench again behind proven players in the EPL, but at Hull City, a team who struggles to score goals; it looks more likely that he will find plenty of time on the pitch.  This increased pitch time against quality opposition week in and week out should improve Altidore’s already impressive skill set, but if he was looking for a winning side to move to he may be sadly disappointed.  As one fan on Twitter put it, “Jozy you know Hull is a s***hole!”  I could not agree more, but playing time is playing time, and I would rather have the future of US soccer playing against quality instead of less quality sides or sitting the bench for another term.

Whether or not Hull stay up this season is not really the concern here, as I am sure the addition of one goal scorer will not make a big enough difference to avoid Hull’s fated drop back to the Championship.  The main thing is that Jozy gets time on the pitch.  He should have no trouble working into the lineup at Hull City, with his skill set and athletic ability.  I am afraid he will burn out as many other Americans have when going to the EPL though.  This fear is not to worry about though as he is reportedly set to sign only a one year loan deal, no details on whether or not there is an option to buy at the end, and if he does not cut it in the EPL he will just find himself back with Villareal at the end of the deal.  Should Jozy impress though he could see himself do one of three things.  Either sign with Hull full time, if there is a buy option attached to the loan.  Earn himself another shot with Villareal, though they have a strong attack currently already which is why Altidore is being loaned in the first place.  He could also have a good enough season to earn himself interest from other clubs that Villareal could sell him to, making some cash on their initial investment but losing a talented young player in the process.

So heading to the World Cup next summer the outlook is good.  Most of our first team squad is playing their trade in Europe, and we have players in Europe who are actually seeing time on the pitch.  While this does not mean more Americans will follow, it does open the door for clubs abroad to look in at the merchandise.  I was not initially happy about the decision to ship Jozy to Hull City, but in delaying this article to think on the topic some, I have come to a conclusion.  This is the best thing US soccer and Jozy could have hoped for leading up to the new season!  He goes to a side where he will see playing time ahead of the World Cup, have quality opponents, and be plying his trade in a country where he can further his skills in the game.

Looking forward to the press conference tomorrow, I will now be happy to see Jozy become a Tiger.  I wish him good luck this season and will be watching him progress against some of the best players in the world.  The US is invading Europe, and little by little they will recognize us and the quality of players we are producing.  So, good luck Jozy, I will be watching and hoping you get what you wanted out of this move.

King of Persia? General of all the armies of the world? On the Seat of the Peacock Throne? Pierced cheek? Whatever, Xerxes.

300 Spartans couldn’t do the job. But one Vanya will.