#…i understand how the mistake happened. the discs were probably right next to each other on the shelf

[zippityzap]

A couple of weeks ago i bought Okami HD at a well-known UK second-hand shop. However, like an idiot I did not think to test the game as soon as I brought it home.

Now, i have experienced instances with this shop before where the game they sell you doesn’t work. But that’s not what happened to me this time, oh no…

THEY PUT THE WRONG FUCKING DISC IN THE CASE

[the-light-followed]

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC (1986) [DISC. #2; RINCEWIND #2]

“What shall we do?’ said Twoflower. ‘Panic?’ said Rincewind hopefully. He always held that panic was the best means of survival; back in the olden days, his theory went, people faced with hungry sabre-toothed tigers could be divided very simply into those who panicked and those who stood there saying ‘What a magnificent brute!’ and ‘Here, pussy.”

Rating: 5/10

Standalone Okay: No

Read First: ABSOLUTELY NO.

Discworld Books Masterpost: [x]

* * * * * * * * * *

If The Colour of Magic is a bad place to start reading Discworld, The Light Fantastic is 100% worse.  Not because it’s bad, because it’s absolutely an improvement on its predecessor.  It’s just that The Colour of Magic ends on a cliffhanger (only in the metaphorical sense; in the literal sense, Rincewind has just fallen off the cliff).  The Light Fantastic picks up exactly where it left off, with only a little exposition or explanation to soften the shift from one to the next.  I tend to think of The Light Fantastic as more like The Colour of Magic: Part 2, Now We’re Getting Somewhere, because, well, now we’re getting somewhere.

Folks, we finally have a cohesive, over-arching plot! We have stakes greater than “let’s not get killed by this latest thing that wants us dead!”  We have purpose, and drive, and successful barbarian heroes so old they lack teeth and have to make dentures out of diamond, and I love absolutely every bit of it!

In what will quickly become obvious is the norm for him, Rincewind’s life continues to be a series of upsetting things happening one after the other.  Some highlights from The Light Fantastic include:

Being forcibly teleported (back) onto the Disc by the parasitically-attached Great Spell living in his brain, after falling over the Rimfall.  Reality is completely rewritten to do this, but everything remains exactly the same except Rincewind’s new position clinging to the top of a pine tree.  (Twoflower gets dropped back onto the Disc as well, but that seems mostly incidental.)

Going to the land of Death while still alive, picking up his mostly-dead friend, and running right back out to the land of the living.

Camping in the mouth of a giant troll the size of a mountain, while being held captive by mercenaries.  Somehow only the mercenaries end up dead.

Being attacked by wizards and Things from the Dungeon Dimensions, and fighting said wizards and Things in life-or-death battles.

Using the most powerful magical book on the Disc, possibly the most magical item full-stop, and then afterwards, allowing said item to be eaten by the carnivorous sentient Luggage for safekeeping.  Rincewind ends up owning the Luggage before the end of the story—so technically, he still has this wildly dangerous book.

Oh, and saving the world, of course.  He also does that.

I love, love, love the way Pratchett writes ‘heroes’ vs. how he writes his protagonists.  Absolutely none of his protagonists are the stereotypical hero, and his stories are better for it.

Quick sidetrack to define terms: when I say ‘stereotypical hero,’ I’m talking about the kind of lawful good protagonists you see in most high fantasy adventure stories or superhero comics, the stuff with worldwide or even cosmic stakes.  They’re typically well-trained or have some kind of special skills, or they acquire special training/skills along the way.  They almost always set out specifically to save the world, and typically do not have any ulterior motives beyond it being ‘the right thing to do.’  Usually, they’re strong and rugged manly men with impressive jawlines.  I’m talking Aragorn from Lord of the Rings.  I’m talking Captain America and Superman.  I’m talking the real Boy Scout types.

Truth, justice, and apple pie—or whatever the regional-specific pastry of choice might be!

Pratchett’s heroes are not that.  They’re cowards.  They’re scared or confused or unprepared, or making the whole thing up as they go along.  They’re fools, alcoholics, con men.  They’re salty old ladies and know-it-all young girls.  If there is a stereotypical hero-type character, they’re going to be a foil for the actual main character, and they won’t stay perfectly pure and uncomplicated for long—I’m thinking specifically Carrot, though we’ll talk about him later when we get to the City Watch books.  

Here, what we get is Rincewind.  And he is as far from a stereotypical hero as it is possible to be, probably because he would have started sprinting full-speed away from the thought before anyone finished saying it out loud.  Rincewind doesn’t save the world because he suddenly found his courage, or developed bonus superpowers, or found some kind of magical sword to do the fighting for him.  (He actually found the sword back in The Colour of Magic, hated every second of it, and got rid of it as soon as possible.  Goodbye and good riddance to Kring the magic sword.)  He hasn��t secretly had the courage inside of himself all along.

Rincewind saves the world because he’s got nowhere left to run, and that’s excellent.

I’m going to save a lot of my rambling about Pratchett’s deconstruction of the concept of ‘heroes’ for when I get to Guards! Guards! and later City Watch books, since Carrot is, like I said, both the main example and the central thesis.  But it is very important for everyone to understand: for me, nothing is more satisfying from a literary perspective than knowing that, at the end of the Discworld series, coward and hero-only-by-accident-or-mistake Rincewind is one of the two people in contention for the spot as ‘ultimate savior of the world, the universe, and all of existence.’  The other is a teenage girl.

Honestly, the only reason I think Rincewind might edge her out for the title is because he technically saved a slightly larger slice of reality with this whole escapade.  In Tiffany’s defense, I’m 98% sure she hadn’t been born yet when this whole thing went down, so we really can’t blame her for not solving it first.  If she were there, she’d have it handled, and that’s just objective truth.

But Rincewind.  Rincewind.  At the end of The Light Fantastic, the dude’s spent two whole books screaming and running whenever something tries to kill/maim/eat/threaten him.  The audience has absolutely figured out by this point that while he’s smart and sarcastic and surprisingly speedy, he’s totally useless in a conflict.  His priority is saving his own skin, not dashing feats of derring-do or whatever it is heroes are supposed to do.

And yet with the end of the world looming, his back against the wall, and no real place left to run, when the Big Baddie demands that he give up the last Great Spell, the one last thing preventing the immediate destruction of everything and everyone, we get this from Rincewind:

“If it stops anywhere, it stops here, thought Rincewind. ‘You’ll have to take it,’ he said. ‘I won’t give it to you.’”

And that’s it.  That’s what saves the world.  Not a stereotypical hero, not a hero of legend, not a mythic champion showing up for a final glorious battle—it’s a Pratchett hero.  It’s an everyday guy, a coward and a failure, dragged in by accident and against his will.  It’s an average person, nothing really special, who looks at something that he knows is wrong and that he’s sure will hurt him for disobeying.  And yet he still says no.  It stops here.

Even rats fight back, as Rincewind himself says.

This is the moment that really sells me on Rincewind’s character, every time.  Even before Pratchett was really taking Rincewind or the Discworld seriously, even while the whole thing is still one massive joke more often than not, he’s still given the readers a POV character who feels believably real.  He’s scared shitless, he’s tired, he’s sarcastic, and he doesn’t want to be there.  But that’s too damn bad, because he’s the one there, and if he doesn’t do this, no one else will.

And maybe Rincewind’s not Superman, but he still does it. He succeeds, he saves the day, and—despite everything—he’s somehow the hero of this story.  Screaming all the way, maybe, but he still gets it done.

[Paul Kidby does incredible Discworld art, including some of the amazing cover art for the books.  You can find a lot of it on his website— www.paulkidby.com.  This one,The Colour of Magic, stars Rincewind, Twoflower, and their dramatic escape from the Wyrmberg.]

While we’re on the subject of heroes, we can’t skip over Cohen the Barbarian, who makes his debut here in The Light Fantastic. Now, Cohen is technically a hero, but this is still not in the ‘stereotypical hero’ sense—it’s literally his job.  It’s the thing he writes in the little box marked ‘Occupation’ on his tax forms, or at least it would be if he actually paid any taxes.  Or if he actually wrote things down.  

For Cohen, being a hero is how he makes a profit and pays the bills, and he is very, very good at it.  That’s 100% objective truth, and I know that for sure, because the man is old as the hills and still gets into life-or-death fights about twice a day, and that’s the sort of thing that gets you dead very quickly if you aren’t very good at what you do.

But Cohen still isn’t a stereotypical hero.  He does a lot of looting and pillaging, and his body count over the Rincewind books is—wow, it’s up there.  It’s a real doozy.  It’s hard to call his work heroism when it’s hardly a smidge to the left of repeated, outright murder.  I’ll probably circle back around to this in Interesting Times and The Last Hero, because there are some really interesting points made there about the ways that Cohen and his contemporaries play at heroes and villains like they’re a sort of performance they’re putting on rather than a moral act or a choice made out of necessity. But I will say now that putting Cohen in the same storylines as Rincewind really does put both characters into a more complex and interesting light.  Rincewind, the coward-not-hero, and Cohen, the fearless warrior, can kind of play off of each other.

It just goes to show Pratchett’s grasp of people as people, and not unidimensional cardboard cutouts.  Nobody’s always right.  Nobody is always wrong.  And real people don’t always stand up to perfect, pure concepts of what we think they should be.

Also, since Cohen is about a billion years old, we get little gems like his toothless lisp before he picks up some dentures, a concept that Twoflower brings with him from the Counterweight Continent.  (Or, as Cohen calls them, dine chewers.  That, friends, is a pune, or a play on words.)  Also, because he’s Cohen and therefore a dramatic bastard, the dentures are solid diamond.  It’s not as if the man can’t afford it, I guess?

I do want to take a little side trip into some other new details that pop up in The Light Fantastic, specifically the more in-depth stuff about Unseen University and the wizards.  The wizards are a lot of fun in the early Discworld books, specifically if you’re really bloodthirsty, because up until Ridcully arrives in Moving Pictures there’s quite a lot of turnover in Unseen University staff. The wizards are backstabbing bastards early on, and it’s almost jarring to compare the shifty, power-hungry jerks in The Light Fantastic and Sourcery to the fat, lazy hedonists they’ll become. We do get an impression of them as a collective that will stay pretty consistent as we move forward: their values, their skills, the way they do magic.

This is important not only because it establishes a lot of lasting detail for stories involving Rincewind, the University, and the city of Ankh-Morpork, but also because we’re about to get our first glimpse of the witches.  (Hey-o, here comes Equal Rites!)  With a lot of this stuff mapped out in advance, it makes it easier to run a compare-and-contrast of what’s going on with the two main schools of magic users on the Disc, what’s different between them, what’s the same—and the positives and negatives in them both.  (Again, hey-o, Equal Rites!  That all is about to be the whole damn point.)

I think it’s also fun to note that The Light Fantastic features the brief run of Galder Weatherwax as Archchancellor of the Unseen University, A.K.A. He Who Dies So Granny Weatherwax Can Have His Frankly Excellent Name.  Granny Weatherwax is the steel-souled spine of the witches, and the driving force of their run of books, and it’s kind of hilarious to think that Terry Pratchett did the writer’s equivalent of digging through a graveyard to give her a name.  This theft is later lampshaded and then ignored; Granny says something briefly about Galder Weatherwax being a distant cousin she barely knew, and the whole thing is never mentioned again from then on out. I can’t exactly remember where, and it might even have been in a short story or one of the side books Pratchett eventually put together, not in a novel.  Honestly, who cares—Granny Weatherwax is such a force of nature that it only takes a few minutes to forget that her name ever could have belonged to anyone but herself.

But Granny Weatherwax is not a discussion for The Light Fantastic.  It’s time to move on to Equal Rites!

* * * * * * * * * *

Side Notes:

This is the book where the Unseen University Librarian is changed into an orangutan.  It happens early on in a magical accident, as the grimoire containing the Eight Great Spells attempts to save Rincewind and the spell trapped in his mind, and he is never reverted to human form.  

He is referenced but does not appear in The Colour of Magic.  

At no point anywhere in the Discworld does he appear in human form.  At no point does he have lines in human language.  He is never named.  At no point is he described as he was prior to this change, except that the orangutan he becomes is initially said to look “like the head librarian,” so presumably he was already a bit orangutan-ish. 

For something as weird as this is, and for something with such long-lasting repercussions, it is treated in the moment as a thing of very little importance—except, of course, that now he has to be paid in bananas.  I find this absolutely delightful.

Tim Curry plays the wizard Trymon in the BBC miniseries The Colour of Magic, which combines The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic.  Trymon only appears in The Light Fantastic in the books, and I can’t read it anymore without picturing Tim Curry in his ridiculous robes and shoes, with his ridiculous overdramatic murder plots, working his way up to the top just to die a ridiculous death.

No, really. Look at this hat.  Look at this goatee.  Only Tim Curry has the acting chops to pull this off.

Death once again appears, and this time we also get to see his house and his daughter, Ysabell!  I can see why it didn’t take long to go from here to Mort: the concept is way too good to leave to little snatches and side appearances.

Krysoprase the troll shows up for the first time in this book.  Later, he’ll be known as Chrysoprase, and will make appearances in several other Discworld novels: Feet of Clay, Wyrd Sisters, and, notably, Thud.  There’s also a troll named Breccia in The Light Fantastic; Breccia will become the name of Chrysoprase’s gang in Ankh-Morpork.

While going through my copy of The Light Fantastic to work on this post, I glanced at the cover and briefly thought I was losing my mind.  At the bottom, there’s a blurb talking about beloved Discworld character “Conan the Barbarian”—but up until that moment I was 100% certain the beloved barbarian on the Disc was named “Cohen.”  Turns out I’m not crazy, it’s just that the literal cover of the book decides to make a reference to the character that Cohen is parodying rather than to Cohen himself.  And this is the 2008 print edition, not an early run or a badly-assembled e-reader edition, which means it’s being released by a professional publishing company a full 22 years after the original novel came out.  It’s not like nobody’s had time to look over the material and do some copy-editing.

* * * * * * * * * *

Favorite Quotes:

“The important thing about having lots of things to remember is that you’ve got to go somewhere afterwards where you can remember them, you see? You’ve got to stop. You haven’t really been anywhere until you’ve got back home.”

“Do you think there’s anything to eat in this forest?” “Yes,” said the wizard bitterly, “us.”

“Not for the first time she reflected that there were many drawbacks to being a swordswoman, not least of which was that men didn't take you seriously until you'd actually killed them, by which time it didn't really matter anyway.”

“Are you a hero, actually?” “Um, no. Not as such. Not at all, really. Even less than that, in fact.”

“What shall we do?’ said Twoflower. ‘Panic?’ said Rincewind hopefully. He always held that panic was the best means of survival; back in the olden days, his theory went, people faced with hungry sabre-toothed tigers could be divided very simply into those who panicked and those who stood there saying ‘What a magnificent brute!’ and ‘Here, pussy.”

[achtung-attitude]

A second passes, and the owner of the voice steps into the light. From the other side, Moya watches her. Dressed in a heavy, studded dark coat, she brushes her wavy black hair out of the way from her face. In doing so, she reveals the curved scar just below her right eye; a scar shaped uncannily like a fish-hook. “It’s balance, right? Brother?” A hint of venom hisses from that last word, as she eyes the black preacher.

Brother Dust smiles. “Exactly right, Sister T'onga. It was balance, or rather the lack of it, that brought an end to these great empires. Thank you very much.”

T’onga scowls minutely and returns to her seat. Moya watches her recede into the shadows, knowing what all the others don’t: this is the very woman Shizuka is searching for.

Dust continues his lecture. “The Romans over-extended themselves, taking more than what they needed and losing what they did control. That is how the unwashed, disorganized barbarian tribes managed to learn from their mistakes and depose the once-mighty Roman forces.

“Genghis Khan had a different problem. He shouldered the success of his empire solely on his achievements and charisma, so that when he was gone, there was none that could ever take his place. And so, his empire was a posthumous failure.”

The old man sits back in his chair and spreads his arms wide. ”Balance is the key. We Three do what no other gang in this city has truly done before.

“We share our power. Freely, amongst ourselves. In this way, we achieve balance, in a city that has teetered upon the edge of the Black Pit since the earliest days of its existence. For in what other city could those like us ever achieve power?”

Saying this, Dust takes a deep breath, solemn in nature, almost as if he’s holding back some great anger. “Therefore… it is most distressing, when events conspire to disrupt this delicate balance.”

The masked woman pulls a cigar from her jacket and speaks. Her voice is strong, her accent understated. “Perhaps I am the wrong person to say this, but theatricality has its limits, Dust. Can you please get to your point already?”

Dust smiles, good-naturedly. “I wish only to bring enlightenment to our people, Sister, as much as you do. But how can I achieve this when our endeavors are thwarted, our property stolen, our people caught by enforcers of the law?” The preacher’s smile slowly hides away, as a far more serious expression plasters across his face. “But worse even than that, when utter strangers come into our midst and take one of our own?”

“If you are referring to the scumbag who got lucky,” Phantasma retorts, with a new edge in her tone, “then I can assure you, the situation is being dealt with.”

“Lucky, you say?” Dust questions. “Forgive me, Sister, but I loath to imagine that one of your top lieutenants could not only be dispatched by a common creep through mere luck, but also for his gift to be stolen by the very same despicable creature. The power that grants us all the way to Paradise!!”

At this, Dust reaches into his cloak and pulls out a pair of compact discs, which draw the eyes of everyone present. They are no ordinary discs, for in their metallic sheen, bizarre silhouettes can be seen, appearing human, but not exactly. These discs are not the creations of Brother Dust, but of another. A man who, years prior, came close to destroying the world with the help with those very discs: Enrico Pucci and his Stand, Whitesnake.

“Do not mistake me,” continues Brother Dust, “we all grieve for the loss of Brother Tito, but no further blunders can be made: the re-acquisition of Tito's disc takes precedence over all mourning. This, I am sure you can understand, my dear Sister.”

“Por supuesto. As I said, it is being dealt with.”

“How?” All Kill says, involving himself for the first time.

After a pause, Phantasma gestures again. “Moya.”

Dutifully, the undercover Officer Moya Pezzente steps back into the light, flipping open a notebook. “The guy’s name is Ricardo Cone,” she begins, impassive, as if reading data on a computer screen. “A drifter by all accounts, originally from San Diego. He's been wandering California for the past few years, before finally settling down in our town, for now. He's an extreme anti-social, has been involved in several violent incidents since pre-school. Assaults, attempted murder, attempted rape.”

“How does a guy like that get the drop on one of us?” All Kill asks.

“Actually, it started 3 months ago. Our eyes in the area say this Cone pendejo happened to start some shit with Tito in a bar over in East LA. Obviously, Hermano Tito bashed his brains in, but left him alive.”

“Big mistake,” says the figure on the other side of Phantasma, in a harsh whisper. Even in the low light, Moya sees his teeth gleaming at her.

Unphased by the comment, Moya continues, “Cone started watching him. For three months, he watched everything he did, learning his routine. From what he had for breakfast, to who he met during the day, how often he used the bathroom. Nothing was sacred to this guy.

“Once he learned his routine inside and out, he attacked Tito outside his home, drugged him, brought him out to the train tracks and tied him up with his head on the tracks.”

The gruesome news sinks in, and there is silence for a moment. Then, All Kill speaks up again. “So after killing him, this Cone guy managed to take Tito’s Stand disc from his body?”

“That’s correct,” Moya replies.

“So there’s a possibility that this guy has a Stand now?”

“It’s possible. Judging from what we know of him, Tito’s Stand probably suits Cone better than Tito himself.”

“His body was discovered by a group of kids,” Phantasma states, her voice resonating, “The morgue had to identify him on his fingerprints. His face was completely gone. This man, Cone, did this to one of my people.” Across the room, everyone feels Phantasma’s resolve solidify within the air.

“Dust; I appreciate your concerned over the discs. But I ask, respectfully, that you and your crew stay out of this. This man has murdered one of my people. Not only did he kill Tito, but he has also desecrated his memory by sullying his corpse. This disrespect to me and mine cannot stand. It will not stand.”

The old man nods. “Of course, Sister. This was my intention all along. I entrust you with settling this matter.”

“Then we are done for the day, I suppose,” she says, rising from her chair. Moya drapes a large coat over her boss’s shoulders and lights the cigar she still holds between her fingers. She puffs on it as she leaves with her subordinates. As Moya follows her boss, she passes next to where T’onga sits.

“Hey, Moya...” calls out the dark haired woman, reclining sideways across her chair. She is smirking at her, rather cockily.

“What do you want, T’onga?” she replies, betraying no emotion.

“Oh, nothing. I just noticed you seem to have fucked up that pretty face of yours, and I got curious. What happened, did your last guy get a little too passionate? Or maybe it was a girl? Not that it matters…”

Moya sighs, speaking through gritted teeth. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m-”

“You know it’s not especially ladylike to go around with blemishes like that, right?”

“Well, you’d know, wouldn’t you?” Moya quips, then turns to leave.

“Hold up!” T’onga says, her voice raised. Moya stops, hearing her get up from the chair. “Hold up, you were mumbling. I don’t like it when people mumble around me. We should all be more honest with each other, don’t you think? So come on.” She marches towards her Hispanic counterpart. “I didn’t hear what you said, so please run that by me again?”

Scowling, Moya turns back to face her. She is at least a foot taller than T’onga, but the Asian woman is not the least bit intimidated. “I said, ‘You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?’ Facial blemishes, I mean. Considering, you and that hook there. Mine are temporary, of course, but…”

“Why are you acting like such a cunt?” T’onga asks bluntly. “I didn’t say it was bad, I just said un-ladylike! Though, now that I think about it, I’m sure you don’t mind coming across like that, do you? It’s probably a good look for you, at certain bars...” She starts stepping closer. Moya balls her hands into fists, “You know, I could give you something more permanent, if you wanted… Broaden your appeal-”

“T’onga,” the women freeze in place at the sound of All Kill’s voice. “Play nice.”

T’onga pulls a scowl across her face, then looks back. “ Don’t be so stiff, boss! We’re just trading beauty tips. You know… girl talk?” she sulks away from Moya, over to her boss’s side. “Later.”

The three of them, All Kill and his two attendants, leave through a different door. Moya’s gaze holds on T’onga for a while longer, before Phantasma’s voice beckons her away. She spares one last look, and thinks of Shizuka.

[screechinginternetcloud]

Reget For Mac

Many authors have written eloquently at great length on the horrors of war. Ulsterman writes equally eloquently, but much more succinctly, on the same subject in 'Mac Walker's Regret,' a story that will stay with readers long after they finish it.

After you've chosen a name for the disk after it's erased, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the dropdown menu and click Erase. (If you want to encrypt your disc for extra security.

Regrets

ReGet Junior is a download manager created especially for novices. You don't need to configure anything, the program will automatically detect settings for. Enter to Search.

By Bernadeen

A/N: Thanks for your reviews. Here's the last chapter.

Chapter 7

Harm continued to recover at an amazing rate. When Mac went to see him the next day, he was out of ICU. The following day he was sitting in a chair when she entered his room. They joked and flirted, almost like old times, but both knew a time would come to talk about this new closeness.

Two weeks later, the doctors told Harm he could be go home if someone was there to look after him. When the news was conveyed to Mattie, she immediately said she would stay out of school to take care of him. Harm made it clear that Mattie was not to miss school on his behalf. In the end, Mac was able to clear her schedule and persuade the admiral that she should be with Harm during the day. The doctors expected that Harm wouldn't need help for more than a week.

A routine was established wherein Mac arrived at Harm's just after breakfast. Coates would take Mattie to school while Mac took over 'Harm watch' for the day. Harm didn't really need physical help – it was mostly to ensure that he didn't overdo things, to pick up groceries or prescriptions since Harm wasn't allowed to drive yet, and to keep him from going stir crazy in his apartment.

At first, they were slightly awkward with each other, but Mac was determined that nothing would slow up Harm's recovery. Therefore, she was persistently cheerful and ready to help Harm in anything he needed, almost before he knew he needed it. In fact, it was Mac who sometimes felt a bit stir crazy since Harm's recovery included long naps during the day. She brought files with her so that she was able to feel productive both as a friend and as a lawyer.

Near the end of the week, Mac drove Harm to Bethesda for a follow up doctor's appointment. The doctor was pleased with Harm's progress. He no longer needed someone with him in his apartment. The doctor scheduled another appointment in a week, but expected that if Harm's recovery continued at the current pace, it was likely that Harm would be cleared for limited duty after that.

When Mac and Harm arrived back at Harm's apartment, both were in a thoughtful mood. Mac tried to sound cheerful as she said, 'Well, I guess my temporary assignment is finished. You'll be glad to have you privacy back, I expect.'

Reget For Mac Os

Harm gazed at her with sadness and longing. 'I was getting used to having you around… I liked it.'

Mac's almost made some flippant remark, but stopped herself in time. Instead, she thoughtfully returned his look. 'So did I,' she said honestly.

Harm stepped closer to Mac and raised his hand to touch her cheek. 'Mac, I don't want to go back to where we were before I got shot. I know we've both hurt each other a lot lately, but … can we just go on from here? … I don't want to lose your friendship again.'

At Harm's first words, Mac's heart began to race. Finally, they could be honest in their feelings. Then his last words dealt her a discouraging blow. He only wanted friendship. She hesitated a few seconds before responding, needing to control her disappointment. She wasn't quite successful as her voice trembled slightly. 'I don't want to lose your friendship either,' she agreed but didn't quite meet his eyes.

Instantly Harm knew he had made yet another mistake, but wasn't sure what it was. This time, though, he wasn't about to back down. 'Mac, talk to me. I know I just said something wrong, but I don't know what. I don't understand.'

'No, you didn't,' Mac tried to speak convincingly. Harm didn't need the added stress of knowing how she felt and feeling guilty for not being able to return her love. Besides, her self-preservation was beginning to kick in. She continued with more confidence, 'I value your friendship more than you'll ever know, Harm.' Then she grinned. 'And I'm looking forward to kicking your butt in court again.'

'Oh, no, you don't. You're not getting away with that diversionary tactic this time. Tell me why you looked so sad just then. Please?' Harm's instincts told him they needed to be honest with each other now or it might never happen.

Mac sighed and turned away from him. She paced across the room, turned back and stopped a few feet away, as she gathered her strength around her. Drawing a deep breath, she took the plunge, 'I was sad because you only want my friendship while I … I want your … love.'

Harm could hardly believe Mac's words. His heart began to beat harder and faster, causing a dull pain in his still healing chest. When, by reflex, he brought his arm up to cover his chest and went slightly pale, Mac felt a stab of terror and instantly regretted her words.

'Harm .. Harm, are you all right?' She moved quickly to take his arm and lead him the couch. 'God, I knew this wasn't the right time to get into that discussion. I am so sorry.' She sank down beside him, slipping an arm around his waist.

Harm was slightly short of breath, more from excitement than from any pain. 'Mac, I'm fine. You just caught me off guard.' He turned to her and again lifted his fingers to her face. His voice was like a soft caress, 'you have my love, Sarah, don't you know that? You've had it for very long time.'

Mac could only stare. No words would form in her brain so she simply leaned forward, sliding both arms around Harm and holding him tight. His strong arms answered her embrace. They just held each other as both of them soaked up the new feeling of knowing each was loved. After a few minutes they drew back far enough to confirm the knowledge as they saw the love and longing in their gaze. Almost reverently they shared their first kiss as lovers, a kiss that quickly became urgent with need. Mac's lips parted as she invited Harm's tongue to explore, then she took her turn tasting and caressing. As their embrace escalated and threatened to become out of control, Mac finally drew back. 'Harm, slow down. I don't want you to overdo things. You're still recovering.'

Drawing a deep, calming breath, Harm loosened his embrace. 'The way I feel now, I'd chance it, but you're probably right. I love you and I've waited a long time for you. I don't want to wait a second longer than necessary, so the sooner I'm healed, the sooner we can continue this, right?'

Mac smiled shyly, 'I love you, too.' Her smile became more sly. 'And we can practice a little more each day, just to build your strength.' As she gazed into his eyes, her smile faded and she became more pensive. 'When I thought I was going to lose you, I didn't know how I would live without you. You've been in danger so many times, and each time I've been terrified. But afterward I could never bring myself to tell you how I felt. I thought you only wanted to be friends. And I wanted so much more. That night as I waited to learn whether you would live, I had so many regrets – regrets for a lost friendship, regrets for not trying again to tell you how I felt, regrets for the promise of a baby that might never be conceived, regrets for so many lost opportunities. We've waited so long and we still have some things to work out, but this is it, isn't it, Harm? .. what we've both always wanted? '

Harm drew Mac back into a strong embrace as he answered, 'Yes, my love. This is it.' And he proceeded to show Mac a glimpse of their future.

End

Post #1,000 on this blog. Fitting that it’s Python nerd shit, huh?

I needed a way to search for MAC addresses, which are unique identifiers for networking hardware. For example, if your computer has a built-in Ethernet port, as well as wireless capability, then it has 2 MAC addresses. These are always 6 groups of 2 hexadecimal characters (0 through 9, and A through F). E.g., a valid MAC address would be: 01:98:DF:9E:10:37. Theoretically, every MAC address on every computer in the world will be unique, as the naming scheme provides over 281 trillion possible combinations (281,474,976,710,656).

Canonically these groups of 2 hex digits are separated by a colon, but many people record them with hyphens instead. So I needed to search for this particular pattern of characters amid a potentially-vast amount of text. Enter regular expressions (which I totally suck at using).

The regex I came up with is:

Going through it, piece by piece: [a-fA-F0-9] = find any character A-F, upper and lower case, as well as any number [a-fA-F0-9]{2} = find that twice in a row [a-fA-F0-9]{2}[:|-] = followed by either a “:” or a “-” character (the backslash escapes the hyphen, since the hyphen itself is a valid metacharacter for that type of expression; this tells the regex to look for the hyphen character, and ignore its role as an operator in this piece of the expression) [a-fA-F0-9]{2}[:|-]? = make that final “:” or “-” character optional; since the last pair of characters won’t be followed by anything, and we want them to be included, too; that’s a chunk of 2 or 3 characters, so far ([a-fA-F0-9]{2}[:|-]?){6} = find this type of chunk 6 times in a row

Let’s give it a shot.

First, a list of strings… e.g., a row from a comma-delimited file (returned via the csv module):

Run it:

Reset For Macbook

Next, a string:

Run it:

Reget For Macbook

Fuckin’ bickety-bam, the whole stage comes crashing down.

[theplaguezine]

STRATOVARIUS

Interview with Jörg Michael by Daniel Hinds

(conducted April 2000)

Stratovarius are an amazing success story.  First, they came on in the scene in 1989, just as their style (melodic speed metal) was on its way out of fashion.  In the ensuing years, metal in general became less and less popular, but Stratovarius stuck to their guns and defied the odds, increasing their fanbase with each album.  Incredibly, their songwriting got better with time, too, bringing us to their latest masterpiece, Infinite.  The mix of power, speed, melody and musicianship has never sounded so good and the album debuted at #1 on the national Finnish charts.  So, in a world of Korn clones (and Korn for that matter…), there is hope!

The incredibly enthusiastic drummer Jörg Michael (the lone German in the band) practically talked my ear off, giving some great insight into this standout band…

I was very impressed with the new album, Infinite.  Are you happy with how it came out? It's like giving birth to something.  After such a long time preparing this album, writing this album, getting down to rehearsal - this time we actually rehearsed quite a lot, for about three weeks.  I injured myself in a football match just three weeks before the recording, so we had to delay everything a little bit until my leg was in order.  So like in the first rehearsals, I couldn't play any double-bass drum stuff.  Then we had a very nice time during the rehearsals and during the recording and at the end you can see how it came out.  You don't really questions yourself like, 'Will this be an economical success?' or whatever - you just listen to the record yourself, you let it sink in.  I must admit during the first days after it's finished, you have such a close relationship to it that you can't really judge it.  It takes a few weeks afterward.  So, now the record has been finished since the beginning of December and we all have a very, very good feeling about this album.  And I'm not saying this in general about every album because I can tell you honestly that wasn't the same with the Destiny album, where we weren't quite sure if it's good or not and we got a lot of fan mail saying that they liked the Visions album much more, for example.  But this time we are very happy and everything worked out like we planned it to be.  We have now this flying[?] equipment, so we can record wherever we want.  We went to a very nice house in the suburban area of Helsinki, Finland, directly by a lake.  It had nice sound and daylight in the rehearsal room and it was really nice to live there.  We had so much fun and we really enjoyed working there.  The guitars, the bass and the vocals were recorded there.  Of course, I myself had to go into a clinical studio again because you need quite a lot of channels to record Stratovarius drums, but everything else worked out perfectly.  At the end of the day, you see the result and everybody gave their best and we're very happy about it.

That kind of answers part of this questions, but did you do anything differently this time, in terms of the writing or the way you worked in the studio? I wouldn't say so much with the song writing.  As you know, Timo Tolkki writes about 90% of the stuff for Stratovarius.  He is the man, the bandleader, since 1984 working on this band.  Jens Johansson and I joined the band in 1995, so we just worked on the last four albums.  I would say that the song writing changed a little bit in the matter that Timo Kotipelto and Jens Johansson this time were involved as well.  And of course because of the long practice/rehearsal time that we had, it was possible for me to sneak a few arrangement ideas in there, so that gave a little bit of a different vibe to it.  In general, Timo Tolkki always writes the songs.  He has it all in his head, but then he comes out and writes the whole album in about 3 or 4 weeks.

I just saw that Infinite debuted at #1 in the Finnish album charts.  Was that a surprise? I'm a German guy and Jens is Swedish and the rest of the band are Finns.  They achieve a level of being #1 in their home country and for them it's like heaven. (laughs)  We did achieve the same thing with Destiny and that was a big surprise.  This time, we didn't have so much hope, as there was a few big Finnish bands coming out.  For example, there is one called Apulanta that sells about three times as much as we do in Finland.  They sing in Finnish, so it's this folk rock thing.  So we didn't expect it, but then it happened again and was another surprise like it was with Destiny.  I feel very happy for all the Finns in the band.  For me, it would be the same as being #1 in Germany.

How is it selling outside of Finland? I can tell you the album was released worldwide on the 28th of February, so we expect the first results to come in maybe next week.  Me and the band aren't really that interested to know how it goes… You can tell after a tour in a few months how it was.  I don know that the advance sales of Infinite have already topped the sales of the Destiny album after one year.  I know that we hit the charts in Europe, in almost every country, but it is especially surprising in countries like France where last time we invested in a tour with Angra.  Angra are Brazilian rockers who are very popular in France and we toured there with them for the Destiny album as a support act and we had played there before only about twice.  So this is nice because France has like 55 million people, so it is quite huge, for Europe.  In south Europe, like Italy and Spain, we are already very big there, so I don't think it will be a big surprise if we hit the charts there, top 10 or top 20.  What looks even more promising is that we put our tour on sale at the beginning of December in some countries and by January, our show in Paris was already sold out so we had to add another show.  The Swedish show, where we've only played so far once, are also sold out.  So it is going really good and we still have like up to 2 or 3 months before this tour happens in these countries.

You guys seem to always be touring or working on an album or promoting it.  Have you guys had a real vacation in a while? You observe right.  Since I joined the band, we did the Episode record, had a normal tour, then put out the Visions record about Episode came out.  From then on, Stratovarius became a full-time job.  We also try to control the whole business side of the band.  We have our manager, but we definitely also work behind the curtains to keep control of the band.  Sometimes, it's not so good to not have a big management, because they don't have the power to put you up with really big bands, playing support, but we're really happy with doing it our way and at least we have the control over everything and aren't filling the pockets of other people we hate anyway (laughs).  So for every one of us, Stratovarius is a full-time job.  Besides the playing, for example, I take a little care with the tour organization and I'm also in charge of the merchandise.  Mr. Kotipelto is doing the accounting and booking.  Mr. Tolkki has kind of an overview of everything and is, of course, the most creative member of the band.  Everyone puts his own talent and time into the band.  You have to give respect to other people because you can't do everything and we have a really good relationship between us.  For me, personally, it's a big change because I was always playing so much as hired gun in other bands.  It feels great to be part of a real band! (laughs)

I understand there is a special version of Infinite that includes a multimedia CD.  Can you tell me a bit about that? (pause)  What is a multi-media version?  I don't….

Like a CD-ROM? Ohh…..I'm the right guy to ask that question…  There's so many different configurations of the album coming out.  You've probably heard that we moved from Modern Music to Nuclear Blast, almost worldwide.  We are doing direct deals to Japan, France and parts of South America, but the rest is in the hands of Nuclear Blast.  They are known for putting out certain configurations to make something special for the fans and especially at the beginning, they are a lot of limited editions.  I know for example that there is a limited edition CD box with photo booklets, a sticker and additional CD-ROM, where you can watch our videos and see an interview with Mr. Tolkki by some guy in Germany.  I also have to tell you that I can't open it so far! (laughs)  It only works on Windows 95 and somehow they made a little bit of a mistake.  It's difficult to deal with these copy protections and stuff.  There is also a limited edition in France with a second CD in the first 3000 copies.  There are also a lot of bonus tracks in different countries, they are requesting that.  I think we have to bring out a CD with all these bonus tracks that everybody can buy on one CD at a special price, because [these different versions] give me a little taste of being a rip-off, to tell the truth. (laughs)  On the other side, I have to say that when we were with Modern Music and we only brought out one CD at a time, so many fans were asking us for more material: demo versions, live versions and whatever.  So we don't know what to do and this time we tried it differently, with 5 or 6 different configurations.  And I don't even have them all myself!  What I like is this picture disc, on vinyl.  We were very happy that they made this as well and a lot of people on our home page were asking for it.  We've tried to put our controlling hand on things so, for example, they don't sell all of a sudden these CD digi-packs for double the price - that I would really hate.  It's understandable to make it a little more expensive if the fans are interested in having some rare material, but just to double the price and rip these fans off who have been supporting the band for so many years, it's definitely not in our interest.

Are you getting more response from the U.S. these days? Yeah…  I can't tell so much about the other albums.  I think they were released by Modern Music and one got released by Century Media over there.  We have the feeling from observing our e-mails coming out that there are much more people from the States interested in this kind of music.  Not in particular Stratovarius, but I would also list like Gamma Ray or Iced Earth, for example.  I still think it's not enough interest to really put up a headlining tour over there.  Our label there said, 'We really like this album, would you like to promote it?' and we were like, 'Of course!'  That's what we are here for, to spread Stratovarius Finnish attitude worldwide.  On top of that, there was coming from the Iced Earth camp, asking us if we would be interested in supporting them on their next U.S. tour in November or December.  At the moment, our managements are negotiating that, because it is a question of economic survival (laughs) because when we tour there with Iced Earth, we don't get a fee.  If we tour for one and a half months in the States, from what I've heard, that doesn't really mean anything.  You can tour there for six months, you know, it's so big.  Let's see what they come up with.  If it makes sense to play the shows with Iced Earth, I'd really like to do it.  The only time I've been in the States was about 2 years or something.  I visited New York, playing in a band called Unleashed Power.  I really liked it, but this is the only thing I saw from the States and people tell me there are many completely different places from New York. (laughs)  For me, this is reason enough to give it another try.  To play there with my band would be brilliant, but it shouldn't be complete economic overkill.  Not just to say, 'Oh, we toured the States!" and then you come back and have like $120,000 minus. (laughs)  There is no point to do that.  I've heard that our record is selling or that the interest is quite big over there, but what does that mean?  Is it like we sold 500 copies before and now we're selling 1,500? (laughs)

You guys have always handled your own production.  Was there ever a time when you thought you'd like to work with someone outside of the band? (long bout of laughter)  That's a very…rare question, actually!  This is my personal opinion, but I think that Stratovarius has with Timo Tolkki one of the best producers in the world.  Even coming out of Finland and not having big success with producing other bands before, but I think that our records sound absolutely great.  All of the records I have played on with Stratovarius, I think have a very good sound and the old albums that I wasn't a part of, there is still already a high level of quality.  So, we are quite happy with what we are doing and there is no idea of changing anything.  We never even thought about it.  This time and with Destinybecause the band has gotten more popular and there is so much to do, like promotion, we have this guy called Mikko Karmila.  He is basically the engineer and this time he almost mixed the album alone.  There was a little bit of overview by Timo Tolkki behind him, but there was not really time and trust that guy so much because everything he does sounds great.  When you have a big producer like, let's say Bob Rock.  I think he's one of the best, I really admire his work and he did great, great records.  He does records like Metallica and they sell millions of copies worldwide, so you think you have to have Bob Rock to make it happen in the same way.  That's bullshit because he also does records that don't sell at all, but you don't know that.  Every big producer has these, what we in Germany call, corpses in the cellar.  Not to put him down in any way.  But if we were to try and get this Bob Rock, besides that it would explode our budget, we would end up spending so much money on a production that isn't even better in the end in my opinion.  Maybe different, but not better.  We know how we want to sound and I was always very happy with the sound on our records.  This time, Timo Tolkki and Miko tried to push up the guitars a little and the drums are a bit more quiet, but it doesn't actually disturb me so much because it gives such a powerful feeling.  We're not like 17 or 18 anymore where you go in the studio and the drummer says, 'The drums aren't loud enough,' and the guitar player says, 'The guitar is not loud enough.'  At the end of the day, all the levels are at the peak of the possibility and they still think, 'Oh, my drums still aren't loud enough!' (laughs)  So, it's really cool, no one has to prove anything now.  When I go to the studio, I listen to the whole song and how it all comes across, not just to my drums.  Of course, when it comes to like the toms sound, for me as a drummer, I'm very, very picky, but it's probably the search for the perfect toms sound that I'll never achieve.  Probably when I do, I'll retire. (laughs)

The cover art for Infinite is amazing.  How did you hook up with Derek Riggs? We were all very impressed of course by the work he did for Iron Maiden.  We have a completely different style with our album covers than Iron Maiden, but we still thought that Derek Riggs might be very interesting for us at some point because it might be challenging for him as well.  Then the Gamma Ray album came out, Powerplant, and Derek Riggs did this artwork.  It had some similarities to the Iron Maiden covers, but it also went a little bit away.  So we thought, oh, he can do different stuff so he might be interested in working with us as well.  We called Kai Hansen and asked if he would give us the number.  We got an e-mail address for Derek, sent our albums to him, told him what we wanted to do and the whole album cover concept is made by Timo Tolkki's brain.  The album was supposed to be called Infinity, but then we heard that Devin Townsend already released an album with that name, so we renamed ours to Infinite, since it means the same thing anyway.  The whole world, the whole atmosphere is divided into two parts - we have the spiritual world and we have the material world.  Of course, the material world is like the one we are living in now, that's why we have this polluted sea and everything is a little bit more dark.  The space and atmosphere, the heavens, are not so colorful or shiny, everything is a bit darker, because of the human beings who are doing a lot of harm to the world right now.  With our ability to think, we can't understand why the people are not stopping this, for example killing the rain forests because it gives us the air that we breathe.  It's like we are trying to kill ourselves.  Maybe not in our generation, but if you look a little bit further in the future, it will be that way if we don't stop it.  Then we have this infinity sign changed because normally it lies horizontally, but we put upright, like an '8', which also gives the relation of the eighth Stratovarius studio album.  Then you have the dolphin jumping from the spiritual world into the material world, which suggests birth.  And when you die you return to the spiritual world.  We believe that life in this universe is infinite, it never stops, and our existence right now is just part of that, the part in the material world, but that doesn't mean that necessarily after that all is dead.

It's nice to see someone put so much thought and detail into the cover art.  In the old days, with LPs, it seems like a lot more bands did that than now. I think a lot of bands making it very easy want to go into these old metal cliches and just shock as much as they can.  Even looking at the older Stratovarius covers, you can see it is completely different.  We never worked with this blood bath, cutting off heads or whatever, not at all.  It's a completely different image that we have and nobody in the band is like that as well.  And we get people asking, record companies especially, telling us we have to make the cover something that really shocks people.  But this is our style, take it or leave it.

Stratovarius seems to have a much more optimistic outlook than most metal bands.  Is that a reflection of how the band actually views the world and the future? I have to say that everyone in the band is a bit of a different character.  By explaining the cover artwork to you, you can see kind of the point of view of Timo Tolkki and also most of the other people in the band have.  Timo Tolkki especially is going into these esoteric things.  I'm not at all into that.  We are all not believing in religion - this is one thing where everybody is on the same wavelength.  As far as like life after death, I have a little different point of view about it.  I'm also a little bit more simple, I'm the drummer in the band (laughs).  I like to enjoy the moment and am not thinking so far into the future.  Nobody can prove anything to me what happens after death.  But Mr. Tolkki and Mr. Johansson talk a lot about that, they have a lot of discussions.  Also, Mr. Kotipelto wrote a lot of lyrics on the last albums and it has a lot to do with like Finnish mentality, living in Finland.  Everything is a little bit more frustrating, depressive, dark, sad.  They had a lot of problems with relationships to women, which is very easy to see with the lyrics on the Destiny album.  This time, it changed a little bit.  There is some of that here, but I think it is also a lot more positive.  Everybody leaves a little bit of the dark side behind and puts up some visions of the future.  We also want to take part, not to warn or pointing fingers, but maybe waking up some people and make them do something and live a little more by their conscience about everything.  Like I told you about the rain forests, or air pollution or plastic - all that stuff.  It's not that we can change it so much or that we're coming out as a new messiah or something, but this time we thought we'd just give a little bit of a different view to this whole concept.  Also right now, the band has become so big, so the band has some power…not influencing people, but people have started to listen to us a little more, what we're saying and thinking.  So we thought it would be good to tell the people what we think and they might just be more conscious of these issues.

Stratovarius at The Metal Archives

[mylovingbouquetearthquakewo-blog]

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For instance I have a spectator to racing ticket when a friend of mine attempted to outspeed a car that sped by him on the highway, he got pulled over and charged with street racing, and I received a citation for being a passenger in the car. (ridiculous I know) Now since I was not the driver, nor was my vehicle involved, should I still have to list this when filling out an online insurance quote? and if I don't what can happen if they find out later? Will they raise my rates immediately? Drop my policy? Or is there anything more serious they can do than that?""

Wife is pregnant and we have no insurance?

Hi everyone. Just found out last night that the wife's 7 weeks pregnant (yay!) but we don't have health insurance (boo!). I live in California and was told there is something called Medi-Cal (?) that helps people who are low-income and don't have health insurance in their pregnancy needs but I don't know if I qualify. My gross monthly income is $3000. Also, if I don't qualify I heard there is a low cost insurance called AIM? Anybody who's ever had dealings with Medi-cal or AIM your pointers and experience will be muchly appreciated!! Thanks! Excited but scared of becoming a daddy!! AHHHH!!!""

affordable care insurance rates

affordable care insurance rates

Do I need Mexican Car Insurance?

I'm driving from Toronto to Monterrey via Columbia Bridge. I was wondering do I need Mexican car insurance, since I've seen a lot of sites adveritising it I'm curious. And is my Canadian drivers license valid in Mexico?""

Approximately how much will my car insurance cost?

I am a 16 year old male, I will be getting my liscense soon. I'm going to have my own car(probably an old Honda civic) and ill be added on my mothers insurance policy. And I live in San Diego, and my grades are B's and C's""

Whats the cheapest Car Insurance for a 23 year old male and reckless driving ticket?

titles says it all

How is my insurance so high for my 125cc motorcycle?

Well i passed my cbt on the 13th this month, turned 17 on the 10th this month, ive had my dt125 re / x 04 model for about 2 months riding on private land etc, anywhoo, i decided to look into insurances, well first i went to carol nash and got a quote for 4000??? then i tryed comparethemarket, got a insurance quote of 3600? what the ****? seriously, theres not a chance im going to be paying that **** and the insurance place is ringing up saying do you want to buy the 4000 insurance? **** no, any idea's for cheaper insurance places or idea's to get it down?""

""How much is PPD rating schedule for %13 lumbar spine discs and knees, If my insurance company was putting me?

on Permanent Disability and my company Laid me out because of my limitation of to work? How much the insurance company has to pay me for my injury and disability?

Who has competative car-home combo insurance rates in Texas?

Who has competative car-home combo insurance rates in Texas?

Is it true that if some one borrows your car and they don't have their own insurance they are uninsured?

If they don't have their own car and insurance and you just have basic liability are they driving uninsured and could get fined if pulled over. Please advise

""Do you believe in having life insurance? If so, do you have life insurance?""

I have a friend who sells insurance so I wanted to ask you guys... 1.) Do you have life insurance? 2.) If not, why have you NOT purchased life insurance? 3.) If you HAVE purchased life insurance, what motivated you to purchase life insurance?""

Please help me get health and dental insurance?

I am 20 years old and make about $250/week (bi-weekly checks vary from about $420-520 after taxes). I am in desperate need of health insurance and I badly need dental coverage. This is horrible, but I need at least 5 fillings maybe more. I have weak enamel and I am prone to cavities. As you can tell I dont make a hell of a lot of money (and I work almost every day, but of course my hours were recently cut because the owner decided to hire a family member and pay them twice as much to sit on their *** and tell me to do the stuff I already do on my own initiative, then ***** that payroll is too high) I have to pay car insurance and constant car repairs until I can just replace it with one that wont need so much tlc and money. This makes it pretty hard to save when I keep on paying to fix things. I have a phone bill to pay as well and I do not have a house phone so it is necessary to keep in touch with family and work. Please help me figure out how to get the best coverage possible that will be affordable on a teeny budget. I really am in desperate need. Thank you so much!""

""Got caught speeding 36 in a 20, not listed on insurance, driving alone with a learned license?

My driving test is the day before my court hearing and I was wondering how much all this will cost and also if I'm gonna be able to take my test still

Purchasing health insurance?

I need to purchase health insurance. I should have purchased it a while ago because now I really need to use it. Will I be able to use it for a preexisting condition (fracture)? Any advice on a plan to purchase?

I want to file a complaint about two health insurances.?

I went on the Internet to try to get health insurance, this company called alliance for affordable service called me and told me that my percriptions would only cost in the neigbor hood of $10- to &50 dollars. I spoke to my Dr. and he told me that there was none of my medicines that he could change to the lower prices. I contacked the company and told them what the Dr. told me. I asked for my money back, they told me to send a letter, which I did. They sent me one back aqnd told me that they would not give me my money back. I dropped the insurance. I contacked another insurance on the internet. They called me. I sepicifity asked if they covered preexisting conditions and he asked did I mean, I told he that the Dr. wanted to do surgery on me left foot. He told me that it would cover any preexisting preplanned surgeries. The Dr. office called them and they told her that they would not cover any suegery inpatient or out. This company was Sure Care.""

Auto insurance ???

who do auto insurance companies answer to? Auto insurance is a state requirement, but if an Auto insurance company makes a mistake of some sort who are they responsible to? everyone answers to someone...""

Do they let you take insurance?

hi does insurance companies in US,let you take life term insurance if you have HIV..""

If someone else gets a ticket in my car will my insurance go up?

I'm wondering because my boyfriend has gotten a few tickets in my car. I haven't but my insurance has gone up $20 a month in the past year

Which would be cheaper- my university insurance or insurance from the exchanges (obamacare)?

The deadline to enroll in my university insurance is before September, but I don't know if I should wait until October to see what options from the exchanges there are? Also, are all the insurance programs from the exchanges required to cover pre-existing conditions?""

State Farm insurance?

I have my own insurance and it was. 230 a month now I am getting a new car and I need collusion I am getting a Honda civic sedan 2012 white can anyone tell me an estimate on how much my insurance will go up Ps the car is financed . I have State Farm, I am 20 years old I reside in ny and I have had no accident""

What company offers a good affordable rate for car insurance in the state of Maryland?

I'm just moving out of Virginia into Maryland and I am very overwhelmed by the high premiums that I will have to pay oppose to the lower premiums that I was paying for 2 cars in Virginia. Does anyone know a good cheap car insurance company? Thanks!

Car insurance helP?

I am going to turn 18 in february and am used to paying for my own stuff since i was 14.... i would like an estimate of monthly car insurance.. i'm a good student... and cost of registration and how often to I have to get it inspected? Any help would be appreciated

How much for a 16 year old boy drive a h22 civic for insurance how much would it cost?

How much for a 16 year old boy drive a h22 civic for insurance how much would it cost?

Cars that come with cheap car insurance. Thank you?

Cars that come with cheap car insurance. Thank you?

How much would auto insurance be for a 16 year old?

When i'm 14 in a year I would like to get a summer job, and store half of my paycheck in the bank because I want to save up for a car when im older and I get my lisence. I want to know how much insurance would probably be for lets say... a Mitsubishi Eclipse (1990s-2004) or a Nissan 200sx.""

Car Insurance Question?

First, I recently passed my road test and I am allowed to drive by myself. The problem is that the pink card (car insurance) has my parent's names on it and not mine. But, my parents recall putting me in a car insurance plan with them. So technically without my name on the card, I would be driving without insurance? And that's illegal right? (At least in Canada, Alberta) Would I be able to drive or no?""

Is there affordable insurance that covers pre-existing pregnancy?

My friend lost suddenly in a car wreck a couple weeks ago. Days later she found out that she is expecting. Cobra coverage through his insurance company is over $600 monthly. She is having a hard time finding insurance with her pre-existing condition. Does anyone know of an insurance company with reasonable rates that would be willing to cover her?

""Got into a small accident with my mothers car. She has insurance I dont, what will happen?""

I was driving my mother's car, was in a small accident. I rear ended a car in front of me at a stop sign. Completely my fault. There was no damage to both cars but the driver called an ambulance due to neck pain. A police report was made. What will happen next? She has full insurance for the car with Geico. Will the insurance rate go up? Will I have to pay any fines? Will I get into trouble for driving her car with no insurance? My mother wasnt feeling well I was using her car to run errands. Thanks!""

affordable care insurance rates

affordable care insurance rates

What states offer affordable health care?

On Sunday's Face the Nation , Sen. Mitch McConnell advocated the right to purchase health insurance across state lines, currently prohibited. That makes sense when health care is more affordable in states other than your own. So here's my question: In which state(s) is health care affordable?""

Insurance for 18yr old ?

Well.. im just wondering how much it would cost/estimate for me to get fully insured on a 1.8 Astra Sri Xp (3dr) 57 plate.. i know its going to be quite alot but i want to know a round about price and make sure its not ridiculously high before i buy it off of my mum. thanks in advance:)

Can i drive my dads car without insurance?

Alright so i live in Ontario, Canada. I just recently got my G2 licence, and i am dying to drive the car, but my dad isnt sure if he would need to get insurance in my name on the car which i will drive. he already has insurance on the car, however its on his name. Can i legally drive that car if the insurance is not on my name?""

Car insurance for a 19 year old?

Ok about a few Weeks ago I was involved in a wreak, I had no license and was not under my parents insurance. Luckily i didn't go to jail cause I was rear ended. Now I'm attempting to get A drivers license after SO long I've been begging for one, The only thing that's held me back from getting one was my parents because they said i would be tagged on into the insurance, and that I had to go under another address. Now after the wreak they said I cant get one, because once the insurance finds out im driving, they'll automatically add me on, is this true? I want to get back on the road and walking is pretty bad knowing i have a car ive been paying for the [ast two years for. BTW I live in Texas and under state farm.""

Why do I need title insurance?

I'm buying a piece of property, the lender says I have to get title insurance, why?""

Where to get temporary Health insurance for US Expats having a short visit to the U.S.?

Hi, we are U.S. citizens whose permanent residence is outside the U.S. We have health insurance in the country we reside, but unfortunately that does not cover us outside of the country. We are having a short visit to the U.S. for less than one month and would like to get some basic health insurance for our family. So far, most travel insurance I have found does not cover for travel in a country you are a citizen of (so ironically, we so far have had no luck getting travel insurance for the U.S., since we are U.S. citizens.) Therefore we are in a bit of a quandary. A) we only need insurance for a month and B) we don't need much more than something that covers for emergent or emergency care (i.e. something relatively inexpensive.) Please advise if you have ideas or experience on where we can get insurance.""

How to upgrade my current auto insurance?

I'm currently looking for a financed car, but I don't want to make a purchase without first understanding how much my insurance will cost to upgrade to full coverage. I contacted my current auto insurance (GMAC Insurance/National General Insurance). I was told that in order to be quoted for a new car, they would have to delete my car from my policy & put the new car on. I'm not understanding why my car has to be deleted just to get a quote for something I haven't purchased. I'm constantly getting the run around with this. Shouldn't I just be able to be quoted the new car without it affecting my current policy?""

Insurance?

If Im 17 and have my license, can I drive my friends car with insurance? or do I have to also have it?""

Can my insurance company get away with this?

My payment was due November 20th and I sent the check on November 3rd. At the time, I made several checks, you know, paying bills and I didnt notice but I sent my insurance check to a Charity (I have a little boy that I sponsor and every month I send a $20 check) and the Charity check to the insurance company. Well, apparently my insurance company cashed the check and cancelled my insurance without letting me know. The only reason I know my insurance was cancelled is because the Charity returned my $300 check and thats when I realized my mistake. When I called my insurance, it was already cancelled 5 days prior and even though they cashed the $20 check, that wasnt even made out to them, they refused to reinstate my policy. I had to make a whole new policy and set up for them to take the money directly out of my checking account. My question is, is this fair? Did I just get screwed out of my money?""

What are some affordable health insurance in the NJ area?

I am 25 years old and currently unemployed. I will be a student in the health care field and I'm required to purchase health insurance. I also have to get a physical exam along with vaccinations. I looked online for some insurance and I have to pay at least $250 a month which is too much for me. Are there any affordable health insurance?

Buying a car in NJ from a Private seller but want Georgia Insurance?

I have a Georgia License and am currently away at College in New Jersey (My family has a house here and in Georgia). I want to buy my first car, but insurance in NJ is extremely expensive. How do I get Georgia insurance, Registration, and my Georgia address to show on the vehicle Title? When I purchase the car from the private seller, how will I be able to get my car home with no plates?? Is there a way to get temporary plates in New Jersey and Temporary Registration? Will I need to get a New Jersey License? HELP !!! Can someone give me a step by step walkthrough of what I have to do to get the Georgia Insurance? Thank you !""

Best car insurance for new drivers?

My fiance and I pay about $200 for car insurance and thats just ppl. I just got my license, im eighteen. He has had his license for two years and he is twenty. We are paying car payments on a 2000 ford explorer and we need full coverage but its really not affordable. What is a really good car insurance company? Please and thank you!""

If a car is totalled who gets the insurance check?

My car was totalled, I am still paying the bank for it. Does the insurance company cut the check to me or my finance company???""

Car insurance scenarios?

i need help with a few car insurance scenarios, please. 1) A seventeen year old male has just purchased a used Corvette. Three insurance companies have turned him down. Is there any type of plan that will let this person buy insurance? What type of coverage will this person probably only be able to purchase? 2) A friend has just bought a two year old mid-sized car. What type of coverage would you recommend? 3) You just purchased a ten year old compact to drive back and forth to school. What type of coverage should you buy? If you could explain why, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm not exactly sure if the information given is enough to explain, based on what I know.""

Can i change a court order insurance?

My kids have been on medi-cal since i separated with their father and it has been great. I have a child with special needs and we were able to go to the best clinics in town like UCSF and Stanford. i felt that my child gets the best medical care. The court ordered the father to provide a new insurance and we came to Kaiser last year. In almost a year dealing with Kaiser doctors i don't feel the same professionalism and quality of care as we used to get being at different other clinics. I started to think of changing the coverage to what we had prior to this. But i am not sure how i could change the court order and what evidence i need to provide asking for the change. Kids are still on Medi-cal, but its their secondery now.""

Can a 17 year old get their own medical coverage in California?

I'm 17 and live in California. I was wondering if I am legally allowed to sign up for my own medical insurance, like through MediCal or something, and not through my parents. It's a long story, but neither of my parents are able to provide medical coverage for me. And I'm not emancipated or anything. 10 points best answer. thank you ( :""

Low cost liability car insurance in Conroe tx?

What are some places, How many people do you have on your liability insurance and how much do you pay and who do you have? I have two people and atm using AIG. they are going to up my bill over 65 a month. Wondering if anyone else is getting better?""

Car insurance question...?

I am currently driving my father's car. The insurance for the car is under his name, so the proof of insurance has his name on it. I have no idea if i myself am supposed to have insurance or not. Am i driving legally? If not, tell me what i can do to be able to. I am 16 and my father and I both live in Florida.""

I need cheap auto liability insurance can anyone recommend a good company?

I need cheap auto liability insurance can anyone recommend a good company?

Insurance rates after one accident?

On the average how much would the insurance go up for one at fault accident, just an average.""

Just turned 50 - can you get cheaper insurance if you are over 50?

It was my 50th bday last week and I'm trying to cut down on my car insurance costs. Can anyone recommend any insurers that offer cheaper prices for drivers over 50?

Temporary Car insurance??

Need temporary car insurance for about 3-4 weeks, our own policy runs out the middle of next month, but we have just ordered a mobility car, and it wont be here until 1st week in June. We call our current insurance company and was basically told they would charge us for 6 months and then a cancellation fee. What company offers the lowest price insurance for that short amount of time??""

Can you switch car insurance companies easily?

I bought a car last night and am picking it up today in Nova Scotia. I called around to a number of companies for insurance and got a quote that seemed reasonable. I went down today and signed the paperwork and was given the temporary insurance card and they faxed paperwork to the dealership and the dealership to them and it is all worked out. However I got a call back a few hours later from another broker quoting me a lot less. I had her verify with the company and they said yes. But I have already signed the other stuff. The one I have now is going to be monthly and the first payment should not come out till about the 15th and be the first and last payment for the month. if I switch and they have already taken the payment do I get the last month back? Can I pretty much switch at any time? Anyone know how that works? I'm a newbie at buying a vehicle an thought I had done my homework but apparently not.

Im trying to find cheap insurance for new driver in jersey. i am financing a car for the first time.?

im going to need full coverage since i am financing a 2009 scion tc. also im 19 years old.

""Cheap car insurance in Highland, CA?""

Um i live in highland ca 92346, im 18 male just got my license 1 month ago, jux bought a 96 honda accord, anniversary edition. 4 doors, 150 k, excellent condition, which car insurance is the lowest for a guy my age?""

affordable care insurance rates

affordable care insurance rates

Will My car insurance go up if a 16 year old gets a older 2 door car?

Will My car insurance go up if a 16 year old gets a older 2 door car?

Is pregnancy considered a pre-existing condition in florida?

IM PREGNANT!!!! I am 7 weeks along and just found out! The problem is I start a new job next week and will not be eligible for insurance until after 90 days.. By then I will be over four months along and I'm not quite sure if they will accept me or if they will say that it is a pre-existing condition? So, my dilemma is either: pay out of pocket until my 90 days are up and hope they accept me OR apply for medicaid and use the health department? If it changes anything the insurance I would be applying for is Florida Hospital private owned insurance.""

What is a good company to get affordable E&O insurance?

What is a good company to get affordable E&O insurance?

California Auto Insurance Cancellation?

How soon after an insurance company cancels an auto policy for non-payment will they report that cancellation to the dmv? I understand the electronic notification, but how quickly will the insurance company actually notify the dmv that the party is no longer covered? I have yet to receive a notification from dmv and my policy was cancelled 2 months ago. Unfortunately, I was involved in an accident (my fault) and although I provided a copy of my policy info, I found out later that I was not covered at the time of the accident. I had the policy Rewritten the day after the accident (a different policy number). The other party reported it to their insurance, although we agreed to settle with cash & no insurance. They are requesting me to file an SR1 file. What do I do? The info I provided had good dates of coverage on it but I found out later that my policy had lapsed. Do I submit an SR1 with the old info or new info? Will my license be suspended now??? IM DESPERATE!""

Motorbike insurance help!!!!!!?

hello im wanting to get a Suzuki bandit 600cc and get it restricted to 47bhp and practice on it with a bike instructor then do my test on it but every online insurance compare site i put my details in it don't come up with a single quote any one no whats goin on please lol

Car insurance expired?

my insurance expired today, do i have to declare my car is off road while im trying to sell it. is there a time limit""

How much for car insurance?

Ill be getting my permit in a year and drivers license in 2. Im from Minnesota and i was wondering how much car insurance would be? I already have a car, its a 2006 Sebring Chrysler. Sooo any ideas?""

BEST AFFORDABLE MEDICAL INSURANCE FOR NEWLYWEDS (NO KIDS)?

HUSBAND MAKES MORE, SO NOW NO LONGER QUALIFY FOR MY INSURANCE. WHICH IS THE BEST INSURANCE FOR PEOPLE WITH NO KIDS, AND WHICH IS THE BEST WHEN WE DECIDE TO HAVE KIDS? AND WHY? THANKS SO MUCH, THIS IS A PAIN IN THE REAR...""

Need good car insurance in new jer sey -?

i recenlty moved form california to new jersey. i was holding my car insurance with 21 st century ,that was earlier called AIG . i needed a better insurance in new jersey with reasonable rates. i see the rats are pretty high in nj , from what i looked at,.please adivse some better car insurances companies""

""On Average, How Much are braces without insurance?""

I Love my top row, they are just fine, but my bottom front teeth need alignment. i want to get braces for the bottom half only, and i wonder how much it would cost, due to the fact i don't have dental insurance.""

Is ICBC Prejudiced against young drivers a 120$ a month insurance rate cars?

I am a young drivers just starting out and I drive just like anyone else, I don't consider my actions dangerous why is it though I must pay premium prices if I drive well. These rates only adjust after driving for a longer time. it can be that of statistics ? I know that amount a month for insurance alone is exorbitant and when I ask older drivers some say they pay around 50$ a month. Are there other licensures in BC for licensing for driving a car, perhaps much cheaper than ICBC ?""

Is Progressive a good insurance company?

Is Progressive a good insurance company?

What is the average car insurance cost for new drivers in NJ?

17 yr old driver male extra cost cost per year on parents insurance?

How much will I get from the insurance for my totaled car?

A person hit my parked car and damaged the body, the wheel well, and the wheel is bent crooked and rubbing on the strut. My problem is the car is old and probably only worth $500. It will be really difficult to find a replacement for $500, it seems i might need to spend $1500 -$2000. Maybe this is close to the repair price, I don't know. What do you think they will offer me? What should I do?""

How much do Fed-Ex Drivers pay for insurance?

I just got employed with Fed-Ex. Does anyone know about how much my insurance will be?

Car insurance queries?

its got no insurance but taxed and motd can i drive it on my licence i can drive any car not belonging to me with owners permission

Do you approve or disapprove of the Affordable Healthcare Act?

And do you want it to become a reality or to disappear?

Can I be covered under my girlfriend's insurance plan if we have lived together for a year and a half?

My girlfriend works for AT&T and is enrolled in their insurance plan. I just graduated from college, and have not started employment with my job yet. The insurance coverage I had with ...show more""

""Pregnant, no insurance and make too much money for medicaid. Advice?""

I am an independent contractor and have no insurance. I am now pregnant before having a chance to get health insurance. Health insurance once pregnant is way too expensive. I make too much money for government assistance, but not enough to afford private insurance. I'm in a tough spot, and I wonder if anyone has any advice to help me finance my pregnancy.""

Car insurance help!!?

So about a month and a half ago, someone kicked my car at night and left a big dent. I was stupid and called insurance and they gave me two options: fix the car or take a cash settlement. However, no matter what I do, my monthly insurance rate is going to go up even though it was not my fault. I think this is ridiculous and not worth it and I just want to cancel the claim. But I have been told that once a claim is put in, there's nothing you can do and once you hit three claims, your overall premium goes way up. What do I do? Should I just stop contacting the insurance company and after a while they have to close the claim? I wanted to sell the car this week but I guess that adds too many complications...""

Insurance rates after one accident?

On the average how much would the insurance go up for one at fault accident, just an average.""

Health Insurance?

Will my health insurance cover going to a psychiatrist regarding anxiety issues?

""If u wrote-off a $5000 car, on average how much would ur insurance company give you back?""

If u wrote-off a $5000 car, on average how much would ur insurance company give you back?""

Simple car insurance question:? help?

Hiya, I'm seventeen and 7 months old, I'm working towards my drivers license but I REALLY do want to buy a Hyundai Coupe, either a Hyundai Coupe Siii 2006-8 or the normal s edition, its engine is 1.6 and one costs about 2 grand and the other 4 thousand, how much will be it to ensure, ? average costs? its in insurance group 8p, the siii one, dont give me any sites to go and look and get quotes please, btw, I WILL BE THE SECOND DRIVER, the first driver will be aged 48 and with over 20 years of experience and no history of claims or anything, i have no convictions nothing that could hurt my insurance, just wanna know an average cost, and cheapest thanks""

California: Smogging an older car?

I have a 1983 Datsun 280zx, and I just got a letter in the mail saying I have to smog this vehicle. I thought there was an age bracket for classic cars that didnt need to be smogged ...show more""

affordable care insurance rates

affordable care insurance rates

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-would-estimated-insurance-cost-motorcyle-luis-young/"

[press-a-repeatedly]

Final Fantasy XV: A Royal Pain in the Butt

by Zul Edwards

Final Fantasy. For years this beloved series was the standard bearer for what an RPG should be. The absolute titans of creative storylines, stellar graphics, innovative battle systems and fun side quests that have been, and still are, emulated to this day. Some of my absolute favorite games of all time are in this series; FF9, FF6, FF4, and FF10, just to name a few. However, I think it’s safe to say that reputation has changed over time for the worse. For the past several years Final Fantasy has shifted in my eyes. Once a series that used to fill me with joy when I heard those two glorious F’s next to each other, to an eye rolling, groan-inducing disappointment that just makes me want to scream out one giant F instead.

I know you can hear the theme playing in your head.

Two years ago in November 2016, Square-Enix’s latest installment in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy 15 was released. Now this game had one of the craziest and longest development cycles in recent gaming history. I won’t get into it fully here but trust me when I say, it sucked. Over ten years from the initial reveal of what was once called Final Fantasy Versus 13, to what ultimately came out as Final Fantasy 15. It went through so many changes and took so much time I think I always knew in the back of my mind that there was a very slim chance it could actually live up to the years of anticipation and hype surrounding it. And I hate to say, I was right. Final Fantasy 15, despite, having years of development, backed by one of the most successful companies in gaming with a pedigree of games that would make other studios blush, was an absolute letdown when it first landed in my lap.

FF15 started out promising enough, the opening scene and first few hours were rather enjoyable. Getting to know the characters, playing a seemingly simple story (for a Final Fantasy) of main character, Prince Noctis, going on a road trip with his friends and bodyguards to get married was a novel concept and initially got me engaged (heh) in the game. The combat was simple and flashy, yet satisfying, the graphics are amazing, from character models to the environment they’re all top notch, and getting to hear classic FF songs as you drive around your royal cruiser, taking in the breathless countryside was truly delightful. However, the initial hours could only do so much and the chinks in the armor grew and spread until the metaphorical wheels came off the Regalia and slammed into the side of a mountain. As you progressed, the flashy battles became repetitive button mashing affairs, often made worse by the unruly camera, the open world gameplay became more and more linear, the story became less and less interesting, and the focus shifted from a sweet bromance between sweet bros to hours of the main character trudging through hallway after empty hallway in a giant boring factory, by himself, ultimately ending with a rushed and seemingly incomplete final area. It was baffling how this game took so long to come out and yet, it still felt unfinished and unpolished.

Stand by me.

Final Fantasy 15 became what I believe is the gravest sin in gaming; a chore. I was no longer excited after coming home from work and seeing what Noctis and the boys were up to, and what delicious 3D meals I could feast my eyes on, I was instead dreading the obligation I had gotten myself into. I felt I only had to beat the game for beating the game’s sake and not for my own enjoyment. And beat it I did. Unsurprisingly, I ultimately I felt nothing from the ending except the relief it was finally over and that I could finally go back to playing The Witcher 3 for the 100th time.

However, I was assured by people on the internet that if I only watched the movie that came alongside the release, or the anime mini-series, or the three DLC missions with your side characters, or the novel or the manga or the interactive wedding dress simulator or any other supplementary content that existed outside of the base game, I would enjoy it more. Ehhh no. Now call me crazy, but I don’t think playing games should require you to have additional homework assignments alongside them to understand who crucial characters are or even what important plot details are to have a “complete” version of the game. I think if said content wasn’t in the game, then it’s unrealistic for the developers to assume you would go out and consume all this extra stuff just to understand the basic storyline. For me, it’s safe to say out of the tin, in its original form, Final Fantasy 15 was truly an incomplete experience, and dare I say, a bummer.

So why am I writing this? I didn’t enjoy the game, it’s been two years and that’s the end of it right? Well recently, after ignoring any and all news from the game, I’ve been seeing that Final Fantasy 15 has been redeemed. That the once poor excuse for a game has been re-released and risen to his kingly status in an exceptional way. That the pauper had finally become a prince. Final Fantasy 15: Royal Edition for consoles and Final Fantasy 15: Windows Edition for PCs had come out and all was right with the universe. New features, new cutscenes, new story missions, fleshed out ending areas, trimmed down linear segments, better driving mechanics and much, much more, all fixed and ready for you to purchase for $15 if you own the base game already, or $50 fresh and sealed in plastic.

The King is dead. Long live the king.

Now, I’m a simple man. I like my beer cold, my music loud, and my vidya games to be released with all their crucial story content and critical character information in their original release. I don’t, however, like when I have to pay $60 for what is essentially a BETA version of a game, and only after a studio hears all the feedback of how the game was confusing and sub-par, change it, then re-release it to us again for a small fee. Oh, thank you, Square-Enix, how kind of you to make us pay again for a final version of your originally flawed, incomplete game. “But, Zul”, I hear you clacking at your keyboards, “Square is only trying to do the right thing! They’re going back and fixing their mistakes! They could have just left the game as it is and not done anything to make it better!” Ok. Sure. That is true. This story could have ended in November 2016 with the game being released, it sucking, and then them moving on and assuring us the next Final Fantasy would be bigger and better and coming soon in the year 2055. I, however, don’t believe this a valid argument.

It’s true that gaming has changed over the years, from popping in a cartridge and playing immediately, to popping in a Blu-Ray disc and waiting hours to download bloated patches on day one. Games can be fixed, upgraded and changed as soon as you purchase them now. Studios do this all the time, hell, even The Witcher 3 looks and feels completely different from its debut with updated menu interfaces, graphical upgrades and combat tweaks. The difference being, most studios won’t make you pay for these changes and tweaks. Most studios ADD onto their original games with new side quests, extra harmless cosmetics and/or un-crucial story missions. Most studios, won’t charge you extra to play a game you already own, for it’s “complete” edition. Now I understand development for a game costs money and time and that developers and artists should be reimbursed for their dedication to their craft and that gaming is a tough and tricky business. However, I personally don’t believe it's fair for developers to release something that they (probably) know is flawed and unfinished only to give us the enviable privilege to finally play what they originally intended for a “low, low fee” at a later date.

Now, this probably isn’t the first instance of this happening. I’m not a gaming historian and I don’t do research. I’m just a guy who likes video games. This might not even be the most egregious instance of something like this happening, however as a life-long supporter and defender of Final Fantasy and Square(Enix) this just felt like a total dick move. Final Fantasy and the company I had grown to love over the years just aren’t the same thing anymore. What happened to the Square that released FF 7, 8 and 9, all stellar games with amazing characters, stories, locations and music, seemingly back to back all within a three-year window? Instead, we get release dates for when a teaser trailer is going to drop five seconds of footage on us for a game that promises to come out sometime before the eventual heat death of the universe. Final Fantasy went from gripping tales of love and heroism, sweeping epic stories and some of the most bombastic or heartfelt music to ever grace my eyes and ears, into just… meh. Final Fantasy 13 and all its terrible spin-offs, Final Fantasy 15, and now the vaporware that is the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, are just ugly reminders of how far the mighty Square have fallen from their original top of the industry. It’s ironic, and almost poetic Final Fantasy tier writing, how Noctis’s ultimate ascent to the throne, simultaneously deposed Square Enix as the kings of RPGs for me.

Images via thefinalfantasy.com and dailydot.com