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dolphin-enthusiast · 5 years ago

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Part 11. Is long, my dudes. ALSO MY POOL IS FILLING UP!! But another warning, a weed Joke.

“WHAT DO WE DO,DAMMIT!! What should I do?!” ”Chill, Okuyasu quit watching and get over here we can’t leave them alone at a time like this.” “Wait, why are you so calm?! YOU’D BE THE FIRST TO PANICK AND SHE’S TARGETING YOU TOO!!!” “Oh, I look calm, I’m just keeping the anxiety attack on the inside.” “You know, at first I was happy, no other girls liked me before.” “I feel you, I feel you deeply and my feelings I can feel deeply.” Then Koichi just plans to tell her off “Koichi, are you braindead? From someone that’s been confessed like 7 times each day, it won’t end well.” “She’s right, she won’t stop easily! She’s the kind of person that can weave 2 sweaters in a single night, that’ll make her more determined!” “Hey, did you guys know Sky’s Puertorican-Mexican?” “Huh? A combination like that exists?” “Why does she look Korean?” “To be honest myself, I don’t know. The real question is how did SHE know I’m Puertorican-Mexican.” “Can you speak Puertorican?” “Okuyasu, you fucking dumbass, México and Puerto Rico speak Spanish- WE’RE GETTING OFF TOPIC!!” “Right!- Wait, is that right? I can’t tell her off?” “Right, don’t try to convince her now. Don’t make her use her hair stand. You need to make her hate you too, make you seem like the most boring and bad people in the school.” “Guys, as a psychic,I don’t recommend that-” then they formulate a plan “Wait, how do we make a girl like Sky, the most boring person ever? I mean, her entire life could be made into a drama. And she gave Yukako her own phone number.” “What if we don’t and I ignore her like I do with everyone else-” Then they continue “How about we tell her a giant lie about Sky too, like, She’s completely straight! Or if she’s a slob-” “I give up.” Then they continue and Koichi shows them his English test “-This is the english text we just took. I can’t study like this!” “16... That’s really low. Even I can do better than this. Mine’s 32.” “Really? I got a 96. If it weren’t for the fact that I ran out of time I would’ve gotten 100. I think I’ll also ruin my life as well. I got a 69.420 in Japanese. I can’t afford to ruin what I spent raising so much.” “Listen Koichi!Do what we tell you! Sky, I love you, survive.” “Well damn, if you put it that way, I guess I will.”

Yukako was making her way down the streets . “HEY, THAT KOICHI HIROSE IS VERY DIRTY!!” “HE LOOKS NORMAL!! I CAN’T BELIEVE HE DOES THINGS LIKE THAT!!” “AND THAT SKY-CHANYEOL GUADALUPE!!” “I CAN’T BELIEVE SHE COMES FROM A PLACE LIKE THAT!! SHE MUST BE SECRETLY A THUG!!” “Hey, is she looking that way? And why is there a trashcan here ?” “No, but I’m sure she can hear us, let’s continue. And I don’t know. Go with it I guess.” “THAT KOICHI REALLY STEALS?!” “YEAH!! HE TOLD ME HIMSELF!!” “NO DIGNITY!” “AND DOES SKY REALLY LIKE BLOWING THINGS UP?!” “YEAH!! WHERE SHE COMES FROM SHE DID IT A LOT, SHE CAN MAKE A BOMB OUT OF THIN AIR!!” Then they continue with Koichi’s insults. Then, Okuyasu says “I HEARD THAT SKY DOESN’T DATE BECAUSE ALL OF HER PSYCHOPATHIC EXES WERE BLOWN UP!!” “REALLY? DID SHE HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT?!?” “SHE DENIES IT, BUT SHE LOOKED PROUD!!” “WE SHOULD CUT TIES WITH THEM!! SHE’S INSANE AND HE HAS NO FUTURE!” She leaves. *Pop*

I come out of the trashcan. “Wait, you were here all along?” “Yes, and the part about insane hurt a little. You didn’t have to go there. I mean, you’re not wrong, but still, you didn’t have to go there.” “Can you predict that our plan work.” I do the thing. “It didn’t work, she’s gonna kidnap us.” “Maybe your vision was wrong.” “I SURE HOPE SO.”

At my boi Koichi’s.

“Josuke and Okuyasu made it sound so easy... I’m so tired. Maybe I was too nervous. Let’s hope tomorrow she’ll forget about us.” He was talking, I was shaking. He falls asleep and has a nightmare. “Wake up, Koichi. Wake the fuck up,Koichi!!” “W-What’s wrong?” Yukako is outside the window “Y-Your friends are saying bad things about you!! But don’t worry I’m here to perfect you. I’m taking you with me.” She sees our English tests, my Japanese quiz and a bottle of nitroglycerin. “One more centimetre.” “Huh, what’s wrong, love?” “One more centimetre and that bottle would’ve fallen off the table.” Koichi just goes: “What would’ve happened if it fell off?” “That bottle of nitroglycerin would’ve fallen, gotten shocked from impact and exploded. There’s enough in that bottle to obliterate the entire room.” “That’s why I’m here, to fix you!” And she kidnaps us.

In a house, near the edge of Duwang.

There we were tied up to a chair. My stand, was close to hatching, and I was sending an SOS to Jotaro.

... And building a bomb with my feet just in case. You never know wjen

“You must be hungry guys!”

‘Koichi, act natural.’ ‘Wait, did you just send me a message with your mind?!’ ‘Yes, don’t question it. Just play along with it.’

“Hey, Shawty? We wanted to ask you something.” “What?” “Last night, about the hair, what was that about?” “You guys saw it for the first time so you just be a little scared..” she explains about how it was Keicho, an arrow and so on. “Do you mayhaps know someone else with that ability?” “Not sure, now come sit here, you need to have a balanced diet to become perfect people!”

‘Koichi, I made a bomb while she was cooking, I hid the detonator of the bomb in a safe box, push it back so she doesn’t notice.’ ‘How? Your psychic abilities helped you see that it would work?’ ‘No, I quite literally make stuff in my sleep. It just happened to be bomb this time.’ ‘Ok!’ He slides the bomb back. “Can we eat? I need to take my pills after eating.” “Can we??!” “NOT NOW,GUYS!! Koichi, 16 on your English test? And Sky, really? 69.420?” “Listen, I may not be that person to do jokes that I don’t fully understand. But it said 420. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to do a weed joke and I needed to use it.” “So you smoke?!!” “No, I see the people who get high do stupid things everyday I leave my apartment with my do- WHERE’S IGGY?!” “BARK!” “Thank God...” “Anyways, I said it last night, those scores are too low in my standards, Koichi, even if you’re not that smart, that score is too low, and Sky-” *click* *Dorime, Interimo Adapare,Dorime-* “I know that Japanese is not even close to your native language but you have a manga, it’s not even finished yet! How are you so bad at it?” “First, How did you know I was writing another part? And second, YOU KNOW I’M BOTH DYSLEXIC AND DYSGRAPHIC!! I TRY BUT I SUCK!” “I think we should study while we eat.” She pulls out the boxes and asks Koichi. “Prince often sings about 'funky music', but what is the definition of 'funk'? A) Crazy music B) Groovy music or C) Smooth music?” “B!” “Correct! Now for Sky! How many strokes takes to write the word 湖 (Lake)? A) 15 B) 12 or C) 10?” “B.” “Great!You guys got boiled eggs!” ‘Dammit, I hate those.’ ‘How did you know the answer of yours? You don’t even know how to write your name correctly.’ ‘ I didn’t. I knew that if you were correct with your answer, she wouldn’t expect for me to guess it was in the same place. I do every character with as many strokes I need. I write everything kinda connected, Spanish and Japanese are far from similar.’ “ I’ll take the shell off. Do you guys want salt or soy sauce?” ‘She seems happy! We need to escape as soon as we get the chance!’ “If you guessed A, you’d have to eat erasers!” ‘Fuck, it’s real.’ “C is soap.” ‘Oh hell naw.’ Then she goes to the next one. Koichi bout to get it. “And for Sky, the strokes for, ( 愛 )love. A) 11 ,B) 9, or C) 13. Koichi guesses from her face, I think about it. “C!” “ Koichi, did you guess by looking at my face?” “What about Sky?!” “Did YOU guess by my face,Guadalupe?” “NO, I GUESSED BECAUSE IT LOOKED LIKE IT HAD THE SAME NUMBER OF STROKES LIKE LAKE BUT I NOTICED ONE MORE STROKE!!” “She thought about it! “ And she gives him the choice from bamboo or corn syrup. And tries to force feed him. “GET THE BOMB!!” And we try to get it to run.

(What I hear every time I run after I make my mum mad.)

“YOU’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!” “FINE!!! I ACCEPT THAT FOR NOW, BUT MY BOMB!!” “WHAT WERE YOU DOING WITH A BOMB!!” “I BUILT IT IN MY SLEEP OK?!? I DON’T REMEMBER HOW I BUILT THIS ONE!! THAT’S WHY I NEED IT!!” Yadayadaya , we try to escape Yukako reveals that the house is owned by a CEO in Tokyo and since no one will know until summer, we’ll have plenty of time to 'make progress'. Yayadaya, we get to the door, in what year did Columbus discovered the new world?’ “Do you know the answer?” “No, I forgot, she yoinked my head real hard.”

Part 12. Soon

#fuckin tokyo ceo then mf columbus #submission

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bitcofun · 2 years ago

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This is a viewpoint editorial by Gabriel Vazquez, a factor for Bitcoin Magazine. Bitcoin Maximalism is viewed by numerous as a "hazardous" characteristic, a brand name of culture war waged by veteran holders, OGs and whales who will do anything to pump their bags. In this quick piece, I describe how this could not be even more from the reality. I cover my journey to maximalism and how Bitcoin has actually taught me to HODL through challenge, adjust my goals and reducing my time choice. I will make the case that Bitcoin is a beacon, not just for the OGs, endeavor capitalists, CEOs and all those other rich acronyms, however for the bad, the exhausted and the gathered masses.2017 was a huge year for Bitcoin. It was likewise a huge year for Puerto Rico, where I was fortunate adequate to be born and raised. September brought 2 Category 5 typhoons to the island back to back, a simple 2 weeks apart from each other. Cyclone Irma directly missed out on direct landfall. In spite of the near-miss, the large size and strength of the storm still handled to harm facilities, take lives and leave millions without power. Maria came. With a touch of paradox, my power was brought back less than 24 hours prior to Hurricane Maria made landfall, so I had hardly adequate time to charge my gadgets. Little did I understand, I would not have the ability to do so once again for the next 5 months. The lights snapped back on in my home mid-February 2018, the celebratory shout from a whole area echoing in the night was something to witness. Already, bitcoin's blow-off-top bull run had actually just recently come reversed, the dust had actually hardly settled and the cost hovered around $10,000 I keep in mind believing, "If I purchase here and it returns to where it was simply a month earlier, I can double my cash!" This was how my journey started. Not as an advanced financier seeking to diversify, or as a cypherpunk determined on ending the Federal Reserve, however as a simple bartender who had actually simply lost a lot and wished to make a few of it back. For numerous, purchasing bitcoin is merely an allowance of some non reusable earnings, however it wasn't for me. I'm happy to state that, regardless of having a due time choice and simple objective at the time, I never ever offered. It's a difficult subject to discuss-- the absence of doing something-- however I feel it's the most vital part of my story. HODLing is difficult Through holding, I gradually discovered about what genuinely makes it important, and how remarkable Bitcoin is as an innovation. I attempted to encourage buddies to purchase it without success. Around the very same time, I purchased around $100 worth of ether and offered it for a 50% loss a couple of months later on. Unbeknownst to me, through the cleaning of shitcoin capitulation, I had simply end up being a Bitcoin Maximalist. Maximalism wasn't an option initially; I just could not manage to bet and hypothesize. It was those "hazardous" Bitcoin Maximalists, together with some good sense, which kept me far from all the rip-offs and sound. I held my undersea bags for the much better part of a year. I would dollar-cost typical percentages, my self-confidence growing in addition to the size of the purchases. As the rate climbed I was conquered with the sensation of, "Oh shit, I do not have sufficient bitcoin!" The following years would continue to bring obstacles to Puerto Ricans and bitcoin holders alike. I was rushing for a lifeboat. I stopped my vices; I stopped cigarette smoking and drinking and focused all my efforts on attempting to put myself in a much better position for the future. Lots Of Puerto Ricans were required to leave after Hurricane Maria, and lots of tax incentive-seekers have actually been all too excited to fill their locations. Through Bitcoin, I discovered a method to possibly protect a piece of this land I call house and get ready for the unsure times that lie ahead. I feel so exceptionally bullish-- without

caring about the cost-- about how there need to be numerous individuals withstanding their own individual Hurricane Maria as I type this. Bitcoin remains in a much better position than ever to assist them, it is simply waiting to be understood. It has actually never ever had to do with fiat, however rather about sovereignty and self-realization through self-control and endurance. I HODL since I understand things are just going to get even worse. Simply as I stocked batteries and mineral water prior to, I can do something to get ready for the challenging times ahead by stacking bitcoin. This is a visitor post by Gabriel Vazquez. Viewpoints revealed are completely their own and do not always show those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine. Read More

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braddeanmyrtlebeach · 1 year ago

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Brad Dean Myrtle Beach | Dynamic Leader

Brad Dean's impact is undeniable. Formerly at the helm of Myrtle Beach Chamber, he grew tourism by 82%, setting records. He's a dynamic leader with a heart for unity and change. From Chicago Cubs fan to CEO, he's now focusing on Puerto Rico's post-pandemic recovery. An advocate for unity, he envisions travel as a catalyst for global understanding. His journey - from Illinois to Puerto Rico - inspires. From a multi-sport athlete to a tourism trailblazer, he's led Myrtle Beach Chamber to immense success. With a passion for unity and mentorship, he's now committed to Puerto Rico's revival post-Hurricane Maria and the COVID-19 pandemic. Brad Dean Myrtle Beach journey from Illinois to San Juan as CEO of Discover Puerto Rico is marked by visionary leadership. Having steered Myrtle Beach tourism to new heights, he's a force for unity and positive change.

#brad dean myrtle beach #ceo of discover puerto rico

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bunkershotgolf · 2 years ago

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DISCOVER PUERTO RICO GOLF THRIVES, MIRRORS ISLAND DESTINATION’S SUCCESS

On the cusp of closing Fiscal Year 2022-23, Discover Puerto Rico, the Island’s Destination Marketing Organization, guided the Island to significant increases in visitor metrics compared to 2022.

Strong performance persists throughout the Island golf destination, as many courses and golf resorts report burgeoning numbers of players in each of the past three years.

Puerto Rico’s gorgeous scenery – from rainforest and mountains to miles of beaches and rare bio-luminescent bays – coupled with its vibrancy and array of destination activities and amenities, beckons golf travelers.

Sixteen of Puerto Rico’s 18 golf courses are open to the public. The other two – at TPC Dorado Beach – allow play by guests staying at the Dorado Beach, Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Golfweek rates several of the Island’s courses among the best in the Caribbean, Mexico, Costa Rica and the Atlantic Islands.

“As our golf destination continues ascending on the world golf stage, more travelers are choosing Puerto Rico for their next getaway thanks to the quality and quantity of our courses and resorts,” said Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico. “It helps that we are the most traveler friendly destination in the Caribbean.”

Island courses range from luxury resort to municipal, spread throughout Puerto Rico with several clustered near historic San Juan. Oceanside views, coconut trees, and mountain and rainforest vistas frame their settings. Price points, terrain, layout style, and related amenities are varied and complementary.

Traveling to the Island is convenient with many choices as it is the air hub of the Caribbean. Further traveler friendliness is found in Puerto Rico’s bilingual culture, U.S. currency, and no passport required for American citizens.

For more information on the Island, travel guidelines, golf courses, resorts and hotels, and other destination attractions, visit DiscoverPuertoRico.com

About Discover Puerto Rico

Discover Puerto Rico is a private, not for-profit Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) whose mission is to make Puerto Rico visible to the world as a premier travel destination. The DMO is bringing prosperity to the people of Puerto Rico by collaboratively positioning the Island’s diversity and uniqueness for leisure, business and events. It is responsible for all global marketing, sales and promotion of the destination and works collaboratively with key local governmental and non-governmental players throughout Puerto Rico’s visitor economy and community at large, to empower economic growth. Visit: www.DiscoverPuertoRico.com

#golf #new #Golf Courses #submission

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sknews7 · 4 years ago

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Miami University party; AstraZeneca; Puerto Rico beaches

Joel Shannon and Grace Hauck USA TODAY

Printed 7:36 PM EDT Sep 12, 2020

Drug builders are racing to create a COVID-19 vaccine, however a post-pandemic world will not all of a sudden arrive when one is efficiently developed.

A return to “regular residing” will not come till “a number of months” after a vaccine first arrives, Dr. Anthony Fauci stated on CNN. That is more likely to be a couple of yr away, as a profitable vaccine nonetheless must be manufactured and distributed at a large scale.

Within the meantime, Individuals are studying extra about dangers related to a number of components of regular life that stay. Current Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention research documented well being challenges in eating and daycare. One research discovered eating out was linked with larger an infection charges in adults. One other research documented youngsters who had been contaminated in daycare and unfold the virus at dwelling.

In the meantime faculties proceed to be scorching spots for the virus: Of the 25 hottest outbreaks within the U.S., communities heavy with school college students characterize 19 of them.

Some important developments:

AstraZeneca put a maintain on its COVID-19 scientific trials worldwide this week whereas it investigated an hostile response in a trial participant in the UK. One volunteer in a trial in the UK apparently developed a severe neurological downside after receiving the vaccine.

Puerto Rico was reopening seashores, casinos, gyms and film theaters throughout the U.S. territory Saturday.

The U.S. State Division downgraded its journey warning for Mexico.

Dentists say they’re seeing proof our oral well being is struggling amid the pandemic.

The New York Metropolis academics union warns it received’t let the nation’s largest faculty district reopen for in-person lessons this month if town doesn’t subject protecting tools, conduct testing and clear colleges correctly.

Right this moment’s numbers: Montana, North Dakota, Guam and Puerto Rico set data for deaths this week, in response to a USA TODAY evaluation of Johns Hopkins College knowledge via late Friday. No state data for brand spanking new circumstances had been set. The U.S. has greater than 6.4 million confirmed circumstances and greater than 193,000 deaths, in response to Johns Hopkins College knowledge. Globally, there are greater than 28 million circumstances and greater than 916,000 fatalities.

What we’re studying: Not everybody desires to hurry to reopened eating places and seashores in the course of the pandemic, however they might be at odds with opinions from family and friends. Here is the best way to say no to weddings, vacation dinners and extra.

Mapping coronavirus: Observe the U.S. outbreak, state by state

This file can be up to date all through the day. For updates in your inbox, subscribe to The Every day Briefing publication.

‘Entrance line hero’ dies after 4-month battle with virus in Kentucky

An infectious illness specialist at Bowling Inexperienced Med Heart Well being in Kentucky died 4 months after testing constructive for COVID-19.

Dr. Rebecca Shadowen, who was a pacesetter with the Bowling Inexperienced-Warren County Coronavirus Workgroup, died Friday night time following a battle with COVID-19, the medical heart introduced. “There are actually no phrases to explain the ache felt by her household, doctor colleagues and Med Heart Well being teammates,” Connie Smith, president and CEO of Med Heart Well being, wrote in a press release.

On social media Saturday morning, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear inspired individuals to comply with her recommendation and “put on a masks in her honor.”

“I’m heartbroken to listen to of the passing of Dr. Rebecca Shadowen, a entrance line hero who labored tirelessly to guard the lives of others,” Beshear wrote. “Our ideas and prayers are along with her household, pals and colleagues.”

— Emma Austin, Louisville Courier Journal

Bodycam footage: Ohio police bust celebration at home full of contaminated school college students

A school pupil home held a celebration over the Labor Day weekend that included individuals who had not too long ago examined constructive for the coronavirus, in response to police physique digicam footage.

Police in Oxford, Ohio, cited six males who attended a home celebration close to Miami College final Saturday for violating the state’s mass gathering and quarantine ordinance. Bodycam footage exhibits an officer arriving at a house close to the campus and discovering males with out masks on the porch.

Within the footage, one of many residents tells the officer he examined constructive per week earlier than. The officer asks what number of different individuals in the home have COVID-19, and the resident responds, “All of them do.”

“Oh, God. That is what we’re attempting to forestall,” the officer says. “We need to maintain this city open.”

Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York Metropolis reacted to the state of affairs in an emailed assertion: “If college students may witness the dying and devastation inside ERs and ICUs over the previous few months, they may higher perceive the worth of not solely quarantines and isolation in the event that they check constructive, however the opportunity of dying in the event that they attend or maintain a celebration if they’ve COVID-19.”

Ohio’s candidate for state well being director withdraws

The candidate Gov. Mike DeWine had tapped to be the following director of the Ohio Division of Well being has withdrawn from consideration, the governor’s workplace stated in a press launch Thursday night time.

Dr. Joan Duwve cited unspecified private causes for her resolution. She was meant to interchange interim director Lance Himes, who had been filling in since Dr. Amy Acton stepped down as director of the well being division in June amid criticism from Republicans over her actions to guard the well being and security of Ohioans.

Duwve, a local Ohioan, is presently the director of public well being for South Carolina’s Division of Well being and Environmental Management, DeWine stated. She was anticipated to begin her new function right here in October, he stated.

– Max Filby, The Cincinnati Enquirer

AstraZeneca to renew vaccine trial in UK

Pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca is anticipated to renew scientific trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate after a quick world pause in testing, Oxford College, which is co-developing the vaccine, stated in a press release Saturday.

A normal overview course of triggered the research pause on Sunday, Oxford stated, and an unbiased security overview committee and nationwide regulators reviewed the group’s security knowledge.

“The unbiased overview course of has concluded and following the suggestions of each the unbiased security overview committee and the UK regulator, the (Medicines and Healthcare Merchandise Regulatory Company), the trials will recommence within the UK,” Oxford stated in a press release Saturday.

India experiences 97,570 new circumstances in 24 hours

India – the nation with the second-most confirmed COVID-19 circumstances on the planet, behind the U.S. – reported a report surge of 97,570 new circumstances in 24 hours Saturday, pushing the nation’s complete above 4.6 million circumstances.

India additionally reported one other 1,201 deaths Saturday, bringing complete deaths to 77,472, the third highest on the planet.

India’s single-day spike far exceeds the U.S.’s biggest single-day surge. On July 16, the U.S. reported greater than 77,000 new each day COVID-19 circumstances, in response to Johns Hopkins.

– The Related Press

Puerto Rico to reopen seashores, casinos, gyms after drop in circumstances

Puerto Rico’s governor introduced Thursday she would reopen seashores, casinos, gyms and film theaters throughout the U.S. territory as officers report a current drop in COVID-19 circumstances and deaths that some specialists fear may once more spike.

The modifications can be in impact from Saturday till Oct. 2. Face masks and social distancing, particularly on the seaside, stay obligatory, bars and golf equipment will keep closed, and a 10 p.m. to five a.m. curfew will proceed.

The island of three.2 million individuals has reported greater than 500 deaths, together with greater than 17,000 confirmed circumstances and one other 19,000 possible ones. Greater than 420 individuals stay hospitalized.

– The Related Press

State Division drops journey warning for Mexico as border closure is ready to run out

This week, the U.S. State Division downgraded its journey warning for Mexico. The information comes lower than two weeks earlier than the present border closure settlement between the U.S. and its southern neighbor is ready to run out.

All the nation is not underneath a Stage 4 “Don’t journey” warning. As a substitute, the State Division is itemizing Mexico’s new standing as Stage 3 “Rethink journey,” together with specified advisories for particular person areas. There are nonetheless “Don’t journey” warnings for 5 states attributable to crime and kidnapping issues.

The U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention has saved Mexico at Stage 3, its most extreme menace degree. The present U.S.-Mexico border closure settlement is because of expire Sept. 21; extensions have sometimes been introduced the week earlier than the expiration date.

– Jayme Deerwester

Dentists see surge of issues, and the pandemic is more likely to blame

Stress and isolation introduced on by the pandemic are actually dangerous for our psychological well being, however dentists say they’re seeing proof our oral well being is struggling too.

Stories of an enormous spike in cracked enamel have acquired nationwide media consideration in current days, however a number of dentists informed USA TODAY that is simply the beginning of the issue.

“It’s like an ideal storm,” Dr. Michael Dickerson, an unbiased apply proprietor with Aspen Dental in Tarpon Springs, Florida, informed USA TODAY. The sufferers he is seeing now want “a ton of labor,” as in comparison with the previous, he stated. Learn extra right here.

New York Metropolis academics union warns colleges will need to have PPE

Union chief Michael Mulgrew in a Friday video accuses town of not performing with sufficient urgency on the pandemic. The return of public faculty college students to lecture rooms was delayed from Sept. 10 to Sept. 21 so coronavirus security precautions could possibly be labored on additional.

Mulgrew says town is aware of what it must do to make colleges protected and, in his phrases, “in the event you can’t make that occur earlier than the kids come into colleges, then we’re not going to allow you to open these colleges.”

– The Related Press

NIH directer ‘puzzled and reasonably disheartened’ by giant occasions, Trump rallies

The director of the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, Dr. Francis Collins, expressed disappointment within the political divisiveness over safety measures in opposition to the coronavirus, as seen by the massive crowds that collect at President Donald Trump’s rallies.

“As a scientist, I am fairly puzzled and reasonably disheartened,” Collins stated Thursday when requested throughout a CNN city corridor what he thinks of huge occasions comparable to Trump’s Michigan rally the place few wore masks or saved distance from one another.

Trump’s marketing campaign rally on Thursday, held at MBS Worldwide Airport close to Saginaw, drew greater than 5,000 supporters. Regardless of state pointers that require masks in areas the place it’s not doable to take care of 6 toes of distance from others, many within the crowd had been seen with out them.

Trump’s current rallies have usually featured largely maskless crowds. The Republican Nationwide Conference was additionally criticized for speeches delivered in entrance of huge crowds.

— Jeanine Santucci

What we’re studying

Louis Vuitton unveils full face defend with gold studs that reportedly will price almost $1,000

In images: Faculties return to hybrid studying as pandemic continues

On-line faculty is a nightmare. Nobody is fixing it.

Reality verify: Fauci, Gates, Epstein and Soros haven’t any ties to drug firm Moderna

Research: Youngsters contaminated at day care unfold coronavirus at dwelling

Kids who caught the coronavirus at day cares and a day camp unfold it to their family, in response to a brand new report that underscores that children can deliver the germ dwelling and infect others.

Scientists already know youngsters can unfold the virus. However the research revealed Friday by the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention “definitively signifies — in a manner that earlier research have struggled to do — the potential for transmission to relations,” stated William Hanage, a Harvard College infectious illnesses researcher.

The findings don’t imply that colleges and child-care packages want to shut, nevertheless it does verify that the virus can unfold inside these locations after which be introduced dwelling by children. So, masks, disinfection and social distancing are wanted. And individuals who work in such amenities should watch out and get examined in the event that they suppose they might be contaminated, specialists stated.

The research additionally exhibits that youngsters with no signs, or very delicate signs, can unfold the an infection, similar to adults can.

— The Related Press

Adults with COVID-19 are extra probably to have dined out: CDC research

Consuming out at eating places is a high-risk exercise, in response to a research by the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.

The research discovered adults with confirmed COVID-19 had been about twice as probably as different research contributors to say they dined out at a restaurant within the 14 days earlier than changing into sick.

Additionally, constructive sufferers had been extra more likely to report going to a bar or espresso store when the evaluation was restricted to these with out shut contact to individuals with recognized coronavirus.

The research included 314 symptomatic adults who had been examined for COVID-19 in July at 11 well being care amenities throughout a number of states. Of that group, 154 sufferers examined constructive for COVID-19.

Ohio State plans to cancel spring break

Ohio State College college students can anticipate the “new regular” on campus this semester to final not less than via the spring, officers stated in an announcement Friday.

The college introduced plans to proceed a mixture of in-person and on-line programs for the spring semester, cancel spring break and make different modifications to the educational calendar because it continues to work via the COVID-19 pandemic.

Provost Bruce A. McPheron stated in an electronic mail to the college neighborhood that present well being measures and insurance policies will proceed to be in place within the spring. As a substitute of spring break, there can be two “tutorial breaks,” or days with no lessons.

“This strategy will maintain our neighborhood collectively all through the semester and cut back travel-related exposures,” McPheron stated.

– Jennifer Smola, The Columbus Dispatch

COVID-19 assets from USA TODAY

On Fb: There’s nonetheless quite a bit unknown concerning the coronavirus. However what we do know, we’re sharing with you. Be part of our Fb group, Coronavirus Watch, to obtain each day updates in your feed and chat with others locally about COVID-19.

In your inbox: Keep up-to-date with the most recent information on the coronavirus pandemic from the USA TODAY Community. Join the each day Coronavirus Watch publication.

Ideas for coping: Each Saturday and Tuesday we’ll be in your inbox, providing you a digital hug and slightly little bit of solace in these troublesome occasions. Join Staying Aside, Collectively.

Contributing: The Related Press

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calliecat93 · 7 years ago

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Red vs Blue: Season 1 - The Blood Gulch Chronicles P1

If you have been a fan of Rooster Teeth or been on the internet since 2003, chances are you may have heard of the series, Red vs Blue, at least once. Created April 1st 2003, the Halo-inspired webseries about two opposing teams in a box canyon and the stupidity hat ensues has evolved form a 3 minute show made by some nerds in a spare bedroom to not only the internet’s longest running episodic webseries, but the longest running American produced science fiction series. Originally helmed by creator Burnie Burns, the show has run for 15 seasons with a 16th upcoming and gone through various showrunners and tone shifts, but it has always maintained it’s comedy, character dynamics, and wide appeal.

I am very late to the game with RvB, having only gotten into it in early 2017. But even in that amount of time, looking back onto Season One after watching the rest of the show... felt a little jarring. There’s various reasons why. Low quality audio , below average voice performances, characters not being fully fleshed out, and outdated graphics. When you look at this season and then look at... say Season 10, you can see how far the quality of all of these, as well as the writing, have come since the old days. However the importance of this season and it’s success cannot be ignored. Without this, Rooster Teeth most likely would not have existed. Which that would mean that Achievement Hunter, RWBY, Camp Camp, Day 5, etc would also not exist. It’s importance cannot be ignored here.

So I guess that gets the exposition out of the way, so lets go into the review.

Overview

Talking about Red vs Blue, especially the Blood Gulch Chronicles (Seasons 1-5) is honestly... not easy. The first season especially. Why? Well while RvB has always been a comedy, it later shifted into being more of a dramedy with an ongoing story. This one has the least amount of story, driven more by the characters shenanigans and dialogue.The good news though is that, despite what I thought when I began the show, you don’t have to know shit about Halo to enjoy it. There are some references, like one character referencing Master Chief and the Covenant in the first episode, but you don’t have to understand the lore at all. It may help, but its unnecessary. Which is good since I’ve never played the game and anything I know about is either from this show, Lets Plays, or looking it up.

The show’s concept is, at least in the beginning, pretty simple. So there’s this box canyon, Blood Gulch, smack dab in the middle of nowhere. In this canyon are two bases, Red Base and Blue Base. There are also two teams, the Read Team and the Blue Team. These two sides are at war because... ugh... some reason. The first episode points this out, so lets meet our cast. On the Reds, we are first introduced to Richard ‘Dick’ Simmons (voiced by Gustavo ‘Gus’ Sorola) clad in maroon and is the one pondering this to begin with (”Do you ever wonder why we’re here?). The other soldier, clad in orange, is Dexter Grif (voiced by Geoff Fink, better known today as Geoff Ramsey) and... yeah he has no idea why either, just getting strangely philosophical (”It’s one of life’s greatest mysteries, isn’t it?). The answer is because each side has a base in the canyon. Yeah, that’s the reason. Just go with it.

There’s two other Red soldiers, but we’ll get to them later. For now, lets shift over to the Blues. They only have two guys, Team Leader in colbalt Leonard Church (Burnie Burns) and Lavernius Tucker (Jason Saldana). Episode One very quickly establishes the two sides daily routine. Often, they just stand at their base on guard duty ether talking or watching the other side. Sometimes even both! It’s something that they’re used to/tired of with Church getting annoyed at Tucker pestering him about what the Reds are doing, which is the same thing they always do. Considering that these Season 1 episode are around three minutes long each, they do put that time to good used. The first two episodes alone are enough to establish the majority of the main cast and give us a feel of the two sides regular routine.

Speaking of Episode 2, Simmons and Grif have been called down by their leader, Sarge. Out of all the characters, Sarge is.. the most noticibly different in terms of voice. In the entire series he is voiced by Matt Hullum, RT’s current CEO... but the voice he uses here is DRASTICALLY different. But I’ll elaborate on that more when I get to character stuff. But speaking of voices, this is also a good time to mention one of the season’s biggest flaws, the audio work. It is very difficult to understand what the characters are saying a good chunk of the time with the filter effect not making it any easier. I had to turn up the volume various times to fully makeout what was being said. There is a reason why however. The RT guys were doing all of this out of a spare bedroom, pr in Matt and a few others cases, over the phone. The company was literally three guys (Burnie, Geoff, and Gus and at some point during BGC Gus temporarily moved to Puerto Rico, leaving only two guys) in a bedroom with an XBox and some cheap equipment. So it is very understandable why the audio was low quality, not counting the below average voice acting. But still the audio, especially compared to later seasons were they do have high quality equipment, is noticeable and annoying.

Okay, back to the series. Sarge shows the two privates their newest toy, the Warthog. An army jeep that... I gotta agree with Grif, I think Puma is a much more fitting name. We also learn that Sarge wants Grif dead. Seriously, he gets very creative with ideas in later seasons. The When You Wish Upon a Star parody in Season 8 always kills me. Lets put it this way, we learn that Grif gets shit on. A lot. The Reds are also expecting a rookie to be joining their ranks soon, much to the privates aggravation. A sentiment that the Blues can relate to as they too are expecting their own rookie. Oh, they’re also getting a tank! Cool... but can it play polka music like the Warthog? I don’t think so!

This leads us to episode 3! I’ll give the show this, it goes by quick. So while arguing over going to the Vegas Quadrant, which funnily enough was based on a true story that was later made into an RTAA, Simmons and Grif meet the rookie! Franklin Delano Donut (Dan Godwin), currently clad in the same red-colored armor that Sarge wears. Speaking of, Sarge is currently away at command and as left Simmons in charge... a memo that Grif didn’t get. No surprise there. Anyways, the privates decide to mess with Donut, tricking him into going to a non-existent a store to pick up some elbow grease and headlight fluid. Well now this RTAA suddenly makes sense. While Simmons does wonder if this was too harsh, Grif assures him that all that’s gonna happen is that the kid will run around the canyon for a few hours. What could possibly go wrong?

Meanwhile, the Blues got their tank as well as their own rookie, Michael J Caboose (Joel Heyman). They’re all admiring it with Church bringing up having a girlfriend back home. This causes Caboose to accidentally call her a... not nice word, annoying Church and setting up their relationship for the rest of the series. History in the making folks! Anyways, the two older soldiers get annoyed and send Caboose to guard the flag inside and await a general who doesn't look like them. Just as Donut arrives, and the two stupidly don’t turn around to see who they’re talking to, just assuming that it’s Caboose. So Donut goes in and since he doesn’t loo like the Blues... yeah you can both guess what Caboose does and how much Church probably wants to bang his head into the wall.

Church, believing Donut to be Sarge, wants to use a teleporter to cut him off... by making Tucker go first. Tucker refuses since it’s only been used on rocks, but Church forces him into it. And... nothing comes out of the other end. Wow, I’ve seen characters die early on, but daaaang. So Church goes on foot. Meanwhile, Grif eventually sees that Donut has the flag and he and Simmons get the Warthog. Church catches up to Donut, discovering that it’s not the sergeant... as Tucker finally comes out of the teleporter. His armor, which is normally aqua, is now completely black and he assumes that he got sent into the past. No, no Tucker, it’s two seasons too soon to bring time travel into the mix. Be patient kind sir! Anyways, the Reds show up and cause the Blues to take cover with Grif sending Donut back to Red Base. Kind of weird to see Grif doing his job tbh. Caboose, seeing that the others are in trouble, goes to get the tank.

We now meet Shelia. The tank! Yes, the tank has a name. She takes Caboose through the tutorial program... which he sucks at. Don't you just hate it when that happens? He is able to get it to the Reds, who have left the Warthog to get at the Blues, and the two plan to run back... with Grif leaving Simmons in the dust. Jerk. Well it doesn't matter, the Warthog ends up blown up when Caboose turns on the automatic firing system. Simmons yells at Grif for having the bright idea of exiting the Warthog... though if they had stayed in it, they’d be dead. But meh, whatever. In the meantime, Church realizes that Caboose is piloting the tank and comes out... causing Shelia to target on him and...

So... yeah... Church is dead. Damn, and only eight episodes in too. But ah well, he’s dead! That’s that! It happens! No reason to care whatsoever! Moving right along now! Oh, and going back to the audio, that explosion nearly blew my ears out when I had it on 10% of the volume. SO thanks for that RT, bunch of assholes.

The Reds eventually make it back to the base as the tank continues to fire madly. Caboose is afraid to try anything to stop it since... you know, he just became a team killing fucktard and all. Fortunately, Sarge calls the team, currently on his way back to base. Grif, in rapid succession, explains what’s happening and luckily Sarge has a solution... by dropping bombs! To his credit it works as Shelia is blown up, though Caboose is able to exit in time. He mourns the loss of the lady in the tank (roll with me here) and the Reds take the first victory in what up to now was a standstill. And that ends the first half of the season!

So lets about the production a little bit. Season 1 is 19 episode long, averaging at around three minutes. This was not the plan. From what I understand, Burnie’s original plan was for RvB to be a miniseries, IDK the exact intended episode count but it wasn't supposed to be this long. I can only assume that the initial success caused him to expand on it. But the point is, there was no long term plan. As such, Burnie originally wrote the episode mere days before they were set to premiere. Unless you are South Park, that kind of production schedule is INSANE. Now since this was initially going to be a miniseries, its once more understandable, hence hwy I’m not going to go off on it like I would with any other show. I only bring this up for a historical perspective and because the next few episodes are going to contain events that will shape the series much later in the future. Events that were conceived shortly before the episode went into production. But I’ll get more into that when we get to the Recollection Trilogy.

Now for the second half of the season. With a member dead and the tank totaled, Tucker, whose back to aqua-colored armor, calls command for backup. He’s answered by VIC. Now VIC is usually voiced by Burnie, but in this season he’s voiced by a different actor, and it shows. Anyways, the best that VIC can offer is to bring in a nearby Freelancer agent. Freelancers are neutral agents, often being employed by either side... or that’s the story Tucker gives. Oh Recollection Trilogy/Freelancer Saga, it’s gonna be FUN going over you. The agent being hired is known by Agent Texas, or Tex for short. It’s then that Tucker and Caboose receive a visitor... Church! As a ghost! Just... just go with it, okay? Anyways, Church came back to warn the two about Tex, an overly aggressive agent who murdered all of Church’s former squadmates on a snow planet known as Sidewinder. One soldier in particular, Jimmy, got beaten to death with his own skull. Man, that doesn't seem physically possible.

The point is, Tex is dangerous. Having this soldier in particular get involved may end up being more trouble than it’s worth. Church can’t elaborate too much, but he does make it clear to Tucker and Cabosoe that they, under ANY circumstances, should NOT involve Tex whatsoever. He also adds that Tex is the reason why he and his girlfriend didn’t get married, but he vanishes before he can talk further. Tucker is left confused... just as Tex arrives tot he canyon. Ho boy... so guys, do the Blues either A, heed Church’s advice and decide to not use Tex after all? Or B, disregard it completely and let Tex do whatever the Hell they want? If you guessed A, you are giving this show far too much credit, no cookie for you!

Well actually, I guess I can’t blame Tucker too much for not keeping Tex out though. I mean the first thing that they do is use Caboose for target practice. Considering what we find out later, there is another way to interpret this. But the Blues need Tex to get back their flag, and they have a very simple plan: go murder everyone and get it. Bloody... but hey, points for simplicity. Meanwhile, Grif gets the blame for the Warthog and yelled/shot at by Sarge. Donut is lamenting wanting his own armor color... before getting grenaded by Tex, who knocks Grif out and Simmons... meh, he just faints. All as the Blues watch the carnage from the safety of their base.

Tex returns the flag to the Blues... somehow without leaving Red Base. Weird. But that’s not all that returns, so does Church! Needless to say, he’s not happy when he realizes that his teammates completely ignored what he said and let Tex get very much involved in the conflict. Speaking of Tex, Sarge is able to catch them and knock them out. Grif and Simmons get back up, the latter denying that he fainted. Donut is still down and heavily injured cause a grenade to the HEAD at POINT BLANK RANGE is totally survivable, but if they move fast, he can get treated and recover, so they go look for Sarge.

Lets go check back with the Blues, who have realized that Tex has been captured. Church is annoyed and Tucker brings up his previous comment about Tex being why he didn’t marry his girlfriend. This... isn’t the exact truth. This leads into the biggest plot twist of the season, one that Burnie came up with shortly before the episode’s release. So that girlfriend of Church’s? Turns out that is Tex. Yep, Tex is a girl. We confirm this when she gets back up and a voice filter she was using to sound masculine shorts out, revealing the voice of Kathleen Zuelch (Gynda Goodwitch in RWBY). Much to the Reds shock.

Church goes on to explain Tex’s deal. You see, she had been recruited into a secret military program and given an AI. This AI caused spikes in anger and aggression levels, turning Tex into a violent, bitchy killing machine. Still, Church does care enough that he rallies the others into mounting a rescue. How? Well Church plans on breaking into the Red Base, which with him being a ghost is the most logical option, while Tucker and Caboose play distraction. To help with this, he has the two go through the teleporter to turn their armor back. Yeah I glossed over this, but Freelancers supposedly dress in black armor. This gets majorly retconned later though.

The plan ultimately works pretty dang well. The Blues distract Grif, Church possesses Sarge (which Burnie’s impression ALWAYS kills me), who goes down and knocks Simmons out... again. Well it wasn't by fainting this time. Tex... takes this this all pretty well. The two make their escape, but Caboose is unaware of the possession and... ends up shooting Sarge. GDI Caboose. Which then leads us to, what is by far, the most confusing episode of the season. Not the show, oh Season 3 in itself is a major mindscrew, but man does this one hurt my brain.

So after being shot, Sarge wakes up in the afterlife where Church also is. Oh, Shelia’s there too and Church isn’t happy about... you know, her killing him and all. So Sarge is currently in limbo as in the real world, Grif tries to save him... with CPR... on a head wound... yeah if you wanna survive Blood Gulch Chronicles, then you are going to have to throw logic COMPLETELY out the window. Trust me, when you do it makes it more bearable. This works, again forget logic, and Sarge wakes up good as new. He still berates Grif for it though, even though he just saved his life and all. At least Church and Tex got away alive... okay Church is technically dead, but just... just go with it!

Sometime later, Donut is back and recovered. He also has his own armor color now! Pi... I-I mean, lightish-red! Sarge also has obtained a speech unit for a Red member that I haven’t talked about yet because he has done absolutely nothing. Lopez, the group’s mechanic who as it turns out is a robot. Up until now he had zero lines and no overall relevance to the Reds antics, so I didn’t feel the need to bring him up. The speech unit works... except only in Spanish. I watched a recent RT Podcast the week before Christmas and Burnie, who also voices Lopez (yeah he does a good amount of voices, I think he did Tex’s voice filter too), got the idea from talking toys that would get stuck on the wrong language setting. When he explained that, it made SO MUCH MORE sense. So no one can understand Lopez and misinterpret everything that he says, a running gag for the entire series that’ll be better utilized in later seasons.

Over on the Blues, Tex is convinced to stick around until the Reds are taken out. as repayment for saving her. Why are the Blues keeping her around? Well Church wants to get the AI out of her head still and that would be kind of hard if she left. Plus forcing her when he can’t even fire a gun properly would not end well. They get Tex to work on repairing Shelia and Church finds that his body is still where he died. Worst, it’s rotting. Eww!! So a bit of a snag comes up. You see, when the Reds are dead, Tex will leave. Church can’t have that happen, so that means that he needs the Reds to stay alive. Since Tex almost has Shelia operational and will strike with her when done, he decides to go and warn them, leading us into the season finale.

Church leaves the Blues to update him on Tex as he goes to the Reds. He takes over Lopez and tries to warn them of the attack... but since Lopez can only speak Spanish, it goes about as well as you’d expect. Tex finishes Shelia and makes her move. Tucker allows Caboose to radio Church over this, a point that we’ll get to later. Church can’t properly convey that his warning failed and Tex proceeds to open fire on the Red Base. Well... shit. The now repaired Warthog fails to help, so what can stop Tex? As it turns out... Donut! He gets what may be some of the best karma upon someone ever, managing to throw a long-distance grenade into Shelia, causing her to explode and promptly kill Tex... for now.

Church, mortified, runs to Tex, leaving the Reds confused. In her dying breath, Tex confirms that the AI is gone and thanks Church. So that leaves the question, what happened to the AI? We find out soon enough. Tucker, realizing that things have gone to Hell, tells Caboose to fall back to Blue Base. But Caboose turns towards the camera, his voice becoming noticeably more menacing as he insists on being called O’Malley. And thus, Season One and the first part of The Blood Gulch Chronicles, comes to a close.

Review

(WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR LATER SEASONS)

Phew! That was a LOT of typing! For Blood Gulch, I’m going to be covering each season in their own post unless it looks necessary otherwise. Mainly because out of the current arcs, Blood Gulch is the least story heavy and the hardest to talk about due to it. But that doesn't mean that there’s nothing to say about it. But, as the warning above indicates, I’m going to bring up later seasons, but I’ll try not to give too much away. So... lets begin with...

Machinima

I couldn’t find a good place to talk about this in the overview, so we’ll do it here. For those unaware, RvB is not a traditionally animated series. It is created via use of machinima. According to Wikipedia, Machinima is “the use of real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production. Most often video games are used to generate the computer animation.“ In short, it means taking an engine like say an X-Box and using a program like say Halo to create the graphics.

Now there is some belief that RvB is the first to do this, but that isn’t true. This method has existed since at least the 90′s, although it didn’t get the name ‘machinima’ until the early 2000′s. But what can be said is that RvB took the concept and made it work on a mainstream level. No one else was using machinima on the scale that Rooster Teeth was. The only other notable works I could find before RT’s influence was some short films using a video came called Quake, which was the first machinima to be created. I think it’s safe to say that no one had tried making a full-fledged continuous series out of it, or at least no one was hugely successful. It’s also not exactly an easy process, especially in 2003. For example, if you leave a character standing too long they’ll do a default motion as programmed into the game. This can kill a scene and therefore the machinimators will be forced to start all over again. If you have three or so characters all in the same scene and just one does this or you make even a minor mistake with the controls, you have to start from scratch. How Burnie and Geoff did this and lived I’ll never know. Just imagine how it is in later seasons when more characters are brought in, ugh...

The guys used the original Halo for Season 1 and years later would make a remaster. So as far as the machinima goes, it’s done pretty good. They’re limited in what they can do n some shots looked weird, like how when Tex’ filter shorts out she’s facing the Reds, then in the next shot is faced away form them. So that can be kind of jarring, but nothing that really throws off anything. About the only thing I hated looking at was VIC, who is more uncanny here than in any other season. But meh, his scenes are brief so I can live.

The graphics... have not aged well. This is not RT’s fault, the original Halo is nearly 15 years old and was part of the first generation of XBox. It’s not going to like Final Fantasy, is all I’m saying. Blood Gulch nowadays looks... IDK how to describe it. The settings look more realistic and less bulky and cheap in later seasons, though granted we get more than one location in later seasons. We’re limited to only the box canyon here. But again, I’m not expecting Pixar-quality CGI, so it doesn’t really take away form anything.

Writing

Like I said earlier, episodes were written shortly before they were set to be released. There was also no long-term plan, so Burnie was pretty much making things up as he went along. I mentioned Tex’s gender reveal, but things like Church being killed and in turn the ghost thing were not planned. They were conceived essentially on the spot. Normally, this kind of production style would murder a production. But... I’m not gonna lie, the writing is not bad. Yeah there’s stuff that breaks my brain like the ghost thing and Sarge in the afterlife, but there do get explained in later seasons and humor is subjective, so it might just be me.

Because of machinima’s limitation, the script and writing was probably the most vital thing. If people didn’t find it funny or engaging, then they weren’t going to watch it. This is a very dialogue heavy show where the lines and interactions are what tells you about a character and what they are feeling. Since the character models... you know, have a helmet covering the face and body language is near impossible, you can get why. And the dialogue is pretty good. Tucker’s en about women hooking up like Voltron cracked me up. Oh that’s one thing, the series relies heavily on black humor that wouldn't be out of place in South Park, so... be prepared for that.

BGC is very comedic focused. There is a plot and there are elements that later seasons will heavily rely heavily on. But the comedy is ultimately what comes first. There's a lot of jarring things as I mentioned, but I can say this. They do put many of these things to good use. For example, the teleporter turning armor black. I guess that may be a joke about Halo that I don’t get, but Church later utilizes this to create a distraction. Church is a ghost, and he uses this twice ti limited success. Church mentioning a girlfriend was done to have Caboose make a slut joke, and then it turns out that Tex is that girlfriend. Considering how the writing schedule was, it’s impressive that Burnie was able to take so many little things that were jokes and utilize them for the plot later. Looking back, it’s like a precursor to the decisions he makes for the Recollection trilogy, but that’s for there and not here. Still, kudos for taking those elements and making something out of them. That’s the kind of writing I like to see!

But as I said, the plot is secondary. Season One relies heavily on it’s character and the shenanigans they get into. The plot is kicked off by Donut mistaking Blue Base for a store when Caboose was conveniently told that the make-believe general didn’t look like a Blue. Pretty contrived when you think about it. The biggest plot twists were Church’s death and Tex being a girl, which again were split second decisions. It helped keep things interesting, but it shows that not a whole lot of thought went into the story. Ultimately while the show is genuinely funny, knew how to use certain bits to it’s advantage, and had those two twists, I don’t thin that the writing is exactly what got the show to succeed.

Audio/Voice Acting

We already went into the audio, and how it’s not very good. But the voice acting... is not much better. Aside from Joel and to a degree Matt, none of these guys are actors. So it is not at all a surprise that the voice acting is below average at best. I can tell that they’re trying, but... it comes off as empty and unmotivated a lot of the time. The best of the bunch are Burnie, Kathleen, and the aforementioned Matt and Joel. And even then, it’s weak compared to later on. I’m not saying that the others are bad, it’s just obvious that they were new to this at the time. I mean here’s a video of Gus and Geoff’s first recording session.

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If you’re not distracted by how young they are (seriously, QUIT GETTING OLD), Geoff missing about 90% of his tattoos, and Gus’ lack of hair, you can tell that they have zero idea what they are doing. I can’t blame them though, this is the very first session after all and again they are trying. Matt, Joel, and Kathleen were also working out of California so I can only imagine how tough getting the proper direction for them was. All of them do improve MASSIVELY though as the series goes on, Heck Season 2 is noticeably better but more on that then. I think another big reason on why it was lacking is because aside from Matt, they aren’t really playing a character so much as exaggerated versions of themselves, so they don’t have as much to work with. Hence why it’s good that Burnie fleshed them out in Season 2.

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The show’s music is... actually pretty good! There’s not a lot, mainly just guitar rifts used during season transitions, but they’re work. They have a folk music feel to them (or in the Warthog theme’s case polka) and I’m not normally a huge fan of that genre, but here it works. The shows intro, Blood Gulch Blues, it itself is really catchy and fun to listen to. The music was done by a group called Trocadero, who would do several other seasons. Now do I consider this to be the best music in the series? Well... it’s good, but no. Later seasons have a lot of really good tracks. But still, the soundtrack is nice to listen to and I really enjoy it!

Characters

To me, what makes or breaks a show is the use of it’s characters. A cliched story can be good if it’s both told well and if it’s character are utilized well. The cast here have a range of personalities and no two are the same. That said... they’re definitely not that fleshed out yet. There’s a few tiny things here and there. Simmons is a kissass to Sarge, Tucker makes the comment about using the tank to pick up women, Caboose is... not the brightest crayon in the box, but it’s not what defines them initially. Grif might be the biggest example of this I can think of. Later seasons establishes him as a fat, lazy slob who proudly shrinks his responsibilities, steals rations, and will eat expired food if he feels the need. Here? He... actually is trying to do his job with minimal complaint. I mean one of his lines in Episode 1 has him refer to joining the army to kick alien ass. He would NEVER say that nowadays.

Since I’m already talking about Grif, we’ll start the deeper looks with him. Grif is my favorite character in the show, albeit it took until Season 15 to set that in stone. So going back to now helps put things into perspective for me. As I said, the characters aren’t all that fleshed out yet. Grif is definitely the most laid back of the Reds, but again he’s willingly doing his job. He doesn't really display much of his more lazy characterization that we’re used to. The worst thing he does is leave Simmons to be killed by the tank to save his own skin, which yeah is a pretty shitty thing to do. None of these characters are exactly the most moral, to put it lightly. Back on topic, Grif’s the one who has them go get Donut, makes him go back to base, actually tries to get at the Blues before Shelia came, and even tried to save Sarge, I honestly believe that after Sarge got after him for using CPR, he decided ‘fuck this, I’m gonna get shit on no matter what the fuck I do, so I’m gonna do whatever the hell I want. It’ll make Sarge and Simmons pissy either way, so why even care? I’m just gonna do whatever the fuck I want and they can suck it up!” If that’s true, I can totally buy that and I’m sticking to that. But otherwise, Grif doesn't o very much aside from being the Red’s punching bag. Poor guy.

Simmons also does not do a whole lot. We do establish very quickly that he’s a kissass to Sarge’s command and he and Grif have this weird love-hate relationship. I can't think of too many nerdy moments for Simmons this season, IDT that really comes out until next season. Maybe even Season 3 when he’s fiddling with the portals. I could easily just be forgetting though. He’s kind of an arrogant dick, but he doesn't do anything that really makes him unlikeable. Maybe yelling at Grif about the Warthog, but Grif left him to die... yeah I guess I can’t blame him there... sort of. But otherwise, Simmons isn’t given a whole lot to do aside from arguing wit Grif and siding with Sarge. What I can say that him and Grif’s interactions were probably one of my favorite things in the season. The banter and chemistry between them felt really natural and I snickered at a lot of their bits, like arguing over Simmons fainting. This is probably because Gus and Geoff IRL are best friends, so I can imagine that their dialogue just wrote itself. But it’ works really well and helps make these two likebale despite both being assholes.

Sarge is still the leader and the one most determined to kill the Blues, but it’s definitely not as insane as later. The voice very much reflects this. Sarge has a very exaggerated southern accented voice in the show... except here and the start of Season 2. The southern accent is still there, but it’s mroe... .subdued? Laidback? Normal? IDK the right word, it’s definitely less exaggerated though. It was so jarringly different that I wasn’t sure if it was Matt still doing the voice at first. Sure enough it was still him. I can only assume that when they made Sarge’ murderous tendencies more exaggerated starting next season, Matt felt the need to do the same with his performance to reflect the character, And thank God for it. It felt so wrong here. Matt was probably the best actor, but that’s because he’s the only one given a character. As I said, Burnie essentially write exaggerated versions of his co-workers. Matt, as far as I know since I don’t work for him, isn’t a southern-accented drill Sargent. Anyone who works at RT reading this, please feel free to correct me. But anyways, Sarge is the leader, hates Grif, and is probably the most competent fighter among them, though not by much. Not much else to say otherwise except kudos for getting the most confusing scene in the season Sarge!

There’s even less to say about Donut and Lopez. Lope.... does nothing except fix the Warthog and shoot at Grif once. He eventually gets a speech module that only works in Spanish, and that only serves to make Church fail to warn the Reds. That’s it. Donut is the rookie who has no idea what is happening. He, next to Grif, is also the most different form later. he’s... normal here. I don’t recall him spouting even one innuendo an Dan’s voice is a lot less high pitched than later. He kicks off the plot by accidentally stealing the flag and is ultimately the one to defeat Tex. Which I will admit, was awesome and it was very fitting. But otherwise, Donut doesn’t get much to do here... or for much of the series infact. And don’t get me wrong, I like these characters and find them fun, but from a story perspective... yeah these two in particular aren't given much. But we’ll focus on that in later seasons.

As you may have noticed, the Reds don’t have much story going on.. and don’t for the majority of the series, sadly. They’re just the opposing force/comedic relief essentially. The Blues are the ones who move the story... well most of them. Tucker moves it the least, so we’ll start with him. He’s essentially there to be someone that Church can bicker with when not pissed at Caboose. In this season, this makes him the least interesting compared to Church with his ghost development and relationship with Tex, the badass Tex, and the dim-witted Caboose. His defining trait of being into women isn’t even really here aside from the earlier stuff with the tank. He will have more time to shine and show his competence, but that’s really not going to be until he gets the sword. We’re going to be waiting a while. But as with Grif and Simmons, the banter between Tucker and Church was really good and it worked. I can say the same for Tucker and Caboose as well.

Speaking of Caboose, he’s still an idiot... but not as badly. I mean Joel’s not even using the 'act like I’m taking to tiny animals’ voice that we’re familiar with. He’s using his regular voice. While Caboose is still obsessed with Church being his ‘best friend’and a dimwit, such as shooting Church when possessing Sarge, it’s not even close to what we’re used to. he has common sense and some train of thought for one, such as getting the idea to use the tank. It backfired horribly, but he recognized the danger. Now there is a potential in-universe reason on why Caboose became dumber, but we’ll cover that next season. For now, Caboose is at worst dimwitted and frustrating to Church, but hilarious for us. He’s still the character that I laughed at the most.

Tex comes in later, but she’s drastically different form the others. Not just because she’s the only girl either. She’s the most violent and willing to kill. I mean even Sarge hasn’t exactly done anything as brutal as hit a Blue with a grenade at point blank yet. Part of this can be blame on the AI making Tex more vicious than she would otherwise be. Personality wise, she’s no-nonsense and serious minded, there to get her job done as quickly and effectively as possible. She’s easily able to take on the Reds and only loses due to Sarge getting the jump on her... and even then she got the flag back tot he Blues so she didn’t exactly fail. She’s a tough person and doesn't have the best attitude in the world, even without the AI. She;s awesome and her arrival is ultimately the biggest story element. Her and Church's relationship is funny and really interesting, which helps both characters. Whether her feelings for Church are genuine or not, or even existent, isn’t expanded on here. But I do interpret her shooting Caboose as ‘practice’ as her getting revenge for killing him to begin with. Add that to her dying wors to him and... yeah I’m sure she does in her own way.

Finally that brings us to Church himself. Church is ultimately the character who pushes the story along and actually gets the Blues to do something. He’s a snarky asshole, easily frustrated and annoyed. He’s the straight man to Tucker pestering him and Caboose being... Caboose. His death is one of the biggest things to happen in the season and even in death, he pushes things forward. His relationship with Tex, he’s the one who plans her rescue, he’s the one who carries it out, and he’s the one most motivated to get rid of the AI. Lets face it, Church is the most proactive character and the one who ultimately keeps the plot moving forward, It’s why he was my favorite character in the beginning... that and Burnie being the only person I really recognized aside form Joel due to RWBY. Church is definitely who’d I consider the most well-written and relevant character, especially with what happens later and the closest thing that we have to a lead character.

Final Thoughts

Man, I did NOT expect this review ot get so long. I mean it took up 18 pages in my notebook, but still...

Ultimately, I don’t thin that Red vs Blue succeeded due to it’s writing or vocal performances. No, I think what made this work was both luck and being innovative. As I said, machinima existed, but not tot he scale that RT was putting it out. I think them choosing Halo, a popular game that was new at the time, really helped them. It also helped that they had somewhat of a fanbase due to their previous work on the sadly dysfunctional drunkgamers.com. Which, as the title says, has a bunch of drunkards reviewing games. Think of it as a sort of precursor to Achievement Hunter. They also released a parody video of the then new Apple Switch, as seen here:

youtube

Sheesh, and I thought Gus looked young in the recording session video... but my point here is the show was a success for several reasons. They took an obscure media form and did something different with it, took advantage of the open opportunities (Halo’s popularity, their previous fanbase.) They were also very lucky when it came to copyright. Yes even then, when Youtube didn’t exist, they could have gotten into legal trouble for making this show. Fortunately, Microsoft and Bungie liked it and allowed them to continue without paying a fee. How the deal works nowadays IDK, but I’m assuming that things are good since it’s still being made and all.

Season One proved to be a major success. It drew in Halo fans and fans of their previous drunkgamers efforts. Now IDK how things worked in 2003, I was only 10 and had no idea how to use the web was was too young to watch RvB anyways. However they counted views or whatever, it worked. It launched machinima to a more mainstream market and they even got interviewed by CNN and other news groups. Rooster Teeth very quickly became a spearhead in the world of web content, and they’d only grow form here. Season Two was a guarantee, especially with a cliffhanger that would keep viewers interested. But we’ll discuss all of that in the next review.

#rvb #rooster teeth #red vs blue #rvb reviews #this took me over two days and a war with vlc to make #I apologize for any innacurate info #but I worked really hard on this and I hope it is a worthwhile read

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braddeanmyrtlebeach · 2 years ago

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Brad Dean, the accomplished CEO of Discover Puerto Rico, has been a catalyst for growth and development in Myrtle Beach, SC. With his dynamic leadership, tourism flourished, attracting a record-breaking 20 million visitors. Additionally, his unwavering commitment to fostering economic prosperity led to a remarkable 46% increase in Myrtle Beach Chamber membership, bolstering collaboration and business opportunities.

#Brad Dean Myrtle Beach #A Visionary CEO #braddeanmyrtlebeach #CEO of Discover Puerto Rico #San Juan

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invisiblewealthproject · 5 years ago

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STEVE BALLMER’S estimated wealth is $41.2 billion. He was the CEO if Microsoft from 2000-2014. He was the 30th employee of Microsoft and joined the company after attending Harvard with Bill Gates and dropping out of Stanford. He was the second person to become a billionaire while working for a company they didn’t found, or who wasn’t related to a founder. Ballmer is famous for his energetic and eccentric presentation style.

For many years Microsoft was the dominant company in the computing industry and had significant legal battles with the U.S. government and other corporations. After Gates retired from Microsoft, Ballmer settled many of these legal battles and lead Microsoft through the dot com crash and its attempts to rival Google and Apple. Ballmer retired in 2014 after overseeing a decline in Microsofts worth. When he started as CEO at Microsoft it was worth $600 billion and when he left it was worth $270 billion.

Since the 1990’s the amount of big companies evading taxes by using foreign subsidiaries has increased massively. the IRS undertook an audit of Microsofts taxes in 2005 and the IRS sued Ballmer and other Microsoft employees to compel them to testify in the audit. It was the wealthiest company ever audited and the IRS discovered that Microsoft had sold it’s intellectual property to a small factory in Puerto Rican it owned to evade taxes. They also found hat Microsoft paid 0% tax in Puerto Rico and they had evaded paying $15 billion in taxes in one year alone. It was the biggest tax evasion they had ever unearthed. Microsoft and it’s corporate allies were worried by the IRS’ stricter attitude. In 2015 they formed a coalition called CEETA (along with Coca-Cola, Facebook etc) and lobbied for a bill that passed through congress called the “Taxpayer First Act” this diminished the IRS’ powers and stalled the Microsoft audit. Since then audits where the IRS and companies disagree about their results have decreased by 86%. When Trump was elected in 2017 he cut corporate tax rates resulting in a $27 billion saving for Microsoft that year. The IRS’ audit of Microsoft is still ongoing after 15 years. #invisiblewealth #taxthewealthy

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bunkershotgolf · 3 years ago

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PUERTO RICO LIFTS SEVERAL TRAVEL MANDATES

Visitors Can Enjoy Golf, Beaches, Culture, Casinos, and Culinary Venues with Ease

Traveling to Puerto Rico is now easier than ever, as visitors don’t need to show proof of vaccination or fill out a Travel Declaration Form to enter the Island. Mask mandates have also been lifted, with minor exceptions.

The latest travel guidelines illuminate how traveling to Puerto Rico is extremely convenient and stress-free. The Island was a leader during the pandemic, prioritizing safety and health throughout. This resulted in one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, ensuring the destination welcomed visitors responsibly.

This holds true for many of the Island’s travel niches, not the least of which is golf. Puerto Rico’s 18 courses, beaches, and other tropically enhanced places and activities are an ideal place to relax and rejuvenate during winter and early spring as the average high temperatures are in the mid-80s.

“Welcoming guests to Puerto Rico with virtually no restrictions is wonderful news and it should assure them that they are visiting a healthy, vibrant place,” said Brad Dean, CEO, Discover Puerto Rico.

Testament to the high quality of golf in the Island can be found via the PGA TOUR, United States Golf Association, and the Latin America Amateur Championship. Each is conducting elite tournaments in Puerto Rico this year and next.

Traveling golfers can play where the pros and top amateurs play, ensuring wonderful experiences on award-winning layouts accented by sun-kissed Caribbean good vibrations.

Flying to the Island is convenient with many choices as it is the air hub of the Caribbean. Further traveler friendliness is found in Puerto Rico’s bilingual culture, U.S. currency, and no passport required for American citizens.

For more information on the Island, travel guidelines, golf courses, resorts and hotels, and other destination attractions, visit DiscoverPuertoRico.com

#golf #new #Golf Courses #submission

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motivatingspeech · 5 years ago

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The War of Dirty Tricks: How Richard Branson Defeated British Airways

The Remarkable Story Of Virgin Atlantic’s Historic Battle with British Airways: A Corporate Clash Which Changed The Course Of The Airline Industry.

As the founder of more than 400 companies, Sir Richard Branson is without question one of the most renowned entrepreneurs of our time. And, as you’re probably aware, this knighted businessman is no virgin to the skies. Perhaps you may recall his attempt to circle the globe in a hot-air balloon. Or, one of his more recent ventures: Virgin Galactic, the suborbital spaceflight company. But, of course, this is not about hot air balloons or multi-planetary travel. Rather, today’s episode focuses on the remarkable story of Virgin Atlantic’s historic battle with British Airways: a corporate clash which changed the course of the airline industry. If you’re a frequent flier, odds are you’re no stranger to arriving at an airport only to discover that your flight has been cancelled. And, in 1978, that’s precisely what happened to 28-year-old Richard Branson, who found himself stranded in Puerto Rico after American Airlines cancelled his evening flight to the British Virgin Islands. But Branson was determined to reach BVI that night, anxious to see his girlfriend, a woman who would eventually become his wife. And so, he took matters into his own hands, and did what all great entrepreneurs do; he turned his frustration into action. Branson decided to charter his own plane, which was a freedom he owed to the success of Virgin Records. But instead of flying alone, he would split the cost with other fellow passengers en route to BVI who were also bumped by American Airlines. In his typical eccentric-style, Branson went around the airport advertising his flight with a borrowed blackboard, which read: “Virgin Airlines. One Way. $39 to BVI.” After a short while of recruiting, Branson had officially sold-out his first plane. Upon landing, a fellow passenger sitting next to Branson remarked: “Sharpen up your service a bit, Richard, and you could be in the airline business.” Intrigued by the idea, he called Boeing the very next day to inquire about any used Seven-Forty-Sevens they may have lying around. After speaking with Boeing, he shared the audacious idea with his staff at Virgin Records, who failed to share his enthusiasm. Even Branson would have to admit that it would be quite the career change. After all, it’s one thing to sell vinyl records. It’s quite another to challenge the fiercely competitive airline business — an industry with more than its fair share of bankruptcies. But it wasn’t mere curiosity that sparked Branson’s interest in aviation. More than anything, it was his desire to raise the bar in a business that was infamous for neglecting its passengers. Flying was widely viewed as a dreadful experience; offering poor service, sub-standard food, and no entertainment. In other words, the industry was ripe for disruption. Always one to go against the establishment, Branson envisioned a different kind of airline; one that would prove that fun and business can, and should, co-exist. But purchasing a Seven-Forty-Seven, even a used one, was a risky endeavor — and out of his budget. If the business failed to take-off, he’d be stuck with a depreciating plane, which he would likely be forced to sell for much less than what he paid. Brilliantly, Branson persuaded Boeing to accept a very different kind of deal; one that would completely cap his downside while providing unlimited upside. Instead of buying the aircraft, Branson would lease it for 12 months. And if things didn’t pan out the way he had hoped after one year in business, Branson could return the plane to Boeing; no harm, no foul. Fueled by a business plan designed around having fun, Virgin Atlantic finally took to the sky on June 22nd, 1984. But with only a single plane, offering just a single route, Branson was an underdog, flying in an increasingly crowded sky. For comparison, British Airways boasted a fleet of over 300 planes. Lord John King, Chairman of British Airways, was quick to dismiss 34-year-old Branson, remarking: “He’s too old to rock’s roll, and too young to fly.” But perhaps he spoke too soon. After Virgin’s first year in business, Branson renewed his lease with Boeing, and added additional aircraft to his fleet just a few years later. Much to Lord King’s dismay, his once-dismissed competitor was appearing more and more like a formidable threat. If not for trouble-making Branson, British Airways would have enjoyed a monopoly position at Heathrow, as the only long-distance airline which flew from the UK to North America, and other popular destinations. But the final straw came when Virgin Atlantic infringed on that monopoly and received permission to operate from London’s Heathrow airport, with Branson dressing as a pirate to celebrate the event; in the eyes of British Airways, Heathrow wasn’t just a profitable airport: it was their profitable airport. British Airways had had enough. Up until this point, Lord King was the undisputed leader of Britain’s aviation industry. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher even nicknamed the magnate as her “Favorite businessman”. With his reputation on the line, it was clear that Virgin had to go. Under no circumstance was the Lord King going to risk bruising his prestigious image- especially to some long-haired hippie from the record business. From Lord King’s perspective, the spacious skies only had enough room for one airline. With Virgin Atlantic now in the crosshairs, Lord King called an urgent and secret meeting with fellow executives, demanding that they "Do something about that Branson fellow.", and orchestrated a plan to take down Virgin, by any means necessary. With all ethics tossed aside, British Airways formed a secret undercover unit to pursue what would infamously become known as “The Dirty Tricks Campaign”. Rogue telephone helpline agents used the same booking system as Virgin, which allowed them to intercept Virgin’s reservations and call the competition’s passengers. The covert team, pretending to be Virgin employees, informed passengers that their flight had “unfortunately'' been canceled, but of course, they would be happy to accommodate them with British Airways. Lord King’s office also hired private investigators to spy on Branson and even dig through his trash, scavenging for anything they could find to attack Virgin Atlantic and his other ventures. Most damning of all, the covert team allegedly leaked rumors to the press about Virgin’s finances, calling its solvency into question. Everything up to this point was underhanded and sneaky, but this act could annihilate an airline. If rumors spread that Virgin was broke, paying for fuel upfront, and flying empty planes, then Virgin’s days in the sky were numbered. Branson already knew of British Airways’ Dirty Tricks when embarrassed agents from the unit broke down and told Branson what they had been ordered to do. But when journalists began asking why every Virgin flight was late when departing from Heathrow airport, and to comment on the company’s desperate cash position, Branson could prove the libelous attack. It was finally an offense that provided the necessary ammo that he needed to shoot down the Dirty Tricks Campaign once and for all. Before he could take his case to court, he needed the financial muscle to battle the legal team at British Airways. Branson’s Virgin Atlantic was feeling the pain from British Airways�� dirty tricks, posting an operating loss of nearly 10 million euros in October of 1993, only heightening his money troubles. With a heavy heart, Branson faced the most difficult choice of his entire career: He could either sell his beloved record company to fund his legal battle, or, roll the dice in court: potentially bankrupting both Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Records. With tears flowing, Branson sold his most prized jewel in the Virgin portfolio: Virgin Records, in June of 1992. His record company was acquired by EMI for nearly a billion dollars. And now with the money to go to war, Branson took British Airways to court for libel in 1993; where it was proven that the CEO of British Airways, Sir Colin Marshall, had clearly directed the smear campaign. Virgin’s lawsuit also exposed British Airways for conducting the exact same “dirty tricks” against Air Europe, an airline which had gone bankrupt just the year before. Finally, in December of 1993, Branson emerged victorious. Lord King and British Airways would settle out of court and pay a collective sum of nearly a million dollars, in addition to over 3 million more for legal fees. The landmark victory was the largest libel damages ever awarded in UK history. Since the win came around the holidays, Branson decided to distribute the proceeds equally amongst all of Virgin’s staff, dubbing it the “BA Christmas Bonus”. As part of the settlement, British Airways was also ordered to give a public apology. Which they did, offering sympathies to Virgin for: “Regrettable incidents involving a very small number of employees in unrelated incidents.” After the scandal was made public, British Airways had no choice but to reshuffle its top leadership with Lord King and David Burnside stepping down in disgrace. Richard Branson’s success story of how he defeated British Airways shows what can happen when you’re not afraid to go against the establishment and fearlessly challenge the status quo with an audacious idea. The story of Virgin Atlantic also proves that integrity is a winning formula, and that the underdog can, and often does, emerge victorious. Source : Business Casual Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 5 years ago

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UK Visitor Arrivals Spending Up 19% in October 2019

Visitors to the UK spent £2.3 billion in October 2019, the highest ever for the month and 19% more than in October 2018. During the month, there were 3.4 million overseas visitor arrivals to the UK, a rise of 3% on October 2018. These latest statistics from VisitBritain show that it was a record-breaking August to October period for both overseas visits to the UK, and for visitor spending. August 2019 was the highest month ever for both inbound visits and spending, and only the third time ever that the four million mark for inbound visits to the UK has been surpassed in a single month. Quarterly data shows strong growth in spending and visits from the US, the UK’s largest and most valuable inbound tourism market.

Visitors from the US spent a record £3.4 billion in the UK between January and September 2019, up 23% on the same period in 2018. A record 3.5 million US arrivals visited the UK during that time, an increase of 13% y-o-y. There were also a record number of visitor arrivals from China between January and September 2019 with 321,000 people, an increase of 8% on the same period in 2018. Spending by those arrivals during this period jumped 11% y-o-y to £553 million. VisitBritain Director, Patricia Yates, said, “These record-breaking figures underpin a longer-term pattern of growth from our long-haul high spending markets, demonstrating Britain’s continued ability to compete internationally for visitors in a fiercely competitive global environment. The results also reinforce tourism’s importance as a driver of economic growth and its role in promoting a positive, welcoming image of Britain globally. Working with partners we are telling customers about experiences they can only have here, converting the inspiration to visit into bookings and encouraging visitors to discover more of the country, boosting local economies.” These latest figures bring the number of overseas arrivals to the UK from January to October to 32.8 million, up 2% on the same period in 2018 with visitors spending rising 8% to £21.2 billion. Looking ahead, VisitBritain has predicted that spending by visitor arrivals to reach a record £26.6 billion this year, a 6.6% increase on the expected spending in 2019 of £25 billion. The number of overseas arrivals to the UK is forecast to rise to 39.7 million in 2020, the highest ever. Tourism is now worth an estimated £127 billion to the UK economy. See also: What about the UK's outbound market? How did the strength of the Thai Baht and the weak Pound affect Thailand's arrivals from the UK in 2019? Exclusive FHD video Interview with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and What does TAT have planned for TTM+ 2020? See latest Travel News, Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: VisitBritain, Arrivals. Headlines: Football: Pictures from Ascot United FC vs Egham Town FC Aerobility - The British Flying Charity, Interview with Mike Miller-Smith MBE ANA and SIA Sign Joint Venture Framework Agreement Dusit Signs First Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam SkyWest Orders 20 Embraer E175 Jets SAS Suspends All Shanghai and Beijing Flights Kuala Lumpur Int. Airport Trials Single Token Journey Technology Air Canada Suspends All Flights to Beijing and Shanghai Korean Air Sets Up Emergency Response Team; Suspends Select China Flights Mark Radford Joins Trenchard Aviation as VP Business Development CWT Appoints R. Thompson as VP Global Internal Communications & Culture Vietjet Launches Daily Flights Between Hanoi and Bali, Indonesia WTTC Moves April's Global Summit from Puerto Rico to Mexico Andy Flaig Joins Wyndham as Head of Development South East Asia / Pacific Rim Air Astana Reports 2019 Net Profit Increase of 461% NASA Orders Three Airbus H135 Helicopters Hahn Air Simplifies Distribution of Corporate Shuttle Flights Sydney 7s to Take Place at Bankwest Stadium on 1-2 February Russia's Sirena Travel Signs Multi-Year Retailing Deal with ATPCO Shell to Use Airbus H160 for Offshore Transportation ANA to Operate International Flights Out of Haneda T2 and T3 from 29 March CAL Group Makes Changes to Inflight Services on Taiwan-HK / Macau Routes Philippines Suspends Visa Upon Arrival Service for Chinese Nationals UK Visitor Arrivals Spending Up 19% in October 2019 Todd Probert Joins CAE as Group President, Defence & Security Six Senses Appoints Mark Sands as Vice President of Wellness Air France and Sata Azores Airlines Start Codesharing Norwegian Implements New Hand Baggage Policy AirAsia X Launches KL - Taipei - Okinawa Flights First Boeing 777-9 Begins Flight Tests Accor Commits to Global Elimination of Single-Use Plastics by 2022 Etihad Receives EASA Approval to Train Boeing 777, 787 Pilots Jeane Lim Appointed GM of Grand Park City Hall Hotel in Singapore Whitbread Opens First hub by Premier Inn Hotel Outside of London's Zone 1 Delta Enhances Travel Experience for Pets All Blacks Sevens Make History in Hamilton Air Canada Becomes Official Airline of Cirque du Soleil Pictures from Ascot United vs Hanworth Villa SHOW DC Hall to Give Bangkok's MICE Industry a Significant Boost IHG Signs First voco Hotel in New Zealand OYO Signs Global Distribution Agreement with Sabre Hong Kong Cancels Chinese New Year Carnival NAC Orders 20 Airbus A220 Aircraft IHG to Launch Customer Insights Portal for Large Enterprises Cathay Pacific Reports December 2019 Traffic Duetto Appoints David Woolenberg as CEO Phuket to Host Thailand Travel Mart (TTM+) 2020 in June Sabre and Accor to Create Unified Technology Platform for Hospitality Industry Groupe Couleur to Manage RWC 2023 Official Travel Agent Selection Process Two Senior Global Marketing Appointments at IHG ANA Begins Autonomous Electric Bus Trial at Haneda Airport China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines Cancel Flights to Wuhan, China Rosa Wong Joins Hotel Alexandra HK as Director of Event Management Four Seasons Madrid Now Accepting Reservations UK Military Flight Training System Orders 4 More H145 Helicopters Sabre Forges 10-Year Partnership with Google Accor Expands Pullman Brand to Rotorua, New Zealand Korean Air Reveals More Details of New SkyPass FFP Airbus to Produce A321 Aircraft in Toulouse, France Cornelia Mitlmeier Joins Four Seasons Dubai as Resort Manager Hotel Alexandra Appoints Daniel Chan as Executive Chef SITAOnAir Acquires GTD Air Services Boeing Hoping for 737 MAX Ungrounding in Mid-2020 1.5 Billion Int. Tourist Arrivals in 2019; UNWTO Forecasts 4% Increase in 2020 Hong Kong Airport Handled 71.5 Million Passengers in 2019 Ascott Opens First Citadines in Osaka, Japan Thai Airways Appoints New Chairman Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit to Take Place 9-10 Feb PATA Forecasts Over 971 Million Int. Visitor Arrivals into Asia Pacific by 2024 Green Light for Garmin G5000 Avionics Upgrade on Learjet Aircraft Four Seasons Silicon Valley Installs High-Tech AI Gym in Select Rooms Assistance Requests for Airline Pax with Intellectual Disabilities up 762% Accor Opens Mercure Resort in Vung Tau, Vietnam Vietjet Launches Flights Between Dalat and Seoul FlyArystan Reports First Year Load Factor of 94% Amadeus Looks at How Technology Will Shape Airports of the Future CALC Signs Purchase Agreement for 40 A321neo Aircraft Daniele Polito Joins Four Seasons Seoul as Boccalino's Chef de Cuisine Charlotte Svensson to Join SAS as EVP and CIO Airbus Helicopters Appoints Head of External Communications Ascot: Pictures from Matchbook Clarence House Chase and Raceday 2020 Mövenpick Resort Opens in Cam Ranh, Vietnam Sky Bridge Delivered to Final Position at HKIA Airbus Performs First Fully Automatic Vision-Based Take-Off Manchester Signs Tourism Collaboration Agreement with New York City CWT Appoints Scott Hace as Vice President - Enterprise Strategy United to Launch CRJ550 Shuttle Service Between Washington and New York Perth Airport to Upgrade T1's Aerobridges Thomas Krooswijk Appointed GM of Four Seasons Marrakech American Appoints Brian Znotins as VP of Network and Schedule Planning Pools - World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Chile 15-16 February British Airways to Refresh First and Club Lounges at Chicago O'Hare Airport Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways Expand Codeshare Onyx Signs Second Amari Hotel in China Air Canada's First Airbus A220-300 Enters Commercial Service Hyatt Signs Regency Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Bangkok to Host 30th Global Summit of Women in April One Championship Appoints Jonathan Anastas as CMO IHG Signs Deal for 1,200+ Rooms in Thailand; First Hotel in Chiang Mai HK's Airport Authority Appoints Ricky Leung as Executive Director Trenchard Makes Donation to Aerobility - The British Flying Charity Chu Yuet Hung Joins Four Seasons Hangzhou as Director of F&B Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals Down 14.2% in 2019 Hotel Ritz Madrid to be Rebranded by Mandarin Oriental Sabre Appoints Karl Peterson as Chairman Muralilal Armugum Joins Aloft KL Sentral as Director of F&B Traxof to Automate Talent Acquisition of Airbus' IM Organisations Vie Hotel Bangkok Selects Organika Products for Renovated Spa Europ Assistance Opens Office in Bangkok, Thailand Gulf Air Partners Etihad Guest Team GB Selects British Airways as Official Airline for Tokyo 2020 Emirates Targets Chinese Travellers with Trip.com MOU Thailand: Did Strength of Thai Baht Affect Number of Arrivals from UK in 2019? AirAsia to Launch Flights Between Penang and Chengdu, China Marriott Appoints Bart Buiring as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer APAC Airbus' BelugaXL Enters Service Vietjet Launches Flights from Can Tho to Taipei and Seoul Air New Zealand's Chief People Officer Resigns Whitbread Installs Defibrillators in 800 Premier Inn Hotels Air France Invites Customers to Vote for Preferred Carbon Offsetting Project Calhoun Becomes President and CEO of Boeing Accor to Take Over 581-Room Hotel in Rayong, Thailand Travelport Appoints John Elieson as COO Full Roll-Out of myCWT China to Commence in Q2 2020 Terry Kavieris Returns to Bali as RM of InterContinental Bali Eaton Hotel in Hong Kong Earns EarthCheck Gold Status Mandarin Oriental Launches Tea Roasting Experience in Taipei Chubb Partners Grab to Launch In-App Travel Insurance in Singapore Steady Growth Forecast for Mainland China Hotel Markets in 2020 Artyzen Hospitality Signs Habitat Hotel in Yubei, China Pictures from Ascot United vs Colliers Wood United on 11 January What Does TAT Have Planned for Thailand Travel Mart (TTM+) 2020? 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Passengers in November 2019 SilkAir to Cease Flights to Kolkata, India Biman Bangladesh Airlines Launches Flights to Manchester, England EmbraerX and Elroy Air to Collaborate on Unmanned Air Cargo FCM Strengthens Innovation Programme with Shep Investment Artotel Appoints Yulia Maria as Group Director of Marketing Communications Japan, Singapore, S. Korea and Germany Have World's Most Powerful Passports Yangon Int. Airport Implements SITA's Airport Management Solution Air France to Launch Twice-Daily Flights Between Paris-Orly and Munich, Germany ANA to Enhance Service at Airports in Japan with Portable Translators Yvette Thomas-Henry Appointed GM of Four Seasons Resort Nevis Hahn Air Enters 2020 with 40 New Partner Airlines CWTSatoTravel Partners US Military's Spouse Employment Programme My Emirates Pass Gives Passengers Special Discounts in UAE Visitors to Singapore Must Now Register Unmanned Aircraft India's Vistara Airline Appoints APG as Online GSA in France BOC Aviation Orders 20 Airbus A320neos China Airlines to Launch Direct Flights to Chiang Mai, Thailand Green Light for Vietnam Airlines to Expand Codeshare Agreement with Delta All Hi Fly Flights Now Single-Use Plastic Free Air India Renews Distribution Agreement with Amadeus Mandy Goh Joins St. Regis Langkawi as Executive Chef Spirit Airlines Signs Purchase Agreement for 100 Airbus A320neo Aircraft Hamad Int. Airport Served Record 38,786,422 Pax in 2019 British Airways Starts Offsetting Carbon Emissions on All Flights Within UK Marriott Opens Second JW on Hainan Island, China Airbus Partners Aston Martin for Special Edition Helicopter Dassault Aviation Appoints Charles Wemaëre as VP Worldwide Spares Boeing Appoints Niel Golightly as SVP of Communications Jayson Goldstein Joins Four Seasons Boston as F&B Director Vietjet Takes Delivery of Two More Airbus Aircraft Two Executive Appointments at Bombardier Aviation Air India No Longer Available on Sabre GDS Thailand Targets Tourism Revenue of 3.18 Trillion Baht in 2020 Seaplanes in Thailand? Interview with Dennis Keller, CBO of Siam Seaplane Seven HD Videos from IATA Airline Industry Retailing Symposium 2019 in Bangkok Vietnam Airlines Signs EngineWise Service Agreement with Pratt & Whitney Future of Airline Distribution and NDC - Interview with Yanik Hoyles, IATA Cambodia Airways Interview with Lucian Hsing, Commercial Director HD Videos and Interviews Podcasts from HD Video Interviews Travel Trade Shows in 2019, 2020 and 2021 High-Res Picture Galleries Travel News Asia - Latest Travel Industry News Read the full article

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