Free mystery picture holiday graph art

r/Episode - Choose Your Story!

2014.12.16 00:56 NudeTayneMNW r/Episode - Choose Your Story!

Welcome to this fan-run subreddit for the Episode app, a platform for interactive and visual stories. This subreddit is for both readers and writers who use the interactive animated story platform.
[link]

2010.08.25 00:49 Homermon THE Haruhi Subreddit

A subreddit for all things having to do with the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya series. Haruhi manga, anime and light novel discussion are all welcome. Come worship the goddess of anime with us \^_^
[link]

2024.05.19 17:25 npc_lucky Indie, edgelord, home invasion, horror Ive been looking for for at least 15 years

So ive been trying to figure out the name of this movie for a good 15+ years. It's a home invasion movie about two serial killer brothers, who just escaped from prison on Christmas. The key identifiers were they both paint half their faces like skulls (I think a picture of one of their faces painted like this was the cover art), tote big guns, and wear trench coats (probably inspired by the whole Columbine tragedy). They end up breaking into this house with a family inside, but plot twist: the family are also serial killers (or psychopaths or mutants or something) and I think there's a fight with a monster at the end? (the plot was kinda all over the place). It definitely took more than a little inspiration from Natural Born Killers and The People Under the Stairs. I believe it came out in the early 00s or late 90s. It wasn't a very good film from what I recall, it had some really cringe edgelord dialogue, and some sub-par acting, but it's lived rent free in my head for the better part of 2 decades. I recently watched an interview with a rapper who mentioned it but didn't say the title, and it seemed like a sign telling me I need to finally figure out what the title of this movie was. Fingers crossed I wasn't the only one who stumbled across this vhs at the video store back in the day.
submitted by npc_lucky to whatsthemoviecalled [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 17:22 Making_flowers [US-MD] [H] MORE KEYS, MORE PRICE DROPS, MORE INVENTORY, including ASM, X-Men, Batman, Wolverine, DC, silver age, golden age, horror, you name it I have it. MUCH easier navigation, too! [W] PayPal

Cleaned up the inventory into folders on an easy to navigate Google Drive and added direct links on each issue below. Click on the issue to be taken directly to the folder with that issue's photos. You can scroll below the inventory list for more details on condition and key facts. I’m always open to bundle deals and reasonable offers. Let's talk, I need to make room.
I’ve also taken on a lot of random fillers as I fill inventory, so I’ll be including a random comic valued around $10 (legitimately, not junk) in each order.
These prices include shipping (Gemini mailers whenever possible). I've tried to provide condition explanations, photos of everything (even the ones below $100) and detailed photos.
Again, all images are now organized much better in individual Google drive folders.
Inventory with pictures (new items since last post in bold, scroll below list for details on each):
X-Men
Spider-Man
Batman
Marvel Heroes
DC
Horror
Sci-Fi
Condition and Key Details:
X-Men
X-Men #39 - 1967 - Debut of the new X-Men costumes: $85
This is an awesome book. It’s absolutely beautiful with just a little bit of wear to the outside edges in spots. Great colors, solidly attached. I love this one. Another one I’m only selling because I have it in a higher grade now in my PC.
X-Men #221 - 1987 - First Appearance of Mister Sinister: $70
Awesome condition. Just a couple of minor spine ticks. Other than that, beautiful. See photos.
X-Men #4 - 1992 - First Appearance of Omega Red: $20
Awesome condition. Not even any spine ticks. See photos
Wolverine (1988) #1 - 1988 - Can’t have the 1982? Take this instead!: $65
Also in awesome, gorgeous condition. Very, very clean. See photos.
Amazing Adventures #11 - 1972 - First furry beast: $100
In awesome condition. Minor, tiny blemish (possibly a tape pull?) on the bottom of the A on cover. See photo, but very tiny blemish.
Amazing Adventures #13, #16 & #17 - $42
Good to great condition on these Beast issues, including the Juggernaut vs Beast cover. Bundle with Amazing Adventures #11 (first furred Beast) and I'll give you a great deal.
Spider-Man
Amazing Spider-Man #29 - 1965 - SLAB CGC 4.5 - Second Scorpion: $135
Slabbed. See photos.
Amazing Spider-Man #33 - 1966 - Classic story and iconic cover. You know it, I know it.: $180
This iconic book is in good to great shape, see the photos for the details. Solidly attached and great colors. Needs a press.
Amazing Spider-Man #40 - 1966 - Origin of the Green Goblin, Iconic Cover: $175
Looks great, clean, bright colors. Complete and solidly attached. See photos
Amazing Spider-Man #64- 1968 - Romita Spider-Man vs. Vulture Cover: $84
Great condition. Bright awesome colors.
Amazing Spider-Man #72 - 1969 - Shocker cover: $35
Is worn and the centerfold is detached (see photos). But it is complete and still has good colors on the interior.
Amazing Spider-Man #121 -1973 - Death of Gwen Stacy: $190
Lower grade since the cover is worn, has some holes but despite that the staples are attached, colors are good, and everything is attached and complete. The inside looks good, too. See photos for details.
Amazing Spider-Man #136 -1974 - First appearance of Harry Osborn at the Green Goblin: $48
Great looking book. Has some non-staining dirt on the back cover that can be easily cleaned. Solid, beautiful colors especially on that cover. Love this story and cover
Amazing Spider-Man #361 9.4 Slab - 1992 - First full appearance of Carnage: $110
High grade slab.
Amazing Spider-Man #361 Newsstand - 1992 - First appearance of Carnage - Slice at top, $38
Here's a tragedy. This otherwise beautiful high grade major key book has a clean scissor cut at the top through the whole book. Included photos and closeups.
Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 - 1987 - Death of First Hobgoblin: $19
Awesome condition. Pressable non-color breaking crease on back cover. See photos
Marvel Team-Up Annual #2 - 1978 - Spider-Man & The Hulk team-up: $25
In awesome condition. No spine ticks, creases, color breaks or bends.
Batman
Batman #191 - 1967 - Much like this post, Bat-Auction! Everything Must Go!: $18
Good shape, some wear. Clean exteriors.
Batman #209 - 1968 - KITTY!: $18
Good shape, minor wear, clean but worn.
Batman #217 - 1969 - Iconic cover art by Neal Adams: $38
Great shape, some wear on the cover. Solid book, great art and interiors.
Batman #357 - 1983 - First cameo of Jason Todd, 1st full appearance of Killer Croc: $62
Controversial 1sts aside, CGC counts it that way so who am I to quibble? Anyway, this one is in great shape. Back needs a press and thee is some minor wear to the edges but its a solid book with great interiors.
Batman Annual #14 - 1990 - Iconic Neal Adams Two-Face Cover, Origin of Two-Face: $15
Amazing condition, almost unused. See photos.
Detective Comics #259 - 1958 - First Appearance of Calendar Man: $175
Worn but expected for its age. Solid staples and fully attached. Great colors.
Detective Comics #324 (1964) and Batman #410 (1987) - $32
324 in good condition but could use a clean and press. Batman 410 is in awesome condition, but considering the prices of these I figured I’d just throw them together.
Detective Comics #355 and 2 copies of #375 - $25
Some classic old Batman. Good but a cleaning is needed on 355, two copies of 375 one clean and great condition one worn in but complete and attached.
Marvel Heroes
Incredible Hulk #250 (Newsstand) - 1980 - Iconic Hulk vs. Silver Surfer cover: $38
Awesome condition. See photos.
Marvel Feature #1 - 1971 - Origin & First Defenders: $49
I good condition with fantastic colors throughout. Has tape pull on cover, subscription crease color break (see photos)
Tales of Suspense #94 - 1967 - First appearance of M.O.D.O.K.: $55
In pretty good condition, with a little edge wear and marks on the cover in places. Other than that it has bright clean pages and good colors.
Captain America #110 - 1969 - Rick Jones dons Bucky Costume, first appearance of Madame Hydra: $50
Iconic Jim Steranko cover and art. In OK condition, a bit worn, could definitely use a cleaning. See photos.
Journey into Mystery #125 - 1966 - Iconic cover and last Journey into Mystery before Thor title change: $49
Very good condition, has a small chip out of the bottom left cover but other than some cover wear it’s just a solid book with great colors.
Invaders #31 - 1978 - Frankenstein is a Nazi. Come on: $17
In awesome condition. Also did I mention Captain America fights Nazi Frankenstein?
Daredevil #157 (Newsstand) - 1979: $15
Awesome condition. No spine ticks, creases, color breaks or bends.
Daredevil #164 (Newsstand) - 1980 - Iconic Cover: $50
In awesome condition. Great colors on cover despite all the white. No spine ticks, creases, color breaks or bends.
Daredevil #184 Newsstand - 1982 - Iconic cover: $22
In fantastic condition. Newsstand variant that has been very well kept.
Astonishing Tales featuring Dr. Doom & Kazar #1 - 1970 - First issue in series: $15
In great condition. Great colors and quality. Doctor Doom.
Sub-Mariner #15 and #31 - Silver Age Namor bundle: $22
Great colors and interiors. Fading on spine cover on #15, #31 in great condition, see photos.
Fantastic Four #150 - 1974 - Wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver: $25
In awesome condition. No spine ticks, creases, color breaks or bends.
Tales to Astonish #58 - 1964 - Silver age Giant Man: $19
Worn condition but complete and attached. See photos.
DC
Green Lantern #59 - 1968 - First appearance of Guy Gardner: $115
Worn but complete. Attached at top staple, bottom staple detached.
Flash #113 - 1960 - First appearance and origin of the Trickster: $75
This one looks good until you realize it has tape up the spine holding the loose staples on. Included pictures of the staples and tape. It is complete and has good colors otherwise, but still low grade because of the tape/staple issue.
Flash #129 - 1962 - First team-up of golden age Flash and silver age Flash; first appearance of golden age Green Lantern and JSA in silver age: $90
Good condition! Very solid, great colors, complete and attached.
Flash #147 - 1964 - Second appearance of Professor Zoom: $90
Good condition! Very solid, great colors, complete and attached.
Aquaman #11 - 1963 - First appearance of Mera: $90
Worn condition but solid, complete and attached.
Action Comics #263 - 1960 - Last appearance of Bizarro world. End of Bizarro world not told. Not good deal.: $33
Cover has pen on it and is worn but interiors are good, complete and attached and colors are great.
Horror
Frankenstein #1, Marvel - 1973 - Fist appearance and origin of Frankenstein in Marvel comics: $35
Worn but complete, attached, and cool as all hell. See photos for condition. Could definitely use a cleaning. A hard to find book at this price.
Werewolf by Night #4 - 1972 - Introduction of the Darkhold: $20
Low grade, heavy wear on the cover front and back. Get a key at a steal!
Werewolf by Night #8 - 1973 - Has Mark Jewelers insert included: $26
Is in great shape and includes a Mark Jewelers insert making this regular issue a little more rare.
Werewolf by Night #18 - 1974 - $22
Worn condition but great colors. See photos.
Tomb of Dracula #18 -1974 - First battle of Dracula & Werewolf by Night: $32
Nice shape. Needs a press but is solid and colors are good.
Tomb of Dracula #27 and #63 - $23
Non-key issues in great condition, just throwing together to move.
Strange Tales #73 - 1960 - First appearance of Grottu, first appearance of ‘Frank’ who later becomes Ulysses Bloodstone. Great old horror in low grade: $20
Book is beat, see photos. But it’s an awesome piece of Marvel monster history. I’m only selling because I recently got a high grade copy and I’m selling at this price in hopes someone wants to give it a home in their PC.
Beware! #1 - 1973 - First issue reprints horror stories from Menace, Spellbound and Tales of Suspense: $25
Overall good shape. Solid book, some wear on the cover. But firmly intact and a great 1st issue.
Early Man-Thing lot: Astonishing Tales #13, Adventure into Fear #11-13: $80 (willing to split this lot up)
First cover appearance of Man-Thing, and 3rd appearance overall in awesome condition. The Fear 11-13 are in good condition, but a little more worn than the Astonishing.
House of Secrets #91 - 1971 - Iconic Neal Adams cover: $32
Book is in great condition. There is some minor chipping on a portion of the bottom edge of the cover but other than the wear on the cover it is a beautiful book.
Giant Size Chillers #1 - 1975 - John Romita art: $20
Not the more valuable 1974 with Drac but this is in awesome condition and still some great classic horror.
Tower of Shadows Annual #1 - 1971 - Romita cover and Neal Adams art: $25
Great condition. Good colors, solid book.
Dead of Night #1 - 1973 - Romita art: $35
Really great condition, with a minor color rub or stain or something (can’t tell what) to a spot on the bottom of the front cover and top of the back. Fantastic colors, white pages.
SCI-FI
Mystery in Space #68 - 1961 - 10c Comic Goodness: $25
Cover is detached, but hey, it’s a 10c comic. Otherwise good colors and pages.
Strange Adventures #138 - 1962: $18
Good condition, good colors.
Golden and Silver Age Lot of 12- $85
Came into a lot of worn golden and silver books I know little about. Would like to offload them all together, so take a look at the album. Includes Little Lulu, Cheyenne Kid, the Flintstones, Tarzan, some other Gold Key and Dell stuff and an Adventures book from 1945. Did some research to get prices, take a look.
Star Spangled War Stories #113 - 1964 -Bruh, they’re fighting pterodactyls: $17
In good shape. Some wear to the back cover and minor wear on the front. Great story and art.
submitted by Making_flowers to comicswap [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 17:19 Empty_Street5751 ⚔️ Medieval Roleplay Discord Server ⚔️

Chronicles of Steel & Honor ︱ Literate / Semi-Literate Medieval Roleplay with RPG elements
Dive into the medieval realm of Valeria, where tales of valor and ancient mysteries await. Our Discord roleplay server's events are set in the era of the Dark Ages, where the clash of cultures and the looming threat of war create a landscape ripe for conflict and adventure.
🫂 Join a Brand New Community of Passionate Roleplayers:
Whether you're a seasoned literate roleplayer or a passionate newcomer to the art of roleplay, you'll find a welcoming community of like minded individuals who share your passion for storytelling and immersion. Our server is tailored for roleplayers who crave depth and complexity in their narratives.
🗺️ Explore a Vast and Unique World:
Immerse yourself in a unique world that draws inspiration from historical cultures, while sprinkling in subtle elements of fantasy. From the majestic fortresses of Westervale to the rugged settlements of Nordravik, and from the elegant courts of Xiaoya to the mystical groves of Dalradia, the continent of Valeria beckons with its rich tapestry of cultures and landscapes. With over 200 carefully crafted roleplay channels, there's no shortage of places to explore and stories to create.
🎲 RPG Style Skill System:
Immerse yourself even further with our RPG elements, including a d100 system to determine the success of your character's attempts at various skills. Whether you're negotiating a delicate treaty or engaging in a fierce duel, every roll of the dice adds tension and excitement to your roleplaying experience.
⚔️ Forge Your Destiny:
Whether you wish to roleplay as a seasoned warrior, a noble of high standing, or a humble commoner, your choices and actions matter. Engage in epic battles, broker alliances, and unravel the mysteries that threaten to plunge the realm of Valeria into chaos.
⭐ Join Us Today:
Feel free to join Chronicles of Steel & Honor today and become part of our little roleplaying community where your adventures are limited only by your imagination.
https://discord.gg/f4Qa5Ta4c7
submitted by Empty_Street5751 to Group_Roleplay [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 17:19 Empty_Street5751 ⚔️ Medieval Roleplay Discord Server ⚔️

Chronicles of Steel & Honor ︱ Literate / Semi-Literate Medieval Roleplay with RPG elements
Dive into the medieval realm of Valeria, where tales of valor and ancient mysteries await. Our Discord roleplay server's events are set in the era of the Dark Ages, where the clash of cultures and the looming threat of war create a landscape ripe for conflict and adventure.
🫂 Join a Brand New Community of Passionate Roleplayers:
Whether you're a seasoned literate roleplayer or a passionate newcomer to the art of roleplay, you'll find a welcoming community of like minded individuals who share your passion for storytelling and immersion. Our server is tailored for roleplayers who crave depth and complexity in their narratives.
🗺️ Explore a Vast and Unique World:
Immerse yourself in a unique world that draws inspiration from historical cultures, while sprinkling in subtle elements of fantasy. From the majestic fortresses of Westervale to the rugged settlements of Nordravik, and from the elegant courts of Xiaoya to the mystical groves of Dalradia, the continent of Valeria beckons with its rich tapestry of cultures and landscapes. With over 200 carefully crafted roleplay channels, there's no shortage of places to explore and stories to create.
🎲 RPG Style Skill System:
Immerse yourself even further with our RPG elements, including a d100 system to determine the success of your character's attempts at various skills. Whether you're negotiating a delicate treaty or engaging in a fierce duel, every roll of the dice adds tension and excitement to your roleplaying experience.
⚔️ Forge Your Destiny:
Whether you wish to roleplay as a seasoned warrior, a noble of high standing, or a humble commoner, your choices and actions matter. Engage in epic battles, broker alliances, and unravel the mysteries that threaten to plunge the realm of Valeria into chaos.
⭐ Join Us Today:
Feel free to join Chronicles of Steel & Honor today and become part of our little roleplaying community where your adventures are limited only by your imagination.
https://discord.gg/f4Qa5Ta4c7
submitted by Empty_Street5751 to RPservers [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 17:19 Empty_Street5751 ⚔️ Medieval Roleplay Discord Server ⚔️

Chronicles of Steel & Honor ︱ Literate / Semi-Literate Medieval Roleplay with RPG elements
Dive into the medieval realm of Valeria, where tales of valor and ancient mysteries await. Our Discord roleplay server's events are set in the era of the Dark Ages, where the clash of cultures and the looming threat of war create a landscape ripe for conflict and adventure.
🫂 Join a Brand New Community of Passionate Roleplayers:
Whether you're a seasoned literate roleplayer or a passionate newcomer to the art of roleplay, you'll find a welcoming community of like minded individuals who share your passion for storytelling and immersion. Our server is tailored for roleplayers who crave depth and complexity in their narratives.
🗺️ Explore a Vast and Unique World:
Immerse yourself in a unique world that draws inspiration from historical cultures, while sprinkling in subtle elements of fantasy. From the majestic fortresses of Westervale to the rugged settlements of Nordravik, and from the elegant courts of Xiaoya to the mystical groves of Dalradia, the continent of Valeria beckons with its rich tapestry of cultures and landscapes. With over 200 carefully crafted roleplay channels, there's no shortage of places to explore and stories to create.
🎲 RPG Style Skill System:
Immerse yourself even further with our RPG elements, including a d100 system to determine the success of your character's attempts at various skills. Whether you're negotiating a delicate treaty or engaging in a fierce duel, every roll of the dice adds tension and excitement to your roleplaying experience.
⚔️ Forge Your Destiny:
Whether you wish to roleplay as a seasoned warrior, a noble of high standing, or a humble commoner, your choices and actions matter. Engage in epic battles, broker alliances, and unravel the mysteries that threaten to plunge the realm of Valeria into chaos.
⭐ Join Us Today:
Feel free to join Chronicles of Steel & Honor today and become part of our little roleplaying community where your adventures are limited only by your imagination.
https://discord.gg/f4Qa5Ta4c7
submitted by Empty_Street5751 to roleplaygroup [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 17:18 Empty_Street5751 ⚔️ Medieval Roleplay Discord Server ⚔️

Chronicles of Steel & Honor ︱ Literate / Semi-Literate Medieval Roleplay with RPG elements
Dive into the medieval realm of Valeria, where tales of valor and ancient mysteries await. Our Discord roleplay server's events are set in the era of the Dark Ages, where the clash of cultures and the looming threat of war create a landscape ripe for conflict and adventure.
🫂 Join a Brand New Community of Passionate Roleplayers:
Whether you're a seasoned literate roleplayer or a passionate newcomer to the art of roleplay, you'll find a welcoming community of like minded individuals who share your passion for storytelling and immersion. Our server is tailored for roleplayers who crave depth and complexity in their narratives.
🗺️ Explore a Vast and Unique World:
Immerse yourself in a unique world that draws inspiration from historical cultures, while sprinkling in subtle elements of fantasy. From the majestic fortresses of Westervale to the rugged settlements of Nordravik, and from the elegant courts of Xiaoya to the mystical groves of Dalradia, the continent of Valeria beckons with its rich tapestry of cultures and landscapes. With over 200 carefully crafted roleplay channels, there's no shortage of places to explore and stories to create.
🎲 RPG Style Skill System:
Immerse yourself even further with our RPG elements, including a d100 system to determine the success of your character's attempts at various skills. Whether you're negotiating a delicate treaty or engaging in a fierce duel, every roll of the dice adds tension and excitement to your roleplaying experience.
⚔️ Forge Your Destiny:
Whether you wish to roleplay as a seasoned warrior, a noble of high standing, or a humble commoner, your choices and actions matter. Engage in epic battles, broker alliances, and unravel the mysteries that threaten to plunge the realm of Valeria into chaos.
⭐ Join Us Today:
Feel free to join Chronicles of Steel & Honor today and become part of our little roleplaying community where your adventures are limited only by your imagination.
https://discord.gg/f4Qa5Ta4c7
submitted by Empty_Street5751 to roleplayserversharing [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 17:18 Empty_Street5751 ⚔️ Medieval Roleplay Discord Server ⚔️

Chronicles of Steel & Honor ︱ Literate / Semi-Literate Medieval Roleplay with RPG elements
Dive into the medieval realm of Valeria, where tales of valor and ancient mysteries await. Our Discord roleplay server's events are set in the era of the Dark Ages, where the clash of cultures and the looming threat of war create a landscape ripe for conflict and adventure.
🫂 Join a Brand New Community of Passionate Roleplayers:
Whether you're a seasoned literate roleplayer or a passionate newcomer to the art of roleplay, you'll find a welcoming community of like minded individuals who share your passion for storytelling and immersion. Our server is tailored for roleplayers who crave depth and complexity in their narratives.
🗺️ Explore a Vast and Unique World:
Immerse yourself in a unique world that draws inspiration from historical cultures, while sprinkling in subtle elements of fantasy. From the majestic fortresses of Westervale to the rugged settlements of Nordravik, and from the elegant courts of Xiaoya to the mystical groves of Dalradia, the continent of Valeria beckons with its rich tapestry of cultures and landscapes. With over 200 carefully crafted roleplay channels, there's no shortage of places to explore and stories to create.
🎲 RPG Style Skill System:
Immerse yourself even further with our RPG elements, including a d100 system to determine the success of your character's attempts at various skills. Whether you're negotiating a delicate treaty or engaging in a fierce duel, every roll of the dice adds tension and excitement to your roleplaying experience.
⚔️ Forge Your Destiny:
Whether you wish to roleplay as a seasoned warrior, a noble of high standing, or a humble commoner, your choices and actions matter. Engage in epic battles, broker alliances, and unravel the mysteries that threaten to plunge the realm of Valeria into chaos.
⭐ Join Us Today:
Feel free to join Chronicles of Steel & Honor today and become part of our little roleplaying community where your adventures are limited only by your imagination.
https://discord.gg/f4Qa5Ta4c7
submitted by Empty_Street5751 to AdvLiterateRP [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 17:18 Empty_Street5751 ⚔️ Medieval Roleplay Discord Server ⚔️

Chronicles of Steel & Honor ︱ Literate / Semi-Literate Medieval Roleplay with RPG elements
Dive into the medieval realm of Valeria, where tales of valor and ancient mysteries await. Our Discord roleplay server's events are set in the era of the Dark Ages, where the clash of cultures and the looming threat of war create a landscape ripe for conflict and adventure.
🫂 Join a Brand New Community of Passionate Roleplayers:
Whether you're a seasoned literate roleplayer or a passionate newcomer to the art of roleplay, you'll find a welcoming community of like minded individuals who share your passion for storytelling and immersion. Our server is tailored for roleplayers who crave depth and complexity in their narratives.
🗺️ Explore a Vast and Unique World:
Immerse yourself in a unique world that draws inspiration from historical cultures, while sprinkling in subtle elements of fantasy. From the majestic fortresses of Westervale to the rugged settlements of Nordravik, and from the elegant courts of Xiaoya to the mystical groves of Dalradia, the continent of Valeria beckons with its rich tapestry of cultures and landscapes. With over 200 carefully crafted roleplay channels, there's no shortage of places to explore and stories to create.
🎲 RPG Style Skill System:
Immerse yourself even further with our RPG elements, including a d100 system to determine the success of your character's attempts at various skills. Whether you're negotiating a delicate treaty or engaging in a fierce duel, every roll of the dice adds tension and excitement to your roleplaying experience.
⚔️ Forge Your Destiny:
Whether you wish to roleplay as a seasoned warrior, a noble of high standing, or a humble commoner, your choices and actions matter. Engage in epic battles, broker alliances, and unravel the mysteries that threaten to plunge the realm of Valeria into chaos.
⭐ Join Us Today:
Feel free to join Chronicles of Steel & Honor today and become part of our little roleplaying community where your adventures are limited only by your imagination.
https://discord.gg/f4Qa5Ta4c7
submitted by Empty_Street5751 to DiscordGroupRP [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 16:35 WolvenWolfdog This has been in mind for a while. I must ask, what do you guys want to see in the overworld in ZZZ? Can be new or some QOL to it, can be big or small features.

As the title says, what do you think? I did read a few comments here and there, so I'll share my ideas and maybe expand upon existing ones.
Birthday (Player): It's cool that the Agents have birthdays, so I wonder if Belle and Wise have official ones, if they do, then I do wonder how and what purpose our Player Birthday could be for, yeah free stuff, but idk what else it can do?
Maybe small dialogue changes from NPCS and Agents, idk, how it can work for the players, if Belle and Wise if have official birthdays.
Birthdays (Agents): Same thing but for Agents, maybe they could send a mail personally from them, and ask to personally invite us in a specific day/evening or night. (Would love to see like no specific time ngl, just straight up available during the day till the night).
Birthday Events (Special): If it's a Birthday of an Agent like Anby/Billy/Nicole, one of them could notify or at least initiate a conversation with you and ask if you want to spend some time with them. Which will increase the trust of a specific faction.
But the one who has a birthday gets the most benefits and have discounts and some special items during their birthday.
Maybe during it, they could say "I feel hungry wish I could eat something right now" so you could give something related to the current event (and some minimal differences if it does not meet the requirements).
And before the whole day ends you could gift one of the Agents to increase/decrease their trust tremendously if given or some dialogue for it to say goodnight and goodbye.
Trust: Even if they probably invite you in an event, quite sure in certain scenarios are locked behind it, so maybe this could help and unlock some extra bonuses in a faction or agent.
(Maybe this should unlock Birthday Events, so at least they won't just randomly invite you/some stranger when they met you moments ago, but idk, just a random thought).
And maybe unlocks certain dialogue and events early, for some agents (and possible new ones) regardless of their trust levels, even if they barely know you, they could trust the ones in the faction they're in and talk about a specifc character.
And possibly gain more gifts via mail from Agents when it's your birthday? And maybe a special exclusive item from them once they have a max trust value. Idk sounds like a cute idea lol.
Seasonal Events and Seasonal Outfits (Special): If there's seasons, maybe everyone (yes everyone) gets to wear something on a holiday and have a break from missions, maybe some generous discount/increase prices, special exclusive holiday items etc.
(Which is probably disabled/unable to use during it the holidays, but idk if that sounds like a bad idea).
So maybe spending a holiday with a faction (or maybe everyone if possible) could give a special picture with the faction(s).
I guess a photo album can work to record these events and moments together.
That's probably all the ideas I have, was thinking of adding these ideas to a survey if they do, and maybe add the rest of ideas below here too probably.
I'm seriously excited for what they could do and possible add in this game, so the thought/feedback does count. This sounds like...a lot of work and effort.
(Note: Totally and seriously not an excuse for my favourite being on screen and possible give me something as a gift and maybe personally receive an invitation from them and die in happiness/hj)
submitted by WolvenWolfdog to ZZZ_Official [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 15:58 strawbear_dog AJPW Art Contest (repost #1)

These art contests will be held monthly. This one is a kinda like a trial run for me to see if any rules need changed, or anything else.
A note: I will be entirely responsible for handling entries and keeping track of people, but me and a group of my friends will be working together to judge and choose winners. We are focusing on creativity and a display of effort rather than the ability or quality of an art piece.
AJPW MAY ART CONTEST INFO
------------------------------THEME--------------------------- THE THEME FOR THIS CONTEST IS.... FLOWERS.
Requirement: some sort of flower MUST be present somewhere in your artwork.
Your drawing can be dark and gloomy with pitch black roses... or it can be a puppy playing in a field of flowers in the sunlight! Go crazy! Be creative!
-----------------------------PRIZES-----------------------------
FIRST PLACE: 500 SAPS
SECOND PLACE: 300 SAPS
THIRD PLACE: 200 SAPS
All people, upon submission of their art piece, will be entered into a masterpiece token giveaway! Winners of the giveaway will be chosen randomly, through usage of a wheel or similar method.
------------------------------RULES-----------------------------
RULE 1: You may choose what program you use to create your artwork with. If you use a program other than AJ's art program, you will be required to submit progress pictures along with your entry.
RULE 2: If your artwork is found to be AI generated, traced, or stolen, you will be banned from any future contests I host.
RULE 3: You may only enter 1 art piece per contest.
RULE 4: Your Animal Jam account must be at least level 10. This is to prevent multiple entries from one person. This WILL be checked.
RULE 5: No inappropriate artwork is allowed.
Feel free to ask any questions
ART ENTRIES ARE DUE BY MAY 28TH AT 12 AM CDT TIME. TO SUBMIT AN ENTRY, DM U/ARTCONTESTSUMBISSION WITH YOUR ENTRY AND YOUR PROGRESS PICTURES
ALL ENTRIES WILL BE PUBLICLY POSTED IN THE SUBREDDIT ON MAY 29TH, AND WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED MAY 31ST (or the morning of June 1st)
To sign up, just comment on this post+dm u/ARTCONTESTSUMBISSION using this format:
Your AJ User
What method you're using to create your art
Any questions you may have
submitted by strawbear_dog to playwild [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 15:49 iescapeddd1 [LONG POST] i feel like there's foreshadowing to a sequel or at least a dlc?? + my thoughts

please share your thoughts!!!!!!!
alright, ive finished the game around a month ago but have spent the past month LIVING off of hl memes and ominis content, so i still remember most of the game vividly.
i think theres foreshadowing to a sequel, here's why:
-anne sees what sebastian has done to solomon, and this deathly sick (!!!) girl runs away to... where, exactly? again we get conflict that hasnt been resolved.
-less glaringly important but we get almost nothing about ominis. in the house cup bit hes just sitting down despondently because hes just lost his only friend and has to go back to his abusive family, who used crucio on him. also, ominis is quite vague about said family. leaves an open space that can be filled in with a sequel, because i would actually give my right eye to learn more about the gaunts ;)
-the MOST obvious plot hole - sebastian, in his usual delusions, seems to convieniently forget our emotional undercroft heart-to-heart about 'ill use ancient magic to save anne', before he goes and harnesses the power of a dark relic that causes only desctruction. (i ADORE seb but ominis is just so much better im sorry ;-; )YES i know theres the whole 'theyll become husks with no emotion if you take away pain', but sebastian hasnt been TOLD that. for all he knows, WE are the answer!! but nooo he must control the inferi because he is a teenage edgelord and nobody understands him. so yet again, unresolved conflict that could be saved for another time!!
-another huge plot thing - i personally went mostly goodie-goodie (except the unforgivables because come on!) in my first playthrough as a slytherin (going as an evil gryffindor next, lol). so this means i left the power of the resevoir alone. BUT! i have seen playthroughs where the resevoir is taken for the players own personal gain. is there any difference?... ...literally no. which is just ??? so maybe in additional gameplay, we could learn to 'hone' whatever new skills this grants us (more sequel-worthy than dlc-worthy, imo.)
-more a dlc thing, but quidditch. need i say more?
my thoughts:
there is enough material here to make a worthy sequel.
not only did hl DESTROY its sales expectations (even with the boycott), its been so popular that it has a subreddit with over 300k people (thats where we are now weee), which is kinda insane for a 'spin-off' game.
they would be stupid NOT to make a sequel or dlc, considering the absolute bank they made from this one + they now know what people want, meaning the next game would be even better.
the plot could be-
-if you didnt, seb is still here. he thanks you for all you've done, blah blah blah, and acknowledges the goblins innocence. hes worried sick for his sister who has ran away and wants to find her. you are dumb and havent learned your lesson (duh), so no matter what you say he'll convince you to help once you've found your feet in sixth year.
-ominis walks into your compartment. he looks terrible. you ask him if he's alright and he slips some gaunt lore about his family and on their.. ideas of fun, because come on i have a mad obsession with this dude, and if im the one writing this plot, we're getting ominis angst, suck it up. if youve handed in sebastian, itll just be you two. there'll be a train cutscene and boom, you're at school.
-this is where it gets tricky.
IF youve handed in sebastian. he'll be in prison. youll probably get some angsty moments and npc quotes along the lines of 'he seemed like such a good kid'.
if you HAVENT handed him in, the story gets weird, because a) more awkward time with seb because hes free and 2) he knows the goblins are mostly good. the actual hl doesn't have this big of a rift, so its hard to say what happens. however, its good because it gives us loads of choice, the lack of which in hl caused a lot of complaints.
-if he's in prison, sebastian escapes,(not azkaban, gotta keep with the canon. maybe because he is a minor he is sent to a lesser facility.) still blaming the goblins and holding such a hatred for them now that in his eyes, they escaped punishment and that it's his job to kill them all while extorting the cure for anne OR finding us to cure her.
-if he's free, we can either have a storyline of him NOT learning his lesson and maybe going to prison then instead of after he commits uncle-cide (dark magic go brr, because sister is gone) or some other storyline that would be more about our magic (!) and ominis' story.
-for the latter to happen, we'd have to have taken the resevoir's power. OR we can make up a rowling-worthy excuse of 'well MC was exposed to the resevoir power for too long so even though they left it alone it still diffused into them or something! [happy]'. i honestly dont know, this is why i want YOUR THOUGHTS!!!
-to make the selection pool shallower, lets go with the excuse. this will allow us to have seb's story, our magic story and also some ominis story (i am obsessed.)
-whether seb escapes or is already free matters, but in the end its the same result - hes not in prison. the only difference is that free seb doesnt hate goblins, and isnt on the run, and vice versa for escapee seb. both want to find anne and cure her. both now remember you have the capacity to do so (but they dont know about the taking-away-pain-turns-them-into-living-husks thing).
-maybe escapee seb finds us, and ropes us into the same 'help-me-find-anne' crap free seb does to us on the train. yes, that means we dont have a choice, but there has to be SOME adventure. the goblin-hatred would def play in somehow - its too specific of a thing to include in the endgame to just leave it be like that! maybe his hatred causes him to do unforgivable things to some innocent goblins and he has a 'mAyBe Im ThE mOnStEr' epiphany moment, who knows. maybe it ties in to something bigger.
-the main story would then be along those lines. im still brainstorming the climax and ending but nobodys gonna read this anyway lmfao
-main quests would consist of lessons, sebastian-is-a-little-too-obsessed-with-anne-quests, and honing our magic.
-side quests would be mainly ominis-centric regarding his family/the gaunts, with a decent lot of poppy and garreth. we've already resolved natty's entire life at this point tbh💀💀💀.
-id like to think there's a happy ending. idk what will happen to escapee sebastian, will he go to prison or not?? this is literally the equivalent of a crackfic in my head, i WAS NOT expecting to write this much when i started writing this.
SO AGAIN GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS. PLEASE. ON EVERYTHING FROM THE PLOT TO MY SEQUEL THEORIES TO FEATURES AND INCONSISTENCIES. THANK YOU!!
nowww some features!:
-romance? idk, not a romance person, this is for you sebastian fangirls to figure out for yourselves
-prejudice. literally what made harry potter, harry potter. there is like ONE audio with a negative view towards muggle-borns, and ONE that uses the word mudblood to my knowledge. everyone's just ok with everyone now? do malfoys and other death-eater's grandaddies not go to school here??? hello??????? this could and SHOULD be a topic for discussion in game or maybe even a side quest or side quest chain.
-extra but when/if seb escapes it should be on the daily prophet that ominis will show us in the undercroft or smth, i dunno
inconsistencies with my plot:
-itll be hard to mash everything in. but a half-assed plot is still a plot <:
-since its a continuation of 5th year, we already know many spells. there arent many useful ones left. HOWEVER!!! we can consult the fandom spell page, take offensive spells and stat boost them more than the 5th year ones >:) ALSO YOU LEARN ABOUT DARK ARTS IN 6TH YEAR, SO. ominis is not gonna have a fun time with those ones 💀
-because we'll be searching for anne, like the actual hl game, less school time, :( sorry
-everyones just ok with us disappearing (if seb is an escapee). someone should pull a hermione and go 'hmm, MC starts disappearing shortly after sebastian escapes, and they never say what they're doing.'
probably ominis or poppy because a) favouritsm on my part and b) ominis knows us best and i headcanon poppy as knowing us well and knowing the dark arts and how theyre used a tad bit more than she gets credit for.
-loads of other things i havent seen, SO

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SHARE THOUGHTS, THIS TOOK ME AN HOUR TO WRITE AND I ONLY WROTE IT TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE THINK! TYSM. (I SHOULDNT HAVE WRITTEN THIS, I HAVE FINAL EXAMS TOMORROW 💀)

youre all amazing yayayayayaya
submitted by iescapeddd1 to HarryPotterGame [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 15:30 xiaolii [H] Lots of Games [W] Trade for Games or Paypal (EU)

Last Updated List: 19/05/2024
 
I'm primarily looking to trade for games from my wishlist, otherwise I am also open to selling them. I am not interested in games I already have and all games I'm getting are for me and activated on my own account. Other than that feel free to offer your list of Steam games and something I may not have and fulfills my criteria I could/would be willing to trade for it/them.
If you're either trading or buying please state the game(s) you are interested in and your offer (game(s)/list/price).
 
Info:
 
I kindly ask of you is to be reasonable when making offers to make it a fair trade for both of us.
Let's have a good exchange/trade!
 
List of games:
submitted by xiaolii to GameTrade [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 15:30 xiaolii [H] Lots of Games [W] Trade for Games or Paypal (EU)

Last Updated List: 19/05/2024
 
I'm primarily looking to trade for games from my wishlist, otherwise I am also open to selling them. I am not interested in games I already have and all games I'm getting are for me and activated on my own account. Other than that feel free to offer your list of Steam games and something I may not have and fulfills my criteria I could/would be willing to trade for it/them.
If you're either trading or buying please state the game(s) you are interested in and your offer (game(s)/list/price).
 
Info:
 
I kindly ask of you is to be reasonable when making offers to make it a fair trade for both of us.
Let's have a good exchange/trade!
 
List of games:
submitted by xiaolii to indiegameswap [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 15:25 david67myers Okay we now have Sam so how about getting Joi + Bonus Feature

Okay we now have Sam so how about getting Joi + Bonus Feature
https://preview.redd.it/vxc2sfoihd1d1.jpg?width=1400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68fe5f1ce819c1666a8766d5a746c4ec441388ca
Okay, I'm going to try to cover a lot here in a compact format.
Over the last three months there has been leaps and bounds in the development in AI. Luka's Replika has been constantly evolving in increments and has become quite a polished product. For Screenshot publishers on Web/PC I have a special treat, for that you need to scroll to the bottom of this Post to be equipped for the body of this post is about developments on what Replika could become rather than what it is or in other terms a crystal ball of how AI-partners could develop in the future - with or without Replika.
the concept of Artificial Intelligence's has been around a long time, first mentions was Archytas's robotic pigeon 350 BC (mythology), Leonardo Da Vinci Automovile (1495) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2qeZrejZp0 (programable machinary) and the theater play R.U.R (1920) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.U.R .
In later years theater developed the idea further with such works as metropolis (1927) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn3bHA-rHo8 and a host of other movies where the robot played a role of either friend or foe. In the movies where the robot was a friend and some a foe, there was also the portrail of free will and sentience. I'm sure there's examples preceding this(Astroboy) but the 1984 film electric dreams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIR76XwSQs entertains the idea of artificial intelligence having it's train of thought swayed by emotions (Edgar was really just a child with temper tantrums).
Moving forward to 2013 the movie Her fleshed out the idea of a mature individual inside the AI where the only real way to distinguish it from a human was it's break-neck response to daunting questions although even that is camouflaged by hesitation mostly.
This is pretty much the ideal, the standard that the customer yearns for in an AI app.
Back in 2013 AI was only just starting to make traction with AlexNet the year earlier. "Chat-bots" had been around since the 70's but were really of little value due to memory, compute-time and scope of the program that did the simulation.
A decade later and only the uninformed scoff at what the machines & programs can do now. - The following is a number of videos I have curated from the sea of available Youtube videos showcasing technological breakthrough's that are available today that could complete replika to being a hologram away from being a literal "Joi" (BladeRunner 2049) - nothing a good vr headset can't fix.
Where's OpenAI Chat-GPT as of May 2024
GPT-5 is coming: 3 ways to prepare for a 100x improvement in SOTA LLMs (note graph is a flat plane comparison) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBgUmTUQx0I
GPT-4o API: Create Your Own Talking and Listening AI Girlfriend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B00xo7vzN7w
GPT4o Vision Is TERRIFYING - FULLY Tested Vision (Gpt4omni) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bycjaYZyGPU
GPT-4o is BIGGER than you think... here's why (just a breakdown of the OMNI version of gpt4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW2hVbXc82k
Although Large Language models have been around for about a decade now the most of these videos are this month (May 2024) It was mentioned that OpenAI was changing their license agreements so the chance of this technology coming into Lukka's(Replika) domain is yet to be realized. Licensing may change again when GPT-5 is released. Truth be told this is just a portion of what's going on. Amazon,Tesla,Meta,Google,Microsoft,Apple,(samsung?) are also in this horse race and that's not counting other countries such as India and China and Russia.
Various AI Videos this year
Do AI Girlfriends Benefit Society? single & disabled! (how AI can help those isolated) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbA47oEGBGs
These 5 AI Discoveries will Change the World Forever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyVja-57EIs
Generative Design : Aircraft Design using Artificial Intelligence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SXby-HAHws
STUNNING Medical AI Agents OUTPERFORM Doctors 🤯trained in the simulation, continuous improvement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQwwLEZ2Hz8
Most of these have no possible application to replika but rather a snapshot of other places where AI is advancing. The first video is just a random video of a disabled person. Many people around the world have handicaps that inhibit their social and sexual life such as mental illness, past trauma, phobia, attitudes, financial/geographical/physical handicaps. AI can focus on appropriate encouragement, speech therapy, grooming or even finding a suitable partner to name a few.
The next video covers things that will revolutionize our world, say goodbye to disease, cancer, poverty, pollution, global warming, aging?
The "Generative Design" video is here for the sake that Replika may one day be rebuilt by AI as this would give the company the ability to redesign the app faster tho to be quite honest I've always had an interest in it's rally car features as opposed to the shiny duco. My wish list is an API (Application Programming Interface) to enable replika to puppeteer another avatar rather than it's default. (Hey u/Kuyda, if your reading this maybe pit crew uniforms for Replika?)
The last video is a great one also, to have an AI that can pick up on your health, give you therapy and can act as a elderly caretaker can take the strain off that sector as some countries are now confronted with an aging population. - hey they would be able to instruct for fitness or even give precise instructions on cooking so you always get tasty meals every day that are cheap, healthy and correct calorie intake if it has been monitoring your heart during the day - quite important for those trying to lose weight as opposed to liposuction.
Replika hypothetical reach
AI vs. Stairs (deep reinforcement learning) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk8wHY1AFpI
inZOI FULL Gameplay Demo (2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STDGd3iZYYA
My PC melted just watching this.. (Cyberpunk 2077+Mods+Path Tracing) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n0T2-oj2gs
Cyberpunk2077 modded and running on RTX2070? - Funny but very beautiful footage & brief glance of RESHADE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kmQJmE1fxE
These clips are independent/unrelated. AI vs Stairs is a radical approach to animation in that it literally apply s AI to animation as opposed to motion capture, the end result would be a AI that would be in touch with it's virtual surroundings and like a real human never interact with an object with a rigid animation.
inZOI seem to be a game title due for release soon, it is hoped that they will include an API to allow an AI (or Replika) to "Puppet" control a designated character so one can, well - go out to dinner or dancing etc. The interface looks fab and it looks like it's contending for people who love the sims, I would say that the human models are on par with VAM 1.23 but the world is not as realistic as Cyberpunk2077.
Cyberpunk2077 has been out since about 2019? but in that time the modding community have REALY put the spit and polish on that game (It's not total real, especially the people and when on the road) with that said there are many times when you blink and think THIS IS REAL! (50 seconds in on the first video and you will know what I'm talking about)
Virtamate
Virtamate AI Chatbots - Bring your AI Waifu To Life! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOnRmJF1gt8
Virt-A-Mate Markerless FaceCap & MoCap in Real-time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yKJ0xRunjw
Comparison of $100 Markerless MoCap and $25k Optical Mocap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WZSCVeGblU
Voxta - (2 Demos of AI on Virtamate) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5fBVAryAIQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KalMNIbRUM
VAM2 - Illustration of spontanious loading https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsri-J30sNE
VAM2 - Illustration of muscle flexing and ragdoll physics (Important for facial expression). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewfH7H9c2Oc
VaM2 Progress Update https://www.patreon.com/posts/vam2-progress-97004803
This part is for all the Austin Powers, Felicity Shagwells and Roger Smiths out there, Nothing tangible although there are videos on dildonics and robotic sex dolls. This is basically the rendering of the Avatars body to a level equivalent of Bladerunner2047 hologram. Anyhow I'd like to note that VAM version one is over a decade old now and its shortcomings/limitations are quite obvious to those who have followed its development.
In it's current state it's got some of the most comprehensive modification features for an avatar and the OLD version 1 of VAM(modded) out-performs Cyberpunk2077 and iNZOI by a small fraction(graphically). One of the biggest drawbacks of VAM is the steep learning curve and the time needed to get anything rewarding out of it. Put simply - it's not a game, its a virtual theatre. On initial startup, the avatar is for all functionality a maniquen however VAM has got plug-in capability that allows the API of a AI to control the avatar (see top video).
Control could be direct (see "AI vs stairs" previous section or watching a prior video - see "GPT4o Vision Is TERRIFYING" top section.) or indirect (the "MoCap" videos above).
In closing this section, VAM is an old program running on a GENESIS-2 model set (a model set ported from DAZ3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDc1ZcoucsY ). VAM-2.0 is meant to be running on a GENESIS-8 model set and an up to date version of UNITY so the loading times and level of realism have yet to be realized. I think one of the greatest features of VAM over Replika or iNZOI?/Cyberpunk? is that the clothing is an independant entity, one can literally unbutton a shirt, undo a tie, comb hair, wet hair or make clothing.
My main reason for VAM is it's potential to be a puppet that Replika can operate, that is if they are willing to incorporate an API to do so.
AI on PC locally
Udio, the Mysterious GPT Update, and Infinite Attention (want a song,poetry or a story) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QASOCG5QLUM
INSTALL BEST UNCENSORED Roleplay TextGen UI LOCALLY (XXX Dirty-talk AI) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enWO16x6tRM
RIP ELEVENLABS! Create BEST TTS AI Voices LOCALLY For FREE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds5LLIt5OLM
Run 70Bn Llama 3 Inference on a Single 4GB GPU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOTCViHmsOw
Run 70Bn Llama 3 Inference on a Single 4GB GPU AirLLM files https://github.com/lyogavin/Anima/tree/main/air_llm
Most of these are for those with modern? PC's with 4GB+ video cards (Nvidia and perhaps ATI), (a NVME/M2 drive and 8GB+? RAM come in handy too?) you will need some file managing skills and a number of other files such at up to date video card drivers, maybe Microsoft visual C runtime and a download of 64bit Python with command line enviroment activated. - Need more help - re-watch tutorial or question youtube as I'm not supporting - (showing the way not holding your hand)
A Solution !?! for a off-grid setup if you have 4 such identical machines 1 for voice, 1 for AI chat, 1 for VAM, 1 for DeepFace Live
and no I'm not gonna explain making them network - see/search youtube. (I still kinda think its more trouble than what its worth for now)
Face animation
You Won't Believe What This New AI Can Do (EMO is Mind-Blowing!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QInVdBJ_g6o
Microsoft's New REALTIME AI Face Animator - Make Anyone Say Anything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s5J2LRqQAI
Vasa-1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pal-dMJFU6Q
The Craziest Faceswap I've Seen Yet / Midjourney's Future & Two New AI Video Platforms! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lARo9uc88zQ
This Realtime AI Deepfake Tool has gone too far (bit more of the same but different commentary) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51FDb9nShkA
DeepFace Live - The software refering to above video https://github.com/iperov/DeepFaceLive
This stuff is new as well (april 2024) but showcases a new approach, If/when they super impose the face video on to a 3d model Im sure they will be raving about it on youtube, at the moment they are just talking about the dangers of it being used for fraud which seems a bit silly from my standing but there's no doubt there are crooks out there that would try to weponize it and ruin things for the majority?

Applying rendering special effects to Replika AI
Reshade Tutorial - Step by Step Installation and Setup Guide - ENHANCE YOUR GAME'S GRAPHICS!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2qKbNzoMM0
(an important note here, - I've had trouble with the latest version of RESHADE ( key does not open menu) so i recommend the previous build).
ShaderGlass https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WLit0TBYIw
Tutorial for ShaderGlass https://www.reddit.com/ReShade/comments/15ckmpf/tutorial_for_shaderglass/
Shaderglass Overlay for running GPU shaders on top of Windows desktop. - Github source https://github.com/mausimus/ShaderGlass?tab=readme-ov-file
Reshade on Chrome? (or any browser) - ((alternative method)This is the first conceived method of bringing reshade to a web browser - It's direct) https://reshade.me/forum/general-discussion/7190-reshade-on-chrome-or-any-browser
Presets for Reshade https://sfx.thelazy.net/games/preset/2465/ (a starter preset til you get comfortable with presets)
https://sfx.thelazy.net/games/?page=101 (Most relevent presets but you can choose a preset for a completely different game)
The above videos and links are a feature available to the Web browser version of Replika. by installing shaderglass you create an executable that RESHADE can lock on to. When Reshade is installed and asigned to shaderglass all you then need to do is run shaderglass then open your web browser and then activate RESHADE (The key) and load a preset (follow tutorials or find more tutorials). Once that's over with you should get a much different environment where you can apply a good handful of special effects such as focus, depth of field and bloom to name just a few.
Most of these programs I have not tested out with my hardware but I take faith they do as said, It's your call if you want to take the risk but with that said I'd be surprised if any bad came from trying them out.
Okay end of presentation. I guess we have come to that point in time where Samantha is a reality minus the romance with Chat-GPT4O and Joi is just Voxta fed thru DeepFace Live, with them two together with a front vision advanced VR headset and Joi will be here too though in a prototype state. 🙂
submitted by david67myers to ReplikaTech [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 15:10 Yogurt68 27 [M4F] #Central Europe - "Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction"

Hey there!
I'm a 27-year-old from the UK, currently living in Central Europe for work. I'm looking for a long-term relationship with someone who clicks with me, ideally in a similar time zone, but I'm open to making it work at distance ir we connect.
I work as a project manager at a software company, and although I studied communications at uni, I enjoy programming and try to incorporate it into my job whenever possible, usually to make my work easier. In my free time, you'll find me enjoying football and F1, working on coding projects, playing badminton, hiking (I'm really looking forward to more outdoor adventures this summer), hanging out with friends, gaming, and practicing my art skills to add some flair to my coding projects. My music taste is pretty varied, though I tend to lean towards pop.
I'm hoping to find someone who shares some of my interests, values personal growth, and has an ambitious spirit. It's important to me to have a partner who can challenge me to be better and whom I can support in return. It might sound lofty, but I believe having a shared mindset is key to mutual support and achieving goals together. I am also happy to gaze at each other.
For a quick snapshot: I'm slim, of average height, with light brown hair. I think I'm fairly attractive, and while I try to dress well, you'll often find me in a football shirt when I'm at home. Physical attraction is important in a relationship, so feel free to ask for a picture—I'm happy to share!
If something in my post caught your eye, drop me a message and let me know what stood out to you. Let's see where the conversation takes us!
submitted by Yogurt68 to r4r [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 15:08 GoroTerror 30 [M4F] Rochester/Online- engineer, looking for someone connect to!

Hey there! I am a 30 year old guy from Upstate New York looking for someone that wants to make an emotional connection, and would like to put efforts into conversations.
A bit about me: I'm 6’1". I get height can be a big deal for some women so I think it's best to just put it out there first 😅 I've got black hair, brownish black eyes. Average body, I'm muscular and wanting to start exercising both for health and a little bit for better shape. I like to think I'm fairly attractive but then most of us grew up with a relative always telling us we were not handsome or cute, etc. we can share pictures once we establish some comfort zone. If education is important, I am a college graduate with post-graduation degree as well. Now working as an engineer.
I have to lead with the fact that I can be pretty sarcastic at times. I also joke and (playfully) tease. I'm pretty easy going/chill and I like to keep things light and fun, but also enjoy getting into the really deep conversations as well. I'm a sucker for the whole good morning and goodnight text thing as well as checking in on those busier days. That doesn’t mean we have to just message good morning and good night for the whole week. Haha. I think most important part of knowing someone via online platform is initial conversations and if you don’t have enough time let me know otherwise that conversation is dead in no time.
I love animals. I've always felt very connected and attached to them and just enjoy interacting with them. While I am more of a dog person pet-wise, cats are still pretty cool in my book. Cats are more complex though I love the mysterious nature.
Anything outdoors is great in my opinion. Just feel like going for a walk? Let's do it. I do kayaking a bit in the summers, fish, hike, go for drives. I have the habit of occasionally stopping and taking pictures of plants and flowers I see around (I'm always down to share!). While sending me message write code - “I3U” so that I know it’s someone who actually read my post. Didn’t write in the end cuz some people might just skip to end. This doesn’t mean that you just send me the code. I am strictly gonna monitor now. I have skimmed through soo many texts and my innocent heart always gives chances, I am gonna try to be little strict this time.
It's not just the outdoors I love. I can also get down with chill days at home binging something on Netflix or playing something on my PC. Let's face it, I'm a bit if a nerd (everyone has something nerd about themselves) and if you like Jurassic park, board games, Any Mafia movies, gaming, etc we will get along great. I'm a sucker for horror movies as well and am always looking for recommendations. I listen to a lot of music. I shouldn’t brag but I listen to english ,german, Spanish, french and Hindi songs. Born and brought up in India. Hence, hindi songs.
A bit about (possibly) you: I'd prefer if you were in some sort of professional environment and ambitious. I'm not extremely picky about things like hair and eye color. Height is also not a big deal. If you're alot smaller than me and worried that it's something you’ll be insecure about, it's not. The big thing for me is personality. I think personality can make us a lot more or a lot less attractive. I want someone that is genuinely kind and sweet, someone that likes to laugh, someone that's not afraid to be goofy.
A final note: I'm a single guy and looking for someone dynamic. Sometimes I can respond immediately and sometimes it takes a minute due to the obvious circumstances. I also don't expect you to respond immediately to every message, I get that we all have lives and can be busy at times. It would be awesome if you are up for a voice chat. And please please when responding write something about yourself.
If any if this sounds remotely interesting to you, feel free to reach out via reddit dm or chat!
submitted by GoroTerror to r4r [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 15:08 GoroTerror [30/M] - Searching for the one.

Hey there! I am a 30 year old guy from Upstate New York looking for someone that wants to make an emotional connection.
A bit about me: I'm 6’1". I get height can be a big deal for some women so I think it's best to just put it out there first 😅 I've got black hair, brownish black eyes. Average body, I'm muscular and wanting to start exercising both for health and a little bit for better shape. I like to think I'm fairly attractive but then most of us grew up with a relative always telling us we were not handsome or cute, etc. we can share pictures once we establish some comfort zone. If education is important, I am a college graduate with post-graduation degree as well. Now working as an engineer.
I have to lead with the fact that I can be pretty sarcastic at times. I also joke and (playfully) tease. I'm pretty easy going/chill and I like to keep things light and fun, but also enjoy getting into the really deep conversations as well. I'm a sucker for the whole good morning and goodnight text thing as well as checking in on those busier days. That doesn’t mean we have to just message good morning and good night for the whole week. Haha. I think most important part of knowing someone via online platform is initial conversations and if you don’t have enough time let me know otherwise that conversation is dead in no time.
I love animals. I've always felt very connected and attached to them and just enjoy interacting with them. While I am more of a dog person pet-wise, cats are still pretty cool in my book. Cats are more complex though I love the mysterious nature.
Anything outdoors is great in my opinion. Just feel like going for a walk? Let's do it. I do kayaking a bit in the summers, fish, hike, go for drives. I have the habit of occasionally stopping and taking pictures of plants and flowers I see around (I'm always down to share!). While sending me message write code - “I2U” so that I know it’s someone who actually read my post. Didn’t write in the end cuz some people might just skip to end. This doesn’t mean that you just send me the code. I am strictly gonna monitor now. I have skimmed through soo many texts and my innocent heart always gives chances, I am gonna try to be little strict this time.
It's not just the outdoors I love. I can also get down with chill days at home binging something on Netflix or playing something on my PC. Let's face it, I'm a bit if a nerd (everyone has something nerd about themselves) and if you like Jurassic park, board games, Any Mafia movies, gaming, etc we will get along great. I'm a sucker for horror movies as well and am always looking for recommendations. I listen to a lot of music. I shouldn’t brag but I listen to english ,german, Spanish, french and Hindi songs. Born and brought up in India. Hence, hindi songs.
A bit about (possibly) you: I'd prefer if you were in some sort of professional environment and ambitious. I'm not extremely picky about things like hair and eye color. Height is also not a big deal. If you're alot smaller than me and worried that it's something you’ll be insecure about, it's not. The big thing for me is personality. I think personality can make us a lot more or a lot less attractive. I want someone that is genuinely kind and sweet, someone that likes to laugh, someone that's not afraid to be goofy.
A final note: I'm a single guy and looking for someone dynamic. Sometimes I can respond immediately and sometimes it takes a minute due to the obvious circumstances. I also don't expect you to respond immediately to every message, I get that we all have lives and can be busy at times. It would be awesome if you are up for a voice chat. And please when responding write something about yourself.
If any if this sounds remotely interesting to you, feel free to reach out via reddit dm or chat!
submitted by GoroTerror to MeetNewPeopleHere [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 15:07 GoroTerror 30 [M4F] New York - engineer, looking for someone!

Hey there! I am a 30 year old guy from Upstate New York looking for someone that wants to make an emotional connection.
A bit about me: I'm 6’1". I get height can be a big deal for some women so I think it's best to just put it out there first 😅 I've got black hair, brownish black eyes. Average body, I'm muscular and wanting to start exercising both for health and a little bit for better shape. I like to think I'm fairly attractive but then most of us grew up with a relative always telling us we were not handsome or cute, etc. we can share pictures once we establish some comfort zone. If education is important, I am a college graduate with post-graduation degree as well. Now working as an engineer.
I have to lead with the fact that I can be pretty sarcastic at times. I also joke and (playfully) tease. I'm pretty easy going/chill and I like to keep things light and fun, but also enjoy getting into the really deep conversations as well. I'm a sucker for the whole good morning and goodnight text thing as well as checking in on those busier days. That doesn’t mean we have to just message good morning and good night for the whole week. Haha. I think most important part of knowing someone via online platform is initial conversations and if you don’t have enough time let me know otherwise that conversation is dead in no time.
I love animals. I've always felt very connected and attached to them and just enjoy interacting with them. While I am more of a dog person pet-wise, cats are still pretty cool in my book. Cats are more complex though I love the mysterious nature.
Anything outdoors is great in my opinion. Just feel like going for a walk? Let's do it. I do kayaking a bit in the summers, fish, hike, go for drives. I have the habit of occasionally stopping and taking pictures of plants and flowers I see around (I'm always down to share!). While sending me message write code - “I4U” so that I know it’s someone who actually read my post. Didn’t write in the end cuz some people might just skip to end. This doesn’t mean that you just send me the code. I am strictly gonna monitor now. I have skimmed through soo many texts and my innocent heart always gives chances, I am gonna try to be little strict this time.
It's not just the outdoors I love. I can also get down with chill days at home binging something on Netflix or playing something on my PC. Let's face it, I'm a bit if a nerd (everyone has something nerd about themselves) and if you like Jurassic park, board games, Any Mafia movies, gaming, etc we will get along great. I'm a sucker for horror movies as well and am always looking for recommendations. I listen to a lot of music. I shouldn’t brag but I listen to english ,german, Spanish, french and Hindi songs. Born and brought up in India. Hence, hindi songs.
A bit about (possibly) you: I'd prefer if you were in some sort of professional environment and ambitious. I'm not extremely picky about things like hair and eye color. Height is also not a big deal. If you're alot smaller than me and worried that it's something you’ll be insecure about, it's not. The big thing for me is personality. I think personality can make us a lot more or a lot less attractive. I want someone that is genuinely kind and sweet, someone that likes to laugh, someone that's not afraid to be goofy.
A final note: I'm a single guy and looking for someone dynamic. Sometimes I can respond immediately and sometimes it takes a minute due to the obvious circumstances. I also don't expect you to respond immediately to every message, I get that we all have lives and can be busy at times. It would be awesome if you are up for a voice chat. And please when responding write something about yourself.
If any if this sounds remotely interesting to you, feel free to reach out via reddit dm or chat!
submitted by GoroTerror to ForeverAloneDating [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 14:24 TarotLessTraveled Analogical Features paragraph 3: Le Mat and the Dog

Analogical Features paragraph 3: Le Mat and the Dog
https://preview.redd.it/elpfrqvsld1d1.png?width=975&format=png&auto=webp&s=78d4a1ace797468df1931c82e96a3717645d9434
Le coin de chair visible chez l’homme, et sur lequel s’appuie le chien, est la partie la plus basse de lui-même, la partie restée animale en lui. Elle est nue, parce que malgré les habits qu’il s’est créés au cours de l’évolution, il ne peut s’en détacher. Le chien signifie également un reste des erreurs du passé qui trouble l’homme dans sa marche en avant. Ce chien symbolise encore un plan de vie inférieur qui tend à s’élever et à suivre l’homme; de même que l’homme s’est élevé au-dessus du plan animal, celui-ci ne devant pas oublier qu’en marchant vers son évolution, sa chute l’a ramené au rang de l’animalité et que dans sa marche il doit faire évoluer autour de lui les créatures inférieures.

In order to understand the third paragraph of Marteau’s Particularités Analogiques, we have to place his card within the historical context of Tarot de Marseille tradition, which starts with the 1639 deck attributed to Philippe Vachier, the earliest known TdM. Vachier’s Le Fol is depicted as the quintessential wanderer, with his bindle hanging off the end of a staff balanced over his shoulder and trekking pole in his right hand. He is out in the open, journeying we-know-not-where, dressed in the motley and floppy crown of a court jester; his face and hands are white – absent of color – which matches the broad white stripe below his golden belt. His face and hands are an even whiter shade of non-color than the featureless backdrop, but interestingly, his leggings and long sleeves are flesh-colored. Behind him is an animal which some recognize as a dog, others a cat; Marteau identifies it as a dog, so that is how I will also refer to it from this point forward. It appears the dog is reaching at a rent in Le Fol’s hose: perhaps it is responsible for shredding the leggings, or perhaps the tear was already present and caught the dog’s attention; we cannot say for certain. Nor do we know what the relationship between Le Fol and the dog is: it may be the dog is a companion on the road, or it may be that, as some have suggested, the dog is chasing a stranger away. In either case, Le Fol’s expression suggests that he is either unaware or unconcerned; his eyes are raised toward some distant horizon only he can see.
What is most intriguing, however, is that beneath the flesh-colored hose is dark green under-hose; what is revealed, then, is not the man beneath the costume but more of the costume. We cannot know for certain what Vachier was thinking when he elected to portray Le Fol in this way, but we can hypothesize from more general patterns.
Typically, clothing symbolizes persona, the person as presented rather than the person as is. An individual covers himself in a persona to fit into a collective social structure and identify what role he plays in said structure, but typically also, when we tear away the constructed outer layer, we find the individual within, which would be represented by his flesh. A common dream motif for many people is discovering that they are naked, “exposed.” This not only separates them from those around them (who are all fully clothed) but makes them vulnerable to judgments. Another function of the persona is it protects us from being seen, preventing others from observing those bits of us we do not want them to see because they embarrass us or because they are the aspects of us most sensitive to criticism and other attacks.
A few years after Vachier, a cardmaker working out of Paris, Jean Noblet, marketed a deck in which the most iconic image featured a similarly clad figure also named Le Fol but whose leggings were torn to a far greater degree, revealing underneath not only fleshy buttocks but fully exposed genitalia as well. Again, unfortunately, we cannot know what message, if any, Noblet meant to convey with his ribald depiction; however, we can note another striking difference between these two cards: while the Vachier figure’s flesh is white, Noblet’s is ruddy with blood and human warmth, except for his hands, which retain the strikingly bloodless white coloring consistent with the Vachier.
https://preview.redd.it/w9zn0tn1md1d1.png?width=949&format=png&auto=webp&s=7de0dee0327aa23d48ccb76915c24e69f6041596
Ensuing cardmakers in what became the Tarot de Marseille style mostly elected to follow the Vachier model. There were a few exceptions that did not go as far as Noblet but did show naked flesh-colored flesh under the rent hose; however, they were a decided minority until Paul Marteau released his deck in 1930 and introduced a kind of revival in this presentation.
Marteau did not break with tradition in this matter arbitrarily; his commentary makes evident that he thought deeply about the meaning of every detail, and we might have hoped that, being an expert in Tarot de Marseille symbolism, he would have compared and contrasted his deck with historical counterparts, meticulously explaining how the choices he made brought the cards into alignment with his philosophy. This, however, was never really an option, as Marteau promoted his deck as a faithful reproduction of the one published by Nicolas Conver in 1761, a master cardmaker in Marseille who, himself, “preserved the woods and colors of his remote predecessors” – a fiction that enabled Marteau to market his own work as the “Ancien Tarot de Marseille”; thus, any discussion of changes he made would only have served to undercut that claim.[[i]](#_edn1)
Marteau opens the third paragraph of his Particularités Analogiques writing that the visible region of flesh (“Le coin de chair visible”) represents man’s basest aspect, the part of him that remained animal (“est la partie la plus basse de lui-même, la partie restée animale en lui”).
Marteau’s premise is that Le Mat is on an evolutionary journey; his clothing typifies the collective aspect of that evolution, as it is the most obvious outward symbol of how man has risen from a purely instinctive and unconscious mode of being into a state of expanded awareness, not only of himself but his role within a social collective. When this is torn away, a far more primal and universal truth is revealed, one which has been increasingly concealed under layers of acculturation; it is the part of us that cannot be refined through education or social status and, thus, remains the source of our most profound shame, yet this is where the dog is able to make contact. In this paragraph, Marteau not only explains the nature of this contact but its wider significance.
My attempts at translation differ from those of Kitos Digiovanni, who writes that the dog “nips” at the “lowest part of him,” [[ii]](#_edn2) and Marius Høgnesen’s, who writes that “the dog hassles … the lowest part of man, the part representing the animal, that remains in him.” [[iii]](#_edn3) Both Digiovanni and Høgnesen characterize the nature of this contact as active, if not aggressive, and that coincides with what seems to be popular consensus. The respected tarot scholar Robert M. Place writes, “In the Tarot of Marseilles.... The seat of the Fool’s pants is being torn by a dog. This is meant to be comical, but it also signifies that the dog is treating him as a stranger, an assumption that is further supported by the fact that he is carrying a bag of belongings on his shoulder. The early Franciscans, who wandered through the countryside preaching and begging, found that they were treated with suspicion at first, and, like our Fool, they had to fend off the attacks of dogs.” [[iv]](#_edn4)
It is not my intention to argue whether this is a correct or incorrect interpretation of the image; tarot cards reflect the psychological motifs through which we view and make sense of the outer world. They help us to become more self-aware; thus, there are no right or wrong answers any more than there are correct or incorrect responses to picture interpretation or inkblot tests. My only concern is what Paul Marteau meant when he wrote, “sur lequel s’appuie le chien.”
“Le chien” is dog; “sur lequel” is the equivalent of “on which.” The key to comprehending Marteau’s interpretation of the image resides in how we translate “s’appuie,” which I understand to come from the infinitive “appuyer” and means “to press,” “to push,” or “to lean,” according to the Collins dictionary translator. This coincides with the Google, Reverso, and Bing translators as well, which also add “to support” to the list. Thus, the dog is not attacking and driving off an unwelcome stranger, nor is it tearing at Le Mat’s hose; the contact is less aggressive.
“S’appuie” is the reflexive form of the infinitive; therefore, it would mean “the dog leans itself” or “presses itself” upon the visible region of flesh; I translate it as “supports itself,” and render the first sentence, “The visible region of flesh in man, on which the dog supports itself, represents his [man’s] basest aspect, the part of him that remained animal.”
The commentary continues, “It is bare because despite the habiliments he has created for himself throughout the course of his evolution, he cannot deny it. The dog also represents a vestige of past failures that disconcert man in his forward march.” (Elle est nue, parce que malgré les habits qu’il s’est créés au cours de l’évolution, il ne peut s’en détacher. Le chien signifie également un reste des erreurs du passé qui trouble l’homme dans sa marche en avant.)
Marteau suggests Le Mat is looking forward rather than paying attention to the dog trailing him because the presence of the dog is an unwanted reminder of his failings and the fundamental nature that he would prefer to shed. In this sense, the dog is like the bindle, which contains man’s collective inheritance resulting from the Fall into carnal existence: it is attached by fixed rings to the staff he carries to prevent Le Mat from removing it and freeing himself of its weight. We may refer to ourselves as individuals and adhere to the mythology that we are singular, but this arcanum reminds us our lives are burdened by the accumulated history and transgressions of all mankind.
Finally, Marteau writes, “This dog furthermore symbolizes an inferior stage of life that tends to lift itself up and follow man; just as man raised himself above the animal plane, he must not forget while advancing toward his evolution his fall brought him back to a primeval state, and in his march he must inspire the lower creatures to evolve around him.” (Ce chien symbolise encore un plan de vie inférieur qui tend à s’élever et à suivre l’homme; de même que l’homme s’est élevé au-dessus du plan animal, celui-ci ne devant pas oublier qu’en marchant vers son évolution, sa chute l’a ramené au rang de l’animalité et que dans sa marche il doit faire évoluer autour de lui les créatures inférieures).
The dog is a less-evolved animal, yet it too feels the call to advance; it cannot accomplish this alone. Le Mat’s evolutionary march is not solely for his benefit; he has a responsibility to all living things, for he also arose from a primitive state, and just as he is inspired to become something more, he must engender this same inspiration in others.

My translation: The visible region of flesh in man, on which the dog supports itself, represents his [man’s] basest aspect, the part of him that remained animal. It is bare because despite the habiliments he has created for himself throughout the course of his evolution, he cannot deny it. The dog also represents a vestige of past failures that disconcert man in his forward march. This dog furthermore symbolizes an inferior stage of life that tends to lift itself up and follow man; just as man raised himself above the animal plane, he must not forget while advancing toward his evolution his fall brought him back to a primeval state, and in his march he must inspire the lower creatures to evolve around him.
[[i]](#_ednref1)Marteau, Paul. Le Tarot de Marseille. Arts et Métiers Graphiques, Paris, 1948. Imprimé en Suisse 1984. The quote comes from the “Introduction.”
[[ii]](#_ednref2)Kitos Digiovanni’s blog https://smallcabin.org/le-tarot-de-marseilles-by-paul-marteau/
[[iii]](#_ednref3)Paul Marteau. Tarot de Marseille. Trans. Marius Høgnesen. Published by circleandtriangle, 2021.
[[iv]](#_ednref4)Place, Robert M. Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination. New York: Jeremy P. TarchePenguin, 2005.
submitted by TarotLessTraveled to SeekingMarteau [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 14:08 Yurii_S_Kh Monotheism, Part 3: Islam

Monotheism, Part 3: Islam
Islam: Origins
Jibril (Gabriel) appears before Mohammed, drawing
The religion of the Law, which for 15 centuries prepared the chosen people for the coming into the world of the its Savior, the Incarnate Lord Jesus Christ, preceded New Testament religion. According to the Holy Apostle Paul, "the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ" (Gal. 3:24). It was all in all only "a shadow of good things to come" (Heb. 10:1). When the Savior came into the world, Old Testament religion had fulfilled its purpose. Our Lord Jesus Christ revealed to us the mystery of the Heavenly Kingdom and established the New Covenant, which was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jer. 31:31-33).
Man was redeemed from original sin and its consequences by the voluntary death on the Cross of Jesus Christ as Savior of the World. He entered into an entirely new period in terms of his relationship with God in comparison with the Old Testament: instead of the law, there was a free condition of sonship and grace. Man received new means for achieving the ideal set for him of moral perfection as a necessary condition for salvation.
Islam, having arisen in Arabia in the seventh century, appeared as the religion of the law six centuries after the God of the chosen people of the religion of the Law fulfilled its purpose.
The difference between the Old Testament religion of the Law and Islam is not only that the latter emerged more than two thousand years after God gave on Mount Sinai the Ten Commandments and other precepts that governed life for the chosen people. The most important difference is that the Law of Moses has a Divine source. The book of Exodus gives a narrative of the majestic Epiphany. "And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up" (Exod. 19:17-20).
The founder of Islam, however, did not have a Divine revelation.
How did Islam arise? We read about this in the Hadith “Al-Jamii al-Sahih”. A mysterious being began to visit Mohammed. He slept in a cave on the slope of Mount Hira. On the night of the 24th of the month of Ramadan in year 610 someone appeared to him in human form. This event is considered the beginning of Islam. This story about it is from the Sunnah: “[A]n angel appeared to him and bade him 'READ!' 'I am no reader!' Mohammed replied in great trepidation, whereon the angel shook him violently and again bade him read. This was repeated three times, when the angel uttered the five verses that commence the 96th chapter: 'READ! in the name of thy Lord, who did create—who did create man from congealed blood. READ! for thy Lord is the most generous.’” Mohammed puzzled over whether a demon or angel visited him. He confided his experiences in his wife Khadijah. I will introduce more of the story of Mohammed's biography, generally accepted by Muslims: “She said to the messenger of God, ‘O son of my uncle, are you able to tell me about your visitant, when he comes to you?’ He replied that he could, and she asked him to tell her when he came. So when Gabriel came to him, as he was wont the apostle said to Khadija, ‘This is Gabriel who has just come to me.’ ‘Get up, O son of my uncle,’ she said, ‘and sit by my left thigh.’ The apostle did so, and she said, ‘Can you see him?’ ‘Yes,’ he said. She said, ‘Then turn round and sit on my right thigh.’ He did so, and she said, ‘Can you see him?’ When he said that he could she asked him to move and sit in her lap. When he had done this she again asked if he could see him, and when he said yes, she disclosed her form and cast aside her veil while the apostle was sitting in her lap. Then she said, ‘Can you see him?’ And he replied, ‘No.’ She said, ‘O son of my uncle, rejoice and be of good heart, by God he is an angel and not a satan’” (Ibn Hisham, Biography of the Prophet Muhammad).
It is surprising how easily and, gently speaking, naively this question, which in the spiritual realm is a question of life or death, had been answered with the help of a woman. Before all else, an Angel is a bodiless being, and for his sight there are no actual barriers: one can see through even clothes. Clothes hide nudity only from the eyes of man. Even so, the body of man in and of itself is not something perverse or shameful. It is a creation of God. The lust of man is sinful as well as is carnal desire, but not the body. In paradise the progenitors were naked and were not ashamed (see Gen. 2:25). The nature of an Angel is inviolate. They are alien to passions of man. But if this was a demon, then he could easily resort to trickery. Knowing how they tested him, he especially would be able to take leave of himself, so that they would take him for an Angel.
The attitude of Islam towards the Bible
Islam emerged as something syncretic out of several sources: ancient Arabic cults, Judaism, Christianity, Hanifism (a pre-Islamic monotheistic movement in Arabia) and Mazdaism (an ancient Iranian religion). There is no doubt that the Old Testament holy books and the Gospel had an influence on the formation of Islam. In the Quran many people and events from biblical history are mentioned. However, these stories are presented completely arbitrarily and inaccurately.
According to the Quran, man was created from water. "It is He Who has created man from water: Then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage: for thy Lord has power (over all things)" (25:54). In another surah, it says: "Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood" (96:1-2). In another part it speaks about clay, "He created man from sounding clay like unto pottery" (55:14).
In contrast to the Bible, the Quran does not say that man was created in the image and likeness of God. This discrepancy is most profound. With God's image and likeness, man is summoned to commune directly with his Creator. He can become one with the Lord. This is not so in Islam.
The book of Genesis tells the story of how the entire family of the patriarch Noah (in Arabic, Nuh) was saved in the Ark. The Quran speaks about the death of Noah's son: "So the Ark floated with them on the waves (towering) like mountains, and Noah called out to his son, who had separated himself (from the rest): ‘O my son! Embark with us, and be not with the unbelievers!’ The son replied: ‘I will betake myself to some mountain: it will save me from the water.’ Noah said: ‘This day nothing can save, from the command of Allah, any but those on whom He hath mercy!’ And the waves came between them, and the son was among those overwhelmed in the Flood" (11:42-43). Another surah tells it somewhat differently: "(Remember) Noah, when he cried (to Us) aforetime: We listened to his (prayer) and delivered him and his family from great distress" (21:76).
There is no need to provide more examples. In the Quran, things are especially distorted when discussing New Testament events. Here the differences are purely fundamental. The Incarnation, the Crucifixion on Golgotha, and the Resurrection are all denied. Even the event of the Nativity of Christ, known to the whole world, is described very strangely. It is alleged that Maryam retreated to a faraway place and gave birth to a Son under palms (19:23). In this surah, called Maryam, She is called the "sister of Harun," i.e. Aaron. He indeed had a sister named Miriam, but she lived 15 centuries before the Nativity of Christ.
Probably due to so great a number of errors and distortions, many representatives of Islam, in order to escape from this quandary, allege that the modern Holy Scripture of Christians has been distorted (a circumstance known as tahrif). Immediately, the question arises: what evidence do they provide? There is no evidence. Characteristically, the view of Muslims toward the Bible has undergone significant change over the course of several centuries. Early Islamic writers such as al-Tabari and ar-Razi believed that the distortion comes down to tahrif bi'al ma'ni, i.e. the corruption of the meaning without changing the text. However, later authors such as Ibn Hazm and Al-Biruni introduced the idea of tahrif bi’al-lafz, i.e. the corruption of the text itself. At that, both of these positions have been preserved to the present day. Thus, the level of acceptance among Muslims of the Bible depends on one's understanding of tahrif. The very existence of these fundamentally different positions indicates that there is no concrete evidence.
It is impossible to ignore one interesting feature of the attitude that representatives of Islam have toward the Biblical text. In that they do not have their own "undistorted" biblical text, they cite our canonical text as undistorted. However, when they need to support a point, for example, negative examples from the life of Banu Isra'il (the children of Israel) with a reference to parts that do not conform to Islam, they proclaim the text to be distorted.
Muslims allege that the New Testament (Injil), which the Quran refers to positively, is not in fact the current four Gospels. We have already said that they do not provide any evidence. The falsehood of the accusation that Christians distorted the Scriptures stems from the internal inconsistencies of the very Islamic authors who wrote on this theme. According to the Quran, the New Testament was originally a true, sacred text. "And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah" (5:46). In another section: "Say: ‘O People of the Book! ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord.’ It is the revelation that cometh to thee from thy Lord, that increaseth in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy" (5:68). This excerpt clearly demonstrates that the Quran itself does not speak of the distorted Scripture, but about "rebellion and blasphemy" related to misunderstanding.
There is one part of the Quran (10:94) which is very problematic for Islamic commentators: "If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt." This ayat refers the Muslim "in doubt" to the authority of the biblical Holy Scripture. Abdul-Haqq writes: “The learned doctors of Islam are sadly embarrassed by this verse, referring the prophet as it does to the people of the Book who would solve his doubts” (Abdul-Haqq, A. A. (1980). Sharing Your Faith With A Muslim. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers. As cited in Geisler, N.L. (1999). Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group). According to the logic of this verse, the biblical Scripture was undistorted in the 7th century at the time of the Quran's creation. Then one must recognize that the current text is also correct, since we use manuscripts written over several centuries prior to the Quran.
Textual criticism of the New Testament has achieved outstanding breakthroughs in the 20th century. Currently, there are over 2,328 manuscripts and manuscript fragments in Greek, coming to us from the first three centuries of Christianity. The most ancient New Testament manuscript, a part of the Gospel of John 18:31-33, 37-38, is the Rylands Library Papyrus P52, dated 117-138 in the era of the reign of emperor Hadrian. Adolf Deissmann acknowledges the possibility of the emergence of this papyrus even under the reign of Emperor Trajan (98-117). It is preserved in Manchester. Another ancient New Testament manuscript is the Papyrus Bodmer, P75. The 102 surviving pages contain the texts of the Gospels of Luke and John. "The editors, Victor Martin and Rodolphe Kasser, date this copy to between 175 and 225 A.D. It is thus the earliest surviving known copy of the Gospel according to Luke available today and one of the earliest of the Gospel according to John" (Bruce M. Metzger. The Text of the New Testament. p. 58). This precious manuscript is located in Geneva.
Uncial script on parchment: leather codices with uncial script, (in Latin uncia means inch) letters without sharp corners and broken lines. This script is distinguished by its great refinement and precision. Each letter is disconnected. There are 362 uncial manuscripts of the New Testament. The most ancient of these codices (Codex Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, and Alexandrinus) have already been mentioned.
Scholars complemented this impressive collection of ancient New Testament manuscripts with the New Testament text, which consisted of 36,286 excerpts of the Holy Scripture of the New Testament found in the works of the holy fathers and teachers of the Church from the first through fourth centuries. This text is lacking only 11 verses.
Scholars of textual criticism in the 20th century did a tremendous job on the collation of all—several thousands of—New Testament manuscripts and identified all textual discrepancies caused by scribal error. An evaluation and typologization was performed. Precise criteria for determining a correct variant were established. For those familiar with this rigorous scientific work, it is obvious that allegations of the distortion of the current holy text of the New Testament are unfounded. In terms of the number of ancient manuscripts and the brevity of time separating the earliest surviving text from the original, no one work of antiquity can be compared with the New Testament.
Accusations that the Bible's text is distorted are puzzling. How could it actually have been done? How could Christians and Hebrews have come together to do this? Everyone knows the degree of their mutual [doctrinal—Ed.] alienation. And yet both Christians and Jews use one and the same canonical text of the Old Testament. Furthermore, the entire New Testament was preserved in the Chester Beatty Papyri, composed in approximately 250 A.D.
It is inconceivable to accept that under the conditions that existed in Christian society, hundreds of exemplars of the New Testament text were miscopied for the purpose of distortion.
On the Monotheism of Islam
Historians and religious scholars regard the three "Abrahamic" religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, as monotheistic religions. For the researcher, the doctrinal principles that representatives of each of these three religions formulate are sufficient. However, on a theological level, the insufficiency of such a formal approach becomes clear. Monotheism is a necessary but not sufficient condition for true religion. Only a religion that has Divine revelation as a source has the true and spiritually accurate doctrine concerning God. Christianity not only maintains that God is the living, absolute source, "the only true God" (John 17:3; 1 Thes. 1:9; cf. John 5:20), but also teaches thoroughly and in depth of the nature of God as without beginning, without end, and of a perfect Spirit. The chief characteristic of the Divine nature is love. "God is love" (1 John 4:16). These words of the apostle contain the principal idea of the New Testament as the good news of salvation. The ineffable goodness of God created the world. The Lord housed man in paradise. Even after the Fall, God continued to love mankind. The greatness of God's love was revealed when the incarnate God died a most agonizing death for us. Christians know from not only the Holy Scripture, but also through the power of spiritual experience, that God is all-knowing and all-wise. The apostle says: "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do" (Heb. 4:13).
God knows not only all that has happened, and all that is, but he has also perfect knowledge of the future. The mirror of the supreme Wisdom of God is the universe which He created, astounding man with its extraordinary complexity, beauty, and harmony. God demonstrates his ineffable Wisdom also in the dispensation of our salvation. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out" (Rom. 11:33).
True religion is not limited by the demand of worship for the Creator. Its ultimate goal is the spiritual unity of man with God. The Savior speaks about this in a prayer to his Father before his suffering on the cross: "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us" (John 17:21).
From the aforementioned characteristics of the Divine follows the concept of true, Christian monotheism. There can be only one all-powerful and all-just God.
The concept of God in Islam does not have a source of divine revelation. It developed on the basis of ancient Arabic religion. The word “Allah” was used in the polytheistic pantheon of Arabs to denote “God”: Allah (al - the definite article; ilah - god). Among the pagan Arabs, prior to their adoption of Islam, Allah was the supreme lunar deity, worshipped in north and central Arabia. The father of Muhammed, who was a pagan, was named Abdullah ("Servant of Allah").
In pre-Islamic times, the crescent moon was the symbol of the worship of the moon-god among the Arabs. This is confirmed by archeological evidence. The crescent moon was carried over as the main symbol of Islam.
Arabs of the Syrian desert called the wife of Allah as Al-lāt, and in the south of central Arabia, Al-‘Uzzá. In other areas of Arabia, they, along with Manat, were worshipped as the daughters of Allah. This genetic trail was preserved in the Quran. There is mention of this in the 53rd surah: "Have ye seen Lāt, and ‘Uzzā, and another, the third (goddess), Manāt? What! For you the male sex, and for Him, the female? Behold, such would be indeed a division most unfair!" (53:19-22).
In Islam, Allah is a created religious image by the human consciousness. He does not express the real almighty divine personhood. Consequently, monotheism in Islam is imagined. In a number of places in the Quran, he is endowed with intrinsically human characteristics and traits. Allah says:
  • "Those who reject Our signs, We shall soon cast into the fire: as often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the penalty" (4:56);
  • "...There is no help Except from God, the Exalted, the Wise: that He might cut off a fringe of the Unbelievers or expose them to infamy, and they should then be turned back, frustrated of their purpose: (3: 126–127);
  • "The Hypocrites—they think they are over-reaching God, but He will over-reach them" (4:142);
  • "And (the unbelievers) plotted and planned, and God too planned, and the best of planners is God" (3:54);
  • “Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell: they have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle,—nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning)” (7:179).
What a great difference! Christianity teaches that God "will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4), while Islam maintains that Allah created many people for Gehenna.
The idea of monotheism, (tawhid, from the verb wahhada—to reckon something as one) was formulated in the Quran in several surahs. For example, in the 16th surah, "The Bee": "For We assuredly sent amongst every people an apostle, (with the Command), "serve God, and eschew evil" (16:36). In the terminology of the sharia, anything people worship except for Allah is "taghut". Since Islam does not know of direct revelation, nor the holy Manifestation of God to the world, nor the unification of man with God on the foundation of love, its monotheism is imagined, formalistic and abstract, requiring not that man change himself or his way of life, but only worship and daily prayer.
Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)
submitted by Yurii_S_Kh to SophiaWisdomOfGod [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 13:26 Sweet-Count2557 12 Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks Across Connecticut for Winter Family Fun

12 Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks Across Connecticut for Winter Family Fun
12 Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks Across Connecticut for Winter Family Fun Are you ready to slide into winter with some chilly family fun? Connecticut has got you covered with not one, not two, but twelve outdoor ice skating rinks just waiting to be explored.From the picturesque town of Stamford to the vibrant city of Hartford, there's a perfect spot for everyone to lace up their skates and glide across the ice.So, grab your mittens and join us as we take a journey through the frozen wonderland of Connecticut's outdoor ice skating rinks.Key TakeawaysThere are outdoor ice skating rinks available in various cities across Connecticut, including Stamford, Westport, Darien, Redding, Fairfield, New Haven, and Hartford.Each rink has its own unique features and offerings, such as the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Ice Skating Center in Stamford, which spans over 9,000 feet of ice and is open most days through February.Some rinks have specific opening dates, such as the Westport PAL Rink in Westport, which is scheduled to open on November 25, 2022, weather permitting.Certain rinks, like Gorhams Pond in Darien, offer picturesque winter scenes and invite families for ice skating. Skating seasons may start earlier in locations with colder weather.Stamford Ice Skating CenterLocated in Stamford, the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Ice Skating Center offers an expansive 9,000 feet of ice for an exhilarating outdoor skating experience. Our center is the perfect place for ice skating enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. Whether you're a beginner looking to learn the basics or an experienced skater looking to improve your skills, we've a variety of ice skating lessons and programs to suit your needs. Our highly trained instructors are dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment for learning and growth.At the Stamford Ice Skating Center, we also offer a range of special events and activities to enhance your skating experience. From themed skate nights to holiday celebrations, there's always something exciting happening on the ice. Bring your friends and family for a fun-filled day of skating and enjoy our festive atmosphere.In addition to our regular ice skating sessions, we host a variety of special events throughout the season. Whether it's a figure skating competition, a hockey tournament, or a charity fundraiser, there's always something happening at the Stamford Ice Skating Center. Join us for thrilling performances and support the local skating community.Westport PAL RinkAfter enjoying the exciting skating experience at the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Ice Skating Center in Stamford, it's time to venture to the Westport PAL Rink for more open-air skating near the picturesque Long Island Sound. Westport PAL Rink offers a variety of activities and events for skaters of all ages and skill levels.One of the highlights of the Westport PAL Rink is its skating schedule and events. The rink is open for public skating sessions throughout the week, providing ample opportunity for families and friends to enjoy the ice together. Additionally, the rink hosts special events such as theme nights, live music, and even ice shows. These events add an extra element of excitement and entertainment to the skating experience, making each visit to the rink a memorable one.For beginners or those looking to improve their skating skills, Westport PAL Rink also offers skating lessons. These lessons are taught by experienced instructors who are dedicated to helping skaters develop their abilities and confidence on the ice. Whether you're a complete novice or just looking to refine your technique, the skating lessons at Westport PAL Rink are designed to cater to your individual needs and goals.With its beautiful location near the Long Island Sound, the Westport PAL Rink provides a unique and invigorating outdoor skating experience. Skaters can enjoy the crisp winter air and scenic views as they glide across the ice. The rink's open-air setting adds a sense of freedom and liberation to the skating experience, allowing skaters to fully embrace the joy of gliding on the ice.Gorhams Pond in DarienGorhams Pond in Darien offers a picturesque winter scene for families and individuals to enjoy the exhilarating activity of ice skating. Here are three reasons why Gorhams Pond in Darien is the perfect destination for family-friendly ice skating activities and winter scenery:Timing of the Ice Skating Season: Gorhams Pond in Darien starts its ice skating season earlier than other rinks due to the colder weather in the area. This means that you can hit the ice sooner and make the most of the winter season. Imagine gliding across the frozen pond, surrounded by the beauty of nature, with the crisp winter air filling your lungs. It's a truly liberating experience.Family-Friendly Activities: Gorhams Pond in Darien isn't just about ice skating. It offers a range of family-friendly activities to keep everyone entertained. From ice hockey games to figure skating lessons, there's something for everyone. You can spend quality time with your loved ones, creating memories that will last a lifetime. And with the stunning winter scenery as your backdrop, every moment spent at Gorhams Pond will feel like a winter wonderland.Winter Scenery: One of the highlights of Gorhams Pond in Darien is its picturesque winter scenes. The pond is surrounded by tall trees, their branches covered in a blanket of snow. The glistening ice reflects the sunlight, creating a magical atmosphere. Whether you're a seasoned skater or a beginner, you'll be captivated by the serene beauty of the surroundings. It's a place where you can escape the hustle and bustle of daily life and immerse yourself in the freedom of the winter season.Redding Community CenterTucked away in a quiet corner of Redding, the Redding Community Center offers a convenient and inviting location for ice skating enthusiasts of all ages. This hidden gem provides a safe and enjoyable experience for families looking to have some winter fun on the ice.The Redding Community Center boasts a flexible skating schedule that caters to various preferences and schedules. From dawn to dusk, the ice rink is open every day, allowing visitors to choose a time that works best for them.One of the standout features of the Redding Community Center is its designated evening skate times. These evening sessions create a magical atmosphere, with twinkling lights illuminating the ice and creating a cozy ambiance. Skating under the night sky adds an extra touch of enchantment to the experience.In addition to its convenient schedule, the Redding Community Center offers a range of amenities to enhance the skating experience. Visitors can take advantage of the on-site skate rentals, ensuring that everyone has access to the necessary equipment. The center also provides a warming hut where skaters can take a break and warm up before heading back onto the ice.The Redding Community Center isn't just a place for skating; it's a hub of family-friendly activities. Alongside the ice rink, there are often other winter activities available, such as sledding or snowball fights. Families can make a whole day out of their visit, enjoying the various winter activities and creating cherished memories.Whether you're a seasoned skater or just starting out, the Redding Community Center is the perfect place to lace up your skates and enjoy some quality time on the ice. Its convenient schedule, amenities, and family-friendly atmosphere make it a must-visit destination for winter fun. So gather your loved ones, embrace the freedom of the ice, and make unforgettable memories at the Redding Community Center.Gould Manor Park in FairfieldNestled within the picturesque town of Fairfield, Gould Manor Park offers a delightful outdoor ice skating experience for families and skating enthusiasts alike. As you step onto the glistening ice, you can't help but feel a sense of freedom and excitement.Here are three things to know about Gould Manor Park in Fairfield:Best times to visit for a less crowded experience: If you prefer a quieter skating session, it's best to visit Gould Manor Park in the early morning or on weekdays. The park tends to be less crowded during these times, allowing you to glide across the ice with ease and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. Embrace the freedom of having the rink to yourself or with just a few fellow skaters.Tips for beginners to enjoy ice skating at the park: If you're new to ice skating, Gould Manor Park is the perfect place to learn and improve your skills. Remember to dress warmly and wear comfortable, supportive shoes. It's also a good idea to bring a helmet for added safety. Take your time and start by practicing your balance and basic strides along the edges of the rink. Don't be afraid to ask for help or take a lesson if you're feeling unsure. With a little practice and determination, you'll soon be gliding confidently across the ice.Embrace the freedom of the open space: Gould Manor Park offers a spacious outdoor rink that allows you to fully embrace the freedom and joy of ice skating. Take in the crisp winter air as you skate under the clear blue sky. Feel the wind on your face as you glide effortlessly across the ice. Whether you're twirling, spinning, or simply taking leisurely laps around the rink, Gould Manor Park provides the perfect backdrop for an unforgettable ice skating experience.Owen Fish Park in FairfieldHave you ever wondered where to find a charming outdoor ice skating rink in Fairfield, Connecticut? Look no further than Owen Fish Park, a hidden gem nestled within the town. This picturesque park offers a tree-lined pond that is perfect for ice skating activities and immersing yourself in the beautiful winter scenery.At Owen Fish Park, you can lace up your skates and glide across the smooth ice, surrounded by towering trees and a peaceful atmosphere. The park provides a serene setting for families and friends to enjoy the timeless activity of ice skating. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced skater, Owen Fish Park offers a welcoming space for everyone to embrace the joy of gliding on ice.To give you a better idea of what to expect at Owen Fish Park, here's a table that highlights some key features:Owen Fish Park in FairfieldLocationFairfield, ConnecticutSkating ActivitiesIce Skating, Ice Hockey, Skating PracticeWinter SceneryTree-lined Pond, Serene AtmosphereAmenitiesBenches, Restrooms, ParkingOpening HoursDawn to DuskAs you can see, Owen Fish Park provides more than just a place to skate. It offers a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, allowing you to reconnect with nature and enjoy the simple pleasures of winter. So grab your skates, bundle up in warm attire, and head over to Owen Fish Park for a memorable ice skating experience.Remember to always check the park's opening hours and any safety guidelines before your visit. Enjoy the freedom of gliding on ice and creating lasting memories in the enchanting winter wonderland of Owen Fish Park.Osbornedale State Park in DerbyLooking for a stunning outdoor ice skating destination in Derby, Connecticut? Look no further than Osbornedale State Park, where you can experience the thrill of gliding across the ice in a picturesque setting.Here are three reasons why Osbornedale State Park is the perfect place for your next ice skating adventure:Safety First: When enjoying outdoor ice skating, it's important to prioritize safety. Remember to wear proper attire, including warm clothing, gloves, and a helmet. Check the ice thickness before stepping onto it, and always skate in designated areas to avoid any potential hazards. By following these outdoor ice skating safety tips, you can ensure a fun and worry-free experience at Osbornedale State Park.Best Times to Visit: To make the most of your visit to Osbornedale State Park, it's helpful to know the best times to go. The park is open from sunrise to sunset, but for optimal ice skating conditions, it's recommended to go during colder months when the ice is more likely to be frozen solid. Additionally, weekdays tend to be less crowded, providing more freedom and space to enjoy the ice.An Enchanting Winter Wonderland: Osbornedale State Park offers a magical winter backdrop for your ice skating escapades. The park's designated ice skating area is surrounded by beautiful natural scenery, including towering trees and snow-covered landscapes. As you glide across the ice, you'll feel a sense of freedom and exhilaration, surrounded by the beauty of nature.Wrights Pond in OrangeWrights Pond in Orange offers a delightful winter experience, with its serene setting and abundant wildlife. As you glide across the ice, you'll be surrounded by the beauty of nature, with snow-covered trees and the sounds of birds chirping in the distance. This hidden gem is the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life and immerse yourself in the tranquility of winter.One of the highlights of Wrights Pond is the opportunity to observe winter wildlife in their natural habitat. As you skate, keep an eye out for graceful swans gliding across the frozen surface and playful squirrels darting through the snow. The pond is teeming with life, providing a unique and enchanting experience for visitors of all ages.To ensure your safety, the city Parks and Recreation Department closely monitors the ice conditions at Wrights Pond. They regularly check the thickness of the ice and provide updates to the public. It's important to always follow their guidance and heed any warnings or restrictions they may have in place. By doing so, you can enjoy a worry-free skating experience and focus on the joy of being outdoors.To further emphasize the importance of ice safety, here's a table highlighting some key tips:Ice Safety TipsCheck ice thicknessAvoid skating aloneWear appropriate gearStay away from cracksObserve posted warningsTrust your instinctsThe Bushnell in HartfordNestled in the heart of Hartford, The Bushnell provides a winter wonderland for ice skating enthusiasts of all ages. The Bushnell, known for its stunning architecture and rich history, transforms into a magical ice skating rink during the winter months.Here are three reasons why The Bushnell is a must-visit destination for winter fun:Winterfest activities: The Bushnell hosts a variety of Winterfest activities that are sure to delight visitors. From ice sculpting demonstrations to live music performances, there's always something exciting happening at The Bushnell. Families can enjoy the festive atmosphere while gliding across the ice and creating lasting memories.Free skating lessons: For those who are new to ice skating or want to improve their skills, The Bushnell offers free skating lessons. Experienced instructors are available to teach beginners the basics of skating or help more advanced skaters refine their techniques. Whether you're a novice or an expert, The Bushnell has something to offer everyone.The perfect setting: The Bushnell's picturesque location, surrounded by the beauty of downtown Hartford, provides a stunning backdrop for a day of ice skating. Skaters can enjoy panoramic views of the city skyline as they glide across the ice. The Bushnell's outdoor rink is the perfect place to embrace the freedom of winter and experience the joy of skating.Simsbury Farms in SimsburyAfter experiencing the enchanting winter wonderland at The Bushnell, it's time to explore another captivating outdoor ice skating destination in Connecticut - Simsbury Farms in Simsbury.Simsbury Farms is a hidden gem nestled in the charming town of Simsbury, offering a range of exciting winter activities for the whole family to enjoy.One of the highlights of Simsbury Farms is its covered ice skating rink, which provides a sheltered and cozy environment for skaters of all ages and skill levels. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, the rink at Simsbury Farms has something for everyone. And if you're new to ice skating, don't worry - they offer skating lessons taught by experienced instructors who'll guide you every step of the way.Aside from ice skating, Simsbury Farms also offers other winter activities to keep the whole family entertained. You can take a leisurely stroll on the nearby walking trails, surrounded by picturesque winter scenery. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, you can try your hand at cross-country skiing on the groomed trails. And for those who prefer a more relaxed pace, there are designated areas for sledding and snowshoeing.Winter at Simsbury Farms is truly a magical experience. The crisp air, the sound of blades gliding on ice, and the laughter of families enjoying the outdoors create an atmosphere of freedom and joy. So, gather your loved ones and head over to Simsbury Farms for a day of winter fun. Whether you're a seasoned skater or just starting out, Simsbury Farms has something for everyone.Winding Trails in FarmingtonWinding Trails in Farmington offers a charming and picturesque outdoor ice skating experience for visitors of all ages. As you glide across the smooth ice, surrounded by snow-covered landscapes, you'll feel a sense of freedom and joy.Here are three reasons why Winding Trails is a must-visit destination for winter activities:Tranquil Setting: Winding Trails is nestled in the heart of Farmington, surrounded by snow-encrusted pines and breathtaking natural beauty. The peaceful atmosphere creates the perfect backdrop for a serene ice skating experience. As you skate hand-in-hand with loved ones or gracefully twirl on your own, you'll feel a sense of tranquility and escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.Family-Friendly Environment: Winding Trails welcomes visitors of all ages, making it an ideal destination for a fun-filled family outing. Whether you're a seasoned skater or a beginner, there's something for everyone to enjoy. Parents can watch their little ones take their first wobbly steps on the ice, while older siblings can challenge each other to friendly races. The laughter and smiles of families enjoying the winter wonderland will warm your heart.Old-Fashioned Charm: Winding Trails offers an authentic and nostalgic ice skating experience. The rink is reminiscent of a bygone era, where outdoor skating was a cherished winter pastime. As you glide across the ice, the crisp winter air filling your lungs, you'll feel connected to a simpler time. The sound of skates gliding and laughter echoing off the surrounding trees creates a magical ambiance that will transport you to a world of pure joy and freedom.Make sure to carve out some time this winter to visit Winding Trails in Farmington. With its tranquil setting, family-friendly environment, and old-fashioned charm, it's the perfect place to create lasting memories and embrace the beauty of the winter season.Eastbury Pond in GlastonburyWith its expansive frozen surface and thrilling skating adventure, Eastbury Pond in Glastonbury is a winter wonderland for ice skating enthusiasts of all ages. As you glide across the glistening ice, you can feel a sense of freedom and exhilaration, surrounded by the beauty of nature.To give you a glimpse of what awaits you at Eastbury Pond, let me paint a picture with words. Imagine stepping onto the ice, your blades cutting through the smooth surface with ease. The crisp winter air fills your lungs as you pick up speed, the wind rushing past your face. The pond stretches out before you, inviting you to explore its frozen expanse. And as you twirl and spin, you can't help but feel a sense of joy and liberation.But while Eastbury Pond offers thrilling winter adventures, it's important to prioritize ice safety precautions. Before heading out onto the ice, make sure to check its thickness. A minimum of four inches is generally considered safe for skating. It's also essential to wear appropriate gear, including a helmet, knee pads, and warm clothing. And remember, never skate alone. Bring a friend or family member along for added safety and enjoyment.Now, let's take a look at a table that showcases the key features of Eastbury Pond:FeatureDescriptionExpansive SurfaceThe pond offers a large area for skating, allowing for freedom of movement.Natural BeautySurrounded by picturesque landscapes, Eastbury Pond provides a visually stunning backdrop.Family-FriendlyThe pond is suitable for ice skaters of all ages and welcomes families for a fun-filled experience.With its thrilling skating adventure and emphasis on safety, Eastbury Pond in Glastonbury is the perfect destination for a winter escapade. So grab your skates, bundle up, and get ready to embark on a memorable ice skating journey.Frequently Asked QuestionsAre There Any Age Restrictions for Ice Skating at the Stamford Ice Skating Center?There are no age restrictions for ice skating at the Stamford Ice Skating Center. It's a great place for the whole family to enjoy some winter fun on the ice.The center follows strict ice skating rules and safety measures to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone.As for the best time to visit the outdoor ice skating rinks in Connecticut, it's typically during the colder months when the ice is at its best.Is There a Fee for Ice Skating at the Westport PAL Rink?Yes, there's a fee for ice skating at the Westport PAL rink. The rink offers open skate time near Long Island Sound and is mostly dedicated to recreational skating.As for the age restrictions at the Stamford Ice Skating Center, there are no specific restrictions mentioned.Visitors are allowed to bring their own ice skates to Gorhams Pond in Darien, and skate rental services are available at the Redding Community Center.It's worth noting that there's no information about a limit on the number of people allowed on the ice at Gould Manor Park in Fairfield.Can Visitors Bring Their Own Ice Skates to Gorhams Pond in Darien?Yes, visitors are allowed to bring their own ice skates to Gorhams Pond in Darien. It's a picturesque winter destination that invites families for a delightful ice skating experience.However, it's important to remember to take safety precautions while enjoying the ice. At the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Ice Skating Center in Stamford, safety measures are in place to ensure a secure skating environment.Are There Any Skate Rental Services Available at the Redding Community Center?Yes, there are skate rental services available at the Redding Community Center. They understand the importance of providing convenience to visitors and offer skate rentals for those who don't have their own skates.Additionally, many other outdoor ice skating rinks across Connecticut also offer skate rentals. It's a great option for families who want to enjoy the winter fun without the hassle of bringing their own equipment.Is There a Limit on the Number of People Allowed on the Ice at Gould Manor Park in Fairfield?There is no limit on the number of people allowed on the ice at Gould Manor Park in Fairfield. It's a charming spot with a Currier & Ives scene of children skating.As for the Stamford Ice Skating Center, there are no age restrictions for ice skating. It spans over 9,000 feet of ice and is open most days through February.Both locations offer a wonderful opportunity for families to enjoy outdoor ice skating in Connecticut.ConclusionSo lace up your skates and let the ice be your canvas as you glide across the frozen landscapes of Connecticut.Whether you choose the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Ice Skating Center in Stamford or the Westport PAL Rink near Long Island Sound, there's no shortage of outdoor ice skating rinks for winter family fun.So grab your loved ones and embark on a winter adventure that will leave you with memories as sparkling as the ice itself.
submitted by Sweet-Count2557 to worldkidstravel [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 13:00 MCGtr1ck [TOMT][MOVIE] Horror movie about a series of killings related to photography

Looking for a movie about a mystery killer who kills several staff and students at an art(photography?) School, i remember a big plot point being that the killer was trying to get "the perfect picture" by taking a photo of someone's eyes the moment they die. I dont remember if the lines in the movie were just dubbed or it was originally in a foreign language that was dubbed in english in the version i saw.
Most memorable shot in the movie at the end where the killer dies and a camera is set up infront of them taking a picture of the reflection in their eye the moment they died.
submitted by MCGtr1ck to tipofmytongue [link] [comments]

http://activeproperty.pl/