Roberta Scoggins

~Storyline~ Aperture Corporation has won an election over the Combine forces in City 17. In order to expand their business to a larger scale, they chose to take over different sections of the city, evacuating all citizens of the section to build their headquarters. All citizens who resist shall be either apprehended or killed. Jacknife seeks revenge on this corporation. He saw his wife get brutally beaten and arrested by a secret agency under the Aperture Corporation because she resisted to evacuate with all the others. It is now his mission, his life, and his goal, to save his wife under the clutches of Aperture, and put an end to the one who’s responsible for all of this. Part action, part free running, part thriller, comes a unique storytelling adventure told without any real dialogue. ~Some minor notes~ – Jacknife is a character based off the looks and name of a character from the game Mirror’s Edge. – The effects seen when Jacknife was brushing alongside the wall in the introduction was made by a good friend of mine, Deremixproductions. He used Adobe After Effects to achieve this unique effect. – Most of the running is complete player control. Only rarely I used NPC’s. – The shaky cam effect was achieved with SharpYe, an addon for Garry’s Mod. – I am well aware of the small visual glitches that may be hard to spot at first. But if you do see any, just be aware that I know of it, so you don’t need to point it out. And if you’re wondering why I didn’t correct those …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvdMGbOjAaQ&hl=en

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If 75% of women wear the wrong bra size, and 75% of men wear shirts with the wrong sleeve length, is it any wonder that so many people do not understand paper trails, do not understand their critical roles in con games? Fraud, shell games, scandal-revelation and creation, and rip-offs of every kind flower from this tell-tale debris.

And, alas, most importantly, it is essential to understand how all of this paper trail information is tied together by social security numbers. (For the intent to rob you blind, this information collecting method is, obviously, patently illegal. For the lawn mower manufacturer, in his search for demographics trying to sell you a new riding mower, however, society seems to feel this is O.K)

Spreading like wildfire, with the aid of an internet stage setting, what are paper trails anyhow? Let’s be more specific.

Simply put, as they might affect you, they are every sort of record, kept anywhere, that link business transactions back to you. These can be any paper document such as a bill of sale, promissory note, receipt, application, resume filing, customs claim, insurance form, notarized statement, any legal form. These spell out into computer records.

It’s largely society’s propulsion into the computer / internet era of the 1990s that has brought about this current-day fleshing out of the “paper trail.” It’s now so efficient that the structural schematic of this thought-police invasion–this total assault on your privacy–should indeed frighten you. What next? you might ask. Will you be marked with a tracking device so the government always knows where you are?

In this day and age it’s computers, computers, internet, internet. Far and wide. They are to blame. It’s computer records that pull all these bits of paper information together, to the delight of con artists.

Examples: Credit card purchase? Computer. Bank deposit? Computer. House purchase? Computer. And, the list goes on and on. Endlessly.

Take a simple, one-time credit card purchase. This is stored in the bank’s computer, as well as several way stations along the path back to your bank, in the network’s computers. When you deposit cash into your checking account the information is stored in a computer. when you deposit cash into your savings account the information is stored in a computer. when you buy a house you get a triple-whammy, the transaction is stored in a computer, in paper form, and on microfilm at your county recorder’s office. Every time you turn around and blink these days, it seems, something about you is recorded in a computer.

And, sad to say, the common link that pulls all of your business transactions together is your social security number. It is the commonly used identifier of the present day age. By using only your social security number the con man can put together a near-total list of your business transactions stretching back over the years.

So, stealing your ss number–it being the string-tying mechanism which pulls everything together– then packaging it neatly and presenting your financial affairs to the world as the “whole you”–makes it easy for the con man. These data include such invasion-of-privacy issues as what assets you have, where you shop, what you buy, and what you owe on various credit accounts and loans. The skilled con artist knows precisely how to pull this string.

Unfortunately, too many people today regard this as only a mild irritation, like talking to robots on the phone while trying to make a warranty claim on a defective computer. Red flag! It’s far more serious than that So, like it or not, the challenge is on you, to weave, dodge, confuse, and bewilder any scam artist who might be about to stalk you.

How do you do this? How do you fortify your defenses?

You must disrupt your paper trail. This can partially be done in several ways, or combination:

1. A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (seemingly), cash was used. Stash your credit and debit cards. Earmark them for occasional or emergency use only, and for the most part rediscover cash money, paper and coin. Go back to this simpler form of exchange wherever possible. We all feel nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, but this step alone will go far toward masking your paper trail.

2. Set up a Trust. This is like turning the porch light on, with nobody home. It somewhat confuses the paper trail by disrupting the con man’s view, due to the linkage between you and your Trust. Like the service station attendant washing your windshield with a soapy brush, this will partly obscure the vision of the con man trying to put together a financial profile on you.

3. Refuse to star in the con artist’s psychodrama. Go offshore. Not physically. Just export some of your assets This is not considered socially acceptable. Not patriotic, either. But, it’s not illegal, and it is most effective. If you make yourself invisible to the bureaucrats–and the scam artists–they will have no address with which to find you. (A page torn from a legal thriller?)

4. You ask, what if the Hokey Pokey is really what it’s all about? Incredibly, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that bank records enjoy no privacy protection. That’s right, none. They are considered property of the bank, You are not, however required to reveal your social security number when opening a non-interest bearing account, e.g. checking, debit, credit card. So, don’t. You are only required to reveal your social security number to a bank when interest-bearing accounts are involved. This is because the bank must report to I.R.S., for tax purposes, on how much they paid you.

5. You can even out-con the con man. Follow the New Hampshire state motto: “Go away and leave us alone.” Get yourself a post office box, then write, “Moved, left no forwarding address” on the face of every envelope that the postman tries to deliver to your home. That would certainly leave anyone trying to steal your identity hanging by a quickly-shrinking thread. This would be like giving a seeing-eye sled dog to a blind Eskimo..

These are just a few of the steps you can take to shore up your privacy. These steps will not totally obliterate the scam artist’s view of your financial structure. But, it will hinder it to the point of nearly crippling him, leave him babbling to himself, wondering how to write zero in Roman numerals. Consultation with an expert attorney would undoubtedly reveal more avenues of privacy restoration.

If such preventive steps were universally adopted, it would be quite a blow to the scamsters. It would leave con men everywhere quaking in their Hummer SUVs and calling their analysts on their cell phones.

The Con Man‘s Blog, and first two chapters of Jack Payne’s legal thriller book, Six Hours Past Thursday, are now available online. Both readable for free. You are invited. www.sixhrs.com

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A thoroughly suspenseful story that was very hard to leave. I have read all of Tami Hoag’s books and this might be the best. A group of rich men think they have devised a way to cover themselves from guilt by lying and giving alibi’s for each other when one of them is in trouble. It works great for them as long as they all stay together when they give their alibi’s for each other, but will they be able to continue to do just that?

Elena Estes used to be a cop but she decided that she liked the company of horses much more than those she had to confront as a cop. A good friend of hers, Sean Avadon, owned a horse farm and Elena had gone to work for him after her time as a cop. Elena loved to ride horses, enjoying the freedom one gets while roaming the peaceful countryside. But when she finds the body of a woman in a canal during one of her rides, her enjoyable ride turned nasty all at once. An alligator and some of the many flesh eaters in a Florida canal were enjoying the body. Elena phoned her old police friend, James Landry, and he started the cops rolling to the remote area. The victim turned out to be Irina Markova, a co-worker of Elena’s at the horse farm.

Elena being an ex-cop was told by Landry not to start investigating on her own since she was no longer a cop. But Landry knew Elena would not listen and would delve into the case secretly, especially since she knew the victim fairly well. In the area was a famous polo club, the International Polo Club, where the rich loved to play. One of the rich star polo players was Juan Barbaro, a handsome man that loved good looking and rich women and while Elena was not rich, she was good looking. Barbaro was a member of the Alibi Club as was Elena’s former fiancé. Bennett Walker. Elena hated Walker’s guts and couldn’t stand being around him and she knew in her mind that with all the bad things he had done when she was associated with him, he could have had something to do in the murder.

Barbaro wanted Elena and she wasn’t too unhappy being with him except for his alibi connection. When Elena is contacted in a far too menacingly way by a member of the Russian mob, Alexi Kulak, she got scared and knew there was much more to this murder along with the murder of another girl that showed up dead in the area. Now it appears to be a possible prostitution ring connecting the Russian mob and the Alibi Club rich guys.

If all of the above doesn’t spark your desire to read this book nothing will. Tami Hoag has written a non-stop action thriller that connects many facets of Palm Beach, Florida rich polo life, and Russian mobs with the police interaction keeping Elena in the action all the way. Though scared she was not one to quit when her friends were involved. A MUST read.

Reader review by Cy Hilterman.
Reviewer of many types of books.

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Seemingly eons ago, the word, “mark,” was born. It was in the 19th century era of the carnival barker that the practice of labeling “marks” originated. Once a victim proved his suckerhood, a shell games operator would slap him on the back with a chalk-filled hand, thus making him identifiable to the other crooked operators on the midway. The carnival con man of the day usually got away with these small-time scams because local authorities wrote such thievery off, “because they’ll be gone in 3 days.”

This practice has evolved. No longer must you worry about such messy tracking methods. The skilled con man, now a polished orator, resorts, largely, to spellbinding prose, a strictly verbal assault on your common sense. So, how do you keep the chalk off your back? How do you now detect when you are about to be ripped off?

Listen closely to the language. Hear each and every word penetrating your ears, on into your head, circulating about your cerebrum seeking analytical judgment. When the con man thinks he has got you in his cross-hairs, certain words will spill forth from his lips. Like the intellectual who uses more words than necessary, he will try to overwhelm you with his charm, wit, and charisma, along with his verbosity. Measure him, and what he says, carefully. Examples of the words:

- Anyone can make a killing. Anyone? C’mon. Obvious, even though the con man thinks, a good slogan will stop research for 10 years. It’s still tried, over and over again.

- Sure-fire. Automatic. Easy money. Airtight. Painless. Foolproof.. Safe. Sure, these words reassure alright. Don’t they? Anyone who falls for this claptrap probably also believes in the tooth fairy, Santa Clause, and truthful politicians.

- Confidential. Secret. Then, you must ask yourself, why in the world is he about to spill all of this to a neophyte stranger like me?

- Removes risk. Risk-free. What? Come again. You’re thinking, every morning when I leave the house I must drive carefully to avoid hitting somebody. When I get to work I must avoid second hand smoke. I must be careful not to cut myself when using a knife to peel an orange at coffee break. At lunch time I must be sure the potato salad hasn’t been standing out too long, to avoid food poisoning. And, on my way home I risk what my husband might think when he sees the fishnet stockings and miniskirt I just bought and am wearing–will he think I was wearing these before I got to work, with a specific purpose in mind?. And, now this guy wants me to invest $10,000 with him and tells me there is no risk?

- Lazy way. Easy money. Painless. Automatic. Huh? As in the Geico commercials on TV, so easy a cave man can do it?

- This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. When you hear this you can be sure it is just that: a get-rich-quick scheme. Whom to acquire this elusive wealth? Why, the con man, naturally.

- Insider. Magic. No-brainer. You would have to be living vicariously through the eyes of a gypsy tea leaf reader to believe these words.

- Win / win. When you hear this think, lose / lose.

- Money machine. Offshore. Cookie-cutter. Dead cat bounce. Components of a legal thriller? Sounds more like language uttered by Tony Soprano and his gang of thugs.

In essence, it’s best to be certain the con man’s words fall only into an echo chamber as you turn and walk away. Be sure to avoid taking a friendly pat on the back on your way out.

The Con Man‘s Blog, and first two chapters of Jack Payne’s legal thriller book, Six Hours Past Thursday, are now available online. Both readable for free. You are invited. www.sixhrs.com

www.TreasureMJ.com FREE Michael Jackson 7 CD Tribute Set at the link! Also great deals on memorabillia, albums, and ringtones! Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the “King of Pop” in subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums are among the world’s best-selling records Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995). In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as “Beat It”, “Billie Jean” and Thriller—credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as “Black or White” and “Scream” made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists. One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgoMMlRNujc&hl=en

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Blood and Ice is Robert Masello’s offering of a thriller suspense novel which is set in the Antarctic, making the story as cold and deadly as the setting itself.

The novel is about two male protagonists Sinclair Copley and Michael Wilde, both located in Antarctica, but separated by time. The story of the two however is parallel in so many ways, including their insatiable thirst for physical danger, and their grief and depression.

The lives of the two are suddenly meshed when Michael Wilde living the 20th century suddenly finds himself amazed at the struggle for survival in South Pole, the setting of the Crimean War in which Sinclair Copley was a part of hundreds of years earlier. 

Robert Masello takes us through the 500-page novel in an easy breeze, the plot and characters unraveling naturally as we are also presented with the richness of Antarctica and the Crimean War, and leaves us hanging on the right moments, enough to make us want to know and find out more about the story.

His narratives in Blood and Ice about Antarctica is almost poetic, and we could almost see and feel everything about it as vividly as if we were there ourselves.

However, there are also minor low points for the novel. The complexity of the novel and the volume of information about the two protagonists somehow makes the novel a little too “cluttered”. And aside from the already rich and overwhelming amount of color-so to speak-there is a distracting vampire story in the novel which is weirdly placed, albeit forgettable.

Overall though, Blood and Ice is a gripping thriller which would be difficult to put down. It may be a little dragging in some moments, but the wicked plot is enough to make us make it through reading the whole novel.

For a more detailed Blood and Ice book review, feel free to click on the link.

My name is Franny Glass, and yes I’m named after J.D. Salinger’s character. But apart from that awesome fact, another thing about is that I write for http://www.peacockingwear.com/ which you can check out easily by clicking the link.

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Suspense novels are probably the easiest novels to write. Suspense novels require a simple formula, which will make your work truly suspenseful. Follow this basic recipe, and you’re well on your way to building a whole library of successful suspense novels.

Suspense novels formula step 1: Decide your topic. Many people who wish to craft best-selling suspense novels struggle with this first step. The biggest problem is they get too wound up in trying to come up with something that’s never been done, assuming that they’ll land a number one best seller. Forget trying so hard to do something that hasn’t been done, and just settle on something you know, even if the subject has been done. Then work on an interesting twist.

Suspense novels formula step 2: Start your suspense novels at the end, rather than at the beginning. As is the case with any good project, successful suspense novels are crafted with the ending in mind first. Then the artist can return to the beginning and begin building to that end. This is how quality suspense novels are created.

Suspense novels formula step 3: If your suspense novels have killers or conspirators, wait as long as possible to reveal the perpetrators. In my first suspense novel, The League, my editor noticed that I revealed the perpetrator about six chapters and ninety pages before the end. He loved the story but said that it would be vastly improved, if I could keep the readers in suspense a bit longer.

So, if you hope to make a fortune with suspense novels, use this basic formula, and you’re well on your way.

Check out more great information now at Expert Commentary [http://www.sportscommentary.suite101.com]

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It’s a cliche to say that mystery-thriller writers “weave a tangled web” in their novels. The number of subplots Gores managed to cram into one novel a mere 300 pages long is impressive. What’s even more impressive is that he so quickly ties them up at the end.

A cyclist is forced off a cliff. A union leader is gunned down just before a major strike vote. A boyish genius needs protection to sign a $500 million business deal. A DKA op is hired to break into and scope out the home of a big politician; after he’s caught by the police, that same politician bails him out.

For 95% of the book, there appears no connection.

And although it’s never connected, while the major plot lines are unfolding, we’re treated to the exploits of DKA op O’B near Eugene Oregon as he must dodge an out of work logger, a trucker with a killer rottweiler and a small-time heavy metal band and their fans to accomplish his repo missions.

That’s the real weakness of this book — it’s hilarious. From “Great White Father” Daniel Kearney taking over one of his agents’ beds when Kearney’s wife kicks him out of the house to the scene when the beautiful union organizer knocks that same agent down the stairs (for the second time) by socking him in his broken nose. And yes, throwing the hand grenade into the giant Viennese windtorte full of whipped cream and strawberries — tres magnifique!

It’s a constant parade of weird disguises, unusual characters, bad jokes, social satire and human foibles on display. And in the end the “good” guys win. Heck, even Little John (oops, John Little) gets to keep his guitar. And Maybelle goes from emptying trashcans to a singing gig at a major hotel.

Trouble is, most mystery and thriller readers want suspense, danger and menace. The entertainment from such books comes from feeling an emotional involvement in the story by liking and rooting for the main characters and hating the bad ones. Not to have a good belly laugh.

Though it could perhaps serve as a good change of pace from those serious books of murder and mayhem. Or it could serve as a good antidote to people who read Raymond Chandler and think being a private eye is a romantic profession. No, dude, in reality it’s all about finding cars to repossess.

Unlike you work for DKA, in which case you may socialize with (and be sexually harassed by) the elite wealthy, or hanging out in the Tenderloin (gay) district of San Francisco or tied up in a yacht named for computer languages.

Next, discover how to lose weight by eating Zone favorable zone bars and balance bars.

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When we’re talking about Michael Jackson, the famous King of Pop (may he rest in peace), there are many things that are undeniable about his career. His amazing talent spanned across many areas of performance, but most notably were his contributions to musical technique, dance, and style. Each one of these could have novels written about them, so for this article, we’re going to focus in our magnifying glass on the King of Pop’s style, and even more narrowly, the Michael Jackson Thriller Costume.

What we have to remember is that everything about the music video for Thriller was entirely thought out. MJ wore two different costumes, one of which was done up in a couple of different ways. All of the costumes shared a similar color palette — which is to say, that whatever one we’re looking at, the Michael Jackson thriller costume was primarily red.

Why was this? Well, in addition to the fact that Michael looks pretty snazzy in red, there are a couple other major things. First of all, the color red is classic to the horror genre. Since Thriller was a mock recreation of the entire horror genre, this is one of the more major reasons. In addition, though, the Michael Jackson thriller costume being red served the purpose to distinguishing MJ from the rest of the zombies in the music video. With the low lighting, minor fog effects, and the amount of make-up that they put on him, the red costume allowed him to be seen throughout the video.

Another significant thing about the costume is the exact way it’s styled. Some may think that these things are just for style, and were choices from a completely fashion point of view. Though this had a major contributing factor, it’s not the only thing. You’ll notice in the video that for the Michael Jackson thriller costume that’s used to dance in, Michael’s pants are tight yet flexible, and his jacket is a relaxed fit. This music video had some of the most advanced and revolutionary dance techniques ever to be used, and he needed clothing that allowed him to complete these difficult moves without any interference.

With how many difficult and fast steps there are, having loose pants would have been an interference. Similarly, the loose jacket of his costume allowed for the full range of motions needed for moves that fully involved the arms. These dance moves, even more than the makeup, gave the sensation that Michael Jackson was “undead.” The jerky movements, only magnified by the sunken face and bulging eyes, create a very real “thriller” sensation.

Now, with Halloween approaching, a lot of people are wanting to pay homage to the King of Pop. With it being Halloween, the Thriller costume seems to the most appropriate to many. A few words to advice to all the Thriller hopefuls out there, though! First, if you’re going to get the outfit and you’re not as fit as Michael was, then don’t wear the tight pants! (We don’t want to see that, trust me.) Second, if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to learn the dance as a tribute.

Brought to you by Rob Young.
If you’re wanting to put together the best possible Michael Jackson thriller costume, then check out our site, completely devoted to it: http://www.MichaelJacksonThrillerCostumes.com

michael jackson making of thriller pt.1 the fans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OO5lrfvCoA&hl=en