MTG Salvation

Quote from Nai

I'm well aware of the pipe-dream status of this. This is more for my own entertainment than anything. I play games, so I might as well do thi while I do.

I am glad that you are aware of this. I would hate for you to be disappointed and do hope the best for this venture/you.

Google isn't doing that on their own. If a video goes up and the original copyright holder doesn't want that video up, google takes down. And if you do it often, they suspend or remove. But it's based on the wants of the original copyright holder.

Of course. As long as you are aware of how this applies to this enterprise. Demonstrably, you are aware of this, so all's well.

It's just a matter of actually doing the research.

Sorry I haven't been much good help, but go get 'em. I look forward to viewing some of your material soon.

Thanks for sharing that. If you could share more of such stories on your MTGS blog (have you got one?), I am sure we'd continue to follow your insights and reflections.

Indeed, how the Lord works. It's well beyond comprehension and merely 'mysterious'!

Quote from Stalker

What would "Law Degree" equal to? I know in the US, it's a post-graduate degree, but in germany, it's actually a college degree with another two years of actual "real work" added upon and another exam (kinda sorta like the BAR, I guess?).

They also have that in Australia, New Zealand and England. Um, well, you posted, so that's all right.

I guess it would be a diploma rather than a professional degree. However, since it qualifies, or is part of what qualifies, you to practise, then it would also be a professional degree too.

Quote from TheEndIsNear

Yeah most of these are very confusing to me, like the US of A tendency to not differentiate between university and college.

I feel you. It's actually not that confusing, though.

Quote from resonance

The definition of university and college are clearly distinguished between in the United States.

university = master's/doctorate granting institution
college = bachelor's granting institution

OR

university = entire academic institution
college = one portion of the university (i.e. College of Letters and Science)

Yeah, that's not indistinguishable; it's confusing ambiguous, which leads to confusion.

Quote from wild_harvest

Male, 22, two Associates: Performing Arts and Business.

currently working on my BA in Business and a third Associates in Military History.

Um, just curious, aren't associate's of lesser standing than bachelor's?

I know I have asked what are they good for and someone answered very well, but I don't think I asked how they compare, at least regarding their worth.

Quote from ltj999

Male, 26, masters in psych and in my last year of clinical psych PhD.

20 years of school down! One to go!

Congratulations, man!

When you are a graduand/graduate / doctor, you'd be young for a clin psych PhD, right? American too?

Quote from Crimson

I wonder if they even make a profit with Intro Packs. They're so BAD.

Surely, they must be turning a profit or they would change the formula!

Quote from Modest Ohmu

Whether the card will actually make much of a splash or not, they are hyping it as the new Bob. Putting it in one of these would probably mean they sell alot less boxes off the bat. Why crack packs for your chase rares when theyre in the intro deck? This would also mean the intro pack that had it would be stupid money, potentially like Rats Nest (had umezawa's jitte). Again, thats assuming Pain Seer is as good as the hype (which I dont think it will be..)

That would have been cool though, I wish we saw more powerful cards in these, but that never seems to happen

A very insightful opinion with that good old exemplar "Rats Nest".

Does everyone recall how none of the BOK decks sold, but people would hoard "Rats Nest" and then resell it at, like, 2 to as high as 10 times its original price? That was a pretty dark period in the secondary market as well as in Magic.

Quote from Master Moja

The thing is though; Wizards doesn't need to put bad cards in them just to sell them to casual and new players. They could make them moderately good, like the RG one I guess, and then have them appeal to both players who want to start into magic and players who want to get a couple of good commons, uncommons, and rares.

Yeah. I guess they don't have to put so much rubbish in these intro decks; I feel that Wizards are even cheating newbies.

Quote from DokuDokuH

M/26/MBA & JD (in a few months!)

Sorry, I just noticed this. Yeah, the poll screws you over.

I guess, what with there being specialist master's degrees by coursework, such as the MBA, I should have added the option of professional degree and master's. Thankfully, you were intelligent enough to check both master's and the professional degree. Cheers.

Quote from sipes1946

interest in theology and possible interest in pastoral duties at some point

Ah! Sounds pretty cool and groovy as a professional degree. I considered it for all of five seconds but remembered religion, sadly, isn't really my shtick (no offence. I don't mean to imply that religion is, you know, farcical or whatever).

I mean shtick in the original, traditional sense, as in thing.

Quote from Bitsy

I never said I wanted a family and its sad you expect me to want one or even consider one in my career path because I'm a woman.

Wow.

Okay, really?

Anyway, FYI, I simply made a comment without it being loaded. I may have misinterpreted this during the dark of night.

Quote from sipes1946

updated my original post

Much appreciated.

Quote from sipes1946

M / 45 / BSEE MSEE MDiv PhD Physics

Wow, that is a lot of studying!

Wow, an MDiv! The MSEE and PhD seems like a very logical progression from a BSEE, but what prompted you to undertake the MDiv?

Quote from qtiplord

I don't have too much to add, but thought I'd throw in my love for The Cure. Disintegration is one of my top ten favorite albums.

I am never sure when people say that; I [I]always[/I] suspect that other people are immature and are referencing [I]South Park[/I] (because that has universal acclaim :rollout:): "Robert Smith is the greatest person that ever lived", "Our saviour", "[I]Disintegration[/I] is the best album ever."

While I consider Type O Negative goth and like their work, I can understand why they can be considered gothic-metal. There is [I]a vast[/I] difference between Type O and the Cure/Joy Division/Depeche Mode

Indeed.

(a band who you described very accurately).

Wow, really? Um, I guess thanks, considering I don't really know anything about music.

Speaking of Vast, you might consider checking them out (or him, I should I say). I don't really think of Vast as a goth band, but you can hear some influences there, particularly in his earlier work.

Um, I'll definitely YouTube it, given your infectious enthusiasm and apparent expertise. Thanks for the recommendation.

Ninja edit: I could like VAST, but it isn't gothic or goth music as you said. It's sort of like ambient/synthpop (but not electropop)/dream pop/industrial rock/experimental rock/alternative rock. (FYI, I have only listened to "You", "Touched", and two other songs, so that could be reasonably characterised as a bad, unfair, inaccurate evaluation.) Regarding the other aspects of their music and their artistry, yeah, it isn't too crap, hahaaa.

Quote from Truesight

I'm pretty big into Gothic Doom Metal.

You know, I am okay with metal, but I just don't like goth/gothic metal and its variants.

I do like The Cure, though! It's been a while since I gave them a listen, though.

Any other bands like The Cure?

Also, seriously, who doesn't like The Cure?

Other bands I enjoy include Tristania, Cult of Luna, HIM, Moonspell, and Within Temptation.

Heard of all of them. The only ones I could come close to liking were Within Temptation and Tristania (surprising for me, because I like my music from the Isles or, to a lesser extent, other English-speaking nations [I am trying to move on from this]), in descending order. Maybe [I]de gustibus[/I] or whatever, maybe I could come to like the others.

Quote from Wildfire393

Right, right. All I was saying it that it seems like mostly what you've asked for has been New Wave-influenced goth rock. If you'd like recommendations for good stuff a la Depeche Mode, that's pretty much where I live musically.

I'll try you suggestions "Clan of Xymox, Asylum Party, Veil Veil Vanish, Silke Bischoff" in a sec. Thanks again for them.

Quote from Wildfire393

Urg, Blutengel. Blutengel is about as goth as Manson is.
I liked them a lot when I had only one of their albums (Labyrinth). Then I made the mistake of reaching out into a few more of their albums and realized that there's pretty much nil in the way of development or maturation between the albums. Literally 90% of their songs are about being a vampire or wanting to be a vampire, across the board.

Wow. Just wow.

I just realised something. I may have been unclear, but it really doesn't matter as you can discuss anything goth or gothic here. I really like New Wave-influenced gothic, which is in fact markedly different from electropop/synthpop gothic. For instance, (although it isn't actually gothic), Depeche Mode is clearly stylistically different from The Cure.

Quote from Dirty Filter

I'm not into The Cure

OMG, are you serious? Tell us about this!

but I love all of the other bands you mentioned, but most modern goth rock turns me off on all levels.

Excellent, excellent. I think we would get on swimmingly and could host a bloc party, not that that really would be appropriate.

Do you like Swans? Their 80s stuff is super heavy no wave industrial rock, but their 90s output was pretty akin to goth rock.

I can't say I dislike them, but I can't also say that my heart is jumping for joy when I hear them; this feeling really isn't limited to The Cure (:heart:).

There were two songs by Swans that I liked. Though that may be the case, I didn't really explore their music because of their band name.

I also recommend Have a Nice Life, another band that isn't strictly speaking goth, but they do have a lot of 80s synth pop influence (as well as industrial, post-rock, and black metal).

Thanks, will try and may get back to you on this.

Sorry for the epic necro. I don't think any such thread would be wildly successful, but does anyone listen to pop (how [adjective]!)?

For some reason or other, I have been going through a '90s phase with the Spice Girls, 'N Sync, etc.

Quote from Jay13x

I seem to be with the Majority here with my Master's degree (MS).

Going by the poll alone, as at 11:18 am (NY time), 29 Jan 2014, there are 27 others and 6 master's-degree-as-highest-level-of-educational-attainment.

Quote from terrapin

M / 17 / high school degree, currently in college but no degree yet, of course

Soon, mate. We're rooting for you.

Quote from northprophet

M / 32 / College drop-out from BARel.

Sorry, what?

Bachelor of Arts in Religion. Right?

Man, you guys need to use periods for my sake.

Quote from deidarakoon

Keranos, God of Epiphanies 2RU
Legendary Enchantment Creature - God
Indestructible
~ isn't a creature as long as your devotion is less than seven.
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield, you may have ~ deal 2 damage to that creature. If you do, its controller draws a card.
6/4

IMO, 2RU is one too cheap, going by the casting costs of the Born gods.

I personally think this fits Keranos better than any "whenever you cast an instant or sorcery" idea, because it fits more flavorfully with the way Keranos does things. He zaps oracles and through these zaps they recieve visions. It also combos pretty nicely with Omenspeaker and the like. Heck, it even promotes playing instants and sorceries in conjunction with Young Pyromancer and stuff like that.

Yeah and yeah.

I do wish that blue/red would do more than (non-creature) spells and could push other types of decks, though. That's wishful thinking, just like hoping that we wouldn't get a milling UB god.

Quote from Xenphire

They're up. Adding to post ASAP. Located in the link below:

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1418

Gifts of the Gods :symw::symu:

DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
10 Island 16 Plains 1 Coastline Chimera 1 Flitterstep Eidolon 2 Floodtide Serpent 2 Ghostblade Eidolon 2 Great Hart 2 Griffin Dreamfinder 2 Heliod's Emissary 1 Hopeful Eidolon 1 Lagonna-Band Elder 2 Nyxborn Shieldmate 2 Nyxborn Triton 1 Pillar of War 1 Silent Sentinel (R) 1 Thassa's Emissary 2 Traveling Philosopher 1 Yoked Ox	1 Divination 1 Eternity Snare 1 Excoriate 1 Gift of Immortality (R) 1 Griptide 1 Hold at Bay 2 Ordeal of Heliod 1 Sunbond 1 Vanquish the Foul

Hey, thanks for posting the lists. It appears that the links are not working as intended, however.

For better or worse, there are rares from other sets. Though it is nothing more than a gut feeling, I do not like it and it feels cheap or like cheating to do this.

Even as decks for newbies, these intro decks must have been concocted by the most cynical deck designers at Wizards. While they are not supposed to be tournament-level quality, they aren't meant to be this disappointing. Right?

If you play these decks against each other, it would seem that the RG one would come out on top, whereas the decks with blue seem to be weaker than the others. The BG one looks like hodge-podge but it looks like it works.

Quote from ThisIsNotMyActualName

That set was a nightmare.

1. They didn't make anymore werewolf support.
1a. The wolfir (Wolfir Avenger) are obviously werewolves, but they made them wolf worriers, despite them bringing the tribe back for some older cards (Treacherous Werewolf.) The part that makes it really upsetting is they said they brought it back specifically because they didn't want the [wolf class] system for werewolves.
1b. They dropped it abruptly for the third set, just like with allies in Zendikar block. After Rise of the Eldrazi, wizards said they wouldn't do what they did with allies again. Then they did it again.
1c. Did anyone read Vorstclaw? God that pisses me off.

2. Limited was miserable.

3. Miracles were miserable to play against.

4. Avacyn restored shared the same block as Innistrad. This by comparison makes the set look so much worse.

This post hits the nail on the head 100%.

Avacyn Restored was like a non sequitur to Dark Ascension and Innistrad. The entire flavour aspect was appalling and made sense only due to the fact that this is the narrative created by Wizards; they can write whatever the hell they want and it simply makes sense.

Though, really, why bother with Werewolf as a creature type, as opposed to, say, Human Wolf? Presumably, a Werewolf is just a Human Wolf, just as Dirty Wererat is a Human Rat (Minion). Accordingly, any card that deals with Humans should also deal with Werewolves, and any card that deals with Wolves should deal with Werewolves too. However, with this Werewolf subtype, cards aren't very likely to have either of those and will not be helped or hurt by cards that care about either of those types. If there were anything that cared about Werewolves specifically, surely some clever wording could have worked such that creatures with both types would be helped or hurt.

The issue of Miracles wasn't simply 'miserable to play again'; it was also an awful when it came to rulings too. At face value, it's easy to understand what it does, but it nevertheless proved to produce more questions than you would have expected.

Quote from AEIOUsometimesY

Quote from mondu_the_fat

What's the difference between the last three options?

e.g., MD vs PhD vs MD, PhD

Professional degrees would also include something like a PharmD, DVM or JD.

Also included are M.B.,B.S./B.M.,B.S.; M.B.,B.Ch./B.M.,B.Ch.; B.Med.; B.Vet.Sc.; LL.B.; B.Pharm.; M.Pharm.; etc. I guess it's just as well the Census doesn't use professional doctorate.

Teaching degrees and vocational/technical courses, such as nursing, oral health, physiotherapy, chiropractic 'science', diagnostic radiography, nuclear medicine, medical imaging, etc. might also be considered professional degrees too; or, maybe they are just vocational or technical, though.

Quote from mondu_the_fat

What's the difference between the last three options?

Thank goodness for AEIOUsometimesY.

The difference, and not examples of, is a professional degree permits you to practice a profession. In a sense, a B.Comm. would also be considered a professional degree; however, for the sake of this thread, a [first] professional degree is as defined by the U.S. guys, as follows.

First-professional degrees may be awarded in the following 10 fields:

• Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.)
• Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.)
• Law (L.L.B., J.D.)
• Medicine (M.D.)
• Optometry (O.D.)
• Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)
• Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
• Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.)
• Theology (M.Div., M.H.L., B.D., or Ordination)
• Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.)

Those of you with Ph.D.s, what are your Ph.D.s in or what is the thrust of your contribution to human knowledge?

Those of you with professional degrees, 'cause my breaking things down further would make the poll messier, specifically what are these?

Quote from LuckNorris

M/19/High School Graduate

Currently in University, trying to get my degree!

Not sure if you're some college, no degree (which doesn't necessarily mean that you dropped out or something) and post here explaining would have been better.

Quote from sipes1946

M / 45 / PhD

Hi. So, that's a Ph.D. and no professional degree?

Understandable how you could have misinterpreted the poll. Admittedly, it's not great, but Census questions have their issues.

Quote from Coffee

Some of us have more than one undergrad, or are working on an additional one. My first undergrad isn't exactly a moneymaker, so I'm back in college presently.

Your highest level of educational attainment is therefore a bachelor's degree.

Quote from qtiplord

M/36/BSJ

Sorry, what's that?

Bachelor of Science in Journalism, Bachelor of Swing Jazz? I'm just guessing and can't really be bothered to Google.

We just call journalism degrees Bachelor of Arts, perhaps majoring in media and communication studies.

Edit:

Quote from Bitsy

A phD is possible but I'd have to do really well in the graduate portion and get a fellowship or a generous grant for research. University at Buffalo's Social Work phD program is very small, with only about 4 people admitted each year, and very competitive, as they get a lot of research grants from various levels of government, and in the end I'm not sure being called Dr. is really worth the extra education. In 2017 I may say otherwise.

I hope you are joking.

Yeah, being a woman, getting a doctorate can be a tricky business if you want a family and all that.

But previous generations have done it!

Quote from Amadi

It's a good ability to have.

Wikipedia has its uses and could be considered of benefit to humanity.

Clearly there were people here that hadn't read the article, though.

Well, thank you for your consideration.

I'm sorry for trying to be helpful.

Quite all right. You weren't trying to be helpful; that must have been helpful, so you could say that you were being helpful.

What, exactly, is the inconsistency here?

Sorry, saw fuzzies.

No, I reject the concept of original thought.

Fair enough.

Quote from Jay13x

I'm just imagining what was going through the editors head when that one slipped through.

Indeed, it is baffling that there is such ham-fistedness from an editor of an article.


So, with this revolutionary understanding, what now? I guess it's interesting to speculate about the dietary changes associated with the amount of skin pigmentation.

Man, the fact that only the abstract is accessible is so frustrating. Actually, the article is here; NCBI hasn't yet fixed the link for it to Nature. Also, for prior work from the group, see here.

Been doing some reading into censuses and educational attainment, as education is fairly important in everything we do (and, for me, it is necessary to do a policy assignment).

For this discussion, simply post your age / age range (can't expect teens to have completed college after all), highest level of educational attainment and sex. Thanks for your compliance.
An organisation that is important to me uses this:

• Postgraduate degree level
• Graduate diploma and graduate certificate level
• Bachelor degree level
• Advanced diploma and diploma level
• Certificate level
• Senior secondary education (e.g., Year 12, Senior Secondary Certificate of Education)
• Junior secondary education (e.g., Year 10)
• Primary education
• Pre-primary education
• Other education
• No education

However, I understand that perhaps using the US system would be better. Census.gov breaks education thus:

• None
• 1st - 4th grade
• 5th - 6th grade
• 7th - 8th grade
• 9th grade
• 10th grade
• 11th grade
• High school graduate
• Some college, no degree
• Associate's degree, occupational
• Associate's degree, academic
• Bachelor's degree
• Master's degree
• Professional degree
• Doctoral degree

Of course, it has been suggested that the experience at some schools is more rigorous than that those at others, so...

Anyway, yeah, education seems important to me, and I am sure there's much I could say about it and plenty of people who have said things better than I ever could and therefore must quote. However, I haven't thought it to be my life's calling to be involved in teaching itself. I do, however, think I may veer towards policy as well as community efforts, in addition to, you know, my actual vocation.