I think the major shortcoming of Coakley's campaign is definitely point 2) from the article, that she ran a terrible campaign. She's not a terrible candidate at all (and I say this as a conservative Republican who definitely prefers Brown), because she does have pretty good credentials and background, even if I disagree with her platform. However, when her campaign consists of assuming victory for granted, and then realizing how bad an idea that was at the last moment and trying to overcompensate (President Obama campaigning for her on Sunday?), then problems start happening.
If anything, I think this will be a wake-up call for the Democrats, even if Coakley wins, because it shows them that even in taxachusetts, home of the blue, there's a lot of discontent.
I don't understand why anyone would complain about the price of any card... It's all supply and demand... if Baneslayers are selling for $50 on the open market, then that's how much they're worth... don't get angry just because the market price is more than how much you're willing to pay...
As a college freshman, who very recently went through the process of college applications, with what I consider to be extremely favorable results, I would suggest the following general advice:
1) Be yourself! Make sure that you write about something truly meaningful to you, instead of what you may think is attractive to the colleges to which you are applying. If that is Scouting, which I presume it is, great! This also means that your writing style should be more or less how you speak, but slightly more formal so that the essay is presentable writing. For example, if compound-complex sentences and rich vocabulary are common features of your daily speech, do not hesitate from writing in that manner; however, if formal writing is not your forte, do not feel at all obliged to use colons, semicolons, dashes, elegant vocabulary, et cetera - it will only come off as disingenuous.
2) Do not allow too many people to read your essay, or at least to comment significantly on it. One teacher and one close friend should be sufficient - the former to read for stylistic issues, and the latter to read for your "voice." In the end, the essay is a representation of yourself and your circumstances, not of the quality of your English teachers.
3) Show, don't tell. Despite the horrid platitude, it will work in your favor tremendously. For example, for scouting, talk about a specific experience, say a camping experience, or the process of earning a specific merit badge, in as vivid detail as possible, in order to engage the reader as fully as possible. Engaging the reader is paramount, as, depending on your college choices, readers tend to have an inordinate amount of reading, and if you are unable to engage them in your essay, you have lost a significant portion of your general evaluation. In the same line, use highly specific verbs and nouns. Avoid, as much as possible, "to be."
These should be the most important advice, at least in my experience. Best of luck on your applications!
The Boston thing is good enough for me 75% of the time.
Econ is good. Are you starting with Mankiw when school starts? Or are you doing 1010 or 1011? (I was a 1011 kid myself.)
Really? I guess if you're from Philly it'd probably be easier than if you're from MA (2/3 of the kids in my graduating class went to a school in Greater Boston I think...)
I have to start with Mankiw because my high school wouldn't let me independent study AP Micro+Macro.
Yes. Although I don't feel my education is better than anywhere else, the name brand definitely is. In any group situation it can be awkward to tell where you go. If you are meeting someone and they say "I go to [insert unknown school]" it makes me feel awkward to say "I go to Penn". Of course, a lot of people confuse Penn with Penn State, which I don't mind at all. I'm more of a speak softly and carry a big stick guy so it sometimes makes me feel like I sound pretentious. I'm not pretentious about it, but just imagine replacing the schools with cars:
"I have a Camry"
"Oh cool I have an Accord"
"What about you Bill?"
"I have a Ferrari"
Again, not to say a Ferrari is any better than the other cars but is of course a more recognizable and perceived-to-be-better brand. Of course, the most awkward situation is when someone asks where I go (say someone cutting your hair) and I say "University of Pennsylvania", a lot of times the person will go "Oh, wow! You must be really smart!". To this day, I still can't think of an appropriate response.
Out of curiosity, are you going to Harvard or MIT? I used to want to go to MIT when I was younger, but then decided I'd rather do business than engineering. MIT has a great business program, but I preferred Penn's. I don't like Harvard, mainly because a good friend of mine who had perfect SAT's, was rank 1, and had awesome extra curriculars didn't get in, and he really wanted to.
Side rant: For those of you going into college, I recommend getting off of your computer and going to meet people. I spent too much time in my room on my comp and didn't make as many friends as I would've liked to as a freshman.
Harvard... sorry about your friend. And it's really tough telling people when, especially since I'm from MA, so I can't just tell accquaintances that I'm going to school in Boston - there's the inevitable follow-up.
And I like your side rant. Although until I move in, talking Magic on the computer is much more fun than packing.
Quote from msun641 »
IRL it's much more awkward, of course... There's always a certain pause.
What are you planning on studying? I'm going to be a sophomore there next year...
I'm thinking Econ... yeah, I know, everyone and their fathers did econ...
For the Ivy guys (and other high-end schools): Do you ever find it difficult telling others where you're going to school, for fear of sounding pretentious or excessively arrogant? (Well, presumably not, since you posted in here, but still...)
I'm not calling you either, but I would like to hear your thoughts on that.
For the record, I'll be a Freshman at a school in my location, so you can see how this issue may come up when someone asks where you're going to school. :/
Speed is usually a necessary sacrifice for better protection. You don't want to be a glass cannon. If your meta is all Zoo/Goblins or something like that though, go for Belcher. You'll win lots and lots.
Like back when CRET Belcher was one of the best decks in Legacy since CounterTop was not popularized yet, Goblins was THE deck to beat, and what not.
Solidarity is much more difficult to play than Spring Tide. However, if you're an amazing player who doesn't make many mistakes (i.e. almost perfect play of Solidarity), it will be a more rewarding deck, thanks to just the character of the deck. The reason why Spring Tide is more popular is because 1) Resets are fairly difficult to come by (although they're a lot cheaper and more available now than they were); 2) Spring Tide is easier to play. Solidarity is also far less vulnerable to opposing Force/Daze/Spell Snare because it can sometimes just ignore it and keep casting instants on top of them. And winning on Turn 4/5, in response to lethal or something, is awesome compared to rushing to win on Turn 2/3, because it gives you more time, more options, and more resilience. However, this means that the decks are actually different categories - Spring Tide is a Fast Combo (win before they win) deck, while Solidarity is an Inevitable Combo (win eventually, when you're almost guaranteed to) deck.
bearsareawesome - Really cool card, I love the non-name cardname usage of zero (whereas many of the sumissions used zero in the name of the planeswalker itself). It has built-in breaking of the symmetry just by nature of being a planeswalker (i.e. you can always have mana open to drop stuff after wiping the board), which is awesome. 9.5/10
Jau - The activated abilities are both very good, and there's a lot of the nice synergy in the card. 8.5/10
Twilight Kiwi - Nice creative card. Seems like a recordkeeping nightmare though. 7/10
snoopYah - Very creative use of zero. High props for that, although it could potentially be really overpowered. 9/10
Krey - The ultimate seems kinda pointless. I can't ever imagine gaining life instead of dealing damage with it. I'm curious as to what would happen if the opponent chose a number greater than twenty? 7/10
kiwoli - It makes me want to play it in a deck without creatures. Sure, the first ability wouldn't do much of anything. But I'd get to draw my whole library! The second ability is pretty weak, especially at -2. It's a good solid card overall. 8/10
Iriki, Dreams' Ripples1UU
Legendary Creature - Spirit
Flying
Arcane cards you own have Splice onto Arcane equal to their casting cost.
You may Sp
onto Instant and Sorcery spells as though you cast the spell and as though it was Arcane.
"The kami are the very essence of the world itself. Can they not then shape even the dreams of men to their will?" - Lady Azami
1/4
Kirimoto of the 10,000 Scrolls3UUU
Planeswalker - Kirimoto
Kirimoto comes into play with X Loyalty counters, where X is the number of cards in your hand.
Whenever you draw a card, you may put a loyalty counter on Kirimoto.
[-7] For the rest of the game, whenever you cast a spell, you may draw a card.
{X}
Iriki, Dreams' Ripples1UU
Legendary Creature - Spirit
Flying
Arcane cards you own have Splice onto Arcane equal to their casting cost.
You may Splice onto Instant and Sorcery spells as though you cast the spell and as though it was Arcane.
"The kami are the very essence of the world itself. Can they not then shape even the dreams of men to their will?" - Lady Azami
1/4
My Submission:
Possessed Ogre3BBB
Creature - Ogre Shaman (R)
If Possessed Ogre would be sacrificed, flip it instead.
4/4
//Flip//
Shimu, the Insatiable
Legendary Creature - Demon Spirit (R)
Trample
Whenever a permanent you control would be put into a graveyard, return it to the battlefield and lose life equal to its converted mana cost at the beginning of the next end step.
8/8
If anything, I think this will be a wake-up call for the Democrats, even if Coakley wins, because it shows them that even in taxachusetts, home of the blue, there's a lot of discontent.
1) Be yourself! Make sure that you write about something truly meaningful to you, instead of what you may think is attractive to the colleges to which you are applying. If that is Scouting, which I presume it is, great! This also means that your writing style should be more or less how you speak, but slightly more formal so that the essay is presentable writing. For example, if compound-complex sentences and rich vocabulary are common features of your daily speech, do not hesitate from writing in that manner; however, if formal writing is not your forte, do not feel at all obliged to use colons, semicolons, dashes, elegant vocabulary, et cetera - it will only come off as disingenuous.
2) Do not allow too many people to read your essay, or at least to comment significantly on it. One teacher and one close friend should be sufficient - the former to read for stylistic issues, and the latter to read for your "voice." In the end, the essay is a representation of yourself and your circumstances, not of the quality of your English teachers.
3) Show, don't tell. Despite the horrid platitude, it will work in your favor tremendously. For example, for scouting, talk about a specific experience, say a camping experience, or the process of earning a specific merit badge, in as vivid detail as possible, in order to engage the reader as fully as possible. Engaging the reader is paramount, as, depending on your college choices, readers tend to have an inordinate amount of reading, and if you are unable to engage them in your essay, you have lost a significant portion of your general evaluation. In the same line, use highly specific verbs and nouns. Avoid, as much as possible, "to be."
These should be the most important advice, at least in my experience. Best of luck on your applications!
Since Alpha?
Tribal Vampires is going to be awesome...
Really? I guess if you're from Philly it'd probably be easier than if you're from MA (2/3 of the kids in my graduating class went to a school in Greater Boston I think...)
I have to start with Mankiw because my high school wouldn't let me independent study AP Micro+Macro.
Harvard... sorry about your friend. And it's really tough telling people when, especially since I'm from MA, so I can't just tell accquaintances that I'm going to school in Boston - there's the inevitable follow-up.
And I like your side rant. Although until I move in, talking Magic on the computer is much more fun than packing.
I'm thinking Econ... yeah, I know, everyone and their fathers did econ...
I'm not calling you either, but I would like to hear your thoughts on that.
For the record, I'll be a Freshman at a school in my location, so you can see how this issue may come up when someone asks where you're going to school. :/
Like back when CRET Belcher was one of the best decks in Legacy since CounterTop was not popularized yet, Goblins was THE deck to beat, and what not.
EDIT: The guy above me is right about ANT.
bearsareawesome - Really cool card, I love the non-name cardname usage of zero (whereas many of the sumissions used zero in the name of the planeswalker itself). It has built-in breaking of the symmetry just by nature of being a planeswalker (i.e. you can always have mana open to drop stuff after wiping the board), which is awesome. 9.5/10
Jau - The activated abilities are both very good, and there's a lot of the nice synergy in the card. 8.5/10
Twilight Kiwi - Nice creative card. Seems like a recordkeeping nightmare though. 7/10
snoopYah - Very creative use of zero. High props for that, although it could potentially be really overpowered. 9/10
Krey - The ultimate seems kinda pointless. I can't ever imagine gaining life instead of dealing damage with it. I'm curious as to what would happen if the opponent chose a number greater than twenty? 7/10
kiwoli - It makes me want to play it in a deck without creatures. Sure, the first ability wouldn't do much of anything. But I'd get to draw my whole library! The second ability is pretty weak, especially at -2. It's a good solid card overall. 8/10
Iriki, Dreams' Ripples 1UU
Legendary Creature - Spirit
Flying
Arcane cards you own have Splice onto Arcane equal to their casting cost.
You may Sp
onto Instant and Sorcery spells as though you cast the spell and as though it was Arcane.
"The kami are the very essence of the world itself. Can they not then shape even the dreams of men to their will?" - Lady Azami
1/4
Kirimoto of the 10,000 Scrolls 3UUU
Planeswalker - Kirimoto
Kirimoto comes into play with X Loyalty counters, where X is the number of cards in your hand.
Whenever you draw a card, you may put a loyalty counter on Kirimoto.
[-7] For the rest of the game, whenever you cast a spell, you may draw a card.
{X}
Unfortunately, traveling for several days makes for little time. I'll put them up if I can later.
Top Three:
First place: _IF_
Second place: person3412
Third place: Svennihilator
Iriki, Dreams' Ripples 1UU
Legendary Creature - Spirit
Flying
Arcane cards you own have Splice onto Arcane equal to their casting cost.
You may Splice onto Instant and Sorcery spells as though you cast the spell and as though it was Arcane.
"The kami are the very essence of the world itself. Can they not then shape even the dreams of men to their will?" - Lady Azami
1/4
My Submission:
Possessed Ogre 3BBB
Creature - Ogre Shaman (R)
If Possessed Ogre would be sacrificed, flip it instead.
4/4
//Flip//
Shimu, the Insatiable
Legendary Creature - Demon Spirit (R)
Trample
Whenever a permanent you control would be put into a graveyard, return it to the battlefield and lose life equal to its converted mana cost at the beginning of the next end step.
8/8