We are adrift, and the thinnest breeze may blow us where it will.

-- Rachel Hartman

(Emona, Bulgaria)

  oh she’s staring. definitely. absolutely. 

A 1,700 year-old Roman blue glass drinking bowl with Greek inscription, 'Drink to live forever, for many years!' Found during excavations in Gosposvetska Street, Ljubljana (Roman Emona). : © Arne Hodalič, Katja Bidovec, City Museum, Ljubljana

Inspired by the emona Lisa meme

Trick or treat!

🏆 you get a prize for the most creative costume!

Also enjoy: Emona by Marija Korać - the funniest place I've ever found a random Žižek quote.

The Historian: Part One, Chapter 1.

A little housekeeping. The Historian has several narrators, all, but the teenaged narrator in the 1972 parts, are named. So for ease, I will call her N, instead of the nameless narrator. Also, these posts will contain spoilers.

Summary:

How these papers have been placed in sequence will be made manifest in the reading of them. All needless matters have been eliminated, so that a history almost at variance with the possibilities of later-day belief may stand forth as simple fact. There is throughout no statement of past things wherein memory may err, for all the records chosen are exactly contemporary, given from the standpoints and within the range of knowledge of those who made them.

Part One starts with this quote from Dracula, by Bram Stoker. It reinforces the idea that The Historian is a true account, a collection of papers that tells a story that has really happened.

In chapter 1 we learn a bit about N. She's 16 and lives with her diplomat father in Amsterdam. Her mother died as a baby, and she lives a very sheltered life, mostly occupied with her studies. At this point N thinks her father’s effort to shield her is because he is her only parent. But the reader may wonder if it’s not to protect her from something. One day she finds a book, and collection of letters in her father’s library. N doesn’t tell us what she finds in the book that captivates her, and she only reads a little from the first letter before she puts it away, but it’s a rather sinister paragraph:

My dear and unfortunate successor:

It is with regret that I imagine you, whoever you are, reading the account I must put down here. The regret is partly for myself – because I will surely be at least in trouble, maybe dead, or perhaps worse, if this is in your hands. But my regret is also for you, my yet-unknown friend, because only by someone who needs such vile information will this letter someday be read. If you are not my successor in some other sense, you will soon be my heir – and I feel sorrow at bequeathing to another human being my own, perhaps unbelievable, experience of evil. Why I myself inherited it I don’t know, but I hope to discover that fact, eventually – perhaps in the course of writing to you or perhaps in the course of further events…

Instead of asking her father about her find at once, N begs to follow him on his next diplomatic journey, something she has so far never been allowed to. He agrees, and she accompanies him to a Yugoslavian city she calls Emona. Well there, N tells her father what she has found, and now it is revealed that the book contained the printed image of a dragon, and she asks him to tell her about it, which he reluctantly agrees to do.

The real name of Emona is Ljublana, which today is the capital of Slovenia. N points out this is where the story starts, but up until this re-read I could never understand why Kostova chose this particular place. Not until this time, did I notice that N and her father cross a bridge, guarded by bronze dragons. The Dragon Bridge, Zmajski most, was built in 1901, and as you can see from the picture, the dragons are impressive. By walking over it, N truly walks into the start of this story, where the motif of the dragon will return again, and again. Ljubljana also has a dragon on the city’s coat of arms, referring to a legend that this is the place where the Greek hero Jason slayed the dragon. Or, possibly, it’s about the legend of St. George and the dragon. Either way, Ljubljana is a city of dragons, and I find it very fitting to start a book about Dracula here.

trick or treat!!! (my costume is a hot topic death note shirt and tiny shorts)

Happy Halloween!! Since you mentioned hot topic I had to go find the best emo meme I could. Emona Lisa 💜

female west-indian names + georgian literas + countries of the world

Afghten Afraell Africe Afrine Agerl Aiwania Alania Alanni Alfral Algal Algium Aliba Alina Alipina Altango Aluca Alviti Alyan Alyse Amaitar Amalle Amalya Amaria Ameent Amoni Ancia Andonia Anian Anjani Annaind Anyokan Ardadon Arida Arlasca Arlasia Arlaten Arqua Artind Audia Aunte Aurkeli Ausse Azakia Azeria Aziliba Azilli Azimon Babevad Baiida Baira Bands Bargius Bekadan Bekia Belah Belahri Belom Berasca Beria Berraen Berus Bevia Bhuad Bhuatei Bhungla Bollie Bosni Botho Boutius Branika Brely Brenti Brunice Budra Budrena Bulin Burine Burith Burkmen Buruni Camara Camina Camoren Cance Carell Celania Ch'ar Ch'ara Ch'aria Chaini Chalany Chana Chandia Chani Chania Channa Charee Charica Chark Chenice Chera Chrae Chria Chrin Chtemen Chteru Chʼania Clenia Clori Clovene Coate Colad Comina Cosnic Cuata Cuatu Cublia Czegab Czego D'ivea D'ivie D'ivina D'ivli Dadenes Dannait Delom Demee Dence Denell Denna Dente Domaryn Dongo Duethae Duetna Duliste Dzilie Echal Echtond Edanna Elani Elgia Elletha Elovady Emona Equay Equin Eraingo Ericann Erini Ernstra Erylan Esabwe Esina Estalu Estan Estani Etheda Ettan Euphoe Farque Fartina Fasia Femen Femic Fijania Fiopia Fivearl Frabeva Fralom Gamauda Gambos Garaq Geoni Gerzue Ghakin Golaino Greeni Greera Grenic Grentay Guadi Guate Guini Guyan Hakhana Herlis Hevala Hilao Hindue Hiopina Holia Holos Holow Hondi Hovina Hunia Hutine Inbley Inepal Iraiida Iraina Irania Iredor Irtue Isian Istrea Itanica Itina Ittalon Itynei Jamark Janaini Jeali Jenna Jenti Jodie Jorrani Jortu Jortyn Kadady Karee Karia Karken Kazill Kelna Kenetna Kenyan Keychen Khstina Kimoni Kisau Kisha Kores Kortina Kosni Kostan Kuway Kuwayl Kyndi Kynni Kyrinet Lanicta Laniya Lanna Laosnia Laudra Lemisia Leomoa Liber Libia Libyan Lierl Linds Lishara Litana Lomones Lourus Lovand Lovani Lulina Macque Maland Malay Malfri Malgia Malom Malynn Mandra Mania Mannei Marah Marali Marand Marcia Maria Marinew Marucia Mauru Minaco Minia Moccoa Moldie Monam Mor-le Morda Morea Moree Myandan Naday Namenma Negypt Nesca Nesouva Nevie Nique Nisan Nissia Nongo Norra Omaree Omoroa Oronea Paina Paind Pakisey Palan Palyn Palynds Paraell Paree Perley Pholova Pinelle Polanna Polis Polongo Por-les Poreen Pritra Qaraq Qarea Qaria Qatan Qʼargia Raellos Ratvie Rinice Ritan Roccon Romeece Romis Rooni Rosni Rossab Rucama Rugua Rusta Sabolyn Saini Saita Salizea Sands Sanna Saunda Saurgia Senet Serdan Seria Sevena Severra Shadona Shainia Shambia Shame Shana Shancia Shands Shani Shara Sharia Sharne Shary Shavia Shellia Shevesa Shevina Shile Slady Slomin Slouria Solles Sothova Soutal Southin Spalama Spapola Sragua Srazani Stand Stica Stina Sueree Suruni Swaiti Swanada Swaylan Swili Swindie Syrida Tacia Talbary Tandia Tandie Tandon Tanis Tanua Tardes Tatica Thara Theari Thelah Thilana Thille Tlebad Tleon Tobah Tobaile Tones Toria Tring Ts'ivo Tswazer Tsʼil Tudena Turia Turkira Twynd Tʼara Tʼaryn Undorra Uniyan Uzbeni Uzberra Vadann Vakira Vatium Veavo Verzue Vincie Virae Wiland Wilin Windia Wingo Witta Wityn Yannace Yokaze Zakini Zecenn Zecha Zhalie Zhambo

Streetart by Emona Deda @ Tirana, Albania More pics at: https://barbarapicci.com/2023/04/30/streetart-emona-deda-tirana-albania/

In einer signifikanten Veränderung der Gaming-Landschaft tritt Relic Entertainment, der renommierte Entwickler hinter den Serien Company of Heroes und Dawn of War, in ein neues Zeitalter der Unabhängigkeit. Dieser Übergang erfolgt vor dem Hintergrund einer breiteren strategischen Neuausrichtung von Sega, die auch die Entlassung von 240 Mitarbeitern in ihren europäischen Niederlassungen umfasst, wovon Studios wie Creative Assembly, Sega HARDlight und Sega Europe betroffen sind. Relic Entertainment geht nach der Ausgliederung durch Sega in die Unabhängigkeit über. Der Schritt ist Teil von Segas größerer Geschäftsneustrukturierung, die bedeutende Entlassungen innerhalb seiner europäischen Teams einschließt. Relics Unabhängigkeit eröffnet neue Wege für Wachstum und Innovation in ihrer Spieleentwicklung. Ein neues Kapitel für Relic Entertainment Relics Reise von einer Tochtergesellschaft eines globalen Publishers zu einer unabhängigen Einheit markiert einen entscheidenden Augenblick in seiner ruhmreichen Geschichte. Ursprünglich wurde es 2004 von THQ übernommen und später von Sega, jetzt beginnt das Studio seinen unabhängigen Weg nach der Übernahme aller seiner Anteile durch eine von der britischen Investmentfirma Emona Capital gegründete Holdinggesellschaft. Mit Vermögenswerten im Wert von ungefähr C$71,5 Millionen und einem Nettogewinn von C$8,28 Millionen am Ende des Jahres 2023, unterstreichen Relics strategischer Wert und finanzielle Gesundheit sein bedeutendes Potenzial für kontinuierlichen Erfolg in der Gaming-Industrie. Segas strategische Neuausrichtung Die Kulisse für Relics neue Unabhängigkeit ist Segas umfassende Restrukturierungsinitiative, die darauf abzielt, seinen Fokus zu schärfen und die Abläufe inmitten der dynamischen Herausforderungen der Gaming-Industrie zu straffen. Diese Initiative beinhaltet die schwierige Entscheidung, 240 Mitarbeiter in verschiedenen europäischen Studios zu entlassen, ein Schritt, der durch die Notwendigkeit getrieben wird, sich an die verändernde wirtschaftliche Landschaft anzupassen und die Nachhaltigkeit von Segas Spieleentwicklungs- und Marketingbemühungen zu gewährleisten. Segas Führung drückt Bedauern über die Auswirkungen dieser Entlassungen auf seine Belegschaft aus und betont die Notwendigkeit dieser Veränderungen für die zukünftige Richtung des Unternehmens. Auswirkungen auf die Gaming-Industrie Der Übergang von Relic Entertainment in die Unabhängigkeit spiegelt breitere Branchentrends der Anpassung und Evolution wider. Der Gaming-Sektor steht weiterhin vor wirtschaftlichen Druck, technologischen Fortschritten und sich wandelnden Verbraucherpräferenzen, was agile Antworten von Entwicklern und Publishern gleichermaßen erfordert. Für Relic bietet die Unabhängigkeit die Möglichkeit, sein reiches Erbe in der Entwicklung von Strategiespielen zu nutzen, während neue kreative Richtungen und Partnerschaften erkundet werden. Für einen tieferen Einblick in die Herausforderungen der Gaming-Industrie und die strategischen Entscheidungen hinter diesen Entlassungen, lies unsere detaillierte Analyse auf PC Gamer. Zum Abschluss: Ein neuer Horizont für Relic und Sega Da Relic Entertainment in seine neue Rolle als unabhängiges Studio tritt, beobachtet die Gaming-Welt mit großem Interesse. Dieser entscheidende Übergang markiert nicht nur ein neues Kapitel für Relic, sondern signalisiert auch Segas strategische Neukalibrierung als Reaktion auf die sich entwickelnde Landschaft der Branche. Inmitten dieser Veränderungen bleiben beide Unternehmen ihrem Engagement für fesselnde Spielerlebnisse treu, was ihre Resilienz und Anpassungsfähigkeit in Zeiten der Unsicherheit unterstreicht.

Company of Heroes 3 preps for first big post-Sega update

Having parted methods with Sega after a serious restructuring in Sega Europe, Firm of Heroes 3 developer Relic is releasing its first main patch for the WWII technique recreation tomorrow, a number of weeks forward of schedule. Which means we get a more in-depth take a look at the 2 new battlegroups the replace is including, the British Forces’ Australian Protection and the Deutsche Afrikakorps’ Battlefield Espionage. As we reported final week, Relic Leisure is now an impartial video games studio, following Sega’s sale of its shares within the studio to a London-based funding agency, Emona Capital. The transfer clearly got here as a shock to Relic, and the Firm of Heroes 3 overview movies under nonetheless present Sega’s emblem within the title playing cards. Relic plans to proceed supporting the RTS recreation, and has even accelerated the schedule for 1.6.0 replace, which is now launching April 2 as a substitute of on April 23, as initially deliberate. The Australian Protection battlegroup was modeled on the Australian ninth Division, which noticed service in World Conflict II in North Africa, notably at Tobruk and El Alamein. The battlegroup consists of gentle infantry squads, which carry Lee-Enfield rifles that may be upgraded with scopes. They'll additionally construct a number of defensive constructions, together with sangars, barbed wire, and machine gun emplacements. Whereas the soldiers don’t carry grenades or have any anti-tank weapons, the battlegroup can deploy two-pounder gentle anti-tank gun groups, which have quick firing charges, low reload instances, and huge arcs. The Aussies can even use defensive techniques to construct greater gun emplacements for the large seventeen-pounder gun and Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun, which will also be used to take out enemy infantry and light-weight armor.

On the German aspect, the Battlefield Espionage group is split into two halves: infiltration and disruption. The concept is to allow a sneakier playstyle, placing the place the enemy doesn’t anticipate and siphoning assets away from their financial system. The brand new Funkpanzerwagon can both be known as in, or used as an improve for an present 250 halftrack. It’s a non-combat automobile, however it may possibly grant the camouflage potential to close by troops – though crucially, it can't use this potential on itself. Camouflaged troopers can use the primary strike bonus, which grants extra injury and accuracy for a short while. The Battlefield Espionage group additionally will get a traditional Firm of Heroes merchandise, the remote-controlled Goliath. That is successfully an early drone, loaded with 110 kilos of explosive. You'll be able to deploy these out of the again of a Funkpanzerwagon, camouflage it, after which roll it as much as enemy formations to do severe quantities of harm. The catch is that it’s sluggish, weak to small arms fireplace, and will be noticed by minesweeper models – so it’ll be vital to make use of it fastidiously.

The Battlefield espionage group additionally has a pair of deployable beacons that may spot enemy models, grant camouflage to pleasant infantry, steal assets from enemy management factors, or make your individual management factors tougher to seize. These beacons are camouflaged themselves, however scouts will be capable to spot them. The patch additionally introduces some new options, like a vote to give up choice in automatch video games. Failure to make use of this – and easily quitting as a substitute – will activate the brand new automatch cooldown, which will get longer every time a participant quits with out first surrendering. You’ll additionally be capable to choose missions from the single-player Italian marketing campaign and North African Operation with the intention to replay key occasions. The Italian marketing campaign particularly is usually a little bit of a slog, however the setpiece missions are a few of the finest ones within the collection, so that is positively a welcome addition. You'll be able to try our Firm of Heroes 3 assessment, or take a look at our Firm of Heroes 3 newbie ideas and methods if you happen to’re simply getting acquainted with the WW2 technique recreation. You can too comply with us on Google News for every day PC video games information, critiques, and guides, or seize our PCGN deals tracker to internet your self some bargains. Source link Read the full article

Sega Europe announced Thursday that it’s selling off Company of Heroes 3 and Age of Empires 4 developer Relic Entertainment while cutting approximately 240 jobs across several other Sega Europe studios.

Relic Entertainment confirmed that it’s going independent with the help of an external investor; under this new structure, it’ll continue to support Company of Heroes 3 and its next update coming in April. “This is a huge change for us, but one thing does not change: we want to create amazing experiences for our players,” read a post on the company’s X account (formerly Twitter). Sega’s shares of Relic were transferred to a holding company that is “to be newly established by the UK investment company Emona Capital,” according to Sega’s financial disclosures. Emona Capital is also invested in Amber, a game development services company; it invested $20 million into that company in 2022.

In its final disclosure statement, Sega Europe said that it’s laying off 240 people “with the aim of optimizing fixed expenses.” Impacted studios include Sega Europe, Creative Assembly, and Sega Hardlight, according to GamesIndusty.biz. Sega Europe expects to record roughly $10 million, or 1.5 billion yen, in losses related to the “business restructuring.” These layoffs follow cuts at Sega in 2023, when the company canceled Hyenas, a shooter from Creative Assembly. Two hundred fifty people were laid off at that time, Sega Europe confirmed in Thursday’s statement. In the seven months since Hyenas’ cancellation, that means around 500 people have been laid off from Sega. That’s on top of 121 redundancies at Relic Entertainment in May 2023.

Polygon has reached out to Sega Europe for comment.

Sega Europe blamed its restructuring on a “reactionary decline from the stay-at-home demand in COVID-19 and the economic downturn due to inflation, which led to lowered profitability for the company. Experts told Polygon earlier this year that there was record growth during the pandemic, creating a “collective delusion” that the growth would hold forever. It didn’t, and the industry is back to incremental growth as executives rode short-term gains over long-term sustainability. That, plus other shifts the business of video games, have contributed to the period of volatility that’s currently straining the industry’s workers. Industry trackers put the number people laid off from the video game industry in 2024 at over 8,000. More than 10,000 people were laid off in 2023.

This is all in contrast an announcement Sega of America workers made yesterday: The Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega (AEGIS) voted Tuesday to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement with Sega. The group of around 150 workers won base raises for all employees, layoff protections, and improved crediting to game developers. Another major win for the union is just cause protections; California, where the Sega of America office is located, is an at-will employment state, meaning companies can fire employees for any reasons, as long as it doesn’t violate workplace protections against discrimination and other laws. Just cause protections require the employer to follow guidelines to prove there is a “just cause” to let someone go. Sega of America laid off dozens of workers earlier this year — before the union contract was ratified — and AEGIS was able to negotiate to save some jobs.

Sega has sold Relic Entertainment amidst layoffs

Sega has announced a new round of layoffs that will hit Sega Europe, Creative Assembly and Hardlight. But the biggest news is the sale of Relic Entertainment. According to Sega, Relic Entertainment, probably best known for Company of Heroes and Age of Empires, is being sold to a newly established holding company owned by UK investment company Emona Capital LLP. However, the buyer requested that…

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