text:
Psycoloquy 8(02): A Modified Version of the Center-of-mass Balancing Hypothesis
A MODIFIED VERSION OF THE CENTER-OF-MASS BALANCING HYPOTHESIS
Book review of Roberts on Posture-Locomotion
Thomas Mergner & Branislav Bolha
Neurologische Universitatsklinik
Neurozentrum
Breisacher Str. 64
D-79106 Freiburg, Germany
Sektion Neurophysiologie
Universitat Ulm
Oberer Eselsberg
D-89069 Ulm, Germany
mergner@sun1.ruf.uni-freiburg.de wolfgang.becker@medizin.uni-ulm.de
We specifically comment on Roberts' account (1995) of the interaction of vestibular and neck reflexes by contrasting it with an alternative view. While concurring with most of his formal description of the reactions resulting from a variety of experimental manipulations, we try to put the interpretation of these reactions according to our view into a broader systems perspective. According to this view, body stabilization requires two distinct sequences of coordinate transformations: one chains the sensory signals arising in the head "down" to the central representations of the trunk, the legs and, ultimately, to the feet and their support, while the second chain of transformations relays information from the feet back to the legs and trunk representations. Vestibular-neck interaction would reflect but one transformation step of these chains. Our concept of coordinate transformation owes much to recent progress in vestibular psychophysics. We suggest that vestibular psychophysics may indeed fill the gap between the physiological basis (e.g., vestibulo- spinal and cervico-spinal reflexes in the decerebrate cat) on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the complex task of decoding the centrally evoked discharge pattern by naturally occurring stimuli, which may call for a Gestalt recognition mechanism as suggested by Roberts.
1. It is generally held that a human subject who is balancing upright on a movable platform, continuously tries to bring his body vertical (the line running through the body's center of mass, COM, and body support, i.e. feet) in alignment with the gravito-inertial vector experienced by the body in its own coordinates (we apologize for this "conventional" view, which violates some of Roberts' basic assumptions). Given that the subject indeed continuously attempts to null the angle between perceived body vertical and perceived gravito-inertial vertical, he first has to measure this angle. The vestibular organ seems to be suitable for this task; the vestibular semicircular canals measure head angular acceleration in three orthogonal planes, and the vestibular otolith system records the head angle relative to the gravito-inertial vertical. However, there is an obvious complication: the vestibular signals refer to the head, not the body. How can these signals then be used to balance the body?
2. We hold that, using proprioceptive input, the brain should be able to perform a 6D-coordinate transformation (3 rotational and 3 translational planes) of the craniocentric vestibular signals into trunk coordinates. The resulting information on trunk angular motion in space and trunk angle with respect to the gravito-inertial vertical could be fed into a motor system which would generate the postural reactions required to compensate for COM perturbation, taking into account the current state of legs and feet. Conceivably, the underlying motor command would use a coordinate system adapted to the particular situation of the effectors (mostly the leg muscles).
3. Our comment mainly concerns Roberts' discussion of this concept in his section "A model to clarify the effect of interaction" (i.e. vestibular-neck interaction). Roberts simplifies matters by focusing on independent, coplanar rotations of head and trunk. In this special case the transformation reduces to an algebraic summation of angles. Although Roberts' discussion of the involved vestibular-proprioceptive interaction in his various cases A-E tends to obscure the underlying general principle of coordinate transformation, we concur with his conclusions as to the animal's motor reactions. However, we would like to concentrate on one problem which is not solved in Roberts discussion, that is the non-ideal character of vestibular measurements.
4. The vestibular semicircular canals mechanically integrate the head angular accelerations acting upon them, with the result that cupula deflection is proportional to head velocity. However, owing to the involved mechanism, this acceleration-to-velocity integration is "leaky". Its time constant is about 5 s in a monkey. For various vestibular functions it has been shown that this rather short time constant is centrally improved to about 20 s in both humans and monkeys; this holds for the vestibulo- ocular reflex (VOR) as well as for the conscious perception of self-rotation by humans. Furthermore psychophysical investigations of self-rotation perception in this laboratory (Mergner et al., 1991) led to the conclusion that the underlying vestibular signal is centrally distorted by a rather high detection threshold (unlike the VOR), which causes considerable underestimation of whole-body rotation (pure vestibular stimulation) of low velocity (e.g., small amplitude rotations at low frequency). Although the exact transfer characteristics of the vestibular signal used for postural control are, to our knowledge, not known at present, we deem it unlikely that it is better, in terms of its low frequency characteristics and threshold, than the signals involved in gaze stabilization and self-motion perception. This view is supported by a recent finding indicating that the vestibular threshold for posture control appears to be similar to the one described for self-motion perception (Peterka & Benolken, 1995). At first sight, the above limitation of the vestibular signal might be considered a special problem of the horizontal plane, since for vertical rotations the semicircular canals are functionally complemented by the otolith system. However, recent results suggest that signals derived from the otolith system may be in a similar way as inadequate as those obtained from the semicircular canals; the vestibular threshold for translatory self-motion perception was found to be of a similar order of magnitude as that for rotatory movements (Hlavacka et al., 1996). In the following paragraphs we therefore will proceed from the, admittedly still hypothetical, notion that whole-body motion in all planes, rotatory as well as translatory, is inadequately sensed when its frequency, and hence velocity, is low.
5. The situation is quite different with head rotation on the stationary trunk, or with trunk and head en-block rotation on the stationary feet. In the latter conditions the vestibular "error" appears to be reduced by the involvement of neck/leg proprioceptors. Our psychophysical investigations into the role of vestibular-neck/leg proprioceptive interaction for human self-motion perception suggest that it can be described by a linear, yet not straight forward, summation of vestibular and proprioceptive effects (Mergner et al., 1991; 1993). We provide a description of this interaction in some detail, along with the attempt of a functional interpretation.
6. We pose that axial proprioceptive input plays a dual role:
(i) It helps to arrive at an internal notion of how the body's
support moves in space; the proprioceptive input from the neck is
used to first transform the vestibular signal into trunk coordinates;
this transformation then is continued in downward direction, using
proprioceptive input from lower body segments, until the vestibular
signal is represented in foot coordinates (a zero signal then will
mean that the feet are stationary in space, although the head may be
moving). This view is supported by introspective descriptions of
blindfolded subjects standing on a moving platform. They
spontaneously report that the platform is moving, and they consider
the movement of their own body in space only a consequence of
platform motion, in accordance with the physics of the situation. In
contrast, a patient with bilateral vestibular loss does not detect
the motion, unless velocities or accelerations are high enough to
stimulate somatosensory mechano-receptors. The important point in
this scenario is that the proprioceptive inputs involved in these
transformations apparently are distorted in a similar way as the
vestibular signals. Referring to Figure 1B, (Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C
appear at the end of this article) let lamda represent the vestibular
transfer characteristics; head-in-space velocity, HS, then internally
it is represented by lambda*HS (hs). Furthermore, let ht be a
faithful proprioceptive representation of head-to- trunk velocity HT;
by passing ht through an internal model of the vestibular transfer
characteristics, ht is given "vestibular  color" (signal lambda*ht).
The transformation ts = hs - lambda*ht = lambda* (HS-HT) then yields
a representation of trunk (= head support) which is veridical if HS =
HT, that is if the trunk is stationary.  Continuing in a similar way
with axial proprioceptive signals from lower body segments, fs
(foot-in- space velocity) is finally obtained, which again is
veridical if the feet are stationary. Thus, in the physiologically
prevalent condition of firm ground, the support is perceived as
stationary, in spite of the inadequacy of the vestibular signal.
However, when the support is moving, this inadequacy clearly affects
the perception of this movement.
7. The scheme outlined above explains a set of surprising experimental observations. For example, if a subject's trunk is slowly rotating while his head is fixed in space, he will experience no trunk rotation in space, because lambda is approximately zero and, hence, ts is close to zero. Yet, he experiences a clear head-to-trunk displacement indicating that the proprioceptive representation ht, prior to passing through the vestibular model, veridically reports HT (cf. following paragraph).
(ii) The second role of axial proprioception is to register head
rotation relative to the trunk or body rotation to the body support.
Psychophysical measurements indicate that the proprioceptive signals
used for this task are almost ideal in terms of frequency
characteristics and detection threshold, unlike those considered
above. Indeed, subjects have no problem correctly estimating the
rotation of their heads relative to their bodies, or their bodies'
motion with respect to the body support, also at low
frequencies/velocities, and even if support and body are rotating
independently of each other.
8. The two roles of axial proprioception (i and ii) for motion perception are centrally linked so as to provide a consistent picture of the subjects' dynamical situation at perceptual level. Indeed, subjects' estimates of body motion in space, obtained in one set of experiments, could be predicted from their estimates of support motion in space and of body motion relative to the support, in another set of experiments. For example, isolated neck proprioceptive stimulation during low-frequency body rotation under the stationary head evokes an illusion of head rotation in space. The magnitude and frequency characteristics of this illusion can be predicted by adding the perception of head-on-trunk rotation with the perception of trunk-in-space rotation (which, as discussed above, tends towards zero as the frequency of the sinusoidal rotation declines). Thus, the occurrence of one illusion (body stationary) engenders a second one (head rotating in space); the two illusions unravel the existence of two different proprioceptive signals at each axial joint. One of them mimics the characteristics of the vestibular channel and is involved in the down- transformation (support motion in space; left pathway in Figure 1B), whereas the second one retains the full bandwidth and sensitivity of the proprioceptors and helps in reconstructing body or head motion in space by superimposing signals of relative motion between body segments and support on the signal of support motion in space obtained from the down-transformation. We shall refer to this reconstruction as up-transformation (right pathway in Figure 1B).
9. In previous papers we have pointed out that the present concept applies also to object motion perception (Mergner et al., 1992) and retrospective object localization (Maurer et al., 1997) in space in conditions in which external (e.g., visual or auditory) space references are missing. Consider a subject trying to estimate the location of a visual object in space during head, trunk, or platform motion. Although it would appear straight forward to obtain this estimate by summing an object-on-retina signal (visual) and an eye-in-orbit signal (efference copy) directly with the vestibular signal of head-in-space motion, this is apparently not what happens. Rather, the visuo-oculomotor signal is summed with the perceptual signal of head in space (hs' in Figure 1B), which is the ultimate result of the successive down- and up-transformations.
10. It is worth stressing once more the advantage of the down- and up-transformation of the vestibular signal for the perception of trunk or head motion in space. The perception resulting from the described vestibular- proprioceptive interaction is veridical if the body support is stationary (in most conditions of everyday life we are standing or walking on firm ground), while a perception based exclusively on vestibular signals would be erroneous. We suggest that similar arguments hold for the vestibular signal involved in the aforementioned balancing task. According to our concept the subject would not transform the vestibular signal directly to COM coordinates. Instead, he would first perform a down- transformation to support coordinates. From this transformation he would obtain a representation of the kinematic state of the support (veridical in the naturally prevailing case of support stationarity). Only then would he derive a description of COM behavior by the ensuing up- transformation.
11. We here suggest that psychophysical findings may serve as a blueprint for developing a concept of posture control. One may object to such a suggestion that it is not clear at present to what extent perception and posture control are interrelated or resemble each other. It is certainly true that we perform most of our postural reactions automatically, and that we do not consciously detect, for example, a spontaneous slight forward body excursion which then is balanced by a compensatory lean backwards. However, this lack of conscious perception probably does not reflect a fundamental difference between the signals subserving postural reactions and those involved in perception, but may depend on where the focus of attention is directed. There is considerable experimental evidence that postural reactions depend on how stimuli, and their context, are perceived, rather than on their actual physical properties, as repeatedly stressed in Roberts' book.
12. A distinct advantage of psychophysical experiments over measurements of posture control is that perception lacks the negative feed back character of posture control. Psychophysical experiments can be performed in an open loop manner, so to speak, and can be used to examine the (perceptual) state of various body parts (head, trunk) under different aspects (movement in space, movement relative to each other) and for a variety of stimulus conditions (whole body rotation, isolated head rotation, etc.). In contrast, postural reactions act to modify and reduce the involved sensory signals. This has led researchers in the past to evaluate mainly the very early part of the postural reactions (as reflected in the EMG), which is hardly a solution to the problem. Furthermore, because of the complicated biomechanical situation of an upright subject, it is difficult to derive from the observed motor reactions the organization of the underlying signals.
13. Accordingly, posturographic studies in man and animals so far have provided only limited evidence for the original concept of an additive vestibular-proprioceptive interaction. The original hints for such an interaction were based on qualitative observations and inferences (von Holst & Mittelstaedt, 1950; Roberts, 1978). The fact that they received considerable attention until today is mainly because of their plausibility. A few studies reported interactions of vestibulo-spinal and cervico-spinal reflexes, compatible with the concept, but they were restricted to very particular experimental conditions in the decerebrate cat (Lindsay et al., 1976; Manzoni et al., 1983). Postural adjustments of spontaneously behaving cats and horses were said to be reminiscent of vestibular-neck interaction as predicted by the linear addition concept (Roberts, 1978), but these observations certainly do not prove it. Neuron recordings from vestibular structures in the brain do not provide clear arguments either; although many of these neurons exhibit a linear vestibular-neck interaction, only in a small proportion of these neurons do the two inputs match in such way as to completely cancel each other during head rotation on the stationary trunk (as expected from the concept; Boyle & Pompeiano, 1981; Anastasopoulos & Mergner, 1982; Mergner et al., 1985).
14. Semiquantitative evidence for some aspects of the more complex concept outlined here comes from studies on galvanic vestibular stimulation. Consider a blindfolded subject swaying in the left-to-right direction. Depending on head position, different vestibular receptor units will be activated. Yet, the postural response remains the same. According to our concept, this would be due to a coordinate transformation from the vestibular signal into foot coordinates. As part of this transformation, during a static horizontal head turn, the neck input would rotate the vector signaled by the vestibular afferents in such a way as to exactly compensate for the directional change these afferents underwent because of the head turn. However, if the head turn does not change the direction of the vestibular vector, as it is the case if the labyrinth is stimulated galvanically, the rotation performed by the neck input should become visible: the direction of the vestibularly evoked lean would follow the change in head orientation. There are a number of studies which showed that this does indeed happen (Nashner & Wolfson, 1974; Lund & Broberg, 1983; Tokita et al., 1989; Hlavacka et al., 1996).
15. The notion of down- and up-transformation appears to explain some puzzling findings from earlier postural studies. For example, electromyographic responses evoked by galvanic vestibular stimulation have shorter latencies in the soleus muscles, when subjects maintain their balance by their feet muscles as compared to responses in the triceps brachii muscles, when they maintain their balance by holding a support with their arms (Britton et al., 1993). Such a time difference would indeed result, if the sequence of down- and up-transformation of the vestibular signal would proceed as a series of temporally distinct steps propagated along the spinal representations of the body segments. There is, in fact, direct electrophysiological evidence from experiments in cats that vestibular signals do not only travel in caudal direction in the spinal cord, but also back in cranial direction, while they receive muscle afferent input from limbs and neck (Coulter et al., 1976).
16. Furthermore, activation of muscle proprioceptive input by vibration at the backside of the body (signaling muscle stretch as if the body were bending forward) leads to a (compensatory) body lean backward. There is one noticeable exception; vibration of dorsal neck muscles leads to a body lean forward. Referring to Figures 1A-C, (Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C appear at the end of this article) soleus vibration creates an error signal that is fed into the vestibular loop (box I in Figure 1C; 'down- transformation') in order to compensate for the 'kinematic' transformation of the vestibular signal (if present) by variations of the body-to-foot angle (box 'coordinate transformation'). The down-transformation depicted in Figure 1C (box I) creates a signal representing the behavior of foot-in-space. The subsequent up- transformation (box II) then occurs at the set point of a proprioceptive stabilization loop where the proprioceptive signal is added with the foot-in-space signal, creating a representation of body in space. Given that the down- transformation has a slightly lower gain than the up- transformation (because the former mimics the vestibular transfer function), the body-in-space signal during soleus vibration indicates a slight (non-existing) forward inclination, which then leads to a compensatory backward lean. The situation is different with vibration of the neck; the proprioceptive signal it induces undergoes only a down-transformation corresponding to the head-neck joint before reaching the level of COM representation (the following down- and up-transformations can be disregarded here, because the leg proprioceptive signals are assumed to be zero). Hence, the COM representation indicates a backward body inclination caused by a corresponding (non- existing) platform tilt backward and thus provokes a compensatory lean forward. Note that in the context of psychophysics, when a head-in-space movement is to be recorded, also the up-transformation at the head-to-trunk joint would be involved.
17. Conceivably, the set point of the proprioceptive stabilization also receives signals other than those of the upward transformation reflecting more global aspects of the behavioral situation. For example, if the subject is sitting rather than standing (such that his equilibrium is safe), there is less need for balancing. Possibly then, the vestibular signal and its down-transformation might be 'disabled', and the remaining up-transformation during soleus vibration would perceptually be reinterpreted as a toes-up tilt with the stabilized trunk as a reference.
18. In summary we feel that the psychophysical approach may help to formulate a more comprehensive concept on postural control mechanisms than hitherto was possible with posturographic or electrophysiological means alone (for a more detailed description, see Mergner et al., 1997). Furthermore, we belief that important impulses for the understanding of these problems will come from computer simulations, and that a concept as the one presented here will help to set up the framework for these simulations. We think that this approach is more promising in the long range than that of Roberts, who makes a big leap from a reflex-minded view of postural stabilization, on the one hand, to a Gestalt approach of the problems, on the other hand. Finally we hope, as probably most readers do, that a future version of his interesting and challenging book will contain at least the most relevant scientific literature.
Anastasopoulos, D. & Mergner, T. (1982) Canal-neck interaction in vestibular nuclear neurons of the cat. Exp. Brain Res., 46: 269-280.
Boyle, R. & Pompeiano, O. (1981) Convergence and interaction of neck and macular vestibular inputs. J. Neurophysiol., 45.
Britton T.C., Day B.L., Brown P., Rothwell J.C., Thompson P.D. & Marsden, C.D. (1993) Postural electromyographic responses in the arm and leg following galvanic vestibular stimulation in man. Exp. Brain Res., 94:143-151.
Coulter, J.D., Mergner, T. & Pompeiano, O. (1976) Effects of static tilt on cervical spinoreticular tract neurons. J. Neurophysiol., 39:45-62.
Hlavacka, F., Krizkova, M., Bodor, O. & Mergner, T. (1996) Adjustment of equilibrium point in human stance following galvanic vestibular stimulation: Influence of trunk and head position. In: Motor Control
VII. Gantchev, G., Gurfinkel, V., Stuart, D. & M. Wiesendanger (eds).
Motor Control Press, Tuscon, Arizona, p 289-293.
Hlavacka, F., Mergner, T., Bolha, B. (1996) Human self-motion perception during translatory vestibular and proprioceptive stimulation. Neurosci. Lett, 210: 83-86.
Lindsay, K.W., Roberts, T.D. & Rosenberg, J.R. (1976) Asymmetric tonic labyrinth reflexes and their interaction with neck reflexes in the decerebrate cat. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 261:583-601.
Lund, S. & Broberg, C. (1983) Effects of different head positions on postural sway in man induced by a reproducible vestibular error signal. Acta Physiol. Scand., 117:307-9.
Manzoni, D., Pompeiano, O., Srivastava, U.C. & Stampacchia, G. (1983) Responses of forelimb extensors to sinusoidal stimulation of macular labyrinth and neck receptors. Arch. Ital. Biol., 121:205-14.
Maurer, C., Kimmig, H., Trefzer, A.& Mergner, T. (1997) Visual object localization through vestibular and neck inputs. I. Localization with respect to space and relative to the head and trunk mid-saggital planes. J Vestib Res (in press).
Mergner, T., Becker, W. & Deecke, L. (1985) Canal-neck interaction in vestibular neurons of the cat's cerebral cortex. Exp. Brain Res., 61:94-108.
Mergner, T., Hlavacka, F. & Schweigart, G. (1993) Interaction of vestibular and proprioceptive inputs. J. Vest. Res., 3:41-57.
Mergner, T., Huber, W. & Becker, W. (1997) Vestibular-neck interaction and transformations of sensory coordinates. J. Vestib. Res., 7 (in press).
Mergner, T., Rottler, G., Kimmig, H. & Becker, W. (1992) Role of vestibular and neck inputs for the perception of object motion in space. Exp. Brain Res., 89:655-668.
Mergner, T., Siebold, C., Schweigart, G. & Becker, W. (1991) Human perception of horizontal head and trunk rotation in space during vestibular and neck stimulation. Exp. Brain Res., 85:389-404.
Nashner, L.M. & Wolfson, P. (1974) Influence of head position and proprioceptive cues on short latency postural reflexes evoked by galvanic stimulation of the human labyrinth. Brain Res., 67:86-8.
Peterka, R.J. & Benolken, M.S. (1995) Role of somatosensory and vestibular cues in attenuating visually induced human postural sway. Exp. Brain Res. 105:101-10.
Roberts, T.D.M. (1978) Neurophysiology of Postural Mechanism (2nd ed.), London: Butterworths.
Roberts, T.D.M. (1995) Understanding Balance: The Mechanics of Posture and Locomotion. Chapman & Hall.
Tokita, T., Ito, Y. & Takagi, K. (1989) Modulation by head and trunk positions of the vestibulo-spinal reflexes evoked by galvanic stimulation of the labyrinth. Observations by labyrinthine evoked EMG. Acta Otololaryngol. (Stockholm)
von Holst, E. & Mittelstaedt, H. (1950) Das Reafferenzprinzip (Wechselwirkungen zwischen Zetralnervensystem und Peripherie). Naturwissenschaften, 37:464-476.
FIGURE 1A:
|       |
|   @   |         @= VEST
|  |    |
- v   -        <--- (b)
----- |    ----
\     v       /
\    |      /
\   v     /
\  |    /
\ v   /
\|  /
|v  |
|| O|            O= COM
/ v  \
/  | |  \
/   v    \
|   | |   |
|   v    |
|  v   |
|  | |  |
| v  |
|v |
|v | -        <--- (a)
| | |   |
-v----
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
FIGURE 1B:
VEST.(lambda)
.  space     .
. reference  .
.            .
hs|(lambda HS)                           |
|                                      |hs`
lambda ht v+ ht |+
--->0                                  --->0
-|                                      +
|                                      |
| ts                                   | ts`
lambda tl v+ tl |+
| ls                                   | ls`
lambda lf v+ lf |+
| fs                                   | fs`
|    ----------------------------      |
|    |          .............    |     |
|    |  foot    .  space     .   |     |
--->|support re. reference  .   |-----
|          .            .   |
|          .............    |
FIGURE 1C:
PHYSICS      .                SENSORY AND
.               CENTRAL PROCESSING
.,,,,,,,,,,,,,
--------------.,  Neural   ,<-----------------
|             ., Controller,                  |
|             .,,,,,,,,,,,,,                  |
|             .                               |
|  bio-      D I R E C T  L O O P             |
|  mecha-     .                               |
ext. | nics . ,,|,,, torque v- .,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,+|II, BODY re-->O----.-- ----->, Leg ,--->O------.----->O , FOOT + | BrF ., Prop , | ,+ ,
|        .,,,,,,,,,,,,,    |      |    ,,|,,,
|        .                Vibrat. |      |
|        .                        |      |
displacem. V(+) . ,,|,,,, | FOOT ,,,,,,,, BrS.,,,,,,,,,,,,, , v(-), | Supp. ----->,COORD ,---->, Vest ,--->O----->O------ re ,TRANSF, ., System , ,+ I , SPACE ,,,,,,,, .,,,,,,,,,,,,, | ,,,,,,,
.               Galv.
FIGURE LEGEND
Figures 1A, 1B: Conceptual model of vestibular-proprioceptive interaction for postural stabilization. The down- and up-transformation hypothesis is depicted for a standing subject literally (1A) and in the form of a signal flow diagram (1B; VEST., vestibular system; COM, center of body mass; lambda, vestibular transfer characteristics; HS, head-in-space velocity; hs, ht, ts, tl, lf, ls, and fs, internal velocity signals of head-in- space, head-to-trunk, trunk-in-space, trunk-to-leg, leg- to-foot, leg-in-space, and foot-in-space, respectively).
Figure 1C: Depiction of the concept in terms of a wiring diagram for a condition in which the subject stabilizes body posture by applying muscle torque across the ankle joints. I, down-transformation. II, up-transformation. For details, see text.


text:
I don't write too many love stories, but here's one that got published a few years back...
I fell in love with Amanda Reece on the first day of secondary school. I was twelve. Do not misunderstand this declaration of Love, this was not some haphazard decision arrived upon while queing for sweets, some awkard teenage crush; this was It.
It was in Art I believe, second period. I sat, listening to the register, attempting to put names to so many new faces...Julie Lemon, Martin Locke, Andrew Parker and then...Amanda Reece.
Teacher stopped. No reply.
Suzanne Dixon stepped in.
"She's not coming to this school sir. She's moved."
"Oh. Right. Thanks." said teacher, and scratched her away forever with his biro.
As soon as I heard her name I knew, I knew this was the girl I was going to be with.
Her not even being at my school simply made her all the more attractive, she maintained a mystique and allure that most of the other girls very quickly lost. She alone remained aloof, distant, unattainable.
So unattainable in fact, that she wasn't even there.
Erased from our register, she quickly faded from the minds of my classmates, but her name was already burned across my heart. And I knew, as you do, that we would be together. Eventually. I could wait.
And while I waited, I passed the time with a very short list of girlfriends. An average of just under one partner per year. We'd be ecstatically happy for a period of no less than two weeks and no more than three months. The time difference between each of my secondary school girlfriends ensured that every time I returned to the dating game, the definition of what was considered acceptable behaviour had always changed. Thus I progressed across the sexual arena in a series of well timed skirmishes, always surprised to find that so much ground had been gained in previous campaigns. To me therefore, sex seemed to occur more quickly than it actually did. Like time lapse pornography. Hand holding to bashful embraces. Bashful embraces to french kissing. French kissing to ineffectual groping. Groping to more prolonged fumbling. And then on to capture the flag. My lack of any physical prowess seemed to ensure that I was never the first team to capture the flag, but I was always just grateful for being given the chance to compete.
I left school and began the lengthy process of avoiding going to university, punctuating the desolation of my early twenties with a number of dead end relationships.
And then when I was twenty three, I got engaged.
It was very fashionable at the time, and I had reached a stage in my life where the aching reproductive panic of those around me had begun to take it's toll.
My fiance was Suzanne Dixon, the girl who had first placed Amanda tantalisingly out of reach.
She had gone to university and gotten herself a degree in something which allowed her to earn professional money. I couldn't honestly tell you what her job was. But she was A Professional at it.
The engagement crept up on me, and took me a little by surprise. The proposal seemed to fall out of my mouth like rogue chewing gum, as if I hadn't quite finished with it, or I'd been storing it in there for later use. I think to be fair, we were both of us a little taken aback, but as neither of us could think of a good enough reason not to get engaged, we pushed on with all the bloody mindedness of the young and stupid.
The wedding preparations went on around me, a lace tornado, with me the eye of the storm.
What struck me as time went on was how little I had to do with it all. Getting ready for the happiest day of my life was a very isolatory experience. Gradually, the wedding eclipsed our actual relationship, and we happily latched onto it as something to talk about during the increasingly regular silences. We would talk about our wedding, other weddings and people we thought would probably have weddings soon.
Each Saturday, religiously, Suzanne would purchase the local paper and examine the wedding photos of the recently hitched. I would smile and nod, or shake my head disapprovingly as the situation demanded. One Saturday she said
"Look! It's Amanda Reece! I haven't seen her for years."
For well over a decade I had loved Amanda from a distance which had precluded any visual contact. Here, now, I was about to see the love of my life for the first time. But I had to be careful not to make it too obvious.
"Amanda Reece?" I said "She was supposed to come to our school wasn't she?"
"Yeah that's right. She was my best friend in primary. I can't remember when I last saw her."
Suzanne was still holding the paper, and so I could not yet see.
"She's married Andrew McIntyre! Remember him?"
"No." I said "Was he at our school?"
"For about a month. He got suspended for stealing craft knives. And then just never came back."
"Well he sounds charming. Let's see."
Mercifully, Suzanne just turned the newspaper around to let me see it, had she handed me it, she would have doubtless noted the incessant shaking of my hands. There followed a brief period of tunnel vision; Suzanne, my room, the rest of the world all blurred and swirled away, until only she remained, the light at the end of this tunnel. Finally visible.
I had long prepared myself for the day when I finally saw her, knowing that she could never be the idealised beauty I had allowed her to become. And sure enough, she wasn't.
Her hair was a little shorter than I had imagined, and more blonde than brown. Her lips looked more or less right and she was maybe a little taller than me. But it was her. Amanda.
She was smiling, just. But it was an empty smile, a drawn on smile. A smile for the cameras. Full of teeth and lipgloss, signifying nothing. She wasn't happy. And how could she be happy? We were not together. And now how could we be?
It was over. And it never really began.
Following this abysmal revelation, even the lacklustre soda stream sparkle fizzled out of Suzanne and I's relationship, and we broke off our engagement just in time for Christmas. It was cheaper that way. I spent New Year attempting to reach her on the phone in order that we could get together and have bad idea sex. Afterwards we would both feel guilty and ridiculous, but in the short term New Year wouldn't be so cold and lonely. She never returned my calls.
All through the bitter January, I consoled myself that everything that had happened actually made a twisted kind of sense; I had been with the wrong partner, and now I was free, someday, Amanda would be free too. I would wait.
Two years later, Amanda Reece died.
She was hit by a car coming out of Tesco's. She was six months pregnant.
It was a taxi that hit her, the driver was Martin Locke, another classmate Amanda never met.
He killed himself about a fortnight later.
I attended her funeral of course, I stood right at the back, but I could still hear Andrew sobbing.
I didn't go to the cemetery, instead I spent the day walking around the streets where I so dilligently misspent my youth, eventually coming to rest outside my old school. I sat for awhile by the bins and had a brief but cathartic cry.
Afterwards, lost and confused, I wandered into a pub, firmly intending to accentuate my misery by getting bitterly drunk. Across the years of my unrequited love, I had become an adept in the art of wallowing. The pub was busy and grey, but as I returned from the bar, two girls were just leaving their table and I grabbed it immediately.
The table presented me with a decent vantage point with which to dip into the lives of those scattered around the room. And they all seemed to be happy but me. Groups of friends, couples, simply enjoying themselves without having to concentrate. For the first time in my life, I felt I had no agenda, or worse, no excuse. The girl I was meant to be with had lived and died, before I'd even had the chance to meet her. I sulked into my vodka and settled down for a life alone.
This was when one of the tables previous tenants reappeared.
"Excuse me." she said.
"Sorry?"
"Did I leave my purse here a minute ago?"
"I don't...I'll see..."
Sure enough, there it was, on the chair next to mine.
"There you go." I said, attempting a winning smile, but instead managing a kind of tortured grimace.
"Thanks." she said, and turned to leave. But then, for some reason, she turned back around.
"You work in that art store don't you?" she said.
"Yes." I said.
"I've seen you down there. Nice shop."
"Yeah it's a great place to work. Terrible hours, shit pay, good pictures."
She laughed.
"Hey listen," I said "D'you want a drink or something? Or is your friend waiting..."
"No. No she's gone home." she smiled "A drink would be nice."
"Great." I said. "Oh...I'm Steven by the way."
"Hello Steven." she said. "I'm Amanda. Amanda Reece."
Her hair was a little longer than the late Amanda's, and more brown than blonde. Her lips were perfect and she was about as short as me. It was definetly, suddenly her. Amanda.
I'm not the only person to accidently spend some of my life in love with the wrong person, but now, my course was clear. We moved in together within the month, entirely assured that we should be together. Love, not at first sight, but sound, the resonance of this moment echoing fifteen years back in time to my art class. Where I would promptly put a name to the wrong face.
I saw it all, a mirror reflecting endlessly upon itself stretching back across my life, showing me how things would be. My past, our future, forever orbitting the burning brilliance of this moment.
Fate does not wait for you. Fate is busy and has a lot on right now. So you must seek Fate out, stand in a million wrong places at the incorrect time, battle through the dark days which erode your vision of how things will be. And when you find Fate, as you will, hold it, shape it, make it your own. Let there be no doubt in the resolution of your future, let there be no escape from this wonderous self fulfilling prophecy.
And most of all, let there be love.
Labels: fiction, love, reflection, scifi, stramashed

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Hey all, again I've been trying to come up with some new ideas for a DIY and possibly a new tabletop force.
Having looked throught the Iron Hands discussion thread in the Index Astartes, I decided I'd like to try my hand at some of the scions of Ferrus, as there are some nice opportunities for modelling bionics and also for cool list building with C:SW/SM allies.
However, as it's me I wanted to bring some other ideas to make it my Chapter. What I came up with was to focus on and add to the clannish aspects of the IH, aiming to build a Chapter of superstitious, mistrustful, stubborn techno-barbarians. That's fairly naturally brought in some celtic influence to the ideas too.
When it came to the name, I wasn't sure to start with, but after a bit of thought I remembered I'd already decided what I'd call an IH Successor if I ever did one. Hence they are the Marines Adamant. Not the most barbaric/celtic name, but hey, they started off with an IH for a commander (or possibly a Brazen Claw, simply because their Homeworld is - relatiely - quite close to where the MA will be assigned).
Anyway, done quite a bit so far but I'd really like to get some opinions from the other Liberites, see if I'm heading in an ok direction.
Brutal, insular, superstitious and paranoid. Most would describe the Marines Adamant with words such as these. Those few who enjoy better relations with the Chapter could not argue with such an assessment, but might also speak of other, nobler qualities such as bravery and unbreakable determination.
During the thirty-second millenium, the Orks rampaged across the galaxy, at great cost to the warriors of the Adeptus Astartes. Countless human worlds were swallowed up by the green-skins' barbaric empires, and by the time of the 4th Founding few had been reclaimed, primarily due to the colossal drain of holding back the horrors of Abaddon the Despoiler's second Black Crusade. The Marines Adamant were therefore assigned to the eastern border of the Segmentum Obscurus with a dual purpose: reclaiming the nearby worlds lost to Orks while supporting the defences of the Eye of Terror when needed.
The fledgling Chapter's gene-seed was that of the Primarch Ferrus Manus, and at the head of their training cadre was Clan Commander Elvrit of the Iron Hands, a hero of the many battles of the second Black Crusade. He led his brethren to war and they quickly formed a close bond with the Gharant III Forgeworld in the Havilar Sector, whose vast manufactoriums, Skitarii regiments and Titan Legion were already forming the lynchpin of the Imperium's beleaguered defence against the Orks.
Since then, the Chapter has mainly fought against the vile Ork: defending against encroaching Waaghs, raiding into Ork territory to destabilize growing threats, or spearheading massive Imperial Crusades to reclaim worlds lost to Mankind hundreds or even thousands of years earlier. On occasion they have sent forces west to support their brother Marines against the renegades of the Eye of Terror. Throughout the millenia, across countless battlefields, the Marines Adamant have remained resolute, loyal servants of the Imperium.
'My world? It's cold, it's damp. What business is it of yours?' – Brother Hani, 4th Household.
Halsstarrig IV is a Feudal world, located in the same subsector as the Gharant system. It was discovered more than four centuries prior to the arrival of Elvrit and his men by Adeptus Mechanicus Explorators and immediately marked as an ideal Astartes recruiting ground. Halsstarrig has a single primary continent, with several smaller landmasses and surrounding island chains; all are cold and bleak due to the planet's far orbit from the local sun. Its atmosphere is damp and thick mists often cover its mountains, forests and seas.
The people of Halsstarrig are strong and fierce, yet primitive in their technology and outlook. Clans vie for land and key resources such as the iron ore that provides all their tools and weaponry. The people are by nature aggressive and suspicious, and therefore trading or alliances between the clans are very rare. Raiding is a regular occurrence and outright warfare only slightly less so. Strength and survival are the primary factors that determine right and wrong, but the resulting potential for brutality is balanced by a firmly held code of honour, the core elements of which are shared by all the clans. This code demands a clansman's loyalty to his chief, and the chief's protection to his followers. While any proven warrior may challenge his chief for the leadership of a clan, such contests are strictly proscribed by custom and ritual. Anyone who would attempt to gain power by any other means would be quickly shunned by all the people.
The clans are also very superstitious; fearful of the influence of the myriad sprites, imps and wights of Halsstarrig folklore. Many offerings are made by the clans to appease these spirits and natives often wear protective tokens and charms. Almost all learning beyond the basics of farming, fishing or fighting is the province of the Wyrds, or wise men. Common to all the clans are the Wyrds of the Flesh, local physicians and herbalists; and Wyrds of Iron, smiths and artisans. Highly respected, these often act as counsellors to their clan chiefs. Outside the clans, shunned but still respected, are the Wyrds of the Spirit, shamans who live in seclusion deep in the mountains or tiny ocean islets of Halsstarrig. They are feared for their uncanny abilities and closeness to the spirit realm, but sometimes a clan Chief or young warrior will travel to seek the Wyrds' blessing or learn their future.
The Fortress Monastery of the Marines Adamant stands on Halsstarrig's first moon, a vast and imposing structure protected by countless weapon batteries, powerful void shields and the cold blackness of space itself. The Astartes are almost never seen on the planet's surface, making no deliberate contact with its people. Legends exist of monstrous giants, and such legends are tied to those of young warriors 'taken by the mists' and never seen again. These ones are mourned by their families; the people have no idea of what lives await beyond their moors and skies. New initiates into the Chapter invariably rail against their captors, seeking escape, until they learn of the true nature of humanity and the debt of honour their whole world owes the Marines Adamant for their protection from the horrors of a cruel galaxy.
'Aye, I don't much like those dumskalle of the 5th… but I trust them far better than I do svekling like you.' – Warleader Jormgrun Stonebrow of the 7th Household to Colonel Bardel of the 143rd Ardravine Rangers.
Much like their Iron Hands forebears, the Marines Adamant are divided into ten Clan Households, united by a Clan Council. Officially, this assembly maintains control over the actions of the Chapter as a whole. In truth it is little more than a forum for the commanders of the various Households to air their grievances, brag to one another of their victories, or attempt to ensure their own pre-eminence within the Council. Each Household fights as an autonomous battle group led by its Warleader, a mighty warrior who has risen to command through a mixture of politicking and battle skill. His forces include his own advisors, veterans, line squads and new recruits. This means that each Household is somewhat larger than a Codex-compliant Company, and that it is harder to accurately calculate the numbers of the Chapter as a whole. The Households each maintain their own well-equipped armoury of weapons and vehicles, many including a sizable Dreadnought contingent.
The veterans of each Household are named after Halsstarrig tradition. When a native Clan leader sleeps, as all men must, he is protected by a ring formed of his most loyal warriors. Given the people's naturally suspicious nature, it is a great honour to be considered faithful enough to guard the fire of one's Lord.
Within a Marines Adamant Household, the Hearthguard are the iron core of its fighting strength, an immovable and implacable force around which the Warleader can build his strategy. Many fight as squad leaders, inspiring and exhorting their brethren, but the few who are most trusted form the personal retinue of the Warleader. When the Hearthguard go to war as one, there are few who can stand against them.
The Chapter's Techmarines and Apothecaries are also a permanent part of their respective Households. These masters of arcane technology, known by the Marines Adamant as Wyrds of Iron and Flesh, work together to care for the Astartes and vehicles of their Household and are just as esteemed as their home world counterparts. The Iron Wyrds are especially numerous and influential within the Chapter given its ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus and each will travel to Gharant III as part of their instruction.
The brethren known as Spirit Wyrds are powerful psykers, feared and yet respected by the rest of the Chapter. Cast out and denied any hope of personal advancement or glory, these mystics are oddly viewed as more reliable since they can have no agenda of their own. As such, the Spirit Wyrds often act as arbitrators when the Clan Council meets and as observers for it when a Household goes to war. They live in voluntary separation from the Households in a small stronghold on Halsstarrig's second moon, called the Spirit Hearth. While much of a Household's past is remembered in oral form, the Spirit Hearth is also a repository of the written records of the Chapter's most important history, including their greatest victories and most ignominious defeats.
The Chapter maintains close links to the Gharant III Forge world and has a permanent Keep on its closest neighbour, Gharant V. The vast seas of this oceanic Hive world provide much of the local Adeptus Mechanicus' nutritional requirements and its people receive many technological benefits in return. The Marines Adamant do not recruit initiates from Gharant V, but they do select the majority of their Chapter serfs and Fleet crews from its Planetary Defence Force and Navy. These are vetted with almost as much care and suspicion as potential Astartes. Generally, one Household is assigned by the Clan Council every century to watch over the system in return for keeping the Chapter well supplied. This is often seen as a lesser assignment by the Astartes as the system is already well-defended by the capable PDF, as well as Skitarii regiments and the mighty Titan Legion of the Gharant forges, the Silver Hammers. However, the Warleaders accept the necessity of maintaining this millennia-old bond and often the Council assigns the duty to whichever Household has been most weakened by battle in recent years, giving them an opportunity to rebuild and rearm. Also, there are still some opportunities for glory to be won as elements of the Household will often provide elite support for Explorator teams or Titan battle groups, or act as bodyguard squads for important members of the Gharant forges.
236.M35 – In an event unprecedented in the sagas of the Chapter, Warlord Fingil Bloodfist of the 4th unites all ten Households of the Marines Adamant under his banner when the Ka-sil Craftworld of the Eldar enters the Havilar Sector. Less than three years later, Ka-sil is a ruined, empty husk inhabited only by the ghosts of the fallen. Fingil is also dead, assassinated by five of his fellow Warleaders after declaring himself Chapter Master at the conclusion of the campaign against the Eldar.
When larger campaigns require that several Households fight together, they can be led by a Warlord, elected from among the Warleaders present. In such situations there is inevitably a certain amount of wrangling for power and the potential for personal glory it brings. Any candidate for the position must be nominated and backed by at least two other Warleaders, meaning that there must be at least three Households fighting together to appoint a Warlord and there can be at most three candidates even if the whole Chapter fights together. The Warleaders will vote at first, each attempting to gather support and undermine their rivals, but if no democratic decision can be reached the candidates fight in imitation of Halsstarrig custom. Generally this is to first blood but on rare occasion, when two candidates are so opposed that service to the other is an impossible request, it is to the death. Understandably, the appointment of a Warlord is a very rare thing, and he may only lead for as long as the specific campaign lasts.
'All flesh is weak. It must ever be constrained, guided. Thus the Code.' – Brother Nisses, Spirit Wyrd.
Like any of the scions of the Iron Hands, the Marines Adamant are ferocious warriors, fuelled by their hatred of all weakness. However, unlike many other Successors, their contempt for the foibles and faults of the flesh tends to find its focus externally rather than internally. This means that for many among the Chapter, the self –loathing and obsession for mutilation so common among the gene sons of Ferrus Manus seems to be lessened, although never entirely removed. Instead, the brethren's fixation is on the inevitable failings of those around them and all are quietly watchful for any sign that they are about to be betrayed. This paranoia makes it extremely hard for them to truly trust anyone, even their closest squad mates. It also means that competition for advancement through the ranks is fierce, as most Marines instinctively believe that any other candidate for promotion will undoubtedly be proved a poor choice. Disagreements between brethren occur all too frequently and are commonly settled at the point of a knife, though thanks to the Astartes' superior physiology, fatalities are mercifully rare. Backbiting and brawling are part of everyday life, as are 'accidental' injuries caused during training exercises.
It might seem that a Chapter cursed with such an outlook would quickly tear itself apart. However, the Marines Adamant are constrained by a simple Code of honour and duty much like that of the Halsstarrig clans that insists upon the absolute loyalty of the brethren to one another and to their Commanders. Remarkably, it is the Chapter's own obsessive tendencies that allow this arrangement to function and makes it possible for its members to work together, binding them to one another within the Code's strict confines. This holds the brethren together and has thus far prevented the power struggles among the Households from becoming a battle of more than words and wills. This does not mean that all causes for conflict are removed, but in around eight millennia since the inclusion of the Code in the Chapter's hypno-indoctrination procedures, there have been only three occasions where violence has erupted between the Households. A fierce spirit of competition still exists between the Warleaders, who view one another with a great deal of suspicion, but they are united by their honour, their duty to the Chapter and their greater hatred of the enemies of the Imperium.
873.M37 – The 4th Household, battered but unbowed, returns home after sharing in the defence against Abaddon the Despoiler's 7th Black Crusade. On route, they receive a distress call from the Adeptus Arbites Precinct House on the Hive World Cal Ferena, where a rebellion among the working classes of the primary Hive is attempting to take advantage of the tumult caused by the followers of Chaos. The Marines Adamant immediately deploy via Drop Pod, targeting the Hive Spire with its multitude of spaceports. Understrength, the Household cannot hope to defeat the millions of insurrectionists in open combat, but thankfully this is not their goal. The thirty-eight Marines Adamant take and fortify the entrances into the Spire and resolutely defend them against dozens of attacks. No supplies enter the Hive and within four weeks the starving rebels capitulate, surrendering unconditionally and presenting the heads of the revolt's ringleaders as a peace offering at the Astartes' barricades.
It is perhaps not surprising that the Chapter's view of the Emperor himself is similarly cold. The master of Humanity is not seen as a beloved father, provider or saviour. Rather, the Marines Adamant know him as a demanding and brutal overlord whose expectations must constantly be met. A Marine of the Chapter can expect no aid or special favour from his Lord in this, but must put his faith in his own strengths and abilities in order to fulfil the heavy load of responsibility placed upon the Astartes' broad shoulders. As such, it is somewhat understandable that the Marines Adamant do not maintain in their Households any position or rank relating to that of Chaplain in a more Codex-compliant Chapter.
For most Marines, their focus is totally on war, be it actual combat techniques, weapons training or strategy and tactics. With no interest in knowledge or learning of anything more, they share nothing with the artists and artificers of Chapters such as the Blood Angels or Salamanders. These things are the province of the Wyrds, and are irrelevant to a warrior. While the Households are equally as capable as the brethren of any Chapter to care for their weapons and armour to a basic standard, this understanding, indoctrinated during process of becoming Astartes, is viewed as entirely mystical. Relatively few care or wish to learn more, to understand why things are what they are or how they work; these few are quickly apprenticed to the Wyrds of their Household.
The Chapter is strongly affected by the superstitious nature of Halsstarrig's people, and many among their ranks adorn their armour with tokens and lucky charms. Much as clansmen wear trophies from their world's predators, Marines often wear the teeth or pelts from particularly vicious alien species they have fought and killed. Depending on which of the clans of Halsstarrig they are recruited from, some brethren choose to daub crude patterns on their faces before going into battle. Such primitive behaviour, along with the majority of the Chapter's attitude towards technology, has been known to make other Imperials, especially other Iron Hands Successors and Tech Adepts from further afield than the Gharant forges, look upon the Chapter with a certain amount of derision.
'As always, it has been a pleasure to serve alongside the Marines Adamant. My crews' only complaint has been that too few of the enemy survived to face our fury.' – Lord Maxwell, Princeps Senioris of the Legio Mallei Argentum.
417.M39 – Waagh Gutrippa surges forth from the depths of the Abyss to attack the Gharant system. Through clever words and cunning manipulation, Warleader Dypnir the Sly is elected Warlord and leads no less than five Households to turn back the greenskin threat. Dypnir's forces gradually retreat before the horde, their myriad counterattacks slowly bleeding it of strength, and when the depleted Waagh finally reaches the Hives of Gharant V, it is easily destroyed by the mighty battle Titans of the Legio Mallei Argentum.
When the Chapter goes to war they are cold, brutal and uncompromising. Their focus is on implacable advance in attack and they are even more unbending in defence. Overall, the Marines Adamant have a preference for firepower and resilience over speed. So often do they choose to take up defensive positions, most Households are able to equip three or four squads with multiple heavy weapons. The Chapter rarely uses ground transports; the plentiful supply of war material from Gharant III means that most Rhino chassis are quickly refitted as Predators or other support tanks. Much like the Iron Hands, they have deep respect for power of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, which will often be spread across a Household to its squad leaders rather than used by a single unit. When attacking, the Households favour drop pod insertion supported by Dreadnoughts. The Chapter has very few assault focussed units, though line squads expected to be ready – and are very capable – to fight at close quarters when necessary. Bikes and jump packs are rarely used, though each of the Households still maintain some fast vehicles and transports such as Land Speeders, Stormtalons, Stormravens and Thunderhawks. Due to the Chapter's focus on self-reliant, adaptable infantry units, the Households excel in urban combats and boarding actions.
Though the Marines Adamant are uncompromising in their devotion to the Emperor, their disdainful and suspicious nature frequently makes for difficult relations with other Imperial organizations. It is notable that Households fighting alongside other Imperial forces will often refuse to share intelligence or co-ordinate their battle plans. However, their Code makes them utterly loyal to any oaths they or their forebears may have sworn, especially to those who have proved themselves time and again, such as the worlds of the Gharant system.
'You think yourselves worthy of the seed of Manus? None of us are! But you shall have your chance. ' – Brother Tonnrud, Flesh Wyrd.
The Households' Flesh Wyrds are responsible for recruiting and implantation, and often lead small squads to Halsstarrig to 'recruit' new initiates. Each Household has preferred clans and areas of the planet from which to recruit, but it is a source of some pride and amusement to 'poach' a promising recruit from the lands claimed by another Household.
As successors of the Iron Hands, the Marines Adamant are blessed with gene-seed that is largely free of physical flaws, although in approximately one third of the Chapter's brethren the Omophagea has become inactive. Detractors suggest that the Chapter's instinctive mistrust of others is also plainly a result of their genetic legacy, a twisting of the Iron Hands hatred of the weaknesses of the flesh. It is less clear if the Marines Adamant also share their forebears predilection for bionic modification, but they are certainly well supplied with them by means of their link with the Adeptus Mechanicus.
'Emperor, gene-father! See the might of your sons!' – Warleader Isorn Firewalker.
The Households have no single war cry, as such are often selected depending on the current mission and personality of the commanding Warleader. However, these calls to battle do embrace common themes, including vows of loyalty to the Imperium or its worlds, as well as tirades against hated foes. Most notably, Imperial observers have heard challenging cries directed towards the Emperor and the Primarch Ferrus Manus, for them to see and remember the bravery, skill and determination of the warriors of the Marines Adamant.
Edited by Lysimachus, 17 August 2017 - 02:35 PM.
Edited by LySiMachus, 05 June 2015 - 07:19 PM.
With that colour scheme people would always be asking you if you were playing a Deathwatch army.
Went through the IA quickly and it looks good, nothing negative to comment about, apart from their very slight blandness (but that might just be me). I don't like the colour scheme though, far too dark.
Thanks guys! Lol, the pic does come out a bit dark, if you look at it from the right angle it's closer to what it's meant to be, basically DA Green with brighter egde highlights, shouldn't look like Deathwatch once it's painted.
This is probably closer, maybe somewhere between the two?
Edited by Strike Captain Lysimachus, 11 April 2013 - 09:38 PM.
Did you edit the bionic and fetish in, or is that part of a new painter I haven't seen yet?
As for colors, so long as you make it obviously green you shouldn't have to worry. Still deathwatch-y but still discernable.
Ha, no unfortunately it's not the new painter, just me bodging it with Paint!
I like'd better with one arm. But it's hard to tell without seeing an actual mini.
I must say I really like outline you've got!
Very simple but still distinct so as to not being bland. Very seemless blend of the Hands and Wolves without any obvious concerns.
"The galaxy is a big place; you have room to work."
IA: Imperial Viziers - A Chapter in Twain - new draft october 2013!
Thanks Malthe, and yeah looking at it again I think you're right, one arm works better.
Once again to Paint, think this time green is about right and one silver arm!
Since that time mainly fought against encroaching Orks, sometimes defending, sometimes leading Imperial Crusades into Ork territories to destabilize growing power of Warbosses, also regularly sent forces east and south to support brother Marines against renegades of EoT/Maelstrom.
Too be honest, the homeworld section is a bit ... well boring. To me it just reads as Space Wolves without the snow. I appreciate that is hard to create a unique culture when there's several million. I can't even think of any suggestions either. hmm.
When larger campaigns mean that several Households fight together, can be led by a Warlord, elected from among Warleaders present. Certain amount of wrangling for power and the potential for personal glory it brings, candidate for position must be nominated and backed by at least two other Warleaders, (therefore must be at least 3 Households fighting together to appoint Warlord and max 3 candidates even if whole Chapter fights together). Voting to start, but if no democratic decision reached candidates fight in imitation of Halsstarrig custom. Generally to first blood, but on rare occasion, when two candidates so opposed that service to the other is an impossible request, to the death. Understandably, appointment of Warlord very rare thing, and may only lead as long as specific campaign lasts.
I quite like this. Could lead to some interesting stories/events.
Thanks Ferrus, I think the last one is actually more or less how I pictured it in my head!
Interesting point, I guess it's the age old issue of never really conquering the Orks, they always come back however hard you beat them down! Would certainly fit with the IH forebear/geneseed personality, I'll see if I can bring it in when I write it up in full.
The Homeworld is more than a bit Fenris-y, but I'm more aiming for celtic than scandinavian; misty, bleak cold rather than full on snowy, ice cold. Kinda like how they described Albion in the Warhammer Fantasy campaign a few years back? Probably is a little boring in itself, but I want the focus on the clans, not the planet.
Thanks, I really wanted to emphasize the Clans/Households animosity and suspicion even within the Chapter, but if they were completely autonomous there would be no opportunity for any interaction/rivalry. The chance to be Warlord would give the Warleaders something to strive for, to gain glory and power, but not something that would affect the fractured nature of the Chapter (at least, not more than temporarily).
Quick update done, fleshed out most of the sections, C+C very welcome!
4) Even looks a little bit like the IH 'Hand' badge!
Edit: 5) Should be relatively easy to paint!
Edited by Strike Captain Lysimachus, 31 May 2013 - 06:17 AM.
Firstly, I like the idea of a celtic themed force (I wanted to do something similar in the future, but using either space wolf or fist geneseed). At first I was wary of the fact that you were using Manus' genes, simply because it doesn't get used often due to the chapter's particular quirk. Yet I think it works out fairly nicely, although I am not seeing a whole lot of Ferrus in these guys, more a combination of Dorn and Russ, but that could just be me.
I like the idea of recruitment being a "taken by the mists" affair, I also like how the "Wyrds" are their own branch of the chapter more or less. There is a great deal to like and only small snippets that make me raise a partial eyebrow. Yet, when I read this, I can't shake that I am reading about Space Wolf / Executioner style folk, but then again I think that's kind of unavoidable given your theme. What truly sets them apart from other Chapter's like them? I know its hard to come up with a truly unique idea for a Chapter, but you have such good depth with the origins, the planet, the allies, the whole thing is solidly based, but something is missing and I can't quite lay my finger on it.
The colour scheme is another thing, I personally don't think green when I imagine these guys. I get gray, maybe steel or iron colourations. A pale grey like their arm plate, maybe if you inverted it and made the arm the green part and come up with some sort of theme for that being the case. You could also make their left arm colour signify their household, to differentiate in that regard. Just a thought.
I like the chapter badge, it makes sense and I think you're justification validates it.
I guess my only qualms are minor on the whole, I think it needs to speak more like a true scion of Manus though, something is missing. I mean look at all the IH Successors to date and it really paints a vivid picture as to what being a scion of Manus truly entails. The lack of that self-loathing and near paranoia about weakness is something I can't quite come to terms with. I appreciate that you tried to take it into a new angle with them being superstitious, but that to me is more a product of their homeworld and upbringing than it is a product of their geneseed or their primarch.
My Iron Hand Clan Company-- [topic='275162']IA: Clan Bracchus[/topic]   <---- FINISHED!
What truly sets them apart from other Chapter's like them? I know its hard to come up with a truly unique idea for a Chapter, but you have such good depth with the origins, the planet, the allies, the whole thing is solidly based, but something is missing and I can't quite lay my finger on it.
I think you're right that I need to bring out the ideas I had for their personality a bit more. More on this in a second.
I have to say I'm fairly happy with the green, and the arm is supposed to be a steel/silver. I really want to distinguish them from Space Wolves/Executioners (like you said) so I need something that is clearly different from grey/steel, hence the dark green. I've just got the first squads built though, so I've got to try a test mini anyway. I'll definitely bear this in mind.
I think it needs to speak more like a true scion of Manus though, something is missing. I mean look at all the IH Successors to date and it really paints a vivid picture as to what being a scion of Manus truly entails. The lack of that self-loathing and near paranoia about weakness is something I can't quite come to terms with. I appreciate that you tried to take it into a new angle with them being superstitious, but that to me is more a product of their homeworld and upbringing than it is a product of their geneseed or their primarch.
I'm not honestly sure about this. Question: How many IH Successors have GW fleshed out in any detail? I know the SoM have been given a lot of fluff recently, but are there any others? As to the self loathing and paranoia, I've really tried to include this in the idea of their not really trusting anyone, not even their brothers within the Chapter. It's a twisting of their personality based on the character of the home world, suspicious and cold. Maybe it needs to be focused on more, I'll try to explain it better in the Beliefs section.
You're completely right about the superstitious nature, it's not intended to be from Manus, and rather it's an idea to bring in the home world character again and also separate the MA from the IH and the AdMech itself.
Thanks again for commenting, it's good to hear the thoughts of the IH Fraters!
What truly sets them apart from other Chapter's like them?
My pleasure my friend, would love your feed back on my own article if you can find the time! Its in my sig.
As for their personality, I am definitely getting the old celtic aspect with things like the hearthguard and the like, but yeah they don't stand on their own two feet at the present. Great potential, just need to be pushed over the top.
I can see that stepping towards a different colour might help differentiate the chapter from the norm, but why dark green? You don't think you'll get a lot of "neat dark angels successor" comments? I mean if you like it go for it, I'm sure it'll look solid regardless. Just giving their nature and their chapter icon a stone grey would be what I would go for. Something darker than anything the Space Wolves or Executioners would have with the dark green as a secondary colour. Perhaps an arm and shoulder insets? Eh, just do what you're going to do and ignore my rambling, haha! I want to see some pics when your test mini is up!
I'm not honestly sure about this. Question: How many IH Successors have GW fleshed out in any detail? I know the SoM have been given a lot of fluff recently, but are there any others? As to the self loathing and paranoia, I've really tried to include this in the idea of their not really trusting anyone, not even their brothers within the Chapter. It's a twisting of their personality based on the character of the home world, suspicious and cold. Maybe it needs to be focused on more, I'll try to explain it better in the Beliefs section.You're completely right about the superstitious nature, it's not intended to be from Manus, and rather it's an idea to bring in the home world character again and also separate the MA from the IH and the AdMech itself.
"Fleshed out in detail" and Iron Hands in general is not an easy marriage of terms. I mean GW has barely given the Iron Hands the time of day, most of the information we have is from ancient articles or the latest book. I would even argue the Sons of Medusa have more information "written in canon" than their parent chapter does! Maybe I'm just being over dramatic. That being said, the "Machine like advance" and penchant for Bionics is a theme that runs through what lore we have for all of Manus' children, no matter their armor colour. It could even be argued that this genetic disposition to the hatred of the flesh is the true defining factor of what makes the Iron Hands and their successors unique in a galaxy of vampire catholics, werewolf vikings, and the like. The real appeal of the Iron Hands is their personality and the fact that they are cyborgs! It is also noted (somewhere) that the sole reason the high lords don't use IH gene seed for more successors is due to their disposition towards the habits of their parent chapter.. hence why it is believed to be a defect in the gene-seed. There is a clear reason why the UM's and ImpFists have wayyy more successors than the Iron hands do. I think that is what is throwing me off, the fact that they are Iron Hand successors but lack any of the defining features of the Iron Hands or there canon successors. It feels like you are just wanting them to have Manus' genes for the sake of having his genes and therefore not being just another "UM successor" or whatever. Not trying to ruffle any feathers mind you, but as of this moment it feels like making a blood angel successor who happen to lack the red thirst and black rage, wouldn't really work would it?
My pleasure! Again, not trying to come down hard on you. More just trying to get those creative juices flowing! Keep it up.
Edited by Ravenfeld, 03 June 2013 - 02:36 PM.
I've had a quick read through, looks pretty good. I'll try to read it properly (as I think others have said, it's quite long! ) and post some decent feedback.
I can see that stepping towards a different colour might help differentiate the chapter from the norm, but why dark green? You don't think you'll get a lot of "neat dark angels successor" comments?
Lol, have you painted a DIY army before? I've done a blue one that people assumed were Ultras, a grey one that they thought were Wolves, even a purple Chaos one that got called Emperor's Children. It's par for the course! That said, I'm hoping that the silver arm, black badges, bionics and icons/fetishes will help to distinguish them from the DA.
On a following note, I've finished building two squads of GH counts-as, and got a Tac TDA squad on the way from ebay (under £21!!!) to build some WG squad leaders. Once they're built I'll take some pics and get them sprayed up ready for painting.
So that would be at most just the two then? Honestly, with such a small 'control group' to measure against, I think it's very hard to make any definitive statement about how every Chapter will be. Also, consider the vast differences between Chapters of the Ultras gene line, it's not like my guys are going that far away from what makes the IH what they are. Finally, remember that the MA are 4th Founding, which gives approx. 7/8 thousand years for them to be more and more influenced by their home world.
All that being said, I get what you're saying. Edited the Beliefs section in particular to try and show the progression from IH to MA a bit better. Think that makes any more sense?
Again, not trying to come down hard on you. More just trying to get those creative juices flowing! Keep it up.
No worries at all, I'm happy to listen to anything anyone has to offer. I don't always promise to agree, but I'll always listen.
Two squads of GH counts-as? GH?
For what it's worth, green looks good. And I'd honestly be disappointed if a Chapter of that name didn't have some green in there.
EDIT: Grey Hunters. Got it.
Edited by Cormac Airt, 05 June 2013 - 10:35 PM.
No I agree with the green being present, that's why I suggested the inversion of his current motif! But frankly the current scheme is starting to grow on me, especially when you consider that the painter doesn't have all the charms, talismans, and other details included to add some more character.
Thanks for comments guys! Yup, GH from C:SW as it's the only dex that allows for squads with TDA leaders.
+ close up of kitbashed combi, was quite proud of how it came out!
I think the rules state that you vow for the Codex being used. So you'd be vowing for the Space Wolves.
I actually think you can vow to the forum you want, but you have to use the point costs and units from a specific codex. So while you are using the SW Dex, you can vow with the Liber because, well your chapter is a Liber chapter. Just make sure all the point costs are from your selected Codex.
Ah, ok. I thought Successors of DA/BA/SW(if they existed!) vows counted towards the forum of their parent Legion and Codex? And then Ultras/Index Astartes/Liber Astartes vows all have to come from Codex: Space Marines? I think.
Come to think of it, maybe I could vow for C:SM? Not sure what squad could have 2 plasmas, Sternguard? I guess the TDA could be a character, Captain probably?
Edited by Strike Captain Lysimachus, 10 June 2013 - 04:32 PM.
If you were going with C:SM it would be Sternguard yeah, and the TDA would have to be a captain yeah.
Edited by Ravenfeld, 10 June 2013 - 05:11 PM.
Nice scheme. My only suggestion would be to make the shoulder inserts black or dark-green (like the armour), otherwise the arms are a little too stark.
The chapter badge and background are nice too.


text:
CONNECTICUT: Yale University School of Medicine
Physician Assistant Schools
2020 Yale Online Application Cycle
By emilymuff , April 11, 2020 in CONNECTICUT: Yale University School of Medicine
KaylenE 2
5 minutes ago, SparkleDuck87 said:
Hi guys! I submitted my application on 08/30, verified/under review 08/31 and got an interview invite about 20 minutes ago. Hope you guys get an invite soon
OMG that's great congrats!
ahearrell 10
Awesome! I, too, just received an interview invite. Best of luck.
On 9/30/2020 at 10:50 AM, NotVeryHopefull said:
Well Everyone, it's official I didn't make it. No rejection letter yet, but, despite my best effort, I couldn't finish my Biochem (UNE) in time.
I just finished last night but the transcripts won't make it by tomorrow. I Knew I needed a few Extra days to study for the final, so it put me out of the window. At least I finished with a 93 (missed that hard A by 0.4 points) in 7.5 weeks.
Good luck out there everyone.
Don't feel bad, your not alone. I couldn't finish my orgo chem in time, but I still received a rejection email today and no interview request. It's a bummer, but I have decided Im not giving up just yet. Plenty of great schools out there.
PA95050 17
Does anyone know how many people have been accepted or how many have joined the Facebook page?
Jennez 134
5 hours ago, PA95050 said:
There are currently 57 in the Facebook group, however, there could be a couple more/less already accepted. I believe someone stated earlier there are a couple instructors or students from earlier cohorts in the Fb group as well.
lorenallc 5
11 hours ago, ryangrant4242 said:
Hey Everyone. I am interviewing Monday the 12th for the academic and personal interview. Wondering if anybody could give me any tips, not necessarily the questions they asked. Also, how long did it take after the interview to find out if you were accepted or denied? If anybody can please comment or pm me. I really hope I can be a part of the 2023 cohort!
Congrats Ryan!!! I've never had an interview so I'm no help. Maybe some YouTube videos ?! When did you submit your application?
ScullyAMA 195
On 10/5/2020 at 8:31 PM, ryangrant4242 said:
Hello, Ryan! I think from interview to acceptance was ~17 days (8/11-8/28).
And I would just practice being comfortable talking about yourself I don't like talking about myself so I had to really prep!
mbear917 0
Hi everyone. I'm glad I found this thread. I interviewed in July and have been on the waitlist since. I finished my Biochem class (UNE) in early September and still hopeful for a phone call! I see some people have been taken off the waitlist, but I'm wondering if anyone has been accepted??
Good luck to everyone (accepted, waitlisted or rejected)
BBolanger 4
How are interviews going for everyone this week?.. I had mine yesterday.
Src23 16
1 hour ago, BBolanger said:
How do you think it went? I hope it went well! Mine is tomorrow and I'm freaking out. Any last minute advice or tips?
5 minutes ago, Src23 said:
I feel kind of neutral on how it went. I don't think it was particularly bad but I'm not super confident with it either. Time will tell. Just try to relax and take a moment to compose your answer.
2 hours ago, BBolanger said:
I just had mine - I feel veryyyy neutral as well. Good luck!
itseatingmealive 6
Congrats to those who got accepted. I've been on the waitlist since June (I think I was one of the first groups to get interviewed), and so far I haven't been pushed off the waitlist (fingers crossed). I'm just curious to see if anyone got accepted off the waitlist? I got accepted to another program that begins in January, but I'm still trying to hold onto some hope lol (maybe...).
29 minutes ago, itseatingmealive said:
Congrats on the acceptance! I say go where you get accepted! Weigh out pros and cons of both schools, look at cost, time, rotations, areas you may want to specialize in, how your interviews went (personality of professors, etc) and how you think you'll fit into the program of each. That's awesome you've already gotten accepted; is there a deadline you've got to let them know by? Good luck making your decision!
21 hours ago, ahearrell said:
I'm in the same boat. I feel it went well, but not anything exceptional either. Did your interview go over 30 minutes? Mine was a bit under. Not sure if that's a good thing.
1 hour ago, Src23 said:
Same… It was about 20 to 25 minutes.
2 hours ago, Src23 said:
My personal interview was right at 30 minutes but my academic one was like 10-12 minutes. Hopefully we all hear good news in the coming weeks.
2 minutes ago, BBolanger said:
That's a relief to hear. I was thinking along those lines, the academic interview will probably be more succinct than the personal - which I have yet to do. I hope all goes well and we all receive good news soon! Yale is my number one choice, and I'm honestly so happy and honored they extended an interview alone. Looking forward to the next few weeks.
Thank you! I already put the deposit down since it's not like Yale will take me off the waitlist anytime soon haha
It's been said some people get accepted off the waitlist the very last week of December, but there were also people who were taken off the waitlist in August last cycle so I'm wondering if anything is going to happen to the waitlist this cycle?
ryangrant4242 43
On 10/14/2020 at 11:26 AM, Src23 said:
My academic interview was about 35 minutes. The personal one was exactly 30.
Did either of the interviewers say something like, "We hope to see you in January!" ? If so, I believe that may be a good sign.
Edited October 17, 2020 by ryangrant4242
1 hour ago, itseatingmealive said:
Congrats on getting an acceptance. I'm sorry that you have been on this waitlist so long. No matter where you go I am sure you will be a great physician assistant.
14 minutes ago, ryangrant4242 said:
My academic interview was with Mr. Rhee, and was about 35 minutes. The personal one was with a professor, and was exactly 30.
That's awesome! It sounds like your interviews went really well. Hopefully we all hear good news soon
Thank you. I believe they did go well. I don't think you or anyone should base how well the interviews went based on much time they took.
Jmuder 1
Hi, my name is Jessica, I am new here to the forum. I am from central Florida looking into PA schools and Yale Online peeked my attention. Though the University of Florida is the closest school to me, online through Yale might benefit me much better. Is there anyone currently in this program or has completed this program that could possibly answer a few questions?
1) On the school website I noticed where the school is accredited under " Accredited- Provisional" status. Going forward what does this mean for graduating students?
2)I am a mother of 3, regarding coursework, how is the workload considered?
3) Immersions: What advice could you give going into these week long sessions?
4) Are all students interviewed? What to expect during this interview process?
5) Clinicals: Setting up clinical sites, did it go smoothly?
And, any other tips, advice, regrets, disappointments, or problems you ran into while applying for the program, starting the program, or graduating the program!
WBTKPK 69
27 minutes ago, Jmuder said:
Hi Jessica, I'm a current student nearing the end of my first year and am happy to help how I can.
Accredited-Provisional is the accreditation status that every new program goes through enroute to being fully accredited. We had a planned follow up site visit with the ARC-PA (the body that accredits PA schools) earlier this year and everything is on track for our full accreditation (this is not proprietary knowledge - you can go to the ARC-PA website and look up the status of any school in the US that is accredited by them). It can take several years from the founding a program to gain Continuing Accreditation (5-ish). We are in year three now. If, as a student, you start a program that is provisional, you can take the boards, get licensed, and practice. Many people get confused between provisional and probational but they are very different things. Probation is if a school has NOT met the standards required to continue producing PAs to the standard of the ARC-PA.
2)I am a mother of 3, regarding coursework, how is the workload considered
Not totally sure what you mean by how is the workload considered, however, I will say that it is a lot. PA school is, generally, a lot. Obviously, I've never attended an on-campus program, but I imagine our workload is not much different. With that said, people in our programs are married, have kids (many with two or three like you) and they are managing. It's been especially challenging with COVID and people being home with their kids but everyone is hanging in there. PA school is probably one of the most difficult and demanding things you will ever do, but it is entirely manageable. I almost never spend more than 40-50 hours a week on schoolwork but I am very efficient and decided when I started school that my partner, being active, and having a life outside of school were of the utmost importance, so I have prioritized accordingly.
No specific advice - the immersions are designed to help you get to know your colleagues, do a full cadaver dissection, learn all of the physical exam skills, and at Immersion II, learn the procedures and sensitive exams you will be doing on clinical year. They're awesome!
No, only a very small portion of applicants are interviewed. Everyone who is accepted has been interviewed. The application process, to me, was extremely easy and in fact, nice. The admissions counselors always treated me like a person instead of a number, were extremely communicative and helpful, and kept me updated at every turn. Any questions I had were answered by a real person, almost always within 24 hours.
Important to note here that you do not set up your clinical sites, Yale does. This is very important because it is against the ARC-PA rules to require students to set up their own sites. The process has been smooth for me. I will say that I am extremely proactive, so I started working my connections immediately after I found out I was accepted, so I have many more rotations already on the calendar for next year than some of my colleagues do. You are able to submit preceptor names to Yale (if you have identified someone who is interested or willing to host you) and Yale does all of the background investigation of the site, makes sure they align with the rotation objectives, ensures that it's a good/safe site and then you may be placed there. Our program director okays each and every single clinical site, so there is a high level of quality. COVID has created the largest impact in terms of sites, if I'm honest, and that is no fault of the program. Generally across the US there are fewer sites for the same number of PA students. I imagine this would be a non-issue if you applied in the next cycle to start in January 2022.
None. I have had a fantastic experience at PAO and would highly recommend it. My biggest advice to any prospective applicant is to ensure that an online learning model works for you. If you are a person that needs a high degree of hand-holding or structure to your day, you will likely really struggle with the self-paced environment of the program. We have weekly content that must be gotten through but nobody dictates to you how/when/where you do this. We do have several hours of live coursework a week that is mandatory but beyond that, what and how you do your learning and studying is up to you. Some of the intangibles I'd also encourage you to look into are our Problem-Based learning model (this is NOT universal to all schools and is a HUGE advantage in my opinion) and CEED (Clinical Experience in Early Didactic). Like I mentioned, I'm a first year and I have already spent almost 160 hours in the clinic 1:1 with a preceptor. I am now functioning more or less like a clinical year student, including taking histories, doing complete physicals including paps, etc, ordering labs, making referrals, and getting scripts ready for the patients. It is an indescribable benefit to be going into clinical year already having spent SO MUCH TIME with patients, getting comfortable with physical exam stuff, etc. No other program in the US that I am aware of provides so much time for first years to hone their clinical skills. In my mind, this MORE than makes up for anything we miss by not being on campus.
What other questions do you have?


"The Cabin" is a slash horror movie with mediocre storyline, non-charismatic characters and awful killer. The lead couple is unlikable and it is impossible to the viewer to feel any empathy for them. There is no explanation or development of the killer and the viewer never knows his motivation to kill or who he is. The storyline and the screenplay are boring, full of clichés and never build tension. Last but not the least, there are fake reviews to promote this flick and lure the user of this site, most of them with one line or two. My vote is two.
From the beginning I hated both protagonists and couldn't wait to see them die. the killer/slasher is uninteresting and shallow. The plot holds little weight as the main characters never make any good decisions. also notice that all the positive reviews of this movie on IMDB have the same grammatical errors. This movie looks like what you might get when you give expensive cameras to an untalented (or maybe inexperienced?) crew.
Cabin in the woods it is not!
Totally mediocre at best, stalk and slash derivative - with to be honest not much stalking or even slashing. The best slash in the movie was when I decided to go to the bog for one!
Annoying actors you want to see offed from the start and the usual strange locals in the petrol station at the beginning could have been taken from a dozen of this type of movie. It did have an Irish ccountryside vibe about it from the beginning but soon became obvious this was going to be another Wrong Turn ripoff!
The plot; what there is of it, is not explained and to be honest I found it really boring with not much in the way of interesting kills, motive or tension.


My mission is to empower my students to become active learners, critical thinkers, and cooperative citizens. I want to encourage students to thrive academically and behaviorally. I strive to create a classroom with a positive and safe environment. I am excited to be teaching Kindergarten this year! It is the best grade and my favorite grade. I love setting the foundation for students to become independent and life long learners.
I love cooking, fashion and interior design, traveling, fine arts, reading all types of literature, and learning new things. I also love sports and fitness. I come from an athletic family and am a former state champion athlete and ballet dancer.


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Laura Kline
Vice President of Corporate Communications and Social Impact
Laura Kline is Vice President of Corporate Communications and Social Impact for Flagship Pioneering. In this role she is responsible for supporting the development and execution of Flagship's corporate communications strategy and serves as a principal communications adviser to Flagship NewCos and GrowthCos. Laura also leads the development and implementation of Flagship's social impact strategy.
Laura brings a wealth of experience leading organizational communications as well as advising global companies on reputation building, issues management and purpose-driven communications. Previously, she served as Managing Director of Communications and Program Influence at The Rockefeller Foundation where she oversaw and directed an integrated communications team to advance the Foundation's initiatives and enhance its brand. Prior to this role, Laura was Executive Vice President and head of the Social Impact Practice in New York for Weber Shandwick, a global communications agency, where she worked closely with purpose-led brands and mission-driven organizations to drive conversations, deepen engagement, and achieve impact. She also spent several years as a senior member of the agency's Corporate Issues team, advising clients on high-profile issues and complex transactions. Laura began her career at The Benjamin Group, a technology PR firm based in the Bay Area.
Laura received a Master of Science in Global Affairs from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.