This object exists primarily within the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog continuity.Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity.

The Chaos Emerald of Immortality being worn by Robotnikhotep.

The Chaos Emerald of Immortality is an object that appears in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series. It is one of the four magical Chaos Emeralds sought after by Dr. Robotnik in the Quest for the Chaos Emeralds Saga.

The Chaos Emerald of Immortality grants its wearer the ability to live forever. Additionally physical damage inflicted upon the wearer is rendered ineffective.

The Chaos Emerald of Immortality is kept in the Pyramid of Robotnikhotep I located in ancient Mobigypt. The mummy of Robotnikhotep literally wears the Emerald around his neck inside of his coffin. It grants him eternal life, but when he takes it off and gives it to Dr. Robotnik he turns to dust. With the help of a Mummified Hedgehog, Sonic is able to defeat Robotnik and return the Emerald to its rightful wearer.[1]

Later Robotnik returns to the Pyramid and steals the Emerald from Robotnikhotep once again. This, along with the other three emeralds transforms Robotnik into Supreme High Robotnik. However he is soon defeated and the Chaos Emerald of Immortality is returned to Mobigypt.[2]

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Chaos Emerald of Immortality - Sonic News Network

The MightyThor, Norse God Of Thunder, is one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel universe. Equipped with incredible strength and immortality like all his Asgardian brethren, Thor's power is augmented even further by his use of Mjolnir, a mystically-enchanted hammer made of Uru which enables him to manipulate the weather and generate lightning blasts.

RELATED:DC: What Flash's Full Pokmon Team Would Be

While unspeakably powerful on his own, Thor is also fundamentally a team player. Aside from often working or battling alongside his fellow Asgardians, he's one of the founders and most consistent members of the Avengers. So, if Thor's world were to somehow collide with the Pokmonuniverse, what team would the God of Thunder assemble? Let's find out.

ManyPokmon trainers, gym leaders, in particular, choose to concentrate on capturing and trainingPokmon of one specific elemental Type, of the 18 that exist in the universe. With Thor, there can be little question that he'd gravitate towards Electric-Types. He is the God of Thunder, after all, with command over lightning, and so he would be naturally comfortable training Pokmon with similar abilities to his own.

RELATED:Pokmon: 10 Amazing Works Of Concept Art Any Fan Has To See

He's also likely to appreciate the raw power of the strongest Electric-Type attacks such as Thunder. Now comes the next question: of the numerous Electric-Type Pokmon, which would Thor choose to capture and train for himself?

Zapdos is a Legendary Pokmon, an incredibly rare Pokmon of awesome power. Zapdos is part of the"Legendary Bird" triumvirate introduced in Generation 1alongside Articuno and Moltres; whereas the former two wield Ice and Fire in addition to their innate Flying-Types, Zapdos is a dual Electric/Flying-Type.

Zapdos' typing and Legendary status make it a perfect fit for the God of Thunder'sPokmon team; given Thor is a hero of awesome power whose story originates in myth, then it makes sense that he wouldn't train just any Electric-Type, but one of equal power and stature to himself.

Another Legendary Electric-Type, Raikou was introduced in Generation II ofPokmon as part of another Legendary trio, this one native to the Johto region. Legends say that Raikou and its compatriots, Entei and Suicune, known collectively as the "Legendary Beasts," were trapped in the burning Brass Tower centuries ago and perished, before being reincarnated by the legendaryPokmon Ho-Oh.

With Entei and Suicune being clear counterparts to Moltres and Articuno, Raikou mirrors Zapdos just as well, and so it only makes sense that Raikou would fit just as well on Thor's team alongside its fellow legendary Electric-Type.

Another Pokmon of Legendary status, the Electric/Dragon-Type Zekrom is native to the Unova region, as introduced in Generation V. Legends say that Zekrom and its counterpart Reshiram were one a single dragon shared by two brothers, but conflict between the two split the dragon in half, creating Zekrom, partner to the Hero of Truth, and Reshiram, partner to the Hero of Ideals.

As another Legendary Electric-Type, Zekrom is a perfect fit to join Thor'sPokmon team. Topping it off, the split between brothers central to Zekrom's backstory mirrors Thor's own tumultuous relationship with his adopted brother Loki.

Another Unova-Native Legendary Electric-Type, Thundurus is just as good a fit for Thor's team as Zekrom is. Like the aforementioned Legendary Pokmon, Thundurus isa member of a Legendary trio, this one known as the "Forces of Nature" and also including Landorus and Tornadus. Together the three represent the sky and its symbiotic relationship with the Earth that it covers.

Unlike the Ground/Flying-Type Landorus and pure Flying-Type Tornadus, Thundurus is an Electric/Flying-Type, much like Zapdos, for Thundurus embodies the destructive power of Thunderstorms. Considering Thor is, again, the God of Thunder who wields the power of such storms in battle, he and Thundurus are a match made in the heavens.

Magnezone was introduced in Generation IVas the final in the evolution chain of Magnemite then Magneton. Magnezone may be an Electric-Type, but unlike the others listed up to this point, the Magnet AreaPokmon is not a legendaryPokmon. Rather, it's one that can be commonly found in the wild. However, there is another quality to Magnezone, specifically its typing, that makes it a perfect fit for Thor'sPokmon team.

RELATED:10 Pokemon Who Are Better In Their Unevolved Stage

Magnezone has a dual-typing. In addition to its Electric qualities, it also classified as a Steel-Type. This means that Magnezone is essentially a metal conduit throughwhich the power of electricity can flow. In short, it's very reminiscent of Thor's trademark hammer Mjolnir, forged from the metal Uru. Furthermore, Magnezone has access to physical Steel-Type attacks such as Bullet Punch and Gyro Ball, which reflect Thor's proclivity for using Mjolnir as a purely physical weapon as well.

Manectric, a pure Electric-Type introduced in Generation III alongside its pre-evolution Electrike, earns its place of the Mighty Thor's team not just due to its Electric-typing, but some special qualities it possesses that put it over some of its fellow Electric Pokmon.For one, Manectric has access to Mega-Evolution, a special ability introduced in Generation VI that allows fully-evolved Pokmon to further evolve to a powered-up state if they're in possession of a Mega Stone that can react with their trainer's Key Stone.

Mega Evolution gives Manetric an edge that not allPokmon have, and so would make it an attractive pick to someone as rawly powerful as Thor. Furthermore, Manectric's design is decidedly canine, echoing the appearance of the Fenris Wolf, a figure from Norse mythology and frequent adversary of Marvel's Thor.He would revel at the chance to tame a Pokmon that reminds him of an adversary.

NEXT:DC: What Superman's Full Pokemon Team Would Be

NextOne Piece: 5 Characters That Eustass Kid Will Surpass (& 5 He Will Never Surpass)

Devin is a passionate writer always working to use my skill with words to express my love for film and fiction of all sorts. He is currently writing list articles for Comic Book Resources (CBR). He hopes this will be the first step on a prosperous journey towards being a professional writer. When hes not editing or balancing his schoolwork, he likes to read any book or watch any movie he can get his hands on.

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Marvel: What Thor's Full Pokmon Team Would Be | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

When you sit down with Phil Frana, you better buckle up for a conversation that ranges from the history of artificial intelligence (he's literally writing the book on it) to visions of the future, including uploading our minds to the singularity and 3-D printing our way to a utopian society. Phil is one of the speakersat the upcoming Escape Velocity 2017, the Museum of Science Fiction's annual sci-fi and science event, where he'll be leading a talk on matter duplicators. Ahead of Escape Velocity, we sat down with Phil to talk about sci-fi, tech, and the future.

Outer Places: Tell me a bit about yourself: your background, your interests, and what got you interested in sci-fi.

OP: You've taught courses on transhumanism, virtual worlds, and futuristics. What major changes do you see affecting humanity in the next thirty years?

Phil: I really think we're going to make tremendous progress on what I call the "totalization of memory" (You might call it "total recall"). We are so fearful of forgetting the most minute detail of our personal lives. We fear forgetting. But we also fear corporations, the government, and other nefarious types using our memories and data against us. We may see a form of digital immortality through mind-uploading (whole brain emulation) in our lifetimes. Reverse engineering the brain to achieve substrate independencethat is, transcribing the substance of the mind and emulating it on a variety of forms of physical or virtual mediais a recognized Grand Challenge of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering...

OP:Perfect segue into the next questionwhat are some of yourfavorite sci-fi books, movies, or shows?

Phil: What's the saying? "The golden age of science fiction is 12." I think that's the phrase. Meaning, you never care more about science fiction than when you were that age...I love the sense of wonder and attention to conceptual breakthroughs in 1920s-1960s science fiction. I love our grandparent's science fiction because the authors actually wanted to solve problems and, in the process, make the world a place of bliss. A.E. van Vogt's Weapon Shops time operas and R.A. Lafferty's short story All Pieces of a River Shore are some of my favorites. Somewhere in the late 1960s we began to lose our wayscience and technology became as much the problem as the solution. And today, despite all our encouragement of STEM disciplines, we are so very sure the tech is going to kill us all. SF, particularly in film, hectors us into believing that high technologies are the problem. Not the solution.

OP: What are your thoughts on recent sci-fi movies, like Arrival and Ghost in the Shell? Anything you wanted to direct attention to as a scholar or sci-fi fan?

Phil:Harrison Ford needs to stop with the science fiction-fantasy film series comeback routine...I've reached peak Harrison Ford.

I saw Valerian last week...The dialogue is pretty wooden (like the hardest wood possible, quebracho maybe?) but the visuals are stunning. The scene where the commando jacks into the guard at the augmented reality bazaar is fantastic. Remote control animals is real science. They've done it with cockroaches, beetles, sharks, turtles, mice and rats. That sort of thing. They slip a subcortical electrode implant under the skin and drive the things by push button.

OP: You've got an event at Escape Velocity this year where you talk about matter replication. Can you give me a teaser about what that'll be like?

Phil:Sure. I'll mostly be talking about the past and present of an idea we now call "post-scarcity." We are so hungry for a world where automation and radical abundance replace traditional human labor for wages. Even people who think they are against this are probably really in favor of it. We don't need to be defined by the drudgery of our lives anymore; we've actually never wanted to be. A number of commentators have suggested that a Minecraft mindset combined with additive manufacturing tools are harbingers of the post-scarcity economy. I would say that science fiction has been prepping us for a very long time before Minecraft and 3D-printing.

I'll be talking about visions of worlds where machines churn out most material goods, at negligible cost, starting with a 1935 short story by Murray Leinster called "The Fourth Dimensional Demonstrator." In the story, Leinster conjures up a duplicator-unduplicator that exploits the notion that the four-dimensional universe (which includes time) has a bit of thickness. The device grabs chunks from the past and propels them into the present. The protagonist (Pete Davidson) uses the devicewhich he inherits from his inventor uncleto copy a banknote placed on the machine's platform. When the button is pushed the note remains, but it is joined by a copy of the note that existed seconds before, exactly when the button was pushed...The machine is used to hilarious effect as Davidson duplicates gold, and then (accidentally) pet kangaroos, girlfriends, and police officers plucked from the fourth dimension.

OP: Anything you're looking forward to seeing at Escape Velocity, apart from your panel?

Phil:My favorite part of EV is the cosplay. As I said on the phone, last year I was moderating a couple of sessions on the social lives of robots and had a cosplay Daft Punk robot sit down next to me and strike up conversations before and after sessions. The girl under the helmet was college-aged and super smart. She asked all sorts of interesting and important questions about why she liked to dress up like a robot. I was flummoxed by her brilliance.

Want tocheck out Phil Frana's talk at Escape Velocity this year (September 1st-3rd)? You can win a pair of weekend tickets to the event, courtesy of the Museum of Science Fiction and Outer Places! Click here to access the giveaway, or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.letting us know!

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Digital Immortality, The Future of Memory, and Sci-Fi Utopias: An Interview With Dr. Phil Frana - Outer Places

Now weve got time on our freshly cleaned hands,The Spectators literary luminaries are lubricating the wheels on times wingd chariot andseizing the chanceto boost their morale and brainfunction, reflect on the meaning of life and catch up on a good book or six. Each day, the Lockdown List carries ourbibliophilic recommendations.

Jacob Heilbrunn

What could be more timely and liberating than Stefano Mancusos The Incredible Journey of Plants? In this exhilarating new book from Other Press, the eminent Italian neurobiologist shows that plants are an unstoppable force, the greatest colonizers of all as they travel to every nook and cranny of the globe, intent on setting up shop wherever and whenever they can.

Then there is Adam SismansThe Professor and the Parson, a riveting tale about Robert Parkin Peters, a gifted imposter in the tradition of Baron Corvo and Trebitsch Lincoln who crossed paths with scholarly luminaries such as Hugh Trevor-Roper. He invented lofty scholarly credentials and wriggled his way into a series of academic and religious positions in America, Canada and the United Kingdom. Exposure always came sooner or later but he achieved a kind of immortality that he could never dreamed of achieving had he been a conventional academic. Sisman tells this delectable tale with such flair that it is almost impossible not to savor his account of Peterss exploits in a single sitting.

When it comes to Trevor-Roper, I find myself dipping into hisWartime Journals, expertly edited by Richard Davenport-Hines. Davenport-Hiness suave introduction alone is worth the price of admission and Trevor-Ropers entries, by turn gossipy and bitchy, illuminating and profound, are always a treat to peruse.

Bonus entries: Judith Cherniaks superb biography of Robert Schumann, Oliver Sackss On the Moveand an oldie but goodie, Alan Jeffersons biography of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.

Jacob Heilbrunn is editor of theNational Interest and a contributing editor to The Spectators US edition.

The rest is here:
The lockdown list: books to read during quarantine - The Spectator USA

Bartolom Esteban Murillo, The Resurrection of the Lord, c. 1655 (Public Domain)

COMMENTARY: Turn to the Savior of the world who conquered death when fear or anxiety strikes.

The global coronavirus pandemic has made it clear how interconnected, vulnerable and fragile mankind is--and how undivided we are in our unity against death. As fear of this disease haunts Americans' minds and hearts to the point it's paralyzing our nation, I'm reminded how many times Christ told us, "Be not afraid," and I feel compelled to ask a serious question. If we as Catholics truly believe that when we receive Christ in the Eucharist were receiving the fountain of immortality, shouldnt we be more stouthearted in the face of this news than the secular culture around us is?

As we journey through Lent, joyfully anticipating the bright new day of Christs Easter Resurrection, this seems an appropriate time to take stock of our spiritual lives and remember what that word salvation really means. When the prophet Isaiah 12:2 says, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation, whats he talking about? What exactly has Christ saved us from?

Well, of course, the short answer is that hes saved us from death.

Hold on a minute. Didnt Christ come to save us from sin? Yes, but theres more to it than that, explains Wyoming Catholic College Byzantine chaplain Father David Anderson. St. Athanasius says the problem with us isnt ultimately sin. God could have forgiven all the sins of the world gratuitously without the Incarnation. But to get rid of death, which is the source of sin, God had to become incarnate and take upon himself not only sin but also death. He points to a quotation in the Book of Wisdom: God created man for life and immortality, but by the envy of the devil, death [not sin] entered into the world.

So our Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, the eternal Son of God, comes to die voluntarily in order that he might destroy the power of death, Father Anderson continues. Thats what we are preparing for now as we journey through Lent toward the greatest celebration of the year the destruction of death. The destruction of death includes the destruction of sin, but sin is the symptom and death is the disease.

In the Byzantine tradition, Father Anderson adds, hundreds of times in the course of the Paschal celebration, were going to sing, Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death. Sometimes that word trampling is translated as conquering. But the original word in Greek literally means he stomped and smashed it to bits.

Furthermore, Father Anderson reminds us, eternal life doesn't begin only at some point "after we die." Eternal life in Christ begins now.

In a reassuring March 13 letter on the coronavirus, Bishop Benedict Aleksiychuk of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Nicholas in Chicago reminded the faithful that every test sent is by the will of God and that much information we receive through the mass media is incomplete or incorrect.

We are a people of faith, and that is why we see Gods Providence in this event which is teaching todays world to stop, listen and understand the language of God, the language of his mercy and love, Bishop Benedict wrote. Observing that this situation gives us a unique opportunity to love one another, he added, Let us protect ourselves, not only from this virus, which can destroy our body, but also from the virus that can kill our soul, through panic, anger, censure and confusion.

As the coronavirus reveals just how vulnerable we are as a race and a nation, fears of sickness and death have many Americans running scared. Thankfully, as people who know the meaning of salvation, weve been given the faith and hope to rise above fear and be for those around us a center of calm in the midst of the storm.

Sue Ellen Browder writes from Lander, Wyoming, home of Wyoming Catholic College.

View post:
Christ Provides the Antidote to Fear Amid Coronavirus - National Catholic Register

As the San Francisco 49ers prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV this weekend, former Giants running back Tiki Barber, one of the co-founders of The Thuzio Company which helps corporations book professional athletes as speakers, remembered his one chance at attaining Super Bowl immortality as a player.

That opportunity came in 2000 when the Giants won the NFC Championship and a golden ticket to Super Bowl XXXV, where they would face the AFC Champion Baltimore Ravens.

In reflecting over that season, Barber remembered how then head coach Jim Fassel helped to turn the Giants fortunes in the right direction.

It started with that Lions game when coach Fassel put all his cards on the table after suffering an embarrassing loss, Barber said via phone. It allowed us to dial in and come together.

In that loss to the Lions, Detroit jumped out to a 28-0 lead before ultimately winning 31-21 to hand Big Blue their second straight loss.

Following the loss, Fassel sent a message to his locker room by cutting special teamer Bashir Levingston who fumbled a kickoff return and committed a holding penalty in the game.

He then delivered his famous playoff prediction, guaranteeing that the 7-4 Giants were going to the playoffs.

That bold prediction resonated well within the locker room as the Giants ripped off five straight wins to finish the season and grab the home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.

As the Giants continued to roll through the playoffs beating the Eaglesthen coached by Andy Reid, who will try to win his first Super Bowl championship as a head coach Sundayand the Vikings in the 41-0 trouncing, the Giants confidence as a team increased even more.

Coach (Sean) Payton (the offensive coordinator) had amazing offensive game plans, Barber remembered from that season, also crediting a Giants defense led by defensive end Michael Strahan and linebacker Jessie Armstead.

The train, unfortunately, came to a crashing halt against the Ravens, who delivered a 34-7 knockout punch in what was New Yorks only Super Bowl loss in five games.

It was a great test for us until we, unfortunately, ran into the greatest defense of our generation in the Baltimore Ravens, Barber said.

That Ravens defense was so physical with guys like Sam Adams, Tony Siragusa, Jamie Sharper, Pete Boulware, and Ray Lewis. You couldnt push the linemen up into the second level because of those big guys. You couldnt run up the middle.

The Ravens defense held Barber and the Giants rushing attack that averaged 125 yards per game during the regular season, to 66 yards on the ground. They also only gave up 11 first downs all night and intercepted quarterback Kerry Collins four-times including a pick-six.

We found the formula," said Lewis, who like Barber was also in Miami to promote hisRay of Hope Foundation at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood and the Guitar Hotel during Super Bowl week.

"When you can dominate the game rushing your front four you can control things. Siragusa, Adams, Boulware--it was the perfect defensive formula with playmakers at every level. We used to dare offenses to run the ball on us. Our rule was to beat your man and then go get the ball.

Besides struggling against the run, the Giants passing game didn't get very far either.Collins had a postseason career-worst 7.1 passer rating as the Giants offense was shutout with their teams lone score of the game coming from Ron Dixons 97-yard kick return for a touchdown.

After that crushing loss, Barber and his teammates would get three more chances at a chance for Super Bowl immortality only to go one-and-done in the Wild Card rounds, losing to the 49ers in 2002, the Panthers in 2005 and the Eagles in 2006.

After the 2006 season, Barber, the franchises all-time leading rusher who accumulated 10,449 yards and 55 touchdowns, called it a career at the age of 32, but not before rushing for 137 yards in that final game, a team playoff record at the time.

For me, it was (my retirement) more physically, he said. I started to feel the attrition taking its toll. I wanted to be able to run around with my kids.

It also took a lot of work in my final four seasons to stay at 205 pounds while being muscular and stout. Im naturally 185 pounds, which is what I am now. I wasnt willing to work for it anymore, and I told myself if my heart wasnt into doing it anymore, then I was okay with walking away.

While Barber insists that walking away was the right decision, he also acknowledged that the timing wasnt great as the next season, the Giants won Super Bowl XLII.

These days, Barber still follows the Giants and is encouraged by what he has seen from the team under Dave Gettlemans regime and with the hiring of new head coach Joe Judge.

I think the Giants are definitely headed in the right direction. I dont know enough about Joe Judge to say what kind of attitude hes going to bring to the team, but he seems like a no-nonsense and little things type of coach, Barber said.

You can look at it by asking yourself, Was he successful in his last position? The answer is yes, as the Patriots had one of the best special teams units for years. (Head) Coach (Bill) Belichick believed so much in him that he also gave him another task to be the wide receivers coach, so that also tells you all you need to know.

Judge was also said to have met with Belichick weekly to discuss what it took to become a head coach.

Thats what I love about Coach Belichick because most coaches are worried about losing their guys, Barber said. Belichick is always grooming as his legacy goes downstream with his coaching tree too. Being a head coach is daunting. The most important thing is to delegate but carry a presence at the same time.

Barber also likes the decision to bring in Jason Garrett, a former NFL quarterback and teammate of Barbers with the Giants during the 2000-03 seasons, as the offensive coordinator.

You knew Jason Garrett was heading right for the coaching ranks (during his playing days). He was mature beyond his age and is a Princeton guy. He helped Kerry Collins a lot. Thats exactly what (quarterback) Daniel Jones needs.

As for Gettleman, Barber believes Giants team owners John Mara and Steve Tisch made the right decision in retaining him.

I think Dave has a multi-year plan, Barber said. We know Dave can build a team based on what he did in Carolina. You have to give a guy time until his picks make it to their second contracts.

Most people dont realize, the whole first year of Gettlemans tenure, they were stripping out all the bad contracts and drafts Jerry Reese brought in. Now theyre finally starting to build the team back up.

Barber is in Miami this week, the site of Super Bowl LIV, to host the sixth annual Thuzio corporate event Friday, which will feature former 49ers quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Steve Young and current Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

More here:
Throwback Thursday: Tiki Barber on the Giants Lone Super Bowl Loss and the Team's Promising Future - Sports Illustrated

Richard Mann Journalist

15:56 March 02, 2020 6 min read

Richard Mann ponders whether the mighty Alitor and Ronnie O'Sullivan can defy father time in their quest for sporting immortality this spring.

It might have been Alastair Down who once quipped that 'Cheltenham is no place for old bones.'

It's certainly a saying that has stuck with me over the years and the sight of Kauto Star and Istabraq before him being pulled-up in their respective bids for one last hurrah did nothing to weaken that theory.

The white-hot heat of the Cheltenham Festival is a gruelling test for horses and punters alike. The track provides a unique test for the thoroughbred with its undulations and stiff uphill finish requiring horses to be nimble enough to travel and jump well through the early part of their races before having the guts and desire needed to navigate the final and famous climb for home.

For punters and racegoers it isn't much easier, four days of top-class and incident-packed action often leaving even the strongest feeling weary by Friday evening.

In many respects, Cheltenham is the ultimate test, particularly for the chasers who must negotiate some notoriously difficult fences, and you can usually feel satisfied that winners of the Champion Chase and Gold Cup are deserving champions, blessed with that rare mix of class and heart that sets the very best apart from the chasing pack.

One horse who has done just that at the last four Cheltenham Festivals is the mighty Altior, a brilliant winner of a vintage renewal of the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle before bolting up in the Arkle and then claiming glory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase two years running.

Put simply, Altior is a racing superstar and while arguments will rage across the land, in public houses and on social media platforms, about just where he stands in the pantheon of National Hunt greats, he remains, until a week on Wednesday at least, the undisputed king of the two-mile chasing division.

With a CV as decorated and distinguished at the one Altior can boast, it is hard to believe there is anything left for him to achieve or to prove to anyone, not least the racing public that have taken him to their hearts, if not to the same level of adoration enjoyed by former stablemate Sprinter Sacre or indeed Tiger Roll.

Should he claim a record-equalling third Champion Chase at Cheltenham, there will be no question that he will have elevated himself to racing immortality but for now, the vultures are circling on and off the track.

On it, Defi Du Seuil and Chacun Pour Soi are two young pretenders with age on their side and in the midst of stellar campaigns.

In the case of Defi Du Seuil, he has already this season brushed aside the same rivals Altior had to work hard to see off at Cheltenham last year and as an improving seven-year-old with an impressive record at Prestbury Park, he looks to have a huge chance of dethroning the reigning champion.

It's not just the prospect of two progressive, younger rivals snapping at his heels that will worry Alitor fans either. Nicky Henderson's stable star lost his proud unbeaten record over obstacles when left toiling in Cyrname's wake at Ascot in November as plans for a possible tilt at the King George were torn to shreds in the Berkshire mud.

Seventy-seven days later, Altior finally returned to the track to defeat old foe Sceau Royal in the Game Spirit at Newbury but there are chinks in his armour now that we hadn't seen previously. His big, bold jumping is now making him appear slow and sluggish at his fences while his customary flat spot threatens to see him caught out with fatal consequences against younger, fresher legs in the Champion Chase.

Henderson's faith in Altior is unwavering but his charge is now ten years old and just about to face the toughest test in a career that has already seen him dig deep at four previous Festivals and again as recently as November when finishing very tired at Ascot.

Just how much is left in the tank will be revealed next week but there is no doubting the Champion Chase is brewing up to be the race of the week. A clash of the titans, young rising star against old champion, the prince hoping to dethrone the king and take the crown as his own.

It's not just at Cheltenham where this narrative promises to play out this spring, with Sheffield once again hosting the World Snooker Championship where Ronnie O'Sullivan appears to be going all out in his quest for a sixth Crucible crown and record 37th ranking title.

Like Altior, O'Sullivan has entered the twilight of his career and despite dominating snooker for much of the last 30 years, he now finds himself fighting to hold off the advances of a relentless Judd Trump, whose richly fruitful last 18 months have already seen him rise to the top of the world rankings.

When O'Sullivan lifted the UK Championship for a record seventh time in December 2018, passing Stephen Hendry's record for Triple Crown victories in the process, he appeared untouchable as he belied his advancing years with a level of snooker we thought might never be bettered.

Ronnie O'Sullivan reigns supreme in York

Of course, elite sport moves quickly and within a matter of months Trump had become world champion for the first time, routing John Higgins in the final, while O'Sullivan currently finds himself out of the top 16 in the one-year world rankings having failed to enjoy the level of success this term we have become so accustomed to.

Last week's Players Championship went ahead without its defending champion, O'Sullivan having failed to quality, and in claiming his fifth ranking title of the season in that event, Trump will line up as hot favourite for this month's Coral Tour Championship with The Rocket again a notable absentee.

The most significant thing about O'Sullivan's slide down the rankings is that it can't be blamed on a lack of focus or the carefree approach to the game that undoubtedly cost him titles earlier in his career, when he was troubled by personal problems.

O'Sullivan has remained dedicated to the sport and despite opting to skip this year's Masters in a bid to freshen himself up for the latter part of the season, he fought tooth and nail when beaten by Graeme Dott in the World Grand Prix recently and again in the semi-finals of the Welsh Open against Kyren Wilson a week later.

It was the same in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Open and when losing out to Trump in a high-quality final of the Northern Ireland Open earlier in the campaign.

The hunger and desire remains but at 44 years of age, his powers are on the wane and he is struggling to keep the wolves from the door.

The pack, led by Trump, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy, are circling for the kill but beware the wounded warrior, especially one as good as O'Sullivan, and his earlier victory at the Shanghai Masters and that final defeat to Trump in Belfast illustrate that he remains a very fine operator.

We might ponder where Altior stands amongst the National Hunt greats of the past but most observers have already concluded that O'Sullivan will leave snooker as the best the sport has seen and while his peers will arrive in Sheffield on the back of long and arduous seasons, he won't.

As Eurosport pundit Neal Foulds has suggested in recent weeks, that might work in O'Sullivan's favour given his last two World Championship bids saw him fall early at the end of trophy-laden campaigns and while 37 remains the magic number, he is sure to prepare well for what might be his last realistic chance of again tasting Crucible glory.

Passing Hendry's record remains the ultimate goal, the icing on the cake for a career that has seen O'Sullivan master his craft like no other, and it would be typical of the man to become the most decorated player in snooker history by winning the World Championship in the most iconic snooker venue of them all.

Like Altior, O'Sullivan is fighting to defy Father Time and a host of younger pretenders snapping at his heels in two of the most intriguing sporting events I can recall.

Cheltenham might be no place for old bones, The Crucible Theatre, too, but these great warriors aren't listening and they'll need to be carried out on their shields if they are denied one final triumph in the autumn of two remarkable careers.

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Alitor and Ronnie O'Sullivan chase sporting immortality at the Cheltenham Festival and World Snooker Championship - Sportinglife.com

If Act Twenty One Trap proves anything about Blade of the Immortal, it's that the show might finally be starting to do justice to its female cast, even if it still has a somewhat juvenile preoccupation with boobs and butts. For the longest time, Rin was the sole woman that we could consistently rely on to get any manner of character development, and even then it often felt like she was mostly there to motivate Manji's requisite bouts of bloodletting. Makie was a welcome addition to the story, but her presence in the overall tapestry of the show has been fleeting, and she too exists mostly as the distaff counterpart to Kagehisa. Things picked up quite a bit when Hyakurin became a semi-regular addition to the cast, though we wouldn't get a woman whose character arc wasn't in some way explicitly defined by romantic trauma/sexual assault until Doa joined Rin in rescuing the victims of Habaki's immortality experiments.

Now, not only has Rin's agency and role in the story been much more clearly defined, we also have Meguro and Tanpopo to add some much needed comic relief while still being competent warriors in their own right. None of the women in Blade of the Immortal have roles that are not in some way tied to the men in their lives, but we've at least reached the point where they feel like individual people in their own rights, with desires and strengths that allow them to stand apart in the ensemble. The opening scene where Magatsu, Meguro and Tanpopo help nurse Rin and Manji back to help works because we've come to care for these men and women in spite of their mixed and muddled allegiances. Even when the show's pacing isn't exactly doing the scripts any favors, the heart and soul of the story comes through in the end in moments like these, where a handful of barely held-together killers (and one incredibly stubborn teenager) are able to be friends, if only for a little while.

I wish I was as on board with Renzo's presence in the story, which hasn't lived up to its dramatic potential for me. I always figured the cost of Rin's vengeance would come back to her eventually, but the show is intent on drawing out story beat with unnecessary obfuscations. It takes forever for Rin to admit her role in the death of Renzo's father, and she still refuses to implicate him in the torture and murder of his parents; even Magatsu insists on sending Renzo out to discover the truth about his old man and the Itto-ryu on his own. I get why Rin would want to preserve whatever respect the child has for his dad, but it makes for a decidedly unsatisfying payoff to a story thread that can't have many more places to go in the few episodes that remain in Blade of the Immortal's run. We're at the point where the worst thing the show can do is waste time. Just tell the kid his pop was a sociopathic monster, hash out whatever drama comes from that, and move on already.

Even if Rin and Manji don't accomplish much other than standing up on their own two feet again in the first half of Trap, the plot keeps moving at the very least, whisking us back to Ryo's mission to fulfill her role in her father's clan and destroy the Itto-ryu. This second half of the episode begins somewhat slowly, but it eventually picks up into yet another thrilling battle to the death, which Blade of the Immortal has been excelling at lately. She's joined by Inroku Ban, a shifty warrior who favors pistols over the blade, and though Ryo and Inroku get within a hair's breadth of killing each other, they eventually join forces when they come to blows with one of the most fascinating Itto-ryu members yet: Koji.

Koji is an elderly fighter who uses subterfuge and his expertise in survival and poison-making to launch his solo assault against Habaki's troops. What makes this sequence especially fun is how trippy it gets; Ryo and Inroku both get asphyxiated with the jars of carbonic acid Koji has littered across the mountainside, giving the episode a chance to flex the surreal visuals that have marked some of the series' most compelling chapters. It's also just a great fight, with Inroku's painful death and Ryo's incredibly close victory giving the whole thing a sense of shifting balance and momentum, a hallmark of all great fight scenes.

Ryo's conflict is a bit simplistic compared to the other women in the cast she wants to live up to Habaki's expectations, though she's his last living descendant, which puts her at odds with Habaki's men but it is powerful indeed. I would never want her to actually win against Rin and Manji, but I'll be upset if she doesn't get some kind of vindication before her story is done. There are only a few weeks left before the Blade of the Immortal story concludes for good, and all of these disparate warriors are bound to meet eventually. It is possible Ryo might get her happy ending, just as it is possible that Hyakurin and Giichi might find some kind of peace in their life together, or even Rin and Manji for that matter. There are no guarantees in this web of revenge, though, and I can't even hold out too much hope that our heroes will be able to make it out intact.

Rating:

Blade of the Immortal is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.

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Episode 21 - Blade of the Immortal - Anime News Network

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Kobe Bryant will be remembered above all as a stellar athlete and highly devoted family man. Thats because he survived what was clearly his darkest hour an allegation by a 19-year-old hotel clerk in Colorado that he raped her.

The alleged incident occurred June 30, 2003, in a hotel room at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in the Rocky Mountains town of Edwards. The woman who made the allegation was working as the front-desk clerk and accompanied Bryant on a tour of the property. She later went to his hotel room, where she said he raped her.

Every time I said `no, he tightened his hold around me, she told police, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Beast.

Afterward, she told police that Bryant warned her that the encounter is just between the two, the two of us, nobody is gonna know about this, youre not going to tell anybody.

The 24-year-old Bryant was charged with one count of felony assault in a case that took 14 months to be resolved. In the end, the accuser decided not to testify and prosecutors dropped the case Sept. 1, 2004. A civil suit brought by the accuser in August 2004 was settled out of court in March 2005.

A day after the alleged rape, Bryant underwent knee surgery in nearby Vail. His accuser reported the incident to the Eagle County Sheriffs Department, and investigators searched his hotel room for evidence.

Bryants attorneys said DNA evidence suggested she had sex with someone else in the hours after the alleged rape and before a medical the exam was conducted, although prosecutors denied it. Bryant was charged with one count of felony sexual assault July 18th. With his wife, Vanessa, at his side, Bryant held a news conference at Staples Center, admitting that he committed adultery but denying he had assaulted the 19-year-old.

I sit here in front of you guys furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making a mistake of adultery, he conceded.

After nearly a year of discovery and pretrial hearings, Bryant entered a plea of not guilty on May 11th, 2004. As the case moved toward a trial, the accusers determination to pursue a criminal trial weakened once she added libel attorney Lin Wood to her team. He believed a criminal trial would not end well for her.

Later, there was another significant concession from Bryant.

Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did, he said in a statement. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.

For a time, he lost endorsement campaigns, including with Nike, which he resumed serving as pitchman in July 2005.

The rape allegation episode would resurge once again, in 2018, when 17,000 people signed a petition demanding he be stripped of his Academy Award nomination for his animated short, Dear Basketball.

Bryant won the Oscar anyway but was dropped from an Animation jury over the accusations.

Kobe Survived his Darkest Hour on His Way to Immortality was last modified: January 27th, 2020 by Contributing Editor

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Super Bowl LIV is nearly here. For the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, it'sa shot at immortality. For players on the other 30 teams, though, there is still business to attend to this weekend.

The NFL Honors will air at 8 p.m. ET. During the ceremony, the league will honor some of the best players, coaches and people of the 2019-20 season. Among the awards given are the Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year Awardsin addition to the league MVPand the season has brought us some worthy candidates.

2020 NFL Honors

Where: Adrienne Arsht Center, Miami

When: Saturday, February 01 at 8 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: Fox, Fox Sports Go, FoxSports.com

Odds: SportsBettingDime.com has odds listed for most major categories

Offensive Rookie of the Year

The 2019 season featured several first-year players who looked and played like NFL veterans. No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray might not have led the Arizona Cardinals to a winning season, but he did bump their win total from 3-13 in 2018 to 5-10-1. More importantly, he gave no reason for the Cardinals to question their choice in April's draft.

Murray finished the year with 3,722 passing yards, 544 rushing yards, 24 total touchdown and 12 interceptions.Paired with offensive head coach Kliff Kingsbury, Murray looks to be a force for the foreseeable future.

"When you see this kid, he can make any play in the world," former NFL quarterback Jake Plummer saidThursday on the Big Red Rage podcast. "I saw some plays and throws he did I've never seen before."

Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs was just as impressive as Murray in his inaugural NFL campaign. He quickly became the centerpiece of the Raiders offense and played a fast, physical brand of football that was hard to stop.

Opposing defenses knew that the offense would flow through Jacob by midseason, but they typically failed to contain him.

In 13 games, Jacobs amassed 1,150 rushing yards, 166 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Given his 88.4 yards-per-game average, Jacobs likely would have topped 1,400 rushing yards if he had played 16 games.

Don't be surprised if Jacobs is in contention for the rushing title next season.

The dark horse in the OROY race is Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown. While Brown wasn't always the centerpiece of his offense as Murray and Jacobs were, he did emerge as Tennessee's No. 1 receiver.

Brown finished the regular season with 52 catches, 1,051 yards and eight touchdowns. He also helped Tennessee reach the AFC Championship Game.

Given the league's focus on the quarterback position, Murray will probably push past Jacobs for the award on Saturday, though it wouldn't be a complete shock to see Jacobs win. Brown deserves recognition, but this does feel like a two-player pool.

Odds:Kyler Murray1-1,Josh Jacobs1-1,A.J. Brown 9-1

Defensive Rookie of the Year

This could be a year in which the first and second picks in the draft take home Rookie of the Year honors. That should be the case, anyway, if Murray does win OROY.

The competition for Defensive Rookie of the Year isn't quite as fierce as it is for the offensive equivalent. While there are several high-end players up for the award, one stands out above the rest.

49ers edge-rusher Nick Bosa was the second overall pick in April's draft. He was widely considered a can't-miss prospect, and he's largely lived up to that expectation. He had 47 tackles and nine sacks during the regular season, but his ability to pressure opposing quarterbacks was more valuable than his sack numbers might indicate.

"What he's doing right now as a rookie, to me, it's unheard of," former NFL star Shawn Merriman told Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area on Radio Row ahead of the Super Bowl. "He's coming in, they're ready to go, and he's not playing like a rookie at all. And when his brother Joey said that he is better than him, I thought that he was just joking around, because Joey is an incredible player. But I think he was really honest about that."

Perhaps most importantly, Bosa has helped San Francisco reach the Super Bowl.

If not for Bosa, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Devin Bush might have a shot at the award. Pittsburgh traded up to the 10th pick in the draft to snag the former Michigan star, and you can bet the Steelers are glad they did.

Bush proved to be the sort of sideline-to-sideline defender the Steelers have been missing ever since Ryan Shazier's injury. He finished the season with 109 tackles, a sack, two interceptions and a forced fumble.

Jacksonville Jaguars edge-rusher Josh Allen also had a stellar season. From a sacks standpoint, he was even more productive than Bosa. He racked up 10.5 sacks to go with 44 tackles and two forced fumbles.

The issue for Bush and Allen, though, is that their teams did not make the postseason. Given the fact that he isn't done playing, Bosa is the clear favorite for DPOY.

Odds:Nick Bosa1-50,Devin Bush10-1,Josh Allen10-1

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NFL Rookie of the Year 2019-20: Award Candidates, Odds and Predictions - Bleacher Report

Twelve years after haunting defeat against South Africa, England's Nick Easter says Saturday's showdown offers the class of 2019 a shot at 'immortality'.

TOKYO, 30 Oct - While England fans might see a Rugby World Cup final against South Africa as a chance to avenge perceived injustices of 12 years ago, for some nothing will erase the pain of Paris in 2007.

The Springboks emerged 15-6 victors at Stade de France that October night to lift the Webb Ellis Cup and to deny the English a record second successive title.

The TMO's decision to rule out a possible England try for a foot in touch has been the subject of debate among followers of both teams ever since. But the misery cuts even deeper for the players who had to hand over their world champions' crown.

"It is still a huge disappointment and something that I will take to my grave," recalls Nick Easter, pictured below, who played number eight opposite Danie Rossouw. "It is the biggest game you ever play in and we didnt quite get the job done.

"In the cold light of day I will say that South Africa were the better team in the tournament, but that doesnt really help when the final was so tight and but for a few silly penalties and a disallowed try it could have been ours and they could have made a movie about it."

The fact that England managed to reach the 2007 final could be seen as stuff of legend in itself.

When Brian Ashton's unfancied team met the Springboks in the pool stages, they were beaten 36-0. They regrouped to score against-the-odds victories over Australia and France in the knockouts before the final offered the chance to atone for their earlier humiliation.

The match was a tense affair dominated by the boot until a scintillating break by England centre Mathew Tait ended with winger Mark Cueto apparently touching down at full stretch in the left corner, pictured top.

Referee Alain Rolland referred the decision to TMO Stuart Dickinson, who deliberated at length before ruling that Rossouw's tackle had forced Cueto's foot into touch before the ball was down.

At the final whistle Jonny Wilkinson's two penalties were outweighed by four from Percy Montgomery and a final long-range effort by Frans Steyn. South Africa celebrated their second title, 12 years after the first, and England fans were left to stew.

Another 12 years on, Easter believes it is England who hold the upper hand.

This England team has the ability to be the best ever because that forward pack is the best in the world and each section is the best in the game," he said."Ultimately, that is what wins you World Cups and Eddie Jones said when he took over as head coach he would need four or five world-class players and they have got more than that in this team."

He is not expecting any sudden surprises from the Springboks and predicts they will stick to the risk-averse tactics that edged out Wales in the semi-finals.

He is well qualified to give his verdict on the South Africans as, following his 54-test career, he went into coaching and has been with the Sharks in Durban for the past 18 months.

"England have a much better all-court team and their Saracens spine knows how to win these big games," he said.

"In contrast, not many South African teams get to Super Rugby finals and while the two packs on Saturday may even each other out, it will come down to the half-backs and who manages the game better."

Easter's belief that England will lift the cup on Saturday is shared by Phil Vickery, his captain in the 2007 final, whose emotions about that defeat are more complex.

"The great thing about that final against South Africa is that you dont want to be remembered as a brave loser," he said. "I was actually feeling proud to hand it over to John Smit the Springbok captain.

"That probably sounds weird, but he was a fellow front-rower, a great guy and my thoughts were that if the cup has to go to anyone I can live with passing it to that guy who deserved it."

Easter is having none of it, and urges the class of 2019 to brook no compromise either.

"Of course you are proud to have got that far at a World Cup and we were the defending champions, but we needed to win it. This England team has the chance of rugby immortality and they have a damn good chance of doing it."

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'Misery of losing 2007 final will stay with me to the grave' - Rugby World Cup 2019

Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) is a lot older than he looks in The Lord of the Ringstrilogy. The movies made it a point that Aragorn would never to be able to experience the eternal life enjoyed by Elves. Aragorn's morality was brought up by Elrond (Hugo Weaving) in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers when he reminded Arwen (Liv Tyler) that Aragorn would die before her, because she was an Elf and he was just a Man. While it's true that Men don't share the immortality of Elves, some do live extraordinarily long lives in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Despite Elrond's warning, things turned out rather well for Aragorn. Following Sauron's defeat and the fall of Mordor at the end of The Return of the King, Aragorn marries Arwen and becomes the High King of Arnor and Gondor. Aragorn founds the Reunited Kingdom, and under his reign it becomes the most powerful force in the northwest region of Middle-earth. Aragorn ends up living a good life, and not just as a king. With Arwen - who willingly gave up her immortality - Aragorn has one son and at least two daughters. Aragorn's story comes to an end when he dies of old age.

Related: Why Lord of the Rings is Actually 6 Books, Not 3

So exactly how old is Aragorn during The Lord of the Rings? As confirmed by Aragorn himself in the movie, he's87 years old. His reign as the High King lasts for 122 years, which ends with his death at the age of 210. There's an explanation for why a mortal like Aragorn could live for two centuries; he's a member of the Dnedain, a race of humans called the "Men of the West". The Dnedain are descendants of the ancient people known as the Nmenreans.

The royal blood that flows through the veins of the Dnedain allows them to live three times as long as normal Men. Aragorn's heritage is the reason for his longevity, and he's not the only Lord of the Rings character to benefit from being one of the Dnedain. Faramir (David Wenham), for instance, carries the blood of the Dunedain, which is why he's able to live to the age of 120.

The Dunedain aren't nearly as long-lived as Elves, of course, but they do get experience much more than most Men. Since Aragorn was 87 years old in the movies, the character was old enough to live through quite a bit while with the Rangers of the North. Aragorn participated in several large-scale battles, and traveled through various regions of Middle-earth. What Aragorn's age in means for his character is that he lived a long life full of adventure before The Lord of the Ringsstory even began.

More: Lord of the Rings: Saruman's Movie Death Explained (& Why It Was Cut)

Entourage Has Correctly Predicted 4 Movies Now (But With Some Changes)

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Former NBA commissioner, David Stern, passed away on Wednesday following a brain hemorrhage he sustained in December he was 77-years-old. In the wake of his death, teams and players around the association instantly paid tribute to the leagues longtime commissioner, including the Houston Rockets.

While some took to social media to pay their respect to Stern, Rockets C.E.O., Tad Brown, expressed his condolences with the media on Thursday.

Commissioner Stern was just an amazing guy. You look over his 30 years as commissioner, I dont think there has been a commissioner in professional sports whos had that kind of impact and change agent for the growth of a sport. He was tough. He was fair. And he always acted in what he thought was for the best interest of the game. And for that, were all better throughout the league. - Brown.

Stern served as commissioner for 30 years after succeeding Larry OBrien in 1984. Under Sterns leadership, the NBA expanded from 22 to 30 teams and experienced a tremendous leap in revenue share.

However, Sterns most significant achievement during his tenure was bridging the gap between the league and international markets. The NBA opened 12 offices outside the United States and paved the way for international players such as Yao Ming to leave their mark on the league.

He meant so much to this league and it is hard to sum up in a few sound bites. The biggest thing to me is how he was involved in the international game early and opened up international markets to bring so many great players over from Europe, he really opened that market up. - Mike DAntoni

In addition to posting a heartfelt post on Twitter, James Harden, similar to the rest of his colleagues, reflected on the night Stern called his name during the NBA Draft in 2009.

Very sad and prayers to his family. We all know how legendary he was, and he did so much for the game. As a kid growing up, you always dreamt of walking across that stage and have your name called by David Stern. To experience that moment with him was pretty cool. - Harden.

In addition to leaving behind a legacy engraved in basketball immortality until the end of time, David Stern is survived by his wife of 56 years, Dianne Stern, and their two sons, Andrew and Eric Stern.

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The Litany of the Holy Eucharist is given in the Order for the Solemn Exposition of the Holy Eucharist, No. 178. It is recommended to be prayed when a person is in the presence of the Eucharist during eucharistic adoration or on a visit to the church when it is reserved in the tabernacle. It can be offered anytime.

The response to the first series of invocations is have mercy on us. Part I of the litany begins: Jesus, the Most High, the holy One, Word of God, only Son of the Father, Son of Mary, crucified for us, risen from the dead, reigning in glory, coming in glory, our Lord, our hope, our peace, our Savior, our salvation, our resurrection, Judge of all, Lord of the Church, Lord of creation, Lover of all, life of the world, freedom for the imprisoned, joy of the sorrowing, giver of the Spirit, giver of good gifts, source of new life, Lord of life, eternal high priest, priest and victim, true Shepherd, and true light.

It concludes: Jesus, bread of heaven, bread of life, bread of thanksgiving, life-giving bread, holy manna, new covenant, food for everlasting life, food for our journey, holy banquet, true sacrifice, perfect sacrifice, eternal sacrifice, divine Victim, Mediator of the new covenant, mystery of the altar, mystery of faith, medicine of immortality, and pledge of eternal glory.

Part II is the Invocation of Christ, and the response to Part II-A is Lord, save your people. The invocations are: Lord, be merciful, from all evil, from every sin, from the snares of the devil, from anger and hatred, from every evil intention, from everlasting death, by your coming as man, by your birth, by your baptism and fasting, by your suffering and cross, by your death and burial, by your rising to new life, by your return in glory to the Father, by your gift of the Holy Spirit, and by your coming again in glory.

The response to Part II-B is have mercy on us. The invocations are: Christ, Son of the living God, you came into this world, you suffered for us on the cross, you died to save us, you lay in the tomb, you rose from the dead, you returned in glory to the Father, you sent the Holy Spirit upon your Apostles, you are seated at the right hand of the Father, and you will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Part III is the Prayer for Various Needs and the response is Lord, hear our prayer. The invocations for Part III-A are: Lord, be merciful to us, give us true repentance, strengthen us in your service, reward with eternal life all who do good to us, and bless the fruits of the earth and of our labor. The invocations for Part III-B are: Lord, show us your kindness, raise our thoughts and desires to you, grant eternal rest to all who have died in faith, spare us from disease, hunger and war, and bring all peoples together in trust and peace. The invocations for the final section are: guide and protect your holy Church, keep the pope and all the clergy in faithful service to your Church, bring all Christians together in unity, and lead all to the light of the Gospel.

Father Van Sloun is pastor of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata.

Tags: bread of heaven, Bread of Life, bread of thanksgiving, divine Victim, eternal sacrifice, food for everlasting life, food for our journey, holy banquet, Holy Eucharist, holy manna, Jesus, life-giving bread, Litany, Mediator of the new covenant, medicine of immortality, Mystery of Faith, mystery of the altar, new covenant, perfect sacrifice, Picks, pledge of eternal glory, true sacrifice

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The Litany of the Holy Eucharist - The Catholic Spirit

An extract from the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet, June 1830February 1831.

God reveals Himself to MosesMoses is transfiguredHe is confronted by SatanMoses sees many inhabited worldsWorlds without number were created by the SonGods work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

1 The words of God, which he unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high ,

2 And he God , and he with him, and the of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence.

3 And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God , and is my ; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?

4 And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore , and I will show thee the of mine ; but not all, for my are without , and also my , for they never cease.

5 Wherefore, no man can behold all my , except he behold all my ; and no man can all my , and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.

6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the of mine ; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the , for he is full of and ; but there is God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I them all.

7 And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee.

8 And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the upon which he was created; and Moses the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly and wondered.

9 And the of God withdrew from Moses, that his was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he unto the earth.

10 And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that is , which thing I never had supposed.

11 But now mine own eyes have God; but not my , but my eyes, for my eyes could not have ; for I should have and in his presence; but his was upon me; and I beheld his , for I was before him.

12 And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, came him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.

13 And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy , that I should worship thee?

14 For behold, I could not look upon God, except his should come upon me, and I were transfigured before him. But I look upon thee in the natural man. Is it not so, surely?

15 Blessed be the name of my God, for his hath not altogether withdrawn from me, or else where is thy glory, for it is darkness unto me? And I can judge between thee and God; for God said unto me: God, for him only shalt thou .

16 Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the of mine Only Begotten.

17 And he also gave me commandments when he unto me out of the burning , saying: upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and worship me.

18 And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him: for his has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee. hence, Satan.

19 And now, when Moses had said these words, cried with a loud voice, and ranted upon the earth, and commanded, saying: I am the , worship me.

20 And it came to pass that Moses began to exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of . Nevertheless, upon God, he received , and he commanded, saying: Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of .

21 And now Satan began to tremble, and the earth shook; and Moses received strength, and called upon God, saying: In the name of the Only Begotten, hence, .

22 And it came to pass that Satan cried with a loud voice, with weeping, and wailing, and of teeth; and he departed hence, even from the presence of Moses, that he beheld him not.

23 And now of this thing Moses bore record; but because of it is had among the children of men.

24 And it came to pass that when Satan had departed from the presence of Moses, that Moses lifted up his eyes unto heaven, being filled with the , which beareth record of the Father and the Son;

25 And calling upon the name of God, he beheld his again, for it was upon him; and he heard a , saying: Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty, have thee, and thou shalt be made stronger than many ; for they shall obey thy as if thou wert .

26 And lo, I am , even unto the end of thy days; for thou shalt my people from , even my .

27 And it came to pass, as the voice was still speaking, Moses cast his eyes and the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, it by the of God.

28 And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a which he beheld not; and he discerned them by the Spirit of God; and their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the sea shore.

29 And he beheld many lands; and each land was called , and there were on the face thereof.

30 And it came to pass that Moses called upon God, saying: me, I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what thou madest them?

31 And behold, the glory of the Lord was upon Moses, so that Moses stood in the presence of God, and talked with him . And the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own have I made these things. Here is and it remaineth in me.

32 And by the of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of and truth.

33 And without number have I ; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the I them, which is mine .

34 And the man of all men have I called , which is .

35 But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I them.

36 And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then thy servant will be content.

37 And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The , they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.

38 And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no to my works, neither to my words.

39 For behold, this is my and my to bring to pass the and of man.

40 And now, Moses, my son, I will speak unto thee concerning this earth upon which thou standest; and thou shalt the things which I shall speak.

41 And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as and many of them from the which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another unto thee; and they shall be again among the children of menamong as many as shall believe.

42 (These words were unto Moses in the mount, the name of which shall not be known among the children of men. And now they are spoken unto you. Show them not unto any except them that believe. Even so. Amen.)

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See also Atone, Atonement; Celestial Glory; Crown; Exaltation; Life

To live forever as families in Gods presence (D&C 132:1920, 24, 55). Eternal life is Gods greatest gift to man.

Thou hast the words of eternal life, John 6:68.

This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, John 17:3 (D&C 132:24).

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, 1Tim. 6:12.

He that hath eternal life is rich, D&C 6:7 (D&C 11:7).

Eternal life is the greatest of all the gifts of God, D&C 14:7 (Rom. 6:23).

The righteous will receive peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, D&C 59:23.

Those who endure to the end shall have a crown of eternal life, D&C 66:12 (D&C 75:5).

All who die without the gospel who would have received it had they lived are heirs of the celestial kingdom, D&C 137:79.

Gods work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, Moses 1:39.

God gives eternal life to the obedient, Moses 5:11.

Continued here:
Eternal Life

On a clement August evening in 1902, Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt III stood on the lawn of her Newport, Rhode Island, estate, receiving two hundred guests and looking, her son later recalled, like a Gainsborough painting in her plumed picture hat, cabochon emeralds, and diamond stomacher. The entertainment for the evening, which the press billed as The Fete of Roses and she called an at-home, included, in addition to a carnival complete with a calcium-lit midway and various games of chance, a production of the current musical hit The Wild Rose . Mrs. Vanderbilt spared neither effort nor expensethe Knickerbocker Theater went dark for two nights while the cast, scenery, and stage crew traveled north to her specially constructed theaterbut her guests did not see the show that was packing in lesser mortals on Broadway. Like an MTV programmer, Mrs. Vanderbilt knew her audiences attention span. She shaved the performance from three hours to one. While no one is claiming The Wild Rose marked a high point in the history of the American theaterit featured such memorable numbers as Cupid Is the Captain and Mrs. Vanderbilts favorite, They Were All Doing the Sameits mauling by a society matron is emblematic of the wary relationship between money and art.

The cave painters at Lascaux may have been the last to get along without patrons, and for all we know, they had others bringing home their bison. When the artists patron becomes his subject, the situation grows even more dicey. Uneasy is the hand that holds the brush that paints the slavers noble countenance, the merchants proud wife, the robber barons weakchinned heir.

In 1992 the Newport Art Museum assembled an exhibition of about two hundred portraits spanning a period of three centuries. Taken together, the paintings represented not only a whos who of Newport but a retrospective of American portraiture from colonial times to the present, from Gilbert Stuart and Robert Feke toand heres the surpriseDiego Rivera and Richard Lindner. Many of the portraits, which belong to the sitters or their descendants, have since returned to their owners, but now the museum has put together 196 of them in a volume called Newportraits , published by the University Press of New England.

The collection, like the history of the city, has its high points and low. Settled in 1639 by a group fleeing the religious persecution of the Massachusetts Colony, colonial Newport was both celebrated and condemned for its tolerance. While Cotton Mather fulminated against this common receptacle of the convicts of Jerusalem and the outcasts of the land, merchants grew rich from the Triangular Trade, twenty-two distilleries turned molasses into rum, and one of the first paintings in the collection, a circa-1740 portrait of Mary Winthrop Wanton by Robert Feke, featured a dcolletage so daring that in 1859 the directors of the local Redwood Library commissioned Jane Stuart, the daughter of Gilbert, to paint, under protest, a nosegay over the cleavage. Jane Stuart called the retouching an act of vandalism, but the patrons prudishness trumped the artists eye. And she had a widowed mother and several sisters to support.

Occupied by the British during the Revolution, Newport never recovered its former prosperity, despite its popularity as a summering spot for Southern gentry fleeing their native heat and malaria in the first half of the nineteenth century and New England intellectuals seeking one anothers company in the second. Two Pulitzer Prize-winning writers, Maud Howe Elliott (awarded the prize with her sisters Florence Marion Howe Hall and Laura E. Richards for a biography of their mother, Julia Ward Howe) and Edith Wharton, make appearances in this collection. Despite Whartons comment that she did not care for watering-place mundanities, she followed the trend toward fashionable European painters and sat for the Englishman Edward Harrison May.

UNEASY IS THE HAND THAT HOLDS THE BRUSH THAT PAINTS THE SLAVERS NOBLE COUNTENANCE, THE MERCHANTS PROUD WIFE.

By then the Gilded Age had arrived. The village built on tolerance had become the resort notorious for exclusivity. Newport was the very Holy of Holies, the playground of the great ones of the earth from which all intruders were ruthlessly excluded by a set of cast-iron rules, wrote Elizabeth Drexel Lehr, whose husband, Harry, succeeded Ward McAllister as the arbiter of social acceptability.

Sitting for a portrait is an act of hubris. The subject is saying, I am worth looking at. It is also a statement of trust in the artist: I will let you fashion the face I show to posterity. Even after photography had introduced a less risky road to immortality, the rich, the powerful, the celebratedand those who wanted to becontinued to take the gamble.

When it comes to showing a fine face to future generations, the modern subjects in this collection who have perhaps fared best were painted by a loved one. Olive Bigelow Pell arrived in Newport as the second wife of Congressman Herbert Claiborne Pell. Her Pells at Tea , 1933, captures the ease and tenderness of a halcyon family moment. Mr. Pell lounges, Mrs. Pell serves, her daughter perches on the arm of Herberts chair, her son-in-law bounces her grandchild on his knee. No outsider intrudes to disturb the peace. The artist is one of the family. (The fact that the family is an amalgam of two shattered by divorce, a somewhat unusual state of affairs at the time, adds another dimension to the scene.)

SITTING FOR A PORTRAIT IS A STATEMENT OF TRUST. THE SUBJECT IS SAYING, I WILL LET YOU FASHION THE FACE I SHOW TO POSTERITY.

The equally affectionate Herbert and Claiborne Pell , 1927, tells a story as clearly and eloquently as a Norman Rockwell illustration. Pell painted this luminous portrait of her husband and his son, the future senator Claiborne Pell, shortly after her marriage. The arrangement of handsHerbert Pell raises his right to make a point while his son clasps his fathers left in his own small fistcreates a magical circle of private love and public duty.

It is a truism that portraits reveal what is important to the sitterthe squire with his horses and hunting dogs, the dowager with her diamondsbut in Pells self-portrait, One Lump or Two? , her gorgeous silver tea service and tantalizingly edible sandwiches shimmer with irony as well as exuberance.

Pell saw. A diplomatic colleague of her husband wrote to Franklin D. Roosevelt that she was the embodiment of Ruskins remark that for a thousand who can think there is only one that can see. She also worked, constantly, painstakingly, passionately. But other artistically inclined insiders found the conflict between the delights of life and the demands of art more difficult to reconcile. An artist neighbor encouraged Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney to pay less attention to her social role and more to her sculpture, and fortunately for the museum-going public, she followed his advice. The Senator Pell pictured here as a boy ascribed his championship of the National Endowment for the Arts to the fact that he was a frustrated artist. But for some the good life proved too alluring. The senior Pell, a model of sober statesmanship in the portrait, later wrote his son, My worst quality was, of course, an almost uncontrollable unwillingness to work except sporadically.

In a world where work is an afterthought, or at least a choice, what, then, are the inhabitants thinking when they ask artists, some of them self-proclaimed revolutionaries, to paint their portraits? They are supporting the arts certainly, but they could do that by buying an existing canvas. The answer, I suspect, has something to do with family pride and the aforementioned hubris. The result is often fabulous, but the likeness is not always flattering. Sometimes it is not even a likeness.

Diego Riveras Jojo (Joseph Hudson) , 1955, is a beautiful and haunting case in point. The painting is not really a portrait, since the little heirs face bears an uncanny similarity to the aging Mexican artists features, but with its mysterious imagery and arresting composition it is pure seduction.

A 1982 painting by Larry Rivers of Jojos sister, Titi, Princess von Fuerstenberg, Portrait of the Princess (Titi Hudson in Blazing Pink) , does achieve an individual and immediate resemblance. A lyrical sketch in black on a splash of pink, the portrait reveals a wealth of character with an economy of line. Clear-eyed but not unaffectionate, it also illustrates what Rivers called my conflict with and about the useful rich, toward whom I acted more democratically than I felt. The catalogue does not reveal what the princess thought of the painting, but it does say that Josephine Bryce was delighted with the way her friend Salvador Dali portrayed her. Posed in profile like a Renaissance noble, she wears her favorite green velvet dress and holds a red carnation to signify wifely devotion. The background is recognizable Dali: a lurid sky; a surrealistic lake; a miniature Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, and musicians to represent the subjects interest in the arts. Mrs. Bryce was, in fact, posing against the steel walls of a City Bank vault. She was determined to sit wearing the family emeralds, but they belonged to her brother at the time, and the insurance company would not permit them to leave the premises. The portrait hung in Mrs. Bryces dining room for forty years and always disturbed her daughter, who wondered if the artist hadnt seen a hardness in her mother that shed missed.

SOCIETY PORTRAITISTS TEND TO SEND VALENTINES; AVANT-GARDE ARTISTS MAKE NO PROMISES.

The possibility brings us back to that uneasy relationship. Society portraitists who are insiders tend to send valentines. Avant-garde artists of international standing make no promises, and a sitter who chooses one of the latter takes a chance. It is hard to look at the Dali portrait without thinking hes having a little fun at his friends expense. It is impossible to gaze at the Rivera painting without falling in love with a work of art that resembles no one but speaks to everyone. Sometimes art triumphs and the patron still comes out ahead.

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The Perils Of Immortality | AMERICAN HERITAGE

Goddes Athena and Olive tree

It was Athens, goddess of wisdom, the wisest of Zeuss daughters, that had stuck a spear into the ground at the break of civilization, and the spear had turned into an olive tree

In Ancient Rome, the olive oil traders dedicated a statue and a temple to Hercules Olivarius, and the dead were traditionally decorated with olive boughs. In Ancient Pompei the Romans used olive oil for washing their hair. The Garden of Gethsemane, where Christ often prayed and was arrested, was described by the disciples as an olive grove.

It is said that in Italy there is an olive tree that is 3500 years old. Olive trees can be seen as a symbol of tradition and a witness of eras gone by. It is a bearer of long forgotten times and legacies.There is another sights in Kastel Stafilic, the oldest olive tree in Croatia, a natural monument, an olive tree more than 1500 years old. It is supposed that it has been brought from the South Italy or Greece, planted here for someones personal needs, to produce the high quality olive oil. Later on, this specie has spread all over the Dalmatia.This oldest olive tree in Croatia has survived many wars, diseases, natural disasters and human negligence and is still bearing fruits.This is one of the reasons why the olive tree is regarded as a symbol of patience: looking at an olive tree gives a feeling of serenity, peace and tranquility. Furthermore, the olive tree is the symbol of immortality: it gives power to kings and priests, and its boughs crown heroes and Olympic champions.

The Hellenes told the fable of the minor dispute that had broken out on Olympus between Neptune and Minerva, in order to decide who would reign in Attica. Jupiter proposed that the kingdom should be granted to whoever presented the most useful gift for Humanity. Neptune presented a horse as swift as the wind, while Minerva brought a small olive branch, affirming that in the future it would become a strong tree, capable of living for centuries and whose fruits would be good to eat and from them an extraordinary liquid would be able to be extracted for the nourishment of man, soothe his wounds, give strength to his body and light for his nights, since he would know how to keep a small flame lit for hours.Fired with enthusiasm, Jupiter decided that Attica would be for Minerva and that its capital would be known as Athens.

The importance of olive oil to the people of the Mediterranean is reflected in their writings and even their laws. The Greek poet Homer called it liquid gold. The Greek philosopher Democritus believed a diet of honey and olive oil could allow a man to live to be a hundred, an extremely old age in a time where life expectancy hovered around forty years. In the sixth century B.C. the Athenian legislator Solon introduced laws protecting olive trees. In a grove only two trees could be removed each year. Breaking this law incurred severe penalties, including execution. There are more than a hundred references in the Bible to olives and olive oil.

Olive tree in Croatia

Due to favourable natural and geographical conditions, olive production inCroatia has a long tradition. During the period of about the last six centuries, it hasdeveloped into one of the most important economic sectors of coastal Croatia. It isconsidered that the first cultivated olive trees were brought to the East Adriatic coast inthe 4th century BC, by the Greeks (KARICA ET AL., 1996). Since the olives adjusted to thenatural, especially climatic, conditions, they were planted on the other islands and on thepart of shore with same natural characteristics.

Speaking of the historical development of olive cultivation, it is necessary toexplain its importance for the islands that were, for practical purposes, isolated from theshore until the second half of the 20th century. On a great number of Croatian islands,mostly those situated in the Middle or South Adriatic, during the summer there is a longperiod characterised by little or no rainfall. In addition, those islands are mostly composedof calcium-carbonate and dolomite, which is the main reason why there are no surfaceflows and all the water that comes from the rain goes into the subsoil.Since olive is a cultivar that does not demand a great quantity of humidity and isperfectly adjusted to the natural conditions of the coastal part of Croatia, people from theislands accepted it as the only, essential, source of fat.Besides on the islands, olives were introduced in other parts of coastal Croatia,wherever natural conditions (primarily climate) allowed their cultivation.

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The olive tree Symbol of Immortality MYsterious CROATIA

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