Category Archives: Transhuman News

[This is areviewfor Being Humanseason 4, episode 11. There will be SPOILERS.]

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A constant in as much as Aidan, Josh, Sally, and Nora have been, the brownstone has seen death, witches, werewolves, vampires, the possible future death of Josh, and of course ghosts, but now that Sallys father has decided to sell the house, it appears that it is alsonecessitating the break up of the groups experiment. But while some of the residents may be okay with moving on, Lil Smokie (aka Ramona) is seemingly keen to thwart their exit a frightening thought considering the way that she handled the last threat to the groups once happy home, electrocuting Sallys brother Robbie.

Unfortunately for Sally and the others, that little detail (and the meaning of those tally marks) isnt immediately available to them when they meet the seemingly innocent Ramona.Always eager to right a wrong, Sally and Aidan come to the girl ghosts aid, seeking out her twin sister, Beatrice at the DMV. While there, we see Aidan and Sally deal with some of their new-found romantic tension (which follows Aidans steamy dream about Sally) much to the curiosity and confusion of those seated around Aidan, who looks as if he is talking to himself. Its a lighter moment, much likeAidan smashing through Ramonas wall Kool-Aid Man style before yelling Oh yeah and last weeks kiss with the very large Sally proxy, but when it passes, Aidan is being led out of the building by security when Beatrice reacts sourly to his raving claims about her long dead twin.

While Aidan and Sally practice their ghost outreach and bickering skills, Josh is getting to know Ramona, who holds him in his room when Mark and the wolfpack use Astrid (Kennys wolf girlfriend) as a trojan horse to get Nora to let them into the house so they can once again try to get Josh to turn an innocent. This time, though, things end with a bloodbath as Joshs rage turns him into the wolf before Ramona frees and unleashes him onto the pack, which Josh mutilates, including Astrid.

A seemingly inconsequential character when she debuted, Astrid may prove vital in death, sparking not just a war between the wolves and the vampires, but between Kenny and Aidan, who sides with Josh when he pins Astrids death on the wolf pack while hiding her body from Kenny and his goons who assist with the gruesome cleanup a lie that is undone by Astrids ghost.

One of the more hard to pin down characters of this season, Kennys place on Being Human has moved around quite a bit this season. At one point, he seemed like a surprisingly formidable villain before Aidan took a paternal interest in him, choosing to save him over his guilt ridden vampire and vampire slaying wife last week. That Aidan barely seemed as if he was affected by Suzzanas death lends further proof to both the comfort of his choice and Suzzanas solitary purpose pushing Aidan to care about his vampire offspring so that the looming betrayal can be all the more impactful. Is Kenny still a formidable enemy? Its hard to say, but he certainly has the upper hand in that he knows that Aidan lied to him about Astrid.

See the article here:
Being Human: Ramona the Pest

The Far Post is a co-production of Roads & Kingdoms and Sports Illustrated. Every other week until the World Cup, we'll publish a new feature on global soccer culture. For more Roads & Kingdoms coverage of food, war, and music, visit its online magazine.

By Eliot Rothwell, The Far Post

In 1992, Tavriya Simferopol made history when it became the first champion of independent Ukraine. The country had emerged a year before from the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a process that demanded not only the restructuring of borders, armies, and civil services, but also of national football leagues. Tavriya, from Crimea, beat Dynamo Kyiv, the giant club from the capital, in the final to win Ukraine's inaugural competition.

That victory may be the first and last time a club from Crimea ever achieves that feat. Two Sundays ago, on March 16, while Tavriya was losing to Dynamo Kyiv, a referendum held in Crimea returned a 96.77 percent vote in favor of uniting the territory with the Russian Federation. As if on cue, the Russian Football Union (RFU) has also announced its intention to incorporate the two major Crimean clubs.

"In the near future, at working meetings we will prepare a project of the relevant documents" needed to absorb the two clubs, said RFU president Nikolai Tolstykh. "We will hold consultations with FIFA and UEFA, and with the Ukrainian Football Federation." It looks as though Ukraine's first national champion may no longer play in Ukraine.

At stake are the two crown jewels of Crimean soccer, currently competing in the Ukrainian Premier League. Tavriya Simferopol and FK Sevastopol, which was recently promoted from the second tier, both regularly entertain clubs from mainland Ukraine.

Tavriya remains one of only three teams to win the Ukrainian Premier League, in the esteemed company of Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk. Despite this history, its recent form remains worrying. Current manager Nikolay Kostov has been unable to arrest the fall into the lower reaches of the league, with attendances at the nearly 20,000-capacity Lokomotiv Stadium waning.

Away from the pitch, financial struggles also threaten the club's existence. Tavriya's main financial backer, Dmytro Firtash a titanium magnate whose rise has been closely linked to the now-ousted, pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was arrested in Austria on suspicion of bribery before posting the largest bail in Austrian history last week. He says the charges, which come after a long FBI investigation, are politically motivated. Either way, the drama has led to speculation about his future willingness to pay the wages and transfer fees of his team, the Krymchyany (Crimeans).

Russian Football Federation president Nikolai Tolstykh, center, is looking to absorb a pair of Crimean clubs into the Russian league set-up.

Denis Tyrin/AP

Go here to see the original:
Far Post: A Soccer Secession