Relic

In religion, a relic usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Shamanism, and many other religions. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning "remains," and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to "leave behind, or abandon." A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics.

Relics in classical antiquity

In ancient Greece, a city or sanctuary might claim to possess, without necessarily displaying, the remains of a venerated hero as a part of a hero cult. Other venerable objects associated with the hero were more likely to be on display in sanctuaries, such as spears, shields, or other weaponry; chariots, ships or figureheads; furniture such as chairs or tripods; and clothing. The sanctuary of the Leucippides at Sparta claimed to display the egg of Leda.

The bones were not regarded as holding a particular power derived from the hero, with some exceptions, such as the divine shoulder of Pelops held at Olympia. Miracles and healing were not regularly attributed to them; rather, their presence was meant to serve a tutelary function, as the tomb of Oedipus was said to protect Athens.

Halo 2

Halo 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. A Microsoft Windows version of the game was released on May 31, 2007, developed by an internal team at Microsoft Game Studios known as Hired Gun. The game features a new game engine, as well as using the Havok physics engine; added weapons and vehicles, and new multiplayer maps. The player alternately assumes the roles of the human Master Chief and the alien Arbiter in a 26th-century conflict between the human United Nations Space Command and genocidal Covenant.

After the success of Combat Evolved, a sequel was expected and highly anticipated. Bungie found inspiration in plot points and gameplay elements that had been left out of their first game, including multiplayer over the Internet through Xbox Live. Time constraints forced a series of cutbacks in the size and scope of the game, including a cliffhanger ending to the game's campaign mode that left many in the studio dissatisfied. Among Halo 2's marketing efforts was an alternate reality game called "I Love Bees" that involved players solving real-world puzzles.

Relic (novel)

Relic is a 1995 novel by American authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and is the first in the Special Agent Pendergast series. As a techno-thriller, it commented on the possibilities inherent in genetic manipulation, while also being critical of museums and their role both in society and in the scientific community. It is the basis of the 1997 film The Relic.

Plot

In September of 1987, Dr. Julian Whittlesey is leading an expedition through the Amazon Basin in the Brazilian rainforest, in search of the lost Kothoga tribe. He hopes to prove that they still do exist, and in the process learn more about their culture, including their lizard god Mbwun ("He Who Walks On All Fours"), supposedly the son of Satan. However, Whittlesey disappears after he finds the mutilated body of his partner Crocker, and realizes that a creature in the brush is stalking him. A year later, in Belem, a dock worker named Ven is suddenly and brutally killed when a freighter arrives with a shipment of crates from Whittlesey's expedition.

Distraction

Distraction is the process of diverting the attention of an individual or group from the desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information. Distraction is caused by: the lack of ability to pay attention; lack of interest in the object of attention; or the great intensity, novelty or attractiveness of something other than the object of attention. Distractions come from both external sources, and internal sources.

In the workplace

Multitasking could also be considered as distraction in situations requiring full attention on a single object (e.g., sports, academic tests, performance). The issue of distraction in the workplace is studied in interruption science. According to Gloria Mark, a leader in interruption science, the average knowledge worker switches tasks every three minutes, and, once distracted, a worker takes nearly a half-hour to resume the original task.

In fiction

In works of fiction, distraction is often used as a source of comedy, whether the amusement comes from the gullibility of those distracted or the strangeness of whatever is utilized to create the distraction.

Distractions (disambiguation)

Distractions may refer to:

Music

Television

Distractions (Heroes)

"Distractions" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes.

Plot

Claude and Peter walk invisibly through a busy New York street, where Claude tells Peter that he absorbs other powers as a reflex and that he is going to help him gain some control over it. With Claude's mentoring, Peter begins to question those people closest to him. Claude is convinced that Peter needs to put his loved ones out of his mind because they are distracting him from releasing his full potential. At Claude's suggestion, the two men follow Simone.

Niki's psychological counselor tells Niki she wants to speak with Jessica. She assures Niki the cuffs on her wrists could contain an elephant, and she is able to use a taser. After a mild sense of hypnosis, Niki starts to talk about how Jessica was talented at playing the piano and how her sister said that she could "turn Mozart into a monkey." Then Jessica comes out and confirms she said this. She breaks free of the cuffs and grabs the psychologist before she can subdue Jessica with the taser. The guards later discover Niki lying on the ground and the psychological counselor lying unconscious, a hand bent unnaturally, with several taser burns on her jacket. Later, Aron Malsky visits Niki in her room. He tells her that all charges against her have been dropped, thanks to the help of Linderman. Niki returns home to reunite with D.L and Micah, but unbeknownst to the two, Jessica is in control.