Mystic (comics)

Mystic is a comic book that was published by the Florida-based CrossGen Comics. Created by writer Ron Marz and artists Brandon Peterson and John Dell, it was one of five flagship titles in the company's Sigilverse shared universe. Mystic ran for 43 issues (July 2000 - January 2004).

Plot summary

Set on the planet Ciress, in which sorcery is an apprenticed profession organized in guilds, the story centered on sisters Genevieve and Giselle. The former had devoted her life to becoming a top sorceress; the latter is a spoiled socialite who much against her wishes is granted great power and responsibility via a mysterious sigil.

The magic guilds at the start of the series are: Dark Magi Guild, Astral Guild, Shaman Guild, Enchantress Guild, Tantric Guild, Djinn Guild, and Nouveau Guild.

The first six issues of Mystic describe Giselle's gaining of the Sigil and the efforts of the guild leaders to regain her power. Giselle gains her Sigil in the first issue and without intending to, steals the spirits of the ancient (and long dead) guild leaders. She also gets a guide in the form of a talking cat-like creature with yellow eyes and a love interest named Thierry Chevailier (an artist but without any magical ability). Starting in issue 4, Giselle gains the attention of one of The First who goes by the name Darrow. At first Darrow seems to help Giselle but later we learn he is under orders from Ingra to sway Giselle to the side of House Sinister.

Mystic (schooner)

Mystic is a three-masted, gaff-rigged, square topsail schooner. Mystic's home port is Mystic, Connecticut, United States. The Mystic was built in 2007 to be used as a charter vessel.

See also

References

MYSTIC (surveillance program)

MYSTIC is a formerly secret program used since 2009 by the US National Security Agency (NSA) to collect the metadata as well as the content of phone calls from several entire countries. The program was first revealed in March 2014, based upon documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

MYSTIC operates under the legal authority of Executive Order 12333.

History

The MYSTIC program started in 2009, but reached its full extent, the capability to record the content of phone calls for an entire country for 30 days, in 2011. Documents from 2013 say the surveillance program could be extended to other countries.

On March 18, 2014, the existence of the program was first revealed by The Washington Post, based upon documents leaked by Edward Snowden. It was reported that the NSA had the capability to record all the phone calls from a foreign country that wasn't identified by the Post.

On May 19, 2014, the website The Intercept published the name of one country of which the phone class were recorded, and also identified three other countries of which only the telephony metadata were collected (see below).

Holiday

A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tradition of cultural or religious significance. Holidays may be designated by governments, religious institutions, or other groups or organizations. The degree to which normal activities are reduced by a holiday may depend on local laws, customs, the type of job being held or even personal choices.

The concept of holidays has most often originated in connection with religious observances. The intention of a holiday was typically to allow individuals to tend to religious duties associated with important dates on the calendar. In most modern societies, however, holidays serve as much of a recreational function as any other weekend days or activities.

In many societies there are important distinctions between holidays designated by governments and holidays designated by religious institutions. For example, in many predominantly Christian nations, government-designed holidays may center on Christian holidays, though non-Christians may instead observe religious holidays associated with their faith. In some cases, a holiday may only be nominally observed. For example, many Jews in the Americas and Europe treat the relatively minor Jewish holiday of Hanukkah as a "working holiday", changing very little of their daily routines for this day.

Say It (Britt Nicole album)

Say It is the debut album from Britt Nicole. It was released May 22, 2007 and features the hit songs, "You", "Believe" and "Set the World On Fire".

Track listing

Singles

Critical review

About.com's Kim Jones said "bottom line ... Britt Nicole has a winner going with Say It. This girl has it all: talent, drive and a huge heart for ministry. This is one of those faces that you will be seeing a lot more of in the future."

CCM Magazine's Meredith Ball wrote "Musically and vocally, this album is solid. The melodies are infectious, and her voice is appropriately raspy without sacrificing vocal flexibility. Say It is a good listen the entire way through."

Cross Rhythms' Tony Cummings said "this is the debut from 2007 which established this precocious pop talent on the US CCM scene but somehow missed the Cross Rhythms reviewing process. Not that that omission stopped your favourite media organisation from selecting five tracks for its radio stations and all of them - "Holiday", "Good Day", "Don't Worry Now", "Say It" and "World That Breaks" - are as catchy confections as you're likely to hear anywhere." In addition, they said the album "all in all, this is still pure pop put together with considerable skill."

Holiday (America album)

Holiday is the fourth original studio album by American folk rock band America, released by Warner Bros. Records in June 1974 (see 1974 in music). The album was produced in London by noted Beatles producer George Martin.

The album was a big hit in the US, reaching number 3 on the Billboard album chart and being certified gold by the RIAA. It produced two hit singles: "Tin Man" reached number 4 on the Billboard singles chart and went to number 1 on both the adult contemporary chart as well as the Radio & Records chart; and "Lonely People" which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard singles chart and also hit number 1 on the adult contemporary chart. Several other songs received radio airplay on FM stations playing album tracks, including "Baby It's Up To You" and "Another Try".

History

Bandmember Dewey Bunnell was thrilled at the prospect of working with Martin as producer. He was quoted as saying that it "was great working with George. It was like we knew each other. We were familiar with the Beatles, of course, and we had that British sense of humor." In a separate interview, Dan Peek recalled to Circus magazine: "Gerry (Beckley) had been in England, and we'd talked about using George Martin as our producer. He's such a hot arranger, thinking about all the stuff he's done. There were several other people we wanted to use, but that idea sort of flashed and George was available."