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22-year-old Azer Ćatović was born in Mostar, and has been living here for 14 years. Azer grew up with a sight defect, but by secondary school, he had become fully independent thanks to his education.
As he awaits the start of the second academic year, he spends his summer break doing running training sessions, reading, and taking walks. He does most of his running sessions on a treadmill in the fitness hall of the Center for Blind and Visually Impaired Children and Youth.
The centre was recently renovated by UNDP and offers full time support in learning and other skills like mobility, self-care, and sight exercises for the visually impaired, use of teaching aids, playing games, going out to town and attending events.
Read more: bit.ly/35fhLVw
Photos: Sulejman Omerbašić/ UNDP Bosnia and Herzegovina
The understated but visually effective - it looks fittingly, as if it has suffered a direct hit from a cannonball - pub sign of The Gun, a charming pub / restaurant on the Thames riverfront at Coldharbour (that's the name of the road it sits on, just off Preston's Road) in London's Docklands.
As well as an impressive menu - and a good range of beers - the pub has a glazed terrace which overlooks the river and the O2.
These jays were amazingly loud and acoustically conspicuous. But they were visually shy when I was there and always hopping quickly behind branches or trunks of trees. Took a lot of stalking on multiple occasions just to get even two shots of them. Guango Lodge, Ecuador
Bangkok's most unmissable attraction is of course the Grand Palace, and most specifically the temple complex of Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), famed for it's riot of coloured and gilded ornament, paintings and sculptures; quite simply, so visually stunning there is nothing quite like it anywhere else!
The Palace and Temple complex were begun in 1782, the year the capital was moved to Bangkok, and parts of the palace buildings betray 18th century European influence combined with traditional Thai style, such as the breathtaking gilt spires on the roof. Most of the interiors of the Palace itself are off limits to visitors since, although no longer the main residence of the Thai monarchy, it is frequently used for state functions and ceremonies.
The Wat Phra Kaew complex however is the greatest draw, famed for it's stunning architecture and the famous 'Yaksha' guardian figures that flank all the main entrances to the complex. These towering figures, with their rich colours and tapering crowns, represent demonic characters from the mythological epic the 'Ramakien', and are identifiable as distinct individuals, all here serving a benign, protective role.
The Ramakien is also the subject for a stunning sequence of wall paintings within the cloister that encirlces the entire site, illustrating in minute detail the battles of the heroic monkey warriors, led by the monkey god Hanuman, against the demonic armies and kingdoms of Tosakan.
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha itself forms the largest structure and contains the venerated (though small) Buddha image. The complex contains several other iconic buildings clad in sumptuous decor, most notably the library or 'mondop' with it's gilt spire along with the great golden stupa.
The temple complex is technically a royal chapel rather than a working monastery like most Thai temples as it has no resident monks (the sheer volume of visitors leaves little room for anyone else anyway!).
We made two visits here on separate days; our first was with a group and far too rushed, we missed elements we'd wanted to see and the light was poor for photography, so we returned 2 days later with as much time and sunlight as we could want, which was well worth the effort!
One of the more.. visually interesting (and meme filled) anime series that I can think of is none other than Jojo's Bizarre Adventures, which if I'm being completely honest I still don't actually know anything relevant about. I was first introduced to the series when the fighting game came out in the arcade and on the original Playstation. From what I can gather, the series revolves around the fight between the generations of the Joestar family who battle against their immortal supernatural foe, Dio Brando and his forces of darkness using various weapons, Stand abilities (symbiotically bonded magical beings) and of course, EPIC POSING. In fact, the only thing I'm 100 percent certain about in this blurb I just wrote is that there is EPIC POSING.
Well, just after my return to Ontario, I was able to purchase one of these for $20 CAD - presenting the Medicos Super Action Statue JoJo's Bizzare Adventures: Battle Tendency Joseph Joestar figure. Purchased for the purposes of epic posing.
The Jojo series is set in multiple time periods, with the prequel (Battle Tendancy) featuring a Joseph Joestar, the second Jojo and grandfather to the current Jojo (Jotaro), in his prime. Not that I would have minded a middle aged version with a beard and Hermit Purple effects, but this is what I happened upon. What's more interesting is that this my first Medicos product, who make the Super Action Statue series of figures. Unshockingly, the only time I've ever heard their name come up is when Jojo figures are being sold.. but what IS shocking is that apparently they make more than just Jojo figures. Joseph has a MSRP of 6,800 yen, and was popular enough to warrant three releases (2013, 2015, and 2019), along with a repaint with a different head in 2015.
The set comes with the figure, two headsculpts (neutral expression, angry expression with headband), crossbow with drawstring pulled/unpulled effects, a loose bolo, sledgehammer, a variety of posing/weapon holding hands, and a dynamic stand.
The Medicos body (or at least Joseph) seems to be more in line with a true 1/12 scale as compared to Figuarts.... or Joseph is like 7 ft. tall. Either or, I'm OK with it. I'm not sure if there is a base Medicos body, but if there is a one, the Jojo line doed a pretty damn good job at hiding it. Of course, the character designs in the series are so outlandish that there should be no surprise that finding common parts is difficult, though what is easy to see is that the characters all share the same workout regime. Sculptors definitely captured the distinct look of Joseph, down to the eyes and lips that are very much the signature look of the designs. Fabric detailing is pretty much all I could ask for, and the detailing on the muscles is great only to be surpassed by the excellent work done on the hair. Not a dull spot on either sculpt hair wise no matter where you look on that manly mullet of his.
Of course, articulation is the name of the game, and Joseph isn't a slouch either. He features toe, full ankle, double jointed knees, thigh swivel, hips, waist, mid torso, shoulder pivot and rotate with independent joint for shoulder collapse/chest expand, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, wrist, neck, and head. After some fiddling around with the figure, the only real thing on my wish list was that the hips would allow for further range of motion in the hips, particularly movement of knee towards the body. Neck/head articulation is limited due to the luscious head of hair Joseph has. Otherwise, between the various hands he's got and the ability to move, well, Joseph has all your Voguing needs covered.
Paint is kind of where things fall somewhat apart here.. sort of. For the most part the paint is pretty good. Quality is solid throughout most of the base body, with in my opinion missing paint on the blue part where the knee connecs to the lower leg. Flesh tones are a bit muddy when it comes to texture, most likey the result of a high number of coats needed. Work on the face and hair is surprisingly sharp given the small size, especially the highlights of the eyes. The finer details, however, go a bit into poor quality, most evident with the masking and paint of the fingers and the smaller accents such as the gold on the knuckles, belt buckles, and so on. Bad as it is, however, it thankfully never reaches early 2000s Playarts level of bad, as you can still make out the well detailed fingers and other fine areas, whereas Play Arts would have just dumped a blob of paint on and hoped for the best. Decal work is also pretty good overall, with no real complaints from me.
The overall build is quite good. No issues with warped parts, misaligned joints or limb length, joint strength. Maybe it's just my eyes, but to me it seems like Joseph is made from the same stuff they make NECA, McFarlane, and other North American figures from, just with much, much better QC. I mention this because the plastic seems softer compared to the stuff on my Figuarts, and would be unable to support the finer details use as the meshwork on Endgame Widow's suit. I suspect that material choices might play into the overall price point as well, because sad as it is 6,900 yen is relatively cheap for something like this. Furthermore, while the crossbow and sledgehammer and functional and generally good to look at, upon closer inspection you'll notice some warping and general softness of details.
So overall, a pretty good figure that isn't as crisp looking as Figma or Figuarts, but is able to hold its own due to the very good articulation. The Jojo universe is filled with all sorts of very visually striking characters, and despite my general unfamiliarity of with the property, even I have my favourites. It'll be interesting to see if I run into any of these in the future at a price point that makes me warm and fuzzy, because I really don't see them available for sale that often.
But you can bet if it's on my way somewhere, I'll be there to buy it.
The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament is the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center, along with two visually impaired Iowa Veterans. These visionaries created the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for TRAINING, EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE. In 2008, it became one of six VA national rehabilitation programs for Veterans. The event expanded to include not only blind Veterans, but amputees, wheelchairbound Veterans, and those with other life changing disabilities. It takes place each year in Iowa City.
The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament is the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center, along with two visually impaired Iowa Veterans. These visionaries created the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for TRAINING, EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE. In 2008, it became one of six VA national rehabilitation programs for Veterans. The event expanded to include not only blind Veterans, but amputees, wheelchairbound Veterans, and those with other life changing disabilities. It takes place each year in Iowa City.
Day 2. Angkor Wat is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking. It is a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned by five lotus-like towers rising 65 meters from ground level. Angkor Wat is the centerpiece of any visit to the temples of Angkor.
At the apex of Khmer political and military dominance in the region, Suryavarman II constructed Angkor Wat in the form of a massive 'temple-mountain' dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu. It served as his state temple, though the temple’s uncommon westward orientation has led some to suggest that it was constructed as Suryavarman II’s funerary temple. Other temples of the same style and period include Thommanon, Banteay Samre, Wat Atwea and Beng Melea, which may have served as a prototype to Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall measuring 1300 meters x 1500 meters. The temple itself is 1 km square and consists of three levels surmounted by a central tower. The walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas-reliefs and carvings. Nearly 2000 distinctively rendered apsara carvings adorn the walls throughout the temple and represent some of the finest examples of apsara carvings in Angkorian era art. But it is the exterior walls of the lower level that display the most extraordinary bas-reliefs, depicting stories and characters from Hindu mythology and the historical wars of Suryavarman II. It is in the viewing of the bas-reliefs that a tour guide can be very helpful.
The northern reflecting pool in front is the most popular sunrise location. For sunrise, arrive very early, well before sunrise begins. The sun will rise behind Angkor Wat providing a silhouette of Angkor’s distinctively shaped towers against a colored sunrise sky. Some of the best colors appear just before the sun breaks over the horizon.
The visual impact of Angkor Wat, particularly on one's first visit, is awesome. As you pass through the outer gate and get your first glimpse, its size and architecture make it appear two dimensional, like a giant postcard photo against the sky. After you cross through the gate and approach the temple along the walkway it slowly gains depth and complexity. To maximize this effect you should make your first visit in optimal lighting conditions, i.e. after 2:00PM. Do not make your first visit to Angkor Wat in the morning when the backlighting obscures the view.
The first level of is the most artistically interesting. Most visitors begin their exploration with the bas-reliefs that cover the exterior wall of the first level, following the bas-reliefs counterclockwise around the temple. Bas-relief highlights include the mythological Battle of Kuru on the west wall; the historical march of the army of Suryavarman II, builder of Angkor Wat, against the Cham, followed by scenes from Heaven and Hell on the south wall; and the classic ‘Churning of the Ocean Milk’ on the east wall.
The temple interior is not as densely carved as the first level exterior, but still sports hundreds of fine carvings of apsaras and scenes from Hindu mythology. A guide can be quite helpful in explaining the stories of the various chambers, statues and architectural forms to be found in the interior. At the upper-most of your tour of the temple, the central tower on the third level houses four Buddha images, each facing a different cardinal point, highlighting the fact that though Angkor Wat was constructed as a Hindu temple, it has served as a Buddhist temple since Buddhism became Cambodia’s dominant religion in the 14th century. Some say that it is good luck to pay homage to all four Buddha images before departing Angkor.
Source: Canby Publications Co., Ltd
Interaction of a special kind. The guy is focus is Rajashekar he is visually impaired. Yet in a week he will be appearing for his high school diploma test conducted by the Ap State Government. He cannot take this test in Braille. The volunteer next to him is reading his questions from the test paper from him. Rajashekar has to be very attentive. He needs to understand the question, formulate the answer and reply it back to his scribe so that the volunteer can write it down for him.
Today he is taking the Math paper.
Story 2/5 www.flickr.com/groups/hpc/discuss/72157615184431603/
Dakkhina Bahadur, 30, is physically and visually impaired, who lives with her husband and two children at Baraikhali in Dacope upazila in Khulna. Cyclone Amphan destroyed her stock of “Chaar”, or catching equipment for crabs made from bamboo. Her business of selling Chaar was steady before the Covid-19 pandemic, but that came to a halt soon after. She received cash support from UN Women as a victim of Cyclone Amphan as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, which she used to purchase raw materials for making new batches of Chaar. This helped her to resume selling the item again. Business has not been brisk compared to the pre-pandemic days six months ago, but at least now she has begun again.
Photo: UN Women/Fahad Kaizer
Toute reproduction sur un support imprimé ou publication sur internet devra faire l'objet d'une demande expresse auprès du service communication de la Fédération Française Handisport.
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Toute utilisation ainsi autorisée devra mentionner le crédit photo (voir nom du fichier ci-dessus : “©…” ou métadonnées de la photo dans sa taille originale).
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Contact : photos [at] handisport.org
The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament is the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center, along with two visually impaired Iowa Veterans. These visionaries created the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for TRAINING, EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE. In 2008, it became one of six VA national rehabilitation programs for Veterans. The event expanded to include not only blind Veterans, but amputees, wheelchairbound Veterans, and those with other life changing disabilities. It takes place each year in Iowa City.
Senegalese performer Pape Niang performed on June 18, 2013 at the end of the first day of the WIPO Diplomatic Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, held from June 17 to 28, 2013. The diplomatic conference aims to conclude a new international treaty to improve access to books for blind, visually impaired, and other print disabled people by establishing an enabling legal framework to facilitate the production of accessible formats and their exchange across borders.
Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Emmanuel Berrod. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License.
Visually the cupcakes are quite stunning, and look incredible. Tastewise they leave something to be desired. Some were bland, and didn't leave much of an impression on me, except for the one in the center which was supposed to be a chocolate mint, that one I remember cause it tasted like toothpaste.
All photos in this set taken by JEX, all text written by me, unless otherwise noted.
A group of five performers from Brazil, Tribo de Jah - a reggae band formed at the Maranhão School for the blind - performed on June 18, 2013 at the end of the first day of the WIPO Diplomatic Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, held from June 17 to 28, 2013. The diplomatic conference aims to conclude a new international treaty to improve access to books for blind, visually impaired, and other print disabled people by establishing an enabling legal framework to facilitate the production of accessible formats and their exchange across borders.
Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Emmanuel Berrod. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License.
The visually stunning soft-shell crab was delightfully crispy, while still moist inside. Still, we thought that the Chinese-style salt and chilli soft-shell crab was tastier, possibly because Kura's version lacked MSG! :)
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Kura Japanese Dining & Take Away
9 reviews - Write a review
3/76 Ultimo Rd
Haymarket New South Wales 2000, Australia
(02) 9212 5661
Reviews:
- Kura, Haymarket - grabyourfork.blogspot.com/ - Monday, October 31, 2005
Visually the cupcakes are quite stunning, and look incredible. Tastewise they leave something to be desired. Some were bland, and didn't leave much of an impression on me, except for the one in the center which was supposed to be a chocolate mint, that one I remember cause it tasted like toothpaste.
All photos in this set taken by JEX, all text written by me, unless otherwise noted.
***UPDATE*** 7/2/13 Some things are meant to swim upstream. This is heading exactly that way, where it belongs. Thanks LC.
Fireball observed in the SE sky at 8:02 pm. I happened to be outside looking at Venus to see if the clouds would clear for photography (I am in the lower left near last window light) and saw this fireball also captured as an image. The burn lasted 2-3 seconds and had a bright terminal explosion about 10X Venus in brightness. The visual experience is so much better than the solely photo capture,
The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament is the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center, along with two visually impaired Iowa Veterans. These visionaries created the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for TRAINING, EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE. In 2008, it became one of six VA national rehabilitation programs for Veterans. The event expanded to include not only blind Veterans, but amputees, wheelchairbound Veterans, and those with other life changing disabilities. It takes place each year in Iowa City.
Prominent footballers, coaches, international experts and representatives from sport organisations and clubs came together for the launch of ‘A Ball for All’ – a project to promote access to the practice of football for blind and visually impaired people.
The launch event, which was organised by Save the Dream, took place at Aspire Zone on the occasion of National Sport Day.
Run in collaboration with the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), Sasol, under its Definitely Able initiative, Qatar Social & Cultural Centre for the Blind (QSCCB) and Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF), the event featured French ambassador to Qatar Eric Chevallier, Qatar Sports Club and former Inter Milan player Luis Jimenez and legendary international coach Bora Milutinovic.
Inspired by a visually enchanting jewellery box...
Standing tall on the architectural world stage, The Cube, has transformed Birmingham’s skyline, raised its global profile and signifies a new era in the city’s evolution.
Inspired by the vision of award winning architect, Ken Shuttleworth, this most prestigious landmark building animates the canalside offering cutting edge design and breathtaking views in a designer neighbourhood.
Situated in the thriving Westside district of the city centre neighbouring The Mailbox, the intricate glowing tessellations blanket the exterior façade, to be admired from afar. Inside this fascinating ‘jewellery box’, a rich mix of slick residential apartments, exclusive retail, extensive office space, boutique hotel, private spa, a hi-tech automated car park and the city’s first rooftop restaurant reside.
Paying homage to the city’s jewellery heritage, Ken Shuttleworth and his talented team at Make architects visualised a shimmering structure, hovering above a glazed base with bold, geometric form.
The building twists upwards, creating an asymmetrical lightwell central to the public space. Terracing on the upper levels embraces a gem-like courtyard and internal courtyard spaces are lined with glass.
The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament is the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center, along with two visually impaired Iowa Veterans. These visionaries created the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for TRAINING, EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE. In 2008, it became one of six VA national rehabilitation programs for Veterans. The event expanded to include not only blind Veterans, but amputees, wheelchairbound Veterans, and those with other life changing disabilities. It takes place each year in Iowa City.
Shazam collaborated with creative music marketing company, Diabolical to visually enable their outdoor media campaigns.
Picture Book Art Comes to South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. – On February 8-10, over 150 librarians, educators, and graduate students attended three South Carolina State Library sponsored workshops presented by Rosemary Agoglia of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Attendees learned about visually engaging young readers and the importance of inspiring children to read.
Agoglia presented sessions, The Whole Book Approach and Picturing Stories. The Whole Book Approach supports critical engagement with the picture book as an art form, places emphasis on reading with children rather than reading to children, and engages the group in a collaborative experience. In Picturing Stories, attendees were introduced to various visual literacy principles and used Carle’s exhibitions to explore approaches to “reading pictures” and apply this information to create a visual story using cut-paper collage.
The sessions received rave reviews: “This workshop opened a whole new world involving picture books for me. I’ve always thought of art as being an on-going visual conversation … now I know pictures are the introduction to that conversation.”
“Picture books are E for Everyone, not E for Easy. In our country, there are few cultural opportunities for visual literacy. This is something I do already and now I know the WHYS behind it.”
“I truly enjoyed myself—a reminder of what little art miracles picture books are.”
The mission of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is to inspire, especially in children and their families, an appreciation for and an understanding of the art of the picture book. In fulfilling that mission, the Museum aspires to build bridges to an appreciation of art of every kind and to provide an enriching, dynamic, and supportive context for the development of literacy. The Museum delivers this mission by collecting, presenting and celebrating the art of the picture book from around the world and by providing interactive experiences and programs that are engaging and educational.
For more information about the Museum, please visit www.carlemuseum.org. For more information about the State Library’s continuing education offerings, please contact Denise Lyons, Director of Library Development Services at dlyons@statelibrary.sc.gov or 803-734-6061.
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About the S.C. State Library
The South Carolina State Library is the primary administrator of federal and state support for the state’s libraries. The Library is a national model for innovation, collaboration, leadership and effectiveness. The Library’s mission is to optimize South Carolina’s investment in library and information services. In 1969, as the result of action by the General Assembly, the State Library Board was redesignated as the South Carolina State Library and assumed responsibility for public library development, library service for state institutions, service for the blind and physically handicapped, and library service to state government agencies. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Library is funded by the state of South Carolina, by the federal government through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and other sources. For more information, visit www.statelibrary.sc.gov or call 803-734-8666.
Picture by: Aad Born
Camera : Asahi Pentax Spotmatic II
scanned transparency/35mm slide
"Marticia" in IJmuiden locks and positioned with the help of a laserbeam.
Viewed from top of wheelhouse on center line of the vessel.
Right side of picture shows assistant who listened in on the
laser signal, and visually observed the laser light.
He informed pilot etc. about the position of fore- and aft-ship
relative to the laser indicated center line.
ship is now moored port side in the IJmuiden locks,
the laser guiding light, faintly to be seen starboard side of fore mast
just under the blocked spreader in the fore mast .
Laser light indicates ships position to be approx 50cm to port of the centerline.
That's about all the manouvering space she had.
Свечение на одеждах!!!!!!Понимаю что это такая подсветка,но в сочетании с кружением дервишей особый смысл у этого Свечения!!!!!
The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament is the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center, along with two visually impaired Iowa Veterans. These visionaries created the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for TRAINING, EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE. In 2008, it became one of six VA national rehabilitation programs for Veterans. The event expanded to include not only blind Veterans, but amputees, wheelchairbound Veterans, and those with other life changing disabilities. It takes place each year in Iowa City.
The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament is the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center, along with two visually impaired Iowa Veterans. These visionaries created the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for TRAINING, EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE. In 2008, it became one of six VA national rehabilitation programs for Veterans. The event expanded to include not only blind Veterans, but amputees, wheelchairbound Veterans, and those with other life changing disabilities. It takes place each year in Iowa City.
On October 15, blind and visually impaired students took to the streets to raise awareness of pedestrian safety.
Toute reproduction sur un support imprimé ou publication sur internet devra faire l'objet d'une demande expresse auprès du service communication de la Fédération Française Handisport.
–
Toute utilisation ainsi autorisée devra mentionner le crédit photo (voir nom du fichier ci-dessus : “©…” ou métadonnées de la photo dans sa taille originale).
–
Contact : photos [at] handisport.org
Prominent footballers, coaches, international experts and representatives from sport organisations and clubs came together for the launch of ‘A Ball for All’ – a project to promote access to the practice of football for blind and visually impaired people.
The launch event, which was organised by Save the Dream, took place at Aspire Zone on the occasion of National Sport Day.
Run in collaboration with the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), Sasol, under its Definitely Able initiative, Qatar Social & Cultural Centre for the Blind (QSCCB) and Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF), the event featured French ambassador to Qatar Eric Chevallier, Qatar Sports Club and former Inter Milan player Luis Jimenez and legendary international coach Bora Milutinovic.
The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament is the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center, along with two visually impaired Iowa Veterans. These visionaries created the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for TRAINING, EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE. In 2008, it became one of six VA national rehabilitation programs for Veterans. The event expanded to include not only blind Veterans, but amputees, wheelchairbound Veterans, and those with other life changing disabilities. It takes place each year in Iowa City.
The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament is the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center, along with two visually impaired Iowa Veterans. These visionaries created the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for TRAINING, EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE. In 2008, it became one of six VA national rehabilitation programs for Veterans. The event expanded to include not only blind Veterans, but amputees, wheelchairbound Veterans, and those with other life changing disabilities. It takes place each year in Iowa City.
Rose Ganz, a visually impaired Veteran who served in the Gulf War and native of Arnold, Mo. speeds downhill with the help of an instructor at the 27th National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic. The Clinic is the worlds largest learn to ski, adaptive winter sports rehabilitative event for U.S. military service Veterans. The pledge of the Clinic is to motivate Veterans with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic amputations, visual impairments, certain neurological problems and other disabilities to live life to the fullest by experiencing Miracles on a Mountainside. The Clinic which is sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Disabled American Veterans is taking place from March 31 - April 5.
So while the Mystery Figma didn't quite work out, I did get my hands on a few other Figma that made my life worthwhile. While two were traded off for something which I feel was more my speed, this one remained - Panther, from Persona 5 (real name, Takamaki Ann).
As my video gaming in the past 6 years has been abysmal due to having kids, I have yet to actually play Persona 5... though I do keep hearing wondering things about it, just like its predecessor, With the team given the moniker "The Phantom Thieves", you know there was going to be at least one chick dressed in a catsuit, and here she is.
So Panther has the suit going for her (and the whip.. you can't have one without the other), she's also got something else that catches my eye, namely how she has some resemblance to Catharine from the Atlus game of the same name. I loved the character designs from that game, and it was nice to see it sort of revisited.
Released in late 2018 for just under 6,300 Yen, you definitely felt the pinch by the time conversion worked itself out and she retailed, on average, for around $100 CAD before taxes. These days, with the popularity of the crew due to the Strikers game being released, prices for any of the characters is painful. So, you can imagine my excitement for finding her at $30 CAD used, albeit a bit out of the way.
Content wise, you get the figure, two alternate sculpts (winking, focused), her mask, a paper fan, a machine gun, her whip, 8 additional posing and weapon holding hands, and as always, the Figma stand.
Panther's transition to Figma went fairly well. As with most characters featuring revealing costumes, the body curves aren't quite there and the joints are that much more obvious, but the fantastic face plates and detailing in the hair does make up for it.
Plus she's dressed in red, the colour of winners.
Articulation wise, you get some additional toys to play with. You get ankles, single jointed knees, thigh twist, hips, mid torso, standard shoulders with some lateral movement and bicep swivel, single jointed elbows with forearm rotation, wrists, head, and points of articulation for each hair segment. If you're for the full count, her tail has two points of articulation, and her whip is in three rotatable segements.
The hips do move downward slighltly to allow for more range of motion, but unlike Catwoman, Panther doesn't have a floating groin piece which limits the extra articulation you get. On the plus side, the suit still looks smooth and idiots like me have one less thing to break. Overall, you're still gonna do pretty well posing her, and you'll be able to make use of those thigh twists to help achieve to those extra slinky dynamic poses.
Paint wise, its safe to say I'm a huge fan. Smooth, high gloss reds and pink as the main colour, relatively few accent colours (which means fewer things disturbing the glossy finish). Flesh tones and other main colours are also applied expertly, and the decal work is of course up to snuff. As a bonus, the high gloss finish looks just marvelous under a strong light source, which is what I use for my stuff.
On the subject of Build Quality, the only thing really to report is that I find that the hands don't quite say on the pegs that securely. Now I'm not sure if this is due to play wear or not, but I've had this issue with other figures that are new. It does mean you're less likely to break the peg while changing hands, but you drop one of these hands on the ground and you'll be cursing the Gods while searching for it. Material choice, joint tolerance, and all other factors are acceptable.
I enjoyed my time photographing this figure and simply adore the sculpt, as well as the glossy red. Posing options are pretty good. Overall, I'm fairly confident that even amongst the dozens of female Figma on my shelves, Panther will always be front and center, showing the rest of the ladies how its done.
Maybe in a few years time when the dust settles, I'll try to get the rest of the ladies from this line - at least it should be easier to accomplish as I believe the entire lineup was released as Figma, which is more than I can say for the Persona 4 lineup.
Visually linking the stylish washbasins, shower trays and bathtubs, WCs, bidets, furniture and accessories is the signature "dOt", a circular hollow or cut-out that decorates practically every object in the series - and is, at the same time, a function detail. ILBAGNOALESSI dOt – a cooperative venture between Alessi, LAUFEN and Oras – is designed by Wiel Arets and Good Design Award 2009 winner.
Link BSSR-House