In the Last Year, How Have You Changed?

My musical (Beauty and the Beast) was still in rehearsals.My All-State audition wasn't done yet.My PSAT prep test wasn't done yet.And in a mere month, my Quora account hit 100 followers, my cross country team made it to state and I was an alternate, my musical performed and I killed it, my All-State audition crashed and burned, and my PSAT prep test scores were disappointing.

That was just a month. If we fast forward a year...My Quora account has over 6,000 followers.My cross country team has been consistently ranked in the Top 3 for the state, but I will have to work hard if I want to be an alternate.My musical is still rehearsing, and this year it's You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

My interest in singing has waned, and I'm not auditioning for All-State again.My actual PSAT test is coming up, and it's serious.But those are just the differences between last October and this October. Overall, I've had other major changes.I'm now taking almost all my classes at the public-school. Last year it was only a few; I was still mostly homeschooled.

I have a job at a grocery store, still only part-time though.I have more friends to hang out with and things to go to, like Homecoming dances.I get called fairly frequently to play for churches in the area.

I got my tongue clipped, but I think it's reattached. Oops.I have a girlfriend. She is an absolute sweetheart and I love her to death.It's been different, but frankly I love most of these changes. I love being connected to the school, and being able to go to fun events. I love the experience of branching outside of my church. I love Emmie, and I'm blessed to have her. And I definitely love Quora, and how I've grown as a writer over the year.That's how my life has changed. Overall, it's been for the better :)How has your life changed since last year?

• Suggested Reading

Is Tulsi Gabbard eligible to be President of USA?

She is the best candidate the Democrats have based on her demonstrated character, patriotism and integrity.Unfortunately for the Democrats, despite these qualities being very attractive to the middle and working class American voters (they would see her as the one Democrat who represents them and their values), the Progressive establishment seems very determined to push her of of the race. Given the known personal, ethical and moral failings of the top candidates like Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, this really says a lot about the Democrats as a party and about the supporters and enablers who are backing the top candidates.

Donald J Trump plays the President Trump character as a bull in the china shop in order to provoke the Democrats and their enablers into paroxysms of rage that lets the American people see just what sort of elites are running the show in media, academia and the bureaucracy. He would certainly have to play President Trump far differently if he were to run against Tulsi Gabbard, and for would be Democrat strategists, he would have the schizophrenic task of dealing with Democrats as represented by the Squad as a wreaking ball, while simultaneously needing to treat Tulsi Gabbard as a serious and conscientious person (while there is no doubt that Trump would relish unleashing some sort of verbal judo on her-think low energy Jeb or Crooked Hillary- I somehow doubt Surfer Girl would have the same impact). While it is not beyond the bounds of possibility, President Trump after all has decades of dealing with people and has an ability of sizing them up and rapidly identifying a weak spot, he would need to deploy very different tactics and techniques to properly deal with her as a political opponent.

At this point, I suspect the only realistic thing to do is support her via internet searches, upvoting and liking her posts, giving positive answers to pollsters and making donations or volunteering for her campaign in the expectation that an unexpected surge of support would damage the plans the Democrat Party establishment has made behind the curtain. She is fighting against the democrat Party, Corporate and Social media and all the various enablers behind the scenes, and this is even before she gets the chance to face off against President Trump

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Nikator's tactics weren't particularly innovative, but he did have a large professional army. Barca had a bigger army, though-50,000 men compared to Seleucus 20-30,000. On the other hand, Seleucus was a better strategist, knowing how to use Fabian tactics and could besiege cities unlike Hannibal. Hannibal's only defeat on land was against Scipio. Seleucus' only defeat was against Chandragupta.Let's look at their armies:Cavalry: Hannibal has his Numidians, Libyans, Spanish, and Gauls, as well as his mix of African and Asian war elephants. Selecus has his Macedonian Hetaroi and Persian light lancers and horse archers, as well as a contingent of Scythe chariots and the largest force of War elephants outside India.Infantry: Hannibal has Libyan spearmen, Spanish and Gallic warbands, and Balearic and African skirmishers. Seleucus has his Macedonian phalanx, his elite Argyraspides pikemen, Asian archers, and Greek mercenary skirmishers. Hannibal's men are fast and flexible, but they're also mercenaries and have logistical issues. Seleucus' are more rigid and slow, but they're steady professionals with a great deal of discipline.Ultimately, it would depend on who attacks who. If Seleucus attacks Carthage or Spain, his navy might be knocked out by the more seasoned Phoenician sailors, and his army cut to pieces once they land by the local mercenaries and allies. If Hannibal invades Asia, he'll be cut off from his allies, having to rely on perhaps the Ptolemeids and other Greeks for support. If Hannibal wins a Cannae-style battle, Seleucus will then avoid battle and engage in a running battle of light troops. Eventually Hannibal will run out of men.

For Hannibal to win, he will have to engage Seleucus and manage to crush him. The Seleucids have a smaller and more brittle army than the Romans, but they're better led than the Romans at Cannae and Trebia. Seleucus' veterans are less likely to fall into the traps the Romans did, but Hannibal's superior numbers and speed may come into play. The battles will be decided by light troops and cavalry-the Carthaginians don't have as much of an advantage as against the Romans, but they do have superior quantity to make up for evenness in quality.I consider Hannibal the superior commander, but Seleucus has a superior base of resources. I think logistics will defeat Hannibal, but it could honestly go either way.

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You could make a case for it.n n"Presence" is one of Led Zeppelin's more overlooked works. It has an austere, remote, lonely sound, from Achilles Last Stand to Nobody's Fault But Mine (two tracks from the album that used to get airplay before focus groups etc. sucked the remaining life out of radio) to Tea For One, one of the Zep's most heartfelt blues.

n nPeter Buck of R.

E.

M. once remarked that the guitars on "Presence" all sound like they're made of metal.n nThe band was dealing with personal issues at the time - Robert Plant and his wife were both seriously injured in a car accident. Drugs and alcohol were definitely taking their toll. And yet, the band managed to crank out a spottily brilliant album that reflected their troubled rock superstar lives.n nThe thing about Achilles Last Stand is:n nIt was very forward looking stylistically and influenced a s**tload of musicians. The signature fast galloping rhythm was copied by guys who became the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal", who influenced later genres such as Northern California speed metal. The precision changes and edgy riffing in the song bridged the gap between prog and more primitive boogie-based hard rock.n nAll "metal" music has a retro air, but it takes inspiration to go all the way to the Greeks for your heroic imagery. Vikings and their brass-brassiered female sidekicks are great, but here you get a feel for Page/Plant's affinity for the big canvas of the Mediterranean. Plant's lyrics, wordless vocalizing, and the heroic aria of a guitar solo all get together to tell you that while it's a Big Picture song, it's also an intimate, painful song...I love punk/post-punk as much as anyone, but don't let 'em tell you that the classic rock guys couldn't plumb the emotional depths.n nAnd, to top it off, Achilles was executed flawlessly. John Bonham fans routinely point to the galloping, triplet-inflected feature drumbeat, the march segments, and the rather amazing "at last the birds have flown" fill as evidence of his best performance. John Paul Jones fills things in with some off-balanced bass riffing. Page layers guitars as only he could, and the solo wails heroically. And Plant's vocals convincingly let you know that, histrionics aside, he's in crisis.n nThe song also features what I will assert are the best fade-ins and fade-outs ever.n nSo, my feeling is that from 1976 onward, this song casts a long shadow, particularly in the world of metal and long form music. While I wouldn't say that it's the greatest rock song of all time, I could see it in a lot of top ten lists.Could Zeppelin's "Achilles Last Stand" be the greatest rock song of all time?