Tantra (Sanskrit: "weave"), or tantricism is any of several esoteric traditions rooted in the religions of India. It exists in Hindu, Bönpo, Buddhist, and Jain forms. Tantra in its various forms has existed in Southern and Eastern Asia, including India, China, Tibet and Nepal, Cambodia, Indonesia and various other countries of the region. David Gordon White, while cautioning us about attempting a rigorous definition of what is a protean and highly variable practise, offers the following working definition:
- "Tantra is that Asian body of beliefs and practices which, working from the principle that the universe we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the divine energy of the godhead that creates and maintains that universe, seeks to ritually appropriate and channel that energy, within the human microcosm, in creative and emancipatory ways."
In the west Tantra had originally been reviled by early European Orientalists as a subversive, antisocial, licentious and immoral force that had corrupted classical Hinduism. On the other hand many today see it as a celebration of social equity, sexuality, feminism and the body.
Marwa (Arabic:مروى) is a Lebanese singer.
marwa is a lebanese singer Marwa is considered as on of the most famous arabic pop music artists in the Middle East, characterized by a sweet voice and an exceptional appearance on stage along with a wonderful smile.
Marwa's talent was revealed at the age of eight whe she used to play accordion at school. Later on, Marwa started to sing Layla Nazme, Shadia, and Wardaal Jazaeria giving some exceptional performances that made some of the famous arabic composers compare her voice to Layla Nazme and Shadia's. But, Marwa has no doubt created her own style of music after she mastered her talent in the hands of professor Foad Awwad giving her the ability to sing Kahligi, Lebanese, Egyptian, and even foreign style.
Marwa Loves fashion design and she likes acting. She is a master in playing saxophone, accordion, and piano. Her favorite hobbies are horse back riding, drawing, travel and reading.
A Power Crystal is an important item found in the Crash Bandicoot series.
Overview
Power Crystals are generally crystals that carry immense power, being able to absorb and contain the power of planetary alignments, power up machinery, etc. They are also known to be purple, and large in size.
The Power Crystals made their debut in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, simply under the name "Crystals". In the game, Doctor Neo Cortex lands in a cavern that contains a large "Master Crystal", which he decides to use to harness the power of the upcoming planetary alignment and use it to power up his new Cortex Vortex and enslave the Earth. But a year later, it is discovered that 25 "Slave Crystals" scattered across the surface are also needed for the Cortex Vortex to reach full power. Without any earthbound operatives left under his control, Cortex decides to deceive Crash into collecting the Crystals for him. Thankfully, Coco manages to reveal Cortex's plot to Crash just before he can hand the Crystals to him. After pursuing and stranding Cortex in the depths of outer space, Crash discards the Crystals into space, so that they may never be used again. The Master Crystal is assumedly lost when Doctor Cortex's space station is struck down by N. Brio's laser beam.
In Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Uka Uka and Doctor Cortex decide to gather the Crystals in their original places in time using N. Tropy's Time Twister so that Uka Uka can achieve ultimate power and enslave the Earth. Once again, Crash manages to foil this plot and banish Uka Uka, Doctor Cortex, and N. Tropy to a prison in time.
In Crash Team Racing, 20 crystals are scattered in an enclosed arena. If the player succeeds in collecting all of them, Purple Tokens can be achieved.
In Crash Bash, the Crystals are wanted by Aku Aku and Uka Uka for different reasons; Aku Aku wants the Crystals to never be used again as they're too dangerous to be left lying around, while Uka Uka wants to use the Crystals to achieve ultimate power and enslave the Universe. The fate of the Crystals depends on which side the playing character is on.
In Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, the Crystals are needed to subdue the destructive nature of the Elementals. Each Elemental can be returned to their hibernation state with a total of 5 Crystals.
In Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure, the Crystals are needed for Coco to reverse the effect of Cortex's Planetary Minimizer and return the Earth to its original size.
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced is the first game in which the Crystals are named Power Crystals. In the game, the Power Crystals are needed for Aku Aku to replenish his diminished power and open new areas in Hyperspace to allow Crash to proceed in his journey to defeat N. Trance.
In Crash Nitro Kart, the Crystals have the same function as they do in Crash Team Racing, used to achieve Purple Tokens.
In Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage, the Power Crystals are wanted by Cortex and Ripto to conquer the world. They have no other function besides this.
In Crash Twinsanity, the Power Crystals are needed to power Cortex's Psychetron and make the leap to the 10th Dimension. 6 Power Crystals were needed at first, but thanks to Coco's intervention, 4 additional Power Crystals were needed, making the total amount of Power Crystals in the game 12.
In Crash Tag Team Racing, the Power Crystals are needed to unlock the Jump Pads throughout the park and gain access to the stolen Power Gems. There is a whopping total of 142 Power Crystals (counting those in on-foot mini-games).
In Crash Boom Bang!, it is revealed that a wish-granting "Super Big Power Crystal", a big crystal with smaller crystals sticking out of it, is known to exist in an ancient lost city. The Viscount decides to use the contestants of the World Cannonball Race to find it himself, promising the winner one-hundred million dollars for its discovery. The normal Power Crystals can be used as items during minigames.
Criticism
Overtime, the Crystals have been seen by fans as having lost their plot importance. While in the earlier games Cortex and the others would kill to have one Power Crystal, nowadays Cortex would simply give one to Crash just because it was covered in Wumpa Whip.
Trivia
- The "official" power crystal count for the series is 25.
- It should be noted that the Power Crystals bear a resemblance to the Dark Crystal, the titular object in the Jim Henson movie of the same name (albeit less jagged and somewhat smaller).
- Also, during the games, the Power Crystals had a color change, which is both purple and pink. In Tag Team Racing, when giving a Power Crystal, it was in a dark purple color when shown.
External links
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Bobbi Éthier is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She holds a Masters in Education Administration, a diploma in Law and Economics from France and a Human Resources certificate from Cornell University in New York. She has been a Principal and French Immersion High School teacher in Winnipeg School Division #1. Since 1998, Éthier has worked for the Manitoba Teachers' Society in Personnel, Services to Principals, French Language and Aboriginal Education portfolios. Éthier has served in the community with the Canadian Cancer Society, Winnipeg Jazz Festival, Ka Ni Kanichihk (honouring Aboriginal women), as a board member of Taking Charge!, and as President of the Winnipeg Humane Society.
In Canadian politics, Éthier has been active in the Liberal Party of Canada and the Liberal Party of Manitoba, running as a candidate in the Manitoba general election to become a Member of the Legislative Assembly (M.L.A.) for the Seine River riding in 1995. In recent years, she has been the president of the Liberal Party of Canada (Manitoba) and served as co-chair of the 2003 Liberal Party Leadership Convention. Along with party co-chairs, Dr. Tom Axworthy, Michael Eizenga, Lucienne Robillard and Marva Wisdom, Éthier was part of the Liberal Party of Canada Renewal Commission.