Monthly Archives: August 2021

Former Ventura music teacher who gave children sperm-contaminated flutes gets 15 years in jail in child pornography case

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A former teacher who contracted with several schools in Southern California to teach music to children has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, officials reported.

John Edward Zeretzke, 62, of Ventura, was sentenced Thursday to 183 months in federal prison, the U.S. prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Press release.

Zeretzke pleaded guilty in August 2020 to one count of child pornography production after previously pleading guilty in Orange County Superior Court to six counts of committing obscene or lascivious acts with minors under the age of 14 years old.

In July 2020, he was sentenced to 18 years in state prison, which will run concurrently with his federal prison sentence, officials said.

Prosecutors said that between December 2016 and February 2017, Zeretzke communicated online with a girl who lived out of state and forced her to produce child pornography.

“[Zeretzke] attacked impoverished young girls in third world countries and used its Flutes Around the World program as a means to contact and sometimes take advantage of these girls, ”prosecutors wrote in a memorandum on the sentence.

Through the program, state prosecutors said Zeretzke gave sperm-tinted flutes to children who wanted to learn the instrument.

The case against Zeretzke has been investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.


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Musical instrument manufacturing: Alliance hopes for more money

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Klingenthal (dpa / sn) – Tropical woodless guitars, lead-free trumpets: The Musikwinkel of Vogtland hopes to be able to make instruments without “material problems” in the future. 14 projects are currently dealing with the question of how to make violin making sustainable, explains Erik Lenk of the Klingenthal Violin Institute. Because young skilled workers are lacking in the craft, traditionally used materials and new environmental aspects are of concern.

The “I-Ma-Tech” alliance, active for two years and financed to more than four million euros by federal funds, coordinates the ideas and the projects in progress. “We have brought together important players in Saxon violin making and are currently doing an interim review,” adds Lenk. So far, most of the money has been spent on finding innovative materials.

By participating in the federal program “WIR! – Change through innovation in the region ”, in addition to previous funding, the same amount could be expected from 2022, adds Lenk, employee of the institute which coordinates the various“ I-Ma-Tech ”stages. “We want to further advance the development of this important branch of industry in a rural area. More research is needed.

At TU Dresden – alliance partner of “I-Ma-Tech” – research is currently being carried out on the replacement of endangered tropical woods which are traditionally used for wind instruments. And at TU Freiberg, the search for alternatives for luthiers is underway. Until now, they had to rely on materials such as lead or nickel, which are now the subject of critical scrutiny.

The Institut für Musikinstrumentenbau (IfM) – managed by an association – then performs acoustic measurements of the materials sought. The IfM enjoys the status of affiliated institute of the Technical University of Dresden. The eight employees are legally independent, but work closely with the university in the state capital.

The results of I-Ma-Tech’s research should later benefit the entire industry, says Kerstin Voigt as co-founder and initiator. Because the Corona crisis has exacerbated the shortage of skilled workers among instrument makers in rural areas. “There are even fewer candidates, job interviews and internships are overflowing,” adds Voigt as managing director of Jürgen Voigt – masterclass for brass in Markneukirchen.

This is why the individual projects of “I-Ma-Tech” rely on the latest methods in the field of neural sciences, according to Lenk. At the Zwickau University of Applied Sciences, research is being carried out on marketing videos with findings on the subject of eye tracking in order to attract specialists. It first looks at what advertisers are paying attention to. Virtual student internships are also in preparation. “More and more alliance partners are now supporting us,” adds Lenk. More recently, chambers of trades, tourist associations and other research institutes have been added.

The industry suffers from a persistent shortage of orders, Voigt adds. The concerts were canceled or took place in a lighter form. Few musicians would buy a new, high-quality instrument in such a situation. “As they have played less in recent months, we have fewer repairs.” However, none of Musikwinkel’s 130 or so workshops with around 2,500 employees have had to give up in recent months.


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Speedrunner defeats Ocarina of Time in Super Smash Bros. 5 Minute Time Limit. Brawl

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A speedrunner manages to beat Ocarina of Time within the 5-minute time limit of the Super Smash Bros. Masterpiece demo. Brawl.


Ocarina of Time Brawl demo

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a game that is a historic piece of Nintendo’s game library. Several decades after the game’s original release, it remains one of the most beloved and acclaimed titles in video games. This transition from 2D to 3D has made it one of the most legendary of Zelda franchise, which ultimately led to Ocarina of time get several different reissues over the years. One reissue that most fans may have forgotten was when it was included in Super Smash Bros. Brawl under its function Masterpieces.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl was the third game in its franchise, released for Wii in the mid-2000s. One feature included in this game was “Masterpieces,” which were limited-time free playable demos of various Nintendo games. These demos were a great way to introduce players to the origin of the characters, by promoting Virtual Console games that were on Wii digital stores. One of those demos was Ocarina of time, where it came with two preloaded save files from Young Link and Adult Link, with five minutes to play the demo. Under these conditions, this speedrunner was able to beat the entirety of this game within this time frame.

RELATED: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Modder gives Ganondorf a fresh and chic new look

Under normal circumstances, a speedrun of Ocarina of time could last less than 17 minutes, as players go from the start of the match to the end credits. However, the speedrunner, known as Savestate, was able to complete the game in 5 minutes. They noted that all the items that are given to the Adult Link save file in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. BrawlMasterpiece’s demo could be used to perform a distortion issue in the credits.

The race is a sight to behold, as Link exits the Temple of Time, using his bombs and other tools to trigger the right problem. Savestate noted that they had several different stranded routes that were planned for this demo’s run, with help from their partner. They even uploaded a video detailing the itinerary ideas designed to achieve this. This sets a new world speedrunning record Ocarina of time.

The final time for this speedrun was 4 minutes and 52 seconds, which is just under the demo’s time limit, with a notification appearing after part of the credits have elapsed. The fact that all of Ocarina of time is capable of being played and beaten in a five minute demo is nothing short of exceptional. Savestate expressed his joy that the race was even possible and that the hard work was worth it.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is available now for Nintendo 64.

MORE: 7 Fun Ocarina Of Time Challenge Runs Every Gamer Should Try


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About the Author

Trumann Tu
(134 articles published)

Freelance writer and enthusiastic gamer on all things Sonic, Mario, Yakuza, Persona and more.

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Musical instrument dealers banned for 18 years

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Fred Patrick Onn, 58, from south-east London and Andrew Thomson, 63, from Whaley Bridge in Derby, had been the directors of Bright Film & TV Casting Limited since March 2006.

The company was renamed Top Wind Limited in January 2007 and operated as a musical instrument retailer, part of which was to sell musical instruments on behalf of customers and earn 18% commission on each sale.

Top Wind Limited traded until April 2020, when it went into liquidation and an insolvency service investigation into directors’ conduct began.

Investigations have revealed that from July 2019 to April 2020, when the company was insolvent, Top Wind Limited sold at least 20 musical instruments but the proceeds, which amounted to over £ 33,000, failed to sell. been transferred to the owners.

Fred Onn held a meeting in July 2019 with an insolvency practitioner to discuss insolvency options and both directors were aware of Top Wind’s financial situation. At this point, at least 10 clients who had sold their instruments through the company had not received product of at least £ 16,330.

At the liquidation in April 2020, at least 30 customers had filed complaints about instruments sold, totaling nearly £ 50,000. More than £ 33,000 of those claims were for instruments sold after July 2019, when directors knew the company was in financial difficulty.

The Secretary of State for Business accepted the disqualification undertakings of Fred Onn and Andrew Thomson after they did not dispute that they caused or authorized Top Wind Limited from July 9, 2019 to the date of liquidation, while ‘they were insolvent, selling at least 20 musical instruments owned by third parties and the proceeds of which were not returned to the owners.

Their 9-year bans began on June 22 and prevent them from getting involved, directly or indirectly, without court authorization, in the promotion, constitution or management of a business.

David Brooks, Chief Insolvency Service Investigator, said

The musicians trusted Fred Onn and Andrew Thomson to sell their instruments, believing that they would act in a trustworthy manner. Instead, these directors accepted the sales knowing Top Wind Limited was insolvent and keeping the funds they should have passed on to their clients.

Fred Onn and Andrew Thomson used the sales proceeds to pay Top Wind’s other vendors instead, which meant Top Wind traded longer than other similarly struggling companies that handled the product properly. sale. This conduct is not appropriate for business leaders and both are now banned from the business environment for a considerable period.

Notes to Editors

Fred Patrick Onn is from South East London and his date of birth is April 1963.

Andrew Thomson is from Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire and his date of birth is May 1958.

Top Wind Limited (company number 05759411).

Covenants of prohibition are the administrative equivalent of a prohibition order but do not involve legal proceedings.

Persons subject to an exclusion order are bound by a series of restrictions.

Find out more about the work of the Insolvency Department and how to complain about financial misconduct.

You can also follow the Insolvency Department on:


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After 18 months, fans of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time are almost done decompiling the game

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Image: Nintendo

Remember the reverse engineering efforts Super Mario 64 some time ago that resulted in unofficial ports to systems like the Dreamcast and the PS2? Well a similar project is underway to decompile The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s game code, and it’s almost done.

The Zelda Reverse Engineering Team (ZRET) has been working on the project for over 18 months, and the team now claims the business is 91% complete.

While Nintendo has taken legal action against those who used the decompiled code from Super Mario 64 to create mods and publish them online, this type of reverse-engineered project is perfectly legal because the project recreates the original code to starting from scratch in modern coding languages ​​(in this case, C) without using any of the original copyrighted material.

Why is such a project so important? Well, in the case of Super Mario 64, a slew of ports have been made available, including one for PC that has increased the screen resolution and opened up all kinds of modding opportunities, such as widescreen mode. and ray tracing.

Such work also preserves the game in such a way that it can easily be made accessible in the future on modern formats, apart from the original Nintendo source code and the different versions of the game (N64, GameCube, 3DS). Decompiling a game this way can also lead to the discovery of new bugs, which can have ramifications within the popular speedrunning community.

You can follow the evolution of ZRET here.


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Ocarina of Time Fan Art turns enemies into nightmare fuel

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THE Legend of Zelda fans don’t need to remember ReDeads or Zant’s Hand from Twilight Princess, because these enemies are probably already steeped in their nightmares. Thanks to new horror-themed fan art, more Zelda enemies can be added to your troubled psyche.

Older video games are often home to antagonists that get more and more spooky over time, but some are terrifying from start to finish. There will never be anything heartwarming about Skulltulas or Dead Hand – the mini boss of Ocarina of time‘s Shadow Temple – and thanks to this artist, horror has just reached a whole new level.

  • More from Zelda: The fan creates stunning Breath of the wild Following

Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Teaser E3 2021

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Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Teaser E3 2021

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Stalfos

This realistic take on the classic skeletal warriors of Ocarina of time features deadly details in the metal frame and shield. The blood at the tip of the sword is a nice touch as well.

Andres Rios

Poé

These hooded specters are rated higher PG in the game, but this fan art piece depicts one of the scariest grim reaper-style creatures imaginable. The bright eyes, the texture of the materials, and the woodland setting add to the atmosphere, and it wouldn’t be complete without the lantern.

Andres Rios

Dead hand

This memorable antagonist looks like something you would find in a music video by the Tool group, made ten times more gruesome by its realistic coloring and blood-dripping mouth. The lady with the bent neck of The Haunting of Hill House better be careful.

Andres Rios

Skulltule

This classic Ocarina of time the enemy is designed to be terrifying in the game and can fall on you in an instant, much like real life bugs. This fan artwork, however, harnesses the disturbing qualities of the creature that will certainly make arachnophobes crawl the skin.

Andres Rios

Other characters of the artist Zelda series include ReDeads and Cyclopean Shadow Spirit Bongo Bongo.

Meet the artist

  • Andres Rios is a freelance concept artist, digital sculptor, and character-creature designer from Guadalajara, Mexico.

The artist creates impressive character concepts that could easily be found in any Dark souls Game. From Demon Goats to gothic and cybernetic Batman, Rios’ portfolio of works is beautifully gothic and painfully realistic when recreating iconic horror characters.

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As a pop culture writer and a proud geek of all trades, Jo enjoys dissecting fandoms and marveling at their innards. The entirety of Lord of the Rings, superhero origins, Ghost of Tsushima score, Wings of Freedom, and the endless search for a sleeping Tyranitar are just a few of Jo’s passions, along with a bent to contribute to the geek culture community.


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