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Well keep going with additional articles about some of the most famous, popular, and powerful creature tribes in Magic. This time, well look at the greatest MTG Humans.

This tribe exemplifies the words iconic, popular, and powerful. In terms of specific qualities, it is one of the most uninteresting. However, because of the diversity of all Human species, it is highly diverse. It is one of the games oldest, most lore-important, and most powerful tribes.

Because this tribe is full of wonderful species, Ive chosen to alter the articles structure. Instead of the typical Honourable Mentions and Top 10 lists, Ill show you the top three creatures in each color, along with the best Commander in that color.

There will be monochrome cards, as well as three cards with dual, triple, and quadruple color combinations. A five-color Commander is also provided. Lets get started now, with that out of the way.

For its low cost, the 2/2 two-mana Dragonkin Berserker has excellent effects and stats. It can easily fit into any Boast/tribal deck and, because of its capacity to generate 5/5 tokens with Flying, it may be a terrific late-game finale. This card will be an excellent addition to most built decks and will be a solid choice in Limited.

Breya is the most commonly used of the three cards. In addition to the most well-known. Her whole concept is around artifacts. Shes one of the greatest artifact Commanders out there because she has four colors to work with.

She has the ability to create tokens, deal damage, remove creatures, and gain life. The only thing shes lacking is the ability to draw cards. Aside from that, she is an excellent Commander in general.

Maja, Bretagard Protector is a four-mana Human who adds +1/+1 to your creatures. While it may appear expensive due to its 2/3 stats, it compensates by allowing you to generate tokens every time you play a land quickly.

The token will be summoned as a 1/1, but Majas first ability will buff it to a 2/2. This card will be of interest to some EDH decks as a Commander. Due to its rarity as a two-color token generator, this card will be powerful in Limited.

Saskia the Unyieldings design is one of the most entertaining. She has a political bent on her personality. In a multiplayer game, you may directly target an opponent, providing this card an intriguing dynamic.

She also has strong numbers with vigilance and haste since she is a 3/4 for 4. She can attack and use her ability as soon as you play her because of her haste. As a result, shes a really exciting and unusual card to play with.

Tuskeri Firewalker appears to be one of the most powerful Limited cards. If you attacked with Tuskeri, it enables you to exile the top card in your library and play it for one mana. While the stats arent spectacular for the cost3/2 for a three-mana costthe card advantage it provides more than makes up for it.

The card Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis is quite intriguing. For starters, its two protagonists are shown as a single entity. Second, its one of the few cards out there that benefits both the person who controls it and his or her opponents.

Inga Rune-Eyes is a four-mana Human with three-thirds stats who provides excellent board protection. You can scry three cards and prepare your next round of plays when she emerges on the battlefield. Your opponent will have to be cautious with their actions on the battlefield. Your hand might be refilled, and youll have additional alternatives to play with if you make a mistake.

This is one of the most entertaining and effective Commanders available. Its ability to create decks in the form of a toolbox allows you to make a lot of unique and innovative ones. Kenriths color identity is white, but its multicolored ability enables you to construct a deck that includes all colors.

As a result, he is one of the most popular, talked about, constructed around, and versatile commanders in the game.

For three mana, Arni Brokenbrow is a strong 3/3 card. You can modify his base power to one plus the biggest power on your board for an extra cost of one per turn until the end of the game. Its a wonderful addition to red Limited or constructed decks since he can double your power on the board if you play him alongside a strong creature.

This card is excellent even as a three-mana 3/3 that can compete with other powerful three-drops in red decks, but the Haste and Boast effects take it to a new level. While you may want to save him for later in the game when you may use him with a strong monster, dropping him as a 3/3 early on isnt terrible either.

Jodah, Eternal Archmage is not a well-liked card. Its one of the most challenging cards to play. However, its a lot of fun to build around, and it may pay off handsomely.

Its capability takes into account all hues. As a result, its a five-color Commander. You can use this ability to cast any spell from your hand by paying these five colors. This means you can play massive monsters like Eldrazi for a fraction of their normal cost. You can even play spells for free using Combo components like Morophon, the Boundless.

Chulane, the Teller of Tales, is a formidable Commander. To begin with, it is not prohibitively costly for a Commander. Five CMC, one each of green, white, and blue. This grants you access to two of Commanders greatest colors: green (ramp) and blue (card draw, counterspells).

Its last ability is to spend 3 and tap to restore control of a creature you control to its owner. Its not awful. However, anytime you cast a creature, it has the ability to draw a card and play a land from your hand to the battlefield. CAST. It isnt even required to resolve. You may get experience and draw cards by doing something as simple as playing creatures. Crazy.

Read more:
Top Magic The Gathering Human Cards Every Deck Must Have - PVP Live

As President of Upper Deck, Jason Maserah champions the company's continued history of innovation in ... [+] trading cards

When Upper Deck was started in the late 1980s, they brought first-of-its-kind innovation to the sports trading card industry.Over thirty years later, the company continues to push the envelope as the industry experiences a new surge.I sat down with Jason Masherah, President of Upper Deck, to talk about the heritage of innovation at Upper Deck, their efforts in digital, and how they are investing in the growth of the industry through local hobby shops.

Dave Knox:I want to start with the heritage of Upper Deck. How did the brand start in the early days?

Jason Masherah:The founders of Upper Deck were trying to address a couple issues in the late 1980s. There was a lot of forgeries and fakes in trading cards as the market was starting to pick up. And then they looked at trading cards and said this can be better. The cards had basically looked the same way for the last 50 years. They felt that there had to be a better way to present this more premium feel. The founders came up with several innovations to address this.They had the anti- counterfeit hologram that's still on our cards today. They introduced the foil wrap, which was like a indestructible version of wrapping the cards so you could tell if somebody tampered with the packs. And then they went to a high gloss and premium stock that really showed the vibrancy of the colors of the games and just made it a more premium experience than anybody had used in the past. We maintain those same brand tenants today.

Knox:With an innovative mindset since day one, how is Upper Deck continuing to innovate in the industry?

Masherah:Well, I think the team does a great job of coming up with new and innovative concepts.We have done video embedded trading cards. We have done memorabilia pieces designed out of game used floor. There is always something new in the hopper.

The biggest thing that the team has launched over the last several years is UpperDeckEpack.com, which is an online platform that allows people to open up physical packs of cards but virtually. It gives everybody access to open a pack of cards no matter where they are 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You manage them online and we store them in a secure facility in Seattle Washington.But you can also have them shipped home. The fact that you can actually take ownership, if you want to send it home and put it in your closet or put into your safety deposit box, you can do it. If you want to bring it home and sell it on eBay or sell it to a friend, you can do that as well. If you want to take it home and set up at a card shop, you can do that. And it is that bridge between physical and digital, that is so much unlike any other thing that exists.The other big difference is it allows you to socialize and trade with other people across the globe and create a social community that really hasn't existed since the days of when we were all on the playground trading cards.This gamification is important.You are rewarded if you collect a complete set or you do certain things.And this free stuff is tangible and are real cards.

It's always a challenge when you do something that's so far removed from the norm. In the case of ePack, it has been difficult because it is an online platform. It lives in the digital world, but the cards are real, they are tangible items. And getting that across to people is really tough until they get in and experience it for themselves. The card you see is the card you get and you can actually ship that card home. So if Michael Jordan signed his autograph a particular way on that card, and it's number two of 23, that's the exact card you get when you ship it home. Those are kind of mind blowing, technological advances that nobody else has seen or done. And it is hard to educate the market. So we've done it kind of in a slow methodical kind of way.

And it's the same when you go into new markets, like e-sports, you have a traditional collector and you're trying to bring on new collectors and then expand the horizons of the traditional collector and say, hey e-sports is a big deal. There's millions of people that watch this on a yearly basis. And eventually we will know some of these e-sports athletes the way we know traditional sports athletes. But it is sometimes hard to comprehend because it's a foreign knowledge base for most people. It takes time. It really takes time to just educate people on doing something completely new and off the grid.

Knox:In addition to sports, Upper Deck has a long history in entertainment.How do you approach this side of trading cards?

Masherah:I think that's one of the interesting parts of Upper Deck. We are viewed as a sports company, but we are so much more. We have a gaming division where we make tabletop games and trading card games. We have an autograph memorabilia division. And we have done entertainment trading cards since 1991 with things like Looney Tunes and Space Jam. We regularly put out sets for Marvel, both the comic books and the movies. We do different movies from Fox with the Aliens franchise. We do James Bond. We have a partnership with Kevin Smith for his movies. Those card sets are not as visible as just traditional sports because we all grew up with doing traditional sports, but there is a great industry behind the entertainment cards and the fans of those properties are really rabid fans and collectors of those properties.

Knox:On the digital side of things, we have seen the rise of NFTs like Top Shot in the past year.Where do you see NFTs going in the years ahead?

Masherah:NFTs are going to have to really evolve from where they are at today. The NFTs are essentially just a newer version of the trading card apps that have existed for several years now. They reside in their own ecosystem, but they have some cool functions and things that you can do in the digital world. You can do highlights, you can do fancy graphics and stuff that the digital world has been doing for several years. But there are some limitations for sure that definitely have to evolve. For us, the definition of collectible is something that will live multiple generations that you can pass on to your kids or to a family member. And we're not there yet. There's no ability to take those things and put them on a jump drive and put them in my safety deposit box and pass them on to somebody later. And we really need to see the technology evolve over the next several years. And I think it will.

Knox:Over the last few years, we have seen a wave of entrepreneurship around trading cards, but entrepreneurship has always been at the center of the trading card industry with hobby shops in your local community. How has Upper Deck supported the new wave of entrepreneurship that's emerged?

Masherah: We saw this new wave coming in about 10 years ago, and we started a co-op program to support it. We're the only card manufacturer that has a co-op program, where we actually help these young entrepreneurs improve their shop, improve their website, or even start a second store. We will match dollar for dollar up to $25,000 to help these young entrepreneurs build their business and give them that extra push. We take a lot of pride in the fact that we have helped a lot of these guys accelerate their business and take it to another level.

The one thing that's a little bit different about how we approach the hobby is that we want to make sure that these entrepreneurs are invested in the industry long-term. We require our dealers to have a brick-and-mortar hobby store to be an authorized breaker and to get the investments that we offer to these shops. There is nothing like a brick-and-mortar hobby store for people to be able to go in and socialize and see the product. We see those shops as hubs of knowledge for new collectors, and families, and a safe space for people to go in and learn about the hobby. So it's very important for us to have that space, but we also realize we live in a digital age and a lot of these shops also need to embrace that technology. That's why we invest in the shops to make sure that they're successful in both the physical and the digital space.

Knox:When trading cards saw their initial peak in the early 90s, many brands did promotional retail partnerships. Over the last few years, Upper Deck has had a major partnership with Tim Hortons as well for hockey.How do you think brands can get involved in this emerging world of trading cards?

Masherah:It's one of the things that was a huge initiative for us. Over the last decade, we have focused on forming strong partnerships with key brands around the world, and getting trading cards into people's hands and utilizing them as a tool for these brands. We have not only done it with Tim Horton's, we've done it with Hanes, we've done it with Gatorade, we've done it with Kellogg's and Nabisco. They are a great marketing tools for all these brands and they are collectible. Unlike most forms of marketing collateral for these brands, people save them till the end of time. We see this with historical things, things from the 30s, the 40s, 50s. If you go all the way back to trading cards for better or for worse, they were advertising vehicles for candy, gum, and tobacco, and people have saved those for a 100 years. And in many cases, those trading cards have outlived the brand. I think it is important that brands continue to realize that trading cards can play a key role in their initiatives to build their brands.

See the rest here:
How Upper Deck Continues To Innovate In Trading Cards - Forbes

Cant come back from that! The Below Deck franchise has had its fair share of chaos over the years, but there were some moments that stood out more.

During season 7 of the Bravo show, chief stew Kate Chastain and bosun Ashton Pienaar had a scary confrontation when the latter was drunk after a night out. Ashton ended up punching a window in the van that was taking the crew members home.

I was scared but also just in shock, Kate explained to Decider in December 2019. I was in a place where I could not have escaped if I wanted to. I played possum, just froze and held still. Why is [Ashton] so mad right now? Why is he punching windows? Why is everybody screaming stop the van? Whats he gonna do? What is happening? It all kinda happened really fast.

Following an extremely tense season, Kate wasnt sure there was anything she could have done to change those chain of events.

I was working with illogical assholes. I dont know what I couldve done differently. I was outnumbered but also it was a very bizarre situation, she added at the time.

After major backlash from fans about the mens treatment of the women on board, Ashton apologized for his behavior during the Below Deck reunion.

I was completely drunk, I was out of my mind, Im sorry for that, Ashton emotionally told Kate in February 2020. I hate the fact that everything has been spun the way it is. But you know what, I have to take responsibility for that because Im the one that behaved the way I did.

For the bosun, that moment forced him to take a look at his behavior.

Im making serious changes in my life because Im not proud of the person I saw on camera that night. And I am extremely sorry. I have amazing relationships with all the women in my life, he continued during the reunion episode. The way everything has turned out and the way everything has turned out in the real world now and the labels Im being labeled with, Im extremely ashamed of.

Years later, the Below Deck Sailing Yacht crew was rocked with a shocking twist when Dani Soares claimed that Jean-Luc Cerza Lanaux was the father of her baby.

He hasnt supported me at all in any way. He thinks it is not his child and he doesnt want to have anything to do with it, Dani explained during the June 2021 reunion episode after finally confirming that she got pregnant after their time together.

Jean-Luc, who wasnt able to attend the reunion with the rest of his cast members, later spoke with Andy Cohen and even left an emotional message to his ex.

Dani, what we had on the show for me was real. I dont care what anybody says, even now that were going through what we are going through. What I felt for you, and the time that we had, was genuine. Everything that I ever said to you was true, the deckhand said to the camera.

Jean-Luc tried to offer a fresh start after continuously asking for a DNA test before he would acknowledge Danis pregnancy.

The fact that we are at where we are now, I am really sorry and I would assume to say that most of it is my fault, he admitted. Maybe its because I am the boy that you think that I am. With that being said, I want to be there for you.

He concluded his speech, saying, Though you may not want anything to do with me because of me asking you for a paternity test, thats something that I can get over. But what I cant get over if this is my child is not being there for her.

Scroll down for more of Below Decks shocking moments:

Read the original:
Below Decks Biggest Drama Through the Years: Jean-Luc and Danis Baby Bombshell, Kates Confrontation with Ashton and More - Us Weekly

Listing photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

A two-bedroom condo in Brooklyn for under $1 million with $0 in monthly taxes is probably a steal no matter how you look at it, but thisBed-Stuyhome is also completely beautiful and has a massive roof deck. Located at464 Hancock Street, the $925,000 apartment also has a wood-burning fireplace, contemporary kitchen, heated floors in the bathroom, and a bonus storage room that makes a great home office or gym. And in addition to the nearly 800-square-foot deck, theres also a lovely balcony off the primary bedroom.

The entrance to the home is in the middle, with the living space and kitchen on one end of the hall and the bedrooms on the other. In the living room, theresa functioning wood-burning fireplace, a custom bookcase, a large skylight, and exposed brick. The kitchen hasBertazzoni appliances, granite countertops,a subwaytile backsplash, and cool open Artek shelving set against Heath wallpaper.

Down the hall is the secondary bedroom and a full bathroom.

The primary bedroom suite has an en-suite bathroom complete with a clawfoot tub, shower, and heated marble floors, as well as access to a private terrace.

As mentioned, theres a152-square-foot windowed storage unit that doubles as an office and workout room.

Finally, the roof deck spans over 780 square feet (do note the image above is virtually staged), perfect for all your outdoor entertaining needs.

The building is known as the Shaker House condominium and is located in the historic Stuyvesant Heights section of Bedford Stuyvesant. As the listing states, there is a J-51 tax abatement through 2026. Also, taxes are currently $0 monthly.

[Listing details: 464 Hancock Street, Apt. 3A at CityRealty]

[At Brown Harris Stevens by Jevon Gratineau]

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Listing photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

Tags : 464 Hancock Street

Neighborhoods : bed stuy

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Lovely two-bedroom condo in Bed-Stuy is asking just $925K with no monthly taxes - 6Sqft

All renderings courtesy of NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development

In the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, just a block away from the Madison Avenue Bridge and 138th Street subway station, a new apartment building has all the amenities one could want for a work-from-home life. Theres a cool roof deck complete with a dog run and firepits, a fitness center plus yoga room, game room, movie room, and several co-working spaces. And for those earning 130 percent of the area median income, a middle-income affordable housing lottery has just launched for 65 units, ranging from $2,000/month studios to $2,900/month three-bedrooms.

The 12-story building comes fromJacob Schwimmer of JCS Realty Group. Its part of the421a Tax Incentive Program, which grants tax breaks for new development that include 25-30 percent affordable housing.

The full suite of amenities includes a 24/7 doorman, gym, yoga room that opens to an outdoor terrace, childrens playroom, adults game room, cafe, covered parking, movie room, bike storage lockers, and landscaped roof deck.

The apartments range from studios to three-bedrooms andcome with dishwashers and washer/dryers. Some also have patios or balconies.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units until August 30, 2021. Complete details on how to apply are available here. Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYCs Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

If you dont qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visitCityRealty.comsno-fee rentals pagefor other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED:

All renderings courtesy of NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development

Tags : 276 Grand Concourse

Neighborhoods : Mott Haven

View original post here:
Middle-income housing lottery opens at new Bronx building with a roof deck and co-working space - 6Sqft

Yachties often have butterflies in their stomachs at the start of a new charter season. But Below Deck Mediterranean's new chief stew Katie Flood's nerves were a little higher as she stepped into a position previously held by Hannah Ferrier from Seasons 1 to 5.

"There's definitely pressure, I think. I'm aware and prepared [for] that.Of course, I'm gonna be compared, you know? Like, that's what people like to do is give comparisons. So I definitely am not gonna be surprised if I see any of that," Katie told Bravo Insider during an exclusive interview prior to the Below Deck Med Season 6 premiere. "But at the end of the day, I'm not Hannah; I'm me. I do things different than how she did things or would do things. And that's like any other chief stew. So it is what it is."

It helps when you receive a warm welcome to the world of Below Deck Med from none other than Hannah herself. Katie shared that she received a nice message from the Below Deck Med alum. "She was very lovely. She just, like, wished me all the best," Katie said. "So it was really cute."

Katie added that Hannah also told her that "she's here" if the chief stew ever needed to talk about anything as she begins herjourney on Below Deck Med. That's something that Katie said she may take her up on as the season goes on. "You never know. I don't know how the world's gonna respond to me or how I'm gonna be, you know, how they're gonna see me, what they're gonna say about me. So right now, I feel good," Katie said. "But, hey, I don't know. Like, it's like I said. I am human. I'm sure some things will get to me at some point. But yeah. Maybe in those times I will reach out for sure."

Aside from her Below Deck Med Season 6 crew and her past romance with Season 4 deckhand Jack Stirrup, Katie said that she doesn't know any other yachties from the world of Below Deck personally. Some alums have reached out to her after it was announced that she would be Below Deck Med's new chief stew.

Katie said that she has appreciated the supportshe has received from the Below Deck family so far. "It's really nice, though. I think it's just a simple thing, especially, you know, someone new like myself dipping into this. It's more, I guess, to just say that they're there if you have anything to discuss and in terms of the social media and the comments and the trolls and that side of it," Katie shared. "Most people that have reached out to me, that's what they sort of said. Like, 'If you just want to chat about this and how to handle things,' which is good, because, you know, I've never been through something like this before. So it is nice, I guess, to have that support if you really need it, if you're really getting affected by things or this and that. So it's [really]good."

As Below Deck Med fans get to know her this season, Katie said that she's not the type of person to take things too seriously. "I take life with a pinch of salt, especially in this sort of scenario, like, people are gonna say what they want to say. I don't really buy into bulls--t. So, you know, you either like me or you don't. I'm not gonna get sleepless nights over it," she said. "But I think I'm definitely easygoing. I think I'm a relatable person. So, yeah, I guess, hopefully, that comes across."

The addition of Katie to the Below Deck Med crew is just one reason why this season will be totally "different," according to the new chief stew. "I'm a completely different person. So I think I'm quite a likable person, you know. I get along with most people I meet. I'm a pretty chill person. It just is different. Maybe it's something new, it's refreshing for the show," Katie teased. "I think everyone's gonna be surprised. I think it's gonna be a different season to what people are used to. So I think it'll be cool."

Want more Below Deck Med? Season 6 airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo with early access to new episodes on Peacock.

The Daily Dish is your source for all things Bravo, from behind-the-scenes scoop to breaking news, exclusive interviews, photos, original videos, and, oh, so much more. Subscribe to The Daily Dish podcast, join our Facebook group, and follow us on Instagramfor the latest news hot off the presses. Sign up to become a Bravo Insider and be the first to get exclusive extras.

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Below Deck Med's New Chief Stew Katie Flood Reveals the Message She Received from Hannah Ferrier - Bravo

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the start of construction on a major capital improvement on the Castleton-On-Hudson Bridge on the New York State Thruway (I-90) Berkshire Spur. This $47.6 million bridge deck replacement and rehabilitation project includes the complete deck replacement of the westbound travel lanes and deck repairs and asphalt overlay to eastbound travel lanes, as well as bridge steel repairs and other safetyenhancements.

"As part of our efforts to build back better, we are continuing to pursue an aggressive infrastructure program that makes the investments necessary for strengthening roads and bridges across New York,"Governor Cuomo said."The upgrades being made to the Castleton-On-Hudson Bridge will not only ensure this structure continues to be safe and reliable for motorists well into the future, but also support the continued flow of goods throughout the Capital Region."

The Castleton-On-Hudson Bridge, more commonly referred to as the Castleton Bridge, opened to traffic in 1958 and spans approximately one mile in length, connecting the Berkshire Spur section to the Thruway's mainline. Approximately 6.2 million vehicles per year or 17,000 per day travel over the iconic blue steel bridge that connects Albany and Rensselaer counties over the Hudson River.

Thruway Authority Executive Director Matthew J. Driscoll said,"The Authority continues to strategically reinvest toll dollars to transform and modernize the Thruway system, which is renowned for being among the safest and most reliable superhighway systems in the country. The Castleton Bridge is one of the longest crossings on our system, and this project will ensure its viability well into the future."

The project is being performed by L&T Construction ofRichmondville, New York (Schoharie County).

Construction will take place in phases and trafficwill be shifted and reduced to one travel lane in each direction for the duration of each phase. During Phase 1, all eastbound traffic (from exit 21A) will be shifted onto the westbound span via a crossover as crews complete deck repairs and asphalt overlay to the eastbound lanes.

During Phase 2, all westbound traffic (traveling to Thruway mainline)will be divertedto the newly repaired eastbound span and crews will perform the complete deck replacement to the westbound travel lanes. The projectis scheduled to be substantially completedby the end of 2022.

The project also includes additional safety enhancements including new pavement at each end of the bridge, new guiderail, new beacon lights on the bridge, and miscellaneous steel repairs.

Motoristsare remindedthat in New York State, fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. In accordance with the Work Zone Safety Act of 2005, convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual's driver license.

For up-to-date travel information, motorists are encouraged to download itsmobile appwhichis available to download for free on iPhone and Android devices. The app provides motorists direct access to real-time traffic and navigation assistance while on the go. Travelers can also visit the Thruway Authority's interactiveTraveler Mapwhichfeatures live traffic cameras.

Motorists can also sign up forTRANSalerte-mails, which provide the latest traffic conditions along the Thruway, here. For real-time updates, motorists can follow@ThruwayTrafficon Twitter or visitwww.thruway.ny.govto see an interactive map showing traffic conditions for the Thruway and other New York State roadways.

Original post:
Governor Cuomo Announces Start of $47.6 Million Bridge Deck Replacement and Rehabilitation Project on the Castleton-On-Hudson Bridge - ny.gov

CHICAGO The nations largest rooftop venue is right here in Chicago.

Nestled at the end of Navy Pier, Offshore offers panoramic views of Lake Michigan and the city skyline, and provides a unique perspective of Chicago.

The all-weather venue offers a full-service bar and menu, a 20,000-square foot terrace with seven cozy fire pits, an entertainment and gaming area and multiple large gathering spaces for social and corporate events, weddings, and much more.

For firework times, were doing reservations through Tok. Those reservations will be for the premium tables on the side of the venue with the fireworks,Offshores Clay Livingston said.

Visitors can enjoy firework nights on Wednesdays and Saturdays as Offshore provides a unique perspective to catch all the fun.

Offshore Rooftop & Bar1000 E. Grand AveChicago, IL 60611

For more, follow@tomwgnchicagoon Instagram.

Excerpt from:
Dine, drink and enjoy fireworks at Offshore, the largest rooftop deck in the country - WGN TV Chicago

We are back for Episode 18 of the Red Sox On Deck Podcast, your go-to source for everything prospects on the Over the Monster Podcast Network. On this weeks episode, Shelly and Bob opened with some recent College World Series and mock draft updates. Jack Leiter hasnt given us any reason to second guess him with all of his tournament appearances. Baseball America has him going fourth to the Red Sox, while Jim Callis from MLB Pipeline has Jordan Lawler slipping to four, and Keith Law has Henry Davis to Boston. Well have a full MLB Draft preview episode on next weeks episode.

Looking at the current farm, there are plenty of news and notes, including Franchy Corderos continued Triple-A success along with some workouts at first base. Connor Wongs made his big-league debut and got some comments from Nate Eovaldi and Alex Cora. We also saw injuries to Aldo Ramirez and Brandon Howlett, rehabs from Eduard Bazardo, Nick Decker, and Connor Seabold, and a non-update update in regards to Noah Song.

After that, we made our way through the minor league levels, starting this week in The Florida Complex League, which got underway on Monday. Shelly and Bob reviewed the notables on the roster.

Bob spent the remainder of the episode dodging lightning bolts and having connection issues but fought through the adversity to discuss Tanner Houcks second start, big weeks for Jarren Duran and Jeter Downs, and Marcus Wilsons continued success, all at Worcester. In Portland, we talk about Durbin Feltman and make our first mention of Zack Kelly, who have both been excellent out of the bullpen in recent weeks. In Greenville, were both excited about Chris Murphys four straight excellent starts and hope he can make his way to Double-A this summer. Finally, in Salem, Nick Yorke had a scorcher of a month, and we had to talk about the two huge games from our boy Joe Davis, a no-brainer for this weeks cover photo.

We hope you enjoyed the show and if you did, make sure you subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Podcast, Spotify, or Stitcher. Also give the show a review. Five star reviews help us get in more ears and grow the show. Be sure to also follow us on Twitter. You can find Bob @BobOsgood15, Shelly @ShellyV_643. Thanks for listening!

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Boston Red Sox Top Prospects Podcast: The Legend of Joe Davis - Over The Monster

Fintech VC funding hit a fresh quarterly record of $22.8 billion in the first three months of 2021, according to CB Insights data. While mega-rounds helped propel overall funding, new cash was spread across 614 deals.

Insider has been tracking the next wave of hot new startups that are blending finance and tech.

Check out these pitch decks to see how fintech founders are selling their vision and nabbing big bucks in the process. You'll see new financial tech geared at freelancers, fresh twists on digital banking , and innovation aimed at streamlining customer onboarding.

A blockchain-based fintech startup that is aiming to disrupt the traditional model of evaluating peoples' creditworthiness recently raised $30 million in a Series B funding led by credit reporting giant TransUnion.

Four-year-old Spring Labs aims to create a private, secure data-sharing model to help credit agencies better predict the creditworthiness of people who are not in the traditional credit bureau system. The founding team of three fintech veterans met as early employees of lending startup Avant.

Existing investors GreatPoint Ventures and August Capital also joined in on the most recent round. So far Spring Labs has raised $53 million from institutional rounds.

TransUnion, a publicly-traded company with a $20 billion-plus market cap, is one of the three largest consumer credit agencies in the US. After 18 months of dialogue and six months of due diligence, TransAmerica and Spring Labs inked a deal, Spring Labs CEO and cofounder Adam Jiwan told Insider.

Lance is a new digital bank hoping to simplify the life of those workers by offering what it calls an "active" approach to business banking.

"We found that every time we sat down with the existing tools and resources of our accountants and QuickBooks and spreadsheets, we just ended up getting tangled up in the whole experience of it," Lance cofounder and CEO Oona Rokyta told Insider.

Lance offers subaccounts for personal salaries, withholdings, and savings to which freelancers can automatically allocate funds according to custom preset levels. It also offers an expense balance that's connected to automated tax withholdings.

In May, Lance announced the closing of a $2.8 million seed round that saw participation from Barclays, BDMI, Great Oaks Capital, Imagination Capital, Techstars, DFJ Frontier, and others.

Jason Wenk started his career at Morgan Stanley in investment research over 20 years ago. Now, he's running a company that is hoping to broaden access to financial advice for less-wealthy individuals.

The startup raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Insight Partners with participation from investors Vanguard and Venrock. The round brings the Los Angeles-based startup's total funding to just under $67 million.

Founded in 2018, Altruist is a digital brokerage built for independent financial advisors, intended to be an "all-in-one" platform that unites custodial functions, portfolio accounting, and a client-facing portal. It allows advisors to open accounts, invest, build models, report, trade (including fractional shares), and bill clients through an interface that can advisors time by eliminating mundane operational tasks.

Altruist aims to make personalized financial advice less expensive, more efficient, and more inclusive through the platform, which is designed for registered investment advisors (RIAs), a growing segment of the wealth management industry.

While countless small businesses have been harmed by the pandemic, self-employment and entrepreneurship have found ways to blossom as Americans started new ventures.

Half of the US population may be freelance by 2027,according to a study commissioned by remote-work hiring platform Upwork. HoneyBook, a fintech startup that provides payment and operations support for freelancers, in May raised $155 million in funding and achieved unicorn status with its $1 billion-plus valuation.

Durable Capital Partners led the Series D funding with other new investors including renowned hedge fund Tiger Global, Battery Ventures, Zeev Ventures, and 01 Advisors. Citi Ventures, Citigroup's startup investment arm that also backs fintechrobo-advisorBetterment, participated as an existing investor in the round alongside Norwest Venture partners. The latest round brings the company's fundraising total to $227 million to date.

Onboarding new customers with ease is key for any financial institution or retailer. The more friction you add, the more likely consumers are to abandon the entire process.

But preventing fraud is also a priority, and that's where Neuro-ID comes in. The startup analyzes what it calls "digital body language," or, the way users scroll, type, and tap. Using that data, Neuro-ID can identify fraudulent users before they create an account. It's built for banks, lenders, insurers, and e-commerce players.

"The train has left the station for digital transformation, but there's a massive opportunity to try to replicate all those communications that we used to have when we did business in-person, all those tells that we would get verbally and non-verbally on whether or not someone was trustworthy," Neuro-ID CEO Jack Alton told Insider.

Founded in 2014, the startup's pitch is twofold: Neuro-ID can save companies money by identifying fraud early, and help increase user conversion by making the onboarding process more seamless.

In December Neuro-ID closed a $7 million Series A, co-led by Fin VC and TTV Capital, with participation from Canapi Ventures. With 30 employees, Neuro-ID is using the fresh funding to grow its team and create additional tools to be more self-serving for customers.

Marketplaces like Amazon and eBay host millions of third-party sellers, and their algorithms will often boost items in search based on consumer sentiment, which is largely based on reviews. But many third-party sellers use fake reviews often bought from click farms to boost their items, some of which are counterfeit or misrepresented to consumers.

That's where Fakespot comes in. With its Chrome extension, it warns users of sellers using potentially fake reviews to boost sales and can identify fraudulent sellers. Fakespot is currently compatible with Amazon, BestBuy, eBay, Sephora, Steam, and Walmart.

"There are promotional reviews written by humans and bot-generated reviews written by robots or review farms," Fakespot founder and CEO Saoud Khalifah told Insider. "Our AI system has been built to detect both categories with very high accuracy."

Fakespot's AI learns via reviews data available on marketplace websites, and uses natural-language processing to identify if reviews are genuine. Fakespot also looks at things like whether the number of positive reviews are plausible given how long a seller has been active.

Consumers are getting used to the idea of branch-less banking, a trend that startup digital-only banks likeChime,N26, andVarohave benefited from.

The majority of these fintechs target those who are underbanked, and rely on usage of their debit cards to make money off interchange. But fellow startup HMBradley has a different business model.

"Our thesis going in was that we don't swipe our debit cards all that often, and we don't think the customer base that we're focusing on does either," Zach Bruhnke, cofounder and CEO of HMBradley, told Insider. "A lot of our customer base uses credit cards on a daily basis."

Instead, the startup is aiming to build clientele with stable deposits. As a result, the bank is offering interest-rate tiers depending on how much a customer saves of their direct deposit.

Notably, the rate tiers are dependent on the percentage of savings, not the net amount.

"We'll pay you more when you save more of what comes in," Bruhnke said. "We didn't want to segment customers by how much money they had. So it was always going to be about a percentage of income. That was really important to us."

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See 7 pitch decks that fintechs looking to disrupt wealth, banking, and credit scores used to raise millions - Business Insider