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BBC’s David Brindley joins Twofour as chief creative officer
David Brindley
BBC commissioner David Brindley is joining Twofour as chief creative officer.
The exec, who is to join the label next year, currently serves as head of commissioning for popular factual and factual entertainment, overseeing commissions for BBC One, Two and Three.
Brindley’s recent commissioning credits include Race Across the World; Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out; The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan; War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita; Your Home Made Perfect; Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls and The Rap Game UK.
Prior to the BBC, Brindley was a documentaries commissioner at Channel 4 for three years, and before that, he was a documentary maker for over a decade, previously working with Twofour as a director on Educating Yorkshire, and picking up BAFTA nominations for his producing work on The Fallen and Beautiful Young Minds, both for BBC Two.
Brindley completes the new senior management team at Twofour, which has been restructured following the departures of bosses Melanie Leach and Andrew Mackenzie, who are setting up ITV Studios-backed venture South Shore Entertainment.
Twofour’s new exec structure
Tim Carter – most recently MD of MultiStory Media (formerly Shiver) – now leads both Twofour and MultiStory as CEO, with both businesses maintaining separate teams and identities.
Meanwhile, Dan Adamson, group director of programmes at Twofour since 2010, has been promoted to MD and will work alongside Brindley across the label on strategy.
With a brief to help grow the whole of the business, Adamson will also build out Twofour Group’s regional strategy, working closely with Boomerang and Twofour West, which will report into him.
Elsewhere, BAFTA award-winning creative director David Clews will continue working across Twofour in a new consultancy role, remaining exclusive to the label in non-scripted, but with flexibility to pursue scripted ventures.
Rounding out the team is newly promoted director of programmes for Twofour West Rachel Innes-Lumsden; Boomerang director of programmes Sam Grace; group director of production Shireen Abbott; and financial director Jake Roberts.
Carter has also appointed Pukar Mehta to work alongside him as chief operating officer of MultiStory Media and Twofour, with oversight of production, finance, business affairs, HR and technology.
Mehta joined ITV in 2010 as Twofour Group’s head of business development before moving across to commercial director of ITV Studios in 2014, leading on acquisitions and investments alongside his portfolio responsibility over ITV Studios’ labels.
Mehta, who starts with immediate effect, has sat on the board of Twofour for the last four years.
Carter said: “Over the past couple of years, David has transformed popular factual at the BBC into an incubator for bold, contemporary, global formats. The creative ambition he’s championed is the perfect match for Twofour. He joins a best in class team. Dan Adamson is an outstanding creative manager, who along with David Clews has been at the heart of Twofour’s greatest hits over the past decade.”
Brindley added: “I’ve had the best three years imaginable at the BBC and the chance to work with the absolute cream of the crop of TV talent, both on screen and off. It’ll be hard to leave everyone who has been so supportive of me and made my time so enjoyable especially Alison and my top-notch commissioning team.
“I’ve loved the chance to create some hopefully memorable television with Charlotte, Patrick and Fiona, but the opportunity to set my sights back on production and taking the reins at Twofour will be a dream job and a real privilege. I’m so looking forward to leading the super talented team there in what promises to be an exciting new chapter for the company.”
Tags: Andrew Mackenzie, BBC, Dan Adamson, David Brindley, David Clews, Jake Roberts, Melanie Leach, Pukar Mehta, Rachel Innes-Lumsden, Sam Grace, Shireen Abbott, Tim Carter, Twofour, Twofour Group
WarnerMedia strikes three-year TV, film pact with Steven Soderbergh
WarnerMedia has struck a three-year deal with veteran filmmaker Steven Soderbergh that will see him develop content for both its streaming HBO Max and cablenet HBO. The exclusive agreement covers all forms of TV and a first-look for features, with his first project the previously announced feature Let Them All Talk for HBO Max. It […]
Apple TV’s ‘Servant’ at centre of plagiarism lawsuit
Apple is at the centre of a lawsuit by Italian-American director Francesca Gregorini over its original series Servant. Gregorini has filed a copyright lawsuit that alleges that Servant, which was developed by The Sixth Sense director M. Night Shyamalan, plagiarised her 2013 film The Truth About Emanuel. Both titles focus on mothers who are grieving […]
Deals round-up: CJENM lands DRG's 'Small Fortune'; BBC orders from Plimsoll; Blue Ant sales
South Korean media giant CJ ENM has acquired rights to Youngest Media’s primetime entertainment format Small Fortune and is going into production on a four-part pilot series. The show will premiere on CJ ENM’s tvN channel in February, with the deal struck by NENT Group’s UK sales outfit DRG. Small Fortune was devised by Youngest […]
Turkey's Calinos Entertainment hires 20th Century Fox alum for global sales
Turkish distributor Calinos Entertainment has appointed 20th Century Fox exec Jose Luis Gascue to oversee its worldwide sales. The former NBCUniversal exec becomes EVP and head of worldwide sales at Calinos, with a remit across global distribution for the company. He was most recently VP of sales for Latin America at 20th Century Fox, where […]
ViacomCBS expands UK AVOD service My5 with Endemol Shine deal
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Kumaon District
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.
Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Jane Schueler
Instant Calm
A sound meditation
Peace rests within us and a sip of tea connects us with this experience whether alone or shared with others. The CalmZone meditation offers a moment to pause and enhance the feeling of inner peace. So while your tea is brewing, nestle into a comfortable position and surrender to the sounds of the ocean and the voice of calm.
Listen to the recording
Kumaon District, India
Young Mountain Tea
International Tea Buyers Guide
Kumaon or Kumaun is one of the two regions and administrative divisions of Uttarakhand, a mountainous state of northern India, the other being Garhwal. A substantial portion of the region is part of the Himalayan Mountain Range. Other areas are hilly and heavily forested with other areas providing a perfect combination of elevation, soils and climate to produce high quality tea.
ORGANIC KUMAON WHITE
Origin: Kumaon, India
Garden: Champawat
Infusion Suggestion: 5 minutes at 170oF Certifications: USDA Organic
Harvested as the tea plant wakes from winter dormancy,
this spring tea captures the fresh and floral aromas of new growth. The green leaf is carefully transported from field to factory where it is minimally handled before being dried.
GARDENS & GROWERS
The British planted several of their original tea test plots in Kumaon. The plant thrived in the Himalayan soils, but the region’s isolation prevented the British from creating viable supply chains. With the discovery of tea in Assam, the Kumaon plots were abandoned. In the 1920s, a group of six families moved to Kumaon from Sri Lanka to revive tea cultivation.
. To make this tea, Mr. Birkbeck studied the approach of Darjeeling producers, learning the art of the semi-oxidized black tea.
A LEAF WITH AN IMPACT
Kumaon tea farmers earn 5-10 times the average rates of Indian tea farmers. Young Mountain Tea provides additional income opportunities through facilitating homestay programs. Our company also connects Kumaon communities to progressive leaders in the tea industry, whose expertise is shaping Kumaon’s tea development. Drawing on local knowledge and international partnerships, Kumaon tea farmers are creating the next generation of Indian teas.
To date, Kumaon teas have not been certified Fair Trade due to the costs involved. We look forward to the day when the volume of Kumaon tea supports the certification.
For the last three generations, the Birkbeck family has been leading the revitalization efforts. Ten years ago they partnered with the regional government to spread tea throughout Kumaon, and today more than 2,000 Kumaon households produce 120,000 pounds of tea annually
Revival of Tea in the Kumoan District
Kumaon was first planted with tea in the 1850s, but was too far from any port to get the tea out of the mountains. The tea experiments were abandoned, and for 140 years, the tea thrived in the wild. Beginning in the 1990s, the government began to revive tea cultivation as a way to create rural livelihood opportunities for local communities. One of the men who has been involved since the beginning of this “revival of old glory” is Mr. Desmond Birkbeck, a native Kumaon son.
Young Mountain Tea Website
Videos of Kumaon Tea, Culture & Landscape
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Game On: Nintendo Switch Lite debuts – here’s what you need to know
Victor Philip Ortiz
A faster Nintendo Switch is also in the works.
After months of speculation, Nintendo has officially unveiled the Switch Lite, a cheaper and smaller version of its flagship console. It’s a handheld-only console that’s scheduled to release in September with a $200 price tag.
The Nintendo Switch Lite comes with a smaller 5.5-inch 720p screen – but a few features have to be compromised to accommodate the smaller build and cheaper price. This includes the ability to connect to a TV and the lack of detachable Joy-Cons and HD rumble support.
It does make you wonder why the Switch name was kept (branding of course) despite the console being a dedicated handheld. But as an owner of a Switch myself, I spend more time using the device as a handheld rather than docking it and playing it on the big screen. This is one of the reasons why the Nintendo Switch Lite should be a viable option for some.
It still has a microSD card slot, Wi-Fi and NFC and a bigger battery which should give you more time to play Legend of Zelda or Mario Kart. You can still pair Joy-Cons on the Nintendo Switch Lite using Bluetooth so you can enjoy the vibrations that don’t come with it – you only need to find a way to stand the console because it lacks a kickstand like its big brother. Since it’s smaller, it won’t be compatible with the recently released Labo kits, unless Nintendo releases some sort of cardboard adapter to make it work.
It will come in three different colors and will still be sold alongside the original Switch, which we’ve heard is getting an internal hardware upgrade. While it is still a rumor, some point out that the upgraded Switch is getting a newer Tegra processor from Nvidia, allowing it to have improved graphics and better battery life.
Either way, this is a good option for some looking to jump on the Switch platform. It lacks the big features of the flagship Switch, but a smaller and cheaper version should be enough for some.
What do you think of the Nintendo Switch Lite? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
TAGS : console,handheld,Mario,Nintendo,Switch,switch lite,Zelda
by Victor Philip Ortiz
Tech Enthusiast and Movie Buff. Passionate for all things tech - you’ll normally find him tinkering with the latest gadgets and computer peripherals. He is an avid collector of Blu-ray discs and occasionally plays on his Xbox.
T3’s Most Awaited Games of 2020
Game On: Mario Kart Tour just became Nintendo’s…
Game On: Assassin’s Creed is heading to the…
Game On: A new Mario game is coming…
Game On: This may be our first look…
Nintendo finally address Joy-Con problems
Movie Trailer Roundup: Superheroes Galore
Woah! Fortnite gains support for…
Two of the biggest games…
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Copyright © T3 Middle East 2018, All rights Reserved
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Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Spello e Bettona - SC
LEI (Legal Entity Identifier) is as international identifier assigned to distinct legal entities that engage in financial transactions. LEI increases the transparency of financial system, allowing the authorities to improve market surveillance and businesses to reduce counterparty risk. Knowing LEI allows to get registration details of the legal entity, its ownership structure and its family tree.
The structure of LEI is defined in ISO 17442. A LEI consists of twenty alpha-numeric characters where characters 1-4 identify the LEI issuer (Local Operating Units or LOU), characters 7-18 are the entity indentifier, i.e. the code generated and assigned by the LOU, characters 19-20 are the verification ID (checksum).
LEI of Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Spello e Bettona - SC and its components are shown in the table below.
LEI 5493001IDJJSIDOP8024
LOU Identifier 5493
Reserved 00
Entity Identifier 1IDJJSIDOP80
Verification ID 24
MFI ID (Monetary Financial Institution Identifier) is a code, unique to each institution in the MFI list provided by ECB (European Central Bank). MFI ID is hence applicable to MFIs resident in the European Union.
The code is alphanumerical, with the first two digits representing the two-digit ISO code for the country of residence of the MFI and the remaining number of digits (no limit has been specified) is any combination of alphanumerical characters.
MFI ID of Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Spello e Bettona - SC is shown in the table below.
MFI ID IT0000635659728
Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Serino (avellino) - Societa'cooperativa
cooperative retail banking
Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Sesto San Giovanni - SC
Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Spinazzola - SC
Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Staranzano e Villesse - SC
Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Terra d'otranto - SC
Banking Products in Italy
up to 1.50 %
from 8.48 %
Economy and Banking Sector of Italy
List of Banks in Italy
List of EMIs in Italy
Cooperative Banks in Italy
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VFW Posts
Choose List Your Business Advertising Contact Us States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming State Maps State Capitals
Family’s dog gives birth to bright green puppy named Hulk: A family's dog gave birth to a healthy litter of eight puppies, but she also delivered one very colorful surprise. Shana Stamey, the owner of a white German shepherd named Gypsy, told Asheville, North Carolina, ABC affiliate WLOS that the fourth puppy ”was lime green."
A local veterinarian told WLOS that some puppies come out tinted due to a stain from meconium, or their first stool. The color will fade, though Stamey and her family had fun with it and are calling the furball Hulk after the Marvel comic book character. “We thought about Gremlin, [or] Pistachio. We call him Mr. Green sometimes,” she said. “He’s pretty special.”
-Good Morning America
Tap the red
Towns | Counties | Home | Points of Interest
Sports in Indiana
500 S Capitol Ave
Indianapolis, IN zzzzz
Indianapolis Colts Website
Description: 1909 - First race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Website: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Website
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Latest Sports News - ESPN
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Sports News, Commentary and Analysis - HuffPost Sports
Womens Outdoor Life
When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors! The Importance of Lightning Safety
Summer is the peak season for one of the nation's deadliest weather phenomena--lightning. Though lightning strikes peak in summer, people are struck year round. In the United States, an average of 51 people are killed each year by lightning, and hundreds more are severely injured. While lightning fatalities have decreased over the past 30 years, lightning continues to be one of the top three storm-related killers in the United States.
Myth: If it is not raining, then there is no danger from lightning.
Fact: Lightning often strikes outside of heavy rain and may occur as far as 10 miles away from any rainfall. This is especially true in the western United States where thunderstorms sometimes produce very little rain.
Myth: The rubber soles of shoes or rubber tires on a car will protect you from being struck by lightning.
Fact:: Rubber-soled shoes and rubber tires provide NO protection from lightning. The steel frame of a hard-topped vehicle provides increased protection if you are not touching metal. Although you may be injured if lightning strikes your car, you are much safer inside a vehicle than outside.
Myth: 'Heat lightning' occurs after very hot summer days and poses no threat.
Fact:: 'Heat lightning' is a term used to describe lightning from a thunderstorm too far away for the thunder to be heard.
Myth: Lightning never strikes the same place twice.
Fact:: Lightning often strikes the same place repeatedly, especially if it's a tall, pointy, isolated object. The Empire State Building is hit nearly 100 times a year.
Myth: If it's not raining or there aren't clouds overhead, you're safe from lightning.
Fact:: Lightning often strikes more than three miles from the center of the thunderstorm, far outside the rain or thunderstorm cloud. 'Bolts from the blue' can strike 10-15 miles from the thunderstorm.
Myth: A lightning victim is electrified. If you touch them, you'll be electrocuted.
Fact:: The human body does not store electricity. It is perfectly safe to touch a lightning victim to give them first aid. This is the most chilling of lightning Myths. Imagine if someone died because people were afraid to give CPR! Call 9-1-1 and begin CPR immediately if the person has stopped breathing. Use an Automatic External Defibrillator if one is available. Contact your local American Red Cross chapter for information on CPR and first aid classes.
Myth: If outside in a thunderstorm, you should seek shelter under a tree to stay dry.
Fact:: Being underneath a tree is the second leading cause of lightning casualties. Better to get wet than fried!
Myth: If you are in a house, you are 100% safe from lightning.
Fact:: A house is a safe place to be during a thunderstorm as long as you avoid anything that conducts electricity. This means staying off corded phones, electrical appliances, wires, TV cables, computers, plumbing, metal doors and windows. Windows are hazardous for two reasons: wind generated during a thunderstorm can blow objects into the window, breaking it and causing glass to shatter and second, in older homes, in rare instances, lightning can come in cracks in the sides of windows.
Myth: If thunderstorms threaten while you are outside playing a game, it is okay to finish it before seeking shelter.
Fact:: Many lightning casualties occur because people do not seek shelter soon enough. No game is worth death or life-long injuries. Seek proper shelter immediately if you hear thunder. Adults are responsible for the safety of children.
Myth: If trapped outside and lightning is about to strike, I should lie flat on the ground.
Fact:: Lying flat increases your chance of being affected by potentially deadly ground current. If you are caught outside in a thunderstorm, you keep moving toward a safe shelter.
Source: FEMA
© 2019 TownsOfTheUSA.Com - All Rights Reserved
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Become a Critical Movie Critic
Movie Review: Little Women (2019)
Howard Schumann
Poo-Review Ratings
Stay Away Don't Bother Seen Better Not Bad See It
Writer/director Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”) puts a contemporary spin on Louisa May Alcott’s nineteenth century classic novel in Little Women, now in its eight film version. Alcott’s semi-autobiographical story about four sisters growing up in Concord, Massachusetts during and after the Civil War stands out for its warmth and celebration of family, its exquisite period costumes, and for its strong message of female empowerment, rare for its day. Unfortunately, while previous versions adhere to the sequence of events described in the novel, Gerwig takes liberties with the chronology, mixing scenes of past and present, tinkering that only serves to create confusion and undercutting what is essentially a coming-of-age drama which relies on our understanding of character growth and development.
The film begins with the March sisters as grown women. The free-thinking, independent-minded Jo March is the central character, an aspiring writer who may be a mirror for Alcott. Unlike the 1994 version which, according to one critic, “invites your attention, slowly and elegantly,” the latest iteration seems to be happening in warp speed, creating an atmosphere of high spirits and calculated energy. In the opening scene, Jo, in a heartfelt but somewhat subdued performance by Saoirse Ronan (“Mary Queen of Scots”), is living in a boarding house in New York doing odd jobs to support her family.
When Mr. Dashwood (Tracy Letts, “Ford v. Ferrari”), editor of the magazine, the “Weekly Volcano,” agrees to publish her first story, Jo tells him that she is promoting the book for a friend and wants it to be published anonymously. The editor says to tell her friend that if she wants to be a successful writer, her stories must end with the female character being married or dead, not a promising choice for some people. Jo has become fond of boarding house acquaintance Friedrich Bhaer (Louis Garrel, “Planetarium”), a language professor from France, but her inability to handle his criticism of her work causes him to disappear for most of the film. We meet Jo’s sister Amy (Florence Pugh, “Midsommar”), in Paris to study painting, accompanied by her sharp tongued Aunt March (a delightful Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”).
Aunt March tells her that the most important thing she can do is marry a wealthy man. Being that women at the time could not vote or hold well-paying jobs, could not own anything if they were married, even their children, this was a practical idea leading Amy to conclude that marriage was an “economic proposition.” Even so, Amy has her heart set on dilettante Theodore “Laurie” Laurence, the March’s good looking and super-wealthy next-door neighbor played by a wild-haired Timothée Chalamet (“The King”) in an earnest yet unconvincing performance. There are two other sisters in the story, Beth (Eliza Scanlan, “Babyteeth”) and Meg (Emma Watson, “Regression”) but they are peripheral characters that are not well-developed.
Meg has fallen in love with John Brooke (James Norton, “Flatliners”), Laurie’s former tutor whom she will eventually marry, while Beth, a talented pianist, is engaged in a fierce battle with scarlet fever. While Jo is the most independent of the characters, other paths are respected as well. “Just because my dreams are different from yours doesn’t mean they’re less important,” Meg tells her. While in Paris, Amy runs into Laurie and is not shy about her feelings for him but she has a consuming passion to first prove herself as an artist. “I want to be the best or nothing,” she says at one point.
Though Jo turns down’s Laurie’s pleading marriage proposal and rejects the life of being a wife and mother (Alcott never married), she later shows her vulnerability when she admits to her mother Marmee (Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”) that she is lonely. The film then flashes back seven years to Christmas in New England when the girls were teenagers, the only visible clue being that their hair is shorter. With their father (Bob Odenkirk, “The Post”) involved in the war, Marmee teaches the young women about the rewards of kindness for those less fortunate when she brings a Christmas breakfast to a family in need.
In one of the most exuberant scenes in the film, the teenage Jo engages in a wild dance with Laurie, whom she has just met at a party. When the girls are rehearsing a play, they invite Laurie to join their club and be accepted as part of the family, something he relishes. In one of the narrative’s most iconic moments, Amy, angry at her sister for not taking her to the theater with her and jealous of her friendship with Laurie, consigns Jo’s manuscripts to the flames when she is not at home.
When Jo returns she is devastated and furious but, when Amy falls into a crack in the ice and is rescued by Jo and Laurie, she is forgiving and Amy is sorry for her childish behavior. The scene emphasizes the warmth and camaraderie of the sisters, showing how a family can rise above petty grievances and provide mutual support. It is a reminder of how good Little Women could have been without the gimmickry.
Critical Movie Critic Rating:
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Tagged: author, growing pains, New York City, novel adaptation, relationships, sisters
About Howard Schumann
I am a retired father of two living with my wife in Vancouver, B.C. who has had a lifelong interest in the arts.
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'Movie Review: Little Women (2019)' has no comments
Genre(s): Drama, Romance
MPAA Rating: PG
Director(s): Greta Gerwig
Actor(s): Bob Odenkirk, Chris Cooper, Eliza Scanlen, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, James Norton, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet
Writer(s): Greta Gerwig, Tracy Letts
Producer(s): Amy Pascal, Denise Di Novi, Robin Swicord
Studio(s): Columbia Pictures, Pascal Pictures, Regency Enterprises, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Release Date(s): US: December 25, 2019 | UK: December 26, 2019
IMDb Info: Little Women
Movie Trailer: Little Women
Home » Reviews » Movie Review: Little Women (2019)
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Women Dominate and Triumph in Terminator: Dark Fate
Arnold Schwarznegger has become just as synonymous with The Terminator just as Stallone has with the Rocky franchise. However, this chapter doesn’t focus on The Terminator himself, but on the badass women who take over with grit, gusto and gripping action sequences.
When that opening sequence presents washed up bones on shore and takes us to Mexico 22 years later with naked people dropping form the sky, you know some ish is about to go down. Grace (Mackenzie Davis) has one mission and is determined to complete it by any means necessary- to save Daniella ‘Dani’ Ramos (Natalia Reyes). While attempting to do just that, she is saved by Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), who also has a vested interest in Dani surviving the target on her head. After all, more than 20 years ago, Skynet was assigned to deliver the same fate awaiting Dani, to annihilate her and her son by any means necessary.
Yes, the film is formaic. No, it’s not without it corny factor. Yes, it was hella exciting to watch a more than 20 year-old franchise handed over to not only to a trio of strong, kick-butt women, but a Latina leading lady whose commitment and bond with Grace and Sarah is undeniable as they protect one another from ill fates. Not to mention the fact, that Dani’s family is shown as loving, playing and solid. An image often manipulated for Latino families on screen. Often times, we see families of color through the lens of less than fortunate circumstances and portrayed as gangbangers, drug dealers…you get the point. Dani and her family were hard working and loving, which for this female person of color was refreshing to witness even if it was in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller franchise.
Of course, this film would be nothing without my girl Linda Hamilton aka Sarah Connor. As an outlaw who’s knocking off Terminators ever since Arnold’s T-800 killed Edward Furlong’s John. Hamilton, in her fly aviator shades is weilding and pointing guns the size of cannons and anchoring the film with that I been there done that and I don’t give a f–k attitude gave me much joy.
The film wouldn’t be complete without Schwarznegger dropping a few of his famous one-liners infusing the excitement of this franchise for a whole new generation. The girl power, action sequences and familiarity of a film that has been a staple for generations, Terminator: Dark Fate is a gripping, gritty reboot of the best kind and hosts theatres on November 1st. I’ll definitely ‘be back.
arnold schwarzneggerBHL Onlineblack hollywood livejames cameronlinda hamiltonMackenzie davisNatalia reyesparamount picturesterminator dark fatethe curvy criticTim miller
Bombshell Blows Lid on Fox News Scandal with Mesmerizing Performances
Diane Keaton Takes on Final Act with Dignity in POMS
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Russia infuriated by New York Daily News op-ed, demands apology
by Sergey Gladysh December 21, 2016 2.4k Views
The spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, expressed her outrage on Facebook, describing the article titled “Don’t cry for Russia’s slain envoy, who was Putin’s lackey,” which was later renamed to“Assassination of Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov was not terrorism, but retribution for Vladimir Putin’s war crimes,” as xenophobic and supportive of terrorism.
“We are sending the chief editor [of New York Daily News] a letter demanding an apology,” she stated.
The author of the piece, Gersh Kuntzman, defends the brutal assassination of Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, which was carried out at a public event in Ankara when the ambassador was giving a speech in front of a small crowd of men, women and children.
An Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist organization Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the Al-Nusra Front, claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Justice has been served” – writes Kuntzman, explaining his twisted logic by drawing comparisons between Putin, Hitler, and the killing of a Nazi German ambassador by a Jewish student in 1938.
Kuntzman also makes war crime accusations against Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, failing, however, just as everyone else who tried before him, to cite any sources or provide even a slightest shred of evidence.
The entire article reeks of Russophobia and xenophobia, it is fake Western journalism at its absolute worst.
The New York Daily News is the fourth-most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States and has been described as “part of the Democrats-led new McCarthyism.” As of 2014, it is owned and run by Mortimer Zuckerman, a Canadian-born American media proprietor, magazine editor, and investor who previously owned The Atlantic and Fast Company.
RussiaMaria ZakharovaNew York Daily NewsGersh Kuntzman
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From Russian Nihilists to Al-Qaeda: The dark spectre of political correctness
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Radiohead unbox A Moon Shaped Pool deluxe casebound vinyl edition
Radiohead share unboxing video of lavish limited edition.
Released on beautiful white and standard vinyl earlier this year, we’ve been promised a deluxe casebound edition of Radiohead’s phenomenal new album A Moon Shaped Pool ever since the record was announced back in May.
As reported at the time, this edition has been presented in a casebound album inspired by the albums for 78rpm shellac records in the library of La Fabrique in France.
Read next: The 10 most collectable Radiohead vinyl editions
Featuring 32 pages of artwork, the complete 11-track album has been pressed onto two heavyweight vinyl records, will include a double compact disc featuring two extra tracks. The whole thing has been gift wrapped in a piece of Radiohead ½ inch master tape from an actual recording session going back to the band’s 2000 album Kid A.
As the product description explains:
The tape degrades over time and becomes unplayable. We thought rather than it ending up as landfill we would cut it up and make it useful as a part of the special edition. A new life for some obsolete technology…
Each loop contains about ¾ of a second of audio – which could be from any era in the band’s recording past going back to Kid A. You may have silence, you may have coloured leader tape, you may have a chorus… It’s a crapshoot.
We have copies. Don’t worry.
Announcing that the edition is finally being shipped, Radiohead have released an unboxing video (of sorts) on their Facebook page which shows off the casebound set in all its glory.
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Verified Voting Home
Voting Blogs
New Zealand: Dirty tricks, spies overshadow New Zealand election | Sydney Morning Herald
New Zealand’s election campaign has been bitter and bizarre, unable to shake off the long shadows cast by an internet mogul and a blogger. Opinion polls suggest Prime Minister John Key’s National Party may cling to power after the real polls close on Saturday night, but it will be close. If Mr Key prevails for the centre-right, he will have overcome allegations of government dirty tricks – based on the hacked emails of burly blogger Cameron Slater, aka Whale Oil, that resulted in Justice Minister Judith Collins being forced to resign from cabinet. And a feud with German giant Kim Dotcom meant Mr Key, 53 and a fellow self-made multimillionaire, had to spend much of this week batting away claims that the nation’s GCSB spy agency is engaged in mass surveillance of its citizens. Mr Dotcom, who is fighting extradition to the US to face internet piracy charges, hosted an event in Auckland on Monday featuring WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and US National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden (both via video link), as well as US investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald to assert the spying allegations.
Full Article: Dirty tricks, spies overshadow NZ election.
Categories: New Zealand | Topics: dirty tricks, Internet Party, Julian Assange, Kim Dotcom
New Zealand: A beginner’s guide to New Zealand’s strangest election | Scoop
We’re in the final few days of an election campaign that has had it all – comedy, conspiracy and claims of dirty politics – though none of it has dented New Zealand National Prime Minister John Key’s chances of winning a third term in power. The predictions market puts 80% odds on a National prime minister after this Saturday’s election. For those tuning in late to what has been a dramatic and sometimes bizarre campaign, here’s just a taste of what you’ve missed. A German internet entrepreneur wanted for extradition by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kim Dotcom, blows NZ$3.5 million to set up a political party with the hope of taking down the Prime Minister. He flies in Pulitzer prize-winner Glenn Greenwald to allege that the NZ government conducts mass cyber-surveillance of its citizens. Unable to stand for office himself as he isn’t a citizen, Dotcom makes a pre-electoral pact with a Maori MP (Hone Harawira, Mana Party) to give his Internet Party something more than a nag’s chance. Meanwhile, an investigative journalist unleashes scandal after scandal by publishing hacked emails from the right-wing blogger behind a site called Whale Oil.
Full Article: A beginner's guide to New Zealand's strangest election.
Categories: New Zealand | Topics: Internet Party, John Key, Kim Dotcom, Maori
New Zealand: Vote but resist the urge to selfie | Stuff.co.nz
Think twice before taking an election selfie with your ballot paper – you could be breaking the law. The advance voting period began this week, and already early bird voters are sweeping social media, posting photos of themselves at the polling booth. Among them were Labour leader David Cunliffe, Greens co-leader Metiria Turei, and Internet-Mana benefactor Kim Dotcom. Others, including Labour MP Trevor Mallard, have shared photos of their completed ballot papers, prompting warnings they risked falling foul of the Electoral Act. Internet-Mana leader Laila Harre tweeted yesterday: “Reminder that it’s against electoral law to post pics of your ballot paper.” The Electoral Commission advised candidates and supporters to exercise caution when it came to publishing or distributing material that included a ballot paper. This particularly applied to social media where material could be shared, reshared or reposted on election day.
Full Article: Vote but resist the urge to selfie | Stuff.co.nz.
Categories: New Zealand | Topics: Kim Dotcom, selfie, social media
New Zealand: Megaupload’s Dotcom, facing legal threat, launches political party | Reuters
Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom holds court while bathing in the pool of a sprawling New Zealand mansion, fist bumping and chatting with some of the 700 guests gathered to celebrate the political party he launched last month to promote Internet freedom. His latest ultra-encrypted file storage site, Mega, will soon go public after a deal that values it at NZ$210 million ($180 million), and Baboom, an online streaming music service designed to bypass record companies, is nearing its hard launch. In Dotcom’s alternate universe, he is fighting extradition from his adopted country to the United States, where the hulking 40-year-old stands accused of massive copyright infringement related to the Megaupload file sharing site he founded in 2005.
Full Article: RPT-Megaupload's Dotcom, facing legal threat, launches political party | Reuters.
Categories: New Zealand | Topics: Internet Party, Kim Dotcom
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Music Player + Video
Video Clip (NOTE: audio in video clip is an unbalanced monitor mix)
CD via Retailers
Direct from us, Thirteen of Everything
Thirteen of Everything
"..this is an amazing and outstanding album that you must experience for yourself.” - Henry Schneider, Exposé.org
Available now on CD and via the usual digital platforms. Click here for our Bandcamp page.
June 2019: New Album AVAILABLE NOW: "Our Own Sad Fate" was released on June 7, 2019, on Basement Avatar Records.
Available on CD (with 8-page booklet, lyrics & album credits) from Waterloo Records in Austin, Wayside Music, LaserCD, CD Baby and Bandcamp. Outside the U.S. the CD is available from Caerllysi Music (U.K.), Garden Shed (Japan) and Just for Kicks Music (Germany). See our STORE page.
Available digitally from CD Baby, Bandcamp and other major digital platforms, where it can also be streamed to get a taste.
Reviews: "Our Own Sad Fate" has garnered quite a few glowing reviews. Check them out here.
Sept. 2019: Welcome new keyboardist Bob Villwock!
Bob is a seasoned player, who is as enthusiastic about Rush, as he is Chick Corea. Such musical breadth, along with his obvious skills as a keyboardist and good-natured personality made Bob a natural choice. See "About" and "Photos".
Jan. 2020: Thirteen of Everything returns to the stage for two shows in January: Saturday Jan. 11th for "Progressive Rock Night at The Townsend" (early set: at 7:30 pm) and another early set on Sunday, Jan. 19th at 7:00 pm for A ProgRock Jubilee at One2One. For more information, go to the link for SHOWS.
E-mail List Sign-up
E-mails will be infrequent and we will never share your e-mail with anyone.
Sunday, January 19 @ 7:00PM — 8:00PM Sun, Jan 19 @ 7:00PM — 8:00PM A ProgRock Jubilee at One2One One-2-One Bar, Austin One-2-One Bar, Austin
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BBC Cameraman Attacked by Trump Supporter at Rally in Texas
By George Steer
A BBC cameraman was physically assaulted at a campaign rally President Donald Trump was holding at El Paso County Coliseum in Texas.
Ron Skeans was covering the rally on Monday night when a Trump supporter wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat managed to infiltrate the press area. The assailant shoved Skeans and swore at other members of the media before being escorted from the scene, according to video footage from the event. The cameraman told the BBC he was caught unaware by a “very hard shove”.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” he said.
Skeans’ camera was focused on Trump when the attack took place. After falling, Skeans appears to pick his camera up off the floor before turning it on his attacker, who is seen shouting “f-ck the media” as he is led away. Some in the crowd could be heard chanting: “Let him go.”
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Noticing the commotion, Trump stopped his speech to ask “Are you alright? Everything ok?” Before continuing with his speech, Trump flashed a thumbs up sign in Skeans’ direction.
On Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders issued a statement about the incident: “President Trump condemns all acts of violence against any individual or group of people – including members of the press. We ask that anyone attending an event do so in a peaceful and respectful manner. For questions around security at Trump campaign events please contact the campaign directly.”
Eleanor Montague, a BBC producer who was sitting close to Skeans during the rally, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that it was “an incredibly violent attack” and “fortunately our cameraman is fine, he is made of stern stuff.”
Another BBC colleague, Gary O’Donoghue, told the same show that such attacks are “a constant feature of these rallies — a goading of the crowds against the media.”
“It is clearly unacceptable for any of our staff to be attacked for doing their job,” said a BBC spokesperson. The El Paso police department told TIME it was “still gathering” information. The Trump campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for a comment.
The White House Correspondents’ Association condemned the attack. “We are relieved that, this time, no one was seriously hurt. The president of the United States should make absolutely clear to his supporters that violence against reporters is unacceptable,” said WHCA President, Olivier Knox in a statement.
Video footage from the rally shows the President pointing out the press to the crowd who boo in response. Trump has frequently been critical of the press at rallies and on social media.
In August last year, Trump described reporters present at one of his rallies as “horrible, horrendous people,” before criticizing the press as “fake, fake, disgusting news”. Days earlier, two UN experts described how the U.S. President’s fiery rhetoric “increase[s] the risk of journalists being targeted with violence.” He also previously praised a member of congress who assaulted a reporter and on Twitter has called the media “the true enemy of the people.”
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The Convergence Of Console And PC For The Next Gaming Generation
Latest DOOM Eternal Trailer Is Absolutely Insane
Four Amazing Gambling Minis Found In Your Favorite Video Games
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The Top 10 Most Anticipated PlayStation 4 Exclusives of 2020
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5 Must-Have Arcade-Style Shooters & Beat’em Ups On The Nintendo Switch
Movie Adaption of Ubisoft’s Video Game Series Rabbids’ is Currently in the Works
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One Small Step: An Interview with For All Mankind’s Chris Agos
Written by Dana Abercrombie on November 1, 2019 at 6:00 am
From creator/showrunner Ronald D. Moore (Outlander, Battlestar Galactica), AppleTV’s For All Mankind is about the first manned mission to the Moon during the Space Race in the late 1960s was a global success for NASA and every American across the United States. But this drama answers the question: “What if the Space Race had never ended?”
In an alternate timeline, the USSR beats the USA to the Moon; thus setting its first Russian cosmonaut on it. Dubbed as “Red Moon,” this event leaves NASA in devastation. This doesn’t mean those working there have given up as they challenge the Soviet Union a second time to show that there is no giving up on hope.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, For All Mankind hopes to distinguishes itself by speculating how far a truly dedicated space race could’ve gone while facing the realities of Cold War America.
Growing up in the midst of the Space Shuttle era, Chris Agos studied the stars as part of his curriculum in school, and although he admired the astronauts who traveled beyond the reach of most humans, he eventually decided that it wasn’t for him. Now Agos playing one of the most prominent and beloved astronauts Buzz Aldrin.
The Koalition spoke with Agos to discuss the pressures of playing an icon, getting lost in Mission Control, what makes the show unique and more.
For All Mankind premieres November 1 on Apple TV+.
Check out our interview below.
Dana Abercrombie Entertainment Editor / Media Liaison I'm just a girl, standing in front of the world, asking you to follow me. Has ambitions to be crazy cat lady if marrying various celebrity crushes proves impossible.
EWin Champion Series Ergonomic Computer Gaming Office Chair with Pillows Review
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© 2020 Copyright The Koalition
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Theory of life
Lifestyle, Undercover
Avengers: Infinity War Poster Pays Off
Around 6am pacific coast time, the entire earth shook as Marvel and Disney launched the full-length trailer for Avengers: Infinity War. And it was a moment worth waiting for that payed off in a big way.
Final Avengers: Infinity War Poster Pays Off In a Big Way
Around 6am pacific coast time, the entire earth shook as Marvel and Disney launched the full-length trailer for Avengers: Infinity War. And it was a moment worth waiting for that payed off in a big way. And now, to culminate that experience, we have the final payoff poster for this epic undertaking, and it will take your breath away.
This isn’t so much the ‘final’ poster that we’ll see for Infinity War, as there will be plenty of one-sheets, Avengers character posters and foreign takes on the art over the course of the next six weeks, as we lead into the home stretch. But this is the official final poster that will stand to represent the movie heading into its domestic release. It’s the one that will adorned everything we see leading into that fateful first viewing. And it’s pretty cool.
With 10 years of Marvel moviemaking behind it, this latest poster art is very colorful. And it shows the 22 main heroes that will be battling the Mad Titan. Thanos looms over everything else outlined in fire, with Earth’s Mightiest set against the devastation of a battle that clearly hasn’t gone their way. The purple sunset is a nice reminder that some of these guys won’t be here with us after this.
At the top of the poster we have Vision and Scarlet Witch, who will be exploring their relationship a little further in Infinity War. As we see in the trailer, Vision has one of the Infinity Gems in his forehead, and Thanos isn’t going to be too kind in extracting it. On their opposite side, we have Doctor Strange and his companion Doctor Wong. Then, front and center, we have the guy who started it all. Tony Stark, utilizing his new Iron Man armor.
Flanking Stark are Thor and Nomad (the man otherwise once known as Captain America). Standing next to them are T’Challa (aka Black Panther), Nebula, Star-Lord, and War Machine. The next row is made up of the main women, who are strangely segregated as opposed to strategically placed to coincide with their male counterparts. Black Widow has Okoye and Shuri on one side, with Gamora and Mantis on the other. Off in the distance, we see Falcon and Drax the Destroyer.
ReferenceOther things to check out:
The Uprising, March 16, 2018
“Debt is an ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver.” –Ambrose Bierce
‘Everyone goes silent when shooting happens in the hood,’ said Odetunde. ‘But when a shooting happens in the suburbs, we all go insane.’
‘But we need to keep that same energy for urban communities when things pop off and get out of line,’ finished Merlain.
The idea floated (and even passed) in some states, of arming teachers in the classroom was roundly rejected by both Governor Gina Raimondo, who said “The solution is not to arm teachers, unless we’re arming them with teaching supplies and better school facilities” and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza, who bluntly stated, ‘arming teachers ‘ is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.’
In an unusual move for an event such as this, the governor did not speak first. Instead, the sponsors of the bills spoke first, followed by three high school students. This shows the sheer political power of these students and their cause.
Watching: Poster Pays Off In, Infinity War. And, Mad Titan. Thanos
Press Compilation:
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on 03rd of Jun 2019 Concept artist Ryan Lang shared his illustration of a young Thanos for Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War. After nearly a decade of hiding in the shadows, Avengers: Infinity War finally saw
Free Outdoor Teen Movie Night to Feature Avengers: Infinity War
on 03rd of Jun 2019 Enjoy a blockbuster movie under the stars as Palatine Park District and Partners for Our Community (POC) Teen Advisory Board present Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War on Thursday, June 6 at Fred
Box Office: 'Avengers: Endgame' Has Sold More Tickets In America Than 'The Phantom Menace'
(Jun 2019) That 55% drop in the weekend after Memorial Day is much larger than the likes of Infinity War (-39%), Captain America: Civil War (-49%) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (-47%). To be fair, this weekend was
‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Ken Jennings Celebrates James Holzhauer’s ‘Reign of Destruction’ With ‘Infinity War’ Joke
on 03rd of Jun 2019 The reigning all-time “Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings responded to James Holzhauer’s loss on Monday with a reference to “Avengers: Infinity War.” “Actual photo of James Holzhauer walking off stage
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Kaiser girls’ soccer defeats Newport Coast to claim Daily Pilot Cup 5th- and 6th
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Theory /THēərē/ /THi(ə)rē/
A supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain the nature of attributes.
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Mud, vegetation on new Pacific island baffle scientists Tuesday 5th Feb 2019
The island erupted from the rim of an underwater caldera in early 2015, and remains unnamed, but is sometimes referred to as Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai ‘ the names of its neighbouring,
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Heritage chef Damian D’Silva sets up shop at Straits Clan
His new restaurant, located within the member's club, will be called Kin.
Jaime Ee
Like the eternal romantic always looking for “the one”, Damian D’Silva has had a string of broken kitchen relationships in his life. His true love is heritage cuisine, but instead of settling down happily ever after with it, he’s been on an eternal seesaw between hopeful idealism and crushing reality.
After his last stint at Folklore restaurant – where he tried but eventually failed to balance being a hotel employee and bastion of his grandfather’s rich Eurasian-PeranakanChinese culinary history – Chef D’Silva was like someone fresh from a conscious uncoupling. Frustrated, lost – a man clinging fiercely to his uncompromising cooking traditions, but steadily demoralised by how so few seemed to appreciate it.
But that was a couple of months ago. Chef D’Silva is in love again because – fingers crossed – he’s found the partner he’s been looking for all his life.
By end-October, he will open his new restaurant Kin at the hip local members’ club Straits Clan, founded by Lo & Behold’s Wee Teng Wen.
Kin is an apt name for the restaurant,which evokes images of family, hearth, warmth and community. That’s exactly what he wants his food to be, but with a modern aesthetic that will appeal to both purists and the Instagram crowd.
“I’ve been doing a lot of R&D,” says the 63-year-old chef with newfound enthusiasm.
The food will still be communal style, but now I’ve got the support (that he didn’t get before) to push my cuisine to a level that can be seen as eloquent.” Eloquent in the sense of presentation, plateware, even food-styling to a certain extent. “They have one person here whose job is to make sure that whatever plateware goes on the table matches the dish,” he marvels.
But more important, he feels that he finally has the support of someone – namely Mr Wee, who brought him on board after finding out he was available – who shares his vision.
“Our mission has always been to create experiences that tell a unique Singaporean story, (so) we’re honoured to support our leading local culinary icon, Damian, to showcase his take on heritage cuisine,” says Mr Wee.
For that, Chef D’Silva is grateful. “I’ve reached an age where I have to be 99 per cent sure of who I’m going to work with. I want heritage food to be appreciated and put on the map. Why can’t our heritage food be appreciated by the rest of the world?”
Although plans for him to start a cooking school after Folklore didn’t pan out, he believes he can achieve his goal of teaching the younger generation about the food from their grandparents’ time.
Interestingly enough, he’s seeing more young chefs keen to learn from him, and has already recruited two, including one from a Michelin-starred restaurant who wanted to learn more about his roots. “I want to bring (my food) to the level that students out there will say, ‘I want to work with Damian. He’s the one who will take me back to the time of my grandparents when I wasn’t there and he can show me.’”
(RELATED: The future of Singaporean food: redefining the cuisine)
He certainly has a lot planned. This time, it’s not just Eurasian and Peranakan because his grandfather covered practically all styles including Chinese, Malay and Indian. So you’ll find his version of chi pao kai (paperwrapped chicken) and steamed fish using artisanal Teochew and Cantonese soya sauce from small local operators his mother used to buy from.
“I want to do my pickles and gulai, nasi ulam, daun pegaga (a hard to find vegetable) salad which is Indonesian-Peranakan and other recipes that have disappeared,” he rattles off.
But wait. Straits Clan is a members-only club. However, part of his deal is that some tables are reserved for the public, as he wants as many people as possible to enjoy his cuisine. “I’ve had so many ideas but I never had the opportunity or platform until now.”
And on top of that, Kin may well bring him the validation that he seeks, hopefully from the likes of Asia’s 50 Best or even Michelin, assuming Kin qualifies given it’s part of a club.
If so, then we’re pretty sure that, after a long line of breakups, Kin could finally be the one.
Kin, Straits Clan, 31 Bukit Pasoh Road. For details, email enquiries@restaurant-kin.com
(RELATED: Meet the men behind Singapore-based private members’ club Straits Clan)
This article was originally published in The Business Times.
Damian D'SilvaFoodKinLo & BeholdRestaurantStraits ClanWee Teng Wen
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Independent Shakespeare Co. Presents “Twelfth Night” – Free Shakespeare in Griffith Park
Posted by Christine Deitner | 24th Jul 2019 | Los Angeles, Review, United States of America
Foreground: Bukola Ogunmola (Viola), Gyasi Silas (Orsino). Background: David Melville (Feste), Darian Ramirez (Curio), Carene Rose Mekertichyan (Valentine), Dave Beukers (Musical Director) in Independent Shakespeare Co.'s production of "Twelfth Night." Photo Credit: Grettel Cortes Photography.
Independent Shakespeare Co. began performing for free in Los Angeles at Barnsdall Park after partnering with the Department of Cultural Affairs in 2003 and according to their website, their first free festival was “attended by 14 people and a dog.” By 2009 they had outgrown the space that was available at Barnsdall and moved to Griffith Park in 2010 at the site of the Old Zoo, far removed from the sounds of traffic and the lights of the city. There’s the word the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks will break ground this fall to build a permanent stage, something any company who has persevered the way they have for more than fifteen years more than deserves.
Xavi Moreno (Andrew), David Melville (Feste), Lorenzo Gonzalez (Sir Toby) in Twelfth Night. Photo Credit: Grettel Cortes Photography.
Twelfth Night is their first show this season. Directed by company Co-Founder and Managing Director David Melville [Melissa Chalsma is Co-Founder and Artistic Director] the show is inspired by if not set in the 1930s with Unit Set Design and Scenic Design by Natalie Morales that is quite stunning in its elegant simplicity. Melville has added seven songs that range in date from the late 20s to the late 40s and an original rendition of the final song from the play The Rain it Raineth Everyday (set to music by Music Director and Composer Dave Beukers) that are the root of some of the loveliest moments in the play. He opens with On A Slow Boat To China with Curio and Valentine performing like two nightclub singers in any movie from Hollywood’s Golden Age to get us all in the mood. Melville plays guitar while Beukers accompanies on piano and company member Brent Charles backs them on drums.
In spite of the shift in the time period, this is still Illyria, a place where love makes people do crazy things (as love is wont to do). Bukola Ogunmola is Viola, the shipwrecked twin to Sebastian (Kelvin Morales) who makes use of his clothing in a trunk she has dragged to shore to pose as a eunuch for Orsino, who is played by Gyasi Silas with a range of emotions we don’t always get to see in the character. When he asks Feste (David Melville, a masterful jester who makes Shakespeare sound easy) to play Stardust, Silas is stoic at first then breaks down into moving [yet comical] tears, which prompts Ogunmola to join him in a dance that is choreographed by Katie Powers-Faulk to show off the abilities of both actors while affording them a moment to fall in love, Hollywood-style. The moment where Viola remembers herself (himself?) and has to gently slip out of a romantic dip is a beautiful beat that read all the way to the top of the hill behind me if the sympathetic laughter that echoed back is any indication.
William Elsman (Malvolio)
Background: Lorenzo Gonzalez (Sir Toby), Xavi Moreno (Andrew). Photo Credit: Grettel Cortes Photography.
Melissa Chalsma is Olivia, and her understanding of just how awkward it is to be rebuffed by what appears to her as just another young boy is charming, especially when Viola first leaves her and she chides herself for asking “What is your parentage?”. It’s a moment straight out of every romantic comedy where the heroine usually gets to plant her face in a pillow and scream or call up a best friend for commiseration drinks. Olivia doesn’t get to relax however for the extremely uptight and quite magnificent William Elsman’s Malvolio is the attempted killer of all things fun, including her budding romantic interest. When he falls for the letter that he supposes is from Olivia, he swaps his black suit and white gloves for Lederhosen, and yellow stockings ‘cross-gartered’ and smiles like a lunatic. He could fall into the trap of becoming the villain but even when he is visited by Feste in the guise of a doctor [instead of a curate] with ink blots and improv to match and even when he discovers the deception that caused all of his woes, he is not nearly as full of thoughts of bloody revenge as he could be and in fact comes back to join everyone in the final song with an air that is more humbled than harmed.
Sir Toby Belch (Lorenzo Gonzalez) and Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Xavi Moreno) provide a great deal of comic relief, often proving themselves more the fool than Feste ever could be. Maria (Sabra Williams) comes off as being the only scheming brain in the bunch, a factor that doesn’t necessarily compute when we later watch Sir Toby pit Viola and Andrew against each other in the duel of fear that results in no win, or loss – how does he comes up with that idea and to what end, we wonder with this power dynamic. When Antonio (Hao Feng) arrives in Illyria with Sebastian then later mistakes Viola for him during that duel, he faces off with Sir Toby in a unique way. Rather than leap right to swordplay, Feng executes a series of gestures lifted out of martial arts films, which Sir Toby imitates in his drunken manner until Feng takes it up a notch and shifts his ‘come and get me’ warrior stance into a full split. It’s surprising and we don’t even miss the stage combat one bit. Melville doesn’t overlook Antonio’s overt love for Sebastian – an aspect of the play that gives some people pause. Instead, he fully embraces it and lets Antonio and Andrew give each other the once over before the play is over and there’s something very satisfying in that choice.
Kelvin Morales (Sebastian), Melissa Chalsma (Olivia). Photo Credit: Grettel Cortes Photography.
Admittedly, there are moments where the pace lags and it’s hard not to notice that Viola reads Orsino’s letter to Olivia just moments after explaining that she took the pains to memorize it. Sometimes Andrew and Sir Toby fall into such a comic display, it can distract from the narrative thread. But then there is the choice to hand Malvolio’s letter to an audience member and ask them to hold it up and get his attention. Two different volunteers are forcibly enlisted and both times Elsman denies it, telling them to take it to the post office or hand the donation over to management. At intermission, the cast remains on stage and audience members are welcome to join them there to talk about whatever they like. And there’s that memorable duet between Orsino and Viola and the obvious camaraderie not only amongst the cast but between them and their audience. All told, no one in Los Angeles is doing this kind of work with the focus on diversity and community involvement that this company has had since its inception. We are lucky to have them.
Carene Rose Mekertichyan plays Valentine, Darian Ramirez plays Curio, Patrick Batiste plays Fabian, and Brent Charles plays the Sea Captain and Priest. Written by William Shakespeare. Costume Design by Lia Wallfish. Maeve Kiely is the Assistant Costume Designer. Scenic Design by Natalie Morales. Lighting Design by Bosco Flanagan. Jamir Muñoz is the Sound Assistant. Nikhil Pai is the Voice & Text Coach. Jenny Park is the Stage Manager. Giselle Vega is the Assistant Stage Manager and Hector Aguirre is the Assistant Stage Manager Intern.
For more information about the company, check out their website: http://www.iscla.org/
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Secret Cinema’s Most Recent Production: A Recreated World Of Ridley Scott’s Classic Film “Blade Runner: The Final Cut”
“Nie Mów Nikomu” (Do Not Tell Anyone) – Performing Sign Language
The Body Labours Sonorously In Foxconn “Frequency (no. 3)” at The PuSh Festival
A Wry Takedown Of Pepys’s Misogyny: “17c” By Big Dance Theater, Dance Umbrella Festival, London
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Posts Tagged ‘carbonite’
Girls of Summer: Jan Roberts, Miss August 1962
Photographed by Pompeo Posar.
Miss August 1962 was the lovely and talented Jan Roberts, who began as a bunny at the Chicago Playboy Club. At the time, it was usually the case that a centerfold may be offered a job as a Club Bunny. Though it would later become common for Bunnies to progress to a gatefold as Playmate of the Month, Ms. Roberts was the first to do it.
With this issue we present a neat twist on the customary Playmate-to-Bunny progression: she’s ingenuous Jan Roberts — the first (but undoubtedly not the last) Playmate to be discovered among the hutch honeys already decorating club premises. Like hundreds of beauties from every part of the U.S. and several foreign countries, Brooklyn-born, Toledo-bred Jan stormed Chicago specifically in hopes of landing a job at the Playboy Club.
(“Bunny Hug.” Playboy, August 1962.)
Her credentials (executive girl Friday for the Juhl Advertising Agency of Elkhart, Indiana, and honor graduate of a two-year medical technology course in the same city) were impressive enough to earn her a Bunny berth. Although the lissome — 39-23-35 — arrangement of her 120 compact pounds on a five-foot-five frame tends to belie it, Miss August prefers mental exercise to physical.
But she’s so pretty. What could she possibly need to think about?
[Ms. Roberts] thrives on chess and bridge bouts, reads omnivorously (mostly books on mathematics and theology), dabbles in graphology, and earnestly paints landscapes which bear, she believes, “an unfortunate resemblance to my favorite foods — spaghetti and cheese blintzes.”
Hell, yeah, EAT SPAGHETTI!
She can’t abide a sloppy pad, views beatniks with suspicious brown eyes, loves shoot-’em-up war flicks, feminine frills and Louis XVI antiques.
I like war movies too, but I wonder what was so objectionable about beatniks? Someone needs to dial Ned Flanders and make a lovely lonelyhearts hookup.
Jan regards her current welcome-to-the-club duties with honest satisfaction. “I’m interested in a show business career,” she says. “As a Bunny, I’m already leading a show biz kind of life. It’s a big step on the way up.”
WHAT I LIKE IN MEN: Good manners, men who are good and kind to everyone, a sense of humor.
WHAT I DISLIKE IN MEN: Wise guys.
Ah, hahaha … wise guys. I have the cutest picture in my head, please come along with me on my mental image: Ms. Roberts in the trademark Club Bunny outfit, saying, “Oh, a wise guy, eh?” and windmilling her arm around to punch a Stooge. Chain-reaction hijinks ensue.
As for her show biz ambitions, if that sought-after career progressed, it was under a different name. I tried Jan Roberts, Janice Roberts, and Janet Roberts on the imdb and came up empty. Then again, there is always the stage, yes? Or maybe her (by her account) cheese blintz-like and spaghetti-like landscape paintings took off. She has a sweet face and an endearingly semi-rabbity grill; I’d hope good things for her.
The colorblocks in this picture are frigging awesome. Such a great and articulate, high-brow art critic I am, yes? Did I just blow your mind? Lovely. “What do you think of this piece by Basquiat?” “I think it’s frigging awesome!” Then I crush a beer can against my forehead. Sorry, college degree.
Seriously, though — my favorite shot of the spread, because of the colors.
This issue of Playboy featured a piece by Arthur C. Clarke titled, “World Without Distance.” Clarke is the author of seminal sci-fi novel 2001: A Space Odyssey; togther with Asimov and Robert Heinlein, he was known in science fiction circles as one of the Big Three. At the time his piece was published in this issue, Clarke was living in Sri Lanka (long story — another day). For some years, he had been contributing speculative articles and essays to various magazines about how developing technologies would effect lifestyles in the coming decades and centuries.
In fact, he had a specific timeline for when he predicted certain innovations would come in to use, ending in the year 2100: as an example, he … for lack of a better word, “prophesied,” that a “global library” would be in use by 2005. People would be able to access this library from anywhere and have information at their fingertips. The articles and essays were eventually gathered into a book which Clarke titled Profiles of the Future, published in 1963. “World Without Distance” is one of those essays.
There was also an article in the August 1962 Playboy called “The Prodigal Powers of Pot,” by Dan Wakefield. I came up goose-eggs in my search for the full text of Mr. Wakefield’s article, but HollywoodFiveO‘s review that it’s “an article so dry and boring we were unable to finish it even after huffing copious amounts of the demon weed,” is enough to discourage me from further research.
However, it is a good opportunity for me to mention that two dear old friendohs, Jedi K and Marvelous Mr. C, will be performing in Reefer Madness in October, and if I’m not front and center, it means I’m frozen in carbonite. Actually, even if I’m frozen in carbonite, I might persuade Cinder and Milo to tote me along anyway.
To celebrate, I’ll be sure to squeeze in a Reefer Madness Movie Moment for both the original scared-straight piece of propoganda and the recent film adaptation of the campy musical which my friends will be putting on. It’s an interesting time to stage it in my gret stet of Californny, what with a proposition on the ballot in our upcoming election to legalize marijuana.* I predict they’ll pull in a fun and hopefully big crowd.
*It’s a square and unpopular opinion but, while I am neutral about marijuana as a recreational, albeit presently illegal, drug, I do not think its legalization will prove even at all to be the prompt financial panacea the yaysayers would have me believe, and that the difficulties of properly legislating its sale and distribution will ultimately prove more costly than the budget woes it proposes to solve; further, the proposition in its present form does not yet have a solid enough plan for implementing the legalization nor setting up a more specific system for local governments to go about filtering the monies to appropriate and needy civic channels to suit me. A really bad punster would say I find the idea “half-baked.” I merely say, take your time, rethink what it is that you want to accomplish, and come back to me with something I can consider solidly getting behind. My state has been propositioned to death. This is a big issue — give it the careful crafting it deserves if you want to succeed and be helpful.
That was all in small print because a) I don’t like bringing politics up on the journal; and b) every time I timidly speak against the proposition, people seem to think I am opposed to the drug itself and shout me down with tireless explanations of how it’s not dangerous and people are way better drivers on pot than alcohol (this latter argument actually comes from my uncle, a former cop in Idaho who stuck in his oar on a recent family vacation when he was chagrined to learn that I was probably going to vote no on Prop 19).
I don’t much care about the drug part. Seems to me like people are going to smoke whether it’s legal or not. That’s not my concern at all. What I care about is hasty-pudding legislation that I fear couldn’t pass a Pinto, let alone a majority vote in a state where the people who actually come to the polls are, statistically, retired persons who are, statistically, more conservative voters, and who would likely not vote “yes” on this proposition even if there were rock-solid figures showing that the tax revenue from the legalization of marijuana would go to blind limbless orphans, early-bird buffet discounts, and a television channel that shows all Matlock, all day. They’re still going to punch “no.” This legislation needs to be airtight and even though it’s trying, my feeling is it is not quite there.
Even if it passes, things have become so persnickety and partisan here that it is bound to get held up for years in appeals and counter-measures. Don’t get me wrong, I have hopes for my government in the future, but all I see right now at federal and state levels is a morass in which nothing can get accomplished.
Gesa Meiken photographed by Mario Casilli.
Man! Not only is that all downer stuff, but I actually do hate talking about politics on the internet. I may come back later today and delete all that. Anyway, Arthur C. Clarke and a smiley blonde — even an apparent square like myself can’t vote no on that!
Tags:1962, 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2100, a confession, art, Arthur C. Clarke, artistic, Asimov, Basquiat, beatniks, beer can, boobs, breasts, bunny, carbonite, cheesecake, chicago playboy club, cinder, colorblocks, confession, cretinism, Dan Wakefield, deadlocks, EAT SPAGHETTI, Friendohs, global library, Heinlein, high-brow, images, incomplete legislation, Jan Roberts, Jedi K, l-7, legalizing marijuana, Marvelous Mr. C, Matlock, Milo, Miss August, models, naked, nipples, nsfw, nude, painting, partisanship, photography, Pictures, pin up, Pinto burn, playboy, playmate, politics, pompeo posar, predictions for the future, Profiles of the Future, Prop 19, quotes, Reefer Madness, sci-fi, science fiction, Self-audit, smart cookie, speculative fiction, square, Sri Lanka, star wars, stills, The Prodigal Powers of Pot, three stooges, topless, vintage, wise guy, World Without Distance
Posted in art, confession, EAT SPAGHETTI, Friendohs, Literashit, Model Citizens, photography, Pictures, Playboy, quotes, Self-audit, star wars, Talk nerdy to me | 8 Comments »
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Best Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in Victoria & Vancouver Island
Operating more than 8,000 hotels across the globe (not including vacation rental and ownership... READ MORE
Operating more than 8,000 hotels across the globe (not including vacation rental and ownership properties underneath the Wyndham Worldwide umbrella), Wyndham Hotels & Resort has earned a reputation as one of the world's most extensive and diverse hospitality providers. Supplying guests with high-end lodging options, budget-friendly choices and just about everything in between, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts caters to both business and leisure travelers. And while each brand maintains a distinctive identity – from the luxurious Wyndham Grand and Dolce collections to the more affordable offerings of Days Inn, Super 8, La Quinta and Travelodge – guests can count on quality customer service at each hotel. Plus, travelers who frequent Wyndham Hotels & Resorts properties are eligible to earn points through the Wyndham Rewards program. Wyndham Rewards members can also transfer points to and match their status in the La Quinta Returns program, which is expected to merge with Wyndham Rewards in 2019. Points can be used for air travel, free nights stays and gift cards. Wyndham properties appear on the Best Hotels in the USA, Best Hotels in Mexico, Best Hotels in Canada and Best Hotels in Europe rankings; the U.S. News-ranked Wyndham Hotels & Resorts outposts are listed below.
See Victoria & Vancouver Island Travel Guide »
Howard Johnson Hotel and Suites, Victoria Elk Lake
Howard Johnson Hotel and Suites, Victoria Elk Lake is a 3 star hotel located at 4670 Elk Lake Drive in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 4.0 overall guest rating based on 248 reviews.
Victoria Airport / Sidney Travelodge
Victoria Airport / Sidney Travelodge is a 3 star hotel located at 2280 Beacon Ave in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 4.0 overall guest rating based on 382 reviews.
Days Inn - Victoria On The Harbour
Days Inn - Victoria On The Harbour is a 3 star hotel located at 427 Belleville St in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 3.5 overall guest rating based on 1629 reviews.
Howard Johnson Hotel - Victoria City Centre
Howard Johnson Hotel - Victoria City Centre is a 3 star hotel located at 310 Gorge Rd E in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 3.0 overall guest rating based on 438 reviews.
Howard Johnson Hotel Port Alberni
Howard Johnson Hotel Port Alberni is a 3 star hotel located at 4850 Beaver Creek Road in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 3.0 overall guest rating based on 166 reviews.
Ramada Victoria
Ramada Victoria is a 3 star hotel located at 123 Gorge Rd E in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 3.0 overall guest rating based on 963 reviews.
Ramada Nanaimo
Ramada Nanaimo is a 2.5 star hotel located at 315 Rosehill Street in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 4.0 overall guest rating based on 348 reviews.
Days Inn Nanaimo
Days Inn Nanaimo is a 2.5 star hotel located at 809 Island Hwy S in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 3.5 overall guest rating based on 642 reviews.
Travelodge Silver Bridge Inn
Travelodge Silver Bridge Inn is a 2.5 star hotel located at 140 Trans Canada Hwy in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 3.5 overall guest rating based on 112 reviews.
Howard Johnson Hotel - Nanaimo Harbourside
Howard Johnson Hotel - Nanaimo Harbourside is a 2 star hotel located at 1 Terminal Avenue, in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 3.5 overall guest rating based on 446 reviews.
Travelodge Nanaimo
Travelodge Nanaimo is a 2 star hotel located at 96 Terminal Avenue North in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 3.5 overall guest rating based on 323 reviews.
Travelodge Parksville
Travelodge Parksville is a 2 star hotel located at 424 West Island Highway in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 3.5 overall guest rating based on 667 reviews.
Super 8 Duncan
Super 8 Duncan is a 2 star hotel located at 5325 Trans Canada Hwy in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 3.0 overall guest rating based on 207 reviews.
Super 8 Saanichton Victoria Airport
Super 8 Saanichton Victoria Airport is a 2 star hotel located at 2477 Mount Newton Cross Rd in Victoria & Vancouver Island. It has a 2.0 overall guest rating based on 405 reviews.
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London City Guide
May 23, 2019 Filed under Destination Guides Posted by admin
by Keith Austin
London Cityscape (VisitLondon)
Ever since William the Conqueror consolidated his victory over King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 with a hefty great castle on the banks of the River Thames, London has been at the epicentre of English life. As Samuel Johnson said in 1777: “When a man is tired of London he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”
From the rarified atmosphere of Chelsea and Kensington in the west to the more rough-and-ready charms of Cockney London in the east, the 600 square miles of the British capital do indeed offer all that life can afford.
London today, despite its position as a global financial centre and one of the most diverse, exciting and creative cities in the world, can still be seen as simply a collection of small villages, a patchwork of individual municipalities with their own customs and character.
And the thing that pulls them together and unites them? History: layer upon layer upon layer of history. Here you can stand by a wall built by the Romans and stare up at the gleaming glass spike of The Shard, the newest, soaring addition to the London skyline.
And between the two? A mere 1800 years or so. You’d better get started – there’s a lot to see.
This guide made possible by Travel Associates
London Top Ten
Tower of London: Built in 1078 this impressive castle is a 1000-year-old palimpsest on which is written the history of the capital. In its time it’s been a prison, a royal home, an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie and, today, the home of the Crown Jewels. A tour is de rigueur if you want to understand London.
Greenwich: The home of the Cutty Sark tea clipper, the National Maritime Museum and Greenwich Mean Time at the Royal Observatory. The town centre is a pretty collection of Victorian and Georgian buildings with lots of pubs, restaurants and shops. The weekend markets are an interesting mix of arts and crafts and food stalls.
St Paul’s Cathedral: Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece – started in 1675 and finished in 1708 as part of rebuilding work after the Great Fire of London – has long been a symbol of British identity. Check out the acoustics of the Whispering Gallery or head down into the crypt where Wren, Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington are buried.
Tower Hamlets, East London: From rags to riches in one generation, this formerly rough borough now houses some of the trendiest areas in Britain. Check out the Sunday morning Columbia Road flower market, the village atmosphere of Shoreditch and the top-notch curries of Brick Lane.
London Eye: This giant Ferris wheel wasn’t much liked when it first opened in March 2000 but Londoners and tourists alike have since taken it to their hearts. This is perhaps because the 30-minute trip in the pod-like glass capsules allows glorious views of London.
Palace of Westminster/Westminster Abbey: Close enough to be lumped in to one visit, these two structures are where London’s history is writ large. Westminster Abbey is a soaring, ethereal hymn to more than 1000 years of history while the neo-gothic pile of the Palace of Westminster is the seat of the UK government. Tours of both are recommended.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: The centerpiece of the London Olympics in 2012 is now a sprawling, bustling park covering 227 hectares in Stratford, East London. You MUST take your cossie and swim in the amazing Olympic pool.
Thames River boat cruise: See London from the back of a boat along the Thames. There are several companies that provide these tours and most of them operate somewhere between the Thames Barrier out east to Westminster in the west. A great way to see the capital.
Shakespeare’s Globe: Since it opened in 1997 the Globe has become a quintessential London experience. Watching Shakespeare in a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre just 200 metres or so from the original is not to be missed. There are tours but the play’s the thing.
Cittie of Yorke pub: To understand London you must understand the lure of the pub and this is one of London’s finest. First established in 1430 the Cittie has three bars but the best is the cavernous vaulted space at the rear dominated by a series of enormous wine vats. Grab a spot in the intimate wooden ‘snugs’. Cheers!
London Stay
The hotels of London are a wonderful mix of the very old and the very new, of the super-traditional and the uber-funky. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the quirky Mondrian hotel in Southwark and the historic and iconic Savoy, just a 15-minute walk away on The Strand. It’s in the gap between them that London stays.
The Goring, Beeston Place, Belgravia SW1W: Just minutes from Buckingham Palace this grand old Edwardian hotel is awash with opulent country house furnishing and fabrics. Its dining room this year won its first Michelin star. Very family friendly thanks to interconnecting rooms. Do try the excellent afternoon tea.
Hotel 41, 41 Buckingham Palace Rd, Belgravia SW1W: Tucked away above the Rubens Hotel next door, this elegant but small (just 30 rooms) five-star hotel is a classical design joy from the black-and-white lobby to the black-and-white furnishings in the rooms and the exquisite mahogany throughout.
Egerton House Hotel, 17-19 Egerton Terrace, Knightsbridge SW3: Two red-brick Victorian townhouses built in 1843 have been turned into 28 five-star rooms and suites. Just a short walk from Harrods, the V&A and the Natural History Museum. Manages to be luxurious and homely at the same time. Check out the wall art; Matisse anyone?
Langham London, 1C Portland Place, Marylebone W1B: One of the great London luxury hotels the Langham is famed for afternoon teas in the art deco Palm Court, Michel and Albert Roux’s restaurant, Roux at The Landau, and the drinks at its widely acclaimed and award-winning Artesian bar.
The Soho, 4 Richmond Mews, Soho W1D: Chic boutique hotel in an old warehouse in the heart of the theatre district. All the 96 beautifully designed rooms and suites have floor-to-ceiling windows. Stylish, quirky and oddly quiet for so central a location.
No1 The Mansions By Mansley, 219 Earls Court Road, Kensington SW5: Luxury serviced apartments featuring everything from studios to four-bedroom units in an elegant mansion-style building. Fully equipped kitchens and washing machines make it perfect for families with children. Close to Green Park, too.
The Savoy, Strand, London WC2R: Not so much a hotel as a London institution, this opulent 1889 building is littered with lovely Edwardian and art deco touches. Inside all is elegance and luxury and impeccable service. Check out Gordon Ramsay’s Grill and you must have a drink in the American Bar.
Shangri-La at the Shard, 31 St Thomas St, London SE1: Set on floors 34-52 of architect Renzo Piano’s astonishing building it’s all about the views across the city. The inside’s not too shabby either and the glass-walled rooms are beautifully appointed. Book a window table at Gong bar on the 52nd floor bar for sunset.
The Mondrian, 20 Upper Ground, London SE1: With 3D spacemen in the elevator, giant blue anchor chains in the foyer and a 1920s cruise ship ambience, this upmarket boutique hotel is cheeky and quite wonderful. You must experience the subterranean Agua spa, Dandelyan cocktail bar and rooftop Rumpus Room bar.
M by Montcalm, 151-157 City Rd, London EC1V: For those wishing to experience the up-and-coming East End of London – and especially the trendy Hoxton and Shoreditch districts – this chic modern hotel is for you. Be sure to ask for access to the top floor breakfast room.
London Eat
Eating out while travelling is not always about the food – sometimes a simple sandwich somewhere with a view is enough. Here we’ve tried to find choices which combine good food with a classic London experience – everything from standing in a lane licking salt beef juices off your fingers to sitting down to Michelin starred silver service and linen tablecloths.
Pie and mash: For a quintessentially London experience head into East London and try the food of the true Cockney. Minced beef pie with mash potato all smothered in a green parsley liquor. Add salt, pepper and vinegar. Try Cooke’s in trendy Broadway Market, Hackney.
Michelins: There are two three Michelin starred restaurants in London – Gordon Ramsay’s eponymous 45 seater in Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, and Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester in Park Lane. Or try the one Michelin star lunch at Fera at Claridges for £39 (about $80).
Gastropubs: Universally hailed as the first gastropub in London, The Eagle in Farringdon celebrated its 25th anniversary at the start of 2016. There are plenty more now but the original is still as good as ever. Great wine list, good beer, terrific food – and at heart it’s still just a pub.
Curry in Brick Lane: Long before bearded hipsters opened a cereal café in Brick Lane it was renowned for its curries. Come in from the Whitechapel end and it’s curry house after curry house and everyone has an opinion as to the best. Try no-frills Sheba and you won’t get far wrong.
Beigels in Brick Lane: In the heart of ultra-cool East London, at the other end of Brick Lane from the curry ‘mile’, are two 24-hour beigel shops, a legacy of the former Jewish community. House-made hot salt beef is unceremoniously slapped into a fresh beigel and smeared with mustard. Heaven.
Food market: Pull together a picnic lunch at Borough Market under the railway arches in Southwark. This is a must-do destination for international foodies and non-foodies alike. You’ll find great British meats and cheeses as well as stalls selling artisanal products.
Afternoon tea: The Ritz has served terribly British afternoon tea (smoked salmon and ham finger sandwiches, scones and cakes on a tiered cake stand) since 1906. Impeccable service in the elegant Palm Court, frighteningly formal (chaps must wear a jacket and tie) and not cheap (£52 per person) it’s a great experience.
Food market #2: For the full East London bearded hipster experience go to Broadway Market in Hackney on a Saturday morning. It also helps that the market itself is crammed with goodies, lined with great cafes and pubs, and is a short step away from a picnic-friendly lock on the resurgent Regents Canal.
Thameside eating: Le Pont de la Tour Restaurant at Butler’s Wharf serves perfectly good French food but it’s the location that makes this a dining destination. Get a table on the terrace just before nightfall and watch the floodlights illuminate the great neo-gothic pile of Tower Bridge.
You wish: You’ll have to plan way ahead to snap up a seat in what is the hottest A-list restaurant ticket in town right now. Sexy Fish in Berkeley Square has a Frank Gehry crocodile on the wall, Damien Hirst murals, seriously good food on the plates and prices to match.
London Drink
You could live as long as London’s been around and still not get to the bottom of the number of bars, pubs, breweries and distilleries that the city has to offer. Some come, some go, others, such as the American Bar at The Savoy, become institutions. Here are a few of the best and most interesting. Cheers!
1. Gong: A mere 52 floors above ground level Gong in The Shard is one of London’s highest cocktail bars. You simply MUST try the Black & Blue Swizzle with its perfect combination of Talisker 10 whisky, Stilton cheese, honey and Pedro Ximenez sherry. Book ahead to get a window seat.
2. Beer Mile: On Saturday mornings a bunch of small independent breweries in south London’s Bermondsey area open their doors to the public. If you like craft beer this is nirvana. Don’t pay for a guided tour – it’s easy enough to go it alone. Start at the Fourpure Brewing Co and work north.
3. Mother’s Ruin: There are a burgeoning number of gin joints in London and one of the most popular is the City of London gin distillery and bar not far from St. Paul’s Cathedral. Take a tour, do a course or simply sip gin in the cool, speakeasy-style Cold Bar.
4. American bar: Walking into the famous American Bar at The Savoy is like stepping back to the 1920s: art deco abounds, photographs of famous guests dot the cream walls while well-presented patrons are served by elegant waiters to a background of live piano jazz. Drink what you like – just being there is the thing.
5. Artesian: Voted the world’s best bar several times, the Artesian in the Langham Hotel is the place to go cocktails of the more unusual variety. Where else would you get Johnnie Walker Gold, chamomile, vetiver, sandalwood and kombucha in one glass?
6. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese: Don’t let the ‘Ye Olde’ bit put you off. The Cheese dates from 1667 so it really is old. It is an atmospheric higgledy-piggledy warren of small bars and basements and cellar bars. Buy a pint, sit in a nook and ponder who sat there before you.
7. Mason & Company: On a canalside in Hackney Wick, just a short triple jump from the 2012 London Olympic site, is the latest venture from Mason & Company – a craft beer-centred bar and kitchen. Joins Crate brewery in this once-neglected area.
8. The Bar at the Athenaeum: This elegant but funky Piccadilly hotel’s art deco bar – just recently renovated, enlarged and cleverly renamed The Bar – stocks more than 300 types of whisky from all over the world.
9. The French House: This iconic pub in Dean Street, Soho, is a magnet for actors, writers, artists and journalists who love its no music, no poker machines, no television and no mobile phones rule. Always full of character and characters happy for a natter.
10. Tom`s Terrace: Out the back of beautiful Somerset House, the huge neo-classical building on The Strand, is an extensive 18th century terrace which, in the summer months, is home to a covered outdoor bar with sweeping views of the Thames.
London Shop
Oxford Street is one of Europe’s most popular shopping streets with more than 500,000 visitors daily. Here, Selfridges, John Lewis and Debenhams rub shoulders with smaller chain stores and cheap souvenir shops. But if a miniature London bus or a Union Jack T-shirt aren’t on your shopping list here are a few other suggestions for a bit of London retail therapy.
1. Regent Street: This elegantly curved street is where you’ll find more upmarket fare than nearby Oxford Street. Hamleys toy store is huge fun, and be sure to check out the mock-Tudor delight of Liberty, just a stone’s throw away in Great Marlborough Street.
2. Harrods: One of the best-known department stores in the world, Harrods sits on a corner in posh Knightsbridge surrounded by other prestigious shops such as Harvey Nichols. Wonderfully over the top and worth a visit for the Food Hall alone.
3. Boxpark: Small but perfectly formed, Boxpark is essentially a series of shipping containers park next to and on top of each other in the heart of East London’s ultra-trendy Shoreditch and filled with independent fashion brands, cafés and pop-up restaurants.
4. Camden Passage: Get a yearning for antiques, vintage clothes and other eclectic paraphernalia? Then this sweet cobblestoned lane in Islington is the place to go. Also home to some of the world’s best waistcoats at the terrific African Waistcoat Company.
5. Camden Market: Hugely popular weekend market clustered around a picturesque canal and lock in north London where you can buy pretty much anything and everything. Popular spot for weird and wonderful T-shirts and those rainbow coloured Doc Martens you’ve always wanted.
6. Bond Street/Mayfair: You might have to take out a new mortgage to shop here but at least you’ll be engaging in some serious retail therapy at Burberry, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. Maybe just window shop until your boat comes in.
7. Notting Hill: This is where the world famous Portobello Road Market lives – a whole mile (1.6km) of quirky shops and stalls selling, well, you name it but mostly famous for antiques and collectibles. Said to be the world’s largest antiques market. Gets very busy on weekends.
8. Spitalfields/Brick Lane: The streets once prowled by Jack the Ripper are now home to stalls selling everything from secondhand clothes and beaten-up bicycles to beard oil and Jamaican jerk chicken. Uber-busy on Sundays. Make time for a side trip to nearby Columbia Road flower market.
9. Covent Garden: Packed with trendy shops, arts and crafts vendors and a covered market of stalls flogging souvenir T-shirts, this is a popular tourist destination. The street performers here are excellent. Nearby Seven Dials and Neal’s Yard are worth a look, too.
10. Burlington Arcade: For sheer beauty nothing beats this 180-metre long glazed-roofed pedestrian shopping arcade behind Bond Street. Opened in 1819 it hasn’t changed much since and is still patrolled by top-hatted ‘beadles’ in frockcoats. Famous for fine jewellery and antique silverware. Oh, and an outlet of the wonderful Church’s English shoes.
London Active
There’s no excuse for not staying active in London. There’s plenty of space, after all, with eight royal parks covering 5000 acres – and that’s without counting places such as Hampstead Heath and the ancient woodland of Epping Forest, which straddles the north-east London/Essex border. Failing that, jump on a Boris bike and explore.
1. Parks: London is awash with parks to walk in. Just pick one and go for it. Victoria Park in East London has a boating lake if you want to exercise those arms. More central, Green Park, St James’s Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens form a great green swathe through west London.
2. Canoeing/boating: Moo Canoes in Limehouse Basin and the Milk Float café in Hackney Wick hire out kayaks and canoes. Either explore on your own or take one of their guided tours of the Thames and the nearby canals and waterways.
3. Take a Boris bike out for a spin: Like the Velibs in Paris, this public bike hire scheme has been a huge success. Don’t be put off by the hire terminals – with a credit or bank card it’s really quite easy.
4. London Olympic site: The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London is the biggest urban park in Europe and the largest created in Britain since 1878. Cycle it, swim in the Olympic pool, slide down the ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture or just walk around its 227 hectares.
5. Walk the canals: In the past two decades or so the once-neglected canal system in London has been cleaned up and is increasingly popular with walkers and cyclists. One good walk is to follow the Regents Canal from East London all the way to Regents Park.
6. Mudchute farm: This 13-hectare nature reserve on the Isle of Dogs is a natural wilderness hidden in the middle of London. Bosky glades, bridal paths and an inner-city farm. Go if only to experience the sight of alpacas grazing within cooee of Canary Wharf.
7. Jog: If walking’s all a bit too sedate for you then take advantage of one of the many jogging tours of London. Check out City Jogging Tours, Love London Running Tours and Secret London Runs, among others.
8. Skating: Join the baby brother of Paris’s huge Friday night Pari Roller. Departs from Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner every Friday at 8pm. There’s also a more sedate version on Sundays called the Sunday Stroll which leaves from Serpentine Road in Hyde Park at 2pm.
9. Walk the Thames Path: Well, not ALL of it – it’s 296km long from the source of the river near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Thames Barrier at Charlton, East London. Maybe do the Richmond-Thames Barrier section, which passes Kew Gardens and Battersea Park. That bit’s just 45km.
10. Shake your booty: Get fit by partying the night away at the Ministry of Sound club in what was a disused bus garage in Gaunt Street, Elephant & Castle. It’s been going since 1991 so it must be doing something right.
Visitors inside The British Museum, London, England (supplied)
The Hunterian and the Sir John Soane museums face each other across Lincoln’s Inn Fields. One is a collection of medical grotesqueries and the other is the result of one man’s artistic and architectural obsession where original Hogarths hang on special fold-out walls. Go if you can. In the meantime …
1. National Portrait Gallery: This imposing building, facing on to Trafalgar Square (although the entrance is round the side) is full of portraits of historically significant and famous Brits, based on the importance of the sitter not the artist. Not as stuffy as it looks or sounds. Good for a few fascinating hours.
2. Tate Modern: One of the biggest and most exciting museums of modern art in the world the Tate Modern sits on the south bank of the Thames across from St. Paul’s Cathedral. A new extension has just been opened. Free to enter though tickets are needed for temporary exhibitions.
3. Theatre: To pick one venue out of the 40 or so theatres in the West End district would be churlish in an area said to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. The Palace Theatre is a wonderful building but it is just one of many. Take your pick.
4. Globe Theatre: Tucked away on the Thames not far from the Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe is hugely popular so if you’re planning a visit do book ahead. This is the closest you’ll come to seeing the Bard’s plays as they were originally performed.
5. Sadler’s Wells: A world leader in contemporary dance the Sadler’s Wells Theatre in Islington showcases the best of every kind of dance from Bollywood to ballet and beyond to half a million people every year – and has been doing so for more than 300 years.
6. The Royal Opera House: If your artistic tastes run to the more traditional then head for the lovely Royal Opera House (aka Covent Garden), the home of the Royal Opera, the Royal Ballet and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.
7. Comedy club: There are many, many comedy clubs in the capital but the daddy of them all is the purpose built Comedy Store in Oxendon Street near Piccadilly Circus. It’s been there forever (well, since 1979) and keeps it standards high. Good for a laugh. Or two.
8. Dingwalls: It’s a hard choice, given the number of excellent live rock music venues such as Electric Ballroom and the Roundhouse, but Dingwalls in Camden has been doing it and doing it well since 1973. It also hosts the weekly Jongleurs comedy club.
9. Cinema: If you prefer to eschew the multiplex then the 107-year-old Rio in Kingsland Road, Dalston, is the place to go. It’s a fiercely independent community cinema with just one screen in a Grade II listed art deco building. Has hosted the annual Turkish Film Festival since 1994.
10. Natural History Museum: Vast, sprawling and full of dinosaurs, there isn’t a schoolkid in London who hasn’t visited this spectacular building. There are 80,000 items inside and it’s free. And did I say there are dinosaurs? The Science Museum is close by so kill two birds with one stone.
It would have to be a pretty big diary to encompass everything that happens in London from month to month so here are a few suggestions to whittle the choices down . Music, design, wine, cocktails, films, books are among the subjects covered. And two hugely popular beer festivals because … well, beer.
1. Lovebox: An increasingly popular two-day music festival held in July each year in Victoria Park, East London. Features an eclectic mix of indie, hip hop, electro and pop music. Past performers have included Lana Del Ray, Grace Jones, Chet Faker, George Clinton and Snoop Dogg.
2. Notting Hill Carnival: Europe’s biggest street festival turns this West London area into a lively Caribbean outpost every year in August. Soca, calypso, reggae and funk fill the air alongside the succulent aroma of Caribbean food stalls. Started in 1964 and they’re still dancing.
3. London Design Festival: Seminars, shows, exhibitions, talks, installations and pop-up events happen all over London as designers from around the world meet in September each year to discuss the future and the philosophies of design.
4. London Wine Week: Headquartered in Devonshire Square, London Wine Week in May spreads out over the city in a series of pop-ups, wine tastings, events, twilight banquets and long lunches. More than 125 bars around the city took part, served £5 Wine Flights to customers wearing the £10 LWW wristband.
5. London Cocktail Week: Like London Wine Week, the Cocktail Week in October is a celebration of the capital’s fantastic cocktail scene. Buy your £10 wristband and it’ll entitle you to discount in participating bars.
6. Great British Beer Festival: Held August 9-13 at Olympia Grand, the GBBF features more than 900 real ales, ciders, perries and international beers. You go, you sup. Simple.
7. London Craft Beer Festival: Should the 900 beers at the GBBF not be enough there’s this little beauty at the Oval Space in Bethnal Green from August 12-14. Music and craft beers from brewers such as Kernel, Beavertown and BrewDog.
8. The London Film Festival: Every year in October the British Film Institute London Film Festival screens more than 300 features, documentaries, shorts, Q&As, masterclasses and workshops from all over the world. This year is its 60th anniversary.
9. The Chelsea Flower Show: Possibly the most famous flower show in the world this Royal Horticultural Society five-day event in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea has been held there since 1912. Highlights include the Floral Marquee and smaller artisan and urban gardens.
10. London Literature Festival: This two-week festival celebrates the printed word at the Southbank Centre in the northern autumn, usually over September/October. Guests have included Hilary Mantel, Stephen Fry, Kate Tempest, John Cooper Clarke, Terry Gilliam and Colm Tóibín.
London Tales
Movie-wise, we could have chosen Richard Curtis’s romantic Notting Hill or Love Actually, both of which make superb use of London as a backdrop, or perhaps Alfie, the 1960s movie with Michael Caine as the lothario bedding his way around the city. Instead we went for crime, criminals, zombies, aliens and dystopian futures. London after Brexit, perhaps?
Our recommended reading list
1. London the biography by Peter Ackroyd. You might want to skip the bits about the Jurassic period but the later chapters of this penetrating work are perfect for anyone interested in the history of London. Concentrates on the micro – the weather, food, childhood, crime – rather than the macro.
2. A Child of the Jago by Arthur Morrison. Wonderful old novel from 1896 which depicts the fictional life of one Dicky Perrott, a street urchin growing up in a slum in the Shoreditch area of East London that’s so trendy today. A sort of Oliver Twist for grown-ups.
3. Longitude by Dava Sobel. Absorbing account of a London clockmaker who solves the problem of keeping time on board a ship at sea. Great read if you’re aiming to visit the National Maritime Museum and Greenwich Mean Time at the Royal Observatory.
4. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson. Hilarious but affectionate look at Britain (and London) through a young American visitor’s eyes. Explains so much about the British. Bryson followed it up years later with The Road to Little Dribbling, also worth a read if you like a titter.
5. Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby. This wonderfully frank memoir by Hornby is perfect if you want to understand the British obsession with soccer, especially if you’re in London when the Premier League season is on and want to understand references to the Gooners.
Our recommended watching list.
1. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels: Guy Ritchie’s movie is a peek at the dodgy underworld dealings of a bunch of London criminals and conmen. Will help you pick up on the East London accent and includes lots of local colour. There might be the odd bit of swearing, guvnor.
2. Attack the Block: This cheap and cheerful film about a bunch of south London council estate teenagers who fight off an alien invasion was filmed in Brixton and Peckham and is a great insight into modern London. The cast includes John Boyega, now starring as Finn in the new Star Wars movies.
3. 28 Days Later: Not exactly a travel documentary, given it’s about zombies, but London does have a starring role when Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma to find the capital deserted. Westminster, Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade and the London Eye all feature.
4. V for Vendetta: The film that turned the Guy Fawkes mask into a symbol of freedom from tyranny is set in a future London and was filmed in London and Potsdam. The final scene at Westminster saw the area from Trafalgar Square up to Parliament closed for three nights, the first time this had ever happened.
5. Legend: A not very good film featuring a stand-out performance by Tom Hardy as Ronnie and Reggie Kray, the notorious East End gangsters. Makes wonderful use of the actual locations where the Krays hung out, including Pellicci’s café, the greasy spoon that still serves a mean tea and toast today.
London, unlike Paris, simply isn’t a walking city – the main attractions are too far-flung to make it practicable so the Underground is the best way to get around if you have limited time. Make sure you have an Oyster, the all-purpose travel card for getting around the city – especially important on the buses as they no longer take cash.
8am. Londoners aren’t big on breakfast out but for a traditional brekkie try Pellicci’s, a time warp ‘caff’ in Bethnal Green Road, East London. Formica tables, wood panels, art deco touches and great banter. Go the fry-up.
8.30am. Walk up to Shoreditch/Brick Lane and follow the lane towards Whitechapel. Maybe check out the secondhand clothes at Blitz before cutting through Spitalfields market to Liverpool Street station. Catch the train to St Paul’s.
9.30am. Stroll around St Paul’s Cathedral. If queues and time permit, pop in for a quick look. After which, head towards the Thames where the Millennium footbridge leads to the Tate Modern.
10.30am. Explore the Tate for an hour or so. It’s free to enter but you’ll need a ticket for temporary exhibitions.
11.30am. Turn left along the Thames. A 10-minute walk brings you to Borough Market. Explore the goodies. Buy a picnic lunch.
12 noon. Continue along the south side of river to Tower Bridge. Cross it and head to the Tower of London.
12.30pm. Take a self-guided tour of the tower with an audio guide. This is London history writ large and it’s worth lingering for an hour or so.
1.30pm. Train from Tower underground station to Westminster. Admire Churchill’s statue, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey but head to Westminster Pier (by the bridge) and use your Oyster card to buy a ticket to Greenwich.
2pm. Eat Borough Market picnic lunch on boat as it cruises past the major London landmarks on the way to Greenwich.
3pm. Head through Greenwich Park to the Royal Observatory and the prime meridian where you can have a foot in east and west at the same time. Depending on time, go in and have look around.
4pm. Catch the train to Knightsbridge for a wander around Harrods. Don’t forget to perve on the sumptuous and rightly famous Food Hall then take the train to London Bridge.
5.30pm. Gong is one of London’s highest cocktail bars, a mere 52 floors up in the great gleaming spire of The Shard. Book ahead to get a window seat at sunset.
7.30pm. In the shadow of The Shard is the George pub, the only surviving galleried coaching inn in London. There’s been a pub here since medieval times but the current building ‘only’ dates from 1677. The food is simple pub fare but eating in a 400-year-old pub is pretty cool.
9.30pm A 30-minute walk brings you through interesting streets to the Strand and The Savoy, where the American Bar (it closes at midnight) awaits. Maybe fork out for the Sazerac – at just £5000 it’s the world’s most expensive cocktail. Or maybe drink anything – being here is the thing.
Midnight. Still feeling peckish? Catch a cab back to where it all began in East London and make a mess of yourself with a hot salt beef beigel in Brick Lane.
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Star Trek Loves Lucy
| August 6, 2011 | By: Anthony Pascale 69 comments so far
Today, Saturday August 6th, marks what would have been Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday. While best known as the star of the groundbreaking sitcom I Love Lucy, Lucile Ball was also instrumental in getting Star Trek off the ground. If Gene Roddenberry is the father of Star Trek, then Ball is sort of Trek’s godmother.
Lucille Ball, Desilu and Star Trek
In 1950 Lucille Ball, along with her husband Desi Arnaz, created Desilu Productions. The company grew with the huge success of their sitcom I Love Lucy and after the their divorce in 1960 Ball bought out Arnaz’s interest in the company. Fast-forward to 1964 and Desilu hired Herb Solow to foster new projects and one of the first new shows was Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek.
After making two pilots for Star Trek, Solow had got finally got a commitment from NBC in 1965, but there was a snag. At the time networks began to change the way they paid for TV shows, now only covering 80% of costs and leaving the rest to the studios. In addition Star Trek was working out to be an expensive show to make, budgeted at $200,000 per episode as opposed to an average of $160,000. This meant that Desilu would have to cover $40,000 (around $275,000 today) for each episode, and more if they went over budget. So their only hope to make a profit would be via foreign sales or syndication–a risky proposition at the time. Inside Desilu there was considerable debate as to whether or not to take that risk on Star Trek (and Mission: Impossible, another expensive show which Solow had sold to CBS).
Lucille Ball in 1965
In his book "Inside Star Trek: The Real Story" (written with Star Trek producer Bob Justman) Solow describes a fateful meeting with Ball:
I had the series order from NBC. I had a die-hard group of professionals to make the series. I had a lot of sleepless nights. Now all I needed was the financial support of the studio elders, the very conservative Desilu loyalists. This would all start, and end, with America’s favorite redhead, Lucille Ball herself.
Before the board meeting I’d laid it out to the owner of Desilu: "You’ll always have a show, Lucy, with the same actors, the same staff, the same people to write and direct. Everyone will be happy. The studio will keep renting space to other shows. So fame isn’t a problem and money isn’t a problem. But wouldn’t you like to rebuild Desilu’s prestige, importance, and value as a major player? Wouldn’t it be great to have two exciting and successful Desilu television shows on the air?"
So it was up to the third Lucy. Forget about Lucy Ricardo’s "Vita-meeta-veg-emins" and those chocolates coming down the conveyor belt and Lucy crushing grapes with her feet. Forget Ricky Ricardo and his "Ba-ba-loo" band. Don’t even think about Fred and Ethel Mertz. Forget about all the fluff about President Lucy, the brilliant executive, the Hollywood Mogul. On this day, she could be the real Lucy, the one who represented talent, hated confrontation, and held the future of a lot of people in her grasp. "Say ‘yes,’ Lucy and we’ll all go to work."
Lucy nodded. And we all went to work. The inmates had the key to the asylum.
In 1967, while Star Trek was still in production and still losing money, Ball sold Desilu to Gulf+Western, the the parent company of Paramount Pictures. With the Paramount lot being right next door to Desilu they just knocked down the wall and merged the studios. In the end, Lucy’s gamble paid off for Paramount as they eventually began to reap big rewards off Star Trek in syndication. And the rest, as they say, is history.
So today we at TrekMovie remember Lucille Ball for having faith in Star Trek along with Gene Roddenberry, Herb Solow, Robert Justman, and the rest of the "inmates." Without Lucy, we may have never been taken to the final frontier.
Closing credit logos for Desilu and Paramount seen in Star Trek reruns
NCC-73515
Wow, never heard of that connection before!
Well, I love Lucy. Happy 100th, Ms Ball!
Dee - lvs moon' surface
What’s going on with my comments?
I just said that I liked the article! …
Thomas Jensen
No doubt. I’m glad she gave it a go. Happy hundred, Lucy!
Brett Campbell
1 — Yup. And later stories tell of Ms. Ball’s commitment to keeping both “Star Trek” and “Mission Impossible” in production when the accountants at Desilu admonished her about both series’ production costs and lack of profit. Ms. Ball said simply, “I like ’em; they’re staying,” or words to that effect.
Just one more — major — reason to love Lucy.
Jesustrek
I Love Lucy ;)…..Thaks for Star Trek / Gracias por Star Trek.
boborci
Thank you, Lucy.
Yes thank you Lucy- I met her when I was a little girl. I was about 7 or 8 at the time. We were at a very nice restaurant on top of a skyscraper in Dayton Oh. Black tie event- She was kind to me. I told her how much I enjoyed her tv shows and she said “Well, honey that’s good because you have a lot of reruns to enjoy!” LOL I won’t forget that.
Kev-1
She (Desilu) did “I Spy’ with Culp and Cosby as well.
Andy Patterson
I like the story I’ve heard, (and I think it was in her words if I’m not mistaken) of how she was told the name of the show and thought Star Trek was about the travels of a movie star. She evidently didn’t really know what she was signing off on and was surprised when she saw it.
Lucy gave a quote from those days I still use and adhere to myself, “if you want to get something done give the assignmentt to someone who has no time. They’ll find a way to get it done”.
True words. Happy birthday Lucy.
ster j
It was for Lucy that Star Trek was explained as “Wagon Train to the Stars.”
Thank you, Lucy!
Thank you Lucy, and all who followed from her first steps.
Keep the Dream alive.
dmduncan
I love Lucy! Thank you much wherever you are!
8. Wow!
Basement Blogger
You might have used certain words that can not be said on this website. They include po_n, hea_th insur_nce, and certain um, miracle drugs for men.
Lucy, you don’t have any explaining to do. Thanks for Star Trek. And if you want to check out her work today, there’s a “I Love Lucy” marathon on the Hallmark Channel. Plus Turner Classic Movies has dug through the vault to run some of the movies she has appeared in.
DJT
Star Trek loves Lucy, indeed.
SoonerDave
Wow. I’ve heard a ton of Trek trivia over the years, but I must admit I’ve *never* heard of the direct influence Lucille Ball had over the literal decision to make Star Trek. If she truly thought it was a show about the travels of a celebrity, it has to be one of the happiest accidents in entertainment history.
Anthony Pascale
While the project was in early development Ball did think “Star Trek” was about USO tours with “stars trekking to the south seas” but by the time they needed her to pull the trigger on the show they had shot two pilots and she was well aware it was a scifi show.
Vultan
I’m sure Lucy was cool with sci-fi, too. Remember the episode where her and Ethel dress as Martians?
We love you, Lucy!!!
Odkin
For those who never heard this common knowledge before, I REALLY suggest reading the best Start Trek memoir, “Inside Star Trek: The Real Story”.
Put down the phony histories, the fake timelines, the imaginary technical manuals, the self-serving celebrity biographies, and read how your favorite show actually got made by the behind-the-scenes people who actually made it.
Captain Hackett
IIRC I read one story about her regarding to the Star Trek set. At one time, the set crew forgot to clean up sand from the set, so Lucy stepped up to sweep sands away from the set.
chrisfawkes.com
Cool story, thanks for sharing this one in particular.
DonDonP1
Happy Birthday, Lucy! This year marks not only the 60th anniversary of ‘I Love Lucy’, but also the 45th anniversary of ‘Star Trek’, not just the original series. Happy Anniversary, ‘Lucy’ and ‘Trek’!
Magic_Al
An anecdote from Solow’s book is quoted in Memory Alpha’s article on “The Cage”, telling that Solow delivered Roddenberry’s script to Lucy in her dressing room before the pilot was shot. Much later, when he found her in the same room to tell her NBC’s reaction the pilot, he noticed the script lying undisturbed where he’d left it.
Lucy may not have been interested in what Star Trek was about, but consider that a studio head who was more of a micro-manager might well have killed it or ruined it with tinkering. Lucy hired and trusted the judgment of great talent. The results speak for themselves, not only in Star Trek but in many other shows that became classics and were remade in one form or another in later decades.
Keachick (rose pinenut)
I’ve always loved Lucille Ball as a comedian, and even more so since I found out that she was largely responsible for getting Star Trek made and onto TV screens in the US and abroad. That lady was bright and funny. Happy Birthday, Lucy. You are truly missed. RIP.
Bob Tompkins
I’ll always love Lucy. She is timeless.
Shatner_Fan_Prime
And, of course, Lucy’s son in law played Sybok! :)
CmdrR
Wish she’d done a guest shot. Maybe Cirano Jones coulda been a whacky redhead chasing tribbles all over K-7. Dunno. I can only imagine.
Commodore Lurker
Decloaking . . .
All hail LUCY in the sky with Trek in her eyes.
And thanks to Anthony for giving her her much deserved, and seldom given, due.
Recloaking. }:-D>
Toonloon
Great post! Make a nice change from our usual news bulletins. Great artcile guys!
Green-Blooded-Bastard
I would like to be the first to say they should put Lucille Ball in the next Star Trek movie, perhaps a hologram of some sort Spock wears around his neck…
If she’d lived as long as her great friend Bob Hope, she’d have celebrated her 100th for real
Thanks Lucy!! :)
scifib5st
Thank you Lucy!!!!
So, Lucy’s son in law is Spock’s brother?
Lawarnce Luckenbill married Lucy’s daughter.
I love Lucy and the family.
Admiral Stedman
Something else Lucy is not often credited for is the recording for post-production technique. She had the producers of her show go with a three camera shoot during tapings so they could choose the best shots and edit them into the show. Thanks Lucy. Let er’ roll!
Chingatchgook
I’ve never heard that story before…very ‘fascinating’, to coin a phrase. Happy 100th Lucy, and thanks Anthony for a really great story.
The TOS Purist aka The Purolator
Ha…”TOS was a low-budget show” my ass!
denny cranium
Finished reading Inside Star Trek by Mr Solow and Justman
August 7, 2011 10:22 am
Of course the other Star Trek tie which everyone missed on this page is the fact that little Lucy is married to Sybok (Lawrence Luckinbill)! (They are family friends)
Planet Pandro
#40- agreed, i have read it a few times and its always enjoyable, and is a reminder (to paraphrase Mike Okuda, I think) of not only our heros on the screen, but the real heros behind the scenes that made it all happen.
Not only was Star Trek fostered by Desilu, but other great shows like the Dick Van Dyke Show and The Andy Griffith Show which are now considered to be some of the great classic show of American tv.
#16. Basement Blogger…
No way… probably because I was using mobile internet on my laptop for a while… I updated my data and is ok now!…
And, thank you Lucy!
braxus
Correct me if Im wrong, but didn’t Desilu also do the Dick Van Dyke show? That was another successful series and I seem to remember Desilu being part of it.
Christopher Roberts
Herb Solow also put together a documentary based on “Inside Star Trek: The Real Story”. It’s out there, if you’ve still got a VHS player that works.
I remember there was a story from James Goldstone on that, who directed the second pilot WNMHGB. About how the production was running over schedule and Lucy came down to the set to pitch in to help.
Tony Hardy
I believe it’s in the same book that Herb Solow tells another story about Lucy coming down to help sweep the stage in between shots during the filming of the first “Trek” pilot to help keep them on schedule.
Also, a good friend of mine acted in one of the color “Lucy” shows back in the day. He said that she was a real pro and did not tolerate fools easily. If you were going to work for her, you’d better know what you’re doing.
There was a complex shot that involved a lot of people and floor effects. My friend was supposed to run full tilt through a breakaway wall which was more of a stunt. Well he timed it right and did what he was told, but someone left a 2 X 4 behind the breakaway wall where it shouldn’t have been and my friend was knocked out cold. He woke up with Lucy holding his head in her lap. The crew member that left the 2 X 4 behind caught holy hell!
A couple of weeks later my friend went to pick up his check. It was 3 – 4 times more than he expected to be paid. He thought it was a mistake so he asked to speak with Lucy. She told him that she had made a stunt adjustment and added a bonus for him being such a pro on the set.
47. Great story and congrats on getting the lucky number. :)
The answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything… adjusted for inflation.
47 being the answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything? You must mean 42, surely?
OK, I forgot about the inflation bit…;)
Lucille Ball – one cool, talented, intelligent and not too bad a looking lady either!
That is a great story. Love that kind of stuff.
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Crypts and Catacombs of Rome skip-the-line tour
Home / Rome / Crypts and Catacombs of Rome skip-the-line tour
Availability: Monday - Saturday
Take a step back in time as you explore the early Christian art, crypts and catacombs
Tour the Capuchin Crypts, the Basilica of San Clemente, and the San Domitilla or San Callisto Catacombs
See the bones of the monks that decorate the crypt today
Have your expert English-speaking guide tells you the history and legends that are involved with the places and relics
Skip-the-line access, avoid the long lines and waiting time!
This tour is the first of its kind! An original Crypts and Catacombs tour that will take you to explore early Christian art in the Catacombs, built during a time when Christianity was illegal and considered a dangerous cult, whose members were executed as heretics and buried as martyrs. Your guide will lead you through the dark tunnels of Roman catacombs that are long corridors with hundreds of burial chambers, from modest singles to extravagant family tombs.
Continuing your mysterious journey, your group will also get to explore Basilica San Clemente (referred to by some as “the lasagna”). It is a 12th-century Basilica built on top of the remains of a 4th-century Basilica. The 4th-century Basilica was built on top of a 2nd-century cult chapel which happened to be built on a Roman street in the first century. You will feel as if you are going back in time with every different level of the Basilica you visit. Your expert English-speaking guide will be right alongside you giving you and in-depth commentary, bringing each level to life.
Your tour ends with a visit the truly eerie Capuchin Crypt – a fascinating chapel hidden away in central Rome decorated with the bones of 4,000 Capuchin Monks. Intricately decorated with the bones of 4,000 Capuchin monks. You will see real skulls and bones that make up the decoration such as the bone chandeliers in the crypt. Let your guide bring the macabre 'Bone Chapel' to life, this will be the biggest surprise of this tour that will stick with you long after you have gone home. The recent addition of an official museum means that your visit is enriched by an encounter with Caravaggio’s magnificent canvas ‘St. Francis in Meditation’ and relics from the life of St. Francis himself and some of his followers.
Unfortunately, this tour is unable to accommodate guests with wheelchairs or any impairments requiring special assistance.
Tour as per description
Expert, English-speaking tour guide
Small groups of 22 people or less
Entrance ticket to the Capuchin Crypt and Museum
Entrance ticket to the catacombs
Entrance ticket to the church and undergrounds of Basilica San Clemente
All transfers in an air-conditioned bus
Infants up to 2 years old travel for free and do not require a reservation / reduced price for 2-14 year olds, with proof of age. (Strollers or baby carriages are not allowed on this tour)
Via di S. Nicola da Tolentino, 32-38, 00187 Roma RM, Italy
In the center of Piazza Barberini, by the large Triton (Tritone) fountain. Piazza Barberini is located at the metro stop Barberini on metro line A (red line).
This tour involves a fair amount of walking, hills, and stairs; comfortable shoes are recommended. Entrance into churches requires a strict dress code. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. Rome is one of the most visited cities in the world, making certain sites extremely busy in high season. Careful planning limits our exposure to crowds, but please be aware that some locations may be unavoidably busy during standard hours
Operating days: Monday - Saturday
Meeting time: 2.15pm
Departure time: 2.30pm
City Wonders
What people say about this experience
Rome Ghost and Mystery Guided Walking Tour
When the sun sets on Rome, another part of the city comes to life... an older and more mysterious Ro...
Best of Rome Walking Tour with the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and Pantheon
Let the Eternal City enchant you as you stroll through its picturesque cobblestone alleyways and dis...
Rome: underground catacombs and crypts tour with roman aqueducts
Rome is a city that has built and rebuilt upon itself for thousands of years. Our Crypts, Bones & Ca...
Early access Sistine Chapel with St Peter's skip-the-line tickets and Crypts tour
Those with limited time to explore the Vatican can't miss the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilic...
Papal Audience Experience with Pope Francis including tickets
Every Wednesday people from all over the world gather to see Pope Francis in Rome. This time is rese...
Crypts and catacombs with ghost and mystery walking tour
This tour will take you underground, exploring the insolit part of history of Rome, up to the core o...
The Appian Way, St Sebastian catacombs & the Aqueduct Park coach tour
Discover a secret world beneath the streets of Rome on this 3-hour coach tour of the Catacombs of St...
Skip the line guided tour of Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica
Benefit from skip-the-line access to some of the Vatican's top attractions on this 2.5-hour guided t...
Colosseum and the Vatican combo tour
Walk in the footsteps of Roman emperors and citizens. Skip the long line at the entrance and access ...
Tickets for Leonardo da Vinci Experience
Take an amazing journey to discover the genius of Leonardo da Vinci; artist, engineer, sculptor, arc...
Catacombs of Rome
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TV ReviewsNew GirlSeason 4
New Girl: “Spiderhunt”
New GirlSeason 4
“Spiderhunt”
I’ve been thinking a lot about the end of New Girl these last few weeks, even though there’s no real indication that the show is coming to an end. I’m not alone in this: At the top of her review of “The Crawl,” Vulture’s Jenny Jaffe notes that the episode felt like it could’ve been a series finale—I don’t agree with that observation 100 percent, but recent episodes of the show have felt like the writers and producers are preparing for a worst-case-scenario come upfronts. There’s a finality to the OTP treatment that Cece’s feelings for Schmidt are getting, while the introduction of May clears the runway for Damon Wayans Jr.’s departure. In “Spiderhunt,” Schmidt offers a touching tribute to his “team of six,” and the whole episode plays like something of a toast to the show’s primary setting. New Girl might not be ready to call it a day, but it feels like it’s performing some necessary wrap-up so as not to be a spider caught off guard by Fox’s smoosher.
Thinking practically, there’s probably a good reason the show went loft-only so soon after “Background Check”: There are a lot of expensive ingredients in the season-four sauce. An airport episode, multiple traveling episodes, an epic bar crawl—and that’s not to mention the fact that actors’ salaries tend to grow alongside a series’ episode count. Add the visual effects work required by Schmidt’s arachnid “Spiderhunt” tormentor, and it only makes sense to stick with the pre-existing sets for this episode.
But just as it did with “Background Check,” New Girl responds to self-imposed austerity measures with a deft hand and daffy humor. “Spiderhunt” doesn’t have the narrative and emotional backbone of “Background Check,” but it pitches its jokes with a similar strength and accuracy. Its low-key but high impact, and little touches like sticking Nick behind the stove for most of the episode yield big laughs.
That type of choice also focuses “Spiderhunt” on members of the team of six who don’t always get the meatiest roles. Schmidt has the centerpiece freakout, and Jess is on a spider hunt of her own (for the truth!), but for all intents and purposes, Cece, Winston, and Coach take the lead here. “Spiderhunt” wisely seizes on the connections that Hannah Simone has sparked with Jake Johnson and Lamorne Morris across season four: The friendly workplace friction between Cece and Nick; the trust Cece put in Winston when her feelings for Schmidt reappeared. Two characters working to keep something like this under wraps is like sitcom-relationship alchemy, but there’s added tension because of Winston’s inability to keep a secret. The mix-and-match game of smooshers and jar men (it’s like a booze-free True American) doesn’t run Winston and Cece through a gauntlet of secret-keeping, but it does make good, farcical fun out of the truth, which has one more protector after Cece comes clean to Jess at episode’s end. (It also prompts one great visual gag, as Winston reaches in from offscreen to turn a tender moment of solidarity into something much weirder).
Like few episodes before it, “Spiderhunt” really honors the history of New Girl—and the history its characters share. They call out one another for tendencies established (“Freaking Winston—that slow-puzzler”; “Are we in another purse thing that I don’t know about?”) and new (Schmidt’s whole spider thing), and the new ones are all well within reason. After all, what’s the Miller family’s signature Sauce if not fancy-fixed fondue?
In a bigger treat for the longtime viewers, Schmidt’s spider-hunting activities force him to investigate certain features of the loft. A TV show’s setting ought to reflect its characters to a certain extent, but the look and decor of the loft was also locked in before these characters became the people we know them as today. New Girl doesn’t usually go in for meta humor, but if Schmidt’s going to spend an episode poking around his home, he might as well address those weird glass grapes, or his roommates’ seeming overabundance of Coachella posters. Maybe the “end of series” vibes New Girl has been giving off are actually “goodbye to the loft” vibes; characters have found new places to live in the past, but none that the show has ever committed to. I wouldn’t expect the writers to eliminate the physical space that holds their characters together, but it’s been pretty crowded in that loft for a pretty long time. If some of the roommates are going to start moving out, at least tonight’s New Girl gave a fitting tribute to the space they’ve shared.
But that’s all in the realm of speculation, empty theorizing that ignores “Spiderhunt” charms like Nick and Jess’ misunderstanding about the popcorn machine, Coach’s jangled email nervers, or Winston’s inscrutable advice to Cece. (That advice, transcribed as accurately as I could get it “Don’t slink your head in the dumps—you’ve got to raise your hand with the sunshine, where where where where where people walk. You know? Because that’s what the whole point of the—if you can lead ’em to water, but you can’t make a sound. Right?”) The latter is a good example of how “Spiderhunt” excels where “Oregon” tended to flounder: It’s a gag informed by serialized storytelling, but not dependent upon it. Without the burden of providing a larger payoff or advancing the plot, it’s a couple of funny actors stringing out a funny premise—and then stringing it out, and stringing it out, and stringing it out some more. (To put it in Schmidt terms: Like a spider making its house from a rope that comes out of its butt.) It’s a joke for the sake of a joke, a creative freedom that “Spiderhunt” can afford. Here’s hoping New Girl still has plenty of time to make jokes like that—and to make episodes like “Spiderhunt.”
“Who’s that girl?”: This week in New Girl pseudonyms, alter egos, and nicknames: “Spiderhunt” gets bonus points for resurrecting this long-dormant feautre, thanks to the second part of Jess’ “You trusted Winston but not me?” dig: Officer Cat Fancy.
In all honesty, I’d be shocked if Fox cancels New Girl this year. The show might get more expensive with age, but the network and the show’s production studio (20th Century Fox Television) now operate jointly as Fox Television Group, so the money it’s paying to air the show and the money the show makes in syndication next year are winding up in the same place. Other usual indicators—low ratings, changes in the network’s top ranks—probably aren’t a factor here. Fox needs established live-action comedies in its lineup, especially ones that skew female like New Girl and The Mindy Project. (If either gets canceled, it’s likelier to be the Universal-owned Mindy.) And the people now in charge of Fox, Gary Newman and Dana Walden, are the people who’ve been in charge of 20th Century Fox Television since way before New Girl started, so it’s not like they’d axe the show because the old boss put it on the air. They are the old boss!
I’ve been down on a lot of season four’s romantic prospects, but you know who I really like? I really like Fawn Moscato. That there’s the type of weirdo who fits in this universe, and she’s showing up just often enough (and in small enough doses) not to wear out her welcome. Too bad she’s about to be bulldozed by Cece (and too bad Zoe Lister Jones is booked on an ABC pilot this spring), because I wouldn’t mind her hanging around as an indication that the world of New Girl is just as strange outside the loft.
Schmidt misses an opportunity to say something Schmidt-like; fortunately, Jess and Coach have his back: “Good for you. When you said ‘Fawn’ and then ‘fondue,’ I definitely thought you were headed in the direction of ‘Step 1: Fondue. Step 2: Do Fawn.’” “And I was like ‘Fondue gets Fawn done.’”
Officer Cat Fancy fails to impress with cop lingo: “Jess is starting to find your behavior—suspicious. That’s a police word.”
Jess calls shenanigans on Schmidt’s summary of the post-American Pie zeitgeist, but Coach and Nick can corroborate (“Spiderhunt”’s cold open is a goddamn gold mine, by the way): “Everyone was doing it with pies?” “Y2K was an uncertain time.” “I don’t know everyone Jess.”
Does Nick’s bolognese get its name from the bologna he adds to it? “Trick question: It gets it from the mayonnaise.”
Winston doesn’t know who Dylan was on Beverly Hills, 90210—he’s more of a CW 90210 guy: “Was his nickname ‘The Peach Pit,’ because I remember that being a thing.”
Nick spins a doomsday scenario: “Can you imagine how powerful that spider would’ve become if he entered my Sauce?”
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Total QBRTotal QBR
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With Nick Caserio off the table, will Texans table their GM search?
216dSarah Barshop
30 trades that shaped the NFL season: Barnwell ranks from worst to first
3dBill Barnwell
Final 2019 NFL MVP rankings: Lamar Jackson is obviously No. 1, but who follows?
4dCourtney Cronin
Reaching the Super Bowl now tougher after Texans went all-in with trades
5dSarah Barshop
NFL overhaul tiers: Which teams will look most different in 2020?
7dJeremy Fowler
Watson: 'No doubt' O'Brien right coach for Texans
How to survive in the NFL playoffs: Barnwell makes sense of the AFC chaos
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Chiefs sacks leader Jones inactive vs. Texans
Chiefs-Texans inactives: Who's in, who's out in AFC divisional playoff
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Watson, like Mahomes, in line for big extension
7dAdam Schefter
Bill O'Brien is entering his sixth season as coach of the Texans, who have made the playoffs in three of the past four seasons but are 1-3 in the postseason. Thomas B. Shea/USA TODAY Sports
Sarah BarshopESPN Staff Writer
Covered the Packers for ESPN Milwaukee
Marquette University graduate
HOUSTON -- Now that the Houston Texans will no longer pursue Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, CEO Cal McNair has a decision to make.
Houston has interviewed two candidates for its open general manager position since McNair fired Brian Gaine on June 7, but if McNair is not happy with any of the available candidates now that Caserio is off the table, the Texans could choose to stick with the structure currently in place.
If head coach Bill O’Brien is in control of football operations for the rest of 2019, he could be on the hot seat for the first time during his Texans tenure -- if McNair’s unexpected dismissal of Gaine is a sign of things to come on how McNair will run the team after his father's death last November.
Houston could choose to not hire a general manager until after the season, when there is a larger pool of candidates. For the next seven or so months, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports, the Texans could have the staff already in place divvy up responsibilities: O’Brien could run personnel, Jack Easterby could run football operations, Chris Olson would continue being in charge of contracts and team president Jamey Rootes would continue in an administrative role. All four would report to McNair.
By doing this, McNair would be giving O’Brien more power, something the coach said last week that is “not anything that I even think about.”
“[I’m] really just trying to do my job as the head coach,” O’Brien said.
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But less than a year and a half after Gaine was hired to be O’Brien’s teammate in Houston, O’Brien is in a position to gain more authority in the Texans’ operations.
If McNair stays with the status quo, O'Brien and the Patriots' Bill Belichick would be the only coaches who have total control of personnel decisions. While it's been a resounding success in New England, it's been far less successful in other places in recent years, such as with the tenures of Chip Kelly in Philadelphia and Mike Shanahan in Washington.
And while O’Brien is entering just the second season of an extension that takes him through 2022, he said last week that McNair was “very clear” with him one what he needs to do to improve, as well as “his vision for the football team and his vision for the organization.”
O’Brien wouldn’t divulge what it is exactly that McNair has said should improve, but clearly there is work for the coach to do, even as the team comes off an 11-5 record and its third AFC South title in four years.
Even if the Texans ultimately do hire a general manager this summer, the pressure will likely intensify on O’Brien. O’Brien took over a 4-12 team and has made the playoffs in three of the past four seasons, with the exception when quarterback Deshaun Watson tore his ACL and missed most of his rookie season. The Texans have been content with making the playoffs under O’Brien and were further sold on him by Watson’s success as a rookie.
Their best record came in 2018 (11-5) against a weak schedule, and Houston’s season ended in a blowout loss at home in the playoffs to the division-rival Colts. This offseason, the Texans lost two defensive starters (Tyrann Mathieu and Kareem Jackson) to free agency and weren’t active in pursuing top talent on the open market. They will enter 2019 relying on unproven talent on the offensive line to protect Watson, although an elite pass rush could help cover up some of their deficiencies on both sides of the ball.
How much they can cover up could have a big effect on O’Brien’s future. The Texans are running out of time before they have to pony up a big contract for Watson, and they are yet to prove capable of beating the NFL’s elite teams.
If O’Brien has even more control over personnel this season and the Texans don’t make the playoffs -- or even suffer yet another blowout playoff loss -- he could face pressure on having not built on an 11-win season, regardless of the stability of his contract. If the results are more of the same, would that be enough? Or if Houston does finally break through and achieve postseason success, how much credit can O’Brien take for it and how much credit should go to the roster that Gaine and his predecessor, Rick Smith, put together?
In his statement after firing Gaine, McNair said, “While the timing may be usual, this decision was made in the best interest of our organization in our quest to build a championship team for the City of Houston.”
Perhaps the timing will be right to hire Caserio in January, or McNair will find his general manager before training camp next month. But if not, O’Brien will face even more pressure in his sixth season in Houston.
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Products and Outcomes
Common Minerals in Biomineralization
Common Rocks
Principles of Geology
What is Paleontology?
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Scavenging the fossil record for clues to Earth's climate and life
How much ice does Antarctica lose during warm times in Earth’s history?
October 31, 2019 October 18, 2019 Adriane
Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials
David J. Wilson, Rachel A. Bertram, Emma F. Needham, Tina van de Flierdt, Kevin J. Welsh, Robert M. McKay, Anannya Mazumder, Christina R. Riesselman, Francisco J. Jiminez-Espejo, Carlota Escutia
Summarized by Time Scavengers collaborator Adriane Lam
Figure 1. An elevation map of Antarctica with a) the major regions labeled and b) a zoomed-in view of East Antarctica. The location of the sediment core (named U1361A) is denoted by the pale yellow dot. Image from Wilson et al. (2019).
Brief Summary: Today, sea level rise due to increasing global average temperatures is a huge threat to low-lying, coastal, and island communities. Sea level is rising, in part, from ice that is melting on Antarctica and Greenland. To understand how much sea level may rise in the near future, scientists look to the geologic past, when global temperatures were much warmer than today or close to the temperatures predicted for the coming decades. In this study, scientists looked at how much ice was lost from the Wilkes Subglacial Basin of East Antarctica during a time when global average temperatures were about 2 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial values. They find that during these warmer periods, called interglacials, there was significant ice that melted from East Antarctica, and contributed to sea level rises. Thus, in the future, the ice melting from East Antarctica will contribute more to sea level rise than we previously thought.
Data used and Methods: Sediment from a deep-sea core drilled from the continental margin of East Antarctica was used in this study (Figure 1). From this sediment core, the authors analyzed the different types of sediment contained within the core through time. From the changes in sediments, the scientists could tell how much erosion was occurring. They also looked at the neodymium (Nd) isotopes from the sediments. Nd isotopes are a good way to also trace where the sediments in the core were coming from, so the scientists could determine not only how much erosion was taking place within East Antarctica, but where the eroded sediment was coming from. Increased erosion and a shift in the Nd isotope records indicate increased glacial melt and ice retreat on East Antarctica, thus the authors could tell through geologic time when and approximately how much the ice melted.
Results: Over the past 800,000 years, Earth’s climate has oscillated between cooler (glacial) and warmer (interglacial) periods (read more about this on our CO2 page). During some interglacial periods (times when the climate was warmer), the scientists found that the East Antarctic Ice Sheet began to erode the rock on which it sits and melted significantly. This led to increased sea levels within a world that was less warm than today.
Why is this study important? This study places new approximations on how much melting from East Antarctica could occur in a warming world, and how much that could raise sea level. Climate scientists think that if all the ice on East Antarctica were to melt, it would lead to approximately 53 meters of sea level rise globally! With the data from this study, it will provide new constraints on melting ice in a warming world, which will be incorporated into climate models of the future climate. This data will be given to policymakers to help us best prepare and mitigate the consequences of climate change.
Citation: Wilson, D. J., Bertram, R. A., Needham, E. F., van de Flierdt, T., Welsh, K. J., McKay, R. M., Mazumder, A., Riesselman, C. R., Jimenez-Espejo, F. J., and Escutia, C., 2019. Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials. Nature 561, 383-386.
Climate & Paleo News, PublishedAdriane Lam
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Big Bone Lick State Historic Site January 8, 2020
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1/2 - 3/4 pound pound whitefish fillet
2 cups thin rounds leeks
1 cup bite-sized pieces Chinese cabbage
1 cup diced carrot
6 cups to 8water
1 strip kombu soaked and cut into thin strips
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Rinse the fish quickly under cold running water and cut into small pieces. Wash and cut the vegetables. Bring the water and kombu to a boil in a saucepan, add the fish and salt, cover, and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes. Add the vegetables, return to a boil, and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Season with tamari and grated ginger and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon to mix the vegetables and fish evenly. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serves 6.
By Tom Monte| 2017-02-07T20:34:19+00:00 October 12th, 2016|Categories: Uncategorized|0 Comments
About the Author: Tom Monte
A national best-selling writer, counselor, and teacher of natural healing methods,Tom Monte is a leading voice in the natural health movement. He has written and co-authored more than thirty books and many hundreds of articles on virtually every area of health. Among his bestsellers are Recalled By Life, Living Well Naturally, and NaturalProzac. Tom has lectured and conducted transformational programs throughout the United States and around the world. His eight-month Healer’s Program, based in New York City and Orval, Belgium, trains practitioners in the use of highly effective natural methods for healing body, mind, and spirit. The Healer’s Program is also an experience in personal transformation. Tom also conducts workshops that focus on healing the heart and personal relationships. He lives with his wife, Toby, in Amherst, Massachusetts.
The Healers' Program is a course in healing, but also in self-discovery. Tom has the unique ability of encouraging you to find your voice, and leading you to see what it is that makes you feel uncomfortable in your skin, allowing you to move past it. One enters the program at the risk of growing more centered in heart and soul. It has helped me to change in ways I would not have thought possible.
Cliff, New York City
Email: tobymonte@aol.com
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ToolGuyd > Hand Tools > Hammers & Mallets > 14 New Dewalt Hammers
14 New Dewalt Hammers
Oct 4, 2018 Stuart 40 Comments
Earlier today, Dewalt announced that they will be expanding their line of hammers with 14 new tools, which will be highlighted by the XP Extended Performance series that offers durability and features including “More Swing, Less Sting” vibration dampening technology, easy-to-grip handles, and side nail pullers.
Featured in their new XP hammers, Dewalt says that their “innovative new grip vibration dampening technology” reduces “sting” by 35%, while improving grip durability by 25%. Footnotes in the press release says that the reduced sting is compared to “1 pc steel general purpose hammers,” and that “based on vibrational analysis, sting is what users feel.” The grip durability improvement is said to be in comparison to current Dewalt hammers.
A “Tri-Pull” feature built into the hammer heads can be used for removing framing nails, finish nails, and staples.
The new Dewalt XP Extended Performance hammer lineup will consist of 6 tools – 16 oz and 20 oz general purpose hammers, a 22 oz framing hammer, 18 oz wood framing hammer with carbon fiber composite overstrike protection, and 12 oz and 14 oz Mig-Weld hammers – existing products – that will soon be updated with the new XP grip technology.
If you recall, Dewalt launched an XP tape measure last year. These new hammers mark, unless I am mistaken, the first expansion of that “Extended Performance” product family.
There will be 8 additional hammers launching at the same time – claw, framing, and specialty hammers, as well as a hatchet. These hammers are said to feature an optimized balance, durability, and functionality.
Looking at some of the new Dewalt product listings, the “optimized functionality” aspect means the addition of a side nail pulling notch to the general purpose and framing hammers.
Here are all of the hammers that are coming out soon:
XP 16 oz. General Purpose Hammer, DWHT51379, $26
XP 22 oz. Framing Hammer, DWHT51381, $32
XP 18 oz. Wood Framing Hammer, DWHT51383, $26
XP 12 oz. Mig Weld Hammer, DWHT51135X, $40
12 oz. Steel General Purpose Hammer, DWHT51438, $18
16 oz. Steel General Purpose (Rip) Hammer, DWHT51048, $20
16 oz. Steel Curve Claw Hammer, DWHT51439, $20
22 oz. Steel Framing (Milled) Hammer, DWHT51064, $26
22 oz. Steel Framing Hammer, DWHT51452, $26
20 oz. Steel Camper’s Axe, DWHT51387, $32
3 lb. Drilling Hammer, DWHT51388, $27
20 oz. Bricklayer Hammer, DWHT51389, $28
21 oz. Framing Hammer, DWHT51385, $25
ETA: Fall 2018
What does “35% less sting” mean? I posed this question to our Dewalt contact, and they promised to follow up with whatever details the product managers are able to share.
Until then, I’m skeptical, but open-minded.
Dewalt 22oz XP Series Hammer
I’m also curious to learn about which hammers the new Dewalt XP hammers are being compared to. They say “versus 1 piece steel general purpose hammers.” Estwing’s USA-made one-piece steel hammers are advertised as having shock reducing grips. Do those count as general purpose hammers? What about their Ultra Series ($35 via Amazon) with reduced shaft design and also with shock-reducing grips?
Reader Question: Lightweight Framing Hammer Recommendations?
What qualifies as a “general purpose steel hammer?” I’m thinking they mean basic steel hammers like their $15 Stanley.
See Also: Best Hammers for DIY and Home Use on a Budget?
Back to “sting,” Dewalt says that “based on vibrational analysis, sting is what users feel.”
“Sting” is not a scientific term, at least not one I’m familiar with, and so I did some background reading. A quick search turns up a few technical papers (mainly on sports science), which describe sting as a subjective measure. It’s “qualitative” if anything. I cannot find any standard or quantitative means that could define or characterize it.
In other words, I don’t know how to interpret “35% less sting” for you, at least not until Dewalt gets back to me.
Reducing vibrations, or sometimes even changing their nature, can reduce the “sting.” But it’s unclear as to what Dewalt did to improve their hammers. Did they improve vibration damping by 35%? That doesn’t seem likely. Did they reduce vibration damping and vibrational characteristics? Probably. But to what extent?
Stanley Black & Decker developed a new handle material for their FatMax Anti-Vibe hammers, and likely refined in the years since. Thus, the new “grip vibration dampening technology” could simply mean that they adapted Stanley’s FatMax handle material to the new Dewalt hammers.
I’ve had good experiences with Stanley FatMax and Dewalt hammers, except for my wood-handled Dewalt hammer whose handle grip decomposed into a sticky gooey mess after I forgot it in a drawer for a few years. (To be honest, I wrapped it in a plastic bag and tossed it into a different box, where it still sits today.)
I like Dewalt’s mig-welded hammers, and it’ll be interesting to see if the new handle style makes them even better.
And, as a reminder, Dewalt recently came out with new carbon fiber composite sledge hammers. It seems that they’re revamping a whole lot of hammer and striking tool SKUs this year.
Pricing for each model is listed above. The XP hammers will start at $26, and the general purpose hammers start at $18 (for the 12 oz).
New Milwaukee Framing Hammers All of the New Dewalt Tools From Their 2017 Media Event More About the New Dewalt ExoCore Carbon Fiber Sledge Hammers New Dewalt Nail Pullers, Engineering Hammers, Blacksmith Sledge Hammers, and More
Sections: Hammers & Mallets, New Tools Tags: framing hammersMore from: Dewalt
« Dewalt FlexVolt & 20V Max Outdoor Power Tools Deals of the Day (10/4/2018)
New Irwin Utility Chisel »
James C says
Maybe they had a trial and 35% fewer users reported feeling “sting” with their hammers compared to the control hammers.
Or that users were stung 35% less by insects when using this hammer? (Smile)
Raoul says
Nothing quite like disturbing a wasp nest while you’re up banging on a 2nd story 14/12 roof.
Corey says
I’m guessing these new hammers mean that I can’t use them and listen to Gordon Sumner at the same time.
Hilton says
You can but you’ll have to skip every third song. Be careful, the Police are watching.
They’re watching your every move, even your every breath.
Farid says
ROTFLOL
Jeremy Neill says
It needs an SOS feature you can send out.
Perhaps Dewalt Connect to sent a message to your hammer, the bottom of the handle would flip up and eject a tiny message in a bottle? Might pay to be working on a site near water.
MichaelHammer says
Love DeWalt hammers. They’re comfortable and take a lot of abuse. Interested in their new offering.
I don’t know why they don’t add a deadblow-style capsule of sand or steel shot to these hammers. They wouldn’t have to be large. That would reduce vibration without requiring soft materials for the handle, which might wear out or become a sticky mess.
I guess some applications can’t use deadblow mallets, like stone-carving, maybe. Otherwise, a bit of deadblow-ness would be good, I think. Why not?
Toolfreak says
Making these into deadblow types with shot or sand wouldn’t do much to dampen the “sting”, and I suspect it would change how you’d use the hammer.
All my deadblows still “sting” when I hit something with them really, really hard – even less hard than when you swing a framing hammer hard enough to sink a nail in one blow. The shot/sand just keeps the hammer from bouncing up off the surface, but doesn’t do much to lessen the “sting” transmitted through the handle from the initital impact of the head with what it’s hitting.
Not a bad idea though, and I’d be curious if any companies did testing with sand/shot capsules behind the head in traditional styles to see if there was any benefit.
Hm. Well, now that I think about it more, “sting” would be about vibration in the handle, and deadblowness is about reducing bounceback.
But I suppose you could place a sand capsule specifically to reduce handle vibration, maybe at a vibration antinode.
Framer joe says
You need a solid hammer head not a dead blow style
MikeIt says
I think this is perfect oppotunity for you to invent one. Make a proof of concept to see if its any better. Maybe you can drill out a hammer and add the deadblow weight or maybe just weld a tube on top of the hammer for the weight and try it out. If it works, flesh out the design, find a shop to crank them out for you, maybe put it on kickstarter. Don’t forget to make the handle out of reclaimed wood for the “artisanal” cred and wait for the millions to roll in! I’m kidding about the artisanal part but I’m serious about the inventing. I bet if you’ve looked at your framing hammer before and said “I wish it was a deadblow framing hammer” then someone else has too. Have you ever looked at all the crap they sell on tv? I am 100% certain your idea isn’t worse than what they sell on tv. If you make it, it will sell.
Nice to see there’s a camp axe in the lineup, but I also would like to see a 4lb sledge/drilling hammer or other BFH with the steel handle style rather than just the exocore carbon fiber stuff.
I have one of the earlier Stanley Antivibe 16oz claw hammers, and it’s still pretty dang nice despite abuse from others that have got their hands on it, but sadly, like so many other things, the design was cheapened and while the newer ones might have better antivibe tech in the handle, the earlier models were finished a lot better and looked more like something a pro would use and less like something churned out of a factory in China.
As modern/futuristic as these newer stamped style hammers are, and as much as hammers are literally made to beat on things with, it sucks to see such a mass-produced stamping style take over from a more traditional, smoother style, not just for the cosmetics but the balance – a hammer with minor asymmetry can be off balance enough that the user gets physical discomfort from having to compensate for it. I can see why Estwing’s tried and true designs have stood the test of time.
Can’t imagine how I got through life with a wood handled hammer.
I said the opposite when I switched to a Stiletto Ti framer with california stick about 10 yrs ago. It extended my career.
California are the bees knees lol I was blown away the first time I picked up my first estwing California framer, after several steel handles.
Benjamin Staymates says
I think 35% less sting means it kills 35% more stinging insects.
I remember setting up an experiments for undergrad class in college for testing vibration in a tennis racquet. The lab was about using accelerometer to to test for vibration. When, the racquet hits the ball it sends a vibration wave down the handle. Hitting the ball in the sweet spot produces a node at your hand position (minimum vibration). Hitting the ball off-center produced a wave peak, which you can feel all the way up your arm.
Hammers are no different and you can tune the hammer and reduce resonance frequency to avoid vibration peaks at you hand position, either by changing the length, flexibility and/or profile of the handle. Wood naturally dampens a lot of the vibration, but it is harder to get consistent results and they are more “Fragile”
Anything to help reduce stress on joints and nerves is welcome, especially if you use it for “Seven Days” a week. Let’s hope Dewalt is using science and not hot “breath” air to “synchronize” vibration in the handle. A lanyard attachment point would be nice – “can’t risk loosing” it while ” walking on the moon”.
(Sorry, couldn’t resist Sting references either. Blame it on Corey !!)
Redcastle says
Are DeWalt hammers supposed to replace or represent an upgrade from Stanley hammers?
Honestly, I think you should get that thought out of your head ASAP. I don’t mean that as an insult. I just think you’ll find that SBD doesn’t mind having the same model in Stanley, Stanley FatMAX, and DeWALT forms, without any rhyme or reason to why they’re in any of the lines to start with. They’re quite happy having the same model, with different branding, on all their lines of hand tools.
I have yet to see one of their hand tools go to Stanley, DeWALT, or any of their other brands, only to be released by a different name later. They can, and do, release the identical tool simply for the sake of having one in that brand’s lineup. Typically, if you pick up the model in Stanley, and use it next to a DeWALT of the exact same model line, you’ll see no difference in quality. Maybe price, but not quality.
And, from personal opinion only, I’m not sure I object to this tactic. If you’re VERY into DeWALT, and feel self conscious about buying the hand tools from Stanley or Stanley FatMAX, then knowing you can get yourself a DeWALT without a loss in quality is probably a good thing. If you’re that self-conscious about the brand you use, that is.
mattd says
Yea soon you will see craftsman hammers and hand tools that are the same as well. One thing I noticed today on lowes webpage is that you can get the good ole stanley demo wrench (https://toolguyd.com/stanley-adjustable-demo-wrench/) with craftsman stamped on it (https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-10-in-Steel-Adjustable-Wrench/1000595359)
Case in point, yeah. Thanks mattd.
SBD does make some Brand-Specific hand tools, but they tend to fill out the rest with the same models as the Stanley line. Now that they’re the foolhardy owners of the Craftsman brand, we’ll see the entire Stanley lineup all over again, stamped Craftsman. I suspect anything marked “Pro” or “XP” or anything that might be an upgraded level of Craftsman tools to come from the Stanley FatMAX and DeWALT lines.
Matt Jones says
Agreed. I expect the long-term plan for SBD may be to phase out the base Stanley line at Lowes and simply make a good/better/best lineup of Craftsman/Stanley Fatmax/DeWalt.
Estwing makes great hammers, the dewalt line especially might are excellent…stelletto non wood handle are nice but do need adjusting monthly…. Milwaukee hammers suck…
Aren’t Estwing THE name in Hammers though? Like… isn’t there some arcane ritual out there that a Father discovers his child wants to build things like he does, and they go out one day and buy the child an Estwing hammer to hold onto until they can build something together with it?
Whenever Hammers are talked about, Estwing finds its way into the conversation. To be blunt, I’ve never owned one. I’d trust them in a heartbeat, but never owned one. I have absolutely no reason why, I simply bought my Stanley Antivibe 16 Oz hammer, and have never felt a need for an upgrade or additional hammer.
Am I way off here? Have Estwing deteriorated at all? Don’t we all know Estwing already at this point? Is there still a Cult of Estwing out there, waiting to indoctrinate us all into buying their Hammers?
Yes, I’m trying to be funny about this. But I do respect Estwing deeply. I would genuinely love to see an article about the current state of their Hammers and other products. I doubt I’ll switch out my Stanley, but it’s still on my mind now that Framer Joe has brought it up.
I view estwing in the same vein as Craftsman but minus the complete downturn and offshore departure. They’re great quality, good value, and American. 3 great points, no negatives. Sure there’s stiletto and hundred dollar plus better options, but the fact is you absolutely cannot go wrong with practically any estwing you pick up, presuming it’s the right form for the application. 90% of tradesman, including myself, have a worn in 22oz steel framer in the gang box, and my absolute favorite hammer is my 25oz hickory California framer I’ve all but finished beating there face clean on. They’re just good lol
I’m excited for the tough system drawer unit. Even though i’m not invested in the toughsystem it should drive some other manf. to make something to compete with it.
ToolOfTheTrade says
It seems that dewalt is getting a little carried away with the gimmick hammer hype. I wasn’t aware that there was something called hammer sting. I’ve never felt a stinging sensation when swinging a hammer. I’m not sure how hammer vibration relates to getting hit by a hornet. It’s pretty bad that Dewpialt is making stuff up t? It’s almost as bad as when they compared their first generation hammers to titanium hammers. The 20oz framing hammer is awesome aside from the nail puller. I made my own side nail puller by removing one from a hart hammer and welding it to the cheek on my dewalt.
Hammer Sting isn’t actually made up. I have heard it before. It’s just another term for shock vibration up the handle. The hornet’s nest, Gordon Sumner, and other talk are just folks having some fun with it.
I genuinely don’t see any gimmicks in this line of hammers, aside from their model names including DeWALT’s model line stuff, such as XP.
Nail Pullers are Nail Pullers. Weight, Claw length, composition… These aren’t gimmicks. After all, using a ballpine hammer on a demolition site is not exactly using the right… uh… Tool of the Trade… No offense. Different jobs require different features. Just because you can’t use any of those, doesn’t mean no one can.
I’m still happy with my Stanley AntiVibe hammer, but it doesn’t mean I’m against what DeWALT is doing with hammers these days. At some point, everybody has to keep trying until they find their own version of what my AntiVibe is for me. Finding the RIGHT Hammer is what is required, not handing everyone the same one.
Sting is a real term, used to describe the shock felt in one’s hands and arms from an object, such as a baseball bat after hitting a ball. It seems perfectly acceptable and correct for “sting” to be used to describe what is felt after striking a nail with a handheld hammer.
Bricklayer hammer, axe and 3lb drilling (club) hammer are nice, they should make 2lb drilling hammer, 28 oz steel framing hammer with a bit longer handle, 2″ more longer, 6lb drilling hammer with long handle,
You ain’t got to lie to kick it to make yourself feel better about being wrong. And I doubt that Dewalts intentions in using the term sting wasn’t meant to be in a fun or joking context. Wtf are you talking about hornets nest or Gordon Sumner? What does a hornets nest have to do with hammers? And who the hell is Gordon Sumner and what does this person have to do with hammers? And you obviously don’t own a hammer with a side nail puller because it has nothing to do with the claw. Don’t talk out your ass before you realize that it stinks.
…Uh… Did… you read the first two threads of this post? The first one joked about a Bee’s Nest on a Roof, and that the hammer repels insect stings. The second joked about using the hammer while listening to Gordon Sumner… The birth name of the musician that calls himself Sting. Readers HERE were joking, nothing more. We were all having this thing called FUN with regards to DeWALT’s use of the term Sting.
Sheesh… You just don’t like us around here, do ya TOTT?
Yes. Hammer Sting is real. It doesn’t indicate pain, it indicates vibration or reaction that reaches your hand. Just like a bee sting, it happens very rapidly when you strike, so the industry slang got a definition from that. It’s also just called plain old Vibration, or Reflex, and I’ve even heard it described as “Tinging” though that was someone with a very heavy Maritime accent, so I could have misheard it.
If they invent a hammer that completely dampens all reaction from the head, down the shaft, so that the hand feels nothing but the handle, then that would be a “No Sting Hammer” in a literal sense.
Oleg k says
I didn’t knlw there was a hammer shortage, even then… Fourteen new hammers? Is there a profession out there that I’m not aware of that requires 14 different hammers? And not just 14 different ones, 14 ADDITIONAL hammers, additional to all those that are already out there being sold to public. Seriously, 14 new hammers? Why?.. Why not invest into cheaper brushless tools or denser battery packs for the same price as the regular ones, why research and develop FOURTEEN NEW HAMMERS?
The majority are new versions of previous models, meant for a VARIETY of industries, not a single individual or trade. Since SBD owns both Stanley AND DeWALT they have the resources to do both. While the Stanley group develop hammers, SBD can decide to use some of those designs as DeWALT industrial hammers. At the same time, the DeWALT group can be focused on Power Tools and their associated technologies.
It’s up to SBD, the parent company, when everything gets released. Just because they’ve released new Hammers, doesn’t mean they’re NOT looking into Batteries for DeWALT tech. In fact, SBD has been so busy with so many different brands, that what DeWALT has been developing has probably already been released in SBD’s other brands by now. I would imagine you’d recognize very many of the NEW SBD-Craftsman tools as being either Identical to a previous DeWALT tool, or using practically every DeWALT-original feature except the name DeWALT.
You also have to realize that DeWALT is SBD’s trophy brand. Once they bought them, they started making all other brands they owned carry features from DeWALT, and increase their total company reputation. If EVERYTHING they do is as good as DeWALT, at least in image, then that’s a marketing win for SBD. As such, a lot of what SHOULD be a Stanley or Stanley FatMAX tool, is being pushed ahead as a DeWALT tool, to test how far up the industry ladder these designs belong. You and I would call this stupid, or cowardly, but SBD calls it “Tuesday” these days. So, don’t think of these as 14 new hammers. Just think of them as the 2018 model line from SBD. There are hundreds of trades out there, with hundreds more uses for specific designs of tools. If one particular year doesn’t contain the exact design that is ideal for the job, maybe a tweak to one of the current designs will make it next year. They’re throwing a bunch of designs at the wall every year, to see who buys what, and what doesn’t sell at all. They’re trying to reach into new industries they weren’t in before, so they can get a bigger share of the market for them.
That’s just business these days. Stupid? Yes. Effective? Well, yeah. We can’t deny it works for them.
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The Quest for the Best Domain Name
Tuesday, December 3, 2019 in Business
Being honest with yourself based on truth is an important aspect in life. As humans, our ultimate quest is for love and happiness. It’s not fame and fortune. It’s not perfection. It’s not popularity. It’s not a pristine social status.
It’s happiness!
It’s not about following others and doing as they do because it appears that they are happy because of it. This appearance becomes an assumption and is often far from the truth.
It’s about you! It’s about you being happy because you made yourself happy based on your actions. Not because of others and their actions.
Happiness is the true quest in our life here on earth and it starts with you.
I haven’t always thought that way and thankfully a kind soul in my life has educated and opened my eyes to it. I was a negative person for a long time and it was because I was focused on perfection and pleasing others.
I searched for happiness in perfection, which is almost nearly impossible to achieve for anybody. I lacked empathy for others and the situations they were in. I bent the truth to make myself look better. I tried looking good to appease others, without being happy looking in the mirror first.
Truth wins.
Happiness wins.
But Jamie, your title says the quest for the best domain name, why haven’t you talked about domain names yet?
Because I want you to think about you! Your happiness. The truth in your life and what truly matters to you.
When you find it, you will know it and your quest for the best domain name is complete.
Jamie Zoch jamie@dotweekly.com Jamie Zoch is the founder of DotWeekly.com, which provides professional domain name consulting services and has been involved in the domain name industry since 2006. Jamie is deeply passionate about domain names, the domain industry and helping others learn and succeed with them. Jamie started his professional career at The Procter & Gamble Company at an early age but after discovering domain names, his eye's widened and passion for them grew deep.
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B.C.'s Burgess Shale fossils add branches to tree of life, says Royal Society report
The tiny remains of an extinct bug-like creature discovered at British Columbia’s 500-million-year-old Burgess Shale fossil deposit add a new branch to the evolutionary tree of lif
An Agnostid is shown in this handout image. The tiny remains of an extinct bug-like creature discovered at British Columbia's 500-million-year-old Burgess Shale fossil deposit adds a new branch to the evolutionary tree of life, says a PhD student who made the discovery. HO-Joseph Moysiuk / THE CANADIAN PRESS
VICTORIA — The tiny remains of an extinct bug-like creature discovered at B.C.’s 500-million-year-old Burgess Shale fossil deposit add a new branch to the evolutionary tree of life, says a PhD student who tracked down the organism’s development.
The discovery of fossilized soft tissue, including the unique digestive tract, antennae and appendages of extinct agnostids help solve a long-standing evolutionary riddle about the agnostids’ family tree, says Joe Moysiuk, an ecology and evolutionary biology PhD student at the University of Toronto.
The peer-reviewed study, published Wednesday in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B in the U.K., links the agnostids to trilobites as distant cousins. Evolutionary researchers have pondered if trilobites were related to agnostids and the new research proves the connection, Moysiuk said.
“Agnostids appear to be what we call the sister group, sort of like a distant cousin of trilobites,” he said. “They are more closely related to other trilobites than other anthropods, like say, crustaceans or like arachnids, spiders and such.”
Trilobites, which are also extinct, are similar to today’s horseshoe crabs, Moysiuk said.
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Moysiuk and paleontologist Jean-Bernard Caron, an associate evolutionary biology professor at the University of Toronto and a senior curator at the Royal Ontario Museum, conducted the research.
Moysiuk said their research also helps answer questions about the origins of agnostids, which lived between 520 million and 450 million years ago.
The work emphasizes the importance of continued exploration at Burgess Shale to trace the evolutionary process of other species, Moysiuk said.
“This is an animal that’s been a big mystery in terms of where it fits into the tree of life for a very long time and so it’s always nice to fit in a little piece of the puzzle,” he said.
Agnostids are typically less than a centimetre long, with armour plates on their backs, a circular head shield and a similar looking tail shield, he said.
Moysiuk said finding the agnostids in the Burgess Shale area is important because not only is the hard, shell-like part of the creature preserved, but so is the soft tissues such as its nervous system and digestive tracts, sometimes even containing the last meal of the animal.
“These fossils really give us this unparalleled insight into what life was like back in the Cambrian period.”
He said the discovery of the crustacean-like soft tissue was “even weirder than what we would have imagined.”
They found a pair of sensory antennae at the front of the animals’ body and two pairs of swimming appendages, that it would have used like oars to paddle its way through the water, he said.
“They have lots of segments and these strange sort of club-like outgrowth coming off of them, which we hypothesize may have been used for respiration in these animals. So they were breathing through their legs, potentially,” he said.
Moysiuk said he’s been at the Marble Canyon site at Kootenay National Park where the fossils were found, but spends much of his time at the Royal Ontario Museum, where there’s a huge collection of fossils from Burgess Shale.
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Back to What New
Vectron International Launches Expanded Range of HI–REL Solutions for Space Applications
New Products and Space Qualification Demonstrate Commitment to Meeting Customers' Requirements for Improved Performance and Reliability in Demanding Environments
MUNICH, GERMANY � Vectron International, a leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of Frequency Control, Sensor, and Hybrid Product solutions, today announced the expansion of its broad space solutions portfolio with the launch of its new EX-245 evacuated miniature crystal oscillator (EMXO) series for space and hi-reliability applications, as well as the ESCC 22900 qualification of a range of its radio frequency (RF) and intermediate frequency (IF) surface acoustic wave (SAW) products. These Vectron product families now meet the complex, demanding environmental requirements of mission-critical space applications, including radio communication and navigation, satellite transmission, on board guidance systems and remote sensing, and will be showcased in Hall B5, booth 237 at electronica 2006, to be held November 14-17 in Munich, Germany.
"Vectron's heritage of providing frequency control solutions for the space market spans more than four decades, during which our engineering and manufacturing expertise has positioned the company as a leading, preferred supplier of highly reliable solutions for life-critical space applications," said Alan Mond, vice president, global sales, Vectron. "Today's expansion of our comprehensive space applications portfolio demonstrates our commitment to providing leading-edge products that meet customer demand for higher stability and lower power consumption in a smaller footprint."
EMXO provides small size, low power and high stability for high-reliability space applications
In response to rising demand for smaller, lower power products to support customers' efforts to minimize their satellite payloads, Vectron launched the EX-245 series of EMXOs, which offers superb stability, small size, low power demand and fast warm-up capability. The new series is currently being designed in by some of the world's leading satellite manufacturers to provide superior stability in a very small package volume.
Leveraging Vectron's patented EMXO technology, the EX-245 series, radiation tolerant to more than 100 kRads(Si) total dose, offers lower power consumption rates (less than 0.7 W at 25 degrees Celsius and less than 1.1 W at -40 degrees Celsius) and an impressive warm-up speed (3 minutes at 25 degrees Celsius), while providing a ten-fold improvement in stability compared to similarly-sized temperature controlled crystal oscillators (TCXOs) (up to 30 ppb). With its low profile package measuring 0.93" (W) x 1.03" (L) x 0.35" (H), the new EX-245 series also provides satellite contractors and OEMs with a smaller, lighter alternative to existing, bulky oven controlled crystal oscillators (OCXOs) traditionally used for the same applications.
Proven RF and IF SAW products now qualified for space applications
Expanding the capability of its proven SAW-based product portfolio, several families of Vectron's IF and RF SAW filters have achieved ESCC 22900 qualification after passing radiation tests according to ESCC 22900 specifications. This qualification, which assures that these products are radiation tolerant up to 100 kRads(Si), enables manufacturers of radio systems, onboard systems, satellites and other similar equipment used in space related applications to leverage the Vectron's proven SAW technology to meet the complex, HI–REL requirements of today's challenging space programs.
Vectron's space-qualified SAW filters are available in robust DIP packages or in hermitically sealed SMD packages ranging in size from 2.5 mm x 2 mm to 24 mm x 7 mm, which are available with gold-free pads to increase stability while reducing shock and vibration. The products meet low insertion loss and high stop band rejection requirements, and are able to handle input power of up to 25dBm.
Manufacturing expertise drives HI–REL space solutions
To support the highly specialized manufacturing processes required for space applications, Vectron has dedicated areas for space program manufacturing, including Class 100,000 clean rooms and Class 100 horizontal laminar work flow stations. To ensure HI–REL and performance in space, each and every Vectron manufactured device is thoroughly tested before it is delivered to ensure it meets all required electrical and environmental specifications. The company's state-of-the-art, in-house testing facilities create a simulated space environment that includes shock, vibration, humidity, temperature extremes, vacuum PIND, seal and other conditions.
Vectron's proven, high quality, HI–REL space solutions are represented in space programs for industry leaders including Lockheed/Martin, JPL, General Dynamics, Harris, Honeywell and others, and have been designed in various space, communication and earth observation satellite applications including the Mars Pathfinder, Iridium satellites and Globalstar satellite phones, as well as in various space shuttle and manned space station projects.
Vectron International is a world leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of Frequency Control, Sensor, and Hybrid Product solutions using the very latest techniques in both bulk acoustic wave (BAW) and surface acoustic wave (SAW) based designs from DC to microwave frequencies. Products include crystals and crystal oscillators; frequency translators; clock and data recovery products; SAW filters and components used in telecommunications, data communications, frequency synthesizers, timing, navigation, military, aerospace and instrumentation systems. The company is headquartered in Hudson, NH and has operating facilities and sales offices in North America, Europe and Asia.
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NEW TYPE #21: Kendall Miles INTERVIEW
“My passion is shoes. Kendall Miles shoes are beautiful, alluring and handcrafted in Italy: the perfect pair for the woman who knows who she is and where she wants to go.”
TWELV Magazine recently spoke with Kendall Miles the founder and design director of the sought-after luxury shoe brand known as, Kendall Miles. The line is named after Kendall and her beloved brother, Miles. She is inspired by fashion of the 1940’s and 1950’s, from these era’s she took with her the importance of delicate detailing and keeping it super feminine. Kendall Miles Fall/Winter 2016 collection exemplifies an independent, feminine and sensual woman who isn’t afraid to stand out.
--------KENDALL MILES INTERVIEW--------
1. You were born and raised on the south side of Chicago. How did growing up in your hometown shape you as an artist?
It’s given me an international perspective and has expanded my mind. I grew up in Hyde Park, a diverse, intellectually sophisticated community. It was inspirational to be surrounded by so many successful professionals, entrepreneurs, and scholars, not only from Chicago, but also from all over the world. Also, Chicago is very cultured in and of itself. It’s a city that encourages individuality and uniqueness, and the environment teaches you how and when to fight for what you believe in.
2. Starting Kendall Miles from your campus apartment at the University of Southern California is quite a feat. What brought you to start your own venture so early on?
From a very young age I loved shoes—shoes that had sculptural silhouettes and were made of sumptuous leather with handsome, skillfully wrought hardware. I began drawing shoes in my college apartment as a way of coping with a breakup. I created designs on a simple sketchpad, and when I had developed what I thought could be considered a collection, I showed my mom and asked her to help me start a business. With my family’s support, we recruited an international team with deep expertise in the luxury shoe industry and a broad understanding of the global fashion market.
3. Do your designs reflect your personal everyday style, or do they show a more avant-garde side?
They most definitely reflect my personal everyday style, and I think that’s what makes designing so easy for me. I design things that I think are beautiful, shoes that I can’t wait to wear. I use fashion as a tool to make statements and share intimate revelations, intentions, and personality traits.
4. What sources of inspiration do you most often turn toward?
My biggest inspiration comes from a personal desire for individualism and a fascination with the vintage designs from the 1940s-1960s. I mainly study vintage Rover Vivier, Manolo Blahnik, Maison Margiela, Salvatore Ferragamo, Mabel Julianelli, and Beth Levine.
5. Do you see yourself as a lifetime entrepreneur, or do you one day hope to work in a design team for a larger fashion house?
I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and was constantly watching and learning as my parents strived for success, so carving my own path has been embedded into my DNA. I respect entrepreneurship for what it stands for, what it teaches you about yourself, business, and life in general, and how it brings undisputed meaning to life. But, I couldn’t see myself as a serial entrepreneur. The stress I’ve endured from entrepreneurship is unparalleled!
6. What kind of woman do you have in mind when designing under the Kendall Miles brand?
For those who live according to their own standards, long for a disruption to their everyday routine, take risks and choose to live life fearlessly. Mentally, she is very strong, well-researched, opinionated, socially conscious, and passionate about everything she does. She might be in her 20’s, or her 40’s or 50’s. Regardless, she presents herself with the utmost elegance and class, and demands your full attention when she presents herself.
7. What should we expect from the Fall-Winter 2017 collection?
I have a library of shoe embellishments that spans an entire wall in my office. Its shelves are packed with the most wondrous, exquisitely crafted components that I find at Lineapelle every year, from luminous crystals and exotic feathers, to lustrous metal buckles, studs, and chains. Using these timeless elements for inspiration allows me to transcend trends. For Fall-Winter 2017, snippets of the most sensual furs resonated with me and inspired the line the most.
8. When you're not working, what occupies your time?
Outside of design, I love exercising, cooking, attending church, and studying subjects that I’m curious about. Right now, I’m learning about color theory and the structural integration of digital marketing.
9. Do you have a favorite pair of shoes that you couldn't live without?
The gold “Michelle” by Kendall Miles! It’s the shade of bronzy gold that makes it my favorite. Every time I put them on, my skin immediately appears more radiant. I wear them at least 4 times a week.
10. What advice can you offer to young designers hoping to be where you are one day?
Go after what you love and surround yourself with a supportive network of people. I’ve learned that it actually takes more strength to need a team, because it can’t be done alone. It’s also important for young entrepreneurs to focus energy on things they can build and improve upon, instead of things that are out of their control.
INTERVIEWED BY ZAHNAY BLAKNEY
EDITED BY HOLLIS DE LANEY
PHOTO CREDIT THOMAS NORTHCUT
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NIAN FISH INTERVIEW
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IKEMEN (ē´k´mɛn): Japanese Slang
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IKEMEN #38: WARREN KAY
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TWELV ARCHIVE JOE McKenna INTERVIEW "Call Me Joe"
CALL ME JOE
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In the world of website building there’s this little thing called “SEO” or “Search Engine Optimization”; surely you’ve heard of this. SEO is just an elaborate charade that someone who owns a website performs so that they can maximize their exposure and rake in that mad Google AdSense cash. For the record, TwilightFoundry.com has made exactly two cents over the course of this past month. When divided up evenly between the two people who work on this project both myself and Roastmaster get a penny. I don’t really care too much about SEO because this website is just a hobby and most everyone here has a “real job” to pay the bills. However, that didn’t stop me from setting up Google Analytics so I could at least see how people are finding this place.
Pictured above: BUSINESS. SYNERGY.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with Google Analytics. The tracking software gives me more information than I can be bothered to learn how to interpret so I really only pay attention to the search terms that people are using to find this website and that’s the central idea of this article; there are some people out there looking for some seriously fucked up things and for inexplicable reasons they are finding TwilightFoundry.com in their results. To spell that out a little more clearly, these are real search terms that people are entering into their browsers, seeing TwilightFoundry.com in the results, and then clicking on said result thinking they’ll get Sonic the Hedgehog porn or something.
I promise I have not made any of these up. Below are 12 examples of my favorite terms that have literally brought traffic to this website.
I don’t understand this one. I mean, I know what horses are and I know what rimming is, and in this case “anus” is kind of redundant since that is sort of implied with the whole “rimming” bit. The person who searched for this wants to lick a horse’s ass. I’m fine with that, whatever floats your boat yeah yeah, but what confuses me is the inclusion of “e621”. It’s not that I don’t know what that is, it’s a furry porn aggregator, but rather why it was included in a Google search when the person doing it could have just as easily gone to the fucking website directly and keyed in exactly what he googled for and skipped the middleman here.
No, really. Here, in the name of going above and beyond to provide for our visitors here’s a link to exactly what this lazy furry couldn’t be bothered to properly search for so the next time they decide to roll the dice on equestrian analingus they’ll have their legwork done already. Do not click these words because I assure you no good will come of it. (NSFW)
This search term has got to be a memetic attack of some sort because once I saw it crop up in TwilightFoundry.com’s search term results I had to search for it myself to find out what the hell this person was looking for. To be honest I don’t know why I searched for it; I am not fond of Miranda Cosgrove, I’m indifferent toward ice cream, and I’m not exactly sure I’m all gung-ho about getting into a story where iCarly blows Jamie Kennedy.
That was a Max Keeble’s Big Move reference, by the way.
Best movie. 10/10 would watch again.
Also, searching for this on Google does indeed bring up TwilightFoundry.com as a result. On Bing? Horse porn. That’s Sarah Jessica Parker, Bing, not Miranda Cosgrove. You’re not even close. For fuck’s sake can you do anything right?
Just because I don’t like Miranda Cosgrove doesn’t mean no one else does though. If memory serves me right I believe I can name at least one person who has an unhealthy affinity for terrible Nickelodeon actresses. I bet this was his doing.
I don’t get why so many furry sex terms bring people to this website. If you’re someone who’s looking for furry porn then you already know what it is, what it’s called, and you have got to be aware by now that there are literally dozens if not hundreds of websites devoted to cataloging and sorting this shit out into fetishes that I’m convinced do not and cannot exist outside of the furry fandom. TwilightFoundry.com is not one of those websites. There are exactly zero images of uncensored furry porn here. We’ve provided exactly as many explicit images of furries having sex as we have reasons to vote Republican, or reasons to vote at all for that matter.
Why do you people keep coming here? Why? Do I really have to break and do the same fucking things I did for you that I did for the horse butthole guy earlier in the article?
You’re welcome. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.
I’m aware that there is a “Horse Lovin” Ken doll, a “club” Ken doll where he’s literally wearing a cock ring on a necklace, a Barbie doll with a fetus inside of it, and a racist black Barbie doll that says “Oreo” on it but never have I heard of a “nude fucking” Barbie that comes with a sex robot. Considering I just rattled off four extremely questionable (and real) dolls at the beginning of this paragraph I would venture a guess that “Fucking Machines Barbie” is probably a real thing and I apologize that we have not yet covered it on this website. We’ll get right on that.
This is a distressing search term not just because it brought someone to this website (GO AWAY) but because its wording implies something far more nefarious than babyfurs or adult babies or regression play or Pamperchu or whatever the fuck else this is called. I give up. I hate life. I know there are people out there who not only possess the autism required to like Sonic more than what’s socially acceptable but also have the necessary predisposition to enjoy scat porn — the unholy triumvirate. If you are this person I don’t want to know you.
The great thing about this search term is that I can guess where the visitor ended up. This search inevitably brought them to the “7 Most Retarded Collectible Coins” article where this “$20 coin” — which, for the record, is actually a 100% authentic World Trade Center silver certificate with legal tender status in fucking Liberia — was blasted for being one of the stupidest and most offensive pieces of shit released into the collector’s market. Here is a person who was either duped into buying one of these things or accepted one in lieu of payment for something else because they thought it was worth twenty bucks and when they decided to do some research on it they were directly insulted by this website for having obtained one.
For reference, it’s this abomination they searched for.
Then again, when the article uses the phrasing “Most Retarded” in its title I guess if you decided to click through you kind of had it coming?
Roastmaster’s article about scary TV logos and autism is one of the most popular and most-read articles published by Twilight Foundry. For the past three months the “Autistic’s Guide To Scary TV Logos” article has received more search term traffic than any other article on the site and understandably it also has the most search terms attached to it. I’ve yet to figure out if the search terms are indicative of the CLG Wiki googling themselves or if our article is some sort of underground hit with them; surprisingly, there is no incoming traffic from the CLG Wiki website that I am aware of.
Clearly, this search brought someone to the article I originally wrote on GatorAIDS about how much of a shitty and fake production Weaponizers on the Discovery Channel was. This in and of itself isn’t an inherently bad search term but it’s here because there’s something I’ve been hiding from you all this whole time. No, it’s not some proof that Weaponizers was in fact 100% legitimate, it’s the fact that one of the “contestants” of this “show” was apparently googling himself one day and found this article when it was hosted at GatorAIDS. He left me a “nice” comment detailing how little I apparently knew about television and insisted the show was real. I didn’t make a big deal about this at the time because when the comment was posted GatorAIDS had closed… but I never forgot. Apparently he didn’t either because someone is still trying to find out if this clearly fake show was faked. (Spoiler: Yes.)
I am working on a second article as we speak that takes a second look at Weaponizers and the contestant’s snide remarks to prove once and for all yes, this show was goddamned fake.
I’m assuming this search term led the visitor to the review of that god awful “Sushi-Go-Round” game that Miniclip farted out for the Nintendo DS. I’m not going to lie, I think “Weird Sushi Goaround Fuck” is not only the best possible way to describe this game but also a much better title for it as well.
Twilight Foundry neophyte Komodo88’s work has been making the rounds lately. As of this posting he has two articles with us, one about furry shirts and another about the movie Space Jam. The Space Jam article is seeing a fair amount of attention on Tumblr and the article itself has accrued a respectable amount of views in the past month considering this is a relatively new website. The list of search terms that brings people here is kind of like the notation of pi, it’s just a random assortment of crap that makes little to no sense at all except with slightly more of a pattern behind it; much like how pi has the Feynman point (a streak of six 9’s in a row) our search terms also have a streak of their own. Since they’re all Space Jam related I’m calling it the Jordan-Barkley convergence.
This streak of search terms starts off innocuously with “space jam monstars” and then immediately turns into “space jam movie juice”. I don’t know what that is and I don’t want to know what that is, however I worry that the people who are searching for this movie and finding TwilightFoundry.com have ulterior motives because the very next search term is “space jam aliens transform” followed immediately by “space jam aliens steal talent”. Maybe you’re giving these people (or likely, this person) a generous benefit of the doubt here and they’re just looking for what are arguably the most pivotal plot points in that movie. It’s a fucking Looney Tunes movie but fine, I’ll go with this hypothetically. Allow me to obliterate any doubt you might have because the fifth and final search term is “space jam inflation scene”.
Photographic proof that God does not exist.
Komodo88, and I truly mean this with the utmost sincerity here, please go back to the furry fandom from whence you came and never return again.
We’re a comedy website not miracle workers here.
– Dracophile
Posted by Dracophile
So far I’ve been on track talking about some of my favorite least-good BattleBots and obscure BattleBots toys that I wished I owned a complete set of. This is another such article in this truly groundbreaking Internet series. In 2002, during the heyday of the BattleBots event and television show, they managed to secure a McDonald’s Happy Meal deal. No, I can’t believe that either; BattleBots was able to reach the same esteemed ranks of Disney toys, Beanie Babies, and Hot Wheels. That might sound ridiculous — and maybe I am putting that pedestal up a little too high — but at the very least it’s definitely a sign you’re doing something right when an international fast food chain is giving away plastic versions of your licenses with cheap food. Unfortunately, this would end up being the highest point in BattleBots’ existence as the event pretty much died the following year.
Yes I bought a whole set.
This article isn’t about the decline of BattleBots however, it’s about McDonald’s toys. There were eight robots in the BattleBots set, seven of them based upon real-life robots with the last one being a stupid hamburger with saw blades called “Mac Attack”. The more I re-read that sentence the more I want to drop “stupid” from it because objectively a hamburger with saw blades sounds awesome. Mac Attack sucked, though. The word stays. Plenty of people have reviewed these toys over the course of the past decade including this one guy who, despite his overtly ambivalent camera presence, couldn’t be bothered to learn the names of any of the robots but still considered the final product “good enough” for a professional-looking YouTube review. I want to throw my hat in the review ring too, but you’ve had to have realized by now that I don’t exactly do things by the book here. Instead I want to take a closer look at the toys and while I intend to talk about each of the eight robots I also want to look at what makes them work.
In short, I’m going to disassemble each of the bots and include pictures of their guts in this article. When’s the last time you saw that done? Exactly. Before we get to the robots though, let’s first take a look at the Happy Meal bag from the BattleBots promotion. Because Hoarders.
NO I CAN’T THROW THIS AWAY IT’S SENTIMENTAL
There was a period of time where Happy Meals temporarily ended their memorable cardboard box containers and shifted over to paper bags made of recycled material. Unfortunately, BattleBots’ promotion happened during this time so not only are the bags difficult to track down they’re also incredibly flimsy, feature shitty printing, and don’t have much in the way of pop-out pieces or puzzles or anything else for that matter. I guess the point I am trying to make here is that in most aspects the Happy Meal box was kind of like a “second toy” because it had stuff to keep kids busy a little longer but these bags are shit and there aren’t any such games on it to review.
No, I lied. There is one whole game on the bag and it’s a real stretch of the definition of “game”. It involves cutting out half of Ginsu, flattening the bag, and driving your robot into the Ginsu pop-up. There’s even a helpful diagram on the bottom of the bag if you’re too incomprehensibly stupid to figure this out and needed an “answer on bottom of bag” solution to basic instructions. I’m not going to shred this bag up so I can run over a poorly printed out Ginsu model, not because of “collector’s value” or anything like that but because I have an actual Ginsu toy from the promotion so I don’t need to run over the fake one printed on recycled toilet paper. Also, my prediction is that the pullback toy would just push the bag out of the way instead of drive over it anyways.
The reverse side of the bag doesn’t have a game on it, just two more robots with the dubious tagline “THE BIGGER THE BATTLE THE BETTER” which is a load of shit; BattleBots’ original slogan was “When sparks fly robots die” but I guess since this is a Happy Meal you can’t have the word “die” printed on it anywhere even when the toys are of robots that literally fight to the death. WHATEVER, HAMBURGERS. The sides of the bag, however, list out the eight robots in the promotion — without their names — and the whole ordeal is somehow made more infuriating than the “run over Ginsu” game by means of the inclusion of a bunch of wacky faux arena introductions written for each of the bots… again, without naming them at all.
“Get a grip,” the bag says about Super Heavyweight champion Diesector, “this Bot grabs others in its jaws!” Bot. That’s what all of the toys are referred to, including the goddamned hamburger one. In fact, Mac Attack’s ad copy makes me want to kill someone: “Fast food! Spinning burger action knocks other Bots out!”
“Spinning burger action.” Nobody in the history of time itself has ever said those words in that order before and to prove my point here’s a screenshot of Google telling me to go fuck myself when I searched for it.
Coming up as a close second for “worst ‘BattleBots Bio’ ever” is Ankle Biter’s which reads: “Watch out! Here comes the wedge!”
Said no one ever in BattleBots.
As mentioned earlier, for some inexplicable reason none of the robots are referred to by their actual names anywhere in the promotion. I’m assuming this is due to licensing issues or something pertaining to that because the BattleBots company was quite generous with royalties in regards to their competitors. All of the plastic toy bags read “Pullback Action Toy” in place of the robot’s name, though it’s pretty obvious who’s who. Despite the obvious correlations to actual competitors I can’t pass up on the official names assigned to the robots in the promotion; look at these beauties:
(Click to enlarge.)
No, I am not shitting you here. Rather than have Ginsu named “Ginsu”, it was officially titled “Pullback Action Toy shaped like an X with four wheels on each side” and Mechadon somehow became “Windup Action Toy shaped similar to a crab”. What. There are an infinite number of things wrong with those descriptions. Firstly, Ginsu doesn’t have “four wheels on each side”; by my count it has four wheels on exactly two sides. Also, Mechadon looks nothing like a crab; I suppose now “crab” can join the ranks of things like “spider” on the “list of shit that people say looks like Mechadon but actually looks nothing like Mechadon at all whatsoever”. I can’t believe McDonald’s was willing to tiptoe around a potential lawsuit over toy likenesses from Little Tykes, whose ladybug sandbox was used to build Tentomushi, but apparently had some kind of licensing disagreement over naming the fucking toy “Tentomushi”.
My favorite description here is the one used for Biohazard sorry, HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “Pullback Action Toy shaped like metallic box”. Congratulations, McDonald’s, you just named all eight of them in one fell swoop. Ba da da da DAAAAA.
What’s really fantastic about all of these toys is that they each came with a little slip of paper demonstrating what all of the robots do and how to get them to do those things. (Hint: You pull the toy back and let go.) Yes, you read that correctly, the pullback toys came with instructions. Look, I don’t want to be a piece of shit here but the instructions are kind of in the toy’s name. If you can’t figure that out maybe it’s because you’ve eaten the toy. You know what kinds of toys need instructions? The K’Nex Big Ball Factory. That’s a fucking ordeal to put together; these toys are literally “push it in the direction it isn’t supposed to go and then take your hand off of it”.
For what it’s worth the instructions are actually very carefully drawn. For something that was thrown away immediately there was a lot of attention put into these diagrams, a complete collection of them is below. Rivets, blade teeth, wheel treads, and even exposed internals were all drawn with geometrical accuracy. It’s really something else.
Biohazard flies, apparently.
And now, since the bag and preceding commentary have effectively spoiled the list of robots, here’s my insight on our eight contenders for this article’s Grand Rumble arranged loosely in order from least favorite to mostest favoritest:
I hate this stupid fucking robot. There is nothing about Mac Attack that I like. I get that it’s supposed to be a joke robot and it’s not to be taken seriously because it is literally a hamburger with saw blades and I accept that, what I’m more upset about is McDonald’s sticking their dick into a franchise’s toy line when they have no business acting as such. Allow me to make an analogy here; if McDonald’s did a “Mac Attack” type thing with every toy line they’ve run then we’d have had a motorized Ronald McDonald shitting french fries into Grimace’s mouth as one of the links in that Disney toy train of classic movies or Mayor McFuckingCheese shooting you the finger from a Mario Kart go-kart. We don’t have either of those, so why BattleBots? I’m pretty sure more than seven people competed in BattleBots so it’s not like there was a shortage of robots to make a toy out of.
I’m not even going to review Mac Attack. Fuck Mac Attack. You know what, as of right now the McDonald’s BattleBots set only has seven toys in it.
Because I said so.
Officially starting off this list at the bottom is Ankle Biter. Ankle Biter is not a robot I “dislike” by any means; I just don’t think it translated well into a Happy Meal toy. It’s a fairly simplistic robot so I can see why it was an attractive option for mass production, however all of the other toys in this line including Mac Attack have some sort of additional feature powered by their internal mechanics. Ankle Biter’s saw blade is instead unpowered and lazily spins while it acts as a third wheel. Overall the toy is a solid replica of the robot and stands to be the one that I’d say is closest to the real deal but its distinct lack of “oomph” when compared to the other toys just leaves something to be desired. At least it’s fast, though. Really fast, like the real Ankle Biter. Excuse me while I go get it wedged under a wall somewhere now.
The “saw blades” on Ankle Biter and Mac Attack might look a little odd and that’s because they were rounded down and turned into gear-like abominations for the sake of safety. When you’re serving lowest common denominator food, you have to anticipate that the people eating it are essentially human trash that can’t tell their asses from a hole in the ground nor are they capable of understanding that coffee being hot is a universal standard and isn’t a key point in court cases. That was a 1994 joke in case you were wondering. I forget what I was getting at; oh, Overkill’s giant blade is now somehow a contoured rectangle because dumb people can burn themselves with it. No, wait, that wasn’t right either.
Overkill’s “action” is fairly anemic overall; it’s chopping blade only gets in about two or three whacks before the windup motor gives way and the robot just drives off the table. It’s a decent-looking replica, borrowing Ankle Biter’s overall chassis and tire layout, but its squared weapon just looks terrible.
Out of all of the BattleBots toys, this one isn’t a pullback one. Those of you know who who Mechadon is will understand why since you can’t exactly pull back a walking robot and then let it go. Mechadon features a little windup piece and two oblong wheels underneath it to completely negate everything I just said about it being a walking robot. The robot’s legs twitch and move but it doesn’t actually walk, it rolls around on some not-quite-circular wheels to give it the illusion that it’s hobbling around like it does in real life. It’s kind of a cop-out and I guess that’s why I’m fairly nonplussed about the toy. It’s not hard to make a shuffling/walking toy; McDonald’s had done it years prior with Sebastian from The Little Mermaid.
Mechadon is also made from two different kids of plastic, the top kind significantly shinier and more sparkly than the bottom. This difference in plastic also causes the toy to age strangely, post-out-of-bag versions of this toy have a nasty yellowed underside not unlike the top shell of an NES that belonged to someone who clearly had no business owning an NES in the first place. Yuck.
I rag on Tentomushi a lot because it’s a stupid design but at the same time I really have to give the Robot Action League credit for coming up with a robot that was never really duplicated by anyone else. Whether that speaks greatly or poorly about the design itself is something I’ll leave for you to consider but the fact of the matter is that Tentomushi is a robot whose appearance was quite memorable and seems like it would have lent itself really well to toys but this McDonald’s thing was Tentomushi’s only official merchandise. The reason for that is probably because Tentomushi’s capture dome was literally a kids’ sandbox manufactured by Little Tykes so there was probably some level of copyright over the stupid face those things had. Apparently the ramifications of putting said ladybug’s dopey face on a McDonald’s toy was too expensive so McTentomushi rides into action sporting a somehow even dumber one.
The ladybug shell itself is not motorized and is fastened to the chassis by a simple hinge at the back; this is the BattleBots toy that was most often broken by excessively rough handling. Tentomushi’s dome flaps up and down because there’s a little plastic tab under it that rests inside of a ridiculously large gearbox. When the parts inside turn and spin there’s a little plastic wing that brushes against the dome’s tab and pushes it up. It’s a novel workaround but at the same time it kind of makes the whole “capture dome” thing a bit moot since it takes up so much space.
Diesector this far up the list simply because of the number of moving parts the robot has. The proportions are all wrong, but I am impressed with the amount of action this toy has. Diesector’s jaws and hammers are a mystery to me because as I sit here playing with the damn thing trying to figure out just which sets of wheels turn what the jaws seem to take turns working and not working. The hammers twitch and spasm when the toy drives around so I guess it’s the closest replica in terms of function in the whole set. When you pull the robot back and let it go everything clacks and kisses like a box of snakes and chattering joke teeth; everything about the robot is fucking scary.
Diesector is also the fastest toy in the set by a huge gap. It’s actually about as fast as Mac Attack but since we don’t talk about Mac Attack that means there isn’t a tie and Diesector wins.
Biohazard is one of the most ubiquitous robots in the sport. With something like eleventy thousand wins under its belt I believe the robot ended up having the most televised fights and the most wins out of any other competitor in any weight class in BattleBots history. Yes, this robot was going to get merchandising, a lot of it.
Biohazard is also unique in that it is the only BattleBot to literally be anonymous in toy versions. For some reason after the first line of toys came out Biohazard’s name was redacted into “Heavyweight Champion” (in case you didn’t get that reference when it was made earlier in this article). Supposedly this was done due to alleged copyright infringement but I don’t know from who or what, the “biohazard” symbol as I understand is a common graphic and as far as I know it’s not owned or regulated by anyone; it’s just an impossible to draw symbol that you put on things that you shouldn’t ingest to play with, all McDonald’s toys falling into both of those categories.
The toy features a little flipping arm that fires off way too fast for the robot it’s modeled after, but the real doozy is the little plastic bit on the bottom that causes Biohazard to flail wildly after you set it off. The robot will drive forward and then pull a 90 degree (or a 1080 in all the times I tried it out) turn, drive some more, turn again, and repeat until it runs out of juice. It’s neat but considering these toys were meant to be battled it kind of renders the whole “battle” thing useless since it drives like someone playing Marble Madness during an earthquake.
Ginsu is my favorite robot so if you have a problem with it being number one on this list then you can just fuck right off. Since the robot was more or less an exhibition robot built by the BattleBots organizers and didn’t officially compete after the show’s first season Ginsu missed out on a lot of merchandising. Much like I said in the MiniBots article I wrote, Ginsu’s appearance is more threatening than the actual robot itself; great on paper, horrible in action. Saw blade wheels look menacing but in the grand scheme of things they aren’t doing much damage. The robot’s wheels are the same (or similar) saws as the ones used in the arena hazards and while they were great for show I really don’t think anyone specifically lost because of damage done to them by the Killsaws.
The McDonald’s Ginsu is great if you can get over the weird cog treatment they gave to the saw wheels. What I’m most impressed about is that despite rounding off the saw blades they still got the coloration and style correct; Ginsu’s top front saws are red and the teeth on them are larger and further apart than the silver ones. There are some additional decorative saws and the extended axles missing but overall it’s a nice replica. One set of saws have some rubber banding around them for traction but what really wowed me was that the red saws are actually powered too. Like its real-life counterpart this toy can drive on any side. Sure, the traction sucks when Ginsu’s red blades are being used to drive it around but I could argue that just adds to its replica integrity because the real Ginsu had zero control or traction period because using saw blades for tires is a bad idea.
Since we are an embarrassingly long 3,800 words into this article I think it’s finally time that we take a look under the hoods of all of these robots and see just what makes them tick. For the purposes of this article I actually had to track down and purchase an entirely new set of toys (because there’s not a chance I’d be disassembling mine) and ironically it was cheaper for me to buy a complete set of “mint in package” toys for this project… with the intent to take them apart. Somewhere out there a McDonald’s toy enthusiast weeps and I’m laughing because his hobby is “McDonald’s toy enthusiast”.
Starting in the order that I initially ran through them, here’s the disassembly and postmortem of all eight robots:
Disregarding the fact that I hate this robot and initially wanted to disassemble it with a hammer I instead opted to open traditionally because I’ll admit I was interested how the SPINNING BURGER ACTION advertised on the bag worked. The truth? Mac Attack actually has the most moving parts out of any of the BattleBots toys. The chassis comes apart in three pieces with each of the two saw blades acting as a spacer with the bottom and center pieces containing a set of gears that stretches up and around the inside of the bottom uh, patty. I knew going into this article that Mac Attack’s internals would probably be the most interesting out of the eight, perhaps rivaled maybe by Diesector, but I just didn’t want to admit that. The orange gear on the pullback motor turns the bottom of the green gear on the center piece which in turn rotates the bottom patty; on the other side of the center chassis piece is a brown gear that rotates a smaller white gear that finally spins the top patty in the direction opposite of the bottom. After writing this paragraph I now have autism so if you’ll excuse me I am going to go watch Sonic X, stop this article, and when we come back this feature will change gears into The Top 10 Most Yiffable Characters in Sonic X.
To discredit Mac Attack I’d just like to point out that out of the eight toys this was the only one with the screw holes so far up the robot’s ass that the $8 screwdriver I bought to take these things apart couldn’t fucking reach anything. It’s a miracle I didn’t just smash this damn thing in the first place.
If Ankle Biter looks a bit worse for wear in this picture that’s because it doesn’t come apart very well and I unintentionally broke this toy while taking it apart. See, one of Ankle Biter’s wheels is covering up a screw hole so I assumed that you’d have to remove the wheel to get to the screw, because logic. Apparently that wasn’t the case because as I tried to pop the wheel off with a screwdriver there was a loud cracking sound and the robot’s wheel flew across my room leaving a jagged plastic stump on the axle it was once connected to. Oops. To make matters worse once I removed the hidden screw the two halves would not come apart at all. This too was pried apart with the sounds of plastic shattering and I noticed this was because the pegs and slots that the halves fit together with were so tightly interconnected that they sheared off at the slot.
Since I accidentally went all Moebius on Ankle Biter I couldn’t actually pull the motor out or completely disassemble the robot for a proper photo, however since the toy’s weapon was literally just an unpowered cog I guess there wasn’t much in the way of juicy internals to look at anyway.
Oh, the same thing also happened to Overkill.
Overkill’s weapon sits on an unpowered hinge and has a little wing that brushes against one of two little knobs on a gear powered by the pullback motor. Other than that the internals are identical to Ankle Biter and taking the toy apart required me to break it. Whoops.
Of all the toys featured in this set this is probably the one I was most curious about opening up (again, Mac Attack doesn’t exist). I was a little bit pissy over the fact that Mechadon’s mighty stomping claws were underwritten by a motor with wheels on it, but the claws still moved and I wanted to know how they got that working. Upon popping the lid off of the SIMILAR TO A CRAB robot I saw that the legs were essentially two separate pieces of a tripod gait hinged at the center. Under that was the heart of Mechadon, a wind-up motor shooting the double bird. The wings on these extensions fit into slots on the bottoms of the claws and made them flex and articulate as the robot puttered about. The pieces that Mechadon’s legs were made from are probably my favorite molds in the entire set simply because of their intricacy and how they fit together in only one specific way. The claws themselves, when assembled, are actually neat enough on their own to make a desk decoration.
I’m not implying that I have them at my desk right now though.
For all the plastic that Tentomushi eats up its internals are incredibly simple. As mentioned earlier the ladybug dome is actually not powered by anything directly and is attached by a hinge at the back of the chassis. Under that is a pointy silver chassis with what looks like the top of a lawnmower covering up the smallest pullback motor of any of the toys. Removing the top exposes the motor and two tiny plastic gears; that’s all that runs Tentomushi. The ladybug lid flaps up and down because there’s a long plastic tab under it that connects with the little knob on the white gear. For some reason, and I can’t figure out why, the simplicity behind Tentomushi’s inner workings is something I find peaceful. Maybe it’s because all of these toys have weird mismatched and miscolored gears and I subconsciously think the translucent blue one is pretty. Who knows.
Okay, full disclosure first. Diesector is a goddamned mess. Once I took the top of the robot’s chassis off I could not keep this thing from falling apart immediately. I knew where the pieces went but they wouldn’t stay in place so the pictures here are probably going to look awful. You might be wondering “if the pieces don’t stay together maybe you’re assembling them wrong” and to that, first just let the record show that you’re an asshole, but also you don’t know exactly how many Diesector toys I’ve taken apart, do you? Shut up.
See that little gray fork off to the left side of the picture above? That thing is the brain of this robot. From what I could put together, everything that moves on this robot is powered by that single piece. Here’s a shot of Diesector’s internals still assembled but with the fork removed. Diesector’s front wheels are unpowered but feature the robot’s trademark yellow jaws; the side jaws hook into the two fang-like protrusions on the fork while the center jaw hooks into a little plastic loop between the prongs. It is insanely complicated and it only goes deeper from here. The fork jerks back and forth to open and close the jaws however as it does this yet another tab on the fork pushes against a wing on the brown piece that the hammers are connected to causing them to swing back and forth in time with the jaws. No, I do not know how McDonald’s was able to get this thing put on an assembly line; I am just as confused as you are.
Biohazard was a lot of fun to take apart, the process of which led to me obtaining what is my favorite piece in the whole set: Biohazard’s arm. The arm articulates because of the brown extender seen in the picture above; the extender connects to a center point on the arm and also rests against a gear with tabs on it similar to Overkill’s blade and Tentomushi’s dome. When the gear spins, the wings push up against the extender which in turn raises Biohazard’s arm in quick flapping successions. You can get a better idea of what I mean by checking out this picture that shows the toy assembled but without its shell.
But that’s not all, remember Biohazard is the only robot that also does that weird little spin maneuver when you let it go. It achieves this by means of a small plastic tab that gently lifts one of the toy’s wheels up so it twists around. This is achieved ingeniously by the same gear that powers the arm serving a second purpose. The little plastic bump that pokes out from the bottom of the robot is actually just a tab mounted on an axle inside of the toy, however the same winged gear that raises the arm actually pushes down on this tab simultaneously. This in turn causes the small bump to push out from under Biohazard, lift it up, and spin it around since only one wheel makes contact with the ground. It makes for a toy that sucks to battle with but one with some internal features that are pretty cool.
Also, Biohazard’s arm is awesome.
Looking at Ginsu’s chassis I knew that taking it apart was going to be a strange process because there are only two halves but four total axles. I assumed that the unpowered saw blades would just be free-spinning axles with their wheels pressed on, and I was correct on that front, but there was still a bit of wonder regarding how both the banded silver saws and the red ones could spin at the same time. I had concocted in my head some crazy idea where there was a pulley inside that had a rubber band around it; as it turns out the actual solution was far more simpler: a driveshaft. The red saws have a little gear on their axle and connecting this axle to the one on the pullback motor is a long third axle with a forward facing gear on each end. This arrangement is perhaps better shown than explained, so there’s an image of it HERE.
Suffice to say, my curiosity is quelled. I now know how all of the BattleBots toys work and while I can’t say it’s helped me from an engineering standpoint on my ongoing quest to pursue the hobby of robot combat, it’s at least given me the privilege of sharing this useless information with you for the past 5,000 words. There are still some additional pictures from this project of mine that I could not find a place for in this article but I still feel they are neat enough to warrant their inclusion at the bottom. Sans Overkill and Ankle Biter, since they broke, here’s a shot of all of the robot shells and a separate image showing the variety between the motors that powered their internals (their placements are not respective). My favorite picture from this article, though, is this one which shows an assembly of all of the weapons from the robots in the line-up.
Also, just because I wanted to know if it were possible, I took some of the random parts from robots that I could fit together and made a brand new competitor. Behold, Ginmechasector:
I don’t know what I am doing anymore.
Finally, I’ve gone through the trouble of putting together this painfully long demonstration of each of the toys prior to me disassembling them. Apparently, as I’ve found out from showing this article draft to people before publication, the sound of wind up toys is relaxing to some. I find it to be my own personal hell, but if you’re into this kind of nonsense there is an “ASMR” cut of the toy demonstration HERE. In the meantime, here’s the main cut:
(For extra pictures from this article and others check us out on Tumblr!)
I don’t possess the proficiency required in autism to be someone in their twenties who really, really, likes Lego. Sadly, I merely “enjoy” Lego in the sense that if I’m placed somewhere with nothing to do except dick around with plastic blocks I’ll probably do just that. One trait I do possess, however, is that I can’t seem to pass up on a stupid gimmick if it will give me something to write about and the subject of today’s article is just that: candy Lego.
This is a perfect storm of awful.
Okay, so it’s not actual Lego-branded candy. This is one of the many Lego imitators out there like Mega Bloks and Best-Lock except the gimmick here isn’t Halo figurines or whatever; it’s that you can actually eat the blocks. I’m not a child psychologist but I’m about 90% sure associating candy with a non-candy item that kids routinely choke on is probably not the best course of action? I mean, the people who made Fun Dip didn’t make their components look like a fork and a plug socket for a reason. The marketing geniuses who thought Candy Blox was a good idea are also probably the same people who’d slap Spongebob Squarepants on a candy dispenser that looked like an idle stove top or make hard candies that look exactly like Tide detergent capsules. The point I’m trying to get at here is that at some point in our lives all of us have casually put a Lego in our mouths while building a spaceship or whatever and this isn’t exactly a behavior that should be encouraged.
Anyways, here’s what the damned things look like:
My throat is tightening up just looking at them!
According to the carton Candy Blox come in four different flavors: Cherry, Lime, Blueberry, and… Banana. I’m not going to lie, all things considered that is a respectable collection of flavors. All too often confectioneries will skimp out on the yellow candies and make it a shitty imitation lemon flavor so kudos to Concord Confections for going against the grain and providing an assortment of flavors that I look forward to accidentally sucking into my trachea.
The real selling point with these candies is that they are more or less some weird hybrid of “toy” and “candy” in that you’re supposed to play with them and then eat them afterward. This pairing of nouns generally doesn’t work and somewhere there’s a landfill full of motorized toy airplanes whose cockpits were once filled with M&M’s and gumballs to prove my point. Alarmingly, the Candy Blox carton is touted as a “Starter Kit” and the box features a handful of inappropriate “serving suggestions” which further muddies the notion of whether or not I’m really supposed to eat these fucking things. (No word yet if they make “Advanced Kits” that come with enough parts to build a car or a construction site or whatever.)
You might be wondering how well these blocks fit together and the answer to that ranges from “surprisingly well” to “about as good as you’d have expected them to had I not just mentioned they sometimes aren’t total wastes of time”. Sadly, however, unlike other fake building blocks these ones aren’t “compatible with leading brands”:
Shit, I forgot which ones are candy.
Regardless, I pushed forward and built some of the suggestions on the carton. Here’s what the end results looked like.
This is a “Wiener Dog” according to the carton. I think that title is a bit generous because this could be anything. This only looks like a dog because I was primed to believe that by the box. If you showed this to me out of context the first thing I’d ask you is why you were showing me a motorcycle built out of second rate candy. “Built” in this sense is very loose, literally, as in “loosely assembled” because none of these pieces really want to play nicely with each other, especially the smaller ones. At any given time the dog’s tail and/or legs and either/also ears would shift and fall off and keeping it assembled for the purposes of taking a picture was beyond frustrating. I’m glad I got that out of my system now because wait until you see what the “Moose” looks like.
Yep, his fucking head wouldn’t stay on and his ass is falling apart. Good job, Concord.
Let me tell you something, buddy. If you didn’t believe in miracles before seeing this picture you damn well better believe in them now because the fundamental laws of physics forbid you from stacking anything atop a 2×1 Candy Blox, yet here I am with a grand total of five blocks sitting atop not one but two tiny candies. Of course, I’m essentially just blowing smoke up your ass because there was a green 2×2 block camera right that kept falling off and wouldn’t stay on for the same reason as the Moose’s head so I just said “fuck it” after fixing it and knocking the yellow part off more times than I could be bothered to keep track of. You can keep score on your own, though, by keeping an eye on the amount of Candy Blox dust that accumulates on my desk from these stupid models falling apart all the time.
Moving toward some semblance of a model that won’t disappear the second you look away from it here’s what the carton calls a “Robot”. Eagle-eyed readers might notice the robot shown on the package in the first picture of the article is green and blue, not green and red. There’s a very good and very valid reason for that: they didn’t give me enough blue blocks to do anything with. Furthermore, the only blue pieces they did give me with the exception of the big one shown earlier in the article were the tiny 2×1 pieces that don’t stay together. If they did, this would be a model of a robot holding up his hand, not saluting an invisible flag.
Or scratching his head wondering why Concord gave me so many tiny fucking blue pieces.
So here’s where I figured out the secret cheat code to Candy Blox is building something with only a little bit of definition that doesn’t depend on a bunch of tiny pieces to give it flair because let’s face it, that shit isn’t going to stay together long enough for you to maneuver your mouth down around it street vacuum style. I am told this is a “Tree” and I will believe that because it looks like one of the crappy Christmas trees that gets farted out of a Lego advent calendar every holiday season. Not even this thing was safe from the sheer ineptitude of the Candy Blox “artists” however because this model was the biggest culprit of what is possibly the most annoying thing about these stupid candies: the fact that the “suggested” models were drawn so ambiguously bad you had to literally guess at the pieces being used.
Since all of the candies are two studs wide this comes down to guessing whether or not the blocks shown are two to four studs long. If you think that you can be a smart ass and compare the models on the box and deduce it that way you’re fucking wrong because on the “instructions” for this tree the 3×2 block is drawn so poorly that it looks two different ways. I built that tree by guessing that because the top piece was clearly 2×1 the rest would have to be odd numbered as well. I shouldn’t have to bust out some goddamned math theory when I’m mindlessly rolling candies around in my filthy hands that I have to eat later for the sake of Internet comedy. By this point I don’t even know who my audience is anymore. As of that shitty Candy Blox flower I’ve alienated everyone so I guess no one is going to care that I got all of my terrible Candy Blox models together for an ensemble.
If you’ve made it this far YOU ARE A LIAR.
I wasn’t sure if I should have led this article with the quality of the blocks or the taste test of the flavors. These two-stage reviews are really hard. One thing I would like to point out is that these candies are kind of messy in that my fingertips developed a filmy texture in the course of putting this article together. Again, I’m not sure what to make of this product. If Concord Confections wanted to go with candies made of compressed powder they could’ve just done that and skipped the bizarre Lego thing completely; if I’m supposed to play with these things then I’d expect them not to get all over the place and require me to wash my hands and wipe down my desk afterward. No, I don’t know why I dumped the things out directly onto my desk either.
Getting back in line with the scope of this review I mentioned at the beginning of the article that Candy Blox came in four flavors: cherry, blueberry, lime, and banana. Here’s how much I enjoyed them explained in an elaborate and roundabout manner.
I AM A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER.
Cherry: Cough syrup and SweetTarts. Off to a great start.
Blueberry: This is going to be the highest point of this article. I’ll admit while writing this article I mentally had “blueberry” and “blue raspberry” mixed up so I was anticipating some unnaturally tart garbage hocked up from the 1990’s blue candy craze. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised instead. I would buy a bag of just blue Candy Blox (or candy that tastes like them because Legos hurt my mouth); consequently if you’ve been paying attention this is the flavor I received the least amount of in the carton I bought. I guess flavors that don’t taste like dollar store hard candy cost more to produce. Who would have figured?
Lime: Something is wrong with this flavor. I can’t put my finger on it but it tastes awful; it’s not lime, it’s something vaguely citric, but it tastes off. I left the preceding sentences here as a placeholder so I could get a second opinion from a work colleague and they described it better than I could, but grounded in my original hypothesis: “it tastes like an old vitamin C tablet”. Fuck this.
Banana: There is really only one kind of artificial banana flavor out there and that’s largely due in part to the organic compound isoamyl acetate. It occurs naturally in bananas and it’s commonly synthesized in labs for the purposes of cheap candy such as this. Every banana flavored candy uses this; it’s not on the Candy Blox box but the banana blocks taste exactly like banana Runts which taste exactly like Jell-o banana pudding. It’s all the same shit. It’s not bad, but it’s not the greatest thing on the planet either. Also, bees use this compound to tell other bees to sting you; do not eat Candy Blox near bees.
Overall I’d say that Candy Blox are more fun to play with than they are to eat and if I just spent ~1,500 words bitching about how much of a pain in the ass they are to build with that doesn’t exactly look good for the “candy” part of “Candy Blox”. In short, they evoke a sensation not unlike that of sucking on an actual Lego. The candies don’t have sharp corners but they’re hard as a rock and they do have literal edges to them so I guess it’s like eating a Duplo block or something instead. I’ve been wanting to do this article for a while now and have had these candies in my desk for just as long — about a year — so I bought a fresh carton of these things to make sure mine hadn’t gone off. Nope, both the “fresh” Candy Blox and the ones that were sitting in my desk are both capable of cutting diamonds. I can’t tell if their hardness is an issue with preservatives or if they used a black hole to compress the powder they’re made from into the block molds but whatever the case is for all intents and purposes these are standalone building toys that showed zero signs of decomposition after almost a year of me leaving them in a dark drawer.
I considered stepping on a Candy Blox to see if they match up to Lego bricks but by that point I realized this stupid gimmick had gone on long enough and I was ready to end this article and then write myself off to a future of eating these candies for the next fourteen years because they take almost literally forever to eat.
Over the course of consolidating my hatred of these candies into a single paragraph I built a tower using all of the Candy Blox from one of the two cartons I had. This is how it turned out and this is also a fairly good barometer for just how many of these things come in a single package:
A monument to all of my Internet sins.
Now that we’re at the literal end of this article I guess the big question is “do I recommend these candies to you”. The answer is a resounding no. If you want fruit flavored candies go buy a bag of Runts. If you want building blocks go buy a Lego set. Don’t mix the two. If for whatever reason you can’t resist the urge to buy Candy Blox I have some good news for you; you can buy three pounds of the shit for only eight dollars on Amazon.
Because the last time I paid eight bucks for three pounds of something I was deeply satisfied with the quality of the product.
Since I have the freedom to do whatever here I’d like to continue my track record of paying too much attention to BattleBots by writing an article about some unsung heroes of their merchandising and toy lines: MiniBots. The BattleBots “MiniBots” toys, according to our old friends at the BattleBots Wiki, were a series of miniature 1-inch replica figurines created by Interactive Toy and were based off of the Season 2.0 designs of the competitors featured in the set. There were 50 to collect (plus eight “chrome” editions of season finalists) and each pack came with three robots each. Essentially these were BattleBots blind bags before the stupid blind bag craze we’re currently in the middle of was even a thing. The series lasted only one “edition” unfortunately, and here is what they looked like:
The stretched out “?” really sells it.
(Source: BattleBots Wiki)
The MiniBots line seemed to show up and vanish relatively quickly as I distinctly remember buying several dozen packages of them at a Target when they were clearanced out to a dollar or so each. I feel that they’ve never been given proper attention since there were admittedly bigger and better toys out there by Hasbro and Jakks Pacific that actually did things and featured moving parts and all that so this line was overshadowed and forgotten. Hopefully I can do the MiniBots justice by showcasing some of my favorites from my own personal collection.
By no means is my collection complete. Even though I bought a stupidly high number of these things I don’t have a whole set. In fact, the combined resources of the BattleBots Wiki doesn’t even have a complete catalog of images either; out of the eight finalists from BattleBots’ second season they have a staggering zero pictures of their corresponding MiniBots figurines. Each of the finalists also had an aforementioned “chrome” edition and the Wiki is also missing those. To this day I’ve never seen what one looks like. The MiniBots line as a whole are also fairly rare collectibles as they do not show up on eBay very often so the task of trying to complete my collection is pretty much impossible by this point. Anyways, here’s what a pile of these little things looks like:
IT’S A GRAND RUMBLE HUEHUEHUEHUE
Of the 50 total robots in the collection I have 28 of them which I would say is pretty damned good considering that’s more than half of them and neither myself nor anyone I know owns any of the eight finalist robots which you could argue pretty much knocks the total down to 42. I’ll admit, it would be nice to at least see what they looked like but I’ll always keep an eye out for them when I troll open air and flea markets in the future.
I’d like to start this article on a higher note than my others where I pretty much just make fun of bad robots or one-sided fights so here’s a quick smattering of MiniBots figurines whose aesthetics I actually enjoy for once.
I’ve written a lot about Ginsu in the past and that’s largely because even though it’s an admittedly terrible design I like it and I’ll find any excuse to write about it. I think the concept of Ginsu, while blatantly obvious, is a fun gimmick and a robot with actual fucking saw blade tires encapsulates the sport in literal terms. Also I’ve spoken to Trey Roski (owner of BattleBots and builder of Ginsu) before and he’s a good sport about the fact that Ginsu and its lineage have never won a single battle not just in BattleBots but in the history of every single event and demonstration it’s been brought to. But I digress, look at this little figurine. For being only about one cubic inch the creators managed to include all eight of Ginsu’s wheels and they even got the coloring, shape, and axles correct. Ginsu’s figurine is easily my favorite one from the MiniBots series and from what I’ve collected it is the rarest one I own. (Owned, because I’ve somehow lost mine so the image above is from the BattleBots Wiki.)
Objectively, I don’t like Super Chiabot. In the past I’ve written about its poor design and glaring shortcomings but truth be told in the back of my mind I was always curious about how someone would pull off a Super Chiabot toy since as far as I know it was the only BattleBots competitor covered in fake plants. The resulting figurine isn’t grand by any stretch of the term but it has a certain kind of endearing quality to it showing that more creativity was put into making an honest replica of the robot than there was thought put into designing the actual robot the figurine is based from in the first place. Super Chiabot’s MiniBot looks like a gummy mess of leaves with a saw blade sticking out of its front and honestly that’s pretty much correct. Bravo.
Fair warning, from here on out most of my “favorites” from this series are going to be robots whose intricate or unusual designs were replicated surprisingly well by the folks at Interactive Toy. Also, since this is the third or fourth time I’ve said that company’s name I feel compelled to point out the irony in a company with “Interactive” in its name selling toys that are literally chunks of painted rubber that don’t do anything, but whatever. Look at Nightmare instead and admire how cool it is. Nightmare’s disc is made from a sparkly metallic type of material and while I’ve never seen one of the mythical “chrome” MiniBots I’m willing to be whatever this silvery stuff is would probably be the same material that the chromebots were made from.
If I had an Overkill toy to go along with this one there would be a double entry here. Instead we have only Frenzy, known for being one of the oldest competitors in the sport and for belonging to the team whose website shows up when you see what TMZ.com looked like using the Wayback Machine. I mentioned Overkill because the two robots feature long exaggerated weapons that swung around, weapons whose rubber pieces almost always got bent or messed up in their packaging resulting in a squishy mess that looked more like the aftermath of a bad run-in with a spinbot than a proper robot replica. Credit is given for trying, however, and I’m personally impressed with the level of detail that went into Frenzy’s intricate yellow frame.
DooAll is here for the same reason as Nightmare: the frame. While the proportions of the robot are pretty much wrong the overall design of DooAll was essentially spot-on even down to the chassis articulation. It would have been much cheaper and easier to just slap together a version of DooAll with its chassis laying flat and the fact that this wasn’t the case is why it’s a favorite of mine. DooAll is also one of only three MiniBots with tank tracks and since the other two, Atomic Wedgie and El Diablo, were Season 2.0 finalists you’ve surely put it together by now that no one has seen any of the others so DooAll gets to sit pretty as the only tracked robot in the set that anyone owns.
Yeah, I get sentimental about Scrap Daddy’s robots, so what? I am legitimately impressed that there is a licensed toy of a Scrap Daddy robot especially one based off of a robot that never won (HW 210). Scrap Daddy HW 210 was stupidly common in MiniBots blind bags and just to prove this point I’ve lined up all of the ones I own. (You can also add one more mentally because long ago I gave one to a friend.) In the way of painting and detailing there isn’t much to see here like there was with the other robots in this list, I’m more intrigued and impressed with the overall mold of the robot since HW 210 was such a weirdly shaped robot and sported what looked to be a fan blade for a weapon. The older Scrap Daddy robots were absolutely covered with little bits and pieces for fueling their gasoline engines and opening up parts of the chassis and much like with DooAll above the easier route would have been to nix all of this but the mold-makers didn’t and that’s what’s cool about this one. Every nuance of Scrap Daddy HW 210 is represented here (I even bumped it against the Frenzy toy to see if its saw blade would fall off).
The mold for this robot is actually pretty bad but it’s here because I can see what the creators were going for and I applaud them for their efforts. War Machine was not a particularly good robot, it was literally just a 10-wheeled box with a slanted piece of metal slapped on the front of it; I’ve written about War Machine in the past, favorably too if you can believe that, and my guess as to why it was never made into a proper toy is because it had 10 wheels and having that many moving parts would probably cost too much to make. Since the MiniBots line featured no moving parts this worked out nicely for War Machine however only so much because while I own duplicates of this robot all of their plows are on incorrectly and at different angles so the figurine ends up looking more like a lunar rover with a solar panel than a giant bulldozer.
And now since this is supposedly a snarky site here’s a list of MiniBots designs I really did not like for one reason or another along with a disproportionately long dissertation on why my opinions are more important and valid than yours are.
I think I can guess why that little stick thing is where it is on the robot. It’s probably there to differentiate between up and down since Rammstein looks the same either way up but in that case shouldn’t the more decorative front wedge be a better indicator of top and bottom? Instead the addition of the spike serves no other purpose than to intentionally screw up the invertible design of the robot and it just gets in the way. Also, what’s with the lack of “Team Loki” branding? I know Interactive Toy was capable of doing that since Turbo — another Team Loki robot — has it on its mold. Rammstein’s MiniBot just reeks of overall laziness and its little dongle that I had once originally chocked up to a bad rubber injection further ruins the figurine.
It’s taken me a long while to figure this out, but I think the reason why I don’t like Deadblow’s MiniBot representation is because of the clashing colors it was made from. First and foremost, Deadblow has never been dark gray so from the start the figurine is already questionable. This is made worse by the fact that the accents and details are done in pretty much the stark opposite color as the chassis resulting in the horrible mess seen here. The kicker is that this isn’t a bad mold at all and the little chassis accents are raised up much like the texture implied by the actual robot, it’s entirely the color that ruins it. Deadblow ended up having a shitload more (and better) merchandise made of it so I guess Grant Imahara can’t complain. He also hosts a TV show so I guess there’s that too.
I was hoping I could go this whole article without insulting a robot directly, but Berzerker 2000 is just an ugly robot. It’s a mess, and even though it too suffers from the same weird miscoloration as Deadblow in this case that’s just one of a number of things wrong with this figurine. I’ll ignore the fact that Berzerker 2000 forfeited its only fight (and because of this is the only robot in BattleBots history to have lost every match by forfeit and still have a toy made out of it) and instead point out how gaudy the black tire part of the robot looks compared to the weird blue shit used on the bottom. They could have gotten away with using the same silver shown on the robot’s upper half but I’m guessing that would have clashed with the base? Does it really matter?
Now that you’ve seen a whole bunch of neat custom molds, here’s something pretty goddamned offensive: two robots using nearly the same mold. Both The Crusher and Shish-ka-bot use an almost identical mold and if that’s not bad enough the mold just so happens to have a giant glaring flaw: the tops of the robots show only two wheels yet, when you flip them over, there’s clearly four. By far this is the laziest mold in the MiniBots line and I remember how let down and pissed off I felt when I started comparing my figurines and noticed that not only was this the same robot with a different paint job but that the mold itself was also completely incorrect. In defense of Interactive Toy both The Crusher and Shish-ka-bot were pretty much identical robots but why recycle a mold when by this point you’ve already gone through the trouble of making 48 different ones?
If laziness in creating molds was the thing that pissed me off in the last entry, laziness in paint is going to be the bane of my existence here. All of the figurines in the header image above featured no paint and were pretty much just hunks of gray rubber including Red Scorpion whose name literally declares what color it was. Look, I get that M.U.S.C.L.E. was a thing in the 80’s and a grand total of zero of their figurines were painted but this isn’t that franchise and Interactive Toy has already proven that they are more than capable of churning out some solid detail work on their figurines; it’s almost like toward the end of this they adopted a “fuck it we’re almost there just get some plain ones” mentality and called it a day. The worst offender by far is the treatment given to Mauler 51-50, a robot with a hellacious fire pit paintjob that was abbreviated to nothing more than a shitty gray road dot. You cannot release a Mauler figurine and not paint the fucking thing, not when you painted a shitty yellow ring on Blendo and considered that one done.
Also just as a sidenote you may have noticed that Shish-ka-bot has made the list twice because it’s also one of the handful of MiniBots that this umbrella entry applies to. I hate the Shish-ka-bot figurine.
Every pack of MiniBots also came with a small 1″ x 1″ sticker featuring the official BattleBots photo of the robots you received. The stickers themselves seem to be even more rare than the figurines and the only one I’ve been able to find online is a scan of Mauler’s sticker that demonstrates an incorrect photo of the robot (the one on the sticker was from Season 1.0, and was allegedly taken by Team Nightmare’s Jim Smentowski). Since the MiniBots stickers are so rare, below is a mosaic of every sticker I have in my collection for the purposes of showing off just how cool these figurine blind bags were:
(Click to enlarge!)
Also since I don’t know how to end this article I guess I’ll just toss up this image of Shish-ka-bot’s real-life counterpart being destroyed by the arena Pulverizers because even though it’s not the team’s fault their robot’s toy sucked I feel justified in proclaiming someone had to take the heat for this and justice was eventually served.
Satisfying.
I write about BattleBots and robot combat pretty often. I can’t help it, the motorsport is one of my favorite things on the planet and mark my words this will become a staple of this new site. Back when I wrote for RFSHQ I spearheaded a column called “BattleBots Update” that ran for two seasons and I even provided coverage for the RoboGames TV special that was on Science Channel a few years ago. One of these days I’ll write something about Robot Wars or Robotica but until then here’s some more nonsense about something from my past that I give way too much of a shit about. Keeping in line with my enjoyment of awful things I’ve always been more tickled by robots that sucked rather than ones that won championships. I get it, the robot that cost $10,000 to build is going to win because it has armor made of space polymers and shoots laser beams, whatever. I’m more impressed by the bots that some guy slapped together in his garage from a scrap lawnmower and was blown up after a single hit.
I set out to find the absolute worst robots in BattleBots history. A couple years ago I wrote a piece about the most one-sided fights of all time but even the losers of those matches were still “decent” robots. The Missing Link, Super Chiabot, Trimangle, and even The Wacky Compass all had to actually beat opponents to make it to the televised rounds of the event. I won’t try to deny the fact that they were all pretty stupid designs but on the other hand they weren’t the “worst” robots to enter the arena, not by a long shot. I wanted to dig up some robots that never won a single fight ever. These are bots that really sucked; the ones that entered the arena, some multiple times, and lost every single time.
Before this article fully begins I’d like to give mad props to Badnik96, AlexGRFan97, Madlooney6, and the rest of the staff of the BattleBots Wiki for their relentless work in amassing photos and data that has helped make this article possible. If you’re a fan of BattleBots their work is absolutely worth your time to check out (and contribute to).
The ten robots that follow all have win/loss records (in BattleBots) that begin with the number zero. They are:
Prompt Critical was a Super Heavyweight robot whose elusiveness piqued my interest back in the year 2000 when it was mentioned off hand and given about five seconds of screen time as Bil Dwyer stated that it had lost to Mechadon. A quick clip of Prompt Critical was shown with its bizarre weapon spinning and flailing about and that’s all I ever saw of the robot for 14 years. Mechadon, for those who aren’t familiar with the sport, was essentially a giant 470+ pound six-legged walking crab monster with no active weapon other than its stomping claws. How someone loses to Mechadon has always intrigued me since the robot, while terrifying, might as well have been named “Automatic Points”. Prompt Critical managed to lose to Mechadon by a knock out. It has bothered me for far too long to see just how the hell this robot operated.
It was brought to my attention that Team Mutant Robots (more on them later) put their archive of fight videos on their website one of which being the Season 1.0 Super Heavyweight rumble featuring Prompt Critical. I was floored. After over a decade the mystery would finally be solved. I finally got to see a decent shot of Prompt Critical since the robot was absent for its official BattleBots photo and the only pictures I could find were from a bad angle. Behold, the glory that was Prompt Critical:
It looks like a tank if you squint.
Was it worth the wait? Does the mystery of the robot live up to the version I cooked up in my head all those years ago? Hell fucking yes. That is a robot whose lid appears to be made out of a piece of plywood and the top to a portable barbecue bit that’s been spray painted black. It’s weapon, if you can even call it that, is what looks like an off-set hammer mounted on a spinning platter attached to yet another piece of plywood. I can’t identify what Prompt Critical’s drive components are but I’m willing to bet whatever it is touched a trash can at some point in time before ending up on that thing. Absolutely no part of that robot looks like it would last even if it were fighting a bunch of Lightweights and yet here is Prompt Critical toting what looks to be an upside down wheelbarrow in a rumble full of saw blades, spring-loaded hammers, spinning body shells, pneumatic spikes, hydraulic jaws, and ramming devices.
The BattleBots Wiki describes Prompt Critical’s loss to Mechadon as “self destruction” and honestly I’ll buy that. The robot’s weapon wasn’t centered or balanced properly and when Diesector shoved the robot into the arena wall during the rumble the top of its chassis came off and the robot was knocked out. The fact that the builders of Prompt Critical even managed to find 300+ pounds’ worth of crap to hide under their trash can lid of a robot is what surprises me the most here.
Much like Prompt Critical, Drill-O-Dillo was another Super Heavyweight whose appearance eluded me for far too long. It too failed to show up when the BattleBots photographers were taking the official pictures of all the robots competing in the show’s second season and the only photograph I could find from Team Nightmare’s website suspiciously showed the robot with its wheels precariously balanced atop what was quite obviously not a functional piece of machinery. Drill-O-Dillo’s weapon was clearly a spinning rock chisel thing. A drill, hence the name. Normally this would be funny but it wasn’t because the pun was bad and you’d have to be an idiot to bring a rock drill into an event where there are absolutely no rocks.
Drill-O-Dillo was drawn to fight Gray Matter, a robot you may recall from the rumble with Prompt Critical. Gray Matter was the robot with the monster truck wheels and giant spike that proceeded to run over everyone. Under most circumstances I would make fun of Gray Matter because you’d have to be stupid to enter the Super Heavyweight category with what amounted to a spike with wheels; you’re outclassed in every single instance, hell even Drill-O-Dillo here has better weaponry. Gray Matter’s spike was different however. In Season 1.0 Gray Matter took that spike, shoved it right up the ass of Minion (the reigning champion), and blew Minion’s cutting saw to pieces in one of the most spectacular highlights of the season. Remember, Drill-O-Dillo was missing its wheels in the only photo of it that I could find. Something did not add up.
Oh look, there’s that wheel!
Gray Matter’s spike managed to go all the way through one of Drill-O-Dillo’s wheels. The spike entered the robot and as Gray Matter kicked it into reverse gear Drill-O-Dillo’s wheel and the entire fucking drive axle of the robot came out with it. With no axle to rest upon, the other wheel just kinda fell off and that’s why Drill-O-Dillo was only ever seen without its tires. I don’t know if that’s because Drill-O-Dillo was simply an exceptional piece of crap or if it has something to do with Gray Matter’s spike and dark forces. Whatever the reason, Drill-O-Dillo managed to lose its entire drive system in a single hit and featured a weapon that probably would’ve sucked against even Prompt Critical.
I’ve taken it upon myself to salvage the original clips of this fight from the long-defunct BattleBots.com website and I’ve assembled them into a short video that you can download to see this ass-kicking for yourself: CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO.
A couple entries ago I mentioned that Team Mutant Robots had done me a solid by providing video proof that Prompt Critical was as much of a piece of crap as I imagined it to be. Their creations aren’t exempt from the title “Worst BattleBot Ever” however, even if Diesector eventually won two BattleBots championships. That header image up above doesn’t say “Diesector” anyways, does it? No, this is an entry about Root Canal, a Middleweight robot from Mutant Robots that showed up to two BattleBots events and lost both times.
Root Canal was a robot whose design is best explained in the context of when it was actually created. Root Canal featured what’s known as “omni-directional” wheels meaning that while pretty much all robots can drive forward, backward, and turn left and right Root Canal was able to drive whatever the hell direction it wanted to. Like sideways. The robot was meant to be super mobile and maneuverable so that it could bring its cutting disc in for some serious damage. That’s fine and dandy and all but the bigger issue here is that the robot didn’t actually work. Onmi-directional wheels were a gimmick that a lot of “advanced” builders tried out and in no case that I can think of did it work out. Team Whyachi (of Son of Whyachi fame) even tried out the whole “drive sideways” thing with Y-Pout and that robot didn’t make the list simply because one robot with a stupid drive system was enough.
Root Canal killer. Built by a furry.
The problem with Root Canal is that it was too fragile. See that ridiculously simplistic wedge up there? That’s Cuad the Annihilator. It beat Root Canal in its debut fight by doing nothing more than slamming it into the wall which broke Root Canal and disabled it. Cuad was a robot with exactly two moving parts and I’ll let you guess as to what they were and the robot was so simplistically and/or poorly designed that there’s a gaudy hunk of metal sticking out into the wedge to keep the robot from doing a wheelie when it accelerated. Root Canal was more or less an expensive jewelry box and in its second fight against Whirlwind — a simple thwack bot — Root Canal was hit a grand total of one time and one of its precious omni wheels blew up and scattered little beads and pieces everywhere. Whirlwind then proceeded to dent in the side of Root Canal which further crippled its drivetrain.
Root Canal’s builder said he drew inspiration from the video game Quake when he designed Root Canal. Specifically, he could not play Quake without strafing side to side and wanted to capture this movement in a robot and apply it to a sport where that method of driving has clearly led his robot to an infinite number of victories. Look, just because you saw it in a video game doesn’t mean it’s going to work in real life that’s why there aren’t any BattleBots that can play a fucking ocarina.
Some of you might be quick to cry foul and claim that Root Canal actually took second place at a recent BattleBots event. Three things about that:
That was Root Canal rebuilt as a Heavyweight.
It was not a “classic” BattleBots event.
The robot wasn’t using stupid-ass omni-wheels.
It goes without saying that Green Dragon did not make it to the televised one-on-one rounds of BattleBots, that’s a given. It did make a brief appearance in the Season 2.0 Lightweight rumble and if memory serves me right it didn’t do much of anything. That was the main flaw of Green Dragon, really: not doing anything. Durability wasn’t a virtue the robot subscribed to either but we’ll get into that in just a bit. Green Dragon was a Lightweight competitor whose original design (the one pictured) boasted an incorrectly centered saw blade, two giant wheels, and a ridiculous dragon decal that makes even me cringe. Green Dragon’s second incarnation was simply a large trapezoid with the same saw blade embedded in one of the wedges. Both robots weren’t very good and both of them lost by KO but there’s a special kind of crappiness associated with the first dragon.
A lot of people make fun of the Scrap Daddy team and its robots without much rhyme or reason; they get a lot of flack because visually they were terrible and most them didn’t perform too well. I’ll give them that much. Spoiler alert, Scrap Daddy did not make this list because while the designs were pretty bad some of them actually won battles; Green Dragon was one of those battles. For all the rude remarks Scrap Daddy LW 55 received for being blown to bits by Ziggo in one of the greatest mismatches in BattleBots history here is a robot that Scrap Daddy was able to conquer. Here is a robot that’s worse than Scrap Daddy.
KNOCK OUT VICTORY.
In Green Dragon’s only Season 2.0 battle it rammed into Scrap Daddy LW 55… and lost a whole tire. That’s right, the entire wheel just rolled off and hilariously enough made it all the way across the arena. If the video was still available on BattleBots.com I’d show it to you but unfortunately it’s not so instead just do your best to picture the robot above minus one wheel with said wheel idly coasting down the Battlebox by itself while Scrap Daddy LW 55 does that stupid waddle-driving thing it was known for. True, Green Dragon’s missing tire was not a direct result of anything Scrap Daddy LW 55 did and was more than likely a case of “what are set screws” but allow me to respond to that observation with a hypothetical question: How many tires did Scrap Daddy (any of them) lose because the builder forgot to put a fucking screw in one of them? That’s exactly what I thought.
There is nothing noteworthy about this Middleweight robot and I mean that in absolute terms. If you took the gaudy red spray painted name off the front of this robot and left it as a black wedge its name would magically change to “This Is Why There Are Untelevised Qualifying Rounds In BattleBots”. Psyche is the only robot in this list that did not have an active weapon and the only reason why this robot made the list and the other eight million weaponless wedges that never won didn’t is because Psyche was given a very special television demo against Evil Cheese Wedge, a robot operated by Bil Dwyer… the host of the show. Notice how I said “operated” and not “built”. Bil Dwyer didn’t build his robot, he can’t even build a goddamned joke. Comedy Central bought a trashy robot on eBay because another robot, Slap ‘Em Silly, was bought on eBay and that was apparently something worth making fun of at the time. Comedy Central, ladies and gentlemen.
Also, why the hell am I talking about Evil Cheese Wedge? This entry is about Psyche. In its only televised match Psyche was inexplicably driven by Gary Coleman. No, I’m fucking serious. Look:
This is literally Gary Coleman.
The phrase “Bil Dwyer you’re going down” became somewhat of an in-joke in the robot combat community after this fight aired. For some reason, and I don’t know why, Gary Coleman was sent to BattleBots by UGO Networks (some random Gen X-pandering web company) to hang out with Team Nightmare and namedrop UGO in post-fight interviews. No, I can’t explain that. I have no idea what UGO even produced and furthermore I have no idea why Gary Coleman was chosen to go dick around on BattleBots of all things. Maybe he was going to be late on rent that month and needed some quick cash?
Psyche was inexplicably retconned to “Infectious Tattoo” in its demo fight where it was promptly knocked out near the Pulverizer. Either that or no one turned Psyche’s remote on before handing it to Gary Coleman. Rather than count out Psyche the officials let the fight continue because I guess having a D-list celebrity standing around holding a radio transmitter while laughing passed for “good television” in the early 00’s. Why they chose to give Gary Coleman this particular robot has bothered me for a very long time. Why did they give him Psyche? Why not literally any other Middleweight robot? Evil Cheese Wedge had enough ground clearance to park a truck under so I guess the goal here was to pick a shitty robot that made it look good by proxy? If that’s the case why Psyche and not some gimmicky robot that didn’t look like a doorstop?
RACC (Robot Action Combat Cluster) was a Lightweight multi-bot that competed in the Long Beach 1999 BattleBots event. Normally multi-bots are pretty ineffective but when you’re dealing with the Lightweight division the entrants are already fairly small and compact so there isn’t much lost in the way of power when you essentially split a bot in two. RACC was a pre-TV era robot built partially by Will Wright, the guy who created SimCity. The red thing on the right, when separate from RACC, was named “X11” and was a robot based upon a Middleweight champion from the original Robot Wars. If the gray blob on the left had a name it has long since been lost to time and the thing in the middle was known as “EEP” or “Emergency Escape Pod”. Yeah, whereas most multi-bots consisted of two machines RACC dared to make it three.
The reason for the EEP’s existence, other than to continue the Robot Action League’s apparent obsession with acronyms, was a safeguard against being counted out of a fight in the event that one of the two main parts of RACC became incapacitated; the EEP would be deployed so that only 33% of the robot would be considered “knocked out” rather than the necessary 50% for the robot to be counted out. There was a lot of ingenuity that went behind RACC which is why I can’t understand how it never managed to win a single fight.
Sweet jump there, X11.
Well, that might have something to do with it. Apparently even with all the zeal of having two robots fight at the same time, one of them armed with a whirling death blade and the other featuring the ability to fart out a minibot, RACC was unable to impress the crowd that attended the Long Beach 1999 event and lost by two “audience” decisions. It was a different time back then. The robot in the photo above letting X11 get some sweet air is known as The Crusher and if that screenshot is anything to go by the rest of that fight probably unfolded with RACC being thrown around. Its other loss is a little more pragmatic, however: Spike of Doom. Just what was “Spike of Doom”?
Another damn multi-bot.
Spike of Doom consisted of a silver bulldozer ramp (Wedge of Doom) and a two-wheeled clamping machine with its internals exposed (Spike). Spike of Doom didn’t feature fancy paintjobs, an “EEP”, or even active weapons for that matter and yet it still beat RACC. Look, when your fight consists of what is essentially a miniature rumble with five robots and you’re unable to beat opponents who are using the same exact gimmick as you and you can’t entertain the crowd enough to win an audience decision I… honestly I don’t have a snarky comment to say to that because that’s just utter failure. I guess the only way you could do worse is to take a ladybug sandbox and put wheels on it an- oh wait.
Rim Tin Tin was a Lightweight I wanted to like. Every time it showed up in the tournament I expected it to at least beat someone, if that’ll help clarify what I meant in that first sentence. Rim Tin Tin changed its appearance over the course of the four BattleBots events it was brought to but for the most part the “core” of the robot stayed the same each time: a robot built inside of a tire rim armed with a lifting device of some sort. Everything about Rim Tin Tin at least made for a “decent” robot. Rim Tin Tin had a name whose punny reference was just dated enough to be amusing, its weapon wasn’t the worst piece of crap brought into the tournament, and it was an admittedly original design that I would argue photographed nicely. What I’m trying to say is that there’s no chance in hell Rim Tin Tin would’ve stood up to Backlash or Ziggo for longer than twenty seconds but it would have at least been able to beat the other Lightweights in this article and yet it didn’t.
I don’t like dogs, and even moreso I don’t like dog actors, but Rim Tin Tin was neither a dog nor a dog actor, just named after one. It was a robot built inside of a car tire and adorned with stupid decals and a questionable paint job. In the robot’s maiden voyage against Rampage it almost won. Rampage abruptly stopped moving and began to smoke which would have been great for Rim Tin Tin had it not also spontaneously blown up and quit moving just moments prior. Rim Tin Tin is also special in that, not counting Psyche because its “fight” was a demo, it is the only robot in this list to have one of its many losses televised. In Season 3.0 a newly rebuilt Rim Tin Tin squared off against Hammerhead (a rambot) and managed to perform fairly well. “Fairly well” in this case means it didn’t just drop dead in the middle of the arena like last time. Then, without provocation, the piston hazard in the arena went all “you’re doing too well in this fight time to change that” and up-ended the tiny robot giving a victory to Hammerhead.
Good boy, now play dead.
Between BattleBots’ third and fourth seasons Rim Tin Tin was completely rebuilt, armed with a larger lifting device, painted jet black… and then promptly lost two more times. The first loss came to Whirligig which was essentially a thwackbot and the only way to actually lose to a thwackbot is to self-immolate or do whatever Rim Tin Tin did to end up losing this match by a judges’ decision. Speaking of judges’ decisions, Rim Tin Tin lost its final match to Paladin in the fifth season with a 42-3 result. Rim Tin Tin managed to score three whole points. I’ve never seen the fight and a video of it doesn’t exist online but I’m willing to bet those three points were pity points awarded just for showing up and having the balls to enter the arena with a robot that clearly wasn’t cut out for the sport.
Oh no it’s Blendo, Jamie “MythBuster” Hyneman’s Heavyweight robot that was so destructive in the 1995 and 1997 Robot Wars tournaments that the event officials forced it to forfeit because it was a safety hazard. “Why, Dracophile?” You might ask. “Why put Blendo in your list of the worst BattleBots of all time, and at number THREE to boot?” Yeah, Blendo might have received some special awards for being so destructive in Robot Wars that it posed a safety hazard to the audience and it also might’ve been one of the BattleBots that received official merchandising but that doesn’t exactly address the issue of Blendo itself being a giant spinning turd in the arena.
As amazing and as talented of an engineer as Jamie Hyneman is, Blendo sadly is obsoletion realized. Full body spinners have the potential to be absolutely devastating machines but like any other breed of robot they have to “evolve” with the sport or die. Blendo died. As early as the Long Beach 1999 BattleBots event Blendo was immediately trumped by Punjar, a robot that it had delivered a one-hit knock out to in Robot Wars just two years prior. Punjar topped Blendo a second time in an off-the-record grudge match at a later BattleBots event as well. Punjar evolved, Blendo didn’t.
“Don’t mind me, just starting my robot.”
Blendo’s spinning dome required an electric power drill to start its gasoline engine. There’s nothing wrong with “dirty” engineering (gasoline engines, hydraulics, etc) in a sport that’s largely comprised of electric parts but there is a pretty glaring problem with designs that, when hit too hard, can spontaneously stop working and subsequently be impossible to get running again. Spoiler alert, that’s what happened to Blendo while fighting Gold Digger — a Heavyweight thwackbot. Middleweight is where I draw the line for robots that amount to a sledgehammer and two goddamned wheels so I have and will relentlessly make fun of thwackbots in the upper weight classes. I considered putting Gold Digger on this list because of how much I hate it but oh wait Gold Digger didn’t lose every fight it was in because Blendo fucking showed up and ruined goddamned everything.
How about the MythBusters all get together to test the myth that Blendo can actually win a fight? My money’s on “no” so at least we’ll get to see them blow the robot up at the end of the episode.
Record: 0-7 (total)
This might seem like a cheap entry in the list but honestly it wouldn’t truly be a “Dracophile list” if I didn’t find some way to shoehorn in a multi entry under some stupid reason. For Team Black Ops Six it just so happens I have said reason. With more combined losses than any single robot in this list (even the yet to be revealed #1 robot) Team Black Ops Six infiltrates the second place spot on this list bringing them and their robots closer to victory than they’ve ever been but still falling just short. Across all four of this team’s fantastic robots they have four losses by knock out, one loss by a judges’ decision that was nowhere near close, one loss by forfeit, and finally one loss by what Team Nightmare considers a “TKO”. There doesn’t appear to be an official BattleBots declaration of what actually constitutes a “technical knock out” but by looking up the televised fights that Team Nightmare has noted as such it appears to be a KO loss where the robot in question knocks itself out. So, yeah. Team Black Ops Six also has one of those losses under their belt. They have at least one loss of every single type there is in BattleBots, what an amazing team.
The question now is what exactly did their robots look like? Well, they had four of them: AWOL, MIA, Black Ops, and Prototype 4. Each robot was entered into one of the four weight classes in BattleBots but not all four robots competed at the same events at the same time, they were spread out so their shittiness could be truly savored. Real quick, here’s a breakdown of the bots in the event that clicking additional hyperlinks is too much work for you. AWOL was a Lightweight thwackbot (I think) that had a rotary saw blade on a stick. MIA was a Middleweight wedge and that’s it. Black Ops was a Heavyweight thwackbot and as such is now the object of the most derision in this article because I was unable to include Gold Digger as a Heavyweight thwackbot in this list. Finally, Prototype-4 was a Super Heavyweight robot that had what appeared to be a spinning drill of some sort but looked more like the handle-end of a corkscrew. Since this entry in the list is about the team itself, here they are posing with AWOL:
The entire next paragraph is a snarky picture comment.
Look at these fucking jokers. There are literally an infinite number of Call of Duty MLG jokes I can make about these asshats. Since the idiot culture surrounding Call of Duty wasn’t a thing back when this photo was taken there’s a possibility that the builders are actual soldiers and if that’s the case then I would feel pretty badly about making fun of servicemen but I’m banking on the notion that their whole Army getup was just a charade and they sincerely thought and believed they were badasses carrying around airsoft guns in the pits. As mentioned, that’s AWOL they’re posing with. AWOL was a thwack bot and two of its three losses were by KO. It’s third loss was a judges’ decision against another thwackbot-esque machine, Locomotion. Holy shit. If you have a thwackbot and it loses to another thwackbot then Bil Dwyer is allowed to come to your house and personally kick you in the dick. It’s in the BattleBots rules, I swear.
Four of Team Black Ops Six’s seven losses were by knock out. All of their robots were invertible meaning that none of them could’ve possibly lost by being flipped over; I’m led to believe that they were simply outclassed in every single possible scenario. By the official count there was a grand total of exactly one fight where one of their robots was still moving when the match ended. The knock out losses are funny and all but I’m more intrigued by the “TKO” that Prototype 4 managed to finagle. The robot was a tire with a tiny spinning drill. I really want to know how it self destructed but I’m guessing this will be my new “Prompt Critical” and I won’t find out for another 14 years.
I’m pleased to say that the robot seated at number one in this list has literally not driven more than the length of the Battlebox in the four “fights” it’s been in. Abbatoir was built by Team Wetware whose family of robots within BattleBots has an impressive twelve losses under their belt, half of them by forfeit. The only reason why Team Black Ops Six made it into this list as a team entry and not Team Wetware is because Wetware’s record is actually 1-12 and that single solitary win made them ineligible for this list. In fact the robot with that single victory, Mr. Bonestripper, almost took this very spot because it has a staggering six losses (four of them by forfeit) but unfortunately it actually managed to beat someone so Mr. Bonestripper gets to skate away from the firing range with exactly one BattleBots “WINNER” medallion. Abbatoir is a close second however and even though it only has one forfeit loss its story more than makes up for it.
So the thing is I don’t actually know what the fuck Abbatoir’s problem was. Compounding that, I don’t even know what Team Wetware’s problem was. Generally speaking you’re supposed to bring a working robot to BattleBots because a robot that is able to move is kind of integral to the the sport. There is a term used to describe robots that don’t move, it’s called “knocked out”. Speaking of, two of Abbatoir’s losses were by knock out. Against Ricon all that literally happened was Ricon rammed into Abbatoir before it even started moving and broke it. Abbatoir proceeded to drive into the middle of the arena and caught fire. That actually happened. Abbatoir’s arena introduction stated the robot was ranked number eight. Out of how many robots, four? How did Abbatoir get ranked in the first place? Was there an event official giving out ranks to everyone who said “what” and Abbatoir’s driver wasn’t paying attention?
Against Rammstein the robot lost by a quick KO however according to the report on Team Loki’s official website Abbatoir tapped out before Rammstein could line up the coup de grace blow. Does that mean one of those “knock out” losses was actually a forfeit?
It’s French for “slaughterhouse”, by the way.
Abbatoir has lost twice by forfeit and once by a KO where the robot essentially barely left its starting square. Seriously, its weapon wasn’t even able to make more than one rotation before Ricon broke the goddamned thing. Abbatoir’s best loss had to have been in BattleBots’ second season where, against Kenny’s Revenge, Abbatoir lost in a 44-1 decision. Alright, I made fun of Rim Tin Tin up there for losing 42-3 but Jesus fucking Christ Team Wetware, ONE POINT?! How do you even get one point in a fight? No, really. How the fuck do you manage to only get one point in a BattleBots fight? Each of the judges have 15 points to give out and in this given scenario apparently Abbatoir was given one point for “strategy”. I realize the opportunity for this has come and gone but whoever gave Abbatoir that point needed to be fired on the spot. In its fight against Kenny’s Revenge the robot literally drove straight into its opponent’s weaponry, backed up over the arena saw blades, and then stopped working. At no point in this fight did Abbatoir’s weapon even begin to spin.
The most hilarious thing about this whole stupid ordeal is that after Abbatoir’s loss to Kenny’s Revenge it disappeared for two whole seasons only to return in Season 5.0… and forfeit.
I know building a BattleBot takes a lot of time and money and effort and that’s why Abbatoir is actually one of my favorite robots in the sport. I’ve gone through the trouble of digging through all of my BattleBots archives (with the help of the curators of the BattleBots Wiki) to bring you this montage of Abbatoir’s finest moments presented in the classiest way possible:
Open a new tab in your web browser of choice. Go on, do it. Punch “twilight foundry” into your search bar and check out the images that come up. Fair warning, if you use Bing you’re going to see a disgustingly large amount of My Little Pony pornography (Twilight Sparkle) and if you’re using Google you’ll see a lot of our logos and random pictures from various articles here that get a fair amount of traffic. I didn’t check with Yahoo because I forgot they existed. Also, before we continue I just want to point out how fucked up it is that in regards to Bing any instance of “twilight” in a search term brings up cartoon horse porn. It’s like Bing knows we’re far outside of the age of making fun of that terrible vampire movie and has moved right into what’s currently hot. Purple horse vagina. Anyway, no matter your search engine of choice in any case you’re going to see this thing show up somewhere in the first handful of results:
Twilight Foundry Awesome Award, Great Job!
That is the most obtuse fucking thing in the world and hilariously enough it is and has been the most persistent result when searching for “twilight foundry” in any search engine for the past decade. The reason for this is because the graphic was hosted at the popular (and now defunct) Sonic HQ which if you rewind time thirteen years was one of many frequent hangout spots of the original Twilight Foundry lineup. Since Sonic HQ received tons of traffic, and because that picture’s metadata contained the phrase “twilight foundry” on their servers, this is what every single search engine saw when they crawled Sonic HQ’s website and that’s how they interpreted “twilight foundry”. A shitty “top anime sites” award. Anime, because when I think “Sonic the Hedgehog” I immediately default to goofy ass characters with giant eyes.
Wait, that may not have been a good example.
To be completely honest with you I was kinda hoping that stupid abomination would have gone away on its own because surely over the years it’s confused countless people who’ve searched for “twilight foundry” looking for a map of the bonus level of the same name in Blast Corps. Much to my dismay it never went away. A fun side note, that image comes before any pictures of Blast Corps in search results from Bing; this fucking thing will not die. As much as I personally hate that stupid award graphic I guess in a sense it’s Foundry canon and there’s a story behind it just like every other bogus artifact from our bygone years. Since I am the only remaining member of Twilight Foundry’s original cast I guess the responsibility to tell this story falls upon me, right?
Pretty shitty finish time there, “Grand High Slaughtermaster”.
The Sonic HQ award is a relic from an older Internet back when things like webrings and spinning email GIF’s were en vogue. Awards were one of the fads of the era and everyone was giving them out both because they wanted traffic to their own sites and because niche communities were and still are huge circlejerks. Most awards weren’t 320 x 240 splashes because in the early 00’s that would have filled up a pretty generous amount of screen real estate. The reason why that picture is so large is because I’m about 90% certain it’s simply a resized screenshot from a Sega Genesis emulator of one of the various wacky level titlecards from a Sonic the Hegdehog game or something. That text was clearly plastered on with MS Paint and that background is far too ornate to have been made by the same person. The layered opacity of the blue stripes is beautifully contrasted by the haphazardly applied lettering of which I count at least four different fonts and by “beautifully contrasted” I actually mean “ruins the entire picture”.
The aforementioned person, by the way, was Twilight Foundry’s resident autistic otaku Lewis. I don’t know if Lewis is actually autistic mostly because that particular epithet didn’t “exist” thirteen years ago but since I’m writing this article in 2014 about some nonsensical crap that happened in 2001 I believe I am entitled to use some updated descriptors to jazz this borefest up so that it can be obsoleted by whatever hip lingo people are using in 2024. Lewis was really big into video games and anime and all sorts of other nonsense made of plastic that was collectible. Twilight Foundry shared a communal forums account on places like Sonic HQ and I guarantee almost all of them were posts by Lewis. I know this because he was always idle in every single MSN chatroom that the four of us frequented. Any time I popped into the Toonami chatroom he was there and he was always talking about something. I honestly have no idea what he is up to these days but I’d be willing to venture a guess that he’s some wildly popular anime blogger while I’m sitting here in the dust with a bunch of old shit I can’t get anyone to read.
The Mobius Forum is apparently STILL a thing. Here’s our decade+ old Sonic HQ account.
Anyways, Lewis had this idea to start this “contest” in our MSN chatroom where people who hung around with us could vote for their favorite websites in a bunch of random categories on our website. I honestly do not remember how he organized this because I’m fairly certain if he would’ve tried to code a script he’d have broken the entire Twilight Zone site and I’d have remembered fixing that. Regardless, apparently the “Best Sonic Site” category was nested inside of the broader “anime” subject even though the Sonic franchise is based largely in video games and comic books. Sure, that’s anime I guess. Whatever. I’m more impressed that he was able to name two more Sonic websites at the time because thinking back to those days there really was Sonic HQ and nowhere else for Sonic news and fandom. I have no idea why Sonic HQ — a site that boasted millions of visitors — ended up in third place. My best guess is that Lewis took input/nominations from the chatrooms and the people contained in said chatrooms ended up voting for their own websites. As screwed up as that is it’s still more “fair and balanced” than Fox News.
The stupid thing is that Sonic HQ straight up slammed that gaudy image on their website like it was some magical badge of humbleness because everything else on their awards page was “first place this” and “first place that” and smack in the middle of this ass pat parade was “3RD PLACE GREAT JOB”.
Sonic HQ even had its own award that you had to steal from someone else’s site to get it without the watermark.
The Twilight Foundry award is so appealingly bad it’s actually hilarious. What’s even better is that apparently every other recipient of our prestigious award has gone belly up because I sifted through image search results until they dissolved into Internet oblivion and I could not find a single one anywhere not even on some ironic snark blog that uses The Wayback Machine to crawl old versions of formerly popular websites looking for trash to scavenge and regurgitate on Tumblr. I can’t tell you the names of the Sonic fansites that were allegedly “better” than Sonic HQ; I can’t even tell you what the other award categories were or if they used a different wacky background for that matter. All I have to go by is a fuzzy memory that Google simply wouldn’t let go of. As much as the Sonic HQ award bothers me with its affront to any and all typesetting conventions (even by 2001 standards) in a sense I suppose I’m glad it’s still floating around out there online. It’s the only relic from the original Twilight Zone website that is still a part of the Internet’s collective consciousness and its placement in search results has served as a bizarre “remember meeeeee” cry from the Foundry for longer than I can care to try and comprehend.
It’s a piece of our history that I have to learn to like and accept for what it is because if the past 14 years have been any indication that damned thing isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
– Dracophile & Lewis
Well, well, well. The brand new Twilight Foundry website… and I get to be the one christening it on its maiden voyage. I don’t know whether to be honored or just hang my jaw agape in awe that it took Twilight Foundry something like TEN YEARS to get the bright idea that maybe they should have a site again. I kid. Wait, no I don’t. Did you miss me? My name is Roastmaster and I’m all about Internet culture and all that other assorted yappy technological bullshit; I was one of the lead columnists at GatorAIDS — the comedy blog, not the failed furry-themed gaming website. My first contribution to a Twilight Foundry project was a piece for GatorAIDS in 2009 called “Remembering Billy Mays“.
Cynicism aside I am glad to be back. For my debut article here I am going to be discussing something near and dear to my heart: domain names. Actually, I couldn’t give a shit about domain names one way or the other but I figured that was an appropriate segue into the article. After the “More” jump are 144 of the most retarded “new top level domains” being shit out into the Internet by IANA or ICANN or whichever other “we didn’t get the memo that the ‘i’ needs to be lowercase” organization responsible for this garbage. I didn’t pick a literal gross of gTLD’s as a funny “eww they’re gross” stab, it just so happens there are at least one hundred and forty-four of these things that are absolute trash. Anyways here’s the stupid article about insignificant Internet bullshit:
I really don’t know how to introduce the subject of domain names to you. You know what they are. You went to Twilight Foundry “dot com” in your browser. I really just don’t know how to explain it to you any further without following it up with an honest question about your favorite crayon flavor. Surely you’re familiar with domains like .com (commerce), .org (organizations), .net (networking/communication), .edu (education), and .gov (government). That pretty much covers all the bases here. Different countries have their own domains to suit local needs and businesses but for the most part we’re all on the same page regarding what a “dot com” is and what it’s for, correct? Good. Because IANA — the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (which, as I’ve learned, is not a made up organization and actually has that stupid name) — is about to fuck that all up on behalf of ICANN, as in “yes, ICANN fuck that up for you”.
Over a decade ago the adware moguls at NewDotNet — winners responsible for exposing minors to pornographic pop-up ads and causing a teacher to lose her license because of her malware-infected computer — had the bright idea to “sell” premium TLD’s to people dumb enough to install their browser-based adware. These TLD’s were fake and only worked in an infected browser because “mysite.shop” was really “mysite.shop.new.net”. Exponentially nested subdomains, what a great deal. According to Wikipedia, NewDotNet offered the following “premium” domains for the super bargain of approximately $30/year: .agent, .arts, .auction, .chat, .church, .club, .family, .free, .game, .golf, .inc, .law, .llc, .llp, .love, .ltd, .med, .mp3, .school, .scifi, .shop, .soc, .sport, .tech, and .video — a huge, unwieldy, and stupid selection. All of these (except for .mp3) are now represented in IANA’s new proposal list of premium TLD’s.
Someone somewhere had the bright idea to take inspiration from the rotting corpse of NewDotNet and started proposing new “top level domains” (gTLD’s); things like .photography and .menu. Those are stupid single-purpose domains, but whatever. No harm I guess. The issue here isn’t that these domains are stupid, it’s that whomever came up with this list of suggestions did not know when to stop and now there are literally almost one thousand of these terrible fucking ideas in the pipeline. The fact that all of these suggested domains are meaningless now becomes a serious issue especially considering some of these fucking things are redundant and/or identical to other domains. Someone suggests .mobi for websites optimized for phones and tablets? Great. Someone else comes in and suggests .mobile (yes, it’s there) because they write their R’s backward? Look, I’m so sorry about your apparent learning disability but that’s just retarded.
What follows is a comprehensive dismantling of these terrible ideas. This isn’t all of the new TLD’s, but here’s the stupidest suggestions.
The porn industry exploded on the Internet. No, there was not a jizz reference in the previous sentence but if you wish there to be one then fine, I totally made a cumshot joke in the previous sentence. It is widely known that the adult entertainment industry (for you gentlemen out there, all one of you) was the first industry to start raking in money online when they found out people would also pay money to see digital tits.
Let’s be frank about pornography before I start cracking jokes about it; it’s a very controversial subject matter online and back in the nineties there were comprehensive “kid friendly Internet” safety programs created specifically to prevent children from seeing adult images. For fuck’s sake, the websites for both Playboy and Yahooligans ended with the same TLD. The solution to this was to introduce a TLD specifically for porn, .xxx; you’d think that this would be a great idea because filtering software could literally just go “does this website end with .xxx” and block things. Unfortunately, idiot politicians and people capable of fitting an entire Bible into their ass threw a shit fit when .xxx was introduced in 2000. It didn’t get approved for use until 2011.
Sure, fine, whatever. That’s great, but what about these hot new gTLD’s? Namecheap has these “adult” domains in their own hush-hush category, go on and check it out. Half of these new domains are synonyms for .xxx and the other half is just the same word with a one letter difference. What’s the fucking point? Is there really a difference between any of these domains other than attempting to provide an air of classiness around them? Are they for shit like “upscalewomengarglingpiss.adult” to denote something pinky-out while the existing porn TLD is meant for trashy things like “fuckmygapingheadwound.xxx”? Why even bother with the .sex TLD for that matter? Isn’t that kind of implied because it’s a porn site? Are people too stupid to assume that “buttholeswithcrazydiameters.com” isn’t somehow pornographic?
Also, there’s a .wang. It’s not officially listed as an adult domain, it’s an Asian region one, but I can see “suk-on-mai.wang” coming from a mile away. I mean centimeters away.
From an objective standpoint I can get behind a gTLD dedicated to photo galleries or other kinds of image-heavy presentations. What I can’t get behind, however, are six gTLD’s that are all essentially the same goddamned thing. The .photography gTLD is for artists who are serious about their work, I get that, but I’m absolutely positive these people are already grossly outnumbered by dozens if not hundreds of “downsouthtexaspregnancy.photography” and “allwedoarepicturesofbabiesandthatsitexceptmaybebadseniorportraits.photography” websites that are going to immediately devalue the domain. There is no prestige associated with a premium domain full of cannon fodder for You Are Not a Photographer. All of these domains are doomed to suffer the same fate which is being used by a soccer mom whose only job according to her Facebook profile is “FULL TIME MOM at MOM” spending her husband’s money on an expensive camera she knows nothing about so she can post fourteen dozen pictures of her feet on a beach and her autistic kid building a lopsided sandcastle. She does weddings and birthday parties cheap cheap cheap so you know you’re paying for quality and it’s in her “company” guarantee that she will weigh at least 300 pounds and show up to your event wearing a filled-out Tweety Bird sweater with a witty comment on it.
Beyond that, again I reiterate: why the fuck are there six photography domains? Why is one of them a plural version of one of the others? Why is there a domain for “pictures” but also “pics”? Doesn’t that sound a bit like “pix” instead? Why didn’t they go with that for brevity? Who needs this many fucking domains, especially just for photography? Was “mycompanyphotography.com” just too much of a pain in the ass to type out? Are there so many fauxtographers taking up every single possible photography .com that IANA declared a state of emergency to quarantine them all to gimmick domains? I think I’m onto what the larger plan is here; IANA is looking to lure all these idiots who think spelling out “BABY” in blocks on a pregnant woman’s stomach is a completely original idea to these fringe and forgettable complex domains so people won’t pay them any attention.
Great job, IANA. You’ve won me over. End of article. Or not, because there are still…
By default, 100% of these domains are stupid and redundant, but this category is for a very special kind of redundancy: pluralized domains. I’m talking about .game and .games, two domains that already don’t need to exist and one of which that absolutely should not exist under any circumstances whatsoever. Furthermore, we have a special kind of double redundancy going on with a war between .home, .property, and the plural versions of both of these domains. It’s not an official part of this list because there’s no plural version but there’s also a .realestate further screwing up the already invisible legitimacy of these property-based domains. How many gTLD’s do you need to sell a fucking house? What about an apartment? Oh, you mean to say there already is a .apartment? Fan-fucking-tastic. Why offer specific domains when you have a premium domain for the umbrella, and vice versa? (Don’t answer that, it’s hypothetical because the answer is “both kinds of domains are for stupid people”.)
There are as many domains for properties as there are for out of focused pictures of naked babies drinking from a dirty sprinkler. Hilariously, and completely unrelated to that, there are not one but two domains for accountants, one of them plural. I guess that would be fine considering some accountants work independently and some work with a firm, but that kind of gets overridden by the fact that there are domains for .bank, .money, .cash, and .investments to completely muddy the need for any of those domains. Which one is the most important? None of them. Bankers already get enough kickbacks and perks, they don’t need their own domain extension. If they absolutely have to have one, I propose they be forced to use .wang because fuck them.
Finally, there’s a domain redundancy for Broadway. Yes, that Broadway. There’s .broadway and for no apparent reason there’s .bway. Never in my lifetime have I heard someone use the term “bway”. I don’t know if it’s an attempt to sound hip or what, but frankly I don’t think you can make Broadway “hip” to people. You either suck cock or you don’t. Those are facts.
Fresh off the homophobic remark from that last section is a category that begins with “homo” because I’m thoughtful like that. Much to my dismay, I learned recently that a “homophone” is not a mobile phone with the Grindr app installed on it but rather a word that sounds like another word. The entire point of a domain name is to have an original sounding end to it so that people can remember it and instantly go to your site; it’s why we don’t have a .com and .comm. Knowing that, you can understand my frustration when I found an instance of homophonic domains in the form of .coupon and .qpon (say the last one aloud reading the first letter by itself). I guess frugal mothers who buy their furniture at Big Lots need resources where they can obsessively comb over coupons to save a quarter on canned tuna or whatever it is people in loveless marriages do with their time; enter the .coupon conundrum.
Visually, .coupon and .qpon are pretty different. That’s great, but now imagine you’ve just heard a radio ad for a website called “kidshaircutsforcheapcunts.coupon”. Are you sure that it was “.coupon” you heard? How can you be so sure? Did the person in the ad spend the extra few moments explaining “kidshaircutsforcheapcunts.coupon, that’s coupon without the Q, you cheap cunt”? Probably not. Now you have to go home and try bringing that website up and there’s a 50% chance you’re going to get it wrong. Literally a coin flip, but you wouldn’t dare risk losing a coin under the sofa by flipping it and missing the catch, you cheap cunt.
Sidenote, there’s also .football and .futbol which technically may not count since one is an international domain that’s also pronounced “fuit-bol” but that’s beside the point. To the uninitiated and culturally insensitive they’re going to sound like the same website.
Homophonic domains only serve to offer unintentional misinformation to people. In the analogy mentioned earlier, about cheap cunts who get their kids’ hair cut once a year and insist on using a coupon when doing so, there’s an opportunity for a rival distributor to purchase the available .qpon/.coupon domain. I realize I just implied that there’s some bizarre cutthroat market for stingy bitches at SuperCuts but I’d like you to expand your vision of that analogy further to any possible circumstance involving coupons or someone kicking an inflated ball. If you only hear the domain there is literally nothing stopping you from going to an incorrect website masquerading as the one you’re trying to reach, and you’d be none the wiser.
Oh cool, a domain reserved specifically for schools and universities! Man, wouldn’t that be really stupid of IANA if we already had one of those? Especially if it was originally introduced in 1985 as one of the first generic top-level domains.
Good thing that doesn’t exist, though.
There is exactly one possible website for this domain and it’s “thewarinthe.persiangulf”. That is it. Why this domain was even suggested in the first place is a fucking mystery.
There’s a Bill O’Reilly joke in here somewhere that starts with “www.thewaron” and ends with “.christmas” but I’m not going to make it… or assemble it since I’ve already kind of made it. I’m not going to focus on that; instead I’m going to point out how bizarre it is that there’s a gTLD offered for one specific holiday officially lasting one day out of the year. There are eight times as many reasons why Hanukkah should get a domain (.kosher doesn’t count, it exists) but you don’t see the Jewish community getting some trendy domain extension to celebrate around. The fact that .christmas exists is one more piece of evidence to call bullshit when Christians get their circumcised dicks in a crucifix over “religious prosecution”. They’re getting their own top-level domain for an overblown holiday; if that’s not outright favoritism then apparently I’m dumber than they are.
What are people with a .christmas domain supposed to do for the other 11 months out of the year when people don’t give a shit about Christmas? Even if Christmas has stretched into November I can guarantee people aren’t going to give two fucks about remembering Jesus in the middle of June. And is Black Friday really so important that it demands its own domain extension when the United States is the only country in the world that rewards fat people with cheap consumer goods for trampling underpaid security guards? Who is going to rationally use a .blackfriday extension? Companies have been just fine getting by with a link to “upstandingamericancompany.com/black-friday” on their homepage for the past 20 years, are they now supposed to do the same thing but link to “dealsyouprobablywouldntcareaboutatanyothertimeofyear.blackfriday” instead?
The American healthcare system is a fucking wreck. It is the worst-possible case of rampant disorganization, highway robbery, and sheer ineptitude realized. Since I’ve told you something you probably already knew, here’s something new coming up that will surely further the 100% respectable marketplace that is the world of healthcare: about a dozen highly-specific domains intended for a ton of one-off uses that people aren’t going to remember. The eponymous .healthcare is among these, as is .insurance, however the real cream of the crop are some great repeats of redundancy that we’ve already seen; things like .doctor and .doc, or .medical and .med. There are also specialized TLD’s for clinics, hospitals, and pharmacies which boggles my mind because I genuinely do not understand how hard it is to remember a .com that includes “clinic” or “hospital” as part of the name. Also people are too stupid to know how to spell “pharmacy” so good luck getting people who can’t even file their taxes on time to bother with that one.
There are almost a dozen domains specifically for denoting a sale or promotional offer. Honestly, I could pull a cop-out and end this section right here but it goes beyond that. The shopping domains fall into the same category of over-diversification as the medical ones. If your website is meant to be a storefront… what’s so bad about adopting something simple like “.shop”? This is, of course, ignoring the fact that “.com” literally means “commerce” and implies a business institution. Don’t think about these hypothetical questions for too long, none of them have a rational fucking answer.
The shopping category of domain names is the holy grail of utter shit because it contains examples of nearly everything I’ve discussed up to this point. There are redundant domains (.gift/.gifts), homophones (.coupon/.qpon), and a date-specific domain (.blackfriday). The only thing we don’t have is a shopping-based healthcare domain like .organ for all your convenient transplanting needs or .plasticsurgery for information on obtaining triple-D tits.
There is a .diamonds. Why is there a .diamonds? Why does this domain exist? Do we as a species collectively sell so many pretty rocks that it justifies having its own goddamned domain name right up there with watches, toys, tickets, and fucking auto parts (yes, those all exist)? Scratch that, because there is also a .domains; literally, there is “dot domains”. Mark my words, I would bet my life savings that you’re not going to ever see a legitimate domain registrar like GoDaddy, Tucows, or Namecheap go anywhere fucking near “.domains”. Nobody is that stupid. No, wait, let me rephrase that: Nobody who has more business sense than a DeVry graduate is that stupid. The people who buy a .domains gTLD for their business are… ugh… Full Sail University… *groaning sound*…. dot domains… University of… *chokes on saliva*… Phoenix…
I remember helping my grandmother try to understand the concept of using the Internet almost 20 years ago. She’s dead now, God rest her soul, but holy fucking shit was that like talking to a brick wall. I spent all day reminding her that she needed to put “.com” after everything she was looking for. She finally caught on and was eager to check out everything she could… then she wanted to check out The White House. Those of you who were in grade school during the initial boom of the Internet know how this story is going to unfold. Grandma Roastmaster enters “www.whitehouse.com” in her browser. I jump and dive in slow motion shouting “noooooooooo”. Too late. Tits everywhere. Grandma gets angry and upset at the tits plastered all over her screen.
I hadn’t even bothered to get into .org, .net, and especially not .gov. How the fuck was I supposed to know she was going to go straight from looking at shit on walmart.com to wondering who the 22nd President of the United States was? Many a 4th grader writing a report on a U.S. President inadvertently went to whitehouse.com instead of whitehouse.gov and was ushered into Internet porn manhood via grainy 24-bit dithered color 56K boobs. My grandmother accidentally got Melons Feelmore instead of Millard Fillmore and that was back when we had so few TLD’s you could count them on one hand.
I’m not saying that our grandparents are all in danger of seeing naked women on every website beginning with “facebook” and ending with something other than “.com” but what I am saying is the sheer magnitude of how complicated and convoluted these new domains are is not boding well for our senior citizens. Normally I’m just like “fuck them haha” but I think it’s pretty shitty to come in and purposefully obfuscate a form of communication and information resource when A) it’s fine the way it is and B) seniors already don’t fucking understand how to use it.
Specifically, I’m talking about the additions of the gTLD’s .site, .web, .website, .computer, .email/.mail, .online, and .search. Are you fucking serious? You have .website as a potential domain name to visit a fucking website? Do I need to explain how incomprehensibly stupid this is? Are they trying to make it easier for old people to stumble into malware-ridden websites with free dolphin screensavers? Not only that, there are two other incarnations of that domain: .site and .web. Jesus dick, there is absolutely no explanation for that other than one neckbearded virgin harboring resentment over the fact that he has to live with his grandmother since his parents kicked him and his My Little Pony collection out of the house.
.meme is a proposed new domain. Honestly, I contemplated writing just that one sentence as a suicide note and calling it quits. This is not the best way for the Internet to become self-aware. Memes by their very nature are “flash in the pan” moments of popularity. For example, nobody gives a fuck about Rick Astley anymore (again) or the Rickrolling phenomenon and this was something that YouTube once dedicated its entire homepage to doing on April Fool’s Day, not to mention the time Astley came in and crashed the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade with a performance of that song. PSY was the first person to get one billion views on a single YouTube video with “Gangnam Style”, but his followup single “Gentleman” barely has a quarter of the previous song’s total views. People just don’t give a shit past that first climax. Most memes don’t live long enough to warrant a one year domain registration. The only website that I could see benefiting from a .meme gTLD is 9GAG, but there’s already a .add so I don’t know what the fuck they’d need .meme for.
There is no plausible use for domains such as .lol, .omg, or .wtf except in regards to celebrity gossip or unironic Call of Duty noscope montages. Believe it or not, .celeb, .gossip, and .hollywood are not in the list of suggested gTLD’s. Those three domains, which would probably see more use than the bottom half of IANA’s list combined, are quietly absent from the proposal. But don’t worry, we’ve got .horse on the radar so one person can make a Sarah Jessica Parker joke or whoever the fuck looks like a horse because that punchline isn’t the least bit tired. Comedy.
The inclusion of NewDotNet’s TLD’s wasn’t an intentional move on behalf of IANA; the domains just so happened to get roped into this mess because they’re generic enough to fall into IANA’s simple cookie cutter sections of proposals. The fact that the suggestions are still around is proof enough that the domains were a stupid idea a decade ago and they’re a stupid idea now that has just been repainted and repackaged as something a little less illegitimate. There’s a reason why we’ve gone 20 years without having “.video” and “.church” — the ideas are fucking stupid and are redundant at their very core. Most Internet users only need to be mindful of a half-dozen or so top-level domains, but here is a list of 1,000 potential additions and none of them warrant use beyond a few hundred/thousand possible outcomes. In the case of shit like .persiangulf I’m hard-pressed to come up with more than I can count on one hand.
A decade ago NewDotNet used some fancy adware to pull wool over their customers’ eyes and charged them thirty fucking dollars a year for a shitty “premium” domain name service that only a handful of equally gullible idiots could see. Isn’t that just what’s going on here? Charging someone $39.99 a year so they can have a “premium” domain like .guru? I was under the assumption that you earned a reputation, you didn’t purchase one. Spending forty bucks on a fancy domain name doesn’t immediately make you smarter than someone on a .com much like how spending a hundred dollars on a .xxx domain doesn’t make your porn the most jerkworthy. That’s not how the Internet works. For a series of top-level domains meant to help “organize” the Internet these people sure are asking a lot for them while the price of a regular .com quietly stands at $12.
NewDotNet’s service was nothing more than a sleight of hand trick that sold someone a glorified GeoCities-esque website package for an inflated rate. IANA’s/ICANN’s new list of gold-spraypainted turds is nothing better and in nearly every single instance costs as much as if not more than NewDotNet’s bullshit. It’s a way to separate stupid people from their money so everyone who knows better can mock them behind their back for being dumb enough to think a $70 “.ventures” domain somehow makes them seem legitimate.
– Roastmaster
If you’ve got godlike patience and an hour to kill, you can browse an entire list of the proposed domain names HERE.
Posted by Roastmaster
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Bringing Cancer Care To The Deprived
May 2019 BIZ Cancer Cancer Centre Care For you Health and Wellness Inspiration Institute Onco Corner
Wecanserve Magazine May 1, 2019
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Kolhapur Cancer Centre offers personalised treatment for all kinds of cancer to the rural populace, who do not have easy access to comprehensive, quality cancer care
By Aatika H Jain
Did you know there is a ‘Pawar Technique’ of surgery for oesophageal cancer, which is accepted worldwide and is approved by the American Board of Surgeons as part of its teaching curriculum? The technique was invented by Dr. Suraj Pawar, founder and chief surgical oncologist of Kolhapur Cancer Centre (KCC), Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Dr. Pawar always wished to work with disadvantaged cancer patients in rural areas where medical services were not easily accessible. “There was an acute need of a comprehensive cancer center in Kolhapur and its vicinity,” says Dr. Pawar, who set up KCC after completing his training from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, USA. “The main purpose of starting KCC was to provide quality cancer care to all, especially to the poor and needy patients who could not afford treatment.” Starting off modestly as a 15-bed surgical oncology hospital in 2001, KCC moved to a brand-new 3-acre campus 10 years later, adding on state-of-the-art radiation therapy and medical oncology departments. From the small yet dedicated staff of 35, KCC grew to an industrious family of 250 and continues to grow. The institute now has a team of 12 expert oncologists and four fellows. In the last 10 years, KCC has successfully transformed into a tertiary cancer center and has two branches in the city.
Marching ahead
“KCC receives 6,000 new cases per year, mainly from south Maharashtra, north Karnataka, the Konkan region and Goa. Over 1,500 patients receive radiation therapy annually and over 1,500 onco surgeries of all types are performed annually at the center,” says Dr. Reshma S Pawar, Executive Director at KCC and gynecological oncologist. “The center specializes in minimally invasive surgery and is credited with developing the innovative Pawar Technique— thoracoscopic esophagectomy in a semi-prone position. This technique is accredited by the American Board of Surgeons as a teaching video with CME credit points.” KCC offers all aspects of cancer care, comprising diagnosis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and patient rehabilitation. The center has seen more than 7,000 successful surgeries so far; Dr. Pawar has conducted more than 5,000 of these. “When I was admitted to Kolhapur Cancer Centre, I was terrified of undergoing an operation, depressed and without hope of recovery at this age. But I was overwhelmed by the human touch, assurance, concern and kind words. The experience, expert knowledge, and quality infrastructure helped me regain my confidence and health,” says a 78-year old cancer survivor. The diagnosis and treatment of cancer have a serious psychological impact not only on patients but also on the patient’s family. KCC has established a dedicated psycho-oncology department, thus becoming one of the few cancer centers in India that have integrated psychological support for patients and their family into routine treatment. It offers a routine screening of chemotherapy patients for anxiety and depression, diagnosis and management of psychological issues in patients referred from other departments of the center, sleep problems, and pain management to improve patients’ quality of life, substance withdrawal management for de-addiction and pharmacotherapy for psychiatric issues.
Giving back to society
KCC supports a number of NGOs, including Avani Sanstha, which works for orphans and the destitute, Ekati Sanstha, which works to reinstate women rag-pickers and single destitute women, and the Chattrapati Shahu Cancer Research Foundation, which works to facilitate treatment for poor cancer patients and also create awareness. The center also conducts regular cancer awareness programmes in villages, schools and colleges spreading awareness about cancer prevention and early detection. “KCC is implementing a programme with the Zilla Parishad under the ‘Innovative Programme’ category wherein a door-to-door survey regarding cancer is being done with the help of ASHA workers with the purpose of screening, early detection and creating awareness,” says Dr. Pawar. Adds Dr. Reshma: “An upcoming hospice project of KCC, Saanjvaat, aims to take care of terminally ill patients and giving them life with dignity in their last moments. This is being planned as a special project which will create positive energy and moments of happiness for the patients while they are on the last leg of their life journey.”
KCC plans to start similar comprehensive cancer centers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, where such services are lacking, besides increasing its current bed strength from 75 to 250. “In the near future, we plan to add one more linear accelerator unit, a bone marrow transplant unit, and a robotic surgery department and start DNB courses in oncology,” says Dr. Pawar
Dr Suraj Pawar
“THERE WAS AN ACUTE NEED FOR A COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTRE IN KOLHAPUR AND ITS VICINITY. THE MAIN PURPOSE OF STARTING THE KOLHAPUR CANCER CENTRE WAS TO PROVIDE QUALITY CANCER CARE TO ALL, ESPECIALLY THE POOR AND NEEDY PATIENTS WHO COULD NOT AFFORD TREATMENT.”
Dr Suraj Pawar, Founder and chief surgical oncologist of Kolhapur Cancer Centre, Kolhapur, Maharashtra
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Dr Kiran Kulkarni June 16, 2019
Dr Duraj and Dr Reshma are classic Human beings, they are the epitome of Service before self….. Their actions speak louder than words in translating KCC in to such a great place in treating cancer patients at affordable costs.
I wish KCC the best👍💯 future holds..
Dr Kiran Kulkarni
Consultant in Sports Medicine
Understanding cancer in 5 minutes – An introduction to the concept and cluster
Wecanserve Magazine September 15, 2019
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Cancer experts to the win
Happiness Beckons
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Classical music: Madison Youth Choirs will perform music of Madison’s nine sister cities this Sunday afternoon and evening
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
“This semester, Madison Youth Choirs singers (below) are embarking on a musical journey across the globe as they explore and perform compositions connected to the diverse cultures inhabiting Madison’s nine sister cities: Ainaro, East Timor; Arcatao, El Salvador; Camaguey, Cuba; Freiburg, Germany; Kanifing, The Gambia; Mantua, Italy; Obihiro, Japan; Tepatitlán, Mexico; and Vilnius, Lithuania.
“As we study the wide variety of musical forms that emerged from these nine regions and think about the reasons we’re drawn to establish sister city relationships, we’re examining both the common forces that drive the creative expression of artists from all cultures and the unique contributions that artists from our sister cities have made to the worldwide musical canon.
“We invite you to join us for a culminating winter concert series celebrating these international choral connections.
Madison Youth Choirs Winter Concerts, “Sister Cities”
First Congregational United Church of Christ
1609 University Ave., Madison
Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017
1:30 p.m. Girlchoirs
4:00 p.m. Boychoirs
7:00 p.m. High School Ensembles
Tickets available at the door: $10 for general admission, $5 for students 7-18, and free for children under 7. A separate ticket is required for each performance.
This concert is generously endowed by the Diane Ballweg Performance Fund with additional support from American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC):
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) welcomes singers of all ability levels, annually serving more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, through a wide variety of choral programs in our community. Cultivating a comprehensive music education philosophy that inspires self-confidence, personal responsibility, and a spirit of inquiry leading students to become “expert noticers,” MYC creates accessible, meaningful opportunities for youth to thrive in the arts and beyond.
“SISTER CITIES” PROGRAMS
Sunday, December 10, 2017, First Congregational Church, Madison
1:30 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Girlchoirs)
Choraliers
“Now We Are Met” by Samuel Webbe
“Sakura” Traditional Japanese folk song
“Tecolote” Spanish lullaby, arr. Victoria Ebel-Sabo
“S’Vivon” Traditional Jewish folk song, arr. Valerie Shields
Con Gioia
“Peace Round” Traditional round, text by Jean Ritchie
“Shepherd’s Pipe Carol by John Rutter
“Murasame” by Victor C. Johnson, text: 11th-century Japanese poem
“Guantanamera” Cuban folk song, text by José Marti
Capriccio (below)
“A Circle is Cast” by Anna Dembska
“Ich will den Herrn loben alle Zeit” by Georg Philipp Telemann, arr. Wallace Depue
“Ma come bali bene bela bimba” Traditional Italian, arr. Mark Sirett
“Soran Bushi” Japanese folk song, arr. Wendy Stuart
“Yo Le Canto Todo El Dia” by David L. Brunner
4:00 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Boychoirs)
Combined Boychoirs
“Dance for the Nations” by John Krumm, arr. Randal Swiggum
Purcell (below)
“La Nanita Nana” by José Ramon Gomis, arr. David Eddlemann
“Es is Ein Ros entsprungen” by Melchior Vulpius
“Sakura” Traditional Japanese folksong, arranged by Purcell choir members
Britten (below)
Two Elegies by Benjamin Britten
Old Abram Brown
Tom Bowling
“No che non morira” (from Tito Manlio) by Antonio Vivaldi
“O Rosetta” by Claudio Monteverdi
“O là, o che bon echo” by Orlando di Lasso
“We Are” by Ysaye Barnwell
Chorus of Street Boys from Carmen by Georges Bizet
“Kimigayao” (The National Anthem of Japan) Melody by Hiromori Hayashi
7:00 p.m. Concert (Featuring High School Ensembles)
“How Can I Keep From Singing?” by Gwyneth Walker
Liebeslieder Walzer by Johannes Brahms, text by Georg Friedrich Daumer
Wie des Abends (from Opus 52) (You can hear it in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Vogelein durchrauscht die Luft (from Opus 52)
Nein, geliebter, setze dich (from Opus 65)
“Bar’chu” by Salamon Rossi
“The Pasture” (from Frostiana) by Randall Thompson
“Mogami Gawa Funa Uta” by Watanabe/Goto, based on folk materials, arr. Osamu
“Angelus ad pastores ait” (from Sacrae Cantiunculae, 1582) by Claudio Monteverdi
“Gamelan” by R. Murray Schafer
“Mata del Anima Sola” by Antonio Estévez
Cantabile and Ragazzi (below)
“The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” Traditional carol from Trinidad, arr. Stephen
“Dance for the Nations” by John Krumm
Tags: ability, admission, afternoon, age, Ainaro, anthem, Arcatao, arrangement, artist, Arts, Baroque, Bizet, boy, boychoir, boys, Brahms, Britten, Camaguey, Canon, Carmen, Carol, Chamber music, children, children's concerts, Choir, choral music, Christ, church, city, Classical music, combined, common, community, composer, Concert, connection, create, creative, Cuba, Cuban, culture, dance, diversity, Early music, East Timor, Education, El Salvador, Elegy, ensemble, evening, expression, First Congregational United Church of Christ, folk, folk song, force, form, free, FREIBURG, fund, funding, Gambia, Georg Philipp Telemann, Germany, gir;, girlchoir, globe, Guantanamera, high school, Holst, international, Italian, Italyt, Jacob Stockinger, Japah, Japanese, Jesus, Jewish, Johannes Brahms, John Rutter, Jose Marti, journey, Kanifing, Lasso, Liebeslieder, Lithuania, Lord, lullaby, Madison Youth Choirs, Mantua, Mexico, Monteverdi, Music, Music education, nation, national anthem, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, NEA, Obihiro, pasture, peace, People, performance, Piano, pipe, poem, reason, relationship, round, shepherd, singer, Singing, sister, sister city, song, Spain, Spanish, state, State of Wisconsin, street, ticket, traditional, Trinidad, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vilnius, virgin, Virgin Mary, Vivaldi, Waltz, winter, Wisconsin Arts Board, young, Youth, YouTube
Classical music: Con Vivo delivers moving and memorable performances of German Romantic chamber music for clarinet and strings by Brahms and Schubert.
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who for 12 years hosted an early music show every other Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison. He also took the performance photos.
In another absurdly overcrowded weekend of events, I chose to catch the concert by Con Vivo! (below), the group based at the First Congregational United Church of Christ. It is always good for an adventurous and varied evening of chamber music, and this one on Friday night was no exception.
Back from a tour last June in Germany of the sister province of Kassel, the group chose to present what it called an evening of “German Romance’. The program contained only two works: the Trio in A minor, Op. 114, for Clarinet, Cello and Piano, by Johannes Brahms; and Franz Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major, D. 956.
I had heard a kind of dress rehearsal performance the previous evening in the Grand Hall at Capitol Lakes, and it was interesting to compare simply the acoustical effects. That hall is live but modest in size, so that everything was close, if somewhat dry. In the spacious confines of the Congregational Church, there was a more glowing reverberation, if a notable difference in distances.
For practical reasons, the Brahms work was played at the far end of the church’s chancel, next to the organ, losing some of the intimate contact it should have with the audience. But the sound did carry well, with warmth.
The work was the first of a series of late chamber works Brahms composed, as inspired by the eminent clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld. Unlike its successors, this trio did not feature the clarinet as the dominant soloist, but gave it an affectionately duetting role with the cello.
Clarinetist Robert Taylor (below left) played with ripe confidence, but cellist Derek Handley served as a distinctly individual partner in his own right. Dan Lyons was a muscular Brahmsian on the piano. It proved a beautiful performance of a work not too readily encountered in concert. (You can hear the songful third movement in a YouTube at the bottom.)
The other work is one of the most sublime chamber pieces ever composed. Schubert wrote it just two months before his death, of syphilis, at the pitiful age of 31. He knew he was dying, and in this last major work of his, he poured into the music the most incredible mixture of beauty and pain.
Once one gets below the glowing aura of the ensemble writing, it becomes obvious that there is an imbalance in textures. The first violin part is clearly dominant, frequently given almost a soloist’s role against mostly chordal accompaniments by the other four players (including a second cello). At times one might even imagine the violin as a singer in some new Schubert Lieder, or songs.
Fortunately, first violinist Olga Pomolova, who also plays with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, was fully on target in intonation and in passages of virtuosic display. The other players joined her in a deeply felt and richly delivered performance that was simply superb.
It was an evening, then, of the most deeply satisfying chamber playing.
Tags: American Record Guide, art songs, Arts, Cello, Chamber music, clarinet, Classical music, Con Vivo, Germany, History, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, John W. Barker, Kassel, Kessel, lieder, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Medieval, Music, Piano, province, quintet, sister city, songs, trio, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Classical music: Con Vivo performs two masterpieces of German Romantic music to mark its recent cultural exchange tour of Germany.
ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale, from 12:15 to 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features pianist and organist Theodore Reinke in music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Edvard Grieg, Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt.
“Con Vivo – Music With Life” (below) presents a chamber music concert entitled “German Romance” on this Friday, October 30, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Avenue, across from Camp Randall.
Tickets can be purchased at the door for $18 for adults and $15 for seniors and students.
To celebrate the group’s recent cultural exchange tour to our sister county of Kassel, Germany, the concert program includes two masterpiece pillars of 19th-century German Romantic chamber music: the Trio for clarinet, cello and piano by Johannes Brahms and Franz Schubert’s String Quintet with two cellos, regarded as one of the greatest compositions in all chamber music. (You can hear the Schubert Quintet with the Juilliard String Quartet in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Audience members are invited to join the musicians after the concert for a free reception to discuss this chamber music literature and to hear about their experiences on their concert tour in Germany.
Artistic Director Robert Taylor, in remarking about the concert said, “Our tour to Germany was a wonderful honor and great success. We return very excited to begin our 14th season with two of the great masterpieces for chamber ensemble. Our Madison audience will be able to welcome us home as we present some of our favorite repertoire in this concert.”
Con Vivo! is a professional chamber music ensemble composed of Madison area musicians assembled from the ranks of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and various other performing groups familiar to Madison audiences.
Tags: Arts, Bach, Cello, Chamber music, clarinet, clarinet trio, Classical music, Con Vivo, Edvard Grieg, Franz Schubert, German Romanticism, Germany, Grieg, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Kassel, Liszt, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music, organ, Piano, quintet, Richard Wagner, Romantic, Romantic music, Romanticism, sister city, sister county, string, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wagner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
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Unhappy in love, Mary is convinced that God has punished her. The only way to be saved is to pass the Shidduch test with flying colours and marry a Jew.
A crowdfunding project by Anaëlle Morf, film, Lausanne.Read more
ƒ0
A fresh comedy!
My name is Anaëlle Morf, I am in the senior year at ECAL (University of Art and Design of Lausanne) in the filmmaking section. For my bachelor degree, I decided to make a short comedy film!
«Convinced of being affected by a curse that would make her unhappy in love, Mary decides to reconnect with religion by marrying a Jew. To get married, she needs to pass the Shidduch test with flying colours, a Jewish blind date.»
The aim is to work with a mainly local team and professional actors. The main topic is about Swiss Jewish communities, principally La-Chaux-de-Fonds and Lausanne, where I grew up. I want to introduce you to this subject for my own perspective, objectively with humor and honesty. It is rarely focused on in art and media, and is little known outside the community.
A Shidduch, what is this?
It is a system of matchmaking in which Jewish singles are introduced to one another for the purpose of marriage.
This is not a date where one expects the other to propose a new meeting. There is one main aim: Finding a quality life partner. The goal is to avoid love and passion, which would create an uncertain future. They should get to know each other before agreeing to the marriage.
They should dress properly, like going to a job interview.
The girl must arrive at least 5 minutes before the boy.
It is forbidden to use their cell phone.
They must stay together at least 1 hour up to 3 hours for a first appointment.
Always speak with respect and behave appropriately.
Verify that the person is not drugged or alcoholic.
Verify that the person is not suffering from a disease that could disturb everyday.
Physical contact is forbidden.
Honour his family and his community.
Watch my other film!
Last year, I made a fiction film: Hot dog https://vimeo.com/109462672, password: Alice
The main actors
Why I need your help!
The filming will take place from 3 to 8 April! I have an experienced team that are working with me since the beginning of the project. A producer Emmanuel Gétaz DREAMPIXIES encouraged me and my project was supported by the Federal Office of Culture, who gives me money to be able to fund the cast and crew.
At the moment, I have limited access to technical equipment. We have sound and lightning to make a short film. But your help would allow me to make a more ambitious movie, with a better professional camera. That would provide us with more visibility when presenting to film festivals.
Your contribution would help to have access to the hardware to match the professionalism of the technicians, actors, and out of respect for their constant hard work.
Thank you, I’m counting on you!
of CHF 6’000 pledged
1000 thanks + 1 DVD.
1 DVD + 1 invite for the Premiere + 1000 thanks
1 poster of the film + your name in the credits + 1 invitation to the premiere + 1 DVD
A drink for contributors + 1 invitation to the premiere + 1 signed DVD.
You can be an extra in the film as far as possible (the scene will depend on your age) + 1 signed DVD + a drink for contributors.
You can assist to a picture or sound editing day.
You can meet the actors + 2 invitations to the premiere.
You will have access to a rehearsal or my help on one of your artistic project.
You will have access to a shooting day on the set.
You will receive 1 DVD and a blind date.
Anaëlle Morf
16 projects backed
Je suis née en 1990 à Lausanne, après avoir étudié la sociologie et l’histoire du cinéma, je poursuis ma formation au sein de l’Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne en cinéma. Passionnée de voyages et de langues, je cherche à entremêler ces rencontres et expériences à travers des films documentaires et fictionnels.
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New Releases in #SFR and #Fantasy Romance for Wednesday August 30
Lots of New Release goodness this week!
HIERAX: STAR GUARDIANS BOOK 4 by Ruby Lionsdrake
VS Note: I’ve been waiting for this one! Oh yes….
As a database programmer from Arizona and a fan of sedate, indoor activities, Indi Smith doesn’t belong in outer space. Certainly not in a star system with a broken wormhole gate and no way home. But through no fault of her own, that’s where she’s landed, and nobody on the ship, not even the genius chief engineer Hierax, knows how to repair the gate. The only clue that could help is an untranslatable transmission coming from an uninhabitable planet with no atmosphere.
Though she’s a fish out of water, Indi is determined to use her knack for analysis and recognizing patterns to decode the transmission and help Hierax fix the gate, whether he wants the assistance of some civilian woman or not. She refuses to die in the middle of nowhere, even if it means she has to prove her worth to an arrogant, know-it-all engineer. She’s had experience dealing with geeks, albeit not ones with such big, sexy muscles, but that doesn’t mean working with him will be easy.
Chief Hierax is used to being in charge of all things mechanical, and he’s used to being the smartest person on the ship. Few of his burly Star Guardian colleagues were recruited for their brains. So when Indi shows up with a clever way of looking at the alien transmission, one he hadn’t thought of, he’s not sure what to make of it—or her.
His focus should be on fixing the gate, but he finds himself speculating about romantic endeavors. Would she be interested in seeing his hobby projects or maybe his favorite tools? It’s hard to tell. He has a hard time understanding women—and people in general, for that matter—so charming her may be tougher than finding a way home.
LAST SHIP OFF POLARIS-G (A CENTRAL GALACTIC CONCORDANCE NOVELLA) by Carol Van Natta
VS Note: And I’ve been waiting for THIS one. Yup, the book budget is taking a hit today LOL.
A bureaucrat and an interstellar trader must overcome treachery and their broken past to save the last inhabitants of a dying planet. Frontier planet Polaris-Gamma is dying, afflicted by a suspiciously-timed blight that destroys all crops. Worse, the whole system is now under military quarantine by the Central Galactic Concordance to prevent the catastrophic blight from spreading. The settlers must escape—or perish.
Caught behind the blockade, independent trader Gavril Danilovich finds his interstellar trading ship commandeered in the desperate plan to escape. He tells himself that’s the only reason he stays, and not because he’s worried about the woman he walked out on two years ago—who still lives on Pol-G.
Government supply depot manager Anitra Helden races to gather the last of Pol-G’s assets. Her plan to launch a mothballed freighter off Pol-G may be crazy—but it can work, if she can talk Gavril into helping. Their precious cargo? Four thousand stranded colonists.
Can Anitra and Gavril, and their ragtag crew get past the deadly military blockade?
DURATION OF STAY (THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMEWORLD SECURITY BOOK 6) by Cassandra Chandler
Zemanni has been called many things—shapeshifter, bounty hunter, assassin, Gray. But since being ripped apart by an angry Lyrian and barely managing to piece himself back together, the only word he can think of is “trapped”. Trapped in the form of Eric Peterson, and saddled with the biological needs and urges of a human—urges that center around the aggressively helpful woman giving him shelter.
Brooke knows her unhealthy need to rescue people is reaching a new level when she takes the wounded alien she finds hiding in her car back to her apartment. He’s gorgeous and rude and has glowing streaks of silver all over his body—a body he doesn’t seem to know what to do with. But she has some ideas…
Keeping him safe—primarily from himself—leads to the most intense “close encounters” either has ever had. Add in coffee and video games, and Zemanni starts to think Earth might be the perfect place to retire. If only he can convince his many enemies that he’s truly out of the game.
VICIOUS (HAUNTED STARS BOOK 2) by Lindsey R Loucks
Absidy Jones, a fugitive ghost magnet on the run for two murders she didn’t commit, desperately needs to warn the human race. The Saelis aliens are coming to finish a two-hundred-year-old war and decimate the rest of humanity.
No small feat for Absidy, especially since she and her spaceship’s crew are stuck in deep space.
Pasts collide on the once-haunted ship she now calls home, leaving the crew stranded with no outside communication. Murder, secrets, and betrayal lurk around every corner, more vicious than anyone thought possible.
Startling discoveries force Absidy to risk the lives of those she loves to save all humans, even as her special ghostly gift seems to be…evolving.
BLIND FATE (VEREDIAN CHRONICLES BOOK 2) by Regine Abel
Born in a breeding compound, Valena has never known a day of freedom. As a child, her master burned her retinas to prevent her from mind-controlling those who meet her gaze. But she still controls people’s thoughts with a touch. Sold to the Xelix Prime Blood Houses, she is forced to use her ability to keep the other slaves compliant. When Fate places a powerful Counselor in her path, she plots and schemes to use him to escape, until her feelings for him complicate matters.
As her master’s plans take on a darker turn, lies, betrayal, and tragedy threaten any hope she ever held of a better future.
THRALL (DERIDA BOOK 3) by Catherine Miller
VS Note: Recommended by Reader Barbara T
Ness had always tried to do as the masters told her, tried to fulfil her expected purpose within the time allowed. She was a thrall and nothing more. Every pain was a lesson, every hurt was for her betterment. And someday, perhaps, she could earn honour enough to serve the Narada in a household.
But when the masters tire of her repeated failures to produce the allotment required of her, she is chosen, not for the death she expects, but to serve as payment to a people she has never seen, whose ways are strange and utterly impossible for her to accept.
Taken in by a man who claims that he is not her new master, she is troubled when he does not comprehend the defective nature of the thrall he has been given, and how unworthy she is to be in his service.
And, perhaps even more concerning, his persistent belief that she is no slave at all.
GUNDAR (MATE THE STARS BOOK 1) by Loretta Johns
The Mylos came for genetic trade, offering a chance for the women of Earth to meet and marry their perfect other half as well as advances in technology and education for all. Darla Levin isn’t looking for a husband. She is, however, looking for money for college. Falling short of her needs using financial aid, she decides to take a gamble and apply for the Bride Registry Scholarship.It seems simple. You don’t get matched unless you’re a perfect genetic and psychological fit, and for the scholarship, the pool is limited to Mylos currently in orbit. Matches are so rare, she’s never known anyone who has known anyone else who has been matched. After her best friend Angie registers and received her scholarship funds immediately, Darla takes the plunge. Only the unthinkable happens, and she finds she is now the mate to Gundar, the Commander of the Bride Fleet itself.
DEACON (GIDEON’S RIDERS BOOK 2) by Kit Rocha
Ana has trained most of her life to achieve one goal: to prove that anything men can do, she can do better. Now she’s Sector One’s first female Rider, and being the best is the only way to ensure she won’t be its last. Distractions aren’t allowed–especially not her painful attraction to the reserved but demanding leader whose stern, grumpy demeanor has already gotten into her head.
Deacon has spent the last twenty years trying to atone for his past, but the blood he spilled as a mercenary and assassin will never wash away entirely. If his riders knew the extent of his sins, he’d lose their trust and respect. It’s easier to keep them all at arm’s length, especially Ana. But his newest recruit’s stubbornness is starting to crack his defenses.
And their sparring matches are driving him wild.
The passion sparking between them can’t be denied, but neither can the vengeance barreling toward Deacon. When his old squad comes back to punish him for his betrayal, Ana and the Riders are squarely in the line of fire. The only way to save his people may be to make the ultimate sacrifice.
But first, he has to convince Ana not to follow him straight into hell.
THE MERCENARY (THE WAR CHRONICLES BOOK 1) by Petra Landon
In a distant corner of the galaxy, Quadrant Five burns in the flames of a deadly war. The Budheya people are one of the worst affected.
Saakshi: Imprisoned by the Ketaari Imperial Forces, a young Budheya rebel is sent to a distant space station to work in an alehouse. For a girl who has known only hardship in her short life, things could be worse. Until an old foe walks into the alehouse.
Zoran: Zoran is Hadari’Kor – notoriously fierce mercenaries who only fight for hire. Drawn to a weary-eyed server girl, Zoran is forced to confront age-old traditions and question his role in the war.
Alone, friendless and far from home, Saakshi makes a desperate gamble to trust an enigmatic stranger whose hot gaze haunts her dreams. ..(more)…
IN THE SHADOWS (METAHUMAN FILES BOOK 3) by Hailey Turner
Staff Sergeant Alexei Dvorkin doesn’t trust easily, and he most certainly doesn’t trust spies. He’ll work with them if ordered to, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it. Except Agent Sean Delaney is proving to be the exception to the rule. There’s something about Sean that gets under Alexei’s skin and won’t let go. Alexei would be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in what lay beneath the agent’s mask. When they’re assigned together for a mission, Alexei vows to keep Sean safe all while trying to coax the hot agent into his bed.
Hold onto hope.
Agent Sean Delaney has spent his entire adult life living a lie for his country. When the MDF tasks him with finding evidence of criminal wrong-doing against the owner of a private military company, Sean knows exactly how to play the game to get what he wants. He just doesn’t know how to handle Alexei’s advances, nor his own attraction to the younger soldier. Being a spy is lonely work, and Sean knows he should keep his distance, but saying no to Alexei is impossible from the moment they first kiss.
In a world of lies, the truth can be deadly.
When the mission takes a turn for the worse, the only thing left to do is run. In the wake of betrayal, and in the path of danger, can their fragile trust survive the battle?
A CHANGE OF SCENERY by Debra Parmley
Belly dancer Clarrisa Heat is headed from Memphis to the Caribbean for a vacation after a horrible divorce. A change of scenery is just what she needs to forget her troubles. At the Atlanta shuttle station she’s handed a letter, which states she cannot board the Zuilund Super Shuttle until she receives a Sendot injection, a new drug that claims to prevent a new deadly gastrointestinal illness. She stops in a shuttle lounge on her way to check in and gets locked inside the wrecked deserted room with no one to hear her calling and no cell phone service.
Navy SEAL Warren West finds Clarissa locked in the lounge. Soon they’re on the run because she missed her injection and shuttle, which lands her on the militia’s watch list. The heirloom herbs she grows in her bedroom will mark her a terrorist on Benjamin Innovative Genetics Corporation’s most wanted list if they’re discovered.
THE SHIFT OF THE TIDE (UNCHARTED REALMS BOOK 3) BY Jeffe Kennedy
VS Note: I LOVED this book. I’ve been a big fan of her Twelve Kingdoms series and the Uncharted Realms series, which has continued the story..I relished the heroine’s growth in this book and wow, I really loved the hero….PAGES OF THE MIND, which just won the RWA RITA, is still my favorite but this one is a very close second. Interviewed Jeffe this week for USA Today/HEA and did receive an ARC.
Free from the hand of a tyrant, the Twelve Kingdoms have thrown all that touch them into chaos. New allies appear–and enemies encroach–from all sides. To survive, they must adapt to this new reality without a moment of doubt…
Growing up in a country where magic was common as dust, Zynda never had to worry about her enchantments upsetting the balance of nature. But the land beyond the borders of the thirteenth kingdom calls to her. It may be foreign and ugly, but the strangeness is laced with an excitement she has never known. Outside her homeland, Zynda’s shapeshifting and sorcery are a potent advantage to nations grasping for dominance–and the thrill of power lures her even as she recognizes the threat she poses to these magic-buffeted realms.
A ruthless enemy stalks them, promising destruction if she does not fight with all her strength–but if she upsets the equilibrium of the land, all will pay, the common people most of all. And a man of this outside world fascinates her, a mossback with no scrap of magic in him. He knows nothing of the fears and temptations pulling at her. But in his steady embrace she learns she must choose well–for the consequences may reach farther than she ever imagined.
MATING BITE by Cynthia Eden
Werewolf Carter Sinclair is on the hunt. He’s tracking a newly turned vamp, a beauty with bite named Lauren McIntosh. Hunting her is the easy part. After all, no one can hide from a wolf. But once Carter gets the vamp in his arms, his easy mission suddenly goes straight to hell.
One taste, one bite that should never have happened…and Carter is hooked—mind, body, soul. Nature has plans for him and Lauren. They’re to be mates, but there is a vicious vamp waiting in the dark—a killer who has already claimed Lauren as his.
Now Carter has a new mission—keep Lauren safe at all costs. Make her fall for him. And hide all of the very dark and dangerous secrets that fill his closet.(more…
CREED (VLG BOOK 8) by Laurann Dohner
Angel was whisked away from a life of abuse as a child when a guardian angel flew her in his arms and gave her to a Lycan couple to raise and love as their own. It was inevitable that she developed feelings for her elusive savior, the GarLycan who protects her pack. As she matured, those feelings deepened to something more once after spending time with him, only to be rebuffed by her hero. Dejected, Angel left the pack, moving away to distance herself from the pain. Now, years later, her mother has called her home. Their pack guardian is in need…
Creed is emotionally distant and cold. He’s had to become that way to survive his harsh life. His one weakness is Angel. She deserves a happy life, something that he can’t give her. He was born into servitude and isn’t allowed to take a mate. But, every thirty years he goes into one night of heat. The ravage is upon him, and Angel is determined to be there for him. He’ll take her to his lair, chain her down, and finally be able to touch her…
Creed and Angel soon discover their one night of bliss has dangerous consequences.
PREDATOR OF THE PINES (SUBWOOFERS BOOK 4) by Linda Mooney
Alligator, Bear, Cougar, Deer, Eagle
They found each other by accident. They became a team for life.
While preparing for a hurricane that’s heading straight for the Bag It and Tag It lodge, William “Brew” Estes makes a last-minute run to grab supplies. While there, he heads off a robbery and saves the day…all in a day’s work for the former Marine.
Celeste Hart is exactly where she never wanted to be. When the robbery goes wrong, she knows this could be her only chance to get away. She runs, despite the storm that’s on the way, knowing that if they catch her again, they could break her this time.
The moment Brew laid eyes on the blonde, he knew something was up. Later, when he sees her walking down the road, he can’t leave her without cover, so he offers her a place to stay, if only through the storm. But neither can deny the connection they feel for one another.
When the truth comes out, will Brew and his partners turn her in to the police for her part in the robbery? Or will they help her escape the grasps of her stepbrother and his cronies?
BUD (ROLLING THUNDER MOTORCYCLE CLUB BOOK 10) by Candace Blevins
VS Note: Paranormal…he’s a werewolf.
Nickie’s an investigative journalist who recently faced some of the worst men she’s ever confronted — which would’ve been fine if the FBI hadn’t lost them when she’d practically handed them over on a silver platter.
She vacations in Cancun to get away from the horrors she saw while probing into the human trafficking organization, and doesn’t expect they’ll be able to find her while she travels under another of her pen names.
Bud is in Mexico on club business, staying in a Cancun resort dressed as an American businessman. He meets the beautiful Nicole and gets caught up protecting her when he discovers she’s all alone in Mexico with human traffickers after her. ..(more)…
RANGER by Montana Ash
After a miserable childhood, Lark has finally found the family he always wanted. There isn’t much he wouldn’t do for his new liege, Max, including undertaking a secret and dangerous mission to save the most hated creatures in their society – the chades. He only wishes his partner wasn’t a lethal, stoic ranger with a mouth he yearned to make smile.
Ivy is a ranger. She is judge, jury, and executioner to any who break the strict laws of their world. So, how has she become the trusted operative of a legitimate goddess who wants her to save the chades instead of beheading them? To make matters worse, she is partnered with a fresh-faced earth paladin with green eyes, a body that won’t quit, and a perky attitude in direct opposition to her hostile one.
But as their mission evolves, Lark and Ivy discover pieces of a convoluted and terrible plot buried within the very foundations of their society. The secrets they uncover run deeper and are deadlier than any of them could have imagined. In order to save the chades and prevent a civil war, the two must reconcile their differences … and their hearts.
THE MASTER SHARK’S MATE by Zoe Chant
VS Note: I loved the blurb. On my TBR list.
Hated and mistrusted. Feared and misunderstood. For decades, the Master Shark has protected the underwater city of Atlantis. Now, his Empress has set him his most difficult mission yet:
A relaxing beach vacation.
Coyote shifter Martha Hernandez doesn’t want to take a vacation. She doesn’t want to sit around in some fancy all-shifter resort when her pack could be getting up to who-knows-what mischief in her absence. And she definitely doesn’t want to bang this mysterious scarred, silent stranger like a screen door in a hurricane.
Nope nope nope. No matter that he’s her one true mate. She’s a respectable widow with no call to be having such fool notions at her time of life. What would her family think?
But he is the Master Shark. And he has never failed in the hunt. He’ll capture his mate’s heart… even if it means learning to salsa.
BRING THE HEAT (DRAGON KIN) by G A Aiken
HE SAYS . . .I, Aidan the Divine, am, well divine. My name was given to me by the Dragon Queen herself! I’m a delight! Cheerful. Charming. And a mighty warrior who is extremely handsome with a very large and well-hidden hoard of gold. I am also royal born, despite the fact that most in my family are horrendous beings that don’t deserve to live. And yet, Branwen the Awful—a low-born, no less—either tells me to shut up or, worse, ignores me completely.
SHE SAYS . . .
I’ll admit, I ignore Aidan the Divine because it annoys him. A lot. But, we have so much to do right now, I can’t worry about why he keeps staring at me, or why he always sits so close, or why he keeps looking at me like he’s thinking about kissing me. We have our nations to save…(more)…
FURY OF SHADOWS (DRAGONFURY SERIES SCOTLAND #2) by Coreene Callahan
Commander of the Scottish pack, dragon warrior Cyprus harbors a terrible secret. A brutal truth he has long kept hidden. But when a powerful foe resurfaces, he steps from the shadows and returns to the hunt, vowing to protect his pack along with the woman his enemy seeks to use against him.
Brilliant, broke, and working two jobs, book conservator Elise Woodward has always struggled to make ends meet. When she lands the middle of a secret war, she becomes the target of a rogue pack of Dragonkind and the unwitting guest of a warrior who refuses to let her go—and despite the danger, makes her want to stay.
With the rise of a new enemy, Cyprus is forced to face his demons. But will defeating them be enough? Or will the past return to haunt him, taking the only woman he will ever love?
TEMPEST (WARRIORS OF THE WIND BOOK 1) by Anna Hackett
VS Note: Yes, this is a re-release, which I don’t usually cover but I love Anna H books. From July.
One of five brothers granted the power of the wind, Lorenzo Venti is Keeper of the Winds. A loner at heart, he’s fine that his duty to keep the evil Tempest Winds trapped on their island prison, keeps him isolated and alone. After seeing his father murdered by the Winds, he’s made an oath to keep them locked away. Besides, he prefers his work with his horses to annoying people anyway. But his powerful foes are rising, and when one infuriating, tempting woman arrives on his island, she threatens everything…
Bright, vivacious horse trainer Riley Donovan is drawn to big, brooding loner Lorenzo, and she’s planning to chase down the stubborn man once and for all. ..(more…
LOUISIANA LAGNIAPPE (THE BIG UNEASY) by Pauline Baird jones
VS Note: Also not SFR. but a murder mystery by an SFR author I really enjoy. PBJ captures the feel of New Orleans…
Becca Smith Poole should have known her forty-fifth high school reunion would be anything but normal – especially when a dead body turns up! Renowned for her problem-solving skills, Becca is determined to discover who the murderer is – and if her former high school crush is still as handsome as he was in their younger days. The first will take some time to solve, the second one took her breath away.
Retired detective Zach Baker has been lonely since the last of his Baker’s dozen moved out. When he sees Becca Smith’s picture in the “where are they now” brochure, he wonders if this might be a first chance for him with the gal he could never connect with in high school. But before he can ask her out, a murder breaks up the party.
Lucky for him, his son’s upcoming wedding is full of problems requiring Becca’s professional problem-solving touch. Can a retired cop and a mystery reading problem solver unmask a killer before the wedding? Even more challenging, can Zach convince Becca that there is no end date for falling in love?
LAST BUT NOT LEAST A COUPLE OF AMAZING SALES EVENTS FOR YOU! SE SMITH IS PUTTING ALL HER BOOKS ON SALE FOR 99 CENTS FOR A LIMITED TIME at all major eBook sellers…
AND I HAVE A BOOK ON SALE FOR $.99! STAR CRUISE: OUTBREAK. Apple iBooks Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble
IT’S ALSO IN THIS TWO DAY SALE EVENT with 99 other terrific books FROM PATTY JANSEN (see banner below).
(NOTE: If the author provides me with buy links I insert those; otherwise I default to Amazon and iBooks. Pricing and availability are current as of the day I prepare the post – things can change fast in the ebook world LOL.)
Also, I often include only the beginning of the book blurb…
By veronicascott • Posted in new releases • Tagged Anna Hackett, Candace Blevins, Carol Van Natta, cassandra chandler, Catherine Miller, Coreene Callahan, Cynthia Eden, Debra Parmley, G A Aiken, Hailey Turner, Jeffe Kennedy, Kit Rocha, Laurann Dohner, Linda Mooney, Lindsey R Loucks, Loretta Johns, Montana Ash, Pauline Baird Jones, Petra Landon, Regine Abel, Ruby Lionsdrake, Zoe Chant
Not the Cause of the Problem Weekend Writing Warriors
The snippet is from Two Against the Stars (story below the excerpt), my latest release. Continuing on from last week where Carialle tries to help her elderly landlady. Edited slightly from the published version to fit into our rules here.
“My late husband planted this tree when we moved in here, all those years ago.” Mrs. Galaganos sighed, “He was such a romantic—he carved our names into the trunk, with a heart, in honor of our love. This tree is my last link to him—he died a year ago. I’ll be devastated if it dies too – I feel close to him when I’m out here gardening in the shade of the tree,” Her voice quavered and Carialle feared the elderly lady was on the verge of tears.
She peered more closely at the inscription and could barely make out two names and several slashes resembling a date. The carving was old and clearly not the cause of the tree’s current health problem. “Bugs, living deep within the trunk, feasting on the rising sap.”
“How—how can you tell?”
“I know a lot about plants – I’ve studied them,” Carialle improvised. The tree was attempting to tell her what course of action might help it fight off the infestation.
Next week I’ll continue with this scene..
Empathic priestess Carialle has escaped the evil Amarotu Combine, but she’s hardly out of danger. Not when she risks everything to rescue a drugged man from a crooked veterans’ clinic. By lulling the clinic staff to sleep, she reveals her powers. And once again, criminals are after her and her rescuer.
Marcus Valerian, a wounded Special Forces veteran, never expected to have his life threatened by the clinic that’s supposed to help ex-soldiers like him. But when he wakes from a drugged state to find a lovely woman urging him to run–he does. In his family’s remote fishing cabin, he suffers the agony of withdrawal, soothed only by her powers.
In their idyllic hideaway, the two also discover a nova-hot attraction flaring. But can they stay alive long enough for it to become more? Not if the Combine has anything to say–they are not giving up until Marcus is dead and Carialle is their weapon
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By veronicascott • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged #8Sunday, empath, scifi adventure, scifi romance, SFR, Sunday Snippet, Weekend Writing Warriors, WeWriWa
Sharing My #1linewed #SciFiFri and #bookqw Fun
I’m having fun each week doing the special book-related hashtags over on twitter, and I’ve shared them on my Facebook author page, so I thought I’d try doing a weekly post on Fridays to give them a signal boost here as well. I only do three and I’m guessing there must be a ton more, but a person can only do so much in between writing the books from which the pithy quotes are to be drawn LOL!
The #1linewed is the strictest – no book cover, buy links or other info is supposed to be posted with your sentence. This one is run by the Romance Writers of America (RWA) Kiss of Death chapter, who pick the word of the week. This past week the word was ‘dance’ and here was mine:
“Do your people dance to this beautiful music?”
Author Mindy Klasky created #BookQW (Book Quote Wednesday) and she picks the word there. This week’s was ‘fast’.
And then there’s #SciFiFri, which I LOVE. Two weeks ago the word was ‘ooze’, last week it was ‘prisoner’, and today it was ‘martial arts’ so since I’m a blasters and pulse rifles kinda gal, I took my entry from a plain old fight scene. I’ll share all three since I’m in catching up mode here! They’re in oldest to newest order (so today’s is last.)
This was the best I could do for anything remotely ‘ooze-y’:
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Amazon Barnes & Noble iBooks Google Play Kobo
Can you tell I like playing with memes and pictures and backgrounds on Canva when I should be writing? Fun stuff though.
How about you? Any fun hashtags you ‘play’ each week?
By veronicascott • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged #1linewed, #BookQW, #SciFiFri
New Releases in #SciFi and #Fantasy Romance for Wednesday August 23
THE BARREN (KELDERAN RUNIC WARRIORS BOOK 2) by Jessie Donovan
VS Note: I enjoyed the first book in the series and have been looking forward to this one. Pre-ordered it. Releases on the 24th.
Vala Yarlen is one of the Barren—an infertile female ostracized from the rest of Kelderan society with others of her kind. So when she’s given the opportunity to join the new colony on a human-occupied planet, she jumps at the chance for a fresh start. The only downside is that she has to serve General Thorin Jarrell for the duration of the journey. The cool, distant male goes out of his way to show his disdain of her. But for the chance at freedom, Vala endeavors to endure.
Thorin Jarrell is the general in command of the Kelderan colony transport ship. After years of concealing his true parentage and working his way through the ranks of the army, Thorin will do anything to make his mission a success. What he didn’t count on was to find the female assigned to clean his quarters unconscious on the floor. The reason why throws his life into disarray.
Yet as Thorin tries to help Vala recover, the ship encounters trouble. Will they ever reach Jasvar alive? And if so, will Thorin and Vala find a way to be together despite the mountain of obstacles standing in their way?
FARSEEK – COMMANDER’S MATE (FARSEEK MERCENARY SERIES) by Clarissa Lake
VS Note: Sounds GOOD. On my TBR List.
While they were fighting the Consortium’s war against the Sargus Empire far from their home world, the Sargus Empire attacked Farseek, leaving mass destruction in its wake. Only about a dozen survivors remained to tell what happened—a dozen of over a million. Those who weren’t killed were taken to become slaves of the Empire. As the story opens, Commander General Zared Maktu has found the piles of wreckage that is all that’s left of his family’s neighborhood.
Nothing the Consortium has to offer can compensate what was lost. Time for the company of Farseek Dreadnought One to make a new plan. They must find those who were taken alive and bring them home. After terminating their contract with the Consortium, they take a job to rescue a governor’s daughter stolen to be sold into slavery.
Commander Maktu doesn’t just rescue the Governor’s daughter and her companion. He and his company take all the 100 abductees from the auction house. Only two are from Farseek, but there are four unusual females from a planet called Earth—and one of them is his fated mate Harper Avery. Things heat up from there.
KISS ACROSS WORLDS (KISS ACROSS TIME BOOK 7) by Tracey Cooper-Posey
VS note: I’m a huge fan of Tracey’s books!
To save Veris’ and Brody’s son Aran from sex traffickers, Neven Zoric must step into the life of his alter ego in this timeline. Kristijan Zoric is a hardened crime boss Neven doesn’t understand. Worse, Neven must fool Kristjan’s lethal, ruthless lieutenant, Remi De Sauveterre, a vampire who survived the French Revolution and now gives no quarter.
Then Kristjan’s estranged, bitter wife arrives in Serbia. London McCallum wants nothing but her freedom from the vile tyrant that rules her life–except he’s not as hateful as she remembers.
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DESTINY FOUND by Beth Valentine
Earth has been dying for years, but it has reached a critical point and they are running out of time. They now have the task of looking for a new home for Earth.
When Natalie White signed up to become a pilot with the Intergalactic Forces, a specialized branch of the Armed Forces, she never thought she’d be volunteering for a solo mission into space. But after the death of her family a year prior, that’s exactly what she does. She is tasked with searching for a new home for all humanity.
But no one expected there to be an anomaly that would lead to an inhabited galaxy.
Taavi Larn, Captain of the Elite Warriors of Tarlon, doesn’t need anything to distract him from fighting his peoples’ enemies, the Nezleans, so when he boards their ship, he’s surprised to find….(more…)
TAMING THE CYBORG by Anne Kane
Although he doesn’t understand why his brother chose to bond with a human female, Noah agrees to be the official cyborg witness at the birth of the cyborg/human couple’s first son. When he arrives on the human space station, he finds himself face to face with a female pilot, an unheard of occupation for a female on the cyborg home world of Terras Five. Hailey’s cute, she’s sassy, she’s sexy and she doesn’t automatically defer to him just because he’s male. Noah finds that combination irresistible.
After a night of amazing sex, Hailey heads off on a reconnaissance mission with her squadron, and Noah arranges to spend a little more time in the human world to get the sassy redhead out of his system. But when her ship goes missing, it’s up to Noah to use all the tricks of his cyborg heritage to track her down and rescue her.
KISS MY ASTEROID by Milly Taiden
Ivy Grimaldi can’t stand change. Ever. But change is something she’s had to deal with a lot lately. Like when her cousin Cassandra moved away to start a new life, baby and all. That all changes when Gerri Wilder shows up at her door with a letter from her cousin. Cassie wants her to come visit. Sure, why not? There’s just one problem. Cassie lives on another planet. A far-the-heck-away planet, with her hotter than hell shifter mate.
Vander Kasval, King of the shifter warrior planet Galaxa, has his own problems with change. A lead by example kind of a king, he’s between a rock and a hard place. He needs to find a mate to help put an end to a brewing civil war. None of this would be happening if not for a plague affecting only the females of his planet. His warriors and the men of the Palladian Capitol are ready to riot. Vander reluctantly agrees to send for matchmaker, Gerri Wilder. If she can find a match for him and his men, then his world might be saved.
Ivy agrees to go, if only to make sure Cassie’s okay. Oh, alright, and to maybe find an intergalactic hookup for herself in the process. In a planet full of big, bad, sexy shifters, anything’s possible, right? Ivy’s in for the time of her life in a planet of unimaginable beauty and dangers she had no idea existed. But Ivy isn’t one to sit idly by and let something happen. With two new friends, they’re about to take Galaxa by storm.
DOMINION RISING by Various
VS Note: Actually released August 8th, wasn’t sure how much romance in the 23 stories but apparently some!
Whether it’s alien invasion or dark fairytales, heart-pounding galactic adventures or cyberpunk romance, Dominion Rising will satisfy with a thrilling mix of 23 BRAND NEW novels set in fantastical realms. Sword and sorcery, far-flung galactic empires, alternative history, epic magic, slipstream futures: this collection of carefully selected, exclusive novels is sure to please and delight readers of speculative fiction.
Over five thousand pages packed with aliens, faeries, vampires, gargoyles, warriors, telepaths, space pirates, starship captains, hapless mercenaries, street urchins, robots, cyber-enhanced humans, badass heroines, and lost princesses.
THE RULER (MEN OF THE NORTH BOOK 2) by Elin Peer
Four hundred years in the future, women control the world but Khan Aurelius, ruler of the last free men, is determined to take back the power that has been denied men for centuries. Outnumbered by far, he knows that women need to give up their power willingly and with one of their councilwomen as a hostage, he’s certain he can influence her with his superior male intellect. She is justa soft woman, after all.
Councilwoman Pearl has sacrificed herself to save an innocent priestess. Trapped in the Northlands, her soft voice and sugar-coated view of the world doesn’t impress Khan, who constantly challenges her by playing his mind games to corrupt her and see things his way. It’s a battle of words and wills when the two intelligent rulers clash. Will Pearl succeed in bringing enlightenment and democracy to the primitive Nmen or will Khan corrupt her with his charm first?
DIPLOMACY OF LOVE by C J Scarlett
Remi is an alien ruler, looking for a mate to marry. Audrey is a young human girl, ready to finally find the one that she wants. When the two of them meet, at first, they gravitate towards one another for diplomatic reasons, but as Remi goes through and meets other girls, he knows that Audrey is for him.
But of course, there is trouble in paradise. While falling in love is easy, dealing with troublesome alien exes and maintaining diplomacy is quite hard. Will the two of them work it out before it’s too late? Or will the fate of the galaxy be torn apart before the diplomacy even starts?
SIMON SAYS ORDER OF THE BLACK SWAN (DIT BOOK 1) by Victoria Danaan
Rosie Storm is about to get the chance to head up a new Black Swan unit, D.I.T. The Department of Interdimensional Trespass.
Twenty years ago Sir Simon was a vampire hunter. He took three month’s bereavement leave to go wild camping in the far north of Scotland following the death of his team leader. He expected solitude and fresh air to clear his mind and heart. He did not expect to fall in love. While wild camping on the stark landscape of the Orkney Islands, she disappeared into the standing stones. She faded into nothingness, a look of panic frozen on her face. As she reached out and silently called his name, he lunged to grab her an instant too late.
Her memory has haunted him every hour since.
Simon channeled his sorrow and loneliness into work until he eventually rose to the most powerful position ever held by an ex Black Swan knight. With tireless dedication, he built a congregation of talented misfits, watching and waiting for the one who could find Sorcha.
DRAGON FORETOLD (DRAGON POINT BOOK 4) by Eve Langlais
He’s big, bad and golden. Also a jerk.
Sue-Ellen can’ t believe the golden-haired boy she fell in love with is acting so cold. She gave up everything for him; her freedom, her family. But it’s become clear Samael will never do the same.
He is the golden dragon the world has been waiting for. The one foretold.
What the world doesn’t know is Samael plans to conquer humanity—unless someone stops him, and she might have just found the only weapon that can.
DEAL WITH THE DEVIL by Evangeline Anderson
Luz Velez is a shapeshifter who can’t shift. Every time she tries to summon her inner wolf, she has a massive panic attack. Worse, her anxiety extends to the rest of her life. At twenty-seven, she’s still a virgin because attempting to have sex sends her into lockdown mode. She’s miserable and stuck—until Jude Jacobson comes along.
Tall, blond and dangerous, Jude is the most feared vampire in town and the minute he sees her, he wants Luz. Vampires and shapeshifters don’t date but he makes her an offer she can’t refuse—a blood exchange that will help her control her panic attacks and give her the life she’s always wanted.
Luz is desperate—she takes Jude up on his offer. But she doesn’t expect to fall for the darkly seductive vampire—or to be plunged into danger when her past comes calling. When Jude’s own dark secret comes to light, she begins to question her deal with the devil and wonder if she and Jude can make it…or if they’ll die trying.
WHEN DAWN COMES: CITY OF SIN by Ursula Sinclair
Aaliyah: I’m the daughter of a daemon lord of hell. And one of his best soldiers in Vegas. I’ve spent my life doing his bidding and gathering souls. The more souls gathered, the greater the daemon powers. I took great pleasure in stealing a soul from beneath the nose of the damn guardian angels. That was the only life I knew, and I excelled at it. Until one day, I tried to steal a dying soul that didn’t belong in hell and an angel came to stop me. In doing so, he showed me the world I knew was a lie.
Micah: My human life ended to save the woman I love. My reward was to become one of heaven’s angels, a guardian of souls. I didn’t want to leave her, but I thought eventually we’d be reunited. For decades I’ve waited and searched for her but never found her. Then one day, to my shock, the soul I’d been sent to save was being taken by a daemon.
I finally found Aaliyah, only now I have a fight before me. She has no memory of us, but I know I have to save her soul. And if I have to give up heaven to do it, so be it.
We have a daemon lord to kill.
ENEMY OF MAGIC (DRAGON’S GIFT THE PROTECTOR BOOK 4) by Linsey Hall
My enemy Drakon is on the hunt for dragons, and I’m on the hunt for him. Problem is, he’s a step ahead of me every time. Worse, I’m a pawn in chess game only he understands.
When Drakon puts my hometown under a horrifying freezing spell, I get the first terrifying clue to his plan. My family is trapped, slowly wasting away. I must break the spell before it’s too late, but the task might kill me.
Though I’ve got my friends at my back, I’m the only one who can stop Drakon. And I’m not sure my magic is strong enough to do the job.
AGENT OF DARKNESS (DARK FAE FBI BOOK 3) by C N Crawford and Alex Rivers
There’s a dark power growing within me. And I’m not sure I can control it.
The fae king wants me dead. His assassins tracked me down and nearly killed me— now they’re the ones lying lifeless in a pool of blood. But the price I’ve paid is too high. They hurt someone I love, and I burn for revenge.
I’m done watching from the sidelines. Following the seductive fae Roan, I join the rebels but find myself surrounded by suspicion at every turn. But with the strange new magic in my blood, no one trusts me anymore.
It’s the magic of fear, of terror, of nightmares. The king’s minions have given me another name: Mistress of Dread. My power is unstable and deadly, and to get my vengeance, I must learn to control it. Yet with fury boiling in my blood and desire for Roan kindling my heart, it seems like an impossible task.
FBI Agent, Pixie, Terror Leech, Mistress of Dread. Will I become a King Killer as well?
HER FAIRY TALE WOLF by Milly Taiden and Marianne Morea
Isabel Lassiter knows with the right opportunity, her custom couture could rule Tinsel Town. Instead, she’s tied to a boss she both hates and pities, waiting for her chance shine. Lonely, she waits for the right someone to notice and sweep her off her feet.
Zander Petrov has Hollywood and the city of Los Angeles at his feet. Still, he’s never forgotten his shifter roots or his duty to his clan. He knows he has to mate, but in his glittering world a genuine mate is hard to find. The search continues until the day he meets Isabel in this modern twist on a favorite fairytale.
A chance meeting opens the door for everything this Cinderella wants and more, but jealousy and betrayal nearly snatch the happily ever after from her hands. What they didn’t count on was a Prince Charming with a bite.
PLAYING CAT AND MOUSE: ZODIAC SHIFTERS LEO by T L Reeve
A lion prince who likes to party…
Wilhelm must take a mate by his thirty-fifth birthday, or his status as Alpha-apparent will pass to his twin brother, Christoph. Motivated to find his bride, he throws a Wag festival to attract the most eligible bachelorettes of the realm. Little does he suspect, the woman of his dreams is more than one man can handle… alone.
A bored cat-goddess in disguise…
As a prominent lawyer, Samiyah Lisimba acts as champion for the poor and the powerless. Being a champion, however, fails to satisfy her most primal needs. When she receives an invitation to the Wag festival, curiosity leads her astray. Wilhelm is as delicious as he is arrogant… but his twin brother is also a sinful temptation. Why should a goddess have to choose?
A game of cat and mouse…
Christoph would do anything for his brother, including one final blowout for their birthday. With the stakes running high, he sets out to help his brother select a worthy mate, never expecting to find the perfect woman is also his fated mate.
TURO’S FATED MATE IRON WOLVES MC by Elle Boon
A LONE WOLF…Turo has searched for centuries for the one female to complete him. The Iron Wolves seemed like home to him, but after fifteen years, he’s thinking about moving on, until he finds her.
A LOVE WORTH ANYTHING…Jozlyn isn’t your average human and knew it would take a special man to accept her as she was. However, she hadn’t counted on a man like Turo.
TESTING THE BONDS…As Turo and Jozlyn’s love grows, a creature from their worst nightmares will do anything to destroy them. Will they be able to survive the coming battle, or will fate be give them what they’d always craved…true love?
SCATTERED FLAMES (DRAGON QUEEN SERIES BOOK 5) by Yvonne Nicholas
Rayne, the Dragon Queen, is out for blood!
Her guardian, Blaze, has been abducted by a demon witch and a warlock, two powerful minions who are under the command of Satan’s spawn, Lucius. Demetri Bithanos, Rayne’s consort, is being held prisoner by a creature forged in the bowels of the demon realm.
Rayne and her team of battle angels share a spiritual bond with Blaze, a bond that can be exploited. When they make an attempt to rescue Blaze from her captors, they come face to face with another powerful foe.
During the assault, Rayne finds herself drawing closer to the demonic side of her nature. With her sanity hanging in the balance, Rayne may be forced to abandon her humanity and succumb to the monster inside of her.
DESIRES KNOWN by Lilith Saintcrow
To accountant Emily Spencer, the junky thrift-store ring is perfect for her Halloween costume. A few too many drinks, a slip of the tongue, and all of a sudden, there’s a guy calling her mistress and demanding to know her desires. If she just ignores the weirdness, it’ll go away, right?
Wrong. Hal is a creature of almost limitless power, eternally bound to serve the owner of the ring. Though modern technology is puzzling, he has no difficulty deciding he likes being out in the world again. Even if he has to train a reluctant but undeniably attractive new mistress.
Unfortunately, the man who lost Hal’s ring so long ago is still around—rich, unscrupulous, and more than a little insane. He’ll try anything—deceit, treachery, torture—to regain control of Hal. Anything at all.
Including murder.
DRAGON BURN: 1001 DARK NIGHTS (A DARK KINGS NOVELLA) by Donna Grant
A promise made eons ago sends Sebastian to Italy on the hunt to find an enemy. His quarry proves difficult to locate, but there is someone who can point him in the right direction – a woman as frigid as the north. Using every seductive skill he’s acquired over his immortal life, his seduction begins. Until he discovers that the passion he stirs within her makes him burn for more…
Gianna Santini has one love in her life – work. A disastrous failed marriage was evidence enough to realize she was better off on her own. That is until a handsome Scot strolled into her life and literally swept her off her feet. She is unprepared for the blazing passion between them or the truth he exposes. But as her world begins to unravel, she realizes the only one she can depend on is the very one destroying everything – a Dragon King.
MARKED BY DARKNESS (DARK FAE HOLLOW 8) by Lia Davis et al
Crystal Hollow used to be a magical winter wonderland. Now it’s a wasteland of frozen death ruled by an evil Ice Princess.
As the last ice fae, Roshia’s the only one with the power to save her world. When her family is destroyed by the queen’s demonic army, she flees to the North Mountains, hoping to join the rebels rumored to live there.
But she discovers more than just the rebel camp.
She finds three men determined to help her learn to love again–and in them, the key both to her heart and to reversing the evil spell poisoning the Hollow.
If only they can convince her she can do it.
UNTRAVELED (TREASURE HUNTER SECURITY BOOK 5) by Anna Hackett
VS Note: Not a scifi romance but I love her books in all genres so I’m including it!
After a mission gone terribly wrong, former Navy SEAL Hale Carter has made a good career for himself at Treasure Hunter Security. He gets to use his engineering skills designing new gadgets, his SEAL skills providing security for exciting expeditions and treasure hunts, and he enjoys a variety of ladies on his downtime. He might still be plagued by nightmares, but all in all, life is good. Then he volunteers for a dangerous undercover mission into the Kalahari Desert, alongside a cool, attractive FBI agent who challenges him at every turn.
Special Agent Elin Alexander is driven to bring down the deadly black-market antiquities ring Silk Road. She’s experienced firsthand how they destroy lives and she’s vowed to end their greed and killing. After months of undercover work, she’s eager for the mission to find the Lost City of the Kalahari. What she wasn’t expecting was six-feet-three inches of former Navy SEAL as her partner. Hale is too handsome, too sexy, and isn’t inclined to follow orders.
As the pair infiltrate the Silk Road hunt, Hale and Elin find themselves fighting a scorching attraction as they work to discover just what the lost city is hiding. But stuck in the bowels of a legendary ancient mine, Hale and Elin must put their trust in each other, to not only save the day, but to get out alive.
It’s a mix of the genres in no particular order. Also the term “new” is generally plus or minus a week or two. I try to catch up on ones I missed in recent months.
By veronicascott • Posted in new releases, Uncategorized • Tagged Alex Rivers, Anna Hackett, Anne Kane, Beth Valentine, C J Scarlett, C N Crawford, Clarissa Lake, Dominion Rising, Donna Grant, Elin Peer, Elle Boon, Evangeline Anderson, Eve Langlais, Jessie Donovan, Lia Davis, Lilith Saintcrow, Linsey Hall, Marianne Morea, Milly Taiden, T L Reeve, Tracey Cooper-Posey, Ursula Sinclair, Victoria Danaan, Yvonne Nicholas
Let Me Take A Look Weekend Writing Warrior
The snippet is from Two Against the Stars (story below the excerpt), my latest release. I’ve jumped ahead to a scene where Carialle tries to help her elderly landlady. Edited slightly from the published version to fit into our rules here. I’ll go on with this scene next week.
“You certainly maintain the garden in great shape,” Carialle said, trying to change the subject.
Pride evident on her face, Mrs. Galaganos surveyed her small domain, “Yes, all but the biggest tree. I’ll be devastated if anything happens to it but the leaves have been dropping for ten days now and this isn’t the leaf-casting season – I gave it extra water.”
Impatient as she was to be off about her own errands, Carialle felt a compulsion to react to the concern about the possibly ailing tree. Tulavarrans and nature worked hand in hand on her planet and a priestess was never to ignore the needs of the differently-sentient. “Additional irrigation isn’t always the best tactic,” she said, walking toward the tree in question, “Let me take a look.”
Mrs Galaganos trailed behind her while the pet yawned, rolled over in its patch of sun, and ignored them.
The tree had a beautiful shape, with a swirling trunk rising twenty feet in the air, and graceful branches currently sporting rather patchy clumps of leaves. The older leaves were a glossy deep green but the newer ones were shriveled, mottled with red and brown. Carialle stepped across the ornamental barrier of white shells and rested her hand on the tree, reaching for the sentient with her power.
By veronicascott • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged #8Sunday, sci fi, scifi, scifi adventure, scifi romance, SFR, Sunday Snippet, Weekend Writing Warriors, WeWriWa
TEMPORARY DUTY ASSIGNMENT by A E Ash
Samantha Gao is an elite Metro soldier, dedicated to the job and to her team. But following a devastating mission, Sam is handed a new temporary duty assignment. On paper, she’s supposed to babysit a Metro tech-inspector during a routine evaluation of Greenerhouse seed colony’s corporate sponsor. Sam expects to be on duty at all times, ready for whatever comes. But what she didn’t expect was to see him—Caleb—again.
Caleb Estes is an engineer at Greenerhouse and cannot believe his luck when his first love, Samantha Gao, walks into his lab—and back into his life. It’s enough to make him believe in second chances after all.
But Sam and Caleb’s reconciliation will have to wait when the routine bodyguard job goes sideways, and the future of the seed colony itself is at stake.
ACCIDENTAL BOUNTY (INTER-GALACTIC BOUNTY HUNTER BOOK 4) by KD Jones
Drake Miller owed his two bosses a debt. To repay them, he agreed to train the newest bounty hunter. He thought a few days out in the field with the newbie would be a piece of cake. That was until he met the trainee: a pretty woman named Jinx with rainbow-colored hair. She was cute but not his type. Jinx was a walking accident waiting to happen. He should hand her off to someone else to deal with, but his pride refused to let a small slip of a woman bring him down. All he had to do was train her, set her out on her own, and walk away. How hard could it be?
Jane Jean “Jinx” Alexander started out as a troublesome teenager on the wrong path in life. Then she met two bounty hunters who helped her change her life for the better. Now she wanted to work for them as a bounty hunter in hopes of maybe helping someone else turn their lives around. The only obstacle in her way was Drake Miller, the well-built bounty hunter who was her trainer. He was gorgeous and sexy, but not her usual type. She was determined to stop him or anyone else from holding her back from her dreams. Jinx knew she could do this; all she had to do was ignore the sexy Drake and keep her eyes on her perps. How hard could that be?
THE NEW GUY (OFFICE ALIENS BOOK 2) by VC Lancaster
VS Note: Found by reader Merry.
Maggie works in Enquiries at DETI (The Department of Extra-Terrestrial Immigration) and they’re a little under-staffed. She’s confused but grateful when a handful of Teissian refugees fresh off the spaceship are allocated to her department. She is put in charge of training Ro, a charming, scaled alien with a sexy voice, cute dimples, and a lot of secrets.
She knows office romances are a bad idea, but she just can’t resist after spending every day sitting opposite him. As the two get closer, however, questions arise that threaten their relationship. Why does his friend seem to hate her so much? What is he hiding about his life on his home planet?
Can Maggie get Ro to open up before it’s too late? Or will his secrets overwhelm them both?
COLBORN DROGON HEALER (A DROGON’S FATE SERIES BOOK 5) by T J Quinn
Gil Ra looked around trying to put on a good face and a bright smile.
This was supposed to be a second chance in life. But she couldn’t stop thinking about the past and what she had left behind.
Being abducted by aliens sounded so much like the title of a cheap sci-fi movie, and yet it had happened to her. That night, when she had decided she couldn’t take it any longer, the mocking, the loneliness and the feeling she had failed the only person that depended on her completely had become overwhelming, and that night she had decided to end it all.
She had left everything ready, no unfinished matters, no one to worry about her and surely no one to mourn her. And so, she had walked in the middle of the night, to the highest bridge she was able to find near the tiny room, she had been living in.
THE VILKA’S MATE (SHIFTERS OF KLADUU BOOK 2) by Pearl Foxx
During her final flight exam to become the first female Falconer Elite, Jude Quincy crashes through a wormhole onto an unknown planet. Before she can catch her breath, a massive shape-shifting alien thunders onto her crash site in all his sexy, infuriating glory. He’s rude and bossy, but when a rival clan threatens Jude’s safety, the alien marries her in a hasty ceremony to save her life.
Gerrit never wanted a mate. He has enough on his mind after his father’s recent death and his new role as Alpha of Clan Vilka. Except Jude isn’t like anyone he has ever met, and the more time he spends with her, the more their fake marriage starts to feel real. Stranded in another clan’s territory, Gerrit must negotiate the turbulent political waters to get him and Jude out alive.
But when Gerrit is attacked, Jude will have to make a life or death decision between returning home or saving the husband she never wanted.
THE ZORAN’S BABY (BARBARIAN BRIDES) by Luna Hunter
Aria Winters is on a mission to rescue Grace, her little sister. The Nezdek came from the skies and took her, and she won’t rest until Grace is safe. Aria talks her way onto a Zoran ship set to explore a distant planet, but she didn’t expect to fall for the ship’s brooding, tall, imposing alien commander. She tries to resist the growly warrior, but he has his radiant eyes set on her. And what a Zoran wants, he takes…
Dost is a Zoran general. A deadly warrior. Seven feet of pure muscle. His mission is to find a new home for his kind, but when sees the curvy human, everything changes. He never thought he’d lust for a human, but he can’t deny what his body is telling him. She is his fated. His true mate.
She will be his.
THE PHOENIX WARRIOR: SPACE GRIT TWO: BOOK ONE (THE PHOENIX CYCLE 1) by Ella Drake
VS Note: I like Ella Drake’s style. On my TBR List.
In the outer reaches, facing the imminent destruction of her ship, Captain Anna Voron accepts help from newly-discovered, space-faring phoenix shifters. Their leader awakens dark memories and makes trust impossible but she’s out of choices.
Piotr dom Raven lives for duty. And that duty has two goals: become a full phoenix with reincarnation abilities and win a decades-long war threatening to destroy their kind. The intriguing captain of a derelict ship changes everything. His phoenix wants her, but mating a human means permanent death and deserting his command.
The enemy of old has Anna in his sights and Piotr can’t stop the years in the diabolical plans set in motion. If Anna can face her past and Piotr can follow his phoenix instincts, they stand a chance to save the endangered crew. But will they find the key to survival in time?
ZURAN (ALBATERRA MATES BOOK 6) by Ashley L Hunt
As a nurse, Phoebe has spent her career helping people. She knows it’s her calling and throws herself into tending to her patients heart and soul. In the city of Ka-lik’et, she is considered one of the best attendants amongst those in the human colony. When she loses the most important patient she’s ever had, though, a fuse is ignited that sends her spiraling into a course of events she never could have imagined.
Zuran is the Interplanetary Affairs Officer for the Albaterran kingdom of Dhal’at. He is also a reformed criminal, but he walked away from that life in pursuit of something better. When he meets the curvaceous and intelligent Phoebe, it’s in the midst of a crisis, and he realizes he has never met someone so genuinely good. He soon discovers walking the straight-and-narrow is not the only unexpected change in himself as he finds himself captivated by the compassionate, beautiful human.
Albaterra has been playing host to a colony of Novai for many months, but they are suddenly stricken with a mysterious disease neither A’li-uud nor humans have seen before. Suddenly, Zuran and Phoebe are thrown into the race against time to cure the disease before it kills the Novai colonists or spreads to the other beings who call Albaterra home. (more…)
RHAVOS (WARRIORS OF THE KARUVAR BOOK 3) by Alana Serra and Juno Wells
VS Note: I’ve enjoyed other books in this series! So this is on my TBR List.
Ren Alvarez doesn’t remember the last five years of her life. Taken hostage by an anti-alien terrorist organization and forced to write malicious code to target the Karuvar, she hasn’t been in control of her own destiny–or even her own mind–for a long time. When a massive, brutish, sexy-as-hell Karuvar warlord storms the base where she’s being held, she doesn’t know her salvation has arrived. After all, as far as he’s concerned, she’s the enemy. It doesn’t matter that he keeps saying she’s his mate.
As Conqueror, Rhavos has spent his life eliminating threats to the Karuvar and bringing other, lesser species to heel. A group of rebel humans should be an easy problem to solve, but when he finds his mate among them, Rhavos does the one thing he swore he’d never do: He hesitates. (more…)
KRAYTER (MATED TO THE ALIEN Book 5) by Kate Rudolph and Starr Huntress
When his brethren begin to discover human mates, Krayter knows his best chance at surviving the Denya Price is to journey to Earth and find the woman he’s been waiting for. Otherwise, he’ll waste away and die by the age of thirty like most other Detyens. But when his speeder crashes in a hostile human settlement, a mate is the last thing on his mind. Until he sees his salvation. (more…)
Abandoned. Neglected. In trouble.
Penny will do anything to protect her two sisters, even if it means remaining in Highland Settlement, the anti-alien town that her father rules with an iron fist. But when an alien crash lands near her house, she knows that she can’t let her father’s men find him. Something about the intriguing blue man calls to her and she will not let him die.
A journey into something more.
The pull of the alien stranger is so strong that Penny has only one choice: kiss him or go mad. Krayter will do anything to earn his mate’s trust and her love… (more…)
UNSEEN by Lucy Felthouse
Medical scientist Rory is working in his top secret underground laboratory in Central London when a procedure has unexpected results. Far from curing his patient, a monkey called Arnold, of an unpleasant disease, he manages to turn the animal invisible! In his panic, Rory accidentally gets some of the serum he injected Arnold with into his own bloodstream, rendering himself invisible, too.
With disbelief and confusion filling his brain, Rory finds it impossible to think straight, much less to figure out what precisely happened, and what on earth he’s going to do about it. So, after stripping off his clothes—which remain visible and therefore would give him away—he heads out into the London night for a walk to try to clear his head…(more…)
FIRE IN HIS EMBRACE (FIREBLOOD DRAGON BOOK 3) by Ruby Dixon
There’s only one way to tame a dragon.
Emma Arroyo knows this. She also knows that the big golden dragon captured by her brother’s biker gang is in trouble, and it’s all her fault. He followed her scent, and now his life is in danger.
She has to fix this, somehow. If she could talk to the dragon, they could form a plan to escape, both of them. But the dragon’s mind is wild and full of uncontrollable, killing rage. There’s no reasoning with him. There’s certainly no freeing him, not when he’s like this. But Emma can’t leave without him.
There’s only one way to solve this problem – a mating. When Emma approaches Zohr to claim him as hers, she realizes just what it means to be a dragon’s mate, and how much she’s in over her head…
And she learns how fiercely possessive a drakoni male can be.
RAGE TO ADORE (WARRIORS OF CHAOS BOOK 2) by Cara Lake
To realign The Balance and save the universe from destruction Tanith must form an intimate bond with a dangerous man who is her complete opposite.
Like Tanith, he is a warrior, but the similarity ends there. She holds the essence of Love and he of Hate. In a world where he has known only betrayal and violence, he fights to resist his burning attraction to this woman who offers him comfort. He knows if he surrenders, his heart will only be broken again, and this time it could cost him his life.
Slaves to destiny, two warriors must battle the dark forces threatening to consume love and compassion in a galaxy threatened by chaos. If they want to survive the darkness, they must negotiate the blurred lines between love and hate—together.
TAMING THE LION (SHIFTER WARS Book 3) by Kerry Adrienne
For Marco, heir to the lions’ throne, seizing control of the Cave of Whispers from the bear clan is more than just a quest—it’s fulfilling the legacy of his breed. But the latest crusade has left Marco gravely wounded in enemy territory and in the hands of Alicia, healer for the bears. An irresistibly sensuous adversary, Alicia presents a serious problem. She carries the scent of a mate.
Drawn to this dominant master of his den, Alicia knows her allegiance has been compromised. His brooding sexuality is testing her defenses, but falling in love with Marco means falling in league with a rival shifter. And turning her back on the bears in a time of war is a lethal move.
Two breeds united by destiny could inspire a peaceful new future for their opposing clans—or ignite the fiercest battle yet and destroy all of Deep Creek forever.
CITRINE (DATE-A-DRAGON) by Terry Bolryder
Citrine Vanderguard has searched tirelessly for his mate. And now, hundreds of miles later, he’s found her. She’s on the brink of mating someone she can’t possibly love, all for the sake of responsibility. So he does the only thing he can to win over the curvy, confident woman that makes the dragon inside him roar with approval: challenge the jerk that would be her mate to a fight for her hand.
Robbie can’t believe her eyes when Citrine, her former coworker in Seattle who she felt an irresistible attraction to, shows up on her doorstep out of nowhere. What’s more, he’s here to challenge her fiancé. But in spite of the audacious overture, the tall, muscular man with dark brown hair and amber eyes that are warm like a sunset still has the same effect on her body and heart.
As time ticks by leading up to the fight that will determine her destiny, subtle attraction blazes into pure fire. Though Citrine knows he’ll do anything for Robbie, she will have to make the ultimate choice between familial responsibility and personal happiness. And whispers of a big, bad wolf in the mountains of Robbie’s home may be more than just a fairy tale.
MALEFICA BENEFICUS: THE BEGINNING by Katie H Weill
VS Note: From July, sounds NA, not sure how much romance…had good reviews, I think.
Claudia Matthews turns 18 tomorrow – as long as she can make it through the first day of classes at Oakley High School. It’s more than her inherent strangeness that keeps her from fitting in. Her ill-tempered service dog, Luca, isn’t winning her friends and her class schedule is even less welcoming, dropping her into the government- mandated, “The History of Witches.”
They are real; she’s been told. They are powerful, and evil – yet Claudia wants to know if that’s actually a universal truth. Are all witches really that bad?
When a mysterious gift appears, dark secrets are cast into the light, and the world as she knows it may change forever. Now armed with questions, Claudia will need to figure out if it’s truly worth finding the truth when textbooks don’t hold all the answers. Drawn into a world of hidden covens and regulated magic, she may learn more than she bargained for. Now Claudia has to fight the lure of power and a temptation much more passionate…or lose herself to both. The truth could set her free… or damn her forever.
CAROLINA WOLF by Sela Carson
All it takes is a spark of Grrrrl power to set the swamp on fire!
Debra Henry is living the meek librarian cliche, except for the teeny hint of magic in her blood. As the keeper of magical knowledge passed down from her ancestors, she’s content with her quiet existence in the tiny town of Culford, South Carolina. But a monstrous attack could reveal her secret and end her life.
Maddox Moreau was a happy lone wolf until the day he spotted pretty, bewitching Debra along the trails of the Congaree Swamp. When he saves her, his fate is bound up in hers, and they have to learn to work together in a hurry to defeat the spread of evil.
ABANDON (HALFBLOOD CLUB BOOK 3) by Viola Grace
Graylin Treel is on a deadline. With only a few hours to go, she needs to put herself in the path of the dragon that she has chosen as a mate. The problem is, he thinks she is a pathetic human. When the glamour drops and their senses are aroused, can any structure of man take the heat of two dragons in the throes of passion?
THE SACRIFICE: A REVERSE HAREM FANTASY (THE AIRLUDS TRILOGY BOOK 1) by Nhys Glover
Having grown up in a harem as the favourite, if not dutiful, daughter of the ruling Godling, Airsha knew what it was for a powerful man to have more than one wife. But for her to have more than one husband, when she would have preferred none at all, felt like just one more way her fate was being taken over by a vengeful goddess.
Rescued by four legendary airling trainers when she escapes the harem, Airsha finds herself drawn into an uprising that has rebels planning to replace the Godling with the Goddess’ Chosen One: Airsha herself.
But having hidden her magic to avoid being castrated, sneaked out of the harem dressed as her twin brother to learn to fight, refused to become her father’s human sacrifice, and broken society’s rules by falling in love with not just one unsuitable man but four, Airsha was never going to willingly follow the destiny someone else laid out for her. Not even if that someone was the Goddess of all Creation.
HIRED BEAR (BEARS OF PINEROCK COUNTY BOOK 5) by Zoe Chant
Curvy Crystal Martinez didn’t think anything could bring her back to rural Pinerock County, but if the family legend of a hidden treasure on her grandfather’s old farm is true, it could get her whole family out of debt. And she never suspected she’d want to stay, with her friends, her job, and her entire life back in the city. But that was before she met the red-hot rancher next door, with electric blue eyes and a body to die for. She doesn’t dare get attached (no matter what her betraying body thinks about his kisses) but she does need help if she’s going to find her family’s treasure before her time in Pinerock County runs out. It’s strictly a business arrangement … with a few fringe benefits … right?
Grizzly shifter Cody Hayes has watched his clan brothers find their mates, one by one. As the peacemaker in his rowdy clan, Cody has almost given up on finding love, until Crystal moves in next door. In one glance, Cody and his bear know this stubborn city girl with curves in all the right places is the mate they’ve been waiting for.
Even though she’s falling for both Cody and the rural beauty of her family’s old farm, Crystal is determined to make her time in Pinerock County short. As the search for her family’s lost treasure brings them together, Cody must show this commitment-shy city girl that Pinerock County is where she belongs—or risk losing the only treasure that matters to him!
THE FOXLING SOLDATI (SOLDATI HEARTS BOOK 2) by Charlie Cochet
Foxling Toka has served the Soldati king for centuries, and now he attends to the kingdom’s cherished Soldati prince. It’s a position of honor, and as Toka helps the once-human prince adapt to their magical realm, he finds joy in their friendship. He also grows bolder in his encounters with Rayner, Soldati warrior and the king’s second. But the laws are clear: servants and Soldati are not permitted to mate. It doesn’t matter that Toka lost his heart to the dashing cad long ago.
Rayner never imagined he would fall in love with a servant, but the clever and beautiful foxling has ensnared him, and he resents the regulations keeping them apart. When an arrogant and spiteful king visits from a neighboring realm, Rayner is in danger of losing everything. But Soldati warriors don’t surrender, and he intends to fight all the harder to keep Toka where he belongs—in Rayner’s arms.
HER BILLIONAIRE LION: ZODIAC SHIFTERS: LEO by Dominique Eastwick
When Kalista’s father suffers a stroke just hours before making an important payment on a loan, she rushes to Greece to make amends before the billionaire tycoon swoops in to take the family business. She is convinced if she gives him the check in person, all will be fine and she can return to help her father on his long road to recovery. She did not anticipate Leonidas Karatasos.
This is not the first time Mr. Vidal has missed a payment, but it would be the last. Leonidas would let no one take advantage of him or his family, but when he steps off the boat on his family’s island, his mate is waiting for him check in hand. Kalista Vidal is everything he wanted and nothing he expected.
With the moon rising into the reign of Leo, Leonidas has one month to woo and bond with Kalista, or he must wait until the next Leo cycle. But with the world’s prides convening on the island for the month, he must deal with dangers his mate could never imagine. All the while figuring out how to let his lion out of the bag.
PRETTY KITTEN by May Sage
Out of every kind of paranormal out there, shifters are incontestably the least frightening; until now.
It’s a closely guarded secret that some shifters are born with the ability to change ordinary human beings, and there are plenty of dangerous Alphas would kill to keep it under wrap.
A few months ago, Daunte’s biggest problem was hiding his attraction to the human woman he doesn’t want to destroy; now that she’s turned, those who don’t want her dead want to lock her in a lab, and worse yet, get their hands on the shifter who did it to her.
His newborn nephew.
RITUALS: THE CAINSVILLE SERIES by Kelley Armstrong
VS note: Not familiar with this series, not sure there’s romance…but the books seems to get good reviews.
When Olivia Taylor-Jones found out she was not actually the adopted child of a privileged Chicago family but of a notorious pair of convicted serial killers, her life exploded. Running from the fall-out, she found a refuge in the secluded but oddly welcoming town of Cainsville, Illinois, but she couldn’t resist trying to dig out the truth about her birth parents’ crimes. She began working with Gabriel Walsh, a fiendishly successful criminal lawyer who also had links to the town; their investigation soon revealed Celtic mysteries at work in Cainsville, and also entangled Olivia in a tense love triangle with the calculating Gabriel and her charming biker boyfriend, Ricky. Worse, troubling visions revealed to Olivia that the three of them were reenacting an ancient drama pitting the elders of Cainsville against the mysterious Huntsmen with Olivia as the prize.
THE STONE SKY (THE BROKEN EARTH BOOK 3) by N K Jemison
VS Note: Not a romance but has been much awaited by many readers.
The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women.
Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe.
For Nassun, her mother’s mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed.
DOWNLOAD A FREE SAMPLER OF THE FIRST CHAPTERS OF ALL 12 STORIES IN PETS IN SPACE: EMBRACE THE ROMANCE while you wait for our October 10th release date! (I wrote a rock star romance…)
https://www.instafreebie.com/free/EZz5p
VS Note: We’re also going to make this anthology available in print. Pre-orders for the paperback at Amazon and the ebook everywhere…
10% of pre-orders as well as all first month sales goes to Hero Dogs, Inc. charity, which provides service dogs to veterans.
By veronicascott • Posted in new releases, Uncategorized • Tagged Alana Serra, Alanna Serra, Ashley L Hunt, Cara Lake, Charlie Cochet, Christine Myers, Dominique Eastwick, Dominique Eastwood, E A Ash, Ella Drake, Juno Wells, Kate Rudolph, Katie H Weill, KD Jones, Kelley Armstrong, Kerry Adrienne, Lucy Felthouse, Luna Hunter, May Sage, N K Jemison, Nhys Glover, Pearl Foxx, Pets In Space, Ruby Dixon, Sela Carson, Starr Huntress, Terry Bolryder, TJ Quinn, VC Lancaster, Viola Grace, Zoe Chant
Who Could Predict Weekend Writing Warriors
The snippet is from Two Against the Stars (story below the excerpt), my latest release. I’m continuing on from last week although I’ve skipped ahead a bit. After leaving the hotel and pawning Dobkin’s watch, Carialle rides the city’s mass transit all day, working her way into the seedier areas of town. She leaves the transport, buys lunch and studies the situation. (Edited somewhat from the published version.)
After finishing her meal, surprised at how healthy her appetite was after the traumatic events of the day, she wandered through the area, which boasted small shops with the proprietors’ living quarters above. The neighborhood was crowded and lively with street musicians playing for credits. Carialle kept her eyes open for any signs of Combine activity but detected none. Oh, there were scammers and pickpockets, but when she touched them lightly with her highly attuned senses, the petty crooks had no thought of the Combine.
Reassured she’d made a good choice, she strolled further, observing the mix of older, poorly maintained buildings and the newer, refurbished places. She encountered no police, which for her was just as reassuring as not seeing Combine enforcers. Who could predict how the mysterious authorities would view what she’d done as a Combine tool? And she’d probably be suspected of killing Dobkin, which was another huge problem.
High in the azure sky, the glint of an ascending spacecraft drew her attention for a moment. Averting her gaze, she blinked away tears – this planet was going to be her home for the rest of her life.
By veronicascott • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged #8Sunday, empath, sci fi, science fiction romance, scifi, scifi adventure, scifi romance, Sunday Snippet, Weekend Writing Warriors, WeWriWa
Chatting with Anthony Lemke, ‘Three’ on SyFy’s “Dark Matter”
Sometimes I get to do really fun things as part of being a scifi romance author and this past week I had a chance to talk with actor Anthony Lemke about his role as the character Three on the “Dark Matter” SyFy TV show. Here’s the beginning of the article and for the entire interview, I hope you’ll hop on over to Amazing Stories!
“One of my favorite hours of science fiction every week is Dark Matter on SyFy. Over the course of three seasons co-creator and showrunner Joseph Mallozzi (with Paul Mullie) and the cast and crew have explored concepts ranging from lost memories, time loops, self-determination of androids, blink drives, interstellar corporate wars to love and loss – high adventure served up with feeling and panache.
I recently had the opportunity to chat with Anthony Lemke, who plays the character Three on the program. Our conversation was wide ranging (and fun) so let me share the highlights. SPOILERS for Season Three!
He and a group of friends are in the process of building a storefront theater in real life, where he lives, with a tight deadline, so we began by talking about acting and the theater in general and I asked if he was going to do a one act play, whose life would he choose to enact? After some thought, Anthony said probably the life of one of his own grandparents, who were in that “epic generation” born at the beginning of the 21st century and lived through amazing experiences and world wars, eventually emigrating to a new country.
Pivoting to the subject of Dark Matter and Three…..”
Annnnd please follow the link to Amazing Stories for the rest of our wide ranging chat!
By veronicascott • Posted in TV • Tagged science fiction, scifi, scifi TV
New Releases in #SciFi and #Fantasy Romance for Wednesday August 9
JAZON: AN OMNES VIDENTES NOVEL by Wendie Nordgren
Determined to put his torturous thoughts and fantasies of a nonexistent female behind him, Jazon volunteers for a dangerous mission. He must discover and capture the scientist responsible for the creation of treacherous clones being used to threaten both the Imperial family and the peace of the Parvac Empire. Jazon’s mission takes him to the Laconian Sector where he discovers a beautiful Laconian scientist desperately seeking answers to her father’s death. As a genetically engineered hybrid soldier viewed in that sector of space as an abomination, he’ll have to earn her trust. However, the woman isn’t his only problem. Staying alive against mutated virus strains and a deadly assassin may be too much even for a telepathic warrior of Jazon’s skill.
SECONDBORN by Amy A Bartol
Firstborns rule society. Secondborns are the property of the government. Thirdborns are not tolerated. Long live the Fates Republic.
On Transition Day, the second child in every family is taken by the government and forced into servitude. Roselle St. Sismode’s eighteenth birthday arrives with harsh realizations: she’s to become a soldier for the Fate of Swords military arm of the Republic during the bloodiest rebellion in history, and her elite firstborn mother is happy to see her go.
Televised since her early childhood, Roselle’s privileged upbringing has earned her the resentment of her secondborn peers. Now her decision to spare an enemy on the battlefield marks her as a traitor to the state.
But Roselle finds an ally—and more—in fellow secondborn conscript Hawthorne Trugrave. As the consequences of her actions ripple throughout the Fates Republic, can Roselle create a destiny of her own? Or will her Fate override everything she fights for—even love?
DRAEKON FIRE: EXILED TO THE PRISON PLANET (DRAGONS IN EXILE BOOK 2) by Lili Zander and Lee Savino
When I wake from my coma, the first thing I see are two hot aliens.
And I’m informed that they’re my mates.
This isn’t the story of Sleeping Beauty, and the two sexy, possessive, Draekons aren’t my fairy tale princes.
I’m certainly not going to wake up, kiss them, and live happily ever after on this stupid prison planet, where everything’s out to kill me.
Not even if they heal me from my injuries and nurse me back to health.
Not even if they protect me, care me, and keep me safe.
Not even if their abs could grace the cover of every men’s fitness magazine back home.
Sleeping Beauty isn’t going to kiss her Draekons. She’s going to find a way back home.
DEFIANT (BATTLE BORN BOOK 13) by Cyndi Friberg
VS Note: Actually out on the 11th. Oops. But there’s a pre-order.
Rivals, enemies, lovers, Jenna and Drex are soon all three. She wants him, nearly as much as she resents him, so how can they ever hope to build a future together? Jenna has good reason to despise all Rodytes, but that doesn’t keep her from longing for Drex, thinking of him night and day, and finding incredible pleasure every time they touch. Still, happily ever after is built on trust, and Jenna will never trust a Rodyte.
Drex is determined to prove to Jenna that he is different. He never expected to find a mate, so he refuses to let her slip away. He will court her with ruthless patience, wear down her emotional defenses until she understands that she is the most important person in the universe to him. But hostilities between humans and the battle born are rapidly escalating and the couple keeps getting caught in the middle. Can they overcome their pasts and focus on the future or will the conflict consume their love?
AVEOTH (VLG BOOK 7) by Laurann Dohner
Jillian Milzner has lived a life on the run. Her biological sperm donor has made it clear he wishes she’d never been born. Most kids get presents from their dads growing up. He sent thugs to make death threats to ensure she never tries to find him. He needn’t have bothered, since she wants nothing to do with Decon Filmore. His father, however, thinks Jill might be useful. Things go from bad to worse when her grandfather’s goons snatch her up to deliver her to a man both terrifying…and straight out of her sexiest daydreams.
Lord Aveoth isn’t surprised to hear from Decker Filmore. The man is desperate to make the GarLycan lord call off the hunt for his life, and equally determined to reclaim his VampLycan clan. To achieve both goals, he’ll offer Aveoth yet another half-human granddaughter from his bloodline.
It’s lonely being a lord of a clan, so Aveoth agrees to the meeting—and he’s instantly attracted to Jill. He’s also angry to learn she’s been brought to him against her will, but he still wants to keep her. Even if it exposes his darkest secret…which could tear his clan apart.
1001 DARK NIGHTS: BLADE: A BAYOU HEAT NOVELLA by Alexandra Ivy and Laura Wright
Blade was held captive and abused for decades. Benson Enterprises was desperate to use his superior blood to create super soldiers. But when he’s finally rescued, he can’t return to the Wildlands with the other prisoners. Not without the female he was forced to watch being impregnated. The female who has gone missing.
Beautiful and broken, Valli just wants to run away and never look back. But with the shocking news of her pregnancy fresh in her mind, she wonders if that’s even possible. Told by her captors that one of the caged animals assaulted her, she knows she must do everything in her power to keep her unborn child safe. But when a glorious male tracks her down and claims her and her baby as his own, will she have the strength to walk away?
MASKED POSSESSION (MASKED ARCANA SERIES) by Alana Delacroix
A MAN WHO CAN WEAR ANY FACE:
Caro Yeats doesn’t run from much. As a former investigative reporter now working PR for Toronto’s supernaturals, what she hasn’t seen mostly isn’t worth seeing. But the assignment to “rebrand” Eric Kelton’s out-of-control alter egos has her on edge from the start. Kelton is the heirarch of the Masquerada, beings able to change their face—their entire persona—on a whim. Eric’s charisma muddles her instincts. How can she trust a man who can become anybody?
A WOMAN WITHOUT A PAST :Eric has never met anyone like Caro, with her lightning wit and uncanny insight. But desirable as she is, he’d be a fool to let her near. Struggling to hide the sudden loss of his powers, Eric can’t risk becoming entangled with a woman who scorns her supernatural side and claims not to play politics. The enemies on her trail are strong, clever, and vicious. And when they force Eric and Caro together, the fallout could shatter far more than two hearts.
DESERT DEVIL (OLD SCHOOL BOOK 5) by Jenny Schwartz
Donna Keats is a seer. But when she defies fate to save her estranged foster brother she becomes fate’s victim.
As one of only three couriers alive, Forrest “Rest” Castillo can travel anywhere on Earth in seconds. However, the price of his rare talent is to be forever alone. Anyone who gets close to him becomes a potential hostage for the powerful people that seek to own him.
Two years ago, Rest retreated to the isolated beauty of the Arizona desert to save those who have his loyalty and love, but it was the wrong strategy. It’s not his life that should be sacrificed for peace. Nor will it be Donna’s.
Rest’s enemies are about to learn that this former Army Ranger is not as alone as they believed, and that no conspiracy can be buried forever.
The time has come for Rest to walk the Path for justice, and Donna will match him step for step.
BLOOD ENFORCER (WOLF ENFORCERS BOOK 2) by Jessica Aspen
It was just another ordinary day for Glenna…until she was violently attacked and ended upin the hospital. Now, Glenna is on a whirlwind discovery of the world of wolves, dreamwalkers, and spelltalkers–a world she never knew existed. And she’s hell-bent on escape.
After nearly going wild wolf, Sam Wulfric is back and sane–mostly. The last assignment he wants is babysitting a new wolf shifter and all the chaos that involves. Even worse, she’s one of the sexiest women he’s ever seen and she’s driving his wolf crazy. But when everyone from the US Government to an unknown assailant comes after Glenna, Sam’s instincts take over. Now, he’ll do anything to keep Glenna safe–even if her new found mating urge drives him over the edge.
HIDDEN MAGIC (ANCIENT COURT #2) by Amy Patrick
Macy Moreno has been through hell. She only survived because the guy she loved—Nicolo Buonaccorsi—sacrificed his own life to save her. Though she’s discovered there’s much more to the world than she ever imagined, as far as Macy is concerned, all its magic died with him. She’s alive, but her heart will never recover.
Macy goes back on the road, trying to outrun her painful past and the haunting memories of the love she’s lost– and trying to forget that the end of mankind is quickly approaching. If only Nic had survived. If only there were something she could do to stop the coming Plague. But she’s only human—as far as she knows.
The only bright spot in her life comes from an unexpected source—a traveling companion she didn’t want but can’t seem to get rid of. And just when she thinks she might find some semblance of happiness in her new life, everything changes again, and she’s caught in an emotional tug-of-war between her past and the present.
WITCH’S HUNGER by Deborah LeBlanc
As a Triad witch, Vivienne François knows better than to let Nikoli Hyland get too close. Her family’s ancient curse means Viv can never be with the sexy human warrior. If she succumbs to her forbidden desires, she risks losing everything and putting all humanity in danger. Still, Nikoli affects her like no other…
Nikoli swore an oath to protect the world from the Cartesians, interdimensional beasts bent on destruction. He needs Viv’s help to defeat them, but the feisty beauty’s company makes focusing on the mission difficult. Viv and Nikoli know how to fight evil; it’s battling their hearts that could be their undoing.
DESERT WOLF by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom
Grant Wade is a former Texas Ranger. He’s also a Lycan Alpha and, in the ghost town of Desperado, he’s found a perfect refuge for his desert pack and a place to shelter other werewolves in need of a safe place.
Determined to reclaim her full birthright, Paxton Hall goes home for the first time in decades. Her plan to strike a deal with Desperado’s new owner doesn’t work any better than her attempts to resist this sexy cowboy. Even as she falls for him, Paxton has no idea what he’s trying to protect her from—his animal desire, her own true nature and a rogue predator on the prowl.
KENDALL (WOLF’S HUNGER BOOK 10) by Marcia La Porta
VS note: From July
Betrayed by his brother and his ex-fiancée, Kendall McKenzie’s heart is cold as ice and he no longer believes in love. If it weren’t for his responsibilities as an alpha, he would have left the Seattle’s Wolf Pack to disappear into the wilderness and good riddance to bad rubbish. But he can’t even escape the pack grounds for a weekend without reality intruding in his carefully arranged plans to drink himself to oblivion. Little Wolf, his beta, has taken upon himself to accept an invitation to a Hawaiian getaway on Kendall’s behalf.
Juliette Kewada is one of the few She-Alphas in the States and the leader of the Honolulu Wolves…(more…)
FORBIDDEN BONDS (IMMORTAL CURSE SERIES BOOK 2) by Lexi C Foss
Exile never felt so good. . .
Tom’s a trained sniper, not a babysitter. He kills rogue immortals for a living, but after releasing classified information to a friend, he’s banished to a remote location with the CRF’s most prized asset.
Can two tortured souls find solace and love in one another?
Secrets unfold as Tom forms a forbidden relationship with his new charge. The immortal woman evokes memories and feelings long forgotten, and forces him to question everything he’s ever known.
Sacrifices must be made.
A rash decision sends them both running for their lives as enemies vie for their heads.
Some bonds are meant to be broken.
ANAYA’S PRIDE (BEASTS OF IRONHAVEN BOOK 1) by Chloe Cole
Tutoring lionesses in the ways of seduction for the King’s Royal Harem is a time-honored tradition. And, as luck would have it, the Saint John brothers love their work. But when they’re called on to teach young, captivating Anaya Eldrich the pleasures of the flesh, they can’t get enough.
As their bonds strengthen and whispers of a dark secret run rampant through the palace, will the Saint John brothers turn her over to their king, or will her tutors become her guardians, laying down their very lives to protect her?
INTO THE STORM (FORCE OF NATURE BOOK 2) by Amber Lynn Natusch
When Piper Jones fled New York for a secluded mountainside in Alaska, she thought she was safe from the back-stabbing, supernatural drama of the city. Now she’s back, with the sexy werewolf Alpha Knox, his pack, and her grizzly bear sidekick for backup. But Piper’s plan to get closure is derailed when her vampire mate Merc is abducted, forcing her to form a shaky alliance with a warlock lord.
Faced with death threats, romantic entanglements, and dubious allies, Piper is running out of time before someone she loves becomes the latest casualty in a never-ending war.
THE FIFTH DOLL by Charlie N Holmberg
VS Note: Sounds intriguing. One reviewer does mention a romance.
Matrona lives in an isolated village, where her life is centered on pleasing her parents. She’s diligent in her chores and has agreed to marry a man of their choosing. But a visit to Slava, the local tradesman, threatens to upend her entire life.
Entering his empty house, Matrona discovers a strange collection of painted nesting dolls—one for every villager. Fascinated, she can’t resist the urge to open the doll with her father’s face. But when her father begins acting strangely, she realizes Slava’s dolls are much more than they seem.
When he learns what she’s done, Slava seizes the opportunity to give Matrona stewardship over the dolls—whether she wants it or not. Forced to open one of her own dolls every three days, she falls deeper into the grim power of Slava’s creations. But nothing can prepare her for the profound secret hiding inside the fifth doll.
HUNGER (THE ENERGY VAMPIRES BOOK 2) by Jacquelyn Frank
As an energy vampire, Halo enjoys the chase for human blood—if it’s pure and consensual. But Halo goes from hunter to hunted when he is knocked unconscious and taken hostage by vicious sycophants. As he comes to, he realizes that he’s naked, starving, and trapped in a sealed room. With him is a deliciously human female, tempting him to feed—except her blood is heady with the scent of poisonous drugs. Never has nourishment been so near, yet so far . . . and it’s all part of the sycophants’ sick game.
The last thing Felice Mendoza remembers is everything going black. She awakens stripped, drugged, exposed, and alone—with a vampire. Halo is at once savage and tender, terrifying and alluring. Felice senses that her only chance to escape depends upon his survival. Given the choice between Halo and his enemies, Felice surrenders to his ravenous hunger. It’s a calculated risk—and a delirious pleasure. As Felice is ushered into a world as dangerous as it is desirable, their fight for deliverance is only the beginning.
GRIZZLY SECRET (ARCADIAN BEARS BOOK 3) by Becca Jameson
Grizzly shifter Joselyn Arthur has been living a lie. She’s been lying to her parents, her siblings, and even herself. The decision to move back to her hometown in the mountains of Alberta, Canada, after university and take a job in the family brewery two years ago was the dumbest choice she’d ever made.
Alton Tarben has also been working his butt off for the past two years in his family’s brewery on the other side of town. He too is questioning why on earth he thought this would be a good idea. He’s lonely and bored, and his bed needs warming.
When the two breweries end up in a battle over new product launches, Joselyn and Alton decide they’ve had enough. Enough hiding. Enough sneaking around. Enough separation.
The problem is that life is not that simple. Silvertip isn’t progressive enough to tolerate the binding of two shifters from rival bear packs. Joselyn and Alton must decide if they’re finally willing to put their happiness first and risk losing their families and their community.
VS Note: And if you don’t mind, I’ll just mention my recently released TWO AGAINST THE STARS again here and tiptoe away!
By veronicascott • Posted in new releases, Uncategorized • Tagged Alana Delacroix, Alexandra Ivy, Amber Lynn Natusch, Amy A Bartol, Amy Patrick, Becca Jameson, Charlie N Holmberg, Chloe Cole, Cyndi Friberg, Deborah LeBlanc, Jacquelyn Frank, Jenny Schwartz, Jessica Aspen, Laura Wright, Laurann Dohner, Lee Savino, Lexi C Foss, Lili Zander, Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, Marcia La Porta, Wendie Nordgren
No Time To Waste Weekend Writing Warriors
NEW RELEASE! The snippet is from Two Against the Stars (story below the excerpt). I’m continuing on from last week, where Dobkin, Carialle’s mob handler, has died in the bathroom of their cheap hotel room from an accidental, drunken fall. She was handcuffed to the bed but has gotten loose, although one cuff remains around her wrist. Edited somewhat from the published version:
Carialle swallowed hard and forced herself to go through his pockets, snagging the key to the handcuffs and his ID and credit tag. Her hands were shaking so hard it took her three tries to release the shackle around her wrist.
She took a deep breath to quell her rising hysteria – No time to waste.
Carialle unfastened a gaudy, retro timepiece from his wrist and sidled away. It took her a few moments in the bedroom to dump out the contents of his small pack, snatching whatever might be useful and leaving the rest on the bed. She contemplated the small hand weapon for a long moment. She’d no idea how to use it but the allure of possessing a means of defending herself against those immune to her power was impossible to resist. Grabbing the shiny mini blaster, she hid it at the bottom of the pack and sealed the seams.
She straightened her spine, took a deep breath and checked the mirror to be sure there was no blood on her drab gray tunic, leggings or shoes. She hastened to the door and stepped into the hall, closing the portal behind her, keying the advisory to Do Not Disturb.
By veronicascott • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged #8Sunday, science fiction, science fiction adventure, science fiction romance, scifi romance, SFR, Sunday Snippet, Weekend Writing Warriors, WeWriWa
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← London’s Fields in Our Mutual Friend
IES 19c seminar: 1869 Roundtable, Feb 1 →
In Charles Dickens’s Networks (2012), Jonathan Grossman apologises for neglecting to draw upon one of the most famous Dickensian encounters with modern public transport infrastructure, the Staplehurst train crash the novelist directly experienced in 1865, while he was writing the latter parts of Our Mutual Friend. A number of scholars including Sean Grass & Juliet John (2014) have written about the incident in relation to the novel’s production, as in fact did Dickens himself, in its postscript, which tried to make light of what seems to have been in reality a highly traumatic experience. (As Jill Matus (2001) has argued, Dickens’s feelings about his closeness to death that day may well have found their fullest expression in that haunting ghost story of his from a couple of years later, ‘The Signalman’ (1866)).
While, unlike Dombey and Son, Our Mutual Friend does not choose to focus explicitly upon the dark side of railway mania, this last completed of Dickens’s novels is nonetheless unusually interested in traffic accidents, both (notionally) on the road (Jenny Wren and her father each fear being run over on the busy streets) and, with greater prominence, (actually) on the water. Amongst the various fatal or near-fatal experiences various characters meet with in negotiating the Thames, one of the most interesting is the collision of Rogue Riderhood’s little vessel with a large steamboat, the mode of transport Dickens, Ellen Ternan and her mother had made use of for the earlier part of their journey back from France on the day of the Staplehurst crash. Grossman helpfully unpacks how Little Dorrit plays with the global simultaneity enabled by steam-boat travel, but I would argue that this mode of transport performs an even more significant and complex function in Our Mutual Friend.
For Jerry White, the steamers in Our Mutual Friend are ‘bullying representatives of modernity’ and a ‘malevolent and destructive force’ (‘Victorian Bloomsbury’, Times Literary Supplement 12 Dec 2012), and this is certainly part of the story. In his description of the accident in which ‘a foreign steamer…runs down a wherry’, Dickens implicitly uses the incident in order to point to the class-differentiation of risk on the river, and to allow it to stand in for the way that the larger mechanistic forces of modern capital bear down relentlessly on whatever falls in their path, regardless of the human cost of collision. The voices watching helpless watching the accident and its fallout form a kind of democratic chorus of resistance to the indomitable strong ship and solidarity with the vulnerable weak boat:
Boats were putting off, torches were lighting up, people were rushing tumultuously to the water’s edge. Some man fell in with a splash, and was pulled out again with a roar of laughter. The drags were called for. A cry for the life-buoy passed from mouth to mouth. It was impossible to make out what was going on upon the river, for every boat that put off sculled into the fog and was lost to view at a boat’s length. Nothing was clear but that the unpopular steamer was assailed with reproaches on all sides. She was the Murderer, bound for Gallows Bay; she was the Manslaughterer, bound for Penal Settlement; her captain ought to be tried for his life; her crew ran down men in row-boats with a relish; she mashed up Thames lightermen with her paddles; she fired property with her funnels; she always was, and she always would be, wreaking destruction upon somebody or something, after the manner of all her kind. The whole bulk of the fog teemed with such taunts, uttered in tones of universal hoarseness. All the while, the steamer’s lights moved spectrally a very little, as she lay-to, waiting the upshot of whatever accident had happened. Now, she began burning blue-lights. These made a luminous patch about her, as if she had set the fog on fire, and in the patch—the cries changing their note, and becoming more fitful and more excited—shadows of men and boats could be seen moving, while voices shouted: ‘There!’ ‘There again!’ ‘A couple more strokes a-head!’ ‘Hurrah!’ ‘Look out!’ ‘Hold on!’ ‘Haul in!’ and the like. Lastly, with a few tumbling clots of blue fire, the night closed in dark again, the wheels of the steamer were heard revolving, and her lights glided smoothly away in the direction of the sea. (436-7)
In The Victorian City (2012), Judith Flanders has written eloquently about the ubiquitousness of steamboat accidents in this period. As she points out, the way that in Our Mutual Friend the crash is initially apprehended by bystanders suggests the horribly predictable, everyday quality of such occurrences:
‘Does anybody down there know what has happened?’ demanded Miss Abbey, in her voice of authority.
‘It’s a steamer, Miss Abbey,’ cried one blurred figure in the fog.
‘It always is a steamer, Miss Abbey,’ cried another. (436)
The large boat that glides smoothly away from the scene of the crime isn’t, however, just ‘a steamer’, being delineated by the angry-yet-jaded spectators with more particularity as a ‘foreign’ ship. Not a Margate packet, transporting Cockney revellers to the seaside nearby, this steamboat that almost kills Rogue is part of the world outside London this novel rarely represents but to which its metropolitan narratives in various ways relate. The stretch of the water by Limehouse that Riderhood and the Hexams know as a kind of local commons is also a global gateway, a place of international transit between London, the empire and the wider world of commerce. For, like Dombey and Son, Our Mutual Friend is a coastal novel as much as it is an urban one, and the novel is repeatedly interested in depicting London as a global port – a capital city that is also the central node for the whole world’s capital.
It is telling that the chorus of unidentified voices watching the scene from the shore condemn the amoral carelessness of the captain by re-orienting the steamer’s destination to places of deportation in the colonies, for this underlines the way that the accident represents not only class-collision but also the friction of global and local: ‘She was the Murderer, bound for Gallows Bay; she was the Manslaughterer, bound for Penal Settlement…’ Deportation hovers in the background of this novel, the first Dickens had written since Great Expectations (1860-1), which had foregrounded the practice through the character of Magwitch. Jenny Wren threatens her father with transportation at one point, while, at another, Eugene Wrayburn predicts Rogue Riderhood will be transported or hung. But another crucial transportation within Our Mutual Friend may also be shadowed by the sudden appearance and disappearance of the errant steamer that treats Riderhood to a close brush with a watery grave: that of John Harmon Jr, in his infancy. When the Boffins remember their parting scene with the boy, they inform us that a steamboat was the conveyance that bore little John Harmon away to a ‘foreign school’ in the text’s back-story: this kind of ship had been the fading object on the horizon upon which the kindly servants fixed their tearful gaze, they having carried the child to the landing place themselves, his miserly father having forbidden the expense of ‘sixpence coach-money.’ We don’t know precisely where Harmon is educated for the same reason that readers are often left in the dark about the precise whereabouts of penal settlements in other Victorian fiction: his ejection from London and England is punitive rather than educational in purpose, and his destination is chosen on account of its being far away from what is interesting or comfortable, far away from home, rather than having any distinct or attractive properties of its own.
Like the utilitarian political economy that justified such crude means of exerting control over an unruly population as transportation for life, steamboats become invested in the cultural imagination with a sense of the indomitable. They often mean strength verging on stubbornness; unwavering commitment to one’s chosen trajectory. One of the most admirably determined characters in the novel, Lizzie Hexam’s obstinate allegiance to her father is described early on in the novel by Miss Abbey Potter, landlady at the Limehouse pub ‘The Six Jolly Porters’, by way of reference to the industrial-era oceanic vessels that pass by the locality on their way out of the Thames estuary:
‘Lizzie Hexam, Lizzie Hexam,’ then began Miss Potterson, ‘how often have I held out to you the opportunity of getting clear of your father, and doing well?’
‘Very often, Miss.’
‘Very often? Yes! And I might as well have spoken to the iron funnel of the strongest sea-going steamer that passes the Fellowship Porters.’ (73)
While steamboats serve at times for metaphors of sticking to a pre-determined path, elsewhere they seem to set the imagination free, allowing characters to dream of multiple futures yet unwritten. In their day-trip to Greenwich, Bella and her father sit watching the busy river there: steamboats tugging themselves off to sea are among the ships clustering before them that inspire the mercenary daughter to project onto them alternative fates:
And then, as they sat looking at the ships and steamboats making their way to the sea with the tide that was running down, the lovely woman imagined all sorts of voyages for herself and Pa. Now, Pa, in the character of owner of a lumbering square-sailed collier, was tacking away to Newcastle, to fetch black diamonds to make his fortune with; now, Pa was going to China in that handsome threemasted ship, to bring home opium, with which he would for ever cut out Chicksey Veneering and Stobbles, and to bring home silks and shawls without end for the decoration of his charming daughter. (315)
Note the global quality here. Steamboats cannot fail to remind Bella of the valuable foreign product addressed to her that had recently arrived irreparably damaged in transit: the (apparently) deceased John Harmon Jr. himself. But what also strikes me about this other passage about encountering steamboats is how it suggests that there is something exciting and stimulating about the modernity and indomitable power of this mode of transport, which runs entirely against the negativity threading the collision passage Jerry White (rightly) picks up upon.
And then again: you saw that ship being towed out by a steam-tug? Well! where did you suppose she was going to? She was going among the coral reefs and cocoa-nuts and all that sort of thing, and she was chartered for a fortunate individual of the name of Pa (himself on board, and much respected by all hands), and she was going, for his sole profit and advantage, to fetch a cargo of sweet-smelling woods, the most beautiful that ever were seen, and the most profitable that ever were heard of; and her cargo would be a great fortune, as indeed it ought to be: the lovely woman who had purchased her and fitted her expressly for this voyage, being married to an Indian Prince, who was a Something-or-Other, and who wore Cashmere shawls all over himself and diamonds and emeralds blazing in his turban, and was beautifully coffee-coloured and excessively devoted, though a little too jealous. Thus Bella ran on merrily, in a manner perfectly enchanting to Pa, who was as willing to put his head into the Sultan’s tub of water as the beggar-boys below the window were to put their heads in the mud. (316)
The polar range of tonality of the different passages about steamboats within the novel does not, necessarily, imply a contradiction within Dickens’s take upon this form of mobility, however. Indeed, we may be able to see the frictionless and solipsistic imperial takeover Bella imagines through the steamboats as, in fact, the occluded perspective of those passengers on the ‘foreign steamer’ who may have witnessed unfazed the collision with Riderhood’s wherry before continuing on their tourist or trade itinerary. At this stage in the novel, Bella is unredeemed, and her imagination is doubtless mediated by a love of Mammon of global proportions, which links her, subtly, with the murderous callousness of the steamers upon which she speculates. (See Murray Baumgarten’s essay ‘The Imperial Child, Bella, Our Mutual Friend, and the Victorian Picturesque’, in Dickens and the Children of Empire ed. Jacobson (2000) 54-66, for more about the imperial connotations of Bella Wilfer’s gaze.)
What is rather fascinating about Dickens’s novel is how both heroines, the good Lizzie and the less-than-good Bella, come to be associated with the figure of the steamer, a figure of determination, positive or negative, in rough and unpredictable waters. How can we connect up ideas of gender to our discussion of the cultural representation of modes of transports? Questions, questions…
Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend first published 1864-5 (Penguin, 1977).
2 thoughts on “Steamboats in Our Mutual Friend”
Riley safe
Grout cleaning
I like it ok
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George Egerton’s ‘Wedlock’ (1894) and the Conception of Urban Sprawl
One key strand of my research concerns the relationship between cultural constructions of gender (broadly conceived) and the social production of space in the long nineteenth century. Hence, as earlier blog posts demonstrate, when I consider sites such as the boarding house, I foreground the way writers such as Dickens play with contemporaneous ideals about marriage through their innovative fictionalizations of this particular geography. In a related vein, there’s an article of mine published in Nineteenth Century Gender Studies that looks at the way stereotypes of domestic masculinity were deployed in the 1850s and 1860s, by authors including Edward Bulwer Lytton and Mary Elizabeth Braddon, to perform an apparently different form of cultural work entirely: the clarification (or ‘zoning’) of the bourgeois centre of London into residential west and commercial east. In my reading of the geographical work of the Victorian novel, representations of gender frequently occur hand in hand with representations of space, drawing energy symbiotically one from the other.
I’m set to give a related paper at BAVS (British Association of Victorian Studies) in September about the way anxieties about natural reproduction are carried through narrative depictions of urban sprawl. Developing an earlier interest of mine in the ways in which nineteenth-century serial novelists related to the figure of the speculative builder, (conceiving of half-finished suburban streets as analogous to their own speculative publishing projects), I want to explore in this paper how, in the last few decades of the century, the discourse upon the ‘jerry built’ suburbs at the edge of London was suffused with nightmarish figures of abandoned, aborted, or otherwise surplus-to-requirements children from post-Malthusian and social Darwinian imaginaries.
One text I’ve only come across very recently (thanks to an essay by Anne Witchard) illuminates what I mean with particular concision: George Egerton’s short story, ‘Wedlock’, which can be found in her second proto-modernistic collection, entitled Discords (1894). Egerton highlights the geographical context of her narrative very distinctly in the opening passage, capturing effectively the unsavoury quality of this space under construction, where the juxtaposition of the new residents’ utopian hopes for the ‘ideal homes’ they’re hoping to have found and the sooty, debris-strewn reality is stark and sardonic:
Two bricklayers are building a yellow brick wall to the rear of one of a terrace of new jerry-built houses in a genteel suburb. At their back is the remains of a grand old garden. Only the unexpired lease saves it from the clutch of the speculator. An apple-tree is in full blossom, and a fine elm is lying on the grass, sawn down, as it stood on the boundary of a ‘desirable lot’; many fair shrubs crop up in unexpected places, a daphne-mezereum struggles to redden berries amid a heap of refuse thrown out by the caretakers; a granite urn, portions of a deftly carven shield, a mailed hand and a knight’s casque, relics of some fine old house demolished to accommodate the ever increasing number of the genteel, lie in the trampled grass. The road in front is scarcely begun, and the smart butchers’ carts sink into the soft mud and red brick- dust, broken glass, and shavings; yet many of the houses are occupied, and the unconquerable London soot has already made some of the cheap art curtains look dingy.
What strikes me about this depiction of urban sprawl, as in other similar depictions by George Gissing, is how images of construction are wedded, inevitably, with images of destruction and decay. The ‘ever increasing number of the genteel’ are at war with the past, and at war with the land that records that past, even as they are – in the social Darwinian view – at war with each other. Here, ‘unconquerable London soot’ is a synecdoche for the unconquerability of London itself, and it projects the commonly held late nineteenth-century fear that the overpopulation of cities in general and the metropolis in particular spelt disaster for the race and the nation.
It is into this pessimistic (if familiar) rhetoric of late nineteenth-century post-Malthusian anti-suburban discourse that Egerton drops a extraordinary tale of grief-inspired infanticide. Those berries that are struggling to redden in the first paragraph are echoed, all too ripely, by the concluding sentences, which stain the suburban house with the blood of murdered children:
Upstairs in a back room in the silent house a pale strip of moonlight flickers over a dark streak on the floor, that trickles slowly from the pool at the bedside out under the door, making a second ghastly pool on the top step of the stairs — a thick sorghum red, blackening as it thickens, with a sickly serous border. Downstairs the woman sits in a chair with her arms hanging down. Her hands are crimson as if she has dipped them in dye. A string of blue beads lies on her lap, and she is fast asleep; and she smiles as she sleeps, for Susie is playing in a meadow, a great meadow crimson with poppies, and her blue eyes smile with glee, and her golden curls are poppy-crowned, and her little white feet twinkle as they dance, and her pinked-out grave frock flutters, and her tiny waxen hands scatter poppies, blood-red poppies, in handfuls over three open graves.
Two everyday things that sit uneasily in the margins of the earlier parts of story emerge reconfigured by the sensational ending as somehow Gothically charged: the bricks that the workmen handle so laconically, upon which the narrator focuses obsessively, and the perambulators pushed by the happy new parents, who we witness ironically, from a distance. Egerton’s short story, through the poetic force of the miniature form it employs, thrusts these quotidian features of the cityscape together and insists that we recognise that, in urban sprawl, they are directly (and, perhaps, disturbingly) intertwined.
‘Orley Farm’: between fiction, art, and memory
Frontispiece to Trollope’s 1862 novel, Orley Farm: drawing by John Millais.
Anthony Trollope’s An Autobiography (1883) introduces space prominently in its first chapter.[i] Treated not only as a context for but also a kind of agent in the human chronicles that follow, spatiality is signalled to be a fundamental rather than an ornamental aspect of lived experience:
I was born in 1815, in Keppel Street, Russell Square; and while a baby, was carried down to Harrow, where my father had built a house on a large farm … That farm was the grave of all my father’s hopes, ambition, and prosperity, the cause of my mother’s sufferings, and of those of her children, and perhaps the director of her destiny
Fixing on the farm as the ‘director’ of the family’s ‘destiny’, the author casts this site as a kind of compensation for his father’s practice as a Chancery barrister in ‘almost suicidal chambers’ in Lincoln’s Inn. At the time of Anthony’s birth, Thomas Trollope is buoyed up enough to feel himself ‘entitled to a country house’ in addition to the Bloomsbury home, but in this exuberant expenditure overreaches himself: things go ‘much against him’, the farm proves ‘ruinous’, and the landlord features in the family’s collective imagination as ‘a cormorant…eating [them] up’: ‘My father’s clients deserted him …Then, as a final crushing blow, an old uncle, whose heir he was to have been, married and had a family!’ This ironic catastrophe reverses the Trollope family’s upward social mobility and provokes a residential move to match, which functions in the autobiography as a kind of traumatic primal scene.
Towards the end of the narration of this passage about the decline in the immediate family fortunes, Trollope exposes the way his fiction had borrowed its geographies from that troubled early period in his life:
The house in London was let; and also the house he built at Harrow, from which we descended to a farmhouse on the land, which I have endeavoured to make known to some readers under the name of Orley Farm. This place, just as it was when we lived there, is to be seen in the frontispiece to the first edition of that novel, having had the good fortune to be delineated by no less a pencil than that of John Millais.
Here the ‘good fortune’ of having secured one of the nation’s greatest painters for Orley Farm’s illustrations stands in for the larger upswing in the writer’s fortunes to which this autobiography attests.[ii] Turning to the frontispiece of the first edition of one of his books reminds us, moreover, that there have been other editions, that the author’s career has been a successful one. In drawing our attention to this space of childhood held in common between fictional and biographical worlds, we witness Trollope inscribing it not only with retrospective longing but also a sense of the boy’s future destiny as a popular writer. The house he renames Orley Farm is implicitly a material determinant for his turn to the literary profession. The farm can be best interpreted as the ‘director’ of his mother Frances’s fate, after all, if we infer that without the social decline it embodied she would have never taken up her pen to earn money. Had the father been successful, and the Trollope family stayed in the big house at Harrow instead of downsizing to the more humble one on its land, we are led to ponder whether Anthony would ever have thought of writing for a living himself.
Thus space is subtly implicated in the more prominent and controversial project of An Autobiography to expose the materiality of literature, undermining Romantic ideas of authorship by stressing the mechanical realities of serial fiction production and the pecuniary interests of the producer. As George Gissing, author of the similarly demystifying New Grub Street (1891), appreciated, Trollope was unusually frank in detailing his reliance not on poetic inspiration but on routines of work that would appear familiar to readers in other professions, such as the law.[iii] As the title of Mary Hamer’s Writing by Numbers (1987) commemorates, Trollope rigidly timetabled hours of writing that were made to fit around the other social and professional demands of each day.[iv] The autobiography had an unusual interest in the quantitative in more ways than one: a chart resembling a page from an accountant’s ledgers at the back of the book documented precisely how much money the author earned from each novel he wrote.
In Trollope’s posthumously published Autobiography, then, literature is unveiled as a business like any other, in which efficiency and success can be measured objectively. Trollope’s conjunction of domestic space and the failing career betrays, more mutedly, a similar imperative. In his discussion in the Autobiography of ‘Orley Farm’, Trollope blends nostalgia for a lost childhood with the practical matter of professional success, a topic that would prove to be the chief leitmotif of the whole text. In the auto/biographical mythologies attached to Walter Scott’s Abbotsford and Dickens’s Gad’s Hill, the fetishised residential site is made to stand in for and signify the fruits of a successful career in writing sellable books.[v] Trollope’s Autobiography, in pointing backwards to foreground a house that his father had lost through his own stunted career progression, curiously subverts this Scottian or Dickensian idea. Instead of presenting the dream house as the tangible substance and proof of a career made good through the persistent hard-graft of literary endeavour, Trollope returns us to a house from his past that he does not own, but which, through fictional representation he has in some way miraculously redeemed.
[i] For lucid, comprehensive discussions of the Autobiography, see Andrew Sanders, Anthony Trollope (Northcote Press, Writers and their Work, 1998) and Victoria Glendinning, ‘Trollope as autobiographer and biographer’, in The Cambridge Companion to Anthony Trollope ed. Carolyn Dever and Lisa Niles (Cambridge, 2010), p17-30.
[ii] ‘Millais probably found Trollope’s written description, for all its apparent clarity, difficult to follow, for in a letter to Chapman Trollope spoke of the possibility of having the building photographed or of Millais’ going out to see it. A photograph, remarkably like Millais’ drawing, may have been the source for the illustration… Of [Trollope’s novelistic description of the farmhouse] Bradforth Booth remarked that writing could scarcely be less precious. Millais, on the other hand, has chosen to idyllicise the scene…in a manner somewhat removed from the realism of most of his drawings for Trollope. Here, for example, Millais has added…a milkmaid and cow, meant no doubt to contribute a bucolic touch – although one would not ordinarily expect to see cows milked in an orchard, and from the wrong side at that. The house seems remote and quiet, but one has it constantly in the mind’s eye as one reads the story of Lady Mason…’ N. John Hall, Trollope and his Illustrators (London: Macmillan, 1980) p53-4.
[iii] See Simon J. James, Unsettled Accounts: Money and Narrative in the Novels of George Gissing (Anthem, 2003) p48.
[iv] Mary Hamer, Writing By Numbers: Trollope’s Serial Fiction (1987).
[v] See Iain G. Brown (ed.) Abbotsford and Sir Walter Scott: The Image and the Influence (Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2003). John Forster’s The Life of Charles Dickens (1872-4) emphasises the importance of Gad’s Hill to the author as a symbol of both how far and how little he had travelled in the world, since his imaginative boyhood days to the point at which, as a wealthy and successful novelist, he could fulfil his childhood dreams and purchase the house that had been his object of fantasy.
Dickens and ‘The Boarding House’ (1834)
One of Dickens’s very first works of fiction, ‘The Boarding House’, makes use of temporary accommodation in Bloomsbury in order to generate narrative scenarios that caricature and subvert the normative marriage plot. Later Bloomsbury boarding-house fiction finds a different tone with which to construct this particular social space in relation to bourgeois marriage conventions, such as the tragicomic in the Burton Crescent scenes in Trollope’s The Small House at Allington (1864) or the naturalistic-tragic in the Gower Place scenes in Gissing’s Workers in the Dawn (1880), but Dickens’s fictionalized house is placed within the generic context of farce. At the same time, while the modes through which this space becomes represented grow darker, modulated over the decades as they are by the development of realism, this slight early story that was anthologized in Sketches by Boz (1836-7) anticipates much of the narrative potential later renderings of the Bloomsbury boarding house would bring to fruition.
The story, which was initially published in two parts, over consecutive months, is structured around two consecutive sets of paying guests residing under one roof in Great Coram Street. Mr and Mrs Tibbs have set up a boarding house there, in order to supplement the pension he receives in reward for the years he served soldiering as a young man. The ‘tolerable house’ they take and furnish is chosen for no apparent reason than the ‘reception of boarders’, and is situated in Bloomsbury ”within ten minutes’ walk of’-everywhere’ so as to make it most attractive to those who might spot the advertisement they have ‘inserted in the morning papers’. The majority of the words that adorn that ad, which boasts a ‘cheerful musical home in a select private family’, are delusive, if not positively fraudulent: the very form of such a document soliciting business, indeed, clearly cancels out its content, in terms of the claims the Tibbses make about their house being a familial home, implicitly sacrosanct from the market. As I have discussed in a previous post, the location of the boarding house in Bloomsbury accentuates its (ideologically, if not actually) contradictory functions as home and business: over the course of the nineteenth century, this West Central district of London suffered a gradual social decline precisely because of its geographical proximity to the City, and the world of commerce, at a time in which the middle class were increasingly defining themselves through the separation of their domestic spaces from spaces of work, and thus deserting Bloomsbury for regions further West.
Initially, as the first chapter narrates, the Tibbs’s first boarders are Mr Hicks and Mr Simpson, two young bachelors, plus one somewhat older single man, Mr Carton; these three are symmetrically balanced by a trio of unattached females, the Maplestone mother and her two daughters, both of whom are on the lookout for a husband. Such a mixture of single people is, of course, standard boarding-house fare, but the canny Mrs Tibbs is aware that managing the liaisons of inmates is a matter of some delicacy. Marriage between these inmates would be a disaster for the Tibbses, and she pronounces a kind of taboo upon the word to her husband: ‘I beg you won’t mention such a thing…A marriage, indeed, to rob me of my boarders – no, not for this world.’ On the other hand, some romantic tension in the air acts as glue, binding her tenants to this specific Bloomsbury house and dissuading them from exchanging it for another nearby, which they might find, in all other respects, equally convenient: ‘A little flirtation…might keep her house full, without leading to any other result.’ To put it another way, Mrs Tibbs encourages intra-house romantic affection because she recognises that it serves as a disguised kind of ‘loyalty bonus’, which can be co-opted and made to work within the commercial nexus she inhabits, whereas marriage proper has a destabilising effect, threatening the house’s profitability by her guests’ dispersal. As we might have guessed from this kind of set-up, a total of three prospective marriages do suddenly ensue, and the tidily profitable full house Mrs Tibbs had been hoping to maintain is broken up with dramatic thoroughness.
As Greg Dart has stressed (2012, p93), the role of the boarding-house keeper problematically blends the familial and the commercial, but in this story Mrs Tibbs is not the most conflicted of the two hosts, as she has no obvious trouble keeping her mind upon the bottom line of the income she secures by seeming to entertain whilst actually impeding her guests’ conjugal ambitions. It is her hen-pecked husband that adopts the role of ‘father’, in agreeing to give away the bride in one of the three clandestine weddings due to take place beyond Mrs Tibbs’s knowledge. After the event, in punishment for this act of rebellion, Tibbs is banished from the marital bedroom to the basement kitchen, and thus sacrifices much of what is left of his own marriage on the altar of vicarious romance. Actually, it is not only the Tibbs’s marriage that is on the rocks in ‘The Boarding House’: all three matches made in the Bloomsbury address in the first half of the story fail, one before the wedding has even taken place:
On the following morning, Mr. Septimus Hicks was united to Miss Matilda Maplesone. Mr. Simpson also entered into a ‘holy alliance’ with Miss Julia; Tibbs acting as father, ‘his first appearance in that character.’ Mr. Calton, not being quite so eager as the two young men, was rather struck by the double discovery; and as he had found some difficulty in getting any one to give the lady away, it occurred to him that the best mode of obviating the inconvenience would be not to take her at all. The lady, however, ‘appealed,’ as her counsel said on the trial of the cause, Maplesone v. Calton, for a breach of promise, ‘with a broken heart, to the outraged laws of her country.’ She recovered damages to the amount of 1,000l. which the unfortunate knocker was compelled to pay. Mr. Septimus Hicks having walked the hospitals, took it into his head to walk off altogether. His injured wife is at present residing with her mother at Boulogne. Mr. Simpson, having the misfortune to lose his wife six weeks after marriage (by her eloping with an officer during his temporary sojourn in the Fleet Prison, in consequence of his inability to discharge her little mantua-maker’s bill), and being disinherited by his father, who died soon afterwards, was fortunate enough to obtain a permanent engagement at a fashionable haircutter’s; hairdressing being a science to which he had frequently directed his attention.
In the following and final second chapter, Mrs Tibbs appears to have plumped for a less risky strategy, and has let her rooms, tellingly, in a much less gender-balanced manner: four single men, plus an invalid with ‘no stomach’ who only surfaces from his room on Sundays, seem unlikely to pose much of a threat to the conjugal status of the only single woman tenant of the house, Mrs Bloss, a recent widow and hypochondriac. The young woman, Agnes, who attends to Mrs Bloss as her companion and nurse, however, attracts the unwanted attention of Mr Tibbs, whose banishment from his wife’s bed appears to have driven him into a pervy middle-life-crisis. In an attempt to prevent another boarding-house break-up, having heard on the grapevine that some sort of unsanctioned relationship between persons unknown might be fermenting, Mrs Tibbs and one of her male guests hide out one night after everyone has apparently gone to bed, in order to catch the romantic culprits at it. Thus emerges a farcical denouement worthy of P. G. Wodehouse. A conversation that is only partially overheard is misunderstood in the fashion of ‘Chinese whispers’, a number of people creep around in the dark hoping to surprise and identify each other, Mr Tibbs (‘clearly under the influence of gin-and-water’) declares to his ‘Hagnes’ how much he hates his wife, shortly before the latter faints, having been herself uncovered and accused in what appears to be a compromising situation alone in the dark with the man with whom she had actually been playing detective. Explanations don’t carry, and the Tibbses separate ‘by mutual consent’; the boarding house, like the marriage, is discontinued, and everyone goes their own way, saving the invalid and Mrs Bloss, who do marry, and ‘revel in retirements: happy in their complaints, their table, and their medicine’.
Dickens continually makes us aware of the Bloomsbury house itself as a kind of agent in the narrative. It intrudes into the lives of the inhabitants, through the kinds of undesired communication its badly constructed walls and ceilings permit. At times, this less-than-solidity, this permeability, is expressed in physical terms – in the ‘wet [that goes] through to the drawing-room ceiling’ after the second-floor front is ‘scrubbed, and washed, and flannelled’ to make way for the new tenant, Mrs Bloss. But mostly, the house enables communication in aural terms, such as the voices ‘distinctly heard’ above one of the guests ‘in the store-room on the first floor, over the leads’, voices that set Mrs Tibbs on the wild goose chase that ends in her downfall. The house militates against the Tibbs’s marriage even as it acts as a sort of matchmaker to the guests, simply by throwing them together, in such an un-domestic ‘entanglement’. Whatever amorous adventures it seems to spark, it does so at the expense of the teleological pay-out readers expect from the conventional marriage plot, however: concocting a couple of marriages that barely get off the ground at all, and severing for good the boarding-house keeper’s own marriage, its only successful partnership seems to rely on the lubrication provided by the couple’s mutual abiding interest in popping pills for imaginary ailments. In the ‘match results’ of Bloomsbury versus the marriage plot, the score looks like 3-1.
Mrs Brown at Margate (1874)
Of the enormous quantities of popular fiction the Victorians produced, the comic material has faded out of critical consciousness more than other genres, such as sensation and crime fiction. Humour dates fast, as we know, but from a historical perspective, it is precisely this twinned topicality-cum-obsolescence that makes it a valuable resource for understanding what made a culture tick. One very successful run of comic novels that also had a life as Dickensian public readings by the author was George Rose’s Mrs Brown series, published under the pseudonym Arthur Sketchley, between 1866 and 1882. In these books, Rose adopts the voice of an illiterate elderly woman, Martha Brown, (not unlike Sairey Gamp, from Martin Chuzzlewit), setting the character on course to visit various places on the contemporary tourist trail, such as the Paris Exhibition (1867), the Highlands (1869), the Nile (1869), South Kensington (1872), and the Crystal Palace (1875) (but also having her encounter social-political scenarios, such as ‘the new Liquor Law’ (1872), ‘the Alabama Claims’ (1872), Woman’s Rights (1872), and ‘the Shah’s Visit’ (1873)). The conjunction of the crude gender and class satire embodied in the condescending use of ventriloquism, and the topical commentary on subjects readers would know something about via more serious genres, such as newspaper editorials, proved a winner.
One of the novels, written at the height of the series, in the mid 1870s, narrated a trip to Margate. Mrs Brown at Margate (1874) has Martha and some of her pals determine on going to the town they know as ‘Margit’ in order to get a better view of the ‘Comit’ the papers have been predicting will pass over Britain. Mrs Brown has been there many times before, and on arriving, she can’t help casting her mind back to the days before 1856, when the jetty then standing was built by one Eugenius Birch, days when the town was not so swollen with quite so many ‘new ‘ouses’:
Later, Martha gets into the spirit of the place and goes for a donkey ride along the sands. When she sees the slight beast, she has some reservations:
As it happens, it is not the donkey’s ability to hold her weight that she should have worried about. After ambling around on its back for a while, she finds herself far away from any of the boys that should have been supervising her ride, a position of isolation that suddenly seems rather ominous after the donkey starts hurtling headlong into the sea on what appears to be a suicide mission:
All’s well that ends well. Mrs Brown escapes the ‘watery grave’ to which for a moment she felt bound, not that the rest of the trip is plain sailing. Falsely accused of stealing another family’s things, Martha has to go through the indignity of defending herself to a ‘perliceman’, after which she resolves to ‘drop’ Margate for good. In her valedictory address to us readers, she admits she will always have a soft spot for the place, however. Whereas Ramsgate is a bit too ‘genteel’ for her, Margate is the ‘land of liberty’. If she were the Queen, she would build her palace there, ‘as no doubt [Victoria] would, poor dear, if she could do what she liked, and knowed what real enjoyment means’:
The Poetics and Politics of Margate Pier
Today’s post follows on from yesterday’s by continuing to concentrate on Margate in the first half of the nineteenth century. In my reading of Barham’s doggerel verse from the Ingoldsby Legends, I argued that readers share something with the ‘Cheapside buccaneers’ the poem notices, passengers that embark happily on their journey but disembark feeling rather queasy, buffeted around as they have been by its clumsy metre and contrived rhymes. Here, I want to zone in on the particular place into which the sea-sick arrive in Margate for the first time: the pier. A piece of transport infrastructure but also a site of spectacle, upon which the town’s visitors would perambulate and gawp at the sea, the steam-boats coming in, and each other, Margate’s stone pier and wooden jetty were in this period the subject of a number of cultural representations, not least of which is Turner’s spectacular late painting:
Turner, Margate Jetty c.1840. Oil on canvas, 47 x 37 cm. National Museum Wales.
In Turner’s depiction of the jetty, his radically indistinct application of paint projects a kind of dream structure that dissolves into the sea. By contrast, a range of textual material from periodicals published in the 1820s and 1830s bring both pier and jetty into sharper focus, drawing out their social significance and commenting on the kinds of people and activity they fostered. For the Romantic painter, the idea of these extensions of the human and built into the sublime and unfathomable seems to have inspired him on a symbolic level, so that the details of the jetty as a lived space become somewhat smudged. Satirical poems and tourist literature that appeared in magazines such as the Mirror of Literature, Monthly Magazine and the Literary Magnet flesh out the human dimensions of these iconic structures, which by mediating the town and the ocean from which the vast majority of its Cockney visitors arrived, were nothing less than the central nodes of Margate life.
One article that appeared in the July 1824 edition of The Literary Magnet, entitled ‘Margate Pier’, for instance, pointed out an unusual feature of Margate’s pier that is difficult to ascertain from a visual representation. Owing to its position facing into the North Sea, anyone walking on Margate Pier could directly experience bracingly pure Polar winds, sometimes tinged as they would be by the smells of ‘homeward bound’ whaling ships:
A number of articles from the Mirror of Literature, Amusement and Instruction, by contrast, plough a more satirical furrow, finding in the pier and the approach of steamboats towards it scenarios rich with social comedy, deriving in the main from the mixture of classes. Two pieces published one year apart in the same paper riff off the same (bad) pun, in which Margate’s ‘pier’ is mistaken for and intentionally replaced by ‘peer’:
The pun in this 1828 poem, however contrived, reminds us that class distinction suffused these spaces of consumption. Coming to Margate for many was not about escaping but embracing the competitive stresses and strains of metropolitan society. Indeed, this coastal town, and especially its pier – complete with its plethora of promenaders seeing and being seen – played host to a dynamic celebrity culture, in which some ‘perfum’d’ ‘beau’ could always be relied upon to be claiming to know some ‘lordship’ or other. The following year, in 1829, the same phonetic slippage allows for banter of a more political variety:
Although this version is, on the one hand, just another bad pun in the manner of improvisatore and novelist Theodore Hook, it also (like that writer’s own puns) has something of a sting in its tail. At a time in which the political consensus was being challenged from various quarters, in these years running up to the Reform Act, such references to the possibility of constitutional alternatives should not be read as entirely casual. In both uses of the pun, in fact, Margate’s pier can be read as representing something emblematic of modernity in this period, particularly in terms of the imagination of class. One common metropolitan classification of Margate was that it was too vulgar and Cockney. If we regard this derogatory opinion as a reaction to the new ascendant modernity Margate exemplified, intrinsically related to Britain’s faltering march towards a fuller parliamentary democracy, these apparently contrived jokes about its pier, which bring class and constitutional reform into the frame, can be recognised as knowing responses to the geographical embodiment of topical historical phenomena.
An article entitled ‘The Margate Hoy’ which appeared in November 1832 in Monthly Magazine invites itself to be read in the shadow of recent the Reform Act, which came into law in June 1832. The author consciously casts his mind back to the days before steam-boats, ‘when people were not bitten with the mania of innovation’:
This nostalgia for the Margate hoy, in preference to the modern steam-boat, partly recalls the 1823 musings of Charles Lamb on the subject, which can be found in ‘The Old Margate Hoy’, one of the Essays of Elia. But in the Monthly Magazine piece seems to channel a conservatism that is very much of its own immediate historical moment, in the aftermath of constitutional change that many commentators thought was dangerously tainted with French revolutionary ideas. I don’t think we should take the author at his word when he claims the essay’s early ‘digression’ into political rant has ‘nothing to do’ with the Margate hoy, as the lamented technological change here analogises and stands in for the broader socio-political one. The enunciation of retrospective longing in relation to the sailing ship as opposed to the coal-fired steamer is, implicitly, also the veiled articulation of a desire for the apparent stability of the pre-Reform past. Towards the end of the essay, when the sea journey has come to an end and the passengers are disembarking onto the pier, class politics re-emerges strongly:
The author regards and differentiates the class identities of those leaving the hoy from what seems to be a clear conservative perspective. The passengers might have been all mixed up, in modern ‘Cockney’ fashion, on the ship itself, but in making their way onto dry land via the pier, they each prove their social status and breeding, with reassuring legibility. The aristocrats refrain from ‘indecent’ impatience, while the ‘demy-aristocrats’ do well enough in imitating them; the ‘bagmen’, meanwhile, are brutes, knocking the bottle of stout out of the ‘rosy’ publican’s hand. This microcosm of a nation imagines a chaotic scene desperately needful of the pacifying politeness of its aristocracy: the vessel safely moors to the pier, but is met with another sea of human ‘bustle and confusion’, the only antidote to which appears to be the ‘temperate demeanour’ of the elite. At the same time, the farcical energy of the scene suggests that the author may be less anxious and more amused by the human turbulence he witnesses on Margate Pier…
Margate in the Ingoldsby Legends
As anyone that’s been hanging out with me for the past couple of years will attest, I’ve recently become more and more interested in nineteenth-century Margate. It’s not simply that my research affection for urban Bloomsbury has been superseded, as such, by a fascination for all things maritime and beachy. Rather, I’ve started to realise that much that captures my imagination about the West Central district of London between the 1820s and 1840s also applies to the North Kent coastal town, and that the two very different places nevertheless shared much in common, in terms of their role within the cultural politics of the time. Both of these sites were, in my understanding of this period, at the very front line of what we might call early nineteenth-century modernity, embodying what Greg Dart (2012) describes as a ‘Cockney’ class hybridity, at once democratically open and pretentiously vulgar.
The short poem below pays homage to a Margate contemporaneous with its publication in The Ingoldsby Legends – that idiosyncratic collection of poems, stories and other literary tit-bits written (though concealed by the Ingoldsby pseudonym) by the Reverend Richard Harris Barham, which began appearing in Bentley’s Miscellany in 1837, but which quickly assumed a book form in the 1840s. The Legends were immensely popular from the beginning, and beloved throughout the Victorian period, though now they’ve faded almost completely out of view, even in scholarly circles. A number of the book’s constituent parts render Margate, a place the author knew very well, but this one I particularly love for the way its form meets the tacky Cockneyism of the town, via its shoddy rhymes and lack of patience: its preference for effect over reflection. In literary historical terms, Barham is worth reading in order to recognise the continuities and discontinuities of earlier forms of satire (such as the mock-epic) with those that surface in this early Victorian period. But the poem’s chief value for me is in its work of constructing a new kind of lower-middle-class consumer hub within a literary genre more conventionally reserved for more sublime or beautiful landscapes. As the ‘Cheapside Buccaneer’ suggests, one can never escape London in this town, a (pleasantly) disconcerting moment for metropolitan readers who may have been conned into thinking the poem would take them away from themselves – to Margate, or Buenos Ayres (intriguingly, a row of houses near the beach possessed this street name). No, like the crews that ’embark so gay’, the poem leaves us to ‘disembark’ feeling rather ‘queer’, having just read a stanza that admits in its last lines how excessively ‘stiffly grand’ the whole experience has been:
I've stood in Margate, on a bridge of size
Inferior far to that described by Byron,
Where 'palaces and pris'ns on each hand rise, '
--That too's a stone one, this is made of iron--
And little donkey-boys your steps environ,
Each proffering for your choice his tiny hack,
Vaunting its excellence; and should you hire one,
For sixpence, will he urge, with frequent thwack,
The much-enduring beast to Buenos Ayres--and back.
And there, on many a raw and gusty day,
I've stood and turn'd my gaze upon the pier,
And seen the crews, that did embark so gay
That self-same morn, now disembark so queer;
Then to myself I've sigh'd and said, 'Oh dear!
Who would believe yon sickly looking man's a
London Jack Tar,--a Cheapside Buccaneer!--'
But hold my Muse!--for this terrific stanza,
Is all too stiffly grand for our Extravaganza.
Dickens and the Railings of the Dead
Dickens had a very idiosyncratic eye for the metropolis in which he lived and was fond of seeking out its neglected corners. In his piece entitled ‘The City of the Absent’ (first published in the 1860s in the periodical the novelist edited, All the Year Round, but later republished posthumously in The Uncommercial Traveller (1875)), he discusses one of the ‘retired spots’ that he particularly ‘loves to haunt’, the old churchyards that can be found in the ancient commercial centre of the British capital, the City of London. In that favourite verb of his, Dickens’s ‘haunting’ plays with and puts an unusual spin on the conventional idea that these spaces might be populated by ghosts, as here it is the author himself that appears as a kind of spectre, within and yet not fully a part of the world he ‘peeps’ in upon. The churchyards, pressed in as they are by the city’s unchecked growth, go to hide, but Dickens finds them out, determined to disturb their silence:
Such strange churchyards hide in the City of London; churchyards sometimes so entirely detached from churches, always so pressed upon by houses; so small, so rank, so silent, so forgotten, except by the few people who ever look down into them from their smoky windows. As I stand peeping in through the iron gates and rails, I can peel the rusty metal off, like bark from an old tree.
Iron railings are the conduit through which this spectre spectates, delivering a sense of distanced obsession – as they do at the end of Bleak House (1852-3), when Lady Deadlock peers through the gate of another urban churchyard in an effort to unite herself with her dead past. But, in their corroded state here, Dickens borrows them to use in another strange metaphor for the provisional yet present, the ephemeral yet palpable, which straddles the organic-inorganic divide, as so much of this writer’s imagery does.
Like Thomas Hardy’s poem, ‘The Levelled Churchyard’ (1882), which I discussed in a previous blog post, Dickens is fascinated by the vicissitudes of time upon the material relics with which we commemorate those who have left us. The paradoxically tangible absence that is inherent to these kinds of space is met with a weird collection of things. As in the saturated landscapes of Tarkofsky’s film Stalker (1979), there is a constant drip, which draws rust from iron. Other metal, such as the old lead, is re-used, like the scraps of waste in Our Mutual Friend (1865), another novel in which the living take rough precedence over the dead. And then there are the tombstones themselves, which unlike those Pip misreads at the beginning of Great Expectations (1860), are completely ‘illegible’, which ‘withers’ the ‘worthies’ of centuries gone by. As the last apostrophe of this stunning set-piece in prose imagines, the departed seem to make their voices heard, despite their de-individuation, through the erosions of time. Like Hardy’s poetry about the dead and their monuments, something remains in the air whether or not anyone cares to listen for it:
The illegible tombstones are all lop-sided, the grave-mounds lost their shape in the rains of a hundred years ago, the Lombardy Poplar or Plane-Tree that was once a drysalter’s daughter and several common-councilmen, has withered like those worthies, and its departed leaves are dust beneath it. Contagion of slow ruin overhangs the place. The discoloured tiled roofs of the environing buildings stand so awry, that they can hardly be proof against any stress of weather. Old crazy stacks of chimneys seem to look down as they overhang, dubiously calculating how far they will have to fall. In an angle of the walls, what was once the tool-house of the grave-digger rots away, encrusted with toadstools. Pipes and spouts for carrying off the rain from the encompassing gables, broken or feloniously cut for old lead long ago, now let the rain drip and splash as it list, upon the weedy earth. Sometimes there is a rusty pump somewhere near, and, as I look in at the rails and meditate, I hear it working under an unknown hand with a creaking protest: as though the departed in the churchyard urged, ‘Let us lie here in peace; don’t suck us up and drink us!’
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A Year in Space
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A Year in Space follows astronaut Scott Kelly's 12-month mission on the International Space Station, from launch to landing, as NASA charts the effects of long-duration spaceflight by comparing him to his identical twin on Earth, astronaut Mark Kelly. Beyond A Year in Space introduces viewers to the next generation of astronauts training to leave Earth’s orbit and travel into deep space.
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Housegirl (Kobo eBook)
By Michael Donkor
Shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize • Longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize • Nominated for the Edinburgh First Book Award • **One of The Observer's "New Faces of Fiction" • One of The Millions' "Most Anticipated Books of the Year" • One of The Guardian's "Best Summer Books" (Selected by Kayo Chingonyi and Joe Dunthorne) • One of Library Journal's "Most Anticipated Fall Debuts" • One of The Observer's Best Books of the Year • An NPR "Staff Pick" and One of the NPR Book Concierge's "Best Books of the Year"
A Go On Girl! Book Club Selection
**"Immensely readable...A refreshing story about coming of age in spite of conflicting ideas of what 'growing up' means."—**Buzzfeed (The Best Books of Fall)
A moving and unexpectedly funny exploration of friendship and family, shame and forgiveness, Michael Donkor's debut novel follows three adolescent girls grappling with a shared experience: the joys and sorrows of growing up.
Belinda knows how to follow the rules. As a housegirl, she has learned the right way to polish water glasses, to wash and fold a hundred handkerchiefs, and to keep a tight lid on memories of the village she left behind when she came to Kumasi.
Mary is still learning the rules. Eleven-years-old and irrepressible, the young housegirl-in-training is the little sister Belinda never had.
Amma has had enough of the rules. A straight-A student at her exclusive London school, she has always been the pride of her Ghanaian parents—until now. Watching their once-confident teenager grow sullen and wayward, they decide that sensible Belinda is the shining example Amma needs.
So Belinda must leave Mary behind as she is summoned from Ghana to London, where she tries to impose order on her unsettling new world. As summer turns to autumn, Belinda and Amma are surprised to discover common ground. But when the cracks in their defenses open up, the secrets they have both been holding tightly threaten to seep out.
Publisher: Picador
Library Binding, Large Print (September 5th, 2018): $30.99
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Home Blog Visiting The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh
Visiting The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh
Visit the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh for a peaceful day out spent walking amongst thousands of beautiful flowers. If you’re looking for relaxing things to do in Edinburgh, exploring the Royal Botanic Garden should be at the top of your list. Head there on a sunny afternoon with a blanket and a book, tuck yourself under one of the towering trees and enjoy the fresh, fragrant air while reading in the shade.
Visiting the Botanics (as the locals call it) is one of my favourite things to do in Edinburgh. The lush exotic gardens, unique monkey trees, incredibly stunning glasshouses and gardens overflowing with history will leave you in awe.
The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh was created so doctors had somewhere they could study medicinal plants. As a nod to its roots, in 2020, the garden will give the general public the opportunity to sign up for a course on medicinal trees and herbology. I know it’s a genuine topic, but don’t you think it sounds like a class straight out of Hogwarts?!
With ten different glasshouses, including the Victorian Temperate Palm House, the Tropical Palm House and the Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden, there are plenty of things to do at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. Here are some of my favourites.
11 Things to Do at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh
Unwind with a picnic and a book
Edinburgh can be a pretty busy city and the Royal Botanic Garden provides a peaceful haven where you can step away from the urban hustle and bustle and lay among the grass, trees and plants. Thanks to its central location, you can always pop along to the gardens to have a picnic and relax, no matter where you are in the city.
When I lived in Edinburgh, I loved taking a blanket, laying it down on the grass among the flowers and spending the afternoon there reading my favourite book. At the time it was The Hobbit which I got from a church sale on George Street for only 50p during my first week in the city.
Take a stroll and explore the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh
As much as I loved laying on the grass reading, going on a scenic walk around the gardens was my idea of a perfect day. You can listen to the tranquil sounds of nature or do as I did — pop your headphones on and listen to your favourite tunes as you walk around.
A trip to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh can also be pretty romantic. Although I never took a date there, the gardens are a wonderful place to spend a romantic afternoon getting to know someone. They’re really quiet, which gives you a chance to chat and get to know each other. But there are still many things to see and do, so you shouldn’t have a lull in the conversation.
Tour the Glasshouses
The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh has ten individual glasshouses! So whatever climate you’re in the mood to explore, the Botanics in Edinburgh has got you covered. I really love the Spanish moss in the Temperate Palm House.
Shrink down and gaze at giant water lilies
If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know I often talk about shrinking down. Like how a visit to the Scott Monument would be great if you could shrink down and fit inside the progressively narrow staircase. Or how the Scotch Whisky Experience invites you to enjoy the sensation of shrinking down and travelling around in a whisky barrel.
The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh is the perfect place to feel like you’ve entered a giant’s world. The water lilies here can grow up to 3m wide! They are gently floating on water, surrounded by water flowers and plants. It’s an amazing thing to see.
Admire the Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden
I absolutely love visiting the Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. The Queen’s mum loved travelling — something we definitely have in common!
The best part of her gardens? The plants are laid out to represent the 4 corners of the world. I also absolutely love the huge hedge that surrounds the gardens because it reminds me of The Shining and Alice in Wonderland.
There are no white roses being painted red in the Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden, so I have no idea where the Alice in Wonderland connection comes from. Perhaps it’s because of the Queen’s Mother. Queen + gardens = Alice in Wonderland? Yes — that’s got to be it.
Visit the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh again and again
The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh has something to offer all year round! I know most people wait until the spring and summer to explore the lush gardens, but the autumn and winter seasons are not to be missed.
The seasonal changes make the gardens amazing to return to throughout the year. Because of the seasonal changes, there’s always something new to see. Spring brings the arrival of fresh flowers, while autumn wows with a multitude of beautiful colour changes.
For anyone who isn’t keen on roaming around outside during the cooler seasons, the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh provides a host of cozy indoor glasshouses full of plants which flourish and thrive year-round.
Explore the art exhibitions at Inverleith House
The former home of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Inverleith House still houses several art exhibitions, including ones associated with general plant life, the history of plants and microscopic pictures of plant life. There are also a number of art sculptures throughout the Royal Botanic Gardens, including a bronze sculpture of a girl in the garden surrounding Inverleith House.
The exhibitions are ever-changing, so be sure to check out the Royal Botanic Garden website to see what’s on before you go.
Immerse yourself in the Christmas celebrations
As I mentioned earlier, the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh is wonderful in every season! If you love festive activities and you’re in Edinburgh for the holidays, be sure to visit the gardens after sunset. The light displays at this time of year are beyond incredible. You can still see the lights during the day, but they really come to life at night.
Walkthrough the enchanting showcase of illuminations and listen to the festive music as the light show casts a magical array of colours onto the glasshouses while you sip a delicious hot chocolate. It’s a fun and fantastic night out, equally perfect for friends and family.
Grab a bite to eat
If quiet picnics among the flowers, trees and squirrels aren’t your thing, check out the Gateway Restaurant and the Terrace Café. These venues are fantastic places to grab a hot chocolate on a chilly day and use it to keep warm while walking around the wintery gardens.
Join in with the activities
One of the best things about spending time at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh is the sheer amount of extra activities and exhibitions provided year-round.
Everything from the Scottish Tree Festival and Scottish Snowdrop Festival to tea tours, edible garden tours and the world of plant tours, the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh has a lot more to offer than just chilling next to flower beds.
Go wildlife watching at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is home to many different types of wildlife — everything from tiny hedgehogs and squirrels to various species of birds and elusive badgers. I guarantee you’ll see squirrels on your journey through the Botanics, but keep an eye on the waterways for grey herons and the stunningly beautiful kingfisher, too.
Visit the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh
Address: Arboretum Pl, Edinburgh EH3 5NZ, United Kingdom
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh: Website
Admission to the Royal Botanic Garden: Free
Admission to the Glasshouses: Adult £7.00
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Explore Edinburgh’s Historic Cemeteries
Witches in Scotland – The History of Scottish Witchcraft
Debbie Lewis
It’s beautiful there. I will check it out when I go there.
Please do! it’s such a nice place to go for a stroll.
Kathy | Tasty Itinerary
When you mentioned the medicinal plant classes, I first thought of Claire from Outlander. 😀
The Botanics looks so beautiful. I usually skip these kinds of things for no real good reason and then when I visit them I wonder why I don’t visit them more. I’ve done this with our local gardens too. I’m definitely going to add this one to my list. The water lilies are insane. So beautiful!
Thanks for keeping up well educated on all things to do in Edinburgh. Hope to make it there one day!
Ooh! I didn’t even think about Claire! This is totally off topic from the post but have you read Outlander or just watched the show? I think I need to read the book because with Claire’s healer knowledge you would think she would get into more trouble seeing as healers were targets during the Witch Hunt! I know in the show she is accused of witchcraft but it was so brief. With how easily she heals people with medicinal plants you would think it would be more of a problem.
The water lilies are so huge! If only it was like in the cartoons where you could hop on them and go across the pond. I hope you love the Botanics when you come to Edinburgh for a visit! I brought my friends who were visiting from overseas for an afternoon here!
Wow, how nice. I really love the water lilies. I have not been to Edinburgh, but I hope to visit one day. It seems like there is plenty to do there.
Thanks, Barbara! There is so much to do in Edinburgh! There seems to be something for everyone, no matter what you are interested in! I hope you make it there someday and tell me all about it!
Wandering Crystal
Canadian traveler who is fond of dark history and the macabre side of the world.
Spooky Travel Destinations
Dark Tourism Destinations
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University Awards 2019
Paul Taylor-McCartney
Party and Awards Photos
Paul Taylor-McCartney - Associate Tutor, CTE
Inspirational Leadership (2019)
Tell us a bit about your role…
I have been the Head of Secondary Teacher Education at Warwick since 2016, working on a range of programmes including PGCE, PGCEi and the Warwick in Schools Programmes. The Secondary PGCE alone recruits 260+ trainees each year covering fourteen and eighteen subjects. Our trainees and staff work with over eighty-five partnership schools across five regions, working towards Qualified Teacher Status, with the vast majority earning 90 M-level credits by the end of the end of course.
Tell us about your award-winning project/work…
I'm committed first and foremost to recruiting, supporting and developing high-quality staff, as I believe they are a department's most treasured resource. The last few years the staffing has really stabilised in Secondary - there are over thirty of us on this one programme alone - building on an Outstanding Ofsted grade in 2016, pursuing excellence in all we do, whilst coping with expanding student numbers. This last year, I took the opportunity to divide the campus provision across two days, focusing on staff well-being and re-prioritising the student experience. This has created a much more successful experience for all concerned, allowing staff to achieve a better work-life balance without compromising the core values and quality of the course.
How does it feel to have won the Inspirational Leadership Award?
I feel honoured and humbled at the same time. I always feel unsure about nominations for individuals, as strong leadership is chiefly about the people they support and develop, but a huge thanks to everyone in CTE for making this such an incredible year for the programme and for the nomination.
Why do you think people should get involved with nominating for the University Awards?
It is really important to recognise people and the work they do. Many of us are happy to go above and beyond what our contract states, but this work can often go unrecognised. These awards are a way of recognising this work and the people driving and maintaining Warwick's deservedly high standards.
What was a personal highlight for you from the Summer Party on 24th June? (Other than winning, of course!)
Sorry, I was in Cornwall and unable to attend. Friends messaged me to say I had won and I celebrated with my partner that evening, some two hundred and twenty miles away! I did though get to travel back to Warwick later in the week and share the occasion with members of CTE, who also won a top group award that evening.
The University Awards are a great way for the University to improve and learn from staff initiatives over the year. If you could change one thing at the University, what would it be?
To remove teaching-only contracts and expect everyone to be research-active, including sessional staff.
What would you like to say to the person – or people – who nominated you?
Thank you to everyone! You've been so incredibly supportive over the years and I could not be the leader I am today without you alongside me and pushing me ever onwards to become even better.
Paul Taylor-McCartney collecting the Inspirational Leadership Award with colleagues at CTE as he was unable to attend the awards ceremony.
Page contact: Victoria Wilson-Theaker
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You are at:Home»Execs to Know»Top 10 DOD Execs to Watch: Nick V. Farah, CACI
Execs to Know
Top 10 DOD Execs to Watch: Nick V. Farah, CACI
By Staff Writer April 29, 2019 No Comments
Nick V. Farah
Nick Farah leads teams of highly diversified acquisition, engineering, scientific, technical and security professionals delivering innovative command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications and logistics to the Defense Department and the intelligence community.
The company’s Mission Solutions and Services group focuses on providing solutions and services in its command and control, communications, logistics and material readiness, and surveillance and reconnaissance market areas. Before joining CACI, Farah served as corporate vice president of international business development strategy for L-3, which he joined in 1989 as a chief engineer.
Why Watch:
“Our position as a leading integrator of services and solutions provides a great foundation for organic growth,” said Farah, who serves as executive vice president, Mission Solutions and Services. “In 2019, we’ll build on this foundation to provide transformative solutions for our customers.”
CACI engineers and scientists, including those employed within Farah’s market areas, are working at the edge of technology. Solutions leveraging virtual reality and augmented reality help enhance operators and maintaining user experience, from initial training to the operational environment. The use of advanced automation in management, logistics support and mission systems also increases CACI customers’ mission effectiveness and reduces lifecycle costs. CACI engineers and scientists are using advanced communications technologies to provide decisive advantages in command and control, intelligence and electronic warfare.
“Innovation is ingrained in CACI’s culture,” Farah said. “Our company fields new capabilities more quickly than ever. Model-driven development and integration and our industry-leading approach to agile development assure we meet what our customers need and expect, quickly and less expensively. RMF Eagle, our process for assuring systems are safe from cyber threats, can accelerate fielding by months.”
Farah added, “It’s that commitment that has made CACI an industry leader in electronic warfare, cybersecurity and agile software development.”
Check out the entire Top 10 DOD Executives to Watch list here.
CACI Nick V. Farah Top 10 DOD Execs
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RPM Special Edition #03
RPM SPECIAL EDITION 03
Duration: 33 mins
1. "Drive" Les Mills cover recording of the track originally recorded by Pat Monahan, Espen Lind, Amund Björklund
2. "Numb" Les Mills cover recording of the track originally recorded by Usher Raymond IV, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axel Hedfors, Klas Åhlund, Alessandro Lindblad, Terry Lewis, Ryon Lovett
3. "Magnificent" (Mix) Les Mills cover recording of the track originally recorded by Clayton, Evans, Hewson, Mullen, Lanois, Eno
4. "Anna Sun" Les Mills cover recording of the track originally recorded by Nicholas Petricca, Adrian Galvin, Nick Lerangis, Adam Reifsnyder
5. "1983" (DJ Boss Mix) Les Mills cover recording of the track originally recorded by Allen, Campbell, Doty, Glenn, Pagnotta
6. "Hall Of Fame" Les Mills cover recording of the tracking originally recorded by Daniel O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan, James Barry
Up Next in Remix
1. "Don't Wake Me Up" Les Mills cover recording of the track originally recorded by Chris Brown, Jean Baptiste, Ryan Buendia, Michael McHenry, Nick Mash, William Orbit, Alain Whyte, Brian Kennedy, Priscilla Hamilton, Marco Benassi, Alessandro Benassi
1. "Club Can't Handle Me" Les Mills cover recording of the track originally recorded by Caren, Livingston, Riesterer, Dillard, Guetta, Key, Tunifort
2. "We Found Love" (Mix) Les Mills cover recording of the track originally recorded by Adam Richard ...
RPM #82 Strength & Power
RPM 82 Strength & Power
Equipment: Stationary Bike
Presenting Team: Glen Ostergaard, Stephanie Angkiriwang, Nelly Nie, Leo Li
1. PACK RIDE
Born To Be Yours performed by Giving Heaven made famous by Kygo & Imagine Dragons
MOVES: Seated Recovery, Ride Easy, Racing
3. HILLS
Mon...
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WATCH CHARGE! NOW:
FIND CHARGE! IN YOUR AREA
Vin Diesel’s ‘Bloodshot’ Has Been Delayed
BY Johnny Brayson • December 30, 2019
Vin Diesel hasn’t done all that much outside of the Fast & Furious franchise over the past few years (and why should he? The movies are wildly successful), which is why his upcoming violent superhero movie Bloodshot was so exciting. But now it looks like we’re going to have to wait a bit longer to see Diesel’s take on the Valient Comics character, as Bloodshot has just been delayed.
The movie was originally slated to open on Feb. 21, 2020, but its premiere date has now been pushed back three weeks to March 13. The move is a curious one, to say the least. Whereas Bloodshot‘s competition on its original date consisted of Harrison Ford’s Call of the Wild adaptation and the period dramedy Emma, its new date puts it up against the Dave Bautista-starring My Spy, another PG-13 action film that is seemingly more appealing to Bloodshot‘s target audience than the competition on Feb. 21. Whether or not this move ends up hurting Bloodshot‘s performance remains to be seen, but the decision by the studio to potentially place it up against stiffer competition seems unlikely to do the film any favors. Here’s the official synopsis for Bloodshot:
Based on the bestselling comic book, Vin Diesel stars as Ray Garrison, a soldier recently killed in action and brought back to life as the superhero Bloodshot by the RST corporation. With an army of nanotechnology in his veins, he’s an unstoppable force – stronger than ever and able to heal instantly. But in controlling his body, the company has sway over his mind and memories, too. Now, Ray doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not – but he’s on a mission to find out.
You can check out the trailer below, which has some serious Venom vibes as a ’90s throwback superhero movie. That makes sense, as the character Bloodshot made his comics debut in 1992.
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures
The New ‘Guns Akimbo’ Trailer Is Even More Insane Than the First
New ‘Black Widow’ Featurette Sets Up the Character’s Solo Film
Kevin Hart to Star as an Action Star Wannabe in New Series ‘Action Scene’
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Which is the best airport to arrive at in Belize?
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dsimeonov@pkdevs.com
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Fuel tanker plunges off Highway 41 in Fresno
DAILY NEWS Photos Videos
Investigators are working to determine why a tanker truck crashed off of Highway 41 onto the roadway below in downtown Fresno, California this morning.
The crash happened during the morning rush hour in the southbound lanes of Highway 41 at Van Ness Road, according to KMPH.
Van Ness at 41 will be closed as clean up continues Hwy 41 is open both directions @ABC30 pic.twitter.com/aQLv0dDNkd
— Sam Photog (@Sagl123) August 27, 2018
The California Highway Patrol is still trying to determine why the tanker truck crashed off of the highway. CHP’s Sgt. Leonard Sherman said, “What we do know is at one point, when (the truck) leaves the roadway, a good portion of the component from the vehicle gets launched back out onto the freeway and hits another big rig. There’s also a collision between two cars, two passenger vehicles, but we are not sure what happened first.”
Big rig crashed off the Hwy 41 onto Van Ness downtown Fresno driver at hospital Truck was empty carries aviation fuel @ABC30 pic.twitter.com/R9U1R015MW
The tanker is used to haul aviation fuel but was empty at the time of the crash.
The tanker truck driver was taken to the hospital after the crash. The extent of his injuries is unknown.
Highway 41 was shut down in both directions for the crash but has since reopened.
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PA officer accused of asking trucker for sex in exchange for lenient inspection
VIDEO: Truck takes on historic bridge. It does not go well.
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Windows on Worlds
Because you speak to me in words and I look at you with feelings
Tag: Cine Asia
The Whistleblower (吹哨人, Xue Xiaolu, 2019)
December 5, 2019 December 6, 2019 by Hayley Scanlon
One of the many ironies of an intensely authoritarian system which prizes the self-criticism as a means of enforcing discipline is that whistleblowing, as opposed to “informing” on individuals, is not only frowned upon but actively dangerous. It is, after all, suggesting the Party may have made errors in judgement which have gone on to become systemic. It’s not surprising that the Party would not like to have them pointed out. Nevertheless, in these new times in which anti-corruption has become a minor buzzword, whistleblowing has been re-designated as a public service, though perhaps in not so much different a way as “informing” was in the old days and probably it very much depends on who and what one wishes to blow the whistle.
This the earnest hero of Xue Xiaolu’s The Whistleblower (吹哨人, Chuīshàorén) finds out to his cost when he is unwittingly alerted to a possible conspiracy and entrenched corruption among his co-workers. Mainland-born Mark (Lei Jiayin) works for a top Australian energy company keen to do business with China, though as they keep reminding him he is one of only two Chinese members of personnel, the other being the mysterious Peter (Wang Ce) whose unexpected absence is the reason Mark has been sent on a swanky but possibly illegal jolly to a resort to charm a delegation from a Chinese coal company. Two things immediately go wrong for him – the wife of the company’s (absent) CEO turns out to be his long lost first love Siliang (Tang Wei) who broke up with him because she wanted someone richer, and Peter turns up to the party in a dishevelled state to shout at him about something that happened in uni, which later turns out to be a coded clue to “check the gate”.
Needless to say, Siliang who seems to be in the middle of trying to break up with her husband, and Mark, who is married with a young son, “reconnect” before she dutifully runs off to a catch a plane which later crashes killing everyone on board. Peter is then found dead of an apparent insulin overdose, but even if he’s suspicious Mark doesn’t think much of it until he realises Siliang is still alive and on the run from her corrupt CEO husband who is apparently trying to have her killed because she knows too much about his dodgy dealings.
The Whistleblower tries to have it both ways in insisting that Siliang is simultaneously a greedy, ruthless, criminal mastermind, and such useless lady of the manor sort that she doesn’t know you can’t put metal in the microwave and is a terrible getaway driver because she’s always had chauffeurs. We’re told that she broke up with Mark because of his lack of materialism, marrying a top CEO for wealth and status and helping him conduct bad faith business by managing his bribes, but may now be conflicted – not only because her husband is trying to kill her, but because she’s realised her mistake and is attracted to Mark’s untarnished innocence. Her taste for corruption was, however, a moralistic one in that she would apparently never have condoned bribery if she knew that the technology really was unsafe and posed a threat to ordinary Chinese people.
It might be telling in one sense that this battle is being fought in Africa meaning that whatever problems there are with this innovative pipeline system are uncomfortably being worked out among less powerful people far away from either the Australian energy giant or the complicit Chinese coal company looking for new paths forward. The central implication, however, is that this kind of corruption is an element of Western imperialism rather than homegrown. The villains are the bigwigs at the Australian conglomerate, one of whom speaks fluent Mandarin but is apparently not much of a friend of China. Mark tries to expose them, turning against a company which is always keen to remind him that he is a foreigner (Australian PR pending), only to find himself at the centre of a smear campaign which seems like it would play much better on the Mainland, chased by thugs, and targeted for elimination.
The message that Mark gets, looking on with hope at a bright red sign reading “rebuild your life”, is come home – don’t do business with corrupt foreigners, help make China great again. A series of textual explanations appended to the film’s conclusion attempt to explain the word “whistleblower” to an audience that might not be familiar with it, pointing out that most developed nations have instituted legislation to protect those who attempt to expose illicit business practices but that China is lagging a little behind though it too apparently introduced legal protections in 2016 as part of its intensive drive to reduce corruption among petty officials. Mark has done the “right” thing, and he’s paid a price for it, but, the film says, his is the example to be followed in standing up to oppressive global corporate corruption which will eventually imperil the ordinary men and women of China if consumerist zeal wins out over national integrity.
The Whistleblower opens in selected UK cinemas on 6th December courtesy of Cine Asia.
UK trailer (English subtitles)
Posted in ChinaTagged 2010s, 2019, Brett Cousins, Charlie Mycroft, China, Cine Asia, David Hirschfelder, Douglas Embry, Elizabeth Parisi, Farah Mak, Frank Sweet, Gilby Robins, Jane Downer, John Batchelor, Joshua Lin Hodge, Kerri Gannan, Lei Jiayin, Leon Stripp, Luke Clayson, Mandarin, Marc Spicer, Michael-Anthony Taylor, Miranda Skerman, Orlando Jordan, Paul Hallett, Peter Flaherty, Qi Xi, Rachel Huxtable, Stephen Hunter, Tang Wei, Tony Rickards, Tony Ting, Wang Ce, Warwick Sadler, Wu Yanshu, Xavier Gouault, Xue Xiaolu, Yang Lixin
The Captain (中国机长, Andrew Lau, 2019)
October 2, 2019 October 2, 2019 by Hayley Scanlon
Chinese cinema loves the miraculous, but it loves stories of ordinary heroism even more. Inspired by real events which occurred on 14th May 2018, not quite 18 months before the film’s release, The Captain (中国机长, Zhōngguó Jīzhǎng), is a classic story of everything going right after everything goes wrong. Implicitly praising the efficacy of a system which values military precision over individualistic handwringing, Lau’s dramatisation reserves its admiration for those who keep their cool and follow the rules in the midst of extremely difficult circumstances.
Beginning in true disaster movie fashion, Lau opens with a brief yet humanising sequence which sees the otherwise austere pilot Captain Liu (Zhang Hanyu) say goodbye to his little girl, promising he’ll be back in time for her birthday party that very evening. Thereafter, everything is super normal. The pilots and cabin crew arrive at the airport, get to know each other if they haven’t flown together before, and run through their drills. The cabin crew laugh through the “we’re professionally trained and are confident we can ensure your safety” mantra rehearsed in case of emergency hoping they’ll never actually have to say it, but disaster strikes a little way into the flight when the windscreen cracks, eventually shattering and sucking rookie co-pilot Liang Peng (Oho Ou) halfway out.
Of course, the story is already very well known so we can be sure that the plane will land safely with no one (seriously) hurt, but it’s still an incredibly tense time for all. As Liu explains to Liang Peng, everything in the cockpit must be done with the upmost precision. It’s when you get complacent that things will start to go wrong. A former air force pilot, Liu is not the most personable of captains with his permanently furrowed brow and serious demeanour, but he’s exactly the sort of person you need in a crisis, calmly and coolly making rational decisions under intense pressure. While he’s doing his best at the controls, the entirety of the Chinese air aviation authorities are springing into action to try and ensure the plane’s safe landing – airspace is cleared, the military monitor the situation, and the fire and ambulance services are already on standby in the hope that Liu can safely land at Chengdu airport.
Keeping the tension high, Lau resists the temptation to sink into melodrama, more or less abandoning a hinted at subplot about stoical cabin supervisor Nan’s (Quan Yuan) possibly unhappy home life while introducing a fairly random diversion in a group of aircraft enthusiasts furiously tracking the plane’s trajectory online and then heading out to the airport in the hope of witnessing a miracle. Before the potential catastrophe takes hold, the crew have to deal with unpleasant passengers intent on throwing their weight around, nervous flyers, and people travelling with small children, but do their best to provide service with a smile even in the most trying of circumstances. They are frightened too, but have to muster all of their professionalism in order to be strong for the passengers, keeping them calm and preventing them from creating additional problems while the guys in the cockpit try to find a solution that keeps everyone safe.
Released for National Day, The Captain’s brand of propagandistic patriotism is of the more subtle kind, only really rearing its head during the final moments during which awkward captain Liu suddenly starts singing a folksong in praise of the motherland while celebrating their lucky escape on its one year anniversary in the time honoured fashion of a group hot pot. Nevertheless, the point it’s making is in the virtues that Liu states after landing, valuing life and duty. Liu landed the plane because he followed procedure perfectly, kept his head, and made well-informed decisions. A master of understatement, his speech on landing is simply an apology to his passengers that he wasn’t able to take them safely to Lhasa. After waiting for the investigators, he thinks the passengers are hanging round outside the plane because they’re angry and want an explanation, little realising they are just overjoyed to be alive and wish to thank him for saving all their lives. A tense tale of selfless heroism aided by good training and immense professionalism, The Captain is a subtle endorsement of an authoritarian system but also of the importance of keeping cool in a crisis as the best weapon against catastrophe.
The Captain is currently on limited release in UK cinemas courtesy of Cine Asia, and in the US from Well Go USA.
Original trailer (English subtitles)
Posted in ChinaTagged 2010s, 2019, Andrew Lau, China, Cine Asia, Du Jiang, Gao Ge, Huang Zhizhong, Li Qin, Li Xian, Mandarin, Ou Hao, Wu Yue, Ya Mei, Yang Qiru, Yuan Quan, Zhang Hanyu, Zhang Tianai
The Climbers (攀登者, Daniel Lee, 2019)
October 1, 2019 by Hayley Scanlon
“Because it’s there” George Mallory famously said when questioned why exactly he wanted to climb Mount Everest. The hero of Daniel Lee’s The Climbers (攀登者, Pāndēngzhĕ) who regards Mallory as his idol has a slightly more reasoned response when similarly questioned by a student, pausing before explaining that humans are always eager to climb towards the future. That will prove to be a rather ironic statement in that Fang Wuzhou (Wu Jing) is a man in many ways trapped by past injustice, unable to move on from simultaneously achieving his dream and being denied its glory.
Narrated by meteorologist and Wuzhou’s innocent love interest Xu Ying (Zhang Ziyi), the action begins in 1960 when the Chinese National Mountaineering Team makes an attempt to conquer Everest from the North Face in response to a territorial challenge from the other side. During the ascent, the team’s captain is killed leaving the three remaining members to press on to the summit alone. Having conquered the mountain, they are unable to record their achievement because they lost the camera during an avalanche and so their success goes unrecognised by the international community. This is particularly bad news for Wuzhou whose intensely romantic attempt to woo shy meteorology student Xu Ying is interrupted at the critical moment by the news they’ve been denied and all their dreams are dashed. Wuzhou becomes sullen and withdrawn, resentful at being thought a fraud. The failure costs him the courage he had mustered to pursue his romantic destiny, allowing Xu Ying to leave for many years of research in the Soviet Union without telling her how he really feels.
Xu Ying’s commentary opts for understatement when it briefly remarks that the nation entered a period of “darkness” following the “failure” of the Everest attempt after which the Chinese National Mountaineering Team was disbanded. Wuzhou is relegated to the boiler room in a factory while his surviving friends, Jiebu (Lawang Lop) and Songlin (Zhang Yi), pursue their separate destinies, Jiebu returning to his sheep farm and Songlin, whose foot was ruined by frostbite, joining a sports training facility. By 1975, times have changed and the powers that be see fit to mount another attempt on Everest in order to measure it “properly” and restore China’s international mountain climbing reputation.
For all that The Climbers is a propaganda epic filled with calls to “show the world what Chinese men can do”, it has its share of flawed heroes failing to measure up to a vision of themselves as fearless champions of their nation. Wuzhou is understandably an embittered man obsessed with the rejection of his first summit, but he’s also an emotional coward who ties the need to have his success validated with the right to speak his heart to the improbably patient Xu Ying who apparently continues holding a torch for him throughout her long years in Russia, only implying she can’t wait for him any longer by putting their relationship on a professional footing when she arrives to lead the meteorological department on the 1975 summit attempt. Nevertheless, the pair share an array of meaningful looks filled with poignant longing while Xu Ying laments the presence of the mountain which stands between them before seemingly deciding to sacrifice herself for Wuzhou’s dream in the forlorn hope of finally conquering it.
Songlin, meanwhile, is resentful not so much towards the mountain or the fact that he will never be able to climb it again but towards Wuzhou who saved his life and let the camera fall, thereby bringing shame on the Chinese nation. Later, a brave young man opts to sacrifice his life to ensure the camera’s survival, and as Songlin later comes to understand the climb is a heavy responsibility which puts young lives at risk for a fairly meaningless prize which may not bring the glory to their nation that the young men and women trying to reach the summit might expect. Nevertheless, they plough on regardless. 1960 leads to 1975, and then to 2019 in which intrepid Chinese climbers once again attempt to conquer Everest in the company of a (in some ways not terribly) surprising star cameo in order to reemphasise the nation’s manly prowess and overwhelming desire to protect what it sees as its territory. Lee makes the most of the snowy vistas for a series of death defying stunts as the team (repeatedly) encounter avalanches, rock falls, and dangerous storms, risking all to bring glory to China but remaining resolute in their determination to make it all the way to the top.
The Climbers is currently on limited release in UK cinemas courtesy of Cine Asia, and in the US from Well Go USA.
Posted in ChinaTagged 2010s, 2019, Chen Long, China, Choenyi Tsering, Cine Asia, Daniel Lee Yan-Kong, He Lin, Hu Ge, Jackie Chan, Jing Boran, Lawang Lop, Liu Xiaofeng, Mandarin, mountain climbing, Tobgyal, Wang Jingchun, Wu Jing, Zhang Yi, Zhang Ziyi
The White Storm 2: Drug Lords (掃毒2天地對決, Herman Yau, 2019)
July 14, 2019 September 19, 2019 by Hayley Scanlon
The war on drugs comes to Hong Kong care of Herman Yau’s latest foray into heroic action, White Storm 2: Drug Lords (掃毒2天地對決). In the grand tradition of Hong Kong movies adding a random prefix to the title, Drug Lords is a “thematic” sequel to Benny Chan’s 2013 hit White Storm, which is to say that it shares nothing at all with Chan’s film save the narcotics theme and the participation of Louis Koo who returns in an entirely different role. What Yau adds to the drama is a possibly irresponsible meditation on vigilante justice and extrajudicial killing which, nevertheless, broadly comes down on the side of the law as its dualist heroes eventually destroy each other in a nihilistic quest for meaningless vengeance.
A brief prologue in 2004 sees depressed Triad Yu Shun-tin (Andy Lau) abandoned by his girlfriend who can no longer put up with his gangster lifestyle and inability to break with his domineering mob boss uncle. Meanwhile, across town, flamboyant foot-soldier Dizang (Louis Koo) scolds one of his guys for supposedly selling drugs in the club, only to be picked up by Shun-tin’s uncle Nam (Kent Cheng) and severely punished for getting involved with the trafficking of narcotics. Nam orders Shun-tin to cut off Dizang’s fingers as punishment, which he does despite Dizang’s reminder that they’ve been friends for over 20 years. Conflicted, Shun-tin makes amends by driving Dizang to the hospital with his fingers in a freezer bag, but by this point Dizang has had enough. To teach him a lesson, the Triads also tip the police off to raid the club, during which the wife of squad leader Lam (Michael Miu) is killed by a drug addled patron.
15 years later, Shun-tin has left the Triads and become a successful businessman married to a beautiful lawyer/financial consultant (Karena Lam) with whom he has started an anti-drugs charity, while Dizang has become Hong Kong’s no. 1 drug dealer, operating out of a slaughterhouse as a cover. The trouble occurs when Shun-tin learns that his former girlfriend was pregnant when she left him and that he has a 15-year-old son in the Philippines who has become addicted to drugs. Drugs have indeed ruined Shun-tin’s life, if indirectly. His grandfather was an opium addict, and his father died of a heroine overdose (which is why his Triad gang swore off the drugs trade). All of which means he has good reason for hating drug dealers like Dizang, but his sudden admiration for Duterte’s famously uncompromising stance on drugs is an extraordinarily irresponsible one, especially when it leads to him embarrassing the HK police force by offering a vast bounty to anyone who can kill Hong Kong’s top drug dealer – a deadly competition that, like extrajudicial killings, seems primed to put ordinary people in the firing line.
As Lam tells him, the situation is absurd. Shun-tin’s bounty means Lam will have to spend more time offering protection to suspected drug dealers than actively trying to catch them while it also leaves Shun-tin in an awkward position as a man inciting murder and attempting to bypass the rule of law through leveraging his wealth. Indeed, as a man from the slums who’s been able to escape his humble origins and criminal family to become an international billionaire philanthropist he shows remarkably little consideration for the situation on the ground or the role the kind of ultra-capitalism he now represents has on perpetuating crime and drug use, preferring to think it’s all as simple as murdering drug lords rather than needing to actively invest in a creating a more equal society.
Meanwhile, Dizang continues to lord it about all over town and Lam finds himself an ineffectual third party caught between summary justice meted out by a man who thinks his wealth places him above the law and a gangster on a self-destructive bid for vengeance against the Triads he feels betrayed him, including his old friend Shun-tin. Truth be told, the “friendship” between Dizang and Shun-tin never rings true enough to provoke the kind of pathos the violent payoff seems to be asking for while the film is at times worryingly uncritical of Shun-tin’s vendetta, suggesting that the police are ill-equipped to deal with the destructive effects of the drug trade. Nevertheless, even if it’s to placate the Mainland censors, Yau ends on a more positive message that reinforces the nihilistic, internecine nature of the conflict while hinting, somewhat tritely, at a better solution in the sunny grasslands of the child drug rehabilitation centre Shun-tin has founded in Manila. That aside, Drug Lords is never less than thrilling in its audacious action set pieces culminating in a jaw dropping car chase through a perfect replica of the Central MTR subway station.
The White Storm 2: Drug Lords is currently on limited release in UK cinemas courtesy of Cine Asia. It will also screen as the closing movie of the 2019 New York Asian Film Festival.
Original trailer (English / Traditional Chinese subtitles)
Posted in Hong Kong, New York Asian Film Festival 2019Tagged 2010s, 2019, Andy Lau Tak-wah, Cantonese, Carlos Chan, Cherrie Ying, Cheung Kwok-keung, Chrissie Chau, Cine Asia, Elena Kong, Faith Lee, Gill Mohindepaul Singh, Gordon Lam Ka-Tung, Herman Yau Lai-to, Hong Kong, Jerome Cheung, Jimmy Au, Jun Kung, Karena Lam, Kent Cheng Jak-si, Louis Koo Tin-lok, MC Jin, Michael Miu, Michelle Wai, New York Asian Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival 2019, Philippe Joly
Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (狄仁杰之四大天王, Tsui Hark, 2018)
July 29, 2018 by Hayley Scanlon Leave a comment
Maybe we could use a Detective Dee or two in this bold new age of fake news and powerful ideologies. Tsui Hark at least finds another case for the famed Tang Dynasty detective though this time one which sees him at the centre of a conspiracy, a bug in the system which must be squashed in order to pave the way for someone else’s revolution. The Four Heavenly Kings (狄仁杰之四大天王, Dí Rénjié zhī Sìdàtiānwáng) of the title (no, sadly Andy Lau has not returned with a few of his friends in tow) refers to the four Buddhist deities which ought to tip us off to the kind of story this is as personal desires, of one sort or another, threaten to destabilise a state.
At the end of the previous film, Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon, Dee (Mark Chao) was “rewarded” with a place in the inspectorate and guardianship of the Dragon Taming Mace. However, scheming consort Wu Zetian (Carina Lau) is not particularly happy about her husband’s grand gesture and still has her doubts about Dee. Claiming that she fears such a powerful weapon/symbol being in the hands of someone who may betray the crown, Wu instructs Dee’s Sworn Brother and head of the Justice department Yuchi Zhenjin (Feng Shaofeng) to retrieve the Mace at any cost. Yuchi is reassured that Dee is not in danger and so agrees to work alongside Wu’s handpicked troop of “magical” crooks (who have actually been hired to take care of Dee to stop him messing up Wu’s grand plan). Needless to say all is not as it seems and Wu has fallen under the influence of nefarious forces who are merely using her lust for power as a convenient mechanism for facilitating their own agenda of revenge for a past era’s betrayal and oppression.
Dee’s methods are, more or less, inspired by Sherlock Holmes, granting him almost supernatural powers of foresight and observation though this time he is not occupied with one specific case so much as solving the mystery of the hidden insurrection within the Tang. The Mace may seem like a MacGuffin but its power is real and eventually holds the key to defeating the forces of chaos which threaten to bring down the state. Wu’s quartet of “Taoist” magical mercenaries are quickly exposed as expert wielders of tricks and trinkets rather than supernaturally charged avengers, but the state can’t help being captivated by the “magic” which finally puts paid to their ambition and is rocked by the power of the false images which continue to assault their senses.
Tellingly the big bad here is a foreign cult which makes extensive use of “hypnosis”, strange potions, and smokescreens in order to create the illusion of magic. Illusion, however, is as good as or perhaps better than the truth when it comes to political manipulation. The cult’s powers apparently aided the creation of the Tang state but once they were no longer needed, they found themselves cast out, tortured, and humiliated. Unsurprisingly they want their revenge and will settle for nothing less than the humiliating fall of the nation they helped to build.
Good old fashioned deduction and rationality are useless in the battle to free infected minds from the hypnotic power of fake news perfectly tailored to embrace one’s darker instincts. Wu, secretly or otherwise, lusts for power of her own and was easily manipulated by the promise of support in her campaign to seize the throne. Meanwhile, the leader of the Wind Warriors is infected with an intense desire for violence and killing to ease his deep seated rage over the misuse of his people. The answer is, of course, Buddhism. Life is too beautiful to be marred by hate while the act of forgiveness is the ultimate show of strength. Nevertheless, Tsui abandons Dee’s cool, analytical approach for a strangely spiritual final battle in which the fake news machines wielded by the Wind Warriors are pitted against the intense calm of a finely tuned mind (and the slightly moodier one of a giant white gorilla). Hell is full of suffering, Dee reminds the monk, enlightenment will have to wait. Perhaps “enlightenment” is merely another selfish desire won at the expense of blocking out the calls for help from those in need.
The Dragon Taming Mace is the ultimate symbol of justice, literally able to cut through the spell of illusion to expose the truth below. Wu had reason to fear it, even if she was not in the position to understand why. Dee is indeed a worthy guardian and unsullied soul, committed to the pursuit of compassionate justice wherever he goes even if he does so as a representative of the authority. Wu may have regained her senses, but that doesn’t mean she’s cured of the underlying causes of her possession as the large statue of Guan Yin which looks mysteriously like her seems to prove. Dee may have another mystery on his hands, but in any case his work is far from done in a land of intrigue and duplicity in which justice hangs by a slippery thread.
Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings is currently on limited UK cinema release courtesy of Cine Asia. Find out where it’s playing near you via the official website.
Posted in ChinaTagged 2010s, 2018, Carina Lau, China, Cine Asia, Di Renjie, Ethan Juan, Feng Shaofeng, Lin Gengxin, Mandarin, Mark Chao, Sandra Ma, Tsui Hark
Animal World (动物世界, Han Yan, 2018)
June 25, 2018 by Hayley Scanlon Leave a comment
Greed is good. So Michael Douglas once told us many years ago and if Animal World (动物世界, Dòngwù Shìjiè) is anything to go by, the Gordon Gekkos of the world have not changed their tune. Inspired by Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s manga Kaiji: The Ultimate Survivor, Han Yan’s anarchic gambling drama is the latest in a long line of films to ask serious questions about a perceived moral decline accompanying the rapid economic development of the Chinese state occurring largely during the lifetime of the pure hearted hero Zheng Kaisi (Li Yi Feng) who has been dealt a bum deal and is doing very little to resist it. Describing himself as “crazy” (not unfairly, as it turns out), Kaisi is perhaps the last good man but his resolve is severely tested when he finds himself trapped aboard the good ship Destiny and forced to bet his life on a game of rock, paper, scissors.
Kaisi was one of the smartest kids in town but his father’s early death when Kaisi was eight and his mother’s long term illness have left him all alone in the world. Defeated and without hope, Kaisi’s only job is playing a sad clown at a local arcade and, in a failing he continues to find humiliating, he has to rely on childhood friend and putative sweetheart Qin (Zhong Dongyu), who is also his mother’s nurse, for the money to pay the medical fees that keep his mum in an actual room and not out in the corridor with all the other paupers. Another childhood friend of Kaisi’s, Li Jun (Cao Bingkun), claims to be in a similarly sticky situation and offers Kaisi a sweet deal if only he’ll consent to mortgaging the family apartment. Reluctant but backed into a corner, Kaisi agrees only to realise that not for the first or last time Li Jun has thrown him under the bus and he’s now on the hock for all his friend’s debts which seem to belong to a shady underworld kingpin by the name of Anderson (Michael Douglas). Anderson offers him a way out – he can win it all back and more if he agrees to submit himself to a high stakes game of chance way out in international waters aboard a disused warship called “Destiny”.
Describing himself as “crazy”, Kaisi has a strange fascination with clowns which extends past his occupation and directly into his psyche. Imprinted with a violent kids’ cartoon in which a vigilante clown metes out justice with a smile during a traumatic childhood incident, Kaisi feels as if there is a clown trapped inside him which wants to come out at moments of intense emotionality. Floating away in flights of fancy, he reimagines his enemies as weird space creatures and sees himself cut them down with twin samurai swords in the cramped environment of an otherwise empty subway car. Reality and imagination become blurred as we watch Kaisi run through a scenario in his head only to cut back to the “real” world where he more often than not decides to let things go. Despite his internal crazy clown, Kaisi is a defeated and passive figure who has been drifting aimlessly without hope or purpose, too afraid even accept the affection of his childhood sweetheart Qin due to his internalised insecurity regarding his lack of financial stability.
Dealt a bum deal by life, Kaisi has been relegated to an oppressed underclass with little chance of escape. He is, however, honest and pure hearted unlike his dodgy real estate broker friend, Li Jun. “Destiny” becomes a microcosm for exploring the evils of capitalism as the players quickly realise that they are only involved in a sub game – while they risk their lives at the gaming tables, the fabulously wealthy are busy betting on them from behind two way mirrors. Shady impresario Anderson gives a rousing introduction to proceedings, but pointedly omits to add anything about cheating. Cheating is not just allowed, it is encouraged, to a point at least, and playing the angles strongly advised. Games of chance are never quite just that and Kaisi’s finely tuned mathematical brain finally gets an excuse to kick back into action after a long period of wilful indolence.
Repeatedly, Kaisi is told that “loyalty” means nothing in this “animal world” where the only thing that counts is “profit”. While he is good hearted and originally taken in by the schemes of others, he is not naive and is able to see the “animal world” for what it is even if he refuses to become a full part of it. Maintaining his faith in the power of friendship proves to be a mistake, but still Kaisi realises that he’d much rather be a “clown” ridiculed for his principles than a soulless mercenary who’d sell out a friend for money. His attitude perhaps stands in stark contrast to those around him who’ve each found themselves at the Destiny for different reasons, some more eager than others to give in to their desperation. A mild critique of the heartlessness of a fiercely competitive society and its inbuilt societal inequalities, Animal World is a beautifully designed, surreal and anarchic tribute to fighting the good fight even if everyone else thinks you’re a “crazy clown”.
Animal World is released in UK cinemas from 29th June courtesy of Cine Asia. Check out the official website to find out where it’s playing near you including screenings across Europe and the rest of the world!
Original trailer (Mandarin, no subtitles)
Posted in ChinaTagged 2010s, 2018, Cao Bingkun, China, Cine Asia, Kaiji, Li Yi Feng, Mandarin, manga adaptation, manga to movie, Michael Douglas, Nobuyuki Fukumoto, Su Ke, Wang Ge, Zhou Dongyu
A or B (幕后玩家, Ren Pengyuan, 2018)
May 1, 2018 May 1, 2018 by Hayley Scanlon 1 Comment
It’s difficult not to read every film that comes out of the Mainland as a comment on modern China but there does seem to be a persistent need to address the rapid changes engulfing the increasingly prosperous society through the medium of cinema. A or B (幕后玩家, Mùhòu Wánjiā) is the latest in a long line of thrillers to ask if the pursuit of economic success has resulted in the decline of traditional morality. Life is, according to a mysterious voice on the other end of a walkie talkie, a series of choices – A or B, you or me. When someone says they have no choice, what they usually mean is that they have chosen me over you and expect the decision to be understood because if the situation were reversed, you would have done the same.
Corrupt financial billionaire Zhong Xiaonian (Xu Zheng) has been content to justify himself with this excuse. Having ousted his predecessor through blackmail and manipulation, he rose to be the head of a vast corporate empire while Zeng (Simon Yam), his former boss, committed suicide, a ruined and humiliated figure reduced to abject despair by Zhong’s campaign of malicious finagling. Despite his vast wealth, Zhong’s appetite for success remains unsatisfied while his wife Simeng (Wang Likun), disgusted by his ongoing descent into avaricious amorality, threatens to leave rather than watch him destroy himself.
With a number of schemes in operation, Zhong returns home drunk one evening to find his wife gone, collapsing into a restless drunken stupor. When he wakes up he discovers that he is now trapped inside his mansion – the windows have been boarded up and all the doors locked. Finding a walkie talkie in a box, Zhong is messaged by a mysterious voice who tells him that every morning at 9.30 (just as the financial news begins) he will be given a binary choice. Zhong must choose A or B or his kidnapper will set both in motion.
A or B is a complex kidnap thriller, but it’s also the story of a marriage and a metaphor for the compromises of modernity. Zhong, once an ambitious youngster from a humble background, claims he set himself on the road to ruin in pursuit of a “good life” on behalf of his wife. His wife, however, has a wildly different view of a “good life” to that of her husband. Simeng sacrificed her journalistic ambitious of becoming a war photographer to shift into technology in order to better understand Zhong only to be forced to give that up too when her discoveries of his duplicities began to alarm her. What Simeng wanted was less the huge mansion and expensive jewellery than a stable life of ordinary comfort with a loving and attentive husband who strived to understand her in the way she tried to understand him – something Zhong has completely failed to realise in his male drive to get ahead. Simeng threatens to leave, not because Zhong’s increasing moral depravity has killed her love for him, but that through leaving (and taking a number of his shares with her) she may be able to wake him up and put a stop to his headlong descent into amoral criminality.
Zhong has indeed fallen quite far as his first few A or B choices make clear. It doesn’t take him long to decide to throw a lifelong friend under the bus rather than further damage his business enterprise, only latterly making a frantic appeal to his captor to find out what happened to him. Confronted by the very real and often tragic consequences of his “choices” Zhong is forced into a reconsideration of the last decade of his life. Rather than ruminate, his first instinct is for action and so he sets about trying to escape his makeshift cage little knowing that his captor may have factored his ingenuity in to their original plan. He cannot however escape his final responsibility for becoming the man he is and faces the ultimate binary choice – to continue as he is and slide further down the road to ruin, or turn himself in to the police admitting his wrongdoing and pledging to start again on a more comfortable moral footing.
The identity of the kidnapper and their motives may be fairly easy to guess, but director Ren Pengyuan keeps the tension high as Zhong – played by comedy star Xu Zheng flexing his dramatic muscles, battles himself while trying to bridge the gap between the man he’d like to be and the one he has become. Fiercely critical of the empty materialism that has begun to define modern success, A or B insists that there is a choice to be made when it comes to deciding what gets sacrificed in the quest for prosperity. Zhong at least seems to have rediscovered what is important, reaffirming his commitment to an honest, if simpler, life warmed by the humble pleasure of wanton soup delivered by loving hands.
A or B opens in selected UK cinemas on 4th May courtesy of Cine Asia – check out the official website to find out where it’s playing near you.
Posted in ChinaTagged 2010s, 2018, China, Cine Asia, CineAsia, Duan Bowen, Mandarin, Ren Pengyuan, Simon Yam Tat-wah, Wang Likun, Wang Yanhui, Xu Zheng
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Home / Saigon / Il Corda’s Secret Charcoal Grilling Method Arrives in Saigon
Il Corda’s Secret Charcoal Grilling Method Arrives in Saigon
administratorvniyp October 16, 2019 Saigon Leave a comment 3 Views
A delicious smoky crispness encases the exceedingly moist Tajima Wagyu, adding a pleasant ashy touch to the tenderloin. This charcoal taste sets Il Corda apart from Saigon’s other exemplary steakhouses, according to general director Masaaki Murakami. Thanks to a secret grilling method, carefully selected and stored imported beef, and homemade sauces, District 1’s new Japanese-Italian steakhouse demands a visit from all meat enthusiasts.
Masaaki invited Saigoneer to sample Il Corda’s steak, but first shared its history. Forty years ago in Fukuoka, Japan, his father-in-law started a popular butcher shop named Tsunaya. After 20 years of successfully providing restaurants and families with some of the country’s most tender beef, they decided to expand and cut out the middle-man by bringing the meat directly to people’s plates.
Tsunaya went on to establish 14 restaurants in the region and recently decided to take their endeavor overseas. Masaaki traveled all throughout East and Southeast Asia, but fell in love with Saigon thanks to the city’s energy and the kindness of its residents. So after a year spent looking for the right location, he arrived half a year ago with his head chef, Shinji Masto, who was working for one of their restaurants in Japan.
Opening shop in Vietnam gives Masaaki access to beef that isn’t readily available or cost-effective in Japan. Thanks to its proximity, Australian beef can be shipped to Saigon chilled, as opposed to frozen, meaning it arrives fresh without having undergone the potentially damaging freezing process. Moreover, for various reasons, Australia refrains from sending Japan some of its highest-quality cuts, and instead ships them to places like Vietnam. After exhaustive sampling and painstaking inspections of distributor shipping and storage methods, the team settled on several different types of beef that offer a range of flavors: Australian grain-fed, Australian Wagyu and Japanese Wagyu.
Before we sat down for a taste, Masaaki showed off the large display freezer at the front of the restaurant. A staff member was checking the temperature, as it must be kept precisely between 0 and 2 degrees so the fat-marbled meat neither freezes nor melts and spoils. Every day, a specific number of portions are taken from the large pieces and then placed inside a number of smaller freezer units, as simply opening and closing a door too many times can cause temperature fluctuations that damage the meat’s internal structure, and thus the taste and texture.
Admitting there are some secrets he couldn’t reveal, Masaaki then introduced the grilling process. The meat is first brought to room temperature, then placed on one of three different grills, each with slightly different shapes, angles and thicknesses to be used depending on the meat and order. The steak is then removed for the interior temperature to rise, and then placed back on the grill for that signature smoky taste. This laborious process results in meat that is nearly raw in the middle but not cold to the tongue, as is often the case at other restaurants.
When the chef comes out with our steaks, they are accompanied by a rich red wine sauce that represents one of six unique sauces that Shinji prepares from scratch daily, including black pepper and honey, blue cheese, and truffle. Masaaki shows us how to sprinkle on Maldon sea salt imported from Britain and a dash of fresh wasabi. They create a complex, indulgent flavor without overwhelming the umami-succulent meat and charcoal earthiness.
“The Stanbroke is sweet with a gravy richness, while the Australian wagyu has more of an oil-slickness that compliments a different shade of sweetness,” Masaaki explained as he led us through a tasting. Given his decades working with beef, it’s no surprise that he knows what he’s talking about and gets excited when he can offer advice to returning guests based on what they’ve enjoyed in the past.
Tsunaya, or rope in Japanese, refers to the three elements that determine a restaurant’s success: the food, the people and the atmosphere. Il Corda translated the word to Italian so guests would understand the menu carries elements of Italian cuisine. Adhering to a sense of akon-yosai, or “Asian spirit, Western style,” the menu includes a variety of dishes beyond steak, including linguini with Japanese miso and tomato meat sauce, eggplant carpaccio with seared squid and trout caviar, grilled Ibierreco de Belloto ham, and sauteed longtooth grouper.
In terms of atmosphere, Masaaki designed the entire two-story space to appeal to the broad spectrum of guests that visit. The second floor features a comfortable outdoor patio that he notices Vietnamese people prefer, while secluded tables that feel like private dining rooms appeal to families and Japanese and Korean guests, while Europeans like the high tables prominently placed in the middle of the room. A private VIP room that fits up to nine people can accommodate parties or especially intimate meetings. Soft leather chairs, sleek minimalist lights and a showcase of their Japanese spirits and sommelier-selected wines complete the luxurious vibe.
In the same way Il Corda tried a variety of different meats, they’re experimenting with different events and offerings. For example, Saturday’s ladies night features different promotions for drinks and wine, while live music includes saxophone and piano players, and potentially a live band in the future. While the food alone is worthy of a visit, these occasions can help transform the night into an even more memorable trip.
Saigon has no shortage of steakhouses, as the meal is a favorite for people of all backgrounds. But not all steakhouses are equal, and Il Corda’s careful meat sourcing, based on decades of experience, secret charcoal grilling method and enthusiastic staff, all in a convenient and stylish location, make one worth visiting for a romantic evening, important business meeting or a casual meal with family and friends.
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https://visitbelfast.com/partners/down-county-museum/
Down County Museum
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Unlock the past at Down County Museum and take a journey through 9,000 years of history.
The museum has over 1,200 objects on show in its refurbished and fully accessible Governor's Residence building and a lively programme of events. Explore genuine cells used to house prisoners between 1796 and 1830, when many convicts were transported to New South Wales.
Lively guided tours, varied temporary exhibitions and a tearoom with a unique view of the River Quoile and the Mound of Down can all be found here.
Many important figures in history are closely associated with County Down in general, and Downpatrick in particular, but none are better known than St Patrick. Most of what is known about St Patrick comes from two works written by him, the Confessio and the Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus. They are preserved in later manuscripts, as are stories and legends which grew with his fame.
Little survives from St Patrick's own time, but the Museum extends its interest to include not only related archaeological material but also historic and contemporary artwork. Other objects might appear more ephemeral but nevertheless help to explore our own perceptions and explain something of the history and hagiography of our patron saint.
The Museum has collected a large number of books relating to St Patrick and Early Christian Ireland, which can be consulted, by appointment, in the Museum's library.
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Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park in south Belfast is one of the city's most popular parks.
Ballyholme Beach and Park
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2020 UK King George CERTIFIED BU £5
2020 UK King George III CERTIFIED BU £5
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To commemorate 200 years since the death of King George III, a brand new United Kingdom £5 coin has been issued.
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Country of Issue: United Kingdom
Coin Diameter: 38.61mm
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Obverse Designer: Jody Clark
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Metal: Cupro-Nickel
Finish: Brilliant Uncirculated
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In a 24-hour span, three ordinary places of business became danger zones
Posted 8:54 am, September 22, 2018, by CNN Wire
An employee at a Wisconsin software company opens fire at the office, wounding three coworkers and forcing others to hide under desks.
A gunman wounds four people at a Pennsylvania municipal building about an hour and half later, before he’s shot dead by police.
The next morning a disgruntled employee fatally shoots three people and leaves three others wounded at a Rite Aid distribution center in Maryland.
In a span of 24 hours this week three seemingly safe places of business in America turned into danger zones.
“Three workplace active shooting attacks in just the last 24 hours should spark outrage in every American,” former US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said in a statement this week
Giffords was shot in the head in January 2011 at a “Congress on Your Corner” event at a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona. She was one of 13 people wounded by Jared Lee Loughner, whose primary target was the former congresswoman. Six others were killed.
“No matter where you work, learn, play, or live — you have a right to feel safe, and I’m horrified that that’s no longer the reality in America,” Giffords said. “If gun violence feels like it’s become an everyday occurrence, that’s because it is.”
These were the three instances this week where gunfire disrupted usually ordinary places of business:
Gunshots ring out at software firm
Some WTS Paradigm workers took cover under their desks, police said. Others barricaded themselves and many just ran away from the sounds of gunfire.
An employee of the software firm in the city of Middleton opened fire in his workplace about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Middleton Police Chief Charles Foulke said. He had worked there since April 2017
The unidentified gunman, in his 40s, was critically injured during an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers, police said.
He died later at a hospital.
“A significant number of bullets were fired” between the suspect and responding law enforcement, Foulke said.
Foulke said the suspect exchanged gunfire with four law enforcement officers.
The chief described the officers as “very heroic … and, from what I’ve been told and I believe, prevented much more bloodshed from happening.”
The officers have all been placed on administrative leave, following department policy.
“We have reason to believe the suspect was heavily armed with a lot of extra ammunition, a lot of extra magazines,” the chief said.
It was unknown if the gun was owned legally. But police said he did not have a Wisconsin conceal-and-carry permit.
The motive for the shooting is also unknown.
Three victims — two men and a woman — were treated for gunshot wounds at a local hospital, police said. A fourth person was grazed.
Middleton, a suburb of the state capital Madison, is a city of about 17,000 residents.
“My heart goes out to the people involved in the shooting,” Middleton Mayor Gurdip Brar said. “You never would think this type of thing would happen in your city. Really, so sad that this happened here.”
Door flew open and people yelled ‘Shooter, shooter’
The gunman entered the Masontown Borough Municipal Center around 2 p.m. Wednesday, said Lt. Steve Dowlin of the Pennsylvania State Police.
Then he began shooting.
His four victims included a sergeant from the Masontown police department. Their injuries were not life-threatening, Dowlin said.
The shots rang out outside the office of District Magistrate Daniel Shimshock, authorities said.
The suspect had a restraining order against him related to a choking case that was to be heard Wednesday afternoon, Fayette County District Attorney Richard Bower said.
He had been charged with strangulation, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and simple assault as a result of a domestic matter several weeks ago, said Bower, who did not identify the man.
Eric Randolph, an attorney who was in the courtroom, told CNN affiliate WTAE that he heard several popping sounds.
The door flew open and people poured in yelling, “Shooter, shooter.”
Seconds later a man with a gun entered the courtroom, the attorney said. He swept his arm around until he was aiming the gun at Randolph.
“It was the most intense, frightening sensation I’ve ever had in my life,” he said.
Randolph said he put his head in his hands. When he looked back up the shooter was gone
A glass front door at the Masontown Borough Municipal Center was shot out, according to video recorded from WTAE.
Masontown is in southern Pennsylvania, about 55 miles from Pittsburgh and 20 miles north of Morgantown, West Virginia. The town has about 3,300 residents.
The gunfire started at break time
Snochia Moseley, 26, inexplicably left work at a Rite Aid distribution center in Maryland nearly an hour after starting her shift early Thursday morning, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
She returned shortly after 9 a.m. as some fellow employees were heading out on break, Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said.
She then started shooting.
She killed three people and left three others wounded before turning the gun on herself, authorities said.
“There’s just no way to make sense of something that’s so senseless,” Gahler said Friday, adding that the motive remains unclear.
A source close to the investigation said Moseley was a disgruntled employee at the facility about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore.
About 65 workers were in the Rite Aid warehouse at the time, the sheriff’s office said.
Moseley opened fire outside the building and later on the warehouse floor. The first victim was shot outside and five others inside the warehouse.
Witnesses told investigators that Mosely shot herself twice, with the first shot grazing her head, the sheriff said.
Gahler said Mosely had been diagnosed with a mental illness in 2016 and that her friends and family members reported that in recent weeks she had become “increasingly agitated and that they were concerned for her well-being.”
The sheriff’s office identified the victims as Sunday Aguda, 45, from Baltimore County; Brindra Giri, 41, also from Baltimore County; and Hayleen Reyes, 41, of Baltimore.
The injured were identified as Hassan Mitchell, 19, of Harford County; Wilfredo Villegas, 45, of Montgomery County; and Acharya Purna, 45, from New York.
When the gunfire started, Alexie Scharmann received a series of text messages from her mother, who works at the facility.
“I love you … more than you’ll ever know,” her mother said.
“There’s a shooter in the building. I’m hiding. I love you,” she texted, according to CNN affiliate WBAL. “Be good and take care of dad (and) the pets if something should happen.”
Scharmann’s mother survived. At 10:33 a.m., her mother sent another text message: “I am outside and safe. I love you.”
Gahler said Mosely once was a security officer but not at the Rite Aid distribution center. She had a Maryland handgun permit that expired in May.
She used a gun she purchased legally, Gahler said, adding that no law enforcement officers fired shots during their response.
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ICAWPI
International Campaign Against War on the People in India
Stop all attacks against the people!
Int'l Campaign
Last updateWed, 25 Sep 2013 1pm
Delhi University teacher Saibaba says he is a vict
Condemn Indian State’s Heinous Raid on Activist
Press Conference in Professor GN Saibaba's House -
Arundhati Roy on attacks on GN Saibaba...
CONDEMN THE RAID OF THE HOUSE OF PROF. GN SAIBABA...
Retract the Renewal of Ban on RDF in AP...
BackYou are here: Resistance News Public Meeting 21 May 2011: "STOP ARMY ENCROACHMENT IN BASTAR! OPPOSE INDIAN STATE’S WAR ON PEOPLE!"
Public Meeting 21 May 2011: "STOP ARMY ENCROACHMENT IN BASTAR! OPPOSE INDIAN STATE’S WAR ON PEOPLE!"
Written by www.icawpi.org
3.00pm – 8.00pm, 21 May 2011 (Saturday),
Gandhi Peace Foundation, DDU Marg, Near ITO
Speakers: AB Bardhan, Gen Sec CPI, Amit Bhadur, Professor Emeritus, JNU; Aparna, CPI(ML) New Democracy; Arundhati Roy, Writer; B D Sharm, Former IAS officer; E N Rammohan, Former DGP, Border Security Force(BSF); Girija Pathak, CPI(ML) Liberation, Madan Kashyap, Hindi writer; Pankaj Bisht, Editor, Samayantar; SAR Geelani, Delhi University; Sashi Bhushan Pathak, PUCL, Jharkhand; Sudha Bhardwaj, PUCL, Chhattisgarh; Sumit Chakravarty, Editor, Mainstream; and others.
The Indian state's war on the people in the name of Operation Green Hunt (OGH) is about to complete two years. These two years have left a bloody trail of state brutalities. Soon after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) started its second term in 2009, it was hell bent in repressing the people's movements for their land, water, forests, and mountains. Thus it declared war against the people in the name of OGH. In the leadership of the central government, the state governments of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and other states unleashed the same war on the people. The adivasi population of central and eastern India has been subjected to extreme forms of state repression and brutalities since the beginning of OGH in the leadership of the Army. More than 2 lakh police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the above-mentioned states. People in their hundreds have been killed in Chhattisgarh alone in the last two years. There the OGH was carried out by the paramilitary forces consisting of the CRPF, COBRA, Grey Hound, BSF, ITBP, C-60, CISF etc. along with the SPOs. These forces perpetrated mass murder of adivasis in various villages. Adivasis have been forced to flee to Andhra. There too, the illegal vigilante gangs of Chhattisgarh government - the Salwa Judum - have been oppressing the adivasis in various ways. Hardly any civil society bodies, democratic organizations or media are allowed to visit these areas to probe into these instances of atrocities perpetrated by the state. If someone tried to go to these places then the government-backed lumpens of Salwa Judum and Maa Danteshwari Swabhiman Manch have either harassed them or beaten them up in order to restrict them for entering these areas.
In Odisha, the CRPF has been widely utilized in the last two years to repress the people's movements which are trying to reclaim people's lands from the illegal appropriation of the landlords and the contractors. Within the last two months the armed forces of the government killed around 20 people related to peoples' movements in fake encounters. All the dead were part of struggles against forced displacement in various places of Kashipur, Sundergarh, Gandhamadan, Niyamagiri, Kalinga Nagar etc. In the Adivasi areas of north and western Odisha, the people are forced to stay under the perpetual looming terror perpetrated by the state. In Jharkhand too, thousands of deployed forces are repressing the people. There too a number of people have been killed in fake encounters. In Kharasamba and Latehar alone almost 30 cases of harassment and repression by the police and paramilitary forces have been registered. In these incidents the police forces have slapped false cases on the people, they have been tortured with illegal third degree methods, their houses have been set on fire, their forests have been burnt, encroached in social affairs like marriages, and so on. They have even arrested women for the 'crime' of wearing salwar kameez. Serious cases have been slapped on persons without any basis who have stood by people's movements. In addition, the government is using various mercenary gangs like the TPC, JPC, JLT etc. to finish off militant struggles of the masses, particularly targeting their leadership.
The repression ushered in by CPI (M), the ruling party of West Bengal, on the people of Jangal Mahal is known to all. In Lalgarh area more than 50 armed training camps of CPI (M) are being run illegally with the full consent of the state government. There are more than 1600 Harmad goons in these camps who ruthlessly repress the villagers and play the same role as the SPOs of Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh. In West Bengal the Joint Armed Forces, the Harmads and the Gana Pratirodh Committee (GPC) have so far brutally killed more than a hundred people. The leaders of People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA), like Lalmohan Tudu, Umakant Mahato, Sidhu Soren have been killed by the CRPF in fake encounters. Hundreds of people have been arrested and jailed under draconian charges. They had put the entire area under section 144 and heavily scuttled the democratic rights of the people in the area. In order to malign the movement the police staged the Jnaneshwari Train 'accident' which resulted into the deaths of hundreds of people. In Bihar, as soon as the Nitish Kumar government was elected for the second term, it intensified its repression on militant people's movement. Following the notorious Andhra model the Bihar government is doing covert operations to exterminate the leadership of revolutionary and democratic movements.
With the objective of intensifying the war, the state has now announced the setting up of Indian Army bases in the adivasi areas. According to the Indian Army, two training camps, one in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh and the other in Raygada district of Odisha will be set up soon. Going by the army sources, these so-called training camps will be of the same model as the Jungle Warfare Schools in Mizoram and Kanker. The question is: what is the need of setting up army training camps right in the middle of the country at this juncture? The real motive behind setting up these 'camps' is not merely to provide 'training', but is aimed to serve strategic purposes for the state. Since the last few years the Indian state which is parroting the phrase "Naxalism is the biggest threat to internal security", has been trying all means to repress the people's movements that are growing against its agenda of corporate loot of natural resources. These camps should be seen as a part of furthering that same agenda. Although the Indian Army has so far denied any plan of undertaking direct combat action against the Naxalites, there can be no explanation for establishing such infrastructure for the army other than intensifying the war on the people of these regions.
The setting up of army bases in Chhattisgarh and Odisha is a precursor to Indian Army's induction into the war on people as direct combatants. If such an extensive scale of state repression has been carried out even before the direct involvement of the army in combat role, one can well imagine the situation after its entry. It is however known that both the Army and the Air Force have been closely involved in OGH from its very inception. Now the Air Force is given the license to shoot and kill, although in the name of 'self-defense'. It is worth noting that the central coordination of this Operation from its inception has been done by the army. Army officials of the brigadier rank have been appointed in the office of the home ministry to coordinate this operation. Moreover the forces deployed in the operation have been trained in the Jungle Warfare School in Mizoram which is run by the army. The army is also training the forces in the Jungle Warfare School set up in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh.
Operation Green Hunt is a multi-pronged attack on the people and their movements. In the past too, a sub-command of the army was set up in Bilaspur which was directly under the army central command. Moreover, the 'Unified command Structure' has been already put in place in order to centrally coordinate OGH in various states under the central Home Ministry. In the pretext of setting up 'training camps' the state is preparing the army to confront the struggling people directly. According to The Hindu the army has marked out 600 square kilometers for its camp out of the 4000 sq.km. area of Abujhmad. Thus by carving out such a big area the army will not only clear the forests but will also displace the local people. There will be invariable use of force to displace the people living here. So in the process of setting up of camps the army will attack the people and in the name of land-grab they will perpetrate further atrocities. This is clear from a statement made by the army in 'Jansatta' on 23 March 2011, where they clearly stated to have "the right to attack first and not always to wait for their enemy to attack first". Thus training camp is just a pretext to actually spread state-terror in this region to devastate the forests, grab the land and mineral resources and ravage the people's movements. The army trainer in Kanker, Brigadier Panwar spoke about his intentions in clear terms by declaring that "this is to tell the Maoists clearly that the lion is waiting right outside your doorstep".
The incursion of the Army must be opposed. The central government has an undeclared understanding that the central region of the country belongs to foreign corporates. Thus although they sugar-coated their project with terms like 'training' etc. they are actually trying desperately to remove the entire adivasi population from this region and hand over the land and resources to the corporates. As a part of the same project they had earlier used Salwa Judum to clear 650 villages and forced its residents to migrate outside or stay in government camps as prisoners. When the force of people's movements ousted this project of the government, the state is now using army to further its agenda. That is why they are planning to capture this huge area of 600 sq km. Using these bases as their stepping stone, the army would penetrate deep into the forested adivasi areas and 'clear' them for the corporate. This will be done by using the might of force and by unleashing violence, thereby pushing the country towards an inevitable civil war. Forum against War on People appeals to the progressive and democratic sections of the society to raise a strong voice of protest and opposition to the Indian state's decision of setting up these army bases, so as to put a stop to this genocidal war on people.
Stop war on people!
Withdraw the central forces!
Scrap the planned army bases in Bastar!
FORUM AGAINST WAR ON PEOPLE
Contact: forumagainstwaronpeople@gmail.com
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ICAWPI.org
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FFA receives eight final bids for Hyundai A-League Expansion
Football Federation Australia today announced it had received eight submissions to be part of the Hyundai A-League’s expansion from 2019/20.
FFA Chief Executive Officer David Gallop said the process had been highly competitive and confirmed the announcement of the new licences will be made before 31 October this year.
“The level of interest in investing in our game is unprecedented and a significant vote of confidence in our sport in Australia. We have worked closely with the ten shortlisted consortia over the past two months and have been impressed with their quality.
“As part of this process, we have asked the prospective new licence holders to demonstrate how they can complement existing Hyundai A-League Clubs, link back into fans and the football history in their local community, help develop pathways for players, increase interest from sponsors and broadcasters, have solid financial backing and operate sustainably,” he said.
Mr Gallop said an expanded A-League would provide more opportunities for Australian footballers, increase the diversity of fixtures in the league, generate more revenue for clubs and drive increased attendances across the country.
“The benefits of expanding the A-League are clear and we look forward now to assessing the bids with our lead advisers, Deloitte before making our final decision,” he said.
The FFA had shortlisted ten bidders at the end of June this year, during this process Brisbane City FC decided not to submit a final bid.
“Brisbane City FC has put an enormous amount of work to get his far, and we thank them for their efforts, we look forward to working with them again in the future years as we continue to grow our A-League footprint,” Mr Gallop said.
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Jun 15, 2018 Issue
FPIN's Help Desk Answers
Treatments for de Quervain Tenosynovitis
SUZAN SKEF, MD; KENYA IE, MD, PhD; SANDRA SAUEREISEN, MD, MPH; GRETCHEN SHELESKY, MD, MS; and AMY HAUGH, MLS, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center St. Margaret Family Medicine Residency Program, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Am Fam Physician. 2018 Jun 15;97(12):online.
Clinical Question
Are corticosteroid injections better than conservative treatment in patients with de Quervain tenosynovitis?
Evidence-Based Answer
Corticosteroid injections are no better than thumb spica orthoses for decreasing pain in patients with de Quervain tenosynovitis. (Strength of Recommendation [SOR]: B, based on a meta-analysis of low-quality randomized controlled trials [RCTs].) When combined with orthoses, corticosteroid injections and acupuncture are equally effective for improving function and decreasing pain. (SOR: B, based on a low-quality RCT.)
Evidence Summary
A 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis of six RCTs (N = 334) compared the effectiveness of corticosteroid injection vs. thumb spica orthosis or a combination of the two treatments for the management of de Quervain tenosynovitis.1 Participants were diagnosed clinically using a positive Finkelstein or Eichhoff test. Corticosteroid injections consisted of methylprednisolone (five studies; 10 to 40 mg) and triamcinolone (one study, dose unknown). Three studies compared injections with orthoses, and three studies compared combined injections and orthoses with orthoses or injections alone. Treatment success was defined by a negative Finkelstein test and no pain (four studies), or a decrease in pain on a visual analog scale (two studies). After three to 26 weeks, orthoses alone had a lower rate of treatment success compared with combined injections and orthoses (two studies; N = 181; relative risk [RR] = 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35 to 0.80). At three weeks, corticosteroid injections alone had a lower rate of treatment success compared with combined injections and orthoses (two studies; N = 167; RR = 0.76; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.89). Orthoses alone compared with corticosteroid injection alone had similar success rates at two to three weeks (three studies; N = 172; RR = 2.5; 95% CI, 0.79 to 7.8). Study limitations included lack of blinding or concealed allocation.
A 2013 nonblinded randomized study (N = 30) analyzed the effectiveness of acupuncture vs. corticosteroid injections in patients with de Quervain tenosynovitis over seven months. 2 Participants were diagnosed by history and a positive Finkelstein test. The acupuncture group received five treatment sessions in one week using a standardized technique, and the corticosteroid injection group received a single injection of 40-mg methylprednisolone and lidocaine 2%. Both groups received thumb spica splinting after the interventions. Outcomes evaluated included functional status (evaluated by the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire; range = zero to 100, with lower scores indicating less disability) and pain (using a 10-point visual analog scale). Disability scores improved significantly in both groups from baseline to six weeks (61 to 6.1 in the injection group vs. 64 to 9.8 in the acupuncture group; P < .001), as did pain scores (6.7 to 1.2 in the injection group vs. 7.1 to 2.1 in the acupuncture group; P < .001). Limitations include lack of blinding and follow-up for seven months.
Copyright © Family Physicians Inquiries Network. Used with permission.
Author disclosure: No relevant financial affiliations.
Address correspondence to Suzan Skef, MD, at skefs@upmc.edu. Reprints are not available from the authors.
1. Cavaleri R, Schabrun SM, Te M, Chipchase LS. Hand therapy versus corticosteroid injections in the treatment of de Quervain's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Hand Ther. 2016;29(1):3–11.
2. Hadianfard M, Ashraf A, Fakheri M, Nasiri A. Efficacy of acupuncture versus local methylprednisolone acetate injection in De Quervain's tenosynovitis: a randomized controlled trial. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2014;7(3):115–121.
Help Desk Answers provides answers to questions submitted by practicing family physicians to the Family Physicians Inquiries Network (FPIN). Members of the network select questions based on their relevance to family medicine. Answers are drawn from an approved set of evidence-based resources and undergo peer review. The strength of recommendations and the level of evidence for individual studies are rated using criteria developed by the Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group (http://www.cebm.net).
The complete database of evidence-based questions and answers is copyrighted by FPIN. If interested in submitting questions or writing answers for this series, go to http://www.fpin.org or e-mail: questions@fpin.org.
This series is coordinated by John E. Delzell Jr., MD, MSPH, Associate Medical Editor.
A collection of FPIN's Help Desk Answers published in AFP is available at https://www.aafp.org/afp/hda.
Musculoskeletal Care
Tendinopathy
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Car accidents cause both physical and emotional pain. If you’ve been injured in an car accident or a loved one was killed in an accident in Roseville, working with an experienced car accident attorney is the best way to ensure that you receive just compensation. An car accident attorney acts as your advocate and provides a strong voice for you with insurance representatives and in the courts.
Call to Speak With a Roseville Car Accident Attorney Today!
The experienced car accident attorneys at Adams & Corzine have served auto accident victims in Roseville for more than 35 years. Our compassionate, experienced attorneys will treat you with concern and care while fighting for you aggressively. We have extensive experience advocating for Roseville car accident victims in our local courts, and we understand how to fight for victims after a car accident in Roeville. We’re here to act as your advocate and guide in this difficult time.
Why Car Accident Victims Choose Adams & Corzine Lawyers
At Adams & Corzine, we know that car accidents can be devastating to victims and their families in Roseville. We also believe that accident victims and their families deserve justice.
If you’ve been injured or have lost a loved one in an accident in Roseville, please contact us to schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced Roseville accident attorneys to discuss your case.
Aggressive and Experienced Roseville Car Accident Attorneys
It will take time to recover from your injuries or from the loss of a family member following a car accident in Roseville. Unfortunately, the responsible party’s insurance company is likely to contact you at this difficult time. If another driver was at fault, the insurance representative will often come in and make a settlement offer. The company may not make you a fair offer or may refuse to accept responsibility for all of your injuries.
Our car accident attorneys have experience negotiating with insurance companies. We can help you evaluate offers to ensure that you’re being treated fairly. Our car accident lawyers here to ensure that the compensation you receive following an accident truly represents the pain and suffering that you’ve endured.
If you were injured or lost a loved one in a car accident in Roseville, you may wonder if it’s time to call an attorney. It is. While you could speak with insurance representatives yourself, you won’t have to face that stress when you work with a Roseville car accident attorney. Our compassionate, aggressive car accident attorneys know the intricacies of California motor vehicle law and can provide you with the best representation. Please call us today so that we can discuss your case and your legal options.
Roseville is the largest city in Placer County, part of the Sacramento Metro area. Originally a stage coach station called Griders, Roseville eventually became the home of Southern Pacific Railroad facilities. Roseville was a railroad town for decades until the 1950’s when the city expanded in an effort to stay relevant in an economy where railroads were becoming obsolete due to the creation of the interstate highway system.
Roseville saw modest growth until the population in the area exploded between 1985 and 2000. The population boom in Roseville also meant that the city would grow to provide the people with shopping malls, major retailers, and suburban homes. While Roseville was expanding rapidly, it came to a screeching halt when the recession hit. Half developed and empty buildings became quite commonplace until the economy began to bounce back.
Roseville holds onto tradition and its roots despite growing from a railroad town to a bustling city. Roseville has several projects geared towards the revitalization of the older areas that have become more rundown but still hold historical significance.
The Law Offices of Adams & Corzine is an AV-rated civil litigation firm which stresses quality and integrity. Our goal is to aggressively represent our clients while efficiently and cost-effectively manage their cases.
The decision to remain a small firm allows us to maintain open communication with clients and fulfill our commitment to personal assistance and availability, avoiding the pitfalls inherent in the traditional large law firm.
The office maintains a civil litigation, trial and appellate practice which provides legal services to insurance carriers, risk managers, self-insured organizations, public entities, corporate clients, non-profits and individuals
Insurance Coverage & Bad Faith
Property, Fire, & Theft Disputes
Writs & Appeals
Training Programs for Clients
Copyright © 2020 - Adams & Corzine Law Firm - All Rights Reserved
Design by Achieve DMA
Adams & Corzine is an experienced personal injury attorney firm located in Folsom, CA and serving both personal injury plaintiff and defense clients throughout the Sacramento Valley. Our lawyers focus on all personal injury cases including catastrophic injury, wrongful death, vehicle accidents including car, truck, big rig, motorcycle and bicycle, premises liability including slip and fall, construction accidents and dog bite, and defective product injuries including vehicles, household and pharmaceuticals. Located in Folsom, we serve the communities of Sacramento, South Sacramento, West Sacramento, Midtown Sacramento, Folsom, Granite Bay, Roseville, Rocklin, Loomis, Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Carmichael, Natomas, Rancho Cordova, Rancho Murieta, El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park, Shingle Springs, Placerville, Davis, and Woodland. For more information contact us at (916) 983-3900. Send all correspondence to 740 Oak Avenue Parkway, Suite 120 Folsom, CA, 95630 USA.
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Condo Tower With Board-Formed Concrete Take Shape on South 1st Street
In the heart of Williamsburg, a 13-story luxury residential condo tower from developers Adam America and the Naveh Shuster Group is nearing completion. Designed by the prolific architecture firm ODA, the project at 190 South 1st Street features their signature play of boxy form on the facade.
Working with the typical repetition of concrete floor slabs, the design extends the slabs past the glass window wall of the exterior to form balconies. Turning the concrete balcony slab up or down at the edges creates a semi-enclosed outdoor space that reads as extruded boxes on the tower’s facade.
ODA’s other Brooklyn projects in the works include a Landmarks-approved reworking of a factory at 10 Jay Street in Dumbo inspired by sugar crystals.
Adam America is also working on projects on 4th Avenue — including one with the Naveh Shuster Group — and in Crown Heights.
Sales started last year for the development’s 32 condos, which range from studios to three-bedrooms.
Shared outdoor spaces include a garden lounge with planted seating and picnic areas on the roof of the project’s two-story podium. One of the penthouse units has a gas fireplace and kitchenette on a private terrace. The building also has onsite parking.
The project will also offer community facility space on the first two floors, accessible from an entrance on Driggs Avenue.
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Champlain Valley Farmers Branch Out
Curt Austin on Viewpoint: Convert Hudson River Rails to Multi-Use Trail
Hope on Viewpoint: Convert Hudson River Rails to Multi-Use Trail
Glenn on Mother, Daughter Rescued on Spruce Mountain
Ann Breen Metcalfe on Viewpoint: Tearing Out Railroads Is Not Progress
Lake George Facing Threat To Hemlocks
The Eastern hemlock is one of the most abundant trees in New York and a major component of the forests in the Lake George – visible in nearly every corner of watershed.
Hemlock stabilize streambanks and shorelines, protect water quality of the streams that flow into the lake, and provide value to local forest products economies.
But last summer, a small population of hemlock woolly adelgid was found on Prospect Mountain in Lake George. The terrestrial invasive insect, native to East Asia, has been killing large swaths of hemlock trees from the Great Smokey Mountains to the Catskills and is making its way north, having finally reached Lake George.
Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) was first discovered in the 1980s. It spreads primarily by “hitch-hiking” on birds and other animals. Our extreme cold can help slow its spread, but cannot eliminate the it completely.
According to staff of the Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) who have been working on the problem, once HWA is discovered, insecticides can treat infected trees, but it’s costly and labor-intensive, and its success depends on early detection. Alternatively, biological controls are being developed, including beetles and flies that are natural predators of the HWA, though creating populations large enough to make a difference is expected to take time.
In October, a community workshop in Hague put together by town officials to discuss the issue included the LGLC, the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, the Adirondack Mountain Club, and Professor Mark Whitmore of Cornell University, who is working to develop the bio-control that may help to manage the HWA infestation in the future.
Partnerships and Volunteers Sought
At the LGLC, they are hoping to work with other local partners, including the Fund for Lake George, Lake George Association, and towns around the lake to host additional workshops for municipal leaders as well as residents and other community members. The LGLC is working with the S.A.V.E. Lake George partnership to raise awareness and seek funding.
The LGLC is one of the largest landowners in the Lake George watershed. This winter, their land steward began surveying its preserves, focusing on stands along stream corridors and wetlands. HWA infestations can be most noticeably detected by the small, white, woolly masses produced by the insects that are attached to the underside of the twig, near the base of the needles.
Volunteers are also being trained to survey trails and other lands on iMapInvasives, an invasive species database and mapping system accessible to the public.
The scope of this early detection work is enormous, and volunteer help is considered crucial. The LGLC plans on hosting and supporting additional training workshops, to increase the number of volunteer monitors. Volunteers are needed to monitor 4,200 acres of LGLC lands, with hopes monitoring can spread to an additional 3,200 acres LGLC manages for the DEC, and possibly other DEC land as well (with permission).
LGLC Preparations
By the end of this winter, LGLC staff are expected to have the necessary credentials to apply treatments to infected trees and the surrounding area of its own land. The LGLC cannot treat private lands or DEC land, but are expecting to alert its partners if any HWA outbreaks are found there. LGLC staff said they are also looking into ways to provide habitat for the biocontrol predators, as well as cones and stock for hemlocks so that if an outbreak occurs on protected land, new hemlocks can be grown to replace those that die.
“The HWA is a challenging threat to Lake George’s hemlock forests, as evidenced by its impact on the Smokey Mountains and Catskills, but the LGLC is a formidable force in Lake George’s defense,” an announcement from the Lake George Land Conservany said. “To date, the organization has spent approximately 1,500 hours of staff time on outreach, research, training, and on the ground monitoring to battle this invasive, at a cost of $75,000. We won’t be able to check every hemlock, or entirely stop it from coming, but by preparing now, we can lessen its impact and help our native hemlocks continue to be an icon for generations to come.”
For more information about HWA and the research being done by Cornell University, visit their website, or click here for a calendar of upcoming opportunities for Forest Pest Identification and Survey Training. Inquiries and questions about the HWA or LGLC’s efforts may also be directed to the LGLC, at (518) 644-9673 or shoffman@lglc.org.
Photo: Hemlock with HWA egg masses, courtesy Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Bio Control Lab Established
Forest Landowners Take Note Of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
First Adirondack Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Infestation Confirmed
Tags: Forestry, hemlock, hemlock woolly adelgid, Invasive Species, Lake George, nature, wildlife
Wally Elton says:
Do the “other animals” on which HWA hitchhike include humans and their associates such as dogs? If so, that might explain why Prospect was first. Or is that possibility small compared to birds, etc.?
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Unlock 45 percent of hidden re-engagements with Universal Reattribution
Granular Reattribution
App users can be notoriously fickle: one day they’re all over your app, and the next day they’ve moved on. And just as quickly, they can come right back after being prompted by any kind of campaign. When these inactive users are successfully re-engaged you naturally want to know where they’ve come from. But this kind of insight is typically lost – most analytics tools can’t tell you which users are coming back, despite the potential for your marketing outreach to re-activate such lost or churned users.
While we’ve always tracked your re-engagements for campaigns you mark as retargeting or re-engagement efforts, we wanted to unlock the hidden 45 % of re-engagements coming from campaigns that haven’t been explicitly designated for these purposes. With our new Universal Reattribution tool, you no longer have tell us to find these returning users: instead, we’ll automatically record and reattribute them. The result is a holistic overview of these re-engaged users, the sources they came from and what their in-app behavior resembles – all in real time, and for every campaign.
So when a user installs your app, we’ll attribute them to a particular segment that reflects the nature of their acquisition. These users – inactive users returning via a marked retargeting or re-engagement campaign – are then reattributed onto segments that reflect their reacquisition channels.
With Universal Reattributions, you no longer need to explicitly mark these campaigns: we now reattribute your re-engaged users onto these new segments regardless of whether the campaign they click is marked or not. As always, these new segments will reflect the behavior of reattributed users – where they came from, what they are doing, and what ads are bringing them back.
In other words, all those reattributions lost in a shuffle of campaign clicks will now come to the forefront. You’ll benefit from a whopping 45 % increase in recorded and analyzed re-engagements coming in across the board.
Reattribution out of the box
So how do you set up Universal Reattributions?
It’s pretty simple, actually: you don’t. When you set your reattribution window, Universal Reattribution will happen automatically each time an inactive user opens your app. The entirety of the work is on our end. We’re matching every incoming session with a corresponding incoming click, right as they happen.
And remember – the Adjust Push API is firing reattribution callbacks every time a Universal Reattribution registers, so you’ll never miss a beat.
Want more details on Universal Reattributions?
As always, you can check out our docs for a more a comprehensive overview.
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Lier (Belgium) — Heilig Hart Lier hospital hires Advanced Networks engineers to perform a specialized WLAN Site Survey for Hospital applications.
Leuven (Belgium) —UZ Leuven, one of the largest hospitals in Belgium with more than 1995 beds, requests Advanced Networks to perform a WLAN Site Survey for the Campus Gasthuisberg Leuven.
Charleroi (Belgium) — Brussels South Charleroi Airport, serving yearly more than 5 million passengers a year, requests Advanced Networks to perform a WLAN Site Survey for several indoor and tarmac areas.
Uccle (Belgium) — A global biopharmaceutical company, active in over 100 countries with growing presence in emerging markets including China, Brazil, Mexico and Russia, requests cooperates with Advanced Networks to perform WLAN Site Survey services.
Luxembourg (Luxembourg) — P&T Luxembourg, the leading postal and telecommunications services operator in the Grand Duchy, cooperates with Advanced Networks for WLAN Site Survey Services.
Lyon (France) — A global, diversified healthcare company with 2010 Sales of $12.8 billion and approximately 47,600 employees continuous cooperating with Advanced Networks for professional WLAN Site Survey services and requests Advanced Networks to perform the WLAN Site Survey for there site in Lyon, France.
Rijswijk (The Netherlands) — A provider of customized solutions, depending on the client or target group, with about 1000 employees working at the offices in Rijswijk, requests Advanced Networks to perform WLAN Site Survey services in the offices in Rijswijk.
Ohio (North America - US) — Deceuninck, developing engineered materials in PVC and word composites, active in more then 75 countries across Europe, North America and Asia, continuous there cooperation ship with specialized Advanced Networks WLAN SS knowledge.
Advanced Networks is requested to perform the WLAN Site Survey for the Deceuninck site in Ohio, North America -US.
Amsterdam (The Netherlands) — The OLVG hospital of Amsterdam requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform the WLAN Post Installation Site Survey of the Hospital to tune and optimize the new WLAN overall hospital WLAN Network.
Brussels (Belgium) — Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/AZG), an international humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical assistance to populations in danger in more than 60 countries, requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform a WLAN Site Survey in the main MSF offices in Brussels.
Milan (Italy) — Estée Lauder, a technologically advanced, innovative company gained a worldwide reputation for elegance, luxury and superior quality, continuous the cooperation ship with Advanced Networks by requesting Advanced Networks engineers for the WLAN Site Survey of the Estée Lauder site in Milan.
Vienna (Austria) — The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform professional WLAN Site Survey services for the main offices in Vienna (Austria).
The FRA helps to ensure that fundamental rights of people living in the EU are protected. It does this by collecting evidence about the situation of fundamental rights across the European Union and providing advice, based on evidence, about how to improve the situation. The FRA also informs people about their fundamental rights. In doing so, it helps to make fundamental rights a reality for everyone in the European Union.
Brno (Czech Republic) — TE Connectivity, a global, $12.1 billion company that designs and manufactures over 500,000 products that connect and protect the flow of power and data inside the products that touch every aspect of our lives, confirms the cooperation with Advanced Networks for there leadership in professional WLAN Site Survey Services.
Advanced Networks is requested to perform the WLAN Site Survey for the TE Connectivity site in Brno, Czech Republic.
The nearly 100,000 TE Connectivity employees partner with customers in virtually every industry—from consumer electronics, energy and healthcare, to automotive, aerospace and communication networks—enabling smarter, faster, better technologies to connect products to possibilities.
Brussels (Belgium) — Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc Brussels (CUSL) requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform Specialized WLAN Site Surveys in the CUSL Hospital.
Amstelveen (The Netherlands) — Advanced Networks starts with the WLAN Site Survey for the national insurance schemes organization in the Netherlands.
Brussels (Belgium) - Advanced Networks starts performing WLAN Site Surveys for the Belgian Federal Police.
Dole (France) — StanleyBlack&Decker hires Advanced Networks engineers for the WLAN Site Survey in the new facility in Dole, France.
Madrid (Spain) — Estée Lauder and Advanced Networks engineers will cooperate for delivering Advanced Networks engineers for performing WLAN Site Surveys in several Estée Lauder facilities in Europe. Advanced Networks starts with the WLAN Site Survey for the Estée Lauder facility in Madrid, Spain.
Brussels (Belgium) — The North Atlantic Treaty Organization requests Advanced Networks engineers for WLAN Site Survey and installation services.
Falkenberg & Ottobrunn (Germany) - Advanced Networks starts surveying (Post Installation Site Survey) the TE Electronics sites in Falkenberg and Ottobrunn, Germany.
Mechelen (Belgium) — The National Belgian public bus company requests Advanced Networks to perform serveral WLAN Site Surveys for the bus parking and maintenance sites all over Belgium.
Hagtemau & St. Joris (France) — Southern France, a European producer of steel-made building group spread over the European continent with production units in Belgium, France, Roumania, Russia, the Netherlands, Hungary and Croatia requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform a WLAN Site Survey for two manufacturing locations in the Southern France.
Amsterdam (The Netherlands) — Crown Plaza hotel Amsterdam hires Advanced Networks engineers for a WLAN site survey in the hotel.
Brussels (Belgium) — The French Community Parliament requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform the WLAN Site Survey in the French Community Parliament facilities.
Strasbourg (France) - The European Parliament requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) Site Surveys tuned to WLAN for the European Parliament facilities in Strasbourg, France.
Advanced Networks developed specialized high level EMF Site Survey procedures to perform EMF WLAN related site surveys official accepted by the European Parliament.
Brussels (Belgium) - The European Parliament requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) Site Surveys tuned to WLAN for the European Parliament facilities in Brussels, Belgium.
Anderlecht (Belgium) — ULB University hires Advanced Networks specialists to perform a complex WLAN Site Survey for the Intensive Care department of Hopital Erasme Anderlecht.
Strasbourg (France) - The European Parliament continues cooperation ship with Advanced Networks and requests Advanced Networks to perform the Post Installation Site Survey for the European Parliament facilities in Strasbourg, France.
Brussels (Belgium) - The European Parliament continues cooperation ship with Advanced Networks and requests Advanced Networks to perform the Post Installation Site Survey for the European Parliament facilities in Brussels, Belgium. Advanced Networks performed the WLAN Site Survey of all facilities in 2009.
Den Haag (The Netherlands) — M Hospital in Den Haag with a total of 785 beds, requests Advanced Networks to perform the WLAN Site Survey for the two locations of the hospital in the Den Haag region.
Brussels (Belgium) — VUB University Brussels, hires Advanced Networks engineers to perform the WLAN Survey in Brussels.
Brussels (Belgium) — Credoc, linked with the Royal Federation of the Belgian Notarization, requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform the WLAN Site Survey for their main offices in Brussels.
Wilrijk (Belgium) - An industrial group with world-leading positions in compressors, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems hires Advanced Networks WLAN Site Survey engineers for a Site Survey at the site in Wilrijk.
Neuss (Germany) — Toshiba Medical Systems hires Advanced Networks engineers to perform a 802.11N WLAN Site Survey for the facility in Neuss, Germany.
Harsum (Germany) — TomTom, the world's leading provider of in-car location and navigation products and services focused on providing all drivers with the world's best navigation experience, requests Advanced Networks to perform the WLAN Site Survey for the TomTom site Harsum, Germany.
Maastricht (The Netherlands) — DHL, offering unparalleled expertise in express, air and ocean freight, overland transport, contract logistics solutions as well as international mail services., requests Advanced Networks to perform the WLAN Site Survey for the site in Maastricht.
Leuven (Belgium) - KBC Bank of Belgium hires Advanced Networks engineers for WLAN Site Survey Services know-how.
Kessel-Lo/Lubbeek (Belgium) — TE Electronics, a global, $12.1 billion company that designs and manufactures over 500,000 products that connect and protect the flow of power and data inside the products that touch every aspect of our lives renews the cooperation ship with Advanced Networks for over-all WLAN Site Survey Services for all European facilities. Advanced Networks will start surveying main sites in Kessel-Lo and Lubbeek.
Heverlee (Belgium) — ICOS Vision Systems, a company offering equipment for inspection solutions of semiconductor components, requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform a WLAN Site Survey for the facility in Heverlee, Belgium.
Terneuzen (The Netherlands) — A dynamic hospital located in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen and with a partnership with the University Hospital Ghent (Belgium) cooperates with Advanced Networks WLAN engineers to perform the WLAN Site Survey for the hospital WLAN network.
Leeuwarden (The Netherlands) — The Medisch Centrim Leeuwarden hospital hires Advanced Networks WLAN engineers to perform a full Location Based Services and Mobile Data Post Installation Site Survey for the hospital in Leeuwarden.
Sneek (The Netherlands) — Second largest Hospital of Friesland (The Netherlands) requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform a Molie Data & VoWLAN site survey in the hospital.
Genk (Belgium) — IKEA, a global retail brand with 127,000 co-workers in 41 countries generating annual sales of more than 23.1 billion EURO continues the cooperation ship with Advanced Networks for performing the VoWLAN Site Survey of the IKEA Distribution Benelux site in Genk.
Zwevezele (Belgium) — JorisIDE, one of the biggest producers of steel-made building products with sites spread over the European continent and production units in Belgium, France, Roumania, Russia, the Netherlands, Hungary and Croatia requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform the WLAN Site Survey for the headquarters in Belgium.
Zeebrugge (Belgium) — Cobelfret,, involved in the worldwide transportation of around 50 million tonnes per annum of coal, iron ore, bauxite and other dry bulk products through freight contracts requests Advanced Networks to perform the Mesh WLAN Site Survey for the harbor Mesh network.
http://datanews.knack.be/ict/nieuws/nieuwsoverzicht/2011/06/10/meshed-wlan-netwerk-in-zeebrugse-haventerminal/article-1195031829548.htm#
Brussels (Belgium) — KPMG, an international global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax and Legal, Advisory and Accounting services requests Advanced Networks to perform VoWLAN Site Surveys for the Belgian sites in Brussels, Aalst, Hasselt, Kontich, Liége, Louvain La Neuve and Merelbeke.
Drogenbos (Belgium) — Doyen, an European distributor of car repair and car maintenance parts requests Advanced Networks to perform a WLAN Site Survey for the distribution center in Drogenbos.
Kayl (Luxembourg) — Editus, one of the main telecom providers of Luxembourg requests Advanced Networks to perform the WLAN Site Survey for the site in Kayl.
Heerlen (The Netherlands) — One of the largest hospitals in The Netherlands with 3 locations close to the patient requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform the WLAN Site Survey for the hospital.
Belval (Luxembourg) — Advanced Networks engineers are requested to perform a WLAN Site Survey for "The Fonds Belval" Science, Research and innovation Park at Belval in Luxembourg.
Antwerp (Belgium) — Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS), an impressive building with a museum, opens its doors in Antwerp. The city of Antwerp requested Advanced Networks engineers to perform the WLAN site survey for the new impressive MAS building.
Den Haag — (The Netherlands) — Bronovo hospital, a hospital with about 415 beds, hires Advanced Networks engineers to perform a specialized WLAN Site Survey for the hospital in Den Haag.
Kessel-Lo (Belgium) — TE Connectivity EMEA, requests Advanced Networks to continue the partnership for performing new WLAN Site Surveys for TE Connectivity EMEA sites.
Ottobrun / Falkenberg ( Germany) — TE Connectivity, partnering with customers in virtually every industry—from consumer electronics, energy and healthcare, to automotive, aerospace and communication networks- requests Advanced Networks to perform WLAN Site Surveys for the TE Connectivity sites Ottobrun and Falkenberg in Germany.
TE Connectivity is a global, $12.1 billion company that designs and manufactures over 500,000 products that connect and protect the flow of power and data inside the products that touch every aspect of our lives.
Psion (Italy) — Baxter International, a leader in healthcare for more than 75 years with approximately 49,700 employees worldwide, continues his cooperation with Advanced Networks engineers to perform European wide WLAN Site Surveys for the Baxter sites in Europe.
Advanced Networks engineers are requested to perform a specialized WLAN tuning of the Baxter site in Psion (Italy).
Belgium — Merck, a global healthcare leader with approximately 93,000 employees worldwide continues it's cooperation ship with Advanced Networks and requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform a WLAN Site Survey for one of their sites in Belgium.
Hoofddorp (The Netherlands) — The most sustainable office building in Europe, owned by a global a leading transportation and distribution company serving more than 200 countries and employs around 160,000 people will be surveyed by Advanced Networks for a Post Installation Site Survey.
http://www.ovg.nl/?pageID=3411&projectID=376993&language=en
Amersfoort (The Netherlands) — One of the largest mortgage groups in The Netherlands continues the cooperation with Advanced Networks for the WLAN Site Surveys in their offices.
Pfullingen (Germany) — Advanced Networks, the effective European leader in WLAN Site Surveys, finished the specialization process in global Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Site Surveys.
Advanced Networks will now focus on rolling out global EMF procedures to build on his leadership vision in EMF site surveys European wide.
Luxembourg (Luxembourg) — Advanced Networks engineers are requested to perform the WLAN Site Survey a complete office park in Luxembourg, a complex with in total about 80.000m2 space.
Deventer (The Netherlands) — Deventer Hospital, an hospital with about 390 beds, requests Advanced Networks specialists to perform a optimal WLAN fine tuning and optimization of the hospital WLAN system in Deventer.
Tielt (Belgium) — Sint-Andries hospital requests Advanced Networks to perform the WLAN site survey for a LBS site survey for the hospital in Tielt.
Den Haag (The Netherlands) — Haga Hospital, a hospital with more than 3500 collaborators and about 220 medical specialists requests Advanced Networks to perform a Voice over WLAN and Mobile Data WLAN Site Survey for their new hospital buildings in Den Haag.
Oostend (Belgium) — AZ Damiaan, Hospital Oostende, a future orientated hospital, uses Advanced Networks engineers to perform the WLAN Site Survey for the new centralized Hospital campus in Oostende.
Antwerp (Belgium) — An international company providing consultancy, design, engineering and management services in the fields of infrastructure, water, environment and buildings continues the cooperation ship with Advanced Networks to perform WLAN site surveys for their offices in Antwerp, Brussels and Gent.
Brussels (Belgium) — A global leader in enterprise communications systems hires Advanced Networks specialists to troubleshoot an existing VoWLAN installation as an independent professional identity.
Terborg (The Netherlands) — Checkpoint Systems, a global leader in shrink management, merchandise visibility and apparel labeling solutions requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform the WLAN Site Survey for their site in Terborg (NL)
Stockholm (Sweden) — H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB (operating as H&M) head office in Stockholm hires Advanced Networks engineers.
Advanced Networks engineers are requested to perform a Post Installation WLAN Site Survey for their large central European stock depot in Mons. H&M has almost 2,200 stores in 38 countries and as of 2001 employed around 87,000 people. Advanced Networks is selected by H&M as the professional WLAN Site Survey partner for H&M to be engaged in European wide WLAN site surveys.
Best (The Netherlands) — DHL, the global market leader in the logistics industry, requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform an Advanced Networks WLAN Site Survey for their plant in Best (NL).
Checkpoint solutions are built upon 40 years of RF technology expertise, diverse shrink management offerings, a broad portfolio of apparel labeling solutions, market-leading RFID applications, innovative high-theft solutions and its Web-based Check-Net data management platform.
Brussels (Belgium) — The Brussels University UCL Saint-Luc Hospital requests Advanced Networks to certify the Hospital WLAN network with an EMR (Electromagnetic Radiation) site survey in certain critical zones.
Amersfoort (The Netherlands) — ABN AMRO, the merge between Fortis Bank Nederland and ABN AMRO, requests Advanced Networks to perform a WLAN Site Survey in their offices in Amersfoort for ABN AMRO Hypotheken Groep.
Brussels - Test Aankoop requests Advanced Networks to perform an Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) site survey to certify the WLAN Network in a hospital. EM radiation carries energy and momentum that may be imparted to matter with which it interacts.
Advanced Networks is specialized European leader in EMR site surveys for WLAN EMR certifications in hospitals, critical industrial environments, etc.
Swindon-Wiltshire (UK) & Barcelona (Spain) - Honda Motors Company cooperates with Advanced Networks for new WLAN site surveys in there manufacturing sites in Swindon—Wiltshire and Barcelona.
Cerratina & Verona (Italy), Vienna (Austria) — Honda Motors Company, world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959 closes an agreement with Advanced Networks to perform European wide WLAN site surveys over several Honda plants in Europe. These site surveys are starting in Cerratina, Verona and Vienna and are a part of a global European project agreement.
Brussels (Belgium) — IBM selects Advanced Networks as the exclusive partner of IBM Belgium for performing WLAN Site Surveys.
Koolskamp (Belgium) — Dujardin Foods, one of the leading European producers of frozen vegetables, herbs, ingredients and ready-meals requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform a VoWLAN for the plants in Koolskamp and Kortemark.
Hengelo/Almelo (The Netherlands) — ZGT, one of the 3 best Hospitals in The Netherlands (cfr. report Elsevier October 23th 2010) requests Advanced Networks engineers to perform a full VoWLAN, Mobile Data and Location Based Services WLAN Site Survey for both ZGT hospitals. ZGT has hospitals in Almelo and Hengelo with in total more than 3,500 employees and helping yearly about 250,000 patients.
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Kurt Cobain approved Calvin Johnson to play Bell, Book, & Candle
By Kernan Andrews Galway Advertiser, Thu, Jul 24, 2008
CALVIN JOHNSON, the American indie-rock legend and the founder/owner of K Records, will play Bell, Book & Candle, the Small Crane, Sea Road, on Monday at 5pm.
Johnson - a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, music producer, and DJ - was born in Olympia, Washington, and was a founding member of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go! Team, Dub Narcotic Sound System, and The Halo Benders.
He is also the founder and owner of the influential K Records - a major player in the modern independent music movement. The label is home to acts like Adrian Orange & Her Band, Kimya Dawson, and Modest Mouse.
Johnson has worked with Beck, The Microphones, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Jens Lekman, The Gossip, and Built to Spill among others. Kurt Cobain cited Beat Happening’s Jamboree as one of his favourite records and got the K Records logo - a small ‘K’ in a shield - tattooed on his arm.
Support is from So Cow. Admission is €5. The show is organised by Bell, Book & Candle and Rusted Rail Records.
songwriter Music guitarist vocalist Alternative rock Kurt Cobain Washington Washington Modest Mouse The Go! Team music producer Kurt Cobain The Gossip Bell Book & Candle Olympia Calvin Johnson Kimya Dawson The Halo Benders Built to Spill Beat Happening Cool Rays Blues Explosion The Microphones Dub Narcotic Sound System Jon Spencer Blues Jens Lekman Adrian Orange Beat Happening Calvin Johnson K Records Jamboree The Halo Benders The Microphones Dub Narcotic Sound System Music of Olympia
Disconauts’ summer party
Berlin DJ to play Lowerstate
Foot stamping at Freedom Café
Brazilian guitar and Argentinean dance for St Augustine’s
Acclaimed dance show Giselle @ Black Box
Doug Stanhope plays Laughter Lounge in September
Don’t miss final Laughter Loft shows
East meets West dance show
Dr Suess characters to appear at Town Hall
Fantastical family adventure in 3D
IMC Galway to screen Cobain: Montage Of Heck
Mark Lanegan - Essential Songs Playlist
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CSIRO takes genome product to the world on Amazon
Yolanda RedrupReporter
Oct 28, 2019 — 12.00pm
The country's national science agency CSIRO has become the first public sector organisation in the world to sell a health product on the Amazon Web Services Marketplace, targeting researchers in conditions like diabetes and Alzheimer's.
Dr Denis Bauer led the development of CSIRO's genomic data analysis tool Variant Spark.
The platform called Variant Spark uses artificial intelligence to pinpoint the genes which cause diseases. It was developed by CSIRO's Australian e-Health Research Centre.
By using several hundred computer processing units at the same time, Variant Spark lets researchers drill into complex diseases to look at how the genome might influence the disease.
The Australian e-Health Research Centre's head of cloud computing bioinformatics Dr Denis Bauer, said the tool had begun attracting the attention of researchers around the world since going live earlier this month.
"It's unusual for researchers to take the first step in an area that's usually reserved for commercial entities," she said.
"But in the future, I think research will be much more collegial and collaborative. People all over the world will be using specialised tools that might have been developed on the other side of the globe."
The Variant Spark tool is already being used by Project MinE to try and determine what genes might be involved in motor neurone disease, also known as ALS,
The Project MinE team had accumulated 22,000 genome sequences, and when Variant Spark was applied to the Australian cohort of data it was able to find "novel disease genes".
"Variant Spark lets you find the complex links in the genome," Dr Bauer said.
"There is something called the GUS catalogue, which is an accumulation of all the genomic data for different diseases and we want to re-analyse that resource with Variant Spark because in the past, you could only pick one gene that impacted a disease, but it might be the case that gene X communicates with gene Y and that informs the disease."
While some researchers dismiss the idea that diseases might be influenced by the relations between genes, Dr Bauer believes it is simply a case that in the past the technology hasn't existed to interrogate the data correctly.
"This is what research should be like – developing tools that we can share around the world to let us stand on each other's shoulders to build something bigger," she said.
Variant Spark is the first of a pipeline of products CSIRO is planning to commercialise on the AWS marketplace.
The next in line is Ontoserver – a smart technology server that lets health management systems store and share patient information.
It is free to license for all Australian private and public health organisations, but will be sold overseas.
AWS public sector country manager for Australia and New Zealand Iain Rouse said CSIRO's use of the AWS marketplace to share genomic data was "pioneering".
"It will help to accelerate research and achieve faster results in crucial areas such as improving healthcare. Digital marketplaces will continue to enable small and large Australian organisations to innovate and go global quicker,” he said.
Amazon effect
Yolanda Redrup writes on technology from our Melbourne newsroom. Connect with Yolanda on Twitter. Email Yolanda at yolanda.redrup@afr.com.au
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The 4 people you need to supercharge your career
Janine Garner
Updated Apr 12, 2017 — 11.00am, first published at Apr 5, 2017 — 1.51pm
Who you know is as important in business as it ever was. But it's not about cronyism or nepotism.
In Managing Yourself, A Smarter Way to Network, (Harvard Business Review, July 2011), Rob Cross and Robert J Thomas observed that, "The executives who consistently rank in the top 20 per cent of their companies in both performance and well-being have diverse but select networks … made up of high-quality relationships with people who come from several different spheres and from up and down the corporate hierarchy."
Over the past couple of decades I've worked with corporates and entrepreneurs from a wide variety of backgrounds. I've had the opportunity to interview master networkers such as Emergent chief executive Holly Ransom, former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick and seven-time world surfing champion Layne Beachley and I've mentored senior executives and CEOs across a multitude of industries.
Holly Ransom: "I relied on my mentors for encouragement and advice." Wayne Taylor
Every one of the people I have worked with, spoken to or studied attests to the fact that true success lies in surrounding yourself with a small yet strong, trusted and tight network – a network that works with you and for you.
Becoming the master of your personal network and surrounding yourself with the right people, with the right skills, is key to fast-tracking personal success. My research indicates that choosing your network wisely starts with these four key people:
1. Promoters
Your own personal cheerleading squad is key. They are with you through thick or thin, never give up on you and always dream big with you.
Promoters pull you toward your future dreams, make noise about possibilities, spend time with you to explore how you're going to achieve your goals and inspire you. They put fire in your belly and belief in your mind.
According to research from the Centre For Talent Innovation, people with promoters (aka sponsors) are 23 per cent more likely to move up in their career than those without sponsors.
Nick Holzherr, chief executive of Whisk.com in the UK says, "Building a network is about seeking out best practice. I have been very deliberate in building my network. People can offer different things at different times. But this core network, for me, is priceless."
Janine Garner, chief executive of the LBDGroup.
Holzherr describes one of the key people within his network as an entrepreneur, investor and friend who has significant amount of experience across a broad range of industries. "We bounce ideas off each other, explore options, he shares his insight and this enables me to really look at opportunities and challenges from lots of different angles."
2. Pit-crew
Climbing the ladder of success can be a lonely task, requiring grit, determination and perseverance. We all experience days of frustration and disappointment, days when we have to face our fears, make tough decisions, push past failures, recalibrate our reality and keep focused on opportunities that lie outside our comfort zone.
Having the right crew to help you overcome these difficulties and keep you mentally tough and balanced, is crucial. Like a Formula One racing car, your pit crew can make or break a race. They add stamina, help to navigate complexities and lift you up after setbacks; they help you learn from mistakes and push you on.
3. Teachers
Seek out teachers who will push you. They may have achieved what you want to achieve and will open doors, make introductions and pave the way for your success.
Your own personal cheerleading squad is key. Ian Hitchcock
Harvard professor Linda Hill says, "You can't think of something new unless you are being pushed to think in new directions, and you can't do that unless you are engaging with people who have a different viewpoint."
Holly Ransom, chief executive of Emergent, was the youngest person to be named among Australia's Most Influential Women in 2012. She attributes much of her success to surrounding herself with the best and brightest leaders, game changers and thought leaders including motivational speaker Simon Sinek, former US President Barack Obama and Boost Juice founder Janine Allis.
She says, "It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a whole army to raise a young woman. Growing up as a different sort of kid, I relied on my mentors for encouragement and advice."
4. Butt-kickers
Love them or hate them, we all need butt-kickers. They are the masters of delivery. They listen to your dreams and accelerate your goals, pushing you to do more and holding you accountable for all your actions – and then some. Paula Kensington of Regus, an award winning chief financial officer, says of her network: "A strong network is mission critical if you are concerned about your future. Find the influencers, advisors and advocates who will help you grow and the team that will keep you balanced and grounded."
Like a Formula One racing car, your pit crew can make or break a race. Steve Crisp
Choose your tribe carefully. By strategically aligning yourself with the right people you can fast track your ambitions.
Janine Garner is chief executive of the LBDGroup, a Fortune 500 mentor and author of It's Who You Know: How a network of 12 key people can fast-track your success (Wiley)
Seek out teachers who will push you. Lostinbids
We all need butt-kickers. Supplied
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Director, IT & Communications
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2020 AFTRR Annual Meeting April 5 - 7, 2020 Portland, Oregon Hosted by Free Geek The 2020 Meeting of the Alliance for Technology Refurbishing and Reuse (AFTRR) takes place in the amazing city of Portland, Oregon on April 5-7. The meeting is the single largest annual gathering of nonprofit technology refurbishers and recyclers, an impressive
By admin| 2019-11-19T19:30:58+00:00 November 18th, 2019|Categories: News & Updates|Tags: Annual Meeting, Digital Inclusion, Meeting, Members, NDIA|Comments Off on 2020 AFTRR Annual Meeting
Nonprofit Technology Refurbishers Eye Opportunity for Widespread Social Impact as Industry Giant Arrow Exits Market MADISON, NEW HAMPSHIRE - August 29, 2019 - Millions of Americans are disconnected from an increasingly connected digital world. This is due to a variety of reasons, including lack of internet access and barriers to acquiring devices. This “digital divide”
By admin| 2019-08-29T21:12:13+00:00 August 29th, 2019|Categories: News & Updates, Press Release|Comments Off on Press Release: Arrow Exits Market
Congratulations to AFTRR for another successful national conference! AFTRR members have recently returned from the third national conference organized by the National Cristina Foundation in coordination with its AFTRR community. AFTRR , the Alliance for Technology Refurbishing and Reuse, was formed as a National Cristina Foundation community in 2016. AFTRR member organizations are partners of
By admin| 2019-07-31T17:53:51+00:00 June 15th, 2019|Categories: News & Updates|Tags: aftrr, Annual Meeting, Chicago, Cristina Network, google, iFixit, National Cristina Foundation, refurbishing|Comments Off on 2019 AFTRR Annual Meeting
Our mission is to make information and communication technology accessible to underserved communities around the world. We accomplish this mission by providing high-quality refurbished computers to non-profit and non-governmental organizations. As a national organization that refurbishes and ships computers and laptops worldwide, we are focused on reuse instead of recycling, and are committed to the
By admin| 2016-12-20T22:09:58+00:00 July 27th, 2016|Categories: Members|Comments Off on Interconnection
Computer Reach is a non-profit social enterprise that trains volunteers to refurbish used computers and digital equipment in an environmentally responsible manner. We work with funding partners to provide refurbished equipment to qualified humanitarian organizations around the world to meet their technology needs so they can better serve their communities. We support the equipment we place
By admin| 2016-12-20T22:10:31+00:00 July 27th, 2016|Categories: Members|Comments Off on Computer Reach
The Virginia Student Training and Refurbishment Program (Virginia STAR or VA STAR) is a state-wide program that teaches students to refurbish surplus computer hardware from government agencies and private companies. The refurbished computers are donated to families, organizations, and school districts in need. Through participation in the program, students work towards earning industry-standard certifications from
By admin| 2016-12-20T22:12:40+00:00 July 27th, 2016|Categories: Members|Comments Off on Virginia Star
Electronic Access Foundation (EAF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established for the purpose of donating surplus electronic equipment to other qualified charitable organizations in need. EAF obtains donations through partnership with corporations, universities, and organizations by offering them an alternative to recycling of their surplus electronic equipment. Website: http://e-access.org
The Wilderness Technology Alliance (WTA) partners with schools and community based organizations to implement technology training and work-based learning programs where youth gain skills in the classroom and experience by providing valuable technology products and services to their school or local community. Most programs are run as "WildTech" student enterprises that generate revenue to self-sustain
By admin| 2016-12-20T22:16:33+00:00 July 27th, 2016|Categories: Members|Comments Off on Wilderness Technology Alliance
Tech For Troops gifts free refurbished computers to in need veterans and their families, enabling them to connect with employers and develop essential computer skills. We hire veterans and provide technical training, keep usable computers out of the landfill, and recycle electronics in an environmentally sustainable way. Website: http://www.techfortroops.org
By admin| 2018-12-11T17:17:19+00:00 July 27th, 2016|Categories: Members|Comments Off on Tech for Troops
Kramden's Mission: Providing Technology Tools and Training to Bridge the Digital Divide. Since Kramden's founding in 2003, we have refurbished and awarded over 22,000 computers to deserving students and community members in need of a personal home computer. Kramden also offers an array of educational programs covering everything from basic digital literacy to advanced programming
By admin| 2016-12-20T22:19:46+00:00 July 27th, 2016|Categories: Members|Comments Off on Kramden Institute
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Home Tags National Assembly
Tag: National Assembly
No Jumbo Salary For National Assembly Members — Lawan
Ademola Adebayo - June 26, 2019
The President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan has said that there was nothing like jumbo salary for National Assembly members as being speculated...
I don’t Know Why National Assembly Is Stalling Diaspora Voting —...
Ademola Adebayo - May 6, 2019
Presidential aide, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, on Sunday told Nigerians in the Diaspora to prevail on the National Assembly to approve voting for Nigerians in the...
National Assembly: I Have No Ulterior Motive In Backing APC’s, Buhari’s...
Ademola Adebayo - April 22, 2019
All Progressives Congress (APC) national stalwart, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has said all he has done in respect of the impending election of presiding officers...
Just In: Buhari Signs New Minimum Wage Law
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday gave assent to the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act approving N30,000 for the least paid worker in Nigeria.
Breaking: 109 Senators, 360 Reps Receive N82b As Salary In One...
Nigeria’s 109 Senators and 360 Members of House of Representatives received N82 billion as salary in one year. The figure...
Imposition Of National Assembly Leadership Will Fail – Dogara
Ademola Adebayo - April 9, 2019
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has advised political parties to resist the urge to impose candidates for leadership...
PDP Queries FG, Buhari Presidency Over N24.38tr Debt Profile … Demands...
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has queried the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government and the Buhari Presidency over the alleged unwholesome borrowings leading...
National Assembly Leadership Tussle: Tinubu Relocates To Abuja
The leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-West, Senator Bola Tinubu, has moved his operational base from Lagos to Abuja to...
Bethel Amadi: Imo Has Lost a Great Son- Irona
…Commends Ihedioha Over Plans to Immortalize Him Deputy Governor-elect of Imo State, Rt. Hon. Gerald Alphonsus...
CJN’s Suspension: Senate To Reconvene Next Tuesday
Destiny Ugorji The Senate will reconvene on Tuesday to discuss the purported suspension of the Chief...
Runtown’s Former Record Label,Eric Many Says He Lied About His Court Victory.
FIRS Refutes Report Of 50% VAT Increase
Buhari’s Cabinet: Ministers That May Not Return
Buhari Failed To Project Economic Interest With Trump ―PDP
Destiny Ugorji - May 1, 2018
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Home » biosecurity
Posts Tagged: biosecurity
Westmeath piggery invasion: A farmer’s side of the story
On Saturday, June 29, a group of over 50 vegan protesters broke entry and trespassed on a pig farm in Killucan, Co. Westmeath.…
Biosecurity: Big issues facing post-Brexit disease control
Brexit could be an opportunity to bolster the UK’s biosecurity efforts – but much could be at stake if the transition is not…
Exercise Blackthorn: National exercise to test Foot and Mouth readiness
A major government exercise will see the UK’s four regional agricultural departments in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England come together to test…
Controlling coccidiosis and cryptosporidiosis during the calving period
Coccidiosis and cryptosporidiosis are caused by oocysts, which thrive in a livestock environment. Both of these microorganisms can cause illness in cattle and…
What the ‘TB Tax’ could cost your business
Proposals to charge farmers for bovine TB tests will cost the average business a further £257 a year, with bigger herds to be…
‘TB proposals cause serious concern – but difficult decisions must be made’
TB action is long over-due; but some of the measures proposed by the department are “seriously concerning”, the UFU’s deputy president has warned.…
Farmers could pay for TB tests under range of radical proposals
Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) today launched a public consultation on a range of proposals to work towards…
Northern Ireland TB rates surpass 12-year high
TB rates are continuing to spiral in Northern Ireland as the disease surpasses its worst rate in 12 years, according to official figures…
How realistic are you when it comes to biosecurity?
Farmers frequently convince themselves that their biosecurity is much better than in reality, Northern Ireland’s most senior vet has said. And it could…
Northern Ireland TB compensation costs double in just four years
TB compensation is expected to cost Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture around £24 million (€27.17 million) this year – close to double the…
TB update: Chief vet says ‘better surveillance’ pushing up TB incidence rates
TB rates in the North have hit their worst in more than a decade, according to the latest DAERA figures, but it’s not…
French-imported cattle test positive for bluetongue in Britain
Farmers have been urged to be vigilant after cases of bluetongue have been detected in Britain. Several cattle imported from France, and destined…
TB levels in the North peak at highest rate in over a decade
Tuberculosis (TB) rates have hit their worst level in Northern Ireland in more than a decade, the latest figures reveal. The detected percentage…
‘High levels of biosecurity key to preventing bird flu outbreaks’
The strict enforcement of high levels of biosecurity measures is key to preventing bird flu outbreaks on poultry farms, according to the European Food…
Know what animal is most likely to visit your farm unannounced? And it’s not a badger
A new study of badger behaviour on Northern Ireland farms found that badgers are more likely to visit farmyards in the spring and…
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Alberni Valley Bulldogs
Port Alberni Black Sheep
West Coast Grower’s Guide
Life in the Valley
Campbell River mayor claimed most in expenses in 2016; Victoria mayor highest paid
How well did your mayor get paid compared to similar positions on the Island?
Jocelyn Doll
Campbell River Mayor Andy Adams claimed the most expenses of any municipal elected official on Vancouver Island in 2016 – $17,485, according to each city’s Statement of Financial Information for 2016.
He also had the fourth highest salary of any mayor on the Island, coming in at $62,551 behind Lisa Helps in Victoria, Richard Atwell in Saanich, and Bill McKay in Nanaimo and the fifth biggest population base after Saanich, Nanaimo, Victoria and Langford.
“Last year was a little bit different…there were a couple of things that were occurring that had me very busy attending a lot of different functions,” Adams said. “Where travel expenses would have shown up in economic development and tourism for 2016, they showed up with me.”
The debate surrounding how much of the taxpayer money elected officials take home is ongoing. Each year municipalities are required to release a Statement of Financial Information outlining remuneration and expenses of elected individuals as well as government employees paid over $75,000 a year. The Campbell River Mirror decided to compare the different salary levels paid elected officials on Vancouver Island.
Elected Officials pay across the Island
Though on the higher end of the spectrum for overall pay, Adams is in the middle of the pay scale per capita at $1.92 per person in our city which has 32,588 people according to the 2016 census.
The highest paid mayor, per capita, is Dianne St. Jacques in Ucluelet at $16.98 per person in her town of 1,717 people. However that only adds up to be $29,158.46 per year.
The lowest per capita pay was Atwell at $0.87 per capita in the city of 114,148, which is the largest centre on the Island, totalling $99, 363.
As is the case with Adams, a few city councillors also sit on the board of their Regional District.
Adams was paid $16,204 from the Strathcona Regional District in 2016 and reimbursed for $25 worth of expenses.
The highest paid regional district chairperson on the Island in 2016 was Bruce Jolliffe at the Comox Valley Regional District. That is also the second highest pay per capita of the Regional Districts on the Island at $1.14 per person.
Vancouver Island Regional Districts elected official pay for 2016
The Comox Valley Regional District has the fourth largest population base of the Regional Districts on the Island at 66,572 according to the 2016 census.
The runner up, whose salary was almost $20,000 less than Jolliffe’s was Chair Jon Lefebure at the Cowichan Valley Regional District, which is $0.51 per capita.
The residents in Mt. Waddington are paying the most per person for their chair’s salary, $1.60, which is a wage of $17,651 per year.
@CRmirror_JDoll
jocelyn.doll@campbellrivermirror.com
See the regional district data at campbellrivermirror.com
Former ADSS property sells to Vancouver-based developers
B.C. Indigenous protesters build tiny homes in Trans Mountain pipeline’s path
North Island College hosting nursing info session
Info sessions will take place Monday, Jan. 27 at Port Alberni and Campbell River campuses
Photographer captures Port Alberni personalities in black and white portraits
Meet John Douglas, Courtney Naesgaard in double exhibit Jan. 18 at Rollin Art Centre
Alberni Valley Community Foundation opens grant application process for 2020
Nearly $30K available for Port Alberni-based charities
Stray cat with ‘serious burns’ recovering at Alberni SPCA
The BC SPCA’s Alberni-Clayoquot branch is asking members of the public for help with medical costs
B.C. government puts kibosh on drag racing at Alberni Valley Regional Airport
AVDRA was hopeful for a three-year temporary contract to race at the airport
Explore Port Alberni Valley News
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Port Alberni Weather
Port Alberni Classifieds
© 2020, Port Alberni Valley News and Black Press Group Ltd.
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Mexico police find headless corpses
Authorities uncover 12 decapitated bodies bearing signs of torture.
29 Aug 2008 11:28 GMT
The headless male bodies were found
covered with blankets [AFP]
"We believe that the 12 executions were an isolated incident and not part of a strategy to destabilize the state," Guzman told reporters.
A top Mexican public security official who visited Merida recently had noted that the city had remained largely untouched by the drug war that has left more than 2,600 dead in Mexico so far this year.
Mass protest
Mexicans plan nationwide mass protests on Saturday, in which they will dress in white and carry only candles, in a bid to force the government to act over a spike in murders, kidnappings and police corruption.
Rights and religious groups, kidnap victims and citizens plan to march down major avenues in towns and cities across the country.
The planned protests come amid daily reports of murders and massacres, particularly in the northern Chihuahua State, which has the highest murder rate in the country and where drug cartels are fighting a turf war for control of key drug routes to the United States.
Violence has escalated throughout Mexico since Felipe Calderon, the Mexican president who took office at the end of 2006, launched a crackdown on drug trafficking that included deploying more than 36,000 soldiers across the country.
Some 2,700 people have died this year in gangland-style killings, more than in all of 2007, according to national media and Mexico has overtaken Colombia and Iraq with its kidnapping record.
SOURCE: Agencies
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Gemstones, The New Girl’s Best Friend
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend – but it’s one pricey friendship. Good thing other gems are to the rescue.
Though diamonds are universally popular for all jewellery types, they are definitely not the only option to be considered. Some of the most stylish fashion figureheads of our time were dedicated gemstone lovers. Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Diana and a slew of others all utilised the unique beauty of gemstones in a variety of jewellery pieces. The value of natural gemstones is significantly increasing, so read below for a roundup of ways you can accessorise your favourite gemstone in a jewellery piece today.
An Alternative Engagement Ring
There is a whole world of gemstone engagement ring options just waiting to be explored – plus, they’ve welcomed more than a few celebrities as owners. Opting for a coloured gemstone is a refreshing take on the tradition and convention of an engagement ring – and it’s a guarantee that the wide variety of bright colours are certain to make your ring stand out from the pack.
Kate Middleton’s blue sapphire engagement ring is one of the most iconic engagement rings of all time. Passed down from Princess Diana, Middleton’s ring contains an 18-carat diamond and sapphire stone that was purchased by Prince Charles in 1981. Originally created by Garrard & Co (the former Crown Jeweller), the ring has skyrocketed in value and is now worth approximately 300,000 pounds.
Feel Like Royalty With Gemstone Earrings
Though Meghan Markle’s stunning bespoke engagement ring drew heads when the couple’s announcement occurred, it was her yellow gold and opal earrings that received a lot of attention all on their own. Another famous royal opal-wearer was Queen Elizabeth II herself, who was gifted a remarkable set of ‘Andamooka’ opal jewellery on her first official trip to Australia in 1954.
The opal is the national gemstone of Australia, and each opal features a completely unique array of iridescent colour – meaning that no two are of the same appearance. Opal earrings make not only a fantastic, unique gift, but also evoke a regal effect thanks to the Royal Family’s affinity for the gem.
Adorn Your Neck With Gemstones
Gemstone jewellery is typically in a multiplicity of designs and styles – making it the perfect centrepoint for a necklace. Eye-catching, light-reflecting and unique, gemstone necklaces are extremely popular and make for a fantastic gift for that special someone.
Princess Diana was known for her talent of restyling jewellery in a unique way, and as a result, she redesigned Queen Mary’s emerald choker as a bandeau for a dance during her 1985 Australian tour. Further displaying the flexibility of these stunning gemstone pieces, she wore her velvet sapphire choker with pride as a headband for dinner in Tokyo one evening.
Diamonds may be beautiful, strong and low wearing – but they are also expensive and predictably conventional. Gemstones come in a wide variety of colours, are trendy and popular, are durable and cost a lot less.
Allgem Jewellers is the first choice for Australian opals, precious gems and gold jewellery in Perth. Our services include individually handcrafted custom-made jewellery pieces, jewellery repairs, repolishing Australian opals, opal cutting, pearl threading and more. Contact our professional master jewellers today to see how we can best assist you.
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Haro Mirra Pro Tribute
C$1,249.99Price
There are no two ways about it: Dave Mirra was the spark that revitalized Haro in the mid 1990s. Gone were the days of Bob Haro and Ron Wilkerson behind the brand's direction -- it was now Dave Mirra and Ryan Nyquist designing complete bikes that were affordable, high quality and available worldwide to a new legion of BMX fans. A few years later, the X Games hit, and suddenly, Dave Mirra's signature Haro was on every TV screen of an ESPN subscriber, and demand for his signature bikes and components sky rocketed. Mirra remained an esteemed member of the Haro team through the end of 2006, and then started his own brand, Mirraco, for the remainder of his BMX career. But the majority of Mirra's accomplishments at the top of the sport were done on a signature Haro, and it's where most of us remember him best. Now, to honor Dave Mirra, Haro is releasing a tribute Dave Mirra bike, with a bulk of the sales proceeds going directly to the Mirra family. It is but one more way for BMX to continually honor the life, legacy and greatness of Dave Mirra, and all that he gave to his family, friends and BMX as a whole. And it's proof positive that the memory of Dave Mirra will remain with all of us for a long time to come.
While supplies last:
Limited quanitities available in certain stock - please phone us to confirm availablity and to finalize your order.
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Home > English > NEWS AND ANALYSIS > On Sheep and Infidels
On Sheep and Infidels
Monday 8 July 2013, by Sarah Carr
Before I begin, let me state some facts, so that when people begin the ad hominem attacks they can try to rein them in within the following boundaries:
I voted for Mohamed Morsi in the second round of the presidential elections (to keep Ahmed Shafiq out).
I am one of the administrators of a blog called “MB in English” that features English translations of awful statements of a sectarian, conspiratorial or bonkers nature that the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) intends for domestic consumption only.
I am against army intervention in politics.
I state all this because Egyptian politics and society in general are currently split along identity lines in a way that they have never been over the last three years. This problem is so chronic that the merits or flaws of an argument are almost entirely determined by who is making the argument, considered through a haze of fury and suspicion.
The Muslim Brotherhood should have been left to fail as they had not (yet) committed an act justifying Morsi’s removal by the military. The price Egypt has paid and will pay for the consequences of this decision are too high.
For the past week, I have been trundling between the pro- and anti-Morsi protests. It is like traveling between two planets. The pro-camp has significantly more men than woman — although there are women and children there — and it lacks the social diversity of the anti-camp. I have never seen one unveiled woman who is not a journalist there. I have never met a Christian or encountered any other journalist who has met one there (it is important to note that pro-Morsi protesters and pro-Morsi media have often claimed that there are Christians attending their sit-in). At the same time, they also allege that the church was behind the former Mubarak regime-US-Zionist plot to oust Morsi.
The point is that the pro-Morsi crowd is largely homogenous. Their opponents use this homogeneity as evidence that the MB is, at best, an organization that has failed to market itself to non-supporters; and, at worst, a closed group unconcerned with non-members.
While the MB’s opposition might be correct in this assertion, many go one step further. They suggest that Morsi supporters are all members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and all unthinking androids programmed by the Supreme Guide. The popular derogatory term for them is khirfan (sheep). The aim here is to dehumanize and deny agency, much in the same way the Muslim Brotherhood dismiss their opponents as kuffar (infidels) or feloul (Mubarak regime beneficiaries or loyalists).
On July 4, I went to the Nasr City sit-in countering the mass June 30 protests calling for the president’s removal. There was a line of tanks about a kilometer from the entrance checking bags and bothering journalists. Behind the tanks, barbed wire had been put in place. Two men stood five meters apart in silence, both carrying pictures of Morsi. A man went past them and began shouting. He was an engineer with a lisp who explained in a desperate tone that he did not take part in the January 25 protests, but that these protests taught him “how to state an opinion and protect it.” He had voted for Morsi in both rounds of the presidential elections, but insisted that he was at the protest not to support an individual, but “an idea.”
“I learned democracy from the elite. So I voted. But I have learned that there is no revolution and no democracy,” he argued.
As he was talking, a man nearby started screaming in the direction of the army while holding up a poster of Morsi. He was so furious that he succeeded in ripping his poster in two, at which point he crumpled into a heap on the ground and wept.
On Saturday, I attended the somber and low-key funeral of Mohamed Sobhy, a father of two who had been shot in the head the day before outside the Republican Guards Officers Club. Eyewitnesses say that Sobhy was killed after he put a Morsi poster on the barbed wire in front of some troops who seemed to have gotten nervous. In total, four men died at that protest.
I saw his body half an hour later, covered in a sheet and surrounded by bewildered protesters. I tried to tweet the picture, but the network was not cooperating and it would not send. So I tweeted that a man had been killed and his body was still here, and that I was trying to send a picture for all those who I knew would say I was lying.
The problem is not that people did not believe me after the first tweet (it is always good to be cautious). The problem is that they were disputing that a man had died even when the photo was uploaded. One man responded: “He doesn’t have Egyptian features.” Others suggested it was an old photo. When a video appeared and it was no longer possible to dispute the fact that a man had been shot outside the Presidential Guards Officers Club in Cairo at the same date and time as the pro-Morsi lot were alleging, attention turned to his injuries.
Sobhy was facing the army when he fell to the ground, and blood gushed out of the back of his head. There was an almost immediate consensus that he had to have been shot from behind. The most popular conclusion was that the MB themselves had killed Sobhy to incriminate the Armed Forces. The outpouring of outrage in response to a suspected military killing of a civilian that usually characterizes such events was completely absent. There was not a single Egyptian news outlet at the victim’s funeral other than Mada Masr.
The situation was very different at the funeral for youths from Manial killed in clashes between the Muslim Brotherhood and residents of the Cairo neighborhood. Lots of media, lots of sympathy and lots of outrage — all certainly deserved.
An almost identical scene played out on Monday morning, as Egypt woke up to the news that over 40 people had been killed, again outside the Republican Guards Officers Club. State television and private satellite channels such as ONTv restricted their coverage to airing interviews with security forces, and stating conclusively and irrefutably that armed pro-Morsi protesters instigated the attack against the army.
Presenter Amany al-Khayat talked about “terrorists” —the pro-Morsi supporters — hiding out in residential areas. When making reference to the bodies of pro-Morsi demonstrators being kept in the Rabea al-Adaweya Mosque — the location of the pro-Morsi sit-in — her tone was derisory and mocking.
In describing these scenes, I am not seeking sympathy for pro-Morsi supporters. I disagree with them politically. Some of them have themselves been responsible for acts of unimaginable, barbaric violence. Independent journalists have reported that some of them are armed (just as they have reported that their opponents have arms). Their decision to march to Maspero and to Tahrir via Manial was a provocative act of such crass stupidity that anyone with any shame should have disassociated themselves from the protests.
My problem is with the reaction to these protesters. The nominally non-partisan media variously ignores, belittles or demonizes what represents a large section of Egyptian society. There is none of the nuance of the coverage of the anti-Morsi protests. The virulent, xenophobic anti-American sentiment of some protesters is not held to represent the collective. Systematic acts of sexual violence against women in Tahrir Square are not used to discredit the entire cause. When the pro-army tone started to appear after June 30, it was emphasized that not all protesters back the military. The Egyptian media has by and large overlooked any similar inquiry into the motivations of the other side.
This is problematic for three reasons, and all of them concern Egyptian society at large rather than the Morsi brigade.
Firstly, it confirms once again that local media is more interested in telling us what it thinks should happen, rather than what is happening. Secondly, it underestimates the danger posed by an alienated and committed group who believe that they have been robbed. Lastly, it is a cheap way of avoiding a debate about the issue that actually mattered until July 3: Whether an elected president should be removed via mass protests.
There is a visceral hatred of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Salafi associates amongst some Egyptians. This hatred spans all social classes and predates current events. It is born out of an arguably justified mistrust and fear of the group, which has lied, put its own interests first, excluded other groups, ram-rodded through an excuse for a constitution, attempted to give Morsi dictatorial powers, flirted with the military and dallied in sectarian politics in a frightening way. It failed to understand that it was running a country, and it missed the point that for public relations purposes, if you are an Arab president who desires to quash dissent through an organized group, you better make sure that that group is in uniform.
Perhaps most importantly, they were feeble as hell at governing Egypt at a time when amateurs really just would not do.
When Morsi supporters attempt to put their case forward, their arguments bounce back off a wall of hate, but — deep breath — in my opinion, these arguments were not without merit — up until June 30. Morsi’s intransigence and the behavior of his supporters after June 30 outweighs any legitimacy they once had. Mendacity, poor governance, self-interest and the sidelining of other political powers are pretty much the watchwords of all political groups and are not, in isolation, enough to justify a president’s removal by the military.
The November 22 Constitutional Declaration that granted the former president unprecedented powers was an outrage and perhaps a harbinger of sinister stuff to come, but Morsi rescinded it. He waded through blood after the events that constitutional declaration sparked at the Presidential Palace in December 2012 when the Muslim Brotherhood deployed their men against anti-Morsi protesters.
The MB’s sectarian language, the increase in sectarian incidents, the attack on the St. Mark’s Cathedral in April, Morsi’s failure to react to a sheikh who called Shias “filth,” and the entirely useless response to the Shia lynchings in June were all important indications of an unwillingness to rein-in fringe extremist elements on the Islamist scene. Most significantly, they showed that Morsi was never interested in representing all Egyptians. But again, Morsi inherited a tradition of state discrimination and sectarianism from his predecessor; he just cranked it up several thousand notches.
As for flirting with the military, it is in fashion right now.
So my position on events pre-June 30 has not been changed by events since: The Muslim Brotherhood should have been left to fail as they had not (yet) committed an act justifying Morsi’s removal by the military. The price Egypt has paid and will pay for the consequences of this decision are too high. It has created a generation of Islamists who genuinely believe that democracy does not include them. The post-June 30 fallout reaffirms this belief, especially with Islamist channels and newspapers closed down, as well as leaders detained and held incommunicado, apparently pursuant to an executive decision. For 30 years, Mubarak told them that due process is not for them, and a popular revolution is confirming that. It is Egyptian society that will pay the price of the grievances this causes, and the fact that, with a silenced media and no coverage from independent outlets, they have been left with virtually no channels to get their voice heard.
I will not weigh in on the coup/revolution debate other than to say millions of Egyptians were on the ground demanding Morsi’s removal while military jets drew hearts in the skies above them, and then Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced that Morsi had (forcibly) buggered off. Nothing has changed. The real revolution will happen when army involvement in politics is a distant relic of history.
In any case, the debate is semantic and tedious, and the nomenclature will not be decided now. The only aspect of the wider argument that interests me is the notion that an elected president’s legitimacy dissolves when millions take to the streets. If this is a precedent, then it means shaky times ahead when the masses’ interests do not coincide with those of the army.
Politically, Egypt finds itself once again in an almighty mess. As the euphoria fades, the opposition remembers that if they were asked to debate how many legs a cow before them had, one faction would question whether the animal was actually a cow, another would say four, and yet another would include the tail as a limb. The fun times have just started with the Salafi Nour Party vetoing Mohamed ElBaradei’s nomination as prime minister on the grounds that he is divisive, while Tamarod (the grassroots petition campaign behind the June 30 protests that led to Morsi’s downfall) declares it is him, or else.
If the army has any sense, it will see that the legitimacy of the June 30 regime (for want of a better term) need not be predicated on crushing Islamists, no matter what the public appetite is. They have to be included, because they are not going anywhere. The barely functioning political system born of January 25 has been replaced with something even more fragile: Fractious squabbling with no clear means of resolution, the military as arbiter and an incensed MB that feels it has been cheated. Fasten your seatbelts.
Source: http://normanfinkelstein.com/2013/sensible-analysis-of-egyptian-situation/
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AS 550 Fennec Light Military Helicopter
One pilot
Five equipped troops
Entry into Service
Aerospatiale Eurocopter
French Army, French Air Force, Argentina Navy, and Royal Malaysian Navy
Maximum Take-off Weight
Overall Length With Rotors Turning
Fuselage Length
Width With Blades Folded
Height to Top of Rotor Head
1 pilot
5 equipped troops
6.6m³
Rotor Diameter
Tail Rotor Diameter
Maximum Operational Weight With External Load
Maximum Cargo Swing Load
1×Turbomeca Arriel 2B or 2B1 turboshaft engine
632kW (847shp)
Never Exceed Speed
Maximum Range With Standard Tanks
9.8m/s
The AS 555 Fennec single-engine helicopter. Shown here in service with the Royal Danish Army.
The Ecureuil/Fennec family of helicopters is operational in over 70 countries. Shown here in service with the Brazilian Army.
AS 550s in service with the Royal Danish Army are armed with the HeliTOW sighting system and the TOW anti-tank missile.
The Australian Army has 18 Fennec helicopters used for training.
The AS 550 can be fitted with the Giat 20mm gun type M621 and the FN Hershal twin 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine gun pod.
The HeliTOW sight is roof-mounted and contains direct view optics, day and/or night sight and laser rangefinder.
The AS 550 Fennec single-engine multi-role helicopter
The Eurocopter AS 550 Fennec single-engine helicopter is operational with the Singapore armed forces, the Royal Australian Army, the Brazilian Army and Air Force, the Danish Army, the French Army and the United Arab Emirates Army. The helicopter first entered into service in 1990.
The Fennec belongs to the Ecureuil / Fennec family of helicopters which includes: the single-engine military AS550 Fennec and civil AS350 Ecureuil; twin-engine naval AS555 Fennec and civil AS355 Ecureuil; and the civil EC 130 single-engine helicopter.
The AS550 Fennec can be fitted for anti-tank, air-to-air combat, ground support and training missions and it is also used in the utility transportation role. The combat version is called the AS550C3.
The helicopters are in production at Eurocopter’s engineering and production facilities at Marignane in France, and they are also built under licensed production agreements in Brazil and in China.
Fennec helicopter orders and deliveries
Over 4,890 Ecureuil/Fennec helicopters have been delivered to 1,600 customers and are operational in 110 countries.
The delivery of six AS550 Fennec helicopters to the UAE Air Force was completed in 2008, while the Pakistan Army procured an additional AS550 Fennec in early 2009.
The Ecuadorian Ministry of Defense placed an order for seven AS550 C3 Fennec helicopters and two AS350 B2 helicopters in 2010. The first two AS550 C3 helicopters were delivered in September 2012. The remaining helicopters will be delivered at a rate of two per year by 2015.
A proposed order of 197 Fennec helicopters by India was cancelled in December 2007 due to discrepancy in the bidding process.
AS550 Fennec helicopter design
The AS550 is of light construction based on a reinforced high-strength glass fibre and aramid airframe. The Starflex main rotor head and blades are also of composite materials for added strength and weight reduction. The engine cowlings are armoured for protection.
The helicopter is fitted with armoured seats and can carry the pilot and up to five troops. The cabin can also be configured for medical evacuation with capacity for one stretcher patient and two doctors. For cargo carrying, the cabin can take a 3m³ load.
"The combat version of the AS550 Fennec is called the AS550C3."
The military AS 550 is fitted with sliding doors on each side rather than the hinged door fitted on the civil AS350 variant. The 1m³ baggage compartment is installed behind the main cabin and is accessed via a door on the starboard side.
A cargo sling, rated at 1,160kg, and a 204kg hoist can be used.
AS550 cockpit systems
The cockpit is equipped with single controls and is night-vision compatible. The navigation suite includes a global positioning system (GPS), a VHF omnidirectional radio ranger and instrument landing system (VOR/ILS), an automatic direction finder (ADF), distance measuring equipment (DME) and a marker beacon transponder. The secure communications systems are fitted according to the customer country’s specification.
The pilot has a vehicle and engine multifunction display which allows shows the main vehicle and engine parameters on a dual LCD screen.
Fennec weapons systems
The helicopter is fitted with a wide range of weapon systems to suit the operational requirements of the country’s forces. Weapon fits include anti-tank missiles, rockets or guns. The Danish Army AS550C2 helicopters are armed with the Systems & Electronics (formerly ESCO) HeliTOW sighting system and TOW anti-tank missiles. The HeliTOW sight is roof-mounted and contains direct view optics, day and/or night sight and laser rangefinder.
The AS 550 can be fitted with two Forges de Zeebrugge rocket launchers which carry seven 2.75in rockets each, or two Thales Brandt 68mm launchers with 12 rockets each. The helicopter has been fitted with the Giat 20mm gun type M621, and the FN Hershal twin 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine gun pod.
The surveillance and observation systems include a forward-looking infrared (FLIR), optical cameras and Spectrolab SX 16 searchlights. Thales Detexis EWR-99 radar warning receiver and Alkan ELIPS countermeasures dispenser can be fitted.
"The AS 550 construction is based on a reinforced high-strength glass fibre and aramid airframe."
Turbomeca Arril 2B engines
The AS550 is powered by a single Turbomeca Arril 2D engine, which provides 632kW of take-off power. The engine is fitted with full authority digital engine control (FADEC). The FADEC system reduces the work load of the pilot as well as the fuel consumption. The main gearbox has a 45-minute dry run capability.
The self-sealing plastic fuel tank has a capacity of 540l. An auxiliary fuel tank can be installed in the cabin to provide an additional 475l of fuel for extended-range operations.
The AS550 can climb at the rate of 9.8m a second. The maximum and cruise speeds of the helicopter are 287km/h and 258km/h respectively, while the range and service ceiling of the helicopter are 666km and 7,000m respectively.
The maximum altitude of the helicopter is 7,000m and the endurance is four hours and seven minutes.
The AS550 weighs around 1,202kg and the maximum take-off weight of the helicopter is 2,250kg.
The helicopter has steel tube skid-type landing gear. Emergency flotation gear is fitted for operation over water.
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American Medium
Drawing from personal histories + collective zeitgeist in Imperfect Tools For Navigation at American Medium, Jan 10 – Feb 4
The Imperfect Tools For Navigation group exhibition at New York’s American Medium opens January 10 and is running to February 4.
The show is curated by Philadelphia’s artist-run gallery High Tide and features work by Devin N. Morris, James Bouché and Jared Rush Jackson.
Drawing from both ‘personal histories’ and a ‘collective zeitgeist,’ the works scan through deep histories both recent and past. In an act of ‘reframing and reclaiming’ the inherited past, the works look upon this act as a radical one that serves to “function as a beacon forward” with the use of imperfect tools.
Also taking place concurrently to the exhibition is American Medium’s WINTER SESSIONS which will host a number of events including performance, screenings and readings running over December 14 to February 3.
Visit the American Medium website for details.**
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Alignment, Folds of Existence, Nocturnal Sub.missions: American Medium’s WINTER SESSIONS series of events runs Dec 14 – Feb 3
The WINTER SESSIONS: A Season of Events at American Medium begins December 14 and is running to February 3.
New York’s American Medium gallery will host a number of events at their space over the winter season, with three sections: Alignment presents readings, Folds of Existence presents a series of film screenings and a set of experimental performances in Nocturnal Sub.missions.
– Alignment will feature two readers “at different points” on the same night to explore and create “relations, clashes, or comraderies that would not otherwise have occasion,” featuring Bunny Lampert + Cristine Brache, Adriana Ramić + Mónica de la Torre, and Charles Theonia + manuel arturo abreu, among others.
– Folds of Existence is programmed by Lorenzo Gaorna and Mary Ancel, and brings together moving image works that mediate “the precarious boundaries between public space and personal psyche,” featuring over 2o artists including Benji Blessing, Rouzbeh Rashidi, Basim Magdy, Jodie Mack and more.
– Nocturnal Sub.missions will explore “dark dreamlands and lucidity of the everyday” over six nights and features gage of the boone, Azumi Oe and Whitney Vangrin, plus others.
Picking apart family histories + the American South in Aria Dean’s Baby is a Cool Machine at American Medium, Oct 19 – Nov 25
Aria Dean is presenting solo exhibition Baby is a Cool Machine at New York’s American Medium, opening October 19 and running to November 25.
Picking apart both her own family history and the mythologies of the American South, the Los Angeles-based artist, writer and curator presents a new series of works that becomes “an interrogation of objects-for-themselves.”
In an accompanying text written by Hanna Girma, she poses the question, “How do you begin to unburden an object bound to nothing when you too are tethered to nothingness? No body. No history. No landscape. How do you release it from the clamor of its own form?” The exhibition is an exploration into these questions, and the complexities that entangle an art object and ‘blackness.’
Aria Dean, ‘Dead Zone (1)’ (2017). Detail. Photo by Elon Schoenholz. Courtesy the artist + Château Shatto, Los Angeles.
E. Jane breathing magic into Lavendra at American Medium, Mar 25 – May 7
E. Jane is presenting solo exhibition Lavendra at New York’s American Medium, opening March 25 and running to May 7.
The Philadelphia-based artist and sound-designer, also known as Mhysa and one half of SCRAAATCH, explores softness, safety and cyberspace, and will be showing a series of sculptural collages that attempt to “claim a space and orient it towards the Black woman.”
Looking at the ‘Black diva’ of the 90s, the work creates a narrative around a brown dwarf who, with the help of Mhysa/the Black diva’s magic, becomes “more a planet, though still alone, without a parent body to orbit.”
See the American Medium website for details.**
Kristin Smallwood @ American Medium, Aug 11 – Sep 4
Kristin Smallwood presents debut solo exhibition IUD at New York’s American Medium, opening August 11 and running to September 4.
The exhibition includes painting, sculpture, and video. Through this media, the Camarillo-based artist uses satire and provocation as tools to investigate “our relationship to the female body, the male-centric modes of birth control, and how the female body is minimized in stature by the ogling eye”.
The press release further describes the themes of the exhibition as being about about mind and body sacrifice “for anything and everything related to reproduction, love, and destruction.” It goes on to say that it’s at the intercourse of ideas around inherent misogyny in our society: “It is an expression of what it feels like to be walked on mentally and physically by other humans and by devices such as birth control.”
See the American Medium website for more details.**
Image courtesy of the artist and American Medium, New York.
Premiering Sad Girls Club TV: Season 4, Episode 1
New York-based artist Mia Ardito and Chicago-based artist Maire Witt O’Neill are obsessed with reality and how self-reflexive it becomes when seen through the eye of the lens. Together they hang, like two mirrors facing each other opposite two walls, endlessly reflecting their image and whatever crosses between them. Throughout the past three years Sad Girls Club TV has been standing there staring, while Ardito and O’Neill reflect its image back and forth so much that one couldn’t tell where the show ends and they begin.
Now in its fourth season, the project — having been developed over the last three years — uses the medium of television as a model for “performing cultural attitudes towards women, sexuality and commodity”. They are presenting six new half-hour episodes, with the first three already premiered at the Anthology Film Archives on June 4, while launching Episode 1 online with aqnb on July 26, along with a short group character video called ‘What is the Girl Code?’.
The potential and infinite images that could emerge in what American Medium‘s Sad Girls Club TV press release calls a “complex synthesis of art and television” are extracted in the form of a mock-reality TV show that is also a documentary of itself. Even if the narrative is fictional, it’s still fully functional and legitimate as reality because it’s still happening, right? It’s the question that contrives the foundation of Ardito and O’Neil’s dedicated body of work, one that is answered by the “improvisational process of the artists and the simultaneous roles they play —director, performer, character, person” that encompasses the hyperactive series. Unauthorized fully branded content adorns the screen, producing a consumer aesthetic reminiscent of queer camp and early 2000s video work by artist Ryan Trecartin but most importantly from reality TV shows like Bad Girls Club or Real Housewives.
Stepping into Ardito and O’Neill’s world of satire, the two artists took the time to talk via Google Hangouts from New York and Chicago to talk about popular network shows and how identity is altered and influenced by the act of performing reality for an audience.
Do you find it difficult to manage all the aspects of production in this project? Could you talk about the process and what it’s like to document yourselves and others while also playing a character on reality TV?
Mia Ardito: It is pretty difficult and every project we learn a lot to apply to the next, being the directors and also being characters makes for a lot of footage that blurs the line between both, which we have been really interested in playing with. We tend to keep the cameras shooting the whole time and the editing process is really where we start to pull out the story that unfolds.
Maire O’Neill: Ha, yeah, it’s definitely tough. But I also think that the unapologetic ambitiousness fuels a lot of the way the work ends up. We are both Aries and we are intense and impulsive, but also understand each other really well and have learned a lot as we’ve gone forward. One thing that is especially tough is going in and out of character in order to direct, especially because we are really interested in the reality of that world. Regardless of whether or not we are in character, there is emotional weight to what we do to and with each other. If Mia and I are fighting (as Flip and Tati) we have to manage that emotional damage, because when you say something shitty to someone, even in character, it has an effect.
Could you describe each other’s character?
MO: Tatiana Volkov is a self-proclaimed princess, or rather, queen. She is from Brighton Beach. She is the ‘lone-wolf’ and seeks the alpha position by winning alone. She is self-obsessed and fully aware and accepting of that. She is also obsessed with her fiancé, Svet. But Tati comes first, so she is ‘testing the waters before she gets locked in’. She loves her body and wants to be an MMA fighter like her fiancé. And while she is desperate to marry someone who is rich, she also seems to have a deep interest in entrepreneurship herself, especially with her new diet pill. Tati’s mantra is ‘there is no I in team, but there is an I in Team Tati’. She likes to push buttons and judge while looking down all alone from the top.
MA: [laughs] As I started answering this I realized that it applies to all the characters and possibly every person. Flip is over-compensating her insecurity, she is vulnerable and possibly not the super cool party girl she claims to be. What I love about reality TV shows like Real Housewives or Bad Girls Club is that the women define themselves and the show’s goal is almost to disprove their notion of self. Flip is an oxymoron. She requires a lot of attention and is ‘not chill’. She ‘flips out’ and is easily upset. She also deflects all of the criticism of herself into an unrelated homophobia about her brother and needs to be supported by the other girls to feel in control. She is certainly self-serving with her need to have the other girls’ trust and plays victim to Tati who is not necessarily interested in the same things as anyone else in the show.
I’m interested in what you described as ‘disproving notion of self’ in reality TV. Could you talk a little bit more about that, maybe by using a character from a network reality TV show as an example? If you watch them regularly…
MO: We definitely do [laughs]. Self-definition can be super limiting, because people are so much more than what they can sum themselves up to be. I think what is occurring is that reality TV is actually revealing the complexity of people… Classically, a character is not realistic if you can say they are simply good or bad. But it is complexity that makes a character realistic and relatable. However, there is also the case of simply trying to catch someone in a lie or show them something they aren’t seeing, what they think they should see, which I think people try to do constantly in reality and reality TV.
Mia Ardito + Máire Witt O’Neill, Sad Girls Club TV (2016). Video still. Courtesy the artists.
MA: I guess what I am interested in is the idea of people on reality TV shows performing the person they want to be seen as, which naturally is tested by whatever stresses they go through on and off the show. On a show like Real Housewives it’s interesting to know that these women have been performing and watching their TV personality for so many seasons that it informs who they currently are. Real Housewives started out as a more of a curious anthropological look at these wealthy women living in a gated community in Orange County who had never been on TV and has crystallized into a machine where being on TV informs so much of who they are.
MO: …which is where any argument of lacking reality falls very short in my opinion. This is a reality for them. Reunion shows are especially interesting in this way. There is a very particular attempt to show someone what they did, in order to reveal them to themselves.
MA: …and it’s a curiosity on our part to understand what that is like internally, the complexity of witnessing your own life edited and regurgitated back to you, which has also been really fun in our show, showing our cast what they did and went through, through our controlled vision.
Yes, editing plays a big role in how these realities are presented. How do you, your characters, or other actors in the show deal with this?
MO: For sure. For both the viewer and the performer/viewer that edited version is a real and causal thing in the world.
MA: It’s really a process of whittling away at the chunk of footage that is the document of our shared experience.
What informs the choices you make in choosing the bits that make the final cut regarding other characters, your characters, and the storyline?
MO: Our characters are not us. However, we are super vulnerable anyway, because these characters came out of us therefore, providing a lot more room to push things open.
MA: We have to pay attention to what is the story we are collectively making as a group, the story that Maire and I are guiding and all of the natural character development that occurs throughout that and decide what is relevant, what is necessary, what is odd and unexpected, and processing all of that through a hyper-consumerist lens.
MO: Our wonderful collaborator who plays Bobbi [William Fortini] said something while we were traveling in the middle of a shoot last summer. Paraphrasing… he said that he realized that as soon as he got scared to say or do something in character, that’s when he knew he definitely needed to do it. He said that that realization was really liberating.
Yes, kind of like roleplaying, and using that roleplay to enact things one would otherwise be ashamed of.
MA: The characters are a vehicle to have the discussions that we witness on TV and the media in an exaggerated expression, to try to understand why people say and do things that we don’t necessarily understand and we try to access that through comical characters.
MO: Exactly. Sometimes I say that we are summoning demons.
Why did you decide to call it Sad Girls Club? A lot of feminist internet culture uses the term ‘Sad Girl’ for a variety of reasons and I’m curious what’s the impetus for yours.
MA: The name Sad Girls Club came from playing around in wigs like six years ago and watching the show Bad Girls Club on oxygen and being really inspired by those women. We have never really been connected to the online imagery of late or ‘Sad Girl Theory’ that expresses the trauma of living as any kind of feminist statement. I have always been interested in ‘sadness’ as a concept because it’s a real blanket emotion.
MO: I think that the expression of emotion is a powerful and natural thing that shouldn’t be suppressed. So in many ways, for me, Sad Girls Club can sometimes just mean ‘emotional girl’ or ‘emotional person’.
Do you see any correlation between soap operas and reality TV? Do you have any thoughts about both those genres in relation to each other?
MO: [laughs] Well, Eileen Davidson from Days of Our Lives and Real Housewives says that reality TV is way more dramatic. Kalup Linzy’s work about soaps has always been really influential for me, so that correlation I’m sure says something. Honestly, I think one thing it has to do with is the overlap in the target audiences for both of those genres.
MA: I don’t watch soap operas but I think in terms of production value. They are both types of television that have a lower production cost. They require less time and money to make and are generally appreciated by women and gay people.
The setup and the endlessness of the realities seems to perpetually hook a viewer in.
MO: Absolutely, and I think that ongoing saga becomes a reality in and of itself.
I’d like to see the Kardashians on TV till they die. Even though I don’t watch them. I just want to know they are always there, ready and able to be watched.
MO: Yes! We also want to make our shows until then. We dream of doing it at every stage of life.
MA: Yeah, what is so great is that there isn’t a beginning middle or end to these shows and it’s not about what happens but more about how everyone reacts to what is happening. Sad Girls Club TV is an endless endeavor for us, no matter what incarnation it will exist in. It kind of is the ‘days of OUR lives’ and whoever else wants to put a wig on and exorcise some demons with us [laughs]. We are firstly making video art with an underlying sub-reality that American Medium plays the network that hosts SGC, which is a reality TV show really on TV. This is why we go to our events in character, because it is Flip and Tati’s premiere, not ours.**
Mia Ardito + Máire Witt O’Neill’s, Sad Girls Club TV launched at New York’s The Wu Room on June 4, with a finale screening a Anthology Film Archives on August 13, 2016.
Header image: Mia Ardito + Máire Witt O’Neill, Sad Girls Club TV (2016). Video still. Courtesy the artists.
Borna Sammak @ American Medium reviewed
Kyle Thomas Hinton, 16 June 2016
Sad Girls Club TV: Season 4 launch @ The Wu Room, Jun 4
Borna Sammak @ American Medium, May 14 – June 12
Borna Sammak is presenting solo exhibition Town Crier at New York’s American Medium, opening May 14 and running to June 12.
There is little information on the exhibition itself expect that it will feature painting and sculpture by the Brooklyn-based artist who is described by writer and performance artist Elspeth Walker as one that “dismantles comprehensible meaning in his sculptures by acknowledging the absurdity of his source material even as his work in part pays homage to it” in Daily Serving.
Sammak’s work, which also includes video and installation, has become known for its playful approach to highly referential and aestheticised pop cultural detritus presented through a sympathetic and sentimental lens.
See the American Medium website for (limited) details.**
Borna Sammak, ‘Splash Into Me Yeah’ (2014). Courtesy the artist + JTT, New York.
Brian Khek @ American Medium reviewed
The storefront window of American Medium showcases an exhibition text. It’s more of a text piece composed by artist Brian Khek for his solo show, Poorly Planned Honor Racks describing how he comes to receive his news, gesturing towards issues of accessibility of information, based on physical location and class. “The paper,” the speaker states, “hasn’t always been equally available to everyone.” The text cites a Supreme Court decision that effectively attempted to reverse this but then goes into how one can still be personally granted/denied psychological access to textual culture based on mode of delivery, even font choice.
Running March 25 to April 30, the show attempts to address this issue of accessibility, working to democratize not only the [news]paper’s form, but its content as well. Papers are hung horizontally, draped over dowels on the wall. They hang in wait, half turned up to expose inner pages, often hiding the ‘headline’ information that is the selling point for this temporary medium. In each case, the half-turn also acts to encircle one or more cut flowers. Each has had its day in the sun.
Brian Khek, Poorly Planned Honor Racks (2016). Exhibition view. Courtesy American Medium, New York.
The papers and the flowers were purchased in the vicinity of the gallery during the duration of Khek’s installation process, reflecting a desire to demonstrate the availability and aesthetic of consumption of this ephemera. Shifted on a horizontal axis (and not right-reading), the papers point more to their layout and form rather than to their content. How and where we receive information comes into question.
And yet, happily, they are still legible; content can still be consumed, meaning derived. Hunching down and cocking my head to the side in order to read draws my attention to my own desire to find meaning on these planes. I find that the exposed content creates its own rhythm, each instance carrying its own weight. Headlines about ISIS, the Brussels terrorist attacks, and the stock market are juxtaposed with advertisements for cars, watches. These contrasts create a more egalitarian informational landscape, increasing the weight of advertisements, perhaps decreasing the weight of major news. So —what we encounter as news/information and how we encounter it falls under scrutiny. At times the connection between temporality, consumption, economy and politics feels somewhat heavy-handed. I might have better enjoyed the work if some of these connections were as sideways as the alignment of the papers.
Brian Khek, ‘Straw Man (Brooklyn)’ (2016). Install view. Courtesy American Medium, New York.
The exhibition exists on two planes —this textual, wall-based work, and several on the floor of the gallery. The floor pieces reflect another type of performative informational culling from local sources. For instance, Khek draws in detritus from the street —leaves and twigs, and loose papers from around the exterior of the gallery are stuffed into a vintage woman’s suit from a local store, which creates a slumping figure against a wall, part of the artist’s ongoing “straw man” series. The natural elements that spew from the openings in the clothing add an unexpected romanticism to the piece. Despite references to an effigy/scarecrow, the sweet whimsy of it only makes me think that Khek is very much not from ‘around here’. What is more, any pains taken to gather material from local sources, (both textual and physical) ultimately read as bland ephemera of anywhere-ville. Is this because the work is too close to its source? Might it be read differently if several unique places, with their respective honor racks and straw men were placed side by side? This lack of recognizable specificity has me pondering whether even our refuse has been globalized.
The other floor pieces are the least compelling of the show. Several ‘broken’ umbrellas with carefully selected dried leaves are placed on ‘makeshift’ pedestals on the floor (which are visibly made of cut, unfinished drywall, exposed aluminum studs). I cannot help but think that these umbrellas have succumbed to a sudden downpour of clumsy metaphors (as even the best of us are prone to do) —which in this case is about the spaces we occupy, the things we use and throw away… the passage of time… things that once had a distinct purpose and are now useless, etc.. The connection feels redundant (to the more elegant paper/flower pieces), if not a touch sentimental.
Poorly Planned Honor Racks is most successful when treating the form it addresses from the outset. At its best it is perhaps a lesson in how signification, in whatever its form, can wind its way around anything, and sometimes weigh things down. And how humans can bring their own meaning to anything, especially words on paper.**
Exhibition photos, top right.
Brian Khek’s Poorly Planned Honor Racks was on at New York’s American Medium, running March 25 to April 30, 2016.
Header image: Brian Khek, ‘Monday Newspaper Stick’ (2016). Install view. Courtesy American Medium, New York.
Brian Khek @ American Medium, Mar 25 – Apr 30
Brenna Murphy @ American Medium, Oct 27
Brenna Murphy‘s new book DOMAIN~LATTICE is launching with a party at New York’s American Medium on October 27.
The book launch for the Portland-based artist and musician coincides with her solo exhibition at American Medium, skyface~ TerraceDomain running until November 16.
For her first colour book Murphy uses a hybrid-representation between patterned images and 3D landscapes, creating “labyrinthine and glyph-strewn psychic terrains”.
The event will be introduced with a performance by MSHR at 8pm, as well as the sounds of Debbie DJs Dallas.
See the Facebook event page for details.**
Jaakko Pallasvuo @ American Medium, Oct 23 – Nov 29
Jaakko Pallasvuo opens his first New York solo exhibition at Brooklyn’s American Medium with Pumpkin Spice, running from October 23 to November 29.
After recent spate of activity in London, including a solo show at Jupiter Woods and a book launch with Arcadia Missa, this most recent exhibition is introduced with a page-long third-person narrative of the banalities of Pallasvuo’s day: The coffee is pretty bad, and he didn’t get the student discount. Along with the artist’s signature sharing of his fears and insecurities—Jaakko is worried about flying, and worried about being among people there. Will they be mean? He feels slow and vague and NYC seems so vertical and sharp-edged.
Before the splattering of Pallasvuo’s thoughts is this poem by Ted Hughes. Nothing comes after.
“Nobody wanted your dance,
Nobody wanted your strange glitter, your floundering
Drowning life and your effort to save yourself,
Treading water, dancing the dark turmoil,
Looking for something to give.”
See the exhibition page for details. **
Jaakko Pallasvuo, Scorched Earth (2015). Published by Arcadia Missa. Image courtesy the arist.
Jesse Bransford + life itself its like @ American Medium, Oct 1 – Dec 1
American Medium is hosting two events, a talk by Jesse Bransford and an opening reception for a front window installation by Rebecca Peel and Jonah Porter, opening October 1 and running to December 1.
Bransford’s talk titled ‘A History of Futures: On the Ships of Star Trek’ explores the imagery and personal mythology that’s “conflated and floated without regard to a chronology within a star map”, expanding on the artist’s long-running philosophical research into esoterica, from Star Trek to Kabbalah.
Peel and Porter, on the other hand, will present their life itself its like installation, exhibited in the American Medium shopfront window and inspired by the Ukrainian pop duo Bloom Twins: “They are so gifted, so svelte, so palatably uncanny, so fashionable, so deeply dexterous!'”
Saga @ American Medium, Sep 18
Brooklyn’s American Medium is presenting a performance titled Saga on September 18.
There’s not much information available beyond the artists involved, including Kiyoto Koseki, Stephen Kwok, and Hannah Verrill in collaboration with Dana Florin-Weiss.
An off-shoot of Portland’s now defunct Appendix art space, American Medium celebrated it’s 1st year anniversary as a physical place in BedStuy in May with the Finally Every Dimension of the Soil (F.E.D.S.) group exhibition curated by Michael Assiff and Bradford Kessler.
See the Facebook event page for (limited) details. **
Jaimie Warren @ American Medium, Aug 9 – Sep 13
Photographer and performance artist Jaimie Warren is opening her new show, Somebody To Love, at Brooklyn’s American Medium, where it will run from August 9 to September 13.
Warren’s first solo exhibition with the gallery comes on the heels of a six-week residency at the Brooklyn space, culminating in a new photo, video, and performance piece created in collaboration with high school students Kim Corona, Genesis Monegro, Arti Tripathi, and Daria Mateescu—the fourth in a series of projects in which Warren has worked with unique communities in residencies to create new performance-based works.
The piece is an elaborate tribute to Freddy Mercury and the band Queen done as a recreation of the ‘Sts. Cosmas and Damian‘ (1370–75) by Matteo di Pacino, interspersing the painting’s original imagery with Warren’s characteristic blend of pop culture and art history. The installation and accompanying video present “a tableaux vivant come to life” where the original painting’s fictional documentation of a leg amputation is replaced with plastic, cardboard and papier-mâché depictions of B movie horror stars, contemporary pop celebrities, and “living piles of mush and eyeballs”, backed by a soundtrack of master opera singers paying tribute to Mercury, one of Warren’s biggest influences.
Jaimie Warren, ‘Self-portrait as Basketcase’.
F.E.D.S. @ American Medium, May 15 – Jun 6
To celebrate the 1st anniversary of its Brooklyn location, American Medium is bringing in a group exhibition, the latest drawings from Micki Pellerano, as well as a project by Morgan Ritter, running from May 15 to June 6.
The Michael Assiff and Bradford Kessler-curated show, titled Finally Every Dimension of the Soil, will feature a dozen artists, including Assiff and Kessler themselves, as well as Sterling Wells, Jacques Louis Vidal, Annie Pearlman, and Clayton Schiff.
Running simultaneously are a series of new graphite drawings detailing “the human form in states of corruption, dissolution, and regeneration” by Cuban-American artist Micki Pellerano titled Celestial Love as well as a window project by Morgan Ritter titled ‘To Window’ and part of two simultaneous bi-coastal window exhibitions, showing at American Medium in Brooklyn and at Sunlan Lighting in Portland.
See the American Medium press release for details. **
Material Art Fair 2015, Feb 5 – 8
Mexico City’s first (and only) contemporary art fair, Material Art Fair, is coming back for its second edition this weekend, running at Auditorio Blackberry from February 5 to 8.
The fair is bringing 40 different international exhibitors exploring emerging arts, as well as a public programme of conferences organized by the New York magazine and non-profit organization Triple Canopy and a video series programmed by South London Gallery Associate Curator Anna Gritz.
The list of participants includes galleries and projects from all over, including: Mexico’s own Parallel Oaxaca (with Last Night) and Lodos gallery (with a Emanuele Marcuccio, Renaud Jerez, Edward Marshall Shenk and Victor Vaughn group show); LA’s Smart Objects and François Ghebaly Gallery; Brooklyn’s American Medium (with an Ann Hirsch, Brenna Murphy, Brian Kokoska, Kareem Lotfy, Morgan Ritter, and Zachary Davis group show) as well as 321 Gallery (with Jake Borndal, Erika Hickle, and Paul Kopkau); Queer Thoughts‘ solo show with David Rappeneau followed by a Puppies Puppies performance; and Paris’s New Galerie group show (with Dora Budor, Nico Colon, and Sean Raspet.
See the Material Art Fair website for details. **
Zack Davis @ American Medium, Jan 10 – Feb 12
Artist Zack Davis is showing a new sculptural exhibition called Vivo Vitro Silico Situ at Brooklyn’s American Medium from January 10 to February 12.
This comes as Davis’s first solo presentation in New York, where he is now based, and is his first project with the art space, following a project at Important Projects and a residency at Real Time & Space in Oakland.
The sculptural show, which makes use of a diverse range of materials and techniques, explores “the formal, material, and affective qualities of thought in its interplay with the nonhuman world”, as the press release states, and “considers the link between thought’s ability to trace and manipulate form and its own characteristics as a plastic medium rooted in matter and form”.
See the American Medium website for details. **
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As the weather gradually starts to warm up there are signs of spring starting to appear all around us. One of the most iconic of these is frogspawn in our local ponds. With our froggy (and toadie!) friends getting frisky across the country, we’ve had lots of enquiries about breeding and spawning behaviour and about the resulting spawn.
Male frogs and toads can get a bit over excited at this time of year and will latch on to all manner of things, including fish! You will also sometimes find several males trying to mate with just one female. If you do find one of these ‘mating balls’ you can very gently and carefully separate the ‘spare’ males away from the main pair and return them to their pond. Unfortunately, some females do perish during this time of year and, although this is very sad, it is part of the natural process and completely normal.
Both frogs and toads lay large amounts of spawn but only a small number will survive to develop into tadpoles and even fewer to adults. Any spawn that doesn’t develop should be left in the pond as it will be a great source of food for the remaining tadpoles and other wildlife.
Once the spawn is laid the adults will leave it alone to develop. But which spawn do you have? Frog and toad spawn differs a lot in appearance. The simplest way to tell is that frog spawn forms clumps and toad spawn is laid in strings. Take a look at our Amphibian ID Guide for more information.
If the spawn in your pond is being eaten by fish or birds you could remove it and put it in a tank / container until the tadpoles hatch. You can then return them to your pond or rear the tadpoles on, feeding them on cold water fish flakes, until they grow legs. It is very important that all spawn and tadpoles are returned to their original pond so as not to spread amphibian diseases.
Our friends at Freshwater Habitats Trust (FHT) would love to hear about any spawn you do see. Why not take part in their Spawn Survey? We work together with FHT and Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK to build a better picture of what’s happening across the county and to improve the advice and support we give. You can also record you adult amphibian sightings on the Record Pool.
If you have further questions about spawn, tadpoles or amphibians in general please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions section
Sponsor the Common Toad
Help safeguard the future of common toads in the UK, where they are becoming not so common!
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AI: The Somnium Files Character Launches YouTube Channel
posted on 2019-01-31 16:45 EST by Lynzee Loveridge
Hints might be hiding in her weekly videos
The internet is jam-packed with virtual idols both cute and strange. Some are simply 3D versions of already existing characters to serve as interactive ambassadors of series on YouTube while others were created as Let's Players, news announcers, or comedy acts.
Game developer Spike Chunsoft teamed up with Zero Escape creator Kōtarō Uchikoshi and character designer Yūsuke Kozaki to create the virtual idol "A-set" also known as Iris. Iris isn't just a virtual idol, she's also a character from Kozaki's upcoming game AI: The Somnium Files . She made an introduction at Anime Expo 2018 as part of Uchikoshi's panel.
Things have been quiet on the Iris front since last summer. Uchikoshi reintroduces her in a new video where Iris, this time voiced in English, takes on the persona of Tesa or A-set. The character sure has a lot of names, but they still seem to be related.
The video includes Iris' debut single "Invincible Rainbow Arrow" in English. The Japanese version, hosted on "Leminscate Japan's" YouTube channel is below.
In the English video, Iris credits Leminscate's president " okiura " for producing the video. Leminscate's only videos on its channel are of Iris and the company doesn't appear to have a website outside of its YouTube channel. Purely as conjecture, the videos themselves could be world building for the AI: The Somnium Files game itself if Lemniscate is an in-universe company. The name is reference to the infinity symbol in mathematics.
Iris promises in the video to keep updating weekly "unless I get abducted or something."
Spike Chunsoft will release the AI: The Somnium Files game worldwide for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam . It has not revealed a release date for the game. The game will be a visual novel set in modern-day Tokyo, but with some technology advancements. Players play the role of Kamane Date, a detective tracking down a serial killer performing bizarre murders.
Key to the design of Date is his artificial left eye, differently colored from his right eye, which contains an AI that helps him solve crimes. A key feature of the game will be Date's ability to delve into the memories of suspects and key witnesses, exploring places called "Somnium" (Latin for "dream"). Viewers might have noticed that Uchikoshi makes a joke at the beginning of the video about how the video's content will be "eye-popping."
Is Spike Chunsoft going to reveal hints about new title within Iris' YouTube videos? Only time will tell!
Source: Siliconera (Sato), Resetera (HardRojo)
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history
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2003 Astro Boy Anime Gets New DVD Release by Mill Creek Entertainment
posted on 2015-03-26 23:57 EDT by Lynzee Loveridge
Sony previously released the series on five individual volumes in 2009
Mill Creek Entertainment will release the 2003 Astro Boy anime series in a 50-episode, complete DVD box set, according to online retailer Amazon's listing. Amazon does not specify which languages are included on the DVDs. It is set to retail for US$14.98 on May 5.
Sony previously released the series on five individual volumes in 2009.
An animated French, Monacan, and Japanese Astro Boy reboot is also in the works. Hong Kong animation studio IMAGI produced the computer-animated film version of Astro Boy with distributor Summit Entertainment in 2009. A joint production between Tezuka Productions and Nigerian television station Chanel TV created a television animation project last year. In Japan, the manga inspired the country's first full-fledged half-hour television anime series in 1963, followed by a color television series in 1980 and the remake in 2003.
Thanks to WTK and jlaking for the news tips
[Via TVShowsonDVD.com]
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Andy trained in amenity horticulture at Easton College, he then was a self-employed gardener for a short while. Andy returned to Easton college as a horticultural technician, as part of this work he worked with a variety of client groups. He then moved on to a charity similar to About with Friends, gaining experience working with learning difficulties. After 13 years Andy was ready for a new challenge and an opportunity became available at About with Friends in the Youth and Bespoke area. Andy then transferred to the Workskills department when a position a lead gardener came up.
We cannot tell you what AWF means to us as a family – a lifeline, a light in the dark. Something that has offered our daughter equality, to have a social life and really support us as a family.
I haven’t seen D for ages and he looks like a new man . The stress has gone from his face – he looks great Well done !!!!
Just a short note to thank you all for your help with our daughter. she has spent many years at school with little improvement in her behaviour and speech, yet in just a few weeks she has been with you guys the improvements in both areas are plain to see.
I am not sure what the different methods used are but please continue as you are, as life at the moment for us as a family is greatly improved because of your input.
We are very aware of her complex needs and how she can change like the wind but we will continue to enjoy the fruits of your labours.
AWF offers and amazing, caring, supportive group to both special needs adults/children & their families. Since N joined you he has been to some fantastic places, met some amazing friends and done activities we would never have thought he’d do. You have helped our family life improve by making N a happier, more content, confident boy.
Just wanted to say a big thank you to you and everyone else that supported H on the recent trip – she had an amazing time. I enjoyed look at the Twitter feed to see what you had been up to.
Thank you for taking K to Milton Keynes on holiday, it made her extremely happy. Selfishly, it gave my wife a much sought after period of respite after 16 years of constant care.
About with Friends and you particularly, have done some great work with excellent outcomes for D. I was particularly pleased to hear that you are working on integration with the Youth Group as I felt he would miss out on peer interaction if he didn’t come to college.
This is the best transition I have had for a student in the whole five years I have taught 6th formers!
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A big thank you to yourself and the About with Friends staff for another great trip! J had a fantastic time, going on the Harry Potter Studio Tour, which he had wanted to do for ages and ages.
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1367.5 - Western Australian Statistical Indicators, Jun 2002
Previous ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 11/07/2002
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The Resources Industry in Western Australia (Feature Article)
Understanding Population Measures (Feature Article)
Resources industry contributes almost $13 billion a year to WA economy (Media Release)
Feature Article - Understanding Population Measures
(This article was published in the June quarter 2002 issue of Western Australian Statistical Indicators (ABS Catalogue Number 1367.5))
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) publishes three types of population measures:
census counts;
estimated resident population; and
population projections.
This article discusses each of these measures and explains the methodology used to compile them. A brief discussion about service population estimates is also included.
ABS GEOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION
The ABS uses the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) as its standard geography for disseminating ABS statistical data, including population measures. The ASGC is a hierarchically structured classification with a number of geographic levels to satisfy different statistical purposes. The base unit is the Collection District (CD) which contains 220 dwellings on average in urban areas. Through the aggregation of CDs, the Statistical Local Area (SLA) is defined, followed by the Statistical Subdivision, the Statistical Division (SD) and so on up to the national level. Population measures are available at a range of levels, including CD, SLA, SD and state/territory. This article discusses measures at the SLA, state/territory and national levels.
MEASURES DURING CENSUS YEARS
The Census of Population and Housing is the largest statistical collection undertaken by the ABS and one of the most important. It provides the social and demographic statistics upon which Australian public policy, planning and decision making is based. The objective of the Census is to accurately measure the number of people in Australia at a point in time, and obtain details about their key characteristics and the dwellings in which they live. The census count provides a reliable basis for the estimation of the population of each of the states and territories, and at smaller geographic levels.
CENSUS COUNTS
The Census, conducted every five years, provides two basic counts of population:
Place of enumeration. This count includes every person who spent census night in Australia, based on where they stayed that night, including people on board vessels in or between Australian ports, or on long-distance trains, buses or aircraft; and
Place of usual residence. This is a count of all people within the scope of the Census on the basis of where they usually live, rather than where they were on census night. Each person is required to state his or her address of usual residence, as well as where they actually were on census night. In selecting the census day the ABS aims to select a date which minimises the proportion of the population who are not at their usual place of residence.
ESTIMATED RESIDENT POPULATION
The Census provides the basis for the production of Australia's official population estimate, the estimated resident population (ERP). ERP is compiled quarterly for Australia and the states and territories, and annually for SLAs.
For census years, the ERP for Australia and states/territories is determined as follows:
Beginning with census counts on a place of enumeration basis, counts on a place of usual residence basis are obtained by counting each person in their stated SLA of usual residence, rather than where they were counted on census night. Persons who do not state their address of usual residence on the census form are allocated to the SLA of enumeration. Overseas visitors are excluded from these counts. These counts are referred to as place of usual residence counts;
In determining ERP, an allowance is made for the net undercount on a place of usual residence basis. Whilst every effort is made to ensure full coverage of people and dwellings in the census, inevitably small numbers of people are missed whilst others are counted more than once. In Australia more people are missed on the census than are counted more than once. The net effect of overcount and undercount is called net undercount. To measure net undercount the ABS conducts a Post Enumeration Survey (PES) shortly after the census. The PES is a sample survey used to estimate the number of people (and their characteristics) who for one reason or another did not complete or were not included on a census form, or were included on more than one census form. From this survey, the net under-enumeration is determined and net undercount rates calculated. These rates take into account differences in net undercount according to a person's age, sex and geographic location. In the 1996 Census, the net undercount for Western Australia was 1.6 per cent (28,100 people);
Australian residents temporarily overseas on census night are added back into the population. Estimates of Australians temporarily overseas on census night are obtained from information provided to the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) by persons returning to Australia in the 12 months following the Census; and
The estimate after the above three steps is the ERP as at the census date. The estimate is further adjusted in order to obtain the ERP figures as at June 30 by subtracting the estimated increase in the population due to natural increase (births minus deaths) and net overseas migration (and for states/territories, net interstate migration) between June 30 and the census date. Differences in the census based measures.
DIFFERENCES IN THE CENSUS BASED MEASURES
The following table presents 1996 place of enumeration counts, place of usual residence counts and ERP for selected Western Australian SLAs. This table illustrates the differences that can occur between the three measures. In addition to differences between the measures due to the concepts they are measuring, regional factors can have an effect on each of the different types of population measures.
For example, the table shows large differences between the place of enumeration counts and the ERP figures for Perth (C) - Inner, Perth (C) - Remainder and Fremantle (C) - Inner. These differences are due to the higher numbers of people staying in hotels, motels and hospitals on census night in these SLAs.
PLACE OF ENUMERATION, PLACE OF USUAL RESIDENCE, ERP 1996 - Selected SLAs
Place of enumeration
Place of usual residence
Statistical local area
Perth (C) - Inner
Perth (C) - Remainder
Fremantle (C) - Inner
Laverton (S)
Leonora (S)
Menzies (S)
Sandstone (S)
Wiluna (S)
Yalgoo (S)
Carnarvon (S)
Exmouth (S)
Shark Bay (S)
Broome (S)
Nedlands (C)
Kalgoorlie/Boulder (C)
Victoria Park (T)
Note: Place of enumeration and place of usual residence counts are as at census night, 6 August 1996, and the estimated resident population is at 30 June 1996.
The estimates for the SLAs of Laverton, Leonora, Menzies, Sandstone, Wiluna and Yalgoo show much higher place of enumeration counts for males than the ERP figures. This is mainly attributed to fly-in fly-out workers in the mining industry. The difference between the place of enumeration counts and ERP figures for the Shires of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Broome are due to tourists and tourism-related workers. In contrast the last three SLAs presented in the table show very little difference between the Census counts and the ERP figures.
ESTIMATES BETWEEN CENSUS YEARS
For the years between censuses, the ERP is calculated using different methods for the various geographic levels.
ESTIMATING AT THE NATIONAL AND STATE LEVEL
ERP figures are compiled and published on a quarterly basis. Using the census-based ERP as the initial base population, post-censal estimates at the national level are compiled using births, deaths and overseas migration data. At the state level an additional item, interstate migration, is included.
This process can be expressed mathematically as follows:
The resultant updated population (Pt+1) is then used as the base population for further updates, until the population is re-counted at a census. This process is referred to as the component method.
The births and deaths data used in this process are obtained from the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state. Data on overseas migration are obtained from DIMIA. A data source for interstate migration is unavailable, as movement between the Australian states and territories is totally unregulated. Given this, interstate migration counts have to be estimated. Changes in Medicare enrolments are used for this purpose with adjustments made to take into account under-registration. These adjustments are derived by comparing Medicare based migration rates with migration rates from the latest available census.
ESTIMATING AT THE SUB-STATE LEVEL
The component method is the fundamental demographic equation and is the ideal method of updating populations. However, for ERP at geographical levels lower than state level, the components are not always readily available or accurate. For example, although births and deaths are available at a sub-state level they are generally not available early enough for timely sub-state estimates. Net migration is unavailable, as the methodology applied in calculating state ERPs is considered too inaccurate at sub-state levels. Hence, for ERP figures below state level a different method of calculating the post-censal ERP is used. The method used by the ABS is a method based on regression techniques.
The regression (or correlation) method is based on the establishment of relationships between population growth and the growth in other variables. The ABS uses indicators such as numbers of dwelling approvals, drivers licences, Medicare enrolments, family allowance recipients and electricity connections. The relationships between population growth and these indicators are expressed mathematically in terms of regression coefficients and, with the knowledge of the growth in the indicators for the current time period, population growth is estimated. These models are revised after each census to ensure that the indicators used and the relationships established are providing the best model for SLA population estimation in each state.
The regression based ERP figures are then validated by ABS officers utilising local knowledge and an understanding of the trend behaviours of the indicator data. Sources used in this process currently include: Western Australian Electoral Commission data providing electoral roll counts for each local government area (LGA); school enrolments by LGA; information obtained from local government authorities relating to population changes, building activity and economic conditions; and information sourced from the media and other sources relating to regional issues. The ABS also seeks input from the Western Australian State planning body.
Finally, the SLA ERPs are adjusted to match the state total, compiled through the component method as discussed above. While national and state/territory population estimates are compiled quarterly, SLA estimates are compiled for June 30 each year only.
SERVICE POPULATION ESTIMATES
Whilst population estimates based on place of usual residence are conceptually sound and are favoured over place of enumeration estimates by many international statistical agencies, the relevance of usual residence based estimates to some users is limited by the level of population mobility hidden within these estimates. Concerned users therefore seek a supplementary series of population estimates to ERP. Service population counts are one such alternative estimate.
Whilst definitions of the term 'service population' vary, the term generally refers to a population that accesses a particular organisation's services. Such persons may be permanent or temporary residents of the area in which the service is sought, or they may be daytime, overnight or short-term visitors to the area. For example, fly-in fly-out workers use services provided by the council in the area in which they work, but they may not necessarily be usual residents of that LGA and hence not counted in the ERP figures. Another example is the influx of commuters that many central business districts experience during the working week. Whilst this population is not considered part of the LGAs resident population, the council still provides services to this group.
There are however a number of issues related to the development of such estimates and the discussion of these is beyond the scope of this article. For further information relating to service population estimates refer to Demography Working Papers 1996/4 and 1999/3.
Population projections are also produced by the ABS. Whereas estimates and census counts refer to points in time in the past, projections usually refer to time points in the future.
ABS population projections are not intended as predictions or forecasts, but are illustrations of growth and change in the population which would occur if the assumptions about future demographic trends prevailed over the projection period. In general, published ABS population projections provide a conservative range of future scenarios using assumptions that reflect the current trends of the components of population change. Historically, the performance of ABS projections has been good, especially at the national level, but they are sensitive to the volatility of the underlying assumptions and the size of the regions involved. These factors, along with the impact of exogenous influences, affect the accuracy of the projections and therefore they must be revised and updated regularly in order to remain useful.
The ABS produces projections using the cohort–component method in which a base population for each sex by single years of age is advanced year by year by applying assumptions regarding future mortality and migration. Assumed age-specific fertility rates are applied to the female population of child-bearing age to provide a new cohort of births. This procedure is repeated for each year in the projection period for each state and territory and for Australia. The resulting population projections for each year for the states and territories, by sex and single years of age are adjusted to sum to the Australian totals. The ABS produces a range of projections, usually referred to as series, based on different assumptions regarding fertility, mortality and migration. The graph above shows the different series for projections for Western Australia to 2051.
Population projections are used by various government bodies and private organisations for many different reasons. The Australian Electoral Commission and various State electoral commissions use projections of the population aged 18 years and over to assist in the redistribution of electoral boundaries. The Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing uses projections to assist in the planning of health services including hospitals. Other uses include planning for the provision of services such as schools and other community facilities. Commercial enterprises often use projections in order to help determine the best locations for new retail outlets or offices.
Further information regarding population projections can be obtained from the ABS publication Population Projections, Australia (cat.no.3222.0).
SELECTED CENSUS ERP RELEASES
Australian Demographic Statistics, December Quarter 2001 (ABS cat.no.3101.0) Release date: June 2002 Contains state level preliminary estimates at June 2001
Population by Age and Sex, Western Australia, June 2001 (ABS cat.no.3235.5.55.001) Release date: July 2002 Contains sub-state level preliminary estimates on ASGC 2001 (electronic format)
Population by Age and Sex, Western Australia, June 1991 and June 1996 (ABS cat.no.3235.5.55.001) Release date: July 2002 Contains sub-state level preliminary estimates on ASGC 2001 (electronic format)
Regional Population Growth, Australia, 1991-2001 (ABS cat.no.3218.0) Release date: July 2002 Contains sub-state level preliminary estimates for 3 reference dates on ASGC 2001
Regional Population Growth, Australia, 1991-2001, 2001 Census Edition (ABS cat.no.3218.0.55.001) Release date: July 2002 Contains sub-state level preliminary estimates for 3 reference dates on ASGC 2001 (electronic format)
Population by Age and Sex, Australian States and Territories, June 2002 (ABS cat.no.3201.0) Release date: December 2002 Contains state level final estimates for 5 reference dates on ASGC 2001
Regional Population Growth, Australia, 1991-2001 (ABS cat.no.3218.0.55.001) Release date: February 2003 Contains sub-state level final estimates for 7 reference dates on ASGC 2001 (electronic format)
Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2001-02 (ABS cat.no.3218.0) Release date: February 2003 Contains sub-state level final estimates on ASGC 2002
Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2001-02 (ABS cat.no.3218.0.55.001) Release date: February 2003 Contains sub-state level final estimates on ASGC 2002 (electronic format)
Population Growth and Distribution, Australia, 1996-2001 (ABS cat.no.2035.0.55.001) Release date: February 2003 Contains sub-state level final estimates for 11 reference dates on ASGC 2001 (electronic format)
Population by Age and Sex, Western Australia, June 2001 (ABS cat.no.3235.5.55.001) Release date: February 2003 Contains sub-state level final estimates on ASGC 2001 (electronic format)
Population Growth and Distribution, Australia, 1996-2001 (ABS cat.no.2035.0) Release date: May 2003 Contains sub-state level final estimates for 7 reference dates on ASGC 2001.
Demographic Estimates and Projections: Concepts, Sources and Methods (ABS cat.no.3228.0). Available on the ABS web site at www.abs.gov.au
Population Projections Australia (ABS cat.no.3222.0) Cook, T., 1996, When ERPs aren't enough - a discussion of issues associated with service
population estimation, ABS Demography Working Paper 1996/4.
Howe, A., 2000, Methods and procedures for estimating small area populations in Australia, ABS Demography Working Paper 2000/3.
Lee, S., 1999, Service Population Pilot Study. An Investigation to assess the feasibility of producing population estimates for selected LGAs, ABS Demography Working Paper 1999/3.
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Christmas dinner made simple
If you’re staying in Snowmass Village for the holidays and would rather get on the mountain than spend all day slaving away over an oven, look no further to find holiday dinners at a gamut of different prices and styles.
Some independent restaurants also stay open on Christmas and New Year’s, but for local hotels and their guests, holiday dining is especially important. Here’s a selection of some options in the village:
Snowmass Kitchen at Westin Snowmass
The Westin is offering special menus on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. While food and beverage director Samuel Ross, who just joined the team six weeks ago, has introduced a northern Italian theme to the Snowmass Kitchen’s menu, the Christmas menus will be very traditional. They also will be relatively affordable.
“We have lots of families that are here staying at our Westin, so we wanted to make sure … they get a lot of value,” Ross said.
The prix fixe menu on Christmas Eve is $45 for adults and $25 for children 5 to 12. Kids younger than 5 eat free at Westin properties. Served from 5 to 10 p.m., the menu includes three courses, with eye of ribeye and troll caught white king Alaskan salmon as the options for main dishes.
For Christmas Day, Ross created a dinner buffet menu with classic favorites such as turkey breast, mashed potatoes and green bean and mushroom casserole. An assortment of Italian meats and cheeses as well as salads also will be served. And for dessert, Ross included a Yule log, bread pudding, pumpkin pie tarts and assorted chocolates and cookies. The buffet is $55 for adults and $25 for children 5 to 12.
The New Year’s Eve offering more closely resembles Snowmass Kitchen’s new winter menu with northern Italian takes on Colorado foods such as lamb with roasted beet risotto in rosemary lamb jus and grilled elk chop with boursin potato puree and wild berry gastrique. The price goes up a bit for the five-course menu, at $90 for adults and $45 for kids 5 to 12.
“We think that’s when families are going to celebrate,” Ross said.
Reservations are required and can be made at http://www.westin snowmass.com/snowmass- restaurant.
Eight K at Viceroy Snowmass
At Eight K, executive chef Will Nolan is giving his holiday menus his signature New Orleans flair. Nolan said he wanted to have something “a little more interesting,” something that would “make people talk a bit.”
The Christmas menu, starting at 2 p.m. on Dec. 25, includes the Viceroy’s signature lobster bisque and options for prime rib, roasted duck and turkey pot pie for main dishes. At $69 for adults, $39 for children 5 through 12 and free for children younger than 5, the dinner is still affordable.
“I’d rather get a bunch of people in and have a good time,” Nolan said.
New Year’s Eve gets a little more extravagant and a little more exciting, with house-made boudin noir, lobster risotto, fried quail and Colorado lamb chop. The servings on each of the five courses are small enough to keep diners hungry for the next one and awake till midnight. Nolan expects guests to close down the bar. Dinner is $195 per person. Make reservations at 970-923-8000 or http://www.viceroysnowmass.com.
The Edge at Timberline Condominiums
With its elite chef now full-time, the winter menu at The Edge is looking good. Chef James Mazzio, voted a best new chef by Food & Wine magazine in 1999, Mazzio has reworked the restaurant’s menu to serve Mediterranean-style cuisine with a farm-to-table focus. All of the ingredients he uses are grown or raised in Colorado or are distributed by a Colorado company.
Diners on Christmas and New Year’s will be able to order off the regular menu. Items such as Maine lobster bisque, with crispy shrimp cake in the middle, and eggplant Parmesan will be sure to warm diners after a long day on the slopes. The carpaccio and petite tender dishes feature beef from 7X, a company based in Hotchkiss, and the salmon is organic and sustainably raised. The Edge’s menu also features gluten-free and vegetarian options.
Entrees at The Edge range from $18 to $32. Its extensive wine and cocktail list, now with a focus on Spanish, French and Italian grapes, offers a large selection of wines by the glass. Reservations can be made at http://www.open table.com.
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Today 01 19 2020 this site times visited. 1 visitor online.
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Portland, Cerritos, Meriden, Mankato, Iran, Weston, Stamford, OR, Olathe, Belleville, Janesville, Tallahassee, Nebraska, Paris, Uganda, Iowa City, Chelsea, Kenosha, Decatur, South Bend, Argentina, Manchester, Newmarket, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Renton, Winston-Salem, MO, Kalamazoo, West Haven, Eagan, Minnesota, Paramount, Denver, Blacksburg, Schenectady, Monroe, Sumter, Westminster, France, St. Catharines, WY, Brownsville, Keller, Salinas, Alexandria, Montclair, Welland, Findlay, Summerville, Sherman, Lake Charles, Champaign, Oakland Park, Sheboygan, Harrisonburg, Warner Robins, Durham, Flower Mound Ezhou, Gillingham, Halesowen, Liuzhou, Zhucheng, Changchun, Pforzheim, Shanghai, Nizhnevartovsk, Halle, Bazhong, Khabarovsk, Jilin City, Hefei, Sterlitamak, Paisley, Bielefeld, Palmerston, Blackpool, Crawley, Tynemouth, Jingjiang, Booval, Nuneaton, Frankfurt, Offenbach a. M., Xuchang, Peterborough, Stockport, Novorossiysk, Dongguan, Osnabrück, Darlington, Oberhausen, South Shields, Ürümqi, Goulburn, Cherepovets, Russie, Binzhou, Krasnodar, Cumbernauld, Loughborough, Zhangqiu, Kingswinford, Regensburg, Geraldton, Fuqing, Arkhangelsk, Weihai, Panzhihua, Hamm, Yangzhou, Bunbury, Yantai, Suzhou, Harrogate, Christchurch, Altay, Dengzhou, Balashikha, Qingdao, Sunderland, Sheffield, Remscheid, Maoming, Glen Iris, Shenyang, Mosman, Oxford, Coventry, Guilin, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Jena, Kostroma, Xi'an, Warrnambool, Liverpool, Wenzhou, Prokopyevsk, Lianyungang, Ningbo, Kiel, Suqian, Brighton and Hove, Balwyn North, Derry , Caboolture, Gloucester, Shepparton, Orange, Kalgoorlie, Wellingborough, Fürth, South Brisbane, Ashford, Perm, Stourbridge, Filton, Berlin, Worcester, Zhuhai, Bentleigh East, Brunswick, Wuchuan, Jiangmen, Augsburg, Kunming, Zibo, Nanchang, Rayleigh, Wuxi, Wiesbaden, Bristol, Chifeng, Mooloolaba, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Neuss, Nowra, Biysk, Hangzhou, Chesterfield, Surgut, Southampton, Nanjing, Queanbeyan, Langfang, Barnsley, Mainz, Zhoukou, Sydney, Cannock, Xiamen, Daqing, London, Alice Springs, Zhenjiang, Kurgan, Fuxin, Tambov, Magdeburg, Engels, Moers, Newport, Jining, Gladstone, Rugby, Weifang, Yichang, Toowoomba, Chine, Oryol, Chester, Dewsbury, Washington, Chongqing, Baoji, Mansfield, Craigieburn, Puyang, Beijing, Belfast, Preston, Bangor, Karamay, Exeter, Roebourne, Salford, High Wycombe, Caloundra, Nizhnekamsk, Beeston, GRANDE BRETAGNE, Burnley, Sutton Coldfield, Jinan, Dingzhou, Huizhou, Nizhny Novgorod, Randwick, Zhangjiagang, Moscow, Syktyvkar, Aylesbury, Aachen, Runcorn, Lhasa, Liaoyang, Farnborough, Nanyang, Carlisle, Potsdam, Taixing, Bathurst, Oldenburg, Northampton, Bath, Irkutsk, Wallasey, Cranbourne, Paderborn, Karlsruhe, Keighley, Lowestoft, Sunbury, Greensborough, Ufa, Guigang, Feicheng, Yancheng, Lanzhou, Dzerzhinsk, Tianjin, Yoshkar-Ola, Ulm, Dongying, Bradford, Dortmund, Woking, Jiaxing, Dezhou, Düsseldorf, Torquay, Xining, Petrozavodsk, Tula, Willenhall, Wigan, Ivanovo, Huaibei, Zhoushan, Bamber Bridge, Taunton, Guiyang, Hartlepool, Pizhou, Shaoxing, Melbourne, Tamworth, Changde, Rochester, Hamburg, Tieling, Swansea, Zigong, Nantong, Gateshead, Mount Isa, Sale, Bundaberg, Devonport, Linhai, Blagoveshchensk, Astrakhan, Sittingbourne, Jiamusi, Cixi, Anqing, Leicester, Zaoyang, Bremen, St Helens, Haikou, Rizhao, Welwyn Garden City, Middlesbrough, Nanchong, Southport, Braunschweig, Nanping, Xiangyang, Münster, Neath, Shaoyang, Canberra, Walton-on-Thames, Linyi, Luton, Hezhou, Quakers Hill, Freiburg im Breisgau, Xuzhou, Taizhou, Scarborough, Xiangcheng, Kursk, Saint Petersburg, Zhaoqing, Wolverhampton, Stary Oskol, Port Stephens, Cheltenham, Suzhou, Mandurah, Wakefield, Xiangtan, Maryborough, Littlehampton, Bootle, Birkenhead, Glasgow .
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877-9-AMS-TIX
Will Call
AMS Insiders Club
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
Atlanta 250 and Georgia 200 Doubleheader
Fast Friday
Summit Racing Equipment Atlanta Motorama
Thursday Thunder Legends Series
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Results From Week Eight Of Thursday Thunder presented by Papa John's Pizza
Week 8 action in the Thursday Thunder Legends Series presented by Papa John's Pizza brought high-intensity racing along with a strong sense of urgency in the final Thursday night of the season, leaving just two Saturday dates - July 29 and Aug. 5 - remaining on the calendar for drivers to hone-in on coveted season championships.
Entering the evening, the overall point standings in each of the divisions were nearly neck-and-neck. An average margin between first and second place across all divisions was just six points, and that left precious little room for error and limited opportunities left to recover from even the slightest mistake.
After Kenneth Henderson of Alto and Maddox Langham of Irvington, Alabama scored wins in Week 3 make-up races in the Ricky Sanders Racing, Inc. Bandits Division and Wallace Electric Rookie Bandoleros Division respectively, regularly scheduled Week 8 racing began with the Plemons Investments Young Lions Division rolling off the grid first.
Plemons Young Lions Division
Entering the evening, Harrison Halder of Cumming held a 13-point lead over second-place D.J. Canipe of Fallston, North Carolina in the Plemons Young Lions Division standings, but after winning the pole and staying out front for each the first six laps, Canipe made a play to chip away at Halder's lead by the time the night was over.
But Halder, who per Thursday Thunder rules started in the seventh position as the division leader, wasn't long for the middle of the pack and was on Canipe's bumper before the race was halfway through.
Taking advantage of his superior speed, Halder made quick work of Canipe's lead, passing him on the backstretch on the race's seventh lap and cruised the rest of the way to the checkered flag for this third win on the season and his first since Week 5.
The victory gives Halder a 19-point lead heading into the final two races of the season and presents an uphill battle for Canipe and the rest of the field if they want to unseat him from the top spot.
Plemons Investments Masters Division
In the Plemons Investments Masters Division feature, three-time winner Robbie Woodall of McDonough started from the pole, and much like Canipe, was on a mission to cut into division leader Scott Moseley's narrow six-point lead.
With consistent speed and clean air ahead of him, Woodall stayed ahead for much of the race as Moseley picked his way through the field from his seventh-place starting position behind him. But no one had an answer for Moseley's speed and skillful driving capabilities.
With just five laps to go, Moseley, who had emerged from the field and had been running in second-place since Lap 6, wrested the lead from Woodall and held him off through the final five circuits to claim his third win on the year and expand his lead in the standings to nine points over second-place Woodall.
With Atlanta's Mark Swan 42 points back in third place heading into next Saturday, it's a two-man battle for Masters Division Thunder Ring supremacy between Moseley and Woodall, as the pair squares off in a tight chase for the crown.
Outlaws Division
Like the two division leaders before him, Senoia's Joshua Hicks tightened his grip on his lead in the standings by putting together a solid Outlaws Division win Thursday night, his third of the year. After starting from the inside lane of the fourth row, Hicks drove a disciplined race to pass the six drivers ahead of him and nabbed the checkered flag in a time-shortened feature, where he finished first, ahead of runner-up Blaise Maddox of Locust Grove and third-place Nathan Jackson of McDonough.
The victory ballooned Hicks' lead to 20 points over of second-place Maddox and 39 over last week's winner, Michael Gannon, who sits in third.
Wallace Electric Rookie Bandoleros Division
McDonough's Bailey North notched her second victory of the season in the Wallace Electric Rookie Bandoleros Division. She prevailed ahead of Maddox Langham of Irvington, Alabama, Lee Brown of Acworth and Carter Griffis of Homerville, each of whome rounded out the field in order.
Semi-Pro Division
In easily the tightest division entering Thursday night action, the top seven drivers in the Semi-Pro Division standings were all within 21 points of leader Rafe Slate of Eatonton, and it was anyone's race to win with the championship still very undecided.
Stepping up to the challenge was Griffin's Cody Hall. With 584 points on the season and sitting in eighth place - 33 points off the lead - coming into the evening, Hall led from the green flag all the way to the checkered flag to secure his first victory of the season, firmly inserting himself into the conversation for potential division champions with two races left on the year.
Finishing in second place was Brooks' Christopher Clanton, while Hudson Halder of Cumming, Slate and Andrew Dollar of Atlanta rounded out the top-five.
Once the dust was settled, Slate maintained his narrow lead in the standings despite his fourth-place finish and sits precariously just two points ahead of second-ranked Halder, the only two-time winner in the division.
Resting 21, 22, 23 and 24 points off the lead respectively, it's Brandon Brock of Hampton, Connor Younginer of Stockbridge, Davis Rochester of Lebanon, Tennessee and Hall in the third-through sixth positions heading into the final two races of the year.
Ricky Sanders Racing, Inc. Bandits Division
Carson Ruark of Suwanee scored his second victory of the season in the Ricky Sanders Racing, Inc. Bandits Division feature, while Mobile, Alabama's Grant Thompson finished second for his seventh top-three of the year. With two runner-up finishes on the day, Thompson enters next Saturday's Week 9 action a comfortable 36 points up on second-place Kenneth Henderson of Alto.
Chargers Division
Making his season debut, Austin MacDonald of Pictou, Nova Scotia got the win in the Chargers Division feature, as he finished ahead of Stockbridge's Charles Hampton, who also made his first appearance on the 2017 season.
Racing Radios Pro Division
In the headlining Racing Radios Pro Division, Thursday night marked the first-ever Thursday Thunder playoff race, as 10 championship-eligible drivers squared off in the first of three NASCAR-style chase races, with an even slate at 2000 points apiece. Thursday was also the first of two races to determine the final six drivers who will be eligible for the title in the Aug. 5 championship-night showdown. A win-and-you're-in system placed a high value on ending the race in first, and the on-track competition didn't disappoint.
With second-ranked driver Dawson Fletcher out with an injury and four-time winner and division favorite Jensen Jorgensen starting in an unfamiliar eighth position, the opportunity was ripe for an upset, and Douglasville's Will Martin took full advantage of the situation.
After starting on the pole with the fastest qualifying time of the evening, Martin showed it was no fluke and led all 25 laps in dominating fashion to propel himself into contention for the Aug. 5 championship race.
It was Martin's first victory of the season, and it couldn't have come at a better time. He was a two-time Pro Division winner and had six top-three finishes at this point last season and was far overdue for his first victory in 2017.
"It's been a tough season," said Martin in a post-race interview. "We've just had some bad luck; things haven't been going our way, but I've got to thank Doug Stevens and everybody at Taylor working on my car. They've just been giving me fast cars, and it was hooked up tonight.
"I guess (this year), we're just going to start winning them when we need to, late in the season. The way this chase system is, it's pretty much whoever wins the last race, that's who wins the championship, so that's what we're going to try to do."
Now safely into championship eligibility, Martin acknowledged that wrapping up the season title among five other eligible drivers in a winner-take-all situation won't be easy.
"I don't know if you can prepare for it," he said. "It's going to be crazy - I can tell you that. We'll just see what we can do."
Finishing in second place, Russell Fleeman of Dacula now leads the way in points among those not yet locked into championship contention, while Corey Heim of Marietta finished third, Jorgensen came in fourth, and Senoia's Joshua Hicks rounded out the top-five.
Below are the results from the Week 3 make-up races:
1. Kenneth Henderson (Alto, GA)
2. Grant Thompson (Mobile, AL)
3. Wilder Etheredge (Atlanta, GA)
4. River Allen (Hiram, GA)
5. Justin Campbell (Griffin, GA)
6. Kelley Puckett (McDonough, GA)
7. Keaton Hendrix (Homerville, GA)
8. Carson Ruark (Suwanee, GA)
9. Ford Childers (Montrose, GA)
10. Lucas Ruark (Suwanee, GA)
11. Ryan Younginer (Stockbridge, GA)
12. Tony Yawn
13. Brody Graham (Flowery Branch, GA)
14. Colsen Cochran (Ringgold, GA)
15. Max Hennebaul (Monroe, GA)
1. Maddox Langham (Irvington, AL)
2. Bailey North (McDonough, GA)
3. Carter Griffis (Homerville, GA)
4. Lee Brown (Acworth, GA)
Below are the complete results from the regularly scheduled Week 8 races:
1. Harrison Halder (Cumming, GA)
2. Sammy Smith (Des Moines, IA)
3. DJ Canipe (Fallston, NC)
4. Clay Thompson (Bowersville, GA)
5. Cale Hall (Griffin, GA)
6. Carden Cochran (Ringgold, GA)
7. Ryan Rackley (Valdosta, GA)
8. Hunter Johnson (Hampton, GA)
9. Audrie Ruark (Suwanee, GA)
10. Annabelle Mohwish (Cumming, GA)
11. Ian Hampton (Stockbridge, GA)
12. Holt Halder (Cumming, GA)
13. Lawson Ingold (Social Circle, GA)
1. Scott Moseley (McDonough, GA)
2. Robbie Woodall (McDonough, GA)
3. Mark Swan (Atlanta, GA)
4. Tony Armbruster (Covington, GA)
5. Wade Brewer (Hampton, GA)
6. Dennis Hecht (Hoschton, GA)
7. James Meredith (Locust Grove, GA)
8. Randy Shubert (Stone Mountain, GA)
9. Bill Whatley (Acworth, GA)
10. Barry Bowen (Jackson Lake, GA)
11. Dale Jackson (Clinton, TN)
1. Joshua Hicks (Senoia, GA)
2. Blaise Maddox (Locust Grove, GA)
3. Nathan Jackson (McDonough, GA)
4. Kenny Brady (Marietta, GA)
5. Hayden Swank (Woodstock, GA)
6. Max Brady (Marietta, GA)
7. Shelby Ruark (Suwanee, GA)
8. Austin MacDonald (Pictou, NE)
9. Ashton Whitener (Monticello, GA)
10. Aprilia Holt (Senoia, GA)
11. Grayson Dickey (Canton, GA)
12. Garrett Jorgensen (Canton, GA)
13. Blaze Crawford (Fayetteville, GA)
14. Michael Gannon (Canton, GA)
15. Gage Roberts (Milledgeville, GA)
4. Carter Griffis (Homerville, GA) (DNF)
1. Cody Hall (Griffin, GA)
2. Christopher Clanton (Brooks, GA)
3. Hudson Halder (Cumming, GA)
4. Rafe Slate (Eatonton, GA)
5. Andrew Dollar (Atlanta, GA)
6. Connor Younginer (Stockbridge, GA)
7. Brandon Brock (Hampton, GA)
8. David Lawrence (Senoia, GA)
9. Davis Rochester (Lebanon, TN)
10. Trey Tadrzak (Stockbridge, GA)
11. Nick Woodall (McDonough, GA)
12. Parker Brewer (Hampton, GA)
13. Pierce Brewer (Hampton, GA)
14. Brandon Collins (Hampton, GA)
3. Lucas Ruark (Suwanee, GA)
4. Colsen Cochran (Ringgold, GA)
7. Max Hennebaul (Monroe, GA)
11. Kelley Puckett (McDonough, GA)
14. Kenneth Henderson (Alto, GA) (DNF)
15. Ford Childers (Montrose, GA) (DNF)
1. Austin MacDonald (Pictou, Nova Scotia)
2. Charles Hampton (Stockbridge, GA)
1. William Martin (Douglasville, GA)
2. Russell Fleeman (Dacula, GA)
3. Corey Heim (Marietta, GA)
4. Jensen Jorgensen (Stockbridge, GA)
6. Currie Pierce (Griffin, GA)
7. Canon Cochran (Ringgold, GA)
8. Dylan Murry (Cumming, GA)
9. Robbie Johnston (Laurel, MS)
10. Mike Weed (Franklin, GA) (DNF)
11. Jeff Holden (Gainesville, GA) (DNF)
For complete division standings, log onto www.legendsofga.com and click the "points" tab.
Thursday Thunder continues with its penultimate evening next Saturday, July 29, featuring Atlanta Motor Speedway's first-ever Baby Chase prior to the evening's feature races.
Infield admission is available for spectators wishing to watch Thursday Thunder, and passes may be purchased at the Security Command building near the speedway's main entrance. Infield passes are $20, while grandstand tickets for the affordable, family-friendly racing series cost just $5, with children ages 5 and younger are admitted free. Spectator gates open at 6 p.m.
For more information, contact the Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office at (770) 946-4211, (877) 9-AMS-TIX or visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.
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https://woodennickelrecords.com 5060454949268
Label: VERITE
Somewhere In Between [LP]
Artist: Verite
New: Not Currently Available
1. When You're Gone
2. Phase Me Out
3. Death of Me
4. Bout You
5. Better
6. Need Nothing
7. Saint
9. Floor
10. Somewhere in Between
12. Control
13. Freedom of Falling
VERITE entered the alt-pop world with her debut EPs Echo, Sentiment and Living, garnering multiple Hype Machine #1s, a spot as the #1 viral artist on Twitter and over 100 million song streams. VÉRITÉ has supported her releases on the road with Marian Hill, Tove Lo, MS MR and festival appearances at SXSW, CMJ, Lollapalooza and Firefly. While working on her full-length album, VERITE released her cover of The 1975's "Somebody Else" with viral success. Now, VERITE is set to release her debut album, Somewhere In Between, featuring the singles "Phase Me Out" and "When You're Gone".
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May 15, 2015 by Alex
Desolation of the Lost
(Words:1,100; Read time: 5 min.)
The desert called to him. Spoke to him on every level. Its desolation. The ancient nature of it–the way the sands folded over like space and time, everything merging into one and expanding from it in a vastness of nothingness. And such was purpose. Yes, his recently arrived upon position was not one of chance or circumstance. It was meant to be. Had always been.
In the last twenty or so minutes of travel, the rolling mounds of ancient sediment and the flats between ever approaching, a new oddity had developed. Though he knew the locale of where such an ending would occur, he had not known the method till he saw the sands in the twilight of the day. And it was following that moment, the moment in which he’d decided how all things would end and thus begin, that a sound emerged from the silence and came to life.
His father had long ago gifted him the transistor radio which now acted as the passageway through which this sound travelled. There was sentiment in his possessing it now–it was the only thing he felt he needed as he stormed out from the love of his life. Something to remind him that someone had loved him once, even if the giver had long since turned to dust.
Amidst the heat of his thoughts—endings, beginnings, and his father–he devoted no more than a brief, fleeting moment as to what the sound could be. Even still, it hardly deserved the moment it had been granted. The sound was nothing more than a brief bout of static and white noise, with a loping hoarseness present in the background. It was scarcely different from the countless other signals the radio had gathered over the years, save for the feeling that accompanied it in his heart and soul. Indeed, something inexplicable made it resonate through his entire being in a way that no horror he’d ever known could equal.
Despite this disturbance he pressed on, eager to reach the sands of time and end his own. As the sands came nearer the sound altered into something which could linger in ignorance no more. Another layer had been added to it all: static and white noise; a loping hoarseness; and now a vague wail that was less human than human. The additional layer as horrifying as it was enchanting. Every thought of his focused directly on what the sound could be, as it transfixed his mind and commanded him wholly and instantaneously. Never before had the little radio transmitted something of this nature. Nothing which inspired the horror and dread now permeating bones and brain.
Though the sound was of a new order, there was no mistaking what it signaled. Someone was dying in the place from which the sound came, this antique radio the doorway which connected him to such a place and that place to him.
Without him realizing it, the sound had already led him into the heart of the desert, soul not long for this world now amidst its vast emptiness. And being there, in that nowhere, he knew it to be the right place. A place free from the world. Though he longed to marvel at the nothingness of it all, memory of the sound remained persistent. Digging into his brain. Burrowing like something which wanted escape. Its demand that all thought and contemplation be devoted to it and it alone.
He took a seat in the sun baked sand and placed the radio before him and studied it. Its circular bronze dial. The waffle patterned speakers. Listened for any nuance which may emerge. A frequency all to its own, never to be deciphered by any soul save for his.
The sound clamored on and on and then as instantly as it began it fell into silence. Still he watched. Waited. Some part of him hoping the sound would rise again so that he may find the place from which the sound came. But the sound remained silent. In the dark of night, in the center of nothing, his shallow breaths were the only sound present in this singular world.
The sound woke him from a terrible nightmare, a nightmare in which the sands of the desert had devoured him whole. Body buried further and further beneath the ruination. A giant face sunken in the infinite sprawl of sand. Upon waking he knew it not to be a nightmare but a desired dream.
The glory of that imagining soon diminished.
What came from the other end of the radio returned to him all the terror he’d felt in the dark hours of the night. The sound of death on the otherside, a person wailing in pain and horrified of whereto they went next.
He scrambled over to the radio and picked it up and began walking further into the desert, some intuition his commander. And as he ventured further into it, the death on the other end continued on and on. The pain escalating with each step travelled.
He walked the entirety of the day. Not once did his eyes stray from the radio, held in both hands before him like some great offering. By nighttime the sound was no longer something vague or distant. It was approaching, and he, it.
“Help,” it now called.
First it had been a scream, but in the hours of dusk it had since turned into something barely above a hushed whisper, almost as if the caller knew it would have no savior.
Despite its calmer tone, the sound and clarity of the plea reached a peak. Its asking for help clear and concise and implicit in this calm a desperation only the dying could know.
The radio fell into silence.
For the first time since he’d awoke he pulled his eyes from the radio and surveyed the area surrounding. Darkness had fallen, but the stars above provided ample light. In the sand not ten yards ahead there lay the shrunken form of something half buried in the sediment. Lips moving only just.
He carefully approached, fear consuming his broken heart.
“Help,” it continued to ask, dead eyes fixed on the sky above. If it knew of his approach, it made no gestures of acknowledgement. Motionless as a corpse.
As he came closer, the bodily degradation of the being became more apparent. Flesh stretched and cracked beyond its elastic limits. Baked in the unrelenting heat. Most its body buried beneath the sand, perhaps to keep from burning alive in the desert. All that remained visible, its face. Like some ancient Egyptian glyph carved in the sand.
And then the buried face turned, movements more hitched than fluid. Features incapable of emoting.
Not even a mirror could have reproduced an image his own likeness, even if this Doppler was shrunken and withered.
And forever dying.
“Don’t,” it said.
Posted in UncategorizedTagged Fiction, Flash Fiction, Literature, SCI-FI, Story, Surreal, Writing
Previous GT86 Update
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Arson Charge Against Hudson Valley Man With Autism to be Dropped
sbayram/ThinkStock
Arson charges against a Hudson Valley man with special needs will be dropped.
On Thursday, Dutchess County District Attorney William Grady announced his office will move to dismiss arson charges against Vincent Carozza, in the interest of justice.
According to the indictment, Carozza attempted to start a fire and cause damage to a building knowing that other people were present while a resident at the Taconic Developmental Services in Amenia in October 2018.
Fox reports, Carozza told police he set a cookbook on fire and put a battery and fork in the microwave and turned it on to burn the place down.
After he was arraigned, at the request of his attorney, Carozza, who has autism, was found incompetent to stand trial and he remains confined at Sunmount, a state facility for people with Developmental Disabilities, officials say.
“During the pendency of this case I have both personally met with and later spoken to Mr. Carozza’s father to better understand his son’s needs and to explain how the criminal process works," Grady said. "In an effort to facilitate the competency process and an eventual disposition of the criminal case coupled with mental health programing, I requested and recommended placing Mr. Carozza in an 'outpatient status' under a rarely used section of the Criminal Procedure Law so that he could continue to receive the necessary 'competency' treatment at or near home with his family support system. This would then provide the beneficial environment consistent with our efforts to resolve this case. Unfortunately, I have today been notified by Deborah Chard-Wierschem, Director of the Bureau of Intensive Treatment Services for the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), that after a clinical review, my request and recommendation has been denied. Although Dr. Chard-Wierschem would not discuss the case any further, it was clear that Ms. Chard-Wierschem felt that Sunmount was better equipped to deal with Mr. Carozza’s developmental disability issues. In light of this decision and all of the other facts and circumstances surrounding this case, we feel that the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities is the appropriate agency to address Mr. Carozza’s unique needs."
According to Grady, a dismissal in the interest of justice will allow OPWDD to determine what treatment or services are best for Carozza.
Categories: Hudson Valley News
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When can my baby sleep with a blanket?
By Nancy Montgomery
Wait until your baby is at least 12 months old. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), soft bedding in a crib – like blankets and pillows – increases of the risk of suffocation or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Safe alternatives to blankets are sleepers, sleep sacks, and wearable blankets.
After 12 months, the statistical likelihood of dying from SIDS plummets. The risk of suffocation also goes down because most 12-month-olds are able to roll over and have the dexterity to move blankets away from their face.
It's best not to use crib bumpers, sleep positioners (like wedges), special mattresses, or anything else that claims to reduce the risk of SIDS. According to the AAP, not only do these devices fail to protect your baby, some infants have suffocated while using them.
Once your baby is 12 months, it's okay for your child to bring a blanket or special toy to bed for comfort, but it's still safest to keep his crib relatively empty – so don't give your child a pillow until he has transitioned from the crib to a bed.
AAP. 2013. Reduce the risk of SIDS. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/pages/Preventing-SIDS.aspx
AAP. 2012. A parent's guide to safe sleep. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/pages/A-Parents-Guide-to-Safe-Sleep.aspx
American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, et al. 2011. SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths: Expansion of recommendations for a safe infant sleeping environment. Pediatrics 128(5):1030-9. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/5/1030 [Accessed May 2016]
Nancy Montgomery is a health and wellness writer and editor.
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Jury awards more than $37M to family of Korryn Gaines in civil case against Baltimore County
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Former Duke star Bobby Hurley experiences a different side of NCAA tournament
By Don Markus
The Baltimore Sun |
| COLUMBUS, Ohio
Bobby Hurley directs his Buffalo team during practice Thursday in Columbus, Ohio. (Paul Vernon, Associated Press)
Before his team left to play Kentucky early this season, second-year Buffalo coach Bobby Hurley put on the ring he received for helping win back-to-back national championships at Duke in 1991 and 1992.
It was the first time he had worn it since becoming a Division I head coach.
"I said, 'I think I need something extra here for my confidence to go into that place,'" Hurley recalled of his team's Nov. 16 trip to Rupp Arena. "And so I put it on as subtle reminder of what I used to be capable of doing to try to build my confidence and boost it as much as it could for my team."
At halftime, Buffalo led 38-33.
Though the top-ranked Wildcats would outscore Buffalo 38-14 in the second half, Hurley decided to keep wearing the diamond-crusted ring. It was on his left hand Thursday at Nationwide Arena, where the 12th-seeded Bulls will take on fifth-seeded West Virginia in Buffalo's NCAA tournament debut Friday. The winner faces the winner of fourth-seeded Maryland's game against No. 13 Valparaiso.
[More from sports] How ‘truss’ got so big: Answering the important questions about the Ravens’ viral mantra »
Still the NCAA's all-time assist leader, Hurley got into the family business by joining his younger brother, Danny, as an assistant at Wagner College on Staten Island, N.Y. in 2010 and then following him to the University of Rhode Island. Their father, Bob Sr., is a Hall of Fame high school coach in New Jersey.
Hurley took a rather circuitous road back to college basketball after his career ended at Duke. A first-round draft pick of the Sacramento Kings in 1993, Hurley's NBA career was derailed later that year when his car was broadsided in an accident near Arco Arena. Hurley, who was not wearing a seat belt, sustained multiple injuries. He was never the same player and retired in 1998.
"When my pro career ended, I was frustrated," he said Thursday. "A little bit burnt out. I worked as hard as I cold to get where I had gotten playing and it just didn't work out for me professionally. I didn't achieve anything close to what I intended on. I wanted to do something different."
Hurley had a little success as breeding horses, putting Songandaprayer in the 2001 Kentucky Derby, before eventually running into financial problems that led to the foreclosure on his stable. He credits his younger brother, who played at Seton Hall, for teaching him how to run a college team.
Admittedly, some of his current players were unfamiliar with Hurley when he was hired by Buffalo athletic director Danny White, whose father Kevin is the AD at Duke.
[More from sports] Towson quarterback Tom Flacco seeking to get foot in door toward NFL career »
"I heard the name before. I wasn't really familiar with what he had done," sophomore point guard Shannon Evans said. "But as I got further in my recruitment process, I did my research so I knew he was a good player."
Miles ahead of schedule
Coming out of Notre Dame Prep in Massachusetts, former Dunbar standout Daxter Miles Jr. didn't know exactly what his role would be as a freshman at West Virginia. Not that Miles, who was an All-Metro player as a senior at Dunbar, was lacking for confidence.
Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins joked on several occasions during the season that Miles, a 6-foot-3 point guard, claimed the starting job early on on sheer will.
"Whenever I asked for five guys, Dax would run out," Huggins said of Miles, who started all 32 games.
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Miles is coming into Friday's NCAA tournament game on a roll. Over the past five games, Miles has averaged a little over 14 points per game, including a season-high 23 in a 76-69 overtime loss at No. 9 Kansas on March 3. Miles is averaging 7.3 points for the season.
His late-season emergence as a scorer, along with fellow freshman Jevon Carter, coincided with star guard Juwan Staten's knee injury. Staten, who averaged 14.5 points and 4.6 assists, is expected back for Friday's game against Buffalo. The Mountaineers have lost three of four games in his absence.
"I stepped up and took the challenge," Miles said of his increased productivity. "It worked out for me, because I needed to wet my feet a little bit more, I had to show everybody that even without our senior guard that the two freshmen, me and Jevon Carter, can play a little bit."
Carter scored a season-high 25 points in a loss at then-No. 19 Baylor on Feb. 28.
Asked what it will be like to play in the NCAA tournament, Miles said, "One word to describe it — amazing. I always dreamed about it. Just soaking up each moment."
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'The shot' lives on
Every March, Bryce Drew's buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Valparaiso's upset of third-seeded Mississippi in the opening round in 1998 is among the highlights that play on NCAA tournament coverage.
"Everybody on our team has seen it multiple times," Crusaders star sophomore forward Alec Peters said Thursday. "It's hard to count how many times we've seen it."
There are pictures of what is simply known as "The Shot" throughout the campus of the Indiana school. But it isn't on recruiting brochures that Drew — now in his fourth year as the team's coach — sends out.
Nor is "The Shot" — which came off a long inbounds pass and then a purposeful tip to Drew on the wing — in the team's current playbook. "But it's definitely something we could draw up if we needed to in the last seconds," Drew said Thursday.
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Said Peters: "I don't think he has to preach on what kind of moment he had in that situation and how we can achieve the same thing. I think the biggest thing that we have to go through thinking is that we want to creat our own moment. We want to have something like that we can remember just like he did."
don.markus@baltsun.com
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Gord Jamieson
Randy Sabett
Ken Meiser
Encryption & Key Management , Fraud Management & Cybercrime , Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development
A Slim Hope Appears for WannaCry Ransomware Victims
Windows Decryption Tools Arrive as Time to Pay Ransom Runs Out Jeremy Kirk (jeremy_kirk) • May 19, 2017
Note: This story has been updated. For the latest information, see: WannaCry Ransomware: Tools Decrypt for Free.
See Also: Live Webinar | Empowering Your Human Firewall: The Art and Science of Secure Behavior
Victims of the WannaCry ransomware who haven't backed up their files have a tough choice: take a risk paying the ransom or just accept the loss. But there's a small glimmer of hope: French researchers have figured out a way to decrypt files without paying. But their tools only work on some affected devices, and only if they have not been powered off or rebooted.
Adrien Guinet, a security researcher with Paris-based Quarkslab, published the tool, called WannaKey, on GitHub, which works only with infected systems that run Windows XP as well as Windows 7.
Still, Guinet says it's worth a try. WannaKey is being received well given the alternatives for dealing with the ransomware.
"His tool is very ingenious as it [doesn't] look for the actual key but the prime numbers in memory to recompute the key itself," writes Matt Suiche, founder of Comae Technologies. "In short, his technique is total bad ass and super smart."
May 19 update: Suiche says an updated version of the similar WanaKiwi decryption tool allows it to potentially work with all affected versions of Windows. The EU's law enforcement intelligence agency, Europol, has seconded the researcher's findings.
#Wannacry decrypting files tested by @EC3Europol & found to recover data in some circumstances: https://t.co/E9j59j4p0c https://t.co/3n8hd4hrQi
— Europol (@Europol) May 19, 2017
WannaCry swept across the world on May 12, infecting about 216,000 Windows computers with a speed not seen since mega-worms like Love Bug and SQL Slammer in the early 2000s (see Teardown: WannaCry Ransomware). It exploited a Windows software flaw, (MS17-010), using an exploit believed to have originated with the NSA but leaked in April by the Shadow Brokers hacking group.
Time is of essence: WannaCry warns victims they have three days to pay $300 in bitcoin before the ransom rises to $600. If that isn't paid after a week, the data is locked forever.
WannaCry's code has been pored over by analysts, part of a worldwide effort to find clues of who might be responsible and also for weaknesses in how it encrypts files.
But for WannaCry "there is currently no method of decrypting encrypted files without having the private key," writes the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team in an advisory.
Guinet, however, came across an odd way that Windows XP handles the generation of encryption keys.
WannaCry uses the RSA algorithm to create the public and private keys, which are derived from long prime numbers. The private key decrypts files. That key generation process occurs in memory. In later versions of Windows, such as 7 and 10, the operating system tidies up after that process and erases the prime numbers. But for some reason that doesn't occur in XP. The particular function, CryptDestroyKey, instead just erases a handle related to the key.
Matthew D. Green, a cryptography expert and assistant research professor in the department of computer science at Johns Hopkins University, dug up the Microsoft documentation.
It says, in part, that many cryptographic service providers "overwrite the memory where the key was held before freeing it. However, the underlying public/private key pair is not destroyed by this function. Only the handle is destroyed."
Green jokes on Twitter: "Only Microsoft could design this function."
The by-design wrinkle, however, is critical to the recovery of files. Guinet's tool tries to find those prime numbers for the private key. But if the machine has been rebooted, the numbers are lost. It is also possible to lose them if the machine's memory has simply been overwritten due to normal activity.
"If you are lucky (that is, the associated memory hasn't been reallocated and erased), these prime numbers might still be in memory," Guinet writes in the WannaKey readme on GitHub. "That's what this software tries to achieve."
Development Errors
Whoever wrote WannaCry was likely unaware of the issue in XP. It's also likely they didn't care. Microsoft ended mainstream support for XP in 2014, although it did take the unprecedented move of issuing an emergency patch for XP and other older Windows systems due to the severity of WannaCry.
XP still accounts for about 7 percent of the Windows market. Organizations such as the U.K. National Health Service still have some devices running XP in service. But after its troubles with WannaCry, the NHS denied the impact was due to widespread use of XP, which runs on less than five percent of its systems.
Aside from not noticing the XP key generation quirk, WannaCry's developers also made numerous other errors, such as failing to create a separate bitcoin payment address for each victim. This means the attackers may have trouble identifying which victim to receive the decryption key, according to Check Point. They also inadvertently left a kill switch in the code, which allowed a British security researcher to luckily halt the spread of the malware.
The mistakes are an encouraging sign, however, that there might be more glitches that will allow WannaCry to be defanged. Guinet's research has also inspired another project from Benjamin Delpy to work on a similar decryption method. It can't come too soon. Time for many encrypted machines - and their victims - is running out.
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Jeremy Kirk
Managing Editor, Security and Technology, ISMG
Kirk is a veteran journalist who has reported from more than a dozen countries. Based in Sydney, he is Managing Editor for Security and Technology for Information Security Media Group. Prior to ISMG, he worked from London and Sydney covering computer security and privacy for International Data Group. Further back, he covered military affairs from Seoul, South Korea, and general assignment news for his hometown paper in Illinois.
https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/slim-hope-appears-for-wannacry-ransomware-victims-a-9935
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Your smartphone may soon replace your ATM card
Craig Guillot
April 6, 2016 in Banking
Big banks are rolling out ATMs that allow consumers to leave their plastic cards behind and withdraw cash using their smartphones. It could mean the death of the ATM card, but how soon that could be is not certain.
The big 3 banks – JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo – either have rolled out or will roll out cardless ATMs this year. Smaller banks, like BMO Harris Bank, have already introduced the technology.
Bank of America, for example, introduced cardless ATMs in February in San Francisco, Charlotte, North Carolina, and New York, and will roll out more machines in mid-2016.
Like point-of-sale terminals that allow you to pay for goods at a retailer using your phone, the new Bank of America ATMs use near-field communication (NFC) technology, which enables communication between devices in close proximity, Bank of America spokeswoman Lucie Fernandez says.
Customers hold their smartphone over a scanner at the ATM and the machine will recognize the account.
“You swipe your phone just as you were swiping a card, then you go about your business entering your PIN and completing your transaction on the ATM,” Fernandez says.
RATE SEARCH: Find great rates on savings accounts at Bankrate.com.
Derek E. Rothchild/Getty Images
‘Inevitable’ shift
Daniel Van Dyke, mobile analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research, says it’s “inevitable that phones will replace plastic cards.” At a time when customers want everything quickly and easily, he says, cardless ATMs can save time and offer added convenience.
“It really can be faster and reduce the time at the ATM by 10 to 15 seconds,” Van Dyke says. “Users don’t always carry their wallet, but no one forgets their phone. It’s a little thing, but it’s valuable.”
And saving time could make some more comfortable with the idea of withdrawing money in public.
“This may provide a feeling of security to people uncomfortable waiting in front of the ATM while they’re responding to a series of questions,” says Steve Hensley, executive vice president of global sales at ATM software company KAL.
Why cardless tech?
Cardless ATM technology can offer a number of security advantages. An industry report from Javelin Strategy & Research said the machines can offer enhanced security by reducing the threat of skimming. Also, card information is never stored on the phone and is randomized in a process called tokenization.
But security isn’t the only reason banks are pursuing this technology. JPMorgan Chase will introduce mobile authentication at many of its 17,000 ATMs later this year as an option for mobile-savvy customers.
“There are a fair amount of customers that come to make transactions and don’t have their debit card on them,” says Michael Fusco, a spokesman for Chase. “Customers are demanding more (mobile services) and it’s about giving them options.”
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ChemistryQ&A Library
A 100 mg sample of Epsomite (MgSO4·7H2O) was heated in a crucible. After cooling to room temperature, the mass of the resulting white, anhydrous salt (MgSO4) was measured to be 49 mg. Given this data, calculate the mass percent of water in the hydrate and show calculations that confirm the empirical formula ratio of 1 MgSO4:7H2O.
Asked Sep 19, 2019
It is given that:
Mass of Epsomite (MgSO4.7H2O) = 100 mg
Mass of anhydrous salt (MgSO4) = 49 mg
Solution comprises of solute and solvent.
In this case mass of solution is 100 mg and mass of solute that is anhydrous salt (MgSO4) is 49 g. So, the mass of solvent can be calculated as follows:
Mass of solution = mass of solute + mass of solvent(H2O) 100 mg 49 gmass of solvent (H,0) mass of solvent (H,0)=100 mg - 49 mg =51mg
The way of representation of concentration of an element in a compound or a compone...
Mass of component Mass percent of component = x100% Total mass of the solution
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StatisticsQ&A Library
Use technology to find the P-value for the hypothesis test described below.The claim is that for a smartphone carrier's data speeds at airports, the mean is u 15.00 Mbps. The sample size is n14 and the test statistic is t = - 1.334(Round to three decimal places as needed.)P-value
Asked Dec 2, 2019
Use technology to find the P-value for the hypothesis test described below. The claim is that for a smartphone carrier's data speeds at airports, the mean is u 15.00 Mbps. The sample size is n 14 and the test statistic is t = - 1.334 (Round to three decimal places as needed.) P-value
The sample size, n is 14 and the value of test statistic, t ...
Ho 15 H 15 This is a two-tailed test
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https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Timberwolves-take-down-Titans-14923335.php
Timberwolves take down Titans
By Jorge Ramos
Updated 10:50 pm CST, Friday, December 20, 2019
The Port Arthur Memorial Titans took on the Timberwolves of Beaumont United on Friday night, December 20, 2019. Fran Ruchalski/The Enterprise
Photo: Fran Ruchalski/The Enterprise
A non-district game between two of the best teams in southeast Texas did not disappoint as it came down to the very end.
It took two clutch free throws by Beaumont United freshman Wesley Yates to hold off Port Arthur Memorial in a 58-56 victory Friday night.
“Wesley has so much confidence in his game to make those late free throws,” United head coach David Green said. “He puts the effort in his shot and is one of the hardest working guys.”
Memorial senior forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. was 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the last 20 seconds, and that one miss proved costly. He finished with 24 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter.
“He stepped up big for us,” Memorial head coach Alden Lewis said of Lofton’s performance. “He did all of the small things for us. He made plays for his teammates and for himself.”
Titans sophomore guard Amaree Abram was a constant threat from the guard position with his consistent dribble penetration. Amaree finished with 22 points.
“He played big for us as well,” Lewis said. “He is playing at a high level, we put a lot on his shoulder and were going to continue to give him big time minutes.”
United senior guard Kasen Harrison finished with 17 points, but was held to zero points in the fourth quarter as the Titans defense made sure to force the ball out of his hands.
United opened the first quarter with a 9-7 lead after it forced three Titans turnovers, which allowed the Timberwolves to score easy baskets in transition to avoid the zone defense.
Two three-pointers in two back-to-back possessions by United extended the lead to 15-7 with two minutes remaining in the first period.
In the second quarter, Memorial had more success through Lofton’s play-making ability from the top the arc. His passing opened up easy layups for his teammates or forced United to foul.
The Titians were 5-for-8 from the line and stunted any offensive rhythm for United.
However, Harrison’s ability to drive to the rim and create shots prevented the Titans from being able to close the gap.
“I was so proud of him, he was a true leader on the court,” Green said. “He’s so crafty in the open court he causes a lot of problems, and you have to send two or three guys.”
United and Memorial traded baskets the entire second quarter, until United junior guard Kendris Henry made a three-pointer as time expired that gave the Timberwolves a 32-29 half time lead.
The third quarter saw much of the same as both teams traded baskets.
Abram continued attacking the Timberwolves defense. His floater late in the third quarter gave the Titans a three point lead.
In the fourth, it came down to free throws and Yates helped secure the victory with his only two points of the game.
Green said this was a good test for both teams in front of a large crowd.
“We were excited to have a hostile atmosphere,” Green said. “It was a playoff atmosphere. Winning on their floor is huge. They’re a good team. I was proud of them.”
jorge.ramos@beaumontenterprise.com
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Investments +
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Canadian Investment Review
Norway’s largest pension fund divesting from Canadian oil sands
Staff | October 7, 2019
Norway’s largest pension fund, Kommunal Landspensjonskasse, is divesting its holdings in five oil sands companies, four of which were Canadian.
KLP’s stake in Canadian firms Cenovus Energy Inc., Husky Energy Inc., Imperial Oil Ltd., Suncor Energy Inc. and Russian company Tatneft PAO was a combined US$58 million, with US$33 million in equity and US$25 million in bonds.
In addition to divesting from those companies, the fund said it’s fully divesting from the oil sands by excluding companies that derive more than five per cent of their revenue from oil sands-based companies.
Read: Considerations for institutional investors around divestment
“This full exit from oil sands is great news for KLP’s customers as we continue to reduce our exposure to companies involved in an activity that is not aligned with a two-degree Celsius temperature target,” said Sverre Thornes, KLP chief executive officer, in a press release. “By excluding these companies, KLP continues to align its investments so that they contribute to a movement towards a low-emissions society.”
The announcement follows KLP’s May 2019 commitment to going coal-free. The fund sold about US$350 million in stocks and bonds in 46 coal companies, including BHP Group.
“By going coal- and oil-sands free, we are sending a strong message on the urgency of shifting from fossil to renewable energy,” Thornes said.
In other divestment news, MP Pension, a Danish pension fund worth US$20 billion, announced in September that it planned to sell its stakes, worth a total of US$95 million, in the 10 largest oil companies globally. The fund no longer holds stakes in BP, Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Corp., PetroChina Co. Ltd., PJSC Rosneft Oil Company, Royal Dutch Shell, Sinopec, Total S.A., Petrobras and Equinor ASA.
MP Pension said the firms hadn’t done enough work to meet the Paris Accord climate goals.
Read: Divesting from fossil fuels doesn’t mean sacrificing returns: report
Copyright © 2020 Transcontinental Media G.P. Originally published on benefitscanada.com
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BE AWARE Spain has very strict Slander and deformation of character laws (article 205 and 208 of the Spanish Criminal code), so before posting about a venue/person, think carefully or you could end up with a very large fine.
29th November – Prison for a Valencian for posting messages against Islam on Facebook
A man who posted on his Facebook page messages against Islam and people of gypsy ethnicity or black skin has been sentenced to one year in prison for hate crimes after the prosecutor for these crimes in Valencia and his lawyer have reached an agreement that sets that penalty.
The convicted person spread on Facebook ideas of “extermination” and persecution for religious reasons for Muslim people. The Penal Code provides a prison sentence of one to four years for publicly promoting discrimination or violence against a group of people for racist, anti-Semitic or other reasons related to ideology or religion.
The Valencia Court, has accepted the suspension of the prisoner’s imprisonment as long as he does not re-offend and complies with the rest of the prohibitions imposed such as the prohibition to act on Facebook for five years. Read the full story in Spanish HERE
11th April 2019 – A British woman was arrested in Dubai for branding her ex-husband’s new wife a ‘horse’ on Facebook three years ago while living in England, she avoided jail but received a £600 fine. Although not in Spain this once again reiterates the need for caution about what you write on social media.
Reported on 26th October 2018 in the Spanish El Mundo Newspaper
A woman has been sentenced to pay 3,650€ for criticising being charged a piece of bread
The Court number 1 at Colmenar Town Hall (in the province of Malaga) has issued a sentence that rules a women to pay 3,650€ for posting a message on Facebook in which she described a cafeteria owner as ” a starving rat” when they charged her 0.25 cents for a slice of bread she ordered for their baby.
Edificio del Ayuntamiento de Colmenar Viejo
The owner reported the comment in which she explained that they had gone to breakfast at a local Cafeteria and ordered a slice of bread for her daughter of 13 months, and “they looked at me as if I owed them my life for asking for a crust of bread for a baby. ”
When questioned, the owner of the establishment said that “they had a new customer,” in reference to the child, and charged her for the “bit” of bread-
The woman added, “They must be starved to have that attitude”, and attempted “to lose them a few customers”.
Subsequently, the owner stated that that message constituted an illegitimate interference with her reputation, and therefore asked the woman to retract the post. In response, the baby’s mother modified the original comment and eliminated the words “rats” and “starved”.
However, she added that she had erased those words “because they were not really necessary” as the actions define themselves” because ” not even a starving person would deny a piece of bread to a baby”.
After the complaint, the defendant argued in writing that her statements were not insulting or violating the honor of the affected, because “there had been no desire to undermine the dignity” of anyone, and claimed that the right to freedom of expression.
However, finally the judge has decided that there was damage to the owner of the premises and forces the defendant to compensate the owner of the premises with 3,650 euros.
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Yeh… thanks once again admins at Benidorm Seriously…more great useful advice… Had to laugh though at the ridiculousness of the story about the slice of bread 🙂
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Soho's Alphabet Bar chooses Islington for long-awaited relaunch
02-Aug-2018 - Last updated on 02-Aug-2018 at 11:43 GMT
Soho’s Alphabet Bar is to reopen at a new location in Upper Street after having been closed for five years.
Formerly located on Beak Street, Alpabet is owned by the 16-strong Redcomb Pubs group, and closed in 2013 having become a favourite location for the media and creative crowds.
Launching on 15 August on the former site of Brazilian restaurant Cabana, Alphabet’s second incarnation will have 180 covers, serving a Mediterranean-inspired menu and a list of 26 cocktails.
Heading up the kitchen at the new Islington restaurant will be Yaz Khadiri, who will serve sharing dishes inspired by her Moroccan family upbringing including zaalouk salad of aubergine, chilli and sesame; spicy merguez sausages with roasted tomatoes, rosemary and fresh lemon; flatbreads with toppings such as Iberico ham, sobrasada, manchego, and sun dried tomato; and kebabs with sumac, coriander salad, harissa, hummus and pickles.
Larger dishes include the ‘lazy wife’ spiced marinated lamb with spinach and rosemary yoghurt and turmeric potato and lentil with harissa, tomato and mint; and a selection of salads.
The drinks offering has been curated by bartender Chris Edwards, co-founder of bars Shrub & Shutter in Brixton and First Aid Box in Herne Hill, as well as cocktail consultancy Salts of the Earth. Edwards has created a list of re-imagined versions of drinks from the original iteration of Alphabet.
A £600,000 refurbishment of the Upper Street location has seen the introduction of a private drinking area, stripped-back urban bar, and skylight surrounded by foliage.
“Alphabet Islington is a fast-moving and exciting new addition to Redcomb’s Urban Social portfolio of venues,” says Mark Draper, who founded Redcomb with Dan Shotton.
“This marks an exciting new chapter for us. Not only does it offer us the opportunity to take up residence in one of London’s most bustling neighbourhoods, but it also provides the chance to introduce a rejuvenated Alphabet offering to a new audience and generation.”
Redcomb pubs sold to Young's for £34m
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When Hate Comes to Your Town
–Engaging White Supremacist Groups Where You Live
by David B. Grinberg
Not a week goes by without hate crimes making national news — which is bad news for America. The headlines are harrowing. Consider two media reports this week:
White Supremacist Arrested for Synagogue Bombing Plot in Colorado
Prosecutors: Acid Attack on Latino Citizen in Milwaukee is Hate Crime
Law enforcement officials characterize some egregious hate crimes by white supremacists as acts of domestic terrorism, as FBI Director Christopher Wray recently told Congress:
A majority of the racially motivated violent extremist domestic terrorism is at the hands of white supremacists.
— FBI Director
The persistent problem of hate crimes by white supremacist groups appears to be getting worse, not better. This is cause for concern for all law-abiding citizens and people of goodwill. That’s why a new book extensively examining the issue is a must-read: When Hate Groups March Down Main Street: Engaging a Community Response (Roman & Littlefield). Co-authors Deborah Levine and Marc Brenman present a disturbingly vivid account of the historical evolution of hate groups and their radical racist ideology. The book also provides smart citizen engagement strategies. Both authors are nationally-recognized experts in the fields of diversity and inclusion, cultural competence, social justice, and equal opportunity.
“Our goal is to utilize the Big Data of this new environment by organizing the information, tracking trends, reporting on community responses, and recommending strategies that are practical and implementable,” the authors write.
“By learning what others have done and from scholarly and academic studies, we hope to equip communities to protect themselves and preserve democratic values and the American Dream of social equity and fairness.”
How would you react if neo-Nazis or the KKK demonstrated in your town, perhaps on the street where you live just feet outside your home?
Would you run or hide from KKK incited violence?
Would you ignore neo-Nazi propaganda?
Would you confront racist skinheads wielding tiki torches?
These potentially perilous questions should not be ignored. Although a hyper-localized extremist hate march directly affecting you may appear remote, “The threat is real” — as the authors astutely articulate.
Disturbing Trend
If you think radical white supremacists won’t demonstrate where you live, then you may want to think again. Just ask the citizens of Charlottesville, Virginia, or countless other cities from coast to coast and border to border where racial, religious and ethnic hatred and violence have surfaced at the hands of white supremacist groups.
Hate crimes increased by nearly 20% in 2017, according to the latest FBI data available.
More recent reports suggest this figure may rise again when new annual statistics are issued. Moreover, the number of hate crimes officially reported represent only part of the picture, as many incidents are unreported or incorrectly classified for various reasons. Consider recent data from a 2019 report on hate crimes in 30 big cities across America (conducted by The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University):
“Hate crimes rose 9 percent in major U.S. cities in 2018, for a fifth consecutive increase, to decade highs, as cities with increases outnumbered those with declines two to one. In contrast, crime overall in major cities has declined in both of the last two years.”
“Preliminary partial year 2019 data also show increases in a majority of cities surveyed…early double-digit percentage increases.”
“The most common victims for hate crime reported to police in major cities in 2018 were African Americans, Jews, and Gays, but Whites and Jews experienced the biggest percentage increases, as anti-Semitic hate crimes and assaults also rose internationally.”
“Jews were the direct target of half of the bias/extremist homicides in 2018, in the worst year ever for anti-Semitic killings in the United States.”
As Levine and Brenman point out in When Hate Groups March Down Main Street:
“Neo-Nazis and related hate groups desire a country or a state reserved only for whites who practice their perverted form of Christianity.
“They want to revert to a time of segregated schools and housing. No locale is too big or too small to be a target for their message.”
The racism promoted by these [hate] groups is intended to generate fear and hatred of immigrants and people of color.
When Hate Groups March Down Main Street – AMERICAN DIVERSITY REPORT CHATTANOOGA, TN. – As the alarming number of hate groups and hate crimes continues to surge nationwide, the American…
Comprehensive Content
The comprehensive topics covered by chapter title in When Hate Groups March Down Main Street include:
The Local-Global Context
Hate and Neo-Nazis
Hate and White Supremacists
The Hate Message Online
Hate Crime Connection
Corporate and Legal Context
Recruitment and Radicalization
What Is Our Moral Obligation?
Globalization and Economic Disparities
Bias, Prejudice, and Hate
The Special Responsibility of Schools
Interfaith Efforts
Additionally, the book contains 11 appendices to help foster an effective community response to hate groups, including:
Example of Anti-Nazi Resolution
Sample Hate Crimes Policy
Sample Bias Incident Response Protocol
Bomb Threat Check List
The topic of hate groups is especially relevant at a time when some assert that President Trump allegedly supports and condones hate crimes against citizens and non-citizens alike based on race, religion, sexual identity and national origin (whether explicitly or implicitly).
Remember that hate groups thrive on spreading lies, conspiracy theories, distortions and misinformation to their cult-like followers and potential recruits, including unknowingly to teens and children online.
Remain vigilant and don’t fall prey to reprehensible rhetoric and racist tactics of white supremacists.
When Hate Groups March Down Main Street is a critically important book at a critically important time. More people of goodwill can benefit from a meticulous educational overview of the origins, ideology, and evolution of hate groups and their callous crimes. The authors share key statistics, case studies, legal and anecdotal evidence, as well as practical leadership lessons and strategies for a new generation of young people, and people of all ages, to combat heinous hate groups.
Again, as the authors suggest, ask yourself the following about extreme white supremacist groups who may come to your town to cause trouble:
“Are you prepared to handle their intimidation, threats, and actions?”
If not, the time is overdue to get ready.
David B. Grinberghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgrinberg-pr/
DAVID is a strategic communications consultant, ghostwriter and former federal government spokesman based in the Washington, DC-area. In 2018, he was named by Medium.com as a "Top Writer in Journalism, Government, and Social Media." In 2017, he was selected as a global brand ambassador by beBee.com and an advisory board member for AmericanDiversityReport.com. David is also a featured contributor for PRDaily.com, ThriveGlobal.com, SocialMediaToday.com, and GovLoop.com. His work in government and politics includes the White House for President Bill Clinton, OMB, EEOC, Congress, and global consulting firm GQRR.com. A native New Yorker, David has a journalism degree from the University of Maryland and was a reporter for BNA.com and U. Magazine (Colleges.com) prior to his public service.
Joel Elveson
David, thank you for writing an article that was long overdue in being written about. Hate crimes have become a very disturbing problem in this country with Law Enforcement Officials at a loss as to how to tackle it. My wife and I reside in Brooklyn, NY where hate crimes against people like us (Orthodox Jews) are out of control. A day does not go by where another attack of some kind is reported. My wife and I are very noticeably Orthodox because of the way we dress. Some of these attacks are anti-Jewish taunts or verbal threats. Our synagogues are not forced to hire armed security personnel to protect the congregants or have a professional teach self-defense mechanism or evacuation procedures in case of a shooter. Neo-Nazi’s, White Supremacists and alike are obviously deeply disturbed individuals who have become consumed with hate for one group or another. Feelings of hate are bad enough but when these feelings lead to violent action many steps must be taken on many different levels. This is not America our forefathers dreamed of or could ever be thought possible. There is no one-step solution to this problem. Our beloved politicians (meant sarcastically) talk big but as per their usual, there is no action behind it. There is a former Assemblyman by the name of Dov Hikind who served the Boro Park Community ( an overwhelming Orthodox Community in Brooklyn) has been fighting hate crimes by going into different neighborhoods and talking to people. He is one of the few who not only speak out against these crimes but also organizes rallies in addition to working with the New York City Police Department. One powerful tool we can all use is prayer. We should pray to whomever we worship to make hatred stop.
| Show Replies (2)
very relevant topic in terms of present global situation @david b. grinberg. read and shared. thank you for the article.
Laura Mikolaitis
David, this is a relevant and timely article, and as Joel mentioned, also long overdue. So, thank you for bringing it to us here. I have to admit that sometimes I turn off the news because it is so discouraging to see and hear about the prevalence of hate crimes. I’m not sure I’ll ever fully understand the wiring of some humans and why such tragedies persist in our world. But they do. However, I’m thankful for writers like you who bring these issues to light and open up the conversation. Especially since talking about it and opening up the doors makes it real, and at some point, we are bound to have conversations that help us find answers.
There’s no doubt that we need more kindness, understanding, and love in our world. But we also need to be diligent about raising awareness. Education is essential, sharing information and experiences too. Diversity is a blessing, and embracing it can only help move us closer to less hate and more kindness. It’s a stretch I know, but underneath the skin we wear, we are all skeletons. I only hope that one day, we realize how much we can all positively impact the world. Small steps make a difference.
Melissa Hughes, Ph.D.
These statistics are both sobering and sickening, David. I’m also disturbed by Joel’s comments about his personal experiences as well as yours. I just had a conversation with a young lady who is dating a Latino boy and her mother is opposed because she feels her daughter needs to “preserve the white race.” There was more to it, but that was the essence. It was a difficult conversation to have. Here is a seemingly lovely woman who has such a hateful perspective about skin color and how to treat our fellow man. Although I have not personal experienced the racism that you describe here, I’m outraged that in 2019, we are still having these discussions.
David, as always, you provide such a comprehensive look at the data. Thank you for sharing.
Lynn Forrester-Pitocco
David, interesting article. I agree with the disturbing rise of attacks within our country, and I have a question. In reading this, I see the focus on White Supremicst groups. Would you not consider Antifa the same? or perhaps our young millenials who want to destroy parts of the Consitution to make it their own? Your foucs on just “White Supremicst groups should be broadened I feel. Our country as it is is being attacked in many ways and yes we should all be concerned. As you stated above:
Antifa, Islamic Muslim groups, Far Leftist who want to engrain socialism into our youg, KKK, and any other group that seeks to terriorise, disrupt, and destroy what is good.
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Green-fingered playgroup ready for the winter thanks to Bovis Homes
Come rain or shine, children at Moreton-in-Marsh playgroup will now be able to tend to their allotment thanks to a donation from a local home builder.
The children's allotment now has a new shed to house its tools and gardening equipment, after Bovis Homes donated £300 to the community group.
"We were only too happy to provide some help for the Moreton-in-Marsh playgroup," says Stephanie Spry, regional marketing manager. "It's a fantastic community resource, and the allotment gives children a chance to get outside and learn more about where food comes from and how plants grow.
"We're delighted to have been given the opportunity to contribute to their gardening efforts and we hope their new shed helps them to have a bumper harvest!"
Moreton-in-Marsh playgroup is open to children between the ages of two and five, and offers a range of activities helping them to learn whilst also having fun. The children
regularly visit the allotment, helping to sow, plant and harvest the fruit and vegetables, such as courgettes, runner beans and strawberries, which they grow there.
Jo Creek, deputy playgroup manager, said: "The shed has made a huge difference to the group, as it is a bit of a walk from the nursery to the allotment. It's great to have all the tools there waiting for the children when they arrive.
"The kids love using the allotment and learning where vegetables come from and we use the produce as healthy snacks!"
Three-year-old Molly, who attends the playgroup, said: "My favourite thing about the allotment is the runner beans!"
Bovis Homes has recently joined the Moreton-in-Marsh community, with its new location, The Avenue. Providing a range of two, three, four and five-bedroom homes, in a variety of styles, the development is located next to a large public open space and woodland.
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How Susan Sontag Possessed New York and Subverted Sexual Stereotypes
Rereading as Rebirth: Young Susan Sontag on Personal Growth, the Pleasures of Revisiting Beloved Books, and Her Rereading List
Susan Sontag on How the False Divide Between Pop Culture and “High” Culture Limits Us
An Institution Committed to the Dulling of the Feelings: Susan Sontag on Marriage
“Marriage is based on the principle of inertia.”
“My God, it is intolerable to think of spending ones whole life, like a neuter bee, working, working, & nothing after all,” wrote Charles Darwin as he weighed the pros and cons of marriage before committing himself to the love of his life, with whom he had ten children.
Earlier this month, artist Wendy MacNaughton illustrated Susan Sontag’s meditations on love, culled from the author’s journals between 1964 and 1980 — a stirring blend of cynical disillusionment and romantic idealism. To get there, Sontag had passed through a turbulent youth of crashing against the walls of her sexual identity and eventually marrying Philip Rieff at the tender age of seventeen after a ten-day courtship. In the first installment of her published diaries, Reborn: Journals and Notebooks, 1947-1963 (public library), edited by Susan and Philip’s son David Rieff, a 23-year-old Sontag shares this grim antidote to Darwin’s optimistic take on spousal union as she grapples with the dissolution of her own marriage to Philip — a kind of painful separateness bespeaking the opposite of the limbic revision that happens between two souls connected in a healthy, loving relationship.
On August 12, 1956, she writes:
In marriage, every desire becomes a decision
She revisits the subject on September 4:
Whoever invented marriage was an ingenious tormentor. It is an institution committed to the dulling of the feelings. The whole point of marriage is repetition. The best it aims for is the creation of strong, mutual dependencies.
Quarrels eventually become pointless, unless one is always prepared to act on them — that is, to end the marriage. So, after the first year, one stops ‘making up’ after quarrels — one just relapses into angry silence, which passes into ordinary silence, and then one resumes again.
Then, in an entry dated November 18, 1956, Sontag puts down the outline for an intended essay on marriage:
A Project — Notes on Marriage
Unloving proximity.
Marriage is all private — no public — behavior.
The glass wall that separates one couple from another.
Friendship in marriage. The smooth skin of the other.
[Protestant theologian Paul] Tillich: the marriage vow is idolatric (places one moment above all others, gives that moment [the] right to determine all the future ones). Monogamy, too. He spoke disparagingly of the “extreme monogamy” of the Jews.
Rilke thought the only way to keep love in marriage was by perpetual acts of separation-return.
The leakage of talk in marriage.
(My marriage, anyway.)
Sontag and Philip separated shortly thereafter and permanently divorced in 1958. She never completed the “Notes on Marriage” essay, though many of the ideas teased out in Reborn were eventually fully explored in Against Interpretation: And Other Essays.
Also from Sontag’s diaries, her thoughts on censorship and aphorisms, and her synthesized advice on writing.
https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/08/17/susan-sontag-on-marriage/
booksculturediarieshistoryloveSusan Sontag
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Off-the-Beaten-Track-in-Bras-Basah-Bugis
Off the Beaten Track in Bras Basah.Bugis
By: Author
Marina Bay and its gardens may be picture-perfect, but it also has all the trappings of a popular tourist destination - think dining options at sky-high prices and the significant likelihood of getting photobombed by someone else’s elbow when trying to take a selfie by the water.
If you want something off the beaten track, Bras Basah.Bugis is a location downtown that’s packed with local culture and heritage. As one of the oldest districts of our island, it has a rich and diverse history despite Raffles’ original plan for it as a European district.
Close your tripadvisor tab and put aside those Lonely Planet guides. Let the locals show you the way to this lesser-known side of Singapore.
Fu Ban, 50 - That one street leading to Kwan Im Hood Cho Temple
“I can’t remember the exact name of the street but it’s the one that leads from Bugis Village to Kwan Im Temple. There’s always a lively street market going on there. They have fresh fruits ready to eat, dry provisions like dates and nuts, cheap clothing, DVDs, handphone covers and pretty much everything.
There’s even a shop selling scarves. Not sure what you would do with a scarf in Singapore but when you get closer to Kwan Im Temple, more and more of the stalls sell incense, joss, flowers and other temple offerings.
As a tourist, this is probably the closest you would get to a real pasar malam* vibe because pasar malams are dying out in our air-conditioned nation. Whenever I go there, it always feels a bit like going back in time to the 70s.”
Where to go: Near the intersection of Albert Street and Waterloo Street, between Fu Lu Shou Complex and Albert Centre
*author’s note: Pasar malam is a Malay phrase referring to a night market which sells an assortment of food and knick-knacks.
Xin Li, 49 - Xing Hua Vegetarian Restaurant, Fortune Centre
“I’m not Buddhist or even vegetarian but if you are, Fortune Centre on Waterloo Street is the place to go. I used to go there with my husband who was going through a vegetarian phase. There’s a place called Xing Hua Vegetarian Restaurant on the ground floor which offers meatless versions of everything from bee hoon to spaghetti.
If you’re sick of eating falafel and quinoa, check out the special grocery stores. Asian vegetarian cuisine is more than just tofu! They have every kind of mock meat you can imagine. The store owner showed me mock chicken, mock fish and even mock venison in the frozen section.”
Where to go: Fortune Centre, 190 Middle Rd, Singapore 188979
Liew Zhen Hao, 27 - Singapore Philatelic Museum
“My dad is a stamp collector and he used to drag me along to the Singapore Philatelic Museum every year. I don’t really care much about stamps but they have some cool temporary exhibitions. I remember they used to do a special exhibition every year based on the animals of the Chinese zodiac.”
I read online that they’re currently having a special Harry Potter exhibition. Not sure what’s the relationship between stamp-collecting and Hogwarts though. Do you need stamps for owl mail?”
Where to go: 23-B Coleman Street, Singapore 179807
Author’s note: No stamps needed. You pay the owl directly with a Knut.
Chen Jie Xin, 21 - Evernew Bookstore + National Library, Bras Basah Complex
“If you want to get away from the heat and noise and ceaseless crowds, the upper floors of the National Library building are always quiet. If you’re looking for more than just air-conditioning, check out some of the rotating cultural exhibitions. I remember accidentally stumbling upon a retrospective on Singaporean poet Edwin Thumboo and his contributions to local literature.
When I had an hour or two to spare, I would go over to Evernew bookstore in Bras Basah Complex and spend hours there rummaging through their sci-fi fantasy collection. They have a ton of books for such a small place and even some weird stuff like a bust of Chairman Mao gazing down on you.
I even found second-hand copies of the entire Twilight series once. My friend and I picked it up and read aloud some of the cringe-iest bits for laughs.”
Where to go: #01-07, Blk 231, Bras Basah Complex, Bain Street, Singapore 180231
Lim Guan Wei, 23 - Tanuki Raw/Kapok
“I haven’t been on the hipster trail for a while now haha, but I recommend Tanuki Raw at the National Design Centre. The space is a combination bar, café and shopping destination, hidden behind shutters. The café has both Japanese and Singaporean offerings. I think the char siew sliders with umami gruyere is quite unique. The adjoining retail space is operated by Kapok. They have a lot of hipster brands and homegrown designer labels. A lot of the clothes and bags look quite cool but they’re a bit expensive for me. Still, it’s nice to chill with a latte and soak up the vibes.”
Where to go: 111 Middle Road, #01-05 National Design Centre, Singapore 188969
Gong Zhi Ping, 58 - Shi Zi Lou Restaurant, Peace Centre
“There is a very underrated restaurant called Shi Zi Lou in Peace centre. They specialise in dim sum and Jiangsu cuisine. The food and service is excellent. It’s not crowded and the prices are reasonable.
Forget your Ikea meatballs. Shi Zi Lou’s signature Lion’s Head meatballs are bigger, meatier and juicier. Unlike many other proprietors, they don’t add too much flour into the meatballs, so meatballs don’t fall apart when you stick your fork in.”
Where to go: 1 Sophia Road, #01-08, Peace Centre, Singapore 228149
Truth be told, you don’t even need a local guide to see Bras Basah.Bugis.
The corner stretching from Prinsep Street to Bugis Junction is so richly packed with culture that you’re bound to find something interesting just by wandering around. It won’t be long before you stumble unto a piece of hidden heritage or a barista blending what she claims to be the best cold brew you’ll ever taste.
Pro tip: Visit on the first or fifteenth day of the lunar monthly calendar. As people arrive to make their offerings at the Kwan Im Temple, the area truly comes alive!
The Singaporean behind Asia’s first Armenian Heritage Gallery
A Taste of Elevated Dude Food at Artichoke
Bras Basah.Bugis team meets Bjorn Shen, chef-owner of Artichoke! Read on to find out more as he describes his food in five words.
SMU Arts Festival 2017
Find out more about the SMU Arts Festival 2017 in this article.
School's out and Children's Season is in
Finally, it's the long-awaited June holidays for the little ones! Put those iPads away and take them on a fun and educational adventure with Children'...
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CCTV shows mass brawl outside Bristol city centre nightclub
Four men were sentenced yesterday following the fight in December 2016
Sarah TurnnidgeSenior Reporter
Police have released shocking CCTV footage of a brawl outside Pryzm nightclub in Bristol city centre, following the sentencing of four men involved in the fight.
The clips released by Avon and Somerset Constabulary show a large group of men throwing punches and grappling one another to the ground, whilst others throw or wield furniture and metal poles as weapons.
In one particularly shocking moment a man can even be seen to launch a jumping kick at the back of another revellers' head.
Thirty to forty people - made up of a group from London and a group from Bristol - are thought to have been involved in the huge incident in December 2016.
More than two years later, four men were sentenced yesterday (April 8) at Bristol Crown Court - Jemaal Lindsay, 25 and of Brynland Avenue in Bristol; Pardeep Dulai, 22 and of Mangotsfield Road in Mangotsfield ; Rohan Barclay, 25 and of Bloy Street in Easton ; and Endrit Sllamniku, 23 and of Bounds Green Road in Wood Green, London.
PRYZM nightclub, on Bristol's Harbourside (Image: David Betts Photography/Trinity Mirror)
Judge Martin Picton jailed Sllamniku for 26 months.
The judge sentenced Lindsay to 19 months in prison, suspended for 12 months. Barclay was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and Dulai was sentenced to six months, suspended for 12 months.
Bristol Caribbean restaurant could be shut down after woman nearly blinded in assault
Eyewitnesses, including door staff working on the night, described people with hoods up and scarves around their faces joining the fight, and those involved using belts like whips and smashing the windows of the club.
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