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Many major phone apps have Wear OS counterparts, or at least most apps that make sense to have a dedicated watch app. You’ll likely find yourself using most watch apps less than you might think, but they are sometimes convenient for avoiding a phone retrieval. I use regularly use the Nest app for my home thermostat, Keep to take down a quick voice note, PocketCasts to control podcast episodes and playlists, and Stronglifts to time and track workouts. But I use these on my watch mostly when my phone is not at hand; none is easier to use than its phone version. As noted, most apps on your phone will provide notifications that can be acted upon through your watch. For the apps that you do use, the Q watches’ screen (identical to most of the Fossil group watches’ screens) is responsive enough to work with tiny buttons pressed by big fingers.
The watch faces themselves are classic Kate Spade designs. You get a sultry winking moon face with perfectly curled lashes, calling you a leading lady; cute bubbly balloons for a digital watch face with numbers; a speeding cab that reassures you that you'll be there in a New York minute; and a daisy that loses petals as the time ticks away in a classic game of "He loves me; he loves me not."
Speaking of music, that's what really sets this smartwatch apart (especially compared to Garmin's other wearables). The Vivoactive 3 Music has enough internal storage for 500 songs — and they're easy to download to your device using the Garmin Express software. Once your songs are downloaded, you can listen to music without a smartphone. Just connect some Bluetooth headphones to the watch and you're good to go. If streaming is more your game, then you can also download some popular media apps as well.
That same attractive stainless steel design is here. The 240 x 240 pixel display at the heart of the body is by no means the brightest or most vibrant you'll find, but crucially delivers strong visibility in most workout conditions whether you're sweating it out indoors or outside. However, there is no touchscreen or touchpad here, you'll have to resort to pressing some buttons - that could be a deal-breaker for some, but we're sure it won't be a massive one for most.
To charge the watch, you have to clip on the charger and align it with contacts that you can't see when you're clipping. Why make it so complicated? There's no NFC for easy pairing, and you have to find the smartwatch app in the app market, download it, and install it on your mobile device. The Frame's display readability in bright sunlight was judged to be only good. It's relatively heavy, at 2.7 ounces (only the Toq is heavier).
I want to purchase a smart watch but ,I no what I want but it has to be compatible to my lg 7 slim ,I want to talk and I want to be able to control my phone thru my watch by talking to watch,I just don’t no what watch is best for me,I’m doing my homework so that I don’t purchase a smart watch that can be better than what I want ,I want the whole package but it has to be a reasonable price,if someone can help me ,I deeply appreciate you’re kindness,thank you KevinElliott,
The Series 4 now has several new health-focused features, which are very intriguing, including the ability to detect when you fall and even alert emergency contacts if need be, as well as an electrical heart rate sensor that works with an app to alert you to heart health issues. The electrocardiogram (ECG) app has been certified by the Food & Drug Administration, but it's not out yet.
Battery life and charging options: Charging your smartwatch is a hassle and the biggest downside to trading in your manually-wound or button battery-powered watch. A Fitbit Versa might last 3 - 4 days between charges, but a smartwatch like the Samsung Gear Sport or Apple Watch will need recharging every couple of days and sometimes every night if you are tapping on the screen regularly and using its apps.
Why we like it: Apple Watches are the best smartwatches overall because they make it easier than any other wearable device to interact with the messages and notifications relayed from your iPhone. The Series 1, specifically, has all the features most people need at a reasonable price. It looks better than most smartwatches and fitness trackers, on wrists both large and small, thanks to two sizes and an array of finishes and bands (both official and third party). While not every major iPhone app has an Apple Watch partner app, many do, and most respond quickly and are optimized for the watch’s small screen, unlike many of the apps available for Android watches. And the Series 1 Apple Watch does a good job of independently tracking most kinds of workouts where accurate distance tracking isn’t vital,1 and encourages non-workout fitness (like standing and moving every hour). We also like that the Apple Watch lets you easily make contactless payments using Apple Pay, and if you own a Mac, you can unlock it by just getting close to it with your Apple Watch.
The hardware is now “swimproof” with improved water resistance and there’s also now a heart rate sensor. Those work with the new Google Fit app to improve the fitness experience from your watch. Further, the Falster 2 has built-in GPS and NFC as well. This opens up Google Pay functionality for the watch for mobile payments in-store. Of course, Wear OS is still at the center of the experience, and the whole thing runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100.
The Apple Watch Series 3 is a really nice smartwatch that does exactly what it should. This is easily one of the best smartwatches on the market. It’ll give you quick access to notifications, allow you to pay with your wrist, give you turn-by-turn directions, and it’s a decent fitness tracker. In terms of design, it doesn’t feel like Apple cut too many corners with the overall look and feel of the device. Even the Sport model (the cheapest one of the bunch) feels like a well-built piece of hardware.
The problem is that to monitor your sleeping patterns, a valuable feature most of these new smartwatches support, the watch needs to be on your wrist. So leaving your watch charging overnight while you slumber isn’t going to work. But smartwatches have small batteries compared to smartphones, so should only take 2 - 4 hours to fully charge, depending on the model.
The base model is crafted from polished stainless steel with a premium calfskin leather band. Other models are available with a titanium casing and alligator leather straps, but they do up the cost quite a bit. All models have a 46mm casing that is 12.5mm thick. Battery life is rated at a day and the watch is IP68 water/dust resistant.Pricing for the Summit starts at a lofty $870 and goes well up from there. Currently, the only place to buy the watch online is via the outlet Mr. Porter, but it’s also available anywhere Montblanc smartwatches are sold in retail locations.
Most stores that sell these smart watches feature display models that you can pick up and touch. We recommend getting a feel for how these watches operate before you invest in one of your own. Specifically, you’ll want to know the form of navigation each of these use to go through the various screens, apps, and functionalities. We were partial to twistable bezels and dials, but you might be used to swiping your way through screens.
Huawei’s Watch 2 looks like a logical follow-up to the original Huawei Watch, a former pick in this guide. It adds built-in GPS capability, plus NFC for mobile payments, and it ships with Android Wear 2.0. The problem is that the Huawei Watch 2’s bezel does not rotate, and it has no rotating crown to take advantage of Android Wear 2.0’s scrolling interfaces. That wouldn’t be so bad if the thick, notched bezel weren’t significantly raised around the screen, making it more difficult than it should be to swipe between screens, scroll through apps, or perform pinpoint taps near the edge of the screen. Beyond that, the watch is thick (12.6 millimeters, or 2.6 mm more than the ZenWatch 3, though that’s still slightly thinner than the original Huawei Watch), and it seems slower to respond to input and to launch apps than other modern Wear OS watches. It doesn’t seem worth its price for most people.
Our 19 contenders all promised to give us some distance from our phones by notifying us of incoming calls and texts. But we found that some smart watches were much slower than others at letting us know we had a call. It turns out the quality of the bluetooth connection determines how quickly you’ll be notified, with our worst performers only registering the call with two seconds to spare before diverting to voicemail (yes you, Montblanc) while others simply failed to display any calls at all.
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Showing results for tags 'drugs'.
Gaming FAQ
Writer's Corner
Ships, Belles, & History
Holdfast: Record of the Dwarven Kingdoms
Black Chicken Studios
City of Ivory & Jade: an Ars Magica Forum Game
Potions, Medicines, and Intoxicants/Drugs in Adventures
Rhialto posted a topic in Writer's Corner
Inspired by @Schwarzbart's concerns about whether adventures could be written in which characters use drugs, and not being sufficiently informed by @Legate of Mineta's reply that "I don't think we have such a policy- but the Player is unlikely to be in a position to consume", I wonder whether @Legate of Mineta would be so kind as to clarify the Team's position about drug/potions. One of my adventures for Y2 has a possible route where the PC can receive a potion that the PC can use or sell (possibly even to help to solve the adventure). The potion is presented as having been made by Tabin Furenzti and has temporary bonuses and penalties if used. In Y1, there are other adventures and events in which characters can receive potions from students. I conceive of all of these potions as equivalents to medicine rather than non-medicinal intoxicants/drugs. But where does the Team draw the line when dealing with potions as medicines or non-medicinal intoxicants/drugs? Should potions that PC can use have no penalties?
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Aptec receives Top Awards at Schneider Electric MEA Distribution Conference
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — June 14, 2015 — Aptec, an Ingram Micro Company, one of the largest technology distributors in the META region (Middle East, Turkey and Africa), received 3 prestigious awards last month at the Annual Schneider Electric MEA Distribution Awards Ceremony which was held on 12th May 2015 at Budapest, Hungary. Aptec team, along with other regional distributors and elite partners of Schneider Electric, were invited for a 4 day offsite to Budapest for conference and team building. The culmination of the trip was gala awards night.
Aptec an Ingram Micro company bagged 3 prestigious awards and was exceptionally delighted for taking home the biggest award of the year “Distributor of the Year-Gulf” for 2014. The Product Manager of Aptec for North East Africa - Tamer Hassan received a well-deserved “Product Manager of the Year 2014” Award. Saudi Arabia subsidiary of Aptec was also rewarded for their remarkable initiatives and received “Business development initiative of the year 2014” award.
Svetlana Sorokina, Regional Marketing Manager of Ingram Micro META region, commented: “We would like to thank Schneider Electric team and all our partners for these awards. APC by Schneider Electric is a key strategic vendor for Aptec for many years now, relationship with APC started more than 18 years ago and it only strengthens with years. These accolades are recognition of Aptec’s commitment to the brand and to our partners in all countries where we are present with this brand across the region.”
About Ingram Micro Inc.
Ingram Micro helps businesses Realize the Promise of Technology™. It delivers a full spectrum of global technology and supply chain services to businesses around the world. Deep expertise in technology solutions, mobility, cloud, and supply chain solutions enables its business partners to operate efficiently and successfully in the markets they serve. Unrivaled agility, deep market insights and the trust and dependability that come from decades of proven relationships, set Ingram Micro apart and ahead. More at www.ingrammicro.com.
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Striped chafer adult
Scientific name: Odontria striata (White)
Widespread native insect, most common in southern New Zealand, occasionally reaching pest levels
Feeds on a wide range of plants, larvae on roots and adults on foliage
Larvae are found in soil all year round
Adults are attracted to lights at night and can also be found in soil
Larvae appear very similar to common grass grub, but later stages are larger, and the head is usually darker
Commonly found in pasture
Often causes damage in home gardens.
Striped Chafer is found throughout New Zealand but most commonly in Canterbury, Otago and Southland
The approx. 14 mm long, dark brown, striped, velvety beetles of striped chafer are most often seen flying at dusk in spring and autumn although they can be found throughout the year
Spherical 1 to 1.5 mm dia. eggs are laid in the soil in batches of about 10-20 mainly from October until early February
The larvae pass through three stages and all three stages are present year round
Time spent as a larvae varies from 8-14 months
Pupation occurs in late summer early autumn
The eggs and larvae are generally found near the soil surface and large larvae may be surface active at least for short periods
The presence of large numbers of larvae is often indicated by large amounts of fine frass (very fine soil and organic particles) on the soil surface
Moist soils and lush vegetation are preferred by striped chafer and they cannot tolerate extremes of temperature or low soil moisture.
Striped chafer larvae feed on the roots of a wide range of plants including most pasture species
They occasionally cause damage to pasture and this tends to be on mid altitude country and predominantly in Otago and Southland
Low numbers of larvae occur in most southern pastures
When damaging levels of larvae are present pasture plants are easily pulled from the soil as a consequence of roots being destroyed. This is similar to common grass grub but striped chafer larvae aggregate less than grass grub so damage usually, but not exclusively, appears more widespread and less concentrated in patches
The larvae frequently cause damage to nursery and garden plants. Vegetable seedlings, root crops e.g. carrots and strawberries are frequently attacked.
The beetles also feed on a wide range of plants including many pasture species, fruit trees and Eucalyptus species
The importance of adult feeding in pastures is unknown
When feeding on trees damage to young leaves is most likely to affect tree growth.
There are no insecticides registered specifically for use against striped chafer but those used against the common grass grub are likely to also work against striped chafer larvae. However, Bioshield Grass GrubTM , a formulation of the bacterium Serratia entomophilla, is specific to common grass grub and will not control striped chafer.
Barratt BIP, Campbell RA. 1982. Biology of the striped chafer, Odontria striata (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) l. The adult, flight and ground surface activity, female reproductive maturation, and food plant selection. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 1982, Vol. 9: 249-266.
Barratt BIP, 1982. Biology of the striped chafer, Odontria striata (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) ll.Larval development. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 1982, Vol. 9: 267-278.
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Simponi (Golimumab) Receives New FDA Indication as the First Subcutaneous Anti-TNF Therapy for Ulcerative Colitis
Special Feature Fifth Annual Payers' Guide to New FDA Approvals March 2014 Volume 7 - Payers' Guide
Loretta Fala
Ulcerative colitis (UC), an inflammatory bowel disease that often causes chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, can be debilitating and may lead to life-threatening complications.1 UC affects more than 620,000 people in the United States.2 More common than Crohn’s disease, the incidence of UC is 1.2 cases to 20.3 cases per 100,000 people annually, whereas Crohn’s disease has an incidence of 0.03 cases to 15.6 cases per 100,000 people anually.3
Although UC can occur at any age, it is diagnosed most frequently in young adults between the ages of 15 years and 25 years.4 Men and women are affected equally by UC; however, men in their 50s and 60s are more likely to be diagnosed with UC than women of those age-groups.4 The onset of UC is thought to be triggered by a combination of factors, including environment, genetics, and immune-system overactivity.4
UC is associated with potentially serious complications, including intestinal bleeding, severe abdominal distention, and, in rare cases, toxic megacolon.4 UC is also associated with substantial costs, which were underestimated in the past.5 Based on a 2010 analysis, the total economic burden of UC in the United States is estimated to be $8.1 billion to $14.9 billion annually and accounts for annual per-patient direct medical costs ranging from $6217 to $11,477 (in 2008 dollars).5 In that analysis, hospitalizations accounted for 41% to 55% of the direct medical costs, and indirect costs accounted for an estimated 33% of the total costs. Moreover, direct costs, hospitalizations, and surgeries increased as the severity of UC worsened.5
Early diagnosis and management of UC are crucial to improving outcomes, given that effective treatment may control UC and help achieve remission of the disease.6 The therapeutic goals for UC are to reduce the inflammation that triggers the signs and symptoms, which in turn may lead to symptom relief and to long-term remission.1 Treatment helps to decrease the abnormal inflammation in the lining of the colon, permitting the colon to heal.7 Moreover, treatment often helps to alleviate diarrhea, rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, and other symptoms.1,7
Medications used to treat UC include the aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, immunomodulators, and the biologic therapies known as anti–tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents.8 Antibiotics may also be used to combat infections, such as abscesses, that may occur in association with UC.8
In recent years, the availability and use of anti-TNF therapies have helped to change the landscape of UC management, because these agents have shown efficacy in achieving steroid-free remission and mucosal healing.6
A New Subcutaneous Option for the Treatment of UC
On May 15, 2013, golimumab (Simponi; Janssen Biotech) injection was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of UC that is resistant to previous treatment or requires continuous steroid therapy.9 Golimumab is the first and only subcutaneously administered anti–TNF-alpha therapy approved by the FDA to induce and maintain clinical response in patients with UC and to improve the endoscopic appearance of the mucosa during induction.10 It is also indicated to induce clinical remission in patients with UC and to achieve and sustain clinical remission in induction responders.10,11
The FDA approval of golimumab, a self-injectable biologic therapy, for the treatment of UC was based on 2 major clinical studies in patients with moderate-to-severe UC. Golimumab was previously approved by the FDA for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis, alone or in combination with methotrexate, and for active ankylosing spondylitis. On July 19, 2013, golimumab (Simponi Aria) was approved by the FDA for patients with rheumatoid arthritis in combination with methotrexate.
According to Andrew E. Mulberg, MD, CPI, Deputy Director, Division of Gastroenterology and Inborn Errors Products, FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, “Simponi is an important new treatment option for patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. It is critical that patients suffering from the serious and painful symptoms of ulcerative colitis have additional treatment options since patients experience the effects of the disease and respond to treatments differently.”9
Lead investigator, William J. Sandborn, MD, Professor of Medicine and Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, and Director, University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, UCSD School of Medicine, commented, “The FDA approval of Simponi brings an important, new subcutaneous therapeutic option to adults living with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis, a disease where treatment options have been limited. Simponi has demonstrated significant benefits in the treatment of ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, and represents a meaningful addition to the treatment armamentaria for gastroenterologists.”12
Golimumab is a human monoclonal antibody that binds to the soluble and transmembrane bioactive forms of human TNF-alpha to its receptors, thereby inhibiting the biologic activity of TNF-alpha (a cytokine protein). Elevated TNF-alpha levels in the blood, synovium, and joints have been implicated in the pathophysiology of several chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. TNF-alpha is an important mediator of the articular inflammation that is characteristic of these diseases. The exact mechanism by which golimumab is beneficial in patients with UC is unknown.11
The recommended initial dose of golimumab for UC is 200 mg by subcutaneous injection at week 0, followed by 100 mg at week 2 and then 100 mg every 4 weeks. Golimumab is available in 50-mg/0.5-mL and 100-mg/ 1-mL single-dose, prefilled SmartJect autoinjectors, and 50-mg/0.5-mL and 100-mg/1-mL single-dose, prefilled syringes.11
The safety and efficacy of golimumab were evaluated in 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of patients aged ≥18 years.
In Trial UC-1, an induction trial conducted in patients with moderate-to-severe active UC, a greater proportion of patients achieved clinical response and clinical remission, and showed improvement of the endoscopic appearance of the mucosa at week 6 in the golimumab 200/100-mg group compared with the placebo group (Table 1).11
Trial UC-2, a randomized withdrawal maintenance trial, evaluated patients who achieved clinical response with golimumab induction and tolerated treatment with golimumab (Table 2). In this study, a greater proportion of patients maintained clinical response through week 54 in the group receiving golimumab 100 mg compared with the placebo group. Trial UC-2 also reassessed patients receiving golimumab in clinical response (which included the subset of patients in clinical remission) in Trial UC-1 for clinical remission at week 30 and week 54. A greater proportion of patients had clinical remission at week 30 and week 54 without demonstrating a loss of response at any time point through week 54 in the group receiving golimumab 100 mg compared with the placebo group.11
The most common adverse reactions (incidence >5%) are upper respiratory tract infection, nasopharyngitis, and injection-site reactions. Additional adverse events include vascular disorders, central nervous system disorders, and gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3).11
Serious infections leading to hospitalization or death, including tuberculosis (TB), bacterial sepsis, invasive fungal (ie, histoplasmosis), and other opportunistic infections, have occurred in patients receiving golimumab.
Lymphoma and other malignancies, some fatal, have been reported in children and in adolescent patients treated with TNF blockers, of which golimumab is a member.11
Other Warnings and Precautions
Boxed warning. Golimumab was approved with a boxed warning about serious infections and malignancy. Therapy with golimumab should not be started during an active infection. If an infection develops, the patient should be monitored carefully and golimumab treatment should be stopped if the infection becomes serious. Patients should be tested for latent TB before the initiation of golimumab therapy. If the TB test is positive, treatment should be started for TB before initiating therapy with golimumab. Patients should be monitored for active TB during treatment, even if the initial latent TB test is negative.11
Invasive fungal infections. For patients who develop a systemic illness while taking golimumab, empiric antifungal therapy should be considered for those who live in or travel to regions where mycoses are endemic.
Hepatitis B reactivation. Hepatitis B virus carriers should be monitored during and several months after therapy with golimumab. If reactivation occurs, treatment with golimumab should be discontinued and antiviral therapy should be initiated.
Malignancies. The incidence of lymphoma was greater than in the general US population. Cases of other malignancies have been observed among patients receiving TNF blockers.
Heart failure. The worsening or new onset of heart failure may occur with golimumab. If worsening symptoms occur, the use of golimumab should be stopped.
Demyelinating diseases. The exacerbation or new onset of demyelinating diseases may occur with golimumab.
Hypersensitivity reactions. Serious systemic hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, may occur with golimumab.
Live vaccines. Live vaccines should not be given concurrently with golimumab.11
Use in Specific Populations
Pregnancy. There are no adequate and well-controlled trials of golimumab in pregnant women. Golimumab should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed.
Nursing mothers. It is not known whether golimumab is excreted in human milk or absorbed systemically after ingestion. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, and there is a potential for adverse reactions from golimumab in nursing infants, consideration should be given as to whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue golimumab, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.
Pediatric use. The safety and effectiveness of golimumab in pediatric patients aged <18 years have not been established.
Geriatric use. With respect to UC, there were insufficient numbers of patients aged ≥65 years to determine whether they respond different from patients aged 18 years to 65 years. Because there is generally a higher incidence of infections in the geriatric population, caution should be used in treating geriatric patients with golimumab.11
The FDA approved Simponi (golimumab) injection in May 2013 for a new indication—the treatment of UC that is resistant to previous treatment or that requires continuous steroid therapy. Golimumab was previously approved by the FDA for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in combination with methotrexate, for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis either alone or in combination with methotrexate, and for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis.
Golimumab, a biologic agent, is the first and only subcutaneous anti–TNF-alpha therapy approved by the FDA to induce and maintain clinical response and to improve the endoscopic appearance of the mucosa during induction. Golimumab is also indicated to induce clinical remission and to achieve and sustain clinical remission in induction responders.
The FDA approval of golimumab for the treatment of patients with UC was based on 2 clinical studies in patients with moderate-to-severe UC. In the first study, a greater proportion of golimumab-treated patients achieved clinical response, clinical remission, and improved the endoscopic appearance of the mucosa at 6 weeks compared with the placebo group. In the second study, patients who responded to golimumab were randomly assigned to receive golimumab or placebo. Based on this study, a greater proportion of golimumab-treated patients maintained a clinical response through week 54 and demonstrated clinical remission at week 30 and week 54 compared with the placebo group.
The most common adverse reactions (incidence >5%) seen with golimumab are upper respiratory tract infection, nasopharyngitis, and injection-site reactions. n
Mayo Clinic. Ulcerative colitis. October 10, 2012. www.mayoclinic.com/health/ulcerative-colitis/DS00598. Accessed June 10, 2013.
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Digestive diseases statistics for the United States. Updated May 10, 2012. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/statistics.aspx. Accessed June 10, 2013.
Danese S, Fiocchi C. Ulcerative colitis. N Engl J Med. 2011;365:1713-1725.
Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Living with ulcerative colitis. April 30, 2010. www.ccfa.org/resources/living-ulcerative-colitis.html. Accessed June 10, 2013.
Cohen RD, Yu AP, Wu EQ, et al. Systemic review: the costs of ulcerative colitis in Western countries. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2010;31:693-707.
Danese S, Colombel JF, Peyrin-Biroulet L, et al. Review article: the role of anti-TNF in the management of ulcerative colitis—past, present and future. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2013;37:855-866.
Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Colitis treatment options. www.ccfa.org/what-are-crohns-and-colitis/what-is-ulcerative-colitis/colitis-treatment-options.html. Accessed June 17, 2013.
Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Colitis medication options. www.ccfa.org/what-are-crohns-and-colitis/what-is-ulcerative-colitis/colitis-medication.html. Accessed February 25, 2014.
US Food and Drug Administration. FDA approves Simponi to treat ulcerative colitis. Press release. May 15, 2013. Updated May 17, 2013. www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/ Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm352383.htm. Accessed June 10, 2013.
Janssen Biotech’s Simponi receives FDA approval for ulcerative colitis. May 20, 2013. CenterWatch News Online. www.centerwatch.com/news-online/article/4737/. Accessed June 11, 2013.
Simponi (golimumab) injection [prescribing information]. Horsham, PA: Janssen Biotech, Inc; May 2013.
Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Simponi (golimumab) receives FDA approval for ulcerative colitis. Press release. May 16, 2013. www.ccfa.org/news/simponi.html. Accessed June 12, 2013.
Balversa (Erdafitinib), First-in-Class FGFR Kinase Inhibitor, Approved for Patients with Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma and FGFR Mutations
2019 Payers' Guide Mid-Year Addendum published on August 13, 2019 in Select Drug Profiles
Cablivi (Caplacizumab-yhdp): First Targeted, Nanobody-Based Therapy Approved for Adults with Acquired Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
Doptelet (Avatrombopag) Receives FDA Approval for the Treatment of Patients with Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia
Skyrizi (Risankizumab-rzaa) a New Treatment Option Approved by the FDA for Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis
Spravato (Esketamine) Nasal Spray First NMDA Receptor Antagonist Approved by the FDA for Adults with Treatment-Resistant Depression
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The affirmation yea or yes , is have , an expression of world war ii assignments assent, have what you say .[93] That all the words, called adverbs , are abbreviations or combinations of nouns, verbs and adjectives, cannot perhaps be proved; for it is extremely difficult to trace the little words, when , then , there , here , &c. I advertised the article to appear in the next number of the magazine. It is not very probable that in either character he would have introduced his own matter from another work; and therefore, until some more fortunate discovery shall occur, the romance of Apollonius Tyrius must remain anonymous. Cæsar at that moment, without further deliberation, ethical issues thesis said, "Let leather bound thesis intermediate accounting chapter solutions kieso pipu us go where the presages of the gods and the injustice of our enemies call upon us to advance." The Emperor Trajan[301] was extricated from the town of Antioch by a phantom, which made him go out at a widow, in the midst of that terrible earthquake which overthrew almost all the town. Jesus, it will be borne in mind, had been crucified between two thieves, one of whom derided him, insulting his dying agonies. Even those, the greatest part of whose time, from childhood to old age, is taken up with providing for themselves and their families the common conveniences, perhaps necessaries, of life: A thin ichor, of essay thematic video format an abominable fœtor, is discharged in great plenty, mixed with blood; whilst, in many parts, small pellicles, like lymphatic exsudations, cover world war ii assignments the sore. Semiunciam. [46] § XXXII. Nor will language permit these words to be laid aside; since if they were, there must be I know not what ridiculous periphrasis substituted in the room of them. Au fort au matin convendra En devotion se tenir, Et après disner à loysir, Choysisse qui choisir vouldra; Saint Valentin dit, veez me ça, Et apporte pers à choysir." Another world war ii assignments French Valentine world war ii assignments , composed by John Gower, is quoted by Mr. To the tune of Green sleeves . possibile actions to prevent war The phagedena is a suppurating sore, dependent upon the application of a peculiar contagion. After this kiss, the novice easily forgets the Catholic faith; world war ii assignments afterwards they hold a feast together, after which a world war ii assignments black cat comes down behind a statue, the international brinkmanship which usually stands in the room where they assemble. And not only want of time, but an increasing reticence constrains our pens within narrower limits. "--And clear, clear was hir zellow hair Whereon the reid bluid dreips ." But it was often spelt drap , agreeable to the pronunciation. In like manner the common temptation to many instances of folly, which world war ii assignments end in temporal infamy and ruin, is the ground for hope of not being detected, and of escaping with impunity; i. As they are the only evidence of the latter, so they are an additional evidence of the former. 11. Although Boult, the servant to the pandar and his wife, is not termed a clown in the dramatis personæ , it should seem that he has an equal claim to the appellation creative writing exercises endings with several other low characters that have been math term paper topics high school introduced into plays for the purpose of amusing the audience. Speech is no longer free; the post-office is Austrianized; the mere fact of Northern birth may be enough to hang him. Phillips, are rigid or unyielding , world war ii assignments and strike the air at a given angle , and herein, I believe, consists their principal defect. There was also a treatise on hunting, so called, which Shakspeare had often read of, or might perhaps have seen. He believed it to have been an enterprise of some remote officials.[224] It should be noticed apa proposal example in connection with this reply to the Spanish Court that Pitt was at this very time listening to the schemes of Colonel Miranda, the famous South American agitator. It was the policy of the Roman state to make subjects , rather than slaves , of their conquered nations; and the introduction of their own tongue among them was considered as a necessary step towards removing prejudices, facilitating an intercourse with their provinces, and reconciling distant nations to the Roman government. Where inheritance (of family name, property, sacra, &c.) is confined to the male line, the descendants of a common ancestor must all have the same family or gentile name; persons having different names cannot be descended from the same ancestor—that is to say, different gentes or clans cannot have a common origin. [664] M. He issued other revolutionary literature, in particular an “Advice to the Privileged Orders,” suppressed by the British government; whereupon Barlow, threatened with arrest, went back to France. [108] It has been said, that genuine cancer is very rare in the uterus, and that the cases which pass for such are phagedenic. First, that in which the granulating, my experiences sitting in the mbta or purulent process is morbidly increased, or the two parts of the ulcerative action, the granulating and the purulent, do not correspond, or bear the same proportion to each other that they harvard essay format style do in a healthy ulcer: Dream , Act II. To live well? “Water,” said she, “quench fire. The modern English, world war ii assignments Danish, Swedish and German are all unquestionably derived from the same language; they have been spoken by distinct tribes, probably not two thousand years, and almost one half of that period, the sounds have been in some measure fixed by outline for research papers written characters, yet the languages are become so different as to be unintelligible, each to those who speak the other. The company, led by President Brigham Young in person, consisted originally of 143 men, three women, and two children. Such is the adoration of Station. Best resume writing services in philadelphia pa L’Abbé Maury favored confirming the treaty as it stood, declaring, rightly as events proved, that it would give England a great advantage to leave the alliance so indefinite. Josias also dickens pickwick papers awoke, and wondered much at seeing the stars over his head. John 14:2, 3.
I am master of the situation. VI, Of Ghosts, Demons, etc. This is divisible into two varieties: The next four years he had been envoy extraordinary to Russia. And it must be the more agreeable, as it has been could you help me with my homework much neglected, and the nature and construction of English verse have frequently been misunderstood. Their treatment, if considered in this light, will equally excite our pity and abhorrence. The plant, while growing exhibits a very beautiful appearance, but is so extremely nauseous, that in all the gladiator vs.hannibal analysis variety of insects, only one is world war ii assignments found to feed upon it. The sight of a man in misery raises our compassion towards him; and if this misery be inflicted on him world war ii assignments by another, our indignation against the author of it. Or because it was not lawfull to espouse women of their blood and kinred, therefore permitted they were to entertaine them kindly and familiarly eliot and alienation with a kisse, so they proceeded no farther; insomuch as this was the onely marke and token left of their consanguinitie. The gate was wide open, and there sat-I knew him at once; who does not?--the Arch Enemy of mankind. All the other varieties of person, number, time and mode, are world war ii assignments expressed by prefixing other words, by various combinations of words, or by a particular manner of utterance. The story of literature has not ceased to be a outlines for argumentative research papers sorry story; still, as was said on a time, comparable to the annals of Newgate. "Warriors she fires with life on the color line essay animated sounds, Pours balm into the bleeding lover's wounds ." Pope. But it cannot be said, because virtuous actions are sometimes punished, and vicious actions rewarded, that nature intended it. That this is the case, would appear from the following fact: Thus, because of winn dixie essay instead of taking the only rational method, that of adapting the quantity of food to the powers of digestion, he pursues barbie essays a course which continues to weaken the organs of digestion and assimilation, and at length plunges him into all the accumulated horrors of dyspepsia, with a complete prostration of the nervous system. ENGLISH ULTIMATUM--SPANISH DEFIANCE. Moreover, they said, if speedy course was not taken to suppress them in time, they might overrun the whole island. In the same place, St. Of Numa Pompilius. When, for instance, from the state of the pulse, and other circumstances, we apprehend the accession of gangrene, bleeding will not abate pain, but world war ii assignments will bring on the mortification sooner, and make it spread farther, as will be afterwards mentioned. They only exclaimed "Vroucolacas," in the chapel, and in the square before it. The wings, on the other hand, are write descriptive essay person long, and have a comparatively wide range; and during their elevation and world war ii assignments depression rush through an extensive space, will writing service tamworth the slightest movement at the root cyber crime short essay about life or short axis of the wing being followed by a gigantic up or down stroke at the other (fig. 120; figs. 139; figs. 158). The right of purveyance and pre-emption having become extremely oppressive to the subject, was included, among other Symbolism, allegory, and realism in the scarlet letter objects of regulation, under the stat. To apply all these things to the possessed nuns of Loudun, and to Mademoiselle twelfth night theme of love de essay descriptive words for food Ranfaing, even to that girl whose hypocrisy was unmasked by Mademoiselle Acarie, I appeal to their works, and their conduct both before and after. Ah! Non mihi erat in animo alios docere; sed artis medicinæ principiorum scientiam, me ipsum obtinuisse, experimentum dare. She had no school education there, but receiving some little instruction from the family, with whom she was so fortunate as to live, she obtained such a knowledge of the English language within sixteen months from the time of her arrival, as to be able to speak it and read it to the astonishment of those who heard her. Either this magnificent empire should be their plantation, or it should perish. [486] Trith. This is the more necessary, as the travelling-surfaces employed by animals in walking and swimming bear a certain, if not a fixed, relation to those employed by insects, bats, and birds in flying. The mulattoe is as capable of continuing his own species as his father; a clear and irrefragable proof, that the scripture[077] account of the creation is true, and that "God, who hath made the world, hath made of one blood[078] all the nations of men that dwell on all the face of the earth." But if this be the case, it will be said that mankind were originally of one biology coursework as level colour; and it will be asked at the same time, what it is probable that the colour was, and how they came to assume drug paper treatment research abuse so various how to write happy new year in bubble letters an appearance? GREY. Prosperity itself begets extravagant desires; and imagination may produce as much discontent as actual condition. Le Chevalier Ricaut, from whom we have this narrative, was neither a Greek, nor a Roman Catholic, but a staunch Anglican; he remarks on this occasion world war ii assignments that the Greeks believe that an evil spirit enters the bodies of the excommunicated, and preserves them from putrefaction, by animating them, and causing them to act, nearly as the world war ii assignments soul animates and inspires the body. That the fault is, in some measure, to world war ii assignments be ascribed to the translators, is evident world war ii assignments from their using An analysis of happiness in fahrenheit the same form of the verb, after a conjunction, when the original Greek is in the present of the indicative. Milton, doubtless, had these lines in recollection when he wrote, "To hill or valley, fountain or fresh shade." Par. World war ii assignments Another brief note similarly inserted censured world war ii assignments the administration very A discussion on the value of morals in society severely for accepting the English terms. It was ignorance or malice that so stigmatized them. "Tho he slay me, yet will I trust in him." Job xiii. I am not sure that Herbert, while in this glow, would be ashamed of his letter in print, but this is one of the cases where chancery would step in and protect one from himself by his next friend. This figure also shows that the convex or non-biting surface of the wing is always directed upwards, so as to avoid unnecessary resistance on the part of the air to the wing during its ascent; whereas the concave or biting surface is always directed downwards, so as to enable the wing to contend successfully with gravity. The posterior extremities of the kangaroo are enormously developed as compared with the anterior ones; they are also greatly elongated. But an objection will be made here, that the two world war ii assignments persons whom we have particularized by name, are prodigies, and that if we were to live for many years, we should scarcely meet with two other Africans of the same description. Neither of these gentlemen, in consulting the manuscripts of the Gesta Romanorum , had perceived that there were two works so entitled, totally distinct from each other, except as to imitation, and certainly compiled by different persons. Plate II. Nor out of my wits though I displeased all." "His breath he thinkes the smoke; his tongue a cole, Then calls for bottell ale; to quench his thirst. [409] Aug. The second, in which the interpreter says that he delivered Martinez’s orders, has been referred health care advertising to, and the substance has been given of the third which recounts the investigation of Douglas and Viana and their arrest. Assignments war world ii.
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Nothing is new here every thing is old
{SamsoNgroup} "THIS IS IT" New Michael Jackson Album & Song - TO BE UNVEILED OCTOBER 12TH !!
Posted by Sarah Kathy at Wednesday, September 23, 2009
From: MichaelJackson.com
Date: Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 9:23 AM
Subject: New Michael Jackson Album & Song!!
To: Samson <samson13@gmail.com>
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Michael Jackson Fans: This Is It - CD Release!
UNRELEASED MICHAEL JACKSON SONG "THIS IS IT"
TO BE UNVEILED OCTOBER 12TH
SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT TO RELEASE TWO DISC ALBUM WITH MUSIC INSPIRED BY THE SONY PICTURES FILM MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT ON OCTOBER 26TH/27TH
On October 12th, the first new Michael Jackson song to emerge since the world mourned the loss of this musical icon will be released – a brand new single entitled "This Is It." Soon after, Sony Music Entertainment's Columbia/Epic Label Group will release the two-disc album This Is It featuring the music that inspired Sony Pictures' forthcoming film MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT. This two-disc album will be available internationally on October 26th and North America on October 27th to coincide with the worldwide release of the motion picture which arrives in theaters on October 28th and runs for a limited two-week engagement.
"This song only defines, once again, what the world already knows - that Michael is one of God's greatest gifts," comments John McClain, co-producer of the album. READ MORE
Follow Michael Jackson here:
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{SamsoNgroup} Making to the Dubai Metro
May 29, 2005: Shaikh Mohammad at the official groundbreaking ceremony organised by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority at Mina Al Salam Hotel with Mattar Al Tayer, Abdul Majeed Al Khaja and Badriya Al Khalifa.
May 29, 2005: Qasim Sultan, then Director General of Dubai Muncipality, and Susumu Uchida, Board Member of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, signing the Metro contract.
October 24, 2005: Steel beams are put in place as work on the Dubai Metro started at Al Ittihad Park in Deira.
April 11, 2006: Road dug up on Al Rigga Road.
A worker - who seems to have been caught in a web - puts final touches to a foundation piling for a bridge in Al Awir.
August 23, 2006: Work in progress on the pillars for the Metro near exit 22 on Shaikh Zayed Road.
March 13, 2007: Workers carry out tunnelling work for laying Metro tracks. A tunnel-boring machine, Al Wugeisha, was used to bore tunnels.
March 13, 2007: Contruction workers prepare the steel structure for piers for the elevated track at the site of a Metro station.
March 13, 2007: Tunnelling work being carried out at the Union Square Station.
March 13, 2007: The Metro's tracks take shape along Shaikh Zayed Road.
November 5, 2007: Traffic proceeds unimpeded as construction of the elevated tracks continues.
March 2008: The tunnel-boring machine, Al Wugeisha, breaks through the wall.
April 25, 2008: Trains are hoisted onto the tracks.
September 21, 2008: Shaikh Mohammad during the inspection tour of the Jebel Ali Industrial Metro Station, which was the first one to be completed.
August 26, 2009: A Dubai Metro train makes a trial run on the Red Line parallel to Al Khawaneej Road in the area near Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3.
September 2009: A view of the Jebel Ali Industrial Station.
September 1, 2009: A view of the Mall of the Emirates Station at night on the Red Line which runs parallel to Shaikh Zayed Road, in Al Barsha.
BEFORE September 22, 2004: Shaikh Zayed Road as it looked before the work on the Metro started.
TODAY September 6, 2009: Shaikh Zayed Road today - with the Metro infrastructure in place.
Dubai Metro will not be opened to the general public on September 9 - the launch day, Gulf News has learnt.
"There will be an official launch on September 9 but the Metro will be opened to the public only on September 10 from 6am," said a senior official at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will inaugurate the Metro operations at 9pm on 09.09.09.
The launch ceremony will be held at Mall of the Emirates. Preparations are being finalised at the mall galleria.
After the ceremony, Shaikh Mohammad, along with other dignitaries, VIPs and invited guests will ride the first train from Mall of the Emirates station to Al Rashidiya station. There will be ceremonies at selected stations which will be visited by Shaikh Mohammad.
Meanwhile, test runs of the trains of the world's largest automated driverless Metro are being conducted on the Red Line.
RTA employees have been using the train as part of the full dress rehearsal leading up to the official launch. They are also using the various facilities at the stations and inside the trains to ensure that everything is ready for the launch.
"Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain"
http://www.google.com/profiles/samson13.
Face it... Fight it
SAMSON :-)
{SamsoNgroup} Events in pics (International)
A police officer arranges seized counterfeit money during a presentation to the media in Medellin, Colombia.
Miss Porky Pig flies through the air during the Pig Racing and Diving show at Melbourne Showgrounds, Australia.
Greenpeace activists fly a banner depicting a skeleton of a tuna between the hulls of US-flagged American Legacy fishing vessel and Panamian-flagged MV Fong Seong 888, in the Pacific Ocean.
Buzz Lightyear returns to Earth aboard space shuttle Discovery, after spending 15 months aboard the International Space Station.
A man walks past the giant cogs of a watch on display at the newly opened China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing.
Performers in Beijing rehearse for the upcoming celebration on the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Revolution.
A government worker fumigates a slum community in Manila in an attempt to control the spread of dengue fever.
Knut, a polar bear at Zoo Berlin, swims in a pool covered with common duckweed.
{SamsoNgroup} Calvin and Hobbes..
{SamsoNgroup} Quote of the day..
"One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest."
(b. 1928); poet
{SamsoNgroup} "THIS IS IT" New Michael Jackson Alb...
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The Same People...
who disappointed us very deeply not so long ago by blindly following Judith Miller's claims, vetted exclusively from Ahmad Chalabi, that there were in fact WMD in Iraq, have done it again. The editorial board of that "gold standard" of U.S. reporting, The New York Times, has endorsed Hillary Clinton on the following grounds:
It is unfair, especially after seven years of Mr. Bush’s inept leadership, but any Democrat will face tougher questioning about his or her fitness to be commander in chief. Mrs. Clinton has more than cleared that bar, using her years in the Senate well to immerse herself in national security issues, and has won the respect of world leaders and many in the American military. She would be a strong commander in chief.
She has cleared that bar? By immersing herself? She claims to have realized that the rationale for war was deeply flawed at about the same time as...the majority of the American people, ahem. She endorsed The Patriot Act. She's done nothing aggressive to challenge or even publicize the rise of Blackwater. She sniffed at the idea of "talking" to "rogue nations" without condition. As Bark, Bugs, Leaves and Lizards points out today, she's in favor of immediately deporting illegal immigrants who "commit a crime."
Domestically, Mrs. Clinton has tackled complex policy issues, sometimes failing. She has shown a willingness to learn and change. Her current proposals on health insurance reflect a clear shift from her first, famously disastrous foray into the issue. She has learned that powerful interests cannot simply be left out of the meetings. She understands that all Americans must be covered — but must be allowed to choose their coverage, including keeping their current plans. Mr. Obama may also be capable of tackling such issues, but we have not yet seen it. Voters have to judge candidates not just on the promise they hold, but also on the here and now.
I need a clearer sense of what "a willingness to learn and change" constitutes? I don't know about the learning, but the changing can be traced almost to the second with shifts in popular opinion. Sitting on the board of WalMart, for instance, she was willing to profit from what she had to know was a calculated devastation of rural America's economy. Later, when public sentiment against Walmart emerged, she "learned and changed." The same was true with her endorsement of an early version of the 2005 bankruptcy bill that severely jeopardizes middle-class families (and especially those who may need to file as a result of a catastrophic medical expense). As it was with her support for the war, her "learning and changing" come at a hefty cost, once considerable damage is done. Her "clear shift" from her "first, famously disastrous foray" into healthcare reform is a shift from demanding an approximation of the other, best-working systems offered in "The First World" to a shameless nod to insurance companies. Mandating health insurance--imposing a fine on those who cannot afford it--adds insult to injury for the uninsured. I understand that her plan is to make insurance affordable, but the mandate is frightening, given that mandates tend to stick while "price caps" do not.
The sense of possibility, of a generational shift, rouses Mr. Obama’s audiences and not just through rhetorical flourishes. He shows voters that he understands how much they hunger for a break with the Bush years, for leadership and vision and true bipartisanship. We hunger for that, too. But we need more specifics to go with his amorphous promise of a new governing majority, a clearer sense of how he would govern.
If I were a delusional narcissist, I'd think the NYT were just trying to piss me off with that one. But seriously, "bipartisanship" does not mean caving in to (and profiting from) corporate interests until your prospective voters notice. There was a time when I seriously wanted to support Hillary, but that was before I witnessed her following this pattern over and over.
If you've been following Hillary's comments in the debates, you too may notice that the endorsement sounds as though she wrote it herself. One member of the Editorial Board was a speech writer for Bill.
I'll still read your stuff, NYT Editorial Board, and some of it I will still respect and quote, and I am sure that this endorsement was not a unanimous decision, so I'll try to cut some slack on behalf of those among you who are probably more disappointed than I am. The rest of you, please demonstrate a willingness to learn and change, okay?
Labels: Clinton, Election 2008, New York Times
More Hiring Freeze
The Stuff of Insomnia
And Thanks Again.
Gee, Thanks
Man and Dog
Where's the Funk?
Happy MLK Day!
Thanks, Ya'll!
The Horror...
Democratic Debate: Bankruptcy
About AF: The Third Return, Part I (continued)
It Can't Hurt...
About AF: The Third Return, Part I
The First Woman President?
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Raving Black Lunatic has written a masterful post on HRC's comparison of herself to Rocky Balboa.
I made a decision a while ago to try to ignore these types of blood-pressure-raising remarks from the former First Lady, but...
From AP:
Speaking to the same unions a day earlier, Clinton said as first lady she had forcefully battled the agreement President Clinton labored hard to win.
"I did speak out and oppose NAFTA," she said. "I raised a big yellow flag and said, 'I don't think this will work.'" [I remember, oh yes, of course that big yellow...I was distracted at the time because I was in a bloody battle with, um, poachers off the coast of...]
Teamsters president James P. Hoffa, who is backing Obama, disputed her claim.
"No one who was around in the time of NAFTA remembers her doing that," Hoffa told The Associated Press during a telephone interview. [Ahem, well, you know I do blog a lot and it's late at night and so I might have misspoken about that memory, it proves I'm human and I make mistakes.] "Let's face it, she's tied to NAFTA no matter what she says."
At an economic summit in Pittsburgh organized by her presidential campaign, Clinton said she would eliminate tax breaks for companies that move jobs to other countries and use the savings to persuade them to keep jobs in the U.S. [I'm not sure I understand...]
Clinton's plan would offer new tax benefits for research and job development. It would also create "innovation and research clusters" across the country and provide $500 million annually in investments to encourage the creation of high-wage jobs in clean energy. [I see, taking away the tax cuts but replacing the tax cuts with other 'incentives' that will actually benefit us.]
Clinton called it her "insourcing agenda."
"We hear so much about outsourcing," when jobs are lost to other countries, she said. "I want to put an end to it. We're going to change the tax code, we're going to change the giveaways to the special interests." [Was her insourcing agenda in place when she voted for the trade agreements that outsourced jobs?]
Clinton also broadcast a new TV ad in Pennsylvania explicitly challenging Republican John McCain's economic credentials.
Echoing an earlier ad aimed at Obama on national security, it begins with images of sleeping children while a narrator says a phone is ringing in the White House at 3 a.m. but this time the crisis is economic. As the phone rings on and on, the sleeping children are replaced by adults grimly reviewing bills during daylight hours. The narrator faults McCain's response to rising home foreclosures and teetering markets and says he'd just let the phone keep ringing. The ad ends with an image of Clinton answering a phone.
Now, does anybody really believe that this ad is actually aimed at McCain, whom she's not even running against in Pennsylvania, or could it be a desperate attempt at reinforcing the stereotypes that the first ad introduced into her campaign? Nah.
Labels: Clinton, McCain, NAFTA, Obama
Flooding on Westbank
Jazz Fest Sunday
Recession Diet
The Same People, Part II
The Totalitarian State of Walgreens
Liveblogging the Debate
Image by MaitriPlease donate to the Ashley Morris ...
Dog and Man on Magazine Street
Coincidence?
A general mood of displeasure
U.S. servicewomen are more likely to be raped by U...
Clinton Tax Returns and InfoUSA
Jake Tapper's Olfactory Nerve
Homicide charges?
Step up to the WHAT?
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Religious symbols in the workplace: opinion nuanced in and outside Quebec, driven by specific symbols
Proposed ban in Quebec appears widely supported; but crucifix, Star of David still seen as acceptable
December 4, 2018 – As various polls show widespread support in Quebec for the CAQ government’s proposed ban on public employees in positions of authority wearing visible religious symbols, a new survey from the Angus Reid Institute suggests that public opinion on the issue is more nuanced than might be assumed.
While two-thirds of Quebec residents (65%) say they support the provincial government’s proposal overall, the data show that both in that province and across Canada, majorities also believe public employees should be allowed to wear a crucifix or a Star of David on the job.
Meanwhile, residents in all provinces say public employees should be prohibited from wearing a niqab or carrying a kirpan – the ceremonial dagger worn by observant Sikhs – at work.
Quebecers take a more restrictive view than those outside the province on religious head coverings – including the Muslim hijab, the Sikh turban, the Jewish kippa, and the Christian nun’s habit.
More Key Findings:
Out of nine religious symbols asked about in this survey, only three (the aforementioned crucifix, star of David, and nun’s habit) are acceptable to more than half of Quebecers. Elsewhere in Canada, majorities see six of the nine symbols as acceptable
Both in Quebec and outside of it, young people are less supportive of a potential ban on public employees wearing religious symbols, while older respondents are more so
Political partisanship is also a key driver of views, with past Conservative voters mostly supporting a religious symbols ban in their province, while majorities of past Liberal and New Democratic Party voters are opposed
Which symbols would Canadians prohibit public employees from displaying?
Support for CAQ’s proposed ban in Quebec, divisions elsewhere
For more than a decade, successive Quebec governments have grappled with questions of “reasonable accommodation” for religious minorities in the province. The issue has been particularly salient in Quebec, some argue, because the province has long functioned as a distinct society, itself a minority within Canada.
This, coupled with the staunch secularism that has pervaded Quebec politics and society since the Quiet Revolution, has led to significant debate about wearing religious garments or symbols (particularly non-Christian ones) while conducting the business of – or simply interacting with – government.
Legault is the fourth Quebec premier – and the CAQ the third different governing party – to attempt to address these issues through legislation. Like the proposals of his immediate predecessors, Legault’s plan has been met with harsh criticism, even as a majority of Quebecers voice support for it.
Related – Quebec Politics: Major support for Bill 62, far less approval for government’s handling of border issues
Critics of the Legault government’s planned legislation argue that it amounts to discrimination against non-Christins in the province – especially Muslim women.
While the CAQ bill – like legislation tabled by previous governments – may likely be written to apply to symbols from all religions, public perspectives on this issue vary significantly by the type of symbol in question.
Shown images of nine different symbols and asked whether they should be allowed in the workplace for public employees, Canadians are most amenable to the Judeo-Christian items on the list:
Nun’s habits
Stars of David
Kippas
Each of these three items enjoy more than two-thirds support.
Symbols from Sikhism and Islam are less favourably viewed, particularly if they cover the face (such as a niqab or burka) or – as some argue – could be considered a weapon (as in the case of the kirpan). Turbans and hijabs are OK for public employees in the eyes of six-in-ten Canadians outside Quebec, as seen in the preceding graph. Quebec residents differ significantly from the rest of Canada in their assessments of this question.
Within Quebec, majorities are opposed to public employees wearing hijabs (57%) and turbans (55%), and nearly half (48%) oppose public servants wearing the Jewish kippa. Responses by region are summarized in the table that follows:
Views on this question are also shaped by age, with respondents under age 35 more likely to say each type of symbol should be allowed and less inclined to see it banned.
This pattern holds true across nearly all symbols canvassed, though the gulf between younger and older respondents is more pronounced on symbols from religious other than Christianity and Judaism. For example, fewer than one-in-four Canadians ages 18-34 say public employees should not be allowed to wear a turban (20%) or a hijab (23%) at work. Among older respondents, this rises to more than one-in-three.
Similarly, while majorities of Canadians under age 35 agree with the overall majority view that burkas, niqabs, and kirpans should not be allowed, they are much less unanimous in this view than older age groups:
The following table shows results for all symbols by age and gender.
These same patterns hold within Quebec, though at a lower baseline of approval for all symbols, as seen in the following table:
Despite this lack of consensus on individual symbols, almost two-thirds of Quebec residents (65%) say they support the CAQ’s proposal to ban public employees in positions of authority – a group that includes police, judges, and teachers, among others – from wearing religious symbols while at work. Indeed, four-in-ten (43%) strongly support such a ban:
Residents of other regions are considerably more divided when asked about implementing such a ban in their province.
Overall, 41 per cent of residents of the rest of Canada would support a ban on public employees wearing religious symbols where they live, while 45 per cent are opposed. The rest (14%) are uncertain.
The biggest driver of opinion, as seen in the preceding section of this report, is the type of symbols in question. That said, there are regional differences in support for a ban like the one Legault has proposed in Quebec. Support is highest in Alberta and Saskatchewan and lowest in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Atlantic Canada, as seen in the graph that follows.
As it is on the symbol-specific question, age is an important factor in shaping opinion on this overall question both in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. Though majorities across all age groups support the proposal in Quebec, respondents under the age of 35 do so by only a small majority (56%), while those ages 35 and older support it at a roughly seven-in-ten rate.
In the rest of Canada, meanwhile, support for a ban on religious symbols outpaces opposition among those in the 35-plus age categories, while a majority of younger respondents (56%) are opposed:
*indicates small sample size
The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) was founded in October 2014 by pollster and sociologist, Dr. Angus Reid. ARI is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation established to advance education by commissioning, conducting and disseminating to the public accessible and impartial statistical data, research and policy analysis on economics, political science, philanthropy, public administration, domestic and international affairs and other socio-economic issues of importance to Canada and its world.
For detailed results by age, gender, region, education, and other demographics, click here.
Click here for the full report including tables and methodology
Click here for the questionnaire used in this survey
Shachi Kurl, Executive Director: 604.908.1693 shachi.kurl@angusreid.org @shachikurl
Ian Holliday, Research Associate: 604.442.3312 ian.holliday@angusreid.org
View Trudeau Tracker
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Flight 752: Canadians don’t believe full and accurate accounting of aviation tragedy will ever be revealed
Two Canadas? Regional divisions over direction of the country, hope for future, define start to the year
Faith and Religion in Public Life: Canadians deeply divided over the role of faith in the public square
Religion and faith in Canada today: strong belief, ambivalence and rejection define our views
Most take pride in Canadian NGO’s development work abroad, express frustration over continued suffering
Canadians don’t want to roll the dice on expanded gambling
Prayer in Canadian Public Life: a Nation Divided
Truths of reconciliation: Canadians are deeply divided on how best to address Indigenous issues
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Friday Clips 3-19-10
by Claudine Isé | Mar 19, 2010 | Blog
Guillermo Srodek-Hart, Forrajeria. C-Print. At Schneider Gallery in Chicago through May 8, 2010.
****On WBEZ Chicago Public Radio this week, Eight Forty-Eight ran a report about artist Chris Drew‘s fight against Chicago’s restrictive laws concerning street art vendors. The report compares Chicago’s laws on the issue to those of San Francisco and New York City, and the results are mostly unfavorable to the Windy City. This quote from Drew’s attorney Mark Weinberg sums it up nicely: “Mayor Daley has an idea of beauty which includes sort of an orderliness, you have the black wrought-iron fences, you have beautiful buildings and you have flowers in between the streets. It’s a nice idea of beauty, but it’s a very limited idea of beauty.”
****Time Out Chicago noticed that The Art Institute seems to be instituting “rolling blackouts” in its galleries. They asked the Art Institute’s Director of Public Affairs Erin Hogan if this was indeed the case, and Hogan told them yes — it’s a cost-cutting measure. Read the story here.
****On his blog, Tyler Green criticizes The University of Chicago Press‘ recent publication Gerhard Richter: A Life in Painting for being “essentially an authorized biography, 389 pages of praise rather than examination and contextualization.” The book was written with the full cooperation of the artist himself, and with full access to Richter’s archives. Green adds that the “book rarely contextualizes Richter within broader history. It veers toward as-told-to territory. The prose is often grating, overly laudatory and almost always reads as if it was ripped from a press release.”
****Chris and Sam of the great Midwest painting blog MW Capacity have curated an exhibition titled undercrowded at University of Central Missouri Gallery of Art & Design. The exhibition dates are March 11-April 10, 2010. It features paintings and videos that depict depopulated public spaces and includes artists Joey Borovicka, Sam King, Kristin Musgnug and Stephanie Pierce.
****This special New York Times report on major museums whose gains in attendance are due to being “vibrant destinations where the exhibitions are sometimes besides the point” certainly isn’t breaking news, but it bears being reminded that “the rise of merchandised culture” is more than likely where the future of the behemoth arts institution (and those institutions who wish to join the ranks of the elephantine) lies. Another reason why Jeffrey Deitch’s move to MOCA makes perfect demonic sense.
****Art World Salon wonders if things might be looking up, just a smidge, for print-based arts reporting? The Wall Street Journal announces it is hiring additional arts reporters for its soon-to-be launched local section. The New York Observer says it will also expand its arts coverage on March 31. Good news for NYC-based arts bloggers? Will be interesting to see if expansion of newspaper arts coverage spells greater opportunities for arts bloggers, or if newspapers instead cull from reporters whose background lies exclusively in print media.
****These photographs by Estelle Hanania reminded me of Jeriah Hildwine’s Off-Topic essay about Ghillie Suits. Hanania’s performance images make me think we need an art theory of the ghillie suit, something that delves into performative acts of covering and uncovering, and the art of camouflage. Anyone? (via Nihilsentimentalgia).
****Stunning, and gut-wrenching, if you’re a fan of modern architecture: Chris Mottalini’s After You, They Took It Apart: a series of photographs of demolished homes by modern architect Paul Rudolph. (Via Culture Monster). The only building designed by Paul Rudolph in Illinois was the Christian Science Study Center at the University of Illinois, which was demolished in 1987.
****Eyeteeth: A Journal of incisive ideas is one of our favorite blogs. Paul Schmelzer is in the process of cataloging art blogs based in Minneapolis. He’s also tallying Twin Cities-based Artist’s Blogs, and Graphic Design Blogs. If you can add to his list, go on over and help him out!
Episode 668: Suellen Rocca
Episode: 573 Ben Eine
The Fight for 15: An Interview with Soohyun Kim
Into Visibility: An Interview with Linda Tegg
Searching for Visibility: Documenting Racial Strife and Police Brutality Before #BlackLivesMatter and the Information Age
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Bahrain Sports Betting
Home Compare Odds Bahraini Dinar Betting Laws Reviews High Limit Banking Mobile
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Bahrain High Limit Sports Betting
Wealthy bettors in Bahrain that are interested in betting and potentially winning very large amounts of money need to understand which betting sites permit the highest betting limits and winning limits. Most bookmakers only target the average bettor that plays for recreational purposes. Thus, most betting sites keep their limits relatively low to avoid large losses as a result of long-odds accumulator or combination bets. All the sportsbooks listed below are solvent enough to accept the highest stakes, ensuring they can pay out the highest allowable winning bets.
Sports betting sites structure their limits for bettors generally in two different ways: a) by the amount won in a given day in a given sport and also within a given league, or b) by the amount allowed to be wagered on a particular event and by the type of bet like the total, 1X2, moneyline or against the point spread.
Note that the higher limits are always associated with the biggest leagues within each sport as this is where most people are betting like the NFL, Premier League or ATP Tour etc. Also note that if your won bet includes a result from a category with a lower winning limit, that lower limit will then apply to your entire bet, even though the other results belong in categories with higher limits.
Pinnacle Sports Betting Limits
Pinnacle does not limit how much any player can win in a given day like the other listed betting sites here. They limit solely based on the amount that may be wagered on a given type of bet for a given league or event. Pinnacle does not list its full array of limits on site. However, when you register and log in, every event in your interface will clearly display the betting limit for that particular event. The information below will help you understand the limits for the most popular events. Limits below are in GBP.
Pinnacle has no withdrawal limits at all. You will only be limited by the given banking or funding method that you select and several of these have no limits at all with Pinnacle.
Event/League Handicap 1X2 Total
NBA £50,000 £20,000 £20,000
NHL £5,000 £10,000 £5,000
MLB £20,000 £30,000 £10,000
EPL £30,000 £20,000 £10,000
NFL £50,000 £20,000 £30,000
Pinnacle Sports Banking Limits
Key Issues of Bahraini Betting
Betway Sports Winning Limits
Betway has an overall maximum payout limit per customer per day which is £500,000. In addition, Betway has limits on the amount that can be won from within given sports leagues, the bigger and more important the league the higher the winning limit is. Additionally, the betting market comes into effect as part of the limits, the most popular types of markets apply to these upper limits. The more rare betting markets will fall within lower betting limits. In general, Betway have significantly higher limits than typical betting sites.
The top level football / soccer leagues have daily limits of £500,000.
The second tier of football / soccer leagues have daily win limits of £250,000.
All other football / soccer leagues are at £100,000.
Major American Sport Leagues are limited to £250,000 per day
Top tennis markets are limited to £250,000 per day.
MarathonBet Winning Limits
MarathonBet maximum winnings for each customer in any consecutive 24 hours is €250,000. Lower limits are applicable to individual events. The list below gives the details of the limits on specific events. All amounts are shown in €'s but in all instances read as 'or the currency equivalent'.
Where customer bets contain selections from events where the limits are different, the maximum winnings in any consecutive 24 hours will be determined by the lowest limit of any of the selections, irrespective of whether that particular selection wins or not.
€250,000 or currency equivalent, where all the selections come from:
American Football: NFL.
Basketball: NBA.
Baseball: MLB.
Football (men): Bundesliga (Germany), FIFA World Cup Final Tournament, Ligue 1 (France), Premier League (England), Premier League (Russia), Primera Division (Spain), Serie A (Italy), UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA EURO Qualifying and Final Tournaments.
Ice Hockey: IIHF World Championship and Winter Olympics Final Tournaments (men), NHL.
Tennis: Grand Slam Tournaments (men’s & women’s singles).
€150,000 or currency equivalent, where all the selections come from this group or are combined with selections from the above group:
Basketball: European Championship, World Championship and Olympic Games Final Tournaments (men & women); Liga ACB (Spain, men); PBL (Russia, men); Serie A (Italy, men); ULEB Euroleague (men); WNBA.
Football (men): AFC Asian Cup Final Tournament, Africa Cup of Nations Final Tournament, Allsvenskan (Sweden), Bundesliga (Austria), Championship (England), Copa America, Copa del Rey (Spain), Coppa Italia, Copa Libertadores, Coupe de France, DFB-Pokal (Germany), Eredivisie (Netherlands), FA Cup (England), FIFA World Cup COMNEBOL Qualification, Gambrinus Liga (Czech Republic), International Friendlies, J.League (Japan), MLS (USA), Olympic Games Final Tournament, Premier League (Scotland), Premier League (Ukraine), Primeira Liga (Portugal), Primera Division (Argentina), Primera Division (Mexico), Pro League (Belgium), Serie A (Brazil), Super League (Switzerland), Superliga (Denmark), Süper Lig (Turkey), Tippeligaen (Norway).
Ice Hockey: Elitserien (Sweden), Extraliga (Czech Republic), DEL (Germany), KHL (Russia), SM-Liiga (Finland).
Rugby League: all competitions.
Rugby Union: all competitions.
Tennis: ATP World tour Masters 1000, 500 Series, 250 Series (men’s singles); Davis Cup; Federation Cup; WTA Tour Premier and International tournaments (women’s singles).
Volleyball: European Championship, World Championship and Olympic Games Final Tournaments (men & women); World League Final Tournament (men).
€75,000 or currency equivalent, where any selection comes from a sport, league or competition not mentioned above.
€150,000 or currency equivalent, where all the selections are for horse racing in the UK and Ireland,
provided the meetings are covered by a full service (betting shows, offs and results) supplied by SIS or
any other telecommunication company.
€25,000 or currency equivalent, Horse Racing in all other countries or where one or
more selections are not covered by a full service.
Limits vary depending on the sport, the type of competition and the type of bet offer. Should a bet contain a combination of offers from different sports/categories/matches and/or offer types, the payout will be limited to the lowest level included in the combination, as specified below.
Top Football Leagues in Major European Countries and Top UEFA and FIFA international matches is £250,000
Secondary tier leagues and other International competitions are at a£100,000 limit
All other Football has a daily limit of £50,000.
Top basketball leagues are limited to £100,000.
Top Ice Hockey leagues are limited to £100,000.
Top Tennis at £150,000 limit.
Most other top sports limited to £100,000 or £50,000.
888sport Winning Limits
10Bet 888sport bet365 Betway MarathonBet Pinnacle Unibet
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Arishadvarga
Director: Arvind Kamath
Starring: Avinash, Nanda Gopal, Samyukta Hornad, Mahesh Bung, Anju Alva Naik, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Aravind Kuplikar, Sripathi Manjanabayalu, Sudha Belavadi
Run time: 135 mins | Recommended Certificate: 15
Language: Kannada with English subtitles | Year: 2019 | Country: India
An aspiring actor doubling as an amateur gigolo gets caught up in a sticky situation after accepting a surprise gift from an anonymous client. Anish is desperately trying to make it as an actor but his dire financial situation pushes him to look for an escape, which he finds with an anonymous wealthy client. Called to her place one day for a rendezvous, he turns up only to be met with a surprise gift, ‘a murder’. He finds himself framed for a crime he didn’t commit with a witness who is convinced he is the culprit. Arishadvarga is a smart and tense neo-noir thriller that will have you guessing who did it till the very end.
Please remember there are no adverts before festival screenings so we encourage you to arrive in good time.
Q&A with Actress Anju Alva Naik
Arvind Kamath
Writer and Director, Arvind Kamath, born and raised in Bangalore, began his career in the IT industry. He quit his high paying IT job to pursue film-making in 2011. He started with making short films, which made it to some of the national level short film festivals.
His skill sets include Screenwriting, Animation, Post-production, Direction and Film Production. He was selected for a cultural exchange filmmaking lab called "Understanding the other" conducted by University of Gothenburg, Sweden in association with Suchitra Film Society & Centre for Film & Drama, at Istanbul, Turkey. He is also a visiting faculty at various institutions in and around Bangalore like NICC, iReboot and Suchitra Film Society.
He is in the core team of Bangalore international film festival as a technical consultant and also on the technical advising committee of other major international film festivals across India.
In the early 2017 Arvind founded "Kanasu Talkies", a film production house aimed at producing content oriented films and "Arishadvarga" is the maiden venture from this team.
Birmingham Premiere
Birmingham | Cineworld Broad Street
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Previous Film
Vivek (Reason)
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Urojahaj (The Flight)
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Welcome to Pharos University (PUA)
Located on the first floor of the Social Studies and Humanities Building
Room D133- D135
I. What is the ELC?
ELC is an English Language Centre that provides PUA students with English courses to help improve their language proficiency level. The courses and academic plans set are designed to help students attain a degree of linguistic mastery, especially where writing and speaking are concerned. As put forward by Pharos’ Board of Directors, students attend 3 levels of English, where English is considered a mandatory course and is included in the students’ GPA score.
The curriculum and academic plan chosen correspond to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) where students enrolled at the university must at least measure up to B1 standards. Students whose language competence skills are below B1 (A1 or A2) register in an intensive elementary English course which helps prepare them for upcoming levels. This elementary course, however, does not add up to their GPA score and is considered an intensive preparatory course.
General English courses fall under the 2 Credit Hour program
II. Mission, Vision and Goals
At this course, the academic staff seeks to constantly upgrade its pedagogical approaches and facilities to provide its learners with an unparalleled level of education and present them as merit able candidates on graduation.
Since its establishment, the centre has had one purpose in mind: Widening learners’ horizons on linguistic, cultural, personal, and intellectual levels.
For that reason, it has carefully selected an academic staff that can promptly deliver knowledge with great diligence and competence.
The English Language Centre:
uses modern pedagogical techniques that help increase Pharos University students’ retention skills. From class to class the teaching methodology may vary; the
purpose, however, remains the same: turning every English lesson into a worthwhile learning experience on the personal and intrapersonal levels
fosters students’ reading skills by introducing different reading texts and contexts
reinforces students’ writing skills through constant practice of various writing prompt and styles
puts students’ preconceived theoretical, syntactic, and linguistic concepts into practice
uses the language in real-life situations and business-related scenarios through skits and role-plays.
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Castle Greyhawk Dungeons - Tragedy, Truth, Torgo, and Troy.
Possibly the most notorious dungeon in the history of D&D is Castle Greyhawk. Arguably, it is the history of D&D, along with Castle Blackmoor, as it is here the game was developed and honed from a collection of wargaming miniatures rules, the additions of two inspired referees, and a heaping helping of pulp fantasy tropes and artefacts. Why then, is this cornerstone of a 35-year old hobby, with millions of participants, so elusive?
Just for a moment, sit back and digest that whole "cornerstone of the hobby" concept, and its implications. In a sense, the original rules of D&D itself were developed to facilitate play in the dungeons below Castle Greyhawk. Compare that to how we develop our dungeons today based on those rules. Interesting, right?
So, obviously, its no wonder that Greyhawk has become such an object of fascination among gamers. What is a wonder is that, despite Gygax's immense body of published works, a completed Castle Greyhawk was never to be among them. In the very beginning, it was obvious that the dungeon was ever at the forefront of Gygax's mind. Anecdotes, play reports, and sketchy details were common in Gygax's earliest articles on D&D back in the mid-70's and, bafflingly, they remain our best source of knowledge on the subject to this day, along with a few reminiscences online from players in those original games.
That's not to say you can't go out and buy a book/module called "Castle Greyhawk" or some such. You can take your pick from among such (ahem) works as "Castle Greyhawk" (TSR 1988) (and it pains me to even reference that obscentity, but Torgo finds it amusing), Greyhawk Ruins (TSR 1990), or "Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk" (WotC 2007, released for D&D3.5 the same day 4E was announced). The one thing those books have in common is that none were written by Gygax, or from what I can tell, more than loosely inspired by the source material. Hints of the breadth of the dungeon were available in modules like "Land Beyond the Magic Mirror" and "Isle of the Ape", but were by their nature an inadequate reference point for the dungeon proper (as in, you can't "reverse engineer" the actual dungeon from what is presented in these works).
In late 2004, Troll Lord Games would seemingly come to the rescue of gamers everwhere who despaired of ever seeing the real deal in print. Gygax was finally putting the whole thing on paper in official form, albeit under the alias "Castle Zagyg", for the first time! TLG promised to make available some introductory material, Kuntz's "Castle Zagyg: Black Chateau" (an introductory module), and Gygax's "Castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh", a home town nearby the castle proper, along with some surrounding wilderness (beautifully mapped by Darlene, btw), followed shortly by the monstrous dungeons themselves "detailed in the following six volumes of this series". My group fell for it hook, line, sinker. Chateau and Yggsburg appeared on shelves as promised, and we dug in. Two groups of C&C PCs were prepared, as per Gygax's suggestion, one 1st level party to start at the Chateau before moving on to the castle, and one 4th level party to explore the lands surrounding Yggsburgh and serve as future back-up PCs when exploration of the dungeons began.
We tackled the available material furiously, wanting to be ready when the first of the six dungeon releases hit the shelves. We were in for a long wait. As the months passed, we burned through the Chateau (literally, thanks to storeroom full of oil in the basement), trampled around Yggsburgh a bit, and, as we grew to realize TLGs production schedule was based more on wishful thinking than on material, started up the "A" series of C&C modules. Increasingly bored, we put down C&C, not wanting to risk burn-out before the good stuff came out, and kept an alert eye out for release updates. Eventually, we gave up altogether, filed Castle Zagyg away in the "What If?" cabinet, and to this day bear TLG a bit of a grudge, a sour taste in the mouth, perhaps unfairly.
Today, I don't really think TLG "tricked" us into buying that introductory stuff, but the possibility was definitely discussed at our table as our disappointment in the situation deepened. For all I know, TLG was as disappointed as we were, but asses were chafed nonetheless at the advertised line of goods that was nowhere near being "in the can". Predictably, most official evidence of those six originally-planned releases has disappeared, but Greyhawk Grognard has kindly preserved the cover art and descriptions for posterity here.
What led to the demise of the product? The official line seems to lay the blame on Gary's increasingly poor health, while the rumor mill implies some sort of breakdown in relations between Gygax and Kuntz, stemming from some confusion about who did what, when. Personally, in addition to the poor health side of things, I suspect Gygax was simply not wholly enthusiastic about rehashing stuff from 30 years ago (can you blame him?). Compare the product summaries (aliases aside) from the Greyhawk Grognard link above with the short but explicit descriptions of the original Greyhawk levels here, and it seems apparent that Gary was adding in stuff that either stemmed from later development of the dungeon, or was adding wholly new material to make it personally and artisically more interesting to work on in the present.
Eventually, in 2008, the first box, "Castle Zagyg: the Upper Works", finally appeared, though its release was bittersweet. Gygax had passed, and its anyone's guess how much of that work was truly his. Jeffrey Talanian was given the task of drawing Gygax's and Kuntz's various notes and hand-drawn maps of the project into a cohesive, publishable form, and the finished work was met with mostly positive reviews (exhaustive reviews here and here). Talanian, at least, vouches for the veracity of the content, and most probably knows best. Adding insult to injury for those anticipating the release of the other five installments, with Gary's passing came the announcement that the Castle Zagyg license was being pulled from Troll Lord Games, ostensibly to allow the new company "Gygax Games" to release the products instead. "Gygax Games" is apparently a euphemism for "Limbo", as a quick glance at the company's news page reveals no updates since october of '08.
Sadly, the few printed copies of the Upper Works were snatched up long before I got around to looking for one, and no more copies are, or will be, forthcoming. Without even Talanian being involved in any possible (albeit unlikely) future releases, the integrity of those releases is bound to be even further called into doubt.
Which begs the question: Should it matter if the Dungeons of Castle Greyhawk ever appear in their entirety?
My enthusiasm to see this venerable legend in printed form has waned, and it's unlikely to ever rise again. And not just because of its rocky and seemingly cursed history of publications past, but because I'm increasingly of the opinion that Castle Greyhawk belongs precisely where it is today: in our imaginations. I'll be just fine with it remaining a topic of legends, a rumor of days gone by, a Holy Grail of old-school gaming ever-sought but never attained.
As the above picture of the ruins of Troy amply conveys, the truth of things is rarely as grand as the legends they spawn. The real spirit of Greyhawk lives every week around tables across the world, with friends sharing the game those dungeons gave birth to.
Posted by Al at 7:13 AM 7 comments:
Another bit of Gygax Lore...
Stumbled across this link over at Dragonsfoot: Jack Vance and the D&D Game, by Gary Gygax.
Another very interesting read!
*This just in: more archival Gygaxia from Randall!
Posted by Al at 2:28 PM 3 comments:
A bit of lost Gygax lore
Be sure to check out Grognardia today, JM has posted a link to an ancient wargaming fanzine (which is huge, btw, 180-ish pages!). In the article Gary lays out, in five easy steps, how to prepare your own original campaign. Its an interesting read, at least to me and anyone else who is also fascinated by these little glimpses at the "olden days".
Interestingly, it says something about the emerging popularity of D&D at the time that this was the article chosen by the editor to place within a reminder for subscribers to pay their bill: " -----> More than 50 of you should renew their subs - please do it soon!" ;)
Posted by Al at 9:16 AM 1 comment:
BtBG Reader: The Arsenal of Miracles
The Arsenal of Miracles, by Gardner F. Fox (perhaps best known as writer for a lot of original DC comics series like Batman and Flash), is an enjoyable tale of galactic intrigue and adventure. While the premise may sound like "hard" science fiction (as indeed most of the "ACE Doubles" were), the book is more aptly described as "Sword & Planet", with its wonderful melange of swordplay, mysterious princesses, and lost civilizations.
The book's protagonist is Bran the Wanderer, a disgraced former admiral of the Imperial Fleet who now haunts the backwater planets of the Empire, indulging in wine, low women, and gambling (assisted by some very special dice), as well as in brooding solitude. Bran has discovered a way to move from world to world, and visits many lost wonders, none of which cure his brooding nature:
"Some men found Lethe in the bottoms of their liqour mugs; others, in the women who flocked to the stews. Bran found his in far travels. The sandy world of Conchavar. The great green seas that roll eternally on Slithstan. The high rock mountains of Klard. He had touched them all. And yet, he wanted more. To see the marsh fires dance their blazing saraband on Duheel. To stare when the copper skies come down on Boharel and kiss the metal trees... To walk in the caves of Rann. To climb the Tors on Vomarr. A corner of his mind told him that he was a fool..."
Fox knows how to paint a picture with words: "He had been walking on for several years...travelling across the wastelands of the star worlds, appearing from out of nowhere on Costair or Uristhinn or Moorn, planets which dotted the crown of Empire which was flung across deep space. He never stayed long in any place. His feet itched for distant sands, for the waters of unseen planets and their high places that only Bran seemed able to find. After a while he became something of a legend. And then he went to Makkador..."
The narrative begins to move forward upon the appearance of the aforementioned Mysterious Princess, who interrupts Bran's lively gambling session with a wager of her own. The journey that follows is a difficult one; the heroes have anything but an easy time of it. The villains of the book are vain and overly ambitious, but cunning and competant nonetheless.
Fox does a good job of presenting an entire universe in one short novelette. This is not a brief episode, it is an adventure that fundamentally changes the universe. He has some great ideas, and manages to bring them to fruition concisely and effectively. Good stuff, and well-worth a long afternoon on the deck with a good drink close at hand.
Meet the Lady of Pain
Chuckles to be had here: Link
10-foot pole, eh? ;)
DrivethruRPG to enter POD arena
Interesting developments.
Phase One: Publishers will be able to order small runs for use at conventions, or really any other reason they might need a limited set of printed books for. This is already up and running on a “test case” basis with some of our publishers, and will be fully implemented within a few more weeks.
Phase Two: Customers will be able to select printed versions of books they purchase from us, to be directly shipped to them. This will be a strictly opt-in system for publishers; some will choose to open their entire catalog to it, some will choose only to make “out of print” older products available, and some may not opt in for these sales at all. We hope to have Phase Two active by year’s end, perhaps even for holiday sales. It may not be until early 2010 before we can get a full launch of this, though.
Phases Three and Four get into some options we intend to launch to get books into retail stores. We’ve already spoken at length with many principles and potential partners and have agreements to move forward in ways we feel will be very beneficial to all concerned. These elements won’t be in play until sometime (probably late First Quarter or early Second Quarter) of 2010.
Flagship Adventure continued
(breaking this into separate posts was getting confusing, so they're all combined here)
A Flagship Adventure for the OSR
A while ago I discussed the strong possibility that solid adventures are as important to the OSR as solid rulesets. While there is some really exciting stuff being put out (see Matt Finch's and Jim Raggi's published adventures for some excellent examples) I don't feel that there is a module or series of adventures yet that really qualifies as being the sort of "shared experience" we enjoyed in the early days of the hobby. As Jim rightly points out in a recent post, I didn't really go into a lot of detail as to what I felt the necessary elements of such an adventure would be.
When I think about these archetypal adventures, there are definately some elements they have in common:
*Easily obtained
*Introductory in nature
*Provides a starting point for a campaign
*Provides a breadth of material (not just dungeon)
Now, that last element, "breadth of material" is probably the most important, and I'm going to go into that in detail, but the first two elements are probably the most difficult obstacle the OSR will have to overcome.
Why? Because its too late. (Kind of.)
One big thing modules like Keep on the Borderlands, In Search of the Unkown, and even Temple of the Frog had in common, was that they were included with the game to begin with! That's certainly not all they had in common (again, more on that when "Breadth of Material" is discussed), but its certainly an important element. When you went out and bought your fresh new D&D boxed set, it came with a module in there. For a lot of people that module was Keep on the Borderlands, as it was included with Holmes, Moldvay Basic, and Mentzer Basic (I own one of each version, btw, how sick am I?).
Not a single one of the clones was bundled with a module, for the simple reasons that no one really expected them to be anything but a vehicle to release new supplemental materials for the games they were based on, and the fact that no one has an extra twenty grand or so to dump into a big pile of boxed sets to set adrift into the stormy and fickle seas of the Distribution Gods. However justifiable though, its a big disadvantage. The closest I've seen so far is Matt Finch's Tomb of the Iron God, which clearly states that it is an "introductory adventure for Swords & Wizardry". There is also a short dungeon included with Labyrinth Lord, and another short dungeon with the S&W quickstart rules. Now all of these would appear to have the "introductory in nature" base covered, but... they're missing some key elements (more on this later).
Fortunately, not being bundled with a ruleset is one disadvantage that is easily overcome, as the countless fans of Village of Hommlett, Secret of Saltmarsh, and other iconic adventures will attest to. But "Easily Obtained" is a necessity. Since this hypothetical "Flagship Adventure" is not bundled with a ruleset, its going to have to be visible, available in a printed, physical form (not just .pdf), and easy to get from a lot of vendors. Its also going to have to be, and clearly state that it is, usable with all old-school D&D-based rulesets.
Now, on to
Introductory in Nature
I think its all too easy to interpret "Introductory Adventure" as "Simple, Easy-to-run Dungeon". Most of what we get for introductory adventures lately would really be more appropriately classified as "example dungeons". There's a lot more involved with being "introductory" than just offering a 1st level dungeon. As we old-schoolers are fond of reiterating, this game is about a lot more than combat. Its also about exploration, role-play, character development, world building, and a whole bunch of more ephemeral and harder-to-define elements.
To truly be "Introductory" an adventure needs to present these elements to the fledgling referee, both in advisory terms and through examples, and even the experienced referee can benefit from a "refresher" on many key elements of running a game. While it gets something of a "cookie-cutter" reputation these days, Keep on the Borderlands is an excellent example of all the elements I'll be discussing, so I'll stick to that adventure as a reference point, no slight intended to similarly excellent Introductory adventures like Village of Hommlett, Secret of Saltmarsh, or even Crucible of Freya. It also helps that KotB is by Gary Gygax, who was at the top of his game (no pun intended) at the time of this adventure's release.
Pages 2-5 (a good portion of its 22 pages of text) of KotB are "Notes for the Dungeon Master", in which Gygax gives an excellent summary of the rules of the game, including:
*Determining Armor Class
*Using the Combat Tables
*Movement in Combat
*How to be an effective Dungeon Master
*Time
*Dividing Treasure and Computing Experience
*Preparation for the use of the module
Remember that this adventure was included, in a box, with the basic rules. Why reiterate them when they're right there in that other book? Because they're crucial elements of running a game, and so deserve to be reiterated. Gygax also interjects alot of general refereeing advice into this section, like being sure to allow the players ample time to wander their home base, interact with locals, and so on. He encourages the referee to limit classes or races based on their vision of the setting, or to add stuff as well.
It could be argued that it is the non-dungeon material in this adventure that makes it such a good Introductory Module. Providing all this information on how to effectively run things outside the dungeon is just as important as the rules for running the dungeon/subject of the module itself. This is what makes the adventure more than just a static location, and brings us to the next important part of an iconic and enduring adventure - being a good
Starting Point for a Campaign.
Another important element of an enduring adventure is its effectiveness at being a starting point for a campaign. An adventure is more likely by its very nature to have a lasting impact if it is the beginning of an entire campaign, the "place where it all began".
This doesn't necessarily mean the adventure has to be for 1st level adventurers, as I'm using the term "campaign" it its specific sense, rather than as a term to denote the entirety of adventuring groups career. "Campaign" can even be used to denote a referee's entire game setting, with several adventuring groups. For our purposes, "campaign" will hew more closely to "story-arc". This could indeed span the entire career of an adventuring party, but it could just as likely be an episode of their career, like a "season" of a TV series.
Do provide a workable starting point for a campaign, the adventure should have at least some of the following elements:
*A home base
*Multiple adventuring locations
*Some surrounding wilderness
*Notable NPCs
*A place in the campaign setting's mythology
*A sense of history
*A replenishable source of new PCs, hirelings, and NPCs
*A definable villain or group of antagonists
Obviously, an experienced referee can be handed a basic dungeon and build all this stuff around it, either beforehand or on the fly, but that same referee can just as competently build the dungeon itself, so this is beside the point. A big difference between "old-school" and "new school" adventures is that with "new-school" adventures, you are typically given an adventure that consists, in its most fundamental form, of a series of carefully constructed encounters to be conquered, which will provide an appropriate amount of treasure, and the requisite amount of experience points to attain the next couple of levels. To "win" this type of adventure, you basically want to get through as many of these encounters as possible as quickly as possible so you can get on to that all-important goal of advancing the power level of your character (and I'm generalizing things here, obviously not every newer edition game is run this way).
Conversely, much of what is important to an "old-school" adventure happens outside the dungeon or in-between trips to the dungeon. Also, exploration of the dungeon itself is the experience, not simply a means to an end. That's why having all those above elements are so important. If you want to enjoy haggling over the price of daggers, you obviously need a local arms merchant. If you want the players to take an interest in those complex murals on level four, you obviously need some history to exploit. Since the focus of the old-school adventure is not supposed to be on just "killing things and taking their stuff", you need to have all these elements in place as much as you need that exquisitely mapped and populated dungeon.
As the players discover, explore, and exploit all these elements, the "campaign" takes shape around them, organically. Its like giving them a pile of wood, bricks, and tools and seeing what they build. Which brings us to
Breadth of Material
Going back to Keep on the Borderlands as our example, lets take a look at the actual contents of this venerable little booklet:
Detached Cover w/map inside: A lot of referees used this cover as a sort of DM's screen, its got some art on the outside for the players to look at, and a nice big map on the inside, separate from the module itself, so the referee isn't flipping back and forth from page to page as he runs the game. The simple utility of this is often overlooked, and while its probably a bit of a hassle nowadays from a printing standpoint, in my opinion the extra effort is worth it, transforming the module from "booklet" to bonafide "play aid".
Pages 2-5: Introduction and Notes for the Dungeon Master, as detailed above.
Pages 6-7: Player Background, some general notes on "Home Base", the keep.
Pages 8-12: Description of the Keep, the locations within it, notable NPCs, even a menu for the local Inn.
Pages 12-13: Some wilderness encouter areas.
Pages 14-23: Description of the 64 locations within the Caves of Chaos.
Pages 24-25: Addional NPCs, How to desgin floorplans, Tips for the Players, and a Glossary.
Pages 26-28: A example floorplan map, a blank sheet of graph paper, and a chart for creating and listing yet more NPCs.
Also, in the center of the book are four removable pages with a map of the wilderness surrounding the keep, a map of the keep itself, and a two-sided reference sheet with combat tables, lists of equipment, spells, armor, saving throws, and wandering monsters.
All that information in such a small package. And only nine pages of it detailing the dungeon itself. It only takes a quick review of these contents to see why this module, and others like it, was so valuable, enduring, and iconic. It basically contains everything the D&D rulebooks talk about what you can do with the game, and fits it neatly into one slim package designed specifically to be played with at the table. There's enough material here for each referee to take and run with, make it wholly their own, and yet still remain a shared experience from group to group.
So hopefully, all that clarifies what I feel would be the crucial elements in designing a flagship adventure for the OSR. Everyone's tastes are different, but I'd like to think I at least touched on what elements the most memorable modules of yore had in common, and what contributed to them being appealing to so many gamers, regardless of all those different tastes.
Torgo Tuesday!
Whenever Torgo gets all his chores done early, I like to reward him with an hour of play. His favorite is my old Dungeons and Dragons "Hand Defender" set (he can be a little protective of his remaining hand). Interestingly, this is the "Advanced" Dungeons and Dragons Hand Defender Set, making it, obviously, far superior to the "Basic" Hand Defender Set.
What was your favorite old licensed D&D toy or accessory?
What every OSR publisher should have
Espresso On-demand book printer.
Just imagine this bad boy churning out copy after copy of your customized, house-ruled retroclone...
Here's a list of Espresso print machines near you! I'm guessing paper jams are a bitch with this thing.
Random Table - Skeletons in the Closet
Everyone has secrets. How those secrets influence one's life or career remains to be seen. Roll on the following table to determine the skeleton in your character's closet!
Secret Background Table (d%)
01. Unresolved Family Vendetta
02. Unfulfilled Family Quest
03. Orphan
04. Apprentice to a murdered Master
05. Stranger from a strange land
06. Apprentice will some day challenge Master
07. Dark Family Secret
08. Amnesiac
09. Exiled from homeland
10. Spy from a rival nation
11. Bastard child of local nobility
12. Reincarnated from dead hero
13. Consumed by Greed
14. Future Dark Lord
15. Fleeing failed marriage w/kids
16. Criminal incognito
17. Accidental murderer from another town
18. Fulfilling noble destiny
19. Doomed to descend to evil
20. Fated to ascend to sainthood
21. Martyr Complex
22. Deserter from local military
23. In search of dark artifact
24. Spurned by noble love-interest
25. Escaped from indentured servitude
26. Escaped Slave
27. Scion of a fallen noble house
28. Last in line to inherit
29. Failed clergyman
30. Refugee from a fallen kingdom
31. Alcoholic
32. Drug Addict
33. Yearns to be Knighted
34. Thirst for power
35. Thirst for knowledge
36. Hidden at birth
37. Abandoned child
38. Must avenge mother slain by father
39. Destined to be "Chosen One" of local religion
40. Whispered to by Demons
41. Has visions
42. Motivated by dreams
43. Slave to daily horoscope
44. Obsessed with discovering lost/legendary city
45. "I'm from the Future"
46. Deposed ruler
47. Financially ruined
48. Farmboy destined for greatness
49. Seeking soulmate
50. Must adventure to fulfill psychotic urges
51. Driven from village as a witch
52. Just released from jail
53. Hunted for a crime you didn't commit
54. Reluctant heir to a noble house
55. Haunted by ghost
56. Survivor of great cataclysm
57. Suicidal
58. Driven by lusts
59. Seeks lost family member
60. Seeks lost love
61. Following portents, signs, and omens
62. Motivated by religious zealotry
63. Family cursed by the gods
64. Has taken an oath of silence
65. Twin sibling is force for evil
66. Outcast for religious beliefs
67. Fleeing an arranged marriage
68. In hiding from family
69. Seeks wine, women, and song
70. Wants to be best of character class, ever
71. Seeks mercantile opportunities
72. Traumatized ex-soldier
73. Under a powerful geas
74. Thrown out of home by spouse
75. Setting out to avenge a great wrong
76. Fleeing the vengeance of another
77. Shamed by cowardice
78. Shunned for unnatural urges
79. Determined to discover the meaning of it all
80. Last survivor of an infamous massacre
81. Had affair with spouse of dangerous rival
82. Fleeing the legacy of an evil family
83. Victim of circumstance
84. Failed academician
85. Driven from guild for incompetance
86. Wishes funding to found a temple
87. The last of your kind
88. Caused a great tragedy
89. Accidentally killed a sibling
90. Determined to establish a new world order
91. Hopeless Romantic
92. Never catches a break
93. Writing a great novel/epic
94. Aspires to godhood
95. Plagued by recurring nightmares
96. Was raised in Faerie, exiled upon puberty
97. Quixotic wanderer
98. Seeking secret of your origin
99. Betrayed by spouse
00. Human from modern Earth trying to find a way home
"Random" encounters for that map.
I thought it would be cool to have a set "threat" for each hex, sort of like the "lairs" listed for several hexes of every JG Wilderlands map, so I just rolled a "random" wilderness encounter for each, and made the resulting encounter "permanent" for that hex. Here's what I got:
2107(Beckshire): Men, Nomads
2108(Rough wasteland): Dragon, Red(!)
2207(The little islet NE of Beckshire): Elemental, Fire
2208(Beach): Hobgoblins
2007(Farmlands): Sphynx, Hieraco
2008(the Bane Hills): Coeurl
2009(Lake Ifrin): Fish, Giant Pike
1906(Baeldric Mtns, the Thorpe of Black Dell pop60): Ogre Magi
1907(Baeldric Mtns, Castle Nirdrim): Spiders, Huge
1908(the Thorny Mire): Ants, Giant, Queen w/Hive
1909(Magg Forest): Werewolves
So just right there I have plenty of beasties to develop local rumors, crises, quests, and even mythologies.
Getting a result of Men, Nomads right on top of Beckshire was unexpected, I decided to make them some sort of Gypsies, a wandering clan (there are 175 or so of them) that has taken up residence just outside of town. Maybe they have some startling secrets, maybe they'll be a good source of fortune-tellers, wilderness guides, and even magic potions for the players.
Having a Red Dragon just south of town gives an obvious threat to Beckshire and its surrounding farms. It should also give the players something to work towards - maybe someday they'll be tough enough to fight off its depravations, or even track it back to its lair, which is sure to be heaped with treasure!
The Fire Elemental on the little island NE of town opens up some interesting possibilities. As elementals are Neutral and possess intelligence, albeit low, it could offer some roleplaying potential, as opposed to simply a threat. Perhaps there was once a mage school on the island, and a wayward summoning led to their destruction. Or maybe the elemental was placed there by a jealous god to guard a vault containing dangerous secrets.
The Hobgoblins on the beach SE of town (about 120 of them) I've decided are shipwrecked or ship-borne marauders of some sort (Hob-Vikings?) who have begun to make secretive raids farther and farther inland, trying to keep their presence as secretive as possible until they are ready to raid Beckshire itself. This group offers an immediate threat to the players' hometown, as well as a level-appropriate challenge for them, offering combat experience, xp's, and a chance to win some local prestige.
The hieraco-sphynx NW of town is a powerful and evil predator, second only in the region to the Red Dragon. The fact that it haunts quiet farmlands rather than a desolate wilderness means this beast must be dealt with; its lair is doubtless a charnel house of nightmarish proportions.
The Coerl(aka Displacer Beasts) of the Bane Hills are a common and numerous enough predator, making travel through the hills dangerous, and occasionally coming down into cultivated lands to prey on domesticated animals.
The Giant Pike of Lake Ifrin offer popular and dangerous sport fishing for the local nobility, as well as a hazard for local fishermen. Perhaps they guard a sunken ruin of some sort...
The Ogre Magi of Black Dell offers some possibilities. It could be a threat to the settlement, or due to its polymorph self ability, it could even be the leader of the place. As I haven't even determined what race this thorpe is, I'll hold off on determining this until I need to.
Who knows what the monstrous Spiders near Castle Nirdrim guard? Are they the default local predator, or do they infest the castle itself?
The Giant Ants of the Thorny Mire (a whole hive!) offers another level-appropriate challenge for the party. Clearing the hive could open up new farming lands for the locals, and their tunnels could lead to secrets below the surface...
I'm also saving the Werewolves of the Magg Forest for later, though I'm going to let the players know they are there, and that rumor says they kill and eat all who pass through the forest. But perhaps all is not as it seems...
Back to that map...
With only a 16% chance of having a settlement in any given hex, I was expecting a big, empty frontier, but I ended up with 56! The breakdown is like this:
Single Dwellings - 12
Thorps - 9
Hamlets - 6
Castles - 8
Villages - 6
Towns - 4
Cities - 5
Ruins - 6
I was pleased how things seemed to spread themselves out, I was nervous I'd get say, 4 big cities all in a row in a swamp or something.
Obviously, I havn't detailed every little thing yet, and probably won't until needed, but I did want to determine the nature of the 5 cities. Rolling the population for these, I got two with 60,000, one with 30,000, one with 20,000, and one with 10,000.
One of the 60k cities, the one down in the southern part of the map, was surrounded by ruined villages, so I decided this would be a theocracy gone mad, devotees of a dark god scouring the countriside for sacrifice. Its far enough from the PC's "home town" that there won't be any immediate prblems to deal with, but close enough that rumors and the occasional spy or refugee may be around to make things interesting.
The next big one (NW area, in the little forest by the lake) ended up being a demihuman city (I gave each only a 5% chance of being non-human, as I wanted a humanocentric world, somewhat Vancian), and my random determination came up being Gnomes! The chart is something like this, btw:
01 Lizardman
02 Dwarf
03 Halfling
04 Gnome
05 Elf
06-99 Human
A city of 60k gnomes! Gnomes have always been one of those "meh" races to me, sort of a mish-mash of halfling, dwarf, and elf, the guardian of flower gardens everywhere. But here in this world they are a force to be reckoned with. I decided to make them the "higher order" in this campaign world, filling the role elves normally take. Elven culture would be somewhat dark, off in the shadows, with Gnomes filling the roles of the great loremasters, healers, wizards, and fearsome non-human military. For them, I came up with the "City of Gold and Glass"(enhanced by their powers of illusion, probably), hidden away in its forested ravines, amid several waterfalls running down into their great lake, a sort of Rivendell-meets-Metropolis. As there is a gnome fighter in the party, some of this could actually come into play.
The next biggest city, pop.30k, up in the NE area, kind of out in the open, I decided would be the default "good" city of the area, good being the perception of the city, though its probably more along the lines of Lawful Neutral or even Lawful Evil. At any rate, its the center of humanity's power in this area of the continent.
The 20k city ended up in that big depression up on the top of the map. This fortuitous placement immediate brought to mind a Lost City, of perhaps a Roman level of technology and society, tucked away in their secluded rift, xenophobic to extremes, convinced the outer world is still under the sway of whatever dark cataclysm forced them into exile in the first place.
The last city, population 10k, ended up on the point between two great estuaries in the middle of the map. This, I made my haven of thieves and pirates, a lawless place, a middle ground between the forces of the lawful city to the north, and the chaotic Baalites to the south.
Next I decided to roll up an encounter for each of the 10-15 hexes around Beckshire, and got still more interesting stuff. To be continued...
Ah, more OSR debate (yay for rage)!
Dan over at Uhluht'c Awakens call our attention to a somewhat... tense... discussion over at Dragonsfoot, ostensibly about the point of this whole OSR thing.
The thread's OP, Gnarley Bones, starts out by (and I'm paraphrasing generously here) claiming something along the lines of "the retro-clone movement has co-opted the term 'old-school renaissance' from the out-of-print movement". He goes on to define the OSR as "individual OOP D&D gamers, spread far and wide and pretty out of touch with current gaming, getting together, talking shop and rolling the dice."
Now, I respect GB's work, and his moderation on DF has always seemed fair to me, but I catch a faint whiff of angst in this post. Perhaps something along the lines of "why are the retro-clones getting all the attention when we've been carrying the torch for OOP games all this time?" I could be wrong, its just the impression I get. (Kellri's response here is amusing btw).
Personally, I use the old stuff and the new RC's interchangeably, along with my own stuff, and stuff from the great blogs and old-school sites out there. I think there is a big difference between the "OOP movement" and what I consider to be the OSR.
I think a look at the definition of Renaissance is in order: "As a cultural movement, it encompassed a resurgence of learning based on classical sources..."
This is a very neat way of putting the OSR into perspective, or at least delineating it from a strict adherance to OOP materials: The OSR, as a movement, encompasses a resurgence of learning based on classical sources, using them as an inspiration and base for new things, and new ways to use old things.
This takes things a step beyond "old-school gaming". The truth is, the differences between B/X, AD&D, LL, S&W, LBBs, OSRIC is so insignifigant as to be reduced to a simple matter of taste. Its like arguing about what brand of sauce you like on your spaghetti. The big difference comes in whether you're using that classic material to keep your gaming experience alive and fresh, or are you just hanging on to the "pure" original for the sake of some sort of archival purity. Obviously I consider the OSR to be the former, not the latter, and I think that's what is making it a little more accesible to new fans, and a little more creatively active. Why take offense if a group of curious newcomers downloads and tries out Labyrinth Lord for free, rather than hunting down a Moldvay Basic set on Ebay or something? That is... silly.
As a disclaimer, I'm not putting one "side" above the other, just stating I don't really feel the term "OSR" is very applicable to the OOP movement. If you're perfectly happy with what you've had for the last 30 years and don't need anything else, that's great. But how about cheering from the sidelines, rather than booing?
Posted by Al at 10:01 AM 14 comments:
And the answer is...
Its a map generated with Appendix B: Random Wilderness Generation (1E DMG p173).
While the generator seems to have been intended for use "in play" as the party moves from empty hex to empty hex, I was curious to see what a randomly generated map would look like. As an aside, if a section of this nature was included in OSRIC, I can't find it, or something like the Castle Tables in Appendix C, p.182-183. Maybe someone wants to put together an OSRIC appendix for this?
As Mr. Mishler somehow intuited (are you psychic?;) the original map was just the area detailed above, with Beckshire as its center. I used Beckshire as a "home base" several weeks back for an OSRIC one-off the day after the "One Page Dungeon" contest winners were released (goblin caves of some sort, very vicious, iirc). That same group (we usually play board games like Diplomacy or Risk) asked for a couple more sessions, and with the Wilderlands S&W game on hiatus I'm happy to oblige. With Beckshire's immediate environs penciled in, I followed with a rough coastal outline, a couple of major waterways, and then went to work with the random chart, one hex after another.
Since I usually use the Wilderlands setting, I wanted a map of similar scale and scope.
The map took maybe two hours to generate, drawing included, and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I was expecting a hodgepodge of terrains (a lake, then a plain, then a mountain, then a swamp, etc), but things turned out to make a weird sort of sense. Mountain chains emerged, often with foothills, even a great forest.
Then it was time to go back over each hex, and check for "Inhabitation". With only a 16% chance of a result, I was predicting something of a barren Wilderness. What followed was, again, surprising...(to be continued)
Click on it to make it larger.
And, yes, its a map, but what kind of map, exactly?
Posted by Al at 12:32 PM 5 comments:
Old School Emphasis: Character vs. Adventure
I've been following an interesting thread over at the Swords & Wizardry boards, wherein new member "Peregrin" is looking for advice on running old-school games. It's always nice, imo, to see a younger gamer "raised" on 3.5 take a look at the older editions, and Peregrin makes some very insightful observations, the kind you can probably only get from someone who is first experiencing the game, as opposed to returning to it, like a lot of us are.
This statement, in particular, struck me:
"For me, I guess, floating around in different 3.5 circles was like watching people who enjoy tuning up cars more than driving them. They got more joy out of getting new parts than they did actually going out on the road. Now, not everyone was like that. But I've met a lot of people who seem more passionate about char building than about the adventures their char goes through."
And by "struck me", I mean "blew my mind", as Peregrin has managed in 3 or 4 sentences to sum up my dissatisfaction with later editions of D&D.
While this is certainly a process that began in 2E with the addition of kits and "character options" it seems like the main focus of most of the post-2E material published has been aimed at character optimization. A character is created, optimized, tweaked, honed, min-maxed, and point-assigned, down to every minute function and aspect. Heck, in 3.5 you could even min-max your skill rating in something like Profession: Sailmaker or Perform: Poetry.
As a counterpart to this, the DM was now expected to provide appropriately challenging "Encounters" for these optimized characters to overcome. Not too hard, not too soft, just right.
Now, take a minute and digest that.
You, as a player, develop your character. Say its Bolgar the Holy, Paladin of Tyr. You optimize the hell out of him. If your Fortitude save is lacking, simply "take a level" in another class to boost that stat. Then maybe "take a level" of "Radiant Swordmaster" to improve your damage output against undead, and "take a level" of "Blistering Warshield" to boost your AC, etc, etc.
Now I, as DM, take your character's level and abilities, and that of the other players' characters, into consideration, to design the most ass-kickingly safe and appropriate series of Encounters to test their mettle in, each carefully tailored to the right CR and EL.
Obviously, this is a far different experience from running, say, Keep on the Borderlands with B/X. What's not so obvious, is why this different paradigm exists at all.
The kneejerk reaction is to blame the publisher for putting out all that character option nonsense to begin with. But for many players, character optimization isn't nonsense at all. They like it. If those splats didn't sell so well, WotC wouldn't keep churning them out. And really, its just a somewhat more math-intensive version of what we all used to collect Dragon magazine for - new classes and options and whatnot. How many of us played a class out of Dragon Annual, like the duelist or bard? Or one of the "paladins for every alignment".
No, I'm slowly coming to the realization that the difference may be a whole lot more simple and fundamental than I thought.
Lack of good, solid, adventures.
The kind that can be dropped into any campaign setting, challenge a range of levels of characters, and are widespread enough in distribution that everyone is playing them, and enjoying that "shared experience" buzz we all got from sharing our Tomb of Horrors or Lost City stories with folks from other groups. The kind that serves as a centerpiece of the game for weeks or months of play, allowing the roleplay side of the campaign to develop organically (as opposed to a recommended story line from an Adventure Path-style product) as the players begin to interact more and more with their world.
I think the OSR really needs a "showcase" adventure. It needs a Keep on the Borderlands or Temple of Elemental Evil of its very own, something shared from group to group regardless of whether they're using LL, S&W, OSRIC, or the systems that orignally inspired them. That's not to say there havn't been some great adventures released for the RCs, there certainly have been. But I think the emphasis of the last couple of years has been on honing the rule sets themselves, diligently recreating the spirit of the three big old-school games into three faithful and marvellous RCs. I'd love to see that level of commitment put into recreating something as epic and iconic as the G or A series of modules.
I've spoken in the past about a Rosetta Clone, one system for the OSR to band together around, but my opinion is changing in gradual degrees. I think a "Rosetta Dungeon" would be more appropriate. Adventure may really be the heart and soul of the old-school gaming experience, not choice of old-school systems (each one, honestly, being good enough to justify repeated play), so lets see some creative mind out there make us all a "Flagship" adventure to rally behind, and most importantly, share.
Posted by Al at 7:38 AM 30 comments:
A very nice Character Sheet
I've always loved cool character sheets. Maybe I romanticize them a bit because I so seldom get to use them, being so often on the other side of the screen? Or maybe its fond memories of my first Goldenrod character sheet, an elf Paladin which followed little or nothing actually presented in the rules, and sporting a rough sketch intended to resemble the Grenadier mini I used for the character.
Check out Dyson Logos's B/X Character Sheet. This little guy is quite impressive; when you fold it in half it makes a LBB-sized booklet. Not specifically tailored for S&W, but easy enough to use with that game, too, of course. Its got enough lined space inside to keep track of any character, through a great many levels. Nice work, Logos!
D&D is Dead! (someone should let all those players know)
By now you have no doubt heard of Gamer's Closet's post on whether or not D&D is dead. While I have my suspicions that the blog's author is simply trying to "stir the pot", as they say, it did get me thinking, how many people still play this game?
Well, good luck finding that out.
According to wikipedia, some 20 million people have played D&D at some point, and about 6 million were still playing in 2007. Depending on who you listen to from WotC, they have anywhere from two to four million active customers supporting the current edition, and are on the fourth printing of the core Player's Handbook of the current edition.
The recent release of Pathfinder sold out its first print, though they're not saying how many books that was, exactly (I'm guessing 10k or 20k?). The most recent issue of Dragon magazine I could find in my vault (from shortly before its demise a year or two ago) had circulation info listing about 33,000 issues between subscribers, store copies, and archival copies (unless I'm reading it wrong). The most recent estimate I could find on WotC's online version of the magazine is 8000 confirmed subscribers (representing probably 25% of the total number).
D&D Online, the (laughable, imo) MMO version of D&D, claimed about 100k subscribers at its height, and has fallen to 30k or so in the last several months, which has prompted the service to go to free membership. The RPGA doesn't list any numbers I can find, so its obviously a number they aren't bragging about.
There are currently 307 Dungeons and Dragons Meetup Groups around the world, with 30,153 registered members, 24,957 interested in being members, in 257 cities, in 13 countries. Compare this to two other notable, popular hobbies, Photography and Scrapbooking, and D&D rates favorably among them in popularity, with, I imagine, a similar ratio of Meetup hobbyists to Total hobbyists. Meetup boards, in case you don't know, are used to organize actual face-to-face play, as opposed to online gaming. My local chapter has 146 players (predominantly 4E, btw), with nearby chapters in Rochester (100) , Toronto (256), and Toronto burbs(324).
So, what's the prognosis, Dr. BtBG?
Xor the Hunter
The snow-clad wilds of the Great Icewall are an inhospitable place. Nevertheless, some hardy adventurers are still foolish enough to attempt to venture into this icy nightmare in search of lost cities, forgotten mines, and other places of unguarded fortune. This snowy landscape is anything but unguarded, though, as it is the haunt of Xor the Hunter, a renegade Snow Giant, too cruel and debauched even for his own kind.
Across the frozen plain, he rides upon his silver-clad chariot-sled, pulled by four fierce polar bears, in search of human prey for both his larder and his couch. He resides in a great frozen manor perched on the edge of the Icewall, where he holds in thrall a tribe of some two-dozen Malamute-Gnolls. In combat he weilds the sword Fjordring, a +2 blade that would be a Two-handed Sword in the hands of a normal mortal, which slows anyone cut by its edge for 1d6 rounds.
Xor has amassed an immense treasure from his decades of depredation, and currently has seven "concubines" imprisoned in his manor. One of these, Giselwe, is a witch of some accomplishment (CE MU6 Int17 Cha15), who has been trying, to no avail thus far, to manipulate and control Xor. The remains of several men hang frozen in his larder, including the corpses of the "Lost King", Hinfast IV, and his retinue, who went missing four years ago during a crusade to find the Holy Rod of Parmuul, which still hangs from his belt.
Xor the Hunter, Frost Giant: HD 10+3 (65hp); AC 3[16]; Atk 2d8+2; Move 12; Save 8; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Throw Boulders, Magic Sword.
Polar Bears (4): HD 7; AC 6[13]; Atk 2 claws (1d6+1) bite (1d10+1); Move12; Save 9; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Hug (+3d6 if hit with both claws).
Malamute-Gnolls: HD 2; AC 5[14]; Atk bite (2d4) or weapon (1d10); Move 9; Save 16; CL/XP 2/30.
The Stone Sentinels of Trepidoore
And so it was that on the Fourth day of Gainful Planting, 1022, known hereafter as Dar'girith, the Day of Blood, the four Stone Sentinels came up out of the wastes of Trepidoore. They slew all in their path, their cruel visages twisted in laughter as they did so. From dawn til night they slew, until all the lands around the Grail Citadel lay wasted, and only then did they come to stand before the Citadel's mighty gates, silent and ominous.
At dawn, the great magus of the Grail Citadel, Panramjin, came forth and conferred with the Sentinels in hushed tones, though all upon the walls strained to hear. After some discussion, the magus laid down his staff, was taken up in the four arms of Akkava, the Obsidian Sentinel, and the whole group retreated back into Trepidoore, never to be seen again.
Obsidian Sentinel (Akkava)
AC 3[16]
HD 12 (75hp)
Atk 4 daggers (2d6 each)
Special +1 or better to-hit; spell immunities
Challenge lvl/XP 16/3200
The Obsidian Sentinel is a 12' tall statue of solid, light consuming obsidian. It appears as a four-armed, fanged female with a demonic visage, wearing a belt of skulls and necklace of phalli. This Sentinel can attack with each of its four, wavy-bladed daggers each round. It is immune to all forms of magic save for magic missiles, spells that effect stone, or fire spells (which act against it as a slow spell).
Quartz Sentinel (Bilaxus)
Atk 2 Eye Rays (2d8 each) or Fist (3d8)
The Quartz Sentinel is a 15' tall statue of solid, gleaming quartz. It appears as a powerfully muscled old man with a long beard, and is draped in a snowy white robe. This Sentinel can emit beams of black, freezing energy from its eyes at up to two individual targets each round. It is immune to all forms of magic save for magic missiles, spells that effect stone, or fire spells (which act against it as a slow spell).
Pyrite Sentinel (Somi)
Atk 2 Glaive attacks (2d8 each)
The Pyrite Sentinel is a 8' tall statue of solid, scintillating pyrite. It appears as a broad, massive, dwarf, clad in rune-covered armor. This Sentinel wields a glaive-like weapon with blades at both ends. It is immune to all forms of magic save for magic missiles, spells that effect stone, or fire spells (which act against it as a slow spell).
Red Sandstone Sentinel (Deruthis)
Atk Sandstorm Breath (3d6) or 2 Claws (2d6)
The Red Sandstone Sentinel is an 11' tall statue of solid, scorching-hot red sandstone. It appears as a pot-bellied old crone, with vulture-talon hands and a gaping maw. This Sentinel can breath out a cone of scorching, blasting sand at anything for 50' in front of itself. It is immune to all forms of magic save for magic missiles, spells that effect stone, or fire spells (which act against it as a slow spell).
BtBG Reader goes shopping!
I got a few minutes yesterday to browse around a local favorite of mine, Oracle Junction used books, and found a few pleasant surprises! The store specializes in rare, old, and signed editions, but has an extensive "back room" filled with old paperbacks. I could easily spend hours digging around back there, but seldom get over to that side of town.
My first grab was "The Pastel City" by M. John Harrison, which I've never read but have heard good things about. Honestly, the cover featuring the cloaked, fantasy-fiction-looking character riding out of the gleaming sci-fi city into a wasteland was enough to pique my interest.
My next find is the Nonborn King, by Julian May. This is part of her Many Colored Land series, of which I only had the first two, having lent out the final two years ago, never to be seen again. If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend it, May sets up a wonderful mix of time-traveling and fantasy, weaving it into the roots of the western mythologies of magic, elves, and goblins. Good stuff.
Yep, another copy of Vance's Dying Earth. I grabbed this for a buddy of mine to read, as I feel this book is required reading for any D&D fan, as equally deserving of a place on your gaming shelf as the 1E DMG.
Edward P Bradbury's Warriors of Mars. Never heard of Edward P. Bradbury? That's because its really Michael Moorcock's pen name used when he wrote his trilogy of homages to Burrough's Mars books. He even wrote a little biography for EPB:
"Edward Powys Bradbury was born in 1924 and spent some time in the Far East, where he developed a strong interest in Sanskrit literature. He returned to England in 1955, when, in his own words, 'the demise of two elderly relatives left me with the shocking reality that I no longer had to work for a living'. He began writing fiction and continued to travel, this time in Europe, Africa and America. He has written detective stories, Westerns and weird thrillers as well as non-fiction. In fact, he cannot stop writing and is convinced that, when he dies, he will be found with a pen in his hand. His only hope is that the story will be finished!"
Wish-fulfillment through an author's characters is nothing new, but wish-fulfillment through a pen name is truely Moorcockian!
Happy Belated Birthday, ERB!
How remiss was I to mention Edgar Rice Burroughs yesterday of all days...? Born Sept 1st, 1875, ERB would have been 134 today if he had been possessed of that marvelous Martian lifespan. He's immortalized forever by the brilliant books he wrote, the father of an entire genre of fiction, a genre I believe is headed towards a bit of a resurgence. With a movie in the works by the most profitable movie production company in the US, its only a matter of time before bookshelves are happily sagging under the weight of his 70-odd novels.
In related news, Marooned is reporting a free online serialized novel by Scott Lynch, author of Lies of Locke Lamore, inspired by ERB's Sword & Planet fiction, called Queen of the Iron Sands.
So today I took the "Which Beatle are You!?" quiz.
Apparently, I'm some unnatural mix of John and Ringo. How does that happen?
Anyway, Torgo took the test too, and the program declared him to be "Pete Best". Wtf!? I didn't even know that was an option. It specifically says "John, Paul, George, or Ringo".
%&^*ing Torgo!
Needless to say, my cloven-hoofed henchman was sorely disappointed; he was hoping to be Paul. He loves "Maxwell's Silver Hammer".
Listens to it all day, in fact.
Makes me nervous.
Warriors of the Red Planet - Sept Preview
Enric Castaigne, Olympic Fencing champion from Barcelona, now a castaway on an alien world, speeds across the Sulfur Sea of Tantaloore in his four-man flier, in hot pursuit of Tan Dranas, the Mad Scientist of Hern. Some meters to his left, his stalwart companion Liris Lir, notorious scoundrel of Carbol City, commands another flier.
The heroes' lighter airships overtake Dranas' heavier twelve-man cruiser easily, but the wily Scientist aims his Lightning Generator and a blinding blue arc of energy slices into Lir's flier, sending it careening down towards the churning yellow sea below. Enric curses roundly, and manuevers his airship above his nemesis's cruiser, unleashing a barrage of irradium bombs across the engine housing. Crippled, the cruiser drifts into a slowly descending spiral. Turning the flier back towards it, Enric gives the controls over to one of his crewmen and, sword in hand, makes a fantastic leap onto the deck below.
Snarling, Tan Dranas orders his black-bearded, ochre-skinned flunkies forward with sabres drawn, while he himself retreats to the safety of the forward cabin's doorway. Grim smile on his lips, Enric slashes about himself, a whirlwind of flashing steel, and cuts down man after man. At last only one enemy crewman is left before him, but the hapless man chooses to leap overboard, cartwheeling down through the thin Martian air to take his chances in the poisonous waters below. Enric advances towards his sworn enemy, but Tan Dranas points a heavily wired , gun-like instrument at him and Enric is frozen in place.
Cackling, Dramas strikes the blade from Enric's nerveless grip, and draws his own dagger, ready to plunge it into the Earthman's chest. Suddenly, from above, Liris Lir appears with a great whoop! Saved from the plummeting flier by his trusty jet-belt, he has flown with haste to aid his friend. Swooping in closer, he takes careful aim at the surprised scientist with his customized irradium pistol...
Above is a "narratized" version of a short combat we ran, one of a series of playtest scenarios designed to test out the new ship-to-ship combat rules from Warriors of the Red Planet, as well as a cool (imo anyway) new Warrior class ability. You'll find these new rules surprisingly familiar (hehe), but used for a whole new aspect of gaming based around the iconic airships of Sword & Planet fiction. As with the rest of the ruleset, there is nothing in WotRP more rules-intensive than anything presented in Swords & Wizardry, and easily used with that game (and similar games wink wink) as well. The battle between an immense Albino Sea-Dragon and a Zodangan Dreadnought was vicious, glorious to behold (ie imagine), and over in just a few minutes of table time.
Warriors of the Red Planet also includes simple rules for combat between groups of adversaries, so you can set up your own large-scale battles on land or in the air, with no complicated rules headaches.
Past WotRP Previews.
Castle Greyhawk Dungeons - Tragedy, Truth, Torgo, ...
D&D is Dead! (someone should let all those players...
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Info Session: Tillman Military Scholarship
Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, 4 – 5 p.m.
What Is It:
The Tillman Military Scholarship supports outstanding active-duty service members, vets and military spouses who have great talent, significant leadership experience and a desire to enact positive change.
In addition to the financial award, it offers leadership training, access to the Tillman network, and professional networking opportunities. The Scholarship is named after former NFL player Pat Tillman who put his football career on hold to enlist in the U.S. Army. He died while serving in Afghanistan.
Applicants must be active-duty service members, veterans or military spouses.
The national deadline is likely to be in late February/early March.
For more information please visit the Tillman website, come to an info session, and/or schedule an appointment with Cindy Schaarschmidt, Director, Student Fellowships & Study Abroad.
RSVP here.
Email tscholar@uw.edu with questions.
To request disability accommodation, including American Sign Language interpretation, contact the Disability Resources for Students office at 253-692-4508, drsuwt@uw.edu or submit a request at www.tacoma.uw.edu….
The University of Washington │Tacoma makes every effort to honor disability accommodation requests. Requests can be responded to most effectively if received as far in advance of the event as possible, preferably at least 10 days.
UW Tacoma Cherry Parkes (CP)
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Home / Blog / Selenium 3 is Coming!
Selenium 3 is Coming!
Selenium 3 is coming! I’m here to tell you about what’s changed, and what impact this will have on your testing.
WebDriver users will just find bug fixes and a drop-in replacement for 2.x.
Selenium Grid users will also find bug fixes and a simple update.
The WebDriver APIs are now the only APIs actively supported by the Selenium project.
The Selenium RC APIs have been moved to a “legacy” package.
The original code powering Selenium RC has been replaced with something backed by WebDriver, which is also contained in the "legacy" package.
By a quirk of timing, Mozilla have made changes to Firefox that mean that from Firefox 48 you must use their geckodriver to use that browser, regardless of whether you're using Selenium 2 or 3.
In more depth:
When we released Selenium 2.0 in 2011, we introduced the new WebDriver APIs, and encouraged everyone to start moving to them. If you're using the WebDriver APIs, then Selenium 3.0 is a simple drop-in upgrade. We've not changed any of the WebDriver APIs, and the code is essentially the same as the last 2.x release. If you're using Selenium Grid, the same applies: in most cases, you can just drop in the new JAR (or update your maven dependency to 3.0.0), and you're done.
At the same time as the Selenium project is shipping Selenium 3.0, Mozilla is changing the internals of Firefox in a way that makes it more stable and secure, but which also makes the community-provided Firefox Driver no longer work. As such, if you use Firefox for your testing, you'll need to use the geckodriver, which is an executable similar to the chromedriver and MS's edgedriver. You'll need to start using geckodriver even if you're using Selenium 2 — the change is in the browser, not Selenium.
If the update to Selenium 3 is such a non-event, why did we call this Selenium 3.0? To answer this question, I first need to provide some history, and tell you a little about how Selenium works under the hood. The very first version of Selenium was "just" a very complicated Javascript framework, running in the browser and interpreting the table-based tests you may be familiar with if you use Selenium IDE. We call this "Selenium Core". This Javascript framework formed the basis of the original implementation of Selenium RC (the oldest set of Selenium APIs, where all the method and functions were on the "Selenium" interface, and which have been deprecated for some time now). Over time, the needs of modern web testing have grown ever more complicated and sophisticated, and Selenium Core is now less capable of meeting these needs than it was before.
With Selenium 3.0, we are deleting the original Selenium Core implementation. If you use the old RC interfaces, we provide an alternative implementation that's backed by WebDriver. This is the same "webdriver-backed selenium" that has been available as part of Selenium 2 since its release. Because the underlying technology has changed from Selenium Core to WebDriver, you may find some places where your existing tests using RC run into issues. Our experience with migrating suites is that it's normally a systemic issue that can be fixed with a minimal engineering effort (that is, the problem is normally isolated to a few places, and these can be rewritten to avoid problems)
We're also removing the original Selenium RC APIs from the main downloads. If you're a Java user, and need to use them to support existing tests, then you'll need a dependency to "org.seleniumhq.selenium:selenium-leg-rc:3.0.0" (or later!). It's strongly recommended that you do not do this unless you absolutely need to.
If you're someone who runs tests exported from IDE in the table format, there is now a new test runner that the project has made available for you to use that can be downloaded from the project's website. It takes the same arguments as the old runner, and we've done our best to ensure the output of tests remains the same too.
This release marks the culmination of a lot of hard work by the Selenium committers and community. I'd like to thank everyone who has been part of this process, and the Selenium users around the world who have done so much to make the project as successful as it is. We hope you enjoy Selenium 3.0!
Simon Stewart is the creator of WebDriver, the open source web application testing tool, as well as a core Selenium developer. WebDriver remains a hot topic as it is currently going through a W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) specification process, which Simon is a co-editor of.
Come join Simon at this year's flagship Selenium Conference in London, November 14-16! Learn more.
Simon Stewart
Product updates and releases
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Brad Pitt spoke about the fight with alcoholism
The divorce of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie can't be called painless.
Ex-spouses regularly met in courts and still have not settled the issue of custody of children. A stressful period in his life greatly affected the psychological state of the actor, and, as he admitted in an interview with The New York Times, all this time he visited a support group for anonymous alcoholics. According to Pitt, it was this that helped him eventually get rid of his addiction.
"It was that safe place where no one condemned you, and you, in turn, also did not condemn those around you. All these people sat there, and were so open and honest - I had never heard anything like it before. This a real liberation for me, which allowed me to open up and show my bad sides," Brad admitted.
Now, according to him, he adheres to a sober lifestyle.
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Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie plans to leave the United States as soon as the children reach adulthood.
Angelina Jolie shared the secret of harmony
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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt daughter changed the name
The biological daughter of Hollywood stars has long admitted that she doesn't feel comfortable in the image of a woman.
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Staff Fall 2019
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The Bronx Ink
News and features from New York's greatest borough
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Tag Archive | "Juandy Paredes"
Graffiti, girls, and bragging rights
Posted on 21 April 2010. Tags: Angelica Nitura, Ashley Cardero, Bronx, Bronx crime, Bronx Criminal Court, Hector Bautista, Homicide, Jennifer Brookland, Juandy Paredes, Ryan Tracy, South Bronx, Stabbing, Yankee Stadium, Youth Violence
This article is by Jennifer Brookland and Ryan Tracy.
Ashley Cardero, second from left, and Angelica Nitura, second from right, stood with friends by a memorial on Cromwell Ave., not far from where 17 year-old Juandy Paredes was stabbed to death Friday night. (Ryan Tracy/The Bronx Ink)
Juandy Paredes’s crew hangs out at 1164 Cromwell Avenue at night, or at the nearby park just north of Yankee Stadium. They smoke, drink, and make too much noise. The cops come arrest people all the time for trespassing and being loud. In fact, the kids from this neighborhood say they see the same cop and the same ambulance on the corner by the park every night, waiting for trouble.
Trouble breaks out a lot.
In this stretch of Mt. Eden, thumping a few blocks away from the 4 train, graffiti colors the exteriors, kids with Spanish nicknames and tattoos fight members of rival cliques, and questions are met with “I don’t know anything,” by people who do.
Next to guys in sweats with ear-buds tracing lines from their pockets to their ears, Angelica Nitura looks almost out of place in skinny jeans and a blue cardigan. She talks about her favorite memory of Paredes, a 17 year-old kid they all called “Frko,” or fresh boy. It was on April Fool’s Day, and someone from another crew had taken a guy’s hat. Paredes stood up for the guy, fighting the kids who had taken the hat until they smashed a bottle over his head. Paredes walked angrily back to Nitura.
“His whole side of his head is bleeding, like busted up, leaking,” said Nitura. “I like that he came back, after washing off all that blood. I like that he stood up for his friend. That was my favorite time.”
Paredes’s crew calls itself the “F— Your Life” group, or “F.Y.L.” for short, but insists it’s not a gang. More like a family where everyone watches the others’ backs. There are maybe 50 or 60 of them, all from the neighborhood. Today, laminated badges that they designed on computers swing from their necks showing pictures of Paredes and “4/16/2010,” the date he was killed a few blocks away at 167th and Jerome Avenue. They cross themselves and kiss their fingers in front of the memorial they’ve built for Paredes, a wooden table with tall plastic flowers under his picture, a Dominican flag, and a collection of candles with pictures of saints on them.
Juandy Paredes, pictured here in a collage made by a family friend. (Ryan Tracy/The Bronx Ink)
Their expressions are hard. But only four days after Paredes was murdered, tears come suddenly.
Ashley Cordero is known by her friends as “Shine.” She has her brother’s name tattooed on her right hand, and swirls of color filling the gap between her shirt and her waistband on her left side. She breaks down thinking about the first time she met Paredes. It was July 14th, and she was eating Chinese food in the park. Paredes hung out there a lot because he loved inline skating, trying out tricks on rollerblades that were fitted with a panel on the bottom for sliding along curbs and rails. He told her she was beautiful and he was going to make her his. She offered to share her Chinese food.
Now Cordero is planning the tattoo she’ll get with Paredes’s name and a pair of wings on her back. She and Nitura both feel guilty that he was killed, because they encouraged him to leave the building where they were chilling and playing with knives. It was getting too loud, the cops were bound to come. So Paredes left with two other teen boys and according to Cordero, went to the convenience store on the corner.
Paredes was stabbed five times. Cordero said he flagged down a police van nearby and banged on its windows for help. “I’m poked, I’m poked,” he told the cops.
Then he collapsed. Paramedics attended to him there on the street, but he died before he arrived at Lincoln Hospital.
The man charged with murdering him lives a nine-minute walk from where the mouthpiece used on Paredes lay full of blood in the street, up Jerome Avenue under the train tracks and past tables selling discount perfume and peeled oranges.
At his arraignment at the Bronx Supreme Criminal Court on Tuesday afternoon, Hector Bautista looked much too young to be charged with second-degree murder. The pony-tailed 18 year-old stood silently when the judge denied his request for bail.
Juandy Paredes' friends scrawled graffiti on the wall across from his family's home. They had nicknamed him "Frko," or fresh boy. (Ryan Tracy/The Bronx Ink)
Outside the courtroom, friends took turns defending Bautista, a basketball player who they said was a jokester with a good heart who had stopped attending high school. They insisted he was innocent of the stabbing. But they admitted he was part of the conflicts that, fueled by graffiti, girls, and bragging rights, permeate the world of teenagers like him and Paredes.
“They lived in different places. That’s it,” said a girl who identified herself as Bautista’s girlfriend but would not give her name.
In the dimly-lit apartment on Irving Avenue where Paredes lived, cousins, uncles, aunts, and friends wore black, about to attend his funeral. They had heard about Bautista’s arrest, but wondered if police would be able to catch the other two teens police told the family were involved in the fight.
The family was calm and poised on Tuesday. Two unsmiling men went about filling a cooler with ice and bottles of water for visitors. Until, contagious as a yawn, a long, slow wail broke out from one of the dark-clad women. She lowered her head and balled her hands into fists. The high-pitched sounds of her crying spread to other family members and escaped into the bright sunlight outside, where Paredes’s friends had spray-painted white graffiti over the entire brick surface of the opposing wall.
“If you stay for 20 minutes you can read it all. Then you’ll understand,” said Dualis, Paredes’s 10 year-old half-sister.
Paredes’s room was covered in graffiti, too, blue and black scrawls painted by him or his friends swarm across the walls. “F.Y.L” appeared in several places, and on the ceiling, emblazoned with a heart was the name Brenda. The room was a disaster. A bare strip of mattress poked out from under piles of clothing that spilled onto the floor and made walking impossible. Boxes of his favorite designer shoes were stacked head-high. A heads-up penny lay near the doorway.
“He would clean it every day but that same day he’d make the same mess,” said Dualis.
Graffiti referring to Juandy Paredes' crew cover the walls in his bedroom. Paredes, 17, was stabbed to death on Friday, April 16. An 18 year-old member of a rival crew has been arrested but is denying the charges. (Ryan Tracy/The Bronx Ink)
Paredes used to play “tickle monster” with her on the bed, where they would tickle each other’s feet. They played board games like Monopoly and “Guess Who?” even though Paredes got so mad when she beat him that he swore he wouldn’t play again. Dualis said she usually won.
A computer with a large silver-framed screen sat on a small desk in the corner, where light from the window illuminated the keyboard. Coralys Nunez, who was like an aunt to Paredes, and says he was creative, smart with computers and could “unblock” any website. He thought about being a game designer, if not a fashion designer. He got all A’s in school.
But Paredes had dropped out of school. He just got tired of going, says Dualis. Even Cordero, who says she and Paredes were always together for the past nine months, didn’t know if Paredes had any goals. They just didn’t talk about that, she says.
One of Paredes’s friends created a Facebook page in his memory. Brendalee Torres captioned a picture of her and Paredes kissing with expressions of grief and love, and also, a threat.
“Whoever did this to you gonna get his, trust me.”
Cordero says none of the crew has been killed before, despite all the neighborhood rivalries. But it’s almost as if she thinks Paredes won’t be the last friend for whom she will be forced to light candles.
“The one person you don’t want to lose,” she said,” is the first one to go.”
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Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
January 23, 2013 by Laura Crowley
58 calories, 3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 2 g protein
The holidays might be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this classic holiday cookie–and in a healthy way! The average peanut butter kiss cookie has 123 calories, 7 grams of fat, 13 grams of carbs and 3 grams of protein. This recipe cuts down by using light peanut butter, Truvia and egg whites, as well as a mini muffin tin to ensure perfect portioning.
2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
4 Tbsp Better’n Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Truvia Baking Blend
15 Hershey’s Kisses
1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Beat all ingredients (except Hershey’s Kisses) together until well mixed.
3. Spray mini muffin tin with non-stick spray and add 1/2 tablespoon batter to each cup.
4. Bake for 10 minutes.
5. Press in Hershey’s Kisses as soon as cookies are done and enjoy!
Filed Under: Arts & Life, Cooking Corner, Uncategorized
Rees’ Pieces: The Secret Life of the American Male
Man is most insightful when he is in privacy. Most men are neither orators nor performers of artistic crafts for the world to see. But there is one location where the average male can express his emotions anonymously for the rest of the population to contemplate and critique. This location has gone unnoticed and possibly repressed for at least a century. Following a month of uninterrupted contemplation during winter break, I wish to present my readership with a thorough, albeit unconventional, analysis of man’s most private artistic pursuit–bathroom graffiti.
While the bathroom may provide a private bastion for men, it also gives them a space to create art. I say men, as this is the only position I can reasonably infer from experience, but I truly hope that women engage in this same manner of intellectual expression. The stall is utilized not only as a studio, but a canvas. The stall may appear trivial for the artistic process, but in reality, it was the first form of social media. It is a private space while in use, but once the artist abdicates his throne, countless individuals can view his work. This pre-technology blog enables men to post their thoughts about innumerable relevant topics, and then, as Facebook emulated, the men can leave comments about what the others thought. No idea goes unevaluated. The portrait of each artist as a young man lies inscribed upon a universal easel; one man’s etched penis is simply a starting point that begs for myriad of additions by other craftsmen.
Many may find it hard to digest the societal relevance and importance of this realm. In response to their disdain and confusion, I declare the bathroom an area in which creativity is lauded and no “number-for-a-good-time” goes undialed. It is a place for unabashed indulgence in the most basic syntax; yet, it is also a haven for raw emotion. The restroom is exactly that: a place for rest and intellectual cathartic release. The modern day men’s restroom is akin to the French Salons, the British Pub and the powder rooms of the Industrial Revolution (although this term had a brief resurgence in 1960s discos, go figure). Criticism is encouraged, as evaluations of people, sports franchises and institutions abound.
So, the next time you begin to bubble with rage when reading crude stall lingo, remember that some creative avenues, although unconventional, are entirely pure and unadulterated. This leads to a more honest, pleasant and relaxed society, without which we would all develop repressive hysteria and desire to have sex with our mothers anyways.
Filed Under: Arts & Life, Rees' Pieces
The Lying Bison: Your Daily Dose of Satire: Change Coming to University Seal
By Ethan Weber
One semester after the University stirred up a bit of controversy with the launch of its “We Do” campaign and the erection of a semi-permanent tent/dining room on the academic quad, the school is taking its fundraising to the next level with a planned change to the University’s seal. This week, administration and members of the board of trustees announced that the book that has hovered safely above the waves of “the storms of life” since 1849 will be replaced with an iPad.
The decision to bring the antiquated seal into the 21st century was not met without opposition. Following an outpouring of emails from concerned alumni, Nicholas Barrett, chairman of the University’s Seal Reformation Committee, issued this response:
“It is the opinion of the University that the seal should reflect Bucknell’s goals. The book has served the school well, but it is time our seal show the world who we are and who we want to attract. The sad truth is that printed books are just too cheap when compared to tablet devices. Yes, it’s cheaper to download a book to a tablet than to buy the print version, but the device itself is much more expensive. I mean like, ‘ka-ching ka-ching!’ That’s what we’re trying to attract: status, specifically Apple users. We want the new seal to be in keeping with the new campaign. It should send the message, ‘WHO HAS NICE THINGS? WE DO.’”
The statement was sent from Barrett’s iPad, and then re-sent once he noticed all the touch-screen and auto-correct typos.
As for how the iPad will appear on the seal, it will simply be a blue rectangle with a white Apple logo in the center. On the flag, it will be an orange rectangle with a blue logo.
“There’s no need to see the screen,” Barrett said. “The important thing is that people see it’s an iPad and not a Galaxy Tab.”
“We’re keeping it simple, so it will always look like the most fashionable, up-to-date model,” Laverne Rowland, designer of the new seal, said.
Students, faculty and alumni have asked how the University intends to pay for the rights to Apple’s iconic logo, but Barrett assures the campus community that the University has planned ahead.
“It all goes back to the success of the ‘We Do’ campaign,” he said.
Should all go as planned, students can expect to see the transition begin sometime in Fall 2013.
Filed Under: Arts & Life, Columns
Trend Report: Faux Furs & Faux Pas
By Kate Jansen
Before we spring into spring fashion, or at this rate, slide into spring fashion, I’d like to discuss one of winter’s most sought-after looks. Fur has again made a major statement this season in the fashion world. Designers have given us fur-lined hoods, headbands, earmuffs and gloves. My favorite fur look is the vest.
My first, dare I say, fashionable piece was a faux fur vest gone horribly wrong. For my 12th birthday, my mom bought me a white faux fur vest. It was a shag rug with armholes that was equipped with a faux leather tie. When I put it on, I thought I was Coco Chanel herself.
I thought it would be wise to pair the vest with a lime green polka dot shirt and a pair of pink corduroys. Yes, I also resembled a watermelon. I strutted into school the next day, expecting girls to whisper enviously about my ensemble. This was my first fashion faux pas.
My peers smirked as I pranced ito my first period math class. A boy sauntered over to my desk and, without waiting for me to acknowledge him, he said, “How many Yetis did you have to kill to make that vest?”
I suppose the moral of my story is to take fashion risks, but not the kind that leave you looking like a creature out of “The Wizard of Oz.” The other moral is that middle schoolers are cruel. Needless to say, I have recovered from that incident. I picked up a faux fur vest at Manhattan’s newest Aritzia over Christmas break and found that the piece could be paired with dark jeans and a long sleeved tee for a casual look, or layered over a mini dress for formal get-togethers.
If your closet lacks a fur piece, it would be wise to buy one now. Department stores are beginning to push out sweaters and jackets via final sale to make way for tanks and bikinis. This leaves us in the inevitable No Shopper’s Land, a phrase that I have just made up to describe the awkward in-between-winter-and-spring-phase that we face every year. Do we choose to buy short sleeves and sandals that we cannot wear until April? Or do we protest against designers for denying us our inalienable right to buy cashmere in the dead of February? That’s for you to decide.
Trend Report: Snow Boots
November 28, 2012 by cmo015
This November has been unseasonably chilly. I’m sure this week’s snow episode was a rude awakening for those who have not yet had the privilege of bearing Northeastern winters.
After nearly four winters of warmth, I officially retired my Uggs this season and decided to look for a more reliable pair of snow boots. So, amidst Black Friday chaos, my mom and I traveled to the nearby L.L. Bean store.
I must admit, I have wanted a pair of duck boots–commonly known as Bean Boots–since they became wildly popular last spring. When we had finally meandered our way to the outerwear section of the store, a pair of tan Bean Boots immediately caught my attention. Needless to say, I was sold in an instant. And, in case you were wondering, I’m wearing them as I write this article.
L.L. Bean, however, is not a duck boot monopoly. J. Crew is currently selling an exclusive line of Sperry Top-Sider Shearwater boots. They come in a variety of preppy two-tones, including navy blue and pink. They’re also fur lined, making them perfect for Pennsylvania winters.
Bean Boots also look adorable when paired with calf-high wool socks and black leggings. On days when I want to feel extra-outdoorsy, I throw on a plaid flannel and Patagonia vest to complete the look.
Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apples
150 calories, 0.5g fat, 39 carbs, 1g protein
For the holidays this year, you can forget the apple pie with this incredibly delicious treat. This is one of those fantastic recipes that tastes phenomenal and just happens to be more healthy for you. You can also try adding nuts or dried fruit to the filling (golden raisins are my favorite). I topped a few of mine with a half teaspoon of chopped pecans. You can bake the apples longer to make them more soft so they fall apart, or cook them a little less so they still have a bite.
6 large apples
2 Tbsp Truvia Baking Blend
2 Tbsp brown sugar (packed)
1 Tbsp Land O’Lakes Light Butter
Core apples–make sure not to cut through the bottom. You can use an apple corer or carefully use a paring knife.
In a small bowl, mix together sugars and spices.
Cut butter into 6 cubes and put one cube into each apple along with 1/6 of the sugar spice mixture (you can also top with chopped nuts if you’d like).
Place in a casserole dish and add about 1/2 inch of water to the dish as well.
Bake 30-40 minutes until browned and soft.
Skyfall deemed one of the best Bond installments, a possible Oscar contender
Carolyn Williams
As the Bond franchise celebrates its 50th anniversary, director Sam Mendes delivers a terrific reboot to the series with “Skyfall.” Engaging, modern and lovingly self-referential, “Skyfall” is a definite contender as one of the best 007 movies of all time.
“Skyfall” opens, in traditional Bond fashion, in an exotic locale (Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar) as our hero (Daniel Craig), in all his perfectly tailored glory, knocks over some fruit carts in his attempt to catch the “bad guy”–in this case, he’s stolen a flash drive loaded with valuable information. Rooftop chases and a fight on a train ensue (Bond stopping to adjust a cuff link before reentering the fray); it’s all in a day’s work for 007–until it’s not. When the villain in question uses Bond as a human shield and his fellow agent cannot get a clean shot, M (Judi Dench), via earpiece, commands she take the shot, and Bond apparently dies.
Shockingly, 007 does not die 20 minutes into this film. While he’s presumed dead, some serious dilemmas arise at MI6. M is subjected to her new, deeply bureaucratic boss (Ralph Fiennes), who thinks it is about time she stepped down, and is seriously questioning the role of secret agents in an increasingly digital world. Shortly after this dressing down, M is made the target of a terrorist attack on MI6 itself, and is told to “think on her sins.” All this, and she has to write Bond’s obituary, too?
Happily, Bond returns to London soon enough, but this is a tired and aging Bond. Forced to retake his physical and mental exams, he scrapes by and returns to active duty, gunning for the cyber terrorist targeting M. With the help of the latest Bond girl, he finds the perversely amiable Silva (a blonde Javier Bardem) living on a creepily abandoned island. It turns out that Silva’s an ex-MI6 agent who has major Oedipal beef with M. In an exciting and somewhat expected plot twist, Silva is not so well-caught as MI6 had hoped, and both Bond and M must run for cover until they are able to face Silva on Bond’s home turf.
“Skyfall” is hands down the best action movie of the year, which is already saying something unusual about a Bond movie of late. This film is the rightful sequel to 2006’s “Casino Royale,” and firmly sets up Bond movies for years to come. (Let’s just pass over the blip that was “Quantum of Solace,” shall we?) A super-creepy Bardem is a terrific baddie–always a good sign in the world of 007 successes. With the help of fresh, new cast members (Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw), this Bond screams 21st century, a place some weren’t sure he belonged. Specifically great is a sardonically nerdy Whishaw as the latest Q, who jokes, “What, were you expecting an exploding pen? We don’t really do that anymore.”
Although gone is Connery’s sarcastic, all-knowing Bond, Craig’s more realistically brutal performance is an easy second for best ever 007.
“A dynamic and vulnerable Daniel Craig comes of age in this action packed movie, making this Bond one of the best,” Ava Giuliano ’14 said.
The exuberant references to past adventures, witty script and the unexpected return of a certain Aston Martin DB5 make “Skyfall” one of the best Bond installments, and perhaps even a contender this Oscar season.
Filed Under: Arts & Life, Columns, Movies, Review
Rees’ Pieces: The Columnist Manifesto
Ben Rees
The Columnist Manifesto
A couple of weeks ago I did not get a column done–oops! Like everyone else, I was inescapably swamped with loads of schoolwork, and in the midst of my scholarly flurrying, I neglected to write. While entrenched in the intellectual firefight preceding Thanksgiving break, my creative spark was nowhere to be found. Not to say that I failed to attempt a column; in fact, I tried to come up with something halfway decent on more than one occasion. Regrettably, the ideas I came up with were nowhere close to pleasant and even further from endearing. I do not know whether rigorous intellectual pursuits necessarily stifle creativity, and as many of my scholarly endeavors are dedicated to English literature, I would assert that homework and creativity go hand in hand. For some reason, I just couldn’t get it together.
William Faulkner once said: “I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately, I am inspired at nine o’clock every morning.” I, on the other hand, seem only to write at a mildly successful level anywhere between six and 12 hours before my deadline. There are two possibilities for this: one, the increased need to produce stimulates whatever comedic abilities I may have, or two, I get stressed and bitter enough that my anger ends up sounding funny. Take a look back, and I think we can all agree that the latter is probably right on the money. All my columns either rant, tell people what not to do or make incomprehensibly juvenile jokes about body parts.
An embittered columnist cannot produce comedy forever, as he is not on stage to make goofy faces and provide filler jokes bashing the ugly couple in front. Rather, from now on, I, Benjamin Rees, will try to be a little more optimistic in my writing. The glass is no longer half full of poison, it is just half full–maybe of Fanta or something else pleasant.
Now don’t forget, my goblet still overfloweth with bubbling scorn, and I rather dislike most things; however, in the spirit of the artistic process I will attempt to create some original, positive jokes in order to make everyone’s day shine a tad brighter. Call this column my metamorphosis: a once sour larvae blossoming into a beautiful, yet decently funny butterfly. With immense grace, as if erupting from its cocoon like the Alien from an unsuspecting abdomen, it spreads its wings and lightly flutters upon the generally confused synapses of those misfortunate enough to encounter this questionable transformation.
Disclaimer: If you have laughed at all during this column, you should be shamefully aware of your cynical chuckles. Every word espouses a delicate, personal transformation, and any humor this may have aroused in my audience is at the expense of my personal progress. Essentially, my happiness is a joke. Thanks, jerks.
Filed Under: Arts & Life, Columns, Humor, Rees' Pieces
Mini Pumpkin Pie Cheesecakes
per cheesecake: 25 calories, 0g fat, 5 carbs, 1g protein
This is one of the biggest hits among my friends, and they have all agreed that if it wasn’t for me making this dessert, they would have never realized cheesecake could be so healthy. You can easily use this cheesecake recipe to make other flavors by just swapping out the pumpkin. You could even make a few kinds by splitting the recipe into halves for an extra impressive Thanksgiving display!
I decorated these with cool whip frosting (found in the freezer section) and fun sprinkles. The frosting is 60 calories for two tablespoons, but I only used half a teaspoon on each, adding only five extra calories.
Makes 36 mini cheesecakes
5 Honey Maid Low Fat Cinnamon Graham Crackers
2 fresh egg whites
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
8 oz (1 pack) fat free cream cheese
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
Crush graham crackers until fine and melt butter.
Combine butter and crushed crackers. Press 1/2 teaspoon into the bottom of each mini cupcake liner.
Whip egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form (this is much easier with a mixer).
Beat together pumpkin, sour cream, cream cheese, sugars and spices until smooth.
Gently mix egg whites into pumpkin mixture.
Add 1/2 tablespoon of batter to each mini cupcake tin.
Bake 15-20 minutes until solid at the top but still jiggly.
Refrigerate for 1 hour to set.
Decorate and enjoy!
Trend Report: Black Friday
Kate Jansen
In one week’s time, we will be stuffing ourselves with Thanksgiving leftovers and deliberating whether or not we are fit enough to join Black Friday’s shopping extravaganza.
For the past few years after Thanksgiving, my mom and I have ventured to New York City to join the anxious mobs of other mother-daughter pairs in search of the best bargain. For those who have not participated in Black Friday, allow me to put things into perspective. Black Friday is a survival of the fittest game of sorts. Women of all ages fight for the cheapest overall haul of garments. My mom and I have witnessed this on several occasions while shopping at Bloomingdale’s. Small mountains of last season’s sweaters litter the department store floor. Mothers go through piles in the dressing room, willing to snag the cheapest cardigan, even if it means they will lose an earring in the process.
I have found that the best way to cure any Turkey Day hangover is to beat the mad rush and shop online. Personally, I think that major department stores like Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue offer better deals online than they do in stores. Other popular retail stores offer major blowout sales the Friday, Saturday and Monday after Thanksgiving. I’d pay close attention to sales that are exclusive to Cyber Monday; these could be the best deals of the season. And so, next weekend, channel your inner shopaholic and grab your laptop.
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Community Welfare
Report suggests progress, but worst-off need urgency
November 20, 2019Welfare
Press Release – Child Poverty Action Group
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) says that the Governments Families Package Monitoring Report shows strong commitment to the intentions outlined in the Child Poverty Reduction Act, specifically with regard to reporting on progressing towards …Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) says that the Government’s Families Package Monitoring Report shows strong commitment to the intentions outlined in the Child Poverty Reduction Act, specifically with regard to reporting on progressing towards the Act’s targets.
“The Families Package was a start, but while on some level it’s had successes, it was nowhere near enough to lift the worst-off children out of poverty – and this really should be acknowledged,” says Associate Professor Susan St John, CPAG’s Economics advisor.
“The Welfare Expert Advisory Group’s report, Whakamana Tāngata , that the Government itself commissioned, discussed the ‘broken’ welfare state and the need for additional annual spending of $5.2 billion. We are not hearing yet what will be done about the recommendations of this report.”
After years of erosion in the real value of Working for Families, a substantial boost was needed – and delivered – with the Families Package.
“But to prevent problems further along, Working for Families should be regularly adjusted in precisely the same way that New Zealand Super is adjusted, and in the future, it should not be presented as a major budgetary package,” says St John.
CPAG says that putting the building blocks in place to clean up an inherited mess is a very important part of the process to achieve the targets set for poverty reduction. But what’s most important now is the urgent next steps toward ensuring every child has the opportunity to thrive and to reach their potential by ensuring all families are properly resourced.
CPAG recognises that housing is a key issue for families in poverty.
“We are pleased to hear the Government is intending to ramp up efforts in this area,” says St John. “As we have learned from the Ministry of Social Development’s 2019 Household incomes report, half of all Accommodation Supplement recipients are spending more than half their incomes on housing, and it means they have to continuously cut costs in other areas – such as for food.
“As we heard at our Summit on Monday, there is a good argument for changing the structure of housing-related support so that it doesn’t contribute to increasing housing costs.”
CPAG welcomes the new Best Start payment for all families with newborns.
“Best Start is much better than the old Parental Tax Credit which was tied to work hours and excluded parents on benefits,” says St John. “And it is being extended to the second and third year of a child’s life for families earning under the income threshold. This is a marked improvement on previous discriminatory policy for new parents.”
But most children in families who are receiving a benefit, both sole-parent and two-parent families, have not had enough of a boost to put them over – or even nearly close to – the 50% after housing costs (AHC) poverty line. Their core incomes look more like 25-28% of the after housing costs median – well below the lowest supplementary measure of 40% AHC in the Child Poverty Reduction Act.
“Many families try to supplement their meagre benefits with paid work but their efforts are harshly penalised with the earned income abatement threshold set so low,” says St John. “The fact that costs continue to outstrip low wages and benefits is a legacy of decades of poor policy around minimum wages and a lack of proper indexation of benefits and child-related tax credits.
“We need to see a plan around addressing the recommendations of the WEAG’s report,
Whakamana Tāngata , which is missing from the Families Package Monitoring report. There are some tangible changes the Government can make in the short term that are not only effective but affordable.”
CPAG says that there are steps the Government can take immediately to achieve a real change for families while being consistent with future welfare reforms:
– Reinstating the Winter Energy Payment so that it is a permanent increase to benefits.
– Joining up the In-Work Tax Credit to the main Family Tax Credit, so this payment of at least $72.50 per week per family which is currently and unfairly considered to be a ‘work-incentive’, can benefit all of our most struggling families at annual cost of $0.5b.
– Assisting the transition to work by immediately increasing the benefit threshold for earned income to $177 per week, equivalent to 10 hours of work on the minimum wage. In 1986 the threshold was set to allow for 15 hours of work on the minimum wage before benefit payments reduced, today it is roughly just over 4, and the recent changes will increase it to only roughly 5 by 2021.
– Individualising benefit payments and not penalising couples with reduced payments and placing extraordinary expectations on new couples.
The Government’s Whakamana Tāngata and the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy have stressed the importance of adequate income and standard of living. These changes above are the next income steps needed towards the vision of Aotearoa-New Zealand being the best place to be a child and young person.
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Singapore Polytechnic CDIO
Dr. Dulce F. Atian joined other leaders of SUCs in the Study Trip to Singapore last August 30-31, 2017 in Singapore Polytechnic. The Singapore Polytechnic (SP), through the kind sponsorship of Temasek…
Administration, Internationalization, President's Message
CSPC launches DOST-STARBOOKS
Adding up to the state-of-the-art facilities of the College of Library Services. The college inked Department of Science and Technology Memorandum of Agreement last August 25, 2017, at Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges…
Academic, Administration
PSAU Conducts ISO Benchmarking at CSPC
Officials and faculty members and staff of Pampanga State Agricultural University (PSAU) visited Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges on August 25 and 26, 2017 for a benchmarking on ISO certification. Dr. Anita G.…
Administration, College, President's Message
CHCT on NEW BSN OBE Curriculum
is the objective of the College that every employee/instructor will become not only efficient but also effective. It is in this mission that today, a lot of training and seminars are being…
SANGALANG TALKS ON INTERNATIONALIZATION
Dr. Ruperto S. Sangalang, former Chairman of the CSPC Board of Trustees, visited the College on August 24, 2017, and challenged the College to be ready for Internationalization. In his talk titled…
CSPC partners with Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi
Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges solidified partnership with Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT) of Thailand in a successful Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Signing and Benchmarking University held on August 15 to 17,…
Administration, President's News
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