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Coor is one of the Nordic region's largest security companies. We have market-leading competences and extensive experience of solutions with high security specifications. Our high-quality service offering allows us to develop innovative security solutions that optimize the balance between staffing and technology.
Security company with unique expertise in technology and surveillance
Coor has market-leading expertise in security, and provides technology and surveillance services with proprietary staff.
We’ve created Coor Security Center to ensure high accessibility and effective contact paths for all matters relating to security. The center handles cases from 40 different countries around the clock, 365 days a year. The center ensures reliability through technical monitoring, and controls our customers’ security systems.
Coor’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Addici Security, is Sweden’s fourth largest security company. Our security guards, stewards and protection officers provide security and excellent service. Read more on Addici’s website www.addici.com.
Coor’s project managers, technicians and security coordinators handle the installation, operation and testing of most security systems on the Nordic market. Our security coordinators frequently become the right-hand man of the local Security Manager, and a key part of our customers’ crisis management team.
Comprehensive service portfolio
Coor has a comprehensive offering in physical security. We have experience of some of the largest and most complex security installations in the Nordics. Our services include:
Access control and surveillance
We help our customers prevent and investigate crime by combining the latest technology in personal security services. We provide installation, operations and maintenance of access control and CCTV. A structured process for planned maintenance ensure predictability and cost control for our customers.
Access and reception solutions
Coor’s solutions in access security create high accessibility and are easy to use. We complement access control operations with remote access services, virtual receptions and automated ordering of access cards and other forms of authorization. Coor Security Center is open around the clock, 365 days of the year.
Coor’s security guards, stewards and protection officers ensure security with excellent service. Market-leading training programs and service, and collaboration with other Coor services also support our customers’ operations. We have collated our surveillance operations under the Addici banner. Find out more at www.addici.com
We help Coor’s customers to prevent fire, save lives and protect property in the event that the worst happens. We provide assistance with all aspects of systematic fire protection: risk analysis, organization of fire protection services, training, inspections and follow up. Our service technicians manage operations, maintenance and testing of fire alarms and fire extinguishers.
Our security coordinators often become the right-hand man of the Security Managers they work with, and are a key part of our customers’ crisis management organization. Our project managers assume total responsibility for security installations when relocating to new offices or when replacing existing security systems.
Security with a focus on service
Coor’s security solutions safeguard employees and protect properties. We have extensive experience of customers with demanding security requirements in banking, defense, aviation, infrastructure, manufacturing industry, offices and shopping malls. We capitalize on our experience and expertise to tailor-make the optimum solutions for each customer.
Coor always assumes functional responsibility for our service delivery. This means that the customer will get a cost-efficient solutions where modern technology complements carefully calibrated staffing levels. As a leading facility management company in the Nordics, we are also bold enough to claim that our security staff are world-leading in terms of service and responsiveness.
Today’s security solutions are largely built on smart technology, particularly in order to reduce personnel-intensive tasks such as administration and surveillance. We often also increase service levels and improve security, while lowering our customers’ costs.
Examples of unique, innovative solutions from Coor include:
Automated ID card management
Coors proprietary solution Coor SmartID automates the flow from ordering to production of ID cards. This makes the process faster, simpler and more accessible to employees. Advantages to the company include lower costs, reduced risk of error and full traceability. Find out more about Coor SmartID here.
Qualified data analysis and sensor technology
Qualified analysis of data collated from our security systems allows us to generate valuable insights for our customers. For example, utilization of premises can be optimized by obtaining information about staff numbers in individual locations, and monitoring how people move with the help of modern sensor technology. Read more about Coor SmartUtilization here.
Solutions for reception and access points
Virtual receptions, remote opening services and automatic card dispensing services offload or replace receptions. Visitors are provided with a professional, modern and accessible experience, while costs are also reduced. Find out more about CoorSmart Reception here.
Synergies with other FM services
There are many advantages of appointing Coor as your security partner, particularly for Coor’s existing customers. Our integrated facility management assignments offer significant potential for staff sharing, which creates cost efficient solutions for our customers. This may include monitoring the property’s technology during security guard rounds.
Another advantage of integrating security assignments with other services is that it generates short reporting times. By working with local staff on location rather than remote security experts, we are able to resolve many problems quickly.
Coor also provides all its integrated facility management staff with basic security services training. This may relate to informing customer staff and visitors about security regulations, or that we become an important link in the evacuation chain.
Are you interested in a career at Coor?
Job listings for each country where Coor conducts business.
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RESTAURANTS AND FOOD
Taste of the Week. Roaring Ruby Red Ale
Taste of the Week
Roaring Ruby Red Ale
I was eating out recently in Timoleague's Monk’s Lane where Gavin and Michelle have, since they started out a few years back, been strong supporters of local craft brewers. They have a very long list of beers, both in draught and in bottle.
I spotted the Roaring Ruby Red Ale by the West Cork Brewery from Baltimore in draught and noted the “dangerously drinkable” in the blurb.
I can vouch for that having sipped my way through a smooth pint of its delicious caramel and toffee flavours, a superb red ale almost crossing into stout territory. And our Taste of the Week is great with food.
The West Cork Brewery is based at Casey’s of Baltimore, Ireland’s first Brew-Hotel, and was launched in December 2014 by Dominic Casey, Henry Thornhill and brewer Kevin Waugh. They also produce the Sherkin Lass Ale and Stout x Southwest. Wouldn’t mind being down there now in that sun trap beer garden, sipping a pint of Roaring Ruby and the boats coming and going on the blue waters.
Check out three other top Irish beers all on the darker side here
Baltimore beer Casey's Hotel craft Monk's Lane Taste of the Week West Cork Brewery
Clonakilty Blackpudding’s Sparkling New Home
When the newly married Edward and Colette Twomey took over a Clonakilty butcher shop in the late 70s, blackpudding was not really one of the attractions for them. But the deal did include a secret spice recipe and the Twomeys soon realised that the pudding was very popular with their customers and quite a few of them were sending it to relatives abroad. The couple were wise enough not to ignore the market and the rest is history.
All this came back during A Taste of West Cork event in the company’simpressive new facility in their home town. The two of us and a few dozen other paying guests were given a tour of the new visitor centre before being treated to a series of blackpudding based dishes by top chef Peter Clifford.
Why Peter Clifford? Well Peter’s father, Michael, was one of Ireland’s most famous chefs, holder of a Michelin star, and an early and influential supporter of the Clonakilty product. Both Peter and Colette acknowledge that his…
The Incredible Clonakilty Street Carnival
The Incredible Clonakilty Street Carnival Volunteers Rise To The Occasion Again!
You've just got to hand it to the magnificent community behind the annual Clonakilty Street Carnival who once again provided a marvellous day's entertainment in the West Cork town last Saturday.
Lots of meetings ahead of the big day of course and it all came together in the most delightful way, even the weather cooperated!
Food is an essential element here. And, before the big event, the kids had their Long Table meal, a healthy one as well. Indeed, the children are very well catered for here. Lots of activities for them, everything from face-painting to penalty shootouts, from table tennis to learning circus tricks.
And for everyone, there’s so much to see and do. Music, music, everywhere. Brass bands, jazzy bands, solo singers on the side streets, big bands on the stage on the main street. And all of this is free!
You do have to pay for the main event, the long table dinner. Three long rows of tables …
GOLDIE AIMS TO MAKE A SPLASH IN CORK'S CULINARY SCENE
- Cork city’s burgeoning culinary reputation has been boosted with the opening of a new restaurant on the bustling Oliver Plunkett Street -
Goldie is a small restaurant aiming to have a big impact on Cork's dining scene, serving the freshest and most exciting fish dishes in the city. It is the result of an exciting collaboration between Aishling Moore (25), former head chef of Elbow Lane, and Stephen Kehoe, (39) executive chef of the Market Lane Group (pictured right). Goldie sources its fish from the day boats that operate out of Ballycotton in East Cork and the English Market. The restaurant takes the ‘whole catch’ from these boats (so they take whatever is caught on the day, regardless
of the quantity and species) ensuring a daily changing menu featuring the freshest produce available. The name of the restaurant is a nod to the much loved ‘Goldie’ fish-shaped weathervane that sits on top of the famous Shandon Bells at th…
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01483 277891 - clare@counsells.co.uk
Cars for employees
This factsheet set out the main areas to consider and the tax and national insurance implications with employer provided cars.
These are commonly referred to as company cars and are taxed by reference to the list price of the car but graduated according to the level of its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. We outline the main areas to consider and the tax and national insurance implications. If your business is in the Cranleigh area or you are employed in the area we, at Counsells, can advise you on the employer provided car benefit rules.
The current regime for taxing employer provided cars (commonly referred to as company cars) is intended:
to encourage manufacturers to produce cars which are more environmentally friendly and
to give employee drivers and their employers a tax incentive to choose more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles.
We set out below the main areas of importance. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require further information.
Employer provided cars are taxed by reference to the list price of the car but graduated according to the level of its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Percentage charges
% of car's price taxed
0 - 50 13 16
For every additional 5g thereafter add 1% - -
Until the maximum percentage is reached 37 37
Jane was provided with a new company car, a Mercedes CLK 430, on 6 April 2018. The list price is £50,000. The CO2 emissions are 240g/km.
For 2018/19 and 2019/20 Jane’s benefit will be £50,000 × 37% = £18,500.
Phil has a company car, a BMW 318i, which had a list price of £21,000 when it was provided new on 6 April 2018. The CO2 emissions are 118g/km. Note: The CO2 emissions are rounded down to the nearest 5 grams per kilometre - in this case 115g/km.
Phil's benefit for 2018/19 is: £21,000 × 24% = £5,040. Phil’s benefit increases for 2019/20 to £5,670 being £21,000 × 27%.
Diesel cars emit less CO2 than petrol cars and so would be taxed on a lower percentage of the list price than an equivalent petrol car. However, diesel cars emit greater quantities of air pollutants than petrol cars and therefore a supplement of 4% of the list price generally applies to diesel cars (unless the car is registered on or after 1 September 2017 and meets the Euro 6d emissions standard). For 2017/18 and previous years the diesel supplement was 3%.
The diesel supplement does not apply to hybrid cars.
A diesel car that would give rise to a 22% charge on the basis of its CO2 emissions will instead be charged at 26% for 2018/19. The maximum charge for diesel is capped at 37%.
Obtaining emissions data
The Vehicle Certification Agency produces a free guide to the fuel consumption and emissions figures of all new cars. It is available on the internet at http://carfueldata.direct.gov.uk. These figures are not however necessarily the definitive figures for a particular car. The definitive CO2 emissions figure for a particular vehicle is recorded on the Vehicle Registration Document (V5).
The list price
The list price of a car is the price when it was first registered including delivery, VAT and any accessories provided with the car. Accessories subsequently made available are included (unless they have a list price of less than £100).
Employee capital contributions up to £5,000 reduce the list price.
Employer's Class 1A national insurance contributions
The benefit chargeable to tax on the employee is also used to compute the employer's liability to Class 1A (the rate is currently 13.8%).
Some cars registered after 1 January 1998 may have no approved CO2 emissions figure, perhaps if they were imported from outside the EC. They are taxed according to engine size.
% of list price charged to tax
0 - 1400 23%
1401 - 2000 34%
over 2000 37%
Private fuel
There is a further tax charge where a company car user is supplied with or allowed to claim reimbursement for fuel for private journeys.
The fuel scale charge is based on the same percentage used to calculate the car benefit. This is applied to a set figure which is £24,100 for 2019/20 (£23,400 for 2018/19). As with the car benefit, the fuel benefit chargeable to tax on the employee is used to compute the employer's liability to Class 1A. The combined effect of the charges makes the provision of free fuel a tax inefficient means of remuneration unless there is high private mileage.
The benefit is proportionately reduced if private fuel is not provided for part of the year. So taking action now to stop providing free fuel will have an immediate impact on the fuel benefit chargeable to tax and NICs.
Please note that if free fuel is provided later in the same tax year there will be a full year’s charge.
Business fuel
No charge applies where the employee is solely reimbursed for fuel for business travel.
HMRC issue advisory fuel-only mileage rates for employer provided cars. Employers can adopt the rates in the following table but may pay lower rates if they choose.
From 1 December 2019:
Pence per mile
1400 or less 12
Over 2000 21
1600 or less 9
HMRC update these rates on a quarterly basis in March, June, September and December. The latest rates can be found here.
Employees' use of own car
There is also a statutory system of tax and NIC free mileage rates for business journeys in employees' own vehicles.
The statutory rates are:
Rate per mile
Up to 10,000 miles 45p
Over 10,000 miles 25p
Employers can pay up to the statutory amount without generating a tax or NIC charge. Payments made by employers are referred to as 'mileage allowance payments'. Where employers pay less than the statutory rate (or make no payment at all) employees can claim tax relief on the difference between any payment received and the statutory rate.
We can provide advice on such matters as:
whether a car should be provided to an employee or a private car used for business mileage
whether employee contributions are tax efficient
whether private fuel should be supplied with the car.
Please contact us at Counsells for more detailed advice on cars for employees in your business in the Cranleigh area.
Cars for employees Employee Expenses Employer supported childcare Employment benefits Homeworking and tax relief for employees National insurance Payroll - basic procedures Payroll Real Time Information Share ownership for employees - EMI Travel and subsistence for Directors and employees
clare@counsells.co.uk
Counsells
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GU6 8JJ
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Council leader urges authority to withdraw £17.5 million from banks following closure announcement
Robert Fairnie
Clackmannanshire Council leader, Les Sharp
Clackmannanshire Council will consider withdrawing the £17 million they have invested in RBS and the Bank of Scotland.
Both banks have announced that they would be closing branches in the area.
Council leader Les Sharp won unanimous support for a motion at a council meeting on Tuesday which says they will assess their options.
It said: “Council instructs relevant officers to report on possible options to transfer investments by this community to financial institutions and banks that continue to invest in our community”.
SNP councillor Sharp says that if banks are not prepared to invest in the community the people of Clackmannanshire will look to avoid investing in them.
Stirling Council leader Scott Farmer told the Observer that he “fully supports” the stance taken by his party colleagues in Clackmannanshire.
He was due to meet Councillor Sharp last week to discuss the move.
The Observer understands that Clacks Council has around £17.5 million invested in the two banks, with the majority in the Bank of Scotland.
The RBS branch in Alloa is scheduled to close on June 19 next year, the Bannockburn branch is to close its doors on May 15, the Bridge of Allan bank on June 11 and Dunblane branch on May 20.
Bank of Scotland branches in Alva, Denny, Bridge of Allan and Stirling are also due to shut down.
Councillor Sharp called on local authorities across Scotland, along with other public sector organisations, to follow their example and take on the banks by hitting them in the pockets.
He said: “We got a report that reminded us that on behalf of this community the council is investing around £17 million in the same banks that are now proposing to leave this community without necessary, long-established banking services.
“So the message to those banks is simple: if you are not prepared to invest in Clackmannanshire then the people of Clackmannanshire will seek to avoid investing in you.
“I’ll be talking this week with SNP council leaders from across Scotland and inviting them to follow our lead and I hope that other political parties will put their communities first too.
“And it doesn’t stop with councils. Other publicly owned organisations such as health boards, Scottish Water, SEPA and local government pension funds also bank with these people and they too should be using their muscle to influence the banks’ decisions.
“Banks understand money so I call on all of these bodies to join us in exploring how we can hit the banks where it matters to them: in their pockets”
Councillor Farmer added: “Last week I issued a statement with regard to RBS closures, condemning their callous disregard for the communities they purport to serve.
“I will be writing to Stephen Kerr MP, demanding that this Tory government intervene in what is a state-owned bank.
“Stirling Council is committed to financial inclusion for our communities and will be reviewing options as the campaign to prevent closures continues.
“I fully support the stance taken by our colleagues in Clacks.”
A petition launched in Bannockburn to save the RBS branch in the town gathered more than 2000 signatures.
Residents and community councillors in Dunblane have written to RBS to ask that representatives attend a public meeting there in January.
A debate on the planned RBS closures will take place in the House of Commons next week following a question from Stirling MP Stephen Kerr.
The debate will take place on Monday, allowing MPs from communities across the country to talk about the impact the closures will have on their communities.
Mr Kerr has already written to the CEOs of RBS and the Bank of Scotland to share his views.
Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.
Stirling News
Stirling Council
Clackmannanshire Council
BagpipesAnger after bagpiping charity blows £1 million on refurbishing HQ with only five workersThe Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) says it has begun an investigation into the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA).
Armed forcesFar-right activist sent to Scotland to infiltrate army as veterans targeted by race hate groupsA Daily Record investigation has discovered For Britain – headed by Islamophobe Anne Marie Waters – has targeted the Forces in Scotland.
Conor McGregorDan Bilzerian suffers Conor McGregor shocker as 'Instagram King' counts the cost after $1m bet goes wrongThe 39-year-old gambler was in confident mood before the fight but things didn't go to plan.
Online shoppingASOS launches new feature to help shoppers choose the perfect fitThe fashion retailer has unveiled a new online tool allowing shoppers to view clothing on models of different shapes and sizes to help them choose the perfect fit
Police ScotlandPensioner, 86, critically injured in horror Aberdeen car smashPolice have appealed for witnesses after the elderly driver was rushed to the city's Royal Infirmary following the two-vehicle crash last night.
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This Weekend: Wine Downtown, Tamales in Oak Cliff and an Anniversary in the Design...
Chef David Gilbert To Bring ‘A Modern Approach’ to ‘Traditional Texas Dishes’ in New...
Jack Mac's Swill & Grill with Jack's Pie on the Side Takes Over Tiramisu This Summer
Lauren Drewes Daniels
Lauren Drewes Daniels | June 20, 2012 | 11:00am
Gubbins got the scoop on a new restaurant going in Tiramisu at 19009 Preston Road (between Frankford Road and the PGBT). Jack MacDonald will transform the spot to Jack Mac's Swill & Grill. McDonald previously owned the Press Box in downtown Dallas and was also involved with Iron Cactus, Romano's Macaroni Grill and Sam's Cafes.
There's a dual layout to the place. Half will serve as a to-go pizza spot, and the other will be a pub with more than 12 beers on tap and upscale bar food.
MacDonald has already taken over the real estate and is serving dinner as Tiramisu.
"I'm looking at an early to mid-July opening as Jack Mac's Swill & Grill and Jack's Pie on the Side," wrote McDonald in an email. "In early August we will have a grand open event."
Check the Facebook page for regular updates.
El Centro Expands for Dallas’ Culinary Culture, and Classes...
Dry January Is BS ... and Here’s How to Fix It
7 Sandwiches to Look Forward To in 2020
Don't Wait for Valentine’s Day to Indulge in This Chocolate
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Gary B. Ostrower: A confusing spring and summer
It’s difficult to keep up with the torrent of jarring news out of Washington. Here are three things to make sense of it all.
On North Korea: everyone who knows anything about North Korea understands that Kim Jong Un would not embrace what the White House calls the “Libya formula.” That formula, when first proposed in 2003, meant a quick (not long drawn-out) decision by Libya to end its nuclear program. What followed? The destruction of the Libyan regime and the killing of its leader a few years later.
Might Kim Jong Un think this a good idea in 2018?
Apparently our president, who has little understanding of the intricacies of international politics, thought he would. But the North Koreans objected in their own obnoxious way, and President Trump then canceled next month’s summit meeting.
Lest we forget: the president may brag about his negotiating skills, but he ignored the elementary fact that negotiations involve concessions on both sides. They often take years (the negotiations over the Iran nuclear agreement that President Trump has repudiated took over two years of hard bargaining). With Korea, negotiations have collapsed and we hear renewed threats of war.
No wonder the stock market is wobbly.
On witch hunts and collusion: Lawyers often say that when you have the facts on your side, you argue the facts. When you have the law on your side, you argue the law. When you have neither, you attack your opponent.
And that’s the long and short of the Russia investigation. The president’s strategy is not to argue the facts or the law. It’s to distract attention from the Mueller investigation And it’s also to discredit and “delegitimize” the work of Robert Mueller, a Marine veteran and lifelong Republican who is one of the most distinguished public servants of our era.
Every propagandist understands that if you repeat a lie (“witch hunt,” “ no collusion”) often enough, people will believe you. And they do. The president’s pals on Fox News even claim that the investigation has produced nothing at all. In fact, five Trump associates have already pled guilty and 19 men have been indicted).
There is plenty of evidence that the Trump team colluded, from the now-famous Trump Tower meeting on June 9, 2016 between Trump’s campaign chiefs and a Russian operative, to obstructing justice by firing James Comey. Comey defended the law and the FBI’s independence. For a president building a cult of personality, that was unacceptable.
And trade: here’s a short history lesson. In 1930 when the Great Depression began, Congress considered a tariff bill (called the Smoot-Hawley Tariff) that led 1028 economists to protest. They understood that higher tariffs would disrupt the global economy.
Nevertheless, Congress caved to political pressure and raised tariffs against foreign competition. The result? Other countries retaliated by raising their tariffs, turning a garden-variety recession into the greatest economic catastrophe in world history.
Our president, with his limited knowledge of history, may not understand this. You should. Will we repeat in 2018 the mistakes of 1930? Stay tuned.
Gary B. Ostrower of Alfred is a historian
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What is CRYPSA?
The Cryptocurrency Standards Association drafts, coordinates, reviews and publishes the standards that makes digital currency safe for consumers and businesses. We’re securing a stronger standardized cryptocurrency community for all.
In the future, we will offer reference platforms, application programming interfaces, training, and certification to help businesses and financial institutions launch safe digital currency services.
Why should I become a member of CRYPSA?
Members give CRYPSA direction and propose, review and even draft the standards that business, banks, Bitcoin wallets and consumers use every day to move money around the world.
As a member, you have the opportunity to make a real difference, and business members have even more opportunities because they are more involved. The diversity of languages, experiences and customs mean that CRYPSA members can develop opportunities before other organizations are aware of them.
Members also benefit from access to webinars, special events—all for free or at a significantly reduced cost.
Information and opportunity give members a greater chance to succeed with their ventures and activities.
How will standards help improve the use of cryptocurrencies?
Standards bring trust to modern payment mechanisms. Because they build on the past experience of many architects, coders and users, standards reduce vulnerability to threats. They also make it easier to measure and define risk.
By giving buyers and sellers the tools to avoid fraud and conduct transparent exchanges, cryptocurrency users enjoy the benefits of a safe, free market economy.
Standards are not laws. They are voluntary, but can be verified throughout a transaction. Laws are imposed, while standards combine a pre-defined agreement with a verifiable process. Bitcoin is a set of standards. Without standards, there could be no digital currency and no Internet.
A p2p (peer to peer) cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, is a medium of exchange. Like a credit card, it does not require the parties of a transaction to meet. But unlike a credit card, it does not require any central bank or authority, has little or no fees, is more private, and—with the addition of standards—it is safer than cash, credit cards or bank guarantees.
Cryptocurrencies are an asset backed by encryption and underlying mathematical formulas rather than a government, bank or personal guarantor. Unlike human institutions, math is a pure truth. It isn’t tied to any geography, doesn’t lie, inflate itself, or use debt to effect political policies.
Most cryptocurrencies use peer-to-peer technology such as the Blockchain. Transactions are processed and verified instantly by a vast user community. Because it is decentralized, it is free from arbitrary government interference. The sender and recipient are in control of their money.
Do we have any standards at this time?
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym used by Bitcoin's creator, established 4 basic principles or standards that are in use by most cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology applications:
Freedom, which means that it is open to everyone'
Equatilty, represented by its Peer to Peer, descentralized nature;
Transparency, as exemplarized y the open ledger technology that we call the Blockchain; and
Privacy, which is implemented through the use of pseudonyms and passwords (alled public and private keys).
In addition, CRYPSA members are discussing how to standardize the way we deal with global anti-money laundering legislation and other legal requirements so we may face centralized authorities with a strong united voice. In this effort, CRYPSA maintains its members privacy by only requiring an email for individual registration, utilizing technology to avoid fraudulent misrepresentations that could harm our community.
CRYPSA is a member based organization with the mission of bringing stability to the chaos of creating a new industry, bringing many individuals, opinions and skills to create "One Voice, Many Solutions" and .many opportunities for innovation, success and revenue.
FAQ as prepared by Brandon Rosario, of La Guardia Community College (2014) and updated by CRYPSA.
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Home Politics The Pakistani Liberal: Where We Go Wrong
‘You know why people don’t like liberals? Because they lose.” – Jeff Daniel’s now viral rant from the television series Newsroom offered a scathing review of the post-Cold War neoliberalist narrative that lingered till the 2016 US Presidential Elections. The world is now a different place than the one we had presumed while studying our liberal arts degrees, stepping out of the safety of the hard science degrees such as Engineering and Medicine. Today, the average artificially-engineered liberal in Pakistan is completely out of sync not only with global events but their immediate surroundings just as well.
Repeating our mistakes: AWKU
Take the whole Abdul Wali Khan University incident as an example: without going into the uncomfortable details of the unfortunate incident itself, let’s adopt a self-reflexive approach in identifying basic flaws in our collective reasoning when overcome with such events, especially through social media.
Firstly, we as a nation, took the creative freedom in implicitly assuming that the majority of our fellow countrymen had been completely de-radicalized because of the Pakistan Super League. It is embarrassing and deeply misleading whenever Pakistan is presented as a progressive country. There is nothing to hide or be ashamed of – we must learn to show our scars; only then may we heal them. The narratives of a hidden Asian tiger, Punjabi pride and the ‘Pathan hospitality of Northern Pakistan’ blossom on our news feeds like the uninvited Phupho-from-England whenever extremists go into hiding for their bi-annual mating retreats. We actually do come to believe that Pakistan is the greatest nation of Earth, thereby capitulating us to complacency as the real core issues linger on: the massive social divisions, corruption, our inability to learn and our government’s blind infatuation with CPEC, because who doesn’t want a sequel to Confessions of an Economic Hitman.
It takes one suicide bomber and the linear narrative we painfully construct for this short time period gets tangled up like one of those bad Tarantino flicks.
Secondly, we blame the poor, crude Pakistani a bit too much. Listen – you have access to millions of DIY websites, self-help forums, support forums and mindfulness apps – all this wisdom radiating underneath the soft-lit tungsten lamps that lighten up from our air-conditioned study rooms and yet we still barely manage to get through life, hoping to make sense of our shortcomings: failed relationships, missed opportunities, harsh driving, alcohol and drugs, infidelity of varying degrees, tinkering with state finances and the dozens of crazy things we do and people we hurt in our own ways. And there, on the other side, is your average underprivileged Pakistani citizen, who assuming Locke’s tabula rasa conception has anything to do with it, would not be the cheeriest lad on Earth. Are we so secure in our self-righteous bubbles that we only wish to identify the problem but not understand it?
This reminds me of a talk I once attended of Maajid Nawaz, the chairman of the British counter-extremism think-tank Quilliam. He advised that we must ‘root out extremist thinking’ and plant ‘democratic seeds’ forcefully if required. When I commented that such a methodology would only aggravate complaints of ‘western dishonesty’, Maajid unashamed response was: ‘Well, then we must fake it’. It was clear that he knew the problem better than anyone. What he did not truly understand was the subject. What is ironic about the whole matter was that Maajid himself was a former extremist.
Here stems an elementary criticism of the social sciences (and to a lesser extent, in light of it’s less ostentatious assumptions: the liberal sciences). Don’t let career philosophers fool you with their oratory skils: observing, theorizing and cataloguing the world from afar and may have worked wonders in the hard sciences, but the human aspect of the social sciences demands more. It is often easy to forget that a surprising fraction of modern social sciences are of very little measurable, intrinsic value beyond enabling us in becoming better marketers, writers and orators: skills indeed, but not ones we should look to align our moral compass with. The self-evident truths that we so easily adopt because ‘we heard it on BBC’ or ‘our all-knowing Harvard graduate cousin was speaking in favour of it’ are almost always dwelled in deep debates, rifts and confusion which marks so many issues in the social sciences. This is a primary motive behind the longing for methodologies that can bring the social sciences closer to the ‘hard’ sciences.
We, as educated liberal-minded Pakistanis of course, pay little heed to context and succumb to these often-incoherent conceptualizations of human nature and contemporary society as we try to drag-and-drop them into our local landscape. This is a project that is not only undesirable but impossible as well. As social constructivists have achingly conveyed for the last three decades, we must first seek to understand the people we criticize before we hope to make them understand us.
Thirdly, we have continued the practice of disproportionate securitization of nearly all issues. Whereas the Copanhagen School’s conceptualization of securitization revolves around legitimizing extraordinary use of security for socially constructed threats, here I refer primarily to the legitimization of disproportionate political mileage afforded to issues that may have comparatively little effect on a state or community’s well-being. The securitization of any issue, such as Abdul Wali Khan University incident (as revolting as it was), leads to a disproportionate and irrational investment of time, money and public outcry. The real work will eventually need to be undertaken in constructivist think tanks and educational reform circles with a focus on long term social reform – the disenchanted grunts of five percent of the country’s population achieves nothing. A case in point is the United States: years of liberal idealism and globalism were swept away because the majority of working Americans felt unrepresented.
There are lessons to be learned. We must not only look for alternative perspectives, but new methodologies in analyzing our immediate world. For those acquainted with British literature on fundamentalism, you will invariably have come across modest confessions that there is very little that is known and a lot to learn. As people who are much closer to the problem than our former colonizers, we must look to develop our innate tools and techniques for analyzing our people and the issues before them. Borrowing terminologies and guiding frameworks from foreign observers may be convenient, but it is certainly not the complete answer.
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Alleged bikie extradited to Queensland on kidnap charges
by ojacques
Owen Jacques News Editor
Owen Jacques is an award-winning investigative journalist from Mackay, now based on the Sunshine Coast as APN Australian Regional Media’s Online News Editor. He has a strong background reporting on politics, business and breaking news. Owen has also specialised in resources reporting, which included a successful campaign to fight 100% fly-in, fly-out mining in rural Queensland towns.
13th May 2014 6:00 AM
A 35-year-old South Australian man will be brought to Queensland on charges of kidnapping for ransom, extortion and assault charges, all relating to a 2013 incident on the Gold Coast.
A second man, 37, who police allege is the former president of the Lone Wolves Criminal Gang, also faces charges of kidnapping with ransom.
Police believe the pair was involved with a 24-year-old man being allegedly held against his will, attacked then threatened with more violence if money was not paid.
A relative of the 24-year-old was allegedly told to pay the cash to have the young man set free.
Detectives inside Queensland's anti-bikie team Taskforce Maxima have led the investigation.
Detective Inspector Brendan Smith said it appeared to be "another clear example of the criminal behaviour of gang members".
"They prey on the victim's weaknesses and then use threats and intimidation to make victims both comply with their demands, and also discourage them from complaining to authority.
"In this matter, police will allege the victim's mother was required to raise the money and deliver it in the middle of the night.
"They were both extremely fearful about what would happen had she not paid the money."
The 35-year-old man will face the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old man will face the Southport Magistrates Court on June 4.
Investigations are ongoing.
Anyone with information which could assist with this matter should contact Crime Stoppers anonymously via 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au 24hrs a day.
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Class of 2001: Drink maker floods market
Glaceau pioneered the entire category of enhanced-water drinks with its Vitaminwater
Glaceau — the company that pioneered the entire category of enhanced-water drinks with its Vitaminwater — is by all measures a huge success. In just 11 years, founder J. Darius Bikoff has taken his company from startup to a firm boasting a nationally known brand and raking in annual revenues of $350 million.
Rather than stop there, in August Mr. Bikoff took his biggest step to date. He sold a 30% stake to Tata Tea Ltd., an India-based conglomerate with revenues of $22 billion and a stable of famous brands, including Tetley Tea and Eight O'Clock Coffee. The price? A cool $677 million.
"This deal assures that we maintain our independence but it allows us to compete at the same level as Coke and Pepsi," says Mr. Bikoff, who has grown Glaceau tenfold since it received the Crain's Small Business Award.
The deal gives his Whitestone, Queens-based company the muscle for a major international expansion and the money it needs to continue to innovate.
That is something Glaceau did initially when it rolled out Smartwater, a vapor-distilled water fortified with electrolytes. Unable to land shelf space in major chains, Mr. Bikoff took to the streets, persuading delis and upscale food stores to give his drink a try.
Persistence pays off
Two years later, he added what is today his best seller, Vitaminwater. The beverage has less than half the sugar of Coke or Pepsi, is enhanced with nutrients and comes in distinctive bottles.
Relying on sheer persistence, promotional handouts and celebrity buzz — including photos of a Vitaminwater-toting Paris Hilton — the firm put its drink on the map. Today, 200 independent distributors give Glaceau products a national reach.
"The success of the brand is that it's a better device," says Mr. Bikoff. "It wasn't IBM that made computers easier; it was Apple. It wasn't General Foods that made coffee better, it was Howard Shultz [of Starbucks], who went to Italy, had a decent cup of coffee and redefined the category."
In a beverage industry dominated by carbonated sugar-laden drinks, Glaceau has positioned itself as the healthful alternative.
"Tata's investment in the company is an endorsement for the strength of the brand and for the category," says Gerry Khermouch, editor of Beverage Business Insights, a trade newsletter.
— Tina Traster
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Restaurants hope pol's focus on violation dismissals doesn't backfire
Erik Engquist
Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal wants to reduce the issuance of violations that businesses commonly beat.
Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal has been drawing attention this week to the high number of dismissals of violations issued by city agencies. Her goal is to reduce the issuance of violations that businesses commonly beat, so merchants won't have to spend so much time and money challenging them.
Her campaign, though, carries some risk for businesses in that the city could respond by making it harder to defeat tickets.
Case in point: parking violations.
At one time, police and traffic enforcement agents had to write a large amount of information on paper summonses for illegally parked vehicles. Tickets were automatically thrown out when challenged if even one of many essential facts was wrong or illegible. Traffic columnist Samuel Schwartz, better known as Gridlock Sam, routinely published instructions in the 1990s detailing the myriad ways to defeat parking tickets. And defeated they were, quite often—until the city outfitted enforcement agents with handheld electronic devices to replace summons pads.
The error rate fell, dismissals plunged and parking-ticket revenue soared during the Bloomberg era.
Business advocates hope that is not the result of Ms. Rosenthal's attempt to aid them.
"It would be real shame if well-intended legislation to help small businesses resulted in an exercise for government to find better ways to increase fines being issued to them," said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York Hospitality Alliance in response to an inquiry from Crain's.
Mr. Rigie's members have a lot at stake: Restaurants are a prime target of enforcement agents. More than 90% of the 26,000-plus violations challenged at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) last year were levied against eateries. About 42% of individual violations were dismissed, which Ms. Rosenthal suggests is an indication that they should not have been written in the first place.
She has introduced a bill that would require OATH to regularly issue data on its cases and analysis of dismissal rates. The councilwoman’s spokeswoman told Crain's that Ms. Rosenthal wants to better understand why some dismissals are so common.
"We're looking for patterns in case type, reason for dismissal (perhaps insufficient evidence), or anything else that can help us figure out how to make the system more efficient," the spokeswoman emailed. "In the case of restaurateurs whose cases get dismissed, we might be able to find a type of summons that issuing officers give out that hearing officers tend to dismiss, and get those two sides to talk to each other to see if that type of summons is worth keeping."
If restaurateurs are on Ms. Rosenthal's list of preferred business people, owners of multiple dwellings are surely not. Her spokeswoman said the Manhattan councilwoman's interest in reducing summonses does not extend to "valid" ones issued against landlords.
"We definitely want to make sure that instead of a dismissal, the landlord receives a fine for violating Department of Buildings codes and potentially creating unsafe conditions for his tenants," she said. "This is an issue we've heard about in our district office from tenants who have building violations that never get fixed because their landlord's case gets dismissed."
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Specially trained dogs sniff out Reaseheath College garden
WILDLIFE detection dogs proved you don’t have to sacrifice beauty for the bees by checking out Reaseheath College’s show garden at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park.
Rhiannon Hilton
Specially trained dogs Twister and Luna, along with handler Louise Wilson, joined garden design and horticulture students from the Nantwich college to test whether their wildlife friendly garden was as attractive to nature as it was to people.
Louise, 30, a former Reaseheath animal behaviour and welfare student, has trained seven-year-old springer spaniel Twister and two-year-old Labrador Luna to seek out endangered species.
The dogs gave their nose of approval to the college’s ‘Nature Squared’ garden, designed by students to make a positive contribution to bio diversity despite its domestic setting.
The garden, which won a silver-gilt medal, contained ‘habitat areas’ planted with widely available, cultivated plant varieties which are similar to native species. It was much admired by TV gardening guru Monty Don, who presented BBC Two coverage of the event from the garden and chatted to student Angela Fearon.
Other members of the team who designed and managed the project were Jane Houghton, Robert Frost, Lee McDermott and Jenny Edmonstone, who are all studying for their foundation degree in garden and landscape design.
The garden was built by a team of student volunteers from a range of horticulture courses.
Reaseheath
Tatton Park
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We test the village pub which has been transformed by multimillionaire Bebo founder Michael Birch
"It is immediately apparent that some serious money has been spent here!"
00:00, 9 MAR 2019
As you wander through the quaint, rural centre of Woolsery in North Devon (proper name Woolfardisworthy) it doesn't immediately strike you as the kind of place that would be prime investment land from the world of social media.
But that is exactly what Bebo founder and multimillionaire tech businessman Michael Birch is doing.
Michael, who sold the social media company at the height of its success for a whopping $850 million, clearly left a huge part of his heart in Woolsery, having spent much of his childhood there.
So what better way to repay the community - which has an estimated population of just 1,100 - than by ploughing millions into restoring some of the village's much loved, but often neglected, buildings and businesses?
The Farmers Arms, Woolsery, which has seen huge investment from former Bebo owner Michael Birch (Image: Rob Tibbles)
Michael and his wife Xochi have already transformed the village's pub - The Farmer's Arms - and fish and chip shop, with other projects including a nearby farm and a manor house which is being converted into a stunning hotel and spa.
But it is the pub that appears to have made the single biggest difference to the village so far - reclaiming a rotten, eyesore of a building and offering employment for dozens of local people.
So when I was invited to come along and try the food and drink on offer, I didn't need to be asked twice!
Exciting first look inside Bebo millionaire Michael Birch's brand new Devon pub
While the exterior may not scream "multi-million pound silicon valley investment", the real experience starts when you open the door and step foot into this Grade II listed, thatched local.
It is immediately apparent that some serious money has been spent here! The level of detail and craftsmanship on display is simply second to none.
Whether it's the bespoke light fittings, the intricacy of the newly installed wooden beams, the varied and fascinating artwork and taxidermy or just the quality of the grain on the stunning wooden bar - beauty is all around.
Inside The Farmer's Arms in Woolsery
In fact, every single element of this project - right down to the locally made pottery and rustic pewter plates - has been considered in such a great level of detail, it is hard not to be impressed.
But importantly, while The Farmers Arms has a highly luxurious feel, exclusivity is not part of the design.
That warm, country-local feel has not been lost, with fires roaring throughout and even a cosy, dedicated games room upstairs complete with board games, books, poker chips and even a pub guitar.
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It would also be easy for locals to feel priced out of an establishment like this - but again, this is not the case.
A pint of beer costs between £4 and £4.50 - a lot less than some of the trendier beach bars in North Devon - and the selection on offer is staggering (most of which are local too)!
For those who don't (or can't) drink, the pub offers a fantastic range of delicious and home made fruit cordials. I tried the spiced apple and rhubarb and ginger varieties which were both incredible - a word I never previously thought could be used to describe squash!
Pork scratchings with Bramley apple ketchup, just one of the sumptuous bar snacks on offer (Image: Rob Tibbles)
The food is very reasonably priced too. To call the regular menu 'pub grub' would be doing it a disservice, boasting as it does dishes such as slow roasted brisket, beetroot fritters and pheasant cottage pie.
There's also a delightful range of bar snacks, including my personal favourite of homemade pork scratchings with Bramley apple ketchup.
Visitors also have the option of fine dining in the restaurant area with a menu compiled by executive chef Ian Webber, formerly head chef at Michelin starred Gidleigh Park Hotel.
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While this is more expensive than the pub menu, you're still only looking at around £40 a head (excluding drinks) for a three-course meal.
During our lunchtime visit I opted for the traditional Devon potato pie, which was absolutely delicious and so rich I barely needed to eat anything for the rest of the day.
It was accompanied by the most pleasingly rustic dish of local vegetables including beetroot, kale, carrots and broccoli - all of which were unspoilt and cooked to perfection.
The traditional Devonshire potato pie served with locally grown vegetables (Image: Rob Tibbles)
My photographic colleague Rob went for roast pork and stuffing in a homemade bread roll with caramalised onion, rosemary and Bramley apple ketchup set next to a small bucket of triple fried, crispy chips - every bit as mouthwatering as it sounds.
Both genuinely stuffed by the heartiness of our main courses, we were sadly unable to squeeze in any of the amazing-sounding puddings - which included sticky date and ginger pudding, pear, quince and almond tart and apple and hazelnut crumble.
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Eating and drinking at the Farmers Arms is a real experience, and one you can feel very good about being part of.
Not only has Michael Birch's investment here saved an important local building, it has also given much-needed employment to the village.
The Farmers Arms has a rustic look with oak beams and animal heads on the walls
As well as this, of course, the emphasis on ultra-local produce can only be a good thing, both for the environment and the local economy.
In short, the Farmers Arms is THE place to eat, drink and make merry!
For more information about the Farmers Arms and to see example menus, visit www.woolsery.com
What is 'The Woolsery Project'?
The opening of The Farmer’s Arms is part of a wider project within Woolsery village.
After Michael and Xochi purchased The Farmer’s Arms, further businesses and cottages were offered to them one by one, leading to The Woolsery Project.
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Another aspect of the project is the 70-acre farm. It will be a short stroll from the village and be the heart of the project, supporting all the food and beverage outlets.
The land will consist of 16 acres of orchards, kitchen garden and flower gardens, as well as a home to an array of heritage breeds such as Devon Ruby cattle, Gray Faced Dartmoor sheep, Devon Large Black pigs, as well as flocks of chickens and ducks.
The farm team will work with chef Ian Webber to supply the kitchen with unique ingredients to create a flavour profile around and incorporated into the menu.
Jenny Hayns has been appointed Head Grower to implement the practice of agroforestry, which integrates trees and shrubs into crops and pasturelands.
This method promotes biodiversity and will make the farm a beautiful and unique place to visit.
As well as the refurbishment of The Farmer’s Arms, the project also includes Woolsery Fish & Chip Shop, The Village Post Office and Shop (currently open but will undergo a renovation in 2019), four guest cottages located in the village centre and a hotel set within a Grade II listed Georgian manor house – all set to open in 2021.
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Point should be enough
PUBLISHED: 10:27 17 March 2011
Evergreens 1, Dereham Ladies III 1
HOCKEY: With two league games left to play and Dereham only five points clear of the bottom team, they knew this was a game they could not afford to lose.
Dereham started brightly, getting hold of the ball and passing and moving well, but when not in possession they looked a little stretched and disorganised.
The game was end-to-end with both teams moving the ball at pace and finding space in midfield but failing to find that final ball and shot in open play.
Both teams won several short corners in the first half but neither had a polished routine to convert them into goals.
With a just a few minutes to play before the half-time interval Dereham made a quick break. The play was spread wide right to winger Emma Allsop, who took on and beat two or three Evergreens defenders on her way to the base line of the D.
Allsop crossed to on-rushing centre-forward Jackie Taylor at the P spot, whose perfect first time strike left the Evergreen’s defender and goalkeeper no chance as it rose and hit the back of the net.
The second half continued in a similar pattern with both teams struggling to create real clear-cut opportunities on goal, though Dereham did have two efforts roll across the Evergreens’ goal-line.
Evergreens equalised about midway through the second half, when ex-Dereham player Jess Shand reacted first to a saved short-corner strike to coolly slotg home the rebound, unmarked at the far post.
A draw seemed a fair result at the end of a well-mannered game, and the point will hopefully see Dereham safe for another season in the Norfolk Premier.
PoM: Charlotte Reeve.
Squad: Allsop, Barnard, Bebbington, Colman, Hazel, Hazel, Lavers, Milton, Morgan (captain), Reeve, Taylor, Z Taylor, Waters.
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GoFundMe fundraiser set for Highway 74 crash victims
Kristin Lauer was in a Porsche that fell 200 feet off Highway 74 Sunday morning. A 5-month-old girl died in the crash.
GoFundMe fundraiser set for Highway 74 crash victims Kristin Lauer was in a Porsche that fell 200 feet off Highway 74 Sunday morning. A 5-month-old girl died in the crash. Check out this story on desertsun.com: https://desert.sn/26TtMsB
Colin Atagi, The Desert Sun Published 8:13 a.m. PT May 4, 2016 | Updated 5:17 p.m. PT May 4, 2016
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with expenses for the victims of a crash on Highway 74.(Photo: Christopher Weddle)
A Highway 74 crash that killed a 5-month-old girl and injured her parents over the weekend is still under investigation, the California Highway Patrol said Wednesday.
Armani Green was pronounced dead after being thrown from a 2015 Porsche as it fell 200 feet from Highway 74 on Sunday. Authorities suspect she wasn't properly restrained because she and her parents were in a car with two seats, but they haven't specified where Armani was sitting in the car.
Officials haven't determined if charges will be filed in the single car crash, California Highway Patrol Officer Stephanie Hamilton said Wednesday.
The adults in the car were identified as Rancho Mirage resident Kristen Lauer, 22, and Thermal resident Marcus Green, 51. Both were airlifted from the scene and remained hospitalized Wednesday, according to the CHP.
Infant dies in Highway 74 crash, victims identified
Lauer played and later coached volleyball at Desert Christian Academy in Bermuda Dunes while also playing for College of the Desert. She was named a Desert Sun 2011 fall sports hero and was often lauded for her volleyball skills.
Little was immediately known about Green. According to Riverside County Superior Court records, he had several traffic violations over the past few years, although they included minor violations such as driving with a broken signal light.
Officials believe Green was "driving too fast" just before the car went through a guardrail and fell down the side of the Santa Rosa Mountains, Hamilton said. Investigators have ruled out drugs and alcohol as contributing factors.
Family members have set up a GoFundMe account for anyone who wants to help cover the funeral costs for the baby and medical expenses for Lauer. There was no reference to Green.
The family members did not want to talk to The Desert Sun for this story.
The organizer's fundraising goal is $100,000 and more than $12,000 had been raised so far.
The crash shut down Highway 74 for several hours Sunday.
Workers are going to repair the damaged guardrail on Thursday, said Terri Kasinga, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation.
The scene is just north of Vista Point and there may be traffic delays throughout the day on Highway 74, she said.
Read or Share this story: https://desert.sn/26TtMsB
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Kids Aquatics
Adult Aquatics
Policies / Cancellation
"I just wanted to reach out to you to let you know that we think Rylee is doing such a great job with Kingslee! His one-on-one classes are so enjoyable and he has had so much improvement! I just thought she deserved a big compliment because she really is doing such a great job and Kingslee looks forward to going every single time! Hope you have a good rest of your week!
Rachel G.
"Desert Swim School has amazing instructors and my daughter loves going to swimming lessons!"
"My daughter has been swimming here since 2010. Great school and great instructors! Highly recommend!"
"My 5-year-old daughter has been working with Barbara at Desert Swim School in a group of four kids and LOVES swim class. [Prior to this] we had been through three swim schools and six swim instructors, both one-on-one and group lessons. This is the first time I've seen my daughter shine with progress, pride and excitement. Barbara is incredible with the kiddos. She gauges exactly where they are and pushes each of them to do a little more from wherever they are in their abilities. She has a way of encouraging them that fills them with pride and a drive to do more, you can see it in each of their faces. In just a couple of weeks time, my daughter is so much farther along than she has been in two years of coaches! Thanks Barbara! Your level of experience and commitment to these kids' ability to be safe in the water (independently) shows!"
Jessica N.
"We have been with Desert Swim School for almost TEN YEARS! We started my oldest son in the Parent/Tot class with Miss Janice when he was only two, and now he's a competitive swimmer for his school! He still loves to swim any chance he can get! We have also had my daughter (7) and youngest son (5) in swim lessons with DSS since they were toddlers. I can't say enough wonderful things about this company, the instructors, and the way they teach swimming to my children. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Desert Swim School!"
Kim B.
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World Asia 09 May 2017 Exit polls in South ...
World, Asia
Exit polls in South Korea forecast win for liberal Moon Jae-In
Published May 9, 2017, 9:04 pm IST
Updated May 9, 2017, 9:33 pm IST
Conservative Hong Joon-pyo and centrist Ahn Cheol-soo, were expected to garner 23.3 percent and 21.8 percent, respectively.
South Korea's liberal candidate Moon Jae-In
Seoul: Exit polls in South Korea forecast that liberal candidate Moon Jae-in will win an election Tuesday to succeed ousted President Park Geun-hye, who was arrested in March for alleged corruption.
A win by Moon would end a decade of conservative rule in South Korea and could result in sharp departures from recent policy toward nuclear-armed North Korea.
Official results weren't expected for hours, but the exit poll of about 89,000 voters at 330 polling stations, jointly commissioned by three major television stations and released just after polls closed, showed Moon receiving 41.4 percent of the vote.
His two main rivals, conservative Hong Joon-pyo and centrist Ahn Cheol-soo, were expected to garner 23.3 percent and 21.8 percent, respectively, according to the exit poll, which had a margin of error of 0.8 percentage points.
Such polls are merely a snapshot of the stated intentions of certain voters.
"I hope today will open the door for a new Republic of Korea," Moon told jubilant party members after the release of the exit poll. "I will achieve reforms and national unity, the two missions that our people long for."
Moon, the Democratic Party candidate, has called for engagement with North Korea, saying that the hard-line approach favored by conservative governments did nothing to prevent the North from expanding its nuclear bomb and missile programs and only reduced South Korea's voice in international efforts to deal with its rival.
The winning candidate will be officially sworn in as South Korea's new president after the election commission finishes the vote count and declares the winner Wednesday morning.
This forgoes the usual two-month transition because Tuesday's vote was a by-election to choose a successor to Park, whose term was to end in February 2018.
Following months of protests by millions and impeachment by lawmakers, Park was removed from office and arrested in March over corruption allegations. The new South Korean president will still serve out a full, single five-year term.
"I gave all my body and soul (to the election) to the very end," Moon, 64, told reporters Tuesday after casting his ballot in Seoul.
Moon was chief of staff for the last liberal president, the late Roh Moo-hyun, who sought closer ties with North Korea by setting up large-scale aid shipments to the North and by working on now-stalled joint economic projects.
Hong, an outspoken former provincial governor who pitched himself as a "strongman," described the election as a war between ideologies and questioned Moon's patriotism.
After voting, Hong said the election was a "war of regime choices between people, whether they decide to accept a North Korea-sympathizing leftist government or a government that can protect the liberty of the Republic of Korea," South Korea's formal name.
Park's trial later this month on bribery, extortion and other corruption charges could send her to jail for life if she is convicted.
Dozens of high-profile figures, including Park's longtime confidante, Choi Soon-sil, and Samsung's de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, have been indicted along with Park.
Moon frequently appeared at anti-Park rallies and the corruption scandal boosted his push to re-establish liberal rule. He called for reforms to reduce social inequalities, excessive presidential power and corrupt ties between politicians and business leaders.
Many of those legacies dated to the dictatorship of Park's father, Park Chung-hee, whose 18-year rule was marked by both rapid economic rise and severe civil rights abuse.
As a former pro-democracy student activist, Moon was jailed for months in the 1970s while protesting against the senior Park.
Many analysts say Moon, if elected, likely won't pursue drastic rapprochement policies because North Korea's nuclear program has progressed significantly since he was in the Roh government a decade ago.
A big challenge for whoever wins will be US President Donald Trump, who has proven himself unconventional in his approach to North Korea, swinging between intense pressure and threats and offers to talk.
"South Koreans are more concerned that Trump, rather than North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, will make a rash military move, because of his outrageous tweets, threats of force and unpredictability," Duyeon Kim, a visiting fellow at the Korean Peninsula Future Forum in Seoul, wrote recently in Foreign Affairs magazine.
"It is crucial that Trump and the next South Korean president strike up instant, positive chemistry in their first meeting to help work through any bilateral differences and together deal with the North Korean challenge," she said.
Tags: park geun-hye, moon jae-in, exit polls
Location: South Korea, Seoul, Seoul
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Contact/Survey
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'Biodiversity authority needs autonomy'
Balakrishna Pisupati was the first biodiversity expert to head India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and had more than six months to go when he resigned earlier this year. His sudden exit from the organisation took many by surprise but his departure was imminent after the parent ministry of NBA, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), made it abundantly clear that it intended to replace Pisupati. During his stint as chairperson of NBA, Pisupati was often in the news in connection with India’s first biopiracy case, relating to Bt Brinjal. Before taking on this assignment he had been supporting NBA in dealing with implementing the Biological Diversity Act from the time of its inception. His association of over one decade stoked his interest in India, especially in the context of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) framework and Nagoya Protocol. He decided to leave his job as head of biodiversity, land law and governance programme with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi and relocate to India. In his exclusive interview to Down To Earth after his resignation, Pisupati admits that though NBA is an autonomous body, it has a lot many strings attached to MoEF. He talks to Jyotika Sood about his tenure, challenges before India and what ails India’s biodiversity regulations. Excerpts:
NEXT INTERVIEW ❯
By Jyotika Sood
Indian institutions work in a bureaucratic set up and it is said you tried to defy it. Was that the reason for your resignation from the post of chairperson of National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)?
The decisions made, noting on files, actions taken and discussions held will speak for themselves. I just want to say that it is not easy to function when the chief executive of a statutory, autonomous body was constantly being directed by the parent ministry, limiting the ability of timing and nature of decisions made.
My simple question was to ask whether systems and procedures are established to ensure due diligence and improve efficiency or to delay and negate positive action, fearing decision making. I had to make a few decisions in the interest of NBA and they will stand any scrutiny. I believe that as chairperson of NBA my interest is to secure the interests and credibility of NBA and not blindly follow certain precedence set at NBA.
What were the challenges when you took charge?
I had three key challenges. To secure adequate and predictable finance, to get together technical expertise and networks to deliver the mandate of NBA. With this I wanted to bring about awareness about the (Biological Diversity) Act and establish NBA as a truly statutory, autonomous body in the country to deal with issues related to biodiversity.
Are you saying NBA was not functional and autonomous before you joined?
Perhaps for the first time in a decade, NBA was vibrant, visible and responsive. Apart from this, during my tenure, NBA has revised the guidelines for People’s Biodiversity Registers, operationalisation of Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs), guidelines for establishing the National Biodiversity Fund, operationalisation of Biodiversity Heritage Sites, Access and Benefit Sharing guidelines and others. More than a dozen state biodiversity boards (SBBs) are fully operational with substantive work programmes and BMCs are empowered to deal with implementation of the Act. Therefore, in summary, I feel that I was able to tie several loose ends under the Act, raised both government and external finances for NBA (from about Rs 1 to 2 crore per year to about Rs 50 crore per year) and brought regional and international visibility to NBA.
The seeds I have sown in establishing the Centre for Biodiversity Policy and Law at NBA and the first national Global Environment Facility project on ABS bore fruit during my tenure as chairperson about which I am pleased. I am satisfied that I gave visibility to NBA and the Act in such a manner the stakeholders are confident to work together with us in effective implementation of the Act and the Rules.
NBA now needs autonomy, technical and legal expertise and a good leader who can see the future horizons of linking conservation with development. When I took over as chairperson, I was aware that it is a tenure-based position and was available for a three-year period. I began prioritising issues of consolidating the statutory mandates of NBA under the Act and wanted to focus on issues of inclusive agenda for implementation.
But why did it take so long for NBA to file the biopiracy case in Bt Brinjal?
I will not be able to answer the question on issues before I took charge in NBA. However, once I came on board in August 2011, a series of measures were put in place to consolidate the available information relating to the case and file a complaint. However, since certain procedural issues had to be sorted out internally at NBA, the case was filed in November 2012. Also, I wanted to ensure we have a watertight case with this complaint since the implications need to be assessed with care and confidence.
State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and MoEF say you could have done much more. Your comment
This argument that NBA has not done much during my tenure is really strange and unfounded. The achievements made, partnerships established, resources raised and enhanced visibility of the Act speak for themselves. I supervised the establishment of National Biodiversity Grid for biodiversity data and information management, completion and issuance of several guidelines under the Act, and the first economic valuation methodology for ABS. Before I took over, the support to SBBs was very minimal. I strengthened the human resource capacities at NBA and SBBs.
In fact, NBA during my tenure, was the reason that series of international events such as expert meetings for SAARC, ASEAN, Africa and the CBD were held in India. NBA, during the recent months, had the largest number of partners, both in spread and expertise who had contributed to our agenda positively.
ABS rules are one of the major bones of contention between NBA, state biodiversity boards and the MoEF during your tenure. Why?
The issue is now sub judice before the National Green Tribunal bench in Bhopal, so I won’t comment. But I personally feel that the objective and provisions of the Act are not appropriately understood by various sections in deciding on the issues presented, I only wanted to ensure that the spirit of the Act, the Convention and the Nagoya Protocol are appropriately interpreted in dealing with the issues. Whatever NBA did was based on written, expert legal opinion. My only interest was that India, which holds presidency for COP, should lead implementation of ABS by example and not emotions.
I did my best in dealing with ABS issues and brought more rationale and predictability to ABS process at NBA, based on the provisions of the Act and rules. I only hope that the future actions on finalising the ABS guidelines are in the true spirit of ABS as it was negotiated at CBD and in India under the Act. I am not sure if it is correct to assume already that there will be dilution.
Is implementation of biodiversity laws are difficult in India?
I do not think it is difficult. The difficulty is to provide both responsibility and authority to individuals and organisations to deliver the mandates. Merely providing huge mandates to organisations with limited elbow room to operate is very unfortunate. Also, I am a firm believer that implementation of Act in India needs partnerships, networks, credibility of the individual and institution to move the agenda in a positive direction and more importantly an attitude to stand by principles and integrity.
The big challenge in India, I find, is that while responsibilities are given they are not commensurate with the authority provided to institutions. Also, the sense of insecurity and feeling that processes decide product need some re-look. Environment and biodiversity are about ensuring a sense of belonging to the people and policy implementation is about having an inclusive, predictable and transparent agenda for the government.
What is your advice to your successors and the Union environment ministry?
Recent developments in India, including the decisions on national development, will have a significant impact in dealing with biodiversity and ecosystems in India in the years to come. As I had discussed with some of the chief ministers of states in India, we now need to demonstrate that development need not compromise our ability to conserve and complexity shall not be an excuse for inaction.
India needs expertise and regional and global links to deliver its agenda as well as learn from others. States need to support the state boards more effectively and provide them with same autonomy that I strove for in NBA. BMCs need to be empowered in a manner that communities see biodiversity agenda as progressive and pervasive.
Lastly, India needs leadership in institutions of people who will not merely push papers but provide platforms for inclusive opportunities using biodiversity and ecosystems as basis for sustainable development in the future. This is possible and should be the agenda for everyone concerned.
Web edition Web edition Interview Interview Sustainable Development National … Nagoya Protocol Down to earth Bt brinjal biopiracy case Biological Diversity Act Balakrishna Pisupati access and benefit …
National Biodiversity Authority chairperson, Pisupati, resigns
Bt brinjal biopiracy case: court vacates stay
'Building and retaining capacity is the toughest challenge'
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The Scientific Commitee is composed of professionals that regularly adopt, develop and improve the clinical techniques derived from Metabolomics and their goal is to make these techniques accessible to all.
Dimitris Tsoukalas
E.I.Nu.M. President
Dr Dimitris Tsoukalas is one of the few physicians worldwide to have acquired the experience in the clinical application of metabolomics.
See his resume
Aristidis Michael Tsatsakis
Honorary President of E.I.N.U.M.
Full Professor of Toxicology at “School of Medicine, University of Crete and University General Hospital”. Since 2001 is Director of the “Toxicology and the Forensic Science Department” at School of Medicine, University of Crete and University General Hospital. See his resume
Paolo Maria Geraci
He graduated in Medicine and Surgery (1976) at the University of Pavia and specialized in Anesthesiology and Intensive Care (1979) and in Food Science (1982) at the same University.
Tyrogiannis Georgios
Internist, E.I.Nu.M. Associate Scientific Advisor
Founding Member of the European Society of Antiaging Medicine (ESAM)
Evangelos Zoumbaneas
Certified Nutritionist, E.I.Nu.M. Associate Scientific Advisor
Certified Nutritionist, specialised in eating disorders
Francesco Geraci
Specialized in Internal Medicine
He graduated from the University of Pavia in 2007 and specialized in internal medicine at the same university in 2014.
Maria Charta
E.I.Nu.M Secretary
Dietitian, Graduate of the Universita’ degli Studi di Milano.
See her resume
Francesca Marcon
Biologist and Nutritionist
Graduated in Biology at the Università di Padova with thesis entitled "Study about the role of menachinone-4 as electrons carrier on the mitochondrial respiratory chain on mammalian cells. .
Carolina Capriolo
Has achieved a Master of Science in Evolutionary Biology with the thesis "Effect of cadmium and copper on gene expression of enzymatic components of the antioxidant system in Drosophila melanogaster".
Luca Muraro
Graduated in Physical Education from the University of Verona. Certified Personal Trainer of the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association)
Luigia Alfonsi
Degree in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Verona. Diploma of Specialization in Pediatrics at the same University with address in Allergology and Pediatric Pneumology.
Scientific Advisors of EINUM
Giulio Sciotto
Pharmaceutical chemist
Appointed to the scientific disclosure of E.I.Nu.M.
E.I.Nu.M. is a non-profit institute that aims to raise awareness about the Nutritional Medicine through Metabolomics.
Contacts Affiliation Privacy Policy Cookie Policy
European Institute Of Nutritional Medicine - codice fiscale: 97713550586 - REA, iscrizione alla registro della Camera di Commercio RM - 1371038 - Partita IVA 12387061000 - Via Tagliamento 14, 00198, ROMA (RM)
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April 26, 2019 - Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale - Ane Graff, Ingela Ihrman, nabbteeri: Weather Report: Forecasting Future
Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
From left to right: Ane Graff, detail of the work in progress, 2019. nabbteeri, Ethnographies of a homespun spinelessness cult and other neighbourly relations: Gingerbread house, 2019 (detail). 3D animation, work in progress. Ingela Ihrman, A Great Seaweed Day, 2019 (detail).
Ane Graff, Ingela Ihrman, nabbteeri
Weather Report: Forecasting Future
May 11–November 24, 2019
Opening: May 8, 2:30pm
Giardini di Castello
www.kiasma.fi
www.modernamuseet.se
www.oca.no
The exhibition Weather Report: Forecasting Future in the Nordic Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale is themed around the complex and varied relations between the human and nonhuman in an age when climate change and mass extinction are threatening the future of life on Earth. When imagining the future, humans face the responsibility of acknowledging multispecies entanglements and the need to renegotiate existing interspecies relations.
It is often difficult for humans to notice life forms that exist on a scale different from theirs, such as microscopic organisms, the slow workings of toxic agents, or durational processes of decaying organic matter. By heightening the visitors’ awareness of the materiality of the space and the artworks, and by assimilating their bodies to other life forms, the exhibition attempts to establish a connection with more-than-human agencies.
Ane Graff (NOR) creates works that combine her material research with a broad range of disciplines, e.g. microbiology, chemistry and feminist new materialisms’ re-thinking of material reality. Through her installations, she confronts the allegedly stable culture-based classifications, while asking how notions of human exceptionalism and dualistic thinking are connected to the ecological crisis.
The states of inflammation in Graff’s works refer to the connections between climate change, Western societies driven by economic growth, the extinction of immune-modulating intestinal microbes and the spread of inflammatory diseases. Her installation makes observable how the human body is entangled with other agencies, such as bacteria, as well as the toxicity of the environment. The displayed objects and their containers, the glass cabinets, refer to the human body and its current inflammatory state, emitting signals from the past and hinting at possible future scenarios. The cabinets’ glass surfaces indicate fluidity, as if they are melting before our eyes. In her sculptures, the materials keep interacting and forming new mixtures during the exhibition, denying the human control over them.
Ingela Ihrman (SWE) weaves together imagination, craft techniques, as well as sensibilities and personal experiences in her objects, moving images and texts. Occasionally, her installations include an element in which she performs dressed in a self-made plant or animal costume. Drawing on the feminist performance tradition, she uses her own body to critically analyse culture-nature divisions and to open up the prevailing gazes to queer horizons. Relating one’s own body to diverse material worlds or emulating their cycle of life can foster an enhanced understanding of life’s various entanglements.
Her algae installation tells a story of the liquid origins of human bodies and the existing connections between diverse lifeforms. Silent, large-scale objects invite the exhibition visitors to partake in a bodily experience. By allying with worlds commonly considered others, it is possible to transgress limiting concepts and to reconsider notions of belonging and co-existence. Visitors are invited to read Seaweedsbladet #1, a collection of texts and images that reflect on how the human body is linked to a variety of agencies.
nabbteeri (FIN) typically begins by mapping the place where they are temporarily set up. They gather the materials on site and incorporate recycled objects that evolve into mesh-like installations. Their works are compositions based on interactions between the artists and other things, including nonhuman organisms. They often focus on the tiniest life forms, minute species co-existing with us. nabbteeri slows down the working process in order to discover a locally-oriented practice, forming an intense relationship with existing knowledges.
In the constellation of elements for the Nordic Pavilion, nabbteeri delves into the materiality of the Pavilion and the Giardini. They also focus on the organic surplus, the garden waste produced by the Giardini. Compost marks an endeavour to create a self-maintaining, life-producing ecosystem within the pavilion premises. Nonhuman life is maintained inside the building by plant cuttings, tentacular beings that remind us of the rhizomatic quality of co-existence. The materiality of the travertine and concrete-built pavilion is reiterated in the sand-filled elements, which contain material that will be released in the Giardini after the biennale is closed. In the backyard, Dead hedge prevents human visitors from approaching the site from behind the pavilion, while offering a space for birds and invertebrates.
Nordic Pavilion
The art in the Nordic Pavilion is presented as a joint project by the Nordic Committee. The commissioner of the 2019 Nordic Pavilion will be the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma / Finnish National Gallery. The exhibition is curated by Kiasma’s director Leevi Haapala and curator Piia Oksanen. The co-commissioners of the other Nordic countries are Moderna Museet’s co-director Ann-Sofi Noring and Office for Contemporary Art Norway’s (OCA) director Katya García-Antón.
The exhibition Weather Report: Forecasting Future is supported by Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, Saastamoinen Foundation and Ministry of Culture and Education.
International press contact
ARTPRESS – Ute Weingarten
Victoria Trunova, Senior Project Manager
trunova.artpress [at] uteweingarten.de / T 0049 (0) 30 48 49 63 50 / M 0049 (0) 176 386 73 444
www.artpress-uteweingarten.de
Share - Ane Graff, Ingela Ihrman, nabbteeri
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Journal #91 - Robert Bird - Articulations of (Socialist) Realism: Lukács, Platonov, Shklovsky
Journal #91 - May 2018
Robert Bird
Articulations of (Socialist) Realism: Lukács, Platonov, Shklovsky
The agit-train October Revolution included a car specifically outfitted for propaganda purposes. Photo: Vertov-Collection, Austrian Film Museum
Two puzzles dominate recent discussions of Soviet literature and Marxist aesthetics in the 1930s. The first is how the official Soviet system tolerated and even at times celebrated such an idiosyncratic writer as Andrei Platonov, who in the last twenty-five years has emerged as the central literary artist of the time. The second puzzle is how socialist realism, a literature wholly focused on the future, came to model itself on nineteenth-century realism, with the result that the bulk of socialist realist novels (and works in other literary genres and artistic mediums) read like tedious exercises in nostalgia, while artists who really anticipate the future, like Platonov, became marginalized.
These two puzzles have brought close attention to the circle around the journal Literaturnyi kritik (Literary Critic), which had been created in 1934 as a locus for theorizing socialist realism, became closely allied with Mikhail Lifshits and other progressive Marxist philosophers, and also published the bulk of Platonov’s critical writings. In August 1936 Literaturnyi kritik broke with its charter to publish two stories by Andrei Platonov, “Immortality” and “Among Animals and Plants,” in the same issue that Georg Lukács published “Narrate or Describe?,” a foundational work in the theories of narrative and of realism. In this essay I propose to read Platonov’s “Immortality” together with Lukács’s “Narrate or Describe?” and Lukács’s review of “Immortality,” as part of a wide-ranging dialogue that also involved Viktor Shklovsky, about realism in general and the method of socialist realism in particular. This dialogue suggests that, far from legislating an outmoded style for the novel, Lukács derives from Platonov’s fiction a portable model of socialist realist method that will ensure the dual agency of the artist—as composer and medium of history—while allowing literary form to adapt to continual changes in the structure of history. Recovering the ambition of Lukács’s essay not only clarifies its historical context, but also suggests how the realism in question then might be the realism with which we still contend in our own day.1
1. “Immortality” and Socialist Realism
“Immortality” was commissioned from Platonov under the auspices of a large project called “People of the Railway Empire,” initiated by the Union of Soviet Writers and the railway newspaper Gudok (Horn) in late 1935. In line with the new Stakhanovite movement, which showcased particularly productive individual workers in each major industry, on July 30, 1935 Stalin gathered the most illustrious railway workers for an awards ceremony at the Kremlin. By August 17, working at a Stakhanovite pace, the publishing arm of the rail industry prepared and published a commemorative volume, Liudi velikoi chesti (People of Great Honor), which featured brief biographies of the sixty-seven award-winning railway workers. Sometime that autumn a decision was made to commission literary works about them. Platonov was assigned two Stakhanovites of the rails: pointsman Ivan Alekseevich Fyodorov of Medvezh’ia gora station, and stationmaster Emmanuil Grigor’evich Tseitlin of Krasnyi (Red) Liman station. Fyodorov became the protagonist of “Among Animals and Plants,” in which he is maimed while trying to stop a runaway train, is honored at a ceremony in Moscow, and promoted to the position of coupler. Tseitlin was fictionalized in “Immortality” as Emmanuil Semyonovich Levin, the indefatigably caring chief of Red Peregon station.
Platonov (1899–1951) was a natural choice for the project. Born in the family of a railway engineer, he had frequently set his stories in and around rail yards. He explained his railway obsession in a text later published by his widow Mariia:
Before the revolution I was a boy, but after it happened there was no time to be young, no time to grow; I immediately had to put on a frown and start fighting [i.e., in the Civil War] … Without finishing technical college I was hurriedly put on a locomotive to help the engineer. For me the saying that the revolution was the locomotive of history turned into a strange and good feeling: recalling it, I worked assiduously on the locomotive … Later the words about the revolution as a locomotive turned the locomotive for me into a sense [oshchushchenie] of the revolution.2
A revolutionary fact gives rise to a feeling and organizes labor, but then returns to a metaphor that rapidly accelerates out of control. This literal belief in metaphor animated socialist realism, the official aesthetic system of the Soviet Union beginning in 1932, and Stalin relied heavily upon the mobilizing power of metaphor when, in 1935, he placed the rail industry at the center of public discourse, as seen in railway commissar Lazar Kaganovich’s speech at the celebration of July 30, 1935:
In The Class Struggle in France Marx wrote that “revolutions are the locomotives of history.” On Marx’s timetable Lenin and Stalin have set the locomotive of history onto its track and led it forward. The enemies of revolution prophesied crashes for our locomotive, trying to frighten us with the difficulty of its path, its steep inclines and hard hills. But we have managed to lead the locomotive of history through all inclines and hills, through all turns and bends, because we have had great train engineers, capable of driving the locomotive of history. We have conquered because our locomotive has been steered by the dual brigade of the great Lenin and Stalin.3
Tropes unexpectedly spawn real imperatives. Though Platonov had been marginalized since his stories attracted Stalin’s personal ire in 1929 and 1931, the railway commission promised a way back into print.
“Among Animals and Plants” was accepted by the journals Oktiabr’ (October) and Novyi mir (The New World), but Platonov refused to make the changes they demanded. Both “Among Animals and Plants” and “Immortality” were then rejected by the prestigious almanac God Deviatnadtsatyi (The Nineteenth Year), before being accepted by the journal Kolkhoznye rebiata (Kolkhoz Kids), where they appeared in abbreviated adaptation for children.4 The decision by the editors of Literaturnyi kritik to publish Platonov’s stories as the first and last ever works of fiction ever included in the journal demonstrates both their high regard for Platonov and their determination, despite his difficulty in finding outlets for his work, to see him in print.
Given the political tenor of the moment—August 1936 also witnessed the first Moscow show trial of Stalin’s rivals—it was an act of no little boldness. In an extended but unsigned preface, the editors explained their decision as dictated by the timidity of literary journals’ editorial boards, which prefer safe “routine” and “cliché” to a realism that reveals contradictions and incites reflection:
We categorically reject the formula “talented, but politically false.” A truly talented work reflects reality with maximum objectivity, and an objective reflection of reality cannot be hostile to the working class and its cause. In Soviet conditions a work that is false in its ideas cannot be genuinely talented.5
What sounds like pure casuistry reflects the journal’s consistent position that literary narrative possesses a degree of autonomy, i.e., means of efficacy that cannot be mapped directly onto ideology: “Vigilance is necessary. In order that it be real, actual, Bolshevik vigilance, however, and not just a bureaucrat’s fear of ‘unpleasantness,’ it is necessary first of all to know literature.”6
Georg Lukács was a leading light of the journal, and the unnamed editors’ opposition between “literature” and “bureaucracy” calls to mind Lukács’s 1939 essay “Tribune or Bureaucrat?” In fact the entire project “People of the Railway Empire” had been conceived along roughly Lukácsian lines, considering his opposition to pure factography in the 1932 essay “Reportage or Portrayal?” The project was to be rooted in close study of Soviet life, specifically through an archive of transcripts of worker interviews that were commissioned especially for the occasion. As its organizer Vladimir Ermilov stressed, writers would travel to the home locations of their subjects “for personal impressions, so that this figure really comes to life in the hands of this writer when he is writing, working.”7 The result will be that “this literary work will not be isolated from the specific nature of the railway … in order that these works show people in the genuine, specific surroundings in which they live, work and fight.”8 Unlike previous collective documentary projects (e.g., on the heroic Cheliuskin expedition to the Arctic Sea or on the construction of the Moscow Metro), authors were urged “to provide stories, highly artistic documentary sketches and literary portraits, written by authors themselves over their personal signature; not reworked transcripts but genuine, self-sufficient artistic works about the person.”9 In addition to prose works written on the basis of the transcripts, Ermilov encouraged the creation of plays and also a “railway Chapaev,” modeled on the popular 1934 sound film about a Civil War-era commander.10
Platonov fulfilled his commission with admirable conscientiousness, completing his two stories by the deadline of February 10, 1936. For “Immortality,” in addition to renaming his protagonist and the location, Platonov appears to have used the (unknown and possibly lost) transcript of Tseitlin’s interview with great license, deriving from it only the basic picture of a railway station chief working tirelessly to keep trains on schedule despite the incompetence and truculence of less conscientious coworkers. In Platonov’s story the logistics specialist Polutorny is preoccupied with finding a Plymouth Rock cockerel for his hens. Another logistics specialist, Zakharchenko, spends most of his time at his pottery wheel producing wares that he sells at great personal profit. Night supervisor Pirogov is depressed, needy, and incompetent, while Levin’s assistant, Yedvak (based on the word for “hardly,” yedva), is simply lazy. Protected only by his loyal but limited cook Galya, Levin sacrifices sleep and nourishment to keep a watchful eye over the entire operation.
In his story Platonov observes a delicate oscillation between documentary source and fictional invention. Traveling to Krasnyi Liman only after finishing the story, Platonov found Tseitlin “intelligent (true, I’ve only spoken to him for ten minutes so far) and very similar to his image in my story.”11 Publishing the story in Literaturnyi kritik, Platonov attached an enigmatic note: “In this story there are no facts that fail to correspond to reality at least in a small degree, and there are no facts copying reality.”12 Platonov strives for realism, but realism excludes the “copying” of reality. So what, for Platonov, was realism?
2. Realism as Articulation
It was a version of this question, I will argue, that stimulated Georg Lukács to publish “Narrate or Describe?,” one of his major statements on the theory of narrative, in the same issue of Literaturnyi kritik as Platonov’s “Immortality.” Lukács begins (“in medias res,” he admits) with the coincidence of two parallel scenes in contemporaneous novels named for anagrammatic heroines; namely, the horse races in Emile Zola’s Nana (1880) and Lev Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (1873–1878). Zola’s “brief monograph” about horse racing is a symbolic insert into his novel about the prostitute Nana, while Tolstoy makes Fru-Fru’s fatal fall into a turning point for multiple plotlines centered on the adulteress Anna. Zola’s horse race is exterior to the central story, while Tolstoy’s is fully integrated. “In Zola the race is described from the standpoint of an observer; in Tolstoy it is narrated from the standpoint of a participant,” Lukács concludes.13 The question for Lukács is: Which writer—and which method—treats the event more realistically?
When it appeared in the original German in the November and December 1936 issues of Internationale Literatur, the Moscow-based organ of the international Popular Front, Lukács’s essay “Narrate or Describe?” was presented itself as an intervention in the heated debate over realism that was instigated on January 28, 1936 with an editorial in the central Party newspaper Pravda. The anonymous author of “Muddle instead of Music” condemned the “formalist” tendencies of Dmitrii Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, i.e., its excessive interest in matters of pure form, leading the opera to be promptly yanked from the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre. More articles followed, broadening the initial critique to cover not only the overemphasis on form (“formalism”), but also the opposite overemphasis on raw sensory data (“naturalism”), both of which become watchwords for modernism. The articles targeted a range of artists in various media: Shostakovich’s ballet The Limpid Stream (with librettist Adrian Piotrovsky and choreographer Fedor Lopukhov), artist Vladimir Lebedev’s illustrated children’s books, Mikhail Bulgakov’s drama Molière, and the collected writings of poet and novelist Marietta Shaginian. Threatening administrative penalties (or worse) for offending artists and critics, the campaign against modernist excess was quickly extended to all mediums of art and instilled a deep and lasting chill on Soviet culture. It suggested an end to the notion of socialist realism as an autonomous method that could engender a variety of styles and modes for socialism, and its transformation into an obligatory and uniform style based on the replication of safe artistic conventions encoded in a restricted canon of authoritative exempla.14
In the process of updating his argument to suit the new struggle against formalism and naturalism, Lukács introduces a fundamentally new concept of realism based on the treatment of chance (Zufälligkeit). Lukács judges Nana and Anna Karenina by their starkly different treatments of chance in the horse race scene: Tolstoy’s horse race is an “exceptional” event (112/101, 125/111), but one that is so closely integrated with the novel’s major plotlines that Frou-Frou’s fall reads like a death sentence pronounced on Anna herself. Zola’s, by contrast, is self-contained and easily separable from the rest of the novel. For Lukács, Tolstoy exemplifies how truly realist artists “elevate chance to the inevitable [das Zufällige in die Notwendigkeit aufheben]” (112/102). Lacking this air of inevitability, Zola’s horse race is merely a naturalistic “hypertrophy of real detail,” as Zola himself describes his method (116/104). For Lukács, Tolstoy “provides quite another mode of artistic inevitability [künsterlische Notwendingkeit] than is possible with Zola’s exhaustive description” (112/102). Lukács concludes: “Narration establishes proportions [gliedert], description merely levels” (127/112).
The established English translation of this line obscures the concept I take to be central to Lukács’s new concept of realism: articulation. In the Hegelian tradition articulation (Gliederung in German, raschlenenie in Russian) does not merely establish proportions and arrange into hierarchical order, but also elevates chance to the status of necessity. True to its etymology in Latin and German (artus and Glied, meaning a joint, limb, or member), articulation reveals details to be the limbs or members of an organism. Lukács is most interested in how narrative articulates isolated occurrences as events in history, understood in a Marxist vein; he argues that narrative articulation “conforms to the laws of historical development and is determined by the action of social forces” (122/108). Thus the “artistic inevitability” of the narratively articulated event (Ereignis) coincides with historical necessity. Lukács even goes so far as to argue that history itself “objectively articulates” (gliedert) the fictional world and the characters that the realist artist depicts (122/108).
Lukács’s dual concept of “articulation”—history working through narrative, and narrative working to produce history—draws on Hegel’s use of Gliederung in the second part of the Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences. Dedicated to the philosophy of nature, this section traces how simple organisms—plants and animals—express their inner idea or subjectivity by articulating themselves into complex forms. Through articulation, “subjectivity … is developed as an objective organism, as an image [Gestalt]”: “This moment of negative definition grounds the transition to a genuine organism, in which the outer image harmonizes with the concept, so that these parts are essentially members, while subjectivity is the all-pervading unity of the whole.”15
Lukács’s was also aware of a famous passage in the Grundrisse, where Marx deploys Gliederung to denote the process by which economic production articulates inchoate social relations into hierarchical structures, which can retrospectively be read as a palimpsest of economic history. By analogy with evolutionary paleontology, Marx suggests that new forms of society retain structures inherited from more archaic ones: “Bourgeois society … allows insights into the structure and the relations of production of all the vanished social formations out of whose ruins and elements it built itself up.”16 Lukács follows Hegel and Marx in using “articulation” as a way to hold together the individual and world-historical vectors of causality. When applied to narrative art, this means that the artist freely articulates his or her subjective concept in image-forms (Gestalt) or narratives (Erzählung) that coincide with the objective forms (economic or evolutionary) of historical necessity.
It may seem odd, in this light, that Lukács proceeds to pass ethical judgment on Zola’s method, instead of treating it as the objective revelation of historical necessity speaking through Nana. Doesn’t the very coincidence of such similar contemporaneous novels signify anything about the paths of modernity, beyond Zola’s willful deviation from realism? However, Lukács thoroughly rejects the notion that every work of art bears some truth about history, by means of some “immanent dialectic within artistic forms” (119/106). Instead, Zola’s deviation from realism is grounded in the alienation of professionalized literature (reflecting the capitalist division of labor) and in the author’s loss of belief in the possibility of social change after 1848: “Without an ideology [Weltanschauung] a writer can neither narrate nor construct a comprehensive, well-organized, and multifaceted epic composition” (143/114).17 Articulation—as the key to epic narrative composition—is the hallmark not of art as such, but only of art that has been guided by a conscious striving to capture the totality within a sequence of seemingly chance events, i.e., of art that is intentionally and studiously realist.
Read retrospectively, Lukács’s insistence on the author’s conscious ideological stand may seem to be an apology for the Communist Party under Stalin and its coercive legislating of aesthetic style. From the time of the Russian revolution Lukács had consistently hewed to the Leninist line concerning the role of the Party as the proxy of proletarian consciousness, opposing those like Rosa Luxemburg, Aleksandr Bogdanov, or Lev Trotsky who imagined proletarian consciousness as arising spontaneously and dictating its own terms and forms. Already in a 1932 essay, Lukács called upon writers to jettison any notion of fellow travelers in art (what he calls “tendency”) in favor of full-blown “partisanship,” which he defines in the following way:
what the class-conscious section of the proletariat wants and does, from an understanding of the driving forces of the overall process, and as representative of the great world-historical interests of the working class, portraying this as a will and a deed that themselves arise dialectically from the same overall process and are indispensable moments of this objective process of reality.18
In short, the Party does much the same work as realist artists, “portraying” diverse desires and events as part of a single overall pattern, i.e., articulating them as history. To articulate means to be articulated as a (Party) member (Mitgleid). At issue in “Narrate or Describe?,” then, is the ability of literary form both to express and to produce class consciousness by articulating the world-historical significance of actually-existing material conditions.
Andrei Platonov, c. 1938. Copyright: Mariia Andreevna Platonova/Wikimedia Commons.
3. Platonov and Lukács
The most conspicuous gap in “Narrate or Describe?” is the lack of any recent examples of realism, so that Lukács is forced to fall back on prerevolutionary models. For Lukács, recent bourgeois artists (both formalists and naturalists) have failed at realism in two conspicuous ways, both by trivializing reality and by deploying the wrong method for its artistic analysis. It is bad enough that modern artists “have diminished [verkleinlicht] capitalist reality, rendering its terror weaker and more trivial than it really is”; even more grave for Lukács that “the methods of observation and description diminish and distort the greatest revolutionary process of humanity.”19 Sinking even deeper than Zola into alienation, contemporary bourgeois writers suffer from two regrettable tendencies: objectivism and subjectivism. In spurious objectivism (i.e., naturalism), “the so-called action is only a thread on which still-lifes are disposed in a superficial, ineffective fortuitous sequence of isolated, static pictures” (144). The subjectivist (i.e., formalist) novel, typified by Proust, depicts a life so alienated from the world that it also turns into something “static and reified” (144). The case of James Joyce shows how extreme subjectivism ends up coinciding with extreme objectivism, producing a raw documentary record of merely subjective experience, leaving us with unanalyzed and unshaped surface data.
Soviet literature also presents a record of failure. In a final section on Soviet literature (included only in the German-language publication in Internationale Literatur, but omitted in the Russian-language publication earlier the same year), Lukács reports with indignation that novelist Iurii Olesha has expressed preference for Joyce over Gorky, which shows the lingering effect of the “late-bourgeois and Bogdanovite traditions” of conflating form with method. The choice between realism and its alternatives is ultimately “not literary in a technical sense”; it is, rather, ontological: “The new person cannot be formed out of this episodism [characteristic of both formalism and naturalism]. We must know and experience in a human way from where it is to come and how it is to undergo its growth.”20
In “Narrate or Describe?” Lukács gives little indication of how socialist realism might recover the power of realist articulation, creating the impression that the only path forward is to imitate the narrative techniques of the pre-1848 realist novel and of its later stalwarts Dickens and Tolstoy. Lukács’s cursory endorsement of Maxim Gorky—the undisputed hierarch of Soviet literature—seems merely a half-hearted acknowledgement of Gorky’s canonical position, especially in light of his recent death under suspicious circumstances in June 1936. The majority of Soviet novels, Lukács avers, foreground “neither human fates nor the relations among people, mediated by things,” but rather “the monograph of a kolkhoz, a factory, etc.”21 What is needed in socialist realism is “a view [Blick] on life that exceeds the description of its vast surface and the abstract arrangement of correctly observed social impressions; a view that sees the mutual dependence [Zusammenhang] of the two [i.e., of life and its arrangement] and brings this mutual dependence together poetically as a story [Fabel].”22 Lukács reports that the most significant Soviet writers are “striving for individual stories ever more energetically,” but as evidence he names only Aleksandr Fadeev, an author whose authority was more administrative than artistic (he took over as head of the Union of Soviet Writers after Gorky’s death).
But Lukács’s reticence regarding socialist realism should not surprise us given the opening words of his essay. “We begin in medias res” not only in the sense that the analysis of Tolstoy and Zola requires prior knowledge of the texts, but also in the sense that socialist realism is still in the process of being defined and created. Within a year Lukács broke his relative silence about contemporary Soviet literature with an article about the protagonist of Andrei Platonov’s “Immortality,” presented as a contribution to a special issue of Literaturnoe obozrenie (a supplement to Literaturnyi kritik where Platonov frequently published critical texts) dedicated to “Heroes of Soviet Literature.” Platonov’s meek station chief Emmanuil Levin makes surprising company for such canonical protagonists as Chapaev and Pavel Korchagin (from Nikolai Ostrovsky’s novel How the Steel Was Tempered). Lukács’s provocative canonization of Platonov’s story not only demonstrates his unconventional view of socialist realism, but also confirms his argument for realist representation as a crucial phase within the historical unfolding of socialism.
Based on the parameters laid out in “Narrate or Describe?,” Platonov’s story is a far from predictable exemplum for Lukács’s theory of realism. Not only is it a short story rather than the novels Lukács usually favors, but Lukács concedes that “Immortality” lacks suspense (Spannung) and even a “strong compositional backbone (sterzhen’).” However, the critic must avoid treating literary works “formalistically, according to outward characteristics,” Lukács argues, focusing instead on how Platonov’s story of the everyday remains free of “naturalistic greyness”:
Platonov’s main task is to reveal the tendencies of the development of people fighting for socialism within a picture of Soviet workdays [budni] … People who build this economy consciously, by overcoming all outward obstacles and inward difficulties, become socialist people in the process of their work and thanks to it.23
Drawing on his arguments in “Narrate or Describe?,” Lukács sees Levin as a “typical” character whose actions bring the elements of chance in socialist character-construction into a pattern of inevitability:
Negative traits in and of themselves are incapable of vivifying a literary image. The living interaction between a person’s virtues and mistakes; an understanding that these mistakes are no exterior contingency [sluchainost’], but very frequently emerge from those very virtues; an understanding that these positive traits, as a whole, are linked with a person’s social fate and with the main problems of modernity: this is the only possible basis for creating a living literary image.24
Quirky as Levin is, he is no sluchainost’, but instead emerges from Platonov’s story as neobkhodimost’—necessity:
It is typical that both here and in other similar cases [sluchai], in his low assessment of his own personality Levin constantly upbraids himself for what is actually his best quality—for his passionate immersion in work. This is no contingency [sluchainost’], no purely individual trait, and even less is it Levin’s simple eccentricity. This is a broad problem of the contemporary transitional period, a reflection of the social division of labor at the contemporary stage of the development of socialism—true, given in subjectivist distortion, but at the same time necessary [neobkhodimoe] in this very form.25
Platonov’s Levin is not a two-dimensional character illustrating a static ideal, not a “wind-up doll” (in Lukács’s phrase), but instead reveals the logic of his situation through conscious action, primarily labor: “Man is indeed, as dialectics teaches us, the product of his labor, in the broadest sense of the word.”26
Levin’s small-scale labor shows how the revolution is reversing the large-scale dynamics of chance in history, ridding the world of negative contingency. If the bourgeois novel showed the inevitability of accidents, then Platonov’s Levin asserts control over contingency, or at least its consequences: “Shunting still seemed to entail any number of minor accidents and unfortunate moments with people. But Levin knew very well that every little chance misfortune was, in essence, a big catastrophe—only it happened to have died in infancy.”27
It is therefore fitting that the story lacks suspenseful contingencies, relying instead on the drama of a protagonist existing on two scales at once, the personal and the world-historical: “On the small scale of this station he undertakes the program for the reorganization of the railway proposed by comrade L. M. Kaganovich.”28 The way in which small features of the portrait ramify into the larger productive processes are suggested by none other than Kaganovich, who calls Levin on the telephone in the middle of the night in order to make sure he is taking care of himself: “Listen, Emmanuil Semyonovich. If you cripple yourself at Red Peregon I will seek compensation as if you had ruined a thousand locomotives. I will check when you are sleeping, but don’t make a nanny out of me … ”29 For Lukács, the fulcrum of this drama is not a tragic knot, then, but a mechanical calculation of balance:
Platonov’s great artistry is evident in the way that the small, outwardly insignificant segment of life that he draws shows us an enormous multiplicity of processes that reveal this inner reconstruction of people. True, Platonov only charts the direction, the tendency of these processes, and—this is another strong side of his art—we do not see in his work any completely changed people, seeing only the “fulcrums of Archimedes” to which Levin applies his lever; we see the movement elicited by his stimulus and the wholly definite direction of this movement.30
Time might not be reversible, as Levin’s cook reminds him, but perspective is, and the drama of Platonov’s world is rooted in the constant oscillation of intimate and world-historical scales.
Though he does not use the term here, Lukács’s analysis of Platonov’s “Immortality” is clarified by the concept “articulation” from “Narrate or Describe?” Platonov’s Emmanuil Levin is more than a product of his outward conditions, in which he struggles against remnants of capitalism and for the introduction of socialist order. Within these conditions he struggles also to manifest himself as a new subjectivity, free of the consequences of the division of labor, which are still so patently visible in his coworkers. Therefore, Lukács comments:
His passion for technology and organization has never, not even for a second, given rise to the dry one-sidedness that is typical of managers of capitalist enterprises. For Levin the person and the machine, the person and technology, are inseparably linked to each other. The former controls the latter, and out of their fruitful interaction arises the socialist organization of the economy—and is born the new person.31
In contrast to the bourgeois-realist novel, where the protagonist is wholly conditioned by the external environment, ultimately by history, Platonov’s Levin defines himself as an independent agent in his work on the world and on other people. As Lukács remarks:
To expose “defects” in people’s personal lives and to “repair” these defects … exceeds the concrete tasks of organizing labor at the little station: they enable the growth of all of a person’s abilities, not just his “railway” ones, and help him to escape the petty, narrow, crippling frames of the rural or urban petty-bourgeois world.32
As for Hegel, then, the subject’s self-articulation renders its concept objectively, as history.
For Lukács, Levin’s “sadness” stems from his consciousness of the lag of material history behind his concept of it, which expresses itself in “impatience” and a “mental leaping ahead,” over the empty expanses of Soviet socialism in its anticipatory state, which separate him from his ultimate boss Lazar Kaganovich:
The distant, thick and kind voice fell silent for a time. Levin stood silent; he had long loved his Moscow interlocutor, but had never been able to express his feeling to him in any direct way: all means were tactless and indelicate …
“Here I have to think up people anew, Lazar’ Moiseevich … ”
“That’s the most difficult, most necessary thing [nuzhnoe],” said the distant, clear voice; one could hear the fine groaning hum of the electrical amplifier, reminding both interlocutors of the long space [dolgoe prostranstvo], of the wind, the frost and blizzards, of their common concern.33
The adjective “dolgii” is usually applied to time; the separation between the interlocutors—and the scales which they primarily inhabit—is both spatial and temporal. Overcoming the separation is not merely a goal to be attained in the future through labor in the present; it also requires an intimacy established through media, like the telephone, or like Platonov’s story. The task of literature is to animate the life-system with energy, bringing “organization” into harmony with “feeling.”34
Just as (in the words of Platonov’s narrator) “any system of work is just the play of a solitary mind unless it is heated by the energy of all workers’ hearts,” so also does life need to be humanized.35 “Oh, life, when will you get yourself organized so we don’t need ever to sense [chuiat’] you!” Levin sighs. By articulating and amplifying the tensions of the “transitional” moment, Lukács suggests, Platonov’s story works like the telephone that conveys Kaganovich’s concern to Levin, easing him into world-historical existence and bringing this perspective to bear upon small outbreaks of contingency. And yet the story constantly returns to the elusiveness of feeling in a world pervaded by concern for technology and other inhuman things:
But in the darkness of his mind, which was abundantly irrigated by blood, there glowed a single trembling point; it gleamed through the gloom of his eyes, half-closed by his eyelids, as if a lantern was burning at a distant guard post, on the entrance signal of the main route from reality, and this meek flame could turn at any instant into the broad glow of his entire consciousness and turn on his heart at full strength.36
The pilot light of consciousness flickers at the ready, protected from the chill winds of an obdurate world, watching for opportunities to articulate labor as history, as immortality. Literature not only awaits socialism, but also, for Lukács, socialist realism.
Page from the Soviet publication СССР на стройке (USSR in Construction).
4. Lukács and Shklovsky
The alliance between Platonov and Lukács, I am arguing, was a signal event in Soviet cultural life in 1936, but it can only be understood by considering also the role of Viktor Shklovsky, as instigator and gadfly. Shklovsky is best known for his youthful work on literary theory, but he remained prominent throughout the Soviet period as writer and screenwriter, literary and film critic, and theorist of socialist realism. Having been one of the proponents of radical factography in the late 1920s, Shklovsky’s niche continued to be the adaptation of documentary material in a constant stream of books and films, including the screenplay for the film Turksib (1930), about the construction of a rail line from Kazakhstan to Siberia, and an accompanying volume. After the dawn of socialist realism Shklovsky was closely involved in many of the most prominent documentary projects, beginning with the collectively researched and written volume The White Sea–Baltic Sea Canal in 1933–34 and Metro in 1935. At the beginning of 1936 Shklovsky became involved in the project “People of the Railway Empire,” for which Platonov was already at work on “Immortality” and “Among Animals and Plants.”
At organizational meetings at the Union of Soviet Writers on January 26–27, 1936—on the very eve of the anonymous article that condemned Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth and kicked off the anti-formalism campaign—a group of writers gathered to discuss “People of the Railway Empire” with professionals from the industry. True to the tenets of factography, Shklovsky strenuously disagreed with Vladimir Ermilov (one of the project’s initiators) on the need to impose narrative shape on the raw data of reality, which (in Shklovsky’s view) constantly outstrip the limits of our imagination: “Every day you read the newspapers and are surprised by what is happening there.”37 Shklovsky urged writers to take an example from champion locomotive driver Petr Krivonos, who consistently exceeded the speed and weight limits imposed by over-cautious bureaucrats. Against such “limitism,” Shklovsky argues that norms have to be derived from direct observation of practice, which is every day rewriting the very laws of nature.
What would it mean for a writer to be a Stakhanovite? Writer Isai Rakhtanov complained of the draconian submission deadlines—Shklovsky’s own contribution had been due already on January 10—but for Shklovsky “limitism” was just as pernicious in literary production as in rail transport.38 Most forcefully Shklovsky took issue with Ermilov’s insistence on writers’ authorship, even their signature, as the source of “genuine” literature. It used to be that physical labor was “nameless” and, as such, sharply contrasted to that of writers. Now that laborers are becoming heroes, Shklovsky argues, writers need to work out new ways of appropriating that labor without imposing their own names or, most importantly, their own voices, as Shklovsky explained in a speech at a gathering of Moscow writers in March 1936:
Take the people of “The Rail Empire.” People write well. People have learned to speak. People think well. The transcripts of their speeches … improve from year to year. It is not that the stenographers have learned to take better notes: it is that the people have changed. The voice of people has changed.39
Faced with the task of recording Stakhanovite voices, Soviet writers have succumbed to a new division of labor and, Shklovsky suggests, a new alienation: “People have divided their life into two parts … : work for themselves—of a purely literary type—and what they write about transport, the Metro, and the White Sea Canal.”40
Shklovsky’s argument for the preeminence of the laborer’s speech over the writer’s composition is clearly directed against Lukács, who had dismissed “factography” already in his 1932 essay “Reportage or Portrayal?” The concluding section of “Narrate or Describe?,” omitted in the Russian-language publication (as in later translations), renewed this polemic apropos of Sergei Tret’iakov’s notion of “the biography of a thing” as the epitome of the convergence between naturalism and formalism, which has resulted in a compositional monotony among novels, united by the same narrative conceits: “The naked theme can only show the socially necessary path without representing it as the result of endlessly crossing contingencies [Zufälligkeiten].”41 Caught at the center of all these contingent forces, for Lukács characters are reduced to bare schemata: “For people to receive true physiognomies and truly human contours, we must co-experience their actions.” The Soviet documentary novel, in Lukács’s view, is just as schematic as a naturalist one, only with the opposite sign: instead of novels ending with the inevitable crisis of capitalism, the Soviet novels end with the inevitable victory of the “hidden and suppressed correct principle.” “The authentic writerly work of discovery, of composition,” Lukács concludes, “should begin precisely at the point where the majority of our writers complete their work.”42
Shklovsky, by contrast, insists on the necessity not of articulating a person’s physiognomy as a historical forcefield, but rather of providing space for the person to articulate him- or herself. “The point is not to take a story and stuff it full of transportation,” Shklovsky added. “One must transfer the sense [oshchushchenie] of labor into the work.”43 In his theoretical writings and speeches Shklovsky tended to make these arguments performatively, i.e., through quotation, adduction of examples, and verbal play. This was the case also with Shklovsky’s own contribution to “People of the Railway Empire,” namely “Petr Krivonos,” a story-cum-documentary sketch published at the end of 1937 in the literary journal Znamia. Krivonos was the most illustrious of railway Stakhanovites and the main debunker of limitism in railway science, just as Shklovsky was in literary science.
Writing in his trademark telegraphic style, Shklovsky draws a consistent analogy between railway labor and literacy. Krivonos was raised in a poor family. His father Fyodor managed to build himself a house only through extreme parsimony. Having worked all his life, Fyodor knew the letters but never mastered the skill of combining them into words, leaving him in a world of acronyms:
He didn’t forget the letters because they walked alongside him on the rails, printed onto the locomotive: Ov, ChKZ, Shch [abbreviations of types of locomotives].
People at the station—those who were a bit more important [pokrupnee]—were also called not by names and syllables, but by letters. There were various kinds: TCh, DS, DSP [abbreviations of posts on the railway].
In the carpenter’s family the letters remained linked to railway people and locomotives, but not reading.
The carpenter taught his children literacy himself, showing them the letters.
The first letters which the carpenter’s son Petr learned were ChKZ [a four-axle locomotive from the Kolomensk factory].
The locomotive on which these letters shone was the most cozy; even a small child could climb onto it.44
Therefore, Shklovsky writes,
His father bought no toys, making them himself for his children, but only rarely. One time he made something like a model of a locomotive part.
It was interesting to watch the wheel spin on a wooden shaft. Petr called this toy “ChKZ.”45
Petr begins the art of combining language and the world when he begins to learn how to put trains together. Both skills are based on elementary montage, exercised on a scale model but transferable to full-scale mechanisms and processes.
As it expands, Petr’s literacy—and the consciousness it brings—remain inseparable from his labor on trains:
Finishing college, the pupil understands a locomotive just as one must understand a phrase in grammatical analysis.
This here is a noun, with a certain gender, number, and case. This, for example, is a piston shaft; it’s different on other locomotives, but here it is like this, playing the role of a connecting rod and serving to transfer movement from the piston to the crankshaft of the wheel; it turns straight movement into torque.
These words open up a conscious relation to the machine.46
With his mastery of grammatical and mechanical montage, Petr can begin to put together machine-based labor in hitherto unseen ways. Having determined his vocation, Krivonos enters an apprenticeship with Makar Ruban, who shares his “passion for locomotives.”47 Together they overcome the “wreckers” who hold to the “fascist” theory of the limit, and imprint their names on railway labor.
Shklovsky’s challenge is to find a verbal equivalent for Petr’s feats of labor. Instead of shaping his material as narrative, Shklovsky constructs the biographical narrative out of contingent, almost random fragments, including biographical details, local color, personal memories, instructions on the proper upkeep of locomotives, statistics, news of the day, and comments on the weather. All of this is arranged in an order that also seems random:
The days passed in a rising tempo.
The aircraft USSR-1b took off on June 27 at 5:25am. It landed safely, having reached an altitude of 16,000 meters and having performed 50 tests on cosmic rays.
70,654 train cars were loaded. The Donbass railway was among those over-fulfilling the plan. There was a competition for best conductor.
The glider pilot Kartashov took off, using a storm front. The storm cloud stretched for several hundred kilometers.
Using a powerful thermal stream, the glider pilot rose to 2,000 meters and, together with the storm cloud, flew in the direction of Serpukhov.
Man is adapted for success and happiness.
Man can do much more than he has up till now.48
As it happens, the transcript of Krivonos’s interview (with a writer named Kapustianskii) is the only such one known to have survived from the “People of the Railway Empire” project.49 It bears underlinings that coincide with passages quoted directly in Shklovsky’s biographical sketch, and which suggest how closely Shklovsky hewed to his source, in contrast to Platonov.
In a 1940 review of Shklovsky’s book On Mayakovsky (O Maiakovskom) Platonov defines Shklovsky’s signature “genre” by its “out-croppings” (otvetvleniia): “These outcroppings or tangential characteristics are so abundant that their tangle obscures the main trunk [kriazh] of the tree on which they grow.”50 But worst of all is that this “genre” becomes a “mechanism,” and the writer a “builder”: “Unless it is renewed, unless it is nurtured by living fate, writerly experience is the death of the artist … We have no need of mutually exchangeable details of the child’s toy ‘Meccano.’”51
The result of this mechanical style is that Shklovsky fails to capture the living subject:
He fails to understand that in identical circumstances people’s thoughts and actions will also be almost identical (and there is nothing bad or harmful in this), but their feelings always differ, their feelings are always individual and unique. Actions are stereotypical, but life is unrepeatable.52
For Platonov, Shklovsky’s style is suited for stamping identical copies of a single exemplum, but not for resolving the inner dilemmas of socialism experienced as life.
But Platonov misses the point. What is most striking in Shklovsky’s practice is not his style or his treatment of his subject, but rather his continual, full-blooded participation in the collective editorial process required by a project like “People of the Railway Empire.” In this Shklovsky appears the polar opposite of Platonov, who maintained a silent presence at the meetings, intent on getting his work published in a form as close as possible to his original composition. By contrast, Shklovsky’s socialist realism is a process that refuses to settle into a completed text, inhabiting instead a self-propagating (unfinalizable, one might say) cycle of commissioning, speech, recording, writing, discussion, reviewing, and new production. It gestures toward communism as a state not of history, but of language.
Shklovsky’s concept of socialist realism as a discursive process can be difficult to reconstruct based on the fragmentary transcripts and polemics that have come down to us. But in our case it does help to see how Platonov’s, Lukács’s, and Shklovsky’s writings can all be taken as links in a single chain of utterances about the conditions of realism under socialist construction.
5. Concluding Links
In his speech from March 15, 1936, responding to accusations of formalism, Shklovsky referred in his defense to his work on “People of the Railway Empire”: “I took pains to rouse Andrei Platonov for this work and am proud that he has written such a piece as ‘Red Liman’ [i.e., ‘Immortality’].”53 Shklovsky had reason to be proud, since it was he who first brought Platonov to broad public notice back in 1925 after he flew to Voronezh and interviewed Platonov for a documentary sketch with photographic illustrations, later adapted for inclusion in the book Third Factory (Tret’ia fabrika).54 Depicting Platonov as an eccentric irrigation engineer from the provinces suited Shklovsky’s idea of how industrial labor would produce its own distinct, truly proletarian intellectual culture.
Coming a full five months before the story’s publication, Shklovsky’s casual comment about Platonov’s “Immortality” also illustrates the kind of circulation that texts enjoyed in manuscript, especially via the writers’ unions and other organizations. It is possible that Lukács’s “Narrate or Describe?” also circulated in manuscript as part of the same broad discussion. In any event, comments by Shklovsky and others at a July 13, 1936 workshop called to critique Platonov’s other railway story, “Among Animals and Plants,” suggest familiarity with Lukács’s argument concerning realism in “Narrate or Describe?” before the essay was published. This is particularly true of critic Fyodor Levin, who in his critique of the story’s bleakness at the writers’ workshop seems to adopt Lukács’s terms as he complains about the lack of motivation in the events of the story:
The signals engineer has no joy in life. Joy occurs only because an accident occurred and someone performed a feat [podvig], moreover not a feat that he had prepared for, but simply a contingency [sluchainost’]. It might have worked out that the carriage that he was guilty of releasing had not been stopped, and then instead of an award he would have received a punishment. He let the carriage go and stopped it himself. This is an accident [sluchai] that could have ended in two ways … There is no hero, no feat, there is just a accident [sluchai] that allowed him to look with one eye into this other life, and then he again returned back; and the place he has returned to is a quite meaningless life.55
Platonov is defended by Semyon Gekht, who says: “An accident can also provoke a person, if there is something in his character.”56 He continues: “I am not against accident. Every narrative [rasskaz] has accident. The accident of Anna Karenina meeting Vronsky in the train. There as many such accidents in life and in an artwork as you like. But there is a pernicious kind of accident.”57
Not only does Gekht insist (like Fyodor Levin) on the terminology of “contingency” and “accident” when discussing Platonov’s railway story, but he also makes the connection to Anna Karenina. All of this confirms that Lukács’s essay “Narrate or Describe?” and Platonov’s two railway stories were understood to be links in a single extended discussion about realism in 1936.
If one assumes that Platonov and Lukács were in direct contact, one might even go so far as to read “Among Animals and Plants” as Platonov’s direct response to Lukács’s key notion of articulation. It tells of how provincial pointsman Ivan Fyodorov works his way up, first to the more central station of Medvezh’ia gora (Bear Mountain), and then earns himself a promotion to the position of сoupler (stsepshchik). Throughout the story Fyodorov is depicted as saddened by the profound alienation persisting between human and animal, human and machine, human and media. He desires renown, but achieves it only by causing an accident that maims his right arm. Fyodorov’s world-historical action, in short, comes at the cost of his own disfiguration, his own dismemberment (which in Russian is the same word as articulation, raschlenenie).
Again we are brought back to Anna Karenina, this time its finale, where the heroine also has a brutal encounter with a train. “Narrative establishes proportions,” the English translation reads. “Narrative articulates,” says Lukács in my reading. Given the ambiguity of the term Gliederung/raschlenenie, however, there is also a morbid possibility: “Narrative dismembers [gliedert/raschleniaet].”58 Is one supposed to think of Anna’s suicide at this moment in Lukács’s essay? Perhaps Lukács’s editor or censor did, which would explain why this sentence was struck from the Russian version of “Narrate or Describe?” published in Literaturnyi kritik in August 1936, against the backdrop of the first Moscow show trial.
But to articulate means also to clarify linkages, and in his essay Lukács supplements the principle of Gliederung with that of Verknüpfung—linkage. For instance, with the death of Fru-Fru, Lukács writes:
Tolstoy has made the coupling of this episode with the central life-drama as tight as possible. The race is, on the one hand, merely the occasion for the explosion of a conflict, but, on the other hand, through its coupling with Vronsky’s social ambition—an important factor in the subsequent tragedy—it is far more than a mere incident.59
Lukács is no doubt consciously echoing Tolstoy’s famous description of his practice in Anna Karenina, in a letter to Nikolai Strakhov from April 1876:
In everything, almost everything that I have written, I have been governed by the need to gather together thoughts coupled with each other, for expressing the self; but each thought expressed in words separately loses its meaning, is terribly denigrated, when it is removed from the coupling in which it is located. The coupling itself is composed not by thought (I think), but by something else, and it is impossible to express the basis of this coupling directly through words; you can do so only in mediation, by describing images, actions and situations in words.60
What is realist in the realist novel, then, is not its style or even its genre, but its operations of articulation and coupling, just like working on the railway.
How, Lukács asks, will the realist novel, this machine of articulation and linkage, be retooled for the aims of socialism now that history has made its ultimate turn? Lukács’s answer, I have been arguing, is that Andrei Platonov’s modest story “Immortality” provides the clearest indication of how his model of socialist realism will produce—indeed, is already producing—a literature for socialism, one that works by coordinating intimate and world-historical scales together without eliding the friction, even the violence, of their encounter.
The author thanks Christina Kiaer for her critique, and audiences at Columbia University and the Literature and Philosophy Workshop at the University of Chicago for their responses to earlier versions of this article.
Robert Bird is a Professor in the Departments of Slavic Languages and Literatures and Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago. Bird’s primary area of interest is the aesthetic practice and theory of Russian/Soviet modernism. He has published books on Viacheslav Ivanov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Andrei Tarkovsky, and essays on a variety of topics in Russian literature, intellectual history, film, and video art. Most recently he was coeditor (with Christina Kiaer and Zachary Cahill) of Revolution Every Day: A Calendar (Mousse Publishing, 2017), the catalogue to the exhibition “Revolution Every Day” at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. He is currently completing a book, Soul Machine: How Soviet Film Modeled Socialism, which analyzes the rise of socialist realism as a modeling aesthetic.
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Conversations - Articulations of (Socialist) Realism: Lukács, Platonov, Shklovsky
Notes - Articulations of (Socialist) Realism: Lukács, Platonov, Shklovsky
Substantial links between Lukács and Platonov have long been suspected, but have never been examined in depth. In general terms Natal’ia Poltavtseva has proposed that “Platonov’s art was a metacommentary not only on socialist realism … but also on ‘the movement’ (of Lukács, Lifshits et al.)”; “Platonov i Lukach (iz istorii sovetskogo iskusstva 1930-x godov),” Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie 107 (2011): 253–70. While acknowledging that Lukács was “Platonov’s supporter in the 1930s,” Nariman Skakov has recently proposed to read Platonov’s novel Dzhan (translated as Soul) through Lukács’s early books Soul and Form (1912) and Theory of the Novel (1916); Nariman Skakov, “Introduction: Andrei Platonov, an Engineer of the Human Soul,” Slavic Review 73, no. 4 (Winter 2014): 722–24. Keen to preserve the notion of Platonov as an outcast, A. Mazaev has dismissed “Immortality” as an “opportunistic” story and diagnosed Lukács’s interest in it as a symptom of his “inability to distinguish genuine art from its counterfeit”; A. Mazaev, “O ‘Literaturnom kritike’ i ego estesticheskoi programme,” Stranitsy otechestvennoi kul’tury. 30-e gody (Gosudarstvennyi institut iskusstvoznaniia, 1995), 179, 181.
Go to Text
M. Platonova, “…Zhivia glavnoi zhizn’iu (A. Platonov v pis’makh k zhene, dokumentakh i ocherkakh),” Volga 9 (1975): 161. As far as I have been able to ascertain, the original for this text has never been identified or dated.
“Priem rabotnikov zheleznodorozhnogo transporta v Kremle,” Pravda, August 2, 1935, 1.
In issues 4 and 12 for 1936. A second version of “Among Animals and Plants” was printed under the title “Life in a Family” in the journal Industriia sotsializma (The Industry of Socialism) (no. 4, 1940). The story has been published in English in: Andrei Platonov, Soul, trans. Robert Chandler et al. (New York Review Books, 2008), 155–83.
Literaturnyi kritik 8 (1936): 113.
RGALI 631.15.78 l. 74.
RGALI 631.15.78 l. 6.
RGALI 631.2.140 l. 10. An overview of films planned for 1937 includes screenplays by both Andrei Platonov (“Transport” at Mosfilm) and Viktor Shklovsky (“Mashinist,” at Lenfilm, based on the biography of locomotive driver Petr Krivonos); see V. Usievich, “Plan iubileinogo goda,” Iskusstvo kino 7 (1936): 12–13. Platonov also adapted “Immortality” for the radio, published in: N. Duzhina, “Stantsiia Krasnyi Peregon,” Strana filosofov Andreia Platonova: Problemy tvorchestva (IMLI RAN, 2011) 521–38. There is no record of any of these adaptations being produced.
Letter to M. A. Platonova from February 12, 1936; Andrei Platonov, “…Ia prozhil zhizn’”: Pis’ma (1920–1950 gg.), 410.
A. Platonov, “Bessmertie,” Literaturnyi kritik 8 (1936): 114.
Georg Lukács, “Narrate or Describe?,” Writer and Critic and Other Essays, ed. and trans. Arthur D. Kahn (Grosset and Dunlap, 1971) 111; Georg Lukács, “Erzählen oder Beschreiben? (Zur Diskussion über Naturalismus und Formalismus),” Internationale Literatur 11 (1936): 102. Further references to the English translation and first installment of the German original will be given parenthetically in the text.
On the ways in which socialist realism was originally an open-ended, dialectical aesthetic method (instead of a prescribed style) see: Harold Swayze, Political Control of Literature in the USSR, 1946–1959 (Harvard University Press, 1962), 13–14; Christina Kiaer, “Lyrical Socialist Realism,” October 147 (2014): 56–77; Robert Bird, “Sotsrealism kak teoriia” (Socialist Realism as Theory), Russkaia intellektual’naia revoliutsiia 1910–1930-kh gg., eds. Sergei Zenkin and E. Shumilova (NLO, 2016), 205–21.
G. W. F. Hegel, Werke in zwanzig Bänden (Suhrkamp Verlag, 1969–79) Bd. 9/II. S. 371, 429; cf. G. W. F. Hegel, Philosophy of Nature, trans. A. V. Miller, with Foreword by J. N. Finlay (Clarendon Press, 1970), 303, 350. All translations are my own, unless otherwise noted.
Karl Marx, Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy (Rough Draft), trans. with a Foreword by Martin Nicolaus (Penguin Books, 1973), 105. On “articulation” in Marx, Althusser, and Balibar see Aidan Foster-Carter, “The Modes of Production Controversy,” New Left Review 107 (1978): 53–54.
Lukács, “Narrate or Describe?” 143; “Erzählen oder Beschreiben?” Internationale Literatur 12 (1936): 114. In subsequent notes this source will be given as Lukács, “Erzählen oder Beschreiben?” pt. 2.
Georg Lukács, “‘Tendency’ or Partisanship?” Essays on Realism, ed. Rodney Livingstone, trans. David Fernbach (MIT Press, 1981), 43.
Lukács, “Erzählen oder Beschreiben?” pt. 2, 122.
Georg Lukács, “Emmanuil Levin,” Literaturnoe obozrenie 19–20 (1937): 56. My full translation of this essay appears in the present issue of e-flux journal. As far as I know the German text has been published only once: Georg Lukács, “Die Unsterblichen,” Werke 5: 472–83. The lack of editorial comment and the incorrect title (Olga Halpern’s translation of Platonov’s story was published as “Unsterblichkeit” in Internationale Literatur 3, 1938: 15–29) raise questions about the provenance of the German text.
Lukács, “Emmanuil Levin,” 59.
Platonov, “Bessmertie,” 131. An English translation by Lisa Hayden and Robert Chandler of this story also appears in the present issue of e-flux journal, under the title “Immortality.” On “negativity” in Lukács's reading of Platonov see also: Artemy Magun, "Otritsatel'naia revoliutsiia Andreia Platonova," Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie 106 (2010).
Platonov, “Bessmertie,” 125.
Lukács, “Emmanuil Levin,” 57–58.
RGALI 631.15.78 ll. 70–71.
V. Shklovskii, “Vzrykhliaia tselinu,” Literaturnaia gazeta, March 15, 1936, 3.
V. Shklovskii, “Petr Krivonos: Ocherk,” Znamia 12 (1937): 56.
Shklovskii, “Petr Krivonos: Ocherk,” 57.
RGALI 2863.1.699; this is the personal collection of documentary writer Aleksandr Bek.
Andrei Platonov, Fabrika literatury (Vremia, 2011), 463–64.
Platonov, Fabrika literatury, 467.
Shklovskii, “Vzrykhliaia tselinu.”
See Viktor Shklovsky, Third Factory, trans. Richard Sheldon (Dalkey Archive Press, 2002). Cf.: A. Galushkin, “K istorii lichnykh i tvorcheskikh vzaimootnoshenii A. Platonova i V. B. Shklovskogo,” Andrei Platonov: Vospominaniia sovremennikov. Materialy k biografii (Sovremennyi pisatel’, 1994): 172–83; Michael Finke, “The Agit-Flights of Viktor Shklovskii and Boris Pil’niak,” The Other Shore 1 (2010): 19–32.
N. Kornienko, “Soveshchanie v Soiuze pisatelei,” Andrei Platonov, vol. 1 (Sovremennyi pisatel’, 1994), 333.
N. Kornienko, “Soveshchanie v Soiuze pisatelei,” 343.
The homonymy between articulation and dismemberment was earlier recognized by the formalists; see Il’ia Kalinin, “Istoriia kak iskusstvo chlenorazdel’nosti (istoricheskii opyt I meta/literaturnaia praktika russkikh formalistov), Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie 71 (2005): 103–31.
Lukács, “Narrate or Describe?” 112; “Erzählen oder Beschreiben?” Internationale Literatur 11 (1936): 102.
L. N. Tolstoi, Sobranie sochinenii v 22 tomakh (Khudozhestvennaia literatura, 1978–85), vol. 18, 784.
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Pirates Release 20 Indians kidnapped Off Nigeria’s Coast, One Dead In Captivity
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Buhari visits Prince Charles Ahead Of The UK-Africa Summit
In Dubai, President Buhari Calls For Safe, Inclusive Digital World
Adenekan Oluwadamilola
President Muhammadu Buhari has called on world leaders to come up with proposals to create a digital world that is accessible, inclusive and safe to all.
In his keynote speech at the 2019 Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) in Dubai on Monday, President Buhari said a certain level of regulation was needed to preserve the integrity of the digital economy.
The theme of the summit is: ‘Mapping the Future of Foreign Direct Investment: Enriching World Economies through Digital Globalization.’’
Acknowledging that digital globalisation is transforming the world almost every day with innovations and transformative ideas, the Nigerian leader cautioned that the cyber world would remain a constant threat if left unregulated.
The President decried the use of the cyberspace to manipulate elections, subvert the democratic rights of citizens as well as propagate violence.
READ ALSO: Let Us All Support Gbajabiamila
He also lamented the steady rise in fake news and cybercrimes, particularly when platforms are hijacked and manipulated by criminals.
President Buhari, therefore, called for collective efforts led by both public and private sector leaders to address the emerging threats of digital globalisation.
‘‘Today, we have a cyber-world that is intangible but real. This borderless world is powerful, and it impacts the lives of billions of people, no matter how remote their physical locations are.
‘‘People work in it. People socialise in it. And people invest in it. This presents enormous opportunities. But it also remains a constant threat if left unregulated.
‘‘On the one hand, it has made the human race more productive and more efficient. Today, we have digital banking, virtual currencies and many social platforms that connect people and cultures.
‘‘On the other hand, we have seen platforms hijacked and manipulated as evidenced by the steady rise in fake news and cybercrimes.
‘‘More recently, we are also witnessing the use of the cyberspace to manipulate elections, subvert the democratic rights of citizens as well as propagate violence.
‘‘In effect, the digital world has become the new frontier for both good and evil. Therefore, the challenge for world leaders must be to ensure that this space is inclusive, accessible and safe,’’ the President told the ninth edition of AIM, attended by world leaders in both the public and private sectors.
The President used the occasion to reflect on the digital revolution in Nigeria, buoyed by impressive statistics on mobile phone penetration, technology hubs and the advent of young entrepreneurs attracting investments of over 100 million dollars to the country.
His words: ‘‘In Nigeria, our mobile phone penetration exceeds eighty per cent. This means the majority of Nigeria’s one hundred and ninety million citizens are fully connected to this new digital world; especially our youth.
‘‘Sixty-five per cent or one hundred and seventeen million Nigerians are under the age of 25 years. These bright minds are the drivers of this emerging digital sector.
‘‘Today, Nigeria has close to ninety technology hubs and every day, new ones are coming up and they are all developing solutions for Nigerian, and indeed global problems.
‘‘Already, these young entrepreneurs have attracted investments of over one hundred million dollars. A sizeable amount from overseas including Silicon Valley.
‘‘As many of you from this region are aware, Nigerian start-ups always have a very impressive outing at the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX). Many have won prizes.’’
President Buhari told the investment summit that as leaders in the public and private sector it was their responsibility to create the enabling environment for young people to flourish and reach their full potential.
He shared the Nigerian experience:
‘‘When we came in 2015, we immediately agreed that any future economic growth must be inclusive. As the Nigerian youth population is fully digitalised, it is clear that the idea of having an inclusive economy cannot be achieved without digital inclusion.’’
The President announced that Nigeria was working on creating the largest digital database in Africa, with over thirty million Nigerians and legal residents already captured in the country’s digital identity system.
Also, the President highlighted that Nigeria’s public sector reform programmes, from procurement to payroll to revenue collections, focus on digitising key operations.
He said the recourse to technology and digitisation reinforces the administration’s objectives of improving efficiency, accountability and transparency in governance.
On cybersecurity, President Buhari said Nigeria has taken the lead in cyber policing in West Africa, working with regional and global partners.
TagsIn Dubai President Buhari Calls For Safe Inclusive Digital World
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In the Republic of Moldova, LNG, UPA, and mifepristone EC pills and the Yuzpe method are available in pharmacies. LNG EC and the use of IUD for EC are included in national guidelines for family planning, and there are several EC reimbursement mechanisms in place.
EC knowledge
Mean age at first sexual intercourse among all individuals aged 10-24 years
Estimate 956,6121 16.62 23.93 1.54 59.55
In the Republic of Moldova, LNG EC, UPA EC, mifepristone for EC, and the Yuzpe method are available behind the counter from pharmacies, which means that EC is available without a prescription but is not on the shelves and needs to be requested in order to purchase. LNG EC and the Yuzpe method are also available from Youth Friendly Health Centers and Reproductive Health Offices.
Physicians, usually gynecologists and family doctors, are the sole health care professionals who are authorized to prescribe or provide LNG EC, UPA EC, mifepristone for EC, and the Yuzpe method.
LNG € 8,04 Escapelle, Postinor
UPA € 17,03 Dvella
Mifepristone € 4,21 – € 4,73 Gynepriston
LNG EC is offered free of charge to women under 21 years old and to women from low-income backgrounds when procured at Youth Friendly Health Centers. LNG EC is also fully reimbursed in cases of rape.
The Republic of Moldova uses the 2004 World Health Organization’s Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (Third Edition) as guidelines for EC, and these include recommendations for LNG EC and the use of IUD for EC.
Health care providers sometimes provide general information about EC during regular consultations but never prescribe EC in advance of need. Health care providers do not require a pregnancy test or a pelvic exam before prescribing EC.
All women aged 15-49 years who have knowledge of EC (%)
Women aged 15-49 years currently married or in union who have knowledge of EC (%)
Women aged 15-49 years not married or in union who have knowledge of EC (%)
Estimate 62.85 64.15 74.15
1 http://statbank.statistica.md/pxweb/Dialog/SaveShow.asp.
2 Youth People Health and Development. KAP Survey. 2003.
3 National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova. The number of live births by age group of mother and infant rank, on average, in 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2015, from http://www.statistica.md/newsview.php?l=ro&idc=168&id=4729. 2015.
4 World Health Organization. Country Profile: Republic of Moldova. Retrieved 29 June 2015, from http://www.who.int/countries/mda/en/. 2015.
5 National Public Health Centre of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Moldova, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey for the Republic of Moldova 2012. Final Report: Chișinău, Moldova. 2014.
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Game Day Skull Session: Get Dumped Then, Indiana
By Kevin Harrish on September 14, 2019 at 4:59 am @kevinish
Skull Sessions
Indiana is like gigantic garden weed that still takes weeks to even whither after I paint it with enough concentrated Round-Up that I'm flirting with chemical weapons charges. There's no doubt it's going to die eventually, but it takes too damn long and is a gigantic waste of my time and resources.
The Hoosier's are pesky – no denying that. They've been within one score of the Buckeyes at the half in four of the last five matchups, owning a halftime lead in three of them.
They're dying early today.
Indiana's undoubtedly hoping for a little home-field sorcery in The Rock (aptly named, given that being relegated to playing football for Indiana is damn near a prison sentence), but it ain't happening. The Hoosiers will be buried by halftime and once again, they'll have to be content with the current biggest win in program history – losing to Ohio State by just a touchdown in 2015.
For those making the trek, be warned that somehow Indiana remains terrible at moving people through a state that has nothing but empty space and is literally nicknamed "The Crossroads of America." The highways are in a constant shambolic state and you should avoid I-465 at all costs due to construction.
As for the rest of the slate, folks are going to hate it, but it honestly ain't bad! Just a little misunderstood.
9/14 SLATE
TIME (ET)
12:00 #6 OHIO STATE @ INDIANA OSU (-18.5) FOX
12:00 PITTSBURGH @ #13 PENN STATE PSU (-17) ABC
12:00 #21 MARYLAND @ TEMPLE MD (-7.5) CBSS
12:00 NC STATE @ WEST VIRGINIA NC STATE (-7) FS1
3:30 #2 ALABAMA @ SOUTH CAROLINA BAMA (-26) CBS
3:30 STANFORD @ #17 UCF UCF (-8.5) ESPN
3:30 #24 USC @ BYU USC (-4.5) ABC
4:00 ARIZONA STATE @ #18 MICHIGAN STATE MSU (-14.5) FOX
4:00 #19 IOWA @ IOWA STATE IOWA (2.5) FS1
7:00 #9 FLORIDA @ KENTUCKY UF (-8) ESPN
7:30 TCU @ PURDUE TCU (-2.5) BTN
7:30 #1 CLEMSON @ SYRACUSE CLEM (-28) BTN
7:30 FLORIDA STATE @ #25 VIRGINIA VA (-7.5) ACCN
8:00 #5 OKLAHOMA @ UCLA OKLA (-23.5) FOX
10:30 TEXAS TECH @ ARIZONA TTU (-3) ESPN
Word of the Day: Mutilate.
THAT 11W PREGAME FIX.
Ohio State is preparing for both quarterbacks.
Tyreke Smith is healthy and chasing big goals.
Davon Hamilton is standing out.
J.K. Dobbins is finding his groove.
Master Teague is earning himself more playing time.
Brendan White's limited roll could increase.
Game preview.
Five things to know.
Depth chart.
Status report.
Game trailer.
Game poster.
10 reasons to hate.
Roundtable.
Across the Field.
Mid-week notebook.
The situational.
Picks against the spread.
HOMECOMING. Austin Mack is somehow a senior already, and is playing his second-to-last game in his home state of Indiana today.
I think he's extremely underrated and expect him to not only ball out this afternoon, but the rest of the season as well.
From Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch:
His season ended prematurely at Purdue when he suffered a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot. The injury required surgery, and it wasn’t until after spring practice that the soreness disappeared.
With his senior year underway, Mack knows what he wants his football legacy to be.
“A guy that tackled adversity and then ended up making it something special,” he said.
He referenced Terry McLaurin, another Indiana native who was a late-bloomer at Ohio State.
“He had 35 catches last year and now is a starting receiver for the (Washington) Redskins,” Mack said.
He revels in his role as a leader, a guy who encourages younger players and is relied on to make third-down catches and key blocks.
Mack might be the most "people forget" player on this team, probably because he missed seven games last year and was buried on the depth chart before that.
But I ain't giving up on him yet.
URBAN TALKS ABOUT THINGS. If you watch the correct pregame show today, you'll see plenty of Urban Meyer talking about college football, but I've got some bonus Urban #takes for you right here.
Given how good he is at his whole analyst gig, it's totally unshocking that the entire interview was fascinating.
He swoons about Joe Burrow, reveals that he knows how to coach Michigan's offense better than anyone at Michigan, and tossed a little shade at the SEC's scheduling practices and the College Football Playoff Committee for not valuing strength of schedule.
You should probably just watch the video, but here are some highlights:
On Joe Burrow
Colin Cowherd somehow has no idea Joe Burrow played for Urban Meyer at Ohio State.
Meyer called Burrow "Tough as nails."
"It was inches from who our starter was," Meyer said. "Dwayne won the battle, and Joe left as a graduate transfer."
Meyer said Burrow has NFL talent.
On Michigan's offense:
"They have to start doing what they said they were going to be doing and that’s playing in space,” Meyer said.
"The way the game unfolded last week, it was a bunch of runs right in a row."
"You're talking about a complete talent mismatch in the perimeter. I kept waiting, like I think a lot of the fans, 'get the ball out there and let these athletes go against an Army athlete in the back end, and it's just obviously that Army doesn't have the same athletes that they have.
"If they want to play athletes in space, they have to start doing that."
On Nick Saban ducking top teams, home-and-homes and games outside the southeast
"At Ohio State, Gene Smith and I, we had Cal – I mean, who knew Cal was going to be down a little bit? – we had Cal, we had Virginia Tech, we had Oklahoma, they have Oregon coming," Meyer said
"The schedule philosophy is to play a big-time program home-and-home. That's for your fans, that's for the college football playoff so you get the schedule strength," Meyer said. "So that's the involvement I had."
"I mean, I like it. I like to win," Meyer said of playing those games. "I get it, you have to do that, in our opinion."
"I think Alabama's changing, but it's way down the road."
On schedule strength
"You have to figure too, the SEC's getting two teams a year in the playoff, and Ohio State's not," Meyer said. "So does schedule strength really matter? Should it matter more?"
"Those are all debates. I remember me and Gene (Smith) and I talking about it. You can say schedule strength matters, but does it?"
"If Ohio State doesn't get into the playoff, or another school doesn't get into the playoff, and they're playing nine conference games and another big-time opponent and they don't get it, yet someone is playing eight conference games and maybe not the strongest non-conference, but they do get two in – those are all conversations you have to have."
Meyer also drew up a play for former Penn State player Lavar Arrington, for his high school team.
"It's gonna work," Meyer said. "It's gonna work."
WHY AM I STILL DOING THIS? Last week, I topped my 1-4 week-one performance with the only thing worse: 0-5. I am now a hilarious 1-9 on the season, which is technically just as difficult as going 1-9!
I'm going to keep going because of water finding its level, or something.
Here's the deal – I like too many games this week to narrow it down to five. If I did that, I'd inevitably pick the wrong five anyway and hurt my record even more. So let's do the responsible thing and chase my 1-9 start with a heavy week!
We'll do this as a speed round.
Syracuse +28 against Clemson: I think Syracuse is undervalued after getting its teeth kicked in against Maryland and Clemson hasn't looked dominant enough to justify it as a four-touchdown road favorite in the venue formerly known as the Carrier Dome.
NC State -7 against West Virginia: I just don't think folks realize just how terrible West Virginia is this year, and that's pretty much the entire premise of this pick. NC State is fine, and fine is a touchdown better than the dumpster fire in Morgantown that's had one red zone possession in two games.
NC State vs. West Virginia UNDER 46: Did I mention that West Virginia is atrocious? The offense is just terrible, but its defense is actually pretty okay. I don't see these two teams combining for many points.
Arizona State +14.5 against Michigan State: The total in this game is set at around 40 points. Nobody's winning this game by more than two touchdowns. Give me Arizona State's defense and 14.5 points, please.
Pittsburgh +17.5 against Penn State: Pitt got curb-stomped in this game last year, but I don't think this is the same Penn State team as last year, and I think Pitt is (maybe?) better than last year. I'm not saying they win, but I like them to stay within two tuddies and a field goal.
Illinois -7 against Eastern Michigan: I'm oddly in on Illinois (or should I say USC Lite) this season. They've got a fine defense and a solid running game, and Eastern Michigan is playing its third-straight road game to start the season. I think the Illini cruise.
UCF -8.5 against Stanford: Stanford has not impressed me through two games and while I don't think UCF is anywhere near as good as its been the past two seasons, I think it's the noticeably better team which will be looking for style points against its only Power Five opponent this season.
Minnesota vs. Georgia Southern UNDER 46: A triple option team is playing a team that I watched go on a 10-minute, 18 play drive two weeks ago. They could put this total two touchdowns lower and I'd still bite.
Iowa State +3 against Iowa: This game is always bananas and close till the end, so I'm going to ride with the home team coming off a BYE getting points. I wouldn't be shocked if the Cyclones win this straight up, but I'll take the points.
Based on how this is going so far this season, fade all of those and pay off your mortgage!
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. How WiFi almost didn't happen... I traveled the world meeting drug dealers – here’s what I’ve learned... MIT engineers create the "blackest" black material to date... Man hires a clown to attend a redundancy meeting with him... Teenager’s memory resets every two hours after being kicked in the head...
Tony Alford and Ohio State's 2021 Running Back Recruiting in a Promising Position Following Rough Stretch
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CGY 0 0 0 0
STL 1 2 2 5
Gamecast
M. Backlund C
D. Dube C
M. Frolik RW
J. Gaudreau LW
M. Jankowski C
E. Lindholm C
M. Lucic LW
A. Mangiapane LW
S. Monahan C
Z. Rinaldo C
D. Ryan C
M. Tkachuk LW
R. Andersson D
B. Davidson D
M. Giordano D
N. Hanifin D
O. Kylington D
M. Stone D
SHTOI
0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 24 18:07 2:22 0:00 15:45 6 10 37.5
0 0 -1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 12:34 1:54 0:00 10:40 0 0 0.0
0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 23 16:47 0:04 0:00 16:43 0 0 0.0
0 0 -1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 15 11:59 0:04 0:24 11:31 8 5 61.5
0 0 -1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 8 6:20 0:00 0:00 6:20 0 0 0.0
0 0 -2 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 21 19:14 4:01 0:04 15:09 5 12 29.4
D. Rittich G
ESSV
PPSV
SHSV
31 5 26 .839 25 1 0 0 0 59:57 0
* - A player receives a "plus" if he is on the ice when his Club scores an even-strength or shorthand goal. He receives a "minus" if he is on the ice for an even-strength or shorthand goal scored by the opposing Club. The difference in these numbers is considered the player's plus-minus statistic.
I. Barbashev LW
T. Bozak C
J. De La Rose LW
K. Kostin LW
M. MacEachern LW
R. O'Reilly C
D. Perron LW
Z. Sanford LW
B. Schenn C
J. Schwartz LW
O. Sundqvist C
R. Thomas C
R. Bortuzzo D
J. Bouwmeester D
V. Dunn D
J. Faulk D
C. Parayko D
A. Pietrangelo D
0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 23 16:09 0:00 1:50 14:19 8 3 72.7
0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 15 10:28 0:00 1:04 9:24 3 4 42.9
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 12 9:03 0:00 0:00 9:03 0 0 0.0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 13 10:13 0:00 0:29 9:44 0 1 0.0
0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 21 19:02 0:28 2:31 16:03 14 8 63.6
0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 15:19 0:24 0:04 14:51 1 0 100.0
J. Binnington G
40 0 40 1.000 35 0 5 0 0 60:00 0
Flames 0 0 0 0
Blues 1 2 2 5
Zach Sanford (2)
Assists: Robert Thomas
Oskar Sundqvist (5)
Assists: Zach Sanford
David Perron (10) (Power Play)
Assists: Alex Pietrangelo,Brayden Schenn
Assists: Zach Sanford,Robert Thomas
Vince Dunn (4)
Assists: Robert Thomas,Zach Sanford
Full Play-By-Play
STL leads 2-0
RSN/ESPN+
2020 Pacific Division Standings
Vancouver 27 18 4 58
Edmonton 26 18 5 57
Calgary 26 19 5 57
Vegas 25 19 7 57
Arizona 26 20 5 57
San Jose 21 25 4 46
Anaheim 19 24 5 43
Los Angeles 18 27 5 41
2020 Central Division Standings
St. Louis 30 11 8 68
Colorado 27 15 6 60
Dallas 27 17 4 58
Winnipeg 25 20 4 54
Chicago 24 20 6 54
Nashville 22 18 7 51
Minnesota 22 20 6 50
Atkinson scores 2 goal in win vs. Devils
Cam Atkinson nets two goals as the Blue Jackets blank the Devils 5-0.
Konecny nets 2 goals vs. Kings
Travis Konecny scores once in the first period and again in the second as the Flyers beat the Kings 4-1.
Brown nets goal in Senators win vs. Flames
Logan Brown extends the Senators' lead with a goal in the second period as Ottawa beats Calgary 5-2.
All NHL News
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NHLNHL
Daily LinesDaily Lines
AttendanceAttendance
RPIRPI
Subscribe to NHL.TVSubscribe to NHL.TV
Canadiens Hall of Famer Lapointe has oral cancer
NHL experts buy/sell Panarin as a Hart finalist, Ovechkin winning the shots title, more
3dNHL Insiders
Pierre-Luc Dubois on fighting Sidney Crosby, Baby Yoda and more
5dGreg Wyshynski
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Canadiens Hall of Famer Guy Lapointe has oral cancer
Another Montreal Canadiens legend is facing health problems.
At the request of Hall of Famer Guy Lapointe's family, the Canadiens issued a statement saying that the 71-year-old has been diagnosed with oral cancer.
The statement says: "Dr. Keith Richardson, the treating physician from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), indicated that the cancer is located at the base of the tongue. Lapointe will begin his treatments in the coming weeks. This form of cancer has a high cure rate.
"The family wishes to thank the personnel at the MUHC as well as all hockey fans and asks for respect of their privacy as they face this challenge."
The news comes after Habs great Guy Lafleur had a second surgery just two months removed from quadruple-bypass heart surgery in late September.
The team disclosed the Nov. 28 procedure at the request of Lafleur's family and said doctors successfully removed a lobe on one of his lungs, as well as lymph nodes. The 68-year-old had heart surgery Sept. 26.
Lapointe played defense on the great Canadiens teams anchored offensively by Lafleur. Lapointe played 14 seasons with the team from 1968 to 1982 and won six Stanley Cups. He was a four-time All-Star.
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UK political turmoil continues
By Catherine Hardy with REUTERS • last updated: 13/06/2017
Copy/paste the article video embed link below:
The leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) says talks with the UK Prime Minister Theresa May to support a new government are going well.
Arlene Foster says she hopes to conclude the talks soon.
“Discussions are going well with the government and we hope soon to be able to bring this work to a successful conclusion,” Foster said on Twitter after more than an hour of talks.
Discussions are going well with the government and we hope soon to be able to bring this work to a successful conclusion.
— Arlene Foster (@DUPleader) 13 juin 2017
What has Theresa May said?
She made no comment as she left 10 Downing Street en route for the House of Commons.
She is hoping to strike a deal with the DUP to pass her legislative programme after failing to secure an outright majority after last week’s election.
May told the first post-election session of the lower house that she had discussed the DUP talks with her cabinet.
A spokesperson for May’s office said it is hoped the talks will lead to a confidence and supply arrangement – a loose level of support that stops short of a formal coalition.
Delays and deals
The ongoing political turmoil has delayed next Monday’s state opening of parliament.
There is also a question mark over the opening of the UK’s Brexit negotiations with Brussels – which are due to get underway the same day.
"I got us into this mess, I'll get us out," May tells Conservative MPs
British PM Theresa May reshuffles cabinet before Brexit talks
"Theresa May is a dead woman walking"
UK snap general election 2017
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Entertainmentwise
Films online
Teen Mom Star Maci Bookout Is Pregnant With Her Second Child
Catelynn Lowell isn’t the only Teen Mom cast member that will be soon become a mom again—Maci Bookout is pregnant too! The reality star, who, along with Catelynn and Amber Portwood, will soon return to television when Teen Mom comes back for its fifth season, announced the happy news today via In Touch Weekly.
The 23-year-old reality star has been dating Taylor McKinney for over a year, and has been living with him since July. She told the magazine that the pregnancy was a surprise.
“We still can’t believe it. It was a huge shock, but we are very excited,” Maci said.
The Teen Mom starlet told the magazine that she wasn’t sure if she would be able to conceive another child, due to her being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
Teen Mom star Maci Bookout is pregnant with her second child. (WENN)
“I didn’t think that another pregnancy was possible,” Maci said, adding that she was surprised when she began to experience symptoms of pregnancy. “I started having very strange symptoms, like my legs were very itchy and I had tenderness in my breasts. So we got a test and it said I was pregnant.”
Maci is due in June and is reportedly having a girl. She is already the mother of six-year-old Bentley, the son she had at the age of 16 with her ex-fiancé Ryan Edwards.
The Teen Mom star has been outspoken against teen pregnancy since giving birth to Bentley, and has given speeches at numerous colleges in hopes of preventing other young girls from getting pregnant, all while starring on the MTV reality show.
Although the show was cancelled in 2013, MTV announced that Teen Mom will come back for a fifth season in 2015, with three of the four original cast members. (Farrah Abraham was not asked back for season five.)
The network has not yet announced a premiere date for the fifth season of Teen Mom.
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Lloyd Tabb
About Lloyd Tabb
Lloyd Tabb has been a technology revolutionary for 25 years, driving important trends in how the world uses the Internet. Originally a database and languages architect at Borland International, Lloyd left Borland to found Commerce Tools, where he wrote the first application server for the web. After Commerce Tools was acquired by Netscape in 1995, Lloyd was Principal Engineer on Netscape Navigator Gold, led several releases of Communicator, and helped define the creation of Mozilla.org. As CTO of LiveOps, the first commercial crowd-sourced company, he designed the crowd-sourced ecosystem. Lloyd was also a co-founder of Readyforce and advisor to Luminate, and is currently founder, chairman, and CTO of Looker Inc.
More From Lloyd Tabb
The 3 Decisions We Didn't Make That Totally Changed Our Business
With some decisions, it's better to not decide-- yet.
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7 Secrets to Healthier Menopause
Rosemary Black
Medically Reviewed by Justin Laube, MD
Better Skin, Better Sex, and More
Oliver Rossi/Corbis
Whether you’re just entering menopause or you’ve been living with it for some time now, you’re probably familiar with one or more of these common symptoms: hot flashes, night sweats, fatigue, a less-than-glowing complexion, and lower libido. The good news is that certain lifestyle choices can empower you to experience menopause in a positive way and live your life to the fullest.
Here are six experts' secrets on how to keep your cool, manage your weight, feel energized, preserve youthful skin, and have a better sex life as you age.
Hot Flashes: Try Yoga for Relief
Ryan JLane/Getty Images
Staying active is an effective way to deal with hot flashes, one of the most common symptoms of menopause, says Valerie Waddell, MD, assistant professor of ob/gyn at The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus. “Exercise can provoke a hot flash because it does raise the body's temperature, but it will also decrease the number of hot flashes that a woman has when she's not exercising,” she explains. Try a form of exercise that you love, be it yoga, Pilates, or jogging. In addition, lowering room temperature can offer relief for night sweats, she says.
If these tricks don’t help, you may want to consider estrogen and non-estrogen therapy options. “When other measures don’t work, these can help alleviate the flashes,” says Everyday Health columnist Lauren Streicher, MD, clinical associate professor of ob/gyn at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and author of Sex Rx: Hormones, Health, and Your Best Sex Ever.
Belly Fat: Make Good Food Choices
Women at a normal weight can experience disconcerting tummy bulges and extra rolls of midsection chubbiness as they enter menopause. “It’s a redistribution of fat,” Dr. Streicher explains. “Even if your weight doesn’t change, you get a little muffin top.”
Make sure that you're eating well. “The ideal way to battle belly fat is with a healthy diet,” says Jennifer Leighdon Wu, MD, an ob/gyn at Manhattan Women's Health in New York City, who adds that it's a good idea to eat less carbs. Try a meal planner, like our free online tool, to help you make nutritious choices.
Another way to combat belly fat is to get enough sleep. “When you're exhausted, you move less and you make poor food choices,” Streicher says.
Weight Gain and Bone Loss: Build Muscle
Colin Hawkins/Getty Images
You’re not even eating more than usual, so when the pounds creep on, it’s easy to blame them on menopause. But not so fast, says Dr. Waddell. “It’s more likely that your metabolism is winding down as you get older,” she says. You can boost your metabolism by building lean muscle through strength training.
“Weight-bearing exercise can increase your metabolism significantly,” says Christine Santori, RDN, program manager of the Center for Weight Management at Northwell Health Syosset Hospital in Syosset, New York. “By putting muscle tissue on your frame, you’re requiring your body to burn more calories to support that muscle tissue.” As a bonus, strength training is also good for your bones as you age.
Fatigue: Drink More Water
While it’s very common to experience fatigue during menopause, those feelings of utter exhaustion may come not from menopause itself, but from the lack of sleep that nighttime hot flashes can bring on. “Work with your doctor on good sleep hygiene,” Dr. Wu suggests. And as Streicher suggests, ask about therapeutic options if hot flashes are really keeping you awake.
Another tip is to be sure to stay well hydrated, says ob/gyn Diana Bitner, MD, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, author of I Want to Age Like That: Healthy Aging Through Midlife to Menopause. Even being slightly dehydrated can cause lethargy, and it can also give you a headache, she says. “When a woman isn’t well hydrated, she can feel more fatigued,” says Dr. Bitner, who recommends drinking at least six to eight 10-ounce non-caffeinated beverages every day.
Skin Changes: Try Topical Creams
Cecile Lavabre/Getty Images
Due to a decline in the hormones estrogen and testosterone, your skin simply won’t look as youthful as it once did when you hit menopause, explains ob/gyn Milinda Morris, MD, assistant professor in the department of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center and McGovern Medical School in Houston. “Nothing takes the place of estrogen in terms of having your skin look great. There are various topical estrogen facial creams to try,” she says.
In addition, Streicher advises that the most important thing you can do to keep your skin smooth and minimize wrinkles as you age is wear sunscreen. If you have questions about aging skin, see a dermatologist to discuss treatment options, including vitamin A formulations for sun-exposure aging.
Sex Drive: Treat Vaginal Dryness
Blend Images/Alamy
As you age, your estrogen levels drop off and vaginal tissues aren’t as moist, which means sex can become unpleasant and even painful. “And when this happens, most people don’t want to have sex,” Wu says. Many products can potentially remedy the discomfort, from creams and lubricants to feminine moisturizers. If you’re not satisfied with any of these, prescription local estrogen products (creams, rings, and vaginal tablets) may help. Talk with your doctor about which one might be best for you, Wu says.
A surprising remedy for vaginal dryness is to have more sex, according to Waddell. “Maintaining frequent intercourse is helpful for elasticity and lubrication,” she explains. “The more intercourse a woman has, the better for keeping the vaginal tissues healthy.”
Menopause Symptoms: Recognize Warning Signs
Don’t assume that your symptoms are a direct result of menopause. Night sweats, hot flashes, weight gain, and dry skin can also be caused by other health conditions, such as thyroid dysfunction, Waddell says. Fatigue can be due to a variety of medical problems, including undiagnosed sleep apnea or depression. “Health problems should be investigated before deciding they are directly due to menopause,” Waddell says, giving a good reason to bring up symptoms with your healthcare provider.
If you’re having regular medical checkups, serious health conditions should be detected during routine screenings, says Wu. “At your checkup, you’ll be tested for thyroid conditions and heart disease,” she says. “Of course, if symptoms are impacting your daily life, you should have an ongoing discussion with your doctor about what to do about them.”
Will Not Having Sex Trigger Early Menopause?
Women Have a Harder Time Sleeping After Menopause
Hormone Therapy May Boost Women’s Brains, Study Suggests
Hot Flash Treatment in Development May Be a Game Changer
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Posts Tagged ‘modern culture’
Relax. Have a gelato.
Posted by exurbe on January 30, 2012
I was cheered recently by the juxtaposition of a pair of articles on my Italian news feed:
Pretty-much Everyone in Italy is About to Go On Strike
Italians Refuse to Give Up their Ice-cream Amid Belt-Tightening
Both articles struck me, of course, as perfectly natural, since, as the ever-groaning gears of the Italian government, law and economy grow slower and more exhausted under austerity pressures, the only sane reaction is to relax and have a gelato. Gelato is an indispensable defensive measure in my experience of life in Italy, where truly obnoxious and stressful things do happen a lot, and you have to just accept that, 50% of the time, whatever you were trying to do just won’t happen. The shop you spent an hour looking for is closed for no reason? Relax. Have a gelato. The hotel you booked turns out not to exist? (This DID happen to me, in Modena). The paperwork you waited in line for 2 hours to file turns out to require something they never told you you didn’t have? A pickpocket got you on the Rome 64 bus? The museum you were looking forward to turns out to close early on the second Tuesday of each alternate month? The romantic cobblestones broke your suitcase’s left wheel a half-mile from home? These things happen all the time here, all the time, not to mention the constant frustrations of impossible-to-open doors and whimsical plumbing. But even something as frustrating as a pickpocketing is much easier to deal with sensibly, and feels much less like the end of the world, if you relax and have a gelato. I generally have a gelato the instant I get off the plane when I arrive in Italy, to give me the stamina necessary to brave the mobs around the baggage claim. In fact, “Relax. Have a gelato,” has become so ingrained in me as a default reaction to stress or failure that I habitually say it at home, to the great chagrin of my poor US-bound housemates, who would love to relax and have a gelato, were gelato achievable in the New World.
Luscious, seductive... bad gelato.
“But it is!” you say. “They have gelato at the fancy grocery store by the mall. Or at the import shop, or that pizzeria downtown, or in little Italy.” They do. There is gelato in the US, quite often these days, but, the important thing to note, is that it is (almost) always bad gelato, mere Hershey Bar ranked against artisanal truffles. I have had good gelato in North America, in three locations, the Suite 88 gourmet chocolate shop in Montreal, the ChikaLicious Desert Bar in New York City (their cupcake bar across the street also has apple gelato of extraordinary quality), and, of all places, the underground cafeteria in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC (here too get the apple flavor). (Note: the organic gelato chain GROM also has branches in NYC, and I expect these too would have respectable gelato; my full thoughts on GROM another day.) But for the most part, even in Italy-town subsections of US cities, the gelato is no better than one would find in an Italian train station. Not what a gelato snob would call “good gelato,” and I am, I will comfortably admit, a true gelato snob.
See the fibrous and variable texture of the apple gelato on the right? That's a good sign.
What is the difference between good and bad gelato? Good gelato is made from all natural ingredients, as pure and as few as possible, while bad gelato is made with artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and coagulants. Good fruit gelato is made directly from the fruit, bad from fruit extracts. Really bad gelato is made from a powdered mix with no fresh ingredients at all. Keep in mind that I do not say this as any kind of organic food purist. I do often buy organic when I can, but I will never pretend that organic always tastes better, merely often. I do not shrink from eating radioactive orange mac ‘n’ cheese out of a box when the craving hits me, and I heartily repented of my folly the one year I procured an organic turkey for Thanksgiving, and discovered to my horror and chastisement the true merits of the hormone-stuffed, brine-injected Butterball. But gelato is very delicate, because it is so pure, involving so few ingredients. You can taste the chemicals when there are chemicals. You can taste the quality of the milk and fruit used, and if you frequent a place you can tell day by day how ripe the figs were, how in season the oranges. Bad gelato has an inescapable tinge of candy-like artificial flavor. It’s still a yummy substance, still worth eating, but it’s infinitely inferior to the pure article. There are, from what I have uncovered, four reasons for the scarcity of good gelato in the US.
Fresh gelato without preservatives does not last more than a day, and has to be made from scratch every morning. This is labor-intensive and expensive, and is why so many places even in Italy don’t bother.
The companies that manufacture and distribute commercial-sized gelato makers in the US want to make continual money off the restaurants that buy them, so have designed them to require the mix, and not to work with fresh ingredients, so the restaurants will have to continually subscribe to fresh batches of mix. The kind of machine you get in Italy, that uses real ingredients, exists in the US only in the tiny use-it-at-home form, but is nearly impossible to find industrial-sized.
Gelato, being so sensitive, requires really top quality fresh ingredients, both the milk and the fruit. Such ingredients are expensive, and actually rare in the US where fruit is, usually, harvested unripe, and milk ultra-processed. It is difficult and above all expensive to find ingredients of gelato quality in the US, and most restaurants could only cover costs if they charged more for their gelato than most people will pay for a scoop of ice-cream.
American ice-cream is, in fact, pretty good. It’s not gelato, and does not excel at the same things, but it is good. If gelato excels at accentuating the purity of a single flavor: lemon, chocolate, milk; American ice-cream excels at creating triple chocolate fudge peanut swirl mars bar cookiedough crunch peach marshmallow ripple surprise. These luxurious, over-the-top concoctions are delicious, and also complex enough to largely mask the artificial preservatives and inferior dairy that tends to go into US ice-cream. Such products are satisfying, mass-producible, preservable, and cheap. Good gelato, which is more expensive to produce and doesn’t last, struggles to compete commercially.
Pear, persimmon, crema & yogurt gelato at Rivareno (Florence). Few flavors, but so good!
Reinforcing scholarship: in a published poll, when asked which they would prefer, an ice-cream shop with (A) 25 flavors or one with (B) flavors that were all really good, most Americans chose (A), most Italians (B), and the northern sections of Europe mixed both choices.
(This, by the way, is, I suspect, why, among Rome’s elite gelato joints, the world-famous Giolitti is so popular with Americans and San Crispino with Europeans. I recommend going to both, as each excels at some things the other does not. More on these when I eventually review different gelato places (if wordpress will ever let me create the kind of index I want to use to do so, grumble, grumble.)
What is the difference between gelato and icecream?
Friends enjoy elaborate cones at Giolitti (Rome).
I get this question a lot, and have two answers. In a technical sense, gelato is made with much less fat than ice-cream, in fact gelato is usually made with milk, not cream, but it has much more sugar, to compensate, since milk and sugar are the things that keep frozen concoctions soft and creamy. A fruit gelato is, at its purest, a sorbet and contains no dairy whatsoever. In an aesthetic sense, however, gelato is much more about accentuating the substance from which it is made, whereas ice-cream is about combining flavors. Strawberry ice-cream is an experience of the delightful comingling of strawberry juice with cream, producing a rich, strong, syrupy dairy experience, and reminding one pleasantly of strawberries and cream if one has ever had them together; strawberry gelato is the experience of eating a soft frozen strawberry, with no presence of dairy or commixture. It is in the fruits and the nuts that this difference is most extreme. A top quality chocolate gelato is quite similar to a top quality chocolate ice-cream, but a pistachio gelato is like eating a real pistachio, and a raspberry gelato will sometimes leave you with seeds between your teeth, which ice-cream never would. Gelato, real gelato, doesn’t taste like it’s flavored with the thing, it tastes like it’s made of the thing. This last fact often makes it difficult for foreigners in Italy who are ordering gelato for the first time to choose flavors they will actually enjoy. Pistachios and Pistacho Ice-Cream do not taste the same, and many people like one and not the other, and consequently make the wrong choice when trying to guess whether or not they’d like Pistachio Gelato. I myself would run in terror from watermelon icecream, since I know from dumdums and artificial lemonade the horrors that watermelon flavor can inflict, but watermelon gelato (gelato di cocomero), which tastes like the entire fresh summer zest of a real watermelon distilled into each bite, is one of my great delights. Conversely, many people like cherry syrup, in cocktails, on cakes, in Dr. Pepper, and these people are often wildly disappointed at the first bite of a cherry gelato, which bears no resemblance to the syrup, but simulates the experience of a, usually very acidic, sour cherry. Vanilla is the pinnacle of this cultural flavor misunderstanding. Many Americans come to a gelateria wanting to try the equivalent of vanilla, and different people propose different equivalencies, but I have concluded, with careful study, that there is not an equivalent. There are three equivalents. This is because there are three different reasons people like vanilla ice-cream:
Do you like vanilla for its pure, milky, creaminess? The absence of any secondary flavor to interfere with the richness of pure dairy? In that case you want fiore di latte (flower of milk) or, at a really good gelateria, fiore di panna (flower of cream), a gelato made of the pure milk or cream with sugar and nothing else to interfere.
Do you like vanilla for its rich, custardy feeling, preferring the yellower French Vanilla flavors to traditional vanilla? In this case you want crema, custard flavor, modeled on the eggy custards that fill pastries and doughnuts.
Do you like the actual flavor of the vanilla bean, with its memories of Christmas cookies and traditional perfumes? In this case and this case only you want gelato di vanilla, if they have it, but be warned: it means it that it’s really, honestly vanilla flavor, like a cookie, or liqueur.
Thus “Gelato is Italian ice-cream,” remains one of the more misleading truths involved in Italian travel. Gelato is indeed Italian ice-cream, but one cannot apply the same logic to it, and there is nothing like a 1:1 correspondence between which flavors one should order in a gelateria and an ice-cream parlor. Unfortunately, this concept is difficult to pass along quickly. You must remember, that I feel true emotional pain whenever I see a happy-looking person step up to a truly terrible gelato place when there’s a good one next door, and I very frequently strike up conversations with passing anglophone tourists which lead inevitably to my showing them a good gelateria.
Witness a small tragedy on the Ponte Vecchio.
At this point follows the test, and the suspense, when I start recommending flavors. Will they listen? Will they not? Since often I’m recommending flavors they would never want in ice-cream. I can generally convince people about one flavor by having the employees give them a spoonful to taste, but a lot of people just aren’t prepared to believe that “Yogurt and Mandarin Orange” or “Grapefruit and Sour Cherry” are winning combos. “I’ll take Chocolate and Chocolate Chip.” My two recent favorite people I took to gelato places were both middle-aged American men, with wives in tow who refused on diet grounds to get gelato and thereafter ate a hunk of their husbands’. One, when we arrived at Giolitti and I started discussing flavors, simply said: order for me, I trust you. One dark chocolate-coated whipped cream-stuffed waffle cone with Champagne, Sour Cherry and Fleur de Sel Caramel Gelato later, he was a very happy man. The other I took to Perche no…! (The sensibly named “Why not…!” gelateria which is the reason I live on the street I live on here in Florence). I recommended Yogurt, Strawberry Mousse and Mixed Berry (Frutti di Bosco). He ordered Chocolate and Coffee. After he tasted his, I let him taste my own cone. He sighed and smiled. “Well, you told me so.”
New Travel Tips Section
I am (if I can persuade WordPress to condescend to let me) about to create a new “Travel Tips” index section of Ex Urbe, in which I will gradually review restaurants, museums, hotels, coffee bars, and also provide general city-specific travel tips, things like where the public restrooms in Florence are hidden, and which are the better-tasting Roman water fountains.
Bad gelato, lurking in its homogeneous slimyness!
I shall initiate it with an updated, web-friendly but also printable version of my little guide: How to Spot Good and Bad Gelato. So vital is the skill that I, in fact, routinely distribute it as a handout to my students, and have often been thanked for it. I will also, in it, review specific preferred gelato places in major Italian cities, but sticking always to one principle: There Is No Best Gelateria. There are bad gelaterias and good gelaterias, but in ranking the good ones against each other, I have never found one which beat all others in EVERY way. Each has its points. Perche no…! excels at sorbets, seasonal fruit flavors and mousses, Rivareno at smooth, creamy, antique flavors, GROM at its raw, organic feel, San Crispino at its meringue semifredo assortment and complex crema variations, Giolitti at its luxurious, elaborate cones and ocean of flavors, Vestri at its chocolate (Oh, its chocolate!), and each of these has three or four signature flavors which cannot be rivaled by the others. I would never order frutti di bosco at Giolitti, nor fail to order it at Perche no…!; the converse for Caramel. Both remain superb gelaterias. Remember, though: even bad gelato is still very, very yummy. So, even if you don’t have access to the best, relax. Have a gelato.
Tagged with: gelato, modern culture, S.P.Q.F.
Spot the Saint: Nicholas and Befana (Christmas Special)
Posted by exurbe on December 24, 2011
‘Tis the season for a review of the vague saintly origins of the modern Hallmark Christmas:
Saint Nicholas of Bari (or of Myra; San Nicola, 270-343 AD)
Common attributes: Bishop (with robes, hat, miter), holding 3 golden balls, or 3 coins, or 3 bags of gold
Occasional attributes: Accompanied by ship, accompanied by barrel containing three kids
Patron saint of: Sailors, ships, merchants, fishermen, children, also pharmacists & a few other things
Patron of places: Myra (Turkey), Bari (Italy)
Feast days: May 9th, December 6th
Most often depicted: Standing around with other saints, on the coast near ships, sneaking in a window
Relics: Bari (Italy), Basilica di San Nicola
Saint Nicholas was a 3rd to 4th century bishop saint, Greek by birth and active in the Middle East. He was of a wealthy family but orphaned and raised by an uncle. He came to the priesthood comfortably (no towers or evil parents or prostitutes or lightning) and progressed to bishop status in good time. Nicholas is remarkable for the large number of miracles he is supposed to have worked during his lifetime, and for that reason is a very popular saint to pray to, since he is obviously willing to use the powers all saints have. He saved ships from storms, multiplied grain to save towns from famine, and resurrected three kids.
Nicholas’ most famous story involves, not a miracle, but generosity. It has several variants, but all revolve around a poor man in the town who had three daughters but did not have enough money to give them dowries so they could marry. Nicholas stealthily provided the money, which is most commonly said to have been three bags of gold coins, but it varies. He did it on three successive visits (either three days or three years), each time tossing the money secretly into the house so the father never knew his benefactor. On the last visit (predictable due to the regularity of the first two), the father lay in wait, hoping to spot and thank his mysterious benefactor. The ending varies, but in one popular version Nicholas, realizing the man was watching the window, climbed across the roof and dropped the gold down the chimney. Some versions add the detail that one of the daughters had left her stockings hung up to dry by the hearth, and the money fell into one. He is also supposed to have given other charitable gifts, including leaving coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him.
Saint Nicholas multiplies grain, so sailors can give some to end a famine and still have enough to deliver.
In 1071, when the area where Nicholas was buried fell into non-Christian hands, the relics were removed to the Italian town of Bari, sparking his large Italian cult. Some Venetians claimed to have a big chunk, spawning another major church to him in Venice (where a patron of sailors was very popular) but scientists and their x-rays have confirmed that the remains at Bari are mostly intact. Nicholas’ relics excrete a rose-scented liquid substance, referred to as myrrh, which has healing properties, much like the substance produced by the remains of Catherine of Alexandria.
Bishop saints are tricky to identify in art. They’re easy to tell from other saints, with their curved shephard’s-crook-shaped miters, their pointy, triangular bishop hats (not to be confused with the cone-shaped pope hats with three crowns on them), and their fancy robes, with a cloak with elaborate trim closed by a broach at the breast, and, frequently, gloves with gems on the back of the hand. Yet they can be very difficult to tell one from another, because their attributes are often unclear, or omitted.
How can we be expected to tell them apart if they have no identifying attributes? Often the original context of the painting would make it clear, since it would be commissioned by or for devotees of a particular bishop saint, or in a city where a specific one was most popular. But since pieces are so often in museums now, sometimes all one can do is guess. Nicholas was one of the most popular bishop saints, along with Augustine and, in Florence, Zenobius, so in general Nicholas is a safe guess. When in doubt, the artist sometimes provides separate scenes as hints. Sometimes these are painted on separate panels below or above the main painting, showing a recognizable scene from the saint’s life. With bishop saints, sometimes scenes from their lives are embroidered on their robes, though this can be deceptive, since I’ve seen Saint Augustine with scenes from the life of Saint Stephen on his robe.
As for Nicholas specifically in art, three golden balls or golden coins or bags of gold are the clearest sign, or a bishop accompanied by ships or standing near the sea. Beyond that, though, Nicholas is a decent generic guess if you don’t have a better clue for your unidentified bishop.
La Befana, the Epiphany Witch (not a saint, but…)
Common attributes: Pointy hat, dark shawl, rough dress, old, long nose with warts, scraggly gray hair, spectacles
Most often depicted: Flying through the air on a broomstick with a sack of toys
Since Saint Nicholas is not, in fact, a jolly, red-clad toymaker equipped with flying reindeer, someone else has to bring presents to the kids in Italy. This office falls to La Befana the Christmas Witch, or more accurately the Epiphany Witch, who flies on her broomstick with her sack of toys bringing presents to all the children on Epiphany Eve (Jan 5th). She looks like a witch in every classic sense, so Christmas fairs in Italy are packed with witches and Christmas decorations often look more like Halloween than Christmas to American eyes.
If you ask Wikipedia about La Befana it will tell you various origin myths. She was hostess to the Three Wise Men on their way to the Nativity; she regretted not following them and is still looking for the Christ Child so visits all children; she had a child which died so Christ let her be Mom to every kid in Italy; she’s the Sabine goddess Strina.
La Befana ornaments crowd for space at a stall in Piazza Navona, Rome.
If you ask an Italian, in my experience you don’t get any of that. La Befana is a part of the holiday tradition, unquestioned as Santa in areas where he’s the gift giver, so just as most of those in the Santa region can’t tell you much about Nicholas of Bari, Italians are content with the witch they’ve known since childhood and don’t seem to wonder much.
I have to say, though, Italian kids have more excuse to freak out at shopping malls when parents set them in the lap of someone costumed as the Christmas gift-giver. A witch! Why are my parents handing me to a witch?
La Befana is also subject to the same bizarre cultural distortions as Santa:
So this year, if you’re the tree-trimming type, get out your broomsticks and pointy hats and have a nice witch-filled Italian Holiday!
And now, Spot the Saint Quiz Time:
(Click for more detail. If your eyes are sharp, you should be able to identify a few of the tiny figures on the sides as well as the main ones. Scroll down for a detailed view of the left-hand main figures.)
A little more detail on the left-hand side:
Skip to the next Spot the Saint entry.
Tagged with: bishop, festival, hagiography, holiday, modern culture, S.P.Q.F., Saint Nicholas, Spot the Saint
Arbitrary Pricing
Posted by exurbe on October 26, 2011
Drum roll please… time for the results of my Guess the Purse – Guess the Price challenge:
Purse #1: the unnecessarily quilted reptile purse
Purse #2: The inconveniently small reptile purse (giant clutch)
Purse #3: the crumpled trashbag look purse
I often stroll through what I call the “thousand dollar purse” district, but even I stopped short the first time I spotted Purse #2 in the window. Did they put in an accidental extra digit? I was used to trying to guess from a distance whether any given purse cost 200 or 400 or 600, but nothing had quite prepared me for quintuple digits.
This thousand-euro dress is made of hand painted art nouveau velvet lace and is beautiful and obviously very labor-intensive and I am totally comfortable with it costing a thousand euros.
I had known fashion items in the ten grand range existed, so it wasn’t that which shocked me as much as my complete inability to tell why that particular purse cost ten times what its neighbor did. Not only did I not know, but I couldn’t even begin to understand how I might know, yet at the same time I’m very aware that for people connected with the world of fashion, all it would take is a glance to tell. It was a language barrier. Like how an architect fluently interprets the vocabulary of a facade, a mechanic the sounds of an engine, or a medieval person can recognize saints at a glance. A moment of feeling what illiteracy must be like.
If these purses came with the chicken feet, and if they would run around and follow you and fetch your bag whenever you wanted... no, it still wouldn't be worth 2000 euros!
Except at the same time, Reason rebels: 10,900 euros! It’s a purse! It’s a glorified sack! I could make one in 20 minutes out of fabric or duct-tape, and the materials can’t possibly cost more than a few hundred. Nice ones are nice, and I have some bags I’m very fond of, but… is it from the Moon? Made of the hide of the last surviving wyvern? Does it cure disease and repel undead? Is it electronically synched with a satellite which will shoot pickpockets with lazers from space? Was the leather bathed in the healing liquor which drips from the tomb of Saint Catherine of Alexandria ? Is it perhaps like George Jetson’s suitcase, and folds out into a car? I’d pay fifteen grand to never have to park again, but anything less…
Apparently crabby thirteen-year-olds shop at Prada
Now, I don’t dislike fashion. I quite enjoy looking at interesting clothes, studying costume history, making costumes, looking at shop windows, get excited over a particularly rich fabric or elegant coat tail, and I do pay serious attention to how I myself dress. Fashion is a form of communication. That’s how I primarily think of it: a social tool whose vocabulary of gender, class, situational, ethnic, geographic and subcultural cues let people communicate to others a kind of instant introduction and self-presentation.
Sullen vampire faeries shop at Cavalli
When a dolphin meets another dolphin the first thing they do is urinate at each other, because by tasting each other’s urine in the water they can tell a lot about each other: age, gender, health, “Hello, I’m a juvenile female who just pigged out after a long journey without enough food.” “Well, hello, I’m a middle-aged female local to this area and in heat; get stuffed.” Clothing accomplishes the same, in balance with function, comfort and expense, of course. On a bus or subway one doesn’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to know a lot about what class and type of professional or hobbyist most people are trying to seem. I have a great respect for people who manage to use clothing to present themselves in ways which make them seem exciting and also give a good sense of who they are, and I strive to do so myself, and, in my case, maintain several different wardrobes (nerd, professional, historical, otaku) for presenting myself when I hop from hat to hat among my many spheres.
This fashion succeeds in communicating: if you want to present as an Icy Big Boss Lady and bully action heroes, shop here.
Like language, clothing as communication requires one to work within a set vocabulary. As an astute economics textbook I read on the matter once pointed out, it might be that to some person encasing herself in a two-foot-diameter aluminum tube perfectly summarized her thoughts about herself, but if she walked to a room like that no one would be able to interpret it, so it would fail as communication. Tweed jacket with leather elbow pads = professor, black with spikes = punk with all its countercultural associations; you can’t reverse or change that until the whole culture does, or no one will know what you mean.
This outfit succeeds in communicating: wealthy, fashionable
But the fashion industry is something different: it changes constantly, every season, and it’s in its very changeability that it somehow communicates. Bowtie = quirky/geeky/old-fashioned; wearing the latest fancy thing that’s currently in shop windows, whatever that may be = fashionista. Thousand dollar purses do have a function, which is to communicate that this is a person of sufficient wealth and education and with the proper tastes to want one.
Returning to the familiar ground of the Renaissance, a blue garment or a lady with pearls woven through her hair is a declaration to passers-by of social class, and important for enabling the correct interaction between classes, and for making political and economic contacts and alliances. When Alessandra Strozzi writes in her letters of having a daughter married wearing hundreds of florins worth of pearls sewn to her garment, the wedding procession was an invaluable advertisement of the family’s wealth and status and its connection to its neighbors, which played a significant role in the political interplay between Strozzi, Medici and other rival powerful families in the city. This has a function, and even a wedding dress that cost as much as a house did have a function, and I respect that.
Here a wedding procession through downtown Florence is depicted on the Adimari Cassone (c. 1450). A cassone is a wooden chest, usually used to hold clothing, and they were often decorated with wedding images and carried in the wedding procession; another way to display the wealth of clothing involved in the alliance of great houses. You can see the Baptistery and Florentine trumpeters on the left.
I can respect these shoes. They make their owner seem like an interesting person.
I understand these shoes; they tell me a wealthy woman is going to an important, formal event.
The problem comes in contemporary fashion from the fact that now one often has to be such a fashion-conscious person in order to interpret correctly, because to the untrained eye this year’s black Gucci purse looks exactly like last year’s black Gucci purse. It’s a private dialect spoken only among a specific type of wealthy, trend-minded elite.
This season’s trends prove precisely why the private dialect of high fashion baffles me where other regions of fashion seem reasonable and, indeed, fun. This season’s “look”, as one can’t help but notice on a stroll past Florence’s boutique windows, focuses on huge, rough, bulky, shaggy knitwear, mostly in brown, beige, gray or black, with accents in orange and teal.
Huge, shaggy knitwear of precisely the style that knitting hobbyists–a slice of society associated with old-fashioned handicrafts, tradition, nerd culture, and the shy prim crafts-doing girl type–produces. There is no way that I can perceive to tell the difference between these 300 euro Ralph Lauren shawls and scarves and something one might request from a grandmother, or see growing longer panel by panel at a con.
This tells me that the wearer is cold and slobby, not trendy and rich!
Spot the Saint! The John the Baptist Hairshirt Look is in this season.
It really is the John the Baptist Hairshirt Look!
The John the Baptist winterwear ensemble
The John the Baptist Hairshirt Purse, available in camel, avocado and hypercosmic cherry
Hairshirt Shoes complete the ensemble.
Communication has failed. Generally speaking,the presumed goal of a fashionable trendy dresser is to communicate to the layman that they’re generically nicely dressed and upper class or upper middle class, while to communicate to the expert that they’re savvy enough to know that boutique X rather than boutique Y is the correct space to spend a few hundred on sunglasses in 2011. This season’s fashion accomplishes B but fails at A, since passing such an outfit in the street, my first thought would be “oh, that person knits or knows someone who does,” not, “ah, that person is a fashionable dresser.” The vocabulary of fashion has left communication behind. The dialect is now incomprehensible to the bulk of the country.
As for the extreme edges of fashion, and fashion advertising, which too often leaves you uncertain even what they’re selling, there one can only revel as in surrealist art. Here are two choice specimens from the Milan train station billboards. What am I supposed to want to buy?
Tagged with: Baptistery, costume, fashion, Florence, modern culture, S.P.Q.F., Strozzi
Guess the Price – Guess the Purse
Posted by exurbe on September 7, 2011
The Gucci store window
The Prada store window
There is a district, just west of the center of Florence, which I refer to as the “Thousand Dollar Purse” district.
Here the truly extravagant end of European fashion displays itself for the delectation of the envious masses.
Here one can spend $500 on sunglasses, $1,000 on boots, and ooh and aah over purses whose merits elude my understanding. Yet I know to that, to the stylish, the differences are as obvious as when I glance at an altarpiece and tell a Saint Sebastian from a Saint Jerome. It is a language, and I do respect the effort it takes to achieve fluency.
In preparation for a more substantial post on the subject of thousand dollar purses, I present a simple guessing game. I challenge you to guess the prices of the three black purses shown below. I will not pull any cheap tricks and include a purse from the sensible end of town: all three of these purses cost over a thousand dollars. My challenge: Guess the price of each! To whoever gets closest I’ll give the prize of suggesting my next topic. Or if you’re not confident enough in your knowledge of high fashion to guess the prices, simply guess which of the three purses do you think costs the most.
By the way, the Prada jacket shown above on the left left costs 3,950 euros, and the purse she’s holding costs 2,700 euros. The Gucci dress at the above right is 2,700 in green, 3,500 in pink. Oh, also, the green dress should be worn with a 500 euro belt and 585 euro shoes, and the little purse is a mere 1,350.
Now, the challenge! Guess the price – guess the purse:
(up close, it’s not reptile leather, it’s smooth leather quilted to look like reptile leather)
Purse #2: the inconveniently-small reptile purse
(No, there’s no shoulder strap, just the wrist loop, so it constantly occupies a hand.)
(yes, that’s a Prada label)
Tagged with: fashion, modern culture, S.P.Q.F.
Bathroom Suspense
American friends who have traveled extensively in Italy, or some other regions of the Earth, smile with an instant, knowing understanding when I say “bathroom suspense.” I grew up to expect going to the bathroom to be simple, relaxing, an almost unthinking break in which simple repetition and the brief suspension of work and interaction allows for a defragmenting mental breather. In Italy, instead of relaxation, suspense: “How will this bathroom not work?”
The cause is simple: the buildings predate modern plumbing, so the bathrooms are tucked and tweaked in by force in often inconvenient and inhospitable architectural circumstances, but remembering the last time I had to replace a toilet in my own house, and browsed at Home Depot through the endless row of nearly-identical, “American Standard” toilets, I can’t help but think that the equivalent should be named, “Italian Chaos.”
Bathroom Suspense has two primary forms.
This seatless restaurant toilet presents only a brief challenge with its wall button
The first, and briefest, is hunting for the flush. Many times a week when traveling one enters an unfamiliar bathroom, in a restaurant, hotel, train station, and there is very often an unsettling, sometimes extended hunt for the operating mechanism that commands the exodus. Will it be a pull chain dangling from the ceiling? A foot pedal? A button on an extended wire somewhere random in the room? A ceramic mechanism that looks like wall art, or alternately an enormous metal button that looks more like an emergency trigger than a flush, and won’t budge unless you lever your full bodyweight against it? Even simple-seeming mechanisms, such as the common large plastic button on top of the tank, present complexities: which of two buttons is the right one? Or, worse, sometimes there is only one button but it turns out to be a hinged panel which does different things when you push the left side or the right. It generally only takes a few seconds’ experimentation to solve the mystery, but it is enough to turn calm into stress, much as if one were immersed in a novel only to discover that the last ten pages are glued together and need to be separated with a letter opener: annoyance destroys the moment.
This cartoon squirrel attempts to demonstrate a particularly intimidating automatic sink
I have also often had friends return from a public restroom with rather uncomfortable faces to confess that they gave up and couldn’t find the flush, or, more often, the sink controls: “Oh, that sink is controlled by a pair of color-coded foot petals behind the trash can.” And it doesn’t help anglophones that caldo = hot and freddo = cold, therefore the hot tap is labeled “C”.
A large number of Italian toilets are also bizarre in other ways, with no seat, or a seat that pushes itself up automatically so you have to hold it down while trying to sit, or a seat that squirts itself with disinfectant at unpredictable moments. Most infamous is the rare squat toilet subspecies, lurking patiently in the innocent-seeming stalls at museums and coffee bars. Many are unaware that squat toilets exist in a civilization that had proper toilets more than two thousand years ago. Even if one is aware, they are always still startling and awkward, as if one checked into a hotel room and went to throw one’s coat and backpack on the bed only to discover a hammock in its place: doable but weird, and not the kind of surprise you want mid-travel.
Shape adds another element to the complexity of the Italian public restroom, since these are, after all, crammed into awkward corners of Renaissance if not Medieval homes. Many bathrooms are trapezoid, rhomboid, have strange beams or blocks of stone protruding into them, or deep former windows through foot-thick stone walls covered over with something as ephemeral as waxed paper.
An example of the common set-up with no head-height shower nozzle and no curtain, just a hand-held hose, and your own dexterity to prevent a flood
Pipes trail along the corners and bunch around rare openings, like tree roots desperate to claw their way through rock. All this makes the brief moment of bathroom going a disruptive and memorable garnish to the museum trek or hotel night; simplicity is now adventure.
Hotel rooms have the extra resource of a shower to add surrealism to the moment. I encountered an excellent example in Milan last summer. It is not uncommon for an Italian bathroom to have no shower-height shower head, but instead to have only a low bathtub-height faucet, or more commonly a spray nozzle on the end of a hose, so one may sit or stand while holding it, and generally shower with reasonable success so long as one is careful to aim into the tub (which is often not guarded by any shower curtain). Here, I discovered with some satisfaction that there was, in fact, a shower-height wall nozzle—jubilation!—if positioned a little oddly. This shower had a formal bathtub positioned with one long side against the wall of the bathroom, and the nozzle was in that wall in the precise center of the tub’s length, so one stood, not at one end, but in the middle to be in the water’s course.
Of course, the venerable metropolis of Milan has treasures enough to compensate for any small inconveniences
This would have been excellent if not for two factors. One: the nozzle didn’t point down, it pointed out, spraying the water completely past the tub toward the unguarded center of the room with a force sufficient to knock the shower curtain aside and drench the bathroom. Okay, sure, this was surmountable if one took great care to position one’s self between the water jet and the room at all times, using one’s body to deflect the force. However. There was a lower nozzle, for filling the bath, flanked as many are by two taps, one cold one hot, so one could mix the water and achieve the desired temperature: good so far. Yet, for the upper shower-height one, there was only one tap, hot. Very hot. Scaldingly hot, in fact, with no possibility of dimming its force with any cold. So, to shower, one had to stand in the middle of the bathtub and, shielding the room with one’s body, take full brunt of a powerful jet of literally burning hot water.
But this is only the lesser form of Bathroom Suspense. The true form comes in renting an apartment, and committing, sight unseen and from across the Atlantic, to six months with a bathroom which may well turn out to be another tier of Purgatory.
The view from my bathroom window. All residents of the dense and skyward-climbing termite colony that is the center of Florence share this problem, and are generally polite about moments of awkward eye-contact.
Before I turn to the outstanding examples, let me say that I love my current bathroom. It is wonderful, by far the best I have had in any Italian apartment. It’s bliss. It is a peculiarly long thin space, narrow enough that one must take care stepping around the fixtures, and one must move sideways through it at all times, as well as entering sideways, since the tiny bathroom door is four inches narrower than my shoulders. There is a window above the toilet looking out on the beautiful skyline and Giotto’s bell tower, which for me is at eye height when I’m sitting on the toilet, has no frosting, shutter or curtain, and an excellent view of several other nearby apartment windows, often occupied. The shower follows a common trend and has no actual shower bed or rim, it is simply a nozzle that squirts hot water into the bathroom and a drain in the slanted tile floor to which the water, after adventuring across the bathroom, returns and exits. There is a shower curtain (wonderful!) and a fine sink. Oh, and the toilet requires my full bodyweight to flush, and the button has to be pressed so it actually recedes into the wall, so I have to throw my full weight against my thumb, not my palm, to activate it. The water is gas heated, rather than electric, a great energy savings, but it does mean one has to turn the gas on before (and off after) every shower, and the activation mechanism is clear on the opposite side of the apartment by the front door, requiring either foresight or a quick dash in a bathrobe if one forgets. It only takes about a minute and a half for the water to get hot, though, which is excellent. My landlady warned me that the water pressure was low, since we are, after all, at the top of a medieval tower, and she even installed an electric pump to increase the flow, but I don’t use it, finding the water pressure perfectly sufficient and comparable to American Low Flow (Low Flow is a concept which will, I suspect, never penetrate a country whose towns are filled with lovely free-flowing public fountains pouring gallons of drinkable water down the drain every second). Please don’t read any sarcasm into this description. This is the best bathroom I have had in an Italian apartment, and I am absolutely delighted.
For those skeptical, let me now describe the worst bathroom I have endured in an Italian apartment. The title does not go to the Roman apartment which offered precisely 1 minute 43 seconds of hot water followed by ice shock, nor to the Florentine apartment with the bathtub in the middle of the room and no curtain, requiring the most delicate aim with the hand-held nozzle. Another Florentine place where the gas was actually inside the shower so you had to keep an eye on the fire while showering, was also more a case of character than discomfort. No, the winner is a little place in Florence’s Oltrarno district, which used to belong to the Machiavelli family, whom I do not blame.
Wikipedia will happily educate the uninformed about the history and function of the bidet
Let me first highlight the important fact that, through all this chaos of chain-operated levers and incomprehensible knobs, and in most women’s public restrooms as well, there is always, inevitably, identically, beautifully and functionally, a bidet. I’m certain that for those who grew up using a bidet its absence in American restrooms must be annoying if not disgusting, but coming from a bidet-free culture (and often having to explain to guests what that “little low sink thing” is next to the toilet) I can stay with confidence that a bidet is not necessary for the bathroom process. Convenient, comfortable for those accustomed, but you can totally succeed in the whole bathroom experience without one. (For those unfamiliar: you wash your bottom with it.) So will someone tell me why, with so many barely-functional showers and sinks that require you to pump a priming handle, the least necessary component of the bathroom is the most reliable?
In the Machiavelli bathroom, the bidet was perfect. The toilet was reasonable, requiring minimal massage of the mechanism to coax a flush out of it, but the shower nozzle was positioned almost directly above it, so while showering one had to either literally straddle the toilet or teeter in the narrow space between toilet and bidet. There was again no rim around the shower area, it simply flowed freely into the bathroom, which had a drain in the middle of the floor, but while the very excellent bathroom I am currently enjoying has well-sloped tile to direct the water efficiently to the exit, in this one the water flowed merrily all around the bathroom, completely flooding it. And this bathroom had no lintel. So the water flowed merrily out of the bathroom to the space outside. Did I mention this bathroom was situated on a landing half-way down a flight of solid stone steps between my bedroom and the outer door? And that said stone stairwell was completely unheated? Thus if the water made it out the door in winter, sheets of ice were instantly produced, coating the landing and glittering merrily down the steps from bathroom to street. To prevent this, a squeegee on a long pole was provided, and while showering one had to periodically pause and squeegee the water away from the doorway back to the drain, an exercise rather like raking leaves, only when naked and wet. And cold.
December in Florence offers bright lights, holiday treats, and an acute awareness that they hadn't invented insulation in 1500
Cold was the true centerpiece of this bathroom. Italian stone architecture is brilliant in summer at using the natural cave-like coolness of stone and shade to create cool spaces without air conditioning, but the winter converse is not fun when the bathroom is just about as unheated as the stone stairwell outside. It was freezing—sometimes literally—inside that bathroom, and rather than fog there would be lovely frost patterns on the mirror after a shower. Returning through the sub-zero stairwell from bathroom to bedroom with wet hair required a deal of moral fiber as well. Did I mention that this apartment was so cold that, in winter, I slept in my clothes, and my wool coat, and my super-thick camping socks, and my winter boots? Getting out of my wintry bundle to strip off in a freezing bathroom was… character building. Fine, good, we can deal with this, the cold should make the shower even more blissful, because the treasured immersion in streaming hot water is the one daily opportunity to be truly warm. Right? No, reader, I will not leave you with so predictable a punch line as to say there was no hot water, or that the water ran out after a few moments, or took forever to get warm. Such mediocrities are unworthy of a property which might have at some point maybe belonged to Machiavelli’s uncle.
Italy, of course, still has treasures enough to make all these inconveniences more than worthwhile
The shower had a simple nozzle. Half the holes produced completely frigid, barely-above-freezing cold water. The other half produced blistering burn-yourself-from-touching-it you-could-make-tea-with-this hot water. With no mixing. Thus, the full shower experience involved stripping off cuddly warm winter wear in freezing temperatures, then straddling the toilet only to stand with my teeth chattering as freezing water cascaded over part of me, while other areas of skin are burned red by the scalding heat. While periodically stopping to squeegee. Comfy as covers are, never before or since has getting out of bed in the morning literally been torture. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a true Italian bathroom, and I would not trade my current gas-activated heat and oddly-positioned window for all the treasures of the Medici. Well, maybe for their Botticellis.
Tagged with: Florence, hotel, Machiavelli, Milan, modern culture, Rome, S.P.Q.F.
“Get your piping hot tripe!”
Locals enjoying their "Trippa Fiorentina"
In Florence, daily meals become a pleasure, but there remains the peculiarity that, divine as the pizzas and pastas and cheeses are, the actual Florentine delicacies, the ones invented in Florence by Florentines, are generally a bit less inviting than the broader Tuscan and Italian offerings. “Bistecca Fiorentina” (Florentine-style steak) is excellent, of course, but take, for example, the Florentine lunch special of choice, “Trippa Fiorentina”, spiced tripe. Tripe. Honest to goodness, it’s tripe, chopped, fried tripe. Roadside carts sell it like hotdog stands as a quick lunch, and locals crowd around, and you can smell it for blocks. In a cuisine centered on bringing out the best of fine quality ingredients, a rich milk, a powerful tomato, Florentine lunches focus on the part of the animal that tastes like… well… what its job is. If someone wants to argue that the American hotdog is itself a rather questionable food, despite being a hotdog eater I can’t really deny it, but a hotdog stand does not make a city block smell like a hybrid between a cow’s butt and a urinal. I am an open-minded diner and have tried tripe many times in many forms, Italian, Chinese, and it always tastes like tripe. I can’t understand it. I know the words “traditional” “local” and “delicacy” are often code for “what we ate while under siege when we ran out of cats,” (if you don’t believe me, hunt down a Tuscan recipe for “stinco” i.e. boiled pig’s knuckles). Still, they clearly love it, and if people have the option to eat buffalo mozzarella or tripe and choose tripe, then… I will try it again. I’ll wait a few months, and with sincere effort… maybe. One does acquire some local abilities by osmosis after a while. After my first six months in Florence I gained the inexplicable ability to recognize saints Cosimo and Damiano in a painting even if they don’t have their characteristic hats. So perhaps a year will be enough to master even tripe.
Tagged with: Florence, Italian food, modern culture, S.P.Q.F.
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Posts Tagged ‘Vasari’
Spot the Saint: Jerome and Cosmas & Damian
Posted by exurbe on July 12, 2013
Saint Jerome
Common attributes: Book, lion, skull, cardinal’s hat, withered old man
Occasional attributes: Cardinal’s robes, crucifix, rock
Patron saint of: Translators, archivists, librarians, libraries, students and school children
Patron of places: Saint-Jérôme (Quebec)
Feast day: Sept 30 (June 15)
Most often depicted: In the wilderness contemplating death or Christ, writing in a book, hitting himself in the chest with a rock, having an angel blow a trumpet in his face, receiving his last communion before death
Relics: Santa Maria Maggiore, in Rome
For scholars, few historical figures are as central as St. Jerome (c. 347 – 420 AD), the great translator of the early Christian world. Jerome was responsible for first translating large sections of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin, producing what would become the Vulgate, the standard Latin Bible which filtered Christian Europe’s understanding of scripture for over a thousand years. Whenever you hear standard Church Latin chanted or quoted, it’s Jerome’s Latin, and he was responsible for such quirky translation moments as translating the “rays of light” which are supposed to radiate from Moses’ brow as “horns”, leading to horns or horns made of light becoming Moses’ perennial Spot-the-Saint-like-dude attribute. He also wrote and translated other major works, including the Chronicon of Eusebius (a multi-calendar record of assorted events from Abraham to the late 300s which tells us a lot about early attempts at history and record keeping) and many commentaries, saints’ lives and other treasures of the not-otherwise-well-recorded past. (A faithful facing page English-Latin translation of Jerome’s Vulgate bible was recently printed by the gorgeous new Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, for those interested in getting directly at the Latin form which shaped Catholicism so much.)
Jerome will never win a “most cheerful Saint to hang out with” competition, but I still want to discuss linguistics with him.
Jerome’s parents were Christian, but he himself started out pagan and had a truly top-notch classical education which left him quoting Cicero and Virgil all his life. He enjoyed the traditional wanton youth that wealthy Romans so often enjoyed, then converted, and plunged himself into repentance and guilt. Thereafter his primary activities were visiting catacombs to contemplate death, spending time alone in the wilderness contemplating death, and writing. His life was dominated by a conflict between his profound love of the Greek and Latin classics, and deep shame that he still loved something he now considered wrong, corrupt and sinful. He supposedly vowed at one point to never again read a non-Christian author, and there are anecdotes of him being repeatedly distracted mid-devotion by an overwhelming desire to read Cicero, particularly as he slogged through the rough and clumsy Latin of early Christian authors. Jerome attempted to conquer this desire through mortification of the flesh (hence the paintings of him beating himself in the chest with a rock), but eventually determined to help others and himself by translating Christian texts into elegant Latin, so those who, like him, craved gorgeous prose could sate themselves, and not be tempted, as he so constantly was, to sneak some classics between sermons. This made Jerome not only a founder of the Medieval literary canon, but a model for later authors, especially in the Renaissance, who wanted to figure out how to balance enthusiasm for Ovid and Homer with their Christian faith. He was also a model for monks and hermits, since he was so dedicated to the hermetic life that even when he was made a bishop it was only on condition that he could continue to live in the wilderness contemplating death and writing alone. While he is not patron of any particular monastic order, he appears frequently in monastic art as a general role model and core author of scholastic education.
Jerome’s lion sits patiently as he contemplates the Ablative Absolute.
In addition to translating and collecting texts, Jerome took part in heresy fights, and wrote powerful and far-reaching pamphlets against the heresies of his day, like Origenism and Pelagianism. Sometimes his activities were so effective that he got in trouble. In Rome, for example, he convinced a few too many eligible young aristocratic ladies to become nuns, and was eventually driven out by families angry at losing the chance for politically advantageous marriages. He left Rome for Antioch, but even here occasionally stirred up the odd angry mob when he wrote too fiercely against a rival sub-sect.
As I write it out here, his story is not particularly remarkable for a saint’s life, and he doesn’t have an exciting martyrdom or particularly flashy miracles. What he does have is something far more unusual: a meaningful scholarly presence that is still discussed today by theologians and, more broadly, by historians.
Here Jerome has no beard, and is wearing his robes, and has a nice office instead of a cave and a rock, but he still has the telltale lion and industrious attitude.
In my daily work it’s common enough for me to be reading about Saint Luke, or Saint Bartholomew, or Saint Francis, to be studying their iconography, their followers, their influence, but with Jerome it’s different. Jerome I look at as a source, and an interpreter: what he says about the date of a certain figure’s death, what he thought about the causes of a particular intellectual or political rift, comparing his reading and interpretation with those of other historians of his and later eras including our own. Even with someone like St. Augustine I’m usually studying his ideas, not consulting his guidance in studying someone else. Jerome is a secondary source, in essence, a predecessor and colleague of current historians, while the others are all primary sources, or, for those who left no writing, topics rather than sources at all. It makes Jerome feel strangely more human, and I admit that I almost always forget to put the “Saint” in front of his name.
In art, Jerome is invariably depicted as a scrawny old man, almost always bearded. He usually has his flat red Cardinal’s hat discarded on the ground somewhere nearby, but is wearing only a loincloth, or his red robes pulled down so as to work like a loincloth, leaving his care-weathered torso bare. Occasionally, though, he is depicted in his full red robes, particularly when he is standing around among other saints, instead of off in the wilderness.
“I’M AN ANGEL! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!”
There is a legend that Jerome removed a thorn from the paw of a rampaging lion, and so tamed it. He is often accompanied by his lion, making it easy to mix him up with Saint Mark, especially since both of them usually have beards and books. Rule of thumb: look for the cardinal’s hat. If there is a cardinal’s hat and the lion has no wings then it’s Jerome. If there is no hat, and the figure is wearing apostolic robes (i.e. a colorful toga-like drape), or if the lion has wings, then it’s Mark. Sometimes St. Jerome is depicted at work being visited by angels, or hearing an angel blow the trumpet of the Last Judgment, which is often awkwardly framed so it looks like an angel blowing a horn in Jerome’s face.
Jerome is one of the original “Four Doctors of the Church,” and is often depicted with his three comrades, Saints Augustine, Ambrose and Gregory the Great. I will discuss the set of four in another entry, but it means that if you ever see a set of four saints of which two have bishop hats, one has a papal tiara, and the fourth has a cardinal’s hat, you’re probably looking at the four doctors, and the cardinal is probably Jerome. Especially if he looks like he might be thinking about Cicero.
Saints Cosmas & Damian (Cosimo & Damiano)
Common attributes: Distinctive red hats, twins
Occasional attributes: Medical equipment
Patron saint of: Doctors, surgeons, barbers, taking care of kids, and of the Medici family
Patron of places: Mostly places the Medici used to own
Feast day: September 26 (or 27)
Most often depicted: Performing a miraculous leg transplant, being beheaded
Relics: Cyrrus (in Syria), skulls at the Convent of the Poor Clares in Madrid
Cosmas and Damian are precisely the sort of saints that are not secondary or primary sources. They are supposed to have died around 287 AD in Roman Syria, and effectively count as one saint despite there being two of them, since they are twin brothers who did everything together, including being martyred. They were doctors, specifically surgeons, and are supposed to have worked for free for the poor. Their most celebrated miracle was a miraculous leg transplant, from an Ethiopian (dead) donor onto a (presumably) Syrian or Roman patient, depicted in art with a very dark leg being transplanted onto a pale patient.
The historical pattern of Christian persecutions in the Eastern Roman Empire involved periods without much persecution followed by acute bouts of it, usually brought on by political pressures or the need to vent public dissent on a scapegoat. The persecution of Diocletian fit this pattern exactly, and it was from this particularly massive and nasty one that Cosmas and Damian’s martyrdom story arises. The full account says they were tortured but refused to give up their faith. They were first hung from crosses for a while, then shot with arrows, and finally beheaded. Some accounts have them beheaded along with a number of younger siblings, or possibly orphans they were caring for.
Cosmas and Damian being sentenced in the persecution.
Cosmas and Damian were patron saints of the Medici family (Medici = doctor, Cosmas = Cosimo), so, despite their obscurity, they are extremely prominent cast members in any game of Spot the Saint involving Florentine artists. In fact, spotting the pair of them in a painting, particularly if Lorenzo is with them, is a pretty powerful indicator that a Medici paid for whatever this is. That makes them useful to art historians who are trying to identify the source and history of an otherwise unknown piece of art. In fact, Cosmas and Damian are so closely tied to the Medici that they not only gave the name “Cosimo” to so many Medici named Cosimo, but the Medici sometimes had themselves painted in portraits as their patron saints. In the pair below, the right half is a copy (by our good ol’ Medici stooge Vasari) of a classic portrait of Cosimo the Elder in his traditional Florentine merchant red hat and robes, but the addition of a halo has turned him into St. Cosimo, accompanied on the left by a portrait of Vasari’s patron Duke Cosimo I as Damiano, completing the pair. Definitely the kind of hubris the Medici only displayed after they were in power. The age difference between the “twins” is a little awkward, more so when you remember we are looking at men separated by several generations:
When painted, Cosmas and Damian usually seem to be in their thirties or forties. Their most reliable attribute is that they have matching hats, usually distinctive round red hats. These are presumably doctors’ hats, and they generally wear red robes with them. This is only a semi-reliable tell, however, since those hats and robes are actually just how Florentine doctors dressed, so it only holds true in Florentine paintings of them. I remember going to Venice and seeing them in green and going “What the?!” But since they aren’t depicted very often except by artists on Medici payroll, they usually look Florentine. Other attributes–pill boxes, medical tools, medical spoons–are less reliable. The easiest tell, of course, is that there are always two of them. I found that after a few months in Florence I picked up the inexplicable capacity to recognize Cosmas and Damian in paintings even when they had no attributes at all. I would say it’s proof that I’ve been in Florence too long, but you can never be in Florence too long.
And now, Spot the Saint quiz time!
There are ten figures in this one. You can identify eight with certainty, and the final two you should be able to identify categorically as being a specific type of saint, and you can be sure of one of them from the fact that this was painted in a monastery called “San Marco”. If you could read the text on the book you’d also get the last one. You should also be able to tell who forked over the cash, and what order of monks it was made for.
Skip to the next Spot the Saint entry: the Four Doctors and Saints’ Hats.
Tagged with: art, art history, Christianity, Cosimo, Cosimo de Medici, Cosmas and Damian, Florence, Lorenzo de Medici, Medici, merchant, portrait, Rome, Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, San Lorenzo, San Marco, Spot the Saint, translation, Vasari
Florence: Overview of Churches and Monuments
Posted by exurbe on May 10, 2012
Florence, Florence Reviews
A quick review of the architectural centerpieces of Florence. Prices and hours may change arbitrarily (this is Italy, after all).
Palazzo Vecchio (Palazzo della Signoria):
The old seat of government of the Florentine Republic, later taken over as the seat of the Medici Dukes. The different parts of the building are a micro-history of Renaissance Florence right before your eyes. Going to see the outside is a must. You can pay to go inside, to see the ducal decorations, the offices where all the great humanists used to work, and Dante’s death mask, which is kept there because why not. Among the decorations are some beautiful intarsia (inlaid wood) doors with portraits of Dante and Petrarch, plus the original of Donatello’s Judith. You can also see the enormous Hall of the 500, which Savonarola had built, and its over-the-top decorations. You can’t go up the tall tower where the prison was.
Cost: Seeing it from the outside, and entering the lower story, is free.
Time required: 20 minutes to just look at, 2 hours for the museum.
Hours: Changing all the time, but usually 9 am to 7 pm, but sometimes 2 pm to 7 pm, and sometimes open super late, often on Thurs or Tues.
Website: http://www.museicivicifiorentini.it/en/palazzovecchio/
Notes: See my discussion of it: http://exurbe.com/?p=37
Baptistery:
The old heart and symbol of the city, sacred to its patron saint John the Baptist. The baptistery is right in front of the cathedral, and the oldest of the grand buildings erected to show off Florence’s affluence. The outside features the Gates of Paradise, with Ghiberti’s gilded bronze relief sculptures, one of the greatest moments in Renaissance sculpture. Seeing the outside is free, but it is worth paying to go in, because the entire interior is covered with gorgeous gold mosaics in stunning condition, including a fabulous depiction of Hell. Also Florence’s antipope is buried inside (closest thing they had to a pope before the Medici), and outside keep an eye out for the Column of St. Zenobius nearby.
Cost: 4 or 5 euros to go inside.
Time required: half an hour
Hours: 12 pm to 7 pm weekdays, open 8:30 am to 2 pm on the first Saturday of the month.
Notes: The tickets are sometimes sold at the entrance of the baptistery, but sometimes in a confusing archway to the right of it (if you stand facing the gates of paradise). People will usually point you the right way. You get a slight discount if you get the baptistery ticket along with a ticket to climb the Duomo and go to the Museo del Opera del Duomo.
Duomo (cathedral) and Belltower:
The grandest church in Christendom when it was built, and still so beautiful that, when you’re standing in front of it, it’s hard to believe it’s real. The outside is a must-see. The dome was the greatest engineering marvel of its day, and still astoundingly humongous. The inside is also worth seeing, with colored marble floors, high clean vaults, and the dome frescoed with a particularly excellent last judgment, with a great Hell-scape. On the right hand wall look for the tomb of Marsilio Ficino (who restored Plato the the world) and on the left the painting of Dante standing in front of Florence, Purgatory, Heaven and the gates of Hell.
You can, separately, pay to climb the dome. It is taaaaaaaaaaaaall. Climbing it lets you see the inside between the two layers of the double dome (which is how a dome that big stays up), and lets you see the fresco on the inside of the dome up close. The view on top is spectacular but a lot of people get major height fear and vertigo up there, even people who don’t usually, due to the dome’s dizzying slant. Also the cramped area between the domes is rather claustrophobic, giving you the world-class claustrophobia-acraphobia combo!
You can also pay to climb the belltower but it’s not hugely worth-it, unless you want to see the bells bells bells bells bells bells bells bells. In general, though, if you want to climb something, go for the Duomo.
Cost: Free to enter the cathedral. You have to pay to climb the dome.
Time required: Half an hour for seeing the cathedral, a couple hours for climbing the dome.
Hours: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, with some complicated exceptions. Check the website with an Italian friend.
Website: http://www.operaduomo.firenze.it/monumenti/duomo.asp
Notes: Climbing the dome has a long line a lot of the year, as does the cathedral itself even though you don’t pay; they only let a certain number of people in at a time. (Ex Urbe’s humble assistant Athan can confirm that the line is long and the climb cramped even in January.)
I stole this photo, but there is no other way to show you. Mea culpa.
San Marco:
No photography allowed in the monastery, so I can’t offer decent photos. This is the major Dominican monastery and church (in contrast with the Franciscans at Santa Croce). The church itself is free, while you have to pay to go to the monastery museum, but it’s only 5 euros and very worth-it.
The church is mostly baroque at this point, but contains the tombs of the Renaissance scholars Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Poliziano. Also a byzantine mosaic Madonna, a nice annunciation, the tomb of St. Antoninus, and an angry bronze statue of Savonarola.
The monastery section is the real centerpiece. Every cell in the monks’ living area was frescoed by Fra Angelico, as were the refectory and other important spaces. This rare chance to see Renaissance paintings still in their original context lets you understand how they were used and interacted with in daily life. While almost every room has a crucifixion scene, each one is unique, highlighting some different emotional or theological aspect of the crucifixion, in a perfect example of how Renaissance artists moved on from the repetition of icon making to make each piece offer the viewer a unique new angle on the subject. You can also see Savonarola’s room and relics, and the room Cosimo de Medici had made for himself when he paid for the renovation of the monastery, so he could come there to have a break from public life sometimes.
Cost: Free for the church, 4 euros for the monastery section. It is on the Friends of the Uffizi pass.
Time required: 2+ hours
Hours: 8:15 to 1:20 pm weekdays, 6:15 to 4:50 weekends. Closed odd numbered Sundays and even numbered Mondays.
Website: http://www.uffizi.firenze.it/musei/?m=sanmarco
Notes: The priest will usually glare at anyone who comes into the church and makes straight for Pico’s tomb.
Santa Croce:
On the East end of town, Florence’s major Franciscan monastery church came to be the major burial place for famous Florentines. Includes the tombs of Machiavelli, Galileo, Michelangelo, Fermi, Marconi (who invented the radio), Bruni (who invented the Middle Ages), the cenotaph of Dante, and dozens and dozens of other tombs crammed into every surface. Also excellent Giotto and Giotesque frescoes, and other exciting art. The orphanage it used to house taught orphans leather working, and it still contains a leather working school. Also contains one of the surviving tunics of St. Francis of Assisi.
Cost: 5 euros! Expensive!
Time required: 2 hours
Hours: 9:30 AM to 5 PM except Sundays, when it opens at 2
Website: http://www.operadisantacroce.it/
Notes: It tends to be quite cold inside.
Ponte Vecchio:
The old bridge, covered with tiny jewelry shops. This has been the heart of Florence’s gold trade for a long time, and is incidentally one of the most valuable shopping strips on Earth. At night the tiny little shops lock themselves up in wooden shutters and look like giant treasure chests, which is really what they are. The view of this bridge from the next bridge down (Ponte Santa Trinita) is also worth seeing. Be sure, while on the bridge, to greet the statue monument of the incomparable Benvenuto Cellini, Florence’s great master goldsmith/ sculptor/ duelist/ engineer/ necromancer/ multiple-murderer, who wrote one of humanity’s truly great autobiographies.
Time required: half an hour, more if you want to shop
Hours: Shops shut around sunset.
San Lorenzo:
My photos do not do this church justice, but they don’t let you take pictures inside. San Lorenzo is a little complicated because you have to pay separately to go in the different areas:
The main part of the church (which costs 3.5o euros) is a mathematically-harmonious, high Renaissance neoclassical church full of geometry and hints of neoPlatonism. I recommend going in it after Santa Croce and Orsanmichele, since the contrast of its lofty, light-filled spaces and rounded arches gives you a vivid sense of how much architecture has changed in so little time. Here you can see the excellent tomb of Cosimo de Medici (il vecchio), and some other early Medici tombs, as well as some Donatello reliefs and the remains of Saint Caesonius (no one knows who he is or how he got there, but he’s clearly labeled as a saint, so no one’s willing to move him). This ticket also gets you into the crypt below the church, where you can see the bottom of Cosimo’s tomb, and a collection of really gaudy reliquaries.
Separately, the library attached to the cloister courtyard at the left of the church (which also costs 3.50 euros, but you can get a combined ticket to it and the church for 6) contains the reading room with the desks where the great Laurenziana library was housed. It is very much a scholarly pilgrimage spot to see one of the first great houses of the return of ancient learning. The old reading desks are still there where the books were chained, and still labeled with the individual manuscripts. To get in you also get to (or rather have to) go up Michelangelo’s scary scary staircase. The library periodically has small exhibits of exciting manuscripts, most recently on surgery, and on the oldest surviving copy of Virgil. The library is only open in the morning! Its gift shop sells some fun things including a lenscloth decorated with a reproduction of the illuminated frontispiece of the Medici dedication copy of Ficino’s translation of Plato – ultimate history/philosophy nerd collectable.
Separately, the Medici Chapels in the back of San Lorenzo (under its big dome; costs 5 euros, but is on the Friends of the Uffizi card, unlike the other two [why?!]) contain the later Medici tombs, those of Lorenzo de Medici, his brother, the next generation of Medici, and the Medici dukes. The earlier Medici tombs here have some Michelangelo sculptures on them, while the later ones are in a ridiculously over-the-top baroque colored marble chapel which knocks you breathless with its unbridled and rather tasteless opulence. One friend I visited with subtitled the chapel: “Baroque: UR doin’ it WRONG!” An excellent excercise in trying to grapple with the evolution of taste, and why certain eras’ taste matches our own while others don’t. Also you get to see more over-the-top sparkly reliquaries.
Hours: Different for each bit.
Orsanmichele:
The former grain market and grain storage building at the heart of the city was turned into a church when an icon of the Madonna there started working miracles. Because it was the official church of the merchant guilds of Florence, the different guilds competed to supply the most expensive decoration for it, so the outside is covered with fabulous statues, each with the symbols of its guild above and below. Seeing the outside is quick and easy. Seeing the inside is trickier and not always worth cramming into your schedule, but the inside is also beautiful, a very medieval feeling, with saints painted on every surface. A museum above (open rarely, mainly Mondays) holds the original sculptures, which have been replaced on the outside with copies for their own safety. But since the sculptures were designed to be seen in their niches, the copies in situ look better than the displaced originals in my opinion.
Hours: 10 am to 5 pm. Closed on Monday.
Notes: Occasionally hosts concerts. On the outside is a booth where you can get tickets to the Uffizi without waiting in the Uffizi line.
Mercato Centrale & Mercato San Ambrosio:
Not historic, but the two great farmer’s markets of the city are definitely worth visiting, and great for both lunch and souvenir shopping. Cheese, salumi, spices, sauces, fruits, veggies, oil, vinegar, truffle products… The Mercato Centrale (near San Lorenzo) has more touristy things and things to take home, while San Ambrosio has more things to eat right now or cook at home, but both have both. At the Mercato Centrale I particularly recommend eating fresh pasta at Pork’s (order tagliatelle with asparagus, or all’ Amatriciana (with tomato, onion and bacon) or tortellini with cream and ham (prosciutto e panna)), and/or having a porchetta sandwich. You can also try tripe or lampredotto if you’re brave.
Hours: Morning through early afternoon.
Tagged with: Baptistery, baroque, Cellini, churches, Cosimo de Medici, duke, Duomo, Ficino, Florence, food, Giotto, guild, John the Baptist, Lorenzo de Medici, Medici, monastery, Orsanmichele, Palazzo Vecchio, Pico, Poliziano, Ponte Vecchio, republic, S.P.Q.F., Saint Dominic, Saint Francis, Saint Zenobius, saints, San Lorenzo, San Marco, Santa Croce, Savonarola, Vasari, Verrochio
Florence: Overview of Major Museums
Posted by exurbe on April 18, 2012
Kicking off my new Travel Reviews section, a quick review of some centerpieces among the many, many, many attractions Florence offers her visitors. Please keep in mind that times and prices change constantly, so always check before you plan:
Uffizi Gallery:
The city’s great painting collection, housed in the offices built by Vasari for the Medici dukes. Arranged in mainly chronological order, the collection chronicles the progression of art out of the middle ages through the Renaissance. This is where you find the big names: Giotto, Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Michelangelo, all in halls decorated with Romanesque grotesque ceilings, covered with portraits of everyone who was anyone in the Renaissance, and crammed with classical sculpture, including the Medici copy of the Laocoon. Highlights include the three big Madonnas, the Botticelli room featuring the Madonna della Magnificat and the Birth of Venus, Raphael’s portraits of popes Leo X and Julius II, and Michelangelo’s Holy Family With Gratuitous Naked Men. Endless gift shop including a huge room of academic books. Fantastic venue for Spot the Saint.
Cost: 11 euros plus 3 or so extra for making a reservation.
Time required: 6+ hours if you can stand up that long.
Hours: 8:15 am to 6:50 pm Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Monday. Sometimes open late Tuesdays.
Website: http://www.uffizi.firenze.it/en/index.php
Notes: The Uffizi has an infinite (3+ hour) line during peak season, so it’s a very good idea to make a reservation. It also has very few places to sit, no water fountains (they scan your bag as you go in so you can’t bring water), and a very inconveniently-located bathroom. So enormous and exhausting is it that it’s very difficult to go through in one day. If you’re in Florence for a week, I highly recommend getting a Friends of the Uffizi pass, which costs 60 euros at present (40 for student-age) and gives you unlimited access plus line skipping at the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace. The card, which can be purchased at an office at the Uffizi, gives you the leisure to go to the Uffizi for half a day, then go do something else, then return. In my experience a typical visitor does not quite get 60 euros out of the pass in a single week, but it comes close, and the convenience makes up the difference.
Accademia:
The other most famous and frequently-visited museum in the city. The Accademia hosts the original Michelangelo David and Michelangelo Prisoners, plus a great collection of Renaissance paintings, and, in the upper floor, a great Saint Spotting area including a huge collection of icons of Saint Zenobius. Michelangelo’s fame means the Accademia is always extremely crowded, and there are always mobs around the David.
Cost: also 11-ish, 14-ish with an appointment.
Hours: 8:15 am to 6:50 pm, Tuesday through Sunday.
Website: http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/?m=accademia
Notes: The Accademia is great, but it’s also a lot of hassle and chaos, especially during peak season, and it’s not actually that much better than most of Florence’s other, less popular great museums. As with the Uffizi, make an appointment, but honestly, if you are only in Florence briefly and need to choose carefully, there are other things you can see that are just as fabulous and a lot less difficult.
Bargello:
Formerly the prison and seat of the city’s chief of police, the Bargello is a fabulous fortress, with battlements and hundreds of coats of arms of knights who served in it. Now it houses the city’s Renaissance sculpture collection, including Donatello’s David and Cellini’s Ganymede. Easy to reach and inexpensive, this little museum takes a comfortable half-day to see thoroughly, but is crammed with world-class pieces. Also contains collections of ceramics, a chapel whose fresco includes the oldest surviving portrait of Dante, and assorted “stuff” ranging from Roman cameos to an ivory and ebony medieval portable backgammon set.
Cost: 8 euros
Time required: 3-4 hours.
Hours: (sigh) 8:15 AM to 1:50 PM, closed the 2nd & 4th Monday and 1st, 3rd & 5th Sunday of each month and randomly selected holidays.
Website: (the official one seems to be down) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargello
Palazzo Pitti:
This enormous palace in the across-the-river (Altrarno) area is where the Medici dukes moved once the Palazzo Vecchio proved too cramped for their royal style. It contains seven museums in one, which are confusingly grouped into two separate tickets. They are constantly rearranging what is on what ticket, so this info may be out of date:
Ticket 1 is for the Palatine Gallery, which includes yet another collection of extraordinary paintings, including a lovely Raphael holy family, a great Filippino Lippi madonna, Titian’s extremely sensual Mary Magdalene, and elaborate baroque frescoed walls and ceilings. It also contains some of the finest examples of Pietra Dura, the Florentine art of making elaborate images out of inlaid semi-precious stone. It also includes the Royal Apartments, with all the fancy furniture.
Ticket 2 is for the Argenti Museum, or silver museum, which houses the ridiculous treasures which belonged to the Medici family. When I say ridiculous I mean it, and the endless cases of ivory vases, gilded cups, huge amber reliquaries and elaborate hand-carved rock crystal dishes leaves one completely overwhelmed by the opulence of wealth. Prepare to be stupefied by the sheer genius of human opulence. This collection is very different from anything you meet at a typical museum, and I recommend it highly as a break from too much art. The first few rooms also feature truly astounding fake-perspective frescoes, and one of my favorite fresco cycles of all time, depicting Lorenzo de Medici inventing the Renaissance. There are also frequently interesting temporary exhibits in the initial rooms.
Also on Ticket 2 are the Boboli Gardens, the large, meandering Italian gardens behind the palace. These are great for a quick stroll, or for getting really winded on the endless slopes and stairs. At the river end of the gardens is the grotto, an elaborate Renaissance fantasy of a fake excavated ancient Roman villa, covered with fake mud and fake ruins and rustic mosaics made of seashells. It is only open for brief intervals at unpredictable times of day, so if you go, ask an employee when it will be open that day, to make sure you don’t miss it.
Minor museums included in one ticket or another are the Modern Art gallery, the Costume Museum (disappointingly small and modern), the Porcelain Museum, and the Carriage Museum.
Cost: 8.5 euros for the Palatine, 7 for the Argenti. Or free with the Friends of the Uffizi xard.
Time required: 3-4 hours for the Argenti, another 3-4 for the Palatine, 1-2 each for the others.
Hours: 8:15 to 6:50, closed Mondays.
Website: For the Argenti: http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/en/musei/?m=argenti, For the Palatine: http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/en/musei/?m=palatina
Museum of the History of Science (Museo Galileo):
A phenomenal collection of scientific instruments from the Renaissance through 19th century, though mostly 17th and 18th. Astrolabes, sextants, orreries, clocks, barometers, telescopes, electrostatic generators… These are pieces from the period when scientific demonstration models were designed to impress aristocratic patrons, so gold and engraving are the norm. Highlights include Galileo’s telescopes (and finger and thumb in a reliquary), apothecary’s work table, the Military Compass (dagger with built-in compass and other mathematical tools), and a gruesome collection of 18th century full color obstetric models showing dissected female torsos and the various ways babies can be laid wrong in them.
Cost: 8 euros.
Hours: 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM, except on Tuesdays, when it closes at 1:00 PM.
Website: http://www.museogalileo.it/en/index.html
Museo del Opera del Duomo (Museum of the Cathedral Corporation):
The construction of Florence’s massive cathedral, which was, at the time, the most spectacular church in Christendom, was an incredibly expensive undertaking, and the Renaissance corporation created to oversee it survives to this day. This museum showcases the art and artifacts which belong to that corporation, including numerous sculptures from the old early Renaissance facade which was later torn down in favor of a more modern one, the wooden models of different designs for the church, and many of the tools used for it. Highlights include Donatello’s stunning wooden sculpture if Mary Magdalene, the reliquary from the Baptistery containing the right index finger of John the Baptist, and the original Baptistery sculptures and (once they’re done cleaning them) the real Gates of Paradise.
Hours: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM, except on Sundays, when it closes at 1:45 PM.
Website: http://www.operaduomo.firenze.it/ There does not seem to be an English version of this website.
Palazzo Strozzi:
An enormous city palace built by one of Florence’s leading merchant families, the Palazzo Strozzi hosts a circuit of temporary exhibits, usually pretty good, but each is unique, so check it each time you consider coming. The Strozzi family were never the most powerful, but generally the biggest wealthy merchant family, with the most individual households, so widely feared (and often exiled) by the Medici and other rivals. This palace was built after a return from exile, and celebrates their presence in the city.
Cost: Variable by exhibition and greed.
Time required: 2-4 hours depending on exhibit.
Hours: 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM, Thursdays 9:00 AM – 11:00 PM.
Website: http://www.palazzostrozzi.org/index.jsp?idProgetto=2&idLinguaSito=2
La Specola (Museo di Storia Naturale):
All major cities have natural history museums, but not ones founded by the Medici. La Specola hosts eighteenth-century specimen collections, including skeletons and dissection models, many many more elaborate wax surgical models than the science museum, and the Medici’s pet hippo (stuffed). Not for those with weak stomachs.
Cost: 6 euros, 10 euros for museum and exhibition.
Hours: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM, closed Mondays.
Website: http://www.msn.unifi.it/mdswitch.html
Notes: Some ticketing connection with Pitti Palace which I don’t quite understand. (Quoth the website in two contiguous lines: disabled access: YES / disabled access: NO)
Read about Florence’s Churches and Monuments.
Tagged with: art, Baptistery, bargello, Florence, Galileo, Ghiberti, Medici, Michelangelo, Raphael, republic, science, SPQF, Strozzi, Uffizi, Vasari
Fake Centurions II
I have returned from a jaunt to Rome, and with great stealth and industry obtained this footage of the rare beast in its natural habitat.
The most common species inhabits the blocks around the Colosseum, but this specimen I sighted outside the Pantheon. Here he is at the end of his pattern, acquiring a tip from the two ladies he had just snapped some shots with. The armor may be plastic but even from a medium distance the effect of the un-tapered draped cloak and the full-feathered crest is quite complete.
For all that the news reports about extortion around the margins of the occupation are certainly true, they do add an air of classical enthusiasm to the ancient sites. Watching the endless repetitions of friends and families eagerly snapping badly-framed and back-lit or overexposed vacation snaps in front of one world landmark or another, I can’t help feeling that the sort of person who enjoys that kind of photo is precisely the sort of person who would enjoy it more with a burly recreationist perfecting the fantasy. It isn’t worth 30 euros or the loss of a camera, but it is a public service of a kind, or a world service perhaps.
The fake tiaras on the other hand, there I don’t know what they’re thinking.
There is, of course, also a lighter (and for once well-organized) side to the Italian historical reenactment scene. Here Duke Cosimo I de Medici deigns to oversee a field trip for a group of students from a peripheral public school, who have come to the Palazzo Vecchio to learn about Florence’s history. He demanded that the teacher explain why her wards were so inappropriately dressed, and what they hoped to gain from their visit. He interviewed a few personally and commanded that they be industrious in their studies so as to be worthy successors to Florence’s intellectual tradition. He was particularly impressed with the class president and her art studies, and encouraged her to seek service with his Republic when her studies were complete. He then gave the class permission to sketch some of the decoration his man Vasari had recently finished. I know I never had a field trip that made me feel so connected to something so important. Fact is: they are.
Tagged with: Cosimo il Vecchio, costume, duke, Florence, history, Legionary, Medici, Palazzo Vecchio, Pantheon, republic, Rome, S.P.Q.F., S.P.Q.R., teaching, Vasari
Uffizi and Palazzo Vecchio
On July 30th Florence, the Uffizi gallery, Google and numerous other Earthly powers celebrated the 500th birthday of Georgio Vasari (1511-1574).
Both praising and describing Vasari are challenging, since no one could in fairness call him one of the Renaissance’s best painters, nor one of its best architects, nor even one of its best biographers. His Lives of the Artists is certainly what has brought him the most fame, but this collection of brief biographies of Renaissance artists is not only dry but unreliable, both in the poor-fact-checking-sense and in the extreme and unblushing bias which is as ubiquitous in pre-modern biography as tomato sauce on an American pizza. We read Vasari today only because he was these artists’ only biographer, and needs must as the paucity of sources drives. Yet, if Vasari was surpassed by many in arts and letters, walking the streets of Florence today I can think of few who touch him in footprint. He was a Great Figure of the Renaissance, one whose touch I feel constantly as I cross squares and explain architecture to new-made friends, to whom I find myself constantly repeating, “Of course, that bit wasn’t like that back then—it was redone by Vasari.” In brief, Vasari redid the Palazzo Vecchio. At length, in order to avoid making Vasari seem to be a petty, place-seeking stooge, I’m afraid I have to go back a ways…
Once upon a time the Roman Empire ended, and with it the network of roads and trade and safety that had strung cities together into a web of economy and culture. Small, unsteady kingdoms followed, but in Northern Italy at least, while cities formally passed from prince to distant prince, the absence of real central infrastructure and enforcement left them virtually alone. Italy’s cities became citystates, ruled by remote powers, pope or Emperor, in name only, while in reality they governed themselves, walled islands of population and production, independent and, at first at least, many republican. They had Rome as their model, an elite voting population and elected offices, not quite the same as the old republic but close enough to breed patriots as proud as Cicero. But these little city republics, like Rome’s, weren’t stable. Faction fighting bred civil war, brought on partly by ambitious families but more often by that Hobbesian principle that anyone powerful or rich enough to be envied by his neighbors can never sleep safe at night until he has deprived said neighbors (through subjugation or execution) of the ability to kill him in his sleep. Winners became rulers and one-by-one the city republics became the seats of lords and dukes and counts and other-titled princes. (This is all oversimplified, of course, but the romantic narrative is more important than the gritty details when our purpose is to understand what the Palazzo Vecchio means as a symbol of what was.)
Florence held out longest of the great cities (excepting Venice; we must in all things except Venice, since Venice is that special), Florence the stubborn, free, fractious, strange Republic. Over and over it nearly fell, as ambitious nobles and entrenched vendettas (think Montagues and Capulets) made the streets stream with blood and the road with exiles, Dante among them. From a pure body-count perspective there is no way around admitting that the surrounding cities that did turn to monarchies were better off, stable, efficient, comparatively immune to faction fighting, but free Florentines would never sacrifice liberty and dignity for ease and calm—and this includes the vast, disenfranchised majority who were not members of the voting elite but still took pride in their Republic.
San Gimignano still has its towers (wiki pic)
After one near-tyrant too many, the Florentines decided to create a system of government which could never, ever let anyone gain enough power to take over, and so conceived the Signoria, a system so bizarre that if someone made it up in fiction no reader would think it plausible. The Florentines had long since exiled, killed or at least banned from government all their nobility. The private towers of the powerful families, which had once turned Florence into a forest of tiny battle-ready fortresses, were knocked down, their palaces burned, and a new law forbid any private citizen from building tall towers which could be used as private forts to defend elite families as their goons battled in the streets below. What remained as the elite were members of the merchant guilds, the great trade families who controlled cloth production, oil, wine, medicine, bureaucracy and, that great Italian invention, banking. A Signoria, or council of elected rulers, was created in 1282, a vaguely-defined political body also used by several other Italian republics. Florence’s unique system of “scrutiny and lot” was introduced in 1328, in which each qualifying member of the great guilds over thirty years of age was examined for fitness and then his name was put in a bag. Every two months nine names were pulled out, and these nine men became the Signoria, the ruling council, to rule the city for two months. At the end of these two months new names were drawn, so no one ever ruled alone, and no one was in office anywhere near long enough to form a personal power base. There were no elections to fix or sway with bribery and campaigning, so all would remain fair and stable and happy ever after. In theory, at least.
The Palazzo Vecchio
The Palazzo Vecchio (begun in 1299, the year before Dante went to Hell), was built to house the Signoria, and while in office they were held within the palace and never permitted to leave, since outside they could be bribed, kidnapped, even contaminated by passing heretics or devils (horror!). The palace was built on the crater left when the victorious Guelphs razed to the ground the palaces of their Ghibelline rivals (think Montagues on the smoldering graves of Capulets) and instantly became the symbol of the unity, stability and prayed-for longevity of the noble Republic.
The apartments of the Signoria, grandly decorated with painted wooden ceilings, were on the top floor. The ground floor was originally open, a place where people could gather and talk and trade. It was later closed in so a garrison could defend the palace from attack. On the lower levels, representatives of the people receive the laws sent down by the Signoria, and could vote to accept or reject them. An intermediate floor between the council level held the scribes and clerks and secretaries who kept the system running.
Yes, Assassin’s Creed fans, there really was a prison in the tower, and if someone you know was imprisoned there, that means he was very, very naughty.
Finally the great tower was a symbol of the supremacy of the republic, and at the top a special prison was built to hold the most dangerous traitors against the state, who were sometimes executed by being hanged off the tower itself.
A completely unfounded but nonetheless delightful urban legend holds that the semicircular battlements on top of the tower, associated with the defeated Ghibelline faction in contrast with square battlements used by Guelphs, represented the vicious, Ghibelline-leaning traitors imprisoned there.
Problem is, the Signoria system had one vital flaw:
(A new Signoria is elected)
Duke of Milan – Hello, Signoria. I’m the Duke of Milan. Congratulations on your election. Have a fruitcake.
(1 week passes as the Duke’s message is carried from Milan to Florence)
Signoria – Nice to meet you, Duke of Milan. Thanks for the fruitcake. We knit you this nice scarf.
(1 week passes as the Signoria’s reply is carried back)
Duke of Milan – Thanks for the scarf. Now that we’re friends, would you like to make a treaty for mutual defense against the French?
(1 week passes)
Signoria – Sure, we hate the French. What do you propose?
Duke of Milan – I propose committing X many troops, Y many florins, and everyone involved gets cookies every Thursday in honor of St. Ambrose.
Signoria – We want to send W many troops and Z many florins, and we demand that the cookies be distributed in the name of St. Zenobius.
Duke of Milan – Perhaps X many troops but Z many florins, and the cookies can be distributed in the name of both saints?
Signoria – Who are you? What are you talking about? We don’t want to give our troops and florins to someone we’ve never talked to! And we abhor cookies!
Duke of Milan – You had another election, didn’t you? Hi, Signoria, I’m the Duke of Milan. Have some fruitcake. Now, about the French…
No Tyrants within these Gates (David agrees).
Needless to say, the Signoria system was not popular with foreign powers who needed to negotiate with Florence’s government, nor with Florentines who needed to negotiate with Florence’s government, since the toothlessness which made the Signoria tyrant-proof also made it about as streamlined as a hedgehog. It certainly didn’t help that the guild members generally had no experience of government, and two months is far from long enough even to learn the ropes. Hence the rise of the Medici.
You see, there’s this brilliant thing called ‘banking’ which means you can leave your money with people in one city, and then go to another city and receive the same amount of money (minus a small fee), without having to carry bags of gold with you on the road where, in the absence of a real empire, bandits and adventuring parties roam free. The savings, in cash and in not getting your throat slit, made this option instantly popular, and the Italian families who did it instantly wealthy. The Medici managed to finagle the position of Official Bankers to the Pope, which meant that it was their job to escort donations, church taxes, land rents, indulgence fees and every kind of income from every church in Christendom back to Rome, taking a healthy cut. This rapidly made the Medici just about the wealthiest private people since Crassus.
Cosimo de Medici (1389-1464) was the one who applied wealth to politics. If you have enough money to keep a third of the city of Florence on your payroll, then you can tell all your clients “Do XYZ if you’re elected to the Signoria,” and then even if you can’t contact them while they’re inside, a third of the Signoria on average will still do what you want. Then, if the Duke of Milan wants to negotiate, instead of negotiating with the fleeting and inexperienced Signoria, he can negotiate with Cosimo, a stable, long-term political contact who will still be there in a year’s time. And eventually if Cosimo finds a way to bribe the men whose job it is to pull the names out of the bag, then things get even easier.
Was this Medici takeover tyrannical? Absolutely, since it directly perverted and controlled the Republic. Was it good for Florence? Absolutely, since Cosimo’s unofficial rule lent great stability, and he spent his enormous wealth on neoclassical architecture, public art, libraries, translating Plato, plumbing, a perfect mix of useful and sublime contributions to the glory and everyday living of his fellow Florentines.
There was resistance, of course. In 1433 Cosimo was arrested and imprisoned in that same Palazzo Vecchio tower where so many dangerous traitors and would-be tyrants enjoyed a last, grim vista of the city they tried to enslave. He escaped, bribing the cell guard with 300 florins and the captain with 700 florins, and is reported to have said they were the two stupidest men in history since he was the wealthiest man in Italy and would have happily paid tens of thousands of florins for his liberty. At the next election, by a total and not-remotely-bribery-related coincidence, all the members of the new Signoria decided to invite him back.
There were more tumults after Cosimo’s return – weak Piero’s succession, the bloody Pazzi conspiracy, assassin priests, the French invasion, the Black Friar Savonarola (stories for another day) – but the important part is that Cosimo never officially ruled anything. Legally he was a private citizen and remained so through his life. So did his successor Piero, and his successor, much-loved Lorenzo de Medici, a perfect humanist prince except that he was never technically prince of anything. The Signoria system continued, officially, with Medici control behind the scenes, and while it did so did Florentines’ patriotic zeal and, with it, enmity against the Medici tyrants.
Duke-worthy Offices
For more than a century the Medici kept being opposed, thrown out, restored, struggling to maintain control of their infamously fractious and rebellious city, until in the early 1500s there was one overthrow too many. The Medici raised a fresh army, marched in, got rid of the Signoria and in 1531 finally had themselves crowned Dukes.
Returning to Vasari…
Architecture remained the physical embodiment of Florence – its government, its church, its people – and the Palazzo Vecchio was by now the solid, permanent embodiment of the authority to rule. The Medici moved in, literally occupying the Signoria’s seat, a permanent end of the Republic. The old palace needed to be redone, and it was Vasari’s job to turn this icon of the long-loved Republic into a symbol of its death and rebirth as a glorious Medici monarchy.
The palace itself he had redecorated with new, more beautiful (and expensive) gilded ceilings, pseudo-Roman frescoes, and a beautiful but unsubtle mural of the Medici besieging Florence, with the simple message: you are here, my troops are here – think about it.
Vasari’s “Siege of Florence”
He also tore down the old quarter by the Palazzo Vecchio where the merchant guilds had had their headquarters and created the Uffizi, “offices”, a long, folded neoclassical loggia surrounding a new public square. Inside the guilds were installed into new, nicer, more mathematically harmonious and luxurious lodgings provided by their new ducal master. Below, the new square was comfortable and shaded by the galleries, perfectly situated to be the new center of commerce and civic gossip, again dominated by the elegant silhouette of the duke’s new offices above. Florence’s civic heart was literally transplanted into the duke’s architectural grasp. The offices were then decorated again with Roman-style grotesque frescoes, antiquities, the family’s collection of Renaissance masterpieces, busts of Roman emperors, and portraits of Medici family members and their famous vassals and political allies.
Vasari’s addition
The surface of the Uffizi is all perfect neoclassicism, elegant symmetrical gray window frames and pediments in harmonious mathematical precision, creating a square which feels at the same time new and ancient, and above all planned, intentional, in contrast with the eclectic mix of different eras’ facades which surrounded every other square in Florence and, pretty much, in all of Italy. Even before the installation of the statues of Cosimo Pater Patriae and Lorenzo il Magnifico, the feeling of standing in the square below the Uffizi is the best possible summary of the events: the chaos and liberty of the Republic have been replaced by an educated, organized, neoclassical, irresistible force. Vasari carved that lesson in brick and stone, and made it clear.
He also created the Vasari Corridor, a closed, elevated walkway which starts at the Palazzo Vecchio itself, connects it by a high (dukes only!) bridge to the Uffizi, then on the far side connects the Uffizi to a long hallway which runs well above head height along the river, across the Ponte Vecchio with its tight-crammed sparkling goldsmiths’ shops, through the houses and rooftops of the quarter across the river, and ends at the Palazzo Pitti, a much larger,
The Vasari corridor
grander second palace which Vasari’s scheme connected with the first. The Palazzo Vecchio was, after all, more than two hundred years old, and a bit cramped and old-fashioned, built for cobblers and dyers, not for dukes. The Pitti Palace had worthier apartments (worthy to house the kings of Italy in the early days of the unification). Now the Duke could walk in assassin-proof safety from palace to palace, even across the river, and more, now the Duke’s movements were a central part of the city’s face. Florentines going about their daily business would (and still) follow along the ducal way, enjoying the shade provided by the walkway above, while all across the city one could see the corridor along the bridge, tying the two halves of the city together like a great artery. Its pulse was the Duke.
Was Vasari a fawning Medici stooge? Essentially. Was anybody NOT at this point? Not who had a job. Artists need patrons, and the Medici were a wealthy, cultured, politically savvy, respectable and above all stabilizing force for a city that had gone through a dozen regime changes in two generations. Vasari was not one of the Renaissance’s greatest painters, nor its greatest architects, nor its greatest authors, but I will nominate him unreservedly for the title of greatest communicator.
Vasari’s Space
He packed the feeling and intensity of what had happened, two hundred years of chaos and gradual transition, into a series of physical spaces which perfectly teaches the viewer what happened and what this great change meant, even if the viewer doesn’t actually know the specifics of the great events which created these great spaces. Architecture, painting and interior design combine to create a very specific tint of awe, one which really does communicate both what was lost and what was gained.I know no comparable grand architectural scheme—not the Vatican Palace, not St. Peter’s, not the castles of Milan or Naples or even Versailles—which succeeds in channeling history so complicated into a simple view. Florence’s history, as you can tell, needs concise summary or it turns into a saga. Vasari turned it into a vista, and was in that perhaps a better biographer of Florence than he was of his fellow artists.
For that achievement, on his five hundredth birthday, he deserves congratulations.
Jump to an Overview of Florence’s Museums, or Venetian Carnival.
Tagged with: art history, Cosimo il Vecchio, duke, Florence, history, Lorenzo il Magnifico, Medici, Palazzo Vecchio, republic, S.P.Q.F., series, Vasari
My Fight with Florence
Florence's Ponte Vecchio after dusk.
Me – I’m going to stay inside all day and do work.
Florence – But I’m Florence. Florence is better than work.
Me – No, I’ve been here more than a week now, it’s time I wrote some Ex Urbe entries and shared some of what I’ve done so far.
Florence – I have pizza…
Me – I went to more than a dozen museums, and so many restaurants to describe!
Florence – Gelato…
Me – It’s Vasari’s birthday; I really want to write about him today.
Florence – Frescoes, sculpture…
Me – You’ll have frescoes tomorrow.
Florence – But I have perfect weather today, cool and breezy and just humid enough.
Me – I opened the windows.
Florence – A beautiful sunset, curls of twisty pink cloud growing steadily purple as the sky turns richer and richer blue, wouldn’t that look amazing next to the green and white stripes of my Baptistery, or the gold stone tower of the Palazzo Vecchio?
Me – Look, I’m just trying to write home about how wonderful you are! Can’t you stop being so wonderful for a few hours?
Florence – I have live music.
Me – I don’t care.
Florence – A live orchestra tucked away in one of the squares below, notes drifting up: Bach, then Vivaldi, you know you love Vivaldi…
Me – I’m not listening.
Florence – Crowds cheering, drums…
Me – Not listening.
Florence – Fireworks…
Me – Wait, really?
Florence – Fireworks, crackling, over by the Duomo, just low enough that you can’t quite see them beyond the houses. You know I haven’t had fireworks by the Duomo since Easter.
Me – … … …
I lost.
Tagged with: Florence, gelato, Italian food, pizza, S.P.Q.F., Vasari
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"Respect" and "Respect Yourself" Lyrics
Analyze the lyrics of two 1960s era songs about respect, by Otis Redding and The Staple Singers.
“If You’re Ready (Come Go with Me)” Lyrics
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A Teacher’s Resource to The Children of Willesden Lane
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Alexis de Tocqueville on Democracy and Religion
Learn about how Alexis de Tocqueville, author of Democracy in America (1835), viewed democracy, freedom, and religion.
Black South African freedom music played a central role against apartheid. This film specifically considers the music that sustained and galvanized blacks for more than 40 years.
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Christian Churches and Antisemitism: New Teachings
Consider how Christian churches confronted their legacy of antisemitism in the years following the Holocaust.
Days of Waiting
Estelle Ishigo, a Caucasian women artist, was voluntarily interned with 110,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps in 1942. There, she recorded the deprivations and rigors of camp life with unusual insight.
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The Fairphone 2 earns Gold at Cannes Lions with sustainable design
For the creative sector, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the pinnacle of annual industry events. Many agencies spend years dreaming of taking home a coveted Lion award. Which is why we were very honored to hear that the design agency, seymourpowell, and the Fairphone 2 won a Gold Lion last week for product design, in the sub-category sustainability and environmental impact.
Creativity as a force for change
According to their mission statement, Cannes Lions believes that “creativity is a powerful force for business, for change and for good in the world.” This closely echoes what Fairphone and seymourpowell set out to achieve when we designed the Fairphone 2. Our modular construction isn’t just about being unique – we wanted to change the way products are made and used. Modularity makes it easy to repair and upgrade our phone, allowing owners to use their Fairphone 2 for longer.
Seymourpowell and Fairphone won Gold at Cannes Lions 2017 for the modular Fairphone 2.We’re so proud to have won this prestigious award for sustainable product design. It’s clear that the jury didn’t only look at the product itself, but also took our entire story into consideration. To us, it’s a sign that our efforts to make improvements throughout the supply chain and spark conversations about issues like fair mining and working conditions are starting to make an impact.
Janwillem Bouwknegt, partner and creative director at NPK Design, was one of the members of this year’s jury. As we were up against some major names in our category (including ‘Liam’ by Apple, ‘Air-Ink’ by Heineken and Marcel Sydney, and ‘Zera’ by Whirlpool Corporation and Digitas LBi), we were very curious to hear why the Fairphone 2 came out on top. Janwillem kindly shared a bit of insight into the jury’s thought process with us:
“Both the modularity and the ethical vision were seen as very innovative. We were especially surprised by the modularity: that a small initiative can deliver where other multinationals clearly see the potential, but fail in the execution.
The other jury members had no knowledge about the Fairphone, but were all amazed by the vision and surprised that they had never heard of the initiative. They saw enormous potential for it… It makes people optimistic in seeing such a sign of the times: that companies are starting to feel the need to think about the supply chain and the complete product life cycle of the products they produce with a holistic and ethical mindset.”
Hats off to seymourpowell
None of this would have been possible without seymourpowell’s hard work. Over the course of developing the Fairphone 2, their team was especially proud of creating some of the details that contributed to the final user experience, such as clips that make it easy to replace the screen without tools, and styling of the interior to support accessible repairability and storytelling.
When we asked them what winning this award meant to them, Matthew Cockerill, Creative Director at seymourpowell replied:
“There is great personal satisfaction for myself and the team at seymourpowell for winning such a globally recognized award with Fairphone. But more important to me is that because of the award’s reputation amongst global brands and their key decision makers and creatives, it provides a further platform to promote the message and mission of Fairphone… to change the way products are made.”
Matthew also shared a call to action for other brands and creatives:
“I would stress the importance of sustainability in the minds of brands and their key decision makers. They create the product briefs that product designers are asked to execute, and so they directly impact whether a design is sustainable or not. Technology and long-lasting design can drive sustainability in the final product and fairness in the whole supply chain, from the mining of minerals that go into the handset’s internal components, to the workers producing the final product.”
Matthew Cockerill, Creative Director at seymourpowell, during a Fairphone design workshop at the London Design Festival 2015.
A big thank you to our community
Even with a clear mission, a great team and an innovative design, there is no guarantee that a product will be a success. So we’d like to say thank you once more to our community of fans and Fairphone owners. It’s people like you who believe in us, buy our phones and spread the word about what we do that make all the difference. Thanks to you, we’re able to win awards like this and generate attention worldwide. We’re grateful of your support.
Header image source: Department for International Trade – Creativity is GREAT
Related posts See all posts
Product 17 January 2020
All 19 December 2019
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Alles diese Site
Faith & Tech
Technology and the Church
Through the Eyes of Faith
Statements from the Churches
At Least Read This
Promoting Safety in Your Home
Devices to look out for
Family Media Agreements
Facebook Safety and Privacy
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What do I need to Secure?
Media is increasingly being consumed through online services. These services offer a wide range of content—from kids to adult. Parental controls, which allow you to filter content, are often available but need to be activated. Parental controls need to be enabled on each device or service: from TVs to tablets. If a device has access to multiple services, then parental controls for will need to be activated for each service.
How we consume media such as TV shows, movies, and music has changed radically. We're now watching through online services such as Netflix, iTunes, or Hulu. A number of streaming media devices or set top boxes are now available that pull content from the Internet. You can watch that content on your computer, TV, tablet, or phone.
As a parent, this explosion of media channels may seem overwhelming and daunting. Where do you begin? The good news is that parental controls available for many of these channels.
Parental controls help moderate the kinds of movies, TV shows, and music that can be played or accessed on certain devices. The bad news is that you need to enable parental controls for them to work. A password is normally required to disable or bypass parental controls after they are activated. The kinds of devices that have built-in parental controls are TVs, computers, cell phones (like the iPhone), streaming media services (like iTunes or Netflix), and music players. Some parental control solutions work better than others. Its best to think of parental control solutions like your helper. They're never a substitute for you and they are never a substitute for involved parenting; so never consider them a foolproof solution.
Devices to Secure
Thinking about where to start is daunting. To help, we've prepared a list of things to be aware of in your home (and at the home of friends and neighbors). We'll then note options you may or may not have when it comes to parental controls for that specific kind of device or service.
Looking at this list, you'll start to be amazed at all the different devices that you may need to be attentive to. We suggest you create a written inventory of the specific things you find in your home. Write down the manufacturer or vendor along with the specific model of the device to help you stay organized. If you want to enable parental controls, please refer to each item's user manual for for specific details. If you don't have a user manual, don't worry. Most companies now have all their user manuals available online. You can also call their support number for more information.
Televisions: All new TVs have parental controls, which will allow you to block programming that exceeds the rating level you set. Parental controls on TVs are handled by something called a "V-Chip". The V-Chip in the TVs uses the Parental Guidelines rating system (TV-Y, TV-Y7, TV-G, etc.) for TV shows and the MPAA ratings system (G, PG, PG-13, R, etc.) for movies.
Smart Televisions: A "Smart TV" refers to a category of TV that is connected to the Internet. A Smart TV allows you to surf the Internet, install apps, watch online content, and even conduct video chats. All Smart TVs use the same parental control V-Chip of a traditional TV, but the chip does not work with any of the "smart" or "network" features. There is no built-in filtering for web site browsing on the TV. You must use an additional solution like OpenDNS or a router with parental controls built-in to control web content. You also can't manage parental control options for apps and streaming services through the TV.
Cable and Satellite: Most providers have parental controls available through their set top boxes. Normally, you can block programs by rating, channel or time period. Check your provider's web site for specific instructions on enabling parental controls. Cable and satellite parental controls are independent of your TVs parental control feature.
Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, and Crackle are all examples of online streaming services that make movies and TV shows available. These services are available via a web browser, through streaming media boxes, or as an app on your smart phone, tablet, or Smart TV. Some services have parental controls and others do not. Check the options available for the service you wish to use. For those services without parental controls your only option is to completely remove access to the service.
Streaming Media Boxes: AppleTV, Roku, Boxee, and Vudu are examples of streaming media boxes that will pull content from the Internet and show it on your television. Each of these devices offers parental controls. In some cases, you will need to enable parental controls in two places: both on the hardware device itself and the content service you are using.
Bluray and DVD players: Today's players allow you to set parental control options for both DVDs and Bluray discs. For protection to work on DVD and Blurays, the discs must be properly encoded and rated (G, PG, PG-13, R, etc). The best way to moderate content through these players is to be selective with the movies and TV shows that you choose to rent or purchase.
Smart Phones: and Tablets: All smart phones and tablets have some basic parental control options. Parental controls should be set for apps to be downloaded and content that can be purchased. Parental control options for streaming services and Internet access must be done through additional parental control options specifically for that device, through the mobile carrier's parental controls, and through services like OpenDNS.
Computers: All new Macintosh and Windows computers offer basic, built-in parental control options. You must enable them to work and in most cases, parents will find that these basic controls need to be supplemented with other software solutions like NetNanny, CyberPatrol, and OpenDNS.
Gaming Consoles: Gaming consoles like Xbox, Playstation, PSP, and the Wii all have parental control options that will allow you set a rating limit for the games (using ESRB ratings), DVDs, Blurays, and that can be played on the device and will also allow you to turn the web browser off. Online content and apps can only be secured using solutions like OpenDNS and through the specific services enabled on the device.
Parental Controls: To enable or Not Enable
Ok, let's be up-front: parental controls aren't always convenient. Not all parental controls are user friendly. In many instances (like a TVs V-Chip) parental controls are annoying that many don't use them.
However, even though some parental control options are far from perfect, we still suggest that you secure all child-accessible media devices. Enabling parental controls gives you additional peace of mind and might prevent your child from coming into contact with pornographic content or strangers online. Always remember, if a device is able to connect to the Internet, then it has access to web sites, social networks, chat rooms, and other services that you may not be aware of. Your child's safety is worth a little inconvenience.
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Antworten als...
Rob Peacock
I myself struggled with the lack of meaningful parental controls on our new Blueray and Smart TV. The parental controls though available on our Sony BDPS3200 blueray player were wholly inadequate. My solution was to block the SmartTV and Blueray player MAC addresses in my router settings and purchase an AppleTV to server all streaming content ( Netflix, Youtube ) because the AppleTV will allow me to set a passcode individually for each application to launch or show the app. Hope this helps someone els.
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Verfasst am 01.01.15 09:44.
Houseparty Video Chat App: A parent’s guide to safe usage and security concerns
Houseparty is a private video chat app available on iOS, Android, and Mac OS. The app’s primary purpose is group video chatting, although users can also send text messages through the app.
Study: Social Media Making People Anti-Social, Jealous
Contrary to popular belief, studies show that social media often hampers effective communication and may lead to jealousy and unhappiness.
How do I report something on Facebook?
How do you report something you've seen on Facebook such as spam, hate speech, harassment, bullying, etc.
Technology Safety Through the Eyes of Faith
A resource guide brought to you by a collaboration between
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
This site and the Faith and Safety initiative has been made possible in part by generous grants from the Catholic Communications Campaign and by the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Endowment Fund
© Copyright US Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
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Paranoid to the core
Apple's lost iPhone has already entered folklore, but this apparently simple case has become a touch-point for a host of other issues. An Apple software engineer, Gray Powell, lost the phone while celebrating his 27th birthday at a Silicon Valley bar. Another bar patron found the phone, recognized it as an Apple prototype and tried to return it to the company. Apple never called him back and some weeks later he sold it to blogsite Gizmodo for $5,000. Gizmodo spent a week dissecting the device and then published its findings.
Apple complained to the police that the phone had been stolen. A police special forces team broke down the door of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen and seized his computers and servers.
The direct result of this leak is that Apple has lost a PR opportunity. The iPhone 4.0 was expected to be unveiled in early June. (Some bloggers claimed Apple contrived to lose the phone, but they obviously don't know Apple.)
Of course, this created some PR upside, too. There aren't many people on the planet who don't know that a new iPhone is coming, but you don't hear any thanks from Apple for that.
The genuine issue for Apple is the exposure of its intellectual property - a loss worth potentially millions. Its competitors know what the new device is all about: a squarer design, a front-facing camera for video chat, a larger battery. Knockoffs are no doubt already on their way to the Dongguan assembly line.
But who is to blame for that? Not the finder, surely, who called Apple customer service line to report the device. Apple's accusation of theft by definition is a false one because he made efforts to return the device.
Indeed, thanks to Apple's secretive company culture, customer service reps had no idea an iPhone 4.0 was even being developed let alone had been lost. According to an Apple staffer quoted by Gizmodo, call center reps thought the call was a hoax.
A side issue is whether journalist US shield laws apply to blogsites. Are bloggers also journalists deserving of the protection of the law? Well, not a problem in Asia, where the laws routinely protect governments from journalists, not the other way around.
For the mobile industry the issue is Apple and its disproportional response. Gizmodo returned the phone yet the company still reported it as "stolen" to the police, who broke down Jason Chen's door.
It matters because Apple is now the mayor of mobile city. It sells the most desired handset in the world, a device that has almost single-handedly created demand for mobile data where previously there was none.
It totally dominates the world of mobile apps, where most of the future value of mobile is being created.
The App Store carries 186,000 apps - six times as many as Android - and is averaging 30.5 million downloads a day compared to Ovi's 1.5 million.
Apple alone will decide whether and when an app will be loaded to its store. It also decides which software the iPhone will support. Tough, Adobe.
Contrast Apple's behavior to Nokia after its new N8 device was leaked to a Russian blogger. Instead of calling in a SWAT team Nokia used the opportunity to release the phone. End of story.
Apple, for those who recall, is the company that puts its brand on the "Think Different" ad.
The one that went:
"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes.... They're not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo... About the only thing you can't do is ignore them."
No one would accuse Apple of ignoring its critics.
Or, as cable TV host Jon Stewart put it: "Microsoft was supposed to be the evil one. But you guys are busting down doors in Palo Alto while Commandant Gates is ridding the world of mosquitoes!"
Apple is making some insanely great products. But its obsession with secrecy is just insane.
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The Harvester World
By Sam Moore
| 1/4/2017 11:29:00 AM
Tags: International Harvester, Looking Back, Sam Moroe,
In October 1909, the 7-year-old International Harvester Co. began publishing a monthly employee paper titled The Harvester World. While ostensibly meant for all employees, the first issues at least seemed to be aimed primarily at Harvester’s salesmen. Full of tips on how to break down reluctant buyers, each month there was a letter from some salesman telling how he had closed a deal. Here are two of those accounts, one from the October 1909 issue and one from December of the same year.
A salesman named, Oral Bleau wrote this one.
I put one over on a competitor last winter, and in the course of events I made two sales grow where only one idea was planted, and I did it in one day at one psychological moment.
Two doctors came to Omaha looking for an auto. They went straight to the competitor, and they had the buying light in their eyes. I followed them in and stood around as an interested spectator while the competitor’s boys showed them over the machine and proved to them that there was no other auto so suitable for the wear and tear of a country doctor’s practice. And they proved it well, too. It was a cold, snowy day, with weather straight from Medicine Hat in Canada, but one of the salesmen said “Doctor, we’ll take you for a spin this afternoon and show you what the car can do.”
The doctors agreed, and I lit out and got my own car. In the meantime, Medicine Hat got busy, and by the time of the appointment it was storming worse than ever, so bad that the competitor never showed up.
I saw my opening – introduced myself and said, “Gentlemen, I have a car that enjoys these icy roads and does its best work in impassable spots. Take a ride with me?”
“Why not?” they said and we started.
After seven miles of ice and drifts we stopped and got out. The engine was working perfectly. It had held up under as hard a test as they could ever give it in their practice, and they grew enthusiastic and asked questions.
I made out that such rides on such roads were mere recreation for both me and the machine.
They only wanted one machine when they started, but after that seven miles of snow and ice and the impatient “chug,” “chug” of the engine beneath them, it was just too strong a sales argument for them to resist, and they each gave me an order on the spot.
By the way, they’re still on the competitor’s mailing list.
This letter, written by Pat P. Nichols, not only describes the life of a farm machinery salesman in those days, where he often ate meals and stayed overnight with his customers, but also that the wife is sometimes the way to get at the old man.
The hand that “rocks the cradle” once helped me get an order.
I was sent into a territory where the canvasser or the block man had made a single sale. Both were so discouraged that when they saw a farmer, they’d hide in a fence corner, or, if the farmer had a dog, climb a tree.
I came in with the idea of encouraging them, and possibly I acted kind of chesty about it, for they straightaway steered me onto the hardest proposition in the county, a man who believed all salesmen were liars.
I didn’t know this and went after him that afternoon. He received me all right, that is he told his dog to lie down, and I began.
I followed that man from house to barn, to the hog pen, the mailbox and the cow pen, and then to supper, and all the way it was like talking to a moving fence post.
Then at supper I saw things – Mr. Hard-Nut had a boss.
I saw in a flash that the hand that rocked the cradle also cradled the rocks. When she wanted anything from the kitchen all she said was “Let there be movement.” And there was movement. He was docile, all right.
I got busy at once on the new task and helped the boys with the chores, fixed the fire, did a “sum” for the little girl, and when the time came to put the children to bed I gave the baby a good night kiss.
This made her fairly beam at me, and when I rolled up my sleeves and offered to dry the dishes, the sale was made.
She did not let me do it but sent me in to smoke with John. When she returned to the sitting room all she said was, “John, you’ve needed that binder for two years; you had better order it now.”
John hunted up a pen and signed on the dotted line – and he seemed glad to do it.
– Sam Moore
Drawing that accompanied the first story. (October 1909, The Harvester World)
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Take action to stop palm oil plantations from destroying Africa's ancient rainforests and local livelihoods in Cameroon
Oakland Institute | 20 November 2012
The Oakland Institute is very relieved after the release on Friday, November 16, 2012, of 4 members of SEFE, one of our NGO partners in Cameroon and a strong opponent of Herakles Farms. They were arrested in Mudemba on November 14th in a new attempt to intimidate opponents to the US-led project.
The Oakland Institute will continue to stand with Cameroonians struggling for their land and their basic rights to decent livelihoods. This recent arrest makes it even more important to tell the Government of Cameroon and the New York-based firm Herakles Farms that the world is watching and that this 70,000 hectare project must be immediately stopped.
Thank you for taking action with us and our Cameroonian partners.
http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/cameroon-action
An Action Alert from Cultural Survival (USA), Korup Rainforest Conservation Society (Cameroon), Nature Cameroon (South West Cameroon), Ndian Youths Economic and Cultural Organisation (Cameroon), The Oakland Institute (USA), Oroko Cultural Association (USA), Presbyterian Hunger Program (USA), Pro Wildlife (Germany), RELUFA (Cameroon), SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund Stiftung (Germany) , and Struggle to Economize Future Environment (Cameroon).
For more information, contact: Frederic Mousseau, [email protected]
In the southwest region of Cameroon, a New York-based agri-corporation, Herakles Farms, its local subsidiary SG Sustainable Oils Cameroon (SGSOC), and a US non-profit organization All for Africa are involved in a land deal that is about to destroy over 70,000 hectares (300 square miles) of rainforest and the livelihoods of thousands of rural Cameroonians. If the project goes forward, farmland and forest will be replaced by a giant palm oil plantation.
The concession concerns the homelands of the Bassossi, Upper Balong, Nguti, Oroko, Bakossi, and Upper Bayang peoples in the Ndian, Kupé-Manengouba, and Manyu divisions of Cameroon. This plantation will have major impacts on up to 45,000 Indigenous Peoples in 88 villages who are dependent on the forest for their livelihoods. The giant plantation will also fragment and isolate the region's protected areas, including Korup National Park, Bakossi National Park, Banyang Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary, Nta Ali Forest Reserve, and Rumpi Hills Forest Reserve.
Notwithstanding, Herakles has moved forward despite widespread opposition to the project. Protests against Herakles Farms have erupted in several areas. Petitions and letters from local villagers and local leadership, representing thousands of individuals, have decried the activities of Herakles Farms. Locals cite an alarming lack of transparency, their lack of consent, the illegal demarcation and clearing of land and the biological, economic, and cultural importance of the area as reasons for opposing the project. A recent film and report from the Oakland Institute provide additional evidence of this widespread opposition. Despite this evidence, Herakles Farms maintains their stance that the project enjoys an "outpouring of support from communities."
There are known and affordable alternatives to this industrial project if one wants to really promote sustainable agriculture and human development in the area. In the three Herakles Farms' nurseries, thousands of seedlings are ready to be planted. If the company truly wants to promote sustainable agriculture, it must hand over these seedlings to the local farmers and allow them to grow palm in a sustainable way, which should rely on diversified and environment friendly agricultural production.
Please join us in sending a powerful message to Herakles Farms and All for Africa demanding they stop destroying tropical rainforest and local livelihoods. Ask the Government of Cameroon to listen to the voices of the Cameroonian people and immediately stop Herakles Farms' plans for this palm oil plantation.
Do you tweet? Send a message to Cameroonian President Paul Biya (@PR_Paul_Biya):
@PR_Paul_Biya Don't let Herakles Farms/SGSOC destroy rainforest and livelihoods. Cameroonians say no to industrial palm oil plantations!
Cultural Survival, USA
Korup Rainforest Conservation Society (KRCS), Cameroon
Nature Cameroon, South West Cameroon
Ndian Youths Economic and Cultural Organisation (NYECO), Cameroon
The Oakland Institute, USA
Oroko Cultural Association, USA
Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP), USA
Pro Wildlife, Germany
RELUFA--Réseau de Lutte contre la Faim, Cameroon
SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund Stiftung, Germany
Struggle to Economize Future Environment (SEFE), Cameroon
URL to Article: https://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/21333
Source: Oakland Institute
Links in this article
[1] http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/cameroon-action
[2] http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/land-deal-brief-massive-deforestation-portrayed-sustainable-investment-deceit-herakles-farms
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Subscribe to antibiotic resistance
FDA begins posting additional information about antibiotics for animals
By News Desk on August 4, 2019
Citing efforts to improve transparency and public access to information about approved antibiotics for animas, the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) has published certain medicated feed information, including information about Blue …
CDC, FDA say only Cavi brand papayas linked to outbreak; more people sick
By Coral Beach on July 5, 2019
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FSA reveals levels of antimicrobial resistant Campylobacter in chicken
By Joe Whitworth on March 7, 2019
Campylobacter isolates with antimicrobial resistance have been found on whole fresh chickens sold at retail in the United Kingdom, according to a survey by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
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Antimicrobial resistance in Europe continues to increase
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Antimicrobials used to treat diseases such as campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis are becoming less effective, according to a new research report.
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Researchers find antibiotic resistance genes on leafy greens
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California animal confinement law will touch sales from out-of-state
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The public has the right to know.
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Frozen tuna recalled in several states for Salmonella risk
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Jensen Tuna of Louisiana is recalling frozen ground tuna imported from JK Fish, because it may potentially be contaminated with Salmonella, according to a recall notice posted on the FDA’s website Tuesday afternoon.
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Local STEC outbreak in Seattle area linked to Nintendo of America campus
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Four Seattle area residents have tested positive for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) after consuming food at I Love Sushi and Sodexo’s Café Mario, Seattle-King County Public Health reports.
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Anyone who has raw goat milk on hand from St. John Creamery should not consume it because samples have tested positive for E. coli, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal illnesses.
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Tai Foong USA of Seattle is recalling Royal Asia branded frozen “Shrimp Wonton Noodle Soup” — sold exclusively at Costco stores in six states — because it contains egg that is not declared on the…
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Processing deviations discovered by inspectors reviewing records at a Washington sausage company have prompted a recall of numerous products because they could be contaminated with staphylococcal enterotoxin.
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Four (More) Meaningful Influencer Marketing Metrics You Haven't Used Yet
Jim Tobin Forbes Councils Member
Forbes Agency Council COUNCIL POST
Jim Tobin
Jim Tobin is President of Carusele, the influencer content targeting system, and author of two books on social media marketing.
In my last column, I shared Five Meaningful Influencer Marketing Metrics You Haven't Used Yet and received a positive response to the new way of thinking about measuring influencer marketing. Given that, I thought I'd round out that piece with four additional metrics we use at Carusele on our influencer marketing programs.
As with the first article, the "right" metrics for your campaign depend a bit on what you sell, who you sell it through and what metrics you use to measure your other digital marketing. Even with that caveat, any brand or retailer should find at least one methodology in this combined list of nine options that will work for their business.
1. 'Test And Learn' Brand Lift Study
What It Is: This self-service tool is offered by Facebook. It allows brands the ability to survey exposed and unexposed audiences to determine the impact of a given campaign. This is only available to brands that are boosting influencer content on Facebook and/or Instagram because it only measures the paid exposure.
Pros: Facebook handles the potentially difficult methodology of separating the brand's test and control group, and it's the only way to get this data because it occurs within the platform. The templated methodology allows brands to ask questions regarding whether the audience would recommend the brand to a friend or how likely they are to consider the brand.
Cons: Because the survey questions are templated and always end with "an ad from [name of page from which the ad was being served]," it can be tricky to ensure the influencer content about the brand is properly recognized. In addition, Facebook has a minimum spend requirement per page in order to get a large enough sample size. In our programs, we typically boost from at least three influencer accounts (and often many more). While there is no additional cost beyond the media spend, this requirement could make the media spend problematic.
2. Custom Brand Lift Study
What It Is: Brands can overcome the limitations of the "test and learn" brand lift study by having Facebook's internal research team conduct a custom brand lift study on the brand's behalf. Similar to test and learn, there are five questions, but now they can be customized to fit a brand's particular needs.
Pros: Using a custom study, a brand has its choice of questions around not only ad recall but message retention, and perceptions shift metrics that might be important to a campaign. For example, instead of boilerplate like "Would you recommend Brand X?" a brand could choose "Do you believe Brand X is a good corporate citizen?"
Cons: Facebook has unpublished minimum spend requirements for each Facebook or Instagram page from which the content was published, so the pricing can escalate quickly with multiple influencers involved. While all the spend goes to media (there is no additional cost for the study), we estimate that an influencer program would likely need to be in the $200,000 range to have sufficient media weight to use this methodology.
3. Sales Lift Study
What It Is: The proverbial Holy Grail of marketing measurement is a statistically valid look at the lift generated from a given campaign. Under this method, a large representative panel is used made up of people who have opted to have their purchase data analyzed. This allows the researchers to find a large group of past buyers and split them so that some see the new content while others do not.
Pros: Because the panel is so large and past buying behavior is the same between groups, any sales lift among the exposed group that doesn't appear in the control group is very likely caused by the marketing campaign. This is a tested methodology in other types of marketing. Early influencer studies conducted this way show impressive sales results.
Cons: Because this method uses tracking pixels to ensure the exposed group has seen the content, and because the social networks don't allow these tracking pixels on social posts, it's most effective at measuring those who saw blog content versus a full influencer program. In fact, social shares in this kind of study cannot mention the brand to ensure there is no contamination across the test and control groups.
4. Foot Traffic Lift Study
What It Is: By creating test and control groups of mobile devices and measuring the exposure to influencer content among them, it becomes possible to measure the lift in frequency in which those devices entered a particular retailer. It uses the mobile device's location data to track these visits and isolate the lift, if any, among the two groups.
Pros: This real-world study doesn't require individuals to recall any behaviors but instead measures the devices that are constantly carried with them. While there are some obvious potential hazards (people viewing content on a desktop and then going to the store with their device, or people getting a new device in between exposure and heading to the store), these should "wash out" in a well-designed test and control group structure.
Cons: While location data tells us if a device was in a particular store, it doesn't tell us what they bought, if anything. As a result, this study is best for retailers and not for brands sold in third-party retailers. In addition, to get enough statistical validity would likely require a total influencer program budget of roughly $400,000.
When brands set up their influencer programs in ways that allow them to be optimized and boosted throughout the campaign, a number of powerful new metrics become available. If influencer marketing is going to go from a well-regarded experiment to a staple of brand marketers, we'll all want this type of measurement to become routine.
Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
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I’ve just realised I’ll soon play Destiny for the last time, and moving on feels like leaving home
I find myself conflicted about Destiny 2. It’s not that I have any doubts about the game, you understand. Having played it a bunch of times now, in many different ways, I have every faith that it’s going to be the streamlined, refreshed, amplified, and entirely reinvigorated sequel that Bungie’s outstanding MMOFPS both needs and deserves. The quality of Destiny 2 is not currently in debate. But I remain ambivalent. And the thing that’s giving me a problem with Destiny 2’s imminence is the fact it inevitably means that I soon have to stop playing Destiny. And I don’t feel quite ready to do so yet.
There’s no objective, completion-based reason for it. I’ve been playing Destiny solidly since day one, and theoretically I’ve played ‘enough’. I hit the Light level cap some time ago, have achieved pretty much everything I want to achieve, and for the last few months I’ve really just been pottering around, messing about with friends, and smashing people up on Crucible maps I now know like the inside of my own eyelids. I should be bored. I should be ready to move on. I should be counting down the days until I can uninstall the tired old first game to make way for the new one. But that would only be the case if Destiny was a normal game, and it isn’t. Destiny isn’t simply a series of missions and challenges to be completed, ticked off, and left behind. Destiny is more of a place, and it’s one that I’m really attached to.
This isn’t merely Stockholm syndrome talking, the fevered, institutionalised symptom of a fearful mind so hooked to the loot-grind as to be unable to function in the outside world. Rather it all kind of comes down to the way we relate to places in the real world.
There’s a big difference between a house and a home. The former can be grandiose, and beautifully constructed, and an enjoyable place to explore for a while, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to want to stick around for more than a day. It’s only through the long-term addition of warm, consistent human factors that a building gains the kind of emotional resonance that makes it more than bricks and mortar. In exactly the same way, Destiny has become far more than a video game over the last three years.
The particular human factor that has achieved this over the last 36 Earth-months has resulted from a unique blend of encouraging game systems and uncommonly nourishing community. Both are all-too rare in the field of online shooters, an area traditionally dominated by demanding - and rapidly accelerating - skill requirements, and an emphasis on competition over collaboration. But by building Destiny as a journey of personal growth and development before all else – and ensuring that every activity, even its own PvP element, is defined by that journey by way of XP and loot drops – Bungie created a game world without the usual dog-eat-dog philosophy. Instead it’s wrapped around an all-pervading attitude of ‘We’re all in this together’.
Shared-world everything
As such, Destiny attracted a particular sort of player. And those players rapidly formed into a community of benevolent, helpful, supportive explorers, each on his or her own forward path, but inalienably aware that everyone they met along the way was on the very same one, enjoying the same highs and battling the same challenges. For all the repetition and remixing of content, Destiny has never been a static or repetitive experience. The personal journey each Guardian has cut through the replay of its Strikes, Raids, and PvP modes has been an ever-onward march of strength, skill, experience, and ability, each loot drop and learned insight slightly evolving – much like in real life – their perception of their surroundings, themselves, and each other. Suddenly, the family home had a far-flung but deeply connected family helping each other grow, and that immediately started to change the way it felt.
Those Patrol maps, Strike levels, and Raid boss rooms stopped being mere pieces of video game architecture, and turned into the settings of multifarious communal victories, defeats, and personal turning points. Much like the rooms in a home, certain spots became forever landmarked with important, shared moments. The Public Event spawn points, which rapidly coalesced into impromptu meeting areas as we all got the hang of the events’ start timings. Energised spots of countryside that would steadily fill with eager, dedicated Guardians as the moment drew close, like the site of a concert or festival in the hours before its start.
And the farming spots, suitable for different challenges and quest-steps, where we discovered particularly abundant, fast-respawning pockets of desired enemy types – or in the early days, guaranteed circuits of treasure chests, ripe with Spinmetal and Helium Filaments – with which to power up our weapons and move closer to the next one. Even in these innocuous moments, Destiny cemented a wonderful, unspoken camaraderie, as Guardians gathered through shared purpose, recognising each other’s needs through their sheer presence, and instinctively working together toward a communal goal.
Preparing for Destiny 2?
The 7 things you can’t miss in Destiny 2’s EDZ
That unknown pick-up player you and your friend were buddied with in Strike match-making? You’d always give him a chance. However different, goofy, or haphazard his play-style, you’d always be inclined to think well of him, and help him out, and build your strategies around his play, rather than leave him to lone-wolf it. Because he could just as easily have been that Guardian you saw out in the Plaguelands days earlier, waving at the entrance to the Archon’s Forge, trying to get a team together in order to take on the arena’s challenges. He could have been the Guardian who came along to help you when you were doing similar a couple of weeks before.
That one Guardian in the Crucible who kept drilling you with dirty Gjallarhorn shots, or languished eternal in the pits of your own team’s score table? Who’s to say he wasn’t one of the giddy crowd you grouped together with to crush that diamond-hard Taken invasion on Venus, after days of solo failure? Or that his cheesy, Wolfpack overkill wasn’t just a deservedly ebullient celebration after weeks of fighting for a long-coveted treasure, just as you had done with Truth or Invective?
Regardless of its physical structure, and special events, and ever-expanding array of loot opportunities, the form and fabric of Destiny has always been made of this sort of empathy, this texture of shared experience. And all of those explicit, in-game components have been imprinted with the underlying human connections they fuel. They’ve been defined – like the woods you played in as a kid, or the bar you first got drunk in – all the more tangibly by them.
From one world to another
And it hasn’t remained in-game. Because of course it hasn’t. Experiences this potent never remain in the location of their initial occurrence. Their influence spreads. There are obvious cases, like the wonderful charity work done by the Destiny community, or the long-standing Sherpa programme, whereby experienced Guardians will volunteer their skills and knowledge to guide new and solo players through tougher challenges. But there are the smaller, less obvious things as well, the things that are just as important in their own way, and similarly born out of the connections we found in the Cosmodrome.
Of course, there are the friendships, countless real-world relationships having grown from initially wordless Guardian collaborations. Over the last three years my PSN contacts have ballooned, almost exclusively through Destiny. I’m closer to cool people I only slightly knew before. I’ve built and maintained legitimate friendships with people I first met in-game, some of whom I’ve only ever seen as their Guardians. Our only ‘physical’ interactions might involve gun fights and space magic, but our shared memories are just as real as any other. One friend even recently told me that the benevolent, shared purpose of the Destiny community helped him get over his social anxiety, to the point that he could finally link up with a party of strangers who’d invited him in-game, confident that things would work out. When I asked if it was okay to mention that story in this article, he agreed without pause, telling me “Destiny has treated me really well… I'm happy to pay it forward”.
I’ve found that the fastest way to connect with new people if there are gamers in the room (particularly handy at work events outside the office) is to bring up Destiny straight away. Two inevitable minutes of impassioned talk about class builds and recent experiences later, and you’ll be bonded forevermore. And all of these conversations, whether they happen over a mic or in a restaurant, refer back, as their anchor-point, to things we’ve seen and done in Old Russia, on the Moon, on Mars, Venus, or Mercury. The effects of these relationships might be multifarious and wide-ranging, but they all started in-game. And therefore, they all colour and reshape the game world itself.
Remnants of the Golden Age
So when I think back to Destiny, as I often will, I won’t think so much of specific runs at specific boss fights, or loot-plundering do-overs of Raids. I’ll think of the conversations I’ve had while turning that corner into the Forgotten Shore, or while debating whether to stop and shoot down that handful of Dregs near the entrance to Dock 13. I’ll think of the long evenings burning gleefully through the Strike playlist when too excited about something to settle down, or the nights spent humming around the ambient expanse of the Plaguelands on my Sparrow, using the pleasant rhythm of Patrol missions and Public Event assists to quell useless thoughts of a stressful thing.
I’ll think about that Control match, where all but one of the opposing team bailed out early on, and the lone, remaining Guardian battled on until the last moment, refusing to give up, regardless of the 6-1 odds. My team stopped for a dance party halfway through that one, but quickly broke away as soon as our plucky opponent started scoring again. I sent that guy a message of congratulation and respect afterward. He’s on my Friends List now.
And most of all, I’ll think about every single other Guardian I met along the way, whether in the open ground of public areas, or doing congas and kicking footballs in the Tower, or partnered up in Strikes, or appearing as a strong ally or staunch rival in the Crucible. I’ll think of how every one of those actions informed and coloured every one one of those places, and made it more real. They all made Destiny what it is. Or rather, as I’m rapidly realising with no small mix of strange feelings, what it was.
I’m quickly aware that there’s now a finite and ever-dwindling number of times I’m going to go to those places, and see those things. An ever decreasing future tally of Sparrow drive-bys past the Vault of Glass, or leaps into the Sunless Cell’s final pit. I don’t know when the count will hit zero – and I almost definitely won’t realise when it happens - but it’s going to be soon. There was a time that felt impossible, but it was clearly always inevitable. The difference between the two was just a matter of perspective from different parts of the journey.
Leaving Destiny behind feels a lot like leaving home for the first time. The formative experiences that happened there will be carried forward with us, of course, and will inform every moment of our journeys ahead into Destiny 2. And those journeys will be all the better, and more fun, and more potent because of them. It will be sad to walk away, whenever we acknowledge that we have done just that, and going back will become impossible the very same instant. A place is always smaller when you go back. Smaller and missing something, because the something is you. But it will be okay. Forward is where the future happens, whereas the past is a limited ‘greatest hits’ album played on a loop. And going forward, together, has been what Destiny has always been about. And it is, after all, exactly what got us to where we are now. You can trust forward. Forward always works out.
Destiny: The Taken King
Destiny: Rise of Iron
OXM
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Paparazzi Preview
Joel Brodie on Oct 3, 2006 at 2:00pm
While it may not be the most prestigious job in the world, a tabloid photographer sure can make a lot of money by snapping photos of celebrities.
Um, how much is a photo of Tom and Katie’s baby going for again?
You will soon be able to get a taste of this exciting life in Paparazzi, a downloadable Windows and Mac game that lets you travel the country to uncover juicy stories and sell them to tabloid newspapers for big bucks.
And if you thought photographing ditzy Hollywood divas was tough, wait ’til you try to gather evidence of Bigfoot, aliens and Elvis!
Though you don’t have to know anything about the games that likely inspired Paparazzi, this puzzler can best be described as a cross between the Mystery Case Files games, where you must scour an area for well-hidden items, and Mirror Magic, which challenges you to find the differences between two similar images.
In Paparazzi, you follow the tip-offs provided by your wacky but resourceful informants, such as the bespectacled Lulu, who sends you to a few of the 15 unique locations, each packed with delicious photo ops.
The first part of each assignment is to take photos of clues provided by your informant. For example, your first mission is find evidence of a secret celebrity marriage. While outside of the alleged bride’s mansion, you must use the mouse to snap photos of a wedding cake, gifts, bride and groom cake ornament, bow tie, and so on – all before your deadline runs out. After the photo is taken, players are treated to a Polaroid-like close-up image of the item and its description. Given how cluttered the area is because of the dozens of items littered about, finding these items may prove quite difficult. If you take a photo of something not on the list, the Polaroid is blurry and the caption reads: “Oops! Missed.”
After most or all of the listed items are found, you graduate to the second part of the game, which is comparing two similar photos from the environment. Here, you must click on any differences between the two, which will include items that may differ in color, shape or size. Or perhaps they’ve moved elsewhere or erased from the scene altogether. Tying into the story, your informant explains the celebrity found you out and so she returned to the area to cover her tracks and throw you off!
The third component to Paparazzi is a kind of bonus mini-game that involves quick reflexes instead of a keen eye: you find out you can pocket more cash by taking photos of the celeb while shopping at the mall. She makes brief appearances in the scene and pops back out again, so you must take her photo as many times as you can before she disappears for good. Get at least one good photo of her in action and it’s payday.
As you tackle more (and stranger) assignments spread across many indoor and outdoor locations, you work your way up in the biz to become an ace photographer.
Given our celebrity-obsessed culture, Paparazzi is sure to be a success with all kinds of players. Plus, the game cleverly folds in proven game formulas into this paparazzi premise — and the combination works.
Go on, live the shady but gratifying life of a tabloid photographer in this soon-to-be released game from Gogii Games. If you think you got what it takes, of course.
Leap Motion Review
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Jumala Preview
Nadia Oxford
Others Virtual World
To The Moon Review
Dan Zuccarelli
Indie Others Visual Novel
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Frogtoon Music - Artist Biography For The Four Seasons
The Four Seasons is an American (Belleville, New Jersey, USA) rock and pop band who became internationally successful in the mid-1960s. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame has stated that the group was the most popular rock band before The Beatles. Since 1970, they have been known off and on as Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, or simply The Four Seasons. In 1960, the group known as The Four Lovers evolved into The Four Seasons
Artist Tags For The Four Seasons
1) Oldies 2) 60s 3) Pop 4) Rock 5) Classic Rock
Frogtoon Music - Top Tracks For The Four Seasons
1) Big Girls Don't Cry 2) Walk Like A Man 3) Sherry 4) Beggin' 5) Rag Doll 6) December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night) 7) Working My Way Back to You 8) C'mon Marianne 9) Big Man in Town 10) Let's Hang On 11) Idaho 12) December 1963 (Oh, What a Night) 13) Wall Street Village Day 14) Who Loves You 15) Dawn (Go Away) 16) Candy Girl 17) Oh What a Night 18) Saturday's Father 19) December 1963 (Oh What a Night) 20) Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 21) genuine imitation life 22) I've Got You Under My Skin 23) Ronnie 24) Mrs. Stately's Garden 25) Look Up Look Over 26) Something's On Her Mind 27) Stay 28) Medley: Stay/Let's Hang On/Opus 17[Don't You Worry 'Bout Me/Bye, Bye, Baby] 29) Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me) 30) Wonder What You'll Be 31) Save It for Me 32) December '63 (Oh What a Night) 33) American Crucifixion Resurrection 34) December 1963 35) Soul of a Woman 36) Can't Take My Eyes Off You 37) Silence Is Golden 38) Let's Hang On (To What We've Got) 39) Silver Star 40) Peanuts 41) Tell It To The Rain 42) Marlena 43) December, 1963 (Oh What a Night!) 44) The Night 45) Medley: Stay/Let's Hang On/Opus 17 [Don't You Worry 'Bout Me/Bye, Bye, Baby] 46) My Eyes Adored You 47) Will You Love Me Tomorrow 48) Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye) 49) Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye) 50) Teardrops
Frogtoon Music - 50 Top Albums For The Four Seasons
1) The Very Best of The Four Seasons 2) The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette 3) Anthology 4) Jersey Boys Original Broadway Cast Recording 5) Who Loves You 6) (null) 7) The Classic Albums Box 8) The Very Best of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons 9) New Gold Hits 10) Sherry & 11 Others 11) Shining '70s (Best Of '70s Easy Rock) 12) Big Girls Don't Cry 13) The Very Best of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons [Rhino 2002] 14) Oh What a Night 15) Jersey Boys (Original Broadway Cast Recording) 16) Oh What A Night - 70's Classics 17) Rag Doll 18) Jersey Boys: Music From The Motion Picture And Broadway Musical 19) Big Girls Don't Cry and Twelve Others 20) The Four Seasons' Christmas Album 21) Greatest Hits 22) Working My Way Back to You and More Great New Hits 23) 25th Anniversary Collection 24) The 25 Best Songs 25) 40 Classic Childrens Christmas Songs and Carols for Kids of All Ages! 26) The Original Hits 1962-1976 (disc 1) 27) Jersey Beat: The Music of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons 28) Stay 29) The Best Sixties Album In The World Ever 30) Les Belles Années 60 31) Working My Way Back to You 32) The 4 Seasons Entertain You 33) 101 Pirate Radio Hits 34) Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 35) Sherry And 11 Others 36) Billboard #1s: The '70s 37) Dawn (Go Away) and 11 Other Great Songs 38) The Four Seasons Hits 39) Jersey Boys 40) Essential 80's. Funky Dance 41) The Definitive Pop Collection 42) Ain't That a Shame and 11 Others 43) The 20 Greatest Hits 44) Sherry 45) 100 Forgotten Sixties Classics CD 3 46) The Very Best Of Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons 47) The Four Seasons 48) Hits 49) Born To Wander 50) Jersey Boys: Original Broadway Cast Recording
Frogtoon Music - Similar Artists To The Four Seasons
1) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli on Frogtoon and Frankie Valli on Facebook 2) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons on Frogtoon and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons on Facebook 3) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: Jay & The Americans on Frogtoon and Jay & The Americans on Facebook 4) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: Herman's Hermits on Frogtoon and Herman's Hermits on Facebook 5) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: Dion on Frogtoon and Dion on Facebook 6) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: Dion & The Belmonts on Frogtoon and Dion & The Belmonts on Facebook 7) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: The Chiffons on Frogtoon and The Chiffons on Facebook 8) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: B.J. Thomas on Frogtoon and B.J. Thomas on Facebook 9) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: Tommy Roe on Frogtoon and Tommy Roe on Facebook 10) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: Tommy James & The Shondells on Frogtoon and Tommy James & The Shondells on Facebook 11) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: The Lovin' Spoonful on Frogtoon and The Lovin' Spoonful on Facebook 12) Videos from similar artist to The Four Seasons: Bobby Vee on Frogtoon and Bobby Vee on Facebook
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Producers of “Anthony Bourdain” Launch Meat App
Zero Point Zero Production, creators and producers of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, announced Pat LaFrieda's Big App for Meat, the definitive butcher's guide for consumers and food professionals, now available on the App Store.
This is the first app Zero Point Zero has launched.
"We wanted to make a strong statement with our initial app project," says Chris Collins, executive producer and principal of ZPZ. "As a company, we've always pushed ourselves in television production, and our wiry future deserves nothing less. You either commit to doing something great, or don't bother."
Pat LaFrieda is a fourth-generation butcher whose family has run a wholesale meat business in New York City for almost 100 years. He provides the best meat to more than 1,000 restaurants and chefs including Mario Batali, Danny Meyer, Alex Guarnaschelli, and others. Pat revolutionized the burger industry by creating custom burger blends including Shake Shack's burger, The Black Label burger, and burgers for Michael Symon, host of The Chew.
Designed exclusively for the iPad, the app contains detailed descriptions and re-res photography of every cut of meat – more than 200 cuts total of beef, lamb, pork, veal, and poultry.
Users can watch 50 minutes of premium video, where Pat demonstrates techniques you can use at home, from sharpening your knife to what to look for in a dry-aged steak. Users can wirelessly stream video from the app to their Apple TV and big screen via AirPlay. You can test your knowledge with the Great Meat 101 Quiz, and challenge friends via Game Center.
LaFrieda Meats will sell directly to consumers nationwide through the app, via a one-click access to the online store with the best steaks, chops, and burgers.
"This app is a carnivore's wet dream," said ZPZ executive producer Jennifer Williams. "We spent 10 long days in a 35-degree meat locker filming Pat artfully butcher a bunch of delicious animals like a surgeon. If you like meat, you're gonna love this app."
ZPZ selected Domani Studios as its design and development partner.
"We've created a power-packed protein promoter," says Domani Studios Founder/ECD Jonathan Hills. "It addresses two of the unique desires among foodies - gaining a deep understanding and appreciation for ingredients, and getting access to one of the luminaries of today's food culture."
Pat LaFrieda's Big App for Meat App is available for $6.99 from the App Store here: http://bit.ly/u8kLDY.
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Latest reports 02/10/2019 -
A move towards more cost efficient ways of building refurbishment
Tailor-made advisory services help structurally weak municipalities to contribute to the energy transition. The players in the housing sector are now looking for ways to reduce the refurbishment costs.
Publisher: German Energy Solutions Initiative
Cost reduction of refurbishments can increase the rate of modernisation, especially in rural and lower income areas
The energy requirements for new buildings in both the private and commercial sectors are becoming continually more stringent as a result of technical developments and political objectives. However, since each year only 1% of the buildings in Germany are new build, there is still a lot of potential for energy-saving measures to be implemented in the building sector in the foreseeable future. Such measures are often not adopted due to a lack of knowledge or a lack of well-informed consultants.
As part of the 3 Prozent Plus research project, tools for mixed ownership structures are now being developed with which the cost-efficient and economically feasible modernisation of buildings can be achieved. These will be investigated and applied in four selected residential areas (including large and small towns). The project will concentrate on identifying ways of raising the total annual refurbishment rate to three per cent (of the buildings in the selected district). The project will focus explicitly on rural areas, which do not benefit to the same extent from rising demand as do large conurbations. The technologically outdated infrastructure of these residential areas will also be analysed. The project will be divided into three areas:
- the exchange of experience and providing independent technological advice for refurbishment work, including the preparation of a schedule for the technological progression and cost management.
- identifying possibilities for the integration of thermal and electrical storage depots in the selected districts.
- implementing refurbishment schedules by accompanying pilot projects as well as offering specific advice to the municipalities involved.
In addition to implementing these pilot measures, the knowledge acquired in the process will be shared and disseminated within the scope of the IEA working groups (Annex 75 – Cost-effective Building Renovation at the District Level Combining Energy Efficiency & Renewables and the Working Group on Cities and Communities). In addition, the research partners will share their findings with other project partners from Germany, Austria and Switzerland and make them available to the general public.
24/01/2019 Energy infrastructure
Energy efficient technologies for non-residential buildings: Providing flexibility to the net
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As cities - and their buildings - grow, so does the demand for energy. New energy efficient technologies for heating, cooling and ventilation are needed
25/07/2019 Efficiency in buildings
Heating, ventilation, cooling and sanitation: technological innovations for greater energy efficiency in all types of buildings
Sustainable building systems
External Link: Beratungs- & Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH (Environmental consulting and services)
External Link: German Association for Housing, Urban and Spatial Development
External Link: Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences
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Home / Investment / Microfinance Companies urged to re-build trust with customers
Microfinance Companies urged to re-build trust with customers
February 11, 2017 Investment Comments Off on Microfinance Companies urged to re-build trust with customers
Stakeholders in the micro-finance sector have been tasked to improve on their performance in order to regain its reputation and confidence by the general public.
Events of recent times whereby clients lost their savings among other nefarious activities by some industry players had dented the reputation of the sector, hence the need for a re-branding strategy to regain trust among the informal sector.
Dr Abraham Ato Ahinful, Chief Executive Officer of NAATOA Group of Companies threw the challenge when he opened the ninth annual micro finance conference at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) on Thursday.
The Two-day conference, organised annually by the Faculty of Social Sciences of UCC, is on the theme “The future of Micro-Finance: Sustainable micro-finance institutions and financial inclusion”.
Participants would deliberate on a wide range of issues, including the “Evolution, collapse and sustainability of micro-finance institutions”, Digitisation and financial inclusion”, Regulation and Inclusive Finance” and “Prospects of micro-finance in Ghana”.
It would be recalled that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) closed down some micro-finance institutions in the country after customers of DKM micro-finance company and “God is Love Fun Club”, among others, lost their investments running into millions of cedis.
The move, have had a negative impact on the activities of the sector as confidence levels kept dipping among clients of the informal finance sector.
Dr Ahinful stressed that there was the need for the micro-finance companies to ensure maximum protection of customers while they made analysis of every situation to know the behaviour of the customers they served.
He said micro-finance was the most challenging sector in finance with mounting challenges but a lot could be achieved if stakeholders remained proactive to the challenges and addressed them promptly.
He commended UCC for the proactive initiative to bring industry players, stakeholders, regulators and the academia together to brainstorm on how to better promote financial inclusion and its sustainability in the country.
Mr Yaw Gyamfi, Executive Director of Ghana Micro-Finance Institutions Network (GHAMFIN) said the micro-finance sector had become a conduit for the provision of financial services to the poor and low income enterprises who would have been rejected by the formal banking system.
He said even though there had been significant growth of outreach by Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) since 2006, there were growing concerns about sustainability and inclusion as many MFIs were not able to stay on to realise their intended goal.
The micro-finance landscape in Ghana had changed over the past two decades and activities of micro-finance were no longer exclusive to MFIs due to the emergence of new financial inclusion paradigm with, 9.2 million outreach as of 2016.
Mr Gyammfi urged micro-finance companies in Ghana to take the issue of prudent risk management, adherence to best practices, regulatory framework, corporate governance and technology and innovation seriously as they contributed significantly to the success of micro-finance institutions.
He was optimistic that the conference would contribute significantly to enhance the MFIs sustainability in relation to financial inclusion in Ghana for sustainable economic growth.
Mr Aex Kwesi Awuah, Acting Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank underscored the need to upgrade the capacity of rural and community banks to transform them into efficient financial institutions that would effectively address the banking needs of communities in which they operated.
He said financial institutions, stakeholders and the academia must collaborate to address the systemic institutional sustainability challenges.
Professor George Oduro, Pro Vice Chancellor of UCC said the impact of micro-finance had been mixed with critical operational challenges leading to adverse outcomes such as collapse of some MFIs.
This, he said called for an urgent need to revisit the future of micro-finance paradigm and regulate MFIs in order to protect clients and ensure financial inclusion.
Emmanuel Dogbevi
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U.S. Ports
December 18th, 2015 | Written by Peter Buxbaum
Guam Commercial Port Improvement Project Completed
PORT OF GUAM INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS COMPLETED: Enhancements include expansion of container of breakbulk capacity and an improved gate area. (Image: Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com)
The upgraded port of Guam had 4.6 acres added to its container yard.
With recently completed improvements, Guam port now has an improved gate area.
Under federal program, the port of Guam breakbulk yard has been expanded by 10 acres.
Infrastructure improvements completed at the port of Guam will provide access to electricity in case of an outage.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration recently announced the completion of the Guam Commercial Port Improvement Project.
The $50 million project, administered by the Maritime Administration (MARAD) on behalf of the Department of Defense, has transformed Guam’s strategic commercial sea port into a world-class facility ready to meet the demands of the future. The project was funded through the fiscal year 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Act, which authorized DoD to finance the port improvements.
Completed on time and under budget, the upgraded port now has 4.6 acres added to its container yard, providing the facility with an increased capacity for stacking and storing ship containers. The port also has an improved gate area, which will increase the efficiency and speed of cargo moving through the port. In addition, the port breakbulk yard has been expanded by 10 acres, which will allow greater capacity of cargo. Infrastructure improvements completed on the electrical load center at the port will now provide access to electricity in the event of a power outage.
“As Guam’s only commercial port, these facilities are key to unlocking a more prosperous future for the people of the territory and the whole of the Western Pacific Region,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
“This port will establish Guam as the preeminent regional hub for waterborne commerce, transit and defense,” said Maritime Administrator Paul Jaenichen. “That’s why I’m especially proud that the Maritime Administration played a role in making this happen.”
The Port of Guam, originally constructed in the 1950s by the U.S. Navy, and transferred to the government of Guam in the 1960s, has remained largely unchanged since construction. Since the Port is a vital asset to the economy of Guam, modernization was needed to improve facilities and relieve port congestion.
“I want to thank our federal and local partners who made this project a success,” said Governor Eddie Calvo of Guam. “As the first major upgrade the port has seen in years, this project’s completion ensures we are ready to move forward and signals the start of a new era for the island of Guam.”
The Port of Guam Improvement Enterprise Program was created to provide for the planning, design, and construction of projects for the Port of Guam to increase capacity, relieve port congestion, and provide greater access to port facilities. Under the program, MARAD provides federal oversight and coordination of the port upgrades.
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Globeblogging
Tales from the globe
The Backyard Tourist
Ghost Tours Sydney; The Rocks Walking Tour
Posted on October 7, 2019 October 13, 2019 by hollyjk17
Category:Sydney
TaggedGhost hunting Sydney, Ghost tours NSW, Ghost tours Sydney, ghost walk sydney, Haunted tours Sydney, Lantern Ghost Tours, Sydney history tours, Sydney Night Tour, The Rocks Ghost Tour review, The Rocks ghost tours, The Rocks Sydney History, The Rocks walking tour
1A Lantern Ghost Tour - A skeptics tale
1.1A spooky evening begins
1.2Susannah Place
1.3Observatory Hill - the best view in Sydney
1.4Parbury Ruins
1.5The Hero of Waterloo
2The Niggly bits
2.1What should you wear?
2.2How long does it run for?
2.3Where should you park?
2.4Is it real?
2.5Will you see a ghost?
2.6Should you take a Lantern Ghost Tour of The Rocks?
2.7How much is it?
A Lantern Ghost Tour – A skeptics tale
All places have stories. They may vary in infamy and the ability to make us scoff, gasp in wonder, or apply a healthy dose of skepticism. As a place increases in age it collects stories, and old stories grow in the minds and mouths of the storytellers, taking upon a life all of their own and passing into myth and urban legend.
Even as a local there can be many stories we never hear and things we haven’t seen unless we go in search of them. I may not live in Sydney itself but I have lived west of it my entire life and I still have plenty to see and explore.
The Rocks, Sydney Australia, has long been my favourite part of Sydney. Perhaps it’s my British heritage and love of history, but I love that the glass and concrete high-rises and offices give way to old stone structures and cobblestone streets, some of which date back to the establishment of the New South Wales colony. So much has been buried over time and is now being uncovered as the city expands.
So its understandable that the idea of a Sydney history tour appealed to me, and a ghost hunting Sydney adventure with Lantern Ghost Tours even more so! I didn’t see any ghosts, and I’m not sure if I’m disappointed about that or not, but it was a really fun and unique evening full of places I had never seen. Read on for my The Rocks ghost tour review or book yours!
This post contains affiliate links. Making a purchase through these links earns a small commission at no additional cost to you and is a great way to show your support to this site.
A spooky evening begins
The Rocks is one of the most historic parts of Sydney, dating back to the late 1700’s. A sordid history of plague, crime and hardship in the early settlement of Australia lends itself to it’s reputation of one of Sydney’s spookiest locations.
My tour kicks off at 8pm, but we are meeting out front of the Endeavour Hotel on George Street at 7.45pm and I’m surprised by the number of people waiting when I arrive after a brisk stroll from my car (parking tips to come!) Our guide is waiting dressed in corsetry, top hat and tailed black jacket, dramatically speaking in a booming voice and holding the namesake lantern aloft. This is going to be fun!
We wait a while longer for the other expected guests and are then ushered around the corner into the stone courtyard of another building which provides a wall for our guide, who introduces herself as Alison, to address us from. Alison runs through the rules for the evening, and we are all told to look at someone in the group that we don’t know and remember them, they will be our buddy for the evening. Rather than everyone being delayed by headcounts for the evening, we are to sing out if we can’t find our buddy in the group. We are also dramatically told that if a ghost follows us home, to keep the lights on.
She asks us if anyone knows what a divining rod is and I raise my hand, explaining that they are allegedly used to detect the presence of water. “Exactly!” She says and with a flourish pulls a pair of silver rods out of the sack I hadn’t noticed her carrying. “They actually detect the presence of energy, and we can use them to communicate with spirits.” She proceeds to demonstrate how to hold the rods to allow them free movement, followed by asking “Is there anyone here that wishes to speak with us?” At this point the rods may move to indicate an affirmative answer, which if so you could then ask follow up questions, instructing the rods to swing one way for yes, and the other for no. She offers the rods to the group and someone puts up their hand. Another two pairs from the sack closely follow.
All primed for our evening, she sets off and we all follow.
Susannah Place
old meets new at Susannah Place
Our first destination is a spot I have never heard of on Gloucester Street. It is a heritage listed piece of The Rocks Sydney history, a terrace of four houses built in 1844. It is now the Susannah Place Museum and can be toured during the day. We are gathered in front of number 64 on the rear side of the building. It was once the corner store. Surrounded by the old stone and corrugated iron it is easy to forget we are standing in the midst of a capital city.
Alison places her lantern on the step in front of the door of number 64, but mysteriously says she will not stand there for reasons she will reveal, but invites anyone from the group to have their photo taken in the doorway. No one moves, so naturally it is me that hands my phone to a member of the group and leaps into the doorway for a photo.
She then tells us that some people report feeling touches while standing in the doorway, and passes her phone around to show a photo supposedly showing two heads coming out of the door. It seems more likely a trick of the light to me, but I snap away with my phone curious to see whether anything gets captured. It doesn’t.
There are stories of a young boy murdered by a gang in this street, as well as a prostitute who worked this part of the street. Photos posted online also refer to a curtain which appears and disappears, but in my photos it never appears.
No ghosts here!
No ghostly curtains evident either!
The Susannah Place terraces from Gloucester Street
Observatory Hill – the best view in Sydney
From the bandstand at Observatory Hill
On our way to Observatory Hill we pass through a tiled tunnel, and are encouraged to add our footprints to the hundreds already marking the tunnel walls.
I’ve never been to Observatory Hill even in daylight. Huge trees overhang the path leading up to the bandstand. I admire them for their sheer size and dominance, but Alison tells us once we have reached the bandstand that they were once used for hangings, and there are still reports of sightings of the bodies swinging from them. The very first hanging in the new colony occurred here. Observatory Hill is the highest hill overlooking the area of the Sydney settlement and served as a fort, mill, hospital and school along with being the location of the colony’s first observatory.
While it’s certainly a chilling thought, I was unable to find anything verifying hangings in Observatory Park, though Gallows Hill, the site of many, is not too far away.
Ghosts or not, its worth the trip for the view!
Parbury Ruins
In the ultimate blending of the old and new world of The Rocks, in the basement of a modern apartment block on Windmill Street is preserved the remnants of a cottage built in the early 1800’s, discovered during construction in 2000. Alison has the keys to take us down into the foundations of the ruins, including the fireplace and a well.
We are told the story of Anne Walker, who’s body was found at the bottom of the well, and the three men believed to potentially be responsible for her death. Alison tells us Anne responds better to women and has some of the women in the group take the divining rods and stand over the well while she asks questions to the atmosphere and the rods spin madly around. Alison tells us she normally responds more emphatically to one of the three names as her killer.
The only reference I found to Anne Walker and this story was on paranormal forums. I could find no evidence that such a person existed at this time.
The Hero of Waterloo
Our next stop on the walking tour is the hotel The Hero of Waterloo, one of those that claim to be the first in the region. We have to walk up an alleyway first, and Alison pauses for a moment to tie back her hair and tuck it securely under her top hat. She tells us there is a ghost that frequents this alley that is partial to women with long hair and likes to run his fingers through it. I defiantly take my long hair out of its bun and let it hang loose down my back. But apparently the ghost didn’t like mine!
The Hero of Waterloo is named after the Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon, and dates back to 1843. It has a notorious past and in some circles the reputation of Australia’s most haunted pub.
Back in those times, finding sailors to work the whaling ships wasn’t easy, but many found themselves with no choice. The term was ‘Shanghaied’ – the practice of kidnapping men to serve as sailors. Many a young man might find themselves drinking at the bar one moment, to waking on a ship out at sea via the smugglers tunnel which runs from the Hero of Waterloo down to the wharf. Mediums are convinced many of them never made it out of the tunnel. There are still shackles on the walls of the cellar and the tunnel entrance is still evident. There is talk of the tunnel being reopened for the purpose of tours, possibly the ones which have recently been commenced by the hotel.
The hotels own website refers to a rumour that in 1849 the publican at the time pushed his wife down the stairs to her death and they believe she frequents the hotel. Furniture is moved in the function room where no one has been and music played from the piano in the bar in the middle of the night, stopping when the owners descend the stairs with the piano lid left open. The piano was moved down to the cellar years ago to give the owners some peace. Guests have run screaming from the women’s toilet saying they saw a lady standing behind them in the mirror.
Our attention is drawn to the window above the door, where Alison tells us a figure has at times been photographed. Once again my camera reveals nothing.
See that second row of windows? Glass was expensive – they are actually painted on!
A short walk from the Hero of Waterloo the tour concludes under The Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The Niggly bits
What should you wear?
Ladies, leave the heels at home, or at least in the car. Many of the streets in The Rocks are old cobblestone and the steps down to the Parbury Ruins are of the holey scaffolding variety. You’ll be asking for trouble in heels.
How long does it run for?
It runs pretty close to the two hour mark.
Where should you park?
Street parking is pretty plentiful in The Rocks, paid for in blocks of two hours. If you head for Lower Fort Street you will be in proximity of both the start and finish points.
How long is a piece of string? The history is undoubtedly so. As for the stories, they say that the tour was put together with the assistance of mediums. I was able to verify some, such as the Hero of Waterloo and I saw references to the other tales mentioned in passing as we walked past other old hotels in the area. Some I wasn’t able to corroborate, but who’s to say how good the records were back then.
Will you see a ghost?
Best to temper your expectations here. While I am skeptical I am open to the possibility that there are things beyond our understanding, but there was nothing I witnessed on the tour to convince me.
Should you take a Lantern Ghost Tour of The Rocks?
The Rocks is a really old and interesting part of Sydney and personally I think it is a beautiful part of the city. I thought it was worth the money just to walk around and see some parts of The Rocks I hadn’t before and hear about their history. If you are looking for a Sydney night tour it is definitely a good bit of fun.
Adrenalin sells this tour for $36, but it’s often available here at a discounted rate of $21.60 for bookings close to the date.
Whether its a haunted location or just a street, The Rocks at night lends itself to some spooky and atmospheric photography.
Like this? Share below!
hollyjk17
DoMoreBeMore says:
Such an entertaining read! Loved how you defiantly let your hair down!
TravelingTulls says:
So much fun! We’d sign up for this activity.
Ah haha sush a cool thing to do!
I would love to do something like that, but its a bit off from Stockholm Sweden, but I might be able to find something similar closer by 🙂
Taylor Deer says:
Woah so spooky! I definitely enjoy doing ghost tours when I visit specific cities. I’m definitely keeping this blog post handy for when I go to Sydney. The creepiest places I’ve done ghost tours were New Orleans, Charleston and Savannah USA. The scariest one I’ve done where I actually experienced paranormal activity for myself was in Edinburgh, Scotland.
hollyjk17 says:
Oh I’m hoping to make it to Scotland this year so will definitely check them out!
Agnes Groonwald says:
What a neat way to explore Sydney. I love a good ghost tour no matter where I’m at. I’m hopeful this one will get shared around to spur on some more tourism to Australia!
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Home / Our history
Once upon a time... there was a tea shop. That's how the story of Four Leaves could begin. "Was" because the physical tea shop doesn't exist anymore. In September 2012 opened its doors at Spiegelgracht in the city centre of Amsterdam, in the direct vicinity of the Rijksmuseum. Four Leaves was housed in a great property: spacious and with a great look for both the shop and the tea salon. Unfortunately, this wasn't how the location looked when we first found it: dirty floors, moisture in the walls and some leaks, which made that mushrooms grew on the ground. That needed to be fixed!
Opening Four Leaves
After an extensive renovation an opening party was held on 2 September 2012 for family, friends and other invitees who helped opening the new tea shop. On 5 September 2012 Four Leaves opened its doors for the public.
(Photo: Sebastiaan ter Burg)
As with every new company the first years were the most challenging. One might have a vision, but does the public share this too? Fortunately, the clientele grew pretty well in the first couple of months after opening the shop. Driven by a search for an honest product and better taste they became loyal followers. Even today a lot of first hour customers still buy their teas at Four Leaves.
Renovation at Spiegelgracht
A challenging time followed pretty quickly. At the beginning of Februari 2013 sewers, whiring, road and deck of Spiegelgracht were renovated. Every shop will face a difficult time if after the first few months of its existence the main road is renewed and thus the public is redirected temporarily. It was the first group of loyal customers that helped Four Leaves through this difficult time!
Grand opening of the Rijksmuseum
The opening of the Rijksmuseum in April 2013 caused a drastic change in the street view of the Spiegelgracht and Nieuwe Spiegelstraat. With the opening of the renewed Rijksmuseum (after ten years of renovation), the underpass through the museum was also opened, which provided for a great flow of public from the Museum Quarter and 'Oud Zuid.'
(Photo: ANP/Robin Utrecht)
Participating in 'Taste of Amsterdam'
Once a year for four days the Amstelpark in Amsterdam changes in a foodie-fest where chefs of well-known restaurants cook their signature dishes. Taste of Amsterdam is a foodie festival where companies in good taste meet the foodie-minded audience. The event is aimed towards good taste and discovery. Four Leaves participated in Taste in June 2013, which led to the first contacts with restaurators who were looking for a better tea experience. From that moment on Four Leaves started its wholesale business towards the better restaurants, hotels, coffee bars, clubs and brasseries.
In the following years Four Leaves became an ambassador for good taste. Many people visited the salon and were happy to be informed about the backgrounds of teas. It helped them to get better understanding on how to find their favorites. Therefore, the closure of the store came to many as a thunder in clear sky. The new property owner announced major renovations aimed at the upper apartments. After a lot of negotiations on the terms of this renovation we eventually came to the conclusion that it would be better for us to each go our seperate ways.
After the closure of the shop the launch of the renewed website of Four Leaves in June 2017 brings a new elan. The first step forward has been made and the next step towards the city centre of Amsterdam is just a matter of time ;-)
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First gender reassignment surgery at Mayo Clinic
ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) -- Mayo Clinic says its surgeons have performed the first gender reassignment surgery in Rochester.
Doctors helped Michael Keller of Rochester transition to Marisa Ann Bella in a nearly six-hour procedure. The 1980 Rochester Lourdes graduate was one of the first patients to enroll in Mayo's Transgender and Intersex Specialty Care Clinic when it opened more than two years ago.
The Post-Bulletin says the 54-year-old Bella underwent hormonal therapy, facial feminization and breast augmentation before having the reassignment surgery on Feb. 24.
Mayo Clinic says planning and preparation for offering reassignment surgery began four years ago.
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Three students arrested on drug, bomb charges at George Mason University
Court documents say three students at George Mason University have been arrested after alleged bomb-making materials were found in a dorm room.
The documents say George Mason University Police officers went to the room Wednesday night after it was reported that flames were shooting out of the window.
Search warrants say police found a leafy green substance, match books, shaved match heads, a mortar and pedestal, lighter fluid, hand sanitizer candles and a PVC pipe.
The documents say investigators reported the items could be combined to make explosives.
According to a police statement, two people were arrested on drug and alcohol-related charges; the third person was charged with possession of bomb-making materials. Police did not identify them.
Trending in US
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Kenya hails Froome, but regrets not their win
By | AFP
A supporter of British cyclist Chris Froome waves a Union Jack as the overall leader heads towards a win in the 15th stage of the 100th Tour de France between Givors and Mont Ventoux, southeast France on July 14, 2013. Kenya, birthplace of Tour de France winner Froome, celebrated his victory on Monday but expressed regret that it was Union Jacks and not Kenyan flags being waved across Paris. (AFP/File)
NAIROBI (AFP) – Kenya, birthplace of Tour de France winner Chris Froome, celebrated his victory on Monday but expressed regret that it was Union Jacks and not Kenyan flags being waved across Paris to mark the achievement.
"Why did we let him go? Now the glory goes to UK," wrote Allan Buluku in Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper.
"But no matter, he has done Kenya proud. Congratulations Froome, we salute you."
Froome, 28, became Britain's second successive winner of the prestigious race when he crossed the finishing line in Paris on Sunday, following Bradley Wiggins' success 12 months earlier.
But the Tour champion spent his childhood learning to ride in Nairobi before moving to South Africa as a teenager.
While many Kenyans bicycle, few do so competitively, and Froome was little known before his win.
However, the Nation carried a photograph of Froome celebrating his win on its front page, while The Standard newspaper led their sports pages with the headline, "Tour King Froome".
David Kinjah, 43, Froome's mentor when he first took up the sport as a boy and who Froome has called his "inspiration", took to the streets Sunday with fellow cyclists to celebrate the win.
But he also said he was disappointed that the win was seen as a British victory, criticising what he said was disorganisation within Kenya's cycling authorities.
Froome had previously ridden for Kenya the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
"If it were not for the frustrations that we encountered form the cycling body, we could now have been celebrating a Kenyan victory," Kinjah told the Daily Nation.
"It is time now to embrace change and bring justice to our hardworking sports men and women."
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Debra T. Hirsch, Partner
Debra T. Hirsch
dhirsch@foxrothschild.com
With more than 35 years of tax law experience, Debra represents clients in sophisticated federal, New Jersey and New York gift and estate tax planning, charitable planning, preparation of wills and trusts and estate administration. She has prepared more than 500 wills and hundreds of estate plans in her career for clients who range from young professionals just starting to accumulate wealth to successful individuals who have amassed significant assets.
Debra is adept at explaining complex tax structures in understandable terms and possesses a particularly patient and sensitive demeanor that attracts clients who have recently gone through emotional life changes. Debra customizes estate plans to her clients’ needs, not just their assets, taking time to understand their individual personal goals.
In addition, Debra has a particular focus on advising individuals and fiduciaries on certain matters involving the United States and Israel, such as U.S. estate planning for dual citizens who are residents of Israel, and tax issues involving U.S. citizens who have children or grandchildren in Israel, particularly in connection with recent changes to the Israeli trust income tax law.
Prior to joining the firm, Debra was with Deener, Hirsch & Shramenko, P.C. for 20 years. Prior to that, Debra was in the tax department of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP for more than five years.
Debra is a sought-after lecturer on various tax law-related topics. She has presented before professional groups and community organizations, including the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education and the National Business Institute, on the subjects of sophisticated gift and estate tax planning, closely held family businesses, and trusts and estates. She has also presented to community and professional groups, including for Strafford (via international webinars) in 2017 and 2018, on recent Israeli income tax law changes to taxation of trust income.
Additionally, Debra is a frequent co-author on estate tax law, including:
"Update on Israeli Taxation of U.S. Trusts with Israeli Beneficiaries," Bloomberg BNA (September 2016)
"Israeli Beneficiaries Subject to New Tax," Trusts & Estates (November 25, 2014)
“New Israeli Tax Law Applies to Many U.S. Trusts,” New Jersey Law Journal (February 19, 2014)
“Tax Law Changes Will Deeply Impact U.S. Trusts for Israeli Beneficiaries,” New Jersey Jewish Standard (December 27, 2013)
“Israel Changes its Tax Law To Include the Taxation of Many Foreign Trusts,” Bloomberg BNA (December 2013)
“Estate Planning Strategist (Fourth Edition),” New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (December 2013)
"No Federal Estate Tax Creates Planning Opportunities, Potential Confusion and Litigation,"New Jersey Law Journal (March 8, 2010)
Debra was integral in the preparation of the First, Second and Third editions and is the co-author of the Fourth edition of Estate Planning Strategist (2014), a treatise published by the Institute for Continuing Legal Education for attorneys and accountants on sophisticated tax and estate planning topics, including recommended forms. The treatise covers many current topics and techniques, as well as updates to articles that were originally published in the Estate Planning Newsletter, including:
“Planning with Qualified Subchapter S Trusts and Electing Small Business Trusts,” November 1997
“Is the Sale to Grantor Trust Superior to the Use of a GRAT?,” July 1997
“Estate Planning for Divorce and Remarriage,” February 1997
"Recent Developments Create Planning Opportunities for Spousal Joint Property,” December 1996
“Charitable Remainder Trusts,” April 1996
“Planning With Charitable Lead Trusts,” January 1996
“Family Limited Partnerships,” September 1995
“Planning With Life Insurance Trusts,” May/June 1995
“Self Canceling Installment Note (SCIN): The Bet to Die,” February 1995
“Transferring Future Appreciation Without Transfer Tax Consequences (use of short term GRAT),” November/December 1994
“Use of GRATs to Transfer Control of Family Owned Businesses and Real Estate,” August 1994
“Qualified Personal Residence Trust . . . A Rare Opportunity!,” May 1994
U.S. Trusts with Israeli Beneficiaries Now Taxable – What You Need To Know About the New Law and the Decisions that Must Be Made Now
Martindale-Hubbell "AV Preeminent" rated*
Selected to the "Super Lawyers" list for Estate Planning and Probate in New Jersey (2011, 2017-2019)*
Selected to the "Bergen's Top Lawyers" list by (201) The Best of Bergen Magazine (2012, 2013)*
*Awards Methodology.
Federal Estate & Gift Tax Planning
Trust & Estate Law & Administration
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
New York University School of Law (Courses in LL.M. in Taxation program)
Columbia Law School (J.D., 1980)
State University of New York at Stony Brook (B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1977)
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)
AMIT Women (Life Member)
Englewood Mikvah Association (Former Board Member)
Hadassah (Life Member)
Congregation Ahavath Torah (Former Board Member)
Congregation Ahavath Torah
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The most iconic wedding dresses of all time
Beautiful bridal wear doesn’t come much better than this.
If you’re planning a wedding – or even if you’re not – taking inspiration from those who’ve walked down the aisle in the most stunning gowns is well worth a look.
Heading up our must-see dress of all time is Grace Kelly’s iconic lace gown designed by costumier Helen Rose for her 1956 wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco.
It could be said its timeless beauty and effortless sophistication has set the tone for all wedding dresses since. Miranda Kerr looked to the Princess of Monaco for her Dior-designed creation for her recent nuptials to Evan Spiegel, and there was even deep speculation the Duchess of Cambridge had turned to Kelly’s long-sleeved lace gown as inspiration for her own Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen wedding dress in 2011.
Step through our gallery of the most show-stopping gowns, and prepare to be wowed.
Photos: Getty Images, Instagram
Hollywood royalty Audrey Hepburn on her wedding day in Balmain.
Grace Kelly’s 1956 wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco is one of the most iconic. Her dress, an inspired lace gown, was designed by costume designer Helen Rose.
Diana, Princess of Wales married in 1981. Her gown, by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, was adorned with more than 10,000 tiny mother-of-pearl sequins and sported a seven metre-long train.
Victoria Beckham’s 1999 wedding to David Beckham was one of epic proportions. The bride wore the wedding dress designer of the day, Vera Wang.
Gwen Stefani’s 2004 wedding to Gavin Rossdale in her Galliano dip-dyed dress broke all the rules in a beautiful, and very unexpected, way.
Model Gisele Bundchen married Tom Brady in not one, but two weddings in 2009. The bride wore a white sequin gown by Dolce and Gabbana.
When Kate Middleton married Prince William in 2011 there was a huge amount of speculation as to who would design the dress. On the day, it was revealed Sarah Burton, creative director for Alexander McQueen, had created the stunning gown.
Model Kate Moss always makes luxe boho dressing look easy. Her sheer John Galliano wedding dress she wore for her 2011 wedding to Jamie Hince was no exception.
High profile United Nations lawyer Amal Clooney married her movie star husband, George in 2014. The bride wore custom Oscar de la Renta.
Amid the glitz and the glam of Kim Kardashian’s 2014 wedding to Kanye West was an incredible couture gown by Givenchy.
Supermodel and socialite Poppy Delevingne married James Cook in 2014 wearing a custom Chanel gown.
For her second wedding, Poppy popped over to Marrakech to marry again in a pretty floral dress by Peter Dundas for Emilio Pucci.
Solange Knowles did away with tradition, marrying her beau Alan Ferguson in 2014 wearing an ivory jumpsuit by Stéphane Rolland.
New Zealand sporting royalty Gemma McCaw (née Flynn) married former All Black Richie McCaw in 2017. The bride wore an elegant dress by local designer Anna Schimmel.
Miranda Kerr’s wedding to Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel in 2017 was an exercise in elegance. She wore a Maria Grazia Chiuri for Dior lace dress inspired by Grace Kelly’s iconic gown.
Style clearly runs in the family, with Kate Middleton’s sister, Pippa, turning to UK designer Giles Deacon for her gorgeous gown for her 2017 wedding to financier James Matthews.
View next gallery:
Best dressed of the week 24/07/17
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May 31 2019 Dividend Policy Change Effective 5/1/19 - Read More
Effective 5/1/19, this fund changed its distribution policy from managed pay, where dividend rates are set based on projections, to variable pay, where income is distributed as it’s earned. The fund’s final fixed pay distribution occurred in late April and the first variable pay distribution occured in late May. If you have questions, please contact your financial advisor or Shareholder Services.
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Beginning on 10/19/18, Class C shares held for 10 years or more will automatically convert to Class A shares. Thereafter, Class C shares held for 10 years or more will automatically convert to Class A shares on a monthly basis. This conversion allows shareholders to take advantage of the lower expenses offered by Class A shares. Please see the prospectus supplement for more information. If you have any questions, please contact your financial advisor or call Franklin Templeton.
Sep 10 2018 Changes to Class A Shares - Read More
Class A shares (NASDAQ: FRPAX) were renamed Class A1 and closed to new investors. Existing Class A1 shareholders may continue to add money to their accounts. A new Class A share (NASDAQ: FPAQX) launched with a different expense structure, in which new shareholders can invest. The fund also changed certain sales charges and commissions paid to dealers on Class A and A1 shares. Please see the prospectus supplement for more information. If you have additional questions, please contact your financial advisor or call Franklin Templeton.
FRPRX
Franklin Pennsylvania Tax-Free Income Fund
Share Class R6
Share Class A
Share Class A1
Share Class Advisor
Share Class C
Favorite [favorite]
Average Annual Total Returns
Cumulative Total Returns
After-Tax Average Annual Total Returns
Average Annual Total Returns [further-information]
Average annual total return shows the investment's average annual change in value over the indicated periods. It is not the same as a year-by-year annual return. Figures reflect reinvestment of dividends and capital gains.
Quarter End
View Historical Data
Read important information about results and other investment disclosures
Month EndAs of 12/31/2019
Since InceptionInception 12/01/1986
Fund without Sales Charge (%) (NAV)
Fund with Sales Charge (%) (POP)
Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index (%)
Quarter EndAs of 12/31/2019
Cumulative Total Returns [further-information]
Cumulative total return shows the change in the investment's value over the time period indicated. Figures reflect reinvestment of dividends and capital gains.
Since Inception since 12/01/1986
5.67 5.67 9.95 14.26 44.75 442.84
7.54 7.54 14.85 18.93 52.95 543.67
HYPOTHETICAL $10K INVESTMENT
After-Tax Average Annual Total Returns [further-information]
After-tax average annual total returns represent the average change in value of an investment on an annualized basis. Returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates; state and local taxes are not considered. Your actual after-tax return depends on your particular tax situation and may differ from those shown. "Before Shares Sold" figures assume taxes are paid on fund distributions (dividends and capital gains) but do not reflect taxes that may be incurred upon sale or exchange of shares. "After Shares Sold" figures also adjust for taxes due if the fund investment is sold at the end of the measurement period.
After-tax average annual total returns represent the average change in value of an investment on an annualized basis. Returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates; state and local taxes are not considered. Your actual after-tax return depends on your particular tax situation and may differ from those shown. "Before Shares Sold" figures assume taxes are paid on fund distributions (dividends and capital gains) but do not reflect taxes that may be incurred upon sale or exchange of shares. "After Shares Sold" figures also adjust for taxes due if the fund investment is sold at the end of the measurement period.
No chart available for this data.
Before Shares Sold
After Shares Sold
SALES CHARGE, EXPENSES & FEES As of 07/01/2019 (updated annually)
Gross Expense Ratio
Net Expense Ratio [further-information]
Net Expense Ratio represents the expense ratio applicable to investors.
Max Initial Sales Charge
Volatility Measures [further-information]
The difference between a fund's actual returns versus its expected performance, given its level of market risk as measured by beta. A positive alpha indicates the fund performed better than its beta would predict while a negative alpha indicates the fund's under performance based on the expectations indicated by the fund's beta.
A measure of a fund's volatility in relation to the stock market, as measured by a stated index. By definition, the beta of the stated index is 1; a fund with a higher beta has been more volatile than the index, and a fund with a lower beta has been less volatile than the index.
The Sharpe ratio, developed by Nobel Prize winner William Sharpe, provides a measure of a fund's historical risk-adjusted performance. A higher number indicates better historical risk-adjusted performance.
The linear relationship between two return series. Correlation shows the strength of the relationship between two return series. The higher the relationship, the more similar the returns.
R-Squared
This number indicates what percentage of a fund's performance fluctuation can be explained by movements in the benchmark index. R-squared (correlation) ranges from 0 to 100. An R-squared of 100 would mean that the fund is tracking its benchmark exactly. A low R-squared indicates that very few of the fund's movements are explained by movements of its benchmark. R-squared can help determine the significance of the fund's beta. A higher R-squared generally indicates a more useful beta. Lower R-squared means the fund's beta is less relevant to its performance.
This figure provides a statistical measure of the range of a fund's returns. A high standard deviation indicates a wide range of returns and thus greater volatility.
As of 12/31/2019 Updated Monthly, based on a 3-year period
[further-information-text]
A benchmark is a comparable broad-based index that can be used to evaluate a fund's performance.
Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index
For investors subject to the alternative minimum tax, a small portion of fund dividends may be taxable. Distributions of capital gains are generally taxable. To avoid the imposition of 28% backup withholding on all fund distributions and redemption proceeds, U.S. investors must be properly certified on Form W-9 and non-U.S. investors on Form W-8BEN.
Most Franklin Templeton funds offer multiple share classes. Share classes are subject to different fees and expenses, which will affect their performance. In general, Class A/A1 have a maximum initial sales charge; Class C/C1 shares have a 1% contingent deferred sales charge; Class Z, Advisor Class and Class R6 shares have no sales charges nor Rule 12b-1 fees; Class R shares have no sales charges, but do have a Rule 12b-1 fee.
All investments involve risks, including possible loss of principal. Because municipal bonds are sensitive to interest rate movements, the fund's yield and share price will fluctuate with market conditions. Bond prices generally move in the opposite direction of interest rates. Thus, as prices of bonds in the fund adjust to a rise in interest rates, the fund's share price may decline. Because the fund invests principally in a single state, it is subject to greater risk of adverse economic and regulatory changes in that state than a geographically diversified fund. Puerto Rico municipal bonds have been impacted by recent adverse economic and market changes, which may cause the fund's share price to decline. Changes in the credit rating of a bond, or in the credit rating or financial strength of a bond's issuer, insurer or guarantor, may affect the bond's value. The fund may invest a significant part of its assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects, such as utilities, hospitals, higher education and transportation. A change that affects one project would likely affect all similar projects, thereby increasing market risk.
Total Returns include change in share price, assume reinvestment of all distributions, and reflect the deduction of fund expenses and applicable fees. Total Returns With Sales Charge: returns reflect the deduction of the stated sales charge. Total returns, distribution rate, and yields reflect any applicable expense reductions, without which the results for those impacted funds would have been lower.
Class R6 shares are only offered to certain eligible investors as stated in the prospectus. They are offered without sales charges or Rule 12b-1 fees.
For more information on any of our funds, contact your financial advisor or download a prospectus. Investors should carefully consider a fund's investment goals, risks, sales charges and expenses before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money.
Performance data represents past performance, which does not guarantee future results. Current performance may differ from figures shown. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with market conditions, and you may have a gain or loss when you sell your shares.
All investments involve risks, including possible loss of principal. Because municipal bonds are sensitive to interest rate movements, the fund's yield and share price will fluctuate with market conditions. Bond prices generally move in the opposite direction of interest rates. Thus, as prices of bonds in the fund adjust to a rise in interest rates, the fund's share price may decline. Changes in the credit rating of a bond, or in the credit rating or financial strength of a bond's issuer, insurer or guarantor, may affect the bond's value. The fund may invest a significant part of its assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects, such as utilities, hospitals, higher education and transportation. A change that affects one project would likely affect all similar projects, thereby increasing market risk.
Advisor Class, Class R, Class R6 and Class Z shares are only offered to certain eligible investors as stated in the prospectus. The fund offers multiple share classes, which are subject to different fees and expenses that will affect their performance. Please see the prospectus for details. Change the share class selection in the dropdown at the top of this page in order to see its performance details.
Portfolio holdings are subject to change.
Calculated according to the modified duration formula. Duration is an indication of a fund's sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Please note, duration numbers will change as market conditions change; therefore duration should not solely be relied upon to indicate a municipal bond fund's potential volatility.
A statistical measurement of the range of a fund's total returns. In general, a higher standard deviation means greater volatility. Based on the fund's monthly returns over the 3-year period ended as of the date of the calculation.
A statistical measurement of a fund's historical risk-adjusted performance. It is calculated by taking a fund's excess return over that of the three-month Treasury bill divided by its standard deviation. Higher values generally indicate better historical risk-adjusted performance. Based on the 3 years ended as of the date of the calculation.
Securities, except for those labeled Not Rated ("NR"), are assigned ratings by one or more Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations ("NRSRO"), such as Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch, that can be considered by the investment manager as part of its independent security analysis. When ratings from multiple agencies are available, the highest is used, consistent with the portfolio investment process. Ratings reflect an NRSRO's opinion of an issuer's creditworthiness and typically range from AAA (highest) to D (lowest). The Refunded category consists of refunded bonds secured by U.S. government or other high-quality securities and not rerated by an NRSRO. The Not Rated category consists of ratable securities that have not been rated by an NRSRO. Cash includes equivalents, which may be rated. Derivatives are excluded from this breakdown.
The fund's 30-day standardized yield is calculated over a trailing 30-day period using the yield to maturity on bonds and/or the dividends accrued on stocks. It may not equal the fund's actual income distribution rate, which reflects the fund's past dividends paid to shareholders.
Public Offering Price — Purchase price for each share of the fund on a given day. It includes the maximum initial sales charge, if any.
Net Asset Value — The amount per share you would receive if you sold shares that day.
Source: Morningstar®. For each mutual fund and exchange traded fund with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating based on how a fund ranks on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure against other funds in the same category. This measure takes into account variations in a fund's monthly performance, and does not take into account the effects of sales charges and loads, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The weights are: 100% 3-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% 5-year rating/40% 3-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% 5-year rating/20% 3-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent 3-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Morningstar Rating is for the named share class only; other classes may have different performance characteristics. Past performance is not an indicator or a guarantee of future performance.
©2019 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.
The hypothetical scenario does not take into account federal, state or municipal taxes. If taxes were taken into account, the hypothetical values shown would have been lower.
The Fund's portfolio is generally widely diversified among issuers of municipal securities. From time to time, however, the Fund may have a significant position in the municipal securities of a particular state or territory, such as Puerto Rico. Under these circumstances, changes in the economic conditions in that state or territory are likely to affect the Fund's investments and performance. In February 2014, rating agencies downgraded Puerto Rico's general obligation debt and some related bonds below investment grade, with further downgrades possible. Portfolio holdings and details listed above may not reflect the most current ratings information available.
The Morningstar Rating™ for this share class is based on Morningstar's extended performance calculation. This means that, for a share class that doesn't have a 1-, 3-, 5-, or 10-year performance history, the rating shown is a hypothetical Morningstar Rating based first on the oldest active surviving share class of the fund and then any dormant or liquidated share classes. If more than one share class has the earliest inception date, Morningstar selects the share class that is freely available to investors, that is not currency-hedged, and has the lowest fee.
Effective August 1, 2017, the fund began offering Class R6 shares. Performance quotations have been calculated as follows: (a) for periods prior to August 1, 2017, a restated figure is used based on the fund's Advisor Class/Class Z performance, adjusted to take into account differences in class specific operating expenses and (b) for periods after August 1, 2017, actual Class R6 performance is used, reflecting all charges and fees applicable to that class.
The fund has a transfer agency fee reduction contractually guaranteed through 6/30/20. Fund investment results reflect the fee reduction; without this reduction, the results would have been lower.
Indices are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in them. Index returns do not reflect any fees, expenses or sales charges.
For performance reporting purposes, the inception date for Classes A/A1, R, R6, Z, and Advisor Class shares of all Franklin Templeton Funds is the date of effectiveness of the fund's registration statement or the first day the fund commenced operations. For Class C shares, generally the inception date is the first day the fund commenced offering such shares. Exceptions: Templeton Global Balanced Fund Classes A and C use the inception date of the old Class A and C shares, renamed Class A1 and Class C1. For Franklin Mutual Series Funds, Franklin International Small Cap Growth Fund and Franklin Pelagos Commodities Strategy Fund, the inception date for Classes A, C, R and R6 shares is the funds' oldest class', Z or Advisor, inception date. Franklin U.S. Government Money Fund Class R6 inception date is the first day it commenced offering such shares. For Franklin California Ultra-Short Tax-Free Income Fund Classes A1 and Advisor Class use the inception date of its predecessor, Franklin California Tax-Exempt Money Fund.
Distributions are made to those who are registered shareholders of the fund on the record date. Distributions are paid on the pay date. Estimates can change prior to the record date depending on market conditions and number of shares outstanding. All dates and distributions are subject to board approval. Net investment income distribution estimates do not include short- or long-term capital gain distributions the funds may be making. The actual amounts of net investment income shareholders will receive will be reported, along with any short-term capital gain distributions, as Ordinary Dividends on Form 1099-DIV.
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UPDATE: EU Mobility Package Proves Divisive for European Transport Industry
EU Mobility Package Update
There have been some new rules outlined regarding the EU Mobility Package, which will mainly cover the following three areas:
Local wages must be paid both for domestic haulage within one country and for cabotage - when a truck arrives with goods from abroad and accepts a transport job within that country.
Cabotage rules will also be tightened. After carrying out cabotage, the truck must stay within the country's borders for four days. After carrying out cabotage, the truck must stay within the country's borders for four days. Every eight weeks the truck must be driven back to the country where it was registered.
Foreign drivers face stricter rules for driving and resting times and must return to their home country every three weeks.
These new rules will be introduced in 2021 and will also cover Norway and Iceland.
The past few weeks have seen Europe wide protests from European drivers objecting to proposals put into place by the Mobility Package. Any day now the European Commission will sit down to discuss their final plans for when the new initiative will be passed.
The Mobility Package, which has been dubbed the ‘Macron Package’ due to the French President’s driving of certain aspects of the scheme, has left countries divided.
What exactly is the Mobility Package, you may ask? We’ve got everything you need to know.
What is the Mobility Package?
The Mobility Package is a three-part scheme headed by the European Commission, which features new initiatives to try and govern the ever-growing levels of commercial road transport across Eastern Europe.
It would mean the biggest change to EU road transport rules to date and looks at achieving a blanket policy across all countries concerned, intending to address a great number of issues which currently exist within the European Transport sectors.
The standardisation of rules, which were released between May 2017 - May 2018, aims to result in more consistent enforcement across all member states, improving issues including driver welfare, fair competition, equalising pay and creating a more unified Europe. However, such initiatives are said to be coming at a cost to many.
A full outline of the scheme’s initiatives can be found on the EU’s Europe on the Move website.
But why are some unhappy with the plans?
The most divisive part of the plans is the enforcement that all European drivers must return to their own country for their monthly rest period.
This doesn’t sound very impactful on the surface; however, it is not uncommon for Eastern European drivers to spend their rest periods away from their home countries for them to be able to receive the maximum level of jobs. Thus, the proposed restriction would possibly place an additional financial burden on thousands of drivers and transport countries across Europe.
In addition, further plans such as equalising wages for all drivers have been accused by Eastern Europe as an excuse for stamping out cheaper competition. The standardisation of wages across Europe means that wealthier countries will no longer have to fear the risk of losing work to drivers who will accept the same job at a cheaper rate.
Increasing the transport costs also has the risk of crippling certain country’s industries, especially those that do not use the Euro. Their costs of living are also far lower than that of many Western countries. In fact, the divisive measure has even gone as far to be dubbed ‘discriminatory’ by some Bulgarians.
For these reasons, thousands of drivers have taken to the streets of Strasbourg to protest.
Does the plan have any positives?
With Brexit on the horizon, stricter tolls and import/export initiatives will protect the interests of all of those who remain within the European Union, particularly if the UK leaves without a deal.
In addition, creating regulations for all drivers aims to stamp out a number of ongoing welfare issues, which have been dubbed by some Mobility Package supporters as ‘inhumane’. Many European drivers do not return home for months at a time and are worked far harder than their Western counterparts for lower wages.
It is not uncommon for Eastern European workers to be exploited for the reason that they will work harder for less, making them at risk of illness, physical harm, exhaustion and potentially causing road collisions.
What does the Mobility Package mean for the future of the Haulage Industry?
At the moment it is very difficult to tell exactly what the future of European haulage looks like. The council cannot reach a decision that can meet the agreement of all countries involved.
A number of parties have implored negotiations to be suspended until after the European Elections in late May, however, this looks unlikely due to the looming deadline of Brexit and the subsequent mounting pressure for Europe to reach an agreement before the 1st June.
Until then, keep your eyes peeled. We will keep you up to date with any updates on the progress of the Mobility Package.
Van up to 6 metres Van up to 7 metres Van up to 8 metres Van & Trailer up to 6 metres total Van & Trailer up to 7 metres total Van & Trailer up to 8 metres total Van & Trailer up to 9 metres total Van & Trailer up to 10 metres total Van & Trailer up to 11 metres total Van & Trailer up to 12 metres total Van & Trailer up to 13 metres total Horsebox up to 6 metres Horsebox up to 7 metres Horsebox up to 8 metres Horsebox up to 9 metres Horsebox up to 10 metres Horsebox up to 11 metres Horsebox up to 12 metres Lorry up to 6 metres Lorry up to 7 metres Lorry up to 8 metres Lorry up to 9 metres Lorry up to 10 metres Lorry up to 11 metres Lorry up to 12 metres Lorry up to 13 metres Artic up to 14 metres total Artic up to 15 metres total Artic up to 16 metres total Artic up to 17 metres total Drop Trailer up to 6 metres Drop Trailer up to 7 metres Drop Trailer up to 8 metres Drop Trailer up to 9 metres Drop Trailer up to 10 metres Drop Trailer up to 11 metres Drop Trailer up to 12 metres Drop Trailer up to 13 metres Drop Trailer up to 14 metres Plant or Machinery up to 3 metres Plant or Machinery up to 4 metres Plant or Machinery up to 5 metres Plant or Machinery up to 6 metres Plant or Machinery up to 7 metres Plant or Machinery up to 8 metres Road Train up to 17 metres total Road Train up to 18 metres total Road Train up to 19 metres total Road Train up to 20 metres total Road Train up to 21 metres total Road Train up to 22 metres total Tractor Unit up to 6 metres Tractor Unit up to 7 metres Trade Car up to 5 metres Trade Car up to 6 metres Trade Car up to 7 metres
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Cars & Motorhomes
Passenger Cars and Motorhomes cannot travel on our freight ferry services. If you are travelling by van, please choose the relevant 'Van' option from the dropdown Vehicle menu.
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Home/American Shipper/SSA gives update on Chile terminals
SSA gives update on Chile terminals
American Shipper Staff Friday, March 5, 2010
Stevedoring Services of America has been a partner since 1999 with the Chilean carrier CSAV in developing and operating marine terminals in San Antonio and San Vicente. Chile.
David L. Michou, president of SSA International, gave this update on its port facilities after last week’s devastating earthquake:
' At San Antonio, power was connected at around 1 a.m. Thursday. Three vessels began working on Wednesday and will continue to do so around the clock. Three of six shore cranes were expected to be operating Friday. The other three shore cranes are still being assessed. Gates are open normal hours for imports and exports.
' At San Vicente, Michou said there was no serious damage to the berths, and he said all equipment is in operating order. Operations are planned to resume Monday morning when labor is allowed to travel during working hours instead of the limited hours under the current military curfew allowing travel from only between noon and 6 p.m.
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German in 1000 Schools
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A fascination with the past
Babylon Berlin: ambitious police typist Charlotte Ritter. | Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Everett Collection 102309761
German television shows tend to have a bad reputation for poor writing and cheap productions not suited for an international market and audience. Now series like “Deutschland ‘83” and “Babylon Berlin” are putting a new shine on that tarnished image.
By Nadine Berghausen
What a glorious setting! The Golden Twenties serve as the temporal backdrop to a new crime series unique in German television history. Initially produced as 16 episodes in two seasons, Babylon Berlin was first broadcast on pay TV in autumn 2017 and picked up by public television at the end of 2018. Expectations of the huge project, which featured a virtual who’s who of the German acting elite under the direction of renowned Tom Tykwer, were enormous. This is hardly surprising given the 40 million euro budget rumoured to have ballooned to 55 million with reshoots.
Babylon Berlin’s plotline is loosely based on the bestselling mystery series by Volker Kutscher. It revolves around Chief Inspector Gereon Rath, transferred from Cologne to Berlin, and police typist Charlotte Ritter at the end of the 1920s. The story is set in the middle of the debauched milieu of the vice squad, prostitutes and glitterati in the capital’s fabled cabarets and watering holes.
The action in the second season of “Charité” takes place under Nazi rule. | Photo: © MDR/Julie Vrabelova Success was not long in coming: the first three episodes achieved a market share of 24.5 percent on public TV attracting almost 8 million viewers. Babylon Berlin is not just hitching a ride on the series format’s coattails of success –the viewing habits of many viewers seem to have changed, thanks in no small part to streaming providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime; while cinema used to be the measure of all things in the entertainment world, today many people are enthusiastic about long-spun plotlines. German viewers also seem to have a soft spot for historical dramas, and mini-series like Charité and Ku'damm '56 regularly captivate millions of viewers. The formula for success is apparently to supplement historical facts with fictitious elements.
Historical series an export hit
Internationally, historical series are in vogue as well, whether as literary adaptations such as Jekyll and Hyde or biographies such as those of Queen Elisabeth II in The Crown. A historical theme also generated one of the most internationally successful German series: Deutschland 83 (Germany in '83) was not only showered with prizes - including an Emmy, a Grimme Prize, a Golden Camera and a Peabody Award - it was also successfully exported to other countries.
Making the move from RTL to Amazon Prime: the sequel to “Deutschland 83”, “Deutschland 86” also features Jonas Nay as the spy codenamed ‘humming bird’ who slips in and out of various roles. | Photo: © UFA FICTION GmbH/Anika Molnár The 2015 series was a novelty when it appeared, as the international television export market had pretty much ignored German shows for being too bad, too cheap, and too boring. Suddenly though, the international media was full of praise for the story of an East German agent smuggled into West Germany at the high point of the Cold War in 1983. While the series trudged listlessly along on the RTL channel – perhaps viewers never imagined the private channel might produce a premium product - it became a blockbuster in places like Sweden, Canada, Russia, the USA and even Australia. With a dense and suspenseful narrative style against a soundscape of 1980s pop hits, the show really drew viewers in. It was a breath of fresh air in the German television industry, since it showed that Germany was in fact capable of making programmes that could hold their own on the international market.
Producers also achieved great success abroad with Das Boot - even before the series was first broadcast in Germany in 2018. The show was picked up in more than 100 countries, though that might partly be because it is the sequel to the Oscar-nominated and thus internationally known feature film of the same name from 1981.
Other German shows have also made it on the international market, including Ku'damm '56 (2016) and Charité (2017), or the earlier Weissensee (White Lake) and Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter (Our Mothers, our Fathers), though their range was fairly moderate. Babylon Berlin was in fact the only show able to follow in the giant ratings footsteps of Germany 83. But even if the great international export triumph remains rare, German TV audiences stay true to their beloved series. So millions are likely to gather in front of their sets when the second season of Charité premiers in February 2019, and their numbers are likely to swell even further when Babylon Berlin launches season 3 in autumn 2019.
Photo (detail): © picture-alliance/dpa/Nestor Bachmann
Weissensee is a series about the decline of the GDR and two East Berlin families who could not be more different: while one is loyal to the regime and works closely with the Stasi, the other is part of the dissident underground. It's a story of love between members of two warring families, of betrayal, greed, struggle and power. But Weissensee is also a political thriller in which German history plays an important role before, during and after reunification.
Photo (detail): © Nik Konietzny/Bavaria Fiction GmbH, 2018
If you suffer from claustrophobia, then this series might cause some anxiety. Das Boot retells the events that took place aboard German Kriegsmarine U 612 submarine in 1942, and realistically recreates the oppressive atmosphere on board. The price tag is not for the faint of heart either: the 2018 series sequel to Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 film cost 26.5 million euros. So Das Boot was even more expensive per episode than pay-TV channel Sky’s mammoth Babylon Berlin.
Photo (detail): © MDR/Julie Vrabelova
At the end of the 19th century, doctors, nurses and researchers worked under tough conditions at Charité Hospital in Berlin. Simple infections were often fatal and half of all new-borns did not survive. In 1888, the year of the Three Emperors, the Charité is fighting diseases such as syphilis, diphtheria and tuberculosis. The story is densely atmospheric, and today’s Charité board praised the historical accuracy director Sönke Wortmann used to tell the story of doctors like Rudolf Virchow and Robert Koch, who were making medical history at the time.
Photo (detail): ©UFA FICTION GmbH/Anika Molnár
Deutschland 83 / 86
Like Weissensee, Deutschland '83 is the story of a divided Germany. The focus here though shifts away from the personal to the political: espionage, the Cold War and the possible outbreak of a third world war. In Deutschland '83 viewers watch as the world powers play a tricky game of chess. A sequel has since been released: Deutschland ’86. The follow-up explores whether the practicality of capitalism could be used to save communism.
Photo (detail): © ZDF/Stefan Erhard
Ku’damm ’56/ ’59
Another series with a simple title: Ku'damm '56 and '59. Strictly speaking, it is more a three-part TV mini-series about emancipation in the 1950s. It reflects on German society in the post-war period and during the economic miracle illustrated through the family-run Galant dance school on the famous Ku'damm, where guests go to sound out the limits of prudery and live out their sexuality.
Nadine Berghausen is an art historian, freelance editor and journalist.
Translation: Sarah Smithson-Compton
Copyright: Text: Goethe-Institut, Nadine Berghausen. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution – Share Alike 3.0 Germany license.
Any questions about this article? Write to us!
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Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer
Home / Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer
Personal Injury Lawyers Fort Lauderdale, FL
Experienced personal injury attorneys provide trusted legal representation for clients who have suffered an injury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Suffering an injury because of the negligent actions of another can lead to serious complications in your life. Aside from dealing with an injury, possible surgery to fix it, and the extensive rehabilitation; you could also suffer serious financial burdens if you are unable to work. You will see the monthly utility bills, medical expenses, and either your rent or mortgage payments pile up in the mail. If you have suffered an injury at the hands of a negligent third party you need to speak with the experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers from Gonzalez & Cartwright, P.A. to discover your legal options. We have been representing clients just like you for more than a decade in Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding communities.
Personal Injury Attorneys Here to Guide you Through the Legal Waters after a Serious Injury in Fort Lauderdale, FL
For personal injury lawsuits to succeed in Florida the injuries sustained must meet a certain threshold. This prevents cases with minor injuries from clogging the court system. The categories that cover the injuries required for a personal injury case are not clear cut, but the lawyers in our office have the experience necessary to evaluate your injuries and provide you with an honest outlook regarding your case. The categories of injuries that can move a personal injury case forward include the following:
Injuries viewed to be permanent, causing significant disability
Injuries that caused a significant and permanent loss of a bodily function
Injuries that caused disfigurement or severe scarring
It might seem as if the categories mentioned above only include the most serious injuries, most courts in Florida will allow personal injury cases to move forward if they involve broken bones no matter if the injury will heal or not. Should a plaintiff suffer a broken leg in a car accident it will cause the plaintiff difficulty moving around their home and place of employment until the injury heals. Because of the length of injury, a personal injury case of this kind can move forward in a Florida court.
It’s important to consult an experienced personal injury attorney in Florida because of the thresholds placed on personal injury cases. We have received the AV rating from the Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Rating Service, which is the highest a firm can be awarded. Our team is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, which includes all personal injury attorneys in the country who have secured a $1 million or more award for a client. The team at Gonzalez & Cartwright has also been recognized for our work with the Latino community by being recognized in Top Latino Lawyers. Our passion and dedication to our clients has been recognized throughout Broward County.
Successful Representation of Injured Clients in Fort Lauderdale, FL by Lawyers Gonzalez & Cartwright
The Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers from our firm have experience representing clients who have suffered injuries in all types of accidents, including:
Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
Car Accident Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
Truck Accident Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
Motorcycle Accident Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
Bus Accident Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
Uber Accident Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
Lyft Accident Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
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Bicycle Accident Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
Dog Bite Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
Construction Accident Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
Work Injury Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
Pedestrian Accident Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale
All of the accidents listed above can lead to severe injuries, which could cause you to miss time at work or school, time caring for your family, time socializing with friends, your ability to attend church or take part in community events. You shouldn’t be on the hook for the expenses or damages incurred by an injury caused by a negligent third party. That’s why it’s important to seek legal representation from an experienced team of personal injury attorneys who will fight for your right to compensation. Our team has successfully fought for clients who have suffered the most serious injuries:
Incapacitation
Vision or hearing loss
Compassionate and Trusted Legal Representation for Clients Throughout Fort Lauderdale, FL from the Experienced Team of Gonzalez & Cartwright
At Gonzalez & Cartwright, P.A., we make it our mission to provide compassionate and trusted legal representation for clients in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and the surrounding communities. Our team knows what it’s like to live, work, and play in the South Florida area, which helps us identify with our clients. It can be challenging to find trusted legal representation, especially when you need to speak with someone who is fluent in Spanish or who knows the tact it takes to pursue a claim when worried about how it might cause issues with your immigration status. Our team provides its clients with a secure space to discuss your case no matter the status of your citizenship or your ability to speak English. Protect your rights as after suffering an injury in an accident and contact our firm today.
Contact an Experienced Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Attorney from Gonzalez & Cartwright Today If You’ve Suffered a Serious Injury in an Accident
Our team of Fort Lauderdale, FL personal injury lawyers know that recovery must be the main focus of your life after suffering a serious injury in an accident. You shouldn’t have to worry about how the bills will be paid or if your family will have food on the table. We can come to your location to discuss the case, including visiting you in the hospital, a rehab facility, or at your home. We provide clients with appointments outside of normal business hours on weeknights and weekends along with a free consultation to explain your case and offer an honest evaluation. Schedule an appointment at your convenience by calling our office. There’s also a contact form on our website you can complete for a prompt response. We operate out of our main office in Lake Worth, FL at 813 Lucerne Avenue and a secondary office in Pompano Beach, FL.
Distracted Driving & Texting Accidents
Fatigued Driving Accidents
Hazardous Road Conditions / Construction Zone Accidents
Tire Blowouts
Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Accidents
Delayed C-Section
Fetal Injury
Kernicterus Caused by Jaundice in Babies
Medical Environmental Event
Negligent Early Discharge
Patient Protection
Pressure Ulcer
Radiologic Errors
Unsafe Blood Injury
Wrongful Birth
Vehicle Rollover Accidents
Fire & Explosion Accidents
Head & Neck Injuries
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Uni in the USA
About Schools
Curricula and Exams
Should girls ever be sent home from school because their skirts are too short?
Alison Colwell
Yes,’ says Alison Colwell, head teacher of Ebbsfleet Academy in Kent, who appeared in national newspapers last year after sending 20 teenage girls home for ‘showing too much thigh’.
We made newspaper headlines last year when I made a stand against curious parents who send their daughters to school flashing lots of thigh, or worse. We have a strict uniform policy which includes banning skirts that sit more than 5cm above the knee and as with any school rule, if that’s broken there is a sanction. So while the ideal is obviously never to send a student home, it may sometimes be necessary when rules which are fair and explicit are repeatedly ignored.
If I’m honest, I find it odd to have to justify our skirt length rule. We’re hardly the only school where rolling up skirts and showing thigh isn’t deemed acceptable. And the reason is self-evident – we wouldn’t want our girls displaying an inappropriate amount of leg and almost showing their behinds. If you don’t agree with school uniforms, that’s a healthy debate to have, but if you do have a uniform it makes sense for it be smart and for everyone to wear it correctly so that we can get on with what we’re here for - teaching and learning.
Although some headteachers make the case that short skirts can be distracting for male staff and students, that’s not my argument. It is, as I say, about looking smart and preparing young people for the world of work. If my staff wore ridiculously short skirts, I’d have a word with them too. And actually, thinking more about the distraction issue, maybe there is something in that – but for both men and women – because I do get quite distracted if I’m walking upstairs with girls wearing skirts so short that you can see their bum.
There was an argument made in the Guardian comparing the disciplining of girls wearing inappropriately short skirts worn over thick black tights to a US teenager who was sent home from school for wearing an outfit that revealed her collarbones. ‘What is so shocking or offensive about the bottom inch of a teenage girl’s thigh or the bones below her neck?’ she wrote. But if you asked the average person on the street if you can compare girls wearing a short skirt to girls showing their collarbone, I don’t even need to tell you what 99 per cent of them would say. I’m as much has a feminist as anyone and I won’t be lectured by some Guardianista child that tries to make this into a sexist argument. It’s not even a gender issue, in my view. We have school uniform rules for boys too, after all, though probably more for girls just because there happen to be more things they traditionally wear that we don’t allow, such as nail polish, make up and jewellery.
Despite the 5cm rule, we don’t go around with a ruler. We hope common sense prevails and normally it does. In the case that got us in the newspapers, some girls came in day after day with short skirts despite being warned about it, so we wrote home to all parents before Christmas and asked them to sort it out over the holiday period. Sadly, some still didn’t listen, so we took action. As for other headteachers who send girls home in even greater numbers, or repeatedly, for wearing their skirts too short, I wouldn’t say they are wrong. In fact, I would never criticise any head for doing whatever they think is necessary to raise the bar and improve the life chances of all the children in their school.
‘No,’ says Jessica Eaton, researcher, speaker and writer in the psychology of victim blaming in sexual violence and the Founder of VictimFocus, VictimFocus Blog and The Eaton Foundation. Her book, ‘The Little Orange Book: Learning about abuse from the voice of the child’ came out this summer.
Every autumn, schools send girls home for wearing skirts that are deemed too short. On the surface, expecting children to dress smartly for school and punishing them for doing otherwise sounds reasonable enough. But actually what’s happening here is schools projecting wider sexist attitudes towards women and their bodies onto girls.
After all, this isn’t about smartness; it’s about modesty. And positioning children’s bodies as problematic or sexual in this way is concerning. And to suggest they should be sent home and denied the right to learning because they don’t look modest enough is nothing short of ridiculous. But because we live in a society where policing women’s bodies has become normalised, many of us go along with it when it happens to girls too.
It’s no coincidence that school dress codes usually contain far more rules around girls’ clothing and appearance and that there are generally no such qualms or rules around boys’ and their anatomy. During my time at school in the early noughties, we were pulled aside for wearing, God forbid, black or revealing bras under white blouses and for wearing blouses that were too shaped around our waists. We were also chastised for wearing tight black trousers that showed off our figures and if we did wear skirts, we were frequently asked to kneel on the floor to see if they touched the floor – our school’s own modesty test. In other schools, girls are blocked from school photos because of what they wear.
One of the main arguments put forward by heads is that they’re preparing students for the world of work. But (a) that’s not true - I remember having a personal row with a teacher who took me to task for not wearing my blazer one very hot July day, using that same argument that there are rules around clothes for adults at work too, but actually she was wearing a strappy top because she could. And (b) let’s not prepare our girls for a sexist workplace where we actually encourage the judging of women based on their appearance. The very fact that women in public positions are still subjected to public criticism about their clothing choices is something future generations should be taught to question, not to go along with.
Other headteachers argue that short skirts are distracting for male teachers and/or the boys. But, as I’ve written before, if you have a male teacher who’s distracted by children’s bodies, suspend them immediately. Think about it, if Mr Jones strolls into the staffroom saying, ‘I was just teaching English and Jessica came in wearing a shirt with a button undone and a skirt high up her legs and it’s making me uncomfortable,’ I’d be more concerned about him than her – she’s just there to learn English, maths or whatever the lesson is in. At Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School, pupils were even told that skirts above the knee make them targets for sexual harassment – a clear case of victim blaming.
From a boy’s perspective, obviously it’s slightly different as there isn’t a power differential, but you’d still expect the school not to take the stance that girls must dress more modestly so that the boys get a good education. It’s hard to argue that publicly shaming girls and making them miss out on learning based on what they look like isn’t sexist in this scenario – it absolutely prioritises the males in that environment.
In any case, if girls’ bodies are so irresistible, why allow them to wear shorts and swimming costumes for PE? Headteachers just make themselves look silly when they essentially say, ‘Showing some thigh, even covered in thick black tights, is wrong, wrong, wrong and you must measure the amount to be no thicker than your report card at any time. Oh, except on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for sport and swimming.’
What do you think about the short skirt schools debate? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #chalkandchat
Chalk & Chat 2018
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HomeBlogSupreme Court Watch: 2013 Yea...
Supreme Court Watch: 2013 Year in Review
January 2nd, 2014 at 3:10pm
Tags: Assault & Battery, Castle Doctrine, Child Abuse, Circumstantial Evidence, Criminal Sexual Conduct, Death Penalty, Directed Verdict, ex post facto, General Sessions Docket Management, Homicide, Jury Instructions, Lewd Act, Murder, Post Conviction Relief (PCR), Protection of Persons and Property Act, Satellite Monitoring, SC Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, SC Public Defender Association, SC Supreme Court Watch, State v. Langford, Waiver Doctrine, Year in Review
2013 was a major year in criminal law for the South Carolina Supreme Court.
Interviews in Child Sexual Abuse Cases – In January 2013, our Supreme Court decided State v. Kromah, hopefully putting to rest prosecution attempts to improperly bolster child witnesses in criminal sexual conduct cases. Kromah is the most recent of numerous cases holding that a child interviewer is prohibited from offering an opinion about the child’s credibility. Kromah, however, made it clear that the trial court should not qualify the interviewer as an expert witness. Click here to read more about Finally Finishing Forensic Interviews.
Death Penalty – Our Supreme Court reversed two death penalty convictions. In February 2013, in State v. Rivera, the Court held Rivera had a right to testify even though his lawyer advised against it and refused to call Rivera to the witness stand. In October 2013, in State v Barnes, the Court held that the trial judge erred by not allowing Barnes to represent himself over his lawyers’ objections.
Satellite Monitoring – In July 2013, in State v. Dykes, although finding satellite monitoring of sex offenders constitutional, our Supreme Court held that due process requires judicial review after ten years to determine whether continued monitoring is justified. Our Court summarily rejected an ex post facto challenge in a footnote. Our Court’s position on the ex post facto issue is at odds with appellate decisions in other states. Click here to read more about State v. Dykes.
In August 2013, in In re Justin B., our Court held that satellite monitoring of juveniles, based solely on a juvenile adjudication, does not violate the eighth amendment. Because of the extraordinary capacity of juveniles for rehabilitation, Justin B. is arguably in conflict with the United States Supreme Court cases of Roper v. Simmons, Graham v. Florida, and Miller v. Alabama. Click here to read more about Special Concerns Involving Juvenile Sex Offender Registration.
Circumstantial Evidence – In August 2013, in State v. Logan, our Supreme Court approved a revised jury instruction regarding circumstantial evidence. Our Court is steadfastly committed to requiring the prosecution to prove more than a mere suspicion of guilt. Click here to read more about the New Circumstantial Evidence Jury Instruction.
Castle Doctrine – In August 2013, in State v. Isaac, our Supreme Court reversed course and held that Castle Doctrine rulings are no longer immediately appealable. After the decision in Isaac, the Court dismissed the appeals in several cases that would have clarified South Carolina’s Castle Doctrine. The Castle Doctrine, which is a doctrine of self defense, can be implicated in murder, homicide, and assault and battery cases.
Directed Verdict & Waiver Doctrine – In December 2013, in State v. Hepburn, our Supreme Court reaffirmed that our state follows the waiver doctrine, meaning that a defendant can supply the missing link in the state’s evidence for purposes of reviewing the trial court’s directed verdict motion. The Court, however, held that South Carolina also follows the exception to the waiver doctrine which prohibits consideration of evidence presented by a jointly tried co-defendant when reviewing the trial court’s denial of the directed verdict motion. The Court, thus, directed a verdict acquitting Ms. Hepburn.
Conflict of Interest – In December 2013, in Jordan v. State, a post-conviction relief case, our Supreme Court vacated a conviction because Jordan’s trial counsel had an actual conflict of interest because he also represented a third party who was a prime suspect in the same crime. Because of the conflict, Jordan’s lawyer did not present evidence of third party guilt.
State v. Langford – 2013 ended without our Supreme Court implementing State v. Langford, the landmark case ending solicitor docket control. Thus, the year ended with solicitors controlling the criminal dockets in violation of the Separation of Powers provision of the South Carolina Constitution. Hopefully, in 2014, the Court will finally appoint the stakeholders committee, which would include members of the criminal defense bar, as required by the order denying the petitions for rehearing in Langford. Click hear to read the order denying rehearing in Langford and providing for a stakeholders committee.
About SC Supreme Court Watch: SC Supreme Court Watch is a recurring series dedicated to identifying potentially significant criminal law issues pending before the Court and reporting administrative actions by the Court involving our state’s criminal justice system.
Disclosure: Charles Grose represented the South Carolina Public Defender Association as amicus curie in State v. Langford, the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as amicus curie in State v. Hepburn, and individual client as amicus curie in State v. Dykes.
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4- or 6-Night All-Inclusive Catalonia Playa Maroma Stay with Air from Travel By Jen - Playa del Carmen, Mexico
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7 days 19:51:09
4- or 6-Night All-Inclusive Catalonia Playa Maroma Stay with Air from Travel By Jen
Travel By Jen: 57,000+ of our travelers served since 2013
All-Inclusive Playa Maroma Vacation
Flights & Transportation
Round-trip airfare from
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For additional departure airports/pricing, contact Travel by Jen at (800) 603-3178.
Airline & flight times determined at time of booking.
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Resort (Choice of 4 or 6 nights)
All-inclusive accommodations in a premium deluxe room at Catalonia Playa Maroma
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All meals and snacks including buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner
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Playa Maroma’s tropical beauty serves as the backdrop for this Mexican vacation. The white sand beach made USA Today’s top ten list for Best Mexico Beach. The vacation includes unlimited food and drinks, along with access to watersports and other activities.
Call Travel by Jen at (800) 603-3178 for Questions About:
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After purchasing this deal, follow the instructions on your voucher to book your trip with Travel by Jen no later than 2/4/20.
Additional taxes & fees: Additional fee to travel solo. 4 nights: Jan 26-Apr 12: $249; Apr 13-Jul 31: $219. 6 nights: Jan 26-Apr 12: $379; Apr 13-Jul 31: $329. Airport transfers not included, available from $49 per person round trip.
Official language: Spanish
Currency: Mexican peso
Seven restaurants and a snack bar
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11 ratings3 reviews
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CrystalHELPFUL REVIEWER
You get what you pay for !The hotel looks just as pictured , DATED ! even the upgrade . WiFi is not free, it is only included with the upgrade . Otherwise WiFi is $30 for three days . The hotel does have ducks , turtles and peacocks roaming around which is cool if you like that type of thing . Total trip cost 2k with upgrades and excursions for 2 .
Reservation required, inclusions/airfare/airline subject to availability
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Travel insurance is highly recommended
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Additional fee to travel solo
4 nights: Jan 26-Apr 12: $249; Apr 13-Jul 31: $219
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VLN/N24
Blancpain GT
Bradley’s Blog: A season of extremes
Posted by Bradley Philpot | 28 Oct 2018 | Bradley's Blog, Columns, Featured, VLN/N24 | 1
Full of optimism, we boarded the ferry at Dover. We were as prepared as we possibly could be. After a full season driving the Peugeot 308 Racing Cup car with Nett Motorsport in 2017 and just a handful of problems during the year, we were now race hardened and experienced. Added to that, we had spent the winter improving the car and working on our branding and social media presence in order to make the most of what we assumed would be a strong start to the year at VLN1. What happened next was not part of the plan.
As I pulled on my brand new Euro Repar race suit and headed to Box 5 (our team’s pit garage at the Nürburgring) during practice for the first round I was already focussed on the task at hand. Hours of simulator work and fitness training during the off-season had kept me sharp, and I was itching to get back behind the wheel of our 308. My team mate Jürgen was testing a new type of brake disc and it would me my turn to sample it next.
Then came the radio call. The car had been involved in a huge accident at the start of its second lap. Something had broken and sent Jürgen into a violent spin, ending with heavy contact with the barrier. He would be checked over at the local hospital, but it was immediately clear that the car would be unable to start the race. Disappointed but undeterred, we stayed to watch the race the following day and supported some of our many friends in the paddock. Jürgen was OK, and the car would be rebuilt for Round 2. No problem.
As the second race of the season approached, we already knew we wouldn’t be leaving for Germany. So severe was the impact at Hatzenbach, that the car needed several more weeks of repair time. Frustrated, we stayed at home and watched the TV coverage. In VLN you are able to drop your two worst scores after the nine rounds have been completed. Our situation wasn’t ideal, but all was not lost – as long as we fought back strongly at Round 3.
With the car now repaired, we returned to the Nürburgring for VLN3. In practice, our running was limited by intermittent engine problems. The car seemed to lose power sporadically. The issue was difficult to trace, and it wasn’t clear if this was caused electrically or mechanically. After some ECU resets and throttle calibrations, the team were reasonably confident that the car was now ready for qualifying. However, as I rounded the first corner during my qualifying run, the gremlins crept back in. I returned immediately to the pits. The team worked under the bonnet for several minutes before sending me back out to try again. This time I didn’t make it to the exit of turn one.
A Porsche GT3 car beginning a flying lap was adamant the apex was his. The problem this caused us both was that my cold tyres were already at the limit of their braking ability as I arrived at the same corner. Left with nowhere to go, I was squashed against the inside kerb, with contact inevitable. Built like a Panzer, the Porsche spun and continued with minor wheel damage. For us, the impact proved terminal. Broken suspension and severe bodywork damage. There was no way to repair the car before the race. Another weekend with zero points. All of a sudden, the season was starting to look extremely difficult.
We did our best to put the emotions of VLN3 behind us, and returned to the Eifel mountains one month later, determined as ever. As it turned out, even without the accident in qualifying, the car wouldn’t have finished the race. The engine problems were traced to a broken sensor. With this resolved and the car once again in perfect condition, we banished the demons of the first three races by taking pole position for VLN4. The team was buoyed and spirits were high once again. We waited on the grid for Jürgen to take up his grid slot before the race start. He never arrived. Turbo failure on the way to the grid resigned us to watching from the pit box with sullen faces. The 2018 championship had turned into a nightmare.
Other teams would have thrown in the towel at this point. Far behind our main rivals on points and with no positives to take from the year whatsoever, we could have been forgiven for cutting our losses and focussing on 2019. But Team Euro Repar – Nett Motorsport are a family, and for everyone in the team, racing is life. Turbos can be rebuilt, and with enough grit and determination, you can make your own luck.
By VLN5 in July, the mission was simple: Pole position, fastest lap, race win. And finally – almost unbelievably after the season we had been having up to this point – that’s exactly what happened. It was a start, but the bleeding had just been stopped. Our wounded season still had a lot of healing to do before we could start thinking about the championship podium.
VLN6 rolled around in August and everyone in the team was noticeably more relaxed. At one point it had felt like our run of bad luck would never end. A poor race result stays with you not only during the weekend itself, but all the way until the next good result. We had been waiting since March for a win, so the positivity it had brought was palpable. With renewed confidence, we once again took victory – moving ourselves closer to our rivals in the points standings. A glimmer of hope had appeared. There was a mathematical possibility that with wins in each of the remaining three rounds, we could take a top three spot in the championship – perhaps even the title itself.
The phone rang as I was preparing to leave for the seventh race of the year. It was my friend, manager, and behind-the-scenes mastermind Luke Jones. He had bad news. My team mates’ mother had been taken seriously ill that day. The outlook was not good, and regardless of how important motor racing is to all of us, family has to take priority. We sent our best wishes to everyone in Mayen and spent the weekend focussing on fitness training. We watched the VLN race from my home in Bedford. Two to go.
At VLN8, the entire team was in top form. The car performed flawlessly throughout the weekend, and all three drivers were focused on a single goal: Win – and by the biggest margin possible. This race was a statement of intent. Despite only having an outside shot at the championship heading into this event, a dominant win coupled with bad results for our key competitors left us leading the standings by a miniscule 0.25 points with one round remaining. Somehow we had clawed our way back up the championship order. With just two weeks until the final race, an exciting four way title showdown had evolved. We mulled over the permutations and possibilities, VLN never far from our minds during that fortnight. It was now entirely in our hands.
‘Just beat the Clio.’ This was our unsaid mantra. We knew that finishing ahead of the Schrotti Motorsport car would give us enough points to win the championship, though we were also wary of the Racing4Emotion Mini Cooper which was close behind in the standings in third position. Qualifying went well, with setup changes helping the rear of the car to be more stable and allowing us to push even harder than usual. There was no more preparation to do. We could do nothing else to influence the outcome of this crazy season than drive fast and bring the car home in one piece.
Jürgen took the first stint. I squinted through my fingers at the TV screen as I saw one of the BMW M235i Racing Cup cars spin directly in front of him at the first corner. I needn’t have been worried. Jürgen is a vastly experienced driver at the Nordschleife, and one of the most successful class winners of all time. He sailed past the accident and began his ninety-minute mission. Without a scratch on the car, he handed me the reigns for the second stint.
The car felt fantastic, but despite its bright orange livery, I was convinced some of the drivers in the other classes couldn’t see us. We wanted to avoid drama and risk at all cost. We needed to finish this race. Several cars crashed immediately in front of me during the stint, and GT3 cars (the fastest class in the VLN series) seemed to be passing us in even closer proximity than usual. I tried to stay calm and focused on the job at hand. I drove our fastest lap of the race and handed the car over to Achim for the final hour.
In the past I would have been worried at this point. This championship meant the world to me and the team. Taking such an unlikely victory would be one of the best feelings I had ever experienced in motorsport. It would be natural to feel like a nervous wreck for the last sixty minutes. But my team mate Achim has proven himself to be a safe pair of hands over the past two seasons. I never had a doubt in my mind that he would bring the car home in first place. Which is exactly what he did.
In the end the race could not have worked out more perfectly for our championship aspirations. We had a sizeable pace advantage over the other cars in our class, and our team of mechanics in the pits didn’t miss a beat – conducting extremely fast pitstops throughout the race. Allied to this, both of our main rivals suffered problems of their own. The Mini retired early on with mechanical issues and the Clio ended its season in the worst way possible: in the barriers at Kallenhard.
It was finally time to let out a huge collective sigh of relief. We had done it. We were the 2018 VLN series SP2T champions.
We sprayed champagne. We collected our trophies. We drank beer. Good, German, post-race celebration beer. And we partied until the early hours of the next morning.
Our 2018 season was one of extremes. It was a demonstration of why you should never give up in motorsport, even when the situation looks beyond dire. But more than that, it was a perfect embodiment of why the Nett Motorsport team are so special. This group of hard working professionals have breathed the Eifel air for their entire lives. The Nordschleife is their track. This group of individuals are true team whom I am privileged to now call my racing family.
I can’t wait to return next season to do this all again. Before then, there will be thousands of messages exchanged online between our Facebook chat group – the ‘Mayen Cartel’- arranging the countless things which need to happen behind the scenes for a racing team to function. Then there will be an excited trip across Europe, before twenty or so manly ‘welcome back’ hugs. There may even be a brand new car for us to drive. And then finally after a seemingly endless winter, we will be racing once more.
Bradley Philpot
A race car driver and instructor, Bradley knows the Nordschleife as well as anyone, having competed at the German track since 2013 in cars such as the Peugeot 208 GTi and Porsche Cayman GT4. In 2018 Bradley raced the Nett Motorsport Peugeot 308 Racing Cup TCR with which he became VLN SP2T champion. Bradley was the 2007 Toyota MR2 UK champion, 2011 Red Bull Kart Fight champion, a factory-backed driver for Peugeot Automobiles during the 2013 VLN season, and in 2015 notably beat Sebastian Vettel in the Race Of Champions Skills Challenge in London.
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Meet Meghan Watson | Puppy Raiser and Employee Spotlight
Meghan with her dad, Keith.
The moment she was born, Meghan’s parents were over the moon for their only child. On the paternal side of her family, all of the men are born with X-linked retinitis pigmentosa. Meghan’s dad, Keith, was diagnosed at 12 years old and went 100 percent blind just a few years after he married her mom, Wendy. Meghan did not have retinitis pigmentosa, but she was born with a heart condition that required open-heart surgery at just seven days old and then again at age two and a half.
Generosity of Spirit Begins at Home
Her dad postponed receiving his first guide dog until Meghan fully recovered from her surgery. But before her third birthday, a massive, 95-pound, snow-white colored yellow Lab guide dog named Christopher bounded into their family. Christopher came from Southeastern Guide Dogs, and Meghan remembers him well. “He was huge, and he used to get really excited,” she says. “When it was time for him to eat, he would run around the house going crazy.”
Another of Meghan’s favorite childhood memories is a holiday tradition she shares with her dad. Each year, he would lift her to put the angel on top of their Christmas tree. “Now that I’m older, he doesn’t lift me up, but he holds the ladder that I climb to reach the top of the tree,” she says.
Encouraged by her parents, her kindness, positive attitude, and “angelic” deeds are a way of life for Meghan. “My parents always raised me to be thankful and humble for the life that I have,” she says. And it shows.
Making a Pitch for Puppy Raising
Born and raised in Temple Terrace, Meghan and her family came to Southeastern Guide Dogs every other weekend for puppy hugging. Being around the puppies intrigued Meghan and got her wondering about raising a puppy of her own. When her dad received his first successor dog, Lucy, Meghan was 9. “I remember we got her puppy photo,” she says. “I found out that Lucy had a puppy raiser, and that was it.” Meghan set about putting together a binder that outlined all of the reasons she should raise a puppy. It included statistics about the cost, and how many hours she could put toward Girl Scout badges. “My parents told me ‘no,’” she says. “They explained that it wasn’t the right time.”
Undeterred, Meghan held onto her dream. “As I got older, I understood the impact of the dogs,” she says. “It made it more appealing to become a puppy raiser.”
Not one to slow down, Meghan spent enjoyable summers as a child at Camp Boggy Creek, part of actor Paul Newman’s SeriousFun Children’s Network, where children with similar serious illnesses spend a week at sleep-away camp. Meghan eventually joined the camp team as a volunteer camp counselor.
Meghan sits with her last puppy, Finley, and her current puppy, Indy, on the Southeastern Guide Dogs campus.
Spreading Cheer
In high school, Meghan started volunteering with Special Olympics through a service club. She focused on coaching the game she loves—volleyball. Her own volleyball career had ended suddenly after a torn meniscus in middle school. She continues to volunteer with Special Olympics, and two years ago, she and a friend became volunteer game managers. The two are in charge of running Special Olympics volleyball tournaments across three counties. “With Special Olympics, it’s not about competition,” she says. “It’s just playing to play and not to win.”
Measuring Life One Puppy at a Time
In 2017 Meghan’s parents gave her a choice: she could live on campus in the dorms, or she could live at home and become a puppy raiser. Living at home won. She raised Rosie, who is now a working guide dog in Alabama; Finley, who is training on our campus; and she’s now raising Indy. “Indy is a spitfire,” Meghan says. “She’s the most energetic puppy I’ve raised.”
Making the World a Brighter Place
Not one to miss an opportunity to give back, Meghan noticed students on her University of South Florida (USF) campus struggled with making friends, and a lot of them were missing the dogs that they left behind at home. Having raised Rosie, and with what she knew about the student puppy raising club at the USF St. Petersburg campus, she modeled a USF Tampa club after the group. Using those binder skills from a decade earlier, Meghan researched and presented her case. The USF Puppy Club Tampa held its first meeting in March 2018. “I expected 20 people,” she says. “We had 90 people show up.” So far, the club has raised Finley, Iris, Azul, Vita, Snowy, Casey, Gator, and Indy, and they are about to raise their ninth puppy.
Meghan tosses her graduation cap with her previous puppy, Finley.
Higher Purpose
Meghan got Rosie right when her dad retired his guide, Lucy. The family had all stages of program dogs in their house: Rosie, a puppy in training; Lucy, a retired guide; and Buddy, a new guide dog. “It was a really exciting time,” she says. “It took some getting used to; starting a brand-new puppy surprised us at what goes into raising a puppy.” The number one question Meghan gets asked is how she gives a puppy back. “I joke that I just walk right over to the Puppy Academy and get a new puppy,” she says. “In the end, you realize that the dog has a much higher purpose than being your dog, and that makes all of the hard work worth it.”
A Degree and Angelic Deeds
On December 14, 2019, Meghan walked across the stage at the Yuengling Center and graduated from USF with a B.S. degree in business marketing with a minor in mass communications/advertising. Today, she walked into her first day as a full-time marketing coordinator for our Sponsor a Puppy program, after starting part-time a few weeks ago. Her life is changing, but we know her spirit of sharing remains the same.
Giving back to her community and encouraging children with life-threatening illnesses and other challenges will never stop being a part of Meghan—it’s in her DNA. “I believe in giving back to others because of all that people have given to me in my life,” she says. And when she tops off her family’s Christmas tree with their angel, it reflects Meghan’s angelic deeds—deeds that she now shares with us.
Posted on January 7, 2020 | Category: Blog, Puppy Raisers, Staff
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January 2020 CEO Update »
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The Ibanez PIA is here
EVH's affordable Frankenstein replica
Martin's radical acoustic-electric
Masked Musings: Photos from June 7 Benefit for Los Straitjackets' Danny Amis at the Mayan in Los Angeles
By El Maestro 2011-07-14T15:50:08Z
On June 7, Jimmy Vivino and Los Straitjackets hosted a benefit for Daddy-O Grande at the historic Mayan Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.
Daddy-O (Or, as he's known in the civilian world, Danny Amis) is suffering from multiple myeloma. He just underwent a successful stem cell transplant, and the concert (along with other shows in Hoboken, Chicago, Minneapolis, Nashville and Mexico City) was organized to help him cover his mounting medical expenses.
The setting was perfect, from the Mayan temple decor to the 30-foot-high projections of Daddy-O Grande’s head on either side of the stage. It was the right place to be wearing a Lucha Libre mask!
Not surprisingly, there was a stage full of fire power, including Los Straitjackets, Jimmy Vivino and The Basic Cable Band, Mike Campbell, Cesar Rosas and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, Pete Anderson, Ben Vaughn, Johnny Rivers, Big Sandy, Stan Ridgeway, Rosie Flores, El Vez, Tony Valentino of The Standells, Ron Dzublia, Dan Marcus, Exene Cervenka and El Gecko (Scott Esbeck, Los Straitjackets' original bassist).
Be sure to check out the Telecaster Jimmy Vivino is playing. It has some history:
"My guitar is a 1959 blonde/rosewood fingerboard Telecaster," Vivino said. "It was acquired from Ray Pohlman, Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew bassist/guitarist. Ray also played in The Marketts, a band made up of LA session cats, including guitarist Tommy Tedesco and drummer Hal Blaine. It was played by Tedesco on "Out Of Limits," a true '60s instrumental classic. It's the first thing you hear on the song, and it defines the sound of that record."
Mike Campbell brought along a Ventures model Mosrite that Danny Amis had given him as payment for a session a few years back. Pete Anderson played his Reverend Pete Anderson Signature Model. He even brought along an extra one, which was raffled off to a lucky audience member.
So if you like rock 'n' roll and roots music played with style and skill, El Mayan was the place to be!
All photos taken by and courtesy of James Palczewski.
El Maestro is sometimes known as the Fifth Straitjacket. He coordinates Los Straitjackets' world domination from his secret mountain lair.
Masked Musings
NAMM 2020: Fender's pedal range expands further with '70s-flavored Treadlite Wah, Volume/Expression
NAMM 2020: Jerry Cantrell endorses Gibson
NAMM 2020: The Rainger FX Minibar is a pedal you pour your drinks into
GW live at NAMM 2020: Earthboard's new Power Station and Flat Patch cable are the guitar accessories you didn't know you needed
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Last updated: (18.06.18)
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info@harrishill.co.uk
Marketing, PR & Digital
Operations, Admin & Support
Policy, Advocacy & Campaigns
The Harris Hill Blog
Welcome to Harris Hill
Why choose Harris Hill and how we can help you
Finding the right person for your organisation with the skills and experience you need can be both time-consuming and highly challenging. So it makes sense to partner with a specialist recruiter who has the experience, sector knowledge and dedicated resources to bring you an outstanding selection of candidates, whatever the role.
At Harris Hill we’ve been bringing charity professionals together with the very best opportunities for more than 20 years, and we’re committed to delivering superb results and service every time. We go the extra mile to find people who can add real value to your team, and thanks to our wide-ranging view of the sector, we’re ideally placed to identify the unique qualities of each role that will appeal to the candidates you need.
1 We’re the largest UK charity recruitment specialist, with unrivalled knowledge of the charity sector
With over 35 highly experienced consultants, we cover all corners of the charity sector in great detail, which means we can find outstanding candidates for even the most challenging vacancies. Factor in our long-standing track record of recruiting exclusively for charities and it means that we really do know the charity recruitment market like nobody else.
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Be it data or digital, fundraising or finance, we have a specialist team working exclusively in your field. That means you'll always work with someone with a strong record of recruiting for similar roles, and up-to-the minute knowledge of the candidates in your market, delivering a faster, more efficient process.
3 More vacancies advertised, a wider range of candidates
We recruit more permanent and temporary vacancies up to executive level for charities across the UK and internationally than any other organisation, all advertised across key channels including The Guardian, Charity Job and Third Sector to ensure we’re reaching the broadest possible range of candidates.
4 Extensive digital and social media presence – we’re proactive in reaching a wider candidate audience
Advertising is just one part of the picture of course; we’re also highly proactive in harnessing digital tools to bring your opportunities directly to relevant audiences, whether it’s via pay-per-click campaigns, Twitter, Facebook, targeted email marketing or branded microsites.
We’re also the only charity specialist to hold multiple full LinkedIn recruiter licences giving us direct access to thousands of professionals throughout the sector, and we have in-house search specialists who can track down even the hardest of candidates to find.
5 Our commitment to the charity sector
We’re delighted to be a trusted partner of so many vitally important organisations, and believe in giving back to the sector too.
Since 2007 we've been lead sponsors of the London Charity Softball League which is a hugely successful summer-long tournament involving more than 120 charities, forming part of our Harris Hill Charity Series along with equally successful and long-running bowling and quiz nights.
We also host informative talks, client and candidate networking evenings, and work closely with organisations like the Charity Finance Group, the Institute of Fundraising and Third Sector to share expertise and support events.
If you’d like to know more or have current requirements you’d like to discuss, please call Faye Marshall on 020 7820 7303 or contact the relevant specialist team directly.
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2019 Blog round up - and aspirations for 2020!
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General, nicola greenbrook, recruitment advice, careers advice, finding new jobs, news and events
Building a better world for disabled children
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Emma Mason
Editor, HistoryExtra.com
Emma Mason is the Editor of HistoryExtra.com overseeing all content that the website produces. Emma has a degree in modern history and politics and joined the BBC History Magazine team in 2013 as Website Editor. Emma is responsible for commissioning and interviewing expert historians about all areas of history, from Scottish and Catalan nationalism to the popular TV drama Victoria and the birth of royal babies. Her favourite areas of history include the Victorians, the Middle Ages and the Tudors, and in her spare time she enjoys exploring stately homes and castles. Emma previously worked for The Independent, the Press Association and Local World.
Recent articles by Emma Mason
7 facts you might not know about the history of Thanksgiving
Vote of no confidence: a brief history
Poldark, Peaky Blinders and 6 other historical TV shows that have tourists flocking to Britain
9 of Britain’s best castles
In pictures: the history of London’s Heathrow Airport
Notre-Dame fire “not the worst chapter in its 850-year history”
Notre-Dame cathedral: 10 historical facts
10 things you might not know about Blenheim Palace – ‘the real Downton Abbey’
Mi Amigo: the deadly WW2 bomber crash in Sheffield play park that killed 10 airmen
“We got Tony a fly-past”: how BBC’s Dan Walker organised tribute to WW2 plane crash heroes in Sheffield
The historical significance of Theresa May’s Brexit defeat
Does historical accuracy really matter in period dramas like Wolf Hall?
The 7 best couples in history
General prehistory
12 historical places to visit on the August bank holiday weekend
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Mega Main Menu
HCL partners with IWD
Leaders who inspire
Diversity as A ‘Differentiator’
Our Key Diversity Initiatives
Forging a Balance for Better
Celebrating International Women’s Day
Making the vision of Balance for Better a reality
Watch as the celebrations unfold
For more than 4 decades, HCL has been on the forefront of employing and empowering women. This year in 2019, HCL is delighted to partner with International Women’s Day for the first time. The role which IWD plays is a critical one, helping to amplify the still considerable gaps which exist today for organizations such as ours to help create and sustain a more balanced and diverse world.
Over 24% of our workforce today comprises of women. And we have consistently and consciously furthered this cause through various in-organization initiatives as well as creating a larger social environment that facilitates gender-equal workspaces. While worldwide, women are doing great in all other fields of work right now, imagine how great it will be when more women start to work in technology fields and bring new perspectives and ideas to the table. Towards this, presence of women role models plays a key role.
HCL has been very active in spotlighting the critical role that women play in the technology industry through its own Red Ladder Initiative that Celebrates, Advocates, and Fosters Women Leadership. The program identifies and recognizes top-performing and high potential Women Leaders, and leverages them as role models for other aspiring women — and men — in STEM fields. The initiative, is a winner of Stevie’s Award for Women in Business 2017, in the category of “Women Helping Women”.
Yet, there is a long way to go to forge the true balance for better. Each year IWD works tirelessly to push this agenda forward, to challenge stereotypes and bias, to encourage organizations to implement progressive policies, and promoting the importance of having an inclusive work culture. While March 8, 2019, will be a significant celebration pushing for a #BalanceforBetter, HCL will work alongside IWD for the coming year to drive progress in these critical areas. We hope that you will join us on this journey.
Diversity as A ‘Differentiator’ at HCL Technologies Ltd.
At HCL, we view Diversity as a ‘Differentiator’ – which is a representative of diversity in beliefs, behaviours and skills within the organization. Our workforce represents the culmination of 140+ nationalities coming from many of the countries we do business in – where all work together to build a culture that respects inclusion.
HCL’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy focuses on Talent Attraction, Talent Retention and Talent Growth. These 3 strategies work in tandem to ensure a unified experience in promoting gender diversity, cultural diversity and inclusivity across the enterprise.
With the aim of enabling strong career development for women, HCL has launched focused programs for its mid-level women managers to pace up their growth to leadership positions. Similarly, there are programs for senior women managers which focusses on their career progression into their aspired role. Key learning elements like one to one mentoring / coaching by senior leaders, peer coaching for domain and technical skill enhancement, blended learning in the form of videos, case studies and webinars from globally acclaimed learning partners are integrated into the program. The program has also been recognised by Brandon Hall as ‘Best Advance in Women Leadership Development’ - Gold Award (2017) and we have also recently been recognized with the ‘Best Diversity and Inclusion Strategy’ – Silver Award (2018) by Brandon Hall.
There are programs that have also been launched for mid-level women leaders with an objective to mentor them for their ‘next level roles’ to create a ready pool of talent for existing open positions within the organization. Another unique offering is a program that focuses on ‘upward conversations’ which encompasses a structured space, time and content for an engaging interaction between the employee and her Reporting / Skip level Manager. In addition, there is also an exclusive intervention for senior women hires who join HCL enabling them to settle into the eco system of the organization seamlessly along with specific metrics for the leadership to improve gender diversity at all levels.
The significance of diversity for HCL business & growth is evident from the high focus this derives from its leaders and employees alike. We believe that diversity will increasingly be a driving force of competitive businesses, now and into the foreseeable future.
ASCEND, which mandates increases in the representation of women in senior management via multiple ways, including support programs, peer mentoring and coaching at all levels, and providing platforms to enable women leaders to learn and exhibit transformational leadership.
STEPPING STONES, which is a focused career development program to enable mid-level female employees to realise their career aspirations and potential and help them in their developmental journey. It focuses on coaching women who are new mothers and require help to manage the new expectations at work and home.
HCL Women Connect which aims to engage and advance women through development programs, and advocate a gender neutral work environment by suggesting appropriate policies as well as position HCL as an employer of choice by women across the globe. This group also coaches and counsels aspiring young women professionals, shares experiences on work/life priorities and includes life coach support, daycare in office premises, concierge services, and policies such as extended maternity leave, work from home, flexible careers and flexible work hours.
Feminspiration, which is a platform facilitated by the HCL Women Connect Affinity Network in which successful women leaders are invited to address employees and provide insights into successful leadership as well as understand perspectives on gender matters.
The Women Lead Project is an exclusive 1:1 mentoring program for aspiring corporate women leaders. It has seen two very successful chapters in Australia since its inception in 2015. In 2019, the program is set to launch maiden chapters in other key geographies along with an encore in Australia scheduled for April.
#SheInspires program captures the life stories of women who have blazed a trail in the STEM fields. We are hopeful that these stories will help inspire the next generation of women leaders in STEM. Launched in 2018, the program has featured 60+ HCL employees and customers through videos, Tweetchat discussions, and magazine articles.
Our Red Ladder initiative is a unique platform that celebrates and fosters women leadership. The Red Ladder program recognizes high-performing and high-potential women leaders and positions them as role models for other aspiring women. HCL’s Red Ladder initiative is a winner of the Stevie’s Award for women in Business 2017 in the category of “Women Helping Women.”
Hear from notable women role models
On using modern technology to power the enterprise
How to make diversity a boardroom agenda
How mentorship can supercharge women’s careers
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#openadoor to a calendar of health careers this month
Health Careers will #openadoor to a calendar of health careers by profiling a different role every in the lead up to Christmas on Twitter and
Clinical fellow scheme for trainee doctors now open
Applications are now invited from trainee doctors (ST1 / CT1 upwards) for the National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow Scheme 2017/18.
Public health specialty training applications are open
Applications for approximately 70 specialty training posts in public health are now being invited. Public health is the only specialty f
Applications for doctors to ST1/CT1 now open
Applications are invited from doctors who meet the eligibility requirements for entry into ST1/CT1 training. The main recruitment round for Specialty Training 1 (ST1) and Core Training 1 (CT1) opened on the 9th November 2016 and closes on the 1st December 2016 at 4pm.
Focus on radiotherapy
We’ve been busy of late highlighting radiotherapy as a fascinating and worthwhile area to work in. Could it be for you?
Academic clinical fellowships (ACFST1) for doctors now open
Applications are invited from doctors who meet the eligibility requirements for entry into specialty training.
It’s hard to believe, but the Health Careers website is a year old already.
New handy guide for health ambassadors
We have been working with Inspiring The Future to develop a handy guide for health ambassadors to help them promote the Step into the NHS competition during their visits to schools.
Test your NHS values with new e-tool
Health Education England has launched a new free online tool to champion the values and behaviours of the NHS, set out in the NHS Constitution.
If you’re thinking of a career in medicine, think GP
As part of a Think GP campaign, the Royal College of General Practitioners has published a new video to show what life as a GP is like.
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Each year, the government loses hundreds of billions of dollars to tax fraud. To combat the problem, both the IRS and New York State have adopted whistleblower programs that offer significant rewards to those who blow the whistle on individuals and businesses who owe significant tax liabilities. For knowing violations of the tax law, New York imposes treble damages and offers whistleblowers up to 30 percent of the damages recovered from the wrongdoer.
Common Types of Tax Fraud that Could Support a Whistleblower Claim
While no list can be exhaustive, some common types of tax fraud that could support a whistleblower claim under either or both the IRS and New York tax whistleblower programs include:
Hiding income in secret, offshore accounts
Investing in or promoting bogus tax shelters
Misclassifying workers and paying employees under the table
Failing to report or hiding income and/or exaggerating expenses or deductions
Filing false claims for credits
Engaging in sales tax evasion
New York State’s Authorization of Whisteblower Cases
In August 2010, New York became the first state in the nation to affirmatively authorize whistleblowers to bring cases under its false claims act based on serious violations of the tax law. Hodgson Russ attorney William (Bill) J. Comiskey, who was previously New York’s chief tax enforcement officer, represents both tax whistleblowers and businesses that have been investigated under New York’s tax whistleblower laws. Before joining Hodgson Russ, Bill prosecuted and supervised fraud cases—including national false claims cases – in the attorney general’s office for more than 18 years. Bill brings his unique blend of tax, false claims, and fraud investigative experience to each whistleblower case.
New York State is enforcing its tax cases vigorously. In March 2014, New York reached a $6.2 million settlement of a whistleblower case alleging that a company failed to pay state taxes. The whistleblower in that case will receive approximately $1 million from the settlement.
The IRS whistleblower program is different from New York’s program, but it, too, offers significant rewards to whistleblowers who provide information leading to the recovery of owed taxes from tax delinquents. Unlike the state provisions, the IRS whistleblower program is available to all those who report any owed-tax liability, not just liabilities that are based on knowingly false claims.
Contact our Tax Fraud Attorneys at Hodgson Russ LLP Today
We also offer legal representation for banking & financial services fraud, pharmaceutical fraud, defense contractor fraud and all other types of fraud covered under the False Claims Act.
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NBA G League Announces 2018/19 All-NBAGL Teams
April 3rd, 2019 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams
After being named the G League’s Most Valuable Player and the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2018/19 season on Monday, Raptors 905 big man Chris Boucher – now a member of the Toronto Raptors – headlines the All-NBA G League first team, as the league announced today in a press release.
Boucher was joined on the All-NBAGL first team by teammate Jordan Loyd, as well as Capital City Go-Go guard Jordan McRae, Long Island Nets big man Alan Williams, and Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario center Angel Delgado. All four players are currently on two-way contracts with NBA teams.
That’s a common theme for this year’s All-NBAGL teams, as most of the 15 players named to the three squads aren’t currently NBA free agents, having signed two-way or NBA contracts.
The complete list of the 2018/19 All-NBA G League teams, along with the All-Rookie and All-Defensive squads, is below. Players currently on a 15-man NBA roster are marked with an asterisk (*), while players on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).
All-NBAGL First Team:
Chris Boucher (Raptors 905) *
Angel Delgado (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario) ^
Jordan Loyd (Raptors 905) ^
Jordan McRae (Capital City Go-Go) ^
Alan Williams (Long Island Nets) ^
All-NBAGL Second Team:
Isaiah Hartenstein (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) *
Walt Lemon (Windy City Bulls) *
Note: Lemon wasn’t on an NBA contract for most of the season, but was recently called up by the Bulls.
Yante Maten (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^
Johnathan Motley (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario) ^
Theo Pinson (Long Island Nets) ^
All-NBAGL Third Team:
P.J. Dozier (Maine Red Claws) ^
Amile Jefferson (Lakeland Magic) ^
Kalin Lucas (Grand Rapids Drive) ^
Duncan Robinson (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^
Christian Wood (Wisconsin Herd) *
Note: Wood spent most of the season on the Bucks’ roster, but was recently released and claimed off waivers by the Pelicans.
NBAGL All-Rookie Team:
Chris Chiozza (Capital City Go-Go) *
Note: Chiozza wasn’t on an NBA contract for most of the season, but was recently called up by the Rockets.
Theo Pinson (Long Islands Nets) ^
NBAGL All-Defensive Team:
Kadeem Allen (Westchester Knicks) ^
Amida Brimah (Austin Spurs)
Gary Payton II (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Norvel Pelle (Delaware Blue Coats)
The All-Defensive team is the only squad that features players who are currently NBA free agents — Brimah and Pelle haven’t been on an NBA roster this season, while Payton only briefly spent time with an NBA team, signing a 10-day contract with the Wizards in January.
Alan Williams
Amida Brimah
Amile Jefferson
Angel Delgado
Chris Boucher
Chris Chiozza
Christian Wood
Duncan Robinson
Gary Payton II
Isaiah Hartenstein
Johnathan Motley
Kadeem Allen
Norvel Pelle
PJ Dozier
Theo Pinson
Yante Maten
Pistons Add Kalin Lucas On Two-Way Deal, Waive Zach Lofton
January 15th, 2019 at 6:33pm CST by Chris Crouse
The Pistons have signed Kalin Lucas to a two-way contract, waiving Zach Lofton in the process, Rod Beard of The Detroit News relays (Twitter feed). The now team has a bounty of guards after adding Isaiah Whitehead on a separate two-way deal earlier today.
Behind Reggie Jackson, the team has veterans Ish Smith, Langston Galloway, and Jose Calderon on the payroll. The Pistons also have rookie Khyri Thomas, who has seen court time in each of the last three games after playing sparsely in just seven of the franchise’s previous 39 contests.
After the Lucas signing, seven of the team’s 17 players man the point guard position. It’s possible that the club is preparing to make a trade and while that’s merely my speculation, the calculated roster imbalance suggests the Pistons are strategically planning something. It could be more lineups with two point guards or it could be a more drastic measure like shipping Jackson to a new team.
Detroit entered the day 10th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 18-24, just a game-and-a-half behind the eighth-place Hornets. Adding Lucas, who has appeared in just one NBA game since leaving Michigan State, won’t likely impact the team’s win total. However, with Lucas and Whitehead in the fold, the team has great depth at the position and it can now more easily swap a floor general for some needed wing support.
Zach Lofton
Kings Release Kalin Lucas, Cameron Reynolds
October 13th, 2018 at 3:53pm CST by Clark Crum
The Kings announced today that they have waived guards Cameron Reynolds and Kalin Lucas, per an official media release. Sacramento’s roster now stands at 15 players on standard contracts and one player on a two-way contract, Wenyen Gabriel.
Reynolds, 23, appeared in four preseason games for the Kings, averaging nine minutes per contest. The Tulane product was also a member of the Kings’ Summer League squads in the Sacramento and Las Vegas leagues in July. As we relayed back in September, Reynolds will be joining the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate, so his release comes as no surprise.
Lucas, 29, also averaged nine minutes per game with the Kings this preseason. The Michigan State product has an NBA season under his belt, appearing in one game for the Grizzlies back during the 2014-15 season. He may join Reynolds in Stockton now that he’s been waived.
Kings Waive Brandon Austin
September 30th, 2018 at 5:14pm CST by JD Shaw
The Kings have waived training camp invitee Brandon Austin, tweets James Ham of NBC Sports. Austin signed with the team on Thursday after appearing in 15 games with the team’s G League affiliate Reno Bighorns last season.
Austin, who went undrafted out of Northwest Florida State in 2016, is a 6-foot-6 guard who’s shown flashes of potential on both ends of the floor. He’ll likely rejoin the Bighorns for the upcoming season, according to Sean Cunningham of ABC10.
Following the decision to waive Austin, the Kings now have 19 players on their active roster. This includes the two-way contract of Wenyen Gabriel, along with the non-guaranteed salaries of Cameron Reynolds, Jamel Artis and the recently added Kalin Lucas.
Brandon Austin
Jamel Artis
Wenyen Gabriel
Kalin Lucas Signs With Kings
September 29th, 2018 at 3:57pm CST by Clark Crum
Michigan State alum, point guard Kalin Lucas, has signed with the Kings, per RealGM’s transaction log. The signing’s imminence was first reported by Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
Lucas, 29, appeared in one game for the Grizzlies back during the 2014-15 season, but has not played in the NBA since. He spent last season with Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League after being waived by the Magic in October. He also played in the G League for the Iowa Energy on two separate occasions.
Lucas may be a candidate to return to the G League and play for the Stockton Kings if he is waived, or he may return back overseas, because it’s unlikely he makes the Kings’ roster with De’Aaron Fox, Yogi Ferrell, and Frank Mason all on guaranteed contracts.
Magic Waive Damjan Rudez, Kalin Lucas
October 13th, 2017 at 8:53pm CST by Austin Kent
The Magic have released Damjan Rudez and Kalin Lucas, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. The decision brings Orlando’s roster down to 15 players.
Rudez, a 31-year-old veteran of three NBA seasons, played 45 games for the Magic last year but had a negligible impact on the court. Had Rudez managed to secure a spot with the team, it would have likely been because of his positive influence in the locker room.
Lucas, a 28-year-old point guard out of Michigan State last saw NBA action back in 2014/15 when he played a single game for the Grizzlies.
With Rudez and Lucas out of the picture, it appears as though Khem Birch will stick with the team through the start of the regular season.
Khem Birch
Magic Sign Kalin Lucas
August 31st, 2017 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams
The Magic continue to fill out their roster for training camp, announcing today in a press release (Twitter link) that they’ve signed free agent guard Kalin Lucas to a contract. The announcement from the team also confirmed the signing of Troy Caupain, which we covered earlier this month.
Lucas, 28, went undrafted out of Michigan State back in 2011 and has played in a number of professional leagues and countries since then. In addition to spending time with clubs in Greece and Turkey, Lucas has extensive G League experience, having averaged 17.7 PPG and 4.9 APG with a .448/.391/.842 shooting line in 112 career G League contests.
Lucas was signed and waived multiple times by the Grizzlies in 2014, and ultimately saw his only NBA experience with Memphis during that 2014/15 season. His stint in the NBA was brief — he played in just one game and saw the floor for six minutes.
Having played for the Erie BayHawks last season, Lucas is a good bet to join the Lakeland Magic to start the 2017/18 campaign. Those teams are technically one and the same — the Orlando Magic bought the BayHawks and relocated the G League franchise to Florida for the coming season.
The Magic now have 18 players officially under contract, with an agreement also reportedly in place with undrafted rookie Rodney Purvis — when Purvis’ deal becomes official, Orlando would have just one open spot left on the team’s 20-man offseason roster.
Southwest Notes: Howard, McCallum, Lucas
August 30th, 2015 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill
After being the most coveted free agent on the market in 2013, the Rockets‘ Dwight Howard is generating little buzz with his potential 2016 free agency, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Howard signed a four-year deal with Houston worth more than $87MM, but has a player option for 2016-17. With the salary cap expected to soar next summer, he will likely test the market once again. Schmitz argues that the lack of excitement about Howard’s availability signals either that he’s a lock to stay in Houston or that other franchises don’t want to make a large investment in a soon-to-be 30-year-old center with a history of back and knee problems. The columnist speculates that Houston would prefer that Howard sign a short-term contract, but probably will have to give him a long-term deal in excess of $100MM to keep him on the roster.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
Ray McCallum could be an important addition for the Spurs if Tony Parker has another injury-plagued season, writes Buck Harvey of The San Antonio Express-News. San Antonio acquired McCallum in a July 9th trade, sending a 2016 second-round pick to Sacramento in return. Harvey notes that the Spurs don’t believe McCallum is as good a defender as Cory Joseph, the man he replaced, but they think he can effectively run the team if anything happens to Parker.
Kalin Lucas, who made a brief appearance with the Grizzlies last season, will spend another season with Kolejliler Ankara of the Turkish Basketball League, according to Enea Trapani of Sportando. Lucas played in just one game with Memphis before being waived November 20th.
Despite starting all six games in summer league, the Mavericks‘ Justin Anderson has a long way to go to earn playing time in Dallas, writes Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. The first-round pick out of Virginia says the summer experience was beneficial, but he understands the learning curve ahead. “They know exactly what I’m capable of, and I want to be really good at things I’m already pretty good at,” Anderson said. “So, I just want to take that next step, being good defensively on the ball and off the ball, rotating and then being able to operate out of those corners, because that’s where I think our front office and coaching staff think I can be effective.”
Western Notes: Claver, Lucas, Jazz
August 20th, 2015 at 10:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito
Forward Victor Claver, who spent the last three seasons as a member of the Trail Blazers, officially has an offer on the table from the Spanish club Baskonia, the team announced (translation courtesy of Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Valencia currently owns Claver’s rights in Spain and the team has five days to match the contract offer made by Baskonia to Claver, Carchia notes. Claver has appeared in 80 NBA contests and has averages of 3.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.7 assists, and he owns a slash line of .398/.293/.585.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
Kalin Lucas, who appeared in one game for the Grizzlies last season, auditioned for the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association, but was not offered a contract by the team, international journalist David Pick relays (via Twitter).
The Jazz announced today that the team promoted Mark McKown to director of sports science/assistant coach and Isaiah Wright to head strength and conditioning coach.
The Blazers aren’t quite starting over as a franchise, but the loss of LaMarcus Aldridge in free agency to the Spurs has forced executive Neil Olshey to invest in intriguing but unproven talent this offseason, Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes. “That’s one of things I’m looking forward to, is what this team is going to become,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. “The way Neil has constructed the roster, it’s a strong plan with a lot of young players that have a lot of room to grow. I think it’s a plan that is going to be challenging, fun and very rewarding.”
Victor Claver
Kalin Lucas To Sign With Turkish Club
March 17th, 2015 at 7:25am CST by Charlie Adams
TUESDAY, 7:25am: Lucas is heading to Turkey’s TED Ankara, not Turk Telekom, Pick now says (Twitter link).
MONDAY, 10:59pm: Kalin Lucas has signed with the Turkish team Turk Telekom on a deal that will cover the remainder of the NBA season, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter), although the team has yet to make an official announcement. Lucas had been playing with the Iowa Energy, the Grizzlies’ D-League affiliate, but will now head overseas as the 2014/15 season begins to wind down.
The Michigan State product went undrafted in 2011 and played with Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League following his four years as a Spartan. He hooked up with the Grizzlies for training camp this past autumn, and although he was cut before opening night, he eventually re-signed with the team twice during the regular season, appearing in a single contest.
There hasn’t been much chatter surrounding Lucas, as his rumors page shows, so it isn’t surprising to see the 25-year-old guard head overseas. Still, he was able to put up an impressive mark of 19.3 points per night and a sharp 43.1% three-point field goal percentage in the D-League this season, so it’s possible he could draw NBA interest again this summer.
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Ontario (ON)
Gravenhurst Hotels
Gravenhurst, ON1 Room
Find my perfect Gravenhurst hotel
Gravenhurst Ontario Hotels & Motels
Only hotels in Gravenhurst are listed below. Explore our guide for inexpensive and discount hotel/motel rates in or near Gravenhurst, ON for your personal leisure or group travel. We list the best Gravenhurst, Ontario motel and hotel rooms. Browse the Gravenhurst area hotels to find the perfect lodging! Please use the provided map of the Gravenhurst hotels. Group booking? Search Gravenhurst Group Hotel Rates
The Gravenhurst center is about 2 miles northeast of Downtown Gravenhurst and 6 miles south of Downtown Bracebridge.
"Welcome to Gravenhurst, Ontario, a Fascinating Steamboat Town"By Allison Blackham, Travel Writer
Gravenhurst is a town in Ontario, Canada, situated about 10 miles (16 km) south of Bracebridge. The town sits within the Muskoka Region and includes a portion of the District of Muskoka, which Ontarians know as “cottage country.” Gravenhurst also borders two lakes, Gull Lake and Lake Muskoka, while Kahshe Lake is about 7 miles away. In its early days, the town was called McCabe's Landing and Sawdust City. Its current name comes from a treatise written by William Smith titled “Gravenhurst or Thoughts on Good and Evil.” More from this guide...
Gravenhurst Hotels & Accommodations
Taboo Muskoka - Gravenhurst
1209 Muskoka Beach Rd., Gravenhurst, ON P1P1R1
Four-star Resort property
Fitness + Health Center
Howard Johnson by Wyndham Gravenhurst
1165 Muskoka Rd. South, Gravenhurst, ON P1P1K6
Residence Inn by Marriott Gravenhurst Muskoka Wharf
285 Steamship Bay Rd., Gravenhurst, ON P1P1Z9
106 suites in property
Quality Inn in Bracebridge
300 Ecclestone Dr., Bracebridge, ON P1L1G5 ~5.87 miles north of Gravenhurst
Three Star Downtown hotel
Average 3.5 /5Read Reviews CallBookMore Details
Cedar Lane Motel : 729 Cedar Lane
729 Cedar Lane, Bracebridge, ON P1L0A1 ~6.61 miles north of Gravenhurst
Two-star Beach hotel
Sleep Inn Bracebridge
510 Muskoka Rd. 118 West, Bracebridge, ON P1L1W8 ~6.75 miles north of Gravenhurst
Low Cost Downtown property
Near major mall area
Knights Inn Bracebridge - Bracebridge
400 Manitoba St., Bracebridge, ON P1L1S2 ~7.18 miles north of Gravenhurst
Cheap Downtown hotel
Check-in time: 3:00pm
Travelodge Bracebridge in Bracebridge
320 Taylor Rd., Bracebridge, ON P1L1K1 ~7.30 miles north of Gravenhurst
2-star Downtown property
3 suites in hotel
Patio door was open
Tranquil rooms with excellent beds and welcoming service
Bayview Wildwood Resort : 1500 Port Stanton Pkwy.
1500 Port Stanton Pkwy., Severn Bridge, ON P0E1N0 ~11.07 miles southwest of Gravenhurst
Affordable Lake property
Has environment-friendly policy Learn more
Amenities are not the best
For 80%, the rooms looked old
Sherwood Inn
1090 Sherwood Rd., Port Carling, ON P0B1J0 ~19.19 miles northwest of Gravenhurst
High-end Resort hotel
3 suites in property
Adequate balcony
Room staff top notch
Windermere House : 2508 Windermere Rd. Box 68
2508 Windermere Rd. Box 68, Windermere, ON P0B1P0 ~20.47 miles northwest of Gravenhurst
Four star Resort hotel
Check in: 4:00pm
Casino Rama Resort
5899 Rama Rd., Orillia, ON L3V6H6 ~20.58 miles south of Gravenhurst
High end property
Days Inn by Wyndham Orillia - Ramara
5850 Rama Rd., Ramara, ON L3V0S3 ~20.89 miles south of Gravenhurst
Days Inn Orillia - Orillia
2-star Rural property
Room was large lovely
Very Good 4.0 /5Recent Reviews CallBookMore Details
Orillia Travelodge Hotel in Toronto
600 Sundial Dr., Toronto, ON L3V 6H3 ~21.63 miles south of Gravenhurst
Inexpensive property
Clevelands House Resort - Minnet
1040 Juddhaven Rd. Minnett, Minnet, ON P0B1G0 ~21.83 miles northwest of Gravenhurst
Affordable Lake hotel
JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa in Minett
1050 Paignton House Rd., Minett, ON P0B1G0 ~21.87 miles northwest of Gravenhurst
Luxury 5 star Resort property
95 suites in hotel
Fern Resort - Orillia
4432 Fern Resort Rd., Orillia, ON L3V6H5 ~22.25 miles south of Gravenhurst
Mid-scale Resort property
Gym is available on property
Beautiful grounds
Stone Gate Inn : 437 Laclie St.
437 Laclie St., Orillia, ON L3V4P7 ~22.58 miles south of Gravenhurst
Four star property
48 suites in property
Very Good 4.5 /5Review Score CallBookMore Details
Champlain Waterfront Hotel An Ascend Collections
2 Front St. North, Orillia, ON L3V4R5 ~23.57 miles south of Gravenhurst
Affordable Downtown property
Hotel has 52 rooms
Best Western Plus Orillia Hotel in Orillia
440 Couchiching Point Rd., Orillia, ON L3V 6P8 ~23.58 miles south of Gravenhurst
Midscale Lake hotel
3 conference rooms in property
Quality Inn & Conference Centre in Orillia
201 Woodside Dr., Orillia, ON L3V6T4 ~23.98 miles south of Gravenhurst
Three Star Downtown property
Knights Inn Orillia in Orillia
450 West St. South, Orillia, ON L3V5H3 ~24.46 miles south of Gravenhurst
Standard TV
Bad snacks
265 Memorial Ave., Orillia, ON L3V5X8 ~24.64 miles south of Gravenhurst
Hotel has 5 floors
Average 3.0 /5Reviews CallBookMore Details
Best Western Plus Mariposa Inn & Conference Centre
400 Memorial Ave., Orillia, ON L3V 0T7 ~25.07 miles south of Gravenhurst
Mid-scale Suburban property
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Graph: Upcoming 20 Days of Gravenhurst Hotel Rates
Rates shown are nightly rates before taxes and do not necessarily reflect all Gravenhurst, ON discounts available. The chart reflects the cheapest Gravenhurst hotel for each day and each star rating category.
During the mid-19th century, a colonization road was built, resulting in economic growth in the town. The following decade, steamboating began on the nearby lakes. At this time, many people referred to Gravenhurst as the Gateway to Muskoka. It also served as the training camp location for the Royal Norwegian Air Force and a prisoner of war camp. Nearly 12,000 people reside in Gravenhurst, spread over the almost 9 square miles (22.5 square kilometers) of land.
When should you visit Gravenhurst, ON?
Each year, Gravenhurst hosts a winter carnival for the members of the community and the surrounding areas. Events at the carnival are designed for all ages, including a polar dip, donut-eating contests, arm wrestling, dances, a fireworks display, and sno-yoga. This event can impact hotel rates as people often come to participate. The Muskoka Wharf also has several other annual events, including Pirate Fest and a farmers market, although these don't generally influence hotel prices.
The weather in Gravenhurst is quite cold and snowy during the winter, with lows often in the single digits during January and February. The area receives quite a bit of moisture, averaging between seven and 14 days of rain per month. Visitors don't come to Gravenhurst during the winter months as often unless they plan to take part in winter activities, so the hotel prices tend to be a bit lower. If you are planning a trip during the cold season, be sure to bring plenty of layers to stay warm.
Below is a chart of the current pricing seasonality of hotels and motels in Gravenhurst, ON:
Gravenhurst by Star Rating
Below we've posted 3 graphs demonstrating mean price patterns by star rating class in Gravenhurst, ON. You can use these line graphs to determine the least expensive seasons to make a reservation in Gravenhurst for your upcoming travels.
What are the luxury hotels near Gravenhurst, ON?
One of the nicer hotels in the area is the Quality Inn, which is on Ecclestone Drive in nearby Bracebridge. Amenities include a spa tub, a sauna, an arcade and game room, a business center, and front desk staff members available 24 hours a day who also speak multiple languages. This cozy property has 54 guest rooms, each featuring an LCD TV with cable channels, wireless internet access for an additional fee, a private bathroom with a shower/tub combination, a microwave, a tea and coffee maker, and a phone with free local calls. Full breakfasts are available for an additional fee during your stay, and you can enjoy cocktails at the hotel lounge.
The Inn at Peter's Players is a unique place to stay in the area. This historic facility has four individually decorated guest rooms. Each has a microwave, complimentary wireless internet access, a flat-screen TV with cable programming, and a private bathroom with a shower and complimentary toiletries. The property has a communal kitchen that all guests can use to prepare meals. Additional amenities include a fireplace in the lobby, express check-in and check-out services, free parking, and luggage storage. The facility is less than a mile from Bethune Memorial House and Gull Lake Rotary Park.
What are the discount hotels near Gravenhurst, ON?
Oakwood Motel is a budget-friendly spot in Gravenhurst. Each of the 21 individually decorated guest rooms at this cozy property features a desk, blackout drapes, and free wireless internet access. You'll also be able to use the barbecue grills during your stay and enjoy the views from the on-site garden. This hotel is close to the Gravenhurst Opera House and Gull Lake Rotary Park.
Knights Inn Bracebridge is another cost-effective place to stay, located about 7 miles from Gravenhurst. During your stay, you can take advantage of complimentary wireless internet access, assistance with tickets to nearby attractions and local tours, and free on-site self-parking. Within the rooms, amenities include flat-screen TVs with cable channels, microwaves, refrigerators, complimentary toiletries, and phones with free local calls. A complimentary continental breakfast is available each morning for guests.
If you're looking to save during your trip to Gravenhurst, book a room at Howard Johnson by Wyndham Gravenhurst. This hotel features a fitness center, a 24-hour front desk, free on-site self-parking, complimentary daily newspapers in the lobby, and free wireless internet access. Within each room, you'll find a 32-inch LCD TV with premium cable programming, a tea and coffee maker, a microwave, a separate workspace, and a refrigerator. Cribs are also available for families upon request. Enjoy the complimentary continental breakfast each morning before you head out for some sightseeing.
2 Star Average Prices: $69.99
What are the top discounts for hotels in Gravenhurst, ON?
Stone Gate Inn offers discounted rates to AAA members. This three-star hotel is in Orillia near a country club. It also has high ratings from past guests for its cozy, welcoming atmosphere. The spacious rooms feature kitchenettes with microwaves and refrigerators. The rooms also provide 42-inch flat-screen TVs with cable channels, free wireless internet access, desks, tea and coffee makers, premium bedding on pillowtop beds, and phones with free local calls. You can also take the complimentary shuttle to try your luck at the nearby casinos. On-site amenities include an indoor pool, a spa tub, a fitness center, a gift shop, and a restaurant that offers room service 24 hours a day.
Senior travelers can save when staying at Comfort Inn Orillia. Each room comes equipped with a microwave, a refrigerator, a sofa bed, pillowtop beds with premium bedding, a 32-inch flat-screen, complimentary wireless internet access, and a deep soaking tub in the bathroom. At the hotel, you can enjoy the picnic area and barbecue grills or take in the view from the garden. A complimentary breakfast buffet is also served each morning, where you can sample both hot and cold menu items.
Military personnel and government employees are eligible for discounts at Best Western Plus Orillia Hotel. Every room has a microwave, a pillowtop bed with plush bedding, a refrigerator, a 42-inch LED TV with cable channels, complimentary toiletries, and free wired and wireless internet access. Enjoy amenities like a spa tub, a fitness center, a fireplace in the lobby, an Italian restaurant, and a lounge. The hotel offers a free hot and cold breakfast buffet for guests every morning. You can also unwind with a cocktail at the lounge or order room service, offered during select hours.
What are the best value hotels in Gravenhurst, ON?
Residence Inn by Marriott Gravenhurst Muskoka Wharf is an appealing option if you like the home away from home atmosphere of an extended stay property. It's close to the wharf, where you can participate in a number of activities, as well. The hotel features an indoor swimming pool, a 24-hour fitness center, a picnic area, and a fireplace in the lobby. Pick up snacks and drinks at the on-site deli or enjoy the complimentary reception, held each evening. The suites feature kitchens with stoves and refrigerators, as well as private balconies, LCD TVs, phones, tea and coffee makers, and free wired and wireless internet access. A complimentary full breakfast is also served in the common area every morning.
Another hotel that delivers excellent value for guests is the Champlain Waterfront Hotel, an Ascend Hotel Collection. Here, you'll find a 24-hour front desk, a business center, fresh tea and coffee in the lobby, a fitness center, and a fireplace when you walk through the doors. Each room comes with a private bathroom with complimentary toiletries, a tea and coffee maker, wireless internet access, a TV with cable channels, and a separate workspace. You can also enjoy a cooked-to-order breakfast, available for an additional fee.
What should you see and do while visiting Gravenhurst, ON?
Gravenhurst has a number of unique attractions to explore during your trip to the area. The Muskoka Steamships are extremely popular, allowing visitors and locals to take a ride on one of the oldest operating steamships in North America or enjoy a boat trip on a modern, upscale steamboat. The beautiful background of the lakes makes for a picturesque experience. Gull Lake Rotary Park is another popular place to visit. It has playgrounds for kids, a swimming area, benches, and a snack bar. During the summer months, the park also hosts family movie nights and live entertainment on the stage.
If you'd like to learn more about the area and its growth over the years, pay a visit to the Muskoka Discovery Centre. The exhibits at this facility honor the legacy of the steamships and wooden boats that were so important to the prosperity of the town's early residents. Kids will also love the virtual aquarium, interactive play opportunities in the KidZone, and other fascinating exhibits. Gravenhurst has a number of outdoor attractions for summer travelers, including mountain biking, hiking trails, and beautiful parks.
Whether you're visiting Gravenhurst for business or leisure travel, you can explore the sites of this unique town that has a strong history. Enjoy a relaxing stay at one of the hotels that offer the amenities you want at a reasonable price.
FAQs about hotels in Gravenhurst
What are the best rated hotels in Gravenhurst?
Residence Inn by Marriott Gravenhurst Muskoka Wharf, Sherwood Inn and Stone Gate Inn are the best rated hotels based on customer reviews in the last 365 days.
What are the most luxurious hotels in Gravenhurst?
JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa, Taboo Muskoka and Sherwood Inn are the top 3 luxury hotels near Gravenhurst city center.
What hotels are closest to the city center of Gravenhurst?
Taboo Muskoka, Howard Johnson by Wyndham Gravenhurst, and Residence Inn by Marriott Gravenhurst Muskoka Wharf are the properties closest to Gravenhurst city center.
What are the most popular independent hotels in Gravenhurst?
Sherwood Inn, Stone Gate Inn and Bayview Wildwood Resort are the best rated independent hotels (not part of a big brand).
What are the best Marriott hotels in Gravenhurst?
Residence Inn by Marriott Gravenhurst Muskoka Wharf and JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa are the best rated Marriott/Starwood branded hotels (based on customer reviews score).
What are the most popular Choice Hotels branded hotels in Gravenhurst?
Champlain Waterfront Hotel An Ascend Collections, Comfort Inn Midland and Comfort Inn are the best rated Choice Hotels branded hotels (based on HotelPlanner reviews score).
What are the most popular Best Western hotels in Gravenhurst?
Best Western Plus Muskoka Inn, Best Western Plus Orillia Hotel and Best Western Plus Mariposa Inn & Conference Centre are the best rated Best Western branded hotels (based on user reviews score).
All Gravenhurst Hotels in Map >
Ontario Guide
Pet-friendly Gravenhurst LodgingGravenhurst Hotel with a PoolGravenhurst Hotels with Free Breakfast
Hotels close to Downtown GravenhurstDowntown BracebridgeHotels close to Downtown Port CarlingHotels near Downtown Orillia
Bracebridge Hotels/MotelsSevern Bridge budget hotelsMuskoka accommodationsPort Carling area hotelsWindermere ONMinett budget hotelsOrillia cheap hotelsHoney Harbour ON
MacTier cheap hotelsDorset ONMidland budget hotelsBarrie - Orillia, ON HotelsHuntsville Hotels and ReviewsBeaverton Hotels/MotelsShanty Bay hotel dealsHaliburton Hotels and ReviewsFenelon Falls cheap hotelsParry Sound, ONBarrie Hotels/MotelsEagle Lake Hotels/MotelsSutton accommodationsWasaga Beach budget hotelsMcKellar, ON LodgingNobel ON HotelsLindsay accommodationsZephyr hotel dealsCollingwood accommodationsDeerhurst, ONBuckhorn cheap hotelsEast Gwillimbury, ONOmemee ONAlgonquin Park, ON Hotels
Need a certain Brand?
Comfort InnsHoliday InnKnights Inn HotelsSuper 8 in GravenhurstTravelodge, Gravenhurst
Table of ContentsTop: Check RatesGravenhurst Hotels20 Day Price GraphSeasonality for GravenhurstTemp. by MonthGravenhurst Rates by Star Rating3 Star Rates: $02 Star Rates: $69.99Gravenhurst DiscountsFAQs for Gravenhurst
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How safe is seafood caught near the San Jacinto Waste Pits? County officials plan to find out
Local // Houston & Texas
Alex Stuckey Nov. 14, 2017 Updated: Nov. 14, 2017 5:51 p.m.
How safe is seafood caught near the San Jacinto Waste...
1of12A sign warns the public about the EPA Superfund Site not to eat contaminated seafood caught from the water along I-10 near the San Jacinto River east of Houston, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013, in Channelview. Texans Together, the Harris County Attorney's Office and residents are working together to spotlight the public health, fishing, and financial disaster that will result if a hurricane hits the San Jacinto Waste Pits, a highly vulnerable, toxic waste superfund site in the middle of the San Jacinto River and flows into Galveston Bay. A recent government report reveals that the plastic lining placed in 2011 over the site's toxic wastes-- which the Waste Management and International Paper promised would protect the public for years, is eroding. ( Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle )Photo: Michael Paulsen, Staff
2of12Linda Bonner hugs her granddaughter Gaige-Lyn Gray on Sept. 6 in Channelview. She fears time spent at her ruined home could have exposed her to dangerous contamination from the San Jacinto Waste Pits.Photo: Steve Gonzales, Staff
3of12Local residents monitor these three barriers called "dolphins" near the Interstate 10 E. bridge on the San Jacinto River to try to get an idea of what kind of damage might be happening to a cap that contains the waste pits below. The barriers were heavily damaged in Hurricane Harvey as the river flooded in the last days of August and into September 2017.Photo: Courtesy Harris County
4of12Signs south of the San Jacinto River Waste Pits U.S. EPA Superfund Site warns people not to consume fish from the area Friday, August 26, 2016 in Channelview. ( Michael Ciaglo / Houston Chronicle )Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff
5of12A sign shown along Market St. Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Channelview states No Unauthorized Entry into the U.S. EPA Superfund Site at the San Jacinto River Waste Pits. Because of dioxin and PCB contamination in the San Jacinto River there are advisories on the dangers of eating crab and fish from the nearby areas. ( Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle )Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff
6of12An egret flies away after fishing near the San Jacinto River waste pits.Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff
7of12Signs near the San Jacinto River Waste Pits U.S. EPA Superfund Site warns people not to enter or consume fish from the area, Friday, Aug. 26, 2016 in Channelview, Texas. (Michael Ciaglo / Houston Chronicle via AP)Photo: Michael Ciaglo, MBI
8of12Signs near the San Jacinto River waste pits warn people not to enter or consume fish from the area. Photo: James Nielsen
9of12Tera Lewis, right, fishes for crabs at River Terrace Park Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Channelview not far from the San Jacinto River Waste Pits. Because of dioxin and PCB contamination in the San Jacinto River there are now advisories on the dangers of eating crab and fish from the area.Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle
10of12Kirby Turner stands near one of the consumption advisory signs near the Lynchburg Ferry and I-10 as he talks Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Channelview. He said he is not worried about contamination from the near by San Jacinto River Waste Pits and has eaten fish and crab from the river for years and never gotten sick. Because of dioxin and PCB contamination in the San Jacinto River there are now advisories on the dangers of eating crab and fish from the area. There is an adjacent sign posted in English.Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle
11of12Kirby Turner stands near consumption advisory signs near the Lynchburg Ferry and I-10 as he talks Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Channelview. He said he is not worried about contamination from the near by San Jacinto River Waste Pits and has eaten fish and crab from the river for years and never gotten sick. Because of dioxin and PCB contamination in the San Jacinto River there are now advisories on the dangers of eating crab and fish from the area.Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle
12of12Gina Fields holds up a catfish caught by by fisherman Manuel Hernandez in the San Jacinto River at Michael Moncrief Park Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Channelview. Because of dioxin and PCB contamination in the San Jacinto River there are now advisories on the dangers of eating crab and fish from the area. Until the river contamination was known, she and family members fished, crabbed, swam and camped at the river. She also worked at a bait shop with family members, Ricky and Rebecca Kornele, who are now involved in the San Jacinto River Waste Pit related lawsuit.Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle
High levels of cancer-causing dioxin found near the San Jacinto Waste Pits in the wake of Hurricane Harvey have Harris County officials concerned about the safety of seafood caught in the area.
So on Tuesday, the County Commissioners Court approved an agreement for testing in a 5-mile radius of the Superfund site.
"Everything has changed since Harvey," said David Walden, chief of staff for County Commissioner Jack Morman. "The caps failed at the waste pits, they're leaking dioxin ... It's probably a good time to start testing things."
Hundreds of families in riverfront neighborhoods east of Houston fear that massive flooding has poisoned their land and fouled their wells with sewage, industrial pollution and toxic sediment from the region's most notorious Superfund site - the San Jacinto Waste pits. (Drone video taken by: Greg Moss)
Video: Houston Chronicle
In September, the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed that a concrete cap used to cover the pits since 2011 had sprung a leak during Harvey's floods. Agency officials found dioxin in sediment near the pit at a level more than 2,000 times the EPA standard for clean-up.
Two weeks later, EPA officials announced they would permanently remove tons of toxics from the waste pits.
That process, however, will take years. In the meantime, county officials believe residents should know what they're consuming.
"People need to know what exactly they're catching, how much they can consume and what's dangerous and what isn't," Walden said.
The testing, expected to cost $250,000, will be funded with money from a settlement agreement over the river's waste pits, which decades ago were used by industrial paper mills to dispose of waste, including highly toxic dioxins.
The Galveston Bay Foundation is charged with finding a contractor to conduct the testing, which will consist of collecting and analyzing sediment samples and 20-40 fish and crab tissue samples in a 5-mile radius of the pits, in the San Jacinto River and the Houston Ship Channel.
"The last large, comprehensive round of fish and crab tissue sampling from the San Jacinto River and Houston Ship Channel was completed by [the Department of State Health Services] in July 2011," according to the foundation's testing proposal.
Additional testing in 2012 only tested for dioxin in four locations and none were taken in the San Jacinto River in the vicinity of the pits, the proposal adds.
Scott Jones, the foundation's director of advocacy, said they already are looking for contractors and expect the testing to be completed within a year.
The idea, Jones said, is to look at whether dioxin levels in the fish and crab are high enough to be a safety concern and whether the waste pits are the main source.
Alex Stuckey covers science and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.
Alex Stuckey
Follow Alex on:
alexdstuckey
Alex Stuckey is an investigative reporter for the Chronicle. Stuckey won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for her work on a project examining the rampant mishandling of sexual assault reports at Utah colleges while working for The Salt Lake Tribune. She came to the Chronicle shortly thereafter to write about NASA, science and the environment.
Stuckey is an Investigative Reporters and Editors award winner and a Livingston Award Finalist. She has won a Sigma Delta Chi Award for Excellence in Public Service Journalism and a Frank A. Blethen Award for Local Accountability Reporting. She also has won a Society of Professional Journalists Don Baker Investigative Reporting Award.
An Ohio native, Stuckey has lived in five states since graduating from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in 2012. She loves yoga, reading and elephants. She shares a birthday with Ruth Bader Ginsburg (girl power!) and the late Alan Bean, fourth man to walk on the moon.
She likes puppies more than people.
Man wrongfully convicted of murder feels blessed to be home
Harris County Animal Shelter helps dogs, cats find homes for the holidays
Houston museum honors military musicians on Veterans Day
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Home » Magazine » Magazine
i-Italy - About Us
We are a group of journalists, academics and “public intellectuals” determined to create an authoritative point of encounter, information, and debate on the Internet concerning Italy and Italian America.
i-Italy is a TV, a print magazine and a multimedia, bilingual web project which focuses on three major fields:
1) Information and discussion on current, social and cultural events
2) In-depth examination and cultural debate, hosting opinions, comments, columns, analyses, and reviews;
3) Community building/social networking
Our project addresses three major segments:
• American "Italophiles" who love Italy and everything Italian
• Americans of Italian descent
• Italians living and working in the U.S.
It also addresses three main topics:
• Italian America: social, political and cultural events related to the Italian/American community.
• Italy in the U.S.: Italian events in America, including among others artistic, cultural, and business events;
• Italy in Italy: Italian current events and lifestyle
Finally, our project is bilingual, with English as its main language as it is spoken by the most part of our target audiences.
on November 21, 2017 oscar wright (not verified) wrote
Documentary collaboration
Hi David your documentary on the Zampogna was very good. I am an American who has lived in Italy for 20 years and have done documentarys on southern Italy. Please contact me at [email protected]
on March 19, 2018 Carmine Vittoria (not verified) wrote
I would like your e-mail and phone number so that I can tell you all about my book "Bitter Chicory To Sweet Espresso". It is a book about WW II in the Naples area as seen from a child's perspective.
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:: Issues > Other Issues
Gordon Duff: Israeli Ambassador Admits Rogue Operations, Spying And Worse
Israel's ambassador to the United States on Monday said that convicted spy Jonathan Pollard was not working for Israeli government spymasters but for a rogue intelligence agency – apparently contradicting an official state position."
Thursday, June 24,2010 13:37
by By Gordon Duff sabbah.biz
"…we're talking about an event that was run by a rogue organization in the Israeli intelligence community" (Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren on the Jonathan Pollard spy case)
In a shocking revelation today, Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren admitted that super-spy Johnathan Pollard, responsible for the murder of 100 CIA agents and the turnover of 360 square feet of vital intelligence to the Soviet Union wasn't really working for Israel at all. In 1998, the government of Israel admitted that Jonathan Pollard was a spy for Israel, having stolen nearly every NATO defense plan needed to assure a Soviet victory in case of war. Israel claims that a defense agreement, not in evidence, makes any information held by the United States, found useful to Israel, no matter its security classification, property of the State of Israel. The Israeli news agency Haaretz quotes as follows:
"Israel's ambassador to the United States on Monday said that convicted spy Jonathan Pollard was not working for Israeli government spymasters but for a rogue intelligence agency – apparently contradicting an official state position."
In this instance, secrets meant to defend NATO from Soviet invasion were useful to Israel who traded them in order to get Jews released from Russia and allowed to immigrate to Israel. Israel contended that it was their inherent right to that information because they had a vital need for it. In that information, along with locations of all vital NATO nuclear facilities, were the names of all CIA operatives working behind the Iron Curtain and details on their contacts. After this information went to Israel, then to Russia, all involved, CIA handlers, agents and their families were murdered, the biggest intelligence disaster in American history.
As a result of the Pollard incident, a reminder of the slaughter of the crew of the USS Liberty in 1967, many members of the FBI, CIA and US military had become extremely resentful of Israel. The payment of $1 million to Pollard by the Israeli government in 2001, just prior to 9/11 and his status as Israel's greatest living hero, was seen as proof of official sanction for his spying, sanction backed by the 1998 admission. Now, however, Ambassador Oren has announced this was simply cover for Israel's embarrassment at its inability to control a massive rogue operation, not only of spies but special operations groups of every kind, working around the world but in no way, whatsoever, answerable to the Israeli government.
Thus, the suppression of Israeli involvement in the 9/11 attacks, including the arrests in New York of Israeli operatives as terrorists involved in the attack, and their subsequent release, can now be understood. As to what part this rogue organization that has misrepresented itself as government sanctioned, typically as Mossad, was involved in the planning of 9/11 is unclear other than their foreknowledge of the attacks.
Were Israeli's warned in order to incriminate Israel? An examination of casualty figures for the 9/11 attacks shows a number of victims with Jewish names but no holders of Israeli passports, although many were employed in the World Trade Center, the largest group of foreign passport holders by far. Citizens of 57 countries perished on 9/11.
By far the foreign country with the largest loss of life was the United Kingdom, with 67 deaths (excluding the overseas territory of Bermuda). India had 41, South Korea had 28 and Canada and Japan had 24 each. Colombia had seventeen and Jamaica, Mexico and the Philippines had sixteen each. Australia and Germany had eleven each, while Italy had ten.
There is absolutely no evidence that a rogue intelligence operation had contacted Israeli passport holders or given out any warning at all. However, when the fact of the bizarre statistical anomaly in 9/11 casualties came to light immediately after the attack, news organizations universally misrepresented these facts, now in "public domain."
COWBOY MANIACS, DESTROYING ISRAEL'S GOOD NAME
With the admission of a conspiracy, operating worldwide with one goal, the destabilization of the State of Israel, not by attacks on Israel but by attacks done in Israel's name, we enter a new region in the analysis of security threats. Most serious, of course, is the door this opens regarding culpability for 9/11, something Israel has been increasingly subject to. Now it has become clear that the ties between groups that were involved in the proven demolition of Building 7 and the Israeli terrorists arrested by the NYPD in no way lead to the Israeli government. As to whether the companies owned by Israeli nationals whose catastrophic series of security failures on 9/11 contributed to the disaster are part of this terrorist ring is, in no way clearly established either.
A similar set of circumstances during the 2009 Christmas "crotch bombing" in Detroit may, however, bring into question the possibility of a pattern of conduct within this organization that Ambassador Oren has exposed.
It remains to be seen how many terrorist operations that have been tagged as Mossad can be tied to the group Oren refers to. Attempts to get details from the Israeli embassy in Washington on the make-up of these groups, whether they are Israeli nationals, Americans of Jewish heritage, former Mossad or IDF has not yielded results. Whether operations like the PKK attack on Turkey or the assassination of an Hamas agent in Dubai can be credit to this group remains to be seen.
tags: Mossad / CIA / NATO / 9/11 / Israeli Ambassador / Israeli Intelligence Community / American History / Michael Oren / Jonathan Pollard / Israeli Spy
Posted in Other Issues , Palestine
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Egypt: Meeting between journalist Hala Mustapha and, Israeli ambassador Shalom Cohen stirs storm.
Opposition Demands Expulsion of Israeli Ambassadors
Egypt: Campaign for Collecting Ten Million Signatures for Expelling Israeli Ambassador
MPs to Stage Sit In Until Israeli Ambassador Leaves
2 Democratic Party MPs Call For Dismissing Israeli Ambassador
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Home > News > India
Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Health Deteriorates, Doctors Say 63% of His Kidney Damaged
Lalu Prasad Yadav's kidneys are not functioning properly. His blood sugar and blood pressure are also fluctuating.
Updated: September 1, 2019 7:42 AM IST
By India.com News Desk Email
Edited by Surabhi Shaurya EmailFollow
New Delhi: The health condition of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav has worsened. According to the doctors, his kidneys are not functioning properly, and blood sugar and blood pressure are also fluctuating.
Yadav, who has been serving prison term in Birsa Munda Jail is undergoing treatment for multiple ailments at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi. He has been in jail since 2017 after his conviction in fodder scam cases.
Dr DK Jha, who has been looking after the RJD Chief ever since he was admitted to RIMS said that the blood infection is spreading in his body. He added that only 37 per cent of his kidney is functioning properly and upto 63 per cent has been damaged.”
He said there is an infection in Lalu Yadav’s blood. “Lalu Yadav had developed a small boil which later turned big. It has been operated on. Infection was also detected during the treatment of the boil. The kidney functioning has been reduced upto 37 per cent from 50 per cent. Yadav is being administered antibiotic medicine which has also reduced the kidney functioning.”
Speaking to PTI, Dr Umesh Prasad, one of the attending doctors said, “The GFR (glomerular filtration rate) has dropped. His kidneys are not functioning properly. His blood sugar and blood pressure are also fluctuating. We can say he is not stable.”
“The former Bihar CM’s diet has also decreased compared to earlier. We are giving him medicines now,” he added.
For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on India Latest News on India.com.
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Biharlalu prasad yadavRJD
Published Date: September 1, 2019 7:37 AM IST
Updated Date: September 1, 2019 7:42 AM IST
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Home › Relaxation & Meditation › Solfeggio Sonic Meditation Bundle - 6 CDs
Solfeggio Sonic Meditation Bundle - 6 CDs
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This is one of a series of six meditation recordings by Glenn Harrold and Ali Calderwood, which are based upon the ancient solfeggio musical scale. Each note in this scale has specific healing properties and this recording uses the first note, which resonates to a frequency of 396 Hz. This particular frequency works to release deep rooted feelings of guilt and fear and will also work with other similar emotional patterns such as shame, regret, self-doubt and low self-esteem all of which exist within the same vibrational energy.
Glenn Harrold's skilled vocal delivery and guided meditation combined with Ali Calderwood's deep and moving soundscapes tuned to 396 Hz combine to create an amazingly powerful meditation recording that has the potential to clear away blocks on a cellular level.
This recording can help you to release hidden layers of guilt, fear, shame and regret that are stored in your cellular memory and energetic fields. This title was created with much care and love and it has the potential to become one of Glenn's most effective recordings from his best-selling hypnosis and meditation series.
CD Track Listing:
1. 396 Hz Solfeggio Meditation (awake) 34:51 mins
2. 396 Hz Solfeggio Meditation (sleep) 44:11 mins
Please note: The first track has an awake ending and will gently bring you back to full waking consciousness, making it ideal for daytime use. The second track has a sleep ending and will guide you into a peaceful sleep at the end, making it ideal for night-time use
396 Hz Solfeggio Sonic Meditation CD ISBN: 9781908321039
417 Hz Solfeggio Sonic Meditation - Facilitating Change (CD)
This is the second of a series of six sonic meditation recordings by Glenn Harrold and Ali Calderwood, which are based upon the ancient solfeggio musical scale. Each note in this scale has specific healing properties and this recording uses the second note, which resonates to a frequency of 417 Hz and is associated with the colour orange and the element of water. This particular frequency works to dissolve emotional patterns and imprints from the past and facilitate positive changes.
It will also help to clear other emotional patterns, such as low self-esteem, self-rejection, overindulgence, jealousy and emotional instability, all of which exist within the same vibrational energy. It has been said that the solfeggio tones can even help to release blocks and traumas from past lives.
Glenn Harrold's skilled vocal delivery and guided meditation combined with Ali Calderwood's deep and moving soundscapes tuned to 417 Hz combine to create an amazingly powerful meditation recording that has the potential to clear away blocks on a cellular level. Listen now to resolve past traumas and facilitate changes that will leave you feeling lighter and free of old baggage. There are two audio tracks on this recording, the first has a wake up ending for daytime use, and the second has a go to sleep ending which is ideal for bedtime use.
1. 417 Hz Solfeggio Meditation (awake ending) 37:11 mins
2. 417 Hz Solfeggio Meditation (sleep ending) 42:11 mins
528 Hz Solfeggio Meditation - Transformation & Miracles (CD)
This is one of a series of six meditation recordings by Glenn Harrold and Ali Calderwood, which are based upon the ancient solfeggio musical scale. Each note in this scale has specific healing properties and this recording uses the third note, which resonates to a frequency of 528 Hz and is associated with the colour gold and the element of fire. This frequency is described as the love frequency as it has the potential to bring about transformation and create miracles as well as repairing broken DNA. It can also help to overcome problems like fatigue, anxiety, control issues and negative thought patterns, all of which exist within the same vibrational energy.
Interestingly, 528 Hz is the exact frequency used by genetic biochemists to repair broken DNA so our ancestors who used this scale for healing and transformation knew the power these frequencies held.
Glenn Harrold's skilled vocal delivery and guided meditation combined with Ali Calderwood's deep and moving soundscapes tuned to 528 Hz combine to create an amazingly powerful meditation recording. By combining these sounds with a guided meditation, you also have the potential to release deep-rooted blockages. These compositions also contain an array of sacred instruments and sounds such as crystal bowls and didgeridoo and sacred chants, which work to further enhance the effects of the Solfeggio tones.
This recording contains two tracks, the first you can use in the daytime as it will guide you back to full waking consciousness at the end. The second track will guide you into a deep sleep state at the end, which makes it ideal for using before you go to sleep at night. When you are instructed to repeat affirmations, connect with positive feelings (e.g. happiness, joy, love), this will help you absorb the suggestions on a deeper level. You don't have to repeat the affirmations out loud but do make a strong connection with them.
You will be guided into a deep state of mental and physical relaxation and it is recommended that you listen through headphones while lying or sitting somewhere comfortable where you won't be disturbed. Listen every day initially for 21 days and then as and when you wish. However, this is purely a guideline and you can listen to the recordings as often as you like. It is important to remember that you are being guided, so you will always be in full control of the whole process. This powerful recording is a completely safe and effective way of helping you to clear away deep-rooted blocks on a cellular level and find peace.
639 Hz Solfeggio Meditation - Harmonising Relationships (CD)
This is one of a series of six meditation CDs by Glenn Harrold and Ali Calderwood, which are based upon the ancient Solfeggio musical scale. Each note in this scale has specific healing properties and this recording uses the fourth note, which resonates to a frequency of 639 Hz.
This frequency works on connecting and harmonising relationships and deals with our perceptions of love. It can help you to change the way in which you interact with the world so that you bring more harmony and balance in your life and can help with issues around self-love and acceptance, loneliness and emotional stability. This CD contains two tracks, the first you can use in the daytime as it will guide you back to full waking consciousness at the end. The second track will guide you into a deep sleep state at the end, which makes it ideal for using before you go to sleep at night.
When you are instructed to repeat affirmations, connect with positive feelings (e.g. happiness, joy, love), this will help you absorb the suggestions on a deeper level. You don't have to repeat the affirmations out loud but do make a strong connection with them.
741 Hz Solfeggio Meditation - Expression & Communication (CD)
This is one of a series of meditation recordings by Glenn Harrold and Ali Calderwood, which are based upon the ancient Solfeggio musical scale. Each note in this scale has specific healing properties, and this recording resonates to a frequency of 741 Hz which is associated with the colour blue and the element of ether. Glenn Harrold's acclaimed vocal delivery and guided meditation combined with Ali Calderwood's deep and moving soundscapes tuned to 741 Hz combine to create an amazingly powerful meditation recording. By combining these sounds with a guided meditation, you have the potential to release deep-rooted blockages and negative patterns of behaviour.
This frequency will help you to express yourself freely, communicate effectively, clear creative blocks and can help you to feel more determined and focused. It can also help with weight control issues, a sluggish metabolism, hearing, throat and thyroid problems and even colds.
This CD contains two inspiring guided meditation tracks. The first track can be used in the daytime as it will guide you back to full waking consciousness at the end. The second track will guide you into a deep sleep state at the end, which makes it ideal for using before you go to sleep at night. The music includes an array of sacred instruments and sounds such as crystal bowls and didgeridoo and sacred chants, which work to further enhance the effects of the Solfeggio tones.
When you are instructed to repeat affirmations on the meditation tracks, connect with positive feelings (e.g. happiness, joy, love), as this will help you absorb the suggestions on a deeper level. You don't have to repeat the affirmations out loud but do make a strong connection with them.
852 Hz Solfeggio Meditation - Awaken Your Intuition (CD)
This is one of a series of six meditation recordings by Glenn Harrold and Ali Calderwood, which are based upon the ancient Solfeggio musical scale. Each note in this scale has specific healing properties and this recording resonates to a frequency of 852 Hz and is associated with the colour of indigo and the element of light.
Glenn Harrold's acclaimed vocal delivery and guided meditation combined with Ali Calderwood's deep and moving soundscapes tuned to 852 Hz combine to create an amazingly powerful meditation recording. By combining these sounds with a guided meditation, you have the potential to release deep-rooted blockages and negative patterns of behaviour.
This frequency will help you to awaken your intuition and connect with your inner light. It can also help with every day problems like headaches, lack of concentration, bad dreams, and nervousness, as all of these issues exist within the same vibrational energy.
The music includes an array of sacred instruments and sounds such as crystal bowls and didgeridoo and sacred chants, which work to further enhance the effects of the solfeggio tones.
Glenn Harrold Glenn Harrold is one of the worlds most successful hypnotherapists. He has helped thousands including many celebrities in a 20 year career and has sold over 6 million hypnosis CDs and downloads. His hypnotherapy titles are well established as the UK's best selling self-help CDs and downloads of all time and consistently top the self-help audio charts on Amazon, iTunes, Audible and Apple's App Store. In May 2011 he was made a Fellow of The British School of Clinical Hypnosis in acknowledgement of his achievements in the world of hypnotherapy.
Ali Calderwood Ali is an accomplished musician and producer, whose compositions contain illuminating depths of harmonic sound. His work is highly influenced by 15 years of immersion in ancient ways of shamanic knowledge, and the development of new approaches for modern day healing. Ali is recognised as a skilled shamanic healer, and now with 7 albums under the name of Anima, his work with sound has received international acclaim for its profound effect of aligning the listener with the higher states of consciousness. For more information visit his website - www.animacreations.co.uk
Digital Download Also Available
This item can also be purchased as an MP3. Click here for more information.
* Disclaimer: Specific results are not guaranteed. Results may vary.
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Free Self Hypnosis Scripts & Guides
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Home > Travel > States of India > Bihar > Districts of Bihar > Saran District
Saran District, Bihar
Saran District is an administrative district is a part of Saran Division of Bihar. Saran District has sugar industries and agriculture is the main occupation of the majority of the people.
Saran District is located in the southern post of the newly created Saran Division of North Bihar. This administrative district of Bihar has its headquarters located at Chhapra. Saran District is situated between 25 degree 36 minutes and 26 degree 13 minutes north latitude and 84 degree 24 minutes and 85 degree 15 minutes east longitude.
The Ganga River constitutes the southern boundary of the district beyond which lie Bhojpur District and Patna District. To the north of Saran lie Siwan District and Gopalganj District. The Gandak River forms the dividing line with Vaishali and Muzaffarpur district in the east. To the west of Saran lie the district of Siwan and the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh, Ghaghara River constituting a boundary between Saran and Ballia.
History of Saran District The historical background of the district as available in Ain-E-Akbari records Saran as one of the six Revenue Divisions constituting the province of Bihar. At the time of grant of Diwani to the British East India Company in 1765, there were eight Sarkars including Saran and Champaran. These two were later combined to form a single unit named Saran. Saran was included in the Patna Division when the Commissioner's Divisions were set up in 1829. It was separated from Champaran in 1866 when it Champaran was constituted into a separate district. Saran was made a part of Tirhut Division when latter was created in 1908. By this time there were three subdivisions in this district namely Saran, Siwan and Gopalganj. In 1972 each subdivision of the old Saran District became an independent district. Present Saran District after separation of Siwan and Gopalganj District still has its headquarters at Chhapra.
Various hypotheses have been put forward about the origin of the name Saran. General Cunningham suggested that Saran was earlier known as Saran or asylum which was a name given to a Stupa (Pillar) built by emperor Ashoka. Another view holds that the name Saran has been derived from Saranga- Aranya or the deer forest, the district being famous for its wide expanses of forest and deer in prehistoric times.
Geography of Saran District Geography of Saran District is shaped like a triangle with its apex at the confluence of boundary of Gopalganj district and Gandak-Ganga River. There are three rivers namely Ganga, Ghaghara River, Gandak which encircle the district from south, north, east and western side respectively. The district is entirely constituted of plains but there are quite a few depressions and marshes, which cause the formation of three broad natural divisions. Firstly, the alluvial plains along the big rivers which are subjected to periodic inundation and prone to floods, secondly the region of uplands away from the rivers and not subjected to floods and thirdly the diara areas in the beds of these great rivers. Out of 20 blocks in the districts, six blocks namely Sonepur, Dighwara, Revelganj, Chhapra, Manjhi and Dariyapur are affected by floods regularly. There are six partially flood affected blocks namely Garkha, Parsa, Marhoura, Amnaur, Jalalpur, and Ekma. The soil of the district is alluvial. No mineral of economic value is found in the district.
Tourism in Saran District There are several places of interest in Saran District. Tourism in Saran District offers exploring opportunities of various ancient and religious sites like Aami, Sonepur (Princely State of Sonepur), Dhorh Ashram, Gautam Asthan, Silhauri and Chirand. Big fair are organized on several occasions like Shivaratri and Kartik Purnima. People from all parts of the country come for having a pleasurable traveling experience.
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Personal Health: News and Notes
Perils of a TV in a kid's room
Thinking of buying your kid a TV of his or her own for Christmas? Here's advice from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine: Don't. It turns out there is a way to make television even more unhealthy for children: Put a set in their bedroom.
Research has shown that for kids, more "screen time" is linked to higher rates of obesity. The new study goes further. It finds not only that kids with a bedroom TV tend to watch more, but also that, compared to a family-room set, the screen time a kid logs in the bedroom is linked, hour-for-hour, to more belly fat, higher blood fats, and a greater risk of heart disease and diabetes.
For most households, that advice comes too late. Nationwide, 70 percent of kids between 8 and 18 already have one in their bedroom.
Lead author Amanda E. Staiano of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana says a bedroom television might disrupt sleep patterns and family meals. Sleep deprivation, likely when screen time trumps shut-eye, is a known risk factor for obesity and, worse, for diabetes-related conditions. Family mealtimes seem to promote healthier eating and lower obesity rates, not to mention less alcohol, drug, and tobacco use by kids.
For the research, Staiano and her team studied 369 children and adolescents between 5 and 18. Besides asking how much TV they watched daily and if they had a set in their room, the researchers measured the kids' waist circumference, blood pressure, and fasting blood fats; ran a full cholesterol panel; and gauged each child's fat mass in various ways.
Among kids who watched more than two hours a day, those with a TV in their bedroom were up to 21/2 times likelier than those who did not to be in the top one-quarter of kids in terms of fat mass. That finding held steady even after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, physical activity levels, and diet. Compared to kids who watched TV in a living area of the home, those with a TV in their room were almost three times likelier to have "elevated cardiometabolic risk," meaning they had three or more unhealthy readings in the panels of medical tests they got. - Los Angeles Times
Texting-walking is bad, too
Almost one in three pedestrians use their cellphones or text while crossing busy streets, which could increase their chances of being hit by a car, a new study says.
Distracted walking, like distracted driving, is increasing and pedestrians need to be educated about the dangers, added researchers at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center at the University of Washington in Seattle.
For the study, they watched more than 1,000 people cross 20 busy intersections in Seattle during summer of this year.
They looked for activities that could be distracting, such as talking on the phone, texting, and listening to music.
Only one in four observed all safety rules, including looking both ways before crossing.
Just under 30 percent were doing something else when crossing the street. Eleven percent were listening to music, 7 percent were texting, 6 percent were talking on the phone.
People distracted by some of these activities took almost a second and a half longer to cross.
But texting was potentially the most risky behavior. People doing it took almost two seconds longer to cross the street than those who weren't. - HealthDay
Fainting's link to heart disease
A large new Danish study found that people who faint were 74 percent more likely to eventually be admitted to the hospital for heart attack or stroke and five times more likely to need a pacemaker or other device later on.
The study suggests that even low-risk people who faint need to be evaluated.
The researchers used the Danish health system's national databases to find every Danish patient with a first-time hospital or ER admission due to fainting from 2001 to 2009.
The authors then included only the 40 percent of patients who appeared to have no preexisting condition, based on medical records and drugs used.
The researchers tracked those 37,000 people for 41/2 years, comparing their results to those of 185,000 similar people who hadn't fainted.
Martin Ruwald, lead author, noted that fainting can have many reasons. Still, the data suggest that a 26-year-old healthy female who faints has more than twice the risk of death within a year.
Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, said fainting "could be a sign of cardiovascular disease. See your doctor if you faint."
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‘Love & Hip Hop Atlanta’ Newcomer Karen King Facing 3-Year Minimum If Convicted For Fraud
Shaunee Flowers
Karen King was arrested in May while making an appearance at an Atlanta club. The Love & Hip Hop Atlanta star was charged with three felony counts of fraud and identity theft for her alleged role in a Saks Fifth Avenue fraud scam. Now it looks like King may be sitting in prison for several years and could still be serving time when her son Scrapp DeLeon is released in a few years.
King was busted after she allegedly bought almost $5,000 from Saks Fifth Avenue. The problem was, Karen King wasn’t using her own credit cards and ID to make the purchases. It wasn’t until a sting operation ended in the arrest of one of her supposed accomplices who happened to work for the ritzy retail story and quickly flipped on KK.
Scammers: LHHATL’s Karen King Faces 3 Years In Prison For Running Identity Fraud In Saks https://t.co/3ztUes1bm8 pic.twitter.com/Ld7aVA1PeB
— Bossip (@Bossip) July 5, 2016
According to Wetpaint, if she is found guilty, Karen King will be spending at least three years behind bars. She has been charged with two counts of credit card fraud and one count of identity fraud. Each of those charges carries a one-year mandatory minimum. Karen King knows all about mandatory minimums since her son is currently serving a mandatory minimum sentence at Macon State Prison after a conviction earlier this year for drug trafficking.
The sentencing drama and Scrapp DeLeon’s surrender to prison was all shown on Season 5 of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta. Scrapp’s family and his fans are still wearing Free Scrapp T-shirts and talking about his incarceration while his mom is also facing several years behind bars for her own alleged crimes. Now fans are wondering if Karen will end up behind bars and still serving time when Scrapp is released.
When Karen King was initially arrested in May, the whole incident was caught on film. Just days after her arrest, Karen issued a statement and according to Starcasm, she said the whole thing was just a big misunderstanding. If convicted, it could be a misunderstanding that puts her away for years. While each count holds a one-year minimum sentence, the maximum time that King could serve for all of the charges could be as many as 30 years.
A Liar, A Scammer: Karen King Faces 3 Years in Prison For Identity Theft Fraud—https://t.co/5pS9i83PIe pic.twitter.com/1SFO9K5s8d
— Tha Celebritea News (@thacelebritea) July 5, 2016
It didn’t take long for LHHATL fans to hear about King’s arrest, and it definitely wasn’t her first brush with the law. Just before Season 5 of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta started, the criminal history of some of the newest cast members was brought to light. That included Karen King being featured on America’s Most Wanted. Karen and her kids were implicated in the kidnapping, beating, and attempted murder of Karen’s ex-husband.
Of course, that was all just a big misunderstanding too, according to KK. While she said that her husband got what he deserved, she also denied having anything to do with his near-death ride in the trunk that thankfully ended when the driver was pulled over during a traffic stop.
#KarenKing may go to jail for 3 years! Saks 5th Avenue shopping theft… https://t.co/NWsihRjFgM pic.twitter.com/rWgVaj15rj
— Hollywood paparazzi (@lospaparazzoz) July 7, 2016
Karen King also has a long history of identity fraud and forgery arrests that go back for years. Considering her history of breaking the law, she would be very lucky to receive any mandatory minimum sentences if she does end up getting convicted on the identity fraud and credit card fraud charges.
In the wake of her arrest, Karen King did say she plans to take her case to trial, which would drag the whole process out. That had fans thinking maybe they would see more of this legal process play out on future episodes of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta.
[Image via VH1]
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Hidden Feed
As Fintech Booms, Both State and Federal Regulators Want a Piece of the Pie
Posted to Finance August 13, 2018 by Kate Patrick
States and the Federal Reserve are both calling dibs on burgeoning financial technology (fintech) organizations following a July Treasury Department report calling for the regulation of fintech companies.
Not all fintech companies conduct banking services, but those that do have the option of obtaining state or national bank charters.
As the fintech sector continues to grow quickly, some advocates for state banking — like the Arizona State Attorney General and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors — are telling the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which charters national banks, to keep its hands out of the pie, throwing oil on the fiery debate over whether the feds or the states are better at regulating the financial industry.
State bank charters typically cost less than national charters, which may be ideal for fintech startups without much capital. Wisconsin Banker, for example, estimated in 2016 that a nationally chartered bank in Wisconsin could save $50,000 to $60,000 annually by switching to a state charter.
For any startup, keeping costs down is key, which is why some states are gunning for startup fintech banks to charter with them. Keeping costs down can also help facilitate innovation. On the flip side, if a fintech organization charters with a state, that means it can’t operate in all 50 states without chartering in each one. Thus, a state-chartered fintech bank would potentially have to maneuver more rules and regulation than a nationally-chartered bank.
Lawrence White, professor of economics at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business, thinks the argument that state charters encourage banks to innovate more and national charters “stifle” innovation is a “red herring” in the fintech debate.
“It’s not about stifling innovation, it’s about having to deal with one regulator rather than 50 regulators, that’s what this is really all about,” White told InsideSources in an interview. “Partly this is pure power and jurisdiction, but also I think the states genuinely believe that ‘We the states do a better job of regulating financial entities that have a lot of consumer facing aspects, we do a better job of protecting our consumers.’ The feds have a tradition of neglecting consumers and being more partial to the businesses and banks that they regulate. So the states are saying, ‘We can do a better job.'”
There’s a powerful incentive for states to pursue fintech companies: as the sector grows rapidly, states risk losing a new wave in charter revenue to the federal government.
But because e-commerce and the internet have nationalized commerce and banking, fintech companies may see national charters as more attractive than state charters.
To attract fintech companies, encourage innovation, and nab some of that charter revenue, some states (like Arizona and New Jersey) have launched their own fintech incubators.
Besides the obvious money-making aspect, there’s also the question of who is better at protecting consumers within the financial industry, which White believes is the heart of the fintech debate.
According to White, the issue of consumer protection has been a sticking point for state and federal regulators for a long time, and the fight over fintech is just the latest manifestation of it.
“For a while the states seemed to be happy with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was doing, but under the current administration, the states are fearing that the CFPB is going to be a much diminished entity, and so they’re saying, ‘You have got to rely on us, the states [for consumer protection],'” White said. “That’s basically their story.”
Because national charters preempt state regulations, White said, national banks may not be held accountable to the same kinds of consumer protection laws that state banks are, like usury limits.
“Usury limits are a state-level thing, not a federal thing, so that’s one reason why a bank would want a national charter not a state-level one, to avoid usury limits,” White said. “I think the feds would say usury limits don’t take into account the riskiness from a lender’s perspective, and borrowers (like fintech startups) would be cut off from credit they otherwise would want to obtain and need.”
In December 2016, the OCC released a paper outlining why it believes it is in the public interest to grant national bank charters to fintech companies. In the OCC’s view, encouraging fintech companies to apply for national charters would “help promote consistency in the application of law and regulation across the country and ensure that consumers are treated fairly” as the sector evolves.
According to that paper, if a fintech company were granted a national charter, “the institution would be held to the same rigorous standards of safety and soundness, fair access, and fair treatment of customers that apply to all national banks and federal savings associations.”
But as White pointed out, that’s not good enough for some state bank advocates, especially given how the feds were unable to reign in banks before the 2008 financial crisis.
“Recall that the 2008 financial crisis was only a mere decade ago, a time when ‘innovative’ financial engineering and a hunger for high returns led many to lose their homes, their jobs, and their life savings,” wrote Chris Odinet, a law professor at the University of Oklahoma, in a column for The Hill. “Bailouts left the taxpayer holding the bag. It’s against this backdrop that we ought to view this [federal] nonbank charter with some skepticism.”
The OCC collected public comments on its proposal to grant national charters to fintech companies, and addressed them in a May 2017 paper, affirming that fintech companies — like other national banks — would be held to rigorous consumer protection standards and leverage and risk-based capital requirements, same as other national banks.
The entire paper quells fears that fintech banks would be given some kind of special treatment or held to more lax standards. Instead, the OCC repeats over and over again that any fintech company seeking a national charter will be held to the same standards as regular national banks.
In a way, that’s exactly what some state bank advocates fear: that fintech startups with more capital will forego state charters for national ones under bank-friendly regulators and not have to bother with state lines and extra state regulations that are, according to some, better at protecting consumers and allowing the industry to grow and innovate.
“There’s no good answer — it partly depends on what you think the magnitudes are, how important you think state-level protection for consumers is, rather than giving these companies more space to do what they do [with a national charter],” White said.
Fintech is still in the early stages of innovation and development, so it’s unclear whether more will go for national or state charters. Still, Odinet wrote, it’s important to approach the sector cautiously to avoid another crash.
“So as we move into a world where Wall Street and Silicon Valley become increasingly intertwined, it’s important to balance our hopes for how technology can make life better with our need to maintain a conservative approach to how we address financial regulation,” Odinet wrote. “If fintech really is a brave new world, it requires us to walk carefully and deliberately on this tight rope. No one wants to see us innovate our way into another crisis.”
Follow Kate on Twitter
Kate Patrick reports technology and finance news for InsideSources. She previously reported supply chain, freight, logistics, and procurement news as well as supply chain tech and regulation news for B2B startup Industry Dive.
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Cesc Fàbregas gets booed at Arsenal on FIFA 19
FIFA 19 is full of incredible details but one new detail on the game will not go down well with Cesc Fàbregas.
Ex-Arsenal player Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea looks on after during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on April 26, 2015 in London, England.
Photo: Paul Gilham/GETTY IMAGES
Apparently, when you play a match between Chelsea and Arsenal at the Emirates, EA Sports makes the crowd boo and jeer Fàbregas whenever he touches the ball.
As can be seen on the video below, the Arsenal supporters stop singing when Fàbregas gets the ball - to whistle and barrack the Spaniard.
La afición del Arsenal silbando a Cesc Fabregas cada vez que toca el balón... #FIFA19 #PS4share pic.twitter.com/Wo6AsY8MkM
— FIFAmanual (@FIFA_manual) October 7, 2018
Fàbregas spent eight years at Arsenal but is now seen by many Gunners fans as a traitor for joining Chelsea of all clubs.
After rejoining boyhood side Barcelona in 2011, Arsenal supporters couldn't believe that their once star signed for their arch-rivals.
The 31-year-old has been booed in his last three visits to the Emirates.
on Tuesday, October 16, 2018
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Noble Hadeeth
Bid'ah (Innovation)
Various forms of Bid'ah
Wearing pendant in shape of Prophet's flip-flop
Fatwa Date:3-12-2016 - Rabee' Al-Awwal 4, 1438
Assalaamu alaykum. People in our country are used to give a flipflop pendant of Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, made of gold and silver. Is it permissible in Islam to wear shoe-shaped jewelry of Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam? And why do people wear this shoe-shaped jewelry? Is this not Bida' (innovation)? And what benefits do we get by wearing shoe-shaped jewelry? The people call this love of the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam; is this correct? What sort of love is this? The Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, never told his Companions to take his stuff after his death. The Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is a respectable person, but this does not mean that we should take his shoe as love for him! I want your fatwa on this issue.
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
Indeed, you did well by denying this act that is an innovation and does not have any basis in Islam.
There is no need to elaborate on the impermissibility of this act and that it is neither an act of worship nor an act by which a person gets closer to Allah.
It is enough that it was never reported that the Prophet ordered such a thing, nor did his Companions do this. Also, we do not know of any Salaf (righteous predecessors) or scholar who said that such an act is permissible.
The love of the Prophet is practiced by obeying him and following his confirmed Sunnah, and not in such useless appearances that the innovators invent.
Even though some ignorant people may do this with a good intention and love for the Prophet that does not entail the permissibility of this act or that it is correct.
According to the agreement of the scholars, it is known that it is forbidden for a man to wear gold necklaces, in any shape or form, as ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet took silk in his right hand and gold in his left hand and then said, “These are forbidden for the males of my nation.” [Abu Daawood, An-Nasaa’i and Ibn Maajah]
Also, it is forbidden for men to wear silver necklaces, because wearing them constitutes imitating women.
For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 89085.
Seeking Blessings By Making Pendants In The Shape of the Prophet's Sandals
Not Every Innovation Takes a Muslim Out of Islam
Doing certain acts of worship on occasions like birthdays
Blowing into ruqyah water without reciting Quran over it
Rejoicing over Allaah's mercy does not include celebrating Prophet's birth
Paying money for negligence in worship
Seeking permission from Prophet Ilyaas before cutting off a tree
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About itel
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itel Mobile Rewards Students with N500,000 in #iGotTheMoves 2.0 Dance Competition
NEWS Oct 18, 2019
Lagos, Nigeria, October 18, 2019 - With a sincere dedication to giving Nigerian youths a platform to showcase their talent, itel has just concluded a dance tour of Nigerian universities to create awareness among students for its latest selfie-centric flagship devices- itel S15 and S15 Pro.
The dance tour tagged “I Got The Moves 2.0” is the sequel to last year’s I Got The Moves competition with a grand finale held at the Federal College of Education, Technical (FCE(T) in Akoka, Lagos.
This year’s dance contest started in September with a visit to select Nigerian universities - Nnamdi Azikiwe University (Unizik), University of Port-Harcourt (Uniport) and Adekunle Ajasin University (AAUA). Students auditioned at these universities to participate in the regional contests and those who emerged as winners were rewarded with N50,000 cash and brand new itel S15 smartphones.
An online dance contest was also held on the Vskit mobile platform where dancers competed to win itel S15 smartphones and other amazing goodies from the brand.
Proudly supported by Airtel, Palmpay, Phoenix Browser, Scooper and refreshed by Malta Guinness, the grand finale of IGTM 2.0 which held at the Sports Center of Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) Lagos, ended on an explosive high with stunning performances from individual and group contestants all vying for the ultimate cash prize of 500,000 Naira and an itel S15 smartphone. Students from Yabatech, UNILAG, LASPOTECH, LASU and FCE(T) Akoka were very well represented as thousands turned out to have massive fun on a grand Friday evening.
After a fiercely contested dance battle, the Aji Dancers from UNILAG emerged as group winner, while Okunuga Jamal, an undergraduate student of Yabatech emerged the deserved winner of the individual category. Not able to contain his excitement, Jamal expressed his immense gratitude to the brand for making such a day possible:
“I’m still in shock that I won the cash prize and smartphone in this competition. I saw so many dancers who seemed to have danced better than me, but I couldn’t believe it when the crowd cheered and chose me as the grand prize winner. I am super grateful to itel Mobile for this platform created for dancers from all over the country to show their talent and the stuff they are made of. This money will go a long way to help me pursue my dreams. Thank you once again, itel Mobile”, he said.
While addressing the media on the dance competition, Oke Umurhohwo, itel Mobile's Marketing Communications Manager, West Africa, highlighted that the competition was to promote the amazing dance culture that is inherent in Nigerians. He reiterated that the competition was also to showcase itel Mobile as a fun loving and youth-centric brand while creating awareness for the newly released selfie camera smartphones, itel S15 and S15 Pro. He said, “itel Mobile, over the years, has grown from just a feature phone brand to a smartphone brand that understands the needs of young Nigerians, and while we have continued to tailor our devices towards providing the best mobile experiences at affordable rates, our ultimate goal is to ensure there is a Smartphone for Everyone. This dance competition is one of the many ways of showing that we care, and we celebrate creativity amongst our target audience.”
With the blend of an energetic and fun audience, refreshments from non-alcoholic beverage brand Malta Guinness, electrifying performances from Vector, Poco Lee, DJ Mojoe, MC Prof, Tolu Daniels and many more, along with a host of other upcoming Nigerian entertainers in attendance, itel’s I Got the Moves 2.0 certainly went down as a memorable event which gave fans of the itel brand and lovers of dance an experience to cherish for a long time.
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Autonomy & Governance
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Universities are buzzing about bee research as we celebrate World Bee Day May 20th
January 16 How students feel about the General Election being on a Saturday
January 08 Irish universities expand scholarship scheme for BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition winners 2020
January 06 Patrick Prendergast: ‘Beacon of hope in docklands shows Ireland means business’
January 05 IUA call for third level funding to be made an election issue
January 05 Surplus in State training fund set to climb to €1bn in 2020
January 03 Trinity College Dublin welcomes Cabinet approval of Grand Canal Innovation District Plan
January 03 Irish Times: Government backs new €1bn Silicon Docks campus for Trinity College
January 03 Universities awarded 14 of 20 Posts approved under phase 1 of the Senior Academic Leadership Initiative
December 19 Season’s Greetings & IUA 2019 Highlights
December 18 On International Migrants Day we highlight some of the researchers working/studying in Ireland with the help of EURAXESS Ireland
Press Releases • May 19th, 2018
May 20th 2018 is the first ever World Bee Day. An initiative of the United Nations, it aims to highlight the importance of preserving bees and other pollinators and to ask everyone to take concrete actions to preserve and protect them. Bee populations in Ireland and across the globe have significantly decreased, making them more and more endangered. Of the 100 species of bees in Ireland one third of them are threatened with extinction. Researchers in universities across Ireland are playing their part working together and with community partners to ensure that bees survive and thrive.
Campus Engage is a national initiative set up by Irish universities to encourage university staff to mobilize partnerships with community organisations and the public to help them in finding solutions to pressing societal challenges through research.
Based at the Irish Universities Association, Kate Morris manages the Campus Engage Network: “There is a growing population of environmental researchers in Ireland, and across Europe, that are working with the public and community-based organisations to help collect valuable data to track cause and negative impact on Bee populations. There is power in numbers, and growing understanding of the public that we too can take simple actions to make a change, to positively contribute to protecting the environment”.
The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, is an initiative of Prof Jane Stout from Trinity College, and Una Fitzpatrick at the National Biodiversity Data Centre, set up nearly 10 years ago following a study that indicated half of Irish bee species were in decline, and one third of Irish species were threatened with extinction.
The Plan is built on community engagement and calls to action schools, community groups and businesses to address 5 objectives:
Make Ireland pollinator friendly
Support beekeepers and growers
Create the evidence base for action
Track changes over time – in terms of the actions taken for pollinators, and in terms of monitoring bees across the island of Ireland.
According to Prof Stout; “Everyone loves bees these days so it’s great to work with farmers, schools, local communities, businesses and others to conserve bees. Our work relies on the good will of many different people – farmers, schools and businesses allowing us to sample or set up experiments on their land, providing us with information on how the land is manged; beekeepers providing us with honey samples to analyse; and citizen scientists helping us to “Count Flowers for Bees” – this is an ongoing project in which volunteers can log in, assess images of flowers, and contribute valuable data to help make a floral resource map of Ireland, identifying hotspots for bees. And in return, we do a lot of outreach and information sessions – with schools and the general public – on World Bee Day, I am kicking off a bee stewardship workshop series with a talk on bees and how they contribute to human well-being”.
The Pollinator Plan identified 81 actions and 68 organisations including government departments, charities, local councils, community groups and universities signed up to address these. Two years in, and over 90% of these actions are completed or in progress, and many more organisations have come on board. Prof Stout: “We have published sector-specific guidelines to inform people about practical actions they can take, and these are all based on evidence from research conducted here in Ireland where possible, or from overseas, and are co-created with the relevant stakeholders. We do an enormous amount of outreach, support on-going and new initiatives, and help co-ordinate the massive enthusiasm there is for bee conservation across Ireland”. The Pollinator Plan is currently working with the Tidy Towns organisers in running a pollinator competition with entries due in by May 23rd.
Bee Research in the Universities:
Professor Jane Stout, Botany, Trinity College Dublin:
Prof Stout has been at the forefront of wild bee research in Ireland for more than 15 years – she is a pollination ecologist who studies communities of plants and pollinators, and her work focusses on researching the drivers and consequences of bee decline, and what we can do to reverse that decline. Her work spans individual interactions between bees and flowers, and how bees react to the food they consume, to landscape-scale studies on how the structure and composition of the landscape influences pollinator communities, pollination services, and honey production, both here in Ireland and overseas. She has contributed to local, national and international research, policies and initiatives to conserve bees, particularly the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, and has many projects underway at the moment.
“One of our current projects is investigating how very low (drinking water safe) levels of fertilizer and herbicide affect flowering plants, and the nectar and pollen they produce, and how this influences which bees and other flower visitors interact with them. This can help us to understand how agricultural run-off influences bees and other pollinators, and the ecological processes they contribute to.
In other farm-land projects, we are currently investigating how hedgerow structure relates to the insects that are found visiting flowers in hedgerows and in adjacent crop. This is so that we can make recommendations on optimal hedgerow management for bees and other flower-visiting insects, to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem service provision on farmland.
We are also looking at how bee communities vary across gradients of urbanisation, and at which flower species those bees are visiting. We want to determine the patterns of urban land use that support diverse communities of bees. We are also looking at the urban to rural interface, and at how intensity of agriculture affects bees, and at how honey chemistry varies according to where hives are located.
Bee decline is not just a problem in Ireland, it is of concern across the world. To investigate what is driving that decline, we are leading a multi-country investigation into managed and wild bee health across Europe as part of an EU-funded project. And in West Africa, we are looking at how management of habitat influences pollination of the socio-economically important shea crop, which is processed into shea butter for the food and cosmetics industries.”
Dr Jim Carolan, Department of Biology, Maynooth University:
Dr Carolan is a molecular biologist interested in understanding how bees work on the inside and how the stresses encountered in nature affect them on the cellular and molecular level. “We are particularly interested in how the chemicals that bees may encounter in the field, for example, affect their nervous and immune systems. Considerable research has now been conducted that highlights the dangers certain pesticides pose to bees and we wish to determine whether other commonly used chemicals pose similar risks. This research is not just about finding what is hazardous to bees but also what is safe. This is important to know if we are going to develop policies and practices that minimise the risk to our declining bee communities”.
“We are also interested in assessing how Irish, some of our bees actually are.” This work involves conducting genetic analysis on the buff tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris from all across Ireland and comparing them to their European counterparts. Through this work Dr Carolan and his colleagues wish to confirm earlier research that indicates that Irish B. terrestris is quite distinct which will have major implications for bee conservation and the movement of bumblebees around Europe. “I think the most exciting aspect of this project is the coming together of researchers from many Irish institutions including Maynooth University, Trinity College Dublin, NUI Galway, University College Dublin, Carlow IT, The National Biodiversity Data Centre, The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Marine and many others.”
Ireland has a relatively small but highly active bee/pollinator research community and it is crucial that collaborations and the sharing of expertise are fostered. To achieve these aims, Professor Stout, Dr. Carolan and Dr. Stanley in addition to their colleague Dr. Blanaid White of DCU established the Irish Pollinator Research Network in 2016. Although they have different backgrounds and expertise these researchers are benefiting from this network and are actively collaborating on some very important projects. As Dr. Carolan states “We acknowledge the importance of taking a cross disciplinary approach to research and regardless of our differences we are united by the same goal- to save our bees”.
Dr Dara Stanley, School of Natural Sciences, NUI Galway:
Dr Stanley’s research focuses on the ecology and conservation of pollinators and their interactions with plants. There are a number of ongoing bee/pollinator projects in her lab:
“We are currently interested in bees and pollinators in species rich grasslands. These habitats are one of the most important for bees and provide them with both flowers to forage on and places to nest. We’re working in the Burren to see whether agri-environmental management or landscape composition has the biggest effect on pollinator numbers in these grasslands. We’re also looking at one of Ireland’s rarest bumblebees, the shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum), and carrying out an in-depth study of its ecology in the Burren with the aim of informing a species-specific monitoring scheme for it in the future.
We are also interested in the contribution of both wild (wild bees, hoverflies etc) and managed (honeybees) pollinators to the production of Irish crops. We are investigating the importance of these pollinators to both apple and field bean crops in Ireland.
Finally, we are also interested in pesticide use and its implications for bees and other pollinators. Pesticides are an important component of modern agriculture, but at the same time their use can have implications for beneficial insects such as bees. We are interested in what these effects might be, but also how we can mitigate against them.”
Dr Mary Frances Coffey, Department of Life Sciences, University of Limerick:
The National Apiculture Programme (NAP) is an applied based research programme at University of Limerick which focusses on bee health or more specifically the control of Varroa destructor: an exotic pest which arrived into Ireland in the late 1990s and caused serious colony losses in managed honeybee colonies and caused many of the feral colonies to disappear. The main aim of the NAP is to develop an integrated pest management programme which is effective against the mite, whilst at the same time can be easily applied by beekeepers in the day to day management of their colonies but more importantly reduces beekeeper reliance on hard chemicals
Since an increase in colony losses is strongly correlated with insufficient control of Varroa, as part of NAP we have been monitoring winter losses using a standardised questionnaire completed by Bee Keepers across Ireland. This annual survey has allowed us to compile a reliable profile on the winter losses being experienced by beekeepers over the past 10 years and such information is necessary for the development of bee health strategies now and in the future.
As farming becomes more intensified, beekeepers were concerned with diversity and quantity of pollen available to honeybees. Pollen is an important protein source for bees, but the nutritional value of pollen differs between plants. To address beekeepers concerned we also got involved with another international study, CSI pollen which allow us to determine the diversity of pollens being collected by honeybee colonies in Ireland.
Contact: Lia O’Sullivan, Head of Communications, Irish Universities Association, lia.osullivan@iua.ie, 085 7141414
All-Ireland Pollinator Plan
World Bee Day website
The Voice of Irish Universities
Irish Universities Association
48 Merrion Square
Dublin, D02 PK02
info@iua.ie
© 2020 Irish Universities Association
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Uber to go public next year
Uber Technologies Inc will go public by mid next year with the latest valuation at $120 billion. This figure is higher than that of General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler worth combined!
According to various sources, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley provided the valuation to the company just a month ago.
The valuations hinge in part on highlighting the potential of Uber’s businesses outside its ride-hailing app, some of the people said, and also take into account its stakes in other transportation startups including China’s Didi Chuxing Technology Co. and India’s GrabTaxi Holdings Pte. UberEats, which is part of Uber Technologies, was valued as much as $20 billion.
Founded in 2009 and sustained by an ample supply of private capital, Uber is seen as the leader of highly valued startups that have delayed going public.
Over the past year, Uber has faced a series of scandals, from claims of workplace sexual harassment (followed by resignation of CEO Kalanick) to the alleged theft of trade secrets from rival Alphabet Inc.
Its new chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, has sought to win back investors, drivers and riders who can now choose from a growing group of taxi smartphone apps.
Analysis - Forecast - Research Stocks
Bear market - are we there yet?
Blood, blood everywhere...
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National Weather Service Says HARVEY Is Unlike Anything They Have Ever Seen – Reported Dam At Full Capacity – August 27 2017 – LIVE VIDEO.
August 27, 2017 by IWB
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by Ruby Henley
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAYS WE HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE HARVEY BEFORE. I have gathered downloads and everything I feel one would need to stay informed about Harvey and EFFECTED AREAS. Our prayers are with everyone in the path of Harvey and the ongoing flooding. God bless all you and all the rescuers out there.
LIVE COVERAGE: DEADLY HOUSTON FLOODS – People Trapped, Rescues Ongoing
www.youtube.com/watch?v=heeQ_4c-tho
Live coverage of the Houston floods with Steve Lookner
To help victims of Hurricane Harvey, you can donate to the Red Cross here: www.redcross.org/hp/harvey2
LIVE CHAT ROOM
RESCUE OPERATIONS IN TEXAS STREAMED LIVE
Live feed from Rosenberg , Dickinson and Houston, Texas, as flood rescue operations are underway in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Hurricane Harvey, which hit the coast of Texas on Friday, caused levels of damage almost matching Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
RT LIVE rt.com/on-air
Listen to us on Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/rttv
The breadth and intensity of this rainfall are beyond anything experienced before,” the weather service said. “Catastrophic flooding is now underway and expected to continue for days.”
Rescue workers in Houston and other parts of Texas renewed search efforts Sunday for residents trapped in their homes by Tropical Storm Harvey’s rising floodwaters.
More than 1,000 people were rescued overnight from record flooding in the area, authorities said. The storm so far has killed two people in Texas, said authorities, who added they expect the death toll to rise.
Law enforcement agencies advised people trapped in their houses not to take shelter in their attics unless they carried axes so they could break through to their roofs and within sight of rescue workers.
www.ozarksfirst.com/news/weather-service-says-harvey-is-unlike-anything-theyve-seen/799660001
HOUSTON –Flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey is overburdening resources as authorities in and around Houston scramble to save those trapped by the high waters.
Hopes for an immediate respite from Harvey’s wrath seem unlikely as the National Weather Service calls the flooding “unprecedented” and warns things may become more dire if a record-breaking 50 inches of rain falls on parts of Texas in coming days.
The rainfall threatens to exacerbate an already dangerous situation, as Harvey’s rains have left many east Texas rivers and bayous swollen to their banks or beyond.
Harrowing tales from Houston
Here are the latest developments:
At least two people have died so far in the storm: a woman who drove her vehicle into high water in Houston and a man killed by a fire in Rockport.
Florida, Virginia and New York are sending emergency workers and equipment to Texas. “After Superstorm Sandy, so many cities stepped up to help our people.
We’ll do all we can to help those affected by this storm,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter.
Harvey may soon weaken into a tropical depression, but the storm has stalled and will keep pounding the region with rain and wind through the coming week and probably cause “catastrophic” flooding, forecasters said. “It’s going to last four to five days,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said.
Brock Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the recovery effort will take a long time. “FEMA is going to be there for years,” he said.
316,000 customers lost electricity because of the storm, Gov. Greg Abbott said.
Abbott has activated 3,000 national guard and state guard service members. They will bring 500 vehicles and 14 aircraft, and will open six shelters, he said.
Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport is closed until Wednesday due to flooding, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Ben Taub Hospital is being evacuated because of flooding problems in the basement that have disrupted the power source,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmet. “Critical patients are being moved first, and those patients will be moved in a number of different locations throughout the community.”
The Red Cross is serving about 130,000 meals a day, the governor said.
Below is the weather update for August 27 2017:
www.ozarksfirst.com/news/video/sunday-aug-27-webcast_20170827230908/799725789
Below is the FEMA update:
www.ozarksfirst.com/news/video/fema-director_20170827142900/799493066
www.click2houston.com/news/lake-conroe-exceeds-full-level-controlled-releases-beginning
www.click2houston.com/weather/all-eyes-on-tropics-as-harvey-remnants-inch-toward-gulf
HARVEY AIMS FOR SECOND LANDFALL ON TUESDAY:
DOWNLOAD THE TRACKER APP HERE:
www.click2houston.com/weather/hurricane/download-the-kprc-2-hurricane-tracker-app
Download the KPRC2 Hurricane Tracker app to your phone or tablet to get several features, including interactive radar, push alerts, improved navigation for tracking the tropics and video from the KPRC 2 severe weather team.
The app also includes hurricane evacuation routes, how to plan and prepare before the storm and what to do after the storm.
And with our Hurricane Survival Guide in the palm of your hand, you’ll always be prepared.
Android: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ibsys.app.pns_hou
Frank’s Forecast Weather App
Frank’s Forecast is the Houston weather app with everything you need to plan your day and keep your family safe. Whether you’re looking for what the temperature will be tomorrow, wondering if that outdoor event will be cancelled, or needing to prepare for dangerously severe conditions, Frank’s Forecast app is the one click way to get your weather anytime, anywhere.
itunes.apple.com/us/app/local-2-stormpins-kprc/id875010399?mt=8
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kprc.storm.pins
Flash flood warnings:
Southern Trinity County, eastern Wharton County until 7:30 p.m.
Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Walker, Waller and Washington counties until 1:30 a.m.
Tornado warnings:
Fort Bend, Harris counties until 8:15 p.m.
Flood warnings:
Brazos River in Richmond from Monday morning until further notice
Greens Bayou at U.S. Highway 59 until late Monday night
Keegans Bayou at Roark Road until further notice
Addicks Reservoir at Greenhouse Road until further notice
San Bernard River at East Bernard until further notice
Tres Palacios Ricer at Midfield until further notice
Matagorda County
Wharton County
Tornado watch
Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Jackson, Jefferson, Lavaca, Lee, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Orange, Waller, Washington and Wharton counties until 2 a.m.
Flash flood watch
Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Houston, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Walker, Waller, Washington and Wharton counties until Tuesday evening.
www.click2houston.com/news/water-to-be-released-from-addicks-barker-reservoirs?__vfz=rtw_top_pages%3D1346400005658
WATER TO BE RELEASED FROM ADDICKS, BARKER RESERVOIRS
Voluntary evacuations are expected to be issued for people living near the Addicks and Barker reservoirs as officials said they plan to release water from them Monday morning.
Col. Lars Zetterstrom of the Army Corps of Engineers said water will likely be released from the Addicks Reservoir beginning at 2 a.m. and from the Barker Reservoir at 11 a.m. The release will cause a rise of 4 to 6 inches per hour in the Buffalo Bayou and will cause more water to flow both upstream and downstream.
www.click2houston.com/news/high-water-locations-in-houston-area-as-harvey-approaches
HIGH WATER LOCATIONS IN THE HOUSTON AREA
Here is a list of the high water locations around Houston. The list below is maintained by Houston TranStar.:
www.click2houston.com/traffic
www.click2houston.com/weather
www.click2houston.com/weather/rescues-underway-across-houston-area-after-harvey-flooding
www.click2houston.com/weather/weather-alerts-issued-during-harvey
RESCUE INFORMATION:
Coast Guard search and rescue efforts
The National Weather Service and the Harris County Flood Control District are urging people to get onto the roof instead of climbing into the attic if there is rising water, then call 911 or the U.S.Coast Guard at 281-464-4851, but only if you are in a life-threatening situation.
While on the roof, wave a towel or sheet to be noticed from the air.
Five Coast Guard helicopters are conducting rescues in the Houston area.
The Coast Guard said more than 300 requests for urban search and rescue have been received by its Sector Houston Command Center.
www.usnews.com/news/best-states/texas/articles/2017-08-27/the-latest-harvey-stationary-deluges-continue-near-houston
HOUSTON MAYOR DEFENDS DECISION NOT TO EVACUATE
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he has no regrets about not calling for an evacuation of Houston residents ahead of Tropical Storm Harvey.
Turner reiterated at a Sunday night news conference that the best course of action was for residents in Houston and surrounding areas to stay in place.
Factors in his decision included not knowing where Harvey, when it was still a hurricane, was headed and the “crazy” logistics of trying to plan an evacuation of 2.3 million people within a couple of days.
Turner also cited the experience the city had when residents evacuated ahead of Hurricane Rita in 2005 and gridlocked local roadways, leaving many people in traffic for more than 20 hours as they fled the city and resulting in dozens of deaths. Rita had been predicted to hit Houston but ended up making landfall well east of the city.
“The decision that we made was a smart one. It was in the best interest of Houstonians,” he said. “It was the right decision in terms of their safety and always we must put the interests of the city and Houstonians first. That’s exactly what we did. We did what was the right thing to do.”
Turner said he has no concerns that the shelter that has been set up at the George R. Brown Convention Center will turn into New Orleans’ Superdome following Hurricane Katrina. At the football stadium, 30,000 evacuees spent days packed inside the sweltering dome with limited power and water and a roof that was shredded in the howling wind.
“I think in this city we know how to do it in such a way that is not chaotic. It’s respectful, it’s dignified,” Turner said.
Turner said he wants to transition people staying at the shelter to more suitable housing as quickly as possible.
Tags 2017, 27, august, capacity, dam, full, harvey, live, national, reported, service, video, weather Post navigation
Sign of US Market Peak? Japanese Acquisitions Hit Record
MASSIVE Stock Market Crash IMMINENT As Investors Pull $30 Billion In Ten Weeks!
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Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa extends olive branch to opposition
Gauteng / 21 February 2019, 3:48pm / Jonisayi Maromo
Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency(ANA)
TSHWANE - Newly-elected Tshwane Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa on Thursday said he has extended an olive branch to opposition parties - particularly the ANC and the EFF - to put aside political party differences and work together for the betterment of the capital city's residents.
"If you recall, in my acceptance speech I reached out to the opposition. I said I have 19 years in opposition, so I understand the role of opposition [parties]. I have implored on the opposition parties to do their due diligence and ensure that they provide constructive criticism and also provide constructive solutions. In the main, it's about the people of Tshwane," Mokgalapa told journalists in Pretoria.
"The beauty of local government is that it has capacity to transcend beyond political parties. All our constituencies want basic services. There is no blue, yellow or red water ... all our constituencies want access to clean water."
In his maiden speech in council last week, Mokgalapa said he would continue to reach out to opposition parties in the Tshwane Council.
"I have already reached out to the opposition parties. I have met with them. I've already met with our former coalition partners, and I've met with the leadership of the opposition parties in Council. It is very important that we collaborate and we work together. I have reached out to them."
The Democratic Alliance’s Stevens Mokgalapa was last week elected new Mayor of Tshwane, after he was the only nominated member for the vacant post in the Tshwane Council.
The post was vacated by Solly Msimanga at the end of January.
Only the DA nominated a candidate – with the African National Congress indicating that it was not taking part in the election. The Economic Freedom Fighters didn’t nominate a candidate either.
Msimanga resigned from the Tshwane top post, saying he wanted to focus on his ongoing campaign to become Gauteng Premier.
The ANC in Tshwane last week wished Mokgalapa well, saying his term would be tough owing to the mismanagement of previous mayor Solly Msimanga.
“It’s an unfortunate situation that such a decent, liberal gentleman Stevens Mokgalapa has to inherit unfortunately mayhem in this city, caused by his predecessor [Solly Msimanga] the poster boy of corruption. You are inheriting R5 billion in unauthorized expenditure. There is nothing decent that you are inheriting,” ANC Tshwane regional chairperson Kgosi Maepa told the special council meeting shortly after Mokgalapa’s election.
“In fact, you are inheriting a broken vehicle. With no wheels, no parts, no spare wheel, no windscreen. Brace yourself for a rough ride. You have invited the ANC [to work with you] but I don’t think you understand what you are inviting. We were wishing that perhaps you would talk about the terrible pernicious situation in our city … we don’t have lights in this city, robots don’t work, we have the sewer systems blockages. Your predecessor failed terribly to reach out to the people, to resolve their problems.”
EFF Tshwane regional chairperson Moafrika Mabongwana cautioned Mokgalapa to stay on the straight and narrow, respecting the will of the people of Tshwane.
“We want to send a stern warning that you must not appoint a mayoral committee of lazy people. You must not use your position to terrorize officials who differ with you. You must at all times act in the interests of the people of Tshwane, above your own interests,” said Mabongwana to applause from the EFF benches.
City of Tshwane
LOOK: Busy day for new Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa
New Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa hits ground running
Tshwane's Mokgalapa announces changes to mayoral committee
Mokgalapa asks for 'space' in appointment of mayoral committee
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Belfast grenade attack ‘an attempt to kill officers’, says PSNI
Sinn Féin West Belfast election candidate condemns ‘reckless and futile’ incident
Wed, Dec 4, 2019, 12:59
A grenade was thrown at a police car in West Belfast in what has been described as an attempt to kill officers.
The attack happened in Milltown Row off the Falls Road at 2am on Wednesday.
PSNI Chief Superintendent Jonathan Roberts said a police car was on a routine patrol when it was struck by an object before a loud bang was heard.
“A loud bang was then heard and the police car made its way to a place of safety,” he said. “Thankfully, none of the officers inside the vehicle were injured and no damage was noted to the car.
“A police operation was immediately implemented to ensure the safety of everyone in the area and that operation is ongoing at present.
“The remnants of a suspected grenade have been recovered and taken away for forensic testing.
“Further searches are being conducted this morning to ensure there are no other devices present which could endanger members of the public.”
Mr Roberts said the incident was “undoubtedly an attempt to kill or injure police officers”.
“This despicable act must be condemned by all,” he said.
“A full and thorough investigation is under way and I would appeal to anyone who noticed any recent suspicious activity in the area or who has any information which could assist us with our inquiries to contact detectives at Musgrave.”
‘Reckless and futile’
Sinn Féin West Belfast election candidate Paul Maskey condemned the attack as “reckless and futile”.
“Thankfully no-one has been injured in this reckless attack,” he said.
“The vast majority of people in West Belfast and beyond want these futile attacks to end immediately.
“Those responsible have nothing to offer but hurt and injury.
“People should do all they can to assist the PSNI in their investigation.”
Mark Lindsay, chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, said the officers inside the vehicle had been lucky to escape without injury in what he described as a “callous attempt to kill them”.
“The officers patrolling in their vehicle in Milltown Row were fortunate to escape unscathed after their vehicle was struck by a suspected grenade,” he said.
“Instead of reporting a failed terrorist attack this morning, we could easily have been commenting on fatalities or serious injuries. I am relieved that our officers weren’t hurt in this cowardly and callous attempt to kill them.
“As a community, we have to rid ourselves of this terrorist menace. It is holding back all of us who want to build a better future for our children.
“These dissident republicans are heartless and ruthless. We have a threat level that is officially rated ‘severe’ and there’s little prospect of that changing in the foreseeable future.
“There is a full investigation under way and I would ask the community for its help to track down the people responsible for this murderous attack.”
West Belfast DUP Westminster candidate Frank McCoubrey also condemned the attack.
“Those responsible clearly have no respect or care for the people who live here,” he said.
“Their intention was to kill or harm and it is totally despicable that anyone would carry out this mindless attack.
“Thankfully nobody was injured but we could be dealing with a different story today.
“Someone knows who has carried this out and I would urge anyone with any information to bring it forward to the police.” – PA
Frank Mccoubrey
Mark Lindsay
Paul Maskey
Westminster(US.CO)
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Lisa Smith and her daughter expected back in Ireland tomorrow
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Father Ted and Mrs Doyle get a mention in insolvency case
Man accused of sexually assaulting young girl denies he was ever alone with her
Fifty-nine-year old pleads not guilty to two charges of sexual assault
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Hollande caught between Pantheon and a hard place
The French president’s comment on the need to honour women heroes has created a dilemma
Mon, Oct 21, 2013, 01:00
Lara Marlowe
Only 73 French people have been interred in the Pantheon in Paris, more than half by Napoleon. “Pantheonisation” is one of the last privileges left to a French president, but like everything else, it has turned into a dilemma for François Hollande. Photograph: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
It was a day devoted to the quest for heroes, in an age that no longer seems to produce them.
Three former prime ministers, six of France’s leading historians, prominent journalists and the speaker of the national assembly were on hand for the seminar dedicated to Pierre Brossolette, martyr of the French Resistance. Their goal: to convince President François Hollande to transfer Brossolette’s ashes to the Pantheon.
They listened intently to the testimony of Roger Lebon (88), one of Pierre Brossolette’s last surviving comrades. As a courier for the Resistance, Lebon carried messages, weapons, radio transmitters and money. He told of a bridge game in a farmhouse, while waiting for the aircraft that was meant to take Brossolette to London, of a lost cyanide capsule, of hiding in haystacks in freezing weather, of Brossolette’s arrest when the planes never arrived and how he attempted the journey by sea . . . They were reunited a few weeks later in Fresnes prison. Lebon saw Brossolette’s back, “striped like a zebra” from torture. “He was twice my age, but he treated me as an equal, with great kindness and serenity.”
Heroic death
Within days, Brossolette was dead, having jumped from a fifth floor window at Gestapo headquarters on Foch Avenue, to prevent himself talking under torture. “If he’d had the cyanide capsule, he would surely have used it to commit suicide,” Lebon said. His voice cracked: “He was a great hero. A patriot. A great Frenchman.”
The campaign to “Pantheonise” Brossolette – led by his niece, the historian Mona Ozouf, and his granddaughter, the journalist Sylvie Pierre Brossolette – has attained almost irresistible momentum. A socialist who embraced de Gaulle, Brossolette has the added advantage of having renounced political partisanship.
“2014 is the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris,” said Claude Bartolone, the speaker of the National Assembly, in whose sumptuous residence the seminar was held. “We should celebrate the Resistance.”
Only 73 French people have been “Pantheonised”, more than half by Napoleon. Built as a church by Louis XV, the Pantheon was converted into a monument to secular saints by the French Revolution. François Mitterrand took three red roses there on his election, and subsequently “Pantheonised” seven people. Jacques Chirac added André Malraux and Alexandre Dumas. Nicolas Sarkozy wanted to “Pantheonise” Albert Camus, but the plan backfired when Camus’s family refused.
“Pantheonisation” is one of the last privileges left to a French president, but like everything else, it has turned into a dilemma for Hollande.
In a way, he brought it upon himself, by saying on international women’s day that it was time “to receive women in the Pantheon”. Only two women presently rest there: the Nobel prize-winner Marie Curie, alongside her husband Pierre, and Sophie Berthelot, whose husband, the chemist Marcellin, did not want to be separated from her in death.
Last May, Hollande commissioned Philippe Belaval, the president of the centre for national monuments, to draw up a report. Belaval delivered 50 pages, titled “To Bring the People into the Pantheon”, on October 10th. Among his chief recommendations: “Pay homage to women of the 20th century who represent a strong republican message”.
In the meantime, rival campaigns have sprouted like mushrooms. Proponents of Diderot, the philosopher, encyclopaedist and father of the Enlightenment, argue that he can no longer be excluded when Voltaire and Rousseau are inside.
There’s a strong faction for Germaine Tillion, an ethnologist and heroine of the Resistance who survived the Ravensbrück death camp. Tillion went on to campaign against concentration camps in the Soviet Union, and against torture and executions by the French in Algeria.
This being France, Pierre Brossolette has his detractors, mainly followers of Jean Moulin, another Resistance hero who was “Pantheonised” in 1964. “The hatred between the two men was so strong when they were alive that it would be indecent to impose a post mortem cohabitation,” says Pierre Péan, Moulin’s biographer.
Economies of scale
Hollande has promised an answer by year’s end. At the Brossolette seminar, the former prime minister Lionel Jospin – long Hollande’s boss at the Socialist Party – suggested it would be best to “honour one or two men and several women.”
A Pantheonisation ceremony costs up to €1 million, so a group admission would achieve economies of scale. But one can’t help wondering if it would cheapen the honour. And if women are among them, Hollande is likely to come under pressure to change the words engraved on the monument’s pediment: “To Great Men, the Nation Grateful”.
Germaine Tillion
Philippe Belaval
Pierre Pean
Roger Lebon
Sophie Berthelot
Sylvie Pierre Brossolette
Département de Ville-de-Paris
Second World War Resistance
Election 2020: Voters must register by close of business on Wednesday
Ireland at the epicentre of the aviation finance industry
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ISEP is an independent, non-profit research organization, founded in 2000 by energy experts and climate change campaigners. Through our work we aim to provide resources and services to realize sustainable energy society.
”The social mission of ISEP is to work towards changing Japan into a sustainable energy society, while simultaneously urging more rapid development of renewable energy.
Tetsunari IIDAFounder & Chairperson
After 3.11: Aiming for the Fourth Revolution
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake, will remain as one of the worst disasters in world history. This disaster will be remembered as a third major turning point in Japanese history after the Meiji Restoration and the end of the Pacific War.
With nuclear power, there is always a risk that a large disaster on the scale of Fukushima will occur, another risk associated with nuclear power is the semi permanent nuclear waste it produces. These are two basic risks that cannot be avoided. Many people now clearly see that supporting nuclear power, as a means to prevent global warming, is nothing more than a deep indiscretion. Without nuclear power, for a short time we cannot avoid relying on natural gas, coal, and oil for our energy supply. However, there is always the fear that a jump in fossil fuel price will directly affect our lifestyle and economy. When all is said and done on top of the economic challenges to utilizing fossil fuels, humans must also confront the huge environmental risk of global warming.
In context to these challenges, our only truly sustainable type of energy is renewable energy. In human history until this point, there have been three major revolutions, the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the IT Revolution. As rapid progress continues to be made in the renewable energy field, renewable energy is called the fourth revolution. This fourth revolution will be an energy revolution, a green industrial revolution, and a decentralized network revolution. These three elements will bring about jobs, energy, and economic benefits to our various regions. Renewable energy will create a lot of employment and economic opportunities, while at the same time domestically it will allow Japan to drift away from fossil fuel. Further, instead of spending money on traditional forms of energy, investment can be made in renewable energy. Already the movement towards green energy has started both amongst citizens and in various regions in Japan.
The combined earthquake and nuclear power plant disaster of 311 was an extremely tragic calamity that not only left great liabilities for future generations, but also left a historical legacy. Isn’t now the time for us to start, one by one, preparing and mobilizing for the 21st century green energy revolution?
The social mission of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies (ISEP) is to work towards changing Japan into a sustainable energy society, while simultaneously urging more rapid development of renewable energy. For that reason without remaining focused on overly theoretical research, our organization will design strictly realistic and implementable policy. Further, along with implementing a new societal direction, ISEP will be open platform for social innovation in order to enhance social entrepreneurship and social finance.
From now on ISEP intends to act as a societally revolutionary and open platform. In response to environmental crisis, our organization will promote a society that creates future forms of energy. We at ISEP are anticipating everyone’s participation and support for our organization.
Tetsunari IIDA, Founder & Chairperson
Jusen ASUKA (Professor, Tohoku University)
Tetsunari IIDA (Executive Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies)
Hiroshi SASAKI (Professor, Niigata University of International and Information Studies)
Masaru KANEKO (Professor emeritus, Keio University)
Toru SUZUKI (Director general, Hokkaido Green Fund)
Makoto TAJIMA (Researcher, Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies)
Masaru NAKAJIMA (Executive Secretary, J-Water)
Baku NISHIO (President, Citizen’s Nuclear Information Center)
Yoshinari NISHIJIMA (Representative Director, Citizen’s Energy Yamaguchi)
Hironao MATSUBARA (Chief Researcher, Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies)
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Hiroyuki KAWAI (Lawyer)
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Yuichi KAITO (Lawyer)
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About ISEP
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Communities Build Renewable Energy Momentum and Point to the Future – KIREC 2019 Side Event (10/22) 2019-10-18
Solar Energy and Agriculture – KIREC 2019 Side Event（10/22） 2019-10-18
Crowdfunding – Sending Students to Community Power in Fukushima 2019-06-26
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JediRich.com Studios Las Vegas
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Palms Casino (NASDAQ:RRR): KAOS Nightclub CLOSED in Las Vegas
KAOS CLOSED!
The Demon Dome was set to open on October 31st 2019 at KAOS Nightclub in Las Vegas. The 272 foot LED mesh wall was part of the renovations.
Chaos at Club KAOS! (NASDAQ:RRR)
LAS VEGAS, NV: On October 31st, 2019 KAOS Nightclub opened the Demon Dome at the Palms Casino (NASDAQ:RRR) in Las Vegas. On November 5th, 2019 the mega-million dollar club closed. The opening of the Demon Dome was the final piece to celebrate the $690 million remodel that the company embarked on last year in 2018. The Jedi are hearing rumors about defaulting on the note.
Chas at KAOS. KAOS nightclub announce they will close operations immediately,
KAOS bartenders and servers were given the choice: take two weeks severance or stay on for 60 days to cover banquets and events. From what we've heard, the staff was informed of the layoff via the news.
Earlier this month, Nightclub Manager Alex Cordova was escorted off the property by Palms security. He was fired in a harsh way. Rumor is that Alex was skimming millions off the top of contracts from DJ Skrillex and DJ Marshmellow. Alex previously worked at Hakkasan and PURE. He instated the policy where then bartenders at PURE had to make cold calls in the office because they made so much money in tips.
What Happened That Caused KAOS to Close So Abruptly?
The schedule printed out from the KAOS website shows that the only notable acts were J. Balvin and Erik Prydz. J. Balvin has been known to no-show in Vegas.
This is a bigger story that just the Palms. Alien Nic has noted that ever since the Las Vegas Review-Journal was purchased by the Sheldon Adelson (who also owns the Las Vegas Sands (NASDAQ:LVS) in 2015, investors have been bamboozled. The journalists who are supposed to question the numbers presented by the casino are now employed by the casinos. The RJ journalists receive their paycheck from the company they are supposed to be investigating
The Gaming Control Board gets their numbers from these same CFOs. Without an independent news media source pressing these creative CFOs, then there is no check and balance on your investments in Las Vegas - except the Jedi.
After claims that several executives were getting payoffs to book DJs including paying Marshmello an overwhelming $60 Million Dollars, it seems that the Palms has decided to close their entire nightlife venue at an extreme loss.
The Review Journal pointed at John Gray being at fault,while purposely avoiding any claims that there was “fraud” or payoffs. “Gray’s departure lined up with the collapse of the Palms’ relationship with the superstar DJ Marshmello at Kaos Nightclub and Dayclub, a two-year agreement worth a reported $60 million. Gray was one of several high-level executives, including the resort owners, who signed off on the deal. It was apparent pretty quickly that the company over-shot Marshmello’s value to Kaos, currently dark as the ballyhooed Kaos Dome is installed in time for Cardi B’s “Demon Dome” Halloween party.
In a statement from Red Rock Resorts, Inc. to KTNV Las Vegas, the company cites challenging entertainment and fixed costs as the reason for their decision. “Therefore, we have decided to take some time to reassess the programming and use of those venues going forward,” reads a passage. “In the interim, we intend to use the venues for private meeting space and special events, in addition to everyday resort pool operations.”
From the start, KAOS appeared to be paying frothy valuations to secure their all-star talent roster. Marshmello reportedly received a record-breaking $60 million deal from the club. However, after just a few months the cracks began to show when both Marshmello and Skrillex abruptly ended their residencies in September.
One person named in the Scandal was Wynn Executive Alex Cordova, who Bob Morris, a local “in the know” claimed was involved in a scam to inflate the value of DJs while getting kickbacks. According to him, “Alex Cordova, who managed Wynn Nightlife, was walked out the door a few days ago by security there. Much of the management at Kaos Club at Palms, who booked Marshmello, have been fired. Top management there is being fired too, including the GM.”
How Did The Palms Casino (NASDAQ:RRR) Shareholders Get Scammed?
'Red Resorts Inc owns the Station Casinos in Nevada. These are the "local" casinos. You know where you can always get cheap rooms and cheap $1 drinks. Its the "old Vegas". You don't expect much but a clean, decent room, a warm, decent meal and fair gaming with a smile.
Jon Gray, the youngest GM on the Strip.
However, Station Casinos decided they wanted to "up their game". They convinced investors to give them over $1 billion to purchase the Palms Casino and renovate it. Huge project. This task was handed to Jon Gray. I don't know much about Jon except you can tell a lot from a corporate photo.
When I was a CEO, I could tell a lot from a person by their shoes. I could also tell a lot by how long someone takes to do their hair. In business, you are often on the road together doing last minute calls. Corporate appearance is important, but a handkerchief tells me that you spend more time in front of the mirror than you do hiring, firing and managing.
Jon Gray was hired by Lorenzo Ferittas.
A $690 million project is no joke. When hiring executives, I have found that there are three types of leaders: the finders, the grinders and the minders.
A "finder" is a leader you want when you have a start up. This leader has a different set of skills that require "off-the-cuff" thinking and quick action. These are the people who hit the streets to sell along side the sales team. An example of a "finder" CEO is John Ledger. His shoes are probably well-worn from wear.
The grinders come in after the finders. They grind the business once it's off the ground. They find ways to reduce costs, simply processes and they focus on profitably rather than growth. These leaders should be operations oriented. An example of an operations oriented leader would be Gordon Gecko played by Martin Sheen in the movie WallStreet, or Donald Trump. Their shoes are polished, but worn.
Jon Gray in an exit interview told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that "the whole property is set up for success". Story written b y Rick Velotta.
Finally, you have the "minders". You hire these guys to "mind" your business.
These leaders spend most of their days "minding" the business. It's a kush job, but it requires a social skillset. The CEO who minds your business should be very customer service oriented, spend time with employees listening to their grievances and complaints and you communicate outwardly to the public through social appearances.
These leaders should have perfectly polished, brand new shoes. And a handkerchief a plus.
If I was the CEO directing $1 billion of investor money, I would have made sure that whoever was overseeing the development had managed projects similar in size; and I would have made sure they had well worn shoes.
KAOS Nightclub Laying Off Entire Staff November 8th, 2018
The Palms Resort and Casino was purchased by Station Casinos ( NASDAQ: RRR) in 2016 for $313 Million.
Alex Cordova is credited with botching the biggest entertainment deal in Las Vegas history.
In May 2018, Station Casinos headed up $690 million in renovations project that was managed by Former General Manager, Jonathan Gray. Part of those renovations included The Demon Dome, which was scheduled to open Oct 31st, 2019.
We don't know all the details but the Jedi reported last month that Alex Cordova was somehow involved with skimming off the op of a botched a $60 million DJ contract with Skrillex and DJ Marshmello.
Last heard, Alex was headed for Ibiza where they have no U.S. extradition laws.
Last month, nightclub manager Alex Cordova was fired followed by the abrupt resignation of Jon Gray Palms. Sources close to the fire suggest that they were skimming anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars from the DJs.
Upon the news, Skrillex and Marshmello immediately broke off their contract with KAOS.
Honestly, the whole property is setup for success", Jon Gray said in a recent interview in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Lorenzo Ferittas in 2014.
But that’s not why the servers are getting laid off. In April 2018 the employees voted to unionize with the Bartenders Union and Culinary Union. Ferittas and Jon Gray did not honor their vote. The workers picketed in June 2019. In August 2019, Bernie Sanders called out the Ferittas brothers as lazy fat cats who exploit workers. In September 2019, Alex got fired, Skrillex and Marshmello bailed on KAOS and Jon Gray resigned at Palms.
If you want to be mad at anyone, its Lorenzo Ferittas who lost $1 billion of investor money. But what would you expect form a guy who owned the Ultimate Fighting Championships? Aren't those fights the fakest sport in history. Shame on the investors for not paying attention.
Cordova never worked for Palms. Why do you keep saying that in your stories? I mean for fucks sake a 9th grade high school writer for their school newspaper could write better articles than this.
NotGray
Who did he work for then at this time? To be involved as he was...?
He worked for the Wynn. He was VP of Wynn Nightlife. He was never walked out of the Palms he had nothing to do with the Palms. Some simple fucking research by the author would find that out. Hell, even reading some of the other shitty articles on this site would show you that.
Jedi Rich Lightowler link
Correct. It should read: "In September, nightclub manager Alex Cordova was escorted out of KAOS by Palms security," Thank you for the clarification.
Do you need a non-paying editor job?
No he wasn’t. He was escorted out of Wynn. For fucksake.
Thanks. Where is Alex now? What about Jon Gray? Is he still married to Ruth ?
Does any of this have to do with the 9 new sex allegation lawsuits at Wynn?
Thank you for your input. We get our info from the street. It's not 100% but its more reliable than the Las Vegas Venetian-Review-Journal. Text me if you know anything further about this or any other Vegas fallout (702) 465-9885. Text only and make sure you say where came from in your greeting.
Jedi Rich
JediRich.Com Studios is a collection of artists and entertainers. We are a team of models and photographers living and loving in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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I made this site using Weebly. I've been building and hosting websites since 1998, and they seriously have the best host, editor and personalized tech support on the market today. Oh and before I forget, all images, video, music and artistic content on JediRich.com are the sole property of JedRich.com Studios - use granted solely by Jedi Richard Lightowler and Jedi Joy Lightowler.
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Posts tagged with "PSV"
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events, News, The John Lautner Foundation
Memorial Celebration for Karol Lautner Peterson Planned
September 10, 2015 judith
The Foundation will host a celebration of the life of Karol Lautner Peterson on
at 2:00 p.m.
Barnsdall Gallery Theater
4800 Hollywood Blvd.
Friends of Karol and the Foundation are welcome. There will be speakers, photographs, and music in the theater, followed by a small reception in the upstairs lobby.
Please RSVP through the Foundation Facebook page or by email to lautner@johnlautner.org.
Karol Lautner Peterson
events, John Lautner Buildings, News, Tours
Hotel Lautner Tours Part of Modernism Week
January 22, 2014 judith
The Hotel Lautner (aka Desert Hot Springs Motel) is offering three different tours on February 17, 2014:
Tour 1: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – $50
Tour the hotel, check out the planned event space
VIP Twilight Tour: 4:30 – 6:00 – $75
Tour the hotel and event space, meet the owners, enjoy appetizers and wine
VIP Twilight Tour & Dinner: 4:30 pm – 9:00 pm – $125
Twilight tour plus four-course tasting and wine pairing at the new Essense restaurant at the Two Bunch Palms Resort
Questions? Call 760-837-1800 ext 200.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit The John Lautner Foundation. Reserve your space through Modernism Week
Desert Hot Springs MotelHotel Lautner
“Dinner in a Lautner” offered at Gala
April 29, 2012 judith
Entrance to Harpel residence
At the July 2011 Gala event, held at the Harpel residence, four special auction items were offered:
Intimate dinners in Lautner houses with well-known chefs (who donated their food and time).
The houses included were:
Sheats-Goldstein (won by Ryan Trowbridge with Tracy Beckmann). Chef: Corina Weibel of Canalé; wine selections by LOU. Dinner for 10 people. This dinner took place in December, 2011.
Gala at the Harpel residence in Hollywood
Schwimmer (won by Michaela Abrams). Chef: Onil Chibas of Elements Cafe; wine selections by LOU. Dinner for 8 people. This dinner has not yet taken place.
Rawlins (won by Eleanor Schapa). Chef: David Sanfield of Pitfire Pizza; wine selections by LOU. Dinner for 6 people. This dinner has not yet taken place.
Wolff (won by Eleanor Schapa). Chef: Anna Thomas, author of “Love Soups” and “Vegetarian Epicure”; wine selections by LOU. Dinner for 4 people. This dinner has not yet taken place.
These dinners were among the many interesting items offered at the auction, which also included original photographs by Helena Arahuete, a gift certificate to Hotel Lautner, a private tour of the Sheats-Goldstein residence, and many other valuable items. The Foundation plans to offer other similar dinners only rarely, because of the great amount of planning and coordination involved.
This is one of a series of articles on the events that took place during the celebration of John Lautner’s 100th birthday.
events, Foundation membership, John Lautner Buildings, News
Come to the Hotel Lautner Open House February 19
January 29, 2012 judith 2 Comments
**UPDATE Feb. 14, 2012: This event is SOLD OUT. Those who have purchased tickets for the open house and are on the waiting list for dinner will remain on the waiting list (for dinner) until we know whether there will be seating available. There is no waiting list for the open house.**
On Sunday, February 19, the Hotel Lautner (formerly known as the Desert Hot Springs Motel) will open from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. The hotel owners, Tracy Beckmann and Ryan Trowbridge, will be there to chat and answer questions, along with members of the Board of Directors of The John Lautner Foundation.
Visitors will have an opportunity to include a three-course dinner that same night at the legendary Two Bunch Palms in Desert Hot Springs or a one-year membership to the Foundation for an extra charge.
Space is limited so make your reservations now! The details:
Hotel Lautner Tour
Date: Sunday, February 19, 2012
Location: Hotel Lautner – 67710 San Antonio Street, Desert Hot Springs [See map below]
Space is limited. Note our sponsors below, who have made it possible for the Foundation to benefit from this event.
$25 for tour
$50 for tour and one year membership in the John Lautner Foundation
$55 tour and dinner*
$80 tour, membership and dinner*
* A THREE COURSE DINNER includes all three courses, gratuities and taxes
at ‘AL CAPONE’S CASINO’ RESTAURANT
in the legendary Two Bunch Palms Resort & Spa
67425 Two Bunch Palms Trail, Desert Hot Springs, CA [See map below]
Seatings: 5:30, 6:00 and 6:30 pm February 19. ***UPDATE: Dinners are sold out, but there is a waiting list in case tables open up for more. ***
Register here: Note that there aren’t any actual tickets. There will be a check-in desk at the hotel.
Proceeds benefit the John Lautner Foundation, a 501 (c) nonprofit organization.
Desert Hot Springs MotelEventsJohn Lautner
events, John Lautner Buildings, News, The John Lautner Foundation
Register for Gala Now
June 30, 2011 judith
Join The John Lautner Foundation for an exclusive evening at the iconic and newly restored Harpel Residence, benefiting the Foundation’s Preservation Fund. Guests will be treated to intimate home tours of the Harpel Residence and a special auction featuring rare Lautner memorabilia and other items. The evening will also honor early Lautner clients Leonard Malin and Ken Reiner, the original owners of the Chemosphere Residence (1960) and Silvertop Residence (1963), respectively.
6:00 pm, Intimate Home Tour
7:00 pm, Cocktails and Hors d’Oeuvres, Awards Presentation and Auction
Harpel Residence (1956), Hollywood Hills
Tickets $250
Register for the Gala now!
by Regonline
Complete event details, including directions to the Harpel Residence, will be sent separately upon ticket purchase.
Mistress of Ceremonies
Linda Dishman, Executive Director, Los Angeles Conservancy
Guests of Honor and Recipients of The John Lautner Foundation Award
Leonard Malin, Client, Chemosphere (1960)
Ken Reiner, Client, Silvertop (1963)
Gala Host Committee
Michela O’Connor Abrams
Thomas Demand
Mark Haddawy
Ray Kappe
Eric Lloyd Wright
Gala Sponsor
About John Lautner, events, The John Lautner Foundation
April 4, 2011 judith
Many activities celebrating John Lautner’s 100th birthday are planned, but most of the details are not yet certain. At this time we can offer the following information and dates:
April 9 & 10: celebration at Munich Filmmuseum: feature film (A Single Man), both documentaries on Lautner, shorts and experimental films, panel discussions. Check with filmmuseum for details. http://www.stadtmuseum-online.de/filmmu.htm
July 16: John Lautner’s birthday.
Los Angeles City Proclamation: John Lautner Day
Week starting July 16 (Sat):
Birthday party, hosted by Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Small temporary exhibit featuring preservation of the Goldstein Office
Preservation panel discussion and slides
July 17: LA Lautner Home Tour: joint event of John Lautner Foundation and MAK Center for Art and Architecture
July 18th – 24th (dates not certain): Two- or three-day film festival featuring Lautner documentaries, feature films that use Lautner homes, shorts, experimental films, panel discussions
August 19: Opening of new John Lautner exhibition at Northern Michigan University’s DeVos art museum, curated by the museum director, Melissa Metuscak
Sept. 2: Reception for above exhibit
Other events to be held in the fall include a preservation symposium, visit to the Lautner archive at Getty Special Collections, a JLF fundraiser party with focus on preservation fund, and a small photographic exhibit.
The Foundation holds special events when feasible. They are held in different Lautner buildings and feature special panel discussions. The panels bring together clients, contractors, engineers, and others involved in the construction of the building.
In 2000, the inaugural event was held at “Silvertop“, the home built for Ken Reiner, inventor of “clippies”, special aircraft self-locking bolts, and other interesting items, some of which are used in this house (although you wouldn’t likely notice them). Mr. Reiner was joined by Dr. and Mrs. Burchill, the present owners, Guy Zebert, construction superintendent, Helena Arahuete, associate of Mr. Lautner’s at the time of the remodelling, Andrew Nasser, structural engineer of many Lautner buildings, and John Warner, concrete contractor on Silvertop. The discussion was moderated by Frank Escher, manager of the Lautner Archive.
The 2001 event featured a tour of four Lautner homes as well as a symposium. The tour took people to the Walstrom, Concannon, Sheats-Goldstein, and Schwimmer homes. The symposium was held at the recently-restored Harvey residence.
Edited videotapes of both panel discussions will be available for sale on the web site at a later date.
The Foundation uses proceeds from the events to help fund preservation projects and meet other Foundation goals.
Memberships: The Foundation is now accepting members. Check the membership page for information.
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HOME | ABOUT | OUR WRITERS' BLOGS | CONTACT
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Home > Global city > Escape to the (same) country: a weekend at Bluestone
Escape to the (same) country: a weekend at Bluestone
Fflur Evans
From sky wires to spa afternoons, Bluestone is the ideal destination if you want that holiday feeling without having to leave Wales.
Bluestone’s picturesque village.
My legs were shaking, and I was sure that my face had turned a sickly grey.
“So what you’re going to do is just do a little run along the platform and then just jump,” said my helpful zipwire instructor, Bethan.
Staring down at the 100-foot drop below me, it dawned on me that this weekend was sold to me by my mother as a ‘relaxing, chilled-out break’. How had I, a person who didn’t enjoy heights, found myself attached to a zipwire, above to whizz my way across a ravine?
Bluestone Resort is a holiday location that falls within the boundaries of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The resort spans 500 acres, including over 300 lodges, cottages and studio apartments for visitors to stay, as well as a ‘village’ which has restaurants, shops, and a spa.
Our ‘upside-down’ Gateholm Lodge.
We stayed in a Gateholm Lodge, with the bedrooms all on the bottom floor, and the lounge and kitchen area upstairs. This entertained the five-year-old we had in tow, who exclaimed, “Upside-down house! Upside-down house!” gleefully as we arrived.
Our group certainly included a mixed variety of ages: two in their fifties, one in her 30s, two in their 20s, and a five-year-old. Could Bluestone truly cater to all of our needs?
‘Mind, Body, Soul’
Whilst my brother and his partner took the little one to a Jack and the Beanstalk show, my parents and I decided that we’d earned a little relaxation (after doing nothing but the hard work of stuffing ourselves with pizza, garlic bread, and booze the previous night).
I was a little apprehensive to join Mam and Dad at the spa, as not only had I never been to one before, but I wasn’t exactly keen to be the gooseberry in this scenario. The afternoon started off brilliantly, as not only were my parents hilariously ignorant of spa etiquette, but there was free tea and coffee — I was content.
Between the Well Spa and the Bluestone Lodges lies a scenic lake.
We began at the Salt Inhalation Room, which was neither particularly warm or cold, with no steam or water features. A lovely staff member described it thus: “It helps prepare the body for the full thermal experience. The healing properties of the salt are great for respiratory and skin conditions.”
My father, on the other hand, described the experience as “a bit pointless.” Nevertheless, the rest of our Well Spa experience seemed to please everyone — especially the Herbal Steam Room, which when you’ve just developed a blocked nose, like me, is an absolute godsend.
Between each use of a sauna or steam room, we were advised to pop into the Ice Pod for five minutes, which is where the two 50-somethings I had in tow embraced their inner children. My father thought it would be hilarious to pour some ice chips down my mother’s back and throw them at her quite aggressively. There were two other strangers in this Ice Pod, mind you — I was shaking my head with disbelief.
The Well Spa – where we tried to relax as a family.
After a quick trip to the the hydrotherapy pool, which disappointed Dad because “the bubbles aren’t coming over here, that bloke over there’s hogging them,” we finished our trip at the Sanctuary Room, where talking was not permitted. Luckily, no one else was using this calm, candle-lit sanctuary at the time, as within minutes of entering, my mother and I started laughing maniacally at my father’s attempt to sit on a bean bag elegantly. He was not pleased.
Whether or not we fully embraced the spa experience, I’m not sure, but as I was cackling uncontrollably at my father getting stuck in a hanging-basket style yoga seat, I certainly felt rejuvenated.
‘Feel the fear, and do it anyway!’
This time, my mother had volunteered to babysit, and as she ventured to the Soft Play Area for the morning, the rest of the adults headed to the Steep Ravine Forest. My brother’s partner, Katie, had done most of the organising, so I was relatively unclear about what the Sky Wire exactly entailed.
The sign that welcomed us at the Steep Ravine Sky Wire course.
After our guide, Bethan, had instructed us on how to assemble our harnesses, she then coached us through how we were to clip ourselves on and off the zipwires.
“So you want to make sure you’re blue-to-blue, closed and opposed, and that your red has got a piggy back,” she said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. It was at that moment, when she was warning us that should we get any of this wrong, we’d plunge from very tall heights, that I began to get nervous.
Myself on the zipwire, clearly having a great time, hanging on for dear life.
The first few goes weren’t all that bad — we began maybe 15 feet off the floor. Bethan warned us that perhaps during our glide across the zipwire, we’d begin to spin round, meaning that landing on our feet would become a difficult option. I’m not proud to say that for the four zipwires I whizzed across, not once did I land on my feet.
It was the last descent that left my legs shaking, however. The aforementioned 100-foot sky wire. I knew I was safe — I knew that my harness was secure — but it’s not until you take that leap off the platform and your harness catches you that you 100% believe it. Needless to say, I spent the first half of this journey through the sky screaming like a banshee, before realising that I was, once again, spinning around, and falling onto the landing platform (a pile of leaves) with style.
It was Katie who put it best, when upon detaching herself from the wire, she said, “I’m glad we did that, but I’m really glad it’s actually over.”
Despite my father’s complaining about pointless spa rituals, and my fear that I would plunge to my doom, Bluestone was the perfect holiday for the kids and the adults of the family. Whether it was a calming steam room or a thrilling ride across a zipwire, Bluestone certainly gave us all that holiday glow without having to hop on a plane to a tropical country.
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J|C Maps
Jones | Carter
Engineers. Planners. Surveyors.
Municipal & District Engineering
Home|Our Services|Land Surveying Texas
From the first topographical map to construction staking, the Surveying practice provides valuable information throughout the spectrum of a project. The array of services offered to our clients includes boundary and topo surveys, utility locations, as-built surveys, construction layout and staking, plat calculations, and legal descriptions for easement recordation. We understand the importance of reliable information. Our state-of-the-art computerized data collection systems, robotics, and GPS (Global Positioning Systems) are keys to our success and help us maintain a project’s schedule and budget.
REQUEST A QUOTE FROM A J|C SURVEYING PROFESSIONAL
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Bridge and Channel Repairs - Lost Pines, TX - Austin Area
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Bridge and Channel Repairs Client: Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort Services: Hydrology & Hydraulics, Survey, Site Civil, Construction Engineering Location: Lost Pines,
Lago Mar - Texas City, TX - Houston Area
Lago Mar is a 2,000-acre master-planned community by Land Tejas in the growing Galveston-Clear Lake corridor. Our team was involved in every aspect of the development. Continue reading to find out more.
Google Data Center - Midlothian, TX - Dallas Area
The Google Data Center is a 260,000 square-foot facility on a 375-acre tract within Midlothian’s Railport Business Park. Jones|Carter was contracted by the Midlothian Development Authority to prepare civil design construction plans for the relocation of open channel drainage, the construction of an underground reinforced concrete box drainage system and sewer line.
HSIP Safety Improvements, TxDOT Bryan District - Various Counties
The TxDOT Bryan District is responsible for planning, designing, building, operating and maintaining the state’s transportation system in 10 counties in southeast Texas. our team was issued a work authorization by the TxDOT Bryan District to perform safety improvements at 33 intersections in eight counties within the district.
Buffalo Bayou Recovery Improvements - Houston, TX- Houston Area
Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving river that flows across Houston. Though the bayou is prone to flooding, it suffered an unusually large amount of damage during Hurricane Harvey. The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) selected Jones|Carter to act as design engineer for a three-phase improvement project.
UTSA Recreation Center - San Antonio, TX - San Antonio Area
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) replaced an outdated pool facility at the university’s Recreation Wellness Center. The site required several improvements, including the demolition of the existing pools, landscape, hardscape, and drainage
Criswell College - Dallas, TX - Dallas/Fort Worth Area
Criswell College for Biblical Studies is developing a new student housing facility. This will be the first dormitory for the college, marking an important milestone for future growth. The 0.76-acre site is located northeast of the intersection of Hill Avenue and Junius Street. This area of Dallas, called ‘Old East Dallas’, is one of the oldest areas within the city limits. The 5 story, 58,000 Square Foot building will provide housing units The surrounding area in Old East Dallas is bustling with new and future developments. Baylor University Medical Center is located just southwest of the project, an Aldi grocery store is located directly northeast, and several future apartment projects are proposed in the surrounding areas.
Dallas Salmon Wastewater Treatment Plant and North Kansas Avenue Reconstruction - League City, TX - Houston Area
In 2014, in response to new discharge permit constraints issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the City of League City was informed that the outfall for the effluent line for the Dallas Salmon Wastewater Treatment Plant (DSWWTP) would need to be moved from its existing location. Due to updated copper and zinc discharge limits, the outfall would need to be moved further downstream, requiring the City to build an entirely new effluent line and outfall location.
Bexar County Public Works Facility - San Antonio, TX, Central Texas Area
Bexar County Public Works Facility Client: Marmon Mok Services: Site Development, Surveying, Permitting Location: San Antonio, Texas Bexar County Public Works Facility is a
Northshore - Austin, TX - Central Texas Area
Northshore is a 38-story, mixed-use tower consisting of 439 apartments, 24,000+ square feet of office space, and 28,000+ square feet of restaurant and retail space. Located in the Green Water Redevelopment, Northshore is ideally located with proximity to downtown and access to Austin’s hike and bike trail.
V.V. Jones Road
Jones|Carter is working alongside the Midlothian Development Authority (MDA) on the design plans for the reconstruction of approximately 1.5 miles of V.V. Jones Road from State Highway 67 to Power Way. Currently a two-lane, asphalt road, once complete, the roadway will be a major arterial roadway. V. V. Jones is located on the western edge of the Railport Business Park in Midlothian.
Carter Ranch Surveying - Leon & Freestone Counties - Central Texas
Jones|Carter provided surveying services for Carter Ranch, a 14,669-acre working cattle ranch located in both Leon and Freestone Counties along the Trinity River. Large portions of the ranch had not been surveyed since the late 1800s when the land was cut from the sovereign of Texas. The J|C team surveyed 29 separate tracts, including 2.2 miles of railroad right-of-way, 16.2 miles of river, and approximately 50 adjoining properties within the allotted 30-day timeline.
Challenger School Phase 1 - Plano, TX
The Jones|Carter team was contracted by the Challenger School Foundation to perform civil engineering services for the Challenger School in Plano. The school is located on a 9.22-acre site at the intersection of Spring Creek Parkway and Communications Parkway, just west of the Dallas North Tollway.
The Reserve at Lake Travis - Austin, TX
In Austin, Texas, luxury on the lake can be found at The Reserve. Lake Travis’ ultimate gated, waterfront community features over three miles of shoreline, the deepest marina, private club, an equestrian center, and swim park.
Greenwater Redevelopment - Austin, TX
Built in 1925, the Green Water Treatment Plant was Austin's first water treatment plant. The plant was decommissioned in 2008 and subsequently demolished in 2010 creating a nearly 2M+ SF plot for redevelopment in prime downtown Austin. The overall plans for the aptly renamed Greenwater Redevelopment project include up to 1.7M SF of mixed-use projects undertaken by several owner/development teams.
Verizon Towers - Statewide
Jones|Carter has helped to establish the cell phone tower network throughout Texas. We have provided a wide-range of services for over 1,300 Verizon tower sites, and over 60 sites each for T-mobile, AT&T, and Sprint along with independent tower companies, making us one of the most knowledgeable and oft-requested surveyors in the state of Texas.
Penberthy Road Extension - College Station, TX
Jones|Carter was the prime design consultant for the Penberthy extension from Luther Street to George Bush Drive (FM 2347). The scope included a 4-lane major collector roadway which transitioned to a 5-lane approach with a dedicated left turn lane at the intersection with FM 2347.
Railport Business Park - Midlothian, Texas - Dallas/Fort Worth Area
RailPort Business Park is a 1,700 acre development in Midlothian, Texas providing an optimum geographical position and amenities suited to large-scale distribution and manufacturing operations.
Western Power Sports - Midlothian, TX - Dallas/Fort Worth Area
Western Power Sports is a distributor of over 120,000 products including off-road and street motorcycles and ATV’s, as well as snowmobile and watercraft parts and accessories. The company wished to expand into additional southwest markets including Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas. For their new distribution center, the company selected a site within the Railport Business Park in Midlothian, Texas.
Union Park, Phase I - Little Elm, TX - Dallas/Fort Worth Area
Union Park is a 1,085-acre master planned community featuring a 35-acre park with open greenbelts and natural ponds. Future home to 3,200 single-family homes, the community boasts an amenity center, open air pavilion, resort-style pool, sports fields, pockets parks, and trails.
The James - Houston, TX
Phase I of Street Light Residential’s development at Mid Lane and Westheimer, The James, a luxury apartment complex, is now complete. The eight-story midrise has 344 high end residential units and features a courtyard with a resort-style pool, fitness center, and a clubhouse with a resident lounge and full service bar.
Springwoods Village Fire and EMS - Spring, TX - Houston Area
The joint fire and EMS station in Springwoods Village, an 1,800-acre mixed use community in north Harris County, and home to the new ExxonMobil corporate campus, will provide fire and medical emergency services to the area.
Green Bank Headquarters - Houston, TX
Green Bank’s core values and focus on sustainability drove the design of their new headquarters into a healthier, more productive, and resource-efficient banking facility. The institution wished to develop a building that was visually, physically and operationally superior to similar banking offices and was a reflection of how they do business. This comprehensive approach has resulted in the building achieving LEED Gold, one of the first banking institutions in Houston to be awarded the certification by the US Green Building Council.
Research Forest Lakeside, Building 4 - Houston, TX
Research Forest Lakeside office complex is located on 77 heavily wooded acres overlooking Lake Woodlands. The campus is comprised of 1.8M SF of office and retail space and the Class A office buildings have been certified LEED Silver (Building 2) and LEED Gold (Buildings 4 and 5) by the US Green Building Council.
Bridgewood Onion Creek - Austin, TX
The 130,000 SF Bridgewood Onion Creek project provides a high quality and culturally enriching environment for 164 south Austin area seniors.
University Park - Austin, TX
In addition to the site infrastructure improvements, JC provided site plan design, permitting, and construction services for the Sabina apartments located on the project site. Sabina features 2 urban style, 5-story buildings comprised of 570 apartment units with lush courtyards and high end amenities.
Still Waters Phase I - Austin, TX
Two three-story apartment buildings comprise the first phase of the Still Waters project on Slaughter Lane. Phase I will consist of the development of 12.38 acres of greenfield into a multi-family development consisting of 256 one- and two-bedroom apartment units with surface parking.
Bridgestone Municipal Utility District - Houston, TX
Over two decades working with Bridgestone MUD has garnered our team an innate understanding of how to solve some of their most challenging issues.
MUD 3 Wastewater Treatment Plant - Montgomery, TX - Houston Area
The project scope includes rehabilitation of the existing influent lift station piping and controls. The new wastewater plant project also includes new electrical service, a 600-kW diesel generator and 2,000 gallon fuel tank, and a new control building.
Sola Uptown River Oaks - Houston, TX
Located in Houston’s high profile area of River Oaks, the five-story, multi-family project boasts 317 units that are just as fashionable as their inner Loop address.
Bluejack National - Montgomery, TX - Houston Area
Bluejack is built on 755 acres in Montgomery, Texas just northwest of Houston. The private club, golf course, and residential community nestled in the pines hearkens back to the fishing camps and lodges of old, with all of the newest amenities.
Modera Spring Town Center - Houston, TX
Modera Spring Town Center is a 396-unit, garden-style apartment complex, consisting of 21 3-story apartment buildings with well-appointed open spaces and jogging trails.
Cottage Grove LID - Houston, TX
Nothing motivates an engineer more than solving a problem with a unique solution. When the City of Houston approached us about polluted waters in one of our city’s major waterways, we rigorously researched LID solutions already in place throughout the US and devised a custom solution for our own city’s needs.
Texas A&M Davis Football Player Development Center - College Station, TX
In Texas, we love our football. Any facility that makes a Texas team excel and attracts the best athletes in the nation, is a winner. The Davis Football Player Development Center at Texas A&M presents a unique approach to honing athletes’ mental and physical acuity on the field.
Harvest - North Lake and Argyle, TX - Dallas/Fort Worth Area
Within the confines of Harvest are 13 different governmental entities with varying jurisdictional powers. Managing that process along with executing a Hillwood project following their Live Smart Principles, created geopolitical barriers that had to be overcome to create a “win-win” for all involved.
Beechnut Street Rehab - Houston, TX
Maintaining continual traffic flow and minimizing disruption in the heavily traveled, population-dense west side neighborhood were critical pieces of this capital improvement project. The scope of work involved extensive coordination with a myriad of private utility companies to assess potential conflicts.
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