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One Wall Street firm just slashed Beyond Meat's price target by nearly 25%
Carmen Reinicke
The Beyond Meat IPO at the Nasdaq Marketsite.
Bernstein lowered its Beyond Meat price target to $130 from $172 in a Friday note. Shares slid as much as 6.8% on the news.
The lower target stems from Bernstein's reduction of the company's enterprise-value-to-sales multiple to 15 times from 20 times.
Bernstein still expects that Beyond Meat will post solid full-year sales, but says investors will need an update on the competitive landscape from the plant-meat company.
Watch Beyond Meat trade live on Markets Insider.
One Wall Street firm just slashed its price target on Beyond Meat.
Bernstein lowered its price target on shares of the plant-based meat alternative company to $130 from $172 in a Friday note and reaffirmed its "neutral" rating on shares. That's a cut of nearly 25%.
The reflects a valuation of 15 times enterprise-value-to-sales as opposed to 20 times, which Bernstein previously used. Shares slid as much as 6.8% on the news.
The lower multiple is a result of Bernstein's expectations for sales growth that's stronger than previously expected. The firm thinks current revenue forecasts are failing to fully factor in retail partnerships with companies like Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, and HelloFresh. Bernstein estimates that full-year 2019 sales will exceed management's guidance of above $240 million and consensus forecasts of $261 million.
In order to get its forward multiple — and its enterprise value forecast — back in line, the firm lowered its price target.
The lowered price target comes just before Beyond Meat announces third-quarter earnings, due October 28. In addition to seeing solid quarterly sales numbers, "investors will want to hear an update on the competitive landscape, especially after Impossible Foods launched in retail," Howard wrote.
Read more: Legendary investor Peter Borish describes how effective investing is like being a successful baseball manager — and shares his top trade for an economy wracked with record debt
Since Beyond Meat's May initial public offering, Impossible Foods, a main competitor, launched in grocery stores in September. Like Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods also has a number of high-profile food partnerships with restaurants, such as Burger King.
And, a number of traditional packaged food companies have gotten in the plant-based meat game. Tyson Foods, which was an early investor in Beyond Meat, has launched competing plant-meat brands, as have Hormel, Kellogg, and Nestle.
The entry of larger brands "could present a risk, especially if their deeper pockets allow them to outspend Beyond Meat and enable them to develop better products or to market and distribute them," wrote Howard.
There are other risks to Bernstein's valuation, including the potential for low repeat purchase rates of Beyond Meat, problems with key ingredients, and its struggle to expand capacity to keep pace with skyrocketing demand.
In addition, "Beyond Meat's path to profitability remains uncertain," according to the note. If the company does not improve its profitability in the next three to five years, Howard wrote that it would pose a risk to Bernstein's estimates.
Beyond Meat is up 344% year to date.
More: Beyond Meat Bernstein
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14 Day Spanish Fiesta
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Day 1 Madrid
Welcome to Madrid! At 6 pm, meet your Tour Director and travelling companions for a welcome dinner at your hotel.
The capital since 1561, Madrid today is a strikingly modern city, the showcase of a country resolutely turned towards the future. Morning sightseeing with a Local Guide takes you to the Puerta del Sol, Plaza de Espana with its monument to Cervantes, the Parliament, Cibeles Fountain, elegant Calle Alcala, and Paseo de Castellana.
Then, the highlight: a visit to the palatial PRADO MUSEUM, founded in 1819, and considered to have one of the finest collections of European art of the last eight centuries, with the works of Goya, El Greco, Rubens, Titian, and more. In the afternoon, an optional excursion to Toledo can be arranged.
Day 3 Madrid Segovia Ribera Del Duero Burgos Vitoria
Head into beautiful Castile, the "Province of the Castles." Cross the rugged Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range on the way to Segovia, famous for the 2,000-year-old Roman aqueduct. Next, head to Ribera del Duero for a WINE TASTING accompanied by tapas at Bodegas Portia, designed by world-famous architect Norman Foster.
In Burgos, see the magnificent limestone Cathedral of Santa Maria, where the legendary El Cid-Castile's greatest hero-who lived in the 11th century, is buried. Afternoon arrival in Vitoria, capital of the Basque Autonomous Community, and explore the delightful historic centre at your own pace.
Day 4 Vitoria Bilbao San Sebastian Pamplona
In Bilbao, the great port city of the Basque region, join your Local Guide for a visit to the GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM, an amazing feat of construction created by architect Frank O. Gehry. Next is lovely San Sebastian, the "Pearl of the Cantabrian Coast," before arriving in Pamplona at the foot of the Pyrenees.
Here, a special treat awaits: walk along the Calle Estafeta, where the famous "running of the bulls" takes place, followed by a Rioja WINE TASTING and dinner at Basaburua restaurant.
Day 5 Pamplona Saragossa Barcelona
In Saragossa, visit PLAZA DEL PILAR, one of Spain's grandest squares. Free time to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, where, according to legends, the Virgin Mary appeared to St. James. Arrive in Barcelona, Spain's second-largest city and the host of the 1992 Olympic Games.
Day 6 Barcelona
Sightseeing with a Local Guide features the Columbus Monument, Plaza de Cataluna, and Paseo de Gracia. A highlight is a visit to spectacular SAGRADA FAMILIA BASILICA, Gaudi's masterpiece.
Also enjoy a panoramic view of the city and harbour from Montjuic Hill. Choose from our optional excursions to Montserrat and to a Catalonian restaurant to try out local dishes.
Day 7 Barcelona Valencia
Continue along the coast to Valencia, once a royal capital. Valencia's Roman, Moorish, and Spanish history comes alive during your guided sightseeing, featuring the Town Hall, La Lonja (the 15thcentury Silk Exchange), the bull ring, the massive gateway towers of Serranos and Quart, and the new Arts & Science Complex, designed by the famous Valencian architect Calatrava.
End your tour in the centre at La Seo Cathedral and then, visit one of Valencia's oldest Horchaterias, where you will be served a traditional Horchata drink
Day 8 Valencia Granada
Take a scenic drive toward the mountains past troglodyte cave dwellings, hollowed out of the soft tufa stone, near Guadix and Purullena. Cross Mora Pass and arrive in Granada, where dinner has been prepared at one of Granada's fine restaurants, the perfect introduction to this magnificent city.
Day 9 Granada Costa Del Sol
Sightseeing with a Local Guide features Granada's main attraction, the ALHAMBRA COMPLEX, a fantasy of "lace in stone" surrounded by arabesque gardens and fountains. Also amble through the exotic WATER GARDENS OF THE GENERALIFE.
Then, take a short drive to your hotel at the Costa del Sol. Later, you may wish to join an optional excursion to the charming Pueblo Blanco village of Mijas
Day 10 Costa Del Sol Malaga Costa Del Sol
The morning is dedicated to beautiful Malaga, birthplace of Picasso. Join your Local Guide on a walking tour through the OLD CITY. Enjoy free time for shopping and maybe a visit to the Picasso Museum
Day 11 Costa Del Sol Gibraltar Seville
Drive to the ROCK OF GIBRALTAR, in British hands since 1704. Hear about its turbulent history from your Local Guide, see the Moorish Castle, and visit ST. MICHAEL'S CAVES and the colony of Barbary apes.
Drive through the sunny sherry wine region on the Costa de la Luz to vibrant, festive Seville, where an exclusive visit has been included to the famous Real Maestranza de Caballeria de Sevilla, the royal BULL RING.
Day 12 Seville
During your sightseeing tour with a Local Guide, hear about the city's role in Roman times, its conquest by the Moors in 712 AD, and its contribution to the discovery of the New World. Admire Maria Luisa Park, the Golden Tower on the Guadalquivir River, and the university that was once the tobacco factory of Carmen fame.
Also visit the magnificent CASA DE PILATOS, a mixture of Moorish and Roman architecture with a splendid collection of Roman sculptures. Then, stroll through the narrow lanes of the charming SANTA CRUZ QUARTER. For those interested, an optional extended guided visit to the cathedral is available. Tonight, for a truly Andalusian night out, reserve a seat at our optional Flamenco show.
Day 13 Seville Cordoba Madrid
Travel through the arid landscapes of Don Quixote's La Mancha to Cordoba. Guided walking tour of Cordoba includes the medieval Jewish Quarter, the MOSQUE OF THE CALIPHS, famous for its 850 pillars of porphyry, marble, and jasper, the Roman Bridge, and the remains of the Alcazar. Return to Madrid and enjoy a farewell dinner at your hotel.
Day 14 Madrid
Your holiday ends with breakfast this morning.
Book now and secure your package with only a AUD $250 deposit per person.
Pay a 2nd instalment of AUD $882 will then be invoiced for final payment 90 days prior to departure.
Your booking is confirmed once your Booking Form is submitted and you can begin the countdown to your Inspiring Vacation!
Optional Tours can be purchsaed on tour and will be advised on arrival
A single supplement is available on all nights of this trip from an extra AUD $1181 subject to availability.
$ UNAVAILABLE Sold Out Reserve your seat
Snapshot: Madrid
Snapshot: Seville
Snapshot: Valencia
Snapshot: Granada
Snapshot: Barcelona
Exploring Barcelona's gothic quarter
Snapshot: Andalusia
Snapshot: Central Barcelona on foot
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6 tastes of Spain you cannot miss
If the way to the heart is truly through the stomach, then Spain will have you smitten in no time From the convivial hum of a tapas bar to the clamour of a market in full swing, Spain’s gastronomy is best experienced with all the senses. While the cuisine varies wildly from region to region, there a few dishes and tipp...
Spain's best markets
A warm, dry climate and a long history of trade, Spain has some of the oldest, biggest and best markets in the world BARCELONA Els Encants Vells Barcelona’s oldest flea market dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest in Europe. More than 500 stalls sell everything including vintage clothes, antiques, bo...
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Spain is the ultimate all-rounder - culture, food, beaches and more Vibrant Spain is a European delight. Dreamy baroque streets, lively bars, buzzy street markets, humming nightlife and a fascinating history to boot. The country is united by its immense history, yet each of its cities are worlds of their own, burstin...
When is the best time to visit Spain
Spain is a country that lives and breathes the good life – from the timeless villages and cities to the Mediterranean coast. But, when is the best time to go? Spain is as diverse as they come, and its culture is just as captivating as its landscapes. From some of the finest food and wine in the world, to fiestas (...
52 Things to do in Spain
Vibrant Spain offers so much more than tapas and inclusive resorts If you have limited time in España, or you’re after a hit-list of places to see, here are 52 things to do in Spain. 1. Marvel at the Palacio Real de Madrid The jewel in Madrid’s architectural crown is its 18th-century Royal Palace. This lavish, baroque...
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ACT Teachers Partylist: Budget for 2018 Free Tuition Removed
If the statement of two ACT Teachers Representative were true, parents with students enrolled in state universities and colleges (SUCs) as well as those who are planning to enroll in SUCs will be greatly affected by this "bad news."
In a statement, ACT Teachers Reps. Antonio Tinio and France Castro revealed that Duterte Administration has not allotted enough funds for free higher education in its budget proposal for 2018.
They said the overall budget of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will decrease by P6.29 billion next year.
Read:112 State Universities and Colleges may give free full tuition after the passage of Senate Bill 1304
It is because the proposed budget for CHED in 2018 is only P12.42 billion.
This budget is 33.6% lower than P18.7 billion budget for this year.
In the 2017 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the Senate realigned P8.3 billion for student financial assistance.
Read: It's Free! State College and State Universities Tuition This Year!
But in 2018 NEP submitted to Malacañang, the program is discontinued and omitted the higher education support fund, currently covered in the 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA) under special provision 2 of the CHEd budget.
Also missing from the 2018 NEP is the GAA’s special provision 6 under the budget for SUCs, which provides for P3 million in cash grants to medical students for the current year.
Read: Free Tuition For Medical Students in 8 Universities
“This is a huge step backward for the administration—its dismissal of the people’s demand for higher budgets for education,” Castro said.
Tinio, for his part, said tuition in SUCs should be kept free because “the state can afford to allocate funds for education at the tertiary level.”
Meanwhile, Tinio is urging President Rodrigo Duterte to sign the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Bill, which was already approved by both houses of the Congress.
He said Duterte had not yet signed the bill that has already submitted to the President on July 5.
Read: Free Higher Education For All Will Become Law By August 5 or Earlier
Tags ACT, Antonio Tinio, CHED, Duterter Admin, NEP, no more free tuition, school fees, state universities, teachers representative, tuition fee
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Tasting the World
How far will Jefferson go for a great meal?
Visiting Thailand with Kasma Loha-Unchit
Northern Frontiers 2016
Northern Trip 2008
Southern Thailand
Southern Trip 2005
Same Same but Different, Lanta style Krabi Unstructured
Three Final Days in the Water
Posted by Jefferson Southern Trip 2015
Our last three swimsuit days involved a dip in a hot spring, a splash in a pleasantly cool crystal-clear pond, and two boat trips to picturesque islands. Strenuous undersea workouts were followed by lavish Thai dinners. Really, it’s impossible for you to have any sympathy for my minor annoyances.
Breakfast buffets are unpredictable, but today the Anda Lanta had a pleasant surprise for us: local papaya with slices of lime on the side for adding just a touch of tartness. Great combination, perfect with some extra caffeine.
I hadn’t gotten a full night’s sleep because at 2:55 I was awoken by the sound of crashing water, as though a typhoon were overflowing the downspouts. When I opened my door to check the weather, I saw water sheeting down into the hallway of the neighboring building, seemingly from the ceiling. Finding this troublesome, I wandered around the front desk building looking for a maintenance person, or anyone, to take a look at it. Eventually I concluded that no one was available, and that whatever the source of the deluge, it seemed to be the design of the building that it run off in this way. By morning, the excess water was a mere memory, as the Koh Lanta heat simply added it to the background humidity.
After loading up our vans we headed North and passed through the island traffic and both ferries in relatively short order. Around 11:15 we arrived at the “Hot Stream” in the Khlong Thom district, which unlike the saline springs we visited the other day contains fresh water. There were about a half dozen people relaxing in the warm water; an older man was getting a shoulder massage as part of his visit. There was plenty of room for our group because the rocky hillside has been carved into a series of mostly smooth-sided pools, three to five feet deep, each of which can hold several Americans (or many more Thais, since they do not seem to have our cultural preferences for lots of personal space).
Waterproof cameras in hand, we took pictures of one another with small waterfalls cascading around our heads as we worked our way down to the stream at the bottom of the falls, where the cool water was at least slightly warmed by the springs. Climbing back up the rocks was a bit more of a challenge, but swimming downstream to the platform would have meant getting much chillier so we managed. Of course, by this time, dozens of tourists from Thailand and around the world had joined us in the pools or were attempting to do so. It was just the right time to sneak away for lunch.
Hot Stream sign -- the water naturally springs up
Cascading pools at the Hot Stream Waterfall
Getting a scalp massage at the hot spring
There were many more vendors outside the entrance to the springs than I remembered, calling out to us to come buy cold drinks. We headed for one of the open-air restaurants and crowded into a large picnic table under a tarp for a one-dish meal of fried noodles. We also shared plates of flame-broiled boneless pork neck, sliced and accompanied by a spicy Northeastern-style dipping sauce. Cuts of pork are confusing, as the neck often is sold as part of a Boston butt along with the shoulder. What? The main point is it’s fatty, and when grilled, a bit chewy. For that reason, unlike the tender belly, it’s hard to eat pork neck to excess, although we certainly tried. We will need that energy for our next stop.
When we pulled into the immense parking lot for the Sra Morakot park I was stunned. Just three years ago there were hardly any vendor stands here but now it’s like a small town. You are spoiled for choice on t-shirts, ice cream bars, grilled meat and seafood, and anything else you can imagine (except nice bathrooms). We embarked on the 1.4 kilometer nature walk, which is an elevated concrete walkway though a lowland rainforest. Most of the path passes through trees and a few stands of bamboo which are growing in flooded ground. Unlike the old days when most of the path consisted of stumps, your feet stay clean and dry, but I didn’t see the old pitcher plants or any birds or lizards, so the new “expressway” does not offer the same experience.
I assume that most visitors don’t care much about the walk because they are headed directly for the Crystal Pond AKA Emerald Pool which forms the heart of the park. The water here is pleasant and refreshing, about four feet deep, and there is a small cascade at one end which feels like a jacuzzi jet on your shoulders (or head, if you submerge yourself a bit). Unfortunately, there are a few tripping hazards in the waist-deep pond, and entry and exit are complicated by slippery algae that grows on its banks. Other than that, it’s a peaceful retreat, at least until the tour buses full of uniformed school children started arriving. It was time for us to dry off and head to town.
(My camera battery expired before we reached the pool, sorry.)
When we reached Krabi, our first stop was Varich Krabi Batik to pick up our custom-made shirts. Most fit well; only one (neither of mine) needed to be taken in a bit. We celebrated by making a few more purchases. (If you are looking for the shop, it is near the Riverside Hotel, on the opposite side of the street, just a bit further away from the river.)
In past years, I’ve stayed at the Maritime, which is at least a 20 minute walk from downtown. This year we will spend four nights at the Srisawara Casa, adjacent to the night market in the heart of town. With our vans double-parked, we unloaded our large volume of luggage and took turns waiting for the tiny elevator. (Most nearby hotels have no elevator at all, so this is one of their selling points.) I found the local 7-11 and wandered through the packed night market. Wow, this feels more urban than Bangkok.
The new location of Ruen Mai is a lengthy drive from the hotel, which means we will only be coming here three more times (after that, our vans return to Bangkok to meet our flight on Tuesday). It’s not enough visits to explore the entire menu, but there’s always “next time.” Tonight I tried an unusual fruit shake (fruit blended with ice) made with green mango. It had a pleasant sweet-tart flavor, but the blender was not able to completely break down the fibrous unripe mango flesh so it had little chewy bits that sometimes clogged the straw. Worth a try during one of its rare appearances.
As our food started to arrive, I realized that in my rush to get out of my room, I had forgotten not just my camera but my entire backpack. I crossed my fingers that it was safe in my room and proceeded to document our plates with just my mobile phone camera. (My phone has many strengths, but the camera is merely passable.) Our favorites included crispy fried mackerel steaks sitting in a puddle of sweet, slightly syrupy black soy sauce; crab meat and wild pepper leaf in rich yellow coconut curry; and yam saded, a miang-style salad with crispy dried shrimp and fried cuttlefish pieces mixed with thin rings of lemongrass, chopped shallots, chopped limes, chopped Thai chillies, and cashews, with a sweet and sour tamarind-based dressing and wild pepper leaves for wrapping. A fiery kua kling (chopped beef stir-fried with crushed red chillies and potent green peppercorns) was balanced by pakwan (a local leafy green) and shrimp cooked in rich coconut milk. Absurdly delicious.
King Mackerel Steaks with Black Soy Sauce
Crab with Wild Pepper Leaf Yellow Curry
Yam Saded (Dried Shrimp and Cuttlefish Salad)
Kua Kling
Pakwan cooked in Coconut Milk
I usually fall asleep easily, or perhaps involuntarily, after long days in Thailand, so the over-amplified serenade of a nearby live music venue could not keep me awake. Some other trip members found downtown Krabi to be too loud for them; the fact that the same songs were sung, badly, every night probably didn’t help.
Tomorrow we embark on the first of our final two days of snorkeling. The world-famous Phi Phi islands will provide a full day of sightseeing, above and below the waves.
The Srisawara Casa just recently began serving breakfast, and offers a choice of American, English, and Thai breakfast sets. Interestingly, the main difference between American and English is that English breakfast includes a choice of baked beans or mushrooms in addition to eggs, toast, and pork products. I’ll have to try that tomorrow, because to finish as quickly as possible, we are all having American breakfast today.
We drove from our downtown location to Ao Nang, the coastal part of Krabi where the boats are lined up in anticipation of innumerable tourist departures. The dock isn’t big enough for all of them: to reach our speedboat, we actually climbed over the backs of five other boats, where we had a major step down onto the back of our smaller boat.
The Andaman side of Thailand has been windy lately. As a result, the temperature on land has been a bit more comfortable, but boat rides are much more bouncy. It’s nice to have candied ginger on a day like this. When we reached our first spot, the reef off Mosquito Island, the water was quite stirred up and lacked its usual clarity. Still, we were able to find things to look at.
At one point I noticed an unusual creature that looked like a pincushion with sections of brown and royal blue. Maybe a closed-up starfish? It wasn’t very deep, but I dived down for a slightly better photo. While pivoting to the right I stroked back with my left hand and immediately felt the stab of sea urchin quills. I tried to pull them out but they simply crumbled, leaving two bits of the black spines below the skin. I massaged around the area a bit and the bleeding was very limited. Following age old advice, I swam to the beach, lowered my brilliant orange snorkel pants and “made shi shi” (as Snorkel Bob would say) on my wounds. Frankly, I don’t think this made any difference, but at least it didn’t take very long. Back on the boat, many had guessed what I was doing, and no one had any better ideas for immediate treatment. The mystery creature turned out to be a Globe Urchin.
(According to the internet, proper first aid for a sea urchin stabbing is a hot water soak of 30-90 minutes at about 115° to reduce pain and possibly deactivate the venom, and a soak in vinegar to dissolve the spines. In this case, the best thing would have been to pick up some vinegar back on shore and heat it with my immersion heater to apply both therapies at the same time. It just didn’t hurt enough for me to learn that until many days later.)
Beaked Coralfish pair off Mosquito Island
Eight-Banded Butterflyfish off Mosquito Island
Globe Urchin off Mosquito Island
Latticed Butterflyfish off Mosquito Island
Moorish Idol off Mosquito Island
Scissortail Fusiliers off Mosquito Island
Unknown (parrotfish? wrasse?) off Mosquito Island
White Collar Butterflyfish off Mosquito Island
Our speedboat continued South toward the smaller of the two main islands, Koh Phi Phi Ley. We paused to ogle the famous Viking cave, where men climb rickety bamboo scaffolding to collect the nests used in bird’s nest soup. Then around to a picturesque lagoon within the sheer limestone walls of the island (photos here include numerous other boats, of course), and then down to our next snorkel spot. Rather than share the shallows with the crowd of other snorkelers, Kasma recommended crossing to a steep-sided karst which hosts a variety of less commonly seen sea life, including sea fans, large barrel sponges, and worm-like nudibranchs. Once you brave the boat traffic and your eyes adjust, there is a lot going on here. With the subdued lighting, though, I struggled to take photos that weren’t uselessly blurry.
We ate our box lunches on board to save time, and our third stop was Maya Bay, made famous by the movie The Beach. We once saw a turtle here, but this year, perhaps because of the murkier waters, I only saw turtle-shaped patches of coral. Our final spot was on the back side of the largest island, Koh Phi Phi Don. Ao Ling was full of boats, and we tied up near the entrance to the bay where there is a ledge with sea fans and innumerable anchovies. When you moved in toward the ledge, the overhead rock allowed a small space for the top of your snorkel; you wouldn’t want to raise your head too suddenly. I’ve always found this a difficult area for photography, but it’s so much fun to move through the swarm of anchovies and watch them react to you, other fish, etc., that a few snorkel scrapes seemed worth the effort.
Anchovy swarm in cave on Maya Bay
Crocodile needlefish in cave on Maya Bay
Lined surgeonfish in Maya Bay
Blue Dragon nudibranch in cave on Maya Bay
Sea Asaparagus (tube worm) in Ao Ling
When I reached the boat, my snorkel suddenly flopped into the water. The clip keeping it attached to the mask had finally given out, perhaps after one scrape too many on the overhead rock. It lasted about 20 years, so I can’t complain, but it means yet another improvised repair before I can snorkel again. (I would joke about my equipment failing in its old age, but…let’s not go there.) Our boat driver decided he didn’t care about our comfort and drove back as fast as he could; let’s not hire this guy again.
(Today’s GPS Track Note: The My Tracks app failed to record the true track between Mosquito Island and the exit to the lagoon, so a physically impossible straight line appears in its place.)
Back on land we showered and changed into batik shirts for another feast at Ruen Mai. Tonight’s crab was prepared “karee” style, stir-fried with Chinese celery, green onions, chillies and curry powder. We also enjoyed a fern salad, and pork belly stir-fried with red tofu, which I think we ate at our first lunch here. Fish was cut into chunks, deep fried, then coated with a tasty red curry. Our last two dishes were the hottest: a mixed seafood larb and a chilli curry with free range chicken. My chicken consisted nearly entirely of liver and skin; not sure who got all the other parts. But the important point is that chilli curry is one of the South’s hottest dishes, so a coconut milk dessert was in order tonight. The bananas (stewed in palm sugar, served in warm salted coconut milk) were surprisingly chewy compared with other versions I’ve tried, harder to cut and slower to eat. Still, the dish helped soothe my angry tongue, so mission accomplished.
Tomorrow we tour and snorkel some of Krabi’s picture postcard coastline and nearby islands. It’s our last chance to see fish and coral before we return home.
This morning several of us enjoyed the Thai version of English breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, sautéed mushrooms, toast, and tea. We then headed back to Ao Nong, this time to take two longtail boats, since we had far less distance to cover.
Our first stop was Poda Island. On previous trips, we stayed at the resort here, but with the National Park’s takeover of the island, the resort was demolished (enough to make it uninhabitable). So we would be wandering the beaches as the “day trippers” we used to find annoying on “our” island. The hornbill photo ops were limited, but there were innumerable mina birds on display. In the waters, we couldn’t access the closer reef, and at the farther reef, the water was quite sandy, so overall not impressive today.
At Chicken Island — that’s the tourist name due to a chicken head-like rock on one end; in Thai, it’s Spear Island — the better reef was so wavy that we circled around to the protected side and found that everyone else had done the same. We saw a few interesting things here, and hastily consumed a box lunch of basil chicken over rice with a fried chicken leg on the side. Hmm, maybe chicken island is the best name after all?
Our third snorkel spot was the best: a karst that had eroded in the middle so there was a shallow channel with lots of fish that like to prop themselves up on the sand and rocks. The clown anemonefish also were enormous here. The most peculiar find was a small octopus that was trailed by a pair of honeycomb groupers. Whenever the octopus settled into a hole, they rested nearby, sometimes right on top of it. Were they bodyguards? Actually, these fish are known to hunt for octopi, so they might have been trying to stake a claim to its tasty flesh.
Fierce clown anemonefish
Honeycomb Groupers pursuing an octopus
Nudibranch (type of sea slug)
Long-Beaked Coralfish
After I could snorkel no more, I returned to the boat and we soon proceeded to our final stop, the Princess Beach (Ao Phra Nang). Here you could see the diversity of Thai tourism on display, although some of the bellies probably should have been kept under wraps. But we were here only briefly to visit the Princess Cave, which according to legend was an ancient bridal chamber. A dramatic opening in the karst with impressive stalactites, the ground level of the cave hosts a shrine and a huge pile of wooden phalluses. Whether one is a fisherman praying for the fertility of the sea, or someone else interested in their own personal fertility, this would be the place to visit. Just try to limit your time in the scorching sun if you haven’t reapplied your sunscreen.
(Today’s GPS Track Note: The Princess Beach is not pinned, but you can see the location where the track takes a detour to the Railay Peninsula.)
Returning to shore and showering were by now a familiar routine, but tonight we also needed to slim our bags and load everything that didn’t fit within our baggage allowance for our domestic flight from Krabi to Bangkok into the vans. How did I end up with so much “stuff” and how will I ever get it home? (These questions also have become routine: every trip here seems to have involved a struggle to find a good box, get it safely packed and taped up and back to California without outrageous extra bag fees.)
For our final night at Ruen Mai we reprised the grilled eggplant salad (I liked it better this time) and the steamed barramundi with choo chee curry, a thick red curry rich in coconut cream. Kasma special ordered fried catfish with turmeric and garlic. You slit the sides of the catfish in several places to allow the turmeric marinade to deeply flavor the flesh, then fry the catfish until crispy enough to eat most of the bones. Finally, you fry the turmeric and garlic bits until crisp and sprinkle those over the top just before serving. A touch oily, but delicious. Large whole prawns (with the heads) starred in a powerfully spicy hot and sour soup, and regular shrimp were featured in a green curry with an unusual cumin flavor. For those who need a little extra fat, lardons of pork belly were fried to a crisp and served with a little Sriracha sauce on the side (the Thai style, which is garlicky and a bit sweet, pureed completely smooth, unlike the “rooster” sauce commonly seen in California). I didn’t have any room left for dessert tonight.
Our remaining time is short: after a “free day” tomorrow, we return to Bangkok Tuesday and to the U.S. on Wednesday. I changed a lot more money than I have spent. Should I hold the baht as a currency hedge, or go shopping?
Published on February 15th, 2015 and last modified June 15th, 2019
Tagged with: Krabi, Phi Phi
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Cuts in welfare allowances take effect
Sat, Sep 10, 2011, 01:00
Olivia Kelly
CUTS TO fuel, electricity and phone allowances for some 630,000 social welfare recipients have come into force from this week.
The cuts to the household benefits package and the fuel allowance will reduce payments to pensioners and other social welfare recipients by almost €20 a month and up to €35.29 during the winter months.
The cuts will result in savings in 2011 of €17 million and €65 million in a full year, the Department of Social Protection has said.
The cuts approved by Government last July were regrettable but necessary to achieve savings due to our commitments to the IMF-EU-ECB troika, Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton had said.
Allowances will return to 2007 levels, meaning those in receipt of these contributions will receive €8 less towards electricity a month and €8 less towards their monthly gas allowance.
Those in receipt of a smokeless fuel allowance will have the extra €3.90 weekly allowance they receive during the winter months abolished.
The telephone allowance will be cut from €25.91 a month to €22.22 except in the case of Eircom customers – the Government has negotiated a total saving of €26.86 off their bills each month.
The department said it will continue to provide for vulnerable people with special or additional heating needs through the heating supplement and exceptional needs payment scheme under the supplementary welfare allowance plan.
“Assistance with the cost of fuel, electricity, gas and telephone bills has always been an important element of social welfare provision and will continue. My department will spend over €530 million, over half a billion euros, in 2011 on these schemes,” Ms Burton said.
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Staff writer Tech 11.14.2016 02:Nov AM EST
Pokemon Go Latest iOS And Android Update: 100 New Pokemons And Move Codes Unveiled
Niantic is finally on the verge of releasing its latest update for its widely popular mobile game for Andriod and iOS, Pokémon GO. Just over a day right after officially announcing that versions 0.45.0 for Android and 1.15.0 for iOS are already in the process and will be hitting the game relatively soon, the impending coming of this new update has become undeniable.The biggest highlight: 100 New pokemons will be hitting the game. Photo : Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Niantic is finally on the verge of releasing its latest update for its widely popular mobile game for Andriod and iOS, Pokémon GO. Just over a day right after officially announcing that versions 0.45.0 for Android and 1.15.0 for iOS are already in the process and will be hitting the game relatively soon, the impending coming of this new update has become undeniable.The biggest highlight: 100 New pokemons will be hitting the game.
Big changes that will hit the game
The Pokémon GO development team posted on the official blog for the app last Sunday, announcing the upcoming arrival of the update. According to the patch notes, this coming update will realize what has been leaked prior regarding a daily bonus system. With this latest feature, Trainers be granted rewards and bonuses for the very first Pokémon that they will manage to catch, as well as the first PokéStop visit for each single day. To top it off, a bigger bonus will also be rewarded if a player has played or opened the app for seven consecutive days.
Conquering Poké Gyms and changes to Prestige points
Additionally, the new Pokémon GO update will also grant battle winners rights to conquer a Poké Gym relatively easier than before. This modification will give the winner the ability to place a Pokémon in the open Gym since there will now be a brief period allotted for this purpose after beating the Gym leader of a rival team. Aside from small bug fixes and balances, the update will also be changing the Prestige points that a rival Gym loses for every Gym member that is defeated. The Prestige points that are lost in this new update has significantly been increased. On the other side of the spectrum, training at a friendly Gym will now reward smaller Prestige points to players. According to reports, this change will ultimately motivate and promote a more competitive play for Trainers.
Generation II is right around the corner.
It is also good to know that despite the noticeable changes that have been made on the mobile app, there are certain additions on the game's codes that give a clear idea of what is going to be next for Pokémon GO. By the way, things are going, Generation II Pokémon is finally coming to "Pokémon GO." A lot of analysts and game enthusiasts did some a lot of research regarding on the codes of the APK of version 0.45.0.
The wait will be worth it
As per initial results, codes for 100 new Pokémon additions are going to be part of the game sooner or later. There will also be a new move called Transform. According to its leaked codes, this move is going to be part of Ditto's move sets, wherein the code for its animation sequence has already been incorporated into the game. Whether players will get to see the addition of new Pokémon in-game, as of now, remains to be seen. However, with the knowledge that the codes for these new features and new Pokémon are already here, it's only a matter of time until they will finally incorporate it into the game.
Tags Pokemon Pokemon Go Pokemon Go Update
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Jerusalem Post Health & Science
What active measures can be taken to to end environmental injustice
A recent study suggests marine animals ingest plastics due to aromas that the debris emits.
By ELIZAVETA IVANOVA/ZAVIT SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT NEWS AGENCY
A DEAD giant sea turtle is washed ashore on Tel Aviv’s Trumpeldor Beach.
(photo credit: ELIZAVETA IVANOVA/ZAVIT SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT NEWS AGENCY)
Along the shoreline of Trumpeldor Beach, except this time I witnessed a tragic incident of a giant sea turtle that had washed ashore. I distinctly remember the exact moment as I walked closer when my feelings of excitement turned to sadness. I thought to myself, “Wow, this is the first wild sea turtle I have ever encountered in my life,” before thinking, “Oh, it’s dead.” A sharp wave of numbness and complete ignorance caught me off guard. I was naive thinking various maritime disasters only occur in distant places like Australia and Oceania’s shores, and that the Mediterranean Sea was unaffected by such tragedies.
As I and others examined the dead sea turtle, we deduced the turtle’s death was the result of plastic materials blocking its digestive system. Plastic bags were sticking out of the turtle’s gut, and its legs were wrapped in a fishing net. After further investigation, it appeared as though the turtle’s death occurred at some point well before it washed ashore, as the body had already begun to deteriorate. This also made identifying its species complicated.
Naturally, the encounter left me feeling uneasy. In a way, I felt guilty because of my connection to a society that routinely litters plastic and commits similar acts of environmental injustice. Environmentally inconsiderate actions and behaviors such as this will most likely continue to degrade all existing ecosystems, land and especially marine ones, unless we take active measures to stop it.
Smells like food
In recent years, many marine wildlife species populations have fallen victim to harsh decline – sea turtles especially. Many experts have drawn a link between higher mortality and the overwhelming presence of plastic waste and plastic debris reaching marine habitats. But the question scientists are seeking to answer is what exactly motivates animals like sea turtles to consume plastic material?
It has been generally understood that sea turtles are primarily visual predators and consume plastic as a result of a visual error, mistaking material such as floating plastic bags for prey such as jellyfish. However, industrial fishing debris such as ropes or nets bear no clear resemblance to jellyfish, algae or other soft-bodied invertebrates. Yet it is common for sea turtles to become entangled in it. This circumstance casts doubt on the “plastic-jellyfish” hypothesis, making an additional claim that visual cues might not be the answer.
However, a study published in Current Biology provides new evidence to explain what causes sea turtles to ingest plastic materials in the first place. This finding suggests that marine animals might be attracted to plastic debris not only by its appearance but more so by its smells.
“The same airborne odorants used by marine predators to identify prey and locate areas of elevated ocean productivity also emanate from marine-conditioned or ‘biofouled’ plastic debris,” wrote a team of researchers from the Caretta Research Project in Savannah, Georgia.
Marine biofouling on surfaces is usually first composed of organic substances, bacteria and other microorganisms such as micro-algae, and later also include small marine invertebrates. Such an assembly of organisms develops on surfaces that enter the marine environment, including plastic waste and debris. This process provides a favorable environment for the growth of these organisms, which in turn produce a pleasing odor for animals in search of food.
To test whether aromas from biofouling plastic debris could lure unsuspecting turtles into swallowing indigestible plastic, the researchers experimented with 15 captive-reared loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). The turtles were placed in tanks that allowed researchers to inject odors, and they videotaped their response to four different odors (food, clean plastic, biofouled plastic and distilled water). Ultimately, the researchers found that the aromas of food and biofouled plastic elicited nearly identical responses from the loggerhead turtles.
“These results indicate that sea turtles can detect airborne odorants emanating from biofouled plastic and respond to them in the same way that they respond to food odors,” the researchers wrote. “Moreover, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that odors emanating from biofouled plastic stimulate foraging behavior in sea turtles and contribute to turtles’ attraction to marine plastic debris.”
Even though many dead sea turtles are found with plastic inside their digestive tracts, that is sometimes not the sole cause of death. Many turtles die from suffocation due to entanglement in fishing gear or due to severe injuries caused by marine vessels. Regardless, interaction with marine plastic presents significant threats to the wildlife and the ecosystem in which they are supposed to thrive. As this study has made clear, fully understanding the interactions between wildlife and plastic debris is critical for establishing effective mitigation efforts going forward.
Extent of Israel’s plastic problem
According to the 2019 World Wildlife Fund Report, Tel Aviv ranks third among 21 Mediterranean cities in coastal plastic pollution, after the coastlines of southern Turkey and Barcelona. The IUCN’s Global Marine and Polar Program reports that an estimated 229,000 tons of plastic are leaking into the Mediterranean Sea annually – the equivalent of more than 500 shipping containers each day.
On average, every one kilometer of Tel Aviv coastline accumulates 21 kg. (46 lbs.) of plastic debris per day, 66% of which consists of plastic bags and packaging waste. Unless significant measures are taken to eliminate mismanaged waste products, this amount is projected to double by 2040.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated marine pollution as face masks, gloves, and empty hand sanitizer bottles have been found in the Mediterranean alongside the usual litter. Other than acknowledging the extent of the problem, I wondered what I and others could do to assist marine protection.
The Mediterranean’s plastic pollution is daunting and highlights the extent of humankind’s impact onto the environment. However, we can begin to rectify the damage done by rethinking and changing our daily habits as a way to reduce the amount of waste reaching marine environments. In doing so, the mortality rate of marine dwellers such as sea turtles can be decreased. Here are a few easy steps:
• Familiarize yourself with the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center. This organization works to provide safe environments for turtles in need of treatment. They also provide tours and lectures to the public that inform visitors of how best to handle a beached sea turtle entangled in netting, string or plastic material. Alternatively, anyone who comes across a distressed sea turtle can call the rescue center’s hotline at *3639 for assistance.
• Actively invest in reusable goods. This will be highly beneficial as 65% of plastic consumed in Mediterranean countries becomes waste within a year, with single-use packaging items being the biggest source. Reusable coffee cups, water bottles, bags and food containers can significantly reduce the overall human ecological footprint.
• And last, perhaps the most feasible action to take is merely picking up trash when it is seen. The grassroots movement Plastic Free Israel organizes numerous beach clean-ups in which interested volunteers can help collect mass amounts of various litter. By making personal changes or participating in organizational campaigns, effective rehabilitation of the Mediterranean can be within our grasp.
Tags jellyfish beach environment ocean
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Knesset approves regulations aiding handicapped rights in emergency
No longer will bus drivers flee, leaving behind disabled passengers, an adviser to the Defense Ministry said.
By HAGAY HACOHEN
Elderly man alone disabled, using a walker to help him walk.
(photo credit: ING IMAGE)
The Knesset signed approved regulations formulated by the Defense Ministry meant to protect the rights of disabled persons during an emergency such as a rocket attack or an earthquake.
Institutions that look after the disabled will need to present effective plans to evacuate them to shelters or medical facilities as needed in the space of one year. The regulations cover the disabled, those who reside in special schools for the autistic, and elderly persons who are cared for by a legal guardian, among others.
“No longer will bus drivers flee, leaving behind disabled passengers”, Defense Ministry adviser Yehuda Meron said, adding, "such situations should not be allowed to take place.”
As Hamas frequently fires rockets at Israel those driving or residing within range must stop what they are doing and evacuate to a bomb shelter, for people in wheelchairs, to name one case, that can be very difficult.
MK Tali Ploskov (Likud) marked that the equal rights for the disabled law was meant to achieve such goals 16 years ago, but she is “happy and proud we were able to pass the regulations.”
The disabled make up roughly one fifth of the nation’s population, a special report by the Justice Ministry said last month.The Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities reported a 15% increase in calls during March and April, 31% of them were about employment during COVID-19 and 28% dealt with accessibility.
Tags Israel law disability
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Northeastern University Dismisses 11 Students For Breaking Social Distancing Rules
Published September 8, 2020 at 2:55 PM CDT
Eleven first-year students at Northeastern University in Boston have already been dismissed after staff discovered them gathered in one room in violation of the school's social distancing rules. They will not have their tuition refunded, which is more than $36,000 per student, but they will have a chance to appeal this decision. The students were all part of a special study abroad program at the university but, because of the pandemic, is now taking place in Boston. With us now to talk about the campus reaction to all this is Deanna Schwartz. She's managing editor of The Huntington News, which is Northeastern's student newspaper.
DEANNA SCHWARTZ: Thank you for having me.
CHANG: OK. So classes do not officially begin until tomorrow, but I'm curious - has the student body already been reacting to this news?
SCHWARTZ: Yeah. Friday night, Saturday morning, it started going viral on social media because The Boston Globe shared their article about the situation, and their tweet included that 36,000 number, which I think is what really set people off here.
CHANG: Yeah. Well, among the students that you have heard from who disagree with the way these 11 students were disciplined, what bothers people most about this situation? Is it the suspension? Is it the loss of tuition money, or is it something else?
SCHWARTZ: I mean, this has really divided the community and created a really tense environment on campus. I think most students believe the university was just to suspend the students but are outraged that Northeastern won't refund their tuition. Some of the dismissed students could be low-income and will be burdened by this cost for a long time. People are also bringing up that, you know, since this program that they were in - it doesn't give students any financial aid - these students are most likely not paying for their own tuition, and it's unfair for the students' parents to have to shoulder the cost of their child's mistakes.
CHANG: Well, what about students who actually support the university's actions in this case? Have you heard from them? What do they say?
SCHWARTZ: Yeah, there's plenty of students who agree with the university on this. They think it was perfectly fair, citing that, you know, we all signed a contract, and we were warned plenty of times of the rules. And these students put the entire community and city at risk. I mean, especially with freshmen - they sent out a really harsh warning letter to students who voted yes, that they would party on an Instagram poll. And they're also looking out for the community.
CHANG: What about parents? Have they been weighing in throughout this?
SCHWARTZ: Yeah. Parents of Northeastern students are overwhelmingly pleased with this. They're thrilled with Northeastern for coming down strong. And I think they're really - are operating with the belief that, you know, their child is perfect. Their child would never be the one caught in a situation like this.
CHANG: Well, schools like Notre Dame and the University of North Carolina have already had to abruptly switch to online learning after COVID outbreaks happened on their campuses. Are you worried that that could happen at Northeastern as well?
SCHWARTZ: I think the university is going to do whatever it takes to stay with classes in person for as long as they can, but I think it really depends on how the numbers look.
CHANG: Well, what about you? I mean, ultimately, how safe do you feel as a student on this campus when it comes to COVID? I mean, do consequences like you're witnessing now make you feel that the university is really taking all of this quite seriously?
SCHWARTZ: I feel like the consequences that were just imposed on those students - it kind of goes both ways because in one way, you know, it's really scared students out of misbehaving. But I think it's also really harmed contact tracing.
CHANG: What do you mean?
SCHWARTZ: I think students who went to a party are going to lie if they're called for contact tracing. No one wants to admit they were at a party and risk suspension with no refund. The university has said they'll offer underage drinking amnesty to help with contact tracing, but they haven't offered any reprieve from this suspension risk.
CHANG: Deanna Schwartz is the managing editor of The Huntington News at Northeastern University in Boston.
Thank you very much for joining us today.
SCHWARTZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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Team Iron Man Talks Captain America: Civil War
By: Lynn Barker
In Captain America: Civil War, some of our most beloved superheroes turn on each other and make moral choices to get behind either Captain America (Chris Evans) or Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) based on the question of working solo vigilante or falling under governmental control. Heavy subject but some great character conflict and action!
Iron Man and War Machine prepare for battle Courtesy of Marvel
Check out what Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Paul Bettany (Vision) and Don Cheadle (War Machine) have to say about the action and emotion-packed new film!
War Machine (Don Cheadle) Courtesy of Marvel
Q: We’ve seen the emotional layers of Tony Stark pulled back in these movies. How does that continue in Civil War?
Robert: I’m still reeling from the fact that Paul Bettany was Jarvis and now he’s Vision. There’s something (strange about that). You’re asking what’s going on with Tony? Wait, did he make this guy? (He looks at Paul Bettany sitting next to him). Look at him.
Paul: Dad.
Robert: I’m proud of you. As far as the emo arc of Tony over these bunch of years, I think that anyone who sticks around for more than a minute and joins the party here, that’s where Marvel has done its smartest moves is make sure there is a real emotional impact to what’s going on and I am no exception.
Iron Man Tony Stark Courtesy of Marvel
Q: Paul you are newer to the franchise. Do you guys compare notes as to who has it worse on set? (Assume referring to costumes and make-up?)
Paul: I think it’s a photo-finish but I think maybe (it might be) Chadwick (Boseman who plays Black Panther) with the whole not being able to breathe business.
Robert: You can’t tell with Paul because he’s British. It’s hard to know how excruciating it is. We should all be a bit more like Paul.
Paul: Awwww
Vision (Paul Bettany) Courtesy of Marvel
Q: Don, everybody has new toys in this and I feel like maybe War Machine hasn’t gotten the upgrade he deserves.
Don: Thank God somebody finally made it there! There’s time. It’s not over, unless I die. I haven’t seen the movie. Do I live? I think there are more tricks potentially up War Machine’s sleeve.
War Machine to the rescue Courtesy of Marvel
Q: The airport scene (in which there is a big battle) is impressive. Can you talk about doing that?
Don: It’s not usually until we see the finished project that we know what all has gone on. Often, it’s these disparate moments we are trying to focus on. We’ll see Pre-Viz and the Russos (the brothers who direct together) will tell us what is happening but it’s not until you see it all together that it’s like “Wow!”. It’s really an amazing technological feat that it all works.
Robert: Just for the record, there is an airport sequence in this movie? Looking forward to it. (laughter).
Part of Team Iron Man Courtesy of Marvel
Q: Rhodey and Tony are still friends in this, right?
Robert: Rhodey and Tony have had this ongoing arc but then there’s all this bad guy stuff that has to happen and what I really appreciate is you really get back this baseline, complicated, ongoing friendship that they have and it’s obviously challenged to a different degree. I remember when we were doing that kind of resolution scene at the end and all that stuff, and that was before I saw miles ahead and realized that I already thought (to Don) you were great but now I realize you are the single most talented person I’ve been working with in a long time.
Don: (beaming) Thank you man.
Rhodey Rhodes (War Machine) Courtesy of Marvel
Tony Stark tries to reason with Steve Rogers Courtesy of Marvel
Q: Paul you, as Vision, have a relationship with Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) developing in this film yet you end up on opposite sides. How was it developing that?
Paul: It’s an interesting idea. You find Vision, in Age of Ultron he is just born and omnipotent yet naïve and in this movie you find him trying to figure out what humanity is and how you have loyalty because logic doesn’t afford loyalty. So, I think he’s really interested in working out what love is and there’s this woman who has a similar problem to what he’s facing. He doesn’t know the limits of his power nor does she. Of course love can make you feel loyal and at the end of this movie it’s a double-edged sword because you see him finally having a human response and he makes a big mistake which is interesting and I thought a very deft piece of storytelling. It was really fun to do especially moving forward.
Vision in action Courtesy of Marvel
Q: What do you think draws filmgoers to your characters?
Don: I know that Rhodey is always struggling with what does he owe as a serviceman and his duty and chain of command and how much must that be protected and honored. But, also I’m in this team of people who, some of them have no limit to their power and where are the checks and balances and that’s something that’s obviously central to this film as well. I think that’s an understandable fence that he’s on. Relationships versus chain of command. That’s what Rhodey is trying to balance as he goes forward with this group of guys.
Paul: I think for Vision, the synthetic people around the world yearning to break free from the shackles of expectation, they really get behind my character (laughter). I can speak for them.
Captain America: Civil War Poster Courtesy of Marvel
Captain America: Civil War is in theaters now!
Are you a big Avengers fan? Which “team” are you on? Do you just wish the Avengers wouldn’t fight each other? Leave your opinion below.
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Home / Tech News / Featured Tech News / Crash Bandicoot 4 won’t include microtransactions, claims developer
Crash Bandicoot 4 won’t include microtransactions, claims developer
Mustafa Mahmoud July 2, 2020 Featured Tech News, Software & Gaming
Recently we reported that Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time would include some form of in-app purchases. This was due to the fact that the Microsoft store listed the game as including them. Now however, the studio behind the 4th numbered entry in the Crash Bandicoot series – Toys for Bob – took to Twitter to clear up the confusion.
In a statement released on Twitter, the studio in charge of developing Crash Bandicoot 4 said “We’re seeing confusion about [microtransactions] in @CrashBandicoot 4 and want to be [crystal] clear: There are NO MICROTRANSACTIONS in #Crash4. As a bonus, the Totally Tubular skins are included in all digital versions of the game.”
The “confusion” stemmed initially from the fact that on the Crash Bandicoot store page listing for Xbox, it was listed that the game would include ‘in-app purchases’. Furthermore, the most recent Crash Bandicoot entry did indeed feature in-app purchases, setting somewhat of a precedent for future titles.
Thankfully, it seems that the Microsoft store listing was inaccurate. Of course, Activision does have a tendency to add microtransactions in updates after the fact. While we don’t know whether they intend to do the same thing here or not, all we can do is trust the word of Toys for Bob when they say that the long-awaited sequel will not include microtransactions.
KitGuru says: Are you glad to see that Crash Bandicoot 4 will not include microtransactions? Has this changed your opinion of the game? Do you think Activision might still add it in a future update? Let us know down below.
Tags activision Crash Bandiccot 4 Microtransactions news Toys for Bob
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Homestories on progressReal-time robot-motion planning
Real-time robot-motion planning
New processor can plan an optimal, energy-efficient robot motion path up to 10,000 times faster
New computer processor allows for fast, energy-efficient robot motion planning in cluttered environments (credit: Duke Robotics)
Duke University researchers have designed a new computer processor that’s optimized for robot motion planning (for example, for quickly picking up and accurately moving an object in a cluttered environment while evading obstacles). The new processor can plan an optimal motion path up to 10,000 times faster than existing systems while using a small fraction of the required power.
The new processor is fast enough to plan and operate in real time, and power-efficient enough to be used in large-scale manufacturing environments with thousands of robots, according to George Konidaris, assistant professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering at Duke.
“When you think about a car assembly line, the entire environment is carefully controlled so that the robots can blindly repeat the same movements over and over again,” said Konidaris. “The car parts are in exactly the same place every time, and the robots are contained within cages so that humans don’t wander past.”
But for uncontrolled environments (such as homes), robot motion planning has to be a lot smarter and able to learn in real time. That would save the time and expense of custom-engineering the environment around the robot, said Konidaris, who presented the new work yesterday (June 20) at a conference called Robotics: Science and Systems in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Duke Robotics | Robotic Motion Planning
Collision detection in real time
Most existing approaches for robot motion planning rely on general-purpose CPUs or computationally faster but more power-hungry graphics processors (GPUs). Instead, the Duke team specifically designed a new processor for motion planning.
“While a general-purpose CPU is good at many tasks, it cannot compete with a processor specially designed for just a single task,” said Daniel Sorin, professor of electrical and computer engineering and computer science at Duke.
Konidaris and Sorin’s team designed their new processor to perform collision detection — the most time-consuming aspect of motion planning — requiring thousands of collision checks in parallel. “We streamlined our design and focused our hardware and power budgets on just the specific tasks that matter for motion planning,” Sorin said.
The key was to use an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) integrated circuit, which can be configured by a designer for customized uses.
The robot-motion processor selects the set of voxels swept by the robot arm and this set is used to build specialized circuits in an FPGA integrated circuit to detect collisions and optimize motions in real time during operation (credit: Duke Robotics)
The technology works by breaking down the arm’s operating space into thousands of 3D volumes called voxels (volume pixels). The algorithm then determines whether or not an object is present in one of the voxels contained within pre-programmed motion paths. Thanks to the specially designed hardware, the technology can check thousands of motion paths simultaneously, and then stitch together the shortest motion path possible using the “safe” options remaining.
“The state of the art prior to our work used high-performance, commodity graphics processors that consume 200 to 300 watts,” said Konidaris. “And even then, it was taking hundreds of milliseconds, or even as much as a second, to find a motion plan. We’re at less than a millisecond, and less than 10 watts. Even if we weren’t faster, the power savings alone will add up in factories with thousands, or even millions, of robots.”
Konidaris also notes that the technology opens up new ways to use motion planning. “Previously, planning was done once per movement, because it was so slow,” he said, “but now it is fast enough that it could be used as a component of a more complex planning algorithm, perhaps one that sequences several simpler motions or plans ahead to reason about the movement of several objects.”
The new processor’s speed and power efficiency could create many opportunities for automation. So Konidaris, Sorin and their students have formed a spinoff company, Realtime Robotics, to commercialize the technology. “Real-time motion planning could really be a game-changer for robotics,” said Konidaris.
This research was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Institutes of Health.
Abstract of Robot Motion Planning on a Chip
We describe a process that constructs robot-specific circuitry for motion planning, capable of generating motion plans approximately three orders of magnitude faster than existing methods. Our method is based on building collision detection circuits for a probabilistic roadmap. Collision detection for the roadmap edges is completely parallelized, so that the time to determine which edges are in collision is independent of the number of edges. We demonstrate planning using a 6-degree- of-freedom robot arm in less than 1 millisecond.
Sean Murray, Will Floyd-Jones, Ying Qi, Daniel Sorin, George Konidaris. Robot Motion Planning on a Chip. Proceedings of Robotics: Science and Systems 2016 DOI: 10.15607/RSS.2016.XII.004 (in press)
Topics: AI/Robotics
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Geffen Playhouse Revives David Mamet's Classic American Buffalo
Steven Leigh Morris April 18, 2013
If you need an illustration of how much the early writing of Harold Pinter influenced the early writing of David Mamet, you need only check out Randall Arney's staging of Mamet's 1975 American Buffalo at the Geffen Playhouse, which opened last week. It's then worth perusing Pinter's 1960 one-act The Dumb Waiter for their striking similarities, before considering the divergent political paths of Mamet and Pinter. Mamet swung to the right, Pinter to the left, a shift emblazoned in Pinter's recorded speech upon receiving the Nobel Prize, in which he eviscerated U.S. military policies, specifically the invasion of Iraq, as one in a series of international war crimes. By the end of his life, Pinter was a spokesman denouncing human rights abuses worldwide.
What, then, is the relationship between a writer's plays and the political principles they express? In the playwrights we emulate, it's actually a tight relationship.
It's often argued that a play, in order to be aesthetically pure, should disguise the author's soap-box opinions. This was among the loudest criticisms of Mamet's Oleanna, a rigged debate between an embattled college professor and strident, intellectually middling feminists who destroy his life largely on trumped-up charges — as though Mamet the author was clunking around the stage and knocking over the furniture, or so the complaints ran. What, then, can be said of Athol Fugard's Blood Knot, Master Harold … and the Boys and A Lesson From Aloes — an entire subgenre of plays indicting apartheid policies in South Africa. The main difference between Fugard's insertion of politics and Mamet's is one of subtlety. Oleanna is as subtle as the expletives that punctuate so many of Mamet's plays. Was his offense simply being too obvious? Unlikely. His critique of his opponents' dogma was no less obvious, or rigged, than Vaclav Havel's similar critique in Temptation — a parody of Soviet bureaucrats in communist-occupied Czechoslovakia, and a play far less controversial than Oleanna — at least in the West. Mamet's primary offense in Oleanna was being politically offensive. An argument could be made that being offensive is to an artist's credit.
If the obviousness of his politics is Mamet's crime, what, then, can be said of Pinter's growing infusion of politics in his plays, starting in 1984 with his satire of bureaucrats bantering about nuclear annihilation in One for the Road, and continuing in 1988 with Mountain Language, concerning Turkish suppression of the Kurdish language. Both Pinter and Mamet devoted the better part of their careers to the cliches and double-speak of language, and their connections to political bullying. The devil in their plays is dogma.
What's fascinating is how they start at such similar starting points in their respective early plays, The Dumb Waiter and American Buffalo, before arriving at opposite poles of the political spectrum decades later in their philosophies of how to live with the barbarity both plays depict.
In American Buffalo, three thugs, who endorse violence to varying degrees as a means to an end, come and go in a 1970s junk shop owned by the most reasonable one of the lot, Don (Bill Smitrovich). Don recoils at the sight of a gun in his shop — he doesn't want weapons used in his various heists. There's no reason that his crookery should involve people coming to blows, he believes. Smitrovich, with his bald pate, stands around a lot with his arms folded over his belly, listening to the lunatic theories of his co-conspirators mostly with patience. Then he turns on a spigot, letting loose the more forceful stream of his own wishes. Don wins most arguments. He is, after all, the owner, the brains and the senior of all the characters in the play.
Don has a certain rough-hewn, paternalistic fondness for a “kid” named Bob (Freddy Rodriguez), who rarely uses a word exceeding two syllables, continually hits up his foster dad for cash and wanders through life, or at least through the “resale shop,” at a slight angle. It's as though he sees the world at a tilt. He has an unlit cigarette tucked behind his ear, when he's not running it through his fingers.
The play opens with the pair planning a heist. The details are sketchy at first, and will slowly come into focus — not unlike in The Dumb Waiter, set in a hotel basement, where a pair of thugs are waiting for an assignment that's similarly cryptic at first but eventually becomes clearer.
The bond between Pinter's thugs, Ben and Gus, also is paternalistic. An undercurrent of working-class menace runs through both plays. As an interlude, the characters in each play spend considerable time talking about food — a common trope in plays and movies about thugs that lends glimmers of absurdity to the horrors that lie underneath.
In both plays, a pivotal character has a mental breakdown, driven mad by his incomprehension of his environs, in what appears to be a shared, almost tragic compassion for oppressed characters, railing against the forces of commerce and of life that bear down upon them.
You'd almost imagine from these scenes that the two playwrights have the same politics.
In The Dumb Waiter, Gus implodes: “What's he doing it for? We've been through our tests, haven't we? We got right through our tests, years ago, didn't we? We took them together, don't you remember, didn't we? We proved ourselves before now, haven't we? We've always done our job. What's he doing all this for? What's the idea? What's he playing these games for? … WE'VE GOT NOTHING LEFT! NOTHING! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”
American Buffalo's third character, Teach (Ron Eldard), suffers a similar collapse near that play's conclusion, after their planned heist has gone awry: “My Whole Cocksucking Life. The Whole Entire World. There Is No Law. There Is No Right and Wrong. The World Is Lies. There Is No Friendship. Every Fucking Thing. (pause) Every God-Forsaken Thing.” (The script capitalizes every word, as though Mamet is crowing about rather than apologizing for the articulation of the play's larger view.)
I do wish Arney's production were tighter. The actors are magnificent, as is Takeshi Kata's ultra-cluttered set with stools and bicycle wheels and suitcases stacked at various altitudes. The play on the page is taut, yet onstage it plods, possibly from the excessive focus on the emotions flying across the room. The actors are good enough to keep those emotions wry, expressed in the glint of an eye or a furrowed eyebrow. Arney deserves credit for that, but he also deserves blame for the sagging cue pick-up, which slows the pace. Imagine Rice Krispies having sat too long in milk.
Still, it's a revelation to see a play now regarded an American classic. Classics often are ultimately portraits of cruelty and despair. The mystery remains how two playwrights can have such a common understanding of the human condition and then, over the course of a lifetime, arrive at such opposite conclusions over what to do about it.
AMERICAN BUFFALO | By David Mamet | Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood | Tues.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; through May 12 | (310) 208-5454 | geffenplayhouse.com
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Joey Bada$$ will headline the first Spaceland Block Party Sept. 16-17.; Credit: Brian Alcazar
Spaceland Announces DTLA Block Party With Joey Bada$$, Vic Mensa, Wavves
Andy Hermann July 11, 2017
Spaceland, the concert promoter behind the Echo, Echoplex and Regent Theater, as well as such free outdoor events as the Twilight Concert Series on Santa Monica Pier and Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park, has announced the debut of a fall music festival called Spaceland Block Party. The new festival, which will happen in downtown Los Angeles Sept. 16 and 17, will feature performances by Joey Bada$$, Vic Mensa, Highly Suspect, Big Wild, The Horrors, Amelia Airhorn, Black Kids, Wavves and Betty Who, among many others.
The block party will take place at Row DTLA, the 30-acre industrial site in the Arts District formerly known as Alameda Square. Now home to more than 100 shops and restaurants, the site's century-old warehouses will serve as the backdrop (and possibly the actual stages — Spaceland's press release announcing the block party says it will “take over downtown's rooftops” as well as the venue's parking lots) to a festival that promises to mix hip-hop, rock, pop and dance music with street art, food vendors and other block-party fare.
Other artists confirmed for the festival include Preoccupations, THEY, DJDS, Tijuana Panthers, Oddisee & Good Compny and Jesse Boykins III.
Tickets for Spaceland Block Party go on sale Friday, July 14, at spacelandblockparty.com.
Credit: Courtesy Spaceland
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n. - A member of the Algonquian people who formerly lived in eastern Virginia; Indian chief and founder of a confederacy of tribes in eastern Virginia.
It is called Powhatan, according to the name of a principall country that lyeth vpon it.
As the Powhatan was a king then his daughter was a princess, and as such must be treated with all respect.
Their chiefe ruler is called Powhatan, and taketh his name of his principall place of dwelling called Powhatan.
That was undoubtedly the point of vantage, but The Powhatan was a much dreaded werowance and they dared not risk his ire.
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Do Surgical Checklists Reduce Medical Error Deaths in Rancho Bernardo?
by Walton Law Firm
Many North County residents get nervous before they visit a surgeon for even a routine surgery. Given the high rate of deadly medical errors in the country, there is a shockingly high likelihood that something might go wrong—even if a surgeon has performed the exact procedure hundreds of times. In some situations, a medical error can result in the death of a patient and may lead to a wrongful death lawsuit.
In some cases, the medical mistake might not be the surgeon’s fault and instead might concern an anesthesia error, for example. However, many surgical errors are in fact attributed to surgeons, and a lot of these mistakes are avoidable. According to a recent article in The New York Times, one of the ways that surgeons work to avoiding making errors is by using a surgery “checklist.” Is a checklist really enough to prevent medical negligence?
What is a Surgical Checklist?
What is a surgical checklist, and how might it reduce the rate of medical errors and preventable deaths? The checklist is essentially what is sounds like – a list of items to check off to ensure that surgical mistakes are not being made. Surgical checklists might include the following items:
Confirmation of patient’s identity by name tag on his or her wrist;
Verification of the surgical site prior to the surgery;
Listing of patient’s allergies and any medications being used during the surgery to prevent allergic reactions;
Identification of any blood or other fluids in the operating room in the event that they are needed;
Identification of surgeon, nurses, and other surgery team members by name prior to beginning the surgery; and
List of every item in the operating room, including “needles, sponges, gauze, and scalpels,” and a check box to indicate each time an item is removed from the surgical tray, used during the surgery, and returned to the steel tray (to ensure that no items are left inside the patient).
How Checklists May Reduce Error Rates During Surgery
By having a checklist in the operating room and literally checking off each item that corresponds to a preventable medical error, surgeons may be able to prevent deadly surgical mistakes. But do the checklists really work? According to the article, a 19-item checklist that has been tested in operating rooms across the country led to this result: “The mortality rate fell to 0.8% from 1.5%, and surgical complications declined to 7% from 11%.” In other words, the use of a checklist does prevent mistakes in the operating room.
But does it work in all different types of hospitals and surgical settings? According to the article, “surgical checklists [have proven] effective in diverse settings,” meaning that they reduce deaths and serious medical mistake injuries in rural hospitals and urban hospitals, as well as in outpatient surgery centers and large-scale hospital facilities.
Contact a Rancho Bernardo Wrongful Death Attorney
If you lost a loved one because of a preventable medical error, it is extremely important to speak with an experienced Rancho Bernardo wrongful death attorney about your case. Contact the Walton Law Firm today to learn more about how our personal injury team can help with your claim.
See Related Blog Posts:
Hospital Infections and Spinal Cord Injury Patients
Preventing Hot Car Deaths in Escondido
(image courtesy of Luis Melendez)
Tagged: San Diego medical malpractice attorney, surgery checklist and surgical errors
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UC and Elsevier
Home / Scholarly Communication
UC Poll on Impact of Loss of Access to Current Elsevier Articles Via ScienceDirect
In February and March 2020, UC’s Council of University Librarians (CoUL) launched a brief sentiment poll to gauge the impact of loss of immediate access to current Elsevier content via ScienceDirect on the UC community.
The poll was developed and sponsored by the UC Academic Senate Committee on Library and Scholarly Communication (UCOLASC) and the UC Libraries. This summary was prepared by CoUL and UCOLASC.
The poll was open for five weeks earlier this year and was completed by over 7,300 UC affiliates (37% faculty, 31% graduate students, 9% undergraduate, 8% postdoc, 5% staff, 5% researcher, 5% other). As its purpose was to support the libraries in improving services for and communication with the UC community, the poll was distributed broadly but informally, without population sampling or IRB review. Because it was not a scientific survey, we are unable to share the raw data.
Impact on Research, Teaching, Learning: Regarding the impact of the loss of immediate access to current Elsevier journals on respondents’ research, teaching, or learning: 33% reported significant impact, 44% some impact, and 21% no impact. Unsurprisingly, given Elsevier’s journal portfolio, the proportion reporting significant impact was greater from health sciences-affiliated respondents: 52% significant impact, 40% some impact, 6% no impact.
Access to Articles: Respondents reported they are taking multiple approaches to get the articles they need, including asking a colleague at another institution (37%), finding them online (27%), using interlibrary loan (14%), and asking the author (11%). More than 1 in 4 (27%) report not pursuing any method to get the article.
Support for UC’s Position: Thirty-nine percent of respondents agreed with the statement “I strongly support UC’s goals of cost containment and enabling open access to UC research.” Strong support was less common among health sciences-affiliated respondents (18%). Another 25% (26% of respondents in the health sciences) agreed with the statement, “Despite the inconvenience, I understand what UC is working to accomplish and am managing my work around it.” Only 14% of respondents (24% of respondents in the health sciences) selected, “This is very frustrating. I need fast access to Elsevier articles for my work and UC should do whatever it takes to finalize an agreement as quickly as possible.”
Impact on Relationship with Elsevier: Most reported the situation has no impact on their relationship with Elsevier (68%), but 15% reported it is affecting their decision to publish in Elsevier journals, and 13% their reviewing of Elsevier articles.
Elsevier impact poll summary PDF for download
Restarting Formal Negotiations with Elsevier
Following a series of informal meetings with Elsevier this spring and summer that suggest there may be new potential for progress, UC’s publisher negotiations team is restarting formal negotiations with Elsevier. UC remains committed to its goal of reaching an agreement that provides for open access publishing of UC-authored articles and restores UC’s access to Elsevier journal content, at a reasonable cost. The negotiations will commence by the end of the summer.
Elsevier Access Suspended
As of July 10, UC's direct access to new Elsevier articles has been discontinued. At this time UC no longer has direct access to 2019 articles in Elsevier journals or to the backfiles of some lesser-used journals (download the list). Everything else is still accessible via ScienceDirect.
Imminent Change to Elsevier Access
As you may know, the University of California has been out of contract with Elsevier since January. Unfortunately, in late February the negotiations stalled. In the months since, Elsevier continued to provide access to new articles via ScienceDirect. Although they have not yet provided us with official notification, we now have reason to believe that Elsevier will shut off direct access soon after the July 4 holiday. When we are notified of the precise shut off date we will publish a notice on the Office of Scholarly Communication website. At that time UC will no longer have direct access to 2019 articles in Elsevier journals or to the backfiles of some lesser-used journals (download the list). Everything else will still be accessible via ScienceDirect.
Why UC Cut Ties with Elsevier
The University of California has taken a firm stand on both open access to publicly funded research and fiscal responsibility by deciding not to renew its subscriptions with Elsevier, the world’s largest scientific publisher.
Outcome of Negotiations with Elsevier
Elsevier was ultimately unwilling to meet UC’s key goals: securing universal open access to UC research and integrating open access article processing charges (APCs) and subscription fees into a single cost-controlled contract. As a result, UC will not be signing a new contract with Elsevier at this time. Also see the UC Office of the President press release.
UC and Elsevier Negotiations Continue
As of February 1, the University of California does not have an agreement with Elsevier. The UC and Elsevier have agreed to continue good-faith discussions for the time being. For now, access is expected to continue. Should we learn of any changes to access at UC, we will notify our community. Alternative access methods to find Elsevier articles are available.
SLASIAC Letter to Provost Brown, Dated 12-18-18
The Systemwide Library and Scholalry Information Advisory Committee (SLASIAC) is appointed by and reports to the Provost and Senior Executive Vice President, Academic Affairs. The Committee was established to advise the University on systemwide library policies and strategic priorities; on systemwide long term planning for the UC libraries, including the ten campus libraries and the California Digital Library (CDL); and on strategies to enhance and facilitate the transmission of scholarly and scientific communication in a digital environment. The letter expresses SLASIAC's unanimous support for the UC Libraries' negotiation with Elsevier to improve open access (OA) and to reduce costs to levels which the University can sustain.
UC/Elsevier Negotiations Continue; Full Access to Articles During January
The University of California and Elsevier are continuing discussions in January in a good-faith effort to conclude negotiations by January 31. As part of both parties' good-faith efforts, in January UC and Elsevier have agreed that access will be extended to the University of California during this time, to allow one more month to conclude discussions.
Alternative Access to Articles
The UC Libraries are in negotiations with Elsevier, but the current contract expires 12/31/18. While negotations are ongoing, Elsevier may cut off access to articles published from 2019 forward, as well as a limited amount of historical content. Learn what your options are if access to this content is no longer available directly on Elsevier’s ScienceDirect platform.
Update on UC's Negotiations with Elsevier
A UCSB Library homepage News item.
This UC Office of Scholarly Communication post presents:
The top three things to know about accessing Elsevier articles
The status of negotiations with Elsevier
What faculty are saying
Links to recent media coverage of the negotiations
At UCSB Universtity Librarian, Kristin Antelman, is the contact for any questions or concerns. Please don't hesitate to contact her at kantelman@ucsb.edu or (805) 893-3256.
The UC Office of Scholarly Communication recently posted FAQs on current negotiations of the UC Libraries with large scholarly journal publishers, including Elsevier. Because UC's contract with Elsevier ends on December 31, 2018, the negotiations may have an impact on how students and faculty acquire Elsevier journal articles published from 2019 forward. The FAQs provide information on UC's overall goals for the negotiations with Elsevier and other publishers, as well as details related to open access, costs, and impacts on authors. They will be updated regularly as the negotiations proceed.
As outlined in Championing Change in Journal Negotiations, the UC Libraries, in partnership with the UC Systemwide Library and Scholarly Information Advisory Committee and the Academic Senate's Committee on Library and Scholarly Communication, have established principles for addressing journal affordability and facilitating the large scale transition to open access in order to ensure the widest possible access to the scholarly record. The Council of Vice Chancellors also recognize the urgent need to reduce licensed content costs to levels that the University can sustain, and the desire to make research outputs openly accessible. They commend faculty and librarians for the principles they have established and are applying with current and future negotiations with publishers.
In these negotiations, the UC is seeking a single, integrated contract with each publisher that covers both the university’s subscriptions and open access publishing of UC research in their journals. UC’s integrated proposal would cover both reading (subscription) charges and open access publishing fees, making open access the default for any article with a UC corresponding author. The aim is to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery by ensuring that research produced by the UC’s 10 public universities will be available, free of charge and immediately upon publication, to readers and researchers around the world.
Critical background information from university stakeholders include:
Negotiating Journal Agreements at UC: A Call to Action (June 21, 2018)
Declaration of Rights and Principles to Transform Scholarly Communication (April 13, 2018)
Pathways to Open Access (February 27, 2018)
To ensure receipt of the latest details, UCSB academics and graduate students can also join the Scholarly Communication and Publishing email list. To join, email sherri.barnes@ucsb.edu. Developments and official updates will continue to be posted on the UC Office of Scholarly Communication website, and this space.
If you have any questions or comments, or would like a presentation on UC's Elsevier negotiations please contact:
Kristin Antelman, University Librarian
kantelman@ucsb.edu
Copyright & Fair Use Guide
Request a Presentation/Consultation
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Mrs. Catherine Harrington Sloper Character Analysis
Catherine Harrington was the charming, beautiful, accomplished young woman whom Dr. Austin Sloper married as a young man. Her substantial dowry helped Dr. Sloper establish his medical practice. They had a very happy, albeit brief, marriage—Catherine died less than two weeks after the birth of her daughter, Catherine Sloper. The couple had also lost a three-year-old boy two years earlier. The younger Catherine forever lives under the shadow of her far more dazzling mother.
Mrs. Catherine Harrington Sloper Quotes in Washington Square
The Washington Square quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Catherine Harrington Sloper or refer to Mrs. Catherine Harrington Sloper. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Oxford University Press edition of Washington Square published in 2010.
Mrs. Catherine Harrington Sloper Character Timeline in Washington Square
The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Catherine Harrington Sloper appears in Washington Square. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
...circles in New York. He has led a fortunate life—as a young man, he married Catherine Harrington , a charming woman whose substantial dowry had helped Dr. Sloper establish his practice. Aside... (full context)
...little boy, died at age three, despite Dr. Sloper’s best medical efforts. Two years later, Mrs. Catherine Harrington Sloper gave birth to a daughter, Catherine, “an inadequate substitute” for the son, and died herself... (full context)
...“dazzled” by the intellect, or even the reason, of any woman except for the late Mrs. Sloper . Aunt Penniman is very romantic, with “a passion for little secrets and mysteries.” Dr.... (full context)
...no fortune to be had (he doesn’t think Catherine’s $10,000 fortune from her late mother, Mrs. Catherine Harrington Sloper , to be adequate to his station). (full context)
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Hairdressers say they were 'kicked out' of Nicky Clarke Spinningfields salon during shock 'closure'
Staff say they were shocked when they were told to leave the premises on Saturday afternoon.
Beth Abbit
The Nicky Clarke salon in Spinningfields (Image: Google maps)
Hairdressers say they were ‘kicked out’ of a posh city centre salon during a busy weekend.
Shocked staff were told to leave the Nicky Clarke salon in Spinningfields after work last Saturday (September 29), according to a former employee.
Staff claim they have been ‘dismissed without any notice’ and say the Manchester salon will not be reopening its doors.
Salon bosses say they have not taken the decision lightly, but cited 'losses and difficult trading conditions', paired with increasing rent and rates as the reasons for closure.
Nicky Clarke Manchester has a loyal clientele, including several Coronation Street stars, former workers say.
A sign, which details staff members' phone numbers, has been placed on the door of the salon.
It reads: “We’re sorry if you’re finding out this way, but the salon will not be re-opening its doors.
This sign was placed on the door of the Nicky Clarke salon in Spinningfields on Tuesday (Image: Andrew Bardsley)
"All employees of NC Manchester have been dismissed without any notice after a full working day on Saturday 29th Sept.
“However, we are all relocating, possibly many of the team together, all details tbc. If you wish to contact your stylist/technician here’s a list of their names so you can find their whereabouts via social media.
Boy, 16, arrested over 'phone snatches' in Salford
“It’s a sad time for all of us - as you know, we were a very happy team. We hope to see you again.”
Stylist Leo Lopez said 20 people were employed at the salon, which he says was a franchise.
He told the M.E.N. that a manager from 'head office' turned up at 4pm on Saturday and called a meeting, during which staff were told the salon was closing.
“He said all staff will be paid one week salary in lieu of notice plus any holidays owed and to make sure they collect all their belongings by 5pm as the doors will be locked and no entries after this time will be permitted,” Leo said.
“The two managers had no idea this was coming and had their shop keys taken off them. All staff members were in shock and in tears.”
It took us nearly an hour to drive less than a mile on the Mancunian Way
Leo says popstars, Coronation Street stars, models and TV presenters have all visited the salon in recent years.
“We are all out of a job now,” he added.
A spokesman for Nicky Clarke said: "The closure of the Manchester salon is one which has not been taken lightly.
"Over the past few years we have heavily invested in keeping the Manchester Salon running, despite its losses and difficult trading conditions.
"We had hoped the salon would recover but increasing rent and rates in the area have also added to the challenge for us and other businesses around us.
"It’s never a good time to share disappointing news, but difficult market conditions in the service and retail industry have continued to put pressure on the market and subsequently us as a business.
"As a business we must ensure we are fit for the future and have to make difficult decisions to not sustain parts of the business which continue to underperform. We are still committed to continued development and growth of the business, with the Nicky Clarke brand continuing to drive forward its product categories."
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Cíes Islands
Book your tickets: Schedules and Rates
Permit of Xunta de Galicia
Beaches Cíes Islands
Rodas Beach (the best beach in the world)
Ons Island
San Simón Island
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Schedule Vigo – Cangas
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Bouzas Fireworks
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Combarro, the most beautiful coastal town in Galicia
Halloween Special – Dinner and Music
Mar de Noches – Dinner and Music
Medieval festival Arribada – Baiona
Sanxenxo Fireworks
Tears of Saint Lawrence – Perseids
Tour along the ria with a mussel tasting – Ría de Pontevedra
Tour along the ria with a mussel tasting – Ría de Vigo
info@mardeons.com (+34) 986 22 52 72
Ons Island: From Prehistory to the Contemporary Age.
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» Prehistory
The first evidence of settlers in Ons coincides with the Castro culture settlements during the Bronze Age. The most popular of these, which is yet to be excavated, is located over the Canexol neighbourhood and it is known as “Castelo dos Mouros”.
The best known, still not excavated, is located above the Canexol neighborhood and is known as “Castelo dos Mouros.” The lack of prospecting for this fort implies that there is no record of Roman occupation on the island either, as they used to settle in pre-existing Celtic settlements.
The other fort that is known as “Cova da Loba” was located in the northern part of the island, but there are only remains of ceramics, tiles and abundant concheiros.
Recently, archaeological prospecting works have brought to light the existence of various graphic representations or petroglyphs that are ascribed to a historical stage between the 4th centuries B.C. and II AD, something almost unprecedented in an insular territory.
The Castro of Canexol.
The lack of prospecting of the fort located in Canexol means that there are no records of the Roman occupation of the island, as these towns used to settle in pre-existing Celtic villages. However, Roman presence has been virtually confirmed by the recent discovery of an archaeological site in the area surrounding Canexol. Its location, structures and materials are linked to the exploitation of marine resources during Roman times.
» Ancient History
» Middle Age
The Suebi and Visigothic occupation in Galicia left no trace in Ons.
However, the existing indications suggest a total depopulation of territory due to their attacks.
Pirates and Corsairs on Ons Island.
The Modern Age was a time of instability in Ons due to the numerous lootings and sieges of pirates. At the end of the 16th century the siege of the English corsairs began, in which Francis Drake was the best known and feared even by his own people; and also Turkish and Berber pirates. The lootings and burning of dependencies of this place ended with the flight to the coast of the settlers already entered the eighteenth century.
» Modern Age
» Contemporary Era
In the 16th century, the Church had given the island as a feudal grant to the Montenegros, but the constant attacks by corsairs and pirates during the Middle Ages made the island uninhabited in the 18th century. In 1819, the Armament and Defence Provincial Board decided to fortify the island, so that the Montenegro’s property was safer.
The Pereiró fortresses, from which only some stones remain, and the one surrounding the “Castelo de Roda”, located near the dock, are the most relevant remains from this period. The increase of security allowed for the repopulation of the island. The land was parcelled up and the government ceded these plots for the islanders to farm on them in exchange for a tax. The proceeds were initially used to pay for the fortifications. However, it was later handed over to the lords of the island.
Between 1835-1840, the first salting factory was installed near the quay and this changed the life of the islanders: they made fishing their main economic activity and with it they increased their population. When the company finally closed, they moved the sale of their catches to the coast.
In 1929, Manuel Riobó bought the island and installed a company for drying and trading octopus and conger eel, which meant that the islanders specialized in these species. In 1940, the State expropriated the island for national defense. Three years later, in 1943, the Ministry of Defence undertook it, intending to install a submarine base that was never built. During the 1940s and 1950s, Ons Island lived its most thriving period with almost 500 inhabitants. Its progressive depopulation over 20 years time was caused by the lack of improvement of the life conditions for the islanders. This is similar to what happened on Cíes Islands, and it came hand in hand with the tourism boom, especially relevant from the 1970s onwards. Today, Ons is the only Atlantic Island that still has a stable population, although there are fewer than 20 people living on the island.
For many years, the Isle of Ons has been known for several of its legends, which make it more attractive to tourists. One example is the legend of the famous Buraco do Inferno, a place from which it is said that you can hear the lamentations of the souls of those who suffer torment for their sins.
The island currently belongs to the Maritime-Terrestrial National Park of the Atlantic Islands and is a tourist destination of nature and gastronomy.
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IF YOU ARE GOING TO TRAVEL TO THE CÍES ISLANDS OR THE ONS ISLAND FROM MAY 15 (EXCEPT CAMPERS), before buying the ticket, you must obtain the authorization requested by La Xunta de Galicia, in which they will provide you with the pre code -reserve (necessary to acquire the boat ticket).
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ONS ISLAND HISTORY
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Vigo - Cangas Ferry
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Kik Messenger Shutting Down as Company Pivots to Focus on 'Kin' Cryptocurrency
Tuesday September 24, 2019 7:00 AM PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Kik Messenger CEO Ted Livingston has announced that the iOS and Android messaging service will be shut down. The decision to shutter Kik was made not because the app receives poor engagement or user downloads, but because the company is in the midst of a legal battle with the SEC over its "Kin" cryptocurrency.
In a blog post, Livingston explained that at this point Kik is one of the largest apps in the United States, with industry leading engagement amid a recent growth period over the past few months. Nevertheless, the team has decided to shut down Kik, reduce the company from over 100 employees to just 19, and focus on converting more users into Kin buyers.
Livingston said that no matter what happens to Kik, the Kin cryptocurrency is "here to stay."
While we are ready to take on the SEC in court, we underestimated the tactics they would employ. How they would take our quotes out of context to manipulate the public to view us as bad actors. How they would pressure exchanges not to list Kin. And how they would draw out a long and expensive process to drain our resources.
Together these changes will drop our burn rate by eighty five percent, putting us in position to get through the SEC trial with the resources we have.
Kik Messenger provides users with a way to connect to friends and family through text messaging, group chats, and video chats. The app doesn't require users to enter a phone number or connect it to a social network platform, so it was appealing to users interested in anonymity, letting them sign up with any name and an email address.
It's unclear exactly when the company plans to shut down Kik for good.
H3LL5P4WN
So they're shutting down their actual money maker and laying off 80% of their workforce in order to pursue the wet dream of fake internet monopoly money?
That's some big brain stuff, right there.
As a promiscuous gay who frequently uses Kik for messaging hookups from questionable sites, this is very upsetting. First Craigslist. Now this.
thisisnotmyname
Something seems off about this. They say Kik was healthy but they're reducing burn by shutting it down. I realize many companies can still be in burn mode but valuable but in that case why not sell it off rather than shutter it. In that latter case not only would they reduce burn effect on resources but actually bring in cash infusion for their legal fight.
DDustiNN
Lol... wtf kind of moronic decision is this?? It’s so dumb it actually sounds like an Onion article.
??I think we found the Kin employee!
lunarworks
ICQ's still around though, isn't it?
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Community WritersCultures
Anna Butan 7 months ago No Comments 1 like
Hélène the Man
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Artwork by Isa Genzken
I have known Hélène since university times. She was the star of the faculty, the unattainable beauty, who broke male hearts with her smile, her French and her breathtaking “décolleté”. After the graduation our paths separated and so, I lost sight of her. I met Hélène recently when she was enrolling her daughter Lisa into a jazz-school. It was a few weeks after the coronavirus lockdown was over. This time I hardly recognized Hélène, for she was no longer the person I used to know once. Her facial features, her voice, her posture, even her clothes – everything was changed radically. Was it because of the COVID-19? It turned out later that her story had been much more complicated.
He caught her eye the first moment when she entered the room. It was impossible not to notice him. He was modestly standing there in the corner, forgotten by everybody, not much paid attention to. The very moment Lisa noticed him she knew they were meant for each other. Was he not waiting all this time for anybody like her to finally dare to approach him? And she did. He had this very special subtle smell. Something already very familiar to her. Can we have memories of smell? Lisa did not know. What was his spell? His solidity gave her the feeling of comfort. Comfort and security. One day she will touch him and then… Then she will never be the same again. She will never be alone any more. Stuart… That was his name. “Stuart and Sons”: the engraved name of the manufacturers was still very distinguishable. How old was it, the piano of her grandfather?
Her husband Stuart had been already dead for a long time when her granddaughter first asked her about him. Before it happened, little Lisa ran with eyes wide open towards the old piano and hugged it like one hugs a human being that was not seen for a long time. It happened spontaneously. In one strong momentary impulse. Sonja understood right away what exactly drew the teenage girl as a magnet there. It was not the instrument itself, it was its aura. It was about the person who played it. It was about Stuart. A jazz pianist. A child of an interracial marriage. A boy from a remote orphanage, who came to Switzerland with nothing and conquered it with his music. Stuart: the legendary grandfather who Lisa has never met.
All these years Sonja had a very intensive sensation of Stuart’s presence in the house. Her husband was invisibly there, hiding his soul somewhere between the black and white keys of the piano. And so for some inexplicable reason, she did not allow anybody to touch her husband’s instrument. Nobody except Lisa. The moment the girl hugged the piano, Sonja defied the ban. That is how music returned back in her life. The life full of silence and solitude. Sadness and isolation.
The isolation started in January when he rolled into 2020 on a wheelchair. It was not the start Frank wanted. God knows, it was not. Everything was rolling so nice until the damned 1st of January!
On Christmas they moved into a new house. Old new house. The dear house of his childhood. The house that still smelt oatmeal biscuits. The house with his father’s old piano and oil paintings on the wall. Each painting was a memory of a different year of Frank’s childhood. Each one was purchased by his dad after another round trip with the orchestra. The house still kept the laugh of Frank’s sister and the secrets of his puberty. The house where his mother was now alone with the ghosts from the past.
Photo by Anna Butan
It felt as if after a long journey his ship could finally drop her anchor in the harbor where everything started. The life-tour was completed. Frank was so tired from all these life-tsunamis outside. He was deadly tired. Some long-expected peace at last.
What also came as a relief was that the three women who he loved were finally put into the conditions when they had to share the same space. For them there was no alternative but to learn how to interact. They had to stop tearing him to pieces. Frank had only one heart and his heart belonged to all of them. Sonja, Lisa and Hélène. Now he was relieved that finally he could bring his mother and his wife together under the same roof. No more unnecessary feeling of guilt because of love. Love is love. Love is never too much. And his love was like one warm big cloud that spread over three beloved ones. How could he exclude one of them? No, he won’t do it. They will get used to it.
They celebrated New Year very simply but cozy. Just as Frank always wanted: three generations of beloved women at one table: his daughter, his wife and his mother. How many times he was dreaming about this moment. He saw it in his mind clearly in details long before it happened: this table, this napkin, these chairs, these plates…. And these beloved people. Eating together. Sharing.
When Frank was preparing for his late night work shift on the 1st day of 2020 he did not feel anything extraordinary. His intuition was silent. The guardian angel was probably still having a post-New Year hangover. There was no explanation to what happened afterwards. Simply a wave of the irrational. Or was it fate?
Was it the sign of fate that for Christmas Sonja considered asking her son for a new wheelchair instead of this disgusting old Rolling Walker? A shameful support… Its disturbing squeaking and screeching constantly reminded her of how ugly her own voice became. It also reminded her of how dependent she was on this horrible devilish device. When you are 90 you have no alternative but to surrender before it. You won’t be able to make a move without it.. You do need support. If you fail to do so the space is against you and you risk to lose this battle. A conspiracy of corners, floor and walls. Everything around you wants to see you defeated. You are a slave of the “Rollator”. What a weird name, isn’t it? You don’t walk any more. You roll. Life rolls as usual but you are no longer its active participant. You are a passive contemplator. You roll with it but it could also roll without you.
Often Sonja had the feeling that it was not her holding a Rolling Walker but vice versa. It held her tightly to make sure that she was no more independent. How tired she was from its disquieting squeaking that sounded like a scream of a wounded animal!
How many times she wanted herself to scream in the middle of the night. To scream of desperation. To scream of loneliness. To scream of fear. In her dreams cancer was the demon who was hunting her flesh and patiently waiting: “So, have you survived this time? I can wait, do not rejoice!”. Even though after the therapy her attending doctor confirmed “some improvement”, Sonja knew that it was only a temporary break. Demons were waiting for her somewhere in the dark corner of her room. She sensed it. She knew it.
Everything changed when her son moved in to live with his family together under the same roof. She will never be lonely any more. She is loved. Demons can wait.
Old Sonja had all kinds of Christmas in her life: a crazy one, a boring one, an adventurous one… But this one was the quietest. And because it was the quietest she felt some peace finally.
Will there be any peace finally? Will they ever stop this childish stupid rivalry for Frank’s attention? Was it not ridiculous that she had to compete with a woman 50 years senior than she? This thought followed Hélène everywhere since they made their mind to move in and live with Frank’s mother. Does it mean that her fight is lost? Now the command will be in the hands of Sonja and she, Helen, will have to give up…
Before she entered the house of Frank’s childhood Hélène envisioned the master of the house arrogantly meeting her at the door, staring at her judgmentally and pressing her with her absolute authority. Hélène expected to see Sonja as a matron, a proud adamant queen, who would remind her of her own insignificant role in this movie about Frank. She expected to see the powerful woman, who had been keeping all this time her husband’s will in her iron hands as tightly as a hellish vice. She expected anything but not a broken, fragile woman, trembling with eternal fatigue like a willow tree in the wind.
All that Hélène discovered was an age-worn extremely thin lady with very sad eyes. Sad but still very beautiful. How long is this woman left to live? Since Sonja had been diagnosed with cancer she was abandoned by all her relatives. Only Frank took care of her. Sonja was lonely. And depressed.
The wave of shame came as no surprise. How ridiculous it was: the wife and the mother spent years in absurdity, in tearing Frank apart. As if they were two foreign states fighting for the identity of no man’s land. All that was so infantile and so wrong. Frank was an autonomous territory. And he wanted neutrality. All those things were hitting him immensely. Especially now that they knew the diagnosis of his mother, it was immoral to continue this pointless childish rivalry. On Christmas Hélène promised herself to restore peace. At least for her own daughter’s sake.
That was the moment when everything started. The change. Hélène’s transformation into somebody else. But in the pre-Christmas routine she missed all the warning signals. Hélène made titanic efforts to arrange a cozy Christmas. Fortunately, Frank helped. Little Lisa was preparing surprise-postcards for everybody. They even mailed some of them to other family members living abroad. Isn’t Christmas the time when you forget and forgive? Is it not the time of hope? The miracle time.
This Christmas a miracle happened finally. The miracle Lisa wished for a long time. Mom and dad stopped fighting that dad was spending so much time at his mom’s. Mom had nothing to worry any more. And granny was now there, living now with them. Grandma and mom even finally hugged! Oh, there was so much hugging these days!
Lisa couldn’t stop admiring those two when they were discussing books, recipes or decoration ideas. Sonja and Hélène looked like two chirping birds. They were so much alike! Did they realise it? If Lisa could put a mirror in front of her mom and show her herself in 50 years probably she would be surprised to discover a familiar face on the other side. How was it possible? Two women coming from completely different countries, grown in totally dissimilar circumstances… How can it be? Yet, when they both laughed there was some vague resemblance . Something universally feminine that knew no diversity. It was amazing. As if somebody waved a magic wand and cloned her mother. Lisa could listen to this double laugh forever.
Could she imagine that her first day of the New Year would be filled with tears?
Could Frank imagine that his first day of the New Year would be filled with tears and pain? No, of course he couldn’t. Life is full of irrationality. You cannot expect or predict everything. No matter how hard you try, fate will always find ways to remind you that it’s her and not you who rules here. And so it did.
When he was falling, he felt as if an invisible hand pushed him violently towards a big metallic rim. He was thrown down as if beyond his will. The first thing that Frank could think of afterwards when he was lying on the floor was: “Why? Why me? Why did it happen now? Why couldn’t I foresee it? Why? Why?! Why!!!”
He couldn’t remember for how long he was lying on the cold floor until he tried to make an effort and move. Something sticky and liquid was sliding down his cheek. Was it blood or tears? A salty taste. Probably it was both.
3 am. Isn’t it the time when our souls are most vulnerable? Isn’t it the time when devils hunt our flesh? Suddenly he remembered the article he had read once about old people dying between 3 am and 4 am. Why is he thinking about it now? He has to move. At any price. Moaning Frank tried to crawl towards the staffroom. He knew there was always an ice-bucket there. Finally his mind started to return to reality. He fell down. His leg was hurt. Probably broken. He has to make it to the staff-room that was located within about 15 meters of the place where he fell. There’s an ice-basket, an emergency-kit and a telephone there. Crawl. Do not think. Crawl! Don’t stop! You are almost there!
Everything happened when video surveillance cameras were on but on January 1 security guards were not attentive enough. At least not to the back office. At all accounts Frank was not counting on them.
Strangely enough, his memory eliminated the details of what happened afterwards. When he opened his eyes next time, all he could see was the brown color. A lot of brown. The ugly brown ceiling of the hospital. And his wife holding his hand.
She couldn’t tell for how long he was sleeping and for how long she was holding his hand and silently crying. Why? Why did it happen to him? Why now? Why like this? Hélène could not find any answer. It was unfair. It was not what all of them needed now. Now, when everything started to come into place slowly! Who and why decided to send them this test of endurance? And how on earth could she tell all this her daughter and her mother-in-law?!
How could she dare to tell her such things about her son?! She! This little arrogant French woman! Sonja couldn’t see Hélène’s face any more. The mind was reminding that her daughter-in-law had nothing to do with what happened to Frank but the heart was bleeding and needed a scapegoat to blame.
How could it happen? Why her son? Why not her?! She should have had this accident, not him! What will happen now? Thoughts did a devilish circle dance in Sonja’s head and she couldn’t catch any of them.
It was the first night when demons were not visiting her. They decided to come after her son instead. No, it was unfair! That wasn’t the agreement! That was really a foul play! Sonja was the one who was supposed to have an accident! She was supposed to be alone now on a cold hospital bed. “Do not take my son! Please do not take my son!” – She was whispering that night and the night after and the night when Frank was having an operation.
Daddy will have an operation. Mom said, we could visit him two days after. What is it really: an operation? How is it possible that some stranger can just expose you in front of him like a wounded animal and intervene in your innermost? Is it not strange? Disgusting? Unnatural?
Mom said that doctors knew for sure what they were doing. They were people with a college degree. They were trained to save lives. We should trust them.
Can’t she not understand that it’s her dad?! Her one and only. How can she trust him in the hands of some strangers? It is such an insane idea! They will see him weak, they will see him naked, they will do things to him when he is sleeping.
“Daddy, be strong! Daddy, please feel my love!” – Lisa was whispering to her pillow. Maybe if she closes her eyes and tries to think about dad very thoroughly, he could feel her love? Can her thoughts transform in a big invisible cloud independent from time and space? Can this cloud reach that hospital room where her father is spending a sleepless night of pain and loneliness? Next two days went on and an. Mom was on the telephone. Grandma was roaming around the house twice more intensely. Her rollator was squeaking and screeching louder than usually. It was a terrifying sound. Lisa could hear it also by night but she couldn’t tell if it was only in her dream.
Frank wished it would be only one bad dream. He wished he could wake up. But he was already awake. The doctor said the operation had gone as previewed. Hélène was on her way to the hospital. Lisa called him and said that the other day his mother and his wife had hugged each other and cried. Is the accident the price that Frank had to pay for the peace between these two?
What will be with all of them now? “Please wake me up, I am in a wrong dream. Give me back mine! Everything must be different there!”
“Are you ok?”, – his wife was caressing Frank’s hair.
“You were whispering something in your sleep”.
“Since when are you there?”
“I think since more than an hour…”
It felt as if time stopped. And it stopped at the wrong moment. That day Hélène asked him something he couldn’t understand. All he could focus on was an ugly brown ceiling. All this shit that was about to fall on his head after he will return home and will be stuck in bed on invalidity. All what he loved his car, his gym, his morning run – everything will be on hold now. God knows for how long. Frank wouldn’t be surprised if this ceiling would one day just crawl down. He let his eye dwell on it to make sure it won’t fall on his head. The invasion of brown. Ugly inevitable brown. Who on earth decided to paint the hospital ceiling in this disgusting color?
“Who decided to color the ceiling of the hospital in brown?”
“I don’t know Lisa… You also noticed it!”
“Yes! It is so…”
“Ugly?”
“Unusual!”
“I know. It looks like one big…”
“Chocolate! It looks like dark chocolate! You know, like the one you always buy to me! Daddy if you look at it for a long time, maybe you can start feeling the taste of chocolate! You should try. I can look with you”.
“That’s my girl!”
“Why are you crying?”
Sonja’s granddaughter was repeating it again and again until she saw her putting the head on the chest of her mom. Then Lisa said:
“You know, I don’t mind that you cry. Both of you look so beautiful now… You look like two sisters”.
And then Sonja started to cry even more.
It was already more than ten years that her sister didn’t call her any more. Her one and only younger sister. A stupid conflict… Sonja wouldn’t even remember now what the reason was. The saddest thing was that her sister was still alive. She simply expunged her from memory as if she never existed.
And now Sonja was sitting here in this room with a woman from another country, a woman speaking a different language, a woman who took her son from her. Yet, the company of this woman suddenly happened to be very soothing.
Suddenly Hélène felt the comfort she lacked since such a long time. In pain and suffering they lent a hand to each other. They lent a hand over the distance of 50 years, over the prejudices, over the linguistic divide and over the years of misunderstanding. Their hands met and made a bridge. They crossed it and let their tears run.
In pain we are the same. When we are happy we are careless egoists. We bath in our joy alone. But in pain we seek for a hand to hold. In pain we wake up.
“Mommy, wake up! We are bringing dad home today!”
Lisa was dancing around her impatiently.
“Sweety, we still have time. Go ask if your grandma wants a coffee”.
“Mommy, she was screaming yesterday night! I could hear from my room! Something about demons. I am scared!”
“Do not worry, Lisa! Your granny had a bad dream. We will make her coffee and all the demons will go away”.
If only this pain could go away! Frank was sipping his morning coffee. The last coffee in the hospital. And suddenly he realized that that this very ceiling that he couldn’t stand from the first day he came here was actually also the color of coffee. It didn’t seem ugly anymore. Coffee and chocolate. Chocolate and coffee.
Lisa wanted to absolutely bring three chocolates with her. Frank’s favorite ones. Why three?
“Daddy, I want to give those two to the doctors! One to the surgeon and one to the other guy. Who was he exactly?”
“Anesthesiologist”.
“Sounds like Antichrist”
“Not so demonic though…”
“He was sleeping you down?”
“And were you not scared?”
“Of course I was”.
“Didn’t you mind that they saw how scared you were?”
“No, I didn’t mind. It’s ok to be scared. Even the strongest ones can feel scared”.
“Did you see demons?”
“What did you see when you were sleeping?”
“Nothing. I saw nothing”.
“Nothing at all?”
“Maybe if you try to remember…”
“I am sorry, Lisa, I wish I could see dreams but I really saw nothing. One black hole”.
“And even no demons?”
“And even no demons”.
Demons came again the night before her Franky was back home after the operation. They were making strange faces and laughing. “The medical cast on the leg is a piece of cake! We have something else in mind!”
Sonja was yelling at them but they were only invisibly laughing from their dark corner. That’s when she realised that Frank’s accident was just a beginning. A preface to a bigger drama that was about to start. This time she was warned about it.
Nobody warned her that Frank’s accident was just a beginning. But before the demons put the shade on the earth there was a moment of stillness. Time stopped. Days became monotonous. Hélène felt as if she became the head of the house. She was the Mother. The real one. She had to take care of these three helpless children. Out of all three Lisa was the most conscious one. She suddenly became more mature. She was helping. And what was more surprising, she was never sad again. “Daddy is at home with us. Granny is also there. We are all together. Everything will be fine!”. The girl was repeating this like a prayer, like a mantra, like a magic spell until Hélène herself started to believe that everything would be fine.
“Everything will be fine if we stay home and remain prudent. We are anyway most of the time in our house. The coronavirus is dangerous for old people but our granny is not going out for years!”
“But daddy, me and mom, we are still going out!”
“If it would be so dangerous, they would tell us. They would take measures. You don’t have to worry. As long as schools are not closed, there’s no reason to panic”.
“Today they closed Lisa’s school. Two teachers felt unusually weak, they took them to have them tested. Nobody knows when the school will open again.”, – wrote Hélène in her diary. Just the day after the state officially closed all the schools. The coronavirus era officially started.
They call it the “coronavirus”. What a strange foreign name! An artificial word that meant nothing to her. The school was closed. Lisa couldn’t say if she was happy or sad about the news. She only started to get used to the new place and now just like everything else that she was getting accustomed to it had to vanish. Did the coronavirus mean sudden holidays? Would she have homework to do? Could she still see her friends? Friendship is not contagious, is it? What about granny? They say, younger ones should not be too close with old people. What an absurdity! How can she distance herself from her own grandma? Questions were piling in her little fourteen-year-old head and making her almost dizzy.
The Internet was flooded with pictures of doctors and nurses. Their faces were exhausted, some of them even horrified. Lisa remembered how a few weeks ago she was asking herself if she could trust her dad in the hands of these strangers. Doctors with a college degree as mom said. What if they are tired? What if they make a mistake? How can the whole world be dependent on them? Only on them and nobody else!Lisa remembered the chocolate she was buying for the anesthesiologist. Anesthesiologist: the antipode of Antichrist. If the Covid19 was the Antichrist, then Anesthesiologist and his team were the knights of light. Who will win? In her mind it was all like a computer game: a wrong move and the main hero will be gone.
Lisa wanted to believe that there at home they were safe. It could not be any other way. Their home was their castle. The place she could feel herself at ease.
In fact, she felt very tired of all the trials that life put her on recently. First they changed the apartment, than dad had an accident, afterwards they suddenly announced that school would close for more than a month… If there was something stable she could hold on, it was this new house where four people were more than ever united before the coming uncertainty.
Before the coming uncertainty Frank felt like a wounded captain of the drifting boat. His damned leg was in the cast, he was limited in his freedom of movement and on top of it they called from his work to announce that he was transferred on the “Kurzarbeit”. Isn’t the insurance supposed to cover costs? But no, it will be less on his card now and with this sum he is supposed to support his family and his mother. Frank was not even able to withdraw money. His baby, his muscle-car will be standing many months covered with dust in the darkness of the garage. He was no more able to do fitness. Able to do nothing. Just roll on the wheelchair all day long. The same helpless way as his mother did.
Now two of them, Frank and Sonja, were squeaking and cheering around all the day long. On top of it, Sonja was now making her tours also by night. Secretly Hélène put some oil on her rolling walker. Otherwise she would wake up Lisa. Her daughter became very silent recently. What was going through her little head?
But Frank preoccupied Hélène the most. She was not used for her husband to being suddenly weak, sensitive, dependent, passive and quiet. Her fortress of a man suddenly became a defeated wounded animal. This feeling was new and uncomfortable. It was not the man she met twenty years ago. The charismatic devil who seduced her soul with his sense of humour before he could seduce her body.
It was not her Frank. It was a different man lying there on the bad, weeks after weeks, not able to move but in a wheel chair. It was somebody else. Somebody she was not ready to meet. A pale shadow of the Frank she knew.
There were moments of weakness when Hélène felt irritation: why should she carry on everything on her shoulders like a mule that drags an overloaded carriage? No, she did not want it! She wanted to feel herself fragile again, to seek male protection, to wear skirts and heels, cook biscuits when she has a mood to do it and not planning instead how to feed four mouths with a minimum budget. No, no, no, she did not want all that! But if not she, who else? Sonja was too old, Frank was too weak, and Lisa was too much absorbed in her music. The only thing Hélène did not want was to teach Lisa the household and all these boring stereotypical female duties. Lisa did not deserve it and it was obviously not her thing. Hélène could clearly see that her daughter would be a rebel; she would follow her own path. She won’t fall into the trap of public opinion. If she chooses music, let it be music. If she decides never to marry or to be childfree – whatever her choice would be, Hélène would accept it.
Would Hélène accept him the way he was now? Frank’s thoughts were spinning again and again around the same painful topic. Would his wife be happy with a disabled husband? Would she accept his weakness? His passivity? His fragility and uselessness? He knew that the cast on his leg was temporary and so was his immobility. But nobody could tell him for sure for how long this state would last.
The feeling of being a burden was so strong that somewhere in the corner of Frank’s mind some very dark thoughts started to pile like a contagious seed. But Frank was chasing them away. No, he won’t! Do not even think about it! He has Lisa. Hélène still loves him. And his mother needs him. She won’t survive if he passes away before her. That will be too much.
But too much was also this never-ending lying in the damn cast. At times Frank felt like a captured tiger, wounded by a hunter and trapped in a cage. Every move caused pain. Frank was observing for hours trained muscles on his legs. What for they are now if he cannot use them? The only painless state was the state of lying down and doing nothing. He had to watch Hélène working for two of them. Waking up at six o’clock, preparing breakfast, taking a protecting mask and a trolley to go on foot to the nearest farm. The word “nearest” was obviously an exaggeration because the farm was at least three kilometers one way (they agreed to avoid supermarkets). It was really a pity that Hélène had never made a driving license but now it was too late to think about it.
When Hélène was back, she was tired and sweaty, looking as if she ran a marathon. But then she had to cook again, wash the dishes, clean the house, help Sonja, check his leg, go out again, this time in the pharmacy or to the post-office, sometimes for a walk with Lisa. Hélène never had a moment of rest, never a time for herself. In the evening again: cooking, cleaning, helping him with the shower, giving a medicine, helping Sonja and finally, falling down to bed exhausted just to be in several hours ready for the whole cycle to repeat. Or was she working at night? Hélène said she had started to write again her articles. Her freelance writing could pay off their food or perhaps medicines. Frank was scared that one day his wife would break down. That she would fell down somewhere in the middle of it all in exhaustion.
His little Hélène, his cute lovely French princess… She was no longer wearing skirts. She was putting her most comfortable one-size-fits-all jeans and old dusty sneakers. No time for a haircut. Makeup was out of question. Anyway, who needed a makeup at the time of corona? Hélène became as stiff as a string. Her chin started to look somehow masculine and playful seductive smile disappeared. All her facial features became harsher, abrupter. As if somebody took a chunk of stone and cut off all the unnecessary details. Hélène became more emotionally neutral. Frank could hardly remember when he saw his wife last time laughing. Was it all that because of him? Or because of the corona?
Picture by Anna Butan
Most of their neighbours were treating the quarantine with some overrated joy as if it was just another holiday. They seemed not to notice it. People were grilling on the terrace, drinking wine, socialising and even letting their kids mingle. General mood was very relaxed and laid-back. Frank could not understand how and when were these people managing their presumed home-office duties. He was pretty sure that with the virus many lost their jobs or were transferred on reduced shifts. But if that was the case, what was the source of this general elevated mood of carelessness? Was it a mask to camouflage existential fear?
At least Hélène was not wearing any masks (except for a surgical one). She was authentic. And she was acknowledging the existence of Covid19. No, she was not scared of it. For this she had no time. And she was not hiding that she was becoming harsher, stronger, more resistant. As if her body and her mind were getting the immunity against all the possible life-hardships. Frank’s accident was the catalyst for it.
Because of the dad’s accident all things were topsy-turned in the house. As if her parents swapped their roles. Frank had to give up his responsibilities of the man of the house. Hélène had to exchange her fragility and sensibility for strength and robustness. Dad was now the weakest member of the family.
Even grandma made Herculean efforts to gather the remains of her energy in order to take care of Frank and help Hélène to manage the household. After all, it was a big six-room house that needed cleaning and maintenance on a regular basis. Far from everything was sorted out after they moved in. Hélène had no time to check all the heavy boxes that were nested in the farthest room. Sonja had no strength. And she, Lisa, had no wish.
Everything she wished now was to bury herself in her grandfather’s music scores. The coronavirus was something intangible, something remote, something that did not exist in this house. In fact, at some moment, Lisa even forgot about it. The only medicine she could arm herself with was music.
Lisa embarked on careful studying of her grandfather’s notes. Days and especially long nights passed before she finally dared to approach the piano. Her quarantine was filled with jazz. A lot of jazz self-prescribed on a daily basis. Lisa could not say whether it was the circumstances that motivated her to finally open the cover of the piano or her own inner impulse. But once she did it, nothing could stop her. She was practicing and practicing until one day Sonja came into the room, silently took her hand and started to cry. “If only Stuart could hear you!”.
“If only your dad could be there, Franky, he would tell you that your worries are for nothing!”
“No, my dad has never been weak or defeated. He was always taking care of you. Of me. Of all of us”.
“You are so wrong, my dear! There were years and years when I was earning more than him. The watch industry was booming, I made an adequate career choice. But Stuart was stubborn with his music. His wages were more than modest in comparison with mine. My parents forecast us misery, they tried to pull us apart. But not a second was your dad feeling intimidated by the fact that I was financially or physically stronger than him. Your dad has never doubted my love either. And I trusted him as well. One day Stuart came with the signed contract with the Stadttheater. That was the day when everything changed”.
Sonja initiated the conversation by herself. She observed Frank for a while before she could understand the real reasons of his suffering. It was not only physical pain. It was not the dread of the Covid19. It was the feeling of helplessness. Guilt. Discomfort. The feeling of embarrassment before his mother and his wife. But if this French woman loved her son, she must have had enough wisdom to treat the situation adequately. Since Frank’s wife moved in her house, Sonja changed her mind.
It was before she saw her that Sonja was thinking about Hélène as about a capricious spoilt girl wishing to parasitize on her son’s good feelings. But when she got to know her better she discovered that real Helen had nothing to do with the image created by her wild imagination.
Now her task was not to let Frank, her tiger, to fall into the hole of self-doubt and depression. If those two really loved each other they had no choice but to accept that one of them became weaker and the other one had to be strong.
“Nobody said that you and Hélène should be stuck in these stupid gender roles. When your dad was penniless and I was feeding the family, he was the one cooking, cleaning the house or doing the shopping. Imagine, it was back in the seventies when gender stereotypes were much stronger! However, we managed. There were months when he had no concerts and no students. We were living only on my salary. I still believed in him. I knew he would become famous one day. And he has never felt like a parasite. I’ve never felt irritation”.
“Does Sonja feel irritation as well? Her son is lying here weak and defeated and I am running in all directions, commanding the house like a man.” The thought stroke her as a flash. Indeed she was acquiring male qualities. She had to be strong, courageous, fearless, counting and analyzing. No time to fear the coronavirus: she had to plan her family budget, to think how to feed everybody, to put her beloved one again on the feet.
The actual physical strength became a must as every two or three days Hélène had to take a trolley and do the shopping. Dragging a heavily charged trolley three kilometers on foot was no pleasure. She also had to help Frank with washing. Even though her husband lost weight, he was immensely heavy.
“Do I want to become like a man? And do I have a choice?” – Hélène had no answer.
Did he have a choice? How could he regain his status? And should he? News about the deadly virus marching the globe were worrying him less than the slow disappearance of his own masculinity. For all his life he was the boss, the man of character, the one in charge. But this time fate sent him circumstances he could not control. Damn accident! It did not broke his leg. It broke his will. It broke his mind. It broke him.
But as the days of the quarantine were passing, Frank was sensing that their bonds with Hélène were not weakening. On the contrary, they were feeling somehow more and more attached to each other as if in misery they were rediscovering each other, now in a new role. He did not know if it would be the same without Lisa and Sonja. The youngest and the oldest members of the family became best friends and their friendship, their laugh, their care set the main tone for everybody.
She was not supposed to be in a good mood but, she was, nevertheless. Mom and dad were both there, grandma was truly an angel who became her best friend. Lisa could practice her music and nobody opposed her. What more could one ask for?
If there was anything she did not care about at all that was the much discussed COVID-19. They were asked to stay home and she knew, many accepted it as a punishment. But for her staying home was everything she wanted. To be there with beloved ones. Practice the piano. Talk to grandma. Watch the flowers on the terrace growing and hope that everything will change for the better. Was it fate that sent them this situation?
When fate decides to take you in her hands, she gives you no warning signs. No signs and no symbols. Nothing at all. Fate is a capricious, impulsive and irrational lady. She always hits when you expect her least of all. The uncrowned queen, she just makes her resolution that is neither to be questioned, nor objected to. You simply have no time for it. You have all the time in the world to make plans but no time at all to deal with your fate.
Sonja had no time to think or react when fate took her husband. One day Stuart was just gone. The end of story. Only the sounds of John Coltrane’s music were frozen in the air forever. And the smell of Stuart’s pipe. Nothing else.
There was no time to understand what happened when her son Frank was thrown on a wheelchair. Again this lady! The fate. The queen. As much Sonja tried to understand it, she could not find an explanation. No answer to the question why it happened to him and why exactly at that moment.
It was Her Majesty the Fate who decided to crown humans with the mysterious virus. Little arrogant beings who dared to think that they can manipulate the fate. They got her ultimate slap. Some got it stronger, some hardly noticed but nobody was left aside.
And it was also the joke of fate that the imposed quarantine was the time when Sonja’s family could unite eventually. Four people were supposed to experience the enormous discomfort from being locked in the old house during the long months of the lockdown but strangely enough they did not. Four souls seemed to find some peace at last. Their isolation started long before the COVID-19. But the months of the quarantine were filled with jazz, smell of oatmeal biscuits and cozy long evenings in the salon.
Before she passed away, Sonja could realize that her granddaughter would keep Stuart alive. Lisa will become a pianist as well. Now she could see it clearly. This girl will have Stuart’s magic on top of her fingers. She will carry on his spell. A young woman with a grip of a man. Stuart in a skirt. His female copy. Finally Sonja could die in peace.
A few days before her grandmother passed away, she could finally ask her about Stuart. In her head, the grandfather was a legend, a mythological figure like a glossy actor from one of these old stylish black-and-white Hollywood films. A romantic image of a jazz pianist able to gather crowds in a city hall was her own invention. Sonja told her the truth. It was years and years of hard work and misery that their marriage had to undergo before fame finally knocked at the Stuart’s door. He could enjoy success only for three years before chronic disease took him away.
What is three years compared with the whole life? How did her grandfather spend them? Did he realise that it was the climax of his life? Did he enjoy these last three years? Nobody knew the answer.
The last thing that Lisa could ask Sonja before she was gone was the question about the piano. Did Stuart choose it on purpose? Did he pick “Stuart and Sons” because it was similar to his own name? No, said Sonja, the funniest thing is that it was not intentional. The city hall was selling away old instruments for almost nothing and somebody asked Stuart if he would be interested. Struggling at that moment in financial not, he agreed on a purchase even before he saw an instrument. And when the piano was already brought in the house, he discovered that it was “Stuart and Sons”. The grin of fate.
What a grin of fate: old Sonja passed away not from the mysterious virus and not because of the cancer. Doctors said she died peacefully. It was just her time. Now it was too late to ask questions, admit mistakes or regret anything. But everything that could be said or done was said or done already. It was the terminus ad quem that was expected.
Sonja was gone. The сoronavirus was gone. Frank’s cast on the leg was gone a few weeks after Sonja’s funeral. And the old Hélène was gone too. Even after Frank was back to his daily routine, gaining back his physical strength, Hélène was still feeling the force she once gained. The force able to move mountains. She was strong. She was made of iron. Hélène the man. And the woman.
Anna Butan
Anna speaks French, German, English and Russian. She obtained a Master Degree at the University of Bern (Cultural Studies) and a Bachelor at the Lomonosov Moscow State University (Philology). Anna has big interest in such themes as: identity, cultural hybridity, music, and raising children in multicultural context. She is convinced that our children can teach us a lot. They are not born with stereotypes but they risk to acquire them later under external circumstances. Our task as parents is to help them grow as conscious and culture-aware humans.
Escuela en tiempos de #Covid19
Coronavirus: The Economic Impact
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Britain’s Prince Charles opens massive new field hospital to fight coronavirus
Britain’s Prince Charles opened a new hospital in London on Friday, erected to provide thousands of extra beds for patients with the coronavirus and built in just nine days in a huge conference centre.
by Lauren Knibbs April 6, 2020 April 6, 2020
Britain's Prince Charles opens massive new field hospital to fight coronavirus
LONDON (1) – Britain’s Prince Charles opened a new hospital in London on Friday, erected to present hundreds of additional beds for sufferers with the coronavirus and inbuilt simply 9 days in an enormous convention centre.
The Nightingale Hospital, which can initially present up to 500 beds geared up with ventilators and oxygen, will ultimately give you the option to deal with about 4,000 sufferers. It has been created within the Excel Exhibition Centre in London’s Docklands.
Constructed with assist from the navy, it’s the first of six new momentary hospitals to be arrange throughout the nation to deal with the outbreak. Thus far, 2,921 individuals who have examined optimistic for COVID-19 in Britain have died.
Inheritor-to-the-throne Charles opened the hospital by video hyperlink from his residence in Scotland in a primary for the British royal household, who often perform such engagements in individual.
He stated the hospital was an instance of “how the unattainable might be made attainable”.
“It’s doubtless a spectacular and nearly unbelievable feat of labor,” he stated. “To transform one of many largest nationwide convention centres right into a field hospital … is sort of frankly unimaginable.”
The prince, 71, himself solely got here out of seven days of self-isolation this week after testing optimistic for the virus.
“I used to be one of many fortunate ones to have COVID-19 comparatively mildly,” he stated. “However for some it is going to be a a lot more durable journey. I’m subsequently so relieved that everybody can now have the reassurance that they may obtain all of the technical care they might want and each probability to return to a traditional life.”
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The Excel Centre, with greater than 900,000 sq toes (83,000 sq metres) of exhibition area, usually hosts occasions for industries like defence, journey and property. In the course of the 2012 London Olympics it was used for boxing, fencing and weightlifting.
The momentary hospitals are been constructed to forestall Britain’s stretched Nationwide Well being Service from being overwhelmed by an inflow of sufferers, with the variety of these requiring therapy anticipated to peak within the subsequent few weeks.
Well being chiefs have additionally urgently appealed to staff with out scientific {qualifications} to come ahead to assist run the Nightingale, which would require hundreds of workers.
London has been the worst affected space within the nation however extra hospitals will open in Manchester and Birmingham to present an additional 3,000 beds. Additional services may also be arrange in Bristol, within the southwest, and Harrogate, within the northeast.
One other momentary hospital may also be inbuilt Glasgow in Scotland, which can initially give you the option to deal with 300 sufferers.
(This story has been refiled to repair typo in headline)
Reporting by Michael Holden; modifying by Man Faulconbridge and Giles Elgood
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Tagged: Britain, coronavirus, field hospital, fight, Prince Charles
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Dawn Jackson: 5 Facts About Sex Abuse Victim Jailed For Murder Kim Kardashian Is Trying To Free
Dawn Jackson’s story is featured in Oxygen’s ‘Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project’ documentary. The details of her case are beyond heartbreaking.
by Alyssa Georg April 6, 2020 April 6, 2020
Dawn Jackson’s story is featured in Oxygen’s ‘Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Undertaking’ documentary. The small print of her case are past heartbreaking.
When Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Undertaking airs on Oxygen on April 5 at 7pm, viewers will hear the harrowing story of Dawn Jackson, a mother-of-seven who has been in jail for 21 years. The 48-year-old is serving time in New Jersey for stabbing her step-grandfather Robert McBride 28 instances. Dawn, who was 27 on the time, pled responsible on the recommendation of her public defender and was sentenced to 30 years in jail in August 1999. However, within the two-hour documentary particular, Kim and her authorized mentors Jessica Jackson and Erin Haney argue that the justice system let her down and that there have been mitigating circumstances in her case that ought to have been heard. The most important one being Dawn’s allegation that McBride molested her all through her childhood.
In an emotional letter that she wrote to Kim, the mother revealed that she was sexually abused and raped by a number of individuals from the age of 5 onwards. “Her letter made me offended on the those who have betrayed her like this,” the Protecting Up With the Kardashians star says within the doc. “It made me consider my very own youngsters and what I might do if that occurred to them and I knew that I needed to assist her.”
Kim, Jessica and Erin are working in direction of presenting proof to the state of New Jersey to have her sentence commuted. Right here’s what you want to learn about Dawn:
READ Jesse McCartney & His ‘Greek’ Castmates Get Animated In ‘Friends’: It’s A ‘Crazy, Ridiculous’ Blast
1. Dawn alleges that – regardless of being sexually abused by a number of males – she by no means received the assistance that she wanted. “Throughout my early childhood I used to be sexually abused, intimidated and coerced by sure male members of the family,” she wrote in a letter to Kim. “She was raped on the age of 5 so badly that she needed to go to the hospital and had to make use of a bag to go to the lavatory,” Jessica Jackson tells MeSlop. “That in and of itself goes to do one thing to anyone.”
2. When she pled responsible to homicide she advised the choose that she stole from her sufferer and used the cash to purchase medicine. “She advised Choose Barnett Hoffman of Superior Court docket that she purchased cocaine with the cash she stole from [him]…” The New York Occasions reported in August 1999.
3. Her kids characteristic in Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Undertaking. Dawn’s daughter Loreale Wilson alleges that McBride would give her mom cash to purchase medicine. “This is identical man that touched my mother and harm her and traumatized her,” she says.
4. Dawn alleges that McBride was attempting to “forcefully have intercourse” along with her on the day of the assault. “She was coping with lots of PTSD and the day she went to his home and he pulled on her, one thing within her stated, ‘No,’ she was not going to be victimized once more,” Jessica says
5. Kim argues that Dawn was “improperly sentenced.” “Not one of the circumstances that led her to this place have been ever introduced in courtroom,” she says within the documentary. “She positively ought to have gone to jail and frolicked however she ought to have had a good trial along with her circumstances introduced.”
READ ‘Labor Of Love’s Kristy Katzmann: Kristin Davis Was The ‘Perfect BFF’ On Her Journey To Start A Family
‘Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project’: Why Her Mentor Erin Haney Says It’s A Must-See
Alexis Martin: 5 Facts About Sex Trafficking Victim In Kim K’s Doc Who’ll Be Released From Prison
Alexis Martin: 5 Facts About Sex Trafficking Victim Featured In Kim Kardashian’s ‘Justice’ Doc
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Ust'-Barguzin (Russia) weather
Today. Maximum daytime temperature: -21 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: -33 degrees Celsius. Overcast. Sunrise: 08:50; Sunset: 16:58. UV: Low;
Overcast.
Monday 18 January. Maximum daytime temperature: -20 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: -27 degrees Celsius. Cloudy changing to light snow by lunchtime. Sunrise: 08:49; Sunset: 17:00. UV: Low;
Cloudy changing to light snow by lunchtime.
Tuesday 19 January. Maximum daytime temperature: -11 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: -22 degrees Celsius. Partly cloudy changing to sunny intervals by late morning. Sunrise: 08:48; Sunset: 17:02. UV: Low;
Wednesday 20 January. Maximum daytime temperature: -12 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: -23 degrees Celsius. Cloudy. Sunrise: 08:47; Sunset: 17:03. UV: Low;
Thursday 21 January. Maximum daytime temperature: -11 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: -23 degrees Celsius. Partly cloudy changing to sunny intervals by late morning. Sunrise: 08:46; Sunset: 17:05. UV: Low;
Friday 22 January. Maximum daytime temperature: -10 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: -22 degrees Celsius. Partly cloudy changing to sunny intervals by late morning. Sunrise: 08:45; Sunset: 17:07. UV: Low;
Saturday 23 January. Beginning cloudy. Sunrise: 08:44; Sunset: 17:09. UV: Low;
Beginning cloudy.
Seven day forecast for Ust'-Barguzin
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Gorjacinsk 42.3 miles
Zamakta 59.8 miles
Horinsk 92.1 miles
Sosnovo-Ozerskoe 122 miles
Ulan-Ude 124 miles
Kachug 133 miles
Petrovskij Zavod 145 miles
Bajandaj 146 miles
Hilok 154 miles
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A Critical Introduction to Breakfast
by T.G. Gibbon
I am honored to have been chosen by the International Committee of Pancakes in Oslo to write the first-ever critical introduction to breakfast. My qualifications for this endeavor are more than adequate. I have eaten breakfast for the better part of five decades—not all at once but in fits and starts, usually in mornings. I was introduced to breakfast at an early age by my parents. I have eaten breakfast on three continents, in eleven countries, twenty-six states, and in every possible circumstance; in private homes, in restaurants, on public transportation, on streets, hungover, in the cocky brashness of adolescence and unemployment. Furthermore I have on many occasions indulged my intellectual curiosity so far as to prepare and consume my own breakfasts. Though I am on record to the effect that breakfast is not my favorite meal of the day (what repast can compare to that king of feasts, the dinner?), I have all the same contributed to man’s understanding of breakfast with a keen eye and with robust enthusiasm.
I shall leave to the professionals—the biologists, dieticians, chemists, and health teachers—the nutritional aspects of breakfast, and not even approach the question of whether breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Such controversial questions lay waste to the analytic powers of human intellect on factionalism, and leave fallow the fields in which a truly aesthetic enjoyment of breakfast, or any meal, does grow. For it is not this critic’s job to tear down this or that meal, this or that breakfast, but to uplift the spirit of all humanity with a newly polished introduction to the rough gems of our morning foods.
There are three main Western breakfast traditions: the English, the Continental, and the American. With today’s ever more international and global culture, these original geographic categories are almost meaningless. Any citizen of today’s progressive breakfast-eating nations, whether he be Jacques, James, or Jim, can easily obtain, indeed mix and match, anything he desires from these disparate traditions. Nonetheless it is on these now-antiquated distinctions that the study of breakfast must be founded. Therefore allow me to commence with a brief overview of the prevailing themes of these legacies.
The English breakfast, dreadnought of the morning, lion of the dawn, is a mighty thing indeed. The English breakfast, though frequently derided as “heavy,” in fact reflects a tradition of lighthearted indulgence and a frolicking amongst plenty. The meat and eggs so characteristic of this school are the proud inheritance of a country whose material wealth and agricultural abundance granted them a far higher standard of dietary proteins. The steak, kippers, sausages, gammon, and bacon one may find in such a breakfast bespeak the rapid economic and agronomic advance of the English through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This progress culminated in a standard of living far superior to bread-dependent European diners, and thus a more expensive and time-consuming morning meal.
The general theme of the English breakfast is savory proteins. Meat, fish, stewed tomatoes, baked beans, mushrooms, and of course eggs of every variety all parade across the English table, leaving not the slightest trace of sweet in Albion’s mouth. Indeed even toast, the modern development of which was perfected by the English, in other countries operates as a sweet-jam delivery system; for the Englishman, however, it is a way of introducing orange marmalade into his gullet.
Where the English breakfast is the acme of savories, the Continental breakfast is largely the domain of the plant kingdom’s sweets and carbohydrates. The sweets come in both natural forms (fruits) and processed forms (chocolates, crèmes), but from whichever source, “salty” is not brought to mind. The Continental breakfast, perfected with the epitome of pastries in France, is a small meal, to be eaten in a hurry by a poor people in need of quick sugary energy. As times have changed, however, the Continental breakfast has matured into something that can be enjoyed at a leisurely pace purely for pleasure. The delicacy of powdered sugar and cream on berries, the light folds of pastry, and the dab of sweet farmer’s cheese on a crepe, are, to those with morning sweet-teeth, the absolute pinnacle of day-starting routines. Here we have breads laden with saccharine fruit preserves and jellies, dripping honey from each toasted edge. The abundance of fruit usually found in modern Continental breakfasts (no doubt a broader range than in the early days of breakfast under the House of Valois) are the perfect encouragement to today’s health-conscious gourmands.
But the idea of a maximally healthful breakfast is the domain of the American breakfast. For the unschooled or provincial American reader I should stress that this does not signify just any breakfast eaten on those vast landmasses of the Western hemisphere. Instead “American Breakfast” denotes a meal dependent on that distinctly American invention of the late nineteenth century, the cereal flake. Although now encompassing multifarious shapes and materials—from flakes to rings to puffed rice to letters to yellow horseshoes and green clovers—it is truly the “corn flake” which started and continues to define the genre. These dry breakfasts, to be enhanced with milk and possibly sugar and/or fruit, are the result of an American passion for efficiency. The desire to place the utmost utility into every aspect and action of every day led to this invention. The “cereal” is designed to provide maximal nutrition and bowel regulation in minimal preparation and consumption time. Although mention is always made that cereals are meant only “as a part of a well-balanced breakfast,” it is clear to most consumers what the score is: you have a bowl of cereal and get out the door to work.
Across this majestic landscape, this mélange of plenty, this confluence of all the rivers of the breakfast world, are now sprinkled newcomers. They come not from recently discovered ancient folkways (like the bagel) but from the laboratories and testing facilities of the breakfast-industrial complex. This new breed of post-American breakfasts, spearheaded by the toaster pastry, are still too young to be fully analyzed. One could stand “like a fop with arms akimbo” across the path of these new morning treats. But perhaps to do so would be to stifle creativity. The storm surrounding these sweet pockets of goo severely underestimates the strength of our traditional breakfasts, especially with all three combined in a great Western “omni-breakfast” as we must consider them now to be. No, let us instead let the children of the factories into our kitchens. Let them mature. Let us see what they have to offer. Who among us would like to have been responsible for murdering the father of the Eggs Benedict before he had time to breed? Certainly not I.
In sum, whether or not breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it is certainly one of the more fascinating. The rich history and blend of traditions that now greet us each morning is a testament not only to the greatest heights of mankind’s artistry and ingenuity, but to his common humanity and hunger as well.
Dispatches from the 2004 Sundance Film Festival: Day 6
Food, Drink, and Condiment Names That May Also Serve as Names of Ecdysiasts and/or Adult Film Stars
I Am a New York Times Reporter, and I Have Been At This Midwest Diner Since 2016
by Pete Reynolds
Graphic Dispatches from a Recent College Grad Still Living in a College Town: Acceptable Time for Breakfast
by Larry Buchanan
Confessions of a New Coffee Drinker
by Jon Friedman
To the Lighthouse. But First, to the Food Carts
by Marco Kaye
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Fruit and Vegetable By-Products to Fortify Spreadable Cheese
Glutathione: Antioxidant Properties Dedicated to Nanotechnologies
Use of Olive Oil Industrial By-Product for Pasta Enrichment
Polymeric Nanoparticles for Increasing Oral Bioavailability of Curcumin
10.3390/antiox7040060
Sarfraz, M.
Griffin, S.
Gabour Sad, T.
Alhasan, R.
Nasim, M. Jawad
Irfan Masood, M.
Schäfer, K. Herbert
Ejike, C. E.C.C.
Keck, C. M.
Jacob, C.
Ebokaiwe, A. P.
Full Article Text
Milling the Mistletoe: Nanotechnological Conversion of African Mistletoe (Loranthus micranthus) Intoantimicrobial Materials
Muhammad Sarfraz
Sharoon Griffin
1,2,
Tamara Gabour Sad
Rama Alhasan
Muhammad Jawad Nasim
Muhammad Irfan Masood
Karl Herbert Schäfer
Chukwunonso E.C.C. Ejike
Cornelia M. Keck
Claus Jacob
1,* and
Azubuike P. Ebokaiwe
5,*
Division of Bioorganic Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Saarland University, D-66123 Saarbruecken, Germany
Institute of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35037 Marburg, Germany
Department of Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, 66482 Zweibruecken, Germany
Department of Medical Biochemistry, Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, PMB 1010 Abakaliki, Nigeria
Department of Chemistry/Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, PMB 1010 Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Antioxidants 2018, 7(4), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox7040060
Received: 24 February 2018 / Revised: 17 April 2018 / Accepted: 18 April 2018 / Published: 20 April 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inspired by Nature: Antioxidants and Nanotechnology)
Browse Figures
Nanosizing represents a straight forward technique to unlock the biological activity of complex plant materials. The aim of this study was to develop herbal nanoparticles with medicinal value from dried leaves and stems of Loranthus micranthus with the aid of ball-milling, high speed stirring, and high-pressure homogenization techniques. The milled nanoparticles were characterized using laser diffraction analysis, photon correlation spectroscopy analysis, and light microscopy. The average size of leaf nanoparticles was around 245 nm and that of stem nanoparticles was around 180 nm. The nanoparticles were tested for their antimicrobial and nematicidal properties against a Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli, a Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus carnosus, fungi Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and a nematode Steinernemafeltiae. The results show significant activities for both leaf and (particularly) stem nanoparticles of Loranthus micranthus on all organisms tested, even at a particle concentration as low as 0.01% (w/w). The results observed indicate that nanoparticles (especially of the stem) of Loranthus micranthus could serve as novel antimicrobial agents with wide-ranging biomedical applications.
Keywords: antimicrobial activity; mistletoe nanoparticle; Loranthus micranthus; nanosizing; nematicidal activity antimicrobial activity; mistletoe nanoparticle; Loranthus micranthus; nanosizing; nematicidal activity
Recent advances in the highly multidisciplinary field of nanotechnology have also stimulated innovative ideas in drug design and delivery, eventually leading to the development of novel nanosized materials for biomedical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural applications [1,2]. These studies have been very timely, as there is currently an urgent need for new and innovative drugs in general, and antimicrobial agents in particular, especially in the developing world with its fast-growing population and still limited access to sufficient amounts of effective medicines.
The African mistletoe (Loranthus micranthus), an obligate semi-parasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae, is common in the rain forest region of Nigeria and other parts of Africa, Europe, and America, where it grows primarily on Kola accuminata, Baphianitida, Citrus limon, and Pentacle thramacrophylla (Figure 1).
This plant, and its leaves and stems in particular, have a long tradition of being used in Folk Medicine, from the famous ancient Celtic druid Getafix (superfluous) to more realistic modern-day applications in herbal remedies and in the developing world [3,4]. Indeed, such applications are not entirely unfounded, as chemical screening and analyses have shown that L. micranthus contains lecithin, viscotoxin, polysaccharides, and many other biologically active phytochemicals [5]. The bioactive ingredients in the African mistletoe have been linked to its antimicrobial properties against a broad spectrum of pathogenic microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi [6]. Not surprisingly, extracts of this plant are frequently employed in practice, yet the production of the liquid extracts, fractions, and formulations requires certain equipment and adequate solvents, is time consuming, expensive, and also results in considerable waste.
We have therefore considered nanosizing as a possible alternative, as this method requires only a few steps from raw to final product. It can be applied globally and, by milling entire plants, maintains the chemical composition of the original material without adding any artificial ingredients or wasting any material [7,8].
2.1. Production of Nanoparticles
The plants of L. micranthus were harvested in the forests near Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, the federal republic of Nigeria. The plants were identified botanically at the Department of Biology, Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, the federal republic of Nigeria, where a specimen of this plant had already been deposited prior to this study. The plants were separated into stem and leaves, and each plant part was dried immediately, in shade, at room temperature to reduce the moisture content for prolonged storage. The dried plant parts were blended into powder with a simple mechanical blender (household coffee grinder). The nanosizing of samples was conducted as described previously [9]. Briefly, each sample was initially reduced in size by dry milling. Bead milling was achieved using a FastPrep 24 Instrument (MP Biomedicals, Solon, OH, USA), with ceramic beads from Precellys Kits (Bertin Technologies, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France). Subsequently, the samples were suspended in distilled water together with Plantacare® 2000 UP (Base, Ludwigshafen, Germany) as 1% w/w coarse suspension. Each sample was then subjected to high speed stirring (HSS) with a Polytron® PT2100 (Kinematica GmbH, Luzern, Switzerland) attached to a Polytron® PT-DA-2112/EC aggregate. Three 1 min cycles of high speed stirring (HSS) were performed at 11,000 rpm. Subsequently, a high-pressure homogenizer (HPH) was employed as the so-called “premilling stage” in an APV Gaulin LAB40 high pressure homogenizer (APV GmbH, Mainz, Germany) with three consecutive cycles at 200, 500, and 1000 bar pressure and a final homogenisation cycle at 1500 bar pressure (1200 bar pressure was used in the case of the dried leaves).
2.2. Characterization of Nanoparticles
All steps for nanosizing were accompanied by adequate characterization procedures, according to a previous report (8). Laser Diffraction (LD) analysis with a Mastersizer 3000 (Malvern Instruments, Malvern, UK) and Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (PCS) with a Zetasizer Nano ZS (Malvern Instruments, Malvern, UK) were explored. This kind of analysis allows researchers to monitor the efficacy of each step and also to assess the response of the material to the different milling technologies employed. Furthermore, visual confirmation of the acquired nanosized material was determined by Light Microscopy (LM) using an Olympus BX53. Each analysis was repeated in triplicate. Results were represented as mean ± standard deviation (SD).
2.3. Assessment of Biological Activity
The antimicrobial and nematicidal activities of the nanosized suspensions were estimated in bacteria, including Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus carnosus, the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and a nematode with agricultural relevance, namely Steinernema feltiae.
2.3.1. Determination of Antimicrobial Activity
Bacterial and fungal cell densities were transiently determined by measuring the optical density (OD) at 570 nm at 0 h (first measurement immediately after incubation), 4 h, and 24 h after incubation at 37 °C according to the method described by Zgoda and Porter [10] and using a Universal Microplate Reader, EL800, Biotech Instruments, Inc. Highland Park, Winooski, VT, USA. Nanoparticle suspensions of the samples were tested at final concentrations of 0.0125%, 0.025%, 0.05%, and 0.1% w/w. Nutrient Luria-Bertanibroth (LB), bacterial basic media, Sabouraud Dextrose (SD), and Yeast Peptone Dextrose (YPD) were used as media for E. coli, S. carnosus, C. albicans, and S. cerevisiae, respectively. The positive control was composed of a mixture of penicillin, streptomycin, and amphotericin B (4 U, 0.4 µg/mL, and 10 µg/mL, respectively) for S. carnosus and E. coli, while ketoconazole was used as the positive control for C. albicans and S. cerevisiae. The growth culture with medium for each organism was used as the negative control. The stabilizer 1% Plantacare® stock was used as an additional, negative solvent control. All experiments were carried out in triplicate and on three different occasions (n = 9).
2.3.2. Nematicidal Activity
The soil nematodes S. feltiae were purchased from Sautter and Stepper GmbH (Ammerbuch, Germany) and stored at 4 °C in the dark. Before each experiment, fresh samples of nematodes were purchased and stored in the freezer upon arrival and used for a maximum of six days. To perform the assay, 200 mg of nematodes was reconstituted in 50 mL of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (pH = 7.4) to form a homogenous suspension to revive the nematodes. Afterwards, the individual suspensions were allowed to rest at room temperature. The sedimentation was avoided with occasional shaking in moderate light and at room temperature (25 °C) for 30 min. Viability of the nematodes was determined by counting the live and dead nematodes under a light microscope (TR 200, VWR International, Leuven, Belgium) at four-fold magnification. An initial viability value of more than 90 percent was considered necessary to perform the experiments.
Nanoparticle suspensions of the samples were added into the wells of a 96-well plate to achieve final concentrations of 0.0125%, 0.025%, 0.05%, and 0.1% w/w of L. micranthus. Afterwards, 10 µL of nematode suspension was added to each well and the final volume in each well was adjusted to 100 µL with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (pH = 7.4). PBS was used in the negative control and ethanol in the positive control. Viability was determined at 0 h and 24 h by counting the live and dead nematodes, whereby 50 µL of hot water (50 °C) was added to each well to stimulate the nematodes for the 24 h reading [9]. Each experiment was performed independently in triplicate and on three different occasions (n = 9).
3. Statistical Analysis
All data (antimicrobial, antifungal, and nematicidal activities) were expressed as the standard error of the mean (±SEM). For nematicidal activity, data comparisons were performed using One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and post hoc analysis was carried out by the Student Newman-Keuls (SNK) test. For antimicrobial and antifungal activities, data were analysed by two-way ANOVA, Bonferroni post hoc test. GraphPad Prism (Version 5.03, GraphPad Software, USA) was used for data analysis and to generate charts. Statistical significance was set at * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001.
4.1. Production and Characterisation of Nanosized Materials
Nanoparticles produced from the leaves and stems of the African mistletoe parts varied from each other and the results are presented in Figure 2a–c. The results of the Mastersizer analysis indicated that there are still larger particles present in the final suspension of leaves and stem nanoparticles, which could be viewed by microscopy, yet these larger particles constituted less than 10% of the overall amount of nanoparticles in these suspensions (Figure 2a). The Loranthus micranthus leaves (LML) sample, consisting of larger particles, at the end of the milling procedure, initially showed a better size reduction response when compared to the Loranthus micranthus stem (LMS) sample. This response unfortunately, can only be seen during the high speed stirring (HSS) and initial homogenization steps, whereas it was difficult to break the leaf sample into smaller particles of less than 245 nm in diameter employing the high-pressure homogenization (HPH), most probably because the leaf particles were rather elastic when compared to the stem particles. The smallest size achieved for the leaf particles was 245 nm (Figure 2b). An attempt to break up these particles further by applying additional cycles at 1500 bar pressure agglomerated the samples irreversibly. The sample of the stem, in contrast, was fairly brittle and a higher pressure could be applied, resulting in a size reduction of particles to around 180 nm (Figure 2c).
4.2. Antimicrobial Activity
The antimicrobial activities of the nanosized suspensions of the samples were determined in the assays of E. coli and S. carnosus, representing Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, respectively. A strong and concentration-dependent inhibition of the growth of both E. coli and S. carnosus has been evident (Figure 3 and Figure 4). Even at a concentration of just 0.01% w/w of particles in media, both the nanoparticles obtained from the stems and the ones obtained from the leaves exhibited statistically highly significant antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. carnosus, whereby the stem sample exhibited a higher activity when compared to the leaf sample. At higher particle concentrations, i.e., 0.05% and 0.1% w/w, the inhibition was 86% and 82%, respectively, as compared to the cocktail of standard antibiotics (penicillin, streptomycin, and amphotericin B) employed as the positive control, which inhibited the growth of S. carnosus by 94% (Figure 4b). These findings are rather revealing since traditional healers often use crude extracts of L. micranthus in the management of diarrhea, dysentery, and treatment of sores, boils, and open wounds, i.e., infections associated with a spectrum of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria [4,10,11]. Besides confirming that the mistletoe and its ingredients exhibit a significant and probably broader antibacterial activity, our studies also demonstrate that nanosizing is well posed to unlock this potential in a simple, yet effective manner, without any cumbersome extractions and without producing any waste.
The remarkable activity of the nanosized samples of the leaves and stems against E. coli and S. carnosus by far exceeds the activities previously observed for similar nanosized materials derived from other plants, such as tomato stem and Maltese Mushroom [7,8,12]. Since KuntaMedizinmannwilli also traditionally employs mistletoe to treat the very same, the activity of the nanosuspensions against C. albicans and, as another model organism, non-pathogenic S. cerevisiae, were investigated. In contrast to the pronounced activity against the two selected strains of bacteria, the activity of the nanosuspensions against the two yeasts was rather modest, especially in the case of the stem-derived materials and C. albicans (Figure 5 and Figure 6). Some notable inhibition of growth could be achieved at higher concentrations of samples based on the leaves, and in the case of leaf-derived nanosuspensions and C. albicans, this inhibition was 66% at a concentration of 0.1% w/w as compared to the 90% inhibition achieved with the common fungicide ketoconazole, which served here as the positive control (Figure 5a). Once more, these findings are in good agreement with earlier studies which have shown that the crude extract of mistletoeleaves inhibits the growth of C. albicans, Aspergillus species, and Pencillium species, which are causative agents of infectious diseases such as candidiasis, respiratory mycosis, vaginosis, and pelvic inflammatory disease [13]. As in the case of bacteria, possible applications in the treatment of these human infectious diseases are feasible. Bearing in mind that access to modern antibiotics is often limited in developing countries, and home-grown extractions are sometimes not really entirely kosher, nanosizing the mistletoe to yield an—initially sterile because of high pressure involved -nanosuspension for direct applications may provide an attractive alternative, especially in less dramatic gastrointestinal and topical infectious diseases [14,15,16]. The notable activity against S. cerevisiae is also of interest as it may, in the future, allow wider chemogenetic phenotype profiling in yeast mutants in order to elucidate possible modes of action underlying this toxicity.
Compared to other medically interesting plants and herbs which are also amenable to nanosizing yet cannot be harvested sustainably in large quantities, such as the Maltese Mushroom (Cynamoriumcoccinium), the African mistletoe is a ubiquitous weed which can be accessed locally, easily, in large quantities, and without causing any damage to diversity or the environment [12]. As a consequence, a large(r) scale application of this material is possible, for instance, in the fields of eco-friendly Agriculture. Here, pathogenic bacteria and fungi, but also nematodes, play an important role. The activity of the mistletoe derived nanosuspensions against the agricultural model nematode S. feltiae has therefore been investigated (Figure 7).
As may be expected, the nanosuspensions investigated were also active against this model nematode. Once again, the best activity was noted for the stem-derived suspensions, which resulted in a reduction of viability to around 30% at concentrations as low as 0.01% w/w. The suspensions based on the leaves were also active, albeit only at higher concentrations, i.e., at 0.05% w/w and above.
As discussed already, it is likely that the multitude of natural compounds like alkaloids, polyphenols, and phenolics glycosides found in the stems and leaves of the mistletoe is responsible for this pronounced toxicity. These active ingredients, especially alkaloids, possess antimicrobial properties which explain the enhanced activity of L. micranthus nanosuspension against bacteria. Future studies will be needed to identify the exact nature and identification of these molecules, and their release properties from the nanoparticles, which will differ significantly from extractions with water or organic solvents. Such studies will also be needed to address the underlying modes of action, the selectivity and specificity, and the possible side effects associated with the compounds released from nanomilled plants. Furthermore, the question of nanotoxicity, which may indeed play a critical role in the activity observed against the multicellular nematodes, needs to be considered before any practical applications, either in the fields of Medicine or Agriculture, can be envisaged. An investigation into the effects of these nanoparticles NPs on human organism (cell lines) is ongoing in our laboratory and this will therefore be of public importance. As for practical applications, the medium- and long-term stability of the nanosuspensions, possible aggregation, degradation, or fouling of the materials and alternatives, such as freeze-drying and resuspension as part of the so-called NaLyRe sequence, need to be investigated [7]. Once such studies have been conducted successfully, possible applications as antimicrobial agents in humans and as green phyto-protectants in ecologically friendly agriculture can be envisioned.
Our studies with nanosized leaves and stems of the African mistletoe have shown that such nanosuspensions can be prepared easily and exhibit pronounced antimicrobial and nematicidal activities, which at higher particle concentrations of 0.1% (w/w), compete well with those of established antibiotics and fungicides. This study has provided an insight into the antifungal and antibiotics efficacy of herbal nanosized materials with an emphasis on L. micranthus.
The authors acknowledge TWAS-DFG for the cooperation visit grant awarded to Azubuike P. Ebokaiwe, the ZIM Project: TOPAS (Grant No. KZ16KN046424), the INTERREG VA GR program (BIOVAL, Grant No. 4-09-21), the NutRedOx (Cost project CA16112), DeutscherAkademischerAustauschdienst (DAAD) Scholarship Scheme (57202887) the “Landesforschungsförderungs programm” of the State of Saarland (Grant No. WT/2–LFFP 16/01) and the respective Universities; University of Saarland, Philipps University of Marburg, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Zweibrueckenand the Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, Nigeria, for their financial support. The authors express special thanks to Ken Rory, Ashfiq Al-Fakhim, Rosa Ponte, Vulgar Prol, Trafique Basel and many other colleagues of the “Academiacs International” network (www.academiacs.eu) for helpful discussions and inspiration.
Azubuike P. Ebokaiwe and Chukwunonso E.C.C. Ejike conceived the study. Sharoon Griffin and Muhammad Irfan Masood performed the nanoparticle formation studies, while Muhammad Sarfraz, Tamara Gabour Sad, and Rama Alhasan conducted the biological studies. Muhammad Sarfraz and Muhammad Jawad Nasim analyzed the data. Chukwunonso E.C.C. Ejike contributed to drafting the manuscript. Azubuike P. Ebokaiwe, Cornelia M. Keck, Karl Herbert Schäfer, and Claus Jacob coordinated the studies at their respective institutes and drafted the manuscript.
Authors have no conflicts to declare.
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Figure 1. A live plant of mistletoe growing in a tree (a) and the dried leaves and stem of such a plant (b).
Figure 2. (a) Microscopic view of nanosizing from bulk material of L. micranthus leaf (LML) and L. micranthus stem (LMS) to high speed stirring (HSS) and high-pressure homogenization (HPH)-processed nanosized material. The micrographs are at 200-fold magnification with a scale bar of 100 µm. The characterization of samples using Laser Diffraction (LD) and Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (PCS) techniques is presented for (b) L. micranthus leaf (LML) samples and (c) L. micranthus stem (LMS) samples. The average size of the particles shown through these graphs demonstrates the effectiveness of the procedure where final sizes achieved for leaf samples are around 245 nm, and those of stem samples are around 180 nm. Z-average is the average of particles sizes and corresponds with the right y-axis of nanometer scale.
Figure 3. Influence of nanosized (a) L. micranthus leaf nanoparticles (LML NPs) and (b) L. micranthus stem nanoparticles (LMS NPs) on the growth of E. coli. Values represent mean ± SD *** p < 0.001. See text for experimental details.
Figure 4. Influence of nanosized (a) L. micranthus leaf nanoparticles (LML NPs) and (b) L. micranthus stem nanoparticles (LMS NPs) on the growth of S. carnosus. Values represent mean ± SD ** p < 0.01 and *** p < 0.001. See text for experimental details.
Figure 5. Influence of nanosized (a) leaves (LML NPs) and (b)stem (LMS NPs) of L. micranthus on the growth of C. albicans. Values represent mean ± SD *** p < 0.001. See text for experimental details.
Figure 6. Influence of nanosized (a) L. micranthus leaf (LML NPs) and (b) L. micranthus stem nanoparticles (LMS NPs) on the growth of S. cerevisae. Values represent mean ± SD *** p < 0.001. See text for experimental details.
Figure 7. Influence of nanosized (a) L. micranthus leaf nanoparticles (LML NPs) and (b) L. micranthus stem nanoparticles (LMS NPs) on the viability of S. feltiae. Values represent mean ± SD *** p < 0.001. See text for experimental details.
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Meeting Coverage > ADA
Glucose Monitor System Cuts Hospitalizations for DKA
— Study assessed FreeStyle Libre system in French cohort
by Kristen Monaco, Staff Writer, MedPage Today June 15, 2020
Ketoacidosis rates were slashed with initiation of a continuous glucose monitor, a French study found.
Among people who started on the FreeStyle Libre system, annual rates of diabetic ketoacidosis dropped by 52% and 47% for those with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, respectively, reported Ronan Roussel MD, PhD, of Bichat Hospital in Paris.
Not including diabetic comas, incidence of hospitalization for ketoacidosis events dropped from 5.46 per 100 patients to 2.59 per 100, Roussel explained during a presentation at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) virtual meeting.
And ketoacidosis hospitalization rates dropped from 1.70 per 100 patients over the year down to only 0.90 among those with type 2 diabetes.
"It is plausible that the use of the FreeStyle Libre system allowed -- due to its convenience -- people to detect and limit persistent hyperglycemia and subsequently limit the occurrence of ketoacidosis," Roussel pointed out.
When broken down by the average daily number of strips used for self-monitoring of blood glucose prior to using the system, two groups appeared to benefit most from the switch: those with very low and very high rates of self-monitoring.
Specifically, the biggest decline in hospitalization for ketoacidosis was seen among those who used an average of zero strips a day, as well as five or more strips a day:
Zero strips a day: 60% decline in ketoacidosis in T1D; 51% decline in T2D
1-3 strips: 28% decline in T1D; 39% decline in T2D
5+ strips: 59% decline in T1D; 52% decline in T2D
Citing other recently published data, Roussel said his group took on this study due to the growing body of literature showing an uptick in both rates of diabetic ketoacidosis and occurrences of hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state in people with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
"This is a clinical issue, but also increased burden of hospitalization is associated with significant healthcare utilization and expenditure in several countries," he said.
The longitudinal, retrospective cohort study included data on over 33,000 individuals with type 1 diabetes and nearly 41,000 people with type 2 diabetes from a French reimbursement claim database. Rates of diabetic ketoacidosis were determined using ICD-10 codes. Index date was defined as the first reimbursement for the FreeStyle Libre system, either for the sensor or the reader, and compared ketoacidosis rates for the year prior and the year following. About 88% of these patients were treated with multiple daily injections or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusions.
Approved in the U.S. in September 2017, Abbott's FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System was the first system that doesn't require fingerstick calibration when monitoring blood glucose. In July 2018, a 14-day flash glucose monitoring system replaced the original system that only allowed wear of the sensor on the back of the upper arm for ten days.
Looking separately at the type of insulin therapy utilized by the patient, improvements were seen across the board after initiation of the system. The number of patients with diabetic ketoacidosis dropped from 2.89% down to 1.32% among multiple daily injection users, and dropped from 2.58% to 1.8% for those receiving continuous subcutaneous insulin infusions.
Roussel also pointed out a few limitations of this study: patients could have undergone "enhanced self-care" after they started on the new device, such as diabetes education and more focused face-time with their healthcare provider during initial device prescription. The study also didn't account for more specific clinical data such HbA1c levels.
This research comes on the heels of the FDA's clearance this week of Abbott's FreeStyle Libre 2 as an integrated continuous glucose monitor, indicated for use in children as young as four. Similarly worn for up to 14-days, this new system touts itself as the only integrated continuous glucose monitoring system currently available, meaning it can be interoperable with other devices, that also allows for customizable and optional real-time glucose alarms.
Kristen Monaco is a staff writer, focusing on endocrinology, psychiatry, and dermatology news. Based out of the New York City office, she’s worked at the company for nearly five years.
The study was funded by Abbott Diabetes Care, which sells the FreeStyle Libre monitor.
Roussel reported relationships with AstraZeneca, Sanofi, MSD, Eli Lilly, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Janssen, Mundipharma, Novo Nordisk, and Physiogenex. Other investigators also reported relationships with industry; one was an Abbott employee.
Source Reference: Roussel R, et al "Dramatic Drop in Ketoacidosis Rate after FreeStyle Libre System Initiation in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes in France, Especially in People with Low Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG): A Nationwide Study" ADA 2020; Abstract 68-OR.
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Click on MORE... at the top of each page to access a drop down box that will link you to more pages of the Montana Megaliths
DANCING GIANT FEET COMPLEX
Polished Toenail Foot
We have discovered at least 12 flash fossilized gigantic feet at the Dancing Giant Feet Complex along the Missouri River. These feet are anatomically correct to the minutest detail as compared with X-rays and anatomy charts of the human foot.
And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant.“
1 Chronicles 20:6 KJV
Foot On Foot
Nodia Castle and Dancing Giant Feet Complex
While sipping my morning tea and looking for an old photo to use on my website, I scrolled past the photos of the Nodia Castle and the Dancing Feet Complex and there he was...Dancing Peaceful Warrior in his ancient earth plane body suit which has been flash fossilized to preserve him in this current timestream.
Last night I was present in my parallel life on Nodia. Upon awakening I realized that I was back in my human body suit on Planet Earth. As these two dimensions run on parallel timestreams, I jump back and forth between them. Our prime mission is to seek out, bridge and reinstating the optimum time line therefore I am always on the lookout for synchronicity.
On the dimensional plane I have been tasked to observe the wars that shifted the energy of Planet Earth down through the epochs of time. I recently posted a collection of the Helmeted Beings that have been discovered at the Montana Megaliths, USA.
THUNDERBOLTS: INSTANTANEOUS
ELECTRIC FOSSILIZATION
"Standard geology tells us that the Earth and the life that inhabits it has changed incrementally over eons of time for many millions of years. The processes thought to have shaped our planet’s landscape are wind and water erosion, volcanism, earthquakes, and random bombardments from space.
"Of course, a guide that scientists use to determine when a life form existed and how it evolved is the fossil record. Conventional theory tells us that the process of fossilization takes no fewer than 10 000 years. However, countless archaeological findings suggest a “radical” alternative — that the remains of some animals and other organisms were fossilized not over eons of time, but instantaneously." (1)
1. https://watchers.news/…/peter-mungo-jupp-electric-fossiliz…/
Peter Mungo Jupp: Electric Fossilization
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=173&v=qzyDm_BegGA&feature=emb_logo&fbclid=IwAR3QOFn3uH4ICv6K8zGjsBjpi5zVg4DxfMumXlRRQWrMIQtmggCqqNB7gXA
Peter Mungo Jupp: Instant Fossilization
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vOMGQTjW9k&fbclid=IwAR3S6sj1vuAWLVoq4ycF-7dRPBZHkosFkI4isCoGBz6d6T_axDwaOGvCONc
TWIN TEMPLE MOUNDS
Recently we discovered a number of flash fossilized gigantic feet that have six toes and are perfectly anatomically correct in the Dancing Giant Feet Complex. These humongous feet are in the Mountain Palace District of Nodia Megacomplex in the Montana Megaliths North at the base of a volcano. This volcano can be seen from a viewpoint above Twin Temple Mounds.
I discovered Twin Temple Mounds last year. Two weeks ago I returned to take photos. Last night while viewing the photos I discovered the toes of a fossilized foot and a gigantic hand.
On the front side of the the largest of the two mounds is yet another gigantic fossilized foot with six toes showing above the tree line.The second toe is the largest here while at the Dancing Giant Feet Complex it is usually the third toe that is larger. On the third fourth and fifth toes there are faces carved into the uprights.
After ceremony at Twin Temple Mounds with the Ken Burrows Family we looked up to find a large Non-Terrestrial which appeared to be in conversation with a human that had an elongated head. We have found several human figures with elongated heads. This is the first representation of an Extra-Terrestrial that we have found at the Montana Megaliths USA
THE RADIANT ONE GEOETCHING AT TWIN TEMPLE MOUND
I was viewing Twin Temple Mounds from Google Earth.While rotating and tipping the image in and out of 3D a beautiful female face that appeared like an etching caught my eye. I have never seen anything like it. Rays of light surrounded her perfect face. Her name is Radiant One. Seen so clearly from Google Earth she must be huge. I coined the word "GeoEtching" to describe this extraordinary ancient art form.
TEMPLES OF THE WIND
In the summer of 2020, as I was scanning the megalithic walls of Nodia Peaks with a pair of binoculars. I was struck by the uniformity of the square and rectangular alignments of stone at the far end of Holter Lake. Years ago a wildfire had burned the tree cover in this area revealing the ancient megalithic structures.
High above the Missouri River a consistent pattern of stone walls and rectangular enclosures highlighted by an occasional stone monolith cover the mountainsides.
Consistent 90 degree angles forming squares, rectangles and parallel walls were not created by Mother Nature. These are cardinal signs of ancient intentional construction.
Faces The Wind, the masculine humongous face of a Mountain Figure silhouetted on the ridge line, adds a counter point to the ancient artistic installation.
LIFESTAR STONE DOME, DEATH STAR AND THE TWO MOONS OF SATURN
Driving miles up the windy dirt road to the head of the Holter Lake and beyond I found a high vantage point and photographed the top of what appeared to be a geodesic dome with a circular protrusion on one side. The stone dome reminded me of the Death Star in the Star Wars Movies and so I named it LifeStar. Next to the stone dome was a huge six pointed star at the base of a humongous stair way that formed a half circle up to a pyramid on the top. I named the site Temple of the Winds.
"Saturn has a lot of moons. Two of them are really odd, and bear a striking resemblance to the Death Star from the Star Wars movies. Mimas has a crater of approximately the same scale as the one on the Death Star. Iapetus also has large craters, but the resemblance lies in its equatorial ridge."
Mimas And Iapetus, Two Odd Moons Of Saturn
Posted on Mar 3, 2010 by Paul Tomaszewski.
http://astroblog.cosmobc.com/2010/03/03/mimas-and-iapetus-two-odd-moons-of-saturn/
Crater on Mimas, one of the moons of Saturn compared to the Death Star from the Star Wars Movies
http://astroblog.cosmobc.com/.../mimas-and-iapetus-two.../
Iapetus, one of the moons of Saturn
appears similar to the Death Star of Star Wars
The three dimensional Six Pointed Star beside the Lifestar Stone Dome is compelling. A gigantic curved ancient staircase begins at the Six Pointed Star and curves up the mountainside to a Pyramid on the top at Temple of the Winds Complex.
Susan Crone discovered a the silhouette of a feminine face between the Six Pointed Star and the LifeStar Stone Dome at Temple of the Winds. Susan named the GeoEtching Mari Selene. Mari Selene must be huge as this photo was taken from miles away.
Mari Selene is another example of a GeoEtching. I coined the word to describe what appear to be smooth large charcoal etchings of faces and whole human like figures. Some GeoEtchings are only seen from Google Earth.
Don Agel discovered and illustrated a bearded male face just below Mari Selene. Don named this ancient stone figure Inuit Shaman. He sent the illustration of an Inuit Shaman that matches.
Erupting from the center of the highest point of the Six Pointed Star is an elongated head being with both eyes staring straight ahead. I recognized AlaStar from my astral visits to Nodia. Even though the expression on his stone face is grim, I can assure you that he is an impeccable, wise and kind leader of one of the major Trading Houses of Nodia. Nodia is the third planet in the star system of Polaris.
MARIAH AT TEMPLE OF THE WIND COMPLEX
I discovered Mariah while attempting to find a road that would take me closer into the Temples of the Wind Complex.
Both eyes are intact however it appears that her nose has been squished so the nostrils are more to the right above the full lips. If you look closely you can see her two front teeth. My sense is that this was a young female.
Many of the heads I have discovered recently have a head dress and/or a round top knot.
They Call the Wind Mariah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByqYEzugleE
https://www.facebook.com/julie.ryder.5095/posts/3120479358067627
TROVANTS---LIVING STONES
Spiral stones that may be Trovants at Temple of the Winds
Trovants in Romania
"In the central part of Romania, a wondrous place exists where you can see remarkable rock formations. They are called trovants. Not only can they increase in size, but they also … multiply. That is why these Romanian stones are officially included in the list of living organisms.
"Even now, scientists cannot decipher the phenomenal properties of Romanian trovants. All we know is that there is a connection between the processes taking place in the stones and the meteorological conditions.
"In the dry season, they are all completely motionless and stay in place without changing their size. When the rainy season comes, however, the stones seem to come to life, begin to increase in size, and even move." (1)
At the Temple of the Winds in the Montana Megaliths North there are similar spiral stones near the Ascension Chamber. Perhaps these were once were or still are Trovants.
1. https://curiosmos.com/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-trovants-romanias-living-stones/?fbclid=IwAR12Kv7kSj3eoduoEE8zI84Tp-snIWpMGWkadEd4ShZuubaDD-PPv_PA-Vo
Lori Garber writes,
"So if this is a ‘living rock technology’ then one could program a shape for the rock to take and us as a building material... this sounds like a ‘founder race’ technique for terraforming a planet and or covering remnants of pasts civilizations when a new epoch begins... later users may have involved ‘forms allowing the ‘material’ to ‘grow’ within forms for buildings..."
DRAGONS LAIR
"The gateway between the physical and spirit realms is known as a vortex. Geomagnetic vortex sites are often called Dragon’s Lairs and link the Dragon ley lines in a vast Earth grid. Megalithic sites were located on these energetic lines. The Serpent life-force is the spiraling life-force energy that moves through the portals."
Dragons Vortex
https://ionamiller.weebly.com/dragons-vortex.html?fbclid=IwAR1y2QN8Gyqqz0ekbxi6W_SmkiiZG2o5AejAdjvXOhEYEoA00wbvlvs81o4
The head of a perfectly fossilized dinosaur lines up next to two dragons. They are so close together that the three heads have been connected with geopolymer concrete walls by a later civilization. Next in line is the flash fossilized head of a giant eagle. Dragon Madeline is next curling around near the river. The shining white fossilized eyeball of The Visionary above the Eagle is in the correct anatomical position and is the largest dragon at the highest point of the spiral rock mountain of Dragons Lair.
When you look closely at the body of evidence it becomes abundantly clear that this area was once inhabited by dragons and dinosaurs. There are several recognizable dinosaurs as well as parts and pieces of other animal fossils. Then came multiple epochs of civilizations that intentionally constructed amphitheaters, cyclopean walls, statues, monuments, murals and magnificent complex art forms over the fossilized remains.
It will take years to photograph, document and analyse the hundred of images portrayed in stone within Dragons Lair in the Nodia Megacomplex of Montana Megaliths North in the USA. There are so many features at Dragons Lair that while analyzing a photo I always find more eyes and images in the background that draw me back with camera in hand. Dragons Lair could become the life's work of any Cryptozoologist, Paleontologist, Archaeologist or Geologist.
As for me when I have finished photographing and documenting this site I will move on to the next. This is site number 81 that I have discovered, photographed and began the documentation process in the Montana Megaliths. So far theses sites stretch over approximately 100 miles x 124 miles.
Andrew Barker stated this about the Montana Megaliths even before I discovered Dragons Lair, "Now we only know a fraction of the macro picture; but that is enough to understand the sites importance. The archaeologists will need many decades to formulate the micro picture. We must expect with a site of this scale that this could last into the next century."
This ancient site is on private land and I photographed it with permission.
DRAGONS AND DINOSAURS AT DRAGONS LAIR
DINO ARGTINO
https://ohfact.com/interesting-facts-about-argentinosaurus/
Argentinosaurus
Dino Argtino was named after Argentinosaurus, the largest dinosaur yet to be discovered. Similarities in the details are compelling. There is a raised circle around the right eye of Argtino, a segmented raised band coming down the left side behind the eye and indented oval on the side of the face all of which are present on the Argentinosaurus Dinosaur. Inside the mouth of Argtino there are several teeth.
Biggest Dinosaur Ever! Argentinosaurus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QUK8gN1oSY&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2bbRSibfSFT5wFUfB7muCP4d_kgIaMAsXJ-kDcenjapRZJLtkUH-9Xo3o
Egg Mountain is located in Montana just south of the town of Choteau which is about 60 miles from Dragon Lair as the eagle flies.
Egg Mountain "is an outcropping of the Two Medicine Formation, which is present in much of northwestern Montana." Jack Horner and his team went on to discover not just juvenile dinosaurs, but 14 dinosaur nests in a single area of the site. This is how the area got the name Egg Mountain. It supplied the first strong evidence that dinosaurs fed and cared for their young, and furthermore the first evidence that dinosaurs exhibited complex behaviors." https://www.nps.gov/articles/mesozoic-egg-mountain-dawson-2014.htm
DRAGON SAPHIRA IN THE CENTER
As seen from above, the left side of Saphira's head shows her two horns, a long straight neck with detailed vertebrae, and several eyes depending on which image you are viewing. I have outlined the largest head here. There are several smaller heads superimposed over Saphira. The geopolymer wall which overlays the end of Dragon Saphira's snout was constructed later and forms the central wall connecting the two amphitheaters.
Dragon Saphira was named after the dragon in the Eragon Series.
Dragon Saphira's elongated head is supported by a long straight neck with the individual cervical vertebrae and intervertebral discs perfectly intact.
There are at least two different fossilized spines embedded into the left side of Dragon Saphira's long neck.
Dragon Saphira's left eye seen between the trees inside the first amphitheater as viewed from above the Dragons Lair.
There are dozens of inset white eyes with black pupils that appeared to follow my every movement when I discovered and then explored this magical monument in April, 2020. Once I saw the eyes the entire images came into view and often morphed into other faces as I moved and as the light changed. Almost all of the images of Beings sculpted into the walls and sides of the dragons appear as silhouettes.
Three dragons/dinosaurs form an M with the first amphitheater between Dino Argtino on the far right and Dragon Saphira in the middle. A second amphitheater connects between Dragon Saphira with Dragon Ruby forming a M as seen from above on Google Earth. So from ground level all three dragons that are only apparent when viewed from above are connected by a continuous curved wall that forms a large M when viewed from Google Earth.
The walls of the amphitheaters have been enhanced with cyclopean construction and are covered with images similar to various religious and cultural icons that are recognizable in the culture of our current epoch. Murals surround you.
I found several more beings, sections of spinal vertebrae, eyes and faces of several races of humanoid as well as ancient animals. Many of the detached body parts may be imprints of fossils...some appear to be ancient animal forms and others are visible where the overlaying rock or deteriorated hide has exposed them.
Again there are images and sculptures from several different civilizations here. My working hypothesis is that this area was originally destroyed by some cataclysmic event that buried ancient animals in mud far back in time. Then various highly technological civilizations recognized the dragon/dinosaur like fossils\ images, built the amphitheaters and carved/ overlayed their own faces and icons into the landscape.
The Elders teach that when Atlantis was destroyed everything "turned to stone". I was shown several of these perfectly preserved stone animals that appear much like the three dragons here in Montana.
Satellite deep geoscans have shown that there is evidence of every epoch of time except for the last 12,800 years here at the Montana Megaliths USA.
First Amphitheater with Dragon Ryder being the highest point on the wall on the left.
Dragon Ryder sits on top of the much larger
Dragon Saphira
First Amphitheater as viewed from ground level. Dragon Saphira is above the left wall in this photo but can only be viewed as a dragon from above. Dragon Ryder is the highest point on the left wall.
Faces that morph in and out of the primary images. Along the inner wall...Saphira's left sidewall which forms the center wall of the M shaped amphitheaters... there are several images one of which is a dragon head that morphs into a human face I have named Wolf Shaman.
Dragon Rider morphs into Wolf Shaman
Wolf Shaman
https://ncwordman.wordpress.com/2011/10/09/chased-by-wolves-vision-quest/
The white left eye of Dragon Ryder morphs into the right eye of a wolf skin (the wolf's
left eye is golden). The wolf skin is worn as the head dress of the Wolf Shaman who has a human face.
A stone carving of a human shaman wearing a bear cape was discovered in the Ohio Mounds In the USA. Designated as the Shaman of Newark, the Bear Shaman is an artifact from the Hopewell culture that thrived from around 100 B.C. to 400 A.D.
https://www.toledoblade.com/assets/pdf/TO51495727.PDF
DRAGON RUBY
Leaning over on her right side Dragon Ruby's nose ends where the remains of the geopolymer wall of the Second Amphitheater terminates. Connecting all three dragons the cyclopean wall blocks are visible at the end of Dragon
Saphiras nose.
Dragon Ruby's left eye
Dragon Ruby is the third dragon at Dragons Lair. Pinkish red mineral "paint" lightly covers her left eye and fills in the shadows of Dragon Ruby's head armor. Just below the surface of this mineral wash the shape and pupil of a human type eye are apparent.
Dragon of Morocco Biology explained and shown:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gURVpKrGpjE&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1rfOq5dUdlIHmg4Poja5eOfZmeAC9Uht5frIVwVUiN3JdmZd94_826npo
THE VISIONARY AT DRAGONS LAIR
The eye of The Visionary can be seen from across the valley at Dragon's Lair.
DEANO WHO IS A DINOSAUR
Deano was discovered by Cowboy Bob Benda on May 1, 2020. He first found the Roc Bird sculpture (or fossil) on the side of Deano's back. Then analyzing the positions of the surrounding animal features, Bob reached the conclusion that they were all laying down, some on top of the other, just like the way that animals lie down in the fields and in the wild.
Bob is in reality a real Cowboy as well as a musician whose band Gypsy Dust performs here in Montana.
Bob recognized the head of a Roc Bird, which is an ancient mythological bird featured in legends in the Middle East, sanding proudly on the side of Deano. Bob named the bird Rocky.
A row of cervical vertebrae outlines the spine. Several distinctive anatomically correctly positioned features are present including the left front segmented leg.
ROC BIRD ON THE SIDE OF DEANO, THE DINOSAUR
On the side of Deano is a a large Roc Bird
"The Roc is an enormous legendary bird of prey in the popular mythology of the Middle East.
The Roc appears in Arabic geographies and natural history, popularized in Arabian fairy tales and sailors' folklore. Wiki
Rocky is the name that CowboyBob Benda gave to this Roc Bird feature on the side of Deano. He explains the fine details this way, "Zoom in on the photo of the Roc bird then zoom in on his head until you get close enough to see that every feature of his head is anatomically correct. The eye size, shape and the location of his eye relative to the rest of his head, the placement of the comb starting in the middle of his beak and going up to the top of his head, and the placement of his mouth are proportional. Many other of the remains display the same anatomical correctness. Correct placement size and shape of the eyes, the nostrils, the mouth, the teeth and the spinal column. More photos to come."
E-LONG ON THE SIDE OF DEANO
E-Long bas relief sculpture at Dragons Lair
Notice that E-Long is depicted in the same pose...looking over his right shoulder as a similar bas relief portrait of the elongated head Ones in ancient Egypt.
I was mesmerized when my eyes found a Being with a male human face and an elongated head looking over his right shoulder showing the left side of his face in silhouette A large dangling white ear ring is superimposed hiding his neck from view. I named him E-Long.
The bas-relief of E-Long is the the center at the bottom.
Elongated skulls around the ancient world
Ancient Giants Preserved Inside Hermetically Sealed Artificial Rocks Around The Planet For Thousands Of Years
Adrian Leiva
EL ENIGMA DE LAS ROCAS
Perhaps this practice of images on the outside that show who is inside the hermetically sealed rock is what we are seeing at Dragons Lair.
Nick Barger found a geosculpture in northeastern Oregon as seen from Google Earth. Uncanny how it is similar to E-Long which is a bas relief sculpture on the side of Deano in Dragons Lair in the Montana Megaliths, USA. Perhaps E-Long the Google Earth image Nick Barger found were related in the far distant past.
SAURUS DINO ON THE SIDE OF DEANO WHO IS A DINOSAUR
On the side of Deano there are several images that appear to be parts and pieces of fossils as well as 3-D bas-relief sculptures possibly produced by later civilizations using the original dinosaur fossils as a canvas/mural.
One of the dinosaur fossils reaches a long neck down the side of the much larger Deano and grasps the E-Long bas -relief image in it's mouth. E-Long is very similar to an Egyptian Pharaoh figure.
A Brachiosaurs Dinosaur is the most similar to Saurus Dino which is on the side of Deano at Dragons Lair.
DRAGON MADELEINE GUARDS THE GATEWAY
When I look into the eye of Dragon Madeleine, or lay in the tall grass listening the to flow of the river while my astral body flies upward, I sense the essence...the signature...the consciousnesses of a powerful Being. Although frozen in time these magnificent true-to-life fossilized biological entities were once alive and now we can scientifically prove it.
What did they think? What did they see? How did they conceptualize the events of their world? How did they relate to one another?
Right eye of Dragon Madeleine has a black
elliptical pupil
Dragon Madeleine
PROOF POSITIVE: FOSSILIZED BIOLOGICAL GIANT REMAINS
Building on the work of Roger Spurr from Mudfossil University, Dr. Mike Wilkerson demonstrates the anatomical features of a fossilized elephant that looks like a mountain in Spain correlating 50 different anatomical details that are exactly correct.
I held my breath when Dr. Wilkerson showed a photo of a fossilized eye that was exactly like the photo I took of Dragon Madeleine. So disappointed when he was interrupted and did not explain it.
Wilkerson also explains and demonstrates that the fossilization process does not take millions of years. When lava from a volcano covers animals there is no oxygen present and so the soft tissue does not rot it infiltrates with minerals.
Roger Spurr announced that Harvard and Max Planck Universities had verified the DNA of mud fossils. It is possible now to analyse the DNA of Denisovans, Neanderthal and early humans back 700,000 years without fossil remains. Roger has released several videos with his research over the years proving that the huge stone giants were once alive.
Giant Remains Flash Fossilized in Past Cataclysm, Giant Bones, Star Forts with Dr. Wilkerson
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/fringe-radio-network/giant-remains-flash-vdCAWbl4jI6/
Mudfossil DNA Certified by Harvard and Max Planck Universities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wevv-S5-vUg
Compare the anatomy of the right eye of Dragon Madeleine with the anatomy of the eye chart point for point.
Adel Mountain Volcano in the background Roc Bird on the right
"I see things with my own eyes, just as if they were the first eyes that ever saw, and then I set about to tell, as best I can, just what I've seen."
Dragon's Lair is below a volcano
After ceremony at the base of Twin Temple Mounds we stopped at Dragon's Lair to honor the Dragons there. In the distance a blue cloud of smoke appeared rising up from under Dragons Council Mound. The Roc Bird is in the foreground.
COWBOYBOB COMMENTS
Cowboybob Benda commented, "Current scientific theory places the existence of dinosaurs from approximately 250 million years ago to approximately 65 million years ago. Montana has more finds of dinosaur bones and eggs than any other place in the world. Our concepts of the size and shapes of dinosaurs has been extrapolated from scientists assembling the bones of the dinosaurs so that we get an idea of what they looked like. At this point, as far as we know, there has only been one discovery of a complete intact dinosaur fossil including the hide and that find was in Alaska.
A fossil is an animal that has become stone over time.
Dragons and an ancient bird called a Roc were creatures of legend and myth. Because no bones or remains of anything that could be identified as a Dragon or a Roc have ever been identified people theorized that perhaps they lived in the era before dinosaurs or perhaps they were just legend and myth.
As a result of recent finds at and near the Dragon's Lair of the Nodia Complex of the Montana Megaliths, in the state of Montana, USA, there is reason to create a new working hypothesis that dinosaurs, Dragons and the Roc bird all existed simultaneously.
Julie Ryder located the Dragon's Lair site and found what appears to be the intact fossilized remains of Dragons and dinosaurs as well as the fossilized vertebrae of other animals over top. Julie brought her friend Cowboybob Benda, the author of this statement, to the Dragon's Lair site to get his input as to whether or not it also appeared to him that there were several fossilized Dragons at the site. Cowboybob agreed. That is exactly what it looks like. Then he turned and looked the site over and found what he believes to be a complete fossilized Roc bird laying on the back of a complete fossilized dinosaur. All these are at the same location.
After reviewing the photographs and processing the information for several days Cowboybob and Julie returned to the site and found more fossilized Dragons near the site. Also they noticed that in some instances there appear to be other skeletal remains laying on top or embedded into the side of the fossilized animals.
The fossilized animals appear to be completely anatomically correct with the eye, nose and mouth location in the correct position in every case. The shape of the eye is correct, the shape of the nostril is correct, the mouth is located in the correct anatomical location, and when they are exposed to view the limbs of these ancient animals appear to be what would be considered the correct size and shape. In one case what appears to be the four talons of a Dragon's right rear foot and in another case what appears to be the left canine tooth or fang in a Dragon's mouth are in the right position.
In numerous cases where the neck or spine vertebrae are exposed the vertebrae appear to be exactly the correct size and shape, including the occidental node in exactly the correct location on the top vertebrae of the spine.
When viewing the photos of what appears to be these ancient fossilized remains please keep in mind that they are between 65 million and 250 million years old. That means they're not going to be perfect, however the anatomical correctness of every one of the Dragons, the Roc and the Dinosaur is both startling and compelling.
Cowboybob Benda gazes over Dragons Lair at sunset
MORE DRAGONS IN THE MONTANA MEGALITHS
Green Dragon at the Blue Cloud Complex
Julie Ryder at Castle Dragon in the
"Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Hanah Lee....Noble Kings and Princes would bow whenever they came."
Once upon a time a magical dragon, the Noble King and a Prince sailed along the Missouri River which in the ancient times was an inland sea. In this legend the Prince kept a lookout posted on Puff's gigantic head. The Noble King stood guard over the River. Puff the Magic Dragon always kept one eye open.
The Prince stands on the side of Puff's head holding a dagger and sword . The red spiral eye represents the Red Dragons while the white elliptical pupil represents the White Dragons. Puff the Magic Dragon is a few miles upriver from the Dragons Lair.
Puff the Magic Dragon song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7lmAc3LKWM
Noble King at the base of Puff the Magic Dragon gazes out over the Missouri River.
The Prince on the side of Puff the Magic Dragon gazes upriver. His face features two distinct eyes, nose mouth and chin and is crowned with curly hair. The Prince banishes a sword in his right hand and a dagger in his left. His tunic flows down to his knees. Two distinct stout legs are partially buried in the scree.
DRAGONS GATE
Dragons Gate is a circular amphitheater with high stone walls. Faces of the Ancient Ones carved into the towering rocks surround central stacked blocks. There are several three-dimensional dragons solidified into the stone forming Dragons Gate.
Numerous inset eyes appear in the correct anatomical position in the surrounding high stone walls at Dragon Gate. Some eyes are white with black pupils while other eyes are surrounded by eyelids, eyebrows and sparkle in the sunlight. There are also Eye Compasses that point to specific direations like the ones at Epic Episode (see photos below).
The top of the central stacked block has been carved into a human-like statue. The right side of Toroc's face is visible and detailed, especially the right eye and the flat top head. After finding several of the Mezcala figurines that also have flat heads this may be what these Ancient Ones looked like. My sense is that Toroc is a hermaphrodite as evidenced by the two pendulous breasts and the masculine features of the face.
These statues discovered in La Venta, Mexico where the Olmec Head are also prevalent, are similar to Tolec at Dragons Gate in the Montana Megaliths.
The Olmec of Mesoamerica
https://sites.google.com/a/eagles.usm.edu/the-olmec-of-mesoamerica-discipline-disconnects/artifact-6
Small stone effigies created by the Mezcala Indigenous Peoples of Guerrero in Southern Mexico are a similar match. Flat heads or hats in the middle and third figuring match the statue Toroc in the center of Dragons Gate in the Nodia Megacomplex of the Montana Megaliths, North.
"Mezcala! That is not a word that evokes thoughts of an ancient culture in Mexico. Most people have never heard the word much less the place but it was important four thousand years ago because the people there started the art revolution that eventually grew into the religious/ceremonial crafts of the famous Olmec, Mayan and Aztec Empires."
THE SITTING MEN OF MEZCALA http://www.jimmausartifacts.com/sitting-men-of-mezcala/
A Mezcala elongated head figurine reminded me of the Silver Skull in the Montana Megaliths that also has an elongated head. See more under the heading SILVER SKULL by scrolling down on this page: https://www.montanamegaliths.com/epochs-of-civilizations.html
Olmec Helmet Head Geosculpture in the
Montana Megaaliths
Olmec head found in La Venta Mexico
Bennu Birdman in the Montana Megaliths and a similar bird statue from Vera Cruz, Mexico
If you draw a line denoting the earth energy grid line from Angkor Wat in Cambodia to the Nazca Lines in Peru it passes through the Montana Megaliths and through the Yucatan in Mexico.
There are several similarities between the Montana Megaliths and the Olmec culture in southern Mexico.
See the Olmec Helmet Head Geosculpture here in Montana on this page: https://www.montanamegaliths.com/epochs-of-civilizations.html
See the Bennu Birdman in Giant's Playground and the correlating statue found in
Vera Cruz, Mexico:
https://www.montanamegaliths.com/epochs-of-civilizations.html
This famous carved stone found in La Venta, Mexico shows a dragon wrapped around a seated human figure who is holding a bag. There is much speculation as to significance of the bags held in the right hand of Sumerian and Egyptian figures.
On my left side as I entered Dragons Gate formed into the front of the rock was an image of Shape Shifters.
Shape Shifters, one facing north and the other facing south, guard the entrance to
Dragon Gate.
Cowboy Bob named this dragon Bronc. The most extraordinary feature is that both sides of Bronc's head are symmetrical with a round bulging eye on each side. A tooth is evident on the left side of Bronc's mouth.
MONK 3-D
Downriver from Dragon Lair on the opposite side of the mountain from Dragon Gate is a huge 3-D fossilized monk figure. The details of the hood of his ample robe falling across his upper back and right shoulder...his black straight hair covered by a flat top cap...his bent right knee and his right arm stretched out presenting an offering were preserved in incredible detail.
An image of Friar Tuck from the Robin Hood stories came to mind. The archetype of a religious, helpful yet harmless figure, handed down in the stories of Robin Hood, may have originated here.
Through the binoculars I can see the details of a small dragon head on right side facing west which is the direction of the door/portal. A larger dragon head with his left eye looking right at me faces east. The monk is featured in the center of this tableau.
The Monk faces west toward a doorway/portal cut into the domed
rock.
DRAGONS COUNCIL
Pink Moon Wall on the left...Adel Volcano center...Dragon Council on the right
Doorway at Dragons Council
Dragon Luna at Dragons Council
Dragon Luna was discovered on June 3, 2020 under a full moon and named for the pink crescent moon inscribed in the wall above her.
Dragon Luna was born by a river with a slow voice at the base of a volcano. Water and Fire are her elements.
Notice the 90 degree cut blocks on the side of the neck and curved back of the head which are indications that at one time parts of the dragon head were intentionally altered. We see these later alterations or repairs in several places.
SUMER COMPLEX
Inanna Montana in the Sumer Complex
Montana Megaliths North
Statue of Inanna from ancient Sumeria
The Sumer Complex features a bas relief of a pregnant female figure with a three horned crown much like the statures of Inanna in ancient Sumeria.
Inanna Montana faces the Dragon King
Dragon Sphinx at Sumer Complex
Along the upper ridge of the Sumer Complex the left eye of the Dragon Sphinx looks out over the Missouri River. Tucked into side of the ridge a smooth polished gray granite box is visible at the opening of a cave.
Cyclopean 90 degree angle cut blocks curve along the top of the Sumer Complex.
The head of the Dragon Sphinx dominates the scene.
Across the Missouri River from the Sumer Complex the ruins of Fortress Nodia are
clearly visible. Even from a distance the 90 degree angle cut cyclopean blocks are visible.
Fortress Nodia as seen from the Queendom of Avalon Complex
Ancient Sumerian Video:
445,000 YEARS Sumerian Expert Renders Scholars Utterly Speechless with Decipherment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NthID9UOW-I&t=349s
SHOTGUN ANNIE FOSSILIZED FACE
I was sitting on the bench outside of my favorite restaurant...Shotgun Annie...in the little town of Wolf Creek just enjoying the sunshine. Picked up my binoculars and started looking at the rocks around me. Directly across the road on the mountain side two ancient eyes caught my attention.
It was difficult to get a clear photo as the face was so far away however through my binoculars the image was clear. There she was... a flash fossilized human face looking right at me. Sitting on the next bench the Corona Couple looked her way and appeared to wave at Shotgun Annie who has watched over Wolf Creek for a long, long time.
Several proof points are obvious when comparing facial anatomy charts to Shotgun Annie's fossilized facial features. The eyeballs, eyelids and the teeth are the most striking. It will take some time to do a complete analysis. There just may be an entire body hidden by the forest.
This is the first flash fossilized human face I have discovered. The flash fossilized dinosaurs, dragons and the Roc Bird are all down river.
Nodia Peak
Pyramid in Bosnia
A major proof point that Nodia Peak was intentionally constructed is the double walled ramp that extends 2/3 of the way down the side. In the ancient past this ramp emptied into the river however in the present age it empties into a stream that accesses am artificial lake created by a dam on the Missouri River. The ramp on the side of Nodia Peak extends about 2/3 of the way down the side of just like the ramps on the side of the Bosnia Pyramid.
From the perspective of Google Earth, Nodia Peak is a perfect conical shape with cyclopean block walls forming a three dimensional arrow that points to Nodia Fortress. The symbol for the male gender is depicted in 3-D.
TEMPLAR WARRIOR MONUMENT AND THE MAMMOTH
Templar Warrior Monument with the Mammoth on the right
Mammoth by Karen Lendrum
Mammoth by Julie Ryder
I have been conversing with Karen Lendrum about pictographs near Wolf Creek, Montana for over 12 years now. Karen has facilitated several conversations with the locals. Recently Karen showed me a photograph that she had taken on her way to work of what appears to be a flash fossilized mammoth.
The left white eye was intriguing and so I have taken several photos of the what I thought was an usual figure near what I call the Templar Warrior Monument every time I drove past for a few years now. I did not notice the tusks of the Mammoth until Karen pointed it out in her photo. Karen has made an extraordinary discovery in the Montana Megaliths North.
Posted 12/26/2020
Mountain Palace District in the Nodia Megacomplex Montana Megaliths North
RAM NODIA GEOSCULPTURE
Ram Nodia Geosculpture, positioned high above the Missouri River, looks down over several intentionally constructed megalithic features in this section of the Nodia Megacomplex. As seen from Google Earth the complete head and body of Ram Nodia Geosculpture covers just over three square miles. The name of the stream below Ram Nodia Geosculpture just happens to be Sheep Creek.
The Temple of Amun at Karnak in Egypt is approached through an avenue of large ram-headed sphinxes, each protecting a small Pharaoh figure between their paws. A row of Ram Sphinxes representing the god Amun (whose sacred animal was the ram). These ram sphinxes in Egypt look very similar to the Ram Nodia Geosculpture in Montana.
Amazing synchronicity. I took photos of Mountain Sheep recently across the river from Castle Nodian below the
Ram Geosculpture.
Michael Pell writes: Adjacent and just west of the Ram/goat geoglyph is the Missouri River. As it tracks through the topography I instantly noticed an Eagle and wings profile it etched out. Now using the sky map I would be looking for a horned animal constellation near a bird type. Though Eagle, this can be substituted to a Phoenix rising in the east and setting in the west as does the constellation Aquila does. This region also aligns through the city due south of Phoenix in line with Easter Island longitudinally. Coincidence?
Looking at the sky map notice how the constellation Aquila (the Eagle) sits adjacent to Capricorn, just as we see in the topographical elements in Montana provided that at least the horned animal has been sculpted to go with the river’s pattern.
Also of note is Aquila’s proximity to Aries to the left of it (eastward in the diagram) which matches the Ram/goat geoglyph’s position to the River Eagle profile, whereby the ridge line in the photo is acting like the Milky Way.
Matches are there, but whether that is the purpose behind the ground orientation we see remains open to debate.
Considering the importance of the Phoenix in ancient tales and this section of the Missouri River looking southward (South is top of photo) it would encompass the concept of the Phoenix as it transverses the ecliptic. In theory, it makes sense and could be a driving factor.
It would be my guess it was first created naturally of which the Ram/Goat afterward by sculpting the ground to match what was seen in the sky, provided of course the Ram Nodia is artificial.
Graphics by Michael Pell
An eagle flew right over my head while I was photographing the Nodian Head in January, 2020
It was a good omen.
NODIAN HEAD AND THE CATERPILLAR MEGALITHS
I discovered the Nodian Head which is the terminal feature in the Caterpillar Megaliths in November of 2019.
The right eye is open while the left protruding eye appears to be closed. A large nose with flared nostrils and a curved mouth are still distinguishable in the eroded ancient face.
La Venta Olmec head in Mexico
Olmec Helmet Head Geosculpture
in the Montana Megaliths
La Venta Olmec head in Mexico a close match to the MM feature. Remember this was a world wide civilization and therefore similar cultures with similar features will be found throughout the ancient world. Their descendants would also revere the images of the original Creator Beings throughout the epochs of time.
The Mayan Scholar/Shaman stated that the Nodian Head in the Montana Megaliths was an older statue of the Creator Goddess Ixmucane. While researching images of Ixmucane I came across a FB site titled Goddess Ixmucane and found the first two images above.
https://www.facebook.com/goddessixmucane
"Ixmucane
One of the thirteen gods who participated in the creation of human beings according to one version of the myth. Also a version of the name Xumucane, the grandmother of the famous hero twins, who, with her husband, Xpiayoc, created humans from maize and are considered the oldest and wisest deities in the Maya pantheon."
https://www.ancient.eu/article/415/the-mayan-pantheon-the-many-gods-of-the-maya/
Jayavarman VII in the Bayon Temple in Cambodia
Head statues in Cambodia
and Guatemala
Collage by Rani P Dev
Nodian Head is similar to a statue of Jayavarman VII in the Bayon Temple in Cambodia that also has one eye open and one eye closed. There are also similar head statues in Cambodia and Guatemala.
Carved and painted into the forehead on the Third Eye of the Nodian Head is the All Seeing Eye. This symbol is very ancient and has been usurped by various Secret Societies and religions throughout the ages. A version of the All Seeing Eye appears on the US one dollar bill.
This symbol is also the astrological symbol of Pisces. The Pisces zodiac symbol morphed into the secret symbol used by the early Christians. The fish motif is also prevalent throughout the New Testament. At least four of the twelve apostles were fisherman.
Michael Pell writes: "What I find interesting as well in addition to the excellent data mentioned here is that the Pisces and the Ram symbol are adjacent to each other and match what is found in the zodiac wheel. This invites one to consider looking for other zodiac symbols in correct placement in the surrounding terrain that might be indicating the zodiac layout was being mirrored on the ground in this region, as seen from an aerial perspective."
I recently discovered that a carving of the All Seeing Eye is in the center of the rose window on the front of the Cathedral of Saint Helena right here in the center of the Montana Megaliths.
Bill Ryder across the Missouri River from Caterpillar Megaliths
"E" SYMBOL DESIGNATES HOUSE OF THE GODS
Looking down from Goggle Earth upon the top of the Caterpillar Megaliths, one end of which is the Nodian Head, I was thrilled to find the familiar "E" Symbol. The "E" is formed by walls and can only be seen from above.
Recently discovered in the Mountain Palace District of the Nodian Megacomplex in the Montana Megaliths North, USA, Nodian Head signifies that this was the center of a vast ancient megalithic complex. From Google Earth it is apparent that the Nodia Ram Geoscultpure faces Nodian Head which aligns with several other features that were intentionally constructed including Castle Nodian.
I have been searching for the "E" symbol in ancient scripts, pictographs, petroglyphs, art and ancient monuments for several years now. It was indeed rewarding to find this familiar symbol on top of a humongous megalithic structure right here at the Montana Megaliths.
Artifacts found in Burrow's Cave in Illinois, USA were engraved with the "E" Symbol. I had a series of epiphanies while matching the glyphs and symbols found in Burrow's Cave to the world wide ancient language which led to my discovery of the cymatic symbol connection. Cymatic frequency symbols match the symbols of the ancient language world wide.
MOUNTAIN PALACE DISTRICT OF THE NODIA MEGACOMPLEX FROM GOOGLE EARTH AND GROUND LEVEL: https://www.facebook.com/julie.ryder.5095/posts/2631018887013679
Ancient Pictographs
https://www.galacticfacets.com/ancient-pictographs.html
É (Cuneiform) is the Sumerian word or symbol for house or temple
Eridu, Enki's Patron City-State | Mesopotamian
Gods & Kings
http://www.mesopotamiangods.com/eridu-enkis-patron-city-state/
"É (Cuneiform) is the Sumerian word or symbol for house or temple. The Sumerian term É.GAL ("palace", literally "big house") denoted a city's main building. É.LUGAL ("king's house") was used synonymously. In the texts of Lagash, the É.GAL is the center of the ensi's administration of the city, and the site of the city archives."--Wikipedia
In regards to the ancient Sumerian documents, Zecharia Sitchin elucidates on the meaning of the "E" Symbol in his book Divine Encounters, "Now the gods retreated to sacred precincts, the step pyramids (ziggurats) at whose center were called the "E" (literally house, abode) of the God." Page 109
So is the Mountain Palace District in the Nodia Megacomplex in Montana Megaliths North the ancient site of the "city archives"? Interesting synchronicity that this area is named Mountain Palace and that the Sumerian term E.GAL means palace or big house.
The "E" Symbol has been discovered carved into ceramic conglomerate blocks inside the tunnels of the Bosnia Pyramids. These ancient pyramids have been dated to at least 34,000 years old.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPrSuTXyTE
"E" Symbol protruding from the side of a cliff at the First Nations Buffalo Jump downriver
from the Caterpillar Megaliths
"E" Symbol embossed in the upper right corner. Gold Plate from Burrow's Cave in Illinois, USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uprUsA7Z1ng
Burrow's Cave Illinois, USA"E: Symbol in the top line of glyphs
Burrow's Cave in Illinois, USA
Years ago I found a raised "E" Symbol below the First Nations Buffalo Jump Site near Ulm, Montana which is a few miles north of the Mountain Palace District where the Caterpillar Megaliths and Nodian Head are located. Perhaps the "E" Symbol in this location on the side of a cliff was a road sign pointing the way.
See more about the pictographs and petroglyphs in Montana on this page of my Galacticfacets website:
Nodian Head is one one end of the Caterpillar Megalith. Nodia Wolf faces the river from the other end.
The Nodian Wolf face is faded yet the white of the painted eyes are still visible after all of the centuries of exposure to the elements.
CASTLE NODIAN
Around a bend in the River from the Caterpillar Megaliths, perched on the side of a mountain, Castle Nodia features huge cyclopean rectangular block walls. Round cylindrical turrets are positioned on two of the corners.
Doorway below Castle Nodia
THREE OWLS
In 2018, I was taken to see Owl Eyes which is a megalithic statue along the Missouri River. The next morning I arrived at sunrise and watched through a scope as the rising sun reflected off of the faceted stones that were inset into two perfect circles. The eyes glowed.
Outlines of two eyes had been cut into the rock face and then built up with smaller bricks forming two circular eyes in the correct anatomical position. Facets stones were set at the exact angle to reflect the rising sun forming the pupil.
Big Owl faces Nodia Castle from across the Missouri River
The week of Winter Solstice in 2019, I returned to the same area in the Nodia Megacomplex and discovered a similar and much larger owl face I named Big Owl. Big Owl forms the top of a high cliff facing Nodia Castle across the river. Featuring an elongated square head, two obvious circular eyes and a similar kerchief around the neck, Big Owl is majestic. The circular designs on Big Owls kerchief is inset with white stone. White stone inset with a black circular pupil is obvious in the right eye. The left eye has eroded however the circular pupil and some of the inset stones are still visible from certain angles.
Near Big Owl another similar owl statue graces the skyline and also faces Nodia Castle. This much smaller owl figure is held my a feminine human effigy figure therefore I named this statue Owl Goddess. Owl Goddess features two circular owl eyes, a beak and the full body of an owl.
Owls are associated with many permutations of the White Goddess in several ancient cultures. " In Ancient Greek mythology the Owl was a creature sacred to Athena, Goddess of the night who represented wisdom. Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom had a companion Owl on her shoulder, which revealed unseen truths to her. Owl had the ability to light up Athena's blind side, enabling her to speak the whole truth, as opposed to only a half truth. The Ainu in Japan trust the Owl because it gives them notice of evil approaching. They revere the Owl, and believe it mediates between the Gods and men."
"The bird features prominently Celtic folklore where it is considered both to be sacred and to have magical powers, again because of its abilities in the dark. Zulus and other West African nations consider the bird a powerful influence in casting spells, and think that using parts of the owl gives great strength to a person involved with magical incantations."
http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/…/mythology_folkl…/owls.asp
All three owls are partially covered with the same rusty colored lichen. Lichen often flourishes utilizing the specific colored minerals that are used in the geopolymer concrete overlays which defines the features of these intentionally constructed statues.
EPIC EPISODE COMPLEX
Stories illustrated in three dimensional rock sculptures were created for us by our Ancient Ancestors so that they would be remembered down through the countless ages. In the Indigenous Way certain stories are only told in the Winter after the first snow. The Lightning Medicine Bundle is opened during the first lightning storm of the season as the tribe gathers to hear the stories once again. Ceremonies are held at specific times of the year when the moon, sun and stars align.
I have been listening to the epic legends illustrated on Epic Episode Mountain. Some illustrations light up at dawn, some as the moon rises and others as the eagles fly over. The rushing river, honking geese and loud chattering ducks harmonize in producing the surround sound track.
Inset white stone circles with a black compass needle that points to a specific direction are prevalent on Epic Episode Mountain and in the surrounding environs. Epic White Eye Face Compass points to 2:00. These white compass circles double as eyes and earrings. The white compass circles are positioned in line of sight across the river and upstream from Epic Episode Mountain.
EPIC EPISODE
Epic White Eye Face
Giant Speaks on the side of Elephant Rock
Epic Lion King
Epic Star Gazer
River Goddess Earring Compass at 5:00
Elephant Rock watches up river previewing what is to come. Giant Speaks on the left side of Elephant Rock calls out to River Goddess Compass across the wide rushing river. Spirits ride the wind.
View from the River Goddess Earring Compass across the river toward the Epic Episode Mountain
Moon over White Eye Face Compass
Eagle flies over White Eye Face Compass
As the sun passes overhead a variety of features are enhanced in the light and shadow on the Epic Episode Mountain. Several hues of color are reflected in the faces on the stone edifice.
ANCIENT WHITE CIRCLES WITH INSET COMPASS NEEDLES POINT TO FEATURES SEEN FROM GOOGLE EARTH
The needle on White Eye Face Compass points to 2:00. When I was looking down on Epic Episode from Google Earth I realized that if I turned the compass on Google Earth to 2:00 the silhouette of the right side of a human face was clearly visible. This masculine face featured a white eye with a circular black pupil, large nose and pointed chin. I named this geosculpture Janus Epic after the two faced God Janus.
The left side of a Reptilian face meets the human face along the back of the heads. Featuring a white compass eye, a large jaw full of teeth the Reptilian looks the opposite direction.
Janus Epic from Google Earth
Janus the two faced God of endings
and beginnings
https://www.faranakmirjalili.net/articles/2019/1/1/janus-god-of-endings-and-beginnings
The classical Janus figure of the two faced God with the left side face featuring a ram's horn and sheep ear correlates with the Nodia Ram Geoslculputre which is a few miles downriver from the Epic Episode Complex where Janus Epic is visible from Google Earth.
Emerging from the rock below Epic Sphinx the silhouette of frowning detailed face wearing a Hedget Crown looks down at the river below.
"The White Crown of Upper Egypt is also known as the Hedjet Crown. It looks a bit like a bishop's mitre and was probably made from cloth or felt.
The White crown was worn by the rulers of Upper Egypt before the unification with Lower Egypt. Like the Royal Vulture Crown, it had a special association with the goddess Nekhbet.
Horus, the falcon god, was usually shown wearing the White Crown. "
https://www.artyfactory.com/egyptian_art/egyptian_crowns/ancient-egyptian-crowns.ht
THE THREE FACES OF ELFIN WARRIORS
There are at least three faces in the Elfin Warrior stacked on top of one another. Silhouetted in the center is the elongated head Elf that features a slanted piercing left eye and pointed left ear. On the left cheek a section of smooth polygonal inset polished stone casing is still intact. Elfin Warrior reminds me of Haldir and the Elfin Warriors at Helm's Deep in the movie Lord of the Rings.
Directly under the jaw of the upper face a second face appears. A large left eye gazes out from under a visor type helmet worn by the lower silhouetted face.
Gazing at the sky the top face has a large white left eye with a circular pupil and appears more feline than human. Above the top face the eye of White Eye Compass points to 2:00.
Lower Face of Elfin Warrior
Upper face of Elfin Warrior
TOWER ELF GEOSCULPTURE
CHAC-MOOL ANDROMEDA
MONTANA MEGALTIHS NORTH
Chac-Mool Andromeda in the
Nodia Megacomplex
Statue of Chac-Mool, Cancun, Quitana Roo, Mexico, North America
By Charles Bowman
Andromeda Hausser posted a fascinating collage depicting the correlations between a Chac-Mool figure and the Eye Tooth structure in the Nodia Complex in the Montana Megaliths North.
Andromeda's collage is compelling. She clarified the collage by noting that, "The one on top right is not Chac mool but an Aztec warrior or maybe even an astronaut."
1. https://www.flickr.com/photos/lecuna/1803450903
Chac Mool Collage by Andromeda Hausser
Head of Chac Mool Andromeda
Chac-Mool is the name of a type of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican stone sculpture that depicts a human figure in a position of reclining with the head up and turned to one side, and often holding a bowl.
A Mayan Scholar and Shaman visited the Montana Megaliths this last summer to research the correlations between the Olmec Helmet Head Geosculpture and the Olmec, Toltec and Maya Cultures in the Yucatan. After examining several sites he stated that some areas of the Montana Megaliths were much older and were the precursor to the Olmec settlements in Mexico.
FOUR FINGERED ONE PICTOGRAPH
Years ago I had dreamed of this pictograph and knew that I would be taken there by a man with a big dog. So the first time I was in Craig the waitress asked me what I was doing there. I told her that I was waiting for a man with a big dog but I did not know who the man was. Even though I was only drinking Pepsi she must have thought I was a little crazy. A few hours later an older man with a Saint Bernard asked me if his dog was big enough. Long story short he took me to the Four Fingered One pictograph and I took this photo. I asked him to pass this knowledge forward and apparently he did.
This is what I wrote the day I was taken to the glyph, "A few miles upstream this female figure holds up four fingers on her left hand indicating that she is a Four Fingered One. Surrounding her is the trajectory of the journey from a five-star solar system that was hit by an explosion as demarcated by the eruption on the left side of the sun circle.This pictograph site is located on a tributary stream that flows into the Missouri River in Montana."
Four Fingered One
More Montana Megaliths on the Galacticfacets website:
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Home Opinion Reasons Why Tun Rahah Should Be An Icon For Unity
Reasons Why Tun Rahah Should Be An Icon For Unity
Hasnah Abdul Rahman
About the author: Hasnah Abdul Rahman is the editor-in-chief of New Malaysia Herald while being an activist for autism. She has worked for various media organisations as reporter and editor. She is also a foodpreneur in her spare time and gives traditional cuisine that 5-star edge.
Her calm countenance and demeanour belies the 87 years of a life worth living. For many, they may assume that she has led an enviable life, a quiet one, perhaps.
For those who don’t know her, they will think that she has had it easy being the youngest child of the former Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Mohamad_Noah_Omar. And she later became the wife of Malaysia’s second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak. Subsequently, she was the mother of the country’s sixth Prime Minister, Datuk Sri Najib Tun Razak.
For those who know her, however, they are aware that she has gone through all kinds of trials to bring up her five children as a single mother after the passing of the late Tun Razak due to leukemia when she was 43 years old. At that time, he had just assumed office of the Prime Minister six years before that.
To her credit, the late Tun Hajjah Rahah was the matriarch we all look up to. She was calm and poised at most times, and happiest when she was with her family.
The late Tun Rahah was happiest when with her family, here with her equally famous five sons. – Photo credit: Google Image
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Click to watch on New Malaysia Herald YouTube.
Allahyarhamah Tun Hajjah Rahah was born on 11 June 1933 in Muar, Johor, and received her early education at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ), Johor Baharu.
She married the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein on 04 Sept 1952 and had five children, all boys, namely Najib, Datuk Ahmad Johari, Datuk Mohamed Nizam, Datuk Mohamed Nazim and Datuk Mohamed Nazir.
According to The Star, in its article entitled: The Band of Brothers, published on 06 Dec 2008: “Johari Razak, the second eldest, read law, like his father. He is a senior partner at Shearn Delamore & Co, a large law firm in Kuala Lumpur. He is also a non-executive director in several publicly listed companies including chairman of Ancom Bhd, deputy chairman of related Nylex (M) Bhd, and directorships in Hong Leong Industries Bhd and Daiman Development Bhd. He is also a director of Deutsche Bank (M) Bhd.
“The middle brother, Datuk Mohamed Nizam Razak studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University in the UK and was a stockbroker, being CEO of PB Securities Sdn Bhd in the 1990s. At present, he is also a non-executive director in several publicly listed companies including Hiap Teck Venture Bhd, Mamee Double-Decker (M) Bhd, Delloyd Ventures Bhd and Yeo Hiap Seng (M) Bhd. Like Johari, Nizam is also a director of Deutsche Bank.
“The fourth brother Datuk Mohamed Nazim Razak, who also studied in a British university, is an architect, while the youngest brother, Datuk Nazir Razak had studied at Cambridge University where he obtained a master of philosophy.
“A career banker, he joined CIMB Investment Bank almost 20 years ago, rising through its executive ranks to become its CEO in 1999. Following the merger of CIMB and Bumiputra-Commerce Bank to become Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd (BCHB), Nazir became CEO of the merged group. This was not an easy charge as Bumiputra-Commerce Bank, during its years as Bank Bumiputra, had a history of falling into financial difficulties and needed to be rescued by the government.
“Under his watch, the BCHB group, which is branded as CIMB Group, was transformed into a GLC (government-linked company) bank that could compete with its peers in the private sector regionally.”
The said Star article added: “Najib has been careful that there is no incidence of “family cronyism”, although that has not deterred his political opponents from raising the issue.
“His record, however, is a good one. Among his brothers, only Nazir has risen to the top post of a large GLC but he had to climb the corporate ladder.
“More importantly, Nazir has proved to be a capable banker, an accolade offered by his peers and fund managers for the results he produced at CIMB group. Furthermore, he advanced at CIMB at a time when Najib held other cabinet posts, not that of finance minister.
“In recent years, Najib had held the portfolio of defence minister and throughout his term of service, there were no scandals of defence contracts involving his brothers. The family is proud of the Razak name and do not want to tarnish that.”
Yet, the brothers have built their respective careers and have the right, as any other individual, to move up in their careers. They could have moved to public service as they are well-educated and are known to be well-mannered, rather than arrogant, and have not been known to abuse their family ties.
Heartbroken And Devastated
As a mother, she must have been heartbroken and devastated at the way the Pakatan Harapan government (May 2018 – January 2020) had treated her eldest son, Najib. Apart from the slew of court cases which were beyond comprehension, they had raided his homes and confiscated his properties and till the day she passed away on Friday, 18 December, these items have not been returned to Najib and his other family members. Not to forget the fact that even her house in Jalan Eaton was raided by the police during the investigations on her son and they even broke the ceiling of the house to look for any hidden loots.
“I am so thankful that the Pakatan Harapan government is no longer in power. Because if they are, I doubt if they will accord the State Funeral for the late Tun Rahah, knowing how much they were against Najib Razak’s family at that time,” said Tan Wei Kheong, a Unit Trust Consultant.
What a relief to have PH out. – NMH graphics by DH
Tan hopes that after the demise of his mum, there will be further respite for Datuk Sri Najib and his other family members as the attacks against them are just too evil – from the court cases and raids to the freezing of accounts and passports.
A Malaysian entrepreneur living overseas, Clement Woo, recalls how Tun Razak was always thinking of all the racial groups in the country and being his wife, she also played her part in being inclusive, as can be seen from her involvement in the Girl Guides Movement and other activities.
Inclusive. – NMH graphics by DH
“I am sure, this inclusiveness must have rubbed on to their son Najib Razak, and probably given the idea to the latter to propagate the 1Malaysia rallying call,” Clement added.
This was what Muralitharan Ramachandran felt when he recalled the State funeral extended to Tun Rahah.
Matured politics. – NMH graphics by DH
“I was just amazed to see the number of people who turned up for the funeral, especially during a pandemic. That shows the love they have for Tun Rahah and the Tun Razak family. And it was good to see the Opposition politicians there, from the different racial groups, and we hope this is a good sign for matured politics in the country,” said Muralitharan, who is the Vice-President of Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) and also the Managing Editor of the New Malaysia Herald.
Among the opposition politicians who paid their last respects were Ketari assemblyman Young Syefura Othman, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, Bakri MP Yeo Bee Yin and Lembah Pantai MP Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil.
Representing Wanita DAP, Young Syefura described the grit and personality of Tun Rahah as a single mother who raised five children as an example of a perseverant woman.
“She is a woman who is respected, a determined woman who successfully brought up her children after losing her husband at a young age. Her demise is a big loss to the country and to the women of today,” she said.
Meanwhile, Pandan MP, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail when met, said she was always amazed by Tun Rahah’s perseverance in educating her children when her husband was being treated for leukaemia.
Brave And Determined
“We could learn from her brave and determined attitude. Farewell from me,” she said.
This was also attested by Irma Darwis, a business development manager.
“Both Tun Razak and Tun Rahah were the role models for exemplary parenting, and this value is imparted onto their children who in turn had model families.
Exemplary parenting. – NMH graphics by DH.
“I am blessed to be able to live with my mum till now and I can imagine how devastated DSN and siblings must be feeling right now, yet they are gracious to everyone, even though they are grieving,” she added.
Accolades were also received from foreign dignitaries, especially from neighbouring Singapore. Its Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong said that Tun Rahah Mohamed Noah was a source of strength, courage and inspiration for her family and for all Malaysians.
“She stood resolutely beside her husband, (the late) Tun (Abdul) Razak (Hussein), when he led Malaysia at a critical period in its history,” said Lee in his latest update on his Facebook recently.
“She will be remembered for her devotion to country and family,” he wrote further in his posting in which he appended a photo of Tun Rahah.
The Singapore PM, Lee Hsien Loong, paid courtesy to the late Tun Rahah seen in this photo with Lee’s late mum, Kwa Geok Chee, who was then the wife of Singapore’s Prime Minister, the late Lee Kuan Yew. Photo from LHL’s FB page and courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.
Not to be left out was Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed also from the opposition bloc and a former Prime Minister (twice). He has treated Najib Razak as his nemesis in politics, although the latter’s father was instrumental in giving Mahathir is jumpstart into politics.
“The late Tun Rahah Mohamed Noah had made enormous contributions to assist Tun Abdul Razak Hussein when he was the second prime minister,” said Mahathir.
He described Tun Rahah as among the last from the independence generation who contributed invaluable services and sacrifices to the country.
“(She), is the ‘merdeka’ generation… not many people of the merdeka generation are still alive. Maybe (she) was among the last.
The loss of Tun Rahah was clearly felt by the people and for Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, Malaysia has lost an exceptional woman personality.
Certainly, with such accolades, it is deserving for her to be anointed as an Icon for Unity.
Meanwhile, when I was doing my research on Allahyarhamah Tun Rahah, I came across two simply moving articles that best describe the lives of Tun Rahah and Tun Razak. These were
Translation of a speech by Sultan Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah at the launch of the book on Tun Razak by Shahreen Kamaluddin, Fulfilling A Legacy: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/tun-razak-would-have-been-heartbroken
An article in the New Straits Times by DR PARIDAH ABD SAMAD on Tun Razak’s final journey: https://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/01/122302/tun-razaks-final-journey – New Malaysia Herald #TOGETHER4UNITY
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Hasnah Abdul Rahman Editor in Chief New Malaysia Herald
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Hempstead laundry worker recalls 'horrendous' attack on customer's baby
Ralphael Brown, 19, of Hempstead, is led out of Nassau police headquarters in Mineola for arraignment in Hempstead on Friday, Dec. 19, 2014. Brown is to be arraigned on charges stemming from an attack Tuesday on a female employee and a 1-year-old at a self-service laundry in Hempstead. Credit: Howard Schnapp
By TANIA LOPEZ tania.lopez@newsday.com @taniaelopez Updated December 19, 2014 9:49 PM
One minute Hempstead laundry worker Lesley Licona was playing with a customer's baby daughter. The next she was fighting off a robber, riveted in horror as her attacker kicked the baby and ripped away her diamond necklace.
"I think it is a horrendous crime. The baby could've been killed," said Licona, 39, back at work Fridaymorning at the 24 Hour Laundry at 620 Fulton Ave.
Licona's alleged attacker, Ralphael Brown, 19, of Hempstead, pleaded not guilty Friday to multiple felony charges at his arraignment at First District Court in Hempstead.
The 1-year-old girl had cuts to the head, chest and back area after the Tuesday attack, police said. The baby was taken by ambulance to a hospital to be treated. A police spokeswoman Friday morning said she did not have an update on the baby's condition.
"Her little face, she looked scared," Licona told Newsday, speaking Spanish and displaying scratches left by her attacker to her left hand and the upper part of her chest, below the collarbone. "I'm still shaking."
Licona said the baby is 18 months old and had scratches and a bump to the right side of her head when she was taken to the hospital; she appeared more frightened than anything.
Judge Scott Siller ordered Brown to be held on $500,000 bail at his arraignment Friday. He pleaded not guilty to felony charges of second-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree assault, second-degree strangulation and a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child, police said. Brown is due back in court Tuesday. He is represented by Legal Aid, which does not comment on behalf of its clients.
A woman who identified herself as Brown's mother said, "All I know is it's a lie," after leaving the courtroom.
Assistant District Attorney Anna Acquafredda said Brown had a conviction for robbery and had served a 1-to-3-year term before his release in April. She said Brown also has an open felony gun charge from May.
In the Tuesday attack, Licona said the suspect walked into the laundry about noon as she was playing with the baby, standing over her and holding her upright by her hands as the baby stood facing away from her.
They were near the office in front of the building when the attacker pushed her into the wall and grabbed her by her neck, Licona said.
The baby plopped to the floor, and the attacker kicked once at her sideways to move her out of his path, Licona said.
Court papers said Brown demanded quarters from Licona and then "grabbed the victim by the neck with both hands."
As Licona screamed for him not to hurt the baby, Brown said, "I don't give a [expletive] about the baby," according to the documents.
As the suspect tried pushing Licona into the office, she said she resisted.
"He was a big guy," she said. "He was trying to get me in the office. I put my foot forward to stop him from moving me, and the baby was crying."
She said her attacker noticed her diamond necklace after he grabbed her neck and said, "Oh, you have a necklace. Give me that necklace," before yanking it off her neck and running out, Licona said.
The baby's mother, who had been at the other end of the laundry, rushed to her daughter, and another customer called 911, not "three seconds" after the attacker left, Licona said.Police said Brown fled on foot and was seen getting into a blue 2010 Mazda that headed onto Fulton Avenue. Detectives tracked him to his residence, 358 Washington Ave., where they arrested him with assistance from the Bureau of Special Operations, police said.
"I'm still nervous," Licona said, explaining why she is working despite the assault still tearing at her emotions. "I'm nervous, but I have three children. One in college, one in high school and one in second grade. I have no choice."
By TANIA LOPEZ tania.lopez@newsday.com @taniaelopez
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January 11, 2021 | Bromley Council opens second COVID-19 Rapid Testing site
January 11, 2021 | Firefighters issue cooking oil warning after Beckenham flat fire
January 10, 2021 | Local dance studio in fundraising effort for disadvantaged children
January 2, 2021 | Education update: COVID-19 delays school returns
December 22, 2020 | Police shut down 20-person Tier 4 restaurant gathering
Council releases coronavirus school closures guidance
Posted By: Anthony Strzalek March 19, 2020
The government announced on March 18 that all schools, early years settings and colleges should close with effect from the end of the school day on Friday, March 20 until further notice as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
However, schools and settings will continue to support children of key workers (emergency services, health services) and vulnerable children. The government also announced that the upcoming public examinations will not proceed, with further details to follow in due course.
Therefore, Bromley council is advising academy trusts that are responsible for running the majority of the borough’s schools and other educational providers to take immediate steps to notify parents/carers of the arrangements they are putting in place.
A Bromley Council spokesperson said: “The council understands the significant impact that school closures have on families and the wider community and we will continue to provide support and guidance to schools and settings, in line with government and public health guidance. In particular, we will urgently work with schools and settings on the ongoing arrangements for children of key workers and vulnerable children.
“Wherever possible, schools are advised to provide school work for pupils through their website/online portal or via email facilities. For pupils in receipt of free school meals, the government has announced it will provide schools with flexibility to provide free school meals or vouchers, whilst a national voucher system is developed. We are therefore encouraging schools to consider whether arrangements can be made locally for food or a voucher to be collected, either from the school, or working with a local charitable organisation.”
The government has also provided a national coronavirus helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Parents, staff, and young people can contact this helpline by phoning 0800 046 8687 (open 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday.)
For more information on the latest government advice in response to the virus, visit: www.gov.uk/coronavirus
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Coimbatore-based NGO Sixth Sense Foundation…
Sixth Sense Foundation has set up a community centre at a small village called Pinjivakkam near Thiruvallur, around 50 kms from Chennai that gives the village children access to after school education classes, internet, electricity and toilet facilities.
4 December 2020,
Sixth Sense Foundation
Sixth Sense Foundation, a Coimbatore based non-profit organization has set up a community centre at a small village called Pinjivakkam near Thiruvallur, around 50 kms from Chennai. The community centre set up in 5000 sq ft area in the prime centre of the village, gives the village children access to after school education classes, internet, electricity and toilet facilities.
The community centre helping 150 children has a full time facilitator to manage the after school sessions. The facilitator appointed by the NGO is tasked with ensuring that the sessions are conducted on time and attend them. Through these sessions, the children stay updated with the lessons taught in the school and the facilitator also conducts periodic tests to prepare the children for exams. The centre also has computers with internet connection which children use for doing different projects related to their learning.
SG Suryah, Managing Trustee of Sixth Sense Foundation says, “The concept was conceived after my visit to the village in 2017. I was told that school dropouts were very high because of various reasons. The village witnessed only 30% Pass Percentage in the board exams. Those children who clear the exams drop the school and are either sent off to work in fields or married off. This centre and our Foundation ensure that pass percentage improves and take care until they finish college”
Pradeep Gunasekaran, Founding Trustee and General Secretary of Sixth Sense Foundation says that after the centre was set up in 2018, special coaching was given to children who face board exams. “The pass percentage in 2019 has improved to 70%. We feel that was a drastic change. We are planning to support the children financially to continue their education”.
Apart from this, the community centre is also a place where vocational courses are conducted for the women of the village empowering them to be self-sufficient.
“10 vocational training programs were conducted this year and 100 women have benefitted out of these training sessions” says the Facilitator Ambedhanand
Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of building 100 smart villages through the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, the foundation aims to make Pinjivakkam a model village in the region.
“We are looking forward to setting up more centres in villages across Tamil Nadu”, Pradeep says.
Palan Dilshad Mustafa Barzani is the saviour of many orphaned children in Kurdistan
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Home > golden dawn >
Mixing religions in Magic
by Nick Farrell - June 21, 2015 0
When I was first training it was drilled into me that you should never mix the godforms of different traditions. I saw the concept in a Ritual 101 book written by Murray Hope. Some godforms could be mixed and Hope helpfully gave a list.
You could for example mix in Cabbalistic Angels with any Godform system as neither side seemed to mind. Greek and Roman pantheons tended to work ok, but others should be kept apart as mysteries within their cultural tradition and if you mixed Roman with Egyptian you would get a jarring of energy.
At the time it made absolute sense and any rituals I wrote were geared to being either totally Egyptian, Celtic, Babylonian etc. However as my magical researched focused on ancient Alexandria and I started adapting the Greek Magical Paprii for my own use I appear to have thrown that idea out of the window.
It was not a conscious decision, it was just that I started working that way. It was then someone pulled me up with a comment about a written ritual which switched between Roman and Egyptian Gods several times in a single rite and she (quite rightly I had over egged the pudding a bit in that ritual) used the word “jarring” which bought back memories of rules about mixed traditions.
Now I have been mixing godforms in rituals for several years and I have not seen the jarring effect shown by Hope. I have seen a dynamic shown by having two conflicting gods in the same space, which could be seen as jarring (it wasn’t really) but since they were gods from the same tradition that did not really apply. It also does not explain one important fact.
Historically magic mixed religious traditions.
The Greek Magical Papryii with are collection of magical scrolls from the Roman era show Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Sumerian, Babylonian, Syrian Jewish magical systems and gods all tossed into one melting pot.
Take for example this phrase of power which is connected to Typhon. ANLALA LAI GAIA APA DIACHANNA CHORYN
A-lai: could it be Eloah / Eli / Elu, which are variant forms for El, the Jewish God, sometimes linked to the Stars.
Gaia-a: the Greek Earth Goddess.
Pa-dia: it could remember the accusative of pais, which means “baby, child”
Channa: In Hittite the word for mother is Hanna, and this word was so widespread and used that today it is still used by the Turkish: they call “mother” as “anne”. This word was fundamental to me. I thought to the Greek living in the ancient Anatolia: from there there were a lot of mystery cults, and a lot of Hittite gods were used in the Greek theogony. So, there was a link between the Hittite and the Ancient Near East and the Greeks.
Choryn: this word remember the greek word for girl, maid. But it can also be linked to Kyrios, which means Lord.
So, here could be invoked the God of Heaven and the goddess of Hearth, who is child, mother and girl. Not much to do with Typhon…. But Typhon was a child of Gaia he was seen as an air Daemon (so Enlil makes sense). His story was similar to that of an Hittite monster called Ullikummi. So this text could be a hacked Greco-egyptian version of some ancient Anatolian magic.
The ancients believed then that Gods were pretty much the same (even the Jewish YHVH was seen as an aspect of Jove so the idea of mixing them was not alien or wrong.
So where did the idea of mixing traditions being bad come from?
Looking back I can’t find anything like it being mentioned until the 19th century Theosophical movement . There was an idea of root races. The believe was that there were different waves of humanity each representing different degrees of evolution.
The last root race is the Ayran one which his split into subraces, the Hindu, which migrated from the “City of the Bridge” on the white island in the middle of the Gobi inland sea to India in 60,000 BC; the second subrace, the Arabian, which migrated from the “City of the Bridge” to Arabia in 40,000 BC; the third subrace, the Persian, which migrated from the “City of the Bridge” to Persia in 30,000 BC; the fourth subrace, the Celts, which migrated from the “City of the Bridge” to Western Europe beginning in 20,000 BC (the Mycenaean Greeks are regarded as an offshoot of the Celtic subrace that colonized Southeast Europe); and the fifth sub race, the Teutonic, which also migrated from the “City of the Bridge” to what is now Germany beginning in 20,000 BC (the Slavs are regarded as an offshoot of the Teutonic sub race that colonized Russia and surrounding areas. The Jewish race is from the fourth root race and therefore much less developed.
Needless to say this is all bollocks and discounted by modern science, however it was hugely influential on the 20th century occult movement. If these root races existed, then it makes sense not to mix traditions because you are mucking around with different evolutionary currents.
As I have said in my Making Talismans book, all gods are probably anthropomorphic expressions of seven basic divine energies (which the Greeks expressed in vowels and I am inclining towards using colour) so Set will be part of the same ray as Typhon and Mars and any of the Babylonian war gods.
Mixing them to do the same things makes no difference.
However There is SOME truth in the idea. Swapping gods too often in one ritual can cause a headache if over done but it should still be seen as something natural and not jarring.
THE SUMMER EDITION OF THE HERMETIC TABLET IS OUT
Ritual Offerings : Feeding Your Spirits, Empowering Your Magick book review
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Home » Latest News in Nigeria » Army probes stolen N400m by 5 soldiers
Army probes stolen N400m by 5 soldiers
Monday, July 22, 2019 Fashola MC POSCABA 0 Latest News in Nigeria
Lieutenant Audu Arihu, spokesman for the 8 Division Nigerian Army in Sokoto, has confirmed the theft of N400 million, not billions, by some lower-ranked soldiers in July.
He also said investigations have commenced.
He identified the runaway soldiers as Corporal Gabriel Oluwaniyi, Corporal Mohammed Aminu, Corporal Haruna, Oluji Joshua, and Hayatudeen.
Reports said military authorities have quizzed Major General Hakeem Oladapo Otiki, former general officer commanding of the division, who ordered the five soldiers to escort the money from Sokoto to Kaduna.
Apart from the quizzing, the former GOC was said to be under close watch and would be brought to Abuja after he was cross-examined by the Directorate of Military Intelligence, the Special Intelligence Bureau and the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police.
Tracking the soldiers involved with the heist would be difficult as they abandoned their phones at the infantry corps in Jaji, Kaduna state before they escaped.
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In pictures: Brave Dons bow out of the JPT at Bristol City
George Francomb's late goal not enough to save AFC Wimbledon at Ashton Gate
In pictures: AFC Wimbledon bow out of the JPT
AFC Wimbledon were knocked out of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy after going down at Ashton Gate.
The Dons more than matched the League One leaders for an hour, but Aaron Wilbraham’s quick-fire brace earned Steve Cotterill’s side a place a side in the last eight as George Francomb’s late reply proved nothing more than a consolation.
Neal Ardley made four changes from the side that drew at York on Saturday, with star striker Bayo Akinfenwa rested.
“I’m absolutely gutted because I wanted to get through to the next round,” boss Ardley said after the 2-1 reverse.
Getting stuck in: Jay Emmanuel Thomas in action with AFC Wimledon's Sammy Moore (Image: Action Images / John Sibley)
“I hate losing, but I’m proud of the performance. We have to make sure though that the next few weeks are positive in terms of results.
“I’m proud of the boys. I always do my homework on the opposition and I felt that if we played with one striker it would have been very hard for us. It would have been attack versus defence.”
Wimbledon return to League Two action this weekend as Dagenham & Redbridge travel to Kingsmeadow for the District Line derby.
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Broadband internet expanding in the Southern Tier
by: News 4 Staff
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY (WIVB)– People living in the Southern Tier are going to get more access to broadband internet.
Local officials joined leaders from First-Light Fiber today to talk about a plan to expand internet access in Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua counties.
Senator George Borrello says a major piece of this project is a 115-mile fiber-optic line, which he says is being under-used right now.
The senator said expanding broadband access is key to the region’s future.
“Adding access to this fiber optic line right now throughout this three-county area is going to be a game-changer. And today is the start of a new collaborative effort.”
George Borrello, Senator
Borrello said the digital divide happening in the rural parts of New York State needs to be closed.
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Armon Hassan
by Heikki | May 13, 2019
Pop | Hip-Hop
If you’ve spent any amount of time in the Milwaukee metal scene, the name Armon Hassan is bound to ring some bells. From cutting his teeth as a harsh vocalist in the metalcore outfit Abide by Me, to packing venues with After Hour Animals, to experimenting outside the boundaries and blurring the lines of heavy music in Monorail Central, Hassan as proven time and time again that his ever-growing vocals become the vanguard of his passion projects.
Once again, Hassan has returned to playing music with a new twist on his indistinguishable vocals – this time with a solo project. Performing under the name Armon Hassan., his debut single “Right Now” shows Hassan at his most vulnerable yet – on display are the clean vocals that Hassan began honing with Monorail Central, and his lyrics paint the picture of a man facing his inner demons. “Right Now” draws upon the self-deprecating emo-rap of artists like Lil Peep and gives Hassan the opportunity to really showcase who he is as an artist – no longer shackled by the boundaries of his past heavy projects, yet still fully capable of projecting the raw emotion that fans of his music have come to expect.
Now signed to N43 Records alongside iconic Milwaukee artists Lex Allen and Corey Pieper, Hassan has only just begun to show Milwaukee what he’s capable of.
Get emails about Armon Hassan!
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COREY PIEPER
Hawaiian Pop | R&B
Blending a rich mix of top 40 sounds, light rap, and new age r&b vibes, Corey is exciting audiences around the country.
With over 130,000 social media followers, 1 million+ video views and recent features on MTV & Bravo networks…the momentum is building. Corey has been booked to perform during SXSW in Austin Texas, Summerfest, KissFM JingleBall, and numerous concerts, festivals, and events. He’s performed in front of crowds as large as 4000+ people and has shared the stage with big names such as Nick Cannon, Ace Hood, O.T. Genasis, Time Flies, SoMo, Kalin & Myles, Aaron Carter, Iyaz, Jojo, and Outasight.
In 2016 & 2017, Corey released several big singles with featured artists Sammie, Kirko Bangz, JR Castro & Darnell Robinson with Pepperdine University Graphic calling him a “rising artist bound for stardom” and GoodMusicAllDay.com declaring “it’s hard not to sing along…”. You can find his music on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes and other music platforms.
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Naijiant The revolution will be on the web
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Nigerian govt hasn’t yet bought coronavirus vaccines
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Home > Articles > Imo 2019: Candidates line up to blast Rochas Okorocha in London
A cross-section of the top table at the Imo Community Europe conference
Imo 2019: Candidates line up to blast Rochas Okorocha in London
As the race for the governorship of Imo State in 2019 heats up, over 42 candidates have their eyes on the top prize of replacing two-term incumbent Rochas Okorocha, who has anointed his son-in-law Uche Nwosu as his successor. Two of the others in the race have other ideas and were at the Imo Community Europe Conference and Gala Nite held last night at the Newham Leisure Centre in Plaistow, East London.
Headlining the list of candidates present was former governor Ikedi Ohakim, whose bid for a second term was derailed by then challenger Rochas Okorocha in May 2011. The other governorship candidate present was former senator Athan Achonu, whose reelection bid to represent the Okigwe Zone in the Senate was ended at an election tribunal last year. Achonu claimed last night that he won the election and that at the tribunal, the judges showed him “two judgments” – one in his favour and one against him. He was allegedly asked to pay for the one in his favour, but refused. He claimed his refusal was because his impression of judges as incorruptible upholders of the law was formed in his days as a secondary school student at Government College Umuahia. Back then, he and his schoolmates were so in awe of judges that they used to tiptoe when they walked past a judge’s house for fear of disturbing such a great man. He said now judges were sadly for sale with their bogus judgments.
Senator Athan Achonu was taking no prisoners
The corruption theme was taken to another level by Ohakim, who ruled the state for four years before losing to Okorocha. He reeled out a litany of disasters that have fallen on the state after nearly eight years of the incumbent. The state was now “dead”, it was in a “liquidity trap”. He used that term in the sense that the state could barely service its debts, couldn’t meet its obligations and there was little income flowing in from federal coffers.
The former governor also alleged that cases of kwashiorkor have been seen in two local government areas. About 800,000 people have lost their jobs under Okorocha’s watch. Okorocha’s predecessor claimed that he handed over 26.6bn naira ($73.4m) to the incoming administration in 2011.
Ohakim said “I made mistakes as a governor. I’m human. I ask for forgiveness”, to much applause. He accused his successor of selling 18 general hospitals to a “northern company” and selling “health centre equipment”. Imo State University, established by Ohakim and Imo State Polytechnic had lost accreditation for 18 courses, including law and medicine under Okorocha. The Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri was now decrepit. According to Ohakim, the state now owed 200bn naira ($500m) to banks. In terms of unpaid pensions/gratuities and contract bills, the state owed 18bn naira ($49.6m). Additionally, the expected future revenue to the state “has been consumed”.
Rochas Okorocha was not present but he loomed large over the conference
Ohakim also alleged that the income received by Imo State since Okorocha came to office in 2011 was higher than what the state received since it was formed in 1976 to 2011. He said that despite lower income levels, he didn’t owe salaries in his one term as a governor. He added that the state has “knocked engine” and needed someone who would “hit the ground running” when he came in, someone who “knows the nuts and bolts” of governance. He called himself a “reluctant candidate”, who is only “coming out” because his people “came begging” for him to come back. He claimed that “the little time I have left I want to use it to serve Imo”.
He alleged that unlike when he was governor, money was no longer “circulating” because all the money was concentrated in “one family” – that of Okorocha. He said a priest in a rural church told him that his church used to get about 15,000 naira ($41.40) each Sunday from the collection plate, but now the take was about 2,000 naira ($5.52).
The former governor, now running under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), told the audience that you only needed about 250,000 votes to win the governorship. He said Nigerians in the Diaspora should not pay attention to those that claim they can’t influence elections. He said each person in the audience could influence 10 people in their villages and what he was telling them was like “expo” (a leaked exam paper).
Ikedi Ohakim asks for a second chance
He went on to claim that Okorocha’s governance involved no record-keeping, no memos, no minutes of meetings, no documentation. Whoever came in after him, “wouldn’t know where to start”. He likened Imo State to a relative on intensive care. The serious nature of the illness meant it was beyond a general practitioner or a junior doctor, a “consultant surgeon” was required. He added: “The engine has knocked, it needs a mechanic driver”.
He gave examples of what needed to be done. This included “opening up Igboland to water” via a seaport in Oguta/Ihiala. This would mean Igbos “capturing the marine business” and will create 2m jobs in the first three years.
Ohakim explained his running under the APGA banner, which Okorocha used to get in before defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), as a case of telling APGA that “you spoiled this [Imo State] and you must repair it”.
Speaking earlier, Senator Achonu had said Nigeria’s problem was leadership. He said the country already had all the laws needed to set it on the right path. This seemed to be a dig at those suggesting “restructuring” was a solution. He asked members of the Imo Community in Europe whether they would elect a “fraudster” as their president and then implied that a “fraudster” was running Imo State.
Achonu said it was the job of a governor to create wealth, provide healthcare, welfare and infrastructure. None of which Okorocha has been able to deliver. State workers had gone 11 months unpaid, while it was 36 months for pensioners. By Achonu’s reckoning, the state was 120bn naira ($330m) in debt. He claimed that banks didn’t lend to the state anymore because they were not sure their debts will be repaid.
Achonu believed that “visionary leadership was needed”. He went on to claim that no Igbo governor or senator spoke out in Nigeria anymore because if they did, the federal government would “show them their corruption file”. “Every senator was afraid apart from Enyinnaya Abaribe” of Abia State. One of the guests told this reporter that it was a bit rich of Achonu to preach against corruption when he made his money from contracts to build hospitals that were never delivered under the regime of Sani Abacha.
During the brief question and answer session, Achonu also alleged that Ohakim was not a “visionary” because he spent limited funds recruiting graduates in the public sector when the money could have been invested in industry that would create jobs. This turned what was until then a “friendly match” into a tit-for-tat affair. Ohakim insisted on responding even though time was running out. He said Achonu had no experience in governance and didn’t understand what was involved, and then went into how those he recruited were teachers, local government workers and others who were being groomed to replace an ageing public service that was needed to implement government policies.
Other candidates for the governorship like Senators Hope Uzodinma and Sam Anyanwu and Frank Nneji, the owner of ABC Transport, couldn’t make the event and sent representatives. Uche Nwosu, Okorocha’s chief of staff and son-in-law neither showed up nor sent a representative.
Earlier, millionaire businessman Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu addressed the gathering, claiming that “everything is haywire” in Nigeria. “There was no security of life and property and people are fed up”. He suggested that “restructuring” was the way forward. A couple of guys in the audience muttered about how Iwuanyanwu’s construction company Hardel and Enic was awarded contracts to repair federal roads in the southeast and he “restructured” the money into his bank accounts.
Emmanuel Iwuanyawu addresses delegates at the conference
Other speakers included Sympathy Nwosu, a UK-based lawyer, who said he was running for president under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Very few took him seriously but he wasn’t lacking in confidence and condemned the “incompetent leadership” in charge of the country. There were also a handful of candidates for state and federal legislative office in attendance.
Presidential candidate Sympathy Nwosu speaks
The night was marred by poor organisation. It typically didn’t start on schedule. This meant that the interactive session with the audience was cut short after written questions had been collected from attendees.
The panel took a question on “cattle ranching” in Igboland. Achonu and Ohakim were dead against it. Ohakim said there was no land available in the overpopulated southeast for such ventures and it was “practically impossible”. Achonu revealed that a bill to introduce cattle ranching in Imo State was going through the state legislature and many people were not aware of this. He asked all Imo people to resist it.
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Charley Reese
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Posted: Jul 21, 2016
Integration of novel materials with silicon chips makes new 'smart' devices possible
(Nanowerk News) Researchers from North Carolina State University and the U.S. Army Research Office have developed a way to integrate novel functional materials onto a computer chip, allowing the creation of new smart devices and systems.
The novel functional materials are oxides, including several types of materials that, until now, could not be integrated onto silicon chips: multiferroic materials, which have both ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties; topological insulators, which act as insulators in bulk but have conductive properties on their surface; and novel ferroelectric materials. These materials are thought to hold promise for applications including sensors, non-volatile computer memory and microelectromechanical systems, which are better known as MEMS.
"These novel oxides are normally grown on materials that are not compatible with computing devices," says Jay Narayan, the John C. Fan Distinguished Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the work (Applied Physics Reviews, "Multifunctional epitaxial systems on silicon substrates"). "We are now able to integrate these materials onto a silicon chip, allowing us to incorporate their functions into electronic devices."
The approach developed by the researchers allows them to integrate the materials onto two platforms, both of which are compatible with silicon: a titanium nitride platform, for use with nitride-based electronics; and yttria-stabilized zirconia, for use with oxide-based electronics.
Specifically, the researchers developed a suite of thin films that serve as a buffer, connecting the silicon chip to the relevant novel materials. The exact combination of thin films varies, depending on which novel materials are being used.
For example, if using multiferroic materials, researchers use a combination of four different thin films: titanium nitride, magnesium oxide, strontium oxide and lanthanum strontium manganese oxide. But for topological insulators, they would use a combination of only two thin films: magnesium oxide and titanium nitride.
These thin film buffers align with the planes of the crystalline structure in the novel oxide materials, as well as with the planes of the underlying substrate - effectively serving as a communicating layer between the materials.
This approach, called thin film epitaxy, is based on the concept of domain-matching epitaxy, and was first proposed by Narayan in a 2003 paper ("Domain epitaxy: A unified paradigm for thin film growth").
"Integrating these novel materials onto silicon chips makes many things possible," Narayan says. "For example, this allows us to sense or collect data; to manipulate that data; and to calculate a response - all on one compact chip. This makes for faster, more efficient, lighter devices."
Another possible application, Narayan says, is the creation of LEDs on silicon chips, to make "smart lights." Currently, LEDs are made using sapphire substrates, which aren't directly compatible with computing devices.
"We've already patented this integration technology, and are currently looking for industry partners to license it," Narayan says.
Source: By Matt Shipman, North Carolina State University
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Hat Creek Dateline: 1883/07/23
Courtesy of The Lusk Herald, 11/25/1992
Horse flees, leaving Charles Guernsey's Stetson in its wake
by Ed Cook, Contributing Writer
Charles Guernsey, superintendent of the 999 (Three Nine) Ranch was here to pick up mail for the ranch today. He drove his buckboard on this trip, with the weather cooperating and the roads dry he can make the 80 miles round trip easily in a day. Guernsey was pleased to find his Stetson hat here with the mail.
There is an interesting story as to why his hat was here with the mail. On his last trip from Hat Creek to the 999, Guernsey was riding a horse called Hank. Hank was a pacer and had a reputation of running away at "the drop of a hat" or the touch of a rope. When they were about half way home and crossing Old Woman Creek, Hank stumbled as they were coming up out of the creek, here is the rest of the story as Guernsey told it...
"Hank stumbled and in trying to save both myself and him from taking a header, I pulled up so suddenly and strong the bit broke in his mouth and when he regained his footing, he was off like the wind and my Stetson went off with the wind.
"Hank, whose foot clearance as a pacer was much less than a trotter, was subject to stumbling when traveling a rough road.
"Except for the loss of the hat I had no objections to the pace we were taking, especially as the road was straight and it was getting well along in the afternoon, and we would reach home that much earlier.
"Within a mile of the crossing a branch road came in leading from the ULA ranch on Lance Creek and farther on the AU7 ranch on the upper reaches of the Cheyenne River. Webb Arnett, a high class cowman, was the AU7 superintendent.
"I had wanted for some time to see Arnett on some cattle matters, and had little more than gained my equilibrium from Hank's disastrous stumble than I saw Arnett on horseback coming from the branch road going towards Hat Creek.
"My 'control' was completely out of gear, with the reins and bit dangling at the side and my head bare as we flew past Arnett on a dead run. I got a glimpse of his look of astonishment at my going at that pace, in the opposite direction from a doctor, unless a band of Indians were on my trail.
"Hank is big, strong and long winded and being headed towards home seemed bent on getting there speedily as possible without any guidance on my part. However, when he settled down to a steady lope, I thought of trying to turn back and overtake Arnett, though a long distance now separated us. Knowing Hank's disposition and will power, I gave up the idea and to make the move unanimous I settled back in the saddle much as to say, 'Home Henry."
Arnett picked up the lost hat and left it at Hat Creek. When Arnett and Guernsey (meet) on the calf roundup they will probably have a good laugh over the incident. meanwhile, Hank has justified the reputation that he would "run at the drop of a hat."
(Information source: "Wyoming Cowboy Days," by C. Guernsey.)
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Ratchet (standing) and Sukkew (crouched), the members of Deviant
"Deviant," Southern Mississippi Juggalo rappers in love, bring killer clown music to New Orleans
Jules Bentley
Published Oct 11, 2016 at 7:07 am | Updated Nov 20, 2019 at 5:34 am
Are you living your dreams? Ratchet and Sukkew are living theirs. Together they're Deviant, a married Juggalo rap duo from a small town in Southern Mississippi. On Wed., Oct. 12 at Southport Hall, they're opening for horrorcore rap legends Twiztid, a huge opportunity for a couple who only this year made the jump from fans to musicians.
After stumbling on Deviant's first music video, Lurkin', I tracked the power couple down for a conversation about their upcoming show, police harassment of Juggalos and how wedded bliss mixes creatively with their lyrical themes of dismemberment, maiming, and torture - the gruesome tropes comprising the rap subgenre known as horrorcore.
[jump] How did y'all get started making music?
RATCHET: I've been rapping since I was about 13 years old, just kinda goofing off and playing with it for years. When I met Sukkew and we got married, she knew I was wanting to do this as a career...
SUKKEW: I loved rap too, everything about Insane Clown Posse and Twiztid. We love the same music, and we just kinda went for it.
RATCHET: Yeah, we started making music together. What, seven months ago? And it's a part of our lives now - it's something we do every day, just sit down and record, rehearse and come up with new stuff.
Especially for such a DIY project, the sound production is sophisticated- what's your recording and mixing process like?
RATCHET: Right now we don't have a steady producer as far as the composition of the instrumentals goes, so we're leasing from different producers around the country that we find on the internet. We record everything ourselves in our own home studio, then we send it to Slick Ross, a buddy of ours online I've known for years. He does the engineering, the mixing and the mastering, and sends it back to us.
Along in with lots of massacre and mayhem, you also refer in your lyrics to being in love, the fact you're married and how much you enjoy having sex with each other. As a listener, I find it intensely romantic. Does the fact you guys make such a cute couple undercut the horror aspect?
RATCHET: I feel like it gives our music its own unique twist - we're like Bonnie and Clyde.
SUKKEW: The Bonnie and Clyde of horrorcore.
RATCHET: It's like, sure we're husband and wife, but that just makes it more sadistic: if I don't catch ya, she will! There's two of us! But we also like to incorporate our relationship and our deep love for one another because that's what being a Juggalo is about, it's about love and acceptance. And you see, a lot of Juggalos deal with depression and loneliness and stuff, so this can give them hope at finding their own partner.
SUKKEW: It also gives us more to talk about in our songs. Being married gives us a different variety of subjects to address.
RATCHET: We're also for the Juggalos who have their Juggalettes, and the Juggalettes who have their Juggalos, but they haven't had a banger like that to represent their marriage and their love and shit -- because there's - as far as we've looked, there's no other married couples in horrorcore.
With regard to Juggalos dealing with depression, I was struck by Sukkew's verse in 'Voices' where you talk about being too poor to get access to mental health resources. That's a big deal for my friends in New Orleans, and I think a widespread condition under capitalism. Is there a tension between those aspects of your music- the fucked-up fantasies where you're dismembering and cannibalizing people, and then very recognizable day-to-day type struggles?
RATCHET: Well that's the thing - that fantasy of horror and killing and blood and guts: that is our health assistance.
SUKKEW: I've always fantasized about cannibalism.
RATCHET: You know, so we couldn't afford the healthcare we needed, we can release that through horror movies and gory, bloody music. Some us sit around and listen to it our whole lives, and some take it further and try to create our own music, to pay back to the Juggalo community who helped us to make it through some tough, depressing really dark times.
You mentioned that Twiztid is an musical act you look up to. What's it feel like to be opening for them?
SUKKEW: I was in shock. When I found out I was like: should I show Ratchet or should I keep it a secret? No, I gotta tell him.
RATCHET: It's definitely a dream come true. I was telling my wife the other day, I remember being 13 - it feels like yesterday - my grandpa bought tickets for me and my buddy Twitch to go see Twiztid in New Orleans, but then [Hurricane] Katrina hit and ruined that for us... and now I'm getting the opportunity to see them in New Orleans, and we're opening for them! It's crazy.
How'd it happen? Have you communicated with the guys in Twiztid or met them?
RATCHET: We don't know them personally. We went to the show in Biloxi last time they were there, and got a few seconds' handshake with them, got to say 'Hey,' but that's as far as it's been. What happened was we posted a link to our music on the venue's Facebook page, so other Juggalos from the area could check us out- just in hopes we'd gain a couple more fans, a couple more Juggalos from the area to jam with- and the venue actually ended up hitting us up and asking if we wanted to open for Twiztid!
Y'all are in Petal, Mississippi. I've been to pro wrestling shows in Petal - it's not a big place. How is it being a Juggalo there?
RATCHET: (sighs) Oh man. Middle school was - that was a trend-setting stage for me. There were no other Juggalos but my buddy Tavis.
SUKKEW: The other day we had our face paint on driving around and the cops pulled us over. They told us they'd gotten like 50 reports of clowns driving around in a blue and pink Volkswagen Beetle. Apparently we scared the shit out of the whole town.
That hadn't occurred to me - all this recent anti-clown news must make it even harder to be a Juggalo, on top of the legal discrimination, the gang hysteria.
RATCHET: Dude, it definitely has - and this is such a small town too. As far as the police, I've had a couple friends [where] the cops have snatched their Hatchet Man chains off their rear-view mirrors. A couple years ago my friends had their ICP shirts taken off and confiscated by the police ... but they haven't really given us personally a lot of shit as far as being Juggalos.
SUKKEW: I got a big ol' Hatchet Girl on the back of my car, too.
RATCHET: Yeah, she has a two-foot Hatchet Girl on the back window of her car, and they haven't said anything about it to us yet.
For readers that aren't familiar with the horrorcore genre or your music specifically, what can they expect from this show?
RATCHET: It's music if you're into the darker side of life - blood, guts, horror.
SUKKEW: And good lyricism!
RATCHET: Lyricism, honesty, realness ... and of course, you'd have to want to associate yourself with Juggalos because there's no filter in that social setting. But there's no drama, no bullshit.
SUKKEW: No lies.
RATCHET: It's just family love. Even if you've never been to an event like this, you show up to a Twiztid show or an Insane Clown Posse show and it's nothing but love from the gate. You haven't lived until you've seen a horrorcore show.
SUKKEW: If it's your first time, it definitely won't be your last time going.
When I initially tried to find y'all on Facebook, some weenie-looking screamo band named "Deviant" turned up instead. For the sake of search engine optimization, have you considered murdering them with hatchets?
SUKKEW: Yeah.
RATCHET: You know, maybe we should. Just search out every other band of whatever genre called Deviant and just chop them to pieces ... and then blame it on the Gambit!
No, no. I retract the suggestion.
RATCHET: Too late. We're easily influenced! It's gonna be y'all's fault.
Aw jeez. Well, in the meantime, congratulations on the show -- I hope it goes well. And I really respect the work you've done to make your dreams happen. I think it's an inspiring story.
RATCHET: Whoop Whoop! Much clown love, ninja!
Deviant performs Wednesday, Oct. 12 at Twiztid's Spooktacular Horror Show in Jefferson. Tickets are $20. You can also follow Deviant on Facebook, YouTube, Soundcloud, Instagram & Twitter.
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Insane Clown Posse hosts 'Juggalo Weekend' in New Orleans during Carnival 2019
Attention all area hatchet-wielding Juggalos, Juggalettes, Juggalas and Juggalx: time to check on those Faygo and facepaint reserves.
Juggalo
Juggalos
Jugalettes
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Maybe a couple of dollars if it's in my wallet
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NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF MINORITY ARCHITECTS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES AWARDS IN LEADERSHIP, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN AND A CALL FOR CONTINUED COLLABORATION AND EQUITY IN ARCHITECTURE
Another view of Arman Chowdhury’s Award Winning Entry
NOMA Inducts Incoming President Jason Pugh and Recognizes Outgoing President Kimberly Dowdell for Her Leadership During Largest Conference on the Eve of NOMA’s 50th Year
WASHINGTON, D.C., OCT. 19, 2020
The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) concluded their first virtual conference Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020, with industry architecture awards, honoring leadership and social, economic, and environmental design, for professionals and students. At the most widely attended NOMA conference, with over 1,600 registrants, the online audience also honored outgoing NOMA President Kimberly Dowdell, NOMAC, AIA, NCARB, SEED, LEED AP BD+C, and inducted incoming NOMA President Jason Pugh, NOMA, AIA, AICP, LEED AP. Pugh’s two-year presidential term will start Jan. 1, 2021, which is also the beginning of NOMA’s 50th year.
“NOMA’s awards ceremony is an annual highlight for NOMA members, when we step back, reflect and take stock of accomplishments, from those beginning their architecture journey as students, to those completing licensure, and so many who are changing their communities through built work,” said Dowdell. “With this being my last ceremony as president, the awards meant even more, acknowledging leadership, allied partners, and the NOMA family that has made the success of this unprecedented year possible. NOMA has achieved so much in our first 49 years and we look forward to engaging our members and the broader architecture community to further expand our impact over the next 50 years.”
The Phil Freelon Professional Design Awards were presented to the following NOMA member firms:
Vision Category – Honor Award: Perkins & Will, Yanel de Angel, NOMA, FAIA, Principal, Resilient Planning at Multiple Scales, Autonomous Municipality of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Focused on climate change impacts, the plan focuses on a two-phased approach: 1) Restore the ecology and 2) Develop a social and civic infrastructure.
Built Category – Honor Award: Moody Nolan, Inc., Curtis J. Moody, FAIA, NOMA, NCARB, LEED AP, Architect of Record / Design Architect, Columbus Metropolitan Library – Martin Luther King Branch, Columbus, Ohio
Historic Preservation, Restoration & Renovation Category – Honor Award: Studio Figure, Nicholas Brinen, NOMA, Architect of Record, Potters Craft Cider at Neve Hall, Charlottesville, Virginia
Unbuilt Category – Honor Award: AECOM Detroit, Pierre Roberson, NOMA, AIA, Principle Design Architect, YMCA Flint, Flint, Michigan
Small Projects Category – Honor Award: SmithGroup, Dayton Schroeter, Principal Design Architect, Society’s Cage, Washington, D.C.
The professional awards jurors included: Tonja Adair, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP, Splice Studios, Inc.; Nicole Hollant-Denis, AIA, NOMA, Aaris Design Studios, PLLC; and Edward Douglas Dunson, II, AIA, NOMA, NCARB Architect / Associate Professor of Architecture
This year ACADIA and Autodesk joined the awards program by creating a new category specifically for computational design. In the professional lineup they awarded:
1st Place: SmithGroup “Society’s Cage”
Honorable Mention: Perkins&Will “Resilient Planning at Multiple Scales: Puerto Rico”
NOMA Awards
During the awards ceremony, Dowdell, HOK Principal, and Anzilla Gilmore, FAIA, Rice University’s assistant director for project management and engineering, were both elevated to the National Organization of Minority Architects Council (NOMAC), the highest level of recognition within NOMA. The following leadership awards were announced:
President’s Award in Access: Melanie Ray, NOMA, AIA, LEED Green Assoc., NCARB; Justin Taplet, NOMA, AIA; Craig Aquart, NOMA, AIA; Kathy Dixon, NOMAC, FAIA
President’s Award in Leadership: Antoine Bryant, NOMA, Assoc. AIA, APA; June Grant, NOMA, RA, SF NOMA President; Rod Henmi, NOMA, FAIA, LEED AP; Tya Winn, NOMA, Assoc. AIA
President’s Award in Legacy: R. Steven Lewis, NOMAC, FAIA; William (Bill) J. Stanley, III, NOMAC, FAIA; Ralph Jackson, FAIA, NOMA; Bryan Hudson, NOMAC, AIA
President’s Award : Tiffany Mayhew, NOMA, Assoc. AIA, NOMA Program Manager
Founder’s Award: Joel Avery, NOMA, NOMA’s Chief Information Officer
NOMA Member of the Year: Tiffany Brown, NOMA, Assoc. AIA, MBA, NOMA Executive Manager
NOMA Chapter of the Year: SoCal NOMA
NOMA Most Improved Chapter: NC NOMA
NOMA partnered with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Design Corps for this year’s NOMA/NAACP/SEED Awards. Dowdell is a co-founder of the Social, Economic, and Environmental Design (SEED) Network, established in 2005. The awards highlight the built and conceptual projects in architecture, community design, and economic development that exemplify justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). The following projects were named 2020 SEED/JEDI Award Winners:
Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Envision Comanche, Tulsa, OK
7933 Tree Lane, Madison, WI
The Weatherization Kit Project, Pittsburgh, PA
Biblioteca Caminanza, Portland, OR
The Chicago Mobile Makerspace, Chicago, IL
Pathways to Equity: West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, Oakland, CA
The SEED/JEDI Awards jurors included: Carl Anthony, architect, author and urban/suburban/regional design strategist; Kimberly Dowdell, NOMA President; Maya Henderson, sustainability professional; Christopher Lee, AIA, Mark Cavagneo Associates; Marquis Miller, Chief Diversity Officer, City of Chicago, Office of the Mayor; Jacqui Patterson, Environmental and Climate Justice, NAACP; Paloma Pavel, Earth House Center; Laura Shipman, Community Development and Planning, One Treasure Island; Jimmie Tucker, FAIA, NOMA, LEED AP, Self + Tucker Architects; and Barbara Brown Wilson, University of Virginia
LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONS: NOMA PRESIDENCY
President Dowdell elevating her long-time partner, the new president Jason Pugh
NOMA recognized outgoing President Dowdell for her accomplishments over the past two years, which includes doubling NOMA’s membership to more than 2,000 members; achieving corporate engagement through diversity, equity and inclusion program, President’s Circle; launching a new NOMA Foundation Fellowship; securing NOMA’s formalized position as a partner with peer organizations, AIA, AIAS, ACSA, NAAB, and NCARB; and leading through COVID-19, developing unifying messaging during the country’s social awakening. Dowdell’s administration also established a revamped mission statement and authored a 2021-2023 strategic plan for NOMA.
“I focused my presidency on openness through #ALLinforNOMA to gather a broader spectrum of members so that together we could talk about how to ensure that no group of people will ever feel left out again,” said Dowdell. “While there is a focus on the issues facing Black architects because that is where we still see the greatest disparities, our non-Black members will learn more about these issues and help us address them for all minority groups. We need the majority in the profession, our white colleagues, to not only understand what the challenges are, but to join in the movement to eradicate them for everyone in the field. I hope that those who have joined us feel more clarity around and commitment to the future of diversity, equity and inclusion in architecture. As much as the industry has stepped up to support us, we are here to support them in their journey, too. Our diversity in membership will only help us be more successful in the future.”
Dowdell inducted Pugh as the 2021-2022 president by “passing the staff,” a tradition from NOMA’s founding in 1971. A licensed architect and certified planner, Pugh is an Associate Architect and Urban Designer at Gensler’s Chicago office. Pugh has a passion for helping develop underserved communities and the next generation of designers and architects. He previously served as the president of the Illinois NOMA chapter 2015-2016, and also served on Chicago’s Associate Board of the ACE (Architecture, Construction, and Engineering) Mentor Program. Pugh has a B.A. from Howard University, one of seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities with an architecture accreditation, and a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University.
“I’m honored to lead NOMA into our 50th year and start the next half-century of programming and progress,” said Pugh, NOMA incoming president. “One of the main goals for the next two years is to build upon the great work and progress President Dowdell and membership have accomplished during her tremendously impactful administration. We want to find ways to bolster the programs and initiatives launched by both the National Executive board and our local NOMA chapters to date, and ensure it dovetails with our expanded platform to Educate, Elevate, and Empower our membership base and chapters across the country.” Pugh addresses conference attendees; you can read his remarks on the President’s Desk.
NOMAS Student Awards
Every year, NOMA recognizes leadership excellence in their student chapters. Led by NOMA professionals across the country, the liaisons work with the NOMA Board to identify emerging talent in their student chapters. The 2020 National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS) Student Member of the Year was Shaela Nelson, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The NOMAS Chapter of the Year winner was Syracuse University NOMAS; with an Honorable Mention going to Illinois Institute of Technology, NOMAS IIT.
The 2020 NOMA Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition was focused on a project led by The Black Cultural Zone (BCZ) Community Development Corporation, in collaboration with seven environmental and housing justice organizations, to create a net positive mixed-use community-owned development in Deep East Oakland. First place went to California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. Out of 29 schools who entered the competition, the winner was picked out of seven NOMAS chapter finalists, which included: California Baptist University; California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo; Iowa State University; Lawrence Tech University; Tuskegee University; University of British Columbia; and Woodbury University.
Jurors for the SOM-sponsored student competition included: Oswaldo Ortega, AIA, LEED AP BC+C, NOMA, NCARB, Gensler; Maurice Hamilton, Jr., AIA, NCARB, SOM; Javier Arizmendi, FAIA LEED, SOM; and Arturo Vasquez, AIA, Stantec.
The competition and jury was organized by NOMA’s Regional University Liaisons:
Northeast: Melanie Ray, NOMA, AIA, LEED Green Associate, NCARB, Hord Coplan Macht
Midwest: Andreea Vasile-Hoxa, Assoc. AIA, Assoc. ASLA, NOMA, Lawrence Tech University
South: Andrea Simpson, NOMA, AIA, OSCO Interiors
West: Gabrielle Riley, NOMA Associate AIA, ZGF
NOMA 50 – Detroit Homecoming in 2021
Next year, NOMA’s annual conference will be held in Detroit, celebrating 50 years since the organization’s founding, which stemmed from the AIA Convention in Detroit in 1971. NOMA executive Tiffany Brown, Assoc. AIA, MBA, unveiled the Detroit conference video, which welcomes NOMA members – past, present and future – to come home to Detroit to celebrate NOMA’s founding next October. The spoken-word performance was authored and created by Jessica Care Moore. The video was sponsored by Bedrock, a full-service commercial real estate firm based in downtown Detroit specializing in the strategic redevelopment of midwestern urban cores.
Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition
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We Are Still Open For Click & Collect And Free Contactless Delivery!
contact@northwichcarfinance.co.uk
2.1 C220 CDI BLUEEFFICIENCY AMG SPORT PLUS 4d 168 BHP
Finance From:
£255.62 p/m* or £58.99p/w*
HP £1100.00 £9895.00 £298.00 £13667.80 48 mths 6.00% 12.1% £404.62 £255.62 p/m* x 46 £404.62
Other Mercedes-Benz cars in Northwich
Used Mercedes-Benz cars in Northwich
With a superb range of used Mercedes-Benz cars for sale in Northwich to choose from, you should have no trouble finding a model to suit your lifestyle and budget. At Northwich Car Finance we're committed to delivering excellent customer service and will always go further to ensure our customers drive away with a smile. If you're in the market for a sporty hatch like the Mercedes-Benz A-Class or require an elegant and supremely well-equipped executive model such as the C-Class Saloon, our team is here to help. Take the opportunity to browse our complete stock of pre-owned Mercedes-Benz cars here on the website and be sure to speak to a member of the team if you have any questions or wish to arrange a test drive.
Finance is available to UK residents aged 18 years or older, subject to status. Terms & Conditions apply. Indemnities may be required. Other finance offers may be available but cannot be used in conjunction with this offer. We work with a number of carefully selected credit providers who may be able to offer you finance for your purchase, commission may be received. We are only able to offer finance products from these providers. Postal Address: Northwich Car Finance, 75 Old Warrington Road, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 5LH. Find contact details here.
Northwich Car Finance Ltd 75 Old Warrington RoadNorthwichCheshireCW9 5LH
WMS Warranty
Northwich Car Finance is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN: 803956. All finance is subject to status and income. Written Quotation on request. We act as a credit broker not a lender. We work with a number of carefully selected credit providers who may be able to offer you finance for your purchase. We are only able to offer finance products from these providers.
Choose a make: Any makeAudiBMWFordHyundaiMazdaMercedes-BenzNissanToyotaVauxhallVolkswagen
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1.1 Why does it hurt?
The relief or avoidance of pain must be one of the major driving forces behind medical research. In this course we start the discussion about relief of pain.
When we experience the sensation of pain it is likely that something is happening that the brain needs to know about, so it can direct us to whatever damage-limiting action is needed. We hurt because we have genes that constructed a body able to feel pain.
Without such a mechanism it is likely that life would be much shorter,
535 GG Anyways or Anyway? Topic Sentences
FOLLOW ALONG ON THE WEBSITE Anyway or Anyways? http://bit.ly/AnywayAnyways How to Write a Good Topic Sentence: http://bit.ly/Topic-Sentence SPONSORS http://ag.co/grammar Use the code "grammar" at checkout for a discount. AMAZON AFFILIATE CODE http://quickanddirtytips.com/amazon FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Snapchat: http://snapchat.com/add/thatgrammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl I
Distinguished Innovator Lecture - Leslie Bottorff
Leslie Bottorff, Partner, Medical Techology, Onset Venture For more information on this series: http://funginstitute.berkeley.edu/programs/distinguished-innovator-lecture-series
Normal galaxies
Figure 8 shows schematically the broadband spectrum of a normal spiral galaxy. It resembles that of the Sun, although the peak occurs at a slightly longer wavelength and there are relatively greater spectral flux densities at X-ray, infrared and radio wavelengths.
3.4 Radio galaxies
Radio galaxies were discovered accidentally by wartime radar engineers in the 1940s, although it took another decade for them to be properly studied by the new science of radio astronomy. Radio galaxies dominate the sky at radio wavelengths. They show enormous regions of radio emission outside the visible extent of the host galaxy - usually these radio lobes occur in pairs.
The first radio galaxy to be discovered, and still the brightest, is called Cygnus A (Author(s): The Open University
We mentioned above that we need to reference sources to ensure we abide by copyright legislation. But there is another reason we need to give accurate references to items we use - so we can share it.
Consider this scenario. A friend says they've just read an interesting article where Joshua Schachter, founder of Delicious has spoken about why it isn't a faceted search system, and you should read it. How would you go about finding it? Would you start looking in a news database, a search
Elizabeth Gilbert at TED "Nurturing Creativity"
Excellent video for writers of all ages. It really enforces the importance of hard work and dedication in the arts. Lecture format.
"Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk."
Run time 19:32.
Computer Basics : How to Change Wallpaper
To create an expanded wallpaper picture for a computer desktop, right click on the desktop, go to "Properties", click on "Desktop" and change the position of the wallpaper to "Stretch". Change computer desktop pictures or photos from the standard centered position with information from a certified computer technician in this video on computer wallpaper.
The History of Vaccines
The History of Vaccines - Kids are taught about the unique ways in which animals have adapted and evolved to survive in their surroundings. Humans have created their own ways of adapting to the elements. (04:17)
2.1 Chemical periodicity
The chemistry of the elements is immensely varied. But amidst that variety there are patterns, and the best known and most useful is chemical periodicity: if the elements are laid out in order of atomic number, similar elements occur at regular intervals.
The discovery of chemical periodicity is particularly associated with the nineteenth-century Russian chemist Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeléev (Figure 16). The periodicity is represented graphically by Periodic Tables. Author(s): The Open University
2.2.1 Positive integers: denary numbers
The number system which we all use in everyday life is called the denary representation, or sometimes the decimal representation, of numbers. In this system, the ten digits 0 to 9 are used, either singly or in ordered groups. The important point for you to grasp is that when the digits are used in ordered groups, each digit is understood to have a weighting. For example, consider the denary number 549. Here 5 has the weighting of hundreds, 4 has the weighting of tens and
Lord Owen: British Foreign Policy after Brexit
In this IPR Public Lecture Lord David Owen – former Foreign Secretary and founder of the Social Democratic Party – discusses his advocacy for leaving the EU, and explores what foreign policy might look like after Brexit. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 18 January 2018.
understand that genes are the units of inheritance for individual characteristics and also may contribute to susceptibility to certain diseases
understand the number of chromosomes that make up the human genome and where they are located within the cell
understand something of the immense scale of the human genome project
understand how gametes are produced by the process of meiosis a
Singlet Fission II
By: icamp2012school Singlet Fission II Justin Johnson, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
3.4 Evaluation at the end of a project
Different types of evaluation may take place at the end of a project. A common one is determining the extent to which the project outcomes have been achieved. This is often done in a meeting of the sponsor, key stakeholders and project team leaders, and sometimes informed by reports from key perspectives. An evaluation of this nature may be the final stage of the project, and the main purpose might be to ensure that the project has met all of the contracted expectations and can be ‘signed o
2.4 Collecting quantitative data
How can you collect quantitative data that summarise the nature of a habitat when it is three-dimensional? How, in fact, do you collect quantitative data?
Multi-storied habitats where the components have a different scale are usually recorded storey by storey, but using much the same methodology. There are two standard ways of collecting data quantitatively. The first involves recording species present within a standard area such as 10 cm × 10 cm, 0.5 m × 0.5 m, 1 m × 1 m, or 10 m ×
Must-Know Japanese Social Media Phrases #5 - At a Concert
Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! Have you ever wanted to combine your love of learning language with your love of using social media? This series allows you to do just that! You’ll learn more Japanese so you can chat to your Japanese friends online about topics like shopping, going out to dinner, and being on vacation. [...]
8.2 Chromosome scaffolds
Most of the chromosomal DNA chains within the interphase nucleus are believed to be held on a scaffold or backbone structure made from various proteins, with loops of between 20 and 200 kb extruding from attachment sites. This chromosome structure is shown schematically in Figure 40. The scaffold, as well as permitting further compaction, serves to bring the DNA together in organised regions. There are many different protein components of these scaffolds, amongst them DNA topoisomerases.
Beethoven (Part 15 of 18)
"Beethoven was a German Composer and pianist. His music fell in a transitional period between Classical and Romantic music. Beethven studies with Haydn. Even after his hearing began to deteriorate he still composed, conducted and even performed his music.
Age Word Problems, #1 (Algebra) - Khan Academy
Age word problems. This video starts off with a black screen because the narrator uses it as a 'chalkboard'. This video is appropriate for older middle and high school students. (07:12)
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History of God - History of Christianity
This six minute video is a lecture on how the population of he world and the number of different religions have impacted society in the opinion of the speaker. This could be controversial for some.
Harrison Ford as Deckard from Blade Runner: The Final Cut - In cinemas 3 April 2015 | BFI
Subscribe: http://bit.ly/subscribetotheBFI. New teaser from Blade Runner: The Final Cut - In cinemas 3 Apr | BFI release For more information on the UK-wide release and to buy tickets click here: http://bit.ly/1zJVMga Book tickets for BFI Southbank screenings here: http://bit.ly/1EqvbJn Watch more on the BFI Player: http://player.bfi.org.uk/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BFI Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BritishFilmInstitute Follow us on Google+: https://plus.
Parts of Speech Song
This is a song about parts of speech that is sung to the tune of a famous pop rock song. It is a non-professional production and the lighting is dark. These are some of the lyrics to the song:
Adverbs win, pronouns lose
Verbs were born to sing the blues
Oh, the sentence never ends,
It goes on and on and on and on.
Adverb clauses, being used incorrectly,
Their subjects, searching for a verb.
Colon issues, places other than your body.
Use them,
Paul Maltby: Data (and digital) reform in government
In this IPR Masterclass in Public Policy, Paul Maltby - Chief Digital Officer at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government - discusses how policymaking might be revolutionised by the implementation of digital methods. This Masterclass in Public Policy took place on 22 February 2018, and gave prospective students a taste of teaching on the University of Bath's new Masters (MSc) in Public Policy.
Season 3 – Lesson 35 – Coffee Break Spanish
Coming up in this lesson:
In this week’s show we’re returning to our telenovela, Verano Español. It’s the morning after the night before when Ángel arrived drunk at Iona’s party. Needless to say Laura’s dad isn’t very impressed with Ángel! Laura’s friend Fiona arrives from Scotland and the love triangle threatens to become a square! As usual, in Act II, Mark will help listeners understand the story by working through a series of questions and answers about what happens
Conversations with a Geographer: Marie Price
So, how does it feel to win?
Ashani Lewis (winner of the 2016 Christopher Tower Poetry competition) talks to one of the judges, Katherine Rundell, about how it feels to have won first prize.
Help 4 Teachers & parents with Dr. Kathie F. Nunley: Procrastination
Two types of procrastination are discuseed in this talking head interview. Active vs Passive procrastination differences are discussed and not all procrastination is the same.
354 GG Starting a Sentence with "However": Right or Wrong?
And what about "and" and "but"?
Venezuela's Bizarre System of Exchange Rates
Venezuela is currently going through its worst crisis in history, replete with an endless list of interesting problems. Foremost among these are severe shortages in even the most basic of necessities. Economists have used these shortages as textbook examples to illustrate the pernicious effects of price controls.
Few people, however, are aware that many of the country’s problems are caused by a complex monetary arrangement that makes use of four different exchange rates simultaneo
Author(s): Emiliana Disilvestro
Morganne Lerch
Babbage: From headers to footies
Brain scans of American footballers reveal the darker side of contact sports and a new study on social media uncovers why we take selfies
New Greek and Roman Galleries
Science, Faith and Postmodernism
Talk given by Prof. Roger Trigg as part of summer course 1
社会理工学国際特別演習（経営）第一
Through presentation sessions on recent articles in academic journals in our fields: - To share recent knowledge in cutting-edge researches in research fields in our departments. - To discover novel viewpoints through discussions and bring them back to own research problems. - To improve presentation skills based on own experiences, feedback from others, as well as observation of others.
Author(s): TOKYO TECH OCW
Bianca Goes Where the Wind Blows
In this segment from Cyberchase, Bianca gives her niece Mikaela a kite for her birthday. Bianca is determined to find the best place to fly it. To help with their search, Bianca creates a wind gauge that measures how hard the wind blows. After taking wind gauge readings in different spots around the park, they are able to find a spot where the kite soars beautifully. (03:31)
《獨特的視野——羅聘的藝術世界》 [Chinese]
The process of keeping up-to-date in your chosen subject area is useful for your studies and afterwards, for your own personal satisfaction, or perhaps in your career as part of your continuing professional development.
There are a great many tools available that make it quite easy to keep yourself up to date. You can set them up so that the information comes to you, rather than you having to go out on the web looking for it. Over the next few pages, you will be experimenting with some
Special Exhibition: Pablo Bronstein at the Met
Special Exhibition: Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York
© 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of A
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Organisation for Childminder Agencies: About Us
The Organisation for Childminder Agencies, OFCMA, is an Unincorporated Charity that is made up of representatives from Ofsted Registered Childminder Agencies.
We set up so that we can campaign more effectively as the voice of the sector, rather than as disparate agencies. OFCMA act as a formal representation of the sector in regional and national arenas. The organisation also allows and encourages experience and knowledge to be shared within the sector.
Here at OFCMA we are passionate about ensuring our childminders feel supported and this has never been more important than now. We know how difficult the circumstances are currently under the COVID-19 situation, for all our childminders.
Some of you will be open for key worker families and vulnerable children. You are at the frontline, helping other critical workers to continue to work.
Some of you will have closed because you do not have any key worker children. You will be feeling concerned, upset and worried about not seeing those children you have built a bond with for an indeterminate amount of time, and about the future of your businesses.
Some of you will be closed to self-isolate or to keep your own families safe, all of these situations come with their own concerns and worries.
OFCMA would like to take this opportunity to reiterate to all agency registered childminders that we will continue to support you with every element of your childminding business, as we always have. Stay safe and well!
To provide mutual integrated support to enable our members to deliver high-quality services to their registered childminders and to be the visible leading voice for Ofsted registered childminder agencies.
OFCMA has five key objectives:
Ensure high standards of childcare and early education through providing exemplary services to childminders registered with our member CMAs
Promote the benefits of using high quality registered childminders to families
Promote the benefits of registering with an Ofsted registered childminder agency who is a member of OFCMA to new entrants and existing childminders.
To promote the role and responsibilities of CMAs to the wider sector such as statutory bodies e.g. Local Authorities and the wider maintained and PVI sector to encourage further cooperation and sharing of information
To contribute to policy and best practice in the wider Early Years sector at local, regional and national levels.
Membership of OFCMA confirms commitment to our objectives.
To be a member of OFCMA the Agency must be Registered with Ofsted and following their first full Ofsted inspection judgement be graded ‘effective’.
All member agencies will:
Provide registration, support, regulation, inspection and training services to their registered providers that meet and continually strive to exceed the National Minimum Standards outlined in the CMA’s regulations, A Guide for Childminder Agencies;
Support other members by practical means or through peer support on the delivery of services;
Maintain high standards of childminder agencies and commercial practice, including abiding by the agreed Protocol of Transfer of Childminders (Appendix A). This requires us all to follow up ‘check’ requests and release CPD and summary of inspection(s) in line with our individual agency information sharing policy in a timely manner, within no more than 15 working days (see point 4 of Minimum Standards);
Be respectful of professional geographical areas where each member agency operates;
Maintain the confidentiality of information shared by other members and not use this information to gain competitive advantage, excluding any safeguarding;
Contribute, through OFCMA, to the debate on matters affecting the
childminding sector;
Not speak on behalf of OFCMA unless authorised by OFCMA;
Notify the Executive Committee immediately of any enforcement action being taken or proposed by Ofsted or any other statutory body;
Notify the Executive Committee immediately about any member who fails to act in accordance with this Code of Practice and/or in any way takes actions likely to bring OFCMA into disrepute;
Commit to attend 3 meetings annually.
In applying to be a member of OFCMA, a provider is also agreeing to the bound by this Code of Practice.
Minimum Standards for childminder agencies are outlined in A Guide for Childminder Agencies. All our members agencies must comply with the requirements as outlined in the Guide document. However, our members also demonstrate excellence and the highest standards by continually aiming to exceed standards. This is conveyed by the following:
To exceed the regulations, member agencies should:
provide honest, open and transparent information, advice and guidance e.g. an information briefing to recruit new agency childminders;
DBSs must be home-based for childminders and household members
living at the domestic premises where childcare will take place;
ensure registered childminder’s DBSs, and those of their household
members including assistants are on the update service and carry out
regular status checks on these DBSs;
ensure relevant Agency staff DBSs are on the update service and carry
out regular status checks on these DBSs;
from the second year of a childminder’s registration [2], offer a minimum of 2 visits per year (main premises) for all early years agency childminders, one of which must be the unannounced inspection visit, but excluding unannounced regulatory visits. An agency reserves the right to charge an additional fee for visits that exceed those required by regulation;
encourage and support Agency registered childminders to gain relevant qualifications (e.g. a level 3);
visit any non-domestic premises where Agency registered childminder
operates for part of their time, to confirm suitability;
respond to background checks requested by Ofsted or other Ofsted
Registered Childminder Agencies within 15 working days;
execute any additional services or facilities as specified within their
individual Childminder Agency’s Statement of Purpose.
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Take me to One Fab Day UK
A Rustic Fairytale at Ballyvolane House: Deirdre & Patrick
The prettiest pastel florals, chic dusky green bridesmaids and one very happy couple!
By Celina
When we think of a fairytale wedding, we often think of enormous princess dresses and horse-drawn carriages, but today's real wedding proves that not only do fairytale weddings exist in real life, but they can be fun, low-key rustic affairs, filled with cool, offbeat touches, like pints served from a 1950s caravan! We can't tell you how to get the amazing weather that Deirdre and Patrick had for their Ballyvolane House wedding (although one of these guys might help!) but there's plenty of practical inspiration to be gleaned elsewhere! Into the Light captured all the details, from stunning bridesmaid style to timeless florals, so let's take a look!
Deirdre and Patrick met in their first year of college through mutual friends. "After college we moved to Melbourne together for three years before returning to Ireland," Deirdre tells us.
When it came time to propose, Patrick planned a day out on Deirdre's dad's boat, where he was going to pull a glass bottle out of the sea with a message inside. "But there was a problem with the boat," Deirdre explains, "so Patrick came up with a Plan B and convinced me to take the ferry over to Dalkey Island. We walked around the island and sat down for a picnic, and, before I knew it, Patrick was producing a glass bottle, which he unconvincingly claimed to have found on the ground! Inside there was a piece of paper which read, 'Will you marry me?'"
It took the couple no time at all to set their priorities for the big day. "It was so important that our wedding was really relaxed and fun. We wanted everyone to feel comfortable and to really enjoy themselves as much as us. We also hoped to create something different that our friends and family may not have experienced at a wedding before."
Sometimes family photos make the best ceremony décor! Patrick's neighbours made this beautiful step ladder, which the couple used to display photographs of their late grandparents and placed at the entrance to the ceremony space.
How subtle and gorgeous are these bunches by Bloomsday? "The colour palette of the flowers that Bloomsday created for us complimented the setting beautifully," Deirdre says. "We chose soft summer colours and lots of flowy foliage, which tied in perfectly with the green bridesmaids dresses and surroundings."
Now that's how you make an entrance! "Patrick and the groomsmen were driven into the ceremony on (Ballyvolane House co-owner) Justin's land rover, to huge cheers!"Deirdre tells us. "This, along with other elements, like cutting our cake with the sword under the Indian tent, just made the day really fun and kept everyone smiling and laughing."
Deirdre and Patrick tell us that they fell in love with Ballyvolane House immediately. "We only had to pull into the driveway of Ballyvolane to know it was the one. Justin and Jenny, the owners, and all the staff make you feel like it's your house for the weekend. It is so special."
One of the biggest draws of Ballyvolane House for the couple was the chance to have their ceremony in the romantic estate forest. "We knew Ballyvolane would naturally create the relaxed, outdoor summer wedding that we dreamed of," Deirdre says. "Then it was just a matter of choosing elements to compliment it."
After the ceremony, the couple had their wedding portraits taken in the Ballyvolane House gardens. "Sean and Jared from Into the Light were the perfect choice for our big day," Deirdre says. "They really put us at ease with their jokes and their celebratory fist pumps. They are so professional but stay so relaxed which is exactly what you need on your big day."
Deirdre's undone partial updo is such a foolproof bridal hairstyle!
The 1950s caravan that sits in the grounds of Ballyvolane House is not just a cool accessory - it's a bar, dispensing cocktails and pints!
Deirdre chose these beautiful dusky green ASOS dresses for her bridesmaids, which are just so classically elegant!
It looks like Deirdre and Patrick's guests are having such an incredible time! "We were blessed with the weather," Deirdre says, "and everyone relaxed in the sun, playing games." Can we go back in time and invite ourselves along?
Deirdre's advice for brides and grooms-to-be is to leave room in your wedding timeline for relaxing with friends and family, and appreciating all the hard work that you've put in. "Take as many little moments as you can during the day to step back and take it all in, because it goes by so fast!"
Deirdre and Patrick made their day more personal by including lots of friends and family members in the planning stages. "We had handmade signs in the garden, which were created by a close family friend. The ceremony musicians were all close friends. My brother Alex did the wedding video and my brother Eoin was the DJ for the reception," Deirdre tells us.
The couple used rustic wooden plinths with candles and floral arrangements as their centrepieces, echoing the florals in pretty illustrated table name cards. Simple, but oh-so-effective!
After the wedding, Deirdre and Patrick jetted off to Greece for a week-long honeymoon. It sounds like the perfect post-wedding break!
A classic buttercream cake can look so special with the right floral adornments. Bloomsday, you've done it again!
Wasn't that just the dreamiest day!? Thanks so much to Deirdre and Patrick for showing us how they put their big day together, and, of course, to Into the Light for sharing these incredible photographs.
Venue Ballyvolane House
Bridal Boutique & Veil Alice May
Bridal Skirt Catherine Deane
Flowers Bloomsday
Bridemaids' Dresses
Groom and groomsmen’s Suits
Jules Bridal Jewellery
Delicious Circle Baking
Linda Collins
The Sitting Room
DJ Chewy
Home Sweet Home: David + Shannon's Stunning Chapel Wedding
Anna + Niall In Wedding Wonderland
Vintage Pearl Bridal
Belle Isle Castle
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Runaway Advertisements
Edenton Gazette, Dec. 15, 1819
Raleigh Register, Jan. 28, 1820
Raleigh Register, May 19
Edenton Gazette, Oct. 16
Carolina Centinel, Mar. 17, 1821
Raleigh Register, Mar. 23
Western Carolinian, Jul. 16, 1822
Raleigh Star, Mar. 26, 1824
Raleigh Register, Nov. 19
Free Press, Feb. 25, 1825
Raleigh Star, Jan. 20, 1826
Elizabeth City Star, Feb. 11
Free Press, Feb. 3, 1827
Halifax Minerva, Apr. 2
Norfolk & Portsmouth Herald, Jan. 1, 1830
Norfolk & Portsmouth Herald, Jan. 1
Raleigh Register, Oct. 14
Roanoke Advocate, Sept. 1, 1831
SLAVE RESISTANCE
Free Press (Halifax and Tarboro, N.C.), February 25, 1825
Stop the Runaway.
RANAWAY from the Subscriber, on Saturday, 12th inst. a likely negro man named
BRAXTON,
supposed to be 30 years of age, about 6 feet high, thin visage and very dark complexion. It is likely he may have a free pass. Any person apprehending said negro within 30 days, the reward is one hundred dollars; if out of that time paid for trouble.
Dollason Day.
Northampton co. Feb. 20, 1825.
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3D Map of Japan Tsunami Created With Lasers
March 9, 2012, 2:50 PM UTC / Source: OurAmazingPlanet
By OurAmazingPlanet Staff
A new analysis of the March 11, 2011, tsunami that devastated Japan's east coast could improve flooding forecasts and help prevent a similar disaster from occurring in the future.
Despite an extraordinary level of preparedness by the Japanese, the massive tsunami that followed the magnitude 9.0 earthquakecaused more than 90 percent of the almost 20,000 fatalities from the disaster.
Using eyewitness video and laser scanners from atop the highest buildings that surveyed the tsunami, a team of researchers has mapped the tsunami's height and flood zone to learn more about the flow of the devastating currents.
The work could improve tsunami warnings by producing flooding forecasts that influence future evacuation plans and building designs in Japan and in other areas of the world susceptible to tsunamis, according to the study team.
"The ultimate goal is to save lives," said study team member Hermann Fritz of Georgia Tech. "In order to do so, we have to have a better understanding of what worked and didn't work."
Fritz led a reconnaissance team surveying the impact of the tsunami on a fishing town in Kesennuma Bay, where 1,500 people perished. The bay has been hit by tsunamis in 1896, 1933, 1960 and 2010. The coastal structures and other mitigation measures on the coast were designed based on conservative, historic high-water marks, rather than probable maximum tsunamis. [ Pictures: Japan Earthquake & Tsunami ]
From atop buildings where witnesses gathered during the tsunami, Fritz and his team used lasers to scan the port and bay entrance, creating a three-dimensional, topographic model — called a hydrograph — of the flood zone.
Using this data, they reconstructed eyewitness videos to determine the heights and flow of the tsunami. They determined that the tsunami reached a maximum height of 29.5 feet (9 meters), followed by outflow currents of 36 feet per second (11 meters per second) less than 10 minutes after the main peak hit — a speed which Fritz says is impossible to survive or navigate by vessels.
"What we can learn from the hydrograph is confirmation that the water goes out first, drawing down to more than negative 3 meters [10 feet] on the landward side of the trench, which can make vessels hit ground inside harbors," Fritz said. "During the subsequent arrival of the main tsunami wave, the water rushing back in changed the water level by 40 feet [12 m], engulfing the entire city in 12 minutes."
Understanding tsunami impacts will help prepare for future disasters — whether it's designing buildings high enough to serve as vertical evacuation points or sea walls and breakwaters strong enough to control the flow of water.
Follow OurAmazingPlanet for the latest in Earth science and exploration news on Twitter @OAPlanet and on Facebook.
One Year Later: How the Earthquake & Tsunami Devastated Japan (Infographic)
7 Craziest Ways Japan's Earthquake Affected Earth
Video: See & Hear the Japan Earthquake
OurAmazingPlanet Staff
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Momentum Builds in China for Large Telco-Grade SDN and SD-WAN Deployments
By Sunil Khandekar , Jan 10, 2017
Nuage Networks continues to build momentum across Greater China for software-defined infrastructure for the data center cloud, as well as the WAN. Recent deals, and the increasing size and scope of cloud deployments, show that China is taking a leadership position in rolling out SDN/ SD-WAN, and taking advantage of the network automation that solutions from Nuage Networks can deliver.
Today, we announced that China Mobile (CMCC) selected Nuage Networks’ Virtualized Services Platform (VSP) to roll out its first commercial public cloud project based on SDN technology. This deal builds on the work we’ve done together on the deployment of Nuage Networks’ SDN technology in CMCC’s DevOps private cloud architecture.
China Mobile is fully committed to evolving its public cloud strategy to support the current and future needs of its customer – in fact, it was announced in October that their integration won the Superuser Award at the OpenStack Summit in Barcelona, Spain. As the world’s largest mobile phone operator, China Mobile relies on OpenStack to accelerate application deployments, along with network provisioning and optimization, across its 835 million subscribers.
China Mobile was one of the earliest OpenStack users to leverage the Nuage Networks SDN infrastructure. The company established the scale and flexibility that a carrier-grade SDN platform like VSP can deliver to support massive cloud deployments and seamlessly orchestrate virtual networking, automation, and security through open-source cloud management systems.
Today’s news follows on the heels of Nuage Networks announcing that China Telecom Global (CTG) selected our Virtualized Network Services (VNS) SD-WAN solution to deliver cloud-ready enterprise services to its customers and became the first tier 1 carrier service provider in China to roll out SD-WAN. In addition, CTG and Nuage Networks are stepping up to address SDN network automation and connectivity in hybrid cloud environments.
The CTG Memorandum of Understanding was jointly announced to the public at the Capacity Asia 2016 event, by, from left to right, Nokia Business Development, Mr. Victor Wang, CTG Director, Mr. Roy Ng, EVP of CTG Mr. Ou Yan, EVP of Nuage Networks, Mr. Charles Ferland, Co-head of CBT-CTC, Mr. Phil Chen
With large wins like these, Nuage Networks is helping to build out the largest public cloud and SD-WAN infrastructures in China, and the world. Enterprises in China are accelerating their digital transformation based on Nuage cloud services, to become more agile organizations, and to accelerate their own competitiveness on a global scale. While digital transformation and SDN-based cloud services are nothing new in Europe or North America, the scale and scope of the projects at China Mobile and China Telecom are truly impressive and should serve as impressive reminders of how far this enabling technology has come on a global basis, and what it is poised to do in the coming years.
Nuage Networks 2021 Predictions: SD-WAN is the networking key to the new normal
Empowering enterprise home teleworking with SD-WAN 2.0
Enabling the 5G Edge Cloud with Nuage Networks and NVIDIA
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Migrant Smuggling: Rescues and Arrests in Europe
Published: Thursday, 28 May 2020 19:55
Written by Will Neal
Just weeks after organised crime experts warned of an uptick in human smuggling amid the pandemic, European authorities have in the last 48 hours arrested more than 30 alleged human smugglers, with a UN agency reporting that almost 500 migrants had been rescued in the Mediterranean and returned to Libya.
The UN International Organisation on Migration reported that since Monday almost 500 migrants had been intercepted in the Mediterranean and returned to Libya (Photo: US Navy, CC SA-BY 3.0)On Wednesday, authorities in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina conducted raids across several locations in both countries, detaining eight suspected smugglers. Just the day before, in a separate bust, police arrested 26 members of another alleged smuggling ring in France and Belgium.
Both stings came hot on the heels of reports from the UN International Organisation on Migration that 90 migrants had been rescued on Tuesday as they attempted to make the sea-crossing from Libya to European shores - in addition to the 400 returned to the war-torn country in the preceding two days.
OCCRP reported earlier in May that the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime were warning of an escalation in operations by organised criminal groups looking to profit from migrants seeking entry into Europe.
Prosecutors in Bosnia and Herzegovina said in a statement that those arrested on Wednesday, following “an extensive investigation” in partnership with Croatian authorities, were found to have charged migrants “large sums of money” to be smuggled from Turkey to Italy through countries in the Western Balkans.
The so-called ‘Balkan route’ has become a favoured passage for organised criminal groups moving migrants through the region, following the disruption of other migratory corridors with the erection of fenced borders between Hungary and Serbia, according to a 2019 report by Global Initiative.
Meanwhile, Eurojust said in their statement on the joint action by French and Belgian police that the 26 members of an alleged human smuggling syndicate arrested on Tuesday may be members of the group responsible for the deaths of the 39 Vietnamese nationals discovered in a UK trailer depot last October, as reported by OCCRP.
“The suspects are allegedly part of an Organised Crime Group (OCG) that smuggles refugees from Asia, particularly from Vietnam, and that likely has transported up to several dozen people every day for several months,” the statement read.
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Total SA Charged in International Bribery Scheme
Croatia: Counterfeit Euro Operation Halted
Croatia: Former Prime Minister Sentenced to 10 Years
Croatia: Minister’s Rental Apartment Questioned
Six Arrested in Croatia for Falsifying Passports for Gangsters
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Stoke vs Wigan - Championship Rnd.17 23/11/19 15:00
Topic: Stoke vs Wigan - Championship Rnd.17 23/11/19 15:00 (Read 32 times)
Posts: I am a geek!!
« on: November 20 2019, 04:03 »
The essentials for betting Full stats
Stoke vs Wigan
Regular Season - Round 17
Head-to-Head in the last 3 years
19/20 Wigan 0-1 Stoke
18/19 Stoke 0-3 Wigan
[ Show all games ]
Last 10 matches in all competitions
D D D D W W D D D W 23.Nov
D W D W D W D D D D 23.Nov
Match Odds
Sem Tips.
Place your bet
Stoke 70%
The Draw 30%
Wigan 0%
Over/Under 2.5 Goals
Over 2.5 Goals 0%
Under 2.5 Goals 100%
Over 1.5 Goals 100%
Under 1.5 Goals 0%
Note: On the graphics, the lay Tips were converted to Back on the other choices of that market.
Ranking last 12M Top 10 Top 50 Top 100
Market Match Odds Over/Under 2.5 goals Over/Under 1.5 Goals Over/Under 3.5 Goals
titzz (3368º) +688% profit on the 30 day market
Back @ 1.88 Stoke
Diogo Andrade (4035º) +1549% profit on the 30 day market
Viktor81 (4272º)
ELENSHOW (104º) pro Profissional Tip
FUSAM10 (4331º) +561% profit on the 30 day market
Back @ 1.70 Under 2.5 Goals
Note: Listing of Tips made only in contests available at the Online Betting Academy.
See full stats, starting players and game data on the portal at:
Stats » Championship England » Stoke vs WiganRead more
Analysis: Stoke City vs Wigan Athletic (23 November 2019)
« Reply #1 on: November 20 2019, 23:27 »
Stoke City and Wigan Athletic face at Britannia Stadium, in a match for the 17th round of the Championship. The head‑to‑head record between these two teams couldn't be more balanced, since there were 1 draw and 1 win for each team in the last 3 head‑to‑heads. The last head‑to‑head between these two teams was played on 13‑08‑2019, and ended in a (0‑1) win by Stoke City. Both teams register significant differences between home and away results, so the home/away factor is worth atention.
Analysis of Stoke
After 3 wins, 2 draws and 11 losses, the home team is in the 23th position, havinf won 11 points so far. In the last match, they have won in an away match against Barnsley by (2‑4), after in the previous match they have lost (0‑2) at home, against West Bromwich Albion. This is a team that usually gets better results in away matches than at home, since in the last 30 matches they register 6 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses in away matches, with 21 goals scored and 20 conceded; against 2 wins, 6 draws and 7 losses at their stadium, with 17 goals scored and 23 conceded. In the last 8 home league matches Stoke City has a record of 1 win, 1 draw and 6 losses, so they have won 4 points out of 24 possible. The most recurrent result at half‑time in their home league matches was the 0‑1 (3 out of 8 matches). They haven't been very strong defensively, since they have suffered goals in 8 of the last 10 matches for this competition. They have conceded the first goal in 10 of their 16 matches for this competition, and have only turned the score around in 1. In the last 9 home matches for all competitions there is 1 period that stands out: they have scored 3 of their 8 goals between minutes (76'‑90').
The Stoke City team starts for this highly motivated game after a 2-4 win in Barnsley's arena: the goals of the team were signed by Allen, Clucas and Gregory. In this match against Wigan, coach Michael O'Neill should benefit from the maintenance of ball possession and organized attacks. Most likely this team should be organizing in 4-3-3 where Lee Gregory occupies the earlier position. Sam Clucas is the star of the team, being very fast and strong in the counterattack. Out of this game are Etebo and Shawcross, both injured.
Analysis of Wigan
The away team is currently in the 20th position of the league, with 15 points won, after 4 wins, 3 draws and 9 losses. In the penultimate match, they lost in a home match against Swansea City, by (1‑2). In the last match, they lost in a home match against Brentford, by (0‑3). This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 2 wins, 5 draws and 8 losses in away matches, with 19 goals scored and 24 conceded; against 6 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses at their stadium, with 14 goals scored and 13 conceded. In the last 8 away league matches Wigan Athletic has a record of 2 draws and 6 losses, so they have won 2 points out of 24 possible.
In this competition, they haven’t won any of the last 8 away matches. In their away matches there are a few frequent results: at half‑time 0‑0 (3 out of 8 matches) and after the 90' 1‑0 (3 out of 8 matches). Defensive consistency hasn’t been their best feature, as they have conceded goals in 7 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 16 matches for this competition, they have conceded the first goal 10 times and have only turned the score around in 1.
Wigan start for this match after a 0-3 defeat at Brentford, adding the fourth consecutive meeting without a win in this competition. Usually the coach Paul Cook plays in 4-3-3 where Michael Jacobs, Jamal Lowe and Kieffer Moore the most offensive references of the team. It is important to highlight the quality of Joe Williams: this athlete has competence in organizing the offensive process. Out of this game by punishment is Cédric Kipré.
Betting suggestion:
Given what we discussed earlier, the possibility of a match with few goals is great. Playing at home, Stoke City should push Wigan into their midfield, as they have players with more technical skills, however, with difficulties in finishing. On the other hand, Wigan should try to achieve at least one good result, but they do not have enough weapons to achieve it. That said, we think the 'Minus 2.5 Goals' market is best suited for this game.
See on the portal in:
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Joe is a stand-up from Pittsburgh who started doing comedy in Chicago and now lives in Los Angeles. In 2017, Joe was chosen to be one of Comedy Central's Up Next “Comics to Watch” and his Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents half-hour special will air in 2019.
Joe has performed on the nationally-syndicated public radio showLive Wire and has written for The Onion News Network, ClickHole and MAD Magazine.
On November 14, 2018, he released 31 videos in one day, a feat that garnered praise from Vulture and The A.V. Club. A select number of these sketches were compiled into a pilot called Kwaczala, which won “Best Late Night Series” at Seriesfest 2019 and was declared “Funniest Show at Seriesfest” by Paste Magazine.
Years earlier, his independently-produced pilot Cowards won "Best Comedy Pilot" at the New York Television Festival and his subsequent web series for IFC, Does Dave Know We're Here?, was chosen as one of Paste Magazine’s “Best Internet Comedy Videos of 2015.”
Much to his embarrassment, Joe knows everything about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has a podcast about it called Who Cares About The Rock Hall?
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Hardback 2019
How to Have Feminist Sex
Imprint: Particular Books
A Fairly Graphic Guide
Flo Perry
'Funny, kind, generous and smart - I could have done with the wisdom of Flo Perry far sooner' Dolly Alderton
We talk about feminism in the workplace and we talk about dating after #MeToo, but women's own patriarchal conditioning can be the hardest enemy to defeat. When it comes to our sex lives, few of us are free of niggling fears and body image insecurities. Rather than enjoying and exploring our bodies uninhibited, we worry about our bikini lines, bulging tummies and whether we're doing it 'right'.
Flo broaches everything from faking it to consent, stress to kink, and how losing your virginity isn't so different to eating your first chocolate croissant. Her mission is to get more people talking openly about what they do and don't want from every romantic encounter.
Perry is on the charge to show feminism for the sexy movement it is, and offers it in a hilarious, accessible and completely non-judgemental package.
The Evening Standard
cheeky, sweet and extremely witty...figures of all shapes and sizes and ages and races (clothed and unclothed) contort and grin and dart across the pages, bringing to vivid life Perry's wisdom about as broad sexual quandaries as libido, trust, faking orgasms, consent, body image, pubic hair, nude photos, porn, ghosting, and virginity....an emotionally intelligent discussion about the climate in which women - but not just women - are navigating relationships
Thank God for Flo Perry
Funny, kind, generous and smart - I could have done with the wisdom of Flo Perry far sooner
Flo Perry is on a mission to improve your sex life...How To Have Feminist Sex is undoubtedly alluring (most books about sex are) but it's also a manual on how to get yours in bed and how to 'have the sex you want'.
Flo Perry is a writer and illustrator, former BuzzFeed editor and expert on making illustrations go viral. She was born and raised in the wilds of North London and still lives there with two lovely homosexual housemates and a terrible cat. Her book How to Have Feminist Sex was published in 2019.
Philippa Perry: I want to show people the truth about doing therapy
Perry’s debut book Couch Fiction is being re-released after a decade. Here she talks about collaborating with her daughter Flo, and why her graphic novel demystification of psychotherapy still feels as relevant as ever.
Philippa Perry & Flo Perry in conversation: Couch Fiction, 25th November
The best books to give your Secret Santa
Whether it’s a gift for a colleague you’ve barely uttered a word to or for Great Auntie what’s-her-name you only see once a year, there’s nothing quite like the annual public humiliation of a Secret Santa. But fear not – one of these stocking-sized books are guaranteed to get a nod of approval, whoever's name it is you pulled out of a hat.
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RV Rental Mount Riga State Park
Find the perfect RV rental in Mount Riga State Park, NY. Simple, easy, and fully insured.
Mount Riga State Park
2018 Keystone Springdale Mini 1800BH
Year 2018 Trailer • 18 ft • Millbury, US
2012 Keystone Sprinter 323BHS
Year 2012 Trailer • 34 ft • Norwich, US
2011 Thor Motor Coach Four Winds
Year 2011 Class C • 19 ft • Great Barrington, US
Adventure Home Camper Van! - "The Boomer"
Year 2014 Class B • 14 ft • Cromwell, US
2020 Forest River Salem FSX 178BHS "Happy Tails"
Year 2020 Trailer • 23 ft • Putnam, US
Born Free (FOREST RIVER ROCKWOOD GEOPRO G19FD)
Year 2018 Trailer • 19 ft • Westborough, US
2019 Jayco Greyhawk 30z
Year 2019 Class C • 32 ft • Branford , US
Fun Finder 28 foot bunkhouse
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Year 1998 Trailer • 28 ft • Red Hook, US
Mount Riga State Park is a seasonal outdoor recreation area that is open to the public from approximately March to December each year. It is located slightly north of the town of Salisbury, at the foot of Mount Riga, which also borders the park on its southern boundary. The park is a popular hiking destination due to its far-reaching views; from the peak, you can see much of Connecticut to the south and east, north into Massachusetts and west into New York. Although technically not within the park's boundaries, the park is associated by many with both Mount Riga and Bear Mountain. Booking an RV rental near Mount Riga State Park is how this vacation will begin.
From the preserve's parking lot, you can access the trails from the trailhead; one of them connects with the Appalachian Trail and another crosses over Bear Mountain and into Massachusetts before looping and returning to its starting point. The trails will take you through forested areas and past glittering lakes before ascending to the peak; your reward will be panoramic views that are amongst the best you may ever see. In addition to hiking, bow hunting is allowed within the park; wildlife observation and photography are also popular here, for obvious reasons.
Discover Mount Riga State Park
The region in and around Mount Riga State Park hosts a variety of landscapes you'll want to see firsthand, and one of them can be found in Bartholomew's Cobble Reservation. Scientists believe this historic area was an inland sea almost five hundred million years ago; today, it has a pair of rocky knolls surrounded by open fields and alkali soil that supports a wide variety of flowers. You'll find stands of cottonwood trees, transitional forests, freshwater marshes, and a river. Hiking the area will expose you to striking scenery, and there is a museum that documents the area's natural and cultural history. Mount Riga State Park camping means you can return to the comfort of your home-on-wheels when the day is done.
Beckley Iron Furnace State Park is a monument to one of the area's earliest industries, combining education with outdoor appreciation. Many visitors come to see the historic iron furnace and learn more about it and how iron was produced; once you're here, you'll also want to spend some time exploring the hiking trails, one of which passes over a bridge, and viewing the river which originally powered the iron mill's water wheel before being replaced by a turbine.
Haystack Mountain State Park is a year-round outdoor recreation area sporting both natural and landmark attractions. Not far from the town of Norfolk, the mountain summit hosts a tall stone tower from which you can see mountains as far away as Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts. There is a seasonal access road that takes you halfway up the mountain; you can drive it in your Salisbury camper rental from late April until early November. The hiking trail to the peak can be taken from the end of the road or the mountain base at any time of the year.
Camping at Mount Riga State Park
Although there may be primitive tent camping in Mount Riga State Park, it might be best to seek elsewhere for RV camping options. One possible destination is Lone Oak Camp Sites, a family-friendly RV campground located at the foot of Canaan Mountain. Lone Oak has hundreds of campsites so you can choose between campsites nestled into the woods or sites in an open field with lots of sun. The campground is seasonal, running from mid-May to mid-October, and you can rent sites by the day, week, or month; it has a camp store where you can stock up on supplies, and there's also a deli, in case you decide to take a break from cooking.
Waubeeka Family Campground is another family-friendly RV campground near Salisbury, with social events and themed weekends throughout the camping season, which runs from early May to mid-October. You can rent campsites by the day and choose from back-in or pull-through access sites. Amenities include a common area with horseshoes, volleyball and basketball, mini-golf, and a playground for younger kids. There are two lakes on-site, one for swimming and another for fishing.
If you're ready to reward yourself or want to check out the local culture, you can start by heading to Canaan. The town has an urban park that is the site of a majestic waterfall; you can stroll through the area, enjoying the scenery, hike the rocks at the top of the waterfall, and take a dip in the basin at the waterfall's foot. If it's getting close to mealtime, the town has an impressive list of reasonably priced restaurants; most of them are diners or venues serving American style food, but a couple of establishments offer British, Mexican, Italian, and other cuisines if you'd like some variety.
Sharon is a small town with a long history, having existed here for more than 200 years. It has several landmark locations that are included in the National Register of Historic Places, such as Ebenezer Gay House, James Pardee House, and the Sharon Historic District. The town has an urban park and a commercial farm that welcomes visitors, a museum, a playhouse theater, and lots of opportunities for shopping.
Bear Mountain Trail, CTSalisbury, CT
Sages Ravine, NYMount Riga State Park, NY
Mount Frissell Connecticut Highpoint Trail, NYMount Riga State Park, NY
Lion's Head Trail, CTSalisbury, CT
Appalachian Trail, Northwest Connecticut and Southwest Massachusetts, CTSalisbury, CT
Brace Mountain Trail, NYTaconic State Park, NY
Mt. Washington Alander Mountain Trail, NYBash Bish Falls State Park, MA
Race Brook Falls and Mount Everett, MASheffield, MA
Bartholomew's Cobble Trail, MASheffield, MA
Dark Hollow Loop, CTSalisbury, CT
Waubeeka Family Campground, NYColumbia County, NY
Prospect Lake Park Campground, MABerkshire County, MA
Tolland State Forest Campground, MABerkshire County, MA
Woodland Hills Campground, NYColumbia County, NY
Cozy Hills Campground, CTLitchfield County, CT
Branch Brook Campground, CTLitchfield County, CT
Saugerties / Woodstock KOA, NYUlster County, NY
Rip Van Winkle Campgrounds, NYUlster County, NY
Blue Mountain Campground, NYUlster County, NY
Gentile's Campground, CTLitchfield County, CT
RV Rental New York City, NY(612)RV Rental Boston, MA(353)RV Rental Philadelphia, PA(758)RV Rental Albany, NY(278)RV Rental Syracuse, NY(185)RV Rental Springfield, MA(487)RV Rental Adirondack, NY(145)RV Rental Keyport, NJ(629)
RV Rental Suffolk County, NY(375)RV Rental Westchester County, NY(531)RV Rental Barnstable County, MA(227)RV Rental Nassau County, NY(522)RV Rental Rockland County, NY(540)RV Rental Bergen County, NJ(583)RV Rental Orange County, NY(532)RV Rental Gloucester County, NJ(725)
RV Rental Mt Everett State Reservation, NY(428)RV Rental Bash Bish Falls State Park, MA(417)RV Rental Mt Washington State Forest, NY(415)RV Rental Taconic State Park, NY(411)RV Rental Beartown State Forest, MA(370)RV Rental Housatonic Meadows State Park, NY(460)RV Rental Housatonic Meadows State Park, CT(460)RV Rental Lake Taghkanic State Park, NY(461)RV Rental Fountain Pond Park, MA(342)RV Rental Kent Falls State Park, CT(475)
State Parks near Mount Riga State Park
State Parks in New YorkState Parks near Boston, MAState Parks near Albany, NYState Parks near Springfield, MAState Parks near Manchester, NH
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Yellowstone Avalanche Shelling Criticized
Park spends $325K on avalanche control
The Coalition of National Park Service Retirees and three other conservation groups have appealed to the federal government to close Yellowstone National Park's Sylvan Pass to winter visitors and discontinue an avalanche control policy that costs the park $325,000 each season. In winter, park service employees fire artillery shells from a 105 mm howitzer or hand drop explosives from helicopters in an effort to clear the pass's 20 avalanche runs. But last year only 90 snowmobiles crossed the pass, which is located just inside Yellowstone's east entrance, bringing the bill to $3,600 per vehicle. The groups, which also include the National Parks Conservation Association, the Sierra Club, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, have pointed to the 1994 death of park ranger Bob Mahn, who died during a patrol of the pass. Two NPS environmental impact studies also concluded that even with avalanche control "the risk [of keeping Sylvan Pass open] remains extreme and unavoidable.” At this point, Yellowstone officials have no plans to stop shelling.
Read more at NewWest.com
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By: Amelia Arvesen
The Avalanche Doesn't Care
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Outsider Insight
Observing humanity's self-deception in a rapidly changing world
Universal Insanity
Whoever wins the election it will be business as usual
Post author By neilg63
Post date 25th April 2015
No Comments on Whoever wins the election it will be business as usual
I wish ballot papers had an extra box titled None of the above for I might very well be tempted to use it. None of the parties have a coherent set of policies that can deal with the fundamental stresses and strains of our overheated economy and overburdened environment, but some have policies I can at least sympathise with.
According to conventional wisdom large companies support the Tory Party, but may I suggest a better barometer to gauge which way the wind is blowing. Over the last 40 years successive governments, Labour, Tory and Coalition, have overseen a transfer of power away from local institutions and small businesses to global corporations and supranational institutions. While the media present a dichotomy between a generous Labour Party and a prudent, but stingy, Conservative Party, both have pursued different aspects of the same basic strategy. It may surprise some to hear Tory leaders defend high levels of net migration, advocate the redefinition of marriage, support EU expansion and favour more childcare subsidies rather than shorter working weeks. These are all policies New Labour fully embrace as do many business leaders. They need government to create the conditions in whch they can prosper and expand their commercial empires. So let's look at key election issues through the eyes of the CEO of a large multinational:
Big Business (Leftwing Tories, LibDems)
Faux Left (Labour, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru)
Faux Right (Right Tories / UKIP)
Economy More growth, at all costs More growth, but a little more for the poor and platitudes about green growth More growth, but bigger tax breaks for the rich
European Union Love it. Let's Expand the EU to Vladivostok and then join NAFTA Love it. We're all European now. Sceptical
Military We need to secure privileged access to key global resources We may ditch Trident nuclear missiles, but we support a European Defence Force and continued interventions in foreign conflicts. Greens and Left Labour may oppose NATO and some Middle East wars, but still support the concept of interventionism. Let's spend more on killing machines. However, UKIP is sceptcal about recent interventions.
Trident nuclear missile system We should pool our resources with other key global players. Trident belongs to the old US-centred world Left labour, SNP, PL and Green want to ditch Trident. LibDems want to downscale it. We need a nuclear deterrent in a dangerous world. UKIP pretend Trident would somehow be an independent nuclear deterrent.
US-led Military Intervention in trouble zones If it's good for American big business, it's probably good for us, but let's do business with China and India too We may pretend to oppose it. Greens and Left Labour often oppose military intervention, but Labour tends to support it on alleged humanitarian grounds. Ditto. UKIP opposed recent military escapes in Iraq, Libya and Syria, but support NATO.
Energy We need more by all means, conventional, nuclear and renewables. Love renewables, hate pollution. Let's outsource nasty energy sources Climate change and peak oil are false alarms. Let's frack away and get rid of ugly wind turbines.
Immigration Love it. Good for economic growth Wonderful, we are all human beings Let's control immigration, but deregulate trade
Free trade Love it. We need more. Love it, but let's try to regulate multinationals. However, the SNP want to lower corporation taxes to attract inward investment. Love it. Let's have more. Only UKIP claim they would regulate labour mobility and protect some small businesses against global competition.
Public Healhcare We need to grow the health market and sell more medication and services, but we need government to pay for it. Spend, spend, spend until we go broke and blame the Tories for all NHS failings. Spend a bit a less and keep quiet about backdoor privatisation plan, but blame Labour for NHS inefficiency.
Debt Economic growth will pay for it Let's pay off a little Let's pay off a little more
Welfare We need welfare to subsidise mass consumption and regulate social conflicts Let's ask big business to subsidise the poor in rich countries Let's wean people off welfare dependency
More mental healthcare Love it. We need happy and loyal workers and consumers. Love it. We must expand the range of potential victim groups Sceptical
More subsidised childcare We need more female sales supervisors and project managers to drive economic growth and supervise truculent or socially inept male engineers. Let's keep children away from mothers in creches so they can consume our subtle advertising Love it, all for women's rights and blaming working class men for women's problems. Slightly sceptical, but dare not admit it
Now let us briefly consider likely electoral outcomes.
Outright conservative win: Big business stays in control, but must tame the traditionalist Eurosceptic faction. LibDems may offer demand and supply support in key votes with a large number of Tory rebels. However, barring a huge surge in support away from UKIP and LibDems, the Tories are unlikely to win a majority of seats except by the slimmest of margins.
Tory/LibDem Coalition: This remains the most likely outcome if the LibDems can muster at least 20 seats though it may rely on demand and supply support from Ulster's Democratic Unionist Party
Tory / UKIP / DUP Pact: Not going to happen. UKIP is unlikely to gain more than 10 seats, but if it did it would do so at the expense of both Tories and Labour and not really affect the likely balance of power. Many pro-EU tories would defect and join forces with other coalition partners and large corporations would be unlikely to support Britain's exit from the EU.
Labour / SNP Pact: While this may alienate traditionalist English voters, big business may just support it in the full knowledge that they will be unable to fulfil their ambitious spending promises.
Labour / LibDem Coalition: This is a very likely outcome if Labour can win around 35%+ of the popular and Tories fail to get much more than 32%. With Labour just 20 odd seats short of an overall majority according to UK Polling Report and the LibDems still likely to win 20 odd seats. However, they may just rely on external supply and demand support from Plaid Cymru or SDLP should the new coalition fall short of an overall majority by just a few seats. Labour can drop some of its more ambitious spending plans. An interesting outcome would be if a LibLab coalition fell 10-20 or more seats short of majority and had to reach to accommodation with the SNP. A likely concession would be to ditch Trident.
ConLab Coalition: This is not as far-fetched as many observers would like to believe. Big business would rather maintain the façade of a democratic choice between caring Labour and entrepreneurial Conservatives. However, if continued membership of European Union and free labour movement remain critical for large multinationals, they may do anything to prevent UKIP or the Greens from gaining any decisive influence over government. A ConLab coalition would probably see the defection of some leftwing Labour MPs to the Greens or alternative far-left groupings, but the gulf between official Labour and pro-EU Tories is minimal. They agree on defence, the EU, migration and economic growth. While the First Past the Post electoral system will probably enable Labour or the Tories to form a government with some combination of the smaller parties, it may very well happen if the SNP continue to make irresponsible public spending demands on a potential miniority Labour administration with a significantly weakened Liberal Democrat presence, or if global economic meltdown (which would adversely the UK more than most countries) forces the government to make some very unpopular decisions.
Ungreen Greens
On the environment, energy and defence, I'd instinctively vote Green. However, short of a world-wide revolution, their 2015 manifesto is not remotely viable. A Green government would simply be powerless to regulate or tax UK-based global corporations much more without effectively biting the hand that feeds them. How could they hope to increase spending on social welfare, health and affordable housing if big businesses simply move their operations abroad significantly reducing their tax base. The Green manifesto is little more than a politically correct wish list. I certainly agree with the Greens on scrapping Trident, banning hydraulic fracturing and phasing out nuclear power, renationalising railways, limiting car usage in busy urban areas and investing more in public transport. I welcome investment in renewable energy and remote working to cut unnecessary travel, but fear without changing our growth-obsessed economic model little will change and wind turbines, solar panels and wave power will fail to allow the continuation of business as usual. All other Green policies, on welfare, migration, taxation, healthcare or education, are based on the assumption of continued economic prosperity enabling us to import the required resources. In ideal world we would not need any immigration controls as a rebalanced world economy would not offer any significant economic motivation for emigration. There would just be a limited and balanced exchange of professionals, academics and tourists. However, in a grotesquely unequal world mass migration is both a symptom and a cause of much socio-economic instability that tends to favour big business much more than ordinary workers. Unlike PC Greens, I'm quite happy to make sacrifices to give my grandchildren a more sustainable future. I want better and fairer healthcare, not more money squandered on mass medication and bureaucracy. I want fairer taxation, but do not want to fund a bloated welfare state on the proceeds of greedy corporations. Indeed I want to tightly regulate big business and promote small local businesses to enable more people to play an active role shaping our technological future. I do not want more retail growth, but would rather pay more for many commodities to ensure fair wages, reduce waste and lengthen the operational lifetime of most goods. None of this can happen while we need to milk banks and global corporations to subsidise welfare dependence while requiring us to import goods from low-wage economies. More important, it will very hard to tackle any of our environmental problems unless we address another consequence of the UK's unsustainable economic growth, namely unsustainable migration-driven population growth. The Greens repeat the oft-recycled claim that immigration drives economic growth, but fail to question whether we need the kind of import-led retail expansion that a greater population in a small country inevitably causes.
Unsustainable economic policies are not only bad for the environment, but also adversely affect the most vulnerable members of society. Let us consider the likely real world consequences of the Green's current manifesto commitments. On the one hand they would impose higher tax on billionaires and large corporations, regulate big business, cut military spending and ban hazardous high-risk energy extraction and generation techniques. Such policies would shrink the economy, which is all well and good, if like me you are more concerned with long-term stability than short-term growth. However, shrinking the economy would require us to cut welfare spending and without strict import controls a downsized would see unemployment soar. Only by relocalising the many industries and services we have outsourced can we achieve full employment, while effectively deflating our economy to a level that we can sustain in the long run.
If the Greens had their way, large corporations would inevitably just transfer their activities to countries with lower taxes, fewer regulations and lower salaries. As a result millions of workers would be jobless at a time when the government would be less able to pay their welfare bill. More important bankers would be less willing to lend money to governments intent on limiting consumer demand and with it corporate profits.
We need to transition away from our reliance on cheap finite fossil fuels and an energy-intensive global economic system towards a more sustainable and regionally localised system. Likewise, if the UK were only concerned with national defence, rather than meddling in other countries' affairs or serving US foreign policy objectives, we could significantly rationalise military spending in line with Japan, Germany, Spain or Italy. Currently, the UK still has the world's fifth highest defence budget (after Saudi Arabia). Yet, we cannot cut energy consumption or scrap the US-controlled Trident nuclear missile system, unless we change our over-reliance on global trade and absurd obsession with economic growth at all costs. The only way a largely service-based economy can grow is to import more resources from the rest of the world. When retail sales fall, growth-obsessed economists start to worry. Services in the form of restaurants, supermarkets, hospitals, marketing offices or social work departments consume resources, largely for transport, building maintenance, equipment and catering. The more we consume, the more rubbish we generate. The more we obsess with hygiene, the more effluent we dump in our sewers. All aspects of our post-modern lives from healthcare to holidays, commuting to grocery shopping consume resources. Life has become almost inconceivable without washing machines, power showers, electric cookers, hairdryers, fast transportation and multimedia communication, all of which rely on elaborate infrastructure and cheap energy.
The Greens are unlikely to gain more than 2 to 3 seats (and may well lose their only seat Brighton), but they may just sway the balance of power in some strategic issues, especially if future electoral reform affords small parties more seats. However, given the key importance of economic growth to vested commercial interests, who also happen to control most of the media, very few of the Green's environmental policies will see the light of day, except perhaps some token cycle lanes in congested urban areas. They may just win local referendums on hydraulic fracturing or new nuclear power plants, but one the corporate media explain without such new sources of energy people may have to forgo the convenience of cheap motoring, air travel and affordable winter heating, the Greens may not win over the general public. However, they may sway votes on other contentious issues on immigration, welfare reform and the European Union, where ironically they may be on the same side as big business.
Coalition Record
Five years on, big business seems very much still in control. The same social trends that started under Thatcher and were rebranded under Labour have continued unabated under the Cameron/Clegg partnership. Fewer young adults can afford a house, the rich/poor gap continues to widen, the country's debt keeps rising and its population is rising at the fastest rate since the end of WW2, largely through unsustainable migratory flows. Despite initial scepticism, the government has not lost its appetite for meddling in other countries' affairs with disastrous military interventions in Libya, Syria and Iraq. Yet if we believe the raw numbers, the economy keeps growing. The Tories can blame the LibDems for their failure to bring down net migration, while the LibDems can blame the Tories for their failure to tackle inequality. Whenever anything goes wrong, the government of the day can simply blame either their predecessors or their coalition partners.
After 13 years of New Labour rule and mounting public and private debt following the 2008 financial meltdown, many greeted the new common sense Coalition with a sigh of relief. Maybe they would not commit British armed forces to foreign military intervention we ill-understand. Maybe they would deal with long-term worklessness and enable young people to learn valuable practical skills. Maybe they would regulate big corporations rather than private citizens. However, beyond the rhetoric we were only dreaming. The so-called ConDem coalition brought us more of the same NewLabourite policies. Even their cuts in public sector spending were moderate compared to much tougher reductions in other European countries like Italy, Spain, Portugal or Greece, all with comparable national debts, but much lower household debts. Despite all the empty talk of fiscal responsibility, the government continued with the previous administration's quantitive easing (QE) and reliance on property speculation and service sector for economic growth.
On the ground Labour have lost much of their traditional working class base to the SNP in Scotland and to UKIP in provincial England. Their core vote is now wishful thinking Guardian Readers, ethnic minorities and welfare dependents. However, as Tower Hamlets and Bradford West show, Labour's rainbow coalition is unlikely to withstand the rise of identity politics in Britain's disparate communities.
Shifting Alliances
Many observers wrongly assume big business simply wants to ally UK PLC with the USA and NATO. The global balance of power is shifting fast away from North America and Western Europe to China, India, Russia and Brazil. China is now the world's industrial superpower, while India's economy will soon overtake the UK. Both will need resources available in Russia, South America and Africa. Big business has always wanted one thing above all, to expand markets and maximise profits for its share-holders. It will forge alliances with any national or regional state organisation likely to further these aims. It sees the European Union as a microcosm of a future borderless New World Order. If the EU expands potentially to Turkey and Western Ukraine, it will lose its original Eurocentrism and encompass a far wider range of cultures and income levels, which will inevitably transform the welfare state from an essential component of socially cohesive society to a mere enabler of greater labour mobility and faster rates of cultural change.
In the evolving world of the early 21st century, large corporations can no longer afford to place all their eggs in one basket and will push regional trading blocks and military alliances to merge and cooperate. Thus the likes of City of London, BP, Shell, Monsanto, Walmart, Sinopec (China), Volkswagen Group, Samsung, Gazprom (Russia) and even Apple and Microsoft ( see full list ) are actually much keener on facilitating global trade than on siding with the US against Russia or China. That's why the LibDems have already indicated they want a cheaper alternative to Trident, but are very keen on the new European Defence Force (to deploy against rebels denying corporate access to key resources).
You might think the Greens care most about the environment, the SNP and Plaid Cymru care most about Scotland and Wales and UKIP care most about autonomy from the European Union, but you may soon be very disappointed for none can win the coming general election. Whoever wins, the same corporate forces will be working behind the scenes to ensure big-business-friendly outcomes in a dynamic globalised economy. Listen carefully and consider what policy decisions these small political lobbies may change one way or another. To Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP and Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru, continued membership of the European Union seems much more important than the nominal independence of their countries. They have openly stated that any future referendum on the UK's membership of the EU must have the consent of a majority of Welsh and Scots too. The Greens see the EU as a vehicle for cultural and environmental change and imagine joining forces with green movements across Europe to challenge corporate power. All three left-of-centre parties welcome increased immigration and deplore calls for stricter controls to restore greater migratory balance. In short, rather than offer a viable alternative to Labour, the three smaller notionally left-leaning parties present a more radically universalist vision at odds with the conservative views of their electorates. They pander to low-income and welfare-dependent voters through vain promises to oppose all cuts, raise the minimum wage or spend more on healthcare, while expecting someone else, whether taxpayers in other parts of the UK or transnational corporations, to fund their social engineering projects. If you believe the SNP, we can save a bundle by scrapping Trident, approx. 3-4 billion year if we take Greenpeace's estimate of 97 billion over the missile system's 30 year lifespan. With a growing population, the UK will need to invest heavily in healthcare, education, new housing and transport infrastructure, while its armed forces are likely to join ranks with NATO and the new European Defence Agency. As a result, a future Labour/LibDem government may well opt for a much cheaper nuclear deterrent or to scrap Trident altogether. Even voices within the Ministry of Defence oppose Trident renewal. The former head of the armed forces, Field Marshal Lord Bramall, the retired Army generals Lord Ramsbotham and Sir Hugh Beach, and Major General Patrick Cordingley signed a letter to The Times that stated:
“Nuclear weapons have shown themselves to be completely useless as a deterrent to the threats and scale of violence we currently face or are likely to face, particularly international terrorism. Our independent deterrent has become irrelevant, except in the context of domestic politics.â€
However, scrapping Trident will be a pyrrhic victory if the British Isles remains integrated in a military alliance with the United States and EU in future conflicts such as a potential standoff with Russia over Eastern Ukraine. We could soon see some rapidly shifting alliances as the mainstream Western media up their rhetoric against Russia to swing public opinion in favour of rapid rearmament.
As the debt crisis mounts worldwide, we can soon expect another banking meltdown. This will provide a coalition government with an excellent excuse to scale back some of their spending plans. The NHS may simply become unaffordable. I suspect only a rhetorically leftwing coalition could privatise it, possibly by signing an international treaty for Global Health Insurance system. Expect the rich-poor gap to continue to grow and for larger and larger pockets of the Third World to take root in Western Europe. With the rise of the SNP and Anglo-centric UKIP, the UK will soon become little more than anachronism. A potential left-of-centre LibLabSNP pact may well be short-lived as a precursor to a divided Kingdom integrated with an enlarged EU / NAFTA trading block.
Verdict: The Business Party will win and the electorate will once again be bitterly disappointed as world events eclipse parochial UK politics.
Tags anarchy, capitalism, communism, corporatism, immigration, limits to growth, media, population, Power dynamics, sustainability, sustainable
All in the Mind Computing
The Nice Party Manifesto
Post date 22nd April 2015
No Comments on The Nice Party Manifesto
As an environmentally friendly, safety-aware, anti-racist, disability-positive, anti- homophobia, feminist, pro-growth, pro-children, pro-happiness party, we oppose all nasty policies that may harm other human beings.
Global minimum salary:
If elected the UK Nice Party will provide everyone in the world with access to an online bank account and transfer 1 bitcoin ( £150) a day to ensure a min. global living standard. Any work will be optional.
Pollution outsourced to Mars:
All industrial activities will move to the Moon and Mars. All resource extraction, manufacturing and shipping processes will be fully automated.
Imagine there were no countries:
We will abolish all border controls and provide free public transport for anyone wishing to move from one region to another.
Free Fertility Treatment:
We will encourage people to have as many children as they like and provide free fertility services for all those unable to conceive naturally.
A Luxury Villa for everyone:
Our automated builders will provide luxury eco-friendly villas for anyone with long or short-term accommodation needs.
Electric Cars for all:
All global citizens over the age of 18 months will be entitled to their own eco- friendly driverless electric car. These cars will automatically recharge to overcome rage anxiety.
Food for all:
We will build gigantic greenhouse satellites to grow practically unlimited supplies of sumptuously juicy health food to meet all tastes.
Sex for all:
We will provide all sexually repressed human beings with free humanoid sex dolls to suit all possible erotic preferences.
Free Gender Surgery and Body Transplants
Anyone dissatisfied with their current gender or body shape will be entitled to free gender realignment surgery or potentially a full body transplant.
No more accidents
We will repeal Isaac Newton's outdated and frankly misanthropic Law of Gravity and replace it a kinder Law of Floating Attraction. Everyone will thus be able to fly, float or walk as they please. Cliff-jumping, sky-diving and skateboarding will be safe leisure pursuits and pigs will be able to fly.
No more sadness
We will add Soma to the water supply to banish all residual forms of sadness or stray critical thoughts.
A combined software and hardware upgrade is required to implement the above policies. We will migrate all physical human beings currently on planet earth to cloud servers interfacing with massively multiplayer virtual reality simulation software.
Tags All in the mind, Computing, immigration, sustainability, sustainable
No Comments on Why do people get depressed?
With so much media attention, you'd seriously think depression awareness raising charities would want to answer this very simple question. As the purported biological disease model of depression has now become almost an act of faith, debate now seems to revolve mainly around the relative merits of different forms of treatment. Whether it's medication or intensive psychotherapy, any talk of treatment implies a medical condition comparable with cancer, Alzheimers or broken limbs.
By now it should be clear that higher material living standards do not necessarily lead to healthier or more balanced emotions. We possess more powerful, versatile and efficient electronic gadgets, more cars and can afford more holidays abroad than ever before. Yet this material abundance does not translate into greater happiness. The infamous Germanwings copilot, Andreas Lubitz, had a wealthy family who could afford to pay for expensive flying lessons. By any accounts he enjoyed a privileged jetsetting lifestyle and, if reports are correct, was not averse to performance-boosting and mood-altering medication. Countless multimillionaire celebrities have publicised their depressive episodes. Indeed depression seems largely a concern in opulent consumer cultures and the very concept of melancholy is practically unknown to pre-agrarian societies such as the Amazonian Pirarã people.
Human emotions are certainly complex, but why would we have evolved to have clearly distressing and dysfunctional mood swings that make it hard for us to address any of the more immediate problems in our life? If your house is on fire along with all your worldly possessions, what should you do? Contemplate the market value of your endangered possessions? Spend the next 60 minutes negotiating with your home insurance company? Laze around watching Youtube videos about how to rebuild your life after a catastrophe? Actually none of the above, the most rational course of action would be to quickly find the safest way out of the building and if possible help anyone else at home to join you. If you fail to act fast in such situations, you may very well die and be forever unable to help anyone else dear to you. Ironically the kind of emotions people experience in the face of death differ markedly from the self-centred feelings of inferiority and introspection that prevail in melancholy. When faced with a life-threatening crisis, all considerations about your relative social standing, your body image, your love life or lack thereof or your financial woes fade into insignificance. If you are penniless, homeless and starving, the relative merits of the latest and greatest gadgets or the number of social media friends you may have, are of little concern, but you will be probably be very glad to have a square meal and a roof over your head.
Most of all people strive for two things in life: A sense of purpose and affection, i.e. we need to have clear idea of what we aim to achieve in life and to feel wanted or rather emotionally rewarded for our efforts. In the simple pre-agrarian societies that prevailed in most of humanity's two hundred thousand year odd history, our sense of purpose was the survival of ourselves and our immediate community while our sense of love came from the close bonds we had with our community. As long as we did our bit to help in the collective struggle for survival, we would be rewarded with love and affection. As many died young from diseases and injuries that can now be easily treated, the mere fact of survival gave us cause for optimism and gratitude to mother nature and our community. Diverse cultures throughout the world value health more than material possessions.
The lottery of life has always been tough. It is clearly unfair that some of us are blessed with better, stronger or more appealing physiques than others and are thus better equipped to attract the best mating partners. However, humanity would never have evolved to its current level of technological excellence if we had not been able to harness different skill-sets. Carrying heavy building materials undoubtedly requires much muscle-power, but several thousand years ago someone took a break from the tiring task of lugging stones and logs around to devise a new more efficient technique for transporting heaving goods. At first heavy slabs of stones were rolled on logs and later logs were cut into wheels on rudimentary carts. We still needed muscle-power to load and unload carts, but mechanical engineers and craftsmen had enabled us to carry more with less effort. Even primitive societies began to value brains as well as brawn, wisdom and experience as well as youthful energy. That explains why many primitive societies cherish their elders, although they may no longer be able to help hands-on with hunting, building and food preparation, their experience and wisdom is invaluable especially in small close-knit communities.
As societies became more and more complex with greater levels of specialisation, trade and competition, more people failed to lead productive lives as their potential skills had been outsourced or devalued by techno-economic progress. Greater opportunities for some always mean fewer opportunities for others. Current socio-economic trends clearly favour flexible and highly mobile labour markets with a rapid turnaround in human resources and skill-sets. These far-reaching changes affect every aspect of our lives from job security to intimate relationships. In our brave new world, the only certainty is perpetual uncertainty, which in turn makes more and more of us dependent on remote organisations just to stay afloat.
Drugs and Psychiatry
While I do not rule out that some genuine neurological conditions may make some of us more susceptible to melancholic thoughts, the primary cause of depression in modern society is a sense of helplessness, i.e. an inability to help oneself overcome a temporary setback, exacerbated by the breakdown of traditional extended family and community networks. Any purported treatment plan that fails to identify the root causes of so much emotional distress is doomed to failure as in any other cases of misdiagnosis. If you have a broken leg, pain killers may help you temporarily cope with unpleasant sensations, but may have long-term side-effects if taken for prolonged periods of time without addressing the root causes of your suffering. Likewise, no rational dentist would treat tooth decay with ibuprofen alone. In an ideal world we would avoid breaking limbs or exposing our teeth to decay, both of which depend on external or environmental factors. However, at least caries and bone fractures are easily identifiable medical conditions. Depression, on the other hand, is a state of mind induced in an incredibly complex organ with an estimated 100 billion neurons.
The over-prescription of anti-depressants is merely a symptom of a more fundamental problem, a shift away from the psycho-social model of emotional distress to a strictly biological model of mental health patients. The former model recognises biological differences that may make some of us more susceptible to mood swings (not least of which is gender), but rather than concentrating on natural phenomena we cannot easily change, it focuses on how the rest of society can help these people become more productive citizens able to help themselves and feel wanted by helping others. The latter approach, currently in vogue, treats individuals as psychiatric subjects and psycho-social stimuli as mere external triggers of underlying conditions. This turns the depressed into victim groups who require more treatment, and thus greater dependence on others, both of which are very likely to exacerbate their sense of helplessness and under-achievement. If a condition is considered a life-long illness caused by an underlying neurological syndrome, then there is much stronger case for lifelong medication.
Many claim that anti-depressants helped them out of the depths of misery or that they would be unable to function without them. Both claims dodge the more important issues of causation. First if you are on psychoactive medication, you cannot easily just go cold turkey without suffering severe withdrawal symptoms, because your brain has already adjusted to your regular chemical stimuli. Second, there is much stronger case for mild anti-depressants for short-term use if the underlying psycho-social causes are addressed, but in these cases we cannot easily identify whether Selective Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors such as Prozac are more effective than placebos or natural remedies such as St John's Wort. The evidence would suggest outcomes are much better for those with better emotional support from friends and family and more rewarding careers who only need temporary treatment. Unfortunately that leaves millions of marginalised individuals who struggle to realise their self-worth through meaningful work (sense of purpose) or relationships (sense of belonging).
David Healy on the effects of Antidepressants
Robert Whitaker on Mad in America
Tags All in the mind, capitalism, crimes, hegemony, history, human rights
All in the Mind Power Dynamics
Question Time on Rise of UKIP
Post date 9th April 2015
No Comments on Question Time on Rise of UKIP
How would members of the panel deal with the rise in UKIP support among working class whites?
Dame Penelope Guardian Reader
This may surprise you, but on my mother's side I'm of White English working class extraction myself and have some friends and relatives who still live in white working class communities. A great aunt of mine stills reads the obnoxious Daily Mail and has indeed occasionally raised uninformed concerns about the scale and speed of inward migration to our wonderfully progressive and welcoming island. Like many people in her age group she's prone to mild forms of xenophobia, which can be a very debilitating condition if left untreated.
Recent research by the University of Northwest Tescotown, has shown the same kind of recalcitrant thinking that leads some people of Middle-Eastern descent to sympathise with ISIS may trigger reactionary anti-immigration thoughts in those of white Northwest European descent. In the Enlightened Guardian Readers' Party we believe xenophobia sufferers deserve all the help we can give them. That's why my party is committed to not only increasing spending on mental health, but allocating 20% of the mental health budget to combat the kind of unenlightened thinking that leads people to vote UKIP or join ISIS in the first place. I've heard of a range of therapeutic treatments, including a new generation of Selective Critical Thought Inhibitors and intensive Equality and Diversity Training sessions.
Terry Trendy of UK Uncut
We believe the spread of evil racist views among some sections of our wonderfully diverse community is a direct result of the government's shameful cuts in social welfare and mental health services. We clearly have a massive shortage of qualified and trained multicultural awareness therapists in this country and should relax our absurdly strict immigration controls so we can bring in the right professionals to tackle this endemic disease before it's too late.
Polly Pontificator of Spiked Online
I really don't think we have anything to worry about. The previous two speakers clearly overstate the problem. UKIP support is highest among older indigenous White Anglo-Saxon protestants and is not spreading to the new ethnically diverse and internationally minded younger generations. As long as this dying breed of old-timers is kept amused through repeats of 1970s comedy shows, plenty of booze, bingo and Mediterranean cruises, UKIP will remain a minority sport.
Aaron Aardvark of the Green Monster Raving Loony Party
UKIP supporters are just a bunch of primeval climate-change-denying Jeremy CLarkson fans. We would simply withdraw their driving licences until they pass a mandatory Diversity and Environmental Responsibility Awareness Training test.
Tags All in the mind, anarchy, capitalism, media, migration, Power dynamics, sustainability, sustainable
Censorship is a Licence to Kill
How did it come to this?
Private and Public Opinions
Down the Rabbit Hole !
Blaming the Naughty Plebs again!
Dario Ibach on The Copy and Paste Design Pattern
Brenna J on Free Speech and Hate Speech
Hairstyles Men on How the Blair Era begat Corbynism
MD on The End of British Exceptionalism
© 2021 Outsider Insight
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Mary Jo Iozzio
The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality, and Gender
Edited by Adrian Thatcher
Religion, Religion and Society, Religious Identity, Religion and Politics, Ethics
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199664153.013.38
Sex and Sexual Diversity: An Extravagant Gift from an Extravagant God
Evolution’s Diversity
Relational Fecundity
Let’s Talk About Sex: Defining the Subject’s Act
A Guide: Because ‘Not Just Anything Goes’
Sex Transcending Time and Space: A Kairos Defining Moment
A Practical Theology
Violence and Justice
Desire and Love
Abstract and Keywords
This chapter examines how sex figures in the HIV/AIDS pandemic and how the pandemic may be understood in the light of God’s extravagance and hope for the future. Sex is one of those gifts that human beings have received at the hands of a God of extravagance: a God of infinite possibility, copious generosity, and unparalleled solidarity. The very creation is a manifestation of a fecund imagination and God’s own joy writ large enough to witness sexual diversity—from asexual to heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer—among all living beings. In the human community the gift of sex and one’s identity as a sexual being include the purposes and promises of the extravagance that is sexual creativity in and through diversity. This chapter explores what insights theology can bring to the purposes of sex as creativity/generativity and intimacy-building communion/pleasure, and what intuitions theology can bring to the promises of sex as transcendent experience.
Keywords: conjoined embodiment, sex as a gift, sexual diversity, sexual intimacy, sex and HIV/AIDS
Mary Jo Iozzio, Professor of Moral Theology at Barry University.
Access to the complete content on Oxford Handbooks Online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter without a subscription.
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Why The Democrats Won
November 21, 2001 by Phyllis Schlafly
“I am ruling out a tax increase,” the new Governor of debt-ridden New Jersey declared the day after his election. He said he is embarking on “an agonizing reappraisal of what government should do, and perhaps more importantly, what government ought not be doing."
Is this a disciple of Ronald Reagan speaking? A politician who is truly dedicated to less government and lower taxes?
No, this is a liberal the day after his campaign against a principled conservative ended. Jim McGreevey, who voted for a massive New Jersey tax hike in the '90s, is talking like an anti-tax conservative today.
Credit the man he defeated, Bret Schundler, for this apparent transformation. Schundler, in his concession speech the night before, had pointedly warned McGreevey against resorting to tax increases.
Schundler's vigorous campaigning forced McGreevey to promise not to increase taxes. "We are going to look to him to do that, and we are going to hold him to those promises," Schundler said.
In addition to promising not to raise taxes, McGreevey declared that "I am committed for New Jersey state government to be operated in a cost-effective, fiscally conservative and responsible manner. And we will have to make difficult decisions." He is singing from the conservative song sheet.
Few really expect McGreevey to live up to his post-election conservative talk. But Schundler, a relentless former All-State football player, will keep on the pressure during the next four years.
Schundler proved his influence when he single-handedly stopped a plan to build a costly new sports arena in Newark. All the political powers supported the plan, which included goodies for them, but Schundler derailed it by demanding that it be put to a vote of the people.
McGreevey now agrees with Schundler about that issue, too. The day after the election, McGreevey described the plan for the new sports arena as "a $1 billion pork fest" and promised to oppose any plan that would burden taxpayers.
Bret Schundler's scrutiny and sharp criticism of government waste have changed the landscape and the vocabulary for all Garden State politicians. His principled stances combined with his populist appeal have liberals worried about what he will say next, even after his defeat.
McGreevey and the national Democratic Party defeated Schundler only by pouring unprecedented resources into a negative campaign. McGreevey's side outspent Schundler's by a margin estimated to be at least three to one.
Every major newspaper endorsed McGreevey, who then ran ads featuring those endorsements. Moderate Republicans, including the acting Governor, refused to endorse the conservative Schundler.
The "big tent" that moderates and the media use to club conservatives into supporting moderate candidates does not work both ways when a hard-charging conservative like Schundler wins the nomination. Even President Bush's own Cabinet member, left-leaning Christine Todd Whitman, was vocal in her criticism of Schundler at a pivotal time early in the campaign.
The race for Governor of Virginia was similar and the outcome was the same. The liberal Democrat vastly outspent the conservative Republican there, and President Bush was a no-show.
Although the liberal candidates in both New Jersey and Virginia spent far greater amounts of campaign money, they still could win only by talking like conservatives. Mark Warner even courted the pro-gun vote to put him over the top for the Virginia governorship.
As for Hillary and Bill Clinton, their old-fashioned liberalism fared poorly. Neither Senator Hillary's endorsement nor Bill's new office in the Big Apple were able to save Mark Green from his loss to Republican Michael Bloomberg for mayor.
Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe funneled massive resources into the New Jersey and Virginia races while the national Republicans stayed away and kept their wallets closed. McAuliffe crowed that the election results were a referendum on the Republican Party's "stale ideas."
Even the liberal Newark Star-Ledger, which had endorsed McGreevey "by a mile," brushed off McAuliffe's comments as "nothing but predictable spin." The liberal candidates know they won because they talked like conservatives.
President Bush, unfortunately, was missing in action all during these important campaigns, even before 9/11. He refused to fundraise for the New Jersey or Virginia gubernatorial candidates, with his spokesman using the pretext that the elections were merely local.
Meanwhile, conservatives and pro-lifers elected 12 new Republicans to Virginia's House of Delegates, sweeping to a 64-35 majority, where they can help Mark Warner stick to his conservative promises. Virginia law term-limits the Governor, but not the legislators, to four years.
In New Jersey, the moderates are thoroughly discredited by their disgraceful opposition to the Republican nominee. Symbolizing the end of the moderate stranglehold, New Jersey Congresswoman Marge Roukema just announced her retirement, yielding her seat to likely capture by a Schundler supporter.
Filed Under: Elections, Liberalism and Conservatism, Phyllis Schlafly Report Column
Latest Elections Stories:
While House Democrats improperly invoke the 25th Amendment to try to remove President Trump, House Republicans should be using the 12th Amendment to give him four more years. Last week 138 Representatives from 35 states voted in favor of Trump by objecting to the fraudulent Biden electors from Pennsylvania. The significance of that vote in […]
Don’t Be a Political Dropout
Phyllis Schlafly Eagles · January 11 | Political Dropouts In 1968, Phyllis Schlafly called on conservatives not to become “political dropouts” when the elections are over. With that one phrase, she wisely put her finger on the real reason nothing ever seems to get done in government. We all understand the importance of electing good […]
Focus On What The Fake News And Big Tech Are Doing! |#ProAmericaReport 1.9.2021
What You Need to Know is we are in a crisis! Wednesday, concerned Americans went to Washington, DC to protest the election that appears fraudulent. Now President-Elect Joe Biden is calling the Capitol Police racist because of how they treated the group of mostly white protestors, and if they’d been part of Black Lives Matter […]
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Schemes affected by changes to the definition of 'money purchase benefits' need not revisit most past decisions, says DWP Schemes affected by changes to the definition of 'money purchase benefits' need not revisit most past decisions, says DWP
Schemes affected by changes to the definition of 'money purchase benefits' need not revisit most past decisions, says DWP
Out-Law News | 08 May 2014 | 4:51 pm | 2 min. read
Upcoming changes will impose onerous regulatory requirements on certain "impure" defined contribution (DC) schemes but affected schemes won't usually need to revisit past decisions, an expert has said.
Simon Tyler of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had recognised that it would be "too much" to expect affected schemes to revisit every past decision. However, the actual exemptions set out by the DWP in its response to last year's consultation were complex and would affect different schemes in different ways, he said.
"No one would benefit from, say, preparing funding valuations for past periods, or unpicking benefits already paid from schemes that have wound up," he said. "But this is a highly complex area. The government's general aim is to be welcomed but the actual exemptions are fiendishly technical."
"Trustees of affected schemes should discuss with their advisers now how their scheme will be affected.They need to assess how the scheme should be administered when the new requirements come into force and what, if anything, needs to be done about past decisions," he said.
Once in force, section 29 of the 2011 Pensions Act will restrict the definition of 'money purchase benefits' so that some schemes which had been traditionally classed as defined contribution schemes will be reclassified as defined benefit (DB) schemes, and become subject to the accompanying regulatory requirements. The new regime will retrospectively apply from 1 January 1997 and will affect those DC occupational pension schemes that have guaranteed investment returns, promised any defined minimum benefit, or paid pensions out of scheme assets, rather than buying an annuity.
The new definition was originally expected to come into force in April; however, this was later delayed in order to give the government sufficient time to develop the transitional provisions set out in last year's consultation. Draft regulations published by the government are now expected to bring in the new definition of 'money purchase' from early July 2014, as announced by pensions minister Steve Webb in parliament in April.
The new definition of 'money purchase' stems from a 2011 Supreme Court decision, in which judges found that benefits subject to a fixed rate of investment return should be classified as money purchase, even if this led to a shortfall in assets compared to liabilities. This raised the possibility that a deficit could arise in relation to these benefits, despite there being no statutory protections in place for members of those schemes.
A DB scheme is a scheme that promises a set level of pension once a scheme member reaches retirement age no matter what happens to the stock market or the value of the underlining investment. A DC (or money purchase) scheme is one in which the final value depends on the performance of the scheme member's individual contributions. Because sponsoring employers of DB schemes bear the risk of any fall in value of the pension investment, DB schemes are subject to stricter regulation including requirements to undergo regular valuations, and to make contributions to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to guarantee compensation to scheme members in the event of employer insolvency.
The draft regulations provide that schemes will generally not need to revisit decisions taken before the new definition of 'money purchase' comes into force. There are some specific provisions dealing in detail with protected rights, winding up and statutory debts on employers. Schemes affected by the new definition will have until 6 October 2014 to appoint an actuary.
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Home/Industry News/Current Affairs/New Feliway® TV advertising campaign
New Feliway® TV advertising campaign
Sara Cork Send an email Monday, 8 June 2015, 15:51
Feliway® will appear on televisions around the country in July. Ceva Animal Health is launching a major new national advertising campaign to raise awareness of the veterinary behaviour product’s benefits.
The advertisement focuses on the story of Clare and her rescue cat, Mewsli, who was often scared and anxious, so much so that she would hide under the bed and scratch the side of the chair. It follows Mewsli’s progress as she takes part in the Feliway 30 day challenge to see a difference in her behaviour. During the challenge Clare plugged in a Feliway diffuser and after a little time saw a remarkable difference in Mewsli’s behaviour as she appeared content and a lot happier.
The new 30-second advertisement, featuring the strapline ‘Best behaviour starts with Feliway’. It is aimed at ABC1 women and will air from July 6 until July 26. The advertisement will be featured on ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5, digital channels including E4, Film4, ITV2, ITV3 and ITVBe and London Live.
For further information on Feliway visit feliway.com/uk.
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A Media Update From Churches in the UK and Europe
Where Are The Churchills Today? The Pandemic and Crisis Leadership
When The Capitol Building Was Attacked, Here’s What I Saw
Leaders: Do You Have the Courage to Protect the Future?
The Second Wave of COVID-19 Is Here. Here’s My Media Recommendations for Churches
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The Guy Who Cut the Door into The Last Supper
RT @MZHemingway: Out-Of-Work Waitress Excited To See Congress Spend Time Impeaching Trump Again https://t.co/A7QwjRYUzP via @TheBabylonBee
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A Doug Hopkins Biopic Is in the Works
Arizona Music Historian John Dixon Is Hosting a Record Sale This Weekend in Scottsdale
The Paul CruiZe Blues Crew on Their Trials and Triumphs at the International Blues Challenge
Stan Bindell
| Blues |
Stan Bindell | February 14, 2014 | 8:00am
When the esteemed International Blues Challenge took place in Memphis late last month, one local band got an opportunity to go for blues immortality. Namely, the Valley's Paul CruiZe Blues Crew, which represented Arizona at the annual competition and made it all the way into the semifinal round before bowing out.
Although Cruize says the experience of competing at the IBC was great, the vocalist and guitarist for the local three-piece -- which also features Royce Murray on the Hammond organ and Tim Robinson -- had a few issues with how the world-renowned blues battle went down.
See also: Arizona Blues Showdown Crowns Paul Cruize Blues Crew Band and Juke Joint
According to Cruize, a frustrating part about the competition was that its judges didn't give the band any comments on why they didn't make it farther than the semifinals. Especially given the great response he says they got from the audiences that watched their performances.
"We were greatly received. The people loved us and gave us rave reviews. Musicians from other bands were also raving about us," he says.
The Paul Cruize Blues Crew performed a total of three times during the IBC, the world's biggest gather of bands from the genre that took place from January 21 to January 25. The band's first performance was at BB King's restaurant and blues joint in Memphis where they played three songs in 20 minutes: Bobby Bland's "Loving on Borrowed Time," Anthony David's "Spitting Game," and a humorous version of Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billy Joe."
In the second round, also held at BB King's club, involved the band switching out "Loving on Borrowed Time" with their original "Mumbo Jumbo."
"BB King's place was packed and it was like a juke joint. It wasn't that big but they had a nice stage," Cruize says. "They had great barbecue ribs and the sound system was good."
After their performance, the judge's posted on the IBC website and in the participating Memphis blues clubs that Paul CruiZe Blues Crew had made it into the semifinal round.
The Blues Crew's third performance was at the New Daisy Theater where their three-song set was extended to 25 minutes. They played an original song, "Love All My Blues Away," a medley of Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand the Rain" and Prince's "Purple Rain" before finishing with the "Spitting Game.
But while the venue wasn't new or big, he says it was a good place to play.
"The sound system was great and they had a giant stage. The bar was packed and they had the blues youth showcase on before us," he says. "Some of those kids were really good."
And, like in the previous rounds, the Blues Crew also earned a good reaction.
"Some bands told us that we had to be the winners because we were different and creative," Cruize says.
It wasn't enough for the IBC judges, however, and the band was ultimately eliminated.
Besides his issues with the judging, Cruize also dealt with a stomach virus and freezing weather while in Memphis for the IBC. The first night of the event, for instance, was 18 degrees with 40 mile per hour winds and it was several days before the temperature would rise above 30 degrees.
"The streets were empty," he says. "With 255 bands playing you would think the streets would be busy but it was so cold everybody was staying inside."
Nevertheless, Cruize says the experience of participating in the IBC and being in Memphis was amazing.
"I felt the presence of all the great musicians who have played [there] -- Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, BB King," he says. "It had that flavor of all the greats and a lot of places had the memorabilia."
Cruize adds that the people were friendly and the blues camaraderie was great. The IBC was held at a multitude of clubs along the famous Beale Street, all within blocks of one other. He and his bandmates was able to watch performances at Rum Boogie, Hard Rock Café, Orpheum Theater, Blues City Café and Club 152.
Cruize says that every one of the 200-odd bands that competed in the IBC were above average, even if they weren't purely blues, such as an ensemble from Poland performing '50s sock hop boogie.
"They were good, but they weren't bluesy enough for some," Cruize says.
His favorite band, however, was Kevin Purcell and the Night Burners from Chicago.
"They had a great fiddle player. It was traditional Chicago blues with a fiddle," Cruize says.
The experience of being at the IBC was worth going through the process of winning the Arizona Blues Showdown, which is put on every fall at the Rhythm Room by the Phoenix Blues Society and determines which local band will represent the state. The society also held fundraisers to help get the Paul CruiZe Blues Crew to Memphis, including covering everything but their hotel.
"We thank them for their support," Cruize says. "Not just the money. They gave us a lot of well wishes and atta boys. They kept up with us the whole time and we are grateful for their help."
Jim Crawford, president of the society, wrote in one of the organization's more recent newsletters that Cruize's band "flat had 'em dancing in the aisles."
"Congratulations on a job well done," Crawford added.
Next up for Cruize and company is a gig at the society's annual Blues Blast in early March in downtown Phoenix before hitting the festival circuit. The band also plans to have a CD out by the summer.
For now, he and his bandmates are enjoying looking back at the IBC.
"It was a lot of fun and laughter," Cruize says.
The Paul CruiZe Blues Crew is scheduled to perform during Blues Blast 2014 on Saturday, March 8, at Margaret T. Hance Park.
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Huawei Nova 5 will roll out on June 21
Fizza AtiqueLast Updated: Jun 11, 2019
A few days back Huawei Nova 5 and 5i specifications were revealed. Now we have come to know about Huawei Nova 5 launch date i.e. June 21. So your excitement level should be proportional to the upcoming launch date of both the marvellous devices.
Both the devices will feature a 6.4-inch FHD+ IPS display. The display will have a punch hole cutout in the top left corner for the 24MP selfie camera. The phone will have Kirin 710 chipset. Moreover, the phone will come with either 6 or 8GB RAM alongside 128GB storage.
Huawei Nova 5 Launch Date Confirmed- The Device will show up on June 21
One of the most promising features of the phone is its quad camera setup. It will feature a 24MP main, 8MP secondary, 2MP depth sensors and a TOF camera. Moreover, the phone will also have an LED flash and the fingerprint reader on the back.
On the other hand, Huawei has introduced its own first self-developed operating system. This advancement was under process since 2012 and is now secretly introduced into their system. This step is although a result of the company’s suspicion about recent Google Android support suspension. Thus it developed a substitute for the Android operating system, in such circumstances.
Well in the US Ban circumstances, only time will tell whether people will be comfortable buying these devices. But as far as their specifications are concerned, I foresee that it will gain profit through its sales. Moreover, all the upcoming devices of Huawei will come with the operating system HongMeng. This advancement is said to be under process since 2012 and it had been secretly introduced into their system. For some days people thought it was just a stunt as name and the launch date was not announced by the Chinese tech giant.
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Media Kit >
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endured a farcical debut
cy11234566
F1 chiefs will move to change the qualifying format within days after the new elimination-style system endured a farcical debut at the Australian GP. Air Max 720 Günstig . The newly-devised system, which sees drivers knocked out at 90-second intervals from mid-way through each of the three sessions, was panned by drivers, team bosses and pundits after the new rules confused fans and meant cars were not on track at what were meant to be decisive moments of the session.Polesitter Lewis Hamilton was already in parc ferme three minutes before the chequered flag fell, while a host of drivers had earlier been knocked out when their cars were not even on track. Conclusions from qualifying for the Australian GPBut after an immediate backlash from fans on social media, and condemnation of the new system from a number of the sports leading figures, moves are already underway to make immediate changes for the second round of the season in Bahrain in two weeks time.There is a will [to change it], Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said on Saturday night in Melbourne. Head of Mercedes Motorsport Toto Wolff said the new qualifying format is rubbish, and thinks discussions will take place over reverting to last years form Nobody tried to damage the spectacle in qualifying on purpose. The basic idea of having a shootout and every 90 seconds somebody drops out could trigger results that give a certain variability and could mean that a favourite gets it wrong.So the basic concept was not completely stupid but, as with many things, the devil lies in the detail and weve seen today that we actually complicated things in a time that we should simplify them.There was periods when no car was running, you saw that at the end, and that wasnt exciting. Qualifying report Lewis Hamilton dominates in Australia to take pole That should be the target [to change by Bahrain].With the season already underway, a unanimous vote of the F1 Commission will be required to change the regulations again - with such a move possibly taking place as early as Monday.Technically you need a couple of days to change whatever you want, said McLaren racing director Eric Boullier.You just need an e-vote by fax or by email and the FIA Commission members can give their opinion. If everybody agrees, it should be unanimous and it could be done.Whens the Australian GP on Sky Sports F1?It appears likely that the three-part qualifying system will revert to the rules used over the last decade, with a group of cars exiting at the end of Q1 and Q2 respectively before the top 10 compete for pole in Q3. Sky Sports F1s Martin Brundle and David Croft give their damning verdict on the new F1 qualifying format which resulted in no action for the last four min It seems theres a unanimous desire amongst both the team bosses and the drivers themselves and other power brokers within the sport to get all this changed, probably back to the way it was last season in time for the Bahrain Grand Prix, reported Sky Sports News HQs Craig Slater.The shake-up of qualifying was only first agreed two weeks ago by the Strategy Group and F1 Commission and had already provoked controversy among drivers, who had argued that it would not work.Team managers also met with FIA race director Charlie Whiting to express reservations about the new-look Q3 during testing at Barcelona, but the elimination system was subsequently rubber-stamped in its original form by the World Motor Sport Council last week. Ted Kravitz brings you all the latest news from qualifying at the Australian GP Wolff believes F1 is right to be looking at ways to improve its spectacle, but suggests it needs to take longer working on any more radical solutions.There are two perspectives, he said. The first is we had a qualifying format that was pretty okay and in order to spice things up this is where we ended up. The obvious choice is to return to what we had before, its in the regulations. If we were to reinvent a different format I think we need to think carefully about what that would do.We shouldnt close our eyes to trying to make the spectacle better - that is important - but it should be a thought through process.Hamilton enjoys sexy laps for pole positionThe first race of the 2016 F1 season, the Australian GP, is exclusively live on Sky Sports F1. The race in Melbourne starts at 5am on Sunday morning. Every race live in 2016 Sky Sports F1 brings you every race live in 2016. Fast and easy online upgrade - click here Also See: Conclusions from Oz GP qualifying New qualy format slammed Air Max Günstig Kaufen . A question that was repeatedly posed last season, and the season before that and in the 2011 campaign before that. Nike Air Max 95 Günstig Kaufen . Fans holding laudatory signs started showing up at Yankee Stadium when the gates opened at 4 p.m. Monday, an hour early in order to give them a chance to watch the New York captain take batting practice. OKLAHOMA CITY -- If there were any doubts left about whether Russell Westbrook still had his same explosiveness, the Oklahoma City point guard put those to rest once and for all. Westbrook finished with 22 points, including two thundering dunks, as the Thunder pulled away in the second half for a 107-93 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. Kevin Durant had 23 points and 10 assists, and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 13 rebounds as Oklahoma City (3-1) won its 11 straight game over the Mavericks, including the playoffs. The last loss for the Thunder against Dallas was on Jan. 2, 2012. The win was also the Thunders second straight since the return of its All-Star point guard, who rebounded from a 5-of-16 shooting performance in his first game back to finish 10 of 20 on Wednesday. The two dunks -- including one in the fourth quarter when he soared down the lane to give the Thunder its biggest lead at 97-80 -- were the true measure of Westbrooks health after two off-season knee surgeries. "Thats God-given ability; you cant take that away," Durant said. "I knew he would come back right, and he looked great tonight." Monta Ellis led Dallas (3-2), which was playing its second game in two nights, with 20 points. Jae Crowder and Shawn Marion added 17 points each, while Dirk Nowitzki finished with 16. Ellis had seven of the Mavericks 21 turnovers, which resulted in 27 fast-break points for Oklahoma City. "They are a good team, and to win this game in this atmosphere you really have got to be right and really have to be functioning well on all levels," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "And it just wasnt there for us tonight." The Thunder led 57-51 at halftime, quickly extending that lead to as many as 15 points in the third quarter and remaining ahead by double figures throughout the fourth. Westbrook who provided several of the games biggest highlights, putting to rest any doubt about the health of his knee while finishing 10 of 20 from the field. The point guard was 5 of 16 in his first game back, a win over Phoenix, but he took control early against the Mavericks -- soaring through the lane for two one-handed highliight dunks. Nike Air Max Plus Günstig. "Its what we expect," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "Thats who he is. Hes an aggressive player. Hes a talented player that has improved every year. "This is the guy that we all knew what he was going to do when he came back." Westbrook wasted little time in showing there are no ill effects in his second game back after his most recent knee surgery, scoring eight of Oklahoma Citys first 11 points. He only finished with four assists, but he had plenty of help in the facilitating role from Durant and his 10 assists as well as five assists off the bench from Reggie Jackson. The Thunder finished with a season-high 28 assists as a team. Also, rookie Steven Adams finished with six points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes of action. The centre dunked off an assist from Durant to put Oklahoma City up 42-39 in the second quarter, and he followed with a steal on the other end. Adams then threw the outlet pass to a streaking Westbrook, who finished the break with a one-handed dunk that put the Thunder up 46-39 and set the tone for the comfortable second half. "It was good for me," Westbrook said. "Im still on the road to getting back to where I need to be." Dallas led by as many as five points in the first quarter, taking a 20-15 lead after a drive by Ellis. Nowitzki put the Mavericks up 29-26 with a 3-pointer late in the first quarter, but they shot 42.2 per cent (36 of 85) for the game compared to a 43-of-79 (54.4 per cent) shooting effort by Oklahoma City. "Theyre one of the best teams," Dallas forward DeJuan Blair said. "Were also one of the best teams, and thats just what you get." NOTES: Ellis entered averaging 25 points per game, ahead of Nowitzkis 20.3 ... The last player to lead the Mavericks in scoring for the season was Michael Finley during 1999-2000, Nowitzkis second season in the NBA. ... Dallas Shawn Marion moved into 21st on the NBAs all-time list with his two steals for the game, passing Charles Barkley. Marion has 1,649 steals for his career. ... Vince Carter was ejected with 4:01 remaining in the third quarter after an elbow to the face of Adams. ' ' '
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QB Quiz
Avengers: Infinity War Director Reveals What Happened to Valkyrie
Avengers: Infinity War was full of Superheroes and it wasn’t short of Supervillains as well even though the movie largely focused upon the Mad Titan. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo managed to do Justice to a larger chunk of the heroes and villains and we have to admit that they did a great job with that. These two Directors and the Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely involved these characters in the best way possible making some of those important, while others not so much. Amidst so many characters, there were some names with the likes of Valkyrie, Hawkeye, etc. that did not actually make it to the film.
Since the movie was already so stuffed and there was so little time to establish each and everything, it is obvious that the creatives had to bench some characters while others could go out and have their moments. What they did very well with the ending was that not only did they give us the big thrill that we were never ready for, they also made way for other characters like Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Valkyrie and Captain Marvel to come in the next part of this mega finale and fulfil their story arcs.
One more such character that was set up really big but did not even appear in the movie was Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie. Her non-appearance was actually really surprising and it definitely needs an explanation. Since we may see Valkyrie return in the next movie, it is highly possible that Taika Waititi’s Korg, and even Miek may return for Avengers 4 as they may be with Valkyrie herself.
Well, the good news now is that the team of Director Joe Russo and writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus have mentioned some good insights about the upcoming role of Valkyrie and Korg in the Infinity War commentary, but a bad news also follows. Here’s what they said:
“McFeely – I think we should say that several Asgardians have escaped.
Joe Russo – Several Asgardians have escaped. I have gone on record saying Valkyrie has escaped with some of the Asgardians.
Markus – All I can say is pray for Korg.”
So it is obviously good to know that Valkyrie is going to have a story arc in the next movie, and they are going to indulge with the opening scene of Infinity War which really was not complete. But what Markus said about Korg in particular is worrisome.
After watching Thor: Ragnarok, the one character everyone got attached to was Taika Waititi’s Korg. Everyone in the world feels nothing but happy to see the character and imagining him to die in Avengers 4 does make us a little concerned. Taking by what Markus said, it is highly likely that Korg might have actually got disintegrated. But seeing that disintegration scene with Korg is surely going to make you a little sorrowful right in the beginning of the movie.
It is amazing how TaikaWaititi was able to create so much love and bonding with the character in such short span of time. Let’s just hope that it does not happen the way it looks to be. You can find all this commentary and the full list of special features on the upcoming home video release below:
Strange Alchemy (5:08)
The Mad Titan (6:34)
Beyond the Battle: Titan (9:36)
Beyond the Battle: Wakanda (10:58)
Deleted and Extended Scenes (10:07)
Happy Knows Best (1:23)
Hunt for the Mind Stone (1:24)
The Guardians Get Their Groove Back (3:20)
Avengers: Infinity War was the biggest movie of the year and here’s the official Synopsis of the movie:
“As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment – the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain”.
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Best Practices: How to Engage Developers with a World-Class API Portal
API University
How-To, Developer Relations, API Education, API Management, Editor's Choice, Engagement
By Wendell Santos, Editor
By most accounts, the API economy is now, in 2019, about 15 years old. In terms of the famed hype cycle from research firm Gartner, the API economy is so old that it's not only past the peak of inflated expectations (an early but disappointing phase for many nascent technologies), it has also roared its way like a lion out of the trough of disillusionment (the hype cycle phase that chronologically occurs after the inflated expectations stage).
Today, the API economy is a thriving industry in which many of the solutions and best practices have reached a well-seasoned maturity (although there's still plenty room for improvement). As such, we at ProgrammableWeb thought it was finally a great time to launch an Editors' Choice program in which we draw attention to the best practitioners when it comes to developer engagement. Particularly when it comes to how API providers engage their developer communities through developer portals, other online presences, and physical world engagement.
But before we could launch such a program, we thought it would be best to transparently establish and publish a baseline methodology so that the entire industry had some idea of what we at ProgrammableWeb believed to be the state of the art when it comes to developer engagement. At the same time, we also realized that this same standard could serve as an aspiration for many API providers looking to improve upon their engagement tradecraft. So, what follows isn't just the basis of how we judge the many developer portals that we encounter in the course of reporting the news of the API economy or running ProgrammableWeb's API directory. It's also a guide to any API provider looking to win the hearts and minds of developers, regardless of whether they are internal or external to their organizations.
As we see more advancements and innovations in the area of developer engagement, we will very likely take them into consideration as part of this standard. In other words, we'll be updating this document on a regular basis. Shortly after we publish the first version of this document, we also plan to start publishing our editors' choices for excellence in developer engagement. In the meantime, if you have any questions or suggestions regarding our Editors' Choice program, please do not hesitate to contact us at editor@programmableweb.com.
In the past, an API developer portal was simply the place where providers housed their API documentation. And for those early days of the API economy, that was certainly sufficient. But as more organizations start to understand the competitive role that APIs will play in establishing their businesses as game changing platforms, the more their API developer portals bear significant responsibility for brand positioning and marketing, partner and developer recruitment and communications, and ultimately business success.
As evidenced by some of the world's leading API providers such a Twilio, GitHub, and Stripe — companies that have generated significant success through their API strategies — the API developer portal must be viewed as the shiny new shingle that organizations hang on the Internet to say that they're open for digital business. Simply put, a developer portal can no longer be just about documentation (as it once was).
Today, your API developer portal is where current and future stakeholders will go to learn everything possible about your API(s) and even your company, both from a technical standpoint and also just as importantly, from a business standpoint. Whether it's intended for internal consumption behind your firewall, external consumption by third party developers and partners, or both, your APIs represent you and your business. The finish and elegance of the user experience and the degree to which it breeds confidence across the various participants in your digital ecosystem will be a deciding factor in who wins and who loses in each industry. Your APIs are actually products and you should treat them as such.
What goes into an industry-leading API portal? To create the best portal for you and your developers, ProgrammableWeb walks you through what some of the top providers are doing, what their best practices are, and the elements and neat conveniences that make for a great API portal. It should be noted that while many API providers are putting a variety of industry-leading best practices to work in their API portals, no single API provider puts them all to work. In other words, there's room for improvement in every API portal we've seen.
Editor's note: As previously noted, this article draws on many examples of great developer portal best practices from all over the API economy. Wherever possible, we link to the actual examples so you can see for yourself. However, please be aware that by the time you read this, some of those examples may have changed or may no longer work as described. We'll do our best to keep this document as up-to-date as possible.
A portal has many jobs to fill, including (just to name just a few):
Articulation of the organization's unique value proposition as an API-enabled Business-as-a-Platform (BaaP) to its stakeholders
Clearly stating each API's business case and suggesting the types of problems it can solve
Having top-notch documentation that's as easily consumed by beginners as it is by experts
Helping developers to begin sampling and working with the API quickly (what we at ProgrammableWeb like to call "Time to Hello API!")
Establishing trust in the API provider as a business, confidence in the security and reliability of the APIs, and providing world-class support
We'll show you the API portals that do this well and we'll even call out some that don't quite hit the mark. We even have some ideas for world-class developer portal features that have yet to be observed in the wild. Armed with this information, nothing stands between you and building a truly standout portal that engenders interest in your API-led BaaP while launching your API-consuming developers confidently into their projects.
Continued on page 2.
Be sure to read the next Developer Relations article: 5 Tips to Build Developer-Friendly API Products
Article Credits
This article was edited by David Berlind and webmastered by Jeanette Hafke.
Wendell Santos is the editor at ProgrammableWeb.com. You can reach him at wendell@programmableweb.com. Connect to Wendell on Twitter at @wendell78.
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Find out more about... Developer Relations, API Education, API Management, Editor's Choice, Engagement
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Russell Sage College and Rubin Community Fellows Program Announce More than $41,000 in Funding for Projects in Rensselaer County
Russell Sage College and the Louis and Hortense Rubin Community Fellows Program have announced four projects selected to receive grant funding for 2020-2021.
The Rubin Community Fellows program funds cooperative projects between higher education faculty members and not-for-profit or government agencies in Rensselaer County. This year, all of the partnering faculty members are from Russell Sage College.
"We are pleased to support projects that address childhood obesity, maternal health, human services and the environment,” said Program Director Fred Alm. “These four organizations were able to adjust their plans to comply with COVID-19 requirements. We are proud to work with these organizations and Russell Sage College faculty members to serve the needs of Rensselaer County.”
The Arc of Rensselaer County will receive $4,000 to develop a training program to prepare direct-care staff to effectively communicate with medical professionals in the event of a crisis. Kathleen A. Kelly Ph.D., dean of the School of Health Sciences, and Tawana Davis, director of student wellness at Russell Sage College, are faculty fellows on the project.
The Commission on Economic Opportunity will receive $15,000 to support its Babies in Waiting program. Babies in Waiting provides services that support prenatal, intrapartum and postpartum health and wellness. Katrin Ramsey, DSc, assistant professor of physical therapy, and Wendy Gaughan, lecturer in occupational therapy at Russell Sage College, are faculty fellows on the project.
The City of Troy Environmental Responsibility Project will receive $14,500 to improve environmental stewardship and reduce waste-handling expenditures for the City of Troy, its residents and businesses. Emilly Obuya, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Russell Sage College, is the faculty fellow on the project.
The Troy YMCA will receive $7,681 to create a program to address childhood obesity. Children participating in the program will receive a free youth membership to the Troy Y for the duration of this program. Neeti Pathare, Ph.D., adjunct professor of physical therapy at Russell Sage College, is the faculty fellow on the project.
The Louis and Hortense Rubin Community Fellows Program was established in June 1990 with a gift from the Rubin family. It is administered by Russell Sage College and is a cooperative venture of Sage, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Hudson Valley Community College and Emma Willard School.
For more information, contact Fred Alm at [email protected] or visit sage.edu/rubin.
Choice Physical Therapy Announces the Hiring of Dr. Genevieve Schoff, PT, DPT.
Choice Physical Therapy has announced the hiring of Dr. Genevieve Schoff, PT, DPT. Dr. Schoff will join the Choice PT team at their location on Campbell Ave. After growing up in Little Falls, NY, Gen completed her undergraduate degree in the Applied Biology program at Sage College of Albany, where she continued on to earn her doctorate degree in…
The Times Union now accepting nominations for the 2021 Jefferson Awards
In partnership with News Channel 13 and St. Peter's Health Partners, the Times Union has announced that nominations for the 2021 Jefferson Awards are now being accepted. The awards honor the significant impact by local volunteers who have dedicated their time and effort to support local nonprofit organizations. The Jefferson Awards mission is to…
HVCC Signs Wide-Ranging Transfer Agreement with SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Two of the Capital Region’s leading State University of New York (SUNY) institutions recently signed an agreement that will provide seamless transfer for students in over 20 degree programs. Hudson Valley Community College (Hudson Valley) and SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) will allow students who successfully complete an associate degree…
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Home News National Data shows Americans couldn’t resist Thanksgiving travel
Data shows Americans couldn’t resist Thanksgiving travel
FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2020, file photo, air travelers line up to go through a a security checkpoint at Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City. Data from roadways and airports shows millions could not resist the urge to gather on Thanksgiving, even during a pandemic. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Americans couldn’t resist the urge to gather for Thanksgiving, driving only slightly less than a year ago and largely ignoring the pleas of public health experts, who begged them to forgo holiday travel to help contain the coronavirus pandemic, data from roadways and airports shows.
The nation’s unwillingness to tamp down on travel offered a warning in advance of Christmas and New Year’s as virus deaths and hospitalizations hit new highs a week after Thanksgiving. U.S. deaths from the outbreak eclipsed 3,100 on Thursday, obliterating the single-day record set last spring.
Vehicle travel in early November was as much as 20% lower than a year earlier, but it surged around the holiday and peaked on Thanksgiving Day at only about 5% less than the pandemic-free period in 2019, according to StreetLight Data, which provided an analysis to The Associated Press.
“People were less willing to change their behavior than any other day during the pandemic,” said Laura Schewel, founder of StreetLight Data.
Airports also saw some of their busiest days of the pandemic, though air travel was much lower than last year. The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 1 million passengers on four separate days during the Thanksgiving travel period. Since the pandemic gutted travel in March, there has been only one other day when the number of travelers topped 1 million — Oct. 18.
“If only a small percentage of those travelers were asymptomatically infected, this can translate into hundreds of thousands of additional infections moving from one community to another,” Dr. Cindy Friedman, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official, said this week during a briefing.
Wide swaths of the country saw a sudden influx of people arriving from university campuses in the days leading up to the holiday, according to a data visualization of anonymous cellphone data from a firm called Tectonix.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged people to stay home for the holidays, but officials acknowledged that many people would not heed that advice and advised them to get tested before and after trips. Friedman said that this year’s holidays presented “tough choices” for many families.
The travelers included some elected officials who preached against trips. The mayors of Denver and Austin, Texas, faced fierce backlashes for traveling after telling other people to stay home.
Others had no regrets. Trananda Graves, who runs a travel-planning company in Keller, Texas, took a Thanksgiving road trip with her family to Nashville, Tennessee. It was a chance for her daughter to connect with relatives as they shared recipes, and Graves said everyone’s mood was uplifted.
“It was just a break to get away from home,” Graves said. “We work at home, we go to school at home.”
She decided to drive to meet extended family after seeing that flights were crowded and said her family followed guidance to avoid spreading infections.
But infections, even from small Thanksgiving gatherings, have begun to stream in around the country, adding another burden to health departments that are already overwhelmed.
“This uptick here is really coming at a time when everyone’s exhausted,” said Don Lehman, a spokesman for the Warren County Public Health Department in upstate New York.
The county concluded that Thanksgiving gatherings or travel likely caused 40% of the 22 cases it reported in the last two days. That means contact tracers have to figure out where people came from or traveled to and contact health officials in those places. Lehman said it adds “a lot of legwork” to the contact-tracing process.
Graves said she expects an uptick in the travel-planning business around the holidays. Several groups have already inquired about going to Las Vegas to celebrate the end of an arduous year.
And her personal holiday plans? After the Thanksgiving trip, she said, “Now we are considering visiting my mother for Christmas.”
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From the Experts: You ask questions, we get answers
UPDATED: Waterbury school classroom quarantined after student tests positive for COVID
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Russia's Putin says WADA four-year doping ban 'not justified'
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow, Russia December 19, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) four-year ban for Russia from international sporting competition over doping was not justified.
He said bans should be handed out on an individual, not collective, basis. Speaking at an annual press conference, Putin said the decision was political and not fair.
Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Janet Lawrence
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Gnat Song Lyrics Meaning - Eminem
Read the Eminem - Gnat Lyrics Song Meaning Explained.
Album: Music to Be Murdered By: Side B
Record Label: Shady, Aftermath, Interscope Records
Songwriter: Eminem
Producer: Dr. Dre , Eminem, d.a. got that dope
This is one of the producer tags of Chicago producer d.a. got that dope. It’s spoken by Ohama Bam, and has become so recognisable he changed his name from DA Doman. He has also produced 3 other songs for Eminem’s album Music to Be Murdered By: “Godzilla,” “No Regrets” and “Those Kinda Nights.”
Eminem uses the origins of the virus to make a pun about how he wastes no time offering hard-hitting lyrics. He may also be implying that his lyrics are infectious or difficult to stomach.
Em has frequently brought up the coronavirus in 2020 and he mentions the worldwide phenomenon throughout Music to Be Murdered By: Side B, starting with “Alfred’s Theme.”
This is the third time in 2020 that Eminem has played up the similarity of his name to the word “Martian.” The first time was on January 2020’s “Marsh” from the original Music to be Murdered By tracklist:
My name is Marsh and, I’m out this world
Call me extra, extraterrestrial
Extra, extra, extraterrestrial
The second is inferred on his July 2020 collaboration with Kid Cudi, “The Adventures of Moon Man & Slim Shady”:
Earthlings, I adapt to ‘em
Certain things, I don’t want to do, but have to in
Order to just act human
Like using a bathroom and vacuuming
Another thing should be mentioned is the homophonic use of the phrases “Martian to” and “Marsh into” which allows this line to be interpreted as
And it goes from Marsh into human
In the music video, Marshall is seen biting off a bat’s head, a rather exaggerated manner of depicting how the first human being to contract the virus would’ve contracted it. This is also likely a nod to Ozzy Osbourne’s infamous performance antics first documented in January 1982, where he would bite the head off a live bat.
In the previous line the phrase “Martian to human” could be interpreted as “Marsh into human” because of their homophonic status (Marsh means Marshall).
In this case, Em is comparing himself to the Corona virus, saying the reason why everyone is falling ill is because of the sick (great) bars which he spits. If you have the virus and you spit on someone, the chances of them catching it from you are very high.
Eminem seems to be alluding to his mostly-dormant beef with Machine Gun Kelly. Their well-documented feud dates as far back as 2012.
Em also appears to be posing a metaphor for the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is comparing the virus to a gnat, and our many defenses against it—e.g., masks, quarantines, lockdowns, etc.—to machine guns. This might suggest that we are mounting every attack we have against an ultimately infinitesimal or unstoppable force.
The first line of “Gnat” is a possible callback to “Godzilla,” from the original January 2020 version of Music to Be Murdered By:
I stack chips, you barely got a half-eaten Cheeto
Eminem is comparing his wealth—or chip-stack—to the height of NBA player Shaquille O'Neal, who famously stands at 7'1". Shaq also starred in a film called Blue Chips in 1994. In this song’s video, directed by Cole Bennett, Em stacks cheddar cheese-flavored Pringles on a table. “Cheddar” and “cheese” are both slang for money.
Eminem uses political wordplay to extol his talent. He claims that no one can outrap or “trump” him—a reference to President Donald Trump. Furthermore, if anyone were to try, (s)he would metaphorically “get killed” because of Em’s prowess with the “mic” and “pencil”—a reference to VP Mike Pence. This is a common trope in battle rap, where Em got his start.
The phrase “mic, pencil, get killed” (perhaps intentionally) sounds like “Mike Pence’ll get killed,” which could constitute an illegal threat to the veep’s life. But before the Secret Service (or offended conservatives) can cry foul, he claims the similar-sounding words were a coincidence.
If the Feds do investigate him for this line, it would not be the first time. He was the subject of a probe in December 2003 for threatening then-President Bush in a then-unreleased bootleg track “We As Americans”:
Fuck money! I don’t rap for dead presidents
I’d rather see the President dead
It’s never been said, but I set precedents
The word “dead” was censored when the track was eventually released on his November 2004 album Encore.
More recently, he was investigated for this line from “Framed,” off his 2017 album Revival:
But dog, how the fuck is Ivanka Trump in the trunk of my car?
Ultimately, no charges were filed in either case, and Em shrugged off the latter event eight months later on his Kamikaze opening track “The Ringer”:
‘Cause Agent Orange just sent the Secret Service
To meet in person to see if I really think of hurtin’ him
Or ask if I’m linked to terrorists
I said, “Only when it comes to ink and lyricists.”
Eminem has numerously likened his pen or pencil to a hazardous weapon and stated that he’s prepared to use his words as a weapon against anyone. as we hear in “Venom”:
Shotgun p-p-pellets in the felt pen
Cocked, fuck around and catch a hot one
or in “Rap God”:
My pen’ll go off when I half-cock it
Got a fat knot from that rap profit
However he’s taking advantage of his violent weapon intelligently and somewhat “skillfully” and that’s why he made a secured legacy and heritage in rap and reached to these kinds of trophies and ribbons.
Zeus Song Lyrics Meaning - Eminem ft. White Gold
Body Song Lyrics Meaning - Megan Thee Stallion
Punk Monk Song Lyrics Meaning - Playboi Carti
Good Days Song Lyrics Meaning - SZA
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Gingrich: "I'm Not Sympathetic To Erick Erickson," It's Trump Or Cruz, Anything Else Helps Clinton
Posted By Tim Hains
On Date March 17, 2016
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich comes out strongly against any attempt in the Republican Party to try to prevent Donald Trump from winning the nomination, and explains how Trump could run a "shattering" campaign against Hillary Clinton.
First Gingrich reacts to an article in the Washington Post calling for the Republican Party to use any means neccesary to stop Trump.
NEWT GINGRICH: Look. I think the hysteria of the left is just going to get worse and worse all summer, the Post is typical of that. They can somehow swallow 2,000 confidential and classified emails by Hillary Clinton, they can swallow $2 billion at the Clinton Foundation, they can swallow all kinds of conflict with Hillary, because afterall she is on the left, and she is of the true faith.
It is going to get worse, I predict, when it begins to sink in that Trump is going to be prepared to go into the African-American community to actually go into neighborhoods, that Democrats think are closed to Republicans, you had someone the other day on MSNBC said he shouldn't campaign in Chicago or St. Louis or Cleveland because of the history of racially sensitive shootings. Now the idea that an American candidate for the American presidency has any neighborhood they don't go into shows you just how far the left has gone towards thinking it owns the country.
The Washington Post is part of the left, unfortunately. That editorial represents accurately the hysteria of the left...
I think Donald Trump actually has a slogan "Make America Great Again," which could apply to every American. I think Trump, in Southside Chicago, saying Make America Great Again means your children shouldn't be killed, your schools should actually work, there should be jobs in your neighborhood.
I think that would shatter the fabric of the Democratic Party, and expose the degree to which they have exploited poor people without actually helping them. I think it would be very healthy for America.
Gingrich also warns that if Donald Trump is the nominee, we will see incredible activist attacks against him.
NEWT: I think it would lead to Madison, Wisconsin-scale opposition by the left, remember Scott Walker had some 80 threats -- his wife got a note saying he may become a widow, if Governor Walker continued to implement his reforms... it was hysterical.
And I think they have a real likelihood of losing this year.
Gingrich also responds to Erick Erickson and other conservatives who are speculating about organizing a third party.
NEWT GINGRICH: Here's what the old line Washington establishment doesn't get, there are only two candidates would could be nominated -- one is Ted Cruz, the other is Donald Trump.
The best way for Cruz to be the nominee, and he understands this, is to beat Trump in the primary, and he is working very hard to do this. Lets say Cruz... comes short. That doesn't mean there's going to be a third candidate. So the establishment gets to choose, do you want Ted Cruz who is an outsider? Or do you want Donald Trump who is an outsider? But there's not going to be a third candidate...
One of these two outsiders is going to be nominated, and anybody who tried to sneak in at the last moment would find Trump and Cruz opposed to them, and they would simply be crushed. Those two guys are going to have over 80% of the delegates between them...
Every undecided delegate will get a chance to ride in Trump's helicopter, his airplane, they'll get to visit the Trump Winery.
Donald Trump is a great salesman, he understands what he's doing. He wrote The Art of The Deal, and he is a good negotiator.
Ted Cruz is very, very smart. You'd have a very healthy competition between these two guys. But my point to the Washington establishment is: There's no third choice. There's not going to be some magical gun with delegates. Those delegates are Americans who know what they're doing, they're going to be wired together by social media --could you imagine if you were the last delegte who was a deciding vote?-- Donald would call and say how'd you like to come to Florida for a few days with me? Cruz will say, have you ever seen all of Texas?
You would be wined and dined.
MARTHA MACCALLUM: What do you think of the Erick Ericksons of the world? Who are meeting in Washington, and John Boehner saying what about Paul Ryan. What's your message to them?
DONALD TRUMP: Have fun. It is an amusing parlour game, it means nothing in the world. If it makes you feel better?
I'm not sympathetic at all to the Erick Ericksons of the world.
Chuck Todd: "The Republican Establishment Died Last Night"
Elizabeth Warren: "I Take Donald Trump Very Seriously"
Huckabee to Erickson: "Who Is 'We'?" When Voters Make A Decision, You Accept It
Erick Erickson: "I Think Newt Should Be Honest," Polls Show Clinton Will Beat Trump
Related Topics: Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Erick Erickson, Newt Gingrich, Election 2016
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Mosquito control district asks for public's help to limit mosquitoes
STOCKTON — As San Joaquin County prepares to feel warmer temperatures following recent wet weather, mosquito populations will be on the rise.
With this week declared as Mosquito Awareness Week throughout California, San Joaquin County Mosquito & Vector Control District officials are asking the public to remove all standing water around their property in an effort to curb the potential spread of diseases such as West Nile virus.
“Mosquitoes will take advantage of water in large containers like rain collection barrels and wheel-barrows to small containers with only a tablespoon of water,” district spokesperson Aaron Devencenzi said. “It only takes a tablespoon of water for mosquitoes to develop.”
In addition to dumping and draining water, homeowners should properly dispose of containers that no longer are in use. For areas like neglected swimming pools, animal water troughs, water features and ornamental ponds, district officials recommend bringing mosquitofish into areas with high gatherings of mosquitoes.
Mosquitofish can be obtained by picking them up at the district’s main office on 7759 S. Airport Way in Stockton, or delivered with no charge throughout San Joaquin County.
West Nile virus is endemic to most of the state, meaning it is regularly found. Civilians can protect themselves from mosquito bites and reduce the risk of West Nile virus infection and other mosquito-transmitted diseases by taking these precautions:
• Eliminate all sources of standing water on your property that can support mosquito breeding.
• Apply insect repellent containing EPA-registered active ingredients, including DEET, Picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR3535, according to label instructions, when outdoors.
• Avoid spending time at dawn and dusk, especially for the first two hours after sunset as these are the times where mosquitoes are most active.
• Wear long pants, loose-fitting long-sleeved shirts and other protective clothing when outside.
• Equip tight fitting screens on doors and windows.
• Contact your veterinarian for information on vaccinating horses against West Nile.
• Report daytime biting mosquitoes or significant mosquito infestations to the San Joaquin County Mosquito & Vector Control District at www.sjmosquito.org, (209) 982-4675 or (800) 300-4675.
• Report dead birds to 1-877-968-2473 or www.westnile.ca.gov.
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Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd.
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Ramgarh To Asansol Bus
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Ramgarh to Asansol Bus Details
Q: How many buses are operated between Ramgarh and Asansol by Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd.?
A: There are 1 buses that are operated from Ramgarh to Asansol by Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd.
Q: What is the time taken by Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. to complete the journey from Ramgarh to Asansol?
A: The journey between Ramgarh to Asansol is covered by Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. in approximately 240.
Q: How many luxury buses are operated by Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. between Ramgarh to Asansol?
A: There are 1 luxury buses operated by Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. between Ramgarh to Asansol.
Q: When does Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. first bus leave from Ramgarh?
A: The first bus of Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. leaves at 21:00 from Ramgarh.
Q: When does Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. last bus depart from Ramgarh?
A: The last bus of Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. departs at 21:00 from Ramgarh
Q: What are Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. bus ticket fares from Ramgarh to Asansol?
A: The starting bus fare of Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. is INR 420.00.
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Bus from Ramgarh to Asansol
Keeping your accessibility and satisfaction of road journey in mind, Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. offers a number of buses throughout day and night. It also grants great convenience for any kind of commuters like business or leisure travellers . Ramgarh to Asansol is one of the major functioning routes of Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. . The skilled drivers and staff ensures complete comfort of its passengers
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Bus Types from Ramgarh to Asansol
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. runs several types of buses from Ramgarh to Asansol. Generally, AC/Non AC sleeper buses are preferred during night travel. Besides, travellers may opt for AC/Non AC Semi sleeper and AC/Non AC Seater buses while commuting during day hours. All categories of Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. buses ensure a good travel experience.
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Bus Boarding Points in Ramgarh
The Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. buses consist of a number of boarding points in Ramgarh. Passengers may board the Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. buses from their allotted pick up locations. The following boarding points of Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. bus from Ramgarh are:
Ramgarh Bus Stand. Mob-7482825505
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Bus Dropping Points in Asansol
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. buses stops at various dropping points in Asansol, creating ample amount of convenience for passengers to get down at their preferred locations. Check the dropping points for Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. in Asansol:
Kalipahari Bus Stand
Popular Routes for Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. from Ramgarh
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Ramgarh to Calcutta
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Ramgarh to Dhanbad
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Ramgarh to Raniganj
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Ramgarh to Panagarh
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Ramgarh to Durgapur
Popular Routes for Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. to Asansol
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Calcutta to Asansol
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Bokaro to Asansol
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Salt Lake to Asansol
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Cuttack to Asansol
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Bhubaneswar to Asansol
Pammi Travels Ramgarh to Asansol
L.D. Motors Ramgarh to Asansol
Other Routes for Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd.
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Panagarh to Calcutta
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Durgapur to Bokaro
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Raniganj to Bhubaneswar
Shyamoli Paribahan Pvt. Ltd. Bankura to Bhubaneswar
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Can You Believe The Octomom Octuplets Are 8 Years Old?
Story from Pop Culture
Morgan Baila
Photo: Dave Allocca/StarPix/REX/Shutterstock.
A lot has changed in the past eight years. Facebook isn't cool. Donald Trump is president. And it's about to be 60 degrees in New York in early February — it's a wild world. But if those facts alone weren't crazy enough, then just wait for what you're about to hear next: the Octomom Nadya Suleman's octuplets just turned eight years old. Eight! It feels like it was just yesterday that we were all hearing about a woman using IVF to (majorly) expand her family. And now we're getting an inside look at their birthday party with Inside Edition and it's a must-watch. For one, the kids are all nearly identical. In one clip, they stand in a line saying their names for the camera while wearing matching red shirts. In case you forgot, the mother of 14's octuplets are made up of two girls and six boys: Makai, Josiah, Isaiah, Jonah, Maliyah, Jeremiah, Nariyah and Noah (who's a bit blonder than his siblings).
Octomom’s octuplets turn 8! See their bouncy house and (vegan!) birthday celebration https://t.co/Un2nUTxW6k pic.twitter.com/ixscMZ7c8K
— People Magazine (@people) February 6, 2017
For their birthday, the eight kids celebrated at an event facility filled with bouncey games with each other and their six other siblings. They also ate dairy-free chocolate cake and pizza, because they are all vegan now. The 41-year-old has said before that she does not like being called "Octomom," a title she claims was made up for her by the media, and a nickname she now resents. She has even gone so far as to change her name from Nadya to Natalie. Check out the family affair below.
Octomom 8 Children Birthday Photos Nadya Suleman
Pop Culture • Entertainment • Vegan Diet
written by Morgan Baila
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Article Type: Data Protection Law in Singapore – Privacy and Sovereignty in an Interconnected World (2nd Edition)
C$ Redeemable: Yes
Data Protection Law in Singapore – Privacy and Sovereignty in an Interconnected World (2nd Edition)
The adoption of the Personal Data Protection Act transformed the legal regime for data protection in Singapore.The second edition includes (1) New chapters examining how the legislation has kept pace with technological change, (2) How individual rights have been balanced against business interests in the course of enforcing the law and (3) It also has specialist chapters on image rights and data protection, as well as new chapters on accountability and cross-border transfers and enforcement.
Editor: Simon Chesterman
Date of Publication: July 2018
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Early 20th Century 18 January 2020
Newcomb College Pottery
Newcomb College Pottery in New Orleans operated for almost fifty years and was one of the most successful and admired potteries in the American Arts and Crafts movement. Founded in 1886 by wealthy widow Josephine Louise Newcomb (pictured), Newcomb College was, in essence, the women’s branch of nearby men’s-only Tulane University. The pottery itself developed in stages and grew out of the omnipresent belief that crafts were an appropriate, and acceptable, career choice for women.
Art classes at Newcomb were first guided by the brothers William and Ellsworth Woodward, New England transplants with design training who were heavily influenced by the incredible display of ingenuity at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. They taught art classes at Newcomb through the late 1880s, all the while hiring staff that would help build the foundations of the pottery. Joseph Fortune Meyer, a local potter, was hired to build the kiln and throw pots, and even George Ohr worked there for a brief stint as Meyer’s assistant. Mary Given Sheerer, a Cincinnati-trained ceramist, was hired in 1894 to teach pottery and china decoration, unofficially launching Newcomb College Pottery. The enterprise blossomed quickly from there. In 1896 the college held its first exhibition and sale of pottery produced by Sheerer and her students, and in 1900 Newcomb pottery won a bronze medal at the Paris International Exposition. By 1901, demand was outpacing supply and the University provided the financial and official recognition needed to turn the Newcomb College Pottery into a long-term commercial enterprise.
Newcomb College Pottery was influenced primarily by traditional English Arts and Crafts principles, in large part due to the Woodwards, who had been trained by English instructors at American schools. One of the main concerns of the movement was the interrelationship between art, industry, and design, and the importance of every artisan involved in the process of creation. This led to Newcomb’s complex system of marks, which were created with the express purpose of recognizing each craftsperson involved, from the thrower (often Joseph Fortune Meter, denoted with a ‘JM’) to the decorator (one of the ninety young women who attended the school over the course of its existence). Also in keeping with Arts and Crafts tenets, each piece was unique, though some designs were repeated with small variations. Flora and, occasionally, fauna were the primary subjects, with special emphasis placed on Southern species.
Work from the early to middle period is characterized by flat, conventionalized designs and a relatively simple palette of blue, green, black, and yellow. As 1910 approached, designs became slightly more integrated and realistic. The biggest stylistic shift occurred around 1910 with the introduction of a mat glaze by Sheerer, which was further perfected into a transparent mat glaze by ceramic chemist Paul Cox, a recent graduate of Charles Binns’ courses at Alfred University. The color palette changed as well, becoming softer and muted, more aesthetically related to New England’s Marblehead Pottery. After World War I vases were still handmade but designs were more heavily reproduced. The bold lines and colors of the early work were gone, and idyllic Southern landscapes, daffodils, and dogwood were heavily relied upon as subjects. Three of Newcomb’s longtime designers, Henrietta Bailey, Sadie Irvine, and Anna Frances Simpson, were responsible for much of the pottery decoration in later years. In the 1920s and 1930s, Joseph Meyer, Mary Sheerer, and Ellsworth Woodward retired, and fewer students opted to study pottery. Newcomb struggled to stay current with styles and practices, but finally closed in 1940.
At the pottery’s height, between 1910 and 1915, their work was rewarded with prizes at eight international expositions in addition to being published in national and international publications. They were also mentioned alongside other major potteries of the time, including Grueby, Rookwood, and others. Newcomb College Pottery, in its wide variety of styles and often exceptionally executed designs, has withstood the test of time and is considered today to be some of the finest American art pottery of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Upcoming Lots Newcomb College Pottery
Henrietta Bailey for Newcomb College Pottery
Early wall-hanging charger with lilies
Anna Frances Simpson for Newcomb College Pottery
Scenic vase with full moon
Vase with live oaks, Spanish moss, and full moon
Auction Results Newcomb College Pottery
Harriet Joor for Newcomb College Pottery
Exceptional large early vase
early vase with irises
Marie de Hoa LeBlanc for Newcomb College Pottery
Fine, large, and early vase
Marie Ross for Newcomb College Pottery
Early vase with cactus blossoms
Sadie Irvine for Newcomb College Pottery
vase with tall pines and full moon
Leona Nicholson for Newcomb College Pottery
Fine early vase
Sabina E. Wells for Newcomb College Pottery
large vase with female lions under palm trees
Willows Transitional plaque
Fine unusually tall scenic vase
large vase with live oaks and Spanish moss
Early vase with tulips
Mary Sheerer for Newcomb College Pottery
Palms Transitional plaque
Tall early vase
early vase with ladyslipper orchids
early wall-hanging charger with live oaks
Desiree Roman for Newcomb College Pottery
early vase with stylized arrowroot
Fine large scenic vase
Early vase
early vase with thistle
early vase with stylized buds
Fine scenic Transitional vase
Emma Urquhart for Newcomb College Pottery
rare vase with lemons
Fine Transitional vase
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Raven Hydronic Supply Ltd. - Return to home page
COVID-19 Updates Read More →
Fulton made its name in 1949 with the revolutionary invention of the vertical tubeless steam boiler. They satisfied the widespread demand for a steam boiler that was compact, yet durable and reliable.
Industries such as dry cleaning, food processing, and laboratories needed a solution that would “just work” so they could focus on their business, rather than worrying about their boiler. It was so successful that some of the first-generation boilers are still in operation today.
The original vertical tubeless design exists today as the Classic (ICS) model available from 4 HP to 60 HP. Other manufacturers now offer vertical tubeless boilers, but none have attained the same level of ruggedness and reliability that Fulton offers.
Cutaway showing the new VSRT steam boiler design with 100% wetted heat exchanger.
Fulton VSRT
In 2017, Fulton released the world’s first VSRT (Vertical Spiral Rib Tubeless) steam boiler.
Fulton’s skilled engineers chose a clean-slate design approach and cutting-edge R&D technologies to create a revolutionary design that greatly improves upon the key values that Fulton is known for – reliability, durability, and compactness, while simultaneously setting new industry records in efficiency (86%), turndown control (up to 10:1), and steam quality (99%+). The VSRT is now the smallest fuel-fired steam boiler in the world, making it more versatile than ever before. Sizes currently range from 10 to 60 HP, with sizes up to 250 HP expected to become available in 2019.
Fulton VMP
For larger steam demands, Fulton offers the Vertical MultiPort (VMP) model, available from 40 to 150 HP.
Here in British Columbia, the best-selling size is 49.5 HP because any high pressure steam plant exceeding 10 square meters of heat exchange surface area requires continuous supervision by a provincially licensed Power Engineer. That often means an extra 3-4 full-time employees are needed for business operation, which is a significant overhead cost! The VMP-49.5 only has 9.01 m2 of heat exchange area, meaning this overhead cost can be avoided completely while offering enough steam capacity for the needs of most medium-sized process plants requiring industrial boilers.
Fulton VMP steam boiler, 40-150 HP, up to 84% efficiency
By choosing Fulton, business owners can ultimately increase profits and expand their markets by reducing unnecessary operating costs. To top it off, owners benefit from the reliability, efficiency, and performance that the Fulton Brand is known for.
Raven Supply is recognized as BC’s expert in custom tailored steam solutions for healthcare, food processing, manufacturing, chemical processing, research laboratories, and institutions. Our in-house engineering combined with Fulton’s extensive factory support allows us to give customers the high level of technical service that is needed in unique industrial and institutional boiler projects. A prime example shown below is a packaged steam system that was custom built for the Centre for Brain Health at the University of British Columbia (UBC). See the CASE STUDY to learn more!
Fulton Heating
Fulton offers a complete range of high efficiency condensing hydronic (hot water) heating boilers intended for commercial, institutional, and industrial process applications.
All models are engineered and built to be rugged, reliable, and robust – key qualities found in all Fulton products that are often lacking in many other high-efficiency boilers today.
All Fulton Heating boilers feature a true “high mass” vessel with extremely robust heat exchanger materials such as LDX-2101 and 2205 duplex stainless steel alloys. These specialized alloys are used for their superior strength, thermal properties, corrosion resistance, and fatigue resistance which ultimately results in boilers that will outlast the competition. Fulton’s high mass design is so robust that they offer a lifetime warranty against thermal shock damage, with up to a 100 °F rise and no minimum flow requirement.
Cutaway showing the high mass design of the Fulton Endura.
Cutaway of the revolutionary new Endura+ boiler
Fulton Endura+
In 2017, Fulton released the Endura+ condensing boiler which was developed using the same clean-slate design philosophy that created the VSRT steam boiler. Once again, Fulton has set new standards in efficiency, compactness, durability, and control performance with the Endura+. The ground-breaking “stress free” heat exchanger is the first of its kind, virtually eliminating the two biggest causes of major failure in all condensing boilers: thermal stress and localized boiling. Combined with industrial-grade standard controls such as parallel positioning, VFD, and O2 compensation; the Endura+ is the most durable and advanced high-efficiency boiler on the market today.
Fulton Vantage
For applications that require a secondary fuel source such as post-disaster buildings, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities, the Fulton Vantage is available with dual fuel burners which can use natural gas, propane, or #2 oil (diesel) in any combination. Using state-of-the-art digital combustion controls, independent fuel profiles are optimized by Raven’s factory certified combustion technicians, so that switching between fuels is literally as simple as the flip of a switch. This ensures that your facility maintains the highest achievable level of reliability at all times – especially when you need it most.
Fulton Vantage industrial hot water boiler shown here with dual fuel (NG/oil) burner.
Fulton Thermal
There are a number of factors involved when choosing the ideal heat transfer medium. In most cases, it is water, a glycol mixture, or steam.
But what if you require temperatures that are higher than what can be practically achieved with steam? What if the plant might see sub-zero temperatures during shutdowns? What if the process requires high temperatures, but Power Engineers aren’t available to supervise and maintain a steam boiler? The solution is thermal fluid, otherwise known as HMO (hot mineral oil).
Fulton is well known for their innovations in hot water and steam boiler technologies, but many are unaware that Fulton Thermal is one of North America’s oldest and largest manufacturers of thermal fluid heaters and engineered systems. They serve industries ranging from chemical manufacturing to wood processing, mining and industrial laundries. One of the largest food processors in the world uses Fulton thermal systems exclusively.
A typical Fulton thermal skid consisting of a FT-C vertical heater, deaerator expansion tank, and duplex circulating pumps.
Fulton Thermal Systems
Raven Supply is pleased to offer Fulton thermal systems to our industrial customers.
One of the greatest benefits of this type of system is that it does not require Power Engineering supervision for any capacity in most jurisdictions including British Columbia, meaning that incredible amounts of operating costs can be spared by choosing thermal fluid over steam. In many cases, thermal fluid is a viable alternative or complementary to steam by using thermal fluid to power an unfired steam generator. Give us a call to learn more!
Fulton offers a 49.5HP steam boiler that does not require a Power Engineer and is eligible for $9,000 in rebates with Fortis BC
Fulton has more than 30 patents pending worldwide for their Pure Technology. See pure technology at work in the new VSRT steam boiler and Endura+ hydronic boiler.
The first Fulton vertical tubeless steam boiler was manufactured in 1949.
Modulating steam boiler level controls help prevent oscillating water levels.
Blowdown separators with after coolers prevent high-temperature steam boiler water from entering city sanitation infrastructure.
Ready to get started on your steam project? Contact us to get in touch with one of our sales engineers! For detailed product information, visit www.fulton.com or contact us at Raven Supply for assistance.
Get Fulton Information
Contact Raven
Require additional product information? Contact Raven Supply today to speak with of our sales engineers.
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Surrey, BC Canada V3W 5B9
© Copyright 2021 Raven Hydronic Supply Ltd.
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All categories City News
Lifeguards work with EMS on emergency response training
Lifeguards at the Roosevelt Aquatic Center brushed up on their skills by training alongside Emergency Medical Services personnel in July. The two groups worked together to practice procedures for in-water rescues that might end with ambulance calls.
EMS Director Von Johnson visited the aquatic center to give lifeguards an opportunity to practice emergency procedures like calling 911, assisting EMS as they arrive on scene, and loading patients in the ambulance for transport.
“You’ll be on the phone with dispatch for a while,” Johnson told the guards. “They’ll have a few questions before they dispatch the ambulance, and some follow-up questions when we’re on our way.”
Johnson played the part of the dispatch official to give lifeguards a good idea of the questions they will be asked and prepare them to respond appropriately in an emergency.
The group practiced multiple rescue scenarios, with some individuals taking the role of lifeguards and others roleplaying as pool patrons. They practiced in-water rescues of patients with spinal injuries, an infant in need of CPR, and an unresponsive drowning victim. They trained in the indoor and outdoor pools and practiced directing EMS to the correct entrance and assisting them on arrival. In addition to this training, lifeguards train monthly to review rescue skills, CPR, first aid, conditioning, and more.
Johnson taught lifeguards that sometimes EMS will immediately load and transport a patient, but most often, they will stay on scene and work on the patient until they get a response—usually the restoration of breathing or a pulse.
“It used to be that we’d just load and go, but we’ve learned that outcomes for patients are actually better if we stay on scene and keep working until we get a response,” said Johnson. “We can do almost everything on site that they can do in the emergency room.”
This may mean that lifeguards will work alongside EMS for 40 minutes to an hour in the event of an emergency. The only exception is with small children.
"With infants, that’s when we want to load and go as quickly as possible," Johnson said.
This training exercise occurs each year and gives both EMS and lifeguards a great chance to learn how to work together in the event of a real emergency.
"We want to know that everything will run smoothly if something happens and you do need to call us," Johnson said.
⇐Previous Roosevelt Animal Shelter temporarily closed to the public; animal care will continueNext⇒ Census apathy could cost Duchesne County residents $22 million annually
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Aquatic Center set to reopen Monday, August 3
Aquatic Center to remain closed; general public not considered to be at risk
Roosevelt Aquatic Center temporarily closed due to COVID-19; TriCounty Health investigation ongoing
Citizen Guidelines During COVID-19 Outbreak
Roosevelt City implements precautionary measures during COVID-19 outbreak
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Customize Your Bag
Home Richie Bags Blog Plastic Pollution Can be Controlled, But What About Pollution Of Our National Characteristics?
Richie Bags Blog
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Plastic Pollution Can be Controlled, But What About Pollution Of Our National Characteristics?
Give The Gift Of Jute Christmas Bags To Your Loved Ones This Holiday Season
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Go Green: Say YES To Eco-Friendly Products To Curb Plastic Pollution
There was a time when we initiated campaigns against the use of plastic carry bags all over the country. We also appealed shopkeepers to refrain from delivering merchandise in plastic containers, while stalwarts like Richie Bags and Fashions P. Ltd had waged nationwide war against supply and manufacture of single use plastic bag. The collective effect of these seems to have borne fruit today. There has been a growing awareness about the toxic nature of plastic in our society, while people tend to use eco-friendly biodegradable carry bags in order to maintain healthier environment.
But meanwhile, a different type of menace has raised its ugly head in a devastating way in our society for which no remedy can be found anywhere. These include heinous crimes against women that have brought down our national characteristics to an all time low level. Mind you, in most of these cases, political parties pull strings to gain supremacy at the cost of the victim, while by and large, they affect our wives, daughters and mothers (a hundred year old lady was recently gang-raped by a few teenagers!)
The two sickening recent cases – the gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl in Kathua and the rape and systematic exploitation of an 18-year-old woman (and her family) in Unnao – have laid to rest the political rhetoric of ‘civilizational superiority’. They reflect nothing but a deep decay in our public institutions – political parties, the police, lawyers and the bureaucracy.
In the Kathua case, a violent crime against a child was lackadaisically pursued by the police for ulterior motives. A group of influential lawyers tried to prevent the filing of the charge-sheet, while Hindu political interest groups came out in support of the accused. The case in Unnao reflects the well-known, inopportune story of wielding muscle power, while using it to grant impunity to their own ministers, even when they are accused of sordid crimes.
If, however, you look carefully you will find that there is a common thread in both these cases – political elites and administrators choose to help perpetrators while doing everything to eschew efforts to secure justice for the victims. The degree of collusion seen in protecting accused rapists and others committing horrendous crimes against women is nauseating, threatening our faith in India’s democratic ideals and its legendary institutions.
Crime against women up 83%, Conviction rate hits all time low
As many as 2.5 million crimes against women have been reported in India over the last decade. Reported cases of crime against women increased 83% from 185,312 in 2007 to 338,954 in 2016.
“More than the increase in crime rate, it is increase in reporting,” Flavia Agnes, women’s rights lawyer and co-founder of Majlis, a non-profit that provides legal services to women and children commented the other day.
“There are no mechanisms to analyze such events,” said Agnes. “I feel that due to media pressure on certain brutally violent incidents, there is greater awareness, and women are coming forward to report crimes.”
Delhi reported highest crime rate
The union territory of Delhi reported the highest crime rate–160.4 against the national average of 55.2. Delhi was followed by Assam (131.3), Odisha (84.5), Telangana (83.7) and Rajasthan (78.3).
Uttar Pradesh–India’s most populous state–reported the most (15%) crimes against women in 2016–49,262, or six every hour. UP was followed by West Bengal (32,513), Maharashtra (31,388), Rajasthan (27,422) and Madhya Pradesh (26,604).
How to stop violence against women in India – a positive step taken
For the past two years Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice has been working in India, leading a project to improve access to justice for women and girl victims of violence. Justice for Her is a collaborative effort with the Indian police across the vast and densely populated states of Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab.
From day one the aim of the project was clear: we wanted the police to prioritise the protection of women and girls who have been victims of violence, so they could be fully supported at their most vulnerable time. And we wanted women and girls to be safe and not fear being victimised again.
Following its inception in 2016, Justice for Her developed a training programme for police officers and lawyers in India, on how they can more appropriately and effectively deal with these cases and secure justice for victims. This training involved a wide range of approaches, including role play, group discussions, lectures, simulation exercises and self-reflection workshops.
The Day Is Not Too Far When We Shall Be Able To Live In Pollution Free World
Richie Bags’ Worries Have Come to an end – Plastic Waste no more Creates a Problem
Yet Another Plastic Menace Appearing High On The Horizon
Can Environmental Awareness about Negative Effects of Plastic Bags Be Effective?
tags: bio-degradable products Cosmetic bags custom promotional Jute and Cotton bags eco friendly bags eeo-friendly shopping bags
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Richie Bags—A Name that boasts of a modest start but a resilient growth and that too in leaps and bounds , was established in the year 1996 . It all started as a Manufacturer Exporter of Jute/Cotton bags and accessories.
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Oliver! is Impressively Produced
Theater buffs won’t want to miss Trinity Rep’s take on this familiar tale.
Casey Nilsson
Forget the syrupy, just-for-kids musical you caught off Broadway. Trinity Repertory Company’s Oliver!, directed and choreographed by husband-wife team Richard and Sharon Jenkins (yes, that Richard Jenkins), is campy yet covered in soot — just the way Dickens would want it.
Trinity Rep is staging Lionel Bart’s award-winning adaptation and, at nearly sixty years old, the plot still resonates. You know the story (and likely the tunes, too): An orphan boy is tossed from a parochial workhouse to an undertaker’s home to London’s dangerous streets to, finally, a place of real comfort. But even if you’ve seen it, read it, heck, acted in it, you won’t want to miss Trinity’s take on a familiar tale, in which the actors are tailor-fit for their roles and the musical numbers are impressively produced.
Check out our five favorite things about Oliver!, onstage through March 30:
1. The look.
Same author, same set. Eugene Lee’s famously minimalist stage design for A Christmas Carol gets recycled in Oliver!. Combine that with Brian Lilienthal’s gritty lighting and William Lane’s even grittier costumes — except, notably, Stephen Thorne’s top hat; he plays Oliver’s wealthy grandfather — and you’ll feel like you’ve been plunked down in Victorian England to pick a pocket or two.
2. The kids.
They’re cute, that’s a given. But the children’s ensemble in Oliver! is also incredibly talented, nailing each song and intricate dance number with precision and color. The casting here was flawless, too: Phineas Peters has the temperament of a roaring cub, perfect for his role as Oliver. It’s worth mentioning that Peters’s musical numbers were sweetly rough around the edges, and they worked — a tough feat for a young actor. He also got tossed around quite a bit by his fellow cast members, and was a very convincing rag doll. Noah Parets, however, is a wonderful singer and dancer — he starred in the Billy Elliot national tour, which touched down in forty cities across the United States and Canada — and is great as pickpocket pro and charming scamp, Artful Dodger.
3. Rachael Warren as Nancy.
After a year with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Warren makes a stunning return to the Trinity Rep stage. Her role as Nancy, a child of the streets who’s all grown up, came in close second for the breakout performance of the night (a kid in a newsboy cap is tough to beat). She was the picture of drunken revelry in ensemble tune “Oom-Pah-Pah,” a clear audience favorite. But Warren’s haunting solo in the second act, “As Long as He Needs Me,” displays her character’s vulnerability at the hand of her abusive lover, Bill Sikes, played by a gruff Timothy John Smith. Warren dove headfirst into this role, and it pays off. Her vocals are powerful, her acting nuanced; I’d see Trinity’s Oliver! again and again, just to witness Warren’s remarkable take on one of Dickens’s most complex female characters.
4. Stephen Berenson as Fagin.
I loved Berenson as Shylock in Trinity Rep’s production of The Merchant of Venice (read my review here), and his portrayal of Fagin is similarly multifaceted. Unlike Dickens’s original antagonist, however, this version of Fagin is nearly harmless, especially for a guy who corrals street children and teaches them to pick pockets in exchange for housing. Berenson’s solo number “Reviewing the Situation” in the second act is well done and whimsical yet, like Warren’s solo, adds another layer to his character.
5. The adult humor.
I may be off base here, but I’d always thought Oliver! was a kid-friendly show. You’d probably want to leave the children at home for this one. Actors Lauren Gemelli and Erick Pinnick are hilarious as the married undertakers, groping each other with abandon (over a powdered corpse; with a small child standing between them), but Trinity resident actor Anne Scurria steals the inappropriate spotlight when, as the workhouse matron, she straddles her boss, the parish beadle played by Tom Gleadow — and gets stuck. The pair eventually wed, and Scurria shines as a weepy, manipulative bride, too.
For more information or to purchase tickets, call 401-351-4242 or visit trinityrep.com.
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Sector Practices
Education, Public & Non-Profit
Saxton Bampfylde Advisory
Functional Practices
Candidate Opportunities
Job Title: NHS Director
Job Reference:TANAGA
Closing Date: Monday 18 Jan 2021
This is the future of healthcare, and it’s available right now.
The first in the UK to receive a digital healthcare ‘Good’ rating from the CQC in our last inspection, Push Doctor is a company united and energised around a mission and vision to get patients to the right care, quicker than before, reducing waiting times, improving recovery periods and cutting GPs’ triaging workload, giving them more time to spend with patients that need it. We work in partnership with NHS practices, PCNs and CCGs across the country to provide the platform and technology to allow safe and secure video consultations with NHS GPs. Our partnership approach empowers patients and clinicians to leverage the benefits of our digital solution and our technology fully integrates with NHS clinical systems to ensure a continuity of patient safety and care.
The new NHS Director will drive and develop Push Doctor’s NHS strategy, leading relationships and raising the business’s profile at the highest levels with key national bodies. Establishing Push Doctor as a clear ‘Digital Partner’ of the NHS, you will work closely with a diverse executive team to bring our strategy to life, driving innovation and influencing product direction and initiatives in line with Push Doctor’s ambitious growth plans.
Innovative, impactful and highly strategic, candidates will be able to leverage and build on strong relationships with key stakeholders at the highest levels nationally. They will bring a deep understanding of the public sector and the markets into which Push Doctor faces, and be able to translate the NHS strategy into a Push Doctor context, conceiving of and shaping innovative concepts which will benefit patients. Articulate, analytical and growth-oriented leaders, candidates will be outstanding communicators internally and externally, and will be capable of building lasting and mutually beneficial alliances in a range of settings.
Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to Push Doctor on this appointment. For further information about the role, including details about how to apply, please visit www.saxbam.com/appointments using reference TANAGA. Alternatively, telephone +44 (0)20 7227 0880 (during office hours). Applications should be received by 9am on Monday 18 January 2021.
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Scarborough 1914-18
Scarborough through the First World War remembered
Friends of Dean Road and Manor Road Cemetery
Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre
Scalby War Memorial
1914 in Yorkshire
Adding events – guidance
Served and returned
You are here: Home / The Fallen / J / Johnson, Wiliam
Johnson, Wiliam
8 March 2014 by Boro1418 Leave a Comment
Name: William Johnson
Rank: Lance Corporal
Service No: 1696
Date of Death: 10/01/1917
Age: 16 (CWGC reference; true age 27 – see below)
Regiment/Service:Yorkshire Regiment 1st/5th Bn.
Grave Reference: II. B. 6. Cemetery: AIF Burial Ground, Flers
Additional Information: son of Mrs Grace Johnson, of 64 William St, Scarborough.
CWGC reference
Paul Allen provides further information:
Badly mauled during the Battle of Morval (25-29 September) the sorely depleted ranks of the 1st/5th Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, eventually withdrew ‘to rest’ at the Somme village of Bazieux where the Battalion began to receive the drafts of replacements to replace the over 300 casualties sustained in an assault on enemy trenches at Eaucourt L’Abbaye during the above operations. Remaining at Bazieux throughout the Christmas of 1916, training and repairing roads, the 5th Yorks returned to the front line in the Somme Sector at Mametz Wood on 1 January 1917. One can barely comprehend the miserable conditions facing the Yorkshiremen.
’The battlefield, under torrents of rain, had already assumed that forlorn and desolate appearance which ever after remained, burnt in upon one’s brain – a vision of living torture. The very earth stank of gas and was discoloured by the fumes of bursting gas shells. The countryside (if so it could be named) was a vast mass of shell holes overlapping each other in the tens of thousands; already they were full of noisome water, putrid from the dead bodies of friend or foe for whom a burial had been given. The fetid stench from the rotting carcasses of horses, or the poor remains of Briton or German torn from their hastily dug graves by shell fire and tossed here and there to await the mercy of fresh internment, filling the nostrils as one passed to or from the front line’…[1]
Under almost continual shell and sniper fire whilst in Mametz Wood, on 10 January 1917 the 5th Battalion lost 1696 Lance Corporal William Johnson.
Born in Scarborough at 60 Nelson Street during 1890, William was the 6th of 7 children of ‘tinsmith’ Joseph and Grace Johnson. William worked in Scarborough’s fishing industry as a fish curer and packer prior to the war. Whilst living with his parents at 64 William Street, William enlisted into the 2nd/5th (Territorial) Battalion of The Yorkshire Regiment at Scarborough shortly after the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914. After training. he eventually joined the 1st/5th Battalion in the Ypres Salient during November 1915.
Remaining in Belgium until August 1916 the 1st/5th Battalion left the dreaded ‘Wipers’ Sector to arrive in the equally murderous Somme Sector during September 1916 where, on 10 September the Battalion went first into the line at Mametz Wood. On 15 September, Johnson and the remainder of 2/5 Yorks was involved in an attack on the village of Martinpuich which, although captured with relative ease, cost the Battalion dearly. Relieved during the following day, Johnson and his battle-scarred comrades moved to Bazentin-Petit Wood where they occupied the old German front line there until they eventually took their places for the Battle of Morval later that month.
Killed by enemy shellfire, William Johnson was aged 27 at the time of his demise (the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database for some obscure reason incorrectly records his age as sixteen years) and unmarried. His remains were initially interred in a small battlefield burial ground known as ‘Factory Corner Cemetery’ located near the village of Flers in the Somme Sector. However, after the war, his remains, and those of a further 15 British and 13 Australian casualties were re-interred in the much larger AIF Burial Ground located some two kilometres to the north of the village of Flers. Containing the graves of over 3,000 casualties of the Great War [over 2,000 of which are unidentified] William Johnson’s final resting place is located in Section 2, Row B, Grave 6.
Included in a casualty list that was included in ‘The Scarborough Mercury’ of Friday, 26 January 1917, William Johnson’s was subsequently included on Scarborough’s Oliver’s Mount War Memorial. Elsewhere in the town his name can be found on a large ‘Roll of Honour’ located on the north interior wall of St Mary’s Parish Church. [An impressive gravestone located in Scarborough’s Dean Road Cemetery [Section A/ Border/ Grave 31] bears the names of William’s parents: Joseph, who died on 19 April 1928 at the age of 75 years; and Grace Johnson who passed away at the age of 76 years on 2 March 1931. This memorial also contains the name of their second son, James Johnson, who died on 9 March 1920 at the age of 49 years. Sadly, William’s name is not recorded].
[1] The Green Howards in the Great War 1914-1919; Colonel H C Wylly.
Filed Under: J Tagged With: Oliver's Mount Memorial, St Mary's Parish Church, Yorkshire Regt
Search Scarborough 14-18
Scarborough 1914-18 is currently a work in progress as we build a range of content related to Scarborough, Whitby and Filey, and the surrounding areas on during the Great War of 1914-18.
We welcome your contributions in the form of commemorations of the fallen, information on those who served, stories, photographs, facsimiles of newspapers, photographs of your memorabilia and any other material related to the Great War. Please use the Contact us link above to get in touch.
Remember Scarborough Partnership
Women in World War One talk at Scarborough Library 1 July 2014
Pop in for the pop up museum at Scarborough Library
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Half-year results for 2018: Schweiter reports steep growth in revenues and profit
Steinhausen, 17 August, 2018 – Schweiter Technologies reported a strong first half in 2018, posting a double-digit percentage increase in revenues and profit. Group revenues were up by 11% to CHF 540.3 million (+6% in local currencies), while acquisition-driven growth was close to 8%. EBITDA rose 11% to CHF 58.3 million. Despite some major increases in raw material costs, the return on sales came to 10.8%, on level with the previous year. Operating profit (EBIT) improved by 14% to CHF 44.2 million, while net profit from continuing operations rose to CHF 33.0 million. Cash holdings stood at CHF 178 million following a dividend payout of about CHF 64 million.
Schweiter Technologies Group (in CHF m)
as a % of net revenues
Net income from continuing operations
Net income from discontinued operations
Total net income
3A Composites revenues rose by 11% to CHF 540.3 million. EBITDA increased by 10% to CHF 59.5 million, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 11.0%. EBIT came to CHF 45.4 million.
Beyond the acquisition-related growth, the main growth drivers were the Architecture business in Asia and sustained, buoyant demand for display products in Europe. The Architecture business performed well on the whole – the significant rise in sales in Asia and the USA more than offset the temporarily lower volumes in Europe and Australia in the first quarter.
Athlone Extrusions, acquired in the second half of 2017, made a significant contribution to the rise in revenues and profits.
The rest of the Display business in Europe also reported considerable increases in revenues and profitability, outperforming the market trend. Raw material price fluctuations, coupled with a corresponding temporary downturn in demand, impacted further volume growth.
The US Display business built on the previous year’s success, reporting revenue growth yet again.
The Architecture business in Asia benefited from several major projects in China plus an upturn in demand. Revenue growth in this region was in the double-digit range. The US Architecture business posted significant gains compared with the previous year, whereas the Architecture business in Europe
and Australia fell short of expectations especially in the first quarter.
As expected, the Core Materials business got off to a moderate start in the 2018 business year. Compared with the previous year, profitability was impacted by weaker demand in the first quarter, rising raw material costs in some cases, and price pressure from global OEMs. Sales in the second quarter, however, were up again sharply in both the wind and the nonwind sectors.
Business in the Transportation sector fell short of last year’s strong performance. Delivery delays for a major customer plus technical changes to two projects led to lower sales than the previous year.
The Group expects to turn in a good performance again in the second half. In the Display and Architecture business, the Group anticipates markets to remain stable but raw material prices to trend lower. The Core Materials business is expected to post firm demand. Moreover, the delayed orders in the Transportation sector are expected to be delivered in the second half.
The complete financial statements for the first half of 2018 can be found on our website www.schweiter.com
A media conference on the 2018 half-year results for analysts, media representatives, and investors will take place at 11.00 a.m. today at the Marriott Hotel, Neumühlequai 42, Zurich.
Martin Klöti, CFO
Tel. +41 41 757 77 00, Fax +41 41 757 70 01, martin.kloeti@schweiter.com
Acquisition of Perspex completed
Alliance with Columbia Forest Products
Publication date Half-Year Results 2018
Growth in revenues and a sharp rise in net income
Media Releases | Financial calendar | Milestones | Management | Corporate Profile | Key Figures | Group Structure | Investors Contact
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Welcome to Scott Joseph's Foodster Awards for Independent Restaurants.
The Foodsters are an ongoing program to recognize and celebrate culinary excellence in Central Florida. The Foodsters are open to any business with three or fewer locations -- no chains.
Winners are chosen by you, with your vote. Make your selection in each category carefully -- only one vote is allowed per person.
You may nominate a restaurant for an appropriate category, but make sure it isn't already in the list of nominees. And remember: independent restaurants only.
Greek Corner Wins Foodster Award
Written by Scott Joseph on 04 October 2018 on 04 October 2018 .
The Greek Corner, the Greek restaurant located, um, on a corner in the Ivanhoe district, has been voted Best Greek in our Foodster Awards for Independent Restaurants.
The recently reopened Mykonos, in Longwood, placed second and Mediterranean Deli of Orlando was third.
The Greek Corner, which opened in 2005, is known for its patio with a view of Lake Ivanhoe across the street. It's popular for its gyro sandwiches but also such traditional dishes as moussaka and avgolemeno soup.
In placing his vote for Mykonos, Brian N Bengie Murray said, "Much improved quality of food, service and atmosphere at the new and improved Mykonos in Longwood. Our new "go to" place for Greek food since the restaurant moved and reopened."
Mediterranean Deli, on Fairbanks Avenue, is liked as much for the friendly owners as for the delicious food.
Congratulations to the winners and to all of the finalists.
Nominations are currently being accepted for Best Italian restaurant. Place your vote before Oct. 17. The restaurants with the most nominations will advance to the finals.
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Finger lakes region, NY, USA
God, the Native American legend goes, was quite satisfied with the creation of earth; and tired as well. Wanted to have a break. Leaned his hands on the ground and stood up. Voila. The place where he kept his fingers had a depression. Water filled in. And the Finger lakes region happened.
Geologists have a less exciting story. When the glaciers slid through the area, they carved eleven parallel, long, deep depressions and filled them with water. And the Finger lakes region was created.
No matter which story you believe, the Finger lakes region in Upstate New York is one of the beautiful spots on the planet. Compares with the Alpine area of Switzerland, Milford Sound of New Zealand, and Patagonia of Chile.
We consider ourselves lucky. Our base in USA in early 2000s was in Rochester, NY. The finger lakes were just an hour's drive away eastward. We used to go quite often. Of the eleven, my favourites were Canandaigua (closest to Rochester; excellent artisan shops on the main road during weekends), Seneca (the largest), and Cayuga (which renders the drive northwards on the soul less I90 from New York to Rochester a pleasure).
Lake Seneca is the big one. It is 61 km long, 6 km wide, and 188 m deep (more than four times the height of Niagara Falls). It holds half of all the water in all the eleven lakes. Holds more than twice the water held by Loch Ness in Scotland.
Lake Seneca
Lake Seneca Pier at Southern end
A short drive from the southern end of Lake Seneca takes you to a geological wonder in Upstate New York: Watkins Glen.
Watkins Glen is a 2 miles long gorge dropping from 400 feet at the Woodlands end to ground level at the Village end. A creek cuts a narrow gorge through the Glen (with tall cliffs on either side) and flows from top downwards through nineteen waterfalls (including the famous Cavern cascade).
At the entrance at Village end you get a hint of what is ahead: a 200 feet rock face. A bus takes you to the heights of Woodlands end at the back.
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail. Descent to Creek from Woodlands end
And you descend through the 2 mile trek along the creek braving through narrow paths, bridges across the creek, and stairs (about 800 steps in all!). The trek through the gorge is part of the 1,300 km long Finger Lakes Trail that runs through New York State.
Watkins Glen Gorge trail: Descent from top of Gorge to bottom
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail. The creek flows through 19 falls from top to bottom
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail: Along the Creek's journey downwards
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail: An occasional climb up too!
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail: Daughter surveys the path ahead
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail: Waterfall intersects trail
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail: Behind the waterfalls
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail: Waterfalls from afar
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail: The trek goes through some tunnels too
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail: Wife and her sis happy that the trail is coming to an end
The village of Watkins Glen provides welcome refreshments to rejuvenate. Yes, it is the same village that is renown for its grand prix races on public streets once a year!
Finger lakes region has several interesting towns. Popular among them are Corning (renown for its glassware), and Ithaca (for its Cornell University). Did you know that Corning the company and Corning the town were named after an investor in the glass company? Erastus Corning of Albany, New York!
Corning has a Glass Museum showing visitors how glassware are made and all the good stuff one can make with glass. One can try one's hand in turning a nice vase with glass oneself.
Corning, south of Watkins Glen, is the glass capital of the world
Corning Glass Museum: Native boat made of glass
Corning's Rockwell Museum displays several artworks related to the Natives of the region and early settlers:
Corning Rockwell Museum
At the northern end of Lake Seneca are several resorts and wineries. Wife chooses a cozy spot to enjoy some solitude looking at the serene waters of Lake Seneca. (Not that serene really. At this very point in time, a US submarine could be training and testing its sailors under those calm waters or repositioning the nuclear missiles that folks think are stored under the water!)
Geneva by the lake at the northern end of Lake Seneca
Further north west, one reaches the Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion near Canandaigua.
A New York banker loves (yes, they do) his wife. Buys a 20 hectare property in Finger lakes region with nine gardens of different types and a 40 bed room Queen Anne style mansion. Touches up a bit. And they live happily thereafter. They have no children. A nephew who inherits this, lives even more happily thereafter. And on his death gifts it to the State. The gardens are delightful to look at and the mansion is large yet cozy.
Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion
The next spot is not actually in Finger lakes region but is just 25 miles away; and is again one of the most beautiful spots in the neighbourhood.
The Letchworth State Park in Upstate New York is often labelled as the Grand Canyon of the East (though in my opinion nothing can ever qualify to be Grand Canyon of any direction!). Letchworth is a 25 miles long gorge with River Genesee cutting through it (yes, the same river that cuts through our city, Rochester NY) flowing through three main waterfalls and fifty smaller ones. The Letchworth trek (which is 66 miles long) is part of the Finger Lakes Trail.
Letchworth State Park: Lookout point
Letchworth State Park: And quiet flows the Genesee river
Letchworth State Park: Lower Waterfalls
Letchworth State Park: Lower Waterfalls (in a different visit, during Fall)
Letchworth State Park: Middle Waterfalls
Do these all convince you that New York state is ravishingly beautiful and New York, New York (at the bottom corner of the triangular shape of the state) is just an urban version of this beauty.
Nice photographs.
Niagara Falls, New York, USA
Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Great Ocean Road, Australia
Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina
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Ottewell from Gomez goes solo
Attention, all Gomez acolytes.
The UK folk-rock outfit has quietly amassed a faithful cult audience that appreciates the subtle interplay between the group’s three diverse vocalists.
But it’s Ben Ottewell’s resonant tones that usually stop the show, from early signatures like “Get Miles” to later gems like “How We Operate.” So there should be much rejoicing that the man is at long last issuing his solo debut, “Shapes & Shadows,” via Dave Matthews’ ATO Records on Feb. 15, with a full North American tour to follow.
Ottewell co-penned the nine-song “Shapes” with his childhood pal (an ex-Tunng member) Sam Genders, and co-produced it with Will Golden.
Not enough songs, you say? Wait — there’s more.
A five-track digital EP will also be arriving on release day, featuring four acoustic versions plus a special cover song, and it will also be available in a special T-shirt bundle.
Another reason to be cheerful this season — you only have a month to wait for your all-Ottewell fest!
artsBackstage PassGomezPop Music & JazzSan Francisco
The End of Don't Ask, Don't Tell
‘True Grit’ a true triumph for Coens
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Photo Download
Rock Room
~Dining Room Dress Code Policy ~
Our evening attire ranges from Business Casual to Formal.
Beachwear, un-tailored shorts, tattered jeans, tank tops, caps and flip flops are prohibited in all dining room areas.
Shadowbrook Shuttle
FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE WITHIN 3 MILE RADIUS
To book a complimentary pickup please call: (831) 475-1511
Everything starts with a dream
Founded in 1947, Shadowbrook has been known for “romance in dining” since the beginning. Continue reading to discover the interesting history behind this truly unique restaurant.
The heart of Shadowbrook is a log cabin originally built as a summer home in the 1920s, and later enlarged by an English family, who added what is now known as the “Fireside Room,” with its hanging balcony and Swiss chalet decor. Eventually they sold the home to another family, who, for unknown reasons, abandoned it a few years later.
When the restaurant’s original partners discovered the house in 1944, it stood in ruin. It took those entrepreneurs three years of painstaking work to restore the structure. Then they set about hacking a steep path out of the tangled underbrush, carrying every piece of furniture and equipment down the treacherous hillside.
Finally, in the autumn of 1947, redesigned, redecorated, and with a dining capacity of 50, Shadowbrook opened for dinner. It was immediately popular. In 1958, the cable car was added. In 1972, new owners added the cupola entry and deck by the river, and replaced all furnishings with authentic antiques from the era of the original structure. For the first time in its history, the restaurant remained open year-round.
In 1978, current owners Ted Burke and his partner Bob Munsey purchased Shadowbrook. The following year, they joined the former Garden Room Annex to the main building, turning the roof into a comfortable outside cocktail deck. Two years later they enclosed the outside dining patio for year-round comfort in a greenhouse setting.
In the mid-1980s Shadowbrook’s wine cellar was added, to allow for proper storage of wines, and a significant expansion to the wine list was undertaken. A bakery was also added so that the kitchen can provide the finest in desserts and breads, including wedding cakes and the famous Orange Rolls served at Sunday Brunch.
During the late ’80s a number of improvements were made to Shadowbrook that its guests don’t see, including plumbing, wiring, and earthquake protection. The latter proved a very worthwhile investment, as Shadowbrook experienced virtually no damage during the big quake of ’89, save a broken bottle of wine or two.
In 1992 the lush hillside above Shadowbrook was landscaped with new plantings. After this was completed, the walkways were refurbished, and the old waterfall was re-established. A powerful generator was also added, enabling Shadowbrook to continue full operation, including the Cable Car, during power outages that occur occasionally during the winter months.
Fall 1994 brought the addition of the Redwood Room, which sits atop the kitchen, with a view of the chef’s herb garden. The Redwood Room’s ceiling and walls are built with an abundance of first-growth redwood, recycled and milled from large antique wine tanks.
The bar, which had been the only part of the building still in its original 1947 condition, was dark with low ceilings before. In the renovation, some ceilings were raised as much as 10 feet, and a dramatic skylight was installed to open up the space and provide more light. A food preparation area with a wood-fired oven was added to make the bar area a place for light meals. A state-of-the art sound system was installed for background music and live entertainment.
All the redwood used in the new bar was taken from large antique wine vats, which were recycled and re-milled specifically for the project.
With over 50 years of history, Shadowbrook is one of the most unique restaurants in the West. Come see for yourself.
SHADOWBROOK PROFILE
Diners' Choice Awards
-OpenTable
Neighborhood Favorite!
- Nextdoor
Best Places to Kiss
- New Woman Magazine
Top 10 places Nationwide for Dining with Kids Near the Beach
-USA Today
Silver Spoon Award
- Gourmet Diners Club of America
Most Romantic Restaurant, Best Restaurant South Bay
- San Francisco Focus Magazine
Most Romantic Restaurant
- San Jose Mercury News
Most Romantic Restaurant, Best Service, Best Place to Take Visitors
- GoodTimes, Santa Cruz
Best Service, Most Romantic Restaurant in Santa Cruz County
- Metro Santa Cruz
Waiter of the Year, Dan Williams
- California Restaurant Association
World Stars Award
- Mumm's Champagne
BRO awards this Seal to professionals who meet the standards for quality and client satisfaction.
- BRO Seal of Approval
All requests for donations must be made in writing and sent to: Ted Burke, Shadowbrook Restaurant, PO Box 65, Capitola, CA 95010. Donation requests on letterhead can also be faxed to (831) 475-7664. Email requests are not accepted.
Requests should be made at least 40 days in advance of an event, as the owners meet just once a month (usually the first week of the month) to review several hundred requests.
Requests made on official letterhead stationery are preferred.
Because of the great number of requests received, we are not always able to respond personally to each request. However, we do encourage requests in subsequent years for those whom we could not accommodate in the current year.
Shadowbrook: Logo 1 Logo 2 Logo 3
Capitola Lodging
Capitola Chamber of Commerce
Rock Room Lounge
Saturday: 2:00 pm – 9 pm
Rock Room Lounge & Patio
Pizza Bar Food Daily: Noon – 4 pm
~Holiday Hours May Vary~
Shadowbrook Restaurant // 1750 Wharf Road // Capitola // 831-475-1511
© 2021 Shadowbrook. | Directions
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In the Garden column: Nontraditional holiday houseplants
Carole McCray
Look beyond the poinsettia and Christmas cactus for enjoying different houseplants throughout the holidays and into the new year.
Some of the plants are ones you may not have thought of, and others, such as amaryllis and cyclamens, always remain popular.
• Amaryllis Hippeastrum has maintained popularity for the holiday, especially as a host or hostess gift for gardeners on your list. I like to put off planting amaryllis so I can time when the plant will bloom. The fun part is to witness the plant’s performance from the bulb stage to buds and then the emergence of huge trumpet-shaped blossoms on strap-like leaves. Wintering over the plant can be tricky for some. I have never tried it, but it can be done. Give the plant an abundance of water and food in the summer outdoors in a sheltered spot; then late summer dry the plant off and let it go dormant. In late fall, bring the plant indoors, and water and place it where it will receive light in an east or west location.
• Cyclamen persicum comes in many colors - white, pink, and deep magenta and red. The white cyclamen is my favorite, and its star-like blossoms above heart-shaped leaves make it very beguiling. It is best to underwater the plant and remove it from its plastic pot once you bring it home. Growing it in indirect light will aid in the urge to overwater your cyclamen. Best exposure is in an east or west location.
• Frosty Ferns have joined the holiday plant lineup. With its frosted tips, it is commonly known as frosted fern or Selaginells krausiana variegates. Care for it as a regular fern, in a shady location out of direct sunlight. Its silvery textured foliage complements other holiday plants and adds a festive touch as a table centerpiece.
• Kalanchoe blossfeldiana has clusters of star-shaped flowers growing above flat, rather ordinary succulent green leaves. Set in an east or west window, it has long-lasting blooms from fall through winter and is worth the show. The kalanchoe known as flaming Katy is known as the Christmas kalanchoe with orange blossoms and hints of yellow in the center, but other colors are as inviting in hues of white, yellow, dark red and magenta.
• Tillandsia stricta is the odd-looking air plant. Resembling a sea-urchin, air plants can survive easily without being planted into any sort of growing medium. Air plants can serve as festive holiday table centerpieces, or they can adorn an indoor wreath, and try adding one on to a present in lieu of a bow.
These were just a few to tempt you to add a non-traditional plant to your holiday décor.
Carole McCray resides in Cape May, New Jersey and is an award-winning garden writer who has been writing a monthly garden column, The Potting Shed, for regional newspapers for nearly twenty years. Her articles have been published in The Christian Science Monitor Newspaper, Coastal Living Magazine, Cape May Magazine, Growise Garden Guide and Ideals Magazine. She won the Garden Writer’s Association Award for newspaper writing for The Christian Science Monitor Newspaper.”
© 2021 www.shelbystar.com. All rights reserved.
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YouTube Marketing for Retail: 7 Pro Tips to Increase Your Reach With Standout Videos
by Karin Eldor
Just when you thought you knew which social media platform to leverage, you hear about a brand slaying on (insert social media channel here), and why you need to be playing in that channel too.
Choice: It’s a wonderful thing, especially as a retailer attempting to reach your target customers. But too much choice can become overwhelming and confusing (decision fatigue, anyone?). The trick is deciding which channels make the most sense for your brand and then doubling down on one or two of them. (Did you catch that? Social media experts agree that it’s best to focus your resources on one social media channel, and a maximum of two. More on this later.)
So, let’s discuss YouTube, shall we? As one of the first social media channels to emerge (it was founded in 2005), YouTube isn’t just for watching music videos or highlights of your favorite TV show. Here’s a fun fact about YouTube: it’s actually the second-largest search engine in the world.
Google acquired YouTube back in 2006, giving it powerful search and keyword capabilities. Once you wrap your head around that, the sky’s the limit when it comes to what you can do with the video-based network.
For starters, YouTube is a great way to build brand awareness and get your target customer to feel connected to your products or services. And with standout content, you have a higher chance of your videos going viral. Boom.
True: You can create standout videos with your iPhone video camera.
False: It’s simply a matter of posting your video ad campaign on your branded YouTube channel and hoping for the best.
Let’s take a look at how you can create a successful YouTube strategy and get inspired by three retail brands making a strong impression on YouTube.
Why YouTube?
Is YouTube right for your brand? For starters, assess where your customers hang out online. Here are some general demographics and stats about the video platform, according to a 2015 Digiday study:
YouTube has a huge audience, reaching 81.2% of Internet users in the U.S., according to comScore data.
Younger visitors tend to spend more time on YouTube. In March 2015, YouTube drew 31.8 million users aged 18 to 24 (98.3% of U.S. Internet users in that age bracket), who spent an average of 10 hours and 15 minutes on the site.
Baby boomers are also an important demographic for YouTube: It attracted 19.4 million visitors 65 and older (74.4% of Internet users in that demo), who spent an average of three hours and 54 minutes using the video-streaming service.
300 hours of videos are uploaded per minute.
Now let’s talk gender: YouTube attracts an even split of women and men, but it is still fairly male dominated.
Men spend 44% more time on the site per month than women.
As for the industries that lend themselves best to YouTube? No surprises here: Beauty, food/cooking, fashion, wellness, fitness, sports, and gaming — to name a few.
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We spoke with Andrea Corson, digital video strategist, consultant and producer who helps business owners grow their brands using video, with her company, Video Pop.
Corson’s first important point when it comes to industries that work best on YouTube.
If approached correctly, pretty much any industry can massively benefit from YouTube. It all lies in the storytelling and showing your customers/audience how you're helping to solve their problems.
And when it comes to content and storytelling, the objective of your YouTube videos should always be one of these three things:
Corson gave us the step-by-step rundown of YouTube tips for creating stellar content, to help you make an impact, increase your traffic, and ultimately increase sales.
7 Tips To Create Strong YouTube Content
Intrigued? Leveraging the power of YouTube and its capabilities is an opportunity that you as a retailer can hone in on too. Consider the following tips to be your cheat-sheet to YouTube success.
1. Be consistent
Posting a video at least once a week is crucial when it comes to YouTube success. This means consistency in terms of cadence and posting time. Post at the exact same time every week and put this schedule directly in your channel banner artwork (i.e. the photo at the very top of your channel) so that people know when to expect your content. If you post Tuesdays at 7pm, your subscribers should know that. So yes, this means you need to commit to rolling out new content on the regular.
One example of this is Beardbrand, which clearly states in its YouTube banner that viewers can expect new videos on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays:
“The ideal day or time? There’s no right or wrong, as long as you are consistent!” Corson explains. “The YouTube community, more so than any other community, demands frequency and consistency. I've seen more than a few creators/brands with large followings lose a significant percentage of their subscribers the moment their consistency or frequency takes a hit.”
2. Invest in Sound, Lighting, and Editing
Wondering where to invest your money? Here you go, in order of priority:
A: Killer sound: If your viewers can't hear you clearly, they won’t make it past the first 30 seconds of your video. And all of that work will be for nothing.
B: Fantastic lighting: Great lighting makes the difference between homemade and truly spectacular. But not to worry — you don’t need to break the bank to achieve great sound and lighting. Corson clarifies: “Budget-friendly yet totally proficient sound and lighting equipment will cost you about $400 to $500, but keep in mind that this equipment will last quite a while, typically about 3 to 5 years.”
C: Top-notch editing software: A subscription to Adobe Premiere is always Corson’s third recommendation. “It’s the most user-friendly editing software to get you up and running, and comfortable quickly — and I've used every editing software under the sun ALL during my time in television — but Premiere also has all of the necessary bells and whistles that can take your video up to commercial grade.”
3. Stick to the Ideal Length
So what’s the “sweet spot” in terms of YouTube video length? You can keep your audience interested and engaged for three and a half to four minutes. After that, your audience will likely lose interest.
Oh and by the way, many of them won't even make it to the three-minute mark.
People's attention spans are unbelievable short these days — so you have to hook their interest and keep them along for the ride. What story would you want to hear? What would pique your interest? It's important to put yourself in your viewers’ shoes. If you wouldn't want to watch your video, then surely no one else will either.
4. Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
Stock up on at least three to four videos before your launch, so in the case of a content or marketing emergency, you have a backup or “stash,” and make sure you stick to your video publishing calendar. And if it makes you feel better, remember that you don't need to reinvent the wheel.
Corson elaborates:
Start with a simple concept that makes for a great story, but doesn't have you managing 10,000 variables. Stick to one location. Focus on demonstrating your value. Simple and clever often performs best anyway.
5. Keep YouTube SEO in Mind
As mentioned, YouTube is the second-largest search engine, even though most of us don't think of it that way. Searchability is important: Your customers need to be able to find you. After all, you’re solving their problems. As a result, optimize your title's keywords and make sure you use all the tags you can (tags are the HTML elements that provide information about a web page for search engines and website visitors, such as meta tags, title tags and meta descriptions, making your video highly searchable).
Corson shares this tip: “My favorite tool for this is TubeBuddy (a YouTube channel management toolkit). It's incredible what a difference these details make in your channel's performance. Don't go to the trouble of taking on YouTube if you're going to drop the ball where it counts: keywords.”
6. Repurpose the Content You’re Putting on YouTube
Get that return on your investment, friends! You've already gone to the trouble of putting this video together, so you should be using it in as many ways as possible. The reality is that your YouTube subscribers are YouTube people, your Instagram subscribers are people who love Instagram, and so forth. Everyone has a favorite social platform, and they typically find and connect with you on one, two tops. So, reach as many people as you can with each video.
That said, your YouTube videos should be cut into 60- and 30- second trailers for your other social platforms: 30 seconds for Instagram and 60 seconds for Facebook. Since your YouTube videos should be part of your overall marketing strategy, they should complement your efforts elsewhere, such as on your other social channels and your website.
Sadly, I've seen brands and businesses launch channels that are too far from their typical branding and they never do well," Corson says. "People want to put you in a box. They want to know what they're coming to you for. If you're an enigma, they simply stop trying to figure you out. And that means no more visits to your channel.
7. Have a Plan for Your Channel
YouTube success is never by accident or happenstance. Channels are constructed with purpose and direction, even if you are simply using an iPhone camera to shoot the videos.
Since there is a lot of strategy and planning that goes into launching a successful YouTube channel, seek out the help of an expert to make sure you have all of your i's dotted and t's crossed. You want to set yourself up for success! Andrea Corson, for example, holds an 8-week masterclass called YouTube Academy, which walks people through creating and launching a successful YouTube channel.
Best In Class: 4 Brands With Standout YouTube Content
LuxyHair
3 Million Subscribers
Why they’re nailing it: Tutorials reign supreme on YouTube, which lend themselves well to beauty and hair brands.
Stat alert: According to the aforementioned Digiday article, makeup and cosmetics garner 89% of female viewership on YouTube. And with step-by-step instructions on curling and styling hair, there’s clearly an audience for this type of content. Yes, parts of these tutorials can be posted as Instagram Videos, but remember that videos on Instagram have a 60-second maximum. As a result, YouTube is a rich platform to serve up this kind of educational content.
Why they’re nailing it: The premium men’s grooming company offers up YouTube content with four new videos per week (they specify their posting days right there on the banner image at the top of their channel) — talk about frequency!
BeardBrand’s YouTube channel focuses on grooming and lifestyle; their content is in line with their core values (freedom, hunger, and trust). With self-improvement and beard/hair/body grooming tips, as well as style-related content, they have become the brand equivalent of GQ and Esquire on YouTube.
Why they’re nailing it: For starters, they know their audience and as a result, their content is focused: they offer sneaker cleaning tutorials on a weekly basis. No fancy footwork here; this “Ultimate Sneaker Cleaner” brand showcases step-by-step tutorials on restoring sneakers using their shoe care kits, set to a guy-centric score or soundtrack. Bonus points for strong editing skills!
It’s interesting to note that Reshoevn8r offers a promo code in the video description and mentions it during the video; this is a great way to direct viewers to your website with a direct call-to-action.
Hit Record
Here’s hoping you feel inspired to consider YouTube as part of your marketing strategy. There’s a huge opportunity for brands thinking of venturing into video territory; just remember to press “pause” before diving right in. Consider your target audience, what kind of content you can churn out regularly, and the tips for YouTube success. And then enjoy watching the “brand love” and sales pour in!
Karin Eldor
Karin Eldor’s experience in online publishing has led to a fascination with the digital world and retail. When she’s not scrolling through her Instagram and Snapchat feeds, she can be found poring over fashion magazines (she still loves print — shhh, it’s our secret).
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Sprint Cup (Related Stories)
Two For The Road By Lars Anderson, September 20, 2004The Chase is on and very fast friends Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are the drivers to beat in the brand new 10-race showdown.
Eight's Enough By Lars Anderson, December 06, 2004Despite a tragedy that rocked his team, Jimmie Johnson roared to the most Cup wins and is SI's Driver of the Year.
Bringing It Home AgainBy Lars Anderson, November 26, 2007With a flawless run at Homestead, Jimmie Johnson sewed up his second straight Nextel Cup and proved that he and his Hendrick Racing team are the best of their era.
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Six Against A Sixth By Lars Anderson, February 21, 2011Jimmie Johnson has won five straight Cup titles and is gunning for yet another, but half a dozen of NASCAR's best have a shot at ending his streak
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COVID-19 and Canadian Intellectual Property law
Life at Smart & Biggar
Canada’s Intellectual Property Law Firm
Smart & Biggar is Canada’s largest and highest ranked intellectual property firm. Our reputation and strength is a measure of the quality of our people, and we are proud to have the broadest and deepest bench for IP in Canada. With over 100 lawyers, patent agents and trademark agents, we offer legal expertise and technological knowledge across a wide range of industries and scientific and engineering disciplines, with leaders in every field.
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Today’s fast-paced innovation economy demands a higher level of expertise and attention to detail when it comes to IP. Our highly skilled team of lawyers, patent agents and trademark agents advise clients on a wide variety of strategic business, brand and technology matters leveraging their deep expertise in intellectual property to help them succeed with IP.
Across all industries, intellectual property is at the heart of innovation and is key to accelerating business value and growth. Developing a clear IP strategy and knowing how to tap and leverage IP to align with business goals can unlock competitive advantages and make the difference between industry leaders and followers.
At the forefront of IP in Canada, and actively involved as leaders in industry committees and associations, we stay up-to-date and proactively report on the latest developments in intellectual property law in Canada and around the world. Breaking IP news, changes in the law, important new decisions, and information on key IP issues are provided here through our IP publications and resources.
Many of the world's most commercially important innovators and most prominent brands trust Smart & Biggar to protect and enforce their IP and to provide them with strategic IP counsel. We have developed a reputation as a firm of talented lawyers and patent and trademark agents with integrity, business savvy and tremendous acumen. That’s why we look for the brightest people with combined talent and strengths in law, business, science and technology.
Smart & Biggar is widely recognized as Canada’s leading firm for intellectual property, and with over 100 lawyers, patent agents and trademark agents in five offices, we are also Canada’s largest firm focused purely on IP and related specialty areas.
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Cannabis takes the next step: new federal regulations
IP Advisory for M&A, IPO & Investments
Alice Tseng and Brandon Heard
Canada continues the march towards legal recreational “adult use” cannabis, recently publishing federal regulations affecting producers and others within the thriving industry. These include the Cannabis Regulations, SOR/2018-144 (the Regulations) and new Industrial Hemp Regulations, SOR/2018-145, published on July 11, 2018. Their announcement follows royal assent to the Cannabis Act (the Act) on June 21, 2018.
The Regulations largely follow the Summary of Comments received During the Public Consultation (the Consultation) which Health Canada had released earlier in 2018, with some new developments. The changes impact a variety of areas including: licensing, cannabis products, drugs containing cannabis, and industrial hemp; as well as packaging and labelling, advertising, and rules pertaining to key investors.
All of these will come into force with the Cannabis Act on October 17, 2018, and we have outlined the changes and impacts in each of these areas here:
The Regulations provide for six classes of licenses: cultivation, processing, analytical testing, sale, research and cannabis drug licenses. In addition to standard cultivation and processing licenses, further license subclasses are defined in line with the Consultation’s stated intent of facilitating the participation of small-scale producers:
Micro-cultivation license-holders are limited to a total surface area not exceeding 200 m2, in which all plants and plant parts must be contained and in which all cultivation, propagation and harvesting must occur.
Nursery license holders are authorized to sell only cannabis plants and seeds, since this class was introduced to enable legal sources of starting materials and the development of new cannabis varieties. These license-holders are required to contain all plants in a total surface area not exceeding 50 m2, possess no more than 5 kg of flowering heads (excluding seeds) from the contained plants, and destroy flowers (excluding seeds), leaves and branches within 30 days of harvesting.
Micro-processing license-holders must, subject to a limited exception, not possess more than the equivalent of 600 kg of dried cannabis in a calendar year, outside of cannabis plants and seeds.
Standard cultivation and processing sites are subject to increased security measures compared to micro-cultivation, nursery and micro-processing sites, including: visual monitoring, record-keeping and intrusion detection for the site perimeter and operations and storage areas. Micro-cultivation, nursery and micro-processing sites are required only to (1) be designed in a manner that prevents unauthorized access, (2) possess physical barriers that restrict unauthorized access to storage areas and the site itself, and (3) restrict storage area access to individuals carrying out their work duties.
One of the contentious issues raised in the consultation process was the issue of outdoor cultivation, but outdoor cultivation is now expressly permitted by the Regulations.
The consultation process also raised the possibility of multiple licenses (e.g. of different classes) for a single site. The Regulations impose no restrictions on how many licenses an individual can possess or the total number of licenses available. The same site may seemingly possess multiple classes of licenses, allowing for vertical integration. However, the Minister may refuse to issue multiple licenses of the same class at the same site, which would help avoid a scenario where a person holds multiple micro-scale licences together at a single site to avoid the more onerous requirements associated with standard-scale licences.
Consistent with the Consultation, the security clearance provisions are aimed at (1) enabling the Minister to refuse clearance to individuals associated with organized crime, corruption, drug trafficking or violent offenses; and (2) allowing individuals with histories of small-scale possession or cultivation of cannabis to still hold a security clearance.
For cultivation, processing and sale licenses, the Regulations require certain individuals, including the following, to hold a security clearance: (1) any individual license-holder; (2) any directors and officers of a corporate license-holder; (3) anyone who is able to exercise direct control over a corporate, co-operative or partnership license-holder; and (4) certain key individuals, including the master grower and head of security (the latter is a newly required position).
For private companies, a record of key investors must be maintained along with financial details of the relationship and the extent to which a given key investor can exercise control over the license-holder.
The Regulations stipulate the maximum THC content for cannabis oils and discrete units of products ingested orally, but not for dried or fresh cannabis products. Products intended to be administered orally have a maximum yield quantity of 10 mg of THC, while the THC limit for cannabis oils is 30 mg/ml. Accessories packaged with cannabis oil that dispense for ingestion must not dispense more than 10 mg of THC per activation.
Although there is no such maximum for dried or fresh cannabis, extraneous THC and THCA must not be added to these products. For dried cannabis sold in discrete units and intended for consumption via inhalation, the net weight of dried cannabis in each unit must not exceed 1.0 g. Lastly, cannabis accessories must not impart a characterizing flavour, and products intended for use in the human eye or intended to be administered by disrupting the skin barrier are prohibited.
The 10 mg maximum THC yield for oral administration will presumably also apply to edibles, which will be permitted within 12 months of legalization of adult-use cannabis.
The Regulations set strict limits on the colour, appearance and physical characteristics of a cannabis product’s immediate container and outside covering. The interior and exterior surfaces of a product’s container must each be a uniform colour, although that colour can differ between the two surfaces. Moreover, metallic colours, fluorescent colours and colours that fail to contrast with the yellow health warning message and red standardized cannabis symbol are not permitted, with the exception that a metal interior surface may retain its natural colour. The exterior surface must have a matte finish. Both the interior and exterior surfaces must be smooth – raised features or other physical irregularities are not permitted, except those that assist the visually impaired or facilitate the opening and closing of the container. The immediate container for a cannabis product (other than plants or seeds) must be opaque or translucent, but the container’s covering must be transparent and colourless.
Regarding labelling, the Regulations impose mandatory health warning messages, the disclosure of THC/cannabidiol (CBD) content and strict branding requirements. A brand name and brand element (e.g. a logo) can each be displayed only once, on the product’s principal display panel. No other images or graphics are permitted. The brand name must be in a type size equal to or smaller than that of the health warning message, and if the brand element is an image, its surface area must be equal to or smaller than that of the standardized cannabis symbol. Fluorescent and metallic colours are not permitted for either.
Notably, the Regulations contain provisions aimed at preventing circumvention of the packaging and labelling requirements. These provisions were not discussed in the Consultation, but generally, they require that the interior and exterior surfaces be devoid of any feature that could change the appearance or surface area of the covering or emit a scent or sound. The examples given in the Regulations include heat-activated ink and fold-out panels; however, the wording is broad enough to catch anything that could alter the container’s appearance or physical shape. Furthermore, bar codes can be displayed only once and must be black and white with no additional image or design. These provisions will make it extremely difficult for license-holders to circumvent the labelling restrictions.
The Cannabis Act permits informational promotion or brand-preference promotion in certain circumstances where young people will not be able to access such communication. However, since this would result in young persons who require medical cannabis not being able to access such information, the Regulations now allow those who are licensed to sell cannabis or cannabis accessories to expand some of their informational promotion and brand-preference promotion activities to young persons authorized to use medical cannabis.
Drugs Containing Cannabis
The Regulations set out security and record-keeping requirements for producers, pharmacists, practitioners and hospitals with respect to drugs containing cannabis.
The health professions are in turn developing strategies to adapt to the new legislation. For example, the Ontario College of Pharmacists has recently approved a new Cannabis Strategy which, among other things, makes it mandatory for practicing pharmacists to learn about cannabis.
The Consultation noted that promotional controls for prescription drugs containing cannabis were being considered. The Regulations clarify this and carve out exemptions from the promotional restrictions imposed by the Act, stating that it is permissible to promote prescription drugs via brand name and that they are exempt from the sponsorship restrictions in the Act.
Although the Act prohibits promoting cannabis products in a manner that could be appealing to young persons, the Regulations make an exception for prescription drugs that appeal by way of appearance, shape or other sensory attribute or function, in order to facilitate young persons consuming therapeutic products that have been prescribed for them. In the case of prescription drugs for veterinary use, the package or label may depict an animal corresponding to the product’s use.
Industrial Hemp Regulations
The new Industrial Hemp Regulations open a new avenue for CBD production. While the new regulations are very similar to the current framework, a key change is that hemp growers can now sell flowering heads, leaves and branches to another holder of an industrial hemp license or a holder of a license under the Cannabis Regulations. This change will provide hemp growers with a new market for their crop and provide CBD producers with a new source of plant material. Because of the lower regulatory burden associated with hemp cultivation and the strong interest in CBD, some industry players have made strategic hemp investments in anticipation of the hemp regime becoming less strict.
Smart & Biggar will be closely monitoring the implementation of this historic new law, and will provide timely updates as this matter unfolds. If you have any questions about the above, please contact the Cannabis Practice Group.
The preceding is intended as a timely update on Canadian intellectual property and technology law. The content is informational only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. To obtain such advice, please communicate with our offices directly.
Brandon Heard
Smart & Biggar LLP
Barrister and Solicitor
brheard@smartbiggar.ca
Brandon brings a sharp, analytical perspective and broad understanding of law and economics to his IP litigation practice. He is involved in all aspects of litigation, including drafting court documen...
Alice Tseng
atseng@smartbiggar.ca
Combining sought-after expertise as a lawyer, patent agent and registered pharmacist, Alice is a powerhouse in regulatory and marketing/advertising matters, earning acclaim as a “life sciences s...
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