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Richard Garriott Could Wind Up Making Ultima Online 2
By Matt Peckham
It's all very up in the air, so don't hold the guy to any of this, but Ultima creator and one-time space tourist Richard Garriott says it's possible his new roleplaying game, Ultimate RPG, could wind up becoming Ultima Online 2.
"We've actually talked to Electronic Arts about it," Garriott told Eurogamer. "I would love to have access to the Ultima property. We've had discussions at very high levels with Electronic Arts about access to the property."
"We're in discussions with Electronic Arts even now about a possible marketing and distribution relationships and things of this nature."
The Ultima games were what really propelled me into PC gaming. I spent most of high school (the late 1980s) with limited access to computers, but when I got my hands on an Apple II and someone else's copy of Ultima III, it's all I was playing. I hopped on the Commodore 64 bandwagon late, just as Ultima V arrived, but got right down to business renting (that's right, from a local computer store) a copy of Ultima IV and snatching up a copy of Ultima V in its gorgeous lift-open box stuffed with decorated manuals, a color cloth map, and other cool trademark Garriott miscellany. I wound up playing them all, including the "Worlds of Ultima" games and one of Warren "Deus Ex" Spector's first (and best) ideas, something called Martian Dreams. In fact I remember placing several long distance phone calls to Origin's hint service (remember, pre-Internet days here) to help me past more than one puzzle.
But the whole Ultima thing ended with a whimper. Ultima IX: Ascension, released in 1999, was a beautiful mess, an action-roleplaying game that didn't feel much like an Ultima at all. Garriott resigned from EA, and Ultima became a branding thing for EA's Ultima Online, any restraints on the mythology collapsing as the publisher resurrected dead villains and tacked on uninspired new areas, bringing in glitzy selling points like Spawn-creator Todd McFarlane to cook up dozens of goofy new creatures. Origin's other properties—Wing Commander, Strike Commander, Privateer, Bioforge, Crusader, Jane's Combat Simulations—all of them once beloved, fell off the map.
Over the past decade, I've wondered why Garriott and EA didn't bury the hatchet and resurrect the series. I have no idea if, 10 years on, Garriott's capable of making great games, but I'd like to think the chances are decent, given what he told Eurogamer:
"What essentially makes an Ultima an Ultima is the principles of design," said Garriott. "And I'm very confident that when players sit down with this new world they will very quickly recognise that, whether or not we end up doing any deal with Electronic Arts.
While we're waiting for this EA/Garriott thing to progress, one way or another, here's what Garriott's been saying lately about his new RPG, which with or without EA's backing or the Ultima brand, has my attention:
Here is what I feel is safe to say: Lord British’s Ultimate Role Playing Game, which may be called “Akalabeth” or may be called “New Britannia” or may be called “a name I cannot yet say as it describes the setting I am considering and think I should keep secret at least until I know if it’s likely true,” will be an Ultimate RPG. You will have customized Avatar homesteads and real roles to play in a deep, beautifully realized highly interactive virtual world. It will have virtues and the hero’s journey reflected back to the player. It will have the best of synchronous and asynchronous features in use. Fiction will support your arrival from earth into this new world. I even hope to make maps, coins and other trinkets available to players of the game.
Find Matt on Twitter at @mattpeckham, Google+ or Facebook.
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People's Domain
Good Reads for Good People is People's Domain
Misreadings
Solo Source
#NoToTobacco
Iloilo is on track for economic recovery but it lacks synergy
peoplesdomain
Two of Iloilo’s business executives were guests in an episode of IMT Conversations: Lea Lara of the Iloilo Business Club (IBC) and Francis Gentoral of the Iloilo Local Economic Development Foundation (ILED).
The two executive directors of their respective groups offered an inroad which led to a better understanding of the prevailing sentiment of the business sector six months under the pandemic.
The discussion served like a thermometer for it gauged the temperature or the level of fever of the business community if only to make sense of where the local economy is heading.
The business fever is 40°C and rising. The diagnosis have revealed that the fever is far from being asymptomatic. In fact, it is widespread at 40°C if taken from the description of Lea Lara when she said that the “local business community is badly hit” and “we might be in for the worst.”
The production side has barely recovered six months after the lockdown and the supply chain remains heavily impacted by intermittent quarantine measures imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force and mirrored by local governments’ restrictions, including border control.
These regulatory realities has a ripple effect on consumer behavior considering limited transfer of consumable materials from one point to another. Even goods arriving on our supermarkets have to undergo rigid inspection and disinfection protocols to ensure the safety of end-users. We are aware that restos has to contend with a reduced capacity and with a limited list to offer from the menu, because of production and supply chain issues, and health protocols.
“Nobody was prepared for the pandemic,” said Lara and since there is no vaccine yet, the business sector is hanging on a thin rope with discontinued enterprises, closure of businesses, and job losses.
Health and economy response has yet to find a balance. Recovery plans are at hand for the revival of the local economy from both sides: the government and the private sector; but how these plans will be executed with effectiveness is a good question which was raised by ILED’s Francis Gentoral.
Economic recovery brings up an overarching concern and these are financial capability, technical ability, and leadership and governance competency.
The Province and the City of Iloilo holds a recovery plan, but how these plans can be implemented swiftly, with flexibility considering protocols, and with transparency and accountability from the local leadership remains unclear.
Government efforts are heavily focused on health response. While this is understandable because we are on a health crisis, local political leaders have yet to find a balance between health and economic recovery. The sectors involved needs to find a “nexus between health and economy,” or a trade-off as described by Gentoral, so that the economic recovery agenda can move forward side-by-side institutionalization of health protocols in doing business.
The stimulus package requires multiple component. The government has extended grants through various national agencies and support were also extended by the LGU and private sector on the affected segments of society. Stimulus package, however, needs a “non-financial component,” emphasized Lara.
These non-financial component, she explained, is needed by business, especially MSMEs, like “loan extensions, rent discounts, tax credits, and relief for displaced workers.” Economic stimulus effort at the LGU level needs to have a complementary non-financial component support for local business and workers if they intend to move the economy.
Synergy between government and private sector is needed. Moving the economy forward requires that our “understanding of the problem are all aligned,” said Gentoral. A common understanding of the problem is essential if only to attain a unified next steps and for solutions to be beneficial for those who were/are affected.
“There are many activities that are being conducted by various government agencies,” Gentoral stressed, “but are these activities really address the problems and provide solutions to those who are affected?” A brilliant question!
Does economic recovery efforts really harness the energy of solution holders at the local level? The government employed a “whole of government” approach, but a whole of society approach might be the appropriate one if we intend to respond with inclusivity in mind.
A synergy between various actors who are playing a role in the economic recovery is needed, because there is no “one-size-fits-all” response on the crisis at hand. Lea Lara explained that the crisis delivered uneven impacts across the various player of the business sector. Government’s response needs to factor-in the disproportionate distribution of impacts to come up with a tailored response formula for a particular enterprise. A uniformly prescribed action will only prove a waste of time and resources.
Gentoral also highlighted an important point: consumer side confidence building effort is lacking. This is a clear manifestation of a gap in the economic response and recovery loop and it emphasizes a disjointed coordination system between government and the private sector leaders.
Government and the private sector needs to sit down to have a synergistic interaction so that efforts are harmonized and resources are used effectively.
Transparency and accountability mechanisms must be distinguishable. Francis Gentoral brought up a significant element of economic recovery – the issue of transparency and accountability as a leadership and governance requirement for effective delivery of response services.
“Transparency and accountability,” explained Gentoral is “important in building the trust of the public.” This is a period wherein we need “servant leaders” across different sectors, Gentoral said.
I believe that the public must be vigilant when it comes to transparency and accountability considering that local political leaders are struggling to establish leadership in the fight against the pandemic and to preserve relevance on the road to 2022 elections.
There are many observable “red flags” on the manner that key political leaders in Iloilo are handling the crisis. The weak external harmony is only a reflection of a deficient synergy between various departments under their administration, and between LGUs and other government agencies. Transparency and accountability is an aspect worth examining if only to explain why economic recovery efforts lack the needed synergy.
Tags: ILED, Iloilo Economic Recovery, Iloilo Local Economic Development Foundation, Misreadings, Opinion
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Home/Industry News/Pet Owners/Childhood pets can help adults deal with stress, study suggests
Childhood pets can help adults deal with stress, study suggests
Jasdip Sensi Send an email Tuesday, 19 November 2019, 13:37
Research from The National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) reported over 55% of Brits believe that a childhood pet can help build stronger coping mechanisms in stressful situations in adult life.
NOAH revealed that 52% of the 2,000 UK adults surveyed agreed that pets helped elevate their mood in times of distress and upset, whilst one in five pet owners would be most likely to turn to their pets for comfort.
Ooddles Kitchen warns of rising dog obesity
With 38% of people surveyed believe that having a pet can help by “giving them confidence”, as 48% admit they have suffered from at least one mental condition.
The survey also revealed that 67% of UK adults believe pet provides companionship and friendship with over half of admitting that pets help those who may feel lonely.
NOAH chief executive, Dawn Howard, said:“Mental health has a huge impact on the quality of our lives. Stress is a part of this: it is a normal part of life, yet at times we may become overwhelmed and our mental health can suffer.
“It’s reassuring to see the importance that pets play in helping us through difficult times. Our new research shines a light on how companion animals can help our wellbeing. There is no denying that pets have a hugely positive impact on people – more than two fifths of the population (45%) even said that pets fill a space in a family that they didn’t know they had.”
Friday, 28 August 2020, 8:00
Why your dog may have behavioural problems and how you can resolve them
Dog grooming salons: Lockdown & the new normal?
Wednesday, 19 August 2020, 7:00
Championing plastic-free pet care
Why Covid-19 will change the veterinary industry for the better
Puppy prices reach ‘record levels’ during lockdown, says Dogs Trust
New pet adoption platform launches
Royal Canin partners with Kathryn Thomas for pet obesity campaign
Wednesday, 9 December 2020, 10:39
Dog diets could lead to rising carbon footprint, Yora warns
Tuesday, 8 December 2020, 11:15
The Company of Animals launches new website
Monday, 16 November 2020, 14:04
Bob Martin warns of flea influx
Thursday, 12 November 2020, 12:53
PIF members confused with CFSG advice for animal businesses
Thursday, 5 November 2020, 14:52
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Image by aymane jdidi from Pixabay
BrightPet Nutrition Group Acquires MiracleCorp
Pet Product News Staff
BrightPet Nutrition Group, a provider of premium and super-premium pet food and treats, has expanded its portfolio with the recent acquisition of MiracleCorp. Together, the combined company will include BrightPet’s Blackwood, Adirondack and By Nature brands, as well as MiracleCorp’s freeze-dried products and other pet treats sold under the Stewart brand.
“Over the past 40 years, MiracleCorp has built a complete line of innovative, solutions-driven products and accessories for pets and prized animals—including our storied Stewart brand of high-quality, nutritious and flavorful treats,” said William Sherk, Jr., CEO of MiracleCorp. “The complementary nature of both companies’ offerings will create significant synergies, especially in the freeze-dried segment of pet food, toppers and treats.”
The acquisition will also enable BrightPet to add additional manufacturing capabilities in Dayton, Ohio, to its existing operations in Lisbon, Ohio; Sherburne, N.Y.; and Kiel, Wis.
“BrightPet has long admired MiracleCorp’s business, and this acquisition is a recognition of its proven track record of success and commitment to excellence,” said Matthew Golladay, CEO of BrightPet Nutrition Group. “Over the past few years, we have been working hard to evolve the business that my family founded in 1978. Following our recent purchase of pet treat manufacturer Phoebe Pet Products in Kiel, Wis., BrightPet has seen tremendous growth—and we are excited to continue building on our momentum with the MiracleCorp team. Importantly, we believe that the addition of MiracleCorp will create a leader in kibble and freeze-dried pet food and treats, allowing us to [provide] our customers with a robust product offering of kibble, kibble with inclusions, freeze-dried treats, baked treats and toppers as well as other pet wellness products.”
The acquisition also expands BrightPet’s footprint in the pet industry with the addition of MiracleCorp’s other brands, including Miracle Care, Hamilton, ARC Veterinary Products and Group Summit flooring products.
For more of PPN's coverage on BrightPet Nutrition Group, read:
Private Equity Investment Fund Acquires Majority Interest in BrightPet Nutrition Group
BrightPet Introduces Pet Food Brand Exclusive to Independent Retailers
Brightpet Nutrition Group
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Use of Tocilizumab for COVID-19-Induced Cytokine Release Syndrome: A Cautionary Case Report.
Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Since then, COVID-19 has become a pandemic affecting more than 1.5 million people worldwide. Patients with COVID-19 have a wide spectrum of manifestations, one being cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and its fatal correlate, secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH). Anti-cytokine therapy such as tocilizumab, an IL-6 receptor antagonist, is a potential treatment for COVID-19; however, data regarding the efficacy of this anti-IL-6 therapy are currently lacking. We report two cases of patients who received a diagnosis of COVID-19 complicated by CRS and were treated with tocilizumab. Both patients progressed to sHLH despite treatment with tocilizumab, and one developed viral myocarditis, challenging the safety and clinical usefulness of tocilizumab in the treatment of COVID-19-induced CRS. These cases highlight the need for clinical trials to determine optimal patient selection and timing for the use of tocilizumab during this disease process.
Published by Elsevier Inc.
PreviousOutcomes of children with hepatoblastoma who underwent liver resection at a tertiary hospital in China: a retrospective analysis.
NextRegional Planning for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Allocation During Coronavirus Disease 2019.
Jared Radbel,Navaneeth Narayanan,Pinki J Bhatt
Jared Radbel
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ. Electronic address: jr1106@rwjms.rutgers.edu.
Navaneeth Narayanan
Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, Rutgers-Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, New Brunswick, NJ.
Pinki J Bhatt
Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ.
An evaluation of polatuzumab vedotin for the treatment of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
Thromboembolic complications and cardiovascular events associated with celiac disease.
Effects of physical exercise on executive function in cognitively healthy older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials: Physical exercise for executive function.
Anaemia is associated with severe RBC dysfunction and a reduced circulating NO pool: vascular and cardiac eNOS are crucial for the adaptation to anaemia.
ACC 2020
The American College of Cardiology decided to cancel ACC.20/WCC due to COVID-19, which was scheduled to take place March 28-30 in Chicago. However, ACC.20/WCC Virtual Meeting continues to release cutting edge science and practice changing updates for cardiovascular professionals on demand and free through June 2020.
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Over The Hard Rock Of Suicide
They call it The Rock of Suicide Nominally Simply because the pretty people over there Never thought about committing suicide for any reason, Committing suicide, to these people, is banned And they never think about it, That Rock of Suicide Is located near the pretty Mediterranean Sea, When you're over there, You even forget yourself, Some people climb that high Rock of Suicide Just to be over there To look at that blue sea, People (The Latakians) look at that pretty rock wonderfully To see the pretty sea and to see all those who are around them, It's God's great Hand that made that rock For people to show His greatness in different forms, Reaching the pretty top of the Rock of Suicide over there Is like reaching the impossible easily, This is life around us, That is to love life while you're On top of a thing you don't like to take your life By your own hand anytime, Life is worthy to be lived greatly and wonderfully, so Over the pretty Rock of Suicide Feeling life is like feeling To live for ever and ever.
Topic(s) of this poem: love
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Pension Update - 12th March 2020
10 months ago Members News
As the Police Pensions Technical Working Group in London has now had it’s final meeting I feel it would be useful to provide an update. Throughout this process PFNI have made it clear that police officers should have either stayed in their original pension schemes or have had the choice whether they wished to move to the new scheme. This will remain our stance in any future discussions with our own Government over police officer pensions.
The seven main staff associations: Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI), Superintendents’ Association of Northern Ireland (SANI), Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), Scottish Police Federation (SPF), Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA), Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS), and Chief Police Officers’ Staff Association (CPOSA) are continuing to work together with key employer representatives through the respective Scheme Advisory Boards to achieve a positive solution.
At present the Government have indicated that it will introduce remedy to reverse the age discrimination element right across all public sector pension schemes. As pensions are a devolved matter it is anticipated that Stormont will eventually follow suit (albeit at present they have still yet to formally concede that they accept that age discrimination has occurred). This lack of acceptance could reasonably be construed to mean that the age discrimination is continuing and therefore it follows that the Employment Tribunals 3 month and a day rule remains a rolling period for the future submission of any claim if required.
I understand that the formal public consultation on the remedy solution(s) Government wish to progress will be launched in late Spring. Ultimately the remedy itself to be applied may or may not be acceptable to officers but until they can see the detail PFNI would suggest an informed decision cannot be taken. As such, PFNI are continuing to not legally support any individuals or groups of officers in respect of this matter and will of course reconsider that position when the detail becomes clearer. PFNI do not endorse nor condone any officers using private legal firms if they wish to lodge any claim for personal compensation. However, as previously notified, any legal costs incurred privately will be solely the responsibility of those individuals and will not be met by PFNI. It is anticipated that the related England and Wales tribunal case will be concluded before the Tribunals in NI effectively commence so we will all have some indication what any potential personal damages awards could look like.
Discussions continue both nationally and locally and the Government have been asked to consider other knock-on effects that any remedy will have, including the impact on contributions, taxation and on the most vulnerable, such as officers who have been ill-health-retired. PFNI feel it is worth stating again that the importance of fair and just pensions for police officers – who sacrifice so much during their working careers to serve and protect the public – cannot be understated.
A fulsome update with FAQs relevant to all members in police pension schemes was published on our website last month.
I will continue to provide timely updates as things become clearer.
Liam Kelly, PFNI Secretary
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Pay award welcome but system needs overhaul – PFNI
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Govt signals U-turn on forest sell-off
Friday 11 Feb 2011 12:00 am
domestic-policy / environment / environment-and-rural-affairs / issue-of-the-day-speakers-corner-issue-of-the / opinionformerid
By politics.co.uk staff
There are firm signs of a U-turn on plans to sell-off England’s forests, triggering celebrations among campaigners.
While the main scheme could still go ahead, the planned sale of 15% of publicly-owned forests this year has been put on hold – seemingly opening the door to a full U-turn later on.
“This is a panic measure by a government which has been spooked by the huge public outcry,” shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh said.
“This partial U-turn will not be enough to silence the protests.”
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the move showed what coordinated protest could achieve.
“This is not a U-turn but the start of a three-point turn,” he said.
“We look forward to hearing that the Forestry Commission job losses will now also be called off and that the whole forestry disposal debacle will be scrapped.
“This shows that people power can make a difference.”
The government said it would “re-examine” the criteria for disposing of the forests but analysts believe the scale of public opposition to the sell-off may have startled the government into a major backtrack on its plans.
Trapped with your abuser: How the Home Office fails domestic violence victims
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All About Roses
Pruning Demonstrations
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The concrete walkway outlined with a brick wall has plates containing all 119 past PRS presidents' names. The Gold Award Garden is now wheelchair accessible.
History of the Portland Rose Society's Gold Award Rose Garden
Click here for a listing of all Gold Medal Winners in Portland.
In 1967, Rudolph Kalmbach the curator of the test garden wanted a formal rose garden for planting all the Portland Gold Award winning Roses because this award was noted nationally. He and PRS 1967 President Peggy Leonard decided to present his idea and dream to the PRS board for approval. The board endorsed the idea and thus began Dorothy Butler’s involvement and dedication regarding the Gold Award Garden. Dorothy was chosen to chair this project. Dorothy knew this needed an expert for design and layout and she chose what she considered the best. The board agreed with her Selection of Wallace Kay Huntington noted landscape architect to design the Gold Award Garden.
1970 PRS President Lloyd L. LeClair hosted the first fundraiser for the Gold Award Garden at his home in Milwaukie of which several hundred members and guest attended. The Auction raised hundreds of dollars for the Gold Award Garden and will long be remembered by all who gave their time and donations towards its success. The Garden completed, the members of the PRS Proudly witnessed the Gold Award Garden Dedication that June of 1970 by President Lloyd L. LeClair. All of the Portland Gold Medal Award winning Roses from 1919, to present are now in this special garden thanks also to Rueben Newcomb who was responsible for budding new plants.
Each year several Portland Rose judges picked a new rose to add to the Garden you see today and that practice will continue for the benefit of our citizenry and visitors, local and abroad. This project idea has unfolded years of labor to give this city a one of a kind garden worldly, of exquisite prize roses where anyone can visit and admire. There are two other similar gardens, one in France and one in Spain. However, The Portland Rose Society Gold Garden is the only Gold Award Garden to be awarded the highest award for a Gold Award garden. We of the Society take great pride of this superior accomplishment.
Several years later, in December of 1986 a second fund drive was approved by the PRS board to build a Pavilion and brick wall to allow additional space for planting more roses, Peggy Leonard’s success with the Gold award Garden proved her ability to chair like projects, and once again she enlisted Mr. Huntington’s excellent architect design.
In the Fall of 1991 the Pavilion was completed. The Pavilion has become an exceedingly popular choice for Local Weddings. 1991 PRS President was Dave Erickson and 1992 PRS President Paul Raab In the Fall of 2003 with Paul Raab’s idea, Dorothy Butler got approval of the board to start a third garden project, a Presidents Wall, and walkway. It was only fitting that the garden had a record of all past President’s of the Portland Rose Society who had helped to make this City, Portland, the prize winning, the only one of its kind, Gold Award Rose Gardens in the entire world. Therefore, it is today, 42 years since the onset of the Gold Award Garden’s projects that we honor The Presidents of the Portland Rose Society. Over an entire century of dedicated men and women, all who labored to make their city, Portland, Oregon, the grandest city of an honored “Gold Award Rose Garden” the best in all the world. This dedication is a historical event, long to be remembered. Many thanks to the many who came to witness this grand event, The President’s Wall dedication.
Updated January 20, 2021 by Webmaster
Copyright 2020. The Portland Rose Society. All Rights Reserved. Our phone # is 503-777-4311.
Make your own website at CityMax.com
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Jimmy Jack’s starts bottling up their sassy barbecue sauces
Dick Hakes
It was confession time for my friend.
We were talking about how much we enjoyed the various barbecue sauces offered to customers at the self-serve sauce bar at Jimmy Jack’s Rib Shack in Iowa City and North Liberty.
“I have to admit,” he sheepishly told me, “that I’ve sneaked one of those little plastic sauce cups home with me from time to time.”
My friend can now quit sneaking.
Owners James Adrian and Jack Piper have begun bottling their four favorite sauces and offering them for sale at both locations.
There you will find 16-ounce bottles titled Original, Cowboy, Chicago Fire and Carolina Mustard, prepared and bottled by hand in small batches from their home-base location on Lower Muscatine Road.
“We really have no master plan,” said Piper. “We’ll get into it gradually and see how it goes, and maybe expand it.”
“We thought it’d be cool to offer it in time for Christmas,” Adrian chimed in.
They may talk casually about this project, but this duo is among what some call “the young restaurant lions” of Iowa City — entrepreneurs with a knack for creating successful local food and dining atmospheres people like.
Natives of Burlington, where their mothers worked for the same company, they were later roommates at Iowa, then split for distant locations, learning the fine-dining business from the ground up in spots like New Orleans and Vail.
During this time, Adrian worked the kitchens while Piper spent his time out front. They then decided to meet up in Iowa City and opened Atlas here in 2000, Jimmy Jack’s in 2005, then Basta Pizzeria Ristorante with Brady McDonald in 2011.
Their talents clicked. During one year, they scored a “trifecta” in the Press-Citizen’s annual poll where readers select their favorite businesses. Their three restaurants were named best Italian, best barbecue and best overall.
Adrian got into barbecue sauces when they were operating Atlas, which they later sold. Piper remembers how meticulously his culinary-savvy friend and business partner worked to refine them.
“He’d have tasting parties for friends at home and label the sauces A through G and ask for honest feedback,” he says.
“An older woman told me that she put A and B together and that was her favorite,” said Adrian. “Then another person told me the same thing. One sample was heavy on ginger spice and the other on celery seed.”
He ended up combining the two sauces as advised and it became the formula for the “original” sauce which is the flagship of their Jimmy Jack’s sauce fleet today.
They launched Jimmy Jack’s in a former Long John Silver’s restaurant building.
“We painted it red and I filled it up with my dad’s old tools,” said Piper. “We had just one smoker and eventually we couldn’t keep up with our regular business, much less catering.”
“I was outside in the parking lot out back,” said Adrian with a grin. “I was smoking 24/7 in the snow and sleet and rain.”
Three years ago, they added a smokehouse out back in the shape of a barn, complete with a silo which serves as storage and office space. Two new smokers capable of smoking a whopping 500 pounds of meat each were installed in the new barn.
Adrian says they are smoking meat virtually 24 hours per day, using a hickory wood fire for flavor. Pork shoulders and briskets are cooked overnight for 14 and 11 hours respectively, then it’s ribs, chicken and sausages during the day.
They do not cook the meat with sauce, preferring instead a dry rub of spices and brown sugar, held in place by a sticky mop of mustard, vinegar and other spices. They credit to their pit master Dan Allison for his expertise in smoking the menu items they offer.
The bottom line appears to be that these two owners like to have fun. Their 80-hour weeks working in their restaurants fell by the wayside when both started having kids. But now the sauce bottling project will satisfy their need for a new challenge.
“We both have a passion for barbecue,” says Piper. “You see people come in and they get real quiet. It’s like a kid with ice cream. They get quiet and then you see a huge smile on their face with good barbecue.”
“People have been after us for a long time, asking when we were going to bottle our barbecue sauce,” adds Adrian. “For me, it will be great that they can now open up their refrigerator at home and have a bottle of our sauce right there.”
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Taco Bell is launching a themed hotel pop-up — Here's how to get a room
Abigail Rosenthal, GateHouse Media
Taco Bell fans, hold on to your Doritos Locos Tacos — Taco Bell has created the destination of a lifetime for the die-hards out there. A four-day hotel pop-up themed around the fast food chain is coming to Palm Springs, California.
Taco Bell is turning an existing hotel at at 333 E. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, California into The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort. The pop-up lasts Aug. 8-12 with 70 rooms available each night and no minimum stay required.
The chain seems to have a lot of surprises up their sleeves, including live performances, movies, different activities each day, a salon and twists on your standard hotel amenities, like a Taco Bell breakfast in bed. Plus, exclusive menu items are set to make their debut at The Bell.
“The hotel draws on Taco Bell’s vibrant palette to create a unique and flavor-filled destination that is the ultimate expression of the brand, unlike anything the brand has done before,” Taco Bell’s Senior Director of Retail Engagement and Experience Jennifer Arnoldt said in a statement. “We’re excited to give a peek into Taco Bell’s first hotel that is truly Taco Bell luxury at a value as we evolve how fans can celebrate with the brand this summer and beyond.” Are they saying there could be more Taco Bell hotels? Only time will tell.
Reservations open up Thursday, June 27 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET on the hotel's website, so get that clicking finger ready. Pricing starts at $169 per night.
More from GateHouse Media:
NASA wants to know how you would soundtrack a trip to the moon (and we have some suggestions) Here are the best states for a road trip, according to this study New Whataburger owners plan to expand popular fast-food chain
Press Argus-Courier ~ P.O. Box 1359, Fort Smith, AR 72902 ~ Do Not Sell My Personal Information ~ Cookie Policy ~ Do Not Sell My Personal Information ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service ~ Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy
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CEO Q&A: Betabrand's secret to keeping a clothing company in the news
December 23, 2015 by Diana Bradley
Betabrand CEO Chris Lindland tells Diana Bradley how he keeps his company in the media spotlight
Your clothing items – from your dress pant yoga pants to executive hoodie to anti-paparazzi flashback collection – have drawn attention from a number of major media outlets. What is Betabrand’s approach to building buzz?
I do Betabrand’s PR. I usually get up on Tuesday or Wednesday morning at 5am and say, "Time to write a funny press release." And I try to get it out by 10am. I do that about once a week.
For a Web audience, you have to publish new ideas every day. The clothing industry isn’t producing clothing news stories at the rate journalists need them. So I created a business that is essentially a nonstop proto-type laboratory where we are pushing out new products daily. The method in which we sell every new idea is crowd funding, so the Web is determining whether we should make fast production runs of it. Because of that, our business is covered in the news nonstop.
We set up editorial goals for how we market products. We try and imagine something worthy of forwarding to another person, but in the fashion sense, so we call it fashion forwardability. We try as hard as we can to turn every new launch into content that customers or tastemakers feel is worthy of passing onto their friends.
We principally use Facebook and email press releases to get the word out.
What goes on behind the scenes when you see a newsjacking opportunity?
Betabrand is like a newsroom. When we find there is a greater-than-average connection through ads or organic traffic via search on a product, we have a creative session where we come up with every derivative concept we can drive off this.
When we were developing our executive hoodie product, we knew we had to make sure they were ready for the Facebook IPO. When gigantic cultural events occur in the US, most editors from publications are saying, "Find me the Facebook angle." I knew if we hit it correctly, we would become part of the build up to the story.
It turned out there wasn’t as much news around the Facebook IPO, so we filled that void and ended up being a big part of the story. Mark Zuckerberg’s sister Randi ended up tweeting about [our hoodie].
Although your stunts make headlines, does it help to sell products?
A quarter of our site’s traffic comes from referred links, which converts at the same rate as paid traffic coming to the site. Our hottest product that launched by way of PR is our dress pant yoga pants, yoga pants designed for office wear. It spawned a debate on Twitter about whether it was the worst or the best thing ever. That is the news that moves furthest online – things that create polarizing opinions. We’ve made north of $10 million in sales of that product. I promoted that with a press release.
How are company sales?
We continue to grow the business every year by 100%. As a result, more investors get involved and more people come to work for us – 2015 will end between $17 million and $18 million in revenue.
You recently secured $15 million in funding from Morgan Stanley and Foundry Group, bringing Betabrand’s total funding to $29 million. What do you plan to do with it?
We are spending a lot on technology. The amount of data we get relative to consumer interest and behavior is really cool. Speed of prototyping is also something we are excited about because we are starting to have more designer submissions than our staffers could deal with.
How do you want people to see your brand?
We want to look like your most creative friend on Facebook, because that encourages participation. We can’t afford square-jawed Scandinavian supermodels and I don’t find those people socially approachable. We want our art direction to be about people sharing their lives.
Everyone who works at this company is obligated to model on our website, as are their friends. That makes the job fun. We also encourage our customers to put photos of them wearing our clothes on our website gallery. Currently, we have 40,000 customer photos on there.
What’s on the agenda for 2016?
In May, we launched Silicon Valley Fashion Week? as part of our desire to interact with the tech community. I knew many people in the fashion world would immediately have a bias toward it, but journalists came out en masse and the show was amazing.
We had drone fashion models at the event. It was beautiful. I am not saying supermodels are going to be replaced by drones, but they can’t levitate. Our next Silicon Valley Fashion Week? in May 2016 will be insane. I’m hoping to put on a parade. To my knowledge, there has never been a fashion parade. People would come out to see that. You only live once, so I promise at the very minimum a noble failure. And if not, something spectacular.
Luxury/Designer
How one firm is quashing fears of drones by showing their benefits
7 tips for when your client says, 'Let's do Fashion Week'
CEO Q&A: Zev and Jeffrey Weiss, American Greetings
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Tag Archives: Jong-il
Der Großer Ultra Luxury – Mercedes Benz 600 SWB
So here is a little teaser question to start the week, what do American actor Jack Nicholson, Cambodian totalitarian dictator Pol Pot and Colombian drug dealer Pablo Escobar all have in common ? Answer at the end of this blog.
In order to compete with Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Cadillac, Lehmann-Peterson stretched Lincolns and the Chrysler Imperial Crown Ghia in the Ultra Luxury market segment Mercedes Benz built the 600 also known as “Der Großer” which was launched in September 1963.
Since the biggest Mercedes Benz 3 litre 183 cui was never going to be up to the job of propelling this heavy weight, Mercedes Benz developed it’s first V8 engine, featuring single overhead cam shafts, with a capacity of 6289 cc / 383cui that produced 250hp.
To ensure the silent operation of the air conditioning, power window’s, sunroof, seats, auto door and boot/trunk closure and the suspension damping Mercedes Benz eschewed complex electrics and developed a complex hydraulic system that operates at a nominal 3200 psi, all well and good until it develops a leak and or the system gets refilled with synthetic automatic transmission oil, which eats the all rubber seals, instead of the correct mineral based oil.
The windows are hydraulically activated by door switches that have a variable rate of closure depending on how hard one presses the switch, whack it inadvertently and someone could loose an arm, similarly if one touches the open boot/trunk lid it will close automatically, try and push it shut and one will likely as not break the hinges.
To keep ones hydraulics in order Mercedes Benz thoughtfully equipped the car with a hydraulic spares kit that contains brass spacers to keep the power seats from collapsing in the event of hydraulic system failure, three hydraulic blocks, three line connections, a set of hydraulic line plugs and clips, four wooden wedges to insert in to the window channels to keep the windows up, a spare hydraulic flex line, an oil container and an instruction manual to help you use all of the above correctly.
The design of the 600 is credited to Italian Bruno Sacco, German Friedrich Geiger and Paul Bracq, the latter allegedly helped in the design of 600 pick up and hearse conversions that were built by Karl H. Middlehauve in the United States.
In all 2,677 Mercedes Benz 600’s were built up until 1981 they include; 2,190 Saloons, like the 1965 example seen at Brooklands Double Twelve a couple of years ago in these photographs, 304 4 door Pullmans, 124 6 door Pullmans and 59 Landaullets and 2 Coupé’s one of which was given to Mercedes Benz 300 SLR designer Dr. Rudolf Uhlenhaut upon his retirement.
By now you have probably guessed that Jack Nicholson, Pol Pot and Pablo Escobar have all owned a Mercedes Benz 600, the latters was destroyed in an attack in an attack in 1988 five years before his death. Other entertainers who owned a 600 include; Elizabeth Taylor, John Lennon, George Harrison, Karen Carpenter, Elvis Presley and Rowan Atkinson, politicians who owned 600’s include; Josip Broz Tito, Nicolae Ceaușescu, Francois (Papa Doc) Duvalier, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, F. W. de Klerk, Leonid Brezhnev, Idi Amin, Fidel Castro, Ferdinand Marcos (times 4 !), Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, Saddam Hussein and Chairman Mao Tse-tung / Zedong, no other drug dealers are recorded as having owned a 600.
Thanks for joining me on this “Der Großer Ultra Luxury” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a vehicle said to be responsible for the cancellation of a rivals model amid accusations of industrial espionage. Don’t forget to come back now !
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged 600, Amin, Atkinson, Benz, Bokassa, Braca, Brezhnev, Brooklands, Carpenter, Castro, Ceausescu, Colmar, de, Double, Duvalier, Escobar, Geiger, Harrison, Hassein, Il-sung, Jong-il, Kim, Klerk, Lennon, Marcos, Mercedes, Middlehauve, Nicholson, Pot, Presley, Psychoontyres, Ralph, Sacco, SWB, Taylor, Tito, Tse-tung, Twelve, Uhlenhaut, Zedong on September 21, 2015 by Ralph.
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COVID-19 UPDATES: N.S. opens applications for forestry companies to recoup COVID-19 safety costs - January 13, 2021
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Paprican and Nano Qubec sign agreement
By Pulp & Paper Canada
Dr. Joseph Wright
In an effort to infuse the pulp and paper industry with technological innovation and creativity, Paprican has signed an agreement with NanoQubec. President and CEO of Paprican Dr. Joseph Wright point…
In an effort to infuse the pulp and paper industry with technological innovation and creativity, Paprican has signed an agreement with NanoQubec. President and CEO of Paprican Dr. Joseph Wright pointed to the seminal role the pulp and paper industry plays in Canada, accounting for a sizeable $33.7 billion contribution to the GDP, as well as providing an approximate one million direct and indirect jobs. “But the industry is not appreciated by the public at large and that’s why these partnerships are important,” he said of the agreement. “We need to branch out to new areas with new technologies to ensure our long-term competitive advantage.”
In a business environment characterized by a focus on day-to-day operations and a forced blind eye to what the future might hold, research institutions are largely left to lead the way in terms of innovation. Dr. Wright contends that partnering with NanoQubec is a step in the right direction in working towards creating value for the industry. “Yes, the industry is stressed, and so are we,” he said. “But part of out challenge is to lead the industry where it needs to go. What we intend to do is identify opportunities for applications of nanotechnology to our current suite of products. We’re looking at some of the bigger ideas.”
The accession will see the two organizations couple their networks of relationships. NanoQubec will gain access to Paprican’s sister institutes, Forintek and FERIC, while both organizations will benefit from their counterpart’s links to various universities, industry associations and governments. It is anticipated the agreement will not only generate ideas for research and innovation, but will also facilitate access to funding for particular projects and undertakings.
“Quebec has an enviable position. It has access to many universities, it has investment, commercialization, which all affect products to be used in the forest industry,” said Jean Gaulin, president of NanoQubec’s board of directors. “But we’re trying to find ways to maximize the value of the industry. We need a high calibre of researchers. We need to bring work to smaller corporations, playing the role of a ‘broker.’ We need to find new applications for the traditional sectors of the industry that have reached maturity.”
The initial time frame set up for the agreement is three years. Gaulin is hopeful that it will serve as an inspiration to other industrial sectors to follow suit and undertake similar projects. “We are very happy to sign this agreement, and we hope it will continue to evolve. I am absolutely convinced that this agreement will lead to a number of other agreements for sectors that are critical to Quebec’s and our country’s economic future.”
January 13, 2021 N.S. opens applications for forestry companies to recoup COVID-19 safety costs
January 6, 2021 Ontario invests $5.3M for forestry companies to offset COVID-19 safety costs
December 18, 2020 BC establishes $9.3M fund to help forest products sector with COVID-19 costs
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Does your mill plan to retain any of its new COVID-19 safety protocols once the pandemic is over?
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Pulp & Paper Canada@pulppapercanada·
Biden’s plan to award government contracts only to suppliers that manufacture in the U.S. may cause higher demand for the materials required for construction, such as wood products, steel and aluminum. http://ow.ly/GdDF50DdmZ4 #pulpandpaper
Job moves: @resolutefp has appointed a former SNC -Lavalin exec as its senior vice-president and chief financial officer. http://ow.ly/5UBp50Dckmz #pulpandpaper
Meet 2020 Top 10 Under 40 winner Shane Gray, woodlands strategy and operations team lead at @AlbertaPacific. Read Shane's story and nominate a deserving colleague of your own in our 2021 competition, which is open now: http://ow.ly/HuP950DbCfv #pulpandpaper
PaperWeek Canada 2021, presented by @PAPTAC, kicks off Feb. 8 in a virtual format with an opening keynote that will explore how the pulp and paper industry can recover from the impact of COVID-19. http://ow.ly/bpjp50Dbzxs #pulpandpaper #PaperWeekCanada
How do you manage contracts at your mill? We talked to Alberta-based company Project: Recapture about their platform, which aims to reduce maintenance spend by automating billing reviews: http://ow.ly/zXCT50D9SC3 #pulpandpaper
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UK government urged to help Eurostar in partnership with France
ORR proposes new guidance to reduce level crossing dangers
More timetables trimmed to match lockdown travel bans
Eurostar risks collapse as Covid restrictions bite
TfL fares to rise in March, as report reveals ‘£2bn funding gap’
Posted 16th May 2018 | 6 Comments
‘Disappointed’ Stagecoach loses East Coast franchise
East Coast announcement rumours grow
MPs launch second probe into East Coast collapse
Chris Grayling faces dilemma over Virgin East Coast
Probe launched into early scrapping of East Coast
City celebrates Virgin East Coast exit
Work starts on building new East Coast IE trains
TRANSPORT secretary Chris Grayling is to take over the Virgin Trains East Coast franchise, after talks over a possible direct award for Stagecoach and Virgin to replace the present loss-making contract failed to reach agreement.
The Government has now been forced to take action three times since 2006 over problems affecting the Intercity East Coast franchise. The chair of the Commons Transport Committee Lilian Greenwood said it was ‘a very sorry tale’.
Majority East Coast shareholder Stagecoach Group said: “We have now been advised by the Department for Transport that the secretary of state plans to announce today that he intends to appoint the ‘Operator of Last Resort’ to operate InterCity East Coast.”
Stagecoach confirmed that negotiations had been under way over a new direct award to replace the present franchise, which began in March 2015 and should have run until 2023. At the end of November last year, it was cut back to 2020.
Chief executive Martin Griffiths said: “We are surprised and disappointed that the Department for Transport has chosen not to proceed with our proposals.
“We believe our plans offered a positive, value-for-money way forward for passengers, taxpayers and local communities, ensuring the continuation of the exciting transformation already underway on East Coast and a smooth transition to the Government's new East Coast Partnership.
“However, we respect the Government's decision. We will work constructively with the DfT and the operator of last resort in the weeks ahead to ensure a professional transfer to the new arrangements, supporting our employees and maintaining the same clear focus on our customers as we have over the past three years.
“Today's decision should not detract from the hard work and dedication of our people at Virgin Trains East Coast, who have been central to the transformation we have been delivering for our customers over the past three years. During that time, we have attracted more passengers, greatly increased investment, achieved industry leading customer satisfaction and made significant payments to the taxpayer to reinvest in public services.”
Lilian Greenwood, who chairs the Commons Transport Committee, said: “It is a very sorry tale.
“Let the Secretary of State be in no doubt – my Committee will be looking closely that what has happened, the choices he made in the run up to this decision and his plans for a new partnership. It is important that the Secretary of State is held to account not just for his policies but his implementation of them.
“The Secretary of State promised that he would publish a full appraisal of the options assessed. I look forward to seeing this as soon as possible and we will look at the Department’s analysis very carefully.”
The East Coast franchise was one of only two in 2016-2017 to make a net profit for the DfT. After the effects of the Network Grant had been taken into account, Virgin Trains East Coast yielded £20.8 million for the Treasury. South West Trains was also profitable, paying £137.6 million.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “Whichever organisation runs East Coast services, under whatever new arrangements, passengers will be looking for the quality of current services to be maintained and built on. East Coast is currently the top-rated franchised train service in Great Britain – with 92 per cent overall satisfaction with the last journey in the latest National Rail Passenger Survey.
“While reliability must continue to improve, and promised and new investments made, passengers will continue to judge services by the performance on the day of the train company and Network Rail, value for money, cleanliness of the train and crowding levels.
“Having more stability in the underlying contract between Government and the train company will help achieve these things that matter most to passengers.”
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
James Dawkins, Sheffield
Since the taxpayer subsidises the railway anyway, and almost none of the current operators are returning any money to the treasury, we might as well bring it all in house - renationalise the lot.
[A number of operators are 'returning' money to the Treasury by paying premiums (there were 11 of these in 2016-17, and they paid a total of almost £1.2bn), but only two of these yielded a net profit for the state after all track costs had been taken into account. One of these, interestingly, was Virgin Trains East Coast.--Editor.]
Rodger Bradley, Dalton
We all know the fragmented franchising of the UK rail network has been a failure since day 1. All of the 'passenger train operators' are or were subsidised to a greater or lesser degree - the whole idea of breaking the nationalised system up in this way seems inevitably to have led to subsidies for a private sector that appears to be less than able.
Tony Lamdin, Morphett Vale
Another few more millions wasted on repainting all the trains again !
[With luck, it should mean little more than a few hundred vinyls. Over the past few years, full repaints have mostly only occurred when the vehicle concerned would have been due for it anyway. When the last nationalised East Coast took over from National Express in November 2009, there were still plenty of Mk4s in GNER dark blue to be seen.--Editor.]
Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
The first question should be - Should Stagecoach and Virgin be allowed to submit tenders for future awards for say the next 5 years ?
However, it's hard enough getting bidders for franchises without eliminating them especially for a Transport Minister wedded to dogma of privatisation!
Of course if one puts this taking back control of ECML and the re-configuration of the TSGN franchise On Delivery of Thameslink Project then an opportunity arises to look at all services that use the ECML and GN from Kings Cross and Moorgate to see if Network changes could improve the situation in the future.
of course transfer of services from Moorgate to TFL Overground could be a possibility although like on other lines the services go beyond the GLA boundary but if TFL can provide services to Reading on Elizabeth Line then why not Hertford North and Welwyn Garden City?
One solution give Network Rail is now state owned would be to bring back Network Southeast and operate it as a board with Mayor of London and representatives from Home Counties to deal with cross boundary services?
david c smith, Bletchley
"Round and round they went". These problems won't be solved until the powers that be do away with the franchising model and rethink the optimum organisational structure for a privatised passenger railway.
Tony Pearce, READING
So the East Coast is being re-nationalised after everyone got their figures wrong about growth - again. (Both Department of Transport and Virgin/Stagecoach) Lets see how this new Government owned Company gets on, and whether it can save Taxpayer money. There are other Rail Franchises said to be in financial trouble and they may well need taking over sooner rather than later. However Private Firms losing money means the Taxpayer isn't and therefore benefiting. Maybe growth in passenger numbers is now at an end, - slightly worrying for everyone.
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>James S. Chow
James S. Chow
Director, Force Modernization and Employment Program, RAND Project AIR FORCE; Senior Engineer
Santa Monica Office
Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, Stanford University; M.S. in aeronautics and astronautics, Stanford University; B.S. in mechanical engineering, University of California, San Diego
James S. Chow is director of the Force Modernization and Employment Program, RAND Project AIR FORCE, and a senior engineer at the RAND Corporation. He has studied a variety of issues in the national defense and homeland security fields, from aircraft and weapons-related force planning issues to detailed modeling and simulation of aircraft and air defense interactions. He recently led an effort examining mixes of future long-range strike capabilities. Other recent research includes studying system trades improving aircraft survivability, electronic warfare, communications, cyber, looking at new roles for unmanned air vehicles, and examining the threat to commercial aviation from shoulder-fired missiles. Chow has developed and worked on several combat models to aid in the study of topics such as air defense, route planning for low observable aircraft, and mine countermeasures. He served as the chair of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board between 2017 and 2020. He earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and an M.S. in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University.
Military Force Planning;
Military Strategy;
Military Transformation;
Science and Technology;
Previous Positions
Associate Director, RAND Project AIR FORCE; Manager, Technology and Applied Sciences Group, RAND Corporation; Research Staff Member, Institute for Defense Analyses; Fellowship Researcher, NASA Ames Research Center
Future unmanned aircraft systems
Future long-range strike and electronic warfare
Protecting commercial aviation from shoulder-fired missiles
Counterinsurgency systems
Aircraft survivability
James S. Chow et al., Protecting Commercial Aviation Against the Shoulder-Fired Missile Threat, RAND Corporation (OP-106-RC), 2005
Chief of Staff of the Air Force Award for exceptional public service, Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Interviews: Associated Press; CNN; Financial Times; Fox; NBC; PBS; Washington Post
Aerospace Concept Exploration System: Architecture and Methods for an Air Vehicle Design Tool
Details the motivation, theory, applicability and architecture of the Aerospace Concept Exploration System design tool.
Armed and Dangerous? UAVs and U.S. Security
RAND researchers examined whether armed drones are transformative weapons, how dangerous their proliferation will be, and whether U.S. use of these weapons can shape a broader set of international norms that discourage their misuse by others.
Analysis of Alternatives for Recapitalizing the Air Force's KC-135 Aerial Refueling Tanker
This research brief describes an analysis that assessed alternatives for recapitalization of the ageing KC-135 air tanker fleet.
Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) for KC-135 Recapitalization: Executive Summary
Aerial refueling is critical to U.S. military and national security strategy; this analysis assessed alternatives for recapitalization of the ageing KC-135 fleet.
Protecting Commercial Aviation Against the Shoulder-Fired Missile Threat
Examines the capabilities and costs of onboard technologies to divert or destroy missiles attacking commercial airliners.
Military Force Planning
Military Transformation
Community Health and Environmental Policy
Force Modernization and Employment Program
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It's the Grand Finale for HIS HOMETOWN GIRL by Karen Rock!
To post this Grand Finale and add your Social Media to the Rafflecopter, email Tressa at wishfulendings(at)outlook.com with "Hometown GF" in the subject line!
It's the GRAND FINALE for
His Hometown Girl
We hope you enjoyed getting to know Jodi and Daniel a little more on the tour.
If you missed any of the stops, go back and check them out now!
Then be sure to enter the amazing giveaway, if you haven't already.
3/3 - Tour Launch & Excerpt
“Because we used to be friends, Jodi Lynn.”
“Friends?” She snorted and shook off the water collecting on the stroller’s canopy.
“And don’t call me Jodi Lynn.”
“Would you prefer ‘ma’am’? Is that what country folks are supposed to say when a city
girl comes to town?”
Katie's Clean Book Collection - Review
"I loved this story! I loved the strawberries, the farm life, the small town family feel, and of course, the clean romance. I loved the ending! It was perfect."
Just Jeannies Books & Bling - Author Interview
"This story goes out as a tribute to all of the parents, and extended family members helping to raise a special needs child. Like your children, you are extraordinary and more than worthy of having lasting love."
First Page to the Last - Review
"There were some very sweet moments between Jodi, Daniel, and Tyler. Moments that made you want this whole thing to work out for them. I could almost taste the berries when they picked them. Very nicely done, Ms. Rock!"
All That's Written - Character Interview
You used to have such a strong connection with Cedar Bay and an old childhood rival and later secret boyfriend, Daniel Gleason. Do you think you could ever care for either of them again?
When I left Cedar Bay, I tried putting it, and Daniel, out of my mind forever. In their own way, both had crushed me. However, when my boss offered me a promotion if I returned there to purchase farm land, I had no choice but to accept. I needed that extra money to pay for the special needs day care that would help Tyler speak again. Yet my loyalties were divided when I arrived and remembered how much I used to love living in Cedar Bay. I felt torn that it would become a massive industrial farm if I succeeded in purchasing all of the land for my employer. Of course Daniel Gleason wasn’t going to make that easy. In fact, he planned to stop me every way he could, even using his old charm. Only, I wasn’t falling for that again. Or at least I tried not to…
Cinnamon Cindy's Book Blog - Review
"This book kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a clean romance about old love rekindling."
I Am A Reader, Not A Writer - Character Interview
You had strong connection with Jodi growing up. Do you think you’ll ever be close again?
Jodi Lynn used to drive me nuts as a boy- still does. She’s smart, pretty and always sure she knows best. I couldn’t help, growing up, wanting to best her every chance I got. Seeing that line appear between her blue eyes always made me smile. At least she knew who I was, even if she seemed like she hated me. Except one summer, the year we worked together after her father’s accident, she kissed me while we were berry picking. That changed everything...
You can see Kathy's review here.
Kelly P's Blog - Karen Rock: Caught between a Holstein and a Gander!
"...I had my own set of adventures on the farm and though some didn’t end well, as the one I’m about to relate, they’ve all stayed with me and inspired me while writing His Hometown Girl. This particular adventure began while I was spending a summer weekend at my grandparents’ farm house..."
"If you are looking for a sweet, heartwarming romance this line from Harlequin will be just perfect for you. It’s not quite Harlequin Romance and it doesn’t have the religious overtones of Love Inspired (which I love). It’s in the middle dealing with every day folks, their community and home."
Fiona's Book Reviews - Review
"The story is written well. It is a lovely slow burning story with plenty to keep you interested. It isn't a simple romance story. Much of it is about her job and her need to provide for her son. A story which I enjoyed, and I look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next."
Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf - Author Interview
4.What do you hope that readers take away with them after reading your book?
At its heart, this story is about acceptance. Jodi needs to learn to accept her past and forgive herself for old mistakes. She also needs to accept that no parent is perfect, nor is any child. We need to learn to love and accept ourselves to find true love. I hope the reader comes away knowing that you don’t have to be perfect to find the person who is perfect for you.
Mel's Shelves - Review
"This is a fun read! Jodi and Daniel go head to head to get the farmers to commit to each of their plans and some of their tactics were quite entertaining. I enjoyed their banter and watching their relationship progress. Jodi is protective of her heart and her son and isn't about to let just anyone in...
This is, indeed, a heartwarming story and a good book to curl up with when you're in the mood for a clean romance!"
Read a Book - Review
"Both Jodi and Daniel make mistakes, they can become rather stubborn and closed in their thinking, refusing to consider other possibilities than those that they think are right, but it is through these mistakes that will realize the reality and what really matters.
His Hometown Girl if it was an emotional read for me, holding a couple of scarves haha, but if you venture too fast in history, also the pace is quite fluid and I welcome both the plot and the characters (?), A book very touching, if they read it out!"
Reviews By Molly - Spotlight
My Devotional Thoughts - Review
"This author is one I would read again in a heartbeat, and this is one of those books you can read quickly and feel so good afterwards! I highly recommend it."
Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews - Guest Post: The Proof is in the Salsa
Suddenly, I felt the pressure and responsibility of having brought a tasty dish. It wasn’t until someone scooped out the last spoonful that I breathed easy and shared a jubilant hug with Gram. I’d done it!
Tressa's Wishful Endings - Review
"It also pulled me in with the humor, romance, and heartfelt story. I literally read it in one sitting. There are some great scenes and moments between these characters. I also really loved the small-town feel."
That's the Way it Goes - Excerpt
The music began and Mary gave Daniel a little shove. “Have at her. Indulge us for old times’ sake. Everyone thought you two would make a great couple when you weren’t scrapping.”
He looked down at a dismayed Jodi. “Guess we can’t disappoint our fans.”
Getting Your Read On - Review
"I really enjoyed this book and I will admit that when Daniel and Jodi call a semi-truce of sorts and start being nicer to each other I breathed a sigh of relief. This was a fluffy read, and a great distraction with a happily ever after that I loved."
Copywrite1985 - Review & Author Interview
"I loved His Hometown Girl! Jodi and Daniel are both compelling characters with complex motivations. I understood both of their positions and reasons, which made it all the more difficult as a reader to choose a side."
Q: For those who aren’t familiar with Heartwarming, how would you characterize the line?
Heartwarming novels are deeply romantic, tender love stories that are considered ‘clean’ or ‘wholesome’ without a faith-based element. They are the kinds of romances you’d be excited to share with your daughter as they’re great examples of what real-life relationships should be.
Bottles & Books Reviews - Spotlight
Colorimetry - Flashback to Strawberry Picking
“It’s a free country,” she muttered, of two minds. Like always, she wanted him near. Though they’d been childhood rivals for years, he’d been the only boy who made her stomach turn itself into knots, her heart beat faster. Too often, she’d caught herself doodling his name in the margins of notebooks when she forgot herself. Yet his family had loaned her father the machine that’d caused the accident. It was hard not to see him as ‘the enemy’ more than ever.
The Wonderings of One Person - Author Interview
How has this story touched your life?
It meant a lot when I read the ‘Dear Reader’ letter to my sister and saw her smile and cry happy tears to see what I’d written about her. Like all parents of special needs children (and I’m one myself as my daughter has an anxiety disorder), she needs to know what an incredible job she is doing and never to feel less than other parents.
Letters from Annie Douglass Lima - Excerpt
“So you do think about it.” His eyes lit up. “About us.”
Her sigh felt as though it came from the deepest part of her. “Oh, Daniel.”
He cupped her cheeks. “We can make this work.”
Her brows came together. “Impossible. We both have too much to lose.”
Lola's Reviews - Review
"I really enjoyed the ending and there are some really sweet and touching scenes in this book."
I Would Rather Be Reading... - Review
"Karen Rock charms us with her second novel. Jodi and Daniel…and Tyler’s story makes you laugh out loud, sigh with longing and ball your fists in frustration and cry at the happily ever after. Readers will be completely blown away by this heartwarming tale and grabbing for the nearest box of tissues."
The Written Adventure - Author Interview
12) Do you have other stories you plan to write?
I have three more books contracted with Harlequin Heartwarming and each is very unique. I can’t wait to share them! I just finished one about two very different people- one’s a dreamer, the other a pragmatist- who team up to create a start-up company designing a dating compatibility app. It’s been a lot of fun trying to answer the question: Can love come with a guarantee?
Angels With Attitude Book Reviews - Author Interview
What was your inspiration behind this book?
A couple of things inspired HIS HOMETOWN GIRL. The first is my sister, Cathy. She’s my autistic niece, Abbie’s, mother and an incredible parent. Raising a child with special needs can be challenging and requires a lot of love and patience...
The second inspiration is my childhood days spent on my Uncle Bob’s dairy farm.
Brooke Blogs - Review
I loved that the story was much more than a romance, though. It was a genuine, full story of life, of love, and of all the things that people go through.
Jessie's Book Place - Excerpt
He tucked a curl behind her ear and the feel of his touch made her shiver. It was so quiet, she could hear every breath he took, felt it vibrate through him in the cramped bottom of the boat.
Total Book Geek - Review
"There is plenty of drama and also fun times to keep it interesting. A sweet heartfelt story, perfect for lazy Sunday reading."
by Karen Rock
Mass Market Paperback, Large Print, 331 pages
March 1st 2014 by Harlequin
He'd always managed to best her…
Jodi Chapman will do whatever it takes to get top care for her autistic son. If that means going home and convincing local farmers to sell their land, so be it. Even if her biggest opponent, childhood rival Daniel Gleason, is equally determined to convince farmers to buy into his co-op plan. And he's not playing fair.
Facing off against Daniel is the last thing Jodi wants. The attraction that's always fueled their competitiveness is as strong as ever and just as distracting. But with both their futures on the line, and years of distrust between them, how can they ever be on the same side?
Amazon * Barnes & Noble * eHarlequin * Book Depository
Karen Rock has adored romance since receiving Harlequin Presents books from her grandmother each summer. She formed her Young Adult writing partnership, J.K. Rock- pseudonym for the CAMP BOYFRIEND series, with her sister-in-law and Blaze author, Joanne Rock in 2011. When Karen heard of a call for submissions to Heartwarming, Harlequin’s latest line, she was inspired by the possibilities of writing unforgettable, deeply romantic, tender love stories that mothers would feel comfortable sharing with their daughters. When she’s not writing, Karen loves scouring estate sales for vintage books, cooking her grandmother's family recipes, hiking the ‘high peaks’, and redesigning her gardens. She lives in the Adirondack Mountain region with her husband, daughter, and two Cavalier King cocker spaniels who have yet to understand the concept of “fetch” though they know a lot about love.
For more information about Karen's upcoming books, check out her website, Facebook page, or follow her on twitter. She’d love to hear from you!
Website * Goodreads * Facebook * Twitter
Grand Prize: Hand-stitched, authentic Amish quilt (uses their overlapping heart-stitching- pattern), with matching dust ruffle for a king-sized bed, signed copies of Wish Me Tomorrow & Camp Boyfriend, and some surprise swag (US Only)
1 - Paperback/ebook copies of Wish Me Tomorrow and Camp Boyfriend (format is winner's choice, paperback for US Only) and $20 Amazon gift card
2 - ebooks of Wish Me Tomorrow and Camp Boyfriend (INT)
March 3 - 23
Are you a blogger and want to receive information about new tours? Go HERE.
Are you an author or publisher and would like to have us organize a tour event? Go HERE.
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Saints Sign LB Demario Davis To Three-Year Extension
September 13th, 2020 at 6:49pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg
Alvin Kamara isn’t the only Saint with a big new deal. New Orleans has signed linebacker Demario Davis to a three-year extension, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. (FOX’s Erin Andrews was first to report the news).
Rapoport notes that the deal has a base value of $27MM, with $18.35MM of that being guaranteed. He’ll also have Pro Bowl incentives of $500K in each of the three seasons. Davis signed in New Orleans on a three-year, $24MM deal back in March of 2018, and had been scheduled to become a free agent after the year.
As Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets the Saints recently tweaked defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins’ deal to clear up $4MM in cap space, perhaps helping to facilitate this deal. A third-round pick of the Jets in 2012, Davis spent the first four years of his career in New York, then spent a year with the Browns, then went back to the Jets.
A first-team All-Pro selection last season, Davis has never missed a game in his eight-year career. In 16 starts last year he had 111 tackles, four sacks, an interception, and 12 passes defended. New Orleans’ defense looked pretty good against Tom Brady in Week 1, and Davis will be a big part of that unit moving forward.
This Date In Transactions History: Jets Reunite With Demario Davis
June 1st, 2020 at 12:05pm CST by Zach Links
Three years ago today, the Jets swung a deal with the Browns to reunite with Demario Davis and move on from first-round draft bust Calvin Pryor all in one shot.
Davis didn’t see the field much in his 2012 rookie season with the Jets, but he cracked their starting lineup as an NFL sophomore and remained a Gang Green first-stringer through 2015. After that, he moved on to the Browns in free agency with a two-year, $8MM deal. As the Browns’ starting left inside linebacker, Davis racked up 99 tackles and two sacks, but then-Browns GM Sashi Brown seized an opportunity to trade a dependable veteran for a hard-hitting youngster who had yet to make his mark as a pro.
“Calvin is a young, experienced safety that has upside,” Brown said. “We are pleased to be able to add him to our defensive back room and just like every player we acquire, we expect him to come in with a hard-working mindset ready to compete. DeMario is a guy that we developed the utmost respect for in his time with our team, not only as a professional but also as a person. We appreciate all he did for our organization in his time in Cleveland.”
Pryor, known as the “Louisville Slugger,” didn’t have a clear-cut role in the Jets’ secondary after they used their first two picks in the 2017 draft on Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye. The Browns felt that Pryor could play behind their own rookie safety, Jabrill Peppers, and possibly find steady work in the rotation. Even though Pryor didn’t move the needle much as a pro, there was reason to believe – Pro Football Focus ranked him as a top 50 safety in his first two pro seasons and, even with his ’16 regression, he still ranked ahead of two safeties who were on the Browns’ roster at the time.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, Pryor did not pan out. The Louisville Slugger took a swing at teammate Ricardo Louis, prompting Hue Jackson to cut him before the season opener. Pryor moved on to the Jaguars, suffered an ankle injury in September, and got cut towards the end of the year. Pryor was on the workout circuit in 2018, but he never found his way back to the field.
Davis, meanwhile, exceeded all expectations. He started in all 16 of his games in 2017, per the usual, but delivered a team-high 97 solo tackles and a new career high of 5.0 sacks. And, get this – the Jets even got him to accept less than his scheduled ~$4MM salary for that year, making him an even better value. Fortunately, Davis got his payday the following year. Unfortunately for the Jets, it was with the Saints. After earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2019, Davis is gearing up for his third season with New Orleans.
Calvin Pryor
PFR Originals
This Date In Transactions History
NFC Rumors: Johnson, Rodgers, Panthers
September 13th, 2018 at 2:14pm CST by Sam Robinson
More details on David Johnson‘s Cardinals contract are emerging. In addition to the fourth-year running back seeing $24MM in full guarantees as part of his three-year, $39MM extension, Johnson will receive a $12MM signing bonus, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). His $5.7MM base salary in 2019 is fully guaranteed. The All-Pro’s 2020 base ($10.2MM) will have $5.1MM guaranteed fully at signing, per Graziano (on Twitter), but the other half of it is guaranteed for injury only. However, Johnson’s full 2020 salary becomes guaranteed if he’s on the Cardinals’ roster by March of 2019.
Each of Johnson’s next three seasons include $750K in per-game roster bonuses. As far as cap numbers go, Johnson now has a $5MM hit this season. The former third-round pick will count $9.45MM against Arizona’s 2019 cap, $13.95MM in 2020 and $11.7MM in 2021, Graziano reports (Twitter link).
Here’s the latest out of the NFC, shifting toward its most important player.
Aaron Rodgers missed Packers practice again on Thursday, but this wasn’t unexpected. However, Mike McCarthy said it’s no layup that his two-time MVP quarterback will play Sunday against the Vikings, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Rodgers and McCarthy said Wednesday he does not need to practice in order to start Sunday.
It keeps getting worse for the Panthers. After serious injuries hit Greg Olsen and Daryl Williams in Week 1, Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner is in concussion protocol, David Newton of ESPN.com notes. Both of Carolina’s starting tackles — Williams and Matt Kalil — are already on IR. Both can return after eight weeks, but at this point, it can’t be assumed both will be back. Carolina could lose a more important player to its cause. Only two players can be recalled from IR. Amini Silatolu filled in for Turner last season, but he may have to play right tackle Sunday. However, the Panthers added Chris Clark to potentially do that. In addition to Silatolu, Newton writes Tyler Larsen and rookie UDFA Brendan Mahon will have a chance to start in place of Turner — in the event he can’t go Sunday.
Demario Davis rated as a top-10 Pro Football Focus linebacker last year, doing so for his work as an inside linebacker. It was expected the high-priced free agent would man the middle for the Saints, but they’ve moved him to the weak side, NOLA.com’s Josh Katzenstein notes. Second-year man Alex Anzalone is now stationed as New Orleans’ middle ‘backer, but the team rotated he, Manti Te’o and A.J. Klein as Davis sidekicks in Week 1. Sean Payton said the team’s still determining how it will structure its linebacker usage. Davis played all 66 snaps in the Saints’ loss to the Buccaneers, while Anzalone led the others with 34. Klein functioned in Davis’ role in 2017, playing all of the Saints’ Week 1 snaps in his first game with the team.
A.J. Klein
Alex Anzalone
Amini Silatolu
Brendan Mahon
David Johnson (RB)
Trai Turner
Tyler Larsen
Contract Details: Cousins, Graham, Davis
March 18th, 2018 at 9:32pm CST by Micah Powell
Let’s take a look at the most recent new contracts around the NFL:
Kirk Cousins, QB (Vikings): Three years, $84MM. Guaranteed salaries of $22.5MM, $27.5MM and $29.5MM. Guaranteed $500K workout bonuses each year. Up to $2MM in incentives per year. No-trade clause and a no-transition tag provision in 2021 (Twitter link via Dan Graziano of ESPN).
Jimmy Graham, TE (Packers): Three years, $30MM. $11MM signing bonus, $300K per-game roster bonuses each year. $2MM base salary in 2018, $3.45MM in 2019 and $7.45MM in 2020. $5.67MM 2018 cap number. $5MM roster bonus due on third day of 2019 season (Twitter links via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein).
Demario Davis, LB (Saints): Three years, $24MM. $16MM guaranteed. $9.2MM signing bonus. Annual salaries of $850K, $5.95MM (guaranteed) and $7.35MM. (Twitter links via Graziano and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
Jeremy Hill, RB (Patriots): One year, $1.5MM. $150K signing bonus. $1M base salary. (via Pelissero, on Twitter, and ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss).
Bruce Ellington, WR (Texans): One year, $1.25MM. $730K base salary, $200K signing bonus (via Wilson, on Twitter).
Bruce Ellington
Extra Points: DRC, Redskins, Maxwell
March 16th, 2018 at 9:58am CST by Zach Links
Free agent cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie says he’s in no rush to make a decision in free agency. Right now, he’s hoping to make a decision “in April sometime” (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson).
Rodgers-Cromartie visited with the Redskins and had a meeting scheduled with the Saints, but it seems that New Orleans lost interest after signing fellow corner Patrick Robinson. The Redskins could still use an addition to their cornerback group, but it’s possible that their offer was not to DRC’s liking. Or, perhaps no offer was made.
Before he was released by the Giants, DRC reportedly agreed to play safety in 2018. That could be a solution for him if his market continues to stall.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
As teams try to hold onto their own players, two to watch: The Redskins are working to keep outside linebacker Junior Galette and the Seahawks are doing the same with cornerback Byron Maxwell, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). We had Galette ranked as a top-12 edge rusher heading into free agency. Maxwell did not make the top 15 at his position due to his decline in performance and the depth of this year’s CB crop.
Linebacker Demario Davis says the Jets didn’t make him an offer before he signed with the Saints. “The shocking thing was the Jets didn’t make me an offer, so that made my decision easy because all I had to do was look at the contenders,” Davis said (via Rod Walker of The Advocate). “It would have been something to weigh. The hardest decision isn’t where to go, but deciding if you want to go or stay. So I didn’t have to make that decision so that was the peaceful thing about it. I was able to just weight my options objectively.” Things worked out just fine for Davis as he signed a three-year, $24MM deal with New Orleans.
The Dolphins have been talking with agent Drew Rosenhaus about re-signing offensive tackle Sam Young, Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald tweets. If retained, Young would return as Miami’s third offensive tackle.
Byron Maxwell
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
Junior Galette
The Top 25 Remaining NFL Free Agents
March 14th, 2018 at 6:21pm CST by Zach Links
Many of this year’s top free agents came off of the board during the legal tampering period, including Kirk Cousins, Trumaine Johnson, Sammy Watkins, and Allen Robinson. Still plenty of the names from our list of the Top 50 Free Agents remain, including some new additions. Here’s a rundown of the players to keep an eye on as free agency officially begins, ranked roughly by their expected contract value:
1. Ndamukong Suh, DT (Dolphins): The Dolphins bailed on Suh’s mega contract midway through, freeing him up to sign another high-priced contract. He won’t get anything close to a six-year, $114MM deal this time around, but he should settle in at an AAV that keeps him among the best compensated players at his position. Last year, Pro Football Focus ranked Suh fifth among 122 interior defenders.
2. Tyrann Mathieu, S (Cardinals): The Cardinals worked feverishly to hammer out a new contract with the Honey Badger, but the two sides could not come to terms on a deal to lessen his 2018 cap hit. He has been released, allowing him to hit free agency as the best safety available. The Jets are not believed to be interested, despite his connection with head coach Todd Bowles. The other tenant of the Meadowlands, however, could have interest thanks to the presence of former Arizona DC James Bettcher.
3. Sheldon Richardson, DT (Seahawks): Richardson may have lost some luster following the trade that sent him from the Jets to the Seahawks, but he among the best defensive tackles currently available. With plenty of cap space remaining, Richardson should find a lucrative deal, though it probably won’t come from Seattle. Our own Dallas Robinson estimates that Richardson will fetch about $9MM/year.
4. Dontari Poe, DT (Falcons): Poe missed out on a big payday last year when teams shied away from him due to lingering back issues. After turning in his second consecutive 16-game season, things could be different this time. For the record – Poe has missed only two regular season games over the course of his career, so he boasts a better attendance record than a lot of other veterans on this list. He’s unlikely to circle back to Atlanta.
5. Josh Sitton, G (Bears): With Andrew Norwell off of the board, Sitton stands as the best guard on the market. He’s missed six games over the last two years, but he has four Pro Bowl appearances to his credit. He’s set to meet with the Dolphins.
6. A.J. McCarron, QB (Bengals): It’s difficult to peg McCarron’s value heading into free agency. Outside of some quality starts in 2015, there isn’t much film out there on McCarron, despite that fact that he has spent four years in the NFL. Hue Jackson was itching to reunite with McCarron, but the Browns no longer seem a likely destination for him after the acquisition of Tyrod Taylor. It’s also hard to see him landing with the QB-needy Jets after they re-signed Josh McCown and added Teddy Bridgewater. McCarron will find a home, but it may not be as a starter. [UPDATE: McCarron has signed with the Bills]
7. E.J. Gaines, CB (Bills): Injuries in the fall limited Gaines to just 11 games last season, but he proved to be a quality return for the Bills in the Watkins trade, in addition to the second-round pick that came with him. Gaines graded out as the No. 13 cornerback in the league last year, per PFF, and he just turned 26 in February. Gaines missed all of ’15 due to injury and didn’t look all that sharp in ’16, but timing is everything in free agency. You can expect multiple teams to call on him and the Texans could still have interest, even after inking Aaron Colvin.
8. Eric Reid, S (49ers): Reid is just 26 and is undoubtedly a starting quality safety. He has both youth and versatility on his side, but it’s possible that his anthem protest participation could hurt him when it comes to some suitors. Injuries over the last two seasons will hurt his market as well.
9. Justin Pugh, G (Giants): Pugh missed half of last season due to injuries and the advanced metrics have never been fond of his play. But, his ability to play four positions on the offensive line and the dearth of quality available linemen will produce a healthy market. He has been cleared to resume football activities. Pugh is set to take his first free agent visit with the Cardinals.
10. Morgan Burnett, S (Packers): Speaking of versatility, Burnett has logged snaps at cornerback, free safety, and even linebacker over the course of his eight-year career with the Packers. The Bears and Browns have interest.
11. Kenny Vaccaro, S (Saints): With the ability to play both safety and slot cornerback, Vaccaro will have a fair amount of suitors. Analytics-focused teams might not high on him after he ranked as the worst coverage safety in the league, according to PFF.
12. Morris Claiborne, CB (Jets): The Jets are out for two starting corners this offseason, so even after adding Trumaine Johnson, they could re-sign Claiborne. Claiborne turned in a solid, though not spectacular, season for Gang Green and he was largely healthy. Claiborne earned $5MM on a one-year deal with the Jets last season and his next contract should see an uptick in average annual value.
13. Ryan Jensen, C (Ravens): Jensen stepped into a starting role in 2017 and flourished, grading out as the No. 9 center in the NFL, per PFF. The former sixth-round pick also has previous experience at guard. The Jets were widely speculated to be a suitor, but they addressed their needs by signing Spencer Long instead. He has visits lined up with the Bucs and Colts.
14. Jack Mewhort, G (Colts): Mewhort’s season ended prematurely in October thanks to a knee injury, marking his second straight incomplete campaign. That’s not a great way to enter the open market, but he did have three quality years as an NFL starter before that. Mewhort doesn’t turn 27 until October, which helps his case.
16. NaVorro Bowman, LB (Raiders): He has a fan in new Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. The Raiders would like to re-sign him, but they also are considering another top inside linebacker.
17. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE (Jets): AS-J rebounded from personal issues to post the best season of his career with the Jets. He was impressive at times, but he is no better than the No. 3 TE in this year’s free agent crop. He’ll meet with the Seahawks and Jaguars. No word yet on whether the Saints, who missed out on a Jimmy Graham reunion, have any interest.
18. Tyler Eifert, TE (Bengals): Once one of the NFL’s brightest stars at tight end, Eifert has been limited by a host of injuries. You can expect Eifert to ink a one-year deal somewhere with a low base and ample incentives.
19. Terrelle Pryor, WR (Redskins): Pryor found himself disappointed by the 2017 free agent market, but that paled in comparison to the disappointment felt by the Redskins after signing him to a one-year deal. Pryor will benefit from a shallow WR crop, however. He is on the Browns’ radar, so a return to Cleveland is possible.
20. Adrian Clayborn, DE (Falcons): Clayborn graded out as PFF’s No. 19 ranked edge defender this season and tallied a career-high 9.5 sacks. That sack total is a bit misleading, however, since six of those came in a November contest against the Cowboys. The Patriots, Colts, Bucs, Browns, and the incumbent Falcons are all in the mix.
21. Zach Brown, LB (Redskins): He was among the league’s best one-year deal values last year and he’s in line for a nice pay bump over his $2MM salary in 2017. Still, he’s not going to get the kind of contract he’s expecting. The Raiders are considering him.
22. Preston Brown, LB (Bills): The rival Patriots have their eye on him. Still only 25 (26 in October), Brown has never missed a game in his four-year career.
23. T.J. Carrie, CB (Raiders): Carrie doesn’t want to leave Oakland, but his market value might not line up with Jon Gruden‘s valuation of him. The rival Broncos are eyeing him. [UPDATE: Carrie has signed with the Browns]
24. Demario Davis, LB (Jets): Davis wants $8-$10MM per year, but he’ll get about half of that. [UPDATE: Davis is off the board after signing a three-year, $24MM deal with the Saints, so he achieved his yearly goal after all. The deal includes $18MM guaranteed.]
25. Jordan Matthews, WR (Bills): Injuries held Matthews back in 2017, but he’s not far removed from posting 73 receptions for 804 yards and three touchdowns with the Eagles.
26. Tre Boston, S (Chargers): Here’s a bonus addition to the top 25 list. Last week, Boston ranked as our third best safety primed for free agency based on ability.
A.J. McCarron
Adrian Clayborn
Dontari Poe
E.J. Gaines
Eric Reid
Jack Mewhort
Jordan Matthews
Justin Pugh
Kenny Vaccaro
NaVorro Bowman
Ndamukong Suh
Preston Brown
Ryan Jensen
Sheldon Richardson
T.J. Carrie
Tre Boston
Tyler Eifert
Saints Reach Deal With LB Demario Davis
March 14th, 2018 at 2:21pm CST by Sam Robinson
Demario Davis will head to New Orleans after a solid contract year with the Jets. The Saints have reached an agreement to sign Davis, Diana Russini of ESPN.com tweets.
An off-ball linebacker, Davis will receive a significant raise compared to his last time on the market. The Saints have agreed to pay him $24MM over three years, per Russini, with $18MM coming in guarantees.
This completes a turnaround year for Davis, who saw the Browns trade him back to the Jets last offseason. He then accepted a pay cut from the previous $4MM-AAV salary the Jets re-signed him for in 2016. But after a strong season that saw him grade (per Pro Football Focus) as the No. 8 pure linebacker in the game, Davis will receive his reward sum.
The 29-year-old linebacker was targeting a deal worth $8-$10MM per year, but the Jets did not view him as a player worth that much. Gang Green saw Davis as more of a $3-$4MM-AAV performer, but with the cap rising to $177MM, most positions’ values are spiking. And Davis — who previously ranked as PFR’s No. 24 remaining UFA — was rewarded on the market.
While the Jets seemingly replaced Davis with a younger defender in Avery Williamson, the Saints will add a proven, durable starter to their second level. Davis has never missed a regular-season game in his six-year career and has been a full-time starter since 2013.
However, Davis has never played for a team that used a 4-3 scheme. He could be a fit at inside or outside linebacker, conceivably, on a Saints team that will surely find a starting spot for him given the contract authorized.
[RELATED: Saints Depth Chart]
PFR’s Top 50 NFL Free Agents For 2018 1.0
March 7th, 2018 at 4:09pm CST by Zach Links
There will be tons of free agents available in March, but only a some of them can be real difference makers for your favorite team. To help separate the wheat from the chaff, we’ve assembled our early list of the Top 50 NFL Free Agents for 2018.
Our early version of the NFL’s top 50 free agents may include players who will be re-signed between now and March 14. When we update this list next week, a few of the big names will be spoken for while new high-profile names will join the fray as veterans become cap casualties.
Recently, we broke down the top free agents by position on both offense and defense, but our rankings below may not have each player listed in the same order. Those position lists took the short-term value of a player into account more heavily, meaning many players in their 30s received prominent placement. Our overall top 50 list favors longer-term value, and is more about forecasting which players will be in highest demand when it comes to years and dollars.
With those caveats out of the way, let’s dive in! Here are Pro Football Rumors’ top 50 NFL free agents for 2018:
1. Kirk Cousins, QB (Redskins): At long last, Kirk Cousins is headed towards unrestricted free agency. You may or may not regard Cousins as a star, but he is the best quarterback in recent history to reach the open market and QB-needy teams will be rolling out the red carpet for him. The Jets, Vikings, Broncos, and Cardinals have been named as the top suitors for his services, but the NFL is full of surprises this time of year and we would not be surprised to see other teams get involved. The cash-flush Browns are reportedly keen on signing a lower-cost vet and drafting a QB early, but who’s to say they won’t change course and get in on the Cousins sweepstakes? The Bills, Giants, Dolphins, Bucs, and Colts could also consider kicking the tires here, but there are obstacles in that bunch ranging from established starters already in place (Eli Manning, Ryan Tannehill, Jameis Winston, and Andrew Luck) to financial constraints. No matter where he goes, it’s almost certain that Cousins will become the league’s highest-paid player of all-time. That is, until another top-tier QB signs a contract extension soon after.
2. Drew Brees (Saints): There are multiple possibilities for Cousins but it’s hard to see a scenario in which Brees actually leaves the Saints. Brees has already said that he does not plan on testing free agency, so he’ll likely put pen to paper before things begin on March 14. As far as we can tell, the only way Brees will think about leaving is if he is lowballed to an extreme degree by the Saints, but that seems improbable based on his history with the team
3. Case Keenum (Vikings): One year ago, no one ever would have expected Keenum to be one of 2018’s most sought-after free agents. The Vikings signed the former Rams signal caller to a one-year, $2MM deal in March with the idea that he would back up Sam Bradford and, eventually slide down to third on the depth chart when/if Teddy Bridgewater returned to full health. When Bradford went down in September, Keenum exceeded all expectations and put together the best season of his career. The 30-year-old graded out as Pro Football Focus’ ninth-ranked QB in 2017, putting him above the likes of Jimmy Garoppolo, Aaron Rodgers, Marcus Mariota, Matthew Stafford, and Tyrod Taylor. With Keenum at the helm, the Vikings earned a first-round bye and beat the Saints in a playoff thriller before succumbing to the Eagles in the NFC championship game. Of course, after four seasons of mediocrity, teams are wondering whether this was an aberration or a real sign of things to come. Teams know that Keenum is not a lock, but he’s also the best Plan B for any team that loses out on Cousins or doesn’t have the means to sign him.
4. Andrew Norwell, G (Panthers): There was a time when tackles were the only offensive linemen to really cash in on the open market. That’s no longer the case, as evidenced by the contracts of Kevin Zeitler (five years, $60MM) and Kelechi Osemele (five years, $58.5MM). Osemele inked his free agent deal with the Raiders in 2016 and Zeitler signed his in the 2017 offseason. Given the cap increase and the natural progression of the market, Norwell figures to reset the market for interior linemen. Keenum figures to gross no less than $20MM/year on his next contract, so he’s slotted behind him, but an average annual value of $13-14MM is not out of the question for the former undrafted free agent.
5. Nate Solder, OT (Patriots): Solder isn’t coming off of his best season and he might be the least sexy name in the top ten. Still, there’s a dearth of tackles league-wide and Solder has been among the league’s best at his position for quite some time. The Patriots are bracing for Solder to leave as they fear he’ll garner offers of $12MM/year. No other tackle in this year’s free agent crop is even close to him in terms of ability, so we’re also buying into the hype. Injuries contributed to Solder’s up-and-down season, particularly early on, so teams will take that into account when evaluating him.
6. Allen Robinson, WR (Jaguars): The Jaguars opted against using the franchise tag on Robinson, which is understandable since they have limited cap space. Robinson missed almost all of 2017 with an ACL tear, but his 2015 season (and even his so-so 2016 campaign) gives teams reason to believe that he can be a quality WR1. Robinson is one of only two such players on the unrestricted market, so expect him to get paid. Robinson probably couldn’t do worse than Kenny Britt‘s four-year, $32MM deal with the Browns from last season (and he should do a whole lot better), but if he is underwhelmed by the multi-year offers he receives, he could always go the Alshon Jeffery route. Jeffery inked a one-year, $9.5MM prove-it deal with the Eagles and that turned out to be a smashing success for both parties. Jeffery was rewarded with a four-year, $52MM extension in December, so Robinson’s camp will surely be open to a pillow contract if necessary.
7. Sammy Watkins, WR (Rams): Some may view Robinson and Watkins as 1A and 1B in this year’s wide receiver class, particularly since Robinson missed all of 2017 and Watkins, despite his own injury history, played in all but one of the Rams’ games. Unfortunately, Watkins did not have the platform year he was hoping for as he caught just 39 passes for 593 yards. If we strike Robinson’s lost year and Watkins’ down year from the record, the breakdown favors the Jags receiver – Robinson averaged 77 receptions for 1,078 yards and eight touchdowns per 16 games in that set versus Watkins’ 66 grabs for 1,063 yards and seven scores. These two should come pretty close in average annual value, but we give the edge to Robinson.
8. Trumaine Johnson, CB (Rams): Players often bemoan the franchise tag, but Johnson can’t really complain after receiving two consecutive tags from the Rams and earning more than $30MM between 2016 and 2017. The Rams, rightfully, did not consider a third consecutive tag for Johnson at a cost of ~$20MM and they already have his replacement in Marcus Peters. That’s one suitor down, but plenty of other teams will be eager to speak with Johnson, who profiles as the best cornerback in a deep class.
9. Sheldon Richardson, DT (Seahawks): Richardson gave the Jets lots of headaches, but he also gave them high-end production. He didn’t quite match that production in Seattle, but Richardson is positioned for a massive payday anyway since impactful defensive linemen are at a premium. Our own Dallas Robinson estimates that Richardson will garner about $9MM/year, but I would say that is his floor. The top-end of free agency rarely yields team-friendly deals, so Richardson could easily creep into eight figures in AAV, particularly since he does not turn 28 until November.
10. Dontari Poe, DT (Falcons): Poe thought he was in for a monster contract last offseason, but concerns about his lingering back issues forced him to take a one-year, $8MM deal with Atlanta. Teams may still worry about his back being a ticking time bomb, but perhaps they’ll view him in a different light now that he has played back-to-back 16 game seasons and has only missed two regular season contests over the course of his career.
11. Star Lotulelei, DT (Panthers): If Norwell didn’t draw the franchise tag from the Panthers, popular thought was that Lotulelei would be a candidate for the tag. But, Carolina only ever considered the tag for their kicker (and they re-signed him instead). That’s good news for teams in need of help up front. The advanced metrics have never been fond of the 28-year-old’s play, but he has been largely healthy over the course of his five-year career and has started in all but one of his regular season games. He had just 1.5 sacks last season, but Lotulelei does have 11.5 sacks to his credit, including four sacks in 2016.
12. A.J. McCarron, QB (Bengals): It’s difficult to peg McCarron’s value heading into free agency. Outside of some quality starts in 2015, there isn’t much film out there on McCarron, despite that fact that he has spent four years in the NFL. For what it’s worth, Hue Jackson has been itching to reunite with McCarron and was reportedly devastated when last year’s midseason deal to bring him to Cleveland fell through. Like the rest of the quarterback’s in this year’s group, his market won’t really emerge until Cousins puts pen to paper. Keenum is probably second on the board for most teams in search of a QB, but some clubs (like the Browns) may have McCarron higher on the list.
13. Sam Bradford, QB (Vikings): Questions persist about Bradford’s health and any team signing him will surely backstop him with at least one other capable option. But, when he’s healthy, he’s pretty darn good. In 2016, Bradford appeared in all but one of the Vikings’ games and turned in a league-leading 71.6% completion percentage.
14. Bashaud Breeland, CB (Redskins): The Redskins would like to re-sign Breeland at the “right price,” but the market for his services could explode and quickly put Washington out of the running. Breeland reportedly felt disrespected by the five-year, $75MM deal given to teammate Josh Norman last year and this is his opportunity to get a big payday of his own. Last year, A.J. Bouye‘s youth helped propel him to a five-year, $65MM free agent deal with the Jaguars. Breeland won’t get an offer quite that high, but he only just celebrated his 26th birthday and teams won’t be hesitant about giving this sound tackler a multi-year deal.
15. Malcolm Butler, CB (Patriots): Had the Patriots traded Butler to the Saints last offseason, he’d probably be playing under a lucrative multi-year deal right now. He did not have a great walk year in New England and he’s no longer positioned to sign a market-topping deal, but he’ll still garner attention around the league resulting in a lucrative contract. Butler ranked just 51st amongst PFF’s qualified corners last season, but he still showed flashes of being able to guard lethal wide receivers. He’s unlikely to return to the Patriots after he was benched for the majority of Super Bowl LII and inquiring teams will want to dig more into Bill Belichick‘s controversial decision.
16. Muhammad Wilkerson, DT (Jets): That sound you hear is the boiling blood of a Jets fan. Wilkerson was a top-tier defensive lineman before signing an $86MM extension with the Jets in the summer of 2016. Things quickly unraveled, however, as the Temple product clashed with coaches and routinely showed up late for team functions. Now that the Jets have officially cut bait with Wilkerson, it will be interesting to see what teams are willing to offer him. In terms of talent, Wilkerson has to rank no lower than second behind former teammate Richardson amongst defensive tackles. However, the perception is that he quit on the Jets right after he secured the bag, so his next bag figures to be a lot lighter. Look for Richardson to ink a one-year prove-it deal with a club or perhaps a two-year deal with an easy escape button in 2019.
17. Teddy Bridgewater, QB (Vikings): Bridgewater is in the same boat as Bradford – the talent is there, but no team will be able to bank on his health. Bridgewater returned faster than expected from his gruesome knee injury, but we barely saw him on the field thanks to the rise of Keenum.
18. E.J. Gaines, CB (Bills): Injuries in the fall limited Gaines to just 11 games last season, but he proved to be a quality return for the Bills in the Watkins trade (not to mention the second-round pick that came with him). Gaines graded out as the No. 13 cornerback in the league last year, per PFF, and he just turned 26 last month. The cons: Gaines missed all of 2015 due to injury and didn’t look all that sharp in ’16.
19. Trey Burton, TE (Eagles): Burton does not have as much name value as other tight ends in this year’s class, but he easily offers the most potential. Burton emerged from the shadow of Zach Ertz this past season in Philadelphia and put himself on the map with big games against the Seahawks and Rams late in the season. The Eagles do not have the cap room to retain him, so he’ll take his blocking skills and surprisingly adept passing arm elsewhere.
20. Paul Richardson, WR (Seahawks): Richardson stepped into a larger role last year when the Seahawks traded Jermaine Kearse to the Jets. He did well with the larger workload as he averaged 16 yards per catch. Richardson won’t turn 26 until April and doesn’t come with the same medical red flags as the older WRs in this year’s crop, so he’s probably in line for a nice guarantee on a multi-year deal. Because of his youth, he could have an opportunity to strike it rich again when he takes his next trip through free agency.
21. Jimmy Graham, TE (Seahawks): Graham is not expected to re-sign with the Seahawks and there’s already chatter about a reunion with the Saints. Whether that comes to fruition or not, Graham should net a decent deal after catching 57 passes for 520 yars and ten touchdowns last season. He’s not as explosive as he was in his New Orleans days, but he’s still a difference maker in the red zone.
22. Nigel Bradham, LB (Eagles): Non-pass rushing linebackers typically do not cash in on the open market and, as our own Dallas Robinson recently noted, Danny Trevethan’s 2016 deal with the Bears stands as the watermark with an average of $7MM per year. Bradham could flirt with that line after two solid seasons with the Eagles, but he won’t blow the lid off of the LB market.
23. Eric Reid, S (49ers): Reid is just 26 and is undoubtedly a starting quality safety. He has both youth and versatility on his side, but it’s possible that his anthem protest participation could hurt him when it comes to some suitors. Injuries over the last two seasons will hurt his market as well.
24. Aaron Colvin, CB (Jaguars): Colvin was eclipsed in Jacksonville thanks to the presence of Jalen Ramsey and Bouye. He has excelled as a slot corner, and that has plenty of value on his own, but he could get more money than expected if teams believe he can also contribute on the outside.
25. Justin Pugh, G (Giants): Pugh missed half of last season due to injuries and the advanced metrics have never been fond of his play. But, his ability to play four positions on the offensive line and the dearth of quality available linemen will produce a healthy market.
26. Morgan Burnett, S (Packers): Speaking of versatility, Burnett has logged snaps at cornerback, free safety, and even linebacker over the course of his eight-year career with the Packers.
27. Marqise Lee, WR (Jaguars): Robinson is getting all of the ink, but Lee will have a healthy market of his own after catching 119 passes for 1,553 yards and six touchdowns over the last two seasons in Jacksonville. He’s not a star, but he’s among the best WR2 options in this year’s free agent class.
29. Dion Lewis, RB (Patriots): Finally, a running back! As we all know, veteran RBs don’t get a ton of love in free agency, but Lewis stands as the best at his position. Lewis is coming off of a strong platform year in which he averaged 5.0 yards per carry with six touchdowns on the ground while adding 32 receptions for 214 yards and three TDs for the AFC champs.
30. Morris Claiborne, CB (Jets): The Jets are out for two starting corners this offseason, but it doesn’t look likely that they’ll re-sign Claiborne, despite having ample cap room. Claiborne turned in a solid, though not spectacular, season for Gang Green and he was largely healthy. Contenders likely won’t see Claiborne as a CB1, but he could prove to be a good value as a CB2. Claiborne earned $5MM on a one-year deal with the Jets last season and his next contract should see an uptick in AAV, perhaps over a longer period.
31. Ryan Jensen, C (Ravens): Jensen stepped into a starting role in 2017 and flourished, grading out as the No. 9 center in the NFL, per PFF. The former sixth-round pick also has previous experience at guard.
33. Carlos Hyde, RB (49ers): Hyde, like Lewis, will fall victim to the league’s bias against older running backs, but he doesn’t celebrate his 28th birthday until September, so don’t peg him for the old folks home just yet. He failed to reach 4.0 yards per carry for the first time in his career last season, but he did position himself as a pass-catching threat with 59 catches for 350 yards.
34. Weston Richburg, C (Giants): Richburg’s concussion could ward off teams, but he says that he has been medically cleared for months. If he checks out with doctors, Richburg may be in line for a nice payday. Before his unfortunate head injury, Richburg excelled as a center for the G-Men in 2015 and 2016.
35. Julius Peppers, DE (Panthers): Even at the age of 38, Peppers still has it. After posting eleven sacks in 2017, Peppers seems likely to return for another go ’round.
36. NaVorro Bowman, LB (Raiders): He has a fan in new Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, so he may continue to ply his craft in the Bay Area.
37. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE (Jets): AS-J rebounded from personal issues to post the best season of his career with the Jets. He was impressive at times, but he is no better than the No. 3 TE in this year’s free agent crop.
38. Josh Kline, G (Titans): A skilled run-blocker in a weak crop for guards, Kline should do well for himself.
39. Patrick Robinson, CB (Eagles): Robinson is a talented slot cornerback, but the cash-strapped Eagles will have a hard time retaining him.
41. Isaiah Crowell, RB (Browns): Should Crowell be the bell cow for a team? Maybe not, but he is a talented runner who has made GMs regret passing on him in the 2014 draft.
42. Terrelle Pryor, WR (Redskins): Pryor found himself disappointed by the 2017 free agent market, but that paled in comparison to the disappointment felt by the Redskins after signing him to a one-year deal. Pryor will benefit from a shallow WR crop, however.
43. Adrian Clayborn, DE (Falcons): Clayborn graded out as PFF’s No. 19 ranked edge defender this season and tallied a career-high 9.5 sacks. That sack total is a bit misleading, however, since six of those came in a November contest against the Cowboys.
44. Jerick McKinnon, RB (Vikings): He’s not built for 20 carries per game, but he’s a dynamic athlete with proven pass-catching ability. I’m probably more bullish on him than most, but I’ve placed him near the backend of the top 50 to reflect his expected payday.
45. Zach Brown, LB (Redskins): He was among the league’s best one-year deal values last year and he’s in line for a nice pay bump over his $2MM salary in 2017. Still, he’s not going to get the kind of contract he’s expecting.
47. T.J. Carrie, CB (Raiders): Carrie doesn’t want to leave Oakland, but his market value might not line up with Jon Gruden‘s valuation of him.
48. Josh McCown, QB (Jets): McCown had a remarkable season when considering what he had to work with in New York.
49. Demario Davis, LB (Jets): Davis wants $8-$10MM per year, but he’ll get about half of that.
50. Jordan Matthews, WR (Bills): Injuries held Matthews back in 2017, but he’s only one year removed from posting 73 receptions for 804 yards and three touchdowns with the Eagles.
Aaron Colvin
Allen Robinson
Andrew Norwell
Bashaud Breeland
Carlos Hyde
Isaiah Crowell
Jerick McKinnon
Josh McCown
Malcolm Butler
Marqise Lee
Muhammad Wilkerson
Nate Solder
Nigel Bradham
Sam Bradford
Sammy Watkins
Star Lotulelei
Teddy Bridgewater
Trumaine Johnson
Weston Richburg
Top 2018 Free Agents By Position: Defense
March 6th, 2018 at 5:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson
NFL free agency will get underway on Wednesday, March 14th, and while the list of free agents will change between now and then, we do have some idea of who will be available when free agency kicks off. The frenzy is right around the corner and it’s time for us to break down the outlook for each position. After looking at offense on Monday, we’ll tackle defense and special teams today.
Listed below are our rankings for the top 15 free agents at each defensive position. These rankings aren’t necessarily determined by the value of the contracts – or the amount of guaranteed money – that each player is expected to land in free agency. These are simply the players we like the most at each position, with both short- and long-term value taken into account.
Restricted and exclusive-rights free agents, as well as players who received the franchise tag, aren’t listed here, since the roadblocks in place to hinder another team from actually acquiring most of those players prevent them from being true free agents.
We’ll almost certainly be higher or lower on some free agents than you are, so feel free to weigh in below in our comments section to let us know which players we’ve got wrong.
Here’s our breakdown of the current top 15 free agents by defensive position for 2018:
Edge defender:
William Hayes
Trent Murphy
Pernell McPhee
Aaron Lynch
Alex Okafor
Kony Ealy
Connor Barwin
Jeremiah Attaochu
Derrick Shelby
Barkevious Mingo
Kareem Martin
Erik Walden
As a positional group, pass rushers comprise interesting market on the defensive side of the ball. It’s not often that a list of best available players is topped by a 38-year-old, but Peppers is the top free agent edge defender after the Cowboys and Lions deployed the franchise tag on Demarcus Lawrence and Ezekiel Ansah, respectively. As with quarterbacks, NFL clubs are extremely reluctant to allow pass rushers to hit the open market, so top-tier options are rarely ever truly “available.” Peppers, for his part, hasn’t even declared whether he’ll return in 2018, but indications are that he’ll suit up for a 17th campaign after posting 11 sacks last year.
Alongside Peppers, other veterans populate the edge market, and while William Hayes may not be a household name, he’ll be a contributor for whichever team signs him. A stout run defender, Hayes is also capable of generating pressure despite managing only one sack in 2017. The Dolphins used Hayes on only 271 defensive snaps a season ago, and have since replaced him by acquiring fellow defensive end Robert Quinn from the Rams. Now that he’s entering his age-33 season, Hayes should come cheap, but will almost assuredly outplay his contract.
Nearly every other available pass rusher has some sort of flaw which will likely limit his market next week. Trent Murphy is only 27 years old and put up nine sacks in 2016, but he missed the entirety of the 2017 campaign with injury. Pernell McPhee, Alex Okafor, Junior Galette, and Derrick Shelby have also been plagued by health questions in recent seasons. And Adrian Clayborn famously registered the majority of his 2017 sacks (and 20% of his career sack total) in one game against overwhelmed Cowboys backup Chaz Green.
The two names that I keep coming back to are Aaron Lynch (49ers) and Jeremiah Attaochu (Chargers). Yes, Lynch has been suspended for substance abuse, struggled with his weight, and was reportedly in danger of being waived prior to last season. He’s also extremely young (he won’t turn 25 years old until Thursday) and ranked fifth in the league with 34 pass pressures as recently as 2015. Attaochu, a 25-year-old former second-round pick, also has youth on his side, and while he hasn’t quite flashed as much as Lynch, he’s also been buried on LA’s depth chart for much of his career.
Interior defensive line:
DaQuan Jones
Beau Allen
Denico Autry
Justin Ellis
Bennie Logan
Dominique Easley
Haloti Ngata
Jay Bromley
Interior rushers are getting more respect in today’s NFL, but that still hasn’t translated to them being paid on the level of edge defenders — the 2018 franchise tag for defensive tackles, for example, is roughly $3MM cheaper than the tender for edge rushers. While the 2018 crop of interior defenders boasts some impressive top-end talent, none of the available players figure to earn a double-digit annual salary. Sheldon Richardson may have the best chance to do so, but Seattle determined he wasn’t worth a one-year cost of $13.939MM, so is any other club going to pay him $10MM per year? I’d guess he comes in closer to $9MM annually, which would still place him among the 25 highest-paid defensive tackles.
Dontari Poe will be an intriguing free agent case after setting for a one-year deal last offseason, but the most interesting battle among defensive tackles will take place Star Lotulelei and Muhammad Wilkerson, and I’m curious to see which player earns more on the open market. Both are former first-round picks, and it’s difficult to argue Wilkerson hasn’t been the more productive player — or, at least, reached higher highs — than Lotulelei. Wilkerson also won’t affect his next team’s compensatory pick formula given that he was released, but his off-field issues, which include a reported lack of effort and problems with coaches, could limit his appeal.
While Beau Allen and Denico Autry are potentially candidates to be overpaid based on their youth, there are bargains to be had at defensive tackle. Tom Johnson is 33 but he’s offered consistent pressure from the interior for years — his last contract was for three years and $7MM, so he shouldn’t cost much this time around. Haloti Ngata was injured in 2017 but plans to continue his career, and he can still stop the run. And Dominique Easley was outstanding as a 3-4 end in 2016 before missing last season with a torn ACL, meaning the former first-round pick could be a value play for any number of teams.Read more
Linebacker:
Anthony Hitchens
Paul Posluszny
Tahir Whitehead
Todd Davis
Devon Kennard
Jon Bostic
Karlos Dansby
Although there are a number of high-quality starting linebackers available in free agency this year, I predict most contracts signed by LBs over the next few weeks will come in lower that most expect. The linebacker market is relatively stagnant, and unless the player is a legitimate star or inking an extension with his original club, he’s usually disappointed with his annual value. The most expensive deal for an unrestricted free agent ‘backer who signed with a new team was Bruce Irvin‘s $9.25MM/year pact with the Raiders, and Irvin can almost be considered an edge rusher. After Irvin, it’s Danny Trevathan, whom the Bears signed for a $7MM annual value in 2016.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise if no linebacker listed above is able to top Trevathan’s two-year-old average, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t starting-caliber LBs on the market. Zach Brown, the poster boy for having to accept cheap contracts, is coming off another solid season, but is reportedly asking for top-three inside linebacker money. Good luck. Similarly, Demario Davis is looking for $8-10MM annually, while the Jets — who have interest in re-signing him — view him as a $3-4MM/year player.
Nigel Bradham and NaVorro Bowman should both come in around Trevathan’s $7MM average after posting excellent 2017 campaigns. While the Eagles would surely prefer to re-sign Bradham, the club’s dire cap situation may mean Bradham will hit the open market next Wednesday. Bowman, meanwhile, was traded from the 49ers to Raiders last season, and he seems like a good bet to stay with Oakland after new defensive coordinator Paul Guenther heaped lavish praise on the 29-year-old.
Cornerback:
Nickell Robey-Coleman
Prince Amukamara
Brent Grimes
Rashaan Melvin
Ross Cockrell
Johnathan Joseph
Top-to-bottom, the cornerback market is the deepest positional group on the defensive side of the ball. Need a No. 1 defensive back with experience in both man and zone? Trumaine Johnson is your guy. How about a top-end cornerback who, while admittedly up-and-down at times, has the ability to shut down opposing wide receivers? Malcolm Butler has you covered. A former first-round pick who has finally played up to his potential over the past two seasons? Take a look at Morris Claiborne. Or is a career journeyman who posted 10 excellent games last year more your speed? Look into Rashaan Melvin.
Slot cornerbacks are also prevalent in this year’s defensive back market, and while I ranked Aaron Colvin, T.J. Carrie, Patrick Robinson, and Nickell Robey-Coleman in order of my preference, they could each be plugged into a starting nickel package immediately. I originally though Robinson could land a disappointing deal given his age (31) and his track record of underwhelming play prior to 2017, but he’s already garnering interest from the Giants, Raiders, and Cardinals, so his market should allow him to reach at least $5MM annually. Colvin could garner even more than Robinson thanks his youth (26), and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com expects Colvin to have a “legit” market.
If teams are looking for a bargain at cornerback, they should target Ross Cockrell, whom the Steelers dealt to the Giants last year for a seventh-round pick. Cockrell has always been overlooked in the NFL, but he keeps producing results. In 2017, Cockrell finished first in Football Outsiders’ success rate, which measures cornerbacks on their ability to consistently stop opposing wideouts short of the sticks. In fact, Cockrell was one of only eight defenders who stopped a receiver short of a successful gain on over half their tackles a season ago, as FO’s Aaron Schatz recently tweeted, but the league consistently undervalues him and his skill-set.
Bradley McDougald
Tyvon Branch
Marcus Gilchrist
Corey Graham
Reggie Nelson
Darius Butler
Quintin Demps
T.J. Ward
Tavon Wilson
The best free agent safety was taken off the board earlier today when the Rams used the franchise tag on Lamarcus Joyner, and the remaining market is extremely top-heavy. Eric Reid, Morgan Burnett, Tre Boston, and Kenny Vaccaro could all be in line for at least $5MM annually, but the rest of the class could struggle to find multi-year deals. Among the top-tier safeties, Vaccaro stands out as perhaps the most interesting name. A first-round pick in 2013, Vaccarro has posted three exemplary campaigns and two dreadful years; in 2017, Pro Football Focus ranked Vaccaro as the single-worst safety in the league among 87 qualifiers. But given his draft pedigree and his ability to man the slot, Vaccaro should land a solid deal.
While I like Reid and Burnett a bit more as players, it wouldn’t be a shock if Boston actually lands the largest contract. Reid and Burnett spend a lot of time close to the line of scrimmage, and both have been used as de factor linebackers from time to time. Boston, on the other hand, is a deep safety who can play coverage, and that repertoire is much more difficult to find on the open market. Similarly, Tyvon Branch has been great in coverage during his career with the Raiders, Chiefs, and Cardinals, so he could also see a nice pay bump next week.
After Branch, the crop of available safeties steeply drops off. Every other free agent we’ve listed above will be at at least 29 years old when the 2018 gets underway except for the Lions’ Tavon Wilson, and he was one of the NFL’s worst starting defensive backs last season. Veterans like Corey Graham or Ron Parker can still play as third safeties who see time in “big nickel” packages, but if you’re looking for a starting safety, you’ll want to bring in one of the top six defensive backs on the board.
Kicker:
Cody Parkey
Sebastian Janikowski
Caleb Sturgis
Dustin Hopkins
Kai Forbath
Chandler Catanzaro
Cairo Santos
Nick Novak
Connor Barth
Blair Walsh
Mike Nugent
Punter:
Dustin Colquitt
Pat O’Donnell
Kevin Huber
Shane Lechler
Jeff Locke
Michael Thomas (S)
Pat O'Donnell
FA Rumors: Broncos, Davis, Giants, Crowell
March 4th, 2018 at 7:57pm CST by Sam Robinson
Earlier this week, the Broncos were believed to be ready to compete to the end of the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes. But last month, they were identified as having Case Keenum looming as a possible backup plan. There’s been more chatter about that in Indianapolis, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes (on Twitter). While it’s unlikely the Broncos are ready to bow out on Cousins after being so closely connected to him for weeks, they’ve been the top non-Vikings Keenum connection this offseason. The Broncos also discussed a trade for Keenum with the Rams in 2016. La Canfora notes the Broncos being serious on Keenum could pit the Vikings and Jets against one another for Cousins. It’s possible the Broncos could sign Keenum and not select a quarterback at No. 5, and Mike Klis of 9News wrote recently Keenum and Cousins are likely to be the only QBs who would deter the Broncos from using that pick on a passer.
Charles Robinson of Yahoo sports, who reported earlier this week the Broncos were ready to go “all in” for Cousins, notes every team linked to the former Redskins quarterback has made it a point to stay in contact with agents of other passers in order to preserve fallback options (Twitter link). That said, Robinson does not believe the Broncos — or any team linked to Cousins thus far — is truly out on the 29-year-old signal-caller.
Here’s more from the free agent market.
Demario Davis enjoyed a solid contract year after an offseason trade with the Browns sent him back to the Jets, but he might be set to relocate again. A considerable gap between Davis’ expectations and the Jets’ valuation of him exists, with Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reporting Davis is eyeing a deal that would pay him between $8-$10MM annually. The Jets, conversely, see him as a $3-$4MM-per-year player and are not prepared to pay him what he’s currently targeting. Cimini notes that in a buyer’s market that has several younger non-rush linebacker options, Davis will have to adjust his price point. While the sides were talking earlier this offseason, this kind of gap could route Davis elsewhere. Although the 29-year-old inside linebacker had a strong 2017 season, he hasn’t been especially consistent. And only five 3-4 ILBs earn $8MM per year. Davis signed for $4MM per year with the Browns in 2016.
Last offseason, Isaiah Crowell hired Drew Rosenhaus to negotiate with the Browns on an extension, but a deal didn’t come to pass. Not much has transpired on a Crowell/Cleveland future in recent months, but John Dorsey said he’s had discussions with Rosenhaus about keeping Crowell in the fold. However, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal notes Hue Jackson didn’t express much optimism about Crowell staying. The Browns are a prime candidate to draft Saquon Barkley, possibly at No. 1 overall, so that would make Crowell somewhat superfluous.
The Giants have been open about wanting to commit to an offensive line overhaul and haven’t ruled out a 2018 line that includes Andrew Norwell and Justin Pugh. But they’re likely to lose D.J. Fluker, Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com notes. Fluker has not enjoyed a particularly productive career, and Pro Football Focus graded him as one of the worst pass-blocking linemen last season. The former first-round pick wouldn’t cost much, but it looks like Dave Gettleman will move on.
Should the Giants be priced out of the Norwell sweepstakes, they have Ryan Jensen lined up as a cheaper contingency plan, per Pauline. Jensen’s most prominent NFL work has come at center, where he started all 16 Ravens games last season, but he was a part-time guard starter in years past. PFF rated Jensen as a top-10 center last season. The Giants are expected to lose four-year starter Weston Richburg in free agency.
D.J. Fluker
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Getting Started Videos
$93,884 & 3,500 customers in 3 weeks: Our AppSumo experience
To AppSumo or not to AppSumo? That is the question.
It’s almost certainly what Shakespeare would ponder if he was a 21st-century software entrepreneur instead of a (pretty good) Tudor playwright.
It’s probably a question you’ve asked yourself, too.
As a long-time follower of AppSumo – nothing crazy, but I’ve bought a few deals in the past – it was certainly on my list of possible marketing strategies when we first launched.
Eventually, I decided it was the right thing for us to do, and now the process is complete I wanted to share our experience and the results with you.
Hopefully, you’ll find it interesting – and it’ll help you decide whether running an AppSumo promotion is right for you!
AppSumwho?
Why run an AppSumo promotion?
Testing & Evaluation
Emailed to 800,000 people!!
Final reminder email & webinar
Summary – Was it worth it?
We had an awesome experience with AppSumo. They are a thoroughly nice team and 100% delivered on their promise of a flood of traffic and educated new users. They have a very slick process that has clearly been been tried, tested and refined over time. Their ability to provide their community with what they want is also impressive. When the deal closed out we had received a ton of traffic, a lot of new account sign ups, a lot of purchases and we’ve been speaking with new customers non-stop. This provided us with a huge amount of exceptionally useful product feedback. So overall this was a huge win for us! Some of the key stats are as follows:
Ok, for the uninitiated, AppSumo is essentially a deal site offering deep-discounted, ‘lifetime’ deals on software products for early adopters.
They have a huge database of around 800,000 users who are passionate about getting early access to software, and score some amazing deals in the process.
This makes the AppSumo decision a balancing act; yes, it can lead to new users, revenue and crucial feedback, but it also means heavily discounting your product.
For these reasons, it isn’t always a ‘no-brainer.’ There are pros and cons to weigh up, which I’ll talk about shortly.
So, for context, we were coming at this from a standing start. We had only just launched Project.co, and we were really looking to just get out there – to build some visibility and traction.
To help us do this, we launched on Betali.st and a few other beta sites a couple of months before we spoke with AppSumo.
The idea of these sites is roughly the same – their audiences are made up of people looking to discover emerging startups and software tools before they become mainstream. It’s all about that competitive advantage of finding an awesome tool before your competitors.
We paid $129 – for the listing on Betali.st. And that was where AppSumo found us.
I’d already taken a sneaky look to see if AppSumo might be right for us in the future, but they actually approached me before I had the chance to take this further. (Incidentally, I almost certainly would have reached out to them eventually if they hadn’t made contact first.)
One of the things I was most concerned about was potentially devaluing our product. I didn’t want future potential customers to look back and wrongly surmise that this significantly slashed price was a true reflection of our actual value.
Ultimately, though, I concluded that this exercise wasn’t entirely financial, and paled into insignificance behind the reasons to go ahead….
Exposure – AppSumo’s list is seriously huge. The ability for a startup to reach 800,000 people isn’t to be sniffed at, and – more than that – it’s a targeted audience of early adopters who are actively engaged in trialling and using the latest software products.
Feedback – By getting our product in front of people who were likely to try out and use it, I knew we’d also get a bunch of interesting and useful feedback. I thought of it as a sort of public beta; a logical next step in testing Project.co and building our audience, while still generating some revenue rather than giving the product away for free. The feedback would be ongoing, too – we’d be able to get data around how many people were using it every day.
Network Effects – Because of the nature of Project.co – a collaboration tool – I knew that the likelihood was that people would invite colleagues and clients to the tool, and that this would further building exposure and visibility in the market. I knew there was a high chance that the people AppSumo users invite to Project.co might also create their own accounts in the future as well.
The promotion we ended up with was that users would pay $49 for a lifetime (small plan) account, providing access for up to 10 users and 25gb storage space.
AppSumo also offers the ability for customers to ‘stack’ deals, increasing things like user limits.
Essentially, this meant we were giving away a lifetime deal for the price of just one month.
In other words, we’d have to support people forever for one relatively low up-front payment.
We also agreed on a 30/70 revenue split in AppSumo’s favour. This doesn’t sound like the most favourable deal, but, ultimately, it comes back to the fact that this was never a purely financial thing for us.
The opportunity to get in front of 800,000 targeted potential users is priceless, and – given that AppSumo handle all of the promotion – I wasn’t particularly unhappy with the split.
It’s important to mention that there was minimal negotiation around this. The team at AppSumo will tell you their terms – and ask you to confirm you’re happy to work on that basis. Of course, we were!
Not to sound conceited – but AppSumo don’t just promote anybody. They understandably have an evaluation and testing period where they check a product out and make sure it works before they stake their reputation on promoting it.
They also invite 3-4 of their testers that they know and respect to check it out. This is all perfectly understandable as a way for AppSumo to safeguard the value of their business, which comes mainly from their audience.
From the outset, my view was that we should minimise our own promotion of the AppSumo deal. Ultimately this was the whole point of working with AppSumo – we would provide the software, they would provide the audience.
This also meant we could focus more of our time on what was really important (and pretty challenging): support. There’s no other way to put it: it was hard work. I pretty much single-handedly dealt with support issues for the whole period, and this meant working non-stop for two weeks, responding to a barrage (in the nicest possible way) of support requests.
Of course – this was to be expected and, actually, as I’ve mentioned earlier, honestly a good thing.
We wanted to dive in at the deep end and fully test the product. Every support ticket, every customer conversation, was a chance to improve our understanding of what people wanted from the system – so that we could improve and make it better.
In comparison, if we launched without the AppSumo promotion and saw a slow trickle of traffic and sign-ups, we would ultimately be in a much worse place.
As a new product to market it’s essential to get committed people using the software as quickly as possible. It’s only with a significant amount of users that you can make quality decisions about what features the general consensus of people want.
If we had 1-2 users asking for something instead of 100-200 users then we could be building the wrong things and wasting a lot of our time.
To kick things off, we created a test account for AppSumo, which they shared with their testers for evaluation.
The testers came back with a bunch of questions and some positive feedback – and we also got a nice review article published on the AppSumo blog to raise some initial awareness.
Next up was the fairly mundane – but highly important – logistical task of creating 10,000 unique deal codes. This was on AppSumo’s advice, and, while we ended up selling far less than the 10,000 codes, it at least gave us some breathing space.
How do you set up 10,000 deal codes? Good question, and one I asked myself in a cold sweat when this challenge presented itself, but it turns out it was actually fairly easy to do. We used Chargebee, a subscription management software. We found this article on the Chargebee blog which explained how to do it.
To further complicate things, we had to build in the ability to ‘stack’ codes as I mentioned earlier – so users could upgrade their account to incorporate more users. Our workaround here was for them to use one code to get onto the ‘Small’ plan and then, for any other codes they bought, they’d simply email over to our support email and we would stack them onto the account manually.
Another pre-launch step was to fill out 5 fairly long documents with our info, the deal info and various other bits for AppSumo to use as sales collateral.
We took the time to get our website set up, refreshing our brand and message in time for launch so that we’d make the best possible first impression when people found us.
Just before the launch, we were super excited to see AppSumo launch their own video review of our tool. This was just so exciting to see – as it gave us a window into what another (sort of) neutral person thought was really great about our software.
After all the setup work, it was time to launch.
First up, an email was sent out to AppSumo ‘Plus’ members – people who have paid for early access to deals. They tend to be AppSumo’s most engaged users, as you’d expect from a network of people who pay for the privilege!
Strangely, though, we also noticed that the deal went live on the AppSumo homepage, so – if you’d happened to visit the website on the day our deal went live – you’d have got the same early access as Plus members.
There’s another safeguard in place at this stage for AppSumo which is – if your product gets panned with bad feedback, or the deal doesn’t take off, they reserve the right to pull it at this point. This means you might never actually get promoted to the whole list. Again, though, while this sounds like a threat, it’s a real motivation to give great support and take pride in the product. It’s all about AppSumo’s barrier-to-entry which helps ensure their audience get real value.
Immediately, a steady stream of traffic started to appear on our site…
And we also got a wave of feedback! We went from zero to 70+ conversations a day, and became incredibly busy. When it comes to dealing with these conversations, I have three lessons to share…
Canned responses – I’m not suggesting you should plan and create these in advance, but pay attention to the questions you’re answering frequently. Pull out the best parts of your answers, and put them into a text document for future use. We ended up with around 30 different canned responses to common questions. But not just that – we let this guide our content creation. Where people were struggling, we thought we could create support articles or content to help our users out.
Documentation – Real value to your audience comes not from writing short replies, but actually sending people to a step-by-step guide, or a full manual, that shows them how to do everything they need to do.
Listen carefully – Again, this was primarily a listening exercise for us. Answering questions can be done in two ways: you can either answer the question without much thought, or you can dig a little deeper into where the question comes from. What are they wanting from the product? Where do they want to get to, and how can you adapt your systems, processes and features to help them get there quicker? This can really help you rapidly develop your product.
If the initial launch was a ‘soft’ one to AppSumo Plus members, then the ‘hard’ launch was about as ‘hard’ as can be, as Project.co was exposed to 800,000 new people.
Support requests – which had settled down since the soft launch – went from being manageable to extremely busy again! This was our 2nd wave!
And there was a painful moment when we saw a video review from a lifetime deal vlogger, who highlighted a simple but real error within the tool, something that we’d missed. This error (around task start and end dates) was an incredibly simple, quick fix – but it caused problems in the rest of the system for the video review, which made it look like the system was buggy and glitchy – which wasn’t the case. This really hurt, but was a lesson learned.
I continued offering pretty much non-stop customer support, making sure people had access to the system, and – of course – using all that feedback to learn, and grow, improving the system based on the feedback people were continually giving. A busy, breathless but incredibly satisfying and worthwhile process!
Before the end of the promotion, a final reminder email went out to the full AppSumo list, reminding people to buy quickly because the offer would be closing in 2 days. To coincide with this email, we put together a communique explaining all our new features, and outlining how we’d been listening to feedback so far, about an hour before the AppSumo email went out. This was a great way to illustrate that we’d been listening and build confidence among people who were interested but hadn’t bought yet.
It makes total sense, of course, but this is where most of our sales happened. In fact, 35% of our sales happened in the last three days. The sense of urgency and scarcity clearly helped convince a few ‘maybe’ customers to take the plunge and buy.
The day after the emails went out, we conducted a webinar – this was a 20-minute demo of the system, and a Q&A, and I have to say it went really well. We got loads of questions from a highly engaged audience.
The webinar was moderated and hosted by AppSumo and went out on their channels. They also promoted this on social with some ads – at their expense – to get people to opt-in, which I thought was good, as it shows they don’t just rely on their existing list.
Ok, so let’s talk numbers…
Launch to AppSumo Plus and added to AppSumo homepage: 17th July 2019
Launch to full list: 24th July 2019
Final email sent: 8th August
Webinar: 9th August
Deal close: 10th August
3,713 accounts created
2,282 free accounts
1,431 paid accounts
485 accounts with more than 1 code
1,916 total codes sold
764 codes refunded
$93,884 total revenue generated
30% = Our AppSumo split
$28,165.20 our revenue
130 on site questions
1,700+ support conversations
53 on site reviews (4.65 / 5 avg review)
47 full 5 taco reviews!!
30 Capterra reviews (4.8 / 5 avg review)
After the deal finished, the support, of course, continued, although it was less intense!
For weeks after the promotion closed, we had people asking if they could buy at the AppSumo price. We decided to give a 2 week grace period and sold for $49 – which meant we kept 100% of the money. This amounted to £1,345.82 (when converted to our local currency GBP).
Every code bought had an expiration date – which was supposed to be 1st October 2019 as suggested by AppSumo. However, even now (first week of November 2019) we have people asking if they can redeem codes.
Payment was staggered. The deal finished on 8th August, and we were paid based on when deals were bought, on 90 day terms. To put it simply, we were paid in October for deals bought in July, in November for deals bought in August.
So, was it all worthwhile? It’s a definitive ‘yes!’
Working with AppSumo helped us generate traction that would have been nearly impossible to generate any other way.
It also drove excellent product feedback which helped us develop the product quickly. The alternative here would have been to do our own promotion, with a trickle of customers.
This would have meant making development decisions based on one, or a couple, of users asking for a feature. We’d have been investing huge amounts of time and resource into developing features that may have only been useful to a handful of users.
Having a wider sample group meant that we were able to notice when 50-100 people were asking for the same thing – which gave us a much more accurate steer on what people wanted from Project.co. I believe has been a real bonus for the product.
The promotion also created some initial revenue – sure, it’s not full-price, and it’s a one-off, lifetime deal payment, but this was still a good way to generate some initial revenue.
We also found the AppSumo experience helped us build our first ‘superfan’ audience. Again, not to be immodest, but some people don’t just like the product – they truly love it. This has helped us generate reviews and testimonials, with 50+ written testimonials and 2 testimonial videos in production.
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows – we have to support the users we acquired for life, which takes a lot of commitment. There’s no dancing around the fact that it’s very time-consuming compared to the revenue generated. If you’re just in it for the money, this isn’t going to work for you. But – if you’re looking to generate new users, and get a looooot of useful feedback, I think there’s a good chance it’ll be
Would we do it again? Not at this point. Not because it wasn’t worth doing – but because this was a way to generate initial traction, get people using the system and get feedback. We value our product and feel we have a more than fair price and offering currently.
But the exercise more than served its purpose, and we’d recommend the AppSumo experience to others looking to do it for the right reasons.
Matt Byrom
I founded Wyzowl – one of the world’s leading animated explainer video agencies with over 3,000 custom videos created – in 2011. I’m now on a mission to help other businesses become more efficient and manage their projects better with Project.co – We’re sharing everything we do to grow Project.co from disappointing failures to wild successes in Our Journey.
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Rettig Group issues a EUR 100 million domestic bond
Rettig Group will issue a domestic bond of EUR 100 million on 25 June 2012. The bond has a maturity of five years and it carries an annual coupon of 5,25 per cent.
The proceeds of the issue will be used for general corporate purposes. Nordea Bank and Pohjola Bank act as joint book runners for the transaction. In addition, Sampo Bank acts as co-lead manager.
For more information, please contact: Leif Söderström, Group Treasurer, tel. +358 40 501 0930.
Rettig Group is a Finnish family owned company focusing on three core business areas: Rettig ICC (Europe’s leading supplier of heat emitters, under-floor heating and indoor climate regulation), Bore (shipping) and Nordkalk (Northern Europe’s leading supplier of limestone-based products for industry, agriculture and environmental care). Turnover in 2011 amounted to some EUR 970 million. Rettig Group employs some 4,500 persons in 20 countries.
19.11.2012 Release of security issued by Nordkalk Oy Ab
19.10.2012 New Corporate Finance and Development function for Rettig Group
19.10.2012 Neil MacPherson appointed CEO of Rettig ICC
25.06.2012 Rettig Group issues a EUR 100 million domestic bond
02.05.2012 Hans Sohlström appointed Rettig Group’s President and CEO
04.04.2012 Hewing acquisition closed
08.03.2012 Rettig Group's Annual Report 2011 published
31.01.2012 M/V Bore Sea to enter traffic for the transportation of Airbus components
25.01.2012 Rettig acquires Hewing
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Life at RGU
Alumni & Supporters
Graduation Stories >
Graduation Stories - Summer 2019 >
Sacha Sivers-Stewart, Mechanical and Offshore...
Find out the latest guidance and information about the impact of COVID-19 on the University.
COVID-19: ADVICE FOR STaff, STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY
Sacha Sivers-Stewart, Mechanical and Offshore Engineering
After achieving a degree at RGU, Sacha is following her in grandfather’s and father’s footsteps by pursuing a career in engineering.
She graduates with a degree in Mechanical and Offshore Engineering from the School of Engineering at a ceremony held on Friday 12 July.
Sacha studied at North East Scotland College (NESCol) and then transitioned to RGU through the Degree Link programme, where she juggled her studies with working full-time at Aker Solutions.
“I am over the moon that all of my time and effort has paid off,” said Sacha. “It was my grandfather, a systems engineer, and my father, an electrical engineer, who encouraged and inspired me to follow a path in engineering. I had just started working at Aker Solutions, the same company my grandfather worked for, as a Mailroom Assistant when I decided to further my career by progressing my education.
“I started this journey six years ago at college where I studied through part-time evening classes, then I moved to RGU to study for my degree part-time. The flexibility that part-time study offered allowed me to successfully juggle my full-time career at Aker Solutions with my course. I was able to work my way up the career ladder at the company from Mailroom Assistant, to Receptionist, to Technical Assistant, and then to Support Engineer, which is my current role. My goal now is to work my way into the role of a Mechanical Engineer.”
Sacha credits the immense support she received from family, friends, lecturers, fellow students and, Aker Solutions as fundamental to helping her achieve this result.
“Aker Solutions were particularly supportive. When I was made staff during my HND the company funded the rest of my studies which helped me to complete my degree. Sadly, my grandfather passed away three years ago so completing this journey means a lot to me, I’m really proud that I’ve been able to achieve this goal.”
Kenny Moir is the Lead Engineer for Modules at Aker Solutions, and also Sacha’s line manager: “Some of the attributes that it takes to be a great engineer are logical thinking and reasoning, communication skills, attention to detail, being a team player, problem solving, and having a natural curiosity. Sacha possess these qualities in abundance, her tenacity and hard work will surely cement a great career in engineering. Aker Solutions and the Engineering team are proud to continue being part of that journey.”
CampusMoodle
RGyoU
Robert Gordon University, Garthdee House, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen, AB10 7QB, Scotland, UK
A Scottish charity, registration No. SC013781
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“50 Artists” exhibit lights up the night
Real Talk about Deepak
Mamma Mia Production Phenomenal
Creepy, Kooky: Charles Addams at Saginaw Art Museum
“Broadway ReBent” featured Switcheroos
Shipwrecked Rock Band Communes With The Natives
The Next-Best Thing: “The Rocket Man Show” at Temple Theatre
NOSTALGIA REIGNS WITH THE BIJOU ORCHESTRA
“Carole King Musical” top notch, feel good
The SBSO and The Amazing Technicolor Concert Performance
Have No Doubt: SVSU’s “Proof” Is Excellent
Reviewer: Mark De Wolf-Ott
Venue: Studio 23
Two of the “50 Artists,” Matt Lewis at left and Al Maciag, in front of their paintings.
Oh! What a show, what an event, what a night!
Fifty examples of various styles of art are on display at Studio 23, on N. Water St. in Bay City, in an exhibition titled “50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region.”
The opening reception was Thursday, Oct. 10, and the place was packed. 50 artists, their families and friends, and community supporters were there.
The biennial juried exhibition showcases visual artists from the Great Lakes Bay Region, which is an eight-county area of Mid-Michigan. It’s quite an undertaking on the part of Studio 23, celebrating its 60th year.
Judging the works this year were Kim Kleinheart, an art educator; Guy Greve, a community supporter of the arts; Paul A. Haselhuhn, a principle with WTA Architects, and Donna Branch, owner of Gingerblue Gallery in Saginaw.
There is a wide variety of art using numerous techniques and mediums. The styles include wood, bronze, mixed media, paper, pencil, prints, photography, ceramics and assemblage. There is literally something for everyone.
Each artist displays two pieces of art. One at the gallery and one on the Riverwalk in downtown Bay City. There is a public vote taken on line with the prize awarded at the end of the gallery show Nov. 23.
Three awards were given out at the opening, two merit awards and the $3,000 grand prize that went to Rebecca Zeiss, a photographer and teacher at U of M, Flint.
Ninety-three artists submitted work.
This exhibit is similar to the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Inside/Out program where they make copies of their permanent collection and display them on streets in the Detroit area. It’s also comparable to the Grand Rapids Art Prize on a smaller scale.
Do go see the show at the gallery. You can also go early in the morning or late at night on a bike ride or jog to see the works on the Riverwalk.
And be sure to check them out and vote for your favorite at www.studio23baycity.org.
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Racism in Cosmopolitan?
By Emily Rimmer on May 5, 2015 Health and Beauty
Cosmopolitan magazine have recently published a beauty feature that describes old make up trends by labelling them “R.I.P” and comparing them to up to date trends, labelling these “Hello Gorgeous!” But when you look at the feature and the pictures provided you see a disturbing pattern emerge.
Every single “Hello Gorgeous!” girl in the example is a white woman, with the exception of Nicole Richie who is biracial. The “R.I.P” women on the other hand, more often than wanted ended up being a woman of colour. The editor of Cosmopolitan have apologised for any offense they might have caused and it was not their intension for women of colour to be portrayed this way but there are way too many examples, 21 in total, for this to be a mistake and taken so lightly.
Social media was an up raw of people expressing their disgusted and frustration that in our world today we still suffer from blatant racism, with many readers saying they are boycotting the magazine. One woman took to Twitter and wrote “Rare to see women of colour in a mainstream magazine. And when you do its to tell us we are ugly…” Another says “Boycott Cosmopolitan. Down right disgusting!”
This issue has raised an aching point in the magazine and publishing world that we need more diversity on the pages of magazines with mostly white celebrities or white models getting the front covers for example. This one just one step in recognising the bigger issue.
Emily Rimmer
Editor 2016/17 Deputy Editor - Design 2015/16 Health & Beauty 2014/15
Review: BBC’s Hidden October 3, 2020
Disaster Caused by Gender Reveal Parties October 1, 2020
Period Subscription Boxes: Tried and Tested October 9, 2020
REVIEW: Dark Waters October 4, 2020
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Public Service Message
REACHING MILLIONS WITH THE MESSAGE
“THEY SAID, THEY LIED”
The effectiveness of The Truth About Drugs booklets led to a series of public service announcements, “They Said, They Lied.” with strong depictions of the destructive effects of the most prevalent drugs, the 16 PSAs are contemporary, high-impact communications aimed directly at youth.
These messages can effectively deter first-time drug use and form a vital component of the Truth About Drugs program.
The PSAs are designed to bring about increased awareness of the effects of drugs and to cut usage rates wherever they are broadcast. The first three ads address a common misconception leading to drug experimentation: the belief that taking drugs makes you cool (“Popular”), that one drug high won’t lead to addiction (“Just Once”), and that one hit can’t hurt you (“One Hit”).
Shattering the most common myths about drugs, the 16 “They Said, They Lied” PSAs are available online and have aired around the world to millions of viewers.
The other PSAs address commonly used drugs: marijuana, alcohol, Ecstasy, cocaine, crack cocaine, crystal meth, inhalants, heroin, LSD and prescription painkillers. The messages are designed to present realistic situations and facts in a way that communicates to young people so they will listen. Each PSA corresponds to one of The Truth About Drugs booklets.
More than 500 television stations in some 100 countries have aired the Truth About Drugs PSAs. Industry communication experts give “They Said, They Lied” PSAs high ratings for rising above mass media noise and effectively reaching their intended audience. The messages have won Telly, Addy and other awards.
The PSAs have also received laudatory reviews from those responsible for teaching about drugs:
“The PSAs provided the students with an immediate connection, as they used people within their own age group with whom they could identify.” —Teacher, Canada
“I always use the PSAs to get their attention…The videos seem to start the discussions, and then student after student volunteers to share about their own lives and families. The impact is huge.” —Instructor, Utah
Government, law enforcement agencies, schools, community groups and other drug prevention programs utilize the Truth About Drugs PSAs.
Since their release in 2008, the Truth About Drugs public service announcements have been viewed by tens of millions.
These messages provide a strong introduction to drug education presentations and are one of the components of the Truth About Drugs curriculum. They are utilized widely by government, law enforcement agencies, schools, community groups and other drug prevention programs.
In Honduras, where the National Council Against Drug Trafficking has partnered with Foundation for a Drug-Free World, the messages are used in presentations to senior military officers and cadets at the military academy.
Police officers from the Texas Crime Prevention Association use the PSAs and Truth About Drugs booklets in their drug education presentations.
In Panama, a drug education campaign was launched by regularly playing the PSAs through prime time on the country’s national television station, reaching 2 million viewers.
In Taiwan, the messages have likewise been played on national television to 5 million viewers and are used as part of the drug education curriculum in 500 schools.
Across the world, these powerful messages are saving youth from falling prey to the lure of drugs.
CLICK ON A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT TO SEE THE VIDEO
1 ALCOHOL 2 COCAINE 3 CRACK 4 CRYSTAL METH
5 ECSTACY 6 HEROIN 7 INHALANTS
8 JUST ONCE 9 LSD 10 ONE HIT
11 PAINKILLERS 12 POPULAR 13 RITALIN
14 MARIJUANA
15 THEY SAID, THEY LIED
16GET YOUR KIDS THE TRUTH ABOUT DRUGS.drugfreeworld.org
The Truth About Drugs “They Said, They Lied” PSAs have been aired by more than 500 TV stations in some 100 countries. Each PSA takes up an individual illicit drug or substance, visually depicting its harmful effects with realistic stories.
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Charmed reboot casts Madeleine Mantock as final sister
The CW’s Charmed reboot has cast Madeleine Mantock as the final sister
By Poppy-Jay Palmer 07-03-18 38,427
The CW’s Charmed reboot has finally finished casting its core trio of witchy sisters. Madeleine Mantock, who has previously starred in other genre TV shows like The Tomorrow People and Into The Badlands, is set to play sister Macy.
Variety describes Macy as “as a practical, driven, and brilliant geneticist. Her world is blown open when she discovers that the supernatural world is all too real.”
Mantock joins Melonie Diaz (Fruitvale Station) as sister Mel, “a passionate, outspoken activist who loses her way in the wake of family tragedy,” and Sarah Jeffery (Wayward Pines) as sister Madison, “a bubbly college freshman who finds witchcraft at odds with her goal of getting into a super-fun sorority.”
Ser’Darius Blaine (Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle) has also been cast as Macy’s boyfriend Galvin. Galvin is “funny, mellow, in touch with his emotions, totally on board to follow his lady across the country for her dream job. An aspiring filmmaker, he has yet to catch the break he’s sure is just around the corner.”
You can read The CW’s description of the Charmed reboot here:
This fierce, funny, feminist reboot of the original series centres on three sisters in a college town who discover they are witches. Between vanquishing supernatural demons, tearing down the patriarchy, and maintaining familial bonds, a witch’s work is never done.
The show is coming from Jane The Virgin showrunner and creator Jennie Snyder Urman for CBS TV Studios. Jessica O’Toole and Amy Rardin are writing the script, as well as executive producing alongside Urman, Ben Silverman and Brad Silberling. The latter is also set to directing.
Charmed doesn’t yet have a release date. Get all the latest fantasy news with every issue of SciFiNow.
The CW’s Charmed reboot given a full series order Charmed reboot casts Sarah Jeffery as one of the sisters The CW’s Charmed reboot trailers introduce the new sisters Charmed new trailer is all about the sisterhood Ghost-hunting series The Archived is in the works for The CW Sabrina TV series casts Lucy Davis as Aunt Hilda
Tags: Charmed
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Jordanville
Liturgical Theology
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Serbia 2021
Articles • Bishop Jerome of Manhattan • Church People • Interviews • Lives of Bishops
A Nuanced Portrait of Archbishop Nikon of Florida
Bishop Jerome of Manhattan November 16, 2009 New York
The future Bishop Hieronymus to the left of the Archdiocese Nikon. The Holy Feast of the Pokrovsk Temple in Nayak, 1972
The former ROCOR bishop of Manhattan shares his memories about one of the representative hierarchs of the Russian Church Abroad.
Here is a short biography of Bishop Nikon translated by Xenia Endres-Nenchin from Fr. George Seide’s book Geschichle der Russischen Orthodoxen Kirche im Ausland von der Gründung bis in die Gegenwart. Otto Harassowitz Munich, Germany 1983.
ARCHBISHOP NIKON
(Nicholas P. Rklitski, b. 1882 in Borki, d. 1976 in the United States), 1948 Bishop of Florida
Born into a priest’s family, he attended parochial school in Chernigov and helped his father in the parish administration. Then he attended seminary in Chernigov. He enrolled in Warsaw University in 1910. Continued his study of law at Kiev University, where he passed the exam in 1915. Volunteered for military service, took part in the Civil War, fighting for the White Army. 1918 he became acquainted with Metropolitan Antony (Khrapovitsky), with whom he worked most closely from 1922-3 6 in the emigration. After the death of Metropolitan Antony he studied theology in Belgrade and prepared to be a missionary. 1941 tonsured a monk, ordained to the priesthood and rector of Holy Trinity Church, Belgrade. Fled with the Synod in 1944 to Karlsbad and Munich. In Karlsbad he joined the Ladomirovo Saint Job Brotherhood. Elevated to igumen, exiled to Switzerland and secretary of the Synod. 1946 elevated to archimandrite, moved to Jordanville. Secretary to Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko). 1948 Bishop of Florida, Vicar Bishop of Eastern America. 1959 archbishop, from 1967 Archbishop of Washington & Florida, member of the Synod. Died 4/1 7 Sept. 1976. The author of numerous writings and collaborator on variousnewspapers,including Military Herald (Voenny Vestnik) and Imperial Herald (Tsarsky Vestnik). His main work was the seventeen-volume edition of Zhizneopisanie Blazhenneishago Antonia, Mitropolita Kievskago i Galitskago (New York 1956- 69).
Source: Pravoslavnaia Rus’ (1948) 11, p.12; 12, pp. 8-12; (1976) 18, p.16
Your Grace, in our first interview with you we expressed our hope that at some point you would share with the readers of this Web site your recollections of “the old ROCOR.” From 1970 to 1976 you served as secretary and the cell attended of Archbishop Nikon (Rklitskii) of D.C. and Florida (d. 1976), and you were perhaps even the Archbishop’s confidant interlocutor. Therefore, we dedicate this interview to him.
Actually, I began my service with Vl. Nikon in June, 1971, until his repose on Sept. 4, 1976. Vladyka did not approve the use of the word “kelleinik” or cell-attendant: I was officially only his secretary, translator, subdeacon and, from 1973, his chauffeur.
Ever memorable Metropolitan Lavr held a high opinion of Bishop Nikon. I remember that the Metropolitan referred something to the effect of Vladyka Nikon’s honest and objective responses to his sometimes unamiable correspondents. Could you describe the Archbishop Nikon’s character?
Vladyka was extremely good and kind, gentle, but at the same time firm. I never saw him speak harshly to anyone during the years I was with him, but on occasion he became very tired of the “unamiable” people, as you put it, and when they were difficult, he could show how tired he was, not of the individuals, but of the nonsense they were speaking. He was truly a paternal and loving hierarch, and he made one feel very secure and positive about church life, despite the troubles that always plagued our Church.
Vladyka Nikon was very involved with the monarchist movement; he published Tsarskii Vestnik in Belgrade before World War Two. In America he was constantly attacked by Nikolai Chukhov, a rival monarchist publisher. I can easily picture Vladyka Nikon preaching to the ranks of Russian anticommunist troops during World War Two or giving a keynote address at a Russian monarchist convention, but was he able to reach other constituencies?
I believe the man’s name was Chukh-n-ov (and a literary caricature of him appeared in the English-language novel “Father Vikenty”, by Paul Chavchavadze).Yes, Vladyka was a convinced monarchist, but he was open to many different constituencies. For example, he welcomed American and other converts to our Church Abroad, and it was important to him that we had English-language services in the lower church at Synod. He had many influential American friends, some of whom, not being members, still made donations and helped support the Church Abroad. The Baroness Susanna Tenzer, for example, converted to Orthodoxy under his personal influence.
How was it possible that Bishop Nikon’s political activity did not interfere with his archpastoral duties?
Vladyka’s political activity consisted of a belief in Holy Russia, and in the future restoration of Orthodox life and polity there. But rather than bringing politics into the Church, he sought to make public, or political, life more Christian.
Could you tell us about Vladyka Nikon’s pastoral work work on behalf of those who came to the ROCOR from non-Orthodox confessions?
Vladyka always encouraged converts who came to our Church, not only Americans, but others as well: he received a Cuban mission in Miami that flourished for a time, and with his support, the English-language services at St. Vladimir Memorial Church in Jackson, NJ began and continue to this day. He was sympathetic to the various non-Russian dioceses that we used to have in ROCOR. For Vladyka, there could be many forms, traditions, languages in the Orthodox faith, but there was nothing for him outside of Orthodoxy.
I understand that in the mid-1960s the episcopate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was polarized, with “diplomats” pitted against “zealots.” Archbishop Nikon represented the former group and St. John of San Francisco the latter. Would you care to explain the role of Vladyka Nikon in that face-off?
I do not agree with that assessment. Both Vladyka Nikon and St. John of San Francisco had much the same world view. They differed only in their methods or means of achieving the goals both embraced. St. John was an ascetic and a mystic; Vladyka Nikon was kind and loving, and I would say, tried by gentle encouragement to lead people, be they Russian or not, to the One True Faith. Those who were sometimes called “zealots” in those days were a different group, and though they tried to lay claim to St. John of San Francisco, they themselves were often of a narrow, sectarian mentality, an outlook foreign to both St. John and to Archbishop Nikon.
I am thankful to Vladyka Nikon for his monumental, although apologetic, biography of Metropolitan Anthony. Do you remember any of Vladyka Nikon’s reminiscences of Metropolitan Anthony?
Of course. Vladyka often told little incidents he remembered. For example, Metropolitan Anthony had not wanted to leave Russia when the White Army evacuated from the Crimea, but was tricked into boarding the ship to celebrate a moleben, and while he was aboard, the ship sailed.
Your time with Vladyka Nikon coincided with new trends within the ROCOR. What was Archbishop Nikon’s attitude regarding our resistance to “modernist” Orthodox jurisdiction?
Vladyka Nikon was not one of those who attacked other Orthodox jurisdictions. He privately told me that, while the old calendar is more correct, it was a mistake to break off communion with those who followed the new, and that we should have maintained ties with the official, or main, Greek Church rather than with the Old Calendarists. There were, he said, various calendars in the early Church, so the calendar issue was not one of “heresy”. Vladyka did not “resist” other Orthodox Churches, though he also did not make an issue of his feelings on the matter.
Is there anything else that you would care to tell us about Archbishop Nikon?
Perhaps that would be something for another interview.
Thank you, Vladyka, for sharing your valuable time with us today. We hope that in the next interview you will also share your thoughts on the present-day ROCOR.
Conducted by Deacon Andrei Psarev
Remembering Archbishop Nikon: Address delivered by His Grace, Bishop Jerome of Manhattan, on March 16, 2009
A Brief Autobiography of Bishop Jerome of Manhattan
Bishop Jerome of Manhatan on Western Rite in the ROCOR
Bishop Jerome of Manhattan on Conciliarity Spirit in the ROCOR
Bishop Jerome of Manhattan: Interview Regarding the Reconciliation
Reminiscences About Metropolitan Laurus
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A History of the Negotiations with ROCOR Hierarch Archbishop Afanasii...
We Should Focus on Strengthening ROCOR Internally
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Christmas With Vladyka Lavr. Part 2: About Church in...
Christmas With Vladyka Lavr. Part 1: About Myself
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Latvian Orthodox Clergy in Western Germany, 1945–1949
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Historical Studies of the Russian Church Abroad
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The website serves to promote knowledge about crucial people and events of the past and to tell a story of those who work hard on making a difference in the present-day of this Church. The conversation about the past is based on historical methodology, which requires respect to be shown to subjects of research and the study of all facts indiscriminately. The dialogue about the present is based on the same methodology for those who recognize the value of candid conversations.
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Samuel Daniell, A Tswana man holding an ostrich feather fan ('Boosh-wana'), 1820.
Soft-ground etching on india paper. 279 mm x 229 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London.
This image is not available to download. To licence this image for commercial purposes, contact our Picture Library at picturelibrary@royalacademy.org.uk
A Tswana man holding an ostrich feather fan ('Boosh-wana'), 1820
Samuel Daniell (1775 - 1811)
RA Collection: Art
A Tswana man holding an ostrich feather fan ('Boosh-wana')
Drawn by
Engraved by
William Daniell RA (1769 - 1837)
William Daniell RA (1769 - 1837) and Mrs William Wood (before 1837 - fl. 1898)
Sir John Barrow (1764 - 1848) and Dr. William Somerville (1771 - 1860)
Richard Taylor (before 1802 - 1858) and Arthur Taylor (1790 - 1870)
Leopold I King of Belgium (1790 - 1865)
Sketches representing the Native Tribes, Animals and Scenery of Southern Africa, printed by Richard and Arthur Taylor [for] William Daniell and William Wood, (London: 1820), pl. 44
Soft-ground etching on india paper
This image is from a book
Sketches representing the native tribes, animals and scenery of Southern Africa / from drawings made by the late Mr. Samuel Daniell, engraved by William Daniell - London: 1820
Click here to view the book
Artist profile Samuel Daniell
Died: 16 December 1811
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‘Anti-Semitic’: Benjamin Netanyahu slams HBO series about murder of Palestinian
31 Aug, 2019 09:52
File photo © Pool via REUTERS / Abir Sultan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a boycott of the producers of a HBO series which, he says, is “anti-Semitic” and “slanders Israel.”
Netanyahu took to Facebook to call for a boycott of “propaganda” Channel 12 and its owner Keshet for creating the show ‘Our Boys’, which he says “besmirches the good name of Israel.” He urged his followers to stop watching the channel, especially those who have a ratings meter in their homes.
Also on rt.com ‘Kill first!’ Netanyahu claims Israel’s Syrian strikes thwarted imminent ‘Iranian aggression’
‘Our Boys’ tells the story of the murder of Palestinian Mohammed Abu Khdeir, who was kidnapped and burned alive by two Israeli teenagers and an adult in 2014.
Netanyahu slammed the series for not focusing on the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, who had been killed by Hamas militants before Khdeir’s kidnapping, sparking riots and Israel’s war on Gaza in 2014.
Netanyahu was criticized at the time for using the Jewish boy’s deaths as a pretext to carry out raids and arrest hundreds of Palestinians, and for the subsequent assault on Gaza, which saw 1,462 Palestinian civilians, including 551 children, killed by the Israel Defense Forces. The assault also destroyed much of Gaza’s infrastructure and homes, with over 6,000 air strikes in 50 days.
“We were drawn to understanding the perpetrators of this murder more than we were interested in understanding the victimhood of our side,” Hagai Levi, one of the filmmakers, told Drama Quarterly about the motivation for the show.
Netanyahu is no fan of Channel 12 and said he was “used to them blackmailing me on a daily basis.” On Friday the High Court rejected a petition by his Likud party to stop the channel from publishing matters about corruption cases against him.
Also on rt.com Up to 49 Palestinians wounded in clashes at Gaza strip border
Families of victims of terrorism in Israel have also written a letter criticizing the series, saying it gave the wrong impression of Israelis. “The balance is not clear to someone viewing the show, who thinks ‘we murder them, they murder us’,” Merav Hajaj, whose daughter, a soldier, was killed in a Palestinian car-ramming incident in 2017, told Reuters.
The Netanyahu government arguably tainted its own reputation internationally for its treatment of Palestinian protesters at the Great Return March demonstrations over the last 17 months, in which over 200Palestinians, including medics and journalists, have been killed by Israeli forces.
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‘Good luck determining what happened’: Trump says US not involved in Iranian satellite ‘incident’
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Sidmouth sailors on tour
Published: 12:50 PM June 4, 2010 Updated: 6:33 PM November 7, 2020
Well on tour may be a slight exaggeration, as Sidmouth Sailing Club members only went as far as Roadford reservoir, midway between Okehampton and Launceston.
Well "on tour" may be a slight exaggeration, as Sidmouth Sailing Club members only went as far as Roadford reservoir, midway between Okehampton and Launceston. However, approximately 50 people, made up of club members and their families, trailed boats down to Roadford for three days of camping and sailing over the bank holiday weekend.
The entourage arrived on Saturday in the rain, which didn't help the setting up of the camp. Typical bank holiday weather! We were allocated a field to ourselves on the banks of the reservoir where we could also keep the boats for easy launching. In fact, compared to the usual problems of launching into the sea from the Sidmouth beach, it was pure luxury.
Andy Mitchell had the foresight to bring along his father's large frame tent which became the "Community Centre" where we could cook, socialise and watch the antics on the lake.
Saturday afternoon provided some very exciting conditions with strong winds, which the Scorpion sailors really enjoyed. Plenty of wind and a total absence of waves made for some spectacular sailing, with boats easily planing, with spinnakers flying. Chris Clapp and Imogen Dinham-Price entered the Roadford sailing club's afternoon race and were leading at one point, although it was uncertain how far up the fleet they eventually finished - but the Sidmouth Sailing Club's honour was safe.
By the evening, the weather had improved and a barbecue was enjoyed by everyone. It was a shame that a disposable barbecue was stood on the bench seat of the picnic table: but the ensuing fire kept us all warm until someone found a bucket of water to douse the flames!
We woke on Sunday to a fine sunny day and that is the way that it stayed with wind as well and near perfect conditions. Part of the idea for the weekend had been to get as many of the beginners and juniors as we could to take part and receive training.
This worked very well with everyone helping each other and sailing. We also had some kayaks and a rowing boat and a hired power boat and so there was plenty of choice and everyone got on the water in a boat of some description.
In the afternoon, the juniors, and some not so juniors, challenged each other to a raft building competition, using barrels and poles supplied by the Roadford Water Centre. To say the rafts floated is strictly correct but any other complements would flatter the finished articles. I certainly wasn't prepared to risk a soaking by getting on one and felt much happier sat in the comfort of the safety boat.
The sailing continued until early evening when thoughts turned again to a communal cook out, this time without the picnic table heater, but we did have entertainment from Barney Croft's friend and his guitar instead.
The forecast had been for a return to rain and wind on Monday, but, fortunately, the forecasters got it wrong and Monday was another warm sunny day, but with very little wind.
The quiet conditions meant that Laura Mitchell was able to offer trips around the lake in a borrowed Enterprise.
The offer was taken up by the Commodore, who doesn't sail dinghies for fear of getting wet, and he enjoyed a brief trip helming. The same was true for Christina, the Commodore's wife, and Laura's mum, Carolyn, who aren't usually seen anywhere near a sailing dinghy.
It was a fun weekend, enjoyed by all and allowed some extra teaching and for members' families to get to know each other.
Thanks goes to all who took part and helped make the weekend such a success but a very special thank you goes to Nick Jennings, the club's Vice-Commodore, who organised the whole event and to whom we are very grateful.
l This coming weekend sees the first of the Open Championships with the Scorpion Fleet visiting.
We are hoping for some decent weather to provide good sailing.
The first race starts at 2pm on Saturday afternoon and there are further races on Sunday.
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Taxpayers Alliance Calls For Personal Liability For Data Breaches
All Tech News > category news Regulation
Iris Cheerin, January 18, 2012, 2:54 pm
RegulationSecurityWorkspace
The Taxpayers’ Alliance says p[ublic sector data loss fines should be paid by individuals, not tax payers – others sidagree
Low tax campaigners Taxpayers’ Alliance has criticised the way the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) deals with public sector breaches in data protection, claiming that current penalties are just a way to double tax the public.
According to the body,the £640,000 in fines paid to date by councils in breach of the DPA has gone back into central coffers, something it views as pointless.
Pass the parcel
The Alliance believes that this reshuffling of public funds is meaningless and that staff rather than tax payers should be held financially accountable for data loss.
In the statement, an ICO spokesperson is quoted as saying that “The purpose of monetary penalties is to act as a deterrent to serious non compliance with data protection obligations. The best way a public authority can protect taxpayers’ money is by not being lax in the way it looks after personal information. It is also important to note that any monetary penalty is paid into the Treasury’s Consolidated Fund and is not kept by the Commissioner.”
Dominique Lazanski, head of digital policy, the TaxPayers’ Alliance said “Of course people in these situations should be held personally liable as if the council is fined, then that fine is paid for out of the local council taxes. In essence it is a double tax – once for collecting/storing the data and again for losing it.”
“It has been my opinion that while I think the best kind of government is limited government, we have an Information Commissioner who isn’t even doing his job in many cases and this seems like yet another example,” added Lazanski.
Threat mitigation specialist, Cryptzone has rubbished the suggestion, stating that while the idea may be superficially attractive, it could have negative results in the medium-to-longer term since such a policy would reduce employees to ‘scared rabbits caught in headlights’ as far as IT security is concerned.
Grant Taylor, UK VP of Cryptzone said “If the penalties are applied to nominated senior managers in the relevant NHS trust, council or other government agency – as is the case with corporate responsibility, for example within transportation authorities – then the public sector could be forced into building liability insurance remuneration into management salaries, as has been required by medical professionals for some time.”
Despite this, Taylor believes that discussing the potential for employee liability would “make at least some of the staff more security conscious and responsible”. He did warn that sowing the seeds of irrational fear and implementing a carrot-and-stick mentality should be avoided in favour of fair and consistent communication to bring about behavioural change.
“There needs to be a full and frank debate on both sides of the management/employee divide on this subject, but to reduce the argument to individual ICO penalties within the workforce would only result in the departure of the most talented member of staff – who will be streamed off into the private sector – with predictable results. This is what makes this argument something of a non-starter in our opinion,” he said.
People’s Energy Data Breach Impacts 270,000 Customers
Bristol City Council Data Breach Revealed Names Of Disabled Children
ICO Hits Ticketmaster With £1.2m Data Breach Fine
Author: Iris Cheerin
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Galaxy Nexus Hands-on
Vincent Nguyen - Oct 18, 2011, 11:51pm CDT
Samsung and Google unveiled the Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in Hong Kong today, and we grabbed some hands-on time with the new dual-core smartphone. Just 8.94mm thick, with a Contour Curve design, huge high-resolution display and choice of LTE or HSPA+ versions, the Galaxy Nexus is a fitting flagship to continue Google’s Nexus brand. Keep reading for our hands-on first impressions.
It’s hard to beat the 4.65-inch Super AMOLED HD display for wow-factor. Packing a 100,000:1 contrast ratio and huge 1280 x 720 resolution and 16:9 aspect, it’s incredibly bright, color-rich and vivid. Samsung’s preloaded demo videos were obviously picked to showcase the Galaxy Nexus’ abilities, but they’re definitely lag and smear free. More than that, though, Ice Cream Sandwich has apparently been designed especially to suit 1280 x 720 as a native resolution, which means there’s no icon jaggedness, while the new Roboto font has been designed to suit high-res screens. The 4.29mm bezel means the display is about as edge-to-edge in appearance as an Android device has managed to-date.
Galaxy Nexus Hands-on:
There’s been some surprise about the Galaxy Nexus’ specs, particularly the 5-megapixel camera. In a year where 8-megapixels has become the start point for high-end smartphones, Samsung’s choice is unusual, but the two companies still say the new Nexus can compete. The camera app loads quickly and the sharing menu is refined, with an icon carousel rather than the pop-up list of before. There’s tap-to-focus/exposure-lock too, as well as face detection, and Google’s zero shutter lag technology is incredibly fast.
You can shoot multiple images in rapid succession, too, though we found you can end up with blurry pictures since it’s all too easy to get trigger-happy when you’re moving the phone. Hipstamatic-style filters and panoramic shots can be easily accessed. Video, meanwhile, supports 1080p, while Ice Cream Sandwich’s support for continuous focus and zoom within video capture, time-lapse clips and the ability to take snapshots while simultaneously shooting video are incredibly useful.
iPhone 4S vs Galaxy Nexus camera speed test (first to five complet shots win)
This is a very close call. Note that iPhone 4S actually took 6 pictures to Galaxy Nexus’ five.
In the hand, the Galaxy Nexus feels solid and slick. Gone is the fingerprint-magnet, cheap-feeling plastic of the Galaxy S, replaced by soft-touch plastics and metal. The Contour Design curve is subtle, as before, but more obvious thanks to the bigger screen; whether it actually has an impact on usability remains to be seen, but it’s definitely straightforward to slide a thumb down the display while using it one-handed. Considering this is one of the biggest panels on an Android device – or, in fact, a smartphone – today, it surprisingly doesn’t feel oversized, either. You can slot it into a front trouser pocket with no problems.
Google is understandably using the Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich to push its increasing app and services portfolio, and most notably the Google+ app comes preloaded. Google’s social network and Facebook rival will now be baked into every Android device. We’ll cover more impressions from Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in a separate post shortly.
Ice Cream Sandwich hands-on demo
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus will go sale from November, with a Verizon LTE version in the US and other carrier versions in Europe and Asia. More details in our hands-on gallery and video!
Topics AndroidgoogleHands OnSamsung
Gas-giant exoplanet WASP-107b has a surprisingly low core mass
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UW-Eau Claire welcomed UW System President Ray Cross for group-based listening session
University students, staff and faculty gathered for UW System’s strategic planning listening session
Story by Austin Mai, Editor in ChiefOctober 15, 2015Leave a Comment
More stories from Austin Mai
Loen: Skill doesn’t win games; balance does
Photo by FILE PHOTO
Ray Cross, UW System president, speaking at an open forum last spring on campus. He visited Eau Claire Wednesday for a discussion on what the UW System can do to help the current state of Wisconsin.
UW System President Ray Cross came to campus Wednesday and heard input from community members regarding the state’s major issues and what role the UW System should play to “help Wisconsin address its most critical challenges and opportunities.”
This session was part of a series of 14 strategic planning listening sessions.
Nearly 100 community members including UW-Eau Claire students, staff, faculty and interested citizens sat in groups of six-to-eight and discussed varied topics from table to table.
Many of the discussions were born from two topics the Chancellor’s office introduced, including major challenges and opportunities Wisconsin faces today and the role the UW System should play to help address them.
Each table had a facilitator who served as a vocal representative. After about 20 minutes, table-based discussion ended and Cross and a few others would walk amongst the attendees and hand the microphone to a facilitator to discuss their group’s thoughts on the topic.
Facilitators said the major issues facing Wisconsin included lack of diversity, handling the budget cuts affecting primary, secondary and higher education, UW System schools’ public transparency, depleted workforce and trying to rescue the Wisconsin Idea.
The UW System created and embraced the educational philosophy dubbed the Wisconsin Idea in 1904. It describes how UW-education can and should improve people’s lives beyond the classroom through teaching, research and public services.
Cross said he gathered a lot from the Eau Claire hearing.
“I heard the university needs to be more engaged in the community,” Cross said. “I heard that in different ways which included tearing down the walls and showing the community what the university really does.”
Student Body President Jake Wrasse said it was great to see different people get involved.
“(Wednesday’s group) made it clear the university can do a better job communicating with prospective students, the community and the legislature about what value it brings,” Wrasse said.
The “Individual Reporting Sheet,” sent out by the Chancellor’s office as part of the RSVP for the event, included a categorical checkbox to indicate whether the respondent was a current Eau Claire student, faculty or instructional staff member, academic or university staff member or administrator.
These sheets were collected after the event, with responses and comments to the two topics, and Cross told the crowd the responses would be submitted along with other UW locations’ responses into a data analytics system. The system will look for themes that run across individual comments.
“Our strategic analysis starts with recording those themes and determining what we can do about them,” Cross said. “I hope you will hear some of these things in the final strategic plan.”
Cross and his strategic planning tour’s next sessions are at 1:30 and 5 p.m. on Oct. 22 at UW-Madison.
Senior journalism student Thomas Hensen said he liked the way Cross and the UW System approached these issues by going to the people who are being affected. He said he’s unsure how the analytics can be applied and make a difference.
“I’m not too optimistic (about results) based on recent events,” Hensen said. “I don’t know what they’ll find or what they’ll do to make big changes.”
Jose Alvergue, assistant professor of English, attended the event and said it’s not his job to know how to fix the problems the UW System is facing. He said that’s something the UW System administrators should know.
“That’s why we have administrators who make so much money, they should know,” Alvergue said. “To outsource it to us where we’re really sharing quite a lot emotionally and intellectually and then take that around and turn it into their language is always insulting.”
He said it was refreshing to hear opinions from those other than his colleagues. As faculty, disregarded input is something he said he’s used to.
“I’m always disheartened when there’s thoughtful conversation that tries to get wrapped up into sound bites that can be turned into really easily consumed bits of information,” Alvergue said. “The conclusion ‘we’ll correlate all of your data and all of your thoughtful remarks’ into some sort of data subset takes the humanity out of it.”
Jake Wrasse
Through the voice of others, she found her own
Graduates anticipate high workforce expectations
Business communication professor nominated for teaching award
Embroidery series fosters message of inclusivity
Experimenting with Christmas cookies
How great are convenience stores?
Sports Specs with Sam
Final meeting shows support for universal feedback and grading periods
COVID on campus
Vice Chancellor for EDI and student affairs leaving UW-Eau Claire
Student senator resigns after disagreements with leadership
Provost announces spring semester will end a week early, no spring break planned
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All Products | Italian Herbs & Spices
Dried Basil Leaf
Dried Marjoram Leaves
Mediterranean Oregano
Dried Parsley Flakes
Whole Black Peppercorns
Cracked Rosemary
Rubbed Sage
Dried Thyme Leaves
Italian Herbs & Cooking Spices
Italian cuisine is known for its simplicity in creating incredible flavor with just a few ingredients. Italian cooks typically reach for whatever is fresh and local. When you consider how different the regions of this country are, it makes sense that the local fare varies so drastically city-to-city.
There are certainly fewer Italian herbs and spices to speak of than there are, say, Indian spices. But that doesn’t mean spices don’t play an important role here. You just have to look a little harder to discover the most common Italian spices.
Let’s start in Rome, where pastas and their many sauces reign supreme. Cacio e pepe is a great example of the simplicity of Italian food — a classic pasta dish made with butter, cheese, and freshly cracked black peppercorns. In cacio e pepe, the black pepper is the heart of the dish. Carbonara also relies heavily on the bite of black pepper. To make Bucatini all’Amatriciana, you’ll definitely need crushed red pepper flakes. Coda alla Vaccinara is a classic Roman stew made with Oxtail, tomato, celery, and these Italian herbs and spices: marjoram, cloves, and cinnamon.
In centrally located Bologna, the food specialties are countless. But this city is probably best known for Bolognese, a meat sauce made using the common medley of carrots, onion, and celery (battuto in Italian) along with tomatoes, butter, milk, and nutmeg. Bologna is also known as the birthplace of tortellini.
In the inland North you have Milan, where there’s more of a focus on meats, rice dishes, cheeses, and hearty casseroles. Risotta alla milanese, the signature dish of Milan, is a creamy risotto made with saffron and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
And then there’s Italian dessert! Cavalluci are traditional Tuscan Christmas cookies that use a mix of cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, and star anise. Nociata comes from the Lazio region of Italy — a chewy candy dessert made with nuts, honey, and cinnamon.
Italian herbs are most often used fresh but sometimes it’s much easier to get that signature Italian flavor with a blend of dried herbs. Our Italian Seasoning is a lovely blend of rosemary, basil, oregano, sage, and marjoram. Keep an eye on this collection as we continue adding new more Italian herbs and spices!
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COVID-19: Local
COVID-19: National
COVID-19: Business
Consumer Confidential: ‘Unusually high call volume’? You’re being lied to, say experts
Sun., Nov. 15, 2020
Getting a “unusually high call volume” message when you ring a company? The problem probably isn’t a high number of calls, but a lower number of people answering phones. (Tribune News Service)
By David Lazarus Los Angeles Times
Call a business, any business. Chances are, you’ll hear a recording that says they’re experiencing “unusually high call volume” so you should expect a long wait on hold.
You’re being lied to, experts say.
Call volume in fact is about the same as it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, call center industry insiders and academics who study the business tell me.
What’s different now is that, because of the coronavirus, there are far fewer people answering phones.
“It’s really a problem,” said Mark Rollag, president of xtDirect, an Omaha call center company with operations worldwide. “Most companies just weren’t prepared for something like this.”
He told me that, roughly speaking, there are about 25% fewer call center agents answering phones than before the pandemic because of cutbacks and a lack of resources for agents to work from home.
And that’s here in the United States. Overseas, in call-center-heavy countries such as India and the Philippines, entire facilities were shut down because of COVID-19 risk. Some have reopened. Many have not.
This means thousands of calls daily are being handled abroad by relatively few English-speaking agents equipped with the gear to work remotely.
“Call volume is not up,” said Maddy Martin, head of growth and education for Smith.ai, a Palo Alto outsourcing firm that provides clients with “virtual receptionists.”
Her company’s average client has “the same number of calls per week as it did late last year,” she said.
Aaron Sackett, an associate professor of marketing at the University of St. Thomas, said many if not most companies have adopted “unusually high call volume” as their default explanation for long waits on hold.
He said this excuse is given “whether the reason for it is a surprising number of callers, a surprising number of bathroom breaks at the customer call center, or that the company decided to cut costs by reducing the number of call center employees.”
Thomas Robbins, an associate professor of marketing and supply-chain management at East Carolina University, said the growth of “unusually high call volume” recordings is due in part to businesses trying to manage customer expectations during the pandemic.
“If they tell you five minutes and answer in four, you are much happier than if they tell you two minutes and answer in three,” Robbins observed.
He also said the call volume recordings may be intended to prod more people into going online, where companies can more easily (and cheaply) handle customer problems.
“They are very motivated to get your issue resolved without having to talk to you,” Robbins said.
Nothing new there. Businesses have been laser-focused for a long time on keeping customers at arm’s length.
Human service reps are expensive. Automated systems are much, much more pennywise.
A 2017 study by IBM found that businesses spend more than $1 trillion a year on customer service calls. A call handled by a human agent can cost a company $15 to $200, IBM found. With an automated system, that cost drops to just $1.
The catch: Consumers consistently say that if they have a matter to resolve, they don’t want to deal with a robot. They want a living, breathing person.
A survey last year found that 86% of consumers prefer interacting with a human agent rather than an automated system.
Moreover, 71% of respondents said they’d be less likely to stick with a brand “if they knew that brand didn’t have human agents available.”
Businesses that think they can pull a fast one on customers with automation, therefore, are only fooling themselves. They’re ignoring people’s preference solely to save themselves a few bucks.
And this has been going on for decades.
The year 1973 saw a ceasefire declared in Vietnam. Richard Nixon was sworn in for a second term as president. Pink Floyd released “Dark Side of the Moon.”
It was also the year the automated switchboard was born.
The underlying technology of this most satanic of devices was invented in the workshop of an Iowa company called Collins Radio, which nearly half a century ago created the digital voice switch, allowing electronic routing of voice data.
This breakthrough would serve as the foundation of a variety of other technologies that, combined, would make the modern phone tree possible.
Press 1 for this, press 2 for that. Abandon hope all ye who enter here.
Personally, I’d be fine with companies admitting in their recordings that they need to economize because of the pandemic, so please be patient. But that’s not what they’re saying.
Instead they’re hiding behind the fiction of unusually high call volume to mask their unwillingness to meet customer demand for service. They’ve chosen dishonesty as a corporate strategy.
Anthony Dukes, a marketing professor at USC, said the question at this point “is how incentivized are some companies to rectify that problem.”
“Some companies may not feel it is worth it to be extra customer-driven at the moment,” he said.
Sackett at St. Thomas University observed that, from a customer psychology perspective, offering any explanation for a long wait on hold is better than nothing.
“Psychological research on persuasion shows that a ‘because’ statement, even if meaningless, can make a big difference in how people react to a request,” he told me.
“People don’t really think about the explanation. Their minds just process that there is one.”
Sackett added, though, that claiming an unusually high call volume “is pretty feeble when consumers are used to hearing it no matter when they call. Plus, after hearing it, they typically have many minutes to sit and stew in their skepticism about whether the statement is really true.”
I have a couple of suggestions.
First, pass a temporary tax break for companies that invest in sufficient levels of support staff. Millions are out of work. Let’s reward companies that hire and train people to work from home during the pandemic and possibly beyond.
Second, some lawmaker should draft a Stuck on Hold Truth Act. That is, it should be illegal to deceive consumers about why they’re languishing on hold or their prospects for getting through to a person.
I’m not saying automated switchboards should be done away with, despite their overwhelming unpopularity among consumers. There are probably some people who find them convenient.
I’m saying it should be illegal to tell consumers that they’re the problem when the problem is actually a skinflint company. Here’s another idea for companies during these challenging times: Improve your product or service so it doesn’t prompt customer calls.
At the very least, have the courage to play a recording that says, “You’re going to be on hold for a long time because we don’t employ enough people to handle our call volume.”
Honesty is still the best policy.
Local restaurant owners urging state to consider 50% indoor dining capacity
UPDATED: 5:22 p.m.
Grizzlies-Blazers called off; NBA stresses new protocols …
Wall Street hits records as hopes build for more stimulus …
On Day One, Biden to undo Trump policies on climate, virus …
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Deal offers more banking services for California pot firms …
Thai court gives record 43-year sentence for insulting king …
New COVID-19 rules give some Washington restaurants ability to open inside dining (but bring a coat)
Experts say President Joe Biden's inaugural address had folksy tone, direct message and phrase that will be remembered: 'uncivil war'
Kicker Blake Mazza will transfer from Washington State to play 'closer to home'
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(→Purpose)
==Purpose==
Masking serves several purposes in exhibition settings. When projecting film, the [[aperture plates|aperture plate]] casts a blurry shadow because it is not on the same focal plane as the film, and masking is used to crop off this shadow and giving the illusion of a sharp edge. It also hides structural elements of the screen and mechanical elements of the masking system itself. Masking also absorbs lights around the visible image area projected on screen, making the image stand out and appear brighter.''"Where the black border is used there is not only less distraction for the eye, but the effect of added light brilliancy is had without its actuality."''<ref>F.H Richardson ''Motion picture handbook;
Masking serves several purposes in exhibition settings. When projecting film, the [[aperture plates|aperture plate]] casts a blurry shadow because it is not on the same focal plane as the film, and masking is used to crop off this shadow and giving the illusion of a sharp edge. It also hides structural elements of the screen and mechanical elements of the masking system itself. Masking also absorbs lights around the visible image area projected on screen, making the image stand out and appear brighter.''"Where the black border is used there is not only less distraction for the eye, but the effect of added light brilliancy is had without its actuality."''<ref>F.H Richardson ''Motion Picture Handbook: a guide for managers and operators of motion picture theatres'', 3rd ed.(New York: Chalmers Publishing Company,1916)178.</ref>
a guide for managers and operators of motion picture theatres, 3rd ed.''(New York: Chalmers Publishing Company,1916)178.</ref>
Masking serves several purposes in exhibition settings. When projecting film, the aperture plate casts a blurry shadow because it is not on the same focal plane as the film, and masking is used to crop off this shadow and giving the illusion of a sharp edge. It also hides structural elements of the screen and mechanical elements of the masking system itself. Masking also absorbs lights around the visible image area projected on screen, making the image stand out and appear brighter."Where the black border is used there is not only less distraction for the eye, but the effect of added light brilliancy is had without its actuality."[1]
↑ F.H Richardson Motion Picture Handbook: a guide for managers and operators of motion picture theatres, 3rd ed.(New York: Chalmers Publishing Company,1916)178.
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Warplanes
September 29, 2017: Iran refuses to allow the United States to inspect military facilities that might be illegally conducting nuclear weapons research. There is a vague clause in the 2015 treaty that seems to allow such inspections but Russia has threatened to use its UN veto to block having the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) make such inspections. This just makes the Americans, and many others in the Middle East and the West suspicious.
Back i n 2015 UN nuclear inspectors reported that Iran was starting to dismantle but not destroy some nuclear facilities. That means these facilities could quickly be activated and put back to work. This mainly has to do with equipment for the enrichment of uranium above the 3.5 percent level required for power plant fuel. The 2015 treaty required Iran to dilute its supply of 20 percent (and anything above 5 percent) enriched uranium down to below 5 percent. Iran was supposed to dismantle most of its 20,000 centrifuges (which are used to enrich uranium) and allow UN inspectors access to all nuclear facilities. Older (and less efficient) centrifuges are being dismantled but not destroyed. According to the treaty Iran will only have 5,060 centrifuges in operation and none will enrich uranium above five percent. The foreign inspectors verified this before the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China agreed to the treaty. Since then Iran has been reluctant to allow any foreign inspections to verify that they are still in compliance.
In August 2017 Iran pointed out that it could revive its nuclear weapons program immediately by having Iranian uranium enrichment equipment adjusted to produce weapons grade uranium rather than the less “enriched” form of uranium used for power plants. This implied that Iran already had solved the many other technical details involved with building a nuclear weapon that works. This warning was in response to the United States threatening sanctions on Iran because of the Iranian ballistic missile program and continued support of terrorism worldwide.
So far both sides appear to have complied with the terms of the 2015 treaty, although without any more verification it is uncertain if Iran is still in compliance. Meanwhile Iran has become more of an international troublemaker and a growing number of intelligence analysts in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East believe Iran is still pursuing work on nuclear weapons. Iran appears to justify this effort internally by invoking “the Israeli threat” that, according to Iran, is sustained by the United States. The Iranian government regularly calls for both Israel and the United States to be destroyed. At the same time Iran is concerned that their Arab neighbors are becoming too strong.
The best example of this was in Yemen where the Arabs succeeded in carrying out a sustained air campaign using modern aircraft (mostly F-15s, Tornadoes, Typhoons, F-16s and F-18s) and weapons (GPS and laser guided bombs and missiles) supported by targeting pods and AWACS aircraft. There were also several Arab operated aerial tankers as well as dozens of helicopter gunships and search and rescue helicopters. All this stuff performed well with Arab crews and under the supervision of Arab commanders. All this contradicted decades of Iranian propaganda.
Iran had long derided (openly and among themselves) the inability of the Arabs to effectively operate these modern weapons on a sustained basis and on a large scale. That was obviously not true in Yemen. Nor were the stories the Iranians spread (mostly inside Iran) that the Arabs were using mercenary Western pilots. That proved to be untrue because crew killed when aircraft (18 so far) were lost were named, hailed as heroes and their careers were described in detail. Most of the aircraft lost were Saudi (11) followed by the UAE (4) with Morocco, Jordan, Bahrain losing one each. That was roughly in proportion to how many aircraft each coalition member contributed. Thus the aircraft lost were two F-15s, three F-16s, one Mirage 2000, five AH-64s and four other helicopters plus at least five large UAVs.
After the Saudis the UAE was the largest contributor of aircraft. The UAE sent in about 40 F-16Es (mostly) plus some Mirage 2000s and one aerial refueling aircraft. UAE later sent in more AH-64s and light attack aircraft (armed with Hellfire missiles). The UAE also set up an air base across the Gulf of Aden in Eritrea with at least five Mirage 2000s, three AT-802 light attack aircraft, UH-60 and CH-47 helicopters and several Chinese made CH-4 UAVs (similar to the American Predator). This was mainly to tighten the naval blockade that Iran was sometimes evading to get weapons to the Shia rebels.
Other members of the coalition provided 15 F-18Cs (from Kuwait), ten Mirage 2000s (Qatar), 33 F-16s from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco plus three Su-24Ms from Sudan. Saudi Arabia supplied most of the AWACS and aerial tankers as well as military transports (fixed wing and helicopter). The coalition did use a lot of foreign contractors on the ground for maintenance and tech support, but they have always done that. What scared the Iranians was the skill levels of the Arab aircrew. These pilots had little or no combat experience until recently. Since mid-2014 many of them had been flying combat missions against ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) in Iraq and Syria and the air campaign in Yemen demonstrated these pilots, and their ground support facilities, could handle a “surge” (several sorties a day for weeks) and then thousands of more sorties over more than a year of operations.
Iran has not said anything about how they might have changed their war plans now that they know how capable their Arab adversaries are. The Arabs believe this explains why the Iranians appear to be working on nuclear weapons again.
Syrian Aftermath
Most UN members agree with Russia and Iran that the Syrian rebellion has been defeated but there is still no widespread support for the Assads, which most UN members want to prosecute for war crimes. As long as Russia and China make their UN vetoes available the UN will not be able to make a serious effort to take down the Assads. Moreover, even with the Assads, the largely Moslem Syrian population has not demonstrated any willingness to try democracy. The United States has said it does not want to use its armed forces to fight the Assad government, even though the U.S. and most Western nations agree that the Assads are unfit to run Syria effectively and should be removed from power. So American forces will remain active in Syria until ISIL is eliminated and then, as the current thinking goes, withdraw. The Syrian Kurds and Turkish efforts in Syria may delay the American departure.
To further complicate the situation Iran and Russia have both signed deals with the Assads to establish military (mainly naval) bases in Syria. Then there is the fact that Iran openly calls for the destruction of Israel while Russia and Israel have often worked together, even during the communist period (that ended in 1991 along with the Soviet Union did). Russia tries to maintain its alliance with Turkey and Iran while also remaining on good terms with Israel and the Arab oil states in the region.
Meanwhile Israel remains openly hostile to a permanent Iranian presence in Syria. Turkey quietly agrees and Russia is seeking opportunities for itself but seems to dislike the Iranian long range plan. Israel is quite blunt about describing Iran as replacing ISIL as the new threat to just about everyone. Russia sometimes supports that openly and Israel keeps trying to improve relations with the unstable Turkish Islamic government.
And then there are the Sunni Arab states, who want the Assads gone and are more open in opposing Iranian plans for post-war Syria. As part of this the Arab Gulf states are moving closer to an open alliance with Israel. That includes diplomatic relations and dropping the decades of Arab sponsored boycott against Israel. Despite opposition from Israel, the Arabs, the Americans and even some Iranian allies Iran is determined to have a land route from Iran to Lebanon and military installations in post-war Syria. Israel has made it clear that it will, and can, make sure that does not happen. Turkey and Russia recognize that Israel is not only the stronger military power here but also has the most at stake. For decades Iran has called for the destruction of Israel and that does not sit well with Turkey and Russia because both nations have had clashes with aggressive Iranian ambitions over the past few centuries and see the current Iranian strategy as eventually taking down Turkey (for being Sunni and an ancient rival) and Russia (for not being Moslem and defeating Iranian attempts to expand in the 19th and 20th centuries). But at the same time Russia and Turkey will play Israel and Iran off against each other to do what is best for Russia or Turkey.
Although Iran backed Hezbollah in Lebanon is increasingly active in the media about how soon its next war with Israel will happen, the reality is somewhat different. Israeli wargames and monitoring of attitudes in Lebanon (among Hezbollah supporters and the majority of Lebanese who are hostile or neutral) indicates that another Hezbollah war now would be unlikely. At the moment Hezbollah military power is crippled by losses in Syria and the continued deployment of about a third of their available forces there. In addition there are significant veteran personnel working in Iraq and Yemen supporting local pro-Iran Shia militias. More Hezbollah personnel will be heading back to Gaza now that Hamas has resumed its alliance with Iran. But in the long term (the 2020s) Iran is building something that threatens Israel in a big way. By establishing military bases in Syria and organizing a branch of Hezbollah in Syria Iran has legal justification for stationing Iranian troops in Syria. Unless Israel interferes Iran could rebuild the Syrian military, especially the Syrian ballistic missile stockpile. Iran would have time (and money) to deal with the financial problems that are crippling Hezbollah and Hamas. Thus by the mid-2020s Iran would be in a much stronger position for attacking Israel. That would include the new Israeli natural gas fields off the coast near the Lebanese border.
Qatar was accused by fellow Arabs of siding with Iran in the current struggle between Shia Iran and the Sunni Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia. Qatar has long been a supporter of other Islamic terrorist groups and is effective at that despite being a tiny (11,437 square kilometers/4,416 square miles) nation with a population of 2.1 million. Only about 12 percent of the population are citizens. The United States and Kuwait (an ally of Saudi Arabia) have been trying to work out a peace deal and end the economic boycott the Saudis and the rest of the GCC Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab oil states in the Persian Gulf). Qatar is also a member of the GCC and too unconventional in its ideas and actions for its more conservative GCC partners.
Qatar is very wealthy (it has the highest per-capita income in the Persian Gulf) and its ruler has been increasingly active in backing radical change in the Arab world. Qatar was an early supporter of the Syrian rebels, including the Islamic terrorist groups and urges political reforms throughout the Arab world, something that has polarized Arabs everywhere. Meanwhile Qatar has survived the boycott, in place since June 2017, and admits that the longer this goes on the closer it will get to Iran.
Putting Pakistan In Peril
Since late 2016 Iran and Afghanistan have sped up the completion of the rail link from Afghanistan to Iran and a new port on the Indian Ocean. In addition there is an extension of the railroad to the Russian border and thence to Central Asia. Currently all this is to be completed by late 2018. Already a lot of Afghan business that used to come and go via Pakistan (and the port of Karachi) is now doing so via the new Iran link. To encourage more trade Iran is offering major cuts in Iranian tariffs for Afghan imports and exports along with secure travel via Iran and that is working. This is part of the Indo-Iranian project (largely financed by India) that enables foreign cargo delivered to the port of Chabahar (in southeastern Iran) to enter Afghanistan by rail or road without any additional tax problems or other restrictions. Iran and India are building the 1,300 kilometer long rail line from the port to the Afghan border (near Herat) in the north. Indians are providing over two billions dollars to upgrade the port and build new roads and railroads to Afghanistan and Central Asia. For Iran the Central Asia link is the most valuable one. But for Afghanistan having another way to move most of their imports and exports is a major achievement because Pakistan and Iran will have to complete and that will keep costs down for Afghans and reduce the use of closing the border (which Pakistan has done frequently to coerce the Afghans) because that will just drive more trade permanently to the Iran link.
The Yemen government accuses Iran of exercising control over the Yemeni Shia rebels because several times recently peace negotiations with the rebels seemed to achieve an agreement only to have the rebels later cancel the deal for no reason other than what appears to be Iranian interference. Iran denies such involvement but then Iranian long denied assisting the Yemeni rebels until the evidence became impossible to deny. Now Iran admits backing the rebels but denies exercising a veto over negotiations between the Yemen government and the Shia rebels.
The United States, which participates in the naval blockade of Yemen, points out that Iran is obviously getting major items smuggled in on a regular basis. The blockade ships have had to deal with naval mines, anti-ship missiles and explosive boat attacks that could all be tracked back to Iran. On land there is evidence Iran has brought in ballistic missiles that are now used because the rebels have exhausted the supply they obtained in 2014-15. Most of those missiles are intercepted (using American made and Saudi operated Patriot missiles) over Saudi Arabia, where fragments of the ballistic missiles can be collected and analyzed. This makes it clear that the missiles are Iranian. Iran has also sent in more, and larger, UAVs for the rebels to use (and increasingly lose do to equipment failure or being shot down).
September 26, 2017: Police and para-military forces broke up Kurd demonstrations in several cities and arrested several hundred Kurds. The demonstrations were in reaction to the vote yesterday in northern Iraq where the autonomous Kurdish government held a referendum on Kurdish independence and 92 percent voted for independence. Iran, like Turkey, has a large Kurd minority that would prefer to be part of a larger, and independent Kurdish state.
The government announced it was going to finance a billion dollar oil refinery in Syria. Enough oil is produced there to keep such a facility going (to produce vehicle fuel and other refined products like heating oil and kerosene.) Earlier in 2017 Russia and Iran agreed to rehabilitate Syrian oil and gas production facilities.
September 25, 2017: Despite loud and threatening protests from Iran, Turkey and Iraq the Iraqi Kurds in the autonomous north of the country held their referendum on declaring independence. Some 72 percent of 4.55 million registered voters showing up, over 90 percent voted for independence.
September 24, 2017: Saudi Arabia is going to become a major investor in the new Pakistani Gwadar port facilities. Pakistan favors Saudi involvement because it makes Gwadar less Chinese dominated operation and assures the Saudis of better access to Chinese export and delivery of Saudi oil via the pipelines that are part of the Gwadar project. Earlier this year China and Pakistan finally signed the agreement that grants China a 40 year lease on new facilities China is building in the southwestern port of Gwadar. The lease grants China most (over 80 percent) of the revenue brought in by port and free trade zone operations. Gwadar is a key part of the $55 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This project began in 2013 when China agreed to spend $18 billion to build a road from Gwadar into northwest China. This will require drilling long tunnels through the Himalayan Mountains on the border (in Pakistani controlled Kashmir.) The road and a natural gas pipeline are part of the larger CPEC project. This will make it much easier and cheaper to move people, data (via fiber optic cables) and goods between China and Pakistan. India fears Gwadar will serve as a base for Chinese warships. Pakistan has no problem with Chinese warships using Gwadar as it helps keep local troublemakers out. Pakistan has assured China that there would be no terrorist violence against Chinese working on upgrading the port of Gwadar and land links north to China. Pakistan is willing to pay a high price to get CPEC done because it means Pakistan has an ally against Iran and even Western powers that might have some violent disagreement with Pakistan. The Saudis are interested not just because of the economic opportunities but also because over three million Pakistanis work in Saudi Arabia and have been there for some time.
September 23, 2017: The government revealed that the inflation rate for the last six months was 9.9 percent. Inflation has come down since sanctions began to ease in late 2015 when it was about 15 percent. Inflation got as high as 50 percent in 2014 because of a sanctions and plunging oil prices.
September 22, 2017: A new ballistic missile (the Khorramshahr) was displayed during a parade in the capital. This one was described as having a range of 2,000 kilometers. Later in the day the government announced one of the Khorramshahr was successfully test fired. This new missile is similar in performance to the earlier Shahab-3 and it is unclear exactly what the difference is between the two. U.S. intelligence officials later reported that there was no evidence the missile test took place and that the video Iran released was actually of another missile test seven months ago.
September 21, 2017: Lebanese media is reporting that an air strike, apparently Israeli, his a weapons storage area near the Damascus airport. Weapons (from Iran) for Hezbollah were apparently the target. Israel admits that it makes these attacks, and does so frequently. The Israelis rarely comment on individual airstrikes.
September 20, 2017: The U.S. is demanding that the 2014 treaty that lifted sanctions on Iran be renegotiated because Iran is not keeping its end of the deal. The U.S. has some political support in the other countries that signed the deal (China, France, Germany, Russia and Britain) but China and Russia still back the treaty and all five of those countries have already sold Iran billions of dollars’ worth of goods and services.
September 19, 2017: In northern Israel a large (apparently Iranian) UAV was spotted crossing the border and was shot down using a Patriot missile. The wreckage was apparently not available to be studied (to obtain more details) because the UAV was brought down in Syrian air space just before it would have crossed the border into Israel. .
September 17, 2017: Russia is having some problems with Israel over where Iranian forces can go in Syria. Israel has said it will attack any Iranian forces that get within 80 kilometers of the Israeli border. Currently Russia says it will only agree to five kilometers and implies that Russian warplanes and air defense systems will side with Iran if there is a problem. Since July Russia and the United States have agreed with Israeli concerns about Iran setting up bases in Syria and Lebanon. This is another way of saying Russia and the U.S. will not try to block Israeli attacks against Iranian forces getting too close to the Israeli border or Iranian efforts to establish new facilities in Syria and Lebanon. Russia does not want to put this to the test and understand that Israel has more at stake here than anyone else. In other words, nothing has changed and Iran has been officially reminded that they are on their own when they threaten Israel. Meanwhile Russia reminds the Syrian government that Iran intends to control a post-war Syria and attempt to turn it into a Shia majority nation (via forced conversions and expulsions of stubborn Sunnis). That would make the Assads totally dependent on and subservient to Iran, something that most Assad supporters are not in favor of. But defying Iran does not appear to be a practical option because the most effective troops the Assads have are the 20,000 or so Iranian supplied Shia mercenaries.
September 16, 2017: In the Central Asian city of Astana (the capital of Kazakhstan) the pro-Assad coalition of Russia, Turkey, Iran and the Assad government continues their negotiations (also called “peace talks”) with each other about how to settle the Syrian mess. The latest agreement is for the expansion of the existing “de-escalation” zones in rebel held areas of Idlib province. Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed that each would contribute 500 observers to monitor compliance in the de-escalation zones. No one else monitors the monitors which makes the United States, Israel and several other Middle Eastern nations wary of what Russia, Turkey and Iran are up to.
In Hama province (central Syria) Russian troops (mainly advisors and military police) help the Assad forces take control of territory the rebels were driven from with the aid of Russian air support in early September. Earlier this year these talks also involved some rebel factions but the rebels soon left because they described the Astana talks had nothing to do with peace but everything to do with how to defeat the rebels and put the Assads back in control of Syria. The rebels see the decision to establish “de-escalation” zones in rebel held areas (Idlib province, of Homs province; near the Israeli border and outside Damascus) as a ploy to make it easier to defeat the rebel forces there. By the terms of this the zones would be “no-fly” zones for all aircraft except those from Russia, Turkey and Syria. The Assads and their supporters (Russia, Iran and Turkey) would establish checkpoints around the zones to control ground access. This would, in theory, allow emergency aid to get in (or be blocked) and eliminate air attacks on civilians. But the rebels point out that in previous ceasefire agreements the Russians and Assads ignored the terms and attacked rebels and civilians claiming they were reacting to rebel violence. In the case of the de-escalation zones established already that’s exactly what happened.
September 11, 2017: President Maduro of Venezuela is travelling to overseas allies seeking help and coming up empty. The only help Maduro is being offered involves illegal activities. Iran, for example, has the largest Iranian embassy in the world that is mainly because Iran conducts a lot of illegal activities there and provides the Maduro government with cash and other favors in return. None of this is fit for a press release and, officially, the Maduro road trip has been unsuccessful.
September 5, 2017: In the northwest (Kurdistan Province) border guards killed two Kurdish men in an incident locals described as murder. This led to large demonstrations that only stopped when the government checked the complaints and arrested five border guards.
August 30, 2017: After Israeli officials revealed that they regularly conducted airstrikes on targets in Syria Russia told the media that it had warned Israel not to attack Iranian forces or bases in Syria. What the Russians told Israel and Turkey privately is another matter. The problem here is that no one in the region wants Iran turning Syria into another Lebanon. Actually Syria would be worse than Lebanon where there is a local Shia militia (Hezbollah) that is controlled by Iran. Hezbollah does what it wants in southern Lebanon and has a veto on anything the Lebanese government (technically controlled by the non-Shia majority) proposes. That veto is useful but Hezbollah was never able to coerce the Lebanese government to allow Iran to establish bases on the coast or anywhere else. Syria is different as Iran has already made deals to allow Iran and Russia to operate naval and air bases. For the moment Iran, Turkey, Russia and the Assads are all allies but no one expects that to last. The only question is when will Iran get the bad news.
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LI commercial fishermen expect hard times to get harder
Long Island Newsday Story march 15 2009
Commercial fishing captain Sandy Mason stands near his boat, Vincenzo, which is for sale in Hampton Bays. (Photo by Doug Kuntz / March 6, 2009)
Mark Harrington newsday.com
Commercial fishing for summer flounder re-opened in New York waters on March 1, but the Shinnecock II, a hulking black-and-white trawler, remained moored in Hampton Bays, its name all but obliterated by rust.
J.J. Hand, 44, the boat's third-generation owner, hasn't fished for more than a year, after taking a job on a tugboat out of Brooklyn. A fisherman since his teens, Hand is facing the hard economics of fishing on Long Island: His home is in foreclosure, and spiking fuel costs, tightening regulations and mounting debt have kept him out of full-time fishing. His 70-foot boat was once valued at $300,000; a scrap dealer recently offered him $2,000 for the boat, which is 30 years old.
"Everything started going downhill, and it just snowballed," he said.
Faced with the likely closure of federal fishing grounds for winter flounder from the Gulf of Maine to southern New England on May 1, fishermen say the hard economics of commercial fishing on Long Island are about to worsenThe commercial fishing catch landed at Shinnecock fell by half between 2000 and 2006 - from 13.7 million pounds to 6.1 million, according to federal statistics. It's down by nearly two-thirds from a 1995 high of 17.8 million pounds. Montauk landings are down 10 to 15 percent from the late 1990s, and commercial ground-fishing permits for New York fishermen have dropped from a high of nearly 400 in 1992 to just over 100 last year.
The decline is visible at the Shinnecock Commercial Dock in Hampton Bays. Fourteen of the 18 commercial boats at the town-owned dock are on the selling block; last year, two were sold to scrappers, fishermen say.
Bob Soleau, owner of Soleau's Wharf adjacent to the town dock, said 35 to 40 boats fished out of the port 10 years ago, and he oversaw three busy fish-packing facilities. These days, he said, 20 to 22 boats regularly work from the port, and he's down to one packing house. Fuel sales are a third of what they used to be. "It's a tough way to make a living," said Soleau, who has sold his five commercial boats during that decade of decline.
UNEVEN RESTRICTIONS
One of the boats still for sale at Shinnecock belongs to Sandy Mason, 67, who fishes out of Shinnecock and is on the Marine Resources Advisory Council, a citizens' committee convened by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. He was one of many local fishermen stung last summer when the price of diesel fuel hit $4.60 a gallon, though it settled back down to $2.20 and on Friday was $2.50.
But he and other fishermen said longer-term issues, including dizzying restrictions and seasonal quota changes, stack the deck against the local fleet. The fuel-price spike last summer led many fishermen faced with daily catch limits to forgo trips to federal waters.
Federal catch ratios, for instance, favor boats from four other coastal states whose fleets fish alongside Long Island boats - often in the waters off New York.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said in an e-mail last week that he is calling for a single coastwide standard for catch limits for each state, "not one that unfairly punishes New York and Long Island."
Just last week, fisherman Mason said, a trawler from Wanchese, N.C., that had docked near his boat in Shinnecock caught its state's 10,000-pound weekly limit of summer flounder in 42 hours, and returned home to unload the fish. But when the quota for summer flounder for Long Island's commercial fishermen re-opened March 1, the daily catch limit was just 150 pounds. The problem: New York fishermen are not allowed to combine daily limits into a weekly haul - meaning they must gas up and steam to the fishing grounds each day to hit the quota. It can make the four-hour trip unfeasible.
"We're basically on a fixed income," said Bruce Beckwith, 60, a commercial fisherman out of Montauk for 45 years. "We're all just squeaking by."
THEIR FAIR SHARE
Fishermen say they understand the need for limits to protect species, but question the logic of New York's rules and its low proportion of the federal quotas.
Even those who enforce the rules agree they need revising.
"It's just a nightmare," said Jim Gilmore, chief of the DEC's Bureau of Marine Resources. The DEC has said it would switch to weekly limits, but never moved forward with the plan. Steve Heins, another DEC official, said the weekly rule couldn't be enacted this year because of a staff shortage. He expects it to be in place next year.
The state-by-state allotments are based on the amount of fish caught by each state's fleets in the 1980s, but that data has been debated for years. Still, the result is New York fishermen get 7.6 percent of the annual federally set allotment of summer flounder, compared with 27.4 percent for North Carolina, 21 percent for Virginia and 16 percent for New Jersey. The ratios pay no regard to where the fish are caught.
"We may have the largest percentage of the fishery, but we're not getting a fair share of the fish," Gilmore said. Many fish species, including striped bass, summer flounder, porgies and dogfish have rebounded since declines of the past two decades, a turning of the tides that some scientists say has bolstered predators at the expense of winter flounder and weakfish, which remain troubled.
Toni Kerns, senior fisheries management plan coordinator at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, an agency with representation from coastal states that sets the limits, said the commission has considered the adoption of an overall coastal limit rather than state-by-state quotas. But the proposal has been rejected, with deciding votes coming from states with a higher percentage of the catch. She said states are free to apply for a change in their quota, though a ruling would rely on data fishermen here believe way undercounted New York's tally.
Because fishermen who reach their daily allotment of 150 pounds of summer flounder continue fishing for other species to make the trip worthwhile, the trawlers are bound to catch many more summer flounder and other fish than allowed. All must go back in the water.
"We're throwing a lot of fish overboard," said Beckwith, the Montauk fisherman.
LOOKING ELSEWHERE
To avoid New York's restrictions, some Long Islanders are buying fishing permits to land fish in other states, costing New York tax dollars, and reducing revenue for New York ports. Billy Reed of Hampton Bays, for instance, owns two commercial boats: the North Sea, which lands fish in Shinnecock, and another, the Providence, which brings its catch to New Jersey. Reed, who paid $30,000 for the New Jersey permit, threw up his hands discussing New York's limits. Of the 30,000 gallons of fuel he bought last year, he said "probably 5,000 was waste" because of New York's trip limits.
Last month, Jon Schneider, an aide to Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), met with fishermen at the Shinnecock dock and expressed a desire to change the daily limit, including filing a lawsuit if need be.
The meeting took place at a restaurant owned by Soleau, a former commercial fisherman whose fortunes remain tied to the dock. Still, two of Soleau's sons who had been in commercial fishing now work for tugboat companies. Just like Shinnecock II owner Hand, who said he has kept his 11-year-old son far away from the trade. "I don't want him to like it," Hand said from the tugboat dock. "It's torture."
commercial, expect, fishermen, hard, harder, times
Commercial Fishermen Form National Organization Striperjim Striped Bass Fishery Conservation / Politics / Management / News 0 01-03-2006 08:51 PM
Commercial Fishermen in New England are Special? TonyDB Striped Bass Fishery Conservation / Politics / Management / News 2 12-16-2005 07:07 PM
Which Looks Harder to do? Striperjim The Lounge 4 12-05-2005 05:59 PM
NC commercial fishermen get federal prison sentence TonyDB The Gallows - Poachers Hall of Shame 1 09-14-2005 10:32 PM
Going out tonight what to expect? ELIASV The Striper Forum 0 09-03-2005 03:29 PM
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Home Ecommerce Shipping Blog Case Studies
Garment Exchange | Case Study
Have you ever been moments away from a fancy dinner/party/event, opened your closet and realized nothing you have will work and turn to a friend? Kaleigh Wiese, Founder and Owner of Garment Exchange ran into that exact problem with a friend of hers. Kaleigh, upon realizing she didn’t have a piece that would work for her friend, had a simple thought: there’s a woman, somewhere, with the piece we need.
This thought quickly grew into Garment Exchange. “There had to be a source out there for someone to be able to rent clothes on a temporary basis from another woman,” Kaleigh says. “Come to find out there wasn’t anything out there and so I began the journey of opening one door at a time to be able to start Garment Exchange.” That journey meant building a network of and for women around the United States, connecting potential renters with potential rentees.
“My passion is fashion, which is dorky to say,” Kaleigh says. That passion has evolved: what started as a way to find the right clothes for the right occasion became a business empowering women.
The fact that we give back to women in income level and in a confidence level, I think is really fulfilling for me as a business owner. We are able to work with women nationwide, in all different sizes, body types, and style preferences. And that’s really exciting to see the confidence in women and the sources of an income that it’s providing them and their families.
Building that network not only took Kaleigh time, but she also had to find the right way to manage that network. She had to consider Garment Exchange’s branding and consistency, plus, shipping isn’t easy and teaching dozens of people to ship is daunting. But what about the actual packing and shipping? How do you get the clothing back without forcing your customer to front the cost of packing and shipping? How do you ensure that brand consistency?
Enter ShipStation. To tackle her network of wardrobes, Kaleigh and Garment Exchange utilizes multiple Ship from Locations, treating each woman’s closet as its own location. Kaleigh also created an automation rule to include a return label with every shipping label, 2 labels per sheet of paper. This in turn takes advantage of Garment Exchange’s custom packaging.
“[We’re] able to create the return labels so that a woman who owns the piece can be the warehouse, generate a label that allows the label to go to the renter and back to the owner very seamlessly…It makes our custom packaging just that much more simple for them to use,” Kaleigh says. The custom packaging itself is branded with Garment Exchange’s logo, two separate sealing strips (one for the initial shipping, the second for the return), and a clear pouch for the labels.
Garment Exchange ‘Modern Girl’
Just like that, Kaleigh created a unique shipping process to make her company accessible to both customers and wardrobe owners. “It allows the garment to be placed inside, shipped to the renter, and returned in the same packaging. We have a window on the front that allows the label to be printed on any average 8 1/2 X 11 sheet at a home printer or an office printer. It’s folded in half, placed inside the sleeve, then it’s flipped on its return back. So it just makes it a one step process for its return.” (See this process in action at around 30 seconds into the video.)
“Having all of those [ship from locations] and using ShipStation has allowed us to connect the dots where it’s just providing [the wardrobe owner] what they need to generate income by just renting out those pieces,” Kaleigh explains.
“Having the ShipStation Mobile app, as a small business owner and having a start-up and being on the move constantly has been really wonderful. This has allowed us to track orders, make sure things are being shipped and delivered on time, and has allowed us to have peace of mind when I’m not at my desk.”
But Kaleigh makes a point of creating an experience out of a transaction. “We definitely want to build relationship within our community,” she says. “We include in that starter kit a little set of note cards, and we highly recommend that they include a handwritten note to the renters that are renting their pieces. Telling a little bit of a story: it was their grandmother’s or they wore it on their first date. I think having those sentimental moments connect you to, not only the garment, but connects the wardrobe renters and the wardrobe owners together.”
Now that Garment Exchange has mastered shipping and built out a nationwide network, what’s next? Handbags, jewelry, and accessories: “We’re in the beginning stages of being able to ensure that you’ll be able to get a beautiful well-priced or heirloom necklace for rent at a higher dollar amount and safely.”
One thought on “Garment Exchange | Case Study”
Nice website. Thanks for sharing.
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Home/Crime/Crime in Hyderabad/Rugby coach turns chain snatcher in Adilabad
Rugby coach turns chain snatcher in Adilabad
By Mohammed Hussain| Published: 20th February 2020 4:06 pm IST
Photo: Times of India
Telangana: Mohan Devrao Chavan a popular in his hometown for Rugby. A home guard with the Maharashtra Police, who used to purchase rugby balls with his money, distributes it to youngsters in his village and coaches them too.
However, on Wednesday, it was as a chain snatcher that Mohan Devrao was presented before the media.
Superintendent of Police (Railways) B Anuradha said the 28-year-old native of Nanded got addicted to alcohol, and with the salary he got turning out to be insufficient to meet the medical expenses of his pregnant wife, the man turned to crime.
Chavan, a resident of Karla Thanda of Umri Taluq in Nanded, who was even on the verge of forming a rugby team of his own, allegedly joined hands with his friend Pradeep Ade of Mudhked Taluq in Nanded. The two had been snatching chains in running trains for the last one year. He was already irregular at work, the SP said, adding that the duo pulled off eight snatchings at Basar Railway Station in the Adilabad district in Telangana.
READ: SC appointed panel on farm laws to hold first meeting on Jan 19
They used to scout the railway station and observe the open shafts behind Platform Number 2 to escape after committing an offence at nights, she said, adding that all the eight offences were on the Narsapur Express.
Chavan had also gone to Mumbai to sell some of the stolen gold ornaments, after which he got Rs 1.5 lakh. He returned to Nizamabad district to sell the remaining gold ornaments, which was when the police nabbed him.
Gold ornaments weighing 116 grams and Rs 1.5 lakh in cash, altogether worth over Rs 6 lakh, were recovered from Chavan, who has confessed to the police that he committed similar offences in Dharmabad, Nanded and other areas in Maharashtra.
READ: Decline in number of NAAC accredited colleges in Telangana
“We will take Chavan into the custody to know more information about his involvement in other cases in Maharashtra and Telangana,” Anuradha said. A hunt is on to trace Pradeep.
Source: Telangana Today
Adilabad chain snatcher Hyderabad crime news Rugby coach
Get the news updates on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. For all the latest Crime in Hyderabad updates, download our app Android and iOS.
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What Drake’s diamond-studded OVO jacket from the Raptors can teach you about the possibilities of bespoke tailoring
byShane Schick
Ever since their history-making entry into the NBA Finals, the Toronto Raptors haven’t just triggered a mad dash for tickets — people all over the city have been scrambling to buy up T-shirts, hats, and other merchandized clothing.
For someone like Drake, of course, getting the best gear probably isn’t as hard to come by, but Garrison Bespoke (yes, the hit show SUITS’ Harvey Spector’s official tailor) has ensured the team’s official ambassador won’t just stand out based on his super-enthusiastic cheering.
Cut of nearly 100-year-old vintage jersey nearly 100 that was imported from Europe and an OVO logo made out of diamonds, the jacket Raptors president Masai Ujiri presented Drake late last month was a moment nearly as dramatic as the team’s success in the Eastern conference finals.
A post shared by Garrison Bespoke (@garrisonbespoke) on Jun 2, 2019 at 4:04pm PDT
Garrison Bespoke, which has a long history of weaving itself into popular culture by designing key wardrobe pieces for shows like TV’s Suits, gifted the jacket to Drake. It was given to him via Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, however, as part of an informal tradition of recognizing the global visibility Drake has given the team through countless court-side appearances.
Photo: Courtesy of Garrison Bespoke
Michael Nguyen, tailor and owner of Garrison Bespoke, told Swagger designing the jacket over the past year-and-a-half was an exercise in paying attention to the finer details.
“This was not a story about sports history but craft story,” he said. “In this case, it was a combination of the old-world heritage of craft and new world innovation.”
The jersey cloth, for example, echoes the same material that were traditionally the basis for basketball uniforms. The more than 200 diamonds sewn into the jacket, meanwhile, were sourced via Diamond Foundry, the world’s first carbon neutral producer whose work minimizes the potential for environmental impact associated with the luxury market. Each setting was digitally printed. These are the kind of things that matter to someone like Drake, Nguyen noted.
“We knew Drake liked diamonds, because we’ve been working with him for the last five years,” he said. “When you have that kind of relationship you really begin to understand what his personal brand is all about.”
And while getting a jacket of this calibre — its estimated it’s worth about $747,000 at today’s exchange rate — is about as likely as getting into the NBA for most guys, Nguyen suggested Drake’s gift may help people rethink the possibilities of what bespoke tailoring can offer.
“We wanted to offer (Drake) the ultimate in personalization,” he said. “It has all the key ingredients of what we stand for as a brand, all in one garment.”
Shane Schick
Editor-at-Large, SWAGGER Magazine. Shane Schick is the former Editor-in-Chief of Marketing magazine, the founding editor of ITBusiness.ca, and has been a technology columnist with the Globe and Mail and Yahoo Canada. As a content marketing consultant, Shane has helped everyone from startups to some of the world’s most recognized technology brands tell more authentic and engaging stories. Follow Shane on Twitter: @shaneschick.
bespoke suit
diamond studded
garrison bespoke
masai ujiri
michael nguyen
Luxurious Gift Ideas to Celebrate the Greatness of Dad
byAnthony
The Tool Man’s Starter Guide to Saws
Posted on June 6, 2019 September 16, 2020
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Watch Kodi Lee, a singer and pianist who is blind and autistic, wow the America's Got Talent judges
Canton Repository Staff
When Kodi Lee walked on the stage of “America’s Got Talent” the judges, nor audience, knew what to expect from the 22-year-old man who is blind and autistic.
With his mother, Tina’s, help, Kodi blew the judges away as a played the piano to a rendition of “A Song for You” by Donna Hathaway.
And then judge Gabrielle Union, practically moved to tears did the unexpected. Watch the video to see this ending.
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Tech Review- Stan TV
With subscription TV the new big thing in Australia now (think on demand and online so you can watch TV whenever and wherever you want…), so when we were offered to try out Stan TV we were keen! Stan TV is owned by Channel 9 and Fairfax and launched in February. I’m excited because they have the rights to ‘Better Call Saul’, the ‘Breaking Bad’ spin off- but they also have a huge variety of other TV shows, movies and kids programming.
I can tell you now that on demand TV is a lifesaver when it comes to kids. I’ll admit that the TV is a very helpful babysitter in this house given that naps are a thing of the past- we have rest time now with movies and TV shows for an hour or two in the afternoon. What I’m loving about Stan TV is that Tully can choose what she wants to watch and I can just put it on. There’s a huge range of kids TV and movies and the most exciting part (for the parents anyway) is that it has retro TV shows like The Care Bears, Inspector Gadget, Rugrats and Around the Twist! I’ve had so much fun introducing Tully to these ‘golden oldies’!
So how does it work? Basically you pay $10 a month for full access to everything Stan has to offer, there are no additional costs. You watch it via Apple TV or Google Crome, depending on if you’re an Apple or Android household. I’m Apple all the way! Up until last week you logged into Stan on your iPad or iPhone and then played the shows via airdrop from your device to your TV. To be honest it was a bit clumsy. But now their App is available on the Apple TV dashboard so you just select and view. It’s awesome! You can also watch Stan on your iPad or iPhone via the App or on your computer via the website. Basically you can get it anywhere, anytime, as long as you have internet access.
To find out more about Stan, or to sign up, visit www.stan.com.au
*Stuff Mums Like was gifted a 6 month subscription to Stan for the purpose of this review.
Win- Disney On Ice Dare to Dream tickets
Yes I have three sons. No I am not trying for a girl
Road Test- Britax Tourer Booster Seat
Sunbeam High Performance Power Blender Review
Helping your kids through sickness
This entry was posted in Reviews on May 17, 2015 by Maraya.
← App Review: PlayKids App Perfecting the Layered Look for Winter →
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Agitprop: The Life of an American Working-Class Radical
The Autobiography of Eugene V. Dennett
Eugene V. Dennett - Author
SUNY series in American Labor History
“It is the uniqueness of the document which makes it important. One can dispute Dennett's interpretations, but they are his. And he has paid a heavy cost to maintain them. The struggle, and the sacrifice, come through with great clarity. He sees what he did, what he might have done, and what mistakes he made. Unlike intellectuals (of any ideological orientation, for that matter) he neither exploits nor rationalizes his experiences. This is the rare, candid book of an ordinary radical.” —Paul M. Buhle
“Eugene V. Dennett provides an important grass roots perspective on the Communist Party in the 1930s and 1940s and on west coast union organizing during those years. His insight into the impact of the McCarthy years on American unions is also valuable. He has important memories of vital labor figures like Harry Bridges and includes a previously unpublished document dealing with John L. Lewis. He narrates fascinating episodes relating to the organization of the unemployed during the Depression, details grass roots labor-management relations in the post-World War II era, and provides interesting perspectives on piece rate bargaining.” — Robert Asher
Agitprop is the memoir of a Washington State maritime and steel worker who was a longtime activist in the American Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and the Communist Party. Born to a Massachusetts working class socialist family, Dennett is an idealist who sought to unify theoretical principle, policy, and practice in his daily life. His life story embodies broader themes that make this book an allegorical depiction of one man's journey through 20th century working-class America.
“The inside look at policy formation and struggles is good; the middle-echelon perspective is important; the coverage of several decades makes it engrossing as well. It provides a chance to observe the career pattern of an individual, and in the process something of the course of left activities in the 20th century.” — Lorin Lee Cary
Eugene V. Dennett is a retired steelworker and active Democrat. He signed the founding charter of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, was the first executive secretary of the Washington State CIO, and was expelled from the Communist Party in 1947 after 17 years of active membership.
Preface, Jeremy Egolf
Orient to Hunger
Party Policies
Bellingham Party Organizer
The CCC
A Waterfront Worker
IBU Joins Maritime Federation
1936 Seattle Labor Day Parade
The P-I Strike
Following the 1936 Election
The CIO Movement
More CIO and WCF
Back Home in Seattle
A Communist Party Frame-Up
Steel Union Member
Conflicts, Company and Union, 1951–1953
Steel Union Expulsion, 1953–1955
Libel Suit and After
American Labor History
Autobiography, Biography & Memoir
21691/22987(PG/CL/)
My Double Life
The Other Daughters of the Revolution
Up on a Hill and Thereabouts
Polio Boulevard
Madeleva
E. L. Godkin
Rewinding the Tape
Herbert H. Lehman
Truckin' with Sam
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Shorts By Té
Excerpts/Trailers
_Swag
HomeSample Sunday: Noble Surrender
Sample Sunday: Noble Surrender
Té Russ
Here is a taste of my current WIP Noble Surrender. The first encounter between Ian and Giselle (It's not sweet like Isaiah and Tessa's was...)
**Unedited, Subject to Change**
Giselle arrived at Noble Naturals early Monday morning. That was nothing new lately with the company prepping to roll out the first round of new products to test groups soon in the upcoming weeks. She wasn't naive enough to believe that all of the products would be a hit on the first go around but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try.
And she wanted to prove to Isaiah that she deserved the head of production promotion.
Another reason she was up early was the thoughts of Isaiah's brother that had plagued her all night. She'd barely gotten any sleep over the last couple of nights.
She'd already been off kilter since her lunch with Thomas when he'd shown her the video of Ian's fight and she'd been strangely turned on; but then to find out that Ian had been at Joie de Burlesque and watched her perform and enjoyed it...
Giselle got off of the elevator on her floor and walked down the quiet hall to the lab. Her eye raised when she noticed the hook where Thomas usually kept his coat was empty. After grabbing her own, she slid her arms into the coat as she entered the lab.
"Thomas," she said, cheerfully as she buttoned her lab coat. "You're here early."
She was ready to get to work and hopefully get the irrational crush on a man she'd never even met out of her mind.
She was still walking toward him when he stood to his full height, causing Giselle to freeze.
Thomas wasn't that tall.
Who in the world...
The air rushed from her lungs when the man turned around and locked eyes with hers.
Ian Noble.
"Who's been screwing with my formula?"
Giselle blinked coming out of her trance.
"Excuse me?"
Ian turned and picked up a piece of paper.
"My formula," he repeated. "Somebody changed some of the components to it."
"Oh...uh...I did," she said.
"And who are you?"
"I'm Giselle Warren."
Ian's head tilted to the side and he studied her for a moment.
"You're Giselle Warren?"
Giselle's eyes widened. Her braids were pulled up on the top of her head in a bun to avoid and mishaps in the lab, she had a tiny diamond stud in her nose and the balls of her tongue ring were blue today.
She stood up straight and squared her shoulders as she glared at him. That crush she'd had a minute ago, was quickly dissipating.
"Yes," she said, through clenched teeth. "I'm Giselle Warren, and I don't think I like your tone right now, Mr. Noble."
"So you know who I am."
"You're reputation precedes you."
That seemed to be like a slap in the face, because his face morphed quickly. He cleared his throat and looked away.
"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. You're just...my brother didn't describe you."
"What did he tell you about me?" she asked.
He looked at her again. "Just that you were good at job."
"And that's all that matters," she said with a curt nod. She brushed past him and couldn't help but notice his masculine scent. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get to work."
"Wait a second," Ian said. "Earlier you said you changed this formula."
"Yes," she said, trying to ignore how close he was to her.
"There were too many ingredients."
Giselle swallowed a sigh and turned to face him again. He was too damn close.
"There were too many ingredients," she repeated.
He looked down at the paper again and studied it. She watched, trying to be intrigued by the way he pulled his lip between his teeth and his brow furrowed.
"I'll be damned," he finally said. "I guess you're right."
"I know I'm right," Giselle said, confidently as she turned back around.
"I suppose I'll have to reevaluate some of my old notes," he murmured to her back.
"That might be wise."
"You're mad at me." There was a sense of wonder in his voice.
"I'm not mad, Mr. Noble." She was kinda mad.
"Please, call me Ian."
"Ian..." Damn that sounded too good. "I'm not mad."
"Giselle..."
She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from moan at the sound of Ian saying her name. She didn't like him...she didn't like him...she didn't like him...
"I'd like for us to get along while I'm running things here."
Giselle whirled back around, her eyebrows shooting up.
"Running what?" she asked.
"Running the production department, of course. My brother hasn't officially announced it yet, but I'm here to help get these new products created and launched."
Giselle felt the heat rise up body and she felt like fire was going to shoot out of her ears.
"I don't think so," she said, storming past Ian.
Ian sat on the sofa watching as Giselle paced the length of Isaiah's office. The woman was livid. He decided it was best not to say anything more until Isaiah arrived. She looked like she would haul off and smack him.
He studied her four inch closed-toe booties she was stomping around in. Long gorgeous legs spilled from beneath her lab coat. Her dress or skirt was obviously shorter than the coat, so it made him imagine her with nothing on underneath.
Ian shook his head.
He was too horny for his own good. First the woman at Joie de Burlesque, now Giselle, who's legs reminded him of Gypsy's.
Speaking of Gypsy...
He'd spent the weekend scouring the internet for her with no success. It was like the woman was a damn ghost. His unfruitful search was also the reason for his sleepless night. When morning dawned he decided he may as well come in early and get a peek at what the production team was working on and take notes so he could give his input.
He hadn't expected to run into Giselle Warren. And he definitely didn't expect her to be so damn...hot!
He figured she'd be an older woman, not...this.
His eyes roamed her body from head to toe. Her hair was up in those black and purple braids and a small portion of the sides and back of her head were shaved with intricate designs.
She had a piercing in that adorable nose of hers, and the balls of her barbell tongue ring were blue.
Yours are gonna be blue too if you don't get some soon.
He ran his hands down his face and stifled a groan.
"This is ridiculous."
Ian looked over his fingers and noticed Giselle was still pacing and now she was murmuring to herself. Suddenly, she turned to face him shooting daggers at him with her eyes.
"What is the problem, Giselle?"
He'd been confused as to why she'd taken off in a rage, but for some reason he couldn't stop himself from following her. She'd marched to the elevator, jabbed the up button and stood there tapping her foot impatiently until the doors slid open. She must have not realized he was following her until she entered the elevator and turned around. Her eyes and grown wide before narrowing. She'd huffed, pushed the button the floor the executive suites were on then pressed her body into the corner of the elevator as far from him as possible.
"The 'problem' is you."
"Me?" Ian said. "How am I a problem?"
"You are a problem, popping up here, thinking you're going to be running things."
Ian chuckled and shook his head. "You did see the name on the building when you walked in this morning didn't you?"
"I don't give a flying fuck whose name is on this building," she spat out.
The smile on Ian's face faded away and he stood.
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" he asked, moving toward her. "You do realize I could have you fired."
She didn't even flinch. "You're here a whole two minutes and you think you can throw your weight around. Let me tell you something, Ian Noble. Your last name may be on the building, but I've made my mark in this company. You haven't been here, working your ass off night and day, I have. That head of production position is mine. I don't care who you are."
"I see you two have met already."
Both Ian and Giselle turned their heads to find Isaiah standing in the doorway. Ian locked eyes with his brother who had an amused grin on his face. He turned and looked at Giselle and that's when he realized their bodies were practically pressed against one another.
Giselle was the first to back away. She turned to Isaiah, pointed at Ian and without preamble asked, "Is he the new head of production?"
Ian turned to face his brother as well, smug look on his face as he waited on Isaiah's response.
Isaiah blew out a breath, a look of remorse on his face.
He's going to break it to her gentl–
Felicia Denise June 12, 2016 at 9:27 AM
Ding, Ding, Ding! Round 1 to Giselle! LOL! Nice! 😄
Té Russ June 12, 2016 at 9:43 AM
Ha! Yes honey!
Author Té Russ
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Subscribe to Té Russ Newsletter
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10 Bollywood Actors Who Made a Big Mistake for Doing These Shitty Films
By Afifa Shah February 7, 2020 February 7, 2020
All successful Bollywood actors who have seen their share of super hits and blockbusters, have also witnessed lows and great flops. But the failure of a film doesn’t necessarily mean that the actors regret them!
The films to be regretted are have a class of their own. They are so bad that it might require their entire careers successes to seek redemption!
And there are stars who got candid about such regrets. Not that they can really do anything else to change these bad decisions than be vocal about them!
Here are the films these popular actors have regretted in their lives!
1- Amitabh Bachchan – Aag
After working in the industry for decade even Big B made the mistake of singing the dooted line for RGV’s Aag.
In an interview, he said, “I feel an actor and a director should be held responsible for the failure of a film. I won’t say I made a mistake. I worked on the film with all honesty. Maybe it was not a right decision, we accept that.”
2- Katrina Kaif – Boom
Bollywood debuts are a dream for so many people, now imagine that you have to regret it! Boom was exactly that for Katrina.
She said in an interview, “When I signed the film, I was not aware about Indian culture and tradition. Had I known that aspect of India, I would not have done the film.”
3- Shahid Kapoor – Shaandaar
The popular actor had the storyline of the film to blame after film successfully tanked at the box office. Seems like it isn’t one he is very proud of it!
4- Ajay Devgn – Rascals
How can you expect an actor who has the caliber to do roles like Singham and Gangaajal to do a dud like Rascals? We are still in shock. A script totally out of his comfort zone, turned out to his biggest regret. In an interview he said the he has not watched the movie till date.
5- Aamir Khan – Mela
Mr. Perfectionist also has his share of regrets. Aamir had quite some other expectations of Mela, than what it turned out to be. The super flop thus landed in his list of regrets.
6- Saif Ali Khan – Humshakals
From Dil Chahta Hain to Kal Ho Na Ho to Omkara, Saif has always impressed us with his acting skills. Why on earth did he agree to do a movie like Humshakals? Seriously, why? Turns out that the flim could be Bollywood’s biggest regrets and Saif Ali Khan did not shy away in shunning it as his career’s regret.
“I did the film thinking that it will help me expand my market, but obviously that wasn’t a clever idea,” said the actor in an interview.
7- Rahul Bose – Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam
This Mallika Sherawat starrer was a sloppy mistake of actor Rahul Bose. He once jokingly said that he wakes up sweating to his wrong movie choices.
8- Govinda – Kill Dill
As the movie got into its second half Govinda’s regret set in! The actor was anyway skeptical about playing a negative role and wasn’t getting any offers of his choice.
The actor said in an interview, “My family told me to take up the offer, or I’ll be left behind”.
9- Priyanka Chopra – Zanjeer
Gaining praises for her terrific act in Barfi, what made her sign a movie like Zanjeer where she was nothing more than eye-candy?
10- Ranbir Kapoor – Besharam
From the beginning of his career Ranbir has been very choosy about his films. He gave back-to-back hits with movies like Rockstar, Barfi and Yeh Jawaani Hain Deewani. We still wonder what convinced Ranbir to do the film Besharam?
10 Bollywood Celebrities Who Seriously Regretted Signing These Films
You Probably Don’t Know The Education Qualification of Your Favorite 12 South Indian Heroes
These 22 Indian Celebs Have Done Roles in Pakistani Movies & TV Serials
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Mark Cuban Still Kind of Hates Facebook, in His Humble Opinion
The Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire has confirmed reports that he has a serious beef with Facebook.
Rebecca Greenfield
Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire Mark Cuban has confirmed reports from last week, in a post on his personal blog today, that he has a serious beef with Facebook. But before getting into all the reasons he no longer loves the social network, he clarifies one small point: "First, I’m not recommending to any of my companies that we leave facebook," he writes. Last week ReadWriteWeb's Dan Lyons kind of made it seem like Cuban planned to pull out altogether because of the way Facebook's algorithm has affected the way people see his brands's posts. The algorithm, Edgerank, controls brand posts so that not all fans are forced to see each one in their news feeds. Because of this, he quoted Cuban saying "We are moving far more aggressively into Twitter and reducing any and all emphasis on Facebook." And later he had him talking about all the reasons he finds it horrible for businesses. Like, mainly, that it's too expensive, a point that GigaOm's Mathew Ingram called naive. "Really? That surprises you? What else did you think Facebook was going to do when it gave you a giant social platform for nothing?" Cuban now explains that he isn't bailing on Facebook, just de-emphasizing it in favor of other Internet places, like Tumblr and Twitter. But, that does not mean that he does not hate Facebook as much as everyone has been saying he hates Facebook. He does.
You can read the laundry list of reasons over at his personal blog, but some highlights include:
"Its a time waster ... FB doesn’t seem to want to accept that it’s best purpose in life is as a huge time suck."
"IMHO, FB really risks screwing up something that is special in our lives as a time waster by thinking they have to make it more engaging and efficient."
"So by default you are not going to use your newsfeed as a primary source of information. It’s more like the township newspaper."
"I also think that FB is making a big mistake by trying to play games with their original mission of connecting the world. FB is a fascinating destination that is an amazing alternative to boredom which excels in its SIMPLICITY. One of the threats in any business is that you outsmart yourself. FB has to be careful of just that."
Basically Mark Cuban thinks Facebook should stop trying to make money and stop trying to get too smart, which might work in the favor of Cuban who doesn't want to spend too much money on something silly like social media. But,this doesn't sound too appealing to Facebook, which as a public company needs to make money. Unless more join his cause, which could maybe happen. At least the Miami blog the 305 agrees with him. Anyone else?
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trends May 28, 2019
It’s Almost Summer. Do You Know Where Your Leopard-Print Midi Skirt Is?
By Sarah Spellings@sarahjanespellings
Photo: Courtesy of the vendors
To paraphrase John Green on falling in love — and Hemingway on going bankrupt — I realized that the leopard-print midi skirt would be the trend of the summer the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once. There were a few months of seeing the slinky skirt on the subway, at brunch, on Instagram. Then, the instagram account @leopardmidiskirt appeared, and the floodgates opened. Photos and screengrabs of women wearing the same skirt poured in, almost always with a pair of sneakers and a T-shirt. It was a style phenomenon on a scale that hadn’t been seen since the denim Zara dress of summer 2017, or the fleece vests of Wall Street, or the blue gingham shirt of … well, every day since millennial men discovered J.Crew.
Patient Zero is a French brand called Réalisation Par, known for patterned, inoffensive wrap dresses and slips. When you go to google “Réalisation Par skirt,” the second thing that comes up is “Réalisation Par skirt dupe” — which suggests that people generally know which brand popularized the look, even if they don’t want to pay for it. (The same thing happened with Jesse Kamm’s wide-legged “ugly pants.”) Last summer, Harper’s Bazaar UK ran a story titled “This Réalisation Par skirt is the affordable hit of the summer,” but back then it was more of an influencer thing. Now, it’s hit the streets, and the fast-fashion stores. You can get a facsimile at Free People, Ganni, Mango, ASOS, and obviously Zara.
Proud member of this skirt cult
A post shared by Hannah Baxter (@hannahbaxward) on May 21, 2019 at 1:59pm PDT
⭐️Dreamgirl @sailorbrinkleycook wearing her Ana Red Squiggle top and Naomi Wild Things skirt⭐️
A post shared by Réalisation Par (@realisationpar) on Apr 23, 2019 at 7:21pm PDT
And with proliferation comes documentation. Rilka Noel, a 23-year-old who works at Kith, started @leopardmidiskirt on May 22. She began by sending Snapchats of girls in the skirt to her close group of friends, and then decided to make it an Instagram.
“Everyone loves to drag other people and themselves,” she told the Cut. “It’s just good fun. Also, I think it’s picking up because there’s no one easier to make fun of than basic bitches. And I’m saying that in the nicest way possible. I’m living for everyone in their leopard print midi skirts.” She also said she doesn’t have the skirt herself. “I never will,” she said. “But I’m basic in my own way.”
Found by/on @kkhenneghan in Detroit
A post shared by leopardmidiskirt (@leopardmidiskirt) on May 23, 2019 at 6:44am PDT
Found by @kosherpapi in New York
As ubiquitous trends go, it’s not a bad one. Unlike the off-the-shoulder look, it doesn’t require a special bra. Leopard is certainly more fun than chambray. Silk is a nice, light fabric for braving the humidity. And it’s hard to fault anyone for jumping on a bandwagon that lets you wear sneakers. As Noel says, aren’t we all a little bit basic?
You could posit reasons why people have shifted from minidresses to midi skirts or try to determine the cultural implications of entering horny season while dressing like a predatory cat. But it probably comes down to this: We’re all just trying to look cute, without putting in any effort. And an eye-catching skirt will do that, even if everyone has the same one.
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10 Places to Buy the Skirt of the Summer
leopard print skirt
It’s Late May, Do You Know Where Your Leopard Midi Skirt Is?
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Factory logistics
OE Fitments
Sales facilities
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Tire handling
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TPMS & Electronics
Annual Showcase 2020
年国际轮胎技术年刊
In this Issue – Annual Showcase 2020
You are at:Home»News»People»Nokian Tyres Dayton factory team on overseas training in Russia and Finland
Nokian Tyres Dayton factory team on overseas training in Russia and Finland
By Rachel Evans on 21st May 2019 People
Following a productive month of orientation, Nokian Tyres has sent the first group of employees from its Dayton, Tennessee, USA factory on a dynamic six-week training experience at the company’s facilities in Russia (pictured) and Finland.
The intensive training trip will equip the Dayton factory launch team members with the skills they need to manufacture tires at this advanced plant. Production ramp-up will begin soon with official production on schedule to start in 2020.
“We couldn’t be happier with the skills and enthusiasm of our first 60 employees,” said operations director Peter Chia. “Now, we look forward to seeing them apply their energy to learning about our industry-leading processes and products.”
Most employees will train at the company’s factory near St Petersburg, Russia, where the highly automated technology closely resembles the even-more-advanced machinery currently being installed in Dayton. The journey will also include cultural experiences and deeper introductions to Nokian Tyres’ employee-focused culture. Some workers will also receive training at the tire maker’s plant in Nokia, Finland.
While the majority of the launch team will travel to Europe, a group of engineers, technicians and operators will remain at the Dayton factory to commission and test the machinery.
Amid a busy training schedule, the launch team participated in several community service projects during the one-month orientation. Employees worked on landscaping projects to improve parks and non-profit facilities, helped renovate a playground, painted park benches and tables, and helped prepare a transitional lodging house for beneficiaries of We Care, a local organization that helps homeless and underprivileged Rhea County residents. Employees also built and donated bicycles to underserved children as part of the company’s relationship with We Care.
“There’s a reason our launch team has spent so much time serving the community in its first month on the job. Our company wants to set the tone for the kind of community partner it will be,” Chia added.
The tire manufacturer has also formed an employee-led donations committee that will evaluate opportunities for non-profit involvement. The second phase of hiring for the Dayton factory will begin later this year. Eventually it will employee 400 experts.
Rachel's career in journalism began around five years ago when she started working for UKi Media & Events, having recently graduated from Coventry University where she studied the subject. Her favourite aspect of the job is interviewing industry experts, including researchers, scientists, engineers and technicians, and learning more about the ground-breaking technologies and innovations that are shaping the future of the automotive and tire industries.
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Best Swinger Parties and Clubs in Othello, Washington
Swinger parties in Othello, Washington have been common place for a few years now. They are places, which, as their name indicates, are adapted to people who wish to live according to the rules of sex life. There are all kinds of them, and each establishment offers specific services that you can enjoy. Nowadays, these swinger parties are very popular and are among the most popular attractions in big cities. It must be said that more and more people are interested in the swinger life and its many sexual practices. So if this is the case for you as well, you only need to be of legal age to have access to them.
Of course, you'll have to do some research to find the best swinger club in Othello, WA or the place that best suits your desires. But for that, all you will have to do is go through an online dating site. You will find naughty ads and sex ads that may interest you. You can be straight, gay or bi, the main thing is that you are ready to try new experiences and discover incredible sensations through sex. You can also be married or single, no matter what your marital status, you're guaranteed to get everything you're looking for when you join a sex club. However, before you take the plunge, make sure you find out if this lifestyle is really right for you. You can start by reading on to learn a little more about swing and the swinger places where it is tolerated.
Swinger party in Othello, Washington.
What do I need to know about swinger parties in Othello, Washington?
Swinger parties is above all a way of life. It's a concept that exempts you from the rules and social conventions that normally govern relations between men and women, at least as far as sex is concerned. In other words, a swinger party allows you to completely redefine the rules of your sex life, giving you the possibility to live extraordinary experiences. You will be able to make love in unlikely places, in full view of everyone, play at being a slut or a pig during sex, change partners as you see fit, all this without anyone being able to judge you. Indeed, you should know that in the swinger parties in Othello, WA, discretion is required and all measures are taken to keep the identity of the members secret. You can therefore indulge in all these practices in complete anonymity.
Unfortunately, all these measures are necessary because in our society, few people are willing to accept swinger parties as a legitimate life choice. There are many prejudices circulating about this practice, misconceptions that, by dint of being repeated, end up convincing more and more people. This is why the followers of swinger parties feel, for the most part, forced to hide in order to enjoy their lives. However, this is not the case for everyone, because some single people and even swinger couples in Othello, fully assume their choices and do not hide from them. In any case, it is still a sensitive subject that should only be talked about with close friends and family, at the risk of getting shot in the eyes. So if you want to know more about swinger parties, its practices and the rules it imposes, you will have to go to one of the swinger clubs in Othello. There, you will find people who will know how to enlighten you, and with whom you can discuss without taboo or shame.
Where to find a swinger party in Othello, WA?
Swing can be practiced anywhere. Indeed, if you are one of those people who assume their decision to follow the sex way of life, you can make any place you go, your playground. Whether it's at home, at work or in a hotel, you can satisfy all your sexual desires. You will be able to develop your sexuality and at the same time discover everything that the term erotic implies. For those who prefer places specially designed for the occasion, you will have the choice between swingers club, sauna, hammam, spa and hotel.
All these places are perfectly equipped and will offer you a pleasant setting to live this experience to the fullest. There are several of them in big cities like in Othello. So to find the best swingers club, you will have to go through a sex ad on a free or paid dating site. It really depends on your preferences in this area.
Choosing the best site in this whole set will guarantee that you will find the booty call or sex plan you are looking for. Be careful however not to choose serious dating sites, because on these sites, what you are promised is true love or soul mate, and not a fleeting relationship. In any case, no matter which site you choose, you will be able to make a free registration or opt for a paid subscription. You can even use some of these sites without registering, or have the option of creating fake profiles to keep your identity secret. Once you manage to find the most suitable swinger parties for you, you will be able to visit it to enjoy.
What is a swingers party in Othello, WA?
A swinger party is an establishment specially designed to welcome couples and singles who wish to enjoy the sex life. It can be arranged in different ways and offer specific services, depending on the establishment you choose. Indeed, in some swinger clubs, it is allowed to do nudism, to discuss, to dance, and to try all kinds of classic or sadomasochistic sexual practices. Other tale establishments are stricter and simply allow members to meet and get to know each other. You can then choose to go to a hotel or a more suitable place for your sex party with a naughty woman or a sexy man.
A swinger couple in Othello, Washington.
More often than not, full service clubs are the ones that have more of a rapport with the libertines. They are much more convenient and make it easier to satisfy all your sexual desires. You will be able to live out your fantasies, with your spouse or with other club members. In the end, everyone separates without any form of protocol and it is without regret. No obligation to call anyone back, besides it is very rare to exchange contacts in this kind of place. Everybody knows why he is there, and seeks above all to satisfy himself. It's as simple as that.
What is a swinger bar in Othello?
A swinger bar is a place that you can frequent as a single person or as a couple. Just like the swinger club, it is reserved for people looking to spice up their sex life and get out of the monotony. On site, events such as a swinger party are often organized to allow singles and swinger couples to meet. So if you are a lover of swingers, this place can be the perfect introduction, especially for beginners. Of course, it is for adults only, and welcomes all kinds of people.
So, in addition to enjoying delicious cocktails, as is the case in all bars, you can consider a libertine place as the ideal place to learn a little more about libertine and to act if you feel ready.
What is a swinger restaurant in Othello?
The swinger restaurant is exactly like the swinger bar. It has been created to help you meet swingers like you, in order to facilitate your immersion in this new world. You will be able to have lunch or dinner in a warm and pleasant setting, while enjoying the company of people who have the same sexual desires as you. Thanks to the atmosphere on site, it is much easier for members to exchange on different subjects, where sex is almost always at the centre of the discussion. This is easily understandable, since the goal of swing is to have sex and always more sex, to satisfy all your desires. There is nothing better to boost your libido and help you regain your self-confidence.
What is the difference between a swinger spa and a swinger jacuzzi?
The swinger spa and the swinger jacuzzi are also places adapted to the meetings between swinger people who are in Othello, WA. On the spot, you will be able to find people like you, who are attracted by the practices of swinger life. They don't go to these swinger places to find a lasting or serious relationship. On the contrary, their goal is usually to escape the monotony of a boring couple life. So if you want to enjoy a good atmosphere, a warm and pleasant setting to meet swingers like you, think about swinger Jacuzzis and swinger spas. There's not really any difference between these places, apart from the type of services they offer on site. It all depends on the establishment you choose to enjoy your sex pleasure.
What is a swingers club in Othello, WA?
A swinger club in Othello, Washington.
An in Othello swingers club is also a very popular swinger place. It's a place reserved for couples, married or not. You can go there with your spouse, to discover new swinger practices, mainly swinging. It is a practice which consists for two couples, to exchange their partner the time of a sexual intercourse. The swingers club is a place specially designed to help couples interested in this practice to find partners. You can also find rooms or rooms fitted out to make you comfortable. But if you prefer to do it in a hotel or at home, the decision is yours. The main thing is to find an agreement that suits you as well as the other couple.
What to do in a swinger parties in Othello, Washington?
A swinger party is a perfect place to organize hot parties and do crazy things all night long. On the spot, you will be able to meet all kinds of people, but more importantly, you will be able to satisfy all your sexual desires. We can therefore say that in reality, in a swinger club, you come to realize your fantasies and satisfy all your sexual desires. You will be able to meet a dominatrix who will make you discover the pleasures of sadomasochism. You will be able to meet people worthy to shoot in a porn movie, so much they are well built. It is in this place that you have the chance to see that there are actually several types of cock or pussy. If you want to devour them all, feel free to do so, especially if the people concerned are interested.
You can find a swinger couple in Othello, WA and offer them a threesome. You can also form your trio with singles found on the spot. Apart from threesome, you can also try cuckolding, a practice that is more and more frequent in swinger places. The swinger parties in Othello are also perfect places for an orgy. For those who don't know, it is a practice that consists of making love with several partners at the same time. It can also be defined as a sex marathon, during which you will be able to change sexual partners as many times as you like in the same evening.
Many other sexual practices take place in clubs and establishments dedicated to swinger sex. So if you're wondering what to do in a swinger club in Othello, the answer is entirely up to you. According to your desires, the limits you are ready to cross and your physical condition, you will be able to do everything humanly possible to get sexual satisfaction.
Who can go to a swinger party in Othello, WA?
Anyone can choose to go to a swinger party in Othello, WA if they wish. The only condition is to be of age and have an open mind. Indeed, you should know that the swinger clubs in Othello are only for adults. They are also suitable for people who are interested in the sex life and who plan to adopt it. So if you don't meet these two conditions, it's better to simply abstain. If you are still a minor, you will not be allowed to enter. Security guards make sure to check the age of members before letting them in. However, if you are over the age of majority, but just not interested in a mischievous encounter, there is no need to deny you entry. Chances are, especially if you're the type to always follow the rules, you won't be able to feel comfortable in this place. The different sexual practices of the members may well shock you, and one thing is certain, you won't be able to erase from your mind everything you see there. So if you're not swinger and you don't want to be tempted, avoid going to those swinger parties in Othello, Washington.
Finally, it is important to remember that the swinger life in Othello, WA is suitable for singles as well as couples. So whatever your marital situation, you can go to the swinger parties in Othello or anywhere else. Be careful however to take the advice of your spouse if you are in a couple, because it is not advisable to hide your membership in a swinger club from your spouse. This is the kind of secret that can harm the integrity of your couple. So think about the best way to break the news to your partner. Who knows, after a few open discussions and a few well-chosen arguments on your part, he or she may agree to try it with you.
There are more and more swinger places in Othello, WA. This is probably due to the growing interest of the population in this kind of entertainment. Anyway, if you are interested in swing and its practices, you can count on this kind of swinger place to help you meet people like you and discover the joys of swinger sex.
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Central Otago News
Home Arts & Entertainment Focus on ‘easily overlooked things’
Focus on ‘easily overlooked things’
Alexia Johnston
At work . . . Wanaka artist Anna Priluka has recently joined Hullabaloo Art Space, where some of her works on are display. PHOTO: SUPPLIED/ANNA PRILUKA
ALEXIA.JOHNSTON
@alliedpress.co.nz
Behind one of the doors dotted along the Wanaka Arts Centre’s main corridor is a work in progress.
Local artist Anna Priluka works from the small room, creating intricate works of art.
Each creation is planned and researched, right down to the natural history behind the many tiny ecosystems which feature in her works.
Priluka, who recently secured herself a place at Hullabaloo Art Space in Cromwell, said her creations focused on the “easily overlooked things” that could be missed by a naked eye.
Tiny subjects such as bugs are her forte.
Piwakawaka – Mt Iron 2019.
Using traditional botanical and natural history illustrations as a starting point, each artwork relies on a range of sources – from ecological surveys and botanical identification manuals, to recipes and gardening books, she said.
Her works were “species lists made visual”.
In a time of worldwide environmental change, her artworks focused on the local and often overlooked – “the diminutive that disappears before we even notice it”.
“They seek to celebrate the wonderful diversity and beautiful strangeness of New Zealand’s natural environment, while at the same time reminding us of the fragility that is inherent in such complex, interdependent systems.”
Priluka, who moved to New Zealand from Melbourne more than 10 years ago, has also turned her artistic focus to food ecosystems in recent times.
One of those works, intricately crafted on a piece of A4 paper, is a creation which depicts all the ingredients required for a green chicken curry.
Although Priluka specialises in painting – mainly acrylic or water colour on paper – she also enjoys print-making and weaving.
“I just love it,” she said, of the many mediums she specialises in.
Alpine Ecosystem and Gecko.
Art had “always” been a part of her life since childhood.
Priluka, who grew up in rural Melbourne, spent her younger years surrounded by native plants and animals.
She studied print-making at Australia’s Southern Cross University in her early 20s, before moving to New Zealand.
Priluka studied ecology at Lincoln University, where she became “more and more interested” in painting the ecosystems that were used as part of her studies.
“Eventually, I moved to Dunedin to finish my BVA [bachelor of visual arts] at the Dunedin School of Arts, but ecological studies are still an important element in my practice,” she said.
Priluka, who has been living in Wanaka for the past five years, recently joined Hullabaloo Art Space in Cromwell, where many of her works are on display.
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Hospital unveils new complex
A nurse in the newly launched Intensive Care Unit ward in KPJ Ipoh Specialist Hospital.
KPJ IPOH Specialist Hospital officially launched its new Operation Theatre and Intensive Care Unit Complex late last month.
The operation theatre complex is made up of six theatres, four of which are conventional operation theatre and the remaining two are state-of-the-art modular operation theatres.
Modular operation theatres use a finished steel structure with jointless sterile coating that prevents contamination buildup and is robust in nature.
These operation theatres are also equipped with stainless steel automatic doors that make the transfer of patients in and out of the operation theatres quicker and safer.
The doors maintain the pressure inside the operation theatre as well as protects against fire, dust and radiation. These and other characteristics of the modular operation theatre enables the hospital to set itself apart from the rest of the KPJ hospitals.
Meanwhile, the newly completed intensive care unit consists of 14 beds, each in its own room.
Ten of these are regular ICU beds and two will be isolation facilities equipped with negative pressure and filtered ventilation system to the latest ministry requirement.
The last two are earmarked for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit beds that will be the nucleus for a new Neonatal Unit.
The reasons behind opting for individual rooms instead of an open ward configuration are to increase patient’s level of comfort and privacy as well as to limit the chances of infection occurring between patient to patient or between patient to visitor.
Male and female toilets with shower facility have also been installed in the ICU for mobile patient to use with or without assistance and for the convenience of visiting relatives.
All the beds are connected to a central monitoring system that allows patient’s haemodynamic status to be viewed from the nurses station as well as at each bedside monitor.
Unlike before, the new ICU is located near and has direct access to the operation theatre complex should the need for ICU patient to undergo emergency surgery arises.
There is a dedicated consultation room to accommodate a large number of family members to be included in discussions with attending consultants concerning patients admitted here. The launch for the complex took place right after the annual assembly of hospital staff.
KPJ Healthcare Bhd president and managing director Datuk Amiruddin Abdul Satar was present to launch the complex.
Also present were hospital deputy chairman Ahmad Nasirruddin Harun, hospital executive director Mohd Nasir Mohamed, hospital chief executive officer Asmadi Mohd Bakir and the top management staff.
Tags / Keywords: Family & Community , Perak , hospital , specialist
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Star Investigation
Amazon warehouse workers in Canada saw injury rates double. Then COVID hit. Inside a hidden safety crisis
By Sara MojtehedzadehWork and Wealth Reporter
Thu., Dec. 10, 2020timer15 min. read
updateArticle was updated Dec. 16, 2020
By the time Amazon made its Christmas bonus offer, seasonal hire Mandeep Singh had already quit. Keeping up with the “hectic” pace of work at his Brampton-area warehouse was a struggle, and the long hours — upwards of 60 a week during holidays — were impossible to juggle with his other job.
But with peak ordering season in full swing, Amazon needed manpower. As December ushered in stricter lockdowns for Canadians, the e-commerce giant sent warehouse workers a reminder to stay home if they had flu-like symptoms. The same message offered a holiday incentive: a $1,000 weekly cash draw for those with perfect attendance.
“We need everyone’s ongoing support in delivering our customer promise,” the message said.
It’s a promise built on speed, ease and convenience. But new records obtained by the Star show its true toll on Amazon’s low-wage employees — and a growing safety problem documented through the company’s own accounting of injury and illness within its Canadian warehouses. It’s an issue Amazon has sought to dispute and downplay, sometimes at the expense of at-risk workers, according to hundreds of injury reports reviewed by the Star.
While Amazon’s injury record has received significant attention south of the border, its record in Canada is worse: last year, its injury rate was 15 per cent higher than the company’s U.S. average. In Toronto-area facilities, injury rates have more than doubled since 2016.
The data is based on Amazon’s internal safety records shared with the Star by the U.S.-based investigative journalism outlet Reveal, whose Pulitzer Prize-nominated reporting has detailed a growing safety crisis at the trillion-dollar company.
Listen to Sara Mojtehedzadeh discuss the Star investigation
Responding to detailed questions from the Star, Amazon spokesperson Dave Bauer said health and safety was “top priority,” pointing to COVID-related precautions such as enhanced cleaning measures and providing those diagnosed with the virus two paid weeks off. Bauer said Amazon had also invested in technology, infrastructure and training to reduce injuries and “ensure the highest standards to keep our employees safe.”
“While any incident is one too many, we are continuously learning and improving our programs to prevent future incidents,” he said.
Amazon describes itself as a “force for progress,” which includes a commitment to a $16 minimum wage in Canada and “comprehensive” health benefits. The company says it uses a variety of metrics to assess workplace safety; in Ontario, its official injury rate, based on accepted claims at the workers’ compensation board, is on par with competitors.
But Amazon’s own internal safety records paint a far bleaker picture than its standing at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). An analysis of hundreds of WSIB claims obtained by the Star through a Freedom of Information request reveals how Amazon aggressively disputes, challenges or undermines the severity of its workers’ injuries — a strategy that can reduce companies’ accident costs, along with the benefits injured workers ultimately receive.
While the Star has confirmed at least 25 COVID-19 cases among workers at one Brampton warehouse alone, Amazon will not confirm the number of frontline staff who have tested positive for the virus. Across Canada, it says it has invested $45 million in COVID safety precautions.
But despite its global profits tripling during the pandemic, some workplace policies have barely budged: across Canada, Amazon has rescinded a $2-an-hour pay bump for warehouse workers implemented earlier this year. Temporary staff do not have paid sick days. And disciplinary measures aimed at those deemed unproductive — initially paused as a COVID precaution — are back.
In interviews with the Star, four current and three former employees across the country described a shop floor where low-wage workers are not empowered to speak up — or slow down.
“It’s just constant,” said one. “Our bodies are disposable.”
After three months as a temporary employee, Bobby Bueckert was on the brink of a permanent position at Amazon’s New Westminster warehouse on the banks of British Columbia’s Brunette River. Then she blew her rotator cuff.
Instead of landing a stable job at the 580,000-square-foot facility, Bueckert would end up in a protracted battle with her employer over the injury — one of 1,800 across Canada catalogued by Amazon over the past four years.
The internal records, obtained by Reveal and shared with the Star, conform to a standard safety metric in the U.S. based on injuries that are serious enough to require workers to miss time or perform modified duties. The data accounts for 11 Canadian warehouses between 2016 and 2019.
Reveal’s reporting has shown that Amazon’s rate of 7.7 injuries per 100 employees at its U.S. warehouses is nearly double the industry standard in America. Across Canada, Amazon’s injury rate last year was even higher — 9.1.
In 2016, the company’s warehouse in Delta, B.C., was the worst of any fulfilment centre across Canada and the U.S., with over 20 injuries per 100 workers. Amazon says it has one of the largest and most expensive workplace health and safety programs in the world — and by 2019, it successfully halved the injury rate at the Delta facility. In a letter to U.S. senators earlier this year, Amazon’s vice-president for public policy, Brian Huseman, described the company’s safety culture as one of “continuous improvement.”
But at its Toronto-area warehouses, its injury rates have doubled over the last four years, according to the company’s internal records. It’s a problem across all facilities, said Bueckert, born of a key Amazon tenet: speed.
“It puts everybody into this competition mode,” she said.
Bueckert said she received some safety training on her first day; around the warehouse, laminated posters reminded workers of hazards, and designated staff patrolled the floor, sometimes handing out tickets for safety lapses.
She was also under constant surveillance — down to being coached with a stopwatch on Amazon’s expected walking tempo on her 10-hour shifts. Bueckert’s scanner tracked every item she stowed in the warehouse’s massive serpentine rows of merchandise racks, feeding the information into Amazon’s data collection system that would determine her productivity rate.
Failure to “make rate” can trigger discipline. That rate is a moving target based on a particular department’s average performance: workers told the Star their required rates were as high as 200 boxes an hour.
Outside of designated breaks, the minutes spent not scanning items, including bathroom or water breaks, are calculated each shift to “allow managers to quickly assess their department’s top offenders,” according to internal documentation seen by the Star. Internal emails from one Canadian warehouse department show supervisors on one shift singling out the slowest worker three times. Amazon policy dictates that the poorest five per cent of performers receive “corrective action,” which can eventually lead to termination.
“You’d see people there one day and they weren’t the next. It’s either they were fired, or they left,” said Bueckert. “Because they couldn’t keep up with the count.”
Many were recent arrivals in Canada — “just needing work,” said Bueckert. Combined with constant cues to move faster, the toll on her colleagues troubled her.
“People were working through these injuries.”
In 2018, Amazon’s worst accident year on record in Ontario, more than two-thirds of injuries were caused by overexertion or repetitive motion, according to claims filed to the WSIB. The records obtained by the Star provide rare insight into the hazards faced by warehouse staff, from a worker being struck in the head with an 18-pound Christmas tree to one who reported a cracked rib from repeated twisting.
Peter Smith, the scientific co-director at the Toronto-based Institute for Work and Health, said productivity and safety don’t need to be at odds. But his research has shown a concerning trend: workers who reported not having enough time to do their job safely were far more likely to feel uncomfortable speaking up about workplace risks. That is especially true of temporary hires and new Canadians.
“When productivity is put front and centre, there’s a tendency to cut corners,” Smith said.
One current warehouse worker who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal described Amazon as a sophisticated employer that “puts a fair bit of emphasis on avoiding the spectacular injuries that would end up in the news.”
“But shoulders, backs, elbows? That’s just the cost of doing business.”
The cost of Bueckert’s Amazon stint was long-term shoulder damage. It happened in the lead-up to Black Friday in 2017, the start of peak season when mandatory overtime can lead to 50- to 60-hour work weeks. As she lifted a table saw bound for delivery, Bueckert heard a crunch.
“I thought, oh. That didn’t feel right,” she recalls.
Bueckert says she went straight to her manager to report the injury, and then to AmCare, Amazon’s in-house medical team. There, she says she was told to finish her shift. The next day, she was in serious pain.
But when Bueckert filed a workers’ compensation claim, her employer downplayed the severity of her injury — even though her own doctor had told her to do “no work, no lifting, no nothing,” she says.
Records obtained from the WSIB show her experience is not isolated: in Ontario, Amazon disputed almost 80 per cent of serious injury claims filed between early 2018 and 2019.
The law says all injuries and illnesses that may be work-related must be reported to the WSIB through so-called Form 7s. Here, employers can note their objection or cast doubt on legitimacy. These tactics are not illegal. But they can make accessing benefits an uphill battle for workers — and save their employers money. Amazon says employees are encouraged to report all injuries and that it provides fair and unbiased evidence to the compensation board.
The Star reviewed all 303 injury claims provided by the WSIB, from February 2018 to the end of January 2019. In the majority of all cases — but especially when the injury was serious — the company told the board it objected to or questioned the claim, arguing repeatedly that there was “no proof of accident,” an “unclear mechanism of injury” or a “pre-existing condition.” The company also repeatedly faulted workers for “delays” in seeking medical attention.
But by their nature, the wear-and-tear injuries common at Amazon warehouses often develop insidiously over time with no clear starting point, said Michael Green, a Toronto-based lawyer with three decades’ experience representing injured workers. Many people may not initially realize they should see a doctor, or are told they don’t need to, he said.
One worker at an Amazon warehouse in the GTA, who spoke to the Star on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said he was told by his supervisor to keep working after injuring his arm as he attempted to stow items at his expected rate — around 160 an hour. When he visited AmCare, he said he was told to just take a painkiller.
The next day, the pain was too severe to work. When he returned three days later, he said a member of Amazon’s health and safety team asked him to explain the injury. But when he filed a workers’ compensation claim, he said Amazon told the board he was not able to identify how he got injured.
“That was totally false,” said the worker.
Months after filing his claim, he is still waiting for it to be accepted.
Green described Amazon’s efforts to undermine injury claims as “aggressive.”
“The incentive to avoid injuries, in many situations, comes in conflict with Amazon’s need for speed, which is the basis of its business model,” he said. “Contesting claims aggressively is consistent with the model.”
Amazon’s serious injury rate at the WSIB is on par with similar employers in the province, and has increased from 0.75 to 1.17 per 100 workers over the past four years. In Ontario, injuries are only classified as serious if the employee loses time on the job, whereas the U.S. benchmark also factors in injuries requiring modified duties.
Employers must pay WSIB premiums based on how risky their sector is and their own safety performance. If serious injuries go up, so can the employer’s insurance premiums.
The goal of that system is to incentivize employers to reduce accidents, especially acute ones. But critics say it motivates some employers to hide injuries, dispute their severity or offer inappropriate modified work so the injury won’t be officially counted as serious.
In one Amazon injury claim reviewed by the Star, a Brampton-area worker suffering from eye pain was taken to hospital in an ambulance and later received a doctor’s note saying he could not return to work until assessed by an ophthalmologist. But Amazon argued the worker should not receive loss-of-earnings benefits because it had offered him a “suitable” modified job.
“Worker is stating he is off due to pain,” Amazon’s claim reads. “Pain is subjective.”
Four workers who sustained injuries at Canadian Amazon warehouses told the Star they were given modified duties that ranged from handing out bags of chips at staff appreciation lunches to tasks that required bending or lifting and were still physically painful.
“It’s cheaper (for employers) to have people piling paper clips than being at home getting better,” said Green.
The trillion-dollar company, which employs 21,000 staff across all its Canadian operations, is also saving money in other ways. In Ontario, the WSIB does not classify Amazon fulfilment centres as warehouses, but groups them in with “specialized retail” — a sector where insurance premiums are significantly lower than the riskier warehousing industry. Amazon did not respond to the Star’s questions about why its warehouses are lumped in with stores like Costco.
David Newberry, a community legal worker with the Toronto-based Injured Workers’ Consultants, called the classification “scandalous.”
“I can’t imagine the amount of cost savings that would result in” for Amazon.
For workers, the effects of overexertion or repetitive motion can be just as costly as a sudden, traumatic incident, said Green.
He put it this way: a professional baseball pitcher gets hit in the arm by a ball. It looks horrible, but the pitcher “almost always recovers in their performance.” Conversely, years of throwing the ball at high speeds cause repetitive strain injuries that are “regularly career threatening.”
“They don’t look like much. The pitcher is just pitching,” said Green. “And then one day, they can’t anymore.”
The pandemic has only deepened Canadians’ reliance on Amazon, whose profits globally tripled this year. For warehouse workers, COVID introduced a new element to the job: fear.
As Ontario entered its first lockdown, workers in the GTA told the Star that daily departmental meetings of 200 or more staff initially continued on Amazon’s shop floor. They sent photos of packed lunchrooms and employees working in close proximity.
Since then, departmental meetings have been cancelled, and cleaning regimens and access to protective gear have improved at Amazon’s facilities, said Gagandeep Kaur, an organizer with the Warehouse Workers’ Centre, which advocates for better working conditions in Peel’s expansive logistics sector. But Amazon will not confirm how many staff in Canada have contracted COVID.
In May, the WSIB’s compliance team contacted Amazon as part of its “pandemic response education” efforts after “allegations (were) noted that this employer may not be reporting COVID-related exposures,” according to documents obtained by the Star through a Freedom of Information request.
“Based on the facts shared during the outreach, it was determined that Amazon was in compliance with reporting and no further action was necessary,” a WSIB spokesperson said.
As of November, the company had not registered a single COVID claim. The Star has confirmed at least 25 cases of workers testing positive at one Brampton warehouse alone.
Farah Mawani, a social epidemiologist at Unity Health’s MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, said transparency about where COVID cases are happening is essential — for the public to understand why low-income, racialized communities have been harder hit, and for policy makers to do something about it.
“If we are not implementing any workplace interventions, we’re never going to get the pandemic under control,” she said.
Amazon says it has made “significant” process changes, including allowing workers extra time to wash their hands and sanitize their work area, and staggering work stations to promote social distancing. But Kaur said the core risk factor for injury, and now illness, remains unchanged: precarious work.
Amazon has reinstated its policy of penalizing its slowest performers, which was initially suspended as a pandemic safety precaution. It has eliminated its $2-an-hour pay bump implemented between March and May. It has rescinded a measure implemented early in the pandemic to give workers unlimited unpaid time off when needed. While permanent employees accrue four paid sick days over time, temporary employees still don’t get any. At one GTA warehouse, some 40 per cent of staff are temporary, according to internal documents seen by the Star.
Amazon did not respond to the Star’s questions about what percentage of its overall workforce is temporary — but across the U.S. and Canada, it’s hiring more than 100,000 seasonal employees to meet increased demand. On top of the $1,000 weekly cash draw for workers with perfect attendance during this year’s holiday season, the company is also offering a $300 bonus to those who don’t miss a day through December.
For Mawani, the pandemic has exposed more forcefully than ever the risks shouldered by workers who “don’t really have the power to challenge health and safety practices.”
I went undercover as an Amazon delivery driver. Here’s what I learned about the hidden costs of free shipping
Those conditions are not exclusive to Amazon: low-wage work is on the rise across the country. Over 80 per cent of low-wage workers do not have paid sick leave in the Toronto area. The warehousing sector, which employs 30,000 people in the GTA, is often a landing pad for new Canadians; only 12 per cent of employees in the industry are unionized.
Former senior vice-president of Amazon Web Services Tim Bray said Amazon did not cause those problems — but it is a glaring symptom of them.
In an interview, the Canadian-born engineer called Amazon one of the best-managed companies he has ever worked for. But he said there is a troubling side to its unparalleled success — one that demands systemic change. Earlier this year, he quit over the firing of six U.S.-based warehouse workers after they raised concerns about working conditions during the pandemic.
“If we don’t like what (Amazon is) doing, the right thing to do is not to yell at them to be nice,” he said. “The right thing to do is change the rules.
“The core propositions of Amazon retail are to have a large selection, decent prices and fast delivery. Nobody has ever disliked any of those things,” he added.
“My disapproval comes in where you do the arithmetic to count the cost (that is) borne by the people in the equation who don’t have any power.”
Bobby Bueckert agrees.
“I think they’re good at selling this business,” she said. “But once you’re in behind those doors, it’s a different story.”
2019 injury rates at Canadian Amazon warehouses
(Calculated by number of injuries or illness resulting in days away from work or modified duties per 100 workers)
YYZ1 Mississauga — 7.3
YYZ2 Milton, Ont. — 13.4
YYZ3 Brampton — 10.4
YYZ4 Brampton — 6.8
YYZ7 Bolton, Ont. — 6.2
YOW1 Navan, Ont. — 12.1
YVR2 Delta, B.C. — 9.9
YVR3 New Westminster, B.C. — 15.5
YVR 4 Delta, B.C. — 9.3
YYC1 Rocky View County, Alta. — 11.1
Source: Reveal, from the Center for Investigative Reporting
With data analysis from Andrew Bailey
This story was completed with information from Reveal’s Reporting Networks. revealnews.org/network
Sara Mojtehedzadeh is a Toronto-based reporter covering labour issues for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @saramojtehedz
Amazon, Brampton
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Swaffham Town and Thetford Town shine in pre-season friendlies
Published: 8:45 PM July 21, 2019 Updated: 7:14 AM October 7, 2020
Sunday Football League results - Credit: Archant
A midweek 3-1 victory over Great Yarmouth Town gave Swaffham Town the opportunity to try some training moves and provided a stage for players to show Paul Hunt their skills and development.
The first goal came from a perfectly placed header from Alex Vincent, meeting the cross of Joe Jackson and looping the ball diagonally over and across the Yarmouth keeper into the top right hand corner.
Sam Carter got on the scoresheet in the second half, striking the ball home from from 10 yards.
Scott Moore completed the tally for Swaffham with a tidy finish from 14 yards into the left hand side of goal.
Great Yarmouth did score a consolation goal but Swaffham demonstrated the far superior footballing skills.
There was disappointment at the weekend with scheduled opponents Peterborough North Star calling off at the last minute, unable to field a team.
On Saturday Swaffham are on the road to Deeping Rangers for their last pre-season friendly. The Thurlow Nunn Premier Division fixtures have now been released and the Pedlars commence their campaign on August 3, Godmanchester Rovers visiting Shoemakers Lane for the first time for a couple of seasons.
10 Timeline: When should you receive the coronavirus vaccine?
The following weekend is the FA Cup. The Pedlars are away to Biggleswade United, with the winners progressing to play Soham Town. In the Buildbase FA Vase, the Pedlars are on the road again to Mildenhall Town. The fixture will be played the last weekend of August.
The Reserves started their pre-season preparation at King's Lynn SC with a comfortable 3-0 win, Jack Prentice scored a header in the final moments of the first half while Luke Askew and Alex Smith produced good finishes in the second half from excellent support and assists from Sam Rolph. On Saturday they travel to Lakenheath Reserves.
The Under-18s have a pre-season friendly away to Wisbech St Mary on Thursday evening to start their campaign, their league season getting under way the week commencing August 26.
Thetford Town are warming up nicely for the new season, with two more friendly wins, both of them away from home.
Last Tuesday evening they came away from Diss Town with a 2-0 victory thanks to a goal in either half from Liam Hemming and Bradley Sandell.
On Saturday they recovered from an early deficit to beat Harwich and Parkeston 4-2, with all their goals coming in a 20 minute period either side of half-time. Matt Hayden led the way with a double while Hemming and Ross Bailey were also on target.
Thetford open their league campaign with an evening game at Mundford Road against Walsham le Willows on Friday, August 2. Their final friendly is at Fakenham Town on Saturday.
In the FA Cup Thetford are at home to Rothwell Corinthians in the extra preliminary round and will be away to either Great Yarmouth or Wellingborough Whitworth if they win.
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This Is How Glowy Skin Became A Trend
By Rhea Cartwright
We all know that words hold immense power and while the beauty industry lexicon grows larger with every new trend, there is one four-letter word that has become a firm favorite: glow. Often related with radiance, dew and luminosity, determining how to get glowing skin has become a constant quest for purveyors of beauty.
An antithesis to the heavily made-up, contoured look that was baked and blended to perfection in the early years of Instagram, glowing skin has been propelled by viral makeup artists such as Nam Vo, famous for turning her clients into “dewy dumplings” and brands such as Glossier that championed the no makeup-makeup look. The war on shine was over and as mattifying powders were downed, highlighters, strobing creams and skin care-makeup hybrids became the key items in beauty repertoires everywhere.
As the beauty industry has become obsessed with “glow” and everyone seems to be chasing an ethereal yet elusive multi-tasking buzzword, scientifically speaking, glow can’t be quantified. It isn’t tangible or measurable in the way that wrinkle depth or hydration levels can be and yet the aesthetic it summons in our collective minds is often that of immensely healthy and optimally hydrated skin.
Famously known for 10-step routines, the exponential rise in radiance is intrinsically linked to the Korean beauty influence on the Western market with “chok chok” skin laying at the heart of Korean beauty ideals, according to Charlotte Cho, co-Founder of Soko Glam and Founder of Then I Met You. “Chok chok doesn’t just pertain to skin, but is used to describe something that is literally moist," she tells TZR. "The glowing skin that everyone is obsessed with is a direct result of K-beauty’s skin-first philosophy and Koreans have always loved the dewy look.” From glass skin to kkul-gwang, the K-beauty world has a penchant for innovative terms to describe a light-reflective complexion. “Koreans have always raved about glowy skin which is something that Western beauty has historically tried to cover up with mattifying primers, foundations, and powders to keep the skin as matte as possible.”
Cho says that when she introduced Korean beauty to the U.S. through the Korean 10-step skin care routine, the focus wasn’t on using 10 steps every single time to achieve healthy skin, but was centered on educating yourself to build a routine and understanding the steps to achieve your skin goals. “The philosophy is a way of life and goes beyond just steps or sheet masks," she notes. "It’s how you think about skin care and what works best for your particular skin care needs. The more time you invest in taking care of your skin and understanding what products and ingredients work for you, the better results you will see.”
Innovative ingredients alongside accessible pricing of K-beauty helped to catalyze the explosion of skin care as a category. Pre-pandemic, makeup usage in the U.S. has declined, but skin care rose by 5% to $5.9 billion in 2019, according to NPD insights. Jessica Richards, founder of SHEN Beauty, observes an increase in consumers looking for “glow”-related products. “Since 2015, I have consistently seen a rise in SHEN’s search terms for “glow.” In particular, it seems to rise in the winter months as people are looking for more of a natural glow and when COVID-19 hit, the search term jumped by 25% above average. Consumers are staying at home and wearing less makeup but still want products to make their skin glow.”
For clinical dermatologist Dr. Ranella Hirsch, radiance is a marker of blood flow. “The glow we attribute to new brides, falling in love and even post-orgasm sends blood to the face. Glow naturally aligns to health hence the “healthy glow” of pregnancy.” Natasha Moor, a bridal and celebrity makeup artist, agrees and says although her clients always want a glowy look for their wedding day, glowing skin represents more than just an aesthetic. “It’s a term used to exude happiness in a way that is almost angelic and comes from a space of purity. My clients aspire to showcase the happiness they feel internally, which translates externally as a glow,” she says.
With photography an integral part of weddings, celebrations, and now everyday life, Moor thinks that social media selfies and filters have translated the real world fascination with glow within the digital sphere. “Filters create a version of ourselves that we want to portray," she continues. "Like any trend, social media has definitely influenced the notion of a glow being the ideal and while Instagram has served as a way for so many to learn and educate themselves on creating a glow with makeup, there are unrealistic perceptions of beauty due to over-editing or what it means.”
Although the intensity of glow can be enhanced to varying degrees with makeup, the hashtag glowing skin counts over 6 million images varying from no-makeup selfies to green juice. Essentially, for the modern consumer, looking lit from within is an amalgamation of lifestyle and skincare which is surely linked to the sizeable rise of the global wellness industry, now worth over $4.2 trillion. From sleep quality to stress levels, consumers are becoming more aware of how their lifestyle contributes to their overall skin health and appearance, with the beauty industry quickly responding with a whole host of products to ease the journey. Dr. Howard Murad famously said that topical skincare products address only 20% of your skin and the other 80% is affected by what you eat and drink, including your dietary supplements.
To some extent, a healthy glow has become an aesthetic signifier that you’re doing everything right; regularly working out, eating copious amounts of fruits and vegetables, sleeping eight hours at night, reducing stress, minimizing sugar, not smoking, and not drinking alcohol. When the body is in great health, the skin glows with vitality and that makes a great base to work on, according to Margo Marrone, The Organic Pharmacy founder. To her, glowing skin looks like you’ve just come back from a hike, fully hydrated and bouncy. In practice, they are simple choices. But for the average person, this seemingly unscathed lifestyle, especially during a pandemic, is largely impossible and almost a privilege.
CoffeeAndMilk/E+/Getty Images
Dr. Amy Wechsler, board-certified dermatologist and psychiatrist, says that stress levels compounded with lack of sleep will typically result in our skin looking less radiant. “Right now, the whole world is stressed and understandably so. Depression and anxiety levels have increased as very few people are completely fine in this current period of time.” Dr. Wechsler emphasizes that although there aren’t enough clinical studies to corroborate the claim, if someone does have a glow, it’s an indication that they are better able to handle stress.
“We are starting to understand that lower stress levels and more sleep is crucial for skin health and its overall light-reflective appearance. We often wear our stress on our skin and while we can’t define what radiant means, it’s often the overall health of the skin such as an even texture and lack of dullness caused by a deceleration of surface skin cells turning over regularly.” She adds that while several factors can cause dullness and the renewal process to slow down such as pollution, smoking or poor diet choices, she believes that lack of relative stress plays a crucial role in the skins glow. “When we go on vacation or take time off work, we come back with a glow even if we’ve not been in the sun.”
As we pivot away from terms such as “anti-aging” and “anti-wrinkle,” the focus on having an incandescent glow is a way to soften the ageist narrative and promote positivity. “We’re choosing words that are more positive instead of trying to fight something that is ultimately inevitable. Language is powerful and we can’t judge ourselves with negative words as it’s detrimental for our self-esteem,” Dr. Wechsler adds, who believes it’s perhaps better that glow isn’t measurable. “There’s a broad range and spectrum of what glow means that makes it more attainable.”
While the linguistic choices of the beauty industry holds no bounds, at the core of glass skin, chok chok, and even the newly coined, dolphin skin — is a glow. The visceral reaction to the monosyllabic word has transcended beauty and having a glow exists as much internally as it does externally. Whether the path to radiance is with 6 a.m. Pilates, improving sleep habits or by a generous application of Glossier Future Dew, "all the tools are there," as Moor says. "But it's important to always appreciate your own glow as that's your true power."
The 2021 Skin Care Trends We'll Be Seeing All Year
The Los Angeles Hair Color Trends That Angelenos Are Requesting Right Now
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English for Academic Purposes U-ADEPT Testing Program Additional English Resources
U-ADEPT Testing Program
Additional English Resources
EAP Program
Spring 2021 —
We regret that due to COVID-19, the English Language Institute will not be enrolling students, offering tutoring, or conducting U-ADEPT testing until Fall 2021.
We are still accepting applications for Fall 2021. More details below.
Apply for Fall 2021
English for Academic Purposes Program
Students in the EAP program come from all over the world. Many are international students on F-1 student visas; some are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Full-time students in the EAP Program attend 20 hours of noncredit classes each week for 15 weeks in the Fall and Spring semesters. Part-time classes are offered during the 8-week summer session.
The ELI's English for Academic Purposes Program (EAP) serves two groups of people:
Students who are preparing to enroll in a university degree program in the United States
People who desire an intensive approach to language learning
EAP Courses
Four courses:
These courses are offered at three different levels:
High intermediate
See course details
EAP Schedules
Three different EAP sessions are scheduled each year according to The University of Akron academic calendar.
The 15-week Fall semester begins in late August or early September
The 15-week Spring semester begins in January
The 8-week Summer session begins in June
View schedule of sessions
The University of Akron operates on a rolling admissions basis. You will receive your admission decision after ALL applications materials have been received.
Applicants for Fall 2020 and beyond are required to provide proof of English level. Minimum requirements for admission are:
TOEFL: 40
IELTS: 5.0
Duolingo: 70
Complete this online application
Submit proof of English level, send English examination scores to intlrecruit@uakron.edu
Minimum scores: TOEFL: 40, IELTS: 5.0, Duolingo: 70
If you need to obtain an F-1 student visa:
To begin in the fall semester apply by May 1
To begin in the spring semester apply by November 15
If you do not need to apply for an F-1 visa because you are already in the U.S. or who will enter the U.S. in another status, you may apply up to two weeks before the first day of the semester start date listed on The University of Akron’s Academic Calendar.
Tuition, fees and estimated expenses
The amount for tuition covers instructional costs and fees. We provide you a breakdown of expenses, including estimated living expenses for Akron, Ohio.
View tuition and fees details
Applying for admission to academic programs
Students interested in pursuing a degree following their completion of the EAP program can apply for admission before or after applying for the EAP program. Qualified students that apply to The University of Akron prior to applying to the EAP program will receive conditional admission. Upon successful completion of the EAP program and providing valid proof of English proficiency, students with conditional admission can begin coursework at the start of the next semester.
Apply for undergraduate or graduate studies at UA.
Complete the EAP application.
Comments from ELI Graduates
See what ELI graduates think about our classes.
Some of these students attended The University of Akron after completing their ELI coursework; others returned to their home countries, where they now have successful careers; others live and work in the Akron area.
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Ukrainian American Society of Texas
The Ukrainian American Society of Texas Is A Non-Profit 501(C)(3) Organization in the North Texas Area. Established in 1983 to Preserve and Celebrate the Ukrainian Culture, Language, Traditions, History, Food and Music!
Help Ukraine
HOLODOMOR - The Ukrainian Genocide of 1932-33
87th Commemoration - November 2020
This year marks the 87th anniversary of this tragedy, occurring at a time when people worldwide are suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with thousands dying and falling ill. Even in the midst of these very difficult times, the horrors of the past cannot be forgotten.
To honor the victims of the Holodomor, a virtual slideshow depicting 26 mixed-media artworks of Houston-based Ukrainian-American artist Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak, replaces an on-site exhibit.
Click Here for the Video Presentation
Click Here for the Slide Presentation
85th Commemoration of The Holodomor in Dallas - 2018
The North Texas Holodomor Committee prepared the first ever exhibit in North Texas about the Ukrainian Genocide of 1932-33. In partnership with the Dallas Public Library, two large exhibit galleries and various display cases held factual pictures, maps, books and documentation on the Holodomor. Film documentaries were shown at the exhibit on weekends followed by discussions.
The Exhibit was at the Dallas Public Library, 4th Floor at 1515 Young Street in Dallas from September 16th through December 31, 2018. On September 23, 2018 at 2 PM, a traditional Commemoration Event was held and honored the victims of the Holodomor with over 100 guests in attendance. Canned goods were collected during the exhibit and donated to the North Texas Food Bank.
This exhibit was made possible by the generous contribution of the following Sponsors:
The Dallas Public Library, The Ukrainian American Society of Texas, Moxie Graphic Productions, Ben Yager Designs, World Class Coffee Catering and Dnipro Valley Transport
Hand Out
Holodomor Museum in Kyiv, Ukraine
HOLODOMOR Victims Memorial In Ukraine
Holodomor Memorial in Washington DC
Holodomor Awareness Tour
Holodomor Research and Education Consortium
Holodomor Education
World Acknowledges
US Holodomor Committee
On November, 2018, former Senator Don Huffines of District 16 sent us a Resolution recognizing the efforts of our committee in presenting the Holodomor Exhibit at the Dallas Public Library, the Commemorative Ceremony held on September 22 and the series of documentaries about the Holodomor.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been more information released about the Holodomor. Although many of the eyewitnesses have passed, there remains plenty of evidence to provide documentation of this genocide against Ukrainians. Each and every book written or film produced is essential to remember the millions that perished under Russia's dictator, Stalin. It is a lesson in life we must all never forget and forever hold in promise to respect human life no matter what race, color, religion or gender.
READING LIST: Click for List
Red Famine
Execution by Hunger
Harvest by Sorrow
The Holodomor Reader
EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM MATERIAL
One of our goals is to have the Holodomor Facts added to the Texas Educational Curriculum so that our children will learn about this genocide during their international studies. Until then, here is a link for Educational Resources
North Texas Holodomor Committee Chair: Chrystya Geremesz
NTHC Committee Members: Roksolana Karmazyn, Marta Petrash, Daria Zaluckyj, Bob Adkins, Joan Karasevich Schellenberg, John Humen and Sandy Kloberdanz
The NTHC was created to facilitate the commemoration of the 85th Anniversary of The Holodomor. Ongoing projects that foster promoting and educating the public about Ukraine's Genocide is the goal of this group.
Senate Resolution 435
In March 2018, Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), co-chairs of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, introduced S.Res.435, a resolution commemorating the 85th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide (Holodomor) of 1932-33. Similarly, in June 2018, Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) and the co-chairs of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus - Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Andy Harris, MD (R-MD), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), introduced an analogous Holodomor resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives - H.Res.931.
The Holodomor resolutions are a very important issue for Ukraine and the Ukrainian American community. For decades, our community has been working arduously to bring awareness and achieve recognition of the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian nation. On October 3rd, the hard work of our Ukrainian American communities paid off and Resolution 435 passed unanimously.
Visit with your local Congressman and talk about Ukraine and the current war with Russia. Share with them our UAST.ORG website and inform them about the Holodomor and how important it is to bring about public awareness of this tragedy and be taught about in our schools. Be sure to take a picture so we can share to our website.
Click Here for District Maps and Representative Names
HOLODOMOR Exhibit at The Dallas Holocaust Museum
www.dhhrm.org
Pictures courtesy of Chrystya Geremesz
Created for Ukrainian American Society of Texas by
Chrystya Geremesz - July 2016
© 2023 by ECO THUNDER. Proudly created with Wix.com
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UK LAWYERS FOR ISRAEL > NEWS > People > UKLFI featured on Jonny Gould’s Jewish State podcast
UKLFI featured on Jonny Gould’s Jewish State podcast
People, podcast, radio
Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UKLFI, is interviewed on “Jonny Gould’s Jewish State” podcast this week, talking about our successes in combatting BDS and other anti-Israel activity.
You can listen to the interview with Jonathan here:
https://m.soundcloud.com/jonnygould/the-remarkable-uk-lawyers-for-israel-and-bela-guttmann-footballs-greatest-comeback
Jonny Gould’s Jewish State is a podcast produced by Jonny Gould, who has worked in journalism for more than 30 years and is a familiar face on Sky News’ press review and Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine. Each week he interviews different personalities in the Jewish world.
Previous interviewees include Trevor Horn , the multi-million selling record producer of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, media lawyer Mark Lewis, MPs Ian Austin and John Mann and Yaakov Peri, the former head of Shin Bet.
Your ticket for the: UKLFI featured on Jonny Gould’s Jewish State podcast
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Cadillac shows off the new CTS-V Sport Wagon
By Lupica G. / in Cadillac / on Monday, 29 Mar 2010 08:49 AM / 0 Comment / 2337 views
The fastest four door car in the world the CTS-V could be joined by a bigger brother on the market, an estate version. The Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon is, at the moment, a show car meant to deliver thrills at the upcoming New York International Auto show.
Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon
The current CTS Sport Wagon is one of the best looking estate cars out there; giving it a similar status in performance would pretty much make it what family men with heavy feet desire. This performance is set to come from the same 6.2 liter LSA V8 supercharged engine that’s found under the hood of the sedan. So what this slightly more aggressive looking CTS Sport Wagon has to get as fast as possible round the Nurburgring is made of a pretty interesting list:
– 556 horsepower,
– 551 pound-feet of torque
– 6 speed manual or 6 speed automatic (with the same Performance Shifting Algorithm)
– magnetic ride control
– Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires
– forged aluminium wheels
– Brembo brakes (dual-cast aluminum/iron)
Add all of these together and the CTS-V Sport Wagon that Cadillac is showing off could be the fastest estate in the world. It also has some interesting infotainment accessories (a Bose 5.1 sound system, Bluetooth phone integration, and a USB-enabled 40 GB hard drive) but who would care with such a beast at your disposal? However, what needs to be mentioned is that the Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon is at the moment a show car and this means that it’s not a concept but also it’s not a production car, yet…
Production of the CTS-V Sport Wagon is likely to start towards the end of 2010 and the car could be sold as a 2011 model.
Tagged as:2010 2011 6.2 liter LSA supercharged V8 Brembo Cadillac Cadillac CTS-V Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon CTS-V estate fastest estate in the world LSA V8 magnetic ride control Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 New York Auto Show performance show car Sport Wagon supercharged supercharger V8
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Virginia Department of Health > Internal Audit > Fraud, Waste, and Abuse – Hotline
Auditor Responsibilities
Fraud, Waste, and Abuse – Hotline
Web Links, References and Reports
Internal Reporting of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
VDH senior management supports the reporting of suspected fraud, waste, abuse, wrong doing, or policy violations directly to the Director of Internal Audit (804-864-7450 or maisha.beasley@vdh.vdh.virginia.gov). In fact, the VDH Code of Ethics and Administrative Policy requires employees to report suspected wrongdoing:
Code of Ethics:
Commitment 09: “Report suspected wrongful conduct promptly. Promptly report suspected fraud and alleged violations of the Code of Virginia or the agency Code of Ethics to their supervisor, to the Internal Audit Department, or to the anonymous State Employee Hotline number for investigation.”
VDH Administrative Policy: Reporting Losses and Thefts & Violations of VDH Code of Ethics (Office of Internal Audit Policy #1.01):
“Immediately upon becoming aware of suspected fraud, waste, abuse, material financial loss, suspected criminal activity, theft of agency property, and violations of the ethics policy, an employee shall report his/her concerns to his/her supervisor. The supervisor immediately notifies their chain of command and the Director of Internal Audit. Internal Audit assesses the complaint, initiates an investigation and prepares findings and recommendations.”
Reporting allegations internally is often helpful in gathering information as the investigator is familiar with agency’s policies, processes, and environment, and the investigator can respond earlier on time sensitive cases. All internally reported allegation are communicated to OSIG, State and/or Capital Police, and other officials as deemed necessary according to State Code requirements.
Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Definitions
Fraud: The intentional deception by an individual or individuals which could result in a tangible or intangible benefit to themselves, others, or the Commonwealth or could cause detriment to others or the Commonwealth. Fraud includes a false representation of a matter of fact, whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading statements, or by concealment of that which should have been disclosed, which deceives or is intended to deceive.
Waste: The intentional or unintentional, thoughtless or careless expenditure, consumption, mismanagement, use, or squandering of Commonwealth resources. Waste also includes incurring unnecessary costs due to inefficient or ineffective practices, systems, or controls.
Abuse: Excessive or improper use of a thing or policy, or employment of something in a manner contrary to the natural or legal rules for its use. Intentional destruction, diversion, manipulation, misapplication, mistreatment, or misuse of resources. Extravagant or excessive use as to abuse one’s position or authority. Abuse can occur in financial or nonfinancial settings.
What is Needed for an Effective Investigation
Factual and timely information
Circumstances of the incident
Subject(s) involved
Identify any evidence that is available
Identify any available documentation and location
Dates, times, names, places
Credible witnesses
In essence, the who, what, when, where, why, how, and how often
Develop appropriate corrective action plans to mitigate opportunities for fraud, waste, and abuse
Take appropriate disciplinary action
How to Report Fraud, Waste and Abuse
Cases received by OSIG are most likely referred to individual State Agency Internal Audit Directors for investigation and reporting to the OSIG. Reports made to the State Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline (Hotline) are anonymous and confidential. You may contact the Hotline by:
As part of government reform initiatives to make Virginia state agencies run more efficiently and effectively, the State Employee Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline began operating in October 1992, and since that time has investigated more than 16,000 cases. On October 9, 2012, through Executive Order Number 52 (2012), the State Employee Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline was expanded to all citizens of Virginia, not just state employees, and its name was changed to the State Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline.
Investigations & Hotline Program
OIA is responsible for conducting proactive and reactive administrative investigations. Our primary objectives are to detect, deter, and report fraud, waste, and abuse within VDH.
The OSIG Hotline Program is a confidential and reliable means for VDH employees and the public to report fraud, waste, mismanagement, and abuse of authority within VDH. The program’s primary role is to receive and evaluate concerns and complaints and to determine the agency or responsible party best suited to take appropriate action.
Reports made to the State Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline (Hotline) are anonymous and confidential. You may contact the Hotline by:
Toll-Free Phone Number (within Virginia)
(800) 723-1615 (No caller ID, but does accept voicemail messages)
Attention: State Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline
Fill out and submit online form
COVHotline@osig.virginia.gov
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Hiller Health Pledge
Tower Hill at a Glance
Leadership and Strategic Plan
Ranked in Top 50 in U.S.
Teaching Today
Open Houses and Tours
Timeline by Grade
For Admission Officers
Our Toolbox
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As part of our school commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, Tower Hill has formed a Social Justice Task Force. This group includes students, alumni, parents, faculty and administrators, led by Trustee Carmen Wallace ‘93 and Director of Social Justice Dyann Connor. We are excited about the opportunity to work collaboratively on essential initiatives as we continue to build a more inclusive, equitable school community. We will share updates from the Task Force throughout the 2020-2021 school year.
Diversity and inclusivity, in all aspects of identity, broaden and enhance the educational experience. Varied perspectives are a source of strength, creativity, enrichment and renewal in the Tower Hill community. These values are found in both our mission statement and in our institutional goals:
Tower Hill School prepares students from diverse backgrounds for full and creative engagement with a dynamic world. Each student is provided with an educational experience that emphasizes the development of an inquisitive, discerning and critical mind; the value of being creative and aesthetically sensitive; the appreciation of physical well-being; the ability to collaborate and to function as part of a team; and the growth of character.
Institutional Goal on Inclusivity and Student-Centered School Culture
We will continue to focus on inclusivity, both celebrating and challenging ourselves to ensure a student-centered school culture, an exhilarating academic and extracurricular experience, and a community that knows, welcomes and respects all of our students, faculty, staff and families.
Tower Hill School embraces a broad definition of diversity that acknowledges the many ways each of us is unique, including, but not limited to, our various talents, perspectives, goals, ethnicities, identities, and religions. With this broad definition in mind, we hope to create an educational environment in which each person is genuinely valued, respected and included. We believe that diversity and inclusivity enrich the educational experience and strengthen our overall community.
Dyann Connor
Director of Social Justice and Dean of Recruitment
dconnor@towerhill.org
Alumni, students and families: Share your experiences to help inform Tower Hill's social justice efforts moving forward
Messages to the School Community on Social Justice
Response to Open Letter
As the country mourns the death of civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis, who spoke at Tower Hill’s Forum during the 2000-2001 and 2008-2009 school years, we are called by his words to become “one country” and to “lay down the burdens of hate.” History has handed us all an opportunity to, once and for all, dismantle systems of injustice, racism and oppression that have plagued our country and communities.
Tower Hill is taking action, and we continue to listen and to engage in meaningful conversations with alumni, current students and parents. We apologize to those among our school community who have experienced pain, not felt heard or suffered discrimination and injustice. We are heartbroken by your stories, and we must do better.
We are fortunate to be engaged in productive conversation with several alumni who have offered an open letter to the school and extended community. We are reviewing the suggested action items with these alumni, sharing upcoming Social Justice Program plans and forming a Social Justice Task Force to ensure continued progress. We believe the ideas expressed in the open letter align with Tower Hill’s Commitments toward Social Justice shared recently with the school community.
To summarize, these measures include:
Expanding diversity and anti-racist training for employees and trustees
Reinforcing accountability and ensuring support systems
Ensuring equity in hiring and compensation
Reviewing our curriculum
Focusing on admission and community outreach
Continually investing in our Social Justice Program
Diversity and inclusivity enrich the educational experience and strengthen our overall community. Every student must feel comfortable, respected and safe, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation or social status. Culture change is hard work, but essential for healthy and vibrant schools. Tower Hill’s Strategic Plan includes building an engaged and diverse community as a core tenet, and our school culture has improved in a variety of ways. However, we will never rest on our laurels, especially in the area of racial equity and social justice. We cannot rest until our school community is a place where every student can leave at the end of the day with their full humanity intact.
In recent years, Tower Hill has selected a word for the year in order to focus our collective efforts as a school community. These words have included: Gratitude, Courage, Kindness, Integrity and Community, and this year’s word will be Unity. It seems fitting that we have alumni, parents, teachers and students who are united in this important work, as we together continue to improve Tower Hill. If you have experiences or feedback to share, please contact Director of Social Justice Dyann Connor (dconnor@towerhill.org) or Head of School Bessie Speers (bspeers@towerhill.org) directly or use this form. We also invite you to a series of Forums listed below. As the country honors the late John Lewis, we would do well to recognize that we all must take responsibility and unite to build a more just and equitable community.
Elizabeth C. Speers
Eric T. Johnson, M.D.
Chair, Board of Trustees
Commitments Toward Social Justice
Over the last several weeks, we have engaged students, faculty, parents and alumni in discussion about social justice efforts in our country and at our school. We are proud of the progress Tower Hill has made in recent years, however, we have ongoing work to do.
While Tower Hill does many things well, we have not done things perfectly and it is important to acknowledge that there have indeed been instances where we have caused pain. As individuals, we can all examine our personal biases and actions to help combat racism and inequity in our daily lives and in our communities. As an organization, Tower Hill will examine our institutional policies and systems to advance social justice in our school community. We must stand united in building a school culture that will never tolerate racism or injustice.
To this end, Tower Hill stands committed to:
Expanding diversity training
Tower Hill’s board of trustees, administration, faculty and staff will continue to participate in ongoing diversity and anti-racist training. The school will take a leadership position in facilitating local and regional social justice workshops and conferences, collaborating with other schools and organizations.
Tower Hill’s administration will make sure lines of communication are clear and open so that students, faculty, parents and alumni can find individual and collective support, including voicing concerns that result in appropriate follow up.
Tower Hill will be proactive and steadfast in hiring faculty of color, establishing a faculty fellow position that will be filled by an African American teacher. Our Director of Social Justice will continue to serve as Dean of Recruitment and Hiring, as we build a diverse pool of candidates during the hiring process. Faculty and staff will be trained in interviewing protocols and made aware of the role implicit bias can play in attracting, hiring and retaining faculty of color. In addition, Tower Hill will continue to review salary equity and retention success.
Tower Hill will review curriculum in all three divisions to ensure diverse authors and perspectives in historical and contemporary content, providing students with opportunities to examine experiences both similar to and different from their own.
Tower Hill reaffirms our 2016 Strategic Plan objective to “build and engage a diverse and inclusive community.” This includes socio-economic diversity through continued investment in financial aid so that qualified students can attend Tower Hill. Meaningful academic and service learning opportunities through engaging with a broad external community will help Tower Hill to truly be a school of Wilmington and the world.
Tower Hill’s Social Justice Program has expanded opportunities for students in all three divisions to learn about and discuss race, gender, religion, culture, sexual orientation, age and other aspects of identity. Equity and Inclusion Coordinators in each division will continue to work closely with the Director of Social Justice to foster dialogue, facilitate training, assess curriculum and educate students. Parent affinity groups supporting diversity (DISTINCT) and African American families (PAATH) will continue to support the school’s mission and goals in advancing social justice efforts at Tower Hill.
As Bryan Stevenson, a civil rights lawyer and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, said in this interview in The New Yorker, “We need to reckon with our history of racial injustice. I think everything we are seeing is a symptom of a larger disease. We have never honestly addressed all the damage that was done during the two and a half centuries that we enslaved Black people.” We can and must challenge our school community to be a kinder and more equitable place for all. Tower Hill stands firmly with our Black alumni, faculty, students and families, as we carry out our mission “to prepare students from diverse backgrounds for full and creative engagement with a dynamic world.”
Director of Social Justice
Message from Head of School Bessie Speers
This week our academic year will draw to a close, and we will do all we can to celebrate achievements, milestones and the Class of 2020. However, we would be doing ourselves and our school community a disservice not to acknowledge and reckon with the very real agony, pain and frustration that many of us are feeling right now. The horrific death of George Floyd and many other people of color before him has caused outrage in cities around our country, including Wilmington. People of color in our country experience threats of institutionalized racism and violence on a regular basis. We must do better as a country, and all of us are called to be part of the solution.
There is no place for hate, discrimination or bigotry of any kind. As we stand as one Tower Hill community, we must pay great attention to our “moral arc.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reassured us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice;” we must ensure a shorter arc, as our humanity depends on it.
Tower Hill is and must continue to be a school of Wilmington and the world. When our community, country and the world are in pain, our school community is too. We must unite, act as one community and be clear in our conviction to oppose racism and bigotry. Our community values call us to commit to excellence, and right now this means supporting one another, listening instead of judging, and acting from a place of love and compassion.
Tower Hill's mission to “prepare students from diverse backgrounds for full and creative engagement with a dynamic world” is our collective hope and could not be more important. Embedded within our school’s mission and front and center as a core tenet of our Strategic Plan is Tower Hill’s commitment to building an engaged and diverse community. We will not waver and are fully committed to being an inclusive community. To this end, our students, faculty and staff will continue to grow and learn more about diversity, equity and inclusion through curriculum, professional development and effective programming. There will always be work to do in this realm, and to this end, we must maintain a perpetual posture of humility and thirst for understanding.
The words of Dr. Rev. Pauli Murray ring true and can bring us hope: “As an American I inherit the magnificent tradition of an endless march toward freedom and toward the dignity of all mankind.” As educators, we have an important role to play in this magnificent tradition, ensuring that our students understand theirs, because as a country the magnificence of this tradition has not yet been fully realized.
It is important to me that we provide our students, families and one another support right now. We may worry about what to say or not to say, however, conversation and connection are part of the answer. Director of Social Justice Dyann Connor and her team are offering ways for students and faculty to connect this week, as well as some resources for teachers about engaging in difficult but necessary conversations. Let’s all commit to doing our part in creating a shorter “arc” and more “magnificent tradition.”
Social Justice Program
Equity and Inclusion Coordinators and Committees
This year, to better support our school community, we have added Equity and Inclusion Coordinators in each division as follows:
Anna Correa and Ann Sullivan in the Lower School
Rachel Ashbrook and Carmen Martinez in the Middle School
Anna Miller, Ph.D., and Asha Smith in the Upper School
These coordinators have worked with Dyann Connor to launch the following committees:
Religious and Cultural Committee
Community Conversations Committee
Social Justice and the Environment Committee
DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Faculty Committee
The above committees plan to meet regularly to discuss and implement community-building ideas and educational initiatives on equity and inclusion at Tower Hill.
Tower Hill School’s Social Justice Program also included guest speakers, professional development workshops, conversations and other initiatives that invite students to engage in courageous conversations about build and engage a more inclusive and student-centered community:
This summer our new faculty and several current teachers attended the ADVIS Multicultural Resource Center’s professional development conference at Episcopal Academy where they learned how to create student-centered, inclusive classroom environments. In addition to this event, our faculty attend Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training throughout the year, including:
Faculty SEED: Each year a group of faculty volunteer to form a cohort as they continue their professional development on diversity and inclusivity through the SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) Program at Tower Hill School. More information.
MCRC@ADVIS: Tower Hill’s new faculty attend the bi-annual MultiCultural Resource Center at Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools’ multi-state diversity, equity and inclusion conference. This conference is widely known and attended by independent schools in the multi-state area. In 2019, Tower Hill hosted the MCRC event where over 60 workshop presentations were available for over 800 faculty/administrators and heads of schools in attendance.
ARC of Justice at Tower Hill School: Tower Hill’s Anti-Racist Conference of Justice is a bi-annual virtual conference held at Tower Hill School. The event is focused on educating on the systems of racism and sharing strategies to move our schools to becoming antiracist communities that are fully inclusive and welcoming of all students and families. Click here to see the ARC of Justice speakers.
Social Justice Program by Division
Click Here for Information about the Upper School Social Justice Program
Click Here for Information about the Middle School Social Justice Program
Click Here for Information about the Lower School Social Justice Program
Social Justice Program and Home and School
The Director of Social Justice also collaborates with Home and School parent groups: PAATH (Parents of African American students at Tower Hill) and DISTINCT (Diversity and Inclusion at Tower Hill).
Together, Tower Hill, PAATH and DISTINCT host several educational events and socials throughout the year, for our entire family community.
Parent SEED Program
We host a parent SEED cohort, which is similar to the faculty SEED cohort. Members of this cohort include parents and parent leaders from Lower, Middle and Upper School.
Speakers and Trainers
Jennifer Bryan, Ph.D.
Founder of Team Finch Consultants
Jenna Chandler Ward
Co-Founder of Teaching While White
Sandra Chapman, Ph.D.
Founder of Chap Equity
Jen Cort
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Educator
Elizabeth Denevi, Ph.D.
Associate Director of the Mid West Educational Collaborative
Karla Fleshman
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, Transitions Delaware
Adam Foley, Ph.D.
University of Delaware, Gender Studies
Nyle Fort
Ph.D. student in religion and African-American studies at Princeton University
Alden Habacon
University of British Columbia Diversity and Inclusion Strategist
Carol Henderson, Ph.D.
Vice Provost University of Delaware Office of Equity and Inclusion
Rosetta Lee
Seattle Girls’ School Diversity Speaker and Trainer
Sarah McBride
Delaware State Senator
Lucy Meyer
Spokesperson, Special Olympics
University of Delaware, Black American Studies
Dennis Parker
National Center for Law and Economic Justice
Pushed Learning and Media
Sheri Schmidt, Ph.D.
Social Justice Educator
Bryan Stevenson, J.D.
Director of the Equal Justice Initiative
Professor at New York University
Howard Stevenson, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
Kory Trott '07
Social Justice Team
Strategic vision, program coordination
EQUITY AND INCLUSION COORDINATORS
AMAZE Anti-bias literature
Anna Elliott
Morning meetings and announcements
Carmen Martinez
Middle School Spanish
Rachel Ashbrook
Middle School English
Asha Smith
Upper School English
Diversity Club and Black Student Association Co-Advisor
Anna Miller, Ph.D.
Upper School French
Community Conversations and Religious and Cultural Committee
PAATH and DISTINCT
PAATH (Parents of African-Americans at Tower Hill)
PAATH sponsors activities and programs that celebrate the African-American experience as a valued and integral component of a Tower Hill education. We also foster an appreciation for diversity, promote cultural competence and help create a supportive environment for African-American families.
DISTINCT (Diversity and Inclusion at Tower Hill)
DISTINCT organizes social and community-building activities to promote the fellowship of parents who advocate for the benefits of diversity in education at Tower Hill School. We also collaborate with Director of Social Justice Dyann Connor to support schoolwide events and programming.
To join PAATH and/or DISTINCT, please contact Director of Social Justice Dyann Connor at dconnor@towerhill.org.
Diversity and Inclusion Events
List of 3 events.
Black History Dinner/OSJ, PAATH & DISTINCT
DISTINCT Spring Social
Location: Private Home
HBCU Event/PAATH
Location: du Pont Theater
Upper Schoolers Attend Social Justice Assembly
Seventh and Eighth Graders Participate in Third Annual LEAD Conference
Faculty Attend Anti-racist Conference
Faculty and Staff Participate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training
Middle Schoolers Attend Haverford Diversity Conference
Black History Dinner Held in Celebration of Black History Month
Community Activist Richard Raw Speaks for Black History Month
Students Celebrate Chinese New Year
Upper Schoolers Attend NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference
Winter Holiday Displays
DISTINCT Hosts Mindfulness Discussion
SEED Diversity and Equity Training for Parent Leaders
PAATH and DISTINCT Host Parent Fall Social
Tower Hill Hosts MCRC@ADVIS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Conference
APEX Honors Program Launched at Tower Hill
CulinArt Inclusion Week
Seventh- and Eighth-Graders Attend Annual Diversity Conference
PAATH Creates Black History Month Multimedia Project
Tower Hill School
Many Things Done Well
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Marriott is Launching a Digital Concierge
By Nikki Ekstein
Credit: Marriott Port-au-Prince Hotel
It’s official: the concierge desk is a thing of the past. Today, Marriott Hotels is launching a new digital concierge service called Mobile Request, which puts service requests—from extra towels to fluffier pillows and airport pickups—in the literal palm of your hand. Built into the existing Marriott Rewards app (used by 50 million members worldwide), the request platform will be available 72 ahead of a stay, as well as during the stay and after checkout—today, it rolls out at 46 hotels before a global expansion slated for completion this summer.
How it works: simply select your request from a drop-down menu pre-populated with the most common services and amenities, or choose “Anything Else?” to pull up a two-way chat. The latter will connect you with an actual human being who will fulfill and confirm your request.
Mobile concierges are hardly Marriott’s invention: we’ve been tracking the trend for years. Conrad was first to jump on board, Intercontinental and Ritz-Carlton have long offered destination guides and concierge-style tips and activities from dedicated apps, and Hyatt has brought its concierge service to Twitter with its popular @HyattConcierge, which can also service in-room requests. But Marriott’s sheer size and scope proves that this is a trend that’s here to stay.
Want to get in on the fun, but don’t have a trip planned? Throughout the day, New Yorkers (or Big Apple visitors) can use the promotional hashtag #AppYourService to receive surprises and gifts from redcoats stationed throughout the city.
Nikki Ekstein is an associate editor at T+L. Follow her on Twitter at @nikkiekstein.
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Discover San Diego County
Filter by: ExperiencesOutdoorRoad TripsEmergency ResponseFamilyLuxuryEntertainmentCulinaryCalifornia Welcome Centers
Balboa Park Paths and Trails
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Free Things to Do in San Diego
Free Things to Do in Balboa Park
Warwick's
The Chopra Center
The Smoking Goat
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Erin Oprea
This region, in California's north-east corner, is know for its mountains, forests, waterfalls, and amazing, safe-to-visit volcanoes. The region, a 3-hour drive north of Sacramento, gets its name from the rugged Cascade Mountains and their signature peak the 4,322-metre Mount Shasta—yes, a volcano.
California Welcome Centres in Shasta Cascade
With crashing waves along the coast and soaring redwood trees blanketing kilometres of uncrowded parkland, this is one of California’s most spectacular regions. The largest city, Eureka, is roughly a 5-hour drive north of San Francisco—but what a drive!: see lush wine country, charming villages, spouting whales, and breathtaking sunsets.
California Welcome Centres in the North Coast
California Welcome Centres in the Gold Country
California Welcome Centres in the San Francisco Bay Area
California Welcome Centres in the High Sierra
California Welcome Centres in the Central Valley
California Welcome Centres in the Deserts
California Welcome Centres in the Inland Empire
This sunny region along the state’s southern coast is California’s most populated region, best known as the capital of the entertainment industry. Here, film stars really do work in Hollywood, play in the surf at Malibu, and shop in Beverly Hills. Looping motorways make the car king, but the region also has a surprisingly good network of buses and light rail, a hassle-free way to explore.
California Welcome Centres in San Diego County
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© Hulton Archive
“My Childhood Self Provided Clues About My Trans Non-Binary Identity – I Just Didn’t See Them”
By Erin Paterson 24 December 2020
Upon watching a video of themselves as a child at Christmas, Erin Paterson was struck by a revelation: “What I saw was a family who loved me, and a camp little boy who was happy, and essential to who I am today.”
I’ve often pondered the question of what I would say to my teenage self. As I’m sure is the way with most people, my answer to this question has changed dramatically over the years, often ricocheting between admonishment and encouragement. Now, as I’m edging closer to my 39th birthday, I’m feeling more indulgent, and looking gratefully back on my childhood self, and the clues I peppered throughout the years about who I would eventually become.
I grew up in a theatrical house. My dad was an actor and singer; in fact, we moved to England from Scotland in the first place in order that he could take up a role in the original cast of Phantom of the Opera in London’s West End. But, aside from his acting work, he was also a designer of costumes and sets for theatre productions. I can remember weeks and months where our house was littered with swathes of beautiful fabrics, trimmings and jewellery, which would amaze and delight me. My dad would take inspiration from strange things; deciding to craft trees out of twists of cloth for a production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute after watching me wrap myself in hanging curtains, or taking inspiration from my brother on his skateboard for the motion of a puppeteered dragon. I, too, would take great inspiration from his designs, and spend hours surrounded with bolts of fabric, tying pieces together about myself to make dresses and cloaks. Thankfully, none of this phased my dad, who took this activity as the sign of a budding designer and only told me to get my ideas down on paper.
In Lockdown, I Have Finally Felt The Glorious Possibilities Of Gender Euphoria
By Erin Paterson
I would also go to visit my dad backstage at work every once in a while, mystified by the rails of ornate, bejewelled costumes in deep reds and greens with spun gold seams. Being backstage at the theatre was an experience that felt deeply magical, at odds with the casual nonchalance of the performers as they would pop in to say hello, or squeeze past us on stairs in full phantasmic regalia. I was transfixed by the women’s costumes in particular, by the vulgar femininity, pan make-up and stiff wigs.
As I moved into my teenage years, somehow, this fascination became a source of embarrassment. My passions and interests in costume and opulence turned private, and deeply shameful. I was never very good at feigning interest, so I didn’t have to pretend to be intrigued by more masculine hobbies. I simply became, publicly, someone who wasn’t really interested in anything. But I was good at art; at home I would spend hours drawing superhero costumes, almost exclusively for women characters, or painting ornate clothing designs, though I would never share my artwork with any of my friends. I eventually ended up studying fashion design for my degree; seemingly coming full circle from my childhood habits. But that again didn’t quite scratch the itch of my true interest.
It’s only now, many years later, that I think I have a better understanding of what I was responding to as a kid, and the true nature of my passions. The sad thing is that I probably fully understood what I felt and what I loved when I was experiencing things as a child, but somewhere along the line I learned to find it shameful. As a fully grown, trans non-binary adult now, I can look back and understand that I was sensing an affinity with the feminine, even then. I’m so grateful that I had parents who didn’t try to shock it out of me, that I had that brief period of enjoyment before the strict, binary reality of school would snatch it away. I look back through my life now and see a few different “breakpoints” where I can remember the pattern shifting; queer child into repressed teen; repressed teen into curious but mired adult; mired adult into fully functioning adult. In a way, it feels like several lives, with different people taking over at points and throwing away everything that came before.
Coping Strategies For 2020 Courtesy Of 3 LGBTQIA+ Trailblazers
By Angel Nemov
But of course, you shouldn’t and can’t throw your past selves away. They inform who you are. Indeed, I think that’s why I experienced such intense dissatisfaction with life for such a long time – because I was rejecting my past selves.
Two years ago, at Christmas, my auntie brought round a video cassette that we had recorded in 1992, when I was 10. Though I was excited, from a nostalgic perspective, to see my auntie’s old house where I had previously lived, and enjoy a laugh at how young everyone looked, I was also paralysed with embarrassment, knowing I was going to see a past version of myself. I sat biting my lip, expecting to flush with shame and have my mood ruined by bad memories. What I saw instead was a family who loved me, and a camp little boy who was happy, and who was essential to who I am today.
The “sensitive” person who I used to be ashamed of was beaten down by society into a nub of nothing when I got older – but then, older still, I felt no shame at all. A wormhole in time seemed to open up, connecting me to this younger me. If I could have, I would have told them to stay alive – good things are coming.
Arts & LifestyleViewpoint
Elliot Page Comes Out As Transgender In A Moving Open Letter
By Emma Specter 2 December 2020
The Stars Of ‘Bridgerton’ On Making The Year’s Most Provocative Costume Drama
By Radhika Seth 18 December 2020
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Four homes burn in West Palm Beach
Updated: 12:25 PM EDT Jul 28, 2014
Becky Sawtelle
Fire officials in West Palm Beach are trying to figure out what started a fire that burned four homes Friday evening.Fire crews were called to Douglas Avenue around 9:30 p.m.The home where the fire started was destroyed. Three other homes nearby were damaged.No was was injured but a dog was rescued and treated on the scene for smoke inhalation.Stay with WPBF.com for updates on this story.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —
Fire officials in West Palm Beach are trying to figure out what started a fire that burned four homes Friday evening.
Fire crews were called to Douglas Avenue around 9:30 p.m.
The home where the fire started was destroyed. Three other homes nearby were damaged.
No was was injured but a dog was rescued and treated on the scene for smoke inhalation.
Stay with WPBF.com for updates on this story.
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No explosives found during drug search at Greensboro home
Pressure cooker device found, deputies say
(Doug Miller/WXII)
No dangerous substances were found Friday at a Triad home after the bomb squad was called in during a drug investigation.Guilford County deputies executed a search warrant around 10 a.m. at 2902 Regents Park Lane.Deputies entered a sealed room covered in plastic and found marijuana, a sealed pressure cooker and an unidentified chemical, said Col. Randy Powers with the Guilford County Sheriff's Office."The pressure cooker contained the tops of mason jars we believe to be sterilized," Powers said. "What we believe we have is a synthetic mushroom grow operation."Officials gave the all clear around 2:45 p.m., and investigators resumed their drug search.Seid Mostafavi, 24, and Seyed Mostafavi, 22, were taken into custody in connection with the drug search will be charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, possession with intent to sell and deliver psilocybin, manufacturing psilocybin, manufacturing marijuana and conspiracy to manufacture, according to the Guilford County Sheriff's Office.
GREENSBORO, N.C. —
No dangerous substances were found Friday at a Triad home after the bomb squad was called in during a drug investigation.
Guilford County deputies executed a search warrant around 10 a.m. at 2902 Regents Park Lane.
Deputies entered a sealed room covered in plastic and found marijuana, a sealed pressure cooker and an unidentified chemical, said Col. Randy Powers with the Guilford County Sheriff's Office.
"The pressure cooker contained the tops of mason jars we believe to be sterilized," Powers said. "What we believe we have is a synthetic mushroom grow operation."
Officials gave the all clear around 2:45 p.m., and investigators resumed their drug search.
Seid Mostafavi, 24, and Seyed Mostafavi, 22, were taken into custody in connection with the drug search will be charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, possession with intent to sell and deliver psilocybin, manufacturing psilocybin, manufacturing marijuana and conspiracy to manufacture, according to the Guilford County Sheriff's Office.
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Sail boat pictures
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Canal and River Trust wants boaters’ feedback on London mooring strategy consultation
Stef Bottinelli
The Canal and River Trust is asking boaters to complete a survey to help the charity make better use of London's waterspace
Credit: Canal and River Trust
TAGS: canal & river trustLondonmoorings
The Canal and River Trust is asking boaters to give their feedback on the charity’s proposals to help make the best possible use of London’s busy waterspace and improve boaters’ experience of boating in London.
The Canal and River Trust have put together the London Mooring Strategy working alongside boaters and a wide range of stakeholders. The proposal includes:
Development of new long-term moorings to be supported and prioritised in quieter/less busy areas (primarily outer London)
Encourage development of long-term moorings from a diverse range of providers
Improve provision, maintenance and management of short-stay moorings
Develop custom short-stay moorings to meet customer demand
Winter Moorings that recognise and balance the needs of all customers
Better provision and management of boating facilities to meet customer need
Improved communication between boaters and the Trust
Increased business boating activity in key London waterway destinations
Support activities that ensure accessible and affordable access to the water for all
Boaters have up until the 18 December 2017 to fill in the consultation survey online or the paper version.
The survey will be sent to all boaters the Trust has sighted in London over the past year, either by email or letter depending on the contact details the charity has for them. Any other boaters who’d like to take part in the survey can email the Canal and River Trust at: enquiries.london@canalrivertrust.org.uk.
There will be a number of drop in events during November for people to find out more about the draft strategy: details of these events will be published on the London Mooring Strategy webpage.
Continues below:
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Matthew Symonds, boating strategy and engagement manager at the Canal & River Trust, said: “Anyone who has visited London’s waterways over the past few years will have noticed how many more boats are on the water. It’s great that the canals are finding new fans, particularly amongst young people, who may well prove to be the waterways’ champions in years ahead. However it means it’s more important than ever that we manage the finite space we have wisely so we can meet the needs of the wide range of boaters who cruise them.
“The London Mooring Strategy pulls together proposals we’ve developed over 18 months working with a wide range of stakeholders, surveying boaters, and physically looking at every inch of the capital’s waterways. It’s been a collaborative effort and the input we’ve had from boaters with local knowledge has been invaluable. We’ve also built some strong relationships with councils, developers and landowners who can enable us to put the proposals into practise.
“London’s waterways are facing a real challenge – that of being almost too popular. This passion for the canals and rivers can be turned into an advantage if boaters, who are often the most passionate about them, work with us to make the capital’s waterways fair and accessible for all.”
The Canal and River Trust has been working with various groups, including its Navigation Advisory Group, the London Waterway Partnership, national boating organisations, individual boaters and other key stakeholders such as local authorities. In March the charity presented a set of draft proposals to attendees of the Better Relationship Group who have been a ‘boater sounding board’ through the development of the strategy, and then held a series of focus groups with local boaters to refine them.
Details for the London Mooring Strategy, including the proposals and details of events, can be found at: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/our-regions/london-waterways/london-mooring-strategy
The Trust aims to complete the development of the London Mooring Strategy by the early 2018.
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Join Us Join Our Club
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Sheridan Smith Sparks Fan Excitement after PREGNANCY Reveal
by Robert Dunne
Actress Sheridan Smith recently made the suggestion to fans that she was expecting a child during a performance when she said ‘I've got buckets in each wing and trainers so I can run. I'm very out of breath. I've got all these new symptoms, so sorry!’.
The actress then told fans of her excitement for her upcoming appearance at a musical Stages event onboard a four-day cruise when she hinted at the pregnancy by captioning “wish me luck with my morning sickness”. The announcement was followed by a story post in which she described her partner Jamie as ‘daddy cool’, causing an outburst of support and congratulations from fans and friends alike.
With the Instagram post now sitting on over eight thousand likes and over six hundred comments, many comments are not only wishing the pair a huge congratulations but also offering support and advice to the expectant mother. Some commenters have suggested “ginger biscuits” as well as “Sea bands work a treat any pharmacy sells them” to help with her morning sickness onboard the cruise liner.
Having recently finished working on the theatre show ‘Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat’, Smith admitted in an interview with The Mirror to wanting to start a family, after having such a positive experience with the children on the show, saying “I can’t tell you how much I’m going to miss the kids. I am gonna miss them so much. They are all an utter joy and have made the whole experience for me” “Me and Jamie are now thinking of making me a mamma. All thanks to these amazing souls”.
Your Baby Club is every mum's go-to club for tips, REAL stories, freebies, competitions and discounts on everything from toys to clothes for your newborn baby.
Sheridan and Jamie first met through popular dating app Tinder in February 2018, and then after three months together, the pair got engaged, making parenthood the next happy step in the couples time together. The couple is yet to be married, however, there has been speculation of a wedding being soon, with Smith having called her partner ‘hubby’ in a deleted Twitter post. This speculation, however, has been denied by Smith and her partner for the time being.
If you enjoyed reading this article why not share it with others!
Robert Dunne
Junior Content Writer
Hiya! I’m Rob, a Content Marketing Apprentice from Kent, although my work with Your Baby Club all takes place from London. My main passions are politics, journalism, current affairs and events and generally staying in the present moment. Most of my time is spent out experiencing the world, whether that’s by foot, train or car, seeing and doing all that I can in the world. It is my intention to keep the parents of Britain, as well as those generally interested, informed in all things baby that is happening in the world with the hope of one day becoming a platform of news, knowledge and conversations for all those interested in the world of babies.
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Babies: Advice
When You're Expecting, Everyone Wants to Give You Advice. Here's Help You Can Trust.
Written by Nadya Sagner
| Published on August 1, 2003
DURING MY PREGNANCY, NO STRANGER WAS brazen enough to walk up and touch my belly. But everyone from my sister-in-law to the checkout guy at Home Depot offered advice.
Some of it was valuable (Cherry Mylanta is great for pregnancy heartburn). Some things I figured out on my own (lying on your stomach just feels wrong). Some I had to disregard (baby oil–to prevent stretch marks–gave me a rash).
When you're pregnant, people seem to feel they can comment on your condition, appearance, and behavior. At one point I shared an elevator with a woman who asked my due date. When I told her it was two months away, she looked shocked. "Oh, my God! Are you having twins?"
Then there's the competition with other pregnant women: Who's gaining more or less weight (too much and too little are both bad). Who's playing Baby Einstein DVDs for her fetus.
Some pregnancy books, rather than providing information and reassurance, can make women feel inadequate. They imply that if you don't avoid certain foods and situations and if you don't do the right exercises, you're an unfit mother. The classic What to Expect When You're Expecting is almost too thorough, with its alarming presentation of pregnancy as a nine-month affliction (hemorrhoids! backaches! heartburn!) and unrealistically strict nutritional guidelines.
There's good advice out there, too. Here are my favorite books, magazines, and Web sites, which can help you through those scary but amazing nine months.
The Pregnancy Book: Month-by-Month, Everything You Need to Know From America's Baby Experts by William Sears, Martha Sears, and Linda Holt. If you want good, month-by-month coverage of pregnancy, this book won't scare or berate you. There's a lot of information, including an explanation of prenatal tests and a rundown of Kegel exercises, which strengthen the pelvic-floor muscle to aid in labor and speed postpartum recovery. The main authors–a husband-wife, doctor-nurse team with a large family–have a touchy-feely approach, and some of the first-person testimonials are corny. But their attitude is soothing and down-to-earth.
Pregnancy for Dummies by Joanne Stone, Keith Eddleman, and Mary Murray. Get past the goofy Dummies format and you'll find sound advice, though not the detail of the Sears book. In a reassuring, realistic voice, the authors point out that most women have normal pregnancies and healthy babies. Stone and Eddleman, both New York obstetricians, have a sense of humor; they debunk myths (babies that kick more in utero do not have more hair).
Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine. Wife of a music producer and mother of four, the chatty, blunt Iovine doesn't take herself or pregnancy too seriously. She disdains the gooey, birth-as-miracle approach. This isn't meant as an all-encompassing guide. There's no month-by-month analysis or breakdown by trimester; rather, Iovine offers a sisterly voice of reason about the overall experience. One drawback: Her fashion tips are pretty outdated. (Stirrup pants?) But Girlfriends' Guide is good reading for any pregnant woman in need of some common sense and a good laugh.
Magazines and Web Sites
Fit Pregnancy magazine (available at bookstores and newsstands) has articles about health and beauty, exercise suggestions, news of pregnant celebrities, product reviews, fashion spreads, nursery-decorating ideas, and features on topics like breastfeeding and postpartum depression. The tone is sassy, the layout is clean and appealing, and the maternity clothes and nursery tips are cute. The Web site, www.fitpregnancy.com, includes some of the published material as well as message boards.
The tabloid Washington Parent is available both online (www.washingtonparent.com) and in print (it's free, distributed at Toys "R" Us, Whole Foods, Borders, Zany Brainy, libraries, and newsboxes). You'll find articles, bulletin boards, and calendars for new and expecting parents. Features might cover moms'-club meetings around the region, finding breastfeeding support and supplies, and the influence of music on children.
Babycenter.com is a good source of information. You can enter your due date and get weekly e-mails about what's happening in your body. You'll find answers to almost any question, from what to wear to an office holiday party to the "Is It Safe?" page, which addresses concerns about everything from deli meats to beauty treatments to using photocopiers.
Babyzone.com, another all-purpose Web site, has a section devoted to new fathers' concerns, including sex during and after pregnancy. See www.babyzone.com/parenting/fatherhood.
More: Health
Nadya Sagner
This Group Is Giving Out-of-Work Fitness Instructors a Way to Host Safe Workout Classes Outdoors
Indoor Workout Classes Are Now Banned in DC. How Are Fitness Studios Dealing?
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Fitness Diary: Fox News White House Correspondent John Roberts
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Find an Ob-Gyn
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Vitamin D Deficiency Boosts C-Section Risk
Low Levels of Vitamin D in Pregnant Women May Increase Chances of C-Sections
By Salynn Boyles
Dec. 23, 2008 -- Vitamin D deficiency is common in pregnant women, and it may lead to an increased risk for cesarean delivery, early research suggests.
Vitamin D researcher Michael Holick, MD, PhD, and colleagues from the Boston Medical Center report that women in their study who were severely vitamin D deficient during childbirth were about four times more likely to deliver by cesarean section as women with higher vitamin D levels.
In a separate analysis, the research team found that a little more than one in three women (36%) were vitamin D deficient and slightly less than one in four (23%) were severely deficient when they gave birth.
"We are just beginning to recognize that a large percentage of pregnant women are vitamin D deficient and that being on a prenatal vitamin is totally inadequate to bring levels up to where they need to be," Holick tells WebMD.
Holick believes that along with a prenatal vitamin, which typically contains about 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D, pregnant women should take an additional 1,000 IU of the vitamin.
Not So Fast, Expert Says
But maternal-fetal medicine specialist Carl P. Weiner, MD, says more research is needed before such a recommendation would be justified. Weiner is chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
"This is an interesting study, but very preliminary, and it should not be seen as the basis for a change in clinical practice," Weiner tells WebMD. "We really can't say if there is a downside or an upside to additional vitamin D."
Just 43 (17%) of the 253 women in the study had cesarean deliveries.
Holick, study co-author Anne Merewood, MPH, and colleagues accessed maternal and infant vitamin D levels, as measured by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
Although there is no consensus on optimal levels of serum vitamin D, Holick says a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of 15 nanograms (ng) per milliliter or below indicates severe vitamin D insufficiency.
A total of 28% of the women in the study had serum vitamin D levels of 15 ng per milliliter or below.
After controlling for maternal risk factors for cesarean delivery, including age, race, and insurance status, the researchers found that women with severe vitamin D deficiencies were four times more likely to have cesarean deliveries as women with higher serum vitamin D levels.
The research appears in the latest online issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Vitamin D and C-section
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to muscle weakness and poor muscle performance.
Merewood tells WebMD that this might explain why women with insufficient vitamin D stores would be more likely to require C-sections.
"That is really just a theory at this point," she says. "We definitely haven't identified a causal pathway."
She says that pregnant women should talk to their health care provider before taking vitamin D supplements.
"We know that some women are more at risk for vitamin D deficiency than others, including women with dark skin, those living in northern climates, and women who are veiled," she says.
Weiner says the study's small size and the fact that the researchers did not control for important fetus-related causes for C-sections limit the ability to draw conclusions from the research.
He points out that vitamin D levels tend to rise and fall with the seasons because exposure to sunlight is the most efficient way to boost levels of the vitamin.
"If this were a strong association you would expect to see cesarean section rates go down in the summer and up in the winter, but they are not particularly seasonal," he says.
He adds, however, that a larger study examining a possible link between vitamin D levels and C-section rates may be justified.
"If vitamin D could improve pregnancy outcomes it is in society's best interest to find this out," he says.
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD on December 23, 2008
Merewood, A. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, online edition.
Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics, Boston University Medical Center.
Anne Merewood, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine.
Carl P. Weiner, MD, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology, University of Kansas Medical Center.
Holick, M.F. New England Journal of Medicine, July 19, 2007.
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Recent Ventures
The NFC: Eight Years And Counting
Welcome to the rowdiest weekend of the summer. The North Fork Championship has been going strong for 8 years, going on 9 now thankfully! NFC owner and founder, James Byrd, came up with what was once an unpopular idea of racing in the middle of the North Fork Payette, do to the fact that these intense class 5 rapids pose certain safety risks. Over those 8 years it has become one of the most sought after kayak races in the world. After a successful run just short of a decade, James has decided to hand over the NFC to the Voorhees family which will run the 9th race in "The Center of The Universe" Banks, Idaho this summer.
This is a gallery of NFC's 1-8 (excluding 7, *couldn't attend*), mostly featuring everything other than kayaking and the afterparties. "The Ship" could not operate without the athletes, volunteers, media teams, sponsors, and authorities allowing for this three day event to happen. Enjoy...
NFC 1, the anxiety, the pressure of making this event a staple, and the biggest question "who will win the first NFC?".
(1st) Evan Garcia drops into Jake's on the Red Bull ramp that would later be modified to have more speed for the paddlers to launch off.
(2nd) Andrew Holcombe stretches while looking down the barrel of the beast, Jacobs Ladder.
(3rd) The Out To Lunch crew getting a nice talking to about where to go #1.
(4th) Dan Simenc looks to the paddler on course, seeing where the fastest line lies.
(5th) Skip Armstrong set the precedent as the first filmmaker to shoot the NFC and left us in awe with his visual story telling.
(6th) The first NFC king crowned, Idaho local, Ryan Casey.
(1st) The late Sam Grafton sleeps in the middle of the athletes camp the morning of qualifiers.
(2nd) Todd Wells loads up on food before qualifiers.
(3rd) The infamous bus telling folks where registration is for the Lower 3 race.
(4th) Local legend, Brian Ward, talks strategy to Ryan Lucas at registration.
(5th) The record for biggest party wave? The pro's putting on a demo at Kelly's Whitewater Park in Cascade, Idaho.
(6th) The Melt Awards, held in downtown Boise, Idaho, brings out the hooligan in everyone.
(7th) The Melt Awards turned into the Whitewater Awards, recognizing the best athletes in the sport in the Egyptian Theatre.
(1st) Matt Baker and Rush Sturges interviewing the paddlers who are about to race on Jake's, the big show.
(2nd) James & Regan Byrd have their badass families help with making the Red Bull ramp, cam straps are always included.
(3rd) Aaron Mann and Sam Grafton dissect Jacob's Ladder bit by bit days before the big race.
(4th) Benny Marr and Nouria Newman collect their thoughts on the lines they just had minutes before.
(5th) James Byrd, if he's not on a walkie talkie, he's on a phone during the event. He's always in the flow of coordinating and helping out anyone he can.
(6th) Safety first, second, and third. Paul Yelda and Matt Eskelson unit up by one of the many problematic features of Jacob's Ladder.
(7th) Tyler Allen utilizes his mountain bike to travel quickly up and down the road by the rapid S-Turn for the boater-cross event.
(1st) Trent McCrerey shotguns a tall can of Payette Brewing's "Jacobs Ladder Lager". A beer made specifically for the North Fork Championship.
(2nd) Boys club? Nay, the talented women of this sport also come to Banks to participate and cheer on whomever is in the water.
(3rd) More beer? Never a question at the NFC. Always beer.
(4th) Liam Fournier reps his Torryd tattoo.
(5th) There's always a special stoke when someone new rolls into the pullout of Jake's. Conversations fly, questions of where people have been, if they want to go for a lap, and what's going on that night at their camp are typical.
(6th) Brenden Cronin carbo loads with day old pizza. Get. it.
(7th) The red bus is a common ground for conversation wherever it is during the NFC.
(8th) If you're not smiling, you're doing the NFC wrong.
Last year the women's category opened up and was packed full of talented kayakers. The energy was palpable.
(1st) Kiwi's... always up to their own set of antics.
(2nd) Jah Banana riding around camp spreading the kind words of Jah everywhere.
(3rd) Nothing but love and support from friends and family when anyone gets on that podium.
(4th) Dane Jackson hugs Mariann Saether congratulating her on placing first in the women's category.
(5th) Photographer Tait Troutman rallying the mini bike, which typically leads into two people on mini bikes racing in the field at Wielmunster Park. Crouch, Idaho.
Without either of these guys, the NFC wouldn't have its style. Ryan Bailey (Left) is the MC extreme, the man can make water into wine with his words. A true sense of entertainment, he nails commentary during the race, award ceremony, and the night of the Whitewater Awards.
Preston Woods AKA D.J. Revolve is the NFC's music maker. During the Jake's race he amps up the athletes and crowd with a solid line-up of beats. Later on he takes the stage at The Dirty Shame after the winners have been announced and blasts funky jams till the sun rises.
A million thanks go to this couple for raising this event off the ground and putting in countless hours into making the NFC what it is. This is right after the last racer was safely off the course last year (2019). There's a unique exhale of breathe after that by both James and Regan Byrd, a relief, another year in the books without any major issue. With that, jubilation, a mark of 8 years in whitewater history, and a joyous feeling worthy of celebrating till the early hours the morning. Thank you James and Regan, your event is in good hands.
John@webstermediahouse.com 208-869-4187
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EU NIGHTMARE PHOTO
Explanation here and here: "Yes, the European Union really does have a law that states that bananas must not be too curved." (Photo via Google Images, from now-defunct site.)
Posted by Virginia Postrel on April 30, 2004 • Comments
WHO IS THIS GUY ARGUING WITH?
There's clearly something going on in this strange TCS article that I don't understand. If you define "libertarian" narrowly as a philosophy of government, the article is a non sequitur; certainly libertarian philosophy makes room for law enforcement, even if it lets women marry violent men. If you include the classical liberal traditions, running from Smith and Hume through Hayek, which do offer keen insights on culture and society, the piece makes no sense at all. My best guess, and it's only a guess, is that author Douglas Kern is making a veiled argument that a culture of traditional religion, perhaps Catholicism, would prevent domestic violence. I'd like to see the empirical evidence of that--or the empirical evidence that broken noses are more common in liberal societies than in traditional ones. What's Kern's actually existing example of the "enlightened paternalism" that prevents broken noses?
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
I was wrong about the Ben & Jerry's iTunes promotion. You don't have to buy anything. You just have to promise to vote. And, uh, give them your contact info and your birthday, for unknown reasons. Oh, yeah, and you don't get tunes unless you're one of the first 50,000 entrants, and you don't find out whether you are until you've sent them your info.
THEY SHOULD HAVE USED DIET COKE
CNet reports that Pepsi's iTunes promotion goes flat:
Apple Computer said Wednesday that about 5 million free songs have been given away through a Pepsi promotion, far fewer than the 100 million tracks that could have been redeemed.
An Apple representative said the music giveaway was probably the biggest ever of its kind but admitted that the company gave away fewer songs than it had intended.
"We had hoped the redemptions would have been higher," said Katie Cotton, Apple's vice president of worldwide corporate communications. Customers with winning bottle caps have until Friday to redeem their free music tracks.
I'd love some "free" tunes, but not at the cost of drinking Pepsi or buying Ben & Jerry's.
L.A. TERROR THREATS
Just as I'm leaving L.A., the FBI is warning of "unsubstatiated" but worrisome reports that the local mall may be hit by terrorists. MSNBC has a report, though the LAT site doesn't, at least as far as I can tell. [Update: After much scrolling down the California news page, I found the LAT story.]
The cab driver who took me to LAX this morning told me cops had broken up the usual cab stand at the Westside Pavilion (pictured in the MSNBC report). He also said the place was deserted, but since he picked me up at 10:25 and most mall stores open at 10:00, that doesn't necessarily mean much.
SMART HIRE
The LAT has hired Michael Kinsley as editor of the opinion pages. It's a brilliant move, giving the pages both editorial heft and the right East Coast connections.
Too bad the LAT's own story, headklined Kinsley, Veteran Commentator, Is Named Times Opinion Editor, doesn't recognize Kinsley's real genius--as an editor. The MSNBC piece is better.
INTERPRETING WAR PHOTOS
Does showing photos of flag-draped coffins, or other signs of war casualties, demoralize the public and reduce support for military action? Maybe, maybe not. Trying to manage which images reach the public is certainly nothing new, as Chuck Freund explains in his latest Reason Online piece:
Three months after the war began, a New York newspaper bitterly attacked the administration's handling of unpleasant military news. "Their 'information' is treacle for children," thundered the angry editorialist, who compared the military's growing edifice of information control to the work of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Other publications agreed that war news was being "dry-cleaned" by the Pentagon, which had yet to release a single image of an American military death. Indeed, there were rumors that a paranoid White House was planting informants in newsrooms, and even tapping reporters' phones. It was 1942.
A year and a half later, the White House and much of the press reversed their views on publishing casualty photos. Why? And what happened? Read the article.
RED, BLUE, AND HAPPY
The WaPost has been running a series on the "red America" vs. "blue America" split. The opening piece set out a thesis that will sound familiar to readers who remember my pre-election 2000 Forbes column on regionalism, or other work in which I've cribbed an important insight from John Shelton Reed, the great sociologist of the South. Here's the Post:
At the same time, more and more Americans in a highly mobile society are choosing to live among like-minded people. University of Maryland political demographer James Gimpel has documented the rise of a "patchwork nation," in which political like attracts like, and ideologically diverse communities are giving way to same-thinking islands. A recent analysis sponsored by the Austin American-Statesman, comparing the photo-finish elections of 1976 and 2000, made this clear. While the nationwide results were extremely close, nearly twice as many voters now live in counties where one candidate or the other won by a landslide. Person by person, family by family, America is engaging in voluntary political segregation.
Bush and Kerry embody the role of mobility and personal choices in creating the Red-Blue nation. Two Establishment scions, similar in background and education, who parted ways after being at Yale University together, one headed to Red country and the other to Blue. Millions of voters have now made similar choices, which in turn echo and reinforce their initial beliefs and preferences.
As John Kenneth White, author of "The Values Divide," put it in an interview, "The reds get redder and blues get bluer."
The following two articles are profiles of families in super-red Sugarland, Texas and super-blue San Francisco. What's striking to me is how similar they in fact are, despite their political differences. Even more striking is how happy they are. Neither thinks America is going to hell in a handbasket. Neither engages in the cultural pessimism you hear from more official voices of left and right.
Maybe it's the Post's selection bias, but my sense is that the selection represents something true about the vast majority of American voters right now. They think their political opponents complain too much and perhaps threaten their happiness, but they aren't the angry, fearful voices of politics past.
The danger, of course, is that people will believe the stereotypes of their political opposites, because they don't actually know anyone on the opposite side of the red-blue divide. Why do both families see their political opposites as people who complain all the time, who are (my words) essentially anti-American? They aren't thinking of neighbors or family members they disagree with. They're thinking of the voices they hear on TV and radio, where conflict and explosive, extreme statements sell.
HORRORS OF WAR
Read this WaPost article on the horrific head wounds suffered by soldiers in Iraq:
While attention remains riveted on the rising count of Americans killed in action -- more than 100 so far in April -- doctors at the main combat support hospital in Iraq are reeling from a stream of young soldiers with wounds so devastating that they probably would have been fatal in any previous war.
More and more in Iraq, combat surgeons say, the wounds involve severe damage to the head and eyes -- injuries that leave soldiers brain damaged or blind, or both, and the doctors who see them first struggling against despair.
For months the gravest wounds have been caused by roadside bombs -- improvised explosives that negate the protection of Kevlar helmets by blowing shrapnel and dirt upward into the face. In addition, firefights with guerrillas have surged recently, causing a sharp rise in gunshot wounds to the only vital area not protected by body armor.
The neurosurgeons at the 31st Combat Support Hospital measure the damage in the number of skulls they remove to get to the injured brain inside, a procedure known as a craniotomy. "We've done more in eight weeks than the previous neurosurgery team did in eight months," Poffenbarger said. "So there's been a change in the intensity level of the war."
Numbers tell part of the story. So far in April, more than 900 soldiers and Marines have been wounded in Iraq, more than twice the number wounded in October, the previous high. With the tally still climbing, this month's injuries account for about a quarter of the 3,864 U.S. servicemen and women listed as wounded in action since the March 2003 invasion.
About half the wounded troops have suffered injuries light enough that they were able to return to duty after treatment, according to the Pentagon. The others arrive on stretchers at the hospitals operated by the 31st CSH. "These injuries," said Lt. Col. Stephen M. Smith, executive officer of the Baghdad facility, "are horrific."
There's no point in pretending that war isn't horrible--flag-draped coffins are, in fact, a rather pristine symbol of those horrors. There's a good reason societies honor their warriors.
An aside: I've long thought that prettifying World War II for domestic consumption contributed to both the media shock of Vietnam and the generation gap. WWII and Korea vets, who knew war first-hand, didn't understand just how shocked their doted-on boomer kids were. "The Good War" wasn't any more pleasant when you were experiencing it.
ONLINE MATCHMAKING
This LAT article about online matchmaking services provides a nice followup to my recent NYT column. Again, access to variety is the Internet's great consumer benefit, as long as you have the right tools for searching:
WeAttract.com, which developed the personality test for Match.com, takes the view that "lasting relationships are those that can live with quirks ï¿ and those that might even make the partner more adorable to the other," says Mark Thompson, president of WeAttract.com and developer of the test.
"Most of us are 6 or 7s (on a scale of 10), so maybe they're not an A but really a B. But we want to be with someone who thinks we're an A," he adds. "The beautiful thing about the Internet is that even if that person [who appreciates you] is one in a million, you can find [that person]."
He recalls a Rubenesque woman some years ago whom he thought was beautiful ï¿ but who complained that no one wanted to date her. If Internet dating were available back then, she likely would have found plenty of men who appreciated her beauty and personality.
Or, as I wrote in this 1999 Forbes ASAP column:
The Internet means you don't have to be alone -- no matter how unusual you seem to be. On the Internet, people on the tails of the bell curve can find one another.
Every aspect of human identity, from size, shape, and color to sexual proclivities and intellectual gifts, comes in a wide range. Most of us cluster somewhere in the middle of most statistical distributions. But there are lots of bell curves, and pretty much everyone is on a tail of at least one of them. We may collect strange memorabilia or read esoteric books, hold unusual religious beliefs or wear odd-sized shoes, suffer rare diseases or enjoy obscure movies. Our distinguishing trait may be good or evil, important or trivial, transitory or permanent.
Having spent a century discovering the middle of the bell curve -- the mass market, the mass media -- we are only now realizing that this "mass," by its very massiveness, guarantees amazing variety. By lowering transaction costs, the Net makes it easier for businesses to serve the entire distribution rather than just the middle. It can offer every book in print, for instance.
By giving unsual people an easy way to find one another, the Internet has also enabled them to pool rare talents, resources, and voices, then push their case into public consciousness. The response, in many cases, is a kind of hysteria. Media gatekeepers yearn for the good old days of a "common culture," as defined by three TV networks and near-monopoly newspapers -- a culture in which no one could see the outliers. The Internet, we're told, is a place of scary hate groups, strange religions, bizarre sex, and way too little editing.
But far more significant is the happiness engendered by a medium that is sociable even when it is merely supplying passive information. On the Net, the bell curve reclaims its tails. The uncommon is as accessible as the common. The very fragmentation of the Internet allows us to find ourselves in other people--and to know that we are not alone.
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WAC Hoops Media Day Session III Thoughts
DENVER — The third session of the Western Athletic Conference basketball media day might have been the best one of the day. One Utah Valley coach revealed how many pairs of crocs he owns. Another coach showed off a side of him that many fans, especially New Mexico State fans, might be surprised to see. And another coach is using a Coach Carter-esque method to make sure his players take their academics seriously.
The final session was entertaining but also very informative. Here are some thoughts.
Injuries, Academics Key for Seattle Men
For men’s head coach Jim Hayford, 2018-19 was a nightmare. His Redhawks finished the non-conference 12-3 and it looked like all was well heading into conference play. However, injuries derailed a once promising season, Seattle got off to an 1-6 start in WAC play and despite winning five of six to close out the regular season, it just wasn’t the season Hayford and the Redhawks envisioned.
However, Seattle is loaded for the 2019-20 season. Hayford returns four starters, including four-year starter Morgan Means.
Myles Carter is expected to have a huge year for Seattle. Courtesy Seattle University Athletics.
Hayford believes that Seattle has one of the best backcourts in the WAC with Means and Terrell Brown.
With all the injuries in 2018-19, Hayford was able to give other guys an opportunity to play. It is something he said that has created a competition for roles heading into the 2019-20 season.
Perhaps it will be the guy who texts him the most each day or the guy who has the highest grade point average that will get more floor time. Hayford is using the old Coach Carter situation with his players relating to their academics. Each day, every player texts him to report in on their day, report that they sat at the front of the class and so forth.
It is part of Hayford’s plan for his players to take their education seriously. And it works. Seattle is among teams honored by National Association of Basketball Coaches at the annual Team Academic Excellence Awards. It means that Seattle, as a team, has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
New Faces for SU Women in 2019-20
According to Seattle women’s head coach Suzy Barcomb, 2018-19 was not a Suzy Barcomb-coached team that took the floor in Seattle. Injuries plagued the Redhawk women, which is why Seattle finished with just three wins. The problem now is that, according to Barcomb, she has a whole new team for 2019-20. Outside of senior guard Kamira Sanders and senior post Joana Alves, it might be another long season in the Pacific Northwest.
“For us, we knew we were not that team last year,” Barcomb said. “That was just the effects of the environment impacting how we were playing. That wasn’t a Suzy Barcomb-coached team. It wasn’t who we really are. That wasn’t our true identity.”
Kamira is a preseason All-WAC First Team selection by the Coaches. Alves earned Second Team honors. However, coaches believes Seattle will finish near the bottom of the WAC in the preseason polls. Barcomb acknowledged that the Redhawks have changed up their strength and conditioning a bit to avoid the injury bug.
“We are just lifting a little bit different,” Barcomb said. “We are working on some mechanics in hopes of straightening out anything. I also think the stronger you make them, and when you start tapering them it helps them out. I think we tapered a little too soon last fall.”
Crocs, Stud Point Guard Keys for New Utah Valley HC
When new Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen took the stage on Wednesday, there was some disappointment from the media. Madsen decided to put on his dress shoes rather than wear his well-known Crocs for his press conference. However, Madsen did admit he owns 10 pairs of Crocs and loves them.
Madsen spoke about the depth he sees in his roster despite it having 11 new faces and only returning two players who played significant minutes in 2018-19. Madsen believes his roster has a lot of firepower.
One thing that Madsen does have going for him, is a very good point guard in Brandon Averette. Madsen says that Averette is a true professional both on and off the court.
Oklahoma State transfer and Utah Valley guard Brandon Averette is a true professional, according to head coach Mark Madsen. Courtesy of Tulsa World.
“Here’s a guy who’s in the gym constantly,” Madsen said. “Working on his shooting, working on his passing. And by the way, he’s a great shooter already. He’s a great passer already. But he’s in there constantly working on his craft, trying to get better. Academics, he’s getting it done in the classroom. He performs at a high level academically. He’s a vocal leader right now and he’s becoming even more vocal as everyday passes.”
Utah Valley will need that leadership as the Wolverines face a difficult non-conference schedule that features a trip to Lexington to face top-ranked Kentucky in November.
Enthusiasm, Late-Night Texts Lead to Enjoyment for Nielson
On the women’s side, Utah Valley got the hire right with Dan Nielson. The former BYU Associate Head Coach is bringing a ton of enthusiasm and energy just down the street from his former employer. From texting an assistant coach late at night just to bug her, to playing dad jokes that upset his kids, Nielson has the energy to change the culture for the Utah Valley women. Perhaps the nicest surprise has as a head coach is no more late night phone calls from his boss. Apparently, while at BYU, Nielson would get calls late at night from BYU head coach Jeff Judkins asking Nielson to get some things done. It is something Nielson loves about being a head coach.
Perhaps the best news for Nielson and Utah Valley is that he returns all five starters from the 2018-19 season. Preseason First-Team All-WAC selection Jordan Holland highlights the roster. Plus, Nielson was able to persuade center Josie Williams to stay in Orem.
Look for the Wolverines to play more man-to-man defense under Nielson. This will be a huge change considering over the last two seasons under Cathy Nixon, UVU played zone about 95 percent of the time.
Learning Curve for Grand Canyon Women
With eight newcomers, Grand Canyon women’s coach Nicole Powell didn’t mince words acknowledging that there will be a large learning curve in Phoenix. However, Powell said that she recruited winners who know how to play and know how to win.
It is Powell’s third season at Grand Canyon. The ‘Lopes finished 16-14 overall in Powell’s first season and just 7-20 in her second season. The bad news: WAC coaches are expecting the ‘Lopes to one again finish near the bottom of the conference standings in 2019-20.
However, Powell’s approach is for her team to get better everyday. The former WNBA player wants her team to be playing their best basketball in February and March. With a difficult non-conference schedule and understanding that there is a large learning curve, she just wants her team to focus on the process of getting better each day.
Majerle is a Comedian, Excited for 2019-20
Apparently Dan Majerle likes to joke around with the media. With a not-so-normal Dan Majerle swag in a pair of skateboard, flat-bottomed sneakers, the Grand Canyon men’s head coach took the stage on Wednesday afternoon.
Perhaps it is the fact that he returns Carlos Johnson, Alessandro Lever and Oscar Frayer. Or maybe it is the fact that Lever is in the best shape of his life. It quite possibly could be the fact that Grand Canyon is deep at the point guard spot and might be even deeper if TCU transfer Jaylen Fisher receives a waiver.
Whatever it was, Majerle was completely opposite of what he looks like when roaming the sidelines of games.
The ‘Lopes will run nearly everything through Johnson, who is a preseason First-Team All-WAC selection by the media and the coaches. It will surprise noone if Oscar Frayer has a big season in his final year in Phoenix. Other names to pay attention to are freshman Jovan Blacksher, who Majerle is really high on. Isiah Brown is another name as is St. John’s transfer Mikey Dixon, who can’t take the floor until January.
Grand Canyon features a ton of guards in 2019-20 in comparison to being one of the bigger teams in the WAC in 2018-19.
Of note for Grand Canyon is that the ‘Lopes have a home-and-home series agreement with both San Diego State and New Mexico. The ‘Lopes will head to San Diego and Albuquerque in 2019-20 with the Aztecs and Lobos returning to Phoenix in 2020-21.
Related Items:Brandon Averette, Dan Majerle, Dan Nielson, Grand Canyon men's basketball, Grand Canyon women's basketball, Jim Hayford, Mark Madsen, Nicole Powell, Seattle U men's basketball, Seattle U women's basketball, Suzy Barcomb, Utah Valley men's basketball, Utah Valley women's basketball
Seattle Opens Conference Play, Hosts Utah Valley
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WAC Hoops Exhibition Games and What to Watch For in 2019-20
Social Media Integration by Acurax Wordpress Developers
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Arthur Range circuit
Kiwi Saddle Hut – 6-7 April 2019
We started out from Rolling River at 9:10am in fine weather but with a chill in the air. At the lake halfway up, we counted about 14 whio in two groups of seven. After 3½ hours we reached the Wangapeka swingbridge and we had lunch just over the Kiwi Creek swingbridge. With lunch done, we headed toward Kiwi Saddle and about 20 minutes up the track noted what looked like a plant related to bush lawyer, in thick sphagnum moss with red berries similar to a boysenberry, but very hard - one for Chris to identify. Three hours after lunch we got to Kiwi Saddle Hut after a 6½ hour day. We meet two others at the hut, so we filled the remaining bunks. The other two were hunting geocaches - a very addictive hobby, but obviously a good incentive to get them in the hills.
Sunday dawned fine, so we headed toward Patriarch and at the top of the ridge three of us decided to try to get to Patriarch while Maria waited, but unfortunately about 15 minutes from the top the weather closed in, so we turned back. The trip then continued along the tops to Gibbs Route down to the Wangapeka. Lunch was enjoyed in sunshine at the bushline on the Gibbs Route. The route down was good with the first half through very open mature forest, then the grade steepened for the second half down to the creek with a further 20 minutes to reach the Wangapeka River. The river was not too deep but the boulders were very slippery with algae. The last half hour back to the cars completed an eight hour day.
The group included Maria, Rob, Robert and Esther.
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Architecture | 3 Oct 2014 | By James Pallister
Treehouse sanctuary: Wilkinson Eyre Architects is the latest firm to lend its creativity to Maggie’s
Raised on a series of glulaminated timber columns and surrounded by woodland, Wilkinson Eyre Architects' Maggie's Oxford Centre is an angular, tricorn-shaped building akin to a treehouse. Photography: Julian Abrahahams
The Churchill hospital is positioned on the outskirts of Oxford, past the throng of the city, in the space where the landscape begins to open out. At the edge of its car park, the ground falls away abruptly, a small brook threads its way through hornbeam and hawthorn trees and one swaps tarmac and plant rooms for woodland.
Above this, raised on a series of glulaminated timber columns, is Wilkinson Eyre Architects’ Maggie’s Oxford Centre. This is the eighteenth centre of its kind to be built since the charity opened its first centre in Edinburgh 18 years ago. Since then, some of the world’s best architects have lent their skills to designing the centres, which have developed their own typology: somewhere between a home, social club and a place of medical respite, where patients, friends and family of those affected by cancer can receive practical and emotional support. Maggie’s motto is the belief that people should not lose the joy of living in the fear of dying.
Director Chris Wilkinson describes the small angular building as being akin to a treehouse. His practice lobbied hard to win permission to build on this site, and have made the most of its assets, treading lightly on the landscape, providing portholes in the floor to view the flora and fauna beneath its belly and directing the views from its large rooms toward the trees and brook beyond. The plan is tricorn-shaped, with the kitchen and living space at its heart and separate consulting rooms in a private corner. Ply-faced walls make for a warm and calm interior while an external terrace allows visitors to enjoy the woodland views; a stairway down to ground level means they can easily walk amongst the tree stumps, looking untoward the belly of the centre.
The structure was prefabricated in Germany and assembled on site, making for a quick build. The interiors are sober and restrained, with just a few moments of enjoyable gaudy glam - a colourful rug in the relaxation room, designed by Diana Edmonds, and a triangular table in brass and resin, custom-designed by Wilkinson Eyre.
A relaxed kitchen and living space is situated at the centre's heart. Photography: Wilkinson Eyre Architects
The Oxford centre is the eighteenth of its kind to be built since the charity opened its first centre in Edinburgh eighteen years ago. Photography: Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Somewhere between a home, social club and a place of medical respite, the centre provides an environment where patients, friends and family of those affected by cancer can receive practical and emotional support. Photography: Wilkinson Eyre Architects
An external terrace allows visitors to enjoy the woodland views, while a stairway down to ground level means they can easily walk amongst the tree stumps. Photography: Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Ply-faced walls make for a warm and calm interior. Photography: Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Churchill Hospital
44.1 865 751 882
PREFABRICATED ARCHITECTURE HEALTHCARE ARCHITECTURE MAGGIE’S
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Eternity Medical Equipment’s ECAN95 masks – which are produced in South Surrey – have received Health Canada approval and CSA certification. (Eternity Medical Equipment photo)
B.C. company makes 1st Canadian-made mask to receive official CSA certification
Eternity Medical Equipment producing N95-equivalent masks out of Campbell Heights facility
Nick Greenizan
A South Surrey company that began manufacturing medical masks near the end of last year has officially received Health Canada approval and certification.
Eternity Medical Equipment launched in Campbell Heights in November, and in December began producing ECAN95 particulate respirator masks – equivalent to the N95 masks in the U.S.
The masks were tested at a CSA Group facility in Toronto, where they passed all applicable tests, including quantitative fit testing, airflow resistance tests, and filtering efficiency.
“We’ve had great reception and reviews so far for our ECAN95, and have been diligently working towards certification since the beginning,” Jeffrey Wang, co-founder of Eternity Medical Equipment, said in a news release issued Monday.
“We are proud of our masks and pleased that our ECAN95 is the first Canadian-made mask to receive official CSA-certification. We started this journey back in April, and to know our masks are now being used across British Columbia and the country to help fight the pandemic is very humbling to us.”
In a news release last November announcing the company’s launch, Wang said he was motivated to start the company after seeing “how hard it was for our frontline workers to get N95 and surgical masks from overseas.”
“I really wanted to spearhead an initiative to get them made on Canadian soil, right here in British Columbia,” he added.
According to Monday’s release, Eternity Medical Equipment – which operates out of a “state of the art” 13,000 square-foot space – can produce up to 2.5 million masks per month at full capacity.
The company expects its masks to receive certification from the Centre for Disease Control’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health later this month.
editorial@peacearchnews.com
BusinessCoronavirusSurrey
Speculation tax doesn’t slow B.C.’s hot housing market
B.C. takes over homeowner grant applications, raises eligibility
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The Complete Works of Evelyn Waugh
You are here: Home / Projects / Evelyn Waugh / Press
Press releases and media coverage for the Complete Works of Evelyn Waugh project, and for Evelyn Waugh himself.
'Bright Young Thing. Evelyn Waugh: The EarlyYears', Paula Byrne, TLS, 24 and 31 August, 2018, 3-4. (PDF download)
The Bright Young Things: behind the party mask, Milena Borden, British Library, 4 July 2016
The truth about 'Shevelyn': how Evelyn Waugh's disastrous marriage shaped his fiction, Philip Eade, Daily Telegraph, 3 July 2016
Evelyn Waugh revisited for 50th anniversary, Felicitas Casillo, Buenos Aires Herald, 11 June 2016
'Bloody Fool': Evelyn Waugh's life as a 1920s Oxford aesthete, Barbara Cooke, The Conversation, 7 April 2016
Helen Maslin's top 10 literary castles and country houses, The Guardian, 27 August 2015
Happy 70th Birthday Brideshead Revisited, The Telegraph, 4 June 2015
All the Years Ahead: On Committing Literary Suicide, Features A Little Learning. The Millions, 8 May 2015
Top writers to speak at major Evelyn Waugh convention at University of Leicester, Leicester Mercury, 23 April 2015
The Top 10 Books About Style, Features Brideshead Revisited. The Guardian, 9 April 2015
Books About Los Angeles: Readers' Picks, Features The Loved One. The Guardian, 23 March 2015
Burnt to the ground, the Addis Ababa hotel where Evelyn Waugh (and Scoop's William Boot) stayed, The Independent, 12 January 2015
In Memoriam: John Howard Wilson, 1961-2014 , University of Leicester, December 2014
‘One of the largest ever’ complete works to shed new light on life and times of author Evelyn Waugh, University of Leicester, 11 November 2014
The 100 best novels: No 60 – Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (1938), Robert McCrum for The Observer, 9 November 2014
Glorious Debo: Evelyn Waugh's adoration of the last Mitford sister, Barbara Cooke, The Conversation, 25 September 2014
Waugh's views on Spain
Letter by Nicholas Rankin, published in the Times Literary Supplement, 11 July 2014. The letter quotes Waugh's pro-Franco and anti-Ethopian comments. Our Essays, Articles and Reviews editor Don Gallagher has submitted this response:
Sir, – May I belatedly, from 12, 000 miles away, point out that selective quotation is a miserable trick (July 11)? Waugh did say: ‘If I were a Spaniard I should be fighting for General Franco.’ But he went on: ‘As an Englishman I am not in the predicament of choosing between two evils.’ And context shapes meaning. Waugh did write – ‘goodness the Ethiopians are lousy and I hope the organmen gas them to buggery’, which in isolation reads as sadly tasteless and regrettable. But the letter to Diana Cooper in which it occurs (September 1935) is written in a style of remote fantasy, for amusement, and in no way expresses opinion. Read the end of the same letter where Waugh fantasticates the scandal of Count Vinci, Signor Falconi, and the British Minister’s daughter beyond recognition and you will see that Waugh’s black humour spared no one.
New Evelyn Waugh website will let public contribute to Complete Works project, Arts and Humanities Research Council, 16 June 2014
Evelyn Waugh researchers launch website hub for Complete Works project, University of Leicester, 13 June 2014
Acclaimed writers to speak at Leicester for Evelyn Waugh conference, University of Leicester, 15 April 2014
English Doctoral Studentship (AHRC funded) - The Complete Works of Evelyn Waugh, University of Oxford, February 2014
Leicester book lovers asked to join major literary project, University of Leicester, 6 January 2014
Flagship Digital Humanities project collates the Complete Works of Evelyn Waugh, University of Leicester, 23 July 2013
Lost Evelyn Waugh letters reveal thwarted love for 'bright young thing', The Observer, 21 July 2013
University launches Complete Works of Evelyn Waugh project, University of Leicester, 5 July 2013
Complete Works of Evelyn Waugh project to launch at the University of Leicester, University of Leicester, 5 July 2013
When the going got tough, The Spectator, 16 July 2011
Up from the street, Irvine Welsh discusses Evelyn Waugh as a source of inspiration. The Guardian, 14 March 2009
David Bradshaw Creative Writing Residency
For Editors [login required]
Evelyn Waugh Studies in Special Collections Online
Professor Martin Stannard
Co - Executive Editor
maj@le.ac.uk
Dr Barbara Cooke
Co - Investigator
B.Cooke@lboro.ac.uk
Ms Grace Boland
Research Project Officer
g.boland@le.ac.uk
Finding Helena Apr 28, 2020
Markle vs Mail: the end of copyright? Jan 28, 2020
Writer as Intellectual and Physical Drifter: Dr Rob M Francis reflects on his role as David Bradshaw Creative Writer in Residence and two of his favourite Oxford sites Jul 03, 2019
Latest from the blog - More…
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Indian railway and Sri Lankan port workers oppose privatisation; Australian supermarket warehouse employees stop work over COVID-19 infection
Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia
India: Migrant construction workers in Kerala protest over death of colleagues
About 100 migrant contract construction workers in Palakkad, Kerala gathered where three migrant colleagues were found badly beaten beside the railway tracks on Monday evening, near the Indian Institute of Technology, where they worked. Two of the workers were found alive but died of their injuries on the way to hospital.
The workers who rushed to the site refused to hand over the deceased worker to the police, demanding compensation for the three victims who were all from Jharkhand state. The workers allowed the body to be shifted to hospital on Tuesday morning after holding talks with the district labour officer, police and other officials. Police initially claimed the victims had been hit by a locomotive but this was later rejected by railway officials.
Destitute Tamil Nadu fishermen demand government support
Traditional fishermen in Tamil Nadu demonstrated on Tuesday in Chennai, the state capital, to demand the government protect their fishing rights and for income assistance during the coronavirus lockdown. Fishing, the only source of income for the traditional fishermen, was banned for the majority of India’s COVID-19 lockdown. Many fishermen have not received the meagre monetary compensation promised by the state.
The protest was organised by the Coordination Committee of All Tamil Nadu Fishermen Association (CCTFA), an umbrella group of at least 15 fishing groups. The association wants new members admitted to the fishermen welfare board and fishermen cooperative societies. The CCTFA alleges that no new fishermen have been added to the welfare board in the past three years and called for all traditional fishermen over 18 years old to be admitted immediately.
App-based transport delivery workers protest in Delhi
Hundreds of app-based transport and delivery workers protested in Delhi, Hyderabad and other parts of the country on Wednesday over the government’s failure to provide financial compensation for income loss during the coronavirus lockdown. They have not been given any relief from the government or app-based employers.
The All India Coordination Committee of Road Transport Workers Organisations, which organised the protest, has a long list of outstanding demands. This list includes the government forcing app-companies to reduce the commission rates to 5 percent, minimum wages for delivery workers as per the state labour laws and the waiving of road, vehicle and border taxes and tolls.
The union is also demanding social security coverage and health insurance, withdrawal of enhanced excise duty on diesel/petrol and a roll back of oil company price increases since June.
Indian Railway workers continue campaign against privatisation
Hundreds of railway workers protested outside the City Railway Station in Mysuru, Karnataka state on August 2 against the Indian government’s move to corporatise production units of Indian Railways and the privatisation of passenger trains.
The demonstration was part of the All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC) national campaign for an end to all railway privatisation in any form, including the introduction of private trains, sale or closure of railway stations, hospitals, workshops and other railway property, including land.
The All India Railwaymen’s Federation and its affiliate, the National Railway Mazdoor Union, held a protest in Mumbai on July 16 threatening to strike over the issue of privatisation.
Sri Lanka: Colombo Port workers end strike against privatisation
Unions representing striking workers at Colombo Port ended a three-day walkout on Sunday following a meeting with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaske. Thousands of workers, including engineers, technicians and administrators, struck on July 31 over the planned sale of the port’s eastern terminal to an Indian-Japanese consortium.
Work stopped at all terminals as workers blocked access to Colombo Port and held rallies and sit-down protests. The port unions are demanding the Eastern Container Terminal to be taken over by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. The port privatisation plans were first initiated by the previous Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government. Current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has insisted that the plan will go ahead.
According to media reports, the unions suspended the strike claiming talks with the prime minister were successful. No details, however, have been provided.
Cambodia: Hotel workers protest in Siem Reap
About 70 workers from the Le Meridien Angkor Hotel in Siem Reap city, a popular tourist destination, demonstrated outside the hotel on Thursday to oppose a wage cut and for reinstatement of three union leaders. One worker told the media that hotel management suspended operations in April but reopened last month, declaring it was cutting 35 percent from staff salaries from July to September. Protesters demanded that the cut be reduced to 20 percent.
The workers also demanded reinstatement of three union leaders fired in early July for allegedly “persuading others to protest.”
Woolworths workers in Victoria refuse to enter infected warehouse
About 240 workers at a Woolworths distribution centre in Laverton, a south-western Melbourne suburb, refused to work on Monday morning after hearing that a co-worker had tested positive to COVID-19 three days earlier. Their action followed the infection of 35 workers at Woolworths Mulgrave distribution centre and the infection of up to 60 employees at other Woolworths facilities.
The United Workers Union (UWU) demanded intensified anti-coronavirus measures at Laverton, including a deep clean overseen by health representatives, a 72-hour shut down with paid pandemic leave, and the testing of all current and new staff. Woolworths claimed that it had conducted contract tracing when the COVID-19 positive worker was detected and cleaned the site in line with Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recommendations.
Despite possible further infections the DHHS did not order for the site to close or for staff members to isolate. Worksafe Victoria ordered the workers back to work after 11 hours on Monday evening, after doing a site inspection and after Woolworths agreed to appoint an on-site hygienist. The UWU complied with the demand and has not organised any future industrial action over Woolworths unsafe work practises or the company’s increased productivity demands.
India’s Supreme Court feigns concern for farmers, while laying groundwork for illegalizing seven-week mass protest
International protests support Indian farmers’ agitation against Modi’s pro-agribusiness laws
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
Philippine military breaks longstanding agreement, returns forces to campuses
World Bank exposes economic and social impact of coronavirus in South Asia
Communist Party of the Philippines resurrects urban hit squads
Boeing 737-500 crashes after takeoff from Jakarta, Indonesia
US-China tensions at center of fight over Philippine vaccine procurement
Australia: Locked-out Coles workers reject company “offer” as union declares its “neutrality”
Trump coup attempt highlights official promotion of far-right in Australia
Australian workers and youth demand freedom for Julian Assange
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Friedberger, Eleanor / New View
Album: New View Collection: General
Artist: Friedberger, Eleanor Added: 02/2016
Label: Frenchkiss Records
Week Ending: 10 Apr 3 Apr 27 Mar 20 Mar 13 Mar 6 Mar 28 Feb 21 Feb
Never Is A Long Time 4. Apr 20, 2016: Kick Out The Blues
Because I Asked You
2. Jun 01, 2016: Kick Out The Blues
He Didn't Mention His Mother 5. Apr 13, 2016: Kick Out The Blues
He Didn't Mention His Mother
3. May 04, 2016: Kick Out The Blues
Because I Asked You 6. Apr 08, 2016: Time Traveler
Francis D
“New View” Eleanor Friedberger
Third solo album from Eleanor Friedberger, half of the Fiery Furnaces along with her brother, Matthew. Her music is traditional, guitar-based indie rock, supplemented with organ — drawing on the proven rock formulas of the 1960s and 1970s, without being derivative. As she has evolved through her solo work, her style has become personal and conversational, with intelligent, insightful lyrics about life’s everyday smiles and disappointments. There are some great melodies on New View, and some pretty hot guitar licks as well — as Friedberger and band member, Malcolm Perkins, are both quite accomplished guitarists.
— Francis
Recommended: 1, 9, 6, 5, 11, 2. No FCCs detected.
1. (3:58) He Didn’t Mention His Mother — Starts with 4 seconds of tape machine spinning up. Catchy melody moves at leisurely jog with jangly guitar and mesmerizing rhythm. ****
2. (4:43) Open Season — Languid tempo with liquid guitar and sustained organ chords underscoring lyrics that sound like a letter to a long-lost friend or lover. Guitar solo in lead break. Segues directly into Track #3 on a chord downbeat. **
3. (3:01) Sweetest Girl — March-like rhythm and repeated lyrics in the verses. Big guitar, drums and backing harmonies in the choruses.
4. (3:42) Your Word — Storytelling lyrics backed with organ-driven melody, strummy acoustic guitar and measured drums.
5. (3:44) Because I Asked You — Funky, bouncy feeling created by Friedberger’s great guitar noodling and playful organ. Almost a Van Morrison feeling — especially with the short guitar solo. ***
6. (3:26) Never Is a Long Time — Mid-tempo ballad featuring fingerpicked acoustic guitar. Melancholy. ***
7. (3:26) Cathy with the Curly Hair — Fun change of pace. Snappy rhythm, synths swell, organ continues to lead in the choruses.
8. (5:47) Two Versions of Tomorrow — Another song that could be right out of the 1970s. Organ, sharp guitar, great bass line. Brief guitar shredding.
9. (5:07) All Known Things — Heartfelt, mid-tempo love song. Strummed acoustic guitar and jangly electric guitar. Synth. Great vocals. ****
10. (2:28) Does Turquoise Work? — Stately tempo. Starts as a simple tune, but builds almost Beatles-like, with its layers of sound and use of the organ, guitar, bass, and drums. Segues directly into Track 11.
11. (5:49) A Long Walk — Mid-tempo, piano-based tune with storytelling vocals and great interplay between guitars. Taken right out of the 1970s. Could be Dylan, Van Morrison or even the Allman Brothers. ***
1. He Didn't Mention His Mother 6. Never Is A Long Time
2. Open Season 7. Cathy With The Curly Hair
3. Sweetest Girl 8. Two Versions Of Tomorrow
4. Your Word 9. All Known Things
5. Because I Asked You 10. Does Turquoise Work?
11. A Long Walk
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©DDC- Dover Town Hall
Dover Town Hall
The Maison Dieu, Dover’s Grade I listed town hall, was founded by Hubert de Burgh, Constable of Dover Castle, Earl of Kent and Justiciar of England, in 1203 to provide hospitality for pilgrims travelling to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury, and for the care of wounded and destitute soldiers. Many pilgrims still pass through Dover today, walking the ancient Via Francigena from the nearby cathedral city of Canterbury, through France and Switzerland, to Rome.
In the eight centuries since, the hall has fulfilled many and diverse functions – from military store to council chamber, gaol to concert hall and from 1949 to 1989 housed Dover Museum.
The Stone Hall houses an impressive collection of arms and armour and some fine paintings. The stained-glass windows depicting notable historic events date from 1873.
In the mid-19th century the Maison Dieu was extensively restored by the prominent Victorian architects Ambrose Poynter and William Burges. Burges later went on to further remodel the building and design an adjacent assembly hall (the Connaught Hall) and civic offices.
Outside the main entrance hangs the famous Zeebrugge Bell, given to Dover by the King of the Belgians in 1918 to commemorate the First World War Zeebrugge Raid.
Next to the Maison Dieu is the Grade II* listed Maison Dieu House, built in 1665 as the residence of the Agent Victualler and now the offices of Dover Town Council. Outside you can see a small Garden of Remembrance housing the People of Dover War Memorial, which was unveiled in 1924 and has later Second World war additions.
The Maison Dieu will close in September 2021 for a two-year programme of conservation and restoration work, so that future visitors can enjoy Burges’s unique decorative features.
A new History Room and a regular programme of guided tours have been created at Dover Town Hall as a pilot project by the Dover Town Hall Refurbishment Steering Group to improve the interpretation of this magnificent 800-year-old building in the heart of Dover.
On Wednesdays throughout the year (see below for times), visitors will be able to join a guided tour of the building led by volunteer guides from The Friends of Dover Town Hall. There will be a small charge of £2 for adults and £1 for children under 12. All proceeds going towards the promotion and care of the hall. Dover Town Hall is a working building and tour routes may vary depending on functions. Please ring Dover Visitor Information Centre (01304 201066) to check tours are running before making a special visit.
If you would like to bring a group (minimum of 10 people) to tour the Town Hall we would be happy to see if we can run a special tour for you either on a Wednesday or at other times of the week if there are no booked functions in the hall. Contact Derek Leach from The Dover Society on 01304 823926 to discuss this.
The History Room will be open from 10am to 4pm on Wednesdays.
Historic Venue for Functions, Conferences and Weddings
The historic Dover Town Hall is an ideal venue for conferences, shows, balls, concerts and weddings. Offering a choice of Halls to suit most occasions. The Stone Hall and Council Chambers are also licensed for civil weddings. Thanet Leisure Force provide all the catering for Town Hall functions and offer a wide variety of menus from light refreshments to superb banquets. Contact Mrs Val Leadbetter (01304 201200).
The Maison Dieu Biggin Street Dover Kent CT16 1DL
Accepts groups and coach parties
On-site catering and refreshments
Norman Guest House, Dover
Number One Guest House
Churchill Guest House
Castle House
Travelodge Dover
Dover Town Hall Tours
St Edmund's Chapel
Gamebase & Playbase
Pencester Gardens
Dover Bluebird Heritage Trail
The Allotment
The Weigh-Inn
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Flickr: Mike Mozart
Dairy Queen Postpones Free Cone Day Due to Coronavirus
Updated March 16, 2020:
According to a press release by Dairy Queen, the fan-favorite event will be postponed to a later date due to growing concerns with COVID-19. The event date will be announced at a later date.
The original article continues below:
Is there a better way to celebrate the beginning of spring than a free ice cream cone from Dairy Queen? We can't think of anything. Plus, you have the opportunity to help out a great cause at the same time. Who's excited for Dairy Queen Free Cone Day?
Dairy Queen Free Cone Day is Here!
Update for my aussies: Dairy Queen just taste like maccas soft serve but looks better. Shocked and confused.
A post shared by 🇦🇺 One Hungry Gal (@newyfoodi) on Mar 11, 2020 at 3:51pm PDT
For the sixth year in a row, on March 19, participating non-mall Dairy Queen and DQ Grill & Chill locations will offer DQ fans a free small vanilla soft serve cone with the signature curl on top. They will also be collecting donations from customers for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
A North American non-profit organization, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals is an organization that raises funds for children's hospitals, medical research, and community awareness of children's health issues. Currently, the organization raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to kids across the United States and Canada. Since 1983, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $7 billion, most of it $1 at a time through Miracle Balloon icon campaigns.
While the ice cream is free, we highly suggest you donate a dollar or two to Children's Miracle Network to help a child in need.
One Per Customer, Please
Murph wants to remind you that SMALL🍦= 99¢ on Wednesdays! #dairyqueen #latrobedq #dailyspecial
A post shared by Latrobe Dairy Queen (@latrobedairyqueen) on Mar 11, 2020 at 2:10pm PDT
According to the press release:
As much as we'd like to give away a bunch of free cones to everybody forever, we have to draw the line somewhere. So, we're limiting the free giveaway to one cone per customer. And needless to say (but we'll say it anyway), while supplies last.
Savor the treat, because only one free small vanilla cone is allowed per customer. While at Dairy Queen why not try their new Cotton Candy Dipped Cone? The ice cream treat is served with vanilla soft serve coated in a Cotton Candy coating. It tastes just like the carnival.
Watch: The 10 Best Ice Cream Shops in Texas
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Government & Non-Profit
Environmental/Toxic Exposures
DOL/IRS Issue Rule to Extend COBRA Election Deadlines and New Model COBRA Forms (May 18, 2020)
As the result of the National Emergency from the COVID-19 outbreak, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the IRS determined that participants and beneficiaries covered by group health plans, disability or other employee welfare benefit plans might encounter problems in exercising portability and continuation rights, and in filing and perfecting benefits claims. As a result, the agencies have issued several documents to alleviate some of these difficulties.
On May 4, 2020, the DOL and IRS issued a Joint Rule to extend certain time frames under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) for group health plans, disability and other welfare and pension plans. Pursuant to the Rule, those plans subject to ERISA or the IRC must disregard the period from March 1, 2020 until 60 days after the announced end of the National Emergency as the result of the COVID-19 outbreak, referred to in the Rule as the “Outbreak Period.” (As used in the Joint Rule, “National Emergency” refers to the Presidential Proclamation issued on March 13 declaring that a national emergency existed nationwide as of March 1, 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.)
The Joint Rule provides that this relief applies in determining such deadlines as:
The 30-day period allowed for special enrollments under HIPAA (ERISA Section 701(f), (or 60 days under CHIPRA);
The 60-day election period for COBRA continuation coverage;
The date for making COBRA premium payments;
The date for individuals to notify the plan of a qualifying event or determination of disability; and
The dates by which claimants may file appeals, request external review, or file information to perfect a request for an external review of an adverse benefit determination.
This also means that the “Outbreak Period” is disregarded for purposes of determining the timeliness of monthly COBRA premium payments.
In addition, the Rule provides that the Outbreak Period shall be disregarded by group health plans, their sponsors, and administrators, when determining the date for providing a COBRA election notice under ERISA Section 606(c).
The Rule provides several examples of how disregarding the “Outbreak Period” would impact these deadlines, such as the situation where an employee has a qualifying event due to the COVID-19 emergency as the result of a reduction of hours below what is necessary to meet the group health plan eligibly requirements. If that employee is provided a COBRA election notice on April 1, 2020, what is the deadline for the employee to elect COBRA? Under the example, the due date will be 60 days after the announced end of the pandemic National Emergency (or such other date as announced by the DOL/IRS at a later time) – which is, at this time, an undetermined date. In the Rule, the agencies used a hypothetical end date of June 29, 2020 which would make the COBRA election notice due on August 28, 2020.
Employers who sponsor group health plans and other covered plans should confer with plan administrators and legal counsel to ensure any notices and deadlines are modified in accordance with the Rule.
In addition to the Rule and related guidance, the DOL issued new Model COBRA forms on May 1, 2020. The new forms are available at www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/ laws/cobra.
In a related publication, on April 28, 2020, the Employee Benefits Security Administration issued “COVID-19 FAQs for Participants and Beneficiaries.”
Like so many rules and guidelines issued and implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this most recent DOL/IRS Joint Rule likely raises more questions than it answers. Clients with questions about the above or related issues are encouraged to contact Mary Moffatt at [email protected] or your Wimberly Lawson attorney.
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© 2021 Wimberly Lawson Wright Daves & Jones, PLLC. All Rights Reserved.
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Obama plays ping-pong … and he dares to look happy
Obama and Cameron managed tonight to find their way to a London school and engage in a table-tennis match with two 16-year-old kids. All a complete surprise, all brilliantly choreographed by their entourages. My daughter reminds me that we had a game on one of those public tables outside the Tate Britain last summer. Was it our example?
Table tennis has been under-appreciated. There’s no physical sport which reduces down to such a small space. I appreciate that arm-wrestling has its fans, and that fingers get well-exercised by tiddly-winks, but table tennis is the real thing. We had I remember an old dining table at home with bevelled edges and lots of polish, of which there was little in our play…
The logic is that Obama should now take on the Chinese president at ping-pong, their hitherto national sport, as Mao decreed. But what happens were he to win? They couldn’t surely be on the same side of the table as Cameron and Obama were tonight.
But it seems even if he wins Obama can’t win. I took in the bloggers commenting on the ABC coverage of Obama’s ping-pong game. Several were going on about Joplin, where over hundred have been killed in a tornado. ‘What a guy Rome Burns he plays, people die in storms here he and his wife dine in Europe.’ US population 310,000,000.
OK he’s enjoying himself, but he’s allowed that, surely, and that’s the way you build friendships. Friendships don’t happen because you’re miserable. I guess the problem is that every event has equal status on 24 hour news, and everything can be directly compared, as it never could be before. Every time a politician shows the semblance of smile there will someone berating him.
Once upon a time, with distance we could see a way through the trees. These days, much closer to, it’s nigh on impossible. He who shouts loudest leads the way, and we know who they are. And he who grumbles loudest, well, he always gets heard. He who smiles – don’t, bad idea.
By zenpoliticsin Uncategorized May 24, 2011 May 24, 2011 350 WordsLeave a comment
The naming of names
Everything has to have a name. Or does it? My favourite no-name is Innominate Tarn in the Lake District. There’s also its close relation, Innominate Crag, and I gather even an Innominate Crack up on Simonside in the Cheviots.
Roger Deakin in Wildwood mentions two moths which also have had partial success in resisting our urge to name everything, the uncertain and the anomalous, yes, both names, and both members of the Noctuidae.
Moving from moths to movies, there is of course not the moth but the man with no name…
What is it, not to have a name? Tarn, moths, cowboy, they all have identities. But no past, and no future. That’s the idea anyway. And then there’s Juliet:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.”
She loves the person, not the name. Not Montague.
Well, don’t we have to name everything? Any experience, whether a person, an object, a thought or emotion, even a state of mind, has to have an identity if we’re to recall it. But that way we bring all sorts of other associations into play.
That’s why I like Innominate Tarn: no associations. Uncertain and anomalous moths: they come from nowhere and fly back into the night. And Juliet: she willed that there might be no name, no past, and sadly for her, there was no future either.
I will, if I may, coin a name: innomination, the act of not naming. (Maybe it does exist, maybe someone has beaten me to it.) Something we can only do by not doing. Something to engage in when the hurly-burly gets too much for us.
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