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Home Articles Graphic Novel Double-bill: Welcome to Hoxford & Morning Glories Vol.1
Graphic Novel Double-bill: Welcome to Hoxford & Morning Glories Vol.1
Title: Welcome To Hoxford (2008)
Writer/Artist: Ben Templesmith
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Buy here: Amazon UK
Acclaimed writer/artist Ben Templesmith (Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse) creates his newest horrific comic book right here! In the debut issue of Welcome to Hoxford, Raymond Delgado isn’t welcome at all. Rather, he’s the newest inmate at the Hoxford Correctional Facility and Mental Institution. He has no hope of release, parole, rehabilitation, or decent conversation. On a good day, he’ll tell you he’s Zeus and only bite your arm off. Literally. On a bad day, you won’t have time to scream to the prison guard for help. But Dr Jessica Ainley, his doctor for five years wants to help Ray and can’t understand why the newly privatized, corporately run prison, won’t give her access to her patients. And why are people always transferred into Hoxford, but no records show anyone ever transferring back out…?
Award-winning Australian artist/writer Ben Templesmith will be best known to Dark Side readers as one half of the creative team behind the excellent and bloody vampire comic 30 Days of Night, which was made into an excellent and bloody vampire film film by Brit director David Slade, starring Josh Hartnett and Melissa George. He has been involved with further comics entries in that franchise, worked with acclaimed writers such as Warren Ellis and Matt Fraction, and illustrated RPG books including the 2003 issue of the D&D classic sourcebook Fiend Folio. The man knows monsters, the man knows darkness and despair; in short, he’s a Dark Side kind of fella.
Welcome To Hoxford is a four-issue mini-series that creatively is pretty much all his. The brisk, bloody narrative follows disturbed psychopathic former soldier Ray Delgado, abused from childhood, now sitting out a “throwaway the key” length prison sentence for dropping bodies long after he was legally sanctioned to. Continuing to do so in prison, he finds himself on a bus with other similarly sick criminals being transported to a privatised facility run by a Russian company picking up the work from Uncle Sam. Meanwhile his former shrink Julia is trying to gain entry to said prison to see inmates who were her former patients, trying to overcome the stonewalling warden. When the bus arrives, she gets her chance to get inside; unfortunately, this is the worst possible time for all of them to be entering Hoxford….
It’s a tightly-focused set-up that gets to the gore quickly enough, and the supernatural a bit slower. Templesmith writes in contrast to how he draws; where as his ink and colour splash all over the page, breaking panels, washing impressionistically over pages, the use of words and the plotting is pulp-perfect, lean and mean, saying only what is needed to provide the thinking behind the characters, a few good cynical horror-movie laughs, and keep the whole story moving to the inevitable showdown between psycho and supernatural killers. It superficially resembles 30 Days with a core contained location, a plucky female side-by-side with an alpha male lead, and a classic supernatural creature in the villain role. In contrast, however, the sympathetic human protagonists of the Alaskan town are here replaced by the most sordid and despicable of criminals, the lawman lead by a deranged psychokiller with delusions of godhood, and the plucky ex-cop by a shrieking shrink who suddenly becomes quite the gun-fu artist once she has a weapon in her hands. It’s the same, but different; ideal for fans of his earlier franchise, but very much his own work.
It’s a rollicking good read for action/horror fans, and the trade paperback can be picked up easily enough. Hollywood optioned it in 2009 for a film, which is no surprise; the pitch is as simple as 30 Days of Night with werewolves in a prison. However, in the years since, French director Julien Mokrani has made a self-described 20-minute “fanfilm” of the series, but it’s a fan film the way pro-am sports players are supposedly amateurs; this is a professionally cast and made short, and is well worth checking out at its website here.
Title: Morning Glories Vol.1 (2011)
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artists: Joe Eisma (interiors), Rodin Esquejo (covers)
Morning Glory Academy is one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country… but something sinister and deadly lurks behind its walls. When six gifted, but troubled, students arrive, they find themselves trapped and fighting for their lives as the secrets of the academy reveal themselves! Collects Morning Glories #1-6.
Image has long since evolved from its early days of knock-off superheroics and overdrawn art to a true independent publishing a wide range of interesting stories. Ongoing horror series Morning Glories is arguably the best CW horror show never made (yet!), a tale of beautiful teenagers at a prestigious prep academy that is home to sinister occult goings-on, as well as keeping torture and murder on the discipline ladder as routine. It’s a little like Harry Potter if Slytherin ran Hogwarts, but there are shades of everything from Whedonverse favourites Buffy, Angel and Cabin in the Woods to Marvel’s Runaways and even TV shows like Lost. (There is even a hint or two of John Hughes’ way with teenage characters in the six distinct personality types of the leads.)
However the series from the get-go takes clichés and paints them fresh, helped by Eisma’s vivid art that characterises everyone individually with ease yet with fewer lines than your average artist might think was necessary. Blood spatters the panel frames from early on, right up to and including yer horror movie classic by which all effects work shall be judged: the exploding head. Weird science is thrown in, and possibly time-shifts as well; the six issues rocket past barely pausing for breath, but the ideas flow steadily through the story keeping the interest level high and compensating for the occasionally annoying characters. To be fair to them they are at least entertaining, and the twist on the final page suggests there will be much more of interest happening with them come volume two.
Well-written, well-drawn/coloured/lettered and perfectly pitched on an issue-by-issue basis, this first collection keeps the pages turning and makes you want to pick up Vol.2 immediately on finishing. You can’t ask more of a good modern comic book series, and it has rightfully gone on to become one of Image’s biggest hits. This is one for the long haul – the writer has it planned out to about 100 issues, and they’re up to 40 already.
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Career View
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March 11, 2014 Reviews
by Mike D'Angelo
Paris’ reputation as a magical city where foreigners find romance and bliss has been taking a beating at the movies lately. In 2013’s Frances Ha, the title character impulsively flies there, then winds up sleeping through most of the trip, jetlagged. She’s in a cab headed to the airport when the friends she’s been trying to reach finally call to invite her to dinner, where they hope to set her up with a great guy. (“This is such good timing.”) Now along comes Le Week-End, in which a couple who honeymooned in Paris 30 years ago return, only to find that recapturing l’amour isn’t easy for people who have accumulated several decades’ worth of frustration and resentment. The two films also have more in common than is initially apparent, given that one is about unformed youth and the other about calcified maturity (and immaturity). Both are essentially plotless, shot in a fragmented, freewheeling style that assembles a mood from a series of quick snippets rather than a smaller number of sustained, self-contained scenes. What’s more, neither Frances nor the couple can really afford to go to Paris—and the fogeys, amazingly, are even more irresponsible.
Right from the outset, tension runs high between Nick (Jim Broadbent) and Meg (Lindsay Duncan), as she refuses to stay in the hotel from their previous trip, objecting to its new beige décor. Instead, they check into a ritzy place that’s far too expensive for their meager budget. There, they enjoy the balcony’s view of the Eiffel Tower for about 30 seconds before they start sniping at each other again. Meg repeatedly rebuffs Nick’s attempts to get physical, and Nick accuses Meg, out of nowhere, of an affair with the guy who fixes her laptop at home. A random encounter with Morgan (Jeff Goldblum), a more successful American colleague of Nick’s who’s now living in Paris, prompts husband and wife to question whether they’ve squandered their potential, and Meg even goes so far as to suggest they might as well split up and embark on new adventures, now that their children are grown with families of their own. Throughout it all, however, longtime bonds of affection keep reasserting themselves, until it’s abundantly clear that neither of these two slightly warped individuals could survive long without the other.
Screenwriter Hanif Kureishi (My Beautiful Laundrette, Sammy And Rosie Get Laid) sometimes overdoes the emotional-seesaw routine, at one point even having Nick openly say, “You can’t not love and hate the same person. Usually within the space of five minutes, in my experience.” A climactic scene at Morgan’s house in which Nick throws propriety to the wind during a series of toasts and says exactly what’s on his mind is likewise overwritten, and there’s altogether too much of the couple running around trying to avoid paying their bills. But director Roger Michell (who’s previously worked with Kureishi on The Mother, Venus, and the miniseries The Buddha Of Suburbia) maintains a slightly jagged rhythm that proves disarming, and he has two magnificent collaborators in Broadbent and Duncan, who make Nick and Meg ornery and sometimes abrasive without crossing the line into caricature. Broadbent has been wowing filmgoers for many years, but Duncan, who’s worked more extensively in theater (she won a Tony in 2002 as Amanda in Private Lives), is the revelation here; her Meg seems perpetually amused and disappointed by everything that crosses her path, including her own reflection in any given mirror. The movie’s final scene has its three main characters performing the Madison dance made famous in Jean-Luc Godard’s Band Of Outsiders (also a Frances Ha influence—ha!), and at its best, Le Week-End suggests the sort of couple that that film’s young lovers, Odile (Anna Karina) and Franz (Sami Frey), might have grown into several decades later.
GoWatchIt: Buy. Rent. Stream Le Week-end
93 min / Run Time
March 14 2014 / Release Date
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Exclusive: Rob Corddry Talks ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’
by Matt Raub, Mar 22 2010
This Friday marks a big weekend for fans of both science fiction and comedy as Hot Tub Time Machine opens across the country. We’re going to be bringing you coverage and goodies from the film all week, starting today. We recently got the chance to sit down with one of the film’s stars, Rob Corddry, and he was able to talk to us about not only the film, but his interest in an upcoming comic book project.
The Flickcast: The world of science fiction can be a tricky, and certainly a contrived world. How was it for you, getting your head around a concept like Hot Tub Time Machine?
Rob Corddry: Well, we had a roundtable meeting when we first got brought on to the film. We were all sitting in a room at MGM. The writers, and the cast, and we were talking about time travel. We had to have spent 4 or 5 hours talking about the logic of time travel as it was in the movie.
We couldn’t really figure it out, and we realized that every time somebody makes a time travel movie, this discussion takes place, and nobody ever figures it out. [laughs] If anybody figures it out, they would essentially figure out time travel.
So we decided that we had to set some rules and stick to them. What we inevitably did was just pick the simplest ones so that we could get to the comedy.
TF: Do you think that the success of The Hangover laid a lot of ground for potential success of another buddy comedy like this one?
RC: I’m not sure. I know that the concept isn’t foreign to the world of comedy. The Hangover made way more money than most of the others have, which may have made money people prick up their ears a bit more. This movie was actually pre-written and cast before The Hangover.
I actually saw the film while we were shooting the movie, so I think if anything, The Hangover proved that you don’t need a bunch of stars to make a successful comedy. It will give people like me, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke the chance that now Ed Helms and Zach Galifiniakis got with the success of that film.
TF: Do you think there’s a possibility for a Hot Tub Time Machine 2?
RC: I think it all comes down to money. If this film does as well as it should, I can definitely see us doing a sequel, but if not, I can’t see it happening.
TF: You’ve been on quite the upswing lately. What else do you have on the horizon?
RC: I just finished shooting season 2 of my TV show. It was originally a web series called Children’s Hospital and now we’re doing it on Adult Swim this summer. July 11th, the web series premiers, and then we go right into season 2.
I believe we were the only web series to get picked up and turned into a network show. It was kind of a failed experiment that was born out of the strike, and it was the only thing we could really do at the time. A lot of web series came out of the strike, and studios treated them like free development, so none of them really went anywhere, unfortunately.
TF: If there was one project that you wish you could do, moving forward, what would it be?
RC: I want to play a rock star, though I think I’m getting too old for that. I want to play a baseball player, and I want to play a super hero. I probably won’t get the chance to do any of that, except for the baseball player. I have a baseball player’s body. I just read a script based on a comic book called The Boys, which is great, and I just loved it.
I’m sure there are plenty of parts in there for 30-40 aged males, so hopefully there will be something.
Hot Tub Time Machine hits theaters this Friday.
Posted in: Comedy · Exclusive · Interviews · MGM · Movies · News · Sci-Fi
Tagged: Children's Hospital, Clark Duke, Hot Tub Time Machine, Interviews, John Cusack, MGM, Rob Corddry, The Boys, The Daily Show, the hangover
7 Responses to “Exclusive: Rob Corddry Talks ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’”
A Brief Description Involving A Court Reporter | Stop PR nightmares! says:
[…] Exclusive: Rob Corddry Talks 'Hot Tub Time Machine' | The Flickcast […]
A Quick Explanation Involving A Courtroom Stenographer says:
hus tomte says:
HTTM is definitely a movie to go see if you want to laugh a lot. I was lucky to catch a screening last week. Have you seen “The You Know Who’s” music video for Hot Tub Time Machine ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnVsUTXjasA
‘Hot Tub Time Machine’ Actor Rob Corddry Wants To Be A Superhero, Interested In ‘The Boys’ - Topsongs says:
[…] a baseball player, and I want to play a super hero,” said Corddry during an interview with The Flickcast. “I probably won’t get the chance to do any of that, except for the baseball player. I have […]
Weekendowy Mix #11 says:
[…] występuje w wielu komediach w rolach drugoplanowych, chce zagrać w adaptacji The Boys. Chodzi o Roba Corddry’ego, który powiedział, że przeczytał scenariusz właśnie tej adaptacji i bardzo mu się […]
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The Flickcast – The Best Geek Stuff
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Do Your Engine, Lungs, & Wallet A Favor.
The WaterBos Pure Hydrogen on-demand technology can be used on cars, trucks, 18-wheelers, ocean vessels, mining machines, construction vehicles, and hospitals across the globe.
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About WaterBos
WaterBos was born from the desire to improve fuel efficiency in gasoline and diesel engines. This desire was motivated by two end goals: dramatic reduction in fuel expenses and dramatic improvement in air quality. To get there, we wanted more than a simple fuel additive, as fuel additives alone require ongoing expenses and ongoing attention. Instead, we envisioned a generator that would install quickly and easily on any vehicle and thereafter provide hassle-free, on-demand Pure Hydrogen for the life of the vehicle. And we wanted it all to happen in full compliance with engine warranties.
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Our products inject Pure Hydrogen into the air intake of gasoline and diesel engines of all kinds. Through our patent pending process we divide water into its basic gaseous forms and split the elements in real time. What does this mean? It means more complete fuel combustion, which improves engine performance, increases fuel mileage, and decreases NOX fumes. The resulting pure oxygen is safe for use in a breathing mask (hence, our reference to hospitals) and the pure hydrogen actually has healing capabilities. As an added bonus, because our Pure Hydrogen generators are classified as a fuel additive, our systems do not void manufacturer’s warranty.
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The solution is clear. If we can leave the cars and trucks, buses and trains, our infrastructures of transit and commerce intact and just add one small ingredient called WATER into the mix and fix the emissions problem, the fuel shortage problem, the air quality problem and most other issues that we face! Then why would we not.
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Mariners Host Scranton Wednesday Night at 7:00 PM
Scranton (12-2, 4-0 LDMK) 44 37 81
Merchant Marine (2-9, 0-5 LDMK) 16 23 39
Pts: Meredith Mesaris - 21
Reb: Alexix Roman - 8
Ast: Lindsay Fluehr - 9
Pts: Demi Vanderwal - 14
Reb: 2 Players (#40, #TM) - 6
Ast: Demi Vanderwal - 3
Merchant Marine vs. Scranton
Kings Point, NY - O'Hara Hall (1,211)
Complete Game Notes (PDF) | 2013-14 Game Notes Archive | 2013-14 Media Guide
Setting the Scene... The USMMA women's basketball team wraps up a three-game home stand Wednesday night as Scranton comes to O'Hara Hall for a 7:00 pm tip-off. The Mariners most recently suffered a 63-53 loss at the hands of Catholic. Scranton is the hottest team in the conference, riding a nine-game winning streak into Kings Point after a 75-57 decision over Juniata on Saturday.
Series History... Scranton is a perfect 14-0 all-time against the Mariners, including a 77-44 victory in December. Kelsey Hofmann (Adel, IA) paced the USMMA offense in that game with 10 points. Merchant Marine outrebounded the Royals, 40-31, in that game but also committed 32 turnovers in the loss.
VanDerWal Posts Season High... Demi VanDerWal (Springfield, IL) racked up a season high 21 points in the Mariners last game against Catholic. The junior guard leads Merchant Marine with 13.1 points per game and has seven double digit performances this season. VanDerWal currently sits at 693 career points and is on pace to become just the fifth member of USMMA's 1,000 point club.
Rebounding Advantage... Merchant Marine leads the Landmark Conference in rebounding with 51.0 boards per game. The Mariners dominated the glass against Catholic and finished with a 57-35 edge. USMMA also ranks ninth in NCAA Division III with a margin of +13.2 rebounds per game.
Taking Charity... The Mariners have three starters ranked in the top-10 in the Landmark Conference in free throw percentage in 2013-14. Resor, VanDerWal, and Kelsey Hofmann (Adel, IA) sit eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively, in the rankings. All three members of the trio are shooting at least 78 percent at the charity stripe this season.
Landmark Conference Notebook... Moravian, Scranton, and Catholic all boast winning percentages over .750 this season and are perfect in league contests. Moravian is 12-2 on the year and received votes in the latest USA Today National Coaches' Poll.
Scouting the Royals... Meredith Mesaris ranks third in the Landmark Conference with 18.2 points per game. Scranton is shooting 75 percent from the free throw line this year and has won five straight games by double digits.
Up Next... The Mariners will play next Saturday afternoon on the road against Susquehanna.
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Xerox Adds Two EFI Controllers For Docucolor 12, Also For Apple Environments
CHICAGO, Sept. 6, 2001 -- In her first industry appearance as chief executive officer of Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX), Anne Mulcahy today outlined Xerox's strategy to lead "the next generation of growth" in high-end printing through new partnerships, technologies, solutions and services. Mulcahy kicked off Print 01, this year's largest graphic arts trade show, rolling out 15 new products and offerings designed to fuel double-digit marketshare and revenue growth in the graphic arts. The new products range from super-fast continuous-feed printers that can print invoices and statements at 1002 impressions per minute to a $6,999 color laser printer for graphics users. As part of its drive to serve more commercial printing customers, Xerox also announced its first high-end reseller agreement, with Imation Corp., a $1.2 billion leader in color management and imaging solutions. Imation will begin selling the highly successful Xerox DocuColor 2000 Series of digital presses immediately in the United States, with Canada and Europe to follow. In a 48,000 square foot exhibit, Xerox demonstrated the breakthrough technology behind its recently announced DocuColor iGen3 Digital Production Press, which leapfrogs the competition in speed, image quality and running costs. The DocuColor iGen3 transforms the economics of full-color process printing and makes personalized printing a cost-effective alternative to traditional offset printing. Mulcahy debuted Xerox's new color technology platform in a State of the Industry address, telling 1,400 attendees that "lower-volume, customized jobs are the Achilles heel of traditional offset printing. With new digital technologies and process innovations, we can drive increased volumes and revenue streams throughout the industry." She was joined by noted industry expert Frank Romano, distinguished printing professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, N.Y., who revealed research and trends showing the value of the graphic arts market has traditionally been undervalued by billions of dollars. "The printing industry is rapidly moving beyond ink on paper. There are unprecedented opportunities for printers to move into new areas like short-run printing, content management and Web-based services. If you look at the whole value chain, from creation to production to fulfillment, the worldwide printing business is actually a $1.2 trillion market," Romano said. Among the new products and solutions Xerox is announcing at Print 01: * Three ultra-fast continuous feed printers, the DocuPrint 1000 CFD, the 700 CFD, and the 350 CF, ranging in speed from 353 to 1002 impressions per minute and priced from $330,000 to $808,000. * The Xerox Phaser 7700 workgroup single pass color laser printer, a tabloid printer with speeds up to 22 prints per minute in color and black and white. Single pass technology enables the printer to deposit all four toner colors in one pass. * Four Electronics for Imaging (EFI) digital network controllers for the fast-selling DocuColor 2000 Series color presses and the DocuColor 12 Copier/Printer. * Specialty papers and supplies engineered specifically for high-speed digital printers. In addition to the new products, Xerox will demonstrate the advantages of its industry-leading DocuColor 2000 Series digital presses, which offer capabilities similar to Heidelberg's NexPress machine but at a significantly lower cost. The company will also spotlight its DocuColor DI Series family of digital offset presses. The exhibit will feature business-building applications and services, including software for variable data printing; a solution for creating personalized marketing brochures; an all-in-one variable data toolkit; and a Web-based partner program that allows printers to share information and revenue-generating jobs.
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KULR Technology Partners with Vehicle Research Organization Centre De Technologies Avancées BRP-UdeS to Improve Electric Vehicle Battery Safety
Industry Leading Vehicle Research Organization to Implement KULR’s Advanced Battery Testing Device to Improve the Safety of Electric Vehicles
CAMPBELL, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 8, 2019 / KULR Technology Group, Inc. (OTCQB: KUTG) (the “Company” or “KULR”), a leading developer of next-generation thermal management technologies, has partnered with Centre de Technologies Avancées BRP-UdeS (CTA), a leading Quebec-based vehicle research organization, to provide its LYRA internal short circuit (ISC) battery testing device. The CTA plans to leverage KULR’s technology to enhance its ongoing research into the safety of electric vehicle battery systems for its tier-1 OEM clients. Due to the confidential nature of this contract, exact terms were not disclosed.
The LYRA ISC testing device, utilizing proprietary technology exclusively licensed to KULR by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and NASA, creates failures in lithium-ion battery cells in controlled laboratory conditions, uniquely enabling designers and researchers to study methods to reduce failures and design systems to mitigate their consequences.
The failures triggered by the LYRA ISC replicate cell failure defects in batteries, which can be some of the most common, serious, and difficult cell failures to detect using traditional battery testing methods, presenting risks to a wide variety of commercial and consumer battery applications. The LYRA ISC received the prestigious R&D100 Award in 2016 and was the runner-up NASA Invention of the Year in 2017.
“We are truly excited to collaborate with the CTA team to advance their electric vehicle research and engineering efforts. We expect our collaboration will provide the CTA with the necessary tools to further designs for their tier-1 partners, while steering them towards better, safer thermal management solutions,” said Michael Mo, Chief Executive Officer of KULR Technology Group. “We’ve made a concerted effort towards making our LYRA ISC devices more widely available, allowing OEMs to better understand the risks associated with their current battery safety systems. As a next step, we are also working towards establishing a comprehensive battery design and testing methodology, which will be based on our robust portfolio of battery safety technologies.”
“As an established leader in next-generation vehicle research efforts, CTA is pleased to work with the incredible team at KULR to characterize and test our energy storage designs in ways not previously possible,” said Éric Ménard, Electric Programme Manager at CTA. “We look forward to leveraging the LYRA ISC technology to better understand and improve the behaviors of our electric vehicle innovations.”
About Centre de Technologies Avancées BRP-UdeS
The Centre de technologies avancées BRP – Université de Sherbrooke (CTA) is a non-profit organization combining university-based applied research with experienced industry professionals to develop vehicles and their components in the following 5 fields: Electrification, Lightweighting, Mechatronics. Noise and Vibration Harshness (NVH) and Connectivity. It uses a methodology that aims at reducing development time, resources and cost for its clients, in order to accelerate their time-to-market. Services range from engineering design to simulation, prototyping, cycling tests & characterization as well as data acquisition services. It is a unique environment, especially attractive for PhD and MSc candidates. https://cta-brp-udes.com
About KULR Technology Group, Inc.
KULR Technology Group, Inc. (OTCQB: KUTG) develops, manufactures and licenses next-generation carbon fiber thermal management technologies for batteries and electronic systems. Leveraging the company’s roots in developing breakthrough cooling solutions for NASA deep space missions and backed by a strong intellectual property portfolio, KULR enables leading aerospace, electronics and electric vehicle manufacturers to make their products cooler, lighter and safer for the consumer. For more information, please visit www.kulrtechnology.com.
This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to buy any securities of any entity. This release contains certain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially from those stated or implied in such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business, which include the risk factors disclosed in our parent entity’s Form 10-K filed on March 29, 2019. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” and “would” or similar words. We assume no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Head, Media Relations
derek.newton@kulrtechnology.com
Greg Falesnik
MZ Group – MZ North America
greg.falesnik@mzgroup.us
www.mzgroup.us
SOURCE: KULR Technology Group, Inc.
https://www.accesswire.com/551002/KULR-Technology-Partners-with-Vehicle-Research-Organization-Centre-De-Technologies-Avances-BRP-UdeS-to-Improve-Electric-Vehicle-Battery-Safety
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FAA Approves Routine BVLOS Flights In Alaska
University of Alaska Fairbanks Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program And Insitu To Benefit
Insitu and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) — partners in the FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) — have received FAA approval for routine unmanned beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) test flights in Alaska.
The UAF Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) is working with Insitu and other partners to safely test and fly BVLOS flights as well as nighttime flights to help integrate UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS), at or below an altitude of 400 feet.
"This flight approval from the FAA underscores the confidence that the agency has in the UAF ACUASI, Insitu and the IPP partners," said Esina Alic, Insitu president and chief executive officer. "We now collectively have the opportunity to demonstrate our BVLOS capabilities, as well as 24/7 linear infrastructure monitoring, starting with the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System," she continued. "These test flights will prove our technologies, and will aid the FAA in creating new regulations for UAS flying BVLOS in the National Airspace System."
"Working together with Insitu and our various partners, we are confident that we will be achieving new UAS capability thresholds," said ACUASI Director Catherine Cahill. "We are excited that Insitu and the ScanEagle® UAS will be a part of those achievements."
(Image provided with Insitu news release)
FMI: www.insitu.com
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Written by Peter in Fiction, Future
Loic Le Meur’s vision of the future of life in 2030 reminded me of a story I wrote for a contest issued by IBM in 1995 in the Netherlands. The subject: Scenario: Computergebruik in 2025 (Scenario: Using the Computer in 2025).
This story discusses augmented reality, crowdsourced software, software mass customization, an “app store” with government regulation, hologramic hardware, faster than light communication and Internet search that you have to pay for if you want to actually get good results.
There is no excuse for IBM. With that crowdsourcing campaign they had all the info needed to beat Google at Glass, Apple at the App Store and pretty much everyone else ☺ Here is my original story that I submitted in 1995.
Title: How to Make History in 2025
(c) 1995 Peter Bruinsma
A poised voice woke him up. “Leslie, it’s 900 hours. Today is the deadline for your paper.” At hearing his name, Leslie already sat up straight in his bed. Is it that day already? Without getting dressed, Leslie walked up to the catchall to put on his ARGs and walked to the bathroom, forgetting his fingernails. He just upgraded his fingernails so he could get a higher resolution. Before, he kept misplacing things and he had problems writing, so he had to move his hands real gently. The set he got with version LJA164 was a vast improvement but he keeps forgetting to put them on first thing in the morning. Oh well, he would switch to voice then! He hated voice, because it was much easier to grab things than to call them by name. Maybe they would solve that in the next version. He had already sent a message to the support dobot and received an Auto Reply that something would be done about it. The upgrade generating dobot was moderately efficient. It would usually send an upgrade within 12 hours and usually none of his peripherals would complain. They switched to mass customization few years ago, so they could now provide an ARGOS (ARGs Operating System) satisfying any user’s needs, hence the version name LJA164: Leslie Jackson build 164. Each user basically has a different version of ARGOS. A friend of his was already past build 1000; he’s a real support hazard! Sometimes his ERs (Enhancement Requests) take three iterations before the dobot even accepts one. Everybody makes fun of him.
In front of him were a few things floating in the air. These were peripherals, which could be created or destroyed at any time and were useful for most automated tasks, such as finding information, discarding junk mail, or automatically installing the new version of ARGOS that come in via mail. You could make them look like anything, but Leslie likes to choose the default metaphors. They are cheap, perhaps $0.001 per lifecycle, whereas the ones you get from various other sources can be as much as $0.10 per lifecycle, and that just for esthetics! His friend made some and he’s aggregating about $25,000 a month, on metaphors alone. But there are so many metaphors out there that it’s almost impossible for most people to publish one that becomes popular. Leslie is just an ordinary user and hardly ever propagates (publishes) his peripherals outside his groups of OSI (Others with Similar Interests: global AR groups one becomes a member of via automated knobot classification).
Anyway, in full color, at a little less than arm distance was a globe, about an inch in diameter, rotating around it’s axis with a little white sphere zooming around it erratically at about 15 revolutions per second. This is one of Leslie’s knobots, a program traversing the searchable knowledge space accross the earth for information. When it is done, it should stop spinning and the white sphere should be flashing at his coordinates. Leslie wonders why it’s still spinning. “There’s got to be something out there about ‘Conjectural Restoration of Lost Works of Antiquity’ ”. He he has even relaxed the constraints to include two levels of Isomorphism and a Return Home at 10 Hits. Maybe he had made a mistake, but Tolerance was set at Medium, so 90% of his mistakes should be corrected. “Well, maybe by the time I get my nails on and get dressed it will be done. I don’t want to talk to it anyway”, Leslie is thinking. Before taking the ARGs off, Leslie changes the peripheral to be Audible, so it warns him with a jingle when the knobot returns Home. “Research Project Sound ON”, Leslie says. “Confirmed” his ARGs respond. He’s got to change that voice. He’s had this one for a week now, and the intonation peeved him to no end. The last one was worse yet. It had a weird bug that if you had the Sound and Snooze properties on at the same time, it would stutter. Imagine, sending a Voice peripheral to a speech pathologist dobot! Maybe in the year 2100. Leslie chuckles.
At the breakfast table, Leslie already has his ARGs back on. Noone would have imagined that by the year 2025 95% of one’s waking hours would be spent witch such a silly looking pair of glasses on. They make one look like an alien with those two big hemispherical transparent eyes. Some people even sleep with them. They have told a peripheral to generate audible gamma waves and lucid resonating color patterns. This way they cope with stress and fall into a trance within 10 minutes. Noone knows the long term effects of this type of use, and peripherals like these haven’t been approved by the FPA (Federal Peripheral Administration). But the thing is easier to make than it is to send a knobot, so a lot of people have one. But Leslie likes the conventional uses of his ARGs better.
Augmented Reality Glasses were really an extension of a system designed in the 1990’s, called Virtual Reality. With Virtual Reality goggles, one could enter an incredibly primitive computer generated world made of jaggy polygons and limited colors, basically good for games and nothing else. It was soon classified as a drug and one could only enter it on prescription or for limited time for research purposes only. A lot of homebrew versions were made, but one risked severe penalties when found in posession of such a system. Soon, a new type of virtual reality system was developed, one which allowed one to stay in touch with the actual reality by keeping it in sight. Using transparent display technology, computer generated images could be displayed as if they were floating in front of you, overlayed, as it were, on top of actual reality. (Ironically, this system was not classified as a drug, even though one could enter a dark room and have super VR the way people dreamed of in the 90’s!) The first AR systems were inadequate, because computer generated objects would never stay put and would thus float anywhere you moved your head. When advanced Head Tracking systems were developed, based on a global satellite navigation system, you could move your head, and the objects would stay in place. They wouldn’t even jitter. Computer generated objects became static and dependable, just like real physical objects. You could create something one day, put it somewhere, come back to it the next day and it would still be there. Of course, they weren’t static in the sense that you couldn’t move them, mold them or destroy them! They were as flexible as one could wish.
Thus, Augmented Reality, in its mature stage, added a virtual integrated layer to the physical reality and both could be viewed simultaneously. It is so advanced, nowadays, that it can even interact with AR enabled physical objects, meaning, physical objects that have embedded hybrid systems in them, which allows one to query them for their position, their physical properties, their manufacturer, their owner and many other things. This way one can add personal features to ordninary things, like I did last. I have a mirror with enabled AR that you can program so that it recognizes who is looking in it (providing you are wearing your fingernails) and then it says “Goodmoring” if it is morning, and then the person’s name. Really just a gadget. So, I made a peripheral which actiavates itself when I look at the mirror, and subsequently renders hair on my scalp. When I approach the mirror, the mirror identifies me by my fingernails. It then says “Good Morning, Leslie” which triggers the hair rendering peripheral in my ARGs. It queries the position property of the mirror, for which it knows the AR ID, and calculates the position in virtual space where it should render my hair, so that it looks genuine. This took me about 15 minutes to make using the standard peripheral toolbox. I can even use the same procedure and make my hair public. Anyone who approaches me will be identified by their finernails. If I want them to see me with hair, I put them on the permissions list, and their ARGs will automatically render my hair using remote peripheral access. This all sounds rather complex, but there are a lot of peripherals available that do this kind of thing, some written by ordinary people like me, and some rather more advanced written by people who are commercially motivated, like my friend. I’d better not tell you some of the things he created because you might be shocked at the possiblities.
So, this ‘Generation 5 VR’ has been labeled Augmented Reality, and the special glasses with which to enable this reality are Augmented Reality Glasses, or ARGs for short. The fingernails are really essential, because they contain identification properties and enable Relative Hand Tracking of the ARGs (relative to the head, i.e.). This allows the ARGs to determine the position of the hands which is useful for grabbing, writing, gesturing, moving, destroying, etc. Writing for example, is now done using a stylus on any surface, or even on no surface at all with no stylus at all! Simply the writing movement of the fingers will create a record. You will not even have to tell the ARGs that you are writing, because it will recognize the writing motions of your fingers. The record generated is an INK record. This is not an acronym, for once, but a term that stems from a datatype that was designed in the 90’s and is short for nothing less but ‘ink’.
The earth has stopped spinning. 10 Hits with a relevance index of 100(3), 70(2), 50(2) and 10(3) percent respectively. Not that good, but considering a hit with a relevance index of 100 costs about $1, it’s best to design narrow queries. If all knowledge servers had Metaphoric Addressing (MA), the relevance indices would be nearly 100 for all hits, unless it really is a bogus query. Some servers are still using Content Addressing , because the hardware costs of MA are prohibitive. The cost of MA is a million times that of CA. Memory addresses don’t exist anymore. Every memory ‘cell’ is connected to every other memory ‘cell’, and each has in turn got its own memory. It’s hologramic, in a sense, and not really memory anymore, but a processor of its own kind. Too intricate to deal with in detail. It was difficult enough to accept the paradigm where the data are the program and the software is the hardware. Where nothing can be deleted, only integrated. Where data are never wrong, only insignificant. When communication used to be as slow as light, it was impossible to imagine such a system, except by members of the Superluminal Communications Society. Now the task is for the Society of Computational Alphysicists (a cheap wordplay on ‘alchemists’ that stuck) to reduce the cost of MA hardware by using picotechnology. Someday, MA hardware will be the size of a brick of Lego and will cost as much. Funny, how we will soon be using stack computers again! Sometimes the irony is as thick as a human hair, on a femtoscale.
I’m drifting. I better modify the query and get going on the project. While my knobot travels, I will test my new Mumbo Jumble peripheral. It sort of knows what I know because it tracks what I read and contextualizes this with my Research Project query results. I call it Mumbo Jumble, because sometimes that’s all it produces, but better than half the time, half the work of creating a readable text is done in less than a second. However, there is something romantic about still having to do actual creative thinking part inside of your head. But to do actual conjectural restoration of lost works of antiquity, it would take a million brains a thousand years to recreate the contents of the library of Alexandria. I’m not that ambitious. But when I have that done, I will call it Fermat’s Dream, since this stuff would have been his pastime if he were alive today. After that, I will see if I can create some books that never got a chance to be written. Conjectural Creation of Conjectural Works of the Past. I won’t bore you with what I want to do after that, namely, Conjectural Restoration of the Past: writing history that never became history because it was never even recorded in the past. But it will be computed in the future! Too bad my ARGs don’t have MA. I could tell you who killed JFK by now.
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Ráith Gráinne, Tara
3D Model 1
SMR No.: ME031-033041-
Monument Type: Barrow - ring-barrow
Ráith Gráinne is named after the legendary princess Gráinne, who fled from Tara and from Fionn mac Cumhaill with her lover Diarmait úa Duibhne. It is a barrow (about 60m in diameter) consisting of a central mound surrounded by a ditch and external bank. In the centre are the remains of what may be another, small barrow. By combining geophysical and topographic data it has been possible to demonstrate that the slight prominence in the north-eastern side is actually the central burial mound of an earlier ring-barrow that was incorporated into Ráith Gráinne. It too encompasses a small barrow into its north-eastern quadrant suggesting that this was an accepted custom at the time.
To the northeast of Ráith Gráinne are the remains of up to four extremely low-profile sites which can be seen when the sun is low on the western horizon.
Download 3D Model
File Format: 3D PDF
3D Capture Method: Aerial Lidar
3D Capture Description: FLI-MAP 400; an aerial LiDAR survey system, was initially designed to survey infrastructural assets such as roads, railways and electricity supply networks. The sensor system mounted beneath the main helicopter fuselage consists of:
Three 150 kHz LiDAR sensors (7◦ forward, nadir and 7◦ aft);
Scanning angle 60◦
Accuracy (relative) Horizontal 5 cm, Vertical 3 cm
Multiple returns 4
Two RTK GPS receivers – provide accurate location in used in conjunction with RTK base stations;
Inertial Navigation System (INS)- continuously track the position, orientation, and velocity of the helicopter;
Digital imaging (11 megapixel) and digital video capture.
Resulting data sets include first return (DSM) and last return point (DTM, bare earth) models
Data Processing Software: ArcGIS & Geomagic Studio
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Safety Advisory Notice SAN19980042
Safety Advisory Notice issued to: Airservices Australia
SAN19980042
OCCURRENCE SUMMARY
A flight plan was submitted for an instrument fight rules flight with a planned level of 7,000 ft. The pilot was subsequently cleared to climb to an amended level of 6,000 ft. The amended level, the departure time and the transponder code were reported to the appropriate sector controller. The sector controller read back 7,000 ft. However, the tower controller did not detect the incorrect read-back. Following departure, the pilot reported maintaining 6,000 ft to the sector controller.
The investigation found that while there was a requirement for the controller to use the term "amended" when advising the pilot of the change in the cleared level, there was no similar requirement to use "amended" in air traffic services' (ATS's) coordination procedures.
The instructions in the Manual of Air Traffic Services (MATS) for the application of the word "amended", in both ATS radiotelephony and the exchange of information (coordination), are inconsistent and require clarification.
Manual of Air Traffic Services references
MATS 12-A-20 Clearances and Read Backs, paragraph 4, requires pilots to read back any amendments to an air traffic control route clearance.
MATS 12-A-20 Amended Route or Level, paragraph 1, states: "Whenever it is necessary to assign an aircraft a route or level other than that expected according to the flight plan and any subsequent revisions requested by the pilot, ATS should prefix the route or level information with the term "amended" to alert the pilot that the information and clearance is other than may be expected".
MATS 11-1-2, paragraph 21, details the response required by ATS personnel for messages passed over a fixed service channel (voice). It states that they shall acknowledge a message with any item notified in the clearance as "amended or recleared".
MATS 2-5-1, paragraph 13, requires amended flight plan details for military low jet route aircraft to be clearly labelled "amend details".
MATS 5-1-5, paragraph 66, requires a controller to specify that a route is "amended" when a departure route clearance is amended to include points not flight-planned.
It would appear from the above references that there is an intent to use "amended" as a cue to both pilots and ATS personnel during ground-air and ATS voice coordination communication, whenever some aspect of an original plan or previously advised clearance has changed. However, the procedures for the use of "amended" are not consistent in MATS.
The use of "amended" is not mandatory (but is recommended) in MATS 12-A-20 Amended Route or Level, paragraph 1, yet MATS 12-A-20 Clearances and Read Backs, paragraph 4, requires the pilot to read back any amendments to a clearance. Some discretion is available to ATS personnel if the use of "amended" is only recommended. This can lead to inconsistencies in the application of the term. Consequently, some pilots will receive the cue while others may not.
A similar inconsistency applies in relation to the use of "amended" by ATS personnel during voice coordination communication. MATS 11-1-2, paragraph 21, requires an acknowledgment of any item notified as "amended" or "recleared". However, there is no guidance regarding which items shall be prefixed with "amended".
The procedures for the use of "amended" between ATS personnel in voice coordination communication and between ATS personnel and pilots, should be applied consistently. The application of the same procedures during both coordination and radiotelephony, would minimise doubts regarding the use of "amended" and its meaning. Additionally, as "amended" is not listed in the MATS 12-A-24 Standard Words and Phrases, the inclusion of a definition may be warranted following any review.
Airservices Australia should note the safety deficiency identified in this report and take appropriate action.
AirServices Australia
Use of the term "amended" in co-ordination and R/T procedures.
The non use the term "amended" in the subject occurrence (9702674) was not consistent with the directives of MATS and may have contributed to the missed incorrect readback.
Your comments with regard to MATS, and clearance items which are amended, are noted, and have been referred to Operational Policy Branch for attention.
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Stranger Things Star Gets On Stage With SWMRS
SWMRS was joined on stage by Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard last night at Central Park SummerStage in New York City.
SWMRS was joined on stage by Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard last night at Central Park SummerStage in New York City. Wolfhard played guitar on the band's track "Drive North" and shared the performance on his Instagram.
Watch it HERE
SWMRS are currently on the road in the US supporting labelmates All Time Low.
Last fall, Fueled By Ramen re-released SWMRS' critically acclaimed debut album "Drive North."
More on SWMRS on Alternative Addiction
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DAY 01Arrive in Delhi. Traditional Indian welcome on arrival at airport. Transfer to hotel for overnight stay. DAY 02 Morning, sightseeing of Old and New Delhi including Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Parliament House, India Gate, and Qutab Minar. Evening, visit Judah Hyam Synagogue in New Delhi (which was built in 1956), next to the Jewish cemetery. It is the only functioning Synagogue in the capital city of India. Judah Hyam Hall is a place of worship for the Jews in the city. It is a place where Delhi’s Jewish community celebrates all social and religious festivals. Judah Hyam Hall also serves as a center for Jewish studies.This synagogue is the only one where men and women can sit together for services. Overnight stay at hotel.DAY 03Morning, depart for Agra. Check in at hotel. Visit the Agra Fort and the magnificent “monument of love” – the Taj Mahal – by sunset. Overnight stay at hotel. DAY 04 Morning, depart for Jaipur, visiting the “forgotten city” of Fatehpur Sikri – built by Emperor Akbar. Proceed onward to Jaipur. Overnight stay at hotel. DAY 05 Morning, visit the high mountain fortress of Amber Fort, with an elephant ride to the top of the fort. Later, city sightseeing including a visit to the Observatory and City Palace and Museum. Time for shopping. Return to hotel and relax.j-h-tour-2 DAY 06 Morning, transfer to airport for flight to Mumbai. After check in at hotel, proceed for sightseeing tour of Mumbai city. Overnight stay at hotel.DAY 07 After breakfast, proceed for excursion to Elephanta Caves dating back to the 5th century. Cross over to the caves (10 kilometers away) by motor launch. Afternoon at leisure. Shabbat service and dinner at the Fort Synagogue. Overnight stay at hotel.DAY 08 Day at leisure for you to see Mumbai city on your own. Shabbat service and dinner at the Fort Synagogue. Overnight stay at hotel. DAY 09 Morning, excursion by surface or Catamaran to Alibag and the surrounding village, Navgaon, about 22 miles southwest across a gray-green harbour from Mumbai — home to what was once a thriving and vibrant Jewish community known as the Bene Israel. So many Jews once lived here, that, in fact, this dirt road is called Israel Lane. The facades of many of the houses along it still bear stars of David and Hebrew lettering. Return to hotel for overnight stay.DAY 10 Transfer to airport for flight to Kochi. Evening, attend a performance of the famous Kathakali dance and Kerala Martial Arts – “Kelaripayattu”. Overnight stay at hotel. j-h-tour-3 DAY 11 Sightseeing tour of Kochi city, visiting the Dutch Palace, Chinese Fishing Nets, St. Thomas Church. Later, a visit to the Synagogue and Jew Town in Mattancherry, which is home to 20 odd Jewish families who still live in India. Mostly old timers, they chose to stay on even after the creation of Israel and the immigration by most of the younger generation of Jews to the Promised Land. The Synagogue dates back to the 17th century and has pretty patterned floor tiles that were brought in from China. The thick aroma of spices hangs in the air and the street is dotted with tiny stalls selling curios (closed on Fridays and Saturdays). Meet with members of the Jewish community. Overnight stay at hotel.DAY 12 Morning, at leisure to enjoy your hotel. Late afternoon, transfer to airport for flight to Mumbai to connect to international flight.Book Your tour at Jewish India Tours PackagesOr Call +91 8929047833
Tags: Agra, Best offer on Luxury India tour packages, Budget Tours to India, Delhi, Golden triangle tour of India, Jaipur, Jewish City India Tours, Jewish Heritage tours of India, Jewish India Tours and trips, Jewish India Tours packages, Luxury India tours, Luxury India tours 2018 -19, Luxury Jewish Heritage tour of India, Luxury off beat India tours packages, Luxury Tours of Jewish India, Luxury Travel vacations to India, Mumbai tour package, Rajasthan tours packages, Same-day tour to Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, Tailor made luxury tours packages, Udaipur
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Normal Sex & Home in three days. Don’t wash.
by Samuel Ace / Linda Smukler
Belladonna* Collaborative’s Germinal Texts are works that trace feminist avant-garde histories and the poetic lin-eages they produce. The series focuses on authors and texts that serve as generative grounds for other writers. Germinal Texts gesture, then, to networks of affiliation; to alliances, inheritances, sites of community; to the unfolding of a work through its readers; and to always pro-visional origins without ends. Germinal Texts are works that gather dense histories and, for this reason, the series is designed to open discussion, through contextualizing front and back matter that launches new conversations.
The first text in the Germinal Texts series, Theory, A Sunday (2013), is a translation of La théorie, un dimanche, first published by remue ménage in 1988. Theory, A Sunday is a mixed genre, multiply authored work of feminist auto-criticism, poetry, and fiction by Louky Bersianik, Nicole Brossard, Louise Cotnoir, Louise Dupré, Gail Scott, and France Théoret. Belladonna’s translated republication brings the work of these Quebecois writers to new audiences (generationally, linguistically, and geo-graphically), with an introduction by Lisa Robertson and an afterword by Rachel Levitsky and Gail Scott.
The second work in the series is Lyn Hejinian’s Positions of the Sun, a book of twenty-six interlocking “essays with characters” that explores the mid-2000s financial “crisis” through the movements and daily lives of a wide-ranging cast of characters located in the Bay Area. In Positions, Hejinian plays the bricoleur, bringing together whatever’s needed in her to approach to the subject—whether the paratactic tactics of poetry, schol-arship’s critical patchwork, dramatic action (but not plot), or characters set in time that evokes but frustrates narrative. Earlier iterations of essays 4, 14, and 17 appeared in Belladonna’s Elders Series #5, edited by Jennifer Scappettone.
Samuel Ace’s / Linda Smukler’s Meet Me There is the third volume in the series. Meet Me There is a paired repub-lication of Normal Sex (Firebrand Books, 1994) and Home in three days. Don’t wash. (Hard Press, 1996). In the present edition, the texts are accompanied by a new introduction and poem by Samuel Ace, and by a collection of short essays and reflections on Ace and Smukler’s poetics. Meet Me There brings together Ace / Smukler’s remarkable explorations of the interplay of language, desire, sex, and identity, and repositions this work, 25 years later, in the midst of burgeoning contemporary conversations about gen-der, sexuality, sociality, language, politics, and poetics.
Praise for Meet Me There
The timely reissue of both these books is cause for rejoicing. I know no more moving evocation of a child’s interior life and spirited resistance than the poems in Normal Sex. Linda Smukler, like Samuel Ace, is a master of metaphor, and the trans child’s brilliant acrobatics of imagination are nothing less than the key to his survival.
Home in three days. Don’t wash. is a book of desire, as radical today as when it was first published. Nothing about it is coy or prurient. Utterly specific, it sings the brain on sex with a voice that’s breathtakingly honest and exposed. It takes us home to the dream-dark source of poetry, the longing for wholeness.
The candor and depth of Samuel Ace’s introduction, a dialogue between Linda and Sam, is a generous addition and in itself is an extraordinary contribu-tion to trans literature. From first page to last, this book delivers news I’ve been craving.
–Joan Larkin
This re-release of Normal Sex & Home in three days. Don’t wash. is beautifully framed by a love letter between the authors: “Dear friend who is me and no longer me, dear love who I have never left behind.” Sam and Linda’s exchange underscores the deep vulnerability these collections open, as they invite the reader into their intimacies—from the shame of not being seen or understood, of being unsafe in a body, to moments of courage, fed largely by faith in the imagination, and to the raw ecstasy of exploring gender and sexuality from childhood into adulthood. Sam writes to Linda, “In so many ways, your writing helped bring me into being.” I cannot help but feel I am witness to the germinal stage of a sacred rite.
–Ely Shipley
The Ace of Spades represents the ancient spiritual hinge of transformation, but Samuel Ace transfigures or transforms to exalted beauty. One of my favorite literary minds, Ace, in his extraordinary new book, lingers long enough along the horizon while waving that we catch the light to watch his limbs her life loved into.
—CAConrad
The beautifully composed “author’s note” tells us that even though Linda Smukler began gender-related therapy in 1997 and began physical transition in 2000—in other words, after both Normal Sex and Home in three days. Don’t wash. were originally published—it would be wrong to omit either Smukler or Samuel Ace from author credit, now that Belladonna* has so brilliantly reissued these books, bound together for the first time. Writing as a gender nonconforming woman desiring other women fiercely, and writing through a “lost boyhood” with the power of a great novelist, Smukler astonished all of us who read this writing hot off the press. Twenty years later, it retains the heat not only of sexual possession but of clear and definite speaking. “oh girl I choose you see? It is ours to step forward ours to heal the run of the wheel” In their note, the two authors reflect that this work was composed not in isolation but in the midst of a clutch of amazing women determined to write the truth about sex and, thus, about life and work. The architectonics of these books seem even more remarkable from our present vantage point and will, I imagine, inspire generations of new poets and lovers and activists, long into the future.
—Kevin Killian
With Meet Me There, Sam Ace begins a new dialogue with the past, though it has long been his country—the way we embody and misunderstand it, long for it and desperately cast it aside. Meet Me There teems with violent honesty, beauty and horror, lust and stillness. An underground classic, it now radiates with added dimensions, a time-traveler, a crucial contemporary text.
—Michelle Tea
© Matthew Blank
Samuel Ace is a trans and genderqueer poet and sound artist, and the author of several books, most recently Our Weather Our Sea, (Black Radish Books, 2019). He is the recipient of the Astraea Lesbian Writers and Firecracker Alternative Book awards, as well as a two-time finalist for both the Lambda Literary Award and the National Poetry Series. Recent work can be found in Poetry, PEN America, Best American Experimental Poetry, and many other journals and anthologies. He currently teaches poetry and creative writing at Mount Holyoke College in western Massachusetts.
Meet Me There: Normal Sex & Home in three days. Don't wash.
Samuel Ace / Linda Smukler
$18 • 2019 • 184 pp.
Individual $ 18Institution $ 25
News: Meet Me There
2019-03-19: Meet Me There by Samuel Ace & Linda Smukler is now available to order
2019-06-04: O Magazine highlights Meet Me There by Samuel Ace “50 Unapologetically Queer Authors Share the Best LGBTQ Books of All Time”
2019-07-03: Meet Me There by Samuel Ace is an SPD bestseller for June 2019
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FireFan – The Ultimate Global Sports App for anyone living in Alabama, Carbon Hill and 35549 who loves Golf
FireFan Sports App Review | Setting the record straight on United Games and FireFan. It's NOT a scam, it's NOT an MLM. If you live in Carbon Hill, Alabama 35549 you will want to play this App! by Mark Royer - FireFan Affiliate - Fire Fan
I'm Jeff Henderson, Founder and CEO of United Games and I'm excited to be reaching out to you today. We've had an amazing first two weeks! As we partner with each of you as Affiliates, it becomes imperative that we all stay on the same page. As we rapidly become tens of thousands of voices, we must all share the same message. http://getulttimatesportsapp.com
This can be challenging http://unitedgames.com, but we believe if we work together, and we all recognize how important this is for each of us, we will succeed.
This is especially important for all the huge sports fans that live in Alabama, Carbon Hill 35549
United Games was founded by Jeff Henderson, a 22-year veteran and former Vice President at NuSkin International. United Games is run by a great founding partner team, including CCO and Game Designer Mark Mongie, CTO Ben Eggett, with Sales and Marketing oversight by Natalyn Lewis. We have an amazing team of programmers and designers, a great staff of customer support specialists, and a very experienced investor and advisory team. Our company is expanding every day as our corporate growth keeps with the phenomenal pace of our Affiliate team.
No. United Games is NOT a fantasy-style game and does not even compete with fantasy. We fully anticipate that people who love fantasy will still play fantasy. However, we also assume they will play our app because it is a completely different experience altogether. Our app is a unique sports experience, designed to enhance your enjoyment and interaction with sporting events in a live, social manner. It's about being a fan and playing along with your team, your friends, and your favorite players, while at the same time opening up the world to come together on common ground around a passion for live, interactive sporting events. We are building a game that the everyday sports fan is going to love, that is not a "stats" experience but a "game" experience.
© Copyright FireFan – The Ultimate Global Sports App for anyone living in Alabama, Carbon Hill and 35549 who loves Golf.
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TPMS: 2011 Toyota RAV4
by Kristen Criswell
TPMS: Reading The Future
by Doug Kaufman
GM Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS)
by Andrew Markel
Selling TPMS Diagnostics And Service
Acura Tech Tip: Tire Fill Assist Activation
by Brake and Front End Staff
TPMS And Radio Waves: What You Can’t See Can Hold Up A Relearn
Getting The TPMS Light Out On The First Try
VIDEO: What Is The TPMS Light Telling You?
by Jason Stahl
TPMS: Test Before You Touch
Nissan Tech Tip: TPMS Diagnostics
TPMS/TPMS
Corrosion And TPMS
Andrew Markel,Director of Content, Brake & Front End Magazine
Andrew Markel is the editor of Brake & Front End magazine. He has been with Babcox Media for 15 years. He is a technician and former service writer and holds several automotive certifications from ASE and aftermarket manufacturers. He can be reached at [email protected]
Servicing and Maintaining Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
VIDEO: False Wheel Speed Reading Caused By Metal Debris
VIDEO: What Brake Pad Wear Can Tell You About The Hardware
'How Brake Pads Are Made' Video Reaches 1 Million Views
VIDEO: Always Use A New Axle Nut
VIDEO: Dealing With Difficult-To-Remove Lug Nuts
VIDEO: Should You Lubricate Male or Female Axle Splines?
Understanding Today's Performance Brake Components
VIDEO: Brake Hose Degradation Diagnostics
It is that time of year again when the affects of road salt, deicers and potholes start to take their toll on vehicles. The latest victims of the salt belt are TPMS sensors and valve stems.
The corrosion we are all most familiar with is that which affects steel, iron’s most common alloy. While just the presence of oxygen in the air, along with some moisture, is enough for something made of steel to begin to corrode, most of the time it is accelerated by some other environmental factor, which causes the most problems.
Some parts of the country are plagued by car-destroying corrosion. Whether the acceleration is caused by proximity to the ocean or by chemicals used for road treatment, corrosion can really take a toll on vehicles and the people who are dependent on them.
For TPMS sensors, a harsh environment isn’t a requirement to see valve seizing corrosion take hold. The most common type of corrosion we typically see affecting TPMS sensors is of the galvanic variety. Galvanic corrosion doesn’t depend on your location.
Relationship Basics
Have you ever been around someone that you just can’t find anything in common with, someone who wears you down, someone who’s all take and no give? Well that’s sort of how galvanic corrosion works.
First, to have galvanic corrosion, you need:
1. Dissimilar metals;
2. They must be in contact with each other; and
3. There must be an electrolyte.
When dissimilar metals come into contact with each other to form a “galvanic couple,” one metal acts as an anode and the other as a cathode. Just like they say, “in every relationship there’s give and take,” in the galvanic couple the anode is the one giving and cathode is the one taking.
For TPMS sensor hardware, the aluminum valve stem serves as the anode and the brass valve core as the cathode. The electrolyte comes in the form of water (or any moisture, really). How galvanic corrosion works is the aluminum in the valve stem will dissolve into the electrolyte (moisture) and deposit onto the brass valve core. While the corrosion process is underway, the valve stem is losing its thickness and strength. Finally it will fail, usually breaking where the valve core was in the most contact with the aluminum at the treads. This condition can be further exacerbated by the introduction of an additional cathode in the form of a steel valve cap causing the damage to the valve stem on the externally treaded portion as well as the inside.
Even though that is what ends up happening a lot of the time, it wasn’t designed that way. The TPMS sensor comes from the factory with its brass valve core coated in nickel, which acts as an insulator or barrier between the two dissimilar metals. The sensor also comes equipped with a valve cap fitted with a rubber seal to keep out the moisture. So, if the valve core is properly coated with an insulator like nickel, installed correctly with the proper amount of torque and the correct valve cap is present, creating an effective seal, then there should be a very low incidence of corrosion. Upon servicing of the TPMS sensor assembly, if it’s done correctly, you shouldn’t have any problems with galvanic corrosion. The problem: it is way too easy to do it wrong.
While the replaceable snap-in rubber valve we are seeing used by several car manufacturers largely takes the worry out of servicing TPMS sensors on the vehicles they come equipped with, they only make up a small number of the TPMS sensors in service. So until all sensors start using a less corruptible system, follow these prevention basics to save yourself, or at least the next guy, some headache.
What’s the Mix Up?
Problems start arising when we mix and match valve cores and valve caps. That’s a big no-no. Like most things in life, we have to learn from our mistakes. In the beginning, you probably weren’t told about the problems that come about when you mix and match hardware, even if you know by now, there is still a lot of it still happening.
As previously stated, it’s just too easy to mess it up. We have been using brass valve stems and brass valve cores forever. It has been the de facto standard for so long you probably have brass valve cores in your shop or you will see them come into your shop at least once on any given day.
Installing the wrong valve core is by far the most common mistake, but you should also pay attention to the valve cap. Make sure you are installing a correct valve cap for the application. It should cover the important parts of the stem and include a seal, most likely in the form of a rubber O-ring, to keep the moisture out.
Follow these two simple steps and you can avoid most galvanic corrosion potential. Sure, there’s a lot more to it than that if you want to service the valve assembly the right way, the way the manufacturer recommends, but frankly if everyone working on these sensors followed these two steps, it would take care of the largest chunk of TPMS issues we see every day.
Now that you know what’s going on with those TPMS sensors that are prone to corrosion and how to keep it from happening, next time I will cover some techniques to deal with them once it’s too late for prevention.
5 Steps to a Happier Future
Want to ensure the least chance of future issues, avoid galvanic corrosion? Follow manufacturer’s recommendations and service a TPMS sensor assembly the right way.
Here’s what you’ll need to do:
1. Replace the retaining nut and seal.
2. Replace the valve core with a new nickel-plated one.
3. Properly torque the retaining nut and valve core to manufacturer’s specs. A valve core’s nickel coating can chip in its most vital area, exposing raw brass to the aluminum valve stem when over-torqued. If you don’t have a valve core driver that limits torque – get one. I suggest it being the only kind allowed in your shop.
4. Properly inflate the tire with dry shop air or nitrogen.
5. Install a new and proper valve cap with a seal to keep the moisture out.
Do you currently offer keyless entry programming services to your customers?
I am in the: U.S. Canada Other
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FACIAL: The Chain Letter Interview
by Emily Twombly
Facial's second LP Facade is a darkly luminous affair, a perfect reflection of our times. Chain Letter correspondent Emily Twombly sat down with the group last October while they were on tour to discuss the meaning and genesis of the new record. The result is a frank and enlightening conversation on all things Facial.
You can catch Facial at the Hi Hat Jan 27th for the Hi Hat's 2 Year Anniversary party.
(ET) This has obviously been a super tough year for everyone. How has that affected your song writing for your new album?
Jay: Well, actually all of the songs on FACADE were written before Trump was even elected, but a lot of the lyrics on the record talk about things that are extremely applicable in a post-trump America. We have been writing continuously all year, and the current state of our world has certainly affected our songwriting, giving us new perspective and a new passion to feed off.
Cam: I feel like the political climate is an unavoidable influence, even if it feels tired it’s just so overpowering between the media and the anger felt by peers. I wrote the lyrics to Zero Sum months before Trump was elected from my experience in England, everyone was cold to me as an American and I just wanted to wear a sign on me everywhere like “I am an American but also hate this orange Cheeto man!”
Sam: I think it is important to use the chaos of today’s world to reexamine what it is we are doing with our time and energy. To use the overwhelming uncertainty of it all to focus on the things that matter and make sense to you. I definitely feel a renewed sense of purpose with music in today’s world.
What is your process as a band for writing songs and how do you decide what you want to write about? Talk about the importance of your lyrics to your songs. Do you have a favorite on the album?
Jay: We write in many fashions; all together, alone or tag-team. Cam and I handle most the lyrics, and one of us will usually decide what the song is about and give the other a theme to work off of. It may be abstract and vague or concrete and specific, depends on what kind of song it is. In some songs the lyrics act to paint an impression of mood and feeling, and in other songs they are literal and are trying to say something specific.
Cam: Ditto what Jay said, we trust each other’s ideas and passion so it always comes out on top. I’d say lyrically my favorite on the album is probably Animals.
Talk a little bit about what Animals is about and what it means to you.
Cam: In LA's music scene (or of course any music scene) there seems to be unavoidable large chunks of time spent in dive bars. It's part of the culture. Sometimes though it’s disgusting, people lining up desperate for sedation, like cattle waiting for the slaughter. I grew in small town Oregon and have seen slaughterhouses. It's pretty brutal. I guess we just wanted to paint that connection, corralling together in dark places slowly offing ourselves...damn this came off dark!
Jay: We all work in bars too, so we have front row seats to this display almost nightly. People totally checking out mentally, probably running from something or another. People completely lose awareness and I think that kind of self-induced unconsciousness is a plague within our culture and is something that leads to a lot of the sexual behavior that we are now becoming aware of in this industry and the movie industry. I drink and do drugs but I'm not into checking out.
I've been thinking a lot about how to make shows feel more inclusive to everyone and what responsibility the band has in facilitating that. Do you think a band has the responsibility to make their own shows inclusive and safe?
Jay: Sure, I think the band sets the tone for shows. Our music is pretty serious but at shows we like to keep it silly and have a lot of fun being crazy and being ourselves, which I hope makes people feel open and let loose. That being said Facial is not for everybody, but all are welcome! Except Nazis.
Sam: I agree with Jay. While it is not the responsibility of the band to write music for everyone, it is everyone’s responsibility to promote an environment that is open to including anyone. When you have a stage of any kind that you can use to speak to others, it is your responsibility to set an example that does not promote hate. That goes for any stage, from a plywood platform in a dirty bar, to being the president of the USA.
I'm writing these questions in the wake of the shooting at the music festival in Las Vegas. There have been multiple terror attacks (domestic or otherwise) in the past couple of years that have happened at music events. I guess I'm wondering if, like me, you feel personally violated by these attacks since they've been on what normally feels like "our turf."
Jay: Certainly it hits close to home, and makes you think twice about going to any large events. but this fear it creates in us, its the only thing we actually have control over. I think we have to stare that fear in the eyes and tell it that we aren't scared and we won't cower. We will always congregate to experience live music together, no matter what. If you close off because of fear, you aren't open for life and love, then life isn't worth living. Then the terrorists win! Fuck that.
Cam: Of course, deeply violated, it’s disgusting and makes me fucking sick. But you start living in fear and the domestic terrorists win. It’s hard to go off about without getting into a gun control argument, which I’d rather not, so yeah, guess we’ll just wait for the next one huh? Fuck domestic terrorism. And fuck the media who won’t call it that.
I really like the video you made for Black Noise. Tell me about what it means to you and how you came up with the idea.
Jay: we came up with the idea with the director, Jack Mikesell. The idea transformed through many iterations, but to me its basically saying: no matter how much men think they are all powerful and no matter how impervious they think what they've built is, they will be put into the ground by a force much greater than them, i.e. mother nature (or strong women who take a stand together)
Sam: I also means that we are killer dancers
Do you guys like dancing? So often, I see dudes in their own music videos just standing around and looking cool or doing "tough guy" things. I really appreciate that you guys take a more active approach and aren't afraid to look weird or gross. Was it a challenge for you to push those boundaries?
Jay: I love to dance! I am definitely not interested in portraying a cool guy image. I feel when that image is exalted, everyone tries to act cool too but really just makes everybody more uptight and controlled. But when u set an example that is more loose and crazy, then it gives room for people to be that way as well. When i was a kid, though, I was terribly scared and embarrassed to do anything that might bring any attention or judgement to myself. I would never dance or sing or be loud at all. But now that’s pretty much all I do! iI was a really uncomfortable and long process for me to get to slowly break free, but now I dance and am wild and free.
Sam: There were definitely a few times before we shot the video, like while we were rehearsing the dance, where we were laughing, 'are we really gonna do this dance on video?'
Jay: But we did it, for all to see!
What art//film/books inspire you to play music?
Jay: I don't know if they inspire me to make music exactly, but stylistically I think Jean-Michel Basquiat and Cy Twombly capture the facial ethos pretty well. Primitive childlike abandon!!
Cam: I’m hugely inspired by David Lynch. His use of sound design blows my mind. Also his detached use of plot & mystery retools how I think a piece(whether a song, film, piece of art) is supposed to go. He throws out all the rules and just goes for raw human emotion, to me he’s kinda the musicians filmmaker.
I can definitely see the influence of all those artists on your music. They're all pretty wild and dark at times and as you said, Cam, none of them really play by the rules. And in fact! Have you listened to either Basquiat or Lynch's music? They're very similar in themes and use of sound design. Not really much of a question there.. just a fun observation. I wonder what Cy Twombly's band would sound like if he ever had one.
Cam: I love Lynch's sound design, his actual released music can be a little too odd for my tastes, though not always. That "American Women" remix he did for Twin Peaks was absolutely brilliant. He just took a modern rock song and slowed it down until it felt like Type O Negative, so dark and groovy.
Jay: I've heard Basquiat's band Gray and i really like it.
What are your hopes for the future of the band?
Jay: My only hope is that we get a weed sponsor, that would be great!
Cam: A weed sponsor is a good realistic goal. I gotta say, despite all the negative in the world, what a time to be alive for a weed smoker! West coast tours have never been stonier.
Sam: I’d like to see more people follow the Del Taco trend with their brilliant $1 milkshakes.
In what way, if any, has Los Angeles had a part of who you are as people and as a band?
Cam: It connected the dots for us in a lot of ways. The 3 of us are all NW born & raised but all moved down here to explore music.
Jay: It hass played a big part, inspiring songs like "Fashion Show" and "Unknown" on the new record, which are about the trappings of superficiality and the quest for fame, respectively. i think being in LA drives anybody who lives here a little nuts, which you can definitely hear in our music!
Sam: Not only does LA provide endless amazing content to inspire and irritate, but we have found a pretty amazing family of beautiful and creative people here who have pushed us along the way. Our label Chain Letter Collective, for example, has not only allowed us to get Facial out into the world, but have inspired us as people in this scene for years.
How would you describe the music scene in LA to someone who has never experienced it before?
Jay: That’s like trying to describe Los Angeles itself, its very complex and diverse and big. There are so many different things happening in so many different parts of town, and most things you will never experience because its just too vast of a city and because you are trapped in your own bubble. So you can't really pretend to know what its like just because you know what’s happening on the east side, but you have a better idea than someone in Montana.
Sam: It's also like TV, mostly full of things you definitely don't want to watch. but you find the few things you do like, focus on those, and block out everything else.
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A CONCISE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE
FLAVOR PROFILE: Earthen (nuts, especially almonds), Spices & Herbs (licorice, clove, pepper); Fruit & Flowers (sometimes even Colombia-like marshmallow); light body; requires careful fermentation, processing & sugaring to mollify inherent acidity & bitterness.
CHARACTERISTICS: Criollo relics largely replaced by hybrids of Amazon Amelonado & Calabacillo lineage, notably the Matina type brought up from Costa Rica, assuming the name Ceylan. Plants from Ecuador were also introduced. In the 1970s the government promoted breeding programs that further eroded Criollo stocks… a generalized mole of a genetic mix known as ‘Injerto’, literally ‘grafts’ but more accurately ‘scions’.
Debatable cradle of cacáo; indisputable historical legacy.
Though history is rarely cut & dry, always prone to newer discoveries in the future that may supplant older ones, archaeo-botanical evidence at Paso de la Amada in Xoconochco (Soconusco) Mexico points to the Mokaya (“People of the Corn” ironically) among the 1st to cultivate cacáo in the Initial Formative Period during the Barra Phase (1800-1400 BC), this according to Professor Rosemary Joyce of UC Berkeley (Personal Communication, May 2009).
Centuries later, traced thru a linguistic thread within the Mije-Sokean language family, the advanced terrace-building kingdom of the Yucatán Olmecas turned the pulp of the pod into a liquor, & prepared libations with it 3,000 years ago at La Venta. They were famed for colossal stone-head carvings & baby-face figurines, identified as the formative primogenitors of Mesoamerican civilization. Eventually the Mayans followed suit: cacáo depictions adorn their pottery used for chocolate drinking vessels in the ‘Classic Period’ dating to as early as 300 AD at Rio Azul (Guatemala; its Mayan name Sak Há Witznal meaning ‘Clear Water Mountain’). Fast-forward another thousand years, cacáo was a unifying force between geographically & linguistically diverse Mesoamerica (though not quite the cement that held it all together), whose reach extended close to the Panamanian isthmus all the way to Chaco Canyon, home to the Pueblo People known popularly as the Anasazi, in the current state of New Mexico USA. A tremendous area, over 2,000 miles, comprising a vast commercial emporium described by Prof. Steven Topik where silver, turquoise & critically salt from up north; gold, copper, & obsidian from down south; plus jaguar pelts, honey, rubber, seashells & tortoiseshell spoons from the coasts traveled to the central capital to be traded for ceramics, textiles & featherworks, including the spectacular Scarlet Macaw.
Amazingly, with the exception of tiny Cozumel island, the entire network operated with little coastal traffic or even much in the way of rivers because there are so few of them to tie together the far-flung populous. Nor were there any beasts of burden, or wheeled vehicles to carry the load. Steamships & the railroad were still centuries away from re-routing world geography, setting in motion a revolution in space, time, & trade. Instead, goods went overland on the backs of humans walking up & down the high-valleys deep inside the continent where people lived, separated by ruggedly precipitous ravines & mountain ranges scaling 12,000 feet, along steep slippery paths, some cut into crags, others crossing rope bridges to ford gorges where one misstep meant death. These couriers, called the pochteca, the FedEx of their day (when it absolutely positively had to be there), constituted an elite professional class specializing in commerce. They were granted privileges & exemptions including their own residential island of Tlateloco, for supplying market squares & enormous arcades that stunned foreigners. Tlateloco to the capital Tenochtitlán approximated the modern distinction between the official business of Washington DC versus the emporium & club culture inside Manhattan. Every bit the match & more for Gotham, it rolled with ravers deep past the night, singing & dancing well into sunrise, fueled by tobacco blunts, psilosybin mushrooms & goblets of cacáo.
Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a medieval Herodotus, wrote the monumental True History of the Conquest of New Spain, his eyewitness account about the very moment when the Old World met the New: “we went there to serve God & to get rich”. He went there as a Conquistadore-turned-chronicler. Fortunately for him the loot was incalculable. In the tiyanquiztli (marketplace) “we were astounded at the great number of people & quantities of merchandise, & at the orderliness & good arrangements that prevailed, for we had never seen such a thing before”… all at an exchange rate that appeared to be highly favorable to the Europeans: another Conquistadore, Juan de Grijalva, excited over gold, pearls & cacáo for 3 combs & a mirror. From the vendor’s view, he gave up just raw base materials. In his eyes, for instance, gold’s intrinsic value paled compared to its functionality in jewelry, crafts & art.
Díaz personally knew the principle figures, from Cortés & Hernandez to the Mexìcâ (Aztec) Emperor himself. He witnessed a Mexìcâ culture that put cacáo near the very center of its state ideology, exacting it as tribute for battlefield victories & alliance obligations after warriors drank it to steel themselves during combat, & a K’iche’ Mayan cosmology whose genesis myth from their sacred text, the Popol Vuh, sees in cacáo a precious elixir released from Paxil (‘Sustenence Mountain’) on which humans were first created & raised, placing it right between the ‘wild’ & ‘civilized’ spaces represented by Theobroma bicolor & maize respectively, in which a sip of chocolate became a sacramental act, & its sacred use to anoint children in a water-ceremony (a kind of baptismal ritual still in practice today called ki’n ha’); betrothal & marriage ceremonies (a dowry from the groom’s family to the bride’s); fertility & female imagery (cacáo’s oval-shaped fruit with longitudinal creases, some bearing red pigment, recall the vulva, plus its white interior pulp & the manner it hangs from the tree is suggestive of breasts); sexuality (the very act of preparing cacáo, almost invariably by women, was a social performance mimicking intercourse: pouring it from a height well off the ground to create a foamy beverage represented the phallus & the ensuing froth equaled orgasm, a sacred transformation parallel to floods of destruction & creation); royal lineage & mortuary offerings (to worship ancestors who sowed the first seeds in the world, illustrated on King Pakal’s sarcophagus at Palenque where his mother Queen Zac K’uk’ is depicted thru a cacáo tree); divination rites (during which the tlicitl or shaman clusters cacáo seeds in prime numbers of 1, 5, 7, 9, & 13); or embolden victims of human sacrificial rites because it was thought of as the bleeding of the Earth & an oblation made from cacáo pods & seeds (called puyulcha, literally “sacrifice”) symbolized the human heart & blood – fluid & coursing with a life-infusing elixir. Eerily similar to the Christian Eucharist & the liturgy of that sacrifice. Indeed, during the 1500s chocolate infiltrated the Mass when Friar Toribio de Benavente (”Motolinia” or the Humble One) consecrated it the ultimate comfort food to replace wine for euphoric communicants.
Chocolate held such revered status that it presented the perfect foil for poison. Mesoamericans concocted turkey wattle served to unsuspecting victims. And the Spanish ladies of Chiapas doctored it to murder their bishop.
(Above) Mayan Wayob (Cosmic Dreaming) or merely an Ancient Astronaut? The lid of Pakal’s sarcophagus (color reproduction on the left; original on the right) depicts him reposed in the doorway of death on top the earth water monster. Below him the open jaws of a jaguar symbolize his descent into the maws of Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. Above the Celestial Bird (Vucub-Caquix?) horizontally perched atop the Cosmic World Tree / Axis Mundi (the 4-directional cross yax imix che) which, in turn, holds a becephalous Vision Serpent in its branches guiding Pakal’s voyage across the liminal zones: the heavens above & the underworld below / the physical universe & the spirit realm of ancestors. An alien view fascinated upon by astro-theororists sees in it evidence of celestial visitation & mythological intelligence with Pakal a time-traveler from the future at the controls of a rocket ship complete with respiratory mask, foot pedals & an exhaust engine worthy of von Däniken’s Chariot of the Gods launching for a wormhole… a blastoff whose very decibels composed the Baroque “Pakalbel’s” Canon!
(Below) Bas-relief of Queen Zac K’uk’ reborn via a cacáo tree on the North End of her son King Pakal’s sarcophagus (left); mirror image (right) drawn by Merle Greene Robertson
Dissertations have been written, most notably by University of London pharmacists Johanna Kufer & Michael Heinrich, on the structuring of the universe in complementary paired opposites as the central principle underlying Mesoamerican cosmology. In that dualistic universe, cacáo & maize symbolically mirror & mutually depend on each other from opposite ends of the spectrum. Their multivalent properties include –
— Color: Black & White… white maize is considered the most sanctimonious, as is the darkest, almost-black cacáo;
— Directional Movement: both are referred to in Spanish as mazorcas (‘cobs’ in English) but corn grows upward with its grains on the outside of the cob while cacáo hangs down & its seeds are embedded inside a pod;
— Sun vs. Shade: maize thrives in sunshine; cacáo in shadowy forests;
— Gender Associations: cacáo is generally viewed with the feminine, identified with darkness, night, the earth & moon, & female deities covering springs & waterholes as well as the wet seasons of the year; maize on the other hand relates to the sun, daylight, sky, & male rain gods.
Taken together, this reverence & value that Mesoamericans attached to cacáo help explain why it eventually became their currency.
Ek’ Chuwah, the god associated with travel, trade, & cacáo merchants, cavorting with the maize god while 4 supernaturals above cut their ears to give blood to cacáo pods (from the Madrid Codex)
The traditional importance of cacáo is difficult to exaggerate for reasons of physiology as much as cosmology. It was one of the few stimulants widely available in Mesoamerica (leaving aside hallucinogenic plants – peyote, psilocybin, datura, & morning glories), unlike South Americans who had easy access to a greater array of options from yerba mate to guaraná & coca (cocaine). Mayans so revered it that in the Yucatán, where scant rainfall & poor soil make growing it nearly impossible, they developed complex silviculture, setting cacáo trees in soil-rich sinkholes called aguadas & subterranean cenoté pools that form when mildly acidic rain falls on the karst topography & seeps in to dissolve the limestone, creating damp caves. Bishop Landa described these micro-environments as “sacred groves” because the Maya considered them real-world portals / pathways known as sacbes (meaning ‘white roads’) into the center of the Earth that pass through the “Jaws of the Underworld” (to the lords of Xibalbá, with Hun-Came the most pre-eminent), a spirit highway via which the dead would travel in a larger saga of death & rebirth, further reinforcing cacáo’s symbolic associations with darkness, moisture, & the feminine. Some of these were located nearby to where Cortés initially made landfall at Vera Cruz before his storied march on the flourishing Mexìcâ (Aztec) capital at Tenochtitlán, the advanced municipality & largest city in the Americas, which conquistadores marveled was of unimagined landscaping & civil engineering, as large & grand as Europe’s finest at the time – Paris, Venice, & Constantinople.Diaz recounted: And when we saw it built on the water from that straight & level causeway leading in, we were astounded…buildings rising from the water, all made of stone, seemed an enchanted vision…Our soldiers asked whether it was not all a dream… too wonderful that I don’t know how to describe this first glimpse of things never heard, seen, or dreamed before.
Tenochtitlán – city plan (above); sacred plaza (below)
Constructed on an island in Lake Texcoco, upwards of a quarter million enjoyed the city’s unique system of lake agriculture known as chinampas, interlaced with tlaxilcalli (streets wide enough for 10 horses) & canals so that all sections of the city could be traversed either on foot or via canoe. As Diaz further noted, Tenochtitlán connected to the mainland by causeways leading north, south, & west that were interspersed with bridges for canoes to pass freely. These bridges could be pulled away if necessary to defend a city where universal education was the rule, where citizens bathed twice a day (in the Emperor’s 100 room palace, each had a bath), & ladies-of-the-night came free of charge. And at the center stood the sacred precinct, including the Huey Teocalli (Great Temple) pyramid to the Mexìcâ gods Tlaloc & Huitzilopochtli. At the base was the Hueyi Tzompantli (an abacas of a skull-rack) holding 60,000+ heads decapitated during mortuary rituals.
Close-up of the twin temples atop the Huey Teocalli (Great Temple) Pyramid (above). One dedicated to the rain god Tlaloc (left; image from Codex Rios); the other to Huitzilopochtli, god of war (right; image Codex Telleriano-Remensis). Approximately 30 meters / 90 feet in height, plus braziers in which sacred fires burned continuously. Balustrades flanked each stairway taken only by priests & sacrificial victims that terminated in menacing serpent heads at the base. It is thought that during the equinox, the sun rose between the shrines & shone directly on another temple (in the immediate foreground) to the plumed serpent god Quetzalcoatl.
Along one of those causeways on November 8, 1519, Cortés met Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin (Moctezuma II; the Emperor addressed in his own culture as Tlatoani for ‘great one who speaks’), when two worlds collided after the men toasted each other with a frothy ceremonial draft of… one would imagine… cacáo, for customary protocol at the Mexìcâ court called for royal fanfare to welcome dignitaries with water for washing hands, a goblet of cacáo for settinggood mood & conversation, the relaxing effects of tobacco tubes as a sign of friendship which Einstein would later observe contributes to “objective judgement in all human affairs”. Plus, uplifting flowers.
This summit triggered the Colombian Exchange, coined by Alfred Crosby, in which the East & West hemispheres would eventually trade everything from crops, animals, manufactured goods, disease, ideas, & culture. Any hoped-for friendship lasted less than 8 months with an empire practically demoralized in a single night – La Noche Triste – on July 1, 1520, a ferocious all-night battle which forced Cortés’ withdrawal from the city, only to return the next summer to demolish it for good during the same season that the Edict of Worms declared Martin Luther an outlaw & a heretic back in Europe, unleashing the Counter-Reformation – the Church’s response to his heresy that would also impact aboriginal Americans a world away.
(above) Miguel González’ rendition of Cortés meeting Motecuhzoma (painted in 1698); (below) Monument commemorating the event along the causeway on which it took place in present-day Mexico City
Exotic & foreign on the one hand (the naturally naked standing toe-to-toe with the coarsely clothed; those with war paint face-to-face with those who wore beards; people living within the rhythms of the Earth versus the techno-bent who believed in domain over it), while on the other their summit was hardly strange at all, especially from the vantage point of the Spanish conquistadores, if only for the reason that current world literature & scholarship knows more about the European than the Mesoamerican experience.
Whatever the Spaniards failed to grasp linguistically during the initial encounter due to language barriers (which they rapidly overcame starting with translators La Malinche/La Chingada, a young enslaved native woman, & Fr. Gerónimo de Aguilar who learned Mayan in captivity prior to Cortés’ march) they compensated for with an intuitive knowledge honed in their own earlier epic of the brutal Reconquista (Reconquest) against a tribally fragmenting Islam, a Zeno-worthy conquest of a thousand battles, sieges & twisted protection plots that led to the rise & fall of the Muslim Caliphate at al-Andalus on their own soil back home over the course of 3 centuries, which served as a dress rehearsal of sorts for this momentous event. The Codex Mendoza, a near-contemporaneous history, most likely commissioned by the eponymous Antonio de Mendoza – the first viceroy of New Spain — is a prime example of “auto-ethnography” with images by indigene scribes, of colonial collaborators (Spanish annotation), for the benefit of outsiders. It uses the term mezquita (Spanish for ‘mosque’) to describe Aztec teocallis (temples), so demonstrating the degree to which Spaniards viewed their encounters with Amerinds within a framework shaped by their prior one with the Arab world. That is, once Ferdinand & Isabel got around to giving Cristobal Colón (Columbus) the monies needed for his three ships on their wild overseas venture in the same year (1492) that they also vanquished the Moorish kingdom of Granada & took possession of the legendary Alhambra palaces & gardens, thus ending almost 800 years of Muslim rule on the Iberian peninsula. (Catholic Kings also expelled Sephardic Jews from Spain in that year for good measure.) All the revolutionary energies that fueled the liberation of the newly united kingdoms at Castilla & Aragon, now fused together as a triumphant new nation-state known as España (Spain), & were freed up from the task of getting rid of the hated Saracens (Muslims) from their fanatically Catholic lands, & so driven by crusading zeal & conviction in providential destiny had only one place to go… Orbe Novo / El Mundo Nuevo.
The equivalent of our ‘go West, young man’ & apt parallels between America’s post-WWII experience. Particularly a young bold & fresh leader challenging a nation “before this decade is out”… we went to the moon; they came to the New World.
Indeed, the settlement process & policies that led to Spain colonizing the Americas originated in the Reconquista. Specifically, the Capitulación: a formalized ordinance used to full effect in organizing whole continents based on land grants to conquistadores for territory they conquered, & privileges to suit (titled positions such as Gobernador or Capitan General).
Picking up & deciphering gestures, psychic cues, & semiotic signals became part of the Spanish conquerors’ socio-political DNA enabling them to negotiate across cultures, vividly embodied in the legend of La Malinche, whose upbringing is thought to be that of a noble, trained for Amerindian court life. If true, Cortés may very well have sensed that her loyalty would be expected thru a marriage alliance between elite classes, even one as foreign as his; that her primary allegiance would be to assist her husband achieve his military & diplomatic objectives.
In many respects the Spanish were indeed the most sensuous of European colonizers, accepting of & to a large degree wedded to miscegenation, quite unlike the Dutch, English & French, at least during the latter stages of their colonial adventures when they became Social Darwinists in their sexual appetites. (Indeed, the great-grandson of Moctezuma II, Pedro Tesifón, was titled Count Moctezuma de Tultengo in 1627 to become part of Spanish nobility.)
So naturally, Cortés ‘goes native’… & had an affair with her & a son too (Don Martin Cortés – “El Mestizo”, the first known Mestizaje, mixing Amerinds with Europeans) before marrying her off to one of his officers, Juan Jaramillo.
The legend of Gonzalo Guerrero, the shipwrecked sailor whom earlier the Chactemàal Maya enslaved then rehabilitated into their own military captain, says he married a Mayan noble, Zazil Há, thought by most to be the parents to the very first Mestizaje children.
Whatever the precise circumstance, Mestizaje created the conditions for a form of colonization that eventually went both ways, with memes flying back & forth across the Atlantic as narrated by historian Marcy Norton in her book on chocolate – Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures.
Though his name roughly translates into “young angry lord”, Motecuhzoma’s gentle nature failed to correspond to his grand moniker. Somewhat an effete, he was more a scholar than a warrior, drawn to the nature of botany for its beauty & medicinal benefits rather than to military affairs. He instituted, for instance, a royal botanical garden emulating the mythical lands of the gods at Huaxtepec in Morelos to clinically research plants. He also had an aquarium & two zoos at his palace in Tenochtitlán. These interests proved his undoing.
He honored his foreign guests with flowers from his own garden – the ultimate gesture for the Mexìcâ (Aztec) culture. According to the Franciscan missionary Bernardino de Sahagún (whose original brief was to distinguish between genuine converts to Christianity versus indigenes faking it to disguise their pagan substratum, but ended up launching field ethnography instead with his tome The General History of the Things of New Spain [The Florentine Codex]), Motecuhzoma showered the Spaniards with gifts, then more gifts – even gold – naively hoping it would send them away. A partial inventory of presents listed in the Carta de Veracruz received from him shows
2 collars of gold & precious stones;
100 oz. of gold ore that the Spanish Highnesses might see in what state the gold came from the mines;
2 birds of green thread & feather-work, with feet, beaks, & eyes of gold;
1 large wheel of pure silver; another of gold with figures of animals on it weighing 3,800 oz!;
1 fan of variegated feather-work splaying 37 rods embossed in gold plate;
16 shields of precious stones, with feathers of various colors hanging from their rims; 6 other shields, each covered in gold plate with what resembles a golden miter in the center.
Much as this went on to be smelted which, for the Aztecs, was incomprehensible. The thought of destroying precious crafts & arts to melt them down for their baser metal – even gold or silver – would be tantamount to scraping the canvas of the Mona Lisa for its paint. It just wasn’t the done thing.
Their appetites whetted, Cortés, the craftier Spanish leader, just 34 years of age, possessed an avaricious one of limitless proportions. He was a run-a-wreck, a renegade captain violating orders of his commission established back in Cuba by then-governor Diego Velásquez. Intuitively & then some he sensed in Motecuhzoma, 55, the opposite of his own greedy nature, & devoured him like vulnerable prey. In a little understood drama, the guest somehow took the host hostage. Within weeks, Moctezuma became a prisoner in his own palace & placed under house arrest by Cortés.
Cortés seemingly benefited by having arrived, according to Sahagún, at the right propitious moment. Beneath the glibly interpreted accounts of the Emperor taking 50 golden goblets of cacáo to fortify himself for a hard night in the harem (if so, he’d be in the bathroom all night instead of bed), Motecuhzoma had been studiously reading signs & omens. A string of events unfolded into a confabulation of woes: a comet had recently appeared during daylight hours; Tenochtitlán flooded; the Huey Teocalli (Great Temple) to the god of gods caught fire (an occurrence that was tantamount to the end of the world in Mexìcâ (Aztec) mythology, for unless the gods, having sacrificed themselves to create the world, could be propitiated with a fungible payment-in-kind via sacrificial rites or offered the sacred substance of precious blood that could breakthrough the celestial barriers, the solar orb would extinguish, a critical fact as Sophie Coe writes, that formed their raison d’être of self-sacrifice – not blood lust, cruelty, nor a death wish per se, even granting that the Mexìcâ (Aztecs) were a highly militaristic-warrior society in which upward mobility occurred only thru aggressive warfare but “a fear lest the world & the life on it should perish”… so they kindled fire to keep it going; no excuse, just an explanation.
Admittedly, the gods must’ve been terribly thirsty for blood.
Blood, & by extension the still-beating heart, renewed a connection with the sacred that seemed essential to the very existence of the natural order. Rubbing sacrificial blood on idols ensouled them to operate in a literal transubstantiation, rather than symbolic transformation, on which the fate of the world & its inhabitants depended. In the K’iche’ epic Popul Vuh, after the first people were created, they gathered at Tollan, a mythical Place of 7 Caves, to receive their language & gods. There the K’iche’ accepted a Holy Trinity (Awilix, Jacawitz & Tohil). Tohil (aka God K; forerunner to the Aztec’s Quetzalcoatl) then demanded blood sacrifice of them, likening blood consumption to the suckling of an infant by its mother. So the K’iche’ offered their own as well as that of POWs captured in battle. That fulfilled the covenant just as the blood of Christ’s crucifixion formed a ‘New Covenant’ for Christians. Both archaic acts should be viewed within this framework.
The counter-story that brushes aside any excess of PC cultural-relativism: dedication for the 6th temple expansion in 1487 witnessed a procession of 20,000 or more bleeding souls, ordered by Emperor Ahuizotl marched up the towering pyramid rising from the valley & silhouetted by the mountains beyond, its steep balustrades flanked with menacing serpents to the grand platform, atop which ‘priests plunged obsidian knives decorated with eyes & teeth called “face blades” into prone victims, ripped them out to slit their throats, then reached back in to sever still-beating hearts that would be retrieved & held aloft, offered up in the braziers burning the sacred fire as if with so much hot chili sauce’. By the end, a river of blood ran down the steps to bathe the plaza below thicker than a slaughter-house. For war captives the ordeal went furthermore: decapitated, then limbs chopped off &, finally, body parts cast from the temple chambers to lie, perhaps, on the Coyolxauhqui stone — the daughter of Earth mother Coatlicue – herself dismembered by her offspring, the war-god Huitzilpochtli.
Human or inhumane sacrifice? Suffering a massive heart attack on the temple’s throbbing steps of doom. (From the Codex Magliabechian, 16th century)
Most ominously, centuries earlier the prophet Huemac predicted the coming of the plumed-serpent Quetzalcoatl on the very date Cortés came ashore. Whether true apotheosis or simply apocryphal, the narrative in the West has it that when Motecuhzoma’s emissary relayed the tale of this otherworldly white creature sailing in on a fleet of ships the size of floating cities, whom his hosts would present to the court dressed in feathers for the occasion, the Emperor was supposedly duped into believing Quetzalcoatl himself had arrived.
Ethno-historian Matthew Restall argues against this Quetzalcoatl-Cortés connection in 7 Myths of the Spanish Conquest. If the saga related to Gonzalo Guerrero holds true, he presumably told his Maya friends & family that Spaniards suffer death like other men. Upon meeting Cortés, Motecuhzoma reportedly lifted his shirt displaying the abdomen, saying, “I am mortal blood as you are mortal blood.” Countering his thesis, however, the Hopis of the American Southwest, thought to have had links with the Mexìcâ (Aztec) to their south (evidenced by the Hopi plumed-serpent named Awanyu), tell of a similar legend conflating the deity Pahana with a “lost white brother” who shall return, perhaps pointing to a common root of the Quetzalcoatl-Cortés connection.
This forms part of a wider, more trenchant revision of the Contact Period. The abridged version acknowledges that the Spanish Empire stood unique in its vast inland & maritime reach. It was driven by a combination of providential zeal on the part of the clergy trolling for souls, & racial animus from secular Conquistadors who fervently followed the literary ethos of the day – gallantry, valor, service to the crown… basically Don Quixote meets the modern comic book superhero in the way that, say, Hippies fell under the spell of the Beats, carrying Kerouac’s On the Road wherever they went, & listening to Ginsberg’s Howl while animated on LSD.
Whatever may be the ultimate verdict on ‘La Leyenda Negra y Blanco’ (the good vs. evil agenda of Spanish history), it’s indisputable that these men possessed wicked prowess reinforced by a broad cross-section of Iberian society: they rapidly swallowed up 2 of the most dynamic empires in the history of the world – Mexìcâ (Aztec) in Mesoamerica & Inca in South America. Most of the main characters whose storied careers would impact history during the next couple decades came over on the Transatlantic voyage under the command of Ovando in 1502, all part of a 30 ship / 2,500 person convey – the largest of its kind up ‘til then. All except the primary protagonist – Cortés – who literally missed the boat he was scheduled to be on because he was bedding down a woman just as the ships sailed off. Other than those types of happenstance, the Spanish enterprise in the Americas bears the foresight of a mission with a plan. Their eventual exploits were rather pre-designed, ruthlessly executed & thoroughly systemized. Right timing & good luck then made it all seem destined.
Several modern academics, including some native descendants among them, seek to lay waste to the Conquistador legends as mere fallacies concocted by Europeans, in a form of the oppressed rapping back. Their alternate history holds that the Mexìcâs were not susceptible to omens; that dressing guests in divine guises was a habit of hospitality; that the iconographic record depicts Motecuhzoma as aggressive & viral rather than some cowering effete (after all, he did expand the empire to its maximal size thru war); &, finally, his infamous speech in which he purportedly volunteers to hand over his throne to Cortés, abides by a native tradition of speaking diametrical to what one means or intends because politeness is the true form of dominance & superiority! Or just a form of diplomatic sarcasm?
Though this sounds ludicrous on the face of it, the field research of Virginia Davis in the 1970s for her dissertation studying Lacandon Maya may suggest otherwise: a practice of ‘reverse meanings’ that seems rooted in pre-Columbian traditions, in sacred contexts where objects/symbols reverse their meaning when moving between the polarity of earthly & ethereal planes. If true, this too would give weight to a possible Quetzalcoatl-Cortés identification.
Moreover, Quetzalcoatl is intertwined with a mytho-historicist figure Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl (Our Prince One-Reed Feathered Serpent). Topiltzin supposedly emerged from Tollan in the west as leader of the Toltecs. He would some day return, the prophecy goes, from the opposite direction, after having been banished to Tlillan-Tlapallan in the east — where he transformed into the Morning Star (Venus) by burning himself. If nothing else, in tracing their lineage & basing their legitimacy on this figure, the Mexìcâ left themselves vulnerable in the eyes of those whom they subjugated. They spent a few centuries convincing subjects, allies, vassals, neighbors, sworn enemies – basically everybody – that they, the anointed Mexìcâ, were his almighty sole heirs. The whole machinery of human offerings, including child sacrifice, along with wars waged, was caught up in him. They made believers out of them… some die-hard, others of make-belief… just as in the USA Americans buy into the notion of ‘land of the free / home of the brave’ to varying degrees (occasionally dependent on the size of one’s bank or the hoped-for stake in the dream lottery). Just the perception of a challenge, let alone confirmation of one that succeeded, undermined the entire system for either would make the Mexìcâ dispensable. That conquistadores sailed in from the east, appeared white & looked exotically dressed (or at least unusual), fit the bill enough to expose the Mexìcâ as frauds. Therein lies a source of both insecurity & intimidation.
Leyenda Blanco scholars have their own revisionism on the fall of the Mexìcâs & Incas, discounting the importance of technology & disease, & contrary to the conventions of Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond. They reason that gunpowder alone would be insufficient to subdue a whole population enjoying the advantages of staggering numerical superiority. Indigenes were not the only ones, after all, vulnerable to foreign disease. Conquistadors were too, being completely alien to the territory, having to contend with even greater physical obstacles & psychological dislocation. In one narrow example, over half of Orellana’s 1542 Expedition was wiped out by the elements.
Veracity is difficult to ascertain amidst confusing & contradictory tales that presumably unfolded since Motechzoma & Cortés’ initial meeting. Such as Cortés ordering a halt to human sacrifice & Motecuhzoma supposedly obliged & scrubbed the blood-stained steps of the temple. Images of Mexîcá gods were replaced by Christian ones. And Motecuhzoma, we’re outlandishly told, agreed to baptism & even declared himself a subject of Charles I of Spain.
Then on the night of the Massacre in the Main Temple, May 10, 1520, Pedro de Alvarado ordered an attack – while Cortés was away – on prominent Mexîcá celebrating Toxcatl (in honor of the dreaded deity Tezcatlipoca or “Smoking Mirror” thanks to a mirror that gave off smoke to kill enemies), claiming they were conducting human sacrifice (traditional for this feast). The Mexîcà blame Spanish greed upon seeing the upper class wearing gold the aliens wanted. In a scene reminiscent to Capone locking the doors at an “Untouchables” banquet, upwards of 1,000 lay stabbed, butchered, & slaughtered to death in the aftermath. During the ensuing revolt the Mexîcà appointed Motecuhzoma’s younger brother – Cuitlàhuac – as the new king, leaving the former emperor captive to the Spanish who used him as a bargaining chip to assure their security on foreign soil.
Less than 2 months later on the La Noche Triste he was put upon by his captors to urge calm, only to be stoned by his own.
The whole drama raises the specter of a post-conquest fabrication or rationale by Mexîcà looking for a scapegoat for their defeat, & this version of Motecuhzoma fits the bill. In any event, it enjoins the quip about the difficult time history has with predicting the past, let alone informing about the future.
If none of this seems entirely plausible, what then accounts for such a spectacular collapse? Historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto offers an admixture to reconcile the opposing benign & malignant views, of shifting internecine conflicts & a negotiated free-association between certain aboriginal groups & the Spanish, in order to replace one elite group with another, the most documented being the Tlaxcala (longtime foes of the Mexìcâ, turned new allies of the Spaniards) under the maxim ‘the enemy of my enemy…’ A challenge to current analysis is Fernandez-Armesto’s ‘stranger effect’ – the counterintuitive propensity to welcome the stranger, endowed with the allure of the exotic, embodying both menace & mystique. Showing benevolence toward & conferring power to it even operates down to the level of sexual attraction. In short, the “Other” gets won over by a variety of seductions – coercive & cooperative – the modern equivalent of celeb culture, which should be clearly understandable in university linguistic, gender, & ethnic studies departments that award Ph.Ds for dissertations on subjects from pop singers to TV idols. The film The Black Robe, for instance, makes the early Caucasians in the Americas seem exotic. In a world turning ever more bronze, blondes could come back into a similar vogue.
Fernandez-Armesto finds support by the role of spiritual beliefs exchanged in Mesoamerica. When European priests & monks first encountered the New World, they were confounded by what they viewed as ‘native pagans’. Sure, the Spanish victors overlay their colonial regime atop the substratum of existing indigenous society in more than just a vain attempt to consolidate power & bury the vanquished (for instance Mexico City sits above the ruins of Tenochtitlán & the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Ascension is built with the bricks of the demolished Huey Teocalli [Great Temple]). To bridge the gap & win over ‘hearts ‘n minds’, they re-developed medieval solar symbolism, theologically releasing the message of the Christ Light in the form of sun rays to appear as 3 potencias, or powers of the soul – memory, understanding, & will – because it strangely corresponded to a Mesoamerican “trinity” of vital energies associated, to cite just one example, with the Maize God: a) tonalli, linked to the head & perception; b) teyolia – the heart & consciousness; & c) ihiyotl, linked to the liver & strong emotions. The result is the sunburst monstrances of the Christian Eucharist which originated in New Spain (Mexico), among the first imports from the New World which amply illustrates the meeting of the cultures was/is a 2-lane highway over which Amerindians received & accepted Jesus Christ, whose name they pronounced Xhu Xho, for who he was: a transcultural icon prophesizing eternal salvation (with equal access to all based on morality rather than the celestial afterlife of a native belief system that was segregated by social class) & identified as a latter-day Maize God – Ixim/Ixi’im – which in turn is associated with the Axis Mundi / World Tree, depicted in the iconography as the ceiba tree (at Palenque it coincidentally takes a cruciform shape), synonymous with resurrection & ascendance, an end to darkness & chaos on Earth, & cacáo’s privileged relationship to it explored (see above) as maize’s complementary opposite, symbolizing female principles of transformation & re-birth (echoed by Nietzsche that Jesus was the most feminine of prophets), especially having once sheltered Christ from his enemies by covering him in white blossoms. In gratitude –
While nailed to the cross, Jesus miraculously turned around completely, exposing his back, & from his back came maize… (he) descended from the tree & lay down in its shade. Then he blessed the tree that it might serve for cacao. Instantly there was cacao. (”Folk Tales in Chichicastenango”, Sol Tax, 1949)
Christ having been crucified on a tree only naturally would be re-born from one in the cycle of life/death/re-birth. So churches were built that stand to this day of a syncretic quality.
Elements of imagery & symbols from Mixtec & Zapotec religious & cultural traditions can be found along with standard Biblical scenes in both the murals & the architecture of the 16th Century Convento of Santiago Apostol at Cuilapan, Oaxaca. Art & Evangelization by Sara Morasch Taylor describes how blending spiritual traditions of both Mesoamerica & Europe eased conversion, allowing indigenes to recognize similarities & compatibilities between the old & new faiths so that there would be gradual acceptance & acculturation. One obvious display can be seen in the large atrium modeled on the great Pre-Columbian teocallis or sacred precincts. Other examples include a crucifixion mural on the sacristy wall of the basilica, depicting Christ amidst not scenery of Golgotha but of local geography surrounding Cuilapan. Processional corridors allude further to ancient rituals & cosmogonies of the Mixtecs.
Once inside these religious variants, only a few steps more lead to transforming sacrificial receptacles known as cuauhxicalli – literally “eagle basins” – into baptismal fonts, substituting the Virgin Mary for the mother goddess Coatlicue, & the Christ of the Cacáo chapel inside the Cathedral of Mexico City; the consumption of cacáo during Semana Santa leading up to Easter; or the contemporary doctrine of liberation theology in what scholar Manuel Aquilar melds into the concept of an “Indian Jerusalem”.
Further implied is that the new converts took to the sacrament of the Eucharist with ‘anthropophagic reason’, part of a tradition, particularly in South America, for ingesting & recycling the ‘Other’ while stirring up age-old debates back in Europe surrounding Holy Communion & cannibalism.
Fernando Cervantes, author of Devil in the New World, has reviewed this history & its texts, writing that most immigrants arriving in Spanish America had no qualms about deferring to the superior knowledge of native leaders with respect to the physical environment as well as local spiritual forces. Such concessions were readily made by mendicant friars themselves – Franciscans, Dominicans, & Augustinians – who embraced & gradually reduced to order a number of conflicting systems, instilling in the natives an image of Christianity as a new power filled with spiritual forces that trumped the nature spirits of local religious systems, but acceptably similar to their existing world view.
Jaime Lara’s Christian Texts for Aztecs, and City, Temple, Stage explains the importance of “the liturgical imagination” of the mendicants, showing that “worship had a more profound impact on the emerging societies than politics”. He brings the saga full circle in completing Sahagún’s original mission by contending that the indigenous brand of Christianity to emerge from this interaction was neither a surrendering to conquest nor a covert survival of pre-Columbian paganism. Rather, an interaction using “metaphors, symbols, & values of the peoples of Mesoamerica” to create a “rich transfusion of the message into the very blood of a sophisticated culture”.
Scala Naturae – The Great Chain of Being by Diego Valadés (1579); a syncretic blend of Christian & Mesoamerican cosmogony (note cacáo tree shaded by the mother-cacáo at the very center of the arborium disc toward the base)
Finally, a cold economic calculus: was Mayan money in the form of cacáo, which became Mexìcâ money, more akin to the Chinese tribute system during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), seeing the pochteca (or cacáo merchants) as state bureaucrats licensed to trade in an elaborate statecraft designed around power politics more than profits? If so, would that make the State especially vulnerable?
Kenneth Pomeranz & Steven Topik in The World That Trade Created have themselves created a rather novel inference about Mesoamerican commerce being extensive & well-developed but short of truly liberalizing. By the time the Spanish arrived, cacáo circulating as money was in its relative infancy, as was the notion of private property. Commerce being an extension of the state meant the pochteca were government officials whose goods they supplied were a tribute exacted thru the threat of force or the actual use of it. As such, the system became dependent on the political empire it served.
Force therefore acted as the cohesive glue that held the center together. Once the head of the Empire was decapitated, this economic (& military) theory goes, ‘the center cannot hold’ to borrow Yeats, & the whole system collapses.
Conversely, no single political center existed in the Maya lands that, once overthrown, would hasten the end of their collective resistance. Instead, the conquistadores were forced to subdue the numerous independent Maya cities one by one, many of which kept up a fierce fight until 1697.
Records document that as a unit of accounting & medium of exchange, cacáo was used for purchasing everyday goods in the markets beyond tribute to the Emperor. Sumptuary laws regulated it but only somewhat. Whether they hindered the utilization of cocoa beans as small change outside Highland Mexico where the capital was located is questionable. Whatever the public policy, the reality of the de facto private practice probably made it unenforceable.
So, a combination of both a tribute system & a commerce currency operated. Intercepting this network, & capitalizing on cacáo’s function within it, amounts to yet one node, however important, for seizing control. Marcy Norton echos this in Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures: “The colonizers’ immediate ability to profit from the conquest depended on their usurpation & maintenance of the tribute system organized by the Aztec rulers. Thus it was to their advantage to maintain the existing commodity production, and, in fact, cacao production expanded under Spanish rule”.
Spanish conquistadors took advantage of the Mexîcà’s cacáo trade &, in the Wall Street vernacular, they leveraged it.
First, they raided Montecuzuma’s warehouse to purchase whatever they needed & wanted in the internal market.
Then they seized upon the accounting records kept by the Mexîcà to install their new administration. A wealth of info, these ledgers detailed a very centralized Mesoamerican society despite vast lands & diverse clans. The empire contained no private property per se – land was communal by neighborhood, commoners were tenant farmers. Certain parcels were designated royal plots, cultivated for tribute to the Emperor.
Finally, the Conquistadores set up the Encomienda upon existing systems already in place. Derived from the Spanish word “to entrust”, encomenderos or Spanish landlords never technically owned the land on which locals lived. Property remained in the possession of Amerindians. Since land was communal & the Spanish replaced the Mexîcà at the head of a central organization, privileges transferred almost wholesale where commandeering the tribute network converted to power.
Aborigines posed the key to this arrangement as much as any resources – be they cacáo, corn or otherwise – because the Spanish themselves generally loathed manual labor preferring their cocoa ala ‘Chocolate Royale’, thank you… without all the sweat, please. For that, locals came in handy, assigned to do all the work.
In addition to their “go native” strategy – interbreeding for mestizos – the encomienda system also weakened resistance to them. Strongly based on ethnic ascription, mixed-race individuals stood exempt from it. This moved many Amerindians to deliberately dilute their ancestral identity as a way to escape service, seeking intermarriage with Spaniards or Creoles. On the downside, this in turn diminished the pool of laborers. Ditto diseases ranging from small pox, influenza, & measles that decimated & demoralized the population.
Faced with this dynamic, the arrived-at solution compounded the crime, turning uglier still: the Middle Passage, a grisly slave triangle uniting African Kingship, Arab traders, & European shipping.
Inadvertently, the Conquistadores practiced a rather Eastern Martial Arts approach borrowed right from Sun-tzu: Victorious warriors win 1st & then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war 1st & then seek to win. The total combination of events & actions meant they hardly needed to fire a shot (though they certainly got off many rounds) & yet with so few men & forces they dominated an entire continent, basically half the world. As a currency throughout Mesoamerica, cacáo’s net worth proved incalculable in helping them control the internal economy then & there.
How much direct wealth it brought in is a question literally for bean counters: accountants. To keep track of the fortune, Queen Isabella, who financed Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas, founded La Casa de Contratación in 1503. Charged with enforcing the monopoly Spain sought to exert over its New World riches, La Casa controlled trade in a classic mercantilist system from its headquarters in Séville thru designated ports along the ‘Spanish Main’ – basically the coastlines of Central America & northern South America.
La Casa de Contratación licensed all ships & captains, each requiring a clerk onboard solely to maintain detailed logs of every transaction & all goods carried. It collected all colonial taxes & duties, approved every voyage of exploration & trade, as well as administered commercial law. It kept secret information on trade routes & new discoveries, updating the highly classified Padrón Real map – a composite of many cartographers & missions, much like a Da Vinci Code or cells in an underground organization unaware of the existence, let alone movements, of other ships’ captains. The map’s Pilot Major: none other than Amerigo Vespucci, from whom America received its name. In theory, no Spaniard sailed anywhere without its approval. So restrictive, La Casa de Contratación even discouraged trade between the colonies, which afforded it to command premium prices paid by colonists for manufactured goods it sold to them. Smuggling naturally took place in such a vast enterprise… to avoid the Quinto Real (the royal 20% tax) levied on all goods entering Spain.
Because of all the black-market action, cacáo’s net worth to the Spanish Empire’s treasury may never be fully tabulated. Inestimable is probably the best guesstimate, especially when calculating that it was the means by which the Empire bought time to an even bigger ATM machine: silver… in Zacatecas (Mexico), then later & much larger in Potosi (Bolivia). Silver would become the currency for the whole emerging global economy. Even so, once those mines were tapped out, cacáo kept on giving… as both a cash crop (the Crown eventually slapped a “vice-tax” on it) & a marker of cultural ‘cool’. Just as America exports entertainment today, cacáo served as emblematic of the Spanish Empire, for in the words of Don Beto, Padrino (Godfather), Ch’ orti’ Mayan, “there’s hardly a cooler thing than cacáo”.
The combined effects of cacáo, tobacco, silver & gold so changed Spain that they infected her with ‘things Indiano’, broadened her horizons in language, culture, cuisine, wealth & power. Some would argue further how Mesoamericans avenged the Europeans with chocolate addiction & tobacco cancer – to name but 2 substances from the New World – told in the ‘Virtue on the Hill’ called Culhuacan where the goddess Coatlicue (“Serpent Skirt”) cautioned how chocolate weighs, weakens, ages & ultimately hastens death.
Perhaps so, for Spain soon reclined into lazy profligates. All the wealth inflated the economy. It delayed any diversification (which seemed utterly preposterous & unnecessary during such fabulously rich times), & retarded manufacturing on both sides of the Atlantic, failing to build any sustainable industries. After driving the Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula & destroying the Aztecs plus Incas, their conquests shifted from the battlefields to the bedrooms. In a prequel to a classic Hollywood-style studio, Spain married her way to the top of Europe – first with the Hapsburgs of Austria, followed by Bourbon France.
Still, the woes of empire overburdened her abilities to cope. While the rest of Europe underwent the Industrial Revolution, Spain frittered away its fortune as oil fiefdoms in places like Nigeria or Saudi Arabia do today. Niall Ferguson, empire scholar & financial historian, places a red-letter date at 1543 when Hapsburg Spain piled up enormous debt. By 1559, all tax revenue went to servicing interest payments on it. As early as 1576, it declared bankruptcy, broke as a church mouse lost in one of those synagogues emptied of its congregation after the Crown expelled Sephardic Jews in 1492 (ironically the same year she discovered the Americas). Piracy on the high seas, in the Caribbean & the Barbary variety on the Mediterranean continuously dogged the Spanish treasure fleet. Wars against everybody… vs. France; vs. the Ottomans (at Lepanto); vs. Brits (1588 the “invincible” Armada); The 30 Years War (1618-48); Dutch insurgency; Wars of Spanish Succession; uprisings in Peru & Chile… all topped off by plagues substantially weakened her.
By the time Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, losing the cacáo monopoly ranked among the least of the problems.
Two years later Spain lost possession of the crown jewel in its New World Empire. A rebellion precipitated a decade-long war that ended when New Spain became independent Mexico. Hatched in tertulias or salons of the upper-class who gathered over chocolate to discuss politics & issues of the day, these were the forum that excited Miguel Hidalgo Costilla, Father of the Mexican Nation, with their liberal ideas which he in turn used to recruit sympathizers into the cause. A vengeful version of Bartolomé de Casa (the Franciscan who aided Amerinds in the early days of Spanish subjugation), Hidalgo’s movement reached a climax in the famous Grito de Dolores (Cry of Pain) that incited his reckless Army of the Americas to tear thru the countryside:
A new dispensation comes to us today. Will you receive it? Will you free yourselves? Will you recover the lands stolen 300 years ago from your ancestors by the hated Spaniards? We must act at once…
The Buddha once remarked that chaos is inherent in all compound realities.Chances are, a combination of several dynamics – social, religious, political, military, & economic summed up in popular book titles along the lines of ‘God, guns, germs + division (as in ‘divide ‘n conquer’ by leveraging internal divisions) & desire (seductive forces) – intersected to bring about the outcome… that is still ongoing & unfolding.
Lest you wonder why all this appears in a Chocolate Atlas, these are seminal events that at least partially shaped cacáo into the state it is found today. For as indigenous cultures changed, so too did cacáo.
The forest of Xoconochco (Soconusco) in the southwest was then the crown jewel from where the Mexìcâ Empire sourced its best cacáo, starting with the reign of Ahuitzotl who ruled from 1486-1502 & extended the Mexìcâ (Aztec) reach down south to Soconusco – located well outside its own central territory up north (which was both arid & elevated, two factors making it difficult to grow cacáo, leaving them high & dry). Contending powers waged wars to control Xoconochco (Soconusco) because its fertile soil & humid climate produced an ideal chocolate. Around 1495 Ahuizotl wrested it away from Mam Maya – then a dominant power from the highlands of present-day Guatemala along with the K’iche’. That less than 1% of the area fell under cultivation, generating about 200 cargas (roughly 5 million cacáo beans) of tribute annually to the Mexìcâ Emperor, meant that other regions contributed substantially to his royal coffers containing up to a billion beans. Indeed, as one colonist noted “the business of the whole country is cacáo”.
Soon the Spaniards took it all over & got hooked as well. Cortés supposedly writes in a probable line of fiction attributed to him that has become a chain letter sent across the world: ‘the divine drink which builds up resistance & fights fatigue… a precious cup permits a man to walk for a whole day without food’.
Whether he actually wrote it or not, such a line does appear (in bold below) in the 1556 publication Narrative of Some Things of New Spain & of the Great City of Temestitan, México. Thought to be an eyewitness account of the conquest of the Mexìcâ / Aztec Empire, it is rumored to be written by a lieutenant to Capt. Hernán Cortés known to history only as “The Anonymous Conquistadore” (speculation points to Cortés’ mayordomo, Francisco de Terrazas). It contains one of the earliest recipes documented by a European for the preparation of chocolate learned from his Mesoamerican victims:
These seeds, which they call almonds or cacao, are ground & made into powder, & some other small seeds they have are also ground, & the powder put into ceramic vessels shaped with a spout. They then add water & stir with a spoon, & after it is well-mixed they pour it back & forth from one vessel to another until it’s foamy. The foam is gathered & put into a cup, & when they are ready to drink the beverage they agitate it with some small spoons made of gold, or silver or wood. To drink one must open the mouth wide since it has a froth so it’s necessary to make room for it to dissolve & so go in gradually. The drink is the most wholesome & substantial of any food or beverage in the world, because whoever drinks a cup of this liquor can go thru a whole day without taking anything else even if on a crosscountry journey…
Sadly, these once thriving cacáo groves are in flux, recovering from centuries of demographic shift & disease, crop overproduction, abandonment & decay that conspired to all but wipe out Mesoamerican cacáo. Scarce premium strains of the ancient Criollo described by Francisco Hernández who recorded the first known survey of cacáo in the country (confined mostly to the Tabasco area between 1571 & 1576), have all but vanished. He noted cacáo fruits in a range of 4 primary varieties, generalized as oblong, ridged & red. Friar Alonso Ponce’s visit to Soconusco around 1586 mentions 2 types, dispelling myths about a uniform single variety.
Between 1600 & 1620 the Province of Caracas (Venezuela) sold cocoa destined for the port of Veracruz, Mexico to indigenous costumers there, a sign of just how depleted the once grand cacáo groves of Mesoamerica had fallen. The trade for it was also lucrative across the Caribbean & kept Caracas as a lynchpin in the economy of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
The accounts from Martinez in 1912 to Soria in 1961 saw perhaps the greatest change. During that half-century, Criollo was replaced by hybrids of Amazon Amelonado & Calabacillo lineage, notably the Matina type brought up from Costa Rica, assuming the name Ceylan. Plants from Ecuador were also introduced. In the 1970s the government promoted breeding programs that further eroded Criollo stocks… a generalized móle of a genetic mix known as Injerto, literally ‘grafts’ but more accurately ‘scions’. The majority of these crops are currently controlled by the industrial giants Ibarra & Mayordomo operating in Tabasco, Chiapas, & Oaxaca.
Problematic reports continue to circulate of high-performing old Criollo thriving as ornamentals in the backyard “kitchen gardens” around Xoconochco (Soconusco) on Mexico’s southwest Pacific Coast. Ditto the semi-wild inland stands way to the northeast around the forested Rio Usumacinta basin, an area rife with Mayan archeological sites. Lack of genetic diversity & palynological evidence [pollen/spores] mitigates against any ‘wild’ claims according to geneticist Dr. Juan Carlos Motamayor, a view at odds however with University of Vera Cruz professors Ogata & Gómez-Pompa. In any case, consider them unsullied by development. Cacáo trees originally would’ve been planted here in pre-Columbian times to supply those Mayan ceremonial centers. Among the region’s current inhabitants are the Lacandón, a splinter group of Mayans who continue to resist the Federales in Mexico City today.
The interaction of several Mayan bands who came together in the 18th century to make common cause while escaping Spanish colonial rule, the Lacandón were a wave of runaways, the last of the true Mesos (perhaps why they call themselves Hach Winik – “Real People” – as opposed to all other “unreal humans”). They share solidarity with Jamaican Maroons & the Afro-Ecuadorians around Esmeraldas enduring a similar experience. Free to live independently in the inaccessible forest redoubts beyond the reach of colonials, Lacandón conceived new traditions that temporarily resisted change. The rugged terrain & thick forests acted as a barrier against the wider world, discouraging outsiders from venturing in. Their isolation became a preserve for their identity. As a result the Lacandón were never completely “conquered” in the classical sense.
That geography also fostered Milpa agriculture, the likely method under which cacáo had earlier flourished to reach its zenith during the first millennium at the very center of its domestication. Shallow soil deposits, limited rainfall & canopy cover encouraged a variety of intensive agricultural techniques among ancient Mayan. Methods ranged from canals, terracing, raised fields, fecal fertilizer, seasonal swamps, dikes, dams, hydraulics, & swidden systems.
Swidden, or ‘slash ‘n burn’, to cite one example, clears & temporarily fertilizes the area to be cultivated. The resulting ash raises the soil’s pH, which in turn increases soil nutrients, especially phosphorous. A planting cycle repeated every 2 to 5 years complements it, at which time land would be replenished with trees & wild plants (a phase-zone referred to as acahual).
Little by little, contact with the outside world influenced the Lacandón’s insular environment. The more they had with it, the more they morphed, specifically their attraction to modern tools. They traded cacáo among other goods for them.
Soon this gradual exposure led the outside world to come crashing & cashing-in for the region’s assets. A common refrain found in rainforests all around the equator: mining, logging, oil, etc. Migratory chaos ensued among forest dwellers that gave the Federales an opportunity to exert their authority on the heels of commercial interests.
To reshuffle migration patterns the government decreed in the early 1970s a large part of the forest in Chiapas (614,000 hectares) the protected Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve. It granted one small group of 66 families all the territory in the Biosphere, declaring them the authentic “Lacandón Community”, whereby some 2,000 Tzeltal & Chol families from a couple dozen locales inside it were uprooted & forcibly displaced to other areas, leaving everyone dependent on Mexico City for land rights & deeds.
In the decades that followed the Federales carried out numerous programs to keep problems under control, using land distribution as a political tool, as a way of ensuring loyalty from different campesino groups, part of a populist agrarian reform that almost mimics a zoological experiment: ‘let’s set them free in the wild & see if the Lacandón survive for future ethno-botanic research while we engineer social programming with these others’. The strategy of ‘divide ‘n rule’ led to disaffection, then conflict, & put further pressure on a rainforest ecology already reeling so by the 21st century two-thirds of the entire jungle had been cut down for pasture & crops to the dismay of horticulturalist Gertrude Blom – one of the Lacandón’s most ardent & vocal sponsors.
Its gradual disappearance revealed numerous God Houses that some communities had secreted away in the jungle, quite remote from village life, hidden from outsiders. In such a sacred space the felling of timber & cutting of vegetation were once strictly prohibited (hence, unlikely for any companies to get their commercial hands on heirloom cacáo). Among the blessed objects found scattered about are God Pots for incense &/or offerings – small ceramic bowls, usually adorned with the full-featured head of the deity they represent attached to the rim. Pots come alive during ritual use, ensouled (pixan) with the essence from incense smoke, centered by placing sacred stones from Maya ruins, & given heart with cacáo seeds. The ancient practice of reddening with achiote so the whole admixture cumulatively presents a form of “burning blood” symbolizes sacrifice that the gods “consume” for nourishment in order to maintain balance in the universe.
Into this fraying environment, this socio-political morass, stepped scads of missionaries & Maoists, int’l activists & NGOs, from cosmopolitan capitals around the world, agitating for revolution, or a lighter variant like liberation theology, plus a handful of other social theories. Most carried vaguely diffuse portfolios of discontent like anti-neoliberalists raging against the machinery of globalism. The seldom-known enclave of Chiapas rose to the top hotspot project for those hoping to score one for “people power”, kept alive by a romance of a happy primitivism, spiritually pure, & well connected to the forest & the cosmos (even if few actually cared to live that way). Leading the parade was Subcomandante Marcos – a Quixote-sized character of his own, with Subcomandante Ramon his female Panza – of the EZLN (Zapatista Army of Nat’l Liberation) who waited patiently for the right moment to trigger their insurgency. On the very day NAFTA went into effect, 1/1/94, the EZLN floated its IPO: an armed rebellion directed against the marginalization of Amerinds seeking greater rights. The next 15 years brought a lot of attention to them, & with it change.
Whatever their faults, the EZLN eventually laid down weapons in favor of a tactical media offensive. They forged disparate factions together into a strange coalition of libertarian-socialism / Anarcho-Chomskyites that enacted Participatory Democracy in several autonomous municipalities throughout Chiapas. These Juntas de Buen Gobierno established independent educational & healthcare systems, with their own schools & hospitals in places otherwise neglected by the government, making them kin to the better features of Hamas in Gaza & Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Today, commercial production of inanimate God Pots (absent any blood, heart ‘n soul) draws tourists like magnets. They even appear in the terminals of “airport arts”. Part of the end stage to a disappearing act: whatever residuals are left over, market them, even if it includes marketing ethnicity itself as a commodity trinket.
And quick.
For the death of elders, & their youth spurning the ancient wisdoms in favor of the cash economy, often means traditions are irretrievably lost because they aren’t passed on to the next generation. Many instead convert to Christianity. Add in TV, the internet, cell phones & Lacandón might as well be LA or London minus the concrete.
Searching for the true “authentic Lacandón” nowadays takes on a wild goose chase under the well-intentioned banner of helping them find themselves. Such campaigns seldom work & usually lead to discord. They aggravate the problem by either imposing or filtering a view that no longer exists for preserving an identity in pristine form is impossible.
Coming & Going Every Now & Then: “When Indians wear gringo clothes… the end will come.” – Frans Blom (photos by Gertrude Blom; left – Lacanja, San Cristobal de las Casas, 1979; right – Monte Libano, El Real, 1959)
A tale told worldwide writ small: the ongoing centuries-long saga of Theobroma cacao, particularly in its New World birthplace, parallels to a large degree the story of cultural survival of indigenes, some of whom still continue to cultivate it to this day.
Cacáo here supposedly bears striking resemblance to the Peñon in Colombia’s Sierra Neveda de Santa Marta, suggesting a possible link, doubly so when coupled with growing evidence that both ancient peoples prepared their cacáo beverages similarly. Speculation centers around the isthmus as the meeting ground for Meso- & South American cultures, perhaps exchanging the ancient Grand Criollo (see Costa Rica).
These Lacandón trees may be relics of the past that hold keys to cacáo’s future. López-Baez in 1989, reconfirmed by Evans a decade later, observed a low density of them scattered about in isolated pockets of variability, growing under forest shade, each marked by inbred homogeneity. They belong superficially to the Criollo family, possibly traditional Mesoamerican cacáo (even as they differ from the classic Pentagonum type along the Pacific Coast zone), with characteristic thin husk & though small in size they seem to be doing well enough to evolve for generations, maybe even centuries. Could they be descendants of what Hernández surveyed in the 1500s – the aboriginal Criollo – including the pre-Hispanico Tlalacacáhoatl whose tiny pods were roughly the size of a jumbo egg? Perhaps this cacáo, in a twist of poetic & social justice, possesses the inherent survival strategies to solve the riddle plaguing the entire species.
S.O.S. because Chiapas’ cocoa production slumped by half starting in 2005 at the hands of the Moniliasis blight. By Summer 2013 Hershey’s stepped in along with the Ecom Cocoa Group to “restore” yield levels. Their multi-million dollar plan calls for nurseries to grow disease-resistant strains for widespread distribution throughout the area. Will this repeat the Hummingbird disaster in Belize or become a genuine restoration of Mesoamerica’s cacáo nobility?
Mexìcâ (Aztec) manual for cultivating cacáo
Xoconuzco
by Bonnat
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Blogues // Rob Williams
How far back do you go?
Langue du blog
I went to a presentation from one of my students not too long ago. It was about the perceptions. Where does the western mythology about China come from and is it justified? Clearly not. But what was interesting was the view put forward that all many people really know about China dates from the Cultural Revolution. We know Mao, Tiananmen Square 1989 and the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. We lap up the notion that China has become the factory of the world, that China’s growth is to be both admired and mistrusted.
But what happened before the People’s Republic? Have we heard of what is sometimes called ‘the hundred years of humiliation’ when large parts of China were effectively controlled by foreign powers? Do we know what actually happened at the Boxer Rebellion? Do we know about what happened in Nanking? Do we know about how opium became so popular and what the West’s role in this might have been?
Is it not surprising then that mistrust can exist on both sides?
For me this was not only a lesson in history, but also a lesson in the importance of history and in cultural understanding. In the relatively short-termist West, we may go back to the Second World War when we think of past events that still have resonance today. In China, my student told me, resonance goes back much further. Something we need to bear in mind when we consider the reactions to western reporting and to the west’s apparent desire to set up not only factories, but also to export its value system abroad.
Rob is a principal lecturer in the Department of Modern and Applied Languages at the University of Westminster in London, where he runs an MA in International Liaison and Communication. He has visited China on a number of occasions and has worked with students from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs among others on the MA. He is also President of the ICC International Language Association, an NGO dedicated to enhancing the teaching and learning of languages to adults and in professional environments. His passions are travel, talking to people from everywhere in the world and making music.
Blogues: English
Blogues: Polski
Blogues: Čeština
Blogues: Français
Blogues: Italiano
Blogues: Lietuvių
Blogues: Slovenský
Chinois pour vous
Chinois pour les enfants
Chinois pour les étudiants
Chinois d'affaires
Chinois pour les touristes
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Christian McPherson
Lit Links
Cube Squared at Chapters (Ottawa South Keys) on Saturday, January 18 from 2 to 4pm
I will be signing copies of Cube Squared at Chapters (Ottawa South Keys Branch – 2210 Bank St) on Saturday, January 18 from 2 to 4pm.
Posted by Christian McPherson at 12:34 PM
One Poem
Praise for One Poem
“McPherson isn’t writing glamorous epiphanies every day. He’s making gritty poetry—immediate, subversive, and real—a daily practice and a way of life.”
–Stephen Brockwell, author of All of Us Reticent, Here, Together
"One Poem is not a single poem, but a cascade of vibrant poems focusing on one woman, one family, and one gifted poet." - David Staines
Saving Her
Praise for Saving Her
"Fans of psychological thrillers like Stephen King's will clamour for this book" - All Lit Up's Super Secret Festival of Lit: Mysteries & Thrillers
"I have often purchased at book stores or downloaded from the internet a novel about which the advertisers and the reviewers say “You can’t put it down.” Once in a while, rarely for me, the description and my personal experience as a reader are a match. Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl was a match for me. Saving Her is another." - Rem Westland, Apt613
"With the taut pace of a thriller, it's a story about an accomplished woman going off the rails and striving to save herself and others. I itched to be reading this slim volume when I had to put it down, driven by a fast-moving plot and the suggestion that it could unravel in many different directions." - Hattie Klotz, Ottawa Magazine
Cube Squared
Praise for Cube Squared
“If you read The Cube People and Cube Squared, two uproariously funny novels,... you may never see the National Capital Region in the same way again.”
Apartment 613
“There are lots of working average Joes, but McPherson has managed to create one whose story is both heartwarming and funny. Cube Squared is a great read.”
The Varsity
Praise for My Life in Pictures
"My Life in Pictures. . . is proof positive that McPherson is a highly talented writer who has impressive literary chops."
- Apartment 613
The Sun Has Forgotten Where I Live
The Cube People
Praise for The Cube People
What’s really distinctive about the book is just how funny it is. The sex scenes and masturbatory scenes are side-splitting; the bizarre, labyrinthine governmental logic is richly, darkly comic; the failures of the struggling writer are, in their sad-sack way, laughalong. McPherson has many ways to make the reader laugh, from the more energetic and obvious to the more sophisticated – Shane Neilson, The Fiddlehead
The life-among-the-bean-counters part of McPherson's book is well managed and entertaining ... the comic evocation of domestic routines makes for an interesting counterpoint to the rest of the book. What ties everything together is the character of Colin, a well-meaning, dutiful type who acts as a pivot of sanity for the chaos to swirl around. And despite the raw moments, the conclusion is a good-natured affirmation of his core family values.
—Alex Good, Quill & Quire
[The] Cube People is a sardonic and acerbic tale of one man’s daily grind as a faceless underling in a federal office. Outside of the office he works on his own novel (we get the plot within the plot), and desperately tries to get his wife — anxious and impatient for children — pregnant. It’s a funny and clever book, and it could deservedly become a sleeper hit for the writer.
—Peter Simpson, Ottawa Citizen (The Cube People was also Simpson’s pick as his critic’s top choice!)
Christian McPherson’s The Cube People is a cocktail of genre work that has something for every reader to enjoy. Though the novel follows in the footsteps of novelists interested in exploring the angst of white collar workers (the kind of novel now diligently studied in Am Lit graduate seminars), it also ventures into the campy worlds of science fiction, blood-and-guts schlock horror, and a certain kind of fantasy, all the while sustaining the episodic carnival with a sincerely touching family narrative that is honest, funny, relatable, and very loving.
—Amanda Trip, Maple Tree Literary Supplement
There is something to be said about a book that can keep you so deeply immersed you finish it in a single day … between his book’s rejections, his baby-obsessed wife and horrible day job, Colin becomes the everyman for anyone who has been constantly beaten down and hoped for salvation.
―The Charlatan
Poems that swim from my brain like rats leaving a sinking ship
Six Ways to Sunday
What people are saying:
"McPherson’s writing is never boring . . . McPherson is a writer to watch." - Naomi Lewis, SEE Magazine
“Christian McPherson’s barfly madrigals are smoky and complex, shadowy tales from a shadowy planet, some so afflicted they’ll give you a rash.” —Mark Anthony Jarman
". . . he knows how to create an atmosphere of suspense in a debut full of realistic tales of petty crime and sad suburban obsessions." - Alex Good, Guelph Mercury
“...genuinely hilarious moments... McPherson is at his best when the threatening potential for deviancy, dishonesty, or violence remains spectre instead of spectacle... it is in the book's subtleties that the writing and storytelling is most accomplished.”—Owen Percy, Canadian Literature
“In his debut collection, McPherson conjures a gritty and colourful Ottawa, populated by addicts and losers, obsessives and gawky teens. ... McPherson’s endings, like the pool hustles, drug deals and long afternoon shags of these stories, have a nice way of leaving things open to the unexpected.”—The Dominion
“The characters who haunt Six Ways to Sunday are prisoners of their own passions, desires, addictions. When they cannot break out of the misery of their own creation, McPherson offers redemption through small acts of bravery, miracles of love large and small. A fascinating debut.”—Byrna Barclay
"Just picked up "rats" and was astonished. I'm ashamed I haven't seen your work before. Great stuff. Simply great. Did you just pop out fully formed or have you been studying how to be an excellent human poet in some sort of strange monastery where they let you watch movies? Whoosh. Loved these poems." - Michael Dennis
“It will be interesting to see how McPherson’s obvious talent as a truly entertaining writer will develop as he begins to produce more work.” —Deanne Beattie, The Peak
Reading at the Dusty Owl - Jan 19th, 3-5
Cube Squared at Chapters (Ottawa South Keys) on Sa...
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Category Archives: Social Business
Whither libraries?
August 16, 2017 Cities, conversationsEAST, Culture, Economic Models, news, Social Business, Social Productivity, Society, The ArtsAndre Walker, Andrew Carnegie, Books, Economics, enterprise solutions, hollowing out, Jeff Bezos, learning, Libraries, Library closures, Philanthropy, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, Social Enterprise, Society, The Arts, volunteeringThe Team at conversationsEAST
Too old, too big…too little used?
Article update: 28.10.2017 – A really sound article on the utility of libraries by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett – No one needs libraries any more? What rubbish from The Guardian of Thursday, 26th October, 2017.
In it Cosslet takes to task the political pundit Andre Walker, for his omnipotent vision of the library service in the UK. Namely that no-one visits them anymore and they should all be closed down and the books given to schools.
Is there something Presidential in this decimation of the library service by Twitter?
Rhiannon goes on to thread her story with her use of the public library when young – developing intellectual curiosity, cultural awareness, knowledge of the world and taking up the rich opportunity public libraries offer to graze the landscape of the word, six books at a time.
We recommend the article to our readers.
Original text: In the Spring of 2015 the Adam Smith Institute published an article entitled ‘The End of Local Authority Libraries‘. As the economic ice age of Osbornian austerity descended upon us, the Press was full of cultural turbulence about the closure and operational rigidity of our national literacy assets.
Although the general Press attention has diminished, it is telling that the dilution of the library service has continued unabated, albeit with increasingly diminished media currency, as we have been further overwhelmed by matters of political moment in and about Europe, perhaps.
View, print or download the full report here…pdf
Central government, arguably, remains enthusiastic and espouses a positive vison for the library service. The recent report Libraries Deliver: Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016-2021 from the Libraries Taskforce, is almost entirely upbeat about the half decade ahead. They offer a vision of a multiplicity of supported delivery systems for a local library in section 6.3 of the report.
The website Public Libraries News, in July, declared that now ‘there are at least five hundred libraries that are staffed, if not entirely run by volunteers’. On the one hand, this is a sign, we would argue, that there is profound suport for the local library at grassroots level. But it is also a sign, looking at the plethora of continual changes and negative reviews of library services across the country on the website, that there is no clear, effective and equally profound form of new governance emerging for libraries.
One that, at once taps into localism, yet satisfies the need for an eclectic and near universal access to knowledge and leisure, free at the point of delivery for those who need it most.
The trade union Unison are to hold a National SOS Day on the 19th of October, 2017. Save our Services is designed to show that ‘...libraries are a hub and a haven in our communities. They offer a place for people to work, relax, discover and think.They are a source of local knowledge and history and give everyone access to books, DVDs, music and more, for free or at a very low cost.
But libraries also do a lot more than lend books. Many hold events, anything from story time for children to yoga classes for adults. Library workers help people look for work, advise on using IT, organise talks by authors and so much more‘.
Source: https://www.unison.org.uk/blogs/2017/08/sos-day-17/
The debate, then, continues to have currency. The Adam Smith Institute argued, in its article by Eamonn Butler, that the free market was the solution to the ‘library deficit’ issue, as to be expected. That exemplars of library innovation, in the shape of American organisations such as Library Systems and Services, were to be the saviours of a moribund library market.
However, research shows that the accession of LSSI to the pinnacle of library stewardship has not been entirely successful in the USA. An earlier article in the New York Times shows how both library staff and users, even in the more affluent cities where LSSI has obtained contracts, have been happy to lead protests. Dissenting voices to the ending of unionised services, diminution of book stocks and antagonism towards the ethics of ‘libraries for profit’.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/business/27libraries.html
The City Library, Birmingham
The Butler argument, from the Adam Smith Institute, saw the then new Birmingham City Library building as an example of ossification of service. The £188 million building began to operate on a ‘self-funded’ basis for events, for example, in the context of author events or arts activity. Both previously seen as draws to footfall for the library service. Indeed key activities in a wider cultural obligation for libraries, we would argue.
However, debate about the capital cost of a building in austere times is one thing, but the Institute author’s position somewhat fails to recognise that it is free market policies which have led to the very fiscal landscape that has so diminished the library service.
If a library is battered by exogenous fiscal policy upheaval, it is somewhat unfair to blame the librarian for lack of service, or diversity in activity, surely?
Is there hope for change? We think so.
We were pleased to see that there is widening acceptance by Councils that the community should have control of libraries as a community resource. At the beginning of August, for example, Derby City Council declared for the cessation of control of ten libraries, which will see ‘…the loss of at least 39 library assistants’ jobs and two library managers, of almost 100 staff who work for the authority. Community groups will get £17,500 a year each to fund their own managed libraries until 2022…’
Source: http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/attempt-stop-biggest-ever-shake-265614
What is concerning, in this case, is the timetable and the level of grant in aid ceded to the community organisations in the City, to effectively manage the transfer and creation of a new community organisation to deliver the service.
More positively again, Bury Council this month have approved a new community asset transfer plan. ‘The new policy means applications from groups to buy community assets from the council will be considered against ‘key tests’ designed to ensure a deal which is best for the council and residents‘. The landscape of community opportunity grows!
Source: http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/15439093.New_policy_hopes_to_make_it_easier_for_groups_to_take_ownership_of_council_buildings/
However, it is entirely possible, we would argue, to imagine the creation of community libraries as Social Enterprises, where the not for profit governance model delivers a mix of volunteer and employee led services, bolstered by an admixture of social business services to support and maintain the core library provision.
A community cafe, a learning centre, a gardening or horticultural project…the list could easily be imaginatively extended by a dynamic, active community. The whole focused upon the creation of ‘…a place for people to work, relax, discover and think‘, to remind us of the Unison observation.
If the trade union are having an SOS Day, why do we not start a new think-tank movement, LASER – Libraries as Social Enterprise Renewal.
Write to conversationsEAST if you are interested in social enterprise, passionate about libraries and learning and keen to develop governance-sound, community led, not for profit library buildings.
We’ll publish a web site, host a meeting and give the idea traction?
Additional narrative – 20.08.2017
We have just come across a recent article in Wired by Susan Crawford, where she argues for a resurgence in phiilanthropy to revitalise the library service.
In the text, in response to a recent tweet by Jeff Bezos asking for suggestions about a new shape for his giving, she argues for an Amazon/Bezos programme of giving to libraries.
Developing Jeff Bezos’s current long term view of his ‘social investments’ towards, arguably, a philanthropic delivery that would cater for the short and the long term. Mr. Bezos describes his search for a new intitiative ‘…to help people in the here and now’. Our new library programme, as described, would do that, but also cater for the long term too.
Namely a series of Amazon Memorial Libraries, or Bezos Community Cultural Centres, would benefit the communities they were placed in, but they would also create new readers and enhance human capital in the hinterland of their sites, as well as delivering a major philosophical boost to the image of Amazon as a socially beneficial company.
You can read Susan Crawford’s piece on the pages of Wired here.
We understand Jeff Bezos reads every email sent directly to him. We’ll write to Mr. Bezos and make a suggestion supporting a new philanthropic venture into the British library landscape, and explore the models that might be created.
We would argue that history has been kind to the Carnegie model of library establishment, why should not future generations look as kindly upon Jeff Bezos?
Watch this space for an update, even if we don’t get a reply!
Useful links to accompany this article:
Library over-watch!
http://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/
Use it or lose it! – The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/16/library-use-in-england-fell-dramatically-over-last-decade-figures-show
City Library Birmingham: Image by Gareth Williams - Creative Commons
The Self Employment Summit!
February 23, 2015 Business, conversationsEAST, Economic Models, news, Research, RSA, Social BusinessconversationsEAST, East of England, Etsy, Google, news, Research, RSA, self-employed, summitThe Team at conversationsEAST
The RSA, in partnership with Google and craft marketplace Etsy, recently held a Self Employment summit. Stimulating debate and reflection about the changing landscape of employment and the rise and condition of those ‘going it alone’.
The short film below offers insights into the various debates on the day and some of the original ideas and thoughts emerging from the discussion…
See the original film on YouTube here…
The debate ranges across some interesting data, movements in the economy and is awash with definitions. Data seems to show that since the year 2000, the self -employed as a recognisable economic cohort, have increased by 30%. With the self-employed now representing some 15% of the total active work force in the UK.
Between 2008 and 2013, we are told, the self-employed made up a staggering 90% of all jobs created. Even more seismic, in terms of paradigm shift, is the suggestion that by 2017/2018, the self employed numerically, may exceed the total number of individuals currently working in the Public Sector.
For those of us who work across the Public Sector/Charitable Sector divide, this is perhaps not so surprising. As Local Authorities continue to divest themselves of employed core professional expertise in a number of community support, education and housing sectors, the expertise is re-hired as consultants or contractors.
What does set this change in context, however, is not the numeric rise in self-employment, whatever the sector, professional or otherwise. It is the dramatic increase in diminution of turnover.
Steven Toft, who is the author of Flip Chart Fairy Tales, speaking at the one day RSA event, opines that between 2008 and 2013 aggregate income by the self-employed has fallen by a staggering 8 billion pounds.
However you define being self-employed, and there are multiple definitions, in the RSA research, by HMRC and in the national Labour Market Survey – it is clear that there is a re-structuring of the nature of employment wholly under way.
What this movement is not, however, is an attempt to create quality of life, sustainability of earnings or the increase in cultural and fiscal capital that this change might, given the right business environment, look to build over time.
Not all self-employed people strive to be the next Richard Branson, but that for the individual, given this data, the drive might be led by a belief, actual or not, in the achievement of a better work/life balance, access to culture and the arts and an exercise of choice regardless of cost, that corporatism or global capital does not offer. We do not know.
Finally, we would have liked the debate to have extended fully across social enterprise/social business as a new model for the self employed and entrepreneurially minded. New financial markets and new business models are emerging in these two sectors. Perhaps that is where the real dynamism in the economy is, for those who go it alone?
Other good reads for context:
See our recent article featuring Every Day Employers, an RSA report from the end of last year – offering insights and suggestions to restructure traditional employer/employee relationships. See more here…
See also Salvation in a Start-up, a RSA/Etsy report, from last summer, on the emergence of new micro-businesses. The why and how. See more here…
Is yours a socially productive place?
July 22, 2014 Architecture, Cities, conversationsEAST, Economic Models, Research, RSA, Social Business, Social ProductivityBritish Land, community ddevelopment, conversationsEAST, East of England, innovation, news, planning, Research, RSA, socially productive placesThe Team at conversationsEAST
Today sees the launch of a new RSA report, generously sponsored and in collaboration with British Land – Socially productive places – Learning from what works: lessons from British Land – born out of an earlier RSA conference.
Social productivity is the additional social value that can be created through better relationships between citizens, society, business and public services…
The report is a long letter to developers, communities and planners, essentially pleading the case that ‘…long term property value is driven by the long term economic relevance of an asset’.
A socially productive place would build community capacity to benefit from and drive growth, and increase resilience to shocks and give an ability to adapt to new circumstances. This is not a new idea. The evidence in the report tracks community development progressive initiatives from early EU regional funding to the New Deal for Communities.
What is new, perhaps, is the tight focus on new skill acquisition by all partners and a fresh focus on method and delivery for impact. The same refocus is taking place in the community finance sector, where the ‘impact investor’ and how outcomes are mapped and delivered is a priority for funders, project planners and community partnerships. The report exercises this viewpoint well.
Download a complete copy of this report here…
(As an example of this new social finance mode of delivery see how Social Enterprise East Midlands worked in collaboration with Big Society Capital to deliver an informative and effective mapping session for politicians, social bankers and financial intermediaries in this new sector. See more here…Ed.).
The RSA Report also shows how private capital is developing both it’s land bank and its ideas with impact in mind. The report references brands such as Asda ‘... adopting a ‘community venturing’ approach, forming partnerships with charities and public services‘.
Discover more about shopping for shared value and community venturing in a recent edition of Matthew Taylor’s blog – read more here.
Planning should be thought of as a front-line service.
The success of a development should be judged by its impact on those who use it and its ability to contribute to a broader set of social and economic outcomes, the report declares. Building high quality public realm is expensive, but, says the report, privatising public space is not the answer.
Accessible public realm is an important feature of social productivity places – places designed to support social and economic connectivity. When built, the people must come.
To achieve the above, then there are a number of often new issues to wrangle with for key players in the development process. Investing in community relationships, by any mature, established corporate entitity requires agility and commitment. The report focuses on three key elements…
Successful community investment takes time and effort by developers, including long term consistent representation, engagement by senior executives and dedicated staff.
Local political support is essential, site specific planning frameworks are not.
The results for developers can be profitable as quality of public realm drives rents, and local consent for density allows greater floorspace yield from a site.
The Cambridge sub-region:
One of our own sub-regional cities features in the report too. Cambridge, which quietly broke out of green-belt constraints in the 1990’s, created new communities and growth areas. These well designed and built communites, although having offered an increase in take up of local services were less successful, the report indicates, in increasing employment in those new communities. They have, however, increased pressure on transport links.
As universities become ever increasing drivers of economic development, then local areas should increasingly consider graduate retention as an important part of their
social and economic development thinking, the report highlights. Working with both universities and developers to pursue this goal should be a strategic priority for the future. Certainly a key development driver for Cambridge, being the world class research nexus that it is.
Finally, the report gives readers examples of non-linear, non -traditional development models which utilise public spaces for community benefit in innovative ways.
One such featured is Incredible Edible – whose growth has been achieved by by-passing bureaucratic processes, ‘…which rely on a narrow account of how value is created and maintained’.
Discover the Incredible Edible Network here – just one of the great things to come out of Yorkshire…
In summary, this is an important paper, which whilst containing no ravishing new insights or philosophy, should score very, very highly with the community development sector in the way that it brings together, in a new meld, a variety of distinct skill sets to map a new way forward for developers, planners, politicians and community groups.
You can still find the content of the original conference, and the papers presented by a list of distinguished speakers here, on The RSA web site.
80,000 Hours – route map for change?
May 30, 2014 conversationsEAST, news, Research, Social Business000 Hours, 80, conversationsEAST, East of England, news, Research, social impactThe Team at conversationsEAST
80,000 Hours have just published their strategic review for 2014.
#HC0915-001 / gettyimages.com
As a new organisation 80,000 is clearly flexing and changing as the efficacy of their campaigns, support for students and discovery of a sustainable social business model begin to emerge.
As a group of people they are dedicated to the take up of social impact as a career choice by graduates. They have fostered a wide debate about earning to give, and now, from the evidence of their strategy thinking, are looking for a way to build upon their research expertise and web publishing capabilities.
We read the strategy document with interest here at conversationsEAST. What has been produced, it seems to us, is a general template for any organisation which wishes to pursue societal change.
What emerges is a strong focus on original research, coupled to applying the emergent information, data and reflection to web outputs in order to disseminate ideas and raise recruitment.
Whilst expressed briefly here, the concepts do not seem sparklingly original. However, as to be expected from the creative cohort at 80,000, they are not often expressed so elegantly or in such a clear and structured way.
Discover 80,000 Hours for yourself and read their 2014 strategy and development document here…
The Social Progress Index 2014
April 6, 2014 conversationsEAST, Economic Models, news, Research, Social BusinessconversationsEAST, news, Social Progress Imperative, Social Progress IndexThe Team at conversationsEAST
A new indicator of human well-being and potential delivered, the Social Progress Index for 2014, uses non-economic data to map the nations of the world and to determine their relative rank in achieving social progress.
Discover it on-line here.
A recent article and the latest RSA Short focus on the issues of economic growth and how there are omissions in the singular pursuit of economic growth, as a proxy for the development of the human condition.
It is an interesting idea that there should be a non-economic proxy for human well-being, regularly and cogently calculated, which serves as a measurer of human development. The pursuit of which leavens the aggressive one-sidedness of capital by pivoting economic activity into a pursuit for human happiness.
Could the Social Progress Index be the proxy long awaited?
Poorer countries are often compared using to the UN’s Human Development Index, though this tends to be highly-correlated with GDP, with all the limitations that implies. One of the strengths of the SPI is that, by only using social and environmental indicators and excluding all economic measures, it is easier to compare how countries with similar GDP are doing relative to each other.
Matthew Bishop – The Economist
In this 2014 analysis the United Kingdom ranks 13th in the world in terms of the values subscribed to by the index. The top three world nations are New Zealand, Switzerland and Iceland.
data clusters used for the index are divided across three main headings – basic human needs, the foundations of well-being and opportunity. The U.K. does well in global terms with regard to water and waste infrastructure for example, as to be expected, and has a good score on the opportunities available for individuals to change their lives. We do poorly on rankings around equality and inclusion.
This short video compares and contrasts Gross Domestic Product outcomes with the SPI…
The new index is fostered by the Social Progress Imperative. A movement that subscribes to the goal of developing and guiding access to social investment ‘…which creates a shared language and common goals to align different organizations and achieve greater social impact’.
Find the Imperative on-line here.
Profit pitch or social welfare?
March 28, 2014 Economic Models, news, Social BusinessconversationsEAST, Harish Manwani, news, social entrepreneurship, UnileverThe Team at conversationsEAST
The short film below, from the TED talks series, is delivered Harish Manwani, the Chief Operating Officer of Unilever. It is not, perhaps surprisingly, an advertisement for soup or soap.
Harish joined Unilever in 1976, rising up the corporate ladder, to his current eminent position. This talk seeks to add to the three basic tenets of growth, Manwani argues, which traditionally is built upon consistency, competitiveness and profitability, by adding responsibility.
The notion of adding social value as a contingent outcome with economic value is not new, but the telling of it by a key player in a world wide corporation is remarkable.
Manwani tells of the Unilever project,
Shakti, which seeks to empower women in small business (..and to sell soap). But he argues with passion that science underpins his company’s activity, yet teaches millions about hygiene and hand washing as life saving activities.
‘A brand can be at the forefront of social change’ he says – this is a powerful argument for the
Social Business model we think. Do you agree?
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Student Life ›
UT Instapoll provides new competition for subscription-based attendance apps
Photo Credit: Alekka Hernandez | Daily Texan Staff
Published on February 20, 2019 at 11:15 pm
By Thomas Galindo
Say goodbye to subscription-based attendance apps — UT Instapoll is the way of the future.
The Liberal Arts Development Studio has just done a huge favor for students who have ever forgotten their iClicker remote, or had to pay a subscription fee for apps such as Squarecap or Top Hat.
UT Instapoll is a free classroom response system, saving students money and professors a headache, debuting on Canvas in spring 2019. Currently, there are approximately 5800 active unique students using this product in around 120 different classes.
Although UT Instapoll just became available on Canvas, this idea for a classroom response system has been in the works for approximately a year. Sarah Eichhorn, executive director of the Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science from the College of Natural Sciences, approached Marla Gilliland, director of course development for the College of Liberal Arts, about potentially expanding the capability of this product.
“We went over with Sarah to showcase the tools we use in our online course and at the time she (suggested using Instapoll in classrooms as well), because our students are required to purchase multiple tools for their classes, instead of using it the same way we use it for our online course,” Gilliland said.
After recognizing the potential value of an attendance service to students and professors, Gilliland and the development studio went to work that summer to evolve this originally online exclusive feature into a useful tool for all of UT.
Eichhorn and Gilliland said that while there were a few technical hiccups in the program during this period, the studio quickly incorporated their feedback into its final version. Upon the tool’s completion, the studio decided it was time for a trial run and gathered 10 faculty members, mostly from CNS, and their 2700 students to be guinea pigs.
Eichhorn said CNS was the natural choice for a trial run not only due to their size, but also the conscious effort of the college to adopt more engaging methods of instruction.
“(CNS has) such a large number of large courses, and there’s a lot of research literature on effective teaching methods that point to active engagement for students,” Eichhorn said.
Among professors who decided to use UT Instapoll in its debut semester was assistant astronomy professor Keith Hawkins. In his first semester at UT, Hawkins said he felt it would be a great tool for his large astronomy course.
“I’m glad it came out when it did, it’s actually a great resource to have,” Hawkins said. “There are certain things I would like to see improved, but for its first launch it’s actually really good.”
Hawkins pointed to the fact that UT Instapoll is free as its significant advantage over systems such as iClicker.
Physical culture and sports sophomore Micaela Arguijo said she likes UT Instapoll better than iClicker for a number of reasons.
“Because iClicker is a remote, it is easier to forget, and UT Instapoll is easily accessible through Canvas and has no batteries required,” Arguijo said. “It’d be nice if all my classes used (UT Instapoll) because it does a good job of keeping students engaged.
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DCP LETT 3710.xml
To Asa Gray [3–]4 September [1862]1
Cliff Cottage. Bournemouth. Hants
Sept. 4th.
My dear Gray.
I have just received your most kind letter of Aug 18 & 19th 2 & will amuse myself, now my patients are in bed,3 by beginning a letter to you. My poor Boy (whose waxen face blushed up to the eyes at the thought of writing to a live Professor)4 has this day made a marked step & has taken several walks of a few hundred yards; & my wife is recovering well & her skin well peeling.— We have taken two houses here, so I hope & trust this dredful fever will not spread.—5 I am very glad that at present you intend to publish some separate notes on orchids, which you have so capitally worked out.6 No doubt I am not a fair judge; but I must think that it is worth your while.— I am pleased to hear about Goodyera & about Gymnadia tridentata. Your account makes me think the latter like the Bonatea speciosa & often & often have I speculated what on earth could be meaning of its wonderful horn-like stigmas & projecting anthers.7 I suspect its structure may have been arrived at by a process somewhat analogous to that which apparently has produced the wondrous nectary of Angræcum sesquipedale.8 It would appear that self-fertilisation is commoner than I thought: since publishing I have found that Neottia nidus-avis fertilises itself, if insects fail to do the job.—9 Many thanks for Houstonia seed.—10
I am glad to hear, but disappointed, about the Specularia pollen-tubes.11 I cannot resist sending you a diagram about Lythrum (why should I resist? does not prescription give a right? & have I not for long years written & bothered you about all sorts of things?) Lythrum has 3 kinds of stigmas & 3 kinds of pollen; the stamens of same height on two of the three forms producing the same sort of pollen, & I cannot doubt are fitted to fertilise the stigma of that height. I conclude so from watching the Bees; but hope to prove it by my crosses. So that we have three hermaphrodite forms each depending on half the stamens of either one of the two other forms. This is shown by the lines with the arrows. This strikes me as a very curious case. The three forms coexist in about equal numbers. By the way it seems to me that Lindley in Veg. Kingdom describes the homological structure of flower wrong:12 the so called calyx, with its 12 bundles of spiral vessels, appears to consist of 6 narrow sepals & 6 modified petals, all cohering; & that the coloured petals belong to an inner whorl & are modified stamens. By the way can you tell me of any flowers, with fertile anthers of different colours; I believe that this would be pretty sure guide to dimorphism or trimorphism.—13
All my semibotanical work, as you know, has been connected with insects, & now I am almost sure (but I find it a disgusting truth that with me first observations are generally all a blunder) that flowers have led me to a curious little discovery with respect to the best-known insect in the world, the Hive Bee. I saw the other day to my dismay (see Origin) Hive Bees sucking the common red clover, but it was a second crop, which I am told produces shorter flowers;14 but many of the Bees never attempted this, but always inserted their heads between the flowers & sucked at holes bitten through the corolla.— The same bee always followed the same practice. And apparently those which suck at the mouth of the flower have a longer proboscis than the other bees, which suck through the holes.
Farewell my dear Gray, forgive me scribbling about my own work; for I seldom see a soul to talk with on natural history.
Good night— Ever yours most truly | C. Darwin
Since writing the above by Jove I have found I have as usual at first blundered about the probosces; but if you had seen the Bees, the blunder was almost excusable—15 What an ass I was to scribble all the above.—
Progress of Education.— one of my little Boys Horace16 said to me, “there are a terrible number of adders here; but if everyone killed as many as they could, they would sting less”.— I answered “of course they would be fewer” Horace “Of course, but I did not mean that; what I meant was, that the more timid adders, which run away & do not sting would be saved, & after a time none of the adders would sting”.—
Natural selection!!
[DIAG HERE]17
The year is established by the relationship to the letter from Asa Gray, 18–19 August 1862. CD’s date was written in the top left-hand margin of the first page of the letter, and apparently represents the date on which the letter was completed. The relationship of this letter to the letter to John Lubbock, [3 September 1862] indicates that it must have been started before the letter to Lubbock, on the evening of 3 September 1862, and completed after that letter (see nn. 14 and 15, below).
Letter from Asa Gray, 18–19 August 1862.
Emma and Leonard Darwin were recovering from scarlet fever (see letter to John Lubbock, 2 September [1862] and n. 4).
Gray had sent a number of North American postage stamps for Leonard Darwin’s stamp collection (see letter from Asa Gray, 21 July 1862), and in his letter to CD of 18–19 August 1862, Gray suggested that Leonard should write to let him know what stamps he still required. A letter from Leonard was apparently enclosed with this letter (see letter from Asa Gray, 22 September 1862 and n. 3); however, the enclosure has not been found.
See letter to John Lubbock, 2 September [1862] and n. 4.
See letter from Asa Gray, 18–19 August 1862 and n. 8.
In the letter from Asa Gray, 18–19 August 1862, Gray described the occurrence in Gymnadenia tridentata of ‘an arm of stigma carried up each side of anther, & one between the [anther] cells’.
The reference is to the long nectary of Angraecum sesquipedale; in the specimens examined by CD, the nectary had been ‘eleven and a half inches long’ (Orchids, p. 197). In Orchids, pp. 202–3, CD provided the following explanation of the origin of the nectary: As certain moths of Madagascar became larger through natural selection in relation to their general conditions of life, either in the larval or mature state, or as the proboscis alone was lengthened to obtain honey from the Angræcum and other deep tubular flowers, those individual plants of the Angræcum which had the longest nectaries … , and which, consequently, compelled the moths to insert their probosces up to the very base, would be best fertilized. These plants would yield most seed, and the seedlings would generally inherit longer nectaries; and so it would be in successive generations of the plant and moth. In Orchids, p. 330, CD had suggested that the length of the caudicle carrying the pollinia in Bonatea speciosa had probably been ‘largely increased in length by natural selection’, rather than merely by the abortion of the lower pollen-grains.
In Orchids, CD had sought to demonstrate that the primary object of the various pollination mechanisms of orchids was to ensure cross-pollination (p. 1), and he noted only one case (Ophrys apifera) in which there were ‘special contrivances’ for self-pollination (p. 359); however, in his letter to CD of 18–19 August 1862, Gray reported that Gymnadenia tridentata provided a further example. Suspecting that Neottia nidus-avis might also be self-pollinating, CD had experimented with the species in May, comparing the seed-pods produced by a plant which had been covered to exclude insects, with those from an uncovered plant (see the notes, dated 17 and 21 May 1862, and 10 August 1862, in DAR 70: 73–4, 81). CD included this species on an undated list of ‘self-fertilisers’ that is now in DAR 70: 167, and also discussed it in his revised account of ‘self-fertilisation’ in Orchids 2d ed., p. 290.
In his letter to CD of 4 August 1862, Gray had expressed a hope that he would be able to send CD seeds of ‘the little Houstonia’; the seeds were probably enclosed with Gray’s letter of 18–19 August 1862.
See letter from Asa Gray, 18–19 August 1862 and n. 14.
Lindley 1853, pp. 574–5. Although CD’s copy of John Lindley’s Vegetable kingdom has not been found, this is the edition of the work listed in CD’s Library catalogue (DAR 240), and frequently referred to in Orchids.
See also letter to J. D. Hooker, 22 [August 1862] and n. 14.
See letter to John Lubbock, [3 September 1862], and letter to W. E. Darwin, [2–3 September 1862] and n. 5. In Origin, pp. 94–5, CD stated that hive-bees were unable to suck the nectar out of the flowers of the common red clover, which he claimed were ‘visited by humble-bees alone’ (see also Origin, p. 73). However, on the basis of information provided by Charles Hardy (see Correspondence vol. 8, letter from Charles Hardy, 23 July 1860), CD added the following statement to the third edition (p. 100): ‘I have been informed, that when the red clover has been mown, the flowers of the second crop are somewhat smaller, and that these are abundantly visited by hive-bees.’ In the fourth edition (p. 107), CD expressed some doubt about the accuracy of this statement, noting: That this nectar is much liked by the hive-bee is certain; for I have repeatedly seen, but only in the autumn, many hive-bees sucking the flowers through holes in the base of the tube which had been bitten by humble-bees.
See letter to John Lubbock, [3 September 1862].
Horace Darwin.
The diagram has been reduced to 50% of its original size.
Glad AG will publish some separate notes on orchids ["Fertilization of orchids through the agency of insects", Am. J. Sci. 2d ser. 34 (1862): 420–9].
Trimorphism in Lythrum.
Bee behaviour.
Asa Gray
Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (68)
Gray, Asa
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Related Bios Stone Sharp Mason Mercer Alec Bennett Grant Nelson Marc Quezada Jonathan Silva Brendan Ward Nick Christy Kelly Jew Justin Dietrich Andrew Reina Andrew McFarlane Connor Hinthorn Michael Zielinski Dasmen Stewart Eli Moore Noah Nailor William Brendel Jacob Schleien
8 Patrick Rowe
Year: JR
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
High School: St. John Bosco HS
Position: OH
2019 (Volleyball)
Earned the program’s first ever National Player of the Week honor (03/12)... he played in 20 matches and competed in 69 sets… the junior outside hitter was second on the team with 191 kills and averaged a team best 2.77 per set… he scored 246 points with a team best mark of 3.57 points per set… he was second on the team with 27 services aces and added 120 digs, 38 total blocks and 19 assists… had a season high 15 digs versus North Central (01/12) and UC Santa Cruz (01/26)… recorded 10 double digit kill matches and put up a season high 15 kills against Johnson & Wales (03/09)… he recorded one double-double in kills and digs.
Played in 24 matches as a sophomore for the kingsmen...In 73 sets, recorded the second most kills on the team with 213...Led the team with 2.92 kills per set...Recorded the fourth best hitting percentage at .244 (minimum 200 attempts*)...One of two players to reach 500 attack attempts this season...Had a season-high 17 kills against Stevenson (Jan. 13) and against Benedictine (Mar. 21)...Recorded the second most digs with 138...Season-high 13 digs against Endicott (Mar. 29)...Tallied the fourth most total blocks with 38 and the third most solo blocks with 10...Recorded 11 service aces and 24 assists...Named to the Golden Flyer Invitational all-tournament team after leading his team to a (4-0) tournament result with a 37 kills and 24 digs performance...Contributed the second most total points with 248...Tied for most total points per set with 3.4.
Made an immediate impact in his first collegiate season, leading the Kingsmen in several offensive categories…one of four players to appear in all 25 matches, playing in 89 sets as a true freshman…made his collegiate debut against the University of Mt. Olive (N.C.)(Jan. 9) with 12 kills…led the squad in total points (320.0), points per set (3.6), kills (279), kills per set (3.13) and total attempts (702)…third on the team with both 22 service aces and six solo blocks…added 26 block assists…finished hitting at a .185 clip…recorded 109 digs as one of four players to surpass the 100-dig mark, 32 total blocks and 21 assists…had 15 double-figure kill matches with a career-best 19 kills against Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.)(Apr. 1)…supplied a career-best 20.5 points in the same match…recorded two double-doubles, including a 17-kill, 14-dog performance against Hope International (Mar. 14).
St. John Bosco High School
Graduated in 2016 in Bellflower, Calif….earned three varsity letters in volleyball…garnered 1 st -Team All-League honors twice…two-time volleyball MVP for the Braves…won the gold medal at High Performance Championships in 2015, which he considers his greatest personal sports moment…assisted with the Spark of Love toy drive and the Special Olympics.
Full name: Patrick James Edward Rowe…born on June 2, 1998 in Long Beach, Calif….parents are Patricia and Chris Rowe…has one sister, Alyssa…has three dogs…majoring in business administration…chose CLU because of the small-school environment and volleyball…aspires to be a firefighter.
Music: Kendrick Lamar
Super Hero: Batman
Hobbies/Special Talents: Golf, video games
If he could travel anywhere it would be: Paris.
Mar 26 at Wentworth (Mass.) W, 3-2
Mar 28 at Springfield L, 3-0
Mar 29 at Stevens W, 3-2
Mar 31 at Marymount (Va.) W, 3-0
Apr 4 Moorpark College W, 3-0
Apr 13 at UC Santa Cruz L, 3-1
Matches 20 -
Sets 69 -
Kills 191 -
Kills per set 2.77 -
Errors 86 -
Total Attacks 474 -
Hitting Percentage .222 -
Assists 19 -
Assists per set 0.28 -
Service Aces 27 -
Service Errors 50 -
Service Aces per set 0.39 -
Reception Errors 7 -
Digs 120 -
Digs per set 1.74 -
Block Solo 18 -
Block Assist 20 -
Block Total 38 -
Blocks per set 0.55 -
Block Errors 2 -
Ball Handling Errors 0 -
Points 246.0 -
Points per set 3.6 -
Matches started 20 -
Jan 10 Arcadia W, 3-0 1 3 5 2 12 .250 1 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 5.0
Jan 12 vs. North Central (Ill.) W, 3-1 1 4 14 5 32 .281 3 0 3 0 15 3 2 1 5 0 18.0
Jan 12 vs. SUNY New Paltz (N.Y.) L, 3-1 1 4 8 3 20 .250 1 0 2 1 7 1 1 0 2 0 9.5
Jan 13 vs. Marian (Wis.) W, 3-0 1 3 7 3 15 .267 0 1 2 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 9.5
Jan 18 SUNY New Paltz (N.Y.) L, 3-2 1 5 10 5 27 .185 0 2 3 0 6 1 1 0 2 0 13.5
Jan 25 Illinois Tech W, 3-0 1 3 10 2 17 .471 1 2 2 1 3 2 1 0 3 0 14.5
Jan 26 UC Santa Cruz L, 3-2 1 5 10 9 36 .028 1 3 3 1 15 3 0 0 3 0 16.0
Feb 1 at Carthage (Wis.) L, 3-0 1 3 7 4 27 .111 0 1 2 0 4 1 1 0 2 0 9.5
Feb 2 at North Central (Ill.) L, 3-0 1 3 13 4 30 .300 0 0 2 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 13.0
Feb 2 vs. Dominican (Ill.) L, 3-0 1 3 4 7 19 -.158 0 0 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 4.0
Feb 3 at Benedictine (IL) L, 3-0 1 3 9 8 23 .043 1 2 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 11.0
Feb 8 at CSU Northridge L, 3-0 1 3 3 3 14 .000 0 0 1 2 5 1 0 0 1 0 4.0
Feb 15 CSU Northridge L, 3-0 1 3 4 6 14 -.143 1 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 5.0
Feb 22 Alumni - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mar 6 St. John Fisher W, 3-0 1 3 12 2 21 .476 1 3 2 0 4 1 1 0 2 0 16.5
Mar 7 Adrian W, 3-0 1 3 10 5 24 .208 0 2 3 0 6 0 1 0 1 0 12.5
Mar 8 Emmanuel (Mass.) W, 3-0 1 3 7 1 13 .462 0 1 2 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 9.0
Mar 9 Johnson & Wales (RI) W, 3-0 1 3 15 4 26 .423 1 1 2 0 9 1 1 0 2 0 17.5
Mar 9 Rivier W, 3-1 1 4 10 7 29 .103 3 1 4 0 2 1 1 0 2 0 12.5
Mar 19 Endicott L, 3-2 1 5 14 4 42 .238 2 3 4 1 8 0 3 0 3 0 18.5
Mar 25 at MIT W, 3-0 1 3 9 7 20 .100 0 1 2 0 6 2 2 1 4 0 13.0
Mar 26 at Wentworth (Mass.) W, 3-2 1 2 9 1 16 .500 0 3 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 12.0
Mar 28 at Springfield L, 3-0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mar 29 at Stevens W, 3-2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mar 31 at Marymount (Va.) W, 3-0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Apr 4 Moorpark College W, 3-0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Apr 13 at UC Santa Cruz L, 3-1 1 4 8 3 25 .200 4 1 3 0 7 1 2 0 3 0 11.0
Total 20 69 191 2.77 86 474 .222 19 0.28 27 0.39 120 1.74 18 20 38 0.55 246.0 3.6
Conference - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Exhibition 2 6 7 1.17 9 28 -.071 1 0.17 1 0.17 7 1.17 1 0 1 0.17 9.0 1.5
Home 10 37 103 2.78 41 247 .251 10 0.27 18 0.49 60 1.62 10 9 19 0.51 135.5 3.7
Away 6 18 55 3.06 27 141 .199 5 0.28 8 0.44 27 1.50 4 5 9 0.50 69.5 3.9
Neutral 4 14 33 2.36 18 86 .174 4 0.29 1 0.07 33 2.36 4 6 10 0.71 41.0 2.9
Wins 11 34 108 3.18 39 225 .307 10 0.29 15 0.44 57 1.68 11 12 23 0.68 140.0 4.1
Losses 9 35 83 2.37 47 249 .145 9 0.26 12 0.34 63 1.80 7 8 15 0.43 106.0 3.0
January 7 27 64 2.37 29 159 .220 7 0.26 8 0.30 52 1.93 10 8 18 0.67 86.0 3.2
February 4 12 33 2.75 23 99 .101 1 0.08 3 0.25 20 1.67 1 1 2 0.17 37.5 3.1
March 8 26 86 3.31 31 191 .288 7 0.27 15 0.58 41 1.58 6 9 15 0.58 111.5 4.3
April 1 4 8 2.00 3 25 .200 4 1.00 1 0.25 7 1.75 1 2 3 0.75 11.0 2.8
Kingsmen End Regular Season at UC Santa Cruz
Kingsmen Earn Comeback Win in Five Sets
Kingsmen Start East Coast Trip with Sweep of MIT
Kingsmen Fall in Five Sets to No. 12 Gulls
Rowe earns First-Ever National Player of the Week for Kingsmen Volleyball
Kingsmen Cap Off Cal-Lu-Fornia Classic with Wins Against Johnson & Wales and Rivier
Kingsmen Sweep Second Straight Opponent; Take Down Bulldogs
Kingsmen Too Much for Saints
Kingsmen Sweep Cardinals to Start Cal-Lu-Fornia Classic
Kingsmen Battle Eagles to the End of Every Set
Kingsmen Fall to No. 7 North Central and No. 5 Dominican
No. 3 Red Men Sweep No. 12 Kingsmen
Kingsmen Fall in Five Set Thriller
No. 8 Kingsmen Sweep Scarlet Hawks
No. 8 Kingsmen Take No. 5 SUNY New Paltz to Five Sets
Kingsmen End Slug-Fest with Sweep of Marian
Kingsmen Go 1-1 On Day One of Slug Slam Tournament
No. 8 Kingsmen Start 2019 Season with Sweep
Kingsmen Look to Build on 2018 Finish; Ready for 2019 Slate
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Assyrian Church of the East
Oriental Orthodox churches
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Ecumenical Relations
Constantinople (patriarchate)
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American Carpatho-Russian
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Albanian Diocese (America)
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Old Believers
Ukrainian Kiev Patriarchate and Autocephalous
Belarusan Autocephalous
Old Calendar churches
Ronald G. Roberson, C.S.P., holds a doctorate from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. From 1988 to 1992, he was a staff member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, serving as a liaison to the Orthodox churches. Father Roberson now lives in Washington, D.C., and is associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Click here to purchase book
View Eastern Catholic Statistics
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kiev Patriarchate and Ukrainian Autocephalous Church
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church — Kiev Patriarchate
Head: Patriarch Filaret (born 1929, elected 1995)
Title: Patriarch of Kiev and All Ukraine
Residence: Kiev, Ukraine
Website: www.cerkva.info
The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
Head: Metropolitan Mefodiy (born 1949, elected 2000)
Title: Primate of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
Residence: Ternopil, Ukraine
Website: www.uaoc.info
Last Modified: 10 Jul 2007
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Party of the future? Or a Dotcom bubble?
An aspiring Dotcom party member gushed in an email on Thursday: “A party that’s ALL about the future, not the past.” But is it?
Compare the Values party formed a few months before the 1972 election.
Values focused on the physical environment two years after a widely supported petition frightened a National government into retreating from building a high dam at Manapouri. Values appealed particularly to a rising generation which bothered more about biodiversity and conservation than its parents did.
Values, reincarnated as the Green party, is still relevant. The political themes of environmental biodiversity and conservation of resources have seeped into the big old parties. The Greens are a fixture in Parliament.
The Dotcom — Internet — party focuses heavily on internet freedom, which reflects party “incubator” Kim Dotcom’s business adventures. The “action agenda” copyright reform section wants to “compel global content creators to make their products available here without the usual delays”.
That’s a topical focus. The 2010s are the digital decade, the time when that technology is realising its full potential to profoundly remodel production of all sorts, thereby changing the nature of work and, with that, social and economic organisation. There will be deep, unpredictable political consequences.
The generations most at home in this dimension of modern society are the under-25s and even more so the under-20s, to whom life without smartphone and pad is antiquity.
This generation is even less inclined to vote than the Y and X generations before it. That is in part because politics in the 2010s has wider paths than the one into Parliament.
In one sense this is not new. In Values’ days many of the then-young baby-boomers were issue-activists, far more than their parents were. The 1960s “values revolution” they generated demanded new moral and social freedoms coupled with moral, social and environmental ideals.
What is different now is digital connectivity, which enables more action, more input into policy decisions and more questioning and in turn expects more responsiveness from authority. Dotcom’s party’s “action agenda” promises “faster and better government” because it will “work for the people”.
This use of a wider range of channels for engaging in politics issue by issue, complemented by governments drawing on inputs from outside party and bureaucratic priesthoods is called participatory democracy. It is not a linear development but increasingly some of the public expects to participate at some times in decisions on some things in some way or to some degree or expects at least to be listened to or acknowledged. On the government side a range of mechanisms is being constructed, tested and used to develop, refine and validate policy change.
So in this respect Dotcom’s party is about the future. But will something like the Internet party be around 40 years from now, as Values is still around in the Greens?
One clue is its flirtation with Hone Harawira.
Mana is old-left. Social equity concerns are at its core and, while those will be issues in the future, Mana generally reaches for solutions from the past. Dotcom’s party says it will make policies on those issues later. That is, social policy is an add-on. Dotcom is anti-establishment but at the libertarian end of politics, not the socialist end.
Also, as Sue Bradford (once a Green MP) pointed out, the Internet party is the creation of a rich man who bought his way to citizenship and she would leave Mana if the two link up. Mana and money sound closely similar, as Sir Tipene O’Regan used to say, but in some contexts they are far distant.
A second clue to the Internet party’s potential lifespan is that the internet is anarchic and long-term politics are constructive. Values-Greens’ appeal was to preserve the foundation of all life. Dotcom’s party’s appeal is to 2010s digital-decade freedoms and gratifications.
The fate of similar parties in Europe suggest that a vote on those grounds in September is less likely than 1972 votes on Values’ grounds to turn into a long-term commitment and eventually infect the older parties. Labour’s Clare Curran’s energetic policy work on digital issues and National’s Nikki Kaye’s digital push in education are independent of Dotcom.
But will those attracted to the Internet party actually vote? There is an irony at the heart of this party: that it stands for a departure from old politics but asks for votes in the old politics.
There is a third clue to the party’s potential longevity: Dotcom himself.
He was elevated to a sort of cult figure by the bumbling harassment of him by the police, spy agencies and United States heavies. Black comedy mixed with cause for indignation.
The indignation is softening. The comedy is tainted with a wearying self-aggrandisement. Without Dotcom as a star, will there be much of a party come the 2017 election?
So is this a party “ALL about the future”? Not on the face of it.
Posted on April 1, 2014 Author Colin JamesCategories Otago Daily Times
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Dave Voyles | Software Engineer, Microsoft
Data science, game development, and financial services
Microsoft Reactor
Reactor FAQ
Contact the Reactor
The Faces of the Reactor
SOLVED: When I try to link my PSN/XBL account to my Epic account, it says that my PSN/XBL account is already linked to an Epic account.
A while back I realized that my Xbox Live account was associated with someone else’s Epic Games account. Because of this, I could not play Fortnite on my Xbox. Despite all of my searching, and learning that there are many people with the same issue, I learned that Epic didn’t have an answer either. Their…
May 20, 2018 in Gaming, Microsoft, Personal.
Let’s Play: Resident Evil 3 (PS1, 1999)
I had the sudden urge to go through the Resident Evil series again, so I pulled out my copy of Resident Evil 3 and plugged it into the ePSXe emulator running on my computer. I have the hardware and a framemeister, but it’s far less convenient, in that I don’t have save states or…
February 20, 2018 in Gaming, Let's Play, Personal.
Videos from the Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2017
My colleague at Microsoft, Hans Reutter, recently posted many videos from the 2018 Portland Retro Gaming Expo, and knowing how much I love older games, I thought I’d share this gem. You can find all of his videos below: Atari Anniversary Series: David Crane and Garry Kitchen Atari Anniversary Series: The History of Imagic with…
November 7, 2017 in Gaming, Personal.
Recap of Terminator 2 – 3D
I don’t really use this blog to discuss film or TV, but I’ve always had a passion for it, and saw 3 great films in theaters this past week, so why not blog about them? My local theater, the Bryn Mawr Film Institute held classes and discussions for Alien (’79) and Aliens (’86) last week.…
August 31, 2017 in Personal.
How to get started in the tech world
I gave a talk to computer science students at Temple University last year and recorded the audio. I never got around to creating a video (background image) for it until now. I’ve been asked to come back several times since the first instance that I gave this talk, so I thought it would be…
March 23, 2017 in Personal, Students.
Microsoft Reactors—in a league of their own
I was part of the launch team behind Microsoft’s Reactor in Philadelphia back in November. Recently, our public sector (government) team had an opportunity to write about our three spaces across the United States, including San Francisco, New York, and Philadelphia. You can find that article here. ———————– @DaveVoyles Subscribe to my startup, tech, and…
March 22, 2017 in Microsoft, Personal, Philadelphia, Reactor.
We went ghost hunting in Phadelphia
I aint afraid of no ghosts – Ray Parker Jr. Amanda Lange (@Second_Truth) and I went ghost hunting around Philadelphia earlier this summer. We started at Drexel University, then made our way out to the suburbs of Exton, to record a series of videos around a device we created this summer. ———————– @DaveVoyles Subscribe to…
December 20, 2016 in Microsoft, Personal, Philadelphia.
Indie Dev Podcast, Episode 34, Gil Almogi, representation and humanity in gaming
Gil Almogi has loved video games since he was young. To that end, he is a freelance video game critic. The majority of his work up until recently appeared on Game Revolution, but he has also written for the Sumthing Else blog, Armless Octopus, and Game Music Fans. His particular interests when it comes to…
December 3, 2016 in Personal, Podcast.
‘The Bunker’ review, PC FMV game
I wanted to like this game, I really did. I played it at PAX during an Xbox showcase that Microsoft had for ID@Xbox developers, and the team behind it were cordial. As a huge fan of FMV games, I was looking forward to this myself. I found myself engrossed by the story and idea of…
November 9, 2016 in Gaming, Journalism, Personal.
Conversations with Uber drivers
I use uber every week. It’s a more cost effective way for me to get to the airport than driving my car and paying to park for several days at a time. What I enjoy most about the Uber ride are the drivers and the conversations we have. My ride to the the Philadelphia airport…
October 27, 2016 in Personal.
Am I streaming on Twitch right now?
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MMO Final Fantasy XIV Is Celebrating It's Fourth Anniversary
destiny-store Date: Aug/29/17 16:47:35 Views: 237
In the past year in Final Fantasy XIV, it has been full of memorable moments, adding to the numerous events surrounding the anniversary, during which Naoki Yoshida will answer player questions on lore and localization, click here to know more. In the past weekend, Final Fantasy XIV held a series of event, such as the Rising seasonal event, along with a number of fun activities and rewards for players to get their hands on.
The critically acclaimed MMO Final Fantasy XIV is celebrating it's fourth anniversary, following on from the release of the second expansion Stormblood. To commemorate the occasion, on September 1-2, the developers will be hosting a special 14-hour live stream, which will include the latest installment of the Letter from the Producer Live series, and talk sessions with the team, plus in-game challenges and other special guests.
The traditional anniversary celebration The Rising is running in game as a seasonal event, letting players win minions portraying Lyse and Gosetsu, Orchestrion Rolls for Stormblood and answers – reprise and more. In order to get the cheapest Final Fantasy XIV Gil and FFXIV Power Leveling, you should check some platforms such as FFXIV4GIL. FFXIV4GIL always strive to provide the cheapest pricing for buyers due to the competitive environment.
Last but not least, the best way to get cheap Final Fantasy XIV Gil, and enjoy the coupon for Final Fantasy XIV Gil directly. You can buy safe and fast Final Fantasy XIV Gil right here in FFXIV4GIL, it's a professional and reliable Final Fantasy XIV Gil seller, whenever you need to buy Gil, or live chat is 24/7 online.
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This page introduces the Fleckney School Governors. It includes the statutory information which schools are required to make available about the governing body and the roles and responsibilities of governors in school. The different categories of governor and details on how to become a parent governor are also included. For further details about the school governors contact the Chair of Governors Mrs Linda Marshall either by email lindam27@fleckney.leics.sch.uk or via the school office.
Meet the Fleckney School Governors
Governors' News Update September 2018
We will be pleased to welcome three new governors to our Board of Governors this term - Stephen Bilbie and Clive Weston (Co-opted Governors) and Hayley Harris (Local Authority Governor). The next meeting of the full Governing Body will be held on 4th October 2018. Since Autumn 2015, we are required to provide new information on the school website including details of the Constitution of the Governing Body, terms of office, committee membership and other positions of responsibility for each governor, attendance at meetings for the last academic year and the Register of Interests.
Further Information about School Governors
The Role of The Governing Body
Categories of Governor
Instrument of Goverment
Election of Parent Governors
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You are here:Home ReebokReebok Z-Power Exercise Bike Review
Reebok Z-Power Exercise Bike Review
The Reebok Z-series of exercise bikes has been around for a number of years now and has replaced the popular, but rather low-specced, I-series range. Their Z-Power bike is a bit more expensive than a good number of similar bikes available on the market, so just what are you getting for your extra bucks?
Well, it’s a pretty, good-looking bike for starters but it’s not just pretty on the outside. Internally, there’s a 9kg flywheel which ensures a smooth, consistent ride and there are 32 levels of electronically controlled resistance controlled by a servo motor. It’s very much a standard set-up for a bike in this class but it works well and the top end of the resistance really should be enough for most domestic users. The pedals are self-levelling with foot-straps that help to keep the rider’s feet stable on the pedals making it easy to to get into a good position and stay there throughout the workout.
The gel saddle is nicely padded and quite wide meaning you’re unlikely to get too saddle sore, even if you’re a complete beginner. The seat adjusts horizontally and vertically and it’s also possible to tilt it before fixing it into position – though realistically you’ll only adjust this last element when first assembling the bike and are unlikely to touch it after that as there are no quick-release levers for this part. A bit disappointingly, especially at this price, the handlebars are fixed and don’t adjust in any way, though it is still possible to get a fairly good riding position despite this.
Once everything’s set up the console offers up a number of different training options comprising of a manual mode and 12 preset programmes. The manual mode is easy enough to understand to the point that you don’t really need to refer to the user manual and accessing the preset programmes is straight-forward even just by playing around with the buttons on the console. It’s intuitive to use and with a bit of patience, 90% of the console functions can be figured out just by a bit of trial and error experimentation. This is made a bit easier by the fact that the pre-set programmes have their profile printed right on the console and each of them can be used for a user-defined duration.
All training data including speed, time-elapsed, distance covered, calories burned, pulse, watts and RPM is clearly displayed on the bright 5.52 LCD window in such a way to make every bit of information clear and easy to see. There are hand-pulse sensors built into the handlebars which work ok, but it’s definitely a major let down to see that Reebok has opted to skip the inclusion of a proper wireless heart rate monitor here. For this sort of money, it really should be standard on a bike these days.
On a more positive note, there’s a water bottle holder which really isn’t as small a thing as it sounds and this as well as the solid ergonomics make the overall rider experience a good one. The Z-power bike has a maximum user weight of 120kg which is respectable (if a little low) and it also has transport wheels fitted to the front stabiliser making it easy to move around if you need to. This particular model also comes with a class-leading 3-year warranty for complete peace of mind.
Currently available for £299.00 from John Lewis
The Reebok Z-power exercise bike isn't bad at all. It's comfortable and easy to use and definitely does the job. But, it's hard to forgive some basic omissions such as handlebars that can be adjusted and the lack of a heart rate monitor that can be used with a chest belt. And that's because of the price. For substantially less the Viavito Satori actually matches, and exceeds these specs with a wireless receiver for pulse monitoring, user profiles and more than double the number programmes. Or, for the same money, you can get your hands on the DKN AM-3i which beats the Z-power hands down across the board in every, single, department.
Reebok Z-Power Specifications
9kg (19.8lbs) flywheel
32 levels of computer controlled magnetic resistance
12 programmes
5.5″ LCD display
Heart rate measured via pulse grips
Feedback: speed, time, distance, calories, pulse, watts, RPM
Vertically and horizontally adjustable saddle
Balanced and adjustable pedals
Max. User Weight: 120kg (264.6lbs)
Dimensions (L x W x H): 101cm (39.8”) x 51cm (20.1”) x 128cm (50.4”)
Product Weight: 31.5kg (69.4lbs)
Warranty: 3 year parts and labour
Reebok Z-Power Exercise Bike - Console / Display Unit
Reebok Z-Power Exercise Bike - User Reviews
Comfy saddle
Handlebars cannot be adjusted
Lacking a wireless heart rate receiver
Reebok Z-Power Exercise Bike Reviewer Ratings
Ease Of Use - 7.5
Warranty - 8.5
Value for Money - 5
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In the Flesh, Season 2, Episode 4
Amy starts her day with an attempt at breakfast – which is a little odd since the PDS don’t eat and she spits the bar she eats into the sink.
Phillip, by his dreams, is still obsessed with Amy – and he comes downstairs to find his mum, the awesome Shirley, talking to Henry’s mum and they’re pretty upset that absolutely no-one cares about Henry’s disappearance. That also includes Phillip
Which brings us to Maxine who also doesn’t care – since she’s poring over her records to find the first risen; so much so she threatens the PDS with being listed as non-compliant for not listing their times of rising (which, since most of them don’t know, is likely to just get everyone to make it up). While she does this, Dean leads the “give back” PDS on how not to alarm living people (which is every bit as awful as you can imagine). Simon is missing and Kieren notices, so is Amy.
Back at the Walker household, Jem tells her mum, Sue, that she’s going on patrol again and everything is totally fine while Sue worries massively about her daughter (and for pretty good reason).
Kieren comes home and his dad is still all positive and upbeat about the whole give-back scheme while Kieren can see exactly how useful Dean’s guide to civilised humanity actually is and it’s little more than ritual humiliation (showing sufficient cynicism to remind us that Steve is a northerner even if he is upbeat, he points out that that’s the work place). He also wants to go out, probably to spend some time looking for Simon, though his parents are pushing him for family time. Ahhh even as a PDS, the old dramas remain – a little normality to contrast wrenchingly with everything else.
Phillip delays his meeting, drawn to the PDS brothel again (unknown to him, a nosy neighbour is making note of everyone going in and out), studiously avoiding the eyes of the other patrons to meet with fake-Amy-sex-worker which, in a show about zombies, still manages to be the creepiest thing. While he sleeps it off, Maxine notices his absence. Phillip wakes in the brothel and realises he is late – but as he hurries off he is confronted by the nosy neighbour who rants at him and spits on him
Kieren does go to Simon’s, all dressed up – only to find Amy and a whole room full of PDS congregants. Awkward. Simon continues to talk some very good sense though – about PDS not being ashamed of who they are, not trying to hide who they are etc; but Amy doesn’t here because she has to hurry away with a nosebleed. Simon greets Kieren as a congregant and Kieren, after the kiss last episode, is not impressed. He warns Simon that all his followers (who he calls brainwashed) are going to get into trouble for not complying and gets irritated with Simon for not being a “normal person” for 2 seconds – I think this is more related to his recruitment pitches than failure to conform though. Amy interrupts to stop them all arguing while both of them jump – because Amy still has a crush on Simon. She’s also showing signs of confusion, trying to do a task she’s clearly already done.
When she leaves, Simon tries to kiss Kieren but he stops him – Amy’s right out there and she deserves to be told rather than her continue to desperately crush on Simon.
To the town meeting – which Phillip is missing – starting with the founding of the RPS (Roarton Protection Service) which is basically an anti-PDS police; people point out that it’s blatantly the old HVF, even with the same members. When people start complaining about PDS not wearing makeup, Maxine takes over – and is shocked and disgusted to learn about the PDS brothel “the living and those things?” Maxine has a full on rant, inciting the crowd; and Henry’s mother snaps. She stands up and refuses to speak or listen to Maxine, calling her a liar – she shames her neighbours for completely ignoring his disappearance, pretending he was never there.
Phillip finally appears after the meeting is over and Maxine accuses him of missing it so he could avoid having to speak about the missing Henry. She’s angry that Henry’s mother won’t “accept the facts” and how it basically derailed her whole incitement rant. She wants Phillip to lie to Henry’s mother and claim a reliable source saw Henry at a ULA training camp – but Phillip keeps asking what the source is. She threatens his career and future when he keeps being reluctant and expects him to have an answer for her in 5 hours – when they go to protest the brothel. Phillip looks awfully stressed.
Gary is happy to see Jem back in a soldier’s uniform - and they kiss – before heading out. They split up, at Jem’s insistence, and when she’s alone she starts panicking – she hallucinates Henry’s dead body and runs through the woods until she reaches Gary. They move on to the pub – and someone’s buying their drinks for them, like back in the day when the HVF got free booze. Fear of PDS is growing again. Gary’s advice to Jem is to, basically, be strong, ignore it and move on.
Amy goes to see Shirley about her symptoms (she doesn’t want to see the doctor) and Shirley proposes using a new form of the medicine they use since the documentation says it’s helpful. They’re both present to see Phillip’s little freak out over the toaster. Meanwhile, Simon agrees to get to know Kieren – which means going out wearing cover-up make up and contacts. In the street Kieren kisses him – which is when Amy runs into them. They don’t see her, but she’s clearly very upset. Poor Amy.
Kieren takes Simon home with him to meet his parents which is very awkward, especially since Kieren’s parents still insist on inviting PDS to eat meals with them. Jem arrives and she’s invited Gary for lunch (both of them a little tipsy from the pub) – and Steve catches them kissing on the front doorstep. This may be the most awkward lunch in the history of family dinners. Especially since Jem doesn’t see why they should change out of their new uniform and Maxine’s plan to commemorate the rising is raised and Gary rather tastelessly brings up war stories at the table while Steve and Sue desperately try to stop it and even Jem looking really uncomfortable. Kieren breaks and decides to tell his own little story of rising from the dead – sure, it’s not funny but nor was Gary’s – Steve and Sue again try to keep the polite dinner going.
What is worth noting among this is that Kieren remembers everything of his own rising (including his time of rising – midnight) – something both Simon and Maxine have been looking for. Simon is very very interested, especially when Kieren is clear that no-one else was around. He was alone when he rose. Yes, Kieren is the First Risen (was there any doubt?). Simon tries to focus on that but Kieren is trying to tell his own story – the fear that always plagued him when he was alive was now gone. Steve finally cracks and tells him to stop – and Kieren loses his temper – Gary is laughing and joking about killing PDS and that’s fine dinner conversation?
Kieren storms out, Simon following.
Phillip goes to beg the woman with the video camera – and he spends a lot of time fixating on her fire-irons to ominous music (though he’s put off by her Jesus statues). We later see him leaving – with the video. But he hasn’t killed her – he’s convinced her he’s doing religious outreach; which Mrs. Lamb then goes on to praise Shirley for raising such a good and pious young man. Shirley goes home and sees Mrs. Lamb’s video in the bin – she doesn’t mention it, but she does talk to Phillip about doing right by Henry’s mother.
But Phillip may not be out of the woods – Maxine’s landlord has borrowed a video from nosy-neighbour-Mrs. Lamb and it turns out to be one of her CCTV tapes
Two of Simon’s followers break into the doctor’s office to free the rabid PDS to prove to him how dedicated they are (ah, the problems of a cult – can you really control what your followers will do to try and impress you?). They paint ULA graffiti around and open the PDS cage, but when the rabid PDS don’t instantly leave the cage (they’re kept sedated), they both leave before anyone comes to the alarm.
The receptionist, the unsympathetic Denise, arrives to turn off the alarm – and is attacked by the free rabid PDS
Phillip goes to Maxine’s meeting – and find Maxine has the tape of him visiting the brothel. And yes, she’s using it for blackmail to force Phillip to lie about Henry.
The brothel protest begins – Maxine calling everyone in and the new RPS, led by Gary, prepares to raid the building while Maxine makes her little speech to the small crowd. Inside they gather everyone up, prostitutes and clients, Gary throwing out one of the women’s property. Amy watches from the back of the crowd, horrified. Gary hounds the people out in front of the crowd
Phillip goes to see Henry’s mother and she talks about knowing Phillip as a child, how she trusts him, how she desperately needs some truth. We see him leave later, looking determined – he goes to the protest where the people inside are being forced to show their faces to the crowd – and takes Maxine’s microphone and tells the crowd to stop, that they’re no better than the prostitutes and clients, none of them are “pure” – they jeer and shout at him while he talks about accepting their real selves and not being ashamed. Seeing he’s being ignored he drops the mic – and goes to stand with the other clients who are being publicly shamed
He drinks in a bus shelter afterwards and Amy arrives – somehow managing to joke about his reputation and necrophilia and not make it mocking or cruel but a shared joke. And he awkwardly confesses that he doesn’t have a PDS fetish, he just likes one person with PDS – Amy. They go to bed together and continue to make jokes.
Kieren, at Simon’s house, removes his contacts and wipes off his makeup and Simon’s. Simon makes a call to someone to say he’s found the First Risen – and he’s beautiful.
Maxine goes to the graveyard to tell a grave “don’t worry, not long now” and brushes away a tear. Is Maxine looking for the second rising?
There is a wonderful ongoing analysis into so many elements of prejudice and discrimination with the treatment of the PDS. The whole thing is really excellently done to show all of these in a very real fashion – there’s just one big glaring hole in the middle: PDS are dangerous. PDS are one dose away from eating people which makes them an inherently problematic comparator to actual marginalised groups – as the fate of Denise makes clear
Kieren and Simon are also interesting complicated. Kieren wants a human connection with Simon, but Simon is almost an embodiment of his cause. He doesn’t talk like a “normal person” – he makes speeches, he tells sermons. He never turns off and is just Simon; and here’s Kieren trying to pursue a relationship with a man who alternates between treating him as a congregant, a constituent and a potential activist. At the same time, is Kieren pursuing a relationship but also adding in fine print that Simon needs to drop his beliefs and activism? After all, Kieren was the one who came in with his lectures of conformity. And Simon ends up having to go out wearing the cover-up make up; Kieren asking Simon to be “normal” also requires him to abandon his beliefs and “conform” for the sake of Kieren’s comfort.
But then Kieren is becoming complex – all the conformity is slowly shattering and his temper frays. Again – a lot of complexity and nuance there, different angles and progression and growth
Jem and Gary continue to be creepy and not just from the sexual standpoint – Gary is dealing with Jem’s trauma and PTSD by being in complete denial about it – putting Jem back into a soldier role, into being badass warrior so he can pretend her pain and conflict and confusion isn’t there. And Jem herself – she’s also almost playing the role – if she can be the cold, hard soldier she was then she doesn’t have to be afraid or guilty any more. Gary is pushing what so many mentally ill people face – ignore it, pretend it isn’t a problem and hope it goes away.
And Phillip? There’s a lot of complexity there – shame and courage, flaws and failings and, yes, creepiness and confusion
Posted by Sparky at 9:00 AM
Labels: 4 Fangs, BBC, in the flesh, Zombies
Frat House of the Dead (Salt Lake After Dark #1.5)...
The 100, Season One, Episode Eleven: The Calm
The Art of Inserting a Token
Fevered Souls Season 1 by S.K. Falls
Review and Recap: The 4400 Season One
This Week in Book Covers 19th May -23rd May
Tales of the Hidden World by Simon r Green
Stone Song (Cold Iron #3) by D.L. McDermott
Continuum, Season 3, Episode 9: Minute of Silence
Penny Dreadful, Season 1, Episode 3: Resurrection....
Banishing the Dark (Arcadia Bell #4) by Jenn Benne...
Fangs for the Fantasy Podcast Moved
Orphan Black, Season 2, Episode 6: To Hound Nature...
New Releases 25st May - 31st May
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Edinburgh is winning war on bogus callers
Press release issued on behalf on Police Scotland today. Police in Edinburgh were joined by Council trading standard officers yesterday (Wednesday April 27) as part of an ongoing campaign to tackle doorstep crime.
Local officers invited residents in the Weaver’s area of Currie to set up a ‘No Cold Calling Zone’ to protect themselves against bogus callers and rogue traders.
In addition, they also visited banks and community centres to deliver prevention messages and to encourage people to stay vigilant and to look out for their neighbours.
Edinburgh currently has 69 No Cold Calling Zones in operation each of which had to obtain a majority of support from the people who lived there before they could be implemented.
After yesterday’s activity, three new zones are now expected after residents in Weaver’s Know Crescent, Riccarton Drive and Riccarton Avenue gave a positive reaction to the proposal.
PC Greig Stephen who is a Prevention Officer based in the West End, said: “Bogus callers remain a persistent problem for us and unfortunately can result in someone being scammed out of a significant amount of money.
“We will continue to work closely with our partners at Trading Standards in the City of Edinburgh Council as we look to highlight key prevention messages in an effort to protect members of the public from falling victim.
“Cold callers can come across as extremely confident and will try to pressure homeowners into parting with their cash for a product or service they don’t need.
“Anyone can be convinced by the lies these criminals create.
“We always recommend never paying for goods or services to strangers who turn up unsolicited at your door.
“I am pleased to say that during yesterday’s activity we received tremendous feedback from residents and as a result we expect three new cold calling zones to be set-up in Weaver’s Knowe Crescent, Riccarton Drive and Riccarton Avenue.
““If you are aware of any suspicious activity taking place at the home of a neighbour, friend or family member then please contact police immediately.”
The latest action is part of Operation Monarda, which began in 2013 with the aim to target doorstep criminals as well as raise awareness of the problem.
Community Safety Leader Councillor Cammy Day, said: “Doorstep Crime remains one of our top priorities and incidents can be devastating for victims, both financially and in terms of having the confidence to live independently. By working with our partners on specific events like Operation Monarda, and our ongoing doorstep crime partnership with Police Scotland, Operation Aristotle, we can ensure our resources and our respective strengths are used as effectively as possible to combat doorstep crime.
“We must send a strong message to criminals that doorstep crime activities will not be tolerated, and assure residents that all incidents reported are taken seriously and acted upon.”
Our trading standards team advise against contracting for work with cold callers, and to consider using a Trusted Trader. Further details are available at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/tradingstandards or contact trading standards via 0131 529 3030.
Check Neighbourhood Watch Scotland for alerts relevant to your area. If there is not a Neighbourhood Watch, maybe you could start one! www.neighbourhoodwatchscotland.co.uk or 01786 463732
If you suspicious of any potential doorstep crime dial 101 and inform Police Scotland – Trading Standards will be informed. Always dial 999 in an emergency.
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Home / youth
Taize weekend in Edinburgh arranged for March 2014
The Taize ecumenical community based in France, which has an emphasis on youth and historic Christian spirituality in a changing world, will be holding one of its European weekends in Edinburgh from 15-17 March 2014.
Solidarity is New Year message to European youth
Some 30,000 ecumenical youth have gathered in Strasbourg for a festival of peace, justice and spirituality.
Methodist youth in Britain choose new president elect
The Methodist Youth Assembly – 3Generate – has elected Megan Thomas as the Church's new Youth President Designate for 2014-2015.
Youth address community issues in churches' virtual conference
The World Council of Churches (WCC) held its first Youth Virtual Conference titled “Live your Faith!” on 12 October.
Asian youth call for justice and peace
“Justice and peace now!” was a call made by the young participants of the recent Asia-Pacific Students and Youth Gathering (ASYG) in the Philippines.
Youth generate unique multi-faith community in Bossey
Young people of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths have recently created a unique community at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland. Together they seek to break religious stereotypes, promote mutual respect and enhance their understanding of religions beyond the conflict paradigm.
Methodist youth back Nicaragua street child campaign
Three young people have been chosen to represent Methodist Children and Youth from the Church in Britain on a trip to Nicaragua in November.
UN chief hears concerns from young people across the world
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has held an interactive dialogue with young people across the world and launched an online United Nations Platform for Youth.
Welcome for extended franchise for Scottish independence referendum
Political reformers have welcomed approval by the Scottish Parliament of a bill extending the franchise to young people for next year's referendum.
Young people's global poverty meals drive across England and Wales
Starting tomorrow, UK-based development agency Christian Aid is hosting a series of meals to engage young people in ending global poverty.
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Scotland's new benefit pays out £3.5 million in first three months
The Pregnancy and Baby Payment provides £600 for a first child and £300 for any siblings thereafter, whilst the Early Learning Payment is £250 for a child aged between two and three-and-a-half.
LGA responds to Centre for Policy Studies report on social care
The local Government Association has responded to a report by the Centre for Policy Studies putting forward proposals to secure the future of social care.
More people asking for social care support but fewer getting it, says King's Fund
Rising disability among working-age adults and a growth in the number of people over 65 is putting rising pressure on the adult social care system in England, with more people requesting care but fewer people receiving it.
Young Women's Trust launches new supportive strategy
The Young Women’s Trust is embarking on an ambitious new strategy to support 10,000 young women in boosting their confidence and employability and make workplaces fairer over the next three years.
Citizens Advice to help Windrush compensation scheme applicants
Citizens Advice will be funded by the Home Office to help people applying to the government’s Windrush compensation scheme.
Children's Commissioner for England reports on mental health support
Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England publishes a report looking at the amount spent on 'low-level' mental health support for children in England.
EU citizens will be supported to stay in Scotland
EU citizens living in Scotland are to be supported to remain in Scotland during and beyond the uncertainty associated with an EU exit, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
Joint letter from charities and professional bodies says adult social care at breaking point
More than two million people in England have left their jobs to provide unpaid care for family or friends.
Children paying the price of cuts in crisis support, says Children's Society
Parents are struggling to afford basics like feeding and clothing their children following Government funding cuts which have seen crisis support scaled back, says the Children's Society.
NAHT comments on new measures to support wellbeing for teachers
Headteachers say urgent action is needed to improve the status of the profession and alleviate some of the unnecessary stresses and strains of the job.
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Harvard Faculty Profiles
A look at the renewable energy research of Laura Diaz Anadon (HKS) and Richard Vietor (HBS)
Hamilton Hall, Harvard Business School,
Sustainability: What It Means for Today’s Business Leaders
The HBS Business & Environment Initiative hosts a lecture with Auden Schendler, VP of Sustainability, Aspen Skiing Company. Moderated by Lisa Wetstone (MBA 2019). Open to the Harvard community.
Monday, April 22, 2019 -
WBUR CitySpace, 890 Commonwealth Ave., Boston
Stepping Up: Business in the Era of Climate Change
"Energy Transitions" with panelists Peter Fox-Penner, Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy, and Professor of Practice, Questrom School of Business; Abigail Ross Hopper, President & CEO at Solar Energy Industries Association; and Francis Slingsby, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Orsted. Moderated by WBUR Environmental Reporter Bruce Gellerman. The final of a five-part WBUR series in collaboration with Harvard Business School and Boston University Questrom School of Business.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 6:30pm
"The Road Map of the Future: Transportation" with panelists Adam Gromis, Public Policy Manager, Sustainability & Environmental Impact, Uber; Kevin Butt, General Manager - Regional Environmental Sustainability Director, Toyota North America; and Caroline Samponaro, Head of Bike, Scooter & Pedestrian Policy at Lyft. Moderated by WBUR Environmental Reporter Bruce Gellerman. Part four of a five-part WBUR series in collaboration with Harvard Business School and Boston University Questrom School of Business.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019 - 6:30pm
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Top Ten for 2012
It's year-end list time & I'll contribute with my top ten favorite reads of 2012. Not necessarily published this year, but discovered & loved by me since January 1, 2012. Presented in alphabetical order:
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore - Kristin Cashore is one of those authors who just works for me. Everything she writes, everything about her writing. She's the preacher, I'm the choir. I loved Graceling so much I didn't think Cashore would be able to top it -- but what makes the Seven Kingdoms books so amazing is that she didn't try to hit the same bull's eye over and over again. She built different targets and took fresh aim; Fire and Bitterblue are so different from Graceling and from one another.
Bitterblue is the most ambitious of the three; it's less perfect than Graceling, which plucked every string of my heart and left me in a swoon, but also bigger. It tackles bigger issues in a more nuanced way; it places the heroine in an impossible situation where escape is failure, and her goal is incremental change rather than success.
As an unpublished author, the story of how Bitterblue was written -- outlined with photographs in this post -- is pretty inspiring.
The Information by James Gleik - An excellent book that shows the extent to which how we think affects what we think; that the methods of communication available to us (speaking; writing; the telegraph; the internet) mold and shape our view of the world, ourselves, everything.
This is another pet subject of mine -- I love thinking about how the medium affects the message (and the messenger), and discussions of how we offload parts of our brain onto the material world -- and this book is the best treatment of it I've run across since a favorite volume that Gleik cites in his first chapter, Walter Ong's Orality and Literacy.
Riveting, entertaining, thought-provoking. Give the first chapter, about African talking drums, a try. It totally hooked me.
A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant - Hands down the best historical romance I read this year, the best straight-up genre romance I read this year, and then, of course, just plain one of the best books I read this year. I explain why I loved it so much in my review, so I won't go over all the reasons again.
I read the second in Grant's Blackshear Family series, A Gentleman Undone, and admired it on its own but also as a companion piece to A Lady Awakened - the two books are mirror images of one another, stand-alone romances that are nonetheless more satisfying read in combination than in isolation. A good example for other romance writers who want to create series that are more than the sum of their parts.
Dirty by Megan Hart - Dirty was a revelation to me. It was the first, but not the last, erotic romance I read this year and showed me that erotic romance provides a really different set of narrative possibilities than the mainstream offerings. Dirty contains very explicit sex scenes, it's about the early stages of a relationship, and it closes on a positive note, but Dirty is pretty much never romantic.
It's darker and grittier than most romances, and even at the end the heroine's ability to trust and commit is uncertain. It's also beautifully written.
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman - The word that comes to mind when I think of Seraphina is sublime. This YA fantasy is set in a sort of...late-medieval/early-Renaisance world and the heroine is a musician. It's a story about the clash of cultures (dragon vs human, in this case) and all the ugliness of war and prejudice are here, in an unstable peace treaty and everyday acts of violence, but what I remember most is the exquisite, gothic-cathedral perfection of Hartman's pantheon of saints, the way Seraphina is transported by music, the joyful strangeness of her garden of grotesqueries. The prose is exquisite, too, and it contains a very lovely romance.
The Map and the Territory by Michel Houellebecq - Houellebecq is one of my favorite authors, partly because every one of his books builds on his previous work in such interesting ways. I adored The Possibility of an Island and, perhaps, he couldn't get any more Houellebecquian than he did in that book with its definitive mix of brilliance and guttermouth filth, of pulp and erudition, of critique and fantasy. I call him post-individualist.
In any case, The Map and the Territory went in a different direction - he tackled the myth he's created of himself by making himself a major character & did so with, of all things, a wicked sense of humor. The book is overtly about making art, in isolation and in the spotlight, and about the experience of fame, which he seems to have finally grown comfortable with. It's amazing and thoughtful and way, way less virulently misanthropic than his earlier books (despite the fact that the main characters are still misanthropic loners).
Adrien English series by Josh Lanyon - I love a good mystery/romance series, and I loved Adrien English in particular for the dexterity of Lanyon's writing. I took a photography course back in college, long ago enough that we spent as much time learning to develop pictures in a darkroom as learning to take them. One thing my professor said that's stuck with me is that one indicator of a well-shot black and white picture is that it contains the whole range of shades from pure white to pure black. A lot of writers tend to get stuck on one side of the scale; light and funny or dark and angsty, but Lanyon's books hit every shade on the scale. As a character, the titular hero Adrien is good-natured and witty but also sensitive and frail, and Lanyon's prose can switch gears from invisible to lush at the drop of a hat.
The Adrien English books also pulled m/m (male/male) books out of the ghetto for me, which has led to a whole slew of other wonderful discoveries.
Captive Prince by S.U. Pacat - For example! Captive Prince is not a published book (yet). It is free online fiction and if I had to pick an overall favorite among the books I've read this year, it might win the top slot. It is, hands down, the best enemies-to-lovers romance I have ever read. And enemies-to-lovers is just about my favorite trope.
If you want to know why it's so great, check out this post that the author wrote for Anna Cowan & accept my assurance that the author understands tension because she executes it so perfectly in her books. Or just read Captive Prince. I think the beginning is a little rough but the first two volumes are complete and, by the end, I was book-drunk in a way that doesn't happen all that often anymore.
Wonder by R. J. Palacio - Most of these books arrived on my list thanks to a home-team advantage, as it were. I was already a fan of Cashore's prose and world; of Houellebecq; of mystery/romance series; of enemies-to-lovers; of information theory. Wonder is the exception. It hits none of my buttons. I do not seek out middle-grade books. I do not like 'issue books'. And yet I loved Wonder; it made me cry happy tears and it stunned me as an authorial tour de force.
R.J. Palacio's prose is simple. The chapters are short and straightforward. Really, this is a book for kids. And yet it is ultimately so complex, so nuanced, so open-hearted and generous. It's the multiple points-of-view that made the book for me, along with how effortlessly Auggie holds center stage.
Ember by Bettie Sharpe - And now we arrive at a book that didn't just push all my buttons - it mashed at them with a sledgehammer. It's an Angela Carter-esque erotic retelling of Cinderella that reimagines Cinderella as a black witch, Charming as a cursed prince, and the evil step-mother and step-sisters as cunning prostitutes. It picks up every element you remember from the Disney movie and either inverts, subverts, or perverts it.
It's perfect.
In Blog, Uncategorized Tags books, historical romance, reading, review, romance
Review: A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant
Cecilia Grant has been floating around on my radar for a little while now - ever since the second in her Blackshear Family series released in May, and especially since I read Robin Reader's review of A Gentleman Undone over at Dear Author. Every good review I read made it obvious that her books would be right up my alley...and simultaneously increased my reluctance to read, because I hate to be disappointed. But then I met Ms. Grant at RWA12 and she was both lovely and gracious; Courtney Milan took a brief detour from her talk on marketing to insist that "anyone who likes Sherry Thomas would love Cecilia Grant;" and I picked up a free copy of A Lady Awakened at the Bantam Dell signing.
All of that was more than adequately convincing. (And what a bore all future such explanations will be, when my only reason for reading is that I happened across a good review, or the blurb appealed to me....)
I offer all this preface because, when you really think about it, high expectations are the worst. A perfectly fine novel can be really disappointing if you crack the cover expecting greatness. Overblown expectations will ruin your reading experience.
On the other hand, when your expectations have have expanded to truly unrealistic dimensions and the book is even better than you had hoped? I want to make an Olympics metaphor because that's going on right now, even though I'm indifferent to sports and not watching any events, but also because the comparison fits nicely - when expectations meet reality, the result is awe.
So, yeah. I am in awe.
A Lady Awakened pairs an uptight, upright heroine (Martha) blessed with an abundance of moral rectitude but a dearth of charm with a hero (Theo) who's handsome, charismatic, good-natured, and fickle. An opposites attract story, at base.
Newly widowed, childless Martha has one month to impregnate herself before her deceased husband's estate passes on to his villainous brother. She enlists Theo to give her daily doses of seed, hoping to keep the villain at bay with a quickening.
Theo prides himself on being a skilled and generous lover. He's a sensual connoisseur who's learned to appreciate women in all their varied forms, and he's pretty cheerful about the idea of sex with a prim, crusading widow. He sees the possibilities.
But Martha is determined not to enjoy herself. Sex with her fist husband was a trial rather than a pleasure, and that's scarred her. What's more, she's deeply uncomfortable with her own scheme. From the beginning, Martha knows that what she's doing is fraud, and immoral. She justifies her own acts by refusing to enjoy the process, and she actively discourages Theo from making their sexual encounters at all enjoyable.
The rest of my comments are on the spoilery side, and probably best for people who've already read the book. Click through to read.
What I loved about A Lady Awakened is how perfectly Martha's and Theo's character arcs intersect. Early on, Martha disparages Theo and his conviction that sex should be about fun and pleasure. She imagines a perfect conjugal evening, with an appropriately perfect husband - a churchman:
And as to marital obligations, likely a churchman would exercise his rights with a becoming modesty. Without so much fuss and fanfare as other men found necessary. Afterward, he and his wife would lie side by side and talk. He might try out bits of the sermon he was making that week, and ask her opinion. She might tell him what she'd observed in visiting the cottagers that day. Together they would confer, and hatch plans for bettering the lives of everyone in the parish....
[He] might come to his wife's bed some nights with no other purpose than to talk. To know what were her ideas and judgments, and to share his own with her....
A Lady Awakened, 59
It's not that Martha doesn't think she could ever enjoy sex, it's that she believes sex should be secondary - maybe tertiary or, who knows, even lower on the list - in a relationship. She sees pleasure as conditional upon respect, rapport, a meeting of minds and hearts.
And because Theo is such an agreeable sort of fellow, because Theo's primary goal is to be the perfect lover to whoever he's currently sleeping with, he slowly but surely shapes himself to fit Martha's dream. He comes to admire Martha as a person, to consult her about his plans, and he obligingly makes the sex as brief and as bland as possible.
Just in time for Martha to realize that she was wrong. She gets exactly what she asked for, only to realize that she doesn't want it anymore. She's changed - but it's more than that. Her vision of perfection was flawed, the reality unsatisfying. To me, that's the novel's real black moment - the moment of greatest intensity and despair - though the scene itself is companionable and pleasant, on the surface.
In some ways, the changes in Theo's character are more interesting than the changes in Martha's. I felt Martha, how sharp her emotions were, how guarded she was, how much she needed to change and how reluctant she was to actually do so. I rooted for her, especially when her behavior was prickly or cold.
Theo's journey felt more like a commentary on the romance genre, maybe even rebuke. Because he starts out with the kind of attitude most heroes have at the end of their character arc. He aims to please. He tries hard to be the man his woman wants, in bed and out. He's a nice guy, a good guy. But Grant shows us, through a lens that only a woman like Martha can provide, that Theo has a serious flaw.
He overvalues his desirability. He overvalues his sexual prowess. He's entirely too content with himself - as a lot of cocky Romancelandia heroes are - until he meets Martha, who rips him to shreds. Martha is not impressed, and Theo is forced to rebuild his ego almost from scratch.
There's one quote in particular from Theo towards the end that made me realize how far he had come, and how important it was that he change - that it wasn't enough, not by half, to make Martha loosen up and enjoy sex: "No lust, it developed, was so gratifying to a man as the lust that blossomed only after esteem had taken root. He might have gone his whole life without finding this out, if he'd never been exiled to Sussex." (A Lady Awakened, 276)
I'll admit that I found the ending unsatisfying. Martha makes this spur-of-the-moment, out-of-character decision to hire Theo as a lover and that's necessary to make the novel happen, so I was happy to suspend disbelief and read on. Her bargain with Theo played out beautifully, full of subtlety and nuance. Both characters go on this tremendous emotional journey, though the action itself is quiet and subdued.
But all along there's the threat of this villainous brother-in-law and, to Grant's credit, there's no neat and easy solution. When he finally shows up Martha finds out that he has two young sons, and Martha's fraudulent pregnancy is wronging them, too.
This is a pretty intense moral dilemma and Grant just doesn't have time to do it justice. The big intervention and comic hijinks everyone gets up to - teaching the housemaids self-defense moves, for example - felt so thin and inadequate, especially in comparison to everything that had come before. In the final pages, I couldn't rejoice at the knowledge that the villain is sent away to prey on women in some other part of the country, where the neighbors aren't so vigilant; that just seems like passing the buck to me, nothing to be proud of.
Anyhow, this is a minor quibble and I can't wait to read the next book in the series, A Gentleman Undone. A Lady Awakened is magnificent, a new favorite and highly, highly recommended.
In Blog, Uncategorized Tags historical romance, reading, review
Ravishing in Red by Madeline Hunter
All romances end with a happily ever after. That's a given. A lot of romance authors try to spook readers into fearing that the promised HEA will never arrive, and I've always half-wondered if that's a mistake. I just finished reading Madeline Hunter's Ravishing in Red. I thought it was magnificent, but at no point in time did I ever fear that the hero and heroine weren't going to make it. Of course they would! They were perfect for one another. They treated one another with respect and affection, got along well, grew closer by slow degrees.
The thing is, as romance readers, we're really promised two things whenever we pick up a romance. First, the Happily Ever After. Second? Lots of pain along the way.
Hunter delivers on that second promise. Not by threatening the inevitable conclusion but, rather, by presenting us at the outset with a little emotional grenade. Audrianna's father has been blamed for signing off on bad gunpowder, a mistake -- or, worse, conspiracy -- that left many young men dead. Sebastian's brother is a maimed war hero. Sebastian and Audrianna may be perfect for one another, but Sebastian seeks justice for his crippled brother while Audrianna seeks to clear her dead father's name. They cannot both have what they want; the truth will hurt one of them.
She kept me guessing about the gunpowder all the way up until the end of the novel...which is to say, she kept me guessing about who would be caught holding the emotional grenade when it finally blew.
To me, that's a much more frightening conflict than the threat of a breakup. Ravishing In Red is a romance novel so I know that Sebastian and Audrianna will be fine at the end. I don't know how much Madeline Hunter is willing to bash at my heart along the way. I don't know which of her characters she'll hurt, only that the gunpowder issue will resolve badly for someone.
In writing workshops, I'm generally advised to make readers fear for the relationship. I'm told those are the highest stakes. And perhaps only the masters can get away with taking a different route. But by the time I turned the last page, I was very content as a reader and full of admiration as a writer.
In Blog, Uncategorized Tags historical romance, review
Book 1 in a new series of historical romances
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Laurens: France have all the tools to keep winning trophies
ESPN FC TV 1 day ago
Making sense of CONCACAF's new World Cup qualifying format
ESPN FC TV 3 days ago
Senator: No equal pay, no public '26 WC funds
FIFA Women's World Cup 7 days ago ESPN
Rapinoe slams FIFA's 'unbelievable' scheduling
FIFA World Cup Jul 6, 2019
Australia, Indonesia discuss joint World Cup bid
FIFA World Cup Jun 26, 2019 Reuters
Remembering Bob Ley's utter despair with FIFA in 2015
FIFA World Cup Jun 26, 2019
Platini detained as part of 2022 World Cup probe
Blog - FIFA Jun 18, 2019 Julien Laurens
Spain and Portugal assess 2030 World Cup bid
FIFA World Cup Jun 8, 2019 Reuters
1,264 days until Qatar: WC qualifying begins
World Cup Qualifying Jun 6, 2019 ESPN
FIFA Congress Q&A: Gianni Infantino was reelected as president. What's next for Club World Cup, pay equality?
Marcotti's Musings Jun 5, 2019 Gabriele Marcotti
Messi unsure if he'll play at 2022 World Cup
ESPN Jun 1, 2019 ESPN
2022 World Cup: How qualifying works around the world
FIFA World Cup May 23, 2019 ESPN
FIFA scraps plans for 48-team World Cup in 2022
1990: When Cameroon rocked the world
Cameroon May 22, 2019 Ed Dove
Zimmerman opens up on biggest USMNT obstacle
The Boot Room May 17, 2019
Qatar brings first new World Cup stadium to life as FIFA mulls expansion
FIFA World Cup May 16, 2019 Reuters
Asia holds World Cup draw despite '22 doubts
FIFA World Cup Apr 16, 2019 Reuters
FIFA president: 48-team 2022 World Cup 50/50
Pele hospitalised in Paris with urinary infection
Brazil Apr 3, 2019 Associated Press
Chicharito urges calm amid Mexico's fine form
Mexico Mar 27, 2019 Tom Marshall
Russian politician Vitaly Mutko: Doping cover-up claim revenge for World Cup
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko says claims he intervened to conceal a Krasnodar player's positive drug test are "laughable" and suggested the doping furore was a response to the nation winning the right to host the 2018 World Cup.
The allegations were made in a documentary aired on Wednesday night by German broadcaster ARD at a time when Russia has been facing serious questions over doping across several sports.
Mutko referenced the calls for the 2018 World Cup to be reassigned amid investigations into the voting process and said this was just the latest attempt to undermine the country as a result of its success in winning the hosting rights.
Mutko told reporters including the RIA news agency: "One of the reasons for the doping scandal with Russian sportspeople is the desire to dredge for compromising information with regard to the 2018 World Cup.
"First they tried through FIFA but didn't succeed. Now they are investigating the laundering of bribes, they are trying to get in from the other side."
Mutko argued the ARD documentary could have been aimed to show that Russia's anti-doping efforts "were not genuine."
It came at a time when Russia is hoping the IAAF will lift its suspension of Russia's track and field athletes in time to compete in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and Russia Today quoted him as saying: "This is a sort of an information attack.
"The aim of this and other publications is clear to me -- it is to influence [the ruling] of the athletics committee on the eve of the meeting."
Vitaly Mutko has said the allegations he were involved in a doping cover-up are 'implausible.'
The ARD programme cited what it said were Mutko's initials on a document as proof that the minister helped to cover up a positive test of an unidentified player for Russian club Krasnodar.
The documentary alleged that an internal email discussing the failed test should be sent on to "VL," which it said was a reference to Vitaly Leontiyevich Mutko.
"The initials could be somebody else's," Mutko said, according to the Tass news agency. "Thousands of people use me as a reference. How can I help somebody to cover up something? Destroy it myself? This is laughable and implausible."
Mutko blamed the accusations on Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the Moscow drug-testing lab now living in Los Angeles, who revealed details of Russian doping in an interview with the New York Times last month. Rodchenkov said he personally switched tainted urine samples for clean ones at the doping lab used for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, with help from people he believed to be officers of the Russian security services.
"He has one target -- me," Mutko said of Rodchenkov. "I can feel in all of his interviews that he hates me. This is a targeted attack on Russia, calculated and well-organised. Mr. Rodchenkov is working for the people who gave him shelter."
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, indicated on Wednesday that the Kremlin treats the ARD allegations as libel and stands by Mutko.
On Wednesday, Mutko said he wanted all retested doping samples from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics to be thrown out because of alleged flaws in the reanalysis process.
The IOC has reported 55 positive findings in retesting of stored samples from the 2008 Beijing Games and 2012 London Olympics. The Russian Olympic Committee has said 22 of the cases involved Russian athletes, including medalists.
Russian officials said two of the athletes were cleared when their "B" samples tested negative, contradicting the positive "A" samples. Mutko said those two cases were enough justification for the entire retesting program to be scrapped.
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Kuwait hands Muslim Brotherhood-linked militants to Egypt: KUNA
Kuwait has handed over to Egypt eight Egyptians who it said had admitted to carrying out terrorist operations in their home country, and had fled to Kuwait after being convicted in Egypt, the state news agency KUNA reported.
U.N. says Yemeni warring sides agree port ceasefire moves
Yemen's warring parties have agreed new measures to enforce a ceasefire and facilitate a troop pullback from the flashpoint port of Hodeidah, the United Nations said on Monday.
Trial begins with high stakes for U.S.-Turkey ties, ex-Trump adviser Flynn
In a court case that could further strain U.S. relations with Turkey and weigh on the sentencing of former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn, a criminal trial began on Monday involving a former Iranian-American business partner of Flynn.
Czech Social Democrats dig in heels over minister nominee, threatening government
The Czech Republic's junior coalition party the Social Democrats said on Monday they were sticking with their preferred candidate for culture minister, prolonging a spat that is threatening the survival of Prime Minister Andrej Babis's minority government.
Von der Leyen pledges social and climate reforms ahead of crunch EU vote
The European Union's nominee to head its executive Commission proffered economic, environmental and social reforms in a bid for support from a lukewarm EU parliament in a confirmation vote taking place on Tuesday.
U.N. says Yemeni warring sides agree "ceasefire mechanism"
Yemen's warring sides have agreed on a "mechanism and new measures to reinforce the ceasefire and de-escalation" around the flashpoint port of Hodeidah, as well as technical aspects of a troop pullback, the United Nations said on Monday.
Brazil vice president says country is staying in Paris climate accord
Brazil's Vice President Hamilton Mourao said on Monday he considers it "impossible" for Brazil to leave the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Czech Social Democrats stick to minister nominee in government dispute
Guatemala's Constitutional Court has blocked President Jimmy Morales from immediately declaring the poor Central American nation a safe third country for asylum-seekers, amid growing pushback to U.S. pressure that it absorb large numbers of migrants.
Landmine kills 11 pilgrims in southern Afghanistan
At least 11 pilgrims including seven children were killed and on Monday when their vehicle set off a landmine in southern Afghanistan, local government and health officials said.
Italy seizes air-to-air missile, guns in raids on neo-Nazis
Italian police have seized a large arsenal of weapons, including an air-to-air missile, in raids on neo-Nazi sympathizers, they said on Monday.
Saudi Arabia to support indebted Lebanon, say ex-PMs after meeting king
Saudi Arabia is preparing to support Lebanon through its economic challenges, three Lebanese ex-premiers indicated after meeting Saudi King Salman in Jeddah on Monday.
'Up in the air': Polls show Argentine presidential race neck-and-neck
Argentina's presidential race looks set to go down to the wire, with the first batch of polls showing incumbent Mauricio Macri and center-left challenger Alberto Fernández neck-and-neck.
Climate activists disrupt five British cities with 'summer uprising'
Civil disobedience group Extinction Rebellion staged protests in five British cities on Monday, aiming to renew pressure on the government to take bolder action to tackle climate change and slow the worldwide loss of plant and animal species.
EU Commission president nominee says open to further Brexit extension
The choice of EU leaders for European Commission president said on Monday she would support giving Britain more time to negotiate its exit from the bloc as part of a series of promises to persuade a lukewarm EU parliament to back her in the post.
Ethiopia premier's aide named to lead restive Amhara region
Ethiopia's Amhara Democratic Party (ADP) named the security adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as head of the restive Amhara region on Monday after his predecessor was killed in a violent attempt to seize power there.
Von der Leyen pledges social, climate reforms ahead of knife-edge EU vote
The European Union's conservative nominee to head the executive Commission proffered a raft of economic, environmental and social reforms on Monday, an eleventh-hour bid for support from EU lawmakers who will vote on her nomination on Tuesday.
Germany's von der Leyen to resign as defense minister regardless of European Parliament vote
The European Union's conservative nominee to head the executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Monday she would step down as German defense minister regardless of the outcome of the European Parliament's Tuesday vote.
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Photo Credit: MediaPictures.pl / Shutterstock
Warsaw's Risky Flirtation With Washington
Michal Baranowski
Director, Warsaw Office
Michal Baranowski stands in front of a white-grey world map in his conference room and explains what the state of mind is in Poland: fear. The head of the German Marshall Fund's Warsaw office is an outstanding expert in Polish-American relations and has a broad network. "The economy, increasingly the energy industry, and cultural ties naturally also play a role from a Polish perspective," says Baranowski to the WELT.
"But the security policy aspect has always dominated." Warsaw believes above all that the Americans, together with Poland, can counter a possible Russian aggression. However, Warsaw expects little or no protection from the Europeans. The idea of a European army, which is currently being promoted primarily by Germany and France, is however being pursued with interest.
But for the Poles all this is not going fast enough. "We are acutely facing a security challenge, and a European army would be a project that could be implemented over decades," explains Baranowski. Since the Russian-Georgian War in 2008, or at the latest since Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014, the "Russian threat has been an ongoing topic in Poland."
Since the end of state socialism, integration into Western security structures has been the declared goal of the governments in Warsaw, in order to detach themselves from Russian influence and not fall back into it. Poland joined NATO in 1999.
WELT (In German)
Explore: Policy
Europe's East and Russia
Transatlantic Take
Brexit: Views from Brussels, Berlin, Paris, and Warsaw
May 18, 2015 | By Michael Leigh, Daniela Schwarzer, Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, Michal Baranowski
Photo Credit: Klenger / Sutterstock
Middle East Conference in Poland - Jointly Against Iran?
Feb 13, 2019 | By Michal Baranowski
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www.greenparty.org.uk
Greens back Good Systems Agreement on constitutional reform
Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, will tonight join representatives from many other parties and civil society groups at Westminster to sign the party up to the Good Systems Agreement (1) prepared by Make Votes Matter.
Jonathan will say:
“In 1867, the Representation of the...Read More »
People serving their country deserve better treatment, says Green co-leader on Armed Forces Day
Marking Armed Forces Day, Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party said:
“Today’s focus very much should be on the people who make up our armed forces, both those now serving and those who have contributed in the past.
“My father served on D-Day. My uncle was a Spitfire pilot...Read More »
Plastics Pact announcement 'wholly inadequate', says Green Party deputy leader
Responding to the announcement from the UK Plastics Pact that its members will remove eight unnecessary plastic items from stores by the end of 2020 and “actively investigate” a second list of 19 items for sustainable alternatives by six years’ time (1),
Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green...Read More »
Green Party co-leaders reflect on third anniversary of Brexit referendum
With tomorrow marking the third anniversary of the Brexit referendum, the co-leaders of the Green Party have reflected on two key aspects of the last three years.
Sian Berry said: “Our politics has become entangled in what has been rightly described as Brexit chaos over the past three years.
“We...Read More »
Green MEP says community energy report demonstrates failures of government policy
Alexandra Phillips, Green MEP for the South East and a champion of the Green New Deal has reacted to today’s release by Community Energy England of its annual report on the state of the sector (1).
Alexandra said: “The report describes 2018 as “a year of uncertainty and challenge”.
“There’s...Read More »
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Latest Green Party News
Green co-leader says Trump remarks ‘must not be accepted as part of mainstream politics’
Green Party responds to announcement of formation of Unite for Remain
‘Abject failure’ from the Government: Caroline Lucas responds to Committee on Climate Change report
Green Party deputy leader welcomes electric Mini launch
Green Party stands firmly behind March for Change in London on July 20th
Plastics Pact announcement ‘wholly inadequate’, says Green Party deputy leader
The Conservative Party
HM Government
Northern Ireland Executive
OECD.org – United Kingdom
Scottish Conservatives
Fraser Macpherson
John Redwood’s Diary
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Thank you for your interest in joining Great Wilderness' volunteer program!
Our goal is to support, strengthen and enhance our partners conservation program by sending people who are interested in working and supporting the protection of Ecuador's and Venezuela's native forests and ecosystems. We will supply correct and accurate information about our local conservation programs in order to maximize the volunteer experience and enable our partner non profit organizaions in Ecuador and Venezuela to take full advantage of the resources each individual brings to the effort.
As a volunteer you will experience firsthand the difficulties of environmental conservation in the tropics as well as celebrate the results of your work. Our volunteers often returned to the reserves year after year and serve as conservation ambassadors when in their home countries.
How You Can Make a Difference:
Ecuador, despite its small size, is among the sixteen most bio-diverse countries on Earth. Ecuador has over 1,500 species of birds, more than 840 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 341 species of mammals. Of these, 14.2% are endemic meaning they exist in no other country of which 10.2% of these are threatened. Ecuador is also home to over 19,000 species of vascular plants, of which 20.7% are endemic.
Unfortunately, Ecuador has the distinction of having the highest deforestation rate and worst environmental record in South America. Oil exploration, logging, and road building have had a disastrous impact on Ecuador's primary rainforests, which now cover less than 18 percent of the country's land mass. From 1990 to 2000, Ecuador lost an average of 197,600 hectares of forest per year. In total, between 1990 and 2005, measuring the total rate of habitat conversion (defined as change in forest area plus change in woodland area minus net plantation expansion), Ecuador lost 19.2% of its forest and woodland habitat.
With the support from our volunteers, we currently work toward the conservation of biodiversity, reforestation, rural community projects, and sustainable development in Ecuador. Specifically we work in innovative programs in agro forestry, reforestation, organic production and sustainable aquaculture in mangrove ecosystems, includes carbon fixation, health and nutrition improvement, handicrafts commercialization and some other research projects in mainland, marine and island areas all over Ecuador.
Watch how you can make a difference....
La Hesperia Biological Reserve and Station
a. Internship available June-Dec. 2016
Assistant Reserve Manager: Position available for a minimum of three months and six months is recommended. Qualified and motivated person will assist the reserve manager with her duties and with compliment the volunteer coordinator in his work. Room/ board and a stipend are offered. Call or write for details. This position may qualify as study abroad for credit. (Read more)...
b. Volunteer Opportunities
La Hesperia Biological Reserve and Research Station is currently accepting application for volunteers with an interest in nature, sustainability, agriculture, animal breeding, food production, organic gardens, environmental education and outdoor life. (Read more..)
Watch La Hesperia Video:
FONMSOEAM - THE SMALL SCALE CACAO FARMER'S ASSOCIATION
Great Wilderness is offering an internship for one or two individuals to assist FONMSOEAM, an association of small scale cacao farmers located in the Choco Bio region of northwestern Ecuador. Activities include support to farmer with organizational capacity building, grant writing and computer literacy. Additional, interns will assist farmer's organization in their post harvested daily routine such: bean's fermentation, sun dried, quality assessment, beans classification, storage, etc. Become part of a team working to create a market-based solution to poverty in the poorest province in Ecuador.
This group of cacao farmers lives in ancestral communities, some of which are in the Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve (REMACH). Write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
Additionally, we are working with universities in Ecuador to create more internships that will support teachers and medical students to spend a semester at rural schools and medical centers. Scholarships to high school and university students are awarded for those interested.
Research Assistant and Internship Opportunity Available in the Llanos of Venezuela.
Behavior and demography of the Green-rumped Parrotlet (Forpus passerinus)
Four field assistants are required, two from 1 June 15 August and two more from 1 September - 15 December 2016 to work as part of a team on a long term study of behavior and demography of the Green-rumped Parrotlet. Duties will include mist netting, banding and resighting, nest checking, behavioral observations, audio-video monitoring, playback experiments and keeping detailed records. The ideal candidate would: have experience conducting field research with birds in tropical ecosystems; be interested in avian behavioral ecology; be willing to work long hours six days per week; enjoy work in a hot, humid environment; have a sunny disposition and be able to live under primitive conditions with few people on an isolated ranch; have a working knowledge of Spanish and a drivers license; be able to work without supervision; and enjoy but not become too distracted by the fabulous avifauna of the Llanos. Please submit resume, and phone numbers/email of three referees to Karl Berg: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Wildlife Conservation- The Endangered Orinoco Crocodile
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR 2016!
GW supports the Tropical Conservation and Education Center (TCEC) at Hato Masaguaral (HM) in the Llanos of Venezuela. HM is a private preserving reserve whose main mission is the conservation of the endemic neo-tropical fauna such the Caiman del Orinoco and ecosystems of Los Llanos of Venezuela. Both the HM and the TCEC function as one unit promoting active stewardship of the local and international community through various ongoing activities. Such projects include environmental education and awareness programs in local communities and schools, captive breeding and reintroduction programs of endangered species such the Caiman del Orinoco, and local involvement as a strong voice for the protection of the environment in Los Llanos de Venezuela and the region.
Interns will be expected to:
Captive Breeding and Reintroduction Center
1. Assist in the care and maintenance of endangered Orinoco Crocodile. Interns will be responsible for understanding the specific needs of all enclosed individual within their captive environment.
2. Assist in wildlife interpretative tasks for Masaguaral visitors and tour groups e.g. handling and exhibiting a young crocodile to visitor while relating its life history, present conservation status and answering questions about the specimen.
3. Be involved in ongoing wildlife conservation programs at the HM such as the forpus project, caiman breeding center, monitoring, reintroduction program, etc.
4. Contribute to exhibit design and enrichment; this includes the betterment of animal enclosures, enhancement of viewer experiences and visitor, enhancement of activities and positive enrichment for the crocodile center, improvement of the environment for the animals and landscaping of trails, paths and signs within the hato masaguaral.
5. Assist the HMs manager with daily activities at the Hato.
1. Be actively involved in introducing visiting school groups to the caiman breeding center and Hato Masaguaral i.e. the Masaguarals mission and objectives as well as its importance and specific function towards the conservation of ecosystems, and to help in the development of posters, signs and slogans promoting the conservation and protection of endangered caiman del Orinoco.
2. Help in delivering and developing environmental education and awareness lessons to visiting school groups to the hato and caiman center, and to participate in the brainstorming of ideas to better educate the local and international community about the importance of the masaguaral for the conservation and development of stewardship in the local and international community.
3. Participate in community outreach programs currently being held by the Hato Masaguaral and caiman center.
News from Great Wilderness Volunteers and Interns
Read about them: (Here)
Map of the Biological Reserves and Research Stations in Ecuador
Click on the specific reserve on the map to read more about our biological stations.
1. Bilsa Biological Reserve
2. Galapagos Island
3. La Hesperia
4. Mache Chindul Ecological Reserve (Fonmsoeam)
5. Guandera Biological Reserve and Research Statiion - Tropical Andes
6. Jatun Sacha Biological Reserve and Research Station- Amazon
Appy Now
FONMSOEAM
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Mike Ockenden (AHIPP) interview – the future of HIPs
September 28th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Energy Assessors, EPC, Home Information Packs, Interviews, News | 8 Comments »
Welcome to Mike Ockenden, Chairman of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) who has kindly agreed to spread a bit of light on how he sees the past and future of all things HIP related.
Q 1. – What one area has the Home Information Pack positively changed and which area do wish had been different and/or improved?
A. – HIPs have positively changed a number of areas of the homebuying and selling process, but if I had to pick one it would be the improved speed at which transactions get to exchange of contracts because of the pack. Data released by Connells in September 2009 showed that vendors with HIPs exchanged contracts on their property on average seven calendar days faster than those without a Home Information Pack.
Q 2. – It is quite widely read that Grant Shapps has pledged; time and time again to scrap HIPs, if as it appears is likely that the Conservatives win the next election. Do you think the Tories will definitely scrap HIPs or in reality alter and re-brand them?
A. – There is a great opportunity to create a genuinely sustainable alternative to HIPs that will not require the complete unraveling of the existing legislation and industry infrastructure but will rather be built on enabling the British public to have a faster and more efficient house-buying process. AHIPP hopes to work with the Conservatives to re-package HIPs and thus achieve this goal.
Q 3. – AHIPP seems to have softened their stance towards Grant Shapps, is that because he is listening to you now?
A. – AHIPP values the relationship with Grant Shapps and his office which we have always seen as positive and constructive. We wish to continue the dialogue over the coming weeks and months and hope to work with the Conservatives to create a genuinely sustainable alternative to HIPs.
Q 4. – If the Tories carry out their promise to scrap HIPs, what timescale will this involve, are they able to suspend them first with legislation already in place? If so, how long will that take and would suspension need to go through the House of Lords where the Tories would be in the minority?
A. – Whilst the power exists for the Secretary of State to suspend the HIP duties the recast of the EPBD, that will be signed off in December 2009 by the European Council of Ministers, complicates matters. As previously mentioned, AHIPP hopes to work with the Conservatives to create a sustainable alternative to HIPs that will not require a complete unravelling of the existing legislation. To move to a situation where no replacement or alternative is in place would be a retrograde and unacceptable step in efforts to reform the process of buying and selling homes.
Q 5. – With rising un-employment figures, scrapping HIPs would no doubt increase that number, do you have an estimate of the number of people involved in the established Home Information Pack industry?
A. – The UK HIP industry is worth over £300 million and employs over 10,000 people either directly or through the provision of the constituent parts. Clearly a lot of jobs would be at risk.
Q 6. – With Grant Shapps’ pledge to scrap HIPs how many of those at risk of un-employment due to this pledge can you see voting conservative?
A. – I can’t comment on individual cases but it is worth noting that scrapping HIPs will not only affect HIP providers, but all those organisations which currently provide services and products to HIP providers. The destruction of the HIP industry will impact on solicitors, estate agents, printers, IT services suppliers, and marketing companies, in addition to those who directly provide HIP elements such as search agents and energy assessors.
Q 7. – Are HIPs the ‘perfect’ solution to the system prior to HIPs being introduced. What do you see being the best way forward for HIPs, what changes do you see improving the HIP if any?
A. – We must be open and honest about the introduction of Home Information Packs and recognise that they have not achieved everything they set out to do. Their introduction was far from perfect and they have not delivered everything that was hoped. Lessons need to be learned from our experiences, both positive and negative, to inform the next stage of reform.
Going forward, AHIPP would like to work with the Conservatives to develop a viable way forward that is to the benefit of consumers, building on exchange ready HIPs and Energy Performance Certificates, and to ensure providers adhere to the highest standards in providing services to consumers.
Q 8. – Most know about the historic U-turn in regard to the Home Condition Report (HCR), can you ever see a day when this exact product is included in the HIP or is it more likely we will follow Scotland and use a ‘RICS type’ survey if introduced?
A. – The u-turn over HCRs was one of the biggest disappointments about the bungled introduction of HIPs. There might come a time where the issue is revisited but for the moment we are focused on ensuring that the home buying and selling process is a faster and more certain process for consumers and professionals. We believe that the exchange ready HIP provides the framework for this.
Q 9. – It is widely recognised that there is a massive oversupply of Domestic Energy Assessors (DEA) and Home Inspectors (HI). How do you feel about training providers continuing to train people as Domestic Energy Assessors (DEA)s and Home Inspectors (HI) when some Home Inspectors (HI) have never carried out one Home Condition Report (HCR)?
Domestic Energy Assessors and Home Inspectors are part of an open and free market and as such it is inevitable that access to the necessary training should remain available. Over time we can expect market forces to take effect, leading to a balance of supply and demand with regards to these roles and their place in the wider market. That said there will always be demand for good people.
Q 10. – Should Domestic Energy Assessors (DEA) carrying out EPCs directly for AHIPP members be worried about future payments as HIP providers could be very quickly be in financial distress if HIPs are scrapped?
The abolition of HIPs would clearly have significant and immediate financial consequences for HIP providers. I am however confident that an alternative sustainable product, building on the benefits of the existing HIP, can be developed and will ensure the future of the industry in the UK. It should also be noted that the EPBD recast will require an EPC to be in place prior to marketing a property for sale or rent. HIPs currently provide the only framework to deliver the EPC.
Q 11. – Can you tell us a little about PEPA; some have said possibly quite cynically that PEPA is a way forward for AHIPP members who are going to lose their main income stream and an exit strategy for AHIPP?
The Federation of Property Information Providers (FPIP) brings together the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) and the Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) under one umbrella, recognising the increasing prominence of the role of these industries in serving consumers. The Property and Energy Professionals Association (PEPA) which has recently been formed is focused on the future of energy and condition reporting in the widest sense across both domestic and commercial properties. Its agenda is distinctly different to that of AHIPP. While the member organisations of FPIP will retain their independence and individual management structures, the Federation’s objective will be to strengthen the constituent bodies’ ability to drive forward positive reform and to act as a compelling, effective voice for the sector with Government.
Q 12. – Looking back it seems to have been quite a rollercoaster for the life so far of the Home Information Pack, did you imagine at the inception it would have been as it has?
A. There is cross industry recognition that HIPs have not achieved everything they set out to do and clearly this is disappointing. What is important now is how we develop the many benefits contained in a HIP and create a new sustainable product that delivers more fully for the consumer going forward.
Q 13. – Mike as Chairman of AHIPP, you have had some very strong opposition to your Pro-HIP beliefs, thoughts and actions; however, whether others agree with your views or not, most people almost universally recognise the good work you have done towards promoting Home Information Packs. What has your biggest achievement been in this regard so far?
A. – I hope that my biggest achievement is yet to come and that my legacy for AHIPP will be to have worked with the Conservatives to create a genuinely sustainable alternative to HIPs.
Q 14. – This time next year will we still have Home Information Packs and what will they look like?
Yes, I believe we will, in the form of a mandatory legal pack (containing an EPC) to be in place prior to marketing. It just might not be called a HIP!
AHIPP First Day Marketing Statement
Will Home Information Packs (HIPs) be ‘scrapped’?
Be aware of cheap, budget HIP & EPC providers
Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) and Home Inspectors numbers updated
NAEA and RICS ask for review of HIPs
8 Responses to “Mike Ockenden (AHIPP) interview – the future of HIPs”
Jim Gillespie, chairman, IDEA Says:
I was disappointed to read Grant Shapps latest comments in the Negotiator magazine in which he actually contradicts himself by saying in one breath he will scrap HIPs but then in the next breath says he will keep them but make them voluntary. He even goes as far as to make reference to the Home Inspectors and the fact that they can still conduct HCR’s as they are available to the public as an option.
Shapps must surely realise that should he make HIPs optional too then the demand for HIPs will be the same as the demand for HCR’s – practically ZERO.
An incoming Tory government have a real and unique opportunity to drive forward and influence the buying & selling process in the UK and make positive inroads in achieving a viable low carbon economy. The Institute of Domestic Energy Assessors (IDEA) are keen to work with the Tories to achieve these goals and ensure that the EPC remains an intrinsic element of this process. The current Labour government have made a complete hash of the HIP roll out and have treated both home inspectors and energy assessors abysmally.
The Tories have a real opportunity here both to do the right thing and redress the balance; let’s hope they don’t waste it!
nick snr Says:
It’s marvelous how the world of politics works isn’t it? the Home Sellers Pack was the Tory’s idea in the first place but because Labour introduced them as Home Information Packs they are rubbish.
Disapointed Says:
Very disapointed in MO’s responses, he should be a politician the way he never really answered most of the questions put!
Personal Searches should be banned Says:
Many HIPS are not actually worth the paper they are written on, but this was also the case with personal searches prior to HIPS, so nothing has really changed. Having worked for a company that prepared Personal Searches for HIPS for 3 years, I was horrified to find that they KNOWINGLY provided INCORRECT information on the search reports and the company I was unfortunate enough to work for was far from alone in doing this.If they could not obtain the information required, they would just make it up or lie and say there was no info to obtain!!! Having amassed a huge amount of evidence and reported this company, surprise, surprise, nothing was done about this dreadful company and they continue to get away with dishonesty. I would NEVER trust a personal search and would ALWAYS make sure that the report was made up from OFFICIAL searches carried out by the Local Authorities
Concerned about content Says:
Please name and shame and give the search companies who do an honest job of work a fair chance.
The Councils make it hard enough for personal search companies trying to make an honest living so lets work together to drive out the cowboys and give the rest of us a chance
If you have been in the industry you will know that the Councils often get it wrong and that a responsible personal search agent is not only quicker and more accurate but often cheaper than the council, which has to be good for the consumer
Please help us and name this Company so that we can help and add pressure on the regulators to sort out this company
Debbie Gillett Says:
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:43 am
Very disappointing to read the responses to the questions. not enough consumer focus.
Regardless of whom comes into power and what they state they are going to do does not address the now situation, lets not assume the conservatives will automatically become the next government. I can recall Labour staing it would abolish Buy to Let, we all know their tactics to win voters. We as an industry need to provide a product which does what it says on the tin.
Consumers are the people who make the decisions, the main Industry responsible for Lending e.g CML need to be at the forefront for any re-modelling of the product “hips”.
I worked closely within this industry at the start and it was clear very early on that a HCR with Valuation was needed, this area has not been addressed in any of the responses. With the lending criteria, affordablility being a major focus area the HCR report is crucial for lenders in making lending decisions. A HCR will also contain the EPC and will go along way to justify the cost of the report and make it meaningful.
The process cannot be speeded up and be truly a ready to go property at exchange without a HCR with Valuation. Too much focus has been on the cost of the Hips as being an additional burden, I have seen nothing to help explain this in layman terms to consumers. If this had been done they would be able to see that comparing costs prior to hips and reviewing their conveyancing costs now that they are actually saving time and money.
Consumers want two things, they want to move house and want information that they can understand at a reasonable cost to make informed decisions.
Lenders are going back to their roots and will not make quick decisons driven by computers and basic credit scoring, the property and its repair and running costs will be needed before giving an approval in principle.
The industry has had sufficient time to improve upon the product over the last few years.The failing has been in managing the project and losing focus of the objective.As usual too many political egos has resulted in the consumer left being confused.
Too many estate agents anti hips have made too much money out of hips and full disclosure should be made when taking instructions from clients as to how much they are earning from the product.
I would like to ask for this information being made available within the pack disclosure.
I am disgusted from working with agents, working for a reputable agent and mystery shopping them as to their lack of understanding of the whole issue, consumers deserve better.
I would like the HIP industry improved with a new set of values and objectives set to take into consideration the fundamental changes that have happened within the finance industry which surely has to be addressed by any party in power.
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Conveyancing has experienced a lot of reform over the last few years, all of it with the intention of making buying and selling property easier but the most controversial reform has had to be the introduction of Home Information Packs (the successor to the sellers packs which were scrapped by the Conservatives). They were part of the governments’ manifesto pledge to reform the conveyancing process because the market was losing around £350m a year from 1 in 4 transactions failing.
Before HIPs officially came to the market it was thought that most sellers would obtain their HIPs from a HIPs provider accredited by AHIPP. The HIP Code was introduced to deliver quality standards across HIPs providers (sponsored and maintained by AHIPP) and the Search Code was introduced and sponsored by the Council of Property Search Organisations. The information contained within the HIP would be provided up front at the pre-offer stage instead of both parties getting it in bits and pieces between offer and exchange and the information it contained would be relied upon. The Codes would provide protection to the homebuyers. The Property Codes of Compliance Board contained a list of HIP providers that complied with both Codes and all companies that wanted to subscribe to AHIPP were required to have professional indemnity in place.
If you take this as a base from which HIPs was working on I’m sure that not many would find fault. It continues to be consumer led in that Christopher Hamer, the Property Ombudsman has had his remit extended to include HIP and search providers registered with the PCCB.
Consumers have a clear choice in that they can continue to buy from others supplying HIPs packages, they can choose to purchase cheaper packages online, or they can choose to purchase from sites that have more consumer-friendly safeguards built within them.
HIPs is still not perfect because it still needs to make the HCR compulsory (structural defects was another reason for 1 in 4 transactions failing), and build on information provision for leaseholders but I personally feel that it is heading in the right direction.
The Federation of Property Information Providers (FPIP) recruit Says:
[…] against the HIP legislation gave us a brief insight about FPIP during a recent interview, the future of HIPs. However, recent announcements at ‘recruitment and information meetings’ have […]
« Cheap Home Information Pack provider ceases trading
Summer benefits both sellers and landlords »
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Audi RS5 First Drive | ImpreAutos - Automobile blog
Audi RS5 First Drive
The last Audi RS5’s crowning glory was its 4.2-liter naturally aspirated V8. It revved hard to a 8,250rpm power peak, gave the classic muscle car soundtrack an engaging high-tech remix, and snapped through gearshifts courtesy of a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. But it was far from perfect, and its Achilles’ heel was a ponderous, flat-footed chassis and steering that cranked with the tactility of a rusty submarine hatch.
Good news: the second-generation RS5 rides on Audi’s new MLBevo architecture. This mixes a high-strength steel and aluminum structure with updated five-link suspension at the front, while another five-link layout at the rear replaces the old car’s trapezoidal-link set-up. It not only promises sharper handling, but a 132lb weight reduction too.
Bad news? The RS5 is still chunky at 3,649lb, and 68lb of its weight loss comes from swapping out the V8 for a V6 that’s downsized to 2894cc with twin turbochargers nestled in the vee. It makes no more power than its 444hp predecessor, bangs on the redline fully 1550rpm sooner at 6700rpm and actually has less capacity than the 3.0-liter S5. The dual-clutch ’box also makes way for a more conventional ZF eight-speed automatic.
That keenness to turn encourages you to feed in the throttle early, and when you do it feels like releasing a stretched slingshot; there’s a fraction of attitude from the rear end, and so much traction you wonder if you’ve just pulled up the road surface. Rear-drive rivals like the BMW M4 and Mercedes-AMG C63 are certainly more flamboyant, more of an interactive challenge, but the RS5’s ability to pick apart a twisty road with almost psychopathic composure brings its own enjoyment.
All told, the Audi RS5 is one seriously rounded performance coupe, and a big step from its predecessor. US pricing is yet to be announced, but it’s pitched close to the Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe in other markets. Expect something close to $67,000 when it arrives here early next year.
Tags: Audi RS5
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Custers Desktops
About IMG
Championship Manager 2007 Released
6:00 AM | Cord Kruse | Comment on this story
Virtual Programing has released Championship Manager 2007, an in-depth soccer simulation. CM 2007 gives players the chance to take the reins of their own club. "It's your decisions that count: your budget, your buys, your formation, your tactics... Use your skills and knowledge to manage your club the way you feel it should be"
Here's some of what you can expect from the CM 2007:
• ProZone: For the first time, exclusive to Championship Manager, use ProZone for full match analysis – as used by top football managers. This new feature provides you with stats for every player and every game including: goals scored, runs made and shots/passes/tackles made or failed.
• Comprehensive Data Update to player, staff, club and league data - including Conference North and South. Contains all transfers up to the end of August Transfer Window.
• International Management: Live the ultimate fans dream and manage your country to glory in the biggest tournaments in the world.
• Overhauled Front End Interface: All new skins, with ‘Dynamic Side Bar’ and ‘Menu Shortcut’ system.
• Team Talks: Pre-match, half-time and post match talks. Praise/criticise players and give individual instructions e.g. intimidate/go in hard – but be careful not to start a mass brawl.
OSX 10.3.9 or Higher
PPC or Intel CPU
256MB Memory or higher
GeForce 2MX/Radeon 8500 or better
400Mb Free disk space
Championship Manager 2007 is currently available as a digital download, with a box version coming in about a week. It sells for $39.95.
Head over to the site below to learn more about the game.
Virtual Programming
Championship Manager 2007
Buy Championship Manager 2007
Macgamestore: Two New Arrivals
2:54 PM | Tuncer Deniz
Macgamestore.com has two new games available on its web site including Tasty Planet and Little Shop of Treasures. Both are available as digital downloads for $19.95.
Little Shop of Treasures - Welcome to Huntington, a charming little town where if you look close enough, your dreams will come true. Help Huntington's shop owners find more than 1,200 unique, and cleverly hidden, items for their customers and earn enough cash to open a shop of your own! Featuring two great ways to play, an innovative hint feature, endless re-playability and more, this eye-popping challenge from the creators of the Super Collapse! series will bend your brain and dazzle your eyes. Find your way to fun at the Little Shop of Treasures today!
In Tasty Planet, a home grown experiment and the search for the ultimate bathroom cleaner goes awry! You were created to eat up all of the germs and bacteria in a family’s home, but nothing will satiate your voracious appetite! After eating everything in the house, you move into the town and eventually consume the entire planet! Will the universe be enough to satisfy you? You’ll have to eat it to find out!
To check out LIttle Shop of Treasures and Tasty Planet, including free demos of both games, follow the links below.
Macgamestore: Little Shop of Treasures
Macgamestore: Tasty Planet
CrossOver Updates DirectX Game Support
6:00 AM | Cord Kruse | 4 comments
CodeWeavers recently released versiosn 6.1 of CrossOver Mac, an emulation application which allows users to run some Windows programs without installing Windows. The update includes support for EVE Online, a fix for the Half-Life 2 intro, and a "major update of DirectX support."
Here's a partial list of the changes:
Mac OS X specific changes:
Added handling of mailto: links, both within and outside of CrossOver.
Added support for installing a set of Windows-specific truetype fonts.
Fixed a problem with Quartz-wm on new Tiger install disks. Previously this problem caused CrossOver to crash on some new Macs.
New application support:
Application fixes:
Lots of widespread graphics improvements. Game rendering and performance should be much improved.
Improved the Equation Editor installation process.
The Half-Life 2 Intro now plays properly
Check out the full change log at the link below.
CrossOver Mac Changelog
CrossOver Mac 6.1
CodeWeavers
Virus Alert 3D Features Weird Al
Left Brain Games, Inc. recently announced the availability of a new interactive game for personal computers featuring musical artist “Weird Al” Yankovic in a battle against computer viruses. Virus Alert 3D puts players in control of Werid Al, a new employee of Companytechco, as he makes his way through the building eliminating viruses, protecting computers, unlocking secret doors, and securing the help of his co-workers.
Based on a song on Al’s recent album, “Straight out of Lynwood”, Virus Alert 3D marks the second time that Left Brain Games and “Weird Al” Yankovic have teamed up. The album was released with an animated music video of the Virus Alert single, which was also created by Left Brain Games.
“We love working with ‘Weird Al’ and his team. They are extremely creative and always give us free reign to try new things,” says Andrew Keplinger, President of Left Brain Games. “There’s no doubt that devout Al fans are going to love this game but I’m also convinced that there’s something in there for anyone.”
The trial version of the game is available for download and is compatible with both Macs and PCs. The full game features 25 levels of play, though the free version includes only 5 levels. A registration code can be purchased for $16.95 to unlock all levels.
Follow the links below for more information.
Virus Alert 3D
Left Brain Games
Gabriel Knight II Director Interviewed
Adventure Classic Gaming has posted an interview with Will Binder, director of the mystery adventure game Gabriel Knight II: The Beast Within. The interview examines Binder's career in Hollywood, the possibility of future games in the series, and the differences between directing a movie and directing footage for a game.
Do you feel there is any difference of approach required in directing a game and directing a film? What in particular do you find challenging in this game-making genre?
Overall the approach required in directing a game and directing a film are very similar. You work with your actors and your crew to tell a story with images and sound. That being said there are some noticeable differences.
One difference between directing a game and a film is that in a game the director has to be aware of all the different scenarios that may or may not have happened to a specific character because the story (or characters) can go in many different directions depending on the choices the player makes. On GKII for example, something may or may not have happened earlier in Gabriel’s (Dean’s) adventures depending on the choices the player made; making it difficult for the actor to know exactly what he/she’s been through or where he’s at in the story. Because of this, it was tricky at times dealing with the actors and explaining their motivations, state of mind, etc.
Another noticeable difference was some of the specific requirements unique to directing a game. For instance, in many of the scenes in GKII, the actors needed to start and end each scene on a specific mark and in a specific position with a specific expression for continuity purposes because we did not know the next choice the player would make.
Also, on GKII there were many technical considerations and limitations. “The Beast Within” was basically a giant special effects movie. Ninety percent of the nearly 500 page script was shot on a blue stage. Because of space and monetary reasons we ended up constructing blue props, fake doors, etc. This took time and made the lighting more complicated. And, because we didn’t have motion-control and couldn’t move the camera during a shot, we had to take extra care when composing and blocking our shots. Not to mention that our limited budget gave us very little rehearsal time for the cast or crew, making the production even more challenging and rewarding.
To read the full interview head over to the site listed below.
Adventure Classic Gaming: Will Binder Interview
Is Episodic Gaming Here To Stay?
GameDaily Biz recently posted an article examining the viability of episodic gaming, the release of game segments in regular increments for lower cost than a full game or expansion. The article featured commentary from figures in the industry such as Epic's Mark Rein, id's Steve Nix, and 3D Realms' George Broussard,
Broussard believes that the episodic formula works for television -- which is based on advertising revenues -- but doesn't have a bright future for games, unless they are of the small-scale or casual variety.
"I just can't see the advantage of doing episodic unless you are a group of five or six people in a garage, eating Ramen noodles, and rolling the dice with little to lose," he says. "In that case, it's very possible the episodes could get you noticed which could lead to a bigger deal. But does episodic work for a multi-million-dollar-a-year game company? I don't think so."
For the entire article click over to the site below.
GameDaily Biz: The Episodic Debate
Mac Games News for Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Inside Mac Games Reviews Tradewinds Legends 2:08 PM
Apple Posts New Hot Deals 2:03 PM
MegaPixel Released As Free Web Game 6:00 AM
StarCraft Updated To 1.15 6:00 AM
The Importance Of Writing In Games 6:00 AM
The Movies Reviewed 6:00 AM
WoW 2.1 Preview: The Black Temple 6:00 AM
View all of the Mac games news for Wednesday, May 16, 2007 on one page
Recent Mac Games News
Search for other Mac games news stories or browse our Mac Games News Archive.
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The UNESCO IOC Perth Programme Office
IOGOOS
PI-GOOS
IIOE-2
ICG/IOTWMS
The Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS)
The UNESCO IOC Tsunami Programme aims to reduce the risk of loss of life worldwide by tsunami events. In order to accomplish this, the IOC Tsunami Unit supports IOC Member States in assessing tsunami risk, in implementing Tsunami Early Warning Systems and in educating communities at risk about preparedness measures. UNESCO IOC coordinates the establishment and implementation of Tsunami Warning Systems in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, North East Atlantic and Mediterranean, and Pacific Ocean.
The Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) was formed after the tragic Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December, 2004. The Secretariat of the ICG/IOTWMS is operated by UNESCO IOC, funded by the Government of Australia through the Bureau of Meteorology and is co-located in Perth, Western Australia with the IOC PPO, through the hosting of the Bureau of Meteorology's Western Australian Regional Office.
The IOTWMS Secretariat in Perth provides a vital governance and coordination role among all of the Member States of the IOTWMS and the three Regional Tsunami Service Providers (Australia, Indonesia and India), as well as other international stakeholders and Secretariat sponsors. In doing so it works closely with regional, national and international organisations to maintain and expand the IOTWMS services and to ensure the intergovernmental governance machinery of the extensive network of systems, responsible centres and contacts works, and works well. A particular focus of the IOTWMS since 2014 has been on community awareness and responsive mechanisms. It is recognised as the most technologically advanced of the operational systems and is highly valued by the 28 countries that it protects.
For more information please visit the IOC's ICG/IOTWMS webpage here.
Participants at the 11th Meeting of the IOTWMS Steering Group, Perth, January 2017.
Head of Secretariat: Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala
Secretariat Support: Ms Nora Gale
IOC PPO co-sponsors:
© 2019 iocperth.org
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Story types
Race & Class Blog
Fortnightly Bulletin
Policing and criminal justice system
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Extreme-Right politics
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Institute of Race Relations
The Institute of Race Relations is at the cutting edge of the research and analysis that inform the struggle for racial justice in Britain, Europe and internationally.
Challenging G4S’ ‘catastrophic failings’
March 29, 2018 — News
Written by Rajesh Bhattacherjee
Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID), a charity that assists those in immigration detention in the UK, is taking legal action against the British government in an attempt to pressure it into designating security company G4S as a ‘High Risk’ strategic supplier in the wake of ‘catastrophic failings’.
The launch of the campaign comes after the BBC’s Panorama programme Undercover: Britain’s Immigration Secrets, which aired late last year, exposed serious failings on the part of G4S in its running of the Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). These failings included the mistreatment of detainees by staff, a widespread culture of disrespect and the falsification of incident reports in order to cover up conduct.
Panorama’s exposure of Brook House IRC is the latest in a long line of allegations involving G4S in the running of detention facilities, including the very similar allegations made against staff at Medway Secure Training Centre in January 2016.
Under current government policy, a ‘Strategic Supplier’ can be designated ‘High Risk’ if there is ‘evidence of repeated concerns regarding underperformance and mismanagement in the delivery of the services they are contracted to provide’.‘High Risk’ designation would mean that G4S’ existing contracts with the government would be subject to closer monitoring and review. It would also make it harder for the government to award G4S contracts in the future.
Celia Clarke, BID’s Director, commented on the action:
‘Time and time again G4S’s conduct in its management of government contracts has been found wanting. The mounting list of scandals must be seen as systemic failings by the government, not one-off incidents. We have seen evidence of serious maltreatment of detainees by staff at Brook House IRC and yet there appears to be no recognition of this by the government. Bringing a legal challenge against the Cabinet Office for failing to designate G4S a “High Risk” strategic supplier will make it harder for the government to award G4S future contracts and, ultimately, help prevent the future maltreatment of detainees. We have sent a pre-action letter of claim to the Cabinet Office and are awaiting their response.’
You can contribute to the costs of the legal challenge here.
Bail for Immigration Detainees
BID Crowd Justice Fund
BBC’s Panorama programme Undercover: Britain’s Immigration Secret
The Institute of Race Relations is precluded from expressing a corporate view: any opinions expressed are therefore those of the authors.
© 2019 Institute of Race Relations, All Rights Reserved
An Outlandish production
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Partner, Head Corporate and Commercial Department
Sim is a Partner at the Firm and serves as the Head...
Jane is a Partner at KATS and heads the Firm’s Intellectual Property...
Fred K. Businge
Associate Partner, Deputy Director Litigation Department
Fred is an Associate Partner in the Litigation department of the firm,...
Ted E. Ssempebwa
Ted is an Associate Partner at KATS. Having done his formal legal...
Arthur K. Ssempebwa
Arthur is an Associate Partner at the Firm in the Commercial and Corporate...
Alice Namuli Blazevic
Alice is an Associate Partner at Katende, Ssempebwa & Company Advocates, specialising...
Arthur M. Katende
Arthur is a Principal Associate in Katende, Ssempebwa & Company Advocates and has...
John B. Mudde
John is a Principal Associate working in KATS’ Litigation and Alternative Dispute...
Judith N. Tumusiime
Judith is a Principal Associate primarily working in KATS’ Litigation and Real...
Emmanuel Muwonge
Emmanuel is a Principal Associate working with KATS’ Corporate & Commercial Litigation,...
Yusuf B. Kanyike
Yusuf is a Principal Associate serving in dual capacities in the Corporate...
Hasfa Namulindwa
Hasfa is a Senior Associate working in KATS’ Family Law and Litigation...
Frank Ssewaggude
Frank is a Senior Associate working in KATS’ Litigation and Alternative Dispute...
Baati Katende Ntambi
Baati is the Head of Business Development and a Senior Associate in...
Sophia S. Nampijja
Sophia is a Senior Associate in the Energy, Corporate & Commercial Department. She routinely...
Bridget Nambooze
Bridget is a Senior Associate in KATS’ Transactional & Advisory Department. She obtained...
Joanne Katende
Joanne is an Associate in the Firm’s Transactional & Advisory and Intellectual Property...
Peninah Nakatudde
Peninah is an Associate at KATS working in the Intellectual Property and...
Louis Lwanga
Louis received his LL.B with Honours from Makerere University in 2013, where...
Solomon Ssebowa
Solomon is an Associate at KATS. He received his Bachelor of Laws, (LL.B)...
Patrick Mugalula
Patrick is an Associate at KATS. He received his LL.B with Honours...
Edwin B. Wabwire
Edwin is an Associate in the Firm. He completed his Law degree...
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Waen Memorial
Waen Soldiers WW1
« Back to Waen Soldiers WW1
Jones, Joseph
Name of Researcher / Enw’r ymchwylydd: Anne Parry
Name of Memorial / Enw’r gofeb: Waen
Regiment/Catrawd: The Royal Welsh (Welch) Fusiliers, 13th Battalion
Service Rank and Number / Rheng gwasanaeth a rhif: Private 28360
Military Cemetery/Memorial / Fynwent milwrol: Harponville Communal Cemetery Extension
Ref No Grave or Memorial / Rhif cyfeirnod bedd: G. 19
Country of Cemetery or Memorial / Gwlad y fynwent neu gofeb: France
Medals Awarded / Medalau a ddyfarnwyd: British War Medal and Victory Medal
Date of Death / Dyddiad Marwolaeth: 8 August 1918
Killed in action on the Somme aged 22
Joseph Jones was born in 1896 in Groes, Denbighshire. He was the youngest of the four children of David and Grace Jones. His parents were bilingual and from local families; his father originally from Llanarmon and his mother from Trefnant. David Jones was a shepherd and at the time of Joseph’s death he and his wife were living in Arthur Cottage in the Waen near St Asaph. Waen today is very much as it was in Joseph’s time. Properties have been modernised and occupants have come and gone but Waen is still very much a rural community embedded in the beautiful countryside of the Vale of Clwyd.
Joseph joined up in February 1915 when he was 19 years old. His service records have remained intact and give some insight into ‘his war.’ He signed up for ‘Short Service’ which meant he was obliged to serve for the duration of the War. He gave his occupation as ‘labourer’. His original medical examination recorded that he was 5ft 2inches, 9stone 2lbs and of ‘fairly good physical development’ although his ‘teeth must be attended to’.
Joseph joined the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and served in the 13th Battalion. From February 1915 to May 1916 the Battalion remained in Britain. From the 1st of June 1916 and until his death Joseph was on active service in France. His records show he was briefly admitted to hospital on three occasions during this time suffering first from diarrhoea, then myalgia and lastly laryngitis. In July 1917 he was given 10 days home leave. Was this the last time he saw his family? During December 1917 he was wounded in the field. The following August he was killed in action on the Somme.
Unlike so many of his fellow soldiers at least Joseph’s body was retrieved and he was interred in Harponville Communal Cemetery Extension, near the Somme. He was 22 years of age when he died and had served three and a half years in the Army. At his mother’s request his gravestone carries the inscription:
PEACE PERFECT PEACE
REST, SOLDIER, REST
The service records are poignant as they are so personal; the form filled in by Joseph’s father (see below) detailing the members of the family left behind – brothers David and Thomas and their sister Eliza. Also the letter accompanying the package containing his belongings signed for by his mother.
The Denbighshire Free Press conveyed the sad news about his death along with that of John Hugh Jones (see below). Both ordinary lads from the Waen who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Learn more about the other soldiers on the Waen Memorial
Bibby, Henry Leigh
Davies, Joseph
Jones, John Hugh
Jones, Thomas Allen
Jones, Thomas Hugh
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▸ News ▸ 6 officials join the NFL officiating roster for the 2019 season
6 officials join the NFL officiating roster for the 2019 season
by Cameron Filipe - April 17, 2019 April 18, 2019 0
There are six new names on the officiating roster. Senior vice president Al Riveron announced Wednesday that the league has hired six new officials who will work the upcoming 2019 season. The new hires are Dave Hawkshaw, Patrick Holt, Nate Jones, Terry Killens, Jimmy Russell, and Tripp Sutter. All six men participated in the NFL Officiating Development Program.
Hawkshaw most recently worked as a side judge in the Canadian Football League since 2005, and is now the fifth active NFL official with experience officiating in the CFL, joining Bill Vinovich, Gary Cavaletto, Tony Michalek, and Boris Cheek, who all worked when the CFL played games in the U.S. (This appears to be the first NFL official hired directly from the CFL.) Hawkshaw has worked in all three preseasons of the NFL-CFL officiating partnership as a deep wing official on NFL crews. He was the side judge for the 2017 Grey Cup.
Jones, from the Pac-12 Conference, and Killens, from the American Athletic Conference, are former NFL players, become the third and fourth active NFL officials to have NFL playing experience along with Steve Freeman and Phil McKinnely. Jones played as a defensive back for the Cowboys, Dolphins, Broncos, and Patriots from 2004 to 2011 (video) and was active, but did not play in, Super Bowl XLVI. Killens was a linebacker for the Oilers/Titans, 49ers, and Seahawks from 1996 to 2002. Killens also played in Super Bowl XXXIV (video).
All five U.S.-based new hires were officials in the inaugural season of the now-defunct Alliance of American Football.
In the Officiating Development Program, Killens worked as an umpire, Holt and Sutter worked on the line of scrimmage, and Hawkshaw, Jones, and Russell worked as deep officials. Also listed below are the uniform numbers and years in the ODP (*3 years in a player-centric development program, †3 years in the NFL-CFL cross-league development program).
ODP years
Conference/League
U 148 Terry Killens 6* American Athletic Former player
LJ 163 Patrick Holt 1 Big Ten 2017 National Championship
LJ 172 Tripp Sutter 1 Big Ten 2018 National Championship
SJ 142 Nate Jones 6* Pac-12 Former player
BJ 158 Jimmy Russell 2 SEC 2018 Rose Bowl
BJ 170 David Hawkshaw 3† Canadian Football League 2017 Grey Cup
Cameron Filipe
Cam Filipe is a junior at the University of New Haven, majoring in forensic science. He has been involved in football officiating for seven years and currently works as a flag football official in college. This is his fourth season covering NFL officiating for Football Zebras.
NFL is looking for one more referee
Brad Rogers to fill newest white hat vacancy
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Police: 2 dead, 1 injured following shootout near 3rd Avenue and Osborn
Neighbors speak out after major drug bust results in arrest of man
By Stefania Okolie
Posted Aug 15 2018 10:11PM MST
Updated Aug 15 2018 10:23PM MST
It began with a traffic stop that ended in a big drug bust where the suspect's vehicle was discovered to be packed with drugs.
That was just the beginning.
When detectives searched the man's home, they made another alarming discovery.
Images of a shocking discovery made by law enforcement include duffel bags full of drugs, stacks of cash, and guns. Now, investigators say Diego Armando Diez Gamez was involved in some dangerous and heavy drug trafficking.
Breaking down exactly what investigators say they uncovered not only in bags Gamez was carrying, but in his home, are staggering. They include 17 pounds of heroin, almost two pounds of cocaine, two pounds of methamphetamine, 2,500 fentanyl pills, and 2 grams of marijuana.
This all began with a traffic stop made by a Goodyear Police officer last Thursday. Gamez reportedly in the backseat with the duffel bags and a backpack full of drugs and cash. According to court documents, Gamez told investigators the drugs were from Mexico. This led them to execute a search warrant at Gamez's home, where more drugs, cash and guns were seized.
On Wednesday, people living near Gamez's home told FOX 10's Stefania Okolie the typical activities they saw at the home, with some thinking it was suspicious.
"In their 20s, Mexican," said one woman, who did not want to reveal her identity. "I thought they were living there, because people were coming in, and there were a lot of cars coming in and out."
Neighbors are also coming to the realization that one can't always really know who one is sharing the block with.
"This happens to be the case," said one man, who also did not want to reveal his identity.
By Kenneth Wong, FOX 10 , Associated Press
PHOENIX (FOX 10/AP) -- Several people are in custody for questioning, following what police describe as a "shootout" in Phoenix Monday afternoon.
"We don't know if it was a robbery. We don't know if it was drug-related. A number of questions that we have that we are trying to get the answers to," said Sgt. Tommy Thompson with Phoenix Police.
The incident happened in the area of 3rd Avenue and Osborn. FOX 10 has learned a 23-year-old man and a 20-year-old man died. A 33-year-old man suffered non-life threatening injuries. SWAT team members had to clear several apartments.
Twins once attached at head released from hospital after successful separation surgery
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Police: Deadly crash closes Hayden Road in Scottsdale
By FOX 10 Staff
Posted Oct 25 2018 06:17PM MST
Updated Oct 25 2018 06:33PM MST
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (KSAZ) -- Hayden Road in Scottsdale is closed in both directions Thursday, following a deadly crash.
According to Scottsdale Police officials, the road is closed between Via De Ventura and McCormick Parkway, due to a deadly car/motorcycle collision. Drivers are advised to use alternate routes.
Police officials did not disclose any other details surrounding the crash.
This is a breaking news story. Stay with us for further updates.
By Jennifer Martinez, FOX 10
PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- The Valley is now officially one month into monsoon season, but Valley residents haven't seen a single big storm just yet, with areas to the north and south getting all the action.
"We're past the normal start date of the monsoon," said National Weather Service Meteorologist Jaret Rogers. "At least thunderstorm activity starts about July 4th. We're starting to see some thunderstorms develop mainly over the higher terrain surrounding Phoenix, but we haven't quite seen that thunderstorm activity move down to Phoenix quite yet."
The past couple of weeks have been looking more like a "nonsoon" in the Valley. Meanwhile, Tucson had some monsoon action over the weekend.
By Brian Webb, FOX 10
PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- Some inmates at the Saguaro Correctional Center are teaching retired greyhounds how to be pets, so they can find their forever homes. At the same time, the program seems to be rescuing some inmates as well.
"I asked about the program, and they say it's a racing greyhound -- rehabilitating dogs," said inmate Marwan Jackson. "So, I got interested in there and I'm like, this is something I want to do. I got a big chunk of time to do so, I might as well do something positive with it."
At the correctional center, a handful of inmates care for retired greyhounds after their racing careers cross the finish line. The goal now is to get them ready for adoption. Until then, they eat, sleep, play and train together. All day, every day.
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Enormous 'monster' snakes measured at Australian Reptile Park for 'World Snake Day'
Suspicious package causes lockdown at Tampa International Airport
TAMPA (FOX 13) - Officials at Tampa International Airport said a suspicious carryon back going through security in Airside C caused a lockdown Tuesday night.
The Tampa Police Department Bomb Squad was dispatched to the airport and the area was cleared of passengers, the airport said in a tweet.
Passengers who were kept on planes during the lockdown were being released to other areas of the airport. No passengers were being allowed to move between Terminal C and the rest of the airport.
There were five planes waiting on the tarmac while the package was being checked.
A representative with the airport said the person whose bag was flagged at the checkpoint was not being allowed to fly.
Police are investigating a suspicious package at the Airside C checkpoint. TPA's other airsides and our Main Terminal are operational.
— Tampa Intl Airport ✈️ (@FlyTPA) July 25, 2018
Deadly crash closes portion of Brandon Parkway
Two people died after a collision occurred in a heavily-traveled intersection in Brandon.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers said a 26-year-old male driver of a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado was heading northbound on Town Center Boulevard on Tuesday morning. A second driver was heading eastbound in a Nissan SUV on Brandon Parkway.
Both vehicles entered the intersection at the same time, crashing into each other, investigators said. The Nissan erupted in flames. It's still unclear which vehicle entered the intersection under a red traffic signal.
15-year-old driving stolen car crashes into St. Pete officer's patrol car, officials say
A police officer in St. Petersburg is recovering after a driver, traveling in a stolen car, collided into his vehicle.
Police said the crash occurred Monday when a sergeant with the St. Petersburg Police Department was heading west on 18th Avenue South. At one point, stolen blue Toyota Camry was speeding northbound on 7th Street South, and ran a stop sign, investigators said.
The vehicles crashed at the intersection and three people from inside the Camry, along with the sergeant, were taken to a nearby hospital. All injuries appear to be non-life threatening, police said.
Documentary giving in-depth look into the Skyway Bridge tragedy to debut at Tampa Theatre
It was 39 years ago when the unthinkable happened in Tampa Bay: a chunk of the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge fell to the water below after it was struck by a freighter. Six cars, a truck and a bus plunged into Tampa Bay, killing 35 people.
Now, a new documentary will take a look back at that day, and the incredible aftermath. The film is called "The Skyway Bridge Disaster" and will debut at the Tampa Theatre on September 14.
The documentary will highlight the day when M/V Summit Venture slammed into one of the two original spans during a storm in 1980. The current bridge -- now formally known as the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge -- was dedicated back on February 7, 1987.
Polk County commissioners approve $200,000 settlement in 2018 deadly fire
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Texas Chapter of the Recording Academy's 25th anniversary
Non-invasive method for butt lift called ‘vacuum' a summer fad
Popular Houston socialite Peter 'PJ' Simien remembered by FOX 26
What's Your Point? Hot Seat - Lizzie Fletcher
Video Posted May 06 2018 12:37PM CDT
HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Lizzie Fletcher emerged as the leading vote-getter of the Democratic Primary to face Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. John Culberson in November for control of Texas Congressional District 7. Before she gets that opportunity, Fletcher must overcome fellow Democrat Laura Moser in the runoff election on May 22. Fletcher addresses the upcoming challenge with Greg Groogan in the What's Your Point? Hot Seat.
More You Decide Stories
Trump digs in on incendiary tweets against lawmakers, says ‘if you're not happy here, you can leave'
By Amy Lieu
President Trump was unbowed by criticism of his incendiary tweets against four U.S. congresswomen of color, saying, “If you're not happy here, then you can leave.”
Trump said Monday at the White House, "If you're not happy in the U.S., if you're complaining all the time, very simply, you can leave, you can leave right now."
“These are people who hate our country,” Trump added.
"Pay to Play" practice will not be on the ballot in November
By Greg Groogan, FOX 26 News
Recycling contracts, airport concessions, engineering deals, strip club regulation, and even hurricane recovery legal services - throughout much of his term, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has drawn allegations of "pay-to-play" practices.
Political opponent Bill King helped launch a ballot initiative to essentially ban those who do business with the City from dumping cash into the campaign war chests of council members and the Mayor.
But after a month-long effort, the drive failed to gather the 40,000 signatures needed to get the measure on the November ballot.
Shoppers boycott Home Depot over donations to Trump's campaign
Some shoppers are boycotting Home Depot because one of the store's co-founders, Bernie Marcus, plans to donate to President Trump's reelection campaign.
He retired from Home Depot in 2002 and the retailer says he isn't speaking on behalf of the company. However, people are taking to social media anyway, using #BoycottHomeDepot and urging others not to shop there.
Outcry became so fierce that the president himself spoke out in defense of Marcus.
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Ssangyong Rexton 2003-2013 review
The SsangYong Rexton is a big, old-fashioned four-wheel-drive SUV that will appeal to those who would not or could not consider the more refined alternative of a modern ‘soft-roader’, whether through a dogged determination not to follow the herd or because of enforced financial limitations.
SsangYong’s relaunch in the UK, with the appointment of a new importer, means the Rexton has also received a specification makeover and is now presented in a clear, two-tier trim hierarchy – S, available with a five-speed manual or five-speed automatic gearbox, and EX, driven here, which is take-it-or-leave-it auto only.
Nic Cackett
Road tester
Equipment is generous and compensates for crudeness elsewhere
Power still comes from a version of Mercedes’ previous-generation 2696cc five-cylinder CDI diesel engine producing 163bhp and 250lb ft of torque while consuming a claimed 30.1mpg on the combined cycle (32.8mpg for the manual S version) and emitting 250g/km of CO2 (dropping to 229g/km for the manual).
The Rexton is a crude device by modern standards — not least those set by its domestic rivals Kia and Hyundai – but it is still up to serving as an effective workhorse for those able to accept its compromises. It remains a proper off-roader, complete with a pukka four-wheel drive system, decent ground clearance and reasonably effective traction control.
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That Merc-derived engine remains the highlight of the dynamic experience, delivering decent urge and driving smoothly via the standard five-speed autobox and accompanied by a gravelly resonance in the cabin.
Refinement levels are where the Rexton feels furthest off the pace, both in terms of the road and wind noise that gets into the cabin, but also the constant heaving motions bequeathed by its old-fashioned underpinnings. And while the ride never settles down, the feel-free steering acts to discourage any attempt at enthusiastic progress, which perhaps isn’t such a bad thing.
This isn’t a trendy, modern SUV, then, but a simple, traditional off-roader. Most disappointing is the low-speed ride that thumps around town. Up the pace though and things improve, the Rexton lolloping along in a relaxed manner. The power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering is very light and offers little communication, but points the Rexton faithfully. Nevertheless, it’s a reminder of just how talented modern SUVs are at replicating a car-like experience.
Standard kit is generous in both S and EX trims, with the EX model only bettering the S with the addition of full leather trim and an electric sunroof, but a fully-specced Rexton also seems to miss the point of such a value-orientated car: electrically adjustable seats and automatic windscreen wipers feel slightly out of place in a vehicle like this.
The Rexton undercuts established rivals but it’s hard not to conclude its kitchen-sink specification is missing the point of such a value brand and as such the Rexton doesn’t quite deliver either as a bargain-basement workhorse or faux-luxury SUV. It has a certain charm and appeal, but it’s unlikely that it will be enough to snare too many buyers given the competitiveness of the SUV segment.
Continue to Prices and specs
Ssangyong Rexton 270 EX Auto
If you're after a cheap but imposing 4x4 that you can use to tow a house down the motorway, then look no further
Ssangyong Rexton R-Line
Reasonable budget SUV gets a pointless makeover
SsangYong Rexton 290 SE
It may not be the smoothest SUV on sale, but the Rexton offers a lot of 4x4 for not a lot of cash.
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Instrument mounting panel
A mounting panel for technical instruments consisting of a number of smaller panel elements which are provided with instrument holes and which form a system of modules. The panel is provided with weakenings so that elements of the panel may be broken away for adapting the panel to the desired size. Weakenings are also provided in the panel which run between adjacent holes so that the middle portion between four or more of the holes may be knocked out to obtain a larger opening to fit larger instruments.
Granum, Victor Konrad (Solasvn 11, Oslo 6, NO)
GRANUM; VICTOR KONRAD
52/98, 220/266, 248/909
G12B9/10; (IPC1-7): A47F7/00
211/26, 248/DIG.9, 248/27.1, 220/266, 174/65, 174/66, 52/98-100
3748007 SPACE COVERING ASSEMBLY 1973-07-24 Mathias 52/98
3284971 Structural elements for metal framing systems 1966-11-15 Attwood 52/100
2889016 Chassis construction strip and a chassis 1959-06-02 Warren 52/98
1850165 Electric switch or junction box 1932-03-22 Barnett 220/266
1841212 Box for inclosing electrical appurtenances 1932-01-12 Sachs 220/266
1840494 Combination mounting plate for instrument panels 1932-01-12 Eshbaugh 248/27.1
1608621 Electrical conduit system 1926-11-30 Sachs 220/266
CA466689A 1950-07-18 248/DIG.9
NO68243 August, 1944
Frazier, Roy D.
Lewis, Terrell P.
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow & Garrett
Having described my invention, I claim:
1. An instrument mounting panel for technical instruments comprising:
(a) a series of smaller panel elements formed in a two-dimensional array, each of said smaller panel elements having an instrument hole therethrough for defining a system of modules; and
(b) weakenings formed in said mounting panel for breaking away selected portions of said mounting panel, said weakenings including weakenings extending between said instrument holes of adjacent smaller panel elements in both dimensions of said array and wherein at least one portion is formed by said weakenings between the instrument holes of adjacent smaller panel elements in both dimensions of said array for providing a breakout for a larger hole.
2. The instrument mounting panel for technical instruments as set forth in claim 1 wherein said weakenings extending between said instrument holes of adjacent smaller panel elements comprise a pair of straight extending score lines.
3. The instrument mounting panel for technical instruments as set forth in claim 1 wherein said weakenings further include annular weakenings at the corner of each of said same smaller panel elements for providing a breakout for a fastener hole.
4. The instrument mounting panel for technical instruments as set forth in claim 1 further comprising fastener holes at the corner of each of said smaller panel elements.
The present invention concerns a mounting panel for technical instruments, consisting of a number of smaller panel elements which are provided with holes in which to fit instruments, the panel elements forming a module system. The mounting panel is particularly suitable for technical instruments which are made to be recessed in a panel.
Up to now, it has been common practice to special-construct mounting panels for each particular case, and the size of the panel as well as the number and size of the holes for the instruments could not be decided before the number and type of instruments to be used were determined for each particular case.
Cutting out openings in walls, apparatus panels, instrument racks and the like is usually time-comsuming and often requires special tools for the different sizes of instruments to be mounted.
Various kinds of mounting panels which lessen these problems to a degree are known. Such panels are constructed of prefabricated elements, each element having the necessary holes for various instruments and operating controls. The elements can be built together into larger panels by means of special frames or the like.
It is further known to make elements in different sizes, where the larger elements have a side dimension which is a multiple of the side dimension of the smallest element, such that large and small panel elements can be built together in arbitrary order.
The disadvantages of these panels, however, are that a range of different elements must be carried in stock, and that mounting the elements together in the frame can be time-consuming. This makes for a relatively expensive mounting panel. Furthermore, the frame constructions often require more space than one has available, and do not always have an attractive appearance, which is desirable for certain purposes.
The object of the present invention is to provide an instrument mounting panel in which the above disadvantages are eliminated, and this is achieved by means of the characterizing features disclosed in the main claim.
This mounting panel is differentiated from the mounting panels known previously in that it can be adapted to the desired size by means of weakenings arranged on the panel material. One or several panel elements can be broken away from the mounting panel along the weakenings, which form a boundary between each panel element and its adjacent elements.
The instrument mounting panel, as mentioned introductorily, comes equipped with holes which are designed to fit the smallest of the relevant instrument sizes which can be mounted on the panel. The mounting panel is differentiated from previously known panels in that the middle portion between four or more of the instrument holes can be knocked out along further weakenings in the panel material which run between adjacent holes, such that one thereby obtains a larger opening to fit larger instruments. The weakenings are arranged such that both large and small instruments can be mounted arbitrarily on the same mounting panel, while at the same time a harmonious and attractive appearance is obtained because all of the instruments are spaced equidistant, which is more fully explained in the following description.
The characterizing features of the invention will be further elucidated by the claims and the following description, wherein an example of an embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the drawings, where
FIG. 1 shows an instrument mounting panel according to the invention seen head-on, and
FIG. 2 depicts a cross section through the mounting panel.
FIG. 1 shows an instrument mounting panel 1 provided with holes 2 which, using simple hand tools, can be made to fit different numbers and sizes of instruments, and particularly instruments having an approximately square front plate in two or more sizes, where the lateral dimension of the front plate on the larger instruments is a multiple of the lateral dimension on the front plate of the smallest instrument.
The instrument mounting panel 1 can be prefabricated in appropriate standard sizes, for example, where each standard size corresponds to the largest size that is common within a specific area of application. The mounting panel 1 is provided with weakenings 3 which divide the plate into panel elements 4 which form a system of modules for the mounting panel 1, and each of the panel elements 4 is provided with said holes 2. The weakenings 3 make it possible easily to break away a portion of panel having the desired number of instrument holes 2 from the original standard-size panel in order to obtain a panel for the desired number of instruments.
Each panel element 4, which is provided with said holes 2 and which is bounded by weakenings 3, is provided with fastener holes 5 or with weakenings for knocking out fastener holes 5 in each corner. This means that no matter what size section of the mounting panel is broken away, there will be fastener holes 5 in the corners and along the outer edges of the panel section.
Between all instrument holes 2, weakenings 6 are arranged which are placed such that they mutually correspond to the size of that part of a possible larger instrument which is to be recessed in the panel. These weakenings 6 make it possible to remove with simple hand tools a middle portion 7 between four adjacent panel elements 4 and thereby provide an instrument hole 8 which is suitable for mounting a larger instrument.
The instrument mounting panel 1 thus described, consisting of panel elements 4 which can be broken away, makes possible the varied placement of both large and small instruments in any order, in that number which in each case is desirable, and the fitting of the instruments into the panel can be done by hand or with ordinary tools.
If there are instrument holes 2 in the mounting panel 1 which are not used for instruments, these can be closed off in a manner known per se by means of a blind cover. The blind cover can be used, for example, for mounting warning lights, breakers or similar components, and can also be provided with the name of the company or some other appropriate text.
The module system of the mounting panel 1 is designed such that several panels 1 can be mounted beside one another or above one another and thereby give the same distance 9 between all instrument holes 2 in a group of panels 1.
The module system therefore makes possible the mounting of instruments of different sizes in a group where all of the instruments are spaced equidistant.
When several mounting panels 1 are to be built together into larger groups, special rod profiles 10 are used between each mounting panel 1 as well as along the outer edges of the group of panels. The rod profiles 10 can have a known per se T-shape, and the mounting panel 1 is fastened in a known manner to the lateral flange of the rod profile 10 by means of screws or nails through the fastener holes 5 of the panel element 4 and the fastener hole 11 in the lateral flange of the rod profile 10.
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WET BRAKE SYSTEM, REAR GEAR ASSEMBLY INCLUDING WET BRAKE SYSTEM AND VEHICLE INCLUDING SAME
A vehicle includes a combined wet brake and rear gear assembly supported by a pair of frames. The combined wet brake and rear gear assembly includes a housing having at least one gear and a wet brake provided therein. An input shaft is connected to the gear and to the engine of the vehicle. The wet brake is located between one of the pairs of frames and the input shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in a top plan view.
Harper, Bryan M. (Sharpsburg, GA, US)
Metzger, Andrew (Newnan, GA, US)
Younggren, Bruce (Bemidji, MN, US)
Wolf, Brian (Bemidji, MN, US)
YAMAHA MOTOR MANUFACTURING CORPORATION OF AMERICA (Newnan, GA, US)
B60K17/00; B62D21/00
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GOODEN JR, BARRY J
YAMAHA MOTOR MANUFACTURING CO.;C/O KEATING & BENNETT, LLP (8180 GREENSBORO DRIVE, SUITE 850, MCLEAN, VA, 22102-3866, US)
1. A vehicle comprising: a brake device; a gear; a housing surrounding the brake device and the gear; first and second frames supporting the housing; an input shaft connected to the gear; wherein the brake device is disposed between one of the first and second frames and the input shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in a top plan view.
2. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the housing surrounds the brake device and the gear and a fluid is contained and sealed within the housing.
3. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the brake device is a wet friction disk brake device.
4. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the brake device includes a plurality of friction plates.
5. A vehicle according to claim 4, wherein a main surface of each of the plurality of friction plates is substantially parallel to a centerline of the input shaft.
6. A vehicle according to claim 4, wherein an axis of rotation of the plurality of friction plates is substantially parallel to an axis of rotation of the gear.
7. A vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of friction plates has a diameter that is larger than a diameter of the gear.
8. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the gear is a bevel gear or a ring gear.
9. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the housing includes a lever for operating the brake device.
10. A vehicle according to claim 9, further comprising at least one cable connected to the lever; wherein a portion of the at least one cable is disposed between one of the first and second frames and the input shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in the top plan view.
11. A vehicle according to claim 9, further comprising: an output shaft connected to the gear; and a lever shaft connected to the lever; wherein the centerline of the lever shaft is substantially parallel the centerline of the output shaft in a top plan view; and the lever shaft is disposed further toward the front of the vehicle than the output shaft.
12. A vehicle according to claim 11, further comprising a universal joint connected to the input shaft; wherein the lever shaft is disposed between the output shaft and the universal joint.
13. A vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising an engine output shaft; wherein the input shaft is offset from the engine output shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in the top plan view.
14. A vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the input shaft is substantially parallel to the engine output shaft in the top plan view.
15. A vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the brake device is disposed between the engine output shaft and the input shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in the top plan view.
16. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the input shaft is disposed on one side of the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle in the top plan view and the brake device is disposed on the other side of the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle in the top plan view.
17. A vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: an engine output shaft; and a propeller shaft connected to the input shaft and the engine output shaft; wherein the centerline of the propeller shaft is inclined with respect to the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle in the top plan view; and the front end of the propeller shaft is spaced away from the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle in the top plan view.
18. A vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: an engine output shaft connected to the input shaft; wherein the brake device is disposed between the engine output shaft and the input shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in the top plan view.
19. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the gear is disposed between one of the first and second frames and the input shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in the top plan view.
20. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the gear is disposed between the input shaft and the brake device in the transverse direction of the vehicle in a top plan view.
21. A vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising an independent suspension connected to the brake device and the gear.
The present invention relates to a brake system for a vehicle, such as a four-wheel drive vehicle, an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), a side-by-side vehicle, and other types of vehicles, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a wet friction disk brake system incorporated in a rear reduction gear assembly in such a vehicle.
FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a known ATV 101. The ATV 101 includes a body frame 102 formed mostly of pipe members assembled by welding. An engine 125 is mounted on a middle portion of the body frame 102. Front wheels 120 provided with low-pressure tires, i.e., balloon tires, are suspended from front right and front left portions of the body frame 102. Rear wheels 121 provided with low-pressure tires are suspended from rear right and rear left portions of the body frame 102. The rear wheels 121 are supported on rear end portions of a swing arm 129 pivotally joined to a rear lower end portion of the body frame 102 for swinging motion in a vertical plane and supported by a suspension system 132. The front wheels 120 are supported by right and left linkages 130 individually connected to a front lower end portion of the body frame 102 and supported by shock absorbers 133 so as to be able to swing in a vertical plane. The handlebar 122 is operated to control the front wheels 120 for steering.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the front wheels 120 and the rear wheels 121 are driven by a transmission including drive shafts, not shown, and differential gears 134 and 135 connected to the engine 125 and mounted on the body frame 102. A front carrier rack 131 is mounted on the front fender 107 and permits loading and supporting of baggage thereon from the front side of the ATV 101. Front fender 107 also encloses a pair of headlights 106, as shown in FIG. 1B. The front carrier rack 131, the handlebar 122, the fuel tank 124, and the seat 123 are arranged on the body frame 102 in that order from the front toward the rear of the body frame 102. A rear carrier rack 126 is located behind the seat 123 and is mounted on the rear fender 108.
The front wheels 120 are covered with the front fender 107. The rear wheels 121 are covered with the rear fender 108. A cover 109 is provided on the body frame 102 between the front fender 107 and the rear fender 108 so as to surround the fuel tank 124. Exhaust pipes 136 extend rearward from the exhaust ports of the cylinders of the engine 125 and are connected to the muffler 127.
A conventional assembly of a rear differential driving and braking system used in these types of vehicles is shown in FIG. 5 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,890, and includes a rear reduction gear assembly having a wet type multiplate braking system provided therein. FIGS. 1 and 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,890 show another vehicle including a wet type multiplate braking system provided in a rear gear case. In addition, the arrangements of the wet brake systems in the rear gear assemblies according to both types of structures described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,890 are very complicated, and do not allow for the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly to be located at various positions within the vehicle. This is partially due to the fact that the drive mechanisms used in these conventional vehicles are differential drive mechanisms and due to the fact that the wet type multiplate braking system is located on the input shaft of the rear gear, both of which facts cause significant limitations in the design freedom of locating and installing the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly at various positions in the vehicle. Also, these differential gear and braking systems are inefficient and may result in brake failure. As a result, the wet type multiplate braking system must be positioned at a very specific location within the vehicle which significantly limits the flexibility and design freedom of locating the combined wet brake system and rear gear case relative to the engine output and wheels of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,373 also teaches a conventional vehicle having a rear differential gear assembly including multiple brake disks. The rear differential gear assembly of U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,373 includes complicated differential gearing and a plurality of brake disks that must be mutually compressed to achieve braking. As a result, the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly in this conventional device can only be located at the rear wheel as seen in FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,373. Also, this conventional device suffers from the same disadvantages such as inefficient braking and complicated assembly as described above with respect to U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,890.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0040776 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,217 disclose in FIGS. 3 and 4, a casing for housing a final reduction gear for rear wheels and a wet multiple-disk braking device which is mounted in front of the final reduction gear in a direction of forward movement of a four-wheel vehicle. By mounting the wet multiple-disk brake in front of the final reduction gear, the wet multiple-disk braking device directly stops or brakes the rotation of the input shaft of the final reduction gear. The arrangement of the wet brake mounted in front of the final reduction gear, and the operation of directly stopping the rotation of the input shaft of the final reduction gear is complicated, limits design freedom and provides for inefficient braking of the rear wheels. In addition, if the gear fails in this structure, brake failure may occur resulting in the inability to slow or stop the rear wheels. Furthermore, the location of the rear gear case and location of the wet multiple-disk braking device which is mounted in front of the final reduction gear prevents minimization of the distance to the engine output.
To overcome the problems described above, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a wet brake system provided in a rear gear assembly of a vehicle that has a very compact structure, provides for more efficient braking of the vehicle with a relatively simple design, increases the flexibility and design freedom for locating the combined wet brake system and rear gear assembly at various positions within the vehicle, and optimizes the drive train performance by optimizing the offset angles of the rear drive shafts.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle preferably includes a brake device, a gear, a housing surrounding the brake device and the gear, first and second frames supporting the housing, an input shaft connected to the gear. The brake device is preferably located between one of the first and second frames and the input shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in a top plan view.
The housing preferably surrounds the brake device and the gear and a fluid is contained and sealed within the housing. The brake device can be a wet friction disk brake device. The brake device preferably includes a plurality of friction plates. A main surface of each of the plurality of friction plates is preferably substantially parallel to a centerline of the input shaft. The axis of rotation of the plurality of friction plates is preferably substantially parallel to an axis of rotation of the gear. The plurality of friction plates has a diameter that is preferably larger than a diameter of the gear. The gear is preferably a ring gear, including a bevel gear.
The housing can also include a lever for operating the brake device. At least one cable is preferably connected to the lever. A portion of the at least one cable is preferably located between one of the first and second frames and the input shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in the top plan view.
The vehicle preferably includes an output shaft connected to the gear and a lever shaft connected to the lever. The centerline of the lever shaft is preferably substantially parallel the centerline of the output shaft in a top plan view, and the lever shaft is preferably located further toward the front of the vehicle than the output shaft.
The vehicle preferably includes a universal joint connected to the input shaft, where the lever shaft is preferably located between the output shaft and the universal joint.
The input shaft is preferably offset from the engine output shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in the top plan view. The input shaft is preferably substantially parallel to the engine output shaft in the top plan view. The brake device is preferably located between the engine output shaft and the input shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in the top plan view. Preferably, the input shaft is located on one side of the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle in the top plan view, and the brake device is located on the other side of the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle in the top plan view.
The vehicle preferably includes a propeller shaft connected to the input shaft and the engine output shaft. The centerline of the propeller shaft is preferably inclined with respect to the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle in the top plan view, and the front end of the propeller shaft is preferably spaced away from the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle in the top plan view.
The brake device is preferably located between the engine output shaft and the input shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in the top plan view. The gear is preferably located between one of the first and second frames and the input shaft in the transverse direction of the vehicle in the top plan view. The gear is preferably located between the input shaft and the brake device in the transverse direction of the vehicle in a top plan view.
The vehicle preferably includes an independent suspension connected to the brake device and the gear.
Other features, elements, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings.
FIG. 1A is a side view and FIG. 1B is a front view of a known ATV to which preferred embodiments of the present invention may be applied.
FIG. 2 is partial side view of a frame assembly of a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a partial rear view of a suspension assembly of a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4A is a partial top plan view of a drive train assembly including a rear gear and brake assembly of a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4B is a partial top plan view of the drive train assembly including a sectional view of the rear gear and brake assembly of FIG. 4A.
FIG. 5 is a side view of a combined wet brake and rear gear assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a partially disassembled side view of the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a top sectional view of the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A vehicle according to various preferred embodiments of the present invention can be a four-wheel drive vehicle, an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), a side-by-side vehicle, or other type of vehicle, such as the ATV 101 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. For example, the vehicle according to various preferred embodiments of the present invention can be an ATV having three wheels or four wheels, and can be a sport ATV or a utility ATV. The vehicle can also be two or four wheel drive.
As seen in FIGS. 2-4B, a vehicle 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a main frame 12 including a left main frame 12a, a right main frame 12b, and connecting members 20. The left main frame 12a and the right main frame 12b extend along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 10. The general shape of the left main frame 12a and the right main frame 12b is preferably trapezoidal, with the top and bottom sides parallel or substantially parallel to each other. The shape of the left main frame 12a and the right main frame 12b can be a shape other than trapezoidal. The left main frame 12a and the right main frame 12b are connected to one another by connecting members 20. The left main frame 12a and the right main frame 12b can be planar or non-planar. The left main frame 12a and the right main frame 12b are parallel or substantially parallel to one another. For example, the left main frame 12a and the right main frame 12b can be parallel to one another in the middle region of the vehicle 10 and can converge to a point in the front region of the vehicle 10.
The engine 13 is located between the left main frame 12a and the right main frame 12b. Any suitable engine can be used. The engine 13 is typically bolted to the main frame 12, but any other suitable attachment technique can be used to attach the engine 13 to the main frame 12. From the engine 13, an engine output shaft 14 extends. The engine output shaft 14 extends from the engine 13 parallel to the centerline A of the vehicle 10. With respect to the engine output shaft 14, the term parallel means parallel within standard design and manufacturing tolerances, which includes approximately or substantially parallel. The engine output shaft 14 is spaced away from the centerline A of the vehicle 10 in the transverse direction.
A sub-frame 17 is attached to the rear of the main frame 12. The sub-frame 17 can be attached by any suitable attachment technique, including welding and bolting, or can be attached any combination of suitable attachment techniques. The sub-frame 17 includes a left sub-frame 17a, a right sub-frame 17b, and connecting members 17c, 17d. As with the left main frame 12a and the right main frame 12b, the left sub-frame 17a and the right sub-frame 17b extend along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 10, although along a shorter distance. The shape of the left sub-frame 17a and the right sub-frame 17b is preferably generally trapezoidal, with the top and bottom sides parallel or substantially parallel to each other. The shape of the left sub-frame 17a and the right sub-frame 17b can be a shape other than trapezoidal. The left sub-frame 17a and the right sub-frame 17b are connected to one another by connecting members 17c, 17d. The left sub-frame 17a and the right sub-frame 17b can be planar or non-planar. The left sub-frame 17a and the right sub-frame 17b are parallel or substantially parallel to one another.
Use of the sub-frame 17 makes the manufacturing of the vehicle 10 easier. However, it is possible to use a single, unitary frame that combines both the main frame 12 and the sub-frame 17.
The independent suspension system 27 for the rear wheels is attached to the sub-frame 17 and to the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18. The independent suspension system 27 preferably includes a left upper arm 28a, a right upper arm 28b, a left lower arm 29a, a right lower arm 29b, a left wheel drive shaft 30a, a right wheel drive shaft 30b, a left rear knuckle 31a, a right rear knuckle 31b, a left shock absorber 32a, and a right shock absorber 32b.
One end of the left upper arm 28a, the right upper arm 28b, the left lower arm 29a, and the right lower arm 29b is attached to sub-frame 17 by any suitable method that allows the left upper arm 28a, the right upper arm 28b, the left lower arm 29a, and the right lower arm 29b to move in the up and down directions. The other end of the left upper arm 28a, the right upper arm 28b, the left lower arm 29a, and the right lower arm 29b is attached to the corresponding left knuckle 31a or right knuckle 31b by any suitable method that allows the left upper arm 28a and the left lower arm 29a to move in unison and the right upper arm 28b and the right lower arm 29b to move in unison. The components of the independent suspension system 27 are arranged to allow the left upper arm 28a and the left lower arm 29a to move independently from the right upper arm 28b and the right lower arm 29b.
One end of the left shock absorber 32a and the right shock absorber 32b is attached to the sub-frame 17. The other end of the left shock absorber 32a and the right shock absorber 32b is attached to the corresponding left lower arm 29a or right lower arm 29b. The left shock absorber 32a and the right shock absorber 32b are attached by any suitable method that allows the left shock absorber 32a and the right shock absorber 32b to dampen the movement of the corresponding left lower arm 29a and right lower arm 29b, respectively. Instead of using shock absorbers 32a and 32b, any other suitable dampening elements can also be used.
First ends of the left wheel drive shaft 30a and the right wheel drive shaft 30b are connected to the corresponding left constant velocity joint 24a and right constant velocity joint 24b, which are further discussed below. Second ends of the left wheel drive shaft 30a and the right wheel drive shaft 30b are attached to the corresponding left and right wheels (not shown) by any suitable method. With this arrangement of the left wheel drive shaft 30a, the right wheel drive shaft 30b, the left constant velocity joint 24a, and the right constant velocity joint 24b, power can be transferred from the left constant velocity joint 24a and the right constant velocity joint 24b to the left and right wheels.
Although a specific arrangement for an independent suspension system has been described above, other suitable arrangements could also be used that allow the left and right side suspension systems to be independent of each other.
A combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18 including a wet friction disk brake (“wet disk brake”) 23, described later with reference to FIGS. 5-7, is preferably located between the left sub-frame 17a and the right sub-frame 17b. The combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18 can be attached by any suitable attachment technique, including welding and bolting, or can be attached by any combination of suitable attachment techniques. An input shaft 19 extends from the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18 parallel to the centerline A of the vehicle 10. With respect to the input shaft 19, the term parallel means parallel within standard design and manufacturing tolerances, which includes approximately or substantially parallel. Also, the input shaft 19 can be located at the centerline A of the vehicle 10 in the transverse direction or can be located on either side of the centerline A of the vehicle 10 in the transverse direction. The input shaft 19 can be tilted or inclined with respect to the centerline A of the vehicle.
Because the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18 is located within the sub-frame 17, several advantageous results are achieved. First, balance of the vehicle 10 is improved because the moment of inertia is reduced as compared to the case where the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18 is located at the wheels. Because the balance of the vehicle is improved, the overall handling of the vehicle 10 is improved.
Second, the wet disk brake 23, described later, which is provided in the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18, is better protected from damage as compared to if the wet disk brake 23 was located at the wheel as in the prior art discussed above. When the brake device is located at the wheel, the brake device is exposed to objects (e.g., rocks, dirt, sticks, debris, etc.) that can damage the brake device.
The engine 13 and the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18 are connected to each other. The engine output shaft 14 is connected to one end of the propeller shaft 15 by a universal joint 16a. The other end of the propeller shaft 15 is connected to input shaft 19 by another universal joint 16b. The centerline of the propeller shaft 15 is tilted or inclined with respect to the centerline A of the vehicle in a top plan view. With this arrangement of the engine output shaft 14, the propeller shaft 15, and the input shaft 19, the power of the engine 13 can be efficiently transferred to the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18. It should be noted that the centerline of the propeller shaft 15 can also be in line with, and not inclined with respect to, the centerline A of the vehicle in a top plan view.
As shown in FIGS. 4A-7, within the housing 26 of the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18 are located a pinion gear 21, a ring gear 22, a wet disk brake 23, a left constant velocity joint 24a, a right constant velocity joint 24b, and a rear wheel drive shaft 25. A bevel gear or any other suitable gear could be used for the ring gear.
The pinion gear 21 is connected to the input shaft 19, which, as discussed above, receives power from the engine 13.
The wet disk brake 23 is preferably located between the right sub-frame 17b and the input shaft 19 in the transverse direction of the vehicle 10 in a top plan view. The wet disk brake 23 can also be located between the left sub-frame 17a and the input shaft 19 in the transverse direction of the vehicle 10 in a top plan view. The wet disk brake 23 is preferably located between the engine output shaft 14 and the input shaft 19 in the transverse direction of the vehicle 10 in a top plan view, but the wet disk brake 23 can be also located elsewhere between the left sub-frame 17a and the right sub-frame 17b without departing from the scope of the present invention.
In addition, it is preferred that the wet disk brake 23 is located between the ring gear 22 and the right rear wheel drive shaft 30b that engages with the rear wheel drive shaft 25 shown in FIG. 7. In other words, the wet disk brake 23 and the ring gear 22 are located to one side (the lower side in FIG. 7) relative to a longitudinal axis of the input shaft 19 such that that ring gear 22 is closer to the longitudinal axis of the input shaft 19 than the wet disk brake 23.
The pinion gear 21 is in contact with the ring gear 22. The ring gear 22 is connected to the rear wheel drive shaft 25. The pinion gear 21 and ring gear 22 are arranged such that the axis of rotation of the input shaft 19 and the axis of rotation of the rear wheel drive shaft 25 are perpendicular or substantially perpendicular. With respect to the axis of rotation of the input shaft 19 and the axis of rotation of the rear wheel drive shaft 25, the term parallel means parallel within standard design and manufacturing tolerances, which includes approximately or substantially parallel. The axis of rotation of the input shaft 19 and the axis of rotation of the rear wheel drive shaft 25 can also be non-perpendicular. For example, if the input shaft 19 is tilted or inclined with respect to the centerline A of the vehicle 10, then the axis of rotation of the input shaft 19 and the axis of rotation of the rear wheel drive shaft 25 would not be parallel. The rear wheel drive shaft 25 is connected at opposite ends to the left constant velocity joint 24a and the right constant velocity joint 24b. With this arrangement of the pinion gear 21, the ring gear 22, and the rear wheel drive shaft 25, power can be transferred from the input shaft 19 to the left constant velocity joint 24a and to the right constant velocity joint 24b. The wet disk brake 23 is connected to the ring gear 22, to the rear wheel drive shaft 25, and to the housing 26.
As seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the wet disk brake 23 preferably includes a plurality of rotating disks 23a, a plurality of stationary disks 23b, ball bearings 34, activation ring 35, lever 36, springs 37, and lever shaft 39. The plurality of rotating disks 23a are connected to the ring gear 22. The plurality of stationary disks 23b are connected to the housing 26 of the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18.
A main surface of each of the plurality of rotating disks 23a and of the plurality of stationary disks 23b is parallel to a centerline of the input shaft 19. Also, the axis of rotation of the plurality of rotating disks 23a is parallel to the axis of rotation of the ring gear 22. With respect to the plurality of rotating disks 23a and of the plurality of stationary disks 23b, the term parallel means parallel within standard design and manufacturing tolerances, which includes approximately or substantially parallel. The main surface of each of the plurality of rotating disks 23a and of the plurality of stationary disks 23b can be non-parallel to a centerline of the input shaft 19. For example, if the input shaft 19 is tilted or inclined with respect to the centerline A of the vehicle 10, then the main surface of each of the plurality of rotating disks 23a and of the plurality of stationary disks 23b and the centerline of the input shaft 19 would not be parallel. The plurality of rotating disks 23a and the plurality of stationary disks 23b alternate with each other. The alternating plurality of rotating disks 23a and plurality of stationary disks 23b have a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the ring gear 22 for more efficient braking. The outermost stationary disk 23b is pushed toward the inner surface of the housing 26 by the springs 37.
As noted above, the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18, including the wet disk brake 23 within the housing 26, in the present invention is located on the rear wheel drive shaft 25 instead of located on the input shaft or on a rear wheel shaft with a differential as in the prior art discussed above. As a result, a much more efficient braking system is provided because the rear wheel drive shaft 25, the left and right rear wheel drive shafts 30a and 30b, and the input shaft 19 can all be effectively braked by a simple assembly 18. Furthermore, if the vehicle 10 is in four wheel drive mode, the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18 can also brake the front wheel drive shaft (not shown). Also, this unique arrangement allows for multiple locations of the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18 with respect to the engine 13, the main frame 12, and the sub-frame 17 to optimize vehicle performance and allows for better optimization of drive train performance, especially optimization of the offset angles between the engine output shaft 14, the propeller shaft 15, and the input shaft 19.
The activation ring 35 is located directly adjacent to one of the outermost stationary disks 23b and is connected to the lever 36 through lever shaft 39. The lever 36 is located outside of the housing 26 of the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18 and is connected to the lever shaft 39 such that, when the lever 36 is rotated, the lever shaft 39 is rotated.
The lever shaft 39 is located between the universal joint 16b, which connects the input shaft 19 and the propeller shaft 15, and the rear wheel drive shaft 25. The centerline of the lever shaft 39 is parallel with the centerline of the rear wheel drive shaft 25.
The ball bearings 34 are located in sloped grooves in the activation ring 35 and contact the inner surface of the housing 26. The inner surface of the housing 26 includes sloped grooves that correspond to the sloped grooves in the activation ring 35 and that act in cooperation with the sloped grooves in the activation ring 35.
To activate the wet brake 23, a rider or driver of the vehicle engages, with the foot, hand, or both, the braking mechanism(s) (not shown), which causes the cables 38 to be pulled forward. One of the cables 38 is engaged by activating a hand braking mechanism, and the other of the cables 38 is engaged by activating foot braking mechanism, for example. Instead of having both a hand braking mechanism and a foot breaking mechanism including two cables, the vehicle can also have either only a hand braking mechanism or only a foot breaking mechanism, in which case only one cable 38 is needed. Alternatively, one cable 38 could be engaged by activating a hand braking mechanism, a foot breaking mechanism, or both. In this arrangement, the hand braking mechanism and the foot breaking mechanism would be connected.
The cables 38 extend from the braking mechanism(s) to the lever 36, and the portion of the cables 38 that are located between the left sub-frame 17a and the right sub-frame 17b are provided between the input shaft 19 and the right sub-frame 17b in the transverse direction of the vehicle 10 in a top plan view. The centerline of the cables 38 provided between the input shaft 19 and the right sub-frame 17b is parallel or substantially parallel to the centerline A of the vehicle 10, which allows for more efficient actuation of the wet disk brake 23.
When the cable or cables 38 are pulled forward, the lever 36 is pulled forward, which causes the lever shaft 39 to rotate. The rotation of the lever shaft 39 causes the activation ring 35 to rotate. The rotation of the activation ring 35 causes the ball bearings 34 to roll up the sloped grooves, which causes the activation ring 35 to be pushed away from the inner surface of the housing 26. The pushing away from the inner surface of the housing 26 causes the alternating plurality of rotating disks 23a and plurality of stationary disks 23b to be pressed into each other. The farther the lever 36 is rotated, the harder the alternating plurality of rotating disks 23a and plurality of stationary disks 23b are pressed into each other. The friction between the alternating plurality of rotating disks 23a and plurality of stationary disks 23b when being pressed into each other causes the rotation of the rear wheel drive shaft 25 to slow and eventually to stop, which causes the vehicle 10 to slow and eventually to stop.
When the rider or driver of the vehicle 10 is not engaging the braking mechanism(s), the cables 38 are not pulled forward, the lever 36 is not pulled forward, the lever shaft 39 is not rotated, the activation ring 35 is not rotated, and the alternating plurality of rotating disks 23a and plurality of stationary disks 23b are not pressed into each other. The springs 37 press the outer most stationary disk 23b toward the inner surface of the housing 26, which causes the alternating plurality of rotating disks 23a and plurality of stationary disks 23b not to be pressed into each other.
The housing 26 of the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly 18 seals in a fluid (not shown) that lubricates and cools the alternating plurality of rotating disks 23a and plurality of stationary disks 23b. The lubricating and cooling fluid forms a reservoir pool in the bottom of the housing 26 such that only a portion of the alternating plurality of rotating disks 23a and plurality of stationary disks 23b are submerged in the lubricating fluid. The ring gear 22 is also submerged in the lubricating and cooling fluid contained in the housing 26. The lubricating fluid lubricates the alternating plurality of rotating disks 23a and plurality of stationary disks 23b when they are pressed together. Because the housing 26 is sealed, dirt, water, and other abrasive or harmful materials cannot come into contact with the wet brake 23, which increases the life of the wet brake 23.
It is important to note that the preferred embodiments of the present invention are to be used in a rear non-differential system for more efficient braking and to ensure the flexibility and design freedom of location of the combined wet brake and rear gear assembly.
It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of preferred embodiments of the present invention. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variances that fall within the scope of the appended claims.
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Album - Remembering You Album - Alone Album - Chapter & Verse Album - Christmas Is Album - Cool Today, Jazz Tonight Album - Home for the Holidays Album - Jazzscapes Album - License to Groove Album - Moondance Album - Reminisce Album - Sentimental Journey Album - Solo Elegance Album - Swing - Then & Now Album - Swinging on a Star Album - Synergy Album - Touching You
Lectures/Master Classes
Contact/Bookings
Joe Augustine
Joe's Music
Digital Album - $16.98
CD Album - $16.98
For digital downloads you will receive an email with a link (active for only 24 hours to the .zip file (up to 60mb) containing this album or purchased track in .mp3 format after successfully purchasing.
To find out more information on the Steinway Campaign please visit:
www.uakron.edu/steinway.
01) We're All Alone Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
02) Willow Weep for Me Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
03) Alone Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
04) For All We Know Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
05) But Not for Me Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
06) My Foolish Heart Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
07) I'm Getting Sentimental Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
08) Duet for One Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
09) You Took Advantage of Me Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
10) What'll I Do? Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
11) An Affair to Remember Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
12) She Was Too Good To Me Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
13) One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
14) Smile Your browser does not support this audio format. $1.29
Cool Today Jazz Tonight
Jazzscapes
License to Groove
Remembering You
Solo Elegance
Swing - Then & Now
Swinging on a Star
Touching You
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The Hope centre is a Christian charity deriving support and working in partnership from local statutory organisations, business and members of the community . It is a place of Hope and friendship, it is a place that reflects family. The Hope centre is inspired by the life and work of Jesus and reflect his love in all we do. We are inspired by the early church in the book of Acts, where the Bible says the early Christians shared all their possessions in common, gave freely to those in need, served one another to make sure all were looked after and no one was left out. The Hope Centres aim is to bring this about by working with the community in the community, it is becoming a reality as we are witnessing the changes in our supporters and in this wonderful community. We recognise that a loving and supportive community can be highly effective for healing loneliness and mental and spiritual health. Along with all our practical services we will try to meet these needs if the individual is seeking it.
Our volunteers are recruited from various sources including those who use the centre facilities, local businesses M.Fortune, churches, from other voluntary bodies and from our local DCVS (Dudley council for voluntary services) We adopt a non-judgemental approach and treat all who come as equally valuable, regardless of race, faith, sexuality, gender or social standing or any factor.
Everyone is invited to the Hope centre. In the past year with your generous support whether you donated goods, clothing, furniture, volunteered or given financially you have supported hundreds of people out of fear, poverty, anxiety, loneliness and hopelessness.
We believe that everybody deserves an equal chance in life. There are no exceptions in the kingdom. We serve a God who loves everyone and at Hope everyone is invited into the comfort and security of Hope. . Each person has the right to experience joy, happiness and hope. We continue to meet the needs of all who use our centre. There is nothing more rewarding for us than seeing someone break through barriers and take control of their life. The team at the HOPE Centre are ready to support, encourage, guide and advise individuals and families or to refer them to other professionals. From the basic 1-1 support to issues that can affect the entire family and community such as alcohol, addiction, violence, disability poverty. Hunger, fear, unemployment, inequality, injustice, illness, loneliness, mental health and debt.
The Hope Centre has modelled all its services on the needs of the community. We have a number of free services and courses. The Esol course which runs three days a week has been very well attended. Other initiatives provided in the hope centre include DMBS housing advice, support groups, Hiv and sexual health testing, Sexual health advice and support, ESOL classes, One click support, UK. Online IT courses, CV writing, Application and form filling, Immigration support and advice, drop in support, one to one support, reading and writing, advocacy and health and wellbeing, There is always a place to be you a place to drop in as family and be supported as family. The drop-in support and drop in IT is very popular we have been very busy since the changeover to universal credit. We also offer befriending, drop in prayer support, Food clothing and Furniture provision.
The change over to universal credit has been very demanding on all of us at the hope centre. The problems of implementing universal credit have not been thought out at all, and the signs are there with people losing their homes, their benefits their dignity. The latest ONS figures released show that just over 10 per cent of the British public -5.3m people – have never used the internet. You cannot claim universal credit if you cannot use the internet, forcing people into financial hardship. Vulnerable groups are not really considered. Each person has to apply online and search for jobs online 37 hours per week as part of the ‘claimant commitment. The hope centre volunteers are amazing, they are very supportive and work with people to support them with their online claim. We have therefore bought a new laptop and tablets to ensure that more people can be seen as a matter of urgency. The tablets are a fantastic resource. When the offices are full and the drop-in computers are booked up we can now sit with individuals on a 1-1 basis anywhere in the building. This is so important as making a claim for universal credit can take up to eight weeks before an individual receives any money.
We have also been very blessed by M.Fortune a local business in Halesowen who refitted out our computer room with 5 new pcs for people to use. This gift has ensured that no one when they come to the cente has to be turned away. Thank you Caroline at M. Fortune.
Faith and hope
Our furniture project has extended since we purchased our van. We could no longer keep up with the need for furniture and the storage of goods. We were approached by Our Lady of Lourdes a local church who asked if we could allow them the use of our van they wanted to support local people with furniture and household goods but had no way of picking furniture up or any one to deliver goods to families. We have now partnered with a local Church in Old Hill to extend the project to the wider communities of the black country.
The church Our Lady of Lourdes in Cradley Heath provide a great storage space at the back of the church to store all the furniture to distribute to any one in need. Our van picks up the furniture the church and the hope centre distribute it to anyone in need. The partnership is amazing and it is wonderful to be able to help women and children who are leaving womens refuges, to provide support for asylum seekers and refugees being homed, homeless getting their first tenancy and anyone in financial hardship to support in whatever way we can. To ease burdens is very rewarding and we are thankful to be part of Faith and Hope.
One to One Reading support
We provide one to one reading and writing support. People can book in for a hour session to have one to one support learning to read and write. This has been very beneficial to many adults who have difficulties in this area and are experiencing low self esteem. “ The World Literacy Foundation said one in five of the UK population are so poor at reading and writing they struggle to read a medicine label”According to research, this rate of illiteracy is costing the UK economy £81billion a year in lost earnings and increased welfare spending..
A study by the National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy (NRDC), found that taking a parent who cannot read and training them to the level of an average 11-year-old resulted in the test results of their children aged six to 16 doubling. We have witnessed the impact that learning an adult to read can have. We have in the past provided adult literacy classes. However due to the policies held by colleges, adult learning and other educational institutions the classes never worked. Also many colleges and institutions who provide education do so in large groups which can be very intimidating to someone who is lacking in confidence or feeling ashamed.
The withdrawal of courses has an “immediate and devastating impact” on learners. Also the policies of having to have 8 or more attendees to host a class has its barriers. If six individuals who are feeling ashamed or lacking in confidence seek and find the strength to attend a class turn up to a class for the first time enrol and find when they attend the following week it has been cancelled due to their not being enough people enrolled this can and does has a big impact on the individual who has built themselves up to attend the group. This can prevent them from not only integrating with others and becoming more isolated, but from getting into employment and off benefits.
The Hope centre offers
a volunteer to help you on a one to one basis
a special book to teach you
a quiet, comfortable place to meet at a time to suit you both.
Who can learn?
Any adult who either can’t read, or who lacks confidence with reading.
Men and women from all sorts of backgrounds.
Age is no barrier: the youngest is 16 up to any age
We are offering Hiv testing, sexual health advice through our partnership summit house, and offering ongoing support to everyone we meet. We can refer people to summit house and also call people in to the centre to meet with someone who requires their services.
We continue to host a number of social support groups.
Regardless of format of the group , in a support group, people connect with others and share with others problems similar to your own. Members of our support groups work and are effective as they share their personal experiences and offer one another emotional comfort and moral support. They also offer one another practical advice and tips to help cope with similar situations. Support groups bring together people facing similar issues, whether that's illness, relationship problems or major life changes. Members of support groups often share experiences and advice. It can be helpful just getting to talk with other people who are in the same situation.
We have found that the support groups benifit by providing a space to feel free welcomed, believed listened too and sharing with a person who has been in your shoes the feedback from the groups have stated that benefits include:
Feeling less lonely, isolated or judged
Gaining a sense of empowerment and control
Improved coping skills and sense of adjustment
Talking openly and honestly about your feelings
Reducing distress, depression, anxiety or fatigue
Developing a clearer understanding of what to expect with your situation
Getting practical advice or information about treatment options
Comparing notes about resources, such as doctors and alternative options
Online support Job Search
We are a UK Online centre that is open three days a week for anyone to drop in and access support.
Again we offer this service on a daily basis to support people with their job search. It is a vital service in particular for those who cannot read or write, those with low self esteem, those that have never used a computer, those that do not have a computer at home, and also those with disabilities. If a person does not reach the requirement of job application placed by their advisor at the job centre then they can be sanctioned for three weeks, three months and finally three years.
A 1-2-1 appointment and CV review or help to prepare a starter CV.
Developing r strength and skills
Exploring online Job Hunting techniques and how best to look for work
Universal credit – applying for benifits
Government gateway -online link with job centre for job search
Understand the application process, cover letters & getting ready for interview.
How to develop and expand your experience and improve your chances
Health and Wellbeing online.
Sunday pop up café
In Halesowen alone we have 12 homeless men and two homeless women who attend our centre on a daily basis to get a bite to eat, a hot drink, a wash and a friend to chat too. Through consulting with our homeless family we decided to open our pop up Sunday café.
The attendance to the Sunday meal has been wonderful, change can and does start over a meal, a chat. Homelessness, Abandonment, addiction, sickness and unemployment are just some of the huge problems our guests face when they come here. The pop up café has been amazing. We are able to chat over a meal give support and refer guests to appropriate services. It is wonderful seeing and being part of the life changing moments, it bears fruit when there is hope that tomorrow can be a better day.
Sunday Church
We have a church that now meets in the Hope Centre building every Sunday 10am -12pm. The redeemed Church of God are a lively Pentecostal church that welcomes everyone to join them on a Sunday morning, They are a very community focussed church and fit in well with our activities at the Hope centre.
Men’s support group
A men’s support group for those experiencing depression, anxiety addiction and so forth is held every Thursday in the centre this peer s
support group is like no other it is run by the men themselves and has been very effective. Jon who hosts the group has won awards for his work. We are blessed to host this group at Hope.
Womens support group.
Meets every Wednesday to support women who experience anxiety , stress and depression.
They meet to share experiences, seek information, interact socially and make new friends. The group provides a relaxed, friendly and welcoming environment to talk, find support and information.
Second time around shop.
The Shop is a wonderful asset that is run by volunteers. All the money raised is put back into the Hope Centre to support the running of the centre. The shop sells new and nearly new designer clothing to raise funds.
We have to thank Sally Noott who works tirelessly all year to ensure the shop is equipped with the latest designer clothing. Sally collects from friends and anyone who will give their clothing and she brings them to hope. Sally is amazing she brings elegance and style to our shop, many comment on how wonderful our stock is, we appreciate everything Sally does the shop would not be the same without her support.
We must also thank all those that donate clothing to the centre and to the shop ..a big thank you we could not do it without you.
Recently we have taken in furniture from a local charity make do and amend that upcycles old unwanted furniture and turns each piece into wonderful stylish chic furniture that is sold at a low cost. Make do and amend split the profits from each item sold with the Hope centre.
Having the furniture in the shop has bought in new customers who would not normally go into a charity shop this has been very beneficial for everyone.
The daily drop-in aims to meet the needs of those who are in crisis or homeless and to provide a welcome and connection to community. Some drop in just for a few days and others remain almost permanently. On average our visitors stay with us for around 3 months before finding a way forward.
We try to address practical needs, but also to connect people with supportive community. Many who come to us in crisis return to volunteer, or they find positive social connection amongst us.
We find that our welcoming, restorative community is a place where those who are lonely and marginalised can find healing more valuable than the practical support we offer. In serving those in need our volunteers are also transformed and so we try to provide benefit to our whole community and not just those in crisis.
Complimentary tea/coffee, toast and toppings. lunches Fare share food from tescos and the Sunday pop up café.
Clothing underwear and cold weather support:
Complimentary clothes and shoes/trainers for everyone who attends or is sent to us via an organisation is given freely, and cold weather clothing and sleeping bags. We attend to around 2000 requests for clothing annually and give out hundreds of quality clothes and sleeping bags.
free use of internet/computers, telephones for support
Afternoon art activities include the drop in crafty sessions held nearly every Tuesday and Thursday from 12.30 -3.00pm and several community groups use the centre free of charge as a meeting place.
We offer a wid rnge of services from computer skills to ESOL. If you would like to volunteer in our shop to gain valuable customer service skill please contact us.
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HOUSE FESTIVAL 2019
THURSDAY 4 JULY, 2–11PM
KENWOOD HOUSE
HAMPSTEAD LANE, HIGHGATE
LONDON NW3 7JR
YouTube Music is a new music app made for music listening, on top of the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalised than ever. Whether you want to listen, watch or discover - all the ways music moves you can be found in one place - not just music videos, but official albums, singles, remixes, live performances, covers and hard-to-find music you can only get on YouTube.
Click here to start your free trial or here to open the world of YouTube Music.
English Heritage is the charity that conserves the places where the story of England was forged and where it can be re-told. From Stonehenge to Tintagel and Hadrian’s Wall, we look after some of the most iconic heritage sites in the country. We care for over 500,000 artefacts, and our 420 historic places are visited by more than 10 million people each year.
The support we receive from House Festival goes directly towards the conservation and care of Kenwood House, on Hampstead Heath. When Lord Iveagh bequeathed the House and an incredible art collection which includes works by Rembrandt and Vermeer to the nation, he did so with the intention that it should be free for the public to enjoy.
Keeping Kenwood open free of charge relies on the support of those who care. To help ensure that this property, its collection and landscape is protected for the enjoyment of this and future generations, click here to make a donation.
ENGLISH-HERITAGE.ORG.UK
The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a company, no. 07447221, registered in England
UNICEF UK
Unicef is here for every child in danger. We help more children than any other organisation. We keep children safe when war or disaster strike. We provide life-saving food, clean water and vaccinations. We protect children from violence and exploitation. We give them a safe place to laugh and play. We help children go to school and give them the chance of a better future.
All over the world, including in the UK, we’re working with people like you to make the world a safer place for every child. Click here to donate
UNICEF.ORG.UK
Photo: Unicef 2017 Sujan
For General Enquiries please email enquiries@housefestival.com
For Press Enquiries please email press@sohohouse.com
We will have increased security on-site this year, and there will be bag searches on arrival so please allow a bit of extra time. We also ask you to have photo ID on hand if requested.
Please note that there is a age restriction in place and only those over 12 years of age will be admitted into the Festival and must have a ticket. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.
There will be no readmission into the festival on the day.
Thanks to our Friends of the Festival
See privacy policy
See House Festival rules
Twitter Url" class="social-footer-link twitter">Twitter Facebook Url" class="social-footer-link facebook">Facebook Instagram Url" class="social-footer-link instagram">Instagram
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Messerschmitt KR175 Bubble Car
The Messerschmitt KR175. Image from Wiki Commons
The Messerschmitt KR175 looks like a hybrid - a cross between a scooter and a car. 15, 000 of these very distinctive three-wheeled bubble cars were built between 1953 and 1956, when it was replaced by the KR200.
Owing to the fall-out from WW2, Messerschmitt, the famous German aircraft manufacturer, was unable to manufacturer aircraft during this period, allowing for an opening into alternative ventures.
The car was made under agreement with aeronautical engineer and former Messerschmitt employee, Fritz Fend, who had designed the Fend Flitzer invalid car in 1948- a cheap, easy to maintain microcar for people with disabilities. However the KR175 proved popular with able-bodied customers and was evidently "a good city commuter"(wiki), despite the fact that there there were a few initial problems, resulting in some 70 odd modifications during it's production run.
Inside the Messerschmitt. Wiki Commons
Salient features of the car included a bubble top which was also the door, single seating and a handlebar steering wheel.
Although it looks great and was presumably, economical, I can imagine it would be quite hairy driving this around the city. Occupants would be so low to the ground..and vulnerable. Imagine being behind a Hummer in traffic?
Definitely cute. Wiki Commons
Labels: classic cars
Tiddly Winks
Ah, Tiddly Winks (also known as Tiddledy Winks and Tiddlywinks)...such a cute name for an old favourite. In its simplest form this is an easy game for children and best played on the floor on a flat surface, as it involves flying objects...basically the idea is to flick your winks (discs) into a cup using a squidger - a tool for pressing down on one side of the wink. The one who gets the most winks into a cup wins.
At the height of its popularity in the Victorian era 1890s, Tiddly Winks was a popular craze for adults and in the 1950s a more complex version was played with enthusiasm by Cambridge undergraduates, leading to a new set of competitive rules. For an insight into the history of the game, check out The North American Tiddlywinks Association's article here.
Tiddledy Winks circa 1939. From Black Market Antiques
Adult Competitive Version
In this version the game is played on a 6 ft by 3 ft mat placed on a table with a pot in the centre, with four players positioned at each corner. Players are divided into pairs, with each player controlling a colour - blue, red, green and yellow. Traditionally red and blue are opposite green and yellow.
The object of the game is get as many of your own colours into the pot as possible, while preventing your opponents from doing the same. By flicking a wink on to an opponents colour, (called squopping), they can be prevented them from landing one of their own colours in the pot. However another colour may be flicked on top of that colour and so on, often resulting in a pile of winks of various colours.
All players take turns to flick and if a wink of the right colour is landed in the pot, that player gets another shot. If not, play moves to the next player. The game ends when all one colour is in the pot.
The adult game of Tiddlywinks involves some serious skill, both physically and strategy-wise and is taken very seriously indeed and there are National associations and tournaments in the US and Britain. More comprehensive rules and all the intricacies of the game can be found on the English Tiddlywinks Association website.
Great Vintage Haircuts
6 Decades of Hair
As far as hairstyles so, there's probably only so many configurations hair designers can come up without making us look totally absurd, so inevitably the fashion gurus will seek inspiration from the past for a new take on an old concept.
It's interesting to consider that up until the 20th century, womens hair was almost universally kept long and while there may have been a variety of elaborate styles, there was really no such thing as a woman's "haircut".
It seems only in the last hundred years, when women began to shake off the style shackles of the status quo did we begin to get experimental with hair cuts. Below are a few classic cuts emblematic of particular decades and the famous women who wore then-some of these styles have been recycled frequently and others have yet to be rediscovered...
1920s Louise Brooks
1920s bobs have been been recyled in some form or other since their inception and were particularly fashionable in the 1960s as well at various times in the decades since. Actress and trend setter Loiuse Brooks was among the first to shear off her locks and is generally credited with popularising the bob cut for her generation.
Brooks's style here features hair cut to chin level and slightly higher at the back, a straight cut Cleopatra fringe and two emphatic points which follow the line of the cheek bone. Looks particularly good with dark hair and smoldering eyes.
The geometric bob can be quite severe and thus doesn't suit every head - the dramatic lines will tend to highlight a less than perfect bone structure....but if it suits, the wow factor is high.
Lousie Brooks -dramatic hair
1930s Marion Marsh
Marion Marsh - soft and feminine
1930s hair focused on a softer, wavier, more feminine bob that flattered most features. The Marcel Wave, a type of undulating curl that softened a woman's looks, was extremely popular.
Wonderfully pretty early film actress Marion Marsh's hair is a partly smooth, stylised version of the Marcel Wave with its contrived curls strategically placed to emphasize the eyes and cheeks. The salient feature here is Marion's neatly curled side fringe, snipped to brow level.
On screen, Marsh specialised in 'damsels in distress'...a persona that depended upon a sweet, vulnerable female charisma, rather than a pert, assertive look.
1940s Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman's glowing Swedish looks pretty much ensured any style would look swish on her...nethertheless the thick wavy just below chin length hair cut she wore in the 1940s showed her strong and sensual features off to full advantage.
Ingrid Bergman -thick and luscious hair
By the 1940s, the Marcel Wave was pretty much dead in the water and longer, bigger hair came into vogue.
The emphasis was on hair and lips and Bergman in particular cultivated a wholesome, healthy look which departed from the Vamp style of the 20s and 30s.
Ingrid's hair style is really just a well cut longer bob, curled into thick waves and pulled back off the forehead to create a sumptuous yet classic look.
1950s Jean Simmons
As the 1950s rolled around, shorter hair made a comeback and the rich glamour of the 40s gave way to to a still glamorous but edgier look - at least for those 50s gals who were hip enough to try the new styles.
Jean Simmons - short and sexy
The style favoured by perky British actress Jean Simmons reflected a completely new look for the era. Jeans hair is short but not severely so - it has height and wave and a tousled, casual look.
Jean's hair is brushed back at he sides but with a couple of carefully selected kiss curls pulled across the forehead to soften
the effect on the face. Highlighted kiss curls were characteristic of the 50s - often hair would be short with two curls pulled out just above the eyebrows.
1960s Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood - simply sexy
Hair got looser and freer in the 1960s and Natalie Wood's long silky bob reflects the casualness of the era. This is a style that could easily blend in to the 21st century...
The hair has height and the ends are gently curled under, while a low low side-parting gives a sexy sweep to the style. Simple but effective.
The 1960s was the first decade where women could be more relaxed about their hair. There was a diverse range of styles and if you so pleased, you could just wear it long, free and wild. Strangely, letting hair totally loose probably hadn't happened since we were living in caves.
1970s Jane Fonda
Alan J. Pakula's 1971 thriller, Klute is a memorable film, not least because of Jane Fonda's funky wash and wear shag cut. The feathered cut is a style that has been much emulated, with variations, in recent times.
Maybe it's because Fonda's character Bree Daniels, was so coolly wayward but there's something about this cut that screams sex appeal. It's chief feature is the heavy fringe and angled, wispy lengths - everything on the head is moving forward toward the face. At the time it was an innovative cut and ushered in a whole new era of shags.
Jane Fonda as Bree Daniels- the cut that spawned a thousand shags
Long Hairstyles of the 1950s
Five 1950s Outfits
Ten Tips for Healthy Hair
Labels: vintage hair
Simone Signoret
An icon of French cinema and the 'thinking man's sex object' actress Simone Signoret was born in Germany in 1921 to French parents and grew up in Paris among the middle-class. After gaining a teaching licence she tutored in English and Latin for a time and worked part-time for French collaborationist newspaper, Les nouveaux temps as a typist.
During the Occupation, as a teenager she became a regular patron at the Café de Flore, a popular meeting place for leftist artists and intellectuals. It was during this time Signoret decided to venture into acting, encouraged by her then lover, Daniel Gélin. As her father, linguist, André Kaminiker was a Jew who had fled to England in 1940, she chose her mother's maiden name professionally, to avoid uncomfortable questioning from the Nazis.
Earthy Appeal
Although Signoret was suitably gorgeous and glamorous in her early years, she was not a dazzling beauty in the conventional Hollywood sense...not for long anyway. Throughout her career however, she possessed intensity and a seductive charm. The wide spaced and smoky heavy-lidded eyes, full mouth and soft blonde hair helped to project the sensual image of a woman of passion. She also had the look of a woman who has suffered...perhaps one who has loved and lost, known tragedy and maybe even been tossed around a bit by life's vicissitudes. Indeed, for these reasons, she was often cast as a prostitute or fallen women...she seemed to be able to manifest internal pain through expression and nuance. Film critic Phillip Kemp described her as projecting a 'vulnerable strength'.
Film Triumphs
Scenes from 'Room at the Top'
Signoret made several films in the 1940's but her first widely successful role was in 1950, as a streetwalker in Ophüls' La Rond,(Circle of Love) a portrait that attracted International attention. This was followed a year later by Becker's Casque d'or,(The Golden Helmet) a part loaded with erotic intensity. However it was her role as the deceptively vulnerable schemer Nicole Horner in Clouzot's Les Diaboliques (The Fiends) in 1955 that firmly established her as an International player.
Perhaps predictably, she was criticized by the beauty worshippers for 'letting herself go' and consciously rejecting glamour as she grew older - however, as a character actress, age was never an insurmountable barrier to her screen success and in fact some of her greatest film triumphs were roles in which she appeared as the 'older woman'.
Signoret was one of the few actresses who's career options expanded with age. At 38 she was cast as the sensitive and knowing older woman, Alice Aisgil, for which she won an oscar, (the first French person to do so) in director Jack Clayton's 1959 drama about sacrifice and brute ambition, Room at the Top.The role earned her wide critical acclaim and set the stage for a transition into the next phase of her career.
A face that tells a story
~Hordes of young girls never copied my hairdos or the way I talk or the way I dress. I have, therefore, never had to go through the stress of perpetuating an image that’s often the equivalent of one particular song that forever freezes a precise moment of one’s youth.~
While not adverse to taking on dreary, unflattering roles, Signoret more and more rejected the prevailing philosophy of attempting to obscure the vagaries of age at whatever cost...she was not afraid to be herself and declared she would 'go on acting until she could play grandmothers'.
In rejecting mores of artificially induced glamour and 'youthfulness' Signoret had sacrificed little by way of charm and her trademark intensity. With a tender smile, she could conjure a screen presence of great depth and sensitivity. Indeed she remained a key figure in French Cinema for over forty years, appearing in over sixty films.
Often she seemed to prefer roles that portrayed women oppressed by the past -playing a concentration camp survivor to effect in Sydney Lumet's Lumet's 1967 thriller, The Deadly Affair and the following year offering up an impressive performance as Arkadina in Lumet's screen adaption of Chekhov's The Sea Gull.
Yves and Political Philosophy
~Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads, which sew people together through the years.~Simone Signoret
Simone and Yves Montand
Simone Signoret's first husband was director Yves Allégret but by 1951 the marriage had been dissolved and she remarried, this time to the legendary French actor and singer, Yves Montand...a lasting relationship that threw the actress into political controversy and oftentimes, personal emotional tumult.
Montand had worked his way from the docks of Marseilles to stardom, having reputedly been discovered singing in a nightclub by Edith Piaf, who became his lover. Montand was allegedly a womaniser and said to have several affairs during his marriage to Signoret, including one with Marilyn Monroe, of whom Signoret broadmindedly said "If Marilyn is in love with my husband it proves she has good taste, for I am in love with him too." Even after his death Yves ignited controversy, the body having to be exhumed by court order for a paternity test.
The couple were known for possessing a strong social conscience and engaged with several causes . They campaigned publicly against the atom bomb, the Vietnam and Algerian Wars and Montand became an active member of the French Communist Party. Their leftist politics earned the couple admiration in many quarters, vilification in others..particularly in the United states in the 50's, where rabid McCarthyism put a temporary halt to any US career aspirations. Later on, all was forgiven (at least by some) and they were welcomed.
Signoret was also a writer and in 1978 penned her melancholic but amusing memoir La nostalgie n'est plus ce qu'elle était’ (Nostalgia's not what it used to be) and in the year of her death, 1985, published the the novel Adieu Volodya. Simone Signoret died at 64, after suffering a long (cancerous) illness and is buried in the cemetery Père-Lachaise in Paris, next to Yves, who died in 1991 .
Jack Lang, French minister of culture, once eulogized, “Miss Signoret was an unshakeable militant, in the front rank of all the battles for human rights, under all regimes and on all horizons. It was faith that sustained her, faith in her ideals of liberty and progress." Yet Simone Signoret will be remembered for much more than her political activism.. The actress was fearless in most aspects of her life, including as a performer and to many, she remains the personification of an ideal of womanhood....strong, sensuous, suffering, sensitive and soul-searching. Ssssspecial...
She had a face as delicate as a rare orchid, a sweet, seductive voice and an offbeat personality that hinted at depths rippling beneath the surface - actress Jean Seberg remains a fascinating icon of mid 20th century cinema. Eternally hip, Seberg's looks and fashion could easily slip into 21st century culture, as hers is a style statement that seems timeless. She was among the first to sport the gamine haircut .. a decade before Mia Farrow appeared wih her striking vidal Sassoon ultra-short cut in Rosemary's Baby. Her clothes were French-trendy and her demeanour knowing and sophisticated...yet beneath the ice cool exterior she was a bundle of nerves.
Jean Seberg, Still from Breathless
American born Seberg rose to prominance in Otto Preminger's much hyped 1957 film Saint Joan, based on the play by George Bernard shaw. Chosen from thousands of hopefuls, at the time, the leading lady's only experience was a stint at Summer Stock performances - being thrown in at the deep end of a major International production was an overwhelming experience for the senstive Jean, who balked at the attention that was suddenly thrust upon her. Inexperience revealed itself and her performance in the film was heavily criticised. As she put it herself:
"I have two memories of Saint Joan. The first was being burned at the stake in the picture. The second was being burned at the stake by the critics"
Preminger took a second punt on Seberg the following year, with the film Bonjour Tristesse but again the actress was pummelled by the critics, despite the fact that her performance is quite mesmerising.
However, not dissuaded from acting, Seberg moved to France and finally struck the right chord with Jen Luc Godard's ground-breaking New Wave film, Breathless, which fortuitously proved to be an International success. Both the role and cinematic style suited her fragile personality and she moved from defeat into the realm of 'critic's darling"...offers began pouring in, from Hollywood and elsewhere. Around this time, Seberg spent time in a private clinic, citing "fatigue", her divorce from director, François Moreuil and "the shock" of too many changes, involving "things I didn't understand" as the cause. As the 1960s dawned, several US films followed, notably Lilith (1964) with Warren Beatty, Paint Your Wagon (1969) with Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood and Airport (1970), opposite Dean Martin and Burt Lancaster.
Seberg the actress...script in hand.
Jean had been inspired to act from childhood, partly as the result of watching Marlon Brando's performance as a war -injured cripple in the 1950 film, The Men. She was deeply impressed with what she called the "strength and power of an actor". Yet her own emotional vulnerability seemingly grew as her professional success moved forward. Before the 60s were over she suddenly withdrew from Hollywood films and though she continued to work in European cinema, her last American film was in the made for televison, Mousey in 1974.
Jean Seberg died, too young, in August 1979. After having been reported missing for eleven days, she was finally discovered in the back seat of her car, not far from her Paris apartment, having apparently taken an overdose of barbituates and alohol and leaving a suicide note that read:
"Forgive me. I can longer live wih my nerves."
Strangely, Seberg's second and by then former husband, the much older Romain Gary, a novelist and diplomat, also committed suicide...15 months later.
Since her premature demise, several theories have emerged about Jean Seberg and the role of the FBI in her death. Many believe her support for radical causes such as the Black Panther Movement and rights of American Indians, targeted her as a subversive. Jean apparently believed this herself and there was some evidence that the FBI had surreptitiously obtained personal information about her in order to smear her name publically and 'cheapen her public image' by planting a derogatory article in Newsweek magazine. Whether or not the FBI can be implicated in her death is still an open question.
Retro Fonts
Font Inspiration
If you're looking for a style guide to vintage lettering, look no further than Retro Fonts by Grigor Stawinski. Stawinksi's style guide has fonts going back to 1830, through to the close of the 20th century,
The book, which should be of particular interest to graphic designers and typographers, has eight sections, each reflecting a particular stylistic period and examples of the fonts in their own context. Some featured styles include Art Deco, Bauhaus, Swiss, Sixties, Disco and Punk. An extra bonus is a CD featuring 222 uncopyrighted fonts.
Apart from anything else, it's interesting to look back and reflect on how lettering mirrored the design influences and culture of the day. What do our fonts say about us..?
Labels: art and design, featured products
Cousin Itt
What's Itt all about..?
Man of mystery, gibbering eccentric, 1960s hippie metaphor....who or more to the point, what, is Cousin Itt? (yes, there's two 't's, though one seems more appropriate)
I am of course talking about that hirsuit, linguistically challenged short-arse who made regular, memorable appearances on '60s TV show The Addams Family.
Like Thing, the extraordinary but helpful solitary hand that lived in a box, Cousin Itt was an oddball concept, impossibly absurd, yet he nonetheless managed to seriously intrigue 1960s TV viewers.
Freudians may argue that the hairy but hip and groovy Itt represented the wild untamed id, the primitive libido - something strangely sexual (but we won't go there). Others claim Itt symbolised the 60s counter-culture and the anti-establishment winds of change that were sweeping the era.
Labels: vintage tv
Retro Reassurance
An article in The Guardian Newspaper reports that replacing modern technologies with older, retro versions in the homes of elderly patients can help with memory loss by triggering recognition and offering visual cues to the confused. In these exponentially fast times of changing technology, it's easy to be bewildered by the vast array of modern technology on the market.
Vintage Pears soap ad
The article, Retro-decorating: the future for dementia care?, claims that some health care providers have seen positive results from making simple changes in the environments of dementia patients - things like retro advertising posters hung up in the kitchen to remind people of the sorts of things they'll find in the cupboards and using Pears soap because of the evocative smell.
However, while the posters and such are helpful, evidently the best technique is to modify technology around the home. According to a UK director of Dementia services:
"If you provide older examples of these objects, for example an old bakelite phone, someone with dementia might remember how to use it and be able to make a phone call, whereas they may not with a mobile phone, even if they had been using the mobile perfectly well just six months ago."~June Andrews
It all makes sense - people feel more secure with the familiar. As it's short -term memory that dementia patients have difficulty with, while often still retaining information from long ago, the old familiar styles and ways tend to offer reassurance.
The Guardian article can be found here
Kombi Vans
Kombis parked at Cronulla, NSW
Like flares, Neil Young, wild hair and a laid-back attitude, the VW Kombi van is a legend of the 60s and 70s - representing freedom, adventure, travel and general escapism. Like it's predecessor, the Volkswagon Type I, the Beetle, the Type 2, the Kombi, is a cult classic among cars and was the inspiration for a new style in transportation -ie; the cargo, passenger van.
The Kombi story dates back to 1950, when the first generation Kombis or Microbuses were produced by Volkswagon. These early model Type 2's had a distinctive split windscreen and were produced until 1967 and in '68, the single windscreen took over. Early Camper Box variations were built by Westfalia, the offical VW camper converter, from 1951 until 1958.
From 1958 the SO (Special Model) campers were introduced. According to the Westfalia website, in the 50s and 60s many US servicemen returning home, brought back these campers from Germany. In the middle decades of the 20th century, caravanning was really taking off and the VW camper vans were a neat and innovative alternative.
Inside a 1970 Kombi camper van. Image form Wiki Commons
Kombis and Freedom Culture
!967 VW Kombi. Peace man.
In the 1960s and 1970s the Kombi became an iconic counter-culture symbol, representing freedom and the rejection of staid, stay-at-home conservatism. Customised hippie vans began to appear on the roads, covered in peace-loving symbols and colourful psychedelic swirls.
In Australia, the Kombi has long been synomymous with surf culture and the freedom and alternative lifestyle the image conjures - the waves, the clothes, the music, a couple of boards on top and away you go. Bank managers don't drive Kombis....
Still Loved
"It's a funny thing with VWs like Beetles and Kombis; they get in your blood and never get out..."~ Roy Hodkinson, founding president of The Kombi Club (carsguide)
Kombis still have a loyal fanbase -the Australian Kombi Club has 5000 dedicated members. In recent times, its retro appeal has made it an even more desirable set of wheels. Every year the the October, the Old Bar Beach Festival , which celebrates Australian beach culture, features an impressive line-up of iconic Kombis. The festival actually holds the record for the most Kombi/Transporters lined up in one area - there's a Kombi swap meet and a chance for owners to mingle and exchange transport stories over music and a BBQ.
A Kombi lovers paradise. Kombis lined up at the Old Beach Bar Festival. Image from the website.
Camper black and cream Combo shoes have a 60s look
Camper Shoes began in Barcelona in 1981 and grew and grew until the point they now have over 300 stores in cities worldwide. They claim to transcend cultures through innovative design, responding to a "new international reality". Hmm...I don't about that but they do have some very appealing shoes, some of which seem inspired by past decades. The shoe sandal above has a distinct Mary Quant look.
Camper cream and tan casual men's shoe
The tan and whte Peu shoe above is reminiscent of the two-toned shoes of the early 20s but overlayed with a contemporary sporty look. A jazz feel in a casual, laid book shoe.
Piruete girls shoe
Piruete is from the Camper for Kids range and according to website blurb, is a shoe created for "kids who want to be ballerinas". The design is classical and sweetly feminine, with the stylish white folds along the T bar. A rubber, sole, padded inset and velcro grips make it a practical as well as a 'romantic' choice.
Labels: featured products, footwear
Ferris Valve Radio
Ferris valve radio circa 194os
Not exactly a dash radio....The old Australian made Ferris valve radio above was designed for both car and home, running off 240 or 12 volt. The radio bolted into metal hook brackets under the dashboard of a car and with some effort, could be removed temporarily for picnics or used in the home permanently. Heavier than a sackful of bricks, this radio is 'portable' only in that that it can, if needed be moved around - it's certainly not portable in any sort of lightweight, convenience sense. The rounded deep red steel casing and bakelite knobs suggested an art deco influence but I believe the radio is probably from the 1940s. An original advertisement boasted its features as:
Ideal for truck or car, on the mantelpiece, in boats or caravans. Especially useful for the family man, country people and commercial travellers.
Ferris radio ad. Image by Micheal Karshis at Flickr
Sydney based Ferris Bros Pty Ltd was formed in Australia in 1934 and were chiefly concerned with developing and manufacturing car radios, while AWA (Amalgamated Wireless Australia Ltd.) cornered the home radio market. "Chum " Ferris, the younger of the two brothers, had shown an early bent for electronics and in 1932 began assembling home radio receivers from his rented flat atop a butchers shop. His elder brother George joined him in the business two years later.
The Ferris Fultone 56, was the first car radio designed and manufactured in Australia and although the war interrupted business for the Ferris bros, in the post-war decades to follow, their name was to become synonymous with car radios.
Caravanning holiday at Tidal River,.At right is the 1940s Singer car the Ferris radio was originally housed in.
Jacks Game
Traditional Jacks from otherland
Also known as Jackstones, Jackrocks or Knucklebones...
The traditional game of Jacks is very old and was probably played as far back in time as the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Greece - and perhaps even further back than that. It was a child's game born out of imagination, at a time when there were very few purpose made toys for kids.
Originally the 'Jacks' were small pebbles or bones found by children and made into a game which involved tossing them in the air. Eventually they were made out of clay, ivory, wood or bone and in more recent times, plastic and metal.
It's amazing how such extremely old games can transcend time and while this particular game may have lost some ground to the tech generation, it's still hanging in there and is played in many parts of the world. The beauty of Jacks is that, like marbles, it's inexpensive fun, employs manual dexterity and can be played just about anyway...on the bedroom floor, in the street or the playground,
Plastic Jacks from the 1960s.
The Rules of Jacks
Find a friend and a clear space, preferably on the ground and toss to see who has first go
Gather your ten Jacks and scatter them on the floor in front of you, facing your opponent
Toss the ball in the air with your throwing hand
Ok, now while the ball is in the air, with the same throwing hand, pick up one Jack (onesies)
Keep repeating 'till you have picked up all the Jacks. If you wish you can put the Jacks you capture into a pile before you throw the ball again, rather than leaving them in your hand.
Note: If you slip up, you have to give your opponent a turn. If they slip up then you can pick up where you left off, wherever you were in the sequence.
If you've been successful toss the Jacks out on the floor again
Throw the ball in the air
This time you have to pick up two Jacks at a time
Then three at a time and the one left over
Then four at a time and the two left over
Then five at a time
Finally you have to pick up ten at a time
Then go backwards down to onesies
Remember:if at any time you slip up, your opponent gets a go. The champ is the first one to complete the whole sequence.
Although it's not quite as much fun, you can also play Jacks by yourself, just to hone your skills. There are also more advanced Jacks games, involving Flipping, Pigs in a Pen and Around the World. Read about them here.
Jumbo Jacks from Amazon
Tin wind up monkey xylophone player, available at Tin Toys and Collectibles
A thing of beauty is a joy forever~John Keats
Whether it has a mechanical action or not, a tin toy is a beautiful object to look at and lovely to hold -it's that smooth, shiny surface, the rich colours, the quirky patterns and for many, the nostalgic image of childhood it conjures. A tin toy has charm.
Tin merry-go round from Litily Maha
When manufacturers began to use tin plate to make toys back in the mid 19th century, it was considered a cheap substitute for wood. The toys were made from sheet metal and painstakingly hand-painted. However, in the late 1800s a process called offset lithography was invented, which meant designs could now be printed directly onto the tin, making production a simpler process.
By the early 20th century, Germany, which had developed the spring activated tin toy, had pretty much cornered the tin toy market and was the largest producer. During this period the most famous and innovative tin toy maker was Ernst Paul Lehmann who exported almost 90 % of his stock to the rest of the world.
Classic spinning tops from Tin Toys and Collectables
In time however, other countries, - including France, England and the United States, began manufacturing their own tin toys. In the US, tin ore mines were opened in Illinois, facilitating the production of large numbers of tin toys. Unfortunately for the German manufacturers, post WWI, anti-German sentiment was at an all time high and this, together with the ramping up of US production, meant that the US became the new world leader in tin toy manufacturing.
1966 Tin Robotank-Z Robot
Alas, it was a relatively short-lived triumph. A lull in production during WWII and the rise of cheap post war Japanese manufacturing, saw the end of the US tin toy ascendance. Tin toys remained popular until the end of the 1950s, when new, cheaper, safer and easy to manufacture plastic toys swamped the toy market. Tin toys are still being produced today and not surprisingly, China has become the leading producer.
In the heydays of tin toy manufacturing, there were literally hundreds of products made from tin - anything from simple hand clickers and buckets and spades to mechanical robots and pedal cars. The world's first toy robot was made from tin. Of course, many of these early pieces are now quite collectible and as is the case with most collectibles, condition and original packaging go a long way toward premium prices- although, the 1966 Japanese Tin Robotank at right, sans box, sold for auction in 2007 for $557.Included below are a few resources for those with a deeper interest in tin toys.
Robot timer from TinToyArcade
The Art of the Tin Toy - David Pressland has been collecting tin toys since the 1950s and he now advises and sources for serious tin toy collectors. The website includes some terrific pictures of vintage toys.
Tin Toy Arcade - this website has a vast selection of contemporary tin toys, many of which are reproductions of older styles.
ebay, Antique Tin Toys - there's some real beauties among this lot. Vintage toys from sellers all over the world.
My Tin Toys - includes a lovely selection of tin toys for sale and a resource page for collectors.
Labels: vintage toys
This multi retro-striped classic ringer T-shirt is cuter than a kitten in a flowerpot and very cheerful.
The Tee is designed to be a snug, body-grabbing fit but if you want to go a little looser, just upsize. Made from 100% preshrunk ring-spun baby rib cotton - soft as a cottonball.
Available in our own HR store for $24.99. Sure it's a dot.com T-shirt but hey, that only makes it more special! Furthermore, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're keeping starving writers in instant coffee and barbecue shapes.
Labels: featured products
Fringe Handbag
Ethnic appeal
The leather Minnesota fringe handbag above has an early 70s feel - perfect with long hair and a paisley shirt and the warm colour and suede texture give it an authentic frontier feel. Minnesota have been making American style bags since 1945, so they've had plenty of time to get it right.
Fringed bags have been spotted on the city streets of Europe since last year, having become somewhat Boho chic - sometimes with super long fringes that look like a trip hazard. However, this one is understated and sturdy.
When Sophia Loren first hit the Italian cinemas in the 1950s, there was a vava-voom factor that reverberated internationally. Although not perfect, she was closer to Goddess stature than most mortals on the planet. Loren simply had an impossibly voluptuous figure, which, paired with striking green cats eyes, light olive skin, high cheek bones and sensuous lips, mesmerised audiences.
However, there was more to Sophia Loren than mere physical assets. In the 50s, the Hollywood sex bomb industry valued well-stacked bodies,, big-breasts, rich lips and bedroom eyes and while Loren had all of these, she also possessed an inbuilt elegance and dignity. She was sexy without being obvious...seductive without being tarty; and on top of everything else, she could act, winning an Academy award in 1962 for her performance in Vittorio De Sica's WWII drama, Two Women.
The Rags to Riches Legend
Film audiences weren't the only ones to be swept away by the charms of Ms Loren and at just fifteen, she captivated influential and married film producer, thirty-seven year old Carlo Ponti, who become her husband one divorce and seven years later. Ponti was instrumental in Loren's career and they remained apparently happily married until Ponti's death in 2007. Loren rejected the idea of remarriage, publicly proclaiming, "it would be impossible to love anyone else".
Sophia Loren in the 1950s
Much has been written about Sophia Loren's childhood of grinding poverty in the slums of 1940s Naples, her illegitimacy and her ambitious, star-struck stage mother, who saw a way out of the poverty slide by meticulously grooming and guiding her daughter toward the spotlight. Loren's mother, Romilda Scicolone had herself had aspirations of being an actress and at a time when there where few opportunities for uneducated young women without funds to forge a successful career, acting must have seemed a viable option for the young and beautiful Sophia.
The impossibly shapely Sophia Loren
Indeed it was, as Sophia succeeded where many failed - eventually becoming one her generations most iconic and acclaimed actresses, forging a long career in film, as well as a lasting reputation as one of the worlds most beautiful women. Romilda Scicolone must have looked upon her daughters success with a warm sense of satisfaction and the comforting realisation that her early instincts and decisions had been justified.
Loren's look was richly Italian and passionate. - her excessively shapely curves, devoid of excess fat, meant clothes clung to her like a second skin and the whole effect was intensified by a kind of half sultry/fiery/amused expression and masses of thick dark hair, always stylishly cut.
Loren knew how to accessorize
Basically the Loren look was classic upmarket sexy but with a zingy European edge - she often employed lots of tasteful accessories, such as pearls, expensive beads, Italian shoes, hats, gloves, bright scarves and luscious make-up which reflected flawless skin, dark-edged eyes and red smouldering lips.
1960s Sophia
Apart from the elegance of her clothes and accessories, perhaps the single biggest factor in Sophia Loren's style image was the way she carried herself...and still does, no doubt. Though she was not shy of wearing a sexy, tight-fitting, flesh exposing outfit, when she did, there was no hint of self-conscious trashiness. Sexiness seemed as natural to Loren as a cat arching its back and thus the sex-appeal never appeared cheap or tawdry...it was the real thing.
Dorian Leigh - the first supermodel
Diana Doors -the British Marilyn
The 1950s House
Atomic Wall Clock
Retro Hair and Makeup
Polka Dot Accessories
The Ranch House
The Boombox Watch
Chunky Necklaces
Future Retro
The Twinset
My Living Doll
Towelling Beach Jackets
Cool Headphones
Sock it to Me
Funky Squad
Isn't it Iconic?
Mac Classic
Gidget the Movie
Fireball XL5
The Platinum Blonde
Retro Beach Party
The Hoover Building
The Chunky Charm Bracelet
Witches Britches
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Hy Conrad
Mystery. Refined.
Hy’s Blog
Mini-Mysteries
Toured to Death
Book a ticket with this all-new mystery series featuring a spunky mother and daughter team of travel agents who find their mystery tours becoming all too real…
Having an ocean between her and her meddling mother seems to work just fine for Amy Abel. While Fanny takes care of their travel agency in New York City, Amy is in Monte Carlo, managing their first mystery-themed excursion, a road rally in which guests compete to solve a fictional murder along the way. Amy still has reservations about going into business with her mother. But both women have lost the men in their lives and need a fresh beginning.
The trip gets off to a great start. But when the writer they’ve hired to script their made-up mystery is found murdered in his New York apartment, mother and daughter must rally to solve a real-life case of foul play. Trying not to drive each other bonkers, Amy and Fanny find they are ready, willing, and Abel to track down a clever killer with some serious emotional baggage, who will go to any lengths to keep dark secrets from seeing the light of day…
“Music, food, and life in Patagonia hit the spot!” (Goodreads Review)
“A truly good read. Don’t miss it!” (Goodreads Review)
“A truly cool cozy” (The Haunted Reading Room Review)
“Deceptions, lies, suspicion, so much humor and great landscapes!” (LibriAmoriMiei Reivew of “Dearly Departed”)
“If you enjoy mysteries and arm chair traveling, this is the series for you.” (Booklady’s Booknotes Reivew of “Dearly Departed”)
Sign up for Hy's email newsletter to receive author news and information about new and forthcoming titles.
© 2012 Hy Conrad, all rights reserved.
Web Design for Authors by Wodu.
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Center for Child Health and Development
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AUTISM CONNECTIONS
Functional Brain Mechanisms of Sensorimotor Issues in Autism
Supporting Employment through Self-Determination for Young Adults with ASD
ArtReach at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
ArtReach is a collaborative project between the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and the Center for Child Health and Development.
The museum offers four free workshops for children with and without developmental disabilities each semester. The object of ArtReach is to provide opportunities for self-expression and communication through the visual arts. Each hands-on workshop is designed for a particular age group and relates to specific works of art on view. Participants will learn how to work with different media and gain knowledge of elements of art while being introduced to a specific artist's work and his or her inspiration. Students will create an original work of art based on the skills learned in the workshop.
Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (KCART): K-CART at the University of Kansas is a multidisciplinary center that promotes research and training on the causes, nature and management of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Committed to the highest standards of scientific rigor, K-CART will generate new scientific discoveries about ASD, disseminate research-based practices by training professionals, practitioners and families who serve children and adults with autism, and provide clinical services through the Center for Child Health and Development at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Juniper Gardens: Juniper Gardens is the hub through which much of area research in childhood DDs is planned, executed, and disseminated. At Juniper Gardens, families, community workers, educators, and university students are trained in the best practices for addressing ASDs and other DDs.
Project Eagle: For over 20 years, Project EAGLE has worked with KUMC to provide extensive community services to children and families in Wyandotte County. Information, materials, and services are provided in both Spanish and English.
Lifespan Institute: The Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies (LSI) was created in 1990 out of the 67-year-old Kansas Bureau of Child Research. Today it is one of the largest and most highly regarded human development and disabilities research centers in the country. The LSI brings together scientists of diverse disciplines including gerontololgy, psychology, psychiatry, speech pathology, sociology, education, biology, pharmacology, physiology and medicine to study human development from its genetic origins through the final stages of life.
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BOYD CAMPBELL - people search, genealogy, find deceased relatives and locate ancestors
BOYD CAMPBELL
406-14-0526 April 20, 1903 November 1, 1954 51 years
444-32-7160 July 11, 1891 May 1, 1965 73 years
451-03-9729 September 6, 1904 January 1, 1967 62 years 76046
226-03-3902 April 6, 1903 January 1, 1969 65 years VA 24572 (Madison Heights, Amherst County)
446-14-4638 October 21, 1896 June 1, 1969 72 years OK 73069 (Norman, Cleveland County)
210-09-4618 February 19, 1913 May 1, 1971 58 years
139-03-1030 September 30, 1915 July 1, 1971 55 years
234-20-7520 July 14, 1890 January 1, 1972 81 years WV 24901 (Lewisburg, Greenbrier County)
716-12-3522 October 4, 1898 January 1, 1973 74 years PA 17403 (Grantley, York County)
309-09-4760 August 5, 1904 May 1, 1973 68 years CA 92503 (Riverside, Riverside County)
248-54-2232 June 14, 1897 May 1, 1974 76 years SC 29322 (Campobello, Spartanburg County)
329-16-8890 January 29, 1916 October 1, 1974 58 years
277-05-5567 December 14, 1910 January 1, 1975 64 years OH 45506 (Springfield, Clark County)
146-10-1557 August 21, 1906 July 1, 1975 68 years NJ 08066 (Paulsboro, Gloucester County)
406-16-7415 December 15, 1885 November 1, 1975 89 years 41729
106-05-1319 August 26, 1915 April 1, 1976 60 years NY 12009 (Altamont, Albany County)
204-40-5718 November 15, 1897 May 1, 1976 78 years PA 17044 (Highland Park, Bucks County)
368-14-2425 August 31, 1918 July 1, 1976 57 years
403-10-7581 December 26, 1916 May 1, 1982 65 years MA 02379 (West Bridgewater, Plymouth County)
237-10-4516 February 14, 1910 March 1, 1985 75 years NC 28303 (Fayetteville, Cumberland County)
487-07-3529 October 4, 1913 May 1, 1985 71 years KS 66755 (Moran, Allen County)
704-07-5645 August 3, 1898 June 1, 1985 86 years KY 40701 (Corbin, Whitley County)
402-28-6215 September 27, 1896 December 1, 1986 90 years IN 47118 (English, Crawford County)
236-10-5434 December 14, 1910 February 1, 1987 76 years KY 41101 (Ashland, Boyd County) 45638 (Ironton, Lawrence County)
BOYD W CAMPBELL
297-09-5583 November 23, 1903 May 9, 1990 86 years AZ 85008 (Phoenix, Maricopa County)
BOYD F CAMPBELL
205-03-2150 December 4, 1915 February 5, 1991 75 years PA 17756 (Muncy, Lycoming County)
BOYD N CAMPBELL
552-96-1177 September 9, 1952 June 1, 1991 38 years
187-14-6338 August 7, 1921 August 19, 1992 71 years FL 32308 (Tallahassee, Leon County)
184-07-9718 July 7, 1910 September 19, 1992 82 years 17771
BOYD G CAMPBELL
241-44-1983 June 17, 1928 July 9, 1994 66 years NC 28677 (Statesville, Iredell County)
BOYD L CAMPBELL
231-32-7271 May 20, 1915 December 12, 1994 79 years VA 22601 (Winchester, Winchester (city) County)
415-46-8004 April 9, 1906 February 26, 1999 92 years TN 37821 (Newport, Cocke County)
315-32-1591 July 30, 1932 April 4, 2000 67 years IN 46706 (Auburn, DeKalb County) 46706 (Auburn, DeKalb County)
246-18-9526 March 27, 1914 December 4, 2000 86 years NC 27401 (Greensboro, Guilford County)
223-52-8394 January 18, 1940 February 25, 2005 65 years VA 24572 (Madison Heights, Amherst County)
BOYD S CAMPBELL
579-01-8812 March 23, 1917 June 9, 2005 88 years MD 20785 (Cheverly, Prince George's County)
BOYD C CAMPBELL
308-40-8345 October 4, 1921 April 12, 2006 84 years IN 47165 (New Pekin, Washington County)
BOYD D CAMPBELL
235-32-0018 January 27, 1923 December 20, 2007 84 years 17202
HALDEMAN
SCHWARTZENBU
HAYGOOD
TOM CAMPBELL
LOUISE CAMPBELL - California
CLARENCE E CAMPBELL
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On classic men's style, elegance and the beautiful life.
About and testimonials
Finnish version
Interview with Matt Spaiser from The Suits of James Bond
March 7, 2013 by Ville Raivio
“I’m 25 years old and work as a graphic and web designer, I studied graphic design at university. My mother always appreciated that I’ve dressed well, and my father also shares an appreciation for fine clothing. Though my brother doesn’t dress anything like me—he dresses far more casually—he often asks me for advice when clothes shopping. James Bond really got me interested in clothing, mostly from Connery’s Bond. The overall simplicity of his suits, shirts and ties appealed to my already restrained sense of style, but the small, unique details in his clothes really drew me in. Things like cocktail cuff shirts, trousers with side adjusters, and a waistcoat with lapels. I’m a detail-oriented person and I love the things that go unnoticed by most people. My knowledge comes from books, tailors and communicating with people in online forums.
I’m a very logical person, and fashion doesn’t make any sense to me. My body hasn’t changed much from this year to last year, so why should the clothes I wear be different? Alan Flusser’s books do a great job of explaining why classic proportions always look best. Clothes should work with the body to create the most attractive and the most comfortable fit. I appreciate the reasons why a suit jacket should cover the behind, why a jacket’s fastening button should be at the waist, and why trousers should sit at the waist. Because low-rise trousers are fashionable it doesn’t mean most men should wear them. There are plenty of good reasons why trousers have never before had such a short rise.
My personal style is very traditional, and I always try to dress things up a bit. I’m mostly a fan of English style, with a little American thrown in. My interest in the older Bond clothes—particularly Anthony Sinclair’s and Douglas Hayward’s styles—has made me come to prefer the softer English tailoring. But I still like the more structured Savile Row style as well. I live in New York and my favorite ready-to-wear clothes available there are from Polo Ralph Lauren, Paul Stuart and, of course, Turnbull & Asser. My favourite shirtmaker I’ve used so far is Frank Foster, who has probably done more wardrobe work on the Bond series than anyone else. I love how he makes an English-style shirt but with a closer attention to fit and finish more like you’ll find in Italian shirts.
After seeing too many people write online that Sean Connery’s Bond suits had flat front trousers and that the three-piece suit in Goldfinger is sharkskin wool—the trousers have double forward pleats and that suit is a glen plaid—I decided I needed to create a resource that looks at these iconic clothes in better detail. I wanted to examine the clothes as clothes, not so much in the context of the films. I’ve received great feedback and welcome people to comment on what I write about. I’m not always right and I appreciate it when people point it out. I’m very interested in music, particularly jazz and classical music. These days it’s mostly just listening to music and attending concerts, though I enjoy playing a number of instruments myself.
Dressing well commands respect. Neat, well-fitting clothing is always important, whether you’re dressing casually or formally. Sports jackets should be just as well-tailored as a dinner jacket. It’s also important to know what you like, and don’t let fashion tell you that what to like or dislike. For the past few years people have often told me that I shouldn’t be wearing pleated trousers, and it’s mostly salesmen who want to sell me the flat-front trousers they have on the rack. But for twenty five years before that nobody would have said that. I like classic English style, so I wear forward-pleat trousers. It’s great to find inspiration in what others wear, and much of my inspiration comes from James Bond. I don’t dress exactly like James Bond, but rather I’ve let Bond help me develop me own style. Be conscious of the clothes you’re wearing them and why you’re wearing them. If you’re simply copying James Bond, a classic film star, a member of British royalty or any other well-dressed man, you’re just wearing costume.”
http://thesuitsofjamesbond.com
Picture: © Jason Taylor
Category Bloggers, Interviews, Styleforum | Tags:
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"If John Bull turns around to look at you, you are not well dressed; but either too stiff, too tight, or too fashionable".
An Interview with Mark Rykken 4
Mark J Rykken, Mark J Rykken, Peter Jaram, Frank Swinand
Side elastic shoes 2
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Nick Willard, Austin Roberson, David
Interview With Hugo Jacomet 1
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Home CULTURE Music Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum's Grand Opening
Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum's Grand Opening
by Laura Younkin
People from all over the state, all over the country and even all over the world were in Owensboro when the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum held its grand opening Oct. 18-20.
Carly Smith, the marketing director for the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, promised the grand opening weekend would be three days of “all things bluegrass,” and it was.
Thursday was Legends Night and took place in the new state-of-the-art Woodward Theatre, where the International Bluegrass Music Association inducted a special Hall of Fame class. Friday featured a sold-out concert by Kentucky bluegrass music maven Sam Bush. Saturday was a full day of free bluegrass music on the new outdoor stage overlooking the Ohio River. The wind blew hard and chilly, but that didn’t stop true fans from enjoying the music, food trucks and exquisite view.
The new building is modern and elegant, yet feels comfortable for the earthy nature of bluegrass music. Even the glass tile in the swanky restrooms is earth tone. A fairly small but exceedingly well-curated gift shop offers all sorts of goodies for the bluegrass fan, while the museum displays held treasures such as Uncle Pen’s fiddle. Any Bill Monroe fan understands what a golden chalice that is. And speaking of well-curated, there is also a bar that offers some pretty fine bourbon.
While Smith was excited about the grand opening, she sees it as just the beginning of great events to come. The organization plans to host weekly shows at the Woodward as well as continuing the Saturday Morning Lessons program and ROMP Fest in the summer.
O.Z. Tyler Distillery recently was added to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and Owensboro is now considered the “Western Gateway to the Bourbon Trail.” With the recent addition of two new hotels on the riverfront and the millions the city has spent on renovating the waterfront, Owensboro is the perfect weekend getaway for those who love all things bluegrass.
Photos by Larry Stewart
Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum O.Z. Tyler Distillery bluegrass music Bourbon Owensboro
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Home About Loznica Geographical location Geographical location
• Europe, the Southeast Europe Serbia,Western Serbia;
• Bordering Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Area - 612 km2;
• Population 86.413;
• 44° 32′ 03′′ N, 19° 13′ 17′′ E;
• 59% agricultural land, 32% forested, 9% other;
Traffic infrastructure
• Highway roads:
• International road Belgrade-Zagreb E70 - 80 km far away form Loznica.
• Corridor 10 is also 80 km far away from Loznica.
• Main roads:
• M-19 connecting town with Belgrade and Bosnia and Herzegovina and highway E70.
• M-4 connects the town with the south of Serbia.
• Distance to airport: 110 km to Belgrade and 130 km to Sarajevo.
• Railway: Belgrade - Ruma - Loznica connects the town with Bosnia and Central Serbia;
Three distinct areas are noticeable in the Loznica relief, Cer with Iverak to the north, in the middle Jadar basin with alluvial valley of the river Drina and the mountain range of Gucevo to the south.
Situated between the mountains of Cer and Iverak, on the north and northeast, mountain of Vlasic on east, Gucevo and Kostajnik and branches of Boranja, on the south, opened toward west and northwest, topography of Loznica city territory reminds of huge amphitheatre-giant horseshoe. Sheltered by the mountains and their branches from cold north and eastern winds, Loznica with its vicinity, forms special oasis of regional climate, by which it significantly differs from climates of the neighbouring regions. Namely, the summers in Loznica are somewhat colder and winters warmers than in neighbouring cities. Opened towards west and northwest and thus exposed to primarily humid air currents, the city of Loznica has somewhat larger amounts of rainfall in comparison to neighbouring territories. That is why its flora is more exuberant, the water currents are larger and more stable, and water springs are more numerous and powerful. .
The average annual temperature of the air in Loznica is 110C C, the actual lasting of the sunshine (effective insolation ) on average annual level amounts to 2.041 hrs, the precipitation annual average level is 800-1000 mm , wind frequency is relatively low - 282%o. Taken into consideration the previously mentioned indicators it can be said that climate of Loznica and its vicinity is very favourable.
In terms of water resources the City of Loznica is certainly among he best in Serbia. Its water resources are significant and versatile. It is made of surface water currents -rivers, underground waters and thermal mineral springs. The most important are: Drina, Jadar, Lesnica, Stira I Zeravija.
Underground waters and springs
Territory of the Loznica town is rich in large reserves of underground waters. The waters are of good qulity and present the most important source of water supply for the population and industry of Loznica and general town settlements.
The strongest springs in the Loznica municipality are linked to fissures through which waters from higher debts, with spacious feeding areas break into surface. The strongest among them is such a spring near monastery Tronosa , with maximum yield of 5,5 l ./ s. It is capped into drinking fountain "Devet Jugovica" with ten "pipes" from which strong jets of crystal clean cold water gush. The spring is real jewel and specific natural-historic monument.
Springs of thermal-mineral waters add to the rich water resources and its variety in the Loznica municipality. The occurrence of springs is linked to numerous fissure lines, as well as to the earlier volcano activities.
The most important are the waters of Banja Koviljaca which come out in several springs; according to content of the dissolved chemical elements they are classified as alkaline muriatic, ferriferous and sulphurous. The most recent researches show that the Banja Koviljaca waters are HCO3, ClNa, Ca, Mg type, overall mineralization 1,41 g/l, temperature around 30ºС and hardness (pH) 6,6.
Бања Бадања is situated on the south slope of Iverak , in the area of the village of Donja Badanja, in the valley of the river Cernica. There are two springs in the spa: „Main spring" of sulphurous water and spring „Iron waters". Water temperature is in the range 15 - 18ºС, total mineralization 0,8 g/l, hardness 7,0, with significantly increased radioactivity.
The most important plant species are : white willow, ashen willow, poplar, black alder, European ash, oak , white hornbeam, black hornbeam, black European ash, beech, locust tree, etc. Species of herbaceous plants are also present: various grasses, meadow plants (especially herbs, such as Klamath weed, centaury, yarrow, thyme, etc. and other ) as well as numerous kinds of eatable mushrooms and agricultural cultures.
The rivers in the Loznica region fall among clear current waters. The waters of streams and small rivers that flow into the rivers of Lesnica and Jadar are particularly clean the river Drina is also very quick and clean. For this reason this territory is considered well preserved in terms of varieties of fish species. Following kinds of fish can be caught in these rivers: catfish, hutchen, nose-carp, trout, carp, chub, barbell, grayling, pike, perch, etc.
Mammal species characteristic of other terrains of Serbia in hillside mountain range can be found within the Loznica municipality region. The most important for hunting are: rabbits, fox, dormouse, wolf, roe deer, wild board, etc. There are no endemic species within the city territory.
Over fifty species of birds flow over the river Drina and its reservoirs or stay shortly in its vicinity. Following species are relevant for hunting-grey partridge, chukar partridge, quail, mallard and pheasant.
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yesh@mahavirconsulting.com
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Many Canadian citizens and permanent residents have loved ones abroad that they wish they could bring to Canada. The Canadian government offers a number of ways to allow this dream to become a reality under its Family Class Sponsorship class.
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A visitor means a person who is lawfully in Canada, or seeks to come into Canada for a temporary purpose (such as work, study or visit) and who is not a Canadian citizen.
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Business Before Hours addresses minimum wage proposals
TULALIP — The Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce's Business Before Hours will spotlight "The Impact of Minimum Wage Proposals to Business" — presented by Erin Shannon, director of the Washington Policy Center for Small Business — from 7-9 a.m. on Friday, March 28, in the Canoes Cabaret Room of the Tulalip Resort Casino.
Thursday, March 20, 2014 2:04am
TULALIP — The Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce’s Business Before Hours will spotlight “The Impact of Minimum Wage Proposals to Business” — presented by Erin Shannon, director of the Washington Policy Center for Small Business — from 7-9 a.m. on Friday, March 28, in the Canoes Cabaret Room of the Tulalip Resort Casino.
You can call 360-659-7700 or email admin@marysvilletulalipchamber.com to register.
Admission is $23 for Chamber members who RSVP prior to the event. Non-members, and those who do not RSVP, must pay $28 at the door.
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Briefs (Aug. 11)
Wednesday, August 8, 2018 4:55pm
Maryfest gets $10K back
MARYSVILLE – Maryfest, the all-volunteer organization that puts on the Marysville Strawberry Festival every year, is $10,000 richer.
The State Attorney General’s Office ruled that the Holiday Treasure Chest Charity Foundation must return that amount to Maryfest.
The reason: Maryfest donated that amount to the charity because of a settlement agreement made with former vice president Mark Jensen that has been deemed null in void in court. The Maryfest board at the time of the agreement on Feb. 21, 2017 did not have the lawful authority to make that pact, a court summary judgment says.
AG Bob Ferguson said: “The previous agreement was outrageous, self-serving and illegal. As a result of our work, the court has invalidated that agreement and entered a judgment ordering Mr. Jensen’s nonprofit to pay back Maryfest, removing the limitations that have put this storied local festival in jeopardy. I will not allow individuals to take advantage of charities for their own gain.”
Pratt Pest Management sold
MARYSVILLE – Rentokil Steritech has finalized a deal to acquire Marysville-based Pratt Pest Management. Dana Pratt established the business in 1991 and was president for 27 years, “In the booming Seattle market, there is a need for expert pest control services for both business and residential customers,” said John Myers, president and CEO of Rentokil North America. “Dana and the entire Pratt Pest Management team are a terrific addition to our growing family of pest control experts, as they share our commitment to world-class pest control services and customer experience.”
Pratt said, “The decision to retire and sell a business you spent thirty years nurturing is unquestionably tough.”
Pratt said Rentokil has been focused on enhancing opportunities for employees and expanding services for customers.
Free park day Aug. 25
OLYMPIA – To celebrate the National Park System’s 102nd birthday, the state Parks and Recreation Commission is offering free entrance to state parks on Aug. 25. Day-use visitors will not need a Discover Pass.
Marysville YMCA now air-conditioned
MARYSVILLE – For the first time since the Marysville YMCA opened 23 years ago, the gym is now air-conditioned.
Director JJ Frank said Tuesday the YMCA spent $240,000 on a unit so members can use the facility on even really hot days.
Teens in fatal crash identified
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office has completed the examination and confirmed the identification of the 17-year-old who was involved in a motor vehicle collision on Mountain Loop Highway near Clear Creek Road in Darrington Monday.
The decedent is Dylan M. Brown, of Darrington. Also identified was the 19-year-old driver Devon T. F. Brearty of Elma
The cause of the deaths is multiple blunt force injuries. The manner of the deaths is classified as accident.
Just before 3 p.m. Monday a vehicle crashed into a large piece of construction equipment parked on the side of the road.
The Sheriff’s Office Collision Investigation Unit was investigating. Speed may have been a factor, a sheriff’s news release says.
Marysville road projects start Monday
MARYSVILLE – Summer roadwork projects are scheduled to begin next week and end in late September. Motorists can expect intermittent closures during work hours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
•Sunnyside Boulevard (40th Street NE to Soper Hill Road): Aug. 13-late September – Replace curb ramps to comply with ADA standards, repair pavement, full-width grind and pavement overlay, new pavement markings
•52nd Street NE (Sunnyside Blvd to 75th Ave. NE): Aug. 14-late September – Repair pavement, full-width grind and pavement overly, new pavement markings
•84th Street NE (67th Ave. NE to 74th Drive NE): same as previous
•136th Street NE (Smokey Point Blvd to railroad tracks): same as previous
Arlington neighbors elect to join in National Night Out Against Crime
Council okays ambulance utility fee
Thousands attend Arlington Street Fair, enjoy Kornstalk Music Festival
ARLINGTON – Thousands of browsers snooping for antiques, collectibles and crafts visited… Continue reading
Fire destroys Marysville home
MARYSVILLE – A fire destroyed a home in the 6300 block of… Continue reading
Survey takes pulse of well-being in Stillaguamish Valley
ARLINGTON – While most people feel a connection to the Stillaguamish Valley,… Continue reading
AHS students’ bike racks add colorful legacy for downtown
ARLINGTON – Whenever Hunter Urionaguena passes by Arlington Hardware and Lumber store… Continue reading
More citations for July 4 fireworks in Marysville
MARYSVILLE – Even though fireworks have been illegal in Marysville for a… Continue reading
Trees removed to make way for estuary
MARYSVILLE — A dozer with a claw-like device known as a ripper… Continue reading
Like many of you, I felt the 4.6 earthquake
Like many others of you in Marysville and Arlington, I felt the… Continue reading
Many shows MARYSVILLE – From comedy to “Cabaret” to Readers’ Theatre, Red… Continue reading
Arlington steps out for annual Fourth of July parade
ARLINGTON – This year’s traditional Fourth of July Grand Parade had the… Continue reading
Goodbye: After 30 years, Ballew goes out with a bang
MARYSVILLE – Jim Ballew is going out with a bang. The city…
School’s not out for some in Marysville
MARYSVILLE – When kids think of the Summer Slide they probably think…
Longtime Marysville school board member faces rare challenge
MARYSVILLE – For the first time in his many years of service,…
MARYSVILLE — A dozer with a claw-like device known as a ripper…
ARLINGTON – This year’s traditional Fourth of July Grand Parade had the…
MARYSVILLE – Even though fireworks have been illegal in Marysville for a…
ARLINGTON – Whenever Hunter Urionaguena passes by Arlington Hardware and Lumber store…
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Where are they now? list
Author Topic: Where are they now? list (Read 7839 times)
Degeneration X The Owl
Westwood Neighbor
1. Yoshi Ito
2. Elcee Neal
3. Debbie Neal
4. Joey Hollingsworth
5. The guy who played Mr. Anybody
6. The guy who play Mr. Allmine (I know his first name is Bert)
7. The guy who played Mime Walker
« Last Edit: May 30, 2011, 05:31:47 PM by Degeneration X The Owl »
Neighborhood Archive
Make-Believe Neighbor
Re: Where are they now? list
I know that Bert Lloyd (Mr. Allmine) went on to become a pastor. I was contacted some time ago by a member of his church.
Did a lil research to another, Jewel Walker (Mime Walker). He is currently (at the time of this mini research) a professor at the University of Winsconsin at Milwalkee. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon when he was doing the Neighborhood.
Don't know yet. We know she can sing, but her background is vague except some general info. She is the top of my most wanted list.
I once told Yoshi Ito she had a beautiful voice, and she replied "I ought to. I paid enough for it!"
and Don Francks (Mr. Anybody) aka Iron Buffalo (Cree Nation) is alive and well in Toronto Canada....he starred in th film version of Finian's Rainbow (opposite Petula Clark) and was more recently in that film where a number of actors impersonated Bob Dylan ...can't remember the title...as a bum in a boxcar. you can hear some of his early jazz trio work on youtube, and he used to sing some of the neighborhood songs in his nightclub act. I had heard and admired those songs before I met Fred.
How well did you know Yoshi, bka?
just to work with, we had not time to get to know one another off stage - but I liked her and her work was always superb.
rogersfan1
Southwood Neighbor
I'm presuming both Digger Digirum and Coach Willie Saunders are both deceased but I couldn't find anything on either of them
MIKEBENNIDICT
It's unfortunate that there's no info on what happened to those who were on MRN in the early years.
I typed up Carrol Saunders not long ago and can't find anything.
However I did a search on her some years back and came across some site and someone who claimed to be her son said she passed away in 2006.
Mrs. Saunders was an actress and the IMDB boards mentioned she was in an episode of Ironside in 1970.
That was a cop show that starred Raymond Burr as a police chief of the SF Police Dept. who was paralyzed.
The show ran from 1967-1975.
I also did a search one time on Elsie Neal and she was a member of some arm museum in Pittsburgh but couldn't find anything on her now.
Miss Emile I'm guessing was 50 or 60 something when she was on so I doubt she's still around.
I discovered that Don Francks Mr Anybody died last April 2016 at 84
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Francks
Chad123
I'd like to know what some of the directors and producers of the show are doing nowadays. I know for example, that producer Margaret Whitmer, is still with The Fred Rogers Company.
mitsguy2001
I believe that Betty said that Don Francks was the person who introduced her to Fred.
I was going through the internet trying to find info on Elsie Neal and came across some site that mentioned the cast.
I probably should of bookmarked it.
It wasn't any help because there was really no info on many, especially those who weren't on in the later years but someone typed in some info on Miss. Emilee and said she died in 1969. That's all she gave.
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Fr Louis Bouyer on the Liturgical Reform and Its Architects
Sandro Magister has just published on the website of L’Espresso an interesting account of the Mémoirs of Fr Louis Bouyer, the French convert and Oratorian priest who played so prominent a role in the post-Conciliar reforms, not the least because of his personal friendship with Pope Paul VI. Fr Bouyer was one of the first people to openly and honestly denounce what he (and of course many others) considered to be the failure of these reforms, in his book The Decomposition of Catholicism. Magister’s summary of the newly published Mémoirs, (yet to be published in English, to the best of my knowledge), will be of particular interest to our readers for its account of certain aspects of the liturgical reform. For the benefit of those who do not read Italian, I here give my translation of the complete article. Let it be understood that the criticism of other people given here in the quotations are Fr Bouyer’s words, not Magister’s or my own.
Paul VI seriously thought about making him a Cardinal, but was held back by the ferocious reaction against this which the nomination would surely have provoked among the French bishops, chief among them the then-Archbishop of Paris, and president of the (French) bishops’ conference Cardinal François Marty, a person of “crass ignorance” and “devoid of even the most basic capacity for discernment”.
The man who missed the red robes, and branded his archenemy thus, was the great theologian and liturgist Louis Bouyer (1913-2004), as we learn from his fiery posthumous Memoirs, published this summer by Éditions du Cerf, ten years after his death.
Raised as a Lutheran, after becoming a Protestant minister in Paris, Bouyer converted to Catholicism in 1939, drawn to it above all by its liturgy, of which he quickly distinguished himself as a gifted enthusiast with his masterful study on the rites of Holy Week, “The Paschal Mystery”.
Being called to serve on one of the preparatory commissions for Vatican II, Bouyer immediately realized from his own experience its greatness and its wretchedness, and soon pulled back from it. He found the cheap ecumenism of that crazy era unbearable, like “something from Alice in Wonderland.” Among the few theologians of the council saved by him were the young Joseph Ratzinger, who in the book is the subject of nothing but praise. On the other hand, among the few important churchmen who appreciated at once the talent and merits of this theologian and liturgist who was so untypical, the most outstanding was Giovanni Battista Montini, while he was still archbishop of Milan.
After becoming Pope with the name of Paul VI, Montini wanted Bouyer on the committee for the reform of the liturgy, presided over “in theory” by Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro, “a generous man” but “incapable of resisting the maneuvers of the criminal and unctuous” Annibale Bugnini, secretary and factotum of that same body, a man “as devoid of learning as he was of honesty”.
It was Bouyer who had to fix in extremis a horrible formula of the new Second Eucharistic Prayer, from which Bugnini wished to expunge even the “Sanctus”. And one evening, on the table of a trattoria in Trastevere, he had to rewrite the text of the new canon which is read today at Mass, together with the Benedictine liturgist Bernard Botte, with the added worry of having to deliver the whole thing by the following morning.
But the worst part is when Bouyer recalls the peremptory “The Pope wants it so” by which Bugnini would silence the members of the commission every time they opposed him; for example, in the dismantling of the liturgy for the dead, or in purging from the Divine Office the Psalms with “imprecatory” (i.e. cursing) verses.
Paul VI, conversing afterwards with Bouyer about one of these reforms “which the Pope had found himself approving without being in any way more content with it than I was” asked him: “But why did you all get entangled in this (particular) reform?” And Bouyer replied: “Because Bugnini assured us that you absolutely wanted it so.” To which Paul VI answered: “But is it possible? He told me that you were unanimous in approving it …”.
Paul VI sent the “contemptible” Bugnini into exile in Teheran as nuncio, Bouyer recalls in his “Memoires”, but at a point when the damage was already done. Bugnini’s personal secretary, Piero Marini, would later become the director of Papal ceremonies from 1987 to 2007, and is now even spoken of as a possible prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship.
In the last year of his life, Paul VI invited Bouyer to share with him “a few weeks of vacation at Castel Gandolfo”. But he was unable to accept this extraordinary sign of friendship and esteem, taken as he was with so many other responsibilities. And he lived to regret this, since the Pope died on August 6th of that year, 1978.
The following year, Cardinal Jean Villot revealed to Bouyer that Paul VI wanted to make him a cardinal, were it not for the harshness of the reaction against this foreseen within the Church.
At the news of this failed nomination, Bouyer recalls that he “felt relieved”, his thoughts going immediately to the unhappy lot of another great theologian and liturgist, who was raised to the dignity of the cardinalate, the Jesuit Jean Daniélou, “made the subject of ignoble calumnies by his own confreres,” both before and after his death in 1974.
Posted Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Labels: Bugnini, Liturgical Reform, Louis Bouyer, Vatican II
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FARNBOROUGH: HondaJet boosts visibility with Farnborough debut [feedly]
FARNBOROUGH: HondaJet boosts visibility with Farnborough debut
// Flight Global HEADLINES
Honda Aircraft is debuting its HondaJet at the show, seeking to raise awareness of the light business jet in the lucrative European market.
Shared via my feedly newsfeed
Antonov betting on Western technology
https://leehamnews.com/2016/07/14/antonov-part-state-group-ukrboronprom-betting-western-technology/
Lockheed Martin Executives Unveil Armed BLACK HAWK Helicopter at Farnborough International Airshow
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2016/july/farnborough-armed-black-hawk-debut.html
Uncertainty over Brexit impact evident at Farnborough Airshow
https://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2016/07/14/uncertainty-over-brexit-impact-evident-at-farnborough-airshow/
Setting a satellite to catch a satellite
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Setting_a_satellite_to_catch_a_satellite_999.html
Norwegian selects 30 A321LR for first transatlantic routes
http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/norwegian-selects-30-a321lr-for-first-transatlantic-routes/?utm_source=article&utm_medium=all_news&utm_campaign=RSS
Aer Lingus adds two A330-300s to its future fleet
http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/aer-lingus-adds-two-a330-300s-to-its-future-fleet/?utm_source=article&utm_medium=all_news&utm_campaign=RSS
FARNBOROUGH: Boeing details range-boosting 737-7 redesign
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/farnborough-boeing-details-range-boosting-737-7-red-427468/
Remaking the smallest version of the 737 Max family to carry more passengers and fly further presents three options: Shrink the larger 737-8, stretch the smaller 737-7 or combine elements of both.
FARNBOROUGH: Airbus reveals cargo UAV challenge winners - Flightglobal
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/farnborough-airbus-reveals-cargo-uav-challenge-winn-427436/
Boeing Business Jets Announces Orders for Two BBJ MAX 8 Airplanes
Momentum continues to grow for BBJ MAX program with 12 orders, including first in North America
FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom, July 13, 2016 –Boeing [NYSE:BA] Business Jets announced at the 2016 Farnborough International Air Show today, the sale of two BBJ MAX 8 airplanes. The recently booked BBJ MAX 8s were ordered by two separate undisclosed customers, one customer based in North America and the other in Asia.
"The BBJ MAX and its unmatched capability and comfort continues to be a very successful airplane for us and we are just getting started" said Boeing Business Jets President David Longridge. "The BBJ MAX gives our customers incredible flexibility with increased range, cabin space and baggage capacity."
Boeing Business Jets now has 12 BBJ MAXs on order; 11 for the BBJ MAX 8 model and one for the BBJ MAX 9.
Publicado por JM en 9:01 , 0 comentarios
Airbus recognizes suppliers for excellent in-service performance
13 July 2016 Press Release
On the occasion of the annual Airbus Suppliers Awards ceremony held during Farnborough Air Show 2016, Didier Lux, Airbus SVP, Head of Customer Services, and Geneviève Laurens-Chassagne, Head of Supplier Support Management distributed Awards and Certificates to Systems & Equipment suppliers. The suppliers recognized by Airbus were identified through the Supplier Support Rating process, which captured in-service feedback from over 130 Airbus customers. The result of this feedback is that the following suppliers each received an Award for being “top-performers”, having exceeded the standards set by Airbus Supplier Support Management:
- Rockwell Collins Avionics
- Thales Avionics
- Airbus Avionics
- Airbus Cabin Electronics
- Diehl Air Cabin
- Crane Aerospace
- Stelia Technical Seats
In addition, in 2016, for the first time, Airbus recognized “good performing” suppliers by issuing them a certificate. Eight suppliers obtained such certificates – having reached the standards set by Airbus Supplier Support Management:
- Diehl Aerospace
- Aircelle
- ACSS
- Meggitt Sensing Systems
- Siemens
- Technofan
- Telair
- UTAS Actuation Systems
“The historical ranking of the suppliers induces a virtuous competition between them to reach the award. Now we have completed this approach with an Airbus standard acknowledged by a certificate. The aim is to promote this standard and increase the quantity of suppliers who are achieving it,” said Genevieve Laurens-Chassagne, Airbus' Head of Supplier Support Management for Customer Services.
The next rating cycle will be launched in January 2017. Airbus takes the rating feedback as a basis to drive the suppliers’ support improvements by ensuring dedicated actions are launched by the suppliers. This benefits the operators of Airbus fleet all over the world.
Airbus’ widebody jetliners grab the spotlight on the Farnborough Airshow’s third day
13 July 2016 Headline news
It’s a “family affair” at the 2016 Farnborough International Airshow, where members of Airbus’ popular widebody product line – the new-generation A350 XWB, double-deck A380 and A330 – are flying high this week.
As usual, when the A350 XWB and A380 show up at a major aviation gathering they are must-see attractions. The two sister aircraft have headlined Airbus’ widebody family presence at Farnborough with static displays and flying presentations, while the company also has made commercial announcements so far involving 15 A350 XWBs and four A330neo jetliners.
Together, Airbus’ highly-efficient widebody jetliners offer the capabilities to meet the air transport sector’s growing traffic requirements. They cover a full range of operations – from regional and low-cost flights to long-haul flights on high-yield routes between the world’s biggest aviation hubs, as well as newer routes linking smaller, distant airports.
A350 XWB: delivering new-generation efficiency
The A350 XWB is the latest all-new member of Airbus’ widebody product line – bringing together advanced aerodynamics, design and technologies to provide 25 percent lower seat-mile costs compared to current competitors. Born from a customer-centric approach, the A350 XWB was designed with the market, for the market, enabling production of an aircraft that perfectly meets customers’ expectations.
It entered commercial service in early 2015, and offers seating capacities between 250 and 440 passengers. At the end of June, Airbus had secured 800-plus A350 XWB orders from around the globe, with jetliners already delivered to seven operators: Cathay Pacific Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Finnair, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, TAM and Vietnam Airlines.
A330: dependable and modern
Complementing the A350 XWB in Airbus’ product line is the A330 – which first entered commercial service in 1994 and has received more than 1,600 orders to date. The popular A330 Family is a cornerstone member of Airbus’ widebody product line, recognised by customers worldwide for its superior versatility, cost-effectiveness and reliability.
Airbus spends some 150 million euros each year on enhancements and incremental improvements for the A330 Family. As a result, the A330 is the most efficient aircraft in its class, comprising five in-service variants, as well as two NEO (new engine option) versions that were launched in 2014 and will reduce fuel consumption by a further 14 percent per seat. The first A330neo deliveries are planned for late 2017.
A380: the preferred passenger choice
Airbus’ distinctive A380 is a leader in comfort and efficiency – and the best solution for capturing growth in the air transport industry with a unique ability to attract passengers, stimulate traffic and maximise revenue on high-value routes to and from congested airports.
Nearly 10 years since the first delivery to Singapore Airlines in 2007, Airbus’ A380 jetliner remains a winner with passengers and operators – with the 190 A380s currently flying in commercial service accumulating a dispatch reliability rate of 99.1 percent.
New commercial activity
On a day when the company spotlighted its market-leading widebody product line, a notable commercial announcement for the single-aisle A320 Family made the Farnborough Airshow’s third day a true “Airbus family gathering.”
Synergy Aerospace Corporation, the largest shareholder of Colombia-based Avianca and owner of Avianca Brasil, finalised a purchase agreement for 62 A320neo Family aircraft. The order helped Airbus surpass the 1,000 mark for aircraft sold in Latin America.
Innovation and digitalisation at Airbus
Whether widebody or single-aisle aircraft, a common theme connects Airbus’ market-leading product line: innovation. This pioneering spirit also is evident across all of the company’s activities and Airbus showcased the full range of its innovative approach – as well as its commitment to drive digitalisation in the aerospace industry – with a unique demonstration today.
Airbus used a drone containing a high-definition camera to demonstrate a visual inspection of the A350 XWB aircraft on static display. Flown using an automatic flight control system, and supervised by a human pilot, this inspection approach currently is in validation for use on A330 jetliners after completing the final assembly process prior to customer delivery. Future implementation is envisioned at Airbus final assembly sites around the world.
Innovation saving lives
Another aspect of the company’s innovation was on display during a media briefing hosted by the Airbus Foundation, Airbus Group Innovations (Airbus Group’s global research and technology network) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The three organisations have formed a partnership to explore bringing advanced aerospace technologies to the humanitarian community for helping save lives during disaster relief efforts.
“We see many areas where our business activities and the Airbus Foundation can directly support the humanitarian community in becoming more efficient and finding innovative solutions to the challenges they face,” said Andrea Debbane, Executive Director of the Airbus Foundation.
In other news at the Farnborough Airshow, Airbus also revealed its Supplier Awards today. Find out the winners by reading the related press release.
Synergy orders 62 A320neo Family aircraft
Latin America region surpasses 1,000 aircraft sold, A320 continues to prevail
Synergy Aerospace Corporation, largest shareholder of Colombia-based Avianca and owner of Avianca Brasil, has finalized a Purchase Agreement with Airbus for 62 A320neo Family aircraft. These A320neo will be the base of the fleet renewal and network growth strategy for Avianca Brasil, and also marks over 1,000 Airbus aircraft sold in Latin America.
“These A320neo will allow Avianca Brasil to take an important leap toward growing and modernizing its fleet in a profitable and sustainable manner, while improving passenger experience,” said Alex Bialer, Chairman of the Board, Synergy Group. “Thanks to its excellent eco-efficiency, reliability and comfort the A320neo Family will allow us to strengthen our position in South America by offering passengers the best single-aisle product available.”
“Airbus is pleased to be surpassing 1,000 aircraft sold in Latin America with this order by Synergy, and we are proud that Avianca Brasil will rely on the unmatched productivity and fuel efficiency of the A320neo Family to renew its fleet and expand its network in South America,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “Domestic traffic in Brazil is projected to nearly triple by 2034, placing it among the world’s top 10 fastest-growing traffic flows in the world. These A320neo will allow Avianca Brasil to capitalize on this growth and deliver enhanced performance capabilities in challenging airports such as Rio de Janeiro’s Santos Dumont.”
Synergy became an Airbus customer in 2007 with its order for 10 A350 XWBs. It also has ordered 20 A320 Family aircraft, six A330-200 passenger and one A330-200 Freighter. Today, Avianca Brasil operates 40 A320 Family aircraft and one A330 Freighter.
Growing at a favorable rate of 5.3 percent annually, intra-regional and domestic traffic in Latin America is expected to almost triple in the next 20 years. The single-aisle aircraft is Latin America’s linchpin, and the A320neo will play a key role in securing this future market.
With over 1,000 aircraft sold and a backlog of more than 450, over 600 Airbus aircraft are in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In the past 10 years Airbus has tripled its in-service fleet, securing over 60 percent of orders in the region since 1990. The A320neo has become the undisputed aircraft family of choice for Latin America, now with 410 firm orders, plus 58 commitments with lessors, from seven customers winning nearly 70 percent of orders in the new generation single-aisle aircraft market.
The A320neo Family is the world’s best-selling single aisle product line with over 4,500 orders received from 83 customers since its launch in 2010 capturing almost 60 percent share of the market. The A320neo Family incorporates latest technologies including new generation engines and Sharklet wing tip devices, which together deliver more than 15 percent in fuel savings per seat from day one and 20 percent by 2020 with further cabin innovations. Thanks to their widest cabin, all members of the A320neo Family offer unmatched comfort in all classes and Airbus’ 18” wide seats in economy as standard. With one aircraft in three sizes (A319neo, A320neo & A321neo), the A320neo Family, seating from 100 to 240 passengers, seamlessly covers the entire single-aisle segment from low to high-density domestic to longer range routes.
Farnborough Air Show 2016 - Day Three
TIM ROBINSON and BILL READ provide a look at some of the most exciting news and highlights of the third trade day, 13 July, of Farnborough International Air Show 2016. -
Are we on the cusp of the Hypersonic Age?
Neo world order
Fully immersive digital design
Philanthropic airline aims to break mould
Unleashing the Typhoon
UAVs eyes speed up inspections
MAXs and freighters boost Boeing sales haul
CFM engine milestone
Aerial hospital
SuperJet unveils SportJet
See more at: http://aerosociety.com/News/Insight-Blog/4527/Farnborough-Air-Show-2016-Day-Three#sthash.9Cce3ddb.dpuf
FARNBOROUGH: HondaJet boosts visibility with Farnb...
Lockheed Martin Executives Unveil Armed BLACK HAWK...
Uncertainty over Brexit impact evident at Farnboro...
Norwegian selects 30 A321LR for first transatlanti...
FARNBOROUGH: Boeing details range-boosting 737-7 r...
FARNBOROUGH: Airbus reveals cargo UAV challenge wi...
Boeing Business Jets Announces Orders for Two BBJ ...
Airbus recognizes suppliers for excellent in-servi...
Airbus’ widebody jetliners grab the spotlight on t...
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After much deliberation and careful thought, Parker Pediatrics and Adolescents has developed the following vaccine policy: We will not accept patients in our practice who do not follow at least our minimum vaccine and timetable requirements (see below).
Vaccines have been a life saver for millions of children around the world. Before vaccines, many children would die or have life long disabilities due to the diseases now preventable by vaccines. Although no vaccine can be 100% safe, reactions to vaccines are extremely rare. There are many fine websites that accurately and honestly discuss the virtues as well as any possible disadvantages of vaccines. Unfortunately, there are many that are full of falsehoods, paranoia and lies. This has led to an irrational fear among some parents and thus a small, but significant percentage of children unvaccinated. This unfortunately raises the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases for everyone.
Our Decision
By choosing not to vaccinate, a parent is refusing one of our strongest recommendations–to vaccinate one’s child. If a parent trusts us to treat their child, they should trust us on such an important medical decision as vaccination. It would seem logical to have one’s child seen at a practice whose values and opinions are closer to their own.
Children who are not vaccinated are at much higher risk of catching a vaccine preventable disease and may be contagious in our waiting room. This puts everyone, but especially babies or immunocompromised patients at risk.
Finally, we feel that we are at increased risk of making an incorrect medical decision when we are called after hours and do not know a child’s vaccination status. An unvaccinated child with a cough or fever involves totally different decision making than one with vaccinations.
Except in those rare cases when there is a true medical contraindication or reason for delaying a vaccine, these are our minimum requirements:
The following vaccines must be given: Hep B, DTaP, TdaP, Polio, Hib, Pneumococcal, MMR and Chickenpox. The others are recommended, but not part of this policy.
These must be started no later than two months after the recommended dates. If presently behind or unvaccinated, these must be started within 30 days.
Alternate schedules, although discouraged, will be honored as long as the above are met.
Those who choose not to follow our policy will be given 30 days to find a new pediatrician; we will continue to see those children for acute care during that time.
Questions? Call us today! @ 303-841-2905
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E-Cigarette gets attention from the FDA
I neva tried the E-cig before. I want a cig with tobacco in it, and not just nic. That E-Cig thang sends the message that smokers smoke just for the nic. But that's not true with every smoker. I like the actual taste of tobacco, especially the menthol tobacco. I like the smell of menthols when they're lit.
I wonder how come I still saw smoke coming outta those folks' mouths in that news clip within the article. If it has no tobacco, how can it still produce smoke?
It looks like, puffs like, but isn't a cigarette.
There's no tar or tobacco in the electronic device called Smoking Everywhere, but because there is real nicotine, the Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether e-cigarettes should be regulated ¡ª like the nicotine patch or nicotine gum.
Both the patch and gum are sold to help people quit smoking.
Ohad Naim, who owns the Smoking Everywhere franchise at Grapevine Mills Mall, says there is no comparison. "The electronic cigarette is not a cessation device," he said. "It's more a product that will help people smoke in a healthier way and give them the convenience to smoke everywhere."
However, the Smoking Everywhere refill filters do come in what some might consider "step-down "doses ¡ª from high nicotine content to medium and low.
While marketing materials for Smoking Everywhere include the universal "no smoking" symbol, there is also a "Stop Smoking" sign at the outlet's booth ¡ª something that might get the FDA's attention.
"Again, we're not trying to market as a cessation device that will help people to quit smoking," Naim insisted.
But Rhena Panos was buying the e-cigarette for just that purpose. "I've smoked for ¡ª gosh ¡¬ over 40 years, and I've done everything there is out there to try, and so I'll give this a try," she said.
The FDA has acted on other so-called smoking alternatives. Nicotine Water was pulled off the market in 2002. It came in flavors and was suspected of being targeted at children.
After being reformulated, Nicotine Water returned for sale four years later.
Smoking Everywhere also comes in "fun flavors," including chocolate and cherry, but Naim emphasizes that it is not a product for underage users.
"For people under the age of 18, we do not sell it," he said.
Then he showed us the new "pink" Smoking Everywhere cigarette.
But unless and until the FDA rules otherwise, Smoking Everywhere remains on sale with no restrictions.
The FDA would not comment on its investigation, which is believed to focus on whether the e-cigarette should be classified as a "medical device."
Global Tobacco Control
•"[T]obacco is the only legally available consumer product which kills people when it is used entirely as intended,"
I smoke, and tobacco hasn't killed me. Antis can say all of that BS about "When you reach your golden years, tobacco will kill you then." As crazy as it is out here, I'm lucky to live for 30 years and counting. A lot of folks out here get murdered before they even reach 20 years of age. Neva mind the fact I've seen elderly folks smoking cigs numerous times.
Anybody can smoke tobacco for decades and still live a long life if they got a healthy diet.
I think ALCOHOL is the #1 legal consumer product that kills more. There are probably more people who get killed by drunk drivers per year than the numba of folks who die from smoking-related causes (if there are any of those latta deaths at all).
http://us.oneworld. net/article/ 358635-countries -meet-rein- big-tobacco
Four years ago, U.S. President George W. Bush signed the tobacco treaty, but he has yet to submit it to the Senate for ratification. In 2005, now-President- elect Barack Obama, along with 10 other U.S. senators, called on President Bush to send the treaty to the Senate for consideration. At that time Obama wrote, "The FCTC [Framework Convention on Tobacco Control] is a crucially important step for public health both globally and here at home. The treaty provides the tools needed to combat the damage inflicted by tobacco....The U.S. must seize this opportunity to show leadership in combating the global tobacco epidemic."
•"[T]obacco is the only legally available consumer product which kills people when it is used entirely as intended," according to the Oxford Medical Companion. It is the greatest preventable cause of death and disease in the world, claiming over 5 million lives every year, adds Corporate Accountability International, a corporate abuse watchdog group.
•The main forces driving the global consumption of tobacco are Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, and Japan Tobacco. The combined revenue of these transnational corporations exceeds the combined GDP of El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, Honduras, Jordan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Uganda. Each company is also known for marketing their products to children and using "their political influence to weaken, delay and defeat tobacco control legislation around the world," states Corporate Accountability.
COUNTRIES MEET TO LIMIT BIG TOBACCO'S INFLUENCE
INDUSTRY INTERFERENCE SEEN AS #1 OBSTACLE TO HEALTH TREATY'S ENFORCEMENT
From: Corporate Accountability International
DURBAN-Representati ves of 160 ratifying countries are meeting this week to negotiate guidelines for a provision in the global tobacco treaty that may determine whether millions get the health protections they are now guaranteed under the treaty.
The negotiations center on the implementation of Article 5.3, which protects the treaty and related public health policies from tobacco industry interference.
At stake this week is how narrowly or broadly these protections are defined. If defined broadly, ratifying countries will recognize the tobacco industry's fundamental conflict with public health, and reject collaboration with tobacco giants like Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT). If defined narrowly, Big Tobacco could continue to gain influence with governments, and demand a seat at the table when public health policies are being developed.
"Industry interference is the number one obstacle to the implementation and enforcement of the global tobacco treaty," said Kathy Mulvey, international policy director of Corporate Accountability International. "Article 5.3 is the lynchpin of the treaty, determining whether or not countries will be able to reverse this preventable epidemic without Big Tobacco standing in their way."
The global tobacco treaty, formally called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), took effect in 2005 and now protects more than 85 percent of the world's population. But efforts to implement the treaty are being systematically stymied by tobacco transnationals, reinforcing the importance of this week's third Conference of the Parties (COP) in Durban.
In Zambia, for example, BAT is developing a cozy relationship with the Minister of Local Government and Housing, who is responsible for enforcing a new ban on smoking in public places. The tobacco industry is trying a similar strategy in Kenya, courting the Minster of Local Government in an attempt to roll back protections against exposure to tobacco smoke.
In Colombia, another country that has recently ratified the global tobacco treaty, PMI and BAT are lobbying hard to preempt a new Health Ministry resolution on smokefree environments. PMI bought Colombia's largest tobacco corporation in 2005 shortly after a report found that seven was the average age people were beginning to smoke in the country's second largest city.
In the lead-up the resolution's taking effect, BAT launched a so-called "youth smoking prevention" campaign as activists were organizing a series of events to expose and challenge tobacco industry interference in public health policymaking.
And these are but a snapshot of tobacco industry interference globally.
"If we don't lay out clear terms now about the tobacco industry's fundamental conflict of interest when it comes to health policy making, it may cost us everything we have achieved through this treaty in turn," said Akinbode Oluwafemi of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth-Nigeria, a member of the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT). "We are dealing with an industry bent on protecting its profit interest at all human expense - an industry that has written the book on policy manipulation and interference. "
Corporate Accountability International, a non-governmental organization with observer status at the COP, and its allies in NATT believe that the following provisions of the draft Article 5.3 guidelines would help prevent abuses such as those highlighted in Zambia, Kenya and Colombia:
• Prohibiting government partnership or collaboration with the tobacco industry.
• Protecting against conflicts of interest for those involved in setting and implementing tobacco control policies.
Corporate Accountability and NATT are calling for the draft Article 5.3 guidelines to be strengthened, in order to:
• Avoid government interaction with the tobacco industry, and set strict rules of engagement for any meetings determined to be necessary.
• Ensure transparency around government interaction with the tobacco industry and around tobacco industry activities and operations.
• Emphasize the tobacco industry's fundamental conflict with public health.
Since negotiations on the global tobacco treaty began in 1999, Big Tobacco has used its political and economic influence in an attempt to undermine, delay and water down public health measures. Japan Tobacco, for example, is 50 percent owned by the Japanese government. The Japanese Ministry of Finance is heavily represented at treaty meetings, and Japan has often played an obstructionist role.
"We are optimistic that Parties will keep the interests of our children's health closer to their heart than those of tobacco transnationals, " said Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) Spokesperson Muyunda Ililonga, also of the Zambia Consumers Association. "But we know from experience that some will act from the pocket when the circumstance demands they act from the heart."
For background on tobacco industry interference in the global tobacco treaty download the 3rd edition of the Global Tobacco Treaty Action Guide, available in English, French and Spanish, visit: www.StopCorporateAb use.org.
The Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) includes more than 100 NGOs from over 50 countries working for a strong, enforceable Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Corporate Accountability International, formerly Infact, is a membership organization that protects people by waging and winning campaigns challenging irresponsible and dangerous corporate actions around the world. For 30 years, we've forced corporations- like Nestlé, General Electric and Philip Morris/Altria- to stop abusive actions. Corporate Accountability International, an NGO in Official Relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), played a key role in development of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
Iowa first lady caught smoking
Here's anotha Iowa-based article. What you gotta like about this one is how this journalist describes Iowa's first lady smoking in a prohibited vehicle as if she committed a late nite robbery or somethang.
Now the media is blowing up articles dealing with smokers getting caught. The media wants to make catching a smoker sound like they caught a most wanted person or somethang.
That Iowa first lady is brave for smoking in a prohibited vehicle. I'm sorry people saw her.
I'll be looking forward to a similar article in the future where a famous bro or sis is caught smoking....where the media will not only blow up the fact "He/she smokes!" but they will make a big deal outta catching a Black person smoking...like a bro or sis smoking period is "news" to begin with. LOL
Probably the most offensive antismoking billboard in the USA
Me saw the billboard pic. That pic is SO offensive, I wish I could scratch out the "tobacco" word in the ad and replace it with "antismokers" or "smoking bans."
I hope enough smoking activists in Iowa or the midwest could look into filing complaints (I guess with Iowa authorities) in order to get this bogus billboard taken down.
Promoting antismoking poisonanda is one thang. But (at least to me) the message in this billboard is going too far.
CLICK THIS for a link to the article....pic of the billboard itself is included within the article of course.
Smoking Ban sought at Lake County Parks, Beaches
Updated 11/18: Smoking ban sought at Lake County parks, beaches
By JOHN ROSZKOWSKIjroszkowski@pioneerlocal.com
Are public parks and beaches going to be the next places to go smoke free?
Lake County health officials and a group of local teens are urging local park districts and towns in the county to consider banning smoking in outdoor parks, playgrounds, beaches and other outdoor recreational facilities.
The Smoke Free Illinois Act, which took effect on Jan. 1, banned smoking in nearly all indoor public places, including bars, restaurants, casinos and workplaces.
But some park districts and towns have gone even further to extend bans to parks and other outdoor public places. Buffalo Grove Park District prohibits smoking in all of its outdoor park and recreational facilities.
Other villages including Deerfield, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Libertyville, Lindenhurst and Hawthorn Woods also have smoke-free ordinances in public parks. Highland Park, Lake Forest and Lake Bluff also prohibit smoking on beaches.
Local health officials hope that other park districts or towns will follow suit.
"Second-hand smoke is bad, whether it's inside or outside," said Barbara de Nekker, community health specialist for the health department's Tobacco Free Lake County program.
Kris Andersen, coordinator of the Tobacco Free Lake County program, said children congregate in public parks and playgrounds and they can be hurt by the effects of second-hand smoke.
Also, she said cigarette butts often are not properly disposed of and become a major source of litter in parks and beaches. De Nekker said cigarette butts and tobacco-related trash accounted for 44 percent of the debris found on Illinois beaches in 2005 according to the International Coastal Cleanup.
"It's a health issue and it's bad for the environment," said Andersen.
In early November, health department officials held a training meeting at the Libertyville Sports Complex for teens interested in working to create tobacco-free parks. Thirteen teens from the Lake County chapter of the Reality Illinois youth group attended the training session including students from Carmel, Vernon Hills, Zion-Benton and Stevenson high schools.
Grishma Pandya, a former Mundelein High School student and former Reality Illinois youth member who now attends Loyola University, said she has talked to the teens about ways to encourage park districts or communities to enact outdoor smoke-free policies or ordinances.
She said students will be picking up cigarette butts in parks, surveying residents about what they think about smoke-free parks, and talking to local park officials about the dangers of second-hand smoke.
Pandya, who worked to promote the county and state indoor smoking ban in 2007, thinks making parks smoke free makes sense. Pandya said the goal is not to infringe on smokers' rights to light up outside their homes or in their cars, but rather to restrict smoking in parks and outdoor public places where others can be exposed to smoke.
"A park is a place for children and the issue is second-hand smoke," she said.
Mike Rylko, executive director of the Buffalo Grove Park District, said the district adopted a policy in July 2005 prohibiting smoking on all park property, including athletic fields, playgrounds, pools and bleacher areas.
Rylko said there has been very good compliance with the ordinance from the public and they've received few negative comments about it, mostly from smoking rights groups outside the town.
"We've had a lot more positive feedback than negative on the whole ordinance," he said.
No cutback in cig, liquor, and lottery sales in IL
I see WBBM radio here in Chicago (780 AM) is reporting no cutbacks in cig, liquor, and lottery sales for the state of Illinois.
July 1st is when the new budget year began. And that was 4.5 months ago. That ain't a long time to examine a cutback on sales on anythang.
Actually, in the case of cig sales around here, I can't see sales getting worse. A pack is already too Fkin high in price. Maybe if the price goes up again, cig sales might see anotha cutback.
There are probably cutbacks by region. Like there are fewer people buying cigs legally in my area. But in Southern IL, sales are probably steady on cigs cause those smokers don't have to even worry about paying 6 bucks per pack.
12 reasons to KEEP smoking
There were so many Fked up lies on that list of 12 reasons to quit smoking, it'll make you puke.
(If you wanna view the list me is referring to, you can CLICK THIS.)
Lemme see if I can think of 12 reasons on why a smoker should neva quit (in no particular order-this is brainstormin)
1) Smoking helps you make new friends. Since people are out more often, they obviously run into fellow smokers a lot.
2) Smoking helps you eat less by curbing your appetite. This point benefits smoking chicks more. Since some chicks view cigs as weight loss tools. And it is true that if a lady who used to be slim while she smoked...she would gain a lotta weight back if she quits. Cause she would be eating more.
3) Smoking is a good alternative to eating junk food. I'd ratha smoke a menthol than to eat mint-flava'd candy.
4) Smoking helps prevent Alzheimers. My grandpa didn't get Alzheimers til he stopped smoking his nonfiltered Camels.
5) Smoking helps prevent you from getting certain diseases. I rememba reading this somewhere within the groups and the forums...I forgot where though.
6) Smoking helps you use money more wisely. Antis Btch about smokers wasting money on cigs. But hey, at least buying one carton per week is a he!!uva lot more cheapa than someone who wastes 100s of bucks in a smoke-fre casino per week. Call me when you actually win somethang, motha.
7) Smoking is more of a hobby. Not a habit.
8) Smoking plays a role in preventing lung cancer. Antis don't wanna believe this. But at least I don't make up sh!t as they do. Seems like most of the people who do get LC are eitha nonsmokers and ex-smokers who get it afta they quit. Makes you wonder if those ex's would've gotten LC at all if they kept on smoking.
9) Smoking relaxes your mind. When a smoker is peed off, stressed out, or basically has too much negative sh!t on his/her mind, what's the first thang the smoker does? Light up a cig. It ain't no lie smoking makes a good reliever for stress.
10) There are cig flavas that satisfy smokers of all ages and races. One beauty of smoking is there are various flavas to choose from if you prefa cigars. There's a flava for everyone almost. If you don't like one flava, find the one that's the best for you. There are different flavas for cigs too aside from menthols...although there's that talk of banning the different flavas for cigs.
11) Smoking makes men look handsome. This actually depends on the type of chick the man meets. Cause most of the ladies who called me handsome before were smokers themselves.
12) Smoking helps some enjoy alcoholic drinks more. I heard this point before about beer tasting betta when you drink it while smoking cigs.
There, that's MY list of 12 reasons to keep smoking.
Probably the most offensive antismoking billboard ...
No cutback in cig, liquor, and lottery sales in IL...
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PUC TRIUMPH CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL | PUC Schools Home Page
High School Profile (17-18)
AB 2246 – Youth Suicide Prevention Policy
Approved Course List (A-G)
Home > About > Notices > Transparency
PUC Triumph Charter High School is a charter public school governed by a nonprofit board of directors and overseen by the Los Angeles Unified School District. On January 12, 2016, the LAUSD board voted to approve a Board Resolution, “Keeping Parents Information: Charter Transparency” which was passed with the support of the LA charter community. The resolution highlighted commonly requested information and data that charter public schools share with parents through their charter petitions, School Accountability Report Cards, Local Education Agency Plans, Local Control Accountability Plans, Annual Audits, and other publicly available documents.
This commonly requested information is available from Pete Frias, Website Development & Social Media Manager, electronically or manually by parent request. Parents may request this information in English and any single primary language meeting the requirements of Sections 45400 through 45403 of the California Education Code. Please submit parent requests for translated information to Pete Frias at p.frias@pucschools.org.
Additional resources, which will be made available upon request include, but are not limited to, the following:
Field Act compliancy
Available play space/density
Teacher credential status
Chanda Smith Consent Decree compliance (including, but not limited to proper documentation displayed and made available to parents)
Staff pay scale (including, but not limited to teachers, administrators, clerical staff, custodial staff, aides, etc.)
Brown Act compliance
Food service/caloric content
Special Education services (including, but not limited to SELPA affiliation)
Special Education by type (high incident, low incident)
PUC Triumph Charter High School is part of the PUC family of schools.
PUC Triumph Charter High School | 13361 Glenoaks Boulevard, Sylmar, CA 91342 | Phone (818) 356-2795 x2400 | Fax (818) 979-6579
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'Baywatch' Star Priyanka Chopra Joins Chris Pratt In 'Cowboy Ninja Viking'
Chris Pratt has been attached to a Cowboy Ninja Viking movie since 2014, which is a long time to be waiting for a co-star. Granted, he had to wait that long for TV vet Michelle McLaren to be named director, too. Anyway, Pratt has now been joined by Baywatch villainess Priyanka Chopra in the Image Comics adaptation.
Based on the graphic novel by AJ Lieberman and illustrator Riley Rossmo, Cowboy Ninja Viking has one of those far-out ideas that should make it incredibly cinematic. It's also why Pratt has been on board as long as he has. The story follows an assassin with dissociative identity disorder who can manifest the abilities of a cowboy, ninja, or Viking depending on the skills he needs at the moment. Pretty cool. Chopra, who remains one of Bollywood's biggest stars while rising up the Hollywood ranks, would play psychologist Sara Nix, who could be a love interest to Pratt's character.
The most recent script is by Dan Mazeau (Wrath of the Titans) and Ryan Engle (Rampage), but the original was penned by Deadpool's Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Hopefully that doesn't mean some of the edge has been taken out of the screenplay. Cowboy Ninja Viking opens June 28th 2019. [Variety]
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OECD Tax Policy Reforms 2018: The key VAT changes worldwide
Elizabeth Wilson 5 October 2018 No comments
In September, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published its 2018 report on Tax Policy Reforms: OECD and Selected Partner Economies, summarising recent tax policy reforms in the 35 OECD members and in Argentina, Indonesia and South Africa.
The key VAT findings in the report, which are analysed in more detail below, are:
The OECD average standard VAT rate has stabilised over the last four last years.
VAT revenues have increased in the last 15 years in the majority of countries, now reaching record levels.
Many countries have broadened their VAT basis by increasing reduced VAT rates or by reducing their scope.
Administrative improvements and anti-fraud measures have been a central part of countries’ VAT reforms.
New measures are being introduced to collect VAT on the imports of low value goods.
Taxation of inbound digital services in-line with the OECD International VAT/GST Guidelines continues.
Standard VAT rates have stabilised
Many countries raised their standard VAT rates after the 2008 financial crisis, with the OECD average standard VAT rate increasing by 1.5 percentage points to 19.2% between 2008 and 2015.
Raising standard VAT rates was a common strategy for countries seeking to achieve fiscal consolidation in the wake of the crisis, as it provided immediate revenues without directly increasing competitiveness.
The report highlights that since 2015, standard VAT rates appear to have stabilised (the average standard VAT rate as at January 2018 is 19.2%). This is partly explained by improved fiscal positions in the surveyed countries, in addition to the historically high VAT rates reached in many of them having limited the potential for additional increases.
VAT revenues reach record levels
VAT revenues have increased in the majority of countries, with 27 recording increases in their VAT revenues as a share of GDP between 2000 and 2016.
Longer term trends show that VAT revenues have reached historically high levels in most countries. In 1975 VAT revenues accounted for less than 9% of total tax revenues on average in the OECD, but this figure is now 20%.
The report notes that a number of factors account for these higher revenues, including the gradual increase in VAT rates and the progressive substitution of specific consumption taxes with VAT in most countries.
Base Broadening has contributed to increased revenues
High VAT rates have led many countries to look for alternative ways of raising additional VAT revenues. Many countries have broadened their VAT bases by increasing reduced VAT rates or by scaling back their scope.
These reforms are broadly in line with OECD findings and recommendations: maintaining a broad VAT base through a limited use of reduced VAT rates minimises distortions and gives countries room to keep standard VAT rates at current levels or potentially lower them.
Administrative improvements and anti-fraud measures
Other policies commonly adopted in many of the countries, and which have formed a central part of their reforms, are administrative improvements and anti-fraud measures.
These measures, to enhance efficiency and collect greater VAT revenues, include:
(i) Increasing reporting obligations for taxpayers
These reforms reinforce taxpayers’ reporting obligations, such as the use of Standard Audit Files for Tax (SAF-T) and real-time data transfer to tax administrations.
SAF-T was developed by the OECD to enable the transfer of accounting data from companies to tax authorities in a standardised electronic format, to allow tax authorities to conduct more efficient tax inspections. Its adoption is slowly progressing, with five OECD countries currently using some form of SAF-T (Austria, France, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal).
Real-time VAT invoice reporting is also becoming increasingly popular, with Spain introducing a system for large taxpayers in July 2017, followed by Hungary and Italy in July 2018.
(ii) Alternative VAT collection mechanisms
These measures modify traditional tax collection systems to combat certain types of VAT fraud and include split payment and domestic reverse charge mechanisms, both of which imply major changes to the way VAT has traditionally been collected.
Split payment is increasingly being considered as an alternative VAT collection method in the fight against fraud. Under split payment mechanisms, the VAT charged by businesses on their supplies is not collected by the supplier as in the traditional method, but collected separately to ensure its payment to the tax authorities. Different split payment methods are being considered, or introduced, by a number of countries. In the UK, a consultation on a split payment system for online sales of goods has recently been carried out, proposing that the VAT collection is performed by payment service providers – further details are available in our recent blog article.
The domestic reverse charge mechanism is also increasingly being used in European countries to combat “missing trader fraud”, where fraudsters import goods free of VAT, charge VAT when selling the goods and then disappear before remitting the VAT to the government. Under this mechanism, the customer is liable to collect the tax on domestic supplies, instead of the supplier. Greece has recently adopted, and Latvia extended, the reverse charge mechanism to cover certain supplies, and in June 2018 the UK held a consultation on draft legislation for a VAT domestic reverse charge on certain construction services, as detailed in our blog article.
(iii) Extending VAT accountability to other entities in the value chain
Countries generally expect these measures to bring in significant additional tax revenues.
Our recent blog article looked at the introduction of measures in the UK to extend VAT accountability to online marketplaces in an effort to combat VAT fraud in online sales. HMRC can now hold online marketplaces “jointly and severally” liable for any future unpaid VAT by a domestic or foreign seller on their platforms.
In addition, HMRC has called on online marketplaces to sign an agreement to assist them in tackling fraud through educating online sellers on their VAT obligations in the UK, as well as providing information to HMRC on sellers using their platform when requested.
The introduction of new measures to collect VAT on the import of low value goods
Another tax reform highlighted in the OECD report is the introduction of new measures to collect VAT on the import of low-value goods.
Most countries provide VAT relief regimes for low-value imports, however with the growth of online sales in recent years, there has been a significant and rapid increase in the volume of low value imports of physical goods on which VAT is not collected. In addition to potentially material amounts of uncollected VAT revenue, this has resulted in unfair competition for domestic retailers who are required to charge VAT on their sales to domestic consumers.
Australia was the first country to address this in July 2018 by repealing its goods and service tax (GST) relief for imports of goods with a value of AUD 1,000 or less supplied by foreign vendors to Australian final consumers, as detailed in our recent white paper.
Switzerland is also seeking to level the playing field between domestic retailers and foreign (online) suppliers selling low value goods to Swiss customers. Currently VAT on imports is only levied if the VAT amount exceeds CHF 5 i.e. where the value of goods is over CHF 200 (taxable at 2.5%) or CHF 65 (taxable at 7.7%). However, under new legislation effective from January 2019, foreign retailers must charge Swiss VAT to their Swiss customers once a turnover limit of CHF 100,000 per year has been reached on consignments of low value goods.
Progress on taxation of inbound digital services continues.
Finally, the OECD report notes continuing progress on the implementation of the OECD International VAT/GST Guidelines with respect to the effective collection of VAT on B2C (business to consumer) supplies of services and intangibles, including digital supplies, by foreign suppliers.
The guidelines recommend:
that the right to tax these supplies for VAT purposes be allocated to the country where the customer has its usual residence; and,
the foreign suppliers of these services and intangibles register and remit VAT in the country of the customer’s usual residence.
The guidelines also recommend the implementation of a simplified registration and compliance regime to facilitate compliance for foreign suppliers.
Argentina, South Africa and Turkey are among the surveyed countries that have recently introduced changes to ensure or enhance the taxation of inbound digital services.
The OECD report highlights a significant number of changes being made in the field of VAT around the world, many of them affecting businesses in the e-commerce sector. Please get in touch for further information if there are any aspects of the report that could have an impact on your business.
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Pouring in: Donations for ALS drug
By Courteney Stuart | stuart@readthehook.com
Published online Thursday Mar 17th, 2005
and in print issue #0411 dated Thursday Mar 17th, 2005
252">
The HooK: NEWS- Pouring in: Donations for ALS drug
>> classifieds >> personals >> advertise >> contacts >> faq >> archives
Rules / Send one now!
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Less than three weeks after a Hook cover story, "She's Dying: His Drug Could Save Her," calls and emails from around the nation have begun pouring in to the office of UVA neurologist James Bennett.
Bennett wants to continue his intriguing clinical trial for a drug to treat ALS, a fatal malady commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Although the first phase of the study ended in November, Bennett recently won "conditional approval" from UVA to move forward. But he needs about $200,000– and quickly.
"What the heck," writes Noor Q. Haq, a 60-year-old Saratoga, California resident who read the Hook's February 24 cover story online. "Get me in touch with Dr. James Bennett," writes Haq, diagnosed with ALS last year, "and I will try to raise this money through a fundraiser."
Other ALS sufferers and their families are trying to raise money in Indiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, as well as here in Virginia. Bennett says he's heard from people as far away as Germany.
"I now have a collection of the most heartbreaking emails any individual has ever read," says Bennett. On the other hand, he says, "It's heartwarming that people who are complete strangers have offered to raise money for this."
Bennett says he's received several small donations, but still needs to raise most of the $200,000 to pay for enough of the drug to treat 40 patients for six months and to hire a fulltime study coordinator.
Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 800394, Charlottesville, VA 22908. Checks should be made out to University of Virginia: Dr. Bennett Research.
The Hook's February 24 cover story.
100 2nd st nw . charlottesville va 22902 . 434.295.8700 . fax 434.295.8097 >> buy HooK schwag
Contents © Copyright in the year of its publication.
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[29] Juan Mata on why he signed his new contract
Thread: [29] Juan Mata on why he signed his new contract
“There were many things, the first thing is the feeling of belonging to this club, I think is something special, unique. We know in the football world there are 3, 4 big clubs in the world and United is one of them. And despite we have not been living some of the best moments in our history, that feeling of waking up every day and feeling like a Red Devil is unbelievable and I wanted to keep feeling that, I wanted to stay, and bering Utd back to where they belong because I have been here 5 years and I realise how amazing United supporters are, especially in the tough moments, and I cannot imagine if we win a big trophy how it could be, how the town will change red and I imagine myself in that situation. I’m really looking forward to create great moments in this club. To keep enjoying wearing this shirt and trying my best.”
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Posts tagged 1990’s
30 Days Of Gaming – Game 1 : Dick Tracy (Sega Mega Drive)
Dateline : 1st November 2011
Wandering through the criminal underground armed only with a dodgy looking yellow mac and Madonna for company, RetroBear tackles the more seedy people in society as he takes the role of Dick Tracy. Will he be a hard Dick or a limp Dick ? Only one way to find out…..
How many Dick jokes will this review contain ?
There have been many great detectives over the years : Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Inspector Morse, Lovejoy (OK well that last one is pushing it a bit but he didn’t just deal in antiques you know), but Dick Tracy is a name that probably wouldn’t make it into most people’s Top 10. Largely confined to American comic strips and animated TV series, the first real wind we got of Dick Tracy was in the blockbuster film of the same name starring Warren Beatty, Al Pacino and Madonna.
1990's, Buying, Game Rage, Megadrive, Retro Memories, Review, Sega
Oct 31st
Hear ye, hear ye. Guess who’s been off on one of his sabbaticals again ?…
Thanks Maz, it's good to be back....
I made a promise a few months ago to keep coming back and posting stuff on a regular basis. Shortly after that I decided to do a piece on Football Manager and that’s pretty much where I have been since. Yep I dug out FM 2055 and have spent a lot of my spare time playing that.
Therefore I am devoting some of my run time each day to sit down and play one game for each day in November. It could be any format or any genre (not football management as I have had enough of that for now) but that’s my aim. I’ll post my thoughts on here when I have played the game and let you know how I get on, and also anything else that springs to mind.
So RetroSection still lives, it’s just the Retrobear needs to sort himself out a bit better in the future…..
1980's, 1990's, 2000's, Amiga 1200, Amiga 500, Arcade Conversions, Atari VCS, Commodore C64, Game Gear, Gameboy Advance (GBA), Gamecube, Megadrive, Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Review, Sega, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Saturn, SNES, XBOX
RetroReview : Top Gear Top Retro
Sunday nights are not the same without spending an hour in the company of Clarkson, May and Hammond. No they aren’t my solicitors but the presenters of BBC car-fest Top Gear. The series is once again off air but they recently posted to their website 10 retro driving games that they felt were the best. Retrobear loves a challenge and in true Top Gear fashion he picks 10 other games worth taking round the test track….
Vroooooooooooooooom
If you’re a fan, like me, of Top Gear then you might be pleased to see a list appear on their website. Finally after years of not discussing the notion of driving games against real driving (other than to say it doesn’t compare), this week a Top Gear Retro Computer Driving Game list appeared. Now you can see for yourselves what Clarkson, Hammond and May rate as the best games ever made for retro computers, although it might not actually be them and may be one of the website staff writers. Anyway if you are interested here is the link : http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/retro-games-2011-08-09
1980's, 1990's, Amiga 500, Arcade Conversions, Atari VCS, Commodore C64, Megadrive, Playstation 1, Retro Memories, Review, Sega, Top Tens
RetroReview : Views From The Dugout
No amount of shouting, gesticulation, pointing, waving arms around and wearing a 3/4 length sheepskin coat has any affect on the outcomes of a football management game. Just don’t tell RetroBear that, especially as he wears a suit when playing……yes, it’s the wacky world of PC footie management games.
You. The stadium. The fans. The players. And the balls - you definately need balls
Way, way back when I was still making my way through the educational minefield (College) I happened to stumble across a game which through one form or another would stay with me for the next 13 years. Other things I have picked up and either dropped or gone back to and wished I hadn’t, but there was something about this one game. I just couldn’t get enough of it no matter how hard I tried. It would come back to batter me senseless at university where it was a toss up between “extra reading” or playing this game. My degree (3rd Class) indicates what won my heart.
1980's, 1990's, 2000's, Amiga 500, Game Rage, Retro Memories, Review, Sega, XBOX
Commodorathon : Games 25-30
Posted by RetroBear in Commodorathon
Has RetroBear bitten off more than he can chew ? Can he stomach yet more dodgy arcade conversions, twee tunes and multiloads ? What lurks in that large pile of tapes that needs loading ? Wouldn’t it have been easier to use an emulator ? Would he have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those meddling kids ? No dammit he’s a retro gamer and playing games the old fashioned way is what retro gamers do. Either that or he’s a glutton for punishment….roll on games 25-30…..
PS Videos to follow again – they take a while to encode you know…
I could do with a large pile of these....
1980's, 1990's, Arcade Conversions, Commodore C64, Retro Memories, Sega
Call Me Ishmael – RetroBear tackles his Moby Dick
One man. One machine. Over 400 games. Retrobear is on a quest to play every single Commodore 64 game in his collection, without prejudice. That is not going to be an easy task.
The only rules are as follows :
All games in the collection must be played – no exceptions no matter how bad a game’s reputation
A minimum of 3 games per post will be reviewed
Where possible the games will be compared to the coin-op original
I must keep the faith
C64 Goodness
This week got me thinking as to what to do next with the site. Whilst posting comments on various systems and bits of gaming history is all well and good, what I feel is lacking most is actually playing the damn games and reviewing them. The problem with that is where to start ? I mean it’s not as if I have a small amount of games to be going along with that would take a short period of time to cover.
1980's, 1990's, Car Boot, Charity Shops, Commodore C64, Game Rage, Movie Games, Retro Memories, Review
Retro Reviews : The Nintendo Game Boy
This time Retrobear embarks on a journey of tiny screens, funny shaped and coloured moulded plastics, sore fingers and a gem of a machine. It’s the juggernaut of the handheld world, the Nintendo Game Boy.
Truly a robot in disguise - the original Game Boy with Handy Boy attachment - providing additional light and stereo sound
Ahhhh the Nintendo Game Boy and it’s family of smaller more portable sequels that completely and utterly dominated that sector of the market. Never mind fighting the console wars on the 16 bit front, Oh no, Nintendo had a much bigger trick up it’s sleeve. The launch of the Game Boy in 1989 gave it an almost unrivalled position as King Of The Mini Micros. That’s not to say that there wasn’t any competition – there was and many firms tried their best to wrest the stranglehold that Nintendo had, but all failed.
1980's, 1990's, Car Boot, Donkey Kong, Game Gear, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance (GBA), Handheld Console, Mario, Megadrive, Nintendo, Retro Memories, Review
Retro Review – An A-Z Through My Collection
Mar 23rd
Michael Jackson once sang that ABC was easy as 123. If only he knew what that meant at the time. This week, Retrobear has a walk through his collection, stopping off at letters D, F and Q as well as the other 23 in the alphabet. Sesame Street this isn’t and any comparisons to Muppets will be frowned upon….
An every day occurence for Retrobear - the endless struggle against the simple things in life
Its quite often hard to pick a favourite computer or console, let alone a favourite game from my collection of retro goodies. Quite frankly I would think about hurting the feelings of the ones I neglected and the amount of hours (or in The Running Man on the C64’s case, minutes) we had together, getting to know one another and the sheer joy that we gave to one another during those few stolen moments. OK, that is sounding a bit sick so I shall move on.
1980's, 1990's, Amiga 1200, Amiga 500, Atari VCS, Car Boot, Commodore C64, Gamecube, Megadrive, Nintendo 64, Playstation 1, Retro Memories, Sega, Sega Saturn, SNES, Top Tens, XBOX
Top Movie Games Part 2: The 90’s
Posted by RetroBear in GameFancier Blogs 2010
Were the 1990s responsible for the truism that there’s never been a decent game based on a movie (or film as us Brits prefer to say). There certainly wasn’t that many great examples, but the Retrobear has dug through them to pull out the best and the worst. Enjoy.
Originally Posted to GameFancier.com on July 23rd 2010
Hudson Hawk (Amiga Screen)
By the 1990′s film companies had begun to see the appeal in licensing their titles and making computer games based on them. They also saw the bottom line readies that could be made from it and thus we entered a period where most of the major film titles of that decade were turned into game equivalents. Matter not that most of them were total shit, think of the money! The computer industry had been whoring itself before, prior to the 1983 crash, now it was the film industry that was turning tricks to maximise profits. More >
1990's, GameFancier Blogs, Movie Games
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Properity, prosperity, prosperity!
How can i miss this one in a lifetime opportunity to not blog at all? Haha. Maybe my cyber-luck will change after this post? :P
Happy Prosperity Birthday to Med-Nick!
Have fun watching the opening of the Beijing 2008 Olympics everyone!
(P/S: Imagine how it's like if suddenly Brunei got blackout at 8.00 pm! Spoiler eh?)
In Him
Birthday friends random
APL*ITUNES 866-712-7753 on your bank statement? YOU HAVE BEEN SCAMMED.
[Update 17Jan2018] - Wow. To think that 8 years later, this scam is still going on as I'm still getting the odd notifications every now and then with comments on this post. TLDR: If you guys stumble upon this random site because of the APL*ITUNES 866-71-2-7753 charge on your credit/debit card, call your bank immediately and report it as a fraud.
If you have an iTunes account and have any bank cards associated with it, you might wanna beware. I normally check my bank accounts every now and then just to be sure that there's nothing fishy going on in there and of course at the same time, just like many of you *secretly* hoping that someone might accidentally transfer $1 million to my account as well. I've had a few cases of credit card frauds happening and so far, banks have been very cooperative with disputing transactions and issuing me a new card (especially my local bank, SCB Brunei. Well done!).
So today, i checked one of my overseas bank account and found out that i…
SAS Diamond Jubilee - 60 Years Anniversary in Brunei: Meeting His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah.
Still somewhat on a high over last night's event. My former school, St Andrew's School celebrated their 60 years anniversary in Brunei. It's quite a milestone especially for a private school in Brunei that started with only 70 students at a church.
And what made the event even more special was the fact that we got the opportunity to take a class photo with the His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince and Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah who was our classmate for a good six years during our times at St Andrew's School. How about it happened is definitely something worth mentioning.
I think I can safely assume all of us weren't actually planning on attending the event. I feel it's been 14 years since we left school, it's still somewhat too 'early' for any form of reunion. Plus, I still see a few of my classmates and teachers around and have many of them on social media so it doesn't really feel like we've actually lost touch. At least that's…
"You have a lucky face" / "You are lucky" scam.
Re-posting this from my status update on Facebook which I shared the other day on a rather unique encounter.
On my way to my car after work today (while doing my Pokestop runs) an Indian fella stopped me on my track and said "You're very lucky. You have 3 lines on your forehead I can see that is luck". That obviously stopped me for a bit as he approached me and said "You wanna know how I know? I can tell people's fortune. You wanna know your fortune?" Curious me nodded yes while my brain let out a big sigh and told me "That's it, you're gonna fall for this somehow." This "fortune teller" proceeds to make small talks about how I'm happy but I'm only 40% happy while scribbling on his notepad discreetly. He then crumpled up the paper and made me hold it in my first and said "What I wrote in there, you don't know right?" (cues my no shit, Sherlock! moment) Then he started asking me to pick a number between 1 to…
It's like déjà-vu all over again!
Dream big!
Mana kita?
Ronald "J.P" Cheng
An introduction...
Tweet me @ronckk
Tweets by @ronckk
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music services | 15 Apr 2019
After OTT, music streaming gains momentum in India
MUMBAI: With nearly 450 million smartphones powered by the cheapest data packs, the online music streaming industry in India is witnessing a phenomenal growth like over-the-top (OTT) video streaming...
YouTube Music crosses three million mark within...
MUMBAI: On its 11th anniversary in India, YouTube launched its music app in the country. And the response has been phenomenal as within a weekÆs time of launch, the app was downloaded by three...
First song of newly launched Maati Music on...
R K Arora, Ex CEO of Zee Media and founder, CEO of Divija Media launched Maati Music - a music production division of Divija Media Services Pvt Ltd. The music division aims to provide a platform to...
Spotify develops maiden India campaign
MUMBAI: After one and a half year of back and forth, Sweden music streaming company and global giant Spotify entered India with a big splash last month. Right from the beginning, Spotify is...
Queen of April Fools' Aria by Amadeus Code
MUMBAI: æA lost Mozart composition found in a time capsule in Tokyo!Æ An obvious joke of course, but perhaps the fact that AI can create new music based on MozartÆs composition style sounds like a...
Gaana powers seamless music streaming experience...
MUMBAI: Popular Indian music streaming app, Gaana will now power the in-vehicle infotainment system of UK-based carmaker MG MotorsÆ upcoming, Hector SUV.
The landscape of music streaming apps in India
MUMBAI: In the recent development, Eros Now has signed a deal with Apple Inc to become partners for consolidated services with music being one of the prime features. Flaunting to become the only...
MY FM hires DDB Mudra North as their new creative agency
Rightscorp renews representation agreement with the Royalty Network to monitor copyrights for monetisation
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What is important, a case study, The Birney Car
Randy Hees
Post subject: What is important, a case study, The Birney Car
Location: Henderson Nevada
In the sprit of preservation discussion, I offer the following:
A Birney is the elemental 1920’s American street car. As such it was not particularly a success, and the last cars operated in the very early 1950’s, with most lost long before the beginning of the streetcar preservation movement which arguably started in 1939.
While Birneys are common in museum and heritage railroad collections, most were previously scrapped, and as a result many preserved Birney’s are chicken coops, bodies which at some point were scrapped but have now been saved and returned to service with new trucks, motors and airbrake equipment.
As a student of railroad technology history, I see several features include within the Birney program as significant, including the truck design, but more so, the brake valve, which, by including the brakes and doors in a single valve, along with more common dead man controls on the controller, defined the “Safety Car”
Most if not all of the restored bodies don’t use the safety brake valve. Some cars use cobbled together trucks which may not be related to the original Birney trucks. These now operational cars lack the defining characteristics.
Where as preservationist do we draw the line… Are the new “non safety” safety cars preservation or some other thing, like “heritage cars”
Is heritage different than historic, and where is the line… Is a Birney defined by the way it is equipped as it would have been in 1920, or by the car body and its architecture as most museums do today.
Director, Nevada State Railroad Museum, Boulder City, Nevada
http://museums.nevadaculture.org/nsrmbc
http://www.nevadasouthern.com/
https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfNevadaSouthernRailway
Post subject: Re: What is important, a case study, The Birney Car
Location: southeastern USA
As a veteran of several chicken coops I can attest to a desire on the part of almost everybody I know in the business to want to use the best equipment possible - but a sense of frustration that all they have to choose from is what is available. Make enough new replica trucks, brake valves, etc at cost similar to what is available, and they will be used gratefully.
The majority of the visitors don't really care, however - they want to experience the reality of a streetcar ride just like Grandpa did on his way to work every morning. Grandpa probably didn't really care what brake valve was on the car he rode either, he just wanted to get there quickly, cheaply, and reliably.
So what is important to creating the experience for our visitors?
Personally, I'd trade off a lot of rivet-counter type concerns for the ability to provide the experience in a rich, robust and visceral form, and am much more interested in providing a better context for the experience than in technical details. A city car running down a weed grown museum track out Back of Burke somewhere with the correct brake valve doesn't demonstrate as much about the reality of city streetcars as a city car with the wrong brake valve actually carrying commuters along with tourists down busy city streets. If we can populate those streets with Model T Fords, period storefronts, the sound of ragtime in the background, even better.........think like movie producers, not technical historians. If you produce and market well, you will reap the resources to hire all us technical historians you need to tell you exactly what you are doing wrong.
BTW, Birney cars came in more than one flavor and configuration, but I get the point here Randy.
Santayana: "He who does not remember the past is condemned to repeat it."
Corollary: "He who does is doomed to watch those who don't repeat it anyway."
Bob Kutella
I think that anyone seriously interested in PRESERVATION dreams of that one project in their lifetime when a car or locomotive can be restored to mint factory new condition. To get right down to it, that is probably impossible for any number of reasons, so when are compromises acceptable? Probably every project and group has to make those decisions for themselves.
Playing the devils advocate a bit, is not it better to get a car alive and operable again? Most of this equipment was modified and changed many times over its service career. Is not a museum 'fix up' just one more evolutionary step along its life?
Bob Kutella, not ashamed to be a rivet counter, but liking the discussion
I think the term "reconstruction" should apply to the scenario you describe here.
Colonial Williamsburg makes this distinction when interpreting the status of its historic buildings. The original, standing buildings were restored. Buildings that are new construction on a minimal foundation, such as the Courthouse and Governor's Palace. are classified as reconstructed.
Given the minimal amount of original fabric in some of the Birney projects, as well as other cars and locomotives (PRR 1361?), I think the reconstruction label is appropriate. I think the term also more accurately describe the efforts required for these efforts.
Robin Warren
To operate or to be stuffed, that is the question. To operate you must comply with the rules/laws/etc as they exist today. To be stuffed then you can configure for a condition "as built". Case in point: I am the caretaker for a National Historic Site. The lodge has been restored into original condition except for plumbing, wiring and now must comply with the ADA rules for the bathroom. This will require wider entrance doors to the bathroom and one stall wider than others. We are in the process of figuring out how to retain the original entrance doors and still comply. It is all a matter of give and take.
Frank Hicks
Location: Union, IL
Randy Hees wrote:
As others have alluded to, I guess it depends on what you're trying to depict. If your intent is to specifically depict a Safety Car, then yes, you would have to put the original equipment back on the car. But if your intent is to depict simply an operational Streetcar, then the safety equipment may not be necessary.
There are many restored electric car bodies out there that are operating with inauthentic equipment. Peninsular 52 at WRM was built with four motors and was designed to pull trailers, but it was restored from a body with two motors and no functioning couplers. I would argue, though, that it still has a great deal of value depicting interurban cars, even if the details aren't quite the same as what it had when built. I would also argue that this is indeed a restoration, rather than a reconstruction - practically every restoration involves some replacement of original material, even if it's only paint, and my personal opinion is that this doesn't cross that particular line. And if we consider it to still be the same car (Peninsular car 52, as opposed to Western Railway Museum car 52) despite real differences in its mechanical equipment, wouldn't a Birney still be a Birney even with a different brake valve? Just my two cents...
Preserved North American Electric Railway Equipment News
Hicks Car Works
Les Beckman
Post subject: Re: What's important, a case study, the Birney Car & his
Dave -
I think you hit the nail right on the head! I have often thought that what streetcar museums should do is to give riders a "ride through transit history." Put these riders in a Birney and have them meet in the first block, a horse car coming toward them on the adjacent track from a route in its final days. A turn at the corner and here comes a scene from the 1920's with an approaching car from that era. Another turn at the next corner and here comes a PCC car and the 1940's. And finally, another turn at the corner and here comes a bus or trolley bus, which will be completely replacing the streetcars in a few days. The "four turns" can be accomplished in a relatively small amount of space. And in addition to the street cars coming by, the scenery changes too. A vaudeville theater becomes a silent movie theater then an art deco movie house and then closed a/c television. Likewise, a stable becomes a gasoline station then a service station and then a mini mart. You get the idea. The buildings can be what is done on movie sets (facades only) to keep down the cost. And the entire museum does not have to be this "4 block history story" but at the corners, lines can radiate elsewhere on the property for other "regular" rides, with the cars "on stage" meeting the Birney, going elsewhere at other times. The question; could it/should it, be done?
Could, yes - there was a recent post from a gent who was affiliated with the Cincinatti history museum, who have a wonder ful exhibit that takes you from a display of new old machine tools through an inocous door onto a city street at night in 1870 or thereabouts. Gas lights, coblestone streets, brick storefronts, and a steamboat to board down at the landing at the end of the street. It is like a time machine. Sure, it is a small area, and could be improved with appropriate smells, noise, and activity, but the impact for the visitor is very impressive.
Line your trolley route with a series of Potemkin villages to reflect different eras - wonderful!
Location: Cumberland, Maryland
I don't care for the term reconstruction very much, but I do follow Wesley's reasoning. To rebuild on the original foundation would be to reconstruct.
A street car body is not a foundation however. It is the major part, to which all associated parts are attached. If the car body survives, it is my opinion that the car survives, it can then be restored to its former appearance with the attachment of the missing parts. Admittedly, many of the parts are sometimes not available. But when have you ever "finished" a restoration? There always seems to be something that will finish a project that is left to the future. Maybe all of our projects should be labeled "restorations in progress."
Hopefully the docents at your museum can explain to the visitors who ride on a restored service car what it takes to give them the experience. Recruitment of future restoration workers might even pick up. We could all benefit from that.
Randolph R. Ruiz
I think that a distinct set of categories need to be established for the treatment of historic railroad equipment. We all agree that the treatment standards for traditional museum artifacts are not appropriate for operating historic equipment. These categories could be developed by ARM and included in future editions of their recommended practices.
Williamsburg was mentioned before in reference to the differences between preservation vs. reconstruction. The world of architectural preservation actually relies upon four different treatment strategies that have been recommended by the Secretary of the Interior. Buildings are expected to last for a long time, but are also required to do so in a manner that is safe for the people that use them. As codes change, buildings are modified over time to reflect current codes that are intended to protect people's lives. Also, as buildings are generally located outdoors (duh), it is expected that they will require maintenance that will result in the destruction and replacement building components. In other words, there are reasonable approaches that allow buildings to be maintained and protected.
The following is from memory, so please forgive me if I get something wrong.
Decay and structural problems are addressed to conserve the building in its present state towards the aim of preserving all of its fabric as-is.
This treatment removes or reconstructs portions of a building in an effort to re-create the appearance of the structure during its period of historic significance (Period of Significance). Restoration work is supposed to be based upon documentation and not speculation. Contemporary construction technologies are allowed as long as a reasonable effort is made to accurately represent the historic details and materials. For instance, double-glazed windows can be appropriate if the frames reproduce the details and appearance of the originals.
Rehabilitation - (correction)
More severe changes to the historic fabric can be introduced when the building must be adapted to a new purpose and to meet current codes such as the ADA -although many states have laws that limit the effects of current laws on recognized historic structures. Renovation work should be designed to limit its impact on the historic fabric, and when possible should be made reversible, but can include moving interior walls, installing modern HVAC systems, improving accessibility, and structural retrofits.
This is the last resort and should only be undertaken when the existing building is too far gone, or there is sufficient evidence to design a reasonable facsimile of a no longer extant historic building. As a new building, a reconstruction is subject to all current building codes.
I believe that new categories similar to these could be developed for the treatment of historic railroad equipment.
Needless to say, these approaches should be applied to the treatment of preserved railroad architecture such as depots and maintenance facilities. Choosing the appropriate treatment comes from undertaking a preservation planning process similar to the process Brother Hees brought up in a recent thread.
I am currently involved in a depot reconstruction project here in California.
Last edited by Randolph R. Ruiz on Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
Post subject: Secretary of Interior Standards
I realized I needed to add something to my previous post. It slipped my mind at the time, but I believe that technically, the Secretary of Interior Standards for the Treatment of Historic Structures (referred to in my previous post) applies to railway equipment as well. There are several categories of things that the NPS and the Department of Interior have developed standards for. A piece of railway equipment is considered a Structure in the same category as a historic building. The other categories are Objects, Landscapes, and Districts.
I still believe that some work needs to be done to both adapt the Sec. of Int. Stds. to railway preservation, and to disseminate that information within our movement. For those of you that do not know, the Sec. of Int. Stds. describe the established approaches for all preservation and preservation planning for buildings, districts, and landscapes that involve any state or federal funding. These standards are very much applicable to railway preservation. More information can be found at the NPS website Here.
In a related matter, how many of you out there have experience with nominating railway equipment to the National Register of Historic Places?
Post subject: Re: Secretary of Interior Standards
The SPCRR has a "Restoration Guidelines" based on the Secretary of the Interior's standards...
Our Restoration Philosophy and guidelines are under development. They began as a set of notes for a presentation at the ARM convention in Riverside California. Since then they have been edited and enlarged. They consist of five parts, a Restoration Philosophy, a set of Restoration Guidelines to be considered during the course of a restoration, to guide the many decisions which must be made, and our Restoration Process, a discussion of the phases which any restoration goes through. This philosophy and guidelines statement has not been formally adopted by the SPCRR but an earlier version has been posted to the group’s web site. Additionally there is a discussion of the Secretary of the Interiors Guidelines for Historic Rehabilitation, and a list of Terms used.
The Association of Railroad Museums (ARM) call out the need for restoration planning and documentation within their Recommended Practices as:
Preservation and conservation practices are codified in a written document that provides guidelines for making responsible preservation, conservation, and restoration decisions for each of the museum's collections. These guidelines provide for:
a. Object condition reports
b. Procedures to provide short, medium, or long-term stabilization and storage
c. An evaluation and justification for the level of each object's use for display, operation, etc.
d. A comprehensive restoration plan, developed prior to the initiation of restoration work, that addresses:
i. The extent of restoration proposed for each object, and scope/amount of alterations from present condition that would be necessary
ii. Proposed appearance/time period of restoration, including supporting historical and interpretive justification
iii. Use, conservation, preservation, or replacement of original fabric
iv. Degree of historical accuracy to be achieved
e. Use of original versus replica material or objects
f. Documentation procedures, including photographs and written notes of all aspects of work performed
g. Funding sources and cost estimates
The ARM recommended practices may be found at:
http://www.railwaymuseums.org/Practices.htm
The SPCRR Restoration Philosophy
Our restoration philosophy consists of a series of statements.
1. We are preservation organization, and preserving the artifact comes ahead of all else.
2. The process of restoration is as important as the product
a. Restoration can be interpretation.
b. Restoration can be research.
c. Preserving skills and knowledge used to produce the artifact is as important as preserving artifacts.
d. Restoration is not a stand alone activity.
e. We learn from the restoration process.
3. All restoration decisions are based on research. All restorations must be fully
documented. Each restoration will be documented in a Restoration Report. Significant material removed during the restoration will be retained, cataloged and preserved in the organizations archives.
4. Equipment is restored to operate if possible, but we may choose not to.
5. All members must understand that a policy exists.
Restoration Guidelines.
The following are questions we need to ask, and concepts which we need to use. (But they are not by themselves our Restoration Philosophy)
1. We try to understand the statement, “Do it like the Railroad did it”, and its corollary, “You can't do it like the Railroad, they already scrapped it!”
2. We try to understand and discuss as options, the meaning of the four curatorial R's, repair, restoration, rebuilding, replication along with the non-R, conservation. (for additional discussion and definition of these terms see the last section of this document, under Terms)
3. We try to not just copy, but instead understand the device, part or finish.
4. All car work should be based on an identified target year for the restoration. Railroad cars are complex technological artifacts which changed over the years with use and repair. From this we will make decisions including;
a. The pre-restoration report will include a target date, including a discussion of options, and a fact based discussion of each and information to justify the decision.
b. You do not have to take it back all the way to its as built appearance, nor do you have to restore it as it currently appears. You may choose an interim date. It is possible that you will chose to preserve a car as a building or other non railroad use.
b. You will chose to removing updates or replace newer parts with older based on these decisions.
c. Restoration target decisions may not be rational.
d. Remember to let the artifact be what it wants to be.
6. Now that you have restored it what are you going to do with it?
a. Use controls. (limits on use to preserve the artifact)
b. The interpretive message(s) What story to we want to tell (This never stops changing.)
c. The research never ends.
7. Conserving texture.
a. Remember that restoration will erase texture.
b. Consider heroic efforts to preserve original material including epoxy or other materials to consolidate original parts or finishes. Consider preserving old parts separately from the car, either in the archival storage area or as a display to be presented as an interpretive presentation.
c. When researching original finishes remember that if the research or restoration
consumes the sample (as in sanding through layers of paint) you should always
preserve samples of the original material in its original state for future
researchers to consume using better research techniques.
8. When replacing missing parts, components, or finishes we try to (in order
of preference.)
a. Locate and reinstall or at least preserve the original.
b. Identify missing original details and accurately replicate them.
c. If the original can not be specifically identified, then base the replacement on similar parts or finishes, used on objects with similar history of origin, and use.
d. Use a functional, appropriate contemporary part or finish.
e. Consider a “stand in” or “make do” part as a temporary expedient
f. Be prepared to replace the “make do” part when research suggests a better alternative.
9. Documentation. When restoring, or considering restoring an object we must keep detailed records of the process including work done, decisions made, a restoration log, along with supporting documentation. The standards for documentation are included as an appendix in this document.
Restoration Process
For any of our cars there are typically a series of phases a car goes through as it is restored. These phases are not clear cut, and may occur simultaneously:
Phase 1, Acquisition, transport and stabilization.
This is typically expensive, particularly the transportation. Stabilization varies greatly from car to car, and can include tarps, blocking, sealing openings, cleaning, or treatment with anti fungal agents.
Phase 2, Research and documentation
Frequently the least expensive, and in reality a phase that never ends. Tasks include paint sampling, photo documentation, Drawings, and historic research.
Phase 3, Restoration planning, Budgeting
Usually a part of phase 2 above. This phase is frequently revisited as the car progresses.
Phase 4, Disassembly
This phase includes paint removal, removal of later modifications, removal of deteriorated material, but also disassembly of portions of the car which we will later reassemble and/or install as part of the finished car.
Phase 5, Restoration
The process of remaking parts, and reassembling the car. Phases 4 and 5 frequently take place either simultaneously, or cyclically.
At some point late in phase 5, we have an artifact which can be operated, displayed, and may appear to be complete. It can be difficult to determine where phase 5 ends and phase 6 begins.
Phase 6, Project completion
Our projects, while appearing complete rarely are. There may be tasks left undone, tasks which we chose to ignore during phase 5, or make do aspects of the restoration which need to be revisited. There is always documentation to finalize.
Phase 7, Interpretation
The car enters the public realm. What stories do we tell about the car? How do we use it, where does it live? Do we need signage or other interpretive materials?
This phase is subject to change.
Phase 8, Maintenance
Ongoing care related to wear and tear or use. This includes storage, preferably inside, and as a result can be expensive.
Jim Vaitkunas
Location: Apple Valley, Minnesota
I am not familiar with the ADA rules as they apply to hitoric buildings and structures. But, in the case of rail cars, we are exempt from ADA accessibility requirements because of the historic nature of the vehicle. This is not to say that we can make some provisions to get handicapped persons aboard our cars and many of us do that.
I am somewhat surprised that a historic structure would not also be afforded this same "protection," especailly when it would require modifications to the structure itself to comply.
Maybe you could elaborate?
Minnesota Streetcar Museum
www.trolleyride.org
Jim Vaitkunas wrote:
The ADA made it a Civil Right that the disabled should have equal access to public places and private businesses. There are federal guidelines for acceptable standards of accessibility (Americans with Disability Act Accessibility Guidelines, or ADAAG), but most regulation takes place at through state and local laws which tend to vary.
No one is "exempt" from the ADA. The act recognizes alternative requirements when modifications would threaten the structure's significance. Determining what is historically significant, and what alternatives are acceptable usually requires consultation with building officials and possibly your state SHPO. Many architects provide ADA consulting services.
Every organization needs to take the ADA very seriously. If your primary program is the operation of an interpretive passenger train, you really need to provide some manner of equivalent accommodation on the train. If that is not possible, you are expected to provide some other form of "access" which has been interpreted to include audio-visual programs. The California State Railroad Museum allows supervised visits to the cab of their cab-forward locomotive. Since the door into the cab is too narrow for wheelchairs, they have provided a live video monitor that shows the inside of the cab at the base of the stairs. I do not remember, but I think there may be a lift to get the disabled up to the level of the cab.
Congress, in their infinite wisdom, agreed that ADA enforcement could be achieved through civil lawsuits. Any disabled visitor can take your organization to court if they feel their civil rights have been violated by your failure to provide equal access.
The NPS recommends the following priorities in providing compliant accessibility:
1) Making the main or a prominent public entrance and primary public spaces accessible, including a path to the entrance; 2) Providing access to goods, services, and programs; 3) Providing accessible restroom facilities; and, 4) Creating access to amenities and secondary spaces.
Some general information can be found at the following address, and although it is aimed at buildings, I believe it is generally applicable to rail equipment at well:
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/briefs/brief32.htm
The platform and monitor at CSRM are visible to the left of the locomotive (Photo by Flickr user "Corvair Owner"):
ADA is indeed something that all tourist railroads and museums must take seriously. As an historic operation, you may not have to modify certain pieces of historic equipment under certain circumstances (such as not for profit versus for profit/repaired or restored versus rebuilt equipment). However, the general intent is that within reason, all services/facilities must be accessible to all patrons. You might win a lawsuit regarding ADA, but not without a significant investment of time and money.
Here in Tucson, we are having to consider how the heritage streetcars will comply with ADA once it becomes part of the regular transit system. Based on Federal Transportation Authority guidelines, the cars will have to be operated along with ADA compliant cars in something like a one to two ratio in order for us to operate without having to install lifts.
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How I Finally Kicked My O.C.D.
By RICH MONAHAN MARCH 15, 2018
CreditStuart Bradford
“You must really love that song,” my mother says, and for a moment my heart stops.
Both of us are plainly aware she need not be more specific than that. I attempt to read her body language out of the corner of my eye. Does she know? There’s no way, right?
“Yeah, it’s a favorite.” I nod, smiling, before turning back toward the television with what I hope is all the nonchalance of a typical 14-year-old boy.
What I definitely do not do is glance back and say, “Funny story about that song, while you’ve clearly noticed I’ve listened to it every single weeknight this entire school year, would you believe I only ever press play at exactly 8:38 p.m.?
“And check this out, once that cable box hits 9:52 p.m., I will casually retire to my bedroom to initiate the final sequence of what has recently ballooned into a nearly 90-minute nightly routine of humiliating compulsions: I’ll touch the same four CDs laid out on my dresser in ‘order’; turn the stereo on and off; move to the entertainment center; touch the ‘Twisted Metal’ video game case; turn on the TV; boot up the PlayStation; shut it off once the load screen finishes; press ‘channel up’ on the cable box until I hit channel 20, then 22, then 40; turn off the cable box, then touch nothing else until it’s lights out at 9:58 p.m.
“And that’s not even the craziest part; the craziest part is that I do these things because I believe they will somehow increase my social standing among other ninth graders. Anywho, Mom, the song’s called ‘Daysleeper,’ and
It started in seventh grade, when two childhood friends aged out of hanging out with me. Already depressed and on the verge of friendlessness, I was desperate to preserve life as it had been.
“Well,” my brain misfired, “Last time you all hung out together, you wore that one pair of Hanes tighty whities. Put those on.”
I did. Then I wore them again the next day, and the next, for 30 days straight.
Soon, it snowballed into an impossible amount of rituals, all infused with a bizarre sense of causality: “If I do X, Y and Z today, then tomorrow my classmates will like me.” As if I’d uncovered some grand cosmic game of cause and effect, and could suddenly influence the natural chaos of the universe by displaying three years’ worth of used deodorant sticks chronologically.
My entire day was an effort to recreate the patterns of the previous one.
On the good days, obessive-compulsive disorder can just feel like a bunch of extra chores. On the bad days, when nothing is “working,” you are trapped in a living nightmare, helplessly enslaved to an oppressive and delusional belief system that has swallowed nearly every moment of your waking life.
On the bright side: I always knew exactly where my keys were.
I tried not to examine the bigger implications of it all, though I was aware enough to know I should be absolutely ashamed. So I told no one.
I mastered the art of deflection, expertly turning every response into a joke and steering every conversation into being about the other person.
By the end of high school, I had friends, won superlatives and no one knew a thing about me. Mission accomplished.
But college threw an unexpected curve ball: I finally had a girlfriend.
Michelle and I met when I started performing improv comedy every weekend.
“Is that the same Power Bar that’s always there?” she asks a few weeks into our relationship, staring at the twisted energy bar sitting in the cup holder of my Corolla’s center console. “Oh, that?
No, that’d be really funny, but no, I just bought it,” I grin.
Trying to pass this contorted energy bar off as new is akin to peeling roadkill off the highway, bringing it home and announcing we have a new pet. It is of course the same Power Bar I have kept in my car for months, though to be fair, only on Fridays and Saturdays when I have a show, as during the week I store it in my underwear drawer.
Her brow furrows.
As the relationship progresses, there are only so many ways to sidestep her gentle and utterly normal getting-to-know-you questions. I’m eventually forced to tell her about my O.C.D. and depression, but I pretend it’s over: “When I was a kid, I did these rituals so I would have good days.”
She buys me a book about O.C.D. I never read it.
When we’re among friends I’m a delight — sane and gregarious. When we’re alone, I shrink bitterly.
We date for four years but break up annually. Each time, I fall apart and swear I will go to therapy, for real this time.
In the back half of college, I transfer to the school of my dreams and take over my deceased grandmother’s Brooklyn apartment, exactly as she left it.
Michelle suggests painting, I refuse. She asks for closet space, I say sorry, we cannot move Grandma’s oxygen tanks. I cannot risk any fluctuation in my recent streak of positive outcomes.
Imagine looking in the eye the one person on earth who has been instrumental to your success, then turning to your meticulously organized DVDs and thanking them for their service.
Michelle dumps me a final time. I crumble. “No, I was ready for change,” I tell her. Thankfully, she knows it’s a lie, and sets us both free.
For months, I am in free-fall. As someone who chases patterns where there are none, I finally catch a glimpse of one that is very real: This is not the only relationship my mental illness will detonate. It’s just the first.
Ten years into my condition, I am at the end of my rope. I start therapy in earnest and begin to see that — although this might not be true for everyone — for me, all the power I give the rituals lies in shame.
So I do the unthinkable. I go nuclear.
I tell everyone everything.
“So wait, what was the shaving-with-no-pants-on one about?” my friend Nate asked.
“So people would like me.”
“I thought that was carrying the broken Garfield watch.”
“No no, that’s what I did so you’d pick up the phone when I called.”
“Oh. Did it work?”
“Did it work? Nate, I think the whole point of this conversation is that I am absolutely ill-equipped to make that assessment.”
In sharing with friends and family the weirdest things about me, I expect humiliation, or at least some solid recoils in horror. Instead, they mull it over, ask a couple of questions, then tell me the weirdest things about themselves.
Over time, I even become a trusted resource for friends newly tackling their own mental health.
I spent a decade lying, secretly rearranging the objects in my bedroom in order to keep friends around. But opening up enough to tell them so brought us closer than ever.
I have not had a single compulsion since.
Rich Monahan is a writer and storyteller living in Los Angeles.
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Is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University in California. Together they own about 14 percent of its shares and control 56 percent of the stockholder voting power through supervoting stock. They incorporated Google as a privately held company on September 4, 1998. An initial public offering (IPO) took place on August 19, 2004, and Google moved to its headquarters in Mountain View, California, nicknamed the Googleplex. In August 2015, Google announced plans to reorganize its various interests as a conglomerate called Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet’s leading subsidiary and will continue to be the umbrella company for Alphabet’s Internet interests. Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google, replacing Larry Page who became the CEO of Alphabet.
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The tale of the South and the Pacific
Is the south toast?
It has been seven years since a team from somewhere outside the SEC has hoisted the National Championship Trophy. And whether that changes this year will be in the hands of two west coast darlings of Oregon and USC and if they can take down last years national championship participants. But what makes this year even more exciting however is the fact that if two of the four national title favorites make it to the championship game from the same conference, it will be a little more supported.
But for some "if the season ended today" purposes, let's say that each conference can only send one representative to the title game. What would make each possible national title matchup so intriguing? Let's take a look.
LSU Tigers vs. Oregon Ducks
The highlight matchup of this game would without a doubt be Oregon's Heisman hopeful De'Anthony Thomas against the punishing defensive LSU line led by juniors Barkevious Mingo and San Montgomery. After an 18 touchdown 2011 campaign, all Thomas needs to do is touch the ball for the Ducks to be successful. If the Tigers defense, which has taken more than it's fair share of hits this offseason, can contain the run game, then it will be a much different contest.
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Oregon Ducks
It's going to be air game versus ground game if these two meet for the title. Oregon's Thomas complemented by senior rusher Kenjon Barner could be the most dangerous combination in the country. But behind Alabama's offensively line (which is one of the best in the country) will be gunslinger AJ McCarron (who is one of the best in the country). After leading the Tide over the Tigers last winter, McCarron has proved that he can take control of any matchup.
LSU Tigers vs. USC Trojans
While this one would be just as exciting as the others, you've got to feel bad for LSU and it's depleted defense as it will try to take on an offense that will probably set more records than a juiced up Barry Bonds. Matt Barkley, Robert Woods and Marquise Lee, and now Silas Redd on the ground? It doesn't really seem fair.
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. USC Trojans
The contest that we will most likely see come January 7 will pit the best defense in the country against the best offense in the country. Indeed, the Alabama defense is younger than in years past. But with a pretty good returning core of a side that led the country in all four major defensive categories, Matty Trojan and his band of eligibles might certainly have their hands full. Expect a low scoring game from offenses that won't have a low scoring game all season, and a fourth quarter that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
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Sidewalk Sale
Halloween Hunt
October 26 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Christmas Shopping Day
November 30 @ 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Job Posting- BIA Coordinator
Jingle Bell Rock – Ottawa Street BIA Lip Sync
#SpendItHere Valentine’s Day Contest
3 Fun Ways to Beat the Winter Blues
It’s pretty wicked at Wick’d Wax Creations
Wes Fletcher of Wick'd Wax Creations at 203 Ottawa Street North is more than just a Chandler. No we're not referring to the ubiquitous 90's sitcom character. 'Chandler' is the correct vocational title for professional candle makers! "Wax is my medium, instead of say a paint brush," explains Wes, who considers his work to be artistic and more deeply involved than some may realize. Wes has been on his grind making custom candles and wax treasures for 25 years. "I started from the ground up…" he pauses, adding, "…scraping wax off the floor of a honey barn." He laughs, because he knows it doesn't sound glamorous. He opened his shop on Ottawa Street three years ago, but there's a twist - 13 years ago, Wes was employed in the exact same location for Joe Glow Candles. "It's a little strange,"...
Maxam Fitness guarantees quality equipment for your fitness regiment!
Whether you're a hardcore fitness enthusiast looking to increase the effectiveness of your workout, or if you've never set foot in a gym and are looking for something you can start using at home, Maxam Fitness at 303 Ottawa Street North has what you need. Sue and Al Moffat are the couple behind this massive and bright location, and have been in the business of fitness for 30 years. They started out on Ottawa Street, moved locations a couple of times and came back to the street 8 years ago. "Big spaces in Hamilton are hard to find," explained Sue, who keeps an impressively large inventory. "We also love this area. It's a good fit!" Maxam manufactures their own equipment in Ontario, which means they can guarantee the highest level of quality control. Everything is made with Canadian regulated steel,...
Yes, we’ve got a Renegade on Ottawa Street
He's got grit. The kind of grit that comes with hard won experience. Do you know Dave Sanders, the face behind Renegade Tattoo? You know, the shop at 183 Ottawa Street North dolling out ever-evolving artistic window displays and storefront live performances from acts like The Vaudvillian? Well, he started tattooing when he was only 16. "I pieced together a Walkman motor, a Bic pen and a fork to make my first machine," he bemused. "It was a thing from nightmares! But, I built my professional life out of that awful Walkman motor contraption." Dave creates original, detailed and compelling pieces on skin, but he's also sold over 250 canvas paintings. With experience using airbrush and other techniques, anyone coming to see him for a consultation is guaranteed to get something original and versatile for their bod. To boot, he's...
May full of possibility!
In Fine Feather Yoga's Helena McKinney has an awesome blog, and we especially loved her post about the month of May being full of possibility! We've reblogged it here, but don't forget to bookmark her website too! Located at 219 Ottawa Street North, this lovely yoga studio runs an intimate practice space that accomodates up to 25 people. Follow on Twitter and Facebook! Expressing Possibility May, in its definition means expressing possibility and it couldn’t be said any better. This month has all the potential opportunities you provide it with. The possibilities for love, health, happiness, joy and gratitude are endless if you are open to receive. Love is a powerful, active life force and can be a vehicle for transformation. Choose the energy you wish to hold and do things that nurture this energy. Go for a walk in...
Teaching, Making and Geeking at Prouse Pottery and Soap Co
"We teach, we make, we geek" is the unofficial mantra at Prouse Pottery and Soap Co. Nick and Jennifer Prouse started their business (a delightful melange of two seemingly unrelated interests) ten years ago, having spent the last two at 116 Ottawa Street North. If you're expecting to just walk in and see a bunch of nondescript pots, you haven't met this dynamic, zany and warm duo. "We're a pottery and soap shop with a geek flair," explained Nick, who started out as a potter, then moved into soap-making to try to relieve a bout of eczema. It worked, and he and Jennifer looked into what they had to do with Health Canada, which regulates all cosmetics and soaps, and the rest is history. The Prouses run pottery classes with a twist - they provide classes according to YOUR schedule....
Pickers Spring Auction offers oddities, antiques, and treasures
One of Ottawa Streets' favourite antique shops is hosting a spring auction in less than two weeks! Geoff from Steeltown Pickers has gathered up his favourite finds with great care and scrutiny to bring the best of the best to collectors and bargain hunters at the Pickers Spring Auction on May 23rd . You can expect to see original art, antique furniture, collectors items and other vintage oddities. Collectible tin toys, vintage maps, suitcases, vanity desks, chairs, slot machines, oil paintings, model radios and more treasures you could imagine are all up for grabs. The auction starts at 1pm sharp, but you can preview the items available and participate in advanced bidding between 11am-1pm. The Pickers Auction accepts cash, Visa, MasterCard AND debit, to make taking home your pick as easy as possible. The proceeds from all food and baked...
Monday Night Drawing at 337 Sketch Gallery
Did you know that 337 Sketch Gallery hosts Monday Night Drawing with a life model every Monday evening from 7pm to 9:30pm? Galleriest Anne Becker has been hosting these sessions weekly for about a decade on Ottawa Street North. The exercise is designed to improve hand and eye coordination, and the sessions are geared toward artists who already have some drawing experience, as there is no direct tutorial. That being said, many of the attendees are art teachers themselves. "If you need help, there is some help available," Anne clarified, adding that having experience is not necessarily a prerequisite to enjoy or participate in the session. So what can you expect if you're a newcomer? "The first half hour we do warm up gestures, then we break," Anne explained. "Afterwards, the model takes a pose and holds for the last...
Mother’s Day gets stylish at Orangetree Boutique
With Mother's Day just around the corner, it seemed like we ought to drop a few gift tips. Forget gift cards (that's so impersonal) and don't you dare even look at appliances. Breakfast in bed and macaroni necklaces aside, Mom's always love feeling stylish. Orangetree Boutique (190 Ottawa Street North) has you covered. Every item in the boutique has been selected with incredible scruitny, showcasing only brand new and you'd-never-know-anyone-wore-it consignment items that are sure to be a hit. There is so much to choose from, but we narrowed it down to a few of our favourites to get your imagination going. First things first - the dress. We picked this MySquare maxi dress, in dark coral, because the cut and colour is flattering on all body types and skin tones. The v-neck is just the right amount of flirty,...
Hidden Gems on Ottawa Street Hamilton
http://www.thecuriouscreature.com/2015/01/19/ottawa-st-hamilton/
Ottawa St Sidewalk Sale is fast approaching Hamilton! This Saturday our stores will be lined up curbside with great deals and finds! Our restaurants will be filling those hungry bellies along with some of our food truck friends Tony’s Corner, The Dirty South, Nudulz, The Meatball Shop and all the way from Toronto Tiny Tom’s Donuts! The Sidewalk Sale runs from 9am – 5pm and remember to visit the Ottawa St Farmers’ Market too! Parking is FREE! Check out just some of the great deals you will find on Ottawa St this Saturday below! Earl's Court Earls Court Gallery is happy to host their annual Second Market Frame Sale! Back by popular demand, Earls Court Gallery will be selling second market frames for $1, $2, or $5, as well as some new frames for a remarkable discount. Come early to...
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Author: kschulte
Kevin Schulte is an editor for Techerator. He recently graduated from the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Mathematics.
The Unnecessary Complexities of Video Game Pre-order Bonuses
In recent years, game companies have started offering incentives for pre-ordering their games. If the game is sold in a physical package, these incentives might include something tangible, like a cloth map or figurine.
Digitally downloaded games generally see bonuses of a similarly digital nature. You might get an exclusive in-game weapon that’s unavailable through any other means. If the game is sold through Steam you might get one of the infamous Team Fortress 2 hats.
Recently, we’ve started to see a trend towards more complex pre-order bonuses. For instance, it is common to receive different bonuses depending on where you pre-order the game. Pre-ordering a game from one retailer might net you a completely different exclusive weapon than if you pre-order from a different retailer. This complexity has reached a critical point with the hotly anticipated upcoming shooter Battlefield 3.
Last week, EA Games, the publisher of Battlefield 3, made a blog post detailing the game’s many pre-order bonuses. Battlefield 3 has seven different pre-order bonuses, all with different sets of stipulations on availability and exclusivity.
Here is just a taste of the complexity:
Everyone who pre-orders the game, regardless of retailer, will get the Back to Karkand expansion pack for free. This expansion won’t be available on the game’s launch date, and everyone who didn’t pre-order the game will be able to buy it for $15 when it launches to the public.
If you order the game at specific unnamed retailers you’ll get the Physical Warfare Pack, consisting of early access to three in-game items and a weapon. Those who don’t pre-order will get access at a later date.
Pre-ordering the game through EA’s own digital distribution service Origin, or if you bought specific versions of one of EA’s previous Medal of Honor titles, grants you early access to the game’s open beta. Four other bonuses are also available by pre-ordering through more unnamed retailers, and these bonuses don’t appear to be obtainable in any other way.
If you have specific pre-order bonuses in mind that you’d like to get, buying the game turns into a combinatorial problem. Can you match the bonuses you want to one specific retailer? If you can’t, which bonuses are you willing to give up? Does ordering from one retailer net you more bonuses than ordering from a different retailer?
Sure, there are plenty of people who will look at the bonuses, say, “Screw it,” and just order the game from whoever they’re most comfortable with. For everyone else, EA is expecting an awful lot from us just to get the privilege to give them money.
The upcoming game Batman: Arkham City suffers from similarly complex pre-order bonuses. It too has a pre-order guide that can be found on the game’s forums, and the guide’s author even acknowledges how complex the bonuses are in the very first line.
I’m not saying that pre-order bonuses are inherently bad. By pre-ordering a game a consumer shows that they believe the developer will produce a game worth paying full price for. It’s nice to get a bonus for that sign of faith. By mucking up the pre-order system, publishers are making it more complicated for gamers to give them money, which seems counter intuitive. Shouldn’t the buying process be as simple as possible? I shouldn’t have to spend half an hour doing research just to decide which version of the game I want to buy.
Both Battlefield 3 and Arkham City will almost assuredly be financial successes, reinforcing the idea that these complex pre-order systems are beneficial. Where does it end? In the future, will we be poring over convoluted Excel spreadsheets just to decide where to buy a game? Only time will tell.
Friday Fun! Fulfill Childhood Dreams With Kerbal Space Program
Space: the final frontier.
Many children dream of becoming astronauts when they grow up. If that happened to be you, now’s your chance to fulfill that fantasy. Not only will you be piloting your (hopefully) space-bound craft in Kerbal Space Program, you also get to design it!
Kerbal Space Program tasks you with getting the titular Kerbal race into orbit. In order to accomplish this monumental feat you need to design, build, and fly the rocket yourself.
The design phase, easily the most important, also happens to be the most fun. Your design needs to be sound in order for your rocket to go anywhere, so it’s usually best to start with something based on a real life design. Too little thrust and it won’t even get off the launching pad, while too much thrust will make it uncontrollable. It sounds intimidating at first, but after a bit of trial and error you start to get a feel for what might work and what won’t.
Since the game is still technically in the alpha stage of development, the choice of spaceship parts is a bit thin. Even with a limited inventory to choose from there are still enough variations on designs to keep things interesting. The promise of a wider variety of machinery in future versions certainly is appealing, though.
Needless to say, this design wasn't very stable
Once you’ve constructed your monstrosity… ahem… your masterpiece of modern engineering, it’s time to head to the launch pad. After providing your own countdown and hitting the ignition switch, your next task is to guide your baby into space. Depending on the robustness of your design, this may or may not be easy. A quick crash and burn might be more likely for your first few spaceship designs.
What happens once you reach space? Well, nothing, really. No fanfare greets you, there isn’t any confetti or champagne. If you like you can manually set yourself into orbit around the planet, or, if you have enough fuel, simply turn around and try to land safely back on Earth.
Kerbal Space Program might still be in the early stages of development, but it manages to capture the magic of space travel perfectly. Designing and constructing rockets gave me a childlike giddiness I haven’t felt since I started playing with Legos. I’m really looking forward to seeing where the game goes from here!
Kerbal Space Program can be downloaded for free from the official website. If you’re having trouble getting started, give the official Wiki a look or check out some of the design videos players have posted on YouTube.
Midweek Fun! Unleash Your Inner Speed Demon In ‘Proun’
A popular trend emerging in the world of independent gaming is the idea of gamers paying what they want for a game. It’s a daring move, but can pay off big for the developers. The Humble Bundle, which has gone through three iterations to date, has raised millions of dollars for developers and charities alike. The latest big name independent game to employ this strategy is the high speed racer Proun.
Proun takes a few cues from popular high speed racing series like F-Zero and Wipeout while also managing to inject some charm of its own. Controls are extremely simple; up makes you go fast, down makes you go slow (but really, who’s ever going to use it?), left and right steer, and shift activates a turbo boost. Instead of racing on a traditional track, Proun takes place on a cylindrical track with various geometric objects serving as obstacles.
As you steer you wrap around the track, which can be a bit disorienting at first as obstacles fly wildly around the screen. There are other competitors as well, but it’s impossible to interact with them. No knocking your opponents into walls here.
Like most racing games, Proun is all about racking up fast times. There are only three tracks (plus a bonus track), but Proun can be played at four different speeds. The lower speeds are nice and leisurely, perfect for learning the tracks and game mechanics. Supersonic will have you tearing your hair out in no time. After each race your time gets posted to the online leaderboards, where you can see how you stack up against the rest of the world.
Best of all, Proun can be had for whatever price you decide. Download the full game (minus a bonus track) without paying a cent. If you like it, I strongly suggest supporting awesome independent game developers and paying whatever you think is fair.
Proun is still a bit rough around the edges (there doesn’t seem to be a way to change the resolution, and there have been a few issues with the high score server), but overall it’s a brilliant concept that’s a blast to play, and well worth your time and money.
If for some reason you still can’t decide if you’re interested, check out the game’s promo video below.
Harry Potter eBooks To Be DRM Free
Personally, I am not a fan of publishers locking down eBooks with intrusive and unnecessary DRM. It devalues their product and does little to prevent piracy anyway. It’s unfortunate that almost all major publishers and digital book distributors continue to sell their books with such a handicap. One giant name in the book industry, however, is looking to shake things up.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, revealed her latest project yesterday. Along with a brand new online component of the Harry Potter universe known as Pottermore, Rowling revealed that both audio and eBook versions of the series would be made available digitally for the first time. Even better, the eBooks will be DRM free, meaning they can be bought and downloaded regardless of the platform they will be read on. The files will be digitally watermarked instead, associating the file to the person that purchased it.
A major publisher almost certainly wouldn’t allow such a bold move, but Rowling is able to offer her works DRM free because she retains the rights to the digital publication of the Harry Potter series.
Will this mark a turning point in the eBook industry? Will publishers and authors see that eBooks can still sell even without DRM? It’s hard to say, but it certainly won’t hurt. If Harry Potter sells well DRM free (which it almost certainly will), book publishers might finally start to see that DRM is completely unnecessary.
You can watch Rowling’s announcement for yourself in the video below.
Android App Roundup! ZDBox and Carrr Matey
It’s time once again for another edition of Android App Roundup! After a bit of an absence, we’re back and ready to bring you the must-have applications for your Android device. This time around we’ll be telling you about ZDBox, a handy little application that collects a bunch of tools into one place for your convenience, and take a look at Carrr Matey, an app that helps you remember where you parked your ship… we mean, car.
If you know of an application that would make a good addition to a future App Roundup, feel free to send us an e-mail or let Evan or me, Kevin, know via Twitter.
ZDBox – Kevin’s Pick
If you’ve had an Android phone for a while, you have probably accumulated a nice collection of useful tools to accomplish various tasks. Wouldn’t it be nice to get rid of all of those applications and replace them with a single application that can accomplish multiple tasks? Enter ZDBox.
ZDBox can monitor battery life, monitor data usage, set up “do not disturb” times where your phone automatically silences, lock specific applications so they require a password to open, kill running tasks (not recommended), batch uninstall applications, and batch move applications to the SD Card. All from one easy interface.
Using ZDBox is pretty self-explanatory. From the main interface, click one of the options to be taken to a sub-interface to set up or run whichever service you want to use. If you don’t want to use all of the services and don’t want the unused one sitting in the background sucking up resources, they’re easy enough to disable completely.
I’ve personally been able to get rid of four single purpose applications and replace them with just ZDBox. It makes an excellent addition to any Android user’s arsenal of utility applications.
Carrr Matey – Evan’s Pick
Let me start by telling you that I have a terrible sense of direction. And it’s not just a bad sense of direction, I also get disoriented very easily. Exacerbated by living in a metropolitan area with 3.5+ million people, I quickly sought refuge from my navigational disability in the Android Market.
I then discovered Carrr Matey. With three r’s and a cheerful pirate theme, this app lets you “drop anchor” when you park your car, making it easy to find on your return trip. Using your phone’s built-in GPS, you can navigate back to your vehicle with an overhead map view or a handy compass view.
Carrr Matey's map view. The ship marks your car's location.
Carrr Matey has a few extra features that make it especially useful to post-16th-century transportation. After setting the location of your parked vehicle, you can enable an optional parking timer to help you avoid expensive parking tickets. If you happen to leave your vehicle in a parking ramp, Carrr Matey’s “Harbor Mode” lets you store details like level, letter, color, or number of the parking spot.
Parking timers in Carrr Matey.
Sure, your friends might poke fun at you when you tell them you legitimately have no idea where you left your car. But don your captain’s hat, young sailor, because you’ve set a course with Android!
Midweek Fun! Test Your Puzzle Mettle In ‘The Heist’ For iOS
What could possibly be better than buying a single high quality puzzle game for just $0.99? If you answered, “two high quality puzzle games for just $0.99,” you are in luck. However, there is a small catch.
The good folks over at MacHeist have partnered with iOS developer tap tap tap to bring us The Heist. At first glance it appears to be your average puzzle game (which, let’s be honest, are a dime a dozen in the App Store), but lurking just under the surface is something more. If you manage to slog your way through enough puzzles, you can unlock a code to download another game, available for free on PC and Mac.
Thankfully, The Heist itself is a decent enough puzzle game that unlocking enough puzzles to get the free game isn’t a chore. In the game you’ll be playing through variations of four standard puzzle types.
First up is your standard block slider puzzle. Here the goal is to move the wooden blocks in such a way that the contraption in the middle is able to exit through the little hatch on the right side of the screen.
Next up is an interesting take on Sudoku. Instead of numbers you’re given hieroglyph-like pictures to put on the playing board. Only one of each hieroglyph may be in a single row or column, and each hieroglyph must be grouped with others of the same color.
Third you’ll find my personal favorite of the bunch, a sokoban-style sliding block puzzle. The goal here is to move a series of blocks onto an equal number of ‘final’ squares. The catch is that you’re only able to move the blocks by pushing them from behind. Pulling from the front isn’t allowed.
Up last is another sliding block puzzle you’ll probably recognize from your youth. You’re presented with a square grid with one of the interior squares missing. By manipulating the interior squares you need to connect the circles on the edge using wires of the same color as the circles.
As you continue to beat puzzles, more puzzles of increasing difficulty get unlocked. The puzzles near the end can get fiendishly difficult, but thankfully you don’t have to beat them all to unlock the second game (which is a very good thing, because I’m absolutely awful at the last type of sliding block puzzle).
So what is the unlockable game? I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say that it’s worth more than the $0.99 you’ll pay for The Heist, and it’s available on Steam (which means you’ll need a Steam account to redeem it).
The Heist can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store.
Banish In-Browser Advertisments On Your Android Phone With AdFree
Browser advertisements – the bane of every Internet user’s existence. Sure, there are plenty of sites that aren’t overzealous with advertisements, but for every site that tucks a small ad into the corner, there are ten that present you with giant flashing sidebars and bombard you with full-page ads that demand your attention.
All of the major desktop browsers have plug-ins that handily eliminate the majority of ads, but what do you do when you’re on your phone? Sure, there are third-party browsers that allow plug-ins, but what if you’re stuck on (or prefer) the stock browser?
Lucky for you, AdFree Android does exactly this.
IMPORTANT NOTE: AdFree Android requires that you have root access. If you do not have root, it won’t work at all. Applications like AdFree Android are just one of the many benefits of rooting your phone. For more, check out Why You Should Root Your Android Phone.
Unlike most browser extensions that block ads at the browser level, AdFree Android works by blocking them at the operating system level by modifying your phone’s hosts file.
Setting up AdFree Android is a cinch. After downloading it from the Android Market, go ahead and open it up. Like all root applications, it will ask for superuser permissions which you should grant. There are a few options from the main menu, but the one you want now is right at the top – Download & Install Hosts.
Clicking the button will do exactly what it says, and give you a prompt saying if it was successful. That’s it! If you know what they do you can play around with the other options, but for normal use the defaults work fine.
With Ads
Without Ads
Ads in a desktop environment are annoying, but in a mobile setting they can seriously impede your browsing experience. Ads that demand your attention by clicking to remove them can be difficult to dismiss with a touch screen. If you’re on a metered data plan, they consume precious bandwidth. With AdFree Android, however, ads become a thing of the past.
AdFree Android can be downloaded from the Android Market here, or by scanning the QR Code below. If you find AdFree Android useful, consider donating to the developers.
How To: Import E-Books Into Aldiko for Android Using Dropbox
It’s been nearly a year since I last wrote about Aldiko, and while the E-book market on Android has exploded since then I still consider Aldiko to be the best reader out there. E-book powerhouses like Amazon and Barnes and Noble have both launched reader applications of their own, but they both lack a seemingly critical feature: the ability to import your own E-books to read.
Luckily for you, Aldiko does exactly that.
In previous versions of Aldiko E-book importing was a bit of a hassle. The books had to be put in a specific folder on the SD card or the application wouldn’t even recognize they existed. A few months ago, though, Aldiko got a brand new interface, and with it came easier book importing. By combining this awesome new update with the power of Dropbox, it’s not even necessary to connect your device to your computer to import books!
To get started, you’ll first want to ensure that the book you’re importing is in the correct format as Aldiko will only accept books of the EPUB variety. If your book isn’t already in the EPUB format, it can easily be converted using Calibre which is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
The next step is to sign up for Dropbox if you don’t already have an account. Dropbox is a free service that lets you sync files across multiple platforms, including Android.
After getting your computer set up with Dropbox, go ahead and move the E-book you want to import to the Dropbox folder. Once it syncs, head on over to your Android device.
Importing the Book Into Aldiko
If you haven’t already, go ahead and download the Dropbox client for Android. Once you’ve signed in, you should see the E-book you moved earlier. Long press on it and select ‘Download’.
Once the book finishes downloading, switch over to Aldiko. If you aren’t already on Aldiko’s home screen, hit the Options button and select ‘Home’. From here you should see a button for SD card. Once in the SD card you’ll want to look for the folder labeled ‘dropbox’. You should now see the book you want to import, so go ahead and select it and choose ‘Import to Aldiko’.
That’s it! You can click on the book right now to start reading, or access it from the shelf view later. Happy reading!
Aldiko comes in both a free and paid version, both available on the Android Market. Download the free version by scanning the QR code below, or find it here on the web version of the Market.
DroidWall: The Aptly Named Android Firewall Solution
Installing Android applications can sometimes be a risky operation. A list of permissions requested by the application pops up before installation, but how many people actually read those? Even if you do read them, they can often leave you puzzled as to why that application needs that permission.
I recently installed a newly-released game on my phone, and, like usual, took a look at the permissions it requested: full internet access (fair enough), read phone state and identity (wait, what? Why would it need that?), and access my location (alarm bells are definitely going off now). Since the game appeared to have fairly decent production values and was free, I was wary that its creators might be using an alternative revenue model, such selling user information to third parties.
Call me paranoid, but I’d rather err on the side of caution. I started looking around for a way to easily log Android network traffic to see if I could discover what data the application was actually transmitting, but stumbled upon something so much better: DroidWall.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: DroidWall requires root access to work at all. If you don’t have root, DroidWall will not function.
DroidWall lets you leverage the power of Linux’s iptables using a simple front-end interface. In a nutshell, it lets you block specific applications from accessing the Internet.
Even better, DroidWall is incredibly easy to configure. On the application’s main screen you’re presented with two modes of operation: white list or black list (toggle between the two by clicking on the header where the mode is displayed). When in white list mode, you select which applications you want to grant access to the internet (useful if there are only a few applications you want to give internet access). Black list mode is just the opposite. You select applications that you wish to block (useful when you only want to block access from a few applications). DroidWall also lets you decide on a per-application basis if you want to block 3G, Wi-Fi, or both, which can be useful if want to ensure that data-hog applications aren’t syncing while on 3G.
Once you’ve made your decisions, simply hit the Menu key, enable the firewall (if it isn’t already enabled), and hit ‘Apply rules.’ DroidWall will request Superuser permissions and the rules you defined will take effect immediately.
Be careful when selecting which applications you want to block, as blocking the wrong one could cause your phone to act rather strangely. For example, blocking the Linux kernel would probably be a bad idea.
If you want to be sure DroidWall is working, it also comes with a logging feature that can be enabled in the options menu. The log can be viewed via the ‘Show log’ option, also found in the options menu.
For all I know, the data the application was collecting may have been harmless. Usage metrics are often collected by game developers and studied to try and make the game better. However, since the game was new to the Market and I wasn’t familiar with the publisher, I decided it was best to not take a chance. DroidWall made it easy to use a built in Linux feature to simply block that application from accessing the Internet.
DroidWall can be downloaded for free from the Android market via the QR code below. If you really like it, consider donating at the project’s Google Code page.
Unleash the Full Power of Android Multitasking Using SwipePad
One of Android’s greatest advantages over its biggest competitor is its awesome support for multitasking right out of the box. Simply hold down the Home button for a few seconds to gain access to the eight most recently used applications on your device without ever leaving the currently running application.
But what do you do if the application you want isn’t on that list? How will you tell your loyal Twitter followers what you’re eating for lunch if you’re in the middle of a game of Angry Birds? Thankfully, SwipePad has you covered.
SwipePad lets you designate an area of the screen to swipe to open a list of user defined application shortcuts. By default, you swipe from the far bottom left or bottom right of the screen towards the center. After a bit of practice to figure out where exactly you need to be swiping, it becomes second nature.
When you first start using SwipePad, the 12 shortcut locations will be blank. To assign an application to a location, just hover over that location until it turns orange and release. Be warned, however: the initial setup can take a long time if you have a lot of applications installed. When choosing an application, the list scrolls painfully slow and is prone to freeze. SwipePad is still technically in beta, so hopefully that issue gets ironed out soon.
SwipePad is a simple application, but there’s still an options menu to poke around in, if you so desire. The most interesting entries let you change the swipe region and hide or show SwipePad’s indicator icon in the status bar. I recommend leaving the icon visible, as it helps prevent the operating system from killing SwipePad.
I’ve been using SwipePad for the past couple of weeks and can’t find much to complain about. Other than the long setup process, SwipePad works exactly as advertised. Initially, I was worried about accidentally invoking SwipePad when I didn’t mean to, but that hasn’t happened yet (and even if it does, you can just change the swipe region to somewhere less invasive).
SwipePad is particularly useful if you’re still running a phone with limited RAM, like me, and use a homescreen replacement app. Since the homescreen replacement has a tendency to get killed, having another way to access your most used applications is incredibly handy.
SwipePad can be found in the Android market, or by scanning the QR Code below.
Have you come across any other applications that leverage Android’s multitasking power, or any interesting applications in general? Feel free to shoot us an e-mail at tips@techerator.com!
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Matches 151 - 200 out of 10,400
Document Document Title
WO/2017/004634A1 APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A MIXTURE OF AT LEAST ONE GAS AND AT LEAST ONE LIQUID PLASTIC COMPONENT
Apparatus (16) for producing a mixture of at least one gas and at least one liquid plastic component, comprising a mixing device (17) that is connected, via a first pipe (18), to an introducing device (19) for the at least one gas and is...
WO/2017/004581A1 DIFFERENTIAL DRIVE COMPRESSOR SYSTEMS, COMPONENTS, AND METHODS
The disclosure provides apparatuses, systems, and methods for a compressor system that includes a differential drive assembly configured to rotate a rotor to cause linear actuation of a carriage and thereby compress air for an air accumu...
WO/2017/002667A1 PLUNGER PUMP
Provided is a plunger pump that has improved maintainability while achieving a protective structure. The plunger pump 1 is provided with: an air motor unit 10 driven by compressed air and having a piston 13 that can reciprocate inside an...
WO/2017/004245A1 RUNAWAY VALVE SYSTEM FOR A PUMP
A system includes a pump. The pump includes a piston configured to axially reciprocate within a body. The axial movement of the piston activates a first chamber valve and a second chamber valve. The system also includes a main valve conf...
WO/2017/002297A1 HIGH-PRESSURE PUMP
In a high-pressure pump, the center of gravity of a load, the center of gravity being located in an imaginary plane including the pressurizing chamber-side end surface (901) of a coiled spring (90) in the direction of the axis (Ax1) ther...
WO/2016/207631A1 STRATA FRACTURING APPARATUS AND METHOD
Apparatus for pumping a stimulant fluid in a hydraulic fracturing system comprises an engine and a pressure converter arranged in use to be driven by the engine at a first pressure, and to pump stimulant fluid at a second, higher pressur...
WO/2016/208429A1 PISTON RECIPROCATING MECHANISM, PUMP, COMPRESSOR, AND VACUUM PUMP
This piston reciprocating mechanism reciprocates a piston (2) in a cylinder (1) by converting, to reciprocating motion in a straight line indicating the moving direction of the piston (2) placed in the cylinder (1), rotating motion of a ...
WO/2016/205966A1 ULTRA-HIGH ISOSTATIC PRESSURE BOOSTER OR INTENSIFIER IN A MULTI-WALL MULTI-CHAMBER
The ultra-high pressure booster or intensifier is a device consisting of two cylinders with two pistons, connected such that they operate simultaneously, which can be mounted in a multi-chamber containing multiple simple pressure booster...
WO/2016/191829A1 A LOW-HEAD, WATER-POWERED RECIPROCATING PUMP
A reciprocating pump, and especially, though not exclusively to a low-head, water-powered reciprocating pump which can be used to pump liquid, such as water, at higher pressure than the pressure of the liquid used for driving the pump.
WO/2016/194665A1 PUMP TYPE DISPENSER
The present invention relates to a pump type dispenser provided with: a pump (2) held at the mouth of a container, the pump (2) sucking in liquid, which is contained in the container, and delivering the liquid under pressure; and a nozzl...
WO/2016/192933A1 DEVICE FOR CONVEYING VISCOUS MATERIAL
The invention relates to a device (10) for conveying viscous material, in particular viscous adhesive or sealing substances, having a material chamber (12) which has a material inlet (14) and a material outlet (16), having a conveying pi...
WO/2016/189991A1 PISTON PUMP OR PUMP FOR BRAKE DEVICE
Provided is a pump in which friction between an eccentric part and a piston can be reduced. The pump is provided with a rotating shaft, an eccentric part, and a piston. The eccentric part has an axial center that is eccentric relative to...
WO/2016/185825A1 ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN PUMP
The present invention addresses the problem of providing an electrically driven pump that enables a device to be axially compact, has low noise and vibration, and has high rotational stability. In order to solve this problem, the present...
WO/2016/182436A1 SUBSEA MULTIPISTON PUMP MODULE AND SUBSEA MULTISTAGE PUMP
The present invention relates to a subsea multipiston pump module (1), a subsea multistage pump and skid, having two reciprocating pistons (10, 20) controlled by a control means in such a way that the pistons can be driven either in a pa...
WO/2016/180719A1 PRESSURE CONTAINER FOR DRIVING A MEDICAL DEVICE
The present invention relates to a portable pressure container for driving a medical device, the container comprising: - a pressure housing (101; 201; 301; 401; 501) confining an interior volume (103; 203; 303; 403; 503), - a pressure ou...
WO/2016/165857A1 FUEL PUMP
A fuel pump (10) having a head member (12) provided with a blind bore (14) in which a piston (26) is adapted to perform a pumping cycle by reciprocating along the main axis (X1) of the bore (14) between a top dead center (TDC) position a...
WO/2016/160667A1 SYSTEM FOR HIGH PRESSURE, HIGH SHEAR PROCESSING OF FLUIDS
A method for high fluid shear processing of a fluid uses an isolator that has a first sub-chamber for containing a first fluid and a second sub-chamber for containing a second fluid defined by a separator positioned in the chamber and mo...
WO/2016/153171A1 DISPENSING PUMP
The present invention relates to a dispensing pump that is capable of rapidly dispensing a solution, such as a liquid synthetic resin, in a process of manufacturing electronics. The dispensing pump, according to the present invention, co...
WO/2016/151197A1 SOLAR POWERED FLUID PUMP AND RELATED SYSTEM
The invention concerns a solar powered fluid pump (10) having a pressure vessel (12) for receiving solar radiation. The pressure vessel (12) is divided by a diaphragm (13) into a first chamber and a second chamber inside the pressure ves...
WO/2016/151216A1 MANUAL PUMP
Manual pump (P) intended to be associated with a reservoir of fluid product (R), the pump (P) comprising a pump body (B) defining a sliding barrel (F) and comprising a pump chamber (C), the pump (P) comprising an outlet valve (V) and an ...
WO/2016/144997A1 PUMP STYLE DISPENSE MECHANISM FOR FLOWABLE PRODUCT PACKAGING
A liquid evacuation system for removing under controlled conditions a liquid, such as wine, juices, chemical products such as detergents, from a flexible pouch using a mechanical pumping mechanism, such as a piston pump or a diaphragm pu...
WO/2016/144161A1 HYDRAULIC PUMP SYSTEM FOR HANDLING A SLURRY MEDIUM
This disclosure relates to a hydraulic pump system for handling a slurry medium at least comprising at least two reciprocating positive displacement pumps, both pumps being arranged for alternating intake of slurry medium via a suction i...
WO/2016/142613A1 PISTON COUPLING SYSTEM FOR HYDRAULIC MOTOR-PUMP
The piston coupling system for a hydraulic motor-pump (300) is provided for a hydraulic motor-pump which comprises a central motor-pump rotor (3) which accommodates a hydraulic cylinder (14), inside which a hydraulic piston (13), which c...
WO/2016/137587A1 COMPRESSOR FOR DISCHARGING A MEDIUM
In a compressor for discharging a medium, in particular tire sealant that is to be discharged from a container into a tire, wherein a motor (1) of the compressor (P) drives a step-up transmission wheel (3, 3.1) for moving at least one pi...
WO/2016/136667A1 RECIPROCAL PISTON PUMP
Provided is a reciprocal piston pump wherein a switching valve of a gas operation valve is reliably moved. This reciprocal piston pump is provided with: a cylinder that has a piston; a first pilot valve; a second pilot valve; an operatio...
WO/2016/134464A1 DRIVE MECHANISM MODULE FOR A RECIPROCATING PUMP
A drive mechanism module for use in a reciprocating pump converts rotational movement of a drive shaft to reciprocating movement of a reciprocating pump component transversely to the drive shaft. The drive mechanism module includes a con...
WO/2016/133912A2 PUMP WITH EXTERNAL CONTROLLED COMPRESSION AND METHODS OF PUMPING WITH EXTERNAL CONTROLLED COMPRESSION
The present invention relates to pumps, particularly a compact, linear, positive displacement pump that can be used in several applications including medical and non-medical devices. In particular, the invention is related to linear, pos...
WO/2016/132097A1 HIGH PRESSURE PUMP FOR PUMPING A HIGHLY VISCOUS MATERIAL
A positive displacement pump for pumping a fluid mastic comprises a plurality of cylinders each having a piston arranged for reciprocal motion within the cylinder. Movement of the piston in a first direction draws the fluid into the cyli...
WO/2016/127382A1 RECIPROCATING PUMP
A reciprocating pump comprising a hydraulic cylinder (151) having a hydraulic piston (152) slideably arranged therein, and a rear cylinder head (175), the hydraulic piston comprising a piston rod (153) extending thereform, the reciprocat...
WO/2016/126822A3 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INJECTING A PROCESS FLUID USING A HIGH PRESSURE DRIVE FLUID
A system for pumping a process fluid (e.g. slurry) and method of operating the same comprises: a fluid cylinder (12) oriented vertically which has a process fluid end and a drive fluid end, said fluid cylinder (12) comprising a process f...
A system and method of operating the same includes a first fluid cylinder having a first process fluid end and a first drive fluid end. The first cylinder comprising a first process fluid inlet port and a first process fluid outlet port ...
WO/2016/120082A1 DEVICE FOR OPERATING A PISTON PUMP, CAM FOR A DEVICE, PISTON PUMP AND METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING THE DEVICE
The invention relates to a device for operating a piston pump, comprising at least one cam (8) arranged on a camshaft (9), said cam directly or indirectly cooperating with the pump piston (7) to generate a back and forth movement of a pu...
WO/2016/116334A1 PROCESS PUMP HAVING A CRANK DRIVE
The present invention relates to a process pump having a crank drive (1) and having at least three cylinders, which, as viewed clockwise or counterclockwise about the crank drive (1), constitute a first cylinder, a second cylinder and a ...
WO/2016/118408A1 VENTED PUMP
A vented pump includes a pump housing with a fluid retention cavity, a fluid inlet, and at least one vent opening therethrough. A pump dome is secured to the pump housing to form a dome cavity. Movement of the pump dome allows material f...
WO/2016/115003A1 FLUID ENERGIZING DEVICE
Apparatus and methods for energizing well operations fluids, including a fluid energizing device directly or operatively connected between first and second conduits. The fluid energizing device includes a chamber. A first fluid enters th...
WO/2016/113606A1 CYLINDER ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD OF USE FOR ENERGY RECOVERY WITH SEAWATER DESALINATION
A cylinder arrangement for use with a reverse osmosis membrane array that receives pressurized fresh brine and generates fresh water and pressurized spent brine includes a hollow cylinder with an internal volume subdivided by a piston in...
WO/2016/101026A1 PUMP APPARATUS
Pump apparatus comprising a base having a forward end region and a rearward end region with a longitudinal axis extending in a direction between the forward and rearward end region, a power unit and a reel assembly operatively mounted to...
WO/2016/096206A1 DRIVESHAFT
A three-part driveshaft assembly for a high pressure fuel pump, comprising a shaft, at least one cam lobe located in an interference fit on a first mid-portion of the shaft, and a thrust washer located in an interference fit on a second ...
WO/2016/095865A1 COLOR PASTE PUMP CAPABLE OF BOTH MASSIVE INJECTION AND MICRO INJECTION
A color paste pump capable of both massive injection and micro injection, the pump comprising: a large reciprocating displacement pump (1, 2, 5), the large reciprocating displacement pump (1, 2, 5) comprising a large reciprocating piece ...
WO/2016/097146A1 PUMP SYSTEM FOR INLINE CONDITIONING
A pump system is disclosed. The pump system includes a cavity (102) comprising one or more inlet check valves (120, 122) and one or more outlet check valves (124, 126). A piston (104) having an enlargement (106) at a substantially middle...
WO/2016/094508A1 MAGNETIC ROTATIONAL TO LINEAR ACTUATOR FOR WELL PUMPS
A well pump includes a plunger reciprocally carried within a barrel between up stroke and down stroke positions. A tubular linear actuator housing located below the barrel has a rotatable rotor. An array of rotor magnets is mounted to th...
WO/2016/092319A1 A FLUID MOTOR AND A FLUID PUMP
A fluid machine for a pneumatic or hydraulic drive system, said fluid machine being able to work as a fluid motor or as a fluid pump, comprising: at least two piston assemblies each comprising a piston means (110a-c), the at least two pi...
WO/2016/091437A1 PISTON ASSEMBLY FOR A PRESSURE-PRODUCING DEVICE OF A BRAKE SYSTEM OF A MOTOR VEHICLE
The invention relates to a piston assembly (5) for a pressure-producing device (12) of a brake system (1) of a motor vehicle, comprising a piston (10), which can be at least partially inserted into an opening (14) formed in a hydraulic u...
WO/2016/091901A1 METHOD FOR WATER PURIFICATION BY REVERSE OSMOSIS AND APPARATUS IMPLEMENTING SUCH A METHOD
The present invention relates to an energetically self-contained method for water purification and to an apparatus implementing such a method, said apparatus including: (a) a module for producing thermodynamic energy from a working fluid...
WO/2016/084320A1 TRIGGER TYPE LIQUID SPRAYER
Provided is a trigger type liquid sprayer (1) which does not exhibit liquid leakage even when a lateral force is applied to a trigger (35). A pump (18) in the trigger type liquid sprayer (1) according to the present invention has: a cyli...
WO/2016/083969A1 MULTI-BOOSTER LIQUID PISTON PUMP
This invention concerns a power generating pump with multiple pressure boosters and generates extra pressure by pressurizing liquid or gas. This invention can be used in energy generation which is achieved by creating different pumps by ...
WO/2016/079031A1 COMPRESSOR WITH ADAPTABLE TRANSMISSION WITH RESPECT TO THE MOTIVE SOURCE
In the context of the invention, a compressor has been developed. This compressor has a crankcase in which a crankshaft is rotatably mounted in a crankspace. The crankcase contains at least one cylinder space in which a piston, mounted e...
A manual pump (P) comprising a pump body (B) defining a sliding barrel (F) for a piston (K) rigidly connected to an actuating rod (S), the pump (P) comprising a pump chamber (C) and an outlet valve (V) disposed between the pump chamber (...
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Armed Robbery At Food Store
As of Monday, July 8, 2019
By NICO SCAVELLA
nscavella@tribunemedia.net
POLICE are investigating the armed robbery of a Super Value food store yesterday morning.
According to police, the incident took place shortly after 8am at Super Value’s East Street and Robinson Road location.
Reports said that an armed man entered the store, held up the employees and robbed the store of an undisclosed amount of cash before escaping.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
Last month, Super Value’s Baillou Hill Road location was the victim of a burglary, where the suspects stacked shopping carts to escape the store through a hole cut in the roof.
According to police, officers responded to an alarm activation at the store shortly after 1am on June 28 when they discovered the culprits had cut a hole into the store’s roof, before lowering themselves into the building using ropes.
Police said the assailants searched the store, before stacking several dozen shopping carts together for use as a ladder. The makeshift contraption allowed the assailants a way back into the roof, from where they escaped.
On November 12, 2017, Super Value’s Nassau Street branch was robbed by two armed robbers who put a gun to the head of one of the cashiers and forced their way inside the store. Afterwards, the suspects told the cashiers to get on the floor, then put a gun to the assistant manager’s head and forced him to the safe where they took a float.
Afterwards, the robbers tried to get money out of the cash registers but couldn’t get the drawers open, whereupon they left. However, the incident was so traumatic that three female employees had to be sent to hospital to be treated for “shock”.
Supermarket thieves build trolley ladder to escape
Suspect in Super Value robbery turns himself in to police
Man arrested for Super Value raid
Hunt for robbers
Super Value staff held at gunpoint
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A Brighter Bahamas, Still Comin'
By Rev Canon Sebastian S Campbell
How fortunate to have been part and parcel of the campaign to Independence. To have witnessed it, heard the arguments for and against it, it helps me to know pretenders who today claim to have supported it then. The most defining moment in Bahamian history was viciously challenged on "stupid" political and selfish lines.
I heard ridiculous arguments advanced by opposing forces such as: Independence, yes, but not now. The Bahamas is not ready for so great a feat. Cuba will reach out its long hands and put little Bahamas into its big pockets. Don't get rid of the white man, for we know where our bread is buttered. Blacks are not ready to lead. The Bahamas has no army to defend itself against an attack. It will mean hard work we are not familiar with.
How can we forget the separatist movement in Abaco, with Errington Watkins prominent in it. Abaco, it was alleging, wanted to leave the Bahamas if indeed independence was ever realised. I am not for certain when they rescinded this position. Prime Minister Lynden Pindling opined that he always questioned the seriousness of those proposing this movement.
I personally remember misguided sentiments that had the potential to wreck our Bahamian ship of state as it sailed into uncharted seas. For some, independence meant smooth sailing, or better put, "a rose garden" environment. There was the belief that every foreigner was to be banished from these shores and the country seize their wealth. There was the fierce argument to switch from being a colony of Great Britain and becoming tied colonially to the United States. Others opined that we had already achieved this association from which, too, we must be freed.
In Cat Island, our thoughts centered on the basic sustenance of life that eluded us. We thought it meant all Bahamians would be equal in opportunities such as a high school education, which was not available on our home shore. And yes, we honestly hoped it would usher in running water, electricity and the likes. We had painted a rosy picture; we thought it was possible that at the stroke of midnight a new day of instant opportunities would arrive.
An intense campaign was necessary and was waged up until the September 19, 1972 General Election, which was used as a referendum to empower the government to go forward in this pursuit. Prime Minister Pindling blazed the trail, when in April 1972, he said, "We should always use our heads to make the most of our pride of being. Independence will mean work for us all, self reliance for all, dignity for us all, and reward for us all. But the mere fact of Independence will not promise us a rose garden."
We have still the Herculean tasks of our social problems striking at every breast. Some of us carrying more than our fair share - poverty, teenage pregnancy, poor health, squalid conditions, school non-attendance, domestic violence, substance abuse, suicide, divorce, homosexuality, unemployment, drug abuse...need we go on? But too many Family Islands have unique problems, unknown to city-slickers. Basic needs of life are still not addressed, like the running water in Cat Island, the population drain from our Southern Islands. After 43 years and three prime ministers we still wrestle for answers in attaining the simple, basic necessities in our Out Islands, as "one Bahamas" eludes us. Anger and despair are constant companions in many settlements and in our inner-city.
Not once must we ever be misled in even imagining these are government-only challenges. Our collective heads must bump together and our churches must come together with civic Bahamas. We must be more proactive in the fight for human rights and human dignity. Our clergy must play an essential role in strengthening communities and respond to endemic ills. Partnerships must be sought and become a living reality to rescue our perishing Bahamians who have fallen below the dignity lines. Our national independence can best be lived out through inter-dependence.
P Anthony White addressing this issue says, "Regrettable, distressingly, it is apparent that far too few Bahamians, even some of those who were ardent supporters of the later Sir Lynden Pindling, were ever familiar with that momentous counsel the father of the nation gave Bahamians more than a year before Independence. Too many Bahamians look for that 'rose garden; they will not find it until and unless they cultivate it themselves. But again many slackers normally get along quite well mostly to the tolerance and permissiveness of others, but as years go by and hairs go grey they would do well still to heed Sir Lynden's words and teach the young the true story of Independence."
The journey continues lined with potholes and booby traps. Only the brave will survive it, the less brave we must carry on our shoulders until they learn to be daring and bold enough to walk courageously in claiming this land as their own.
Someone tell govt we're broke
Honours system passed to reward Bahamians
Johnson ready to act on disclosures, and says that shanty towns must not be ignored
Deputy's call to follow in wake of founders
Paradise Lost: DNA Independence message
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Felicia Orvalla (Singapore) - Miss Earth 2011
Miss Earth 2011 Beauty Pageant
Candidates | Contestants Profile
Miss Singapore
Felicia Orvalla
Hometown: Singapore
Environmental Views:
What environmental project will you create to promote the protection of Mother Earth and why?
In my home country, Singapore, land is a very limited resource; hence, many forests have to be cleared to make way for human developments. I will therefore incite environmental restoration in my country by encouraging building developers to make rooftop gardens to ensure that Singapore is kept green and beautiful. I will also carry out campaigns to educate the public, especially the young, on the importance of protecting Mother Earth. I will do so by emphasizing the significance of practicing the 3 Rs, that is to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle; where a little action goes a long way.
What makes you proud of the country you are representing, and what can you promote about your country?
I'm very proud of Singapore, my country, because it's well known for being a clean and green city. Many tourists who visit our sunny island feel that Singapore is like a garden city, with so many trees and other greens everywhere; and that it's unbelievably litter-free! When it comes to environmental pollution, I'm certainly proud to say that we have set a very good example to the whole world by keeping our environment in such a wonderfully unpolluted state despite the fact that we are highly urbanized. Singaporeans have been very obedient when it comes to cleanliness; since strict rules, such as banning of chewing gums, are implemented to keep our city clean and green. And despite the fact that we are not blessed with large areas of primary forests, I dare to boast that our Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, which is located at the centre of the Singapore City, is considered to be one of the most productive pieces of nature and houses over one thousand species of flora and fauna.
Describe your childhood/growing years.
Like many other kids, I had a very happy and memorable childhood. Some of the things that I can still remember were playing games such as hide and seek with my mates during recess and after school. I was also a very vain little girl who loved to dress up and pose for pictures, and I recalled being sent to catwalk for some kids' fashion shows too. I've also done some solo singing on the stage, which I couldn't even remember until I saw the pictures my mom took! I remember that I loved to draw, I wasn't that artistic but I was quite good at coloring because some of my drawings were taken by my Arts teacher and were used as samples for fellow students. During those growing years, I was also quite an independent kid given my tender age, as I always helped my mom babysit my younger brother who is six years my junior. I think that it was being the eldest kid in the family that made me so responsible and thoughtful.
What lessons did you learn from your childhood/growing years? ?
I feel that I've learned uncountable things throughout my life, and one of them, which I learnt during my growing years was being able to think and differentiate the right from the wrong. During those times where my mates played and didn't care about studies, I was one of those few who knew how important it is to be diligent, to earn good grades and to go to my dream school. I eventually reaped what I sowed when I came out as the top student when I graduated from Secondary school. Another important thing that I learnt was the power of friendship. I made many childhood friends whom I still keep in touch with up until today. Most of them have gone overseas to pursue their studies, but we always make it a point to meet up when they do come back to Singapore. Having friends and knowing that they love you despite the physical distance is a wonderful thing that no money can buy. A person may change, but true friendship does not.
What is your environmental advocacy?
Right now, being the winner of Miss Earth Singapore 2011 has given me the chance to use my wit and charm to capture the public's attention so that i may be able to raise awareness on environmental conservation. I feel that this is a very great opportunity for me to show how I can actually do my part to help save our Mother Earth from environmental degradation. I feel that educating the public, especially the young, has a key role in conveying environmental messages. First of all, we have to let them know the environmental problems that we are now facing; only then will they be able to understand the reasons why they should do their parts to save the earth. Through campaigns, I will urge the public to cultivate the good habit of doing their parts by practicing the 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) in their daily lives.
*Back to Miss Earth 2011 Delegates: Batch A-D | Batch E-K | Batch L-P | Batch R-Z
Watch Miss Earth 2011 Online
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Posted on April 6, 2016 by
Female Artists from Bangladesh
To celebrate the independence day of Bangladesh, a six-day art exhibition was held at the Voluntary Artists’ Studio in Thimphu (VAST).
Led by one of Bangladesh’s connoisseurs of contemporary art, Rokeya Sultana, the exhibition which concludes today, showcases the art of five other female Bangladeshi artists from the University of Dhaka.
Some of the works include Rokeya Sultana’s “Madonna series”, tapestries inspired by the folk tradition of Nabila Nabi, the trauma of the Bangladesh liberation war by Rashida Akter and the childhood memories of Akhinoor Binte Ali to name a few.
Also a professor at the University of Dhaka, Rokeya Sultana, said this is the first women artist group from Bangladesh showcasing their work in Bhutan.
“We are happy that we are given this chance to show our art works to Bhutanese audience,” Rokeya Sultana said.
Although contemporary art is fairly a new concept in Bhutan, there are plenty of talented young artists at VAST, Rokeya Sultana said. “Such platforms are important for artisans to be able to interact and share ideas with each other,” she added. “I hope many young Bhutanese artists will come to study art in Bangladesh.”
Rokeya Sultana is a recipient of many international grants and awards, including a Fulbright research award and a French government grant.
Rokeya Sultana rose to fame two decades ago with her “Madonna series”, a collection of colourful paintings depicting the ordinary life of a mother and daughter in Dhaka – sometimes squeezed in a bus, hopping on a rickshaw or being drenched in rain, facing life on her own terms.
Like Madonna, Rokeya Sultana also creates various opportunities for young budding artists in Bangladesh teaming up with galleries and organising various art festivals in Bangladesh.
“This is a start in Bhutan and we hope that we can create many new opportunities for young Bhutanese artists as well,” she said.
Founder of VAST, Azha Karma, said such exposure is important for young Bhutanese artists to improve on their skills.
“Through this initiative, we are trying to revive scholarship programmes for young Bhutanese artists as well,” he said. “We hope that through such programmes we will be able to send at least two Bhutanese students to study in Bangladesh every year.”
Such exhibitions are important since it gives a platform for young artists to create new artistic connections, share knowledge and learn new skills, Azha Karma added.
Embassies of the two countries aided to organise the exhibition.
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Democracy & Participation
“Three mistakes we must not make”
January 24, 2019 564 views Nigeria, political participation, youths and representational politics
As Nigerians get ready to go to the polls in February, 2019 Olawole Olakunle, 24, a Correspondent from Lagos in Nigeria, has a word of caution for young politicians. He argues that there are three mistakes his generation must not make.
Our generation is blessed with some of the best of talents in all stratums of societal endeavours and I would implore us as young people to look at the blessings and curses of our past leaders, and avoid the mistakes made.
Since the passing of the #Nottooyoungtorun bill, I have seen a host of young people with little or no political experience in any leadership/political field raise their hopes by throwing in their weight into contest for the 2019 elections.
It is as a result of the vast increase in the number of young people throwing their hats in the ring for the coming elections that I am inspired to write this piece, so that alas, we will not fall into the trap of reliving the failures of our past leaders.
The ability to understand politics and society the way it is and not the way it should be is the first and principal step in organizing a society. How then do we organize our society if we do not understand the murky water that lies beyond the rhetoric of #Nottooyoungtorun. Nigeria post 2019 might just be heading towards absolute collapse, if we as a generation, we are not conscious of the mistakes our past leaders make and avoid them.
Of all the mistakes made by our past leaders, making the following 3 mistakes would be disastrous not only for this generation, but for subsequent ones. Hence it’s imperative to take a close look at the pitfalls we must avoid..
Do not repeat the mistakes of 1999
Although successive governments tend to solve the problems of past generations, yet it is obvious that every generation has a challenge to deal with that is peculiar to it. The year 1999 was the beginning of our country’s return to democracy after many years of being dragged in the murky waters of dictatorship, civil war, coup d’etat, and military suppression. It took the intervention of the student community,labor unions, the press, notable young Nigerians,National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and most importantly the death of Abacha to help restore our democracy after over 20 years in military chains.
Our hopes were reignited, as high as the Moshood Abiola’s manifesto (Hope ’93) but unfortunately, after 19 years of return to democratic government, it has become glaring that the democracy we clamoured for is different from our current democratic realities – as some of political realities pre 1999 are still our realities today .
For example it is unfortunate to see the scholars, unionist, writers, activists, businessmen, and other well-meaning Nigerians who clamored for our return to democracy, shying away from the political scene, leaving Nigerians with no option but to adopt the military hierarchies as our political elite and repackaged politicians.
The blatant mistake of 1999, made unconsciously by capable hands shying away from politics, paved the way for a new political elite composed of old military leaders whose definition of democracy is different from the norm.
To avoid a repetition of such bad history in the wake of the #Nottooyoungtorun, it is important that we take note of the young people who are putting themselves up for leadership. We cannot afford to be dragged back to 1999 in 2019.
Do not attain political offices without clear blueprints
If perhaps you’ve read Abiola’s Hope ’93, you would see a leader who knows the gravity of the challenges/problems on ground and whose manifesto answers all the problem with a designed blueprint.
Unfortunately, we are at a time where consultants produce manifesto (ready-made) for candidates at the right price.
Over time, we’ve had leaders campaign with different manifestos and agendas in response to the wailing of the citizens about the matters affecting them, but we have hardly seen a political leader present a detailed blueprint that covers the scope of our problems.
It would be calamitous for us as a generation to repeat the mistake of getting power without the blueprints of what we want as a generation and how we can solve all our problems irrespective of who becomes what. One of the greatest political leaders of all times, Joseph the dreamer (Biblical Joseph) designed a 14 years economic blueprint for Egypt while in prison that helped salvage the nation from the worst economic recession that was looming ahead.How many Joseph do we have in our political space?
Unfortunately, we might just keep running the political rat race, changing political parties like football club with mouth watering manifesto and slogan, without solution to our ever looming challenges.
Do not fail to address foundation issues that shape the lives of Nigerians
Finally, past generations either knowingly or not have shied away from having dialogue on pertinent issues that address the foundation of our nation Nigeria. A good student of Nigerian history would understand that at the root of Nigeria’s problems lies unresolved inequalities that affect our co-existence.
In the quest to play to the gallery, we have became like a wife in an an abusive marriage who wouldn’t complain about the unbearable situation because, the marriage is dear to her.I am afraid that the greatest mistake our generation might repeat is in our inability to dialogue truthfully to address the issues that affect national cohesion.
Our generation must be able to provide answer to the question “What is Nigeria”? The answer to the above question would inadvertently pave the way for the blueprints of a new Nigeria.
I hope that we realize that the reason why we keep our elders close to us is to learn from the very mistakes that limited them.
Photo credit: The Commonwealth’s Asset Bank
I am Nigeria’s youngest political party national youth leader, and currently National Youth Leader for KOWA Party Nigeria. A youth organizer and pragmatic leader who believes in the power of down ballot candidates in making any democratic revolution.
I am permanent host for “Morning Rave” a Political discussion that airs on Rave TV. My book “Too broke to run” is expected to be out soon.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Articles are published in a spirit of dialogue, respect and understanding. If you disagree, why not submit a response?
To learn more about becoming a Commonwealth Correspondent please visit: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/submit-articles/
About Yvonne Chin Irving
Yvonne Chin Irving an Editor of YourCommonwealth.org
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Busta’s Person of the Week: A nine-year-old future gazillionaire
Chef J'Avia
By Busta Brown
“I’m going to have a gazillion stores nationwide. I wanna see my candles in everybody’s house, and I wanna inspire other kids to start their dreams,” said nine-year-old J’Avia.
J’Avia owns a candle business, Chef J’Avia Scents, in Winston-Salem. Her kiosk is set up in the Marketplace Mall on Peters Creek Parkway. As people entered the mall, they couldn’t help but visit the kiosk, because it smells wonderful and the vibe is very inviting.
The first face I noticed was a smiling Chef J’Avia, her beautiful family and lots of happy and satisfied customers surrounding the nine-year-old future gazillionaire’s kiosk. Carolyn Davis said she’s very proud to support the young entrepreneur. “I came out here specifically for this candle. I got the lemon pound cake.”
Meldine Lee is another satisfied customer. “I did come out just to see her. I’m really impressed.” Meldine bought three candles – two orange loving spells and one warm apple.
Chef J’Avia has a great rapport with her customers. When you meet the adorable nine-year-old, her positive spirit is contagious. Everyone walked away with candles and a warm smile. “Your candles smell beautiful. You’re special and very blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive family,” said a new customer before she left with several candles.
The names of the candles are fun and uplifting. “We have birthday cake and red velvet, and they have different colors. We have Fruit Loops – It has three layers and kids really love that cause it’s a cereal. We have magical unicorn for little girls. They’re like oooh! Is it magical? Black tuxedo and black tea, these scents that men love,” Chef J’Avia shared. She even has a bacon-scented candle. “Nobody has the birthday or red velvet candle, or Fruit Loops. You can’t find these candles anywhere else. I have a funny and crazy personality and that’s how I came up with all the names for my candles. If I didn’t have my personality, they would be regular candles.”
I bought the Fruit Loops candle for my six-year-old son Nate and he loves it. I asked J’Avia what the ingredients for the Fruit Loops candles are and she replied with a cute smile, “It’s a secret.” I asked how it feels to own a business at such a young age. “I’m a step ahead having my own business now, instead of waiting ‘til I’m 18 and working, then working for somebody else. I started a candle business because I always liked making potions, so I have fun doing this.”
Fun is written all over her face. “I also love talking and making them smile, so that’s one of the things I love most about my business.” And people clearly love talking to her; she was nearly sold out of candles in the 30 minutes we talked.
J’Avia has two important ingredients she couldn’t keep a secret. When you visit her kiosk at the Marketplace Mall, it’s obvious: Family and love. One customer said it best: her family is very supportive. The entire family was in full work mode. Mom Philicia Carter Blue, dad Dion Blue, baby sister Dionna, and her 11-year sister JCB, who’s also an entrepreneur. “Dionna will be an entrepreneur as well,” said Philicia. Both Dion and Philicia credit their daughter’s business sense and intellect due to home schooling. “It has a huge impact on her skills. We’re able to work with her one on one, and that helps with developing her ability to think quick. With home school it’s easier to focus on teaching her entrepreneurship. That helps her with math skills, and communication skills. She knows how to count quickly and think on the spot,” said mom. “The candle making process is science. She must measure the ingredients, create fragrances, pour the ingredients into the vase. It’s a lot of work that helps learn first hand about science,” said dad. Dion also helps J’Avia make the candles.
The future gazillionaire is very independent, says mom. “We don’t have to do much. She talks to the customers, make sales, order supplies, come up with the scents, choose the wax that we use. She’s involved in all the decision making.”
She’s also very animated about the candles being all-natural soy, safe, and no toxins. As a parent, I love knowing that information. My son Nate was smelling his Fruit Loop candle the entire ride home. Before we went home, we made a quick stop to the grocery store to pick up a box of Fruit Loops cereal. I can see Chef J’Avia on the cereal box, with that contagious smile. Gazillions!
I asked little business princess how she has fun. “I play on my phone researching new ideas for my business. I like to stay updated. I like to learn Spanish. I know Spanish. And I like to watch TV with my sister and play with my sister.” I asked who her favorite celebrity is, and she confidently said, “Me. I’m my favorite celebrity.” And she didn’t break a smile. At that point, she became one of my favorite celebrities as well. She credits her parents for her success. “I followed in their footsteps. They always told me I should never work for anybody. I seen them and my sister start a business, and they told me that I can do it, too.”
What’s her 10-year plan? “I want to move to Los Angeles and open up lots of stores there.” Chef J’Avia is also a great cook and plans to open a gazillion restaurants as well. Stop by Chef J’Avia Scents kiosk at the Marketplace Mall in Winston-Salem. You can contact her at 336-893-4209 or www.chefjaviascents.com.
To see my interview with J’Avia go to our YouTube channel at winstonsalem chronicle.
Busta BrownBusta's Person of the WeekChef J’Avia ScentsJ'Avia Carter
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Bit Chiellini
He ran to referees to complain like a b****, but they told him to go f*** himself.
Then he cried to Mexes like a b****, but he told him to STFU.
Then he cried to Bonera like a b****, but he told him to STFU.
Rumours say even Tassotti had to have a word with this soft-a** snitchb****.
Then he went on to the media to cry like a b**** and it is safe to think he also went to a psychiatrist, who told him to STFU. Now Giorgio is probably at his mom’s place complaining like a b****, but not even the greatest mother-love can stand this sort of b****ing from a grown man and he might be disowned from his family. Only Juventus is retarded enough to act like he’s an OK dude.
Maldini would tell with elegance:
Zlatan is more straight-up:
Shoutout to snitchb**** II – Morgan De Sanctis.
“Referee, referee. Did you see? Did you see? I was such a great hall-monitor North-Korea invited me to be their honorary citizen.”
Move 67 from the Snitchbook: fall-on-your-knees-for-the-injustice-of-the-world.
Microsoft Paint
Footballzz
Bring Your Sister
Toblerone Jones
AC Milan (3) vs. Napoli (0) Photos – 28/02/2011
After a scoreless first half, Milan came out determined after the break to earn a 3-0 win via a penalty converted by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and goals in quick succession from Kevin-Prince Boateng and Alexandre Pato. A dominating and convincing performance in front of their home fans at the San Siro, Milan are now 5 points clear of rivals Inter who have moved into 2nd place.
Photo gallery: AC Milan (3) vs. Napoli (0) – 28/02/2011
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Comedy - Page 65
Music Videos & Concerts
TV Game Shows
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4.5 of 5.0 with 17 Reviews
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Modern Family Season 7
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Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates
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La La Land 4K Ultra HD [Blu-ray + Digital HD]
Winner of 6 Academy Awards® including Best Director for writer/director Damien Chazelle, and winner of a record-breaking 7 Golden Globe® Awards, LA LA LAND is more than the most acclaimed movie of the year - it's a cinematic treasure for the ages that you'll fall in love with again and again. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling star as Mia and Sebastian, an actress and a jazz musician pursuing their Hollywood dreams - and finding each other - in a vibrant celebration of hope, dreams, and love.
Grace And Frankie: Season 2
They've been through a lot together, and odd couple Grace and Frankie have bonded. But they still drive each other crazy on a regular basis.
Orange Is The New Black: Season 4
New faces and old resentments make for a potentially volatile blend, especially now that Litchfield is a for-profit business.
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Blow-Up (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
Manufacturer: HBO Studio Brand: HBO Studio
Silicon Valley: The Complete Third Season BD with Digital HD [Blu-ray]
Silicon Valley: The Complete Third Season (Blu-Ray + Digital HD)" From Mike Judge (King of the Hill, Beavis and Butt-Head) and Alec Berg (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld) comes a new season of theEmmy®-nominated comedy that takes viewers inside Silicon Valley's high-tech gold rush: a land of big ideas and bigger egos. Afterlast season's shocking ending, which found Pied Piper celebrating legal victory just as Richard (Thomas Middleditch) was ousted asCEO, Season 3 picks up where we left off, with Richard offered the diminished role of CTO and the rest of his team – Erlich (T.J.Miller), Jared (Zach Woods), Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) and Gilfoyle (Martin Starr) – facing the question of just how far theirloyalty extends. With a new no-nonsense CEO hell-bent on transforming everything from Pied Piper's offices to its business agenda,the guys must find a way to triumph in the war of Art vs. Commerce, maneuvering the many competing interests along the way.Meanwhile, as Gavin Belson (Matt Ross) works to rehabilitate Hooli's image following his blunders, Big Head (Josh Brener) findshimself in a new partnership, while at Raviga, Laurie (Suzanne Cryer) holds her cards close to the vest, as Monica (Amanda Crew)tries to look out for Pied Piper's best interests. With its patented brand of silly and satirical humor, this season of SiliconValley continues to probe the ripe-for-comedy world of tech, as our heroes grow bolder, if not always wiser. "]]>
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Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection (Blu-ray)
The original Dracula is one of the silver screen's most unforgettable characters and, along with the other Universal Classic Monsters, defined the Hollywood horror genre. Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection includes all 6 films from the original legacy including the frightening classic starring Bela Lugosi and the timeless films that followed. These landmark motion pictures defined the iconic look of the famed vampire and continue to inspire countless remakes and adaptations that strengthen the legend of Dracula to this day.
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Home About Projects Events Publications Team Global Advisory Council Our Transparency Job Board Contact
Beth Simone Noveck
Professor and Director
Governing Profile
Forbes Profile
Smarter State Website
Books by Beth Simone Noveck
Smart Citizens, Smarter State
Wiki Government
The State of Play
Beth Simone Noveck's Photo
Beth Simone Noveck's Photo in High Res
Beth Simone Noveck directs the Governance Lab (GovLab) and its MacArthur Research Network on Opening Governance. She is a Professor in Technology, Culture, and Society and affiliated faculty at the Center for Urban Science and Progress at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering and a Fellow at NYU’s Institute for Public Knowledge. New Jersey governor Phil Murphy appointed her as the state’s first Chief Innovation Officer in 2018. She is also Visiting Senior Faculty Fellow at the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. Previously, Beth served in the White House as the first United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer and director of the White House Open Government Initiative under President Obama. UK Prime Minister David Cameron appointed her senior advisor for Open Government.
At the GovLab, she directs better governance programs, including work with public institutions on public engagement in lawmaking (CrowdLaw), expert-sourcing innovative solutions to hard problems (Smarter Crowdsourcing), co-creation between cities and citizens (City Challenges). She also coaches "public entrepreneurs." working with passionate individuals to take their public interest projects from idea to implementation.
A graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School, she is a member of the Scholars Council of the Library of Congress, the Center for Open Science, Open Contracting Partnership and the EPSRC Centre for the Mathematics of Precision Healthcare. Beth also serves on the International Advisory Board of the NHS Digital Academy and the Yankelovich Democracy Monitor as well as a member of the Inter-American Development Bank President’s Commission on Transparency and Corruption and the Global Future Council on Technology, Values and Policy for the World Economic Forum. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the Collective Intelligence Conferences and GIGAPP (Grupo de Investigación en Gobierno, Administracion y Politicas Publicas). She is co-editor of the Association for Computing Machinery’s Digital Government Research and Practice journal.
In 2018, Beth was awarded a Robert Schumann Fellowship at the European University Institute and a Richard von Weizsaecker Fellowship by the Robert Bosch Foundation. Beth was named one of the “World’s 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government 2018” by Apolitical. Previously, she was selected as one of the “Foreign Policy 100” by Foreign Policy as well as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company and “Top Women in Technology” by Huffington Post.
Beth is the author of Smart Citizens, Smarter State: The Technologies of Expertise and the Future of Governing (Harvard Univ Press 2015) and Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger and Citizens More Powerful (Brookings 2009) and co-editor of The State of Play: Law, Games and Virtual Worlds (NYU Press, 2005). Her next book, Public Entrepreneurship: Training the Next Generation of Public Leader and Problem Solver, will appear with Yale Press. Her TED talk is here. She tweets @bethnoveck.
In the News keyboard_arrow_down
In the News keyboard_arrow_up
Salon 31: Workspheres (MoMa R&D, May 2019)
Professor Beth Simone Noveck’s talk at the MoMA R&D Salon which discussed the changing landscape of workspheres in the current political and social landscape.
Beth Noveck, Asesora de Obama, Nos Explica Cómo la Tecnología Puede Hacer Más Transparentes Nuestras Democracias (El País, December 16, 2015)
An article in El País describing Professor Beth Simone Noveck’s tenure in the White House as Deputy Chief Technology Officer.
Beth Noveck: On the C-SPAN Networks (C-SPAN, 2009)
Professor Beth Simone Noveck discusses topics like transparency, open government, and civic engagement across three appearances in the C-SPAN video library.
How Germany is preparing to digitize government and labor (Deutsche Welle, May 2019)
Igualdad: Internet Está Creando Desigualdad, Pero Hay Formas de Arreglarlo (Montse Hidalgo Perez & Guillermo Vega, Retina, April 1, 2019)
The Future of City Innovation (Beth Noveck, Bloomberg Cities, March 19, 2019)
New Ways of Working for Government (Bloomberg, 2018)
El Ejemplo de Madrid y por qué la Participación Ciudadana Aún no Funciona (Jordi Pérez Colomé, El País, December 10, 2018)
Top 10 Books About Building Cities (Jonathan Carr, The Guardian, March 13, 2019)
New Jersey Chief Innovation Officer Beth Noveck: Using Technology to Shape Policy (Casey Leins, US News, September 21, 2019)
Who knows best? Cities consult citizens for fresh ideas (Sophie Davies, Thomson Reuters Foundation News, February 12, 2019)
Beth Noveck on How Open Data and Direct Democracy Could Restore Our Faith in Politics (Australian Broadcasting Corp, September 12, 2018)
Elections Won’t Save Our Democracy. But ‘CrowdLaw’ Could. (Beth Noveck, The Washington Post, October 2, 2018)
NJ’s First CIO Explains How Technology Can Improve Government Services (Briana Vannozzi, NJTV News, October 1, 2018)
Innovation Lead Will Help New Jersey Modernize Process, Support the Tech Economy (Theo Douglas, GovTech, August 27, 2018)
Artificial Intelligence and the End of Government (Daniel Araya, Forbes, January 4, 2019)
Digital Crusaders: Technology Offers Weapons for the Battle Against Corruption (Chris Wellisz, IPS News, December 18, 2018)
Renovating Democracy from the Bottom Up (Nathan Gardels, The Washington Post, October 5, 2018)
The Simple but Ingenious System Taiwan Uses to Crowdsource Its Laws (Chris Horton, MIT Technology Review, August 21, 2018)
Australia’s Top 4 on the Global Stage of Digital Government Influencers (Harley Dennett, The Mandarin, August 9, 2018)
The Impact of Technology on Democracy (The Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2018)
[German] Die Digitalrätin aus New York (Die Zeit, August 29 2018)
Citizen participation in law-making and public policy: An Interview with Beth Simone Noveck (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 28 2018)
The ex-White House digital champion bringing innovation to New Jersey(Apolitical, August 23 2018)
New Jersey hires GovLab founder as its first Chief Innovation Officer(Govtech, August 13 2018)
Best and worst of times: how disruption will reshape work (Sydney Morning Herald, August 11 2018)
If a robot's eating your job, it's probably eating your life expectancy too (Sydney Morning Herald, July 2018)
Interview with Beth Noveck in ERR Novataar (Eesti Rahvusringhääling, May 2018)
La Madre Del Gobierno Abierto (La Vanguardia, 2017)
Experta expondrá este jueves sobre uso de nuevas tecnologías en el gobierno (La Tercera, 2017)
The Policy Labs We Urgently Need (Governing, December 13 2017).
Can Smarter Crowdsourcing Stop Zika? (CityLab Miami 2016, Video): Beth Simone Noveck in conversation with Rudi Borrman.
The International Congress on Government Administration and Public Policy (#GIGAPP2016, Video): An Interview with Beth Simone Noveck.
The Tech Presidency - Governing in the Age of Big Data and Machine Learning (LinkedIn Speaker Series, 2016, Video): Beth Noveck’s talk at the LinkedIn Speaker Series
The Obama administration wanted to open up government to citizen input. Why hasn’t it worked? (The Washington Post, 2016): An interview with Beth Simone Noveck
Smart Citizens, Smarter State: The Technologies of Expertise (#BCTECHSummit, 2016, Video): Beth Noveck’s talk at the #BCTECHSummit
The big data opportunity (#BCTECHSummit, 2016, Video): Panel discussion moderated by Beth Noveck at the #BCTECHSummit
The Tinder Approach to Fixing Our Government (The Brian Lehrer Show, 2016, Audio): Beth Noveck on the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC 93.9 FM
How Technology can make our democracy more transparent (El Pais, 2015, Video): An interview with El Pais
Demand a more open source government (TED, 2012, Video): Beth Noveck at TED2012
Can the Open Data Revolution Change Our Democracy (TED Radio hour, 2012, Audio): NPR TED Radio Hour
What government can learn from tech (TechRepublic, 2015): A conversation with Beth Noveck
Bringing Democracy into the 21st century (Scenario Magazine, 2016): J.P O’Malley in the Scenario Magazine
The International Congress on Government Administration and Public Policy (#GIGAPP2016, Video): An Interview with Beth Simone Noveck
Selected Publications keyboard_arrow_down
Selected Publications keyboard_arrow_up
Beth Simone Noveck, "CrowdLaw: Collective Inteligence and Lawmaking", Analyse and Kritik 2018 (40) Heft 2, November 2018
Beth Simone Noveck, "Elections won't save our democracy. But 'crowdlaw' could", October 2018
Beth Simone Noveck, "Public Sector Digest: Leadership & Change Management", June 2018
Beth Simone Noveck, "New win and new bottles: The promise of research in the age of big data", February 2018 (Review of Bit by Bit: Social Research in the Digital Age, Matthew J. Salganik)
Congress Is Broken. CrowdLaw Could Help Fix It. (Forbes, 2018)
Rights-based and Tech-Driven: Open Data, Freedom of Information, and the Future of Government Transparency (Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal Volume XIX, Page 1, 2018)
Building the Smarter State: The Role of Data Labs and the Data Labs Case Studies (GovLab White Paper Series) (with Anirudh Dinesh) (Dec 2017).
How to mobilize group intelligence, Nature 551 (November 30, 2017): Beth Simone Noveck’s review of Geoff Mulgan’s book Big Mind
Beth Simone Noveck, Five hacks for digital democracy, Nature 544, 287-289 (April 20, 2017).
B.S. Noveck et al. Smarter Health-Boosting Analytical Capacity at NHS, The GovLab, February 2017.
Another NHS Crisis Looms-An Inability to Analyse Data (The Guardian, 2017): An Op-ed in The Guardian by Beth Noveck.
Could crowdsourcing expertise be the future of government?(The Guardian, 2016): An op-ed in the Guardian by Beth Noveck.
Beth Simone Noveck, Is Open Data the Death of FOIA?, 126 Yale L.J. F. 273 (2016)
The Rise of the Citizen Expert (Policy Network, 2016): Beth Simone Noveck’s article on citizen expertise in Policy Network.
Swipe right to fix the world: can Tinder-like tech match solutions to problems? (The Guardian, 2016): An Op-ed in The Guardian by Beth Noveck.
The Innovation the Grantmaking Process Needs (Governing, 2016): Beth Noveck and Andrew Young on Open Grantmaking.
Beth's Projects keyboard_arrow_down
Beth's Projectskeyboard_arrow_up
Civic Challenges
CrowdLaw
Public Entrepreneurship
Smarter Crowdsourcing
Crowdsorcerer
Data-Driven Criminal Justice
FDA Profiles
Information for Impact: Liberating Nonprofit Sector Data
Network of Innovators
NHS Public Data Science Network
Open Grantmaking
OPEN NYU
OrgPedia - Crowdsourcing and Impact Modeling
Peer to Patent
Smarter Crowdsourcing Anti Corruption
Smarter Crowdsourcing Cotopaxi
Smarter Crowdsourcing Zika
Smarter State Case Studies
Solving Public Problems with Data
The GovLab Academy
The GovLab Public Projects Canvas
The MacArthur Research Network for Opening Governance
Tweets by @bethnoveck
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Home / Auto Shows / 2018 Kia Stinger Debuts at 2017 NAIAS
2018 Kia Stinger Debuts at 2017 NAIAS
Kia Motors America stole the spotlight today with the world debut of the all-new 2018 Kia Stinger at the North American International Auto Show. A five-passenger fastback sports sedan poised to redefine a segment currently populated by European automakers, the Stinger promises to be the highest-performance production vehicle in the company’s history. Offered with multiple engine and drivetrain configurations and luxurious accommodations, the Stinger is planned to go on sale in the U.S. late this year. Pricing will be announced closer to the vehicle’s launch date.
“Unlike any Kia that has come before it, the Stinger really is a dream car for us, and here today in Detroit, that dream is now a reality after years of commitment and hard work from a passionate group of designers, engineers and executives around the world,” said Orth Hedrick, vice president, product planning, Kia Motors America. “From its GT concept-car origins to the years of tuning and refining on the legendary Nurburgring circuit, no detail was too small to be obsessed over, and the result is simply stunning.”
Instantly recognizable as a direct evolution of the concept that preceded it, the all-new 2018 Kia Stinger design was overseen by Peter Schreyer, Kia Motors’ chief design officer, and his talented team of designers in Frankfurt. Ride and handling development was looked after by Albert Biermann, head of Kia’s Vehicle Test and High Performance Development and his group of engineers in Korea and on the grueling Nurburgring racing circuit.
But what makes a true gran turismo? This question was the foundation for a years-long journey that began when the GT concept was first unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Although every Kia design study has a purpose, the GT concept was something considered by many outside the company as little more than a dream for a brand known for producing mass-market transportation rooted in value. But the GT ignited embers of passion that sparked a fire within the organization and over the next five years that fire would grow beyond fantasy and morph into reality.
Once the Stinger was green lighted, that gran turismo question became a mantra as development commenced. Coming from Kia, the design had to be bold. And it was. But it also had to be nimble and fast while also luxurious and quiet. It had to achieve the perfect balance of ride and handling and seat five comfortably with room for luggage. It had to be a lot of things, but most of all, it had to be an authentic gran turismo. And it is.
Turning a concept into a production car is no small task and Schreyer looked no further than Kia’s Frankfurt studio – the birthplace of the GT concept – to bring the Stinger to life. “A true gran turismo, a car for spirited long-distance driving, is not about outright power, hard-edged dynamics and brutal styling, all at the expense of luxury, comfort and grace,” notes Gregory Guillaume, chief designer, Kia Motors Europe. “The Stinger has nothing to do with being the first to arrive at the destination – this car is all about the journey. It’s about passion.”
From its sleek front clip through its svelte flanks, and up to its powerful haunches, the Stinger exudes a muscular confidence. Key to its road presence are the rear-wheel-drive proportions; a long hood and short front overhang, an extended wheelbase to deliver a spacious cabin, and a long rear overhang with strong shoulders. The Stinger’s stance and visual balance are designed to lend the car an air of elegance and athleticism, rather than boy-racer aggression.
The wide front and rear track, along with the recessed contours along the doors, enhance the visual power of the Stinger’s shoulder line as well as its fastback silhouette. Other purely functional elements of the exterior design – the front air curtains, wheel arch gills, smooth underbody, and integrated rear diffuser – aid its aerodynamic efficiency. The rear valance houses four oval exhaust pipes. Kia’s signature ‘tiger-nose’ grille sits proudly between complex LED headlamps.
The low-slung cabin with its steeply raked windshield and backlight, sits toward the rear of vehicle, creating a fast silhouette. Inside is a space dedicated to the thrill of driving while cossetting the occupants in luxury. Available ultra-soft Nappa leather covers the deeply contoured seats and the driver’s seat has available air-cell bladders in the seatback and bolsters for optimal support and comfort. A confident dashboard creates a strong horizontal plane for the driver to work. The center console is intuitively split into two specific areas: the infotainment controls sit neatly below a large color touchscreen, while the climate and ventilation controls nestle beneath. Front and center of the driver is a thick, leather-wrapped steering wheel and a single instrument binnacle with a combination of analog and digital instrumentation. The large gauges are ringed in metal and accentuated with sweeping red needles. A color TFT screen between the gauges relays performance data such as cornering G-forces, lap times and engine-oil temperature, along with ancillary information such as the trip computer, driver settings, navigation and diagnostics. Aeronautically-inspired spoked circular vents are found front and rear and a tasteful satin chrome trim piece encircles the cabin. The effect is a feeling of cocooned intimacy. But the long wheelbase allows for generous front and rear leg room and the low seating position provides ample head room front and back.
Joining the company from BMW in December, 2014, Albert Biermann’s first look at the Stinger signaled to him a car that had to live up to its stunning design from behind the wheel. “I think for the Kia brand, the Stinger is like a special event,” notes Biermann. “Because nobody expects such a car, not just the way it looks but also the way it drives. It’s a whole different animal.”
Setting the manufacturing hard-points of the body-in-white would define Stinger and the engineers looked carefully across a landscape dotted with contenders. At 114.4 inches, the Stinger’s wheelbase is longer than the Audi A4, Infiniti Q50, Lexus IS, BMW 4 Gran Coupe and even the Lexus GS and Mercedes CLS. It’s also longer overall (190.2 inches) and wider (73.6 inches) than the others in the segment, allowing for spacious accommodations. The Stinger’s cargo area is also larger than many in its class, with enough space for full-size luggage or golf bags and a power liftgate with Smart Trunk functionality is available.
Riding on a chassis comprised of 55 percent advanced high-strength steel, the Stinger provides an ultra-stiff foundation for the ride-and-handling engineers to work with. This rigidity also contributes to reduced NVH and a quiet cabin. The MacPherson front and multi-link rear suspension has been tuned to provide optimal feedback to the driver. A Kia first, ride-damping and vehicle handling traits may be modified by the driver through an electronically adjustable suspension known as Dynamic Stability Damping Control. While always reacting predictably to the driver’s inputs, depending on road conditions and driving style, the Stinger can be tuned to respond with more agility through corners as the system softens the front shocks and firms up the rear. Conversely, improved high-speed stability is achieved when the system stiffens the front shocks and softens the rear. The system is accessed through five drive modes (another Kia first): Personal, Eco, Sport, Comfort and Smart.
Standard variable ratio Rack-mounted Motor Driven Power Steering (R-MDPS) offers razor-sharp feedback through direct mounting of the electric motor on the steering rack, enhancing steering response and reducing unwanted vibration from transmitting through the column. Steering boost is also adjustable through the five selectable drive modes.
If the chassis symbolizes the bones of a gran turismo, then surely the available powertrains represent its heart. Oriented longitudinally and set rearward beneath the long, sculpted hood, a choice of two turbocharged engines are available.
While both engines are still under development, the standard 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder Theta II engine produces an estimated 255 horsepower at approximately 6,200 rpm. Max torque of 260 lb.-ft. is available from 1,400 – 4,000 rpm. Performance credentials are further enhanced through the available 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 Lambda II engine, which is anticipated to produce 365 horsepower at an estimated 6,000 rpm and offer max torque of 376 lb.-ft. from 1,300 – 4,500 rpm. Kia is targeting 5.1 seconds to 62 mph and a top speed of 167 mph with the twin turbocharged V6.
The Stinger features a second-generation eight-speed rear-drive automatic transmission. First offered in the K900 luxury sedan, the gearbox has been designed in-house and rewards drivers with crisp shifts and maximized fuel efficiency. More typically found in aviation- and racing-engine applications, the transmission features Kia’s first use of a Centrifugal Pendulum Absorber (CPA) torque converter to help reduce torsional vibrations through the drivetrain. Drivers can let the gearbox manage shifts on its own or may selectively run through the gears via paddle shifters mounted aft of the steering wheel. As with the suspension and steering, up to five different shift patterns may be selected through the vehicle’s electronic drive-mode system. Throttle mapping is also adjusted accordingly.
Recognizing that passionate drivers may not always reside in optimal climes, the Stinger is Kia’s first sedan available with rear- or all-wheel drive. Rear-wheel biased for optimal control in the wet or dry, the AWD system features a new Dynamic Torque Vectoring Control system which monitors driver inputs and road conditions and automatically applies power and braking force to the appropriate wheels to maintain course in adverse conditions. Rear-drive vehicles get the benefit of a mechanical limited slip differential to help evenly distribute power through the rear wheels.
A choice of alloy wheels and tires are also offered. The 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder models ride on 225/45R-18 performance tires while the 3.3-liter V6 is shod with staggered ultra-high performance rubber; 225/40R-19 in front and 255/35R-19 at the rear. Vented Brembo disc brakes are standard on the 3.3-liter twin turbo and feature quad-piston front calipers and dual-piston rear calipers.
Advanced Technology & Convenience
Offering luxurious amenities and unexpected features have become part of Kia’s DNA and the Stinger continues that tradition. Multiple Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) seamlessly work together to enhance the driving experience.
In the United States, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conservatively estimates that 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year3. This results in an estimated 1,550 deaths, and 71,000 injuries annually. A Kia first is the new Driver Attention Alert (DAA) system to help combat distracted or drowsy driving. The system monitors a number of inputs from the vehicle and the driver and will sound a warning chime and display a graphic in the instrument binnacle that it’s time to take a break from driving if it senses the driver’s attention level has been significantly reduced.
Forward Collision Assistance (FCA) with integrated Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection can detect a potential collision with another vehicle or pedestrian and help bring the car to a halt. Advanced Smart Cruise Control (ASCC) maintains a pre-set distance between the Stinger and the vehicle in front and can bring the car to a full stop in congested traffic. Lane Keep Assist (LKA) actively monitors the vehicle’s intended lane and will alert the driver with an audible warning along with providing steering input to help maintain the vehicle’s position. Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) scans the area behind the vehicle when backing from a parking space and will alert the driver with an audible warning if cross traffic is detected.
Connectivity, entertainment and vehicle information can be as important as a dynamic driving experience and the Stinger comes to market with the latest infotainment systems. The height-adjustable color Head-Up Display (HUD) display enables the driver to see key driving information reflected on the windshield glass, including speed, turn-by-turn navigation, audio and cruise control settings and Blind Spot Detection information. Resting within the center console is a wireless Smartphone charging pad and Bluetooth hands-free operation is standard while many of the vehicle’s subsystems may be accessed through the steering-wheel-mounted controls.
Long-distance travel is a hallmark of the gran turismo ownership experience and there is a trio of high-performance audio systems designed to turn the interior into a dynamic concert hall as the miles blur by. The base audio system for the 2.0-liter turbo features six-speakers and a seven-inch haptic touchscreen with the latest version of UVO, Kia’s award-winning telematics systems. The standard system found in the 3.3-liter twin turbo ups the speaker count to nine and includes an external amplifier. The available premium Harman/Kardon®7 audio system pumps out 720 watts through an external amplifier to provide crystal-clear music. With 15 speakers and Kia’s first under-seat mounted subwoofers tucked beneath the driver and passenger seats, the system features Clari-Fi, a patented music restoration technology that rebuilds audio signals that are lost in the digital compression process. This technology returns a high-fidelity listening experience to any compressed digital source. The system also comes equipped with next-generation QuantumLogic Surround Sound technology, which extracts signals from the original recording and redistributes them into an authentic, multidimensional soundstage for playback that is clear, refined and full of detail.
Tags: 2018, Kia, Luxury, naias, Performance, Stinger
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First Drive Review: 2018 Kia Stinger - The Intelligent Driver says:
[…] Stinger is all about the journey, and not the destination. The front-end is muscular and confident, with a […]
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