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For proof that star quality doesn't necessarily translate from one business to the next, look no further than the Royale Theater, where Sean Combs, otherwise known as rap mogul and fashion impresario P. Diddy, is giving a sadly N. Adequate performance at the center of the new Broadway revival of "A Raisin in the Sun."
Fortunately, Combs, a newcomer to the stage who lacks both presence and the requisite vocal technique, is surrounded by a trio of luminous actresses with considerable stage experience: Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan. Individually and collectively, they infuse the proceedings with the warming breath of life.
And it would be impossible to entirely mute the enduring appeal of Lorraine Hansberry's tough-minded, tenderhearted play about the financial and emotional struggles of an African-American family in 1950s Chicago. Audiences new to it may well be engrossed by its story of family love triumphing over economic oppression and despair, moved by the compassion and gritty eloquence of the writing, engaged by its still vibrant humor.
But director Kenny Leon's production draws its generally listless energy from its subdued leading man. It ambles when it should soar, raises a rueful smile when it should break the heart. And too often it translates Hansberry's finely wrought play, with its gentle but distinct poetic dimensions, into a sentimental sitcom.
Combs plays Walter Lee Younger, an ambitious young man in Chicago who is slowly dying inside as his dreams of achievement wither in the absence of economic opportunity. The rap producer is following in the daunting footsteps of Sidney Poitier, who created the role in the 1959 premiere, and Danny Glover, who played Walter in an acclaimed 1989 "American Playhouse" presentation.
Combs deserves some props for following such estimable forebears in the white-hot glare of the Broadway spotlight, with no previous stage training. But he is simply not up to the role's considerable demands. Walter's wild emotional swings — from despair to elation, from numbness to rage, from abject humiliation to fierce pride — are writ small in Combs' performance, and the play's impact is accordingly diminished.
"I'm a volcano!" shouts Walter at one point, high on booze and bursting with frustrated aspiration. But Combs' Walter is more like a cigarette lighter, emitting a small, continuous but inconspicuous flame. With his look of smoldering dissatisfaction and loping, truculent swagger, Combs convincingly suggests a young man embittered by life far too early. But his perf rarely moves beyond these defining gestures.
Hansberry's play, very much a product of its time, is constructed around crisply defined confrontations and monologues in which the characters reveal their deepest longings, fears, frustrations. In this production, Walter's big moments glide smoothly by, making minimal dramatic impact. As these mileposts disappear into the fog, all but illegible, one is tempted to conclude that Combs, undoubtedly an intelligent man, has opted to hedge his bets by underplaying. Rather than risk the embarrassment of failure, he strives only for modest success. He doesn't try to stretch toward the play's powerful emotional extremes and risk exposing his limitations as an actor.
When Walter learns he's been swindled out of the precious thousands entrusted to him by his mother, for instance, Combs folds in on himself, slumping forward and enfolding his head in his hands. This may be a plausible manner of depicting Walter's scalding sense of shame, but it's theatrically unsatisfactory. Emotion revealed through gesture and speech, not hidden by it, is theater's stock in trade.
Combs' conservative performance may limit damage to the star's reputation — it is by no means an embarrassment, and certainly his many fans aren't likely to be disappointed — but it fails to do full justice to Hansberry's play.
"A Raisin in the Sun" is an uncommonly sturdy piece of writing, to be sure, imbued with the grit of painful experience, clear-eyed but generous in spirit, stocked with richly drawn characters whose struggles against the limitations of their lives become a collective metaphor for the human predicament itself. And Combs' distaff co-stars all give performances of impeccable integrity.
McDonald, who plays Walter's wife, Ruth, sensitively conveys her exhausted fortitude and her inextinguishable love for her husband, whom she loves despite his flaws, and in some sense because of them. She shares Walter's unflagging need to break free from the stifling environment of Chicago's South Side, and Ruth's ecstatic outburst, when she learns the family will finally be leaving the cramped apartment shared by three generations, is among the production's spirited high points.
Rashad's Lena, the matriarch who provides her family with unceasing love accompanied by stern doses of corrective wisdom, is drawn in gentle but sure strokes. The moments in which this indomitable woman lets slip the mask of contentment she dutifully wears are powerfully unsettling, as when she is brought up short, stricken with momentary grief at the arrival of the check that puts a cool dollar value on her husband's long life of toil.
Lathan is bright, funny and energetic as Walter's feisty sister Beneatha. The character's proto-feminism and her staunch anti-assimilationist proselytizing are among the play's more obviously dated elements. Hansberry's writing strikes a rare callow note when Beneatha's enthusiastic exploration of African culture, through her friendship with Nigerian student Asagai (a savvy turn from Teagle F. Bougere), is played for easy laughs.
These are, unfortunately, sometimes underscored by Leon's direction, which settles for the most obvious paths through the play's comic detailing and its moments of poignancy and tenderness.
Harold Clurman wrote at length of the premiere production's "organic" quality. That quality, so essential to the success of this naturalistic play, with its neatly structured narrative, is precisely what's missing from Leon's staging. Thomas Lynch's set, which almost exaggerates the confining dimensions of the Youngers' small patch of real estate, is atmospherically dreary, and Brian MacDevitt's lighting meticulously stints on the sunlight.
But absent from the production as a whole is a crucial, collective sense of authenticity. Clurman also wrote, "The impact of the production transcends its script," but the reverse is the case here: The impact of the production diminishes the play.


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My name is Louis McCurry,
I'm a CajonistPhotographer.
Hi, welcome to the site about Baton Rouge Information and various music: Cajon, Zydeco, Saxophone, and other instrumental music. I will also provide updated information about music festivals that will be held in other parts of the world. Besides that, for those of you who are interested in knowing and playing Cajon & Zydeco musical instruments, you can come to our studio.

subset: commoncrawl


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Naval Air Station Lemoore (Operations): network infrastructure documentation and recommendations
Download Record
Sears, Gregg Gordon
Schneidewind, Norman
MetadataShow full item record
This thesis is a consolidated documentation of Naval Air Station Lemoore's (Operations) networking infrastructure. Altennatives regarding the age of the equipment in use at NAS Lemoore and considerations that may be given to reorganizing the acquisition, accounting, and maintenance of its information technology are also provided. The findings of this thesis are the result of literature review, user interviews, process evaluations and observations, and uniting


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My jewellery box is bursting with accessories. Statement necklaces, earrings in every colour, chunky bangles, delicate bracelets and even a ring shaped like a donut. But sometimes I just feel overwhelmed searching through the various compartments to find that perfect piece to wear on the regular. My style prayers were answered recently when I received the 10 Way Necklace by Maria Nicola Jewellery in the post. A ten way necklace? Yes please!
Maria Nicola, the lady behind the local Australian label has been a jewellery fan since childhood. She's spent the last twenty years working in the jewellery industry, from hand making her own pieces to jewellery styling for women like you and I. And the 10 Way Necklace is her latest creation. A versatile piece that can be altered depending on your mood and preference, the 10 Way is the perfect piece for every kind of woman. Feeling bohemian? Wear the necklace long and hippy-esque. Heading to work? Shorten the necklace to sit beautifully on your shirts and blouses. Off on a night out? Let the statement do the talking. Necklace
So how does one necklace become ten different pieces? The concept is simple, yet very clever. The gorgeous crystals are connected with delicate magnets! By sliding the magnets and interchanging the positioning, the strand of beads can be lengthened, shortened and even become a bracelet! Maria Nicola has even created "additions" to the necklace including crystal tassels and a Swarovski pendant to mix it up even more! I chose the Black and Silver necklace, but her range includes everything from champagne and rose gold to bright turquoise.
Now I'll be honest with you, when wearing the necklace I think I worked out about seven different ways to mix it up – but that has made this accessory even more fun! It's a mystery! As I was a bit of a failure working out the ten ways to wear it, I decided to show you how versatile it really is by showing you all ten ways to wear it. Work, play and the in between, this necklace can pretty much be worn everywhere.
For the office, the necklace works beautifully at a mid length and sits perfectly with high necked tops, blouses and a blazer and dress combination. To show you just how it works for work, I paired the necklace with a Tokito peplum, Myer blouse and Ally Fashion blazer and Big W Australia striped dress combo. All three outfits are very different, but as you can see, by altering the 10 Way Necklace you have three different looks depending on your mood! Although the necklace is quite shiny and a total statement, it adds an air of class and elegance to my work wear.
For an evening out on the town I paired the necklace with a deep v-neck dress from Kmart, a gifted black lace dress and an AVA high neck black dress. The sparkling gems really up the ante for a night out, and all three lengths look great with my going out clothes.
For casual every day wear I paired the necklace with a Kmart floral dress, Lee Cooper high neck sweater knit and Kmart tee and thrifted denim jacket combination. The choker style adjustment is very on trend (the nineties is so in right now) and I couldn't believe how different it looked at a shorter length. I also love the longer length for adding a little something to my plain knitted sweater. See how versatile it is! It looks like I've got ten different necklaces, when it fact it's the same one. Amazing! Nowadays this necklace will be my go-to. I only need the one!
Want to learn more? Maria Nicola herself will be on Channel 10's Shark Tank this evening throwing her 10 Way Necklace into the shark tank. Will she get a bite? I seriously hope so! Every woman deserves to feel like a million bucks, and I know I feel damn glam in my new piece – let's hope the judges on Shark Tank know what makes a lady tick!
If you are itching to get your own, Maria Nicola Jewellery has kindly gifted me a second necklace to give away today on the blog. To enter is simple – just tell me where you'd wear your 10 Way Necklace! The competition will be judged by a third party, and the most fabulous response will win! The competition is open to Australian readers of The Illusive Femme.
Where would you wear your 10 Way Necklace?
E x
*Maria Nicola necklaces gifted as per my disclosure policy – all opinions are my own.


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VOC's Travel BLOG
Our Travel Blog is the place to share our real life, travel experiences in China with you. Besides, we will provide information related to Chinese culture and China travel guide. "A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near." Traveling makes us to be closer, let's discover China together!
My 3 days/2nights Highlights Trip in Guilin
2010-08-30 | Life in Guilin | Comments(0) | Views:(1453)
VisitOurChina hosted one family group from Holland to enjoy the highlights of Guilin for 4 days this month. As a travel advisor of VisitOurChina, luckily, I got the chance to be their company and made an in-depth site inspection of the attractions in Guilin, such as the Elephant Trunk Hill, the Seven Star Park, the Reed Flute Cave, the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces and the Yao and Zhuang Ethnic Tribes in Longsheng, the Li River, and the West Street in the ancient town of Yangshuo. To be honest, I have lived in Guilin for almost 8 years but still feel that it is just like an emerald waiting to be explored. So here, I would like to share what we have enjoyed in these 4 days with you. ...
- A Trip to the Little Zhangjiajie - Lotus Mountain-by Sophy
- The most terrifying bridge in the world will open soon-by Kitty
- A Trip to the Little Zhangjiajie - Lotus Mountain-by H.P.Heltzel
- Can not miss Shanghai Disneyland, China-by Mahesh
- Can not miss Shanghai Disneyland, China-by Lucy
- To encounter nonconventional sites in Guilin - a different but splendid tour-by Haphine
- My Trip to Gansu Province: Zhangye - amazing Danxia landform-by Denise
- Great weekend in Silver Cave scenic area, Guilin-by Mari


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It's time for a spoilerific Avengers: Infinity War chat on today's Kotaku Splitscreen.
First, Kirk and I talk about D&D, CEO salaries, and games as a service. Then we bring on io9's Evan Narcisse to talk about the latest Marvel movie's thrills, how it's basically part one of a TV season finale, and what we all made of THAT ending. Even if it's all reversed by this time next year, it should still make for fascinating storytelling.
Listen here:
Get the MP3 here or read a SPOILERY excerpt below.
Kirk: Can we briefly go over the ending? That sequence at the end itself, just as an act of craft, I thought was really incredible. I didn't see it coming and of course was surprised, but man, just the visual effect—the way it looked, the way that people faded away. I saw it in a super-packed theater on opening night, and my theater was lit from the beginning. People were so into it, which was a really good way to see this movie. And people lost their shit at the ending, especially when T'Challa went. I've never heard a theater react this way...
I feel like that moment, the way they faked you out, you saw all these randoms on the battlefield going, and then you saw [T'Challa] go over, and then suddenly he goes—I thought that was so well done, that even though I immediately thought, there's no way this is going to hold, it still worked so well in the moment that I was very glad I got to be there for it.
Elgato Stream Deck MK.2
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Evan: The look on Okoye's face was just killer. Cause she was sworn to protect him. That's her gig.
Kirk: That was part of what made it work so well, was seeing the reaction. I thought it was going to be her.
Evan: I want to go back to the stakes, and how this seemingly clichéd plot beat can actually matter. We don't know what's going to happen in Ant-Man [And The Wasp] or Captain Marvel. With Ant-Man, if this happens in a world after the Snapture—and I can't take credit for that, that's Glen Weldon at NPR—if this happens in a world where half the people are gone, people are mad scared...
Kirk: The Guilty Remnant is on the rise...
Evan: We can see the effect that this has. And if the next Avengers movie picks up like, where the hell are these people? What happened? Our superheroes lost. We can't trust them to defend us anymore. If they play around in that space at all, I think that'd be a way of making it have stakes.
It's funny cause when the first few happen, you're like, "Oh shit." And then you go to Titan and almost everybody there goes... You're like, "it's gonna keep going," and that shit marches on, to the point where, at the end in the post-credits scene when Nick Fury disappears, you're like, "Wow."
Kirk: And it still somehow felt shocking when Nick went! People were still yelling "nooo!" Even though we'd seen everyone go by then, it was still shocking, which I think is testament just to how well done that whole sequence was, on a pure craft level.
Jason: And the whole effect of fading to dust looked really cool.
Kirk: Rather than them blinking out or dropping dead or whatever.
Jason: Clearly this all leads into The Leftovers, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they connect the two, especially how Carrie Coon's character evolves.
Evan: I just want to see how they're gonna address it on Arrested Development.
For much more, listen to the full podcast. As always, you can find Splitscreen on Apple Podcasts and Google Play. Leave us a review if you like what you hear, and reach us at firstname.lastname@example.com with any and all questions, requests, and suggestions.


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Dark forces have had a huge part of metal ever since the dawn of time, and the element of danger taking over the world and swallowing humanity always has been there as a threat thematically. At the same time, that thread might seem a little tiresome, but when the tale is told right, it still can be as compelling as anything.
New York-based black metal band Funereal Presence nail the whole thing on their debut full-length "The Archer Takes Aim," a record that is as spooky and haunting as it is devastating and moltenly heavy. Led by sole creator Bestial Devotion (who also plays drums for the mighty Negative Plane), this band is one of the most interesting going in U.S. black metal and in the sub-genre the world over. The fact there is one man behind this whole thing is stunning, because this record is wholly realized like it had a handful of artists involved. There is so much going on here, and it is woven together seamlessly, that you can't help but get totally hooked and sink into the dark violence lurking beneath everything. This is one of the most original-sounding metal albums I've heard so far this year, and I can't stop listening to the thing, just trying to get a grasp on what's going on. That doesn't happen nearly enough these days.
If you go through the lyrics, you get a dark, threatening tale of the great beasts rising up, trying to choke out all light. In a way, it feels like a Biblical-style tale the way the story is told, and it has a feeling like what's going on here not only threatens all humanity but the entire universe. There is a poison lurking that is seeking any vein that will accept its black tar, and if it has to infect by force, it will do so. It's a terrifying display, one that could have you quaking inside, and this record gets over the idea better than any number of movies and television shows have tried to do and failed. It's a charred display, and it's not just a black metal opus. There are gothy, post-punk undertones present, as well as processional passages that might make you feel like you're witnessing a mass burial in the face of black death.
The record opens with 12:29 "The Tower Falls," a doomy, elegant number that sprawls out before it hits a devastating pace. The vocals are charred and chaotic, and death bells ring out on a consistent basis, always reminding you that death is right around the corner. There is some clean singing that reminds a bit of Ian Astbury, feeling dark and morbid, and the song keeps churning, making like a perfect soundtrack to a dark, ominous thunderstorm that soaks the earth. The song delves back into clean, murky territory before it charges back up again for one final assault. The 12:47-long title track follows, with huge, infernal organs breathing black smoke into the room, and the song blowing open with a great fury. There are strong guitar leads, galloping that has a NWOBHM feel to it, and savage, thunderous playing that is threatening and bold. More clean singing is worked into the mix, giving the song goth-fueled texture, and eventually the fierce tempo re-emerges and keeps the pace matching the menacing, calculating storyline, with a final howl of, "And the fall comes hard, down below into fires."
The instrumental "Dammerlicht" is up next, which acts a perfect bridge from the title track to the epic conclusion that wraps it all up. More bells chime, a classic metal feel is infused back into the proceedings, and a full assault is launched onto your senses. The pace goes back and forth, letting this rise, subside, and boil over again, with the final moments absolutely exploding. That all sets the stage for the 16:19-long closer "Gestalt des Endes," with guitars spilling out, the vocals sounding like they're filtered through coal, and later some clean singing coming back to darken everything. Swirling melodies emerge and add a new element into the song, and more classic guitar work is infused to keep the charge moving forward. Once again, the tempos rise and fall, bringing you through various steps of drama, and the final fury-filled moments let the fires reach their highest point, strangling you with smoke and delivering a final blow designed to let the dark forces take hold and choke the world to death. It would be beautiful, actually, if the tyranny and violence wasn't so thick and omnipresent.
Funereal Presence have a take on black metal all their own, and "The Archer Takes Aim" is one of the most interesting releases of the year so far. The record gives you plenty, always keeps you engaged, and continually feeds you morbid reminders that the world could be swallowed by dark forces at any moment, be that of a beastly or human variety. This album will envelop you in madness in a way few could, and the stories lurking here should keep you terrified and uncertain of your fate for hours on end.
For more on the band, go here: http://www.last.fm/music/Funereal+Presence
To buy the album, go here: http://www.theajnaoffensive.com/products/funereal-presence-2
For more on the label, go here: http://www.theajnaoffensive.com/


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Opening May 24 17.00 – 20.00
On View May 25 – June 8 2019
The streets are getting wider and my body is warm. My muscles are awake and I feel myself getting more and more connected. The rapid sound is intensifying, and I keep pushing to keep up the speed. I don't know how far this street is or which areas it will guide me to. A smooth lane welcomes me as I drift down the street. A parked scooter covered in plastic wrapping with a thin rope tightened around it, kind of choking the bike, I feel it in my throat. Looking forward as I travel, hoping to be guided towards what lays ahead in this unknown endless maze. I have already let go of control.
Carl Østberg, 2019
Over the last two years Østberg's artistic practice has been mainly exploring our perception on street photography where physicality is centred. His research interests are the notion of space in the urban landscape. Studying urban structures' effect on individual behaviours and within social groups. Having a background as a skater, Østberg uses the skateboard and the camera as extensions of his body. He traverses through personally unknown European urban areas on a skateboard where directions and release of shutter are driven by emotional and physical impulses. Resulting in mapped journeys in various quantities and qualities. Focusing to give a physical experience for the viewer.
Carl Østberg (1990, Oslo) will receive his Master's Degree in Fine Arts at the Malmö Art Academy in June 2019. Østberg lives and works in Malmö.
Transitions – Carl Østberg
Master's Degree in Fine Arts Exhibition.
Malmö Art Academy.
KHM1 Gallery
Friisgatan 15B, Malmö.


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it's safe to say we like friends
not as in the people you hang out with (although they're nice too)
we're talking about that 1994-2004 tv show
we managed to sneak two tickets for #friendsfest
to live out all our new york fantasies...
post disclaimer: could there BE any more pics of beth and her bestie abbey? no, the answer is no.
hey abbey, can you take a really artsy shot of me watching smelly cat karaoke?
first stop on the friends train: joey & chandler's
one how ya doin' cocktail and one smelly cat please
remember that one with the wooden canoe?
La-Z-Boy duel in three, two, one...
SHOUT OUT TO MOCKOLATE (aka nutella)
mac and CHEESE
(Computerized Humanoid Electronically Enhanced Secret Enforcer lolz)
we decided on Monica's moondance diner for dins
spot the blonde monica
supes excited about the hot dog/fries/hallumi wrap we're about to inhale. joey style.
okay, now for the main stuff
we're about to be in the lead credits
(hello monica and phoebe)
all together now:
'so no-one told you life was gonna be this way'
IT'S MONICA'S APARTMENT (e.g train stop 4, we think? we stopped counting)
(and yes we're using a lot of capitals in this post, we're trying to convey our excitement, k?)
oh you know just really casually catching up over coffee
beth looking for more food
business as usual
beverage numbero dos
train stop 1 million: central perk
hey, you know what i just realised? jerk is perk with an j. coincidence?
hey, that's joincidence with a c
hey pheebs! play us a song would ya?
did you know phoebe and monica secretly work at central perk?
apparently rach got them the job
oh yes all you friends super fans
let's go back to NYE 1999
'the routine'.
ross is out, phoebe's in.
summary of the day: food, good. drinks, good. activities, GOOOOOOOOD
but unfortunately fellow strawbs
Friends Fest is now totally sold out for this year :(
we totes recommend trying next time though!
signing off from phoebe and monica's day of fun x


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"All too often the European paths are a figment of the imagination. They simply don't exist on the ground. And where they do, they follow boring routes along tarred roads."
In theory, the E4 trans-European footpath was just what we wanted, meandering down through the Greek mountains from the northern border to the southern port of Githion. But actually, we had our own ideas of the places we wanted to see, and the E4 didn't go to them all. There was the E6, too, of course, and national long-distance paths, like the O3. We followed them all from time to time, but combined them with local paths, often cobbled mule tracks that led from village to village long before cars were invented. Occasionally, we headed along a river bed or followed the track of an old railway. If the official route followed the tar, it was sometimes possible to skip off down a side route.
We had a rough route in mind before we set off, but we adapted it as we went. Day to day, it depended on several different factors. What was the weather like? Did we want to find a cafe or somewhere comfortable to stay for a couple of nights? Did we need to find a cashpoint? What did the locals advise?
We were surprised at how many paths were well-maintained and waymarked, and even the E4 is gradually being improved. As roads penetrated deep into the mountains, the old paths fell into dis-use or were destroyed. Modern shepherds have pick-ups, and no villager would walk if he could drive. But there's now a new generation of Greeks who enjoy hiking, appreciate the old paths, and work hard to keep them open.
In popular areas, such as the Zagoria, the old cobbled paths are valued for their appeal to tourists and seen as an important part of local heritage. Regular annual marathons or cycle tours help keep them open. Occasionally, it's a handful of heroic individuals who have made a real difference. Rolf Roost, originally from Switzerland, has opened up the impassable trails of the E4 in the Peloponnese, while the Club of Arcadian Mountaineers and Ecologists have created the new seventy four kilometre Mainalon Trail. See Maps, guides and GPS.
But just as often, the paths were hard to find, and we had to fan out to find waymarks. Tree trunks blocked the way, or we struggled along scree slopes with a steep drop below. High up above the treeline, the path sometimes disappeared in the short turf. It didn't matter, it was easy to pick out the route ahead – until the weather came down. We always asked if paths were open, or had perhaps been destroyed by a landslide the previous winter.
I loved the inventiveness of waymarks. Cairns, official yellow European signs, modern signs on robust metal poles – there were those in plenty. But soft drinks cans and plastic streamers were also pressed into service. My favourite was jam jar lids! The snows and gales of winter aren't kind to waymarks, though. The waymark itself is blown away, and sometimes all that remains is a metal post.


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Disney is continuing to slowly lift the veil on what will be experienced when the gates are opened at Shanghai Disney Resort. This week, quite a bit of information has been released regarding the Resort. As you can see, the Toy Story Hotel is just the tip of the iceberg!
First off a birdseye view of Shanghai Disney Resort has been released giving a bigger picture of what the Resort will look like. It offers a view of the lake, transportation system, park, and hotels that will be round when it opens.
The Shanghai Disneyland Hotel will be a 420-room hotel that is inspired by the Art Nouveau movement with a "touch of Disney magic and imagination."
The Toy Story Hotel will bring the world of Disney•Pixar Toy Story films to life for guests. This hotel will provide 800 rooms for guests to stay at when visiting the Shanghai Disney Resort.
Both hotels will provide entertainment and leisure opportunities. As with the entire Resort, Disney is creating experiences "with the Chinese guests in mind."
The Walt Disney Grand Theatre will be found in Disneytown. This theatre will feature the world premiere of Disney's The Lion King in Mandarin. This broadway musical is now the highest grossing Broadway show ever. This theatre will be built in the Art-Deco style.
That Marketplace in Disneytown will be a Chinese slant on what visitors to the American theme parks would recognize as Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort or Disney Springs at the Walt Disney World Resort. It will provide guests with entertainment, food, and Disney shopping options.
Nearby is Spice Alley where Asian foods will be offered. This area will be festive yet intimate offering a place for lunch or a romantic date, according to the Disney Parks Blog.
For a more upscale experience, guests will be able to visit Broadway Boulevard in Disneytown. This will be the home of stylish boutiques where trendy and popular labels and brands will be sold.
Finally, Disneytown is built on the edge of the central lake. The lake will have paths and gardens where guests can get an immersive experience where they can connect with nature.
The Shanghai Disney Resort will be a magical place to visit with a unique mix of the Chinese and Disney cultures when it opens. What are you most looking forward to at this future Disney Resort?
Shanghai Disney Resort, an Integrated Resort Featuring a Theme Park and So Much More
Disney announces exciting themed hotels, shopping, dining and entertainment district and recreation facilities
November 13, 2014, Shanghai – Shanghai Disney Resort will exhibit new details of the highly anticipated resort during its debut at Asia's largest travel trade industry fair, the 2014 China International Travel Mart (CITM). Shanghai Disney Resort will share the official names and images of the resort's two richly themed hotels, and the exciting shopping, dining and entertainment district. Additionally, a new rendering shows the scope of the resort, including the lush waterfront park to be located alongside Shanghai Disneyland, Disney's first theme park in mainland China.
Continuing the tradition of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide, Shanghai Disney Resort will welcome guests to an immersive, magical multi-day experience at the resort's theme park, hotels, shopping, dining and entertainment district and recreational areas. The entire resort is being designed with Chinese guests in mind, bringing the best of Disney to mainland China.
"We are very excited to share more detail of our resort during our debut appearance at the China International Travel Mart, the leading annual tourism industry event in China," said Philippe Gas, Shanghai Disney Resort General Manager. "Shanghai Disney Resort will provide a world-class tourism destination for Chinese guests, offering the same spirit of 'shared family entertainment' that Walt Disney first introduced nearly 60 years ago.
"All guests will be able to take part in a wide range of authentic Disney experiences across Shanghai Disneyland, at our two themed hotels, in Disneytown – an exciting shopping, dining and entertainment district – and at our resort's central lake area."
Shanghai Disney Resort will be Disney's sixth resort destination worldwide. The centerpiece of the resort, Shanghai Disneyland will be a Magic Kingdom-style theme park featuring classic Disney characters and stories in six theme lands. Some of the new attractions and experiences specifically designed for the people of China will include the Enchanted Storybook Castle, Treasure Cove (the first ever Pirates-themed land in a Disney park) and Garden of the Twelve Friends.
In addition to the theme park, the Resort will offer two hotels that give guests the opportunity to immerse themselves in a magical world inspired by – and featuring – Disney characters and stories. The signature hotel of the resort will be the 420-room Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, an elegant Art Nouveau-inspired hotel with a touch of Disney magic and imagination. The 800-room Toy Story Hotel immerses guests in a world inspired by the toys from the Disney•Pixar series of Toy Story animated films. Both hotels will offer a range of entertainment and leisure options, highlighted by Disney's signature high-quality service standards with great attention to details.
Conveniently located near Shanghai Disneyland and the hotels is Disneytown – a shopping, dining and entertainment district with the lure of a timeless village and the excitement of an international crossroads. Here guests may relax and reconnect with family and friends, but amazing new experiences are waiting around every corner. No admission fee is required to explore its charming pedestrian streets, leading to more than 46,000 square meters of distinctive dining, unique shops and a world-class theatre.
The natural beauty of Disneytown's Lakeshore provides beautiful views, spectacular sunsets, and the highest quality of waterfront dining.
Marketplace, located at the heart of Disneytown, is filled with family fun and offers specialty shops with Disney merchandise. There one will find plenty of places to relax and enjoy musicians and entertainers.
Next to the Marketplace is the bustling international ambiance of Spice Alley, which presents a variety of popular Asian cuisines in a casual, yet romantic environment. The al fresco dining spots are perfect for lunch with friends or a more formal date. And the intimate streets and festive lights encourage leisurely after dinner strolling. Taking inspiration from the Beverly Hills shopping streets, the classic Broadway Boulevard features stylish boutiques that create an upscale atmosphere. Here guests will discover an exciting array of popular labels and trendsetting products.
Broadway Plaza is home to the beautiful Walt Disney Grand Theatre, which will bring world-class entertainment to China. The spectacular Art Deco theatre will host the global premiere of the Mandarin version of THE LION KING, the highest-grossing Broadway show ever. This separately ticketed show will greatly enrich the leisure experience for guests visiting the Resort.
Near Disneytown lies the resort's central lake area, which offers guests from Shanghai and around the world an opportunity to commune with nature, surrounded by peaceful greenery and a glittering lake. With approximately 40 hectares, the size of 56 football fields, it includes the lake, a 2.5-kilometer walking path and various beautiful gardens, which present guests with awe- inspiring natural views and beautiful sunsets.
About Shanghai Disney Resort
Shanghai Disney Resort is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Shanghai Shendi Group comprised of two owner companies (Shanghai International Theme Park Company Limited and Shanghai International Theme Park Associated Facilities Company Limited) and a management company (Shanghai International Theme Park and Resort Management Company Limited). Shanghai Shendi Group holds 57% of the shares and Disney holds the remaining 43% of shares of the owner companies. Disney has a 70% stake and Shanghai Shendi Group has a 30% stake in the joint venture management company. The management company is responsible for creating, developing and operating the resort on behalf of the owner companies.


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Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Education (GBSHSE) is likely to declare HSSC Class 12th Results today 12 May on its main website & will also be available here on this webpage. Earlier board announced the notification and advised all the interested and eligible candidates to apply for the notification and scheduled the written test which was conducted from February 29 to March 22. All the candidates who appeared in the examination & are anxiously waiting for the result they can check their results by following the simple steps mentioned below.
Goa Board HSSC Class 12 Results to be declared on 26th April
Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Education is responsible for releasing notifications and conducting examinations every year, Board will conduct exams based on the screening process and recruit eligible candidates. Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education powered on May 27, 1975, GOA Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board Act, 1975. It is authorize to conduct the HSSC & SSC examination and helps to develop the education system in the Goa state.
The candidates can check the GOA HSSC Results here and also in the official website of the board. For this, all the candidates are requested to include Roll number and Date of Birth. Soon board will announce the further details of the exam. We are providing complete information about the final results they can check here in the link which is given below just scroll down.
From the press release reports, Goa Education Board added, Passing certificate cum distribution of statement of grade/marks of HSSC examination will be done on May 12. It takes the responsibility of conducting final examination for the students pursuing Higher Secondary Education.
In the year 2016 a total of 16,180 students appeared for the examination where 8,480 out of them were girls and 7,700 of them were boys.
- Goa Board Overall Pass Percentage 66.09
- Arts Stream Pass Percentage 57.91
- Commerce Pass Percentage 66.77
- Science Pass Percentage 64.96
- Vocational Pass Percentage 75.53
For 2016 year, 3222 candidates from Arts stream, 5246 candidates from Commerce, 4383 from Science and 2929 Candidates from Vocational stream. A total of 8480 girls and 7700 Boys candidates are registered. Soon board will announce the notifications about Re-evaluation of answer script, Verification of marks on the scripts.
Goa HSSC Result 2017 Statistics:
- Board: Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Education (GBSHSE)
- Exam format : Offline
- Result Date : 26th April, 2017
- Board Announcing the Result : GBSHSE
- Status: Coming Soon
Check Goa GBSHSE 12th Results 2017
- Browse for the main website of the board or click here
- Search for 'GOA HSSC Class 12 Results' & click on it.
- Fill the blanks with your details with Login ID and Password
- Now tap on submit button
- Your Results will appear in a new window
BLR Eagle team wishes all the candidates all the best for their result, stay tuned for more official Notifications, Recruitments, Admit Cards/Hall Tickets, Answer Keys, and Results.


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Greatest coaching challenge for Georgia's Kirby Smart awaits him in 2018
ATHENS — So Roquan Smith and Trent Thomson have packed their bags and joined Georgia's giant pack of seniors in heading on down the road.
This is what makes college football so great. This is also what makes it so hard.
College football, by and large, is cyclical. That works to varying degrees for different programs, but because of the constant ingress and egress of players due to graduation and attrition, achieving sustained, championship-level success is next to impossible for any program not currently named Alabama. To me, that's what makes it fun and somewhat unpredictable from year to year.
I know it's still awfully soon in these parts to be offering the Crimson Tide any kudos but — those egregiously bad calls aside — Bama did, in fact, reach the title game for a third year in a row. The past decade under coach Nick Saban has been, in a word, astonishing. The Tide have won five national championships in that span and more games than any team in America.
Maybe the next 10 years will be similarly grand for Georgia. But that's where coach Kirby Smart must distinguish himself from coaches who have preceded him.
As we all know, Georgia is a very proud and successful football program by its own right. It is, after all, third all-time in number of bowl appearances with 53. Only Bama (65) and Texas (54) have more. But historically speaking, the Bulldogs have been the very the definition of cyclical when it comes to high-level success.
Again, only Alabama (26) has won more SEC football championships than Georgia (13) over the years (the Bulldogs are tied with Tennessee). But as one might suspect, those have been few and far between in what we'd call the modern era, which would begin with Vince Dooley's tenure in 1964.
Georgia won six SEC championships in 25 seasons under Dooley, or roughly one in every four seasons. Neither Ray Goff nor Jim Donnan hoisted the conference crown. Mark Richt won two in 15 seasons, while playing for it five times. Now Smart is a sporty 1-for-2.
But that's all about conference titles. That's no longer the ultimate measurement. Now it's all about getting into the playoff. As Alabama can attest, you can do that without being a conference champion.
Judging Georgia's success more from the perspective of having good years — that is, winning a lot of games and playing in a good bowl — the Bulldogs' cycle looks more like this: Dooley 12 of 25 seasons, or about half; Goff one in seven; Donnan one in five; Richt eight in 15 (I'm not counting the 10-win seasons that resulted in TaxSlayer and Belk Bowl bids).
Taken as a whole, that's about 42 percent of the time Georgia has been in for a really fun and exciting season. We don't need to discuss how it often it has played for the ultimate prize (OK, four times in 37 years, but I'm not discussing it).
Back to the here and now, part of what makes it so difficult to regularly get your program "in the hunt," as it were, is that cyclical tendency of the college game. If your team is good enough to compete for a championship, conference or national, then two factors probably apply: One, it featured a lot of extremely talented players; two, it was veteran-laden and experienced. In both cases, an exodus usually follows.
That was definitely the case for Georgia in 2017. As was well-chronicled all year, the Bulldogs featured a total of 31 seniors. Seventeen of those seniors were on scholarship. Fifteen would fall in the category of major contributors. At least four or five of them could be first or second-day NFL draftees.
Then you add in the losses of juniors Smith and Thompson to the NFL draft — a relatively light number given the level of success Georgia enjoyed — and you begin to get a sense of the talent deficit the Bulldogs have to replenish if they are to have similar success in 2018.
As for Smith, I don't have to tell anybody who watched Georgia this season what kind of an absence he'll leave. He was a once-a-generation player, to be sure, as some of these top-10 and 15 draft projections suggest. And Thompson, even though his junior season was less productive than the previous one, is a unique physical talent that will be difficult to replace.
All told, that's six starters off your offense, nine off the defense and two specialists. If not for junior Jonathan Ledbetter's decision to return, it could've been a 7-for-7 loss of Georgia's front seven.
This is not to sprinkle doom-and-gloom over the prospects of next season for the Bulldogs. That's just a little reality check on the challenge that's in front of Smart and his staff.
But as evidenced from this past season, I definitely believe they're up for it.
You can start with recruiting, where Smart is in the midst of building his third straight top-10 class, each one better than the last. The current group is ranked No. 1, with only a handful targets remaining on the board after that smashing experiment that was the first year of an early-signing period. Georgia already has netted 20 actual signees, with at least five more on the way.
None of which has slowed down the charge of Smart and his staff. Since the championship game ended, they hardly have even come up for air. They're laser-focused on the remaining targets, all the elitist of the elite, while concentrating hard on prospects for 2019 and even '20. It's a luxury the Bulldogs can afford with the current state of affairs being what it is.
But replacing seasoned veterans with unproven talent is always a risky proposition. It helps when they have a lot of stars by their name, but that's no guarantee. Hopefully Georgia will get a nice blend of contributions from brilliant newcomers, developing lettermen and established stars. That came to pass this last season, though finding leadership to rival the group that just left will be the ultimate challenge.
Of all this, Smart is well aware. He comes from a place that has put all that back together on the regular. And he's bringing all that knowledge to a place that's been doing pretty doggone good as it is.
Nobody has won more than Alabama over these last 10 years, games (125) or national championships (5). But Georgia hasn't been all that far behind. The Bulldogs stand ninth in victories over that span with 96.
The key is keeping those lows high and the highs at the very top of the mountain. Smart has given the Bulldogs a peek of that view. Everyone seems to be in agreement that they like it.
Now, to find the next Roquan. …


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450 Words: Southwick
As was asked in the intro to Ryan Dungey's Monday Conversation here, what do you get when you combine Ricky Carmichael and Jeremy McGrath? The answer is Ryan Dungey. Carmichael won the 250cc (now 450cc) National MX Championship in his rookie big-bike season in 2000; McGrath won the Supercross title in his rookie season of 1993.
Ryan Dungey has now done both in the same year.
Does that help to put things into perspective?
Ryan Dungey is already setting records.
Photo: Steve Cox
Jeremy McGrath is easily the greatest supercross racer in history, and Ricky Carmichael is referred to as the "GOAT", which stands for the "Greatest Of All Time", yet Dungey did something that they couldn't. Dungey won both championships in his rookie season. For Carmichael, his rookie supercross season was actually 1999 in the big-bike class, and he wasn't even close to a title that year. He still rode a 125cc bike outdoors, though, and won that title. And McGrath is a bit different as well, as he won the 250cc SX title in 1993, but then dropped back down to the 125cc class outdoors. But even in their respective big-bike rookie series indoors (for Carmichael) or outdoors (for McGrath), they didn't win the championships.
Plenty of people have compared Dungey to a lot of past racers, including Jeff Stanton, and that's certainly not a put-down, but in comparing him to Stanton, they are mainly referring to his demeanor. Stanton was not an immediate success on big bikes. Not like Dungey.
Then again, no past racer has had immediate success when moving up a class like Dungey.
Now, for some more perspective: Dungey used to be criticized for being mentally weak after Jason Lawrence successfully bullied Dungey and beat him for the 2008 Lites West SX title. Look at the two of them now: Dungey has just clinched his third National title (including his 250cc outdoor title from last year), and his fourth title as a professional (including his Lites West title from last year). Jason Lawrence is still walking around with a tracking bracelet around his ankle, his racing team is in shambles, and in his return to racing at Unadilla, he rode practice and then dropped out of the event before the motos began.
In fact, since that championship loss to Lawrence in 2008, Dungey's record looks like this: 2008 250cc National MX Championship, 2nd, and got his first-ever outdoor win, which led to wins in three of the final four events of the season; 2009 Lites West SX Championship, 1st; 2009 250cc National MX Championship, 1st; 2009 Motocross of Nations (450cc debut), 1st, both as a team and in the individual overall; 2010 AMA Supercross Championship, 1st; 2010 AMA 450cc National MX Championship, 1st.
That's a record that nobody has ever pulled off. Perhaps Dungey should thank Lawrence for the lesson, because he's making everyone else pay for it every weekend.
Who will be the first to beat the Dungey juggernaut?
Photo: Steve Cox


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Mastering your workflow
When you've only got one or two shoots in your diary, it's easy to remember all of the important things that you need to do. However, once you're at the stage where you're dealing with multiple jobs that are all at different stages, keeping track of what needs to be done next can be a headache!
Whether or not you've planned it that way, every successful photography business has a series of steps that you need to go through to make sure that you're delivering the best possible service to your clients. Light Blue's powerful workflows can add a list of tasks and automated messages based around the date of the shoot (or another important date), so you are reminded with a task when you need to do something and important emails and text messages are sent automatically.
Need more help? Book a free 1:1 session.
What is a workflow?
A workflow is a list of tasks and messages that are based around an important date. Tasks can become due, and messages scheduled to be sent, a set number of days before, on or after an important date.
You will have several different important dates for a shoot, so you can set up a different workflow to be based around each of them.
For example, you may have:
- An enquiry workflow based on the date that your client first got in touch with you.
- A confirmation workflow based around the date that your client confirmed that the shoot was definitely going ahead.
- A shoot workflow based around the date that you are taking the photos.
- Product or marketing workflows based around any date you like.
Workflow types
When adding workflows to shoots and appointments, Light Blue will show the workflows of the relevant type so can choose the workflow that's right for the situation.
Learn more about the different types of workflows that you can use in Light Blue here.
Setting up a simple workflow
You can set up workflows in the Preferences window, in the Workflows section. If you want to create a new workflow, click the 'Add Record' button in the toolbar. You can add new steps to a workflow by clicking the plus button, and edit an existing step by double-clicking it.
In this example, there's a workflow called Enquiry, and within that, two tasks: the first is 'respond to enquiry', and the second is 'follow up enquiry', a week later.
Different items that can make up a workflow
Tasks are the most basic part of a workflow. These are reminders that would appear on your to do list as tasks to be completed.
Name: A short description of the task that you wish to complete. For example "check equipment", "edit images" or " make follow-up phone call"
Offset: The number of days before or after the important date that the workflow is based around when this task will become due.
For example, if the workflow is going to be based around the date of the shoot and you want the task to be due the day before the shoot, the offset would be -1. If the workflow is going to be based around the enquiry date (the date that you received the enquiry) and you wish to have a task due one week later, the offset would be 7 days.
Staff: Tasks can be assigned to specific staff members within your team. If a certain staff member always undertakes a certain task, for example you have a dedicated editor, then the task can be assigned to them. If you're not sure, leave this blank.
Category: You can group your tasks into categories. This is helpful when you want to concentrate on a particular type of work (for example doing all of your post production at once). You can create as many task categories as you like. Some typical examples would be post production, marketing, admin, or phone calls.
When you include an email in a workflow, the template message will be scheduled and sent automatically. If your email template uses mail-merge tags, then light blue will use the most up-to-date information from the shoot and contact record when sending the message. This means that if you've changed some details about the shoot between and in the workflow and the message getting sent, the right details will be included in the message that goes to your client.
Want some inspiration? Read our guide on sending automated messages to your clients.
Email template: The email template that you want to use. Read more about email templates here.
Offset: The number of days before or after the important date that the workflow is based around, that you want the message to be sent. For example if you want to send a reminder email to your portrait clients a couple of days before the shoot, the offset would be -2. If you want to send a follow-up email a few days after the enquiry, the offset could be 5 (five days after the enquiry). If you wanted to send a confirmation email on the day that your client confirmed the booking, you could set the offset to 0.
Time: if you want the email to be sent at a particular time of day, then you can set a time here. We will use your local time zone to send the message. If you leave this time blank, then we'll send the message at 9am.
Text messages
Similar to emails, it's possible to schedule text messages to be sent as part of a workflow as well. All of the same principles that apply to emails also apply to text messages in workflows.
Want some inspiration? Read our guide on sending automated messages to your clients.
Adding workflows to shoots
You can add the enquiry workflow to it by clicking the workflow icon next to the enquiry date. You'll see that the two tasks have been added to the Activity panel.
If you're creating a new shoot, there's an option to choose the enquiry workflow that you want to add to the shoot once it's created.
If you change the status of a shoot from "Enquiry" to "Confirmed", Light Blue asks you if you want to keep or remove any uncompleted tasks and unsent messages from your enquiry workflow. After all, you may not want a reminder to follow up an enquiry that has already been booked!
Light Blue then asks if you want to add the tasks from both the shoot confirmation workflow, which will be based around today, and the weddings workflow, based around the shoot date.
Looking on the "Activity" panel, you'll see all of those tasks in there. They're also showing up on the Home screen in the task manager, which is where you can see all of the tasks that are due from all of your shoots.
Read on to learn how to set default workflows so that the right workflow is always used at the right time, without you needing to make a choice.
Setting default workflows
Once you've created your workflows, you can make sure that they're used at the right time by setting them as default workflows.
If all your shoots will use the same workflows, you can do this in the "Shoots" tab of the "General" section of the Preferences window.
Here you can see that the "General Shoot Date" workflow is set as the default shoot workflow and will be added relative to the date of the shoot.
The "General Shoot Confirmation" workflow is set as the default confirmation workflow, this workflow will be added relative to the date that the shoot changes from an enquiry to a confirmed shoot.
The "General Enquiry" workflow is set as the default enquiry workflow, and will be the first choice when I click on the add workflow button next to the enquiry date in a should record.
If some shoot types will use a different set of workflows then you can set different defaults for each shoot type, in the shoot types preferences.
In the example above there's a different set of workflows that are used for portrait shoots, so these have been set separately in the Portraits shoot type. When working with a portrait shoot, Light Blue will use these workflows instead.
Also note that the enquiry workflow is set to "Default" – that means it'll use the workflow that's set on the "General" preferences.
Example workflows
To help you to get off to a good start, we've prepared some example workflows for you to use. You can download them from here.


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"Grace Blackburn" [Victoria Grace Blackburn; Fan-Fan] ( -1928) by John Garvin, (1872-1934)
Garvin, John William, ed. Canadian Poets. Toronto, Canada: McClelland, Goodchild & Stewart, Publishers, 1916. pp. 383-388.
[Page 383]
Miss Blackburn, under the nom de plume, 'Fanfan,' has for years been giving us articles in the London Free Press that place her in the fore-front, if not at the head, of the writers upon literary topics, in the daily press of Canada. –'Catholic Record,' London, Ontario.
Miss Blackburn is well known throughout Western Ontario, under the nom de plume, 'Fanfan,' and in the New York theatrical world, is considered one of the best dramatic critics in Canada. –'Hamilton Herald.'
A writer with a large brain and a big, warm heart: a twentieth century thinker, with the individuality of original thought and expression: a poet just beginning to realize her gift, and its underlying responsibility: one of the best equipped of our literary and dramatic critics, and with the faculty of logical and comprehensive interpretation–altogether, a distinct force in the intellectual life of the Dominion, of whom much may be expected. –The Editor.
[Page 384]
GRACE BLACKBURN is the fifth daughter of the late Josiah Blackburn, of London, Ontario, proprietor and editor, for nearly forty years, of the Free Press, and one of the ablest and most influential of the earlier newspaper men of Canada. Her mother's maiden name was Emma Delemere. Her paternal grandfather was the Rev. John Blackburn, a Congregationalist pastor of London, England, and for many years editor of the official organ of that denomination. He was also a writer of prominence on matters literary and archeological.
Miss Grace was educated in the public and high schools of her native city, and later in Hellmuth College, then the Diocesan School of Huron. Since graduation, she has been engaged chiefly in educational and journalistic work. She taught English for two years in the Bishop Whipple Schools, Faribault, Minnesota, and for one year was acting Principal of the Diocesan School of Northern Indiana, at Indianapolis. In 1900, she returned to Canada to join the staff of the Free Press, as literary and dramatic critic, etc., and has held the position ever since. Three of those years were spent in New York, in the interests of the paper, and four in Europe, where she journeyed entensively and wrote many fascinating travel articles. Besides her regular newspaper work, she is now giving considerable time and attention to poetic achievement, and to the writing of a novel, with a basic motive arising out of the Great War.
Miss Blackburn is not a 'club woman' as that term is ordinarily understood, but she has long been much interested in 'The Association of Canadian Clubs,' and in 1913, was elected to the official position of Literary Correspondent, and reelected the ensuing year.
ABOVE the sunset's many-tinted bar,
Where light on light, a smiling iris gnar,
Mellows to mystery of near and far,
Swings passionately pale the Evening Star!
Queen of the twilight–from a conquered sky
She smiles to see the Day grow faint and die.
[Page 385]
'DEAD with his face to the foe!'
From Hastings to Yser
Our men have died so.
The lad is a hero–
Great Canada's pride:
We sent him with glory,
For glory he died–
So ring out the church-bells! Float the flag high!
Then I heard at my elbow a fierce mother-cry.
On the desolate plain
Where the dark Yser flows
They'll bury him, maybe,
Our Child of the Snows:
The message we sent them
Through fire and through flood
He signed it and sealed it
To-day with his blood–
United we stand! Our Empire is One!
But this woman beside me? . . . The boy was her son.
ALONG the sea shore, surf-beaten and brown,
The Fisher-Lass hastes to the Fishing-Town,
In kirtle of blue and bodice of red,
The sun at its nooning over her head,
And braw is the salt wind blowing–
Then sing, sing ho for the Herring,
The shimmering, sliddery Herring!
Along the sea shore the Fisher-Lads sigh
For the daffing mouth and the daunting eye,
And they sue and they woo, Rubin, Lubin and Bill,
But she taunts and she flaunts as a Fisher-Lass will;
And sleek is the water flowing–
Then sing, sing ho for the Herring,
The gleeking, glamourish Herring!
[Page 386]
Along the sea shore she shadeth her eyes
To where on the wave his white sails rise,
For it seems there's a wraith in the midst of the glare,
And a voice that she loves calls shrilly and rare,
Ah, sly is the under-towing–
Then sing, sing ho for the Herring,
The spectral, the silver-hued Herring.
Along the sea shore in the teeth of the gale,
In its rage and its roar, its swash and its swale,
With faltering steps and staggering tread
They bear him up softly the stark, stark, Dead;
Oh, lang and dour is the knowing–
Then sing, sing ho for the Herring,
The life-giving, death-dealing Herring!
DISDAINFUL Earth!
Hooded in clouds and snowdrifts–
Great gray Earth,
That shivers and gathers her garments!
Just for a space you lower your eyelids,
Just for a moment you turn me the cold of your shoulder.
There! There! Already!–
Now I have caught you–
A turquoise rift in the rack,
That was relenting!
And back of the pine-trees a flash like a smile,
That, O earth, was your promise!
Below the depth of the frost
Is the warmth of your bosom.
The ice in your veins
Is troth to the rain and the runnel.
The catch in the call of the wind
Is your lip at my ear–
Your whisper of breezes,
Of breezes and blossom–
Of summer–of sweetness–of love!
[Page 387]
OUT of the clod of earth
That holds me to this melancholy place,
As ancient servitors
Held flambeaux for their lords
In draughty corridors,
I leap into the sky.
I am a torch with an inherent blaze,
No winter bears me or my verdure down:
The whirling snow and ice
Fall on me to their peril, not to mine:
The swift and sudden wind
Deflects but can not quench
My everlasting fire,
My fire that mounts out of the cerecloth of the dead
And draws its essence from mortality,
Transmuting dissolution and despair
Into aspiring form–
A shape that is a symbol–
A pose prophetic!
I am the Cypress-Tree men plant on graves,
And on their graves–I flame!
CLASH the cymbals!
String the harp and sound it–
Cymbals and harp, there, you Makers of Music!
I will chant to my Comrade the chant of my being,
Woman to Man will I chant it.
I am as old as any. I too have a lineage.
I have come up by forms and through æons;
Forms of manifold fashion, æons of infinite dream.
I, too, am projected of Poets, offspring of the Singers:
I have lain in the womb of the World and incarnate its wonder–
I have played with the Child of the ages and captured its glee–
I have been kissed with the kisses of Kings–
Great Lovers have whispered their lore for my learning.
[Page 388]
Then and now and always, wide away and the length of a span,
I gather that I must gather, by impulse, election:
In me only is attraction,
It alone could attract me,
So am I myself, and none other,
Myself–a mystery! a mouthpiece!
Myself and yet yourself, we two inexplicably one–
Flesh in its consummation, Soul in its incompleteness–
And because of the incompleteness of Soul,
Woman to man,
I chant you the chant of my being.
I cannot live on the crumbs that fall from a Table:
I must be lifted,
Lifted level with my love and with my Lover.
I must be clothed with the purple, made free of the signet–
I must put my hand in his dish, my head on his bosom–
Eye to eye must we lean, loquacious together.
So, and so only
Can I give him to drink of the wine of my winning,
My strange new wine that seethes and bubbles.
So and so only
Can I kiss on his lips the message of Kings–
Whisper the wonder of Life,
The laugh of the Child–
The lore of the Lovers.
Level! Level! Level!
Level with your lips and your eyes my Comrade,
Swing to the height of your heart,
Caught in your soul and kept there
Pervading and peerless!
So, and so only, your Lover, your Servant:
Every passionate pulse-beat
Under the blue veins in my white wrist
Your Servant and Lover–
I cannot live on the crumbs that fall from a Table!


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Rome's climate makes campings an option worth considering, especially if you are on a tight budget and travelling in the summer. It's also a great way to meet other backpackers and travellers, and to combine visiting Rome's city centre with chilling out closer to nature in a tent.
Some camp sites are extremely sophisticated, offering everything from common room areas and internet access to a swimming pool! The Tiber Roma campsite is perhaps the largest and most luxurious. As well as the above, they also have a restaurant, food market and washing facilities. All this for just €10 in high season, and a 20 minute train ride from the city centre. The Plus Camping site is even more central, and also has a swimming pool for cooling off after a hard days sightseeing.


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In December, OCHA held it seventh annual Global Humanitarian Policy Forum, which brought together experts from across the humanitarian and development sectors to explore solutions to help us reach those furthest behind in crises.
Here are four takeaways from the forum.
Inclusive development is a must — the tricky part is how
"The fire-fighting approach is not sustainable…. We need political solutions and we need to invest in sustainable development to resolve and prevent crises of all kinds," said UN Deputy-Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed in her opening address. Many reiterated the game-changing nature of the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in that they include the poorest and most marginalized in economic growth plans.
Excluding certain groups legitimizes divides and results in "dehumanization," said Catarina de Albuquerque, head of the Sanitation and Water for All network. But exactly how to make current systems more inclusive is still not clear. For starters, we need better data on the most vulnerable — "In a world of big data, this is a big black hole," said de Albuquerque. Conflict resolution is a must, stressed panellists, but we also need to showcase peace dividends, said Najat Rochdi, Humanitarian Coordinator in the Central African Republic. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, called for strong development, political and peacebuilding efforts to address the causes of conflict, which include: "failure of political systems, failure of development and poverty … the impact of climate change and demographic change [which exacerbates] pressures on resources."
Humanitarian financing is making progress — now let's scale-up
We have seen exciting developments and innovations in financing in crises over the past year, said participants. For instance, the World Bank has increased its development support in crises, doubling its international development assistance (IDA) commitments from US$7 billion to $14 billion under the current cycle. Swifter and pre-emptive funding is also on the rise. However, three years after the 2030 Agenda commitments, millions of people are still being left behind.
When polled about why this is the case, leadership was cited as the biggest reason. Participants also pointed to the need to scale up financial innovations, such as social impact bonds and other approaches. Many stressed a need to align existing financing tools with the achievement of collective outcomes. One example given was climate financing — it is still a challenge to tap into it during crises, despite the strong linkages between climate change, disaster and vulnerability.
Humanitarian-development nexus — stronger leadership needed
The New Way of Working to bridge the humanitarian-development nexus is now widely accepted and making progress, said Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, Director of Policy at OCHA. While "it is too early to see an impact on vulnerability and need, we are seeing progress on collaboration, coordination and planning," reiterated Michelle Gyles-McDonnough from the UN Secretary-General's office, who emphasized that joined-up working is a priority for the UN.
Over the next six months, the Joint Steering Committee, which Secretary-General Antonio Guterres set up to advance humanitarian and development collaboration, will examine progress made in seven countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria and Somalia, and identify lessons in joint analysis and establishing collective outcomes, which can be applied to other contexts.
Participants shared practical examples from Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan of working on collective outcomes. Early lessons show the importance of strong leadership by Resident Coordinators and Humanitarian Coordinators and governments.
International humanitarian law — building on what works
Humanitarian access is a fundamental prerequisite for humanitarian action, but in many armed conflicts across the world, access is increasingly unsafe, delayed and impeded. However, as the UN Secretary-General has previously emphasized, "there are glimmers of hope." States have cut red tape, non-State armed groups have structures in place to facilitate humanitarian activities, humanitarian organizations regularly negotiate arrangements with warring parties to ensure safe passage, and third States are stepping in to boost compliance to international humanitarian law (IHL).
Several good practices were shared. First, back to basics: it's important for humanitarians to engage with armed groups — that engagement can change behaviour, said NGO Geneva Call, and it shouldn't be criminalized when it's for humanitarian purposes. Moreover, local communities can play an important part in convincing armed groups to facilitate access. Aid groups also have a role to play in helping warring parties to meet their IHL obligations, such as by clearly identifying humanitarian personnel, assets and movements so they are not harmed during military operations, or by negotiating pauses, corridors and days of tranquility to allow assistance to reach civilians in need.
The Netherlands, Canada and other country representatives focused on the role that third States play in ensuring respect for IHL. They spoke of the importance of States working together to ensure that counter-terrorism legislation does not undermine principled humanitarian aid or medical care, which IHL safeguards explicitly. Others pointed to the positive steps that States can take to influence parties in conflict. For instance, the European Union (EU) guidelines on promoting compliance with IHL lay out a series of actions the EU can take, ranging from political dialogue to IHL criteria for granting arms export licenses.


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When something closes in
that changes or seems to change
the prospects of the day,
I think of you and your voice
on the phone.
I hear waves of you
returned from space
in sound that circles
half in dark,
half in light
to find my waiting call.
Baby, you say
and I take my cell outside
and standing,
lift my face.
— Charles Bane, Jr.
When Something Closes In is the latest installment in the serialization of Charles Bane Jr.'s 2011 volume of poetry The Chapbook (Curbside Splendor). Part of a years-long journey, where we share and explore Charles' passion — his poetry — with you, our readers.
Charles is also the author of Love Poems (Kelsay Books, 2014). His work has been described in the Huffington Post as "not only standing on the shoulders of giants, but shrinking them." He created the Meaning of Poetry series for The Gutenberg Project and is a current nominee as Poet Laureate of Florida. A new collection of poetry, The Ends Of The Earth is currently taking shape.
We thank Charles for his continuing contributions and wish him well in the publishing of a collection of short fiction entitled, For Whom The Bell Tolls: The Sequel And Other Stories.


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Grime / Dubstep
It's been a long time coming, but finally one of the most feverishly anticipated albums in dubstep is complete. Pinch's Underwater Dancehall drops on November 2nd on his own Tectonic imprint.
Pinch occupies a special place in dubstep history. After a visit to Forward>> in late 2003 he returned to his native Bristol with missionary zeal. He began DJing and promoting the city's dubstep first night, Subloaded, that matched London's DMZ or Forward>> in spirit and in soundsystem bass weight. After work helping Vex'd on their path to album success, Pinch founded the Tectonic imprint and made a name for himself as a DJ that combined bass impact with deep melodic subtleties. With a deep love of Basic Channel, he did much to pioneer the Berlin/Bristol dubstep/dub techno love affair we see today.
But the turning point for Pinch was surely as a producer, in particular his unlikely anthem "Qawaali". Named after the Sufi Muslim form of devotional singing and released on electronica's Planet Mu, the track crossed barriers, proving a hit with music fans of all musical persuasions. In many ways, Underwater Dancehall continues where "Qawaali" left off.
In fact "Qawaali" opens both disks of the album, as if his old favourite is there to lead Pinch into a new chapter. This chapter begins with an interesting approach to the artist album. Many producers choose to use this moment to work with vocalists, a decision that can divide this audience into those that are excited about the new, listening direction and those who preferred the instrumental old course. Underwater Dancehall, however, is two CDs, one completely instrumental, the other the same tracks but mostly vocalled. It's either an interesting artistic choice or an attempt to please everyone.
Given dubstep's fixation with the instrumental, the album's vocal tracks make for its main focus. Firstly "Qawaali" gets a vocal from Juakali, dread host MC at NYC's Dub War party. It's an unlikely choice, given the obvious feminine nature of the instrumental's melodies. The highlight is the line "Yes I/ Forward forever on this one…", yet in truth it's difficult to top the majesty of the instrumental.
In contrast, in some kind of artistic reversal from Juakali on "Qawaali", Bristol singer Yolanda takes on two dark, techy and masculine instrumentals, "Get Up" and "Battered". Yolanda has a serious pair of lungs, singing in the epic, vocal house vain, such that you might expect to hear her on a Masters at Work track, oddly connecting dubstep back with it's long forgotten New York garage roots. Given her singing style, placing her voice over two techy dubstep instrumentals is quite a contrast. Of the pair of them, "Battered" works least well, with little discernible connection between the dark modulating sub and the offkey bleeps. "Get Up" starts in a similar direction, the broken-dub-Detroit-techno vibe an odd contrast to her powerful voice. But like many classic Detroit anthems, the arrangement leads to an uplifting synth crescendo and as the strings rise, the vocals and track converge, finding unity in the clouds.
The album's two most successful vocal tracks, while they differ in approach, share the fact they are a resounding triumph. Firstly there's "Angels in the Rain" featuring Indi Khur, who's previously featured on fellow Bristol producer Atki2's production. Here Pinch takes a few of her exquisite Asian vocal phrases and blends them with sweet, synth tones. It's a process that takes you back to the two original meanings of the word dubstep: a) Spacey and dubby in vibe like dub reggae, and b) Like the instrumental or "dub" B-side of the vocal garage 12". Both ideas apply here as Indi Khur's vocals sound delayed and fragmented, like Pinch has versioned a full song, not added them to a blank instrumental. Deliciously short (around three minutes), the track is gone before it's begun, like a brief summer shower. But then, Pinch does like his dancehall served underwater.
The other triumph is "One Blood, One Sound" which features local Bristol singer, Rudey Lee. Much has been made of Bristol's musical heritage in the last 20 years, from Wild Bunch and Massive Attack, through to jungle's Roni Size and Krust. Of all the tracks on the album, "One Blood" is the closest in spirit to this rich musical backdrop and in vocal tone, comparisons with Massive Attack at their height abound. Yet while "One Blood" had Bristol in its veins, it has dubstep in its DNA, with sweet Sino melodies and a ruff warping bassline topped off with Pinch's Pointillist drums. It's a masterpiece.
The album builds towards the final track "Lazarus", which in the intro, features the vocal sample "rise up." It's the drop however, that could wake the dead. If Shackleton, king of the wonderfully wonky drum programming, called his label Skull Disco after tribes that used to dig up their relatives bones to party with them, then he's going to need to get the shovel out. When "Lazarus'" 130bpm swung bongos drop there's going to be some serious bone shakin'.
As a whole "Underwater Dancehall" sees Pinch not just pushing himself as an artist, but the scene as a whole. Drowning in cloning and one dimensional dancefloor functionalism, dubstep deeply needs its visionaries right now before its creative oxygen is cut off. Thankfully Pinch has his aqualung on.
Continuing the Bristol theme this month, up steps a close associate of Pinch's, Peverelist. Also known as Tom from behind the counter at Bristol's Rooted Records, he started his Punch Drunk imprint in 2006 with the plan of documenting the emerging local dubstep scene.
"Underground music in the UK has always been very London-centric," he insists. "Bristol has a history of taking ideas from London scenes and re-interpreting them and I think that's what has happened with this dubstep thing. It's about inspiration over imitation. Inspired by London: influenced by Bristol."
Punch Drunk has had releases from Bristol stalwart, Rob Smith plus new producers Monkeysteak and Gatekeeper. But it was Peverelist's own single "The Grind", that caught the zeitgeist late last year with its galloping Mala-esque kicks and Basic Channel influenced vibe. He's since remixed Pole for future release.
But it's his new single, "Roll With the Punches" that really catches the ear. Wistful and sparse, it deploys a simple melody for what seems an age, harking back to the earlier, more meditative era of dubstep circa 2005 and early Mystikz material. Then, seemingly ages into the tune, a heartbreak theme is unleashed. Peverelist dropped it on Sub FM recently and had HENCH MC, Jakes drawing for the reload. "I don't know where I was when I heard this out," Jakes joked. "But when that melody came in, I was flying bruv." With Appleblim mixing the next Dubstep Allstars CD, the Bristol scene is most definitely booming.
If there's one LP that could yet challenge Pinch for dubstep album of the year, it's Burial's. The secretive south Londoner has been hard at work throughout the summer and finally the fruits of his labour, Untrue have a release date in November on Hyperdub.
While a full album review will have to wait until next month's column, one track from the album has stone cold, instant classic written all over it. It's name is "Archangel". At first, it sounds like many Burial dubs: dark, spacey, with rolling drums and popping El-B-style woodblocks. Then the vocal comes in. Wherever you are when you hear this vocal, let me warn you now: please make sure you're sitting down.
Much of "Archangel" is familiar Burial: the Bad Company grimey synths, the deep, emotive Detroit strings and the Foul Play touches. What marks it out as entirely new territory for Burial is the way his infatuation with vocals comes so prominently to the fore, as if inventing some new kind of dark vocal pop.
"Holding you/ Let it be alone… let it be alone… loving you/ Kissing you/ Tell me I belong…tell me I belong…"
On paper the lyrics seem unremarkable. To the ears they're heartstring dynamite. Rolling through the fore of the track, the pitchbent vocals form syrupy melodies like a Todd Edwards classic or Akon r&b bomb. "Archangel" is a lament for everyone who's ever loved so hard it hurts, fallen so deeply little else matters, given until they're dry, cared until they've ascended to a higher place. Burial did all that in one track. Now, are you ready for the rest of "Untrue?"
Earlier this year, this column featured one of the most exciting grime producers Joker. Based in Bristol, he'd developed a unique, wonky, synth overload style inspired by computer games as much as grime. In the interview however, he name checked several new producers he was working with. One of them was Guido.
Recently, Guido unveiled some of his productions all rolled into one mix, that manage to combine many usually awful influences (cheap sax samples and rock guitar riffs) to make a guilty pleasure. Coming on a like a mix of warped grime, broken computer games and dark r&b, its mid-range melodic interplay a welcome contrast to the subbass overdose of dubstep or the lack of arrangement in most grime instrumentals.
"My main influences would have to be piano music and that epic kind of composer for instance Nobuo Uematsu and Harry Gregson Williams both made music for games," explains Guido. "I generally like stuff with creative production and interesting melodies. I listen to a lot of different music, examples of US r&b, Aaliyah, Timbaland, UK grime: Low Deep but really a huge mix of genres and sounds. I like a lot of jazz, like Esbjörn Svensson Trio, plus the video game music that I grew up listening to. I am also feeling a lot of the dubstep productions."
One unlikely synth specialists' signing to a dubstep label, is chiptune producer Quarta 330 to Hyperdub. This takes Guido and Joker's computer game music influence that step further, restricting the entire production to those sounds that can be made on Gameboy. It's cheap synth overload and completely hilarious.
The release came about after Tokyo's Quarta 330 covered Kode's "9Samurai", which in turn had sampled Japanese cinema. On tour in Tokyo earlier this year, Kode popped into the sythesizer shop where Quarta 330 worked. An unlikely but vital Hyperdub release was born. Kode opened his recent triumphant DMZ set with the two Quarta tracks.
The thinking behind this light hearted and unlikely release can be seen in a recent interview by Kode9.
"I try to keep giving dubstep that which it has told itself it is not, if you know what I mean," he explained. "For example, tracks without beats e.g. 'Sine of the Dub, an album full of vocals ("Memories of the Future"), an overlap with grime (forthcoming release on Hyperdub with vocalist from the Roll Deep crew, Flow Dan) and a producer such as Burial whose bass is the least interesting thing about his music. Hopefully this irritates everyone with a tidy idea of what dubstep should be."
Since the explosion in interest in dubstep almost two years ago, while there's been a massive increase in the number of producers, there's been an unhealthy reduction in creativity and risk taking. New producers seem to be asking themselves "how do I sound like dubstep?" instead of asking "where original can I take my sound?" Hyperdub's release schedule, with synth-lead, low fi-sounding production like Quarta 330, continues to question what dubstep could be.
Taking a step back to take in Joker and Guido in Bristol, Quarta 330 in Tokyo, London's Icekid (especially "No the Levelz") and Maniac, plus Ryan Leslie" in Harlem and Sa-Ra in LA , suddenly you can see some kind of global dialog, where producers are attacking the midrange with pitchbent synths and wonky melodies, yet each from a unique local angle. Mid is the new bass.
By far and away the most exciting grime tune this month comes from two former NASTY Crew members, Lewi White and Ghetto. Entitled "Commandments", and co-produced by Bliss, it breaks into hip-hop's sacred church, steals a piece of a classic, and then roughs it up rudely, UK style.
Alongside Durrty Goodz, Trim and Skepta, Ghetto is one of the four or so best MCs in grime right now, his energy and venom combining in a unique flow that's mesmerising to listen to. But while he's been on countless hype tunes, "Commandments" takes him into darker territories. He breaks down the rules of the road, how to avoid jail and make moves. It's electrifying, as Lewi pings Ghetto's vocals around with effects and delays not normally deployed on grime vocals. "I think a lot of grime producers limit themselves," says Lewi of the vocals, "but I listen to everything."
"Commandments" is due out on vinyl soon but will also form part of a new mix CD. Produced exclusively by Lewi White and Smasher and starring Ghetto on the mic, Freedom of Speech promises the kind of continuity other grime mix CDs, with their multiple producers, lack. It will also contain features from Wiley, Wretch 32, Scorcher and Devlin, but it's the focus on Ghetto that appeals. "We created a proper sound for the mix CD," explains Lewi, "where everything sits in a place with each other. We worked to make it album quality."
Lewi made his name working on early NASTY Crew material with Jammer. He's since found success working with Smasher, having been involved with one of the current biggest tunes in grime, "Back in the Day". Far less fierce than "Commandments", it's a grime tune that rolls through tiny snippets of classic UK garage and proto-grime to think back about times in UK urban music gone by. Though similar to Durrty Goodz' "Take Back the Scene", it was produced before it but takes a comparable megamix approach to UK garage anthems. Amazingly, the pieces weren't carefully timestretched into place. Instead Smasher, a longtime DJ, beatmixed them on the fly to give the raw, energetic feel we now hear.
Yet in many ways it's strange to see grime harking back to UK garage, a scene that rejected it, dubbed it "grime" as a pejorative term and then split off from it. Grime used this rejection to innovate quickly, making massive leaps from the DJ based culture to an artist-based, lyrical sound we know today. But those gains came at a cost: the London club scene for grime is minuscule, vinyl sales are evaporating and funky house has caught the imagination of the dancing crew.
"It's a reminisce tune," explains Lewi of "Back in the Day". "Those days were better, there was money in the scene, there were raves and people were buying vinyl. It all just got thugged out in the space of a year. Unless we can bring it back, grime's in trouble."
Listen to selected tracks from this column at Words Into Sound on Forkcast.
Dusk + Blackdown's new single featuring Trim is entitled "The Bits" and is backed with "Northside Cheng Dub". It will be released on Keysound Recordings on October 15th. Read a full interview with Trim here**.


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Autocar Pro News Desk ,
10 Jan 2019
A strong year for the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer: Porsche delivered a record 256,255 vehicles globally in 2018, representing a growth of four percent compared to the existing record figures of the preceding year.
Of the model series, the Panamera recorded the strongest percentage growth with a 38 percent increase to 38,443 deliveries, the 911 also recorded a double-digit rise: despite the release of a new generation of 911, the number of sports cars delivered increased by ten percent to 35,573 vehicles.
Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board responsible for Sales and Marketing at Porsche said, "The 911 capacity to fascinate is stronger than ever. We just celebrated the world premiere of the new 911 at the end of the year at the Los Angeles Autoshow, and yet our sports car icon once again inspired more customers in 2018 than in the previous year."
The Macan remains the most successful model by volume with 86,031 vehicles, followed by the Cayenne with 71,458 deliveries.
China: the largest individual market
The Chinese market held on to its pole position for deliveries again in 2018. The growth in the market hit twelve percent amounting to 80,108 units in total. In second place was the USA, with an increase of three percent to 57,202 vehicles, while deliveries in Europe came in slightly below the previous year's figures.
"The switch to the new WLTP test cycle and gasoline particle filters in Europe mean that we faced significant challenges in the fourth quarter of 2018, and these will continue to be felt in the first half of 2019. On top of that, we stopped offering models with diesel engines in February 2018," Detlev von Platen added.
Radical Citroen Oli concept previews sustainable, affordable EVs
Autocar India
29 Sep 2022
Kia to launch EV6 GT on October 4
Autocar Pro News Desk ,
29 Sep 2022
Tata Motors launches Tiago EV at Rs 849,000, claims 315km range
Satvik Khare, Autocar India
28 Sep 2022


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New blasts in Iraq kill 19
At least 19 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a series of six car bombs exploded across Baghdad. Three of them went off within minutes of each other in the Sunni neighborhood of Dora in the south of the city.The explosions happened near a vegetable market, killing at least 10 people. Three other bombs exploded across Baghdad, killing 9 more people. The blasts burnt several cars and shattered the windows of nearby shops. U.S. and Iraqi forces are now preparing a security crackdown across the capital.Those latest deaths come as the U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, tries to rally European support for the operation in Iraq. But pressure is growing on President Bush at home. A group of senators, including a Republican, have agreed on a resolution opposing his plan to send more than 20,000 extra troops to Iraq. The resolution may be non binding, but it puts the Senate on record as saying that American commitment in Iraq should only be sustained with popular support of the American people and the Congress.Senator Clinton just back from a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan warned that the President must make up his mind on the direction the war is going. "The President is sending mixed signals. He has finally said that this is not an open-ended commitment in Iraq, but is providing the Iraqis with an open-ended presence of American troops. We need to change course," Senator Clinton said.The US has lost an estimated 3,000 men and women since the conflict began in 2003, and recent polls show that nearly 2 out of 3 Americans are opposed to sending more troops. But as Baghdad is brought to its knees, there's a growing concern that there's no end in site. The Iraqi prime minister has said that if the latest agreement goes ahead, the provision of extra weapons could mean that the "need for American troops will go down dramatically" in six month. But with an estimated 94 Iraqis dying each day, there are bound to be skeptics in Iraq and the US. Meanwhile, President Bush has less than two years left at the White House, and so far, the efforts of Congress against the war have not affected the Pentagon war budget, nor challenged the President's authority over US forces.
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July 16, 2014
"The weakest link in the security of anything you do online is your password. It's the key to your site, your email, your social networking accounts or any other online service you use. If your password is easy to guess, your online identity is vulnerable." – The WordPress Security team (http://vip.wordpress.com/security)
Most WordPress sites are hacked because bad habits — and, more specifically, bad passwords. It's easy to recommend better passwords, but this talk covers the technology that is changing how the password battle is being waged. Background on botnets, two-factor authentication, SSL, and password rot will accompany actionable advice any user can follow to secure their WordPress site.


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The Butterfly Effect 2
After his girlfriend (Erica Durance) and two best friends are killed in a tragic auto accident, Nick (Eric Lively) struggles to cope with his loss and grief while suffering from migraine-like seizures. But he soon discovers he has the power to change the past via his memories. The catch is that Nick's time-traveling attempts to alter the past and save his one true love have unexpected and dire consequences for the present.
Synopsis compliments of Netflix
Random Titles
This sequel should never have been made, it adds nothing to the original The Butterfly Effect and manages to combine sub-par acting with a yawn-inducing plot to create a film barely worthy of being a late night TV movie.
© 2009-2022 Anthony Stahler
Posting Disabled


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South Vietnam had to be built from scratch and, from the very beginning, depended far too much on the Western superpowers. As in the case of a person on public welfare, this dependency, which became greater with each day, was quite difficult to shake.— Nguyen Cao Ky
The most captivate Nguyen Cao Ky quotes that are simple and will have a huge impact on you
By fighting a limited, defensive war, America permitted the enemy to endlessly re-supply their field armies.
From its inception, South Vietnam was only considered to be an outpost in the war against communism.
By the mid-sixties, the United States had poured more than half a million troops into South Vietnam.
I never staged a coup. They picked me up. Like I say, they forced me to become premier, maybe hoping that by that way, they send me to the electric chair.
After the 1954 Geneva international conference, Vietnam was divided into two parts. On paper, North and South Vietnam were twin countries born at the same moment.
I have been blessed often by Buddha, but equally by America.
If the war has faded into history, democracy's defeat in Vietnam has left deep marks in the consciousness of both nations.
After Watergate, America was a ship without a rudder. Vietnam was left to its own devices, drifting along towards its fate.
Through leadership of the fight against French colonialism, Ho Chi Minh had made a name for himself in the international political arena.
We all know that in war the political and military factors have to complement each other.
And then when they picked me as premiere, I don't think I feel, you know, different. For me, the position mean responsibility, but that's all.
If Americans knew how to deal with other people, they could bring peace to the world. Alas, they have not learned enough yet. The true American feels that he is 100 percent welcome anywhere he goes.
The way Americans understand and treat other peoples almost guarantees that the world will suffer more trouble.
During the Fifties, political and military activities in Vietnam were heavily influenced by the French, who as recent colonial masters, made all-important decisions.
Americans are big boys. You can talk them into almost anything. Just sit with them for half an hour over a bottle of whiskey and be a nice guy.


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