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Everything old is new again. Nearly one year after announcing plans to open its first brick-and-mortar bookstore, Amazon, having conquered e-commerce, is now planning to establish a beachhead in another corner of the physical world: convenience and grocery stores. The Wall Street Journal reports that the small storefronts would be stocked with perishable grocery items like milk and produce, and would allow for curbside pickup of groceries. Customers could also possibly use their smartphones to order nonperishable goods like cereal to their homes for same-day delivery.
Internally code-named Project Como, the twist on Amazon's existing subscription grocery-delivery service, Amazon Fresh, shows the e-commerce giant continuing to experiment with a segment of the market that remains unsettled. Customers using online grocery-delivery services like Instacart have had some apprehension about relying on someone else picking out produce for them. A service like Amazon's would allow customers to have some degree of autonomy over their purchases, but would still allow for a more efficient checkout process than a traditional big-box retailer like Walmart or a typical grocery store. The Journal reports that Amazon is working on license-plate-reading technology to help facilitate faster checkouts. Customers could place online grocery orders and then pull up to a drive-in location to quickly pick up their orders.
A spokeswoman for Amazon told Quartz in an e-mail that the company doesn't comment "on rumors or speculation."
Amazon's foray into brick-and-mortar comes at a time when other companies in the super-hot food-delivery space are grappling with money-losing operations. Jack Dorsey's mobile-payments company, Square, has reportedly been having trouble finding a buyer for Caviar, the food-delivery company it bought a couple years ago and is now seeking to offload. Food-delivery start-up DoorDash raised a down-round earlier this year, and other on-demand food-delivery services like SpoonRocket have shut down entirely. Meanwhile, shares of GrubHub, the most successful example of a food-delivery company gone public, are up 64 percent in 2016.
For now, the only proof of concept of Amazon's new grocery endeavor is taking shape in Seattle, where Geekwire reports that Amazon is building a drive-through grocery store. "When placing an online order, customers will schedule a specific 15-minute to two-hour pick up window. Peak time slots will sell out, which will help manage traffic flow within the customer parking adjacent to the building," a planning document for the building reads. "When picking up purchased items, customers can either drive into a designated parking area with eight parking stalls where the purchased items will be delivered to their cars or they can walk into the retail area to pick up their items. Customers will also be able to walk into the retail room to place orders on a tablet. Walk in customers will have their products delivered to them in the retail room."
If that sounds a lot like a brick-and-mortar shopping experience—albeit with more technological bells and whistles—that's because it is. While traditional stores have been taking their cues from Silicon Valley—adding Square card readers, iPad-enabled checkout lines, and integrating with apps for everything from making reservations to reserving items online—Amazon is effectively working backward from the e-commerce space, reverse-engineering what a physical grocery store might look like. Those similarities even extend to its membership structure. As with members-only warehouse stores like Sam's Club or Costco, Amazon's convenience-store concept would only serve Fresh customers who pay a $15 monthly subscription fee on top of their annual $99-per-year Prime delivery service for same-day grocery delivery. The end result, notably, doesn't sound so different than what exists in some cities now, just with more Amazon flair.


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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A persuasive deathbed letter from former Staten Island District Attorney William Murphy may have kept the owner of a popular West Brighton pub out of jail.
Joseph F. "Jody" Haggerty, the 61-year-old owner of Jody's Club Forest, was sentenced to two years probation for federal tax evasion by a judge in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn today. Haggerty, whose Forest Avenue tavern served as home base for the borough's Democratic elite and one of the most lucrative NCAA basketball pools in the country, was also ordered to pay $24,088 in taxes and $3,300 in fines.
In April, Haggerty admitted under-reporting his taxable income for three years – 2003 through 2005 – by almost $75,000. He pleaded guilty to three felony counts of making and subscribing false tax returns.
The West Brighton resident faced a penalty of six to 12 months in prison, but Judge Raymond Dearie was apparently moved by a letter from Murphy asking for leniency. Murphy had dictated the letter on May 24, while he was laid up in a hospital bed on Staten Island. He died from complications from diabetes on June 10.
In the letter, Murphy explained that he had known Haggerty for 30 years as an active member of the community who had given his time and money to many charitable causes.
"I know him to be a good person and he is remorseful for his mistake," Murphy wrote.
Dearie was apparently convinced. The fact that Murphy would write a letter on his behalf while in such a dire state said a "great deal about the type of person" Mr. Haggerty is, the judge said.
Dozens of other people – including prominent borough residents – also wrote letters on Haggerty's behalf.
How the conviction might impact the future of the bar isn't immediately clear.
A State Liquor Authority spokesman said convicted felons, in general, are prohibited from holding a liquor license unless issued a certificate of relief from the court where they were convicted or from the Probation Department, and licenses cannot be transferred from one person to another.
Haggerty's Manhattan defense attorney, Peter J. Driscoll, said he has not asked the judge for a certificate of relief, but did not rule it out.
Haggerty's tax returns first drew the attention of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2007, after the winner of Jody's Club Forest famed "March Madness" pool had reported his windfall as taxable prize money.
An Island institution, the gambling pool started in 1977 as a diversion among drinking buddies. By 2006, its winner-take-all jackpot swelled from an initial $880 to $1.5 million in 2006, when it attracted 150,000 entries.
Jody's has also been one of the home offices for Staten Island politics for years, especially for Democrats. Former Democratic City Councilman Jerome X. (Jay) O'Donovan held an annual breakfast there in honor of the grand marshal prior to the start of the borough's St. Patrick's Day Parade. Rep. Michael McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), who succeeded O'Donovan before being elected to Congress in 2008, has continued the tradition.
The annual gathering has served as the unofficial opening of borough political season, and has drawn candidates and officials from Mayor Michael Bloomberg on down.
Bloomberg, in fact, braved the Jody's crowd in 2003 when his popularity was at an all-time low thanks to his anti-smoking crusade and property-tax hike.
The late Assemblyman John Lavelle, the Island Democratic chairman, was a close friend with Haggerty and a frequent Jody's visitor. Lavelle was in a Jody's restroom when he suffered a stroke in January 2007 that ended his life.

subset: commoncrawl


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Lola Leather Jacket
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- Material: 100% Lambskin Leather
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- Fox Fur collar
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*This jacket is Made To Order, therefore when you place your order we starting making your item for you. It takes 7days for this jacket to be made (longer during busy periods) & will be shipped to you soon thereafter. If you need them urgently please check our Ready to Ship section here or contact us.
Shipping & Returns
We offer shipping worldwide for all orders. Please take note of the different shipping timings and our return policy here.


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By Katie Riley
With two preschool grandsons who will enter the Hillsboro public schools in the future, I am very concerned about the continuing budget cuts to our schools. I had a great education in Oregon and want my grandchildren to enjoy the same benefits.
With an education doctorate, and as a researcher, and volunteer advocate for the Washington County Commission on Children and Families and Hillsboro Empowers Youth!, I support proven programs and accountability. Our children are facing a shortened school year, crowded classrooms, and elimination of electives.
We can do better for our children.
We need to increase funding for education by putting more Oregonians to work, eliminating the corporate kicker, and deleting all tax loopholes that do not achieve a beneficial purpose. I have talked with people throughout the district and their chief concern is education. There are no easy or quick answers; teachers, parents, community members, and the state legislature must all work together to be part of the solution.
Katie Riley is running for the Democratic nomination for House District 29.


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Incomes Register glossary
The right to act on behalf of another with regard to certain matters. Payers grant authorisations in the Suomi.fi e-Authorisations service. The data user's Master User authorises other persons within their own organisation for the data user's roles.
Basic role
The basic role defines the search criteria with which the data user can search for reports in the e-service.
Benefit recipient
Benefit recipient refers to a natural person or a death estate to whom/which a pension or benefit is paid. A benefit recipient may also be referred to as an income earner. A benefit recipient may also be a foreign death estate that is treated as an organisation in taxation. In the benefits payment report, the person entitled to the benefit is reported as the benefit recipient even if the payment is made to a substitute recipient.
Casual employer
Casual employers have only one employee over the calendar year, or alternatively no more than five employees whose employment relationship is not intended to continue for the full calendar year. Employers who pay wages casually do not have to register with the Employer Register. Casual employers are only obliged to submit the employer's separate report to the Incomes Register for the months in which they pay wages. However, casual employers may register with the Employer Register voluntarily. If they do so, they will be considered equivalent to regular employers and must submit the employer's separate report each month.
A certificate is an electronic verification that is used to identify the organisation providing or using the data and to ensure the integrity of the records. The Incomes Register's certificate service issues the certificates needed for using the technical interfaces.
Data access profile
A description of data disclosed from the Incomes Register to a data user for a certain purpose of use. The definition of a data access profile is based on the act on the incomes information system (laki tulotietojärjestelmästä 53/2018). An organisation's data access profile is defined in cooperation with the Incomes Register Unit.
Data access right
The statutory right to obtain certain data from the Incomes Register for a certain purpose of use. The disclosure of data is prescribed in section 13 of the act on the incomes information system (laki tulotietojärjestelmästä 53/2018).
Data permission
The decision by the Incomes Register Unit on the forwarding and disclosure of data to a certain data user. The data permission consists of an administrative decision and its appendices, where data access profiles, data user's roles and services are defined.
Data provider
All companies and other actors that have an obligation to report wage, pension or benefit data in Finland.
Data user
As of 1 January 2019, data users will comprise the Tax Administration, Kela, the Employment Fund, earnings-related pension providers and Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK).
As of 1 January 2020, data users will expand to include Province of Åland and its authorities, municipalities and joint municipal authorities, Motor Insurers' Centre, Patient Insurance Centre, Workers' Compensation Center, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment's administrative branch, Statistics Finland, the Employment Fund's adult education benefits, occupational safety and health authorities, unemployment funds, non-life insurance providers and State Treasury.
As of 1 January 2021, the National Enforcement Authority Finland will become data user as well.
Data user role
The data user role consists of the data access profile and the basic role. The data user's Master User authorises other persons within their organisation for the data user roles. The basic role defines the search criteria with which the authorised person can search for reports in the e-service. The data access profile defines what report data is displayed to the person.
Data user's Master User
A person designated by the data user organisation who handles administrative matters in the Incomes Register, for example, authorises the persons in their organisation to act in selected data user's roles.
Employment relationship
According to terminology provided in Palkkahallinnon sanasto, employment relationships are divided into contractual employment relationships and public-service employment relationships.
In the public sector pensions act (julkisten alojen eläkelaki 81/2016) (JuEL), the employment relationship is defined more broadly: Employment relationships covered by the act include not only contractual and public-service employment relationships, but also assignments, positions of trust and contracts concluded with carers and family day-care providers. In addition, atypical or short-term employment relationships for which a written employment contract is not necessarily made – for example when a nanny or a handyman is hired – should be reported to the Incomes Register.
In the Incomes Register's e-service, you can, for example, report data on an online form, search and browse data on submitted reports and send files to the Incomes Register via the upload service. The Suomi.fi authentication is used to log in to the Incomes Register's e-service.
Income earner
Income earners include all those who receive earned income, pensions or benefits.
Incomes Register
The Incomes Register is a national electronic database. It will contain a comprehensive range of individual level data on earned incomes, pensions and benefits.
Incomes Register Authority
A Tax Administration unit responsible for the operation of the Incomes Register.
Pay security
A system that ensures the payment of employees' claims arising from an employment relationship in the event of the employer's insolvency.
Regular employer
Regular employers pay the wages of two or more employees, or pay the wages of six or more employees simultaneously, even though their employment contracts were temporary and intended for a short period of time. Employers who pay wages regularly must register with the Tax Administration's Employer Register before they begin wage payments. A regular employer must submit the employer's separate report to the Incomes Register for each month.
Special role: Wages paid by own organisation
If the person has been granted the special role 'Wages paid by own organisation', their search results will also display the wages paid by the data user's own organisation. The special role is not included in the role of data user.
Substitute recipient
Substitute recipient refers to a recipient of a payment to whom a benefit or part of a benefit is paid instead of the benefit recipient. A substitute recipient should be reported to the Incomes Register if a payment is made to another benefit payer based on right of recourse (recourse payment) or if a benefit is paid to a recipient other than the actual benefit recipient for any other reason.
Technical interface
The technical interface is an integration established between different systems. As an example, an electronic connection is built between payroll software and the Incomes Register, allowing data to be transferred between the two applications. The Incomes Register has three interfaces: real-time Web Service, deferred Web Service, and SFTP. Using the interface requires a certificate.
Temporary employer
Temporary employer is a concept used by earnings-related pension providers, describing whether or not the payer has taken out a pension insurance policy from an earnings-related pension provider. The employer arranges pension provision for its employees either as a temporary employer or contract employer.


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The Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) is a voluntary welfare organization catering to persons with mild intellectual disability (MID). APSN operates four schools and one Centre for Adults in Singapore.
At APSN, our staff is the key resource in our journey of excellence towards our vision of being the premier organization that develops individuals with special needs to their fullest potential so that they can lead dignified, fulfilling and independent lives as integral members of society. If you wish to make a difference to the life of people with special needs, we invite you to join us for the following position.


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Another Saturday and another event for me. This time Stand and Bang in Woking in a ring with ropes as opposed to an octagon with fencing. Yes it was time for a bit of K1 / klickboxing and straight boxing.
This isn't my normal fare however the few kickboxing events that I've been to have been great fun, both photographically and from an action perspective. Stand and Bang is run by Kyle 'Ringmaster' who organizes, produces and MCs on the night. He's a top guy all round. Prior to the kick off Kyle was quote stressed ensuring that everything was how it should be, making sure that his event was spot on for all in attendance. Once the lights went down and the tux was on like superman an air of calm descended and he was in his element presenting to the people in attendance.
The first bout was between two amateur youths, ( JAY MILLER VS. WESLEY CLARKE ) who gave a Great account of themselves proving that age should be no barrier to the sport and youngsters can compete just as well as the adults. Anyone who thinks it's wrong seeing kids go at it in a combat sport needs to get their head checked. These two did a great job of showing the sport at its best.
The second bout between LUCIANO MENDOLA and MACE RUEGG almost got fight of the night. To young combatants fighting each other with the no fear attitude that only youth can bring. For x rounds both fought hard and fair with the exception of one picking the other up, youthful exuberance taking hold for a split second.
The remainder if the card was made up of adults at different weights from local clubs and some from further afield including a gym from
Boxing was also on the agenda as well as kickboxing and that also delivered with a few good bouts on the card, the highlight of which was ROY KELDIE VS. PIERS RAVENHILL
The final set of fights were for ISKA titles and delivered in spades. Great entertainment and skill shown by all. For me I enjoyed GEORGE DAVIES VS. TRISTAN TATE. I scored the first round as a draw, duriung the middle rounds it looked as if Tate was tiring, Davis having him on the ropes and boxed into the Shinkick Gyms corner for a while. Tate, egged on and encouraged by his sibling Andrew Tate (himself 2x world kickboxing champion) survived the round after a few shaky moments. After the break and strong words from his corner Tate recovered and managed to get back into the fight. Tate finished strongly and got the win on the judges cards leaving him to take the belt home after a two year lay off from competitive pro rules combat.
All in all,this was a superb evening of fighting from start to finish, all fighters showed courage during their time in the ring and respect whether winning or loosing after the end of the fights.
Kyle's attention to detail was superb, making sure that fighters, staff and guests had a great evening. Unfortunately there was a small scuffle on the crowd, however this was soon resolved by he security at the HG Wells centre and some choice words from the ringmaster and proceedings soon got underway again.
There really is nothing not to like about Stand and Bang and I would use anyone interested in a high octane night to check out the event in the future. I know that there is already another in the pipeline billed as a more amateur event which of its half as good as this one will be a great day out.


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The biggest show tonight's probably the first of Slobberbone's two nights of reunions (this one at Dan's Silverleaf). The O's open. But there's also the Don Cab show at RGRS, the Dr. John and Neville Brothers show at House of Blues, Kevin Costner & Modern West at the Granada, and the Informant show way out in Coppell. And on Saturday, there's The Semifinals' gig at the Prophet Bar and the Slobberbone and The O's gig at Barley House.
But, wait! There's more!
Friday, Feb. 6, at AllGood Cafe
Surely I can't be the only one in the world who wouldn't mind hearing
Shibboleth's "1912 Horsey Rebellion"
Austin Brown Sounds, Sparklepussy Barbie
Friday, Feb. 6, at The Cavern
Kinda fitting to see Sparklepussy Barbie on a bill this weekend--I can't help but compare their sound to The Killers'. The couple of times I've seen them, that translates to a pretty decent time... if the crowd is willing to dance away to the band's brand of rock. Austin Brown Sounds, which just returned from a European tour, also tries to get the audience dancing, albeit in a more funk-jam kind of way. Should be interesting to see how the crowds and dances blend on this bill.
Cory Branan, Will Johnson
Friday, Feb, 6 at the Double Wide
A very nice pairing here, pitting Centro-matic's Johnson with the headliner, Austin's Cory Brannan, who has worked with Lucero, been featured in Rolling Stone, performed on Letterman and has a nice quality to his down-home Texas country/folk/rock sound.
Sounds Under Radio, PVC Street Gang, Menkena
Friday, Feb, 6, at Lola's on Sixth, Fort Worth
I have no idea what to make of Austin's Sounds Under Radio, as I've seen the band on some odd bills over the past year. But if you wanna take a chance on the bombastic rock act, tonight's a good time to do so--if only because Denton's punk-influenced PVC Street Gang and Dallas' dream-scape shoegaze act Menkena are worth the price of admission alone.
Chris Holt, Eric Neal, Camille Cortinas, Dave Little
Friday, Feb, 6, at Opening Bell Coffee's Mosaic location
Fishing For Comets' Camille Cortinas pitched this to me as a songwriters-in-the-round, song-swap between this talented collection of area musicians. A much lower-keyed affair than most of the other shows happening tonight, but a great option for people looking for more of a wine than a beer-and-whiskey night. Plus, do we really have to slobber over Holt and Neal's collective talents and the number of bands they play in again?
Salim Nourallah
Saturday, Feb. 7, at Club Dada
I've had the pleasure of previewing Nourallah's upcoming March release and--SPOILER ALERT--I think it might be some of the best work he's ever done. Also, it's fitting that he's playing Dada since, apparently, he's gonna be the new booking agent at Club Dada's new "Listening Room".
Mount Righteous, The Unbearables, The Van Buren Boys, County Lines
Saturday, Feb. 7, at The Chat Room Pub, Fort Worth
Two Austin bands (The Van Buren Boys and The Unbearables) join two Grapevine bands on this Fort Worth bill. And since we've already said plenty about Mount Righteous, I just want to say this: The Van Buren Boys is such a great name for a band, I'm pissed at myself for not coming up with it first.
Teenage Cool Kids, Deep Snapper, Uptown Bums
Saturday, Feb, 7, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, Denton
A really solid bill of some of Denton's best lo-fi punk- and garage-influenced acts. One of the best bills of the weekend, in fact.
Ray Wilie Hubbard
Saturday, Feb, 7, at the Granada Theater
'Cause this is Texas, y'all.
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, others
Saturday, Feb, 7, at the House of Blues' Pontiac Garage
Because some mall punk bands do read this blog. Meanwhile, did you know that RJA, the band responsible for that ubiquitous "Face Down" song, has a new album out? You didn't? Us either. Nor do we care, really, but we have space to fill...
Vandevander, Oso Closo, The Kul
Saturday, Feb, 7, at The Cavern
Oso Closo killed as the Who earlier this season at the DTC. Meanwhile, Tulsa's Vandevander uses some pretty tired blues-rock riffs, but I imagine it's not that bad in a live setting--which is probably why he's been all over DFW in recent weeks. And then there are the funky, soul rockers in The Kul, who are pushing its just-released Soul 4 Gold album (we'll have a review in print soon enough) at this gig. Really bizarre blend of acts, but each is at least somewhat interesting in its own right.
Saturday, Feb. 7, at House of Blues
Still kickin'. Or so I just found out when I saw this show listed on the House of Blues' site. Go figure.
Gov't Mule, Disco Biscuits
Sunday, Feb. 8, at House of Blues
Because, like, dude... really... I know a guy who can totally hook us up before we get there... it'll be unreal. Dude.
Slider Pines
Sunday, Feb, 8, at the Barley House
Because you've got nothing else going on on Sunday night this weekend, and I'll be damned if Slider Pines isn't the tightest, cleanest live band in town--not to mention that its obvious Clash, Beatles and Replacements influences are really tough to disapprove of. Plus, you can still download the band's latest EP for free right here. Or you can just pick up a hard copy at the show. Again, for free.
...and that's all folks. Add others in the comments, if you must. And, as always, have fun out there.


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We welcome you to the Simantro Beach Hotel, where you can spend unforgettable stays on vacation or a business trip. Enjoy our seaside hospitality by the beautiful Aegean Sea.
The 'Simantro Beach Hotel is characterized by its unique Byzantine elements. The fact that it was built like the famous monasteries of Mount Athos makes the guest feel the serenity and natural beauty.
You can recognize it by the name 'Simantro, which means "bell" in Greek and fits perfectly into the surroundings, the architecture and history of the hotel.
Wood and stone are the main elements of building this hotel, which makes the distinction and offers to our beloved guests a healthy life in a pure, natural environment.
The 'Simantro Beach Hotel offers unique and comfortable accommodation in 346 rooms in 15 separate U-shaped buildings between our flowering gardens, olive tree gardens and pine forest.
Choose your stay between the recently renovated double / triple deluxe rooms and the spacious suites.
A selection of restaurants with local and international cuisine and bars, a fully equipped sandy beach, three freshwater swimming pools with kids' section and pool bar, a professional multilingual animation team, a mini market, video games, a cosy spa with a fitness room and much more are available for joyful holidays.
Our guests can use numerous sports facilities under the safe instructions of our well-trained team.
A professional team in our kids club looks after our little friends with fantastic games and creative hours.
Optionally, our guests can choose the all-inclusive program of this beautiful hotel by the sea.
The Simantro Beach Hotel is located in the northwest of the Kassandra Peninsula in the well-known area of Sani, just one (1) hour's drive from cosmopolitan Thessaloniki.
Clear water, pine trees sway back and forth in the light breeze, our sandy beach and the azure blue of the sea complete the picture of our little paradise.
Spend unforgettable hours by the sea and on our private beach with sun beds and umbrellas, relax and unwind or follow your mood for some beach activities like beach volleyball or numerous sports facilities like water sports for all ages.
Day and evening animation program takes place by the beach, by the pool and in the open-air theater / cinema.
Our multilingual animation team offers a creative, amusing and varied entertainment program. Taking advantage of the area's landscape, our imaginary team organizes fantastic games and activities with joy and fun.
Families with children will certainly experience unique moments in the 5-star Hotel Simantro Beach. A professional team in our mini club looks after our little friends with fantastic games and creative hours.
The Simantro Beach Hotel is situated amongst the magnificent grounds in one of Greece's renowned beauty spots, the first Peninsula of three in Halkidiki, known as Kassandra.
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Loopmasters has released the Experimental Sound Bundle, a bundle pack featuring 9 sample libraries at a 50% discount.
Weighing in at 9.47GB, the Experimental Sounds bundle delivers a stonking collection of analogue and digitally effected delights! If you're in need of a seriously atmospheric edge to inspire your music, then look no further!
Experimental Sound Bundle features
- Abstractions has been produced exclusively for Loopmasters, by Statek who created our incredible Dark and Light Texture collections, and this stunning library takes it to the next level by fusing Synthetic and Organic sounds together to create huge dynamic soundscapes to evolve and bubble away under your productions.
- Dark Atmospherics comes bundled with 196 rhythmic loops of various glitched, processed, crushed and manipulated drums useful for producers in the IDM, Breaks, Dubstep, Drum & Bass, Hip Hop genres who are looking for unique and loop-able percussion layers to add new dimension to their work. Colin C also included 40 one shot samples including Kicks, Snares, SFX and Percussion!
- Dubstep Mechatron – Harness the devastating firepower of the mechatron with over 800mb of battle ready loops, sounds and sampler instruments expect to find: Terrorizing Bass Loops, Pulverizing Lead and Synth Loops, Transformer Fx and Speaker Blowing Sampler Patches. Transform your productions with state of the art cyber-machine loops, processed through a hot array of tubes and transformers!
- Eat Static Presents Static Sounds Vol1: Broken Electronica Loops and Pads – Fans of Eat Static will be in there element here but this truly diverse collection of sounds and loops will inspire any producer looking for a sonic edge. Within this incredible sonic tool belt producers should expect to find Experimental Rhythms, Futuristic Soundscapes, Glitched-Out Sequences, Bit Crunched Textures, Mesmerizing Pads and Multi Layered Sound FX.
- Evac & Phidelity Present Fractal Sound – Fractal Sound is the work of American electronic artist EVAC. With over 1.3GB of content you are sure to find everything you need to complete your soundscape with 189 Loops featuring deep textured Drums, with an almost organic flavour and a superb collection of cinematic synths and crunchy melodic robotics. Deep and dark atmospheres and FX provide the evil, evolving backdrop for a galaxy of sound in your daw!
- Psycadelic Dub Chamber has been created exclusively for Loopmasters by Dubsalon and is the one stop collection of Atmospheric sonic bullets and Tripped Out Dub SFX that producers of Dub, Reggae, Dubstep and Drum and Bass have been searching for. Featuring classic sounds from vintage equipment like Roland, Korg and Ensoniq and found sounds from field recordings all soaked in Rich Dub Effects.
- Terry Grant Presents Atmospheric Textures contains over 40 inspirational sonic landscapes using multi layered synths and SFX creating powerful organic evolving atmospheres with variations and separate mixes of each theme, pre loaded into soft sampler instrument patches ready to perform.
- Underground City FX – Loopmasters send a sonic capsule back in time to recruit trend bucking producers searching for organic atmospheres and cinematic city soundscapes to blend into their tracks. With tempos ranging from 70 to 170BPM Underground City FX is the perfect royalty free sample collection for all producers of Cinematic, Ambient, Dubstep, Drum & Bass and more.
- Vocodatron – Synth addict midierror brings you a selection of truly experimental sounds – fusing classic studio gear with a dot-matrix of hardware vocoders, modulators and vowel filters. Fast forward to hear the beefiest Drum beats, interstellar Atmospheres, crunchy Bass Loops, android Synths Vox and Melodic Modulated percussion.
The Experimental Sound Bundle is available for purchase for £115.95 GBP.
More information: Loopmasters / Experimental Sound Bundle


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Purchasing Local SEO Marketing
August 10, 2018
Local SEO Marketing – What Is It?
Keyword Analysis To settle on which keywords you're likely to SEO for, you will need to answer a few questions. Search engine optimisation is a continuous project or work and due to that it is extremely important to look at your rankings at least one time a month and compare your site to other foes of your site. Local SEO is a decision that is wise in many instances. Local SEO is a distinctive direction of optimizing websites on the internet utilizing geographical tags and associations. In other words, if you're not engaging in local SEO, you're not on that very first page of results locally and your competitors are! Local SEO is the custom of optimizing your site for your community consumer base. For instance, most folks think this in order to have successful local SEO, you should have directory listings.
The Local SEO Marketing Cover Up
Folks want to conduct business with professionals, so building your reputation as a specialist in an interesting and distinctive way may give your small business personality and help you distinguish yourself from the competition. Whenever your company or brand website ranks high on search engine results for localized keyword phrases, it's possible to actually attract tremendous quantities of customers and clients to your company. One day, it might decide to change its name a little bit, or to switch to an 800 number. All regional businesses should utilize local small business schema. The most usual way for folks to locate your regional Michigan business is by searching the web.
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By The Numbers: Remembering Game 7 Of The 1960 World Series
By Father Gabe Costa
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I still remember it.
Ralph Terry wound up…I just felt that the pitch was going to be too "hittable", even thought I was twelve years old and didn't use the word, "hittable"…I saw the swing on the black-and- white TV…leftfielder Berra kept going back…centerfielder Mantle ran over to help him…and that was it. The baseball disappeared!!! Bill Mazeroski broke my heart…
For this episode of By The Numbers, Mr. Vincent Getz, a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, revisits the World Series of fifty years ago. Mr. Getz will also be our guest author for our next blog.
Vince Getz: The 2010 postseason delivered more than the usual number of memorable moments. The Texas Rangers won not only their first home playoff game ever, but also their first series, and made it to World Series for the first time in their 50-year history. Even Ankiel's 11th inning blast for the Braves in a losing campaign and Juan Uribe's sac-fly walk-off for the Giants in a winning one will be spoken about for years to come. And, of course, the nearly incomparable, downright astonishing, no-hitter thrown by the Phillies' Roy Halladay to open the battle for the National League Pennant will be etched in the game's lore for eternity. For now, his Divisional Series gem will only be compared to New York Yankee Don Larsen's World Series perfect game.
Fifty years ago, though, a singular memorable moment in 141 years of professional baseball and 106 World Series occurred that arguably is the postseason's greatest instant. On October 13th, 1960, what many claim to be the greatest home run ever hit sailed over Pittsburgh's Forbes Field's left field fence off the bat of 24-year old Bill Mazeroski, instantly granting the Pirates their first championship since 1925, and Mazeroski, eternal fame. Long before the term "walk-off" was coined, this ultimate walk-off hit ended the baseball season.
It's not the only time a walk-off hit has ended the World Series, though. Nine times the Series has ended in the home team's last inning, the last time nine years ago - a single off the bat of Arizona Diamondback Luis Gonzalez that buried the New York Yankees in 2001. The first was in 1924, when Earl McNeely's bad-hop single in the bottom of the 12th won it for the Washington Senators over the New York Giants. In 1993, with the Toronto Blue Jays trailing the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 in Game 6, Joe Carter captured the title with one come-from-behind swing of the bat, a 3-run dinger - the only other time a final at-bat home run ended the World Series. But what makes Mazeroski's homer different, and best of all, were the circumstances.
The world had been remade in the thirty-three years since the Pittsburgh Pirates made their last appearance in the Fall Classic, in 1927, when they were quickly dispatched in four games by the Yankees, the most loved and reviled team in all of sports. The stage was set for a sequel. The Yankees dominated the American League in 1960 and entered the series heavily favored. They led the majors in wins, runs, homers, and RBI. Not one pitcher on their staff had more than nine losses. They had won two of the last four World Series and seven of the last eleven (and would go on to win in 1961 and 1962). They had perennial winners Mickey Mantle, AL MVP Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and manager Casey Stengel.
And they continued their offensive dominance into the series. Slapped with a Game 1 loss to the Pirates by the score of 6-4, they wrought vengeance in the next two games, winning 16-3 and 10-0. The pesky Pirates came back, though, and scratched out wins in Game 4 (a squeaker 3-2) and Game 5 (a more convincing 5-2). Frustrated, the Yanks small-balled their way to a homerless 12-0 rout in Game 6. Six games in, the Yanks had scored more than twice as many runs as the Bucs, 46 – 17, and tossed two shutouts along the way, both on the arm of Whitey Ford. For the 17th time, the World Series would enter a seventh game.
The Pirates jumped out in front first, for only the second time in the Series, taking a 4-0 lead into the 5th inning. But the Yankees fought back, and on the backs of "Moose" Skowron and Berra homers, took a 7-4 lead into the bottom of the 8th, leaving the Pirates three runs down with six outs left in their season. They would only need three.
William Stanley Mazeroski - Bill, or "Maz" - was born September 5th, 1936 in the shadow of Pittsburgh in Wheeling, West Virginia, and began life in a one-room home that did not have electricity or plumbing. Early on, he moved with his parents and sister to tiny Adena, Ohio (pop. 739 in 2009) where he played high school baseball and basketball in nearby Tiltonsville and was good enough to make the varsity squads his first year. His father, Lew, a hard-drinking coal-miner, also aspired to play in the majors, and had the skills, but a work accident that severed his foot ended his pro-ball career before it began. Hobbled and suffering from years in the mines, he transferred his dreams to an athletically-gifted and willing only son, often finding the time for practice. Out of high school, Bill signed with the Pirates and spent three seasons in the minor leagues as a middle infielder, working his way up to the big leagues. In 1956, the year of Larsen's perfect game, he made his major league debut as the Pirates second baseman at the age of 19.
Mazeroski proved to be steady at the plate, providing what was sufficient production for a second baseman…nothing stellar, but expected, consistent numbers. In his first four full years ('57 – '60), he posted averages from .241 to .283. In 1958, his third year in the majors, he knocked out 19 homers, the most in a 17-year playing career where he averaged 10 a year. Most of that time he batted eighth in the lineup, just in front of the pitcher, as he did on that fateful day, playing a role so many before had played and after him would, watching his championship hopes dissipate against those damn Yankees, never expecting that 50 years later he would continue to be celebrated and connected with one of the most hallowed events in baseball history. Having grounded into a double-play to end the bottom of the 7th, though, he looked on helplessly from the dugout as teammate Gino Cimoli stepped to the plate leading off the 8th, pinch-hitting for Pirate reliever Roy Face, with the season dwindling away.
Cimoli singled. Then, Bill Virdon hit a double-play ball, and destiny's hand first interfered. The ball took a bad hop and plunked into Yankee shortstop, Tony Kubek's throat. He would come out of the game and later head to the hospital. The Pirates had first and second, no one out, with NL MVP Dick Groat heading to the batter's box. He singled, and the Bucs tasted blood, 7-5. Bob Skinner bunt sacrificed the two runners into scoring position, but Rocky Nelson failed to convert and flied out. Two outs. Speedy future Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente denied the Yanks a third, though, when he legged out a weak infield grounder that scored Virdon, making it 7-6. Catcher Hal Smith followed and blasted a three-run homer, giving the Pirates an improbable 9-7 comeback lead. The Pirates dugout and the stadium erupted. Now it was the Yankees who stared at defeat, heading into the last inning. Mazeroski, on deck for the final out in the 8th, dropped his bat, grabbed his glove and trotted out to the field with the rest of the team, thoughts of world champion streaming through his head.
Maz finished his career with a respectable 2,000+ hits, nearly 300 doubles, over 850 RBI, and batted a lifetime .260, but he was not known for power or hitting prowess. He was more comfortable in the field than at the plate, winning eight Gold Gloves in ten years and setting multiple fielding records that still stand today - including most double-plays turned in a season with 161 and most career double-plays with 1,706, leading the league eight times. He also led the league in assists nine times. When turning the double-play it was said that the ball never seemed to touch his glove. He is considered by many to be the best defensive second baseman ever. Ironically, it was his fielding that Mazeroski should have been known for. But then, the Yankees tied it up.
Bobby Richardson, later voted MVP of the Series – the only time the award has ever been awarded to a player on the losing team – led off the top half of the 9th with a single. Dale Long followed with another, and before the Yankees were retired, Mantle and Berra had pushed two runs across the plate, evening the score.
Stunned, Mazeroski returned to the dugout, flung off his glove, and sat down, momentarily forgetting that it was his turn at bat. He came to, grabbed a bat and donned his helmet, and stood off to the side, watching Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry warm-up on the mound. He stepped up to the plate. Ball one. Fans around the country had watched or listened to 1,232 regular season baseball games in 1960. Maz appeared in 151 of them and then played in all 7 World Series games. The season had gone the distance now, and there was only one pitch left: Game 7, bottom of the 9th…Yankees 9, Pirates 9. Number 9 dug in. Long Season. Long Series. Long Game. It was a slider that didn't break or a fastball that missed its spot, depending on who you ask. Long Ball.
Mazeroski muscled it just over the head of a knowing Berra and the left field wall. The Pirates Win the World Series! As they say, pandemonium ensued, and, as happened in more innocent times, fans stormed the field amidst the deafening roar of the crowd to accompany the jubilant, gliding, arms-waving, helmet-in-hand William Stanley Mazeroski…hero…around the bases towards home and the embraces of his fellow champions. It remains the only home run hit in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7 of the World Series to win it.
Later, Mazeroski, mostly a bottom of the order singles hitter, would acknowledge that as he entered the batter's box to face Terry, he was thinking home run. As he rounded the bases, though, his mind was blank. "What did I think? I was too excited and too thrilled to think. It was the greatest moment of my life."
Until 2001. By Veteran's Committee selection, Mazeroski entered the Baseball Hall of Fame. Overcome with emotion, Bill could barely get the words out when he called his wife, Milene, to tell her the news. Humble as ever, when he accepted the honor at the induction ceremonies, he again managed to utter only a few words (highlighting the importance of recognizing defense as much as hitting and pitching) of a prepared lengthy speech before having to step down from the podium, overwhelmed. This was the man everyone knew…known for welling up at the accolades, grateful for the opportunity fate provided him, kindly turning down some celebratory engagements over the years for concern over seeming too proud. When he did come out he was always sure to give credit to his teammates, often inviting them on the stage with him.
Appropriately, outside PNC Park today, rubbing shoulders with bronze statues of Pirate – and baseball – legends Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, and Willie Stargell, stands one of Bill Mazeroski, "flying" around the bases, one foot barely on the ground, arms outstretched, and helmet held high overhead, on "Mazeroski Way," celebrating the moment and the man.
Next Blog: Game Six of the 1958 World Series Revisited
Related articles
- Smith's Homer Vs. Yankees Was Series' Biggest - Briefly (newyork.cbslocal.com)
for more features.


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Usually when someone asks "where should we eat?" I am immediately stumped and feel as though asking me to answer that question is almost like asking me to choose which movie James McAvoy looked best in (answer: all. of. them…okay, minus The Chronicles of Narnia where he played a faun, but you get my point). I start to feel slightly nervous and just a little overwhelmed, and no number of positive Yelp reviews on one particular restaurant, even if they say, "this is the best place I've ever been to!" can ease the discomfort I feel when making such a tantamount decision.
So when a good friend visiting from out of town (Taiwan, to be exact) asked me to take him someplace to eat that served "great local food," that vague request sent me into a tailspin. Hamburgers? Too boring. Pizza? What a cliché! Thai food? Is that even considered "local"? And just when I thought I'd never think of anything, I remembered hearing about a place known as Vendy Plaza up in East Harlem and I knew I'd hit the jackpot.
Vendy Plaza, put on by the folks from the Vendy Awards, an annual competition for street food vendors (that I'll get to attend for the first time this year because I was one of their #VendyCitizenJudge contest winners. Yay!!) is a food market selling food from Vendy Award finalists and some of the best locally-made food around. Score!
It happens in a little known (at least little known to me) area underneath the MetroNorth tracks known as La Marqueta, which as far back as the 1930s was a bustling shopping metropolis with up to 500 vendors, where one could purchase traditional Hispanic foods and dry goods. Nevertheless, like many other long-standing establishments in this city, it has seen a significant decrease in activity in recent years, which initiatives like the Vendy Plaza are trying to combat.
Here, there's a little bit of something for everybody and if you're feeling extra hungry and adventurous, I suggest purchasing the Taste Pass for $20, which allows you one beer and a tasting from three vendors. You'll find tasty little crispy samosas from Samosa Shack, empanadas from YourPanadas, traditional Caribbean cuisine from Mighty Edible, and for dessert, boozy ice cream from The Tipsy Scoop or cute little pies in jars from Jam Jar Bakery (why didn't I think of this??) There is also fresh coconut water from CoCo & Co, tamarind juice, smoothies, or beer from The Bronx Brewery to help wash everything down.
We decided to not get the Taste Pass and instead opted for chicken pupusas (an amazingly delicious El Salvadorean corn patty with fillings like meat or cheese and then grilled) served with these addictive little bites of pickled veggies from Solber Pupusas and the highlight of the day: the rice and peas and pernil from Lechonera La Piraña! The seasoning formed a satisfyingly crunchy crust that I couldn't get enough of and the meat was so juicy and tender that if you closed your eyes and concentrated hard enough could make you feel as though you were transported right to the beautiful island of Puerto Rico.
The owner, named Angel Jimenez, is unbelievably kind and full of a warmth and love that you can definitely taste in each heavenly bite. Had I never come to Vendy Plaza, I probably would've never heard of him, which is one of the many reasons why this place is so awesome. I wish I lived much closer to so that I could visit every weekend! You can learn more about him and his business here.
Making the day even better was the lively salsa and merengue music blaring from the speakers (with a stage set up for live music from 3-6pm, that I unfortunately missed) and people old and young dancing together, just having a great time. I loved seeing this one older lady abandon her walker and get down with her bad self, putting us all to shame with her dance moves.
This place is a wonderful platform showcasing amazing talents that might not always get the recognition they deserve, while also bringing people to a part of the city that is often overlooked. It is also revitalizing East Harlem's economy, with vendors being allowed to sell here free of charge, which is always a great thing.
We didn't stay too long in East Harlem, but on the way out, we saw this magnificent artwork underneath an overpass and couldn't resist taking photos with it. It just goes to show that beauty can be found in the most unexpected of places.
The Plaza is open every Sunday from 12-6pm until September 6, so definitely check it out the next time you're looking for a different and delicious eating experience in the city!


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Police in Jinja have Friday evening deployed heavily at Jinja Central Police Station following a raid by Opposition supporters on the station led by Jinja East MP elect Paul Mwiru.
Hunreds of Mr Mwiru's supporters went to the police station demanding that their mates be released since police were holding them without charges.
Mr Mwiru refused to heed police officers' requests to calm his supporters and leave the station. He demanded that they will only leave after the suspects are released.
Police earlier said they had arrested 11 people for allegedly disrupting Thursday's Jinja East MP by-election.
Kiira region police spokesperson Diana Nandaula told journalists that the arrested people were interfering with the electoral process at different polling stations.
She said the suspects who are being held at Jinja CPS face charges of threatening violence, voter bribery and malicious damage to property.
Mr Mwiru won the by-election with 6,654 votes, beating main challenger, NRM's Igeme Nathan Nabeta who polled 5,043 votes and six others.
Meanwhile NRM party secretary general Justin Kasulen Lumumba earlier on Friday told jounralists that the party is planning to challenge the victory of Mr Mwiru .
Ms Lumumba, flanked by Mr Nabeta and Jinja West MP Joseph Balyeku at the Source of the Nile Hotel in Jinja said they have recorded cases of multiple voting, voter bribery, voter intimidation and violence.
"We have evidence of multiple voting of known members of the Opposition at various polling stations, voter bribery and intimidation – where known NRM supporters were warned of dire consequences should the NRM emerge victorious."
She said "goons were stationed" at NRM supporters' homes to deter them from accessing polling stations.
Ms Lumumba said, the party leadership was studying the evidence for an appropriate course of action.


text: Share via Share via... Twitter Facebook Pinterest WhatsAppRecent ChangesSend via e-MailPrintPermalink × Table of Contents The Three Essential Skills The Golden Dawn's Pentagram Ritual The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram The Opening. Main Ceremony. The Response. The Closing The Essential Skills of Magick The Essential Skills of Magick by Benjamin Rowe Copyright 1999 The Three Essential Skills All effective magick stands on three legs: imagination , emotion , and feeling; everything else - all the words and gestures, the implements and costumes, the elaborate circles and furniture - serve only to reinforce and focus these three capacities. If any of these three is lacking, then the work is likely to fail; once you are skilled in using all three, you can dispense with practically all the other things people sometimes insist are essential to the practice. Of the three, emotion is the power that drives the whole show; emotion from the guts, and from the heart. I will go even further; it is not just emotion, but passion that is the power behind magick. Passion in the sense of an intense desire to be connected to that which you are seeking to invoke; a desire that places no restrictions or limits on the connection, but which is so one-pointed that nothing save that which is sought is included within its focus. And passion in the sense of a boundless enthusiasm for the acts by which you seek to create that connection. Admittedly, this is the ideal case; but the closer you can get to it, even for a few moments, the more likely your work is to be successful. This passion-for-connection is what creates the magickal link between the magician and that which he is invoking; or, if the link already exists, expands it and strengthens it. The emotion literally creates a channel or umbilicus between them, through which energy and knowledge can flow in either direction. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the link becomes; the less energy is lost in side-thoughts and distractions, the stronger the link becomes. Thus a one-pointed focus is most desirable. But conversely, restrictions the magician places on the connection become constrictions in the link, reducing the potential flow of power through it. If a magician insists that a spiritual force or being manifest itself in a specific way, then it is less likely to appear, or the manifestation with be weaker. But if his desire for connection is unconditional, then a response is much more likely, and will be more powerful when it comes. Similarly, if a magician doing a ritual to obtain money desires that money to appear in the form of a cashier's check, he is less likely to obtain it than if he was willing to accept it in any form. In its highest form, this unconditional passion becomes almost indistinguishable from what is called "Divine Love", which is the closest that one can come (within the worlds of manifestation) to the transcendental state of the Mother aspect of divinity. Passion-for-connection transforms into a state of pure relationship, pure Love, in which all distinctions are erased; both the nature of the magician and the nature of that being invoked disappear, totally lost in the link between them. Imagination provides the medium (rather, an opening to the medium) through which magick produces its results. The personal imagination seems to blend seamlessly into the astral light, the larger magickal universe; the point at which one becomes the other is impossible to define clearly. An object that begins as a purely internal construct - created and sustained by the imagination of a magician, propelled by the power of emotion - can move out into the astral light and take on a life independent of its creator. It can gather or become a container for magickal power, and act back on its creator (or on others) in ways that are impossible for him to produce through his imagination alone. Conversely, beings and powers operating on levels the magician cannot yet perceive can make themselves known to the him through his receptive imagination, opening his awareness into new realms of experience. The symbols used in magick are forms that, when created in the imagination, tend to gather specific types of power from the astral light, which are further limited by the intent of the magician. The shape of the container, in effect, determines what can be put into it; the simpler, rigidly geometric forms (such as the pentagram and hexagram) draw relatively pure, fundamental forces; complex symbols - e.g., god-forms - draw correspondingly complex assemblages of forces. When the magician projects the image of a symbol onto his surroundings, an extended magickal space is created in which the astral light becomes conditioned into conformity with the symbol. The area becomes more attractive to the types of power invoked, more comfortable for magickal beings having the nature represented by the symbol. The world of the powers and the world of the magician then intersect, making interaction possible. (A detailed series of practices for developing the imagination and creating a general-purpose magickal space can be found in my article A Short Course in Scrying. This present paper is aimed towards showing by example how it is used in formal rituals.) Feeling is the third leg of the tripod, and the final key to success in magick. In order to bring into being the conditions you desire, you must create in yourself the sensations and feelings that the things you have created through your imagination are real, and that the goal of the operation has already been accomplished. In the magickal universe, when you act with all your being as if something is already real, it becomes real. This feeling of reality is the trigger that causes a symbol to move from the imagination into the astral light. This key to magick is simply stated, but in practice it seems to give the greatest difficulty for most people. The usual culprits are intellectual doubts - "I know I am only imagining this" - and fears of various sorts, e.g., "what if it makes me go crazy?" Both of these have to be ruthlessly eliminated from the magician's consciousness for the duration of the operation. After the work is completely over, you can be as doubtful and fear-ridden as you want; a certain amount of doubt, of critical examination, is healthy and appropriate at that time. But during the work, you must be completely focused on feeling (not thinking) that what you create is real. Some might be concerned that this "believing makes it real" idea is actually a form of self-hypnosis, a way of fooling oneself by reducing the critical faculties. A genuine success in performing the ritual will dispose of this concern. At some point in the work a threshold is crossed; the strength of the invocation produces an even stronger response from somewhere outside yourself. Events in your magickal space take on a life of their own, at least partially independent of your will. And - most significant - they begin to manifest an intensity, richness and texture that it is utterly impossible for you to produce through your imagination alone, no matter how adept you might be in its use. Once this has been experienced even a skeptical mind must grant that the events are "real" in some sense, even if not in the same way as mundane happenings. So for magick to be successful, emotion must push a link outwards into the magickal universe, imagination must aim it towards the desired goal, and feeling must affirm the reality of that which is sought. Full success will not come on the first try; for some people, not even on the fiftieth. It takes time to condition the mind to the proper performance of these practices. But once a single success is attained, additional successes follow at more frequent intervals. The Golden Dawn's Pentagram Ritual The Pentagram Ritual is an excellent practice-piece for developing proficiency in these three essential skills. Its physical and verbal elements are simple and easily memorized, enabling the student to give most of his attention to the visualizations and the feelings attending them. But for all its simplicity, it is capable of producing profound effects on the consciousness of the magician. Performing it is also of long-term benefit; it purifies and strengthens the magician's magickal body, and increases his general sensitivity to events in the magickal universe. Oddly, the most frequently referenced descriptions of the Pentagram Ritual make almost no mention of its imagery and feeling components. Perhaps in the Golden Dawn and Crowley's A:.A:., these were expected to be the subject of verbal instruction, or were simply assumed to be too obvious to mention. Regardless, it was the absence of such descriptions that prompted a student to request the elaborated version of the ritual that follows. The Pentagram is a symbol whose power is partly innate, and partly a matter of the magician's intent. Its natural tendency (in the astral light) is to attract a dynamic, active mix of the elemental forces; in contrast, the equal-armed cross attracts the same forces but tends to keep them fixed and distinct from each other. But when the Pentagram is used to invoke a specific element, the element is determined largely by the magician's habitual methods of usage and his intent of the moment. There are several methods of encoding the desired element in the way the Pentagram is drawn; all of these are more or less arbitrary, and depend on consistent use and practice to be effective. Figure 1. In modern magickal systems, it is customary to associate the elements with the points of the Pentagram as shown in Figure 1. This set of associations derives from the Golden Dawn, and was intended to reflect the positions of the Elemental Tablets within the "Revised" Great Table of the Enochian magickal system. Had they chosen to use the original version of the Great Table (as would seem more appropriate, from more recent research) a substantially different set of associations would result: Earth would be at the upper right point, Water at the lower right, and Fire at the lower left. Since the Golden Dawn associations have come into general usage, it seems convenient to stay with them. The method of drawing invoking and banishing Pentagrams is also arbitrary, and in this case, the Golden Dawn used a method that is cumbersome, difficult to remember, and contains an undesirable dualism. To replace it, I recommend the method used by the Aurum Solis, which is simple and self-consistent. To draw an invoking Pentagram, draw clockwise from the point associated with the desired element; to draw a banishing Pentagram, draw counterclockwise from the same point. In the Golden Dawn version of the ritual, the magician is instructed to draw a pentagram of Earth in every quarter. The theory behind this was that the element of Earth serves as container or receptacle for the other three elements. This idea seems to derive from an old interpretation in which Fire, Water, and Air were the true elements, and Earth merely something on which they acted. I feel it more appropriate to use the pentagram of Spirit. Spirit contains all the other elements within itself on an equal basis, and facilitates the transformations between them that make possible activity and life in the manifest world; it is more truly "generic". The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram The Opening. Stand in the center of the circle, feet together, facing east. Using your thumb, touch the center of your forehead, and vibrate "Ateh." As you say "Ateh," imagine a beam of light coming down from the heavens, and forming a sphere or dome of brilliant white light, about nine inches across, above your head. Note: Wherever a glowing sphere, column, or line is mentioned it should appear like a neon light, transparent or translucent with every point of its interior emanating light. Your body should be perfectly "transparent" to all these images; that is, the lines and column should pass through your body without being hindered by it in any way. Still using your thumb, gesture slowly down the centerline of your body until your thumb is pointing at the ground between your feet. As your gesture moves downwards, imagine a column of white light about 3 inches thick, descending from the sphere through the center of your body at the same rate of speed (as if you were "drawing" the column with your gesture). Feel the column as being filled with a vibrating energy that sets up a sympathetic vibration in your body wherever it passes. Imagine the column of light descending into the ground below your feet. Once there, it anchors itself in place and forms another ball of light; this ball starts out a dark red, but quickly becomes brighter and whiter as more energy feeds into it. Touch your right arm at the level of your heart and vibrate "ve-Geburah." Imagine a small sphere of light forming where you touch. As you move your hand, imagine another line of white light being traced horizontally through the center of your body, intersecting the vertical column about where your heart is. When the line reaches your left arm, imagine another small ball of light forming there. Then imagine a flow of energy back and forth between them. Feel that energy as it passes through your body, and begins to produce a tingling sensation in your heart. Make a clockwise circle about 6" across around your heart. Vibrate "le-Olahm." As soon as you complete this circle, imagine a big pink rose blooming inside it, with its stem at the intersection of the horizontal and vertical lines of the cross. Feel the movements of its petals in your heart as it unfolds. When it is completely unfolded, imagine a rose-pink radiance being emitted from it in all directions. This radiance expands until it completely encloses the cross and your body. Vibrate "Amen." Let the above visualizations fade. Don't try to "erase" them, just stop giving attention to their maintenance. If they continue to exist without any effort on your part, that's fine. If they disappear, that's fine, too. Main Ceremony. Advance to the east point of the circle. Draw a large pentagram with your wand, or with the pointed fingers of your hand. The lines of all the pentagrams, and the circle connecting them, should be seen in a blue-white color. They should have a perceptible, three-dimensional thickness, at least equal to that of a clothesline or thin rope. As you vibrate the name, imagine the inside of the pentagram becoming an open window into the Realms of Air. Beyond the window, you should imagine some landscape that seems Airy to you. One image works especially well for me: the view from a Tuscan hill town, the sky an almost painfully brilliant blue, creating a dome so vast and seemingly deep that it dwarfs all the human and natural features of the landscape into insignificance. The "Big Sky" of the American Plains is a similar image. Whatever, you should feel that the landscape is filled to overflowing with the force of Air, vast in extent, all-penetrating, and etherial. Imagine that this realm extends to infinity in the direction you are facing. Once you have the landscape firmly visualized, imagine a cool wind blowing into your circle through the pentagram. Feel the wind filling up the circle and blowing through your body and soul, leaving no part of you untouched. It blows out and replaces the impure Airy elements of your own nature with pure Airy power. Keep feeling this wind until you feel cleaned out and filled with Airy power. Note: If you are banishing, you should next feel the power sweeping out of yourself and the circle, back through the pentagram. After which you should imagine the "window" closing again. Same for all the following quarters. Take a few moments to stop and appreciate whatever degree of Airyness you have managed to bring into the circle. Feel a sense of satisfaction with it, and vow to make it even better the next time. Then stop consciously supporting the images and feelings. At first they will fade, but with continued practice you will find that a residual feeling of the element will remain in the circle throughout the rest of the ceremony. Move clockwise around the circle until you come to the south. Starting at the center of the eastern pentagram, draw a blue-white line as you go. Face the south and draw a large pentagram. Make the stabbing gesture at the center of the pentagram, and vibrate "Adonai." Imagine the pentagram opening into the Realms of Fire. The landscape you choose should present a feeling of intense, radiant heat, like that you feel on your face from the Sun, only sourceless and omnidirectional. An appropriate image might be Death Valley at noon, with shimmering waves of heat filling space in all directions. Or the surface of the Sun – ultimate, incandescent heat. The landscape should feel full to bursting with the power of the element, and feel like it extends to infinity in the direction you are facing. When the landscape has been firmly established, feel the heat rushing into your circle through the pentagram. Feel it filling the circle and yourself, burning out any impurities and totally consuming them, then replacing them with pure Fiery force. Continue until you feel completely purified by the Fire and filled with its force. Take a few moments to stop and appreciate whatever degree of Fieryness you have managed to bring into the circle. Feel a sense of satisfaction with it, and vow to make it even better the next time. Then stop consciously supporting the images and feelings. Move clockwise to the west, drawing a segment of the circle as you go. Face the west, and draw a large pentagram. Make the stabbing gesture at the center of the pentagram, and vibrate "Eheieh." Imagine the pentagram becoming a window into the Realms of Water. Imagine a watery landscape. I use either an infinite region filled with water of a deep, almost violet blue color; or an underwater view of a reef with plenty of fish and plant life, and waves crossing the surface overhead. With the landscape visualized, imagine Water gushing into the circle and yourself, dissolving any impurities and diluting them into nothingness, replacing them with its own pure power. Keep feeling this until you feel clean and totally filled with Water. Pause to appreciate the Watery element you have managed to bring into the circle. Feel satisfaction with it, and know that you can do even more the next time. Then stop consciously supporting the images. Move clockwise to the north, drawing the circle as you go. Face the north, draw a large pentagram. Make the stabbing gesture at the center of the pentagram and vibrate "AGLA." Imagine the pentagram becoming a window into the Realms of Earth, beyond which you can see some landscape that seems supremely "Earthy" to you. I use either a soft, warm darkness of infinite extent; a cave with ancient paintings on the walls; or cultivated land with all sorts of food-crops growing. The emphasis should be on the fertility and potential for life hidden in the darkness of the Earth, rather than the view of Earth as cold, sterile stone. Imagine the Earthy power moving through the pentagram, filling up the circle and penetrating your body, making any impurities so inert and heavy that they fall downwards out of your body, to be replaced by a pure earth force. Keep feeling this until you feel clean and totally filled with Earth. As in the preceding quarters, pause to appreciate the Earthy element you have managed to bring into the circle. Feel satisfaction with it, and know that you can do even more the next time. Then stop consciously supporting the images. Complete the circle by returning clockwise to the east, drawing the line as you go. Return to the center of the circle and face east. Standing in the center of the circle, try to see all four landscapes at once, and feel the power of all four elements focused on you through the pentagrams. Say: "Before me stands Raphael; behind me stands Gabriel; on my right hand is Michael; on my left hand is Auriel." The names of the archangels should be vibrated. The angels should be imagined appearing as their names are vibrated. Each should be seen as an immense figure on the horizon beyond the landscape in their quarter. You should have a definite sense of them as sapient, self-aware beings of great power, come to aid you in your work. The landscapes represent the natural, non-sapient force of the elements; the archangels represent the divine powers that rule and direct those elements. The archangels should have some form that signifies - in your mind - their rulership over their elements. I see them as figures in robes the color of their elements. Raphael has blond hair that moves in an invisible breeze; he holds a fan or dagger in his right hand pointed towards you. His face has an aquiline cast. Gabriel has dark hair with a bluish cast, dark skin, and holds a silver cup towards you. His robes seem to move in an invisible current. Michael has hair and eyes like flames, a slightly fox-like cast to his face, and his robes seem to be made of woven threads of fire. He holds a flaming sword pointed towards you. Auriel wears black or green robes. His face is rounded, and of a nut-brown color. He holds a disk-like pantacle with one face pointed towards you. Imagine each of the archangels sending a benediction to you through his weapon. Stand with your arms stretched out to the sides, and feet apart. Say: "About me flame the pentagrams…" See the four pentagrams and the lines connecting them suddenly flaring to an intense brightness around you. As they do so, imagine a fifth, equally bright pentagram forming about your body, its points congruent with your head, hands, and feet. Remember that the pentagram signifies rulership of the Spirit over the four elements, and that by identifying it you are claiming that rulership for yourself. Try to feel yourself as Spirit, connected to the four elements, but also above them. Your mood as you say these words should be one of triumph and exultation, a sense of complete success in the endeavor of invoking the elements. Imagine a large golden hexagram, the same width as your circle, forming in the air above you. Rays of power shine radially outwards from each of its points. The lowest point of the hexagram is congruent with the highest point of the pentagram previously visualized. The hexagram signifies the planetary or "heavenly" realms that are above the worlds of the elements. Elemental Spirit is a summation or concentration of these heavenly forces. By claiming the power of the elemental Spirit, you are also declaring your freedom from the rule of the mundane world, and claiming the right to enter into and work in those higher realms. The Response. At this point, the invocation is effectively complete. You have finished setting up the conditions for a response from the astral light; now you must give that response a chance to occur. This is an utterly vital part of any invocation you will ever do; you may get some response while performing the ritual, but the most important, the most vital, revealing, and consciousness-expanding part of the response nearly always takes place in the quiet time after the active work has ended. The Closing Repeat the "Cabalistic Cross" from steps 1 through 6. Top | Index Last modified: 2017/09/18 18:37by John Bell


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In 1993, Wayne Wang directed The Joy Luck Club, adapted from the best-selling novel by Amy Tan. It was the first Asian American-fronted film from a major studio and it was a watershed moment for Asian Americans in cinema — and it was a breakout role for Ming-Na Wen. Does this sound like a familiar story? It should because it's a similar story to what is happening in 2018 with Crazy Rich Asians.
It's a coincidence that The Joy Luck Club and Crazy Rich Asians are opening around the same point in the calendar 25 years apart, but there' also a poetic symmetry to it (side note: actress Lisa Lu stars in both). The Joy Luck Club told a story about the relationships between Asian mothers and their American-born daughters, with Wen's June at the center of it all. It explored cultural identity through an Asian American lens and paved the way for Crazy Rich Asians. As the star of the film, Wen was a trailblazer who led to the Crazy Rich Asians moment we are celebrating now — but it has taken a quarter of a century to get here.
"For me, it was a bit sad, in a way, to think that it's taken 25 years for another major studio to back an all-Asian cast in a film," Wen told Deadline. "I mean, for me, I've seen many films that weren't specifically American films. It took me a second to say, 'Oh my goodness! Has it been 25 years?' Hopefully, it will change."
Wen pointed out that Hollywood is on the right track with Disney's forthcoming live-action Mulan, which includes an all-Asian cast (she kept us in the dark on whether or not she would make a cameo in the film). "We already know for sure that it's not gonna take another 25 years for this to happen again. So, that's kind of nice," she said of the film.
After The Joy Luck Club, Wen continued her acting career which led to roles as the voice of the titular character in Disney's animated feature Mulan, ER and now Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. As an Asian American actress, she has seen the industry change but has been fortunate enough to not be typecast and land roles that would usually be for white actresses.
Wen sat down with Deadline to reflect on her experience in making The Joy Luck Club, what Crazy Rich Asians means for her and for the future of Asian, Asian American and other underrepresented voices in Hollywood.
DEADLINE: It's been a long time since a contemporary Asian American story was told on screen and having starred in The Joy Luck Club, in 1993 you were a trailblazer on that front. With Crazy Rich Asians, Asian American seems to be having a resurgence. How does this moment feel for you?
MING-NA WEN: I mean, for me, it's always wonderful to be able to celebrate new Asian talents across the board, whether it's just a token Asian in a film or television show, or an animated character. It is a big deal to have an all-Asian film to represent us and have it be contemporary and have it be a romantic comedy. I mean, I loved Crazy Rich Asians. I thought it set up really well who these characters were, and it's also a very universal theme.
DEADLINE: Why do you think it's taken so long for a major Hollywood studio to make a movie like Crazy Rich Asians. We've had films like Better Luck Tomorrow, Gook, and The Big Sick, but those were independent and smaller scale films.
WEN: Well, that's the clarification that we need to make, right? [Crazy Rich Asians] is being released by a big studio. It's not like it has been a dry spell since Joy Luck Club. You know, there's been other movies with Asian thematics like Memoirs of a Geisha. I kind of get a little confused, actually, because there have been other films. I was also very confused when they said it was a very historical moment. I'm like, "No, that would be Joy Luck Club, wouldn't it?" Historical meaning "the first time." So when they said "historical," I was very confused at first. When they explained that it's historical because it's taken 25 years, I was questioning that as well.
Ultimately, it's truly the first all-Asian cast contemporary film backed by a [major studio]. I mean, if we're gonna put all those categories into its fold, yes, then it's historical in that sense. But it is true, because even with Joy Luck Club, there were a lot of going back in time and another setting because it also talked about the moms when they were young. So there were a lot of referencing of Old China and the cultural differences between the daughters and the moms. [Crazy Rich Asians] is truly the first film where it celebrates contemporary Asians so that more people can relate. When Joy Luck Club came out, I felt like a lot of people saw it as a foreign film and not as an American film and it didn't get the recognition or the accolades during the Oscars because, I think, so many people thought of it as a foreign film, even the Academy members.
DEADLINE: But It was a story about an Asian American girl connecting with her culture — "American" being the keyword.
WEN: It was written by an Asian American author of a very popular book about Asian Americans, produced by American production — and that's how much we have progressed.
DEADLINE: Going back to when you first signed on to The Joy Luck Club what was that experience like? Did it feel like another day at work or did you feel a sense of a "historic moment"?
WEN: Lauren [Tom], Tamlyn [Tomita] and Rosalind [Chao] — we're still close friends, and I still cherish all our moms. There was an incredible bonding experience for all of us. We went shopping together, we had dinners together, we played poker together — I initiated that. We knew it was a special project. Me, having been a huge fan of the book, I just remember having read it and saying, "If they ever made this book into a movie, I just want to be a part of it no matter what." Whether I was a PA or whatever. I just wanted to be around it. It was a gift to have been cast as one of the main characters in the movie. That was incredible. Very, very special.
DEADLINE: The film was not only an Asian American story but also a cast led by an ensemble of Asian American females. That was very progressive for the time.
WEN: Historical, right?! I think that's why it was so relatable to so many people. It's a generational gap between the mothers and the daughters, a cultural gap, and also just normal issues that you had with family in general, whether it was keeping secrets, raising families, or marrying someone. It was just a family and I think that's why it has held up and now schools show the film, which I love. I mean, for me, that's timeless. That becomes something that will be passed on from generation to generation and that's pretty awesome to be part of a film that has that kind of educational impact and not just an entertainment piece.
DEADLINE: Was there Asian talent behind the camera at The Joy Luck Club as well?
WEN: Well, Wayne Wang was the director, Janet Yang was one of the producers, and there were quite a few people that worked on the project that were also Asian. And also, before I forget, the wonderful difference, also, now having Crazy Rich Asians premiering this week, is that we have social media now. That's what we didn't have back then to promote, and get the community out and tell them to go see it and how important it is to see it the first weekend to boost. You know, all that stuff didn't happen back then. All that stuff wasn't available to us, and I think it's wonderful that we can rally the Asian community, as well anyone who is a fan of Crazy Rich Asian book to go and see this movie the very first week. I think that's a huge difference.
DEADLINE: After The Joy Luck Club, were people approaching you about the impact of June and her story?
WEN: To this day, I still get a great deal of that — between that and Mulan. It's been really gratifying to know that something that I did 20 and 25 years ago still has such an impact. Not just on the people that watch it, but on their children. The moms come up to me and say, "You know, I love watching it with my daughter." And it goes across the board. It's not just Asian Americans. It's incredible to have Asian Americans and even in Europe when I would do conventions or just travel and have fans come up and talk to me about it. These are the perks of being an actress. We're not just here as entertainment value, it touches the heart, it touches the soul. That's what it's about. It's about the community. It's about sharing stories, it's about sharing life experiences, and being represented.
DEADLINE: When The Joy Luck Club was released, there was hope that it would bring more Asian American stories to the screen. The same goes for Better Luck Tomorrow. But after they opened, they received critical acclaim, but it didn't really resonate with Hollywood.
WEN: Ultimately, in the end, it's about economics for Hollywood. If they can smell that something's gonna make money, they'll do it. I try not to take it personally on any front. I think for any minority group, there will always be a constant struggle no matter what. I think at the same time, we're definitely making progress and that's all that counts and I'm happy to have been part of paving the way, let's say.
DEADLINE: Did your experience with The Joy Luck Club affect the way you chose roles and projects?
WEN: I've been so fortunate. I have not stopped working since I graduated from college and that alone is an anomaly — not just for an Asian actress, but for an actor period. So I take great joy in feeling like I was lucky enough to have kept working all those years.
DEADLINE: Were people typecasting you and offering you Asian roles?
It was more progressive I feel, back in the '90s, when there was more color-blind casting. Then we kind of took some steps backward a little bit. I kind of like to stay under the radar in many ways. For me, it feels comfortable. But to answer your question, it really was coming to Hollywood with my citizenship with Joy Luck Club and it did certainly open doors. But ultimately, I still had to audition and prove that I was worthy of a particular role.
With ER, they weren't looking for an Asian American. I was the only Asian in the room full of blondes, brunettes and Caucasian actresses. It was only after I got the part that she became Dr. Deb Chen. That's no different than my current job on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. The part that I played in The Single Guy, that wasn't an Asian-specific part — I don't think any of them were, really. They were not looking specifically for an Asian. It was an all open casting. Ultimately, it gets down to the basics. They liked you, they liked your audition, they feel you're right for the part. It's all about getting into the door. That's all — and that has to do with casting people, directors, and producers wanting to see everyone and not just a specific type. Like I said, back then, people were much more into open casting and color-blind casting — or whatever they wanted to call it. There was so many names under the sun. And basically, it was just diversity. Just looking at anyone other than a white person is basically what that meant. And back then, I feel there was more enthusiasm to want to cast with diversity. I mean, that's how I felt. Maybe I was just one of the lucky few because I was going in for roles of all different characters that were not written specifically for Asians.
DEADLINE: The Joy Luck Club started this Asians-in-American-movies movement 25 years ago. How do you hope Crazy Rich Asians builds on its legacy?
WEN: I think it's already done its job. I think the excitement, talking about it, Warner Bros. spending money, publicizing it — with the support and buzz that Crazy Rich Asians has been getting, we've already won in leaps and bounds. There are new Asian faces out there and everybody did an amazing job in the film.
I really think we've already achieved so much, even before the movie comes out. And now all it needs to do is just really do well in the box office and that will just encourage more of us being able to get in the door. Whether you're a writer with an Asian American or Asian-specific story that you want to tell, whether you're a director — it's not just about actors. It's all across the board. Hollywood loves to bank on something that they feel is the new trend.
DEADLINE: Hopefully it's not a trend and not just "niche".
WEN: For me, I feel like I've already seen that. I have young kids and I grew up the last decade or so with them, watching animation and I was always so happy because the majority of them always had an Asian animated character. I was like, "Wow. This is awesome." And then you start seeing more Asians in television shows and in films. And then you start seeing them in commercials more and more. And so, for me, I feel like it's been a trend — I don't want to say a trend. It's been a pattern that has accelerated because China's a huge market and we have a lot of huge production companies in China wanting to work with Hollywood. And then once again, I go back to economics. If you don't take it personally, and you realize that there's going to be more of this pattern moving forward, it's an exciting time. And I'm welcoming it.
DEADLINE: And now that The Joy Luck Club is 25, can we expect any sort of celebration to mark the anniversary?
WEN: I know the Academy is doing a special screening of it August 22. I'm hoping to, if I'm working that day, to be able to at least make it to the Q&A panel after the screening. But Wayne Wang, Amy Tan, Ron Bass and Janet Yang and a bunch of the actresses are going to be on the panel.
DEADLINE: That's good to know that it's being celebrated. There's just something about The Joy Luck Club that affects a very specific generation of Asian Americans.
WEN: It was the first time a movie was telling our Asian American experience, really. You have to hand it to Amy Tan for being able to tap into it so well and so beautifully, with such lush images and historical accuracies about the kind of culture that happened back in China when the moms were growing up and what the contemporary American women who were their daughters were experiencing trying to cope with what we coped with — which was trying to fit in and trying to be part of the American society, and yet always feeling a bit like foreigners. That's what was so brilliant about Amy Tan's book — was that it really told our experience. I remember reading that book and going, "Oh my goodness. For the very first time, somebody also lived my life in so many ways." It never even occurred to me or dawned on me that another person experienced similar things that I did.
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UFC heavyweight competitor, Fabricio Werdum, has signed a five-fight contract extension with the organization. Werdum, who is fresh off of his controversial victory over Brandon Vera at UFC 85, said the he is likely to face UFC newcomer Junior "Cigano" dos Santos at UFC 90.
Werdum told the Brazilian website, TATAME, that as long as he is victorious in his UFC 90 bout, he will receive a title shot next.
Current UFC interim heavyweight champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, will be defending his title against Frank Mir at a UFC card in December. The two are rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter Season 8, which is set to air in September.
"I want to be the UFC heavyweight champion," Werdum told the website. "A final (fight) against "Minotauro" (Nogueira) would be like a dream. It would be great for me because I fought against him [in] PRIDE, and it was a great fight. He deserved the victory."
With the lack of depth that the UFC has in the heavyweight division, it was clear that they needed to keep the talented Werdum in their organization.
UFC 90 is scheduled to take place in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena on October 25th.