This event is part of the TrAIN Open Lectures Series and is the fifth in a series of talks organised by Sutapa Biswas at CCW for the graduate programme. The event is in collaboration with the research group, Subjectivities and Feminisms (UAL), and is also generously supported by Film and Video Umbrella (London) and OnFM Radio 101.4.
Karen Knorr is an established artist and Professor of Photography at the University for the Creative Arts. She grew up in Puerto Rico in the 1960's and has been based in England since 1976. Originally part of the same photographic movement as Sunil Gupta, Mitra Tabrizian, Olivier Richon and Mark Lewis, Karen Knorr has transitioned from her earlier documentary style to one defined by the imaginary. With works recently exhibited in Elles@ Centre Pompidou, this London-based artist is certainly no stranger to the museum space, but it is this very space upon which she fixes her artistic gaze. Photographing arts institutions with one eye trained on the fantastic, Knorr transforms what can often be forbidding, inaccessible, and static into something playful and unexpected (not to mention slightly mischievous). In her recent exhibition titled, Fables, at Musée Carnavalet, Knorr showed her recent series of large format photographs of the museum wherein, all manner of woodland fauna roaming the deluxe apartments of the Musée were pictured; pigeons flutter manically around flawless blue satin, and squirrels climb over 18th-century armoires. In this particular series, Knorr was inspired by the fables written by Aesop and La Fontaine, but in picturing this animal transgression of such a sanctified cultural institution, she is also asks visitors to reconfigure their relationship to the space of the museum itself – to re-invent and re-imagine it. Most recently, in the works India Song, exhibited at Tasveer Arts (Bangalore), New Delhi and traveling to Kolkata and Mumbai, Knorr considers the animal life and the cultural heritage of North India referencing, in particular, the Pancha Tantra and the intricate detail of Mughal painting. India Song, incorporates a rich visual aesthetic found in South Asia and in Puerto Rico, to explore complex questions of caste, femininity, and myth in contemporary India.
At this Event, Knorr will address the context of this body of work India Song, with reference to a narrative and allegorical impulse in photography that arose as responses to debates regarding the politics of representation in Britain in the 1980s.
Karen Knorr's work, is represented by James Hyman Gallery (London), and Filles du Calvaire Gallery (Paris), where this work will feature in October and November 2011.
Sutapa Biswas is an artist, and Reader at Chelsea College of Art and Design, CCW, UAL.
9th March: Briony Fer, 'Gabriel Orozco: Mobile Work', Introduced by Oriana Baddeley.
4th May: Alexandra Handal, Introduced by Oriana Baddeley.


twin in the city: "the sandwich lady."
for those of you who don't live in florence, i'm terribly sorry that you are not familiar with "the sandwich lady."
found in piazza mercato centrale, this woman, who might very well be an angel, works at this little sandwich shop, in which she creates the most delicious, out-of-this-world sandwiches. i may or may not have gone three times this week. but the way i see it is, if i'm going to eat a sandwich, it might as well be one that she makes.
thank you to my friend gabriella for introducing me!


Published: March 1, 2017 at 04:03 p.m.
Updated: May 19, 2017 at 10:26 a.m.
NFL free agency is open! Gregg Rosenthal and Chris Wesseling have combined forces (and their own personal rankings) to come up with NFL.com's Top 101 Free Agents. These are the best players -- across all positions -- to hit the open market in 2017.
We'll continue to update our Top 101 Free Agents below, removing the listed players who are signed and adding certain guys who get released. The rankings are based on answering one simple question: Which player would we want to sign most?
1) Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears wide receiver: Despite injury concerns, a PED suspension and a somewhat incomplete skill set, Jeffery could become the highest-paid receiver in football. No. 1 receivers with an uncanny ability to come down with 50-50 balls don't become available often in their prime.
UPDATE: Jeffery agreed to a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, NFL Network Ian Rapoport reported.
2) Calais Campbell, Arizona Cardinals defensive end: There's no other player quite like Campbell, as thoughtful and savvy as he is physically overwhelming at 6-foot-8, 300 pounds. Still only 30 years old and able to play in any system, he would make a great "get over the hump" piece for a team looking for a title.
UPDATE: Campbell is signing a four-year, $60 million deal with the Jaguars, Rapoport reported.
3) Brandon Williams, Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle: Teams can look for a one-man run-stopping solution in the draft, or they can pay Williams money similar to what Damon "Snacks" Harrison earned from the Giants last year.
UPDATE: The Ravens announced that they have agreed in principle on a five-year deal with Williams.
4) Dont'a Hightower, New England Patriots linebacker: Author of two of the most important plays in the Patriots' last two Super Bowl victories, Hightower also has emerged as the best blitzing inside linebacker in football and a leader on New England's defense.
UPDATE: Hightower is staying with the Patriots, signing a four-year deal worth $43.5 million (with $19 million guaranteed), Rapoport reported.
5) A.J. Bouye, Houston Texans cornerback: No NFL player raised his value more in 2016 than Bouye, who started the season as Houston's fourth cornerback and finished as a Pro Bowl-caliber starter on the league's stingiest total defense. He will emerge from the shadows to become a household name once he gets a mega contract.
UPDATE: Bouye joined the Jacksonville Jaguars on a five-year, $67.5 million deal, according to Rapoport.
6) Stephon Gilmore, Buffalo Bills cornerback: Gilmore has the reputation of a shutdown cornerback but was too often exploited in coverage last season. He boasts the starting experience and physical gifts to break the bank on the open market.
UPDATE: Gilmore signed with the Patriots.
7) Kevin Zeitler, Cincinnati Bengals guard: A nasty-tempered blocker who wins with strength, Zeitler is a great fit for a power-based ground attack.
UPDATE: The Browns signed Zeitler to a five-year, $60 million contract, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
8) Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings running back: Peterson is free agency's Rorschach test. He has played in just 20 games in the past three years, but he's bringing fresh legs and extra motivation to his next team. He eked out 1.9 yards per carry last year, but can the 2015 NFL rushing leader be blamed for a microscopic sample size and a pathetic offensive line? On the wrong side of age 30, he's still an obvious candidate for the best age-32 season in history.
UPDATE: Peterson signed a two-year, $7 million deal with the Saints.
9) Terrelle Pryor, Cleveland Browns wide receiver: It speaks to Pryor's monstrous upside that he was already giving fits to established cornerbacks -- such as Darrelle Revis, Josh Norman and Janoris Jenkins -- in his first season as a full-time wide receiver.
UPDATE: Pryor signed with Washington on a one-year, $8 million deal, per Rapoport.
10) Dontari Poe, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle: One of the most athletic big men in the game, Poe's effectiveness waned last season as he was outplayed by rookie teammate Chris Jones. Is he reaching the stage of his career where he's best served as a two-down run-plugger?
UPDATE: Poe has reached a one-year deal with the Falcons.
11) Johnathan Hankins, New York Giants defensive tackle: Hankins will never be an explosive pass rusher, but he teamed with Damon "Snacks" Harrison to shut down opposing rushing attacks in 2016. Few defensive tackles crash the backfield as consistently as Hankins.
UPDATE: Hankins signed with the Colts on a three-year, $30 million deal.
12) DeSean Jackson, Washington Redskins wide receiver: Still in his prime, Jackson led the league with 17.9 yards per catch as a dangerous deep threat. In addition to the Redskins, he's expected to draw interest from the Buccaneers, Rams and Eagles.
UPDATE: Jackson has agreed to a three-year, $33.5 million deal (including $20 million in guarantees) with the Buccaneers, according to Rapoport.
13) Tony Jefferson, Arizona Cardinals safety: One of the league's unsung stars, Jefferson outplayed the more ballyhooed Tyrann Mathieu last season, consistently making impact plays at the line of scrimmage as well as in coverage.
UPDATE: Jefferson is heading to the Ravens on a four-year deal.
14) T.J. Lang, Green Bay Packers guard: A foot injury and a "minor" hip surgery complicates free agency for the No. 2 guard in this free agency class. Some team should still invest big in one of the better right guards in football over the last few years.
UPDATE: Lang is signing with the Lions on a three-year deal.
15) Nick Perry, Green Bay Packers linebacker: Perry was a more consistent pass-rush threat than teammates Clay Matthews or Julius Peppers last season, and he showed great toughness playing through a broken hand in the playoffs.
UPDATE: Perry is re-signing with the Packers on a five-year deal worth $60 million, according to Rapoport.
16) Martellus Bennett, New England Patriots tight end: Bennett impressed the Patriots by playing through injury and has the rare versatility to excel in the running game or as a receiver. He will be difficult for New England to retain.
UPDATE: The Packers signed Bennett in a rare free agency move by GM Ted Thompson.
17) Andrew Whitworth, Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle: It could be hard for Whitworth to get fair market value because he's 35 years old and there's an expectation he won't leave the Bengals. Despite his age, he's playing better than ever.
UPDATE: Whitworth has a three-year, $36 million deal in place with the Rams, according to Rapoport.
18) T.J. McDonald, Los Angeles Rams safety: Teams looking for a tone-setting presence in the secondary could do a lot worse than McDonald, whose de-cleating darts into opposing backfields make up for his allowing the occasional big play.
UPDATE: McDonald signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins on March 31. Earlier, he was suspended without pay for the first eight games of the 2017 regular season for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.
19) Riley Reiff, Detroit Lions offensive tackle: Reiff is pushed up this list by the scarcity at tackle. He can play on either side of the line and would upgrade plenty of blind-side situations around the league.
UPDATE: Reiff has signed with the Vikings.
20) Zach Brown, Buffalo Bills linebacker: It's unlucky for Brown that Rex Ryan is out of the league just after Brown's breakout season playing in the Ryan brothers' system. There is a big drop-off in the inside linebacker market after Brown.
UPDATE: Brown signed a one-year deal with the Redskins.
21) Larry Warford, Detroit Lions guard: Teams pay for pass protection first, but Warford can be a huge asset to any offense's running game at right guard.
UPDATE: Warford is expected to sign with the New Orleans Saints, according to Rapoport.
22) Pierre Garcon, Washington Redskins wide receiver: It's just Garcon's luck that he's coming off a 1,000-yard season and two of his former coordinators (Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay) just got head-coaching jobs.
UPDATE: The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to terms with Garcon.
23) Logan Ryan, New England Patriots cornerback: One of the best tackling cornerbacks in football, Ryan has the versatility and smarts to play inside and out. A monstrous postseason run will raise his price.
UPDATE: Ryan is signing with the Titans on a three-year deal worth $30M, per Rapoport.
24) Alan Branch, New England Patriots defensive tackle: A behemoth earth-mover at 6-foot-6 and over 320 pounds, Branch was the linchpin of a stingy Patriots run defense that didn't allow a single running back to top 90 yards last season. At age 32, he's playing better than ever.
UPDATE: The Patriots are re-signing Branch to a two-year contract, Rapoport reported.
25) Micah Hyde, Green Bay Packers defensive back: Hyde has been overshadowed on Green Bay's defense, but he's one of the league's most versatile defensive backs, capable of playing cornerback and safety as well as returning punts.
UPDATE: Hyde is signing with the Bills on a five-year deal worth $30 million (with $14 million guaranteed), Rapoport reported.
26) Chris Baker, Washington Redskins defensive end: Still on the right side of the age-30 barrier, Baker is coming off back-to-back seasons as the Redskins' most disruptive defensive lineman.
UPDATE: Baker is signing a three-year deal with Buccaneers, according to Rapoport.
27) Ricky Wagner, Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle: Strictly a right tackle, Wagner improved significantly during last season's contract run, keeping heat off Joe Flacco in a pass-heavy Ravens attack.
UPDATE: Wagner signed with the Lions.
28) Barry Church, Dallas Cowboys safety: Dallas' beleaguered secondary outperformed its reputation last season, in no small part due to Church's career year.
UPDATE: Church joined the Jaguars on a four-year deal, Rapoport reported.
29) Jabaal Sheard, New England Patriots defensive end: Sheard's consistency slipped from its 2015 heights, but he bounced back from a November benching to team with Trey Flowers as an effective edge tandem during New England's Super Bowl run.
UPDATE: Sheard agreed to a three-year, $25.5 million contract with the Colts, Rapoport reported.
30) Nick Fairley, New Orleans Saints defensive tackle: A prime example of Bill Parcells' planet theory, Fairley is one of the few humans alive capable of exploding through offensive lines with freakish power and speed at 6-foot-4 and more than 300 pounds. He did an excellent job of rebuilding his value last season.
UPDATE: Fairley is staying with the Saints on a four-year, $30 million deal, Rapoport reported.
31) Kenny Britt, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver: Perennially a tease, Britt succeeded in reversing his reputation, recording the Rams' first 1,000-yard receiving season in a decade. Not bad for a wideout corralling errant passes from Case Keenum and Jared Goff.
UPDATE: Britt is joining the Browns on a four-year, $32.5 million deal, Rapoport reported.
32) Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers running back: The good news: Lacy averaged a career-high 5.07 yards per carry in a small sample size of work before a season-ending ankle surgery. The bad news: Through a series of weight fluctuations, his footwork has not returned to the preternaturally nimble form that sparked his success in 2013 and '14.
UPDATE: Lacy signed a one-year deal for $5.55 million with the Seahawks, per Rapoport.
33) Brandon Marshall, New York Jets wide receiver: Can Marshall have honeymoon-season magic with a new team for a fourth straight time? He still has the skill set to be a solid possession receiver.
UPDATE: Marshall has signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Giants.
34) Jared Cook, Green Bay Packers tight end: One half of the best NFL play of the 2016 season, Cook proved in Green Bay that he can be a valuable piece to a Super Bowl contender.
UPDATE: Cook signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Raiders, Rapoport reports.
35) Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears quarterback: He's not going to save your team. He might not even play football again if he doesn't find a good landing spot. Yet he still is better than other starting quarterbacks out there and, at worst, could be one of the best backups quarterbacks in the league.
36) Mike Glennon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback: Glennon was close to a league-average starting quarterback in his first two NFL seasons, which is especially impressive considering his coordinators were Mike Sullivan, Jeff Tedford and Marcus Arroyo. Glennon represents an intriguing blend of youth, experience and accuracy.
UPDATE: Glennon has joined the Bears on a three-year deal with $18.5 million guaranteed.
37) Michael Floyd, New England Patriots wide receiver: This ranking is more about the body of work from Floyd's career than his lost 2016 campaign. His physical skill set is worth buying low on.
UPDATE: Floyd signed with the Vikings.
38) Bennie Logan, Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle: Logan is one of those no-nonsense run stuffers who inspire comments like "that guy is just a football player" by people trying to sound smart.
UPDATE: Logan is signing a one-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, Rapoport reported.
39) Kevin Minter, Arizona Cardinals linebacker: Minter proved to be an improved player in his second full season as a starter. Perhaps former coordinator Todd Bowles will show interest.
UPDATE: Minter is signing a one-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals, Rapoport reported.
40) Prince Amukamara, Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback: Amukamara strangely didn't inspire much interest in free agency last year, then provided his usual above-average starting cornerback play. Guys like this usually get paid.
UPDATE: The Bears are signing Amukamara to a one-year deal, per Garafolo.
41) Torrey Smith, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver: Still just 28 years old, Smith is only one season removed from leading the league in yards per catch. He may be a one-trick pony, but speed pays.
UPDATE: Smith has agreed to a three-year, $15 million deal with the Eagles.
42) Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs running back: Battling lingering knee problems, Charles has managed just 404 yards on 83 carries over the past two seasons. He boasted difference-making talent in his prime, but will have to accept a one-year, incentive-laden contract to prove he can still play at a Pro Bowl level at age 30.
UPDATE: Charles joined the Broncos on a one-year, $3.75 million deal.
43) Dre Kirkpatrick, Cincinnati Bengals cornerback: Kirkpatrick has what NFL teams pay for at cornerback: length and pedigree. Even though the former first-rounder's play has been uneven as a pro, he's likely to strike it rich.
UPDATE: Kirkpatrick is staying in Cincinnati, Rapoport reported.
44) Morris Claiborne, Dallas Cowboys cornerback: (See: Kirkpatrick blurb.) Claiborne played the best ball of his career before getting hurt in Dallas last season, but the injuries are not a new trend. He's missed 30 games since 2013.
UPDATE: Claiborne is joining the Jets on a one-year, $5 million deal, per Rapoport.
45) Johnathan Cyprien, Jacksonville Jaguars safety: Cyprien is at his best near the line of scrimmage and is ripe to get overpaid after his first quality season as a pro.
UPDATE: Cyprien is expected to join the Titans, Rapoport reported.
46) Russell Okung, Denver Broncos offensive tackle: Okung was signed to solve the Broncos' pass-protection woes. Instead, he was mistake-prone, contributing to another season of disappointment up front in Denver. He still has a chance to get paid in a weak tackle market.
UPDATE: Okung signed a four-year, $53 million deal with the Chargers, Rapoport reported.
47) Julius Peppers, Green Bay Packers linebacker: Peppers has notched at least seven sacks in 14 of 15 NFL seasons, an unbelievable mark of consistency. Will he return to Carolina to close out a Hall of Fame career?
UPDATE: Peppers is returning to the Carolina Panthers, who drafted him second overall in 2002.
48) Ronald Leary, Dallas Cowboys guard: Leary was an upgrade over La'el Collins as a powerful run blocker, but it remains to be seen how he will hold up in pass protection without the benefit of All-Pro performers on either side of him.
UPDATE: Leary is joining the Broncos on a four-year deal worth $36 million, per Garafolo.
49) DeMarcus Ware, Denver Broncos linebacker: Ware remains a dominant pass-rushing force when healthy, but he's seeing fewer and fewer snaps with each season. With Shane Ray and Shaquil Barrett showing promise opposite Von Miller, will Denver welcome Ware back for another campaign?
UPDATE: Ware announced he plans to retire from the NFL.
50) Jared Odrick, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end: The versatile defensive lineman lived up to his mega contract in his first season with the Jaguars, but he struggled to play through an elbow injury in 2016.
51) Lawrence Timmons, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker: Timmons' closing speed and coverage ability have slipped from his peak years, but he remains proficient enough to play all three downs.
UPDATE: Timmons is joining the Dolphins on a two-year, $12 million contract, Rapoport reported.
52) Latavius Murray, Oakland Raiders running back: A younger version of LeGarrette Blount, Murray is an effective early-down power runner best kept on the sidelines during obvious passing situations.
UPDATE: Murray signed a deal to play for the Minnesota Vikings, the team announced.
53) Kenny Stills, Miami Dolphins wide receiver: Previously a one-dimensional deep threat with inconsistent hands, Stills emerged as a trusted red-zone weapon for Ryan Tannehill last season.
UPDATE: Stills is returning to Miami on a four-year, $32 million contract, Rapoport reported.
54) Brandon Carr, Dallas Cowboys cornerback: The Cowboys kept trying to replace Carr, and the veteran cornerback kept fighting off the competition. Against all odds, he started all 80 games of the five-year, $51 million contract signed in 2012.
UPDATE: The Ravens announced they have reached an agreement with Carr on a four-year deal.
55) Lawrence Guy, Baltimore Ravens defensive end: Lawrence Guy is exactly the name you'd expect from a 300-pound rotational defensive lineman who can line up in multiple positions and stop the run.
UPDATE: Guy is signing with the Patriots on a four-year deal worth up to $20 million, Rapoport reported.
56) LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots running back: Even the Patriots didn't expect Blount to pound out 334 carries and 19 touchdowns, including the playoffs. He isn't likely to languish on the market for a month like he did a year ago.
57) Mario Williams, Miami Dolphins defensive end: If you look past the name and the inflated price tag last season, Williams was a decent part-time player. But will he be willing to take a massive pay cut for a second straight year?
58) Chance Warmack, Tennessee Titans guard: A rocky tenure in Tennessee was speckled with stretches of excellent play. Warmack still has a chance to make good on his top-10 pedigree elsewhere.
UPDATE: Warmack has agreed to a one-year deal with the Eagles.
59) Kendall Wright, Tennessee Titans wide receiver: Wright hasn't been the same since catching 94 passes in his second season, but he has the short-area quickness to be a terrific slot receiver if he finds the right fit.
UPDATE: Wright has agreed to terms with the Bears on a one-year, $4 million deal.
60) Dwight Freeney, Atlanta Falcons defensive end: He continues to create pressure in big games, no matter which contender signs him.
61) Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts tight end: Doyle emerged out of nowhere as a sure-handed receiving option for Andrew Luck last season. Only 26 years old with good after-the-catch skills, Doyle's upside ranks with that of any free-agent tight end.
UPDATE: Doyle is staying in Indy on a three-year deal, per Garafolo.
62) Matt Kalil, Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle: The former top-five pick has given up a lot of sacks in his career but should be able to find a team still in love with his college tape.
UPDATE: Kalil is joining his brother, Ryan, in Carolina, signing a deal with the Panthers.
63) Bradley McDougald, Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety: Once claimed off waivers, McDougald was a capable (if unspectacular) starter for the Bucs the last two years.
UPDATE: McDougald signed with the Seahawks.
64) John Simon, Houston Texans linebacker: An unflashy outside linebacker who can handle a variety of roles at a high level, Simon is one of our favorite bargain free agents.
UPDATE: Simon is signing a three-year deal with the Colts, according to Rapoport.
65) Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver: Patterson finally gained enough trust to assume a significant role in the passing game, but his poor feel for the nuances of the position limits him to manufactured touches on shorter routes near the line of scrimmage.
UPDATE: Patterson has signed with the Raiders.
66) Nick Mangold, New York Jets center: Coming off an ankle injury at age 33 won't help Mangold's market, but he should still be able to contribute as a center with great leadership ability.
67) Kelvin Beachum, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle: Beachum was too often overpowered in the running game last season, but he should get another crack at a starting job with so many teams in need of experienced veterans at left tackle.
UPDATE: Beachum announced on Twitter that he is signing with the Jets.
68) Andre Branch, Miami Dolphins defensive end: A washout as a second-round pick in Jacksonville, Branch salvaged his career by outplaying Mario Williams in Miami.
UPDATE: Branch is headed back to Miami on a long-term deal, per Rapoport.
69) Datone Jones, Green Bay Packers linebacker: Jones enjoyed his finest season after transitioning to outside linebacker, but he's perhaps best suited to defensive end in a 4-3 scheme.
UPDATE: The Vikings announced they've signed Jones.
70) JC Tretter, Green Bay Packers center: The second-best center on the market showed promise as a seven-game stand-in for starter Corey Linsley early last season. He's athletic enough to succeed on a pass-heavy team with a zone-blocking scheme.
UPDATE: Tretter has agreed to sign with the Browns.
71) Lorenzo Alexander, Buffalo Bills linebacker: How improbable was Alexander's age-33 breakout campaign? He was the oldest player ever to record his first 10-sack season. Teams have to be skeptical that he can duplicate that aberrant success outside of Rex Ryan's defense.
UPDATE: Alexander agreed on a two-year deal to remain with Buffalo.
72) Rex Burkhead, Cincinnati Bengals running back: A bit of a factor back/slot receiver hybrid, Burkhead outplayed Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill in Cincinnati's backfield last season. His game is well-suited to today's offenses, where spread looks proliferate. He could be sneaky effective on the right team.
UPDATE: The Patriots announced they have signed Burkhead.
73) Brian Hoyer, Chicago Bears quarterback: Taking over for an injured Jay Cutler, Hoyer reeled off four consecutive 300-yard performances before going down with a season-ending arm injury in late October. The ideal backup, he can move an offense with more proficiency than many starters, only to have his limitations come to the forefront when he's overexposed.
UPDATE: Hoyer has agreed on a deal with the San Francisco 49ers.
74) Robert Woods, Buffalo Bills wide receiver: Between injuries and a lack of big-play ability, Woods has yet to top 700 yards in a season. In a best-case scenario, he'll cash in like Mohamed Sanu did last offseason.
UPDATE: Woods is signing a five-year, $39 million contract with the Rams, per Rapoport.
75) Ryan Clady, New York Jets offensive tackle: A career stuffed with surgeries has taken a toll on the former All-Pro.
76) Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers quarterback: Kaepernick will have a market, per Rapoport, but he's going to have to compete for a starting job. Although Kap showed promising flashes last season, he still struggles with accuracy, touch and field vision.
77) Mike Remmers, Carolina Panthers offensive tackle: Remmers didn't make Panthers fans forget about his performance in the Super Bowl during a so-so 2016 season.
UPDATE: Remmers is signing a five-year, $30 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings, Rapoport reported.
78) Danny Woodhead, Los Angeles Chargers running back: A rare ex-Patriot to get better away from Tom Brady's loving embrace, Woodhead is 32 years old and coming off a torn ACL.
UPDATE: Woodhead is heading to the Ravens on a three-year deal.
79) Ryan Fitzpatrick, New York Jets quarterback: Ranked in the top 25 of this exercise last season (whoops), Fitz makes more sense as a backup who could get hot for a few games off the bench.
UPDATE: Fitzpatrick has agreed to terms with the Buccaneers, the team announced.
80) D.J. Swearinger, Arizona Cardinals safety: The "Hard Knocks" instigator bounced around the league before the Cardinals showed what an asset he can be. He could wind up taking Tony Jefferson's job.
UPDATE: Swearinger signed with the Redskins on a three-year deal worth $4.5 million per season.
81) D.J. Fluker, Los Angeles Chargers guard/tackle: Fluker is a massive man with position flexibility. Although he's been a subpar pass protector, he's started 59 games over four seasons with a nasty edge in the running game.
UPDATE: Fluker is joining the Giants on a one-year deal, according to Garafolo.
82) Jahleel Addae, Los Angeles Chargers safety: There are more starting safety jobs open than there are quality free agents and draft picks to fill them.
UPDATE: Addae has agreed to a deal to stay with Chargers, per Rapoport.
83) Nolan Carroll, Philadelphia Eagles cornerback: You know him from his work as "the only solid Eagles cornerback."
UPDATE: Carroll is staying in the NFC East, signing with the Cowboys on a three-year, $10 million deal, per Rapoport.
84) Erik Walden, Indianapolis Colts linebacker: Mostly a letdown as a free-agent pickup for the Colts, Walden quietly recorded 11 sacks last season.
85) Captain Munnerlyn, Minnesota Vikings cornerback: He should still have a few seasons left as a nickel cornerback at a reasonable price.
UPDATE: Munnerlyn is headed back to Carolina, where he began his career.
86) Geno Smith, New York Jets quarterback: Get past all the punchlines and back-page headlines and Geno is still a 26-year-old quarterback with some quality game film to his name.
UPDATE: Smith is expected to sign with the Giants, per Rapoport.
87) Brandon LaFell, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver: LaFell exceeded expectations as the No. 2 receiver on the 2014 Patriots and 2016 Bengals, but he seems to leave his teams with a burning desire to upgrade at his spot.
UPDATE: LaFell is re-signing with the Bengals, his agents announced.
88) Vernon Davis, Washington Redskins tight end: Signed as an afterthought in Washington, Davis proved he can still move as well as many tight ends 10 years his junior.
UPDATE: Davis re-signed with the Redskins on a three-year, $15 million deal.
89) Christine Michael, Green Bay Packers running back: Michael's explosive running talent is obvious, but he's been undone by subpar footing, inconsistent vision and a poor mastery of the fundamentals in the passing game.
UPDATE: Michael is staying with the Packers.
90) DeAngelo Williams, Pittsburgh Steelers running back: Williams was ideal insurance for Le'Veon Bell in Pittsburgh, but he turns 34 years old in April and managed just 3.5 yards per carry in 2016.
91) Devin Taylor, Detroit Lions defensive end: Taylor looks the part of a premier pass rusher at 6-foot-7 and 275 pounds, but he posted a paltry 4.5 sacks as a 16-game starter in Detroit last season.
92) Malcolm Smith, Oakland Raiders linebacker: Smith has been a league-average three-down linebacker in Oakland, but he left his playmaking ability at Super Bowl XLVIII.
UPDATE: Smith is signing a five-year, $26.5 million deal (with $13 million guaranteed) with the 49ers, Garafolo reported.
93) Terrell McClain, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle: An afterthought for five NFL seasons, McClain emerged as Dallas' most versatile defensive lineman, flashing big-play ability in 2016.
UPDATE: Washington is set to sign McClain to a four-year contract, Rapoport reported.
94) Nickell Robey-Coleman, Buffalo Bills cornerback: One of the smallest corners in the league, Robey-Coleman is limited to slot duty. He earned a contract extension prior to the 2015 season only to be benched by the Bills last November.
UPDATE: Robey-Coleman signed with the Rams, the team announced.
95) Karl Klug, Tennessee Titans defensive end: An undersized interior pass rusher, Klug would be the perfect rotational player if he weren't coming off a torn Achilles tendon.
UPDATE: Klug has agreed to terms to return to Tennessee, the team announced.
96) Ted Ginn Jr., Carolina Panthers wide receiver: Ginn has averaged nearly 750 yards and seven touchdowns as Cam Newton's drop-prone, hit-averse deep threat the past two years. He's been a disappointment outside of Carolina throughout his 10-year career.
UPDATE: The Saints announced they have signed the veteran wideout.
97) Chris Long, New England Patriots defensive end: Long managed just four sacks last season, but he led New England's defense in snaps and quarterback pressures.
UPDATE: Long is headed to the Eagles.
98) Jairus Byrd, New Orleans Saints safety: Byrd was an injury-prone bust for a perennially beleaguered New Orleans secondary. Can he recapture solid starter status in a different system?
99) Antoine Bethea, San Francisco 49ers safety: Only one season removed from performing at a Pro Bowl level, Bethea played nearly every snap last year for the 49ers. He can still help a team even though he'll be 33 when the season starts.
UPDATE: Bethea has agreed to terms on a three-year deal with the Cardinals.
100) Darius Butler, Indianapolis Colts defensive back: The veteran cornerback increased his market value by flashing versatility in the Colts' depleted secondary last season, spending some time at safety and acquitting himself well.
UPDATE: Butler is returning to the Colts on a one-year deal with a maximum value of $4.5 million, per Rapoport.
101) Margus Hunt, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end: The "Hard Knocks" star from Estonia showed he can be a solid run defender in his fourth season.
UPDATE: Hunt signed a two-year deal with the Colts.


text:
Home All Section 375 and 376(2) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 with reference...
Rape laws
Section 375 and 376(2) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 with reference to Priya Patel v. State of M.P. Case
Diva Rai
Image source - https://bit.ly/2XkX9ZM
This article is written by Srishti Yadav, student of Amity Law School, NOIDA.
Definition of Rape
Legal provisions of IPC- defining the offence and punishment
Can a woman be prosecuted for the offence of gang rape?
Rape is one of the most terrifying criminal activities. It is such a traumatic activity that it affects the person adversely at psychological and emotional level. It has its origin in the Latin word, 'Rapio' meaning to take away. Therefore, literally, rape could mean to snatch something from someone by the means of force. The article throws light over different over different aspects of rape in India, Especially concerning the question as to whether a woman could be charged for gang rape and its analysis.
Rape refers to an unlawful sexual activity which involves sexual intercourse against the will of victim, either by force or threat of force or against a person who is incapable of giving consent because of reasons such as mental illness, intoxication, deception or unconsciousness. In many countries, the crime of rape is a categorization of sexual assault. Earlier, it was considered to be caused by an overpowering sexual desire but now it seems to be a inveterate assertion of power over the victim.
Section 375 of the IPC lists down the conditions which lead to the commission of rape at the time of sexual intercourse between a man and woman.
As per the Section, the act of penetration is sufficient enough to be treated as sexual intercourse, and therefore rape. The Supreme Court in the case of Sakshi v. Union of India, reiterated the definition of rape and held that only heterosexual intercourse i.e. vaginal and penial penetration be considered as rape. Giving the reason, the court held that, though there are many forms of sexual abuse which are heinous in nature, but every sexual offence cannot be considered as rape.
As per Section 376, the punishment of rape is for minimum 10 years and maximum imprisonment for life (which shall be construed as imprisonment for remaining life of that person till he dies a natural death) plus fine, is for the following g list of personsLeaving certain aggravated situations, the punishment for the rest of cases shall be minimum seven years and maximum punishment for life, plus fine. Section 375 was amended by the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 or the Nirbhaya Act. For the purpose of removing ambiguity in the law before and provide strict punishment in rarest cases of sexual violence, the definition provided in the act such as penetration of penis into:
Or any object or any part of the body
To any extent into the body parts of such woman (or making someone else do so), constitutes an offence of sexual offence.
The issue as to,
'Whether the commission of rape could be done by a woman?' becomes quite clear looking at the language of article 375 which expressly mentions that the act of rape could be committed only by a man and not 'any person'. But as far as the commission of gang rape is concerned, there is ambiguity as to whether it could be committed by woman. Section 376(2)(g) mentions 'persons' rather than man which means that it was the vision of lawmakers to keep this Section gender-neutral. The Court was encountered with this question in the case of Priya Patel v. State of M.P.
In this case, there was a complaint lodged by prosecutrix alleging that while she was returning by an express train after attending a sports meet. When she reached the destination, she met the accused (Bhanu Pratap Patel) and told her that he was asked by her father to receive her. Since the girl had fever, she accompanied Bhanu Pratap to his house where he committed rape on her.
During that time, the wife of the accused came there. The prosecutrix pleaded in front of her and asked her to save her, but instead she slapped her, closed the door of the house and left the place. There were charges levied against Bhanu Pratap for the offences punishable under Sections 323 and 376, IPC; and the appellant was charged under Sections 323 and 376(2) (g) IPC. The Court held that a woman cannot commit rape as it is conceptually inconceivable that she had an intention to rape. Therefore, she can't be held for both- rape or gang rape. The court further laid down that the expression "in furtherance of common intention" which appears in explanation 1 of Section 376(2) IPC is construed as the intention to commit rape. Therefore, a prosecution could not be started against a woman for commission of rape.
The case of State of Rajasthan v. Hemraj, too had similar facts, as that of Priya Patel. The same judgment was given here as well and the appellant was acquitted just because she is a woman. The Supreme Court, in this case, left many questions unanswered. The following reasons could be cited for the prima facie wrong nature of the acquittal of the appellant:
The prosecutrix was slapped by the appellant; afterwards she shut the door and left the place. This clearly indicates that she was supporting her husband's act of rape and thereby, is sufficient enough to establish criminal intention on part of Priya Patel.
The reasoning given by the judges is quite 'fallacious' in nature as it assumes that it is conceptually inconceivable on the part of a woman to have an intention to commit rape.
The Supreme Court just adhered to the bare provision of law and no referral to any case law or any legal or juristic writing was made, which is quite atypical considering the nature and gravity of the case.
According to the Positivist approach, criminal jurisprudence has evolved as per the needs and requirements of the society. It is accepted on the part of judges that they don't just mechanically apply the law without undertaking proper analysis. They must adhere of law and give the judgment accordingly.
Explanation 1 attached to Section 376(2)(g) is gender-neutral is in Pari Materia with Section 34 of IPC which means that they shall be construed together. From cases regarding the interpretation of Section 34 IPC such as Mahbub Shah v. King Emperor, it is well-settled that participation in the actual criminal act is not required to suffice the purpose of Section 34.
Because of its uncommon nature, the case didn't have much effect over the criminal jurisprudence, but anyhow, the interpretation made by the judges was contrary to the gang rape provision. Although it makes sense that women can't be charged for commission of rape because of the obvious reason in their incapacity of doing so; but there is no reason because of which she can't be charged for gang rape (she too can share the same common intention). It is because of these critical errors in its judgment that Priya Patel should be declared a bad law, but till then, it should be declared as an aberration.
The rape laws existing in India only cover the tip of iceberg and fail to recognise that other atypical scenarios might exist. Thereby, the legal definitions of crime as well as its elements must be construed according to the social context where they are applied. The old notions denying female criminality should be given up. Therefore, the legislature needs to come up with further amendments to make such laws gender neutral otherwise the female offenders would easily escape from punishment.
https://blog.ipleaders.in/rapes-india-reasons-prevention/amp/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/rape-crime/Rape-as-a-weapon-of-war
https://www.business-standard.com/about/what-is-Section-375
https://blog.ipleaders.in/can-woman-charged-gang-rape/
https://blog.ipleaders.in/indian-rape-laws-nutshell/amp/
LawSikho has created a telegram group for exchanging legal knowledge, referrals, and various opportunities. You can click on this link and join:
https://t.me/joinchat/J_0YrBa4IBSHdpuTfQO_sA
Follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more amazing legal content.
Previous articleNeed for research on judicial delays
Next articlePowers of female heirs over inherited property
Did you find this blog post helpful? Subscribe so that you never miss another post! Just complete this form…
Cognizable Offences under Code of Criminal Procedure
Capital punishment for rape
Postal vote for migrants

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Prospect Watch: Bellerive leads his team
By Taylor Haase
Jordy Bellerive. -- WHL
Note: Prospect Watch and Wilkes-Barre Watch are switching days this week because of a timing issue in scheduling a Wilkes-Barre interview.
This week Jordy Bellerive surpassed Dylan Cozens, a projected top-5 pick in the 2019 draft, for the Lethbridge Hurricanes team lead in scoring.
Bellerive propelled himself to the team lead with a productive week, registering four assists and one goal in two games.
Bellerive's week brings his season totals to 24 goals and 38 assists in 50 games. It's encouraging production from a guy who was originally expected to be away from the ice for a year after suffering severe burns in a June accident.
At 0.48 goals per game, his goal-scoring has slightly dropped off from last season's production of 46 goals in 71 games, or 0.64 goals per game. On the other hand, he's recording 0.76 assists per game, an increase from last season's mark of 0.64.
A big part of the reason Bellerive's goal-scoring has taken a dip is that his shot production has fallen off. Last season, Bellerive was averaging 4.54 shots per game. This season, he's averaging 3.84 shots per game.
Bellerive's work in the faceoff circle has improved this season. Last season, he won 45.86 percent of faceoffs. This season, he's up to 48.1 percent. It's still below 50, so not ideal, but it's progress. Bellerive also hasn't been at center for the full season. He's been putting in some significant time on the left wing of Lethbridge's top line, with Golden Knights 2017 second-round pick Jake Leschyshyn at center.
Bellerive has been utilized on both the power play and penalty kill for Lethbridge. Six of his goals and 11 of his assists have come on the power play, and he has one shorthanded goal. He's also been the go-to in shootouts, as one of two players to take part in each of Lethbridge's five shootouts this season. He's converted on two attempts, tied for the team lead with Cozens.
Bellerive recorded his 11th career fight and first fight of the season this week, sparring with Red Deer's Brandon Hagel. Hagel is two inches taller and 21 pounds lighter than Bellerive:
It's safe to say Bellerive has rebounded well from his injuries.
The other two players injured in the fire, Matt Alfaro and Ryan Vandervlis, are both doing well and still playing hockey. Alfaro, a center, is back at the University of Calgary, and is fourth on his team with six goals and 13 assists in 23 games. Valdervlis, the player most severely burned, was in a medically-induced coma at one point and in the hospital for 11 weeks. He joined the Red Deer Vipers of the Heritage Junior B Hockey League in December, and has eight goals and 10 assists in eight games.
Justin Almeida
Position: Center/Wing
Size: 5-11/160
Drafted: 2018, fifth round
Team: Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
Season totals: 44 games, 20 goals, 50 assists
Almeida had two goals and two assists in two games this week. He's now producing at a rate of 1.59 points per game.
Jordy Bellerive
Team: Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
Bellerive scored one goal and four assists in two games this week.
Kasper Bjorkqvist
Position: Wing
Size: 6-1/198
Drafted: 2016, second round
Team: Providence College (NCAA)
Bjorkqvist was scoreless in two games this week.
Jan Drozg
Team: Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
Drozg recorded one goal and three assists in two games this week.
Liam Gorman
Drafted: 2018, sixth round
Team: St. Sebastian's School (USHS-Prep)
Season totals: ?
Gorman scored twice this week, including this shorthanded goal:
Filip Hallander
Team: Timrå IK (SHL)
Season totals: 30 games, 7 goals, 9 assists
Hallander recorded one assist in one game this week.
Nikita Pavlychev
Drafted: 2015, seventh round
Team: Penn State (NCAA)
Pavlychev and Penn State did not play this week.
DEFENSEMEN
Season totals: 49 games, 8 goals, 39 assists
Addison appeared in two games this week, recording one assist and this highlight-reel goal:
Niclas Almari
Team: HPK (Liiga), HPK U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga)
Season totals: 32 games, 1 goal, 4 assists with HPK; 2 games, 1 assist with HPK U20
Almari appeared in two scoreless games this week.
Ryan Jones
Drafted: 2016, fourth round
Team: Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA)
Season totals: 26 games, 9 assists
Jones played in two games this week and registered two assists.
Zachary Lauzon
Team: Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)
Season totals: None
Lauzon, who has been rehabbing from the neck injury he sustained last season, will not play this season. He was not able to resume skating with the team. Lauzon will remain around the team for the remainder of the season and will travel with his teammates.
If the Penguins wish to retain Lauzon's rights, they would have to sign him this summer. That won't happen. Lauzon's time as a Penguins prospect is most likely over, if not his entire career.
Antti Palojarvi
Team: Lukko (Liiga), Lukko U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga), SaPKo (Mestis)
Season totals: 16 games, 2 assists with Lukko; 29 games, 4 goals, 9 assists with Lukko U20; 1 game, 1 goal with SaPKo
Last week, Palojarvi was loaned to SaPKo of the Mestis league, the second-highest level of men's hockey in Finland. He is expected to remain there for the remainder of the season.
Palojarvi made his SaPKo debut this week, and scored a goal in his first game:
Clayton Phillips
Drafted: 2017, third round
Team: Minnesota (NCAA)
Season totals: 26 games, 1 goal, 7 assists
Phillips was scoreless in two games.
William Reilly
Team: Rensselaer Polytech (NCAA)
Reilly recorded one assist in three games this week.
Alex D'Orio
Team: Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
Season totals: 35 games (13-21), 3.84 goals against average, .888 save percentage
D'Orio played in two games this week, a loss and a win. Friday's loss ended a 7-game winning streak and was his first loss since being traded to Baie-Comeau. Saturday, he posted a 20-save shutout.
Crosby falls on sword for faceoff losses vs. Leafs
Haase: The Jack Johnson effect has been a drag


Website provider FreeWebsite.com published a new article about veterinary website templates.
FreeWebsite.com, an industry leader in website development, released a new article discussing the company's new veterinary website templates, which make it easy for veterinary offices to start a website.
While it may seem unlikely that vets would need a website, a FreeWebsite.com representative explained, "It's a reality today that over 88% of people shop online, even for service providers. When they are selecting someone to take care of their pets, they want to know more than a name. They want to see who you are and how you operate your business. A website is a valuable and cost-effective way to get this information to potential clients."
The article goes on to discuss how Freewebsite.com provides veterinary website templates, making it easy for a veterinary service to easily create a presence on the web. A FreeWebsite.com representative related that his research showed that a common reason many vets did not have a website was the cost of building one. With the low cost veterinary website templates available on this site, veterinarians no longer need to worry about that issue.
About FreeWebsite.com: FreeWebsite.com breaks down barriers to website ownership by providing attractive easy to maintain websites, complete with content, at a low price.


These release notes are for versions of ibis prior to 1.0. For 1.0 and later release notes see Release Notes.
This release brings refactored, more composable core components and rule system to ibis. We also focused quite heavily on the BigQuery backend this release.
Support for writing UDFs in BigQuery (#1377). See the BigQuery UDF docs for more details.
Defining input arguments for operations happens in a more readable fashion instead of the previous input_type list.
This release brings new backends, including support for executing against files, MySQL, Pandas user defined scalar and aggregations along with a number of bug fixes and reliability enhancements. We recommend that all users upgrade from earlier versions of Ibis.
SQLAlchemy backends were missing an implementation of NotContains.
Fixing #1378 required the removal of the name parameter to the param() function. Use the name() method instead.
This release brings Clickhouse and BigQuery SQL support along with a number of bug fixes and reliability enhancements. We recommend that all users upgrade from earlier versions of Ibis.
BigQuery backend (#1170), thanks to @tsdlovell.
Clickhouse backend (#1127), thanks to @kszucs.
This release brings initial Pandas backend support along with a number of bug fixes and reliability enhancements. We recommend that all users upgrade from earlier versions of Ibis.
This release brings initial PostgreSQL backend support along with a number of critical bug fixes and usability improvements. As several correctness bugs with the SQL compiler were fixed, we recommend that all users upgrade from earlier versions of Ibis.
Initial PostgreSQL backend contributed by Phillip Cloud.
Fix CTE (WITH) extraction inside UNION ALL expressions.
This release brings initial Kudu-Impala integration and improved Impala and SQLite support, along with several critical bug fixes.
Apache Kudu (incubating) integration for Impala users. See the blog post for now. Will add some documentation here when possible.
Add use_https option to ibis.hdfs_connect for WebHDFS connections in secure (Kerberized) clusters without SSL enabled.
Correctly compile aggregate expressions involving multiple subqueries.
Fix inappropriate projection-join-filter expression rewrites resulting in incorrect generated SQL.
ImpalaClient.create_table correctly passes STORED AS PARQUET for format='parquet'.
Fixed several issues with Ibis dependencies (impyla, thriftpy, sasl, thrift_sasl), especially for secure clusters. Upgrading will pull in these new dependencies.
Do not fail in ibis.impala.connect when trying to create the temporary Ibis database if no HDFS connection passed.
Fix join predicate evaluation bug when column names overlap with table attributes.
Fix handling of fully-materialized joins (aka select * joins) in SQLAlchemy / SQLite.
Thank you to all who contributed patches to this release.
This release brings expanded pandas and Impala integration, including support for managing partitioned tables in Impala. See the new Ibis for Impala Users guide for more on using Ibis with Impala.
The Ibis for SQL Programmers guide also was written since the 0.5 release.
This release also includes bug fixes affecting generated SQL correctness. All users should upgrade as soon as possible.
New integrated Impala functionality. See Ibis for Impala Users for more details on these things.
Improved Impala-pandas integration. Create tables or insert into existing tables from pandas DataFrame objects.
Partitioned table metadata management API. Add, drop, alter, and insert into table partitions.
Add is_partitioned property to ImpalaTable.
Added support for LOAD DATA DDL using the load_data function, also supporting partitioned tables.
Interrupting Impala expression execution with Control-C will attempt to cancel the running query with the server.
Set the compression codec (e.g. snappy) used with ImpalaClient.set_compression_codec.
Get and set query options for a client session with ImpalaClient.get_options and ImpalaClient.set_options.
Add ImpalaTable.metadata method that parses the output of the DESCRIBE FORMATTED DDL to simplify table metadata inspection.
Add ImpalaTable.stats and ImpalaTable.column_stats to see computed table and partition statistics.
Add refresh, invalidate_metadata DDL options and add incremental option to compute_stats for COMPUTE INCREMENTAL STATS.
Add substitute method for performing multiple value substitutions in an array or scalar expression.
Division is by default true division like Python 3 for all numeric data. This means for SQL systems that use C-style division semantics, the appropriate CAST will be automatically inserted in the generated SQL.
Easier joins on tables with overlapping column names. See Ibis for SQL Programmers.
Expressions like string_expr[:3] now work as expected.
Add coalesce instance method to all value expressions.
Passing limit=None to the execute method on expressions disables any default row limits.
ImpalaTable.rename no longer mutates the calling table expression.
Highlights in this release are the SQLite, Python 3, Impala UDA support, and an asynchronous execution API. There are also many usability improvements, bug fixes, and other new features.
Added experimental database object "usability layer", see ImpalaClient.database.
ImpalaClient.insert now validates schemas locally prior to sending query to cluster, for better usability.
First public release. See http://ibis-project.org for more.
Enable non-equijoins (join clauses with operations other than ==).
Add remaining string functions supported by Impala.
Add pipe method to tables (hat-tip to the pandas dev team).
Add mutate convenience method to tables.
Fleshed out WebHDFS implementations: get/put directories, move files, etc. See the full HDFS API.
ImpalaClient can execute scalar expressions not involving any table.
Can also create internal Impala tables with a specific HDFS path.
Make Ibis's temporary Impala database and HDFS paths configurable (see ibis.options).
Add truncate_table function to client (if the user's Impala cluster supports it).
Enable Ibis to execute concurrent queries in multithreaded applications (earlier versions were not thread-safe).
Add an internal operation type signature API to enhance developer productivity.
insert method on Ibis client for inserting data into existing tables.


This is just about the simplest baking recipe I've ever done here, to the extent that even an in-depth review isn't going to be longer than a "quick take". But before that, a little digression on naming.
In recent years — most notably in the past two or three years — a French bakery item has made it to these shores under the name macaron. These sandwich cookies are typically made from almond paste and egg white, about 30–40 mm in diameter, and are filled with jam, frosting, or chocolate. It is apparently a Big Thing to have them develop "feet" in baking. In American English usage, macaroon has generally meant a mounded, single-piece cookie made from coconut, sugar, and egg white, rather than almond, typically about as tall as it is wide, sometimes dipped in chocolate or with chocolate chips added. Many Americans would be astonished to be offered something called a "macaroon" that was not made with shredded coconut. But historically, they are the same thing; "macaroon" is a corruption of "macaron", borrowed into English from Middle French circa 1610. The French word is in turn derived from regional Italian maccarone — that is, macaroni. The treats I'm about to describe, from Joanne Chang's Flour (Chronicle Books, 2010; p. 130), are sandwich cookies, with the cakes made from almond paste and egg white, just like the fashionable macaron, but they are larger, formed by the drop method rather than with a piping bag, and coarser in texture. Flour was published just before macarons became trendy, and the recipe title calls these cookies "macaroons"; Chang's follow-up book, Flour, too , contains a macaron recipe, so titled. But when I handed these cookies out at the office, I called them macarons, because to me, the defining characteristic is not the trendy colors or the size, but the fact that they're sandwich cookies made from almond paste — I would reserve the name "macaroon" for the sort of cookies made from coocnut and often seen in these parts as a flourless dessert for Passover.
The mise for these is incredibly simple. The heavy cream (half a pint ≈ 240 ml) and the chocolate (Valrhona Caraïbe, 225 g, chopped) are used to make the ganache filling. The remaining ingredients go into the almond paste: 520 g blanched whole almonds (I used store-bought this time rather than blanching them myself); 540 g sugar; 6 large egg whites (I had a bunch of leftover egg whites in the freezer from previous baking projects, so no fresh yolks were wasted); 2 tsp almond extract to punch up the almond flavor; and ½ tsp kosher salt rounds out the list.
After baking in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 23 minutes, they are ready to come out and cool on a rack, still on the baking sheet, for another half an hour. When done they should be just slightly browned around the edges. While the cakes are cooling, the ganache is made in the usual way by pouring scalded cream over the chocolate, letting it melt, and then whisking until smooth. I found that I had to refrigerate the ganache to get it set up enough to fill the cookies.
Once the cakes are completely cool, they are paired up in roughly matching sizes and shapes, and a sufficient quantity of the cooled ganache is applied to fill them. Chang says to use about a tablespoon of ganache, but also says that there may be some left over; I say to use enough to cover the entire bottom of the cake, and don't worry too much about the exact measurement here. After filling, they can be stored at room temperature in an air-tight container for two or three days.
I cut one in half to show the texture of the crumb. All of my tasters loved these, including a couple of people on gluten-free diets who can't normally try my baking, except for one person who didn't like them, and thought that the chocolate flavor of the filling wasn't prominent enough.
This entry was posted in Food and tagged almonds, chocolate, cookies, Joanne Chang, macarons, macaroons, recipe. Bookmark the permalink.


The radioactive gas Radon is a hazard occurring in many homes and workplaces.
Its represents the second largest cause of lung cancer in the world. Underground workplaces such as basements, mines, caves and utility shafts can have significant levels of Radon as well as above ground workplaces in Radon affected areas.
All workplaces including factories, offices, shops, classrooms, nursing homes, residential care homes and health centres can be affected. While employees residing only in upper levels of buildings are unlikely to be exposed to significant Radon levels, personnel in underground workplaces such as cellars, basements and poorly ventilated ground floor rooms are far more likely to be affected. Part of the Bertin Instruments nuclear instrumentation offer, Saphymo products ranging from AphaGUARD and AlphaE radon monitor provide monitoring tools for mitigation, expertise, missions and personal exposure monitoring equipment for Radon risk assessment.


Greg: Hi guys, Greg Denning here. I am in Germany right now in this beautiful home and with this wonderful woman, Melissa. We've been talking and having such a great conversation so I just wanted to share some ideas.
Greg: This is Melissa Dalton Bradford and she has 4 children (3 living). She is living in Germany now, and has been in the Europe for 25 years?
Melissa: Yes. So let's see, I lived in Vienna when I was a student and my husband and I were newly-weds. We lived in Hong Kong with our oldest child. We moved from the greater New York city area in the early 90's to an island west of Oslo in Norway. And then we moved to Versailles, outside of Paris, we moved into Paris, we moved to Munich, we moved to Singapore, we moved to Geneva in Switzerland and now we are living just outside of Frankfurt, Deutschland. So here we are. It has been about 25 years on the road.
Greg: What a spectacular journey!
We have just been having tons of great conversations together about education, Worldschooling, about family, about values, about lessons learned. So let's just dive right into what have been the most valuable lessons you've learned in this whole journey?
Melissa: I am so glad that you asked that because I need to be able to distil my ideas. I lecture on this and am preparing a lecture for an international school on this very topic.
There are a few things that I've thought about and that I've developed after so many years of traveling and going to different places. And one of them is that you become as a family. The possibility is that you can become this galvanized strong unit! You go through so much together when you are uprooting yourself and re-rooting yourself over and over again. And when you all standing there (let's say in Morocco) and you realize, "We don't know anything about this place or anyone here, and we have to enter into this culture and we want to enter into this culture.'' And you watch yourself guide your children and struggle with the unknown and break culture barriers. And you know your children are watching you so closely for clues of rejection or acceptance, do you know what I mean?
Greg: Yeah exactly. It's the parent saying, "How I do this?" You are the model!
Melissa: Yes the modeling is absolutely essential. I like to use this French phrase that is goes, "Les enfants ont des grands yeux.'' which means, "Children have big eyes." They are constantly observing how adult role models are going to manage a situation. It's your choice… are you going to recoil in fear? Or are you going to lean into the conversation with the person who looks utterly different from you and/or who speaks in a different language? Are you going to be vulnerable?
Melissa: I think we do our children a disservice when we try to put up some façade of invulnerability. The whole, "This is not scary for me" or the, "I am not feeling awkward." But when we turn to our children and say, "This is a little uncomfortable!'' or something like, "I have never eaten this, I didn't even know this was edible!" or, "I don't know how to communicate." With that humble attempt as a parent to integrate and to look at every human interaction as a possibility to learn. I think that's critical.
Greg: Yes! Those who are reading this, are you catching all these great messages! This is WorldSchooling, this is parent mentoring!
Greg: The curiosity, the always learning! So it could present so much instability, but you are saying that actually if it is done well, it can create stability.
Melissa: Great stability. The families that I work with and to whom I lecture, and those that are in this international community. They talk about what it does for your family. It can push you to the point of breaking, it can push you to that breaking point because everybody is going through so much adjustments at the same time.
Melissa: Yeah. But think about as engineers, when something has many movable parts and when it is moving gyroscopically, something has to be stable. Something has to be deep and unmovable. It is something that has to do with parental relationships, it has a lot to do with values and attitudes. So something has to be stable so it can hold together this gyroscopically moving mechanism. And you can pull together as a family not by pretending that this is not difficult, but by admitting, "this is hard for us, this is a challenge. Be all of us have strengths that we can bring together that will help us through this experience." And for me, we've moved maybe 19… I think this might have been the 20th move here to the center of Germany. And In 9 different countries and all of us have to be schooled in different languages and working in different languages. For me, when people ask about our lifestyle (as I'm sure they ask about yours Greg), they say, ''Wow wasn't it really glamorous to go to this part of South America, or to this part of Mexico, or this part of Europe?'' Well those are not the things that resonate with me! The things that resonate with me are almost these… indescribable moments! These epiphanies where you realize that, "I am connecting… and my children are connecting with this native culture." That moment when you actually carry on a conversation in Mandarin Chinese. And it's just small things but you feel like, "We are human beings that are connecting here in an important level and my children also feel integrated here." Those are much more important than what is so easily posted on Instagram and Facebook, all the glam shots.
Greg: Yes exactly. It's not the highlight reel, the touristy places, It's those special moments. Even the little conversations you have afterwards, the, "Hey I made this connection and learned something special." The values, so important!
Melissa: Yes that is so important. And the other thing I have learned is that you have to build a community everywhere you go. You don't want to approach these cultures as explorers or as cultural imperialists obviously. You want to do what Margaret Mead's daughter Mary Catherine Bateson said. She said, "you will have a good intercultural experience if you approach it as an adopted child" You know what I am saying?
Greg: Yes. And you want to be a part of it!
You want to be a part to beholding to that culture to teach you and you are not going to impose your political, philosophical, religious, linguistic norms on somebody else. Would you agree? Well this is at least the way I feel.
Melissa: "We are here as adopted children!" When you walk over a frontier, over a border, into a new culture, you are a guest there. And so you have to be very alert and you have to model as a parent how to watch for the cultural codes and those cues. They do it differently in Costa Rica than how they do it in Guatemala, or Russia, or Singapore, and everywhere else. Things are done differently. People eat differently, they greet one another differently, they parent differently, but we are all part of this messy colorful global family that has to find points of connection. And I'm sure you have seen this while traveling all over the place?
Greg: Oh always. The humanity from India to Morocco to Germany. The humanness that is in us.
So how have you and your husband and your children overcome a prejudice or a difficulty that may create barriers? Because it's so easy to keep barriers instead of connecting.
Melissa: Yeah sure. It is easy to experience new things as "other." And I'm really a strong believer, and Greg I know that you are too, in the nuances of languages. I think that as we mentor, as we model as parents, we have to be very careful and very sensitive to the language that we are using when talking to our kids. We have to realize what we are describing and naming to our children what the experience is. And as soon as one says, "Well they do it like this and they are so different." or, "Isn't that so strange?" Saying those things will define to a great extent what kind of experience our children will have. If we talk about, "The other" and us being against, "The other" then we become onlookers and not, "Inlookers" of the culture. If we think of it like a zoo, that's the onlooking mentality. Don't treat a culture like a zoo. Get in it! Get involved. And experience it from the inside.
Here's what I think. I think that that every attempt to learn to speak the native language of any culture is going to do two things: It's going to send a signal to your host culture, that you respect, you value, you admire and you even reverence their culture.
Greg: And you are attempting to get into it.
Melissa: Right! You're not imposing your own language on them and expecting them to cross over their border to appease you. "We've come here as adopted children in your culture and we need to learn from you." And the second thing it does is that is actually changes you. When you speak Spanish, you become in a way a different kind of person; you feel the language in your mouth. Something shifts in you and you understand the subtleties of a culture. When I speak French, I feel the Frenchness of the people and I understand where they are coming from. I speak Norwegian. Norwegian has many multiple words for the one English word, "Snow." And it's now surprise because the Norwegians for generations have been defining snowness. So it helps you understand things about a people. The way a language fits together, how it sits in your mouth, how it uses your brain… I think it's fascinating. So lean the language!
Greg: Yeah, learning languages changes the way you think. So as you're out in a new culture having a new experience, and you said you would go to new places and stay for years, what are some of the concrete things that you would do in a country with your children to fully embrace and to learn from it?
Melissa: The first word that percolates of the top of my mind is, "Service." I think you have to find a means where you can serve. And that may not be so easy when you first arrive to a new place. But once you find an organization, an entity, or when you create something yourself, to serve… something truly magical happens! You become invested in the welfare of the people and the culture becomes individualized and not just some wall of people. Because you get to know names, faces, their smells, their sensorial exchange that goes on.
Greg: Their circumstances, How they live, and why they do what they do. And when you are on that level, it changes you and it changes them.
Melissa: So for our family, we are very engaged to our church community, we are active churchgoing people. Our church is relatively well established in all the countries that we go to. And we have chosen to go to congregations where we are then asked to serve while we are there. We have a lay clergy in our church. We landed a place in Norway for instance, and within a very short time were asked to pitch in… which at first is terrifying, but at the same time that becomes the vehicle through which you learn languages, you learn culture, you make friends, you become invested, people respond to you not as somebody who is just a tourist to their culture, but someone who would just as soon say, "I'll stay here forever." So I think finding a way you can serve… I think that's a big one.
Greg: And I have to say. Even if you never leave your home, even if you never go anywhere… just by doing those things that she mentioned, serving, connecting in another way even with your neighbors, you'll see them differently. It will change you, it will change them! There will be a connection now.
Well you maybe asking, "how am I going to serve and do those things?" But we were just discussing a while ago how there's other ways to serve.
It's not just, "Well they don't have enough food so let's buy them some food." There are other ways to serve! So how can we serve and connect with humanity wherever we are?
Greg: Just living in fear. Living in fears and anxieties with insecurities.
Melissa: Right. And I've found that any attempt to make human contact, to listen to people's stories of need, is helpful. And it helps us also to set our own needs in a larger context. And you don't have to reach your arm out very far and spin around in a circle before you touch the shoulder of somebody else that has experienced major lots. Being open to share one's own story of loss and then to reach into someone else's life and just be listening, sympathetic ear can be food to someone's soul, it can be nourishment to the hungry. Because we are all, at one point or another, all of us are going to be lost and all of us are going to be starving, either figuratively or literally in this world. That is not just some pretty poetic language that's something that I've lived and is real.
Greg: We need to reach out and receive help. To go to both sides and to be vulnerable and to receive that and to turn around and give it. To reciprocate.
Melissa: Yes, absolutely. Important lessons for us to model also as parents to are Children is how can we possible reach out and be of use to humanity even in our own pain. If we are always focused on how people look differently from us, sound differently, live differently, dress differently, eat differently, if our vision is always seeing the differences rather than finding points of connection and similarities and building and expanding on those, than we will live in a sort of self constructed prison. And we really need community and unity more than ever before. This is a world that could become crippled and paralyzed by fear and not all these fears can be so easily remedied. We really live with a certain degree of terror and fear in today's world.
Greg: And chaos! I've seen it, Melissa you've seen it, and the people reading this have seen it. There's a lot of darkness in this world, a lot of chaos and hurt, but we can make a difference! We can learn about ourselves and about each other. We can improve ourselves and then therefore it gives us power to have a positive impact.
Melissa: Yes. And to light one another! Ignite that light in other people's lives. And it requires maybe just looking right into the eyes of that person who is right in front of us and recognizing that this is a person too with a deep personal story. What can we share with each other? How can we reach one another? And how can I help and be of service?
Everyone that is reading this can do that!!! Everyone has the power to offer something into this world! I have seen it and I believe it! And I am really impressed Greg that you are doing what you doing.
Greg: And that is my message too. Everyone has a genius, everyone has a purpose, a mission, a gift, something special that only they can give.
I can imagine that some people are reading this and saying, "Yes I do want that… but it seems so hard and so scary, it seems so vulnerable… so how do you actually do it?" How do you do it?
Melissa: You and I Greg are very devoted to education and I think that we can begin by reading. There are really no excuses for learning in today's world. We can, with a click, from wherever we are sitting, whether in China or Costa Rica, we can become connected with the world that is outside of us. And I think educating ourselves, reading as much as we can, expanding and pushing ourselves (even if we are not going to move geographically) that we expose ourselves through learning. We expand our inner world! Even though we might not move over a country's border, we expand our personal borders so that we become enlightened, educated, and sympathetic. And during this we might find something that really ignites our interest and that would fuel enough in us that we want to actually cross a border.
I'd wager that most people that are reading this have within a certain radius of where they are sitting, they have people that have different cultural backgrounds or a different mother tongue. You just have to get to know them. Reach out! It begins with a conversation or just a cup of tea. Bring someone to your table and learn from them.
Greg: Exactly! And be sincerely interested in them! We talked about focus, we talked about the way we choose to see things and people will affect our actions, our behaviors and our attitudes. It's a simple mindset shift of seeing… and don't objectify others, don't see them as, "That" or some label. But think, "How can I connect with you? Where do we see things together? Where can we build a common base? I hope you're feeling this! It's all about connection.
Melissa: Connection like we have experienced here. Greg and I have never met before in person until about an hour ago, but here we are now and having this meaningful conversation that will resonate with us for a long time. It begins just with a conversation!
Greg: That's perfect because I want to lead to this. All of us want to have meaning and purpose, we want to have mission. I feel extremely confident that at the end of our lives we will look back and ask something to the effect of, "Did I matter?" And that's a bold and a powerful question! So in the context here, I would love to hear your thoughts… how do you make your life and help your children live meaningful lives? And I know it's a big bold question! How do we live more meaningful lives? Because the foundation for all of it is meaning. It's doing something that really matters.
Melissa: I'm not convinced that we human beings want happiness as much as we want meaning. Because for me, some of the most profound experiences of my life had very little to do with happiness. They have had to do with things that are deep and hard, that have been very meaningful. You asked at the beginning of this interview about our family. We have four children, three of whom are living. We lost our oldest child to a tragic accident a few years ago. The experiences of losing our Parker are unspeakably meaningful for me as a mother and for us as a family and they have defined us. We were not looking for happiness in those experiences and for a long time we could not define ourselves as happy people… but there was such meaning in taking this cataclysmic loss for us and translating it into meaning. "We can either let this cripple us and cause us to recoil in bitterness and cynicism from this world or in fear, that 'Stuff like that can happen at any moment! At any moment my life could be taken from me.' Or we can say, with this choice moment in mortality that we have, I will try and create meaning. I will try and translate loss and sorrow into looking for or creating meaning for other people." And for me, like we were talking about in the beginning, it is looking for other people's story of fear, loss, loneliness and need.
Everyone of us is going to experience some sort of loss! We don't exit this life without experiencing loss. And it could be your very difficult upbringing Greg, leaving home and paving your own life at such a young age. Or it could be other people's stories of loss in living with addiction, with sorrow, abandonment, and the little material losses that we can experience. I believe that human beings meet on their broken edges. Not on our laminated edges.
Greg: Not on the façade or on the mask, it's on the broken edges! I love that! What a beautiful idea!
Melissa: And I think that is when we find meaning too. It limits our sense of isolation. You know we are all kind of broken and messed up in some ways, we have all had those moments that will have pounded our fists on the ground until they are bruised and we cried until we have popped the capillaries in our eyes. We've all have had some degree of loss and this is where we are going to meet together, and in this brief moment mortality We are going to try and help to heal one another and bring wholeness as a community to one another. I think that's the best thing I can say during this interview.
Greg: You guys know that Worldschooling is not just the academics, not just the books, it's this! This is special. These are the values that are so essential that a lot of people are missing! This is one powerful focus that I'm loving and experiencing here right now, of becoming your very best self.
Melissa: Well I am an author, but before that, I am a mother. And that's why my book is called, "Global Mom." It's not, "Global Nomad" or, "Global Wanderer." I'm a mother! And what I want to say to those of you who are so fortunate to be parents out there, is that this is where it begins, it really begins in the family! My experience is that we are hard on ourselves; we think that we are incapable sometimes, we think that we've messed it up… KEEP ON plugging on! There is nothing more valuable that anyone of us will do (those who are privileged to have children) than that real intimate… real connection that we have with our children. And how we will shape and leave an imprint on them forever. And how grateful they are for it even if they don't verbalize it. I have felt in kind of a mystical way that our beautiful son, Parker, thanking me for having just done my very best to parent him in this crazy complicated world we have. Thanking for giving the best that I could. That would be in a nutshell what I want to say to viewers, that that parenting is more important than we could even possibly comprehend.
Greg: Perfect! We are going to end with that. It is all about what we are doing inside the walls of our own home.
Melissa: It is absolutely is.
Get Melissa's book, Global Mom, here.
1 responses on "Interview with Global Mom - Melissa Dalton Bradford"
The definitions of worldschooling vary depending on the parent or family.
We can't define what it means to you or others, but as founders of WorldSchool Academy (WSA), we can give you our definition of worldschooling, and why we think it's the best educational option out there.


Sumatra is the second largest island in the Indonesian archipelago. There are volcanoes, hot springs, lakes, rivers, and wild jungle. The island boasts many reserves that protect what is left of the indigenous wildlife, including elephants, tigers, rhinos, orangutans and tapirs.
There are still many potential surf discoveries to come on mainland Sumatra.
Aceh in the north and from Bengkulu to Krui in the south offer options.
There are quality waves on Simeulue a large island just north of Nias.
Nias is a small island roughly 130 km west of Sumatra. It is tropical, equatorial and hot. It is an exotic land with impressive temples.
The Banyak Islands are up in remote North Sumatra. The Banyaks are one of the last surf frontiers in Indonesia. There are two main islands in the Banyaks- Treasure Island and the island of the Bay Of Plenty harbouring quality set-ups that pick up plenty of clean, consistent Indian Ocean swells.
The perfect right-hander at Sorake Bay on the island of Nias was the first world-class wave discovered in the Sumatra region. Nias was first surfed in 1975, by Aussie surfers.
The 2004 earthquake raised the high tide mark and improved wave quality, as Lagundri now breaks on smaller days and is surfable on all tides!
Further exploration of the area led wave hungry surfers to the tiny Hinako Islands, just west of Nias. On Bawu, there's a heaving outer reef right and Asu is a tiny island with a great left point set up.
The Telos or Batu Islands are less crowded than The Mentawais or Nias, because much like The Banyaks there are less big name spots and a stronger swell is generally required. However, consistent, fun year round surf can always be found, with sets ups to suit all standards.
Deep-water trenches funnel southwest swell into the Asu and Bawa area in North Sumatra. Asu is a 200m left hand point break with 3 different barrel sections that will present challenges to every level of surfer.
A brief flight from Jakarta to Bandar Lampung, followed by a five or six hour hour scenic drive through the mountains brings you to South Sumatra, a wave rich haven where it is still possible to surf alone in high quality waves.
The main town is Krui but there are plenty of quality surf spots an hour or so either side of town. The most consistent and perhaps the best all round wave is Karang Nyimbor, a long left hander that breaks off a reef point to the south.
Nias, Lagundri Bay is a perfect right with a steep take off, endless wall and deep, tube sections. In short it is a natural footers paradise, set in a beautiful, blue water nook in the coastline.
Treasure Island is one of Indo's best pointbreak style reefs that has multiple tube sections and fun walls. An easy roll in leads to the first of several throwing tube sections, linked by workable walls.
Asu is a long sweeping left point/reef that has sucky bowl sections and long workable walls. It can be a little section if conditions are not prime, but in a big SW swell it can be a long, perfect jewel.
Surf charters – maximize your time in water, discover a wide range of waves and live the dream. We cater for groups and solo surfers on our charters. The Dream (surf charter): Banyak Islands are one of the last surf frontiers of Indonesia. Just north of Nias, the islands of Bangkaru ("Treasure Island") and Tuangku (home of the "Bay of Plenty") hold a number of world-class waves and there is still more exploring going on. You can also go fishing, snorkelling, spear fishing, or jungle-trekking — no mass tourism here, just fun and adventure in the comfortable luxury of an air-conditioned motor yacht.
All inclusive high-end resorts – Telo Island Lodge is a full service surf resort featuring, fly-in fly-out fully guided surfing experiences for a maximum of eight guests.
Value Resorts - Moon Beach Resort is a brand new surf resort on Simeulue Island, North Sumatra. Suitable to all kinds of surfers and budgets, it offers you easy access to quality surf breaks that are very uncrowded by Indonesian standards. Asu is one of 8 islands in the Hinakos, located 10km west of Nias. Offshore deep water trenches funnel south-west swell into the area, giving Asu and Bawa their reputation for consistently powerful, overhead surf. You'll have the opportunity to surf 7 different set ups on four different islands and one "bombie." Each wave faces a different direction providing a variety of offshore wind set-ups, there's almost always somewhere to surf on any given day. Damai Bungalows opened in 2010 and is located next door to Ombak Indah Losmen. They hold a maximum of 12 guests in 6 twin share rooms, each with their own tropical style bathrooms. A large pavillion with viewing deck sits right at the beach, offering spectacular views over the break of Ujung Bocor and across to Gunung Pugung and mountain ranges that span the length of Sumatra. Damai Bungalws are open from March to late November.
Surf Camps – combine the surf lifestyle of a boat with privacy of land camp. This is really good budget option for small groups and solo surfers. Keyhole Surf Camp is your ideal guesthouse for an ultimate Nias adventure. A very experienced and hospitable local family owns and operates Keyhole Surf Camp: Timmy and Santi Wau. Timmy is a very accomplished photographer.Your surf photos will be up close with his Canon 40D and 100-400 EF lens. Timmy is also available as a videographer to document your surf. He uses a Canon XL1 digital miniDV camera and can make all photos available from his Apple MacBook computer.
Peak season is really between April and October when swell swinging up from the Roaring Forties and Howling Fifties march south-west across the Indian Ocean and combine with light trade winds blowing from the south-east. Even during the off season when the trades swing west and north-west there are still quality waves to be had and the swells are still relatively frequent.
Due to the latitude, wind patterns are relatively calm. There are glassy days and from January to May delivers a fair few NW days, whilst June to September is often SE and Oct toDecember more NE. Sea temperatures remain steady at around 28°C or 82°F.
Treasure Island - Known to be one of the best right-hand point breaks in Indo, consistently offering up to four mesmerising barrels a wave with a nice almond-shaped ripable face. This is one of the jewels in the crown of sheer Indo perfection running a few hundred yards down a perfectly shaped reef. Always a favourite amongst guests as it satisfies all abilities. A taste of "Treasures" has you hooked for years to come.
Indies 1& 2 -"Indies" get their names as being the outside breaks and indicators for "Treasures". These two waves are for the experienced only and produce heart-pumping barrels over shallow reef. The bigger the swell the better!
Mini's - Located deep in the bay "Mini's" is a playful right which peaks up offering a short barrel and workable face which starts working on larger swells as it picks up half the swell of Treasure Island.
Gorilla's - An untamed right-hand beast that is rarely surfed and will sort out anyone's ego. If you are keen- make sure you pack your peanuts!
Cobra - A world-class left-hander which can produce an epic 8-10 second barrel or nice ripable face depending on swell direction. Cobra's clean blue lines peel down the reef into a channel, which can provide a perfect photo opportunity.
Warren,s - A fun right-hand peak opposite Cobra's breaking over a combination of reef and sand which can finish on the beautiful white sandy beach.
Turtle's - A fun, playful left-hand peak which peels along finishing on the beautiful white sandy beach. A great take-off and workable wall which depending on swell direction can produce a nice barrel also.
Clarets - A beautiful long left-hand point which peels down the line offering a perfect open workable face. You will be able to perfect your big carving turns or hunt out the inside barrels.
Joysticks - A super fun right-hand peak which produces a perfect barrel on the take-off going into a nice wall for some turns. If you have enough speed you can link up into the inside bowl for a nice long ride.
Toytown Lefts - A perfectly shaped peeling left located deep in the bay which starts to work on larger swells. You can cruise down the line or hit the lip over and over again.
The Pig - A deep water right-hand break exposed to all possible swell. Rarely below head-high and will give you some exhilarating drops and big open faces.
Migila's - Located inside of "The Pig", Migila's is a right-hand peak with a short perfect barrel on take-off and peels off slowly to the beach.
Lizards Nest - Somewhat fickle but if the conditions come together you will experience one of the best waves in Indo. Known to produce a magic 10-second barrel and any of those who have seen or surfed it are simply awe-struck!
Nias-Main Break - the perfect right hander at Sorake Bay on the island of Nias was the first world class wave discovered in the Sumatra region. Nias was first surfed in 1975, by Aussie surfers. Best size: 4-12+ ft. Walk from your doorstep "Keyhole" and paddle to the line-up.
Indicator - just above Main break of Nias, also goes off on its day, as you can see in the right side from lounge of Keyhole camp. Indicator as "a formidable opponent to your health, safety, and well-being" - and that certainly isn't far off shallow reef. The wave grinds down a section of reef. At low tide forget it, unless you choose to surf the outside section, which can occasionally offer some alternative on a north west wind. At high tide though and on the right swell, Indicator can offer perhaps some of the thickest, fast and hollowest tubes in the world.
The Machine is only 5 minute ride by motorbike from Keyhole surf camp. After the 2005 earthquake, the reef was lifted. They usually hit this spot on the high tide when its big at Point of Nias. Low tide is good but you might get a mouth full of reef. Its a long tube and once you come out its an easy paddle back out.
8-Frame - next to Hiliduha village, one of the highest performance waves in the Nias Islands. The wave itself starts breaking in too way left and right over reef, fantastic left and right barrels. Located close to Rockstar. The distance from Keyhole surf camp is around 15km. Access to the break requires 20 minute drive by Car or motorbike.
Walo Hiu - A world-class left hander which can produce an epic 5-10 second barrel depending on swell and wind direction. Walo Hiu left is located north of the Keyhole Surf Camp; access to the break requires a 30 minute walk in the jungle or 15 minutes by boat. Left of Walo hiu is a beautiful long left-hand point which peels down the line offering a perfect open workable face for big carving turns or hunt out the inside barrels. for a perfectly shaped peeling left located deep in the Bay of Walo which starts to work on larger swells. You can cruise down the line or hit the lip over and over again.
Asu 200m left hand reef point break, best w/ South winds.
Bawa 100m deep water right hander, best w/ west wind. A challenging, powerful wave for chargers and barrell junkies.
Bombie 60m right hander, best w/ east wind.
Hamutala 50m right and left hand reef breaks, best w/ north and east winds.
Secret Rights 150m right hand reef break, sshhhh…secrets still exist.
Secret Lefts 100m left hand reef break, few people know about this one too.
Ujung Bocur - Right out in front of Ombak Indah Losmen and Damai Bungalows, this wave handles most swells and caters to surfers of all abilities.
Way Jambu - Way Jambu or Sumatran Pipeline, as it's also known, is one of the most perfect waves around - but for experienced riders only.
Mandiri - This quality beach break is a 20 minute drive from Karang Nyimbor.
Bali Village - On its day this left and right breaking wave is a must visit.
Krui Left & Right - A quality bowly left hander that needs a bit of swell to start to work. Meanwhile, nearby Krui Right is a superb right hander, one of the best in the area but needs a bit of swell to start to work. While at Krui, you can also catch a boat to Banana Island (see breaks out of Drew's).
Mosquito's / The Peak - A heavy peak that offers a short but perfect barrel.
Drew's Right - This idyllic right hander is the perfect surf spot if you want to surf on your own as although there are local people around, there are no local surfers. Breaking for approximately 100 metres, this right breaking wave offers a bit of everything - from decent barrel sections to big open faces. Unlike Karang Nyimbor, this wave's entry (although steep) is relatively easy. Once on the wave various sections are on offer - depending on the size of swell and its direction. The end section will always close out - and can be pretty shallow. This wave breaks year round, but is offshore more in the off season. It faces more south east, but still receives a large amount of swell - as most swells are from the south or south west. The wave breaks on coral reef and therefore reef boots are recommended. Getting out to the lineup is quite straight forward - you just have to time your entry. Coming in can be slightly trickier on a lower tide as it can get quite shallow.
Jimmy's Left - 10 minutes from Drew's, this world class left hander produces endless barrels.
Jimmy's Right - A stone's throw away from Jimmy's left, but nothing like it if you want heavy sucky barrels.
Walur - Just a short drive from Drew's, Walur produces heavy sets of perfect waves.
Banana Island - Take the short 15 minute boat ride from Krui to ride these two rarely ridden waves that break around the island.