text:
Here's the Fitzgerald CO's side of the story
Cmdr. Bryce Benson was in charge of the Fitzgerald when it collided with a merchant vessel in 2017, killing seven sailors. (Navy)
Nearly two years after the guided-missile destroyer Fitzgerald's collided with a merchant vessel, drowning seven American sailors, their commanding officer is finally speaking out.
Cmdr. Bryce Benson intended to air his side of things at his court-martial. But last month, outgoing Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson dropped all criminal charges against Benson and one of his deputies, Lt. Natalie Combs.
The move came after defense attorneys accused Richardson and other Navy leaders of unlawful command influence.
Instead, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer issued a letter of censure against Benson. The administrative sanction was placed in his personnel file.
Benson crafted an 18-page rebuttal to accusations against him, his first public statements regarding what led to the June 17, 2017 tragedy off the coast of Japan.
The story was first reported by U.S. Naval Institute News.
Go here to read Cmdr. Bryce Benson's rebuttal
The document offers further insight into the Fitz's condition before the collision and what the commanding officer thought of his crew, including several who later faced criminal charges for their roles in the catastrophe.
The warship's former executive officer, Benson helmed the Fitz for 35 days.
"Had that case proceeded to trial, my defense would have been thorough and complete," Benson wrote in the rebuttal. "Because I have never had an opportunity to make the case that I acted reasonably under the circumstances, I make it here."
Benson writes that the censure letter he received deserves a response "both for my record and for the Navy's effort to become a true learning organization."
Navy officials declined comment because they say Benson's response has yet to reach Spencer.
They can read it here.
Benson's attorney, Lt. Cmdr. Justin Henderson, told Navy Times that the response was routed to Spencer's attorneys late last month.
Worse than you thought: inside the secret Fitzgerald probe the Navy doesn't want you to read
It was kept secret from the public in part because it was designed to prep the Navy for potential lawsuits in the aftermath of the accident.
In his response, Benson argues that he made the most prudent decisions he could while leading the crew of the destroyer, even as they grappled with systemic challenges that dogged other warships in the Japan-based 7th Fleet.
A number of investigations — including a scathing internal probe provided to Navy Times — excoriated the service for manning shortages, maintenance delays and a frenzied tempo of operations in the Fitz's squadron and across the 7th Fleet.
In his rebuttal, Benson acknowledged that as a commanding officer he should be "rightly held to account for every action" on board his vessel, "from the performance of my watchstanders to my crew's heroic efforts to save a sinking ship while I was incapacitated by injury."
But he strongly disputed that his leadership and judgment proved ineffective or poor and indicated that investigators concocted allegations "unsupported by evidence" through "factual errors" to blame him for the 2017 collision with the merchant vessel ACX Crystal.
Spencer's written reprimand criticizes Benson's decision to retire to his quarters about an hour before midnight that night.
He challenges a portion of Spencer's letter that characterized him as "disengaged and removed" during the ship's nighttime transit, opting to retire to his quarters instead of overseeing the trip.
"No ship commander can maintain direct tactical control of all evolutions at all times," Benson wrote, adding that he was on the bridge more than 12 hours the day before the collision, "completely engaged in consecutive high-risk evolutions requiring complex coordination to safely and efficiently navigate in restricted waters, launch and recover helicopters, and operate and recover small boats."
Benson assessed his watch team, the surface navigation picture and other factors and decided his crew could lead the destroyer into open waters where they would conduct long-delayed mobility engineering certification exercises en route to operations in the South China Sea.
"I departed the bridge after 2300 confident that my team would adhere to basic principles of safe navigation, including my directive to call me," he wrote. "Having properly applied risk-management analysis, I was neither 'disengaged' nor 'removed.'"
Benson's decision to seek rest left a watch team in place that was unprepared for the transit across a bustling shipping lane to the South China Sea, Richardson's censure letter states.
But Benson points to the Navy's own internal investigation into the disaster, which found all the watchstanders on the bridge and combat information center were qualified for the duty.
"These watch team members had demonstrated their competence — including confidence and technical understanding — in front of properly-constructed qualification boards, to my predecessors, in official external navigation assessments, and under my command," he wrote.
Navy drops all criminal charges against commander, junior officer in Fitzgerald collision cases
The CO at the time of the 2017 collision and another junior officer will have charges dismissed Thursday, according to defense attorneys and families of the fallen.
Benson's rebuttal praises Lt. j.g. Sarah Coppock — the officer of the deck at the time of the collision who pleaded guilty last year to a dereliction of duty charge — and noted observing her in advanced leadership positions before the collision.
"Her performance was stellar," he added.
Benson was only underway for eight days of his command but wrote that Coppock had "performed superbly as Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer in a real-world operation lasting two days."
Benson's rebuttal also lauds Lt. Natalie Combs, who was the tactical action officer at the time of the collision, helming the ship's combat information center.
Combs also faced court-martial trial on similar charged until prosecutors dropped the case last month.
"Her record was flawless, having achieved advanced qualifications during her division officer tours while assigned to USS MCCAMPBELL," Benson wrote. "Her former commanding officer advised me that she was the most professional and competent officer who served under his command."
Benson called Combs, Coppock and other watchstanders that night "among the most-experienced and capable watch teams anyone could find in (Destroyer Squadron 15) in 2017."
As for sea traffic in the maritime thoroughfare off the coast of Japan, Benson termed it "manageable." That contrasted with the report overseen by Rear Adm. Brian Fort that was submitted 41 days after the collision that concluded it was so bustling that it deserved an experienced hand on the bridge to guide the young watchstanders.
The Fitz followed a route routinely sailed by other 7th Fleet ships, Benson wrote, a path for which higher ups had offered no alternative.
In the aftermath of the Fitzgerald collision, months of legal fury end in a whimper
Questions continue about whether missteps by senior Navy leaders helped to scuttle the criminal cases against two officers of the doomed destroyer.
The Crystal made an 18-degree port turn toward the Fitz 10 minutes before the collision, and Benson wrote that the disaster was due to a "basic crossing situation."
"FITZGERALD was required to give-way and the other vessels were to maintain their course and speed," he wrote. "However challenging one may consider this crossing situation, my watchstanders had the tools to avoid a collision."
In his rebuttal, Benson explained that the late night transit was designed to buy time for the warship to safely conduct engineering exercises in the open sea and catch up on certifications.
A fire broke out on board the destroyer during a drill 10 days before the collision with the ACX Crystal, cutting power to the warship. Benson's rebuttal indicates that he was trying to get his vessel four hours ahead of their "Position of Intended Movement" redo the drills.
"I did not assess that additional experience or supervision would mitigate the foreseeable navigational risks," he wrote. "The supervisory watchstanders had demonstrated the ability to navigate in open-ocean and coastal waters as well as the ability to comply with my standing orders under these conditions."
He also challenged accusations that he failed to approve a watch bill that would've accounted for the fatigue of his watch team.
"Approving a watchbill with qualified and experienced personnel was my first priority," he wrote. "Fatigue management was a close second."
The pace of operations on June 16 was "arduous," Benson conceded. He had the crew working at 6 a.m. to allow "first-line leaders the opportunity to look their sailors in the eyes to determine their readiness level."
Benson expresses pride in how his crew performed that day, getting underway right on time, dropping anchors within feet of their target and starting helo operations "exactly 37 minutes prior to sunset."
"16 June was the best day that I had at sea during my then-eighteen years of service," he recalled. "I had no basis — fatigue or otherwise — to request an amended schedule and postpone our training certifications or delay or forego our National tasking in the South China Sea."
Did loose lockers doom the Fitzgerald seven?
Three survivors of the Fitzgerald collision echo a secret Navy report into the fatal 2017 disaster about the potentially lethal problem caused by dislodged lockers blocking escape routes. But it remains unclear what the Navy has done to fix it.
SECNAV's censure letter ripped Benson for failing to revise standing orders or procedures to account for broken equipment, most notably a radar control with a taped-over button.
Benson counters that it was within his discretion to calculate how such an issue would affect his ship's operations.
The Fitz had more than 2,100 "material discrepancies" in June 2017, he wrote.
"It is neither reasonable nor useful to issue 2,100 temporary standing orders," Benson argued.
The broken button on the SPS-67 Radar remote had been like that since late 2016, Benson wrote, and he never received reports from his crew that it affected their ability to get the job done.
That radar control button had been scheduled for repair in June during a maintenance availability, but the session was deferred so that the Fitz could conduct operations at sea, he wrote.
The crew cleared at least 25 ship casualty reports, or CASREPs, in the month leading up to the collision, according to Benson.
But the Fitz took at least 16 unresolved CASREPs with them when they got underway on June 16.
A warship doomed by 'confusion, indecision, and ultimately panic' on the bridge
A secret Navy report looks at the ways leaders could have averted the deadly destroyer Fitzgerald collision.
In his brief 35 days in command, Benson insisted that he took every opportunity to train his sailors.
"All of our training and certification exercises for the foreseeable future had been postponed for operational tasks," he wrote in his rebuttal. "My crew's performance was brilliant despite these training and certification conditions … I never abrogated my responsibility to prepare my ship and crew for our mission tasking."
"And while I accept my failure to foresee and mitigate our navigational risks, I submit that FITZGERALD symbolizes why the Navy does not assign risk management to one location."
Benson argues in his response that if he'd had more time, his corrective plan would've addressed the shortcomings that led to the collision.
Despite manning shortages, gapped billets and high turnover, the Fitz still accomplished several big missions in early 2017, Benson noted.
"She successfully completed a bilateral exercise with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, South China Sea patrols, ballistic missile defense missions, dual carrier strike group formation exercises off of North Korea, and anti-submarine warfare missions," he wrote.
Three days after taking command, Benson cancelled or denied leave for 17 sailors because the manning situation was "dire." He said sailors accepted his decision "not because of our complacency or informality, but because of our commitment to the mission."
Benson argues that he and his crew mitigated unit-level risks but were powerless before "systemic matters" bedeviling 7th Fleet, including manning shortages.
"Few if any unit-level commanders are in a position to accurately foresee, evaluate, and mitigate against the aggregated institutional risks imposed by a force generation model that keeps forward-deployed vessels undermanned, forecloses training for the sake of operations, and deprives ships of needed maintenance," Benson wrote.
Such conditions increase and compound the risk that commanders and crews face, he added.
"At the unit level, accurately evaluating accumulated structural risks, and developing and implementing appropriately-calibrated measures to protect against organizational drift in those conditions, is almost impossible," Benson concluded.
About Geoff Ziezulewicz
Geoff is a senior staff reporter for Military Times, focusing on the Navy. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was most recently a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
Bryce Benson NavyUSS FItzgeraldFitzgerald collisionFitzgerald CO defends himselfFitzgerald CO speaks outNavy SecretaryCNOJohn RichardsonBryce Benson court martialLt. Natalie CombsBrian Fort report7th FleetSEVENTH FLEETJapanACX CrystalSouth China SeaJustin HendersonAnti-Submarine Warfare OfficerASWUSS McCambellSarah CoppockSPS-67 RadarCASREPNavy casualty reportDestroyer Squadron 15North KoreaJapan Maritime Self Defense Force


Jesús Soto in conversation with Ariel Jiménez is the fourth title of the Conversations series, and presents the dialogues between the renowned Venezuelan kinetic artist, Jesús Soto (1923-2005), and the art historian Ariel Jiménez. Based on the book Conversations with Jesus Soto, originally published by the Cisneros Foundation in 2001 and 2005, this edition has been expanded and revised with the inclusion of illustrations of some of the artist's key pieces. Product of more than nine years of interviews, these conversations offer a unique insight into the fascinating career of Jesus Soto.
Jesús Soto was born in Venezuela in 1923, and has distinguished himself for his participation in the development of kinetic art in Paris in the fifties and sixties, as well as for his subsequent work in the movements of geometric abstraction in Venezuela. Soto is recognized today as one of the most important Latin American artists of the twentieth century.


text:
Charles Bertie (1683-1727) est un homme politique conservateur anglais qui siège pendant quelques années pour le district de New Woodstock.

Biographie
Il est le sixième fils de Robert Bertie (3e comte de Lindsey) et le fils aîné de la troisième épouse de Lindsey, Lady Elizabeth Pope. En 1698, il est nommé homme libre d'Appleby-in-Westmorland. Lors de l'élection de 1705, il se présente dans l'arrondissement de New Woodstock, Oxfordshire, sous le patronage de son demi-cousin germain, Montagu Venables-Bertie (2e comte d'Abingdon), alors Lord Lieutenant de l'Oxfordshire. Comme le reste de sa famille, il est conservateur et vote contre le candidat à la présidence des Communes, John Smith, en 1705.

Lors de l'élection de 1705, le duc de Marlborough, à qui le don par le roi du Palais de Blenheim a procuré une grande influence à Woodstock, a organisé l'élection de son homme de confiance, le général William Cadogan, comme député de l'arrondissement. Lors de l'élection de 1708, Marlborough remplace Abingdon en tant que Lord lieutenant du comté et son influence est telle que Bertie ne se donne pas la peine de se présenter à l'élection. Abingdon a peut-être envisagé de le nommer pour l'Oxfordshire lors de l'élection de 1710, mais choisit finalement Francis Clerke, dont le neveu a épousé Catherine, la cousine germaine de Bertie. Sous le ministère Harley, Bertie tente d'obtenir un poste de capitaine dans les Gardes mais n'a pas réussi.

Le  il épouse Mary (décédée en 1725), fille de Thomas Browne d'Addlethorpe et veuve de Nicholas Newcomen de Theddlethorpe. Après sa mort, le , il épouse Mary, fille du révérend Henry Marshall. Il n'a pas d'enfants. Après sa mort, le , il est enterré à Theddlethorpe, laissant son domaine à Lord Albemarle Bertie, son demi-petit-neveu.

Références

Personnalité politique anglaise
Naissance en 1683
Décès en août 1727

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Dixy Chicken Franchise Business Opportunity, Dixcy Chicken Planning to expand in all Tier1, Tier2 Cities of India.
Dixy Chicken, a joint venture with Dixy Chicken Euro Ltd. in U.K, which operates 91 Restaurants in U.K, New Zealand & Saudi Arabia. The Joint venture is committed to the long-term growth of the Indian Economy of which F&B is going to be a very strong driving factor. ..
Dixy Franchise Program, India & Dixy Family Restaurants.
Dixy Chicken Machinery Brands and Model numbers are the exact same as the Worlds best as also our Raw Material suppliers such as Venky, Midas Foods, Cremica, McCain's, Kamini Oil etc..Even our Breading and Marination powder comes from Dixy UK.
Website www.dixychickenindia.com for more details about our India Programme.
Layout of Dixcy Chicken Franchise.
Cost for Setting up a 500 Sq. Ft Area of Franchise.
Cost for Setting up a 300 Sq. Ft Area of Franchise.
Invest in Franchise Business Model, The Milk Shake Theory - The Company will run the Business on Behalf of you .
"Master Franchise" GAKKAN MATH & CLASSROOM, Japanese based Educational Publication is looking for Master Franchise & Unit Franchise across INDIA.


text:
Houston Astros trade for Zack Greinke; another World Series up next?
Ryan R. Bonini
Sportsbook Wire
The Houston Astros acquired right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke from the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday in a move that could push them over the top as they attempt to win their second World Series title in three years.
Greinke, 35, joins an already loaded group of pitchers in Houston, as Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole were both AL All Stars this year. Greinke was the runner up to the NL Cy Young in 2015 and won it in the AL in 2009.
With Cole likely to disappear via the free-agent market after the year, there is some additional value to having Greinke under contract in 2020 and 2021. Greinke is the league's highest-paid pitcher, per USA TODAY Sports. He's due $34.5 million this year and $35 million in 2020 and 2021.
On the year, Greinke has a 10-4 record with a 2.87 ERA in 22 games, including 22 starts. He has pitched 141.0 innings with 128 K's and a 0.94 WHIP. In 2,804.1 career innings, he has started 436 of 477 games with a 197-122 win-loss record. Along the way, he has 2,563 career strikeouts and a 1.16 career WHIP in the Majors.
Now the oddsmakers will have fun as they assess the lines around the Astros winning the World Series. They've been among the favorite teams all year long, with their most recent odds at +310 to win it all before the Greinke addition… shortly after the news broke, FanDuel Sportsbook pushed them to the top of the list at +290, tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Houston started the baseball season at +550.
The New York Yankees ( +400) round out the top-three teams most likely to win the World Series this year.
New to sports betting and don't understand what these numbers mean?
No worries. At +290 odds, for every $100 you wager you'd see a profit of $290 back if the Astros win it all.
Had you bet $100 on the Astros to win at the beginning of the year at the +550 odds, you'd have a winning ticket of $650 ($550, plus your original $100 wager) should they go on to win. Now you'd be looking at a $390 ticket if Houston does win the 2019 World Series…
Burmese python discovered in surprising place
Packers' puzzling goal-line decisions end in disaster
Most bizarre and incredible catches by fishermen in past decade
Where Ad Astra went right and where it went very wrong
UFC fighter makes opponent flinch by screaming in his face during staredown

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


'Elephant In My Mind", Elephant Art Exhibition by Jakraphan Chaijit at Maesa Exhibition Hall, Maesa Elephant Nursery in Maesa Elephant Camp Mae Rim. Exhibition daily until April 16, 2005 from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Contact Tel. 0 5320 6247 - 8.
Get involved in modern art! Feb. 17-20, internationally acclaimed artist Navin Rawanchaikul will host a symposium called "Public Art In(ter) vention" at Chiang Mai University and Lamphun's Hariphunchai National Museum. Artists, curators and art critics, both local and foreign, will talk about the role of art in modern society. Free admission, but seating must be reserved. For more information, please call 0 5389 0277.
Book Launch at The Writers Club and Wine Bar on Thursday February 24, at 7 p.m. The latest book by Chiang Mai resident Bertil Lintner, Great Leader, Dear Leader, Demystifying North Korea under the Kim Clan. There is also an ongoing painting exhibition "Nature in Motion", an exhibition by a promising young Thai artist. The Writers Club is on Rachadamnoen Road, opposite Italian Restaurant 'La Villa'.
Classical Music Concert by Chiang Mai Symphony Orchestra on Friday February 25, 2005, at Kad Theatre (5th Fl. Kad Suan Kaew complex). Season and single concert tickets are available at Kad Suan Kaew information desk, Amari Rincome Hotel, Rimping Supermarkets, Kasem Store, or at Chiangmai Mail.
'Everything Stops for Tea' on Sunday February 27, from noon at the Gymkhana Club Chiang Mai when there is an open day for friends and sponsors to catch up on what the Cricket Alliance has been doing during the last year. Entrance is free, and there will be a Full English Tea, raffle, and lot's of items on sale!
Ang Khang Season Fun Rally will take place on the last weekend in April. The winner will receive a trophy presented by HSH Prince Bhisadej Rajani. More information, please contact the Amari Rincome Hotel, Sales Department.
The Pub on Huey Kaew Road will be showing Aussie Rules Football games again every Friday evening, Saturday lunch time, Saturday evening, Sunday lunch time and Sunday evenings. A schedule of-up-and-coming games will be displayed in the bar. For further details contact Grahame on 0 5321 1550.
Sunday Brunch is a Chiang Mai tradition at the Amari Rincome Hotel and it's more deliciously tempting than ever. Enjoy an abundant selection of mouthwatering meat and seafood BBQ dishes, delicious international favorites, and wickedly indulgent desserts every Sunday at La Gritta Restaurant. Gourmet treats for the whole family. Every Sunday from 11.30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Telephone 0 5322 1130.
Amazing Sandwich Restaurant, since 1998 the Sandwich Specialist in Chiang Mai, serves you daily individual kind of Sandwiches, Baguettes, Subs, Buns or Cold Platters with amazing quality at reasonable prices! You find them at 252/3 Prapokklao Rd. beside Thai Airways office and 20/2 Huey Kaew Rd. opposite Orchid Hotel.
Central Duangtawan Hotel has a daily Dim Sum lunch at their Sunflower restaurant for only 270 baht per person. The menu features a wide assortment of dishes served with special Chinese sauces and traditional Jasmine tea. The Sunflower Chinese Restaurant is open for lunch from 11 a.m. – 2.30 p.m. and dinner from 6 p.m. – 10.30 p.m. Tel. 0 5390 5000 ext. 3227.
Chez Gibus Grill House has a 'Chateaubriant' with diplomas! Chef Alain, the Swiss specialist from Chez Gibus is there from 6 p.m. - 10.p.m. except Sundays. 42 Kampeangdin Road. Make your table reservations on Tel. 0 5327 2712.
Fondue House opposite Central Airport Plaza. Fondues for everybody's tastes. Check it out and let yourself be surprised by tasting their delicious Red wine or Chocolate Fondue. Traditional fondue, but light and tasty. Call for reservation 0 9423 1688 or 0 5320 1551.
Pum Pui, Italian Restaurant da Franco in the middle of town serves not only very special Pizzas, they also serve great Italian wines in 'almost Italian' surroundings. Table reservations with Franco at 0 5327 8209.
Rydges Amora Thapae spoils its guests in their heated beer garden terrace. Enjoy the warmth of the charcoal heaters while you grill your sausages. Beef tenderloin and salmon promotion throughout February at Chillis Restaurant. Open daily from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Car park with direct connection to hotel. For more information contact the Sales Dept. at 0 5325 1531, Rydges Amora Thapae Hotel, Chaiyapoom Road, Chiang Mai.
Tapas Bar at The House now has an extended covered terrace with a middle Eastern-Indian ambience. New exciting dishes on the menu. Tapas bar is open daily from 6 p.m. to midnight. Tel. 0 5341 9011.
The Bear's Den has new management with new opening hours as follows: Monday to Thursday 5 p.m. – 1 a.m., Saturdays and Sundays 12 noon to 1 a.m.. Now every Sunday the BBQ with steak, chicken, pork chop, kebabs or mixed sausages. BBQ served with potato salad, mixed green salad, bread roll and butter for 250 baht per person. Bring your own meat and just pay 120 baht per person plus free-flow sparkling white wine throughout your lunch FREE. The Bear's Den , 233 Jarern Rasd Road, T. Wat Gate, A. Muang, Chiang Mai, Tel/Fax 0 5326 0404.
The Grillstation will have BBQ buffets on February 19 and 26 from 6.30 p.m. onwards. All you can eat for only 240 baht. Marinated spare-ribs and steaks, mixed sausages, potato and cucumber salad with garlic bread are only some of the specialties. Reserve your table in advance at 0 5381 8355 or 0 1883 9361, Grillstation, opposite Pornping Tower, Charoenprathed Road.
To Nobody, German Restaurant in Soi Tewan gives you daily, except Tuesdays, a good opportunity to indulge yourself in treats for your taste buds and discover new delights from Germany. Open for lunch and then for dinner from 5 p.m. onwards. Call Joerg or Sunisa Eisenschmidt at 0 5321 4483 or 0 7183 1202.
Buddhist Meditation class is held every Wednesday at 7.30 p.m. sharp. Venue: The Yoga Studio, 90/1 Rachamanka St., 200 m west of Prappoklao St. junction in the old city. Map at www.yoga-chiangmai.com. Suitable for beginners although everybody is welcome. Call John 0 7172 7500 for more info. Afternoons only please.


Who is Kalango? How does Kalango purchase its products?
What warranties are given by Kalango? Are all products new goods?
What are B-stock articles? What do I do if I don't like the product delivered?
Do I have to pay for the expense of returning an article? Whom do I contact with any kind of feedback?
How do I order something through the webshop? Do I receive an order confirmation?
Does my data get stored? How long will my online order take to be delivered?
Has my order already been shipped? When will my order be shipped? How does the tracking work? What happens, if my delivery has arrived with damage resulting from transport?
What methods of payment are available? I am not home during the day, can I have my order delivered to a different address than my home address?
How do I get more information on a product? I have a complaint. Whom can I contact?
Is there a full Kalango catalogue available? Is there a Kalango retail store I can visit?
Kalango was launched in 2002 by Thomas Mueller-Stoy and Klaus Urban, who are both active musicians in the European Samba scene. Kalango is an internet shop which supplies individual customers as well as music stores. Decades of musical experience as musicians and a profound knowledge of percussion instruments are the lifeblood of the company. Countless journeys to Brazil have enabled us to set up a network of contacts that allow us to offer such a comprehensive choice of instruments and accessories.
How does Kalango purchase its products?
We give a 24-months-warranty on all instruments. In case of faulty material we reserve the right to replace the damage by either exchanging the instrument or substituting the defective part. Generally excluded from this rule are any damages caused by inappropriate use, as well as articles subject to normal wear-and-tear, such as drumsticks, mallets, drumheads and strings. CDs, sheet music, books and DVDs are also excluded from this warranty. Here you can find further information in our section about Cancellation and returns for customers.
All Kalango instruments and accessories are new goods. Usually manufacturers and wholesalers deliver the instruments to us in their original packaging. An exception to this can be instruments which are hand-crafted in small workshops which we then carefully package for transport ourselves. Articles with minor and mainly optical defects or slight traces of use which don´t impair the use of the instrument in any way are marked as B-stock and are sold exclusively as such. These instruments are not included in the regular online catalogue.
B-Stock articles are products that were either presentation samples at exhibitions, returns with slight traces of use or products with minor transport defects caused while being shipped from Brazil. The deficiencies of the instruments are absolutely minor meaning they have no influence in their sound quality. B-Stock goods are always new goods, but maybe with a small scratch or dent, a mark in the colouring or slight traces of use. Sometimes there is no original packaging for those products any more, then we ourselves take care of appropriate transport wrapping. Of course, our B-Stock products all have full warranty and include the Cancellation and returns!
You can find information about returns in our section about Cancellation and returns.
Who pays for return shipping if I want to send something back?
You can find information in our section about Cancellation and returns.
Please contact us by phone +49 8572 963571 or e-mail us to info (at) kalango.com and we will offer you competent assistance and do our best to find a good solution.
We always enjoy having personal contact with our customers. Of course, we are particularly pleased to get positive feedback :-), but any kind of feedback, requests, or suggestions are important to help improving our work and therefore are just as welcome! The best way to reach us is by e-mail: info (at) kalango.com.
How safe is it to pay by credit card?
How do I order something through the web shop?
If you prefer not to register, you can shop on the site as an unregistered guest client. In either way, you can browse through our website and put articles in your shopping cart without any obligation. Any products placed in the basket can be removed or the quantity can be changed. Also you can check the shipping costs with the shipping calculator by viewing your cart and selecting your country. When your shopping cart is complete, procede to the check-out. View your cart, complete the registration, choose how you´d like to pay and double check if everything is ok. By clicking the button [Complete payment] your order becomes binding. For more information about concluding the contract, please see our Terms and conditions.
All instruments and accessories on our website marked with "delivery time 2-5 days" (for EU countries) are in stock in our warehouse. Shipments leave our warehouse each workday at 2:00 PM. Orders received until noon are shipped on the same day. Please have in mind that if you chose prepayment as your payment method, delivery time depends on when the bank confirms us that your payment has been booked, which usually takes a couple of days. In Germany, delivery time is 1-2 working days. As a foreign client on the European mainland, delivery time is 2-5 business days. If you live outside the EU, there might be customs procedures in your country which might influence delivery. We can't influence custom procedures, so please expect that it might take some extra time for your delivery to arrive.
We ship on every German workday (Mo-Fri) at 2 PM. Orders that reach us by noon can be sent the same day. Please have in mind that if you chose prepayment as your payment method, delivery time depends on when the bank confirms us that your payment has been booked, which usually takes a couple of days. So if you need your order urgently, pick PayPal or creditcard as method of payment. Normally we ship with DHL. The shipping takes 2-5 business days for orders within the European continent, to third countries (non-EU countries) it might take longer due to customs procedures which we cannot influence. When your order is picked up from our warehouse, you will receive an email with a link and your tracking number with which you can check the status of your order online. If you haven´t received the e-mail with your tracking information, please check your spam. If your order has been shipped in more than one package, you will receive separate tracking numbers - one for each box.
Make sure to check your delivery immediately upon receipt for completeness and possible damage. The shipments are insured against loss and damage and we consider it very important to provide good packaging for our instruments. Still, it may happen that a delivery suffers a damage from transport. If a box is delivered with an obvious damage, make a photo of it, unpack it in front of the postman and check, if everything is ok. If not, please refuse to accept the delivery. It does help us greatly to file our own claims against the logistics provider or the cargo insurance, which terminates in the moment you accept the delivery.
All our clients can use PayPal or credit card (Visa/Master) as method of payment. Additionally, there are further country-specific options. In your shopping basket or when proceeding to the shop check-out, you can view all methods of payment possible for your country and choose the one that suits you best.
All of the instruments and accessories offered in our shop have one or more product photos, a detailed description and a technical information board. Also, most of our products have sound and / or video files so you can hear and see the instrument in action. Click on the instrument you are interested in and scroll down a bit. Many of the products have photos from different angles so you get a good view of it. By clicking on the photos, you can enlarge them. There´s also information about the brand, the manufacturer or artist who builds the product so you know where the instrument comes from and who made it. The feature we think is really handy is the sound files and video samples. With them, you can get a very real impression of the actual sound and also get a live-view of the instrument being played. If you need more specific information or you have questions about a product, you are of course always welcome to contact us via e-mail or telephone.
Is there a full Kalango catalogue available?
Is there a Kalango retail store I can visit?
We want to concentrate on giving great service on our online-shop. The Samba scene is spread all over Europe, so running a retail shop is not our concept. But with our booth we go to many Samba festivals and music exhibitions, check our Blog and Facebook Site for details where and when we are around - drop past and meet us personally!
For a personalised offer, please contact us via e-mail. Let us know exactly, what instruments in which sizes, colours, etc you want. We also need your personal information so that we can put the correct tax and calculate the shipping costs: name of the company/institution/band, your name, street name and zip code, city and country, e-mail address, telephone number and contact person. If you prefer talking to someone in person, please drop us a line and we will call you back.
Please check if your name, street name and -number, zip code and c/o details are correct before sending your order.
If you do notice you forgot something, please contact us immediately. Once the package is on its way, we can't arrange changes.
When receiving your order, it is important that you check if there are any damages resulting from the transport, please see the section for damage resulting from transport for details.
Shipping and return of berimbaus - how does it work?
Purchasing berimbaus: Due to their bulky size, berimbaus can only be shipped within EU-countries. Return costs for berimbaus (bulky items) when exercising the cancellation right are at the customer's own cost and responability.
Our storekeeper will then give everything and pack up your order at lightening speed. Pay via bank transfer always means a couple of days delay until the money is booked, so this is not a good idea if you are in a hurry with your order. Please note that orders to non-EU countries have to pass customs which we don't have any influence in!
Do you have other questions, or need help? We are looking forward to hearing your questions!
Contact us - we´re happy to help!


1969 ford mustang fuse box Our ten tech center team headed up by jason scudellari and righthand man christian arriero gathered up everything necessary from custom autosound to turn a 1969 ford pickup into a the blukit After shortening the ecm and tcm wiring by 56 inches integrating it into the c10s chassis and swapping the fuse mustang ii parts from scotts hot rods in california. Brett even went as far as For this post we decided to focus on one of the most popular performance platforms consumers have loved to tinker with since the early 1960s the venerable ford mustang stainless radiator cover.
1969 ford mustang fuse box As sai hasnt built one since 1969. However cardomain doesnt have the correct tag for the new shelbys. The shelby gt was built in 2007 and 2008 and has since been discontinued. Every shelby gt Still the silverado is the second best selling truck in america behind the ford f 150 so any changes however slight they may appear matter in this ultra competitive segment. The current generation A 98 ford mustang cobra 4.6l 32 valve v 8 dohc engine flows maximum the gauges and other dash accessories were connected to the american autowire fuse box and wiring harness. A sports car.
1969 ford mustang fuse box Related fords 2015 mustang ecoboost plays the game of give and fake with engine sounds what it really comes down to is disclosure. Dressing up a turbocharged four cylinder to sound like a v6 is General motors says this defect is caused by a fractured circuit wire in the underhood bussed electric center ubec which is similar to a fuse box. Apparently the ubec is in a high heat area of the Gm climbed on the high output integrally regulated alternator bandwagon far earlier than ford introducing its reliable first generation 10 si alternator as an option on some cars in 1969 before ..
Hell ill even reluctantly ignore if an owner ordered their cars ignition key painted to match the exterior color specced the fuse box covers covered in leather or actually likes the optional.
It's possible to get or download caterpillar-wiring diagram from several websites. If you take a close look at the diagram you will observe the circuit includes the battery, relay, temperature sensor, wire, and a control, normally the engine control module. With an extensive collection of electronic symbols and components, it's been used among the most completed, easy and useful wiring diagram drawing program. 1969 Ford Mustang Fuse Box. The wiring diagram on the opposite hand is particularly beneficial to an outside electrician. Sometimes wiring diagram may also refer to the architectural wiring program. The simplest approach to read a home wiring diagram is to begin at the source, or the major power supply. Basically, the home wiring diagram is simply utilized to reveal the DIYer where the wires are.
In a parallel circuit, each unit is directly linked to the power supply, so each system gets the exact voltage. There are 3 basic sorts of standard light switches. The circuit needs to be checked with a volt tester whatsoever points. 1969 Ford Mustang Fuse Box. Each circuit displays a distinctive voltage condition. You are able to easily step up the voltage to the necessary level utilizing an inexpensive buck-boost transformer and steer clear of such issues. The voltage is the sum of electrical power produced by the battery. Be sure that the new fuse isn't blown, and carries the very same amperage.
The control box may have over three terminals. After you have the correct size box and have fed the cable to it, you're almost prepared to permit the wiring begin. Then there's also a fuse box that's for the body controls that is situated under the dash. 1969 Ford Mustang Fuse Box. You will find that every circuit has to have a load and every load has to have a power side and a ground side. Make certain that the transformer nameplate power is enough to supply the load that you're connecting.
1964 ford fairlane fuse box 1966 ford falcon fuse box 1984 ford mustang fuse box 1969 ford fuse box diagram 1968 mustang fuse box 1969 dodge dart fuse box 1969 ford mustang gas cap 1967 ford ltd fuse box.


This property is 4 minutes walk from the beach. Located in the very centre of Velipoja, Hotel Valz offers an outdoor pool, a fitness centre and rooms completely renovated in 2017. The renovated on-site restaurant and bar serves traditional and Italian cuisine and a variety of drinks on a spacious terrace. Free WiFi and parking are provided.
All rooms are air-conditioned and fitted with colourful modern furniture. Satellite TV, a seating area and a mini fridge are present in each unit. Private bathroom provides a shower and free toiletries.
The property also offers 24 hour front desk service and a tour desk and ticket service. Laundry service is available, as well as currency exchange and an ATM. There is a children's corner on site and guests can relax on the covered patio.
Just 100 m from Valz Hotel is the main town promenade with numerous shops, stores and restaurants. The town beaches can be reached in just a few steps.
Shkoder is 30 km away from Hotel Valz. The Main Bus Station is 100 m away, while the nearest airport is in Tirana, 100 km from the property.
Hotel Valz has been welcoming Booking.com guests since 29 Jan 2013.


Get some inspiration for your next weekend getaway with our top 10 destinations for weekend trips! New York to California and everywhere in between: get the scoop on where to go.
We get it, you're young and love to travel but you're not a millionaire. If you're hungry for travel, looking for places you can explore for a total bargain, look no further. These locations from around the world are our top picks for cheapest places to travel as a 20-something. It has never been this easy (or cheap) to see the world!


Lake Ridge Schools and its building corporation filed a complaint last year in federal court arguing that the Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co., N.A. should credit $120,882.83 in construction bond funds after a fraudulent payment was made.
The payment didn't follow established procedures and was requested while the district's business manager, who signed off on payment requests, was on vacation, according to the lawsuit.
In an order earlier this month, Chief Judge Theresa Springmann, in Hammond, sided with New York Mellon Trust and granted their motion to dismiss the suit, finding that the district did not make a sufficient claim.
The money was part of a $7 million construction project completed at Calumet New Tech High School about a year ago, according to Superintendent Sharon Johnson-Shirley.
The district created a building corporation in 2015 to fund the project, and the business manager was designated as the corporation's representative to sign off on payment request, according to the lawsuit.
On Oct. 12, 2016, the bank received a request for $120,882.83 from the business manager's email account, "which an unknown third-party had hacked," court records state.
The business manager was on vacation at the time and an automatic out-of-office email notification was sent to a bank employee a few days before this payment request, court records state.This should have prompted bank employees to question whether it was fraudulent, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claimed that there were discrepancies with prior payments. There was a different font and formatting that was pixelated, and past payments were by generally by check, but this was a wire transfer, court records state. Plus, the first attempted payment was rejected and it had to be reissued the next day, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit didn't show, though, that the bank and its employees were negligent or committed misconduct when they didn't identify the payment as fraudulent, the judge said. The employees did what they were supposed to as part of the agreement between the district and the bank, the order states.
That agreement addressed this issue and said the building corporation would "assume all risks" in these types of cases, and the bank "cannot determine the identity of the actual sender of such instructions," court records state.
Johnson-Shirley previously said that the money was likely diverted to entities in Africa.
School officials and the building corporation contacted police, and the FBI determined the email account was not hacked internally within the district.
The fraudulent transfer was discovered after a second payment request on Oct. 18 was caught and stopped, according to the lawsuit.


text:
Tom Clancy's The Division 2 Review
Total Score - 8.5/10
Pros: Stunning, well-designed environment, Gunning and grinding gameplay is fun and rewarding, Matchmaking is easy and simple, Well done game launch.
Cons: Story is barely existent and badly written, Missions become repetitive
After the long-running, sometimes warm, sometimes lukewarm reception of Destiny 2 (I never made it more than half a dozen hours or so), the far more recent consumer disappointment in Anthem, and with Borderlands 3 still off in the distance, The Division 2 has found itself in both a state of opportunity and trepidation. Loot shooter enthusiasts, hungry for the next generation of games, are also weary of dropping triple-A cash on another game that either stumbles out of the gate or limps to the finish line over its expected multi-year lifespan. With those concerns in mind, I am happy to report that The Division 2 lives up to nearly every expectation. The post-apocalyptic city is home to action-packed story missions in unique locations, dangerous open world encounters, three thrilling Player vs Player vs Environment Dark Zones, and enough to see and do to satisfy both short-time players and long-term gear grinders.
The Division 2 takes place 7 months later and 225 miles further southwest from The Division in an evacuated Washington D.C. The Green Flu epidemic that devastated New York City, killing millions, throwing the city into chaos, and triggering mass evacuations, has become a global pandemic. The Division is an organization of seemingly ordinary people who were activated to prevent the downfall of society, strengthening and restructuring governments at every level, to help preserve the way of life.
A ruined Washington D.C. is a beautiful disaster. Much like The Division's New York City, Washington D.C. is lovingly recreated in exhaustively researched detail, and then filled with post-apocalyptic horror. The streets, parks, monuments, offices, apartments, and overgrown foliage are filled with executed civilians, body bags, mountains of contaminated biomaterial, trash, furniture, and all kinds of combat cover like abandoned vehicles, emergency response checkpoints, concrete barriers, and some unusually robust tarp covered fences. D.C. itself is a living, breathing organism, with a day/night cycle and weather system that offers rainy nights and foggy mornings that make the same street feel very different when approached from a different angle at a different time. Office building blocks, the National Mall with its monuments, underground tunnels, building interiors, and apartment blocks all look and feel very different and make for fun exploration and sight-seeing, and wildlife such as deer, raccoons, foxes, cats, and dogs wander the city uninhibited.
Missions take place in unique, distinctive environments that are as interesting to explore as they are to fight in. Famous monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial and the US Capitol become strongholds for enemy factions, and missions find you fighting through the Air and Space Museum, American History Museum, the Space Administration HQ, and many other locations. The added benefit in a loot shooter such as The Division is that as long-term players go back and replay missions, there's plenty of variety of environment, plus plenty to see that wasn't noticed on previous playthroughs, and make good use of The Division 2's built in photo mode.
I played The Division 2 on the Xbox One S in 4K. The One S had a difficult time keeping up with the intense graphical requirements. Graphic rendering is a constant issue, as textures at moderate distance appear significantly blurry for several seconds until fully rendered. Running through the city augments this effect as the graphics struggle to keep up. Once rendered, however, the attention to detail and the horrible beauty all around cannot be ignored.
The combat system stays true to the first Division, which is a welcome comfort. The Division 2 is a 3rd person cover shooter that allows players to carry two primary weapons – choosing among rifles, assault rifles, submachine guns, light machine guns, marksman rifles, and shotguns – a sidearm with unlimited ammunition, and two skill powers with a large variety of offensive and defensive capabilities. After completing the story and reaching the highest level, one of three specializations that offer a high-end weapon with rare, specialized ammunition. Upgrading these weapons and wearable armor with higher level version with better stats, specializations, and modifications is the name of the loot shooter game.
You'll need every advantage you can muster, as enemy AI is clever and will constantly keep you on your toes. Enemies will constantly reposition, making use of different types of attackers to keep you off balance and moving. Some attackers will rush in and try to flank you with melee attacks, suicide bombs, or flamethrowers. Machine gunners will lie down prone and try to keep you suppressed while other attackers do their work. Snipers hang back and above and deploy some devastating attacks if you stay in their view for too long. And heavily armored elites will constantly move toward you, sometimes carrying large machine guns, sometimes swinging a devastating sledgehammer. Taking on a squad requires strategy, patience, and proper use of skills and weapons or you can be quickly overwhelmed.
Environmental aspects such as direction of sunlight and weather change how you should approach objectives.
Bullet sponge enemies from the first Division have changed into enemies with armor that will break off if you keep attacking certain pieces of it, so while you can still empty multiple magazines of the hardest hitting weapons into one guy without killing him, a strategic player can take them down far more quickly by focusing on one place until the armor breaks off and their health can finally be damaged.
Fighting through museums while automated tours play in the background make for surreal situations, and they're a whole lot of fun.
Every part of the game can be completed single handed. At no point are you required to join in with a squad of friends or random other players to be take on the open world, missions, side-missions, the Dark Zone, or anywhere else in the game. However, playing through missions on even a normal difficulty level alone is challenging at least and near impossible at worst. Fortunately, there are a number of easy, low/no commitment matchmaking options for teaming up. I completed most of the missions in a group with random other players who were all at about my progression level. By simply walking up to the start of the mission area and selecting match make, I was joined in with a group already in progress at the beginning of the mission. While matchmaking with random other players isn't perfect, and will sometimes send you back to saferooms away from the group, it was a reliable way to take on difficult missions, play to the end, and drop out of the party, never to see the group again. There are several other matchmaking options for open world exploration, side missions, the Dark Zone, and a rarely used feature for jumping in to help out someone requesting assistance. I tried this option a few times, but rarely found anyone looking. It's a nice feature that seems to have been better in theory than in execution. But The Division 2 is truly at its best when played with friends. The heyday of couch co-op may be long behind us, but playing alongside people you know and sharing a mission with them is still the best way to experience The Division 2.
The Dark Zone is back from the first Division game, this time in three segments around the city. The Dark Zone is a unique region of the game map and these zones are the only places in the game where PvP takes place. Here, Division agents routinely betray each other to steal gear obtained from the AI enemies wandering the zone, as well as some specialty high-end gear unique to the Dark Zone. This equipment cannot simply be carried out – it must be extracted by summoning a helicopter and attaching the gear to a rope dropped down. This is signaled to every player in the area and makes for dangerous and thrilling attempts to both protect and extract your own gear, or to attempt to steal gear from other players. Groups of players who know and trust each other (and have to see each other outside the game!) have a greater likelihood of protecting their equipment while not betraying each other. So unless you are a highly skilled lone wolf player, the Dark Zone heavily favors group play.
The weakest part of Tom Clancy's The Division 2 is unquestionably the story and writing. For everything that is great, this is where it really drops the ball. I've greatly enjoyed some of Tom Clancy's classic novels such as The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, The Sum of All Fears, and Clear and Present Danger, and to have Clancy's name included in the title of The Division 2 is an embarrassment. Clancy was an engrossing novelist, dedicating hundreds of pages to explaining in details character motivations, government strategies, personal vendettas, and a myriad of minutia of detail in regards to weapons, vehicles, aircraft, logistics, alliances, relationships, and everything else that goes into creating a vivid story. In fact, an entire chapter of The Sum of All Fears takes place in a time frame of 30 nanoseconds, as Clancy details each step in the sequence of a bomb detonation.
This little pop-up window and a 20 second cutscene is how a major plot development is handled.
In The Division 2, you start out battling Hyenas, who are organized street thugs. Then you move on to fighting the True Sons, who seem to be a structured independent militia. Next come the Outcasts, which one loading screen described as a group of asymptomatic Green Flu carriers who seem to like playing with fire. And lastly, once you reach level 30 and complete all the main story missions, a screen pops up that says the Black Tusks have moved in throughout the city. This major development in the story is done through a 20 second map flyover, where areas of the map turn a reddish color.
I have never in my life seen a game with so much story potential so blatantly, so recklessly, so haphazardly mishandle its plot. The first Division set up such an interesting world, full of possibilities and intrigue, and The Division 2 does absolutely nothing with it. You play the team with the orange circles who want to make D.C. great again, you protect and fight with the guys with green health bars with the extra-cheesy dialog, and you shoot at the guys with the red health bars who swear a lot and seem thrilled to cause human suffering, fight bosses with yellow health bars that sometimes have names you've rarely heard before and will immediately forget, and occasionally get ignored and completely optional voicemails from the unseen antagonist from the first game.
While the plot junkie and story enthusiast in me weeps at the lackadaisical way the plot is handled, what would have killed an ordinary game for me is sadly acceptable in a loot shooter. Anthem has taken much flak for shoehorning story into a game where the majority of its target audience truthfully couldn't care less. Sure, my first playthrough of a story mission, I'd like to know more about who I'm trying to take this TV station away from, what are the overall goals of the True Sons, and the emotional motivating factors driving level end boss Captain firstname lastname to beat me to death with the butt of his rifle, but in the overall scheme of things, it doesn't really matter. The Division 2 is neither going to force me to care about the plot and characters, nor make not knowing punishable. And even if I do care the first time, am I going to care the 10th time playing this mission as I grind toward higher gear?
Loading screens give far more information about the story than the actual story does.
Yes, the Division 2 knows that its longevity of enjoyment depends on players enjoying the grind, constantly getting better weapons and gear, and then having at each other in the Player vs. Player vs. Environment Dark Zone, and it does so exceptionally well. The city is populated with a base of operations for Division agents, various settlements around with their own projects, priorities, and people, plenty of landmarks to visit and explore, side missions to complete, loot of various importance and usefulness to discover and use, safe houses to unlock, and control points that need conquering and maintaining to upkeep. Even apart from all that, simply wandering the streets provides plenty of opportunities for engagement, as it's common to find roving groups of enemies or allies out looking for supplies or on patrol. Frequently, you'll stumble upon these groups engaged with one another, and can carefully sneak up on the group and finish off their remaining health before they even know what hit them. These engagements aren't even limited to allies vs. enemies, and opposing enemy groups will also fight amongst themselves, allowing you to pick off the wounded remainder.
There are garden variety problems with The Division 2, of course. I've encountered my share of bugs that cause me to sprint full speed in place as my left pinky toe is caught on some invisible 2-inch high barrier. Matchmaking with random groups will sometimes spawn you several hundred yards away from the group, surrounded by higher-level enemies who are very quick to bash your head before you even get your bearings. The ambient dialog is badly written and almost unbearable to listen to. And for all its beauty and detail, I can't help but wonder if Washington D.C. is just too similar of a location to New York City from the first game. As I pass through yet another trash-filled alley or ruined, flooded, wrecked basement, I can't help but wonder if I'd know it if the scene were just lifted The Division. If the series continues, I would like to see Ubisoft tackle something more foreign and distinct, like a Hong Kong, Tokyo, São Paulo, or Mexico City, and really let a foreign ruined world shine through.
This is Washington D.C., but could easily be mistaken for New York in the summer. An exotic location might be a good change-up for the future of the series.
The Division 2 is a fantastic action-shooter that invites players to take their own approach to a beautifully ruined Washington D.C. Whether you're just there as a single player for the story missions, a completionist looking to get every collectable and solve every puzzle, a PvP fanatic ready to take on anyone in the Dark Zone, an explorer out to take stunning post-apocalyptic photos in every type of weather and see the world, or a long-term player grinding out levels over and over to get the very best gear, there's something for you. Though the story is a badly tacked-on afterthought and the writing is shoddy at best, and the nature of the game means repetitive encounters with similar looking enemies, The Division 2 delivers a winning entry in the loot shooter genre. It's an engrossing way to spend 40 hours or 4000 hours and the relatively bug-free release and planned future content mean that it will be around and active for the long haul.
Share Everywhere!
Tagged with: PC PS4 Review The Division 2 The Division 2 Review Xbox
Adam Ferrero
Review: Total War Three Kingdoms : Mandate of Heaven
Weekly Spotlight #2 - Best Xbox Games Under $15 - Child of Light
Weekly Spotlight #1: Best Xbox Games Under $15
Report: Xbox Series X Model Looks To Tower Over This Generation's Consoles
Fortnite New Update Let's You Make Your Own Game Mode
Xbox Looking For Ways to Reinvent 1 vs 100


text:
Bharatanatyam, the Solo Dance Style of Tamil Nadu
Bharatanatyam is the famous form of lasya dance practised for centuries in India's southernmost state, Tamil Nadu. It is often claimed that it is the oldest form of dance still being performed in India. This is emphasised by its present name, given to it in the 1930s, which means "Bharata's dance", which refers to the name of the legendary author of the 2nd century AD Drama Manual, the Natyashastra.
Bharatanatyam from Tamil Nadu is the best known of all the lasya-style solo forms Sakari Viika
Bharatanatyam is now best known as a solo form, most often performed by women. However, male dancers also perform it every now and then. It is also known that group dances and even dance-dramas in this style were common earlier. Bharatanatyam's classical repertoire was enriched by new compositions in the 20th century, and during recent decades its technique has also served as the basis for contemporary choreographies.
Its History
Bharatanatyam, as well as the other lasya style solo dances, has its roots in a certain type of dance that had already been described in the Natyashastra in the 2nd century AD. It seems that this kind of solo form, in which the soloist presents an entire story by herself by enacting all its characters, was widely known in India during that time.
During the Middle Ages, around the 10th century, bharatanatyam became a style mainly practised in Tamil Nadu, while other, nearly similar sub-categories of this genre evolved in other parts of India. There exists an exceptionally vast amount of literary, sculptural and historical evidence by which the history of bharatanatyam can be reconstructed.
The heyday of bharatanatyam was during the Chola dynasty in the 10th–11th centuries, when the southern temples had hundreds of devadasis in their service to take care of the dance rituals. Court dancers seem to have also practised a similar style.
Reliefs showing basic karanas or basic dance units at the Chidambaram temple in Tamil Nadu, c. 9th century Jukka O. Miettinen
Several of the South Indian temple complexes have reliefs showing the poses of bharatanatyam. The most famous of them are those carved on the 9th century towering gateways of the Shiva temple in Chidambaram. They include ninety-three of the 108 karanas or basic dance sequences described in the Natyashastra.
These small relief panels, together with other similar series and contemporaneous murals depicting dancers, constitute important source material when one is trying to reconstruct the development of bharatanatyam.
Another important phase in the development of bharatanatyam happened in the early 19th century, when four brothers, Chinnayya, Ponnayya, Vedivelu and Sivanandam, shaped bharatanayam's repertoire. They were all disciples of the composer Muthuswami Dikshitar. The four brothers are also known as the "Tanjavur Quartet", referring to the city where they worked.
It is believed that the Tanjavur Quartet focused on the solo form of bharatanatyam, which, in fact, had earlier also been performed (and still is today) as a dance-drama, such as bhagavatamela and kuvaranji. They are now nearly extinct, although attempts have been made to revive or reconstruct them.
During the British colonial period the decline of the devadasi institution into prostitution led to a censorship of temple dances, which were finally prohibited by law in the 1920s. The revival of bharatanatyam was started in the 1930s by an upper-caste revivalist, Rukmini Devi, who also gave the style its present name.
Bharatanatyam is today the most widely spread of all Indian dance styles. It is studied and performed around India and abroad. Many brilliant artists have enriched its repertoire, among them being Balasaraswati in the mid-20th century, renowned for her expressive abhinaya technique, and later Alarmel Valli with her exquisite technique.
The Technique
Like other lasya forms, bharatanatyam also aims to convey the rasa sentiment through movements, poses, gestures and facial expression Sakari Viika
In its tiniest details bharatanatyam technique follows the instructions of the Natyashastra. Like other lasya forms, bharatanatyam also combines the expressive abhinaya mime with pure nrtta dance. Theoretically the dancer's body is divided into units, such as the head, the torso and the lower body. There are different ways of standing, which dictate the central median and thus the balance of the body.
A co-ordinated sequence of movements, combining the movements and positions of feet, knees, arms, torso, and hands, is called adavu (karana in the Natyashastra). These are divided into nine types, and they form the basis of pure nrtta dance.
In its abhinaya acting bharatanatyam also follows Natyashastra's instructions. Both mudras, the symbolic hand gestures and the facial expression with its chin, eye, and eyebrow micro-techniques, are employed.
The Costuming
The overwhelming sculptural documentation on bharatanatyam's history clearly shows that during the early periods the dancers were very scantily dressed. Different kinds of ornaments were worn on the neck, ears, shoulders, wrists and forearms. Otherwise the costume seems to have consisted only of a small loincloth.
It seems natural that bharatanatyam's nuanced dance technique, which employs the whole body and all the limbs, was indeed meant to be seen in detail, not covered with heavy costume. However, changing moral attitudes, first brought by the Islamic rulers and then by the British colonial administrators, changed the costuming.
Even by the late 19th century photographs of devadasis, who formerly performed bharatanatyam, show them dressed in sari-type costumes. A new kind of dance "uniform" was invented during the period of bharatanatyam's revival in the 1930s. It consists of a sari-kind of basic dress, which is made suitable for dance by the addition of fan-like extensions to its front, which makes the low bending positions possible.
An important addition to the dancer's appearance is given by various ornaments, which follow the ancient conventions seen in old sculptures. Furthermore, henna ornamentation is painted on the hands and feet, while fresh flowers decorate the female dancer's hair.
A bharatanatyam recital is accompanied by classical South Indian Carnatic music. The small orchestra usually consists of a South Indian mrdangam drum, a flute, and cymbals, although other instruments may also be included. The singer has an important role as the leader of the performance by singing the poems of the mimetic abhinaya sections as well as the series of syllables marking the rhythmic patterns of the pure nrtta sections.
The opening number of a bharatanatyam recital is alarippu, an abstract nrtta number, which introduces some basic elements of the technique Sakari Viika
Although it is an abstract nrtta number, alarippu also employs eye movements Sakari Viika
The traditional repertoire of a bharatanatyam recital was to a great extent shaped by the above-mentioned four "Tanjavur Brothers" in the early 19th century. It starts with alarippu, which is a pure nrtta dance introducing different elements of the technique such as the basic stance and its deviations, the foot, arm, and neck movements culminating in the face and eye movements.
After this display of the technique's basic components follows jatisvaram, another pure nrtta number in which the wider movement patterns are combined with a certain type of melody. In the third part called sabdam, the dancer enacts the poem sung by the singer by means of abhinaya technique. It ends with a short, abstract nrtta sequence.
Once the dancer has introduced, in alarippu, the basic elements of the dance, in jatisvaram the combination of a whole series of movements, and in sabdam the abhinaya technique, follows the fourth part, varnam. It is usually the longest and most intricate of all the numbers. All the elements and sub-techniques that have already been introduced are interwoven when the dancer performs a song, partly improvising.The song usually depicts a short episode related to one of the Hindu gods.
Then one or several padams usually follow. By means of the abhinaya technique they also illustrate poems that usually tell about love, either human or divine. In terms of dance technique padams may seem simple. However, they give the performer a chance to display the mimetic abhinaya technique and elaborate the emotional states.
In tillana, the final number, all the various aspects of bharatanatyam and the themes introduced in the beginning finally dissolve into a firework-like, virtuosic pure nrtta dance.
There is no doubt that the traditional bharatanatyam repertoire covers a vast range of human movements from complicated footwork to various micro-techniques and further to mimetic narration. However, nowadays many dancers also admit its limitations and rigidity. This has led to various attempts to revitalise and enlarge the repertoire. New compositions have been created, the history of the style has been researched, and contemporary themes, such as gender and environmental issues, have recently been included in its themes.
Classical Solo Dances, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Orissi, and Kathak
Orissi, Solo Dance Style of Orissa


We are the proud parents of 2 daughters and 5 grandchildren. We make no apology for that fact. We want them to know they are loved and that nothing will ever change that. We have books of pictures and lots of stories to share. We will share those stories day by day as we discover new insights they bring us.
Click on this photo to see our family album.


We document asymmetric announcement effects of consumer sentiment news on United States stock and stock futures markets. While a negative market effect occurs upon the release of bad sentiment news, there is no market reaction for the counterpart good news. This supports the "negativity effect" hypothesis. Notably, this effect seems most likely to occur in salient stocks, which is consistent with the availability heuristic.


Most of us have been showering since a very young age, and that might make the following statement surprising: Many of us make mistakes with every single shower that could affect not only your body and its cleanliness but also the quality of your bathroom and even potentially your water or utility costs.
At Whipple Plumbing, we're here to help educate along with our professional services. Here are three common mistakes you might be making in the shower that you can easily reverse.
For those who like to use a loofah, it can be a great tool for helping you bathe well and reach some spots you might not otherwise be able to. But you have to be careful about its storage – in particular, don't just leave it damp hanging in the shower.
Doing so will keep the loofah in a wet environment, which promotes the growth of bacteria. With enough such growth, you even risk the formation of mold or mildew. If it gets bad enough, this sort of thing can spread to other areas of the bathroom and lead to costly fixes.
Plenty of hair will fall from your head and body during a given shower, and this hair will end up down the drain. Multiply this out by hundreds of showers a year, and you could be looking at some major blockages or clogs down the line.
To avoid this, invest in a basic drain cover that's designed to catch hair. These are easy to clean out quickly and will prevent you from clogs due to hair.
Not only can showering for overly long periods with hot water on run up your water bill, it can also create skin issues. Showers that are too hot and too long can lead to itchy and dry skin, and just like leaving the loofah, they'll also make the bathroom more likely to develop mold damage.
For more on mistakes to avoid in the shower, or to learn about any of the other services our residential plumbers provide, speak to the pros at Whipple Plumbing today.


There are hunters and rifle owners out there who are always taking care of their guns and rifles. They spend a good amount of time and money to keep them sparkling new.
They don't even pay attention to their rifle scopes. Cleaning of scopes, taking a good care of them is as important as taking care of the rifle. You don't have to be ignorant about this!
I remember my friend Alex, he spent his life savings just on his dream trip to Africa. Only to find out that his scope lens was shattered when he reached there.
I wouldn't have felt bad, had this happened with me in an afternoon duck hunt, but this is so disappointing and sad.
Here's the thing, I don't blame Alex or any other average hunter out there. Why?
Because it's not their fault that they don't clean and take care of their rifle scopes.
The modern scopes are robust, built with one piece Aircraft grade Aluminium, and most of them are available at an affordable price hence taking care of a $4000 rifle takes away all the attention.
Here's the deal, either be a man of discipline or just let go and chose to be a victim like Alex. You need to respect your tools, sense of respect is important.
Alright, there's no rose without a thorn and no moon without spots so I'm glad that you're one of the caring guys.
Let's hop directly into the subject, if you're looking for rifle scopes lens cleaning procedures, keep reading, and if you're here to read about how to take care of a rifle scope (along with preventative measures), click here.
You can read both as they have been covered in this post.
How to Clean a Rifle Scope Lens?
To clean a rifle scope lens, you need to take some precautions. Though modern scopes already come with a hard-anodized body which is scratch-proof but when we talk about the lens, treat it just like a lens of your camera.
This is the easiest part, yet you need to take some precautions.
Use a soft brush that comes with your scope (if you don't have one, you can get it from a local store or online through Amazon). Gently clean the lens to remove those large dust particles.
Now, let's take those smaller dust particles out. Use a microfiber (the one you clean your eyeglasses with) and gently wipe the lens in a circular motion.
This procedure usually cleans the lens completely.
Note: Never use a cleaning solution to clean your scope's lens if it isn't graded or suggested by the manufacturing company (I've covered about this in the rifle scope care section in this article). Ask the customer support for their recommendations for a scope lens cleaning solution. I have talked more about this in the scope care part.
This is simple and removes most of the dust, debris, leaves, and grass from the scope and avoids fingerprints as well (No please, don't use your mouth!).
For this, you can use cotton swabs/ cotton ear buds easily available at homes.
Gently roll the bud on the inner edges and voila it's cleaned!
Note: If you don't have a cotton swab, get a thin stick and wrap it with cotton/wool or the microfiber you used earlier to clean the lens.
How To Clean Smudges from the Scope Lens?
To clean smudges and water drops, oils from your rifle scope lens, use cotton swabs dipped in acetone or alcohol and gently clean the lens. Don't use saliva in any way!
How to Fix a Cloudy Scope?
Do you mean cloudiness on the outside part? Or maybe those dry water spots? If you'd bought a scope of a good brand, most of them come with a water-repellent coating.
Simply damp your microfiber cloth a bit (don't pour the solution on the lens) and clean it gently in circular motion. Use a blower or a fabric to dry.
How to Clean Inside of a Rifle Scope?
Not Buying a Cheap Scope!
Seriously, if you bought a cheap one and now you're thinking about disassembling the rifle scope, it's better to get a new and better one. If you open a scope, you're clearly adding more dust to it.
If you're talking about Leupolds, Nikons or Vortex, then don't disassemble them.
Modern rifle scopes are purged with inert gases (Nitrogen) and then are sealed. This is done to prevent fogging. Opening such a scope isn't practical.
Instead, send your scope to the manufacturer (as most of them come with a lifetime warranty) and they will fix that for you.
To be honest, most of us are lazy when it comes to cleaning. We need a quicker and better method to clean the scope lens. So, Lens Pen is to the rescue!
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Thomas Cleaning Rifle Scope with a Lens Pen.
I got to know about Lens Pen when it arrived with my Trijicon scope. It's really user-friendly and does what it claims to do.
The SECRET to Cleaning Your Optics—The LensPen.
If you would like to read instead, I'll just brief you a bit. Lens Pen contains a soft-haired brush on one side and a suction cup-like cleaner on the other side.
Clean the scope with the brush and then use the suction side to clean the smudges or leftover dust particles.
The Lens Pen is not a onetime use item, thanks to the pen cap which contains a graphite filled sponge (you should check the video to learn how to use lenspen).
How Not to Clean a Rifle Scope and Lens?
Don't try to blow away the dust using your mouth (saliva drops and moisture can be counterproductive). Also, saliva is not graded and recommended optics cleaning product! I have literally seen guys spitting and then "cleaning" off the lens.
Don't rub the lens vigorously as it may scratch the lens surface.
Don't use a cleaning solution not recommended for optics.
Never try to disassemble your scope.
Use glass cleaning fabric/brush to remove dust.
Use a cotton swab to clean the inner edges.
For dried water drops, smudges and more resistant dirt, damp the cotton swab or wipes (Kimtech wipes recommended) and clean the optic gently in circular motion.
Use compresses air to clean most of the dirt. Contact-free cleaning is the safest method to avoid fingerprints.
To get rid of fogginess or dirt inside the scope, send it back to the manufacturer as most of the scopes have a lifetime warranty.
How to Clean an Old Scope?
It's totally a different case when it comes to old scopes like scopes from Mossberg and Weaver.
If you're not sure about this, don't do it. Opening a scope is easy, putting it back properly is a pain.
Moreover, you might do more damage than any good to the scope. Once a scope is opened, you will have to open it again some other day.
I would suggest sending it to a professional. Compare the price of your scope to the approximate price of fixing and shipping cost for the rifle scope. If it's worth it, go ahead and if not get a new and a better one.
How to Clean a Spotting Scope?
The best way to clean a spotting scope is by treating it just like any other optic. You don't have to use some unknown household cleaning solution.
Simply follow the same steps as explained for the rifle scopes earlier or just use Lens Pens (I love them!).
How to Take Care of a Rifle Scope?
There's not much to do when it comes to taking care of your rifle scopes. Why?
Because as I had already explained, most of the modern scopes come with all the necessary coatings which make the scope scratch-proof and waterproof.
Don't try to use a cleaning solution on your scope's objective lens. This may destroy the coatings on the lens used to decrease light flares and what not. Use a scope cleaning kit that comes with your scope or use a Lens Pen as suggested above.
Make sure to check turret caps and the mounts regularly. They should be tight. Loose mounts may detach and fall thus damaging your scope. Also, it's hard to zero a rifle with loose mounts.
To avoid movements during recoils, check whether the scope and scope rings are clamped tightly. Not doing so may damage the internal components due to constant recoiling. Moreover, you can't shoot accurately with such a loose arrangement.
Always store your scopes and other rifle optics in a padded wrapping or case. Also, avoid keeping multiple scopes in 1 case, that may cause some serious damage during transportation.
While moving, always detach your scope from the rifle, don't be lazy. It's better to keep the scope in a good condition than to buy another one.
Here's another thing I've noticed a lot among hunters, when not in use, they lean their rifles against a wall, tree or a vehicle.
A slight fall might knock off your scope hence causing misalignment and your scope can even lose the zero.
The best way is to lay your rifle down to the ground.
Clean your scopes regularly, small dust particles are a pain in low light conditions. Always keep a microfiber cloth with you while going out, that's what you would need most of the time.
Don't use rough cloth or cloth that might leave lint on the scope lens. As said earlier, either use the glass cleaning cloth/ Lens Pen or the cleaning kit that came with your scope.
A blow with compressed air can easily remove most of the dust, debris and leaves stuck on the lens. I would say again, contact-free cleaning is the safest cleaning.
To prevent water drops on your scope while hunting in rain or snow, carry your rifle in a downward position and cover the eyepiece with your arm.
For quickly detaching the scope in such weathers you can consider QD mounts (Quick Detachable Mounts).
You can also use sunshades and protective covers that cover the lenses. Though they may prevent water from entering the lenses, they also trap the leaves.
As suggested earlier, traveling hunters who travel through rough terrains or on horses should keep their scopes in a padded bag or using quick detachable mounts in such scenarios is way better.
You can't avoid accidents. Sudden bumping or mishaps are common while hunting.
Though keeping a habit of cleaning your scope regularly and following suggested preventative measures can keep most of the common problems at bay.
Also, don't cheap out. Buy a good quality scope from good brands. Most of them come with a "no explanation lifetime warranty". Such scopes are available in a budget price and turn out to be a profit in a longer run.
I hope this article would've cleared most of your doubts about taking care or cleaning your rifle scope. If not, then please contact me or comment down below.
Any questions and any suggestions are welcome.
Why 308 is the Best for Hunting | Comparing .308 vs .223 and .30-06.
Best Scope for 308 in 2019: Ultimate Unbiased Review and Buying Guide.
Very informative guide and I have been looking around for getting idea about Rifle cleaning because I am planing to buy one as well. can you able to suggest best brand for me?
Great work keep writing .
Lenspen is worth giving a shot!