Waaay back in April of this year, our church held it's annual short term missions auction. I entered a gift certificate for an 8 x 10 unframed drawing again, and anxiously awaited it to sell so I could start planning a new drawing.
This year was a little different; normally, the certificate will sell, and I will have absolutely no idea what the drawing will be until I meet with the winner (like any normal commission I do). However, I knew what it would be before the winner even was presented the certificate.
It's time to start revealing the Christmas gift commissions!!! Are you excited? I am!!!!
Time to complete: Off and on for about a week; the drawing probably only took 5-6 hours!
History: At this year's short term mission's auction at church, Missey was trying to win my gift certificate for an 8″ x 10″ drawing of the winning bidder's choice. She didn't win, and I could see that she was a little frustrated. After talking to one of the chair people for the mission's committee the following morning to make sure this was ok, I approached Missey and said if she was willing to make a donation to the mission's auction, I was willing to do her drawing for her. Everyone was on board, and that's how this drawing got started!
Problems I encountered: This drawing was actually pretty easy. Getting the perspective of the face just right was a little tricky, but once I started getting some shading in I was able to tweak everything to make it look the way it should.
Oh, and the nose. Oh man oh man the nose. Have you ever really looked at a dog nose before? They are so weird looking! Drawing dog noses are tricky, just so you know. It would have been easier if I hadn't lost my kneaded eraser (I can mold it into whatever shape I need, and it also is a very gentle eraser so it is great for only doing light erasing), so there was a lot of going back and forth with erasing and adding graphite back in to get it look the right shape.
Favorite part: Everything. Is that possible? Okay, not everything. I think seeing Missey's expression when I showed her previews at church one morning was priceless. I just love how the drawing turned out. I think this is my best drawing that I've done, so I'm just really pleased with how it turned out.
I also think I should have done more with the grass against the leg to make it look like the leg was more in the grass. You know me, a perfectionist!
How do you get it to look like it's actually fur/grass? Did it take forever to draw those?
It's mostly just shading and tricking the eye to think it sees fur or grass. It's really quite quick to do; actually sketching the dog in and getting the original sketch to look right was more frustrating and time consuming!
Fun tidbits: This is actually the second dog I've drawn that's been commissioned by the wife as a gift to her husband. Both have been so much fun to do, and the other dog will be featured on my Throwback Thursday post in just a couple weeks! I'm finding I love drawing the dogs. I'm thinking I'm going to have to try a cat to see if they're as fun to do. Or a long haired dog; both dogs have been short haired, so that's pretty easy. Maybe one of my cats or my dog will be a model for me someday!
Have you ever thought about having a drawing done of your pet?


text:
package org.hisrc.jsonix.analysis;

import java.text.MessageFormat;

import org.apache.commons.lang3.Validate;
import org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons.xml.bind.model.MPackageInfo;
import org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons.xml.bind.model.MTypeInfo;

public class TypeInfoVertex<T, C extends T> extends InfoVertex<T,C> {

	private final MPackageInfo packageInfo;
	private final MTypeInfo<T, C> typeInfo;

	public TypeInfoVertex(MPackageInfo packageInfo, MTypeInfo<T, C> typeInfo) {
//		Validate.notNull(packageInfo);
		Validate.notNull(typeInfo);
		this.packageInfo = packageInfo;
		this.typeInfo = typeInfo;
	}

	@Override
	public MPackageInfo getPackageInfo() {
		return packageInfo;
	}

	public MTypeInfo<T, C> getTypeInfo() {
		return typeInfo;
	}

	@Override
	public int hashCode() {
		final int prime = 31;
		int result = 1;
		result = prime * result
				+ ((typeInfo == null) ? 0 : typeInfo.hashCode());
		return result;
	}

	@Override
	public boolean equals(Object obj) {
		if (this == obj)
			return true;
		if (obj == null)
			return false;
		if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
			return false;
		@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
		TypeInfoVertex other = (TypeInfoVertex) obj;
		if (typeInfo == null) {
			if (other.typeInfo != null)
				return false;
		} else if (!typeInfo.equals(other.typeInfo))
			return false;
		return true;
	}

	@Override
	public String toString() {
		return MessageFormat.format("Type [{0}]", typeInfo.acceptTypeInfoVisitor(MTypeInfoToString.<T, C>instance()));
	}

	@Override
	public <V> V accept(InfoVertexVisitor<T, C, V> visitor) {
		return visitor.visitTypeInfoVertex(this);
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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In a stunning dual role, international action star Jet Li portrays Gabriel Yulaw, a police officer confronted with a sinister form of himself escaped from an advanced, parallel universe and intent on killing Gabriel. His alter ego's hunt culminates in a fateful battle between good and evil that changes Gabriel's perception of reality and forces him to examine the evil hidden within himself. The One features riveting martial arts and innovative special effects.
© 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Critics Consensus: The One plays more like a video game than a movie and borrows freely from other, better sci-fi actioners, burying Jet Li's spectacular talents under heaps of editing and special effects.
I guess you would call this a twin Jet movie. That doesn't quite take off.
A chaotic kung fu, sci-fi, rama-lama-dingdong on themes handled more originally by The Matrix.
Twaddle of the highest order that makes you wish you had a wormhole of your own to escape into.
Bullets fly, lights flash, action occurs, time goes by, but nothing actually happens.


Invasive Species — IPM Oklahoma!
Invasive species are plants, animals or pathogens that are non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. (Executive Order 13112).


text:
Nick Cannon Celebrates Pregnant Abby De La Rosa's Birthday With Baby Bump Pic
By Sophie Schillaci, ETOnline.com. Published: 27 Oct 2022 11:09 AM
Nick Cannon, Abby De La Rosa — Photo: Getty Images
Nick Cannon is showing the "family love" in a sweet birthday tribute to Abby De La Rosa. The pair are currently expecting a third child together.
"Today we celebrate the Beautiful De La Rosa!! The illest & the realest," Cannon wrote on his Instagram Story, marking her Oct. 25 birthday. "Happy Bornday Mommy!"
In the happy snap, Cannon and De La Rosa cradle her bare baby bump while holding up their 1-year-old twins — Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir. The whole group is sharing a matchy-matchy moment in denim jackets. Cannon and the kids wear white tees and sweatbands, while De La Rosa flaunts her belly in a white bikini top.
Nick Cannon / Instagram
De La Rosa previously announced her pregnancy in June. She is now one of two women that Cannon is currently expecting a child with. On Wednesday, Alyssa Scott announced her pregnancy and ET has learned that Cannon is the father of the baby she's expecting. The two children will be Cannon's 11th and 12th, respectively.
Scott's baby news comes nearly a year after the death of her and Cannon's son, Zen. In December 2021, Cannon announced on his since-canceled eponymous daytime talk show that 5-month-old Zen died of brain cancer and a subsequent tumor. Zen was Cannon's seventh child.
In a recent interview on the Lovers and Friends podcast, De La Rosa opened up about her "polyamorous" relationship with Cannon and her parenting style.
"Me being open in my relationship does not change or take away from the type of mother that I am to my kids." she said. "I'm excited for my kids to grow up and be like, 'Mom and dad, y'all did it your way. And I love that.'"
She added that Cannon brought a "freeing vibe" into her life.
While it's been difficult for many to understand how Cannon juggles a busy career and his growing family, he told ET last month that he dedicates his "entire day" to his children.
"It's not as difficult as people think it would be, but I understand [their concern] because it is a very unorthodox scenario," Cannon explained. "I dedicate probably my entire day to my children. Luckily, we are in a world where I'm blessed with the opportunity. I get to spend more time with my children every single day because of my world and my business model."
Meanwhile, a source told ET that the six mothers of his children "are cordial and respectful to each other for the most part."
"They mostly stick to their own families and what concerns them directly," the source said. "The mothers have great relationships with Nick and he does his best to balance everything, carve out time for everyone, and make sure each mom and their kid(s) feel special, important and loved."
For more on Cannon's growing family, check out the links below.
Nick Cannon and Alyssa Scott Expecting Baby: A Guide to All His Kids
Nick Cannon Takes His Kids to Pumpkin Patch Along With Their Moms
Nick Cannon's Children's Mothers Celebrate Him on His 42nd Birthday
Abby De La Rosa Celebs Nick Cannon

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Search in titles only Search in Films only
"Bad" Movies You Love
medic1
Re: "Bad" Movies You Love
Highway to Hell with Chad Lowe and Kristy Swanson
Clint Hill
Invaders from Mars (1953)
"Nothing is what rocks dream about" ― Aristotle
Hernan Giaggio
Originally posted by medic1 View Post
...Kristy Swanson
Now that's a name I haven't heard or thought of in over a decade.
pabloamigo
Someone mentioned Hudson Hawk earlier, but how about the stone-cold Lehmann classic, Airheads.
Pair with Empire Records for the ultimate mid-90s alt rock double bill!
I really enjoyed Bonfire of the Vanities. Never thought it deserved it's infamy. I also really liked that Orlando Bloom/Kirsten Dunst rom com. If you're depressed, that movie will make you feel good. It super awkward and that Susan Sarandon dance scene, lol, cringeworthy.
Originally posted by RogerOThornhill View Post
Showgirls (1995) Verhoeven was just coming off of Total Recall and Basic Instinct...then there was this slow motion train wreck you have to watch again and again to make yourself a checklist of what not to do when writing/acting/directing. If you do a drinking game and take a shot for every cliché or awful line delivery...you'll only see the first 10 minutes. A career-ender for many of those involved. Don't bother to follow the plot, just sit there in awe for 90 minutes. Awe of just how the studio system let this go from script to watching dailies to a final product.
In hindsight, even screenwriter Joe Eszterhas agrees with you here, albeit not as bluntly, in one of his books (I have several of his books and cannot recall in which book it is that he dissects Showgirls).
When it comes to Hollywood movies, though, it's not as easy (for me) to get on board with a particular screenwriter's movies as it is (for me) to get on board with a particular director's movies (as usual, exceptions are the rule, and here mine is Charlie Kaufman). But almost always, the director takes the credit or the hit, depending upon where the chips may fall.
It's simply the nature of the beast that is a produced movie. The guy calling the shots on set is the director, not the writer. So many hands are involved in making light work of making a movie. It's easier for mere mortal Earthlings to hang their hats on one person—the Director—than to sort out and approve of ALL the team that goes into putting a screenplay on a movie screen.
When some moviegoer says that they liked a movie, they're in effect saying that they like that director... THIS time, on THIS story, with THESE actors— and that the director made the right choices to satisfy the moviegoer's experience with the film. The next time out, the director might not fare as well. Who knows?
So, even when we say we like these "bad" movies, effectively we're saying that despite all industry evidence to the contrary, we're saying that we like the director's version of that "bad" movie.
Quentin Tarantino has amped up the audience appetite for the "bad movie" stereotype and seems to have made them palatable, if not profitable. That could as easily also be a silent commentary on the declining IQ level of an ill-educated, tasteless American audience, too, but scientific data on that is missing here. At first, I was not so keen on QT, but he has improved greatly as a director over the past several years, and his more current movies reflect that growth. But, QT's not the only director in town, either.
Another choice for a "bad" movie is Sin City.
Last edited by Clint Hill; 08-20-2019, 07:49 AM.
Con Air
Originally posted by Friday View Post
Elizabethtown is one of my favorite films of all time for its storyline and nothing else, as is The Notebook. Both have good directors/storytellers at their helm, but if Story is king in Hollywood, then these two films are royalty.
Originally posted by TigerFang View Post
I enjoyed it for its topic (Orlando Blooms characters entire life is imploding). Plus, its quirkiness. Sometimes a movie is so awkward, you just appreciate its charms. There's a small cult of viewers that secretly love the movie. We just keep in the shadows.
nmstevens
Originally posted by Bono View Post
So many movies of course that I love and people hate... Howard the Duck comes to mind. Now I don't know if it stands up to my 41 year old dead inside brain but I loved it since I saw it to age 25 at least...
I'm currently watching Star Trek V. And I love it. It's far from perfect, but what I love about the original series is the relationship of the 3 main characters.
Kirk. Spock. McCoy. And this movie is overflowing with that, some great lines and scenes in maybe a not great movie, but a movie I love.
I could list another 50. But let others jump in. And if you pick Godfather 3, you lose the game. Just kidding.
Okay, it's easy to pick low budget movies like The Beginning of the End (Giant Grasshoppers) or From Hell it Came (walking tree monster) or War of the Gargantuas (actually an Americanized sequel to Frankenstein Conquers the World) -- all of which I not only really love but own copies of and have watched many times.
I don't think it's fair to include those. I think to really get on this list you need to have a genuine A-list movie with major stars that first -- is genuinely awful in every respect but which, purely by virtue of its awfulness achieves its own level of hypnotic obsessive watchability.
And for that, my shining entry in this list boils down to one single movie:
McKenna's Gold.
The single most magnificently, gloriously awful movie in the history of civilization.
this western "epic" cannot be described. It cannot be summarized (well, okay, Julie Newmar plays the Indian maiden, Hesh-ka. It's all like that).
And this is a big movie. BIG. Starring Gregory Peck and Omar Sharif. With Telly Savalas and Burgess Meredith and Edward G. Robinson and Raymond Massey and Ted Cassidy (as the Indian Hachita) and Lee J. Cobb, and Keenan Wynn, and Anthony Quayle and Eli Wallach!
This is perhaps the most star-studded turd in the history of the universe!
Written by Carl Foreman - the guy who wrote High Noon!
No, one does not simply watch McKenna's Gold -- one experiences it, like taking LSD or magic mushrooms, which I strongly suspect everybody involved in the making of this movie must have been taking when they made it.
Watching this movie is truly a life-changing experience. Not for the better necessarily -- but there you go.
RogerOThornhill
As mentioned by previous post...
McKenna's Gold fits the category. They started out with the legend of the Lost Adams Diggings and by the time the stars were all crowded into the pic and the execs made all their changes...the story gets so convoluted it is probably not close to the pic originally envisioned. And as rightfully noted...a LOT of on-screen talent individually doing great, but not meshing into what it could have been.
The shorter version would star Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner (birdus superfastus) running around the canyons toppling boulders on each other.
Mitchell McLean
Soldier (1998) got 12% on Rotten Tomatoes. I kinda liked it.
I love so many
PROOF OF LIFE (is it bad or great?)
SHALLOW HAL ( laughed so loud in the theater)
THE PRINCIPAL 1987
LAST ACTION HERO (great movie)
ALL THE SEGAL MOVIES
LION-HEART VAN DAMME, (I THINK THEY RENAMED THIS CLASSIC I SAW IN THEATER)
SURVIVING THE GAME (TIMELY)
WEEKEND AT BERNIES (to me this is a comedy classic...)
MANNEQUEN
ALL POLICE ACADEMY MOVIES
ROCKY BALBOA (I cried in theater)
HALLOWEEN 2, 3, 4, ORIGINAL SERIES
JASON LIVES IS MY FAVORITE F13 FILM
CHILD'S PLAY 2
NEW NIGHTMARE IS GREAT
RAINMAN (YOU GUYS STOPPED READING THIS RIGHT?)
Well, Weekend at Bernie's is a classic. I think I've seen it like 20 times. Wouldn't mind if they re-release it the way they do other movies.
I also really enjoyed "The Substitute." The special forces guy works as a substitute teacher and starts kicking the local gang's butt. Same reason why I enjoyed Rumble in the Bronx.
lostfootage
Every time Shallow Hal is on, I end up watching the rest of it. It's actually a great movie. Compare it to I Feel Pretty, which was a very limp retread of the same ground. I Feel Pretty was so mediocre I couldn't even hate watch it.


TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Authorities in Tahlequah are trying to determine what sent three teens to the intensive care unit.
According to KOKI, the teens were hanging out at a basketball court when officers found them experiencing seizure-like symptoms.
Authorities say before the seizures started, an adult offered the boys a puff of his e-cigarette.
Police were called after they started showing signs of a medical problem.
Officers say they do not believe the e-cigarette contained nicotine oil. Instead, they suspect it contained K-2, a form of synthetic marijuana.
The man who gave the boys the e-cigarette has spoken with police.


This year's Degree Show at WSA kicked off with Friday's Private View and is now open to the public in a week long display of talent across our Fine Art, Graphic Arts, Fashion and Textile Design and Fashion Marketing and Management programmes.
The Degree Show is open from Monday – Saturday this week from 11:00-18:00 each day. Come along to celebrate the success of our 2016 graduates.
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« WSA Summer Ball – Cocktails, shots and magician now confirmed!


You create a strategic plan, promise the board you will deliver, then communicate it to the team. You think you've covered all of the bases…but the first month in, the sickening reality hits—you're already off base.
Sure the economy is tough. And yes, the competition is doing crazy things.
But your board doesn't want to hear it, and you know your days of peaceful existence as an executive are coming to an end unless you get your management team to perform to expectations—and they get all of THEIR people to perform.
So what are the missing accountability habits that separate the "got it done" from the "excuses run rampant" people?
Revenue is king…but the queen is what makes the king happy. You can't manage revenue because revenue is an historic measure. And how can you change history?
You can't change history, but you can change tomorrow's history by managing the predictive critical drivers today.
Those drivers fall into two categories—frequencies and competencies. Manage those two, and you WILL change your future history.
Every person in your organization has head trash—it is just a matter of how much and of which ones.
"We have to give him our lowest rate—he's a great customer!" Really? Then shouldn't we create more massive value and charge him much more? That's a key principle of every high-performing organization.
"We don't have enough time." Interesting. So how many hours do you have in the day? And how many days do you have in the week? Huh, that sounds like the exact same amount that every Fortune 100 CEO has who is making millions more than you. Perhaps you may want to consider changing how you manage the time you have.
Or one of my favorites: "We need more people." Actually, we probably need one less—YOU. What we need is people with clarity of thought—people who find the fastest way to safer revenue and know how to get there quickly.
The limiting beliefs that people carry are at the core of all non-performance. Period.
Unless they are willing to take out their head trash and understand that the filters telling them why it can't be done are killing their chance of performing, and radically slowing down everyone around them, nothing will change.
Business is just one big accountability system IF done correctly. But there is one distinction that people miss.
If people don't hit their numbers and deadlines, there eventually IS no money for payroll. We're all hired for results—not to nicely fill our chairs.
Managers who accept excuses hold people in a small place. We actually hurt people because we buy into their limiting beliefs that will, inevitably, destroy their ability to create the necessary performance to keep their jobs.
Without a system, there is no predictability of future accountability. It needs to be simple, visible, celebrated, and coached to. But the system must be replicable from manager to manager and job to job.
This is no place for creativity—one simple-to-follow system with expected accountability is a must.
Humans fear measurement. Yet if done right, they love it.
Imagine going to watch a basketball game with no scoreboard. We would spend millions of dollars every year watching men in strange clothing run back and forth across a wood floor. Without the scoreboard, nobody would pay a dime.
Yet when measurement is brought into a bank, people freak out.
Because the measurement is placed ahead of the confidence.
Confidence comes when people know HOW to do their jobs. And it comes through a systematic and ever-increasing level of difficulty starting with the insanely easy so people feel SO confident, they can't wait for the next measurement.
Almost every bank messes this up in a big way by not understanding that culture is a system of ever-increasing and significant measurements.
Avoid the simple yet deadly mistakes most managers make when building accountability systems by understanding how and what to measure—sign up for the free "Measuring What Counts" video course and discover how to create an iron-clad accountability system.
This was one somber and serious bunch.
Then in another branch, I noticed a guy who did 5 times the production of all the other lenders. He was fun. Clients loved him. Employees loved him. He met every setback and near-disaster with a playful spirit.
Those who have a dark cloud over their heads, who see the world as one giant conspiracy against them, rarely perform well. But those who take results seriously tend to take themselves lightly.
Managers who foster an environment of fun out-perform the boring and bored every time.
Bank managers who consistently create great results know that the ability of people to remove obstacles with grace and ease is at the core of their results.
Managers who buy into the idea that an obstacle is an excuse to slow down, stop, or miss a deadline or outcome are sure to cause you to lose your job in the long run because, let's face it, boards are getting cranky about hearing excuses. They can't sell excuses up, so the buck must stop further down the line by making sure managers don't buy excuses in the first place—from their people OR themselves.
It's about a mindset of being powerful and having a "Bring it on!" mantra.


Enrollment is limited and will be filled upon receipt of registration on a first come first-served basis. To increase your chances of getting the session you want, early registration is strongly advised.
In keeping with the theme "Expanding Your Horizons," you will be assigned to one workshop that you did not pre-select. Your $15.00 registration fee covers all conference materials and lunch. If the $15.00 registration fee is preventing you from attending this workshop, please see your teacher about scholarship possibilities.
Logo t-shirts are available for an additional $15.00. If you need more information call Dannica Price at (509)963-2135 or email cots_events@cwu.edu.
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Registration Deadline - February 15, 2019 by 5 p.m.
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Important fund objective changes
Funds with objective changes within the last ten years can be found in the table below.
Fund Event Date Previous objective
Asian Fund Objective change 1 March 2019 The fund aims to grow capital over five years or more.
Core investment: At least 80% of the fund is invested in the shares of companies based in Asia (excluding Japan) and Australasia.
Other investments: The fund also invests in the shares of companies anywhere in the world (except Japan). Typically, these are companies that conduct the majority of their business in Asia. Generally, less than 10% is held as cash or assets that can be turned into cash quickly.
Strategy in brief: The fund manager focuses on finding companies with the potential to improve their future profitability or the ability to sustain a high level of profitability over time. Constructing a portfolio of stocks with different profiles of profitability helps build a diversified portfolio with the potential to cope in different market conditions. The fund manager seeks companies whose future profitability is deemed to be undervalued by the market and looks to invest in companies whose corporate governance practices ensure the business is run in the interests of all shareholders.
Performance measurement: The fund is actively managed. The MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index is a point of reference against which the performance of the fund may be measured.
Corporate Bond Fund Objective change 25 May 2017 The Fund aims to achieve a higher total return (the combination of income and growth of capital) from investment than would be obtainable in UK government fixed interest securities (ie gilts) of similar maturities.
Dividend Fund Objective change 14 March 2011 The Fund invests mainly in a range of UK equities with the aim of achieving a steadily increasing income stream. The target yield is 33% higher than that of the FTSE All-Share Index but this may vary in the shorter term. Subject to this, the aim will be to maximise total return (the combination of income and growth of capital).
Emerging Markets Bond Fund Policy change 19 April 2012 The Fund aims to maximise total return (the combination of income and growth of capital).
The Fund primarily invests in debt instruments issued by emerging market nations and their agencies. The Fund's exposure to debt instruments may be gained through the use of derivatives. There are no restrictions on the currency in which debt instruments held in the portfolio may be issued, and accordingly the Fund may carry a greater than usual currency risk, which will not normally be hedged. The Fund may also invest in other assets including collective investment schemes, other transferable securities (including other debt instruments), cash and near cash, deposits, warrants, money market instruments and other derivative instruments.
Episode Allocation Fund Objective change and name change
Note – Fund name change from M&G Episode Balanced Fund on 3 November 2014 (formerly M&G Cautious Multi Asset Fund). No change to the objective on this date. 22 August 2012 The Fund invests mainly in securities, fixed income assets, warrants, money market instruments, deposits, cash, near cash and property via collective investment schemes and, with the exception of property, by investing directly in these assets. The Fund may also invest directly in derivative instruments for the purposes of investment and efficient portfolio management. The Fund will invest no more than 60% of its portfolio in equities.
Episode Allocation Fund
Objective change 31 August 2018
The Fund's objective is to maximise total return (the combination of income and growth of capital) through investment in a diversified range of asset types. Subject to this, the Fund aims to grow income in the long term.
Episode Growth Fund Objective change and name change from M&G Managed Fund 22 August 2012 The Fund invests mainly in securities, fixed income assets, warrants, money market instruments, deposits, cash, near cash and property mainly via collective investment schemes, but, with the exception of property, may invest directly in these assets. The Fund may also invest directly in derivative instruments for the purposes of investment and efficient portfolio management.
Episode Growth Fund Objective change
The Fund's objective is to maximise total return (the combination of income and growth of capital).
Episode Income Fund Objective change and name change from M&G Income Multi Asset Fund 22 August 2012 The Fund invests in securities, fixed income assets, warrants, money market instruments, deposits and cash. Exposure to these assets, and to property, may also be gained via collective investment schemes and derivatives. The Manager may seek to minimise currency risk through a combination of diversification and hedging. Derivatives may also be used for efficient portfolio management purposes.
Episode Income Fund Objective change 25 May 2017 The Fund's objective is to generate a high and rising level of income over time through investment in a diversified range of assets. Subject to this, the Fund aims to provide capital growth over the long term.
Episode Macro Fund Objective change 11 June 2019 The fund aims to provide a higher total return (the combination of income and capital growth) with smaller changes in returns on average, than company shares from around the world, over any three to five-year period. There is no guarantee that the fund will achieve a positive return over any period, and you may not get back the amount you originally invested.
Core investment: Typically, the fund will use derivatives to invest in a range of assets, including company shares, bonds and currencies. It is fully flexible and has no limits or ranges in any particular asset class. As a result of its use of derivatives, the fund may be required to hold a large amount of cash and bonds. The fund may also invest directly or through other funds.
Using derivatives to invest also allows the fund to create 'leverage', meaning that the fund can gain exposure to investments that exceed its value, thus increasing potential returns (or losses) in both rising and falling markets.
In addition, derivatives are used to reduce risk and costs and to manage the impact of changes in currency exchange rates on the fund's investments
Other investments: The fund may also hold convertibles, cash, deposits, warrants and money market instruments (for example, debt due to be repaid within a year).
Strategy in brief: The fund has a very flexible investment approach, with the freedom to invest in different types of assets from anywhere in the world. The approach combines in-depth research to work out the 'fair' value of assets over the medium to long term, with analysis of market reactions to events to identify investment opportunities. In cases where the manager believes the opportunities are limited to a few areas, the fund may be very concentrated in certain assets or markets. Such strategies may result in greater changes in the fund's short-term performance.
European Corporate Bond Fund Objective change 25 May 2017 As a result of the Swiss National Bank removing the currency peg since the balance sheet date, 31 December 2014, the Net Asset Value per share of the Swiss franc share classes has increased by approximately 12% to 12 February 2015.
European High Yield Bond Fund Objective change 25 May 2017 The Fund aims to maximise total return (the combination of income and growth of capital) while generating a high level of income.
European Select Fund Objective change and name change from M&G European Fund 6 November 2015 The Fund's prime objective is long term capital growth. It invests wholly or predominantly in a diversified portfolio of securities of European (excluding United Kingdom) issuers. When not wholly invested as above, it may also invest in companies which are listed or registered outside Europe but trade within it. Income is of secondary importance when investments are selected.
European Select Fund Objective change 1 March 2019 The fund aims to provide a combination of capital growth and income, net of the Ongoing Charge Figure, that is higher than the FTSE World Europe ex UK Index over any five-year period.
Core investment: At least 80% of the fund is invested directly in the shares of companies that are based, or do most of their business, in Europe (excluding the UK), across any sector and of any size. The fund usually holds shares in fewer than 50 companies.
Strategy in brief: The fund employs a disciplined approach to analyse and select each company. The strategy invests in companies with sustainable competitive advantages that have the opportunity to reinvest their capital in projects that can deliver the highest rates of return. The fund manager seeks to identify companies that generate rising cashflows, and primarily allocate them to grow their businesses and dividends.
Fund of Investment Trust Shares Objective change 30 January 2018 The fund aims to grow capital by investing in the shares of investment trust companies based in the UK and overseas.
Core investment:Typically, the fund is at least 80% invested in the shares of investment trust companies listed in the UK. The fund typically holds these assets directly.
Other investments: Generally, less than 10% is held as cash or assets that can be turned into cash quickly.
Strategy in brief: The fund looks to provide access to a wide spread of investment trust companies that are often cheaper than their true worth. The fund manager invests in those areas and investment vehicles that he believes can deliver the most growth over five years or more. The selection of stocks is based on the investment philosophy and objective of the underlying holdings and the ability of each manager to deliver on them, as well as the valuation of the company shares. Income is less important when choosing investments and the dividend yield can be expected to be slightly less than the average for investment trust companies.
Gilt & Fixed Interest Income Fund Objective change 26 June 2017 The Fund is designed to provide a secure income with stability of capital consistent with investment in gilts over a rolling three to five year period. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its objective over this, or any other, period. The income distributions and the value of your investment may rise and fall and investors may not recoup the original amount they invested.
Global Convertibles Fund Objective change 1 March 2019 The fund aims to provide income and capital growth over five years or more by investing in convertibles from around the world.
Core investment: Typically, at least 80% of the fund is invested in convertibles issued by companies from anywhere around the world, including emerging markets*. The fund also holds company shares in combination with bonds in order to replicate the exposure to convertibles when a direct holding is not available. Company shares are also held to adjust the technical characteristics of convertibles, such as making them more sensitive to changes in the price of the shares into which they convert.
Use of derivatives: Derivatives may be used to gain exposure to the fund's core investments and to reduce risks and costs.
Strategy in brief: The fund manager aims to take advantage of the special characteristics of convertibles, which can participate more in share price increases than falls. The fund manager has the freedom to decide which investments to hold in the fund, based on an assessment of company-specific factors and technical characteristics of convertibles. Spreading investments across issuers, industries and countries is an essential element of the fund's strategy and the manager is assisted in the selection of individual bonds by an in-house team of analysts.
Performance measurement: The fund is actively managed. The Thomson Reuters Global Focus Convertible Bond Index is a point of reference against which the performance of the fund may be measured.
* Emerging market countries are defined as those included within the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and/or those included in the World Bank's definition of developing economies, as updated from time to time.
Glossary terms
Bonds: Loans to governments and companies that pay interest.
Convertibles: Bonds issued by companies that usually pay a set rate of interest and which can be exchanged for predetermined amounts of company shares.
Derivatives: Financial contracts whose value is derived from other assets.
Global Dividend Fund Objective change 25 May 2017 The Fund aims to deliver a dividend yield above the market average, by investing mainly in a range of global equities. The Fund aims to grow distributions over the long term whilst also maximising total return (the combination of income and growth of capital).
Global Select Fund Objective change 17 November 2017 The fund aims to provide income and capital growth over five years or more by investing mainly in a range of company shares from anywhere in the world.
Global Government Bond Fund
Objective change and name change from M&G International Sovereign Bond Fund 1 July 2014 The Fund aims to maximise total return (the combination of income and growth of capital) through investment in a portfolio of investment grade debt instruments.
Global High Yield Bond Fund Objective change 25 May 2017 The Fund is designed to maximise total return (the combination of income and growth of capital) while generating a high level of income.
Global Select Fund Objective change and name changed from M&G Global Growth Fund 6 November 2015 The Fund will invest globally (including the UK) in the equities of companies across a wide range of geographies, sectors and market capitalisations. Income is of secondary importance to capital growth when investments are selected.
Global Recovery Fund Objective and name change from M&G International Specialist Equity Fund 6 November 2015 The fund aims to maximise long term capital growth. Income is not a consideration
Global Recovery Fund Objective change 1 March 2019 The fund aims to grow capital over five years or more. Income is not a consideration.
Core investment: At least 80% of the fund is invested in the shares of companies from around the world.
Strategy in brief: The fund's focus is on companies which, at the time of investment, the fund manager believes are either out of favour with the market, or whose future prospects are undervalued by the market, but have the potential to restore themselves to health. Companies held in the fund are expected to move through a recovery cycle over three to five years. The fund may invest across a wide range of countries, sectors and company sizes. The fund manager has a relatively simple investment approach, focusing on cashflow and management's strategy for recovery within a company. Constructive dialogue with company management is therefore a key part of the investment process.
Performance measurement: The fund's performance is measured against the MSCI ACWI Index.
Global Themes Fund
Objective and name change from M&G Global Basics Fund
The fund aims to grow capital over five years or more.
Core investment: At least 70% of the fund is invested in the shares of companies from anywhere in the world that operate in primary industries (such as mining and agriculture) and secondary industries (such as manufacturing), and also in companies that service these industries.
Other investments: The fund may also invest in the shares of companies from other types of businesses. Generally, less than 10% is held as cash or assets that can be turned into cash quickly.
Strategy in brief: The fund manager focuses on shares in companies that operate in primary industries (such as mining and agriculture) and secondary industries (such as manufacturing), and also in companies that service these industries. The emphasis is to identify and exploit investment themes that are likely to be the key long-term drivers of growth and select those companies best equipped to benefit from these themes. The fund manager follows a high-conviction global equity strategy which seeks to deliver long-term capital growth.
Index-Linked Bond Fund Objective change 26 June 2017 The Fund aims to secure the value of capital and income from the effects of inflation over a rolling five year period or longer with a total return consistent with investment in index-linked bonds. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its objective over this, or any other, period. The income distributions and the value of your investment may rise and fall and investors may not recoup the original amount they invested.
Japan Fund Objective change 1 March 2019 The fund aims to grow capital over five years or more by investing in a wide range of Japanese company shares. Income is not a consideration when choosing investments.
Core investment: At least 80% of the fund is invested in the shares of companies that are domiciled, or conducting the major part of their economic activity, in Japan.
Strategy in brief: The fund manager selects shares in Japanese companies across a range of industries and company sizes. The focus is on stocks where the fund manager believes the share price is not fully valuing the company's sustainable earnings over the medium to long term. The fund manager applies disciplined and rigorous fundamental analysis during the selection process to ensure a high level of conviction around the valuation for each of the companies held in the fund. The fund usually holds less than 50 companies with a typical holding period of three to five years.
Performance measurement: The fund is actively managed. The MSCI Japan Index is a point of reference against which the performance of the fund may be measured.
Japan Smaller Companies Fund
Objective change
The fund aims to grow capital over five years or more by investing wholly or predominantly in the shares of smaller Japanese companies.
Core investment: At least 80% of the fund is invested in the shares of smaller companies that are domiciled, or conducting the major part of their economic activity, in Japan.
Other investments: When not wholly invested as above, the fund may invest in medium and larger companies to enhance its liquidity (ability to raise cash quickly).
Strategy in brief: The fund invests in the shares of companies that make up the bottom third of all publicly listed companies in Japan, in terms of their stockmarket value. The fund manager selects stocks from across a wide range of industries. The focus is on stocks where the fund manager believes the share price is not fully valuing the company's sustainable earnings over the medium to long term. The fund manager applies disciplined and rigorous fundamental analysis during the selection process to ensure a high level of conviction around the valuation for each of the companies held in the fund. The fund usually holds less than 50 companies with a typical holding period of three to five years.
Performance measurement: The fund is actively managed. The Russell Nomura Mid-Small Cap Index is a point of reference against which the performance of the fund may be measured.
Lux Floating Rate High Yield Solution Fund Objective Clarification 12 June 2019 Objective: The fund aims to provide a competitive global high yield bond market exposure whilst limiting interest rate risk. Fund performance will be measured against a global high yield composite index* over any five-year period. The fund is actively managed and the index is a point of reference against which the performance of the fund may be measured. Investment policy and strategy: *The composite index consists of 2/3 the Markit CDX® North American High Yield Index and 1/3 the iTraxx Crossover Index. Core investment: At least 70% of the fund is invested synthetically in floating rate high yield bonds. This exposure is achieved by combining high yield credit default swap (CDS) indices with government floating rate bonds (rated A or above by Standard & Poor's), from anywhere in the world, or cash. A high yield CDS index is a derivative instrument that gives investors indirect exposure to a basket of high yield bonds which are easily traded and have low interest rate risk. Currency exposures within the fund will be typically in US dollars. Derivatives may be used to offset the impact of currency exposures arising from the fund's non-USD investments. Other investment: The fund may also invest in other assets, including government bonds, currencies, cash or assets that can be turned quickly into cash, other debt securities, warrants and other funds. Use of derivatives: Derivatives are used for investment purposes and to allow the fund to gain exposure to investments exceeding the fund's value, thus increasing potential returns (or losses). Derivatives may also be used to manage risks and reduce costs. For more information on the types derivatives used, please refer to the Prospectus, which can be found by visiting www.mandg.lu. Strategy in brief: The fund is globally diversified and seeks to provide exposure to a broad range of high yield bond issuers across different sectors. The investment manager has the flexibility to adjust the fund's credit exposure and regional allocation depending on current market valuations and the macroeconomic environment, including the likely path of economic growth, inflation and interest rates.
Managed Growth Fund
The Fund's objective is to achieve long term capital growth.
North American Dividend Fund Objective change and name change from M&G American Fund 28 April 2015 The Fund's objective is long term capital growth through investment wholly or mainly in securities of North American (including Canadian) issuers. When not wholly invested as above, it may only invest in companies which are listed, registered or trading within North America.
North American Value Fund Objective change 1 March 2019 The fund aims to grow capital over five years or more by investing in the shares of North American companies that the fund manager deems to be undervalued.
Core investment: At least 80% of the fund is invested in the shares of companies based in North America.
Strategy in brief: The fund employs a 'value' strategy, that is, investing in cheap, out-of-favour companies whose share price, in the manager's view, does not reflect the underlying value of the business. Stocks are selected on the basis of their individual merits, through a combination of value-focused screening and qualitative assessment.
Performance measurement: The fund is actively managed. The S&P 500 Index is a point of reference against which the performance of the fund may be measured.
Pan European Dividend Fund Objective change 25 May 2017 The Fund aims to deliver a dividend yield above the market average, by investing mainly in a range of European equities. The Fund aims to increase distributions over the long term whilst also maximising total return (the combination of income and growth of capital).
Pan European Select Fund Objective change and name change from M&G Pan European Fund 6 November 2015 The Fund invests wholly or mainly in European (including UK) companies. The Fund may also invest in companies outside Europe but only when these companies derive the majority of their income from European activity. The objective is to maximise long term total return (the combination of income and growth of capital).
Pan European Select Fund Objective change 17 November 2017 The fund aims to provide capital growth and income over five years or more by investing mainly in a range of company shares from across Europe, including the UK.
Pan European Select Smaller Companies Fund Objective and fund name change from European Smaller Companies Fund 25 May 2018 Core investment: At least 70% of the fund is invested in the shares of companies that make up the bottom third of all publicly listed firms in Europe, in terms of their stockmarket value.
Other investments: The fund also invests in medium and larger companies to enhance its liquidity (its ability to raise cash quickly).
Strategy in brief: The fund manager invests in the shares of companies deemed to be of quality and with sustainable business models, where an element of change is helping to drive their value, and short-term issues have created attractive buying opportunities. The fund manager keeps the fund concentrated, generally holding fewer than 50 well-understood stocks, with a typical holding period of three to five years. The fund may invest across a wide range of industries. The fund manager maintains a balance of stocks with different risks and rewards to build a fund that has the potential to cope in a variety of market conditions. Income is not a top priority when choosing investments.
Recovery Fund Objective change 1 March 2019 The fund aims to grow capital over five years or more by investing predominantly in the shares of companies that, at the time of investment, are out of favour with the stockmarket, and where the fund manager believes a good management team is making concerted efforts to turn the business around.
Core investment: At least 80% of the fund is invested in the shares of companies. Currently these are predominantly UK-listed companies.
Strategy in brief: The fund invests in those businesses whose problems are solvable and temporary rather than structural in nature, and which are expected to move through a recovery cycle. This is a relatively simple investment approach focusing on three key factors: people, strategy and cashflow. Developing a constructive dialogue with company management is fundamental to the investment process. The fund manager takes a long-term view with a typical holding period of five years or more.
Performance measurement: The fund is actively managed. The FTSE All-Share Index is a point of reference against which the performance of the fund may be measured.
Smaller Companies Fund Objective Change 30 January 2018 To provide capital growth by investing in the shares of smaller UK companies. Income is of secondary importance when choosing investments and the fund's yield (annual income distributed as a percentage of the share price) can be expected to be less than that of the FTSE All-Share Index.
Short Dated Corporate Bond Fund Objective change 13 March 2018
Objective: The fund aims to provide income with stability of capital over three to five years. There is no guarantee that the fund will achieve this objective over any period. The income distributions and the value of your investment may rise and fall and you may not get back the amount you originally invested.
Core investment: At least 70% of the fund is invested in bonds. Typically, these bonds are issued by companies due to be repaid within three years and floating rate notes. The fund holds these assets directly and through derivatives.
Other investments: The fund also invests in bonds issued by governments (usually of developed countries) and high yield bonds. In some market conditions, the fund may have a high proportion invested in liquid assets (that is, assets that are easy to sell, such as cash).
Use of derivatives: Derivatives may be used to gain exposure to the fund's core and other investments, to reduce risks and costs and to manage the impact of changes in currency exchange rates on the fund's investments.
Strategy in brief: Credit research is at the heart of the fund's investment process. The fund is well diversified and maintains a short duration, or low sensitivity to changes in interest rates, in order to minimise the impact of interest rate movements on the fund's capital value. The fund manager believes this can best be achieved by selecting bonds that pay a variable rate and bonds that have a short repayment date.
UK Income Distribution Fund
Objective change and name change from M&G Extra Income Fund
To deliver a high and rising income stream by investing at least 70% of the Fund in the shares of UK companies. The Fund targets a yield (annual income distributed as a percentage of the share price) that is 50% higher than that of the FTSE All-Share Index, but this may vary in the short term. The level of income provided may also vary over time. Secondary to this, the Fund aims to grow capital
UK Select Fund Objective change and name change from M&G UK Growth Fund 6 November 2015 The Fund invests principally in the equities of UK companies with high growth potential with the sole objective of capital growth. The Fund may at any time be concentrated in a limited number of equities. Income considerations are ignored.
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As a schoolgirl caught in the crossfire of advancing troops, it seemed I was in the epicenter of World War II. British, German, US and/or Russian troops all converged, at one time or another, on my little Bavarian village.
Birthday? Spent huddled in the field watching night flares light up the sky overhead, as well as our village down below. Waiting…waiting for bombers to level our home?
Birthday? Wondering if my father, standing tall, proudly wearing his naval uniform, would ever be home to celebrate with me. Would he only be a memory? It would be four long years that he patrolled the channel, protecting our homeland.
Birthday? A rich tradition was the celebration of one's name day – the day we received our Christian name. It was even bigger than our birthday.
But, despite war, despite hardship, despite loss of privacy and loss of property, despite troops in our village and in our homes…Mother always assured a celebration…with cake. There was always a cake.
That must have been a tough time.


I love an "it" bag just like the next girl. I love any of the current Celine bags everyone seems to have or are at least lusting over. I'm also in love with the PS1, but at the same time, I also want to be different and have something that is less expected. I want to have my own signature bag that maybe some years from now will just start catching on and I will have the pride in knowing I identified its beauty first before everyone else. Currently, my go to bag is my Goyard tote, which is almost dying on me after I have been demanding its company almost daily for the last few years. It is wonderful because it is so light, it fits a million things and it matches with everything (this is in my opinion, my mom would probably beg to differ). Even though some people have it, it still feels under the radar.
So, in short, I have been looking around for that special, unique, beautifully crafted, elegant, timeless bag that stands out, and most importantly that few people know about it or even have it. These days with the internet a bag like this is difficult to find as trends spread like wildfire. But I have found MY very own IT bag- The Perris Parin Ball Bag. This is my new bag obsession. It is sculptural, feminine, and different. The array of colors and finishes it comes in is just another layer of fabulousness.
I wanted you all to see this bag in action but didn't find any street shots of people wearing this beauty. But this is a good thing because it means its just our little secret. Don't tell anyone, k?
Final verdict- For you? or not so much?
PS. Did you know we are on facebook? Please like us here. We are on Pinterest and Twitter. Follow us!
Lordy, that's a fab bag. But if I add any more bags to my collection I'll shoot myself. Sad thing is, don't we all have like 100 bags but only use one for months? Madness.
Such an awesome bag design! thanks for sharing!
Isn't that the truth, I agree with LiveLaughDecorate! Tks, MimosaLane for being our style spotter!
This is so you, A! As for Celine, I fall into the "lusting over" category and will continue to admire its beauty, perched high on its retail shelf.
I just gasped out loud. That bag is nothing short of amazing.
That bag is fantastic! I agree that it's great to not have a bag like everyone else. When I was younger I changed my bag daily to optimize my outfit. Now, I seem to use just three and only change with seasons. I really love my subtle gold tote that works with everything. LOVE just grabbing it and going.
Wow very cool, definitely like all the others. How would you decide which one?
I fancy myself as an Alexander Wang Rocco duffel kind of gal, and this bag too is a work of art. Totally unique. If I ever see any street style images I'm sending them your way!
This bag is gorgeous, it's a piece of art!
I love it... It looks so different from everything else out there! Have a nice one!


text:
Unit 4: Arkansas's Legal Requirements of Boating
Other Facts About Titling and Registering Your Motorboat
Liability Insurance Requirement
Operator Age and Education Requirements for Motorboat
Operator Age and Education Requirements for a PWC
Boating Education Requirement
Reckless or Negligent Operation
Federally Controlled Waters in Arkansas
Lawful Operation of a PWC
Requirements for Towing a Person With a Vessel
Lawful Operation While Towing a Person With a Vessel
Glass Containers and Trash
Jet-propelled watercraft come in many sizes, but the most common for recreational boaters is the PWC. A PWC is a small vessel that uses an inboard jet drive as its primary source of propulsion and is designed to be operated by a person or persons sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel rather than inside the vessel. The U.S. Coast Guard includes PWC in the group of inboard vessels less than 16 feet in length.
A PWC is subject to all of the same laws and requirements of any other vessel plus a few laws specific to a PWC.


My friend Si Lewen, the painter, died three months ago, a little shy of his ninety-eighth birthday. In one of our last phone conversations, I asked him if he was backing Bernie or Hillary. He'd often told me that he was to the left of Karl Marx, so I was surprised when he said, "Hillary, of course!" When I asked why, he told me that, unless we evolve into a matriarchy, we're all doomed. It's hard to find father figures in one's sixties, and, though Si was more like a batty uncle, I miss him.
I first met Si when he was a spirited and elfin ninety-four-year-old who still spent most of his waking hours painting—as he had since childhood. I'd stumbled onto his book "The Parade," from 1957, while researching wordless picture stories—obscure precursors of today's graphic novels that briefly flourished between the two World Wars. "The Parade," obscure even by this genre's standards, was drawn shortly after the Second World War, but was conceived while Lewen, a Polish Jewish refugee from Germany, was a member of an élite force of native German-speaking G.I.s who were in Buchenwald right after it was liberated.
After the war, Si resumed painting. Much to his astonishment, he found that he'd banished "black in all its overtones" from his palette, despite his traumatic past. Luminescent and colorful, his canvases from the nineteen-fifties and sixties often sold for ten thousand dollars and more. But, inevitably, his darkness returned, and galleries tried to dissuade him from this bleaker work. Finally, he stated, "Art is not a commodity. Art is priceless!" and withdrew from the art world—though not from painting. He told me, "Of course, when something is priceless it's also worthless." So, in his new obscurity, he painted more prolifically than ever, free to now cut up "worthless" old paintings and collage them into new and more complex works.
On the usually blank verso side is a monograph of Si's life and work that shows some of his paintings, including from his series "Ghosts_,"_ which had grown to two hundred or more shroud-like canvases between 2008 and 2015, when he had to hang up his brushes.
I brought the first advance bound proof of the book to him in his assisted-living facility, in Pennsylvania, as soon as it arrived. He couldn't put it down, and he died ten days later. It was, eerily, as if seeing his life's work acknowledged gave him permission to die. Now one of the "Ghosts" is in the process of being acquired by a major New York City museum, and Si's ghost will soon haunt its permanent collection.
All images were drawn from "Si Lewen's Parade: An Artist Odyssey," which is out this month from Abrams.
Art Spiegelman has been a contributor to The New Yorker since 1992 and has drawn thirty-six covers for the magazine.


text:
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
State v. Martinez
No. PD-0878-17 3/20/19
May the State, without a search warrant, independently test a blood sample drawn from a defendant by a medical professional in the course of treatment?
No. A defendant has a reasonable expectation of privacy in a blood sample that is drawn for medical purposes. A defendant's 4th Amendment protections may be implicated at three separate stages of a blood alcohol test: 1) drawing the blood sample, 2) testing the blood sample, and 3) obtaining the test results. Although the State may use a grand jury subpoena to receive medical records, including test results, or to seize a blood sample that has already been drawn, a search warrant is required before the State itself may conduct any tests. Read opinion.
At first blush, this seems like a significant retreat from State v. Hardy and State v. Huse, but the facts were slighly different. The hospital did not test Martinez's blood; thus, there were not non-privileged records of the blood test results. The Court holds he maintained a privacy interest in the contents of his blood in the tube. Those relying on novel applications of the third-party doctrine or abandonment might be interested in this case.
Hillman v. Nueces County
Does a county have immunity from suit from a prosecutor who claims he was fired for disclosing Brady/Michael Morton material against the wishes of his supervisor?
Yes. Although the cause of action for wrongful termination available under Sabine Pilot v. Hauck, 687 S.W.2d 733 (Tex. 1985), applies to government employers, the county is still immune from suit. Sovereign immunity can be waived only by "clear and unambiguous" statutory language, and in this case, Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 39.14 does not contain a provision regarding immunity. It is the role of the legislature to decide by statute in what circumstances governmental immunity is waived. Read opinion.
Concurrence (Guzman, Lehrmann, and Devine, JJ.):
Hillman may have a claim for equitable relief under an ultra vires theory but has declined to pursue that claim. "However, as a policy matter, I am dubious that a remedy limited to prospective equitable relief is strong enough to deter the egregious conduct alleged here. To be effective, the remedy must be proportional to the wrong. To my mind, the threat of other consequences, including monetary relief, would provide the external pressure required to motivate vigilance and self-policing. The Legislature is better suited, and constitutionally constituted, to weigh the policy interests that bear on whether to waive immunity (and to what extent), but as to that matter, this case makes painfully clear that what's past is prologue." Read opinion.
Consistent with existing law, this case will nevertheless inflame the passions of those who believe prosecutors are not held accountable for misdeeds. That it falls in the middle of the legislative session only increases its effect.
Villanueva v. State
No. 01-18-00115-CR 3/14/19
Are the statements of a witness to a mugging, spontaneously offered to the police as soon as they arrived on scene, testimonial in nature?
No. Statements made to police to address an ongoing emergency are not testimonial. Here, the statements are non-testimonial because police arrived at the scene minutes after the mugging, the victim was still bleeding and disoriented following the assault, the defendant was still present at the scene, and the witness initiated the interaction with police. Admitting the statements into evidence through an officer's testimony did not violate the Confrontation Clause, nor were the statements inadmissible hearsay. Read opinion.
This is a straightforwad application of Crawford and Davis that will come in handy at trial.
Mitchell v. State
Does encouraging a witness not to meet with the district attorney constitute tampering with a witness under Penal Code §36.05(a)(1)?
No. Under Penal Code §36.05(a)(1), a person commits the offense of tampering with a witness if he coerces a witness to testify falsely. Here, the defendant wrote letters to the victim asking her to lie, to meet with defense counsel, and not to meet with the district attorney. Although asking a witness to lie does constitute tampering with a witness, an indictment and jury charge that allowed the jury to convict on any one of the three actions caused egregious harm because asking the witness not to meet with the prosecutor does not constitute an offense. Read opinion.
This case is about jury charge error, not sufficiency of the evidence. The charge allowed conviction for an allegation that did not sustain a conviction for witness tampering, although it also permitted conviction for proper theories. The Court found Mitchell suffered egregious harm, and thus, the case was reversed even though he did not object to the charge at trial.
TDCAA Domestic Violence Seminar
Registration is now open for TDCAA's 2019 Domestic Violence Seminar. Whether you are new to prosecution or a seasoned hand, this course will cover practical skills you need to do your job today. From intake to advocacy, this is Domestic Violence training developed for Texas prosecutors and presented by Texas prosecutors. Join us in Georgetown Texas April 9–12 for this exciting training opportunity. For more information, please click here.
TCDLA and State Bar CLE
The Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA), with co-sponsorship by the State Bar's Criminal Justice Section, is hosting a CLE called "What You Need to Know About Sex Offender Registration" on Friday, April 26 in Austin. Registration for prosecutors and staff is free before April 15 and $50 after that. See the flyer here for more information, and register online at www.tcdla.com.
NCFI Digital Evidence for Prosecutors Training
The National Computer Forensics Institute is offering free training for state and local prosecutors on the investigation of crimes involving technology and presenting digital evidence in court. These five-day courses are held at the NCFI facility in Alabama at no cost to participating prosecutors. The application deadline is March 29. More information and the application are available here.
State Bar now taking scholarship applications for upcoming training
The Criminal Justice Section is taking applications for scholarships for various courses. You must be a current member of the Criminal Justice Section to apply. Preference will be given to lawyers licensed 5 years or less. A list of courses and the scholarship application may be accessed here.


Employee Culture and Reporting: When Things Go Wrong What Do You Do?
Being referred to as a "snitch" is considered as one of the labels to avoid whenever you become part of a company. What many managers fail to understand when they tell their employees to report behavior or actions that could potentially cause problems is that their employees tend to form social connections. These connections can be considered as a way for them to develop some means of solidarity and you can even describe it as a community to a certain extent. This is why some employees hesitate to inform on the behavior of their fellow employees. For Chicago based companies experiencing this sort of problem, implementing a method of anonymous reporting seems to be the best solution to resolve it.
How Can Employees Report a Situation Anonymously?
When looking at the problem, the best solution that can be implemented would be to create some means of employees being able to relay incidents that they have observed without their name being attached to the report. This can be done by having either an application or an contact form that is on the company website that only they can access. By making sure that an employee's identity is as concealed as possible, this makes them more likely to report as compared to a method where they could potentially be identified by other employees. Another factor why some employees hesitate to report incidents is due to them potentially misunderstanding the situation that they witness. If they report it and it turns out to be perfectly fine, this create the potential for them to be labeled as someone that is not trustworthy among their peers since anything said to them could make its way to the company.
How Does this Form of Reporting Benefit a Company?
One of the first benefits is that it allows the company to immediately know when one of their employees is engaging in an activity that could be potentially detrimental to the company's operations. Immediate identification results in immediate resolution and limits the potential damage that could have occurred. The second benefit is that this prevents employees from systematically engaging in illicit or destabilizing activities within the premises of the company due to the belief that no one will report them.
When looking at the potential benefits of implementing a means of allowing employees to report incidents anonymously to the company, it shows that utilizing such a system would definitely be the correct route to choose.
For more information on the topic that has been discussed in this article, please visit the website of Compliance and Completion Consultants, LLC.


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The traditional parade of a thousand pollards was suspended in Panama
Arzu December 29, 2021 2 min read
PANAMA, Dec. 28 (Prensa Latina) Authorities in the central Panama province of Los Santos today confirmed the suspension of the traditional Thousand Polaris parade scheduled for January 15, 2022 due to the impact of the Covit-19.
Boundary Governor Ruben Villarreal pointed out that the decision was shared with President Laurentino Cardiso after the outbreak.
Villarreal pointed out that the president also acknowledged that he did not see the development of the folk show as sensible, given the increase in positives for the disease.
He encouraged ordinary people as well to take part in solving this great task: "One of the things you and other people can do is keep up the pressure … there are going to be some difficult decisions for government".
The decision was shared by Tourism Minister Evan Eskilston. And Health, Louis Francisco Sucre, which echoes the cries of mayors and corregimiento representatives.
The Thousand Polar Poles Parade is an annual national costume parade from the Panamanian city of Las Tablas, the capital of Los Santos.
The event brings together more than 250,000 people who want to preserve cultural heritage as a pillar of the strategy of the Sustainable Tourism Master Plan.
The festival also showcases the work of skirt designers and artisans.
According to historians, the first Pollard March of the Thousand was held in 2003 in the capital, Isthmus, at 50.
The festival was established by the Executive Order in February 2004 with the aim of promoting the love of folk tales to the new generation, with the aim of promoting culture and promoting tourism.
See also New day of street protests against Bolzano in Brazil
Since 2013, the parade has been held on the second Saturday in January in its headquarters in Las Tablas.
Ja / ka
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text:
Q: a potential application of the ping-pong lemma? From my understanding, a simple result of the ping-pong lemma would state that if we have a set of linear transformations (matrices) $A_1,\ldots,A_n$ all of the same dimension, then if $\mathrm{Im}(A_i) \cap \mathrm{Im}(A_j) = \{ 0 \}$, then any sequence of product of matrices among $A_i$ will uniquely identify the product.
Is that correct?
This is related to my question here:
under what conditions a product of matrices is the identity matrix (more complicated than that)?

A: This is false even if $n=1$: Take a single matrix of finite order: $A$ such that $A^k=1$ for some $k>0$, or a single nilpotent matrix: $A$ such that $A^k=0$ for some $k> 0$. Then
$$
A^k=A^{2k}.
$$
Thus, you cannot recover power $N$ of the matrix from the value $A^N$.
Here is what you need in order to play ping-point, where I assume that you are working with real $d\times d$ matrices:
a. Assume also that each $A_i$ is diagonalizable over the real numbers (with positive eigenvalues) and that for each matrix $A_i$ the multiplicity of the highest eigenvalue equals $1$.
b. For each $A_i$ define the subspace $B_i\subset R^d$ spanned by eigenvector corresponding to the highest eigenvalues, and the complementary subspace $C_i$ spanned by the rest of the eigenvectors. Then you require that for each $i$, the subspace $B_i$ is not contained in the union
$$
\bigcup_{j=1}^n C_j.
$$
Now you can play ping-pong: there exists $N>0$ such that the matrices
$$
A_1^N,...,A_n^N
$$
are free generators of a free semigroup in the (multiplicative) semigroup of $d\times d$ matrices.
One can get away with less than what I listed, but the above always works.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


No reviews for Super Lovers Vol.5 [Blu-ray+CD Limited Edition] yet.
there is a new movie directed by Ishidaira Shinji.
the price for Super Lovers Vol.5 [Blu-ray+CD Limited Edition] drops.
there are new images or links available for Super Lovers Vol.5 [Blu-ray+CD Limited Edition].


text:
Prime Minister Supports the Slogan "Clean Water for All"
Phnom Penh, February 01, 2021 — Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen has announced to support the slogan "Clean Water for All" raised by the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation.
"On behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia, I would like to announce the support for the slogan proposed by H.E. Cham Prasidh (Senior Minister, Minister of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation," he said here this morning while presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Bakheng Water Treatment Plant and the inauguration ceremony of Chamkar Mon Water Treatment Plant.
"This slogan makes us all think very carefully about activities for clean water for all," the Premier underlined.
Samdech Techo Hun Sen encouraged the constructor of Bakheng Water Treatment Plant to speed up this project in order to provide access to clean water to all Phnom Penh residents.
According to Samdech Techo Prime Minister, Phnom Penh needs currently 756,000 cubic metres of clean water per day, but the production capacity reached only 600,000 cubic metres per day; and about 40,000 households have been facing water shortage.


text:
Film Festival: <i>Knife Grinder's Tale</i>
Adaptation was shot on location in Kenya
DESPITE SEEMINGLY having a leg up on other Festival student entries, R.L. Hooker —who not long ago had a high position with legendary producer Harvey Weinstein — decided to go to film school.
The University of Southern California grad student chose as his thesis project a 15-minute adaptation of the short story "The Knife Grinder's Tale," by well-regarded Kenyan author Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor.
Continuing his apparent pattern of doing things the hard way, Hooker also insisted on making the short on location in Kenya — specifically the Kibera area, the second-largest slum in the world — where the story is set.
Currently Hooker's short the The Knife Grinder's Tale is on the festival circuit, including Austin, Telluride, Denver, and now Savannah. We spoke to Hooker last week.
Give us a quick synopsis of your original source material.
R. L. Hooker: It's about a father and his journey from a village outside of Nairobi to the slums outside of the city, a place called Kibera, to understand why his son was pointlessly murdered. He's on a journey to find out where his son was living and working so he could be at the moment.
So this is not a child, but a young man.
R. L. Hooker: Teens. Thirteen-or-fourteen years old. Yeah, people start working at a very young age there.
Few young filmmakers adapt works to the screen. Most want to start from scratch. Why did you decide to go with a story that was already written?
R. L. Hooker: I read the story and I loved it. I pictured it in my mind as a short film and I didn't want to do the typical film-school film. I wanted to do something a bit different. So I sent out to find a property, a piece of literature, to take me to a place I couldn't get to myself. I didn't want to be the Western writer coming in and writing something that I don't know and force it. I wanted to find proven material that's already out there, that people have already read and loved.
And then I read the story, and it was so tragic and beautifully written. I read a lot of short stories, but none of them touched me in the way this one did.
So I tracked the writer down. She was giving a speech at Williams College in Massachusetts, she was in from Kenya. I called all the hotels in the town and faxed her a letter, the bellboy stuck it under her door. And she called me and she said, "Oh, my God, here's the story, do you really want it? Go for it."
Did you consider that turn of events to almost be a sign that this project was meant to be?
R. L. Hooker: Absolutely! I have a domino theory about this film. It takes one domino after the other to fall in order to get this made, and she was our first domino. Because of this story and how well Yvonne is known in Kenya, once I got to Nairobi every door was open to me.
I had a fairy godmother, Sheila Peevers from Sound+Pictures, she donated a camera package. That's a lot of money, to have a Super 16 camera package and all the lenses because everybody really believed in the film. They knew I wasn't some huckster trying to make a quick buck.
This was shot on location in Kenya.
R. L. Hooker: I was in Kenya for three months. The moment I landed I started basically searching for a Kenyan producer, and I found a wonderful, amazing producer, Chiara Paglieri. She knew everybody and she put all the components together. It was because of her that we made this film. If it was just the American producer and me, there's no way we could have gotten it done.
Kibera is the largest slum in eastern Africa. There are lots and lots of challenges to film there in the Rift Valley. We were arrested at one point by the secret police because we captured on film an army barracks, and surprise, surprise, that's against the law.
Did you have problems finding a steady electrical supply?
R. L. Hooker: Kenya has a small film community, but they're fantastic. So we were able to get a big generator. It was kind of a bear to drive that through Kibera.
But we did win the Fuji grant [the 2006 Fuji Film USA Film Grant], so we had plenty of film. Which was good, because we couldn't go back to Kenya and do pickups if we didn't like what we saw when we got back.
Tell us about casting the film and the challenges there. For example, was there a language barrier?
R. L. Hooker: There's not much of a language barrier, because pretty much everybody speaks English. Kenya was once a British colony. Chiara and our other producer Gregg Helvey put out flyers and used word of mouth and started setting up meetings and casting local actors, mostly ones active in the theatre community, commercials, and radio.
They're very open, lovely people. Mumbi Kaigwa, our lead actress, is one of the most known actresses in Nairobi. She was just here at Actors Lab in Sundance.
All that effort for a 15-minute film. How in the world did you finance this?
R. L. Hooker: Student loans. Family and friends. I am in debt up to my eyeballs, with half the budget. The other half is family and friends. I sent out letters to every single person I've ever come across (laughs). I was fortunate to get quite a bit of money from family and friends. One friend and his family really worked out for us. And I thank them all the time (laughs).
In future projects will you do similar types of material?
R. L. Hooker: I tend to lean toward the more dramatic. I don't think comedy's in my future. Of course there's always comedy within the dramatic. I'm in the middle of it now, I'm currently writing a feature. Again, that's another drama. But these are the kinds of films I like to make.


YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–President Robert Kocharian will fly to Russia on Thursday for talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, it was announced on Wednesday.
A spokesman for Putin was reported to have told journalists in Moscow that the meeting will take place in the Black Sea city of Sochi on Thursday. He did not specify its agenda.
Kocharian's press secretary, Victor Soghomonian, said separately that the Armenian leaders plans to hold a number of other meetings in Sochi, but did not elaborate.
Putin and Kocharian already met in the southern Russian city in January. The one-on-one talks reportedly focused on Russian-Armenian commercial relations, with the two presidents praising Russia's increased economic presence in Armenia and saying that they agreed to boost it further this year. Putin, in particular, noted the absence of "unresolved problems or difficult issues" in Moscow's ties with Yerevan and welcomed growing Russian-Armenian trade.


#SuzyPFW: Christian Dior - Join The Feminist Navy!
Designer Maria Grazia Chiuri continued her strong pro-women attitude with feisty female clothes.
After sending out, in her first season, jousting models in fencing inspired clothes and T-shirts with a 'We Should All Be Feminists' message that has resonated around the world, Maria Grazia Chiuri took her feisty female attitude further.
"I am generation black!" announced the designer. "And I decided that the only colour that could compete with black was blue."
"I believe that colour is a sign of society and a very good reference and blue is also the colour of uniform," the designer continued. "If there is something that speaks about equality, it's uniform. You can propose different pieces that can be used as a private uniform. It is a strange word, because you can have military uniform, working uniform, even jeans - everybody builds up a personal uniform."
So out marched Dior's fashion army - first a feisty woman in soft, sash jacket and trousers, her bag, with its metallic strap, slung across her body. Next out on drill was a navy dress, the fabric light and crisp. Flat boots, or occasionally court shoes, accompanied this line-up of fashion uniforms that featured the slogan 'J'ADIOR', meaning 'I love Dior', on waistbands.
The revival of women's marches stoked by the defeat of Hillary Clinton and the criticism of President Trump's attitude towards women, has played into the long held feelings of Maria Grazia. But when handling a couture house, where even ready-to-wear comes at a price, the designer cannot live only on a current enthusiasm for her personal attitude. The clothes themselves had to live up to a perceived value. If you removed the berets and the storyline, there were some fine pieces such as a skirt in semi-transparent tulle, worn with a hefty navy sweater, and the same material used for a long dress where a galaxy of star crystals covered the long skirt.
I would like to have heard more about Christian Dior's sister Catherine, who joined the French Resistance and was imprisoned by the Nazis in a German concentration camp. That story would have given the army angle more depth. That period of his sister's suffering was when Dior started playing with Tarot cards - a subject which Maria Grazia picked on for patterns on skirts. They look like becoming an icon of the brand.
At this point, I would give Maria Grazia seven out of 10 for her attractive but predictable clothes. But 10 out of 10 for her feminist attitude and the way she has perked up the maison, produced wearable work and taken on a powerful attitude regarding women's equality that will not leave any of her customers feeling the blues.