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Cardinal Pell lies in state, funeral plans overshadowed by memo revelation
Australian Cardinal George Pell gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters in Rome, Italy December 7, 2020. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Australian Cardinal George Pell was lying in state on Friday, with funeral preparations overshadowed by revelations that he was the author of an anonymous memo that branded Pope Francis' pontificate a catastrophe.
Pell's closed dark brown wooden coffin was placed on the floor of the small church of St. Stephen of the Abyssinians, inside the Vatican walls just metres (yards) away from the Santa Marta residence where Francis lives.
Early on Friday, a reporter saw about 20 people kneeling in prayer in the church when it opened for 10 hours of lying in state.
Pell, 81, who spent more than a year in jail before being acquitted of sexual abuse allegations in his native Australia, died on Tuesday night in a Rome hospital of heart failure.
The small church, which is normally used for baptisms and weddings, is one of the oldest in the Vatican. Parts of it date back to the fifth century and it is one of the few structures not demolished to make way for the building of the current St. Peter's Basilica, which began in the early 16th century.
His funeral is due to take place on Saturday just across the road in St. Peter's.
In keeping with tradition for deceased cardinals, the Mass will be said by the dean of the College of Cardinals, currently Italian Giovanni Battista Re, and the pope will give the final blessing and commendation.
His surprise death of cardiac arrest during what was expected to be routine hip replacement surgery was followed by another shock the next day.
Last year, respected Italian journalist Sandro Magister, who has a long track record of receiving leaked Vatican documents, published an anonymous memo circulating in the Vatican condemning Pope Francis' papacy as a "catastrophe".
Magister disclosed on his widely read blog Settimo Cielo (Seventh Heaven) that it was Pell who wrote the memo and gave him permission to publish it under the pseudonym "Demos" – Greek for populace. It included what the author said should be the qualities of the next pope.
"Everyone here is talking about it," said one Vatican official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The official said he did not doubt that Pell was the author but said the revelation should have been held back until after his funeral "out of respect for the dead".
Father Joseph Hamilton, Pell's personal secretary, declined to comment on Magister's report and Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said he had no comment.
Pell will be buried in the crypt at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, where he served as archbishop, the Australian Church has announced.
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Actual Play
[The Shab-al-Hiri Roach] Disturbed at GenCon
Author Topic: [The Shab-al-Hiri Roach] Disturbed at GenCon (Read 23764 times)
Clinton R. Nixon
Re: [The Shab-al-Hiri Roach] Disturbed at GenCon
Quote from: Hans on August 17, 2006, 11:16:36 AM
The Shab-al-Hiri Roach is the first game I have ever played that I found disturbing for philosophical reasons. The game has a point; the behaviour of the characters is essentially no different, whether they have eaten the Roach or not, and therefore comments on the depravity of human nature. I got the point in the first 15 minutes. As a believer in the doctrine of original sin, the point was easy to make for me.
I haven't seen this point particularly addressed in any of the above posts, so I'll address it: wow, that is a really interesting insight, and the moment I read it, I understood exactly what you meant. Jason, you should take this as a high compliment, seriously.
Hans, as someone who is rediscovering his belief system, I understand how this point could be very disturbing and unpleasant. I thank you for posting this thread.
CRN Games
Quote from: Adam Cerling on August 17, 2006, 04:54:38 PM
So I don't play GTA.
Your sympathy with my position is reassuring, Adam, even if not shared for this particular instance of gaming.� I'm glad you DIDN'T experience it, and had a good time.
I know I've read the comment before, but the Roach felt a bit like a colorful board game -- akin to Betrayal at the House on the Hill. Because the fiction failed to constrain or increase my options, I had a sense that the fiction didn't really matter. So I went about my murdering and torturing and stuffing a man's intestines into his own mouth without a sense that I was addressing any premise whatsoever.
This is very interesting.� I've heard almost the exact same comment made about Capes by some people I play with here in Ontario, and yet in Capes I never have any problem feeling like things matter.
3. A proto-Nazi it is!
Your my first choice if I ever do a remake of Triumph of the Will.� That was meant to be a joke, based on your wonderfully cultured German accent, and not an accusation of facism, by the way.
I noticed a palpable drop in energy at the end of the game, when most of the table realized they could not win.
This is also interesting, I noticed this as well.� I don't think any of my impressions are based on bad sportsmanship, but I can't deny at least a twinge of a "taking my toys and going home" feeling at the very end.
Josiah's deliverance went totally over my head, I'm afraid! I totally failed to figure out who the "kindly face" was, much less that the Roach was expelled through His agency. I understand the Mythos to be a nihilistic, materialist milieu: I no more expected Christ than I expected Cinderella. I glossed past your narration because I didn't understand it, and I was keen on getting to that bit where I won the game.
� You didn't notice Christ?!!!!� :)
Seriously, I was pretty much disengaged near the end, and sort of playing for myself, you know?� If I really wanted to make a statement, I should have made it more bluntly and melodramatically, with angelic hosts, stigmata, transfigurations,� Handel's Hallelujah playing in the background, etc.� So it really is no surprise it made little impact.� As I paraphrased Tony, one person's recollected story is rarely the same as anothers.
Perhaps some of your discontent is that you wanted to address a premise ("Does a belief in determinism [Calvinism] lead men into evil?") and the rest of us were doing no such thing?
That is probably a deep insight into my character Adam.� Have you ever considered becoming a therapist?� I never consciously thought of that premise, but its pretty obvious my subconscious was sending me telegrams about it.
* Want to know what your fair share of paying to feed the hungry is? http://www3.sympatico.ca/hans_messersmith/World_Hunger_Fair_Share_Number.htm
* Want to know what games I like? http://www.boardgamegeek.com/user/skalchemist
Adam Cerling
WhiteRat
Quote from: Hans on August 17, 2006, 06:44:45 PM
That is probably a deep insight into my character Adam. Have you ever considered becoming a therapist? I never consciously thought of that premise, but its pretty obvious my subconscious was sending me telegrams about it.
Nah, I just think systematic theology is teh awesome. That's a classic question about Calvinism, and a great premise to address. Figure out what game we can use to address it at GenCon next year, and I'll be there!
In development: Ends and Means -- Live Role-Playing Focused on What Matters Most.
Dude, I have problems even playing Sorcerer for the same reason.
I'm pretty easy to engage, I think. Even when the game isn't precisely my cup of tea, I'm usually on board in some respect. But...I prefer to play heroes.
It's like the computer Joshua says in the movie Wargames about playing Global Thermonuclear War: "An interesting game Dr. Falcon. The only way to win is....not to play."
I mean, in Sorcerer, the "winning move" to me is to stop being a sorcerer. Banish your demons and live a normal life. Ron points out that you can perhaps overcome your demons and win that way, but the probable moral descent neccessary to do that is, I think, not acceptable.
I often play characters who are tempted by the dark side, don't get me wrong. And they even go over at times. They're only human, after all. But in the end, I hope that there's something truely redeeming about the character. If not, well, then I'm really not interested in playing the character for more than - as you put it yourself - about 15 minutes.
I've had precisely the same problem with Paul Czege's game Acts of Evil and have made that clear.
The issue is that after you've made the point with 15 minutes of play (or even having watched that much), the only way you're enjoying yourself is is you are actually finding humor in the things that are going on. That, in and of itself isn't problematic to me. I can watch a dark movie. The problem with a RPG is that you yourself are making up the dark things. Those come from somewhere. And the fact that you're making such a thing for the exploitation of the group present?
Yeah, I don't enjoy that at all, either. Maybe I do have a dark side. I'd rather not look at it too deeply. That's not denial, that's player preference.
I think that it's a testament to how effective Jason's design is that it provokes such a reaction. Even a game as good as, say, Unknown Armies with similar content doesn't do so. And, I'm sure that for some it'll be a great design as they may enjoy these things. I'm not going to judge.
But, sorry, I don't have to participate. I played a 15 minute demo of Roach. And that's probably all I'll play.
I would say that MLWM is not exactly the same. This is because the characters in question aren't so much bad as pathetic. You understand that they're doing the bad things they're doing not because they want to do them, but because they're in a dysfunctional relationship with somebody domineering. As such, when you're laughing about something apparently depraved, the tears that accompany the laughing are because of the sorrowful feeling you have for the poor minion.
Perhaps I know best why it is man alone who laughs; he alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter. ~Friedrich Nietzsche ...
If you're feeling for the minion, rather than simply reveling in the depravity of a bad act, it's a very different thing. Leastways it is for me.
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Bret Gillan
That's Bret with one 't' damn it.
Hans this is really interesting to me, because it's come up recently in my own thoughts on a game I'm currently preparing to run. Basically, at what point and in what way is the creation of a fiction condoning the events that occur in the fiction?
I'm currently setting up a Burning Empires game. For those who don't know, Burning Empires structures the game around the battle between Humans and Vaylen (body snatcher-like aliens). You can have humans on the Vaylen side who don't realize they're on the Vaylen side - their actions are just working against the best interests of humanity.
In the game as we've set it up, two of the three PCs are Noble Lords whose planet and power is built on serfdom. They are on the Human side. A figure of note on the Vaylen side is a Serf Insurrectionist. Since this world creation session I've gotten to thinking about it, and it makes me deeply, deeply comfortable. It seems to me that we, the players of the game, are creating a fiction in which fighting slavery is against the best interests of humanity. I've discussed this with my players, who think I'm overthinking this, but I feel like we're creating a fiction in which slavery is condoned.
Now, I enjoy pushing comfort boundaries in games I'm in, but this is the first time since I was very young that my comfort boundary is being pushed, and I think this is happening not because of the events that are occurring or could occur in the game but because of the statement about slavery I believe me and the other players are making in this game, intentionally or not. It sounds like this is what you and Adam and Mike are talking about - that the mechanics of the game push the fiction towards a message you don't agree with and that by playing out that fiction you feel as though you're condoning it.
Ricky Donato
Just chillin'
Quote from: Bret Gillan on August 18, 2006, 07:51:01 AM
In the game as we've set it up, two of the three PCs are Noble Lords whose planet and power is built on serfdom. They are on the Human side. A figure of note on the Vaylen side is a Serf Insurrectionist. Since this world creation session I've gotten to thinking about it, and it makes me deeply, deeply comfortable.
Quick clarification, Bret: you meant to say uncomfortable at the end of this sentence, right?
More generally, you (Bret) bring up an excellent point: there is a distinction (IMO) between creating a fiction and condoning that fiction. I've done this myself; I wrote a poem where the main character was tremendously arrogant. He comes out the winner in a conflict, and that just makes him more arrogant. Whenever I read that poem, I finish it feeling furious at this arrogant prick. And you know what? I really dig that feeling, and I really love that poem precisely because of its effect on me. I consider that the hallmark of success.
Hans, if you encounter fiction that makes you uncomfortable, that's perfectly OK. It means that you have to decide between two choices:
1) You say, "This content makes me uncomfortable, and I will play this game anyway, with the goal of trying to understand where my discomfort comes from."
2) Or you say, "I am not going to play this game in this form because I am uncomfortable with its content."
Does that help at all, Hans?
My first game in development, now writing first draft: Machiavelli
Blankshield
Just want to offer a really quick comment to Hans, thanking him for starting this thread. It's a good thread.
Hans, thank you for clearly and without rancor saying what most people really mean when they say "This game sucks"
I write games. My games don't have much in common with each other, except that I wrote them.
http://www.blankshieldpress.com/
Mark Woodhouse
It seems to me that we, the players of the game, are creating a fiction in which fighting slavery is against the best interests of humanity. I've discussed this with my players, who think I'm overthinking this, but I feel like we're creating a fiction in which slavery is condoned.
Here I am, in both this example and Hans' AP, going... "but, but... ooooh, juicy!" Isn't one way to look at Bret's situation to say "slavery and oppression are exactly what make this society vulnerable to the Vaylen. If I am going to preserve humanity against an alien threat, I am going to have to beat them by abolishing slavery and oppression. I'm going to have to give up my power and privilege to save my world. I'm going to win the insurrectionist over to my side."
Now, in the Roach case, I guess I tend to approach the game as black comedy and not worry too much about the moral weight of it, but Hans' choice seems like something that's not out of bounds for Roach play - just not the default and not what was expected at the table. You could play a morally engaged game with the roach, if everybody was ready to see it and support it. I think that could be cool.
Quote from: Ricky Donato on August 18, 2006, 08:19:41 AM
I think that summarizes the situation admirably. I can see both points, and can conceive of different levels and kinds of discomfort that would make me choose one or the other course of action.
Of course, another question might be how do you deal with the situation where, three hours into a four hour session, you cross the line from point 1 to point 2? Or three sessions into a five session campaign? At that point it becomes more a question of tact; how do you tactfully explain to the GM that you need to walk away?
We all know these things should be discussed up front (as Lisa and Jason have indicated the rules of the Roach require), but we also know that people's self knowledge is incomplete; sometimes you don't know something will bother you until you actually experience it, and therefore don't really have any hint you should avoid the experience in the first place. In a Dust Devils game I ran at GenCon, one player made the statement at the beginning of the game that he was uncomfortable with rape. I thought, "wow, that is incredible self-knowledge, I need to make sure I ask a question regarding boundaries before every session of Dust Devils I run with strangers." But at the same time I thought "wow, what had to happen in a game for him to need to state THAT up front?" I can truthfully say I've never had rape even hinted at in 20+ years of gaming. It would never have occurred to me to mention it as a boundary I didn't want crossed.
In response to Mark's comment regarding black comedy and Jason's comment regarding "pitch black satire", my expectations regarding the game were totally skewed, in retrospect. If I had made the judgement that the Roach was going to be "pitch black satire" I probably would have steered clear in the first place. Black comedy as a form of entertainment has never been a favorite of mine. I expected, I don't know, dark grey comedy; sort of Wodehouse meets Lovecraft, as I may have mentioned previously. More parody than satire.
From that perspective, my experience with the Roach is roughly analogous to a person buying Ferrari and then complaining that it gets poor gas mileage; a little more research could have saved some trouble.
Of course, another question might be how do you deal with the situation where, three hours into a four hour session, you cross the line from point 1 to point 2?� Or three sessions into a five session campaign?� At that point it becomes more a question of tact; how do you tactfully explain to the GM that you need to walk away?
That's an excellent point to raise. I think it must begin with you stating outright, "I am uncomfortable here." This does not equate to you leaving the game, though. I see two possible solutions:
1) The group decides, "Ok, then we won't go into that uncomfortable situation. We'll go into this other situation instead." This is a perfectly functional solution.
2) The group says, "We really want to go into that uncomfortable situation." To which you presumably reply, "Then I think I should not be playing." This is also a perfectly functional solution.
Which of the two will actually occur depends on the social contract, which means that it depends not just on you but also on everyone else.
We all know these things should be discussed up front (as Lisa and Jason have indicated the rules of the Roach require), but we also know that people's self knowledge is incomplete; sometimes you don't know something will bother you until you actually experience it, and therefore don't really have any hint you should avoid the experience in the first place.� In a Dust Devils game I ran at GenCon, one player made the statement at the beginning of the game that he was uncomfortable with rape.� I thought, "wow, that is incredible self-knowledge, I need to make sure I ask a question regarding boundaries before every session of Dust Devils I run with strangers."� But at the same time I thought "wow, what had to happen in a game for him to need to state THAT up front?"� I can truthfully say I've never had rape even hinted at in 20+ years of gaming.� It would never have occurred to me to mention it as a boundary I didn't want crossed.
That's a funny story to me. When I first started thinking about boundaries in RPGs a couple of years ago, the very first boundary I thought of was rape. I knew it was a boundary I did not want to cross, even though I've never encountered it in my gaming. So maybe that player didn't have a bad experience; maybe he just knew for sure what he would not want to see.
I think this is a common issue in RPGs, because RPGs allow an infinite number of choices. You never need to worry about boundaries in Monopoly or Risk, because the choices are finite, you can see all the possibilities immediately, and so boundaries don't need to be stated; you can decide if this crosses your boundary as soon as you read the rulebook. RPGs don't have that benefit.
Jason Morningstar
I'd love to play in a Roach game where the switch for moral engagement was definitively, explicitly on. It'd be a very different game, and much harder to play I suspect.
In terms of boundaries, I tried to make it clear in the rules that if someone articulates their desire to establish a line or veil, that is to be honored without further comment. I recognize that "I will not abandon you" play is both possible and laudable, but I don't think The Roach is the game in which to explore it. When I play, I always say "sexual violence against women or children" as a hard line, because I don't want to see it, ever. Once that is out there, and knowing what everyone else has issues with, I can push 110% on whatever remains, which is always plenty.
Grey Ranks: Child Soldiers, Warsaw, 1944
No, it's not that we condone the acts. I've had characters do heinous things that I would never, ever condone. No, it's that we're enjoying the suffering of others that's problematic. That we're reveling in villainy. Yeah, sure, we're also making commentary that what the characters are doing is heinous. But, as I said, after you say that once, after that, why are you continuing to say it? Message recieved, over and out. Anything after that is exploitive of our own feelings about the darkness that we're discovering in ourselves as we come up with the depraved things that happen.
You know what's interesting? I hadn't actually assumed on reading the game that this sort of horrible thing would happen constantly. Oh, to be sure when controlled by the roach, characters are forced to do some things that are bad. But the player still has some control over what happens. When I played my demo, I thought I was getting out of hand when I had my character deliberately try to injure somebody. I'm a piker when compared to most players, it seems.
I think that a much more "civilized" game of roach could be played that doesn't end up like most of Lisa's sessions. OTOH, maybe it's just my inexperience with actually playing the game.
oliof
Harald Wagener - Zurich, Switzerland
the horrible things described in the AP reports don't happen constantly. I assume (and my experience with dogs support that assumption) that AP reporters are mostly very creative, colorful and extroverted people. That also means that they will go to the extremes a game offers them often, so we see them here.
I have already linked to my Roach AP account, which is much less vile, satanic and brutalizing than most of the stories I've read here. Nonetheless, it was a game where people followed the roach orders, where being roached was a bad thing that gave you the extra power you needed, where professors competed for reputation, and all that jazz. We even hat ancient east sumerian architecture, engineering and art on topic. On top of that, we had plagiarism, student-professor relationships, police investigations, ...
I promise you another "civilized roach" AP report before the end of the year. Keeping it "civilized" also adds to the tension between the roach commands and their disconnect with "modern society".
Harald Wagener
The Shadow of Yesterday - in german<Solar System - in german
Quote from: oliof on August 20, 2006, 02:21:40 AM
Keeping it "civilized" also adds to the tension between the roach commands and their disconnect with "modern society".
This seems like it would be one of the coolest features of a toned done, gentile Roach game. Played either for laughs or for horror, making the Roach commands truly alien would be a great outlet for creativity.
Josh Roby
Category Three Forgite
Couple thoughts:
On the toned-down "civilized" Roach game -- I find that con games sort of encourage the depravity, due to the quickened pace and the anonymity. A con game is a venue where you can experiment going further than you might normally with friends that you're going to play another game with next week.
On applying Calvinism to the Roach -- first off, I think my eyes crossed when you described your character's rapture to heaven. To me, that seemed to be a pretty profound departure from the game's intended content; I'm not surprised at all that it was hard to shoehorn in.
On the difference between playing and condoning -- the point-man for this discussion is Lolita. Nabakov wrote the novel to explore what would make a man trespass so far from cultural norms. There's value in exploring that territory, because crossing boundaries is the only way we ever understand the nature of the boundaries themselves. We aren't saying that it's okay to cross the boundary, we are exploring why the boundary is there and whether or not it should be there. Personally, I think it's important to at least consider the possibility that the boundary is not a valid one; without that possibility a great deal of the exploration is simply impossible. In Lolita, you have to consider whether it's possible that Humbert really can love Lolita, or if his attraction is wholly depraved. If you go in with an answer pre-prepared, you miss a great deal of the novel's impact. The same goes for games that offer big, hard moral choices -- it's got to actually be a choice, otherwise you're missing the bulk of the game.
On moral choices in games -- one of the best things I've seen in recent games is the trend towards placing big, tough moral choices in the context of specific situations full of conflicting details and compelling characters. Dogs is awesome in this regard, in that the game can make the Dogs question nearly any of their beliefs when presented with loving, hurting, desperate people who are struggling with those beliefs. That's why I find Brett's BE game fascinating (fascinating enough for a separate thread, Brett -- get posting!), because the game sits there and presents the players with a conundrum. Here's your antagonist: he's morally superior to your protagonists. Now deal with the situation. Roach has a similar conundrum: how far will you go to get tenure and recognition? Sure, the question is easy when it's presented like that; it's much, much more difficult when you've got a fully fleshed out character in front of you, in a rapidly escalating situation complicated by other player characters who are also fleshed out with their own motivations and goals.
To me, Roach can get played in one of two ways: it can be played for cheap laughs, or it can be played pretty hardcore. It's hard to play the second at a con game to start with -- it requires a little more investment and social support structure. However, for the second you've also got to leave your absolutist faith in anything at the door. The purpose is exploration, not exposition. If you go in with an answer already determined -- or decide that you've got it all figured out in the first 15 minutes and don't need to test your hypothesis -- you're short-circuiting the game. It's like walking into an Uno game deciding that you're the Uno Champion, and disregarding whether you win or lose each hand, denying that anything that happens in the game has anything to do with your Uno Mastery.
All that said, Hans, I don't know if either mode -- cheap laughs or hardcore exploration -- is the kind of play that you're interested in.
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Politics/Policy
Cassidy Van Buren of Waupun FFA signed documentation committing to studying agriculture education at UW-River Falls during the Convention Expo at the 90th Wisconsin FFA Convention on June 12.
Photo by Brooke Bechen
Supporters of Adam Straussburg, a member of Pulaski FFA, watched as he signed paperwork committing himself to study agriculture education at UW-River Falls.
A fellow Staney-Boyd FFA member snapped a photo with her cellphone of FFA member Madelynn Green as she signed paperwork to study agriculture education at UW-River Falls.
Twenty-four students 'tagged to teach ag' at FFA Convention
By Brooke Bechen The Country Today
Brooke Bechen
MADISON — Last year's Wisconsin FFA Convention included a special moment for one daughter and her mother as the first "Teach Ag Signing Day Event" was held during the 89th annual convention.
An FFA adviser recalled that as the young woman stood in line, waiting to sign her letter of intent to one of the top agriculture schools in the state, tears streamed down the face of her proud mother. Her daughter had seen dozens of students at her high school sign letters of intent to colleges for their athletic abilities, but had never dreamed of having her own proud moment, signing her own letter of commitment in front of a large, cheering audience.
The mother said it was the best thing that had happened to her daughter, just one of nine students from across the state that had been accepted to study agriculture education at UW-Platteville or UW-River Falls.
At this year's 90th Wisconsin FFA Convention, 24 students beamed as they sat down with college administrators to sign paperwork committing themselves to study agricultural education, their families, fellow FFA members and advisers cheering from the audience.
"That's my sister!" a sibling exclaimed as Cassidy Van Buren of Waupun FFA signed her documentation, with her mother looking on from over her shoulder.
Van Buren knew she wanted to be a teacher from a young age, but had envisioned teaching kindergarten and early childhood. But that changed when she joined FFA in seventh grade.
"Once I joined, I knew right away that teaching agriculture was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life," she said.
She has been accepted into the agriculture education program at UW-River Falls; once she graduates, she hopes to teach others about agriculture, bringing a special focus to the importance of giving back to the community as her own FFA chapter does.
"FFA and agriculture happen with everyone, and you need the whole community," she said. "It's important to give back."
Abbygail Hayes of Columbus FFA also joined the organization in seventh grade. Growing up on an organic dairy farm, her siblings had also been involved.
While in high school, she enjoyed teaching others about agriculture through FFA, often educating her classmates on topics they knew little about.
"I have a passion for that and would like to continue," Hayes said.
She held multiple roles in her school's FFA chapter, including vice president and secretary. She is now going on to study agriculture education at UW-Platteville.
"Serving in those roles made me come out of my shell and realize I wanted to teach people rather than be taught," she said.
Trinity Radcliffe of Mayville FFA is another student who signed documentation last week; she has been accepted into UW-River Falls. She joined FFA when she was a freshman.
"I always liked being on the farm and as I came to know FFA, I realized there was more to agriculture than just the farm.
"It's important that youth know that," she said.
Her mother said she was surprised when Radcliffe told her family she wanted to study agriculture education, but surprised in a good way as it came as no surprise that their daughter wanted to inspire others in the next generation.
"We're very proud and excited for her future," Radcliffe's mother said.
Jordyn Steinhoff of Tomah FFA said she attended the National FFA Convention last year and it opened her eyes to the possibility of studying agriculture education.
"The National Convention was eye-opening to me. I knew I wanted to teach and inspire people," Steinhoff said.
She plans to study at UW-River Falls and has a special interest in animal science.
"A lot of people don't know where their food comes from," she said. "Ag is broad, and you don't have to be a farmer to be in FFA. I think people should know that."
"Children are our future and without them, agriculture would be done," added Madelynn Green of Stanley-Boyd FFA. "There wouldn't be a future without them."
Adam Straussburg of Pulaski FFA was one of the only men at the signing event, pursuing a degree in agricultural education at UW-River Falls. He was inspired to join FFA because his father was an FFA member and told him it was a great experience.
He knew his sophomore year of high school that he wanted to be an ag teacher.
"I want to teach and encourage kids to come out of their shells and become the leaders of tomorrow," Straussburg said.
Serving as president the past two years has had a big impact on him as well.
"I've enjoyed being able to see underclassmen work on their projects and get them involved in the organization as well," he said.
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Talking Karate and Olympic dreams with Shauna Mullaney
The Teenge Ninja Turtles have a lot to answer for, not least 14 years of Shauna Mullaney's life dedicated to karate. Coming 11th in the Junior Worlds, she's now set her sights on Tokyo2020.
We met in the café at Dublin City University, after lectures finish for the day and before her regular training session. This is the stuff people forget when they dream of being champions – somehow you have to make a living, study, be part of a family and fit intense training in.
Shauna said: 'I was really into the Teenage Ninja Turtles, I thought that was so cool. I started Karate with my sister, she got her black belt eventually and left but I'm just enthralled by it. I'm into the tiny details like the way your toes face. And I've made my friends here now, we have so much craic and messing.'
She says her coaches think the girls are more agile, use the techniques more than the boys who rely more on strength and power. She shrugs and says it's probably true, but it doesn't bother her who she's sparring with as long as it's fun.
Seven years on the Irish national squad has taught her to take the learning where she can. Learning and travelling – Russia and Serbia on the list for next year. She turns 21 in June so this is her last shot at the Junior titles.
'We travel a lot, it's my social outlet. I don't drink but when we're together you've got the team feeling on the Irish squad, and the club-feeling at Nationals. There's isn't any cattiness. I wouldn't rely much on social media; coming up to competitions I'm not scrolling through, looking at the other girls. You just need the right mind-set.'
Collage images Instagram @Shauna_m16
And even though Karate is a weight-category-based competition, Shauna says she manages it by staying around her target weight all the time. She laughs at the mention of salt baths and other crash weight-cut methods, shaking her head at the idea of such 'torture'.
Maybe this comes from the open nature of women's competitions at some tournaments. Clocking in to the -55kg category, she has competed against women in a spread from 48 to 60kgs but says that as the numbers of women grow, this happens less frequently.
For her pre-competition food she turns to 'mam's cooking' if possible for lasagne or spaghetti bolognese. Breakfast on the day is oats. She said: 'I bring Flahavans porridge when me to tournaments, crackers or Nature Valley cereal bars. It's like I have a piece of Ireland with me.'
And of course you can't talk about Karate now without bringing up the dream of Tokyo2020. Although Shauna has a strong practical streak (studying economics does that), she still has dreams. One of the newest Olympic sports, Shauna has seen so many new faces at her gym and people crossing over from other martial arts.
She said: 'I think Tokyo has had a good impact. There are more women for sparing with, you meet new people now. There're people coming in from Taekwondo, Kickboxing and other Karate bodies.
'I would have ambitions for Tokyo. We're a small country but we get good rankings. I want to go to the Olympics, it would be a dream come true.'
Follow Shauna's Karate journey on Instagram @shauna_m16
Find out more about Irish Karate and the Olympics at IKKU with Sensai Paul Brennan,
By real girl sport at 7:00:00 AM
Labels: Inspiration, Inspiring, Interview, Martial Arts, Olympics
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Quince add a delicate perfume to the kitchen larder in late Autumn. This simple recipe produces a white poached quince flesh with sweet and sour flavours. Serve with rich pork dishes or confit duck as a foil to their fattiness.
Attach your Polyscience Sous Vide Chef Series to a container, fill to maximum mark with water. Set the Chef series sous vide to 77.5⁰C and allow to preheat.
Wash the quince then peel and cut in half, I leave the seeds in. Place in a vacuum pouch with the vinegar, water, honey and vanilla. Using a square of baking paper wrap the remaining ingredients to form a sachet and place this in the vacuum pouch away from the quince so that it will not damage the flesh when vacuum sealed. Vacuum seal the pouch at full vacuum and cook in the water bath for seven hours.


Our VP of Business Development, Imara Galaz, attended the IoT Tech Expo North America 2017 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Silicon Valley. This expo is one of the world's largest IoT events hosting over more than 300 exhibitors and speakers, and thousands of attendees including IT decision makers, developers & makers, OEM's, government and council officials, automotive exec's, operators, technology providers, investors, venture capitalists and many more. Emida looked to meet new possible partners and explore opportunities in new industries.
Martyn Fricker, our VP and GM of International, attended Customer Experience Management in Telecoms North America in Atlanta, GA on October 24th-26th, 2017. This conference focuses mainly on Customer Experience in the American Telecoms industry. This is a great networking opportunity with several keynote speakers discussing case studies, CEM best practices, and providing interactive workshops.


Situated in the most exclusive area of the Athenian Riviera, Vouliagmeni, The Margi luxury hotel is a luminous haven away from home. Perfectly balancing discreet luxury with a cosy mediterranean ambience, and exceptionally nestled between the sea and pine forest, this unique design hotel promises moments of absolute pleasure in the Athenian coast.
It features 89 luxurious rooms and suites, which provide all modern amenities including satellite TV LCD, Wi-Fi, DVD player, minibar, work desk, safe and air conditioning. In the bathroom you will find Korres products, fluffy bathrobes and slippers. Enjoy the magnificent view of the sea, forest and lit candles patio, from the balcony of your room.
Work out in the fully equipped fitness suite space or walk in the forest around the hotel and the beach. Then you can relax in Malabar next to the magnificent pool and enjoy moments of relaxation by the fireplace in the Lobby Lounge, or dine with your loved ones in Vaku restaurant.
In a unique environment, with the latest technology and robust support services, the Margi is also the ideal choice for your business meetings. It is located very close to the cosmopolitan nightlife. Restaurants and clubs like the cosmopolitan "Island", promises unforgettable fun as well.
This spacious room comes with wooden floor and handcrafted furniture. It opens to a balcony with views to the sea, pine tree forest or the pool.
Each with distinctive décor in soft tones, this spacious suite features a king size bed and a seating area with flat-screen TV. The bathroom comes with Korres toiletries and a rain shower or hot tub.
Divided in 2 levels, this suite comes with 2 double beds and a bathroom with a rain-style shower. It can be connected with an executive room, accommodating up to 6 guests.
This luxurious suite offers supreme opulence with a stunning sea view.
A dream loft of sofisticated luxury, with spacious areas, overlooking the sea, offers you endless moments of pleasure and relaxation.
Bustling with a sophisticated vibe in its beautiful day-to-night pool and lounge area, Malabar creates an inviting scene of sun-filled white day beds with transparent curtains flowing in an afternoon breeze, and earth-toned sofas surrounded by vine-covered walls glistening under an open sky.
An exclusive meetings and events destination for groups up to 400 people. Set in an exclusive environment, with state-of-the-art event facilities and a host of sophisticated services, The Margi is an ideal location for corporate gatherings, from small meetings to large-scale incentives and elegant parties.


Chris Anderson reads my posts!
As mentioned before I sometimes blog for TEDxAmsterdam, the little sister of TED. It seems that we are being watched by our big brother though. Chris Anderson, curator of TED and nr. 7 in Fast Company's most creative people 2010, apparently reads our TEDxAmsterdam posts as well. Today he tweeted about super talented Emma Bruns and her endearing story, a post that I have written. For me personally it's is great to talk with and get to know so many great people that are involved with TEDxAmsterdam and that people actually read what I write. For Emma it's awesome to see that her story a year after presenting is still spreading. Just a few of the reasons why I love TED and the internet!
If you want to read the post and see Emma's TED talk, click here.
This entry was posted in Music, Musings, Other, Recommendation, Video and tagged @TEDChris, Chris Anderson, Emma Bruns, Fast Company, TED, TEDxAmsterdam, TEDxAmsterdam 2009 by Lieke Voermans. Bookmark the permalink.


Redi-Seal Envelopes require no moisture to seal and no peel-off strip to throw away. Simply fold down the flap. The special coating provides a secure and permanent seal. Envelopes feature an open-end design.


text:
DER PARIA
Paris school pupils protest at Roma girl's expulsion
October 19, 2013 March 31, 2015 derparia
High school students blocked the entrance to numerous schools in Paris and several other French cities on Thursday in protest at the deportation of foreign pupils, sparked by the expulsion of a 15 year old Roma girl earlier this month. Leonarda Dibrani was detained by police during a school trip on October 9th and deported to Kosovo along with her parents and five siblings.
About 50 schools in the French capital and the rest of the country were disrupted by second day of student protests sparked by the deportation of foreign pupils. At least 23 schools in the Paris region were taking part in the protest on Friday, with many classes empty and the entrances to some schools blocked.
Some of the protesters have also called for the resignation of Manuel Valls, the controversial interior minister who has defended the expulsion and sparked anger last month by saying Roma migrants could not integrate into French society. Mr Valls insisted that the deportation of Leonarda and the rest of her family had been carried out in line with established procedure.
Leonarda Dibrani was apparently not at home when police arrived at the family home to expel her mother and her six children. Her father had already been expelled from a detention centre on October 8.
The deportation of illegal Roma immigrants is part of a government crackdown – instituted by the previous centre-right administration of Nicolas Sarkozy – which has included the dismantling of Roma camps across France. Opinion polls show that most French people (93%) agree that the Roma do not integrate well in France and are broadly supportive (77%) of the government's policies. Amnesty International recently reported that more than 10,000 Roma had been evicted from temporary camps in France in the first half of the year.
According to the French news site Mediapart, the teenager was on a school trip when one of her teachers received a phone call from a local official asking her to stop the bus. The teacher initially refused and was then connected to a border police officer whose "language was stronger and more direct. He told me that we had no choice, we had to stop the bus where we were because he wanted to get one of our students in an irregular situation," a teacher, identified as Ms. Giacoma, told Mediapart. According to Giacoma, she managed to negotiate an agreement to stop the bus in the parking lot of another high school since the bus at that point was on a busy ring road. "I asked Leonarda to say goodbye to her friends and then I got off the bus with her," said Giacoma. "We went inside the high school, out of sight, and I explained the situation. She cried a lot. I took her in my arms to comfort her and explained that she was going through difficult times, it would take a lot of courage…[then] a police car arrived, two uniformed police officers came out. I told them this was a totally inhumane way to proceed with the arrest of a young girl during her school activities and they could have done it differently." The police have said they were carrying out orders after the family's application for political asylum was turned down on grounds of "insufficient prospect of social and economic integration" in France. According to the girl's teachers and friends, Leonarda was a good student who arrived in France from her native Kosovo at an early age.
France was the only country she knew and the girl is a native French speaker. In a statement published on the Mediapart site earlier this week, the teachers of Leonarda's school expressed their "shock" over "the methods used to return children from the Roma minority to countries they do not know, where they do not speak the language."
Leonarda Dibrani told French radio she was being denied education in Kosovo. She said she wanted to return to France to finish school. Speaking by phone to France Inter radio, Leonarda Dibrani said she and her family were isolated in Mitrovica because they were Roma. "I felt awful abandoning my friends, the school, everyone," she recalled. "I felt ashamed too because the police were there and my friends were asking what I had done, if I had stolen something."
www.france24.com
www.mobile.france24.com
www.bbc.uk.com
Posted in Roma, Roma DiskriminierungTagged Kosovo, Leonarda Dibrani, Manuel Valls, protest, Roma expulsions France 2013
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One thought on "Paris school pupils protest at Roma girl's expulsion"
marikaschmiedt says:
Hat dies auf ARTBRUT rebloggt.
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"Sie haben alles aufgeschrieben, aber von nichts gewusst"
01/2013 Zeitschrift DER PARIA
A VISIT TO THE NOTARY. THE THIRD PLAYER
Melanie Spitta und Katrin Seybold Filmtrilogie
Filmtrilogie Melanie Spitta und Katrin Seybold 22.-24.02. in der Werkstatt der Kulturen, Berlin
Tag 2 der Filmtrilogie Melanie Spitta und Katrin Seybold um 19.30 Uhr im WdK
Tag 3 der Filmtrilogie Melanie Spitta und Katrin Seybold
Oppressed Roma people fight for liberation
STATEMENT FOR THE 6TH CONGRESS OF THE AFRICAN PEOPLE`S SOCIALIST PARTY
Roma Industry
"A Roma Model/ The Cosmopolitan Other?"
Final report "Romanistan" by Teodora Tabacki
ROMA Kombinat: Intervention
Podiumsdiskussion: Roma Strategy = Deportation Free?
THEATRE OF DISCOMBOBULATION
UNITED COMMUNITIES OF THE OPPRESSED
WARUM WOLLEN SIE UNS ESSEN? / WHY DO YOU WANT TO EAT US?
Wer spricht in der "AZ-Forschung"?
Stop Bio Knoblauch Romanes/ Organic Garlic Romanes
Stellungnahme zu der Erklärung zum Protestbrief Stop Bio Knoblauch Romanes von Bezirksstadträtin Franziska Giffey
Protestbrief / protest letter / lettre ouverte
Kundgebung "Weihnachts Bio Knoblauch Romanes"
SPOKEN REVOLT
The Scam on 8th of April
WE ARE THE OUTSIDERS
Wir sind das Herz der Mutter Erde. 8. März, Internationaler Frauentag
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Liotryphon petulcus är en stekelart som först beskrevs av Cresson 1872.  Liotryphon petulcus ingår i släktet Liotryphon och familjen brokparasitsteklar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

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In a city nicknamed the "Windy City," "Second City" and the "City of Broad Shoulders," its most famous have included the likes of Douglas, Daley, Obama, Emmanuel and Ashcroft in political circles and Banks, Williams, Santo, Ditka, Sayers and Payton who played at the storied Wrigley Field for the beloved Cubs or on the gridiron for the Bears. In Chicago's real estate and finance sectors, those in the know revere the names of those who helped make this city the commercial hub it is today. With that in mind, Real Estate Forum has selected the top 30 real estate icons doing business today that have built and invested in the city as well as across the US and abroad.


text:
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Oslo is the capital and largest city of Norway, but many visitors give the city little time as they attempt to escape the high prices of the capital in exchange for fjord country. However, the capital is home to some of the country's best museums, restaurants, and architecture and is worth your time. The city is home to about 900,000 people, with the greater area being home to about 1.4 million people, however Oslo is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe. This growth is primarily due to immigrants and Norwegians from the country moving to the capital for work as Oslo is the country's leader in banking, shipping, insurance, industry, trade, and many other political and economic sectors.
Oslo sits at the end of the Oslofjord, which makes the city quite protected from the North Sea, yet it has easy access to it (although parts of the fjord can freeze in the winter months). The city is bordered by these waters and by rising lands inland, which make expansion difficult. Despite the limited area, over half the city is protected lands covered with forests and lakes. Sitting close to the North Sea, temperature extremes in Oslo are somewhat muted as the water makes winters a bit warmer and summers a bit cooler.
Oslo was founded in the 1000s, although people surely lived in the region prior to the founding of the city at this time. The city didn't grow in power for much of its early history as there were numerous other cities of wealth and after Denmark took over Norway the city fell too close to Denmark to gain much power.
The city began to rise in power when King Haakon V (reigned: 1299-1319) moved the capital to Oslo and built the Akershus Castle to protect the city. During this time the city slightly grew in power and influence, but Norway's trading center was the Hanseatic League city of Bergen; during this time Oslo struggled to complete with the Hanseatic League in the way of trade. Despite holding political power, Oslo truly served as Norway's second city for much of this time.
Oslo suffered further when Denmark and Norway united under the Kalmar Union in 1380. This union shifted political power to Copenhagen, Denmark as economic power in Norway remained in Bergen. Oslo again failed to grow significantly during this time and was hit with fires, the plague, and other set-backs that made the city's growth a slow process from this time through the 1500s. Oslo also later lost its status as capital of Norway.
In 1624 much of the city burned to the ground so the city center was shifted slightly and re-named Kristiana (or Christiana) after the king who re-built the city, King Christian IV. Unfortunately, little else changed as Bergen continued to control the country's economy and Denmark maintained control over the political scene.
The 1700s began the upswing for Oslo as Norway and their allies won the Great Northern War against Sweden. This war required ships and Oslo's ship-building industry exploded and continued to thrive after the war. This economic growth and gain in power eventually put the city in a position to serve as the capital in the early 1800s.
In 1814 the Kalmar Union ended and Norway fell under the rule of Sweden. This move led to the official shifting of the capital to Oslo and the beginning of the city's growth. The new government (which existed, but still fell under Swedish rule), began to build their new capital with governmental buildings, such as the Royal Palace and Parliament, a university, houses, and commercial buildings. The city also began to rapidly expand as it became both the political and economic center of the country as by the mid-1800s Oslo had surpassed Bergen in population.
Changes continued in the 1900s as Norway gained independence from Sweden in 1905 and in 1925 the city was re-named Oslo, which was its historic name. In more recent decades the city has grown as a modern city. Sky scrapers have been built, political power and public institutions are centered in the city, and the city has become the country's transportation hub. Although signs of the past exist, due to the city's recent growth Oslo appears and feels very modern.
Oslo is not just a modern city today, Oslo is a leading city in the modern and post-modern movements, both in architecture as well as in other realms. The city has an incredible infrastructure and skyline as every modern amenity is easily accessible, although you may have to pay a lot to access them.
The capital is also home to a thriving arts scene as museums, performances, and other forms of architecture are all popular among locals and foreigners alike. This scene creates a sense of prestige and high culture that is also apparent as the city is home to the Nobel Peace Prize. Despite this, the city rarely feels inaccessible or out of reach.
Oslo is also constantly on the move and always changing as the universities draw students from throughout the country, the government and government-run programs bring in a large educated population for work, and the social and welfare benefits offered by the government attract numerous foreigners who settle in the city as they struggle to find work and a new life. It seems Oslo is a city on the move and in constant motion focused more on future progress than on past successes, an attitude that perhaps contributes to the accessibility of the city and its people.
However, the progress, technology, social benefits, and the large number of goods that must be imported make Oslo one of the world's most expensive cities. Despite the expense, the city has numerous jobs in various fields which pay well so most locals make a lot, but also must pay a lot for housing, food, transportation, etc. For the tourist the expense become quickly apparent as few people have a salary suited for life in Oslo.
Akershus Castle & Fortress (Akershus Festning): This fortress and former military stronghold from the 1200s offers incredible buildings, museums, and a great view of the harbor. For more information visit their website at: www.forsvarsbygg.no/festningene/ (Norwegian only).
Nobel Peace Center (Nobels Fredssenter): This building is the home of the Nobel Peace Prize and it houses a museum honoring all past laureates, information about the award's founder, Alfred Nobel, and other displays about peace and war. The award itself is not presented here though, it is presented in Oslo Town Hall. For more information visit their website at: www.nobelpeacecenter.org/en/.
Norwegian Opera House (Operahuset): This post-modern building appears to be an iceberg to the trained eye and to others is perhaps the most visually stunning man-made structure in all of Norway. Most visitors only picnic on the slowly slanting roof, but inside the building is home to world class operas, ballets, and other performing arts. For more information visit their website at: www.operaen.no/en/.
Parliament (Stortinget): The Parliament building stands in the center of Oslo and serves as the home to the legislative body in Norway. It is also available for tours to the public. For more information visit their website at: www.stortinget.no/en/In-English/.
Royal Palace (Slottet): The royal palace (1824-1848) is centered in the middle of Oslo and is home to the royal family. It is also available for tours to the public. For more information visit their website at: www.royalcourt.no.
Fram Museum (Frammuseet): This museum houses the ship, "Fram," which is one of the most famous polar ships. Visitors can actually step on board the ship to understand how the people lived on polar expeditions. For more information visit their website at: www.frammuseum.no.
National Gallery (Nasjonalgalleriet): A part of the National Museums (Nasjonalmuseet), this museum is Norway's largest art museum as it's home to paintings, drawings, and sculptures. The most famous of its paintings is "The Scream," by Edvard Munch, also recognized by Guinness World Records™ as being the most stolen painting of all time. For more information visit their website at: www.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/venues/the_national_gallery/.
National Museum of Contemporary Art: A part of the National Museums (Nasjonalmuseet), this museum hosts a number of visual art pieces from the past century and often has rotating exhibits. For more information visit their website at: www.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/venues/museum_of_contemporary_art/.
Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisk museum): This museum is also home to botanical gardens, a zoological museum, and a museum filled with geological items, including rocks and minerals. For more information visit their website at: www.nhm.uio.no/english/.
Norwegian Museum of Science, Technology, and Medicine (Norsk Teknisk Museum): This hands-on museum is great for children as most of the displays are interactive and educational. For more information visit their website at: www.tekniskmuseum.no/ (Norwegian only).
Vigelandsparken Sculpture Park (Vigelandsanlegget): This huge park (which is a part of Frogner Park) features over 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland and is a center of modern art as locals and tourists alike flock to this public park. For more information visit their website at: www.vigeland.museum.no/en/vigeland-park.
Viking Ship Museum (Vikingskipshuset på Bygdøy): The highlight of this museum is the two well-preserved Viking ships from the 800s, but it also offers an insight into the Viking way of life and culture as it displays tools, carvings, and clothing among other items. For more information visit their website at: www.khm.uio.no/english/visit-us/viking-ship-museum/.
Holmenkollen Ski Jump & Museum (Holmenkollbakken): This ski jump offers more than just the jump itself, this area offers great views of the city of Oslo and the world's oldest ski museum, a fitting attraction for the country that invented ski jumping and many other winter sports. For more information visit their website at: www.holmenkollen.com/eng.
Tusen Fryd (Tusenfryd): This is Norway's largest and most popular amusement park as it boasts water rides, roller coasters, and other games and rides; the park is only open from April to October. For more information visit their website at: www.tusenfryd.no/eng.
The Government Quarter (Regjeringskvartalet) is a cluster of government buildings near Parliament. Although few of these buildings stand out from an architectural perspective, the area is the center of Norway's political scene.
Transportation options from Oslo are numerous as the capital is also Norway's largest transportation hub. SAS Airlines has a hub in Oslo and from here there are daily flights to all large Norwegian cities and even many towns. Train routes in Norway are limited, but from Oslo trains travel to many large cities, including Bergen and some further afield, including Trondheim. Buses also service the country quite extensively and from Oslo you can get to nearly any city in Norway, although some bus routes take a long time to navigate the geography. Boat routes are more limited, but travel to some cities in Norway.
Like the domestic routes, Oslo is also the largest hub for international transportation routes. The airport services flights to dozens of countries throughout the world, although regional routes are more common as getting to any major European city is easy from Oslo's airport. Boats from Oslo primarily service locations in Denmark, but there are further routes as well. Bus and train routes from Oslo are primarily limited to traveling to Sweden.
Airport: Oslo has a few airports, but the largest is Gardermoen International Airport, which is located about 31 miles (50 kilometers) from the city's center. The airport code is OSL and the airport's website is: www.osl.no/en/osl. This airport is a hub for Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Norwegian Air Shuttle, and Wilderoe.
Oslo is also home to a couple small regional airports, including Moss Airport, which is in the town of Rygge and serves numerous budget airlines. Its airport code is RYG and it is located about 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Oslo's city center. The airport's website is: www.en.ryg.no/). For the location of these airports or for directions, see the map below.
Train Station: Oslo's main train station is located on the center of town. For train times and schedules, their website is: www.nsb.no. For its location or directions, see the map below.
Bus Station: There are numerous private bus companies that service Oslo. There are a couple bus stations and stops, but the main bus station is located next to the train station and most long-haul bus routes begin or end here. For its location or directions, see the map below.
Local Transportation: Oslo has an extensive public transportation system, including a Metro (subway), buses, trams, and ferries. These services are run by Ruter; for times and prices, visit their website at: ruter.no/en/. There are also services from the airports to downtown. For more information on these services go to their website at: www.visitoslo.com/en/transport/transport-airport/.


My wife and I stopped in two days last week and were completely disgusted with what we saw and smelled in there. Both bathrooms reeked of a sewage smell and all the girls smelled like they walked through a drug lords marijuana field. The lady people said was a manager was clearly unhinged as she argued with several girls in the front customer area where every could see how unprofessional she conducts herself and treats the dancers. The sound system is a relic from the early 1980's and when there WAS a DJ there, the set up was a 50 dollar IPad and a 50 dollar piece of software. The DJ was EXTREMELY rude and nasty to my wife and I'm sickened that the attitude of the company employees is allowed to be this way. The food is frozen pizza stored in a kitchen that looks like it was built in the 1940's (someone left the kitchen door open) and there is no privacy at all in the back rooms for dances. Every person going to the men's or ladies room can see exactly what is going on. No wonder the girls hardly make any money here. Why pay when you can watch for free? The other day that week we went there was another bartender charging different prices for the exact same drinks for different customers. This must be the new manager's idea of "price diversification". We do not plan to come back until, if the stories we heard were true, it gets sold and the new owned hire real people who have actual management and bartending experience.
This place has a lot of potential. The problem is the lack of proper management. The day time bartender cares more about her social life then the customers. She is always on her phone, talking with the girls, or spreading the gossip instead of waiting on customers. Myself and some other regulars have stopped coming here due to the lack of service. We will return once she is gone. The club has a face book page but never updates it or puts the daily schedule on there. Facebook is free and it takes 2 minutes to post the schedule. Please stop being so lazy.
Temporary fitntuaulocs in the financial market are too often driven by emotional causes (fear). And people who know that and know how to use others people fear, have a huge advantage.
This club is very laid back. You can obtain good floor shows. Most of the ladies are very without being too pushy. The dances are good. The more you pay the best the dances are. Some dancers constantly bug you for a dance when you don't desire one with them. More food and ladies that took no for an answer would make this place perfect. Over the last year, the quality of the ladies has improved. To me, its the "Cheers" of Strip Clubs. If you go before 5 on the week days and six on weekend days there isn't a cover. Enjoy!
Best place ever! Laid back, girls are awesome not to mention pretty damn hot ones. Great lap dances, comfortable invironment, overall the best!!!!!!!
cant stand the owner jimmy, what a prick. i mean comeon if the girl is acctually sitting and talking with a customer who is gonna get a dance and decides to yell at her right there, the customer aint gonna buy that dance no more.
Excellent club. The club has extremely nice and attractive ladies dancing. Everyone is very friendly and laid back. It's an "out in the country" type location. I highly recommend it.


Over the last, few weeks, I've been working with the instructors going for their Level 1 (along with training new hires) but last week I was able to work with an instructor going for Level 2. This inspired me to write up a few tips that will help people going for the Level 2 exam. Our hill has the exam this coming weekend and from the book sales I've seen lately, it looks like many others are preparing for their exam, so here's some additional help.
The way they do the exam in the Central Division right now is that you either get your lesson assignment at the beginning of the day or else a chair lift ride or two before you give your lesson to the group. Either way, this isn't a lot of time to put your lesson together but in real life, with real students you actually have less time to prepare. You'll watch the skier do one run and then have one chair ride up to put together your lesson with them while you talk to them.
1. Which Fundamental Are You Working On?
Review the 5 fundamentals in your head (which you should, for sure have memorized, word for word – along with understanding of each). Which one is the closest to what will help your student the most?
Is it a fore/aft issue (fundamental #1)?
Is an issue with their weight on the wrong foot (fundamental #2)?
Will more edge angle help them ski better (fundamental #3)?
Is their body following their skis instead of facing downhill (fundamental #4)?
Could they use some more absorption as they ski (fundamental #5)?
For each one of these fundamentals, you should have a lesson prepared. Make up a cheat sheet and have it in your pocket. It's usually allowed to look at that and making up that cheat sheet for yourself will help you work through these lessons in your mind.
2. Which Part(s) of the Turn Will This Lesson Apply to?
For example, if they are a "Z" turner where they kick their ski tails out to turn (which I saw WAY too much of this last weekend at Cascade… weird), then they need to round out their turns. This would be the shaping/control phase.
If we're working on the shaping/control phase, then maybe a drill like "1000 Steps" or "Shuffle Turns" will help round out their turns.
And, per the example I'm explaining here, we're working on fundamental #1 because if they move their center of mass more forward as they turn, that will get them off their heels. The tips will then guide the skis through the snow instead of the tails.
4. What's Your Static Exercise?
Now that we know the main drill to work on, work backwards. What skill do they need in order to accomplish the main exercise? For this example, a step or shuffle is the first thing they need to be introduced to. A shuffle is usually easier for a student than doing steps, which would require them to lift their foot/ski off the snow.
Our static exercise is shuffling for this example.
Typically, you'll just add some intensity and increase the pitch. If you we doing a lesson to get someone to parallel skiing, for example, you might start with "Railroad Tracks" and then increase the duration to get them to parallel.
You now have your introduction (per my book), the static, you'll then do a traverse doing shuffling going to the left, then another traverse doing shuffling to the right, then do one turn (a "C" turn) doing shuffling, then another one, then connect the two (an "S" turn), then add some intensity, then put it into our skiing and then wrap up.
That's honestly a lot for 20 minutes, you'll need to move through it at a good pace. But what is this lesson, really? It's just one drill, basically… "1000 Steps" or "Shuffle Turns." That's it. We broke it down to help get people there, then we did it, added intensity and then put it into our skiing.
One mistake I made before taking my Level 2 Exam and one I see other instructors make is doing too much during a lesson. Again, the example lesson here is just one thing. That's it. Just add the lesson formula I explain here and in my book and you easily have a 20 minute lesson. Don't over complicate it. Keep it simple, right?
Just think of these 5 things, then put your lesson together. You'll have plenty of time to do this on one chair ride up if you follow these steps.
Of course, I go into a lot more detail and give more help in my book: My Journey to Level 2 Alpine: What Helped Me Pass the PSIA Level 2 Exam where I explain the bulletproof introduction to give, how to do a killer wrap up and how to prepare. The book is only $5.99. I kept it cheap on purpose. I wanted to help other instructors by keeping the price low but it's worth way more than that – I've heard people say that over and over again. Go pick it up. It'll help.
Good luck on your exam. Make sure you really prepare – both mentally and physically. Our exam here is 3 days on snow and keeping up mentally and physically standing there and then doing your best skiing isn't something you can just "wing" when you get there. No way. You'll most likely fail. We had 7 people in my Level 2 and only myself and one other guy (a race coach) passed. Make sure you prepare and you'll do well!
You can "steal" stuff from other people's lessons. What this means is if someone else does "Garlands" in their lessons, you can still use it. Do what they did. That's fine. You don't have to do something different just because it's been used before.
One more tip for ya!


text:
Q: Adding Macros to Python I would like to invoke the following code in-situ wherever I refer to MY_MACRO in my code below.
# MY_MACRO
frameinfo = getframeinfo(currentframe())
msg = 'We are on file ' + frameinfo.filename + ' and line ' +  str(frameinfo.lineno)
# Assumes access to namespace and the variables in which `MY_MACRO` is called.
current_state = locals().items()

Here is some code that would use MY_MACRO:
def some_function:
    MY_MACRO

def some_other_function:
    some_function()
    MY_MACRO

class some_class:
  def some_method:
     MY_MACRO

In case it helps:

*

*One of the reasons why I would like to have this ability is because I would like to avoid repeating the code of MY_MACRO wherever I need it. Having something short and easy would be very helpful.

*Another reason is because I want to embed an IPython shell wihthin the macro and I would like to have access to all variables in locals().items() (see this other question)

Is this at all possible in Python? What would be the easiest way to get this to work?
Please NOTE that the macro assumes access to the entire namespace of the scope in which it's called (i.e. merely placing the code MY_MACRO in a function would not work). Note also that if I place MY_MACRO in a function, lineno would output the wrong line number.

A: The use of exec is frowned upon, but it ought to do the trick here. For example, take the following macro:
MY_MACRO = """
print foo
"""

and run it by using the following code:
foo = "breaking the rules"
exec MY_MACRO in globals(),locals()

Always be careful with exec, because it can have strange side-effects and opens up opportunities for code injection.

A: MacroPy is a project of mine which brings syntactic macros to Python. The project is only 3 weeks old, but if you look at the link, you'll see we have a pretty cool collection of demos, and the functionality you want can definitely be implemented using it.
On the other hand, python has some pretty amazing introspection capabilities, so I suspect you may be able to accomplish what you want purely using that functionality.

A: you could use function if you wanted to:
def MY_MACRO():
    frame = currentframe()
    try:
        macro_caller_locals = frame.f_back.f_locals
        print(macro_caller_locals['a'])

    finally:
        del frame

def some_function:
    a = 1
    MY_MACRO()

A: I'm not sure if this is a good solution, but it's at least worth considering a macro preprocessor.
There are a few different extend-Python-with-macros projects, or wider projects that should make such a thing easier to do, but I only have expired links for all of them (Logix, MetaPython, Mython, Espy)… It might be worth looking for current links and/or newer/liver projects.
You can use something like m4 or cpp, or something more powerful, or even build one yourself. But really, you've just got a small, static set (so far, one) of purely textual macros. At worst you have to detect the indentation level of MY_MACRO and add that to the start of each line, which is trivial to do in a regex. Meaning sed, or a 3-liner Python script, can be your preprocessor.
However, there are two problems, or at least annoyances.
First, you need to preprocess your files. If you're already using C extension modules or generated code or any other code that needs you to setup.py (or make or scons or whatever) before you can run it, or you're using an IDE where you just hit cmd-R or ctrl-shift-B or whatever to test your code, this isn't a problem. But for the typical edit-test loop with a text editor in one window and an interactive interpreter in another… well, you've just turned it into an edit-compile-test loop. Ugh. The only solution I can think of is an import hook that preprocesses every file before importing it as a module, which seems like a lot of work for a small benefit.
Second, your line numbers and source (from MY_MACRO itself, as well as from tracebacks and inspect.getsource and so on) are going to be the line numbers of the preprocessed files, not the original source that you have open for editing. Since your preprocessed files are pretty readable, that isn't terrible (not as bad as coding CoffeeScript and debugging it as JavaScript, which most of the CoffeeScript community does every day…), but it's definitely an annoyance.
Of course one way to solve this is to build your own macro processor into the interpreter, at whichever stage in the parse/compile process you want. I'm guessing that's a whole lot more work than you want to do, but if you do, well, Guido always prefers to have an actual working design and implementation to reject instead of having to keep rejecting vague suggestions of "Hey, let's add macros to Python". :)

A: If you need only line and function name of caller like I needed for debug, you can get caller function information by inspect.getouterframes link.
import inspect
def printDebugInfo():
  (frame,filename,line_number,function_name, lines,
    index) = inspect.getouterframes(inspect.currentframe())[1]
  print(filename, line_number, function_name, lines, index)

def f1():
  printDebugInfo()

if __name__=='__main__':
  f1()

A: How about a function you can call?  This function accesses the caller's frame, and rather than using locals(), uses frame.f_locals to get the caller's namespace.
def my_function():
    frame = currentframe().f_back
    msg = 'We are on file {0.f_code.co_filename} and line {0.f_lineno}'.format(frame)
    current_state = frame.f_locals
    print current_state['some_variable']

Then just call it:
def some_function:
    my_function()

def some_other_function:
    some_function()
    my_function()

class some_class:
  def some_method:
     my_function()

A: I'd say you should define a function to do this, since there are no macros in Python. It looks like you want to capture the current stack frame, which you could do simplify by passing in currentframe() from the call site to your shared function. Ditto with locals.
def print_frame_info(frameinfo, locals):
    msg = 'We are on file ' + frameinfo.filename + ' and line ' +  str(frameinfo.lineno)
    current_state = locals.items()

def some_other_function:
    some_function()
    print_frame_info(currentframe(), locals())

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text: Automated installation of my usual environment

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
package org.jabref.gui.preferences.entryeditortabs;

import javafx.fxml.FXML;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.TextArea;

import org.jabref.gui.Globals;
import org.jabref.gui.actions.ActionFactory;
import org.jabref.gui.actions.StandardActions;
import org.jabref.gui.help.HelpAction;
import org.jabref.gui.preferences.AbstractPreferenceTabView;
import org.jabref.gui.preferences.PreferencesTab;
import org.jabref.logic.help.HelpFile;
import org.jabref.logic.l10n.Localization;

import com.airhacks.afterburner.views.ViewLoader;

public class CustomEditorFieldsTab extends AbstractPreferenceTabView<CustomEditorFieldsTabViewModel> implements PreferencesTab {

    @FXML private Button generalFieldsHelp;
    @FXML private TextArea fieldsTextArea;

    public CustomEditorFieldsTab() {
        ViewLoader.view(this)
                  .root(this)
                  .load();
    }

    @Override
    public String getTabName() {
        return Localization.lang("Custom editor tabs");
    }

    public void initialize() {
        viewModel = new CustomEditorFieldsTabViewModel(dialogService, preferencesService);

        fieldsTextArea.textProperty().bindBidirectional(viewModel.fieldsProperty());

        ActionFactory actionFactory = new ActionFactory(Globals.getKeyPrefs());
        actionFactory.configureIconButton(StandardActions.HELP, new HelpAction(HelpFile.GENERAL_FIELDS, dialogService), generalFieldsHelp);
    }

    @FXML
    void resetToDefaults() {
        viewModel.resetToDefaults();
    }
}


Connecting to a database server typically consists of several time-consuming steps. A physical channel such as a socket or a named pipe must be established, the initial handshake with the server must occur, the connection string information must be parsed, the connection must be authenticated by the server, checks must be run for enlisting in the current transaction, and so on.
In practice, most applications use only one or a few different configurations for connections. This means that during application execution, many identical connections will be repeatedly opened and closed. To minimize the cost of opening connections, ADO.NET uses an optimization technique called connection pooling.
Connection pooling reduces the number of times that new connections must be opened. The pooler maintains ownership of the physical connection. It manages connections by keeping alive a set of active connections for each given connection configuration. Whenever a user calls Open on a connection, the pooler looks for an available connection in the pool. If a pooled connection is available, it returns it to the caller instead of opening a new connection. When the application calls Close on the connection, the pooler returns it to the pooled set of active connections instead of closing it. Once the connection is returned to the pool, it is ready to be reused on the next Open call.
Only connections with the same configuration can be pooled. ADO.NET keeps several pools at the same time, one for each configuration. Connections are separated into pools by connection string, and by Windows identity when integrated security is used. Connections are also pooled based on whether they are enlisted in a transaction.
Pooling connections can significantly enhance the performance and scalability of your application. By default, connection pooling is enabled in ADO.NET. Unless you explicitly disable it, the pooler optimizes the connections as they are opened and closed in your application. You can also supply several connection string modifiers to control connection pooling behavior. For more information, see "Controlling Connection Pooling with Connection String Keywords" later in this topic.
When connection pooling is enabled, and if a timeout error or other login error occurs, an exception will be thrown and subsequent connection attempts will fail for the next five seconds, the "blocking period". If the application attempts to connect within the blocking period, the first exception will be thrown again. After the blocking period ends, another connection failure by the application will result in a blocking period that is twice as long as the previous blocking period. Subsequent failures after a blocking period ends will result in a new blocking periods that is twice as long as the previous blocking period, up to a maximum of five minutes.
When a connection is first opened, a connection pool is created based on an exact matching algorithm that associates the pool with the connection string in the connection. Each connection pool is associated with a distinct connection string. When a new connection is opened, if the connection string is not an exact match to an existing pool, a new pool is created. Connections are pooled per process, per application domain, per connection string and when integrated security is used, per Windows identity. Connection strings must also be an exact match; keywords supplied in a different order for the same connection will be pooled separately.
In the following C# code example, three new SqlConnection objects are created, but only two connection pools are required to manage them. Note that the first and second connection strings differ by the value assigned for Initial Catalog.


Имате въпрос към OYO 27709 Hotel Red Cherry?
Located in the Bhaluthang area, OYO 27709 Hotel Red Cherry is the ideal point of departure for your excursions in Pelling. From here, guests can make the most of all that the lively city has to offer. With its convenient location, the property offers easy access to the city's must-see destinations.
The facilities and services provided by OYO 27709 Hotel Red Cherry ensure a pleasant stay for guests. Top features of the property include free Wi-Fi in all rooms, 24-hour room service, daily housekeeping, 24-hour front desk, room service.
The property's accommodations have been carefully appointed to the highest degree of comfort and convenience. In some of the rooms, guests can find mirror, towels, internet access – wireless, fan, internet access – wireless (complimentary). The property's host of recreational offerings ensures you have plenty to do during your stay. Superb facilities and an excellent location make OYO 27709 Hotel Red Cherry the perfect base from which to enjoy your stay in Pelling.


Learn more about our services and get helpful information for yourself and your family.
Learn more about our company and founders here on the Central Coast.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have regarding visitation.
Location of Monitoring – Open Monitored Visitation or Single Site Monitored Visitation. Click above to learn more.
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Ayahatori--that is the name of the family possessing a mysterious power. They have the power to summon and use beings and people from secret ancient writings.
During the Ayahatori initiation ceremony, high schooler Kozakura Saaya summons one of the three most beautiful women in the world, Ono no Komachi. However, what appears in front of her is a man with matchless beauty!?


A Tennessee woman who thinks legalized gay marriage will cause God to punish Americans in the style of Sodom and Gommorah is asking the divine ruler to overlook Blount County, and hopes an official resolution will help convince Him.
WE adopt this Resolution before God that He pass us by in His Coming Wrath and not destroy our County as He did Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities. As the Passover Lamb was a means of salvation to the ancient Children of Israel, so we stand upon the safety of the Lamb of God to save us.
WE adopt this Resolution begging His favor in light of the fact that we have been forced to comply and recognize that the State of Tennessee, like so many other God-fearing States, MAY have fallen prey to a lawless judiciary in legalizing what God and the Bible expressly forbids.
In a Facebook post, LGBTQ group PFLAG Maryville encouraged Blount residents to oppose the resolution, noting that it sends "a hateful message to the LGBT community."
The Tennessee Equality Project plans on protesting the resolution during Tuesday's meeting.
A request for comment from Miller was not answered.


Wallet with skull print which glows in the dark. With skull pendant attached to the zipper.
You wont' be losing your money that easily with this one. The "Rip Wallet" by Banned features a cool skeleton print that glows in the dark. The wallet offers enough space for coins, notes and cards and has a safe zipper closure. As an additional detail, the wallet has a skull pendant.
Tell us your opinion about 'Rip Wallet'.
I did not expect the purse to be such good quality! It's perfect to fit anything in! I even put my phone in because it's so brilliant! Perfect size too !
I love this wallet, it's rather big but I have a large handbag, so it's fine. There's a lot of space inside for change, notes and cards, I like the little skull pendant on the zipper and it's funny how the skeleton print glows in the dark! I've had it for a few months now and it seems to be solid, I think it's definitely worth its price!
I bought this wallet time ago but when it arrived I noticed it was too big... and the skeleton part was a yellowish-white, so I resold it to a friend.