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Frame of Reverence
We all talk about "frame of reference." In fact, I was typing that phrase today and I screwed up and it came out "frame of reverence."
And I looked at it and thought, Hmmmm. It was early and I hadn't had much coffee, and Hmmmm was the best I could do.
But now that I've rectified the caffeine deficit, the phrase seems to be kind of useful.
If I'm anything, I'm Buddhist, but in terms of conventional religious belief (since Buddhism is more a guide to life than it is a religion) I'm atheist. And yet I have religious, or at least reverential, reactions to many things, and I've decided -- just this minute -- that they comprise my frame of reverence.
So, for those of you who have read this far, what are these things?
Natural beauty. As I've said here before, nature seems to default to beauty. I've heard the arguments that we perceive these things as beautiful because of some aesthetic aspect of the anthropic principle, but I don't care. Surely, since beauty is a dialog between the seer and the seen, what seems beautiful is beautiful, period. So I'll use as part of my frame of reverence the feeling provoked in me by the coast of Mykonos (thanks, Jeff) or the tumbled-stone cathedrals of Joshua Tree or the luminosity inside an abalone shell or the spiral of a galaxy or the contrast between the blue and the brown on this bird.
Music, painting, writing, science, and other activities in which humans find something inside themselves, develop it, and put it out into the world, creating something where nothing was before. But especially music, and most especially instrumental music, which is abstraction piled on abstraction, played through instruments that are themselves triumphs of the creative spirit, all adding up to an invisible structure of beauty, churches made of air.
Kindness. The woman in a Southeast Asian village who picks up a crying child that's not hers and makes the day okay again. People who slow to let you turn left. Anyone who smiles at me on the sidewalk, which is probably the main reason I love Thailand so much. A tiny act of kindness is something good and pure breaking through the noise and smoke to say hello.
Mockingbirds: They look like God's first draft of birds but nothing in the world lifts my spirits faster than a mockingbird doing a little avian Mozart somewhere invisible (you can almost never see them), just ripping through song after song without repeat. No conservation at all, just abundance. On a very minor level, this says something to me about the infinity of good that surely exists beside, and is sometimes intertwined with, the infinity of evil.
And, okay, Love. I've been with one person for 33 years now, and we're just beginning to know each other. Love is the thing that shows me, by implication, that people aren't solely the short-lived silhouettes most external evidence seems to suggest they are. Instead, like the mockingbird's song, they're pretty much an infinite series of surprises and discoveries -- both good and bad, beings who have internalized some part of the universe and are much bigger on the inside than they are on the outside. And we should always be grateful for the opportunity to explore one of them.
I could go on for days, but what about you? Any signposts that help you define your frame of reverence?
(Photo: Bartram Gallery)
I Have No Answers, Only Questions to Avoid
I am tormented this week by Why Questions.
Why is the American system of government so polarized along doctrinaire lines that even Greece's political system seems more open to compromise?
Why are striking Greek taxi drivers who work so hard so intent on shutting down Greece's seminal tourist industry, despite the far reaching harm their actions inflict upon their already suffering countrymen, and why is the Greek government unwilling or unable to do anything to stop them?
Why in this day and age did an industrialized western nation allow a gathering of its future leaders to take place at a remote locale without minimally appropriate security, and as a corollary question, why did none in the camp band together in some attempt to stop a lone killer systematically hunting them down for more than an hour and a half?
Finally, Why are those who ask such questions categorized rather than answered?
Thankfully, I found an escape from my search for answers. I went to a panayeri.
In the Greek Orthodox faith, churches generally are dedicated to saints. On the night before a saint's name day, services are held in churches honoring the saint, often followed by celebrations filled with food, dancing, and music. In Mykonos' "old" days—before its 24/7 nightlife—a panayeri was the only place for locals to party. It was where the unmarried met, and on occasion eloped straight from the party. But despite all the many changes to the island, panayeris are still big events on Mykonos.
Inside a Mykonian family church
The traditional panayeri actually begins the day before the formal celebration. That's when family and friends contribute their goats and lambs for slaughter in preparation for the next day's cooking, as well as wine, bread, salads, fruits, vegetables, and special local dishes and desserts. It's all part of the sacrifice honoring a saint.
I attended a panayeri honoring Saint Panteleimon (whose name, in a bizarrely coincidental fit for my state of mind, means "mercy for everyone") and on that night everything served was homegrown or, in the case of the wine, made by the hosts–—the wonderful family of Nikos and Michele Nazos.
Nikos Nazos
The Nazos' place is a treasure, with what many regard as the finest vegetable gardens on Mykonos. Their church is tucked in the middle of their gardens, beside a broad, olive-shaded stone patio large enough to accommodate the hundreds who carefully circle this night on their calendars.
Traditional sampouna bladder pipes
I'm not precisely sure how the Nazos family goes about putting together their panayeri, but in other instances the men in charge of slaughtering the animals arrive at least a day before with their own food and wine. Lots of wine. They're followed by friends who show up to help, bringing more food and more wine. Somehow they always manage to get everything done on time. It is, as they say, the Greek way.
The panayeri meal begins with a piece of bread blessed by the priest and a cup of broth derived from the boiled meat to come. Then comes the real food: tables full of batter fried cod fish with skordalia garlic sauce, delicacies prepared from the goats and lambs, appetizers of every kind, salads, black-eyed beans and dandelion greens, and wine, wine, wine. The boiled meat is next, followed by the yahknee, a savory, rich stew begun with the broth; developed with simmering, fresh island tomatoes, potatoes, onions, spices and herbs; and finished with the tastiest of the meat from the contributed animals.
If you're not full yet, don't worry, lamb chops off the grill are still to come, and later, pastries, custards, yoghurts, and fresh fruits.
All of this is accompanied by non-stop traditional music and dancing running up to the morning church service. After church those who remain (or return for the service) finish off what's left of the food—having no doubt prayed for room to do so.
I didn't quite make it that far. I was home by 4. It was sad leaving such good cheer and wonderful people in a setting summoning up memories of simpler times. Far simpler times. God bless them. God bless us all.
Labels: Greece, Greek taxi drivers, Michele Nazos, Mykonos, Nikos Nazos, Norway security, panayeri, sampouna, St.Panteleimon, United States government
Explaining Weightlifting to Children
In exactly one year's time London will be agog and a go-go. That's right, the London Olympics 2012 start next year and there's been much preview and prediction in this week's media, as well as a fair bit of doom-mongering. How will our antiquated transport system cope? Is it really worth the cash? Who will report on it if all our journalists are in jail for phone hacking? And who the hell cares about women's weightlifting anyway?
Well, in answer to the latter, I do. Because it's the only event I managed to get tickets for. I'll try and explain how the tickets were allocated, but feel free to go away halfway through and pour yourself a stiff drink, or smash yourself in the face with a baseball bat if you want to. It's pretty tortuous.
Right. First of all people were asked to apply for the events they wanted on the dates they wanted. The tickets for each event were split into categories and divided by price. Presumably the higher the price, the better the seat. If you paid £1000 for the archery you were there, right next to the target. You could apply for as many tickets and events as possible. The only requirement was that you had enough cash on your credit card (which had to be Visa, the official credit card of the blah blah blah). Once your requests were submitted you had to sit and wait and see how you did. It was a lottery. And we all know the problem with lotteries - they're a bloody lottery.
I applied for a heck of alot of swimming and athletics tickets. Being a tightfisted northerner, I applied in the lower priced categories. The cynic in me told the better angel of my being that this meant I wouldn't get any tickets. The cynic was right. I got nothing. Most people I know who went for the lower priced tickets got nothing too. The ones who forked out more seemed to be more successful. Funny that. We also haven't been told how many tickets have gone to sponsors and corporate buyers. The cynic in me, who really needs to shut up and get a life, thinks it'll be very many.
But there was no need to despair. Those of us who missed out were given a second chance - a delightfully named Losers Ballot, aka get you hand in your pocket and pay over the odds for horse dancing ballot. On a specified date, a tranche of tickets would be made available. By the time I got online on the specified date there was a choice between weightlifting and dwarf-tossing. I was going to give up but my kids were desperate to go. I put in a ludicrously overpriced bid for some women's weightlifting. Oddly enough, and I can't fathom why, I 'won' those tickets. The kids were ecstatic. What's weightlifting, my daughter asked when she calmed down? It involves people lifting big weights above their head, cloaked in the suspicion they've taken performance enhancing drugs, I replied (I left off the last bit.) Son and daughter both punched the air. 'That sounds wicked,' my son said, and he meant it. For a few delightful seconds I was swept along by their enthusiasm. We would be able to savour that unique Olympic atmosphere. Then I thought of the credit card bill. And the weightlifting...the only things I lift these days are a knife and fork.
The 2012 Olympics are being heralded as a chance to enthuse the nation's youth. A lasting legacy of sporting health and achievement. This morning I saw my oldest son lift my youngest over his head with a fine clean and jerk. I have done my bit. The next generation is safe.
Dan - Friday
The rise and fall of Louis Goodwill Nchindo
Louis Goodwill Nchindo at Debswana
I was tempted to title this blog 'The story we wish we had written'. It has everything. Local boy makes good and rises to the top. Becomes the confidant of presidents of countries and of chairmen of international companies. Arranges a tricky 'bailout' for the president of his country, but then falls out with the successor whom he helped to raise to the throne. Suddenly, he is forced into retirement, then awarded his country's highest honor before descending into disgrace amidst a corruption scandal threatening to bring down the government and embarrass international diamond-mining giant, De Beers. And finally a lonely unexplained death in a forest outside Gaborone. The only thing the story doesn't seem to have is an ending. But John Le Carré might say that indeed it has.
Former President Festus Mogae
Nchindo was born near Gaborone, excelled at a private school there and went on to study medicine in London. But the hallowed halls of Balliol in Oxford called him, and soon he was studying there and hobnobbing with the likes of Festus Mogae – future president of Botswana. After graduating, he was snapped up by Proctor and Gamble for a senior post in Venezuela. Returning to Botswana, he rose to chairman of the Botswana stock exchange, head of the Botswana subsidiary of Barclays Bank, resident director of Anglo American Corporation, and finally managing director of Debswana – the joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government and the country's most important company. He was a political power broker in the ruling party and it was said that he was consulted on the appointment of cabinet ministers. Even with his stellar profile in the business world, his political clout was amazing.
Former President Quett Masire
But when Quett Masire stepped down as president of the country and was succeeded by Festus Mogae, things started to change. At first Nchindo was as influential as before but then Mogae started to distance himself, and eventually in 2004 he blocked the renewal of Nchindo's appointment at Debswana. Later that year Nchindo was awarded the Presidential Order of Honour. Nchindo didn't attend the ceremony.
In 2008 thirty-six counts of graft and corruption were brought against him and three other executives including Nchindo's son. The most dramatic was the 'bail-out' he organized for President Masire. When he was in deep financial trouble, De Beers 'loaned' him P5 million (about US$1 million) to rescue his ailing farm. (Masire famously commented that the farm got into trouble because his duties as president had led to its neglect. "I need a manager," he said!) Nchindo went to see Mogae to ask for help. He wanted the charges to be quashed but the president refused. Mogae subsequently claimed that Nchindo had threatened to blackmail him over his extramarital affairs. (This was such an open secret that it is hard to imagine its value for blackmail.) The case was set for 6th April 2010. Nchindo made it clear that he wouldn't go down alone, and threatened to implicate other senior De Beers directors (including chairman Nicky Oppenheimer).
De Beers Chairman Nicky Oppenheimer
On the 7th of February last year he left Gaborone and spent time at a favorite pub out of town. That was the last time Nchindo was seen alive. The next day his 4x4 was found locked and abandoned. A few days later his body was found with one of his firearms nearby. There was a single shot to the head. Scavengers had begun work on the body.
There has been no finding since then. Rumors abound. Nchindo was assassinated by political enemies, by De Beers, by the government. A different take is that the whole thing was staged to keep him out of jail; another was killed and Nchindo is living abroad in luxury. An autopsy was done, forensics, DNA, but nothing definitive has been made public. Then the body was cremated.
The corruption case eventually went ahead against the other defendants. There were no embarrassing revelations. No one else was implicated. One defendant was acquitted, one found guilty but is out on bail pending appeal, and Nchindo's son got a suspended sentence.
There are still ripples, but those too will pass.
Michael - Thursday
Labels: De Beers, Debswana, Festus Mogae, Louis Goodwill Nchindo, Quett Masire
Beastly conduct
The title of this post is really not very descriptive as the act I will feebly be discussing could only have been carried out by a human, not a beast. No other animal on the planet attacks its own kind in the manner that Anders Breivik did this past Friday, taking the life of many by bombing and then brutally killing one young person after another, face to face with a shotgun at close range. I guess the word monster is more appropriate.
I am assuming most that read this will already have heard about the incident, it was of the magnitude to have obtained the attention of the world media. In the case that this is not so, what I am referring to is the attacks in Norway last week where one man single handedly bombed an office building in downtown Oslo and went on to kill dozens of people, mostly youths, on Útey, a small island not far from the capital. The exact death count has not been very clear, figures range anywhere from 75 to 90 people, in addition to the 20 or so that are still missing. Incomprehensible.
Norway lies down the western part of Scandinavian Peninsula, and is the country from which the Icelandic settlers originally emigrated. Here, the people of Norway are usually referred to as "our cousins the Norwegians". They number 5 million and although I have not come across every one of them, I have yet to meet a Norwegian I did not like. It hardly needs mentioning that I have never met Anders Breivik. I would probably not be typing now if I had this past Friday at least.
Norway is a beautiful place, set with majestic mountains and trimmed with countless serene fjords. It is a kingdom, like Denmark and Sweden, and a very well off one at that. Aside from ample fishing grounds and lots of hydropower, Norway has oil and natural gas reserves surpassed only by the Middle East. The oil money, i.e. taxes, dividends, sales revenues and licensing fees from the oil industry, goes into a national fund that has a very fancy name but is always called "the oil fund". It is to operate a some sort of a pension for the country, I believe to ensure the nation's wellbeing in the case that the oil and gas run dry. Very smart and it is probably due to this foresight that the people of Norway have not become decadent and lost from the otherwise excessive influx of money into the economy.
So what happened? A perfect society if there ever was one acting as a breeding ground for human weed. I am not going to pretend to know or understand. I am not even sure I want to know or understand. Aside from the feeling of grief for the people that lost a loved one in the massacre I am mostly struck by the worry that such a seriously disturbed man could go unnoticed. He had a manifesto for god's sake. Has anyone remotely normal ever had a manifesto?
But what's been done cannot be undone. Anders Breivik will be sentenced to prison for 21 or 30 years, depending on what he will be charged with. Seems a bit insignificant considering how many people's lives he either took or marred. But this is how the Nordic justice system works and you can't turn it off and on depending on the case at hand. And if you think about it, executing him won't bring anyone back or lift the grief from the shoulders of the heartbroken. Keeping him alive might open the opportunity for studying him and trying to understand what makes such people tick, something that could hopefully be used to prevent future occurences of similar cruelty.
But I doubt it. No questionnaire or clinical study can encompass the malevolent working of such a diseased mind. No checklist exists for pinpointing evil and never will. Anyway, I think years upon years of being confined to a cell is a whole lot harder to chew than being put to death. At least I hope so.
fete du Goemon seaweed festial
Last weekend Bretons took part in the annual Fete du Goemon - seaweed Festival near Esquibien in western Brittany. The festival re-enacts traditional means of gathering seaweed from the coast and burning it in open kilns to make fertilizer
People dressed in traditional Breton costumes sheltering from the rain.
The umbrella lady wears the 'coiffe' a traditional headress. Bretons are known for their culinary heritage of crêpes and salty galettes, apple cider, fresh seafood and fish, especially mussels and oysters. Their seafood platter is the typical gatronomic dish composed of an abundance of shellfish and crustaceans, served on a bed of seaweed. For centuries Britanny has been the gold standard for it's prized butter and salt, harvested by hand from it's sea salt beds.
Brittany's rich Celtic roots are evidenced by their traditional music with pipes, harps, hurdy gurdy, organ and Celtic and mediaeval legends of Merlin the Enchanter, Tristan and Iseult and fetes especially their folk dances in line or pairs between young and old generations.
However just days before this fears in Brittany over toxic seaweed were reignited after two wild boar were found dead on a beach. Conservationists say toxic seaweed has now spread to more than 200 sites along the Atlantic coast from southern Brittany to the beaches of Normandy. The amount of the foul-smelling algae collected from western French shores has doubled in a year.All the bays from La Baule, a top summer beach destination in the south to Granville in the Cotentin are now struggling to dispose of thousands of tons of Ulva lactuca - more commonly known as sea lettuce.
Experts have warned that the algae poses a health risk because when it rots it produces hydrogen sulphide, which if trapped under a crust and suddenly released can prove as deadly as cyanide.
Anses, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, has just issued guidelines for dealing with the green sludge, saying it must be picked up within 48 hours of reaching the beach before it can start producing gas. If not, in the worst cases, it can cause "loss of consciousness with cardiac arrest or coma."
The seaweed has been multiplying abnormally fast due to the use of huge amounts of nitrates in intensive pig and poultry farming that can seep into rivers and end up in the sea.
"This year, all the conditions have come together for a growth in green algae," said Alain Menesquen, an expert from the Ifremer marine laboratory. "The sun and warmth of May have allowed them to carry out photosynthesis, then the June rains brought all the nitrates they need to develop."
By the end of June, some 25,000 square metres of seaweed had been collected from the beaches of Brittany, twice as much as last year. The worst affected area is Saint-Brieuc in the Cotes-d'Armor coast where about half of all the seaweed has washed up.
The government launched an antitoxic seaweed plan last year after a horse died in 2009 from breathing in toxic fumes and the rider lost consciousness. Let's hope these Bretons gathered the sea weed in time.
Cara - Tuesday
Labels: Brittany, Celtic, cider, crepes, seaweed
On the 6th of March, 1889, this man, Father Cicero Romão Batista, a priest in the small town of Tabuleiro Grande, in Brazil's northeastern State of Ceará, was administering the sacrament to his parishioners.
As he inserted the host into the mouth of a religious sister by the name of Maria de Araújo the wafer was instantly transformed into blood.
Back in those days, Tabuleiro Grande consisted of little more than Padre Cicero's tiny chapel, a few houses of wattle and daub, and a few of brick. Not surprisingly, the folks who lived there were anything but sophisticated. And they were convinced that they'd witnessed a miracle.
They were confirmed in that conviction when, over the course of the next two years, the transformation was seen to occur again and again.
People flocked from miles around to join Father Cicero's congregation.
The good father, initially, was cautious. He asked people not to talk about it. But, of course, they did. And it wasn't long before the diocese dispatched a commission to investigate. The commission included a doctor, a medical school professor and a pharmacist from far-away Rio de Janeiro.
They concluded, after witnessing the phenomenon several times, that there was no rational explanation for it.
But the Bishop, Dom Joaquim José Vieira, remained suspicious. He dispatched a second commission led by two priests. And, this time, he got the judgment he'd been hoping for. The miracle was declared false. His priests weren't exactly sure how the trickery had been done, but they had no doubt it was trickery.
The Bishop promptly forbid Cicero to administer the sacrament.
By that time, though, people had more faith in what they'd witnessed than in the findings of the commission.
And Cicero refused to be bullied.
In defiance of the Bishop, he continued to preach, continued to celebrate mass.
His flock continued to grow and continued to support him financially.
He bought houses, and land and cattle.
He became a social and political leader as well as a religious one.
He journeyed to Rome and got Dom Joaquim's proscription reversed by Pope Leo XIII.
The Bishop struck back.
He managed to reinstate the prohibition, even managed to have Cicero excommunicated.
But that, too, had little effect in Tabuleiro Grande.
Cicero's fame continued to grow.
He became a power throughout the region.
In 1911, he managed to have his little village split-off from Crato, the municipality of which it was a part. The new town became known as Juazeiro do Norte, and Cicero ruled it as a virtual fiefdom.
He died in 1934 at the age of 90.
And maybe it was a good thing for Dom Joaquim that he'd gone to his reward 17 years earlier.
Because the Bishop wouldn't have been at all pleased at what happened next.
Cicero became even more famous in death than he had in life.
In 1969, he was honored with the erection of a statue 27 meters high. It has become one of the most famous icons of Brazil's northeast.
In 1977 he was canonized by the Brazilian Catholic Church (not to be confused with the Roman Catholic Church.)
In 2000, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Crato, Dom Joaquim's distant successor, Dom Fernando Panico, embarked on a campaign to rehabilitate Cicero at the Vatican.
In 2001, Cicero was voted Ceará's Citizen of the Century.
And in 2010, more than 2.5 million pilgrims flocked to Juazeiro do Norte to visit his tomb.
Labels: Juazeiro do Norte, Padre Cicero
Debt Ceilings
It would never occur to me to say to my wife, "Honey, let's raise our debt ceiling."
For one thing, I don't call my wife "honey." For another, she would respond by demanding my credit cards and my checkbook and then letting the air out of my tires.
I know, I know -- there are no parallels between running a household and running a big, powerful, insolvent country like the USA. Or Greece or Iceland or Spain or Ireland or Portugal, for that matter.
And you know why there aren't? Because when it's time to take a good hard look at the debt ceiling, people in a household usually react by trying to get things under control. Whereas the politicians who run countries take the issue and use it to frighten, cajole, and threaten voters. They seem to want (in the US, anyway) one of two outcomes:
1. The world does not come to an end and they can claim credit for the next election cycle.
2. The world does come to an end and they can blame it all on the other party, in preparation for the next election cycle.
In other words, where my wife and I would look at expenses versus income and work together to set a path to recovery, professional politicians on both sides of the aisle use the issue to flummox the public into voting for them so they can hang onto power, prominence, fat pensions, total health care, and maybe--should the unthinkable happen and the voters see through them--a lifetime sinecure with a lobbying firm.
What don't they do? They don't address the real problem, which is that our debt (here in the USA) now exceeds our gross national product and is four times the gross national product of Japan. This is not healthy. It cannot be sustained.
I'm not blaming one party over the other. They both reek, as far as I'm concerned. The Repuglicans want to slash social programs and little things like Planned Parenthood and the environment, but will allow no additional taxes on the rich or on corporations, and don't you dare touch defense. The Damnocrats want to protect "entitlement programs" and raise taxes on (some) corporations and the wealthy and the almost wealthy and the almost-almost wealthy. They don't talk much about defense, either.
And both natter about, um, finding innovative solutions somewhere down the road. "Down the road" means "after the next election."
So neither of them talks about slashing defense in spite of the fact that we've spent more than four trillion dollars in the past ten years fighting unwinnable wars in countries where we're hated. And no one talks about the size and cost of government itself, which is completely out of control. The fastest-growing sector of the American economy for the past 5-6 years has been government.
So here's what I'd do, and if I had 100 million Facebook followers, here's what I'd ask them to agitate for.
Cut defense spending immediately. Bring home everyone, and that includes those "contractors," by next Tuesday.
Freeze government spending at all levels immediately. Announce a 20% cut in the size of government through attrition and by firing deadwood. Immediately reopen all government worker retirement and pension plans for re-evaluation. Then reduce all government by another ten percent.
Tax the rich. Tax corporations. TAX RELIGIONS, through which hundreds of billions of dollars flow untaxed every year, some of it used for persecuting former Scientologists.
Make the House and Senate accept Social Security and Medicare as their retirement and health plans. What we get, they get. If they eliminate it for us, they eliminate it for themselves.
Get rid of everything that isn't essential: government dietitians and food Nazis, the Department of Alcohol Tobacco, and Firearms (which needs to be replaced immediately), all drug enforcement agencies, and hundreds of thousands of others who get overpaid to stick their noses into my life and force me to do things that common sense makes me do anyway. (And the people who don't have common sense? Let natural selection upgrade the American common-sense quotient.) The Dept. of Education, since they've done nothing but screw up the schools.
And finally, vote against everyone. Vote against Repugs and Damns. Vote against incumbents. Vote against politicians. Elect hair stylists, street mimes, school teachers, ACCOUNTANTS, mothers and fathers, anyone you'd like to sit next to on a plane. No clowns, please -- we're trying to get rid of them.
And encourage Arizona, which has put up a website to raise $50,000,000 through donations to fund a fence along the Mexican border. I'm not talking about the fence--that's a whole different conversation--but the mechanism. Let people who actively want a policy pony up money voluntarily to pay for it. Taxation by donation. If they don't, they don't. If they do, well, that's $50,000,000 that can stay in taxpayers' pockets.
And no one needs to raise the debt ceiling.
Tales of the Piano Bar, Part 7: The Silver Screen Comes to the Golden Island
It's time for another story from Mykonos' Montparnasse Piano Bar, the Greek Aegean's own La Cage au Folles. Its management forgave me for allowing my grandchildren to bump them out of their normal slot on the third Saturday of each month only because "we like their parents." For those unfamiliar with the Piano Bar's other tales, it's where tourists and locals have gone for over thirty years to see and be the characters making up Mykonos' legendary 24/7 in-season lifestyle. It is the creation of Nikos Hristodulakis and Jody Duncan, and they're behind the bar every night. So, heeeere's Jody.
As far as I can recall such ancient history, the award winning film Shirley Valentine, directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Pauline Collins, Tom Conti, Julia McKenzie, and Joanna Lumley was filmed on Mykonos in 1988, although the England-based scenes may have been shot earlier. It is the story of a middle-aged, middle-class, Liverpool housewife caught up in contemplating the meaning of her life finding resolution when fate brings her to Mykonos on holiday. The film was based on a one-act monologue written by Willy Russell (who also did the screenplay) and performed in London's West End by Pauline Collins.
In a way, Shirley Valentine captured the essence of the Mykonos of its time, and to this day it inspires new visitors searching for the "Shirley Valentine experience."
I know that practically everyone on the island has a story about the filming here, but the Piano Bar actually had the major players in our bar every night, and when Paramount Pictures forgot to include a guitar in the props trailer for male lead Tom Conti's seduction of female lead Pauline Collins, we loaned him our guitar. I guess you could say we've been facilitating that sort of action in more ways than the obvious for decades.
Original Piano Bar
And, yes, the Piano Bar even made it into the film. You can see our old location in the background of the wedding processional scene that bursts onto the screen as an introduction to the wonder of Mykonos.
We came to know the cast and crew through our dear friend, Jennifer Hero, who served as a location assistant to the production and as the nude body double for Pauline Collins, though I don't think she received credit for that latter part of her work.
Our evenings during filming saw the bar turned into a mini-rehearsal hall, with Nikos from behind the bar serving as stand in for Tom Conti while Pauline ran her lines for the next day's shoot. Pauline and Alison Steadman, who played Shirley's friend, Jane, became regulars, along with Willy Russell, and even Tom Conti occasionally dropped by.
Playwright and Screenwriter Willy Russell
But of all those from the film who hung out at our place, one delightful fellow in particular stands out in my memory (none of the above-named I hasten to add). He regularly had far more than his fair share of cocktails and yet never failed to make it to the set on time. In fact, one night he was so drunk that after we closed for the night we had to carry him outside.
Still, he wouldn't wake up. We didn't know what to do with him. But it was a beautiful night in more innocent times, so we put him on a bench down by the sea with a pillow under his head and covered him with a throw.
For the record, we saw no one kiss him good night. Whether or not someone actually did we cannot say. However, we did hear that in the morning he not only made it to the set on time but did some of his very best work!
Viva Mykonos.
The cocktail we chose to accompany this tale is not exclusive to us, but nonetheless appropriate for the story: Sex On The Beach. Fill a large glass with ice, add one ounce of vodka and one ounce of peach schnapps. Fill the glass with two parts orange juice and one part cranberry juice and stir. Then garnish with a slice of fresh peach, pick up a guitar, and…
Thanks, Jody, but I think I'll stop you there.
P.S. I'm now blogging on the 19th of each month for my U.S. publisher, Poisoned Pen Press. My first post went up on Tuesday, titled "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Blog." And yes, full credit is given to my MIE blogmates for that teaching.
My life of late has been full of fire.
I live on a twelve acre property in the foothills of the Kinglake Ranges, near Melbourne. A beautiful place to raise your family – the kids can gallop around on their horses, marvel at the orchids, watch mobs of kangaroos drift across our front lawn.
It's also, alas, the most fire-prone place on earth.
A couple of years ago – February 7, 2009 - a terrible bushfire swept through the ranges. One hundred and seventy three people died on what we now describe as Black Saturday, the vast majority of them in the Kinglake Ranges. An awful lot of them were our friends.
Like everybody else, I've struggled to make sense of the disaster. As a writer, the only way I know how to make sense of things is to write about them.
At first, I wasn't quite sure where to start; the disaster seemed overwhelming. Then I began hearing about the heroism shown on the day by a neighbour and good friend of mine, Roger Wood, the police officer who was in charge of Kinglake on the day.
Photo by Alex Coppel
He had absolutely no warning that it was coming, but when it came roaring out of the bush, he immediately swung into action. He and a colleague spent the day frantically attempting to rescue people; he went charging into burning buildings, led a convoy of cars full of critically injured people down the burning mountain when it was deemed unsafe for the ambulances to come up. At the height of the fire, he received a desperate call from his wife to say that the fire was hitting their own property, and then the line went dead; he spent the day fearing the worst for her and his four children.
After the fire had passed, he and his colleagues then had the heart-wrenching task of going from house to house, uncovering the bodies, many of them people they knew.
I decided to turn his story into a book. Kinglake 350 - the '350' was Roger's radio call-sign- is coming out shortly. In it, I try to capture this day from hell. It begins with my main character climbing out of bed on the Saturday morning, looking around and thinking: "Christ, bloody hot day today." It finishes with him staggering home twenty four hours later, battered, burnt, badly injured, staggered by what he's seen and the gruesome tasks ahead.
I've also attempted to put his story into a universal context, to understand fire and its role in our environment and culture. I've been completely enthralled by this journey of discovery.
Did you know, for instance, that fire is, as far as we know, unique to this planet? And that while the Earth was formed around four billion years ago, fire has only existed for the last four hundred million of them.
Or that the ancient cultures which regarded fire as a living entity – the Slavs, the Ainu, the Vedic Indians – weren't that far from the truth. It's not alive, of course: it's a chemical reaction between oxygen, fuel, and heat. But fire and life are inextricably bound. Fire only became possible with the appearance of life – prokaryotes in the first instance, which simultaneously produced both oxygen and fuel.
Fire has also been an important lever in the ascent of humanity.
There is a cave at Swartkrans, in South Africa, that dramatically illustrates this fact. Among the layers of fossil evidence uncovered there, three are of particular significance. In the first, the bones are those of hominids, scattered and torn so as to suggest they were eaten by predators. Then there is a layer of charcoal. In the final stratum, the bones are those of antelopes and warthogs, and they are burnt: cooked, by the hominids. The tables have turned. Somewhere in the intervening period, around the time of that second, charcoal, layer our ancestors learnt to control fire, and it had a transfiguring effect upon their relationship with their environment. It gave them a primacy from which we have never retreated.
Labels: Adrian Hyland, Australia, Black Saturday fire, Diamond Dove, Gunshot Road, Outback
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The number of car accident incidents is increasing day by day. Almost 22 million of Americans visit the chiropractors annually. Majority of them suffer from car accident injuries.
Chiropractic treatment is quite popular all over America for treating whiplash injuries and lower back pain. The reason behind this is that the conventional medical treatment is not much effective to treat the musculoskeletal and neurological injuries.
Chiropractic treatment is the new form of the medical treatment. A chiropractor uses physical therapy to alleviate the body pain. Treatment of car accident pain in North Port is most of the time looked after by the chiropractors.
The root cause of the back pain and whiplash injury is the misaligned spine and out of shape vertebral joints. The spine is the axis of the body and working of the majority of the organs of the body depends on the proper alignment of the spine.
Misaligned joints lead to the irritation of the nerves which affects the functioning of various organs of the body. The whole chiropractic treatment revolves around the manipulation of the spine and mobilization of the vertebral joints.
Your visit to the chiropractor includes the complete diagnosis of the spine, manual manipulation of the spine and its surrounding area to alleviate the pain.
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Q: A very simple IIS7 redirect to different path I have had a site at www.mysite.com/myfolder/ for years.  I have developed a new version and want to just remove the /myfolder so that the site serves all pages from www.mysite.com.
Example:  www.mysite.com/myfolder/mypage.htm will be permanently redirected to www.mysite.com/mypage.htm
How do I configure this using the URL Rewrite module in IIS7?  I start with a blank rule, but then get lost.  Thanks.

A: You either use the IIS Management UI or edit the web.config directly. With a section in web.config that looks like this, you will redirect everything (images as well), which might be want you want.
<system.webServer>
    <rewrite>
        <rules>
            <rule name="test" stopProcessing="true">
                <match url="^myfolder/(.*)" />
                <action type="Redirect" url="{R:1}" />
            </rule>
        </rules>
    </rewrite>
</system.webServer>

If you use the Management tool, you add an empty rule, give it a name, add ^myfolder/(.*) as the pattern, select Redirect as action type, add {R:1} as target URL and select 301 as redirect type.
This is supposed to be permanent, that's why you should use a 301 redirect (for SEO purposes and so on).

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Nguyen Pham Bich Tram was born in 1990, in Dong Nai, Vietnam. She is a student of Hong Lac University. Bich Tram stands 1.67m with measurement 80-60-86. She won Miss Talent at Miss Vietnam 2010on August, 9, 2010 at Tuan Chau, HaLong.


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Home Get inspired by Terschelling de Boschplaat EN
About de Boschplaat
The nature reserve De Boschplaat is an area of 4400 hectares on the east side of Terschelling where no people live, a border between land, mudflats and sea; a paradise for birds where people are also welcome.
Because of the name, people think that the area would have been forested before. That is not the case. In the old name "forest" actually means "elevation in the landscape" or "dune".
Old sandbar
The Boschplaat ("Forest" in the old name "elevation in the landscape" or "dune") was a sandbar, separated from Terschelling by the Koggediep. By silting up the Koggediep, the plate eventually grew on the island. The Boschplaat is now about a third of the island, approximately 10 by 5 kilometers in size.
The nature reserve has been managed by Staatsbosbeheer since 1910. In 1924 the area became a Dutch State Natural Monument and from 1970 the Boschplaat has the status of European Nature Reserve.
Varied nature
What makes the Boschplaat so special is the wide variation of the area, which consists of dune ridges, the Berkenvallei (the largest natural forest in the Wadden Islands), sandbanks, mud flats, bare mudflats, rugged and extensive salt marshes. The salt marsh area is an open area with grasses and herbs and rich in samphire, sea wormwood, sea lavender, sea plantain and sea aster. About 400 different plant species are found in the area.
It is therefore not surprising that in addition to many special plant species there are also many birds. about 65 bird species breed on the Boschplaat. The Boschplaat is partly inaccessible during the breeding season from March 15 to August 15. The sand path along the row of dunes is open all year round. De Boschplaat is also a great place to stay for butterflies, there are no less than 43 species of butterfly species and about 600 micro and moths.
E-mail: info@terschelling-recreatie.nl
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Walters is a senior partner with Jones and Walters PLLC in Pikeville, Kentucky. She is a graduate of Transylvania University and the University Of Kentucky College of Law. She has served as the 7th Supreme Court District Representative to the Kentucky Bar Foundation and as a Kentucky Supreme Court appointee to the Disciplinary Trial Commission for the Kentucky Bar Association. Walters is a Life Fellow of the Kentucky Bar Foundation and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Walters was born in Miami, Florida, and grew up in West Liberty. She and her husband reside in Pikeville.
Her term ends in 2022.


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Punctoribates punctum är en kvalsterart som först beskrevs av Koch 1839.  Punctoribates punctum ingår i släktet Punctoribates och familjen Punctoribatidae. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Spindeldjur
punctum

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Babysitters in Bournemouth BH2: they're available!
I'm a kind and helpful person, I love children and I enjoy staying with them and taking care of their needs. I am diligent and I have a very positive attitude. I worked in a school where I Had to organise games and activities. It's important to me that the children can feel safe in a caring enviroment.
Hello! I'm Viviana from Venezuela. I'm sorry, I don't speak english very well. I'm 23 years old. On march i'll go to live to bournemouth for 6 months and i want to job with kids. I have experience in camps with children between 3-10 years old, I'm tidy, happy and responsable girl with kids, and i love them so much. I hope get the job. Many thanks!
I love kids and i like being around them. I am a calm and responsible person. I was spending lot of time with my nephew and I find that I can easily take care of children.
Hello I'm jenny, 30 single parent and I live in meyrick park, Bournemouth. I have 6 years of experience working in a nursery and 4 years experience of nannying. After I had my own son, whose aged 4 I worked for a childcare agency, covering shifts at nurseries and event nannying. I do have a driving license but no car and am willing to travel. Ideally I'm available to help whilst my son is at school, but am willing to be flexible if necessary. Thank you for reading.


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Essay on "They Find Grounds for Hope" for Kids and Students, English Paragraph, Speech for Class 8, 9, 10, 12, College and Competitive Exams.
Absolute-Study July 15, 2020 English Essays, Paragraph Writing, Short Speech No Comments
They Find Grounds for Hope
A poet once wrote:
Two men look out through the same bars:
One sees the mud, and one the stars.
Successful families deal well with problems because they see the stars. When hit by a disastrous problem, they manage to work out a view of it that dispels hopelessness. Prof. Hamilton McCubbin, head of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota and one of this country's leading investigators of how families cope with stress, puts it this way: "The families that cope can redefine the situation in manageable terms, and thereby see it as something they can deal with. They'll take a position like, 'We can handle that— we're the kind of family that can do it,' or 'It has its good aspects — it's bringing us closer together." '
Is this mere Pollyannaism and self-delusion? Family researchers think not. The evidence shows that when families define a crisis as survivable, they gain the strength to solve problems or at least adjust to them. But those who say, "What is there to live for?" tend to remain paralysed.
Even when a problem is permanent, it is possible/ essential/ to redefine the matter in positive terms. Joan Patterson, of the University of Minnesota's Stress and Coping Project, is currently studying families that have children with cystic fibrosis. Therapy requires intensive care of the child, including long sessions of chest-thumping to free up excess mucus. Families that feel embittered seem unable to handle this and preserve a satisfactory home life; parents drift apart, and other children feel deprived.
In contrast, Patterson says, families that manage to keep to a tight schedule of treatment and maintain a satisfactory home life usually do so because they have adopted an outlook such as, "It's made us a stronger family" or "It's taught our children how to be responsible."
Tags:English Essay, English Essays, Essay in English, Paragraph, Short Paragraph, Short Speech, Speech
English Essay on "Helping A Handicapped" English Essay-Paragraph-Speech for Class 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 CBSE Students and competitive Examination.
English Essay on "Geography" Essay-Paragraph-Speech for Class 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 CBSE Students and competitive Examination.
Essay on "Man and his Environment" for School, College Students, Long and Short English Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12, College and Competitive Exams.


I may have gone just a little totally bonkers with my Halloween Decor this year.
Normally, I only decorate my front porch. Years ago, when my kids were little, I would do more things inside my house but it's been YEARS since I've done so.
So, what brought this on? This need to go Halloween Crazy? I'm not sure. It might have something to do with the recent blood moon. Hahaha.
So I hope you enjoy the mantle and hearth that I created as much as I enjoyed creating it! It all started with those cute striped treat bags on the garland. I found them at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago, and ever since I brought them home, ideas have been brewing in my head!
The only new things I bought new for this display were the trio of pumpkin buckets that I made into a topiary (which cost me all of $2, including the witch hat), the books (man, did I get lucky on those titles and colors, or what??) the creepy cabbage patch doll, the vintage glam witch (she got a makeover as she was a .50 Nun when I brought her home), the Halloween Head Witch (at Home Goods...my most expensive purchase but only $10 and I LOVE her!) and printed photos that I edited from family pictures and images I found for free online! All but the pumpkin head witch and the photos came from the Thrift Store. Everything else I already owned. I completely love repurposing things....and more details to come in the photos below!


Niamh Reed works in content creation at Parker Software, a leading UK software house that offers live chat software and business process automation to businesses worldwide. She spends most of her time writing articles spanning topics such as, emerging technology, customer service and user experience. During her down time, she writes fiction, plays the violin, and hip-throws people twice her size in jiu-jitsu.


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Diageo looks to tighten grip on baijiu business
27th February, 2019 by Amy Hopkins
After a sterling half-year performance, Diageo has made a bid to once again increase its shareholding in the maker of baijiu brand Shui Jing Fang.
Organic sales of Diageo's Chinese white spirits portfolio, led by Shui Jing Fang, increased by 22% in H1
Last year, Diageo increased its stake in Chinese spirits producer Sichuan Shuijingfang Company from 39.71% to 60%.
Now, through its Grand Metropolitan International Holdings subsidiary, the UK firm has approached the board of the Chinese group with a proposal to increase its ownership to 70%, at RMB45.00 (US$6.74) per share.
Sichuan Shuijingfang Company is a Shanghai Stock Exchange-listed white spirits maker. Its principal brand is super-premium baijiu Shui Jing Fang.
After moving under Diageo's control in 2011, Shui Jing Fang experienced a tumultuous time in light of the Chinese government's anti-corruption drive, which obliterated China's high-end spirits market.
Diageo initiated a write of the value of Shui Jing Fang in 2014, but the brand has since returned to buoyancy. In the first half of Diageo's 2019 fiscal year, organic sales for the group's Chinese white spirits portfolio, led by Shui Jing Fang, increased by 22%.
Baijiu continues to dominate the ranks of the world's most valuable spirits. In Brand Finance's most recent Spirits 50 report, the world's top 10 most valuable spirits brands included five Chinese white spirits.
Moutai baijiu retained its position as the world's most valuable spirit brand, with an estimated value of US$21.2 billion.


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25. Mistrzostwa Europy w Pływaniu na krótkim basenie odbywały się w dniach 2–7 listopada 2021 roku w Pałacu Sportów Wodnych w Kazaniu.

Medaliści

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Klasyfikacja medalowa

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Mistrzostwa Europy w pływaniu na krótkim basenie
2021 w sporcie
2021 w Rosji
Sport w Kazaniu


Our team of experts is ready and willing to help with all your exterior building and remodeling needs. Since 1979 Don's ABC Seamless has experienced growth and success due to the hard work of our team members. Together we work to provide you with the best home improvement experience possible.
Don, along with his wife Therese purchased the first ABC Seamless franchise, located in Grand Forks. He is the name behind our franchise and has been with us every step of the way, growing our business and satisfying our customers.
Rod, Don's son, knows exterior home improvements inside and out. He can provide answers to questions, solve issues or offer expert opinions you may need throughout your project's process.
Steve is our sales guru, helping you every step of the way from providing estimates to purchasing materials.
Don's ABC Seamless: Thank you for making our old home look new and beautiful. We were rather doubtful about putting on steel siding instead of wood. We are so happy that we didn't go with wood. The SEAMLESS STEEL LOG SIDING looks great and we are very pleased with the finished look and the excellent job you did. Thanks again.


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Home Israel & The Middle East Military
IDF to form special unit in charge of relations with Syrian civilians
Becca Noy
In the 1980s, when Israeli forces were operating in Southern Lebanon, the IDF maintained a liaison unit aimed at strengthening the ties with the Lebanese civilians. Now, in a similar way, the IDF announced that it will be forming a liaison unit aimed at establishing ties with the Syrian civilians who live near the Israeli border, as the bloody civil war in the country continues.
Israeli-Syrian border Photo Credit: Channel 2 News
First report: As the bloody civil war in Syria continues, the IDF announced that it is forming a liaison unit that will be in contact with the Syrian population. This unit will be in charge of strengthening the ties between Israel and the Syrian civilians who live close to the border.
In the past few months, the IDF has been working on establishing connections with the Syrian population near the border. The Israeli security forces decided to form this unit because it realized that there is no strong government force in the area near the border.
When Israel was operating in Southern Lebanon, the IDF's Liaison Unit to Lebanon was in charge of maintaining contact with the Lebanese civilians. Since the Syrian civil war began five years ago, more than 2,000 Syrian civilians have received medical treatment from Israel. This new unit will be the direct continuation of this contact that has already been established with the Syrian civilians.
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Twenty-three year old Lily Aramburo was on top of the world. She'd overcome her addictions, transformed her life and given birth to a son who she loved beyond compare. She'd recently moved in with an old friend, Christen, after each shared their true feelings and they were building a life together, but in early 2007, it would all begin to fall apart.
Christen was still using, and before long, Lily fell back into the powerful grip of addiction. After several disputes, Child Services removed her son from her custody, and Lily was sent to rehab. She later failed a drug test and was ejected from the rehab center, losing her chance to win custody back.
On June 1st, 2007, Lily and Christen had two friends over to their condo. At 2am, on June 2nd, Lily is alleged to have walked out of the condo wearing only a night gown and carrying bungee cords with her. She left behind her cell phone, wallet and personal items. Christen didn't report her missing for days, and when he did, he claimed that she may be suicidal.
Investigators with the Miami-Dade police waiting a week to investigate, and when they did, they quickly dismissed Lily as a drug addict who had run off. It wouldn't be until years later that they would officially question Christen, giving him a polygraph test. They reported the results, saying that Christen passed. Years later, it would be found that he had actually failed. This was only one of many mistakes discovered years after Lily vanished, and while the investigation was remarkably flawed, there was an utter media blackout leaving Lily's story untold and widely, unknown.
The diligence and determination of Lily's mother, Lucely and Lily's best friend, Janet Forte, was all that kept her name alive. Later, when detective Ray Hoadley took on the case, a true investigation was finally conducted and a myriad of mistakes, lies and unanswered questions were uncovered. Suspicions began to turn towards those closest to Lily and the inconsistencies were challenged.
What happened to Lily Aramburo? Did she simply walk off, into the night, never to be seen again? Was she overwhelmed by addiction, the removal of her son and her unhappy relationship, and as a result chose to commit suicide? Did Lily fall victim to a violent drug dealer with a history of murder? Or, does Lily's fiance and the man she lived with, Christen Pacheco (no relation), know more than he is saying? Join host Steven Pacheco as he examines this tragic, complex and sadly overlooked case in hopes of finding the truth. For more information about Lily Aramburo: Follow @Yogini on twitter and visit justiceinmiami.org Use #justice4lily to promote this episode and Lily's story, perhaps together, we can bring the attention this case deserves.


I LOVE the flavor of cake batter. And using a boxed cake mix to make anything from cookies to cobbler isn't just easy, it is delicious. Here are 15 of the yummies cake mix recipes on the web.
Click on the links below each image to be taken to each Cake Mix Recipe.
These Cinnamon Chip Cake Batter Cookies are a big hit at my house.
This Tres Leche Cake Mix Recipe from Tips from a Typical Mom looks like a must try.
These Cake Batter Snickerdoodles from Lil Luna are some of the easiest cookies you will ever make.
And I didn't even know you could make fudge out of cake batter. This Red Velvet Cake Batter Fudge from Chocolate Chocolate and More showed me anything is possible with a cake mix!
Cake Batter Ice Cream is one of my favorite flavors. Get the recipe to make your own at My Recipe Magic.
For breakfast, try these Cake Mix Cinnamon Waffles from Love From the Oven.
Or what about a Baked Doughnut from Its Always Autumn.
Sometimes a cake mix should be used for cake. Like this Better Than Anything Cake from Chef in Training.
And more proof that Cake Mix Recipes are for breakfast too! Check out these Carrot Cake Pancakes from The Frugal Foodie Mama.
I love these Chess Squares made with cake mix from Kevin and Amanda.
And these Ooey Gooey Dessert Bars from Chef-in-Training.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake from Le Creme de la Crumb is a must make cake mix recipe.
And these Firecracker Cookies from The Frugal Girls are too yummy to wait for the 4th of July to make.
I hope you have found a dessert that looks irresistible! And I hope you enjoy the ease of making that yummy treat with a cake mix!


Wondering what a URL Redirector is and precisely how URL redirection works as a whole?
URL redirection permits you to forward traffic from one Internet site to another. In contrast to forwarding a domain name by parking it when the domain is unusable, a URL redirection is possible only when the domain address is hosted, consequently you shall still have the ability to set up entirely functional subdomains and email addresses or even to have content for the domain in question, though it will not be accessible directly. If you have an Internet site, for instance, but you need to launch one or a number of localized sites for different towns or countries, you shall be able to work on them with no problem. If a visitor opens any one of the new domains, however, they shall be redirected to the existing site. That way, you'll not miss potential customers while building the localized sites.
Our company offers a convenient and extremely simple-to-use tool for setting up a URL forwarding, so if you have a cloud web hosting account with our company, you can take full advantage of it, if necessary. Any domain name or subdomain hosted in the account could be redirected, so you'll simply have to choose the one you need from a drop-down menu, to pick if the primary folder or a subfolder shall be redirected and to input the new web address, regardless of whether it's pointing to a different website within your account or to a website on a remote web server. The redirection will be activated almost instantly. If you are more knowledgeable, you'll have a variety of advanced options to choose from as well - the redirection method (match or direct), the type (301 Permanent or 302 Temporary) etc. All of the redirections will be listed in the very same section, so when you don't need a particular one anymore, you are able to cancel it with a click.
Our semi-dedicated server offers feature a very convenient tool that will offer you an automated and easy way to redirect any one of your domain addresses some other URL. While this is normally done by creating a special file in the domain folder and by entering specific content inside it, our tool will allow you to pick a domain/subdomain from a drop-down list and to enter the desired remote Internet address. Our system will do the rest and the forwarding will be enabled within seconds. If you're more tech-savvy, you may choose a number of more advanced options as well, among them the redirection method (direct, match) and the redirection type (temporary, permanent). You can also forward a particular folder rather than the root domain. You'll be able to change these settings anytime, as well as to delete an existing redirection from the exact same section in which you have created it from the start.


Perfect for springtime parties! Gummy Rings Peach are more than you can ask for. Not only do these gummy candies burst in your mouth with a beautiful citrus-peach flavor that will last, but they are gorgeous and colorful. With their citrus orange and yellow colors they're an eye-catcher in a candy buffet setting. Gummy candy never tasted so good. Your guest will compliment you about how beautiful and delicious they are! We sell these gummy candy rings in bulk at 4.5 lbs. a bag. Grab one today and reward yourself for all that spring cleaning.


The concept of Patagonia is founded on a love of wild and beautiful places and the demand for the participation in the fight to save them and to help reverse the steep decline in the overall environmental health of our planet. They donate their time, services and at least 1% of their sales to hundreds of grassroots environmental groups all over the world who work to help reverse the tide. They know that their business activity creates pollution as a by product so work steadily to reduce those harms. Recycled polyester and organic cotton are some ways in which they achieve this.


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Brown bear rescue in Ukraine
Caroline Pate 0 Comment Eurasia, The Baltimore Sun, World animal rescue, Animals, brown bears, drones, Ukraine
Brown bears play in a shelter for bears rescued from circuses and private restaurants of Ukraine, near Zhytomyr, some 150 km west of Kiev, on March 24, 2017.
Tortured for years by human hands these mighty animals got a chance to start it all over again in a shelter near the city of Zhytomyr, in the northwest of the country. Opened in 2012 by international animal charity Four Paws, the rescue centre soon became one of the biggest sights of the region.
Buenos Aires zoo closes after 140 years
Jin Kim 0 Comment World animal rescue, Animals, Buenos Aires, zoo
After 140 years in operation, the Buenos Aires Zoo in Argentina's capital plans to move almost all of its 1,500 animals to natural reserves.
The 44-acre zoo in the will become an ecopark for refuge and rehabilitation of animals rescued from illegal trafficking.
24 hours with: The Maryland SPCA vet tech
Quinn Kelley 0 Comment 24 Hours With, The Baltimore Sun 24 Hours With, animal rescue, Baltimore, Erica Mininsky, fells point, Maryland SPCA, SPCA
Erica Mininsky was never an over-the-top animal lover — and certainly never expected to be working with furry creatures on a daily basis.
Dec. 10 Photo Brief: Ikea monkey, FedEx expects busiest day today, Nelson Mandela in the hospital
Stokely Baksh 0 Comment Daily Brief animal rescue, Barbara Hepworth, Colombia, FedEx, Germany, Greece, green turtles, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, marijuana, Nelson Mandela, Nobel Banquet, President Obama, Richard Nieuwenhuizen, Santa Claus, snow monkeys, Thailand, Tibet, X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System, Yemen
Ikea monkey caught, FedEx expects to move 19 million packages today, Nelson Mandela undergoes more tests in the hospital and more in today's daily brief.


When I was just beginning to think that maybe I was hungry, a gourmet lunch appeared trailside. Throughout the gourmet hiking holiday, I was grateful that I didn't have to carry the abundant spread of food and local wine that seemed to materialize magically in the remote high elevations.
For tourists with an adventurous streak or those who are tired of hitting the same tourist attractions over and over again, a Vietnamese wine tour can be a great way to get to know the country, the culture and enjoy some very nice wines at the same time.


Old Pulteney 11 Year Old 2005 vintage Highland single malt Scotch whiskey. Single bourbon barrel 373 bottled September 2016. 178 numbered bottles normally only available at the distillery visitor centre.


EU road safety policy A comprehensive overview of European legislation, including when relevant the detail of national implementing legislation.
European Road Safety Observatory High quality information, scientifically founded, easy to read and ready to use. on main road safety subjects.
EU road safety policy: a comprehensive overview of European legislation, including when relevant the detail of national implementing legislation.
European Road Safety Observatory: high quality information, scientifically founded, easy to read and ready to use. on main road safety subjects.
Statistics: a compendium of reports, with CARE (the European road accidents data base) as the primary source.
Toolbox: manuals and best practice guides produced by various EU- funded projects.


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Home Macedonia EU Ambassador Geer: Restoring public trust in judiciary a top priority
EU Ambassador Geer: Restoring public trust in judiciary a top priority
gordana.v
Restoring public trust in judiciary is a top priority, requiring commitment from all stakeholders, EU Ambassador David Geer told an online press conference on Wednesday.
Presenting the project "Support to judicial reform process" alongside Justice Minister Bojan Marichikj, Geer pointed out that a functioning justice system is a fundamental process for any country that wants prosperity and progress, while the rule of law and the functioning of the judiciary should be at the core of that policy.
According to Ambassador Geer, demonstrating strong political will and commitment in tackling shortcomings in the justice system is important for progress in the EU accession process.
"In the 2020 October report, the European Commission recognized the progress made in strengthening the rule of law and implementing a strategy for judicial reform, including merit-based appointments. This also includes the Law on Public Prosecution which entered into force last June and provides for sustainable resolution of cases and accountability for crimes arising from illegal wiretapping," Geer said.
He pointed out that the law should provide an independent judiciary resistant to external pressures. However, he noted, it would also contribute to consistent implementation of the principles of transparency, through which the judiciary should be free from risks and the perception of political influence.
David Geer
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Introducing the KidWise Splash'N Play Waterslide! This residential water slide has it all and is designed to fit in small backyards! Climb the rockwall, zip down the slide, splash around in the tunnel and splash pool then do it all again for endless hours of summer fun. Inflated size of 13' x 9' and 7.5' tall, this water slide will fit in just about any backyard.


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Q: Create a Sqlite Database in C++ Is it possible to create a Sqlite database file using C++?
I've googled this to death and can't find a thing.
I can only create Sqlite tables using C++.
Thanks.

A: From the reference:

SQLITE_OPEN_READWRITE | SQLITE_OPEN_CREATE
     The database is opened for reading and writing, and is created if it does >not already exist. This is the behavior that is always used for sqlite3_open() and sqlite3_open16().

So if you are using sqlite3_open this is automatic; if you are using sqlite3_open_v2 you have to include those flags.

A: sqlite3_open() will create the database for you, if the file does not already exist.

A: You can see this tutorial
You can see an introduction of Sqlite C/C++ interface here.
hope it helps.


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Home/US/L.A. gets a bit of rain, with more on the way
L.A. gets a bit of rain, with more on the way
Parts of Los Angeles got rain overnight, with more on the way Monday.
The meager rainfall is part of a weather pattern that is expected to bring hazardous conditions farther north starting Sunday, with forecasters warning that the western side of the Sierra Nevada could see excessive rain.
In L.A. County, the San Gabriel Mountains led the way with a scant .12 inch of rain measured at the San Gabriel Dam, said David Sweet, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Many coastal areas, including Leo Carrillo State Beach, got a similar soaking, while the San Gabriel Valley and downtown Los Angeles received less rain.
The storm system is expected to be followed by an atmospheric river event that will likely peak in Los Angeles around midday Monday and could dump half an inch to an inch of rain on downtown L.A., Sweet said. The atmospheric river, a concentrated stream of water vapor circulating in the middle and lower levels of the atmosphere, could result in localized flooding and roads may become slippery due to oil residue runoff, he said.
L.A. County mountains could get up to 1½ inches of rain and will likely see gusty conditions, with wind advisories possible, Sweet said.
The fall rains come as welcome relief after California reported its hottest summer on record and its driest water year in nearly a century, conditions that helped stoke a long and active wildfire season.
"It's quite pleasant to see something normal occur," Sweet said.
At the same time, the atmospheric river is expected to bring heavier rain and mountain snow to Northern California starting Sunday, raising fears of life-threatening flash floods and debris flows in recent burn scars. More than a foot of rain could fall in the Sierra Nevada, with up to 3 feet of snow possible in higher elevation areas through Tuesday, forecasters said.
The storm is expected to start off with warmer temperatures, with the heaviest rain in Northern California expected Sunday, said Eric Kurth, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. That could cause flooding, as well as ash and debris flows in areas that have seen severe wildfire over the past several years, including the scars of the Caldor fire along the Highway 50 corridor and the Dixie fire along Highway 70.
"We're very concerned about seeing just how heavy the rain could be, especially during the day Sunday," Kurth said.
Those living near recent burn areas should be on alert for evacuation orders, he said.
Experts say the risk is particularly high because there was virtually no transition period between what's been a severe fire season and intense precipitation. Such dramatic swings are expected by scientists to become more common as climate change warms the planet, resulting in longer, hotter periods of drought and more sporadic, intense bursts of precipitation.
The storm system is expected to bring temperatures down late Sunday, and by Monday, snow levels could drop to 5,500 feet, causing problems at passes and making travel difficult, Kurth said. Snow is expected to keep coming down into Tuesday, with high winds potentially taking down tree branches and compromising visibility by blowing snow, he said.
Although the string of storms is expected to bring the curtain down on Northern California's severe fire season, it will not be sufficient to end the drought, Kurth said.
"We've been in a very dry period for two years, so I think it's fair to say we won't get out of the drought with one storm, even a very wet storm like this," he said.
Still, he said, it's the wettest start to the fall the region has seen since 2016.
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I've recently gained a cPAP machine and am sorting out how to take it with me on the bike on trips. I usually camp and I'm wondering if any of you have done the wiring for an auxiliary battery.
--where did you put the battery isolator, if you installed one?
--where do you carry the extra battery?
--any tips on wiring and placement or anything else concerning "auxiliary battery" you might offer?
I've gained some good input from ADVrider. I've scoured this site too. I'd rather learn from other's experience and perhaps avoid problems and didn't see what I'm trying to do addressed. If I did miss it in my searching, please point me in the right direction: I would be most grateful.
Oops. I forgot to mention something that might be important.
I ride a 2013 DCT. I know the DCT is finicky about battery power.
Do any of you electrical wizards think charging an auxiliary battery, through a voltage regulated isolator, will be a problem for the DCT?
My concern is how big of battery you need to run the machine all night. That could be a lot of energy the bike's charging system would have to replace. It would probably take hours of riding to charge it.
I'd probably want to carry it in the frunk. That's one of the better locations for extra weight.
I'll say right now that I know nothing about CPAPs, but my first thought would be that it would make more sense to acquire an automotive travel battery powered CPAP (perhaps like David mentioned), if such a thing exists, so that it could be used in multiple situations. If you mount and wire a second battery to your NC700, it will only do you good when you travel with that bike. If you travel by different means, or get a different bike, you have to install a power source all over again.
But then again, as I said, I know nothing about the subject.
It wouldn't be too hard to put a relay between the main battery and aux battery, triggered by the tail light (or something else hot whenever the bike is).
Thanks, guys, for the ideas/suggestions/observations/ideas.
I figure a deep charge battery, 18 Ah, should do the trick (basing this on others' experience, mainly from ADVrider). I don't foresee difficulty in wiring the switch/relay/separator gizzie (<-- technical name, there) but I'm uncertain as to best locations for components.
There is space, discussed many times in our forum, in the area under the plastic panels on either side of the triple tree. I'm using that already to store an air pressure gauge, a frequency modulator for the heated grips, and a power distribution box, so that's my first idea for a place for the separator.
I'm afraid getting another cPAP machine isn't in my budget. I've investigated a few designed for travel, including the Z1 mentioned above. Sweet set up to be sure. Can't do it. Wiring in a battery with the appropriate voltage converter for my machine is going to cost close to $160. Another cPAP machine starts around $380. I'm keeping an eye on Craig's list and fleaBay for a bargain. We'll see.
My next trip, ten days in the Canadian Rockies, isn't until June, so I've got time to properly suss this all out.
Any other ideas/suggestions are most welcome! Thanks again for those offered so far.
I don't know much about the cpaps but, I was discussing the problems on the road with them with another truck driver that goes over the road with one. And what I learned was that even our two truck batteries will run down over the night. Drivers that have a cpap machine idle their trucks all night to avoid killing them. I would be surprised if a lead acid battery that fits on a bike would run a cpap through the night. I would suggest going to a nice big lithium ion battery but I suspect that would be more than a travel cpap with it own battery.
Wiring fuse box - Switched Power Source wiring help!
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Home Entertainment Jane Fonda says cancer is in remission, three months after revealing diagnosis
Jane Fonda says cancer is in remission, three months after revealing diagnosis
Three months after revealing that she'd been recognized with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Jane Fonda's most cancers is in remission, the US actor and activist has introduced.
In a weblog submit headlined "Best Birthday Present Ever", Fonda wrote that her oncologist had informed her she might "discontinue" the chemotherapy remedies she had obtained for her sickness.
"I'm feeling so blessed, so lucky," the weblog submit from Fonda – who turns 85 on 21 December – additionally stated. "I thank all of you who prayed and despatched good ideas my means. I'm assured that it performed a task in the excellent news."
Fonda, who has been a health guru as nicely, added that chemotherapy had been comparatively "simple" the primary 4 occasions apart from the fatigue it brought on. However her most up-to-date remedy – which lasted two weeks – was more difficult and made it "laborious to perform something", leaving her relieved to be taught that indicators of the most cancers had lowered.
She stated she plans to attend a rally and do some lobbying work in Washington DC whereas additionally talking at two separate occasions.
The actor's announcement in early September that she was recognized with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma famous that she had been ready to bear chemotherapy for six months. Fonda on the time additionally stated that she felt lucky as a result of docs think about that individual sickness as "very treatable", with about 73% of individuals recognized with it surviving for at the very least 5 years, in line with the American Most cancers Society.
Fonda has used her analysis to name consideration to what number of Individuals lack entry to high quality healthcare and medical insurance coverage, and he or she has additionally sought to name consideration to how fossil fuels and pesticides trigger most cancers.
"I've … entry to one of the best docs and coverings," Fonda stated in September. "Nearly each household in America has needed to cope with most cancers at one time or one other and much too many don't have entry to the standard healthcare I'm receiving, and this isn't proper."
That is at the very least the second bout that the two-time Oscar winner has had with most cancers. She had been recognized with breast most cancers in 2010. After the tumor's removing, Fonda's publicist stated the actor was most cancers free.
Fonda gained Academy Awards for Greatest Actress in 1971 and 1978 for her roles in Klute and Coming Residence, respectively. She stars on Netflix's longest-running present, the comedy sequence Grace and Frankie.
The actor made a reputation for herself off the display protesting the Vietnam conflict in addition to for her local weather and feminist activism.
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EXCLUSIVE: Discovery Channel treasure hunter claims he's found evidence of an extra-terrestrial spaceship while exploring ancient shipwrecks beneath the Bermuda Triangle
Explorer Darrell Miklos has been using secret maps created by famed NASA astronaut Gordon Cooper to find shipwrecks in the Caribbean
Diving at an undisclosed location near the Bahamas he found what he believes is the first evidence of an extra-terrestrial visit to earth hundreds of years ago
What he thought could be an ancient shipwreck turned out to be huge USO (unidentified submerged object)with 15, 300ft long obtrusions jutting from its sides
'It was a formation unlike anything I've ever seen related to shipwreck material, it was too big for that,' Miklos tells DailyMail.com
Miklos' discoveries have featured over two seasons of hit Discovery Channel docu-series Cooper's Treasure
By Ryan Parry West Coast Correspondent For Dailymail.com
Published: 12:56 EDT, 8 August 2018 | Updated: 22:01 EDT, 8 August 2018
A treasure hunter has made an astonishing 'unexplained' discovery deep beneath the Bermuda Triangle that he believes could provide the first evidence of an extra-terrestrial visit to earth hundreds of years ago.
Explorer Darrell Miklos has been using secret maps created by his close friend and famed NASA astronaut Gordon Cooper to find shipwrecks in the Caribbean.
His amazing discoveries have featured over two seasons of hit Discovery Channel docuseries Cooper's Treasure.
But in recent months his team stumbled on something that he believes will shock the world.
Using maps put together in the 1960s by Cooper to identify more than 100 magnetic 'anomalies' in the Caribbean, Miklos dived at an undisclosed location near the Bahamas to investigate what he thought could be an ancient shipwreck.
Darrell Miklos and his team discovered the USO (unidentified submerged object) in the Bermuda Triangle close to the Bahamas. He spotted the large obtrusions while exploring the area in a submersible looking for shipwrecks. 'I was trying to identify shipwreck material based on one of the anomaly readings on Gordon's charts when I noticed something that stuck out, that shocked me,' said Miklos in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com
Horizontal cylinder structures jut out from this large dome feature at the center of the site. Geophysicists on the team report that the coral covering these structures appears to be more than 5000 years old.
A close up of one of the horizontal structures which has scientists baffled. Because of the extreme currents at the location it's almost impossible for coral to grow at all, let alone into a anything this large
Here, what he describes as the right jutting section of the USO. According to scientists on Darrell's team, no coral anywhere in the world could grow in this formation naturally, there would have to be an underlying structure to support that type of growth
Miklos, 55, described what he found while filming episode seven of Cooper's Treasure and tells how he and his team want to bring the 'alien spaceship' to the surface 'It was a formation unlike anything I've ever seen related to shipwreck material, it was too big for that. 'It was also something that was completely different from anything that I've seen that was made by nature'
These horizontal structures are massive, each measures as much as 300 feet straight out, the length of a US football field. The explorer also found other bizarre and unexplained formations around the main object, all of which are covered in thick coral which he believes are hundreds if not thousands of years old
These mystery shapes score the top of the massive central mound. Each of these lines is the width of a family home
Here you can see the gigantic mound rising above the ring of structures that stick out from the center. The entire site's diameter is some 600 feet - the length of two football fields
But instead the veteran treasure hunter found a bizarre structure like nothing he's ever seen.
The huge unidentified submerged object (USO) has 15, 300ft long obtrusions jutting from its side.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com Miklos, 55, described what he found while filming episode seven of Cooper's Treasure and tells how he and his team want to bring the 'alien spaceship' to the surface.
He recalls: 'We were doing a scene where I was sitting in a two man submersible.
'We were out in the Bahamas and we were on an English shipwreck trail, somehow related to Sir Francis Drake.
'I was trying to identify shipwreck material based on one of the anomaly readings on Gordon's charts when I noticed something that stuck out, that shocked me.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com Miklos, 55, described what he found while filming episode seven of Cooper's Treasure and tells how he and his team want to bring the 'alien spaceship' to the surface
'It was a formation unlike anything I've ever seen related to shipwreck material, it was too big for that.
'It was also something that was completely different from anything that I've seen that was made by nature.
'It's almost like there are five arms coming out of a steep wall cliff and each one of these is the size of a gun on a battleship. They're enormous and then there's five over here and five over there, 15 in total.
'There's identical formations in three different areas and they don't look nature made, they don't look man made, certainly nothing I've ever seen based on my experience and I have years of experience at doing this, we've identified multiple different types of shipwreck material, this doesn't match or look anything like that.'
The deepest part of the site is 300 feet below the surface, divers had to use special breathing apparatus and a state of the art submarine to access it.
The explorer also found other bizarre and unexplained formations around the main object, all of which are covered in thick coral which he believes are hundreds if not thousands of years old.
Blown away by the discovery, when back on board his ship, Miklos decided to dig further into Cooper's files to find further clues.
Significantly, the astronaut had written 'unidentified object' on the chart of the area rather than mentioning any historical shipwreck.
'I investigated some of Gordon's charts, I realized that there was something else on there that Gordon was referring to,' he said.
'Then it made sense to me why it wasn't identified as a shipwreck... he had to mean it might be something from another world.
'Gordon believed in aliens. He believed that we had visitors from other planets and he also believed that a lot of these things landed in this particular part of the world.'
The treasure hunter has made the astonishing 'unexplained' discovery deep beneath the Bermuda Triangle. Miklos believes it could provide the first evidence of an extra-terrestrial visit to earth hundreds of years ago.
The deepest part of the site is 300 feet below the surface, divers had to use special breathing apparatus and a state of the art submarine to access it
Gordon Cooper successfully piloted the Mercury-Atlas 9 Faith 7 Spacecraft around the Earth 22 times in 1963 paving the way for men to reach the Moon.
He was a pioneer who became the first American to sleep in space and the first to fly twice.
He was also the first American televised from space.
But as well as researching the limits of human endurance he was also charged with a secret spy mission while in orbit.
Using special 'long range detection equipment' Cooper was asked by the US government to look for 'nuclear threats' - which likely meant Russian submarines or nuclear missile sites.
But Miklos says Cooper - an avid treasure hunter - also noted the positions of Caribbean shipwrecks while he conducted this spy mission, and created a map on his return to Earth.
The shipwreck hunter claims long time friend Cooper gave him the maps - which included detailed charts and exact coordinates - after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's and then died in 2004 aged 77.
In the first season of the show Miklos and his team used Cooper's map to make a remarkable discovery in the Caribbean - a centuries-old anchor believed to be from one of Christopher Columbus' ships.
Cooper's maps led Miklos to dozens of other significant ship wrecks across the Caribbean worth millions of dollars.
But with this latest discovery the Californian is conscious of being labeled 'crazy' by coming out with wild claims that Cooper's map might now have led him to an alien spaceship submerged under the ocean.
That's why he says he wants to remain 'neutral' until he can investigate the mysterious site further.
Miklos and TV production company AMPLE Entertainment are now hoping the Discovery Channel will commission a third season of Cooper's Treasure so they can do just that.
United States astronaut Gordon Cooper (1927-2004) pictured wearing his Mercury space suit used in early phases of the Project Gemini training program in the United States circa 1961. (Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty Images)
Miklos said: 'I want to investigate it. I want to see what it is, because it may be nature made, just a freak of nature, but given its placement in this particular part of the Caribbean and given what Gordon has told me about visitors from another planet and the things that I've seen, I think it's definitely worthwhile investigating.'
AMPLE Entertainment founders Ari Mark and Phil Lott, who are behind Cooper's Treasure, are equally as excited.
Mark told DailyMail.com: 'In the first two seasons we didn't enter too far into Cooper's UFO interests and what he had told Darrell about what he had seen.
'I don't feel like we've even scratched the surface of what's in Cooper's files, but that's what we hope to do in a third season.
'The bottom line is that Cooper spotted anomalies and it is his maps that led Darrell to this discovery.
'Cooper was a reliable source for treasure, then based on his findings Darrell found something that does not appear to be a shipwreck or anything that anybody has ever seen.
'We want to find out exactly what it is and establish whether it ties in with Cooper's belief that we're not alone.'
During his post-NASA career, former US Air Force Cooper became well known as an outspoken believer in UFOs and claimed the government was covering up its knowledge of extra-terrestrial activity.
'I believe that these extra-terrestrial vehicles and their crews are visiting this planet from other planets, which obviously are a little more technically advanced than we are here on Earth,' he told a United Nations panel in 1985.
'I feel that we need to have a top-level, coordinated program to scientifically collect and analyze data from all over the Earth concerning any type of encounter, and to determine how best to interface with these visitors in a friendly fashion.'
He added: 'For many years I have lived with a secret, in a secrecy imposed on all specialists and astronauts. I can now reveal that every day, in the USA, our radar instruments capture objects of form and composition unknown to us.'
Miklos said Cooper often told him stories of UFO sightings and believed a lot of the world's technological advances had been passed on to governments by messengers from alien planets.
Cooper even designed his own miniature 'UFO' based on an alien design he claimed to have seen.
Using special 'long range detection equipment' Cooper was asked by the US government to look for 'nuclear threats' - which likely meant Russian submarines or nuclear missile sites. But Miklos says Cooper - an avid treasure hunter - also noted the positions of Caribbean shipwrecks while he conducted this spy mission, and created a map on his return to Earth. The shipwreck hunter claims long time friend Cooper gave him the maps - which included detailed charts and exact coordinates
Miklos said Cooper often told him stories of UFO sightings and believed a lot of the world's technological advances had been passed on to governments by messengers from alien planets
Producers Ari Mark (top left) and Phil Lott (top right) with treasure hunter Miklos, host of Discovery Channel's 'Cooper's Treasure
But as for Cooper being a UFO 'nut job', Miklos couldn't disagree more.
He described him as a 'close friend' and 'father figure' who was of 'sane mind'.
'I can tell you one thing for sure, there was a lot of conspiracy theorists and UFO nut jobs that he wanted nothing to do with,' said Miklos.
'Just because he had actual encounters with something that he couldn't explain and other encounters to which he did have an explanation for, but he wasn't going to go and befriend all of these crazy different types of groups.
'In the early days he wasn't going to overstep the bounds of what he could reveal out of fear of getting killed (by the government) and what good would that do. So he kept a lid on it, he kept a lot of it quiet until later in his life.
'So the man I knew wasn't a whack job, he wasn't hallucinating and he wasn't making things up to gain attention, that wasn't him.
'He truly believed in what he saw and he tried to tell it in such a way to make people believe it and he knew because of his background in NASA as a rocket scientist that he was more credible than most.'
Nevertheless, Cooper was often discredited for expressing his beliefs on extra-terrestrial activity, but Miklos added: 'As serious as I'm talking here right now with a clear mind to you, that's who he was.
'He was an honest, straight forward individual who only wanted to investigate and explore the possibilities of the unknown, even if it meant risking his professional career.'
The next episode of Cooper's Treasure airs this Friday on the Discovery Channel at 9pm (PST)
Discovery Channel treasure hunter says he's found evidence of alien visit
Discovery Channel says it all. They do endless pro...
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Orlando City's New TV Agreement Is A Really Big Deal
The new broadcasting deal has a lot of big soccer implications for not only Orlando City, but the entire state of Florida.
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As we learned yesterday, Orlando City SC has announced a statewide TV deal with FOX Sports Florida and Sun Sports to broadcast games across Florida. On the surface, this is very good for the team. Not only are all games broadcast locally, but now fans from all over the state can tune in to locally broadcast games and follow their Lions from home.
However, when you dig a bit deeper, there are parts of this new deal that create a lot of waves for the future of soccer in the state of Florida.
First off, according to multiple sources, both FOX Sports Florida and Sun Sports will have little part in the actual production of the games. FOX 35 and My65 will be doing everything when it comes to the production broadcast for the games. All FOX Sports Florida and Sun Sports are doing is taking the feed and simulcasting it on their channel. This means that all the pre-game and post-game production will be dealt with by the local people.
This little tidbit is nothing compared to the the impact that this deal will have to the future of soccer in Florida. Within the press release that the club sent out, three key words stood out, "multi-year deal." This is a big deal for multiple reasons. It means that the networks of FOX and its sports partners are fully backing Orlando City as the soccer team in Florida.
This also looms bad for a prospective team down south in David Beckham's Miami franchise. The fact that FSF and Sun Sports have signed a multi-year deal makes it seem that the television broadcasters have considerable doubts that "Miami FC" is even going to happen. So, instead of taking a risk and waiting, they have fully embraced Orlando City as "Florida's Soccer Team."
This deal is also something that doesn't happen very often, in terms of statewide broadcasting. For example, take the Orlando Magic. Their games are broadcast on FOX Sports Florida, however it is only within the Orlando Metropolitan area. You can't watch Magic games down in Miami, nor up in Tallahassee.
At the same time, you can't turn on Sun Sports in Orlando and watch a Miami Heat game. Those games are restricted to Miami and its outlying areas. In fact, I'm not aware of too many current MLS teams that have this kind of deal that Orlando has. To put that all in perspective, this is a really big deal.
All in all, Orlando City has made tons of strides to become the "Soccer Capital of the South" and yesterday they took a giant leap towards that goal. By the end of the season, the entire state of Florida will be glowing with purple pride. I guarantee you that.