It was my own fault. I mentioned in passing at a church gathering my desire to have chickens one day. I was after all living in God's country, as the locals called it, and the endless fields and pastures all around awakened my inner country girl, inspiring me to get down and dirty with the land that was now becoming my home as well.
Yes, chickens would be fun, I thought. I do recall mentioning my desire for a goat or two as well, but luckily all that made its way into the back of my car one early summer morning were six chirping chicks placed lovingly into a cardboard box waiting for me, their new mom, to take them home.
There was, though, a slight problem. I didn't have a home for them. I didn't have the chance yet to build a coop nor did I have time to buy one, as this gift of chickens was indeed a surprise. There was no barn or shed or garage on my property either in which to settle these chicks into. It was then I understood my father's insistence with each house I looked at to buy that it should have at least a garage. Oh well, nothing I can do now but to make the best with what I have. And so out came the box from the car and into the house the chicks went.
The two playful kittens in which the baby chicks had to be hidden from.
Ah. The tiny bedroom upstairs that was now my makeshift office would work perfectly for the chicks. So up the stairs I ran, slamming the door behind me. I placed the box down on the floor and looked at these fuzzy balls of cuteness looking back at me. An overwhelming sense of responsibility washed over me. Their little lives were in my care. They cocked their heads to one side looking just as quizzically at me as I was looking at them. I wondered. Did they sense I had no idea what I was doing? Was fear gripping them just as much as it was gripping me? I had entered the uncharted territory of "farming" and I was clueless as to what to do next.
"Just wait till I tell my parents about this," I thought as I placed a window screen over the cardboard box and strung a heat lamp overhead to keep the chicks cozy. I then ran to the feed store and got my new children some dinner and a water feeder.
It didn't take long for everyone to settle down and settle in. I even invited the children of the church to name the chickens and each Sunday on the poster board with the title "Name Pastor Donna's Chickens" names such as Barbeque, Abigail, Drumstick, Fuzzy and Spot (yes, Spot) appeared.
The fuzzy chicks the children from church named.
Weeks went by as I waited for the chicken coop to be delivered. Turns out I was part of a chicken farming trend and so there was a shortage of coops. But I didn't mind. I found myself enjoying having chickens in my office. When I played the great old hymns of the church that were on my iPhone, they would gather together and move to the music. On days I would write my sermon, the chicks would stop what they were doing and sit quietly in their box as if to honor the silence needed for the creative juices to flow. And when I stopped the clicking of the computer keys, the chicks would begin chirping as if they were in some way trying to tell me what my next sentence should be.
Then it happened. The powerful God moment I never expected. One afternoon as the sun streamed into my little makeshift office now turned bedroom for the chicks, I opened the Bible to begin studying the scripture for Sunday's sermon. For some reason my eyes didn't gravitate to the assigned reading. Rather my eyes went straight to the creation story. I never was a huge fan of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. Don't misunderstand. God's creation story is beautiful. It's just that it never really captured my imagination nor was it ever a story that resonated with me. It was, for me, one of those over told stories we love sharing with children and that was it. But this day as my chicks gathered to the corner of the box trying to get closer to where I was, something happened.
The Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it…now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. God brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
I reread the Genesis account again…and again…and again. It was then the responsibility I felt for caring for the chickens and making them safe in my office till the coop arrived, went beyond just simply making sure the chicks survived the eagerly waiting grips of my kittens. The care of these chickens was symbolizing a greater care that I never truly understood before—the care of all of God's creatures. Sure I had pets to take care of while I was growing up. But this was different. There in my office was a cardboard box holding vulnerable chicks. There in my office was God's word being lived out. I was having an Adam moment for I felt this humble awe that I was given such responsibility without even first having knowledge of what to do. Someone trusted me with these chicks. Someone knew I could do it. I could care for them. God trusted Adam as well with the care of creation. God knew Adam could do it. Of course we know about the snafu with the serpent and the apple in the Garden of Eden that was to come, but let us not lose sight of the beautiful friendship and partnership God initially called us into. It is the same friendship and partnership with God is always calling us into for God knows we can indeed be responsible, loving parents to all creatures here below. And yet how many times do we even give a chicken…a rabbit…a snake…a worm…any living creature…any thought or care?
I looked at the chickens now looking at me. They were no longer looking at me in the same quizzical way I once looked at them. Instead, we were both looking at one another with awe, with love and with the knowledge of being connected to one another in a way we will never completely understand.
Oh, but I can. And I did. And by doing so I experienced an Adam moment that will forever be with me. I experienced caring for God's creation in the most unheard way ever.
I had chickens in my office.
The old girl sighed. Then sighed some more. I looked up from my laptop where I was working on my sermon and gave her a knowing look.
She didn't want to be stuck in a living room where the constant sound of cars, not crickets, kept her ears on constant alert. Nor did she want to feel the pull of a leash limiting her exploration of the great outdoors—that was, whenever she was allowed outdoors as there were now just one too many dogs in the neighborhood encroaching on her territory.
She wanted the open pastures and the rolling hills she knew as a puppy. She wanted to feel the tickling of the breeze's fingertips on her fur, the same breeze that tickled the corn stalks beyond our old Vermont house making them sway with delight. She wanted to keep watch from behind the safety of the weathered picket fence for the occasional deer who would peek its head out from the corn stalks to engage her in a game of who can stare at the other the longest.
Sofie keeps watch of the deer in the cornfield behind the old weathered fence in her Vermont happy place.
Sofie, my bumbling Bernese mountain dog who had now become my "old girl," wanted the place where the heart sighs not with discontent, but sighs a sigh full of peaceful content.
She wanted her happy place. The place we all have. The place we all long to be. The place unique to each one of us, for each one of us is uniquely made by God.
I know a man whose happy place is found going out and about the country roads of Washington County in upstate New York in search of eagles, eagerly hoping to catch one of these majestic birds in flight with his camera. He can and does spend hours meandering dirt and forgotten roads to feel his heart fill with peace.
Another woman I know has found her happy place among the rolling hills bordering on New York and Vermont where after many a dark night of the soul, coupled with ardent prayers for someone to share her life with, she is now celebrating her one-year wedding anniversary in the home-sweet-home she had longed for. She often shares moments from her happy place, posting the most glorious pictures of sunrises breaking through the dense fog and illuminating the beauty of the world as its rays reach higher and higher over the hills.
I wonder if she sees in those pictures what I see? Her story of how God illuminated the dense fog in her life with the most beautiful hope hovering higher and higher in her heart.
I thought of the happy place of a former magazine colleague who, when her heart let out a sigh of discontent, would steal away on a subway downtown to the tree-lined city blocks of Greenwich Village and lose herself in the beauty of the grand old brownstones.
Back in my pre-pastor, editor days my happy place was walking down Fifth Avenue and gazing at the chic display windows of Bergdorf's and Saks, thinking of how fantastic life would be lived in a particular designer outfit. I smile when I think of my former self. For now my heart sighs with peaceful content whenever I can slip into a pair of farm mucks and walk in the tall grass of the cow pastures to the top of the hill behind our Vermont house. There I simply sit in the quiet and the beauty of all God has blessed me with. And my heart? It sighs a peaceful sigh.
Sofie let out another sigh. I stopped writing my sermon for I realized my old girl was in need of some pastoral care. I sat with her on the couch she had clumsily hoisted herself up on and wrapped the quilt I had just finished making gently around her. She had somehow claimed that quilt has her own. And that was fine with me. I hugged her and patted her head. Sofie's happy place was now a six-hour drive away and not often visited due to my busy life as a pastor serving in Maryland. But as I petted her, I got to thinking.
Our happy places don't have to be within reach to make our hearts sigh with peaceful content. I remember some years back a woman telling me how well her elderly mother was settling into a nursing home. Stripped of all the belongings she loved, as they didn't fit into the tiny room she was given, the elderly mother would always have a smile on her face. When asked why she always smiled, she revealed her secret. Whenever she felt a sigh of discontent coming on, she would close her eyes and remember the things she treasured. It was then she realized, while circumstances in life always bring change, nothing could ever take away joy. She discovered her happy place was always in her heart. All she had to do was close her eyes to visit.
I wondered if Sofie understood what I was saying. Then it happened. She closed her eyes and as she did her tail started wagging joyfully back and forth. I swear I saw a smile grace her mouth. I smiled too. She was in her happy place. The place we all have. The place we all long to visit. The place where our sighs of discontent miraculously turn into sighs of peaceful content.
My husband and I came home from grocery shopping and there in the entryway was a big bag of food—a plate of pumpkin cake, salad and chicken Parmesan. There wasn't a note or a name attached to the bag so I wasn't sure if this culinary treat was for us or perhaps for the new tenant who just moved upstairs in the two-family house we are currently renting in Maryland, where I am coming up on a year serving as pastor in what some local folks still describe as "rural Cecil County." My husband always smiles when he hears this descriptive being applied to the area for "rural" is when chickens greet you on the front porch of the post office as they did every morning when I would get the mail in Vermont. Sad to say, there are no chickens clucking about at the post offices here in Cecil County.
The thing is, while there still can be found rolling hills of corn, the occasionally cow or two dotting the landscape and every so often a barn sitting on an impressive stone foundation and painted white—not the New England red I am used to—reflecting the Germanic influence of the Amish who are just up the road from us in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, rural Cecil County is like many other areas in America—fast-becoming a victim of suburbanization with housing developments eating away at pastoral fields like some insatiable monster.
And so as I peeked into the bag of food sitting in our hallway, wondering where it came from and whom it was for, I found this hospitable act of sharing food with others transporting me back to when I first moved to rural upstate New York as a still single and still somewhat citified girl who was just getting used to the "Reverend" now in front of my name.
It was late November and, as I unpacked the moving boxes and found places for all my stuff in the sweet, yet very slanted 18th century saltbox I had purchased, a knock came from the front door. I pushed back outside the fall leaves that had blown inside through the gaping space at the bottom of the old door, and said hello to one of my new congregants. She was an older woman who came right in without hesitation, paying no heed to the leaves that blew into the house as if this wasn't anything out of the ordinary and who proceeded to sit right down at the kitchen table to visit with me.
I gave up my search and feebly offered a paltry glass of water, to which she gruffly declined and proceeded to get down to the business of her visit. In her hand was a gift for me. Real butter. Not margarine that she figured I was accustomed to being that I was from the "city" and all.
"Up here, we eat real butter from the cows on our farms, we drink milk with our dinner and our syrup is real maple syrup, not that imitation stuff," she informed me as I wondered whether the bottle of maple flavored syrup was still out on my kitchen counter in full view or safely hidden away from her keen eyes.
In spite of my worry that she might find me out as one who liked fake maple syrup, her visit was a joy and she entertained me with all the rich history of her family in the area.
As my day of settling in and unpacking progressed more knocks came and with those knocks came more gifts of food. Soon my primitive and narrow floor-length pantry—which boasted a secret door behind hit, which led to a very tiny space spacious enough for two small people, making my imagination race with excitement as I wondered if this little saltbox was perhaps part of the underground railroad, as a neighboring village in the area did have connections to this Civil War movement—was brimming with fresh farm eggs, real butter, real maple syrup, an assortment of homemade jams and jellies and the most delicious homemade oatmeal cookies I have ever tasted in my life.
When I phoned my dad to tell him of the events of the day, I could tell he was not only happy for me, but he, too, was touched by the visits and the gifts of food which weren't fancy or extravagant, but were filled with love and thoughtfulness. He then joked that I just might find a deer hanging from my tree one day. He was right in a way. The gifts of venison did indeed come, but much to my relief the gifts came in neat little packages ready for the freezer.
But I was not done receiving gifts of food. The following morning as I looked out the window marveling at the beauty of the early morning frost, I noticed an aluminum-foiled loaf of something sitting on top of my mailbox. I threw on my shoes and sweater and ran to get it.
It was a loaf of banana bread and it would be perfect for breakfast. Ooo…and I could warm it up and slather it with the real butter I had! The only problem was there was no note with it and, thus, I had no idea who it came from. It was a mystery and so I hesitated to eat it because I was always told you don't eat anything in which you don't know who it came from.
The mystery of the banana bread continued for when I made a public thank you to my congregation on my first Sunday with them, no one fessed up to say the bread was from them. Later at coffee hour, a woman came up to me and assured me it was safe to eat as she thought it probably came from my neighbor down the road.
"That is something I could see her doing," she said with such certainty that when I got home from church I heated the bread and slathered on the butter (real butter, that is) and enjoyed the feeling of "fullness" from all the gifts of love and thoughtfulness that were sitting in my pantry.
I shrugged my shoulders, as I wasn't sure. Gifts of food didn't seem to be as common in "rural" Cecil County as they were up north. Or so I thought. Just then a message alert dinged on my phone.
I hope that you got the food I left for you. You weren't home and I am worried that you might be out for a while.
The food was for us! I hopped off the couch and ran to retrieve the goodies. The salad wasn't salvageable, but the pumpkin cake and the chicken Parmesan were still good to eat.
I've always known he wasn't talking about actual bread to ease our hunger pains. But while I knew that intellectually, I had never fully known or understood in my heart what he was saying. Jesus was talking about the love, the thoughtfulness, the fellowship and the community that is experienced each time the bread, whatever that bread may be, is shared.
For the gift of real butter is more than real butter. It's a warm hug of welcome. Real maple syrup is more than real maple syrup. It's a smile saying I am glad you are in my life. A mystery loaf of banana bread is more than a mystery loaf of banana bread. It's the acknowledgement that strangers are now neighbors who watch out for one another and care for one another. And the bag in which held a surprise dinner in it, is more than just a surprise dinner. It's a reminder we are all connected to one another and we all need to be nourished, both physically and spiritually. We all need the bread of life in our lives.
May today the loaves of love and thoughtfulness and community in your life be blessed and broken and shared.
Fourteen years ago today my world changed. Your world changed. The world changed. Period. The sense of safety and security we had was ripped from us when terrorism struck the Twin Towers in Manhattan, forever changing not only the iconic landscape I grew up with, but forever changing the landscape of our hearts, shattering the beauty of trust and serenity and leaving behind a gaping hole of sorrow and fear.
I realized today that no matter how many years go by, I will always find myself waking up on the morning of September 11 with a tear—or two, or three, or four, or a hundred—falling from my eyes. I don't think there is anyone who doesn't pause and reflect on this day. I don't think there is anyone who doesn't stop, even for second, to recall where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.
I was still living in mid-town Manhattan and life was already in the process of changing for me as just a few months earlier I had lost my boyfriend in a jeep accident in Africa. My heart already had a gaping hole in it. I no longer held my top editor's position at the magazine in which in a way I grew up in, having joined when I was only 23 and spent a good decade at. I was now a freelance writer taking uncertain, scary steps into ministry. It was those steps that led me out of Manhattan early that dreaded morning to attend a clergy meeting in New Jersey at an American Baptist Church in which I was now working in as part of my exploration to see if God was indeed calling me into ministry.
As the meeting began, one cell phone went off. Then another. And another. And yet another. It was as if the room broke out into an ominous symphony of phones, playing a tune of impending doom. Something was clearly wrong. All the ministers quickly dispersed back to their churches to assess what was going on. When my minister and I arrived at our respective church, we were greeted by a sobbing secretary filling us in on the latest news. It was then my legs felt as if they were going to collapse underneath me and a wave of terror washed over me. I felt so vulnerable that it was frightening. I have never felt a moment like that before nor do I care to ever feel that again.
Suddenly I got mad at myself for here I was standing in a church, preparing to enter ministry, where was my faith? Where was the knowledge that no matter what happens around us, we are all held safe and secure from all alarm (as that great hymn, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" reminds us)?
Yes, we all have stories of where we were that morning of September 11. But today, on this 14th anniversary, I find myself thinking of where we are now. I find myself reflecting on how that day, so horrific that I don't think I will ever comprehend it, has changed not just the world, but also each one of us. I think of a dear woman in my former congregation in rural Upstate New York who lived and worked just blocks from the Trade Center. Every year at this time she would share her story with me, a fellow Manhattanite, who traded in the bright lights of the big city for rural America.
As we sat together in her chic living room filled to the brim with books that spoke of her previous life as a lawyer, of a lover of fine art, of a wanna-be master gardener and cook (which she had become as her flowers she grew were beautiful and the extra food she would make and give to me, a newbie pastor who had the reputation of serving the kids at church raw chicken nuggets due to my own ignorance in the kitchen, easily put ten pounds on me!), she would speak of the smoke that stung her eyes, filled her lungs and made her apartment unlivable. She would relay all the emotions still so raw.
I wouldn't say a word in reply. There was no need to. For I understood and she knew I understood. I would just join her in a smile that held in its curve both gratitude and sorrow. Out of tragedy and despair and the darkest moment in life, this is how we got here to the place where we both found our hearts healing.
God led her to finally take that step of faith to buy a farmhouse up north in need of some tender loving care. But I think it was the farmhouse that gave the tender loving care to a woman who needed to be restored.
Out of tragedy is hope. Always. Hope might not seem to be there at that moment, but it is. We just need to always hold on to the promises of God, that no matter what happens we are held safe and securely. God seeks to restore what is lost and to rebuild what has been shattered.
May this September 11 be a day to not only reflect and remember what was and what happened, but to smile a smile that in its curve holds gratitude and sorrow together and give thanks for the promise of a hope that never fails.
I think back to the ribbons my mom used to put in my braids and the fun I had getting to wear my new dresses. (Breaking in my new school shoes wasn't too much fun!) I can remember the wonderful smell of molasses cookies greeting me as I opened my metal lunch box to get out my snack and my little thermos holding my milk, hopefully it would be chocolate, which I always preferred. And I can remember running home from school eager to tell my mom everything that happened during my day.
I don't ever recall getting sentimental about this day as I do now and I wonder why that is? Why do I feel the same excitement, the same fear and the same butterflies in my stomach that many children are feeling as well? Why do I have this sudden interest in buying new pens and notebooks? What is it about this day that brings adults, who have been out of school for many years, back to being a child again?
As I sit here with memories of hair ribbons, metal lunch boxes, new pencils and notebooks going through my mind, I realize the excitement I am feeling is more about all the possibilities God is presenting me right now with this new school year that has begun today. What is it I want to do? What is it that I want to accomplish? How is it that I can continue growing into the person God wants me to be? As I dream and then plan and then make my schedule for this day of learning, I do it knowing that God holds the ultimate lesson plan in his hands.
Instruct me, Lord, and show me your truths and the path you want me on.
Yes, school is back in session. For all of us, no matter what age we are. Today is the day for us all to realize that no matter how much we think we know, there is still so much more to learn.
It's been a crazy couple of weeks since coming back from some time away at the little old house in Vermont that my husband and I still call home, even though I am now serving as a pastor just a tad bit below the Mason Dixon line.
Committee meetings at church have taken up most of my nights as plans for worship, missions and church school get underway for this "pumpkin-flavored" season we are in. For the most part these meetings have been energizing, with new ways of serving and reaching others being added into the mix of the good old, tried and true ways of how we do church. But as I sip my pumpkin flavored cappuccino, I can't shake this feeling that God is asking something more of us. Not in the way of more innovative ideas, creative outreach programs or busy work. Rather more of being present to God in the way of praying rather than planning and listening rather than speaking and being rather than always doing.
I was taken aback for I knew exactly what he was talking about. In the blessed stillness of my time recently spent in Vermont, where the satellite TV has been disconnected as I am not up there enough to justify the monthly cost, and the wireless Internet service put on hold for the same reason, and where the bars on my cell phone are non-existent, I found my steps getting back in sync with God's.
The holy rhythm of life gave back an energy that no amount of caffeine could ever give. The silent communion of my heart with God's that I had while sitting on the top of the hill that makes up our five acres, with the choir of birds singing a choral benediction closing out my prayer time, filled me with ideas and God possibilities. And the brilliance of the starlit sky, not dimmed by man's need to have artificial light to illumine the darkness, reminded me once again that God's light is the most beautiful light ever in our lives.
The TV is back on. The Internet is also connected. The cell phone has many bars so that calls can get through. And the brilliance of that starlit sky I marveled at a few weeks ago? After a long meeting last night I came home and paused on the porch before going inside and found what I had expected to find. I looked up at the sky and the stars weren't as bright as I had hoped. What human ingenuity thought was a good idea had actually washed away the brilliance of God's creation.
God is asking more of us. Not more in terms of what we can do or produce, but more of our hearts and our trust and our devotion and our love.
For we, too, have a "for a limited time only" label on us, so why don't we savor the time we have and really get our steps in sync with God's.


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Glenda has been training at FIT for almost 4 years and is disciplined and dedicated to her health and fitness. She trains with Danielle 2-3 times a week, and walks the Los Altos hills on alternate days. With the busy schedule of a CEO, Glenda wanted to improve her physical fitness but was challenged with finding the time. When she first walked in the door at FIT, she was not participating in any physical activity. Her goal was to increase her strength, endurance, and overall health and fitness. Glenda has improved in all areas, especially her strength.
Congrats Glenda! Your hard work and dedication are paying off!


You love Bolognese – but you're a little bored of the same old recipe over and over again? Today we tell you how to pimp your favorite meal with a very special ingredient: unicorn meat. It delivers a lot of protein and is also very digestible for seniors.
April fools! Of course we won't tell you a recipe for unicorn Bolognese. Instead we're going to show you three crazy things in cans. Ready? Let's go.
Of course we start with the one on which our April's fool is based on: the unicorn meat. Yes, you can actually buy this. For just $11.95 you can get unicorn meat "the excellent source of sparkles".
If you wonder what's really inside this can, check out the video below.
For all those who'd like to have EVERYTHING right out of the can we have good news: you're one step closer to a fully canned life. We proudly present you canned socks! At least as a limited edition. The international fashion company that produced the socks in cans, is well-known for its checkered patterns and special packaging.
This one is my personal favorites from all the things I've ever seen in a can: a canned koala. No, no, not what you think again. The canned koala is part of a toy line by Aussie Cans which offers cute toy animals in cans. Besides the cute eucalyptus eaters, there are also killer whales and kangaroos. Isn't that just adorable?
Which of our crazy canned things did you like the most? Tell us your story: What was the most crazy thing you've ever seen in a can? Let us know in the comments below.


text:
Food and interactive story
Today will be made from preparations for fajitas on the grill. Fresh pico de gallo and lots of grilled peppers and other vegetables. I don't know what will happen and I look forward to the making and the eating. (I've learned over the years that if you don't cook with hardwood then you shouldn't cook outside at all. But that's just me.)
Also, I recently finished Chris Crawford's On Interactive Storytelling. I thought his ideas about this vein of thinking are pretty competent. His discussion of the code workings and mathematics were what I was most interested in. But as I was reading the book, my soft bias against interactive storytelling keep on rising up. I enjoy the code but I don't buy the systems yet. (I also have a soft bias against things like community storytelling, but that's another story.)
How do I get by falling back on this idea: we already have a system for interactive storytelling. It's called life. The other thing that's been taking time in my head are the references I keep reading to Facade as a "game" and to the associations of interactive storytelling to games. Here's an example where game as model is woven into an idealistic description of interactive storytelling. It comes from Marie Laure-Ryan:
The user should participate and interact out of interest for the story, not for the sake of solving problems or beating opponents. In contrast to the standard game player, she will prefer a less efficient action over a more practical way to achieve a goal, when this action leads to more interesting narrative possibilities.
Okay. My response is: why even consider the phenomenon in the context of "game" to begin with? Maybe I need schooling on this, but what would "the standard game player" have to do with this in the first place?
This entry was posted in New Media on August 14, 2005 by Steve.
← indiscretion and Facade On tradition →
4 thoughts on "Food and interactive story"
susan August 15, 2005 at 7:02 am
It may come from the fact that to date, while so much has been accomplished in game-playing that almost everyone approaching the new concepts and development along the line of something such as Facade bring with them the experience of games. I am glad that I hadn't in fact come to Facade after just playing around in Silent Hill or Still Life. I'm sure I would have been affected by them and in turn, it would have played a part in my attitude, rather than coming directly from tons of short-story readings. I still, however, must admit that I saw it at some level as a "game," something to navigate to a desired end, rather than navigating story to simply arrive at one.
Steve August 15, 2005 at 9:00 am
But is the desired end flavorful enough? I, indeed, do see Facade's success more in terms of story rather than as game. I'd like to see a deeper and stronger aesthetic to the "story." The most successful story I can think of in a game is Syberia, a work that blurs game, novel, and cinema. I found the whole graceful and quite moving. The work sticks to a tradtional story mode, though, which grounds the user, and is still very much goal oriented.
Facade makes story happen, but the discontinuities are damaging to the sustained experience. I just don't think it's a very interesting, responsive, or subtle story.
It is by no means a story with any real depth or future or maybe it lost it after several sessions. It also, as you note, is affected in story by technological blips. A thought just occurred to me to write up the story of Grace and Trip and see what it looks like on paper…as an experiment and test of its strengths and weaknesses.
Steve Post author August 15, 2005 at 6:32 pm
I'd really like to see that.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


'An Electrifying Evening with the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet' is a live album recorded on February 9, 1961 at Museum of Modern Art in New York City and released the same year by Verve.
Recorded On February 9, 1961 At Museum Of Modern Art, New York City.
Released In 1961 By Verve.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


In his latest keep-it-in-the-family move, Will Smith is exploring with Sony the potential for a remake of the musical "Annie," with daughter Willow as the star, sources say.
Smith, who developed "The Karate Kid" starring his son Jaden, would produce through his Overbrook shingle.
While details about the "Annie" retooling are still in development stages, rapper Jay-Z, who worked with Willow on her pop hit "Whip My Hair," is in talks to collaborate on the music.
Project reps were tight-lipped about whether the pic would be a contemporary version and whether it will include any original songs.
Sony's summer hit "Karate Kid" made more than $350 million worldwide and likely helped pave the way for exploring new ground with the "Annie" redo.


A partnership between BRE and innovation-focused software solution provider Graitec is now providing companies with a smooth, end-to-end process for adopting BIM Level 2 Business Systems Certification. By the two organisations joining forces, companies can benefit from a unified, all-inclusive service that supports them on their BIM journey from gap analysis with a pre assessment service through to advisory, consultancy, software training and support, right through to BIM certification.
"This focused, joined-up approach will make it far more efficient for companies to prepare for BIM Level 2 certification", explained Paul Oakley, BIM Director at BRE. "It will also mean that Graitec clients can benefit from the BIM Level 2 process knowledge and training services provided by the BRE, but also have the software, consultancy and support services that we cannot offer. This will ensure that the advantages and opportunities that BIM certification delivers can be taken up faster and by a larger audience."
BRE Global is an independent, third party approvals organisation, offering certification of products, services and systems to an international market. Our testing and approvals are carried out by recognised experts in world-class facilities. BRE Global is part of the BRE Trust, the largest UK charity dedicated specifically to research and education in the built environment.


TRILOK STEEL INDUSTRIES is well known supplier, distributor and stockist of Stainless Steel Pipe Algeria that are actually manufactured from High Quality of Standard Raw Materials and are designed as per with national and international standards.Trilok Steel Industries is India's largest distributor of Stainless Steel Tube Algeria includes Stainless Steel square tube Algeria,Stainless Steel rectangular tube Algeria,Stainless steel oval Pipe Algeria, stainless Steel Hollow Pipe Algeria, Stainless Steel Exhaust Pipe Algeria, and Stainless Steel round pipe Algeriaare used for piping systems in various indutsrial applications. Our product range includes 304/304L Pipes / Tubes,316/316L Pipes/Tubes ,201 Pipes/Tubes in custom-made shapes and sizes as per the requirements given by our clients in Algeria.
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We are well known in the Algeria market for our fast lead times on both non-standard and standard steel products. The various Stainless Steel Pipe, Stainless Steel Tubes, SS Tubing, SS Square Tube, SS Square Pipe, SS Round Pipe, SS Decorative Tube, SS Sanitary Tubing, SS Polished Pipe, SS Decorative Pipe, SS pipes available in custom size.


Learn more about ImageMagick and GD Library and see why they're currently present on almost every web server.
ImageMagick and GD are 2 of the most frequently used graphic software libraries available. They make the dynamic creation and editing of images and graphs on a site feasible, so they should be present on a web server if you host your websites on it and you prefer to have something different than static images with fixed dimensions. If ImageMagick and GD are installed, you'll be able to edit any image in many ways - create thumbnails, change the colors, flip it, blur it, etc. Naturally, these tweaks are doable if the script application which you use on your internet site permits you to carry out such things. The 2 libraries can easily be used with numerous web development languages - PHP, Python, Perl, etc., and support more than one hundred commonly used image formats that you'll be able to work with - PNG, PSD, JPEG, TIFF, GIF and more.
Our custom-made cloud server platform supplies the ideal software environment for your websites whatever the content that you'd like to have. Galleries as well as all other kinds of websites which use images and graphs are not an exception as ImageMagick and GD Library are available with all of the Linux cloud website hosting that we offer. Your account will be set up on the cloud hosting platform and no matter which PHP version you intend to use (4, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5), both the libraries will be enabled as standard, not on demand. Provided that the script application which you use offers such functions, you will be able to manage images from the administrative section, while your site guests shall be able to do that using the front end of the site.


The Thrill of the Orchestra lives up to its title! This playful piece colorfully illustrates the instruments and how they are played. The piece includes narration and guest performances by Hochstein Student Ensembles.


text:
FERENCZI GYÖRGY & RA… »
« 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 ... utolsó »
Happiness without electricity - an interview with Zimu Zhang, director of Once upon a time in Hungary
Amidst the picturesque mountainscape of Hungary is a place called Boldogszer. It's home for a family of seven whose way of life is more akin to the 18th rather than the 21st century. István and Réka and their children are cut off from the rest of the world, a "matrix" they would say and lack all modern comforts. The children play on meadows and in the woods just like storybooks intended. Life takes its beat from nature and the changing of the seasons. The film tries to bring viewers to experience a daily revolution with a family so brave but also as vulnerably as everyone of us. Interview with Zimu Zhang, co-director of the film Once upon a time in Hungary.
THE AUDIENCE AWARDED FILMS OF THE MEDIAWAVE "ON THE ROAD" ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL
The first phase of the third ON THE ROAD Online Film Festival has been over. The audience could vote for the international film program selected thematically until 31 March. The good news is that you haven't missed the films: you can watch the exciting and varied program until 27 April, the beginning of the MEDIAWAVE Festival in Komárom. The only difference is that you can't vote for them anymore. On the last day of the MEDIAWAVE Gathering, the award winner films can be watched once again in the screening rooms of the Fort Monostor, Komárom. After checking the sites of the films, the viewing results were pretty extreme (between 42 and 9438 views). You can reach the list of winners here.
Films On The Road again - films online until 27 April
The audience can vote for the films of the 3rd ON THE ROAD Online Film Competition between 1 - 31 March. The films can be watched on the On The Road website until 27 April, the beginning of the MEDIAWAVE Gathering.
WINTER TRADITION IN KISCSŐSZ - MEDIAWAVE NEW YEAR WISHES
The tradition of "regölés" in Kiscsősz was brought back by Kovács Norbert "Cimbi" by collecting the traditions of the surrounding villages. He, together with this friends, start off from the edge of the village where Cimbi lives and pop in the houses where they are hosted. Most of the times, as this activity is so exhausting and "fulfilling" they can't get further than the local pub in the middle of the village. It was like this in the end of this year as well, but they continued the party there. The record also reflects that Cimbi has done a big organisation work as not only more and more folk dancers but also more village people and kids joined this new year welcoming tradition. Thus we can say that it is not only about the revival of traditions but experiencing it in the era of informational revolution. We recorded this event and made it public for all those ones interested.
MEDIAWAVE CHRISTMAS PRESENT UNDER THE TREE
Around the end of the year, as we usually do, we try to have a look at our activity, what we have done in 2015. As a civil organisation with the intention of transmitting culture, we aim to give artistic and community experiences and collaborate with other civil organisations. We believe that the cooperations with real backgrounds can be the base of the recreation of the dying community expriences. We are sending some of these, without ranking but in chronological order, under the christmas tree. - see the details.
BOSKOVICE 2015 - Czech Republic
The festival started at 1993 as a non typical type of summer festival: put together music, theatre performances, films, exhibitions, author´s readings and other events in connections. It is dedicated to Jewish quarter of Boskovice, unique architectonic monument, and from its origin the festival is focused to evoke openness to all kinds of culture which historically met in this region and to build an atmosphere of tolerance and respect.
The dramaturgy of the festival brings to its audience present production from different cultural fields and different countries, with emphasis on the region and cultures, whose coexistence was interrupted by the Second World War and then coming of communist regime.
The festival takes place throughout this charming city: music on two open air stages, in the synagogue and in the orangery, theater performances at the ruins of castle and in the parish garden, projections at the local cinema and open air amphitheatre, exhibitions at the museum... and many other events.
25 QUALIFIED HUNGARIAN FESTIVALS ON EUROPEAN STAGE - MEDIAWAVE AMONG
"Following a process of intense evaluation from national experts to an international jury, 761 festivals from 31 countries now belong to the first generation of EFFE Label recipients" announced EFFE on 20 March 2015.
25 Hungarian festivals, among them the MEDIAWAVE Gathering and the ÖRDÖGKATLAN Festival (Mediawave as sub-organiser) are also among the selected ones.
BRÖTZMANN & PARKER & DRAKE TRIO AT MEDIAWAVE 2016?
We've been close to fix three avantgarde stars belonging to the Mediawave spirit. They all have performed at the Gathering. William Parker and Hamid Drake led workshops for three years. Brötzman has played the Hungarian "tárogató" for a long time. You can find videos here. Further records in the details.
GIPSY HOLOCAUST FILM SHOT DURING MEDIAWAVE
Our colleague, Péter Dömötör was the cinematographer of the gipsy holocaust film, THE ROAD TO AUSWITZ - 371 STARS directed by Seres Tamás. At least 2/3 of the film was shot during MEDIAWAVE so a great number of "mediawave faces" appear in it. you can watch the film here!
RIESZ FERENC'S MEDIAWAVE JAZZ VIDEOS
Riesz Ferenc recorded the jazz és improvised music programs, specifically parts of them. You can look into the following concerts: Grencsó István and his friends (HUN/POR) - Ayler: Ghosts, Cactus Truck (USA/HOL), Geröly Trió, Gabriel Ferrandini & Pedro Sousa (POR), Grencsó's Youth Free Band, AMP Trio feat. John Dikeman (USA), Syrius Legacy, Tóth Viktor
Click here for the videos
Antal Csilla fotója /Szabadka/


text:
Q: Why do I have to manually refresh the page for the component to load when using react-router? I have a React application that uses react-router-dom to load different components from the sidebar. Whenever I click the link in the sidebar, the URL changes, but I must manually refresh the page to get the actual content of the page to load.
I want my application to automatically refresh the page when a sidebar link is clicked instead of the user having to manually refresh the page in order for a component to load.
function App() {
  const [locale, setLocale] = useState('en');

  return (
    <>
      <Routes>
        <Route path="/" element={<IntlProvider locale={locale}><Layout setLocale={setLocale} /></IntlProvider>}>
          <Route index element={<Home />} />
          <Route path="experience" element={<Experience />} />
          <Route path="skills" element={<Skills />} />
          <Route path="portfolio" element={<Portfolio />} />
          <Route path="contact" element={<Contact />} />
        </Route>
      </Routes>
    </>

  );
}

export default App;

This is my App.js
const Sidebar = ({ toggled, handleToggleSidebar }) => {
  const intl = useIntl();
  return (
    <ProSidebar
      toggled={toggled}
      breakPoint="md"
      onToggle={handleToggleSidebar}
    >
      <SidebarHeader>

          <Link style={{ display: 'block', padding: '15px 0' }} to="/">

          </Link>

      </SidebarHeader>

      <SidebarContent>
        <Menu iconShape="circle">

          <MenuItem icon={<FaHome size={32} />}>
            {intl.formatMessage({ id: 'Home' })}
            <NavLink activeclassname="active" to="/"></NavLink>
          </MenuItem>

          <MenuItem icon={<FaProjectDiagram size={32} />}>
            {intl.formatMessage({ id: 'Experience' })}
            <NavLink to="/experience"></NavLink>
          </MenuItem>

          <MenuItem icon={<FaToolbox size={32} />}>
            {intl.formatMessage({ id: 'Skills' })}
            <NavLink to="/skills"></NavLink>
          </MenuItem>

          <MenuItem icon={<FaFolderOpen size={32} />}>
            {intl.formatMessage({ id: 'Portfolio' })}
            <NavLink to="/portfolio"></NavLink>
          </MenuItem>

          <MenuItem icon={<FaTelegramPlane size={32} />}>
            {intl.formatMessage({ id: 'Contact' })}
            <NavLink to="/contact"></NavLink>
          </MenuItem>

        </Menu>
      </SidebarContent>
    </ProSidebar >
  );
};

export default Sidebar;

This is my Sidebar.js
function Layout({ setLocale }) {
  const [rtl, setRtl] = useState(false);
  const [collapsed, setCollapsed] = useState(false);
  const [image, setImage] = useState(true);
  const [toggled, setToggled] = useState(false);

  const handleCollapsedChange = (checked) => {
    setCollapsed(checked);
  };

  const handleRtlChange = (checked) => {
    setRtl(checked);
    setLocale(checked ? 'ar' : 'en');
  };
  const handleImageChange = (checked) => {
    setImage(checked);
  };

  const handleToggleSidebar = (value) => {
    setToggled(value);
  };

  return (
    <div className={`app ${rtl ? 'rtl' : ''} ${toggled ? 'toggled' : ''}`}>
      <Sidebar
        image={image}
        collapsed={collapsed}
        rtl={rtl}
        toggled={toggled}
        handleToggleSidebar={handleToggleSidebar}
      />

      <Outlet />

  );
}

export default Layout;

This is the Layout.js that renders the page.
const Contact = () => {
  const [letterClass, setLetterClass] = useState('text-animate')
  const form = useRef()

  useEffect(() => {
    return setTimeout(() => {
      setLetterClass('text-animate-hover')
    }, 3000)
  }, [])

  const sendEmail = (e) => {
    e.preventDefault()

    emailjs
      .sendForm(
        'service_v8uv1al',
        'template_xge6tgj',
        form.current,
        'UuX3z3S-mWAnAL7BY')
      .then(
        () => {
          alert('Message successfully sent!')
          window.location.reload(false)
        },
        () => {
          alert('Failed to send the message, please try again')
        }
      )
  }

  return (
    <>

            <AnimatedLetters
              letterClass={letterClass}
              strArray={['C', 'o', 'n', 't', 'a', 'c', 't', ' ', 'm', 'e']}
              idx={15}
            />

              k.maumau0@gmail.com

              +1 (832) 764-9796

            If you have a request or question, or simply just want to
            say Hello don't hesitate to contact me using the form below!

            <form ref={form} onSubmit={sendEmail}>

                  <input placeholder="Name" type="text" name="name" required />

                  <input
                    placeholder="Email"
                    type="email"
                    name="email"
                    required
                  />

                  <input
                    placeholder="Subject"
                    type="text"
                    name="subject"
                    required
                  />

                  <textarea
                    placeholder="Message"
                    name="message"
                    required
                  ></textarea>

                  <input type="submit" className="flat-button" value="SEND" />

            </form>

      <Loader type="ball-scale" />
    </>
  )
}

export default Contact

Contact Page Code

A: Issue
Your app code is actually crashing when navigating away from a page. It's not clear why you aren't seeing the React error page (perhaps you are running a production build) but the issue is that for each page you are using a useEffect hook to set a timeout to update some local state.
useEffect(() => {
  return setTimeout(() => {
    setLetterClass('text-animate-hover');
  }, 3000);
}, []);

The issue with this is that React assumes that anything returned from the useEffect hook is a cleanup function to be invoked when the component is rerendering/unmounting. setTimeout returns a number representing the timer id.
Reloading the page is effectively reloading the entire app on the current URL path.
Solution
On each of these pages, refactor the logic to return a cleanup function that clears the timeout.
useEffect(() => {
  const timer = setTimeout(() => {
    setLetterClass('text-animate-hover');
  }, 3000);
  return () => clearTimeout(timer);
}, []);

This allows the timeout to be instantiated when the component mounts, and for the offhand chance the user navigates away from the page and this component unmounts, it will clear the timeout and won't invoke the callback that will enqueue a state state.
Suggestion
It seems that each of these pages has the same animation letterClass state for the AnimatedLetters component. Instead of duplicating the same code/logic across all pages, abstract it into a custom React hook that returns the letterClass value.
Example:
const useLetterClass = ({
  start = 'text-animate',
  end = 'text-animate-hover'
}) => {
  const [letterClass, setLetterClass] = useState(start);

  useEffect(() => {
    const timer = setTimeout(() => {
      setLetterClass(end);
    }, 3000);
    return () => clearTimeout(timer);
  }, []);

  return { letterClass };
};

In each page component import the useLetterClass hook, call, and pass the returned letterClass prop value.
Example:
const Contact = () => {
  const { letterClass } = useLetterClass({
    start: 'text-animate',
    end: 'text-animate-hover',
  });
  const form = useRef();

  const sendEmail = (e) => {
    ...
  }

  return (
    <>

            <AnimatedLetters
              letterClass={letterClass}
              strArray={['C', 'o', 'n', 't', 'a', 'c', 't', ' ', 'm', 'e']}
              idx={15}
            />

          ...

      <Loader type="ball-scale" />
    </>
  );
};

The sandbox code you provided also seems to have an issue with some of the SCSS, specifically with a $sidebar-color variable missing. I'm not familiar with SCSS much, but I don't suspect it is related to the routing/navigation issue I described above.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


We were having terrible problems with audio dropouts with our NAD T747. I bypassed the audio from the HDMI and used an optical cable instead. Problem solved.
This will work for a while before you start getting the odd audio dropout here and there. The problem seems to be happening less frequently (for me anyhow) by doing this but it was really bad up until a couple of weeks ago.
Ridiculous that Cisco and Rogers can't get this issue completely fixed almost a year later.
I installed the optical cable over 2 months ago. No problems since.
There are other users, who have used optical, and still reported it.
OK my Net box 3.0 drops video completely, not just the audio. So I will be watching a recording and all of a sudden the screen goes black for a second or two. When it comes back, my TV displays that its on HDMI 2 before resuming play. Its incredibly annoying! Suggestions?
This is a different issue, and usually solvable.
Go into SETTINGS, then APPEARANCE, then TV mode.
Likely it is set on 1080p?
Change this down to 1080i.
This usually fixes it for most people.
So, has the audio drop issue been resolve. Is everybody good now?
As far as i am aware.. with the current firmware being pushed out.. the audio drop issues DOES appear to be fixed.
I am still getting occasional audio dropout. Happened last night while watching a recorded show.
There are/were two seperate issues with the audio drop.
And the 1080p audio issue.
The DD drop issue, appears to have been resolved with the latest patch. Not sure on the other though.
B) Check to see if you have the latest firmware.. not sure if its been COMPLETELY pushed out yet to all.
You should see that the VERSION has been updated to 5.0.0.0123 if its on the latest.


text:
Home / Capitol / Jobless bill clears hurdle in bipartisan surprise
Jobless bill clears hurdle in bipartisan surprise
By: Associated Press January 7, 2014 0
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., center, joined by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., right, meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday after legislation to renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed unexpectedly cleared an initial Senate hurdle. (AP photo)
WASHINGTON – Election-year legislation to revive expired federal jobless benefits unexpectedly cleared an early hurdle on Tuesday, offering a hint of bipartisan compromise in Congress and a glimmer of hope to the long-term jobless and their families.
"Let's get this done," said President Barack Obama at the White House, shortly after six Republicans sided with Democrats on a 60-37 Senate vote to keep the measure alive.
Even so, the fate of the three-month reinstatement remained uncertain in an atmosphere of intense partisanship at the dawn of an election year. The two parties have made it clear they intend to battle for the support of millions of voters who have suffered economically through the worst recession in decades and the slow, plodding recovery that has followed.
The often-cited phrase is "income disparity" – the gap between the rich and the economically squeezed. Democrats are expected to follow the effort on jobless benefits with another pocketbook measure, a proposal to increase the federal minimum wage.
The maneuvering on Tuesday was intense. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell proposed paying for the renewal of federal jobless benefits by delaying a requirement for millions of Americans to purchase coverage under Obamacare – an attempt to force Democrats to take a public stand on that highly controversial issue.
Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who generally seeks to shield his rank and file from politically painful votes, deemed McConnell's proposal a non-starter.
At the same time, Reid and White House officials suggested that they would be receptive to cuts elsewhere in the federal budget to offset the cost of a yearlong renewal of the program, if Republicans would first agree to turn the benefits back on for three months without preconditions.
The legislation at the heart of the maneuvering would restore benefits averaging $256 weekly to an estimated 1.3 million long-term jobless Americans who were cut off when the program expired Dec. 28. Duration of federal coverage generally ranges from 14 to 47 weeks, depending on the level of unemployment within individual states. The three-month cost to the Treasury is estimated at $6.4 billion.
Without action by Congress, hundreds of thousands more will feel the impact in the months ahead as their state-funded benefits expire, generally after 26 weeks.
The outcome of Tuesday's vote to limit debate and keep the bill going appeared to catch Democrats off-guard.
The six Republicans who voted to overcome a filibuster were Dean Heller of Nevada, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Dan Coats of Indiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rob Portman of Ohio.
Heller, Coats and Portman all represents states with unemployment above the national average of 7 percent.
Coats, for one, immediately made clear that his vote came with conditions attached. He said he opposes the measure as drafted, and would vote against it on final passage if Reid "again obstructs senators from offering amendments."
The Indiana Republican said he believes any extension in benefits should be offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget to prevent deficits from rising. He said he also favors provisions to help "put Americans back to work."
Reid, in comments to reporters, said unemployment benefits had been extended several times when George W. Bush was president and Congress did not insist on paying for them with cuts elsewhere in the budget.
"This is new religion to them," he said of Republicans.
Any debate over paying for renewing jobless benefits is almost certain to circle back to a perennial disagreement over taxes.
In last month's successful negotiations over spending legislation, Democrats sought to close tax loopholes to keep deficits from rising. Republicans refused, demanding spending cuts or higher fees instead.
At the same time the two parties struggle with one another, Republicans are also under pressure from outside groups who oppose any renewal of jobless benefits, including some with ties to the tea party.
Any legislation that clears the Senate would also have to make it through the House, where dozens of tea party-aligned lawmakers are in office.
In a statement issued shortly after the Senate vote, Speaker John Boehner said he has previously informed the White House that any measure to renew unemployment benefits "should not only be paid for but include something to help put people back to work. To date, the president has offered no such plan. If he does, I'll be happy to discuss it."
At the White House, Obama, too, said he was siding with victims of the recession.
"These aren't folks who are just sitting back, waiting for things to happen," he said. "They're out there actively looking for work."
At issue is a system that provides as much as 47 weeks of federally funded benefits, beginning after the exhaustion of state benefits, usually 26 weeks in duration.
The first tier of additional benefits is 14 weeks and generally available to all who have used up their state benefits.
An additional 14 weeks is available in states where unemployment is 6 percent or higher. Nine more weeks of benefits are available in states with joblessness of 7 percent or higher. In states where unemployment is 9 percent or higher, another 10 weeks of benefits are available.
Officials also said a little-noticed provision in the legislation is specifically designed to benefit the long-term unemployed in North Carolina, where Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan faces a stiff challenge for a new term.
It would make residents eligible for long-term benefits by permitting the state to negotiate an agreement with the Department of Labor. State residents are currently ineligible because of state benefits were reduced below a federal standard.
Barack Obama Congress Harry Reid Mitch McConnell 4:56 pm Tue, January 7, 2014
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Tagged with: Barack Obama Congress Harry Reid Mitch McConnell
Bill would give Oklahoma towns more control over marijuana grow sites
School voucher bills back on agenda at Oklahoma Legislature
Stitt, Walters visit private, charter schools, advocate for 'choice'


text:
Europe's journal on infectious disease surveillance, epidemiology, prevention and control
Eurosurveillance
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Register and subscribe here
Volume 17, Issue 9, 01/Mar/2012
Rapid communications Open Access
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/10.2807/ese.17.09.20105-en
Overrepresentation of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus among severe influenza cases in the 2011/12 season in four European countries
J Beauté1, E Broberg1, F Plata1, I Bonmarin2, J O'Donnell3, C Delgado4, N Boddington5, R Snacken1
Affiliations: 1 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden 2 Institut de Veille Sanitaire (InVS), Saint-Maurice, France 3 Health Protection Surveillance Centre, Dublin, Ireland 4 Centro Nacional de Epidemiología (National Centre of Epidemiology), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain 5 Respiratory Diseases Department, Health Protection Agency, London, United Kingdom
J Beauté
Julien.Beaute ecdc.europa.eu
View Citation Hide Citation
Citation style for this article: Beauté J, Broberg E, Plata F, Bonmarin I, O'Donnell J, Delgado C, Boddington N, Snacken R. Overrepresentation of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus among severe influenza cases in the 2011/12 season in four European countries. Euro Surveill. 2012;17(9):pii=20105. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.17.09.20105-en Received: 22 Feb 2012
Metrics/Cited By
In France, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom, the influenza season 2011/12 started in the final weeks of 2011 and has been dominated by influenza A(H3) viruses with minimal circulation of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and B viruses. A relatively greater proportion, however, of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses were reported in hospitalised laboratory-confirmed influenza cases in four countries. Compared to the season 2010/11, the proportion of subtype A(H3) among hospitalised cases has increased, associated with a larger proportion of cases in the youngest and oldest age groups.
/content/10.2807/ese.17.09.20105-en
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Duyet Thi Duong is considered the oldest theater in Vietnam, built under King Minh Mang, has been restored to put on tour.
Afternoon the 30th of March, Conservation Centre for Hue relics was inaugurated the exhibition space and launched art performances at the relic Duyet Thi Duong (Hue Citadel), to serve visitors to the palace .
Duyet Thi Duong Theatre (Hue Citadel) is located inside the palace of Hue.
Duyet Thi Duong was built in 1826 during the reign of Emperor Minh Mang. This is the theater of the palace where the king and the royal family enjoyed the traditional art forms, especially the ancient art of opera and art performance on the visit of foreign ambassadors.
Director of Conservation Centre for Hue relics- Phan Thanh Hai said the theater is being used as the main stage of the royal tradition Arts Theatre, to introduce the intangible cultural heritage values including court music, dance palace, royal opera, etc.
Many international visitors enjoy watching opera masks that are used for opera performances.
After nearly 200 years, under the impact of the harsh nature and the ravages of war, theater Duyet Thi Duong was badly damaged, restored, and repaired several times.
In addition to traditional music activities, tourists can admire many pictures, costumes, musical instruments, opera masks, with many relevant documents under the Nguyen dynasty.
On the 30th of March, Conservation Centre for Hue relics was also inaugurated and put into operation.


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Family of Julius Porges
Julius Porges (b. ca 1890 Tucensky Svaty Martin near Bratislava?) married Irena X
Stephan Porges (b. 1917 Tucensky Svaty Martin near Bratislava, d. 1975) married on 9/7/40 in pre-Israel Palestine where they met on Kibbutz Ramat David : Inge Yael Winterfeldt (b. 7/30/22 Berlin, Germany, d. 08/06/2007 NY).
The US Holocaust Museum includes Tucensky Svaty Martin among the towns that were wiped out during the Holocaust.
Karen-Shelly "K. Shelly" Porges (b. 1953 Tel Aviv Israël) married
(1) Ovidiu Pasternak (b. 6/24/48 Bucharest, Romania)
(2) Richard Wilhelm (b. 5/17/46 in NYC)
She lives in the U.S.A.
Stephen Benjamin Pasternak (b. 6/13/86 Toronto, Canada)
Ariel Pasternak (b. 12/24/90 Greenbrae, California)
Amos Jay Poe (formerly Porges), (b. 9/30/49 Tel Aviv, Israel)
(1) Barbara Brooks, ca. 1970 http://www.amospoe.com
Emily Star Poe (b. 7/22/76, NYC)
(2) Sarah Charlesworth ca. 1984
Nicholas Tiger Poe (b. 4/25/85, NYC)
Sarah Lucy Poe (b. 11/11/88, NYC)
Erica Porges
Klara Porges
Lona Porges
K. Shelly Porges
Cornell University Entrepreneur Network
Speaker - K. Shelly Porges '74
K. Shelly Porges co-founded Global Payments Experts llc. in 2003.
With deep domain expertise in the payments and financial services industry, Global Payments Experts llc. provides business strategy, risk management, marketing, and product development consulting to deliver bottom line results.
Global Payments Experts llc. professionals have worked with leading companies such as Accenture, American Express, Ameritech, Bank of America, BB&T, Bell Canada, Capital One, Chevron, Citigroup, Diners Club, ETrade, First Data Corp., GE Capital Card Services, H&R Block, Hewitt Associates, Household International, Innoventry Corp., KeyCorp., Livecapital.com, MBNA, NexTag, Inc., Paymybills.com, PPS, Inc., Providian, Star Systems, Inc., thinkSmart llc., ThirdAge Media, Thomas Weisel Partners, U.S. Bank, Verizon, Visa U.S.A., Visa International, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo, and Zurich Scudder Investments.
Ms. Porges is a recognized expert in marketing and strategy development with a significant track record in launching products, brands and companies. As an advisor, she has consulted with various Fortune 500 company executive teams on achieving breakthrough results. As an executive, she has led some of the nation's leading financial institutions in developing powerful strategies in both start-up and turn-around environments, as well as in re-energizing growth in existing businesses.
Ms. Porges' career highlights include a ten-year stint at American Express, culminating as executive head of marketing for American Express Canada. She then served as Senior Vice President of Retail Product Management for Bank of America during its historic turn-around in the late 80's where she helped the bank move from #23 to #1 in consumer lending in the country, as well as from last to first in deposit and revenue growth among the nation's major banks. Following this, as founder and CEO of Porges/ Hudson Marketing (PHMI), a strategy advisory firm, Ms. Porges led one of the most well-known, well-respected boutique firms in the financial services industry.
Ms. Porges also held executive positions in a number of start-up ventures including Executive Vice President of Strategic Marketing for a subsidiary of Wachovia (then First Union) Bank, the 6th largest bank in the country, where she ran a strategic alliance business, and launched an internet lending business which grew to over $100 million in its first full year of operation. She then served as Executive Vice President-Marketing for Third Age Media, the leading Internet portal site for baby boomers, where she was responsible for the record-setting growth—over 400%-- in both visitors and registered users at Third Age in 1999. In January 2000, The Industry Standard named Third Age one of the Top Ten Most Popular Sites on the Web based on growth in unique visitors. She also served as Chief Marketing Officer of Scudder Weisel Capital LLC, a specialty investment firm, a joint venture between Thomas Weisel Partners, at the time, the country's fastest growing investment bank, and Zurich Scudder Investments, one of the largest asset managers in the world.
Ms. Porges has served on both corporate boards, including Renaissance Holdings Corp. and Pueblo Corp., as well as a variety of non-profit boards, including the United Way of the Bay Area, the Financial Women's Association of San Francisco and the Jewish Community Federation. In 1996, she was named the Financial Women's Association Distinguished Member of the Year for launching the Financial Woman of the Year Event which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for women's scholarships over the years. In 1997, she was recognized for her volunteer leadership by being awarded one of only 40 fellowships by the Wexner Heritage Foundation.
Ms. Porges holds both a BS and MS degree from Cornell University and serves on the Cornell University Council, on the Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise Program Advisory Council and on the President's Council of Cornell Women (PCCW), of which she was a founding member. Ms. Porges is frequently quoted in a variety of industry publications such as the American Banker, Credit Card News, and Fortune magazine and was a contributor to such business books as The AMA Handbook of Services Marketing, If It Ain't Broke, Break It!, and How to Run a Small Business.
Ms. Porges' most proud accomplishment is being the mother of her two children, Ariel and Stephen.
https://differentfunds.com/people/shelly-porges/
K. Shelly Porges is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of The Billion Dollar Fund for Women, a global consortium of venture funds pledged to invest in women-founded firms. She is also a Board Member of the Global Banking Alliance for Women and on the Advisory Board for Cornerstone Capital, Mindshift Capital and Different Funds. She is also serves as an Expert on Call for Georgetown University's Entrepreneurship Program.
Shelly also served as President of the North American Jury for theCartier Women's Initiative Awards and as the former Senior Advisor,Global Entrepreneurship Week. (GEP) at the U.S. State Department, a program she expanded to almost 150 countries, under Secretary Hillary Clinton. Prior to joining GEP, she launched the State Department's Global Women's Business Initiative to promote women's entrepreneurship worldwide.
Before joining the State Department, she had a distinguished career in the private sector, including both corporate and entrepreneurial ventures. She served as executive head of marketing for American Express Canada and as chief retail marketing officer for Bank of America during a historic turn-around. Shelly then founded or co-founded a number of start-up ventures including one sold to Wachovia Bank; Third Age Media, the leading Internet portal for baby boomers; Scudder Weisel Capital LLC, a joint venture between Thomas Weisel Partners and Zurich Scudder Investments, one of the largest asset managers in the world; and Global Payments Experts LLC, a payments industry advisory firm.
Shelly also serves on the International Business Advisory Council for the President of Cyprus and the advisory boards for early stage companies Tiatros, a medical solutions platform; Distributed Sun, a commercial solar company and Cornerstone Capital, an institutional investment firm for impact investors. She was also Co-Founder of Entrepreneurs for Hillary and served on the National Finance Council of Hillary for America.
Shelly holds both a BS with Honors and MPS degree from Cornell University.
C.V. of Amos Poe
Amos Poe and Emily
Amos poe by Clemente
"As an artist and communicator, Amos Poe is not afraid to simultaneously challenge and move an audience. Seldom, if ever, in American cinema has a sensibility of such avant garde and seemingly pessimistic tastes produced films of such compassion and reflection."
- Eddie Cockrell, The American Film Institute/Washington DC
Poe is one of the leading figures of the No Wave Cinema movement (75-85) that grew out of the bustling East Village music and art scene.
The No Wave paralleled the punk music explosion and included Jim Jarmusch, Eric Mitchell, James Nares, Beth and Scott B, Vivienne Dick, Sara Driver, John Lurie, Richard Kern, Nick Zedd, Bette Gordon, Melvie Arslanian, Charlie Ahearn, among others - they embraced B-movie genres, the avant-garde, & the French New Wave to create a fresh, vibrant American art cinema.
Poe is considered by many (see John Pierson's book, "Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes", Legs McNeil's "Please Kill Me", or C. Patterson's "Captured") to be the "father" of the modern indy American cinema.
In '75 Poe and Ivan Kral (Patti Smith Group, Iggy Pop) produced, edited and shot the now classic and definitive punk film, THE BLANK GENERATION.
This film chronicles the seminal performances of Richard Hell, Patti Smith, Blondie, Ramones, Talking Heads, Television, Heartbreakers, Wayne County et. al.
In '76, Poe wrote, produced, directed his debut groundbreaking feature, UNMADE BEDS, an homage to Godard's "Breathless" and the French New Wave.
In '77, using a car loan for $5,000, Poe wrote, produced and directed his most influential film, THE FOREIGNER, starring Eric Mitchell, Patti Astor, Duncan Hannah and Debbie Harry.
In '79-'80 Poe concluded his "underground trilogy" with the bleakly beautiful SUBWAY RIDERS, his first foray in color.
These bohemian films starred the downtown demimonde of artists, musicians and poets.
During this era, Poe also directed the legendary weekly TV show, GLENN O'BRIEN'S TV PARTY.
In '83-'84, Poe co-wrote and directed ALPHABET CITY (w/ Vincent Spano, Kate Vernon & Michael Winslow), his first 35mm film, and directed numerous music videos (Run DMC, Animotion, Anthrax, Juice Newton etc.).
In '85-'86 he wrote ROCKET GIBRALTAR (starring Burt Lancaster, Macauley Culkin, Kevin Spacey, Patricia Clarkson, Francis Conroy, Bill Pullman, John Glover).
In the late '80's, Poe applied himself to writing numerous screenplays, among them - "Port of Call" (Chiesa Prod.), "The Golden Eagle" (Columbia Pictures), "Mrs. Dogg" (Island/World), "Beach House" (Weintraub Ent.), "Paint. It Black." (Ulick/Mayo Prod.) "Caught In A Whirlwind" (Cabana Ent.) and "Pony Rider" (Fox).
Poe returned to filmmaking in '90 with the acclaimed TRIPLE BOGEY ON A PAR 5 HOLE (Island/World).
In '92, Poe produced Steven Starr's JOEY BREAKER (Skouras/Paramount) starring Richard Edson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Gina Gershon and Michael Imperioli.
Poe returned to scripting in '93-'94 with a vengeance, writing: "Tar Baby" (from Toni Morrison's novel for Willi Ramaeu), "Kid Killer", "La Pacifica" (released as a graphic novel by DC Comics), "The Guitar", "The Lodz 7 ", "The Grey Nun", "Hard On Berlin", "The Listener" (David Brown/Paramount), "Rattle My Cage" and "Dead Weekend" (with novelist Joel Rose).
In '94 Poe directed the Ed Wood inspired sci-fi DEAD WEEKEND (starring Stephen Baldwin & Bai Ling).
In the late '90's Poe wrote and directed the neo-noir FROGS FOR SNAKES (starring Barbara Hershey, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Hart, Debi Mazar, Justin Theroux and Clarence Williams III).
Poe continued writing screenplays, among them: "Stunning", "To Kill An Angel", "Underage", "Bypass", "The Night Witches", as well as directed two videos for Danny Goldberg's Artemis Records (Steve Earle's "Transcendental Blues" and "Over Yonder").
In '99 Poe began teaching filmmaking at NYU/Tisch School of the Arts.
In 2001, Poe "Murchian engineered" Alliance-Atlantis' 29 PALMS (starring Jeremy Davies).
In '02-'03 Poe produced & directed STEVE EARLE : JUST AN AMERICAN BOY, a feature portrait of singer-songwriter Steve Earle.
Poe continues to teach screenwriting, directing and production at NYU (and at NYU's Florence Summer Program) as well as other universities (University of Buffalo/Summer Grad Program).
Currently, Poe's working on several films, including EMPIRE II (a "re-make" of Warhol's EMPIRE) and THE GUITAR (starring Saffron Burrows, Isaach de Bankole & Paz de la Huerta; directed by Amy Redford). Poe's latest plans include www.pianospecs.com - an on-line pro-active ad platform for filmmakers, designers & artists.
©2005 RainFilm Inc.
http://www.amospoe.com/cv.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_Poe