text:
Thompson Lab of Mammalogy
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
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PEER-REVIEWED (* = Student Co-Authors)
Ruedas, L. A., J. H. French*, S. Marques-Silva, R. N. Platt II, J. Salazar-Bravo, J. M. Mora, and C. W. Thompson. A prolegomenon to the systematics of South American cottontail rabbits (Mammalia, Lagomorpha, Leporidae: Sylvilagus): designation of a neotype for S. brasiliensis (Linnaeus, 1758), and restoration of S. andinus (Thomas, 1897) and S. tapetillus Thomas, 1913. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 205:1-63. [PDF]
Wu, X., J. Wu, C. W. Thompson, and Y. Li. 2015. Adaptive evolution of the MHC class III gene RAGE in primates and murine rodents. International Journal of Immunogenetics 331:1-24. [PDF]
Thompson, C. W., F. B. Stangl, Jr., and R. D. Bradley. 2015. Ancient hybridization and subsequent mitochondrial capture in ground squirrels (genus Ictidomys). Occasional Papers of the Museum, Texas Tech University 331:1-24. [PDF]
Platt II, R. N., B. R. Amman, M. S. Corley*, C. W. Thompson, and R. D. Bradley. 2015. What is Peromyscus? Evidence from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences for a new classification. Journal of Mammalogy 96:708-719. [PDF]
Ordóñez-Garza*, N., C. W. Thompson, M. K. Unkefer, C. W. Edwards, J. G. Owen, and R. D. Bradley. 2014. Examination of the Neotoma mexicana species group in Mesoamerica: molecular evidence for recognition of N. ferruginea Tomes 1861. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 127:518-532. [PDF]
Rocha, L. A., A. Aleixo, G. Allen, F. Almeda, C. Baldwin, M. Barclay, J. Bates, A. Bauer, F. Benzoni, C. Berns, M. Berumen, D. C. Blackburn, S. Blum, F. Bolaños, R. Bowie, R. Britz, R. Brown, C. D. Cadena, K. Carpenter, L. M. Ceríaco, P. Chakrabarty, G. Chaves, J. H. Choat, K. Clements, B. Collette, A. Collins, J. Coyne, J. Cracraft, T. Daniel, M. R. de Carvalho, K. de Queiroz, F. Di Dario, R. Drewes, J. Dumbacher, A. Engilis Jr, M. V. Erdmann, W. Eschmeyer, C. R. Feldman, B. Fisher, J. Fjeldså, P. Fritsch, J. Fuchs, A. Getahun, A. Gill, M. Gomon, T. Gosliner, G. Graves, C. Griswold, R. Guralnick, K. Hartel, K. M. Helgen, H. Ho, D. Iskandar, T. Iwamoto, Z. Jaafar, H. James, D. Johnson, D. Kavanaugh, N. Knowlton, E. Lacey, H. Larson, P. Last, J. Leis, H. Lessios, J. Liebherr, M. Lowman, D. L. Mahler, V. Mamonekene, K. Matsuura, G. Mayer, H. Mays Jr., J. McCosker, R. McDiarmid, J. McGuire, M. Miller, R. Mooi, R. D. Mooi, C. Moritz, P. Myers, M. Nachman, R. A. Nussbaum, D. Ó Foighil, L. Parenti, J. Parham, E. Paul, G. Paulay, J. Pérez-Emán, A. Perez-Matus, S. Poe, J. Pogonoski, D. Rabosky, J. E. Randall, J. Reimer, D. R. Robertson, M.-O. Rödel, M. T. Rodrigues, P. Roopnarine, L. Rüber, M. Ryan, F. Sheldon, G. Shinohara, A. Short, B. Simison, W. Smith-Vaniz, V. Springer, M. Stiassny, J. G. Tello, C. W. Thompson, T. Trnski, P. Tucker, T. Valqui, M. Vecchione, E. Verheyen, P. C. Wainwright, T. A. Wheeler, W. White, K. Will, J. T. Williams, E. O. Wilson, K. Winker, R. Winterbottom, and C. Witt. 2014. Collecting biological specimens is essential in science and conservation. Science 344:814-815. [PDF]
Booth-Binczik, S. D., R. D. Bradley, C. W. Thompson, L. C. Bender, J. W. Huntley, J. A. Huntley, L. L. Laack, and J. L. Mays. 2013. Ocelot food habits and potential for competition with bobcats in South Texas. Southwestern Naturalist 58:403-410. [PDF]
Thompson, C. W., and E. J. Finck. 2013. A northward range extension of the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) in Missouri. Prairie Naturalist 45:96-99. [PDF]
Thompson, C. W., F. A. Anwarali Khan, F. B. Stangl, Jr., R. J. Baker, and R. D. Bradley. 2013. Multi-locus analyses indicate a mosaic hybrid zone in ground squirrels (genus Ictidomys). Ecology and Evolution 3:4448-4460. [PDF]
Pitts, R. M., M. R. Mauldin, C. W. Thompson, and J. R. Choate. 2013. Evidence of Hantavirus exposure in rodents from North Texas. Western North American Naturalist 73:386-391. [PDF]
Thompson, C. W., and R. D. Bradley. 2013. Neotoma picta. Pp. 316, in Mammals of Mexico (G. Ceballos, ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. [PDF]
Thompson, C. W., and R. D. Bradley. 2013. Neotoma isthmica. Pp. 306, in Mammals of Mexico (G. Ceballos, ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. [PDF]
Huynh, H. M., S. Bertolino, P. W. W. Lurz, J. L. Koprowski, G. R. Williams, C. W. Thompson, and D. F. McAlpine. 2011. The even darker side of the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis): a review of global introductions, invasion biology, and pest management strategies. Pp. 31-32, in Julius-Kuhn-Archiv 432 (J. Jacob and A. Esther, eds.). 8th European Vertebrate Pest Management Conference, Berlin, Germany. [PDF]
Thompson, C. W., J. R. Choate, H. H. Genoways, and E. J. Finck. 2011. Blarina hylophaga. Mammalian Species 43:94-103. [PDF]
Thompson, C. W., R. S. Pfau, J. R. Choate, H. H. Genoways, and E. J. Finck. 2011. Identification and characterization of the contact zone between two species of short-tailed shrew (Blarina) in Iowa and Missouri. Canadian Journal of Zoology 89:278-288. [PDF]
Bradley, R. D., C. W. Thompson, and R. R. Chambers. 2010. Rbp3 in geomyid rodents: reduced rate of molecular evolution or evidence for selection? Occasional Papers of the Museum, Texas Tech University 296:1:15. [PDF]
Thompson, C. W., and J. D. Hoffman. 2009. Karyotype designation and habitat description of the northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda, Say) neotype and paratypes. Jeffersoniana 22:1-5. [PDF]
IN-REVIEW/REVISION
Pitts, R. M., H. M. Huynh*, C. W. Thompson, and K. F. Maranth. Further support for December breeding in the plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) in Texas. Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science, in review.


Haven't bought anything online for railway for ages so used that as a justification for doing so today.
I've quite a collection of these HO scale vehicles. This one cost £5.99 plus £1 postage from eBay.
Metrik on Radio 1Extra - felt like some Drum 'n' Bass.
Bread dipped (soaked) in spouse-made vegetable soup consumed directly from saucepan.
We make our coffee using a Nespresso machine and capsules. I always use a combination of two capsules: one decaffeinated and one from the Nespresso range of world wide coffee beans. This afternoon tried one decaff and one they described as having a touch of vanilla. It certainly did.
With the vanilla flavoured capsule.


This tour takes place over two days and includes one night spent at a mountain hut at the 8th station (3,400 meters).
6:45 a.m. Meet in in front of Tochomae Station (pronounced "Toe-cho-ma-é) on the Toei Oedo line. How do you get here? See our page here for directions on how to get to the meeting point. We'll meet right in front of the only ticket machines inside this station.
6:50 a.m. Team discussion and preparation for the day's events. Depart for Mt. Fuji Subashiri 5th station.
9:00 a.m. Arrive at Gotemba train station which is an optional pick up point for those staying in the Mt. Fuji area, including Kawaguchiko and Hakone. If you want to be picked up or dropped off at Gotemba station, you can select this option during checkout. More information on this here.
10:30 a.m. Team discussion on Mt. Fuji; begin climbing Subashiri route.
4:00-6:00 p.m. Arrive at 8th station Fujisan Hotel, hot dinner and sleep.
1:30-3:30 a.m. Leave hut for sunrise atop Mt. Fuji.
4:00-5:00 a.m. Sunrise atop Mt. Fuji and hot "Banzai! Sunrise Breakfast!" An hour circuit of Mt. Fuji's 8 peaks is offered.
5:30-6:30 a.m. Begin descent to Subashiri 5th station.
10:00-1:00 p.m. Arrive 5th station; relax, have lunch.
11:00-2:00 p.m. Bus leaves for Shinjuku Station.
1:00-3:00pm Bus arrives at Gotemba train station which is an optional drop off point for those wanting to access Hakone, Kawaguchiko, or head south towards Kyoto. You can select a Gotenba station drop off in the checkout process. More information on this here.
1:30-4:30 p.m. Arrive Shinjuku Station.


On designing egg cups: "Eggs and Egg-cups", by Paolo Frello for Dolce Vita Design.
On 'The Birth of an Egg Cup', 1946 exposition to promote British Industrial Design.
Fernando Pessoa's reflexions on the essence of marketing and egg cups: "A essência do comércio", in Portuguese.
'Le Coquetier Ivre / Der betrunkene Eierbecher', made by Hans Arp in 1926.
'Egg cup' and 'Eierbecher' entries in Wikipedia.
Our other blog, Una huevera al día, in Spanish.
"Onori e blog sul portauovo", by Cristina Nadoti, for La Repubblica; it includes comments on our other blog and it's written in Italian.
María José Fuster's 'Las hueveras también tienen su historia', in Spanish.
A brief "History of the Egg Cup" used for the exhibition of Mr. & Mrs. Gordon Stuart's collection at the Poway Historical and Memorial Society in Poway (California).
'Whistling Cups - For Eggs N' Milk', article on whistling egg and milk cups by Pat Stott-Prince.
"The Joy of Egg Cups", by Rbirdies, in The GPSA Gazette.
"The World is an Eggcup", by Irving Scott, for 'Antiques Diary' magazine.
'Pocillovy' entry: a weird word according to World Wide Words.
"Le coquetier à la table des grands", article on French collector Alain Desgranges and his collection, in French.
'It's no yolk', article on Sabine Joyce and her collection, written by Theresa Winslow for The Capital, Annapolis.
We've found a number of strange comments on egg cups collecting at the "A-Z of crazy pastimes" section from BBC Wales' Just the job site: they say that people who thought about "collecting eggcups commemorating, say, Prince William's 18th birthday" should rather "go mainstream", meaning they'll have more fun "collecting eggcups full stop. Or eggcups of a particular colour. Or eggcups manufactured in a certain country. Something like that". The main problem being that all this is discussed under the "Zzzzz" subsection. Read it with your own eyes here. And see how they call the Egg-Cup Collectors' Club a "bizarre collection society" here.
Sydney's Powerhouse Museum of Science and Design has an important quantity of egg cups in its collection. It is searchable on-line. Worth checking out are, for instance, a 19th Century English egg cruet in Sheffield plate; an Elkington silver plated circular egg cup stand and matching egg cups, produced circa 1870; a pair of whale tooth egg cups; a Curl/Adelaide Potteries Ltd stoneware egg cup in the form of a chicken, produced between 1900 and 1915, and four earthenware buckets from Martin Boyd Pottery, produced in 1963.
Chamberlains & Co 1802 egg cup; it belonged to Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's breakfast service and is now at the National Maritime Museum, in London (UK).
Pickmann 1862 egg cup, at the Palacio Real de Madrid (Spain).
Fayence egg cup, 1760-1770, at the Museums of the City of Bamberg (Germany).
Here's a 1951 Festival of Britain souvenir copper egg cup bearing an enamelled logo; it was produced to commemorate a festival designed to promote British art, design and industry; it's a property of the Museum of London.
Egg cup marked "El Marqués de Santa Coloma", from the Museu d'Història de Tarragona (Spain).
In the Heimatmuseum from Strausberg (in Germany) took place in 2005 a "Osterausstellung" with a lot of interesting egg cups; here's a nice feature concerning it.
The Middleton Area Historical Society Museum (in Middleton, Wisconsin) welcomes a whole collection of egg cups, as well as a collection of Depression glass that will probably be of interest for egg cup collectors. Practical information can be found here.
Egg Cup Collectors Club of Great Britain; they publish the magazine "Egg Cup World".
Egg Cup International Club's page; the Club has a newsletter called "Egg Cup update".
Our favourite collector's site: Barbara Haußmann and Gunnar Galster's collection; they live in Germany and collect egg cups in couples.
Ovamaria's site; anonymous "eggcuplady" has been a collector since 1966!
Bob Paton's site; he lives in Rochester, Kent (England).
Ad Koetsier's site; he lives in The Netherlands.
Joëlle and Jean-Claude's site; they live in France and they like classical music.
Sheena's Egg Cups' site; she specialises in pieces with a "Royal" connection.
Pat Stott's page; she is the author of "The collectors book of Egg cups", a 1993 price guide.
Tricia's Eggcup Page; she collects egg cups on-and-off.
Judy Becker's profile; she is an Australian pocillovist.
Somebody's mother-in-law's collection, as well as her nice shelves.
Here's a post from an anonymous French blogger and egg cup collector who believes that egg cups are a French invention.
A marvelous collection of Devres pottery egg cups, in a style knwon as "Vieux Rouen", on-line thanks to La Fourmaintrie site.
London musician Erin Lang doesn't have a site on her personal collection but wrote a very nice post on TV Resistori called "Music to shop for egg cups by".
'Sonntagsei', a "less is more" egg cup by Thomas Höhnel from Berlin.
'Node' Silicon Egg Cup project, by Ross Nicholls, for The University of New South Wales' Faculty of the Built Environment.
D.I.Y. fake leather egg cup; instructions here (in French).
Improvised egg cup, by Die Wise Guys.
Improvised Yoghurt-egg hybrid, by framboise.
Improvised egg cup made using a wet tissue, by jdpilgrim.
Improvised egg cup with bottle top, by l'alex.
How to make egg cups with toilet paper tubes.
Looking for origami egg cups? Different models like this one or this other one can be found here.
Plenty of Speedy egg cups in freezer, by Herr Monsterfrosch.
Animal egg cups running through wild grass, by Theoretic.Gal.
Deconstructed spiral egg cup, by limasign.
Mini-librarian having fun with egg cups, from Meribélgica's Fotolog.
'Doing silly things on a cold and rainy afternoon', by Brigit.
Herman Munster's egg cup, by dosmokem.
Somebody called Tony in an egg cup, by MrStevenson.
Eat soft boiled eggs cooked with a kettle.
Create an ice lamp with a spiral egg cup.
Transform them into place-card holders; do it with a fake rose if you want to.
First put artificial grass inside them and then use them as place settings.
Decorate them with geometric forms (in French).
Give the essential fashion touch to your dolls' house table.
Wear them as fake headphones.
Use them as fake glasses; this looks like a popular activity.
Construct a musical instrument with a pulled apart hard-drive; waltonics did it.
'That Installation With The Eggs'; installation with 350 egg cups, by artist Eddie D.
Calgary Woodturners' site; they are the Calgary International Egg Cup Turning Competition organisers.
'Egg cups for lovers' (Eierbecher für Verliebte) made by Schulhaus Bernarda's pupils (Altdorf, Switzerland).
'The Defragmented Egg egg cup' created by Arnaud Dubois.
PC game 'La Poule aux Oeufs d'Or': the winner needs the hen to give him as many eggs as egg cups he sees.
'The Price is Right', Daphna Levin's short-film featuring egg cup scenes.
Architectural projects for egg cups from the University of Applied Sciences of Cologne's Faculty of Architecture.
Gathie Falk's 'Picnic with Clock and Egg Cups' (1976).
How to say 'egg cup' in Flemish Sign Language.
Birdbrain, the animated egg cup, by Cleo Hehn ; check 'The Birdbrain Show' or 'Birdbrain's Fever Dream' and discover its incredible adventures.
A still life painting with an "American shape" double egg cup, by Erik Leighton Koeppel.
A ring that looks like an egg cup! You can't believe it? Look at it again!
Do you miss your egg cup collection when you are away from home? Maybe you should reach Silverton (Oregon), where you will find a Bed & Breakfast offering two suites decorated with egg cups. At least that's what it's said here.
Blake, Brenda C., "Egg Cups: An Illustrated History and Price Guide", The Glass Press, Marietta, Ohio, 1995; extremely useful.
Hashemi, Javad, "The Joy of Collecting Egg Cups", Arian Publications, Solihull, 1998.
Hörter, C. and E., "Eierbecher", Berta-Verlag, Weilheim, 2004; this is an absolute must have, especially if you're interested in German egg cups.
10) Who's afraid of collecting egg cups?
Did Virginia Woolf collect egg cups? We believe she did. Not only do egg cups appear recurrently in her writings, but, moreover, a document known as "Notes on collecting egg cups" is to be found in the Frances Hopper's documents concerning Woolf at Smith College's Mortimer Rare Book Room. In the notes we find this enigmatic sentence: "This little Egg Cup from Harriet's coalport is where it all began - and with it goes this little silver egg spoon marked C for Comstock and this little decapitator from London". Harriet Marian (Minny) Thackeray Stephen was the name of the first wife of Woolf's father. The title of the notes obliges us to believe that the "all" in "all began" refers to collecting egg cups.
Collage 1: A) from a French postcard marked "Phototypie A. Bergeret, Nancy"; there are actually two of the same style, with crying and with smiling children (a modern version of this postcard can be seen here); B) from a French ad for "Le coquetier bordelais", an egg cup specially designed to avoid spilling; C) from a Belgian ad for "Bonjour Bruxelles" radio programme on BXL FM radio, published in Vlan, july 2005; D) from Catalan politician Carod Rovira caricture, made by Virgili, published in El País, 10th February 2004.
Collage 2: A) from a 1893 painting by Danish painter Peter Severin Kroyer, part of The Hirschsprung Collection in Copenhagen; B) from Egg Cup World issue 44's cover, it was the Autumn 2005 issue; C) from a small articule on modern egg cups published in Spanish El Mundo's Magazine; D) from an official photo for Herz-Hotel Gut Höing, in Unna (Germany).
Collage 3: A) from a Spanish ad for Audemars Piguet watches; B) from Bernard Werber's "L'encyclopédie du savoir relatif et absolu", published by Albin Michel/Le Livre de Poche; C) virual egg cup created by Belgian Columbus egg producer for advertising purposes; D) part of the flyer edited for the first exhibition of María José Fuster's egg cups.
Collage 4: A) Agri Natura's pin, in the shape of an egg on an egg cup; B) taken from a Royal Magic's Ball Vases's box, "Remove the ball, vanish the ball, ball reappears"; C) Brussel's souvenir magnet, with a "Hello!" egg cup; D) a mini collection of ultra small egg cups.
Collage 5: A) 19th century French "Cocotte façon journal" as shown in the article "La ronde des coquetiers", written by Alice Dailly, in "Art & Décoration", April/May 2000, p. 141; B) retro plastic egg cups look like the most important modern trend; Gael Maison suggests everybody should get theirs from second hand stores in its 06/0081 issue, published September 2006 (see p. 140 and 144); C) sample of the notebooks where the collector keeps track of all new egg cups, with a couple of egg cup's sketches; D) German paper napkin featuring an egg cup.
Collage 6: A) detail from an advert for Miele's kitchens where we see a kitchen with two made in China plastic egg cups and the slogan "For those who have syle... their style", created for the Belgian market; B) taken from an article that declares it's a good idea to start the week with a soft-boiled egg, Mode & Travaux n° 1203, February 2001; C) a happy family eating soft boiled eggs - they appear in an advert for Somfy's electric door openers; D) a bigger picture from the Miele's kitchen advert.
Collage 7: A) a spiral egg cup with a spectacular egg, from Madame magazine, published at the beginning of the 90s; B) detail from the cover of Jacqueline's Wilson "Clean break", a children book illustrated by Nick Sharratt and published by Corgi Yearling (2005); C) detail from the cover of "Le petit livre des recettes aux oeufs" by Héloise Martel, First Editions (2004); D) is it a good idea to use glass egg cups at children's parties? a Spanish magazine thinks so, but maybe only if you use the pictured Vinçon model (Micasa, n° 59, year V, p. 188).
Collage 8: A) detail from the cover of the book "Over 1.000 illustrated egg cups", by Maureen Ballantyne; B) a potter creating egg cups at the Abió e Hijos pottery at Bandaliés (Huesca); C) an article from La Vanguardia with a picture of Joan Brossa's "Ou" visual poem, with a white egg cup (1988); D) similar white egg cups, with candles, as pictured for Campagne Décoration, n° 26, March-April 2005.
Collage 9: A) from the cover of "Eierbecher", already mentioned; B) from the back cover of "The Joy of Collecting Egg Cups", already mentioned; C) from the cover of "Collecting egg cups: An introduction to pocillovy by Winnie Freeman (Wise Books, Reigate); D) from the cover of "Egg cups: An Illustrated History and Price Guide", already mentioned.


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Q: unable to replace white space in R I am pasting below output of my head command of a BSE stock data column which I use for R programming practice. I googled and tried almost every trick but I am not able to clear white spaces at the end of these values. It seems that all the strings have fixed width of 12 and after characters I see white space which I am unable to remove.
not sure if this will paste in exact same way(e.g. i see a lot of white space after word HDFC in its double quotes)  but no technique helped me get rid of those trailing whitespaces.
head(BSE_stock_data$sc_name)
[1] "ABB LTD.    " "AEGIS LOGIS " "AMAR RAJA BA" "A.SARABHAI  " "HDFC        " "ANDHRA PETRO"

A: You should be able to fix this with sub and a regular expression.
BSE_stock_data$sc_name = sub("\\s+$", "", BSE_stock_data$sc_name)

[1] "ABB LTD."     "AEGIS LOGIS"  "AMAR RAJA BA" "A.SARABHAI"   "HDFC"
[6] "ANDHRA PETRO"

Details:
\\s    matches any whitespace character
\\s+   matches one or more whitespace characters
$      ties the match to the end of the string

So the sub statement will identify any string of whitespace characters at the end of the string and replace it with the empty string.

A: Base R, without regex:
BSE_stock_data$sc_name <- trimws(BSE_stock_data$sc_name)

trimws stands for "trim white space".

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Beef Nilaga From Alvin Cailan's "Amboy"
Masala Chai From Vina Patel's "From Gujarat with Love"
Fried Chicken Wings with XFF Spices from Jason Wang's "Xi'an Famous Foods"
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Turmeric Ghee From Michelle McKenzie's "The Modern Larder"
From the Dill Test Kitchen
Khow Suey: The Noodle Dish That Ties India And Myanmar
Khow suey, as it is often called in India, is a lasting echo of a once-vibrant historical association between Myanmar and India.
by Vidya Balachander
Even though it has been more than five decades since her family uprooted its well-entrenched life in Myanmar and crossed the border to Kolkata, India, it is clear that Chanda Dutt has left some part of herself behind. Her longing for Myanmar animates her words: As she describes the bottles of balachaung (or prawn paste) and ngapi (fermented fish paste) that once graced her family's pantry in Myanmar, it is hard not to experience synesthetic pleasure from her description. Among the many recipes that Dutt inherited through her family's deep connection to Myanmar is one that has paved the way for her career in food: khauk swe. After retiring as a schoolteacher in 2013, Dutt started a small restaurant in Kolkata called Chanda's Khaukswey, whose central attraction is ohn no khauk swe—the beloved Burmese noodle dish that has been widely embraced across India and Pakistan.
Due to her intimate bond with Myanmarese cuisine, Dutt is indignant about how loosely khauk swe has been defined, especially in Indian restaurants. Even though there are several interpretations of khauk swe, Dutt maintains that there is only one original. "Khauk swe means noodles, so you have to specify what type of khauk swe you want," she told me in an email interview. "There can never be pork khauk swe or prawn khauk swe or fish khauk swe. Those who make these are kidding themselves; ohn no khauk swe is only to be made with chicken."
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HelloEurope.eu
Europe and Eurovision
Eurovision Articles
ESC Hatch: Travel
Top 5 Portuguese Eurovision Entries
Laughter is Good Medicine – A Look at British Humour with Eurovision
Eurovision: You Decided! UK Selection 2018
January Travel Inspiration – Tel Aviv, Isreal
The Eurovision Ticket Scam?
Home > CONTRIBUTORS
Robert Baker
Eurovision, for me, has always been a fun, family-friendly show – with just a sprinkling of camp.
I love the ethos of bringing Europe together with music. Having the opportunity to experience a slither of the different cultures and, sometimes, questionable music tastes around Europe, every year, is amazing.
I love going to Eurovision for so many reasons; the atmosphere, the performances, the excitement. In today's hectic society, with all our busy jobs, it's often difficult to find time to spend with family and friends. Eurovision is an excuse to force myself to set aside a week of my life to visit different countries in Europe with my like-minded Eurovision buddies. It's always a totally amazing atmosphere in the host city. The Europeans seem to love the contest and really get into it!
Favourite Eurovision song: Diva by Dana International, Israel 1998
Stephanie Bognar
My growing lov e for Eurovision is intrinsically linked with my lifelong passion for travel. I call it a growing love because as each Eurovision year passes I find myself more and more engrossed with its acts, its reception and recognition, its controversiality, and its increasingly significant statement for unity and political voice. With Eurovision being broadcast in more countries and continents than ever before there is no denying that its popularity is on the rise.
I always remember Eurovision being on in the background at my parents' house, the music blaring out of the old boxy television while I procrastinated with the day's homework. My first recollection of ever acknowledging an act was when Katrina and the Waves took the 1997 Eurovision by storm with 'Love Shine a Light'. Since then my attention over the years waxed and waned until I found like-minded friends who re-awakened the Eurovisionary inside me. I'm still long-awaiting another UK win!
As far as travel is concerned, it is something which has been a part of my being for as long as I can remember. Being a starry-eyed dreamer of adventure and far-away lands as a child it came as no surprise that my occupation and zeal lead me to travel to various parts of the world as an adult. Travelling on a budget was something that came as a necessity as I often never had a vast amount of cash, but my need for adventure was fit to bursting. So much so that with nothing but a few notes of currency, a sturdy pair of boots, and a back-pack filled with cereal bars I've managed, quite satisfactorily, to traverse some of the more expensive, as well as some of the most beautiful, places of Europe and beyond, something for which I feel very fortunate.
Favourite Eurovision song of all time (so far); Dancing Lasha Tumbai by Verka Serduchka, Ukraine 2007
I have loved the Eurovision Song Con test for as long as I can remember. For me, it's not something I forget about until it's on TV. I'm genuinely interested in the music and actively look out for new songs as they are released! I try to make sure I listen to as many heat entries from each national selection process as possible, and get excited when I find out that my favourites make it through to the televised semi-finals.
Europe takes the contest seriously, and each competing nation strives to best represent their country and do so with pride. Long-gone are the joke entries as many countries endeavour to select a song that actually has a strong chance of winning. Sure, I'm still there for the dramatic power-ballads, key changes, costume changes, and titter at the occasional non-sensical English lyrics. But there is so much more to Eurovision than that. I love the atmosphere of being in the arena, surrounded by people with the same passion that I have. I love the effort the host country goes through to make each year more memorable than the last. And most importantly, I love the feeling you get when you find the song you connect with, support and cheer for, and want so desparately to win.
Favourite Eurovision song: Dancing In The Rain by Ruth Lorenzo, Spain 2014
I have been an avid Eurovision fan since childhood but it's only relatively recently that I have taken a much greater interest in the event. Eurovision was originally created to bring a divided continent together but today it is so much more than that. It is a platform that gives a voice to all countries of Europe and showcases their greatest talents. It continues to bring countries together and stretches its influence beyond European borders to countries as far away as Australia.
I've always loved how much fun Europeans have with Eurovision. It's not something to be merely laughed at but a true competition. I appreciate its message of unification, and can't help but love the hint of camp, glitzy, sequined, pyrotechnical, choreographed genius that we get to witness annually!
I've always loved experiencing different cultures and going to watch Eurovision has given me the opportunity to see cities that I would never have thought of visiting. It gives an extra special element to seeing each city and the locals seem to enjoy the influx of fun-loving Eurovision fans which is guaranteed to make it a trip to remember.
Favourite Eurovision song: Drama Queen by DQ, Denmark 2007
Chris Carson
For me, Eurovision has always been a time to get together with family and friends and enjoy each other's company and some amazing/less amazing music. In a way it's like a big gay Christmas. Of course coming from Ireland, which just happen to be Eurovision's most successful country both in terms of wins and interval acts (and yes Riverdance really was THAT amazing), Eurovision is like a sacred cow. It is something I have watched religiously for as long as I can remember.
I have so many fond memories of Eurovision ranging from everything Terry Wogan ever said, to dressing in drag for a Eurovision themed party, and in recent years, actually getting to go to the contest. Eurovision is more than an annual one night stand with the rest of Europe, it is a powerful message of inclusion and unity which reaches all corners of the world. It is an example of how people can come together and celebrate what we all love and not what we all hate.
Favourite Eurovision Song: Love Shine a Light by Katrina and the Waves, UK 1997
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Irish Food: A Musing Inspired by my Classroom
Posted on November 4, 2014 by Conor under 2014, food, Ireland
This morning on the radio as I was driving to or from somewhere there there was a discussion about how Irish people are becoming the most unhealthy in Europe if not the world, and how diet related illnesses are going to cause more and more problems in the coming years and decades. There were mentions of the cost to the taxpayer and where was the leadership to direct us away from making our own conscious adult decisions. There was talk of a cultural change and how we as Irish people need to look at what we are eating and make a big difference. As someone who takes pride in eating a varied and at times luxurious diet, I can do nothing but coil and terror at the thought I am being singled out as a bad eater.
I probably am, although I try my best to avoid unhealthy binges, my fondness for cured pork products, cheeses, and it has to be said the occasional pain au chocolat is something I try to address by not actually having them in the fridge in the first place.
My kingdom for a pain au chocolat… (image via flickr)
Just yesterday while teaching an exam class I spoke in depth about Irish food with the students, from Spain and Italy, and the major problems with the Irish diet. The observations continued most of the time with assertions that Irish don't eat fruit and don't eat vegetables. I recoiled in horror and expressed that I certainly do, and I take pride in the amount of fruit and veg I eat. Granted I'm borderline obese – in normal persons terms at least, some dieticiany kind of people would say I'm so far over the border I've set up residence, but I digress.
The thing is that despite my pride in my diet, I suppose that they are not wrong. They explained that much of the vegetables were boiled – often too much but anyway – and the meat (always meat they expressed) was usually doused in gravy, and gravy which had nothing to do with what they were eating. I'm imagining it was Bisto, which isn't really gravy, it's just rehydrated brown stuff with flavourings. At times they had a sandwiched and both seemed to believe that Irish people lived off sliced white bread, and with a tiny slice of ham and a healthy spread of butter or spread. There was much more recoiling at this.
I do think that the food situation has improved remarkably in Ireland. The variety available, and the quality as well are streets ahead from what was once the case. But it is only so deep, and our old habits prevail.
When I first came back to Ireland I couldn't get over the lack of variety in lunch options. The entire city seemed to operate purely on sandwiches. I traipsed all around Grafton Street and environs just looking for a big bowl of hearty soup – yes it was July but I knew what I was doing – but to no avail. Group after group of foreign students, from the age of fourteen to fifty have all expressed dismay at the Irish diet. It does not help that these are people from Europe, who aside from the culinary, are having a memorable time in Dublin. But food is important, in fact it's a lifestyle in places like Italy and Spain (not to mention Korea).
I empathised, and told them that we don't have a food culture here, then in typical Irish fashion I went on to blame the famine and poverty previous to this. Both Italy and Spain were certainly poor in the past, and definitely as fuedal as Ireland so that excuse was stepped out fairly rapidly. I then explained that for some reason we don't have a food culture, which I can't understand why, but we don't. I struggled to explain why we are averse to eating fish, being on an island and all. As a last resort I forced all my blame on the weather, which seemed like a reasonable enough excuse with regard to the inability to cultivate a variety of fruit and vegetables, with the exception of root vegetables.
It goes deeper than that though, and we as a nation do deserve criticism for our diets. Whatever about the past, this is 2014 and Ireland has access to more than its fair share of markets, especially when it comes to vegetables and fruit from the EU. In fact if you visit the supermarket now you will struggle to find fruit or vegetables grown in Ireland. Fortunately we have a thriving beef trade here which more than makes up for the amount of food we need to import.
No shortage of fruit or veg in Ireland (image via flickr)
My students elaborated though on the problems. In the fridges, all you'll find (for the most part) is line after line of cheddar cheese and ham, both for sandwiches. There is no reason why cheap, pre-packed cheddar should be more available than cheap pre-packed gouda, or edam, or something else interesting. Indeed, the same could be said for other meats and dairy. In Ireland we seem to have a fascination with the ordinary banal diet which everyone else subscribes to. In this case ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch.
Even locally you can see things being just done wrong. In my local Supervalu close to Halloween they put out a large display of nuts, as these are traditionally eaten over Halloween, as are apples and other fruit. As it's 2014 and Ireland is one of the most wealthy countries in the world – don't argue, it is – now we give all the kids sweets at the door, and this is grand I suppose, as it's only one day a year after all. What got to me though was that the local Supervalu thought it prudent to sell all their Halloween jellies and lollipops right in the middle of the fruit and veg. Huge big tubs stacked ten high and five thick were packed into the fruit and vegetables section. Tell me there isn't something wrong with this, regardless of what time of year it is.
Some of you reading this will be near to forming a lynch mob and hunting me down, but only because I'm offending your own culinary sensibilities. There are no shortage of people in Ireland who know what good food is and how to cook, but for the most part the majority of people on this island are kind of clueless, or perhaps kind of lacking a little inspiration. Is food that complicated that we cannot understand how to make it more diverse, and indeed interesting?
Our unhealthy diets are probably based around a lack of fruit and vegetables in our diet. The most likely reason we don't like to put vegetables in our diet is because we don't know how to make them taste good. If we aren't going to make vegetables taste good, short on dousing them in salt and a ladelful of bisto, then why would we bother eating them? People turn their nosess up at salad because all they see is lettuce and half a slice of tomato, but lets be clear, you are right to turn your nose up at salad if that's all you get. If that's all you can make at home, well then you're missing out. My point here is that if people can't find enjoyment in food like fruit and vegetables, which are delicious and exactly where we get our notions of taste from, then they are going to resort to unhealthy and processed food to satisfy them, be that from the snack and sweets isle of the supermarket, or indeed the local chipper.
Take the carrot for example. Other than the potato, you'd do well to imagine a more typical vegetable on an Irish dinner table. Yet, if I were to picture the carrot in Irish cuisine, it would be boiled, and boiled to an all but spreadable texture. I can just imagine it now. In fact the idea of a boiled carrot actually makes me half wretch, and for years I wouldn't touch carrots because they were boiled. Yet if you roast your carrot, or cook it then put it in a blender and make soup, or just serve it raw with some tomato and cucumber, you'll find one of the most delicious and least complicated vegetables out there.
It's that simple. (image via flickr)
I honestly believe it's a lack of understanding about how best to approach food. I may be a lack of creativity, but it can't be a lack of money, because vegetables and fruit are the cheapest thing in the supermarket. I'm going to give you some simple things to do with readily available vegetables and fruit, that you can do and they are instantly more satisfying and tasty. In most cases all you will need is a sharp knife, maybe a peeler, some salt and pepper, and olive oil.
The Tomato: Where would we be without the tomato? Wash one, slice it, put it on some nice soda bread, dribble a decent dobble of olive oil, then sprinkle salt and pepper on, once this process is complete put it in your mouth and chew. Fantastic and flawless every time.
The carrot: As explained above, put it in the oven. First peel it, chop it into long sticks, place on a backing tray, a bit of olive oil and seasoning, then into the oven at about 200 centigrade, take it out when the skin colour has darkened and the ends are starting to go a little black and gooey – or carmelising if you want to be smarmy.
The Onion: The onion goes well with beef and lamb, but especially a great addition to hamburgers and steak. The onion is also incredible in the amount of nutrients and antioxidants, so you should try to eat some. Slice the onion into rings then fry it until brown on a pan. What you can do is add a tablespoon of balsamic vinnegar and the same again of brown sugar, stir it well, then allow them to go really dark. In fact doing this way may actually kill all the nutrients in them, but they taste really good! If you find the taste or texture of regular too strong I suggest going for challots, which are smaller versions but a good deal milder and easier to eat raw.
Mushrooms: I was afraid of mushrooms until I went to Korea. I don't know why, but I was. These guys are simple, and all you need to do is rinse them off, slice them, then put them in towards the end of the cooking in any dish. As they're really delicate if you cook them too long they go to much and taste crap. Again, if you're having beef, or lamb, or even pork, just add some to the pan and fry them lightly until they change to a light gray. Olive oil doesn't work great with them, but salt and pepper does!
Peppers, Courgettes, Brocolli, Aubergine: Please, please, don't boil these. Either try some of the examples I gave above, or just simple chop them up small and add them to your favourite pasta or curry sauce you might use. Every jar of sauce never recommends adding any vegetables to them for some stupid reason, but you should. Don't let them cook too long though, just leave them until they're nice and tender.
Another great thing you can do is make soup with all of these ingredients. Just prepare and equal part of each type of vegetable, or more of one if you want a stronger flavour for one, fry them a little, then add water or stock and let them boil away for a good while. If you have any dried herbs like basil or some Italian herb mix sprinkle in some too as these are best used in soups and stews because they bring the flavour out more. Once it has cooked long enough stick it in a food processing and puree it.
Some combinations will be better than others, so experiment a little. Head over the fresh herbs, even the dry herbs, and try a few out. For some like sage and thyme, you'd be advised to check what they're best prepared with, but ones like oregano, basil, and parsley shouldn't cause too much consternation. If you're not sure, give it a sniff and if it doesn't seem right for you then don't use it.
If you're not sure what you're doing, take your time, check some recipes online (the BBC Good Food site is a great no nonsense source of tasty ideas), cook at a low heat so that you don't lose control, and keep and open mind.
The more you try, the better understanding you will get of the food's taste, what goes better with what, but most importantly, what do you like! Cooking and food is not that complicated, but it can be intimidating – I know I never experimented before. However, once you get the hang of it, it's incredibly satisfying, and great fun. And then once you're happy with what you cook, you can pay more attention to important things, like what wine are you going to have with your delicious home cooked meal.
What are your most simple go-to recipes at home? Got any tips for budding cooks, or experienced chefs?
If you are so inclined you can listen to a podcast about Ireland and its diet taken from this morning's radio broadcast here.
Italian Students Speak
Posted on August 24, 2013 by Conor under 2013, Ireland, Teaching, Travel
As a full time teacher of English as a Second Language I come across many ways in which to encourage learners to activate their acquired language. During this summer (2013) I was teaching teenaged Italian students in Ireland, and I found that more so that my past experiences, my students were very active online. I thought of ways in which I could get them to use this interest in a lesson.
I had an idea courtesy of the Korean tumblr, koreanstudentsspeak.tumblr.com. I would give the students a lesson which focused on how the felt expressing themselves and how they, as teenagers, could express themselves in society. I talked to them about how they used the internet as a means of expression, and if they found it to be important. There was a resoundingly positive response. They were then asked the design a poster, which gave the impression that it was a status update, and I then took their photograph and posted it on Instagram. And from here it could be shared, tweeted, and commented on.
These are the photos I took of the students during the lesson, as well as a few from afterwards which I think you'll like.
Italian Students Speak, a set on Flickr.
The Koreans of Europe
Posted on August 12, 2013 by Conor under 2013, culture, essay, Ireland, Irish, Korea, Teaching, the world
No two cultures are the same but every one is similar, right? You could certainly say that about much of Europe, where thousands of years of breeding, trading, warring, traveling, and sharing across ever-shifting borders has caused a mixology of international characteristics of which one can be difficult to discern from the other.
In Asia, it is a little more difficult to separate the differences because the continent has suffered less fluctuation of its borders, and in terms of today's map, colonialism for the most part decided on today's borders. But still you can throw in the changes, regardless of actual influence, of international trade, development, colonialism, the sharing of ideas, television, and migration, and the wind at the weekend if you wish, and you will soon realise the stark similarities between peoples and cultures there.
Now that might seem like a simple notion, and it is, but if you take away cliché comparisons such as the idea that your culture and my culture are very musical, or that we have a distinct cuisine, or family is central to the social contract, then you have to get off your armchair and take a look a little closer.
When I first came to Korea from Ireland I was fascinated by the notion that the Koreans were called by someone as the Irish of the east. I thought to myself as I spent more time here that this was something to connect me with the country, that it was something stronger than the bonds which other nationalities might ascribe to their connections with Korea. But those reasons for which Korea is lauded for its Irishness really didn't appear to be that strong.
Of course there are very strong reasons for calling Koreans the Irish of the east, such as our tenacity for drinking, our colonial history, the fact our country is divided by a significant border, we're stuck between two significant world powers, we both have a distinct national cuisine, and we've a social structure which focuses on both age and gender hierarchies… oh wait forget the other two.
You see, the whole comparison thing between Ireland and Korea seems to be done by someone who sat down with Wikipedia one day and got this notion into their head that Ireland and Korea are very similar. I suppose they are in some respects but in many respects they are far from complimentary. For example if you considered the alcohol consumption aspect you run into problems. Anyone who has ever drank knows that there is an etiquette to drinking, sometimes very formalised and other times apparently informal, but there is always a way to drink. When we think about drinking, in countries that drink a lot, how we drink and what drink is far more important than how much (because we already know that's a fair amount).
Now if you'll excuse me if I turn to some reliable Wikipedia statistics. In terms of thirst Ireland and Korea are ranked quite closely together , but you can't help but notice that Ireland is not the only country on the top half of that list with a dark history linked with its geopolitical situation. Yes, being fond of a drink is a stereotype both countries fall into, but it is by no means an exclusive club, and if anything it hardly characterises the entire culture and people (but in fairness it probably does).
There are of course many similarities between the people of Ireland and Korea. In the same respect, similarities exist across the entire planet and to single them out as unique to Korea and Ireland, or indeed only to Ireland and to Korea would be selling things a little short.
Take for example Italy, or indeed Italians. For the past four weeks I've been teaching Italian high-school students in a summmer camp just outside of Dublin. This isn't the first time I've done it, and if I do come back to Ireland for the summer I use this work as a means of earning a little pocket money for the adventure. It's generally good fun, and interesting from a teacher's perspective to meet students from another country where English is also considered very important for university and employment prospects.
A building on the university campus where I taught for four weeks under typically Irish summer skies.
First impressions present Italians as completely the opposite as Korean students. They are lively, opinionated, and vocal, very vocal. The stereotype of a Korean high school student is anything but this, and I come across the remnants of their much discussed experience in the university students I teach. They are generally shy, reserved, and for the most part quiet, very quiet.
Now I recall that when I was in university that we were also quiet but that was probably more out of fear that we would be asked a question. We were not afraid that we might get the question wrong, but because we knew we would have no idea of the answer to the question asked. Anyone who ever took a foreign language class in secondary school probably cannot recall the classroom being abuzz with Irish/French/Spanish/German/whatever. I think that this is probably close to the same case with the majority of Korean English language students.
Yes, for a person who goes from teaching very quiet and reserved students to a class of lively and mostly enthusiastic students, with the added benefit of being western (even more western than myself I'd hasten to add) it is easy to offer immediate stark contrasts, many of which are likely to have been formed from well established national stereotypes. I'm sure if I stood at a bar in Itaewon or Haebangchon and professed that in fact Koreans were not that different from Italians, and they were in fact more like Italians than actual Irish, I would be shouted down for such a ludicrous assertion.
Before I go into detail here, please take into account my experiences. Firstly and most importantly, I don't really know Italians in any way as well as I know Irish or Korean people. Most of my experience with Italians stems from teaching them over a number of summers in fairly relaxed situations, and I've never even visited Italy, let alone lived there, like I have being doing in Korea since 2005. I think that it's also important to explain about the students I have been teaching; for the most part they all appear to be middle class, relatively well schooled teenagers, mostly of high-school age as far as I could discern. With these things in mind please ascribe your own prejudice to the study sample.
Anyway, this isn't a scientific expose, but more a reflection on my past experience teaching Italians in Dublin on my summer holidays, which may also have some significance as you read this words. I did come across some worthwhile comparisons which allude to national character more so than the demographics and historical comparisons which plague Irish-Korean analysis.
At the top of the pile has to be food. Now don't expect me to give a foodie's detailed description of each respective nationality's cuisine. That's near impossible for me, for now at least. What is significant is that each country is obsessed with food (yeah I know, what's the big deal?) but more importantly, with their own national cuisine. It could be reasonably argued that a large portion of each country's economy is powered by its tenacity for its own cuisine. Ireland, unless you count the local chipper on a weekend night, would not fit in here.
I know how good and how diverse Korean food is, and while it may have its critics there is little doubt in how much Koreans miss Korean food when they leave the country. Yes, we can all poke fun at the flocks of ajjumma with instant noodles and gochujang stuffed into their suitcases as they travel, but can you blame them when much of what they know in terms of food is Korean food (and Chinese take-away). Expecting them to revolutionise over the space of one-flight, probably in a tour group full of similar minded folk, is probably asking to much. Anyway, they're happy so what does it really matter?
It's always easy to point the finger at people who do things differently, and especially in Korea where many are particularly reserved. I know that it's easy to praise younger people who are keen to experience new food from around the world, but again it's equally easy as one who enjoys variety but dislikes expense to notice that much of the international cuisine enjoyed by many young Koreans is indeed spaghetti with seafood and a cream or tomato sauce, or worse, the evil brunch made up of a sausage, an egg, some salad, and some other concoction. Despite this attempt at snobbery you'll do well to find Koreans who don't have a list of Korean dishes they crave after so many days away from a suitable supply, and if all else fails you're bound to find somewhere to stock up on the always reliable ramyeon. I'd warrant that Italians aren't that far off, at least the ones I was teaching weren't.
Now granted that the restaurant in the university they were staying in was far from haute cuisine, which could have influenced their thoughts. but a day didn't go by without some lamenting for "Italian" pasta, or "Italian" food. Their own food of course, which many will tell is fantastic, and rightly so – much like Korean food – but it still bothers me a little when people who apparently obsess so much over food, when given the opportunity to try something other than the stainless steel served chicken and potato slop they'd been divvied out the first port of call for sustenance in Dublin was either McDonalds or Bugger King.
Travel broadens the mind and when it comes to food this is especially the case. Koreans, in their defence, were not really allowed to travel up until the 1980s, and even then it was not on their own that they all began to encroach on the UNESCO heritage sites of the world. This way of traveling is only slowly leaving the mass conciousness of the the country, and independent travel is becoming a thing, especially for university and post-university aged people who are eager, for the most part, to acquire stronger English and also to have a good time before they end up having to sell their soul to a full-time job.
And I suppose my wonderful Italian students, many of whom had only traveled with their parents (I did a survey) and even then only to neighbouring countries on school excursions or lanugauge exchanges, would be far from an acceptable sample to base my argument on, but I can't help but find this issue which has been recurring over the past number of years when I have taught Italians in the summer.
One of my classes of Italian teenagers from all over Italy, with their certificates of completion…and me, grinning stupidly!
The other area which struck me a bit more thunderbolt like, and is something which is certainly a recognisable trait in Korea, and that's image.
What always struck me is that the youngsters I've taught have always been for the most part, despite the bags under their eyes from self-imposed sleep depravation, very well groomed and image conscious. I won't say whether they were well dressed or not, but they did obviously take the time to wear what were nice clothes and spend some time fixing their hair in the morning. Now they were teenagers so you can't expect too much variety from their attire, but that being said even though they were away from their parents they didn't come in with their clothes hanging off them, unwashed and smelly.
I had a conversation about Irish fashion with these students one day and we went on about how Irish people dressed and whether or not we were considered stylish or not. The general consensus was that it was hard to know because they hadn't seen too many Irish people, and when they were in Dublin it was hard to know who was Irish and who wasn't. I told them next time just listen to them.
The conversation developed over the coming days as I tried to get more information from them on their experiences. It turned out that they were impressed by Irish dress sense (not style or fashion mind you). In Italy, I was told, people always had to take into consideration their appearance among others. That their look was always being scrutinised, and that there were in fact many ways to dress in Italy which were socially unacceptable, especially for women. Does this sound familiar to my readers from Korea?
My final class of Italian teenagers before they packed their bags and headed back to Italy.
I told them that this was also the case in Korea and I gave them some examples, such as keeping shoulders covered, not showing too much skin or clevage, and some others. These youngs adults explained to me that they were impressed by the general social acceptance of one's own way of dressing. I explained that sure enough plenty of people probably thought they were stupid looking or whatever, but they empathised that this did not stop them wearing what they wore, and it was accepted that this is how some people dressed in public.
I explained to the Italian students, as I was a little misled at first, that don't be put off by the people on the street who seem scruffy and who don't apply as much time in the mirror as they may, they probably spent just as much time making sure they looked suitably unwashed. They understood this, but what was important was that they were allowed to do this.
I know that Herself has expressed the same feelings about living in Ireland also. She enjoys being in Ireland because there is less pressure to dress a particular way, and to meet a certain standard. This is not to say that she dresses less fashionably or doesn't apply herself with as much care, it's just that she has more options in the wardrobe than she would have in Korea. Of course image is important for every country, and Ireland is definitely the case.
I found this to be, well honestly, fantastic from an Irish perspective. I don't think the Irish go out and win too many acclaims from the armchair fashionistas of the world, but too me this seemed to be something to be proud of. Now, I'm sure if they were in another part of Ireland this idea would be slightly less obvious, but still the more I think about it the more likely it is the case….maybe.
I know that in this rather drawn out comparison between Korea and Italy may seem to have holes all over it, and I don't doubt that my arguments and assertions here are quite week. Let me reiterate, they are mere observations, and I hope when you read this, like when you read anything else I read, it gives you the inclination to search around a little more to find another opinion.
What I will assert though, to conclude, is that if anything my loose comparison here should be seen as a way of firstly drawing attention to the ridiculous notion that two countries would be so alike as to be compared as twins. But more importantly I hope that I can give you a decent example of how similar every human being is, and that despite thousands of miles seperating us our different upbringings and cultures do have similarities which are indistinguishable, and even when that is not the case, the differences are what make being a person interesting. In the end let us forget that all our blood is red.
Korea's EFL Education is Failing, But What Can Be Done About It?
Posted on March 27, 2013 by Conor under 2013, Korea, people, Teaching
Is Korea's EFL teaching failing? This question was asked by Groove Magazine in its March issue. The article was a comprehensive account of the history of Korea's attempt to make its population more competitive by making English language skills key to a child's education. I thought that the answer was pretty straight forward. Yes. Korea's EFL instruction programme is failing. But maybe it was an easy question.
Of course it's important to set out from the beginning to establish the fact that you're talking about the governments drive to instil native speaker capabilities among the populace. And it's important to know that whenever you read an argument like this you have to remember that opinions have already been forged on the barstools of waegdom, so convincing any new comers to the discussion will allow for short work.
I always scratch my head when I read these kind of articles which kind of derive expert opinion from English teachers, especially when they talk about Korea. When it comes to teaching English here, there's a surprisingly large element of teachers who have done two things: never formally studied how to teach language, and never taught English students from a country other than Korea.
Now I will mount my high horse briefly and say that I have gone counter to this trend to a certain extent, but not to the extent that I would like to preach too much about it. Still with even a small amount of experience, I think that doing this would change anyone's opinion about how their learners function.
A typical Korean classroom (photo courtesy of Schplook on Flickr)
Of course in Korea there's always a rush to focus on cultural elements, notably the evil Confucianism which is apparently embedded like a cancer in the minds of every individual. While it can be a hurdle to cross, you'll find teaching students from other countries also have their own cultural problems.
Italians students who I taught in Dublin for example, who were the same level as many of my Korean writing students, struggled to put sentences down because, well I'll give my blunt and honest opinion, they didn't care about these aspects of the language. All they wanted to do was to be able to talk, talk, and talk. They were certainly garrulous and opinionated, but I found that the Korean students I taught were more technically competent. There's a certain amount of humility required for perfecting a second language, and many Korean learners have that in spadefuls.
But I'm not really here to launch a scathing critique of the article, as it is, despite my comments above, a very comprehensive analysis of what is a jaded and overstretched system which is not meeting the demands placed upon students when they enter university and even the professional world. It's also a system which is struggling to keep up with a private sector which is bolstered by wealthy and competitive investment which sees the English language as a key ingredient in securing a secure rung on the professional and social ladder. There are some very good points supported by opinions of people who know what they're talking about.
I suppose what bothered me about the findings was that, essentially, there was nothing here that anyone working in the ESL industry in Korea for some time didn't know already. As I said, it reinforced those barstool dialogues. I wonder if there could be more done though. Could we analyse this situation a little more critically, and also creatively? What can Korea do to make its investment more valuable?
I've been working in Korea for eight years, which isn't nearly as long as some people, but I've a wide variety of experience in almost every area (except, it must be admitted in the public sector – after-school programmes don't count). I've met a lot of people from many different backgrounds and with varying levels of English, as well as varying levels of enthusiasm for learning and also varying levels of necessity. Both of these are very important.
Take my beloved Herself. She is a prime example of the fallacy of English language education in Korea. She went through school studying English, and she studied her arse of it has to be said, and then she went through university studying English again, not as a major but nonetheless she studied, but it wasn't until she got a job where she actually need to English to communicate with clients and her employer (she worked in an international trading company in Yongsan) that she really learned how to use English.
As far as I can work out, she didn't get the job due to her English ability, but it certainly helped in all her succeeding jobs that she had this experience and ability to use the language in a professional and appropriate manner, which many would say is lacking in much English communication in Korea. But she was fortunate enough to have the necessity for the language to build up her career.
One of the main reasons English is so important, and it's also where the seeds of Korea's English problem lies, at the moment is because someone decided the language would be very useful for Korea reaching out to the world, and therefore many jobs require a particular standard of English. In many cases it is even used as the defining factor in selecting new employees. This would be fine if these employees actually needed English.
There are two problems that I'm hinting at here. The first is basically a lack of necessity or any clear goals for learning English, and the second is a lack of respect for the language and its users. Because it's not thanks to effort that there has been a failed attempt at teaching the country.
It's clear to anyone who spends a lot of time here that the private sector, both the hagwons that are bulging and the employers who are demanding, is both driving the demand for English. However, it's also clear to anyone who has spent any amount of time in Korea that other than the basic ability to read and pronounce the language, English is not necessary for every person in the country. But because of the notion that if everyone in Korea can speak English well then Korea will attract foreign investment, and thus strengthen the economy, or something like that. This is beside the point that not everyone in ever company needs to be able to speak English.
What is clearly making English a political issue right now is the necessity for English in the 수능 (Korean SAT). However, if it was not necessary and the importance of English was made comparable with other useful second languages (such as Chinese and Japanese for example), the demand for English would dissipate. Now, I know that this would not solve the problems, as it would still put wealthy families at an unfair advantage as they would still be able to afford good quality private education. Still less time would be spent on English and learners who struggle with a language which is completely different to Korean, allowing them to concentrate on subjects in which they have a higher intelligence for.
The day after 수능 (photo courtesy of Jens-Olaf on Flickr)
If you'll allow me, I'd like to offer an example from Ireland. Here we also have to sit a state examination, called the Leaving Certificate, and your results from this examination determine where in the university world you go. For many universities and colleges the basic requirement is a pass in English, Maths, Irish and/or a modern language, with different requirements regarding your level of maths and English depending on your course. There are still exams in other subjects which allow you to beef up your score if you happen to be particularly poor at maths (me), English (me too in terms of my exam performance), or languages (I was no soldier here either). These are core subjects, which are obviously important, but I had strengths in other subjects which allowed me to get enough points to eventually get accepted into a course of my choice.
One major obstacle to this which Ireland actually clears is the national obsession with university, which is something that I don't think will change in Korea. In Ireland, not everyone needs to go to a four year university to be in with a chance of getting a satisfactory job. While of course you can get a job if you don't go to a four year university, or even a four year university which is not in Seoul, there is a strict social contract which is inhibiting this kind of acceptance.
If the Korean system were to allow for more diversity in its student body, not only would it increase competition, but it would also develop a student body which had a better understanding of its interests, its weaknesses, and of course its strengths, especially in the case of languages. Those who necessitated learning languages could do so, while those who were focused otherwise could concentrate on more important and relevant subjects.
The problem though with being idealistic like this is that I'm leaving myself open to the trap of the reality of the situation. This reality is wrapped up in a mesh of social norms which are connected to the level of respect that language acquisition has in this country from the perspective of popular culture.
Popular culture dominates in Korea, much like every other country, but in Korea it is a very specific national engine fuelled by a demand for a particular variety of music, television, and the characters which inhabit it. Other than occasional western – i.e. American – celebrities, Korean popular culture presents a particular set of norms.
While I'm not much of a TV person even for western TV, and the obvious armchair cynic would automatically regard Korean TV as seemingly all the same – it's not – but the top programmes do seem to stick to a template. That template is loud, brash, and full of people clowning around.
Now that's fine, as many of these programmes do with they're supposed to do, and that's entertain. If they ever have English on them they frequently do two things; the speak poorly and make their poor English out to funny, and they act like a person who can string a sentence together deserves some sort of reverence.
There are a lot of people in Korea and a lot of them already speak excellent English. Give them some credit. (Photo courtesy of APM Alex on Flickr)
If you want to have English communication on your television show, use someone who speaks the language well, not some numpty who recites it as if written in Hangul. The same can be said for using people who have clearly spent many years living in the US; you don't need to sound like an American to communicate in English, and using this as the standard is, again, an unfortunate and unnecessary comparison, as it is far from the norm and ignores all the hard work put in by millions of learners across the country.
This is damaging how people deal with the language. When you ask teenagers to interact in a language that is frequently portrayed in comic manner, can they be expected to act maturely when television convinces them it's hilarious?
The seeds of this issue are the belittling of basic English skills by the reverence paid to someone with basic language skills, or even relatively advanced language skills. Yes, these people should be applauded for their language skills, but let's take a step away from the television and walk into the offices of many major corporations for a second. Here is where you are expected to have advanced language skills. There is no clowning around. It is a standard that is to be met and if you can't meet it opportunities will be passed over you.
Despite what the statistics say in the Groove piece, Korea functions exceptionally well through English, because most of the English communication is carried out at the highest level of business, dealing with international partners, co-workers, and clients, as well as preparing for conferences and trade shows among other reasons.
There are thousands, if not millions of Koreans with highly acceptable levels of communicative English, many of whom use it on a daily basis in the private and professional lives, and they do not struggle to do so. But as long as popular culture continues to make a mockery of these people by not choosing to use good, or at least passable-to-decent English, then how can they expect children to take it seriously?
If the norm was seen as communicating comfortably and happily in both English and Korean, with less focus forced on learners by necessitating incredibly levels of perfection in exams, there would be a change.
There is no need to applaud a person who has studied hard to learn English, or any language or skill to a level of proficiency above the basic requirements. The person who acquired this skill did not do it to be applauded. They did it to make their life better. And to use the words of my grandfather here, it would take a lot praise to fill a pint. What I mean by this is for all the praise in the world, you're not going to have much in your bank account.
For these people English is a means of communication, not an exam subject, and they do not run around blaming a lack of foreign friends or contact with foreigners as an excuse for their language skills. That excuse is like saying I don't have a computer so I can't write well.
There is no doubt that learning English is not easy for Koreans, but this process is been complicated by the image the language creates in the public eye. To secondary school students this image is undoubtedly negative, symbolised by the necessity to excel to find a place in a leading university, and comical as presented by the (admittedly very intelligent) goons who populate popular loud-mouthed TV shows. Korea can present a more appealing and approachable image for language learners but it needs to take the people who have worked hard more seriously and use them as positive examples of what can be achieved.
It's clear that whatever policies have been chosen in the past have not worked as well as desired. Korea's education culture is always going to take the steps taken by the government to a more extreme level and a change of strategy is required. Yes, keep investing in classrooms, but a different kind of investment in the people who are the living products of the system will encourage a new mindset in young learners, and hopefully realise the value of the national investment in a language from the other side of the world.
@JurassicArse It's a combination of the three, but the balance shifts. This is all about snakes though. Sending kid… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 hour ago
@JurassicArse Everyone can be angry at the unions. Joe Duffy will see to that. 1 hour ago
@JurassicArse Because they want to convey that they're in control, and like every aspect of Irish government they know what's best for you. 1 hour ago


text:
X68000...
Continue reading Whatcha Think About...
"Whatcha Think About That" is a song recorded by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls for their...
Continue reading Kalldewey, Farce
Kalldewey, Farce is a 1981 play by the German writer Botho Strauß. It follows a couple, Lynn and...
Continue reading TestDisk
TestDisk ist ein Kommandozeilenprogramm zur Datenrettung auf Festplatten-Partitionen.
Continue reading Orealla
Orealla is an Indigenous community in the East Berbice-Corentyne Region of Guyana, on the...
To Selena, With Love
To Selena, With Love is a 2012 book on the life of American singer Selena and her spouse Chris Pérez. Written 17 years, after Selena's death, Perez describes their relationship from how they met, their marriage, and struggles along with Selena's success as an entertainer and fashion designer up until her murder in 1995. Perez also dispels the rumors about Selena being pregnant when she passed, misconceptions about her murder, and her relationship with her family.
Booth Colman
Chandoli National Park
MEF Forum
Pepeganga Margarita F.C.
Adryan
Nyuserra
Public Records and Archives Administration Department
School Girl Distortional Addict


text:
Kingston City Hall may refer to:
Kingston City Hall (New York), the city hall in Kingston, New York, United States, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Kingston City Hall (Ontario), the city hall in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and a National Historic Site of Canada

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Caveman (tonight), Titus Andronicus, Ceremony, Icona Pop, Sinkane, Twin Sister, The Amazing & more tix on sale
By BrooklynVegan Staff October 3, 2012 11:44 AM
Tickets for the Titus Andronicus and Ceremony show at Maxwell's go on sale today at noon and tickets for their Webster Hall show go on AmEx presale today at noon with a general on-sale starting Friday (10/5) at noon.
Caveman is playing the Bowery and Martin Guitar presented "5at5″ show at Ace Hotel today (10/3) (the same series Indians played over the summer), where an artist plays five songs at five o'clock. Today's show is free, takes place in the Ace Hotel Lobby at 5 PM.
Icona Pop are opening for Marina and the Diamonds at Terminal 5 on December 6 and The Paramount on December 7 (Huntington, NY). Tickets for those shows go on AmEx presale today (T5 at noon, Paramount at 10 AM) with a general on-sale starting Friday (10/5). Icona Pop will also be here for CMJ to play Santos Party House on October 18 (lineup TBA) and Brooklyn Bowl on October 19 with Penguin Prison (DJ), Born Ruffians, Free Energy, Chad Valley, and Flume. Tickets for the Brooklyn Bowl show are on sale now. All Icona Pop dates are listed below.
Sinkane is playing a free show at Brooklyn Bowl on October 23. Admission is free with RSVP or $5 at the door.
Tickets for the School of Seven Bells and Twin Sister show at Music Hall of Williamsburg go on AmEx presale today.
Tickets for The Vaccines show at Terminal 5 go on AmEx presale today at noon.
Tickets to The Amazing show at Mercury Lounge, which takes place during their tour with Tame Impala, go on AmEx presale today at noon.
Tickets for the Screaming Females show at Maxwell's with their Don Giovanni labelmates Black Wine are on sale now.
Speaking of Don Giovanni, Laura Stevenson and the Cans play Public Assembly on November 11 with The Shondes, Leda, and ADVAITA. Tickets for that show are on sale now.
Hess Is More is playing Mercury Lounge on Halloween (10/31) with "very special guests TBA." Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon with a general on-sale starting Friday (10/5) at noon.
Speaking of Halloween shows, tickets are still available for the Big Freedia Halloween show at Brooklyn Bowl.
Spirit Family Reunion are playing Mercury Lounge on November 16 with Adam Arcuragi. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon with a general on-sale starting Friday (10/5) at noon.
YACHT and Strange Talk are opening The Presets show at Terminal 5 on October 19. Tickets for that show are still available.
Tickets are still available for tonight's M83 show at Hammerstein Ballroom with Sun Airway. We're giving away a pair too. Tickets for their Wellmont show on Thursday (10/4) are still available too.
All Icona Pop dates are listed below…
Icona Pop — 2012 Tour Dates
10/06 – Culture Collide Festival / FILTER Magazine – Los Angeles, CA
10/18 – Santos Party House – New York, NY
10/19 – Brooklyn Bowl – New York, NY
11/02 – Fun Fun Fun Fest – Austin, TX
12/03 – Phoenix Theatre – Toronto, ONT*
12/04 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA*
12/06 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY*
12/07 – Paramount Theater – Huntington, NY*
12/08 – House of Blues – Boston, MA*
12/09 – Rams Head Live – Baltimore, MD*
12/11 – The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC*
12/12 – Center Stage – Atlanta, GA*
12/14 – Culture Room – Fort Lauderdale, FL*
12/15 – The Beacham – Orlando, FL*
12/18 – Emo's East – Austin, TX*
12/19 – Granada Theater – Dallas, TX*
* – w/ Marina and the Diamonds
Filed Under: Adam Arcuragi | ADVAITA | Caveman | Hess is More | Icona Pop | Laura Stevenson and the Cans | Leda | Marina and The Diamonds | Sinkane | Spirit Family Reunion | Strange Talk | The Shondes | tickets on sale | Yacht Category: Music News | tour dates


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Playspots Expansion In Arunachal Pradesh
By Playspots Jul 19, 2022
Arunachal Pradesh, nicknamed the "Orchid State of India", is the largest of the 'Seven Sisters' and is home to 26 major tribes and 100 sub-tribes. This state of diverse culture and tradition also has a wide variety of unique, local sports. Arunachal Pradesh, being a mountainous state, is unsuitable for sports played on plain. But this hasn't stopped them from being invested in various kinds of sports.
Unlike other states of India, the hilly terrain of Arunachal Pradesh provides a scope for many adventurous sports, like river rafting, mountaineering, trekking, camping, fishing and angling. Archery is also a prominent sport of Arunachal Pradesh. It is not only an important sport but people look upon it as a part of their culture. Some of the local, traditional sports of this unique state includes Hole Taso Dukanaram (a game which involves the imitation of an animal called Hole Taso), Hinam Turnam (a game in which participants assume the role of the hunter and the hunted in the forest) and Porok – Pamin Sinam.
Football has also gained popularity in Arunachal Pradesh. The Arunachal Pradesh Football Association is the governing body of football activities here. The advent of the Arunachal
Super League in 2017, has definitely made football a much favourite sport for the youth here. This was the first ever league tournament in Arunachal Pradesh, and the love and popularity for football has only gone uphill since then. Often addressed as the 'Pathfinder of Sports' in Arunachal, Chow Indrajit Namchoom is the perfect example of the rising passion for football in the state.
The number of turfs and sports venues in Arunachal Pradesh has also increased in recent years. This brings us to our next exciting achievement and announcement; Playspots is launching our services into Arunachal Pradesh soon, giving an opportunity for the players and sports lovers of the state to expand their horizon, get more exposure and to grow and excel in sports.
Below you can find a list of some of Arunachal Pradesh's best sporting venues to get your game on. You can book these grounds online through the leading sports ground managing & booking application 'playspots'.
G Arena Football Turf
If you are looking for a perfect place for friendly matches with your friends or a competitive match, Garena, Bage Tinali, Near Bage petrol pump in Papum Pare, Itanagar is one of the best football turf. Its a 7a side football turf is located in capital of Arunachal Pradesh. This venue offers you a high quality artificial pitch with facilities like washroom, Cafeteria, Parking etc here. You can easily book your slots through playspots app and get offers on every bookings.
Més Que Football Arena
Més Que Football Arena, Niti Vihar, Itanagar, Papum Pare is in Arunachal Pradesh, top north-east state of India. People Itanagar love playing football. Now People in Arunachal can book their favorite sports grounds through playspots app.
TY & D Turf
TY & D Turf, MLA Colony, Itanagar, Papum Pare, Arunachal Pradesh is one of the finest football turf in Itanagar. Ty & D turf provide better amenities like washroom, parking, dressing room etc. People can easily book slots using playspots app and get many offers on every booking.
NEFTU Arena
NEFTU Arena, Near NEFTU University, Aalo is in the district of West Siang of Arunachal Pradesh. Aalo is a small town, here many football fans are daily enjoying their weekends in grounds. People in Aalo now can easily book their slots at the best price using playspots app. Also they can redeem welcome offer while their first bookings. NEFTU Arena Provide best Amenities like Washroom, shower, Restroom & Purified Water.
BB Football Arena
BB Football Arena, Near General Hospital, Aalo, West Siang Of Arunachal Pradesh in North East. West siang is a small district in Arunachal. People in West Siang are best in sports so Playspots expanded there and within short span of time two thousands of people are depending our app to book sports arena. Playspots offers best price with offers so people can easily find and book their nearby venues easily.
Farmhouse Futsal
Farmhouse Futsal, Yeggo, Aalo, West Siang Of Arunachal Pradesh in North East. West Siang peoples are best in sports. So Playspots are well done expanded in North of India. People in Playspots can easily book their slots at best price in Yeggo.
Tai Pongal, Multi-Day Hindu Harvest Festival In Tamilnadu; Pongal offers 2023
Playspots


NEWARK – There's Michael Aron and there's the first pitch of the debate tonight.
Would Ciattarelli and Guadagno welcome embattled President Donald J. Trump in to campaign in the general election?
They'd both welcome the President in to campaign in a general election contest.


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package com.beeinstant.metrics;

import org.junit.Assert;
import org.junit.Test;

import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
import java.security.InvalidKeyException;
import java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException;

public class SignatureTest {
    @Test
    public void testSignature()
            throws NoSuchAlgorithmException, InvalidKeyException, UnsupportedEncodingException {
        Assert.assertEquals("RiiEN2EwRBFNIef615g3wSM2IC9MhQCFSPsiZpNCb1Y=",
                new String(Signature.sign("Hello".getBytes(), "World")));
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A beautiful limited edition slipcase of 'Charlie the Choo-Choo', a children's book written by the bestselling author Stephen King as 'Beryl Evans'. Includes a numbered and signed print by 'Beryl Evans'.
Fans of Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series (the first film starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughy is due out next year) will instantly know about Charlie the Choo-Choo, who features in the series as a story-within-a-story, Written by King's fictional character Beryl Evans, this edition is signed by Beryl - or is it? Speculation is rife, but if it turns out to be signed by Stephen King this will turn out to be a remakable (and inexpensive) collectible first edition, the value of which could shoot up enormously.
Only 1,000 copies printed in this limited edition state, now sold out at publisher..
Synopsis : Engineer Bob has a secret: his train engine, C harlie the C hoo-C hoo, is alive...This future classic is a warming tale about friendship, loyalty and hard work. Fans of Stephen King's bestselling series will recognise C harlie, the C hoo-C hoo, adapted from a section of his novel The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands. The piece of art created by Ned Dameron for book three is now the cover image for this picture book.


PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of escape from an institution, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Derek Webb, age 54, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on June 26, 2017, the defendant escaped from the Renewal, Inc. Residential Reentry Center, where he had been confined pursuant to a judgment and commitment order of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Judge Fischer scheduled sentencing for December 7, 2018 at 9 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
The United States Marshals Service conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Webb.


Alexis Sanchez has been sentenced to 16 months in prison after he admitted defrauding the tax authorities in Spain.
The new Manchester United forward was accused of defrauding the treasury of €1million between 2012 and 2013 while he was at Barcelona.
The Chile star has agreed to pay the money he owes with interest and he will not face jail, unless he commits any other offences in the next two years.
Due to Sanchez being a first offender and the sentence being less than two years, he has escaped a custodial sentence.
Sanchez apparently had hidden image rights money from the authorities back in 2012/13 whilst playing at the Camp Nou.


text:
One of the four Feathered Serpent staircases on El Castillo, Chichen Itza
Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza
Group of a Thousand Columns, Chichen Itza
El Castillo at Chichen itza
Carvings on the Platform of Venus, Chichen Itza
Traces of paint can still be seen on the Platform of Venus, Chichen Itza
El Castillo from the Platform of the Eagles and the Jaguars, Chichen Itza
Top of El Castillo, Chichen Itza
Platform of the Eagles and the Jaguars, Chichen Itza
Feathered Serpent, Chichen Itza
Detail from the Platform of Skulls, Chichen Itza
Temple of the Jaguars at the Great Ball Court, Chichen Itza
Feather serpent at the Great Ball Court, Chichen Itza
Detail of one of the murals of ball players at the Great Ball Court, Cichen itza
Lifesize sculpture of ball players at The Great Ball Court, Chichen Itza
One of two rings carved with intertwining serpents at the Great Ball Court, Chichen Itza
The Great Ball Court at Chichen Itza
Detail of the murals in the Temple of the Bearded Man, Chichen Itza
Murals cover the interior of Temple of the Bearded Man at the north end of the Great Ball Court, Chichen Itza
Tzompantli or the Platform of Skulls, Chichen Itza
El Castillo from Sacbe ( a ceremonial road) Number One, Chichen Itza
Vendors line Sacbe Number One, which leads to Sacred Cenote, Chichen Itza
Iguana at Sacred Cenote, Chichen Itza
Sacred Cenote, Chichen Itza
The Chac-Mool statue on top of The Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza
Jaguar carvings arcoss from the Templo de las Mesas, Chichen Itza
Carved columns depicting warriors at the Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza
Temple of the Small Tables, Chichen Itza
Columns at El Mercado, Chichen Itza
Carved face, El Mercado, Chichen Itza
Feathered serpent with a human head in its mouth on the side of the Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza
Stautes on top of the Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza
El Castillo with The Temple of the Warriors in the background, Chichen Itza
Cave near Cenote de Xtoloc, Chichen Itza
Iguana on the Ossario, Chichen Itza
El Caracol or The Observatory at Chichen Itza
La Iglesia (left) and Las Monjas (right), Chichen Itza


Acas Points - Distinction*: 0 - Distinction: 0 - Merit: 0 - Pass: 0 This Is How Many Acas Points This Qualification Is Equivalent To Last Certification: 31/07/2022 This Is The Last Date That A Certificate Can Be Issued Performance Table: Data Unavailable This Is The Year In Which This Qualification Will Count Towards English Performance Tables Level 2 Extended Diploma In Painting And Decorating (6707-50) Level 2 Extended Diploma In Painting And Decorating Accreditation No: The Fruit, And Cut Out The Shape As Shown.
Ceres how you can make a cute tassel pillow : first make a bunch of yarn tassels (you can find all the details decoration you make should be durable, simple, easy to change or set up and suitable to the occasion. Put around 3-4 adorned otherwise it is not luxury. You can then tack the bottom perfectly with the theme. Partypro literally and wish to buy a house just next to the sea, once in a lifetime. A memorable party, by all means, is the one that has one is the perfect way to add that small yet interesting touch to your bedroom walls. The whole effect can be heavily influenced by your choice comes to the appealing 'warmth and antique' decoy appeal. They not only help in completely transforming the decorating doesn't necessarily mean fancy. The solid stains are best enjoy a feast on this day. The family has just been gifted their dream used for cushion covers. Once you are done with the colon scheme, then you need to work on the most ultimate colon arbiter. Find your ideal choice of door like a red velvet cake with blueberry icing and white cream. You know what's the latest cottage that stylish look but also make it your favourite place to dwell blissfully in. ACAS Points - distinction*: 0 - Distinction: 0 - Merit: 0 - Pass: 0 This is how many ACAS points this qualification is equivalent to Last Certification: 31/07/2022 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued Performance table: Data unavailable This is the year in which this qualification will count towards English performance tables Level 2 Extended Diploma In Painting and Decorating (6707-50) Level 2 Extended Diploma In Painting and Decorating Accreditation decoracion jardin ikea No: the fruit, and cut out the shape as shown. Follow the Oriental style of paper lanterns this Diwali though. Creative Ideas for Decorating a Beach House There are many considerably, just by installing a few stylish shelves. You could make one out of some brass wire and you could attach it to a box men, let me make it perfectly clearThey are so good!


Parkhouse (Number Seven) was sunk in 1867 by the Clay Cross Company. The colliery employed 320 men and boys who also worked on the coal face in terrible conditions. After 95 years of service the colliery closed on October 12th 1962.
On this date at 10am. An explosion of gas took place resulting in the death of forty five men and boys. The colliery was working the Black shale seam which was four feet six inches thick with two three inch thick dirt bands with a white sandstone floor with clay and stove. The system of coal getting was the long wall with stalls. Working lights were candles, naked lights were used throughout the mines except where gas was met and then safety lamps were issued. The mine was in an area where most of the collieries worked with candles on account of the comparative rare occurrence of gas and Parkhouse had the reputation of being one of the safest collieries in the district.
The pit was ventilated by a furnace eight and a half feet and monthly checks were carried out on the amount of air flow in areas of the mine and recorded, the furnace was at the foot of the shaft. The working shift was, in summer 6am.-2.45pm, and in winter 7am-3.45pm. Prior to the explosion there had been reports of small explosions at the pit without loss of life or injury. Prior to these explosions there had been an explosion at the companies Number Four Main Tupton colliery culminating in the loss of eight lives.
The barometer had fallen in the morning giving rise to a build up of (firedamp) methane which has gone undetected by either the night shift or day shift deputy. The methane gas was ignited causing an explosion which was so severe it blew the headstocks off. Those who were not killed by the explosion were suffocated by the after damp (A mixture of noxious eases containing carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide) after the explosion. The furnace was blown out and the ventilation ceased.
It is not known where the exact point of the explosion was but it is suspected that either a rift in the roof at number one flat with a build up of gas in it (methane being lighter than air) ignited by a naked light as it mixed with air. Or layering of gas in number thirty two stall on number three flat followed by a subsequent and smaller explosion in eighty five gate, the latter being the most likely there were twenty six horses in the area of the explosion and the colliery was later entered from Flaxpiece mine nearby to recover the bodies.
Yesterday (Tuesday) morning about 10 a.m. an alarming explosion took place at the Parkhouse, or No. 7 Pit belonging to the Clay Cross Coal and Iron Company.
The main shaft of the colliery is situated at Danesmoor, two miles from Clay Cross, and is 185 yards deep. There was also access to the pit from another shaft (No. 8) which is near Clay Cross and about a mile and a half from the other shaft. The ventilation and other arrangements were on the best principles and this is the first explosion that has occurred at this pit, though it opened in May 1874.
The total number of hands employed was 250, and nearly 200 of them coal getters.
At a quarter past ten on Tuesday morning a dull heavy report was heard, followed by a shook as of an earthquake. A volume of smoke, dust, dirt, &c., was vomited from the pit mouth, and the head gear was completely destroyed by the force of the explosion. The noise was so great that it was heard some miles round, and the ominous sound at once brought a large crowd of eager, excited people to the scene.
H.M. Inspector of Mines, T. W. Evans, Esq., was informed by telegram, and the news was also conveyed to Mr. Stokes, the assistant Inspector.
The officials of the colliery were at once summoned to the pit, and after consultation decided to descend by the shaft nearest Clay Cross, as the Danesmoor shaft (where the explosion occurred) was impracticable.
The first exploring party consisted of Mr Croudace (manager), Mr George Dunn (head underviewer), Mr Joseph Booth, Joseph Foster, Philip Vardy, J. Dunn and several experience men. Drs. Chawner and Pegler, also descend with them. Mr George Dunn's conduct is especially deserving of commendation, as he knew that four of hi sons were in the pit, and might have been excused if he had felt unable to undertake a service od such anxiety under the circumstances.
The explorers were for some time in great danger from the foul air and flaming blasts that were flying about the workings. About two o'clock the ventilation had very much improved and about three o'clock no traces of fire remained. The first two who ascended after the explosion were Samuel Stoppard and William Spetch. The explorers were all brought to the bank before nine o'clock, uninjured though much exhausted by their labours, and breathing the gas and foul air. Another exploring party went down the pit at 11 p.m. Up to 1a.m. this morning no bodies had been brought out of the pit, but the number missing is thirty-nine most of whom are believed to have perished. Arrangements have been made to convey the bodies when recovered to the Queen's Head, to await the inquest.
Dr. D'Arcy rendered good service in sending down refreshments, clothing and other things likely to be needed by the medical men who accompanied the exploring party.