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Home » action » In-Depth: Prime Focus World & Captain America: Civil War
In-Depth: Prime Focus World & Captain America: Civil War
Posted by Trevor Hogg on Feb 5, 2017 in action, All, Comics, drama, fantasy, Film, Interviews, sci-fi, thriller, war | 0 comments
Trevor Hogg takes a look back at Captain America: Civil War by speaking to Prime Focus World about converting the epic tale into a stereoscopic experience…
In keeping with Marvel Cinematic Universe tradition Captain America: Civil War goes beyond the regular 2D experience. "It's fair to say that Marvel projects are generally high-octane action films, and the 3D is played in a way that works well for that style – quite dynamic, deep, and making the most of any 3D moments that are available," observes Prime Focus World Creative Director of Stereo Conversion Richard Baker. "Marvel sets a high standard in terms of 3D. In terms of style there is definitely a Marvel way of doing things. Since Evan Jacobs, Marvel's Stereo Supervisor, took over the 3D side of things the standard has been consistently high and a distinctive style has been established so you know what a Marvel film is going to look like. They have a house style that applies to all aspects of the MCU – from VFX to writing to funny moments to action – there is a Marvel recipe that works really well. Prime Focus is proud to have delivered stereo conversion services for some of Marvel's biggest movies, from Guardians of the Galaxy to Avengers: Age of Ultron. For Captain America: Civil War, we delivered about 53 minutes of the movie and the rest was delivered by Stereo-D."
"All our interaction is with the production team at Marvel," explains Richard Baker. "Just as the VFX Supervisor sets the brief and liaises with the VFX vendors, so Evan at Marvel will specify the requirements for the stereo conversion and supervise this process. We'll generally screen an early version of the film with Evan at the start of the project, discuss the brief, gets some test shots, talk about what might be challenging in the conversion. For example fast cut action scenes, complex content and scenes that require a certain style. Once in production we have weekly calls with Marvel production for which they gather all the departments working on the film, from DI, sound, VFX and stereo. We're all intimately involved in the process and clear on deadlines and requirements." There is a need to be flexible. "There are on-going changes to the edit as the production develops, and Marvel always keeps the edit live until late in the process. We'll often start with a WIP shot which may still have green screen elements, and it's not uncommon for them to do a push-in or reframe the shot as the edit develops. This always comes from the edit not from us."
"We converted all the VFX work of our sister company Dneg, and we are well set up with them to harvest the elements from their shots that we require for conversion," states Richard Baker who also handled elements from Animal Logic, Cantina Creative, Capital T, Cinesite, Crafty Apes, Exceptional Minds, ILM, Lola VFX, Luma Pictures, Method Studios, Trixter, Rise FX and Sarofsky. "In terms of the elements pipeline, the VFX work will be made available to us in compositing scripts containing all the constituent elements and layers that we need for the conversion. "We use our AssistedBreakout tool to render out 'minicomp' versions of these huge files to give us a more manageable script. Without this proprietary tool the breakout process is manual and takes skilled artists much longer to perform. The depth generation is handled through our View-D conversion process, using depth mattes, Z-depths if available, geometry and hand-sculpting to create a depth map which gives us the offset. We use both Fusion and Nuke pipelines, depending on the requirement. I'll review every shot first here in London and deliver any internal notes. Once I'm happy, the shot goes forward to the client for approval, and any client notes are reviewed over TVIPs, our live stereo review system, with Evan Jacobs in LA and me in London."
"We used geometry for each of the main characters' heads, as we do on all our shows," notes Richard Baker. "We'll ideally take cyber scans of the characters. If these are not available we can create the geo ourselves from references and track to the live-action. There are a number of benefits to this approach, including accuracy of the stereo depiction of the characters and consistency across shots and sequences, and it makes the whole process much quicker, especially in review because I'll know that the stereo is accurate for the characters' faces. For a character like Black Panther, who is predominantly CG for a large part of the time, we are able to take Z-depths from the VFX house to ensure accuracy and consistency in the stereo."
All of the shots handled by Prime Focus World were plate-based with CG set extensions as required. "Explosions are part of the element harvest from VFX generally," states Richard Baker. "Scarlet Witch has a cool magic effect, which is affectionately referred to as her 'wiggly woo', and the elements harvest was really useful for this also. One big sequence we delivered was the scene in which we see a younger version of Tony Stark, which turns out to be a hologram. For the transition out of the hologram at the end of the sequence we requested stereo renders from VFX vendor Animal Logic. We created stereo cameras and sent them through to Animal Logic so that they could stereo render the hologram layers for our scene in depth – a technique we first used with Framestore on Gravity."
"Black Panther's suit was replaced in almost every shot, and we used Z-depths from the VFX vendor to ensure accuracy and consistency in the stereo," remarks Richard Baker. "For Vision phasing in and out we used deep composites from Dneg. As part of the effect you see inside Vision and can make out veins. There was also a distortion layer in the composite that we could treat separately in depth. We got the deep passes to get a nice look for it, and we were able to look development this internally pretty effectively because our colleagues at Dneg are situated in the same building as our stereo team in London. For Scarlet Witch's 'wiggly woo' magic we got about 12 layers of 'woo' for each shot and displaced each layer individually to build up a nice stereo effect."
"There was a shot of Bucky that could be seen as a happy accident in terms of the stereo," reveals Richard Baker. "In the shot, Bucky swings his motorbike around towards camera. It doesn't immediately seem like it would make a particularly noteworthy shot, but when I saw the first pass in stereo it was clear that this could be a really nice 3D moment. In terms of shots I'm looking forward to seeing on the big screen, I think the airport showdown between the two teams of superheroes is going to take some beating. I'm looking forward to seeing Ant-Man on the big screen again after our work on his stand-alone film." Baker adds, "It really is an awesome film, and I can't wait to see it in the cinema!"
Imagery courtesy of Disney, Marvel Studios and Prime Focus World.
Many thanks to Richard Baker for taking the time to be interviewed and for more information visit the official website for Prime Focus World.
Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada; he can be found at LinkedIn.


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A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) by Becky Chambers
Category: Young Adult Fiction | Series: Wayfarers
Embark on an exciting, adventurous, and dangerous journey through the galaxy with the motley crew of the spaceship Wayfarer in this fun and heart-warming space opera-the sequel to the acclaimed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.Lovelace was once merely a ship's artificial intelligence. When she wake s up in a new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who's determined to help her learn and grow.Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matter how vast space is, two people can fill it together. ...Show more
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Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers #3) by Becky Chambers
'The best speculative fiction currently being written' John Connolly. From the ground, we stand. From our ship, we live. By the stars, we hope. The incredible new novel by Becky Chambers, author of the beloved The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. #SpacebornFew Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen. Humanity has finally been accepted into the galactic community, but while this has opened doors for many, those who have not yet left for alien cities fear that their carefully cultivated way of life is under threat. Tessa chose to stay home when her brother Ashby left for the stars, but has to question that decision when her position in the Fleet is threatened. Kip, a reluctant young apprentice, itches for change but doesn't know where to find it. Sawyer, a lost and lonely newcomer, is just looking for a place to belong. And when a disaster rocks this already fragile community, those Exodans who still call the Fleet their home can no longer avoid the inescapable question: What is the purpose of a ship that has reached its destination? PRAISE 'Richly human, believable [and] compelling . . . underlain with a deep compassion and a feeling for community' Tor.com. 'Terrific. . . a masterly exploration of characterisation and diversity wrapped in intensity, heartbreak and tension.' Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat. 'An emotional, moving look at what it means to be human, and the importance of heritage and legacy' Lauren James, author of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe. 'Exactly what I hoped it would be and more . . . Moving in what feels like small personal ways but is actually big, universal ways and it is uplifting on the same scale' Forbidden Planet. ...Show more
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers
Category: Young Adult Fiction | Series: Wayfarers | Reading Level: General Adult
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILEY'S WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 'A quietly profound, humane tour de force' Guardian The beloved debut novel that will restore your faith in humanity #SmallAngryPlanet When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past. But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants. Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They'll earn enough money to live comfortably for years... if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful. But Rosemary isn't the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed. PRAISE FOR THE WAYFARERS 'Never less than deeply involving' DAILY MAIL 'Explores the quieter side of sci-fi while still wowing us with daring leaps of imagination' iBOOKS 'So much fun to read' HEAT 'Chambers is simply an exceptional talent, quietly and beautifully redefining the space opera' TOR.COM 'The most fun that I've had with a novel in a long, long time' iO9 ...Show more

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Die Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau ist eine Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts mit Sitz im historischen Bauhausgebäude in Dessau-Roßlau. Sie ist ein Ort der Forschung, Lehre und experimentellen Gestaltung. Die Stiftung wurde in ihrer heutigen Form 1994 von der Bundesregierung, dem Land Sachsen-Anhalt und der Stadt Dessau gegründet und hat etwa 60 Mitarbeiter.

Geschichte der Stiftung
Das historische Bauhaus Dessau wurde am 30. September 1932 nach einem Beschluss des Dessauer Stadtrates auf Initiative der NSDAP geschlossen. Die Bauhausarchitektur selbst konnte sich aber über die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus, des Zweiten Weltkrieges sowie auch über die Zeit der DDR trotz teilweiser Zerstörung erhalten. Erst 1976, zum 50-jährigen Bestehen des Bauhausgebäudes, entdeckte die DDR das Bauhauserbe wieder. Die DDR-Regierung ließ das Haus denkmalgerecht rekonstruieren und begründete das "Wissenschaftlich-Kulturelles Zentrum"(WKZ). Das WKZ begann in der Folge unter anderem mit dem Aufbau der heutigen Sammlung der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau und reaktivierte die Bauhausbühne. In den Werkstatträumen fanden Weiterbildungs- und Entwurfsseminare der DDR-Bauakademie, der Hochschule für Architektur und Bauwesen Weimar sowie des Amtes für industrielle Formgestaltung statt. 1986 feierte die DDR die Wiedereröffnung des Bauhauses als "Zentrum für Gestaltung", angekoppelt an das ostdeutsche Bauministerium.

Mit der deutschen Einheit schien für einige Jahre völlig offen, wie es in Dessau weitergehen sollte. Am 9. Februar 1994 gründeten die Bundesregierung, das Land Sachsen-Anhalt und die Stadt Dessau schließlich die "Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau".
Die neue Institution wurde in die Liste der kulturellen Leuchttürme in den neuen Bundesländern aufgenommen und galt fortan als "gesamtstaatlich bedeutsam". Der Stiftung wurde aufgetragen, "das Erbe des historischen Bauhauses zu bewahren sowie der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich zu machen und zu vermitteln" und "angesichts der Ideen und Ansätze des historischen Bauhauses Beiträge zu den Problemen der Gestaltung der heutigen Lebensumwelt zu leisten". 1996 wurden die Bauhausstätten in Weimar und Dessau in die Liste der UNESCO-Weltkulturerbestätten aufgenommen. In Dessau zählen dazu das Bauhausgebäude, die Meisterhäuser und seit 2017 auch die fünf Laubenganghäuser in der Siedlung Dessau-Törten.

Leitung

Von 1985 bis 1988 war Michael Siebenbrodt Leiter des Wissenschaftlich-kulturellen Zentrums (Bauhaus-Museum und Bauhausbühne), der spätere langjährige Leiter des Bauhaus-Museums Weimar. Von 1994 bis 1998 war Rolf Kuhn Direktor der Stiftung, sein Nachfolger Omar Akbar war bis 2009 im Amt. Seit 1. März 2009 lag die Leitung der Stiftung in den Händen des Berliner Architekten und Publizisten Philipp Oswalt; stellvertretende Direktorin war Regina Bittner, zugleich für den Bereich der Akademie zuständig. Im November 2013 beschloss der Stiftungsrat, die Stelle des Direktors für 2014 neu auszuschreiben, da das Vertrauen des Stiftungsratsvorsitzenden zu Oswalt gestört sei. Der zehnköpfige wissenschaftliche Beirat trat aus Protest geschlossen zurück, Oswalt verließ das Bauhaus nach fünf Jahren zum 1. März 2014. Die Nachfolge übernahm zum 1. August 2014 die Berliner Kuratorin Claudia Perren, die vorher acht Jahre Architektur in den Bereichen Entwurf, Geschichte, Theorie und kuratorische Praxis in Sydney lehrte. Nachdem Perren 2020 nach Basel an die Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst wechselte, übernahm zum 1. September 2021 die promovierte Kunsthistorikerin Barbara Steiner die Leitung, die vom Kunsthaus Graz kommt.

Auftrag, Struktur und Tätigkeit
Die Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau ist nach ihrer Satzung eine künstlerisch-wissenschaftliche Einrichtung mit der Aufgabe die Ideen und Themen des Bauhauses Dessau lebendig zu erhalten und zu vermitteln. Dementsprechend beschäftigt sich die Stiftung in ihrer Forschung, ihren Ausstellungen und in ihren Programmen sowohl mit dem historischen Bauhaus, als auch mit der heutigen Relevanz seiner Themen und Ideen, besonders im Umfeld von Architektur, Gestaltung und Pädagogik, sowie Kunst und Bühne. Zudem ist die Stiftung dem denkmalpflegerischen Erhalt der Bauhausbauten in Dessau und der Erforschung des materiellen Erbes verpflichtet.

Die Bauhausbauten in Dessau, die seit 1996 zur UNESCO-Welterbestätte Bauhaus zählen, sind außerdem öffentlich zu besichtigen, wobei diese Gelegenheit jedes Jahr von ca. 100.000 Besuchern genutzt wird. Im Rahmen von über 5.000 Führungen im Jahr wird hierbei Wissen über das kulturelle Erbe vermittelt. Zusätzlich kommen Wissenschaftler, Architekten, Designer, Künstler und Studenten ans Bauhaus, um dort zu forschen, zu arbeiten und künstlerisch tätig zu sein.

Seit 2015 setzt die Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau mit Jahresthemen, die in Ausstellungen, Forschungs- und Lehrformaten sowie in der Vermittlung entsprechend beachtet werden, Schwerpunkte: Kollektiv (2015), Bewegung (2016), Substanz (2017), Standard (2018) sowie Jubiläum (2019).

Die inhaltliche Arbeit der Stiftung stützt sich auf insgesamt drei Säulen:

Sammlung und Archiv
Die Sammlung der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau ist die zweitgrößte Sammlung zur Geschichte des historischen Bauhauses mit etwa 49.000 Objekten, besonders bezogen auf die Dessauer Phase zwischen 1925 und 1932. Im Sammlungsarchiv lagern Objekte, Grafiken, Plastiken, Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Fotos, Möbelstücke, Unterrichtsschriften und Nachlässe von Bauhäuslern. Als Teil ihrer Sammlung führt die Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau auch ein Bauforschungsarchiv, in dem historische Bauteile und -materialien, Fotos, Schriftstücke, Pläne und Berichte von Zeitzeugen zu Bau der Bauhausbauten und den Bauprozessen gesammelt und erforscht werden.

Am 8. September 2019 wurde, anlässlich des 100-jährigen Gründungsjubiläums des Bauhauses, das im Stadtpark von Dessau gebaute Bauhaus Museum Dessau eröffnet, in dem die Sammlung erstmals umfassend zu sehen ist.

Die Akademie
Die Akademie der Stiftung forscht und arbeitet zur Bauhaus-Pädagogik und führt Programme durch, in deren Rahmen Studierende und junge Professionelle aus verschiedenen gestalterischen Disziplinen, so z. B. dem Design und der Architektur, in der Tradition des historischen Bauhauses lernen, forschen und gestalten. In Kooperation mit der Hochschule Anhalt wird außerdem ein internationaler Master "COOP Design Research" angeboten.

Kuratorische Werkstatt
Die kuratorische Werkstatt ist die wichtigste Stelle für die Erfüllung des in der Satzung festgeschriebenen Auftrags der Vermittlung. Sie bereitet dementsprechend das Fach- und Forschungswissen rund um das Thema Bauhaus und seine Ideen auf und beschäftigt sich mit Formen der Vermittlung. Unter anderem findet zu diesem Zweck mit Hinblick auf die Eröffnung des Bauhaus-Museums Dessau zur Zeit das Programm "Bauhaus Agenten" der Kulturstiftung des Bundes statt, eine Kooperation der Stiftung mit 15 Partnerschulen in Dessau-Roßlau und Halle (Saale) mit dem Ziel der Entwicklung von neuartigen Vermittlungskonzepten, die sich besonders an Kinder und Jugendliche richten.

Weitere Aktivitäten

Bühne
Die historische Bauhausbühne diente als pädagogische Versuchsanordnung zum Experimentieren mit Körper- und Raumverhältnissen zur Ausbildung von Gestaltern. Heutzutage wird die Bühne einerseits in dieser Tradition von der Stiftung für vielfältige künstlerische, gestalterische und meist interdisziplinäre Projekte verwendet und andererseits im Rahmen verschiedener Veranstaltungen bespielt, so unter anderem beim Bauhausfest, dem Kurt-Weill-Fest, dem Impuls-Festival, in der Musikreihe zdf@bauhaus und bei einem Kooperationsprojektes mit dem Anhaltischen Theater.

Bauhaus-Fest
Seit 1997 ist die Stiftung einmal im Jahr Gastgeber für das zweitägige Bauhausfest, dessen Ursprünge auf die historischen Bauhausfeste zurückgehen. Die heutige Veranstaltung versteht sich als Kunstfest und besteht im Wesentlichen aus den Arbeiten von Studierenden von Kunst-, Tanz- und Gestaltungshochschulen.

Das Fest ist dabei stets öffentlich und steht jedes Jahr unter einem anderen Motto, bisherige Themen waren unter anderem und sind zukünftig "Von Schwarz nach Weiß" (2016), "Bunt! Material Illusion" (2017) und "gelb gewinkelt" (2018).

Programm Bauhaus Residenz
Seit 2016 bietet das Bauhaus Residenz Programm jungen zeitgenössischen Künstlern die Möglichkeit eines bis zu dreimonatigen Aufenthaltes, in dessen Rahmen die Eingeladenen in den Meisterhäusern leben und arbeiten. Sie setzen sich dabei künstlerisch mit dem jeweiligen Jahresthema der Stiftung auseinander (s. Auftrag und Struktur) und präsentieren ihre Ergebnisse im Rahmen der Ausstellung "Haus Gropius ׀׀ Zeitgenössisch".

Forschung
Die Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau ist ebenfalls im Feld der Forschung zum historischen Bauhaus tätig, publiziert zum Thema und arbeitet national und international mit anderen wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen zusammen.

Kontroverse
Im Oktober 2018 untersagte die Stiftung Bauhaus dem ZDF ein Konzert der Band Feine Sahne Fischfilet in Dessau mittels ihres Hausrechts. Die Stiftung begründete ihr Verhalten damit, dass sie keine politische Agitation in ihren Räumlichkeiten dulden wolle, da dies dem Geist des Bauhauses schade. Zuvor hatten sich Politiker der regierenden CDU und der AfD gegen das Konzert ausgesprochen sowie rechte Gruppen zu Gegenveranstaltungen mobilisiert. Die Stellvertretende Linken-Fraktionsvorsitzende Henriette Quade in Sachsen-Anhalt erklärte nach der Absage der Stiftung: "Es ist so bitter. Die Nazis vertrieben das Bauhaus aus Dessau. Jetzt pöbeln die Nazis gegen ein Konzert einer linken Band und das Bauhaus reagiert mit einer Ausladung der Band. Nebenher greift die Staatskanzlei in Kunst- und Pressefreiheit ein." Die ausgeladene Veranstaltung sollte im Rahmen der Konzert-Reihe zdf@bauhaus in der heutigen Mensa des Bauhauses in Dessau am 6. November 2018 aufgezeichnet werden.

Siehe auch
 Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
 Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin

Filme
 Museums-Check mit Markus Brock: Bauhaus-Museen in Dessau und Weimar. 30 Min. Erstausstrahlung: 27. Oktober 2019.

Weblinks
 Offizielle Seite der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau
 Kreis der Freunde des Bauhauses
 Interview mit Claudia Perren, Direktorin der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, im Magazin BAUNETZWOCHE
 Publikationen der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau im Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek

Einzelnachweise

Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts
Kultur (Dessau-Roßlau)
Gegründet 1994

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In addition to managing the profitability of Kuvera's subsidiaries, Raubi is responsible for strategic acquisition of new properties and supervising all phases of development and construction. Raubi is a founding member of the Hollywood Business Improvement District, is a member of the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions, and serves as co-chair of the Tourism Committee for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Tej Sundher's expertise in strategic marketing, promotions and operations has allowed Kuvera Partners to expand market share, build loyalty, increase brand awareness and enhance the profitability of its companies. He is also responsible for researching, recommending, and implementing new business ventures and partnerships that strengthen the Kuvera brand. Prior to joining Kuvera in 1999, Sundher handled operations, marketing campaigns and communications programs for over a decade in diverse companies in the public and private sectors.
A native of Victoria, British Columbia, he also has extensive background in the Canadian tourism industry. Sundher earned a B.A. in business from the University of Victoria and spent part of his studies in Japan, where he received training in Japanese business practices and organizational philosophies. He is a member of the National Tour Association and the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions and serves on the Board of Directors for the Hollywood Business Improvement District and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Kabir Sundher, J.D., joined Kuvera Partners in 1996 after working as an attorney at the law firm of Robert M. Levenberg and as in-house counsel for real estate developer C. L. Development, Inc. Kabir combined his knowledge of real estate, corporate, and transactional business law with his prior 20 years of experience in the field of financial management of commercial entities to take charge of Kuvera's legal, financial and technological affairs. In that position, Sundher has implemented systems that have contributed significantly to the revenue growth, operational efficiency and risk abatement of all Kuvera subsidiaries.
Jay Sundher brought extensive sales and real estate expertise to Kuvera Partners when he joined the company as General Manager of Hollywood Storage Center (then Thousand Oaks Self Storage) in 1991. As a Fred Sands Realty top producer for five straight years and member of the distinguished "Million-Dollar Club" in the Fine Homes Division, Sundher parlayed his knowledge of sales and customer service into a new vision for the operation and marketing of self storage.
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Matt Haig's A Boy Called Christmas: the magical festive movie has finally landed
Posted by Charley Ross for Film
Under Her Eye
The adaptation of Matt Haig's bestselling children's novel A Boy Called Christmas tells a heartwarming tale of how Father Christmas came to be.
It you're hankering for some seasonal sparkle, good news: the adaptation of mental health champion and author Matt Haig's bestselling novel A Boy Called Christmas has just landed, and it's about as magical as Christmas movies come.
The movie – directed by Gil Kenan, who helmed 2015's Poltergeist – tells the story of how Father Christmas came to be.
It follows the story of a young boy named Nikolas, who sets out on a snowy expedition in search of his father, who is on a quest of his own to discover "the fabled village of the elves", Elfhelm.
And he doesn't set out alone. Nikolas is accompanied by a festive fave – Blitzen the reindeer, as well as his trusty mouse of a sidekick, Miika, who will be voiced by Stephen Merchant.
Luther movie: Idris Elba confirms that filming is finally underway for a film adaptation of the BBC series
Downton Abbey's Maggie Smith will also star, alongside Kristen Wiig, Jim Broadbent (Paddington 1 & 2), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water, Paddington 1 & 2), Michiel Huisman (of The Age of Adaline and The Haunting of Hill House fame), as well as newcomer Henry Lawfull, who will play protagonist Nikolas.
Nikolas' expedition to find elves leads him to discover Christmas itself, with all its delightful trimmings.
Looking to warm our hearts to a ridiculous degree once the temperatures outside have dropped completely, A Boy Called Christmas seems to hold at its core the importance of having faith.
"I wrote this story to cheer myself up," Haig wrote in a recent Instagram post of the film's star-studded poster. "A story of hope in the dark. Never expected this to happen."
His novel is the first in a five-part novel series, so you never know, this could be the beginning of many Christmas movie offerings to come.
A Boy Called Christmas is released in cinemas today and is available to watch on Sky Cinema now.
Images: Netflix, Studiocanal SAS, Sky Cinema


Michigan: Gave football coach Lloyd Carr (9-4 in first season) four-year contract worth at least $250,000.
Cardinals: Named Jim Fassel offensive coordinator and Vic Rapp assistant coach.
NHL: Suspended Panthers captain and C Brian Skrudland, pending a hearing tomorrow, for high-sticking Red Wings LW Viktor Kozlov on Thursday night.


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Mysteries, Part 1
After a week-long intermission, the story resumes! The trigger warning at thebeginning of chapter one has, on further consideration, been updated.
9.03 ATLANTIS
9.04 BUREAUCRACY
9.05 CHANCE
9.06 DEATH
9.00 EGRESS
9.07 FORCE
9.02 HUB
9.08 MINDS
9.09 OCEANS
9.10 PROPHECY (decommissioned, pending replacement)
9.11 LOVE
9.12 REALITY
9.13 SPACE
9.14 TIME
9.15 WORLDS
9.01 ZERO
Zacharias Smith was revived shortly after the attack. The good news was thatno further students were petrified for the remainder of the term, or duringthe winter holidays. The bad news was that interviews with Zacharias revealedno new information that could lead to Cedric, Justin, and Ernie's killer beingapprehended. The worse news was that, against the express wishes of theHogwarts administration, rumors circulated that St. Mungo's had neglected tomanufacture more than one Potion of Reanimation. They were very expensive tobrew, which explained their being in short supply, but they were also verytime-consuming to brew, which allowed even curable petrification to be agreater threat than it would be, had the healers bothered to keep a largereserve supply.
Just one day later, Luna Lovegood – who was wearing gloves herself, coated inDiricawl feathers – returned the diary to Ginevra Weasley, whilst smiling.
"So what have you figured out?" said Ginny.
"I owled it to my dad," said Luna. "And he sent it back with this letter,which explains what it is and how to take care of it. I'll give it to you soyou can find out what it is and how to take care of it."
"Thank you," said Ginny, and she accepted the parchment, though of course shewouldn't read it. The Lovegoods were insane, especially in matters like this,and Xenophilius was the reason why.
"I'll just sum up the major points," said Luna. "It's called a horcrux; itcontains a soul fragment of a human being and only a very advanced dark wizardcan make one."
"Sure, Luna," said Ginny.
"It's very difficult to destroy," said Luna. "I included a list of things youcan use to destroy it if the need arises, although I don't think youpersonally have access to any of them. Oh, and it can possess people. Normallya horcrux can possess people with impunity, as long as they touch it, but thisone's been specially enchanted not to possess anyone who hasn't consented. Dadsays he hasn't seen anything like it. Of course I haven't consented to bepossessed, but I'm still wearing these gloves just to be safe." Ginny glancedat Luna's hands, saw no gloves, and took a step back. "That's why you'rewearing gloves, too, right?"
"Uh huh," said Ginny.
"But you didn't consent to be possessed either," said Luna.
"What, no, what are you talking about?" said Ginny.
"Ginny Weasley, I swear to Wizard God if you wind up as some Dark Lord'spossessed stooge because you signed your brain away like an idiot, I will hangyou from the rafters," said Luna, and then she clapped her hands over hermouth. "I didn't mean – I'm sorry -"
"No, Luna, it's fine," said Ginny. "You're right to be concerned. This isserious business. But I haven't signed my life away. I know to beconscientious. You've helped me to see that more than anyone."
"Okay," said Luna; she particularly perked up at this last sentiment. "I just- I mean, I thought it was probably some kind of serious risk. He tried to getme to agree to possession, and I barely managed to distract him by talkingabout unimportant things like Divination and what a creep Lesath is."
"Alright," said Ginny. "I'll keep everything you've told me in mind. Goodbye!"
Ginny later found out from Tim that Luna had been particularly unhelpful,paranoid, and unpleasant to talk to, and was not a true Seer. Ginny felt sorryfor Luna, but couldn't argue with any of Tim's points. She soon began makingprogress with her Sapespeck computing, through a combination of Muggle mathstextbooks, some programming help from Colin (who she still managed to keep outof the loop), and her own personal discovery of Sapespeck Maxima, a Charmthat made editing large Sapespeck systems easier.
By the time classes resumed in January, she had constructed a more advancedcalculator capable of adding - as well as subtracting - any indefinitely longsequence of numbers. It could parse negative numbers as well as decimals; shehad held off on supporting fractions until she had a better grasp on whatdivision was, though she had added case-by-case patches for phrases like "anda half", "and a quarter", and so on, which were interpreted, for example, as"point five", "point two five", and so on. Coming down the pipeline, though,on a different sheet of paper, was limited support for multiplication. Ginnycould feel the features creeping along like Eclipse Ivy, and she loved it. Ifshe could make an inanimate object smarter than herself, then she would.
Just before the spring term began, a notice went out to all students thatProfessor Lockhart was running a Patronus workshop, targeted primarily atfirst years, but also accepting older students who had either failed or notattempted to cast a Patronus the previous year. Participating, however,required a parent's signature on a permission slip, as the workshop would beheld in the Department of Mysteries. This was not difficult for Ginny toobtain.
"Frankly, it's safer than Hogwarts," said Arthur, as he signed. "I've been tothe Department of Mysteries before; they were showing me Grabthar's Hammer inthe Force Room. They thought they were on the verge of reverse-engineering itand they thought it might be possible to construct more of them without evenusing magic, so they were investigating the possibility that Muggles mightfigure it out. I think it's further off than they seemed to think – butanyway, my point is, you'll be herded around by Unspeakables at all time;you'll only go where you're supposed to. There are dangerous things in theDepartment of Mysteries, but you wouldn't be able to get anywhere near themeven if you wanted to."
The fact that no students were petrified during the Christmas break seemed toGinny to be weak evidence that the culprit was someone who, like her, hadchosen to go home during the holidays. The administration did not even take itthat way, though; it would be too easy for the attacker to put off theircrimes a month to push investigations away from themselves. In any case, Ginnyhad more important things on her mind – how could she live with herself if shewound up with a standard old Patronus while Harry and Hermione remained theonly two people in the world with upgraded human Patronuses?
"Well, Ginny, a Patronus is a journey of personal discovery and self-actualization," said Harry.
"Don't you give me that, Harry Potter," said Ginny. "That's not how you talk.You're hiding something. How do I get a human Patronus?"
"It's complicated and dangerous to teach," said Harry. "Even just giving you abad hint could lead to your being permanently unable to cast any kind ofPatronus."
"You taught her," said Ginny.
"I can't just teach anyone," said Harry. Ginny pouted, and Harry got the lookon his face that he always did when he was beginning an experiment. "Well,though… I'll give you one hint. But don't be too disappointed if you wind upwith a regular old animal Patronus. It's still better than nothing, if youwind up in a combat situation where a Patronus is needed or if you need tocontact someone or confirm that they're alive. And don't tell anyone the hint,or even that I gave you one. I don't want to be mobbed by more requests likethis."
"What's the hint?" said Ginny, although she would really rather be able tocast nothing at all than be able to cast an animal Patronus only. People whocouldn't cast Patronuses were at least dark and deep and brooding.
"A regular animal Patronus is powered by a happy memory of the past," saidHarry. "The True Patronus, the Patronus Two Point Oh, is powered by a happyplan for the future."
"Okay, got it," said Ginny, and she smiled. Harry seemed disappointed in hernonchalant approach to hearing this wisdom, and left.
Ginny sucked in her breath. She'd largely avoided Hermione, out of some kindof uncontrollable, irrational hatred. It was a source of some regret for her,and in retrospect had feelings had spiraled beyond anything reasonable, butnonetheless, she would definitely make an exception to her "steer-clear-of-Hermione" policy now. She had something practical to accomplish.
"Hi, Hermione," said Ginny.
"Ginny Weasley?" said Hermione. "Hello, I haven't seen much of you!"
"Is that so," muttered Ginny, and Hermione nearly left for the Ravenclawtable, because it wasn't completely clear that she still had something to say."There's something Harry asked me to ask you."
"Oh?" said Hermione.
"I asked Harry how to make a Patronus like his, and he gave me – meexclusively, that is – a hint, and he told me to ask you for another one,"said Ginny.
"Is that so?" said Hermione, and Ginny nodded. "Hmm… Dementors are a riddle,and the upgraded Patronus is the answer. Or is that the hint he already gaveyou?" Ginny nodded; if she was going to lie to get extra hints, she might aswell get three instead of two. "Alright, then… Harry's Patronus was directlytied to my resurrection." Ginny was barely able to prevent her mouth fromhanging open. "I hope that was helpful! Goodbye!"
How on Earth could Ginny even hope to compete with a girl Harry had literallybrought back from the brink of death with a historic spell of his owninvention?
"Wait! Hermione!" said Ginny.
"What?" said Hermione.
"What are your views on the existence of an afterlife?" asked Ginny.
"Of course not," said Hermione, immediately flustered. "I mean, you're nottrying to weasel more hints out of me? Are you?"
"No," said Ginny. "I've just been thinking about it lately."
"Oh," said Hermione. "Harry told me about you. Between you and me, I think youcan believe whatever you want, but, personally, I don't believe in that. For abrief while, my faith in that actually shot up after I, y'know, came back tolife, but Harry broke the illusion for me. He had to. Visions that can beinterpreted as an afterlife are reasonably common in people who have near-death experiences, but it's a purely neurochemical phenomenon, notsupernatural at all."
"Oh," said Ginny. A single sub-belief point of evidence for a deeply-heldbelief will not invalidate that belief if it is itself invalidated. Do notallow that fear to prevent you from updating your beliefs, or even allow it tomake you more skeptical of facts that broadly suggest that your deeply-heldbeliefs are wrong.
"And anyway, no, that's not for me," said Hermione. "I haven't seen a gooddebate about it, ever, but I do know what my position is. I think Harry isbeing monstrously unfair to you, by the way; if you feel the same, then feelfree to talk to me about it. Is there anything else you want to talk aboutnow? I really do need to get to the Ravenclaw Table, or they'll wonder where Iam and my food will get cold."
"Um, no," said Ginny. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye," said Hermione, and she left. Ginny considered the fact thatHermione was not much like she had imagined her to be, but she did not reflecton it.
The True Patronus is powered not by a memory but by a plan.
_ It is the answer to the riddle of the Dementor._
_ It pertains to resurrection._
Ginny repeated these three things in her head, over and over, for an entireday. She repeated them to herself as she slept, and she repeated them toherself as she stepped in a single file line consisting of most of her classand a few older students, through a fireplace, to the Ministry of Magic.Gilderoy Lockhart was waiting for her on the other side, and once his rolecall was complete, he guided his young students as a group through the mainlobby, past a checkpoint, and to the Ministry's elevator, which had dozens ofseats and moved forwards and backwards and left and right just as much as itmoved up and down.
"LEVEL NINE, DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES," read a calm, cool, and distinctlyunsettling voice, when they had reached their final destination. The onlyconclusion Ginny had thus far gathered from her hints was that Dementors werea manifestation of an abstract concept, and that the True Patronus was somehowpowered by your approach to solving the non-magical form of that abstractconcept. It was known to happen that magical creatures would originate asmanifestations of abstract concepts; phoenixes, for example, wererepresentations of a promise of eternity. For this reason, depictions of themwere common decorations in churches and on wedding invitations.
"Hello, Lockhart," said one Unspeakable, who appeared to distinctly distrustthe Defense Professor.
"Hello, Croaker," said Professor Lockhart.
"You're here for the Dementor exercise, correct?" said Unspeakable Croaker.
"Indeed," said Lockhart, and his smile just wouldn't stop.
"You have delivered the lecture on the properties of Dementors, and on how toproduce a normal Patronus?" said Croaker.
"Of course," said Lockhart, and he nodded broadly.
"Follow me," said Croaker, to the entire group from Hogwarts, and he led theminto the Department of Mysteries proper, which Ginny's father had described toher.
It was a large circular room, with eleven featureless doors, twelve if youcounted the one the class had just walked through, evenly spaced around theroom's circumference. Each of the doors had an Unspeakable standing in frontof it, wand drawn; they took shifts so that each door was guarded at alltimes. It simply wouldn't do if someone could sneak in after hours. There wasa large circle drawn on the floor, just short of the edge of the room.
"Is that Amortentia?" said a Gryffindor named Romilda Vane, and she pointed ata door that had a strong magical aura emanating from it.
"Yes," said Professor Lockhart, quietly. "An entire fountain of it." Romildastood in awe. Something about the magical signature didn't seem right toGinny. She supposed she didn't know how the magical signature compounded insuch a large quantity. But come to think of it, how had they gotten such alarge quantity? Amortentia took serious sacrifice to create; how many wizardshad lost their magic and their wands to power the Love Room? The Love Roomwas the one where they would keep Amortentia, right?
"We cannot confirm or deny that at this time," said the Unspeakable in frontof the Love Room, who was wearing completely opaque black glasses.
"Everyone stand inside the red circle," said Unspeakable Croaker. "As close tothe center of the room as possible." Ginny looked down, and saw that they wereall well within it; Unspeakable Croaker closed the door to the outside world,and immediately, all of the Unspeakables in the room disappeared, along withthe doors they were guarding. A few seconds later, they reappeared, but theywere all scrambled; their positions and their order were completely different.
"Dementors this way," said one Unspeakable, who sent up sparks to attract thestudents' attention, and the door behind him opened a crack. The crowd madeits way over to the Unspeakable, whose head was obscured by a cloud of smokethat didn't seem to leave his head, and stepped through the door into theDeath Room.
"Jeepers!" said Colin, pointing at the enormous triangular stone structure atthe bottom of the chamber's chasm. "Is that the Veil?" A black surface rippledand fluttered between the two lines.
"Yes, absolutely," said Professor Lockhart.
"We cannot confirm or deny that at this time," said the Unspeakable, and heguided them away from the chasm towards a more nondescript corridor, which wasvery long and was also made of stone, though it was less arcane than the Veilchamber. It led to a smaller, even less arcane room that had wood trim andpleasant lighting. There was a heavy stone door that the Unspeakable glancedat expectantly. "Behind this door is a pit containing all known Dementorspecimens remaining after the purge of Azkaban."
"How do you keep Nundus from forming?" interrupted Colin, who was roundlyshushed.
"There are not nearly enough Dementors present for the formation of a Nundu,"said the Unspeakable. "And even if there were, we are not planning to performan execution here any time soon, or ever. As I was saying, a pair ofUnspeakables will escort a Dementor to this room momentarily, and you willtake turns to face it one-on-one. Everyone who isn't currently facing theDementor will wait in the hall."
"A Dementor's Kiss is required to initiate Nundu formation," explainedProfessor Lockhart, to Colin, during a lull. Soon thereafter, the room wasevacuated of all except Karissa, who was going first. Ginny could feel theDementor's presence, even though she was not looking at it. It was adistinctly wrong feeling, exactly what she expected, but real. It told herintuitively to flee better than any Boggart could, but she knew she would faceit and overcome it. What could it possibly represent? Soon Ginny heard Karissashout something, and there was a glow opposite the Dementor's, and Karissareturned triumphant.
Some weren't so lucky. The group was about evenly split between those able andthose unable to produce Patronuses, though it was invariably found that thosewho had tried and failed last year failed just as hard now. Among those whowere carried out of the room unconscious was Colin; this was not a surprisefor Ginny, who hadn't really thought him the type in the first place. Andabsolutely no one produced a Patronus with the brilliant glow or perfect formof Harry's (or Hermione's).
"It's your turn, Miss Weasley," said Professor Lockhart. "Good luck." Ginnystepped forward, having suppressed as many of her nerves as she could.
Well, it's obvious what you are, thought Ginny, as the cloaked figureappeared before her. You're Evil. Capital-E Evil. That's what you personify.You exist to cause negative utility, you're not supposed to exist, and youeven look more demonic than any other magical creature I've seen. It's notthat hard to figure out. So, then, how do I solve you? Or, rather, how wouldHarry solve you? How would Harry solve evil?
_ No, no, thought Ginny. _That's the wrong way to think about it altogether.You can't make a Patronus using Occlumency. The Defense Professor said so. Howwould _I _solve evil? What's _my _plan to deal with it? What does my worldviewsay? The symptoms of Dementor exposure were already sinking in. It wasbecoming a little harder to think, though Ginny was pushing through.
God has already dealt with you, thought Ginny. Your game is up. Your pricewas paid in full on the cross, and any suffering you cause can therefore onlybe temporary. The idea that you are still an existential threat to anyone isan illusion, and I see through that illusion. (Is something wrong? This isn'thow Harry would think about this. No, push on.) I know the truth.
_ I believe that the Lord God created the universe, thought Ginny. _I believethat He sent His only son to die for my sins. I believe that the line ofChrist contains all wizardkind! You have no place here!
"Expecto Patronum!" shouted Ginny, as loudly as her lungs could currentlyprovide. Her wand had been correctly raised, but nothing came out. She glanceddiagonally downwards, otherwise frozen, expecting reality to correct itself.
What? thought Ginny. No, try again. I believe that Satan has a hold on you!I believe that the Lord God has sent me here! I believe-
Ginny finally fainted.
We didn't agree to this! We didn't agree to this! But I _did… _Oh God, I'm amurderer. Save me. Kill me. I need to be killed, I mustn't threaten anyone…They're dead… It's my fault… I trusted you. I'm going to wind up notremembering any of this, and I won't be able to protect anyone from myselfthen. Or you. The Chamber's going to keep opening, and opening, and opening,and we're going to keep killing, and killing, and killing… I did kill Cedric,after all, and now how many of his friends? You lied to me and I should haveseen through it. But how, in Parseltongue - here he comes. Is Obliviation likedying?
The baby looked up at its towering parents and the healer, and they had astrange conversation using strange words that it could not understand, butcould remember, somewhere in the deep recesses of its infant brain, where onlythe memory magic of a conceptual being could recover it, and even then, onlyfor the purposes of torture.
"I can offer a mass Obliviation-" said the healer.
"I want my son back," said Arthur.
"Any kind of human Transfiguration is very dangerous," said the healer. "We'realready very lucky that she's stabilized." Arthur made a reflexive stabbingmotion that he'd picked up watching Muggle criminals who had to rely on Muggleweapons. "It would be risking the child's life all over again."
"And it's not risking the child's life to leave him like this?" said Molly,through her tears.
"No," said the healer. "Particularly given the function of eagle's splendor."
"What does eagle's splendor have to do with this?" said Molly, exactlysimultaneously with her husband's similar utterance: "Who said anything abouta potion of eagle's splendor?"
"Healers know things, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," said the healer, "even if we arelegally prevented from disclosing them. In most cases, at least; an exceptionmight be made here seeing as a child was endangered. But the significance ofeagle's splendor's function is that it causes the body's appearance to matchthe mind's ideal."
"Enough!" said Arthur. "If you can't reverse the effect, what can you do?"
"As I was saying, I can offer a mass Obliviation applied to all friends andfamily, everyone who'd know, so that they're unaware that your _daughter _wasever any different," said the healer.
"My daughter is the third seventh son," said Molly, and she practicallyspit. There was a pause.
"I'm sorry," said the healer. The baby looked up at its mother, who was themost upset it had ever seen her. Its mother looked back, but this did nothingto alleviate her distress; in fact, she had a look of disgust about her.
What's wrong, Mother? Why don't you recognize me? Why don't you recognize me?Why don't-
@BayesWatch 0 0 0
Best learning resources for aspiring writers.


text:
Q: Symfony Dependency injection with EntityMenager I had to call controller in service. In that manner I had created connstruct function and add parameter EntityMenager
class UsersController extends Controller
{
    private $em;

    public function __construct(EntityManager $em) {
        $this->em = $em;
    }

and defined service for that controller
services:
  user_controller:
    class: AppBundle\Controller\UsersController
    arguments:
      ['@doctrine.orm.entity_manager']

when I call that service
$usersContainer = $this->get('user_controller');

in other controllers everything is fine.
But when I call self controller I get error
Catchable Fatal Error:
Argument 1 passed to AppBundle\Controller\UsersController::__construct()
must be an instance of Doctrine\ORM\EntityManager, none given,

Where I making mistake?

A: I just do ugly hack and solve problem at this moment.
I had removed __construc class and add EntityManager as needed parameter to function that needs EntityManager class.
 public function getLoggedUserData($loggedUserId, $entityManager)
    {
        $user               = $entityManager->getRepository('...')
        $newRequests        = $entityManager->getRepository('...')

A: You can only define a Controller as service, if it is a simple class (not extending Controller).
See : http://symfony.com/doc/current/cookbook/controller/service.html
And particularly :
http://symfony.com/doc/current/cookbook/controller/service.html#alternatives-to-base-controller-methods

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
UK's Cineworld To Buy Regal Cinemas In $3.6B Deal
In a move that was presaged last week, UK exhibition chain Cineworld is to acquire Regal Cinemas, the circuit controlled by Philip Anschutz. The $3.6B deal will create the world's second largest cinema group after AMC, operating in 10 countries with 9,542 screens across the U.S. and Europe. Shares in Cineworld dipped 3.75% in early-morning London trading before beginning a rebound.
The agreement also includes a "go shop period," which will allow Regal to actively solicit and evaluate competing offers. As both companies are public, watchers have mentioned that another prospective buyer could come in with a spoiler bid. The exhibition sector is under some pressure due to ongoing stress on the traditional movie model, and consolidation has been seen as the order of the day.
The "go shop period" lasts until January 22, and if Regal does not receive a "superior" proposal, Cineworld hopes to close the deal in the first quarter of 2018. The agreement comes after Cineworld made an all cash offer of $23 per share on November 28.
AMC Networks Chief On Future Of 'Sherman's Showcase' & 'State Of The Union'
Cineworld operates 2,217 screens across 232 sites in the UK, Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Israel. Regal operates 7,315 screens in 561 theaters in 43 U.S. states along with Guam, Saipan, American Samoa and the District of Columbia. Each company has a market capitalization in the range of $2.5B-$3B.
Cineworld Chief Executive Mooky Greindinger said Regal was a "great business" and both companies were "strongly committed to bringing a high-end cinematic experience to their customers."
"We have long had high respect for Regal and for its strong position in the largest box office market in the world and we are delighted that the Regal Directors have unanimously agreed to recommend our offer to their shareholders. Consolidation is an important move forward and the best practice we have successfully rolled out across Europe will be the key driver to continued success," he added.
Regal Chief Executive Amy Miles added that the deal would allow the two companies to introduce more "innovative" cinema concepts and "premium amenities."
"We believe the transaction announced today provides compelling value for our stockholders," she said. "The combination of our two great companies, Cineworld's tremendous success in the UK, as well as other markets they have entered since, and Cineworld's commitment to maintain a strong presence in the U.S. and Knoxville (TN), provide a global platform positioned for continued growth and innovation."
Deadline's International Editor, Nancy Tartaglione, contributed to this report
Philip Anschutz
WarnerMedia Adds Cheryl Idell Set As EVP, Chief Research Officer


text:
/// <reference path="core.ts"/>
/// <reference path="sys.ts"/>
/// <reference path="types.ts"/>
/// <reference path="scanner.ts"/>
/// <reference path="parser.ts"/>
/// <reference path="binder.ts"/>
/// <reference path="checker.ts"/>
/// <reference path="emitter.ts"/>
/// <reference path="commandLineParser.ts"/>
/// <reference path="sort.ts" />

declare module egret {
    export type ToolArgs = any;
    export type FileChanges = any;
}
declare var module: any;

module ts {
    var version = "1.4.0.0";
    var formatedMessages: string[] = [];
    /**
     * Checks to see if the locale is in the appropriate format,
     * and if it is, attempts to set the appropriate language.
     */
    function validateLocaleAndSetLanguage(locale: string, errors: Diagnostic[]): boolean {
        var matchResult = /^([a-z]+)([_\-]([a-z]+))?$/.exec(locale.toLowerCase());

        if (!matchResult) {
            errors.push(createCompilerDiagnostic(Diagnostics.Locale_must_be_of_the_form_language_or_language_territory_For_example_0_or_1, 'en', 'ja-jp'));
            return false;
        }

        var language = matchResult[1];
        var territory = matchResult[3];

        // First try the entire locale, then fall back to just language if that's all we have.
        if (!trySetLanguageAndTerritory(language, territory, errors) &&
            !trySetLanguageAndTerritory(language, undefined, errors)) {

            errors.push(createCompilerDiagnostic(Diagnostics.Unsupported_locale_0, locale));
            return false;
        }

        return true;
    }

    function trySetLanguageAndTerritory(language: string, territory: string, errors: Diagnostic[]): boolean {
        var compilerFilePath = normalizePath(sys.getExecutingFilePath());
        var containingDirectoryPath = getDirectoryPath(compilerFilePath);

        var filePath = combinePaths(containingDirectoryPath, language);

        if (territory) {
            filePath = filePath + "-" + territory;
        }

        filePath = sys.resolvePath(combinePaths(filePath, "diagnosticMessages.generated.json"));

        if (!sys.fileExists(filePath)) {
            return false;
        }

        // TODO: Add codePage support for readFile?
        try {
            var fileContents = sys.readFile(filePath);
        }
        catch (e) {
            errors.push(createCompilerDiagnostic(Diagnostics.Unable_to_open_file_0, filePath));
            return false;
        }
        try {
            ts.localizedDiagnosticMessages = JSON.parse(fileContents);
        }
        catch (e) {
            errors.push(createCompilerDiagnostic(Diagnostics.Corrupted_locale_file_0, filePath));
            return false;
        }

        return true;
    }

    function countLines(program: Program): number {
        var count = 0;
        forEach(program.getSourceFiles(), file => {
            count += file.getLineAndCharacterFromPosition(file.end).line;
        });
        return count;
    }

    function getDiagnosticText(message: DiagnosticMessage, ...args: any[]): string {
        var diagnostic: Diagnostic = createCompilerDiagnostic.apply(undefined, arguments);
        return diagnostic.messageText;
    }

    function reportDiagnostic(diagnostic: Diagnostic) {
        var output = "";

        if (diagnostic.file) {
            var loc = diagnostic.file.getLineAndCharacterFromPosition(diagnostic.start);

            output += diagnostic.file.filename + "(" + loc.line + "," + loc.character + "): ";
        }

        var category = DiagnosticCategory[diagnostic.category].toLowerCase();
        output += category + " TS" + diagnostic.code + ": " + diagnostic.messageText;

        formatedMessages.push(output);
    }

    function reportDiagnostics(diagnostics: Diagnostic[]) {
        for (var i = 0; i < diagnostics.length; i++) {
            reportDiagnostic(diagnostics[i]);
        }
    }

    function padLeft(s: string, length: number) {
        while (s.length < length) {
            s = " " + s;
        }
        return s;
    }

    function padRight(s: string, length: number) {
        while (s.length < length) {
            s = s + " ";
        }

        return s;
    }

    function reportStatisticalValue(name: string, value: string) {
        sys.write(padRight(name + ":", 12) + padLeft(value.toString(), 10) + sys.newLine);
    }

    function reportCountStatistic(name: string, count: number) {
        reportStatisticalValue(name, "" + count);
    }

    function reportTimeStatistic(name: string, time: number) {
        reportStatisticalValue(name, (time / 1000).toFixed(2) + "s");
    }

    export function executeWithOption(commandLine: ParsedCommandLine): LarkCompileResult {
        var compilerOptions = commandLine.options;
        formatedMessages = [];
        var result: LarkCompileResult = {
            exitStatus: EmitReturnStatus.Succeeded,
            program: null,
            compileWithChanges: null,
            files: [],
            messages: formatedMessages
        };

        // If there are any errors due to command line parsing and/or
        // setting up localization, report them and quit.
        if (commandLine.errors.length > 0) {
            reportDiagnostics(commandLine.errors);
            result.exitStatus = EmitReturnStatus.CompilerOptionsErrors;
            return result;
        }

        if (commandLine.filenames.length === 0) {
            result.exitStatus = EmitReturnStatus.CompilerOptionsErrors;
            return result;
        }

        var defaultCompilerHost = createCompilerHost(compilerOptions);

        return watchProgram(commandLine, defaultCompilerHost);
    }

    /**
     * Compiles the program once, and then watches all given and referenced files for changes.
     * Upon detecting a file change, watchProgram will queue up file modification events for the next
     * 250ms and then perform a recompilation. The reasoning is that in some cases, an editor can
     * save all files at once, and we'd like to just perform a single recompilation.
     */
    function watchProgram(commandLine: ParsedCommandLine, compilerHost: CompilerHost): LarkCompileResult {
        var watchers: Map<FileWatcher> = {};
        var updatedFiles: Map<boolean> = {};

        // Compile the program the first time and watch all given/referenced files.
        var result = compile(commandLine, compilerHost);
        var program = result.program;
        result.compileWithChanges = compileWithChanges;
        return result;

        function compileWithChanges(filesChanged: egret.FileChanges): LarkCompileResult {

            filesChanged.forEach(file=> {
                if (file.type == "added") {
                    commandLine.filenames.push(file.fileName);
                    updatedFiles[getCanonicalName(file.fileName)] = true
                }
                else if (file.type == "removed") {
                    var index = commandLine.filenames.indexOf(file.fileName);
                    if (index >= 0)
                        commandLine.filenames.splice(index, 1);
                }
                else {
                    updatedFiles[getCanonicalName(file.fileName)] = true
                }
            });
            var changedFiles = updatedFiles;
            updatedFiles = {};
            return recompile(changedFiles);
        }

        function recompile(changedFiles: Map<boolean>): LarkCompileResult {
            console.log(changedFiles);

            // Reuse source files from the last compilation so long as they weren't changed.
            var oldSourceFiles = arrayToMap(
                filter(program.getSourceFiles(), file => !hasProperty(changedFiles, getCanonicalName(file.filename))),
                file => getCanonicalName(file.filename));

            // We create a new compiler host for this compilation cycle.
            // This new host is effectively the same except that 'getSourceFile'
            // will try to reuse the SourceFiles from the last compilation cycle
            // so long as they were not modified.
            var newCompilerHost = clone(compilerHost);
            newCompilerHost.getSourceFile = (fileName, languageVersion, onError) => {
                fileName = getCanonicalName(fileName);

                var sourceFile = lookUp(oldSourceFiles, fileName);
                if (sourceFile) {
                    return sourceFile;
                }

                return compilerHost.getSourceFile(fileName, languageVersion, onError);
            };

            var result = compile(commandLine, newCompilerHost, Object.keys(changedFiles));
            program = result.program;
            result.compileWithChanges = compileWithChanges;
            return result;
        }

        function getCanonicalName(fileName: string) {
            return compilerHost.getCanonicalFileName(fileName);
        }
    }

    export interface LarkCompileResult {
        program: ts.Program;
        files?: string[];
        exitStatus: EmitReturnStatus;
        compileWithChanges?: (filesChanged: egret.FileChanges) => LarkCompileResult;
        messages?: string[];
    }

    export interface FileChanges {
        added: string[];
        modified: string[];
        removed: string[];
    }

    function compile(commandLine: ParsedCommandLine, compilerHost: CompilerHost, changedFiles?:string[]): LarkCompileResult {
        var parseStart = new Date().getTime();
        var compilerOptions = commandLine.options;
        var program = createProgram(commandLine.filenames, compilerOptions, compilerHost);

        var bindStart = new Date().getTime();
        var errors: Diagnostic[] = program.getDiagnostics();
        var exitStatus: EmitReturnStatus;

        if (errors.length) {
            var checkStart = bindStart;
            var emitStart = bindStart;
            var reportStart = bindStart;
            exitStatus = EmitReturnStatus.AllOutputGenerationSkipped;
        }
        else {
            var checker = program.getTypeChecker(/*fullTypeCheckMode*/ true);
            var checkStart = new Date().getTime();
            errors = checker.getDiagnostics();
            if (checker.isEmitBlocked()) {
                exitStatus = EmitReturnStatus.AllOutputGenerationSkipped;
            }
            else {
                var sortHelper = new SortHelper();
                sortHelper.orderFiles(checker, program);
                var emitStart = new Date().getTime();
                var emitErrors: Diagnostic[];
                //if (!changedFiles) {
                var emitOutput = checker.emitFiles();
                emitErrors = emitOutput.diagnostics;
                exitStatus = emitOutput.emitResultStatus;
                //}
                //else {
                //    emitErrors = [];
                //    changedFiles.forEach(file=> {
                //        var emitOutput = checker.emitFiles(program.getSourceFile(file));
                //        emitErrors = emitErrors.concat(emitOutput.diagnostics);
                //        if (emitOutput.emitResultStatus != EmitReturnStatus.Succeeded)
                //            exitStatus = emitOutput.emitResultStatus;
                //    });
                //}
                var reportStart = new Date().getTime();
                errors = concatenate(errors, emitErrors);
            }
        }

        reportDiagnostics(errors);
        if (commandLine.options.diagnostics) {
            var memoryUsed = sys.getMemoryUsage ? sys.getMemoryUsage() : -1;
            reportCountStatistic("Files", program.getSourceFiles().length);
            reportCountStatistic("Lines", countLines(program));
            reportCountStatistic("Nodes", checker ? checker.getNodeCount() : 0);
            reportCountStatistic("Identifiers", checker ? checker.getIdentifierCount() : 0);
            reportCountStatistic("Symbols", checker ? checker.getSymbolCount() : 0);
            reportCountStatistic("Types", checker ? checker.getTypeCount() : 0);
            if (memoryUsed >= 0) {
                reportStatisticalValue("Memory used", Math.round(memoryUsed / 1000) + "K");
            }
            reportTimeStatistic("Parse time", bindStart - parseStart);
            reportTimeStatistic("Bind time", checkStart - bindStart);
            reportTimeStatistic("Check time", emitStart - checkStart);
            reportTimeStatistic("Emit time", reportStart - emitStart);
            reportTimeStatistic("Total time", reportStart - parseStart);
        }

        var sortErrors = SortHelper.getErrors();
        if (sortErrors && sortErrors.length > 0) {
            exitStatus = sortErrors[0].code;
            formatedMessages = formatedMessages.concat(sortErrors.map(e=> e.messageText));
        }
        var result = { program, exitStatus, files: ts.SortHelper.getOrderedFiles(), messages: formatedMessages.concat() };
        formatedMessages = [];
        return result;
    }

}

class Compiler {
    static executeWithOption(options: egret.ToolArgs, files: string[], out?: string, outDir?: string): ts.LarkCompileResult {

        var target = options.esTarget.toLowerCase();
        var targetEnum = ts.ScriptTarget.ES5;
        if (target == 'es6')
            targetEnum = ts.ScriptTarget.ES6;

        var parsedCmd: ts.ParsedCommandLine = {
            filenames: files,
            options: {
                sourceMap: options.sourceMap,
                target: targetEnum,
                removeComments: options.removeComments,
                declaration: options.declaration,
                diagnostics: options.debug
            },
            errors: []
        };

        if (out) {
            parsedCmd.options.out = out;
        }
        else {
            parsedCmd.options.outDir = outDir;
        }
        return ts.executeWithOption(parsedCmd);
    }
    static exit: (exitCode: number) => number = null;
    static write = msg=> console.log(msg);
}
module.exports.Compiler = Compiler;
module.exports.tsc = ts;
ts.sys.exit = function (code) {
    return Compiler.exit(code);
}

ts.sys.write = function (msg) {
    return Compiler.write(msg);
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
.. _development:

===========
Development
===========

Docker Setup
============
Not everybody runs Debian on their systems.
Additionally one might not want to pollute their system with all the
dependencies and development tools, that are necessary to build and run Hades.
Docker provides an easy way to isolate the development environment from your
machine and to install the necessary requirements and tools.

Building & Running
------------------

Run the following command in the project root directory to build an image with
``docker-compose``:

.. code-block:: console

   docker-compose build --build-arg=UID=$(id -u) --build-arg=GID=$(id -g) hades

The ``UID`` and ``GID`` build args ensure, that the IDs of the user on your
machine match with the user and group created inside the container.

After you've successfully created the image, you can run the container:

.. code-block:: console

   docker-compose -up -d

This will start the container in background.
Inside the container ``systemd`` is started.
Running an init system like systemd in a container is not an usual setup, but
Hades integrates well with systemd and should be also be tested on systemd.

To enter the container run the following command:

.. code-block:: console

   docker-compose exec -u builder hades bash

Use in Production
-----------------
It probably doesn't make sense to run Hades inside Docker in production,
because the :ref:`networking` setup of Hades is much more involved than your
typical Docker application, which only needs to expose a few ports.
Hades requires Layer 2 connectivity, so you would need to pass interfaces into
the container or bridge the container interfaces on the host.
All of this is possible, the question is however if such a setup provides any
benefit.

Building the Documentation
==========================
The documentation for Hades is build with :ref:`sphinx <sphinx:tutorial>`.
An html build is stored in the gh-pages branch in order to host the
documentation using `GitHub Pages <https://pages.github.com/>`_.
Whatever python setup you chose, make sure that the extra requirements given
in the ``setup.py`` are installed (e.g. ``sphinx`` and relevant extensions).

After cloning a repository for the first time, initialize the git submodules of
this repository:

.. code-block:: console

    git submodules update --init

To build the documentation, change into the ``docs`` directory and run:

.. code-block:: console

    make html

The documentation will built and stored in the ``docs/build/html`` directory.
This directory is actually a git submodule with a clone of the same repository,
but on a different branch, namely the special ``gh-pages`` branch.
This branch does not contain the project sources like ``main`` and is also
completely independent from the ``main`` branch.
Never merge or rebase these branch with each other!

You can view the documentation locally with your browser by opening the
``index.html`` file in the ``docs/build/html`` directory and if you are
satisfied, you can publish it on https://agdsn.github.io/hades/ by executing
the following commands in ``docs/build/html``:

.. code-block:: console

    git add .
    git commit
    git push origin gh-pages

.. warning::
   Don't mix up the root repository and its submodule in ``docs/build/html`` and
   be careful in which directory you are executing the git commands.

If you want you can then update the submodule relationship between root
repository and the gh-pages submodule by executing the following commands in
the **root** repository::

    git add docs/build/html
    git commit


text:
Thailand's Auto Industry Appears Positive
April 29, 2019 • by Daryl Lubinsky
Thailand has become a vital hub for OEMs from all over the world, and currently sits as the 12th most industrious auto manufacturer globally.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.
Thailand's automotive industry is expected to maintain output in 2019 at 2.15 million cars, even as domestic and external factors become volatile, according to a report from the Bangkok Post.
Those factors include Europe halting car imports from Thailand and the trade war between the U.S. and China.
Thailand has become a vital hub for manufacturers from all over the world, and it is currently the 12th highest volume auto manufacturer in the world, according to a CNN article from July 2018.
OEMs such as Toyota, GM, Ford, and Mitsubishi have long had a presence in Thailand. the article noted. Other manufacturers such as Mercedes and BMW have also entered the region.
GM in particular has been bolstering its investment in the region since 2000.
Positive Factors in the Automotive Industry
Overall car sales in the Southeast Asian country grew by 18% in the first five months of 2018, according to CNN.
The same article quoted a spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz, which makes only passenger cars in Thailand, as saying said the company had its biggest year ever in 2017, with 14,000 units sold.
The Federation of Thai Industries reported late in 2018 that it remained optimistic about the country's car production hitting 2 million units that year, despite the September output dropping for the first time in 15 months, according to online news site Asia & Pacific.
November 2018 vehicle sales in Thailand increased 21.2 % year over year to 94,643 units, according to a report from automotive industry portal Marklines. Sales from January to November 2018 rose 21% to 928,158 units.
Toyota sales were up 41.3% to 30,732 units. Tracking several other manufacturers, Isuzu was up 17.9% to 16,777 units and Honda 7.1% to 11,099, Mitsubishi sales were up 14.7%to 7,309 units, and Nissan sales were up 22.4% to 6,713 units.
Tracking body type, Marklines reported that passenger cars were up 12.8% year over year to 35,446 units. Commercial vehicle sales were up 26.9% to 59,197 units. Pickup sales included in the commercial vehicle sales were up 27.5% to 48,612 units.
Marklines noted that the sales growth in November was largely due to the healthy economic sentiment and new model introductions.
Automotive exports from Thailand will face fragile conditions on many continents. In the Middle East, an important market for Thai-made pickups, fluctuations in oil prices are pressuring people's purchasing power.
Europe is halting car imports from Thailand under the region's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). To go around the system, many car makers plan to ship cars from Turkey to that region since Turkey enjoys a free-trade agreement with Europe. He added that the trade war between the United States and China continued to have a widespread negative impact and was the most important factor hurting the global economy and exports.
Some news articles offered a mix of good and bad news. For example, the Post reported in March 2017 that the used-vehicle market in the country was expected to surge, but that was only because a new excise tax rate would make new cars less attractive to potential buyers.
Even with a few uncertainties, the overall outlook of Thailand's auto industry is mostly positive.
CNN Business reported that between 2000 and 2017, Thailand's auto production grew by 383%, meaning it could keep its reputation as the Detroit of Asia for quite some time.
Related: Taiwanese Automotive Industry Slowed by Decline in Exports
Read more about Thailand Global
LeasePlan Details European EV Readiness
A LeasePlan study found that the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom are the best prepared countries in Europe for electric vehicles.
Toyota Creates Single European Mobility Brand
Kinto is part of Toyota's global vision to evolve into a mobility company by providing several services related to transportation to people around the world.
Swiss Fleet Market Ends 2019 with Positive December
The Swiss fleet market continued to see growth to round out 2019 after experiencing declines earlier in the year, and posted a 22% growth in December.
Dutch Tax Changes Boosted EV Fleet Sales as 2019 Ended
Electric vehicle sales for fleets reached 23% in 2019, which was hinged partially on company car drivers acquiring assets to avoid tax increases that would impact their purchasing decisions in 2020.
Registrations for the inaugural AFLA Canada Fleet Summit are filling in quickly, with dozens of prominent fleet professionals who have responsibilities within the Canadian fleet marketplace having already registered.
South Africa Fleet Management Systems to Reach 3 Million Users by 2023
The number of active fleet management systems in South Africa is forecasted to reach more than 3 million users by 2023, a 15% increase from 1.6 million units at the end of 2018.
India Commercial Vehicle Sales Dropped in 2019
Commercial vehicle sales in India were down 15% in November when compared to the same time last year, continuing a trend of monthly declines since April resulting from a broader slowdown in Asia's third-largest economy.
Fleet Management Systems in Australasia Predicted to Grow 15% by 2023
The fleet management market in Australia and New Zealand is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% from almost 0.9 million units in 2018 to nearly 1.8 million by 2023.
Inaugural AFLA Canada Fleet Summit Schedule Detailed
The inaugural 2020 AFLA Canada Fleet Summit has detailed its conference agenda, which includes multiple deep-dive sessions addressing topics pertinent to those who have responsibilities within the Canadian fleet marketplace.
Registration Opens for 2020 Global Fleet Conference
Registration for the eighth annual 2020 Global Fleet Conference has opened and will be held at the Sheraton Roma Hotel and Conference Center in Rome, Italy, May 26 – 27.


text:
Three Thoroughbred, Two Quarter Horse Stakes Featured on New Year's Eve Program
Saturday's New Year's Eve's racing program will go out with a bang as three thoroughbred and two Quarter horse stakes will be featured at Turf Paradise.
The early Daily Double will feature two Quarter Horse Stakes, the $20,187 ASQA Futurity, for 2-year-olds at 400 yards and the $17,500 Quarter Horse Championship, for 3-year-olds and up at 440 yards.
The first of the thoroughbred stakes will be the $22,000 Last Chance Derby, for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles. Then there's the $30,000 Arizona Juvenile Fillies Stakes, for 2-year-old fillies, at 6 ½ furlongs. And finally the $30,000 Lost in the Fog Stakes, for 2-year-olds, also at 6 ½ furlongs.
ASQA Futurity
Trainer Matthew Fales has no less than seven of 11 qualifiers in this 400 yard dash, including the winner of the AQRA Futurity, Arizona Icon.
Quarter Horse Championship
Fales shows up again, this time with Block N Tackle, a 7-year-old veteran who has won 12 of 31 career efforts.
Last Chance Derby
In what may come down to running styles, Cable Jett will try to carry his speed against the mid-pack move of Woodie B Awesome and the late closing rush of Fin de Semaine.
Az Juvenile Fillies
A full field of very competitive juvenile fillies makes for an interesting wagering race. The obvious question is, Can Triple AAA Ranch's Kingsley, who broke her maiden at first asking in the As Breeders' Futurity, duplicate her victory?
Lost in the Fog
All eyes will be on the Kevin Eikleberry-trained Yo Y Me, who's looking for his fourth consecutive victory and his third in a row stakes win. The betting public thought so highly of this juvenile in his last start, the Az Breeders' Futurity that over $144,000 was wagering to show on him.
Yo Y Me's assignment will be tougher this time as a field of 11 line up as the son of Dixie Chatter breaks from the rail.


Welcome back! Yesterday we learned about the Canadian flag, and well, despite Canadians wanting a flag with its own identity, we haven't yet let go of the Monarchy.
Canada is a member of the Commonwealth of Great Britain. This means that even though we have become independent, we wished to retain our British roots. India was the first country to become part of the Commonwealth, followed by 52 other countries.
Because of this, the Queen of England is also the Queen of Canada. And the Queen of Australia, and the Queen of New Zealand, and twelve other Commonwealth countries.
So how can one Queen (or King) perform royal duties for multiple countries? Well, first of all, in the case of many Commonwealth countries such as Canada, our own parliament makes all the decisions and the Queen allows us to do so. She plays more of a ceremonial role. That said, sometimes, if Canadian parliament cannot agree on something of significance to the nation, they can ask the Queen to intervene.
And sometimes the Queen can't be in four places as once. So these ceremonial and constitutional duties are fulfilled by the Governor General of Canada.
He (or she) is the representative of the Queen. He attends events on her behalf. He reads the Speech from the Throne to Canadians. He brings forward issues to the Queen if we want her input. He is recommended by the Prime Minister and appointed by the Queen, and traditionally, the Governor General alternates between a French-speaking Canadian and an English-speaking Canadian.
The Governor General also acts as a symbol of stable government. On behalf of the Queen he is granted executive, legislative and judicial power in Canada (when required). He summons parliament and can also dissolve or prorogue parliament. He also serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces. He acts as Head of State on behalf of the Queen. If you're American, you might notice this is a bit different from having the elected leader of the country as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief.
Our current Governor General is His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston. He has led a fascinating life: lawyer, professor, University president, accomplished author (25 books!), among other many impressive feats as a citizen's citizen. Last year, the Governor General granted the Prime Minister's request to stay on for an additional two years over the five year term – extending his tenure until 2017.
Keep educating the masses. Thanks so much.


Proposed W3C "Print & Page Layout Community Group"
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Creating our award-winning technology took more than a decade of R&D, multiple patented processes, and over a dozen unique algorithms. We cracked the code on correcting every pixel independently. The proof is in your pictures.


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