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Art Talkers Talk by LeeAnne Bray
Exhibition at Museum Ludwig "Alibis Sigmar Polke" on May 7th, 2015
As a neophyte of contemporary art, I'm glad to have AIWCC's in-house art expert, Karla Schlaepfer, as our guide through this unique exhibit of one of Germany's most reclusive and rebellious artists of the past few decades. Intrigued by remarks in AIWCCs Bulletin and by the billboard posters around town of Polke's polk-a-dot art, I knew we would delve into more than what the eye sees.
The extensive works of Sigmar Polke was a walk through the bizarre, the mundane, the science experiments of a man who some would say had escaped from rehab. Others might call him a creative genius to use meteorite dust and Native Indian arrowheads in his large-scale paintings.
Karla showed us a man who had a lot of curiosity, creativity and much to say about his generation. He had an insatiable talent for working outside the box.
As we wandered the museum and through Polke's LSD mind trips, Karla peeled back the layers of paint and toxic chemicals that Polke concocted and used with numerous types of media; film, photo copier, textiles. Amazing to view was his living art! The three dark purple large scale paintings with flecks of gold swirling in, out and around the canvas seemed to breathe. The garden house sized metal framed structure decorated with real potatoes from Münster gave us all a good laugh. Needing to be replaced regularly as they decayed; this was possibly Polke's biggest and best immortal joke.
All in all we were thankful for insights into Sigmar Polke's background and why his political views were often satirical and influenced his subjects. Polke was commenting on Germany's economic miracle in his paintings like in the "The Sausage Eater" or in his version of German Pop Art. He had an interesting way of combining materials. For example he used fabrics that could have been childrens pyjamas or curtains with his ironical opinions of social issues. In the end this provokes our own questions of what is art?
Sigmar Polke was a complex man who lived over 30 years in Cologne but shunned the public and never wanted his works to be displayed here. Even though his heirs donated a large number of the 250 works to this exhibition, it was said that he'd probably be turning in his grave to know how he is now regarded as museum-worthy.
LeeAnne Bray
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UAE to London return for Dh600? Is this for real?
Shuchita Kapur
Published Sunday, February 03, 2013
Flying to London for the weekend has never been so attractive and light on the pocket, or so it would seem according to adverts placed by Royal Brunei in local dailies.
But if it sounds too good to be true, it perhaps is.
In its latest promotion, Royal Brunei is offering return tickets from the UAE to London for just Dh600 in its economy class.
The adverts say the sale period is between now until February 7, and valid for travel between January 15 and March 31, 2013.
However, what the adverts mention in fine-print, and what Emirates 24|7 discovered while researching the same for you, is that prices soar after adding the "excludes relevant taxes, surcharges and ticketing office fees".
The Dh600 price, obviously, excludes taxes and surcharges, and when added to the advertised price, the deal stops being as sweet as it might have looked at first glance.
The price goes up substantially when the taxes are added.
"The basic price is Dh600 but it goes up to Dh2100 after all the taxes and charges are added. (The departure date for this fare is February 20, and return on the 27th of the same month," said an executive at the airline's Al Ain office.
The website, on the other hand, shows a fare of Dh2,020 for the same dates.
Nevertheless, this still might be cheaper than other full-service airlines' ticket prices for the same sector. Etihad offers a return price of Dh3,510 on the same dates, an Emirates ticket will set you back by Dh4,050 (same sector, same dates) while the same journey by Qatar Airways will cost Dh2,580.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Arizona girl Willa Rawlings' body found 2 weeks after storm surge swept her away
The body of 6-year-old Willa Rawlings -- who, along with two other children, was swept away two weeks ago when her family allegedly drove around a barricade to cross surging creek waters -- was discovered Friday in a large lake reservoir in rural Arizona. Her body was found in the area of Indian Point on the north side of Roosevelt Lake on the Tonto Creek Arm just before 2:30 p.m., the Gila County Sheriff's Office said. Officials confirmed Friday night the child's body had been identified as that of Willa Rawlings and her family had been notified, FOX 10 Phoenix reported. "My condolences and prayers go to the Rawlings Family, who have lost three young children and I am grateful we were able to find Willa today. As this concludes this operation this event will have a lasting effect on all of us," Sheriff of Gila County J. Adam Shepherd said in a statement. SINGLE SHOE FOUND IN SEARCH FOR MISSING 6-YEAR-OLD GIRL SWEPT AWAY IN ARIZONA CREEK The girl was one of nine family members, together for the Thanksgiving holiday, in a military-style truck that became stuck Nov. 29 while trying to cross Tonto Creek, about 20 miles north from where her body was found. Her parents, Daniel and Lacey Rawlings, and four other children were rescued by helicopter from a small island in the middle of the creek after getting caught up in a cascade of water caused by an intense runoff from a powerful storm, according to FOX 10. Three ...
More on: www.foxnews.com
The bodies of the 11 Ukrainians who died when an Iranian missile shot down a passenger plane have arrived in Ukraine for a farewell ceremony.
Influential Iranian artists, TV personalities and sports stars have publicly broken with the government after it denied for days that it had shot down a plane.
The impeachment campaign against President Trump is a battle pitting the president and his supporters against much of the news media. Forget that Republican ...
For Volodymyr Zelensky, taking on the oligarchs and organized crime is a domestic test with geopolitical consequences.
In parts of Syria, women once stepped out of their homes only rarely — at least until war came. Now some are relishing a newfound independence.
Newcastle United are giving me a feeling I'm not used to
Newcastle United beat Chelsea yesterday. Yeah, Frank Lampard's fourth placed side who are most certainly more than capable of taking three points straight ...
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New Ohio River bridge discussed by BHJ
Home News New Ohio River bridge discussed by BHJ
By BHBDC News May 17, 2018
WARREN SCOTT
wscott@heraldstaronline.com
STEUBENVILLE — It appears construction of the new Ohio River bridge between Wellsburg and Brilliant will be delayed a few months, but officials have been discussing how it will affect the Brooke County Pioneer Trail Association.
Mike Witherow, the West Virginia Department of Transportation's liaison to the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission, said it appears work on the span may not begin until later this summer while the contractor awaits approval of environmental permits and the acquisition of easements.
Dave Snelting, BHJ transportation study director, said he and Ruby Greathouse of the Brooke County Pioneer Trail Association met with West Virginia Department of Transportation officials to discuss the project's impact on the trail.
The trail passes through an area about a mile south of Wellsburg where the span will be built.
Snelting said plans call for the trail to be closed in September or October while crews work around the site and remain closed until Memorial Day 2019. Some time after that, it's set to be closed again until September 2019, he said.
Snelting said there are plans to post signs for trail users during that time.
Greathouse said benches and a historic marker in that section of the trail will be removed and stored until the project is completed.
Snelting said there had been talk of excavating the hillside near the West Virginia side of the bridge to accommodate the addition of left and right turn lanes to the span from state Route 2. He said at this time it appears the crews will instead relocate the highway and build the turn lanes closer to the river.
The trail is set to be closed while crews build a wall along the west side of the highway.
Snelting noted the bridge will include a lane for bicyclists divided from the adjacent lane for vehicles by a concrete barrier. Plans call for a paved ramp to extend from the lane to the trail below.
The $131 million project is slated for completion in 2021.
The Flatiron Corp. of Broomfield, Colo., was chosen as general contractor after submitting the lowest of three bids and a proposal that reduced the anticipated completion date by a year.
To do that, the company plans to build the span in segments elsewhere, then ship them by barge to the project's site.
The bridge will be a tied arch span, consisting of an overhead arch and deck that resembles a bow being drawn to fire an arrow. The Fort Henry Bridge in Wheeling and Pittsburgh's Fort Pitt Bridge are tied arch spans.
In other business, Follansbee City Manager John DeStefano asked about the planned replacement of a deteriorating bridge deck and box culvert beneath the intersection of state Route 2 and Allegheny Street.
City and state officials discovered the deterioration after two sinkholes occurred on each side of the intersection in 2016.
Witherow said the project, previously eyed for this summer, has been moved to November.
That section of Route 2 in the city was slated to be paved following that project. But Witherow said, following the meeting, the project's delay doesn't necessarily mean the paving will be postponed.
Many residents have complained about the road's condition.
WVDOT officials have scheduled several slip repair projects in Brooke and Hancock counties to begin after July 1.
But it could be later in the year before they are completed.
Witherow said $3 million has been allocated to the district for slip repairs, which number in the hundreds. He said the severity of the slips, traffic volumes for the roads and other conditions are being considered to prioritize each project.
In other business, Mark Henne, former Wellsburg city manager, asked about a proposal to widen the intersection of state Routes 2 and 27 in the city to increase the turning radius for large trucks.
Henne was told the project has been named a candidate for funding through the Roads to Prosperity bond issue but hasn't been funded yet.
Pat Ford, executive director of the Business Development Corp.of the Northern Panhandle, asked about the proposed relocation of Route 2 in New Cumberland to address a winding hilly section navigated by many large trucks, among others.
He was told plans call for one of several possible scenarios to be chosen, pending an environmental impact study, and a public hearing to be held some time this summer.
Tentatively slated for 2020, the project has been approved for funding through the bond issue.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)
http://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2018/05/new-ohio-river-bridge-discussed-by-bhj/


During pre-beneficiation, the RoM material is crushed, screened at various size fractions and washed. In the primary mineral processing line, the 18-110mm fraction passes through laser sorting and magnetic separation to remove the largest portion of coloured or magnetic impurities (eg. serpentine, sepiolites and other silicates), and then enters the main beneficiation stage, whereupon it either passes through camera sorting or a combination of dense media and magnetic separation stages depending on the desired chemistry of the kiln-feed magnesite.
The secondary mineral processing line is the latest development, after having spent many years in designing and testing. Its purpose is to exploit the 0-18mm RoM material fraction which, until recently, was being stockpiled for future use.
The 0-18mm fraction from the crushing and screening plant, as well as material from the old stockpiles, are passed through specially designed sieves (Grecco-Screens) to remove the currently unprocessable 0-4mm fraction and then are separated to 4-10 and 10-18mm.
The 4-10mm fraction passes through special magnets able to process fine-grained materials and a cyclone unit. The latter fraction goes through new generation optical sorters and then is sent for calcination. It is estimated that the old 0-18mm stockpiles alone contain more than 40m. tonnes RoM material, while the freshly generated 4-18mm fraction represents approximately 20% of the total mine recovery.
Overall, at Yerakini, GM has installed 15 optical sorters (11 laser and four camera sorters), two classifying units, four magnetic separation lines, a sink-float and two cyclone installations.


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Spotlight: 10 Questions for Meghan LeFevers (NC '17)
Since 2016, Bessemer City High School Assistant Principal Meghan LeFevers (NC '17) has traveled the country giving presentations with a former student who has Autism Spectrum Disorder. Meghan's using her Award money to take the student and her family to Walt Disney World: "Without her commitment to continue to improve and to share her story, I would not be where I am today." Megan received North Carolina's 2017-18 Milken Educator Award on December 18, 2017.
1. What went through your mind when you heard your name called at your surprise notification?
Meghan LeFevers: I was shocked, followed by a myriad of other emotions, including fear because of all the media present. However, once I was able to catch my breath, I was welcomed into the North Carolina Milken Educator family with open arms!
2. How did your students respond to your Milken Award? What impact has it had on them?
Meghan: My students were proud of me. They would stop in and congratulate me daily. They have been most impacted by the fact that we are able to share the awesome work that goes on in our school with a broad audience.
3. How did you end up in education?
Meghan: Even though my family has a long history in education, I fought the calling. In my plan, I was going to be a doctor. However, I quickly realized this was not my passion and my true joy came from working with children. I committed to the profession through NC Teaching Fellows and haven't looked back since.
4. Who are your role models as an educator?
Meghan: First, my mom, who taught for more than 30 years and loved every minute. She taught me how to build relationships with students and families. Second, my ninth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Peak. She was one of the first teachers who truly pushed me to excel. While I appreciate that, what I cherish most is the love and compassion she showed me when my grandfather passed away. She taught me the power of a teacher.
5. What memories stand out from your first year of teaching?
Meghan: My first year of teaching was awesome because I got to loop with the kids I had as a student teacher. I was able to hit the ground running and build even stronger relationships with my students and their families.
6. What are students most likely to remember about their time in your school?
Meghan: They will remember that I pushed them to do their best, made them think, and inspired them to give back to their community.
7. What's your biggest challenge?
Meghan: My biggest challenge is finding a balance between work and life. Because I enjoy my time with my school family, I often do not turn school mode off. Being present and doing quality work in both aspects of life is crucial.
8. How do you think you'll use your $25,000 Award?
Meghan: Since November 2016, I have traveled the state and country presenting with a former student who has Autism Spectrum Disorder and communicates with an iPad and iPhone. Without her commitment to continue to improve and to share her story, I would not be where I am today. So our families will be taking a trip together to Walt Disney World.
9. What would you say to a student who expresses interest in a career in education?
Meghan: First, it is tough. But more importantly, you have the chance to make an impact on someone's life every minute you are there. You have the chance to provide consistency during tough times, to celebrate and support students both inside and outside of the classroom, and to equip them to move toward building a productive life.
10. What's your definition of success?
Meghan: Success is directly related to where you start. For example, if a student is performing in the 20th percentile, a 40th percentile score is success, even though most would see that as failure. Success is being mindful of where you start, committing to the end goal, and making purposeful decisions on the journey.
Meghan LeFevers (NC '17)
Don't miss any new articles and updates from Milken Educator Awards: Subscribe Now
Spotlight: Steven Gamache (LA '19)
Spotlight: Dan Willever (NJ '19)
Hailey Couch (OK '18) Named NextGen Under 30
Hailey Couch (OK '18)
Michael Johnson (AK '08) Joins CCSSO Board
Dr. Michael Johnson (AK '08)
"Being an educator is one of the hardest things you will ever do, but also one of the most rewarding. There is no greater feeling than knowing you are making a difference in young lives."
— from Spotlight: 10 Questions for Melanie Alfaro (NM '17)
Melanie Alfaro (NM '17)
Math Content Specialist (K-12)
Gaylon Garner (IL '88)
Terrance Levenda (IN '93)
Connections amplifies the voices of Milken Educators by focusing attention on the work and experiences of excellent educators across the nation. Through articles written by and about the work of Milken Educators, as well as features exploring classroom technology, strategies, education news and more, Connections sparks meaningful conversations about education.


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Senate Session
2013-06-20T09:29:46-04:00https://images.c-span.org/Files/0a6/20130620093012002_hd.jpgThe Senate resumed work on S 744, the immigration bill.
The Senate resumed work on S 744, the immigration bill.
Transcript type Closed Captioning Record Congressional Record People Graphical Timeline
Filter by Speaker All Speakers Kelly A. Ayotte Max Baucus Michael Bennet Tom Coburn M.D. Susan M. Collins Chris Coons Bob Corker John Cornyn Ted Cruz Deb Fischer Jeff Flake Lindsey Graham Chuck Grassley Mazie Hirono John Hoeven Angus King John S. McCain III Mitch McConnell Robert J. Portman Marco Rubio Chuck Schumer Pat Toomey Tom Udall David Vitter Roger Wicker James M. Inhofe Mary Landrieu Patrick J. Leahy Mike Lee Harry Reid Jeff Sessions
View in Congressional Chronicle
Bills in this Video
Kelly A. Ayotte U.S. Senator (Class 3) [R] New Hampshire
Max Baucus U.S. Senator [D] Montana
Michael Bennet U.S. Senator (Class 3) [D] Colorado
Tom Coburn M.D. U.S. Senator [R] Oklahoma
Susan M. Collins U.S. Senator (Class 2) [R] Maine
Chris Coons U.S. Senator (Class 2) [D] Delaware
Bob Corker U.S. Senator (Class 1) [R] Tennessee
John Cornyn U.S. Senator (Class 2) [R] Texas
Ted Cruz U.S. Senator (Class 1) [R] Texas
Deb Fischer U.S. Senator (Class 1) [R] Nebraska
Jeff Flake U.S. Senator (Class 1) [R] Arizona
Lindsey Graham U.S. Senator (Class 2) [R] South Carolina
Chuck Grassley U.S. Senator (Class 3) [R] Iowa
Mazie Hirono U.S. Senator (Class 1) [D] Hawaii
John Hoeven U.S. Senator (Class 3) [R] North Dakota
Angus King U.S. Senator (Class 1) [I] Maine
John S. McCain III U.S. Senator (Class 3) [R] Arizona
Mitch McConnell U.S. Senator (Class 2) [R] Kentucky
Robert J. Portman U.S. Senator (Class 3) [R] Ohio
Marco Rubio U.S. Senator (Class 3) [R] Florida
Chuck Schumer U.S. Senator (Class 3) [D] New York
Pat Toomey U.S. Senator (Class 3) [R] Pennsylvania
Tom Udall U.S. Senator (Class 2) [D] New Mexico
David Vitter U.S. Senator (Class 3) [R] Louisiana
Roger Wicker U.S. Senator (Class 1) [R] Mississippi
James M. Inhofe U.S. Senator (Class 2) [R] Oklahoma
Mary Landrieu U.S. Senator [D] Louisiana
Patrick J. Leahy U.S. Senator (Class 3) [D] Vermont
Mike Lee U.S. Senator (Class 3) [R] Utah
Harry Reid U.S. Senator (Class 3) [D] Nevada
Jeff Sessions U.S. Senator (Class 2) [R] Alabama
U.S. SenateU.S. Senate
More Videos From This Event
Border Surge Amendment to Immigration Bill Announcement
Senate Proceeding
Jun 20, 2013 | 9:29am EDT | C-SPAN 2
See all on Senate Proceeding
The Senate resumed consideration of S 744, the immigration bill. *At 5:30pm, the Senate will take a cloture vote on the…
The Senate resumed consideration of S. 744, the immigration bill.
The Senate passed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, S. 744, on a vote of 68 to 32.
The Senate convened for a period of morning business and thereafter resumed consideration of S.744, the Comprehensive…
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Senate Chaplain Barry Black Prays before immigration debate


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Giants to get first look at Carson Wentz this Sunday
Nov 3, 2016 | 12:45PM
By John Fennelly | Nov 3, 2016 | 12:45PM
The NFC East is going through a metamorphosis this season, or is it a renaissance? Either way, there are new faces abound in the division.
The Giants have a new head coach in Ben McAdoo and a retooled defense. The first place Cowboys have been driven by two rookies: QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekiel Elliott. Washington added controversial CB Josh Norman and the Eagles are in full post-Chip Kelly mode.
Philadelphia made a bold pre-draft trade with Cleveland to get to the No. 2 spot this past spring for the right to select one of the two franchise QBs in the draft. The Rams selected Cal's Jared Goff first overall pick, leaving North Dakota State's Carson Wentz for the Eagles. Thus far, Goff has not taken a snap in a pro game while Wentz is flourishing under new Eagles head coach Doug Pederson.
Unlike the Rams with Goff, the Eagles and Pederson decided the Eagles needed to get Wentz going right away. After trading Sam Bradford to Minnesota at the beginning of the season, Wentz has started all seven games, throwing nine touchdown passes and three interceptions for a 92.5 passer rating.
Wentz has looked like a seasoned pro and suddenly, the Eagles are back in business. Pederson is being cautious with his prized rookie but knows he could be sitting on one of the league's future superstars.
"He can handle everything that we put in each week," Pederson on Wednesday. "I haven't held back anything. One thing I have to be careful of is really giving him too much."
The Giants will be getting their first gander at Wentz, a six-foot-five, 237-pounder who runs a 4.77 40 and can make all the throws. The Giants' pass rush has been struggling and the Eagles have been protecting Wentz fairly well. So far, he's been sacked 15 times and hit 35, which are below the league average.
McAdoo, who has worked with some of the best QBs in the league, is impressed with what he has seen thus far from Wentz.
"Wentz is a big, strong, athletic quarterback who has acclimated well to the pro game," McAdoo said. "You look at him and he has prototypical size. He moves well in the pocket already for a young quarterback. He keeps two hands on the ball which helps. He can slide, he can move, and he can come on out both ways, left and right, and makes throws both left and right. Plays with his eyes down the field even when the pocket's dirty."
Wentz said Wednesday that he felt no additional pressure facing the hated Giants and that his experience so far in the NFL has been mostly positive.
"It's felt pretty smooth for me," Wentz said. "Coming from North Dakota State, we did a lot of pro-style schemes and I did a lot of things that translated to the game in the NFL. So, for me, it was a pretty smooth transition."
The Giants intend to disrupt that this Sunday with a secondary that made the plays despite experiencing a rash of injuries. Wentz is new to the rivalry but knows the Giants' defense will pose many challenges this week.
"They're pretty impressive," he said. "They like to mix it up, they like to do a little bit of everything and it's one of those things, they don't really have a big tendency. They have tendencies within games so we'll have to go out and see what they want to do to us early and get a feel for it."
The first of what will likely be many classic showdowns between Wentz and Eli Manning, the Giants' future Hall of Fame QB, begins this Sunday. It promises to be a wild run.
"It'll definitively be exciting," said Wentz. "Obviously, to go up against a guy like that who's won a couple of Super Bowls and been around a long time. I got a lot of respect for him and his game. It'll be a fun one. But, I'm really focused on the Giants defense, that's for sure."


Early next morning after playing with Edward, the bat I have the kampung style breakfast which taste simple and nice =) Thanks to my foster parent for feeding us!
Me, James and David walk at the roadside to the paddy field for our next explore spot.
It feel so nice to get sunshine in the morning. But it doesn't feel very nice soon because it was going to be noon.
And we are learning how people in village/kampung processed them into rice. This is how we do it, we just smashing at the rice using a wood stick so that the brown color paddy husk will peel off.
Ops sorry camwhoring with the morning sun and kampung scenery. The "room" behind is actually a toilet.
After smashing the rice for a period of time, we need to filter it by disposing the brown rice husk. Because the paddy husk is lighter this method can actually keep all the rice and remove the paddy husk.
Beside that place have a big pond full of lotus. I was playing water splash and try to capture the moment.
The long time no see flower from a tree that I was very familiar with.
Last but not least, thanks Kakak for telling us how to process the rice, filter it and tell jokes for us. I've recorded a video and will try to upload it now. Hope you enjoy my travel post~!
Between, I feel lucky cause able to witness a goat born in front of me =D Stay tune on next blog post for Kem Modal Insan Agro-Tourism Homestay by subscribe to TianChad @ 永遇乐 or follow @TianChad on Twitter.


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Local teens laugh as they learn the dangers of drunk/distracted driving
News News | May 16, 2015
Local high school students strapped on vision-impairing beer goggles to get a clear look at what drunk driving can look like. It was part of this year's Driver Safety Day.
Special to the Daily |
What's Distracted Driving?
Distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety. These types of distractions include:
Using a cell phone or smartphone
Talking to passengers
Reading, including maps
Using a navigation system
Watching a video
Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player
But, because text messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, it is by far the most alarming distraction.
More than you think
At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010. (NOPUS)
Source: National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
Triple your trouble
Engaging in visual-manual subtasks (such as reaching for a phone, dialing and texting) associated with the use of hand-held phones and other portable devices increased the risk of getting into a crash by three times. (VTTI)
Source: Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
Five seconds to live
Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph, that's enough time to cover the length of a football field blindfolded. (2009, VTTI)
Headsets aren't safe either
Headset cell phone use is not substantially safer than hand-held use. (VTTI)
Texting teens
A quarter of teens respond to a text message once or more every time they drive. 20 percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit that they have extended, multi-message text conversations while driving. (UMTRI)
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
Three main types of driving distractions
Manual: Taking your hands off the wheel
Visual: Taking your eyes off the road
Cognitive: Taking your mind off driving
How unsafe are they?
Cell phone use was reported in 18 percent of distracted-related fatalities in America
Texting takes your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds
The number of people killed in distraction-affected crashes decreased slightly from 3,360 in 2011 to 3,328 in 2012.
An estimated 421,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver, this was a nine percent increase from the estimated 387,000 people injured in 2011.
10% of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted.
EDWARDS — You can't see the world clearly through beer goggles, and if you're texting and driving, then you can't see the world at all.
But c'mon, how often does someone encourage you to strap on a pair of actual beer goggles and saddle up behind a set of handlebars?
If you were at the second Drivers Safety Awareness Day, then you got to do just that.
OK, they were tricycle handlebars, but the principle is the same.
More than 650 local high school students crashed tricycles and ran down pylons while looking through beer goggles, and got a safe and sobering look at the consequences of distracted and drunk driving.
"We do it around the prom and end of school year season. That's the time when youth are more likely to engage in impaired and distracted driving," said Mikayla Curtis with the Eagle River Youth Coalition.
Traffic crashes kill the most
Traffic crashes are the No. 1 cause of death for people age 13-18. While there was lots of giggling and laughing, the message was serious — to drive home the angers of distracted driving, among other things.
Yes, they learned about distracted and drunk driving, but they also learned some life lessons.
And they had fun, because no one has ever paid much attention to nagging finger-waggers.
So kids went from one fun station to another, and were entered in a raffle for everything they did.
If you're Kim Greene with the Eagle County Safety Coalition and the Vail Valley Medical Center, then that's thousands of lessons learned.
"It's about safety and prevention and bringing some safety education that will help them make safe choices," Greene said.
Masters of distraction
In the driving simulator, most kids got a few blocks up the street before they ran over or hit something or someone.
When they crashed, they were done. When a cop pulled them over, they were done. The best, though, was when the simulator grew exasperated and kicked them out of the program.
To be fair, the deck was stacked against the kids. The simulator was singing something of a siren's song, encouraging them to make phone calls and answer texts, and one quick peek at the phone couldn't hurt, could it?
Bad idea.
If you did, you're gonna crash. If you don't you might crash anyway.
"No one got through it without crashing. Either that or the simulator kicked them out because they were driving so badly," said Tara van Dernoot, one of the event coordinators. "I was shocked at how many kids reached for their phones."
A good idea is painting their thumbnails red to remind them not to be a distracted driver.
That brings us back to beer goggles, which were nothing like the country song. Kids strapped on safety goggles that fogged their vision, not unlike being unable to focus when you have a snoot full.
Dep. Megan Heil is Battle Mountain's school resource officer from the Eagle County Sheriff's Office. She sees these kids all the time, and they're much more interesting when they're alive, thank you very much.
Toward that end, she put together an obstacle course in the parking lot, and kids drove tiny cars around while dealing with all kinds of obstacles and distractions.
The results were, well … sobering.
Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 or rwyrick@vaildaily.com.


We present a mobile visual clothing search system whereby a smart phone user can either choose a social networking photo or take a new photo of a person wearing clothing of interest and search for similar clothing in a retail database. From the query image, the person is detected, clothing is segmented, and clothing features are extracted and quantized. The information is sent from the phone client to a server, where the feature vector of the query image is used to retrieve similar clothing products from online databases. The phone's GPS location is used to re-rank results by retail store location. State of the art work focuses primarily on the recognition of a diverse range of clothing offline and pays little attention to practical applications. Evaluated on a challenging dataset, the system is relatively fast and achieves promising results.
© 2017-2019 Jonathan Passerat-Palmbach · Powered by the Academic theme for Hugo.


>This last week I went to the funeral of a 19 year old. It was a tragic end to an incredibly short life. While his death was unexpected the grief at his funeral was not. The emotion in the room was palpable. As his father and brothers got up one by one to share things about him they loved. Thoughts they had never shared with him what they appreciated about him, memories that brought them laughter and joy. The undescribable pain they spoke out of was from not just his death but the fact they had never spoken the words to him while he was alive. It was another reminder that we are all mortal and not permanent on this earth. Here's my thought: Why not share those things with those that we care about now? Why wait? Don't let their death be the catalyst for expression. Go in the next room, pick up the phone, write a note……….say it.
>Need to Love them Too….


1. January-May: preparing to start homeschooling in the fall, I spent my time reading and gathering curriculum. I taught the children in a gentle and relaxed way, with short lessons. We read a lot and worked our way through "Before Five in a Row." They were both preschoolers.
My daughter gave herself a radical haircut in February and the incident haunted me for months. It still does, as her hair is still growing into what it used to be. I was running errands in town and my mom was watching my children. My mom forgot to put the scissors up. One can put the scissors up 99 times. It's the 100th time one doesn't, that the inevitable happens.
My children at Camp Wesley Woods in Townsend, a few days after she cut her hair. This cat looks just like ours. They could not believe their eyes.
2. June-August: my sister, her husband, and their 14-year-old son spent the summer with us. She is a successful blogger in Romania and provided the much-needed inspiration and push for me to start blogging. Yay for older sisters who help younger sisters take new paths!
From the left: the four of us, my sister, mom, nephew and brother-in-law. We enjoyed their company for almost three months – Europeans get amazingly long vacations, don't they?
3. September-December: I started homeschooling my son officially, as he began kindergarten. My daughter is in preschool and I work with her too, according to her desire. She asks to do math every day.
My children working on their books in the beginning of the school year.
Homeschooling and blogging about it sure keep me busy. I enjoy it. I keep telling myself my children will grow up in a flash. Then, I will have all the time in the world to do whatever I might feel that I don't have time for right now.


LightStay is our internal measurement system to collect, analyze, and track environmental performance at our properties and brands globally.
By filling in the details about your event, the calculator can be used to create a report that shows your estimated sustainability impact. The calculator can report out on a meetings impact inclusive of travel and hotel stay. With the input of a few simple metrics, we can produce a report that will estimate energy, water, CO2 and waste impacts from any event.


"With classic silhouette and elegant design, this tea jar makes a great accent piece for any contemporary setting. Hand-crafted of porcelain with delicately applied classic nature-inspired blue and white design. Display it on a side table or as a centerpiece where it is sure to be admired for its beauty. Imported.


Note about selections: There are three choices for each selection. The best choice will give you 2 points while the other two will give you either 1 point or 0 points. The answers below should give you 2 points each. (Thanks to Esther Ciing for letting me know that it's 2 points and 1 point instead of 200 points and 100 points).
C: Try to keep cool.
C: Search for Mirai Kageyama.
C: Check my cell phone.
A: Push his hand off.
A:Push through to the front.
C: Stare right at him.
A: I just laugh it off.
A: Give him a cough drop.
A: Slap his hand off.
A: A high class hotel.
A: Give it to Noel.
A: I read the instruction manual.
A: Stick up for Mr. Harrison.
C: Go to the casino.
A: Choose the foie gras steak.
B:Tell him he's right, looking very serious.
C: Pretend not to have seen anything.


Winter is closing in on the Northern hemisphere and it's fast becoming time to pack up the summer stuff and dig out your winter wardrobe. For men wanting to update their look this season, it couldn't be simpler. Sweaters are stylish, comfortable and warm, can be worn with any combination of clothes and are a great, quick way to inject new life into your wardrobe. Try dark-colored turtlenecks for a smart look and crewnecks or V-necks for laid back, casual, ever-stylish winter warmth.
Sweaters are great for keeping warm indoors, but for those Arctic expeditions out into the cold, you need extra protection, which is why a stylish jacket will work wonders for both your wardrobe and your body temperature. Go for casual denim worn over layers for an easy, trendy look that's great with chinos. Dark denim is particularly brilliant for winter and looks great over a crewneck. Or you could go for a warm leather jacket that goes with practically any outfit and will last you for seasons to come.
Building on your winter layers, don't forget the cherry on top – the hat. Hats are popular this season, perhaps in anticipation of a cold winter similar to last year's, and there's a range of styles for you to choose from. If you're after trendy, try the knitted beanie, which is both easy to store and inexpensive. Tweed caps are great for a smarter look as well as brilliantly durable and so a good investment. If you're after ultimate warmth, try a deerstalker to keep your ears out of the cold.
If knitted sweaters aren't your thing or you're after something a little lighter, as an alternative, you could try a warm fleece. The fleece has been through something of a reinvention of late and is now a hot ticket item. From comfy hooded tops to zip-up outdoor gear, fleeces are now streamlined and come in a variety of styles and colors to suit everyone. They're brilliant for a casual look and will definitely help keep the winter chill at bay. Try blues or grays for a smart yet casual appearance.
OK, so, you've got your winter look – your stylish staples as well as your accessories. You're almost set. One last item to consider adding to your collection is trusty thermal wear. These are not the embarrassing item they once were, but now in fact come in a range of styles suitable for everyone. Of course, thermal vests and underwear will keep you warm, but you can also get some great, stylish tops, jackets and pants that will look brilliant whether you're on the ski slopes or walking around town.


February 24, 2006 • In Afghanistan, it is taboo for women to appear on screen. Conservative government officials have called for the culture minister's resignation because of "un-Islamic" broadcasts on Afghan TV. To get around the lack of actresses, some actors adopt unorthodox solutions, such as performing in drag.
February 22, 2006 • Earl "Butch" Graves talks about his new post as the CEO of Black Enterprise Magazine, and about the ongoing success of the 35-year-old magazine.
February 19, 2006 • The public TV station in Syracuse, N.Y. -- WCNY -- is the first in the country to try to do away with the on-air pledge drive. As Matt Hackworth of member station WAER reports, the station bought a TV production business it hopes will generate enough revenue to keep it solvent.
February 16, 2006 • Salon.com publishes previously unreleased photos of abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in 2003. Separately, a U.N. report urges the United States to close its military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
February 16, 2006 • Fiery Texas Tech basketball coach Bob Knight now has his own reality show. Knight School debuts Sunday on ESPN. The show follows 16 students competing for one spot on the Tech team.
February 16, 2006 • XM Satellite Radio has posted its fourth-quarter profits and they don't look good. John Dimsdale of Marketplace talks about some of the difficulties facing the company.


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Credit: Hulu (left); Peacock (right)
Disney Streaming Update: NBCUniversal Ends Content Ties with Hulu
Starting later this year, Hulu subscribers will no longer have access to content under the NBCUniversal umbrella, and high-level shows like Saturday Night Live will fully move "in-house" to Peacock.
Credit: Hulu
While the news comes without an official statement, "multiple people familiar with the decision" have confirmed the news to Deadline, stating that the transition will take effect in September.
Deadline shared that shows like SNL and American Auto will no longer be available on Hulu the day after airing on TV. However, pre-existing rights and agreements will keep this transition complicated, with existing episodes of shows like Law & Order: SVU, This Is Us, The Mindy Project, 30 Rock, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, and Will & Grace remaining behind.
Credit: NBCUniversal
Related: A REAL Disney+ Streaming Rival is on the Move, and it's NOT Netflix
Hulu began with NBCUniversal owner Comcast as the majority shareholder. However, as The Walt Disney Company acquired the majority stake in the streaming service and Comcast launched its own streaming service in 2020, it is only a matter of time until all NBCU content is plucked from Hulu's bones like Disney's done with Netflix. But Disney and its subsidy 20th Century Studios continue to fund high-quality retrieved and original content onto Hulu like Only Murders in the Building, Dopesick, Reservation Dogs, How I Met Your Father, and feature documentary Summer of Soul at the same time.
Credit: nbcnews.com / Hulu
Related: Review: Does 'How I Met Your Father' Hold a Candle to 'How I Met Your Mother'?
"With the proliferation of streaming services entering the marketplace, we have long-anticipated changes to our third-party content offering and over the past few years have increased our investment in original content," a Hulu spokesperson told Deadline. "We continue to transform Hulu into an exclusive home for stories from across The Walt Disney Company and beyond to bring our viewers even more premium content-led by Hulu Originals and next-day television programming."
This news comes just hours after Disney announced that Disney+ would offer a less-expensive, ad-supported subscription tier later this year.
Comcast Hulu NBCUniversal Peacock 2022-03-04
Previous: What to Pack in Your Disney Park Bag
Next: In Search of More than the Disney Store: Dollar Store Disney


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French of France () is the predominant variety of the French language in France, Andorra and Monaco, in its formal and informal registers. It has, for a long time, been associated with Standard French. It is now seen as a variety of French alongside Acadian French, Belgian French, Quebec French, Swiss French, etc. In overseas France or Corsica, it is more often called Metropolitan French or Hexagonal French.

Phonology

Paris
In Paris, nasal vowels are no longer pronounced as in traditional Parisian French:  → ,  → ,  →  and  → . Many distinctions are lost:  and ,  and ,  and ,  and  and  and . Otherwise, some speakers still distinguish  and  in stressed syllables, but they pronounce the letter "â" as : pâte .

Southern provinces

In the south of France, nasal vowels have not changed and are still pronounced as in traditional Parisian French: enfant , pain , bon  and brun . Many distinctions are lost. At the end of words, most speakers still distinguish  and : both livré and livret are pronounced . In closed syllables, they no longer distinguish  and  or  and : both notre and nôtre are pronounced , and both jeune and jeûne are pronounced . The distinctions of  and  and of  and  are lost. Older speakers pronounce all es: chaque  and vêtement .

Northern provinces
In the north, both  and  are pronounced as  at the end, with là is pronounced  and mât .

Lorraine
Phonemic long vowels are still maintained: pâte  and fête . Before ,  changes to : guitare is pronounced  and voir .

See also
 Languages of France

References

French language
Languages of France

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Masquerade - Who Are You Showing Up As?
Halloween is a time when people can pretend to be someone else, something else, and perhaps even live out a fantasy for a day…. and it's got me thinking… what masks do we commonly wear?
While it's fun wearing a mask on Halloween, to play a different character for a while, to live out a little fantasy, to create a little mystery. It's not as much fun to mask our true authentic selves on a daily basis — It's exhausting really.
When we are not 100% truthful with others, when we try to hide our feelings, when we suppress our thoughts, we put on a mask. After a while, the mask becomes smothering, difficult to breath in, and causes deep resentment and bitterness. The further away we travel from our Source , our true selves, the more anxiety and discontentment we experience.
So what masks do we wear? Well, like all masks, they come in different shapes, sizes, colors… but they all serve the same purpose – to create an illusion.
The "It's O K" mask…. This is probably the most used, most versatile mask. I believe I have had this mask the longest. This mask is the one I put on to create the illusion that my feelings are not hurt. I often put this one on to suppress my feelings, or to put someone elses feelings above my own. It was created as protection, as a shield – forged so strong it's bullet-proof. This one may be used in times of someone forgetting a special occasion, or being two hours late for a date, or breaking a commitment. It's also used when someone lies to me, hurts me, or puts me down. Sometimes I wear it all by myself when no one can even see it, because it's comforting to wear it – like a cloak.
The "I can do it all" mask… This is the mask that is the most dangerous. This mask is donned when I am being asked to help someone, when I don't really have the time or resources to give. This mask creates the illusion that I am helpful and not letting people down. It is so convincing, that I even believe it. This mask leaves me feeling stressed out, burned out, and in the long run, people see straight through the facade. Come to find out, there are many holes in this mask.
When I first started using these masks, I thought they were beautiful and ornamental, clever really. But the more I used the masks, and felt the ill effects from wearing them, I saw them for what they really were – ugly, hideous and menacing.
And the purpose I thought they served, the illusion of something more beautiful, more honorable, more desirable than my own truth… was a mirage. The true beauty lies within. "To thine own self be true!" was my humble statement as I took off the mask.
So Wild Ones …. which masks are you wearing – and which will be coming off today?


Egan, Pierce (1772-1849) Life in London.
Egan, Pierce (1772-1849) Life in London. London: for Sherwood, Jones, & Co., 1823. Octavo, illustrated with hand-colored etchings by the Cruikshanks and some folding music, bound in later full calf, 9 1/4 x 5 3/4 in.


This book is truly beautiful. Not only does the food look "devine" but detailed information with every recipe will enable you to mix your meals for optimum nutrition. The great variety of dishes, more than 60 of them, even include a braai section. Many users claim it as the best one in the series. Satisfaction guaranteed!


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Q: Optimal method for tensor assignment on a "sparse" tensor for Keras I'm trying to create a multi-dimensional array of size n (where n is a part of symbolic shape tensor). This array shall have 0 in every region but few where it will be a variable b_class.
Here's a simple Numpy implementation of this, but in this case our array will have a fixed size 100 instead of tensor:
import numpy as np

index_array = [10, 99, 50, 70]
n = 100
zero_array = np.zeros(100)

for b_class in range(0, 4):
    zero_array[index_array[b_class]] = b_class  # every class position is defined by index_array

print(zero_array)

This works perfectly for defined constants, but in our case n is a tensor, so is index_array, therefore zero_array = K.zeros((n)) where K is Keras.backend and hence assignment of values in "Pythonic" manner will yield an error:

TypeError: 'Tensor' object does not support item assignment in
  TensorFlow

Question
I want to find a way to replicate a code in Keras-based backend alone without the use of tf.Variable and tf.SparseTensor so that it can be fully compatible with Keras.
Is there any way to perform the simple task of assigning values to a sparse tensor at specific indexes with just vectorized operations?
Thank you!

A: Yes, there is. You could use tf.scatter_nd to apply the sparse updates. Here's an example:
import tensorflow as tf

n = tf.constant([100])
index_tensor = tf.constant([[10], [99], [50], [70]])
updates = tf.range(4, dtype=tf.float32)

out = tf.scatter_nd(indices=index_tensor,
                    updates=updates,
                    shape=n)

with tf.Session() as sess:
    print(sess.run(out))

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Secondary Highway 537, commonly referred to as Highway537, is a provincially maintained secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway is  in length, connecting Highway 69 near Wanup with Finni Road. It once continued  further to intersect Highway 17 in Wahnapitae, but was truncated in 1998; this portion of the route is now designated as Greater Sudbury Municipal Road 537. Highway537 remains the only secondary highway in the province within a jurisdiction that also maintains a county/regional road network.

Route description
Highwa537 is a  cut-off route between Highway69 and Highway17 southeast of Sudbury.
It is also the main access road to the communities of Wanup and St. Cloud. The two-laned highway is paved for its entire length, as well as for the  that continues as Municipal Road537.

The route begins at Estaire Road (unsigned Highway 7279) within Greater Sudbury near an interchange with Highway69 (slated to become a northerly extension of Highway 400) and travels  east, past the interchange and through forest, to the community of Wanup, where it intersects the Old Wanup Road. Prior to 2009, the highway began at Highway69, which at that time followed Estaire Road, immediately north of the Wanapitei River. It then proceeded north for  alongside the river to the intersection with the current route in Wanup.

From Wanup, the highway travels eastward and northward towards Highway17, travelling through sparsely populated forest along the way. It crosses the Wanapitei River at the community of St. Cloud. Provincial maintenance of the route ends just north of a small development at Finni Road, where the road continues as Sudbury Municipal Road537 north into Wahnapitae, ending at Highway17 within the community.

According to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), on an average day, approximately 3,150vehicles travel Highway537 between the Wanapitei River and Finni Road, while approximately 570vehicles travel the highway between Estaire Road and the Wanapitei River. These represent the heaviest and least travelled sections of the route.

History
Highway537 was first assumed by the Department of Highways (DHO), predecessor to the modern MTO, in 1956, along with several dozen other secondary highways. It may have been provincially maintained as a development road prior to that.
The Wanup–Wanapitei Road was assumed by the DHO on May9, 1956, connecting Highway69 with Highway17.
It was an unpaved gravel road at the time,
and remained as such until the mid-1980s; it was paved in 1984 or 1985.

As part of a series of budget cuts initiated by premier Mike Harris under his Common Sense Revolution platform in 1995, numerous highways deemed to no longer be of significance to the provincial network were decommissioned and responsibility for the routes transferred to a lower level of government, a process referred to as downloading. The  section of Highway537 within Nickel Centre was transferred to the Regional Municipality of Sudbury on January1, 1998.
The remainder of the highway was in the unincorporated townships of Dill, Cleland, and Dryden, and had no lower government to take over maintenance of the Highway 537 route until the area was amalgamated with the region to form Greater Sudbury on January1, 2001.
Following the amalgamation a further  of the route, between the former Cleland–Dryden Township boundary and the former Dryden–Nickel Centre boundary, was transferred to Greater Sudbury, but the remainder of the route still retains its provincial highway designation.

As part of the plan to extend Highway 400 north to Sudbury along the Highway69 corridor, a new four lane freeway was constructed between Estaire and south of Sudbury. Work began in 2005, and resulted in the construction of a new alignment of Highway537 west from Wanup to what was then Highway69 (Estaire Road), with an interchange at the new freeway. Both were completed and opened to traffic on November12, 2009.
Highway 537 was rerouted along the new alignment, while the former routing south from Wanup was renamed Old Wanup Road. It remains part of the provincial highway system under the unsigned 7000-series designation of Highway7042. This increased the length of Highway537 by .

The Jumbo Creek crossing along Highway 537 experienced annual flooding that resulted in closure of the road and lengthy detours. At the behest of Sudbury councillor Deb McIntosh, Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca committed to the rehabilitation project on June 15, 2015. The project to raise the roadway through the creek floodplain was tendered in 2018, and proceeded over the course of the summer of 2019 and 2020.
It was completed on October 5, 2020.

Major intersections

References

External links
 Highway 537 - Length and Route
 Highway 537 at OntHighways.com

537
Roads in Greater Sudbury


The Maryland Conservatory of Music was founded in 2002 and is a non-profit organization that provides quality, accessible music training and experiences that develop creativity, self-confidence and achievement. MCM serves students age one to eighteen and adults. The Conservatory's goals are to nurture students' artistic expression as an extension of themselves, to foster positive character traits and life skills, and to establish community outreach programs throughout the state of Maryland. MCM's Student Center for Life Enrichment (SCALE) focuses primarily on helping underprivileged children, at risk youth and children with developmental challenges such as autism, Attention Deficit Disorder and other learning challenges through music. The Conservatory has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships to ensure that every child has the opportunity to benefit from music regardless of financial means.
THE CHILDREN'S PLAYHOUSE OF MARYLAND, INC.
The Children's Playhouse of Maryland is a nonprofit community theatre organization dedicated to youth performers ages 18 and under. The mission of the Children's Playhouse of Maryland is to provide theatrical experiences for young people in Baltimore's diverse metropolitan area. The goals of CPM are to make live theatre accessible to all children, to enable young people to gain an appreciation for the arts as well as confidence and a sense of responsibility, and to provide training and practice in acting and theatre production for youth. Every six months CPM offers ten-week sessions in Theatre Performance Studios for children ages 4 to 15 that are specifically designed for the age of the students and to promote self-confidence, self-esteem, discipline and cultivate skills. CPM resides and performs at CCBC Essex.


The team paraded the LV= County Championship trophy in front of the fans and the Australian cricket team who were also attending the game during half time with Stephen Harmison interviewed while out in the middle.
This was the team's first outing with the trophy since they regained the title. Graham Onions rushed back from England commitments to join the lads, including MIchael Di Venuto, Mitchell Claydon and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.


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US art dealer agrees to pay $3 million and hand over stolen Iraqi artefacts
364 Views |
South Korea's new administration seeks dialogue and reconciliation with the North
The US arts and crafts dealer Hobby Lobby was sued by the US government over the smuggling of looted Iraqi artefacts into the United States.
In the matter of The United States of America v. Approximately Four Hundred Fifty (450) Ancient Cuneiform Tablets; and Approximately Three Thousand (3,000) Ancient-Clay Bullae, the Oklohoma based art dealers whose owners are named as the Green family, were forced to hand back 5,000 original Iraqi artefacts some of them which date back to ancient Babylonia.
Hobby Lobby paid $1.6 million to attain the loot in 2010. The artefacts were smuggled into the US via companies in the United Arab Emirates and Israel. However, US officials raised red flags when on the customs paperwork, the ancient treasures were listed as mere "ceramic tiles".
This triggered an investigation which ultimately led to the lawsuit.
The owners of Hobby Lobby claimed that they planed not to sell the loot but instead to display it in their "Museum of The Bible". This was taken into consideration by the court, thoguh the importation of the stolen goods was still considered to be unlawful.
As part of the settlement reached between Hobby Lobby's owners and the US government, a fine of $3 million must be paid and all of the goods must be returned to Iraq.
This case sheds light on the hidden side of the war and chaos which has been wrought upon Iraq ever since 2003. Where under Ba'athist rule, Iraq's museums drew international visitors to view ancient art and artefacts in a safe setting, today many of these treasures have either been looted or destroyed.
Indeed, entire architectural wonders of the ancient world have been destroyed in Iraq. The ancient Assyrian cities of Nimrud and Nineveh near Mosul in northern Iraq were entirely destroyed by ISIS.
In the last weeks, the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul has also been destroyed by retreating ISIS terrorists.
Of course, the monuments of human dignity are the first and last victims of wars like those which have befallen Iraq ever since the illegal US-UK invasion in 2003, but the sad fact of any unnecessary war is that ancient wonders get looted, pillaged and destroyed. The theft of cultural heritage is in many ways far more tragic than the theft of utilitarian resources like oil.
Iraq's integrity as a state remains deeply threatened by the ongoing series of conflicts that have gripped the once united nation ever since 2003. Although Mosul is now largely free of ISIS occupation, the killing and torture of civilians by Iraqi forces as well as the total destruction of the city's civilian population centres and infrastructure by the US Airforce may mean that Mosul like Iraq might never recover.
As I previously wrote in The Duran,
"While it is obvious that Iraqis should want to celebrate the symbolic victory, ISIS is far from defeated in Iraq. What's more is that Iraq was the tumultuous cradle of ISIS and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
In this sense, Syria can actually defeat ISIS whose ideology is completely foreign to the modern Syrian experience. Iraq by contrast will have a much more difficult time.
America and Britain's illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 was a disaster from which Iraq has not recovered. After the imperialist invaders illegally deposed the legitimate government of Iraq, the occupiers then conspired to totally disenfranchise anyone seen as tied to the government, even when in actual fact such people were often not connected to the government.
Russia, US, Israel meeting aims to break deadlock in Syria and Iran ahead of G20 (Video)
This quickly spilled into a divide and conquer technique wherein the imperialists sought to turn Shi'a against Sunni in a country that had always had some lingering tensions, although the Ba'ath Party did wonders in minimising these tensions, as Ba'athism is an explicitly anti-sectarian ideology both in theory and practice.
The inane so-called 'de-Ba'athification' process that the occupiers executed was little more than a social genocide of Iraqi Sunnis. At the same time, Shi'a Iraqis were equally enraged at the illegal conquering of their nation, although for different reasons. At the same time, Christian Iraqis were subject to a total genocide. Those who survived fled, often to Ba'athist Syria where they were welcomed without hesitation by the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Even in the years of Saddam Hussein's often fraught Presidency, the government and civil service of Iraq saw Sunnis, Shia's and Christians of all major denominations in positions of distinction and importance.
Sunni Iraqis were consequently driven to any ideology, any movement and ultimately any group that could give them some sort of agency in the new post-Sunni Iraq. Many such people were for the first time in their previously secular existence, driven to the ideology of al-Qaeda. As foreign al-Qaeda fighters flooded into a country that had under the Ba'ath party been among the most anti-al-Qaeda places on earth, many local Sunnis joined their ranks for the sad reason that their ranks were among the only that would have them.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq was born. Eventually al-Qaeda in Iraq would become the Islamic State of Iraq. Shortly thereafter they broadened their horizons and sought to expand becoming the Islamic State of Iraq and The Levant. This in turn formally became the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and finally today it calls itself The Islamic State, though it is sill generally known in English speaking countries by the acronym ISIS.
The fact that Sunni Iraqis are still being tortured, still being associated with terrorists even when they are not associated with terrorism, still being treated with suspicion, means that the divide and conquer attitude which the imperialist powers instilled on a once united Iraqi nation, are still omnipresent in today's Iraq.
So long as the conditions which allowed ISIS to foment are present in Iraq, so long will the threat of ISIS, irrespective of what it might call itself in the future, continue to haunt Iraq".
While Iraq's future remains uncertain and its immediate tasks of rebuilding and reconciliation remain fraught with peril, there is still no justification for looting what treasures remain in an ancient land whose soil has frequently been awash with the blood of the innocent.
The Hobby Lobby case sets an important precedent for preserving the cultural integrity of nations even as they are rife with war and sorrows.
Iraq United States Israel UAE Hobby Lobby
EU continues to support Al Qaeda and ISIS. Places sanctions on 16 Syrian scientists
The Only Strategic Rationale for America's Involvement in Syria Finally Revealed
Israel Expands Strikes in Syria after Deal with Russia on Iran?
Trump warns Iran of "obliteration" should "any attack on anything American" occur (Video)


The two "strangers" were Janssonist apostles Anders Blomberg, who later became a Shaker elder, and Olof Stoneberg. Blomberg played a major role in relations between Pleasant Hill and Swedes on both sides of the Atlantic, while Stoneberg became a Bishop Hill colony leader. Their 1848 visit marked the beginning of a unique and sometimes troubled relationship between the Swedish Janssonist perfectionists of Bishop Hill, Illinois, the Shakers of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, and later groups of Swedish Shakers who emigrated from the Dalarna region of north central Sweden. This paper will explore how this relationship developed over time, and its impact on the Bishop Hill perfectionists.


text:
Are we prepared for a world where people print guns?
Molly Wood Sep 4, 2012
There's always something new and weird to report about the emerging technology of 3D printing.
The latest: someone on a gun enthusiast web site claims to have printed a gun. Which makes for a complicated future for society.
Jonathan Zittrain is a law and computer science professor at Harvard, co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society there.
Jonathan Zittrain: The thing he was able to 3D print was what's called the lower receiver, and that's the part of the gun that makes a gun a gun, that's the thing that has the bullet fly, and that's the thing typically controlled under law, so you could end up with kind of obtaining the regular parts trivially that don't need to be plastic, and then print out the piece de resistance, which is the thing that otherwise the government would want to control
Moe: What did he make it out of?
Zittrain: Resin. Resin is the toner of the modern 3D printer. No doubt 3D printers will come to be able to commonly use other raw ingredients. There's no reason they couldn't be someday in the mainstream metals and all sorts of forms of porcelain, but in this case we're talking plastic.
Plastic parts, working gun. No serial number, no registration, no waiting period. So how does the law deal with something like that? Zittrain says, "It's the kind of thing that might just be alright, we missed a spot. You could see legislators going back in and so long as it could withstand the constitutional challenge under the Second Amendment, decide to tighten up the law a little bit to say whatever you're not allowed to acquire at a store, suppose you're a convicted felon for a violent crime, and under the law you're not allowed to go into the store and buy a gun, whatever you can't do in the store, you're not allowed to do at home. The problem is how do you enforce that kind of thing."
3D printers aren't going away and eventually they won't be a novelty. As a society, we're going to have to deal with that.
Zittrain: And you could even see some requirement, I'm just hypothesizing here, and I'm not saying it's a good idea, but you could see some requirement that 3D printers phone home for a list of definitions files of bad things that you can't print
Moe: Shapes that are forbidden.
Zittrain: Exactly. Forbidden shapes. and if you unplug your printer, it says Sorry, I can't work until I get an Internet connection, I have to update my forbidden shapes, and then once it updates it it will say I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't print that.
Zittrain tells us one of Facebook's early investors has invested in a technology to print meat.
Listen to this. The Curiosity rover landing on Mars a few weeks ago. Curiosity was then able to zap a rock with a laser with so much power as to peer inside the rock's chemical structure.
Why am I telling you this? To preface the other story I need to tell you.
The TSA, Transportation Security Administration, airport security, now says that it has still not found an effective way of making it unnecessary to remove your shoes when you go through the gates.
The TSA spent millions of dollars testing four devices but says all four failed to adequately detect explosives.
I'm not saying that isn't a hard task. I'm sure it is. I'm just saying we're all smelling each other's feet at the airport while a robot is zapping rocks with lasers on Mars.


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The glamorous backdrop to the Oscar-winning "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and Spain's most cosmopolitan city is paradise for anyone who loves culture, architecture and design. Barcelona is home to one of the most important Mediterranean…
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The Barcelona-El Prat airport in Barcelona (BCN), Spain is located in El Prat de Llobregat
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The glamorous backdrop to the Oscar-winning "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and Spain's most cosmopolitan city is paradise for anyone who loves culture, architecture and design. Barcelona is home to one of the most important Mediterranean ports and is also a large communications hub between Spain and France, which gives it a distinctly European feel.
The Ramblas Promenade in the centre is brimming with street artists, news and flower stands, pet vendors, cafes and restaurants, and reflects Barcelona's lively and colourful personality. Take a stroll up the promenade to discover buildings of great significance, such as the Boquería Market and the famous Grand Theatre of the Lyceum, one of the best opera theatres in the world. Barcelona prides itself in its capacity to bring together very different architectural styles. Styles range from Gothic, found in the charming Gothic Quarter, the Santa María del Mar Church and the Santa Eulalia Cathedral, to impressive temples of modern architecture designed by some of the most famous contemporary architects, such as Jean Nouvel's Agbar tower. Synonymous with Barcelona is Catalan modernism, such as the work of Antoni Gaudí, whose world-renowned buildings are the most emblematic and original in the city, visited by millions of tourists from far and wide every year. Lose yourself in the fantasyland of his Batlló House, the Pedrera, the Sagrada Familia basilica and Güell Park.
For those who enjoy a good cocktail in the evening, there are plenty of options. The central neighbourhoods of Borne and the Raval offer a more sophisticated nightlife. The bohemian neighbourhood of the Raval also houses Barcelona's Contemporary Art Museum, a spectacular building designed by Richard Meyer.
After such a hefty dose of culture, relax next to the sea on the popular Barceloneta beach. Once you take one of our cheap flights to Barcelona, you'll be living the dream.
Barcelona has a warm, temperate climate. Most of the rain falls in winter, with very little precipitation in the summer months.
If you take a flight to Barcelona, you'll land at El Prat, situated south-west of the city between the towns of El Prat de Llobregat, Viladecans and Sant Boi. Barcelona Airport is serviced a wide range of public transport options, such as the bus, metro line L9 Sud (terminal T1 and terminal T2), and railway line R2 Nord operated by Rodalies de Catalunya (terminal T2).
Lastly, if you fly to Barcelona you will find that its geographic location has forged a local cuisine based on the best from the sea and the mountains. It is this skilful fusion of the two elements that makes Catalan cusine so special, which in turn defines the true Mediterranean lifestyle. Dishes such as tomato bread, grilled vegetables, spring onions, flat bread and black rice with alioli sauce are local delicacies that will charm even the most discerning palates.
The Barcelona-El Prat airport in Barcelona (BCN), Spain is located in El Prat de Llobregat	.
This airport has two terminals that follow the criterion of distributing flights by airline, irrespective of the destination to which the flights are travelling. There are also plans to build a satellite terminal.
The Barcelona metro has a stop at each terminal.
There are bus routes that connect the airport both with centre of Barcelona and with various nearby towns in Catalonia and in Andorra as well. It can also be reached via the local train network.
As well as several duty free stores, catering establishments and meeting rooms, the airport also has a children's play area, medical services and a chapel.
The official currency is EN_el euro and the official time is the same as in Spain.
If you need a hotel in Barcelona we recommend that you use this website for your reservation. All the hotels are guaranteed.
Barcelona city guide and map. To organise your visit to Barcelona we recommend that you visit the Barcelona city guide . You can see the best culinary, cultural, night time and shopping maps. Don't forget to choose your favourite places and download your personalised guide in PDF.
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The Mahomet Seymour High School's dance squad from Mahomet, Illinois doesn't need music to tell the story they want people to hear! So, during one of their performances at a game, they managed to surprise everyone present and escape from the monotonous modern music routines everyone else is putting up these days.
The team created an amazing choreography using only a spoken word poem named 'What Are You Afraif Of?' by Jon Jorgenson, a writer, actor and creator of ideas, who approaches in his art sensitive themes that everyone goes through at one point or another, such as fear, death and religion. Completing the poem with the beautiful art of dancing, the teenagers managed to transmit a beautiful and inspiring message not only to the people who saw the performance live, but also to some of us who didn't get the pleasure to be there.
The girls sent a powerful story through movement and a creative and meaningful choreography perfectly shaped around Jon Jorgenson's poem about fear. Everyone who watched them could relate to their story and was brought to tears by the amazing words and mesmerizing dancing. Even though it wasn't a dynamic and creative performance, such as one would expect from a dance squad nowadays, people were impressed by the emotions and work invested in this dance.
Firstly a story about fear, everything takes a turn around: the clothes of the dancers change from a hopeless black to immaculate white and the tone of the poem transforms from a fearful speech to an expression of victory and conquer over fear. These teenagers, though not above high school age, succeed in teaching us that it is not fear who controls our lives, but it is us that can control the fear, by letting compassion and empathy and hope and love do their work.


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Boris Tadić (Servisch: Борис Тадић) (Sarajevo, 15 januari 1958) is een Servisch politicus. Van 11 juli 2004 tot 5 april 2012 was hij president van de Republiek Servië.

Tadić studeerde psychologie aan de Universiteit van Belgrado. Tijdens zijn studententijd werd hij politiek actief. Wegens zijn dissidente activiteiten stond hij in de negatieve aandacht van de communistische autoriteiten. In 1990 werd hij lid van de Democratische Partij. In 2000, na de val van Slobodan Milošević, werd hij minister van telecommunicatie in de federale regering van Joegoslavië, gevolgd door het ministerschap van defensie van Servië en Montenegro in 2003. Hij toonde zich toen een hervormer, en zuiverde het leger van aanhangers van Milošević. Toen in 2003 de leider van de Democratische Partij, Zoran Đinđić, werd vermoord, werd Tadić partijleider.

Tadić vindt zijn aanhang onder jongeren en hoog opgeleiden. Hij is een groot voorstander van het uitleveren van oorlogsmisdadigers aan het Joegoslavië-tribunaal. Hij wil het land dichter bij een lidmaatschap van de Europese Unie brengen. Bij de parlementsverkiezingen van begin 2007 won zijn partij zetels, maar bleef de partij afhankelijk van de DSS van premier Vojislav Koštunica.

Op 24 juni 2007 bood Tadić op de Kroatische televisie officieel zijn excuses aan voor het leed dat de Kroaten in de jaren negentig door de Serviërs is aangedaan.

In 2012 stelde hij zich opnieuw verkiesbaar voor het presidentschap. Daarom trad hij op 5 april van dat jaar af, waarna Slavica Đukić Dejanović het presidentschap tijdelijk waarnam. In de eerste ronde van de verkiezingen, op 6 mei 2012, kregen Tadić en Tomislav Nikolić (Servische Progressieve Partij) de meeste stemmen, waarmee zij doorgingen naar de tweede ronde op 20 mei. Voorafgaand aan die tweede ronde stond Tadić in alle peilingen voor op zijn tegenstander Nikolić, maar uiteindelijk werd Tadić toch verslagen. Tadić kreeg 47,4% van de stemmen, Nikolić 49,4%.

Joegoslavisch politicus
President van Servië
Servisch minister


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NEW SECTION: Toolkit for Owners of a Modern House
Exhibiting & Visiting Modernist Monuments
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Exhibition 'Modernism and Refuge'
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November Iconic Houses Month rescheduled to April 2021
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Villa Henny, geometric style icon in The Netherlands
A Mendini temple in Amsterdam
6th Iconic Houses Conference June 2021
IH-lectures USA & Canada Feb 2020 on Melnikov House
An Afternoon with the Glucks
Danish Moderns – Looking Back at Our Mini-Seminar
Venturo house complements Exhibition Centre WeeGee's offering
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City-ordered rebuild of landmark house stirs debate: Appropriate or overreach?
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Planned Demolition of Rietveld Homes in Reeuwijk
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Frans Haks' home interior
By Eva de Bruijne
Photos by Alberto Ferrero
It is commonly known that Italian designer Alessandro Mendini (1931-2019) and Frans Haks, the previous director of the Groninger Museum, shared a special bond. "Frans shared our view on the eighties," Mendini proclaimed, referring to Haks as his "museum friend". Haks nominated Mendini as the head architect of the planned new Groninger Museum building in 1987, after which the two became close friends. Few people know, however, that Mendini went on to design the interior of Haks' home in Amsterdam after his work on the Groninger Museum. This Mendini interior is one of few, and aside from the Groninger Museum this is the only one in the Netherlands; quite a peculiarity!
An unexpected discovery
After his departure from the Groninger Museum on January 1, 1996, Haks and his partner Johan W. M. Ambaum moved to Amsterdam. The relationship between the municipality of Groningen and the notorious director had taken a turn for the worse. By moving to Amsterdam, Haks distanced himself from Groningen and the museum staff – literally and figuratively – which is why his former colleagues remained unaware of his Mendini interior in Amsterdam, which was designed in 1997 and built in 2000-2001.
Although friends and acquaintances of Haks knew about the interior design, the world of art at large was not familiar with it. The interior is rarely mentioned in Dutch or international literature, and even on the official website of Atelier Mendini, the project is barely archived, save for a couple of drawings. One reason is that Mendini considered this job a favour for his friend Haks. Most of their discussions took place in person.
It was only after Ambaum, the home's last remaining inhabitant, passed away in 2018 that word of Frans Haks' interior reached the Monuments and Archaeology Department in Amsterdam (M&A). Ambaum had named the Rijksmuseum Foundation as his only heir, under the name of the Ambaum Haks Foundation, with the goal of purchasing art and crafts from the 19th and 20th century for the museum's collection. If the inheritance would not be used to strengthen the museum's collection, it was to be sold in favour of the foundation. This is what happened to the apartment, which was placed on the market. In October 2018, employees of M&A visited the residence because a potential buyer intended to renew the interior. Due to the unexpected discovery of the Mendini interior on the ground floor, the interior was awarded a highly monumental status, while the building itself had already been considered a national monument on account of its facade.
From Groningen to Amsterdam
In 1995, Frans Haks asked his brother Leo, who had bought the building at the Recht Boomssloot 41 near the Nieuwmarkt in the 90s, if he knew of a suitable living space. Leo offered Frans and Johan a temporary living space on the third floor and attic of the building. Starting in January 1997 they were also able to use of the ground floor space, which had previously been used as a business. They then purchased the building's first floor on which they resided, because the ground floor was uninhabitable. Their goal was to live on separate floors: both men were art historians with strong individual tastes. Ambaum would live among his 19th century art on the first floor, while Haks would be surrounded by his contemporary art and design collection in his Mendini temple on the ground floor. Both floors would become their own unique worlds.
The design commission
"The main task here in Milan has been completed. Sandro, Francesco, Mart [architect Mart van Schijndel, who worked as an advisor] and myself have finished discussing our new home, and we are all very satisfied, I think," Haks wrote in his diary in 1997. His ground floor would be expanded through a conservatory annex, which would connect to the first floor – Ambaum's domain – by a double staircase with a glass bridge. Frans Haks felt like the house needed a fitting front: the entrance had to stand out. Mendini created 14 designs for the entrance in total, as a geometric beveled pattern in striking colours. They opted for a continuation of the yellow and pink, in which the front door was hidden. Anyone passing by the house at the Recht Boomssloot will notice that the front is painted in a creamy colour. The Monuments and Archaeology Department strongly recommended a change to a "modest colour fitting of its historical surroundings". Haks accepted the proposal, after some mild protest.
Life is a theatre!
Enter the studio through the postmodern Mendini-facade, and you will find yourself in a miraculous and theatrical world. Through high double doors in the red and pink vestibule, surrounded by mosaics by the Italian firm Bisazza, one enters a studio full of rich colours: a small space in which Haks ate his meals, worked, relaxed, took baths, slept, and received guests. It is noticeably dark in the studio; there are no windows in the front. Haks wanted to project audiovisual material during lectures and had a projection screen attached to the ceiling that nearly covered the entire wall, right at the start of the podium in the back of the room. This also symbolised theatre curtains: when rolling up the screen, a podium covered in sunlight would appear, with a sunken bathtub at its center – perhaps the most bizarre element of the entire interior.
The interior has been built up from a central visual axis that ends with the bathtub. When all doors are opened, someone standing on the street can look directly at the bathtub, which stands right behind a Bisazza mosaic gateway, flanked by a set of double stairs. Haks wanted to hold large receptions in his studio, followed by a fancy dinner prepared by Ambaum, who was an amazing cook. He imagined welcoming certain guests while lying in his bathtub: completely naked and covered in bubbles. After the reception in Haks' studio, the guests and the host would climb the stairs to Ambaum's apartment where dinner was served. The double stairs makes the interior seem even more theatrical: a contemporary interpretation of the stairs from the theatrical Baroque period. Haks stated in an interview in 2003: "life is like a theatre. I want to live in a place that gives the impression that I am merely acting."
Decor for art and design
The full interior only stood in place for a short time: from 2001 to Haks' death in 2006, after which it was removed. "My intention was to create an ambience in which all art, in the traditional sense, would be obsolete," Haks said. He viewed his studio not just as an art piece in itself, but also as a stage for the arts. Mendini, too, imagined a home to be a museum full of objects the person has collected. In Haks' case, this was a collection of contemporary design and art from postmodern movements such as Memphis and Alchimia. The interior design had to be a fitting decor for this collection. Among the objects in this space are a yellow Kartell Bubble couch and a yellow chair Troy by Philippe Starck, next to a side table Le Strutture Temano by Ettore Sottsass for Alchimia. The cylindrical cabinet Ollo, designed by Mendini, was on the left-hand side against the pink wall near the entrance, next to a photograph of Cornelie Tollens. The portal in front of the sunken bathtub stood next to the Treetops lamps that Ettore Sottsas made for Memphis, and at the foot of the bath Nigritella Nigra, designed by Mendini, had been propped up like some kind of altar – a piece now part of the Rijksmuseum's collection (the piece did have some water damage due to its location near the bathtub and the lack of ventilation in the room). Haks stated in an interview: "I buy whatever I am interested in at the time. When things get boring, they are removed." His interior wasn't meant to be like a museum, however. The space was lived in. Everything was used and nothing had a fixed location.
'Casa Toverbal'
Even though Haks never thought of his studio as a museum, the space shows striking similarities with the exhibition rooms of the Groninger Museum. Haks believed that these had to be controlled with artificial light, colour and material. He applied this same principle to the front part of his studio, where the mood was established through the artificial lighting and colourfully painted areas on the walls, ceiling and floor. These colours – which led the studio's to be nicknamed the 'Toverbal', a candy ball with many colours – were retrieved from the colour palette developed by the Dutch artist Peter Struycken in 1994 for the exhibition rooms of the new Groninger Museum (which consisted of 16 colours and was expanded in 1999 by Struycken to a total of 30 colours). In the Mendini pavilion, these colourful areas were applied in accordance with conservator Mark Wilson's ideas. Haks wrote: "To my great surprise, these colours turned out to be so permissive that you could put up almost any kind of art. You don't need to change the colour of the walls for every exhibition. In fact, the opposite is true: once you have created a nice flow of moods in the rooms, just about any artwork can fit." Although Struycken did offer to create a personal palette for Haks' studio, Haks instead opted for the same palette and application used at the Groninger Museum. According to Peter Struycken, building the studio was a reminder of Haks' greatest accomplishment in life: the new building of the Groninger Museum, finished in 1994, with Mendini as its head architect.


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