text:
Q: AnnotationConfigurationException since upgrade to Spring Boot 3/JDK 17 I have recently upgraded my Spring Boot Application to Spring Boot 3 (from 2.6.4), Kotlin 1.8.0 (from 1.7.20) and JDK 17 (from 11). Right now I'm facing AnnotationConfigurationExceptions caused by @PreAuthorize meta-annotations used on inherited repository-methods.
org.springframework.core.annotation.AnnotationConfigurationException: Found more than one annotation of type interface org.springframework.security.access.prepost.PreAuthorize attributed to public final java.util.List jdk.proxy2.$Proxy390.findAll() Please remove the duplicate annotations and publish a bean to handle your authorization logic.
        at org.springframework.security.authorization.method.AuthorizationAnnotationUtils.findUniqueAnnotation(AuthorizationAnnotationUtils.java:64)
        at org.springframework.security.authorization.method.PreAuthorizeExpressionAttributeRegistry.findPreAuthorizeAnnotation(PreAuthorizeExpressionAttributeRegistry.java:71)
        at org.springframework.security.authorization.method.PreAuthorizeExpressionAttributeRegistry.resolveAttribute(PreAuthorizeExpressionAttributeRegistry.java:61)
        at org.springframework.security.authorization.method.AbstractExpressionAttributeRegistry.lambda$getAttribute$0(AbstractExpressionAttributeRegistry.java:57)
        at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap.computeIfAbsent(ConcurrentHashMap.java:1708)
        at org.springframework.security.authorization.method.AbstractExpressionAttributeRegistry.getAttribute(AbstractExpressionAttributeRegistry.java:57)
        at org.springframework.security.authorization.method.AbstractExpressionAttributeRegistry.getAttribute(AbstractExpressionAttributeRegistry.java:46)
        at org.springframework.security.authorization.method.PreAuthorizeAuthorizationManager.check(PreAuthorizeAuthorizationManager.java:63)
        at org.springframework.security.authorization.method.PreAuthorizeAuthorizationManager.check(PreAuthorizeAuthorizationManager.java:40)
        at org.springframework.security.authorization.ObservationAuthorizationManager.check(ObservationAuthorizationManager.java:55)
        at org.springframework.security.config.annotation.method.configuration.DeferringObservationAuthorizationManager.check(DeferringObservationAuthorizationManager.java:47)
        at org.springframework.security.authorization.method.AuthorizationManagerBeforeMethodInterceptor.attemptAuthorization(AuthorizationManagerBeforeMethodInterceptor.java:252)
        at org.springframework.security.authorization.method.AuthorizationManagerBeforeMethodInterceptor.invoke(AuthorizationManagerBeforeMethodInterceptor.java:198)
        at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:184)
        at org.springframework.aop.aspectj.MethodInvocationProceedingJoinPoint.proceed(MethodInvocationProceedingJoinPoint.java:89)

After some debugging, I found that Spring Security somehow reflects the single annotation multiple times. As soon as I move the methods from the base-repository to the actual repository, the exception does no longer appear.
I've got a base-repository implementing some common methods like findAll, findById, etc. and marking them accessible using the REST-API and restricting the access using the @HasRoleAdminOrHasReadCollectionPermission meta-annotation (following later):
@NoRepositoryBean
interface BaseRepository<T : BaseEntity> : CrudRepository<T, Long> {

    /* [...] */

    @RestResource
    @HasRoleAdminOrHasReadCollectionPermission
    override fun findAll(): List<T>

    /* [...] */

}

Second, the base-repository is implemented by the actual entity-repository:
@RepositoryRestResource(path = "categories", collectionResourceRel = "categories")
@Transactional(readOnly = true)
interface CategoryRepository : BaseRepository<Category> {

    /* [...] */

}

Third, here's the @HasRoleAdminOrHasReadCollectionPermission meta-annotation:
@Retention(AnnotationRetention.RUNTIME)
@Target(AnnotationTarget.CLASS, AnnotationTarget.FUNCTION)
@PreAuthorize("hasRole('$ROLE_ADMIN') or hasPermission($COLLECTION_TARGET, $DELETE_PERMISSION)")
annotation class HasRoleAdminOrHasDeleteCollectionPermission

I'm all out of ideas, looked through the Java files generated from Kotlin, nowhere are duplicated annotations. Hoping someone here can help me with that.
Edit: As requested, here's the Application-class and the class containing the security-config:
@SpringBootApplication(exclude = [ErrorMvcAutoConfiguration::class])
@ServletComponentScan
@EnableAsync
@EnableScheduling
class Application {
    companion object {
        val HOSTNAME = System.getenv("HOSTNAME")
        val TIMESTAMP = System.currentTimeMillis()

        /** Entry point, run with gradle `bootRun` task. */
        @JvmStatic
        fun main(args: Array<String>) {
            SpringApplication.run(Application::class.java, *args)
        }
    }
}

@Configuration
@EnableWebSecurity(debug = true)
@EnableMethodSecurity(prePostEnabled = true)
class SecurityConfig(
    private val environment: Environment,
    private val baseProperties: BaseProperties,
    private val accountService: AccountService,
    private val integrationService: IntegrationService,
    private val jwtService: JwtService,
    private val loginAttemptService: LoginAttemptService,
    private val handlerExceptionResolver: HandlerExceptionResolver
) {

    @Bean
    fun webSecurityCustomizer(): WebSecurityCustomizer =
        WebSecurityCustomizer { web: WebSecurity -> web.debug(true) }

    @Bean
    fun corsConfigurationSource(): CorsConfigurationSource {
        val configuration = CorsConfiguration()
        configuration.allowedOrigins = baseProperties.corsAllowedOrigins()
        configuration.allowedMethods = listOf(CorsConfiguration.ALL)
        configuration.allowedHeaders = listOf(CorsConfiguration.ALL)
        configuration.allowCredentials = true
        val source = UrlBasedCorsConfigurationSource()
        source.registerCorsConfiguration(ANY_PATH, configuration)
        return source
    }

    @Bean
    fun userDetailsService(): UserDetailsService =
        AccountUserDetailsService(accountService, integrationService)

    @Bean
    fun authenticationManager(
        http: HttpSecurity,
        userDetailsService: UserDetailsService
    ): AuthenticationManager {
        val authenticationManagerBuilder = http.getSharedObject(AuthenticationManagerBuilder::class.java)

        val loginAttemptDaoAuthenticationProvider = LoginAttemptDaoAuthenticationProvider(loginAttemptService, userDetailsService)
        val jwtPreAuthenticationProvider = PreAuthenticatedAuthenticationProvider()

        jwtPreAuthenticationProvider.setPreAuthenticatedUserDetailsService(UserDetailsByNameServiceWrapper(userDetailsService))

        return authenticationManagerBuilder
            .userDetailsService(userDetailsService).and()
            .authenticationProvider(loginAttemptDaoAuthenticationProvider)
            .authenticationProvider(jwtPreAuthenticationProvider)
            .build()
    }

    @Bean
    fun filterChain(
        http: HttpSecurity,
        authenticationManager: AuthenticationManager,
        userDetailsService: UserDetailsService
    ): SecurityFilterChain {
        return http
            .requireSSL()
            .disableLocalHSTS()
            .enableCors()
            .enableStatelessCsrf()
            .statelessSessionManagement()
            .jwtAuthentication(authenticationManager)
            .setRequestRestrictions()
            .build()
    }

    private fun HttpSecurity.requireSSL(): HttpSecurity =
        requiresChannel().anyRequest().requiresSecure().and()

    private fun HttpSecurity.disableLocalHSTS(): HttpSecurity =
        if (environment.acceptsProfiles(Profiles.of(DEVELOPMENT, TESTING)))
            headers().httpStrictTransportSecurity().disable().and()
        else this

    private fun HttpSecurity.enableCors(): HttpSecurity =
        cors().and()

    private fun HttpSecurity.enableStatelessCsrf(): HttpSecurity =
        csrf().disable().addFilterBefore(StatelessCsrfFilter(), CsrfFilter::class.java)

    private fun HttpSecurity.statelessSessionManagement(): HttpSecurity =
        sessionManagement().sessionCreationPolicy(SessionCreationPolicy.STATELESS).and()

    private fun HttpSecurity.jwtAuthentication(
        authenticationManager: AuthenticationManager
    ): HttpSecurity =
        addFilterBefore(JwtPreAuthenticatedProcessingFilter(authenticationManager, jwtService), UsernamePasswordAuthenticationFilter::class.java)
            .addFilterBefore(JwtCookiePreAuthenticationFilter(jwtService), UsernamePasswordAuthenticationFilter::class.java)
            .formLogin()
            .loginProcessingUrl(LOGIN_URL)
            .successHandler(JwtCookieAuthenticationSuccessHandler(jwtService))
            .failureHandler(AuthenticationFailureResolver(handlerExceptionResolver))
            .and()
            .logout()
            .logoutUrl(LOGOUT_URL)
            .logoutSuccessHandler(Http200LogoutSuccessHandler())
            .addLogoutHandler(JwtCookieLogoutHandler(jwtService))
            .and()

    private fun HttpSecurity.setRequestRestrictions(): HttpSecurity =
        authorizeHttpRequests {
            it.requestMatchers(HttpMethod.GET, ROOT_URL).permitAll()
                .requestMatchers([...])
                .anyRequest().denyAll().and()
        }
}

A: After some more debugging and reading through the migration-guide @varad posted I decided to implement custom authorization-managers which do not scan the annotations as thoroughly as Spring Security does.
I posted the implementations of the custom method-security and authorization-managers on GitHub: https://gist.github.com/Lukas0610/5ac78a358276fa15b1ce7cdc0483988d
Thanks for you help guys.


Today's video in the series is an introduction to a concept that we spend a lot of time thinking and talking and training about here at Rewire. It's the Lizard Brain. In the coming weeks, we'll have more videos getting into this concept, but, for now, we wanted to have a quick introduction to it through video.
Cheers to stilling the lizard.
Steve Scanlon is the Founder and CEO of Rewire. He loves to see people change the way they think and enter new seasons of growth for their work. If you have a couple of hours, ask him about his new golf swing.


text:
Q: Calling LoadLibrary then FreeLibrary breaks networking Stumbled upon some very weird behaviour today and narrowed it down to this code for reproducing it:
TcpListener Listener = new TcpListener(System.Net.IPAddress.Any, 8888);
Listener.Start();
TcpClient Client = new TcpClient("localhost", 8888);
IntPtr ModuleHandle = WinApi.LoadLibraryW(@"C:\Windows\system32\ipnathlp.dll"); // <-- Any other DLL here and everything is fine
WinApi.FreeLibrary(ModuleHandle); // <-- Remove this line and everything is fine
byte[] Bytes = new byte[2];
Client.GetStream.Write(Bytes, 0, 2); // <-- Exception thrown here if FreeLibrary is called above:
                                     // "Unable to write data to the transport connection: Either the application
                                     // has not called WSAStartup, or WSAStartup failed."

and the Win32 APIs are defined like so:
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", EntryPoint = "FreeLibrary", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool FreeLibrary([In] IntPtr hLibModule);

[DllImport("kernel32.dll", EntryPoint = "LoadLibraryW", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr LoadLibraryW([In][MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string lpLibFileName);

As you can see from the comments, calling LoadLibrary with this specific DLL (C:\Windows\system32\ipnathlp.dll) and then freeing it with FreeLibrary, makes it so that I can't send data down a network stream without getting this weird exception about WSAStartup.
This DLL is involved with the windows firewall and networking stuff (its description is "Microsoft NAT Helper Components") but regardless of that, shouldn't LoadLibrary just be incrementing the reference count by 1 and then FreeLibrary decrements it by 1 (so it shouldn't have any effect on the rest of the program if I just load it once and then unload it once) ?
Doing any of these things stops this issue from happening and makes everything work fine:

*

*Changing the target CPU to x86 instead of x64

*Specifying CharSet=Ansi in the LoadLibrary Dll Import statement (don't feel like I should be doing that though as I'm calling LoadLibraryW for the unicode version and .NET is all unicode, plus I've never had to do that ever before with any other Win32 API call from .NET)

*Removing the call to FreeLibrary
This is on a Windows 7 64 bit machine. Haven't had chance to test on anything else yet.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


June 2016 Newsletter -"BELL BLITZ"
January 2016 Newsletter -"BELL BLITZ"
September 2015 Newsletter -"BELL BLITZ"
January 2014 Newsletter -"BELL BLITZ"
October 2013 Newsletter -"BELL BLITZ"
Four ringers are needed to do this change ringing sequence. Use medium sized bells, either G5 to G6 or F5 to F6. Changes always start with a descending scale. The ringer's right hand always plays first and then the ringer's left hand. Each ringer always plays on the same count.
Step Two: At the end of rounds, EACH ringer CROSSES his/her hands and releases the bells. Each ringer then uncrosses his/her hands and picks up the same bells except in opposite hands. Ringers continue to ring in the same order that they had been ringing i.e. ringer #1 always rings with his/her right hand first and then left hand, then ringer #2 rings with his/her right hand first and then left hand etc.
Step Three: Ringers STRETCH their arms to place their bells in front of their neighbours, one on either side. EXCEPTION: The bell in the right hand of Ringer #1 and the bell in the left hand of Ringer #4 do not change position in this step.
Step Four: Repeat Step 2 and 3 until the highest bell has travelled from the top to the bottom and has returned to where it began.
Step Five: Repeat rounds at least twice.
For a special effect, tie a bright ribbon on the high treble bell and let the audience watch as it moves through the change ringing.
Score study can be a daunting task, for beginners and seasoned conductors alike. But by subdividing that task into three different areas, it can become manageable. Score study can be roughly divided into three areas: preliminary score study, interpretative score study and pedagogical score study. In other words, score study begins when first choosing music and continues with decisions about musical interpretation and methods to teach the music to the ensemble.
Selecting repertoire is essentially preliminary score study. Beyond practical matters such as appropriateness for the level of ensemble and performance circumstances, one wants to ensure that music considered has potential for musical expression.
In this preliminary score study, one looks carefully for well-crafted compositions. A well crafted work has a balance of unity and variety. A work is unified through prudent repetition of musical elements. Too much repetition becomes boring and not enough repetition is too disparate. Repetition need not be exact. For example, it could be a repeated characteristic rhythm or technique.
Similarly, a well crafted work will have ample contrasts without becoming fragmented. Contrast comes in different ways, from the presentation of completely different material to subtle variations of musical elements. The key is the balance between repetition and contrast.
Interpretive score study comes from a thorough knowledge of how the music is put together. This begins with large scale organization and proceeds to the smaller details of musicality. To determine large score form, one divides the work into sections. Often, there are exact or similar repetitions of material. By marking equivalent measures, one can not only see the form, but begin making pedagogical choices as well. Many works use sectional forms, structures with major sections that are clearly the same or clearly different.
Once each major section is determined, smaller scale choices can be made about the shape and direction of each one. Dynamics become very important. Quite often only general dynamic levels are given in a piece of music. While the overall character of a section might be soft, and thus marked piano, it will take some dynamic changes within that soft section to maintain musical interest. Phrase direction is reason for dynamic change. Almost nothing is dynamically static. The shape of a phrase must be determined and marked in the music with crescendo and diminuendo markings. Again, these details are often not in the music, so the conductor must make some choices. One note about dynamics: frequently musicians are afraid to use the full range of all six dynamic levels. An ensemble that can perform at six different levels - pp, p, mp, mf, f, and ff - can provide stunning dynamic interpretations of music. Sometimes this means adding to or modifying the printed dynamics to the fullness of the music can be achieved in the complete dynamic spectrum.
In addition, one looks for balance issues, so that important parts can be brought out and background parts can be lessened. Look for melodies in inner or lower parts. Find interesting harmonic ideas that need to be brought out (dissonances, for example). Strive for dynamic balance among different performing techniques. The thickening or thinning of texture (more or fewer bells ringing) has an impact on the dynamics. The effect of the meter is determined by dynamic stressing and unstressing.
Finally, pedagogical score study is necessary for rehearsal preparation. This requires developing methods by which a conductor's interpretation of the composer's intent can be communicated to the ensemble. Part of this is anticipation of problems of technique and interpretation. Certainly problems of technique will become evident by looking at each individual part. For the entire ensemble, musical changes often present technical challenges. Changes of key, tempo, dynamic, technique are obvious places where musical and technical forethought will be required. Difficult rhythms can be turned into exercises so that rhythmic concepts can be learned before applying them to the music. Finally, a method of marking the scores will help ensemble members learn to mark places so they can anticipate what is to happen next. Anticipation is the key to good performance. This sense of anticipation is tantamount to inviting the listeners into the music to hear and feel the expressions of the ensemble. A score clearly marked makes thinking ahead easier and more efficient. The score markings are manifestations of the score study, so that the ideas developed in studying the score can become part of the music making process and ultimately communicated to the listeners.
Too often as directors and ringers, we get used to doing what is familiar and comfortable and don't think outside the box in terms of making bell assignments. Better ringers could be given the option to change positions if they wish. It would need to be negotiated as to whether ringers should move to a different position on each piece or for the season. There is a lot of controversy over this concept.
Some believe that ringers should be versatile and able to ring in any position. If ringers are flexible in their assignment, they will likely improve their ringing abilities much more quickly than if they are married to one position. Others believe that ringers should become masters of a particular position - after all, a violin player would not be expected to play the viola even though they are both string instruments.
Directors usually have reasons for assigning certain bells to certain ringers. It might be due to a ringer's abilities - there may be only one ringer who can do the four-in-hand position. Perhaps there are only a few ringers that can ring bass bells. Sometimes a ringer will only read music in the treble clef, therefore only ring treble bells.
Personalities sometimes play a role in the decision making. Often a new ringer is partnered with one who is willing to mentor. The director might assign positions based on the difficulty of a particular part. Perhaps a ringer is afraid to try a new assignment. In an extreme case, a ringer may be absolutely inflexible and if asked to change positions, will threaten to resign.
When a director is possibly short of ringers, it seems to be a better idea to leave well enough alone rather than cause an uncomfortable situation for both the director and the ringer. Sometimes ringers play in the same position because it is working so well!
When determining either traditional bell assignments or those that are "outside the box", it is important for the director to have done a thorough study of the score first. Part of score study is reviewing bell assignments. When planning bell assignments, the director needs to make note of any challenging places for each ringer. Can the ringer play all of their accidentals by weaving? Are there some fast passages that mean another ringer should help? Ringers can be possessive of their bells and may believe that if they can't do all of their accidentals, they are not a good ringer.
To play musically, where can the accidentals go? Directors need to be able to determine how neighbouring ringers can help each other. As ringers increase in their confidence and abilities, they can negotiate amongst each other where the accidentals can go. Some of the more advanced handbell music have almost impossible passages using traditional assignments. Ringers most certainly have to discuss with their neighbours who will play what bells when! Sometimes certain rhythmic patterns are better done by one person so one ringer may ring D4E4 instead of two ringers. It can be difficult for a ringer to only play on the "ands" of a beat. Making a change in bell assignments for a few measures can result in making music much sooner.
Handbell choirs often have a bell hog. Directors need to be aware that bellhogs can sometimes have a difficult time ringing musically. It is vital for directors to know their music well and to know the abilities of their ringers. If assignments are adjusted to accommodate both the music and the ringers, rehearsals can be spent on making music instead of trying to do the difficult or the impossible. This approach will help your choirs to make the best music possible in a shorter time!
Bell ringers, like athletes, need to warm up their muscles. All bell ringers are subject to muscle strain because some of the muscles used for ringing only work hard two hours each week during rehearsal. Too often we arrive at practice after a day's work just in time to set up the tables, foam and bells, open our music and pick up our bells for the first down beat.
In JUBILOSO! Bells of Concordia, we always do warm-ups for about five minutes before we ring a note. The warm-up exercises are led by one of the ringers and over time, we have realized that if she is not there, warm-ups do not happen. We do similar warm-up exercises prior to performances. Warm-ups also give us a chance to visit, make announcements or discuss rehearsal plans prior to practice actually starting. It also gives us a chance to "let go" of the days events and be centred so that we can be focused for rehearsal.
Our warm-ups always include a reminder to have "soft knees" i.e. slightly bent. In reality, we should all be ringing with our knees slightly bent. Then we work a variety of muscles. We usually include shoulder rolls and shrugs, neck, forearm and upper arm stretches, arm, wrist and hand curl, and usually some finger play.
Many movements in bell ringing are repetitive and can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. Improper ringing techniques can also increase the problems resulting from the repetitive action of bell ringing. Warming up and ringing correctly can help to decrease the chance of ringers getting injured.
In the fall, I had the privilege of presenting a workshop with Lorna Walker to school teachers in Edmonton. Lorna has a B.Ed., teaches music at DunLuce Elementary School in Edmonton, and rings in the United in Bronze Handbell Choir at St. Albert United Church. She is a talented musician and has wonderful ideas about working with children and handbells.
Awe-inspiring performances (or ringing at the next level) require committed and talented musicians. However, talented musicians are just as capable of putting on mediocre performances. The key is the director. Not only must directors recognize the inherent musical qualities of a piece of music, they must be talented enough to draw the musicality out of their musicians.
Learning to ring together at the next level is a complex process. In this newsletter, we will talk about "Playing Musically" and "Dealing with Dynamics".
Playing musically is really the ability to speak to the audience through the music. It means playing with beautiful circles, paying attention to dynamics and phrasing, being rhythmically accurate and playing exactly together.
As a director, you need to raise your expectations. Excuses like "they are only 10 years old", "we only meet once a week" or "they don't read music" become blinders to what is possible. Simple music when played musically will be more awe-inspiring than difficult music that lacks dynamics and togetherness.
Discuss the music with your choir. Start with the title or tell them about the composer - give them a concrete image to grasp. Tell them what you like about it. Use images to help you get across the feeling or mood of the piece (eg. tell the small bells they are to play like stars or angels).
to make circles and to vary dynamics.
Good music will require the ringers to play both very loud and very soft. You will likely need to check the settings of the bells to ensure that they are set correctly so that proper dynamics may be achieved. Don't assume that all the bells need to be set the same. Sometimes a ringer is naturally quiet and might need a bell adjusted to a hard setting.
Study your score thoroughly so that you know before you start rehearsals what it is that you want to accomplish in terms of dynamics. Conduct as you want your ringers to ring. "Conduct big for loud and small for soft". Make your ringers watch you - help them learn their music so well that they are comfortable looking at you and then finding their place in their music.
Consider memorizing your music - both the director and ringers - this will allow the ringers an incredible freedom to watch you and allow you to really get what you want by conducting.
Video tape you and your choir to really see how they look and sound. Play in different places and assess the dynamics carefully. It might sound soft and loud in the music room but when you get into the school gym. It might all sound the same.
Rehearse dynamics over and over again so your ringers know what is expected of them. Don't settle for less that what you want to hear.
Finally the thing that taught both Lorna and I to be better directors was to become better ringers. There are likely choirs very near you that would love to have you ring with them - or maybe as a sub or spare. Call them today!
The debate continues as to whether or not it is appropriate to applaud in church. Wouldn't it be wonderful if congregations would applaud when ministers and musicians want them to and not applaud if they are not supposed to! The reality is that people have different connections to music and therefore have different responses.
In some churches, applause is welcome and in some it is not. Some worshippers applaud spontaneously. Some applaud "politely". Some join in because others have started the applause. Some really want to applaud but don't. Some don't ever applaud in church.
Applause is not fair. Applause is not heard for an awesome sermon yet children's groups, whether they are singing or ringing, almost always receive applause. Handbells can receive applause for playing, even when they haven't played particularly well.
Handbell choirs need to stop considering their participation in worship as a performance. If handbell choirs focus on praising God through music, on giving their music as a gift to the Glory of God, and sharing in worship, then the congregation's applause reaction is simply an extension of the musicians's offering of praise. In Psalm 47:1, we read: "O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy".
There are a number of strategies that handbell choirs can use to encourage a spontaneous applause. If the music is fast and excited and ends with either a mart or a shake, applause will likely start. Holding the shakes for longer than written along with a great crescendo and big circles also works. (As a director on one occasion, I was so excited that I started the applause myself!) Having the congregation clap in time to the rhythm - they will naturally break into applause at the end of the piece! Having the ringers watch the director and smile, especially at the end of the music, also encourages an applause reaction.
On the other hand, "Be still and know that I am God" is written in Psalm 46. Sometimes the natural reaction to music is to be reverently silent. Directors can encourage a meditative reaction a number of ways. Make sure the ringers don't lower their bells at the end of the music until the director has given them the cue. If it is appropriate, have a prayerful reading during the music. Have a prayer start as soon as the bells are finished their music but before they have lowered their bells to the table. Have ringers end the piece bowing their heads in prayer. Let the bells vibrate on the last chord and have the ringers very slowly lower the bells to the table - don't dampen or let the ringers silence their bells - let the music fade into silence so people can feel the presence of God. Preparing the music well technically and musically is likely the best way to touch people's hearts and souls - the right reaction will then simply happen.
Recruiting and retaining ringers can be a challenge for any handbell director! The recruitment strategy to use will depend on what your choir needs.
Whether your choir is beginning, intermediate or advanced, it is a good idea to "advertise" handbell ringing by inviting people from the audience or congregation to come to the handbell tables and give the bells a ring. This gives people the encouragement that they too can ring bells.
To recruit for my beginning group, I put fluorescent flyers in the bulletin asking a few questions (see bottom of next page). I ended up with more than enough ringers for the choir.
I ask the ringers, both past and present, who to call if there is an opening and then I start phoning. When I talk with prospective ringers, I invite them to come to a rehearsal to see if they will like it. They usually love it immediately!
Short term sessions have helped to recruit ringers. There are rehearsals after church for three or four weeks and then on Sunday Worship the music is shared. I talk to choir members, Sunday School teachers and youth group leaders to get names of possible ringers. I talk with each person before the session starts to get their commitment. If they are children, I talk with their parents to ensure that they are supportive.
I start recruiting in the spring so that we aren't delayed in starting in the fall because we are short of ringers. I keep a list of all prospective ringers - people who have indicated some interest. If they say no this time, I check to see if I can call them next year. It took me almost three years to recruit one of my ringers (she had to wait until her daughter completed the three year Brownie program). Now, both she and her daughter are ringing on a regular basis.
Be prepared to try new things and to seek out new people other than ringers to help you. For Christmas, we played Go Tell It on the Mountain arranged by Cynthia Dobrinski. I found out that there was a trombonist and a saxophonist (it calls for a clarinet) in our congregation. I asked them to join us and they were absolutely thrilled! I expect that the trombonist, saxophonist, some of their friends or family will be ringing bells with us soon!
If you want ringers to continue to ring with your choir, you need to ensure that your positive energy and enthusiasm spreads throughout your rehearsals and your performances.
I plan to do things other than rehearse to build teamwork and rapport with my ringers. One of my ringers suggested that we have a " No Rehearsal" rehearsal this month because we had worked so hard during the Christmas season that they had no time to visit with each other!
We take a 10 - 15 minute break during a two hour rehearsal. Ringers take turns bringing snacks. They are on an alphabetical roster so they should be able to easily remember when it is their turn. We recently had someone forget her turn, so she agreed to pay "penance" and brought snacks for an extra week!
We play at Senior citizen's lodges about twice a year instead of rehearsing. We play on our regular rehearsal night so ringers don't have to give up another evening. It gives us an opportunity to play something secular as well as share with our community the gift of bells.
Ringers must feel that they are needed at each rehearsal and that they are making a difference by being there. I sometimes have ringers come to rehearsal early to review more difficult passages. If ringers feel that they can easily miss rehearsal because they do not need the practice, take a look at the assignments for your bell ringers.
Music repertoire can make a huge difference in both recruiting and retaining ringers. When people listen to handbell music and it has touched them in some way, they will often want to become part of it. When handbell music touches ringer's hearts and souls, they will continue ringing for a very long time.
The "Genesis Ringers" is a handbell choir especially for beginning ringers, that is, people who have had little or no formal music training. We have room for more ringers and would appreciate it if you would spend a few minutes of your time (perhaps during the sermon!!!) to fill out the following questionnaire!
If you have answered YES to these questions, you, too, could be a Handbell Ringer at the best United Church in Canada!
Walk, run, drive or fly to our rehearsal October 6 at 6:00 p.m. to try our handbells. Try it, you might like it!!! Call Camille Ream at 999-9999 for more details.
YES!!!YES!!!YES!!! I would like Camille to phone me with more details.
How Is Your Ringing Posture?
We were all told as children to stand up straight and not to slouch! As adults, we still need to stand up straight and not slouch. As handbell ringers, it is important to have good posture - it helps us to have more energy for ringing, gives us less aches and pains and helps us to ring more musically. We don't use just our arms for ringing, we use our whole body so it must be held in proper alignment to get the most music out of your ringing. If ringers stand in a tense position, the tension spreads though out their entire body. This makes ringing tiring as well as less musical. It makes it harder to play dynamics, make circles and do techniques properly.
Posture really starts from the toes and goes up. One foot should slightly in front of the other - this will allow you to shift your weight so that your bell changes can be made without reaching or straining. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart. Weight should be on the balls of your feet with your heels on the floor. Knees must be relaxed and slightly flexed - you need to have "soft knees". Chest should be lifted high so that you can breath easily. Shoulders must be relaxed as if hanging on a coat hanger. (You can find out just how tense your shoulders are by raising them towards your ears and then lowering them to the ground, relax and try to lower them a little bit more.) Neck must be relaxed so head able to move freely.
Check the height of your music - you may be slouching so that you can see your music better.
As directors, we should be aware of our ringer's posture. Often ringers are not aware that they are not standing straight or slouching. Remind your ringers to relax. To get this happening consistently, you may need your ringers to adjust their stance, to flex their knees, to relax their shoulders or to stand up straight. You might feel like a nag, but it will be worth it in the end. Your ringers will have more energy for rehearsal and ring more musically.


As a leading provider of carpet cleaning services, we have always maintained high quality. We use only the finest equipment and the best eco-friendly products available on the market to deliver you the best possible results. Stain removal is another one of our specialties. Wine, juice, food, crayon and even pet stains are not a challenge to us. There will be no trace of them after our work is done. Rugs, tiles and upholstery receive equally effective cleaning from our company. Whether you have a small and charming home or a large office, you can use our services with confidence that you will get the best results.
It is well known in local circles that carpet cleaning Corte Madera is one of the most responsive companies when you call. Over the years we have been able to hire people who are genuinely interested in this work and understand our clients' needs. Therefore we take virtually any commission that you can think of.
Our fulltime team at carpet cleaning Corte Madera means that you do not have to look far away when looking for someone to call during an emergency. There is a dedicated group of professionals that are on hand 24/7 and can quickly come to your home in order to reduce any damage that has been caused on the property.


After an amazing few months, with a commission from Ovalhouse, followed by performances at Brixton City Festival, and then a residency at Queen Mary uni to develop ways to work with locals to create a bespoke version of the show in each place we visit, here we are, running the whole thing, tea party and all, for the public, for the first time, on our home ground of Tower Hamlets.
Frankly, we couldn't be more excited.
This entry was posted in Events, Major Projects, Participation, Partners and Collaborators, Research and Development and tagged Gerrard Winstanley's True and Righteous Mobile Incitement Unit, LBTH, mobileincitement, protest, QMUL, Queen Mary, Queen Mary university of London, radical history, research and development, The Black Smock Band, Tower Hamlets. Bookmark the permalink.


Keep up to date with all the Barnfield Homes news – whether it's new homes, show home openings or news on our exciting upcoming developments this is the place to be.
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Happy Easter!!! Don't forget all our show homes are open Friday, Saturday, Sunday AND Monday this weekend between 11am and 4pm.
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Thanks for considering us for your promotional needs! Below is a rough outline of the way that we operate, and the process by which most orders are produced.
At any stage if you require assistance please contact us – we'd love to help!
First, we need to work out what you require. Initial considerations must include finding products which suit your promotion type and which would be appropriate for your target audience. Are you organising promo gear for a sporting event? If so, you may like to consider water bottles, towels, pedometers, cool dry t-shirts and other products which have relevance and practical application for the participants. If your event has more of a corporate focus, you may like to contemplate items such as compendiums, desk products, stationery, mugs and comparable products which are suitable for an office environment.
Once you have found some items you are interested in, please contact us to request a quote. Please include details such as the items or type of products you are interested in, the quantity you require, and the type of decoration necessary (i.e. does your logo contain one, two or three or more colours? Do you want the item printed in multiple positions?).
If you are unsure please call us to discuss and we can guide you as to which decoration would work best, as well as which quantities will be most economical for you.
When you have decided on an item and are satisfied it suits your budget and purpose, the next step is for us to prepare an art reference for your approval.
An art reference is a digital mock up which explains important information such as quantity, price, and decoration placement/colours/details for your order. This is to clarify details of the order to ensure the final product will be the item you envisioned.
To approve the order, please sign and fax/scan to us the art reference. We must have a signed copy of this for our records prior to proceeding with the order. Once we have received the signed proof, we consider this as confirmation of your order, and we will proceed with ordering stock and scheduling the order into production. Changes at this stage usually cannot be made to the order, however if you have concerns please contact us as soon as possible.
Once the order has been approved by receival of the signed art reference, we will produce your order. This usually includes decoration of blank stock with your logo/design.
We generally operate at a production time-frame of approximately 2/3 weeks for local orders (orders which are decorated locally, in Australia); however this is subject to the item being produced. Some products for example, ceramic mugs, or orders of considerable size may have a slightly longer production time – please ask us before placing an order. During some periods of the year, production may be shorter or slightly longer than originally specified due to demand, however we will ensure we clarify this with you at the time the order is placed to certify the order is complete for your required date.
Once the order is complete we'll contact you. You can elect to pick the order up yourself or have it couriered to your chosen address (please note couriers will not deliver to PO boxes). Freight is additional and will depend on the size of your order, to be quoted on a order by order basis.
Payment options include via Credit Card, Cheque or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) online. If you wish to pay by Credit Card, we have a document which will need to be filled out and returned (via fax, email, mail or in person). Alternatively, our EFT banking details are on the invoice if you prefer to pay through this method. Please note, we value your business and confidence in us, therefore we do not sell, share or make any of your personal information available to unauthorised third parties.


The new curve performance, skinny grip and ultimate boom to mast connection – balanced.
Streamlined's top rider Josh Angulo and chief designer Dave Dominy have been working together on slalom booms for the last five years as Josh has been doing the PWA slalom tours. Together they have designed, built and tested many new ideas, materials, and concepts.
And there is a NEW Freeride Boom just added to the range (180-230). It is wide, super light, super stiff and easy to adjust.


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Chinese toddlers tied up all day because their parents can't afford child care
Bewildered and tethered to a window these Chinese children reflect the desperate plight faced by migrant workers in the world's most populous country.
Unable to afford even the most rudimentary child care, the parents have to bring their youngsters to work with them.
These images were taken in a factory in the city of Jiaxing in the south east of the country where the parents toil for ten hours a day. There are an estimated 110million migrant workers in China aged between 16 and 40 years old.
But there is no creche where the children can be dropped off.
Which means the youngsters come on to the shop floor, where anxious parents use lengths of rubber to tie the children to iron bars on the windows.
And there they are left – safe from traffickers or thieves, but with absolutely nothing to do other than watch mother or father work and shuffle as far as the rubber rope allows them.
The pictures, taken in Zhejiang province, recalled the heart-breaking plight of Ji
ngdan, a two-year-old boy chained to a lamp post in Beijing in February.
His father Chen Chuanliu works as an unlicensed rickshaw cyclist, taking fares all over the city, while the boy's disabled mother collects rubbish at the roadside. Like the children in the factory he was tethered to prevent him from wandering off.
Concerned passers-by spotted Jingdan outside a shopping mall who then reported his father to the authorities, who ordered him to remove the chain.
A local nursery boss saw the story and offered to give the boy three years of free child care.
'The nursery fees will be paid by me, which amounts to about 40,000 yuan (£3,725),' said the president of the Aibei Kindergarten, a man known as Mr Pi.
What little money the boy's father earns goes on rent, food and health care, which is expensive despite the hospitals being state-owned in Communist China.
There's also the country's obsession with legal paperwork, which makes nursery care for the children of migrant workers a huge problem in China.
'The biggest problem for Jingdan now is that he does not have a Beijing hukou, the permanent Beijing residence document,' explained Mr Pi.
'According to China's laws, the boy and his family have no rights to free health or education and other social security benefits because they are from out of town.'
Geplaatst door Boddhi op Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: Delphi FMX - Is there a way to get the X, Y co-ordinates of a form in Firemonkey? I am trying to port an application from VCL to Firemonkey (using Delphi 10.1 Berlin). One of the things that my VCL application does is store the main form's position (x, y) and size (height, width) in an INI file when closed and restore the form to those values when opened again.
In FireMonkey, I am able to get the form's Height and Width, but can't find the X, Y position. Does anyone know how to get these values?

A: Use the Form's Left and Top properties (same as you do in VCL).


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News & eventsNewsroomRMAF Day Malaysia
Typhoon ready to impress visitors at the Royal Malaysian Air Force Open Day
29 May 2012 2012-05-29T02:00:00+02:00
Following closely from its star showing at DSA, the Eurofighter Typhoon Full Scale Replica (FSR) will once again draw crowds, this time at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Open Day at Subang Air Base on Sunday, June 3, 2012.
The Eurofighter Typhoon FSR is being exhibited for the first time at an RMAF Open Day, with members of the public being given the rare opportunity to experience the aircraft hands-on and understand why it is considered the most advanced multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) on the market today. Visitors will be able to examine the aircraft up close, take pictures and from the cockpit, will be able to see what life is like from a Typhoon pilot's perspective, gaining an understanding of his working environment.
"As well as showcasing the Typhoon's cutting edge capability, we aim to inspire Malaysian youth about potential careers in high-technology industries such as aerospace, avionics, engineering, renewable energy. We want the young people to learn and understand the breadth of technology that is channelled into the delivery of such an advanced product. We want them to get excited about wanting to play a part in the process – be it in research and development, building the structure, or learning to fly it." explained Ian Malin, Director, Typhoon Malaysia.
Eurofighter Typhoon is the most capable, in service, multi-role fighter optimised for air defence. This year Royal Air Force Typhoon pilots will play a key role in providing airspace security for the London 2012 Olympics, their overall mission is to provide a safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games. However, this will be just an extension to Typhoon's normal activities as they routinely police the UK skies 24-hours-a-day, every day of the year.
In late 2011, four UK RAF Typhoon aircraft from 6 Squadron flew from their base in Scotland to the Royal Malaysian Air Force airbase in Butterworth to take part in Exercise BERSAMA LIMA achieving unsurpassed levels of availability.
The Typhoon has already been ordered by six nations (Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Austria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). With 559 aircraft under production contract, over 300 aircraft delivered and more than 135,000 flying hours achieved, Eurofighter Typhoon is Europe's largest military collaborative programme and delivers leading-edge technology, strengthening Europe's aerospace industry in the global competition.
Multimedia Tile


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Nvidia plans to lock Game Ready drivers behind GeForce Experience registration
Soon, you won't be able to get Game Ready drivers for your GeForce graphics card unless you hand your email address over to Nvidia.
Nvidia's pushing out a new beta version of its slick GeForce Experience software Thursday, building atop the awesome update from last month that lets you play local co-op games with your faraway friends—even if they don't have gaming machines.
The update adds the ability to broadcast your games to both Twitch and YouTube Gaming at a buttery-smooth 60 frames per second at 1080p resolution. You can now stream games from your GeForce-equipped PC to an Nvidia Shield device at up to 60 fps at 4K resolution, and that's with 5.1-channel surround sound, too. It's all wonderful stuff, pushing Nvidia's class-leading GeForce Experience software even further out in front of the competition, especially if you're all-in on Nvidia's ecosystem.
But what's coming today isn't the real news, even if it's welcome news. The real news is what's coming in December—or rather, what's not coming after December.
Of drivers and single-source destinations
One of the key weapons in Nvidia's arsenal against AMD is its deluge of Game Ready drivers. Virtually every major PC game release in the past two years has been accompanied by a day one, WHQL-certified Game Ready driver from Nvidia, designed to make the latest and greatest games run wonderfully on GeForce graphics cards. They're great!
Sometime in mid-December, however, you'll be able to install Game Ready drivers only via GeForce Experience—and even then only after you've registered a verified email address with Nvidia. The drivers you can grab on GeForce.com or via Windows Update will be limited to quarterly releases for bug fixes, new features, security updates and so on. More frequent Game Ready drivers will be GFE-only.
GeForce users were able to download all these Game Ready drivers without having to hand their email address over to Nvidia.
Locking performance-enhancing drivers that have always been freely available behind a registration wall chafes—hard—but Nvidia says the change will reduce headaches for both casual and hardcore gamers, as well as continue to push GeForce Experience as a go-to PC gaming solution.
"We kind of have two camps in terms of gamers," Nvidia's Sean Pelletier said in a group call with journalists. "On one hand you have the gamer that's just casually playing things here and there, using their system for daily use and gaming on the side. They don't want to be inundated with these [Game Ready] drivers…
"On the other side of the equation you have enthusiast gamers, who get excited about preloading a game, who want to play a game the day it comes out with all the bells and whistles," Pelletier continued. "That's obviously the demographic we're looking at for Game Ready drivers. We're targeting GFE as a single-source destination for those gamers."
Nvidia's GeForce Experience beta interface, running in the recent Star Wars Battlefront beta.
GeForce Experience has long functioned as a control hub of sorts for Nvidia users, offering one-click game optimization, easy driver downloads, the impressive Shadowplay video capture tool, the ability to stream PC games to Shield devices, and more. It's great!—just like Nvidia's Game Ready drivers. But while Nvidia reps tried to downplay the upcoming registration requirement by pointing out that "mid- to high-90 percent" of Nvidia owners already apply updates via GeForce Experience, the fact stands that currently, you can bask in all those value-adding features—and drivers—without ever having to register with Nvidia or officially log into GFE.
Nvidia plans to add more functionality to GFE in its quest to make the software a "single-source destination" for PC gamers, however. PC gaming news will make its way into GeForce Experience, as well as hardware giveaways and early access to games. It's easy to envision Nvidia leveraging GeForce Experience to pass out codes for beta access to games, rather than relying on website-based giveaways as it did with the recent Rainbow Six Siege beta. One day, the free games that Nvidia bundles with its cards could even conceivably be delivered via GFE, similar to how Nvidia offered free Witcher 3 copies to Titan X owners earlier this year. Game-based goodies like that would basically require you to log in to register, anyway—as they have in the past.
But locking Game Ready drivers away unless you hand over your email address to Nvidia just feels icky—like an overreach that benefits Nvidia more than actual gamers. Alas, most gamers will likely wind up handing over the info, even if they grumble. The allure of Nvidia's delicious Game Ready drivers is just too great, and once you've already invested in a Green Team graphics card, you're likely to stick with it for a few years before upgrading. You can't leave performance on the table for that long.
And it certainly feels like Nvidia knows it.


While it's true being very good at sports can net you a college scholarship, participation in extracurricular sports has far more influence on how your life ultimately pans out than that. Involvement positively influences your friendships, your health and your character. It influences how you learn to interact with people and work together in a group. Because of these facts and more, extracurricular sports influence more elements of your life than just education.
Most sports are team-oriented, which means they provide an excellent outlet for social interaction. Even with solo sports, there is still ample opportunity to connect with other people in that particular sport's community. These interactions with others teach how to deal with other people, especially during highly emotional moments like when a team is losing. Being involved in sports can teach you how to encourage others and how everyone contributes, even though not everyone is a star. Friendships you make with your fellow teammates, coaches and even rival teams can stay with you long after you finish playing.
Being involved in sports teaches some very valuable skills that will be of great use later in life. These skills include planning, responsibility, decision-making ability, and, of course, teamwork. For example, you have to develop good decision-making skills to determine which teammate the ball should be passed to. There are 300,000-350,000 sports officials nationwide, which provides an opportunity for your child to see how adults handle conflict, and learn to handle contentious situations themselves. Sports also help develop good eye-hand coordination skills, which is important for military positions as well as many jobs that require manual labor.
It's well-known that most Americans don't get as much exercise as they really need. Being involved in sports promotes a healthy lifestyle and provides participants with an opportunity for fun exercise. This greatly reduces the risk of some serious diseases later in life, such as diabetes, and you will generally feel better about yourself. You also might choose to go on and obtain an online rn to msn nurse practitioner, or a healthcare specialty in sports injury.
Extracurricular sports influence a lot more than just education. They influence your social life, your abilities and your health, among other things. Besides that, playing sports is a lot of fun, so it should come as no surprise that thousands of adults, teenagers and children get involved in sport activities every year. Whether you go on to play professionally or just get involved as a hobby, playing sports will have an unquestionably powerful influence on your life.


I want to do a cover of Anone Ganbare because I love this song and I want to practice writing my own english lyrics. I'm mostly looking for someone active and willing to work fast, rather than the most amazing singer, so I'll close auditions as soon as I get two people I'm happy enough with. I'll be editing the video and drawing art of my oc as well as the two other singers for the video. The video I linked is just a lyric draft, it's not very good but if you're unsure about the audition lines have a look at it. I'll be taking Umi for this project, so Nozomi and Rin are up for audition. This is a one off project and doesn't require any long term commitment, but if you want to do other covers together I'm always around.
Introduce yourself! I like to know who I'm working with. Name, age and pronouns are some suggestions!


Can writing a list change your life?
When I look at my own list of concerns, I see more clearly how the tectonic shifts in American public life affect my personal life, directly and daily, as I decide how much of the Times to read, whether I have a whole hour for Democracy Now!, how many petitions to sign or phone calls to make to my senators, when to write an op-ed piece, and when to let it all go, look around, be local, be humbly, simply present, and lean into the sun so I can bloom where I'm planted.
Making a list of current concerns can also help us notice where our energies tend to flow as we live and move among people we love—how others' losses, illnesses, and fluctuations of fortune affect us. We may be led once again to reflect on the importance of strengthening personal boundaries, for instance, or on the difference between generous sympathy and anxious hovering.
In the list above, for example, I included "a friend's divorce," recognizing how deeply her pain and her husband's tugged at my heart, and at the same time how important it was that I confine my concerns for the most part to prayer and availability. They needed space and time to work out their differences—not the "help" I might too readily be inclined to offer. So I refrained from calling to ask how it was going, which was a challenge for me. But naming it on my list of concerns gave it a place on my "mattering map" and reminded me I could own the concern without having to quell it by acting in ways that suited my needs rather than theirs. Even "my spouse's discouragements," which I witness at much closer range than those of my friends, are not, really, my own. As I include them on my list of concerns, I am again aware of my own need for ongoing discernment about when to "help" and when to let him walk, pray, wrestle, and reflect until he's ready to talk.
Some of our concerns we can address on our own; some we need others' help with; some only God can manage. Naming them, specifying them, seeing them before us on the page, can help us distinguish which is which.
The following excerpt is from MAKE A LIST: How a Simple Practice Can Change Our Lives and Open our Hearts (Eerdmans Publishing Co.), by Marilyn McEntyre.
Marilyn McEntyre is the author of the new book, MAKE A LIST: How a Simple Practice Can Change Our Lives and Open our Hearts, What's in a Phrase? Pausing Where Scripture Gives You Pause (winner of a Christianity Today 2015 Book Award in Spirituality), Word by Word: A Daily Spiritual Practice, and Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies. Her writing has appeared in The Christian Century, Weavings, Sojourners, Prism, Conversations, Academic Medicine, Medical Humanities, Literature and Medicine, and a variety of other academic and trade publications. Please visit www.MarilynMcEntyre.com for additional information.


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'Game of Thrones' Director on Jon Snow and Dany: Incest Is Coming
"Beyond the Wall" director Alan Taylor discusses killing off a dragon, what's going on with Arya and Sansa, and the inevitability of Dany and Jon having some aunt-nephew loving.
Kevin Fallon
Senior Entertainment Reporter
Sisters threatening to kill each other! Nephew-aunt incest blue balls! Ice zombies! Dragons! Death! Dragon-death!
"Beyond the Wall," Sunday night's episode of Game of Thrones and the penultimate outing of the season, gleefully embraced the show's season seven ethos of moving things forward faster than Gendry can run an unforgiving frozen tundra (a speed that seems to defy the laws of time and place).
It was an intense, 70-minute adrenaline shot that saw Arya and Sansa turning on each other in Winterfell while Jon Snow and his fur-clad troupe of your faves (The Hound! Jorah! Tormund! Oh my!) fruitlessly battled a gazillion wights from a rock in the middle of a frozen pond—in the end necessitating a miraculous rescue from Daenerys and her dragons, coming to their aid at a speed even more nonsensical than Gendry's record-setting snow marathon.
It all climaxes with the gut-wrenching death of Viserion, one of Dany's beloved dragons, and by extension progresses forward toward our global collective goal of seeing Khaleesi bone her nephew. (Season one Lannister incest? Gross! Season seven Dany-Jon incest? Give it to me now!)
To make sense of the big episode, we spoke to its director, Alan Taylor. Taylor, who has directed seven Game of Thrones episodes—as well as episodes of The Sopranos, Deadwood, The West Wing, Sex and the City, and Mad Men—was around in season one when the show gave birth to the dragons. We spoke about the full-circle moment of helming one's death, the inevitability of Dany and Jon's hook-up, Arya and Sansa's game of wits, and, as he says, "just the cool shit of dragons flying around and stuff."
Reading the reaction to the Arya and Sansa scenes, it seems like people genuinely can't decide whose side they're on in that sisterly showdown.
Yeah. The intention really was to question whose side are you on in terms of who's right, but also whose side are you on in terms of who's more lethal. We know that Arya is dangerous. At the same time when Sansa says something like, "I won the Battle of the Bastards," she's absolutely right. So they both have acclaim. They've both been through hell and been changed by it. I certainly wanted to set up the idea as much as possible that either one of them could kill the other, and it could happen very soon.
What is the significance of Arya handing Sansa the Valyrian dagger at the end of that exchange?
I think she's doing many things. She does like to pull the wings off flies a little bit. I think she's scaring the shit out of Sansa, and then saying, "Try me." (Laughs) I love the fact that she hands her the dagger then turns her back on her. I think it's the ultimate "I'm not afraid of you" gesture. The most momentous thing that happens after the mutual threats back and forth is that Sansa sends Brienne away, which clears the decks for action that Brienne would prevent if she was there.
My colleague Melissa Leon wrote that the episode was like the writers embraced their "inner 12-year-olds" and were "just happy to revel in cool shit, like flaming swords and ice zombies." What was it like for you to revel in that as a director?
I had a bunch of reactions when I first read the script. First of all, I realized I was doing the penultimate episode. It's generally a big episode. Something major typically happens in the story arc in the penultimate episode. But then I got to Belfast and saw the other scripts and realized that actually every episode this season was pretty major. (Laughs) There was nothing more major about my episode, but I was grateful that I got to do the game-changing thing with the dragon. I was there when we gave birth to the dragons in season one. It was nice to do this full-circle of finishing one of them off. I knew it was going to have an emotional impact because those dragons are beloved by the audience as much as by Dany, I think.
Was there anything you were nervous about?
The part I was most nervous about was a lot of the talking at the beginning. Especially knowing that we were going to be shooting a lot of that stuff in Iceland. Just, oh god, how are we going to keep this alive and moving? That's a lot of talking. Luckily these are characters that people are really invested in. Part of the fun of the series now is bringing these characters with different storylines together. There's a tremendous appetite to see how the Hound is going to deal with Tormund, how is Jorah going to deal with Jon Snow? The braiding of those stories was a lot of fun. Plus, just the cool shit of dragons flying around and stuff.
You mentioned the emotional impact of killing off the dragon. What was the challenge in generating that emotional impact, so it wasn't just "cool CGI of a dragon dying?"
It's really thinking of it as a character we have a relationship with. Things we were doing with that battle had a definite tempo to it. You know, we were whacking zombies. But shifting gears to the moment when the Night King throws his spear, suddenly there's a darker, slower, more momentous build. The way we line up the shot you understand that something on a different scale is coming. A lot of work went into the arc of how the dragon was going to go through its death throes. We crosscut to the various characters, because a lot of the emotion comes from watching it play on the faces of our heroes. Then we had this one shot that I'm very proud of where you cut to the lifeless dragon and its legs slide back into the hole in the ice. The shape of that shot felt like the right scale for letting go of this character and giving it its proper time. It's tricky because there's this battle raging and you can't stop the clock and spend too much time on it, but you still have to give it its due. So it's going from that shot to Jorah sort of taking it in and looking at Dany, then you see her reaction and we realize that she just lost one of her children. Then Jon Snow being enraged on her behalf finishes that emotional cycle of the dragon's death.
Could you give us an idea of the scope of shooting a battle scene as unique as this one: in the winter weather, the CGI wights, and all those challenges?
I was struck by the fact that this battle was not actually of the biggest scale [for this show]. I still think the greatest battle ever achieved for television is Battle of the Bastards last season. Our battle was never going to be on that scale, so we focused on the intimacy. It's seven guys on a rock. But what was a daunting challenge was the fact that our story requires us to be on a frozen lake in Iceland, but we're in fact on a quarry in Ireland. So the level of technology and art that goes into making the scene believable was immense. That's something I never experienced on television. You have a guy charging across the ice and he breaks through into the water. There are seven shots that have to be put together to make that effect play. Some are shot on green screen on a stage a month later, some are shot in a dunk tank, some are shot on location and the stunt guys are doing it. It's a huge amount of work going into achieving that.
There's an obvious obsession with the romantic chemistry between Jon and Dany. When you're shooting that scene with them at the end of the episode, what are you thinking about in terms of how much to telegraph of that chemistry and that will they/won't they tension?
There's no secret that this is where this is going. Readers of the book have known that things were heading towards this destination for a while. Even the characters in this story know it's heading in this direction. Tyrion is making fun of Dany about what's brewing. So we knew it's got to come at some point, and I was glad that I got to be there for a major step forward for them. The fact that Jon's willing to now bend the knee to her as the next queen is a huge political step. The fact that they are starting to fall for each other is huge. It comes down to tiny moments and how they interact with each other. They're holding hands and there's this great look where she's swooning and she steps back from it, but it's clear that that's our destination at this point.
One question that a lot of people I talked to had while watching the episode in real time was why in the hell does Jon Snow keep fighting when everyone else is on top of Drogon ready to escape?
If there were people that wondered that then maybe we screwed up. The intention was two things. One is that they're climbing on the dragon and it's a slow process. Their flank is unprotected and we see that there are wights coming towards them, so he had to battle those guys back. The other thing is that it is just very Jon Snow of him. (Laughs) To get caught up in it all and it not being the most tactical thing or strategic thing. I love the fact that Battle of Bastards hinged on him doing something that did not make sense: charging in and trying to protect his little brother exposed everybody to failure and basically lost the battle for all of them. For me, ideally people believe that he's doing something heroic, guarding the flank so everyone can get to safety. Then once he gets caught up in it, there's a moment of Viserion going down and he's, again in a very Jon Snow moment, protectively enraged and hacks his way through a few more to get an eye line on his nemesis, the Night King. I believe in the psychology of him going to do it. I actually had more trouble believing and understanding Dany leaving when he goes into the ice.
How did you wrap your head around Dany's decision to fly away and leave Jon in the ice?
We had to motivate that by the fact that now Drogon is in peril because there's another spear being loaded up. I think you could pick apart almost anything. When we were doing it, we were questioning: Why isn't Dany bringing both her dragons around to take out the Night King? There are subtle things going on trying to explain that as well. One is that she's a mother and she just lost a child and she wants to save her other children. Another is, you'll notice when the Night King walks forward with his spear he steps into a line of fire and the first brushes away from him when he steps through it. We saw that effect earlier in the series—that he seems to repel fire. So it's possible that dragon fire may not work on him.
There are a few questions that people had about plausibility with the episode, especially in regards to time.
At every story point there are questions that come up and we're trying to cope with them in ways that ring true to people. There's been talk about: Why does Jon fight in the ice? And there's been tremendous amount of talk about the airspeed velocity of the raven, which seems to be catching some people a lot. I don't have an answer for that except to say those ravens are really fast.


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blog, genre-schooled, screens	 May 3, 2017 February 23, 2019
Used To Be You Could Trust In the Story: Mr. Robot & Genre
Below I assume at least a passing familiarity with the series Mr. Robot, and engage in spoilers for ep 2.6 of the same. (Also contains spoilers for Supernatural ep 5.8)
Since Mr. Robot started airing on USA Network (to general critical acclaim), I've been asking myself as I watched, is this a "genre show" or not? It takes place in a reality that has at least plausibly recently diverged from our own, no one has superpowers, there are no supernatural elements running amok, and really the only "super-" element present is the skill of the hackers portrayed.
But there are rules. Or at least a careful, teasing, flouting of them. Elliot (Rami Malek), our narrator and protagonist, is soon revealed to be a highly unreliable narrator. Sometimes he withholds relevant narrative information because he doesn't trust you–a very literal you, addessed as so–sufficiently. Other times, he's presenting things as he understands them, but through the filter of narcotics on his perceptions, or of hallucinations from his mental illness.
I'm of the camp that believes Elliot's struggles with discerning reality from hallucination are overwhelmingly presented with compassion and sympathy–he's not a punchline we're invited to laugh at, and when others onscreen do so, their cruelty in the face of his distress makes them look very small indeed. Because of this compassionate presentation, and Malek's breakout and deeply humanizing performance, Elliot escapes being remanded to narrative novelty act, retaining his agency and sympathy, while simultaneously confounding viewer efforts to understand entirely what is happening in the conspiracy-tangled narrative. The series narrative itself is a mess of spinning plates, with greater and greater difficulty keeping them all aloft with every episode, and it remains to be seen if it will all come crashing down in Season 3 or triumph yet. But in the meantime, the audience has entered a tacit contract with the series: If we keep watching and paying attention, the pieces will eventually fit together to yield a clear story, and Elliot will tell and show us what he is capable of perceiving and recalling (for the most part).
Such contracts, especially at that level of complexity, are a hallmark of the genre text, as are "sandbox" portrayals of an insular world the audience is unlikely to have any personal familiarity with–in this case, hackers. But I've been fence-sitting on Mr. Robot's genre status for two seasons now, leaning towards "unclassifiable" rather than a clean genre designation. Many would place it in the category of "prestige cable drama," but while many critics use the term liberally, it seems best defined as "cable dramas that make critics feel clever," and I'm unconvinced that has any of the requisite moving parts that a genre designation make. What I am ready to observe, is that the show's unclassifiable nature allows it to render judgement on a genre it doesn't belong to, when it assumes that genre's skin for the first third of Ep 2.6.
The end of ep 2.5 left Elliot on the receiving end of a brutal and potentially-fatal-looking beating at the hands of several thugs, and in ep 2.6, after the usual Previously on… sequence, we see an outdated-looking logo and lead-in for USA Network, and then the Aldersons are thrown into a 90's sitcom, complete with peppy color-palette, laugh track, and hokey theme song ("Used to be you could trust in the story…"). And Elliot looks absolutely terrified to be there. He's often disoriented by his surroundings and struggling to discern auditory and visual hallucinations from reality, but on top of his usual stressors, he's in a car badly matted against stock highway footage, and faced with a literal laugh track–that no one else seems to hear–assaulting his senses. For an individual constantly dealing with holes in his recall and evaluating his reality, self-awareness in this genre appears to essentially be hell. At first the tonal mismatch of placing these characters in the "wrong" genre seems amusing–to us, the viewers, and certainly to the "studio audience" providing the constant laughter–but seeing the baggage they carry with them (literally and figuratively–there's a kidnapping victim in the trunk of the car) treated in sitcom mode, rapidly becomes something else.
Genreswapping has become a popular sport for many series, some breaking out in musical episodes (usually fun), "noir" (usually a disaster), or police procedurals, etc.
One of Supernatural's best episodes places the action in multiple genres within a single episode, and its sitcom sequence is used to play up existing dynamics within the series, namely the relationship between the brothers. Genre makes things bigger, more exaggerated, and in doing so, often transforms them. In this case, the show acknowledges just how much family comedy (as well as the more obvious family drama) is at the heart of the series' appeal, and how incongruous that seemingly is within the series' native genre category of Horror.
Mr. Robot's foray into the 90's sitcom mode, rather than introducing sitcom to a Horror context, reveals the horror already inherent in the sitcom genre. People say and do horrifying things, in at-most-slightly-exaggerated character from their usual contexts, and the addition of the laugh track and knowing smirks that break the fourth wall creates a hellish atmosphere that on little reflection, exposes the horror inherent to those gestures and canned responses in all such genre texts.
Elliot's family is a nightmare in of itself, but it's not too much beyond the dystopia already presented by this genre, where everything is performed for an invisible audience, accompanied by constant, mocking laughter at inappropriate moments. Elliot always feels that he's being watched in his "normal" experience–how far a cry is that from being self-aware in a sitcom? By the time ALF shows up and commits graphic vehicular manslaughter, to the whoops of the studio audience, you find yourself not so much reflecting on the contrast of Elliot's reality with that of sitcoms, but rather the congruencies, and wondering why all 90's sitcom characters didn't look as existentially horrified as he does now.
What did you think of this episode? Horror and comedy have always had close affinities, and there's a rich body of writing on the topic to explore. Let us know in the comments below if you'd like to see more!
Filed under: genre theory, mental illness, Mr. Robot, SPN
GotGVol2: Double-Feature Viewing Options
Rae's Recs: May 4


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People are making more purchases than ever with credit and debit cards. The more you use your cards, the more likely it is you will experience a credit or debit billing issue, such as an unauthorized purchase, a charge for an incorrect amount, or a returned item not properly credited to your account.
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Regulation E provides protections for consumers who transfer funds through electronic methods. These methods include point-of-sale (POS) and automated teller machine (ATM) transactions as well as automatic withdrawals from your bank account. Consumers' responsibilities and potential liabilities for unauthorized transactions under Regulation E are outlined in the chart above.
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Candy Apple Red E1 for Sale, hundred$ under anything I've seen in similar near new condition.
Includes original case, factory inspector's certificate, control pedal, whammy bar.
I'm new on the forum, and don't yet have all the group customs. If classifieds are not allowed, excuse me.
I'll provide more details, pictures, audio clips, etc, on inquiry. Located in Dallas/Ft. Worth.
It's fine to post all that info here. Even if we're not in the market, we still want to see pics, prices, etc.
Thanks for the hospitable welcome, Stephen.
See a few photos attached if I uploaded correctly.
I'm not sure why the photos I uploaded aren't viewable. If you're interested, I also have the guitar posted on eBay with photos. Readers at the moogmusic forum get the discount price in my original post.


text:
The Devil in Pew Number Seven: A True Story
Written By: Rebecca Nichols Alonzo
Narrated By: Pam Ward
Publisher: Christianaudio.com
Duration: 9 hours 0 minutes
Rebecca never felt safe as a child. In 1969, her father, Robert Nichols, moved to Sellerstown, North Carolina, to serve as a pastor. There he found a small community eager to welcome him—with one exception. Glaring at him from pew number seven was a man obsessed with controlling the church. Determined to get rid of anyone who stood in his way, he unleashed a plan of terror that was more devastating and violent than the Nichols family could have ever imagined. Refusing to be driven away by acts of intimidation, Rebecca's father stood his ground until one night when an armed man walked into the family's kitchen . . . and Rebecca's life was shattered. If anyone had a reason to harbor hatred and seek personal revenge, it would be Rebecca. Yet The Devil in Pew Number Seven tells a different story. It is the amazing true saga of relentless persecution, one family's faith and courage in the face of it, and a daughter whose parents taught her the power of forgiveness.
Religion & Spirituality >
Jessica M
This book was absolutely amazing. Really made me think. The narrator was fantastic too. Not to monotone and not overly done either. I could literally picture the words being spoken coming to life. I would recommend it to anyone.
MArie Hibner
Would love to meet Rebecka! Enjoyed the book a lot!
Devil in Pew Number Seven: A True Story
by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo


text:
Mandy Gonzalez
Mandy Gonzalez has thrilled audiences on Broadway, lit up the screen on television and started a social movement.
Mandy currently stars as Angelica Schuyler in the musical sensation Hamilton and as Lucy Knox on the CBS hit, Madam Secretary. Mandy's vocal prowess sets a new standard—one moment, she can be soft and sultry, the next moment, she can shake the rafters. Mandy is a Warner East West Records artist and recently released her debut album, FEARLESS.
Mandy is also known for originating the role of Nina Rosario in the Tony award-winning show, In the Heights. Previously, she also starred as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked—blowing the roof off of New York's Gershwin Theatre every night. Mandy has performed in concert halls around world, most recently as lead vocalist for the Philly Pops.
Mandy is also an author—she recently published a widely-cited article in the Harvard Business Review on how to overcome one's fear of public speaking.
Mandy is the proud founder of #FearlessSquad—a social media movement for inclusiveness and belonging. The movement connects millions of people around the world, encourages them to be their best selves and helps them empower each other.


A runway length design concept in which the length of a prepared runway is such that the accelerate-stop distance (the runway length required for an aircraft to accelerate to a specified speed, and then, in the case of an engine failure, to be able to stop safely on the runway) is equal to the takeoff distance for the aircraft for which the runway is designed. Also called the balanced field length.
The Falcon 5X is expected to have a balanced field length of about 5,250 feet/1600 meters (MTOW, ISA, SL) and an approach speed of about 105 kts at typical landing weight.
The G650's takeoff balanced field length decreased to 5,858 feet (1,786 m) from the original 6,000 feet (1,829 m) at the aircraft's maximum takeoff weight of 99,600 pounds (45,179 kg).
The 4,000 nm Falcon 2000LXS will allow operators to access more airports because of new full-length inboard slats which give the aircraft category-leading airport performance and balanced field length.
90(i), these aircraft are designed to outperform all others, connecting more key city pairs non-stop worldwide through a combination of outstanding range, fuel efficiency and balanced field length.
With the shortest balanced field length of any widebody business jet, the Global 5000 will fly executives in and out of airfields closer to their point of business.
The balanced field length is 4,325 ft (SL, ISA) at a MTOW of 41,000 lb; it climbs directly to 41,000 feet in 19 minutes, reaches a mid-cruise altitude of 45,000 feet and offers a certified ceiling of 47,000 feet.
In addition to more range, the aircraft's balanced field length has been reduced from 4,960 feet (1,512 m) to 4,750 feet (1,448 m).
For example, requiring a balanced field length of just 3,000 ft (914 m) at maximum take off weight, it can operate out of fields traditionally the domain of a turboprop; even out of unimproved runways.
Introduced in July 2002 at the Farnborough Air Show, the Bombardier Learjet 45 XR offers significantly improved payload-range capabilities, increased flexibility, unmatched time-to-climb, faster high-speed cruise, and significantly reduced balanced field length at higher temperatures when compared to the Bombardier Learjet 45.
According to the company, the 4,000 nm Falcon 2000LXS will allow operators to access more airports because of new full-length inboard slats which give the aircraft category-leading airport performance and balanced field length.
At its maximum takeoff weight of 39,600 pounds (17,963 kg), the aircraft offers a balanced field length of 4,750 feet (1,448 m), an improvement of more than 1,300 feet (396 m) over the G200 it replaces and 210 feet (64 m) less than originally announced at the program's outset.


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Dr. Maria Framke
Hidden histories: Women's role in rural development programmes in India, c. 1920–1966
October 2021 – March 2022
Research Description:
Echoing recent calls for a 'gendering' of development history, my project examines Indian women's contributions to rural reconstruction programmes between the 1920s and 1960s. The project's main objective is to explore the uncharted history of female actors' roles in designing and implementing rural development schemes in India in three key areas, namely health, education, and sustainable livelihood. These initiatives were partly state-led, and partly carried out by voluntary organisations. Their analysis provides novel insights into international entanglements across North America, Europe, and South Asia that shaped the processes of Indian nation state building. Moving beyond the existing scholarship, which mainly focusses on male actors, the goal is to produce an account of the twin processes of development and expansive citizenship by shifting the focus to elite women working with subaltern rural women. To achieve this, the fundamental questions the project raises are: did these schemes, influenced by contemporary social feminism, re-iterate the conventional dual model of male and female divided work sphere? Did this type of female work and participation re-inscribe a secondary feminised role or did all this activity elevate women as 'equal citizens'? The project encompasses both the late colonial and the early postcolonial periods and thus allows to put continuities and ruptures into stark relief.
The proposed research combines an actor-centred biographical approach with the investigation of institutional history that takes organisations and networks into account. While retaining the focus on women's contributions, one guiding hypothesis is that the 'zone of encounter' between elite imaginations and rural realities will tell us about the contestations that accompanied the implementation of these schemes. In this way, the project will provide an in-depth account of how women conceptualised 'development' for themselves, and what these contestations meant for the historical genesis and graded nature of citizenry in the world's largest democracy.
Maria Framke is a historian of modern South Asia and a research fellow at the History Department of Erfurt University. She has researched and published on the history of international organisations, imperial and nationalist politics, humanitarianism, and international relations and ideologies in the 20th century. Maria received her doctorate from Jacobs University Bremen in 2011 on the topic of Indian engagements with Italian Fascism and German National Socialism in the interwar period. Her current research focuses on 'South Asian humanitarianism in armed conflicts, 1914–1945' and on 'Hidden histories: Women's role in rural development programmes in India, c. 1920–1966'.