After my last flight, I head to the Sky Club to check out the shower room, only to find their showers are in a terrible state. Not only was there a lack of shower gel and a broken shower head, water temperature was also dysfunctional and only hot water emanated out from the tap. I did have a quick bite at the lounge since the breakfast service on the flight was a bit lacking.
I would not make a review of the lounge though some photos the lounge are added here since I wrote about this lounge before. With Delta's imminent move to Terminal 2 and 3 in Los Angeles, this lounge space will soon be vacated and that is probably the reason why not much has gone to maintain the lounge amenities.
Remote Working Tip : Doesn't matter whether youre in Los Angeles or Shanghai you can still catch up with your office work remotely with trending virtual desktops from CloudDesktopOnline.com with enterprise application Add-Ons such as hosted SharePoint, Exchange and Office 365 from www.Apps4Rent.com with impeccable tech-support.
Since I had spent quite a bit of time in the Sky Club, I went to the gate hoping to catch a glimpse of the 777, but it was blocked and no photos of the plane before departing. With a crowded gate area and limited seating it was a bit uncomfortable and there was even a bit of a delay in boarding. Fortunately, the gate agents followed the Sky Priority boarding procedure and there was orderly boarding process.
As I turned left towards my seat in the front cabin, there was already quite a bit of people onboard. On the seat as usual was the full duvet and pillow set with slippers and noise-cancelling headphones. There was also a packet of sweet and spicy pecans. Delta ONE Business class onboard the 777 was configured differently and was in the old first generation herringbone seats that Cathay Pacific recently phased out. These seats do not provide the best views out of the window as passengers face towards the aisle. However they were slightly angled towards the window more than the Cathay's version and it was still possible to see out and take photos on the window seat.
Amenity kit provided was still the Tumi hard case with contents by Kiehl's. They have some of the best amenity kits out there with contents that was very useful for travelling and I even liked their hard case.
As I settled down, an Asian lady settled down across on the aisle while a Chinese family with a newborn baby was seated behind taking 3 seats amongst themselves. With that, I counted 2 families with newborn babies in the cabin today and the family behind me was fortunate in the extra empty seat that they were able to use to sleep the baby. Of course a few crew members did have to remind them the danger of leaving the baby on the seat themselves.
Pyjamas were then offered after doors were closed by the male steward and this time around, I managed to get one in a medium size, which fits me well.
After boarding was completed, the captain came online with an estimated flight time of 13 hour and 35 minutes. China immigration forms were then handed out before pullback. The herringbone seats meant the screen has to be swivelled out to view the safety video, and should have been stowed back before take-off but there was no such rule enforced during this flight.
The quick take-off was quite unique as we faced east, instead of west towards the Pacific Ocean. The plane turned south before heading north from Palos Verdes towards Malibu. It seems we would be doing a Polar route flight today.
Cabin service started around half an hour into the flight with a hot towel as we passed by Bakersfield and the clear weather meant I had another scenic flight across the Santa Monica mountains.
As I had picked the western meal selection, the appetizer was the smoked salmon. A usual appetizer in most flights whether in Business or Economy, they were average and nothing to shout about.
Then came the salad and soup. Considering their domestic flights usually have pretty good salads, I was disappointed in the bad presentation of the salad and it seems like a mess. Meanwhile what was supposed to be onion soup seems to have a lot of corns inside, and feels more like a chilli corn soup. It was fortunately tasty and I do like corn soup.
For the mains, I picked the ravioli as I liked anything with truffles and while it was not on par with what one might get, it was edible and did have hints of truffle flavour. The sweet grilled vegetables was also nice as the side dish.
Dessert was non-existent except for the sundae as I had wanted the chocolate lava cake. Since I still had space in my tummy, I had the sundae and some grapes.
There was some missing items off dishes and some of the meals were quite underwhelming. Thus I found the catering to be a mess on this flight though I somehow suspect it was the fault of the catering company. With the end of the relatively short meal service, I changed to the pyjamas and setup the seat to be a bed. The inclusion of Westin Heavenly bedding is one of the reasons I enjoy flying with Delta Business Class for long haul flights, as they provide for much comfort.
However it was still in the afternoon and I did not sleep very long, waking up somewhere after we passed Alaska. Due to the underwhelming lunch, I asked for the mid flight snack, expecting a tenderloin. What came out instead was another salmon dish and that left me puzzled. Apparently there was some mistake in the loading of the dishes or so the crew mentioned. Not sure what went wrong here but it was another disappointing catering. The consolation was the fruit bowl served on the tray with the salmon did fill me up somewhat.
After the snack, I asked for some tea to drink as I went to continue watching the inflight entertainment. Delta has a respectable variety of movies and TV shows including some older classics. In the end I watched the TV show 'Suits' up till episode 4 for the latest season, The Polar Express, and a Chinese movie titled Inside or Out.
In between, I did go to the galley to grab some snacks and found they had cup noodles onboard. My guess it was to cater to the Asian travellers. The chips selection includes a popcorn choice which I enjoyed and it was nice to have the full setup on the galley as the crew did replenish them as it runs out. I was also glad that there was the babies onboard did not cause too much noise and trouble so it was a relatively peaceful and uneventful flight.
One thing to note is that these herringbone seats do not provide the most privacy since passengers and crew can see you as they pass by the aisle. For that reason, many premium airlines have taken them out and Delta is in the process of replacing them with fully enclosed suites in Business Class as they replace the 777 with the newer A350s. What it did have was more space and legroom which makes them very comfortable for tall people. And there was a couple of them on this flight.
A highlight of this flight was the sunrise I got to enjoy as we crossed into Siberia and the morning light over the Tundra was just a beautiful flight. It was wonderful to see the landscape go from blue to orange to yellow and I felt fortunate to be flying in such great weather.
Not to mention, the frozen tundra landscape as we fly past Siberia and into Khabarovsk Krai province was fascinating to see.
These landscape shots took up most of the time and distracted me away from watching the movie 'IT', which meant I did not complete the movie in full. And this continued all the way into the pre-arrival meal.
Pre-arrival meal service was offered to passengers who were awake and I went for the pork option. I was given my orange juice first but the main tray took a while to come out.
Surprisingly it came with the chocolate lava cake that was meant for dessert. Now you see why I think the catering company messed up the food for the flight?
At the end of second meal service, a basket of chocolates was brought around and it was a dark chocolate and mint piece. As far as snacks go, I think Delta hit the sweet spot since I have always discovered great new snacks onboard Delta flights!
Since many passengers were still asleep after the end of the pre-arrival meal service, I did not have to wait long to use the lavatory to change back to my clothes. The cabin was also relatively peaceful and it was dark by the time we started our descent into Shanghai which meant there was nothing to see outside the window.
While we did land earlier than scheduled, there was a long taxi from the runway to our parking spot in Pudong's Terminal 1. On top of that, we were parked on a remote stand far away from the main terminal and that meant we had to alight from the stairs. It did give me an opportunity to catch a photo of the airplane but it must have been frustrating for the Economy class passengers as there was only one staircase and that is not something most travellers would have liked at the end of a 14 hour journey.
I have to say again that the messed up catering certainly made this flight memorable for the wrong reasons. The crew for this flight did their job but was not outstanding nor did they plan to interact much with the passengers. I found them to be just doing the routine thing. What made the flight better was the amenities provided like the comfortable duvet and the tasty snacks. On the whole, I would consider Delta flights to be of good value for Trans-Pacific flights, especially when their fares between North America and China and quite low for Business Class travel.


I am talking about the new version of the ppp. I have never liked it since they finally decided to upgrade their website and so does the rules and regulations upon getting the paid post. I can't do rally about it because I am only one of those bloggers who needs extra income online.
I would like to protest of voice out what's my perspective but I doubt they'll be able to revert it back to the old version.
As for now, I never like it but still I'm a good fan of them too. What about you? Do you have the same feedback as I do? Oh come on, don't deny it. I know you don't like it too as much as I am.
I've just checked the new Blogger Templates: they are very functional but perhaps with the code a bit difficult to write.
how many sites do you have, I already followed this one I think about two or three months ago.
If you have other sites that I haven't followed yet pls let me know. I'll be glad to do so.
I will also add you in my blogroll.
hi nov..sus wala na jud ko kabisita sa ilang site...dugay nako wala makuha sa ilang opps..
in postlink naman ang PPP, actually ganahan ko kay link ra emo e butang, maski unsa pana emo esulat,, hahaha.. katongisa ka PPPv4 ambot wla pa sad ko..


text:
module Fog
  module Parsers
    module AWS
      module CDN
        class Distribution < Fog::Parsers::Base
          def reset
            @response = { 'DistributionConfig' => { 'CNAME' => [], 'Logging' => {}, 'TrustedSigners' => [] } }
          end

          def start_element(name, attrs = [])
            super
            case name
            when 'CustomOrigin', 'S3Origin'
              @origin = name
              @response['DistributionConfig'][@origin] = {}
            end
          end

          def end_element(name)
            case name
            when 'AwsAccountNumber'
              @response['DistributionConfig']['TrustedSigners'] << value
            when 'Bucket', 'Prefix'
              @response['DistributionConfig']['Logging'][name] = value
            when 'CNAME'
              @response['DistributionConfig']['CNAME'] << value
            when 'DNSName', 'OriginAccessIdentity', 'OriginProtocolPolicy'
              @response['DistributionConfig'][@origin][name] = value
            when 'DomainName', 'Id', 'Status'
              @response[name] = value
            when 'CallerReference', 'Comment', 'DefaultRootObject', 'Origin', 'OriginAccessIdentity'
              @response['DistributionConfig'][name] = value
            when 'Enabled'
              if value == 'true'
                @response['DistributionConfig'][name] = true
              else
                @response['DistributionConfig'][name] = false
              end
            when 'HTTPPort', 'HTTPSPort'
              @response['DistributionConfig'][@origin][name] = value.to_i
            when 'InProgressInvalidationBatches'
              @response[name] = value.to_i
            when 'LastModifiedTime'
              @response[name] = Time.parse(value)
            when 'Protocol'
              @response['DistributionConfig']['RequireProtocols'] = value
            when 'Self'
              @response['DistributionConfig']['TrustedSigners'] << 'Self'
            end
          end
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT)
http://www.seyccat.org
SeyCCAT was legally registered under its own Act in November, 2015. With the support of NatureVest, the conservation impact investing unit of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a groundbreaking debt conversion for marine conservation and climate adaptation was initiated and structured with the Seychelles government. As a result, SeyCCAT was created to manage the blended capital proceeds from the debt conversion and, in exchange, the Seychelles government committed to improved policies and increased investment around marine conservation and climate adaptation. For detailed information on the debt restructure and deal flow click https://convergence.finance/knowledge-detail/3p1S3pSTVKQYYC2ecwaeiK. Following this financial innovation, SeyCCAT is now pursuing other opportunities to grow its assets. Their portfolio is expanding to include capital that supports sustainable fisheries management (in the form of proceeds from a sovereign US$15m Blue Bond), as well as other blended instruments and impact funds that contribute to Seychelles' blue future.
Contact Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT)
Oceangate House, Room 109 Flamboyant Avenue, Victoria Mahe

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


After a somewhat rough beginning with "Wicker Park," helmer Paul McGuigan and star Josh Hartnett advance to new levels of devious gamesmanship in "Lucky Number Slevin." Thoroughly -- and sometimes justifiably -- infatuated with its own cleverness, this mistaken-identity thriller delights in narrative complication and Tarantino-esque selfawareness; it's when the labyrinthine plot starts to make sense, ironically, that the pervasive shallowness becomes a liability. Stylishly made and loaded with marquee talent, this Weinstein Co. acquisition is just smart enough to please mainstream auds without turning them off, though repeat viewings a la "Memento" and "The Sixth Sense" are unlikely.
Conjuring an enjoyably nonsensical underworld replete with warring Gotham crime lords and Hasidic Jewish hoodlums, pic is never more playfully dissembling than in its first reel, which practically conjures a new scenario every five minutes. Four bloody murders are executed in unnervingly rapid succession, followed by a placid scene at an empty waystation where an anonymous man (Sam Jaeger) is approached by the wheelchair-bound Smith (Bruce Willis). Smith proceeds to tell the fellow a story, shown in sad, grisly flashback, about a man killed with his family after losing a bundle at the racetrack. In telling his tale, Smith defines a "Kansas City shuffle" -- basically gamblers' slang for misdirection, which turns out to be the primary strategy of Jason Smilovic's teasingly convoluted script.
It's here that the story proper begins, opening with a young man named Slevin (Hartnett) who's taken up temporary residence at his friend Nick's apartment in New York. Nick has gone missing, as Slevin soon learns from across-the-hall neighbor Lindsey (a disarmingly perky Lucy Liu), who insists on playing amateur detective while making no secret of her attraction to the hunky new houseguest. Spicy flirtation gives way to violent trauma, however, when two thugs show up and mistake Slevin for Nick. They drag him before the Boss (Morgan Freeman), who calmly informs him that he's got three days to pay $96,000. The Boss offers to forgive the debt if Slevin helps exact revenge on his arch-nemesis Schlomo (Ben Kingsley), also known as the Rabbi.
Meanwhile, a wheelchair-free Smith resurfaces as a hit man doing business with both the Boss and the Rabbi, while Slevin finds himself aggressively shadowed by a detective named Brikowski (Stanley Tucci). The mysteries multiply along with the body count, but the fun of "Lucky Number Slevin" comes from its quick-witted improvisation -- Lindsey, helpfully, turns out to be a coroner -- and the nutty, liberating sense that pic could go anywhere.
If the shamelessly self-reflexive script sometimes smells like refried Tarantino, with wink-wink dialogues about comicbooks, James Bond and Hitchcock's "North by Northwest," it also contains sharper one-liners than any thriller in recent memory -- most of them handed to Hartnett, whose Slevin is a serious smartass and all the more likable for it. Pic quickly loses its sense of humor, however, once it gets down to the business of explaining itself (surprise, surprise, no one is exactly who he appears to be), springing its revelations with mechanical precision as Smilovic's amusing wrongman scenario morphs into a self-serious revenge drama. Frivolously entertaining trifle simply isn't equipped to handle weighty ideas like the possibility of honor among killers.
McGuigan -- who, on the evidence of "Wicker Park," "Gangster No. 1" and "The Reckoning," has yet to meet a variety of thriller he doesn't like -- unleashes a showy arsenal of whooshing cameras and jump cuts, filming the brief but brutal eruptions of violence for maximum impact. Cinematographer Peter Sova, in his fourth collaboration with the Scottish director, varies the palette superbly with different intensities of color. Fabulous production design specializes in swirling wallpaper patterns that tantalizingly hint at pic's underlying narrative enigmas. Montreal locations, which stood in for Chicago in "Wicker Park," are at best a passable facsimile of New York.
A Weinstein Co. release of an Ascendant Pictures, FilmEngine and VIP 4 production in association with Capitol Films. Produced by Christopher Eberts, Kia Jam, Andreas Grosch, Chris Roberts, Anthony Rhulen, Tyler Mitchell, Robert S. Kravis. Executive producers, Dan Carmody, Eli Klein, Andreas Schmid, A.J. Dix, William Shively. Directed by Paul McGuigan. Screenplay, Jason Smilovic.
Outerbridge, Corey Stoll, Howard Jerome.
(Premieres), Jan. 21, 2006. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 110 MIN.


text:
Belmokhtar's killing would be major blow for AQIM
The airstrike that targeted Mokhtar Belmokhtar will further weaken AQIM, already struggling with internal dissent and losses in northern Mali
Photo: The killing of Algerian national Mokhtar Belmokhtar was announced by the Libyan government but so far denied by the jihadist leader's relatives. [AFP]
Mélanie Matarese
The killing of Algerian national Mokhtar Belmokhtar, announced by the Libyan government but so far denied by the jihadist leader's relatives, could significantly undermine AQIM.
"If his death is confirmed, it would clearly weaken al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) which will struggle to replace such a good warlord," said Mauritanian journalist Lemine Ould M Salem, author of a biography on the jihadist leader (Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the Bin Laden of the Sahara).
Although the Tobruk-based Libyan government, recognised by the international community, announced in a statement that Mokhtar Belmokhtar had been killed in a US airstrike on Saturday night, the death of the mastermind behind the Tiguentourine hostage-taking operations is so far not confirmed by the Pentagon.
Salem finds his disappearance hard to believe since it contradicts with the list of killed fighters published by the Adjabiya Revolutionaries Coalition, an alliance of Libyan armed Islamist militias.
Even if the leader of the Blood Signatories, a dissident movement founded by Belmokhtar in December 2012 during the war in Mali, is aware of being spotted, "for the time being, he better stay in this heavily populated region of Libya where he can hide more easily than in the desert, and where his friends of Ansar Sharia can protect him," Salem told Middle East Eye. "The other area where he could also retreat is Mount Chaâmbi, in southern Tunisia, still largely controlled by AQIM through the Tariq Ibn Ziyad katiba [combat unit]."
Algerian concerns
Algerian intelligence services strongly believe in a scenario similar to that of Tunisia, considered the weak link of the Maghreb countries, destabilised by events unfolding in Libya. Worse still, three Tunisian gendarmes were killed on Tuesday 15 June in the region of Sidi Bouzid. Jihadists affiliated to the Islamic State group (Daesh) claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We are very concerned by the progress of groups that claim to be affiliated to IS in Libya," an Algerian intelligence services official admitted to Middle East Eye. "In particular, the connections they could establish with the jihadists in the Sahel. We do not exclude any scenario: that of Libya controlled 80 percent by IS that would destabilise Tunisia, or even of organised attacks from bordering countries against our oil bases in Ouargla or Illizi, just like the hostage-taking on the Tiguentourine base in January 2013, that was the result of a raid launched from the north of Mali and Libya."
The south-east of Algeria, considered a nerve centre due to the presence of its oil fields, is so vast and sparsely populated that it constitutes a soft underbelly that would allow infiltration by armed groups, especially with the deteriorating situation in Libya.
After the takeover of the Libyan city of Sirte by Islamic State fighters on 29 May, Algeria has also decided to upgrade its border security apparatus by deploying a reinforcement of tens of thousands of men. Now it has almost 100,000 troops stretched across the 4,500 km-long border with Tunisia, Libya, Niger and Mali. That figure constitutes a third of the army's contingents.
"We are also concerned by the possibility that a second front from Nigeria to the Sahel might emerge," said the officer, referring to a message released in March by Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, deputy of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of the Islamic State, calling on all those who could not reach Syria and Iraq to join the combat in Nigeria.
Is AQIM weakened?
Is this scenario realistic? Jean-Paul Rouiller, director of the Geneva GCTAT, a terrorism analysis centre that monitors terrorist movements in the Maghreb, provides nuance to both the intent and the means. "Everything in the functioning of the Islamic State indicates that its focus remains on Syria and Iraq. Libya is a place of settlement for jihadists. They are effective in urban warfare, but do not have the necessary expertise to carry out organised attacks in an external territory, something they never tried so far," Rouiller explained to MEE.
A planned attack, which requires engineering and men, is rather the domain of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Problem: its emir, Algerian national Abdelmalek Droukdel, is now very isolated. Due to the Algerian army's containment efforts in Kabyle maquis since 2000, groups that belong to the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) and al-Qaida - despite some spectacular attacks such as the 2007 in Algiers and a repositioning in the Sahel - have gradually lost vigour. Especially since the death of Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, emir of the Tariq Ibn Zyad katiba, and that of al-Abdelkrim Targui, emir of the al-Ansar katiba. Both were killed in northern Mali by French forces in February 2013 and May 2015 respectively.
Mohamed Ben Mohamed, a journalist specialising in security issues for the Arab press, added that "AQIM cohesion is undermined by deep divisions which have led some of its most influential figures to join the IS, including in north Mali, where French military operation [Serval] has also killed a large number of AQIM fighters. But beware, AQIM is not finished yet. It still has resources," he warned in an interview with MEE.
Proof: Sunday, 7 June, AQIM claimed responsibility for two recent attacks against Algerian military forces where a lieutenant colonel in the Algerian army was killed. According to el-Khabar, an Algerian Arabic language daily, some recently seized documents from jihadists by gendarmerie reveal that Abdelmalek Droukdel had asked Ansar al-Sharia to provide him with weapons, including rocket launchers.
According to Rouiller, "the aura of legitimacy [of Abdelmalek Droukdel] derives from his direct relationship with the core of al-Qaeda, which puts him in a position of a liaison with the jihadists who cross the border to Tunisia. And although he remains at the top of the organisation's hierarchy, AQIM's active forces still pledge allegiance to Mokhtar Belmokhtar."
According to Algerian security services, AQIM fighters (excluding support cells) would represent 500 to 600 members throughout Algeria, primarily located in four regions: the centre (Kabylie), the North Constantine, Batna region (Aures), and South (Tebessa in Djelfa).
In the Sahel, they have been reduced from 800 to about 400 active fighters. And since the Serval operation led by the French army in Mali, they have been reduced to small groups travelling from southern Libya to northern Mali through Niger. A figure revised by GCTAT suggests there are at least 600 members in the Sahel.
The growing popularity of the Islamic State
"If Belmokhtar is still alive and if he wanted to carry out a spectacular action, he could rely on his networks maintained by 20 years of presence in the Sahara. The question is how, when and where he would do it," Salem added.
The question of acting out also arises for the supporters of the organisation of the Islamic State in the Maghreb who travel from Europe or the Middle East and are regularly detained at the airport. Or the young recruits in the cities' neighborhoods and prisons of Algeria. In late May, an Algerian national jihadist posted a selfie where he is seen masked with a keffiyeh and showing off a ring bearing the Islamic State organisation's emblem, holding up a congratulating sign to the progress made by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of Daesh in Iraq and Syria. Dozens of Algerians have created accounts on Twitter to express their support for the IS fighters.
On the ground, the Soldiers of the Caliphate, the only active group to have declared allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, had been dealt a serious blow during the operation conducted in May by the Algerian army in the mountains of Bouira. According to security sources report, among the 23 jihadists killed on that occasion, were several leaders of the Soldiers of the Caliphate, including one of those behind the assassination of the French mountaineer Hervé Gourdel in September 2014.
"One must admit the fact that the army, very operational in the maquis of the north on strategic spots, allows very little manoeuvrability to the armed groups," Akram Kharief, military expert and author of the blog Secret Difa3, explained to MEE. "The acquisition of new technological equipment, such as sophisticated drones or helicopters, also yields very good results in the wilderness."
The Algerian intelligence estimates the number of IS fighters in the country at 150. In Libya, however, the estimates put the number at tens of thousands - one third of IS's total troops - including at least 4,000 foreigners. Libyan security sources put the number of fighters in Sirte alone at 2,000 fighters and in Sabratha at 700. Those figures are similar to those estimated by the Rivista Italiana Difesa (Italian Defence Review) which put the number of jihadists between 2,000 and 3,000 fighters.
As shown by new jihadists' enthusiasm for the Islamic State and its regular attacks against the Algerian and Tunisian security forces, the jihadist threat is real but must be tempered by the weakening of AQIM fighters and those who pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Translated from French by Ali Saad
US Supreme Court declines to hear case of woman who joined Islamic State
Young Yazidi survivor shares her story
No church, no community, no future spouses for Sinjar's only Christian returnees
Libya Crisis
Qaeda in North Africa denies US strike killed ex-chief in Libya
Maghreb's al-Qaeda leader, 25 others sentenced to death in Algeria
Mali: A peace deal to promote conflict
Jeremy Keenan


Kupka seems to have arrived at this and similar composition gradually, beginning in 1907–8 with a drawing of a girl holding a ball in her hand, as if she were about to play or dance with it. He then developed progressively more diagrammatic images of her circular motion, ultimately arriving at a series of fully abstract drawings. In a limited palette of red, blue, black, and white, ribbons of color morph across the page. The radically fluid relationship they establish between foreground and background, line and plane, signals Kupka's prescient renunciation of the aesthetic conventions of perspective. He made these studies for his manifesto painting Amorpha, fugue a deux couleurs (Amorpha, fugue in two colors), which when it was shown at the 1912 Salon d'Automne, a watershed event in the history of modernist abstraction, was one of the very first abstract paintings to be publicly exhibited in Paris.
František Kupka has 49 works online.


Link and Zelda, sitting miles above the trees.
Sometimes it can feel like the reason that Link rescues Zelda over and over again in the Legend of Zelda games, is because rescuing princesses is just what heroes do. In Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword however, it seems Nintendo has made his motivation a little more personal, as you can clearly see in this new trailer.
The idea of Zelda being Link's love interest is hardly new, but this "Romance" trailer - as Nintendo calls it - is being especially clear about it. In the back story for the game, Link and Zelda are childhood friends from the floating kingdom of Skyloft, but the trailer makes it obvious that their feelings for one another go beyond simple friendship.
It's really quite impressive how much life and character Nintendo has infused the characters with in the trailer, especially as characterization isn't really the company's strongest suit. The full game might be different, but the snippets of it used for the trailer makes their relationship seem very genuine.


text:
Star Wars: 10 Reasons Why Darth Maul Will Never Get His Own Movie!
in Lists, Movies, Star Wars
by Akash Senapati August 15, 2020, 9:34 am
The Star Wars saga has predominantly focused on the members of the Skywalker family. For more than four decades, the Skywalker family has been at the center of the action. But after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Disney will hopefully explore other interesting characters who have been sidelined for far too long.
Despite having no dearth of villains in the Star Wars lore, the movies have focused only on a select few. While Darth Vader was the primary antagonist in the original trilogy, Emperor Palpatine made his return as the mastermind in The Rise of Skywalker. Barely scratching the surface, one prominent antagonist who deserves to feature as the major villain in a future Star Wars movie is Darth Maul. One of the most recognizable villains, Darth Maul appeared in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Darth Maul's black and red facial tattoos along with his horns give him a unique and fearsome appearance. He also wields a double-bladed lightsaber, which augments his fearsome persona.
For casual Star Wars fans, the story of Darth Maul might have ended back in The Phantom Menace when Obi-Wan Kenobi killed him. But it was later found that Maul had survived in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Maul also returned to the big screen in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Despite being such a widely popular villain, Darth Maul might never get a movie of his own. Here's why.
1. Complex Backstory
For casual movie-goers, Darth Maul's story ended back in The Phantom Menace. But for hardcore Star Wars fans, Maul is a prominent character with an incredibly complicated story.
For starters, Darth Maul has powerful family members. His mother Talzin belongs to the witchcraft society called Nightsisters on the planet Dathomir. His brother is Savage Opress, a member of the Nightbrother society. After Darth Maul's resurrection in The Clone Wars, he left the Sith ways to head an intergalactic crime syndicate which was shown in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Maul is also a former apprentice of Darth Sidious aka Emperor Palpatine. Showing so many details is a costly affair for Disney which can be easily sidelined.
2. A Better Supporting Character
Despite having a fearsome appearance and wielding a dual-bladed lightsaber, Darth Maul is not a primary character. In The Phantom Menace, Maul reported to Palpatine to set things in motion. Although this is not a reflection of Maul's characteristics, LucasFilms's portrayal of the character has anchored him down as a supporting character.
His complicated history and extended family make him a difficult character to portray in a live-action movie. Unless handled carefully, the move can backfire massively for the already troubled Star Wars franchise.
3. Live-Action Movies Are Costlier
Getting a fearsome antagonist with horns, unique tribal facial tattoos, and a double-bladed lightsaber surely sounds great on paper. But when it comes to execution, the real trouble arises. As a former Sith Lord, fight choreography involving Darth Maul is a costly affair.
Moreover, Darth Maul got cybernetic limbs after his apparent death at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi. In the Clone Wars, Darth Maul has been involved in numerous fights, one involved in a colonial village alongside his brother, Savage Opress.
4. Disney's Hero-Centric Policy
The Mouse doesn't really believe in taking too many risks when it comes to its franchises. A firm believer of good triumphing over evil, it's a long shot to even consider Disney making a villain-centric movie in the near future.
Disney's hero-centric policy might not just pose a threat only to the Star Wars franchise but also to the successful Marvel Cinematic Universe.
5. A Truly Evil Character
What makes Darth Vader a great antagonist is his redemption arc. His journey of being the Chosen One as Anakin Skywalker to falling for the Dark Side to become Darth Vader is a classic villain story. When he later tries to redeem himself for his past crimes in Return of the Jedi by saving Luke from Palpatine, Darth Vader once again becomes Anakin and cements his place as one of the greatest antagonists of all time.
Sadly, Darth Maul doesn't exactly share Anakin's sentimentality. Sure, he does believe in Obi-Wan during his dying moments that Luke will avenge them. But apart from that, Maul doesn't really regret his past actions. With little redeeming qualities, it's hard for Disney to make a movie on Darth Maul. In the end, it's all about sending a message, and Disney is just not ready to explore darker and more mature themes.
6. Not Interesting Enough For Casual Fans
Sure, Darth Maul is an interesting character with a terrific appearance. But sadly, that's the extent of Maul's importance for casual movie-goers. Having extremely limited screen time in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Maul does not really fit the profile of a popular character who can engage casual fans with a live-action movie.
Darth Maul was fleshed out a lot more in detail in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. But again, The Clone Wars was an animated series that costs a lot less and gives ample opportunities to explore. For a live-action movie, the plan is not just lucrative enough.
7. Maul Does Not Fit Disney's Future Plans
After Disney acquired the rights back in 2012 for a staggering $4.05 billion, it revamped the franchise which was steadily declining. Using its deep pockets, Disney produced The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Solo: A Star Wars Story which once again brought the franchise to media attention.
Also see: 10 Things We Need To See In The Mandalorian Season 2
Not just limiting itself to the big screen, Disney also produced The Mandalorian starring Pedro Pascal which has received widespread acclaim. With its own set of plans to explore the depths of the galaxy far, far away, Darth Maul does not appear to fit within Disney's future plans for now.
8. Box-Office Failure of Solo
Solo: A Star Wars Story was a spin-off to explore the younger days of the beloved Han Solo. Starring Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, and Donald Glover, Solo was an ambitious project of Disney which cost almost $300 million to produce.
Unfortunately, Solo was marred with troubles right from the beginning. From replacing directors to receiving backlash from fans, Solo became a box-office bomb. As Darth Maul had returned to the big screen in Solo, the movie's failure most probably ruined the chances of a sequel that would have explored Maul's exploits as the leader of an intergalactic crime syndicate.
9. Darth Maul Might Be Returning To Disney+
Despite Solo's failure at the box-office, all's not lost for Darth Maul to make another live-action appearance. Riding high on Donald Glover's meteoric popularity, Disney might have some plans for a Lando Calrissian TV series on its streaming platform, Disney+.
Yet to be confirmed, the Lando Calrissian show might once again revive the antagonist by picking up the yet-to-be-explored story at the end of Solo when Qi'ra turned out to be working for Maul.
10. Increased Focus On Diversity
The world is changing, and with it, the movie industry. As inclusivity at workplaces is gaining widespread attention, major franchises are gradually opening up to non-binary and LGBT characters for lead roles.
The latest Star Wars trilogy had Rey as the primary protagonist, which was a major shift from a mega-franchise dominated by male characters. In The Rise of Skywalker, two lesbian characters were shown celebrating after the Resistance's victory over the First Order. As representation is becoming a major factor, introducing another male character might not be the right time.
Darth MaulDarth SidiousDarth VaderDisneyDisney+Donald GloverEmperor PalpatineLucasfilmRogue One: A Star Wars StorySolo: A Star Wars StoryStar WarsStar Wars: A New HopeStar Wars: The Clone WarsStar Wars: The Phantom MenaceStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Previous article Ruby Rose Reveals Why She Really Left Batwoman
Next article 10 Weirdest Creatures of Avatar: The Last Airbender – Ranked!
Written by Akash Senapati
Akash is an India-based writer who has previously worked with Quirkybyte and Xtrascoop. He loves DC Comics, Anime, Pink Floyd, and sleeping in no particular order. His favourite graphic-medium writers are Grant Morrison, Chris Claremont, Christopher Priest, Garth Ennis, and Eiichiro Oda. Prep time > Aliens.
in Lists, Movies, Star Wars, TV
Star Wars: Lando Calrissian Might Return With His Own Series on Disney+
in Movies, News, Star Wars
Ewan McGregor Reveals New Obi-Wan Series Details
11 Most Badass Darth Vader Moments, Ranked
Star Wars: Ashley Eckstein Reflects On Ahsoka Tano's Legacy
in Disney, Editorials, Lists, News, Star Wars, TV
Ahsoka Tano: Who Is This Former Star Wars Jedi?
in Movies, Reviews, Star Wars
REVIEW: There's Plenty To Love And Hate In 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'
More From: Lists
Star Wars: The Galaxy Far, Far Away's Deadliest Criminals, Ranked
Top 10 Comic Book Films of 2020
My Hero Academia: 5 Reasons Lemillion Is All Might's Successor (& 5 Reasons It's Deku)
10 Weirdest Creatures of Avatar: The Last Airbender – Ranked!


text:
« Whitby (Mrs Laidler Revisited): Week 1 – 30 September
Thurso (Donald Thomson): Week 8 – 16 September »
Thurso (Donald Thomson): Week 9 – 23 September
What's in a name? Well, quite a lot, it appears. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, as Juliet so shrewdly soliloquised; but I for one might feel differently about it, if its Latin name was, say, Stinkpukia Arsgravia, or some such. Which brings to me to something that I've been mulling over recently. Not far from my parents' house in the Midlands is a village called Badby; and not far from where we live now is an abandoned village by the name of Badbea. To the unwary, the names look similar—but they couldn't be more different.
Badby Woods
Badby is set in the lush Northamptonshire countryside, all green fields and rolling parklands, each village seemingly crammed with manor houses and medieval churches—the kind of place where you turn a corner and expect to run into a Cavalier exercising his dogs or a Roundhead in search of a more severe haircut. Indeed, when I grew up there local people still peppered their conversations with "Zounds!", "'sblood!" and "Stap my vitals!"; though now I think about it that may just've been the school I went to. The name Badby translates as "Badda's Settlement" (the -by suffix is from Old Norse, showing that later on it fell under the rule of the Danes after the Viking invasions).
The gansey gets an outing – Badbea monument in background
Whereas Badbea in Caithness derives from the Gaelic for a thicket of birch trees (bhaid beithe), though there are precious few trees to be seen there now. The emphasis comes on the second syllable, which takes a bit of getting used to (it's pronounced "bad-bay"). It occupies a narrow, windswept, barren strip of land between the A9 and the cliffs which drop sheer down to the sea. Badbea was settled c.1800 by crofting families driven out of the fertile valleys further south and west, as part of the infamous Highland Clearances, where people were evicted to make way for more profitable sheep farming. History is like a series of overlapping tiles: it's worth remembering that places like Wick harbour were built to provide employment for the hundreds of people left destitute by the Clearances. But where, one asks, are the sheep and the fish and the people now? ("Ou sont les moutons d'antan" as the poet said.)
Meanwhile, in gansey news I'm cheating slightly this week: I actually finished this jumper last week, but I'm so pleased with it I've decided to give it an encore, and feature it washed and blocked and in its final state. I have of course started another project, but in a transparent attempt to build suspense and heighten curiosity, I'm holding it back till next time. Be still, my beating heart. Well, maybe not that still. Stillish, perhaps.)
Badbea boundary wall
I'll say more about Badbea next time. We visited Badby and its celebrated woods (an ancient plantation, established as a deer park by Henry III back in 1246) when we were down recently, and I can thoroughly recommend it for a walk. You may encounter locals blackberrying, or sheep, as did we—each species deploying the celebrated "you bain't from round 'ere" stare, the kind that makes one feel as though they're calculating the value of your internal organs on the Daventry black market—but never mind. It's full of what I suspect may very well be trees (nature was never my strong suit), even if there aren't any roses. However they're called.
23 September 2019 | 6 comments
6 comments to Thurso (Donald Thomson): Week 9 – 23 September
23 September 2019 at 14:55 · Reply
Very handsome gansey. I see you have knitted the cuffs so that they can be turned back. Is this traditional or something you just like to do for yourself? What is the purpose of turned back cuffs? Decorative? I thought perhaps it was to allow for 'growing room' – though, respectfully, I suspect you're not going to grow much more!
Hi Jules, and thank you. I favour long cuffs, especially for other people, so they can adjust the length to suit. (Ione if my arms is slightly longer than the other, e.g.) Sometimes ganseys with cables can pull in a bit after blocking too which can affect the length of sleeves. It's not very traditional, but I also think it can look good as well!
meg macleod
lovely gansey in Badbea.. a truly haunted place..x
Hi Meg, it's impossible to stand there and not feel history breathing down your neck, isn't it? Even on a sunny afternoon it felt pretty bleak!
I've tried to train myself to say 'Be steady' or 'healthy regular rhythm', having had similar thoughts. It's odd how many people seem not to think about the words they use.
The gansey is subtle and handsome.
Northamptonshire vs Caithness… I suspect I know which area I'd choose based on weather, but local culture does have something to do with it. I might get along better in Caithness, but then I do have some Scots ancestry.
Hi Tamar, words are rather my business, but I am as guilty of as anyone of being loose with language. I tend to see words as opportunities rather than chess pieces that you move according to the rules of the game.
I love Northants, it's a green and pleasant land and I've Morris danced on many of its village greens. It has some lovely pubs too. Caithness is wild and rugged and has an untamed sort of beauty. I'm lucky to spend my life flitting between the two!
Leave a Reply to Jules Cancel reply


Why are Ethiopian brides good for marriage?
The women from Ethiopia are known for their mystical beauty and charming nature. Men from all over the world go crazy over their raw beauty. With a beautiful personality, these women can be the perfect life partners. If you want to know more about Ethiopian brides, then keep reading.
Long distance relationships have no boundaries when it comes to love. You can connect with women from a different part of the world in a single click. As long as you are willing to put in efforts and admiration into the game, finding a wife will be super easy through mail order bride sites.
There are many admirable and pleasing features of Ethiopian brides. Let's go over some of the top reasons why they are admired from all over the world. It's time you get a taste of how women from Ethiopia are really like.
The exotic look of brides from Ethiopia is pleasing to look at. If you prefer dark-skinned girls, then they will be perfect for you. They are very curvaceous in nature which can be a plus point to note. With a long thin nose and soft skin, there's nothing more you could really ask for in a wife. These women have a slight European and Arabic influences in their overall look. Women from Ethiopia are slightly tall with straight long hair to admire.
Females from Ethiopia have soft facial features which can sway anyone. If you like the soft beauty that women carry, then Ethiopian brides will be a good choice. Women from Ethiopia come with varied eye colors to charm onlookers.
Ethiopian women are very hardworking in every aspect of life. With the condition of their home country, they have naturally learned the fruitfulness of being a hardworking individual. They will do everything in their power to make ends meet.
Women from Ethiopia don't rely on men to do something for them. They are constantly looking for a man who will respect their boundaries and love them. Ethiopian ladies are used to a life full of struggles. They expect a hard-working and devoted man to spend their lives with.
In the country of Ethiopia, religion and culture play a major role. Women here are brought up in a culturally influenced family with religious backgrounds. They have good morals to carry along with a modest nature.
Ladies from Ethiopia are polite to speak with. They are well-cultured and gentle. These women from Ethiopia also speak in English, so you don't have to worry about any language barrier. It's important that you put your time and effort into dating a woman from Ethiopia with the perfect qualities.
The women from Ethiopia are willing to date men from other nationalities. These women are very easy to please and come with the perfect character for a wife. Let's go over some of the points which makes ladies from Ethiopia ideal wives.
Women from Ethiopia are very supportive of any circumstance. You can be dependent on them for anything that you require, be it emotional or physical support. They will always be there to support you. The women from Ethiopia are very smart and independent in nature. They love unconditionally and you can rely on them as a support system that you will never lose.
Ethiopian brides are very natural and don't pretend to be something they are not. You don't have to keep guessing what they are thinking. These women are very open and practical when it comes to talking things out. Sometimes, the girls from Ethiopia can be a little shy, but when a man supports and loves them, they will talk like anything.
Ethiopian women are loyal to their partners once they are committed. They take relationships very seriously, so you don't have to worry about them leaving your side.
The women from Ethiopia come with an admirable and loving nature which can please anyone. They will be the center of attraction in any gathering. The women from Ethiopia are very tender and caring in nature. They won't ever be cruel to you in any regard.
The Ethiopian women are very submissive and down to earth. You can really feel their love under any condition. A wife from Ethiopia will never bother you with her ramblings, and you will always be comfortable spending time with her.
The women from Ethiopia consider family over everything else. They would be the perfect wife and mother to your children. If you want a wife who is family oriented, then females from Ethiopia are the answer. With a good and caring upbringing, these women have learned the importance of family and love.
Most of the women from Ethiopia are focused on their family throughout their lives. They will want a big family with many kids. If you want a traditional woman with the right values, then Ethiopian woman will be an ideal choice.
Before you go ahead with anything, it's best to get your expectations out in the open. After you establish a successful relationship, you would need to meet up with her family to discuss the marriage.
Ethiopian women are beautiful inside and out. If you are the kind of a man looking for a down to earth and caring wife, then an Ethiopian woman will be perfect for you. Love has no boundaries in this new age of technology. You can easily connect with wonderful Ethiopian women on the other side of the world on a single click. Start your love story today with an Ethiopian woman and experience true bliss.


A Community Arts Investment Program created by Steamworks with partners Woodside supporting the creative development, performance and presentation of Western Australian artists and their work.
This program focuses on Woodside building foyers and garden area as a living canvas. This is a busy creative space where creative people work, network and also have their lunch. The program is diverse; supporting musicians, dancers, performance makers, screen and visual artists.
In 2009 there is a focus on the visual arts exploring how we can create aesthetically stimulating workplaces in innovative and imaginative ways. In addition the program includes the creative development and presentation of new works, exhibitions, installations, performances, family and community events.
2009 sees an Artist in residence program that includes the commissions of 7 original works from across art forms. The Artists in residence program will culminate in a series of public events for the Western Australian community at Woodside in the city, and also up in the remote regional community of Karratha. During the school holidays families will have an opportunity to enter the corporate city space which for a day becomes a fun space for young and old.
Artsource, FTI, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, dashvisual, Ali Bodycoat, Anything is Valid Dance Theatre, company ololo, Hydrapoesis, Dreamscape Productions, Bizircus, Mr Sister, Cathie Travers, Gosia Basinska, Jodee Knowles, Sarah Robottam, Bridget Waters, Leon Krasenstein, amongst others.
Steamworks and Woodside bring some of the newly created performances from the successful Live@Woodside Autumn program, and preview some of the up and coming Live @Woodside Spring program in the remote regional community of Karratha.
With a focus on children and the young at heart, audiences will be entertained with live music, puppetry and circus performances, with hands on workshops providing a unique arts experience for the local community.
Live@Woodside Springfest offers a chance for parents and kids to come into the city during the school holidays on October 5 for some FREE family fun.
From 11am to 2pm the young and the young at heart can take part in hands-on fun and entertaining performances. Watch as a workspace becomes a play space'just for one day!
Families are encouraged to meet in the city and come along to relax with some lunchtime fun-time! Re-discover the child within with free performances, demonstrations and workshops with mum or dad during work hours.
Watch in amazement as circus and theatre come together with not one, but two fabulously fun circus based performances by the incredible Ayres Rock Surf Lifesaving Club presented by Pinstripe Circus.
The Ayers Rock Surf Lifesaving Club is uniquely Australian, paying tribute to that great aussie icon, the surf lifesaver. It celebrates Australians' love of sun, sand, and surf. It is performed by Ross Vegas and Ella Mental.
Don't miss out on one of their free performances at 11.30 am or 1pm.
There will also be live music from So Brazil Duo, Cathie Travers and Phil Waldren, performences ofVaporise; a roving stilt work from Spare Part Puppet Theatre, fun arts activities with REmida and crossarts creating unique objects on the theme of 'flight', along with lots of free giveaways for the kids.
Live@woodside is brought to you by Steamworks Arts Productions and Woodside - an Australian company proudly supporting Western Australian creative arts.


Frequently, I am asked now if Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria are affecting recovery efforts in West Virginia after the storms and flood of June 2016.
Of course, they are, as did Matthew only three months after the WV disaster. However, our disaster drew attention away from other prior recovery efforts, such as Superstorm Sandy.
A year from now, survivors of Harvey, Irma, and Maria will be where we are now with their recovery knocked off the headlines by whatever next disasters occur.
The WV storms and flood disaster will take four or five years for recovery. Other disasters, as with ours, will need long-term help and financial support.
Recently United Methodist Communications photographer, Mike DuBose, returned to West Virginia to take photos of the progress that we've made in flood recovery. Follow this link to read the story filed by DuBose and writer, Joey Butler.
Follow this link to see before and after pictures – which highlight the progress made over the past year in Clendenin, Fenwick and other flooded areas.
We are grateful for the continued partnership with UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). UMCOR is there for the long haul and offers the most efficient use of your donated dollar. 100% of your gifts to UMCOR go directly to provide emergency response, relief, and long-term recovery since denominational funds cover costs of running UMCOR's operation.
Any local United Methodist Church can promptly direct your gifts to support our continued flood recovery efforts in West Virginia (both the 2016 and 2017 floods), and/or UMCOR.
To ensure that your gift reaches the disaster quickly, give through your church, make your contribution payable to "Conference Treasurer" and note "WVFloods Disaster Response #920" "Hurricane Harvey #114" "Hurricane Irma #112" or "Hurricane Maria #113" on the memo line.
Church treasurers, please use remittance forms when sending checks to the WV Conference Treasurer's Office, PO Box 2469, Charleston, WV 25329.
To follow are photos taken by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Ackie Atkinson (left) and Jordan Williams finish drywall a home in Clendenin, W. Va., that was damaged by flooding in June 2016. The two were part of a volunteer team from Aldersgate United Methodist Church in York, Pa. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Layne Miller leads a volunteer team from Aldersgate United Methodist Church in York, Pa., that was repairing a home in Clendenin, W. Va., that was damaged by flooding in June 2016. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Miranda Neighbors and the Rev. JF Lacaria check on the progress of a new home being constructed for a survivor whose home was destroyed during June 2016 flooding in Clendenin, W. Va. Both work for the disaster recovery ministry of the West Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Volunteers Beth Carter (right) and Josie Johnson of South Roanoke (Va.) United Methodist Church help repair a home in the Swinging Bridge community near Clay, W. Va., for a survivor of the severe floods that struck the area in June 2016. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Volunteer Eric Carter of South Roanoke (Va.) United Methodist Church helps repair a home in the Swinging Bridge community near Clay, W. Va., for a survivor of the severe floods that struck the area in June 2016. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Volunteers Alex Hawthorne (left) and Olivia DeMattia of South Roanoke (Va.) United Methodist Church help repair a home in the Swinging Bridge community near Clay, W. Va., for a survivor of the severe floods that struck the area in June 2016. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Volunteer Olivia DeMattia of South Roanoke (Va.) United Methodist Church helps repair a home in the Swinging Bridge community near Clay, W. Va., for a survivor of the severe floods that struck the area in June 2016. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
The Rev. Rick Sale (right) helps apply siding on a home near Rupert, W. Va., for a survivor of the severe floods that struck the area in June 2016. He is joined by the Revs. Mike Estep (center) and Okey Harless. The three serve as district superintendents in The United Methodist Church's West Virginia Conference. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball of the West Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church (on ladder) and members of her cabinet help repair a home near Rupert, W. Va., for a survivor of the severe floods that struck the area in June 2016. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
The Rev. Jonathan Dierdorff, seated in the sanctuary of Rainelle (W. Va.) United Methodist Church, describes his experiences during the June 2016 flooding that killed four people in Rainelle and heavily damaged many homes and businesses. Following the flood, the church installed bathroom and shower facilities to be better able to host some of the many volunteer teams working in the area. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Wayne Davis (left) and the Rev. Russell Lee work to restore access to a home in Richwood, W. Va., that was damaged by runoff from a June 2016 flood. Davis is from Byrd Chapel United Methodist Church in Kents Store, Va., and Lee is pastor of First Presbyterian Church in South Boston, Va. They are part of a volunteer team working with the disaster recovery ministry of the West Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
The Rev. JF Lacaria describes progress in restoring a home in Richwood, W. Va., that was damaged by runoff from a June 2016 flood. Lacaria is executive director for disaster recovery for the West Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
The Rev. Judy Pysell stands in the doorway of Fenwick (W. Va.) United Methodist Church. The church basement and kitchen were ruined by flooding in June 2016. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.


This picture was a very strong contender for my wedding slideshow but in the end didn't make the final cut. I think that was because my mom thought my grandma (we call her Nonnie [second from the right]) wouldn't be super happy with the confused/annoyed face she's making.
But I think it's great. Four generations of woman from my mom's side.
I have to wonder what was going on just before, or maybe as, this picture was taken. My mom is really the only one who looks ready. I suppose maybe that's the way of grandmas, though, isn't it? To took confused sometimes.
Great-grandma Short looks like she might be looking at me, perhaps telling me to smile or look at the camera. Or maybe she's telling Nonnie something, which is why that look on Nonnie's could be a tad bit of irritation.
I guess that's both the beauty and frustrations of photos. You can freeze a moment, yes, but you can't go back in time and recreate it. And it can leave you wondering what that moment actually was. I suppose I'll just have to wait for heaven so I can ask them.
It's great that you have a picture like that, and your mom's shirt is rocking.
I LOVE this photo! Because yeah, you know there was drama brewing. And you are cute a a button! Also, you're mom is probably like 10 years younger than I am right now. Sigh.


Staffs in a gas station in Tamaulipas, Mexico more than just glanced a scared stray dog when he started appearing near the area about two years ago.
He was skittish at first and judging by his malnourished body he also showed signs of mistreatment. The staff worked to gain his trust.
The loving staff have their new canine friend a new name- "Randy". But they probably had no idea how far the pup would go to repay them for their kindness.
One evening this week, two-armed robber stormed the station and threatened the cashier on duty to hand over the money. They even started assaulting the worker, punching him and kicking him to the ground.
That's when brave Randy came to the rescue.
Randy was sleeping in the station's warehouse and was suddenly woken up by the loud commotion. He didn't think twice to rush in and drive the robbers away.
When Randy isn't risking his life to save others, he makes other people smile too.
Nuria Arellano, a frequent customer at Randy's gas station, told the Dodo she buys guys at the location primarily because of the adorable dog who lives there.
She feels like other places should also take in stray dogs like Randy.
Randy proves, hiring a dog is good for business as well as ensuring protection.


Snake venom sounds ominous enough but can it help your aching joints.
Coconut Oil at Its Best: Skinny & Co.
Coconut oil is all the rage, but how can you be sure you're getting a quality product?
Saaka has created a line of athletic bands with all different athletes and activities in mind.
This device has the ability to address the all-important eccentric hamstring work through a full range of motion to emphasize injury prevention.
Though the branding might turn some away, these products really work. They also make great gifts for the WOD-doers in your life.
Sometimes you just want to eat something fun, and these mixes from Paleo Baking Company are a healthier choice.
The Sprout gi and Ranked rashguard join a long list of new and innovative training products.
These kettlebells have a nice finish and are high-quality but still affordable.
Not only is this company based in Canada, but they also make one of my favorite gis.
Quest Nutrition has changed the protein game. Delicious and affordable, their bars leave you feeling satisfied.
These products from Paleo Naturals are delicious and ready when you are.
I had the chance to review the new Response gi from Adidas Combat Sports, and it didn't disappoint.
"Real Life Paleo" provides all the resources you need to ease into paleo-style eating.
Formula O2 has a subtle flavor as well as a good dose of caffeine and electrolytes.
This new belt from Flow Kimonos proves a gi belt is not just a piece of fabric you tie around your waist and forget about.
The Swopper Muvman chair keeps you moving, even while seated.
Oatmega is the best tasting bar I've ever had. It's also a company committed to a greater good.


Description: Likely taken by my father, back in the day we'd ride CTA and Metra together just for fun. This day we got the Milwuakee District North Line under our belts.
Description: Note the white number boards on UP 610.
Description: Looks like even the prime mover on UP 606 got a fresh coat of paint.
Description: Rear view of UP 606.
Description: Former RI 344 is now UP 604, repainted but stored in Yermo.
Description: I remember shooting oos Alco's in this spot back in 1976.
Description: My impecable timing, shot just as it goes into the signal tower shadow.


text:
E.D. Report Hails Rural Schools as 'a Model of Strength'
By Drew Lindsay
In overcoming rugged conditions to boost their students' academic performance, rural schools have become a model for national education reform, a new federal report concludes.
Rural schools have seen their students' test scores climb in the past decade, to the point where they generally match or top national averages, the report notes.
The gains came despite the geographic isolation and dwindling financial resources of rural areas and schools.
The schools "have achieved so much with so little,'' the report says. It suggests they can provide "a model of strength'' for other schools.
Rural students have recorded gains on several nationwide assessments. Between 1984 and 1990, for example, rural 4th graders raised their writing-proficiency scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress from 25 points below the national mean to three points above it.
Similarly, rural 9-year-olds lifted their scores on the NAEP mathematics assessment by nine points, to one point above the national mean, in 1990.
But the report also makes clear that the improvements had little to do with the national education-reform movement of the 1980's.
"The focus on reform has not really found its way into rural communities,'' said David P. Mack, who headed the report project for the U.S. Education Department's office of educational research and improvement.
The report suggests that more study is needed to determine what did spark the improvement.
Particularly helpful, the report says, would be examinations of how rural schools compensate for their fiscal woes with creativity and a "supportive ethos.''
"Many so-called 'innovations' being championed today were born of necessity long ago in the rural schoolhouse,'' the report says, pointing to such ideas as cooperative learning, multigrade classrooms, peer tutoring, and close community ties.
"This is the question that I'm interested in,'' said Theodore Coladarci, the editor of The Journal of Research in Rural Education at the University of Maine and a peer reviewer of the report. "How is it that rural schools are able to do what they do?''
'New Sensitivity' Seen
Experts on rural development and education praised the report for avoiding the scornful tone that they said had characterized previous federal rural-education surveys.
"Every Department of Education report on rural education in the past was an indictment,'' said Thomas W. Bonnett, the author of Strategies for Rural Competitiveness. "They would just beat up on rural schools, rural teachers, and rural administrators.''
Mr. Bonnett noted "a new sensitivity'' in the report to the role of the school in the community.
But some analysts said the report should have put more emphasis on the need for schools to become a force in rural renewal.
"We've decided that in rural areas, schools have to look just like urban schools,'' said Paul G. Theobald, a rural historian and the head of teacher education at South Dakota State University. "There's no reason why you can't use the community as a curriculum source.''
Consolidation Gains Slight
The report, which took more than four years to prepare, pulls together dozens of published studies.
While breaking little new ground, it does present for the first time a state-by-state breakdown of the nation's 6.9 million rural students.
The report bases its count of rural students on the U.S. Census Bureau standard, which defines rural communities as those with fewer than 2,500 residents.
Ohio has the most rural students--379,764. But Kansas has the highest concentration, with more than half of its enrollment attending rural schools.
Rural students make up more than 30 percent of the enrollment in a total of 12 states, and less than 10 percent in seven states.
While the notion of the one-room schoolhouse is fading, rural schools remain predominantly small. More than 40 percent of rural schools serve fewer than 200 children, while less than 5 percent serve 800 or more.
Rural schools are also financially strapped, according to the report. School consolidation--the chief policy tool used by many states to drive down costs and improve education in rural areas--has not paid off as expected.
Transportation costs have eaten into the predicted savings, the report notes, and research now suggests that children learn better in small schools.
Copies of "The Condition of Education in Rural Schools'' (065-000-00653-7) are available for $10 each from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15250-7954; (202) 783-3238.


CPS International Founder,Maulana Wahiduddin Khan gave his message on Dec 23, 2015 at Seventh World Confluence of Humanity, Power & Spirituality / Sach Bharat Programme 2015. The program was organised by Times Foundation, ASSOCHAM and Srei Foundation.
Maulana spoke about his dream of seeing India a Spiritual lighthouse for the world and India emerging as a Spiritual superpower. CPS volunteers also distributed Quran and Islamic literature to the delegates and attendees which was well received by everyone.


text:
More Disney Recipes Stories
'WandaVision' Snack & View: A Flavorful Look Back Through the Decades at Disneyland Park
by Marcy Carriker Smothers, Disney Author
Grab your popcorn – Walt liked his with extra butter – then sit back, relax and watch the new Disney+ series "WandaVision." Debuting today, the new show stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda and Paul Bettany as Vision—two super-powered beings living idealized lives who begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems. The series, which takes place after the events of "Avengers: Endgame," is curiously inspired by classic sitcoms spanning the 1950s to early 2000s. In the spirit of looking back through the years, let's take a journey through some of the sights, sounds and especially tastes of Disneyland park over the decades:
1950s – When Disneyland park opened in 1955, the food offerings ranged from hot dogs for the families eating on the go as they went from attraction to attraction, to sit down meals at Swift's Red Wagon Inn (now Plaza Inn), where "fancy" meals were served in an elegant setting. The food focal point of Fantasyland was the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship and Restaurant. Tomorrowland's quick service eateries were the Yacht Club and Space Bar. Main Street U.S.A.'s Carnation Café offered hot dogs, sandwiches and chili along with an array of ice cream treats representing each land. Ta Cup, a fried tortilla bowl filled with hamburger meat and cheese, was the signature item sold at Casa de Fritos in Frontierland (Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante occupies the space now). Menus at The Golden Horseshoe advertised "Tongue Teasing Foods and Drinks," along with the famous stage show.
John Hench and Walt Disney with a model of the Plaza Inn
The Golden Horseshoe
1960s – The Blue Bayou Restaurant was ready when New Orleans Square was dedicated in 1966, however Pirates of the Caribbean was not. Walt delayed the opening of his anticipated themed restaurant saying, "It's a bad show to look out at the bayou without pirate boats floating by." Upstairs, the private and exclusive Club 33 was where Walt intended to host dignitaries and sponsors, including those that were being courted for what was then called simply Disney World. (His brother Roy added Walt's first name to the Florida Theme Park after Walt passed away, insisting that there couldn't be a Walt Disney World without Walt.) The cuisine throughout New Orleans Square was authentic – Monte Cristos, beignets and Mint Juleps – and remain today. Adventureland featured the Tahitian Terrace along the banks of the Jungle River. Don DeFore's Silver Banjo Barbecue, the only restaurant at Disneyland park to have a name on it other than Walt's or one of his Disney characters, offered spareribs, chicken, plus fish and chips. Fantasia Ice Cream – a blend of banana, pistachio and cherry – was introduced to Disneyland park!
Blue Bayou Restaurant Concept Art
1970s – DOLE became the sponsor for Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, notably the only attraction at Disneyland park with Walt's name on it. In the beginning, only fresh pineapple spears and pineapple juice were sold; DOLE Whips arrived the following decade. Originally planned to be a restaurant concept, the idea was abandoned when it was determined that the guests would be so "enchanted" with the birds above, they would linger and never leave. The dinner show became a theater experience with three performances an hour. Outside, the Tikis in the Garden of the Gods were carved by Disney Legend and Imagineer Rolly Crump using an ordinary plastic fork from the Walt Disney Studios commissary.
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
1980s – Churros and Disneyland park go together like Wanda and Vision. Intended for Videopolis in Tomorrowland, they were first tested near the exit of the Mark Twain Riverboat. Only 100 were made on that one fateful day in 1985. When they were wheeled through Frontierland, guests were following the cart, and needless to say – they sold out! Variations on flavors, colors, textures and dipping sauces were innovated more than a decade later; the churro remains a fan favorite and darling of social media. Big Thunder Barbecue opened at Big Thunder Ranch in 1986. Set outside, Guests were served beef or chicken from the chuck wagon. The fixings were delivered family-style to picnic tables. The beloved BBQ's operation spanned nearly thirty years – with a few name changes – before finally closing to make room for a galaxy far, far away.
1990s – Believe it or not, it took almost forty years to bring a fully realized, chocolate-covered ice cream bar in the shape of Mickey Mouse to Disneyland park. There were several iterations over the years, with the vanilla bar first having oblong and oval shapes, and a version with only Mickey's ears covered in chocolate, before technology finally caught up with the Mouse that started it all. The treat we know and love today, Nestlé's Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Bar, was introduced by Nestlé in 1992. This decade also brought us skewers across the path from Indiana Jones Adventure at Bengal Barbecue. Beef, chicken, veggie – but no snake!
Nestlé's Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Bar
2000s to Today – Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opened at Disneyland park in 2019 and included intergalactic foods from Batuu including Blue and Green Milk, (believed to be Luke Skywalker's favorite), and podracer engine-roasted Ronto Wraps. State of the art culinary theming is also evident at Oga's cantina and Chef Strono "Cookie" Tuggs Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo. Back on earth, the Tropical Hideaway in Adventureland became the new home of solo artist Rosita, along with assorted baos, lumpia, and reimagined DOLE Whip.
Our brief trip through the decades of Disneyland park illustrates how Walt put it in 1955: "Where the food is as fabulous as the fun."
Celebrate one of the tastiest places on earth and WandaVision with two retro dishes from two different decades. Download the recipes here: Tuna Burger / Big Thunder Ribs.
And may I suggest you set the mood while cooking just like I do any time I write about our beloved Disneyland park: Listen to the sounds of Walt's original Magic Kingdom on Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection: Disneyland.
Marcy Carriker Smothers is the author of "Eat Like Walt: The Wonderful World of Disney Food," exploring the lore of each land, beginning with Main Street, U.S.A., an homage to Walt's childhood home of Marceline, Missouri, to Tomorrowland, set in futuristic 1986.
Share 'WandaVision' Snack & View: A Flavorful Look Back Through the Decades at Disneyland Park
Destinations: 'WandaVision' Snack & View: A Flavorful Look Back Through the Decades at Disneyland Park, Disneyland Park
Topics: Disney Recipes
Welcome to the blog Ms. Marcy!
Skip on January 15, 2021 at 8:35 pm
Thank you! I am thrilled to be here!
Marcy on January 18, 2021 at 7:46 pm
Chili-covered Fritos (served in the Fritos bag!) was my favorite menu item at Casa de Fritos. (I have a photo of a seniorita holding a tray of small bags of Fritos at the Casa de Fritos entrance). The Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship was also a favorite lunch spot (across from Dumbo).
Linda on January 27, 2021 at 3:13 pm


text:
Q: disable codeigniter session cookie for php soap server I am creating a soap server in codeigniter using php native soap server class.
The soap server is working great but I have a problem with the codeiginter session cookie. The session cookie is being sent with every response from the soap server. I need the session cookie for other parts of the application excluding the soap server.
Is there a way I can disable the session cookie just for the soap server which is a controller  in the application?
I have searched stackoverflow and other website for information but have not found anything useful.
It may be I am missing something obvious.
Please point me in the right direction.
Edit:
this is the http response for the soap request:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2014 07:05:56 GMT
Server: Apache/2.2.3 (CentOS) DAV/2 PHP/5.3.3
X-Powered-By: PHP/5.3.3
Set-Cookie: fgdstagecookie=a%3A4%3A%7Bs%3A10%3A%22session_id%22%3Bs%3A32%3A%22076ceb992c6dff61e46d04d0c3d73d03%22%3Bs%3A10%3A%22ip_address%22%3Bs%3A13%3A%22116.90.236.34%22%3Bs%3A10%3A%22user_agent%22%3Bs%3A34%3A%22Apache-HttpClient%2F4.1.1+%28java+1.5%29%22%3Bs%3A13%3A%22last_activity%22%3Bi%3A1389337556%3B%7D7e8bb59c2753934d5a6265ab7964064c; path=/
Content-Length: 382
Cache-Control: no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate, private, max-age=0
Pragma: no-cache
Expires: Wed, 11 Jan 1984 05:00:00 GMT
Connection: close
Content-Type: text/xml; charset=utf-8

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<SOAP-ENV:Envelope xmlns:SOAP-ENV="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"><SOAP-ENV:Body><ns2:responseType xmlns:ns2="http://tempuri.org/response">4<message>transaction does not exist or is not available</message><responseBody><responseStr>4</responseStr></responseBody></ns2:responseType></SOAP-ENV:Body></SOAP-ENV:Envelope>

The part I want to remove is the Set-Cookie part.

A: Before returning the response or request use the header_remove(); function
Reference
http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.header-remove.php
<?php
 header("X-Foo: Bar");
 header("X-Bar: Baz");

 //remove specific header
 header_remove("X-Foo");

 //remove all headers
 header_remove();
?>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Home » Academic Books » -Humanities & Education » -History » -Caribbean History
A History of Barbados /2E
Aids and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography
Does the scientific "theory" that HIV came to North America from Haiti stem from underlying attitudes of racism and ethnocentrism in the United States rather than from hard evidence? Award-winning author and anthropologist-physician Paul Farmer answers with this, the first full-length ethnographic study of AIDS in a poor society. First published in 1992 this new edition has been updated and a new preface added.
Paul Farmer
Barbados: Cuffee's Kingdom
Field Archeology: An Introduction
Peter Drewett's comprehensive survey explores every stage of the dig process, from the core work of discovery and excavation to the final product: the published archaeological report.
Main topics covered are:
how an archaeological site is formed
finding and recording archaeological sites
planning excavations, digging the site and recording the results
post-fieldwork planning, processing and finds analysis
interpreting the evidence
publishing the report.
Illustrated with 100 photographs and line drawings, and using numerous case studies, Field Archaeology is the essential introductory guide for archaeology students, and is certain to be welcomed by the growing number of enthusiasts for the subject.
George Padmore's Black Internationalism
In George Padmore's Black Internationalism, Rodney Worrell traces the main features of Padmore's social and political thought. Worrell explores Padmore's use of the ideologies of Marxism and pan-Africanism as vehicles to liberate Africa and the Caribbean from the grip of European imperialism. As an engaged Marxist revolutionary, Padmore played a leading role in the Soviet Union's black internationalism project during the early 1930s. After he severed his ties with the Comintern, he became one of the leading pan-African activists in Britain from the mid-1930s until he migrated to Ghana in 1957, where he made his mark as a member of the International African Service Bureau, the Pan-African Federation, and in organizing the Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester, England, in 1945. Padmore became a major theorist of the unification of the African continent and worked assiduously to see this become a reality as Kwame Nkrumah's advisor on African affairs.
Worrell provides a sound and thorough account of Padmore's strident anti-imperialism and radical anti-colonial critiques while simultaneously outlining his championing of self-determination. This engrossing work scrutinizes Padmore's political praxis and illuminates his invaluable contribution to pan-Africanism and his dedication to the liberation of Africa and the Caribbean from colonial rule.
Rodney Worrell
University of the West Indies Press
Great House Rules
"When Emancipation came in 1938, Blacks in Barbados imagined that the terms of their everyday lives would undergo radical change. Instead, an unrelenting landless freedom would be violently imposed upon a community whose conditions of life and work remained largely unchanged, on plantations that produced more sugar with less labour for below subsistence wages. It was the rule of the Great House that subverted the promise of Emancipation. This is the story of the post-Emancipation betrayal of 83, 000 Blacks in Barbados; it is also a narration of how these Blacks prepared for persistent resistance and civil war as the only means to effectively break the rule of the Great House and establish preconditions for genuine Emancipation. The battles over progress were fought on the plantations, in the streets, in the courts, in the Legislative Councils and wherever Blacks recognised sites to effect change. This chain of organised rebellion was linked to produce the 1876 rebellion. Against this background of 19th century popular protest and workers agitation, the modern labour movement, the anti-colonial campaign and the agitation for democratic governance came to maturity by the 1920s. The final breach in the walls of the structure of white supremacy was achieved in 1937 when, under the ideological leadership of Clement Payne, workers took to the streets and fields with arms. Professor Beckles argues that this unbroken chain of protest and political activity from 1838 to the 1937 Riots constitute the Hundred Year War against Great House Rules. It had taken a full century of struggle after emancipation to see, even at a distance, the freedom that was promised by the abolition of slavery legislation. Written in a clear, discourse style, the author succeeds in presenting the text as an accessible document for public consumption, rather than a dense academic work. "
Hilary Beckles
Ian Randle Publishers
Indentured Labor, Caribbean Sugar
In Indentured Labor, Caribbean Sugar Walton Look Lai offers the first comprehensive study of Asian immigration and the indenture system in the entire British West Indies―with particular emphasis on the experiences of indentured laborers in the major receiving colonies of British Guyana, Trinidad, and Jamaica. Exploring living and working conditions as well as the makeup of immigrant communities and their cultures, Look Lai offers a "dialectical pluralist" model of Caribbean acculturation that contrasts with the more familiar "melting pot" or "pure pluralist" model.
Manuscript Sources for the History of the West Indies
This is a record of over 2000 manuscript sources for the study of the West Indies and its history. The major focus is on the collections of the Nation Library of Jamaica but other entries relate to manuscript sources in repositeries elswhere in Jamaica, the United States, Canada and Britain.
K E Ingram
Paradise Overseas
"Paradise Overseas" presents a tour around the main themes of Dutch Caribbean history and its contemporary legacies. Drawing on wide expertise in Caribbean and Latin American studies, Gert Oostindie strongly posits a refreshing analysis of the Dutch Caribbean in a comparative framework which will be of interest to historians, anthropologists and political scientists alike. Rather than aiming at a comprehensive narrative, he offers a thematic discussion of topics such as the contrasts between Dutch colonization in the Americas and Asia; African slavery, Asian indentured labour and the shaping of plural societies in the Dutch Caribbean; the major contrasts between and within the six Antillean islands and Suriname; the different trajectories of decolonisation and their subsequent costs and benefits; and the changing significance of ethnicity and national identity both in the Dutch Caribbean and its diaspora.
Patterns in Prehistory
Who are we? How did the world become what it is today? What paths did humanity traverse along the way?
Patterns in Prehistory, Fifth Edition, is a comprehensive and engaging survey of humanity's past three million years. It brings together theories and archaeological examples to pose questions about who we are and the means by which humanity evolved into what it is today.
Ideal for introductory courses in world prehistory and origins of complex societies, Patterns in Prehistory, Fifth Edition, offers a unified and thematic approach to the four great transformations--or patterns--that characterize humanity's past: the origins and evolution of culture; the origins
of modern humans and human behaviors; the origins of agriculture; and the origins of complex societies, civilizations, and pre-industrial states. Integrating theoretical approaches with archaeological data from the Middle East, Mesoamerica, North and South America, Egypt, China, the Indus Valley,
and temperate Europe, Patterns in Prehistory, Fifth Edition, reveals how archaeologists decipher the past. It demonstrates how theory and method are combined to derive interpretations and also considers how interpretations evolve as a result of accumulating data, technological advances in recording
and analyzing data sets, and newer theoretical perspectives.
This new edition of Patterns in Prehistory provides:
* Fresh insights with the addition of coauthor Deborah Olszewski, who has carefully reviewed and revamped the material with an eye toward making the text clearly understandable to today's students
* Updated discussions throughout, including expanded information on post-processual archaeology, current methodologies, and technological advances
* Approximately 250 illustrations and maps, more than half of which are new to this edition
* Groundbreaking research on new discoveries of hominin fossils, genetic research, prehistoric migrations, the peopling of the Americas, and theories of the origins of agriculture and the origins of complex societies
* Timelines for all relevant chapters as well as an overarching timeline for the entire book to help students place events in context
* Extensively updated chapter bibliographies and chapter endnotes
Deborah I Olszewski
USA Oxford University Press
Plantation Jamaica 1750-1850: Capital and Control in a Colonial Economy
Plantation Jamaica analyses the important but neglected role of the attorneys who managed estates, chiefly for absentee proprietors, and assesses their efficiency and impact on Jamaica during slavery and freedom. Meticulous research based on a variety of sources, including the attorneys' letters, plantation papers and slave registration records, provides rich quantitative and literary data describing the attorneys' role, status, range of activities and demographic characteristics. Higman charts both the extent of absentee ownership and the complex structure of the managerial hierarchy that stretched across the Atlantic. Detailed case studies compare the attorney Simon Taylor's management of Golden Grove Estate in the decade before the American Revolution and Isaac Jackson's control of Montpelier in the years immediately following the abolition of slavery. These examples provide a wealth of information about plantation life and labour, technology, trade, investments and profits. Higman also makes a unique contribution by investigating and describing several topics previously neglected, including the postal service, the history of accounting and the role of attorneys in the British I
B W Higman
Returning to the Source
This work provides a detailed analysis of the phenomenon of return migration to the English-speaking Caribbean. Return migration has been studied primarily for the Hispanic Caribbean but little exists for the English-speaking region. The co-edited work brings together the scholarship of ten social scientists, many of them from the Caribbean, whose research is focused on the process. The phenomenon is discussed from several theoretical perspectives and includes indepth studies of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, and St Lucia. It includes renowned scholars in the field such as Elizabeth Thomas-Hope, Margaret Byron and George Gmelch as well as younger scholars such as Frank Abernaty and Godfrey St Bernard.
The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution New Edition
In 1791, inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, the slaves of San Domingo rose in revolt. Despite invasion by a series of British, Spanish and Napoleonic armies, their twelve-year struggle led to the creation of Haiti, the first independent black republic outside Africa. Only three years later, the British and Americans ended the Atlantic slave trade.
C L R (Cyril Lionel James
Penguin Group(CA)
The British Empire and Commonwealth
From its modest to its recent disappearance, the British Empire was an extraordinary and paradoxical entity. North America, Africa, South and Southeast Asia and Australasia and innumerable small islands and territories have been fundamentally shaped - economically, socially and politically - by a nation whose imperial drive came from a bewildering mixture of rapacity and moral zeal, of high-mindedness and viciousness, of strategic cunning and feckless neglect. Martin Kitchen has written a fascinating, crisp, informative account of the rise and fall of the British Empire, concentrating on the 19th and 20th centuries but giving the background of the 'First British Empire', which was lost with the creating of the United States of America. His book is of particular value in relating the importance of the Empire to Britain's success as the only genuinely world power in the Victorian era and to Britain's ability to win the two great wars of the 20th century.
Martin Kitchen
The Caribbean Exodus
TheCaribbean Exodus is a welcome study of the historical, cultural, geographic, and economic forces behind migrations from the Caribbean. Examining many regions, the contributors compare similarities and differences of the migrant experiences, both in their original countries and upon reaching their destinations.
The Caribbean in the Wider World, 1492-1992
The Caribbean was Europe's first colony, its landscapes transformed to produce tropical staples and its decimated aboriginal populace replaced with African slaves. As European power has waned in the Caribbean, it has been replaced by the geopolitical domination of the United States. Professor Richardson examines this colonization and recolonization of the Caribbean during the past half millennium, portraying a region victimized by natural hazards, soil erosion, overpopulation and gunboat diplomacy. Most importantly, he explains the ways in which Caribbean peoples have reacted and adapted to their external influences. No other single survey of the region provides equivalent breadth--ranging from aboriginal ecologies to today's narcotic traffic--or harnesses so effectively elements of the past to illuminate the present.
The First Black Slave Society: Britain's Barbarity Time in Barbados, 1636-1876
In this remarkable exploration of the brutal course of Barbados's history, Hilary McD. Beckles details the systematic barbarism of the British colonial project. Trade in enslaved Africans was not new in the Americas in the seventeenth century - the Portuguese and Spanish had commercialized chattel slavery in Brazil and Cuba in the 1500s - but in Barbados, the practice of slavery reached its apotheosis.
Barbados was the birthplace of British slave society and the most ruthlessly colonized. The geography of Barbados was ideally suited to sugar plantations and there were enormous fortunes to be made for British royalty and ruling elites from sugar produced by an enslaved, "disposable" workforce, fortunes that secured Britain's place as an imperial superpower. The inhumane legacy of plantation society has shaped modern Barbados and this history must be fully understood by the inheritors on both sides of the power dynamic before real change and reparatory justice can take place.
A prequel to Beckles's equally compelling Britain's Black Debt, The First Black Slave Society: Britain's "Barbarity Time" in Barbados, 1636-1876 is essential reading for anyone interested in Atlantic history, slavery and the plantation system, and modern race relations.
Hilary MCD Beckles
The Grenada Revolution in the Caribbean Present: Operation Urgent Memory (New Caribbean Studies
This unique book, part critique, tribute, and memorial, makes the case that the 1979-1983 Revolution was a transnational event that deeply impacted politics and culture across the Caribbean. With relevance for all micro-states, the book reflects on how Grenada's small size shapes memory, political and poetic practice, and efforts at reconciliation.
S Puri
The West Indies: Patterns of Development, Culture and Environmental Change since 1492
This magisterial survey of the historical geography of the West Indies is at bottom concerned with the causes and consequences of three complex and inter-related phenomena: the rapid and total removal of a large aboriginal population; the development of plantation agriculture and the arrival of enforced labour, in the form of many thousands of African slaves; and the environmental, ecological and cultural changes that resulted. Dr Watts shows how the initial European vision of a land of plenty has been replaced by an awareness of the geographic and ecological fragiliaty of the area, and explains how the exploitative agricultural systems of the colonial and recent West Indies have not adjusted to the demands of the environment. An enormous array of historical, biological and literary sources are marshalled in support of Dr Watts' analysis, which is likely to remain the standard work on the subject for many years to come.
Timelines of Guyanese History, 1498-2006
Voices of The Pelican
Graduation speeches by UWI CHANCELLOR, Professor The Honourable Sir George Alleyne, 2003 - 2016


text:
Illnesses: Teresa Enke: Creating acceptance for depressed people
Teresa Enke, widow of the former national goalkeeper Robert Enke and chairwoman of the foundation named after him, would like more acceptance for depressed people.
02 October 2022 Sunday 02:56
Teresa Enke, widow of the former national goalkeeper Robert Enke and chairwoman of the foundation named after him, would like more acceptance for depressed people. Because this acceptance did not exist at the time, her husband's depression was kept secret, she said on the 19th European Depression Day this Sunday. She also emphasized the importance of therapies. Football star Robert Enke, a former goalkeeper for Hannover 96, committed suicide in 2009 at the age of 32.
"Robert no longer had any drive, he was afraid of the future. At some point it went so far that he could no longer get up," said Enke (46), who has chaired the Robert Enke Foundation since 2010. "I often couldn't understand why someone who is so strong, who gets balls in the face in front of tens of thousands of people in the stadium, can't get up."
Often underestimated illness
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, depressive disorders are among the most common diseases and the most underestimated in terms of their severity. According to this, 16 to 20 percent of people will suffer from depression or a chronic depressive mood at least once in their lifetime.
Because it is difficult for many relatives to empathize with those affected, she started the "Impression Depression" project together with psychologists. The virtual reality experience should make it possible "to feel into a depression, you can dive in with us for a moment," explained Enke. "We want acceptance to be created for this disease."
Therapy has helped her husband enormously in the meantime, said Enke. The big mistake was not going on with it. "Therapies are extremely important. You learn something about yourself and your own strengths. You have to keep at it, unfortunately he didn't do that," she said. Now she wants to educate about the disease.
According to experts, this became particularly relevant during the corona pandemic. Loneliness, especially among women between the ages of 30 and 49, has increased, as have depressive symptoms among young people, said Detlef Dietrich, the senior physician in the psychiatry and psychotherapy department at the Burghof Clinic in Rinteln. In addition to Covid-19, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and inflation are factors that could promote a depression.
Information from the Federal Ministry of Health
1 "Don't question everything": Gladbach... 2 Tournament in China: Table tennis team loses World... 3 King Charles III: New portrait with the most important... 4 Retail: Survey: Consumers want to save on Christmas... 5 Monarchy: climate summit - King Charles does not travel... 6 Milan: how does the future live? Tour with design... 7 Illnesses: Teresa Enke: Creating acceptance for depressed... 8 Travel: From chain-smoking nobles to family-owned... 9 Tradition: Oberammergau Passion comes to an end 10 World Cup in China: "Used day": Table tennis...
35th anniversary of death: role model or traitor? Klaus Fuchs worked on the atomic bomb - and became a Soviet spy
People: Prince frontman calls for engagement
Not so confidential: The misery with secret documents in the USA
"Decent amount of radiation": Fallen from the truck - Australia is looking for dangerous radioactive capsule
Wages: Warning strikes at the post office continue
Postal law reform: Federal politicians call for lower...
Energy crisis: Rosneft Germany sees good talks for...
Energy crisis: "Economy" Grimm warns of...
"Don't question everything": Gladbach...