LONDON – Having genes that give you red hair, pale skin and freckles increases your risk of developing skin cancer as much as an extra 21 years' exposure to the sun, researchers said on Tuesday.
"It has been known for a while that a person with red hair has an increased likelihood of developing skin cancer, but this is the first time that the gene has been proven to be associated with skin cancers with more mutations," said David Adams, who co-led the study at Britain's Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.
Redheads make up between 1 and 2 percent of the world's population, but about 6 percent in Britain. They have two copies of a variant of the MC1R gene which affects the type of melanin pigment they produce, leading to red hair, freckles, pale skin and a strong tendency to burn in the sun.
"It also underlines that it isn't just people with red hair who need to protect themselves from too much sun."


text:
Platforms > Platform for the characterization of microbial genomes by high throughput sequencing
Platform for the characterization of microbial genomes by high throughput sequencing
Level 2 confinement Laboratory
Flow-Cytometry Platform
Luminex Platform
Bioinformatics Platform
Dr Christophe RODRIGUEZ, Director
"Metagenomics, at the heart of screening and characterization of microbial pathogens."
The next-generation sequencing platform (NGS) was created in 2012 at the initiative of the Institute for Biomedical Research (IMRB), INSERM research center of the Faculty of Medicine of Créteil, and the Pôle of Biology and Pathology of the Henri Mondor Hospital Group (Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris), supported by INTER-DIM funding (Ile-de-France Region) and specific funding from the University Paris-Est Créteil, the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, and the National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS). The platform has focused on medical and microbiological research from the beginning and now occupies an important place in the development of NGS techniques for the diagnosis and characterization of microbial pathogens.
Directions of development
Development of diagnostic approaches to detect any viral, bacterial, or fungal pathogen in any type of diagnostic or research sample.
Development of pathogen characterization approaches to identify, classify, and highlight mutations or genes of interest (e.g., resistance to anti-infectives).
Blind diagnosis of infection and pathogen identification
The constant emergence of new infections, favored by globalization, travel, and global warming, sometimes requires the diagnosis of infections based on nonspecific symptoms, in poorly informative contexts, without any preliminary knowledge of the microorganism. The development of specific diagnostic tests for a given infection is expensive, time-consuming to implement, and often available too late. The laboratory has specialized in the development and application of a "universal" diagnostic test based on a metagenomic approach. These metagenomic techniques aim to establish the repertoire of all the species present in a sample. The first application was targeted metagenomics (16S or ITS) for bacteria or fungi, but this approach did not allow the search for viruses, whether DNA or RNA.
Our laboratory has developed a complete process for "shotgun metagenomics" allowing:
the exhaustive extraction of all pathogens from a sample
simultaneous and automated preparation of DNA and RNA libraries
massive sequencing (more than 80 million sequences per sample)
appropriate analysis (figure below), allowing the identification of all microorganisms in a sample
The "shotgun metagenomic" technique has been validated on mono- and polymicrobial samples containing bacterial, fungal, and/or viral pathogens. The figure below shows our ability to identify whole genome sequences of various viruses —including HIV, HCV, human pegivirus type 1 (HPGV), Zika virus (ZIKV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)— in human samples or cell cultures (human coronavirus 229E, HCoV). The depth indicates the number of sequences generated for each region of the viral genome, allowing the identification of the pathogen by comparison with sequence libraries.
Pathogen characterization
The precise identification of the pathogen(s), as well as demonstration that some of their genomic characteristics with functional significance, is another advantage of the "shotgun metagenomic" technique developed on the platform. Simultaneous sequencing of the complete genome of all pathogens present in a single sample makes it possible to obtain all the genetic data, including, possibly, those for minority variants. For example, the technique allows genotyping and subtyping or the detection of resistant viral variants in samples provided by the NRC (National Reference Center) of viral hepatitis B, C, and delta.
The platform also regularly tests new equipment and/or NGS kits as part of its technology monitoring mission, particularly for diagnosis and typing.
Host-Pathogen interactions
In the context of research, NGS techniques allow the characterization of modifications affecting the host in various infection situations, with or without anti-infectious treatment. The methods developed include RNA-Seq, micro-RNA sequencing, and transcriptomics. These tools provide valuable information for the identification of antiviral targets and the understanding of antiviral mechanisms of action for the group working on the development of new broad-spectrum antiviral approaches.
Bruno COSTES, Reserch Engineer (Co-Director)
Vanessa DEMONTANT, Senior Technician
Guillaume GRICOURT, Bioinformatician
Corinne MARIE, Medical-Technical Services Manager
Mélanie MERCIER-DARTY, Senior Hospital Engineer
Christophe RODRIGUEZ, MCU-PH (Director)
Jean-Winoc DECOUSSER, MCU-PH, Bacterial genome
Paul-Louis WOERTHER, MCU-PH, Microbiota
Platform supported by the ANRS for the realization of projects financed by this organization
Animation of the groupe NGS ANRS (C.Rodriguez, AG. Marcelin)
Ongoing creation of a NGS APHP division for diagnosis
Team training on the experimental or analytical part in the field of microbiology
Animation of an annual seminar "NGS in microbiology"
Supervision of Masters 2 "Microbiology" (Paris 11 and Paris 6 IMVI)
PhD supervision (microbiology)
DNA, RNA extraction, all types of samples
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of extracted nucleic acids
Making of libraries (Amplicons, Nextera XT, Total RNA, mRNA, micro-RNA
Sequencing adapted to needs (MiSeq-NextSeq)
Screening for bacterial, fungal or viral pathogens using an analysis pipeline developed on the site by the team
Genomic mapping of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of pathogens (not accessible for all pathogens, inquire)
Development of customized analysis pipelines
Équipments
Extractor : QiaSymphony
Tape Station 2000
2 Hamilton StarLet (1 pré-PCR, 1 post-PCR)
qPCR : 1 Light cycler 480, 1 ABI 7900, 1 RotorGene
Sanger Sequencers : 3 ABI 3130
Illumina Sequencers : 2 NextSeq 500 et 1 MiSeq
IonTorrent Sequencer : 2 PGM, 1 S5
Servers : 4 nods (25 Co, 1 To RAM/noeud)
Workstation : 4 computer MultiCore, RAM (>24Go)
Software copyrights
Pyromute© (2010) (NGS data filtering and variant calling)
Pyrotree© (2010) (NGS data 3D phylogeny)
Pyrodyn© (2010) (NGS data viral evolution modeling)
Pyroclass© (2010) (NGS data demultiplexing)
Pyrotrop© (2011) (HIV-1 coreceptor usage prediction)
PyroMIC© (2013) (metagenomics analysis)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Linking nicely with my earlier review of the reissue of Burnin Red Ivanhoe's W.W.W. is the latest album from the prolific Danish band Taylor's Universe, amongst whose number is none other than the Ivanhoe's veteran sax blower, Karsten Vogel.
Robin Taylor was born to English/Danish parents in Copenhagen in 1956, and has been playing guitar since the age of 12. The full story is available on Taylor's website, and since the early 90s Taylor's Universe, in its many line ups and as the occasional "Free" configuration, has released a steady stream of albums, all 29 (!) of which are on the Bandcamp page. I must investigate this vast back catalogue at some point, should I ever get the time! This is because I am a late comer to the world of Taylor's Universe, my interest piqued a few years ago by happening across a hilariously dismissive non-review of an album entitled Family Shot by Robin Taylor's aforementioned avant side project Taylor's Free Universe that simply described said album as "Noise, not music". Knowing the somewhat conservative nature of some of the writers on the review site in question it had the effect of making me search out some music by this man and his merry band. That album was the then current release by Robin's more structured group Taylor's Universe, 2013's Worn Out, which turned out to be a fine piece of work. Since then, there has been the album Evidence, also released in 2013 which I have not heard, and then this album, released earlier this year.
From Scratch continues in the tradition of Taylor's Universe, as far as my brief association can ascertain anyway. Playing a hybrid music where jazz-fusion meets space-rock and symphonic prog, with a dash of avant chilli sauce now and again to spice things up a tad, Taylor's Universe remain free of any danger of becoming pigeonholed, which is just as it should be. From Other Meetings' hints of Hillage guitar and on through the jazz-bolero of Beta X, the trip is one of high technical ability fused to an obvious enjoyment in their craft as Taylor's Universe explore the vast ocean that fusion offers the willing seafarer. Back to Other Meetings, and some fine acid-drop guitar leads briefly into some kinda funky groove that Herbie Hancock would not be ashamed to own before winding off with a keening synth solo, fading into the sunset.
The short section of looped laugh-snigger in Beta X lends the already sci-fi vision a sinister air, as the piece makes stately progress through a ballroom on Mars accompanied by Vogel's glorious sax blowing. Deconstructing completely, the theme slowly reprises out the other side with synth-treated saxophone, all parps and squiggles. Never cacophonous for the sake of it, Robin's composition and arrangement is in this instance both economical and exploratory. Good stuff in this Universe, yessir!
At over nine minutes Interrail is the longest track on the album. After slowly pulling away from the terminus the tune takes us on a rhythmic charge through station to station accompanied by a repetitive chant. The tune is somewhere between motorik and David Bowie's Thin White Duke, giving Karsten Vogel plenty of room to writhe about with that beast of a saxophone. Drummer Klaus Thrane has this one nailed, and again this tune disintegrates to spacey but never languid ambience, adrift on a vast featureless plain before the rhythm returns and we're back on track, chanting in place.
After the Sturm und Drang of Interrail, the band show they can play a jazz ballad with the best of them. Again, Karsten takes the lead on the quite lovely Laura's Lullaby, this time with both clarinet and sax shining gloriously. The album is a triumph of arrangement, with many examples of understated but nonetheless highly skilled trade-offs between the sax and guitar and keyboards, and lots of neat ensemble playing. This is particularly so on Für Louise, which also contains a great but all too brief guitar break, presumably from Claus Bøhling.
Taylor's Universe are a great band who produce highly enjoyable music that while it may be fusion of a kind, has a human warmth that can sometimes be hard to find in that all too often arid genre. From Scratch is something of a treat.
Robin C. Taylor – Electric and Bass Guitars, Keyboards, Percussion etc.


text:
La Bastide is een gemeente in het Franse departement Pyrénées-Orientales (regio Occitanie) en telt 90 inwoners (2009). De plaats maakt deel uit van het arrondissement Céret.

Geografie
De oppervlakte van La Bastide bedraagt 16,0 km², de bevolkingsdichtheid is dus 5,6 inwoners per km².

Demografie
Onderstaande figuur toont het verloop van het inwonertal (bron: INSEE-tellingen).

Externe links

Gemeente in Pyrénées-Orientales

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
import os
from PyQt4.QtGui import QStandardItemModel
from iconizer.qtconsole.fileTools import find_resource_in_pkg
from pyqt_console_output_wnd import MinimizeOnClose, ToggleMaxMin
from PyQt4 import QtCore, QtGui, uic

class Notification(QtGui.QWidget, MinimizeOnClose, ToggleMaxMin):
    def __init__(self):
        super(Notification, self).__init__()
        ui_full_path = find_resource_in_pkg('notification.ui')
        self.ui = uic.loadUi(ui_full_path, self)

        # self.show()

        self.setWindowFlags(
            QtCore.Qt.CustomizeWindowHint | QtCore.Qt.Tool | QtCore.Qt.WindowStaysOnTopHint | QtCore.Qt.X11BypassWindowManagerHint)
        self.vertical_adjust = 200
        self.max_cnt = 350
        size = self.geometry()
        self.width = size.width()
        self.height = size.height()
        '''
        self.not_over = True

        class mouseoverEvent(QtCore.QObject):
            def __init__(self, parent):
                super(mouseoverEvent, self).__init__(parent)
            def eventFilter(self, object, event):
                if event.type() == QtCore.QEvent.MouseMove:
                    #print "mousemove!"
                    self.not_over = False
                return False

        self.filter = mouseoverEvent(self)
        self.webView.installEventFilter(self.filter)
        '''

    def timeout(self):
        self.cnt += 1
        if self.cnt > self.max_cnt:
            self.ctimer.stop()
            self.hide()
        if self.cnt < 300:
            self.animate()
            if self.cnt < 2:
                print self.y
                self.move(self.x, self.y)
                self.show()
        else:
            if self.cnt < 301:
                milliseconds = 100
                self.ctimer.start(milliseconds)
            '''
            if self.not_over:
                self.disappear()
                self.not_over = True
            '''
            point = QtGui.QCursor.pos()
            if (point.x() > self.x) and (point.y() > self.y) and (point.x() < self.x + self.width) and (
                point.y() < self.y + self.height):
                # print 'over window'
                self.cnt -= 1
                pass
            else:
                # print point.x(), point.y(), self.x, self.y, self.width, self.height
                self.disappear()

    def noti(self, msg):
        self.noti_html('
notify:%s
' % (msg))

    def noti_html(self, msg):
        self.webView.setHtml(msg)
        self.ctimer = QtCore.QTimer()
        # constant timer
        QtCore.QObject.connect(self.ctimer, QtCore.SIGNAL("timeout()"), self.timeout)
        milliseconds = 1
        # Will trigger again and again. use self.ctimer.singleShot(milliseconds, callback) to get a single shot callback
        self.ctimer.start(milliseconds)
        self.init_x()
        self.cnt = 0
        self.f = 1

    # The following codes are copied from Pyqt-Notification- on github.
    def init_x(self):
        if True:  # try:
            from ctypes import windll
            user32 = windll.user32
            # Get X coordinate of screen
            self.x = user32.GetSystemMetrics(0)
            self.y = user32.GetSystemMetrics(1) - self.vertical_adjust
        else:  # except:
            cp = QtGui.QDesktopWidget().availableGeometry()
            self.x = cp.width()
            self.y = cp.height() - self.vertical_adjust

    # Reduce opacity of the window
    def disappear(self):
        self.f -= 0.02
        self.setWindowOpacity(self.f)
        return

    # Move in animation
    def animate(self):
        # print '----------------------', self.x
        self.move(self.x, self.y)
        self.x -= 1
        return

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Ever since the legendary recordings of German greats Neu were reissued in 2001 by Astralwerks, I have been continually blown away and have found new moments of discovery each time I drop the needle. It all started with their first release, Neu!, released in late 1971 on the massively influential Brain label.
Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger started Neu in 1971 after fallout from their early days in another German legend, Kraftwerk. Apparently, their work ethic and temperament didn't gel with Florian Schneider so the duo started working with producer Conny Plank on something new in Hamburg.
Their new sound must have felt like a line in the sand. While it doesn't seem like the various Krautrock bands were totally cognizant of what each band was doing, it does seem like there was some kind of competition to reach further, to be on the cutting edge of what's next. Neu is certainly that. Dinger introduced, and basically invented, a new, propulsive and continuous style of drumming in which a 4/4 drum pattern was repeated with little variation. It came to be known as "motorik" though Dinger referred to it as his "Apache beat." Combined with Rother's transcendent and languid guitar, Neu's sound was minimal, psychedelic, massively hypnotic and unlike any group of their day.
The first cut on Neu1, "Hallogallo," is regularly thought of as their trademark, standout track and for good reason. Dinger's seamless drumming and Rother's swirling, backwards guitar is perhaps one of the most beautiful and transfixing songs in music. Talking music, in it's entirety! Rother and Dinger show such a fine sense of restraint and leave plenty of space letting each song breathe and resolve effortlessly. "Weissensee" encapsulates this as Dinger eases back on the kit while Rother weaves wah-wah and fuzz guitar between the pulses. The pace this time is more deliberate, however the placement and the timing of it all seems note perfect. "Negativland" is the major departure on Neu! with Dinger using his Japanese zither (koto), to usher in a noisier element for a temporary reprieve from the serene "Im Gluck." It's a shocking juxtaposition as jackhammers run headlong into a menacing bassline prepared by Rother before Dinger serves up heavy doses of distorted and reverberated koto noise.


From the Tiffany & Co. CT60 watch collection inspired by its founder, here are the 5 watches that stood out to us for their embodiment of Tiffany's innovative spirit.
Tiffany & Co. may be a name synonymous with diamonds and love but quite a surmountable chunk of its history also has to do with watchmaking.
From the famed Atlas clock Charles Lewis Tiffany himself mounted onto his store in 1853, to the Tiffany & Co. gold watch presented to US President Franklin D Roosevelt in 1945, watches have played an equally important role in Mr Tiffany's career as diamonds have.
It came as no surprise when the brand announced a special watch collection this year – the CT60 – inspired by its eponymous founder as well as the city where he first opened his doors to a new world of style.
Here are 5 watches from the CT60 collection which certainly caught our eyes.
Inspired by the very Tiffany & Co. gold watch given to US President Franklin D Roosevelt in 1945, this piece serves as one of the star pieces of the collection with a classic look of white soleil and gold bezel. It comes with a 42-hour power reserve, shock absorption system and sapphire crystal display back and is created in a limited edition of only 60 pieces worldwide.
A blue soleil dial stands this piece apart from the rest of the collection while gold poudre numerals tell the time in a classically luxe manner. It features a self-winding mechanical movement encased within a 40mm case, mounted upon matching blue alligator strap.
The stainless steel body and white soleil dial makes this watch look unassuming at first glance but look closely and the details are what really make this timepiece pop. Brilliant round diamonds line the entire length of the bezel for a quiet elegance matched with yellow detailing that keeps things from looking too white-washed.
The beauty of this watch is in the little things that stand out in a seemingly conventional watch. Its stainless steel case is made to seem exceptionally shiny with a gray soleil dial. Its numbers are also made of fine gold poudre but it is the second hand that stands out in this piece – it features a special red pointer that vividly lets you track 60 seconds, a duration also known as the New York Minute in the House of Tiffany.
Embodying the saying 'less is more', simplicity truly shines with this chronograph in stainless steel. White soleil dial is made extra special gold poudre numerals. Adding a subtle glamour are refined yellow accents on the dial for a pop of colour as well as a red second hand that matches that 60th second.
From the East West collection, this watch tells the time with numerals (also printed in gold poudre, of course) that are displayed parallel to the direction of one's arm for ease of reading. This clever way of time-telling and unconventional square shape are inspired by the original purse watch old by Tiffany in the 1940's.
View the full CT60 and East West collections at the official website here.
More new releases from Tiffany & Co.: Its T collection is perfection to the T.


text:
Q: Different behavior of cin seekg/tellg on OS X vs Linux I'm trying to read the entire redirected stdin into a std::string in a program I'm writing, and found that on OS X, seekg and tellg do not work as I anticipate when applied to cin.
Here is my minimal example:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    cin.clear();
    cin.seekg(0, ios::end);
    if (cin.fail() || cin.bad())
        cout << "Cin seek failed." << endl;
    cout << cin.tellg() << endl;
    return 0;
}

On Linux, when I apply this program to its own source, I get:
alex@linux:~$ g++ size.cpp -o size
alex@linux:~$ ./size < ./size.cpp
225
alex@linux:~$ wc -c size.cpp
     225 size.cpp

On OS X, however, I get:
alex@osx:~$ g++ size.cpp -o size
alex@osx:~$ ./size < ./size.cpp
-1
alex@osx:~$ wc -c size.cpp
     225 size.cpp

Notice that the "Cin seek failed." error message is not printed. Why is this? Am I doing something wrong?
UPDATE
It appears to be a problem with OS X's standard library, even though this works with clang on Linux. It works on OS X using the Homebrew G++ 4.9.
alex@osx:~$ g++-4.9 original.cpp -o original
alex@osx:~$ ./original < big.txt
254167055
alex@osx:~$ g++ original.cpp -o original
alex@osx:~$ ./original < big.txt
-1

EDIT
Here's some fast code for reading in a file to a buffer
#include <iostream>
#include <stdio.h>
using namespace std;

int main(void)
{
    fseek(stdin, 0, SEEK_END);
    int read_size = ftell(stdin);

    char *buf = new char[read_size];
    rewind(stdin);
    read_size = fread(buf, 1, read_size, stdin);

    string str;
    str.append(buf, read_size); // I want to dodge this copy
                                // because speed is important

    delete [] buf;

    cout << str.length() << endl;
}

Here's some slow code for reading in a file to a buffer
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main(void)
{
    string str((std::istreambuf_iterator<char>(cin)),
                std::istreambuf_iterator<char>());
    cout << str.length() << endl;
}

Console output (big.txt is 250MB or so):
alex@osx:~$ time ./size < big.txt
254167055

real    0m0.339s
user    0m0.074s
sys 0m0.264s
alex@osx:~$ time ./size-slow < big.txt
254167055

real    1m18.180s
user    1m16.212s
sys 0m0.653s

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Leading land development advisors join LAWD
Lawd Agribusiness Posted on 01 Feb 2021
Leading Melbourne real estate agents and land experts Peter Sagar and Paul Callanan have joined forces as directors with LAWD (Land, Agribusiness, Water, Development) a tier one agency and advisory firm.
LAWD have offices in Victoria, Queensland and NSW and aim to expand nationally within the next 12 months. LAWD has brought together a team of experts across the development and agribusiness sectors. Peter Sagar and Paul Callanan will focus on development opportunities in the growth corridors of capital cities and regional centres. According to Mr Sagar, the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a shift away from city centres and apartment living to suburban fringes and rural residential locations as more people embrace working from home.
He sees his experience as a land developer with major corporates, an agent and valuer overlapping with LAWD farmer clients, seeking advice on subdivision in or near a town or regional centre. Also, he regards the combined experience he and Mr Callanan can both bring to LAWD will add value and combine the synergies of agribusiness real estate transactions with land development opportunities to achieve the best outcome for the business.
Both Mr Sagar and Mr Callanan have extensive experience in the development sector dealing in large scale greenfield site transactions and have strong ties to many public companies.
Mr Sagar stated that "The primary focus for us will be the middle to outer suburbs and regional locations in Victoria and nationally, with transactions of superlots in master planned communities and larger englobo land parcels".
"Coming from a corporate background we also understand the need for absolute confidentiality in some circumstances as well as the value of probity and process. We specialise in deals of complexity and scale given our development, valuation and agency expertise" Mr Callanan said.
Both have extensive experience in dealing with sizeable confidential off-market transactions. "In the short term that's going to be one of our key strengths. We are 100% client focused and trusted advisors to some of Australia's largest developers" Mr Sagar said.
Peter Sagar moved across to LAWD as a senior director from global real estate services firm Cushman and Wakefield, where he was head of development transaction and advisory based in Melbourne for more than three years. His previous role was as executive director of Azurium, a specialist management consulting and real estate advisory practice which was previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrier Hodgson. He was also leader of the company's national real estate practice.
Before that Mr Sagar was executive director of Ferrier Hodgson, an insolvency and strategy consultancy which merged in 2019 with audit and tax advisory services firm KPMG. Overall Mr Sagar has almost 30 years' experience in real estate and property development, including 10 years at Australia's largest diversified property group, Stockland.
Paul Callanan who has also joined as a director, he has an extensive background in commercial real estate, having previously worked with CBRE, Savills and Cushman & Wakefield over a 12 year period. Mr Callanan has tier one corporate real estate expertise with a background in valuations and capital markets.
Both Mr Sagar and Mr Callanan are skilled at structuring and negotiating complex transactions and managing property planning and development of large-scale projects. He also has specialist expertise regarding master-planned communities, residential developments and retirement villages.


text:
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Pantheon Graphic Novels)
Author Marjane Satrapi
Publisher Pantheon
A New York Times Notable BookA Time Magazine Best Comix of the YearA San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best sellerWise funny and heartbreaking Persepolis is Marjane Satrapis memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution In powerful black and white comic strip images Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen years that saw the overthrow of the Shahs regime the triumph of the Islamic Revolution and the devastating effects of war with Iraq The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great granddaughter of one of Irans last emperors Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life Marjanes childs eye view of dethroned emperors state sanctioned whippings and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family Intensely personal profoundly political and wholly original Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression It shows how we carry on with laughter and tears in the face of absurdity And finally it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love
Superman Classic: Superman Phonics Fun (Includes 12 Books) (My First I Can Read)
Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life
Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy! A Branches Book (Press Start! #1)
Star Wars Rebel Rising
Chill the F*ck Out: An Irreverent Adult Coloring Book (Irreverent Book Series) (Volume 2)
The Anna Anointing: Become a Woman of Boldness, Power and Strength
The Mists of Avalon
From Grouchy to Great: Finding Joy in the Journey of Motherhood
The Cinderella Murder: An Under Suspicion Novel
Streams of Silver: The Icewind Dale Trilogy, Part 2 (Forgotten Realms: The Legend of Drizzt, Book V) (Pt. 2)
The Religious Life of Robert E. Lee (Library of Religious Biography (LRB))
Digital Marketing For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyle))
Commercial Pilot Oral Exam Guide: The comprehensive guide to prepare you for the FAA checkride (Oral Exam Guide series)
Bound (An Alex Verus Novel)
Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul: Stories of Changes, Choices and Growing Up for Kids Ages 9-13 (Chicken Soup for the Soul)
Boystown: Sex and Community in Chicago
The Seven Realms Box Set (A Seven Realms Novel)
The Zodiac Legacy: The Dragon's Return
ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS Coding Handbook, with Answers, 2017 Rev. Ed.
The Boy's Body Book: Third Edition: Everything You Need to Know for Growing Up YOU
Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 20th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
The Hundred-Year Walk: An Armenian Odyssey
The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary
TExES ESL Supplemental (154) Book + Online (TExES Teacher Certification Test Prep)
Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor
Surgery of Spinal Tumors
Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers


Received this amazing email about Brown Betty from a reader:I'm writing to you about Brown Betty, purely I admit, out of self interest. My boyfriend and I go there for dinner at least once a month, which is about as often as we can because we're poor. It is amazing every time and we love it, but half the time when we go, we are the only people there. I think a lot of people know that they do breakfast and lunch, and I know there are sometimes lines and reservations for weekend brunch, but I think people don't know that they do dinner every night (I think) except Sunday.
I've sort of hesitated about saying something on any of the forums or blogs because we certainly like the fact that it isn't crowded at dinner, but I'm afraid that Cynthia will stop doing dinner if business doesn't pick up.
So if you have the time or inclination, you really ought to go over there for dinner one night and when you love love love it, write it up again. They're byob, which I rather like. Last night we had the most amazing brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes, catfish, and now they do this jerk pork chop that is insane and yeah, yum - sorry, I get a little ridiculous when talking about food.
So again, sorry to shamelessly write your ear off, but I really think this is exactly the sort of business we need more of at this end of Clinton Hill and I adore her food, so I want Brown Betty to do well.
I had dinner there ages ago, and it was indeed wonderful. It's easy to forget it's there, as it's so small and just south of Fulton, but DO check it out!


text:
Music Commentary
About In Harsh Light
Contact IHL
Culture, Fiction
My heart is a strange country. One minute she speaks one language and the next, another. It's like a flesh version of Switzerland. It's also like an Independent Republic that the ex-dictators filled with landmines you should watch out for. I've been trying to dismantle them but I can't remember exactly where they were placed. Continue Reading…
Hipster vs Poseur
Maria Bustillos, bylined at The AWL:
If it were really such a contemptible thing to be a hipster, you'd think that nobody would want to live in Echo Park or Williamsburg or Shoreditch or the Haut Marais; you'd think nobody would want to be caught dead wearing skinny trousers or the colored Ray-Bans or listening to WHY?. And yet people in search of the like-minded flock to those places, to those things. So why this "self-loathing propensity," the doubtless real and widespread thing of which Lethem speaks?
It isn't really self-loathing at all. People don't hate hipsters, and hipsters don't hate themselves. What people hate so much is the faux-hipsters: they hate poseurs. And because it's such an irritating thing to be having to tell the real from the fake (exactly as in the matter of overpriced European handbags), the easiest way out is simply to deny any involvement in the whole business. That is why nobody, not even someone who fervently embraces hipster culture, wants to call himself a hipster.
Persuasive, but the positive spin on the present demonized state of the "hipster" seems rather shoehorned for the sake of Bustillos' logic.
Isn't it too late to develop an eye discerning enough to spot the difference between a poseur and a hipster? And even so, is it worth expending the mental energy to develop such a keen eye? Sadly, it's easier to remain pessimistic.
It's easy to blame the poseur (or the scenester) for the fall of the Hipster from iconoclastic greatness. It's not like they're soulless androids created by Evil Republicans to create a counter-countercultural cancer from within the hermetically-sealed ranks of an affluent-urban subsculture of educated progressives … poseurs are real people too. And thus, complex human beings who are deeply confused about their own identity.
Still, a part of me is conscious of the general attitude that conservatives had toward the beatniks in the 50s/60s, and the hippies in 60s/70s. There's a comorbidity to the rise and fall of countercultural subcultures that cannot be ignored. Beyond the historicism that helps define them, the lines that separate these countercultural movements seem blurry.
These days (at least in my experience), hippies and beatniks are fondly referenced for their caterwauls against social oppression, social injustice, war, anti-individualism, and so on. To me, the crucifixion of a movement's zeitgeist paradoxically sets the stage for its resurrection, sometimes within the following decade.
Made in Seattle, WA
© 2016 In Harsh Light. All Rights Reserved.


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The Mutant Team X-23 Will Join in The X-Men Franchise
by Amy Fanai
in Movies, News
The introduction of X-23 in Logan garnered a lot of attention in the X-Men fandom. Since Wolverine has gone out to greener pastures, the franchise has lost one of its prime stars. And since the comics had portrayed X-23 as the new Wolverine, the speculations of the character taking on the role grew louder. But that is not the only speculation fans have for the character.
Since Wolverine was a part of the X-Men, many wonder if the same fate is in the works for Laura Kinney. And since Deadpool has reportedly been lining up new members for his X-Force, could Kinney also be in line for the forthcoming team?
As both teams have had X-23 as a member in the comics, it's not surprising to see such rumors being spread in abundance. Logan producer Hutch Parker, however, may just put a downer to the fan theories. In an interview with IGN, the producer said:
"Yeah, I mean, look — I don't know definitively, but in terms of the stuff we've been talking about, it's not sort of slipping her into the background of another movie. It's looking at that character, which is a great character and has a pretty interesting run within the comics, to find a story that we think she could carry or certainly be kind of majorly significant within. That's the only kind of thing that Jim as a storyteller, a filmmaker… that's the way his sort of process works. And the way his mind works in terms of what he would aspire to. Which isn't to say that the studio couldn't have a conversation about something else, but the one that we've been kind of discussing loosely and kicking around is more likely to be its own film."
James Mangold has spoken in the past about his interest to make an X-23 movie, and Fox seems to be opening up about the prospects of such a solo movie. If the writer/director or the studio makes the decision to have Laura in any team, she will no doubt have the pick of the litter. But a solo movie will also be great.
Don't Miss: 11 Facts You Didn't Know About Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 1
Amy Fanai
Movie lover who writes about movies.
This Fan-Made Harry Potter Prequel Will Blow Your Senses
The Stunning Connection Between Captain Marvel And Ant-Man Has Been REVEALED


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Survivor's Guide On How To Get Through Festival Season
With Spring here, the music festivals will follow too. Coachella is less than a month away, Electric Daisy Carnival is coming sooner than later, and Outside Lands just sold out for its weekend in August. For the common dude and gal, the festivals are all about the outfits. For the sophisticated sneaker heads, the kicks are just as important.
1. Picking The Right Footwear
First off, it's incredibly important to remember this tidbit: NEVER WEAR FLIP FLOPS or SANDALS. With drunk folks and people under some sort of influence, there will be messes everywhere in sight. That list includes: dropped beers, food condiments, vomit, and even mud. Avoid the nastiness and rock sneakers.
To Review, SKIP THE BENASSI SLIDES!
2. When You Leave, It's Not Going To Be The Same
Unfortunately, the sneakers you wear will face the obstacles previously mentioned. By picking sneakers over sandals, it will at least keep your feet dry and clean. The best alternative is to pick a pair of beaters or "dailys" but comfort should remain a priority. The shoes you bring will not look the same after the event. There's just too many things against you.
No worries, Reshoevn8r has you covered. It's obvious that you won't keep having a cleaning session at the event but you can bring the cleaning wipes in your luggage. They're great for travel and they're convenient. You can purchase a 12 pack of Reshoevn8r Sneaker Wipes for less than $6.00. Those who have OCD, these would be great to leave in the hotel / apartment for a quick clean to keep the kicks fresh at the end of the night. The final step would to have the laundry system ready when you make it home.
Link To Purchase: Sneaker Wipes
4. Last But Not Least...
Have fun! Be comfortable and enjoy the ride. Don't worry about the kicks until after the festivities are over. We'll be here to help deal with the aftermath.


Mouat's fixed price contract for this barite processing plant was for a turn-key design-build plant. It included concept development, process design, general engineering, procurement of equipment, supply of fabrications, mechanical installation, construction, project management and facility start-up.
Mouat provided engineering for platforms and structures and equipment design of raw ore feed conveyor and other peripheral equipment. Also provided as part of the contract were the electrical engineering and electrical installation, including the design and implementation of the process control system.
The facility is operated from a computer in the control room and one person in shipping.


Anglian Water supplies drinking water to parts of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Suffolk.
Anglian Water Services Ltd is a private limited company that provides the majority Anglian Water branded services and utilities and is registered in England and Wales with company number 2366656. A sister group exists including Anglian Water Property Holdings (UK) Ltd and Osprey Water Services Ltd.
The Anglian Water "Keep It Clear" campaign aimed to reduce sewer blockages in the region caused by fats, oils, grease and unflushable items like baby wipes. The campaign also worked with community leaders to spread the word, and free sink strainers to stop food waste going the drain were also handed out. Following a seven-week trial in Peterborough blockages fell by more than 80%. The model is now being rolled out to other "hotspot" towns and cities in the region.
"Where there's water, there's carbon – and quite a bit of it. Every bath, flush or glug has CO2 built into it, thanks to all the processes it takes to get it to the tap. So using less water is good news for the planet. It's good news for us too, because it's our job to keep supplies flowing to over 6 million customers in this dry region."
The Anglian Water Authority was formed by the Water Act 1973 as one of ten regional water authorities which took over statutory and local authority owned water supply and waste water (sewage) undertakings. Anglian Water was privatised as Anglian Water Services Limited in 1989. It is now a subsidiary of AWG plc.
It currently provides water for 2.6 million properties, and covers an area of 27,500 square kilometres. In 1997 Anglian took over Hartlepool Water.
Anglian operates the reservoirs Rutland Water, Grafham Water, Alton Water, Pitsford Water, Ravensthorpe and Taverham Mill. Apart from providing water supplies, a separate leisure division has been formed to promote the use of these facilities for recreational use. Activities provided for include water sports, fishing, bird watching, cycling and walking.
In 2012/13 Anglian Water's leakage rate was 4.97m3/km/day; compared to 5.26m3/km/day in 2011/12, 6.10m3/km/day in 2010/11, 5.62m3/km/day in 2009/10, 5.60m3/km/day in 2008/09 and 2007/08.
Drinking water quality in 2012 was 99.96%, as it was in 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2007. In 2008 it was 99.98%.
July 1992 - Fined £18,000 by magistrates at Fakenham, Norfolk, after dumping concentrated sewage into a creek at Wells-next-the-Sea.
April 1993 - Ranked 8th in the National Rivers Authority's "top ten" list of worst polluters.
January 1995 - Listed again in the National Rivers Authority's top ten of worst polluters having been convicted of polluting waterways on 16 occasions the previous year.
February 1997 - Fined £7,500 at Luton Crown Court after admitting river pollution at Leighton Buzzard.
February 1997 - Fined £2,000 with £783 costs after oil from its Heigham Waterworks in Norwich contaminated the River Wensum and its population of swans.
July 1997 - Set a water industry record by receiving three convictions in one week for water pollution.
January 1999 - Fined £10,000 with £4,800 costs at Witham Magistrates' Court for supplying water unfit for human consumption contrary to the Water Industry Act 1991. The prosecution was brought by the Drinking Water Inspectorate and related to supplying contaminated water to 11,000 people in Halstead, Essex, in December 1997.
February 1999 - Fined £15,000 with £5,521 costs at Ipswich Crown Court for supplying water unfit for human consumption. The water was contaminated with bacteria from cow and pig manure, causing an outbreak of diarrhea and stomach cramps in customers.
March 1999 - Ranked 6th in the Environment Agency's league table of "worst polluters" in England and Wales during 1998.
July 2000 - Ranked 2nd in the Environment Agency's list of worst polluters, with total fines of £71,250 and 14 court appearances in 1999.
September 2001 - Fined £21,000 with £7,345 in costs after pleading guilty to supplying water unfit for human consumption to consumers in areas of Bedfordshire in August 2000.
October 2001 - 200 tons of raw sewage discharged from a treatment plant in Wickford into the River Crouch, killing fish and waterfowl along a 2 kilometer stretch of the river. In 2002 the company were fined £200,000 at Basildon Crown Court for the incident. The fine was later reduced on appeal.
2002 - Allowed pollution with raw sewage to wipe out most wildlife in Elstow Brook, Bedfordshire. Fined £190,000.
July 2002 - Listed again by the Environment Agency in its top ten polluters league.
February 2003 - Fined £17,000 for polluting the River Great Ouse in Norfolk with sewage.
February 2003 - Fined £18,000 for pumping sewage effluent into the North Sea off Lowestoft.
June 2003 - Fined £12,000 with £3,442 costs after contaminating a waterway with raw sewage overflow from a pumping station.
July 2003 - Ranked 2nd in the Environment Agency's list of top ten polluters, with total fines of £285,000 for 2002. Barbara Young, the chief executive of the Environment Agency, criticised the polluters for "treat[ing] Britain like a dustbin" and warned that the situation would continue so long as "pathetic" penalties meant that it made economic sense for the worst offenders to carry on polluting. "It seems extraordinary that multi-million-pound businesses are still prepared to risk their reputations with careless and avoidable neglect of environmental responsibility," she said.
June 2004 - Fined £18,000 with £1,748 costs after admitting polluting near Wilstead, Bedfordshire.
July 2004 - Listed again in the Environment Agency's top ten of polluters.
June 2008 - A quarter of a million customers in Northampton, Daventry and the surrounding area were told to boil all drinking water for a month after drinking water samples were found to contain cryptosporidium. Vans with loudspeakers were used to warn people about the problem, which also forced the closure of seventeen schools. Supermarkets had to ration bottled water due to panic buying.
October 2008 - Fined £150,000 for "repeated illegal discharging from sewage works."
July 2010 - Fined £27,000 with £28,000 costs at Basildon Crown Court for allowing untreated sewage from one of its pumping stations to leak into the River Crouch at Wickford on 17 August 2009. This was Anglia Water's 90th conviction for polluting waterways.
January 2011 - Fined £35,000 fine after discharging untreated sewage into the River Wid on 13 September 2009 killing hundreds of fish.
May 2011 - Ranked first in an Environment Agency list of worst water polluters, with 296 "unconsented incidents".
August 2011 - An Anglian Water pumping station caused sewage to leak into the River Crouch at Wickford and Runwell. Peter Steward, from the River Crouch Conservation Trust, said: "It is such a small river it can't cope with sewage leaks."
December 2011 - Fined £32,000 with £3,974 costs at Lincoln Magistrates' Court after polluting a Lincoln stream. Between July 2004 and October 2008 five previous pollutions were attributed to blockages in the foul sewer and two formal cautions were issued to Anglian Water. "The defendant was aware of the vulnerability of the system before the 2011 incidents and failed to take appropriate measures," said Claire Bentley, prosecuting.
October 2012 - Fined £36,000 with £5,973 costs at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court for polluting a 3 kilometer stretch of the River Chelmer in Thaxted, Essex in June 2012, killing hundreds of fish including lamprey, bullhead, minnow, stickleback and stone loach. The fine was reduced on appeal.
March 2013 - Fined £20,000 with £2,896 costs after sewage spilled from a pumping station at Filby, near Great Yarmouth, into the Ormesby Little Broad. Between September 2006 and March 2011 there were five previous similar incidents.
The company's carbon emissions were 487,659 gross tonnes in 2012/13, compared to 485,273 in 2011/12, 504,026 in 2010/11, 493,702 in 2009/10, 498,115 in 2008/09 and 478,450 in 2007/08.
On the 18 December 2015, Anglian Water Services Limited (AWSL) was fined £400,000 with costs of £41,711 after pleading guilty to breaches of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Luton Crown Court heard that three workers were injured in two separate incidents at its water recycling centres in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, and Saffron Walden, Essex. The court also heard that Anglian Water Services Ltd has been at the centre of four previous prosecutions by HSE. The most recent of which were in 1997, 2004, and 2010. An improvement notice was served on AWSL following a fall from a height accident in 2007.
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