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Reading: A Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-Danish Borderlands
A Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-Danish Borderlands
Hilary Howes
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, AU
Hilary Howes is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University (ANU), working on Professor Matthew Spriggs' Laureate Fellowship project "The collective biography of archaeology in the Pacific: a hidden history". After completing her PhD in 2011 in the ANU's School of Culture, History and Language, she was employed for 3.5 years as Executive Assistant to the Ambassador at the Australian Embassy in Berlin, where her responsibilities included facilitating the return of Australian Indigenous ancestral remains from German collections.
Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-Danish Borderlands, by J. Laurence Hare, Toronto, Buffalo, London: University of Toronto Press, xvi+260 pages, 2015, ISBN: 9781442648432
How to Cite: Howes, H., 2016. A Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-Danish Borderlands. Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 26(1), p.Art. 4. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/bha-580
Published on 23 Feb 2016
Scattered across the southern half of the Jutland Peninsula, where the Danish county of Sønderjylland meets the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, thousands of sites testify to the region's rich prehistoric legacy. A few are well known: the Danevirke, for example, a series of medieval walls stretching across Schleswig to the Treene River, or the lost Viking village of Haithabu. Many more are enclosed by hedges and roads or concealed in peat bogs and marshes. Yet though 'the remains of antiquity in this region suggest themselves only gingerly', J. Laurence Hare considers 'their power over modern Europeans … unmistakable. For generations, the ancient sites and artefacts of this region enchanted both Germans and Danes', evoking 'a mythical past while offering potent symbols for the present' (p. 3).
Excavating Nations evaluates the relationships between archaeology and nationalism in the German-Danish borderlands from the early nineteenth century to the present. Hare situates his study within the broader literature on the history of archaeology and nationalism, noting both similarities and differences. Studies of borderlands, he argues, are important for what they share: unlike analyses of archaeological traditions which take the nation as their essential unit of analysis, borderlands studies 'bring to the fore the complex interactions among various forms of identity within nation-states' and reveal borderlands as 'sites of negotiation and conflict that ultimately shape the broader consciousness' (p. 11). He adds, optimistically, that they can even offer messages of hope in times of conflict, describing a recent joint visit to Schleswig-Holstein's State Archaeological Museum by Danish and German heads of state as affirming 'the possibility of peace for border conflicts around the globe' (p. 189). In other respects, however, the German-Danish borderlands are unique, most notably because they 'witnessed protracted attempts to delineate boundaries with no entrenched ethnic, religious, or racial criteria separating the groups' (pp. 5–6). As a result, 'both sides were torn between seeking … a distinctive kernel of German or Danish identity within a shared heritage and appealing … to a broader "Germanic" or "Nordic" community' (p. 6).
Hare's study is organised chronologically. Chapter 1 introduces the German- and Danish-speaking antiquarians who founded the first collecting institutions and established the first collegial networks. Spurred on by the realisation that ancient artefacts and sites were under serious threat from agricultural reforms and urban development, they successfully overcame political tensions between Copenhagen and the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein to found a Society for the Collection and Preservation of National Antiquities and a Museum for National Antiquities in Kiel. Chapter 2 traces the gradual professionalization of archaeology over the period between the First German-Danish War (1848–1851) and the Austro-Prussian seizure of Schleswig-Holstein in 1864. While acknowledging the ongoing influence of philologists such as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in shaping debates around the origins of Germanic and Nordic peoples, Hare focuses particularly on the emergence of a new generation of scholars dedicated to the practice of fieldwork.
Chapters 3 and 4 address developments between the end of the Second German-Danish War in 1864 and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The process of reconciliation in the borderlands over this period culminated in the successful excavation of the lost Viking Age town of Haithabu, a cooperative endeavour between German and Danish archaeologists. At the same time, however, archaeology became increasingly entangled with resurgent nationalist movements in both Germany and Denmark, partly as a result of its turn towards physical anthropology and its incorporation of völkisch ideology and racialized thought.
Chapter 5 addresses the decline of the Kiel Museum during the interwar period and the resulting shift into the public sphere of 'the initiative for interpreting the distant past' (p. 116). In 1920, supporters and opponents of post-WWI territorial revision in Schleswig-Holstein co-opted ancient motifs and archaeological evidence to persuade voters to their respective causes. A decade later, German popular writers reinvented Haithabu as a 'Germanic Troy', a monument to a lost era of racial unity. Such developments prepared the ground for the 'unprecedented politicization of prehistoric archaeology' under the Nazi regime described in Chapter 6 (p. 138). German archaeologists benefited from increased funding for research, but saw their academic independence shrink and their motivations challenged by international colleagues. However, as outlined in Chapter 7, they did not uncritically support Nazi goals: during the Second World War, German and Danish prehistorians 'foster[ed] old bonds to protect regional interests' and 'sought to preserve academic ties even if that meant opposing war objectives' (p. 167).
Hare's stated focus throughout is the 'cross-border network of scholars, both antiquarian enthusiasts and professional archaeologists, who collaborated to discover and interpret the past and made antiquity available to the present for appropriation' (pp. 4–5). His examinations of these scholars and the various factors shaping their interpretations of the past – background, education, personal and institutional connections and rivalries, political and social pressures – are certainly detailed; at times, indeed, I found myself losing track of the distinctions between Paul Reinecke and Hans Reinerth, Karl Müllenhoff and Sophus Müller. An appendix containing brief biographies of key players would have been a welcome addition to this otherwise well-structured volume. Personally, I found that Hare's arguments were communicated most effectively by his descriptions of significant archaeological finds from the region, rather than the scholars who studied them. As these artefacts are variously discovered, displayed, stolen, destroyed, recreated, memorialised, co-opted for political purposes, rescued from falling bombs, or loaned between museums as a gesture of goodwill, their evocative names – the Golden Horns of Gallehus, the Nydam Boat, the Haithabu rune stones – resurface throughout the monograph, communicating something of their fascination for earlier generations of scholars.
More generally, Excavating Nations is well researched, very readable, and largely free from irritating errors of spelling or punctuation (the persistent misspelling of 'La Tène' as 'La Tené' is an unfortunate exception). It convincingly demonstrates the degree to which archaeology in the German-Danish borderlands was, and remains, a socially-embedded activity, and is an excellent example of the 'detailed historical scholarship … seek[ing] to understand past science in its own context' encouraged by Oscar Moro Abadía (2010, 229), among others. Recommended.
The author declares that they have no competing interests.
Moro Abadía, O (2010). Beyond externalism. Exploring new directions in the history of archaeology. Archaeological Dialogues 17(2): 215–236, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1380203810000280
Howes, H., 2016. A Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-Danish Borderlands. Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 26(1), p.Art. 4. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/bha-580
Howes H. A Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-Danish Borderlands. Bulletin of the History of Archaeology. 2016;26(1):Art. 4. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/bha-580
Howes, H. (2016). A Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-Danish Borderlands. Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 26(1), Art. 4. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/bha-580
1. Howes H. A Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-Danish Borderlands. Bulletin of the History of Archaeology. 2016;26(1):Art. 4. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/bha-580
Howes H, 'A Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-danish Borderlands' (2016) 26 Bulletin of the History of Archaeology Art. 4 DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/bha-580
Howes, Hilary. 2016. "A Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-danish Borderlands". Bulletin of the History of Archaeology 26 (1): Art. 4. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/bha-580
Howes, Hilary. "A Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-danish Borderlands". Bulletin of the History of Archaeology 26, no. 1 (2016): Art. 4. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/bha-580
Howes, H. "A Review of Excavating Nations: Archaeology, Museums, and the German-Danish Borderlands". Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, vol. 26, no. 1, 2016, p. Art. 4. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/bha-580


Main Seminar Hall (Mälarsalen) 09.00-09.30 a.m.
At the current rate of investment the Energy Certificates System will expire sooner than expected, and it is therefore vitally important to implement a stop rule in order to secure the value of the energy certificates over time. What are the expected developments regarding costs of new wind power, and how will these economic changes change current investments with or without a stop rule in place? Is it the case that the "guarantees of origin" will become increasingly important in the future?


The organisation has changed and evolved but the original sense of being at the cutting edge, providing a cosmopolitan programme, and Cinema For All, has remained central to the ethos of the cinema, now a registered educational charity. The first cinema in Scotland to host Autism Friendly screenings - winning the Autism Friendly Award in 2017 - and the first cinema to regularly screen film with Audio Description, GFT is a pioneering leader in accessible cinema, and continues today with regular Dementia Friendly, Autism Friendly and D/deaf and Hard of Hearing friendly events.
Scotland's most diverse and best publicly attended independent cinema, GFT shows a wide variety of film - over 700 different titles a year from over 60 countries, covering every continent of the world. As was intended from the day the cinema opened its doors in 1939, GFT continues to showcase a broad programme of film – including many non-mainstream and classic titles not screened at any other cinema in Glasgow.
On Twitter, use the hashtag #80YearsOfCinema.
On the final day of celebrations, join GFT for a free screening of the Oscar-winning classic, Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso. GFT is one of the few cinemas in Scotland who still project regularly from 35mm and 70mm; this nostalgic film – scored by Ennio Morricone - is the embodiment of passion for cinema. Before the screening there will be a short drinks reception, with drinks courtesy of Kilty Gin and Merchant City Brewers.
Tickets are available now and can be reserved here or GFT Box Office (0141 332 6535) in advance. Tickets are only available for collection on the day of the performance. All free screenings are limited to maximum of two tickets per person, with the exception of The Wizard of Oz, which is a maximum of four tickets per person.


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Rep. Martha Roby tapped for Benghazi investigative panel: 'It's the duty of Congress to seek answers'
Updated May 9, 2014 ; Posted May 9, 2014
U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, R-AL, at a hearing in Washington on April 11.
By Leada Gore | lgore@al.com
Alabama Rep. Martha Roby will serve on the special House committee created to investigate the 2012 attacks on the consulate in Libya that left four Americans dead.
Roby, R-Montgomery, is one of seven Republicans named to the 12-member committee. Democrats, who have protested the committee's makeup, have not announced if they will participate in the proceedings.
"The Benghazi attack was a terrible tragedy, and we still mourn the four Americans that were brutally murdered that day," Roby said. "However, the administration's explanation for exactly what happened that day and why has been far from clear, both in the immediate aftermath and months later."
U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others were killed on Sept. 12, 2012 when terrorist forces attacked the consulate in Benghazi. Critics have complained the White House has withheld information related to the attacks.
"It is the duty of Congress to seek answers on the activities of the government on behalf of the American people. Lingering questions about the Benghazi attack and continued White House obstruction compel us to form this Select Committee and continue the search for truth," Roby said.
During her time as Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Roby led earlier hearings into military activities surrounding the attack. The subcommittee report said there was a breakdown in communication between military, intelligence and diplomatic officials and a failure by the White House to facilitate such communication.
The subcommittee's jurisdiction was limited to the Department of Defense's role in the attacks, Roby said.
"There are many more layers to the Benghazi story, including our intelligence community, the State Department, and, of course, the White House. A select committee with broader jurisdiction will better connect these dots and provide a clearer picture," she said.
Roby also responded to criticism the panel is a partisan effort on behalf of Republicans.
"As can be the case in Washington, tension over the Benghazi attacks has at times become a political issue on both sides. As Chairman (Trey) Gowdy said, politics will have no place in this process. Facts aren't Republican or Democratic. Facts are stubbornly impartial, and I'm committed to pursuing the facts wherever they may lead," she said.
Gowdy, of South Carolina, will lead the committee. Other Republicans on the committee will be Lynn Westmoreland, R-GA; Jim Jordan, R-OH; Peter Roskam, R-IL; Mike Pompeo, R-KS; and Susan Brooks, R-IN. Democrats have not announced any potential members.
You can see Roby talk about plans for the committee below:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


With its low and sleek profile, this two-person bench provides a generous platform for seating without overpowering its surroundings. The cantilevered seat, available in a range of quilted and non-quilted upholstery, sits atop slim steel legs in any of six metal finishes. It shares the modular grid design of the Tuxedo line to pair easily with other pieces.


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Where to buy Insect-Based Food
Where to Buy Insects to Breed
Which Bugs Can I Eat?
Restaurants that Serve insects
Entomo Blogs
Entomo Events
Super Cricket Pasta Comfort. Food.
Hungry? Go right to the recipe!
A large part of our plans for Gastrobug, in addition to educating the (Western) world on the health and environmental benefits of eating tasty insects and how one may grow and harvest his or her own tasty insects, is recipe creation. We both really love to cook, and we want to provide a good starting point for people who are easing themselves into entomophagy (as, indeed, we are). It's much easier to begin your life as an entomophage with a handful of delicious, comforting recipes for foods you're already familiar with, I should think, than it is to have a bag of deliciously earthy-nutty smelling powder on your kitchen counter that you're kind of afraid to look at too closely in case you recognize a small cricket leg, and no idea what to do with it.
And besides, we really, really like to cook. And to eat. And to eat the things we cook. Recipe creation provides an excellent opportunity to do both.
Also to get super cute shots of Toddlerbear helping mommy cook. Of course. Super cute, right?
Some of it has been fairly easy. We've found that in darker, denser baked goods (especially those with a lot of cocoa or spice), you can throw in surprisingly large amounts of cricket meal (the main insect we're working with right now) without noticable change to taste or texture. You can, in our experience, get away with it with brownies (recipe coming soon), gingerbread (ditto) and carrot cake (also ditto). And probably loads of other things we haven't tried yet.
Similarly, things that don't have to hold a particular shape will take quite a lot of cricket. The bread recipe we posted recently (which may be found here) had a definite change in taste (though not for the worse) and a slight change in texture, but we weren't seriously concerned about the bread literally not holding together. At worst, it would have been too earthy, too dense, or maybe even a bit misshapen, but we had complete confidence that it would still produce a functional loaf of bread.
Delicate, fine, shape-holding foods? Not so much.
Our recipe experiment for this week was fresh cricket pasta. Brian got me a manual pasta-making press for my birthday last year, because he is indeed a god among husbands, and there has been an awful lot of pasta in our house in the ensuing months. I think I've gotten pretty good at it, but it's a lot more finnicky than 99% of the food we make in our kitchen and the dough isn't as forgiving as one might hope.
And so, with a deep breath and an expectation that this might go badly indeed, I randomly chose to use 1/2 cup cricket meal to 3 cups of flour in our first try at the recipe. Which, it turns out, is a bit much.
In fairness, it was tasty. It was a tremendous pain in the ass to work with the dough, which didn't stick together anywhere near as well as I was hoping and had a tendency to shred while rolling, but it was definitely edible. Brian thought it tasted like some sort of lobster pasta amalgam, where I thought it tasted like a slightly nutty, slightly grittier whole wheat pasta. Toddlerbear, being a toddler, refused to try it. That was, I suspect, chiefly because he's a toddler and any tasting of anything that looks slightly unfamiliar is an anathema.
We're keeping the recipe, which I'm calling Super Cricket Pasta, because some days one might desire a slightly nutty, slightly gritty, much higher in protein lobster-tasting pasta, but the experimenting for the perfect, most delicious fresh cricket pasta continues.
Thinking about trying your hand at this recipe, but not sure where to get your hands on Crickets? Click here for a list of places to buy from! Then, once you've made your own, tell us how it went!
Ghoulish Mealworm Skull Cake
Hallowe'en is coming up soon, and one of the things people like to do is add fake creepy crawlies to their food. But we're an entomophagy blog: we don't need…
Mealworm Guacamole!
One of the things we're always asking ourselves when we're deciding which recipes to put up on Gastrobug is whether it's interesting enough, or unique enough. Not everything has to…
Kentucky Fried Crickets
So the miraculous happened the other day: the nephew of Colonel Sanders, founder of finger-lickin' KFC, gave a newspaper interview and showed off an old recipe card he had lying…
Cricket Pizza Crust
We love pizza. Who doesn't? It's tasty, amazing, and surprisingly versatile: it can be a light vegetarian dish, a heavy, meaty experience, and almost everything in between. It's pretty great.…
About Gastrobug
Maddy & Brian


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Hernandez-Cruz v. Bowser
United States District Court, D. Oregon
RUDOLFO HERNANDEZ-CRUZ, Petitioner,
TROY BOWSER, Respondent.
Rudolfo Hernandez-Cruz Petitioner, Pro Se
Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General Nicholas M. Kallstrom, Assistant Attorney General Attorneys for Respondent
OPINION AND ORDER
ROBERT E. JONES, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Petitioner brings this habeas corpus case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging the legality of his state-court convictions for Attempted Murder, Assault, and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. Because Petitioner failed to timely file this case, his Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (#2) is dismissed.
Petitioner viciously attacked the female victim in this case two days after she ended their romantic relationship. He stabbed her in the neck, sliced her face, and tried to stab her in the chest. As a result of the attack, the victim lost the ability to fully turn her head and suffers from substantial scarring for the remainder of her life.
On January 9, 2009, the Washington County Grand Jury indicted Petitioner on one count of Attempted Murder, four counts of Assault in the First Degree, and five counts of Unlawful Use of a Weapon. Respondent's Exhibit 102. A jury subseguently convicted him of all charges, and the trial court sentenced him to 300 months in prison.
Petitioner took a direct appeal, but the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision without issuing a written opinion. State v. Hernandez-Cruz, 240 Or.App. 563, 249 P.3d 166 (2011). Petitioner did not seek review from Oregon's Supreme Court.
Petitioner next filed for post-conviction relief ("PCR") in Malheur County where the PCR Court denied relief on his claims. Respondent's Exhibit 125. The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court without opinion, and the Oregon Supreme Court denied review. Cruz v. Nooth, 276 Or.App. 918, 370 P.3d 565, rev. denied, 359 Or. 777, 381 P.3d 815 (2016).
Petitioner filed this 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas corpus case on July 20, 2018. Respondent asks the Court to dismiss the action because Petitioner waited 1065 days to file it, placing it well outside the applicable one-year statute of limitations. Petitioner concedes that his case is untimely, but he asks the Court to excuse this procedural deficiency because he is entitled to equitable tolling because: (1) his transfer to another prison caused him to delay filing this case; and (2) he is actually innocent based upon his intoxication at the time of his crimes.
A habeas corpus petitioner must generally file his federal challenge to his state convictions within one year of the time those convictions become final at the conclusion of his direct review. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A). Where a petitioner has not done so, equitable tolling is available to toll the one-year statute of limitations. Holland v. Florida, 560 U.S. 631, 645 (2010) . A litigant seeking to invoke equitable tolling must establish: (1) that he has been pursuing his rights diligently; and (2) that some extraordinary circumstance prevented him from timely filing his petition. Pace v. DiGuglielmo, 544 U.S. 408, 418 (2005).
In his Petition, Petitioner asserts that he is entitled to equitable tolling because he suffers from a language barrier and received less help preparing his filings after his transfer from the Snake River Correctional Institution to the Two Rivers Correctional Institution. Even assuming his language barrier and prison transfer combined to present an extraordinary circumstance, the transfer did not occur until well after the limitation period had expired.[1]
         Petitioner next claims that he is actually innocent of his crimes. A petitioner who fails to comply with the one-year filing deadline applicable to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas corpus cases may overcome that default if he is able to show that he is actually innocent of his underlying criminal conduct. McQuiggin v. Perkins,569 U.S. 383, 386 (2013) . In order to make a gateway showing of actual innocence, a petitioner must present "new reliable evidence-whether it be exculpatory scientific evidence, trustworthy eyewitness accounts, or critical physical evidence-that was not presented at trial" which establishes that "it is ...


4/06/2013 · Assigning programs to different sound cards rans0m00 Nov 11, 2011, 4:00 PM So for various reasons I was needing to assign certain programs to different sound cards.
If you don't like the alert sounds that came with that new app you just downloaded, they're actually pretty easy to change—and you don't even need to jailbreak your phone.
Change Sound or Alert Volume. Click on the Apple menu at the top of the screen, select "System Preferences" to launch the utility and then click "Sound" to bring up the Sound pane.
Windows 7 automatically transitions open applications to match the default audio device so you don't have to restart your programs to make the change take effect...which is why you're having this problem. but you already figured that out probably.
Learn how to change notifications for certain apps. Choose keyboard sounds & vibrations To change typing sounds and vibrations, you may need to change your keyboard's settings.
So you need to disable apps notifications on your Windows 10 PC. Apps are subject to greed and avidity. When you navigate to Windows store you find numerous apps with shining animations and images.


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Posts Tagged 'Trevor Morris'
Weekly TV Music Roundup (November 22, 2020)
Posted: November 22, 2020 by filmmusicreporter in TV Scoring Assignments
Tags: ABC, Amazon, Amie Doherty, Anne Dudley, Big Sky, Black Beauty, Black Narcissus, Blake Neely, Christmas on the Square, Disney Plus, Dolly Parton, Fil Eisler, FX, Guillaume Roussel, Happiest Season, HBO Max, Henry Jackman, Hulu, Jeff Cardoni, Mosul, Nathan Barr, Netflix, Peacock, Saved by the Bell, Superintelligence, The Flight Attendant, Trevor Morris, Uncle Frank
Premiering today is the Netflix original film Christmas on the Square directed by Debbie Allen and starring Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski, Treat Williams, Jeanine Mason, Josh Segarra, Mary Lane Haskell and Jenifer Lewis. The film's original music is composed by Dolly Parton (who wrote 14 original songs for the project) and conducted by Larry Blank. […]
ABC's 'Big Sky' to Feature Original Score by Trevor Morris
Tags: ABC, Big Sky, David E. Kelley, Trevor Morris
Trevor Morris (Vikings, The Tudors, Immortals, The Borgias, Olympus/London Has Fallen) is scoring the new ABC drama Big Sky. The show is created by David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, Ally McBeal, The Practice) based on the series of books by C.J. Box, and stars Katheryn Winnick, Kylie Bunbury, Brian Geraghty, Dedee Pfeiffer, Natalie Alyn Lind, Jade Pettyjohn, […]
'Vikings' Seasons 4 & 5 Soundtrack Albums to Be Released
Posted: December 26, 2019 by filmmusicreporter in TV Music Albums
Tags: History, score, Soundtrack, Trevor Morris, Vikings
Sony Classical will release two new soundtrack albums for the History original series Vikings featuring original music from the show's fourth and fifth season composed by Emmy Award winner Trevor Morris (The Tudors, Immortals, The Borgias, Olympus/London Has Fallen, Pillar of the Earth). The soundtracks will be released digitally tomorrow, December 27. Visit Amazon to purchase the Season 4 […]
Soundtrack Album for Final Season of History's 'Vikings' to Be Released
Posted: December 3, 2019 by filmmusicreporter in TV Music Albums
Sony Classical will release a new soundtrack album for the History original series Vikings. The album features selections of the original music from the show's sixth and final season composed by Emmy Award winner Trevor Morris (The Tudors, The Borgias, Immortals, Olympus/London Has Fallen, Hunter Killer). The soundtrack will be released digitally this Friday, December […]
Weekly TV Music Roundup (July 21, 2019)
Posted: July 21, 2019 by filmmusicreporter in TV Scoring Assignments
Tags: Amazon, Another Life, Christopher Lennertz, Christopher Tyng, HBO, Netflix, Pearson, Share, Shlohmo, The Boys, Trevor Morris, USA
Premiering on Thursday, July 25, is the Netflix original series Another Life created by Aaron Martin and starring Katee Sackhoff, Selma Blair, Justin Chatwin, Tyler Hoechlin, Samuel Anderson, Elizabeth Faith Ludlow, Blu Hunt, A. J. Rivera, Alexander Eling and Alex Ozerov. The show's original music is composed by Trevor Morris (Immortals, Vikings, The Borgias, Olympus/London Has Fallen, The Tudors). Check […]
'Goon: Last of the Enforcers' Soundtrack Album Announced
Posted: November 28, 2018 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music Albums
Tags: Goon, Goon: Last of the Enforcers, Jay Baruchel, score, Soundtrack, Trevor Morris
Notefornote Music has announced a soundtrack album for the comedy sequel Goon: Last of the Enforcers. The album features the film's original music composed and conducted by Emmy Award winner Trevor Morris (Immortals, The Tudors, Olympus/London Has Fallen, The Borgias, Vikings, Hunter Killer). The soundtrack is now available to order on the label's official website and on Amazon. Goon: […]
Trevor Morris to Score Netflix's 'Another Life'
Tags: Aaron Martin, Another Life, Netflix, Trevor Morris
Trevor Morris has been tapped to score the upcoming Netflix original series Another Life. The show is created by Aaron Martin (Slasher, Saving Hope) and stars Katee Sackhoff, Selma Blair, Justin Chatwin, Tyler Hoechlin, Samuel Anderson, Elizabeth Faith Ludlow, Blu Hunt, A. J. Rivera, Alexander Eling, Alex Ozerov, Jake Abel, JayR Tinaco, Jessica Camacho, Barbara Williams […]
Weekly Film Music Roundup (October 26, 2018)
Posted: October 26, 2018 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News
Tags: Adam Barber, Border, Christopher Berg, Gingger Shankar, Glass Jaw, Howard Goodall, Hunter Killer, Indivisible, Johnny English Strikes Again, London Fields, Martin Dirkov, Paul Mills, Steve Davis, Suspiria, Thom Yorke, Tori Letzler, Trevor Morris, Viper Club
Three new movies are opening nationwide this weekend: Opening in most theaters is the action thriller Hunter Killer directed by Donovan Marsh and starring Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Common, Linda Cardellini and Toby Stephens. The film's original music is composed by Trevor Morris (Immortals, Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, Vikings, The Borgias). Lakeshore Records has released a soundtrack album […]
'Hunter Killer' Soundtrack Details
Posted: October 25, 2018 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music Albums
Tags: Donovan Marsh, Hunter Killer, score, Soundtrack, Trevor Morris
Lakeshore Records will release a soundtrack album for the action thriller Hunter Killer. The album features the film's original music composed by Emmy Award winner Trevor Morris (Immortals, Olympus/London Has Fallen, Vikings, The Borgias, The Tudors). The soundtrack will be released digitally tomorrow, October 26 and will be available to download on Amazon, where you […]
Weekly TV Music Roundup (June 3, 2018)
Posted: June 3, 2018 by filmmusicreporter in TV Scoring Assignments
Tags: Adam Berry, American Woman, AT&T Audience Network, Benjamin Wynn, Big Hero 6: The Series, Cloak & Dagger, Condor, Deru, Dietland, Disney XD, Fil Eisler, Freeform, FX, HBO, Impulse, John Swihart, Mac Quayle, Mark Isham, Nathaniel Mechaly, NBC, Netflix, Nicholas Britell, Noah Sorota, November 13: Attack on Paris, Paramount Network, Patrick Rose, Pose, Reverie, Succession, Trevor Morris, W.G. Snuffy Walden, YouTube Red
Premiering tonight is the new FX original series Pose created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Steven Canals and starring Dominique Jackson, Mj Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Angelica Ross, Hallie Sahar, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Billy Porter, Dyllon Burnside, Evan Peters, Kate Mara and James Van Der Beek. The show's original music is composed by Mac Quayle […]


Cor Unum has a new location in the historic building Pompen & Verlouw in the city of 's-Hertogenbosch. A magnificent space, with shops and a gallery located at the cultural gate of the city.
Cor Unum is a production house where high-quality ceramics are manufactured that have been commissioned by designers, where students are taught artisanal techniques and where innovative design and production are stimulated. Cor Unum seeks cooperation with others by entering the market in an original way, by stimulating designers to create new products and by establishing a smooth running organization where volunteers, professionals, students, people with a distance to the labor market and designers are shaped into a professional collective that ensures the ceramic craft for the future and at the same time translates the process of craftsmanship into the (technical) opportunities in the year 2017.
Under the heading Pompen & Verlouw NOW, four companies; MisterDesign, Cor Unum, DRT Gietvloeren and restaurant Garage Pompen & Verlouw aim to visibly strengthen the role of the city as inspirer of the creative industry in a building and a city district that embody the past as well as the present.


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Here's what a 12-course meal at Lima's Central — one of the best restaurants in the world — looks and tastes like
Tanya Dua
Jun. 8, 2019, 2:55 PM
Christian Haugen via Flickr
I don't know about you, but I tend to plan my travel itineraries as much around food as I do around historical and cultural landmarks, museums, and sightseeing.
This was true when I scoured through the streets of Chandni Chowk in old Delhi to sample some of the best Mughlai cuisine last fall, or when last summer, I dragged my best friend to Alfredo Alla Scrofa in Rome, a restaurant that claims to have invented the Alfredo sauce.
So when I booked my plane tickets to Peru earlier this year shortly after watching Netflix's "Chef's Table," trying to score a reservation at the famed Lima restaurant Central was an absolute no-brainer. (This is no easy feat, mind you, as reservations run out months in advance. Try and book at least three months ahead.)
Tanya Dua/Business Insider
Central Restaurante is the brainchild of chef Virgilio Martínez Véliz, and holds the enviable title of the sixth best restaurant in the world. Located in the hip, bohemian neighborhood of Barranco in Lima, it is known for its modern and contemporary interpretation of Peruvian cuisine that puts an avant-garde spin on the country's native ingredients, elevating them to new heights.
The restaurant is part of a larger gastronomical complex run by Véliz and his co-owner, chef, and wife, Pia León. This includes cocktail and quick bites at bar Mayo, León's new restaurant Kjolle, as well as Central's research arm, Mater Iniciativa, where a team of researchers studies a diverse range of ingredients sourced from across the country.
Food at Central is a heady concoction of art and science, and the restaurant isn't afraid to flaunt that. In fact, you get a glimpse of it pretty much the second you walk in, with a large stone-cut table displaying the traditional ingredients that adorn the menu. The menu itself is an unabashed celebration of Peru and its rich biodiversity — from the snow-capped Andean mountains to the lush foliage of Amazonian jungle and everything else in between.
There are two distinct tasting menus: a 16-course menu organized around the country's dizzying array of altitudes, and a 12-course menu that is designed around its ecosystems. I opted to splurge on the latter in the interest of time, which is essentially a compressed version of the former. And the $235 I spent on it (including a generous tip) was perhaps the most rewarding culinary investment that I've ever made.
The dishes are composed of bold ingredients that are brought to life in ingenious ways, offering a whirlwind tour of Peru in just a couple of bites. The food isn't just delicious for the most part, but a piece of art — quite literally — with each dish's presentation being as unique and whimsical as the ingredients that make it come together. You don't always know what you're eating and have probably not tried some of the ingredients before, but that's what makes the journey even more exhilarating.
The roaring success of Central has catapulted Martínez Véliz into the ranks of culinary superstardom — and rightfully so. But the true stars at Central are his kitchen and wait-staff. You can see the chefs painstakingly curate every tiny detail to make every dish a cohesive whole behind the kitchen's glass windows. And the servers had no airs of pretension either, you could see how passionate they were about being there.
Central isn't merely a restaurant; it's an unparalleled culinary experience unlike any other that I would highly recommend to anyone that happens to find themselves in Lima. Here's a tour of the latest 12-course tasting menu at Central, and what it is like:
1. "Red Rocks" (-10 meters)
The culinary adventure at Central starts on Peruvian coastline, with the first dish being drawn from the Pacific ocean.
The star of the dish is the piure percebe razor clam, which is a burst of flavor in your mouth, and releases an oozy, sweet-and-salty liquid as soon as you bite into it. It is accompanied by a set of yellow crisps and a purple flower-infused jelly on the side.
2. "Desertic Coast" (110 meters)
The second dish is derived from the country's dry, desertic coast, and was a fusion of cactus, clams, and yuyo seaweed.
The cold cubes of seaweed were interesting in texture, and the cactus tasted almost like candy.
3. "High Altitude Farmlands" (3750 meters)
Hundreds of varieties of potatoes and other tubers have been grown in the Peruvian Andes for centuries, and this dish brought together two varieties of what is called "mashwa" along with duck confit.
The mashwa was crunchy and airy, almost like dry fried noodles, with subtle vegetal flavors that popped from the touch of sauce on top.
4. "High Jungle" (890 meters)
Copoazú and Sachatomate — tropical trees related to the cacao and tomato respectively — make up the fourth dish on the ecosystems tasting menu at Central.
These were light, pillowy fritters, a little denser than the mashwa fritters in the previous course. The orange and black dips on the side added a great kick to them.
5. "Sea Terrain" (15 meters)
The fifth dish is a medley of squid, a seaweed called sargassum, and elements from a tree called huarango — and really evoked the flavors of the sea.
I remember it being a very well composed dish, with the salty squid at the bottom enveloped by a creamy sauce, a thin crisp on top and pickled vegetables as a garnish.
6. "Waters of the Desert" (88 meters)
I had never tried sea urchin before until this course came around, and I was pleasantly surprised.
The dish had a punch of umami flavor, with the broth that was poured over the sea urchin and avocado serving to blend all the ingredients together into a cohesive whole.
7. "Extreme Altitude" (4350 meters)
Corn is Peruvian staple, and this dish highlights the versatility of the ingredient by marrying two native varieties of corn (choclo and kculli) with kiwicha (a dense grain similar to quinoa).
This was one of my favorite dishes, and was the perfect blend of rich, savory, and fresh elements, with a creamy gnocchi-like base underneath topped by a crispy thin fritter and fresh, herby leaves.
8. "Amazonian Lake" (190 meters)
This one takes the prize as far as presentation is concerned, with piranha heads and eyes staring back at you from the dish it was served in.
Other than that, it was pretty underwhelming, consisting of yet another crisp made up of yuca root and cocona fruit.
9. "Marine Valley (-25 meters)
The ninth dish takes you back to the coast, with an eclectic fusion of scallops, macre pumpkin purée, and sea lettuce coalescing into a mouthwatering union.
10. "Andean Woods" (2980 meters)
The last main course dish consisted of tender, succulent pieces of lamb under a bed of pickled olluco (a kind of tuber) and crystallized straws of sheep's milk.
While some may have appreciated this dish — and the impeccable technique behind it — it was perhaps my least favorite. While the sauce was interesting, I am not a huge fan of lamb meat.
11. "Green Mountain Range" (2100 meters)
I have to be honest, I am not a huge dessert person. But the first dessert knocked it out of the park.
It elevated two very intrinsic elements of Peruvian cuisine — cacao in the form of a delicious, creamy mousse and coca leaves in a shaved ice-jelly combo.
12. "Medicinal Plants" (3800 meters)
If you've seen the Central episode of "Chef's Table," you would distinctly remember chef Martínez Véliz rolling around gelatinous balls called cushuro in his palms.
These balls, which are essentially balls of cyanobacteria found in water bodies all over the world, are often referred to as "Andean caviar."
These, along with gel derived from the broiled bark of the huampo tree, congona leaves and kjolle flowers make up the last course of the 12-course tasting menu, offering a refreshing palette cleanser and a fitting end to the complex culinary journey.
More: Features Peru lima Travel


My first fantasy love, and still a favorite. I especially enjoy her fairy tale rewrites.
The characters in The Dragon Prince have stuck with me long after reading.
He may be fairly new to the scene, but his epic fantasy is unique and immersive.
Master wordsmith. Wrote the Mistborn series (among others) and finished The Wheel of Time for Robert Jordan.
LIFELINES plays off both meanings: those on the palm of your hand, as well as those linking us adrift.
Our poems flow with the tides of the sea as they follow the ebb and tide of life itself. Childhood and friendship. Romance and loss. From death to new life and inspiration.
Collection of winning entries to the Æther Illustration Contest, DragonComet Short Story Contest, and Odyssey Poetry Contest.
Includes my poem "Window", which won first place in the Odyssey Poetry Contest 2014.
Chiaroscuro is a poetry book contrasting dark and light.
Chiaroscuro is published by SynergEbooks.


Yuri's Night executive director Tim Bailey can't help but get excited when talking about space. His enthusiasm is infectious and he sees that as the ultimate goal of these parties around the world that celebrate Yuri's Night. Started in 2001, Yuri's Night are events that happen around April 12, which is the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human to venture into space in 1961. That day, twenty years later, also was the inaugural launch of the first Space Shuttle. There couldn't be a better reason to throw a ton of parties to celebrate Space travel.
"We tend to get notice of 200-300 parties happening around the planet," Tim shares. "This year we have all seven continents covered." All these parties have a different energy, scope, and size but all have a goal of getting laypeople psyched about Space. One of those parties, BYT and NASM's 2001: A Space Party at the National Air & Space Museum, is set to be the literal biggest party ever in the history of the event.
BYT: What's Yuri's Night all about? What's the spirit of the night?
Tim Bailey: Yuri's Night is a global celebration of human spaceflight. It was created in 2001 as a fun way to get people excited about space exploration. There's a lot of science and data collection and day to day hard work that goes into creating spaceflight programs. It's easy for space to be extremely boring. There's very few people that get to go to space or work directly with a telescope. We wanted some time that was available for the entire world to get together as one human species and celebrate and have a giant party all together.
So that's why we created Yuri's Night. We wanted to give the world an opportunity to celebrate. It's not an educational event [necessarily] or trying to broach a specific topic. It's not a solemn event where we do remembrances, though sometimes those things do happen. It's intended to be a fun night that combines the worlds of art and science and music in an enjoyable way. To give people a way to experience their connection to space exploration and to each other as co-inhabitants on this spaceship we call Earth.
BYT: How do you feel the night has changed or evolved since 2001?
T.B.: We've had such a direct connection to astronauts as they're aboard the space station with social media. We've actually gotten live links to them and they've sent us video. They'll take pictures of the planets. In many ways we've gotten much closer to the people actually out there doing the exploration. Those avatars of us out there on the space station can now directly tie back to the whole rest of humanity and immediately send posts that are unfiltered and are not cleansed by some corporate entity. It's a lot more raw data and raw passion and emotion that's coming back to us.
That's shown up in our Yuri's Night events too. We've had everything from doing straw rockets in a daycare all the way to a burlesque show in Arlington. And everything in between. We've had thousands of people attend a hip-hop concert out in the Bay Area that was hosted by some folks around the NASA Ames Research Center. We've had an event in Africa where they had thousands of people from schools come out and do a whole lecture series about space. We've also had things like people who run small observatories in countries in Europe will all have an open house around April 12, just so they can invite their friends and families all to come out at the same time and see where they work.
It's just been a huge explosion of people getting comfortable sharing their passion for space and for science and for exploration with everybody, not just scientists. With artists, with musicians, with everyone of us to create a level playing field to come in and see something exciting.
BYT: Why do you think getting people excited about space matters now?
T.B.: For a long time space was something other people did. It was exclusively the domain of other people and it got filtered through other people and other agencies. There were large portions that people just couldn't get access to. The closest you could get to NASA was by writing a letter to them and hoping to get something back in the mail. The people who did that were people super excited, super enthusiasts. Now that we've had a lot of people go out into space and come back and tell their stories and share pictures of Earth from the moon, we have a better sense of being a collective planet. We have the tools available to us today to connect with people on the other side of the world in ways we couldn't have imagined decades ago. We have immediate connections, deep connections, that couldn't have been possible before.
We're living in a golden age of space exploration. There are more things going on today than ever before. There are opportunities coming up in the very near future. We'll have more people going to space in the next two decades than in the past six decades all put together. We've on the cusp of this amazing Space revolution. That's why I think it's so important to have all of us celebrating space and understanding space as a human endeavor. As a thing that we're all doing together. We're all part of this planet reaching out into the stars.
We're all having the chance to do that directly with things like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and The Sierra Nevada Corporation. And with the more tradition outlets like the Boeings and the Lockheads. There will be more opportunities for people to fly into space than ever before. When we go we can share that [experience] not just with our core group of friends and family but with people all over the planet, instantly. It will make people realize that there are not a lot of physical borders that separate us, but only mental borders. We can use space as a tool to show people we really are all part of the same planet, the same species.
BYT: What are some of the most unique ways over the years that you've seen the night be celebrated?
T.B.: We've had vodka toasts at the South Pole. We've had the Mars Rover on Mars do a little dance for us. We thought it was pretty cool that we got a party on another planet. The International Space Station in 2011 did a Yuri's night, that we didn't even know was going to happen, they got some shirts and sent us down a message we weren't even expecting. This was done on their own time, they took their personal time to record a message for the planet. Those kinds of things are really special.
More and more the parties happen organically. One of the cooler experiences we've had is that one year I was looking online and came across a Disney Jr. cartoon show called Miles From Tomorrowland and the episode was called "Yuri's Night." Immediately I bought it and downloaded it and sure enough they characters were celebrating Yuri's Night on the show thousands of years in the future. It was incredible and we had no idea this was happening. We reached out to the creator [Sasha Paladino] and [the staff] was really excited to come to Yuri's Night at the LA event. We gave them an award for making Yuri's Night part of popular culture. The next year Disney Jr. helped promote and put out materials encouraging kids to get involved in Yuri's Night.
These creative events happen because we encourage people to come up with their own Yuri's Night events organically. We don't need to be involved. We encourage people to steal our logo though and remix it. We want people to use any of the videos of imagery we have on our site. Give us credit and use it as much as you want to create your own event.
BYT: Do you have any dream guests or performers for Yuri's Night?
T.B.: For many years we really wanted to get David Bowie to come and perform. That was one of the big dreams that, sadly, we aren't able to do now.
We've had so many cool people already come out. We had [author] Ray Bradbury speak at an event. We've had Bill Nye and he'll be at the L.A. event this year again. We had tons of astronauts come out. We've had the astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who was the world record holder for the longest duration astronaut at the time, come over and talk. We've had Richard Garriott, who's dad was an Apollo astronaut and then he made money in video games and became an astronaut himself by paying to go to space. He's a long time supporter and he'll come to most big parties and even small parties. He'll even show up at a bar that's having a Yuri's Night in his hometown. We've had Anousheh Ansari, who was the female private space astronaut who paid for her own way to space.
There's also great folks like Cady Coleman, who was at Yuri's Night L.A. last year, she played a flute solo in Space and did some collaborative art projects while she was up there. We also have this year Nicole Stott, who's being doing a big art project with kids with cancer where they've been painting a mock-up space suit and been taking it around to charity events. It's amazing that we've been able to find these people and give them a platform to express their artistic side and musical side and their science background in a way that doesn't always happen organically in other places.
BYT: What are you most excited about for this year?
T.B.: This year we're doing two parties that night that Yuri's Night, as an organization, is hosting. We typically host one under the Space Shuttle Endeavor out in LA. That's a giant event. We've had a ton of astronauts come out. Now there's a space shuttle on both coasts, one in LA and one at the Kennedy Space Center [in Florida]. We've partnered with the visitors complex [at the KSC] to have a big party there. Now we've got this big one in Washington D.C. that BYT and the Smithsonian are putting on. We're the co-host and are super excited to support it and promote it. We think this one will be the largest event in the world this year. I think it will be larger than our two singular events combined.
Vostok 3KA – the spacecraft that carried Yuri into the history books on his Vostok 1 flight.
Orbit – Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth once on his flight.
Patch – This was the mission patch for Vostok 1.
04/12 – Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space on April 12th, 1961.
Clock – Yuri's flight lasted 108 minutes.
Star Medal – The Hero of the Soviet Union medal was the highest distinction available to a Soviet citizen.


Best place to start a ride here is the Aldi car park at Lithgow.
Hassans Walls reserve is a recreational reserve on the southern side of Lithgow, NSW.
Hassans Walls road offers a gentle climb up to the escarpment. Hassans Wall Lookout is the highest in the Blue Moutains and offers views over the western edge of the Blue Mts and south to Kanangra Walls.
The reserve is home to about 13 single trail tracks including the Gun Club DH trail which has been used by the CTMBC to host state, national and international level down hill races.
The majority of trails follow ridge lines so start flattish and get steeper. Most have short sections of steep technical riding.
At around 1100m above sea level, Hassans Wall lookout is the highest lookout of the Blue Mountains with a great 272.2343 degree view back across the western edge of the Bluies.
Lithgow Stations is the End of the Blue Mts line. From here it's 1.2km to the Pottery Track trail head (end of Silcock St) or 1.5km to the bottom of the Town Houses trail head (end of High St).


Esports is exploding onto the international scene, and with it comes a huge appetite for gaming insight… It's a monumental challenge to climb the ranked ladder alone, so smart players turn to the assistance of a professional coach – and are rewarded for doing so! Working with a high-level partner has benefits in every way: we sat down with one of our most experienced League of Legends Sensei to hear how his story began!
Greetings Sensei! Please introduce yourself!
Hello! I'm James Starr, also known as Tutor. I'm 23 years old, and I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada but grew up in Orlando, Florida. I've been playing MOBAs for well over 10 years now and have been working on the educational side of esports for the past 4 years. I currently live in Salem, Oregon with my girlfriend Jina, two cats (Ollie and Bartholomew), my leopard gecko (Mango), and another LoL coach! Outside of gaming I enjoy reading & writing, as well as studying sports psychology and game theory.
What's your professional esports experience?
I played semi-pro DotA back in the day, with the likes of Blitz, Fear, and Merlini in private leagues. I also competed with Blitz on a team called "Cat Face :3" during my DotA career. In LoL, I played on teams with names like Bloodwater, Shynon, Virus, LOD, XHazzard, and even AzumoQT, who's now a pro Hearthstone caster!
What inspired you to become a professional coach?
I came from a low-income family in the suburbs of Orlando, so I was expected to pull my own weight at 18. Just scrimming 70 hours of week of LoL wasn't going to bring in money, and I had to resign from a semi-pro team who had a real shot at qualifying for the first LCS season.
I poured my heart out to a friend who worked at Riot one night, and he suggested that, since I was great at teaching people how to play, and I should try coaching LoL players. I gave it a shot and loved it! I coached 20+ hours a week free for two months. Eventually quite a few of my students were already tipping me and I moved to purely paid work!
That must have been quite an experience! How did this project go?
My initial launch didn't go well. The community downvoted my thread, and some semi-pro players even came into my thread and mocked me. Then a friend of mine who was well-known in the community made a post defending the value of esports coaching and vouching for my abilities. That actually turned everything around, and from that point the sky was the limit!
You seem to have made some great friends along your journey! Tell us more about the people that helped you.
My students offered to help me get everything started. One made me a website and others helped me put together business models. In just two months time, I was making more money coaching LoL than anyone in my immediate family was making at their 9-to-5s! I was so happy to use my gaming knowledge to help pay the bills.
How did you join Gamer Sensei?
I've worked with a few platforms over the years, but when I was contacted by Gamer Sensei and met William Collis I knew right away that this company was the real deal. I'm convinced Gamer Sensei can bring esports coaching to a whole new level!
You have been in the coaching industry for quite a while. How do you see its future?
Esports coaching is still developing. I believe strongly that everyone in the current scene are helping to shape it with every interaction. This is why I'm so passionate about coaching: every poor student experience is a step in the wrong direction! This is our future, and we need to build it to be respectable and sustainable.
Tell us about your coaching style! What do you do in a typical lesson?
I'm a very free-form coach. I adapt to my student's personality and playstyle. I'm tough or supportive – depending on what I need to be. I teach my students how to become better players, not just to climb ladder. Rank comes naturally with improvement.
What do you suggest students to look when searching for a coach?
Always look at reviews (if available) and treat your first lesson as a "tryout." Make sure the coach is a good fit personality-wise and doesn't rub you the wrong way. Challenge your Sensei: ask them questions you already know the answer to. Ask philosophical questions and see how they relate to your thought process. It's very important to be on the same wavelength with your coach so that the understanding and trust is there. Set expectations and hold them to it!
Describe the state of mind that a learning player should strive to achieve.
It's important to mitigate the variables that influence your play and to do this you need a "no excuses" mindset. When you make a mistake, accept that it was your fault. Not hardware, not software, and not distractions – you. This makes it far easier to learn from your mistakes and improve more quickly.
What can you tell us about the newest League of Legends champion, Ornn?
I believe after his initial changes, Ornn is actually a very strong pick. In my opinion, we're likely to see him on the international scene. I've tested him quite a bit and discovered that he has great top matchups and can survive the jungle extremely well. His jungle isn't that great for solo queue but it should work well in competitive play.
What would you like to see in the future of the game?
I'm really looking forward to voice chat in ranked play. It's going to elevate the game to a whole new competitive level. Riot has been bringing the game more and more towards teamplay, and it'll all come together when we have voice chat. It will also add a whole new skill for players to master. Communication is key!
Thanks for joining us! Any closing thoughts for our readers?
My journey has been long, but it's far from over. Along the road I've encountered countless people who have tried to put me down or told me to give up. At times this did affect me, but I always got back up and moving. Turn the negative energy of others into motivation – you will surprise yourself with how far you can go!


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Patent Pendency Model
The Patent Pendency Model (PPM) is a Simulation Tool that predicts patent production output based on actual historical data and input assumptions. The model uses historical patterns in funding, staffing and pendency. The model uses an interactive spreadsheet to make calculations and to create graphs of predicted outcomes.
Patent Pendency Model (PPM) Supporting Document
Important Note: The figures included are for simulation purposes and are representative, but should not be considered official data.
Model Inputs
The Patent Pendency Model is based on the manpower effort devoted to examination, estimated of volume of applications coming to the PTO, and estimates related to RCE filings.
"Hires" is the number of patent hires for that fiscal year.
"OT Worked" is the over time worked which is estimated at 100 hours/fiscal year.
"Examiner Attrition Rate" is the percentage of examiners from the total patent corps that leave the examination corps per fiscal year.
Filing Estimates
"Annual % Filing Change" is the projections of annual patent application filings are based upon forecasts and consensus judgments about the future.
RCE Filings
"Reduction of % RCE filings" is an estimate that is made based on data collected in all TC's.
Model Outputs
The key outputs of the model are the "Application Backlog," or the total number of unexamined applications in inventory at the end of the fiscal year, and "Backlog Firepower," which is a ratio of first actions compared to filings (if the number is more than 100 percent, there is reduction in the backlog).
The model also demonstrates how different inputs affect first action pendency and total pendency. The model looks at two measures of pendency-the traditional measure when the clock re-starts for RCEs and a second measure where the clock continues for RCEs.
Modeling Key Relationships
The usefulness of the model is in the visual presentation of data over a seven year time frame. The graph is the major output mechanism of the model. By changing the input variables it is possible to see the changes in backlog, pendency and First Stage throughput.
There are several basic relationships among the patent model elements that control the outputs. These include the following:
* The number of overtime production units that can be done by patent examiners varies in direct proportion to the amount of overtime funding available.
* The number of first actions in relation to the number of applications received determines generally how pendency to first action will change.
* The number of patents obligated (sent to the contractors) for printing and actually printed (issued) in a year is driven by the number of examiner disposals.
* The number of first actions will generally tend to be higher relative to disposals during years of extensive examiner hiring. New examiners are generally given new cases to work on, while amended dockets of attriting examiners tend to be given to more senior examiners for handling.
Submit feedback about this page to Inventor Resources. Published on: Aug 10, 2011 03:15 PM EDT Last Modified:	Aug 10, 2011 03:15 PM EDT


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Regulating the regulators: the importance of public law
One aspect of compliance that rarely gets mentioned is public law compliance. Public bodies, just like commercial businesses, must act lawfully. Whilst companies are governed by their corporate constitutions, public bodies are governed by the legislation that forms them (or, to the extent they are the legislature, the constitution). For almost all company decisions, the decision-maker is governed by a simple requirement, that they have to act in the best interests of the company. For public law decision-makers however, there are often broader goals and interests to take into account. As regulation gets more complicated and enforcement action more frequent, it is worth thinking about those requirements and what you might do about it if you are on the wrong end of a decision by a public body.
In a world where a whole host of regulators can potentially require you to cooperate with an investigation, submit to interviews, conduct dawn raids and apply sanctions on individuals and businesses, it is important to understand the rules by which regulators must play. Ensuring things are done "by-the-book" not only ensures a regulator works in the manner intended in a way which strikes the right balance of fairness between the various interests at play, but can also avoid businesses wasting time and money responding to inappropriate requests.
Importantly, the law around administrative decision-making focuses on the administrative process rather than the end result. In fact, to the extent the "wrongness" of an end-result is challengeable by way of judicial review, this is on the basis of a decision's "wrongness" being evidence of a fundamentally flawed process. On the reverse of this, the case law contains rafts of challenges to decisions where bodies got to what may well be subjectively the right answer but did so in an inappropriate way.
One of the oldest tropes in movies is the street cop who's "not afraid to bend the rules to get results." For the same reason that the courts would reject a confession beaten out of a criminal suspect; the courts will also allow challenges where a financial services regulator has overstepped the mark.
Whilst administrative law recognises a whole host of requirements and grounds for challenging a regulator's decision, in this article I'd like to briefly address three core issues which get raised repeatedly: decision makers acting outside their powers, acting for an improper purpose and failing to follow proper procedure.
One key aspect of this is that regulators (and other public bodies) have to act within the powers given to them by the legislature. A regulator cannot use powers it doesn't have. If a statute establishes the types of sanction available to a regulator, it cannot easily create new sanctions outside those categories. A regulator also cannot exceed its powers in the lead-up to a decision; it cannot for example require the offering up of documents without a statutory power to do so.
Similarly where a regulator has been granted a discretion they are expected to use it in certain ways. Specifically, they should use their powers for a proper purpose and take into account only relevant considerations. If a power is used for an improper purpose or a regulator takes into account irrelevant considerations (or fails to take into account relevant considerations) their decision would be open to challenge. By way of example, in one well known case a local authority banned stag hunting because it involved unnecessary cruelty. The ban was successfully challenged on the basis that, regardless of the strength of the Councillors' personal views on the issue, the question that had to be considered was whether or not the ban would be for the benefit, improvement or development of the area. An argument could perhaps have been made that as a majority of the population found it unacceptable, a ban on stag hunting would be for the benefit of the area. However as this was not considered the decision was flawed.
Among the other bases for challenging a regulator's decision is a failure to follow a proper procedure. What constitutes a proper procedure for making a decision is the sum of centuries of jurisprudence, but also among the core principles are a number of really rather obvious points. At its simplest, if the law sets down certain steps before a decision can be made, those steps need to be followed. Slightly more amorphous is the requirement to provide a fair hearing – but what is fair, exactly? For the same reason the Merseyside derby isn't refereed by someone wearing a Liverpool shirt, hearings should avoid not only actual bias but the appearance of bias. Similarly, fairness often involves proper notice, and an opportunity to speak and be represented.
What does all this mean practically for those working in business who must comply with the requirements set by a regulator and/or are faced with the prospect of regulatory enforcement. I would suggest it is vital for all businesses operating in the regulated space to understand not only how the law applies to them but also how it applies to their regulator. For example what inspection rights does a regulator have? Can they request you submit documents within a specified timeframe? Do they have the right to conduct dawn raids. Having that level of detail allows you to plan and prepare for just such situations. Knowing you may have to deliver up a file on 30 days notice or respond to a request within a fortnight, creates a need for a very different level of preparedness than a need to be able to provide something on demand.
Similarly, an understanding of the proper process for making an administrative decision may allow a business to challenge or steer a decision-making process which may otherwise create adverse results. In our experience, it is relatively rare for public decision-makers to actively choose to follow an improper process or take into account an irrelevant consideration. Far more common is a situation where someone promoted for their specific expertise (for example anti-money laundering process or data protection requirements) without training on the principles of administrative law. As a result they may then make what to them seems an entirely reasonable decision but which is in fact deeply flawed.
Challenging such a decision through the courts can be tremendously costly. By understanding all aspects of the regulatory environment you are operating in it is often possible to address procedural failings early by way of correspondence. Where the failing is of the kind discussed to date, a simple letter flagging the issue in advance of a decision being finalised may be enough to cause the decision-maker to take legal advice and then change their process (and perhaps with it their ultimate decision).
However, this cannot be done without that initial understanding of the regulatory framework. Bad decisions may go unchallenged in the public law sector simply because no-one affected realised the decision-maker had obligations of the kind discussed. By understanding a regulator's powers, one gives oneself the power to say "no" where these are exceeded. By understanding what constitutes a proper procedure one can challenge impropriety where it arises.
Requiring proper regulatory decision-making isn't about avoiding liability; it's about ensuring the sanctity of the broader system and we should all be willing to stand-up and ask local, national and international regulators to do things properly.
This article first appeared in Compliance Matters, 28 March 2019.
Wayne Atkinson
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Michael Adkins
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Stavrinides v Bank of Cyprus
08/07/19 Agent's authority – going too far?
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08/07/19 Banks' liability for fraud on customers by third parties
UK Overseas Entities Bill
08/07/19 The UK's Registration of Overseas Entities Bill


Home :: Ancient Egypt :: Ankh Velveteen Bag 5"
This black velveteen bag is decorated with the image of an Ankh on both of its sides. The Ankh is a powerful Egyptian symbol frequently associated with the eternal power of life. The bag measures approximately 5" long and closes with a drawstring.


Amazon has the Oak Leaf 68in Large Windproof Lightweight Golf Umbrella for a low $14.00 after Coupon Code: "EZSAS3HX" (Exp Soon). Free Shipping on orders over $25, or with Amazon Prime. This normally sells for $23, so you are saving 13% off sale price.


Mine has e280v2 printed on the back of the player.
> >> and see if it's a v1 directly on the sansa?
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Right now there are no Payday Advances listed in Saint Andrews, South Carolina.
Payday Loan Advances in Saint Andrews, SC: Here are a few things to consider before taking a payday loan in Saint Andrews South Carolina.
To avoid needing to obtain cash advances later, get under way stashing an unexpected emergency fund of at least $500.
Not sufficient funds charges along with bounced check service charges are able to build up very quickly and might be fairly high, so be careful not to over extend your resources whenever taking out a payday advance.
Make certain that you acquire accessibility to your most recent work paycheck stubs in addition to your bank account details.
In the case that you sense that you've been addressed incorrectly or dishonestly by a specific payday advance or cash loan business, you can enter a grievance with your state bureau.
You should always look at other cash advance companies before you take a payday loan or cash advance. Regard relatives, good friends, your credit union, a local bank , even a line of credit.
As opposed to stretching out your cash advance and possibly even getting hit with a fee for the reason that you passed up the due date , make sure you mark the day it's due on your schedule and pay back the payday loan in full.
In the case that you have no idea ways to budget and save your hard earned money, at that point you may well need to debt counselling in order to decrease the necessity for payday advances in the future.
For you to make certain that you repay your loan promptly, confirm that you keep up on when ever the payday advance or cash loan is scheduled to be paid and undergo the mandatory measures to be sure it's paid.
Execute a reputation check on the provider you are looking into employing for the cash advance assistance. Anyone may do this by checking the BBB or other Rating companies.
Payday loans frequently have a bunch of small print at the lowest part of the agreement. See to it you examine and comprehend everything written prior to signing.


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John Yossarian è il protagonista del romanzo di Joseph Heller Comma 22 (1961). È un antieroico capitano ventottenne dell'aeronautica militare statunitense durante la seconda guerra mondiale, ossessionato dall'idea che migliaia di persone sconosciute, a cui lui personalmente non ha fatto nulla, tentino continuamente di ucciderlo, sia direttamente (attaccando il suo aeroplano) che indirettamente (obbligandolo a eseguire missioni).

A causa del suo rifiuto del militarismo e della sua assurda logica (esemplificata nel libro dal paradosso del Comma 22), Yossarian divenne un'icona del movimento pacifista americano degli anni sessanta, il quale, manifestando contro la Guerra del Vietnam, fece spesso uso dello slogan Yossarian lives (Yossarian vive).

Nel 1994 Heller lo riprende, assieme ad altri personaggi di Comma 22, nel romanzo Tempo scaduto.

Collegamenti esterni

Personaggi della letteratura statunitense
Militari immaginari

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Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank Dominates Tour de Delta; Ryan Victorious in all Three Races to Start
July 8, 2018 (Tsawwassen, BC) — In yet another thrilling sprint finish, Kendall Ryan (USA) today won the White Spot | Delta UCI 1.2 Road Race, adding to her victories the past two days of the Tour de Delta presented by Beedie: the North Delta and Ladner Criterium races. Today's victory secured three straight wins for Ryan at the Tour de Delta and marks a dominant start to BC Superweek, a highlight of the Canadian racing calendar. "The team was relentless today," said Ryan. "They showed they were 100% confident in me by shutting down every attack and giving me a full on lead out for the finish. All I had to do was stay safe and save my legs for the end!" A stream of attacks in the final laps of the race attempted to secure a breakaway, but the team pounced on any move that threatened to separate the field, securing a field sprint for Ryan. Launching from the organized Team TIBCO - Silicon Valley Bank lead out train, Ryan held a long sprint all the way to the finish, a victory that successfully defended her 2017 title at the White Spot | Delta Road Race. The race was livestreamed from start to finish on the Tour de Delta's event website. "It was really an incredible job by the team in controlling the field to ensure the bunch sprint," said Ed Beamon, Sport Director for Team TIBCO - Silicon Valley Bank. "There were some especially hard hits on that last lap, but the ladies did a spectacular job keeping Kendall in position. And she finished it off with her third victory this weekend!" At last night's Ladner Criterium, Ryan proved her sprinting prowess again by winning the final sprint to the line. The 900m course is known for its speed and technical corners, and in the final lap, it was Alison Jackson (CAN) who bridged up to a late attack from Lilly Williams, forcing the field to chase the strong duo. As the field brought the two back, Ryan seized her opportunity and sped around the competition to win the second day of the Tour de Delta, a strong indication for today's outcome. Next up: the team will be racing a full week of criterium races throughout the Vancouver area, which include the New West Grand Prix (July 10), Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix (July 11), Giro di Burnaby (July 12), PoCo Grand Prix (July 13), and Tour de White Rock (July 14 – 15). To follow the races, visit the BC Superweek website and use #BCSuperweek.


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The hot topic of Western saunas in Japan
Yuichi Noda at at guesthouse Lamp's Finnish log sauna in Nagano Prefecture. | COURTESY OF LAMP
by Alex Martin
Around 10 minutes by car from Shizuoka Station is a nondescript, three-story building, that you may be surprised to hear is considered a sauna mecca by fans of the Fennoscandian heat rooms.
Once primarily catering to a middle-aged, male clientele — many of the tattooed yakuza variety — Sauna Shikiji has seen the number of younger customers soar over the past several years as hitting the hot box became a fad, stoked by celebrities and trend-conscious women calling themselves "saunners" fervently embracing the activity for its purported health benefits.
"Things began changing over the past five years or so," says Mikie Sasano, the daughter of Sauna Shikiji's current owner and a public relations consultant, spa and restaurant producer. Together, the Sasano family transformed what was once an unremarkable facility in the suburbs of Shizuoka Prefecture into one of the nation's most popular sauna spas. The key to its success was Sauna Shikiji's unrestricted access to mineral-rich natural groundwater it uses in everything from cooking and laundry to its famed cold bath.
"To cut down on electricity costs, the previous owner of the sauna decided against using groundwater. We thought that was a shame," Sasano says on the history of the sauna. Struggling to draw customers, Takamatsu Sauna — as it was known before — eventually went bankrupt and was put up for auction in 2004.
Having been a regular at the sauna and living close by, Sasano's father decided to take over the business. With the help of his late wife and children, he began revamping its operations while retaining the facility's retro charm.
"Until then, the cafeteria only served food delivered from neighborhood sushi and soba noodle shops, and customers were mostly men," says Sasano. "The facility itself wasn't very clean as well."
Sasano's mother, who ran a yakiniku (barbecue) restaurant in Tokyo's Koto Ward, assumed kitchen duties to serve a variety of dishes ranging from Korean-style reimen noodles to Japanese household staples such as shogayaki ginger pork.
The quality of shampoos and conditioners provided in baths was improved, toothbrushes upgraded and the noisy aluminum lockers replaced with wooden ones.
Sasano, who spent high school and college in Boston, where she studied marketing and merchandising, also mounted a PR push that coincided with a rising national interest in sauna culture backed by numerous television shows, magazine articles and other literature espousing its virtues.
Then, in 2016, Katsuki Tanaka released the first volume of his manga series, "Sado" (a neologism meaning "the way of the sauna"), which has since been spun off into a television series currently airing on TV Tokyo. Sauna Shikiji and Sasano were featured in episode six of the series, in which protagonist and self-confessed "sauna junkie" Atsuro Nakata, played by comedian and actor Taizo Harada, visits the facility to unwind in Shikiji's smooth, cold bath in between sauna sessions. Thanks to the publicity, Sasano says Shikiji now welcomes on average around 440 customers a day, of which roughly 60 are women.
Though their popularity is recent, saunas in Japan are not new. Japan's first sauna facility was created over half a century ago by Ujitoshi Konomi, a Japanese businessman, right winger and sports shooter. According to the Japan Sauna Spa Association, Konomi was introduced to saunas by Finnish athletes while competing in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Upon his return, Konomi built a sauna in a public bathing facility he operated. Saunas soon began supplementing sento public baths in Tokyo, later spreading to other large cities such as Osaka and Nagoya.
According to the Japan Sauna Institute, an organization formed in 2015 and which Sasano is a member of, there were an estimated 11.59 million people in Japan who visited saunas more than once a month in 2018, an 11.2 percent increase from the previous year.
While traditionally associated with older men, the sauna's image has been undergoing a makeover in recent years, cultivating new users thanks to modern facilities and the introduction of Nordic and German sauna rituals such as aufguss, in which a "sauna meister" pours water mixed with essential oils over the hot stones of the sauna stove and then uses a towel to fan hot steam toward bathers.
Such authentic sauna experiences have become something of a trend. In February, Lamp, a guest house in Nagano Prefecture, opened a Finnish log sauna, complete with a wood burning stove. Yuichi Noda, a sauna aficionado who produces and manages Lamp's sauna even visited Finland to learn the ropes of sauna-building. Visitors to the sauna, which sits adjacent to the guest house beside Lake Nojiri, can pour small doses of water onto the sauna stones to create löyly (water vapor), and then cool off in the lake.
Other, less conventional experiences, are also being explored in the form of combining saunas with recreational events.
In May, Yutaka Azami, a freelance web director and content creator, launched a project that he and other organizers call "Sauna to the River." Guests can sweat it out in a sauna tent pitched by a river in Yokoze, a town in Saitama Prefecture, and feast on barbecue and locally produced doburoku, a type of unfiltered sake, after plunging in the river.
"We've been bombarded by inquiries about possible collaborations involving food, recreational activities and other businesses," he says.
To deepen his knowledge of saunas, Azami and fellow organizers also recently visited Sauna Shikiji.
"In one word, Shikiji is in a class of its own," he says. "From the fine balance of temperature and humidity in the sauna rooms to its signature cold bath, everything was perfect," he says. "We're bringing back what we learned to improve our project."
For more information about Sauna Shikiji and Guest House Lamp, visit saunashikiji.jp and lamp-guesthouse.com/en.
health, fitness, sauna


Dubai: More than half of sport-related injuries can be prevented with a little forethought, said a Dubai-based doctor on Thursday.
Avoiding personal injury ahead of time is a lot easier than fixing broken bones, sprains and pulled muscles after the damage is done.
"Sport-related injuries are common during the summer, and while most injuries are acute, 50 per cent of them can be prevented," said Dr Hussam Antwan Touma, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist, and medical director of Rehabilitation Services at Emirates Rehabilitation and Homecare (ERHC).
An acute injury can happen suddenly, he said, and is usually associated with trauma such as cracking a bone, spraining a ligament, tearing a muscle or bruising.
It could also be a result of falling or crashing into another player during a sports competition, said Dr Touma.
While it is good to commit to an exercise programme, it is important to know your physical limits, too. Doctors suggest incorporating warm-up exercises and learning the fundamentals from a pro to maximise performance with the least risk of injury.
"It's always good practice to incorporate a set routine for your exercise regimen but if you believe you have an existing injury, it is best to consult a doctor before continuing with your exercise programme. When it comes to your health and well-being, it is important to be sure you receive the most accurate information about the best treatment available," Dr Touma said.
The medical community in the UAE is working towards more preventive medicines as called for in the National Agenda of UAE's Vision 2021 to focus on preventive medicine to ensure longer and healthier lives for citizens.


Alltop co-founder and former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki recently shared some of his strategies for outperforming competitors at WOBI's World Innovation Forum.
Kawasaki knows firsthand that, like Apple, companies can succeed when they believe in their products. But how does a business gain that sort of confidence? According to Kawasaki, by building something that has meaning and is innovative.
Kawasaki encouraged attendees at the World Innovation Forum to "want to change the world" with their products, noting that this ethos was at Apple's core. He used Nike as an example, citing the company's ability to infuse meaning into its sneakers. Kawasaki emphasized how "a little bit of cotton, leather and rubber" became symbolic with this 1990s Nike ad empowering women.
If you really want to be innovative, said Kawasaki, create a mantra. Mission statements are lengthy and unmemorable, and people need to know why your organization exists. Kawasaki gave Wendy's ("healthy, fast food"), FedEx's ("peace of mind"), and eBay's ("democratic commerce") as examples.
All great products polarize a subset of the population, and Kawasaki urged leaders not to be afraid of this. He used TiVo as an example; Kawasaki loves recording his favorite shows on the device, but knows that advertisers loathe how viewers can skip through commercials. The most important thing, he said, is for a select few to really love your product.
When presenting, Kawasaki thinks leaders should stand by the 10, 20, 30 rule: create 10 slides for a 20 minute presentation, and use 30 point font. He stressed the importance of providing both assistance and insight in the pitch, and including something unique for that specific audience.
Often companies panic when their product is used in unintended ways, and then spend an untold amount of time and money trying to get the "right" people to embrace it. Kawasaki says that this line of thinking is wrong. Instead, companies should say "hallelujah!" that people are buying from them, and gladly take the money.
Produce something that is valuable and unique, says Kawasaki, something that truly makes peoples' lives easier. Kawasaki uses the company Fandango, which allows customers to print out movie tickets at home, as an example. When Kawasaski takes his children to the movies, he wants to make sure that the film isn't sold out before he gets there. He gladly pays Fandango's relatively small fee for this convenience and his own peace of mind.


Join us on our adventure, to explore our natural world and discover for ourselves the wonder and beauty of our planet!
The Pinnacles Climb was one of the most stupid ideas I've had in a long time. It was a three day, two night excursion and the middle day was spent climbing 1200m to view the 40m high limestone pointy spears situated on top of a mountain.
On day 1 we departed from Gunung Mulu HQ at 9am and caught a very narrow boat upstream for 30 minutes. We stopped to explore, with a guide, some massive limestone caves called Cave of the Winds and Clearwater Cave.
Five of us had signed up for the Pinnacles and together we carried on upstream in the canoe-like boat, which occasionally got stuck on rapids and the boy at the front with the paddle had to get out and push us off. The 9km walk to the camp was a pretty route through rainforest crossing two larger rivers by jittery rope bridges and many smaller gullies, which at a leisurely pace took about 3 hours. We arrived at camp and were shown our allocated sleeping mat and the kitchen. The camp was infested with bees, harmless we were told, and then one immediately stung poor Chris!
Our guide, Christian, met us and gave a briefing saying that the climb was a 'very physically challenging, high risk, adventure activity'. If we were not fit enough he made it clear that we would have to turn back as the route was too treacherous to undertake in the dark.
After a self catered dinner and breakfast of noodles we left our base camp at 6:30am with our guide. Already the bees were out in full force. The route up was basically scrambling straight up sharp, hard, fine grained limestone which was interwoven with slippery thick tree routes. The trial was only 2.4km long but it was 1.2km upward. The group got on really well and there was good banter - when we had caught our breath! The last 300m involved clambering up 16 fixed vertical ladders and along a number metal rail planks over shear drops. We pulled ourselves up slabs of more rock and across sharp baby pinnacles to get to the viewpoint. We summited at about eleven and admired the view. Unfortunately it was cloudy at first, but that cleared and the majestic peaks stood before us, weathered into sharp peaks by millions of years of acidic rain.
After half an hour at the top (during which I ate more almonds than I thought physically possible) we started the descent. The trip down was much harder impact on the knees and thighs. It had rained and the tree roots were now very slippery. Most of the group had a slip or fall. I went down once and got a bruised bottom! Everyone in the group was very kind and adopted my slower speed. Chris was very supportive and kept encouraging me to keep up a good pace.
A grueling six or so hours later we stumbled into our base camp, oblivious to the bees which were going crazy for our sweat and went fully clothed for a dip in the fast flowing river - milky coloured, straight from the limestone mountain. It was 14C and after six weeks scuba diving at 30plus it was a welcome chill to rest our weary legs.
On day 3 we did the return walk back leaving about 8am and caught the boat back downstream at 10.40am. My legs appreciated the stretch but when I tried to get out of the boat at the HQ they had turned very stiff!
Day 2 up at dawn and straight up, hot, humid and getting higher!
0.4km to go and most of it upwards!
Lunch with a view - made it!
We flew over the Brunei virgin dense rainforest into Sarawak, the north-east section of Borneo. Mulu is a World Heritage Park famed for it's beautiful limestone cave formations, and the millions of bats and swiftlets which live in them. Mulu also provides lowland and mountain forests which are home for a high biodiversity of plants, ferns, mosses, fungi, birds, fish, amphibians, mammals and insects. Unfortunately most of the animals know that humans walking through a thick jungle are coming long before we get to see them.
During a couple of night walks (one with a guide, and one on our own) we spotted many different types of stick insect - some almost like branches rather than sticks - large geckos, millipedes- including a particularly pretty hairy one, a moon rat, and some sleeping birds including a maroon kingfisher and a fluffy green spider catcher.
Looking for more of a physical challenge we went adventure caving for 4 hours, a mixture of hiking, abseiling and climbing in a pitch black cave called Racer, named after the species of snake which lives there! We saw two Racer snakes and were told how they have learnt to catch a meals of bats or birds as they fly by in the total darkness. Also just as happy living in the cave were numerous large spiders, scorpions, bats, swiftlets and lots of crickets. If you don't like spiders don't scroll down to the end!
The typical creator of the rustle in the dead leaves that sets your mind racing thinking "snake?!"
Heading up river for some adventure caving - the life jackets are a tad OTT as the river is only about a foot deep!
…and some trickier bits! No longer scared of heights though!
And Racer Snakes eating everything it can, including plucking birds and bats from the air and any careless cavers!
After a rather extensive three month stay in Malaysia our visa was due to expire so we had to do a visa run. We chose to head to Brunei for a few days before heading into Sarawak to continue our Malaysian tour.
We took the ferry from Kota Kinabalu to Labaun and caught a connecting ferry to Serasa port in Brunei. All went well until we reached Brunei immigration and the dozens of immigration officials (with nothing better to do) started to question Chris' passport which had a torn inside front page (due the carelessness of guest house owner back in February in Myanmar). After much deliberation amongst themselves they turned back to us and politely told Chris he couldn't enter Brunei because of his damaged passport. After 15 minutes of questioning, pleading and remonstrating we got nowhere and asked to speak to the British Embassy, or High Commission as it's called here. So we went with the immigration officers to their staff room and watched them stuff their faces with biscuits and cakes (I always wondered why they were so fat) whilst we called the embassy. The consulate staff were very helpful and spoke to the Head of Immigration persuading them to let Chris through on condition that he got an emergency passport from the consulate the next day! What a palaver!!
So after a short few hours we eventually entered Brunei and headed to our hotel. The country is immaculate, no litter anywhere, new cars, no bangers churning out black fumes, everybody looks smart, has a job, a house. Such a difference from the three Asian countries we have visited so far. Crime is almost zero due to very harsh penalties for even the most minor offences. They have also retained the majority of their primary rainforest, thanks to their offshore oil wealth there is little or no deforestation. However these forests are expensive to visit and you can't go there on your own. Scientists are queuing up to get permission to explore the more remote areas of Brunei's jungles.
There are no bars, alcohol is illegal but as a foreigner you can bring in one bottle. There are secret bars, some hotels even have them in hidden basement rooms. Our hotel unfortunately did not, but we didn't care, we were just happy to have a big bed, a hot shower and air conditioning for the first time in over 6 weeks! We were both still full of infections and cuts from our volunteering and on antibiotics, so revelled in the relative luxury of a hotel.
We didn't think much of Brunei, it's an expensive, dull place, even the locals stream out of the country every weekend to Kota Kinabalu or Miri to relax and to party. We did visit the Royal Regalia museum containing an archive of gifts the Sultanate had received over the years from visiting dignitaries. There were a large range of gifts on display. Our favourite was the mother of all crystal beer tankards from Queen Elizabeth II with her ER motif etched on the side - how ironic!
After a morning of hanging around the British High Commission, who were so friendly and helpful (thank you Linda) followed by an afternoon sitting and queuing around immigration (again) to get a visa stamp on my new passport, we'd had enough of Brunei and were desperate to exit, so we headed into Sarawak for some more jungle adventures.
The North Borneo Railway was a jolly experience. After roughing it in a tent for five weeks it was quite surreal to be escorted onto a steam train by conductors in British Colonial uniforms - pith hat included!
We had a good inspection of the engine before the off. It was truly a piece of art as well as good old british engineering. I cheekily asked the engine driver if I could blow the whistle and yelped with delight at the sound - TUUUUUUUUUU-TUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!
We learnt that it was the last British Vulcan steam locomotive to be built at Newton-le-Willows, England in 1954 before diesel took over. It is also one of only a few working wood-fired steam locomotives left in the world.
Departing near Kota Kinabula we chugged through the suburbs and into countryside. The theme of the ride was very much reliving a bygone era and the sentimental brochure talked of escorting you back in time. Having now been in Malaysia for three months nothing we saw from the window looked particularly special or unusual but the views were interesting and it was good to watch the world go by after such a busy past few weeks. Many people waved at us passing by and the smell of the wood smoke was rich and delicious.
We stopped at Kinarut, saw some pre-war shop fronts and checked out the local wet market. It was saddening to see sharks and Giant Clams for sale - the very species we were surveying with TRACC.
38km south of Kota Kinabula we alighted at Papur and watched the train turning. Then on the return journey there was time for a tiffin box tea of smoked fish, satay chicken, soup, salad and fresh fruit - no Pimms though!


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Q: Linux/bash - ffmpeg - encode file with half bitrate and half resolutio I have some video file. I need to re-encode this in this way:
- result file bitrate is 2x lower than original
- result file resolution is 2x lower (witdth and height)
- audio codec - copied from source, video codec: h264
I know how to encode with hardcoded bitrate/resolution and audio copy. However, I have no idea how to make that values as half of input file parameters. Can I do this with ffmpeg?

A: To examine an input file
ffmpeg -i input

That should tell you about the input sizes.
To scale to just 50% (both width and height at the same time), you can use the scale filter.
ffmpeg -i input -vf scale=iw/2:-2 output

(more examples)
This should already reduce the bit rate (since you throw away 75% of the input pixels). If that's not enough, I'd first play with the quality parameters to reduce the bit rate.
If you really want to reduce the bit rate, then you have to parse the output of ffmpeg -i input, find the bit rate, calculate the new desired values, etc.

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