Before CWJC I was a homemaker for 30 years. I raised 4 children while my husband was in the US Army and got his associates and bachelor's degrees at night. I was not happy. I was mousy, and I cried a lot.
Because I was miserable, I was easily bullied. I considered divorce, but realized I needed to make enough money to support myself. This was frightening to me, because I had only been employed at part time jobs while taking care of my children. I did not feel that I had enough quality experience to even create an impressive resume. So, I cried a lot about that! I felt paralyzed with fear, and I was completely stuck until a friend suggested I apply for the upcoming class being offered by the CWJC. She said someone spoke about the classes at church, and she heard they could "help ladies write resumes".
I jumped on that suggestion quickly and applied right away. I was so relieved when I was accepted into the 2006 CWJC class, especially since I cried through the whole interview. I was afraid my insecurities would have caused me to be rejected, but I was very wrong!
When the classes started, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was excited about getting help with my situation. I immediately made new friends and together we attended daily Bible study, computer class, resume writing, and interview preparation classes. We also had scheduled times with a mentor that allowed us to share our stories and concerns without judgement or criticism.
money than I'd ever made before.
I worked hard at my job and people depended on me and appreciated my efforts. And I got pay raises. It felt good; and I began to feel much better about myself because I was appreciated. And the depression that had plagued my marriage for so long was no longer an issue. Thankfully, I no longer needed to get a divorce.
The very best part about all this knowledge and confidence is that it is mine, and I can use it not only for myself but also for others. When the company I was working for went out of business, I was able to get another job easily by tapping into the same skills and confidence I gained at CWJC. And, several years later, when my daughter was out of work, I was able to help her recreate her resume and find the strength to seek better employment for herself because of the things I learned at CWJC. Anytime someone I know needs help with their resume, I am more than happy to share what I know.
I loved attending CWJC, and I love the transformation that took place in me during this 12-week course. I totally recommend that every lady that needs to enter or re-enter the job market, take the time to apply herself to the principles in this course. It could change her life!!
After enjoying 9 wonderful years of working outside of my home, I resigned my most recent position at DealNews to come back home and take care of my grandchildren. There are 14 of them and they all need me at different times and in different ways. During the school year, I provide a place for many of them to stay when they are sick or on school breaks, so my adult children don't have to miss work. There is nothing like providing loving care to my sweet grandchildren when they are sick. And during the summer I can provide fun and entertainment, a great place to spend the night, someone to take them to the pool or the movies or where ever our summer takes us. My husband provides for me financially, and we both take pride in the fact that I can support my children and their children by investing in the next generation every single day of my life.


text:
Rafael Dawidowicz Gracz, ros. Рафаэль Давидович Грач (ur. 6 sierpnia 1932 w Muryginie, zm. 28 lipca 1982) – rosyjski łyżwiarz szybki reprezentujący ZSRR, dwukrotny medalista olimpijski.

Kariera
Rafael Gracz specjalizował się w sprintach. W 1956 roku wystartował na igrzyskach olimpijskich w Cortina d'Ampezzo, gdzie zdobył srebrny medal na dystansie 500 m. W zawodach tych wyprzedził go jedynie jego rodak Jewgienij Griszyn, a trzecie miejsce zajął Norweg Alv Gjestvang. Na rozgrywanych cztery lata później igrzyskach w Squaw Valley Gracz był trzeci na tym samym dystansie, ulegając tylko Griszynowi oraz Williamowi Disneyowi z USA. Brał także udział w igrzyskach olimpijskich w Innsbrucku w 1964 roku, ale wyścig na 500 m zakończył tam na dziesiątym miejscu. Nigdy nie wystąpił na mistrzostwach świata. Kilkakrotnie zdobywał medale mistrzostw ZSRR w tym złoty na 500 m w 1960 roku.

Bibliografia

 Profil na Schaats Statistieken.nl

Medaliści Zimowych Igrzysk Olimpijskich 1956
Medaliści Zimowych Igrzysk Olimpijskich 1960
Radzieccy łyżwiarze szybcy
Radzieccy medaliści olimpijscy
Urodzeni w 1932
Zmarli w 1982

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


As you journey with me, you'll find lots of posts on my blog about the most extraordinary adventure of pursuing God and being pursued by Him – of what God is teaching me, evidence of Him, stories of His faithfulness and being God in my life and the lives of others, and studies in God's Word. I hope you'll read, comment, and grow with me. I have a lot of room to grow and would love to hear about you, so share your own stories, even disagree with me if you need to, but let's ultimately have a conversation back and forth with each other to encourage one other forward and to increase in our understanding of and strength in the truth.
Fact or Fiction: Are the Bible's Claims True?


Spock is the half -vulcan, half-human science officer aboard the USS Enterprise who was played Leonard Nimoy throughout the Star Trek franchise that includes the original series, of all 8 movies that include the original cast and even the animated TV series. Spock even showed up in a two part arc in Star Trek: The Next generation.
Spock begins his career in Starfleet as a science officer, then moves up into a command position as the series progresses into the movies and when he retires, Spock becomes a Federation ambassador helping to bridge the distance between different races and cultures throughout the Galaxy.
Now we'll be looking at the origins of Spock from the original series and up through to the last of the movies the original cast starred in. We will touch on what is know as the Kelvin timeline. When J.J Abrams rebooted the Star Trek franchise he and the studio took things in a different direction. They changed the timeline of the Star Trek Universe and the trajectory of all it's characters. It's called the Kelvin timeline because the Starship Kelvin was the first to encounter the Romulan ship that caused the new Star Trek timeline. But more on that later.
Spock was born on the planet Vulcan and is the son of the Vulcan Sarek and the human woman Amanda Grayson. Had a pretty rough childhood and was an only child but did have a stepbrother named Sybok who was later banished for not abandoning emotions, Being of mixed race the young Spock is tormented by the other children who try to make him show emotion, which is the biggest taboo on their planet. Vulcans have striven to purge all emotions from their being. To be beings of pure logic and reason. Spock being half human means he is always at war with this emotional half. Fighting to control them. See Vulcans do actually have emotion, they can be very emotional and passionate people, and it is the purging of emotions that have elevated their society to the level it has reached. We actually get to see how Spock was bullied during his younger years in the first J.J Abrams Star Trek reboot. It's very moving to see the emotion just well up in young Spock. It's also interesting to see the kids bullying him, they seem to be taking pleasure in this, but like I said, they have emotion, they just repress it.
We also learn in later episodes of the original series that at the age of seven, the young Spock was joined telepathically with a young Vulcan girl named T'Pring. This telepathic bonding is like a really long egg timer for Vulcans. Vulcans have to reproduce and this bonding, in time, will bring about what is known as Pon Farr, a powerful drive to mate with whom you were bonded with. If a Vulcan ignores Pon Farr it is fatale. We learn all of this in the second season premiere of the Star Trek original series episode Amok Time. Through some tricky maneuvering and a mickey that Bones administers to Kirk Spock is freed from his bond and she chooses another for a mate, one she has wanted all along.
Now jumping back to when Spock was young, Spock decided he did not want to join the Vulcan Science Academy even though it was what his father Sarek wanted. But Spock turned it down an appointment to the academy and instead joined Starfleet as the first cadet from Vulcan. This causes a rift in relationship between father and son have a tense, if not non-existent relationship for the next 18 years. He excelled at Starfleet and was given the rank of lieutenant aboard the U.S.S Enterprise under Christopher Pike and served as his science officer.
Now I'm going to kind of go out of order here episode wise to what you may be used to starting at the Pilot. Now why is that starting out of order? Pilots come first right? Well not when it comes to the original Star Trek. But we'll get to that in a minute.
Spock serves as Pikes jr. science officer and we meet him when the Enterprise intercepts a distress call from Talos IV and it's here where the landing party come up against the Telosians who capture Pike and try to convince him through the use of ultra real illusions. One thing I always remember about that episode is that Spock is very military, very loud. He always seems to be shouting. But the one thing that is out of character is that Spock smiles and over very amused by a plant that makes a neat noise. He is very happy.
They need him to teach them to really live and to help rebuild their race. The landing party frees Pike and they leave Talos. Now if this episode sounds familiar, it's because we all got to see it as a two part episode called The Menagerie. See the network was promised Gun Smoke in space, that's not what they got. The Cage as it was originally called was very trippy and cerebral, so they shelved it. But the powers that be gave Roddenberry another chance and let them do another pilot. The new pilot was named, "Where no man has gone before" and was very Gun Smoke in space. Lots of fights, and lots of testosterone. It's actually one of my favorites. Just a great episode. And it's always nice to see the actor who played Poole in 200: A Space Odyssey playing a different part. Yep, Gary from Where No Man Has Gone Before is Poole from 2001.
So when Roddenberry got the nod to do another pilot there was some problems. For one the actor who played Christopher Pike was demanding more money, so he was dropped from the show and replaced by William Shatner. There were only a few characters that made the transition to the new Pilot and Spock was one of them. He was a fan favorite right off the bat and Roddenberry really wanted him to be a part of the show He character was smoothed out a bit, less yelling, more cool logic. The other character that was brought over was Majel Barrett who played Number One in the first pilot. NBC rejected the idea of a women as second in command, which is gross, but was how things were back in the day, and a little now right. So Majel Barrett was cast as Nurse Christine Chapel in the new Star Trek pilot and series and then as Lwaxana Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation, And technically she's in all the series as she is the voice of the computer system and Gene Roddenberry's wife.
So Spock made the cut and got a promotion to boot up to First Officer and Chief Science Officer. He's now Kirk's right hand man and it's a great pairing. The cool, logical man of science and his best friend and captain who is the exact opposite. We technically meet Spock in the Star Trek episode, The Man Trap which was the first aired episode of the program.
Throughout the series we get to learn more and more about this amazing character and the Vulcan people. Spock is known for his logic but has a few tricks up his sleeve. The Vulcan people have, through concentration and meditation honed their minds to be able to do incredible things. The most notable is the Vulcan nerve pinch. It was written into the script that Spock hit someone to subdue him and Nimoy thought that was something the character and Vulcans would do. So instead Nimoy conceived the maneuver where by applying pressure to nerve points on someone's neck and sending a projecting telepathic energy through his fingertips the assailant would be subdued. The nerve pinch was first used in "The Enemy Within" on a doppleganger of Kirk. Shatner knew what Nimoy was going for and really sold it when Nimoy applied the nerve pinch for the first time. It's one time where Shatner's overacting really helped out a scene. Another ability that Spock can employ to aid in missions is the Vulcan mind meld. The mind meld is a technique where two minds become one and thoughts and emotions are shared. It can be used as a way to commune with an individual or if needed as an interrogation technique. There have been a few really memorable melds, one being when Spock melded with a Horta, a silicon based life form. The other for me was in the movie The Undiscovered Country where Spock interrogates the Vulcan Lt. Valeris who was played by Kim Cattrall. It was painful to watch.
Some other notable moments in the development of the character are when we first meet the Romulans in the episode, "The Balance of Terror." We then learn, like everyone on the Enterprise, that Romulans and Vulcans share a common ancestry but split during the Time of the Awakening when Vulcans went the way of peace and logic and Romulans the way of passion, emotion and power. This was a revelation to the members of the Enterprise since the Federation had had no content with the Romulan Empire for years. It was interesting to see people start looking at Spock differently when they realized he looked like the enemy. It's one of the cool ways the show examined social issues of the time. He looks like the enemy so can he be trusted.
Another moment in his development was of course the characters death. In the amazing film, The Wrath of Khan, Spock sacrifices himself to save the crew uttering the now classic line, "The goods of the many outweigh the needs of the few…or the one." He dies but is then resurrected when his photon coffin is pulled into the Genesis Effect and lands on the planet that it creates. Due to the Genesis Effect that creates reconstructs matters into a viable planet. This effect essentially reverts Spock to a child and he rapidly ages as the planet ages due to the instability of the Genesis Effect. He then grows to the age he was just before his death and remembers who he is and rejoins the crew after his katra, or self, if put back into his body after it was stored in McCoy before Spock sacrifices himself.
The films unfortunately really start to go downhill from here with one bright spot being The Voyage Home which incidentally was directed by Leonard Nimoy. But that can be debated a lot of people didn't really care for that one either. I have a love hate relationship with the movies. I love Star Trek, it's my favorite Sci-Fi franchise, but the movies have really been hit or miss. The films do show the advancement of Spock's career from first officer to someone who commands the enterprise. The films then transition to the Next gen crew and in my opinion just get worse. Love the Nex Gen show, but the movies were just not up to snuff in my option.
Going back to the original series another point I used to enjoy was the relationship between Nurse Chapel and Spock. Remember these were two actors that made it over from the original pilot, Nimoy remaining Spock and Barrett becoming Nurse Chapel. Well Nurse Chapel had the hots for Spock and finally admitted it in the episode "The Naked Time", when the crew were infected with a virus that stripped them of their inhibitions. They have a few encounters but of course nothing comes of it. I always wished they would have gotten together. Of course now in the new Kelvin Timeline Spock does have a love interest, but it's Uhura.
And that is a good segway into the new Star Trek reboot series that has been spearheaded by J.J Abrams. In this reboot Abrams takes a bold step and essentially replaces the original Star Trek timeline with an alternate one due to a time traveling Romulan with a grudge against Spock. See in the future of the standard timeline Spock was now the ambassador, and a very effective one. He actually brokered the peace between the Federation and the Klingons. But in his mission to save the Romulan world from utter destruction from a Supernova, he failed and did not make it in time and Romulus was completely destroyed. A mining ship was out of the system when this happened and the Captain, Nero, traveled back in time to destroy Spock, the Federation, everyone, to take his revenge. In coming back in time Nero's ship comes into contact with the USS Kelvin and destroys the ship. Unfortunately James T. Kirk's parents are on board and she is pregnant with James. In this timeline the yet unborn Kirk's father dies and he and his mother escape. This sets the events of Kirk's life in a much different direction than it did in the timeline we are familiar with. Nero then comes upon Spock's ship that was also washed back in time due to the Nova. To take his ultimate revenge, Nero destroys Vulcan and everyone on the planet, including the current Spock's mother. Again this is a huge change in the timeline. Kirk and Spock are not friends, there is no Vulcan, Spock's mother is dead, just a tone of differences. The really cool thing is now there are two Spocks. There is the Spock of this new timeline created by Nero, and the old Spock from the original timeline.
I have to say, I love these remakes. Everything is fresh, the characters are new but the same. The actors just nail the characters. I'm always amazed when I read the comments about these new flicks. A lot of people really hate them. Never sure why. They always say that it's destroyed the show and ruined everything. Never understood that, the original is still there, all of them, but now we have this cool new thing. And two Spocks, heck, that is just awesome. One fun piece I learned in doing the research for the cast was that Nimoy had last approval over who was to be cast as Spock for the reboot and was very pleased with the choice of Zach Quinto. Also Nimoy had thought he was done with acting but thought the script for the new reboot was something he really wanted to do. And as a fringe benefit Abrams got Nimoy to work on the awesome TV show Fringe as enigmatic William Bell. Watch all of that show if you haven't. So amazing.
Unfortunately with the death of actor Leonard Nimoy and amazing director and photographer the character of Spock, the one from the timeline we grew up with will no longer be with us. If you have never had the opportunity to see some of Nimoy's photography I've provided a link to them. He was just incredible. In the latest movie Star Trek Beyond Zach Quinto the actor who plays Spock in the Abrams reboot learns that the elder Spock has died. In hearing this he decides to quit Starfleet and continue Ambassadors Spock's work on New Vulcan. But he then receives a package from the elder Spock and in it there is a photo taken during the original series movie, The Undiscovered Country with the entire original cast. Seeing this Spock decides to stay in Starfleet.


text:
Rodriguez "Freakin' Stoked" About Britney Spears' Upcoming Appearance on "Jane the Virgin"
Posted on August 14, 2015 by Tom Castaneda
Gina Rodriguez is ready to bust a move to one of her childhood favorites…
It was announced earlier this week that Britney Spears will guest-star on the CW's cult hit Jane the Virgin this season. And the 31-year-old Puerto Rican actress couldn't be more excited, saying Spears "is my childhood."
"I just want to do the dance from '…Baby One More Time' with her on set … and record it," Rodriguez told People magazine. "I want to do that so badly!"
The Golden Globe-winning actress is "so freakin' stoked" to have Spears on set. "She was literally the first pop star I ever knew existed."
Spears will appear in the fifth episode of the upcoming second season as the nemesis of Jane's dad, telenovela star Rogelio De La Vega (Jaime Camil).
Jane the Virgin returns for its second season on October 12 on the CW.
This entry was posted in Entertainment and tagged Baby One More Time, Britney Spears, CW, Gina Rodriguez, Jaime Camil, Jane the Virgin by Tom Castaneda. Bookmark the permalink.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


GGRM update: We are getting close to a move date, need to leak test 1 car get a single car test done on all cars and finish the annual insp on SP 2472 started on 6 may. The good thing is we have 5 yrs left on the boiler time on 2472 before she's due a form 4 teardown. When all this work is done ( during for 2472 ) we can then call the FRA and the UP to come and inspect our equipment, if it all passes there checks then its just a mater of arranging a move date with the UP. Stay tuned for next update.
I'm pretty sure that is Doug Bosco, a part owner of the NWP.
Do we know who that was speaking for NWP at that last meeting? My connection with the NWP is thru their CEO John Williams of Woodside Consulting here in Palto Alto and Jake Park. Because of my connections with AAPRCO http://www.aaprco.com/about/ I had connections to potential cars for excursion.
Now Jake is gone and I should probably drop by the NWP office again but Jake always told me that without a rail connection to Healdsburg and points north, excursions were not economically feasible which is what my AAPRCO contact also said. Who is going to pay to ride from Schellville to south of Windsor? And will SMART allow any daytime NWP excursion trains?
If I were living in Marin and Sonoma Cty paying the tax, I would be super pixxxx off!
No, there weren't any "definitive statements" about "plans," that I heard either, other than that NWP was going to let GGRM move their rolling stock to Schellville on the old Sonoma spur so they'd have a place to keep it while they were looking for an operations site "somewhere on the NWP" and that NWP thought they'd be a good fit to provide excursion service on the NWP.
That video capture of the last meeting was posted here by Steve Atnip. You should find it on Steve's page.
I listened to that presentation several times and never could hear a definitive statement about plans though.
I believe GGRM has operated on the UP ROW before. As much money as UP puts into their amazing heritage steam program, I expect they are old friends with GGRM. The FRA inspections are routine, I believe.
I saw a video of a recent NCRA meeting (sorry, can't find it now) in which the NWP representative was reporting on operations. He said that NWP had reached and agreement with the GGRM to store their equipment on an unused spur running up toward Sonoma and that the GGRM would be moving their equipment to Schellville in the near future. He noted that the NWP thought this would be a great partnership opportunity for running passenger excursions on the NWP. I got the impression the storage on the Sonoma spur is temporary pending GGRM's finding a site somewhere on the NWP to build a more permanent site for shops and indoor storage of their equipment. I suppose such a site would need to be close to a wye or have space for a roundtable. It just won't do to be dragging 2472 backwards all over hell and back behind a diesel engine!
I hope they have some connections at the UP or the FRA. Quite a large amount of equipment to move!
Thanks mucho for that update.


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Тино Сегал (; род. 1976) — англо-немецкий художник, хореограф.

Биография
Родился в 1976 в Лондоне. Изучал политическую экономику и танец в Берлинском университете имени Гумбольдта и Университете искусств Фолькванг в Эссинё. Работал с французскими хореографами Жеромом Белем и Ксавье Леруа. Сейчас живёт и работает в Берлине.

Творчество
Тино Сегал создаёт «сконцентрированные ситуации», которые ставят под вопрос традиционные отношения между искусством и зрителем, сосредотачиваясь на жестах и социальных ролях. В его «ситуациях» задействованы «интерпретаторы», как сам художник их называет, часто это танцоры или актёры, иногда сам Сегал. Главное место занимает — зритель, который становиться полноправным участником происходящего или является наблюдателем. Перфоманс продолжается в течение всего рабочего дня галерии или музея. Тино Сегал запрещает снимать и фотографировать свои работы, он также выступает против любой рекламы, афиш, вывесок своих выставок, контрактов и другого любого способа документирования. В 2005 году представлял Германию на Венецианской биеннале. Персональные выставки Сегала были в Музее Соломона Гуггенхайма в Нью-Йорке (2010), в Тейт Модерн (2012), в музее Стеделек (2015), Пале де Токио (2016), в Государственной Третьяковской галереи (Новая Третьяковка) и Государственном музее архитектуры имени А. В. Щусева (2017); Участвовал в 9-й Шанхайской биеннале, в «Документе 13» (2012)

Работы
«Поцелуй»(2002) — двое танцоров демонстрируют движение, отсылающие к различным любовным сценам из истории искусств. «Эта Ситуация» (2007); «Эта Вариация» (2012); «Этот прогресс» (2006) — во вовремя перфоманса зритель участвует в четырёх диалогах на тему «Что такое прогресс?». Сначала Зритель встречается с ребёнком, потом с подростком, с взрослым, и в заключении с пожилым. Во время этого события он переживает цикличность жизни и делает для себя выбор в понимании прогресса. Это первая живая работа, которая была приобретена музеем Гуггенхайма.

Награды
 2004 — Премия Bâloise в Art Basel.
 2006 — Включён в список премий Hugo Boss.
 2007 — Preg der Nationalgalerie für Junge Kunst в Hamburger Bahnhof в Берлине.
 2013 — Выбран в качестве одного из четырёх финалистов премии Тёрнера
 2013 — Премия «Золотой лев» как лучшему художнику 55-й Венецианской биеннале современного искусства.

Примечания

Ссылки
 Биография Сегала
 Васильева Ж. Поцелуй и кое-что ещё. В Москве свои перфомансы представит Тино Сегал. Российская газета
 Васильева Ж. Это пропаганда! И Поцелуй! Работы Тино Сегала — в Новой Третьяковке и Музее архитектуры. Российская газета
 Пронченко З. Зачем нам музей Тино Сегала, если есть телевизор Андрея Малахова. Московский комсомолец.
 Сохарева Т. Что надо знать: Тино Сегал. Артгид
 Collins L. The Question Artist. Tino Sehgal's provocative encounters. The New Yorker. August 6, 2012 Issue

Современные художники Германии


text:
Brad's Status is a 2017 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike White and starring Ben Stiller, Austin Abrams, Michael Sheen, Jenna Fischer, and Luke Wilson. It premiered on September 9 at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival in the juried Platform section, and was theatrically released by Amazon Studios and Annapurna Pictures on September 15, 2017.

Plot
Brad Sloan runs his own non-profit organization, and lives a comfortable life with his loving wife and son, but cannot help contemplating how his old friends Craig Fisher, Billy Wearslter, Jason Hatfield, and Nick Pascale are rich and accomplished. Craig works in the White House and published a best-selling book; Jason owns a hedge fund firm; Billy sold a company he founded, moved to Maui, and retired; and Nick is a Hollywood director. Brad's wife, Melanie, tries to comfort Brad, telling him that they do not need to compare themselves with the wealthiest 1%.

In the morning, Brad and his son, Troy, leave for Boston to visit colleges. After Troy confesses to him that he aims to get into Harvard, Brad sees this as a way to make up for his lost ambitions. After arriving at Harvard to meet with admissions, they find out they have missed the appointment by one day. Brad argues to see the admission committee, but Troy gets him to back down. Melanie suggests that Brad should call Craig, which he reluctantly agrees. Brad calls Billy to get Craig's number and finds out that Nick married his boyfriend a few years back, but Brad was not invited. He then laments how his friends' exclusion of him confirms his fears: that he is not only a failure in his own eyes but to others as well. Brad also reflects about his waning sex life with Melanie and how his wife easily gets satisfied, which he thinks might have undermined his ambitions. At a restaurant, Brad opens up to Troy about feeling left out, and Troy picks up on things. After talking to Craig, Craig gets Troy a meeting with the famous Harvard music professor and the dean of admissions.

Brad and his son meet Ananya, a high school musician friend of his son, and her friend Maya. Brad relishes Ananya's idealism and her respect for his work, reminding him of his better days. She also reveals to Brad that she did not like Craig's lectures since she finds him sexist and arrogant. After having dinner with them, Brad and Troy turn down the offer of drinks with them and return to their hotel.

That night, Brad can not sleep so he decides to have a drink with Ananya. He tells her that the non-profit life was a mistake and he should have tried to make money. As he is talking, he recognizes that he's lost her admiration; but he goes on about his perceived mistakes in his career, relative to the success of his friends. Ananya tells him that he is living a privileged life and that there are kids she knows in India who are lucky to have dinner, so he should be grateful for what he has in his life.

Troy meets his role model music composer thanks to Craig pulling some strings. However, when Troy tells Brad that his idol is not as cool as he thought, they get in an argument where Brad tells Troy that he cannot judge people for selling out because he is just living in a bubble. The argument soon ends and Troy attends his interview. During the interview, Jason calls Brad in a rush that Brad does not initially pick up on because of his self-focus. Jason informs him that he is at the Mayo Clinic and that his 3-year old daughter has a tethered spine. Shaken by the news, Brad forgets to ask Troy about how his interview went. Troy tell Brad things went really well. Brad then accompanies Troy to Tufts, his alma mater, where he learns his old professor just died. Watching Troy go on the tour at Tufts, his thoughts are interrupted when Melanie returns his call. Brad expresses his pride about his son and wishes Melanie were there with them.

The next night, Brad has dinner with Craig, to properly thank him for his help. He finds out that his old friends, the ones he believes are leading privileged lives, are actually living with major problems. In addition to Jason Hatfield's daughter having a serious medical condition, he learns Jason's company is under legal investigation. He also learns Billy Wearslter is an addict and alcoholic. Craig also expresses some homophobic remarks about Nick. While Brad tolerates Craig's constant bragging and backhanded compliments, eventually Brad feels conflicted about how Craig treats him, questioning if they really are friends. When Craig seems confused at Brad's reaction, Brad abruptly leaves their dinner. He decides to join Troy at the orchestral performance where Ananya and Maya are playing, explaining to Troy he'd rather be there with him. The beautiful music transports Brad into feeling emotional and reflective, realizing he still loves the things of the world. After returning to the hotel that evening, Troy asks his father if he is having a nervous breakdown. Brad said he just sometimes has doubts that people view him as a failure. Troy explains that everyone only thinks of themselves, so they don't even consider whether Brad is a failure or not.  Troy adds that his opinion is the only one that matters, and he loves his Dad.  Brad is touched and mollified by Troy's words.

In his thoughts, Brad is trying to imagine the future. The movie ends with him repeating, "We're still alive. I am still alive," as he turns over and goes to sleep. At the end of the credits, Brad's imagination wanders back into thinking that his son is busking.

Cast
 Ben Stiller as Brad Sloan
 Austin Abrams as Troy Sloan
 Devon Packer as young Troy Sloan
 Jenna Fischer as Melanie Sloan
 Michael Sheen as Craig Fisher
 Luke Wilson as Jason Hatfield
 Jemaine Clement as Billy Wearslter
 Mike White as Nick Pascale
 Jimmy Kimmel as himself
 Shazi Raja as Ananya

Production
On July 13, 2016, it was announced that Plan B Entertainment was developing a comedy film, Brad's Status, written and directed by Mike White, in which Ben Stiller would star. On October 31, 2016, Amazon Studios came aboard to co-finance and distribute the film. Michael Sheen, Luke Wilson, Jenna Fischer, and Austin Abrams joined Stiller in the cast.

Principal photography on the film began in October 2016 in Montreal.

Release
In May 2017, it was announced that Amazon Studios and Annapurna Pictures, who produced another Amazon-released film, Wiener-Dog, would co-distribute the film on September 15, 2017.

Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 79% based on 175 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Brad's Status transcends its familiar premise with insightful observations and affecting interplay between stars Ben Stiller and Austin Abrams." On Metacritic, another review aggregator, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

References

External links

2017 films
2017 comedy-drama films
Amazon Studios films
American comedy-drama films
Films directed by Mike White
Films produced by Sidney Kimmel
Films scored by Mark Mothersbaugh
Films with screenplays by Mike White
Films shot in Montreal
Films shot in Boston
Midlife crisis films
Plan B Entertainment films
American independent films
2017 independent films
Sidney Kimmel Entertainment films
Vertigo Films films
Films about father–son relationships
2010s English-language films
2010s American films


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Daydream Believers
The story of how a football team made a town believe again...
In 1997, Barnsley was struggling to recover from the impacts of the greatest industrial dispute this country had ever seen. In less than 10 years, in a town of a population of around 200,000, over 30,000 jobs were gone.
But one group of people provided them hope. Led by the young but inspirational Danny Wilson, Barnsley Football Club earned promotion to the top tier of English football for the first time in its 110 year history, playing football likened to that only seen on the beaches of Rio with a group of players assembled from Non-League, free transfers & local lads raised through the clubs academy. An achievement never seen before & one unlikely to be seen again.
'Daydream Believers' (www.daydream-believers.co.uk) is the story of that achievement.
The film, produced by www.graft.agency, has been financed completely through Crowdfunding & will Premiere at The Lamproom Theatre, Barnsley on Sunday 2nd September 2018. The film will then run for one week only!
The film is also available to order on DVD via https://www.daydream-believers.co.uk/product/daydream-believers-dvd/
All profits from the sale of the DVD will be donated to local charitable causes.


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UK defence chief Michael Fallon claims British pressure made Saudi Arabia renounce use of cluster bombs
Saudi Arabia admitted using cluster munitions in Yemen, but also pledged to stop using the weapon in the future.
By Sofia Lotto Persio
The Saudi-led bombing campaign against Yemen and the UK's involvement	IBTimes UK
British defence secretary Michael Fallon was called to defend the relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia as the Gulf country admitted using UK-manufactured cluster bombs in the conflict in Yemen.
A statement released on 19 December, to Saudi State news agency SPA, said the Saudi-led Arab coalition used cluster munitions in the conflict, but also decided to stop using the weapons in the future.
British cluster bombs falling on Yemen show how our leaders put cash before conscience
UK government 'has seen analysis' of UK-made cluster bombs used in Yemen by Saudi-led coalition
UK accused of 'war crimes' for selling bombs used to hit war-torn Yemen
"We oppose the use of cluster munitions, we have made that very clear to the Saudi authorities," Fallon told the House of Commons. "As a result of our pressure, we now have an undertaking that Saudi Arabia will not use this weapons," he added.
Cluster bombs were outlawed in an international treaty that was signed by Britain and came into force in 2010, with several countries – including the UK – destroying the weapons' stockpiles in the following years.
The Saudi statement should not come as a surprise to the minister, as the British government's own analysis found that Saudi Arabian forces have used UK cluster bombs in their bombardment of Yemen.
In May, an Amnesty International investigation found that cluster munitions made in the UK, in the 1970s, were being used in Yemen in the latest conflict, but UK Minister of Defence Procurement Philip Dunne and Fallon denied any UK-made cluster munitions had been used in Yemen. Fallon told MPs that his statement was based on the information the Saudis had at the time of the Amnesty probe.
The SNP's defence spokesperson Brendan O'Hara was one of the MPs calling on the UK government to question the relationship with Saudi Arabia in light of allegations of war crimes in Yemen.
"Since the start of the military campaign in Yemen, there have been repeated reports of the indiscriminate bombing of hospitals and funerals. Given the UK's military role in the Saudi war room of operations and now the confirmation of the use of outlawed UK-made cluster bombs, then there are questions to answer," he said.
Fighters with the Islamic State have also been accused of using cluster munitions BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images
The Yemeni prime minister of the rebel Houthi government Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour accused Britain of "participating in the bombing of Yemen people" and profiting from the humanitarian crisis.
The UK government repeatedly said that only strong evidence of international law violations would change their position on arms sales. The US, instead, announced on 13 December it was limiting arms exports to Saudi Arabia over concerns of civilian killings.
Fallon reminded MPs that the UK government sees Saudi Arabia as a key ally in the fight against terrorism, and also as an important investor and trade partner.
"Saudi Arabia is on the cusp of major reform programme of its economy and its society," Fallon said, reiterating that there is no intention of shunning Saudi Arabia through sanctions or boycotts.
Activists remain concerned about the state of human rights in the country. Saudi Arabia has executed at least 153 people so far in 2016, nearing last year's record high of 158, according to figures collated by human rights organisation Reprieve.
Related topics : Saudi Arabia


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Archives for posts with tag: secession
No, the Civil War is NOT Over. In fact, the South is slowly winning.
Sorry to break it to you, Gentle Reader, but somebody had to. For all the orthodox history saying that the Confederacy surrendered at Appomattox, they have in fact continued fighting for segregation, class stratification, and other key Confederate values.
The most obvious example was the large number of Jim Crow laws imposed upon black Americans after the South "surrendered". Pretty much slavery without the costs of feeding, housing, and clothing the oppressed black workers and their families. Apartheid, American style.
Then came the Civil Rights Movement. We made some progress then, no doubt about it. But starting in the 1980's, the NeoConfederates have slowly and systematically worked to restore their white-supremacist system, and in fact spread it to other, non-Confederate states.
Undoing affirmative action? Check.
Rolling back voting rights for Persons of Color? Check.
Lower wages paid to black workers than whites? Check.
All of this indicates a non-coincidental trend. It is a deliberate effort to re-fight the Civil War, albeit without obvious military force. And it is succeeding. Here's one tiny example:
Once upon a time in the Oughts, your humble correspondent had a girlfriend from a foreign country, and she traveled to America to visit, meet the family, see the sights, and so on. She really wanted to see the South, and so we spent some time there. During that sojourn, we stopped at one of Georgia's state universities to look at dinosaur bones, and wandered into a historical exhibit about the "War of Northern Aggression" (indeed, it was thus labeled) and how bad it was for the formerly-contented slaves. This in an accredited, state-chartered university.
That was a shocker. A government-funded institution teaching and spreading lies about the Civil War. She was shocked, and so was B & C.
Since that incident knocked the scales off the eyeballs, it has become ever more apparent that the Reagan Revolution included a strong racist, neo-Secessionist component. But instead of leaving the Union, the South has decided to take the over the whole damned country.
We are still at war with the forces of racist evil, friends. And we are losing.
Tags appomattox, civil rights, civil war, confederacy, confederate, grant, Jim Crow, Lee, North, secession, sherman, south, states
Teapublican Lindsey Graham Promises to Turn the U.S. into a Military Dictatorship
March 13, 2015 //
In his own seditious words:
And here's the first thing I would do if I were president of the United States. I wouldn't let Congress leave town until we fix this. I would literally use the military to keep them in if I had to. We're not leaving town until we restore these defense cuts. We are not leaving town until we restore the intel cuts.
And as the source article points out:
Graham would use the military to force members of Congress to not just vote on the bill — but to pass it. Graham didn't say "until I get an up-or-down vote on restoring defense cuts." He said "until we restore these defense cuts."
In other words, Graham is proposing that his first act as president would be to use the military to force the legislative branch to pass his agenda.
You might not have heard about this latest extraconstitutional move by the GOPee, since there have been so many others of late: manifold examples, including Joni Ernst's flagrant violation of the UCMJ, Tehran Tom's letter and the bribes that made it happen. But we all need to know about this neo-secessionist scumball and his plans for a military junta.
The sad thing? It's not really all that surprising. Since the Reaganistas took power, "Republicans" have been grabbing more and more control over our nation, by means both legal and otherwise. All Graham is proposing is pointing actual machine guns at the heads of lawmakers, threatening them with death, imprisonment, or perhaps Gitmo if they don't do exactly what the Teapublican Treason Team want at any particular moment.
Repubs aren't even pretending anymore. If an armed overthrow of our nation is what they need to impose their will upon us, that's what they'll do. Don't think for a moment that they won't do what they promise to do.
Tags Boehner, cotton, coup, joni ernst, junta, lindsey graham, military, mutiny, netanyahu, overthrow, party, secession, sedition, tea, Teapublicans, tehran, tom, treason
Masked gunmen installing petty thugs is, like women distributing swords, no basis for a system of government.
Just stop for a second and focus, OK? The man people call Crimea's leader was NOT legitimately elected to be such. Unless you're fool enough to believe in the validity of secret elections held with guns pointed at voters' heads, and that a man who previously barely got into his previous office as leader of a fringe party with only a few paltry seats could somehow magically win power in his nonexistent "nation" when nobody was looking. In reality, Mr. Aksyonov is a criminal who is part of a Russian land grab that is reminiscent of Russia's previous actions in Georgia, and Germany's in Poland:
Crimea has been swept into turmoil over the past two weeks, as Moscow, furious over the fall of Yanukovych and the pro-Western outlook of the new government, used hundreds of Russian soldiers to seize political control of the peninsula. The Russian soldiers — who Moscow insists are members of a Crimean self-defense force that Aksyonov created last year — ringed the regional parliament. Then, with armed soldiers inside the chamber, Aksyonov was named prime minister.
His critics say it's clear that Aksyonov is simply a puppet, someone installed by Moscow to ease what has become, in effect, a Russian takeover of its former territory.
"If six months ago someone would have told me that Aksyonov would become prime minister, I would have laughed," said Valentina Tsamar, a prominent Simferopol journalist with the TV channel Chernomorskaya.
So, after Russia took over Crimea's government at gunpoint, and said fake government called for a fake referendum on "joining" Russia, the "Prime Minister" is already taking steps that shouldn't be taken until after the election results are known. The obvious conclusion, Gentle Reader, is that the results of the next "election" will be rigged, just as the recent parliamentary "election" was. The results are already known, because the referendum is a farce, a ruse, a smokescreen erected to scare the cowards, fool the foolish, and gull the gullible.
This is as illegal as Mexico storming the Texas Capitol, deposing the elected government and installing a posse of Narcos in its place, and then voting to secede from the United States and rejoin Mexico. After all, there are Mexican nationals in Texas who have to be protected from the American government, right? And there are cultural ties that go back centuries, yes? And such ties surely supersede any silly latter-day political boundaries, right?
Wrong. Just as in Ukraine. This is an illegal land grab, like countless others throughout history (including some by the United States, Britain, France, and so on). And like all those other invasions and occupations, it is illegal as Hell and completely illegitimate.
Those loons of the political extremes who shriek and shout at the West for alleged "imperialism" as it insists on Ukraine following a path based on international law; the jackass Conspiracy Theorists who ignore the facts on the ground and and use their own fantasies in lieu of those facts; said shouters are but useful idiots that are helping the real imperialists in this case. Said imperialists being, of course, Putin and his corrupt buddies.
Such bulls***. Wake up and smell it, peeps.
Tags aksyonov, army, bullshit, crimea, fake, federation, Gas, georgia, georgian, german, illegal, joining, natural, Obama, oligarch, pipeline, putin, referendum, russia, russina, russis, secession, takeover, torrps, Yanukovic
North Carolina Decides Not To Secede, After All. For Now.
Members of The Cranky Nation will know that certain wingnut North Carolina legislators voted for an unconstitutional state law earlier this week. That law would have made NC law supreme over Federal law, all because their precious wittle feewings got aww hurted the other day.
House Speaker Thom Tillis , who is smarter than the average nutjob, put the bill out of its misery yesterday. He has not said why he killed it, but hey, he killed it.
What he did not do was repudiate the intent behind the bill, admonish his fellow lawmakers, or stand up for the rule of law. So we are left with a load of loons in the North Carolinian State House, and they will no doubt try this crap again someday. Unless they get schooled by their constituents beforehand, which doesn't look all that likely.
Tags Carolina, clause, Establishment, NC, North, nullification, religion, secession, State, supremacy
Bats***-Crazy NC Repubs Take A Step Towards Secession
Yes, it's technically nullification at this point. But it's a step in a very dangerous direction. A load of North Carolinian legislators gave signed onto a crazy, loony, unconstitutional bill that says, in essence, "neener, neener " to the Supremacy and Edtablishment Clauses of the Constitution. And all because they can't evangelize during opening prayers at public meetings.
Note this well: they are allowed to have a prayer. They are just not allowed to favor one flavor of religion during that prayer. You know, that freedom of religion Thinggummie. But evidently, being required to follow the law is equivalent to tyranny in the minds of these yahoos.
A unilateral declaration that state laws are supreme over federal laws is pretty much the start of secession, never mind the word games. These people are trying to create their own version of national law, just for their little state. Declaring one state's law to have supremacy over that of the rest of the nation is tantamount to a Declaration of Independence.
Or, put another way, secession.
Tags clause, Establishment, NC, North Carolina, nullification, religion, secession, supremacy


Do you worry? Well, that seems rather like a foolish question, considering we all worry at some point or another. But, as a writer, do you worry that you are not doing the best you can?
Writing fiction and creative non-fiction is a relatively new realm for me. Yes, I have been blogging for nearly eight years now but getting down to serious writing only began about two years ago. My Twitter bio has 'writer' in the description and there are days that I doubt the veracity of that statement.
What exactly is it that causes me to doubt myself? The fact that I may not be good enough for people to read is something that overwhelms me every alternate day. I am not discounting the numerous bloggers who read my posts and who genuinely appreciate what I have to say. Without them, I may not have taken up writing the way I did. In fact, I feel downright guilty about not returning the favour on most days.
Then, there's always the niggling feeling that my best work is not out there. There are days that I dash off a post in under thirty minutes and when I go back to read it, the sheer lunacy of having put it up there for public viewing strikes me in the gut.
This jostles for worrying space along with my third problem which doesn't happen very often, but does strike on occasion: Not knowing how to say what I want to say. The number of posts lying in my draft folder- well, let's not go there right now. Instead, let's talk about how you have something bursting out of you, but you don't get the right words to express it well enough. Those days a wave of emotions surges within me, urging to break free of the dam of conscience and propriety, but is held back by a nameless power.
And for all of that, I have the same excuse: I don't get enough time in a day. The truth is, I don't make time in a day. Not nearly enough. There is always that laundry to fold or the dishes to wash or that last-minute dash to the store for a school assignment that comes in the way. Then, there are those pointless things such as Facebook's news feed or the instantly-updated Twitter timeline and that ridiculous article on why Kim Kardashian broke the Internet or whether that dress was really white and gold! The excuses are, frankly, endless and it sickens me right to the gut of my writing soul.
Should I even be calling myself a writer at this point? I am far more content to churn out blog posts, live in a comfortable cocoon of predictable outcomes and not do anything drastic to upset the apple-cart of expectations. But where is the joy in that?
Where is the beauty of a piece that has characters jump off the page and challenge you with their dilemmas and worries? Where is that spark that ignites all writing, firing it up at the hearth and shooting off glorious displays of ravishing beauty to reel the reader in?
I know it's in there and I know I just need to sit down and write it all out.
Yet, I don't do it. Not all the time.
And that, unfortunately, is my biggest worry of all.
Very true. It's when I don't sit down to write at all that I feel this cold fear gripping me!
Self-judgement and inferiority complexes are a pretty common writing hazard, it seems.
Well said. I can relate to calling myself a writer and not always feeling like I'm a writer. I can relate to getting distracted with laundry and dishes and Facebook. It is so easy to do. Even when we know better, we writers have to jump these hurdles everyday.
'Even when we know better'- I think you just nailed it. We writers are a troubled lot, what?
Keep writing, keep doing what your heart tells you to. Good luck.
Shailaja, just write from your heart. You don't need to write a best seller to be a writer. If you write with a passion (which you do) then the Universe will take care of the rest.
I totally relate, and have dealt with (and will probably continue to deal with!) many of these same worries and insecurities. So I hear you.
Coming from you, I find that very surprising and comforting 😀 You, self-doubt? I could never say that from the way you write!
The drafts folder – check.
The Facebook feed – check.
The writing and posting under 30 mins – check.
Almost like you jumped inside my head, gave structure to my thoughts and put it here!
When do you become a writer anyway??
Before I say anything else, let me tell you this, which you probably know anyway– you are awesome! 🙂 Don't ever doubt that.
I think that is one of the best things I have read today: the idea that my words talk to you directly. I must admit I feel that way about some writers and blessed to think that you feel this way 🙂 Thank you!
I love how you express yourself so well and aren't afraid to voice insecurities that we all have, Shailaja. I appreciate that about your writing. You know how to speak to all of us and connect so well.
I have those feelings often when I write my blog posts or fiction. Often I dash off my little rhymes thinking I should have tried writing something more serious and not so silly. I feel like a charlatan, a fake at times.
Still, silly rhymes are part of my writing and part of me. Guess I'm stuck with them. Heck, I even put a silly rhyme as a Facebook status as it popped into my head and wouldn't leave til I wrote it down. Maybe my rhymes aren't serious writing but at least I'm writing and getting down my feelings and that's good enough for me.
If others like it, great. If I get published, great, but I write because I love it and that has to be the main motivator or I'd have given up by now.
I appreciate the praise you shower on me, Cat , most of it unwarranted, I assure you 😉 I enjoy blogging and writing in equal measure and I enjoy self-exploration. I think in that lies our true potential for growth. So, as you says, write because you love it as the main motivator. Lovely to be connected with you, Cat.
I always worry.. check the phone every 2 minutes to see any WP notification. Maybe, its the instant gratification we are getting used to. I have also seen so many well-written blog posts with hardly any comment or like. Personally, I feel that as long as I am worrying about something is because I care about it. This shows your love for writing and the striving for perfection due to it.
I feel the exact same thing. I also feel that everyone out there is better than me! But I have made my peace with it because someone wise once told me that the biggest asset of a creative person is knowing that there is lots to learn. Otherwise we would be so full of ourselves, right?
It happens to us all the time Shailaja and I feel the best way to deal with it is to just face it and get writing what we can and how we can. Surely, there are a certain improvements along the way. Today I am not able to express what I want but a few weeks down, suddenly I am able to hit that publish button on the long awaiting draft. What does this show? That we take in something in the meantime, some gears get aligned and some rampant wires are fixed in our brains and we get it going again.
I love these posts where you try to analyze a writer's soul. They make me ponder a lot.
Yes. I think that is key. I enjoy analysing it, Keirthana, because I believe that the key to growth lies in self-exploration.
Darling. Just. Go. Write. You know that's the only way it works :). So maybe tomorrow you'll decide that today's writing wasn't inspired enough, but still you never know what you'll find until you start writing!
Self-doubt may keep rearing its head, but you have us adoring fans to tell you otherwise ;).
Yes, I'm writing this as a letter. Why? Just because I can!
It's a phase that we all go through. And even if we turn out to be really successful writers with millions of readers, we will always have a little voice asking us if that is the best piece you've written. Or is that the best you could have done. You know the reason for that? No, it's not self-doubt or lack of confidence or any of those things.
It's because every time people like us write, be it a short post for a campaign or one that we pour our hearts out and spreads across multiple posts, we give it our all. We are worried about everything on it from the smallest typos to the misbehaving apostrophe. And that's how people who are in love with writing are. And you know what, that's how it should be.
More power to all of us.
Oh, and one more point. It's because we believe that there is always scope for improvement.
I typically do not rewrite my older posts, Beloo,because they are a reminder of the way I used to write and probably a good yardstick to measure how I have grown as a writer since then 🙂 But I agree with you on the need to constantly work towards improvement, because I think we need to always be learners first. Thank you for such a detailed comment. Much appreciated!


Data from 2014 shows that lawyers held some 778,700 jobs. Demand for legal services is expected to remain strong, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts the occupation to grow six percent during the period of 2014 to 2024. Some attorneys must trudge through heavy city traffic or navigate long distances in rural areas. Here are four useful software features for law practitioners who travel.
Individual attorneys may need to hire a paralegal or other professional to do research or present an expert testimony. No matter what expenses are common with your practice, you can take advantage of custom expense categories to meet your needs.
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All professionals need time away from the office to relax and recharge. Some attorneys additionally spend a good portion of their working hours at trial or in a different city or county. Although potential clients may contact you when you least expect it, you can send proposals and invoices from anywhere you have access to the internet.
Have you offered your services to persons who live abroad? Clients in other countries may find it more convenient to pay you in the local currency, which is no trouble for a good project management tool. Online payment services make collection via credit or debit card possible in virtually any currency, a major improvement over complicated means used in the past.
Lawyers who travel may find it a challenge to stay organized and on top of the administrative aspects of their practice. As shown by the above, online payment services offer great value to today's on-the-go attorneys.


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District finds pattern of bias in judge who DQ'ed teen swimmer
Zachariah Hughes, Alaska Public Media
ASD Superintendent Deena Bishop speaking at a press conference at the district's headquarters (Photo: Zachariah Hughes – Alaska Public Media, Anchorage)
The Anchorage School District is standing behind an athlete who was disqualified from a swim meet Friday.
On Wednesday, the district's superintendent said after investigating the incident it found a "pattern" of bias by the official who made the ruling and is calling for her dismissal. The swimmer's family is asking for an apology from the association that governs the state's high school sports.
A 17-year-old Dimond High School swimmer won a race at a meet on Friday. But a judge disqualified the athlete because she believed the teen's uniform didn't adequately cover her bottom. The official said she was just enforcing rules on the books, but in the days since criticism has poured in from across the country, with many saying the record-holding athlete was singled out and penalized because of how the swimsuit fit her body.
Speaking to local reporters at ASD's headquarters, Superintendent Deena Bishop was clear that after investigating the incident, the district believes the race official was wrong.
"Our assessment was that this decision by the volunteer judge was discriminatory," Bishop said.
Every athlete on the Dimond High team has the same swimsuit. According to Bishop, it wasn't the uniform the official found fault with, it was deciding to apply subjective standards about appropriateness to one single athlete based on how the uniform fit her. If the problem was the swimsuit, then all the other teammates should have been penalized too.
"'Swimming wedgies,' things like that, do occur," Bishop said of competitive swimming, along with bathing suits in general. "We have not found, in our investigation, others who were addressed for their attire. No others on the Dimond team were addressed who were wearing the exact same uniform. The discrimination is really with the body type."
At the same meet, the athlete swam three other races without any uniform infractions noted by officials. According to ASD, it was only after the volunteer judge took over midway through the event that the athlete was penalized.
Bishop and the school district began investigating the incident Saturday. By Monday they asked for the judgement to be over-ruled by the body in charge of high school sports in Alaska. In looking into what happened, the district found that the same judge had acted similarly a year prior. In that instance, the woman had told the swimmer's younger sister, then just 14-years-old, that her swimsuit was inappropriate. Though the girls' family began trying to address the situation then, Bishop said the district was not aware at that point in time.
The frenzy of publicity this week comes right at the start of the new school year, and has caused stress for students, families, and teachers.
"If this incident can help young people and young ladies swim without bias, swim without being targeted, swim without judgement," Bishop said, then "I think it is worthwhile."
The Alaska School Activities Association, which is in charge of the state's high school sports, overturned the disqualification. However, it did so on technical grounds, saying the volunteer judge broke protocol by failing to reach out to the athlete's coach first.
For the swimmer's mother, that isn't good enough.
"That's another gut-punch," said Meagan Kowatch. "That is victimizing her again. She did nothing wrong. She's wearing a legal suit. Her body shape should not have come into factor. Now they're telling her her body isn't appropriate for swimming, and that's not ok."
Kowatch said the incident and it's aftermath have been devastating for her daughter. News reports have gotten facts wrong. Social media posts circulating among high schoolers have caused embarrassment. Her out-going and accomplished daughter should be enjoying the start of senior year, and instead has spent the last few days withdrawn, curled up at home on the couch or in bed.
"She just can't get away from it," Kowatch said.
She appreciated the school district's response, and that students and parents had been reaching out to offer support. But Kowatch is angry at the volunteer judge, and believes an apology is due from ASAA.
ASAA's executive director, Billy Strickland, did not return a message asking whether or not the organization has de-certified the volunteer judge.
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Zachariah Hughes reports on city & state politics, arts & culture, drugs, and military affairs in Anchorage and South Central Alaska. zhughes [at] alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8424 | @ZachHughesAK About Zachariah


Disgraced former defence secretary Liam Fox and his sidekick Adam Werritty's gallivanting round Sri Lanka came under fresh scrutiny last night, reports Shamik Das.
Disgraced former defence secretary Liam Fox and his sidekick Adam Werritty's gallivanting round Sri Lanka came under fresh scrutiny last night.
Yesterday's Newsnight investigated Fox's Sri Lankan trips and links to the SL leadership, talking to Sri Lankan exiles about Fox's closeness to President Rajapaksa, who has many human rights questions hanging over his head, relating to the civil war in the island nation.
• Why did Liam Fox go to Sri Lanka three times to meet its president last year, while William Hague did not go once? In what official capacity did he make his August and November visits?
• Why did he attend Rajapaksa's national party convention? Can he ensure this did not undermine ongoing multilateral efforts at defending human rights, at a critical time for Sri Lanka?
• Why has he been pointedly discreet about these visits – putting out a press release for his visit to Afghanistan last year, but not one in three trips to Sri Lanka?
• It emerged last week that Liam Fox has been accepting large donations from defence firms; can he ensure that this does not interfere with his official responsibilities as shadow secretary of state for defence, and as a representative of the UK government, when he makes repeated visits to government officials in war-torn countries?
Liam Fox's paid-for trips to Sri Lanka, which were revealed by Left Foot Forward last month, are mentioned today in a BBC investigation into MPs' overseas trips paid for by foreign governments.
The BBC, however, has overlooked an incident raised on our original story. In November 2009, Liam Fox spoke in favour of the Sri Lankan government in a Commons debate without mentioning he was in Sri Lanka the week before to attend the president's party convention.
As Left Foot Forward said at the time, the incident occured amid rising allegations of war crimes perpetrated by the Sri Lankan army, and talks in Brussels of suspending a privileged trade agreement between Sri Lanka and the EU over human rights issues – which was indeed suspended last month.
All the focus today is on Sir Gus O'Donnell's report into Fox's conduct, which is expected to conclude he broke the Ministerial Code – yet this is far from the end of the scandal.
For one thing, however, we can thank Mr Werritty – the opaqueness of Big Lobbying has been blown wide open, and looks finally like being regulated, dragged screaming into the sunlight.
He went or fox hunting.


Dynamics for SpaceClaim 1.4 is here with new features that will help you become more efficient and fast when simulating your models. The focus of this release has been on improving the usability as well as speed up improvements.
Added Direct friction model for materials for high quality friction calculation together with a new exceptionally robust contact solver with higher precision. This allows for very realistic grasping simulation with perfectly dry friction.
Automatic calculation of damping for MaterialPairs based on currently set simulation frequency for more stable simulations.
Pressing New initial state will now retain all joints current state, meaning that a violated joint will continue to be violated.
Semantic change in how split works: now split creates a body for each selected component.
Bug fix for initial state and joints (joints retain their violation/parameters at New Initial State).
Fixed a problem with joint elasticity between a single body and the world. Old scenes which make use of this needs to be re-created. It now should follow the rendering, instead of following other axes.
Minor update of playback window with Speed now moved from Simulation Settings.


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Lindblad Reports Q3
Lindblad Expedition Holdings has reported net income of $7.4 million, or $0.16 per share, on revenues of $70.8 million for the third quarter ended Sept.30, 2016, compared to net income of $4.4 million, or $0.10 per share, on revenues of $58.6 million for the same quarter last year.
The increase was largely attributed to the contribution from Natural Habitat, which was acquired in May of 2016.
Lindblad cruise and tour revenues were $56.2 million for the third quarter, down slightly from $58.6 million last year, while Natural Habitat contributed $14.6 million.
The company stated that cruise and tour revenues were down due to a decrease in ticket revenues attributed to higher rates and a change in itineraries leading to a decrease in guest nights.
The average cruise and tour revenue per guest night was $1,272.68 this year, compared to $1,214.96 last year. The ships carried 5,632 guests in the third quarter for an occupancy rate of 90.8 percent.
Net revenue per day per passenger was $1,110.28.
For the nine-month period, Lindblad reported net income of $13.5 million, or $0.30 per share, on revenues of $186.2 million this year, compared to net income of $20.1 million, or $0.45 per share, on revenues of $163.5 million last year.


Home » People » Platinum Butterfly » "Music Connects Us (who takes the stick)"
timberman Me too feeling connected.
"Music Connects Us (who takes the stick)"
Platinum Butterfly brings more than 40 different voices of ccMixter together in a deep house mix to show just how music connects us! What a beautiful testament to the ccMixter community. Bravo!


Is it really necessary to see something with our eyes before we can believe it exists? Many of us would answer with a wholehearted Yes!" Yet when we stop to think about it, much of what we do every day is in response to forces, influences, and realities that we cannot see. We hope that you find encouragement and endurance for your journey here.


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Q: Java downloaded file missing 183 bytes I am trying to download and unzip a file from an FTP server (i.e. ftp://data.ndovloket.nl/netex/arr/NeTEx_ARR_NF_2021-03-01_1431.xml.gz). When downloading this file manually, its size is exactly 6,492,629 bytes. However, when downloading the file using Java, its size is always exactly 6,492,446 bytes, so it seems to be missing 183 bytes every time. Unzipping it then gives an error:

java.util.zip.ZipException: invalid stored block lengths
at java.base/java.util.zip.InflaterInputStream.read(InflaterInputStream.java:165)
at java.base/java.util.zip.GZIPInputStream.read(GZIPInputStream.java:118)
at java.base/java.io.FilterInputStream.read(FilterInputStream.java:107)
at me.bys1.netexreader.Main.copyStream(Main.java:170)
at me.bys1.netexreader.Main.downloadData(Main.java:164)
at me.bys1.netexreader.Main.main(Main.java:123)

I am using the following code:
    private static final void downloadData(final Data data, final File zip, final File file) throws IOException {
        final InputStream inZip = dataManager.getFile(data.path);
        final OutputStream outZip = new FileOutputStream(zip);

        copyStream(inZip, outZip);
        final InputStream in = new GZIPInputStream(new FileInputStream(zip));
        final OutputStream out = new FileOutputStream(file);
        copyStream(in, out); //line 146
    }

    private static final void copyStream(final InputStream in, final OutputStream out) throws IOException {
        /*final byte[] buffer = new byte[4096];
        int n;
        while ((n = in.read(buffer)) != -1) out.write(buffer, 0, n);
        in.close();
        out.close();*/ //other code I tried for copying streams, doesn't make any difference

        final ReadableByteChannel channelIn = Channels.newChannel(in);
        final WritableByteChannel channelOut = Channels.newChannel(out);
        final ByteBuffer buffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(1024);

        while (channelIn.read(buffer) != -1 || buffer.position() > 0) {
            buffer.flip();
            channelOut.write(buffer);
            buffer.compact();
        }

        channelIn.close();
        channelOut.close();
        in.close();
        out.close();
    }

Why is the Java download always missing the same amount of data? It does not happen for all files (I tried some smaller files which worked perfectly, while other files gave different unzipping errors). How can I fix this?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


How can the supply chain and its organizations best minimize the economic hit of tariffs placed on raw materials and goods from China? Maximize efficiency, find effective alternate suppliers, change the country of origin, or simply pass the cost on to the customer in order to maintain a profit.
These are suggestions made by professors in supply chain management within the Harbert College of Business.
The U.S. steel industry peaked in 1973 – producing a combined 229 million tons of iron and steel. By 1982, that total had dropped to 107 metric tons. Since 1990, employment in the steel industry has dipped from almost 400,000 nationwide to approximately 380,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Davis-Sramek noted that the logic for the tariffs is twofold: revive the U.S. steel industry and eliminate dependency on foreign imports for specific resources.
The U.S. economy will need to wait for U.S. steel companies to revive themselves back to full capacity. But is the short-term economic pain worth potential long-term gain?


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#MeToo: Speaking Out Against Sexual Misconduct
The latest news on the national reckoning
Morgan Freeman Apologizes Again, Says He 'Did Not Assault Women'
The statement also suggested that the allegations, made public on Thursday, have caused emotional pain
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images, File
In this March 1, 2016, file photo, actor Morgan Freeman attends a premiere in Hollywood, California.
Actor Morgan Freeman apologized again on Friday after he was accused of harassment and inappropriate behavior by eight women, NBC News reported.
"I did not create unsafe work environments," the actor said in a statement. "I did not assault women. I did not offer employment or advancement in exchange for sex. Any suggestion that I did so is completely false."
The statement also suggested that the allegations, made public on Thursday, have caused emotional pain. The report, by CNN, described "a pattern of inappropriate behavior by Freeman on set, while promoting his movies and at his production company Revelations Entertainment."
In a statement Thursday, Freeman also apologized "to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent."
The Powerful Men in the News Accused of Sexual Misconduct


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Newswire > Tag: New York
The History of the Jewish Deli in NYC
We take a look at the history of the Jewish deli in New York City, including some lesser-known spots keeping traditions ...
7 Best Sites to Visit in NYC's Gateway National Recreation Area
If you're looking for natural and historical places to explore in New York City, consider visiting the Gateway National ...
New York Times: Respect Your Daughter's Choice To Be A Married Man's Mistress
Poetic Justice is an advice column that offers counter-advice to submissions at other publications whose contributors have failed the reader....
Legal Group Sues New York For Prioritizing COVID Treatment Based On Skin Color
The state's prioritization scheme singles out skin color as an element in a person's qualification for treatment when resources are scarce....
Announcing the 14th annual SXSW Pitch Finalists representing the most cutting-edge technologies from across the globe at SXSW 2022. From March 12-13, SXSW Pitch will showcase 45 companies within 9 ...
Glowing Tunnel "Passage" on Display in NYC's Garment District
Through February 13, the Garment District Alliance will present Serge Maheu's minimalist and interactive art installation Passage. Continue reading Glowing Tunnel "Passage" on Display in NYC'...
10 Places to Honor Martin Luther King, Jr. in NYC
10 locations in NYC where Martin Luther King Jr. visited and made his mark, including Carnegie Hall, Riverside Church, and City College. Continue reading 10 Places to Honor Martin Luther King, Jr. in ...
Top 10 Secrets of Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
Boerum Hill offers some fascinating secrets, including a mosaic townhouse, strange signs, and remnants of a substantial Mohawk community. Continue reading Top 10 Secrets of Boerum Hill, Brooklyn at Un...
New York Times: The Wedding Is Racist If It Occurs On Racist Ground


Michelle and Scott were married Thanksgiving weekend at the beautiful Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Ceremony and reception photographed by Anne Sachs and Howard Korn of Artful Weddings. The gorgeous ceremony room was decorated by Flowers & Fancies, as well as the exquisite bride's and bridesmaids' bouquets. After an incredible cocktail hour and dinner by Catering by Alan Weiss,, the band, Millenium, got the party started! Bride's dress from Betsy Robinson's Bridal; Hair by Studio 1612; wedding coordinated by Rachel Fineberg of Mango Productions and video by Jim and Barb Skipper of Black Tie Video. Enjoy!


An incredibly easy, healthy chili perfect for a weeknight meal. Prep and go to work!
In large cast-iron skillet at medium heat, sautee beef and onion 10 minutes until beef is browned. Stir occasionally. Drain.
In slow cooker, add beef and onion, plus remaining ingredients.
Cover slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours.


BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WTHR) – Deputies arrested a man for allegedly breaking into John Mellencamp's home in Monroe County.
Monroe County Sheriff's deputies responded to a home alarm call.
Deputies found the security gate had been rammed open. Police say they found a red Jeep Cherokee near the home.
Deputies found Robert Carter, who said he should "arrest Mellencamp to support a government," which Carter does not support.
Carter admitted to kicking in the door of the home. No one was at home at the time of arrest.
Carter has been charged with burglary, housing and criminal offenses.
9659002] The Bloomington police found Carter on February 6 contacted him and discovered a firearm. Mental health officials took Carter in for an evaluation. After the evaluation, he was taken to Monroe County Correction Center for booking.
Carter was released by court the following day.


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New York Knicks, Rangers and Responsibility Has Its Rewards
The New York Knicks, Michelob Ultra and TEAM have partnered to support the responsible fan program at Madison Square Garden by offering basketball fans the Responsibility Has Its Rewards Sweepstakes. And…
BEST PRACTICES ON DISPLAY: Decide to Ride
Drunk driving is still a major problem in the U.S. today. In the last ten years, alcohol-impaired fatalities on the road have plateaued at around 10,000 fatalities annually. However, recent...
TEAM Coalition News
BEST PRACTICES ON DISPLAY: Responsibility Has Its Rewards at NFL Kickoff Experience
Kicking Off the 2021 NFL Season with Responsibility The NFL Kickoff Experience on September 9, 2021, at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park in Tampa, FL gave TEAM a first-time...
Chicago White Sox Lead League in Move to Ballpark app for Responsible Fan Pledge
The Chicago White Sox worked with MLB Advanced Media to move the Responsibility Has Its Rewards program to the MLB Ballpark app for the 2021 season. The effort is a...
Busch NA
BEST PRACTICES ON DISPLAY: BUSCH NA RHIR SWEEPSTAKES
NASCAR fans are racing over to BUSCHNA.WIN to take the responsible fan pledge. For the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday 4/10/21, Kevin Harvick's #4 Ford...
BEST PRACTICES ON DISPLAY: Carolina Panthers Responsibility Program
The Carolina Panthers did not let the pandemic stop them from promoting responsible drinking with their fans for the 2020 NFL season. The Panthers added the Responsibility Has Its Rewards...
TEAM Board Member Profile – Ashley Cahill, Marketing & Communications Committee Chair
"As the beer industry leader, Anheuser-Busch is committed to fostering a culture of responsible drinking behaviors. As a longtime member of TEAM Coalition, we continue to work together to encourage...
BEST PRACTICES ON DISPLAY – Global Beer Responsible Day
"As the beer industry leader, Anheuser-Busch is committed to fostering a culture of responsible drinking behaviors. As a longtime member of TEAM Coalition, we've had the opportunity to work together...
BEST PRACTICES ON DISPLAY – BUFFALO BILLS
"Partnering with TEAM Coalition on these important initiatives that promote positive, safe and responsible fan behavior has literally helped us reduce the number of incidents at our games, and has...
Americrown
RHIR
Responsible Race Fans Rewarded at the 2020 Auto Club 400
It was a weekend full of thrills on the track for the Auto Club 400 on March 1, 2020 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. Even before the drivers…
Responsibility Has Its Rewards at NBA All-Star 2020 02/12/2020
Designated Driver Recognized at Game 3 of The NBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV 06/06/2019


Sun A, Impa SM, Sunoj VSJ, Singh K, Gill KS, Prasad PVV, Jagadish SVK*. 2017. Heat stress during flowering affects time of day of flowering, seed-set and grain quality in spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Crop Science. Doi:10.2135/cropsci2017.04.0221.
Shi W, Yin X, Struik PC, Solis C, Xie F, Schmidt RC, Huang M, Zou Y, Ye C, Jagadish SVK*. 2017. High day-time and night-time temperature affect grain growth dynamics in contrasting rice genotypes. Journal of Experimental Botany, 68(18):5233-5245.
Šebela D, Quinones C, Cruz CV, Ona I, Olejníčková J, Jagadish SVK*. 2017. Chlorophyll fluorescence and reflectance-based non-invasive quantification of blast, bacterial blight and drought stresses in rice. Plant and Cell Physiology 1;59(1):30-43.
John Sunoj, VS, Somayanda IM, Chiluwal A, Perumal R, Vara Prasad PV, Jagadish SVK*. 2017. Resilience of pollen and post-flowering response in diverse sorghum genotypes exposed to heat stress under field conditions. Crop Science 17. doi:10.2135/cropsci2016.08 (KSRE 17-080-J).
Quinones C, Mattes N, Faronilo J, Sudhir-Yadav*, Jagadish SVK*. 2017. Drought stress reduces grain yield by altering the floral meristem development and sink size under dry-seeded rice cultivation. Crop Science (In press).
Bheemanahalli R, Sathishraj R, Manoharan M, Sumanth HN, Muthurajan R, Ishimaru T, Jagadish SVK. 2016. Is Early Morning Flowering an effective trait to minimize heat stress damage during flowering in rice? Field Crops Research 203, 1-5.
Bahuguna RN, Jagadish SVK*, Coast O, Wassmann R. 2014. Plant Abiotic Stress: Temperature Extremes. In: Neal Van Alfen, editor-in-chief. Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Food Systems, Vol. 4, San Diego: Elsevier, pp. 330-334.
Craufurd PQ, Jagadish SVK, Jon Padgham. 2011. Impacts of climate change on rainfed agriculture and adaptation strategies to improve livelihoods. In: Integrated Watershed Management in Rainfed Agriculture; Eds Wani SP, Rockstrom J and Sahrawat KL. CRC Press, pp. 421-437.
Impa SM, Nadaradjan S, Jagadish SVK*. 2011. Drought stress induced reactive oxygen species and anti-oxidants in plants. In: Abiotic Stress Responses in Plants: Metabolism, Productivity and Sustainability. Eds. P. Ahmad and M.N.V. Prasad. pp 131-148.


Classes integrate English speaking, listening, pronunciation, vocabulary, reading, and writing. Technology is integrated into all classes as well. While in class, students will have an opportunity to think about their education and/or career next steps.
Our morning program has four levels, A-D, and a Reading/Writing Foundations class for students who need special help with reading and writing. Morning classes meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00am-12noon.
Our evening program has a literacy class, the Reading/Writing Foundations class, and five levels of core English, 1-5. Evening classes meet Tuesday and Thursday from 6:00pm-9:00pm.
SCALE has a waitlist for classes. Sometimes the wait can be a year or more. When we have space in classes, we will call you or send you a letter asking you to come in for testing so that we can place you in the correct level class.