text:
the complete review - fiction
Author: Philip Roth
Genre: Novel
Written: 2010
Availability: Nemesis - US
Nemesis - UK
Nemesis - Canada
Némésis - France
Nemesis - Deutschland
Nemesi - Italia
Némesis - España
B : a very solid build-up and addresses intriguing questions, but undermined by its third act
Entertainment Weekly B+ 6/10/2010 Jeff Giles
Financial Times . 11/10/2010 Adrian Turpin
The Guardian . 2/10/2010 Christopher Tayler
The Independent . 1/10/2010 Matt Thorne
The Jerusalem Post . 15/10/2010 Glenn C. Altschuler
London Rev. of Books . 4/11/2010 Tim Parks
New Statesman . 14/10/2010 Leo Robson
The NY Rev. of Books . 28/10/2010 J.M.Coetzee
The NY Times B 5/10/2010 Michiko Kakutani
The NY Times Book Rev. . 10/10/2010 Leah Hager Cohen
The Observer A 3/10/2010 Edward Docx
San Francisco Chronicle . 3/10/2010 Susanna Sonnenberg
Scotland on Sunday D 10/10/2010 Stuart Kelly
The Spectator A 9/10/2010 Lewis Jones
The Telegraph . 1/10/2010 Tim Martin
The Telegraph B 10/10/2010 Tibor Fischer
The Telegraph . 7/10/2010 Bob Minzesheimer
The Washington Post . 5/10/2010 Roxana Robinson
Review Consensus:
No consensus, with varying opinions about all aspects of it -- and lots noting it has more of the feel of a short story/novella
From the Reviews:
"This would have been a stunning short story." - Jeff Giles, Entertainment Weekly
"(A)s the reader comes to see in the masterful third "act" of Nemesis, Bucky�s fatal flaw is not the moral cowardice he fears but the manner in which he lets guilt paralyse his life, like a polio of the soul, and the hubris he shows in believing that he can battle the "tyranny of contingency"." - Adrian Turpin, Financial Times
"But in the end, and despite the sometimes bizarre spectacle of Roth setting up uninflected niceness to crush, Nemesis is most memorable as his least contemptuously spun out story since Everyman." - Christopher Tayler, The Guardian
"It's the final third of the novel which elevates this tragic story beyond a series of miserable events and back towards Roth's grand theme: the injustice of fate. What makes Roth such an important novelist is the effortless way he brings together the trivial and the profoundly serious" - Matt Thorne, The Independent
"Unsatisfying as philosophy, Nemesis comes alive as Roth re-creates the sights, smells and sensibilities of wartime Weequahic." - Glenn C. Altschuler, The Jerusalem Post
"Roth is not much interested in the vacillating mind: his dilemmas are short-lived. (...) The introduction of Arnold as a narrator allows Roth to remind us that the Greeks saw as divine intervention what modern man thinks of as the merest bad luck while at the same time distancing himself from the debate and leaving his own position unclear. But so brazenly are we thrust towards this textbook enigma that readers may find themselves more intrigued by the author�s loyalty to tired literary stratagems than interested in the fate of characters who were never much more than pieces on a chessboard." - Tim Parks, London Review of Books
"(D)espite the book's deterministic structure, its prose never falters or fails to compel. (...) There is little messing around or hanging about. A thought occurs to him, and he's off; eventually, he makes his way back to the original thought -- no shortness of breath, not a hint of brow-sweat. Then a new thought occurs to him, and he's off again." - Leo Robson, New Statesman
"Nemesis is an artfully constructed, suspenseful novel with a cunning twist toward the end. Generally, a reviewer will try not to spoil the impact of a book by giving away its proper secrets. But I see no way of exploring Nemesis further without breaking this rule. (...) Nemesis itself is not really large enough in conception -- in the inherent capacities of the characters it deploys, in the action it gives them to play out -- to do more than scratch the surface of the great questions it raises. Despite its length (280 pages) it has the feel of a novella." - J.M.Coetzee, The New York Review of Books
"That Bucky is such a one-dimensional character makes for a pallid, predictable story line in which the random workings of fate and the fate of temperament � rather than genuine free choice � are the narrative drivers. It�s all a bit by the numbers, though Mr. Roth executes Bucky�s story with professionalism and lots of granular period detail. (...) It�s not unmoving, exactly, but all a little synthetic -- less like a vintage Roth narrative than like a very well-executed O. Henry story, complete with a deliberately ironic plot twist and a sentimental outcome." - Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
"His newest, Nemesis, stands out for its warmth. It is suffused with precise and painful tenderness. (...) Is it impertinent to suggest Roth outdoes himself here by getting out of his own way ? This short book has all his brilliance, minus the bluster. And it�s a love story. I�m not thinking of Bucky and his girl, but of the narrator and Bucky. Roth achieves something strange and good here with point of view." - Leah Hager Cohen, The New York Times Book Review
"Nemesis -- if it's not too sinister to say so -- is a breath of fresh air, because polio provides Roth with a new, outward-looking and substantial subject around which his writing can thrive; and, perhaps for this reason, the book contains many of the things that I find most exhilarating in his work. (...) Then there's the sheer delight of his style -- that sustained, lucid, precise and subtly cadenced prose that can keep you inside the dynamic (and often contradictory) thoughts of one of his characters without a paragraph break for as many pages as he wants." - Edward Docx, The Observer
"Nemesis is oddly neat, the first two of its three sections like a right and a left hand -- obvious in their balance, even pedantic in the brief, expert history lesson about polio. I suspect that Roth can do this with his eyes closed (.....) There's a curious archaic quality to the grammar and dialogue, heightening the stagy, everyman aspect of the story." - Susanna Sonnenberg, San Francisco Chronicle
"Roth's novel manages to be both onerous and slight (...) None of this is made any more convincing by lacklustre prose. At times Roth is just careless -- split infinitives, bald clichés -- and at others, the combination of information dump and unwieldy sentences is the opposite of elegant" - Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday
"Roth is best known for sex and jokes, and Nemesis features neither, but it is a masterly performance none the less: an angry kaddish, or furious act of mourning, as deft and subtle in its construction as it is wrenchingly violent emotionally. Unmistakably a late work, it recalls Beethoven�s Op. 127." - Lewis Jones, The Spectator
"Nemesis is told in a narrative voice that sometimes borders on the pallid. The unmistakable Roth delivery -- that inimitably juicy, excoriating, grandstanding blend of the demotic and the literary that peaks in ranting splendour in the best of his long novels -- is here reduced to a narrative voice that seems to flirt with banality." - Tim Martin, The Telegraph
"Roth does an excellent job of conjuring up the fear that polio caused before the arrival of a vaccine. (...) Cantor is one of Roth�s best creations and the atmosphere of terror is masterfully fashioned, but it doesn�t disguise the fact that Nemesis is at best a long short story which has been padded out with lengthy descriptions of Newark, lengthy descriptions of kids playing and lengthy descriptions of the history and effects of polio. Roth does all this with great skill, but this recreation of 1940s New Jersey is, I�d wager, of more interest to the author than the reader." - Tibor Fischer, The Telegraph
"Nemesis is painful and powerful. It reminds us how much worse life used to be and about the two kinds of tragedies: the ones that strike us and the ones we make for ourselves." - Bob Minzesheimer, USA Today
"The book's most serious flaw, however, is not its flagging energy but an odd lacuna that occurs in many of Roth's books. His work is rich with philosophical inquiry, deep with intellectual exploration, but lacking in emotional range. He seems unable to write convincingly of the drama at the center of our lives: a deep, vital and passionate commitment to another person. Roth doesn't create a loving bond that's both intellectual and erotic, one that entails trust and respect as well as carnal intent. He writes tenderly about the family, but only from the viewpoint of a son or grandson; he writes with little depth or understanding about wives, girlfriends or mistresses. Absent from his work is that lifelong dialogue between lovers, the chronicle of their fierce struggle to engage on every level." - Roxana Robinson, The Washington Post
Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.
Nemesis is presented in three chapters, the first two (and the bulk of the small book) covering only a short period in the summer of 1944, the third, 'Reunion', a sort of postscript that completes the story in 1971. Nemesis is the story of Eugene 'Bucky' Cantor, twenty-three, a P.E. teacher just out of college who couldn't go off to fight in World War II -- much as he was eager to -- because of his terrible eyesight. So while his best friends were storming the beaches on D-Day he was performing his summer job-duties as playground director, not called on to doing anything more dangerous than standing up to some wannabe Italian toughs until the police come. Yes, he was: "the most exemplary and revered authority we knew" -- but that merely to a group of young kids.
The narrator is almost omniscient, the narrative following closely at Bucky's heels, describing the details of his humdrum life, with only the occasional indication, in the first two parts, as to the narrator's identity. He mentions, for example, that Bucky taught at a local school, and so he: "already knew many of us who habituated the playground from the gym classes he taught" -- but the boy does not identify himself, remaining just one in a crowd: this is Bucky's story, and if Bucky is not the one telling it the focus is still entirely on his experiences.
In the final section the narrator finally steps forward and introduces himself, and takes over the narrative reins more clearly: he's Arnold Mesnikoff, one of the boys from the playground now -- in 1971 -- all grown who ran into Mr.Cantor and, over weekly lunches together, got to hear Bucky's whole story -- the events of 1944, and then the aftermath. Whereas Mesnikoff is willingly Cantor's mouthpiece for the 1944-sections, drawing almost no attention to his own minor role back then, he can't bring himself to remain a mere recounter for the rest. He doesn't like how things turned out, and how Cantor reacted; he insists on telling it his way, allowing Cantor some say but also taking the story firmly in hand and voicing his strong opinion too; Mesnikoff's own life (as example) also comes into play, as he thinks it shows how things could have turned out differently for Cantor.
Bucky seems a nice but harmless fellow, not exceptionally bright but a decent sort. It's hard not to see him as mock-heroic: a diminutive figure -- he's not even five foot five -- who, instead of waging noble battle (like his army-friends), is reduced to wiping the Italian spit off the playground. But the times have brought an enemy to Newark: polio has broken out again, an invisible enemy that strikes -- often hard and fast -- and which no one knows how to protect themselves against. Bucky seems like a voice of reason, calming the kids and trying to calm their parents.
Bucky has a girlfriend, Marcia, off working at a summer camp in the Poconos, and her father is a doctor, who reassures Bucky:
Fear unmans us. Fear degrades us. Fostering less fear -- that's your job and mine.
For the most part, Bucky does that well, but fear does get to him too (and, with a couple of playground-regulars quickly keeling over, one can't really blame him): Marcia offers him a way out when a position opens up at her camp. Instead of fulfilling his obligations at the playground, he quits and heads for the safety of the hills. He gets an earful from his boss:
You realize that you haven't exactly won my confidence by pulling a stunt like this. You realize that leaving me in the lurch in July like this isn't likely to make me disposed to ever hire you again, Cancer.
Quitting in this way is out of character; it's also bad timing: after a few more days the authorities shut down all the playgrounds anyway, and he could have left with a cleaner conscience. As it turns out, it doesn't much matter: what's a bit more guilt and shame ? Because Cantor already carries loads of it with him, and because he also carries more than that: his boss had it right, he is a cancer.
Cantor's mother died in childbirth, and his father was a criminal, and he has always felt considerable guilt about that. Not being able to fight in the war weighs on him too. This new invisible threat, polio, is yet another thing he can't tackle head-on; of course, it becomes yet another thing that defeats him.
Mesnikoff is philosophical:
Sometimes you're lucky and sometimes you're not. Any biography is chance, and, beginning at conception, chance -- the tyranny of contingency -- is everything. Chance is what I believed Mr.Cantor meant when he was decrying what he called God.
Unable to direct his anger elsewhere, Cantor directed it against: "the source, the creator -- against God, who made the virus". Mesnikoff's kind of fatalism was and remained foreign to him: he needed to place blame -- and it was his bad luck that he had so much bad luck that wherever he placed it the weight was still crushing.
Mesnikoff correctly diagnoses him:
Bucky, you've always been this way. You could never put things at the right distance -- never ! You're always holding yourself accountable when you're not. Either it's terrible God who is accountable, or its terrible Bucky Cantor who is accountable, when in fact accountability belongs to neither. Your attitude toward God -- it's juvenile, it's just plain silly.
These are the big questions the novel wants to grapple with, of god and accountability and guilt and evil and chance; the book's failure comes with Mesnikoff elbowing to the front and guiding us with his conclusions and his easy condemnation of Bucky's blame-throwing and shame-wracked poor decision-making. Despite what they say, there's really nothing wrong, per se, with a novelist explicitly telling rather than showing -- but it's all in the telling. For almost 240 of the 280 pages of this book Roth lets Bucky's disaster unfold more or less on its own. There are frequent reminders of what's already going through Bucky's head: "He had never gotten over the shame of not being with them" (fighting in the war), for example, or how:
He was struck by how lives diverge and by how powerless each of us is up against the force of circumstances. And where does God figure in this ? [...] For someone who had previously found in diligence and hard work the solution to all his problems, there was now much that was inexplicable to him about why what happens, happens as it does.
It's obvious, too, that despite the appearance of picture-perfect romance the heavy seed of shame/guilt/doubt will sprout and affect Bucky's relationship with Marcia; from the first he does not see himself as worthy of Marcia (and her perfect family).
Roth's blunt third act is only superficially powerful, his second-hand approach, now completely brought to the fore in Mesnikoff's dominating voice, deflating sad sack Bucky's tragedy and all the big questions it brings with it. Instead of truly confronting them head-on, Mesnikoff also readily provides an alternate version and answer, with Bucky relegated to has-been role, barely a life lesson left in him except from long, long ago.
Nemesis begins rather slowly and deliberately, and plods on, like boring Bucky himself, for quite a while. The hysteria (and tragedy) that the polio epidemic caused -- and efforts by people like Bucky to maintain some sense of normalcy and calm -- are captured well, as is the Newark heat of that summer, and the Jewish neighborhood. Roth takes his time, and the build-up can seem very slow; Bucky, too, can seem too good to be true -- too obviously being set up for one hell of a fall. Still, it works well enough, Roth's confident if occasionally lazy prose consistently engaging. But the novel winds up taking that turn and jump -- over a whole quarter of a century. Roth makes it too easy for himself -- and the reader. The big questions are thrown out there, but then just quickly checked off. It works, but barely; it's certainly disappointing (redeemed only slightly by a fine retrospective closing scene.)
Nemesis is worthwhile but puzzling, and certainly falls short of what it could have been.
- M.A.Orthofer, 18 October 2010
Nemesis:
Vintage publicity page
Vintage (UK) publicity page
Interview in Esquire
Interview at npr
B&N Review
Cleveland Plain-Dealer
A Commonplace Blog
Falter German
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung German
It�s Mike Ettner�s Blog
Killin' Time Reading
Mark My Words
The Mookse and the Gripes
MostlyFiction Book Reviews
The Oxonian Review
Reader at Large
shigekuni
Short Book Reviews
Too Many Books, Too Little Time
Philip Roth:
The Philip Roth Society
Philip Roth at books and writers
Q & A in The Paris Review
Profile by Al Alvarez in The Guardian
Other books by Philip Roth under review:
American Pastoral
The Ghost Writer
Indignation
The Prague Orgy
See Index of Contemporary American fiction
American author Philip Roth (1933-2018) wrote many highly acclaimed works and won numerous literary prizes.


text:
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text:
Publisher: Bancroft Library. Oral History Center
Advocacy and Rights(122)
Legislation and Politics(18)
Arleigh Taber Williams, 1912-1991(4)
Charles Carr, 1953-(3)
Diane Coleman, 1953-(3)
University of California, Berkeley(9)
Boston Center for Independent Living(3)
World Institute on Disability(3)
Disabilities(135)
Social activism and activists(135)
The Sixties (1960–1974)(18)
Adrienne Asch: Disability Scholar and Advocate, Professor of Bioethics
(Berkeley, CA: Bancroft Library. Oral History Center, 2007),
Source: digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu
Adrienne Asch, professor and director of the Center for Ethics at Yeshiva University, was interviewed for the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement oral history project to document her contributions for more than three decades as an activist and scholar. She has had an important role as advocate and ac...
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Adrienne Asch, professor and director of the Center for Ethics at Yeshiva University, was interviewed for the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement oral history project to document her contributions for more than three decades as an activist and scholar. She has had an important role as advocate and activist on disability issues in New York and nationally. Her scholarly work is broadly focused on the ethical, political, psychological,... Adrienne Asch, professor and director of the Center for Ethics at Yeshiva University, was interviewed for the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement oral history project to document her contributions for more than three decades as an activist and scholar. She has had an important role as advocate and activist on disability issues in New York and nationally. Her scholarly work is broadly focused on the ethical, political, psychological, and social implications of human reproduction and the family, to which she contributes a nuanced disability perspective. Show more Show less
Bancroft Library. Oral History Center
Social activism and activists, Disabilities
Copyright © 2009 by The Regents of the University of California
Alana Theriault
Source: vm136.lib.berkeley.edu
Advocate on independent living and disability employment issues.
Alana Theriault: Crafting a Life of Independence and Advocacy
Source: www.lib.berkeley.edu
During her life Alana Theriault has fought for the right to live independently, to have adequate benefits and supports, and to be employed; and she has turned her hard-won experience into expertise which has benefited innumerable other people with disabilities. Theriault is highly regarded in California, and natio...
During her life Alana Theriault has fought for the right to live independently, to have adequate benefits and supports, and to be employed; and she has turned her hard-won experience into expertise which has benefited innumerable other people with disabilities. Theriault is highly regarded in California, and nationally, for her knowledge and advocacy related to navigating public and private sector cash and health benefits systems, work incentive... During her life Alana Theriault has fought for the right to live independently, to have adequate benefits and supports, and to be employed; and she has turned her hard-won experience into expertise which has benefited innumerable other people with disabilities. Theriault is highly regarded in California, and nationally, for her knowledge and advocacy related to navigating public and private sector cash and health benefits systems, work incentive policies, and independent living resources. Show more Show less
American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD)
A coalition of national, state, and local disability organizations active from 1975 to 1983, ACCD brought a cross-disability perspective to the movement and took a leading role in the national effort to force implementation of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and passage of the Education of all Handic...
A coalition of national, state, and local disability organizations active from 1975 to 1983, ACCD brought a cross-disability perspective to the movement and took a leading role in the national effort to force implementation of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and passage of the Education of all Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Oral histories with several founders and leaders in ACCD are in the DRILM collection.
Anita (Aaron) Baldwin
Deputy director and head of blind services, Center for Independent Living, Berkeley, early 1980s. Listen to audio clip:On the chaotic atmosphere at the Center for Independent Living, Berkeley, in the early 80s. Read audio clip transcript: On the chaotic atmosphere at the Center for Independent Living, Berkeley, in...
Deputy director and head of blind services, Center for Independent Living, Berkeley, early 1980s. Listen to audio clip:On the chaotic atmosphere at the Center for Independent Living, Berkeley, in the early 80s. Read audio clip transcript: On the chaotic atmosphere at the Center for Independent Living, Berkeley, in the early 80s.
Anna Fay
Founding member of the New York Metropolitan Chapter of the National Paraplegia Foundation, the Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York, and the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities. View video clip: On the development of her disability identity during the demonstration against gasoline rat...
Founding member of the New York Metropolitan Chapter of the National Paraplegia Foundation, the Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York, and the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities. View video clip: On the development of her disability identity during the demonstration against gasoline rationing. View video clip: On the defining issues for the disability movement in the 1970s in New York.
Anthony L. "Tony" Coelho
U.S. Congressman, 1978-1989, Sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Anthony L. "Tony" Coelho: Congressional Advocate for Disability Rights, Chair of the Epilepsy Foundation
The oral history with Tony Coelho was initiated as part of the Social and Political Advocacy in the Epilepsy Community project, an outgrowth of the Regional Oral History Office's ongoing series of oral histories on the disability rights and independent living movements. Including the perspectives of self-advocat...
The oral history with Tony Coelho was initiated as part of the Social and Political Advocacy in the Epilepsy Community project, an outgrowth of the Regional Oral History Office's ongoing series of oral histories on the disability rights and independent living movements. Including the perspectives of self-advocates, parents, and representatives of epilepsy organizations, the project explores the development of grassroots political activism, chan... The oral history with Tony Coelho was initiated as part of the Social and Political Advocacy in the Epilepsy Community project, an outgrowth of the Regional Oral History Office's ongoing series of oral histories on the disability rights and independent living movements. Including the perspectives of self-advocates, parents, and representatives of epilepsy organizations, the project explores the development of grassroots political activism, changes in the social and political climate surrounding epilepsy, and the role of the epilepsy community in the disability rights movement. Show more Show less
Anthony Tusler
Director, Disability Resource Center, Sonoma State University, 1975-1997; Cofounder, Institute on Alcohol, Drugs and Disability, 1990. Listen to audio clip: On not recognizing disability in others. Read audio clip transcript: On not recognizing disability in others.
Architectural Accessibility and Disability Rights in Berkeley and Japan
(Berkeley, CA: Bancroft Library. Oral History Center),
Source: ark.cdlib.org
Yoshihiko Kawauchi was interviewed for the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement Oral History Series because he is a leader in the disability rights movement in Japan, and an international expert in the field of universal design. Inspired by legal advances for people with disabilities in the United Sta...
Yoshihiko Kawauchi was interviewed for the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement Oral History Series because he is a leader in the disability rights movement in Japan, and an international expert in the field of universal design. Inspired by legal advances for people with disabilities in the United States, which he learned about as a visitor in the late 1980s, Mr. Kawauchi founded Legal Advocacy for the Defense of People and Disabilit... Yoshihiko Kawauchi was interviewed for the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement Oral History Series because he is a leader in the disability rights movement in Japan, and an international expert in the field of universal design. Inspired by legal advances for people with disabilities in the United States, which he learned about as a visitor in the late 1980s, Mr. Kawauchi founded Legal Advocacy for the Defense of People and Disabilities (LADD) in 1995. LADD was the first organization in Japan dedicated to advancing the civil rights of people with disabilities using law and policy as primary tools. Professor Raymond Lifchez has long been recognized for his groundbreaking work in the field of architectural accessibility for persons with disabilities in the 1970s. His Design for Independent Living in 1979, nominated for the American Book Award, was a pioneer study in the relationship of architecture and people with disabilities. In his long career in the Department of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, he initiated the practice of using consultants with disabilities in his design studios, an innovation for which he received the Distinguished Teaching Award at the university. He described this process in his book, Rethinking Architecture (1987). This interview is primarily concerned with Raymond Lifchez's contributions to the field of architectural access. Toward the end of the interview, he touches on a few of his other academic specialties. Show more Show less
Yoshihiko Kawauchi, 1953-, Raymond Lifchez, 1932-
Social activism and activists, Disabilities, Late 20th Century (1975–2000), The Sixties (1960–1974)


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Or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the Y-seam*.
I happened to have a large piece of sweatshirt fabric which makes a great platform for arranging the blocks. I arranged the blocks so there are hardly any blocks with orange centers next to each other. I think the overall effect isn't too "orange", so I'm pleased with it, at least so far.
I am not using the traditional layout of offsetting the blocks that you usually see on GFG quilts. Instead, I am setting them side by side, with lots of light colored connecting hexies in between. This has the overall effect of lightening overall color of the quilt. I am also adding some colored blocks to add a bit of interest and so as not to lighten it too much.
I was idly thinking of putting together a tutorial on machine sewing hexies, but then I found this excellent YouTube video, which explains the piecing process extremely well. It focuses on a product to print the fabric with the sewing and cutting lines, but the basic sewing can be adapted for use without the printing. There are a few other videos out there that explain machine sewing hexies, but I think this one is the best that I've seen. What I've done is to make a cardboard hexagon, shown above, and carefully made holes at each intersection. After transferring these to the fabric hexies, it's easy to sew from one point to the other.
I have to apologize for the poor quality of photographs. One of the things I really want for my new sewing room is a photo station, with lots of lights so I can get good closeups.
Also, when sewing the blocks to the connectors, I've discovered that it helps to number the blocks, so I don't sew the wrong ones together. I'm using a Frixion pen, so the marks all disappear when the pieces are pressed.
A few other notes about machine sewing hexies.
First, accurate cutting is vitally important! If your hexies aren't perfectly cut, there is no way in the world you will end up with a precisely pieced quilt. I used a Hexagon Ruler by Darlene Zimmerman, also available at Joann's Fabrics. I was careful to cut no more than three layers of fabric at a time, to ensure accuracy.
Second, know your machine and its capabilities. I used the quilter's piecing foot and the straight stitch throat plate, which helps with precision sewing. I also noticed that when I start stitching, the fabric slides backwards just a bit, not even a millimeter, so I would position my mark towards the back of the hole in the foot. Third, never sew into the seam allowance, not even half a stitch. If you are not able to position the needle to sew precisely enough, it helps to sew the seam a bit short. You will be able to pivot the hexie for the next seam and the gap won't show.
One video I saw mentioned to use the locking foot, but I found that backstitching one or two stitches at the beginning and end of each seam to work much better, and was easier to rip out if I needed to. Which I did, at least at first. The video in the link above recommends using the needle down position, but I found the needle up position to work better for me. When the needle stops in the down position the foot rises just a bit. Then is great for sewing curves, but not for this application. I prefer the presser foot to be firmly on the fabric at all time.
I found that steam pressing the hexies really helps. I know there is a feeling among many never to use steam when pressing quilt pieces, but in this case I find it essential. I also steam pressed all the seams prior to sewing the blocks together on the Blue and Cream Quilt. Speaking of which, the Blue and Cream Quilt has been completely pieced and quilted, but not bound. Once it is out of storage, I'll finish that project with a post.
After each sewing session, I can roll up all the pieces in the sweatshirt fabric, and lay it aside so we can sleep in the bed. Sort of a removable design wall.
If you would like to see the progress of this quilt to date, just click on this link!
* For my non English speaking readers, the title of the post is a play on the movie, Dr Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, a political black comedy loosely based on the novel Red Alert, by Peter George (which I actually have read).
Just a bit of alliteration to brighten your day.
The blocks are all finished! I've been continuing to machine piece them, and I'm getting better at it all the time.
There are still a few wrinkles here and there, but I think once the quilt is put together, they won't be too noticeable.
The two previous blocks look quite similar, but the aren't. I'll still place them far apart on the quilt.
At first, I was afraid that there is too much orange in the quilt, as I had more orange centers than other colors.
Even these with purple centers read orange. Of course, there is nothing wrong with orange, just that I didn't want an orange quilt.
I won't be able to tell how orange the quilt will turn out until I put it all together. Next post, arranging and sewing the blocks and the connectors. My QA guy is bored with the blocks, and declined the photo shoot.
I've been pretty busy with the Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt, and getting in a lot of TV time while I'm working it.
But the hand sewing has been hard on my fingers, as I tend to stab into them to make sure I've penetrated both layers of fabric. Then I thought, since I am marking each of the corners for accurate placement, if I've very careful and slow, I should be able to do this on the machine, right?
And yes, Blocks 25 - 27 are all machine sewn.
I'll take some good photos of the process to share with you. I was able to sew three of them in less time than it takes to hand sew one.
I'm sure many will say, but hand sewing is so relaxing! Yes, it is, but I have plenty of other projects that require hand work.
But he wants this moving toy!
Only eight more flower blocks to go, and all the connecting pieces, and I'll be ready to put it all together.
I've been looking for quilting ideas, and have come across a few on, where else, Pinterest, but I need to document them for future reference. I may quilt this myself, in spite of my long standing aversion to quilting.
This is a pretty boring post, just showing how much progress I've made on my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.
And yes, they are all hand pieced, which is a bit more forgiving than machine piecing. I can steam out quite a few little imperfections so the flowers all look pretty nice. Whether they all go together well remains to be seen.
So far, no more duplicates, and I don't think there are any more. I mentioned previously that I had kitted all the flowers, so all the pieces are sorted for piecing.
We are watching this little guy almost every day now, and I have to say it is so much fun. He's much more interested in his book at this point than the quilt.
Only 16 more flowers left to piece, and of course, all the connecting pieces. This will be a twin sized quilt, for a day bed I plan to purchase for our new home.
The quilt on the bed is one I made about 15 years ago. I purchased an entire set of fat quarters of a Moda collection, along with beige and green Moda Marbles for the sashing. The blocks are seven one inch (2.5 cm) squares on a side, making the finished blocks seven inches (17.75 cm) square. The sashing strips are three one inch strips with three inch (7.6 cm) blocks at each intersection. When I made the quilt, I was doing quite a bit of traveling to our test site in the Antelope Valley, north of Los Angeles. Since often I couldn't do any testing due to the weather, I would bring my sewing machine and fabric and would piece away in the hotel. I have to say, it worked pretty well.
It's snowing here in Northern Colorado, but since the new house now has the windows and doors installed, the builders can work inside in relative comfort.
This is the latest photo of the house, taken between Christmas and New Year's. The garage doors have been installed, along with the blank front door. A blank is used until all the finish trim work and painting is completed, then the real front door will be installed so as to avoid any damage to it. Notice the windows on the small garage door are different from the main door, the builder will look into it next week.
All the plumbing and HVAC venting is installed, even the hot water heater is there. Just nothing is hooked up. We had the electrical walk through last week. I've added a good 25% more outlets than was in the original plan, figuring you can never have too many. On the advice of our youngest son (the theoretical physicist) I'm having ethernet connectors installed in the bedrooms and family room. That way we can rely on wireless only for phones and tablets. It makes for much more reliable connections and faster download speeds.
It should be finished sometime in March, and we will move in by mid April.
Don't worry! I'm not doing a retrospective of 2015 nor a preview of 2016, except for a few immediate and one very large project. This coming Monday, Jan 4, I will be attending a function at our local library to help show what the library has to offer the community.
So this weekend I intend to get the Dimity Dreams dress into shape, to show that smocking is alive (barely) and well (slightly) in Northern Colorado.
Since I'm in the Tatting Group that meets at the library, this is what I'll be working on. I made the hanky with some fine handkerchief linen and am tatting an edging for it. It's not the super fine, No 80 tatting thread but instead a somewhat respectable No 50 DMC Cordonnet. I'll sew some of it on to show how to attach the edging to the hanky.
But I'll also show the smocking in the above photos, bring some flyers and extra copies of the SAGA Newsletter, and try to generate some interest. In case you are wondering, I do have permission from the library staff to do this. I will finish the back smocking, then construct the dress as much as possible to have something nice to show.
My big project is of course my new house, and I'll post an update on it later this week. One item I really want in it is a photo station. It is sadly needed, as you can tell by the poor quality of photos.
It's now Friday morning and time to turn on the Twilight Zone marathon!


The week before Thanksgiving I made this for the boy and I. Very easy to make and very tasty. Neither the boy or I are big on mayonnaise, but we both loved the sauce. I served it with some mixed wild rice and a some vegetables that I had on hand and chopped up and cooked up. Enjoy!
Sounds yummy! I like mayo-based sauces on fish so I'll have to try this one.
Hi Jilly! I tagged you on my blog!


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Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid Fighting Game Announced
It's fightin' time.
By Colin Stevens
Updated: 4 Mar 2019 8:29 pm
Posted: 17 Jan 2019 8:16 pm
Power Rangers:
Power Rangers: Seasons 13 -17
$92.95on Amazon
Battle for the Grid, an upcoming fighting game made by developer nWay, has been announced for an April release on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, and a PC release for sometime later in 2019.
Described as an "easy to learn but hard to master" fighting game, Battle for the Grid spans the Power Rangers' 25-year history and pits new and classic Rangers and villains against each other in team battles. Those who buy the game on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch or PC will be able to cross-play online across these platforms, and "mission progress" they achieve can be accessed across platforms as well. More details for Battle for the Grid will arrive in the coming weeks.
In the announcement teaser below, you can see three rangers who appear to be playable fighters: Red Ranger Jason Lee Scott, Green Ranger Tommy Oliver and what appears to be Yellow Ranger Gia Moran from Power Rangers Megaforce. The trailer ends with a quick cameo appearance from original Green Ranger actor Jason David Frank.
Developer nWay created the mobile fighter Power Rangers: Legacy Wars. It appears Battle for the Grid could be a console and PC adaptation of this game. Legacy Wars was eventually updated to add Street Fighter characters.
The standard digital download will be available for $20 while a special digital collector's edition will be available to pre-order for $40 - this contains the full game download, a Season One Pass (which includes three new characters, their "Arcade story" and a new warrior skin), and exclusive Lord Drakkon Evo II and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Pink Ranger character skins. Those who preorder will receive an exclusive Green Ranger V2 character skin and digital art book.
"Power Rangers fans have been asking for a high fidelity fighting game on console and PC that match up iconic Rangers and villains across the expansive Power Rangers multiverse for quite some time now," said Taehoon Kim, CEO of nWay. "We wanted to deliver this to the fans and make sure it has cross-play and cross-progression capabilities as we believe playing with friends across multiple platforms at the same time is where the future of gaming is headed."
Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid Announcement
For more Power Ranger news, read about how Spider-Man influenced the Power Rangers, check out our list of the 25 best Mighty Morphin Power Rangers episodes, and take a look at eight things we think a Power Rangers movie sequel needs to get right.
Colin Stevens is a news writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, learn more.
Rated "TV-Y7"
DeveloperNickelodeon
Release DateDecember 6, 2005
PlatformsN/A
IGN LogoRecommends
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Home > Startup Corner > Startup Funding: December 2020
tag: Pitango Venture Capital
By Jesse Allen - 06 Jan, 2021 - Comments: 1
AI hardware startups were hot in our December startup-funding focus, with two companies landing rounds exceeding $100M and plenty of others seeing investment. Two Chinese EDA companies received funding in a bid to boost the country's semiconductor ecosystem. One company providing control systems for fabs achieved $8M in Series A, and both autonomous driving and electric vehicles pulled in lots ... » read more
Startup Funding: November 2020
By Jesse Allen - 02 Dec, 2020 - Comments: 0
Numerous chipmakers pulled in funding in November 2020, with investors putting money into interconnects, memories, AI hardware, and quantum computing. Launching from stealth was a startup aiming to combine AI and 5G. Autonomous delivery did well, too, with one company raising a massive $500M. This month, we take a look at 28 companies that raised a collective $1.1B. Semi & design Connec... » read more
January '19 Startup Funding: $100M+ Rounds Abound
By Jeff Dorsch - 30 Jan, 2019 - Comments: 0
Sixteen companies received private funding rounds of $100 million or more during the month of January, with two privately held companies, Infor and Verily Life Sciences, taking in rounds of $1.5 billion and $1 billion, respectively. The market segments represented in the January rounds were varied. Multiple companies using artificial intelligence technology in their offerings and cloud-based... » read more
By Jeff Dorsch - 20 Jul, 2018 - Comments: 0
Cybersecurity Rambus signed a patent license agreement with Socionext, a designer of system-on-a-chip devices. Socionext will use Rambus technology in memory controllers, serializers/deserializers, and security applications. Netskope acquired Sift Security, adding 10 technical employees to its headcount of more than 500 people; financial terms weren't revealed. Sift CEO Neil King was tapp... » read more
By Jeff Dorsch - 27 Oct, 2017 - Comments: 0
Finance Automile, an Internet of Things company involved in field-service businesses, has received $34 million in Series B funding led by Insight Venture Partners, bringing its total funding to $47 million. Existing investors Dawn Capital, Point Nine Capital, SaaStr Fund, and Salesforce Ventures also participated in the new round. Automile will use the money on marketing, product developmen... » read more
Finance August Home received $25 million in Series C funding, bringing its total funding to $75 million. Existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures, Maveron, and Qualcomm Ventures were joined by AGL, Liberty Mutual, and SPDG. The Internet of Things startup will use the money to expand operations and to extend its offerings in home access products and services. Prospera, ... » read more
Startup Funding: September 2020
Big investment in EV, batteries, and data center chips as 26 companies raise $2.6B.
Investors fund a wide range of chipmakers; $1.1B in investment for 28 startups.
Israel: Startup Powerhouse
Education, entrepreneurship, and plenty of talent, but no giant companies.
Startup Funding: October 2020
Big funding for ADAS, autonomous driving, and EVs; twenty-four companies bring in over $1.6B.
Cerfe Labs: Spin-On Memory
Arm offshoot focuses on CeRAM as potential low-cost replacement for existing memories.


Journal Description : Journal of Muwafaqat is a newly published set of international journal encompassing all the fields of Syariah and Law. The aims of the journal are to expand epistemological aspects of legal discourse as academic inquiry in understanding Syariah, Islamic jurisprudence and Law; offer the platform of intellectual forum by generating new ideas in fiqh in the contemporary muslim society; develop the sciences of legal reasoning (ijtihad) in elucidating the complexity and intricacy of global context; discuss modern disciplines by integrating both knowledge in Islamic juristic heritage and relevant aspects such as sciences, management, finance, law and etc; expose the critical treatment of juridicial legacy in the field; promote the diffusion; exchange and discuss of research findings in the field; and encourage interaction among academicians and scholars from various tradition of academic background. In addition, it meets the needs of global awareness by offering appropriate understanding of Islamic worldview.


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Health tops Tory agenda: Legislature set for new session
Alberta's health minister will announce plans this week for reshaping the provincial medical system in the face of rising costs and hospital overcrowding, but the fate of health regions won't be decided until summer.
Ron Liepert will bring his plans for reform to the Tory caucus as a new legislative session opens today, approximately one month after he took over as minister and promised bold changes that could include reducing the number of health regions in Alberta.
The tough-talking minister has said a broad range of proposals for change are on the table, including the controversial Mazankowski report.
But he said any decisions on the number of health regions will be announced in June.
"Our plan will lay out some initiatives we hope to accomplish over the next year," said Liepert, who will likely make the plan public on Wednesday.
"I'm not taking anything forward at this stage that will change (the number of health regions), but on or before June 15, I will take before caucus a new governance structure."
Government's plans for health reforms come as Alberta's bill for the medical system reaches $13 billion a year, making it government's single largest expense. Patients, meanwhile, are facing long lineups in emergency rooms as hospitals grapple with bed shortages.
Liepert has said the system must change, but his musings about reforms have sparked controversy as public health-care advocates and labour leaders vow to fight any move toward privatization.
The 2001 report by former federal cabinet minister Don Mazankowski recommended boosting the mix of private, public and not-for-profit providers in health care as well as raising new sources of revenue in the medical system.
Gil McGowan of the Alberta Federation of Labour said allowing more privately delivered care will not fix the problems facing the province's health system.
"If Minister Liepert and Premier Ed Stelmach think the recent election has given them a mandate to turn the health-care system on its head, they've got another think coming," said McGowan. "There will be huge opposition to major privatization in the system."
Friends of Medicare say they are concerned about any move toward allowing more private health care, saying government should concentrate on addressing staffing shortages in Calgary and Edmonton hospitals.
Suzanne Marshall, executive director of the organization, also argued reducing the number of health regions could destabilize the system.
"It seems to me they really need to focus on the system and do whatever it takes to bring health services up to par," Marshall said.
Other organizations, however, support a move towards privatization and believe Liepert should make fundamental changes in this area.
Nadeem Esmail of the Fraser Institute said Alberta should follow the lead of countries such as Sweden, which allows private medical insurance and a private medical system that offers competition to public hospitals.
"The problem is we always look inward and ask what we can do within the current health system when it's clear this is failing Albertans," said Esmail, a senior health policy analyst with the think tank.
Liepert said his proposal will help ensure the system becomes more accessible to patients as well as sustainable. His "action plan" will lay out goals for shorter term initiatives, although it isn't clear if all of his long-term plans will be made public this week.
"There's a recognition we can't deliver 1960s health care in the 21st century," said the minister. "We have to look at different ways of delivering health care."
Calgary Herald, Page A1, Mon Apr 14 2008
Byline: Michelle Lang
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PMH Atwater | Edgar Cayce's A.R.E.
PMH Atwater is one of the original researchers in the field of near-death studies, having begun her work in 1978. Today her contribution to the field is considered one of the best. Some of her findings have been verified in clinical studies, among them the prospective study conducted in Holland and published in Lancet medical journal, 12-15-01. Her The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences covers the field globally, and is the only encyclopedia of the entire phenomenon. It was featured in an online version of Newsweek Magazine.
Dr. Atwater was presented the Outstanding Service Award in 2005 from the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS), and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Transpersonal Hypnotherapists (NATH). In 2009, she was given the Nancy E. Bush award for Literary Excellence and the Lifetime Achievement and Special Services Award, both from IANDS. She is an international speaker and has been a guest on numerous television shows including Geraldo, Regis and Kathie Lee, Larry King Live, Sally Jessy Raphael, and Entertainment Tonight. Her books have been translated into over 12 languages.


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Home Article A Sad Estate of Affairs
A Sad Estate of Affairs
by Robert Kuttner
This week, the Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate will attempt to ram through a permanent repeal of the estate tax. A companion bill has already passed the House.
Under the Bush administration, the estate tax has been cut to the point where less than one estate in a hundred pays any tax. The revenue loss is one big source of the mounting national debt.
The recent cuts in the estate tax expire in 2011. Republicans, who expect to lose seats in November, want to enact permanent repeal now, while they still have the votes.
If they can't find the votes for total repeal, they at least want to further cut the rate to something like 15 percent and raise the exemption to at least $3.5 million for an individual and $7 million for a couple.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, getting rid of the estate tax altogether would cost the Treasury a trillion dollars over 10 years. The "compromise" would cost about $500 billion to $600 billion.
Republicans also want to get this done fast before the newly appointed Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson, chief executive of Goldman-Sachs, faces potentially embarrassing confirmation hearings. Paulson is allegedly a deficit hawk. With a personal net worth of about $700 million, he's also a poster child for why the super-rich can well afford to have their estates taxed.
As the Bush people searched for a new Treasury secretary to restore its tattered credibility in financial markets, Washington observers noted that the administration was having trouble, because no serious person from Wall Street would defend the Bush deficits. Paulson's story is that we should reduce the deficit by reining in spending. But domestic spending has already been cut to the level of the 1950s, and Paulson is not about to cross his commander-in-chief on war spending.
Democrats could go to town on this issue. As Paulson makes his round of Senate courtesy calls, they should press him to oppose estate-tax repeal.
However, several Senate Democrats are wobbly on this issue. Max Baucus, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, is said to be negotiating with his Republican counterparts to enact the "compromise."
Baucus, from Montana, inherited an 80,000-acre sheep ranch, one of the biggest in his state. He invokes the plight of family farmers, whose inherited homesteads are supposedly threatened by estate taxes. Yet the conservative American Farm Bureau Federation could not identify a single farm that had to be sold to pay taxes, even under current rates.
Republicans are confident that at least three other Democrats would follow Baucus's lead --Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and Bill Nelson of Florida. Several other Democrats are still undecided on whether to hand the wealthiest one percent of Americans an even bigger break, at cost to fiscal solvency. The Republicans, with 55 senators, need at least five Democrats to help them get cloture on this vote.
The other shaky Democrats include Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington state. Cantwell was a well-off high-tech executive. Murray got elected as an ordinary mom "in tennis shoes" who spoke for the common citizen. From 2001 to 2003, she chaired the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, courting wealthy donors.
Who exactly needs Cantwell and Murray to support another huge tax cut for the wealthiest? Their own families? Campaign contributors?
Three other wavering Democrats are Ken Salazar of Colorado, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas. These "red" states are conservative on social issues, but what does their average citizen gain from estate-tax repeal?
Where does Mary Landrieu think the money will come for Louisiana's flood defenses if Congress keeps gutting the tax code? The average Arkansan can only dream of worrying about the estate tax, but lead promoters of repeal are the Arkansas-based Walton family billionaires of Wal-Mart fame.
Here in New England, Maine's two Republican senators are undecided. You can count on Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to talk moderate but often help fellow Republicans when their votes are needed. Rhode Island Republican Lincoln Chafee, who is in a tough reelection fight, is opposed.
The Senate is such a millionaire's club that more than half the senators should recuse themselves on this vote, which would personally benefit them.
With Bush's popularity ratings scraping bottom, if Democrats can't manage to embarrass Republicans on this one, you can understand why they're losing their historic role as the believable party of the common American.
Robert Kuttner is co-editor of The American Prospect. This column originally appeared in the Boston Globe.
Robert Kuttner
Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, and professor at Brandeis University's Heller School.
Read more by Robert Kuttner


I just wanted to drop you a message to let you know that your teaching can go far beyond pregnancy yoga!
I may not have avoided the epidural during my actual labours, but I did avoid it (i.e. stopping to walk) in my 10k labour. So thank you. The seeds you plant in your mamas' heads go way beyond getting us through pregnancy and childbirth.
Hope all's well with you and your gorgeous family.
Rachel's active birth workshop came at the perfect time for us, we were not sure if I was going to have to have an early induced birth and we were both feeling scared. The workshop gave me the confidence to write and follow through with a birth plan that worked for us. I felt really informed about hospital policies and that allowed me to ask the right questions from the mid wives and to have the knowledge to discuss any concerns I had before hand. My birth in the end was everything I could have wanted, I felt confident and in control enough to try to achieve a drug free birth. I also had the support of the amazing Doula Suzanne so it was a total team effort!! I would highly recommend this workshop, it changed my outlook and approach to giving birth.
Taking part in the Active Birth Workshop, was a truly enlightening experience, getting no-nonsense information that was unbiased (your hospital affiliated antenatal classes will push you in a direction that aligns with their own preferred methods of delivery) helped so much. I knew the right questions to ask, and the right way to ask them. The classes gave me the confidence to play an active role and support my wife during this wonderful journey. I can't thank Rachel enough!!!
Doing the workshop was amazing, not just for the content, which was spectacular and helped me understand a lot of what labor and birth look like, but also for the feeling that I wasn't alone in trying to have a natural birth. Seeing all the other women there who were looking for a similar experience gave me reassurance that it's possible, especially coming from Brazil, where a c-section is the de facto standard for births, unfortunately. My partner was very happy with the content (and possibly the fact that he saw other men just as anxious as himself!) as well and has been so supportive throughout this journey! I would 100% recommend this workshop to anyone wishing to have a safe, gentle birthing experience!
Our experience of the workshop was just invaluable in the preparation for the birth of our boy – Darragh – who was born on 14 May. the birth was perfect in every way – pain free ('we love contractions'!) And therefore painkiller And pain relief free – not even a paracetamol was had! The workshop enabled us to know what to expect and to manage the birthing process. Myself and my husband both were v calm and felt completely in control. In the middle of labour I was heard to say 'it's just so nice'!
Would recommend any parents to be who would like to enjoy the active birth experience to attend the workshop as a minimum, we also invested time in hypnobirthing and meditation which added value to and complemented the preparation from the workshop.
Just to say I really enjoyed the class on Sunday.
I left feeling ready to give birth and felt I had the tools to manage the first stage of labour at home in a calm gentle manner.
I found it better than the antenatal I attended at the hospital and feel my partner would've gotten more from Rachel's class (he was unable to attend on Sunday) than he did from the antenatal class. Her practical advice for the partners to support the mum was great.
I felt it worked well with the ladies having time in the morn to discuss the different issues was great and then partners coming in for the second half of the day so wouldn't change a thing.


SANDRA BANDEL moved to Pierce County, WA in 2009 with her husband of 15 years and her 2 beautiful children, after a 3 year military tour in Germany. She studied Real Estate at the Rockwell Institute in WA and proceeded to work for one of the Nation's Top Real Estate Brokerages, Keller Williams Puyallup, which is also one of the Best Training Companies Nationwide.
Sandra believes in "Quality over Quantity" and that her Clients deserve nothing less than her undivided attention. She will be there for you 7 days a week to answer all of your questions and listen to your concerns. Sandra understands how important it is to adapt to current market situations and that flexibility is key when it comes to showing homes.
Grateful to those who serve and protect, Sandra loves to work with Military and Law Enforcement and is very experienced with these kinds of Real Estate transactions. She also loves to educate new clients and therefore has developed a passion for First Time Home Buyers.
With Sandra by your side, you will feel safe, protected, well educated, and most importantly well taken care of.
Sandra joined HomeSmart RE & Associates in 2016 because HomeSmart backs their Agents up by providing them with the newest Technology, keeping them in compliance and therefore protect their Agents and the Agents Clients. By allowing the Agent to keep 100% of their Commission, the Agent has more freedom to help her Clients in more ways, in what could have been an otherwise hopeless situation.


Illusion does not free us from reality. My photographic work is united by its unconventional exploration of semiology and its role in cementing a cultural phenomenology of consumerism, corporal commodification and a mythology of a fictional past. Ironically employing the very medium I critique, my images speak to the decay, disillusionment and disenchantment of the social psyche at the hands of the media apparatus.
Sam Heydt is a New York City based artist, designer and filmmaker. Over the last decade she has lived and worked in Paris, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Venice, Vilnius, Athens and Istanbul. She has been exhibited in numerous galleries, museums and art fairs throughout Europe, Oceania, US, UK and Russia. Her many industry recognitions include Head On Photo Festival (2013 and 2014), Aesthetica Art Prize (2014), Florence Festival of Arts (2014), Art Basel Miami (2012 and 2013), Fountain Art Fair (2012), Verge Art Fair (2012), and The State Hermitage Museum (2010 and 2011). She has enjoyed artist residencies in Iceland, Australia and New Zealand. Her most recent project was in Rajasthan, India producing a documentary on child prostitution. Currently, she is working in Venice, Italy at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica di Venezia.
Want to Know More about Sam Heydt, Go To FOR CURATORS CLICK HERE.
Seismographs Series Society is structured through language. Ideologically encoded through the..


Two well appointed houseboats: 'The Murray Dream' - 9 berth unique Moored Accommodation and 'Moving Waters' - 10 berth Hire/Drive or Moored Accommodation. All only a 5 minute walk to the town centre.
2015 build, these two luxury, well appointed holiday villas accommodate up to 8 people in each and one villa has a private pool. Located across the road from the River Murray and 'Boats and Bedzzz Houseboat Stays'.


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Regina's Experience at Sarah's... an Oasis for Women
Sarah's... an Oasis for Women is a home dedicated to the safety and dignity of a diverse community of women.
Regina left her home in Cameroon to escape an increasingly dangerous situation to her health and well-being. Finding no safe place to stay, her immigration lawyer referred her to Sarah's... an Oasis for Women, a program supported by the Ministries Foundation and started by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
At Sarah's she worked on her resume, enrolled at the International Institute of Minnesota,
finished her Nursing Assistant Degree, and completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Now she works as a nurse and lives in her own apartment.
"Sarah's cannot stop. It has to continue because there are a lot of women like me out there who still need a place, who still need a home. Sarah's can give them that home."


As the summer season draws to a close and you start to trade in your sunglasses for scarves, it's time to turn your attention to Christmas… yes we said it! The thought of starting to plan Christmas early can be stressful, as you try to figure out how you will add anything else to your already busy schedule. This is why you may think it's crazy to be talking about the festive season already. However with so many advantages to preparing early, more and more people are starting to finalise their Christmas plans earlier and earlier.
Our Managing Director Ian Spicer discusses the benefits to planning a little earlier this year to ensure you make the most of Christmas 2015.
They say the early bird catches the worm, and in the lead up to this Christmas season you can catch yourself some great discounts just by planning ahead. Many companies, such as Spicers of Hythe, offer money saving discounts by ordering in advance. Find your 15% discount code for all Spicers of Hythe luxury hampers at the bottom of this article – you're welcome!
By entering the Christmas spirit early, you are giving yourself enough time to compile a detailed list of who you need to buy for, what you would like to purchase and then implement a budget, and stick to it! This will result in thoughtful gifts that your loved ones are sure to appreciate. It's also not too early to be thinking about where you will be spending Christmas this year. If you need to arrange travel, book early to enjoy preferential prices.
If you are relying on your final paycheque of the year to sort Christmas, chances are you might turn to the plastic to make those stressful last minute purchases. By giving yourself a few extra months to save, you have the opportunity to create a dedicated Christmas fund.
If you have chosen to avoid the hustle and bustle of shopping centres by opting to shop online this Christmas, you really do have to consider planning a little early to ensure that your gift arrives on time. Make sure you are dealing with a company that has a demonstrable track record for quality and customer service by checking reviews. Avoid the embarrassment of turning up empty handed on Christmas day by planning early this year.
"It's the most wonderful time of the year" … unless you are still racing around on Christmas Eve. By planning early you can set yourself a cut-off point, as to when you stop planning Christmas and when you start enjoying it. Give yourself time to actually enjoy the festive period with family and friends and take in local community events such as nativity plays, fireworks and other Christmas gatherings.
Enjoy 15% off all Spicers of Hythe luxury hampers by using promotional code: S15PR2 at the checkout.


Rare Opportunity to own an Absolute Beachfront Private pool villa in Hua Hin – Villa Is Being Sold Fully Furnished & Ready To Move In !
There are 2 beachfront properties for sale that can be bought together or individually – This could easily be the most luxury beach set up one can find in Hua Hin.
The Elegance is a contemporary beachfront pool villa 234.4 sq.w (937.6 sq.m) land, usable area 1,750 sq.m. Fully furnished 5 bedrooms 6 bathrooms with separate showers and toilets, 2 half bath lady and gent in living area and a modern European kitchen. Exclusively private pool 16 x 4.8 meters and spaces terrace by the sea, 2 maid rooms, Thai kitchen, second massive wooden gate and indoor garage space for 4 cars.
The Isolated is an oriental beachfront pool villa 208.3 sq.w (833.2 sq.m) land, right next door to The Elegance, usable area 1,597 sq.m. Fully furnished with beautiful infinity pool looking over the ocean, 7 bedrooms 9 bathrooms with separate showers and toilets, 2 half bath, great entertainment Home Theater in the basement, a modern European kitchen, 2 maid rooms, Thai Kitchen, second private Bali style entrance and indoor garage for 3 cars.


Comments: All prices slashed, All Reasonable Offers Considered! *** INCLUDES WARRANTY, NAVIGATION/NAVI/GPS, GOOD TIRES, GOOD BRAKES, REAR BACK UP CAMERA, LEATHER, ALL WHEEL DRIVE, PREMIUM SOUND. Priced below KBB Fair Purchase Price! CARFAX One-Owner. Clean CARFAX.


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Blessed Justo Takayama Ukon
Fate of a Christian Daimyo
Takayama's Manila
The Search for the Bones of Takayama Ukon
Lord Takayama in World War II
Plaza Dilao in History
Takayama Ukon and 'La Japona'
Beatification
Journeying with Lord Takayama
The Beatification of Blessed Justo Takayama Ukon
Canonization
Vatican-Bound Cardinal Tagle Commends Blessed Takayama to the Care of Filipino Bishops
January 29, 2020 April 4, 2020 ernestodepedro
Since 2015 — before Ukon Takayama was beatified in 2017 — Cardinal Tagle has promoted devotion to the Japan-born Manila Catholic martyr, Ukon Takayama.
►Speaking at the last day of the 120th Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) held in Manila on Jan. 25-27, 2020, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle — who is set to become Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (or simply, "Propaganda Fide"), commended the "Canonization Cause" of Blessed Takayama — the Philippine Church's THIRD "Blessed" — the care of the Filipino bishops.
►Blessed Justus Ukon Takayama (1552 Osaka-1615 Manila; beatified 2017) is "Our Own Saint." The celebrated Christian "Samurai of Christ" chose exile in Manila rather than abjure his Catholic Faith. But 44 days after his arrival with some 350 Christians deported by the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Japan-born Manila Catholic died of "a tropical ailment." It was the Manila Archdiocese that proposed Sainthood for Takayama at the Vatican — only 15 years after he died at the PLM/Jesuit Compound in Intramuros, Manila.
Takayama is part of the history of the evangelization of the Philippines – his life, labors and heroic virtues were comprehensively detailed in Colin/Pastrells' "Labor Evangelica."
BLESSED JUSTO UKON TAKAYAMA
►BACKGROUND: Don Justus Ukon Takayana has been called by the Jesuit-published "La Civiltà Cattolica" as "the Greatest Japanese Missionary of the 16th Century."
Ukon was born to a Samurai family who converted to Christianity at age 11, and became Daimyo (feudal governor), at age 21, of the strategic castle-town of Takatsuki, converting 18,800 of its 25,000 residents to Catholicism within 11 years. In an era with so few Jesuit priests, he relied on the Holy Rosary to hold his people together — until the next Jesuit could come to celebrate Mass.
Instead of supporting a 20,000-man standing army during The Warring States period (1467 to 1567), he kept a vanguard of only 1,000 samurai, and devoted his resources to building churches, seminaries, and oratorios.
He fought under the banner of the Cross, and openly practiced his Catholic faith. He chose exile to Manila rather than abjure his Catholic religion – so on November 8, 1614, Lord Takayama, his family and 350 other Catholics left for Manila with the Manila Jesuits preparing housing for the exiles in their encomienda at San Miguel. But 44 days after his arrival, Ukon died on Feb. 3, 1615 of a tropical ailment at the Jesuit guesthouse, Casa San Miguel, in Intramuros.
Lord Takayama was given a state funeral and his wake was held in all six churches in Intramuros. The eulogies extolled Ukon as a saint.
►PROPOSED FOR SAINTHOOD: On Oct. 5, 1630, only 15 years after Ukon died, the Manila Archdiocese proposed Takayama's Cause for Beatification at the Vatican, the first such petition ever presented by the Philippine Church.
►DORMANT CAUSE: This cause was dormant till 1937, when Manila hosted the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress, Feb. 3-7, 1937. With the opening day occurring on the 322nd death anniversary of Takayama, the Japanese delegation introduced a resolution reviving the Cause of Beatification of Takayama. Japanese press reports say this was approved by the Eucharistic Congress.
►TAKAYAMA CAUSE 'SECONDED' TO JAPAN: At the sidelines of Vatican II (1962-1965) which was attended by bishops from around the world, the Japanese Bishops visited Manila Cardinal Rufino J. Santos, petitioning that the Takayama Cause be revived. They were surprised when Cardinal Santos readily "seconded" the cause to them. The Japanese Bishops' Conference (CBCJ) established a Historical Committee which gathered supporting materials and sent the loose-leaf documents to the Jesuit General Postulator. Because some chapters were written in German, Portuguese and Japanese — which are not official Vatican languages — the Takayama papers could not be presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (CCS).
►'ACCIDENTAL' MANILA RE-INVOLVEMENT — A group of Filipino and Japanese history buffs, wanting to print some literature for Japanese pilgrims visiting the Takayama Memorial (est. 1977) at Plaza Dilao, wanted to ascertain whether Lord Takayama was indeed a Japanese historical figure, or merely a composite of several celebrated Christian samurai. They asked an ex-seminarian, Ernesto A. de Pedro, to take two weeks off to research at the Vatican. The Jesuit General Postulator was glad somebody was interested in Takayama; the papers had been dormant for eleven years. Fr. Paulo Molinari, SJ, said their office was short-handed; there were only two Jesuits in their office … they had to do the xeroxing themselves. In short, they gave the Filipino researcher the entire carton box of materials for translation.
►WHEN THE BOOK-BOUND "POSITIO" –"Justus Takayama Ukon, Servus Dei" (1994, 648p) – was submitted, the Jesuit Postulator General, Fr. Paulo Molinari, acknowledged: "Thanks to your much appreciated collaboration, all the essential materials for this important 'Cause' are by now available."
►'BLESSED TAKAYAMA OF MANILA' – When the Vatican Information Service announced on Jan. 21, 2016 that Pope Francis had authorized the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints to publish a Decree of Martyrdom declaring the Servant of God, Justus Ukon Takayama as a "layperson … from Japan [who] died from the hatred of the Faith on Feb. 3, 1615 in Manila, Philippines" — the Japanese Bishops quickly shared the information with Manila and acknowledged the help given by the Philippine Church to this four-centuries old campaign to elevate Takayama to the honors of the altar: "With your help, we have realized our hope. We are deeply thankful for your help."
But the change of the Cause from "Confessor" to "Martyr" necessitated the writing of a new "Positio" by the new Jesuit General Postulator, Fr. Toni Witwer, SJ – "Positio Super Martyrio … Servi Dei Justi Takayama Ukon" (2015).
►BEATIFICATION IN OSAKA: Ukon Takayama was beatified in Osaka on Feb. 7, 2017. The next day at the Vatican, Pope Francis delivered a homily on the singular importance of this martyr who died in exile in Manila.
►EVERY 'BLESSED' NEEDS A SUPPORT GROUP: No Beatus can become a saint without a prayer army keeping his memory alive. So the Takayama movement seeks to spread devotion through programs within their ready means: ● altar-statues, ● prayer-cards, ● seminary vocations, ● symposia, ● networking with Catholic mandated groups, ● focus forums, ● social media outreach, and ● ministry on campus – which are funded by project-specific gifts from devotees and benefactors.
►JAPANESE PILGRIMAGES TO MANILA – Japanese Catholics and Buddhists mount Takayama pilgrimages to mark the December 21 arrival of Takayama, or his February 3 death anniversary. Seven Bishops from Japan's 16 dioceses have already traced the footsteps of Blessed Takayama — from the PLM University Chapel, Manila Cathedral, Paco Parish Church … to the Jesuit Cemetery at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, the putative resting place for Ukon's bones. They also include a visit to the Santo Domingo Convent in Quezon City, where Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (tagged as "La Japona") is enshrined — the same Marian statue that was brought back from Nagasaki by Lord Takayama in his exile boat.
►31 TAKAYAMA STATUES DISTRIBUTED, THUS FAR — Statues of Blessed Takayama have been distributed to 31 basilicas, cathedrals, churches and seminaries in six countries (◘ The Philippines, ◘ Japan, ◘ the United States, ◘ Italy, ◘ England, and ◘ the Vatican).
The Nagasaki Church Trust has invited the Prayer Warriors to send the 31st statue of Blessed Takayama to join the yearly Grand Nagasaki Procession of Martyrs on Feb. 2, 2020 – at which Laoag Bishop Renato P. Mayugba will lead a pilgrim group of 22 parishioners, among them 12 priests.
Pope Francis has reminded lay movements, such as the Prayer Warriors of Blessed Takayama, that Jesus calls us "to live" the Gospel, by putting into practice in daily life the beatitudes and the words of Jesus.
►BENEDICTION FROM POPE FRANCIS — In the run-up to Pope Francis' Apostolic Visit to Japan, the Prayer Warriors presented to Pope Francis, a printout of the Apostolic Breve sent by Pope Sixtus V (r. 1585-1590) to Lord Takayama in 1590 – exhorting the recently-dispossessed Daimyo "to hold fast to your Faith."
Receiving the archival parchment from Manila, together with a Takayama statue from the "Via Lucis Pilgrimage Group 112011," Pope Francis was so pleased he imparted his Apostolic Blessing on all the Prayer Warriors of Blessed Takayama on July 25, 2019.
Before he leaves for Rome to become Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (or simply, "Propaganda Fide"), Cardinal Tagle commends the "Cause of Canonization" of Blessed Takayama to Catholic Bishops of the Philippines.
THE 'ARC OF HISTORY' (1615-2020)
Cardinal Tagle delivered his first homily on the "Servant of God," Justo Ukon Takayama at the 400th Takayama Anniversary Mass in Kobe, Feb. 3, 2015 – two years before Takayama was beatified. He said that a "bridge of faith and martyrdom" inextricably links Ukon Takayama, Japan's most illustrious Christian, with San Lorenzo Ruiz (1600-1637), Filipino protomartyr, who was martyred in Nagasaki in 1637. "Martyrdom is the deepest link between our two churches," the Manila archbishop said.
On Feb. 7, 2017, Archbishop Tagle was the only Cardinal — (the Church of Japan, at that time, had no Cardinal) — invited to concelebrate Takayama's Beatification Rites, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (CCS). In a nod to Takayama's Philippine connection, the 1,000- member choir sang the Filipino offertory hymn "Salamat sa Iyo" (Tanging Alay) with a full orchestra accompanying the voices.
Since then, Cardinal Tage has spoken about Blessed Takayama as "a singular promoter of God's Kingdom, and an undaunted witness to the Catholic Faith" — broadcast through "TV Maria" (the national Catholic television channel broadcasting from Manila) and Veritas 846.ph (Radyo ng Simbahan, a faith-based radio station in the Philippines).
Blessed Takayama's support army — the "Prayer Warriors of Blessed Takayama" — has brought the Takayama Movement to "far corners."
►The Lord moves in wondrous ways. As Cardinal Tagle proceeds to Rome to be Cardinal Prefect of the super-dicastery with the task of directing and coordinating the work of evangelization and missionary cooperation all over the world – it is opportune to remember that in some corners of the world, the heroic virtues of Blessed Takayama will resonate – as 💥refugee and migrant, as 💥missionary disciple, and as💥 "an extraordinary witness of the Christian faith in difficult times of opposition and persecution."
►The Holy Father would not have learned of the mission and commitment of the Prayer Warriors of Blessed Takayama — without the endorsement and support of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, now Cardinal Prefect of "Propaganda Fide."◘
Posted by Dr. Ernesto A. de Pedro
Managing Trustee
Prayer Warriors of Blessed Takayama
Posted in Beatification, Takayama Ukon, The Cause
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Prayer for Blessed Takayama's Intercession
The final condition for Ukon Takayama's canonization is that miracles be obtained through his intercession.
Let us therefore address ourselves to our saintly brother and ask Divine Providence to grant us through his intercessions what is impossible to man, be it a miraculous cure or something else which God Almighty alone is able to do. Let us have great confidence in the powerful intercession of this distinguished Servant of God, who will not fail to reward the heroic deeds in His Service by granting us our request, even if it would call for a great miracle. Favors obtained through Blessed Ukon Takayama's intercession should be reported to the Bishop of your diocese so as to be presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The following prayer may properly serve the purpose and ought to be addressed to the Lord by as many as possible, whenever human means fail to help us in our needs.
God, in Your Wonderful Providence, You have chosen Justus Ukon Takayama to be a singular promoter of Your Kingdom, and an undaunted witness to the Catholic Faith -- Reward, we beseech you, his zeal for Your Glory, and graciously grant us what we humbly ask through his intervention.
Grant us also that following his example, we may bravely bear all trials for the sake of our holy Catholic Faith. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Pope Francis on Twitter
PRAYER WARRIORS OF BLESSED TAKAYAMA®
The first Takayama support group was registered as the "Lord Takayama Jubilee Foundation" on Sept. 29, 1988 by Filipino and Japanese history buffs researching on the Life and Times of the celebrated Christian samurai, Dom Justo Ukon Takayama (高山右近, 1552 Osaka-1615 Manila).
With the beatification on Feb. 7, 2017 of the first Manila Catholic proposed for sainthood on Oct. 5, 1630, the Blessed Justo Ukon Takayama Canonization Movement is now promoted by the SEC-registered "Prayer Warriors of Blessed Takayama" — which received Pope Francis' Apostolic Blessing No. 460.258 on July 25, 2019.
Dr. Ernesto A. De Pedro
P.O. Box 1677, Manila C.P.O.
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Australia Increases Support for Stabilization in Iraq
By Editor on 14th May 2018 in Construction & Engineering In Iraq, Iraq Public Works News
Australia Substantially Increases Support to Stabilization in Iraq
The Government of Australia has contributed an additional USD 13.5 million (AUD 18 million) to the UNDP Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS), which finances fast-track initiatives in areas of Iraq liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). This brings Australia's total contribution since 2015 to USD 16.5 million (AUD 22 million).
UNDP Resident Representative for Iraq, Ms. Marta Ruedas, said:
"The progress being made is clearly visible across the country. Roads are being repaired, hospitals are reopening, electricity is being restored and people are returning to work. More than 60 percent of the almost 6 million people who fled during the conflict have returned home.
"UNDP deeply appreciates the timely and flexible funding provided by the Government of Australia, and while there remains a great deal of work to do, this generous contribution will help liberated areas get back on their feet."
The Australian Ambassador to Iraq, H.E. Dr. Joanne Loundes, said:
"Australia is committed to the stabilisation and redevelopment of Iraq. On top of restoring essential public services and rehabilitating critical infrastructure in liberated areas, the FFS prioritises projects that meet the needs of the most vulnerable, including women.
"Gender equality and women's empowerment is a core part of Australia's foreign policy, economic diplomacy and development work and I welcome the opportunity to support work that directly contributes to this objective."
At the request of the Government of Iraq, UNDP established the Funding Facility for Stabilization in June 2015 to facilitate the return of displaced Iraqis, lay the groundwork for reconstruction and recovery, and safeguard against the resurgence of violence and extremism.
The Facility currently has more than 2,000 projects underway in 31 liberated cities and districts, helping local authorities to quickly rehabilitate essential infrastructure. Over 95 percent of all stabilization projects are carried out by local private sector companies, providing a key source of employment for local people.
(Source: UNDP)
Application Period opens for Fulbright Program
$10m Iraq Demining Contracts Awarded
Tags: Australia, featured, Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS), UN Development Programme (UNDP)


Communication with computing machinery has become increasingly 'chatty' these days: Alexa, Cortana, Siri, and many more dialogue systems have hit the consumer market on a broader basis than ever, but do any of them truly notice our emotions and react to them like a human conversational partner would? In fact, the discipline of automatically recognizing human emotion and affective states from speech, usually referred to as Speech Emotion Recognition or SER for short, has by now surpassed the "age of majority," celebrating the 22nd anniversary after the seminal work of Daellert et al. in 1996—arguably the first research paper on the topic. However, the idea has existed even longer, as the first patent dates back to the late 1970s.
Previously, a series of studies rooted in psychology rather than in computer science investigated the role of acoustics of human emotion. Blanton, for example, wrote that "the effect of emotions upon the voice is recognized by all people. Even the most primitive can recognize the tones of love and fear and anger; and this knowledge is shared by the animals. The dog, the horse, and many other animals can understand the meaning of the human voice. The language of the tones is the oldest and most universal of all our means of communication." It appears the time has come for computing machinery to understand it as well. This holds true for the entire field of affective computing—Picard's field-coining book by the same name appeared around the same time as SER, describing the broader idea of lending machines emotional intelligence able to recognize human emotion and to synthesize emotion and emotional behavior.
Björn Schuller discusses "Speech Emotion Recognition: Two Decades in a Nutshell, Benchmarks, and Ongoing Trends" (https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2018/5/227191), a Review Article in the May 2018 CACM.


List of the best teen slasher movies. Almost as long as there have been horror movies, there have been teen slasher films. The genre got a huge surge in the late 70s and 80s when nearly every new horror movie featured a group of teenagers getting slaughtered by a mysterious and terrifying killer. Although the genre died off a little, it has recently gotten a huge resurgence with 80s horror remakes and new tales. These stories range from groups of hikers running from a mystifying monster with a chainsaw to high school students dying off one by one. These films are popular because they don't just include horror elements, but also themes of romance, friendship and endurance.
Many of the films on this list have the same sort of characters: the innocent female, the jokester sidekick, the ditzy popular girl, the jock and the nerd, all playing at the same stereotypical roles. However, the concepts of each movie can be wildly different, from traditional horror to a campy take on the genre.
What are the best teen slasher movies ever made? This list features masked killers that will haunt you in your sleep for years to come, gruesome deaths and badass fighters you will never forget. Vote for your favorite.


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HomeHeadlinesHaiti Celebrates its 209th National Day Today
Haiti Celebrates its 209th National Day Today
The Haitian flag
AFRICANGLOBE – The Republic of Haiti celebrates its 209th National Day today. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean Archipelago. Port-au-Prince is the country's capital and largest city.
The population of Haiti is around 9.7 million, 95 percent of whom are descendants of Africans. The official languages of the country are French and Haitian Creole. The dominant religion is Roman Catholicism.
The history of Haiti has been stained by European powers, particularly Spain, France, and the United States. In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in Haiti. The country was ceded by Spain to France in 1697 and it became a plantation colony. The French Revolution of 1789 inspired the rebellion leading to their emancipation in 1791.
The Haitian republic gained independence in 1804, making the country the first independent republic in the modern world. The United States intervened in 1915. The occupation ended in 1934.
Agriculture, which comprised mostly of small-scale subsistence farming, is an important activity in Haiti. The two largest exports of Haiti are mangoes and coffee. The country is endowed with rich natural resources such as copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, bauxite, and silver.
We congratulate the people and government of Haiti led by Their Excellencies, President Michel Martelly, Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, Minister of Tourism Stephanie Balmir Villedrouin, Minister of Commerce and Industry Wilson Laleau on the occasion of its National Day. CONGRATULATIONS AND MABUHAY!
population of Haiti
Republic of Haiti
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Rental to rebound in 2011, ARA predicts A large majority of rental store owners and managers--more than 80 percent--expect 2011 to be a much better year than 2010, according to the latest quarterly American Rental Association economic survey of members. More than 34 percent of ARA general members responding to the survey expect rental revenues to show double-digit increases in 2011 versus 2010, and another 46 percent expect at least single-digit increases this year, the association said Monday. The results show a growing optimism for a significant rebound in 2011 as only about half of the respondents said revenues increased in 2010 compared with 2009. Nearly 30 percent of the respondents had revenue declines in 2010, but only 4 percent expect a drop in revenue in 2011, according to the ARA.


After using Motorola Moto X Play for about two years, I decided to get a phone with a fingerprint scanner. It was all because frequent typing in of the password for work email app became annoying. The fact that Motorola, now Lenovo, totally dropped the ball when it comes to security patching, was another reason I decided to move on.
Again, I was absolutely not willing to part with a grand to get a new phone, so Nokia 6.1 (also known as Nokia 6 2018) seemed like a pretty good choice. It comes with Android One, which is as stock Android as one can get without getting an expensive Pixel phone. This platform is supposed to get regular security patches, which sounds good (let's hope it's not an empty promise, like Motorola's).
I purchased a TA-1068 model of the phone, which comes with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of flash storage. The phone was, in dollar terms, even cheaper than what I paid for Moto X Play. It is not splash or dust resistant, but that was not a deal breaker for me.
The phone is more or less the same size as Moto X Play, but thinner. It feels pretty solid in the hand, with that one piece aluminium body. It is slippery, just like most of the other phones out there. It also feels much more squarish than Moto X Play. Weird in the hand and pocket, but nice when typing on the phone with it being laid down on the table.
The phone actually does feel like a pretty good quality phone. The keys are easy to press and feel accurate. The finish is flawless.
Once again, the battery is not replacable. That seems to be the norm these days. With an aluminium unibody, it kind of makes sense. It has the capacity of 3,000 mAh, which is less than what Moto X Play has. However, after using it for about a week now, I can say that it lasts for 2 days with my usage pattern. I guess a newer CPU model and other components are more power efficient.
The screen is sharp and bright. Absolutely fit for purpose. No complaints there.
Everything happens pretty fast. In fact, compared to Moto X Play, it is visibly faster.
This phone does not come with a notification LED, which is slightly disapponting. I do not understand why manufacturers insist on removing this useful feature. Displays that turn on when the phone is lifted, which this phone does have, are not the same thing.
Even with a bit more intense workout of the CPU, this phone does not warm up at all. I guess all that aluminium is a pretty efficent heatsink. A better CPU, manufactured using 14 nm process, probably helps too.
VOIP calling is right where it should be, in the main phone app. Nice.
Gmail is still terrible for IMAP mail, so K-9 Mail it is. DAVdroid works great on the phone as well. Both of these are highly recommended.
The rest is pretty standard Android stuff and works mostly without major problems.
Nokia's camera software (or is it Android's?) seems to be taking decent photos.
Before inserting my existing 64 GB Micro SD card into this phone, I checked what kind of file systems would be supported. Apparently, FAT32. So, I reformatted the card on my T450s laptop that runs Fedora to use that file system and copied all of the stuff back. The card works just fine.
The speaker is not really loud enough. It's quite easy to miss various notifications, even calls. Apart from that, calls on it are nice and clear, both using the earpiece and the headphones.
The phone came with Android 8.0.0, which was updated to 8.1.0 after a few days. I must say that both the 8.0.0 and 8.1.0 are rather nice and are an absolute pleasure to use.
17 May 2018: Google's 1 May 2018 security update was delivered today, together with other Android Oreo 8.1 updates.
26 Jun 2018: Google's 1 Jun 2018 security update was delivered today, together with other Android Oreo 8.1 updates (build number 2.22E). This is, however, not the latest security update from Google, who list 5 Jun 2018 as well. No idea whether that's on purpose or just an oversight by Nokia.
26 Jul 2018: Google's 1 Jul 2018 security update was delivered today.
17 Aug 2018: Google's 1 Aug 2018 security update was delivered today.
18 Sep 2018: Google's 1 Sep 2018 security update was delivered. Everything still works.
6 Nov 2018: Android Pie (i.e. 9.0) for this phone. Animations are a little bit too slow, but apart from that the release looks pretty nice.
28 Nov 2018: Google's 1 Nov 2018 security update was delivered this morning.
22 Jan 2019: Google's 1 Jan 2019 security update was delivered today.
24 Feb 2019: Google's 1 Feb 2019 security update was delivered today.
10 Apr 2019: Google's 1 Mar 2019 security update and a maintenance release for Pie was delivered today.
If the promise of regular security updates turns out to be true with Android One, this phone looks like a really great value for money.
Copyright © 2018 Bojan Smojver, Rexursive.