Yesterday was my birthday. 35. Wowza.
I decided what I really wanted to do, even more than eating lots of sugar and various deliciousness, was try something new. So I signed up for a rock wall climbing class.
My friend Brionna was courageous and came with me.
These were the short bouldering walls you could climb without needing to be hooked up with a belay.
And these were the 40 foot walls for which we were so glad for that rope hanging onto us.
The first time I tried, first of anybody in our class and right as soon as we got there, I psyched myself out about 3/4th's of the way up. I started getting seriously freaked - "What the heck am I doing?? Climbing a freaking wall??? Oh my word I am seriously far off the ground. This is not the kind of thing you like, self. What exactly were you thinking anyway? Let me remind you, since it's seems you've forgotten: you enjoy safe, on the ground, in control things. It's time to be done. Right now." And so my arms and legs got to shaking and I got on down from there.
The second time, after feeling that the rope really did hold me quite safely, and that it was perfectly okay to get to the top (seeing as everyone else in the class did) I went up without any fear at all.
The third time came about two hours into the class after we'd been trying bouldering walls and a tile (!) wall and autobelays (that didn't always catch me in the way I thought they should) and well, I was complete toast a little less than half way up. I could not make anything else happen. The instructor was shouting for me to take a deep breath and push up with my left foot and all I could think was "I *am* breathing!!! Can you not hear me from down there??"
As I came down I told him my arms quit working and he let me know that was called "getting pumped." I assumed he was joking. He continued saying a lot of things about "lactic acid build up, blah blah blah, organs shut down, blah blah blah, need oxygen, blah blah blah, brain affected first."
Hmmmmmm, yes. Brain shutting down - that's very interesting. I'm pretty sure that means it's time for me to be done with this adventure.
And so, at that point, we decided it was time for some sugary deliciousness after all and we thought the best way to end this particular birthday adventure would be with some Menche's frozen yogurt, piled high with brownies & whip cream. My brain demanded it.
I would say you had quite a birthday experience to remember forever. ANd you know that rock wall climbing may not be your thing.


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First personIndia
India embraces the Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues recently celebrated its 200th performance in India. Benefits from the play go to support V-day, a non-profit organisation founded by playwright Eve Ensler to end violence against women. In ten years, V-day has raised over $60 million. Indian co-director, producer and actress Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal talks about her journey with the play, which initially shocked Bollywood actresses, as well as her problems with censors, and the reaction of the Indian public
The Vagina Monologues India team (director Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal, second left, top row). Photograph: Keki Unwalla
Thu 7 May 2009 04.00 EDT
Staging the play in India has been a journey of blood, sweat, and tears. I first saw the Vagina Monologues in Atlanta in 2002. Like most of the audience, I was blown away. I thought it was the perfect entertainment package, getting a message across by making people laugh and cry at the same time. But then I thought: 'How can I possibly do a play like this in India?'
When I finally decided to stage the play in 2003, I thought it might run for five shows at the most. I was so wrong about that. I think Indian audiences are a lot more broadminded than we give them credit for. I think it's been such a success because everyone in the audience empathises with the women in the play. Everyone has someone in their life – mothers, wives, sisters, friends – who has experienced abuse.
When I put on the first show, no one wanted to produce, sponsor or act in it. Many Hollywood stars such as Jane Fonda, Julia Roberts, and Marisa Tomei have performed in the American version. But I couldn't get any Bollywood star to act in it for several years, or even support it.
I asked one Bollywood starlet, and she was shocked. 'How can I say the word vagina in front of my family and guru (acting teacher)?' she gasped. But after the play became a hit, she came up to me at one of the performances and said, 'Ooh, you know, I just can't stop saying vagina. It's so empowering!'
Eventually, I found a group of pioneering actresses willing to act in the play. At the first show, we were told to get lawyers and pack our bags in case of violent protests. The first show was sold out, and we have been sold out ever since. Of course, there are still many conservative theatre venues that won't have us. Even today, it's difficult to find sponsors.
When the play had been running for a year, Eve Ensler, Jane Fonda and Marisa Tomei came to India to see the play. We were on our way to stage it in Chennai (a southern Indian city) when we were stopped. The Chennai police had banned our entry into the city because they said we would disrupt law and order.
We were also banned from taking it to Ahmedabad (a city in western India). I don't see how a play can disrupt law and order, when all kinds of inflammatory speeches and political demonstrations are allowed. Apart from this, we have taken the show all over India with no trouble from censors. For the 200th show, I even got calls from the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena (conservative right-wing political parties) for tickets.
It's a difficult play to do, because without a firm hand it can slide into soft porn. The translation for the Hindi version was particularly difficult because all the commonly-used Hindi words for vagina are abuses. We have introduced Indian characters and given some of the scenes an Indian flavour, but we haven't changed the monologues in any way. I think we practiced the orgasm scene for months. There was a lot of back and forth discussion, such as: 'How would a machine gun orgasm sound?' In the Hindi version, the actors deconstruct the word 'chuth', the colloquial (and abusive term) for vagina, and the audience actually join in.
I know some critics of the play feel that there is too much anti-male rhetoric and disapprove of the way the vagina is associated with violence. But honestly, aren't women still the greatest victims of abuse and violence? Besides, people forget that the monologues are true stories which Eve Ensler just wrote down. They may not be politically correct, but we can't censor them because these are stories that really did happen.
People criticise the constant harping on about the vagina word as gimmicky, but perhaps that's because they just see it as a body part. I see it as symbolising the spirit and essence of a woman. Men talk about their penises constantly, why shouldn't women talk about their vaginas? Before every performance, I give a five minute talk asking the audience to chant the word 'vagina'. If you can't say the word 'vagina' then you can't talk about the abuse of the vagina.
The best thing about doing this play has been the people I have met. There was an 80-year-old man who came up to us and said: 'I am so happy I am alive at this stage in Indian history, so that I can see a play like this.' After one performance, a young girl clung to me and wept as if someone had died. She had been abused by her uncle for many years, and then she escaped, got a job and built a new life. She told us that the play was a real catharsis, and that it helped to know there were other women out there who were battling abuse.
In most audiences, at least 40% are men. Many come with their friends, maybe for a bit of fun, then they say they want to bring their wives or girlfriends. We have had amazing audiences in small, supposedly conservative towns. The police commissioner of Bhubaneshwar (a small town in the Eastern state of Orissa) told me: 'I hope you live to perform this play for a hundred years, because that's how long it will take for Indian men to change.'
In the last five years, we have raised around 50 lakhs (about GBP67,800) for a shelter for battered women in Dharavi (a large Mumbai slum). The proceeds of the 200th show are going to Haseena Hussain, the young victim of an acid attack in Bangalore. Haseena was blinded and completely disfigured by her boss when she refused his romantic overtures. For our 200th performance, she left her house for the first time in ten years. Meanwhile, her attacker has been sentenced to life, but he will probably be out in fourteen years. This is what women still have to endure.
With the recent moral policing of women by right-wing political parties, I think India is at a very crucial stage of its development. The arts are a reflection of society and culture. If you throttle the arts, you throttle society. We may be a global economy, but we have such closed mindsets. As for the future, I am going to take this play as far as it goes. I am looking forward to the 300th show.
Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal was interviewed by Kavitha Rao.
Eve Ensler

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Online puzzle of Prekmurska gibanica cake, a layer cake popular in Slovenia made with apples and cottage cheese filling.
Looks delicious! Wish I had some. However, just sitting at my computer doing these puzzles and drinking coffee.
I was born in Slovenia but we made mostly Italian sweets. My cousin made the most delicious apple strudel with chocolate and apples and nuts. Peanut butter is not on their menu so that the Slovenian cake would not have it in it.
Tough but looks so yummy!
Looks like a great thing to eat!
Per Wikipedia, it contains poppy seeds, walnuts, apples, raisins and ricotta fillings. You can find a recipe for it at slovenia dot info - just search the site for "gibanica" - it's in English.
Mmmm! That looks wonderfully gooey and delicious. I'd like to know more about it. Slovenia, eh?


Erin Meyer is the author of The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business and is a professor at INSEAD, one of the world's leading international business schools. Her work focuses on how the world's most successful global leaders navigate the complexities of cultural differences in a multi-cultural environment. She has developed a framework that allows international executives to pin-point their leadership preferences, and compare their methods to the management styles of other cultures. Meyer has taught thousands of executives from five continents to decode how cultural differences are impacting their work, and strategies for improving their international collaboration. Her work has been published in Harvard Business Review, Singapore Business Times, and Forbes.com.


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Kashmir Demands Right of Self-Determination
By Zaman Bajwa on	 February 5, 2018 Blogs
The government of Pakistan announced February 5 as a National holiday to observe the Kashmir Solidarity Day in support of the Kashmiris. The day will signify political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris in their struggle for self-determination. The day is celebrated on Government and public level. Activities like Seminars and Rallies are organized to highlight this issue on national and International forums. Pakistani and Kashmiris make human hands chain to show the bonds between Pakistan and Kashmir.
Unrest in Indian occupied Kashmir is not a new phenomenon. It has a very long history, which is even older than pre-independence era. From the first day of this movement, people are demanding the right of self-determination. They are ready to sacrifice their lives, wealth and everything for the freedom. 94,966 Kashmiri people have lost their lives in this conflict; it's not only the matter of lives but it also destroyed the basic structure of the valley. More than 108,658 of shops, houses and public properties have been destroyed by the Indian occupational forces that put a direct effect on the daily life of Kashmir.
Death of young social media activist Burhan Muzzafar Wani by Indian army started a new uprising in Kashmir. This martyrdom gave a new hope and energy to the movement. The youth is determined to achieve the goal of freedom. Indian army failed to control this situation with its all illegitimate powers. They are blinding the Kashmiri youth by pellets and Pawa tear shells. Putting them behind the bars without any reason. Indian forces using rape as a weapon of war. They are trying to divide Kashmir people on basis of religion or sect. Recent murder after the rape of minor girl Asifa belongs to Gujjar Bakerwal tribe in Kathua is an example because Jammu is a Hindu majority population area. Such type of acts by Indian forces is part of a plan to start communal disturbance in this area.
Even after such excessive use of power, India is losing its grip on Kashmir and all top-level officials who served in Kashmir admitted this openly many times. India celebrated her Republic day on 26 January a few days ago, but India was not able to hoist her flag openly anywhere in occupied Kashmir. Governor of occupied Kashmir N.N Vohra arranged this ceremony at his home and CM Mehboba Mufti didn't join any Flag hoisting ceremony.
International media and Human Rights organization are keenly watching this situation. Major International newspapers published their editorials on the current situation and declared Indian forces responsible for all this brutality and condemn their unlawful occupation against the wishes of people of Kashmir.
Pakistan has always supported the people of Kashmir for their right to self-determination, demanded and raised this issue on all concerned forums. Pakistan is a responsible democratic country and respects all United Nations resolutions on Kashmir conflict. Now it's the responsibility of United Nations to force India to fulfill the promise of the plebiscite, so the people of Kashmir may decide about their future.
Tags: Freedom | India | Indian Occupied Kashmir | Kashmir | Pakistan | Self-determination | United Nations
Zaman Bajwa
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Next Article Pakistan is observing Kashmir Day to show solidarity with Kashmiris


MUME is based on J.R.R Tolkien's creation, Middle-earth. Within the game you will find familiar places such as Rivendell, the Shire and Bree. You will find less welcome figures like Bill Ferny, Old Man Willow and even The Red Eye. You may find more mysterious people; Círdan the Shipwright or Tom Bombadil.
There are several sources of help for new players. First of all, the text you are reading now, and the help subjects mentioned in the 'See also' part at the bottom of these pages. Secondly, the Newbie board in the 'Halls of Mandos', which players can read when they start a character belonging to the Free folk (Humans, elves, half-elves, dwarves or hobbits), or when such characters die.
The bulletin boards, which contain information posted by players; for example, the guild boards, which can be found in most towns. Some towns also have libraries, with books discussing several aspects of Arda.
You can also visit the web-forum (http://mume.org/forum/) or wiki (http://mume.org/wiki/), to log in, just use your MUME character and password.
Finally, there is the extensive help system described in the next paragraphs.
MUME has an extensive set of help pages which has been carefully written and updated to help new players and old. Simply type 'HELP' with no arguments for a list of available commands and help topics. All of the commands in these newbie help pages which are capitalized have their own help page you can check if you need more explanation on a topic.
At the bottom of each help file you will find other help files about topics or containing further information.
If you are new to Mume, you should not be playing an Orc, a Troll or a Black Númenórean. If you are, quit now and start another character.
Please read the following help entirely and the FAQ's ('HELP FAQ'). Many of the questions you will have are covered in the FAQ's and they will hopefully save you a lot of confusion.
Before leaving your start room, read the FAQ's and then read the board in the starting room. This board has advice from experienced players and information about some of the towns you might be going to. To read the board files in order, type 'READ next'. To learn the commands on how to do things such as rereading a posting on a board, type 'HELP BOARD' and read FAQ5.
To leave your starting room, type 'PRAY <place_name>'. You must pray to your 'RACE home'. For Dwarves this is the Blue Mountains, Elves and Half-Elves may pray to the Grey Havens, Humans to Fornost, and Hobbits to the Shire. There are other places one can pray to but they are not recommended for new players!
in the Shire are able to wander far with little chance of danger (or adventure!).
woods around it, and Orcs and worse may raid the lands about.
Grey Havens, since orcs have been spotted recently.
those about Fornost or the Blue Mountains, but more perilous than the Shire.
is far and very dangerous!
Once out, type 'WHO AINUR' to see if any gods are on. If there are, you can ask one for some basic starting equipment (called a kit, or newbie kit). Type 'HELP KIT'. Type: 'TELL <godname> Can I have a newbie kit please?'. If none are visible, you can 'PRAY Can I have a newbie kit please?'. Any invisible Ainur will hear your request.
To find the names of players near you type 'WHERE'. To find the names of players on MUME, type 'WHO'. To find a little information about any of the people that you see listed or in person type 'WHOIS <name>', an example being 'WHOIS Manwe'. Type 'HELP TELL', 'HELP SAY' for more information on communication with other players. You can always type 'HELP <command>' to find out more about any command.
To learn skills and spells for your character, read 'HELP PRACTICE' and then seek out knowledge on what skills or spells could be most useful to you. This advice can be found from other people, from messages on guild bulletin boards, and in the libraries ('HELP FAQ5').
evil characters are shunned in the western lands. See 'HELP ALIGNMENT'.
If your terminal/client supports colours it can be helpful to enable MUMEs default colours by typing 'CHANGE COL ALL DEFAULT'.
Finally, there are few mapping-programs available which you can use to create your own maps. See 'HELP MAPPERS' and 'RULES MAPPERS'for more details.
Type 'HELP SUBJECTS' to see a full list of MUMEs extensive help files. This very long list can be a bit daunting since it is so large, but some of it is historical information on people and places in MUME.
Type 'RULES' for a list of the RULES files covering what your character can and can't do, such as multiplaying; read them by typing RULES <topicname>.
In your newbie kit is a map of your home town. You can use it to find the local library, go there. Reading some useful books about newbie-related issues in that library is a great help (read 'HELP FAQ5' to learn how libraries work).
We hope this text could give you a few hints on how to start and where you can get the answers you need. If you can not find something or need further information, you can ask other players on the the global communication channels, as the Unfinished Tales ('HELP NARRATE') or you can visit the web-forum ('HELP FORUM').


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Blog 2016 June Allergy, Immunology and Asthma ...
Allergy, Immunology and Asthma Medical Group Now Accepting Patients in Sonora
Jun 2, 2016 Physicians
Sonora Regional Medical Center is pleased to welcome Michael Balduzzi, MD; George Bensch, MD; Gregory Bensch, MD; and Jerold Yecies, MD as they open their new office location in Sonora. Their practice, Allergy, Immunology & Asthma Medical Group, has been serving the San Joaquin valley for more than 40 years and now has seven clinic locations in the valley and foothills.
The physicians at Allergy, Immunology & Asthma Medical Group specialize in environmental, food, drug, and insect sting allergies; pediatric and adult asthma; allergic skin conditions such as hives, eczema and contact dermatitis; and anaphylaxis.
Dr. Balduzzi earned his medical degree from New York Medical College and completed his residency in Internal Medicine and Fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at University of South Florida. He joined the practice in 2015.
Dr. George Bensch has been in practice since 1973, after completing his fellowship in Immunology and Allergy at the University of Colorado. He is board certified in Pediatrics and Allergy and Immunology and is also a Certified Clinical Investigator. In addition to treating patients, Dr. Bensch also serves as Chief of the Allergy and Immunology Residency Program at San Joaquin General Hospital.
Dr. Gregory Bensch earned his medical degree and completed residency training at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed fellowship training in Allergy and Immunology in 1999 and joined Allergy, Immunology & Asthma Medical Group that same year. He is a Fellow of both the American Academy and the College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
Dr. Yecies is fellowship trained in Allergy and Immunology and started his practice in Stockton more than 40 years ago. He served in the U.S. Navy as Lieutenant Commander, Epidemiologist and Assistant Officer in Charge before completing his fellowship training at the University of Colorado.
Their new Sonora office is located at 137 S. Shepherd Street in Sonora. Please call (209) 951-5353 to schedule an appointment or visit www.allergyimm.com to learn more.
New Family Medicine Physician in Reedley More
Welcoming psychiatrist Erica Vega, D.O. More
Internationally renowned interventional cardiologist joins Adventist Heart & Vascular Center at St. Helena Hospital, bringing advanced vascular treatment to Napa Valley More


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SBTV, odnosno Slavonskobrodska televizija je utemeljena rujna 2003. godine, a prvi program emitiran je 1. srpnja 2004. godine. Televizija emitira cjelodnevni program.

Pokrivenost signalom
Signalom s odašiljača Papuk, Psunj i Košarevac u Slavonskom Brodu unutar multipleksa M2 na 43. kanalu UHF-a, SBTV se može pratiti na cijelom području digitalne regije D2 koji obuhvaća dio Bjelovarsko-bilogorske, Virovitičko-podravske, Požeško-slavonske, dio Brodsko-posavske, dio Osječko-baranjske i dio Sisačko-moslavačke županije.

Vanjske poveznice
 www.sbtv.hr

Hrvatske televizijske postaje
Slavonski Brod

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The costs and need for clean water are increasing for greenhouse, nursery, and agricultural businesses. Runoff from irrigated agriculture and specialty crops also can take a toll on the surrounding environment, because irrigation runoff water can contain high amounts of nutrients, contaminants, and plant pathogens. To assuage the pollution contributed to runoff water and reduce the overall volume of water used, nurseries are starting to reuse irrigation runoff water. For this to be possible, the water first should be treated before reuse. Constructed wetlands are a biological treatment option that employs vegetation to collect, filter, and store runoff water. Some wetland plants may have the ability to filter pathogen propagules from runoff without becoming infected and then becoming sources of pathogen inoculum. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility of three wetland plants in the genus Canna. (C. flaccida, C. ×generals `Carolina Pink, and C. ×generals `Bird of Paradise') to five species of Phytophthora (P. cinnamomi, P. citrophthora, P. cryptogea, P. nicotianae, and P. palmivora) that have been found in irrigation runoff water at ornamental plant nurseries. Plants were grown in Milli-Q water was amended with fertilizer and exposed to three isolates of a single species of Phytophthora. Six plants were exposed to one species of Phytophthora for each of the five species. Six plants were also grown but were not exposed to any species of Phytophthora. Zoospore presence and activity was monitored over the course of 28 days with leaf baits, and the infestation and infection of plant roots were evaluated at the end of each experiment. Roots from every Carolina Pink plant exposed to zoospores were infested, and 75% of the plants were infected. The leaf bait results for Carolina Pink plants indicated that zoospore activity did not decline during the 28 days in the presence of plants. Canna flaccida was less susceptible; 76% of the exposed plants were infested but only 23% were infected. The Bird of Paradise plants were even less susceptible to colonization by species of Phytophthora: only 33% of exposed plants were infested and 15% were infected. There was also a decline in leaf bait colonization in the presence of both Canna flaccida and Bird of Paradise plants when compared to treatment sets that contained Phytophthora only, even after plants were re-exposed to zoospores at day 14. Phytophthora cinnamomi was most successful at colonizing species of Canna plants, regardless of species or cultivar. The Carolina Pink cultivar cannot be recommended for use in constructed wetlands or vegetative buffers, because it was highly susceptible to species of Phytophthora and could potentially contribute to inoculum loads in recycled irrigation water. Canna flaccida and Bird of Paradise plants could be utilized in vegetative buffers, as they are less susceptible and seemed to help filter inocula from runoff water, as evidenced by decreased zoospore activity over time.
Van Kampen, Kristin, "Potential susceptibility of Canna flaccida and two Canna hybrids to five species of Phytophthora" (2014). All Theses. 1911.


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Urban Cannibal Massacre
Meat the Jones in this humorous yet terrifying tale of a prestigious family of black cannibals. For years the Jones' have enjoyed an endless supply of "cattle" by feeding on the homeless people from the streets of Akron, Ohio. The Jones's way of life is jeopardized by their daughter Kendal who is a newly converted vegan and doesn't approve of her family's dark, twisted ways. Kendal must decide on keeping up the family tradition or helping Ed, the new-found love of her life escape the Jones's house of horrors, before he becomes their next meal.
Genre : Horror, Thriller
Actors : Ashely Aquilla, Crissy Kolarik, Kenny Santiago Marrero, Kris Smith, Kyle Carthens, LaVail Duncan, Lyle Shelley, Mark Goler, Mia Jones, Octavious Maximus, Tara Kodosky
Keywords: Urban Cannibal Massacre
American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore
Two victims are graphically tortured in this American reimagining of the popular underground Japanese film series.
Dark Water
Dahlia Williams and her daughter Cecelia move into a rundown apartment on New York's Roosevelt Island. She is currently in midst of divorce proceedings and the apartment, though near an excellent school for her daughter, is all she can afford. From the time she arrives, there are mysterious occurrences and there is a constant drip from the ceiling in her daughter's bedroom.
Shattered is a story based on true events about family betrayal, love lost, and a dark destructive secret that swirls around a high powered political family in the Deep South. Kate Stenson dreams of an enviable life as the quintessential Southern Belle. She marries Ken Burnett, the son of the town's powerful Mayor – a controlling father who will do anything to protect his position. Kate has two children with Ken – a biological daughter, and an adopted son, named Logan. But Kate's seemingly perfect lifestyle begins to fray at the edges as she discovers that Logan suffers from severe mental health issues. Kate's journey to uncover the true story of Logan's past reveals a dark secret that can destroy the entire Burnett legacy. As Kate investigates – with the aid of a new friend – to unmask the history behind Logan's illness, these unimaginable family secrets surface, putting her in unforeseen danger.
Dead West
A charismatic serial killer embarks on a murderous cross-country road trip in search of true love.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
A dance troupe trapped in their theatre by the Zombie Apocalypse discover that the threat doesnt just lie beyond the chained doors, and that there are indeed worse things than being torn apart by critics.
The Diabolical
When a single mother and her two young children are tormented by an increasingly strange and intense presence in their quiet suburban home, she turns to her scientist boyfriend to take on the violent forces that paranormal experts are too frightened to face.
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
My Stepdaughter
Jill strives to connect with her new teenage stepdaughter, Casey, who is struggling with a dark past that leads her down a path of destruction.
Cryptz
When aspiring rappers Tymez Skwair, Fuzzy Down, and Likrish cross paths with stripper Stesha, they follow her to a mysterious strip club where the sexy ladies are really vampires in disguise. Things go from bad to worse when the vampires' leader Kulada (Ty Badger) finds out that Tymez holds the key to the bloodsuckers' world domination in this urban horror film that plays like "Vampire Strippers in the Hood.
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror, Thriller
Bitte Andersson's debut feature »Dyke Hard« is a wild John Waters-inspired queer comedy following a lesbian rock band's violent adventures back in 1986. Dyke Hard is a failed rock group travelling to a battle of the bands competition in the big city. The journey is further filled with bizarre, fierce and passionate encounters with cyborgs, ghosts, a thai boxer, roller derby gals, ninjas, motorcycle gangs and a mysterious billionaire all of whom will do everything to stop the band from making it in time to the battle.
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror, Musical, Sci-Fi
Where is My Baby
Marissa went into a coma while pregnant and wakes up five years later to find that she delivered her baby, but it is gone.
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
The Midnight After
A night like any other in the streets of Hong Kong: in the midst of the tangle of night-owls, cars and vendors, a group of passengers climbs aboard a minibus that is to take them from Mongkok to Tai Po. The group is as diverse as the city: there's a young man on drugs, an arguing couple, a woman with prayer beads and a girl who has just fallen in love. And behind the wheel sits the chatty driver. But as the bus emerges from a tunnel, everything is suddenly quite still: the streets and buildings are all empty and there's not a soul to be seen; it's as if everyone has suddenly been swallowed by the earth. Only the millions of neon lights continue to blink, as if nothing has happened. The eclectic group of passengers seek refuge in a deserted café and discuss what they should do. Then they make an horrific discovery…
Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Spitzendeckchen
After breaking up with her boyfriend Daniel, Anna just wants to hole up somewhere and recover. But she should have had a closer look at the fineprint of her rental contract –
for the old Viennese appartment it is a creature with never ending appetite, living off the youth of its residents. There is no escaping it anymore when Anna faces herself in the mirror as an old lady.
Unless she deliveres a new victim…
Country: Austria, Chile


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Uploaded: Thu, Oct 11, 2018, 12:13 pm
Head of the Class: Solorzano making the rounds at Amador
New principal back at high school level after Tri-Valley trek
Alberto Solorzano is in the middle of his first semester as principal of Amador Valley High School. (Photo by Erika Alvero)
by Erika Alvero	/ Pleasanton Weekly
Alberto Solorzano is Amador's third principal since fall 2015. (Photo by Erika Alvero)
Alberto Solorzano's path to Amador Valley principal is full of "accidents," he said. Starting with his foray into teaching.
Solorzano was working at a soccer camp one summer during his college years, when one day his coach asked him what he was studying. He replied that he was on a track to become a physical therapist.
"He was like, 'Why?' You're great with kids, kids respond to you, you enjoy being around them," Solorzano recalled. "You ever thought about going into teaching? " That conversation changed the trajectory of his life.
Solorzano has now taken the reins at the 2,700-student high school on Santa Rita Road, in the wake of former principal Michael Williams' departure after Williams assumed a position at the district office. He said he feels fortunate to come to Amador at a time when "the foundation's been set," and students with varying needs and performance levels can benefit from many opportunities.
"Amador has been a nationally award-winning school, clearly one of the top schools in the state of California," he said. "It has already programs and services that are addressing those needs. It's now my opportunity to see how can we enhance."
Solorzano grew up just south of Pleasanton in Union City, and attended James Logan High School in the New Haven Unified School District, before moving on to San Francisco State University where he graduated with his bachelor of arts in kinesiology. He later earned a master of science degree from California State University, East Bay in educational leadership.
He taught physical education and health back at James Logan High, along with coaching boys' soccer, before getting into administration -- also by accident, he said.
"My principal at my final, end-of-year evaluation, asked me, 'You ever thought of going into the administration?'" he said.
He became a vice principal and then house principal of his alma mater, James Logan, and then was named principal at the district's Cesar Chavez Middle School. After 18 years in New Haven Unified, he left to assume the post of Livermore High School principal in 2012 -- at the behest of his former teaching colleague Kelly Bowers, who is currently the superintendent of Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District. He would stay there through 2015.
A focus of his tenure at Livermore was changing the students' own perception of themselves and their school -- they often saw themselves as being less academic than students at their rival Granada High School.
"We're the mighty Livermore Cowboys, right?" he said. "Kind of re-energizing the school culture, with positivity, positive school messages. Always being there, visible and supporting kids, especially our students that are struggling."
A few years later, Solorzano's path took a somewhat unexpected turn when Bowers asked him for a favor. One of the district's elementary schools was struggling, in need of strong leadership. It was a Title 1 school, meaning that a large portion of the student population came from low socio-economic backgrounds, and hadgone through several principals without gaining much "traction," he said.
So Solorzano acceded to the superintendent's request and stepped into the principalship at Marilyn Elementary.
"We did some things with interventions, we did some things with pulling the community together," he said. "Building our first ever PTA at the school site."
"And then after two years, we won a gold ribbon school award for our intervention program," he added.
After a few years at Marilyn Elementary, he felt he had seen the full scope of the K-12 experience and was ready to move to a district office. "Not by accident, but by choice," he joked, in 2017 he took a job in the Dublin Unified School District as director of secondary education, where he served last year.
He enjoyed his time in Dublin, he said, but he missed being on a campus.
"It's a town that's booming in housing," he said. "It's booming with more and more families, and more and more students that are entering the school district, and so they're working fast to build schools and also get the second high school.
"But I did a lot of reflection, and I felt it wasn't time. It wasn't time to be away from the school sites, away from the action. And so when Amador Valley became open, I saw it as an opportunity for me to get back where I truly, truly enjoy working, and that's at the high school level."
So far, in his first few months at Amador, he's been working to acquaint himself with the school, students, families and staff, through physically walking the campus along with appearing on weekly TV announcements broadcast through the school.
"If I can always walk into a room, and everybody acknowledges me, then I'm doing my part by being visible and being present," he said.
His daughter is a junior at Amador -- they'd had some long conversations about his prospective post before he had even applied for the job. But she decided that she had well-enough established herself after two years.
Solorzano said he is especially looking forward to working with teachers, and serving as an instructional coach and mentor.
While Pleasanton Unified administration has seen some turnover recently, Solorzano says that his many years doing the "Tri-Valley walk" shows his investment in the region's students. His own recent moves within Livermore and Dublin, he said, were done in the name of students, and, in the case of the elementary school principal post, to help out his superintendent.
"Those are the kinds of things that keeps people motivated," he said. "They stick around. If you're part of an organization that believes in you and they want to invest in you, then you would decrease the amount of turnover."
Amador Valley High School is located at 1155 Santa Rita Road, just outside downtown Pleasanton. Solorzano earns an annual salary of $153,353.
Posted by Sandy Piderit
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Oct 12, 2018 at 4:51 pm
Sandy Piderit is a registered user.
We are grateful to have an engaged principal at Amador, and hope he will stick around for several years!
Why can't high schools in Pleasanton get Advanced Placement teachers that actually know the course material, can teach, and don't keep getting removed from the classroom?
So why was the AP Psychology teacher [name removed pending verification] just put on leave at Amador?
And why was the AP Psychology teacher Lauren Andrade put on leave at Foothill several years ago?
Let me guess. No comment from the district.
Posted by Lauren Andrade revoked credential
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 15, 2018 at 11:02 am
Regarding Lauren Andrade, we will never hear from the district why she was given a settlement of $40,000. Her teaching credential is self-revoked pending a misconduct investigation. Just lovely. She was also the varsity swim coach at FHS. And yet another AP psych teacher on leave? Good luck to the new Amador principal.
Posted by Student at AV
@parent
Regarding the AP Psychology teacher at AVHS, he was placed on leave for throwing a kid's airpods. The kid wasn't listening to him and kept playing music in his ears even while the teacher continued to talk face to face with him.
The kid talked to the office and eventually left the school, leaving us AP Psychology kids and several classes of Modern World History kids without a teacher for 2 and a half weeks.
Oh, and we (AP Psychology kids) have a test tomorrow - a test we that we have had no actual teacher to teach us the material.
All because of some kid with some Airpods.
Posted by amadons20
on Oct 19, 2018 at 10:27 pm
amadons20 is a registered user.
I am in Mr K's world history class. It has been really tough without him as he. Is really good. My friends at Foothill say the student in questiion got in a fight like his second day at school. This sucks and we are not really told anything. I hate that Mr. K is being treated like this. He is dope and makes it something to look forward to. So much disrespectful kids teachers have to deal with.
Posted by Bandpunk21
Bandpunk21 is a registered user.
We have been out of a teacher for 3 weeks with no end in sight. I am in Mr K' AP Psych class and it is one of the best courses I have taken in my entire Pleasanton academic career. My cousin is in the the class where the "incident" occurred. She said mr k did not touch the kid he only got the air pod and tossed it. She also said this kid is a punk and got suspended earlier in the year for fighting. This is such an overreaction by the parents and school district. Five classes have lost their teacher and the subs don't do anything. We have had one test and we have only gotten by because mr k has done video lectures for everyone. This seems so selfish of the parents at our expense.
Posted by justwondering
justwondering is a registered user.
Glad to see that Amador has a principal that may stay awhile!!
Posted by Jtjh
a resident of Vintage Hills Elementary School
on Oct 22, 2018 at 8:23 am
Jtjh is a registered user.
Though isn't that what they all say in the early days? :-)
Lots of media coverage as Swalwell calls it quits for 2020 presidential bid
By Tim Hunt | 29 comments | 1,218 views
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text:
Magic Realm of Shattered Illusions
Jeffrey Erkelens
Mar 3, 2018 · 12 min read
"My life didn't start dark and twisted. I started out as a happy and blissful child, living my life to the fullest in a world I thought was good and pure…Ever since I hit puberty, I've been forced to endure an existence of loneliness, rejection, and unfulfilled desires."
Elliot Rodger (22) wrote this in his Manifesto before stabbing three men to death in his apartment. Afterwards, he drove to the sorority house in which my elder daughter lived and shot three female students, killing two. Next, he drove to a nearby deli and shot a male student to death, and then sped through Isla Vista, shooting pedestrians and striking others with his car. Rodger exchanged gunfire with police during the attack, receiving a gunshot to the hip. The rampage ended when his car crashed into a parked vehicle. Police found him dead in the car with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
"Violence is what happens when we don't know what else to do with our suffering." — Parker Palmer
What turned Elliot from a "happy, blissful boy", into a rejected, angry young man, tormented by unfulfilled desires?
Who manufactured his desires and illusions?
On average, American children watch 20,000 commercials per year, 92% of teens are online daily, and eight out of ten men between 18 and 30 view pornography at least monthly.
This is the Magic Realm in which many young men now receive their initiation. It is their distorted window to the world.
As a young boy, Elliot was told by the Realm to be polite and kind; girls like that, they said. But Elliot would soon find out that: "In a decent world, that would be ideal. But the polite, kind gentleman doesn't win in the real world. The girls don't flock to the gentlemen. They flock to the alpha male. They flock to the boys who appear to have the most power and status. And it was a ruthless struggle to reach such a height. It was too much for me to handle. I was still a little boy with a fragile mind."
The Realm creates the illusion that no matter your background you will be accepted. Again, Elliot's illusions shattered: "I was a bit hesitant to invite anyone from Pinecrest to my mother's house, because it was located in Canoga Park, a bad area, and most of the kids at Pinecrest were upper-middle class who would look down on me for living there. But I couldn't back out of this once my mother invited Connor. He came over and all went well, we played a few video games for a couple of hours. But after that playdate, he would always rip on me for living in a "poor" house. He would also tell other kids at Pinecrest about it. This infuriated me to no end."
The Realm tells us things will be just fine if you work hard, stay out of trouble, and play by the rules. My father did all those things, and now — at age 86, suffering from bladder cancer — he lies in bed wearing a ski-jacket and mittens because he cannot afford to run his furnace, having lost close to three-quarters of his life savings courtesy of the reckless greed and irresponsibility of those that contributed to the stock market crash of 2008.
In this Fairytale World, good always triumphs over evil, heroes never cheat, liars see their noses grow, princesses fall for street urchins, happiness comes in a bottle, you join the army and "become all you can be", girls enjoy being denigrated and abused (porn), everyone around you seems to be having the time of their life and getting everything they desire (Social Media), and conspicuous consumption — and a funny cat video — earns you the admiration of thousands of fans …it really is a wonderful place.
So, what happens when the light of reality is turned on, when the magic fails and the pixie dust dims?
How do we make sense of a world where good doesn't always triumph over evil?
Where cads become presidents and heroes cycle on steroids.
When we witness, not the growing noses, but the swelling bank accounts of those who lie, cheat, and deceive.
When princesses don't normally fall for polite paupers like in Disney's Aladdin.
When girlfriends refuse to perform like porn stars, or when the cheerleader of your dreams refuses to kiss you because you actually look like a frog so your only choice is to settle for Audrey, your portly classmate with the wide hips and sensible shoes.
When the happiness promised by Coca Cola's™ slogan doesn't bubble up when you open the bottle, or that instead of [Being] all You Can Be©, joining the Army lands you on a hospital bed with PTSD.
When the challenges inherent in every relationship pop our pink bubble of "happily ever after".
What if the glass slipper won't fit, but shatters?
When we don't meet our expectations of success, when that gap gets too wide, violence often becomes the only option — the expression of a fantasy of ultimate individualism and control. — Barry Spector, 'Madness at the Gates of the City'
Disgruntled and Wronged
Puberty is a bitch.
It's a fragile time.
A time when young men are struggling to arrive at a sense of self; to think about what is possible, instead of what is real.
Humanistic psychologist, Carl Rogers, said that we all own a real self and an ideal self. The real self of course is what we are intrinsically. The ideal self is the self that we think we want to be, that we strive to be, and that we feel we are expected to be.
The problem arises when our ideal selves are too far removed from what we really are. When the discrepancy is huge, the resulting incongruence can lead us to become disgruntled and discouraged because the real self never seems good enough and the ideal self seems impossible to attain.
The typical personality attribute in mass murderers is one of paranoid traits plus massive disgruntlement, concluded Dr. Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist in New York after completing a study of 228 mass killers.
Dr. J. Reid Meloy, a forensic psychologist who consults on threat assessment for universities and corporations, said the most salient feature of mass killers was their belief that they had been wronged.
What wronged them?
The illusions propagated by the Magic Realm.
This feeling of being a failure implies that in the depth of our being we have accepted some objective, if not some worldly, standard of success. — Alain de Botton
Assuming unlimited opportunity makes us believe we can be anything we want to be. This is a characteristically American misinterpretation of the indigenous teaching that we are born to be one thing, and the task of soul-making is to discover it. (Spector)
"Boys' old sense of purpose — being a warrior, a leader, or a sole breadwinner — is fading. Many bright young men are experiencing a 'purpose void,' feeling alienated, withdrawn, and addicted to immediate gratification," write Warren Farrell PhD, and John Gray PhD in 'The Boy Crisis'.
Absent meaningful purpose, young men are desperate to find something larger than their small lives, and in the Magic Realm, one way to find it is by achieving instant gratification through notoriety.
"I'm going to be famous." — Robert Hawkins (19), Omaha mass shooter.
"Just look at how many fans you can find for all different types of mass murderers." — Adam Lanza (20), Sandy Hook.
"Seems the more people you kill, the more you are in the limelight." — Christopher Harper-Mercer (26), Oregon mass shooter.
"Directors will be fighting for this story." — Dylan Klebold (17), Columbine
50 people perished for their 15 Minutes of Fame.
They are masculinized in the womb by a bath of testosterone, wrote Chip Brown in 'How Rites of Passage Shape Masculinity' for National Geographic.
As boys come of age, Brown says, they are in the midst of a momentous transition, morphing under a fresh influx of the powerful hormone into physically mature men: body hair, defined muscles, bigger shoulders, burgeoning sexuality, an appetite for risk, and potentially elevated levels of aggression. They are coming to grips with behavioral tendencies and patterns programmed by millions of years of evolution.
"Boys will play with dolls, but chances are the dolls will be getting into a fight." — Joe Herbert, Professor of Neuroscience, University of Cambridge
To ignore or deny this in the name of a gender-neutral society is to neutralize the constructive — often lifesaving — force males can bring to the world.
Masculinity, challenged well, is the reason assistant football coach Aaron Feis died in Parkland shielding students from bullets as he pushed them inside a classroom. The same instinctual response occurred at the Aurora movie theatre in 2012, when three young men died protecting their girlfriends." — Jason Farrell, author at The Federalist.
The World Doesn't Count to Three
Is what my father used to tell us when we pleaded him to count to three before ripping off the Band-Aids covering our wounds.
Like other mammals, humans begin life in a maternal womb. This space, bathed in amniotic fluid and kept warm by the surrounding body of the mother, is the archetypal nurturing environment.
After birth, the household — the realm of the Mother — symbolizes the psychological environment needed during the first stage of a boy's life. It is a protected space, an enclosure in which he can grow relatively undisturbed by toxic intrusions from the surrounding world until his body and mind are prepared to cope with the physical and social worlds into which he has been delivered.
While the mother occupies the symbolic center of the first stage of individuation or selfhood, the father assumes this position in the second stage. The father is needed by the growing ego to gain freedom from the nurturing containment offered by the mother and to instill the rigor of functioning and performance demanded for adaptation to the world.
"Fathers don't mother," Yale Psychiatrist Kyle Pruett wrote in Salon Magazine, and a growing body of research demonstrates how important fathers are in a child's life.
Where the first stage of individuation is characterized by containment and nurturance (the Garden of Eden), the second stage is governed by the law of consequences for actions taken (the reality principle). A person who is living fully in this type of environment has entered the "father world". This is not the world as ideal but the world as real. Not the Magic Realm, but the world we live in.
Seven of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history were committed by young males. Of the seven, only one was raised by his biological father throughout childhood.
Who fills the void?
The Magic Realm.
Male Initiation in Traditional Cultures
As bridging institutions, schools in the U.S. increasingly play the archetypal role of the paternal parent to a growing boy, whose job it is to help him leave the family container when the years appropriate for nurturing are over and adapt to the demands of adult life in the larger world.
But 80% of teachers are women according on the 2016 survey by the U.S. Department of Education.
Manhood, in other words, is something many American boys must now figure out for themselves.
If we don't initiate the young, they will burn down the village to feel the heat. — African Proverb
Globally, traditional societies have observed rites of passage signifying the emergence of young men from childhood to adulthood — no concept of adolescence intervened between stages.
In an earlier blog, I wrote:
Absent meaningful and transformative initiation rituals, young men in America are basically herded into one of three fiefdoms of the Magic Realm:
For the well-off: into competitive consumers.
For those in the middle: the army or the Union.
At the lower rung: the gangs.
None of which makes room for the wider community, Nature, the Feminine, or any other concerns of the ideal, mature masculine.
Led by the elders of the clan, traditional initiation rites of passage seek to prepare young boys to become men in service to their community.
"Discovering your place in the greater web of things, you offer thanks for your gift and return to share it with your people. You take up your new place as an adult in your clan." — Bill Moyers.
I support universal background checks despite Nikolas Cruz (the Parkland shooter), having passed his with flying colors. I support a ban on assault weapons and overhauling our mental health system, but do not believe these measures go far enough, just as the $1.5 trillion this country has spent on drug control since 1971 has done nothing to lower the rate of addiction. Because addiction is not a "drug problem", but the habitual avoidance of reality. It is the manifestation of despair.
We can go as far as confiscating the 270 million guns owned by Americans, but we will not see an end to the slaughter. The despair will still be there. The Magic Realm's empty promises will continue disappointing and angering young men like Elliot Rodger, who, I remind you, also used a knife and his car to maim and kill.
And, NO, Mr. President, we don't need teachers carrying guns. I worked with teachers for ten years. They seem congenitally incapable of operating anything with moving parts: copiers, laminators, etc. They are educators, not vigilantes. We cannot teach them to shoot, as we can't teach you to empathize.
A Call to the Elders of our Tribe
Where are the Uncles, the Elders, the Wise Men?
In Aramaic (the language spoken by Jesus), good and evil do not correspond to what we typically think of as morally right or wrong but have an agricultural meaning and refer to fruit that is ripe (good) and unripe (evil).
America waits for its elders to ripen our young men by guiding them towards their own definitions of Self, worth, and individual and transpersonal purpose; to teach them to become the best original version of themselves, rather than an inferior copy of someone else; to shepherd them away from the Magic Realm and teach them to cope with the realities of loneliness, rejection, disappointment, and loss.
I say this half-heartedly. A quick inspection of the "men" leading our tribe will make anyone realize we're in deep shit.
Schools need more male teachers;
More male mentors pairing-up with troubled teens;
Not a single student eating alone at recess;
Not more Tablets, but more recess and counselors;
Equal emphasis on social-emotional development as placed on academics, and,
Playgrounds that foster independence, risk-taking, and discovery. (Here's a video of a fine example).
Safe Outlets for Testosterone
The goal of the jump is to land close enough to the ground that the diver's shoulders touch the ground. Any miscalculation on the length of the vine means either serious injury or death. Land diving among the men of Vanuatu, a South Pacific Island, goes back nearly fifteen centuries. The purpose of the ritual is twofold: first, it's performed as a sacrifice to their gods to ensure a bountiful yam crop, and second, it serves as a rite of passage to initiate the tribe's boys into manhood.
Ok, maybe not that extreme, but American boys need ritualized outlets for the fresh influx of the powerful hormone: testosterone. Anything but lying on a couch in the Magic Realm, playing at gunning, stabbing, mauling, and dismembering on a video screen.
Pop-up Calls to Kindness
Message for Cyberbullies
I recently purchased socks online.
Ever since, ads for socks keep popping-up on my screen.
Ingenious!
If the Tech Overlords in the Magic Realm can figure out how to do this, why don't we put their genius and wizardry to better use by having them flood the screens of cyberbullies with pop-up calls to kindness?
And while we are at it, let's require kids who bully classmates on social media to perform 180 random acts of kindness — one for each day at school.
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." — Frederick Douglass
Until we have the boldness to tackle the deeper issues that our young men confront, the flags will continue flying at half-mast.
If you are one of our tribal elders, consider mentoring a teenage boy, or play a more active, influential role in the life of a nephew or grandchild.
If, on the other hand, you are a young man entering adulthood and feel lost or disoriented, seek guidance from the older men in your orbit whom you trust and respect, Or find a mentor — your personal Yoda, Obi Wan, Dumbledore, Gandalf. Or drop me a line. Perhaps I can help.
Flying fish. Iconoclast. Currently writing The Hero in You, a Book for Boys: https://www.facebook.com/bookforboys/