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The Garden in the Desert
Joy Shan 9:49 pm, Nov 27, 2012
[media-credit id=11497 align="alignnone" width="300″] [/media-credit]Stacy Spell reaches into a tangle of tomato vines and broccoli stalks and pulls out what looks like a sunken brown baseball. "Cantaloupe!" he exclaims. He cuts open the shell with a pocketknife, revealing the fruit's orange flesh, then holds out the cantaloupe so I can take a closer look. "It's a volunteer," he says, laughing at my confusion. The garden we're standing in, I learn, uses compost, which sometimes results in these "volunteers": plants that unexpectedly sprout from seeds hidden in leftover scraps.
Spell is the founder of the Little Red Hen, a new community vegetable garden in New Haven's West River neighborhood, an urban enclave located a mile-and-a-half west of Yale's campus. Near the corner where Mead Street meets Derby Avenue, behind an iron fence and a weather-beaten sign, the square lot boasts over a dozen raised beds overflowing with greenery.
"When I tell people about this garden, they're always surprised," says Michelle Streater, a preschool teacher who lives around the corner. "They're like, 'In West River? In the middle of the city?'" According to Spell, some skeptics thought that the logistics of the project were beyond the neighborhood's reach.
"They think that people downhere aren't savvy enough," he says.
I quickly realize that, despite my Southern suburban roots, I am the least savvy person here. Tentatively cupping seeds in my hand, I clear a patch of dirt and wave over Shivani Smith, another volunteer. She's only eight but she holds her gardening tools with ease. Shivani and her two friends stand beside me, giving me directions.
"Sprinkle the seeds — wait, that's enough," she instructs. Shivani, her mother, and her older sister planted the first vegetable bed after the city's Board of Education approved the West River Neighborhood Services Corporation's proposal to transform the empty lot on Mead Street into a garden.
I soon find myself gripping a handsaw, cutting planks of plywood for a new bed. We lay the boards in a rectangle, and Michelle caps the soil, spreading black fabric over the ground. Because pollutants from an old house were found in the soil, part of the agreement to build a garden stipulated that nothing could be planted directly in the ground.
The soil cap is a reminder of the "urban" part of this so-called "urban garden." It's a reminder of the unlikeliness of a garden in the middle of the city. But like an unexpected cantaloupe sprouting where it doesn't belong, the Little Red Hen community garden has found a way to flourish. A new question has since sprung up — whether the growth of new vegetables could one day translate to the growth of a neighborhood or even an entire city.
The walk from Yale's campus to the garden takes me through several residential neighborhoods and passes by frequent clusters of corner stores. These "bodegas" line the streets of West River and many other New Haven neighborhoods. In the windows of the George Street Deli and Haven Market, posted next to advertisements for cigarettes and Connecticut Power Ball, signs announce, "We accept food stamps." Inside, scant aisles stock corner store staples: chips, ice cream, soda.
West River, like the greater city that surrounds it, is in the middle of a food desert. Food deserts are typically low-income areas where fruits, vegetables, and other perishables are hard to find. The only chain supermarket near the neighborhood, Shaw's on Whalley Avenue, closed in 2010. Now families without cars have little choice but to take the bus to Stop & Shop, which is farther away, and older women in West River can often be seen boarding buses with grocery carts.
Steve Driffin, a youth services specialist for the city, believes that a lack of access to healthy food correlates with increased violence and crime. He says that while local youth can buy a drink and three bags of chips for next to nothing, healthy food is expensive and rare. "Some of their best meals are at these bodegas," he adds.
Stacy Spell agrees. As head of the West River Neighborhood Services Corporation and a long-time resident of West River, he wanted to address the gap that Shaw's left. He recalls seeing men from the neighborhood returning for seconds and thirds at holiday dinners open to the community — young, healthy-looking men who, he says, "ate with no shame." The people he saw were hungry for "real food." Yet Spell says that the Little Red Hen sought to address more than just food security.
In addition to a lack of healthy food, West River has other types of turbulence. At the end of my first workday, Spell drives me back to campus. We pass the West River triangle, where Derby Avenue joins George and Norton streets. This area, according to the New Haven Register, has for the last several years been a hot spot for violent crime. This was where, early in 2011, two shootings broke out within three months of each other — the second took place in broad daylight. Only a few months earlier in December 2010, the Register reported the fatal shooting of a young man at the Dunkin' Donuts at the same intersection. Outsiders have been known to drive through red traffic lights in West River for fear of stopping too long.
The Little Red Hen, Spell explains, was created to galvanize a community in need. He believes that a garden that teaches people how to grow their own food will empower residents to have a more self-sufficient lifestyle — to stop depending on cheap corner-store junk. According to Spell, the issues that West River faces, from crime to food security, are all interwoven. As he puts it, "A hungry community is stuck and not prospering."
As the Little Red Hen develops in West River, New Haven is joining a national conversation about changing the way we eat.
The New Haven Food Policy Action Council holds its first Food Summit on Oct. 12 at City Hall. Teachers, students, and officials cram around tables and fill the meeting room with a dull roar. Each person has a copy of a draft of the Food Action Plan, an ambitious outline of changes people want to see in New Haven's food environment. The first of its three main goals is to "increase access to healthy food for all in New Haven." One strategy? Creating more backyard and community gardens.
Spell and several garden volunteers are met with whistles and applause as they walk to the front of the room to talk about their project's progress. The Little Red Hen was established independently, with scant resources, in a neighborhood where most wouldn't expect to find a garden. Now, in the 500 vacant lots owned by the city, the potential for agricultural growth is emerging, too. Little Red Hen's square lot on Mead Street is a point of inspiration for greater change in New Haven, and for promoting community development and public safety through food.
I understand that sourcing food locally bolsters a city's economy, but how exactly does the way a neighborhood eats relate to its unrest? To the people I meet at Little Red Hen, the community garden seems to be merely that — a community garden. The conversation around food politics doesn't quite seem relevant. I ask the volunteers if they see their gardening as part of a greater movement towards food security and public safety.
"For me … this is mostly a social event," Merrie Harrison says of her time at the Little Red Hen. Harrison started coming to the garden when she moved to West River this summer. She says that the sense of community keeps her coming back. Harrison says that for the women who volunteer there, the Little Red Hen provides an outlet to discuss everything from their kids to changes in the city. Working in the garden reminds her of "colonial women standing by the river washing their clothes together," she says, adding that she values "the sense of being there for each other."
Harrison, a teacher, encourages her students to go to the garden and learn from the older volunteers. This Saturday, Harrison has brought 21-year-old Bobby McKnight, a former student from New Horizons, an alternative high school program in New Haven.
As Harrison and I work, I ask her if the city's food movement feels relevant to her life. She's not sure.
Harrison thinks that over time, efforts like the Little Red Hen could improve life in West River on a large scale, but she says that it's too early to know for sure. And that's not why she comes to the garden. Though she works with at-risk youth and knows what problems the city faces, she volunteers in the garden for the social aspect, not the sociological one.
Around us, the Little Red Hen shows signs of fall. Orange leaves carpet the ground. The garden is getting chickens soon, so the fence has a new lock. While Stacy Spell believes in altruism, he can't be overly optimistic.
Change in West River, like anywhere else, is hard. The George Street Deli was one of four testing grounds for an initiative in 2011 that tried to stock bodegas with fresh produce. But last month the owner told The New Haven Independent that he was losing money, because the fruits spoiled before they were sold.
Changing the way we eat may be the first step towards a safer society. It's a convincing and appealing argument. Yet, to those at the core of the changes, the larger implications aren't always clear.
Still, the workers of the Little Red Hen have other reasons to return — relationships they form and a sense of belonging. Before we leave, I ask Bobby if he's going to come back to the Little Red Hen. It's rare to see young men at the garden, but he says he will. His grandmother, who still looks out for him today, used to garden too.
JOY SHAN


Here's the tutorial about how to create a 3d spectrum display from a sound file with Papervision3d and Flash. For this demo application, you will use the latest version of Papervision3d with the code name GreatWhite.
You need to include 7 Papervision classes to begin. The Camera3D class enables you to focus on a 3d object and zoom to it. Scene3D is a container that holds all 3d objects. The Viewport will be added to the main stage and is like a video screen that shows the result. Another important class is the BasicRenderEngine which renders all the objects from the scene with the current camera settings and outputs the result to the viewport. Papervision comes with different types of objects, but for our example you'll only need the cube. And finally there are the materials which can be set to the objects.
As always, the article provides demo and fully commented source code.


Czy nie znasz swojego hasła?
Also Known As: "Dote of Metz"
Many historians reject her existence. She is said to be daughter of Arnoaldus, and Oda, a Suevian.
I am going along with the idea that Dode here is represented as Dode de Treves (Trier), who is sister of St. Itta de Metz. This would mean that Ansegisel and Begga were first cousins when they married.
Sainte Dode, en latin Doda, est l'épouse de saint Arnoul, évêque de Metz de 614 à 629.
1. Clodulf († 697), évêque de Metz de 657 à 697.
2. Ansegisel († av.679), domestique et ancêtre des Carolingiens.
En 614, Arnulf est élu évêque de Metz et, comme un évêque ne peut être marié, Dode se retire dans un couvent de Trèves.
La première Vita Arnulfi, composée au milieu du VIIe siècle, ne la nomme pas, se contentant de la qualifier de « très noble jeune fille ». Ce n'est qu'au Xe siècle qu'Ummo, auteur de la seconde Vita Arnulfi la nomme Doda et précise qu'elle se retire dans un monastère de Trèves après l'élection de son mari comme évêque de Metz. Au XIe siècle, la Vita Clodulfi reprend ce nom de Doda et précise qu'elle « n'était pas d'une souche moins noble et moins célèbre » que son mari.
De nombreux historiens, dont Eduard Hlawitschka ont rejeté cette information, estimant qu'elle résulte d'une confusion avec sainte Ode, la mère de saint Arnulf, et en raison de son caractère tardif.
Mais, à l'époque où Ummo rédige sa Vita, la généalogie de saint Arnulf communément acceptée est la Commemoratio genealogia domni Arnulfi episcopi et confessoris Christi qui fait d'Arnulf un fils d'Arnoald et qui mentionne une Doda parmi les grandes tantes d'Arnulf. Introduire ce nom comme celui de l'épouse d'Arnulf consiste à laisser entendre l'existence d'une parenté entre les époux, à un époque où l'Église est très préoccupée des empêchements au mariage pour consanguinité, serait plutôt de nature à desservir la réputation du saint que le contraire. Il n'y a donc pas de réelles raisons de rejeter cet élément tardif qui n'ajoute rien à la gloire de saint Arnulf et des Carolingiens.
Au cours des XIXe et XXe siècles, la critique historique moderne a remis en cause le bien fondé de la Commemoratio. Une étude critique a montré que saint Arnulf est probablement le gendre d'Arnoald. Il en découle que Doda serait en fait la fille d'Arnoald, qu'elle tiendrait son nom de sa grande tante Doda, pour ensuite le transmettre à sa petite fille Chrothildis Doda, épouse du roi Thierry III.
2.↑ Eduard Hlawitschka, Die Vorfahren Karls des Großen, éd. H Beumann, Düsseldorf, 1965, p. 73 note 1 .
3.↑ Jörg Jarnut, Agilofingerstudien. Untersuchungen zur Gesichte einer adlingen Familien im 6 und 7 Jahrhundert, Stuttgart, 1986 .
St Dode (Latin: Doda) is the wife of St. Arnulf, Bishop of Metz from 614 to 629.
1. Clodulf (d. 697), Bishop of Metz from 657 to 697.
In 614, Arnulf was elected Bishop of Metz. Since a bishop could not be married, Dode was compelled to retire to a convent in Trier.
The Vita Amulfi, composed in the middle of the 7th century, does not name her, but merely describes her as a "noble maiden." Only in the 10th century does Ummo, author of the second Vita Amulfi, call her Doda and says that she withdrew to a monastery in Trier after her husband's election as Bishop of Metz. In the 11th century, the Vita Clodulfi names her Doda and says that she was of a strain 'not less noble nor less famous' than her husband's.
Many historians, including Eduard Hlawitschka, reject her existence, saying that she resulted from confusion with St. Oda, mother of St. Arnulf, and noting that her being named came late.
But when Ummo wrote his Vita Arnulfi, the genealogy of St. Arnulf had been commonly accepted, as indicated by the Commemoratio Genealogia domni Arnulfi episcopi and Confessori Christi, which notes Arnulf as a son of Arnoald and mentions Doda among the great aunts of Arnulf. Insert this name as the wife of Arnulf indicates a kinship between the spouses at a time when the church was very concerned about the impediments to marriage for inbreeding, would be more likely to serve the reputation of the saints than the opposite. There is no reason to dismiss this marriage as being late as it adds nothing to the glory of St. Arnulf and the Carolingians.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, modern historical criticism questioned the merits of the Commemoratio. A critical study showed that St. Arnulf is probably the son of Arnoald. It follows that if Doda is in fact the daughter of Arnoald, she would have taken her name from her great aunt Doda, and then passed it to her granddaughter Chrothildis Doda, wife of King Thierry III.
St. Doda is the ancestor of Charlemagne. Wife of St. Arnaulf of Metz, a great patron saint of the French.
She was a woman of noble birth, and great wealth and piety. She was married in 609 to Arnulf, who held positions of the highest importance and trust under Theodebert II and Clothaire. Arnulf and Doda had two sons, Clodulfus (one of many Saints Cloud), Bishop of Metz, and Ansigisilus, who married St. Begga, daughter of Pepin of Landen.
Soon after the birth of her second son, Doda became a nun at Treves. Arnulf wished to join St. Romaric and become a nun, but the king and the people could not dispense with his services. About 612, the bishopric of Metz was forced upon him, although he was a laymen, but was still retained as the king's chief advisor and minister. He died a monk about 640.
Many years after their separation, Arnulf and Doda had to meet to settle some of their affairs. She was so afraid that her presence might revive his mundane affections that she shaved her head; her precaution was successful - he was horrified at the sight of her.
At July 18, Bosch the Bollandist gives two lives of St. Arnulf, the earliest of which is by a contemporary author. He also gives an inscription in which she is called "St. Doda Herezogin von Schbbeina St. Arnulphen Gemachel."
But he does not seem to attach much credit to this last. Doda is commorated with her son St. Cloud, in Greven and Usuard. Clarns, Die Heilige Mathilde. Butler. Baillet. Smith and Wace.
Dode or Doda, who became a nun in 612 at Treves becoming called also Clothilde of Treves, born ca 584, married ca 596 to Arnulf of Metz.
[DODA], daughter of ---. The 11th century life of her son Chlodulf names "mater…Chlodulfi Doda". Settipani states that this is the only source which names Arnulf´s wife, and inevitably casts doubt on the accuracy of the source written several centuries after she lived.
Doda was also referred to as Clothilde. We have no documentation on her parents.
Ging naar een klooster toen haar man bisschop verkozen werd.
Anmärkning: Hon blev nunna i 612 i Treves .
Became a nun at Treves in 612.
aka Clothilde of TREVES; Dode (Dodo) Clothilde de SAXE -------------------- Anmärkning: Hon blev nunna i 612 i Treves .
St. Doda (2), ancestor of Charlemagne. Wife of St. Arnulf of Metz, a great patron saint of the French. She was a woman of noble birth, and great wealth and piety. She was married in 609 to Arnulf, who held positions of the highest importance and trust under Theodebert II. and Clothaire. Arnulf and Doda had two sons, Clodulfus (one of the many SS. Cloud), bishop of Metz, and Ansigisilus, who married ST. BEGGA, daughter of Pepin of Landen. Soon after the birth of her second son, Doda became a nun at Treves. Arnulf wished to join St. Romaric and became a monk, but the king and the people could not dispense with his services. About 612 the bishopric of Metz was forced upon him, although he was a layman, but he was still retained as the king's chief adviser and minister. He died a monk about 640. Many years after their separation, Arnulf and Doda had to meet to settle some of their affairs. She was so afraid that her presence might revive his mundane affections that she shaved her head ; her precaution was successful, — he was horrified at the sight of her. At July 18, Bosch the Bollandist gives two lives of St. Arnulf, the earliest of which is by a contemporary author. He also gives an inscription in which she is called "St. Doda Herezogin von Schbbeina St. Arnulphen Gemachel." But he does not seem to attach much credit to this last. Doda is commemorated with her son St. Cloud, in Greven and Usuard. Clarus, Die Heilige Mathilde. Butler. Baillet. Smith and Wace.
Używając Geni zgadzasz się na stosowanie przez nas ciasteczek jako identyfikatorów i dla innych funkcjonalności portalu jak to zostało opisane na naszej stronie prywatności.


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Q: Kubernetes + CoreOS + Ceph RBD Anyone has success or pointer on using the kubernetes to create a pod that mounts ceph rbd within the docker container?
The following example from kubernetes uses Fedora 21 with installation of ceph binaries, which won't work in CoreOS.
http://kubernetes.io/v1.0/examples/rbd/

or

http://www.sebastien-han.fr/blog/2015/06/29/bring-persistent-storage-for-your-containers-with-krbd-on-kubernetes/

A: the project has evolved quite a bit. You can find the docker containers for CoreOS at
https://github.com/ceph/ceph-docker

A: CoreOS Toolbox might be helpful. Simply run /usr/bin/toolbox and you should be able to install Ceph via yum.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A new crackdown on fruit fly by South Australia means that motorists entering the state with undeclared fruit now face fines of AUD375 (US$270).
The state government's new policy announced on Friday comes following a December outbreak of the Queensland fruit fly pest in Riverland, which was internationally recognized as being pest-free.
Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Tim Whetstone said the new arrangements at Yamba – close to the border with Victoria – follows the implementation of a 'zero-tolerance approach' at all random roadblocks last month.
"As part of an emergency response to the fruit fly outbreak in Loxton, as of today there is no longer an option to declare produce at the Yamba Quarantine Station without penalty," said Whetstone.
He said electronic signs and roadside bins have been put in place to ensure the 'Eat it or Bin it' message to motorists is clear before approaching the Yamba Quarantine Station, where additional staff have now been appointed.
"The State Government is also taking a zero tolerance approach to random roadblocks held across the state. In fact, we have significantly increased the number of random roadblocks this financial year," he added.
"The suspension zone for the Queensland fruit fly outbreak in Loxton will be lifted on 25 March, 2019, without any further detections.


Our super-sweet Spoetzl was euthanized this afternoon, passing away peacefully, after his quality of life took a sudden, unexpected down-turn Saturday evening.
Named after Kosmos Spoetzl, who founded the Shiner Brewery, we adopted Spoetzl from the Boulder County SPCA when he was about six months old and just a couple of months after we moved there in 1994. Prior to this, Spoetzl had been hit by a car, damaging his hips. Up until the last couple of years, he was able to lead an extremely active life.
Spoetzl was incredibly loyal, affectionate, and loving. He even loved to groom Chiquita, our cat. I'd be lying if I said this was easy. He was especially loyal to Monica, whom he followed around the house like a lost puppy up until the end. Monica was with him when he passed.
I don't normally ask such things, but the next time you see a contribution to a pet shelter set up, throw a couple of bucks in there for Spoetzl.
I know I still owe some pictorials. I'll get those posted ASAP.
Unfortunately, something else is distracting me at the moment. Spoetzl has very suddenly taken a drastic turn for the worse. He's almost completely unable to move, and he's not eating at all. I'm not hopeful.
We'll post an update here later.
I have been putting together a ton of pictorials to post, catching up all the way back to October. And, especially since we got the new camera, there's a lot on the way. I hope to do this in the next few days, so stay stuned!


A review of various forms of psychopathology including addictive, adjustment, anxiety, childhood, dissociative, impulse control, mood, organic, personality, psychophysiological, schizophrenic, and sexual disorders. Based on a review of contemporary research findings, lectures and discussion will focus on the most relevant approaches for understanding, diagnosing, and treating psychological disorders. The biopsychosocial model will serve as a basis for explaining the etiology of psychological disorders, and discussion will focus on empirically supported interventions for treating these conditions.
Requisite: PSYC 100 or consent of the instructor. Not open to first-year students. Limited to 40 students. Fall semester. Professor McQuade.
PLEASE NOTE: This course is closed for Fall 2016.


The holidays are supposed to be times of joy, visiting with family and friends, and strengthening bonds. Unfortunately for many the holidays bring much anxiety, worry, and fear – especially about food and our bodies.
Food is everywhere and we may be visiting with family and friends who we haven't seen in a long time. We worry about people noticing whether or not we "look different". We worry that they're whispering to each other "Oh, look how much weight she gained". We worry about whether or not we should allow ourselves to eat all of the holiday treats. We worry about weight gain from eating all the food. We may even consider going on a crash diet to try to "look our best".
Food is everywhere you look at this time of the year! It's no wonder holiday weight gain is hard to avoid!
Why does holiday weight gain happen?
The reality is most people do gain a few pounds over the holidays. But it's not because they overeat on the three days – Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years – that are actually holidays! Those three holidays only comprise three days out of the next fifty. Even if you overeat on all three occasions, plus a few holiday parties over the next two months, it's not a huge deal in the grand scheme!
The problem occurs on all the days in between. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by all the food, and then feel bad about overeating a few times. This stress often causes people to throw in the towel. So rather than a few days where you overeat, it turns into a 50-day food free-for-all. After which we promise to do better starting January 1st.
But you absolutely can gain a significant amount of weight if you overeat every day between now and the New Year! Keep the holidays in perspective…90% of your days over the next two months are just normal days. You are unlikely to gain any extra weight if you don't let a few moments of overeating lead to more overeating!
Intuitive eating can help you avoid holiday weight gain!
The advice I give to clients about handling holidays, parties, and travel is vastly different from the advice I gave in the past, and also very different from what you'll hear from mainstream fitness and nutrition professionals.
Do a Google search of the phrase "holiday weight gain". You will come up with thousands of blogs and articles suggesting that you do the following: fill up on protein and veggies before going to parties, never go to parties hungry, bring your own food or a healthy side dish so you'll have something to eat while everyone else eats delicious treats, choose only protein and veggies while at parties, don't eat sugar, and skip seconds. All of that sounds good on paper, but often isn't practical or even desirable in the real world.
Intuitive eating helped me stop binge eating, emotional eating, and just overeating in general. And I have found that practicing intuitive eating comes in especially handy during times when I'm most likely to overeat or binge…like the holidays. I know I'm going to see friends and family. I know I'm going to face gobs of holiday food. I know I'm going to eat some of that food. So why try to "be on a diet" and pretend that I won't?
If the holidays cause you anxiety because of food and your body, do something radically different this year. Take the pressure off of yourself. No diets. No food rules. See what happens.
What would happen if you just allowed yourself to enjoy the holidays this year?
A Survival Guide to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain: 9 Tips To A Happier Holiday!
Avoid Holiday Weight Gain Tip #1: If you want to avoid holiday weight gain, stop trying to lose weight before the holidays!
Most of us will be attending gatherings and seeing friends and family. I understand the desire to want to "look good", and I've crash dieted many times in attempt to impress, usually with poor results. Here's how my story usually goes…on November 1st I embark on some insane diet in an attempt to lose at least 10 pounds by Christmas. This goes great for about a week. Then I start "slipping". A cookie sneaks in here. A slice of pie there. By the time I get to Thanksgiving, I'm typically no thinner (sometimes heavier), and I'm seriously obsessed with food. I'm usually so unbalanced by Christmas that all I can think about is food, and I wind up overeating at all holiday parties and gatherings…and most of the days in between too. By January 1st, I'm often HEAVIER than when I started my diet on November 1st!
Crash weight loss diets are a recipe for food obsession, overeating, and binges. Overeating and binges cause weight gain. So this year don't try to "diet down" to a smaller size. Look in the mirror and accept that whatever body you see right now is the one you'll be taking to family gatherings and holiday parties. Buy a new dress or outfit that fits and flatters your NOW body. You should feel comfortable and beautiful.
Not putting ridiculous restrictions and deadlines on yourself will relieve you of the pressure of attempting to "be good" or to look a certain way. You may not lose weight over the holidays, but you also won't risk causing disordered eating patterns and gaining weight.
That sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? If I let myself eat, I'll gain weight! But let's get real about eating over the holidays. Are you really going to refuse grandma's homemade cinnamon sticky rolls? Are you really going to skip out on Thanksgiving stuffing and mashed potatoes and only eat turkey and steamed veggies? What happens when you try?
Have you ever heard of "last supper syndrome" or "mindset of scarcity"? When you are trying to restrict food and are then confronted with food – especially large amounts of delicious food – not only is it easy to lose control and overeat simply because you're hungry, but the likelihood that you'll vastly overeat is much higher because of "last supper" thinking: "Oh darn it! I blew it and ate XYZ even though I hadn't planned to…I might as well eat whatever I want, and as much as I can right now, because I'll have to get back on the wagon tomorrow/Monday/January 1st". Sound familiar?
When you simply allow yourself pleasure from food, the magical power that we often bestow on it disappears. It's much easier to stop eating when you know you're allowed to have it. So admit that you want to eat your holiday favorites and stop pretending that you'll skip them! It only makes you feel like a failure when you inevitably end up eating them anyway…and probably end up eating much more than you intended out of guilt!
It's okay to eat and enjoy food! We are supposed to! But only eat what really lights your fire!
I just told you to allow yourself to eat and enjoy holiday foods…but that doesn't mean go crazy and eat everything and anything!
From Halloween through New Year's, food will be everywhere you go. There are cookies and pie in office break room, candy and ice cream at the school Christmas party, mashed potatoes and rolls at grandma's, and specialty frappucinnos at Starbucks…the food is inescapable. Most people mindlessly eat stuff just because it's in front of them…not because they're hungry or because it's something they really want. So, while it is important to allow yourself to enjoy your favorite holiday treats, try to be picky! My example for this is gingerbread cookies. They always seem to be around over the holidays, and I find myself eating them "just because". But I don't even like them!
Moral: If it's worth it, eat it without guilt or shame! But save your appetite – and your calories – for the goodies that really light your fire!
I used to fill up on veggies, protein, and water before going to parties. I've done this more times than I can count with the intention of going to a party and not eating at all, or only eating off the veggie tray. Guess what happens? I still end up eating all the things I hadn't planned on eating - because I love all the holiday food - and then I feel awful because my stomach is so distended and full! Worst of all, I didn't even enjoy my favorite holiday treats because I was already full!
I've learned to go to family gatherings, parties, and restaurants in a mildly hungry state so that I can actually enjoy the food.
Key words: mildly hungry. I said go to parties hungry…not hangry. The fastest way to lose control and overeat or binge is to arrive starving. Eat a good breakfast. Have a light snack if you're verging on ravenous. Go to the party hungry and be ready to enjoy some great food!
Tip #3 states "only eat it if it's worth it"…so if you choose to eat it because it's worth it, at least be mindful while you eat it!
How often do you distract yourself while eating? Most of us never just take the time to eat without multitasking. We claim that we love food so much, yet we eat while we drive, while we work, while we watch TV, while we talk on the phone… How can we truly enjoy the experience of eating, and listen for our body's subtle signals to stop eating, when we're distracted?
Short answer: we can't. Eating distracted is actually one of the top reasons that people overeat. Eating distracted strips us of deriving true pleasure from food, which leaves us wanting more and more. So when you're about to bite into your mom's award-winning apple pie, take a deep breath and put down the shovel. Find a comfy place to sit down, chew a little slower, put the fork down between bites, and really taste it! You may find you don't need a second piece.
If you're gonna eat it, you might as well enjoy it! Sit down and really revel in the food experience! You'll eat less because you'll experience true food satisfaction!
We all overeat. Sometimes the food is just so good that it's hard to stop! Overeating in the presence of palatable food is biologically normal human behavior. So be kind to yourself if you overdo it!
For many people, overeating a single time leads to feelings of failure, which leads to "last supper syndrome", which leads to "throw in the towel syndrome". So instead of overeating just once - which isn't harmful - it turns into a month-long face-dive into food.
One of the most important things you can do to be kind to yourself after overeating is to eat again the very next time you are hungry. Punishing yourself by fasting, restricting food, or through extreme exercise will only lead to more overeating. The fastest way to arrest the cycle of overeat-restrict-overeat is to put the past behind you and allow yourself to eat again when you are hungry.
Worrying releases stress hormones. Stress hormones cause overeating and fat gain, especially around the belly. Worrying about what others think of us – especially friends and family who haven't seen us in quite some time – is common, but only serves to ramp up our stress hormones in anticipation of holiday events and gatherings.
Your weight and what you put in your mouth is your business, and no one else's. But that doesn't mean it won't come up, especially if your weight has been a "family issue" in the past. We can't control what others think and say, but we can control our own reactions.
In the end it can be helpful to remember that most people – even if they do notice your weight – are so preoccupied with their own lives and how they look, that they won't be thinking about you for longer than a few seconds.
You have the same right as everyone else to enjoy food and the holidays, no matter your weight or size!
I'm an introvert. Parties aren't my thing…even family parties. Social gatherings cause me stress and anxiety. I usually arrive wondering when I can leave. That's just me.
I'm the one who disappears to take a long walk after dinner – not because I'm trying to burn calories, but because I need to clear my mind, get away from the food and noise, and have some quiet time. I also frequently use my animals as an excuse to leave early: "Sorry we have to run, the dog/horses/chickens need fed/let out/exercised." I'm not trying to be rude, but I know myself pretty well at this point. I've learned that taking care of myself makes me less inclined to overeat or eat emotionally.
Having an escape plan helps me show up in the first place, but also allows me to honor my physical and emotional needs. I will even plan ahead of time by talking to my husband - also an introvert - and we mutually decide on an appropriate time to leave and an exit plan.
On a similar note, never forget that you have the option of not going. You don't have to attend every party to which you are invited. If certain people are very toxic to your emotional health or going to certain functions causes you severe anxiety…just don't go. Sometimes you just need to do what's best for you.
It's tempting to wait until January 1st to "start fresh" with an exercise regimen. Don't do that! Get started NOW!
Believe it or not, exercise is not strongly associated with weight loss. But it is strongly correlated with keeping new pounds from creeping on. Getting into an exercise routine now will put you far ahead of the game on January 1st, when everyone else is toting around eight extra pounds and struggling to make exercise a habit.
Start by committing to at least 10 minutes of brisk walking every day. Work your way up to 30 minutes per day, four to six days per week. Add in a twice-weekly weight training session of squats, push ups, lunges, and planks to round out your routine.
Another great exercise tip: always try to work out the day of and the day after a holiday party. This will help you avoid holiday weight gain in three ways: 1.) it burns a few extra calories, 2.) it makes you more insulin sensitive, which means your body will be less likely to store calories as fat, and 3.) it will make you feel better and keep you in the "health mindset", which will make it easier to get back on track after indulging.
So get into the habit of moving every day right now, and by the time the holidays are over you'll probably have avoided holiday weight gain, and you'll be healthier, happier, more energetic, and will have created a new exercise routine!
Exercise can absolutely help you keep the pounds off…but you need to start NOW! Don't wait until January 1st!
I hope you found these tips helpful for reducing overeating at holiday parties and enjoying the festivities and food this year!
Share a big struggle you have with food in the comments below.
Take the Intuitive Eating Quiz by clicking here. I will randomly choose a winner from my email list, so to be eligible to win the contest you must add your email when prompted by the quiz! I promise I will not inundate your mailbox with daily emails and program advertisements, nor will I ever share your email with third parties!
Didn't win the giveaway? Join us on December 1st anyway! The cost for 12 weeks of guided exercises and teachings is only $35! Get in on this before the price goes up on January 1st! For more info on the course and to get signed up, go to my Intuitive Eating Page.
There's no time like the present to give yourself the gift of feeling confident with food and your body!


In 1990, Company President Maryann Ridini Spencer, founded Ridini Entertainment Corporation (REC), a Multimedia Content Creation, PR/Marketing and TV/Film Production Company, to combine her passions for writing, producing and marketing. Her entire career has balanced these two specialized fields. For REC, Maryann develops and oversees all public relations, film, video & multimedia activities, personally attending to each client and project. Read More.
Ridini Entertainment works with dedicated, skilled professionals who assist Maryann in the implementation of client goals and objectives. Whenever necessary, Ridini Entertainment also works in co-production partnerships with various entities to provide clients with the most cost-effective and quality product.


An exhibition of Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi's original manuscripts has been held in Baku.
Nizami Ganjavi International Center and the National History Museum of Azerbaijan have today held an exhibition consisting of original manuscripts of Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi's and the other works recognized as "The Pearls of the East" in Baku within the events on the 870th anniversary of Nizami Ganjavi.
APA reports that the unparalleled manuscripts collected from more than 40 countries were demonstrated at the exhibition for the first time. At the same time, "Bible" belonging to the 12th century, Al-Quran of various periods and cultures, the manuscripts written by the people of India, Egypt, Iran and Middle Asia to the Nizami's "Khamse" and the illustrations designed with gold were also demonstrated at the exhibition.
Philip Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues of the US Department of State, Melanne Verveer, Department of State's coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy, ambassadors of the US, Egypt and Kirghizstan in Azerbaijan and representatives of several state structures participated in the exhibition.
The guests were given detailed information about the manuscripts.
Following the exhibition, the video on the works done by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center in a short time was demonstrated at the largest hall of the museum.
Mrs. Melanne Verveer was awarded with the Nizami Ganjavi International Prize for her merits towards the solution of women's problems and young girls' education in poor countries by the order of Board of Trustees.
In her turn, Mrs. Melanne Verveer thanked for appreciation of her activity and noted that she was proud of becoming familiar with the Nizami Ganjavi's manuscripts.


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International: Sri Lanka and the Commonwealth
Trailer Hype: The Expendables 3
Entertainment, Film
Top 10: Winter Reads – Part 1
Ashleigh Togher
Sports Personality of the Year 2013
Liam Close
Cardiff City's first season in the Premiership was meant to be one of excitement and anticipation, but off the field antics have left many supporters furious with the clubs owner, Vincent Tan.
The Malaysian businessman has made several decisions which have left the Cardiff faithful furious. From changing the clubs colours from blue to red, changing the emblem on the badge from a bluebird to a dragon. But the decision that left the supporters with much resentment towards the Cardiff owner was the decision to sack fan favourite Malky Mackay. The man who had lead Cardiff to a Carling Cup final and to promotion to the promised land.
Mackay's numbers were marked for weeks. Receiving emails from the owner that told him to resign or be sacked. Mackay stood firm and refused to walk away, receiving plaudits from the footballing world. However, several days after Christmas, Malky Mackay was sacked as Cardiff City manager.
…Learning his trade from one of the greatest managers of all time…
Vincent Tan acted quickly to appoint a new manager and on New Year's Day he got his number one target, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Norwegian has made quite a name for himself in his early days as a manger. Since the Manchester United legend retired from playing in 2007, Solskjaer took to coaching and he was quickly appointed manager of Manchester United's Reserves. Learning his trade from one of the greatest managers of all time, Solskjaer was earning rave reviews. In 2010, Molde came calling and the former Molde star returned home to immediate success. In his debut season the Norwegian steered Molde to their first league title in 100 years. The next year they defended their title. In 2013, Molde struggled but Solskjaer guided them to cup success.
…anything the Cardiff chairman may have told his new manager could be taken with a pinch of salt…
Both Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers tried to lure the Manchester United legend away from the Norwegian champions but Solskjaer didn't feel the time was right. Now he feels the time is right to try his hand at managing in the Premiership. However many people are wondering whether he has made a huge mistake in taking his first job in the top flight for such an untrustworthy manager.
Tan could have told Solskjaer everything that he wanted to hear. That he will give him time, will not interfere with team affairs. However it seems that anything the Cardiff chairman may have told his new manager could be taken with a pinch of salt.
…will start to have an affect on the teams performances…
It's been reported that Sir Alex Ferguson gave Ole advice on deciding which job to take next. He told Solskjaer that he should choose a position for the chairman, not the club. It's hard to believe that Ole listened to his former bosses advice.
For all the bad press that Vincent Tan has received, maybe with the man who he wanted in charge he might take a different approach. He has already promised Solskjaer funds, where as Mackay was promised none. For the sake of Cardiff City, Vincent Tan and Ole Gunnar are going to need to work together and get along for the club to stay in the Premiership. Any more off the field distractions will start to have an affect on the teams performances.
…The once baby faced assassin now has the strict, disciplined side to him that's needed in a manger…
What Solskjaer has inherited at Cardiff City is a good squad of players. He will certainly add to that during the January transfer window. Ole is a very hard working coach and believes in playing an exciting and attacking brand of football. The once baby faced assassin now has the strict, disciplined side to him that's needed in a manger. He may seem inexperienced to some but Sir Alex saw something in him to appoint him as the reserve team manager at Manchester United and if Sir Alex sees potential in somebody, then he must have something special.
Solskjaer can last as manager of Cardiff City but only if they remain in the Premiership. Anything less will see Tan not hesitate to dismiss the Norwegian.
Cardiff CityControversyFootballMalky MackayManagerOle Gunnar SolskjaerVincent Tan
National: Who's afraid of the BNP?
2013: A Year in the Spotlight
I am a huge sports fan with a main interest in football. I love to write about the game as well as playing.
Profile: Stilian Petrov
Kobina Monney
Religion: The Pope's stepping down – who cares?
Bryn Glover
When Nick Griffin declared his bankruptcy to the public...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Romford/Ilford: £19,950 goodwill plus £4950+VAT franchise fee.
Northampton & Leicestershire: £20,000 Goodwill, no VAT & £4,950 + VAT Franchise Fee.
When Grant Saggers decided that he wanted to use his experience of selling air conditioning to start his own ventilation business, he turned to EnviroVent, a business he had heard only good things about.
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We are looking for individuals with excellent communication skills and a passion for sales and to join our team. We would love to hear from you and can send you further information on our opportunity or answer any questions you may have. We currently only have Cornwall as a virgin territory but several established Envirovent franchises are for sale.
EnviroVent franchise owners and their teams handle telephone and email enquiries and arrange survey appointments. At survey, our franchise teams will assess the property and recommend a suitable ventilation system and explain the features and benefits.
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The typical start up cost of an EnviroVent franchise is £19,950. Of which you will need to invest £5,000 of your own money plus have 6 months living expenses.
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AsiaFeb 8th 2014 edition
Approaching the endgame
A messy poll leaves Thailand in an even worse pickle
ELECTIONS are supposed to provide political solutions. The one Thailand held on February 2nd served only to further exacerbate its problems. Both sides of the political divide claimed a victory. The governing Pheu Thai party, which had defied protesters' efforts to scupper the vote through disruption, intimidation and a boycott, could boast that nearly 90% of polling stations opened for business and that nearly half of voters turned out. But the protesters and the main opposition Democrat Party which backs them thwarted voting in enough places to mean that, constitutionally, no government can be formed. They may now succeed in having the whole election annulled by the courts. And these might even find a reason to dissolve Pheu Thai. The enemies of Yingluck Shinawatra, the prime minister, are inching closer to their goal of forcing her to resign .
The evening after the election the mood was buoyant in camps the protesters have set up to block major junctions in Bangkok. Loud music blared from stages, fist-brandishing speeches were cheered and hawkers flogged the movement's T-shirts ("Shutdown Bangkok. Restart Thailand" was a favourite). The next morning Suthep Thaugsuban, a Democrat bigwig who quit the party last year to become a full-time rabble-rouser, led a 14-kilometre (9-mile) march through the capital to rally supporters.
Yet sustaining the momentum may be hard. Mr Suthep launched his movement three months ago as a series of mass protests against the alleged corruption of Ms Yingluck's government, and it has since escalated into a round-the-clock, if half-hearted, "shutdown Bangkok" agitation. But he has little to show for his campaigning. Ms Yingluck has not quit, and her government insists it will now hold by-elections where voting was blocked, persevering until a parliamentary quorum is elected.
Some of Mr Suthep's supporters are out-of-towners, mainly from the south of Thailand, where the Democrats enjoy most support and the election boycott was widely observed. But many are respectable and peaceable members of Bangkok's middle classes who see themselves, as one puts it, as "better educated and more informed" than the people who keep electing governments, like Ms Yingluck's, loyal to her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr Thaksin, prime minister from 2001 until he was ousted in a coup in 2006, now lives in self-imposed exile to avoid a jail sentence for corruption. For Mr Suthep and his followers he is the root of all evil in Thai politics. But the Democrats' image has been dented by its efforts to prevent people peacefully exercising their franchise, and by the occasional violence the protests have provoked, in which ten people have died.
The government's predicament, however, looks if anything even worse than its opponents'. Electing a constitutional parliament could take forever. The army, which has attempted 18 coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, seems loth to intervene directly, perhaps remembering the mess it made after the 2006 coup. But the establishment has other ways of getting rid of governments it does not like. Various corruption investigations are under way against Ms Yingluck and her parliamentarians.
Of these, the most dangerous involves her government's disastrous rice-purchase scheme, in which it promises farmers far more than world-market prices. Ruinous to the government's fiscal position, the policy has also provoked protests from some of its core rural supporters, who have not been paid. Korn Chatikavanij, a Democrat and a former finance minister, reckons that 1.3m families are owed an average of about 100,000 baht (a bit more than $3,000). For many this would be their only source of income. But the government may find it hard to raise money by selling down its swelling rice stockpiles. That would force it to realise the enormous loss. And buyers will be deterred by the political controversy—and by the hope that Thailand may soon become a very distressed seller. This week China pulled out of a contract to buy 1.2m tonnes, citing the corruption inquiry. Worse, the Thai government, with the election incomplete, is in a tenuous legal position, and, with banks nervous of getting embroiled in the mess, it is unable to borrow to meet its commitments.
Mr Korn outlines an elaborate road map out of this political cul-de-sac. The government would have to announce a referendum on the sorts of reform that the protesters demand and how to design and implement them: decentralising power away from Bangkok; making the elections less prone to vote-buying; restructuring the police, seen as a Thaksinite force; and, of course, curbing corruption. Then would follow another election, which Pheu Thai, even after all this, could expect to win.
Ms Yingluck would have to go, however. And it is hard to see why she and her brother would accept such a deal. Their critics have a point that they have sometimes ruled in their own interests and those of their voters, rather than the country's—most notably over the issue which prompted this uprising, when they pushed through a bill (later withdrawn) that would have given Mr Thaksin and thousands of others an amnesty. Winning an election is not an excuse for riding roughshod over the views of huge numbers of Thais. But then, as the Shinawatras might say, the same is even more true of losing an election.
Even now—with the economy slowing sharply, tourist arrivals in January at half the levels of a year earlier, and the threat of more widespread violence mounting all the time—Thailand seems in a sort of denial about how deeply it is in trouble. "Stalemate" is an analogy often used to describe the political endgame. A better chess metaphor might be perpetual check, where, by repeatedly electing pro-Thaksin governments, Thai voters threaten the old establishment with the king at its centre. The risk is that, fed up with shifting the pieces in a game with no hope of a conclusion, somebody kicks over the board.
Economist.com/blogs/banyan
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline "Approaching the endgame"
More from Asia
Australia ties itself in knots over No-vax Djokovic
China does not have it all its way in the South China Sea
Out?
Australia cancels Novak Djokovic's visa—again
India's government is ignoring, and sometimes even encouraging, hatred of minorities
Demand for pet otters is driving a harmful trade
The tennis star won in court but may yet be unable to play on court
South-East Asian countries are increasingly wary of their giant neighbour
A court ruled he could stay. The government says he should pack his bags
Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party is determined to preserve its power
The creatures are cute but make lousy pets


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Q: Indentation not working properly for if-else statement in vscode for java image showing the indentation problem
I am using vscode for programming in java and for auto-indentation, I am using "prettier". I have applied all the necessary settings in the preferences menu like "Format on Save" and "Default code formatter", but still vscode fails to indent properly the if-else statement as shown in the image. Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

A: Try using java prettier formatter


Teachers carry placards as they walk a picket line outside South High School early Monday in Denver. A new lawsuit alleges students with disabilities will be harmed by the strike.
More than 10,000 special education students will be "extremely impacted" by the Denver teacher strike, a new class action lawsuit alleges. The suit, brought on behalf of the students against the school district — on the first day of the strike — argues that without trained teachers and caregivers, the students will be put in jeopardy.
Thousands of Denver teachers walked out Monday, after the teachers union and the school district couldn't agree on how much teachers would be paid. All Denver Public Schools were open except for pre-schools. "The district said they didn't have the staff with that higher level of training that's needed for young kids," Colorado Public Radio's Jenny Brundin told All Things Considered.
DPS spokesman Will Jones told The Denver Post that students with disabilities were "well supported" in their schools Monday. When the strike became a real possibility, school officials began recruiting substitutes with a special education background, he said, adding that the lawsuit appears to be "based on speculation" that students will be harmed.
The school district readied 300 new substitute teachers to supplement its existing roster of 1,200, NPR has reported. But the lawsuit alleges it is "extremely unlikely" that DPS could find enough subs with the training or experience necessary to adequately care for students who are, in some cases, severely disabled.
Merely hiring substitute teachers won't satisfy the school district's obligations under federal law to comply with individualized education plans, the lawsuit says. In addition to students with autism, the strike could negatively affect hearing-impaired students and students who are "emotionally disturbed," the suit says, alleging that "DPS has not publicly put any plan in place" to care for these students.
DPS schools are scheduled to be open today, the Post reports, while representatives from the district and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association plan to continue negotiations.


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Source: Facebook/Кафе-трапезная Antipa
Russia's Orthodox Church appeals to young people with new 'hipster' coffee shop
Mon 11 Jan 2021 by Will Maule
The Russian Orthodox Church, known for its traditional worship style, is taking a new approach to reaching millennials - by designing a cool new coffee shop. Moscow's Church of Saint Antipas, which is located just a stone's throw from the Kremlin, has enlisted the help of architect Anastasia Balakireva to design the "Antipa" cafes, which serve flat whites and pastries, along with an Orthodox lifestyle magazine called "Khleb" or "Bread".
"To communicate with them you have to talk in a modern way," Balakireva said of the design's purpose. "Moscow's a very driven city. There's a calmer atmosphere here even if you're not religious."
The church is led by Father Andrei Shchennikov, a former stage and TV actor who counts several Russian VIPs as members of his congregation. The church is reportedly financed in part by Irina Abramovich, the ex-wife of oil magnate and Chelsea Football Club owner, Roman Abramovich.
Father Andrei told the Telegraph that while he supports the traditional forms of worship championed by his denomination, he is seeking to "defuse tension" around the practice of religion in general, in a bid to draw young people into church.
"In Russia there is sometimes wariness in relation to the Church. 'You can't walk here. You can't stand there.' There are shawls [for women to cover their hair]," he said.
Of the church's strong social media presence, Father Andrei said that "you have to go where the people are". He added that while he used to personally run the church's Instagram, he has since handed over responsibilities after growing weary of the "haters" online.
"I am a traditional conservative," he confirmed, adding that the cafe is "like a ring that holds a previous gem - the gem is what has real value".
With that being said, the priest is still convinced that it is only by the power of God that people will be saved and that the cafe is a vehicle through which young people may be drawn into the church.
"Only the Lord himself can call people to God," he said.
Article by Will Maule


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March 27, 2021 / admin / 6 Comments
Looking for information for the 2022 summer tourist season? See our post Mykonos 2022: Opening dates and new arrivals for the travel season.
Updated on Thursday July 22
Now open: If you're a regular Mykonos visitor, this post will show if & when your favourite bars, beach clubs, nightclubs, hotels and restaurants have opened for the 2021 tourist season.
If you're planning to visit Mykonos for the first time, this post will give you a good idea of what to expect in terms of things to see and do on the island, plus places to stay.
Scroll down this page to see information about daily, weekly and other regular parties and events that take place on the island.
Page 2 of this post contains a list of bars, restaurants, hotels, villas and attractions that opened for the tourist season during late winter, April, and May.
Page 3 shows places that opened during June, as well as parties and events that took place that month.
NOTE: We have moved our listings of July and August parties and events into separate, new posts.
For a list of parties and events that took place during July, see: Mykonos parties, DJ shows and events in July 2021.
A list of parties and events in August, September, October and November can be seen in: Mykonos parties, DJ shows and events during August, September & October 2021. That listing also includes announcements for season closing parties and events on the island.
For detailed information regarding rules for travel to and within Greece this summer, see the Protocols for Arrivals in and Departures from Greece on the official Greek government website.
July openings
Mykonos Brewing Company is once again welcoming visitors to its taproom to taste its selection of locally-produced craft brews. The taproom is open Monday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Nomad Mykonos officially opened its hideaway of bohemian luxury suites at Kalo Livadi on July 21
Velanos Mykonos is a brand-new restaurant that has just opened today (Tuesday July 20). It's situated next to the National Bank near the airport, and is a great spot for breakfast and brunch, as well as sunset cocktails. The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. until 1 a.m.
Tuesday July 20 is opening day for Drunk Monkey, a take-away cocktail bar in Mykonos Town returning for its second season of operations
July 26 is opening night for Thalami Bar at Agia Moni Square
The Italian Dinner Show event, Bordello Mykonos, will hold its opening party on Wednesday July 28 at Pinky Beach Club
Now open at Ftelia beach, Farma House is a cool new open-air concept club where visitors can dine and drink cocktails at sunset, then dance into the late hours as DJs play "the experimental sound of Mykonos." It opens at 7 p.m. daily.
July 1 was opening day for The Garden of Mykonos, a relaxing hilltop lounge and bar where guests can enjoy cocktails, appetizers, snacks and desserts with fabulous sea and sunset views and good music
In early July, Sweat Vacay resumed its group yoga, pilates and cycling exercise classes at The Garden of Mykonos, along with other locations on the island. Check their website for class schedules, locations and prices.
One of the most-anticipated new nightlife venues on Mykonos held its grand opening July 9. The Lío Mykonos cabaret restaurant and nightclub brings the unique Lio Ibiza brand of live music and dance entertainment to an open-air dining and lounge courtyard at 6 Enoplon Dinameon Street in Mykonos Town.
July 16 is opening night for Void nightclub
Toy Room Club Mykonos now starts its season on Friday July 16 — one day later than the club had previously announced
Sanctus club also will be holding its opening party on Friday July 16, also one day later than initially scheduled. This season, you'll find the club in a new location — above Mosaic restaurant at Manto Square.
Daily and weekly parties & events
Again this summer, Tropicana club at Paradise beach will be holding a party every day, starting at 4.30 p.m.
Hippie Fish beach club and restaurant at Agios Ioannis beach throws sunset parties every Wednesday and Saturday evening, starting at 4 p.m.
New this summer at Zuma restaurant — a weekend champagne brunch offering Zuma's amazing Japanese izakaya along with music from the restaurant's resident DJ. You'll find Zuma in the Cavo Tagoo luxury hotel near the Mykonos Old Port.
Every Sunday night there's a Greek-themed party at Hippie Fish beach club and restaurant at Agios Ioannis beach that promises a smashing good time for all. The "It's all Greek to me" parties start at 9 p.m.
DJ Thodoris Ntontos will be playing at Cosi bar for summer 2021
Singer, songwriter & performer Shaya Hansen returns to Kalua for summer 2021. She will be appearing at the club Tuesdays through Sundays starting at 4 p.m.
Alemagou beach club will present these DJ and music events from July 2 to 9
Just announced: German DJ & electronic music producer Sven Väth will play for the Phos parties at SantAnna beach club on Fridays, from July 16 to August 13. The parties will begin in late afternoon and continue until midnight.
One of the most popular DJs on Mykonos, Valeron will be making weekly appearances for live shows at Noema restaurant and Scorpios beach club during July. You can catch his show at Noema on Fridays (July 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30), and see him at Scorpios on Saturdays (July 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31).
Please click on the link below to turn to page 2, where you can see which places are already open for the summer 2021 tourist season.
Cyclades islands, Great sunset viewing spots, Greek Islands, Mykonos, Popular Posts, Top Mykonos posts
barCavo ParadisoEliahotelKalafatisMykonosMykonos TownOrnosParagaPlatis Gialosrestaurantssunset
What's new on Mykonos in 2021
Will there still be plenty of restaurants open the last week of October – or do many places close at the end of September?
This is a great guide! Any ideas about what clubs would be open the first weekend of October? Thank you!
admin (Post author)
Can't say for certain yet since this is the time of year that restaurants, nightclubs and beach clubs start closing up, usually on very short notice. Based on past years, you'll find beach clubs open at Paraga and Paradise the first week of October, and possibly Super Paradise, too (though Divine Sea & More at that beach has already closed). We're still watching for announcements about operating dates for other venues, and will post closing information in this blog post if/when any venues make it available.
Hi, we are planning of going to Mykonos at the end of April 2022, are all the bars, beach clubs and parties open then?
Thank you in advance x
The short answer is no, not all of the bars and beach clubs will be open at the end of April. Some will be, especially for the Greek Easter holiday weekend of April 22-24, but the travel season typically doesn't start until May, so bigger bars and clubs generally don't open until the middle of May or June. May is low season, so a lot of places are just opening up, and there aren't enough tourists on the island for everything to be open. There will be some parties, but no huge crowds or wild parties like you may have seen in videos — that happens from late June until September when the island is packed with people.
Mykonos party & event calendar 2020 | MY GREECE TRAVEL BLOG


I bought a python course from udemy because they have some great prices right now, lucky me.
documents that contain live code, equations, visualizations and explanatory text ect ect.
instead and it is a fairly simple process and dosn't take more than 5-10 minutes.
We are going to need the python-pip package to install jupyter.
I tried to install jupyter with pip. Multiple times and it kept failing over and over again and I was banging my head and couldn't figure out what the error was, until I realized that I am using CentOS 7 minimal, and was missing some packages, so if your install fails later then go back to this step and install the package(s) in this command.
The installation of jupyter itself is fairly simple, just use the command below and you are good to go.
Jupyter is installed. But that isn't enough, we need to configure it so we have "remote access".
Right know it is running on http://127.0.0.0:8888 and are only assessable through the server itself, what we want to do is make it assessable from remote PC's as well.
To do that we need to generate a configuration file with the following command.
you should see an output like this where the path for the configuration file will be defined.
So now that we have created a password, will we open the configuration file and start the configuration of jupyter notebook.
uncomment the line (delete #). save and exit.
Open the configuration file once again.
Next go to line 119 and insert the path to the cert and key file, you can always move the files to another location, just remember to modify the config file as well!
That was it. You just need to open port 8888 in the firewall.
one thing you should be aware off is that we have enabled https and therefore we cannot reach the server with http you have to type https://server_ip:8888 in your browser.


text:
Top Rihanna Songs
Rihanna – What's My Name
Song Name: What's My Name?
Artist Name / Band Name: Rihanna
Featuring: Drake
Produced By: StarGate
Album Name: Loud
Genre: Roc Nation, Rap, R&B, Pop
Record Label: Def Jam
Written By: Ester Dean, Traci Hale, Drake & StarGate
Performance: Peaked at No.
Sampled In:
Remixed By:
Rihanna – What's My Name Review
The song (What's My Name?) is performed by Barbadian singer Rihanna, taken from her 5th album "Loud". In this song, she features background vocals of Canadian rapper "Drake". The song was released on 26 October, 2010 under the label of Def Jam Recordings. It was produced by StarGate, and written by Tor Erik, Traci Hale, Ester Dean, Mikkel Eriksen and Aubrey Graham.
The music video was released on 12 November, 2010 that was directed by Phillip Andelman. The song received very positive reviews from the critics. Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone commented that "an ideal small hot surprise".
For promotion of "What's My Name?", she performed live on the finale of The X Factor, Late Show with David Letterman, Good Morning America, American Music Awards 2010, Last Girl on Earth Tour and Saturday Night Live.
It was debuted at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100, at number 67 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, at number 5 on the Canadian Hot 100, at number 4 on the Billboard Pop Songs, at number 1 on the UK R&B Songs, at number 18 on the Australian Singles chart, at number 23 on the Duth Top 40 chart and at number 1 on the UK Singles chart.
Lil Baby & Drake – Yes Indeed
Selena Gomez – Back to You


text:
Israel is Beautiful
Islamization
Standing with Israel
"Inspired by Israel" Contest Gallery
Vote for "The International Bible Quiz" in the Inspired by Israel video contest!
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You can help get this video many more votes by sharing this video with your friends.
The International Bible Quiz
On the 19th of August, 1958, the first International Bible Contest was held in the Givat Ram Campus of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Thousands of Israelis competed in the National Contest for the chance to advance to the international contest. The International contest, attended by thousands included competitors for countries worldwide, Jewish and non-Jewish. It showed how significant the "Book of Books" has remained for multitudes of people throughout the world.
For the Jewish nation, the bible refers to the 24 books of scripture which begins with the Five Books of Moses, continues through the books of the Prophets and ends with the Hagiography. The vast majority of the scriptures focus on the Land of Israel and, with the return of the Jewish People to their Land, the scriptures that they had studied and chanted for thousands of years in the exile came alive. The places and events of Jewish history were transformed into tangible places and archeological finds, a living testimony to the Book of Books, the basis of Jewish religion, culture, and history. And the Jewish People were not alone. The nations of the world joined in attributing great significance to this important work.
David Ben Gurion, the first Israeli Prime Minister saw the bible as the book of ultimate importance for the the Jewish People. He attended every Bible Contest as did all Prime Ministers of Israel to this day. Ben Gurion said at the first Children's Bible Contest in 1959:
"There are three things that are actually one… Our land, the Jewish Homeland, "the Book of Books" from which the Jewish People draws it's special singularity, and the third, the Jewish Nation itself. If we succeed in connecting the Jewish People spread throughout the exile with the growing and developing Land of Israel, and with the deep enriching spiritual connection of the Bible, this threefold thread will never be broken. "
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The Perth International Gymnastics Championships is your opportunity to compete against athletes from Oceanic and Southeast Asian countries. Held over three days, athletes will be able to showcase their skills in the sports of Women's Artistic, Rhythmic and for the first time, Aerobic Gymnastics at the Western Australian Gymnastics Centre. We look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful and vibrant city.
Provisional entries close on Monday 13 May and Definitive entries close on Monday 3 June. Please submit entries via email to Gymnastics Western Australia using the supplied entry forms which will be available in early 2019.


text:
Q: Uncompressing a Gzip format? I am facing a problem with Gzip uncompressing.
The situation is like this. I have some text in UTF-8 format. Now this text is compressed using gzdeflate() function in PHP and then stored in a blob object in Mysql.
Now I tried to retrieve the blob object and then used Java's Gzip Stream to un compress it. But it throws an error saying that it is not in GZIP format.
I even used Inflater in Java to do the same but now I get "DataFormatException:incorrect header check". The code for the inflater is as below.
 //rs is the resultset
 //blobAsBytes is the byte array
 while(rs.next()){
        blob = rs.getBlob("old_text");
        int blobLength = (int) blob.length();
        blobAsBytes = blob.getBytes(1, blobLength);
    }

     Inflater decompresser = new Inflater();
     decompresser.setInput(blobAsBytes);
     byte[] result = new byte[100];
     int resultLength = decompresser.inflate(result);  // this is the line where the exception is occurring.
     decompresser.end();

     // Decode the bytes into a String
     String outputString = new String(result, 0, resultLength, "UTF-8");
     System.out.println(outputString);

I have to do this using Java and get all the text back that is stored in the database.
Can someone please help me with this.

A: Use gzencode(), not gzdeflate().  The latter does not produce the gzip format, it produces the deflate format.  The former does produce the gzip format.  The PHP functions are horribly and confusingly named.
Alternatively, use the java.util.zip.Inflater class with nowrap true in the Inflater constructor.  That will decode raw deflate data on the Java end.


text:
Sanctus Real
Lead Me
Pieces Of A Real Heart
We Will Never Give Up
Main Releases
Unstoppable God
The Ultimate Playlist
Run (Deluxe Edition)
Pieces Of Our Past: The Sanctus Real Anthology
Today Tomorrow & Forever (Demo)
Today Tomorrow & Forever (Radio Edit)
Cozy Fall Day
Father's Day Christian Music
Courageous Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
and 47 other albums
About Sanctus Real
Sanctus Real has the Midas touch in music and in marketing. Starting out as a couple of tenth graders at Toledo Christian School playing worship for youth groups, they added a bassist and a drummer and took off for Gospel Music Week in Nashville with a backpack full of CDs. The labels started banging down the door and reaped the benefits. Sanctus Real's 2002 debut Say It Loud broke records with the highest first-week sales of any debut rock album in Sparrow Record's history. It shouldn't have been a surprise considering how they first grabbed the public's attention: they beat out 74 other mainstream bands to win a commercial radio station's best band contest as four Christian rockers from the Midwest. Amy Bartlett
Delirious?, Kutless, Relient K, Switchfoot, The Orange County Supertones, Tree63
Alternative Christian Contemporary
Alt Christian Punk
Sanctus Real has the Midas touch in music and in marketing. Starting out as a couple of tenth graders at Toledo Christian School playing worship for youth groups, they added a bassist and a drummer and took off for Gospel Music Week in Nashville with a backpack full of CDs. The labels started banging down the door and reaped the benefits. Sanctus Real's 2002 debut Say It Loud broke records with the highest first-week sales of any debut rock album in Sparrow Record's history. It shouldn't have been a surprise considering how they first grabbed the public's attention: they beat out 74 other mainstream bands to win a commercial radio station's best band contest as four Christian rockers from the Midwest.
Amy Bartlett
Today Tomorrow & Forever (Acoustic Sessions)
Christian Mother's Day
Today Tomorrow & Forever (Acoustic)


text:
John C. Dorhauer
General Minister and President
The Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer, author and theologian, currently serves as ninth General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ.
John began his ministry serving Zion United Church of Christ and First Congregational United Church of Christ in rural Missouri. He then served as Associate Conference Minister in the Missouri Mid-South Conference, followed by Conference Minister of the Southwest Conference.
Dorhauer received a B.A. in Philosophy from Cardinal Glennon College and has a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary. John received a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary, studying White Privilege and Its Effect on the Church.
With a personal theology shaped in the passionate conviction that God is love and God is just, John has embodied the United Church of Christ's vision of "A Just World for All" throughout his ministry. On October 17, 2014, Dorhauer conducted the first legal same sex wedding in the state of Arizona when he performed the wedding service of David Laurence and Kevin Patterson. He is a recipient of Eden Seminary's Shalom award, given by vote of the student body for a lifetime commitment to peace and justice. He has been identified by the Center for American Progress as one of the religious leaders to watch.
John initiated the collaborative creation of a curriculum, "White Privilege: Let's Talk – A Resource for Transformational Dialogue". Designed to invite UCC members and others to engage in safe, meaningful, substantive, and bold conversations on race, the curriculum and accompanying facilitator's guide have been used by both UCC and non-UCC audiences. It has since been translated into German for use by our partners in Germany as they struggle with a rising tide of racism and seek to learn more about the manifestations of white privilege in their cultural context.
In addition, John has partnered with the UCC Board of Directors in providing oversight for the articulation of the denomination's statements of Purpose, Vision and Mission – critical elements for the UCC's evolving organizational strategy. In partnership with the UCC Board of Directors – and informed with responses from across the church to the question "what does a transformative UCC need to be in ten years?"– John has called the church to accomplish essential strategic priorities over the next 10 years to position the church for a transformative future.
More recently, recognizing a need for thought leadership to consider, inform and shape our responsibility for lifelong, cradle-to-the-grave theological formation, John called for a summit on theological formation, From the Ground Up. John recently oversaw the launch of a Research and Development office in the National Setting. Its purpose is to coach innovation, identify places where creative leaders are architecting and birthing new pathways for evangelism, and providing critical data on what is working and why.
John just completed his term as Chair of the National Council of Churches (NCC), and co-chaired the NCC's United to End Racism campaign.
John insists that the Holy Spirit envisions a future in which the United Church of Christ matters. He is calling on the denomination to rethink itself and to consider new ways of being church in light of institutional religion's changing landscape, emerging shifts in the generational populations, and life after COVID. John's book Beyond Resistance: the Institutional Church Meets the Postmodern World is a call to the body of Christ to accept what the Spirit of the Risen Christ is doing to birth something new, vital, and relevant – all towards nurturing the Beloved Community.
John married Mimi in 1984 and remains madly in love with her. He has co-parented three amazing children with Mimi, and they now both enjoy time with two beautiful grandchildren.
If you are a member of the press and would like to schedule an interview with Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer, please contact:
Connie Larkman, News Director
larkmanc@ucc.org
For all other inquiries, please contact:
Donyale Copeland, Executive Assistant
copeland@ucc.org


text:
Q: Diverging Implicits for Case Class w/ Case Class Argument Given the following from Travis Brown's educational and well-written Type classes and generic derivation:
case class Person(name: String, age: Double)

 trait Parser[A] {
    def apply(s: String): Option[A]
  }

  implicit val hnilParser: Parser[HNil] = new Parser[HNil] {
    def apply(s: String): Option[HNil] = if(s.isEmpty) Some(HNil) else None
  }

  implicit def hconsParser[H: Parser, T <: HList: Parser]: Parser[H :: T] = new Parser[H :: T] {
    def apply(s: String): Option[H :: T] = s.split(",").toList match {
      case cell +: rest => for {
        head <- implicitly[Parser[H]].apply(cell)
        tail <- implicitly[Parser[T]].apply(rest.mkString(","))
      } yield head :: tail
    }
  }

  implicit val stringParser: Parser[String] = new Parser[String] {
    def apply(s: String): Option[String] = Some(s)
  }

  implicit val intParser: Parser[Int] = new Parser[Int] {
    def apply(s: String): Option[Int] = Try(s.toInt).toOption
  }

  implicit val doubleParser: Parser[Double] = new Parser[Double] {
    def apply(s: String): Option[Double] = Try(s.toDouble).toOption
  }

  implicit val booleanParser: Parser[Boolean] = new Parser[Boolean] {
    def apply(s: String): Option[Boolean] = Try(s.toBoolean).toOption
  }

  implicit def caseClassParser[A, R <: HList](implicit gen: Generic[A] { type Repr = R },
                                              reprParser: Parser[R]): Parser[A] =
    new Parser[A] {
      def apply(s: String): Option[A] = reprParser.apply(s).map(gen.from)
    }

  object Parser {
    def apply[A](s: String)(implicit parser: Parser[A]): Option[A] = parser(s)
  }

  implicit val stringParser: Parser[String] = new Parser[String] {
    def apply(s: String): Option[String] = Some(s)
  }

  implicit val intParser: Parser[Int] = new Parser[Int] {
    def apply(s: String): Option[Int] = Try(s.toInt).toOption
  }

  implicit val doubleParser: Parser[Double] = new Parser[Double] {
    def apply(s: String): Option[Double] = Try(s.toDouble).toOption
  }

I was curious to try to get a Parser[X] where X is a case class with a Person argument, i.e. a case class:
case class PersonWrapper(person: Person, x: Int)

Yet I get an error:
scala> Parser[PersonWrapper]("kevin,66,42")
<console>:15: error: diverging implicit expansion for type net.Test.Parser[net.Test.PersonWrapper]
starting with method caseClassParser in object Test
       Parser[PersonWrapper]("kevin,66,42")
                            ^

First, why does this divergent implicit error occur?
Secondly, is it possible to use the above code to get a Parser[PersonWrapper]?

A:
Secondly, is it possible to use the above code to get a Parser[PersonWrapper]?

No, just skip to the end of the article:

scala> case class BookBook(b1: Book, b2: Book)
defined class BookBook

scala> Parser[BookBook]("Hamlet,Shakespeare")
  res7: Option[BookBook] = None

Our format doesn't support any kind of nesting (at least we haven't said anything about nesting, and it wouldn't be trivial), so we don't actually know how to parse a string into a BookBook...

The problem is that cell in case cell +: rest will only ever be a string with no commas that is passed to implicitly[Parser[H]].apply(cell). For PersonWrapper, this means that the very first cell will attempt to do this:
implicitly[Parser[PersonWrapper]].apply("kevin")

Which will obviously fail to parse. In order to get nested parsers to work, you would need some way to group the cells together prior to applying a Parser[H] to them.


text:
← The Lake Folk
Monster Gallery: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) →
Thestrals
The coaches were no longer horseless. There were creatures standing between the carriage shafts. If he had had to give them a name, he supposed he would have called them horses, though there was something reptilian about them, too. They were completely fleshless, their black coats clinging to their skeletons, of which every bone was visible. Their heads were dragonish, and their pupil-less eyes white and staring. Wings sprouted from each wither – vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to giant bats. Standing still and quiet in the gathering gloom, the creatures looked eerie and sinister.
-J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
For the film adaptation of The Order of the Phoenix, creature designer Robert Bliss maintained his Thestral concepts very close to the book descriptions — endowing a horse skeleton with tightly-wrapped skin, a beak, and membranous bat-like wings. The final film design eventually excised the fangs and manes the animals had in the novel — in order to ease aesthetic integrity. Creating the baby Thestrals was instead a matter of reverse-engineering the main design, with appropriate reference from foals.
From the selected design, sculptors Kate Hill and Julian Murray fashioned a small-scale maquette and a full-size sculpture of both the baby and adult Thestrals, producing wing and body configurations separately. Full-size models were created based on moulds of the maquettes and painted gray. "There was some question if we needed to do a paint job," explained creature effects supervisor Nick Dudman. "Thestrals were supposed to be jet black, but if we had just painted them black they would not have looked real. We decided to produce a painted Thestral that was paler than the finished Thestral, showing patterning, veins and shading. The theory was that Stuart Craig could art-direct the subtleties, and then ILM could make the creature as dark as they liked." The full-size maquettes were digitally scanned to obtain rough digital models that were then refined manually. Reference photographs were also taken.
The Thestrals were brought to the screen as entirely digital creatures, handled by Industrial Light & Magic. The creation of the digital Thestral in Maya was overseen by character rigging supervisor Eric Wong, and went beyond making a single model: two distinct models, one of the skeleton and one of the fully-fleshed animal were produced, highlighting the emaciated appearance of the creatures. "We typically just build a shell and then use shapes to simulate muscles and fat underneath," said Tim Alexander, visual effects supervisor, "but in this case, we built the outer shell and also the inner pieces, the bones, and ribs for the skin to slide against." He explained further: "the Thestral was an interesting creature to work on, due to its unique design. We first scanned a full size maquette that production had sent to us, and used the point cloud to model the geometry. We actually had to build two models, which was pretty unusual. Since the creature is basically skin and bones, it was very important for the skin to slide against the bones. So, using Maya, we built a standard model that represented the outer surfaces, and a high-resolution bone structure for the surfaces underneath. We utilized ZBrush to add a lot of details on that geometry."
The modelling crew for the Thestrals was led by Ken Bryan. "Lana Lan, one of our modelers, built all the shapes and took the Thestral all the way through modeling, painting, and lighting," said Alexander. "Ken did the same thing for a baby Thestral — modeled and textured it, but someone else lit it. We had the luxury of having enough time for them to do that."
The Thestrals were animated through keyframe, with appropriate skin simulation. Subsurface scattering endowed the skin with a realistic semi-opaque quality on the body and translucent effect on the wing membranes. In order for the skin to slide over the bones and muscles convincingly, character rigging supervisor Eric Wong developed within Zeno (a multi-purpose CGI software) a PhysBam system that allowed to connect the skin layer to the skeleton underneath. The system attracted the skin to the surface, and at the same time allowed it to slide over the bones. Animation thus proved most difficult in concave spaces where the skin had to be It proved tricky for concave spaces where the skin had to be suctioned in while still sliding over it."We used elephant textures to create wrinkles in the surface, then made it look glossy using subsurface scattering and indirect radiosity-style lighting."
Depending on the specific movement, animation would either have to be increased or dialled back. "Sometimes, delicate movements in the keyframe animation would be lost through the simulation," Alexander explained. "Depending on the shot, we would then either increase the animation, so that it read more through the simulation, or dial the simulation out of the area." The wings were less problematic, as a part of the ILM crew had animated Saphira the dragon from Eragon about two years before they tackled the Thestrals. The gathered knowledge eased the animation of the creatures' wings.
Walking cycles and animation tests were developed directly into forest environments to help define the Thestrals' mood and stature as characters. Steve Rawlins, part of the crew, said: "the director wanted the Thestral to be quite elegant and majestic. That was tricky because we were essentially pulling a skeleton around with all the anatomy exposed, so it became very important to get all the musculature working. We builty a library of shapes that allowed muscles to fire and tense as the legs picked up and set back down. What really helped sell the believability was the way the scapula slid up and down and, when the Thestral's foot hit the ground, all the weight fell into that area. That gave the creature a great sense of mass and helped drive the skin simulations."
One of the challenges the digital effects team faced was to make the Thestrals — emaciated things with a monstrous appearance — look benign as well as realistic. "In terms of animation, the main goal was to make the Thestrals seem like peaceful creatures," Alexander explained. "When Harry sees them hanging out by the water, the director wanted it to feel like a National Geographic episode." Using reference footage of horses, animators gave the Thestrals natural motions, like little muscle flicks.
The inclusion of a baby Thestral was requested by the director to enhance the natural quality of the creatures. "David Yates wanted audiences to see that Thestrals were not exhumed living-dead creatures," observed Rawlins. "He wanted to show that they bred and had young, so he came up with this wildlife documentary scene with the youngster." The animation of the baby Thestral reaching the piece of meat thrown at it on the ground was based on a drinking giraffe, with the forelimbs put at an angle. For flight scenes of the third act of the film, the ILM crew used a similar approach to the Buckbeak flight scenes Framestore had provided for Prisoner of Azkaban, although obviously refined technologically. The actors were filmed riding motion control rigs, which were then replaced with the digital Thestrals.
"When you're working on films about a fantasy world, it would be easy to stray into something that's not believable," concluded effects artist Tim Burke. "We want people to believe in these creatures. If they see Thestrals walking through the forest and think they're real, we've all done our job."
For more pictures of the Thestrals, visit the Monster Gallery.
About the monster philologist
I'm always bored and monsters were the first thing to entertain me
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Posted on 09/05/2017, in Movie Monsters and tagged Harry Potter Monsters, ILM, Rob Bliss, Thestral. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.