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Slide #16. Clean Vision Corporation — Ecosynergie Group
Acquirer: Clean Vision Corporation (CLNV)
Acquiree: Ecosynergie Group
Details: Clean Vision Corporation (OTCQB:CLNV) ("Clean Vision" or the "Company"), today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Clean-Seas, Inc. ("C-S" or "Clean-Seas"), has entered into a definitive agreement (the "Agreement") to acquire 51 percent (51%) of Agadir, Morocco-based Ecosynergie Group ("ESG"). The Agreement follows the companies' execution of a binding term sheet to jointly develop a commercial scale pyrolysis facility that waspreviously announcedon April 4, 2022.
Clean Vision Corporation : CLNV
Ecosynergie Group: PRIVATE


A hernia in a child is the protrusion of a section of intestine through a weak spot in his or her abdominal muscles, which can occur in the first few months or years after birth.
An inguinal hernia can develop in the inguinal canal of a male fetus, through which his testicles normally drop from his abdomen into his scrotum before birth.
An umbilical hernia can develop where the umbilical cord passed through the abdominal wall of a male or female fetus, and that opening did not properly close after birth.
Inguinal hernias require surgical correction, while umbilical hernias may either disappear on their own or require surgery.
A hydrocele is a sack filled with fluid that can develop around a boy's (or a man's) testicle and cause his scrotum to swell.
Usually a hydrocele goes away a few months after a boy's birth, but hyrdocelectomy surgery may be needed, particularly for a hydrocele that forms from an inguinal hernia.
A hernia is the protrusion of a section of the intestine through a weakness in the abdominal muscle. Children can experience two types of hernias, inguinal and umbilical, both of which generally form shortly after birth.
The hernia causes a soft bulge under the skin. Hernias that cannot be pushed back through the abdominal wall by a physician and do not resolve on their own can damage the intestine, due to a loss of blood necessary for intestinal health. Infection is another cause of concern.
Have cystic fibrosis or developmental dysplasia of the hip.
Inguinal and umbilical hernias form in similar fashion but in different areas.
An inguinal hernia can occur in a baby boy's groin area and results from part of his intestine breaching the abdominal muscle at the place where the inguinal canal passes through it. This canal is where his testicles descend normally from his abdomen into his scrotum before birth. If the inguinal canal does not close properly after birth, a hernia can occur.
Inguinal hernias require surgical repair, usually right after discovery and before they can damage the intestine.
They occur in about 1 to 3 percent of children and occur more often in premature infants.
Inguinal hernias appear more often in the right groin area, but can occur on both sides.
Girls also have an inguinal canal but experience inguinal hernias much less often than boys. Boys experience about 90 percent of inguinal hernias in newborns.
An umbilical hernia can form at the spot where the umbilical cord that connects the baby to the mother passes through a small opening in the baby's abdomen. If that opening does not close properly after birth, it causes an umbilical hernia.
Many umbilical hernias resolve on their own, with most resolving in the first year. If an umbilical hernia is still present after age 3, the urologist may recommend surgical correction. Just about all umbilical hernias will have resolved by age 5, but waiting that long may cause problems for the child.
Umbilical hernias are common, affecting about 1 in 10 children. They occur more often in premature infants and African-American babies. Umbilical hernias can also occur in adults and cause abdominal discomfort.
Hernias may not be noticeable for several weeks or months after birth.
Most hernias are diagnosed in a physical exam. The physician may try to push the hernia back through the abdominal wall. Sometimes x-rays or ultrasounds may be used to get a better picture of the intestines and the hernia.
Inguinal hernias require surgical repair before damage occurs to the intestine. Surgery is usually scheduled soon after the inguinal hernia is discovered. Surgery is also necessary for umbilical hernias that do not resolve on their own, causing pain, becoming enlarged or blocking the intestines.
The child is placed under anesthesia.
A small incision is made near the hernia.
The section of intestine is pushed back through the abdominal muscle.
The muscle is stitched back together and the incision is closed.
Often the child can go home the day of the surgery.
As with any surgery, risks are inherent in hernia surgery. They can include blood loss, infection, issues with anesthesia and pain.
What are hydroceles in boys?
A hydrocele is a fluid-filled sack that can form around a boy's testicle and cause swelling in his scrotum. It occurs when the fetus' inguinal canal (the tube through which the testicles normally pass from the abdomen where they are formed to the scrotum) does not close properly after birth. This results in fluid leaking from the boy's abdomen into his scrotum.
Hydroceles are common in infant boys, occurring in about 1 to 2 percent of newborns. Premature babies are more likely to have hydroceles. The only symptom is swelling around one or both testicles. The hydrocele may feel like a water balloon.
Hydroceles usually resolve on their own, as they typically do not cause pain or harm or require treatment. Generally, if the swelling persists or if the hydrocele has not resolved on its own after a year, the child should be taken to see a doctor.
Hydroceles can sometimes occur from an inguinal hernia, usually indicated by a change in the amount of fluid they have collected. This requires surgical removal of the hernia and hydrocele.
Older boys and adults can also have hydroceles. This happens due to an abnormal accumulation of the fluid that surrounds the testicles, either because the fluid doesn't drain properly or because the body is producing too much of it. Injury to, or inflammation of, the testicle can also cause a hydrocele.
Hydroceles are usually diagnosed in a physical exam. The urologist may shine a light on the swollen scrotum to illuminate the hydrocele within. Blood and urine tests may be done to check for infection. Ultrasound can be used to rule out other possible conditions, such as a tumor or hernia.
The patient is given general anesthesia.
The urologist makes an incision in the fold of the groin.
The surgeon may also utilize a laparoscope (thin, lighted optical instrument) to view images of the hydrocele.
The hydrocele sac is removed.
A tube may need to remain in place for a few days to help with drainage.
As with any surgery, risks include blood loss, blood clots, infection, complications from anesthesia and pain.


How to Hatch Chicken Eggs Easily with Homemade Chicken Incubator?
Hatching a chicken egg using a homemade incubator for chickens can be fun. If you are confused about how will you proceed with the process, we bring to you all the tips and steps that will help you succeed at hatching chicken eggs in your homemade chicken incubator with ease. Stick to these steps and you will never forget how joyful and fulfilling the whole incubation process was for you.
Before starting with the hatching process, you will need to prepare your homemade chicken incubator for ideal temperature and humidity. Make sure that you set the temperature to exact 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The humidity should be at 40-50% for the first 18 days and 65-75% for the last days. This is a crucial step in ensuring that the embryos do not get damaged.
You will need to watch your homemade incubator for 24 hours before starting the incubation process as the incubator will require at least that time to get temperature and humidity levels at the said levels.
Choosing right eggs for incubation is extremely important for the success of hatching process. Make sure that the eggs are clean, well-shaped and of appropriate sizes. If possible, get eggs that have been laid on the same day. If this is not possible, you can search for fertile eggs and even check them before choosing to place in the incubator.
To check if an egg is fertile or not, light up a candle and hold it near to your egg, you will be able to see growth inside the egg easily. Choose the eggs that are fertile and if you are planning to store them before starting the incubation process, place them inside an egg carton with fat side pointed up. Make sure they are stored at a temperature of 50-60 degree F and never choose an egg that has been stored for more than 10 days.
Generally, incubation period is of 21 days. That means you will have to place your eggs inside your homemade egg incubator for a period of 21 days. But this doesn't mean you will forget your eggs. You will have to keep a check on the humidity levels and temperature to ensure the right environment for embryo growth. Keep the water dish filled at all the times during the first 18 days to ensure right amount of humidity is present inside the incubator. Also, turn the eggs at regular intervals. You should at least turn the eggs for 3 times in a day for the first 18 days. After day 18, you will have to leave the eggs alone to hatch.
As the humidity has to be increased after 18 days, you will have to refill the water dish to raise humidity levels. Ensure that the conditions are ideal for hatching as ideal temperature and humidity conditions are essential for successful hatching of the eggs.
Once you are through the first 18 days, you will be able to see eggs moving on their own. As the chicks have been formed at this stage, you will have to keep a close watch on them.
Gradually, over a period of next few days, you will see chickens pecking a small hole in the egg shell and hatching out. Don't rush to pick them up at this stage as they are extremely fragile.
Let them rest for about 6-12 hours and don't panic seeing them staying at a single place for this period. They require time for their lungs to adjust to breathing in external environment. So, let them be and keep a close watch on them during the period. After 12 hours, let them get dry inside the incubator itself and once they are completely dry, you can take them out to a brooder box for further care.
With these simple steps you can succeed at hatching eggs using your homemade incubator for chickens. If you do not know how to build a homemade chicken egg incubator, you can check out our website for detailed instructions to build one for yourself and start your egg incubation journey with ease. Being a fun activity, incubation can teach you a lot of things. You have to stay punctual, disciplined and dedicated to ensuring that your chickens have the right environment for hatching. Don't worry, if you are confused about any stage of incubation, you can always take reference from our insightful blogs and infographics that will simplify your incubation journey.


Indian Food Express is the brain-child of Geetha Sridhar, of Master Chef Fame -Season 4. Yes, didn't want to restrict the thoughts to few south indian recipes as well I believe that even sky isn't the limit. Cooking is a passion or simply a thing that bonds me together and Indian Food Express makes that possible.
Be you. This phase will soon pass by . It's a blessing in God's own way to give the slim ones a chance. Be optimistic. You are unique and you don't need to prove that to anybody as long as you can accept it. Use your obesity as a strength to fight back and not as a curse to mourn about. The steps adopted to combat the fat cells is more important than crying over it. At the end it is your confidence, body language and strength that matters. #fatgirl #plussizemodel @sripadmavathisilks Sri Padmavathi Silks Website www.sripadmavathisilks.com Sri Padmavathi Silks, the only South Indian Wedding saree shop in Dombivli West , Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Email geetharavi25@gmail.com for wholesale enquiries and bookings! #SOUTH #PURESILK #southindian #silkshirt #silksarees #KANCHEEPURAM #Mumbai #MAHARASHTRA #PATTU #wedding #pavada — at Sri Padmavathi Silks.
Hi, awwwwwww Proud moment vishu brings me my dream hero ….. Time to meet my hero Kamalhaasan "FIRSTPRENEUR AWARDS 2019". " #firstpreneurawards2019 #LSMediaWorks #Enterpreneurs #awards#FPAwards2019 #KamalHassan FirstPreneur Awards – 2019 FirstPreneur Awards 2019 FIRSTPRENEUR AWARDS – 2019·FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2019 LS MEDIA WORKS proudly presents the "FirstPreneur Awards 2019" an award function to acknowledge & embrace the First Generation Entrepreneurs, the event is scheduled on 2nd March – 2019. The awards program to celebrate and honour the most innovative, inspiring and accomplished entrepreneurs. CHEVALIER DR.KAMAL HAASAN has officially launched our event who is the Chief guest of the event. Dr. KAMAL HASSAN, will be the guest of honor of the event and will be making a speech on the importance of entrepreneurship. This will be an open nomination to all the entrepreneurs throughout the country.


Rather than making money through subscriptions, YouTube channels are based on a traditional advertising system. Meaning the more viewers you get, the more you make. Once you're approved for the YouTube Partner Program and can start including ads on your videos, with every 1,000 views, you will make approximately $2-$4. Which might not seem like a lot, but if you have 100 videos with 5,000 views a month each, that would be $1,000–$2,000 already. Just imagine if your videos start hitting millions of views!
Teachable and Udemy are two of many, but these are the most prevalent, and they're both intuitive and user-friendly. With Teachable, you have more control over your pricing and the look and feel of your course, but you don't get a built-in audience. Instead you have to do all the marketing yourself. Udemy has a built-in base of students, but you don't have as much control and they take more of your revenue.
I have a personal blog that I use for journaling. I became good enough that I opened my own business as a social media consultant. I'm now making a decent amount of extra money. I am also a photographer with a lot of graphics program experience, so I make a little more by doing graphic design, photography, and even digital enhancement. You don't have to be the best at something in order for it to be profitable; you just have to put in the work and be better or cheaper than other people out there. However, it IS work.
I see a comment made by Stella including some freelance sites. This does work. I use oDesk and it's been a big help in bringing in a little extra money. I also agree with some of the other comments that mention people should think of or view more ideas of making extra money, because it really is possible to make extra money instead of just sitting around moping about not having money to pay the bills or buy something special.
Find items that you know are selling below their full value (either online or through a deal website like SlickDeals.net), discount stores (Marshalls, Ross, etc.) buy them and sell them for more on eBay or Amazon. Once you find your product niche you can set up a system. Don't read over that too quickly. You need to find a particular product or niche to really make this work. Otherwise, you're met with different shipping costs, always trying to figure out new margins, etc. Don't try to be everything to everybody. Try to be good in one particular. Maybe it's a product you're passionate about such as selling trucker hats.  🙂 Click here for more on this idea.
2. This article isn't intended to be about making $50k per year from $0 to start with. This is intended to show different ways that it's possible to generate $50k in passive income. As for your rental property comment, check out RealtyShares or other similar companies. You can be a rental property owner without having to run the business. You can be a limited partner and just invest in real estate, and leave the actual work to the general partner. Basically, there are options to make $50k without working, but like the first paragraph says – front load your life!
Our favorite platform for this is RealtyMogul because you get the flexibility to invest as little as $1,000, but can also participate in REITs and private placements – typically not offered to the public. Investors can fund real estate loans to gain passive income or buy an equity share in a property for potential appreciation. Their platform is open to both accredited and non-accredited investors.
It will take a long time to build up your photography skills when you start, but it can be a great job for stay-at-home moms if you choose your genre carefully.  For example, if you shoot weddings you'll have to work every weekend, which means goodbye family time.  You wouldn't have chosen to by a stay-at-home mom if you were willing to not be with your family.  But there are other genres that work great for moms, like doing real estate pictures for Realtors, doing baby photography, senior pictures, etc.  I wrote more about the myths of being a professional photographer here.
While many people start a home business to create or replace a full-time income, some people simply want to generate a little extra money to pay debt; save for a rainy day; or use as mad money, a sum of money reserved for small expenses or impulsive purchases. In the past, those who wished to make extra money needed to go out to find a second job. Fortunately, times have changed and people are thinking creatively about how to make extra money from home. They may be selling their services such as driving or shopping, skills such as writing or sales, or used items such as furniture, technology, or clothing to bring in extra income. Websites designed specifically to assist you in getting rid of unwanted items or selling your services or skills can help.
For example, if you register for free with Textbroker.com and submit a writing sample, you'll receive a rating based on your content quality. Then you can choose which projects you want based on your quality rating and earn 0.7 cent to 5 cents per word, or more. FreelanceWriting.com provides a long list of freelance writing opportunities culled from several top sites. Many of the recent listings offered hourly rates of $25 or more. For $21 a month, you can join Mediabistro's freelance marketplace to post your qualifications for review by media managers seeking writers.
One should think about their skills, hobbies and basic daily habits as well. Do you like to cook? Be a personal cook or dinner parties. Baking? Make wedding cakes or cupcakes for weddings/special events. Do you enjoy cleaning? Trying going to banks/repo companies and ask if they are in need of a repo cleaner or market yourself as a all-around cleaner. Know how to mow a lawn? Get paid to do it in your neighborhood. Sell products from large companies – Jewelry in a candle, Sentsy, Health and home products – etc.
Use Swagbucks for your online searches. Swagbucks is something I don't use as much, but I do occasionally earn Amazon gift cards with very little work. Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded "Swagbucks� for the things you do through their website. Then, when you have enough Swagbucks, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. You'll receive a free $5 bonus just for signing up today!
In order to generate $10,000 in Net Operating Profit After Tax (NOPAT) through a rental property, you must own a $50,000 property with an unheard of 20% net rental yield, a $100,000 property with a rare 10% net rental yield, or a more realistic $200,000 property with a 5% net rental yield. When I say net rental yield, I'm talking about rental income minus all expenses, including a mortgage, operating expenses, insurance, and property taxes.
Just a few years ago, I never thought I would be staff writing, and I never even thought about it. But once I began, I really started to enjoy it. I really love to write (yes, I do realize that I'm not the best and I probably should proofread more, but I do like to talk), and writing for different blogs was fun for me. How are people supposed to know that you are looking for a freelance writing position?
Freelancing is the next best thing to being paid more for your full-time work, because professional work always pays more than unskilled. To find opportunities, let former colleagues or other personal connections that you're available for freelance gigs. (Here are some ideas on how LinkedIn could be useful for that.) Or, post on marketplaces particular to your field. For instance, Mediabistro, a journalism site, allows freelancers to post profiles of their experience and services. Though these are more up to chance, designers can bid on jobs at 99Designs.com or submit a design at Threadless, to see if it will be crowdfunded. Elance-Odesk also lists many freelance opportunities, and you can also post your own services on Fiverr, although some freelancers say these services create a race to the bottom on fees and so are not very lucrative. If you're new to freelancing, here's how to set your rates, and here's how to negotiate raises with clients.
The most liquid of the private investments are investing in equity or credit hedge funds, real estate funds, and private company funds. There will usually be 6 month – 3 year lockup periods. The least liquid of the private investments are when you invest directly into private companies yourself. You might not be able to get your money out for 5-10 years, depending on the success of the company and upcoming liquidity events.
If you don't mind doing other people's chores, then TaskRabbit is a great option for making money online. Earn extra income by walking your neighbor's dog or mowing Mr. Smith's lawn. It might seem like not the most lucrative option, but the top taskers reportedly earn as much as $7000 a month, making this a full-time way to make money online for some.
I recently stumbled on the Trim app and I have to say, this one is a game changer. It's a simple app that acts as your own personal financial manager. Once you link your bank to the app, Trim analyzes your spending, finds subscriptions you need to cancel, negotiates your Comcast bill, finds you better car insurance, and more. And of course, the app is free! My bet is that it will only take a few days for Trim to put an extra $100 in your pocket. So easy!
Unfortunately, many moms feel powerless because they can't find legitimate work-from-home opportunities and sometimes fall victim to Tupperware, handbag, cosmetics or other "parties� that usually charge you a lot of money up front to start selling and rarely result in the success you want.  Or, businesses that want you to pay thousands of dollars to get a "certificate in medical billing,� or "secret shopper� scams.  Certainly these can be completely legitimate, but all too often it ends up costing the person more money than they ever earn.
You can create your blog using a free platform from WordPress.org, but you'll need to pay a small amount – as little as $4 per month – to have your blog hosted. Try GoDaddy.com, which can provide a domain name for your site, email addresses, database storage and other Web hosting services. To make money, you can use the free Google AdSense service to display advertisements on your site. The amount you're paid varies by ad and usually depends on how many people see it. There's also what's called affiliate marketing, in which you earn a commission (usually less than 10%) whenever someone clicks on an ad on your site and purchases a product. The Amazon Associates affiliate program allows you to advertise the retailer's products on your site, or try affiliate networks such as CJ Affiliate or ShareASale that work with thousands of companies. Depending on how much time you put into your blog and how many people visit it, you could be making a few hundred dollars each month within a year.
To help you weed through all the sites out there, we've actually written an article all about survey sites to teach you the ins and outs and give you several sites to get started with.  We've actually vetted these sites and know that they're the good ones.  So if that's something that interests you, I encourage you to read this article and get started making some extra cash today with no startup cost.
When I started SmartPassiveIncome.com, I already had experience with a successful, automated online business at Green Exam Academy. A lot of people were providing online business advice at the time, but most were using other people's businesses as examples, or just spoke theory with no real case studies to back it up. Here, I was able to use my own experience as evidence, and it helped me become more credible right from the start.
And there is no need to be nervous about making such a change to your W-4. The withholding allowances you enter into your W-4 do not determine your tax bill, just how much you pay per paycheck. That means it's perfectly legal to change the withholding allowances on your W-4, provided you claim the correct number of allowances on your actual tax return.
 @LauraGesicki I disagree Laura. Technology can only let an individual go so far with design. It all starts with the thought process and possessing the "designer eye.� This "eye� cannot be taught, but is rather a natural talent and ability to recognize good design from bad. Technology is merely a tool to display our ideas. Nothing beats natural talent and creativity.
Sell baked goods. Working parents might not have the time to whip up a birthday cake or cupcakes for school parties. That's where you come in if you can create tasty baked goods. A friend of mine who is a single mom started making cupcakes as a way to keep herself occupied while staying with her dad when he was undergoing chemotherapy. She posted a picture of her cupcakes on Facebook and instantly received several orders from friends. Now she makes about $200 a month making cupcakes for others who hear about her through word of mouth or see pictures of her cupcakes on her Facebook page.
Obviously, these are much higher than you're going to get with most other investments. What's more is that you can choose a plan that matches your investment strategy, whether your goal is Supplemental Income, Balanced Investing, or Long-term Growth. You can also look at different real estate projects and choose for yourself which ones to invest in.
Are you seeing the possibilities here?  Think about what book, or series of books you could write to help people in your field of expertise?  You might start with an eBook offered on your own website that covers the basics.  Use the eBook as an opportunity to tell people about your more in-depth book on Amazon and finally, follow through with an advanced book offering.
Investing in bonds: Similarly, bonds are an attractive way to engage in passive income. Over a recent 45-year period, bonds funds, as measured by Vanguard Funds, returned 7.1%. Of course, there's no guarantee that investments in stocks or bonds will always work out well, investing in them is by far the surest way to generate money through passive income.
P2P lending is the practice of loaning money to borrowers who typically don't qualify for traditional loans. As the lender you have the ability to choose the borrowers and are able to spread your investment amount out to mitigate your risk. The most popular peer to peer lending platform is Lending Club. You can read our full lending club review here: Lending Club Review.
I own several rental properties in the mid west and I live in CA. I have never even seen them in person. With good property management in place (not easy to find but possible) it is definitely possible to own cash flowing properties across the country. Not for everyone and not without it's drawbacks, but it seems to be working for me so far. I'm happy to answer any questions about my experience with this type of investing.
Part of providing value is building trust. Don't link to things that aren't of good quality or people won't trust your recommendations. The other part of making an audience is consistency. It matters less how often you post than how consistently. If you only have time to do one post a month, that post should come out on the same date and time each month.
This is similar in concept to micro-tasks, except that it is oriented toward specific services, such as cleaning services, pest inspection, handyman services, house cleaning, lawn & garden services or any of the skilled trades. It might actually be more accurate to say that it is a platform where skilled service providers can offer their services to site visitors, similar to Angie's List.
No one knows your hometown like you do, and you can translate that into cash by leading tours of your city. The website vayable.com allows you to set up and guide tours around a particular cultural experience. If you're the foremost expert on ghost stories, beer, architecture, or crime (or anything else!) in your town, then you can start leading tours for people who want to hear your stories.
2) it would likely be easier to emulate what some of these big MLM girls are doing with their FB groups. Rather than advertise your products on FB, look for ways to build a page with a large following of interested users. A lot of these Lula Roe girls that do exceptionally well have large facebook pages with 10,000+ likes they "go live� on facebook and have Lula Roe parties showing off their goods/sales.
I do agree that a few of these ideas are not bad, but for me the problem with some of these platforms has been that I'm not from the USA. So, I can't operate there. It's a really interesting possibility to get some extra bucks from doing what you would do either way, like shopping. One of the best projects so far that I have seen is FluzFluz. It's simple and really easy to use for everyone who uses Uber, Amazo, or other apps. The best part of all is that you can get some passive income – not just from your own purchases, but from other people's as well. I hope one day it will make it here to your list. I think it's worth it to check out.
Network marketing, or multi-level marketing, seems to be on the rise. Companies such as Young Living Oils, Avon, Pampered Chef, and AdvoCare are all multi-level marketing companies. You can earn passive income through network marketing by building a team underneath you (often referred to as a down line.) Once you have a large team you can earn commissions off of their sales without having to do much.
I know of a couple moms who do this one day a week and buy up a few shopping carts of stuff, put it in one giant box and ship it to Amazon, and make crazy amounts of money doing it.  It's pretty cool.  I haven't personally done a lot of this just because I'm busy with my blogging businesses, but I have sold quite a few things on Amazon and had success.


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Berkeley Lab Helps Reveal How Dinosaur Blood Vessels Can Preserve Through the Ages
News Release Aliyah Kovner 510-486-6376 • February 14, 2020
In order to take these mesmerizing microscopy images, the team carefully demineralized small bits of T. rex bone to liberate the preserved vessel tissue inside. The sample used in this study came from the femur of the famous, nearly complete fossil specimen known as "the Nation's T. rex," which is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. (Credit: Boatman et al. and Smithsonian Institute)
A team of scientists led by Elizabeth Boatman at the University of Wisconsin Stout used infrared and X-ray imaging and spectromicroscopy performed at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS) to demonstrate how soft tissue structures may be preserved in dinosaur bones – countering the long-standing scientific dogma that protein-based body parts cannot survive more than 1 million years.
In their paper, now published in Scientific Reports, the team analyzed a sample from a 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex tibia to provide evidence that vertebrate blood vessels – collagen and elastin structures that don't fossilize like mineral-based bone – may persist across geologic time through two natural, protein-fusing "cross-linking" processes called Fenton chemistry and glycation.
First, the scientists used imaging, diffraction, spectroscopy, and immunohistochemistry to establish that structures present in the sample are indeed the animal's original collagen-based tissue. Then, Berkeley Lab co-authors Hoi-Ying Holman and Sirine Fakra respectively performed synchrotron radiation-based Fourier-transform infrared spectromicroscopy (SR-FTIR) to examine how the cross-linked collagen molecules were arranged, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping to analyze the distribution and types of metal present in T. rex vessels.
"SR-FTIR takes images and spectra of the same sample, and so you can reveal the distribution of protein-folding patterns, which helps to identify the possible cross-linking mechanisms," said Holman, director of the Berkeley Synchrotron Infrared Structural Biology (BSISB) Imaging Program. Fenton chemistry and glycation are both non-enzymatic reactions – meaning they can occur in deceased organisms – that are driven by the iron present in the body.
"The XRF microprobe revealed the presence of finely crystalline goethite, a very stable iron oxyhydroxide mineral, on the vessels that likely contributed to the preservation of organic molecules," said Fakra, an ALS research scientist.
The authors believe that the cross-linking reactions they found evidence of, combined with the protection offered from being surrounded by dense mineralized bone, can explain how original soft tissues persist.
Read more about this research
TAGS: Advanced Light Source, biosciences

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Maybe the world needs more dictators.
Recent events, not just here in the United States but worldwide, have me wondering if the idea that decisions should be made to benefit everyone might be an idea whose time has come and gone.
Across the globe, there seems to be a movement toward strong leaders who can take control of the population.
Strongmen everywhere seek to convince the population the elite need to rule.
Is it possible that ending slavery was a mistake?
Is economic slavery any less oppressive?
Shouldn't the rich and powerful be entitled to more?
We are barely ten years past the last financial crisis and already were moving back towards the good old days when the banks could charge high interest, charge you for accounts you didn't open and foreclose at will. As a societal value, the ability of the large banks and corporations to make huge profits seems more important than protecting the wage earner from financial ruin.
The conventional wisdom now appears to be that the rich need to make thousands of times what the average person makes. The emphasis seems to be on enriching those who have and illuminating "wasteful programs" aimed towards those who have the least. To maximize the benefits to society, they cut the taxes on people who are paid by corporations and trust while attempting to reduce the wages, in real terms, of those who try to exist on minimum age. The giveaway to corporate interests is permanent. The tax cut for the middle class looks like a temporary bribe and will expire in a couple of years.
To pay for the perks of the wealthy, those in power propose to reduce the programs for the neediest. Why waste money on food stamps, disability payments, services for children and homeless when we can increase the availability of expensive furniture, first-class travel, and golf courses for the wealthy?
The founding fathers of America seem to have made a mistake by trusting the average man to make decisions. Recently I notice some leaders were quick to tell us that left to their own devices people will do awful, terrible things. What we need is a strong government, lots of laws, and a really large number of people to enforce compliance with those laws.
Laws are, of course, designed primarily to regulate the masses who cannot be trusted to control their own lives. Laws, we are told, should be enforced most rigorously on those who are either poor or different.
We have especially been told that those people who leave one country and go to another do so with evil intent. Good people with stay in their country of origin working as hard as possible to make their rulers happy and rich. People who go elsewhere seeking a better life are probably murderers and rapists and a danger to the stability of society. A well-functioning society, so we are told, needs to have a ruling class, who controls the dangerous masses.
Do most people need to stay in their place?
There was a time when the belief was widespread that the nobles were more important than the common man. Some people seem to want to hold onto this idea. Here in America, we don't use titles of nobility the way they did in medieval Europe. There does seem to be a resurgence in the belief that the poor deserve their state in life. This resistance to raising the minimum wage coupled with the belief that the rich contribute more to society than the average person.
In many ways, our system is designed to keep the poor in poverty, to require the mentally ill to stay sick, and to house large numbers of the poor, minorities, and the mentally ill in criminal justice facilities. The belief that the people at the top of society deserve to be there and those at the bottom need to stay in their place, appears to be the prevailing view these days.
I remember, in my younger days, the expression "law and order." This expression was a particular favorite of some politicians during the Nixon era. Law and order did not mean just and fair rules for all. What it did mean was suppression of dissent. Increasing efforts to impose rigid rules on society resulted in cataclysmic divisions in society. Remember that Nixon, a veteran of the McCarthy hearings, resigned not because of what he had done or left undone but because in his words "I have lost my political base." I fear a return to those values. Is it possible that America has forgotten the lessons learned from the incident at Kent State?
Today morality is being defined as telling people their religious faith is the correct one, rather than telling people there are right and wrong ways to treat others. Tell people how great they are, and you get a pass on bad behavior.
Is the right to have lots of guns more important than the safety of the children of the masses?
America's had a huge problem with gun violence. Sometimes it happens in schools and sometimes on the streets. One way to mitigate the problem of gun violence in schools is to encourage the wealthy to send their children to private schools or educate them at home.
The rest of us are encouraged to buy more guns and shoot it out on school campuses the way they used to settle disagreements in the old West at high noon.
Is the "me too" movement misguided?
I remember a time when a woman who slept with a man outside of marriage was called a great many disgusting names. Men, however, who were able to sleep with a large number of women were idolized. While some men have lost their positions because of their sexual behavior, the more powerful you are, the more likely sexual indiscretions will be forgiven. Inappropriate behavior comes with a price tag and a nondisclosure agreement. Maybe the rich and powerful are entitled to a different standard of justice.
The truth is no longer useful.
Recently someone sent me an email saying that a person who disagreed with them had done all sorts of awful things. A quick Internet check of the "facts" in their email established that none of the things they said had ever happened.
Did they apologize? Not at all. The response to me was "I don't like him; wouldn't it be wonderful if all those things were true?" The "truth" has now become a synonym for unconscionable, hate-filled speech. "Truth" is now defined as those things said repeatedly and loudly by the people in control.
Rather than a rational discourse about facts and policy, our public conversations have become the occasion for bullying and name-calling. Want to discredit someone? Call them "fat, ugly, loser." The bullies no longer run the playground, they run the planet.
Please pause the moment before you reply.
Before you report this post to the "thought-police" asked that it be banned as "fake-news" or frantically search for the phone number of the blacklist committee, there's something you should know.
A good deal of this post is facetious and sarcastic. If you don't know what that means, borrow a dictionary from someone who still owns one.
Remember, I'm one of those antique people who still believe in the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The matter how bleak things look right now, whatever your difficulties, I believe you can recover from life's challenges and have a happy, meaning-filled life.
I like this. I find it thought provoking.


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Gebhard von Henneberg (* um 1100; † 17. März 1159 in Würzburg) war Bischof von Würzburg von 1150 bis zu seinem Tod.

Gebhard von Henneberg war ein jüngerer Sohn des Burggrafen Godebold II. von Würzburg, ein Bruder Poppos II., Graf von Henneberg, und des Bischofs Günther von Speyer.

Gebhard wurde 1121 zum Bischof von Würzburg gewählt und im Jahr darauf auch von Kaiser Heinrich V. – kurz vor dem Wormser Konkordat und dem Ende des Investiturstreits – eingesetzt. 1127 trat er, da nur vom Kaiser ernannt, nach jahrelangen Kämpfen zurück, in denen er sich in Würzburg nicht durchsetzen konnte. Für die Jahre von 1121 bis 1127 wird Gebhard somit als Gegenbischof geführt, der zunächst mit Rugger konkurrierte. 1125 widmete ihm Ulrich von Bamberg das Werk Codex Udalrici.

23 Jahre später, 1150, wurde er erneut Bischof von Würzburg und konnte dieses Mal sein Amt auch antreten. 1152 machte er sich für die Wahl Friedrich Barbarossas zum deutschen König stark: Ab dann war er in dessen unmittelbarer Umgebung anzutreffen. Die Beziehung zwischen Gebhard und Friedrich wurde so eng, dass in Würzburg 1155 ein Hoftag und 1157 ein Reichstag abgehalten wurde – und Gebhard am 17. Juni 1156 bei Friedrichs Hochzeit mit Beatrix von Burgund der Gastgeber war. Gebhard nahm 1157 am Feldzug gegen Polen teil und 1158 am zweiten Italienfeldzug.

Um die Mitte des 12. Jahrhunderts übertrug – gemäß den Ausführungen des Lizentiaten Franz Hugo Brandt aus dem Jahr 1794 – Gebhard den von ihm in die Stadt Würzburg aufgenommenen "Brüdern des heiligen Spitals zu Jerusalem" das "am Sand" (in der Sanderau) gelegene St. Oswaldspital, das damit zum Johanniterspital und Sitz der Ordenskommende geworden sein soll.

Gebhard war auch ein Förderer des Zisterzienserordens. 1127 wurde das Kloster Ebrach gestiftet. Der erste Abt Adam kam aus der Primarabtei Morimond. Trotz geringer Anfangsausstattung entwickelte sich das Kloster – auch mit dem Schutz des Mainzer Erzbischofs Adalbert I. von Saarbrücken – rasch. In den 1134 fertiggestellten Abteibauten fand König Konrad III. mit seiner Gemahlin die letzte Ruhestätte. Die Filiationen Ebrachs griffen weit aus, u. a. bis zum Kloster Nepomuk in Böhmen. Neben Ebrach entstand um 1156 auch das Kloster Bildhausen.

Literatur

 Peter Kolb, Ernst-Günther Krenig (Hrsg.): Unterfränkische Geschichte. Band 1: Von der germanischen Landnahme bis zum hohen Mittelalter. Echter, Würzburg 1989, ISBN 3-429-01263-5, S. 339–342.

Einzelnachweise

Römisch-katholischer Bischof (12. Jahrhundert)
Bischof von Würzburg
Gegenbischof
Familienmitglied des Adelsgeschlechts Henneberg
Deutscher
Geboren im 11. oder 12. Jahrhundert
Gestorben 1159
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Engraving, or carving a shallow relief, in a sheet of plywood is usually achieved with a router. Note: It is very hard to carve plywood with traditional wood carving tools such as a hammer and chisel. This router could either be hand controlled or machine controlled. In either case, the router will be fitted with a bullnose bit and set to a shallow enough depth to remove only enough of the surface to show a design or perhaps lettering. Machine controlled routers will allow for variation in the depth of the cut and allow for more complex surface textures and reliefs. Best results are obtained with multiple passes of the cutting tip, each being slightly deeper than the last. Sharp edges and corners can be finished by using traditional hand tools, such as chisels and files.
Another very different approach is to use masks and a sand blaster, which gives a more organic and natural finish. Masks are usually made from some type of sheet metal material, which is cut out to reveal the design that will be engraved into the plywood surface. This sheet or mask is laid on top of the plywood and fastened in place securely. Then with a sand blaster, the exposed wood surface is blown away by the stream of sand particles suspended in the flow of air from the nozzle of the sand blaster. Designs that include "islands" or areas not connected to the rest of the mask should be avoided if possible, as it is hard to hold the disconnected areas in place exactly as they should be, especially if they are not very large. Note: DIY or prosumer type sandblasters are not usually able to deliver enough volume of material to be very effective in anything but the smallest projects. Professional sandblasting rigs deliver a huge amount of air. In this case, it is the volume of air, not pressure, that makes the difference. Home-shop style compressors are not usually capable of delivering sufficient volumes of air to be of any real use for a sandblasting setup. A work-around solution can be achieved by setting up several portable compressors in parallel to increase the volume of air available but not the pressure.
There are small scale, DIY style, machine operated router rigs that work on a similar system to a CNC cutting table. These home operated rigs, in most cases can only work on small pieces one or two feet square. To use these types of machines, you will usually need to be able to convert digital files representing the shape you wish to carve or reveal in the plywood surface into a series of commands which will move the router across the surface to be routed. These movements are defined as values in an x – y plane with z being the depth of the cut at any particular location.
You will need software to create your shapes or designs either in 2D or 3D and another software package is needed to convert these shapes into a series of commands and movements for the router bit tip to follow. Because of this, various compatibility issues can arise and it may not be a simple process; as the movements and height of the router need to be compatible with the shape of the router bit and the router's general settings (speed of rotation, etc.). If the router moves too fast or too deep, it might create too much heat, leave burn marks and start ripping the fibers of the wood. If it moves too slowly, ironically, the same may result, due to the router bit resting too long in the same location and creating friction burns. It will often take a little experimentation, adjusting the various settings, to achieve perfect results. It is not always understood that one of the ways saws and routers dissipate heat from the cutting point of contact is by the flow of the hot material that is sawn or milled away. If there is less material being released from the router bit and the setting edge, it will have a lower heat dissipation as a result.


Replace your old, hard, brittle PCV Valve Cover Cross Over Hose.
This is the hose that connects the front valve cover to the rear valve cover on the driver's side of the engine.
Monday 22 April, 2019 22825998 Page Visits and Counting!


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3rd Tuesday Book Club: Murder on the Orient Express & Cemetery John
« AGATHA CHRISTIE MOVIE
AGATHA CHRISTIE MOVIE »
The 3rd Tuesday Book Club returns with a pair of great reads. Murder on the Orient Express, one of Agatha Christie's most famous mysteries, was inspired by two real-life crimes and the author's own experience being stranded on the Orient Express during Christmas of 1931. While traveling to Paris, a wealthy American is stabbed to death in his cabin on the Orient Express. With the train stuck in a snowdrift, there is no easy escape for the killer. Fortunately, detective Hercule Poirot is aboard and launches a clever investigation into the curious assortment of passengers, of whom each seems to have a motive. Cemetery John is being paired with Agatha Christie's classic mystery to provide a real life true crime story and to add some historical perspective. Five years after Charles Lindbergh flew The Spirit of St. Louis from New York to Paris, his infant son Charlie was kidnapped in the "Crime of the Century." Only Richard Bruno Hauptmann was executed for the crime, even though the police knew in 1932 that he didn't work alone. In this take on the crime, Zorn holds that his father, the late Eugene C. Zorn Jr., overheard what he believed to be plans to kidnap the child, and that a second kidnapper, working with Hauptmann, left enough clues behind for Zorn's father, then 15, to put together a case.


Our Vanilla Bean Drinking Chocolate is unique. We place an ethically grown, moist, plump and incredibly aromatic Papua New Guinea vanilla beans in each pack. They infuse with our fine Original cocoa, steeping a fantastic flavour throughout. Vanilla acts like nature's flavour enhancer, brightening and intensifying the chocolate experience.
Our Vanilla Bean Drinking Chocolate is made using most of the cocoa bean. The high cocoa butter content gives the cocoa a remarkable textural mouth feel when it blends with hot milk. This creates an incredibly sumptuous and invigorating hot chocolate experience.


Significance has to do with character, and character has to do with who we are when no-one is looking. Character is about choosing the road less travelled.
David had been anointed as King - he knew that Saul was simply keeping the throne warm for him. Saul however was insanely jealous of David and had hunted and pursued David, killing those who showed any kind of support for him. It was clear to almost everyone that Saul was clutching at straws and that David was God's choice.
David saw the temptation. Although he did not necessarily respect the man, he respected the office. He knew that to become King by treachery and bloodshed was not God's way. He made a character decision to wait and to skip the shortcut. In doing so he taught Abishai and all who would have heard the story ('We were in his tent - he was snoring away!') all about loyalty, uprightness, character, and dignity.
The temptation to take the easy road, or grab what looks like the most convenient solution, especially if it requires only a small compromise, is a very real issue. But it is our characters and our reputation that is at stake. It is easy to pass on a piece of gossip that will damage our competitors in the office. It is easy to piggyback on someone else's work and not acknowledge them. But our lack of respect for our own and other people's dignity will find us out.
David made the right call in a very tempting place - may we too!
After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the Desert of En Gedi." 2 So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.
3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.' " Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe.
This is a powerful picture of David's integrity.
Let's not forget that David has been anointed as King by Samuel.
Samuel has already told Saul that God had rejected him as King and chosen another.
David could have justified killing Saul as expediting God's will.
Towards God - He trusts God's timing instead of creating his own.
Towards his men - He sets them a good example.
Towards himself - He refuses to take a short-cut.
This is a beautiful picture of mental and spiritual health, balance and coherence.
David's principles, motives and actions are aligned around God's will and glory and not his own.
In chapter 23 there are 5 occasions where David asks for guidance and help and gets it. How can we be guided by God and learn to hear him? There are some guidelines that we can pick up from David.
Ask. David often asked for guidance. While this seems the obvious place to start, there is more to this than meets the eye. To ask for help is to be willing to give up one's own plans. To ask is to admit that we need help. To ask is to place our pride and self-sufficiency aside. And asking is an act of faith and trust.
Remember God's faithfulness in the past. David when facing Goliath remembered how God had helped him face the lion and the bear. In his psalms asking for guidance David always remembered God's answers in the past. This serves two important purposes: It gave confidence that God would answer and there are often principles from the past that are applicable to the present.
The Anglican Church uses three criteria for making decisions: Scripture, Reason, and Tradition. The Tradition or History of God's faithfulness is a good guide for the future.
The ephod: David had the ephod (a priestly garment with gems that glowed when you asked yes-no questions) which helped him as he prayed. We don't have anything like the ephod today and so we have to ask ourselves what the ephod represented. The ephod was part of the regular disciplined structured corporate worship of the Hebrews. It also represented the corporate nature of the faith as it was studded with jewels that represented the 12 tribes.
One of the best places to seek guidance is in the regular structured disciplined worship structures in our lives - our daily devotions, our fellowship group, and our worship in church. It seems clear that God often uses these contexts to guide us.
Allow others to encourage and advise you. Later in ch.23 David is encouraged by Jonathan who ensures him that God will protect him.
These are just some of the principles behind hearing God and being guided by Him. May we learn from David's example.
David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
After David killed Goliath his popularity grew and so did Saul's jealousy. Saul festered and plotted ways to expose David to as much danger as possible and get him killed. As his anger simmered he twice threw a javelin at David who managed to evade him. Eventually his rage erupted at a banquet where he accused his son Jonathan of being disloyal to his family because of his friendship with David.
David fled for his life and tried hiding out among the Philistines where he had to pretend that he was crazy because they were so threatened by him. Eventually it wasn't even safe among the enemies of his enemy and so David opted for a nomadic existence in the wilderness.
There, a group of people gather around him. His family and then a riff-raff of people - society's dropouts. This is a diverse and unexpected group of people.
They're a rag tag bunch. At one point they even wanted to kill David when their families had been abducted by the Amalekites because they blamed David for taking too many risks. But David leads them through all of this.
But strangely enough, they become a unit and a significant force.
Pretending to fight Israel with the Philistines but raiding the Amalekites and keeping up the ruse.
Successfully evading Saul and obeying David's instructions to respect the King.
Performing heroic deeds - facing Goliath's kin and crossing enemy lines just to give David a drink of water.
At the end of 2Samuel we have a few chapters that describe the exploits of David's mighty men. This is what the ragamuffins of Adullam have become!
This is a powerful image of the church. We don't have David, but we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit who will help us grow from a rag-tag bunch of ragamuffins to become a powerful force to accomplish justice and reconciliation in our world.
EmmDev 2017-09-21 [Lessons from Samuel] Why five stones?
Why did David pick up five stones?
Maybe he was worried that he might miss with his first shot.
Or that he wanted some extra ammunition in case the Philistines didn't stick to the deal of surrendering if he defeated Goliath.
But there is another interesting theory that comes from 2 Samuel 21.
In 2 Samuel 21 we read the "descendants of Rapha" who were all giants. Goliath was one of five descendants of Rapha.
Ishbi-Benob (v.16) was "one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels and who was armed with a new sword, said he would kill David [by this time David was an old man]. 17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him."
Saph (v.18) "In the course of time, there was another battle with the Philistines, at Gob. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, one of the descendants of Rapha."
Lahmi (v.19) "In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed [Lahmi the brother of]]Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's rod."
An Unnamed Man(v.20) In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot--twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. 21 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David's brother, killed him.
The passage concludes (v.22) "These four were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men."
It is not entirely clear whether these were siblings or other family members of Goliath, but they are descended from Rapha and at least one of them is named a brother to Goliath.
So the cool theory about David's five stones is that that David knew about the "giants of Rapha" and that he picked up one stone for Goliath and the rest for his kinsmen. This is a lovely expression of faith and trust in God: "Even if his kinsmen come to take revenge - with God's help I'll be ready."
I love that kind of "Bring it on!" faith.
May we also be courageous and forward looking and forward trusting in our faith.
David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
Tactically David should have kept a safe distance between himself and Goliath. Goliath would have been using his "trash-talking" routine to get closer to David.
David is zealous. He is passionate. He is incensed at Goliath's arrogance. Not only does he move toward Goliath, but he runs!
He runs passionately and confidently.
He grabs a stone from his bag.
Loads it in His sling.
He's running fast - he's swinging.
He's passionate. He's focused. He's adamant.
His picture of God is so big that Goliath is small.
And when it's like that... You don't miss!
But I think the real miracle was that David's heart was strong and true.
Fear would have bound and stunted the skill that was in him.
But with God in His heart David became all he could be!!!
David teaches us to stay true to what we are good at.
- His eyes were on God.
- His ambition was God's glory.
- His confidence was God's victory.
And so his best was his very best and the giant fell!
We need to play to our strengths and be authentically ourselves.
But our God-given skills and talents can be stunted by fear.
We need a big picture of God!
Our zealousness for God's honour is an indication of the significance we will achieve.
Will we sit still when God's honour is at stake?
40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
Goliath was bringing a knife to a gunfight!
Even today in Palestine you can watch shepherd boys sling stones at lamp-poles at 100m and hit them everytime.
Goliath had close range weapons, he couldn't throw his javelin as far as David could sling a stone. David presented a very dangerous threat to Goliath. Goliath was prepared for a traditional enemy - a soldier with spear, sword and shield. In that kind of fight Goliath had the size and the experience.
But David was a curved stone, I mean ball!
And so Goliath insults him, undermines him and intimidates him.
This is what Bullies do.
Time and time again "boy, you'll never win!
Look at David's awesome reply... David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
I can't say it better!
Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
"I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
To rely on external tools and gimmicks.
But Saul's armour hinders him - it is clutter that slows him down.
Is there clutter in your life?
- The temptation to grab at status?
- An overdeveloped image awareness?
- Too much reliance on tricks of the trade?
David could have been enamoured with the new and the fancy. He could have relied on looking impressive and relying on the weapons because they were Saul's. In the end he trusts his experiences and he remains true to himself.
We spend a lot of time trying to be impressive, to be like society's heroes and to rely on what is trendy or cool and to do what it takes to be taken seriously.
David realises these are not a true fit.
He realises he needs to be himself.
He goes back to basics. He stays true to himself and trusts the lessons he has learnt in the past.
Why did God honour David? I think it is because David was so utterly passionate for the glory of His God! Whilst the rest of the Israelites looked at the size of the giant, David looked at the size of the insult. While the rest of the Israelites saw the size of Goliath's weapons, David saw the size of His God! While the Israelites quaked in fear at Goliath's intimidating threats, David shook with anger at the giant's disrespect.
David was passionate for the honour of his God! David was zealous for God. He would not sit still - he would not remain silent!
David achieved significance because he would not sit still when others mocked his God. David made a difference because he wanted God to be glorified. David had a life which counted because he lived that life to honour His God.
Later in the chapter we read that Goliath cursed David by his gods. In response to the threat of Goliath's gods, David says (shouts - I think) "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!"
Then David runs to the battle-line and slings his stone.
When God saw this faithful passion, he delighted in this shepherd boy and honoured him, the stone was given wings, and the giant fell!
What about us? Our zealousness for God's honour is an indication of the significance we will achieve. Will we sit still when God's honour is at stake? I hope not!
BACKGROUND: David is a young man delivering provisions to his brothers. He hears one of Goliath's daily taunts and is incensed. Disparagingly he asks "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."
Saul doesn't want some young shepherd boy giving his troops false hope. When David's "dissing" of Goliath comes to his ears, Saul summons him and puts him in his place: "You are only a boy, this guy is a tank - He's a giant and he's been fighting from his youth."
But Saul has made the same mistake everyone else has.
He has forgotten that whoever fights Goliath doesn't fight alone!
David is crystal clear. Goliath may be an experienced fighting giant, and David may be a boy, but God, who has been with David to fight the lion and the bear, will be with him.
Very often giants come along and intimidate us. They try to dominate our field of vision so that we think only of them and it paralyses us. David uses the powerful tool of memory to remember how God has delivered him.
Lions and Bears are powerful and frightening enemies. Especially if you are a young shepherd boy surrounded by sheep. David would have had to trust God more than he feared these very primal enemies and when God delivered him, he must have been very aware of the help he received.
David's memories are clear and solid.
He trusted God in the past and it turned out well.
He would do the same again!
What enemies have you faced in the past?
How has God delivered you?
What "songs of deliverance" can you sing?
Don't let a giant fill your vision!
Use your rear-view mirror to recognise that the God who has brought you thus far will carry you further still!
A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armour of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.
Giants can come into our lives at any point.
In Israel's case it was a literal giant soldier named Goliath. But giants can be spiritual or emotional problems. Giants can be systems, peer-groups or tough circumstances. Giants can be temptations or past failures. Setbacks or obstacles can become giants in our lives. The curved balls that life throws our way can be giants.
At some point you and I will face or have faced a giant!
They are big and well equipped. Goliath set out to make a massive first impression. Not only was his physical size phenomenal, but He had armed himself with incredible weaponry. He seemed insurmountable, impregnable and invulnerable.
Many of our giants are the same - they seem larger than life. They same to have powerful weapons and impenetrable defences.
They come offering compelling deals often too good to be true. "Send someone to fight me - winner takes all." Sometimes we have to question the deal. In the Biblical account David takes the deal and overturns it by winning against long odds.
We should, however, be careful - sometimes the deal offered is a smokescreen and leads to compromise. But don't be afraid of being the underdog. With God on their side, underdogs win!
Today's giants will try to make us forget who we are as children of the king. They will have us focus on heroes with clay feet or our own clay feet, crumbling from our failures.
Giants keep coming. Goliath wore the Israelites down - morning and evening for 40 days. Each time he yelled at them the more they feared him. And fear was the object of the exercise.
Modern day giants also fight wars of attrition. They will wear us down through repeated threats and many voices.
These are just some of the tactics of giants.
If you see these tactics, you're facing a goliath!
Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.
15 Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."
17 So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me."
18 One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him."
One of the fruits of the Spirit is peace.
This is a difficult passage. It describes Saul's ongoing spiritual and emotional decline. God's Spirit has left Saul and now an evil spirit besets him.
What is difficult about this passage is that it indicates that the evil spirit is from God. This does not mean that God is the author of evil, but simply that He allows it - It is a reminder that God is still sovereign over evil. The best example we have of this is when Satan has to go to God to get permission to torment Job.
Although God allows the evil spirit to come, it is Saul who has rebelled against God. It is Saul who does not heed Samuel's warnings and Saul who would rather keep up appearances than repent. God's Spirit departs from Saul and, as he feeds himself on insecurity and jealousy, he opens himself up to evil influence.
Speaks well and is a fine-looking man. One can only assume that David's refinement would give Saul an anchor - to inspire him toward better things. Beauty is a powerful antidote to darkness.
And the Lord is with him: David lived in the presence of the Lord and could therefore exude God's presence.
Godly leaders, like David, will carry God's peace with them. The OT word for peace is Shalom (wholeness, blessing and harmony) - I believe that peace-bringing is a significant criteria of Godly leaders.


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Canada ready to help Philippines in Marawi crisis
Canada stands ready to assist the Philippines deal with the crisis in Marawi City.
This comes as more civilians and troops are affected by the lingering armed conflict in the southern city between security forces and Islamist rebels.
"We stand ready to help… Normally, we would respond to a request from the government of the Philippines," Canadian Ambassador to Philippines John Holmes told reporters.
Holmes said his country is already providing assistance to the Philippines through the Canadian Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross Philippines.
"In terms of our aid program, Mindanao has been our focus the last few years and continues to be our focus," the ambassador said.
"We have different programs that are already operating. We continue to support Mindanao Trust Fund, this will continue in terms of tragic events," the Canadian envoy also said.
Holmes expressed sympathy to the Philippines amid Marawi fighting.
"Government of Canada extends its heartfelt condolences to the government and the people of Marawi who have been affected by this horrible tragedy," he added.
Canada's assistance to Mindanao will continue amid the war in Marawi and the declaration of martial law in the region, he said.
Members of local extremist groups Abu Sayyaf and Maute attacked Marawi last May 23.
The attack prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to put the entire island of Mindanao under military rule.
The clashes, which are still going on, have left thousands displaced and hundreds killed.
Holmes also said Canada is ready to work with the Philippines and offer assistance in fighting terrorism in terms of capacity building and information exchange.
"We stand ready to work with the Philippines in that regard. We don't normally… we wouldn't be sending troops or anything like that but we do capacity building, exchanges of information, things like that. That's been ongoing," he said.
E-vehicle industry lauds exemption from excise tax
Cardinal condemns desecration of Catholic chapel in southern Philippines


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Redrawing boundaries, lawsuits cast doubt on credibility of Thai election
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An anti-government protester wears a red mask during a protest in Bangkok, Thailand in May. Reuters
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand will soon hold its first election since the military seized power in a 2014 coup and many hope the vote will return Southeast Asia's second-largest economy to democracy.
The government lifted a ban on political activity when it announced the Feb. 24 election last week, but critics say the junta has taken several steps to remain in power after the vote, casting doubt on how credible the poll will be.
"We have seen a systematic manipulation and distortion of the electoral process, of the will of the people, starting from the constitution," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Chulalongkorn University, referring to the military-drafted constitution that was publicly ratified in 2016, two years after the coup.
"The reason this (election) has a crooked feel more than others is because it pretends to be democratic, clean and fair when it is completely rigged," Mr Thitinan said.
The military government has denied accusations it has been engineering a path to prolong its stay in power.
But one or more military-backed parties are likely to be in the fray, pitted against the anti-establishment populists led by the Shinawatra family and some smaller centrist parties.
Some critics say the regime has tried to influence everything from electoral boundaries in favour of pro-junta parties and hand-picking the entire upper house of parliament, down to plans to re-design ballot papers to remove party names and symbols attached to candidates – which will be likely to confuse voters.
The Election Commission is expected to finalise ballot design later this week.
Members of major opposition parties like the Shinawatra-linked Puea Thai Party and the new, millennial-oriented Future Forward Party are among hundreds of government critics who have been slapped with lawsuits under the computer crimes act.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has made his long-term political ambitions clear, even going so far as to set up a party with four cabinet ministers, the Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP).
At least two smaller parties have also declared their support for Mr Prayuth.
One senior government official admitted the aim of the PPRP was to keep Mr Prayuth in office, saying, "or else everything that this government has done would be wasted".
Thailand has lurched between civilian and military governments for decades, and has among the highest number of coups of any country – 13 successful ones – since 1932 when the kingdom became a constitutional monarchy.
Since 2001, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his family's allies have regularly rallied the masses for support and today remain a major political force that irks the royalist establishment.
Thaksin-linked political parties, known for their populist social welfare policies like a generous rice subsidy scheme and universal healthcare, have won every general election since 2001.
Puea Thai faces increasing pressure from the junta which has launched legal cases against members of the Shinawatra clan and pro-Thaksin politicians, and threatened to disband the party pending an Election Commission investigation.
Still, Puea Thai and several offshoots remain optimistic about their chances.
No party is likely to muster enough votes on its own to control a parliamentary majority in the 500-seat lower house, pointing to a probable scenario of a coalition government. Nominating a candidate for prime minister requires the support of the majority in both houses of parliament.
The military government is currently in the process of appointing members to the 250-seat upper house of parliament.
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Prime Minister Hun Sen visits Minebea factory celebrating the 132 annual 1st-May International Labor Day, at the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone. PM's FB
Cambodia is implementing democracy, PM says
GDP leaders meet with the Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Hidehisa Horinouchi on Friday. GDP
GDP to contest national election
Having been overthrown by a military coup, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra now lives in self-imposed exile while facing criminal sentences back home. Xinhua
Thai junta dictating term in office
: Prime Minister Hun Sen cast his ballot in a polling station in Takhamo town of Kandal province. KT/Chor Sokunthea
Ruling CPP thanks voters who cast ballots
Tags: coup, democracy, election, Thailand, Thitinan Pongsudhirak
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Abstract: From the calculation gained result for R=0.861 and R Square=0.742, it means relationship between leadership and work ethic to performance is 86.1 % and 74.2% (for R Square) it shows that the relationship is strong and positive, and the rest amount of 25.8 % explained with another thing that researcher doesn't do. For influence of variables (leadership and work ethic to performance) can seen from calculating result of F-test (anova/simultaneous test) and T-test (partial test). From F-test gained 226.890 with 0.000 as a significant level, and F table for 161 in significant 0.05 is 3.84, it means F calculated > F table. From T-test for influence of leadership to performance gained significant level is 0.048 > 0.05, and T calculated is 1.995 > T table 1.960. Work ethic also has influence to performance, it seen from significant score is 0.000 > 0.05, and T calculated 12.795 > T table 1.960.


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Seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike je krovni seznam.

Po sklicih
 Seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike (1950-1954)
 Seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike (1954-1958)
 Seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike (1958-1963)
 Seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike (1963-1967)
 Seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike (1967-1971)
 Seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike (1971-1976)
 Seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike (1976-1981)
 Seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike (1981-1986)
 Seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike (1986-1990)
 Seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike (1990)

Poimenski
 Poimenski seznam poslancev Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike

Po strankah

Poslanci Ljudske zbornice Nemške demokratične republike
Ljudska zbornica Nemške demokratične republike


Keying on bedding bass, Alton Jones of Waco, Texas, led with 26 pounds, 9 ounces after the first day of the Power-Pole Citrus Slam on the St. Johns River.
"I always say that the three most important things in fishing are location, location, location," Jones said. "That was certainly the case today."
He was 1 pound, 5 ounces in front of his nearest challenger, Brent Chapman of Kansas, in second with 25-4. In third was Texan Todd Faircloth with 23-10, and in fourth was South Carolina's Jason Williamson. Rounding out the top five was Tim Horton of Alabama, who had 22-4.
The 99-angler field is competing over four days for a $100,000 first prize. The winner's take also includes a 2012 Bassmaster Classic qualification. Elite anglers are also after points that count toward qualifying for the coveted 2011 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title and 2011 postseason, a winner-take-all, $100,000 contest.
Jones' location was good, but he was sharing it. With multiple anglers working the same spawning grounds off the main St. Johns River, out-of-the-ordinary tricks were in order, Jones said.
"A lot of it is just patience, but I do have a bait that's really working well," said Jones, the 2008 Bassmaster Classic champion. "It's not like you catch a 5-pounder with it every time you throw it. It's a grind. You have to work for every one of those big bites. It's nice to have confidence in a bait."
He weighed in a 9-6 as his biggest bass, but it wasn't enough to take honors for largest of the day. That went to Williamson, who brought in a 10-3.
"That was the second biggest fish I ever caught in my life," Williamson said. "I actually lost one today that was a little bigger than she was, so I look forward to tomorrow. I think I'll have a good chance to catch her."
Chapman, also sight fishing in an area shared by 12 to 15 other Elite pros, had two anchors in his 25-4 bag. One was a 9-4 and the other was an 8-9.
The 9-4 almost came unbuttoned at the boat, but Chapman grabbed it. The 8-9 hit while he snuck a bite of a sandwich.
"All of a sudden, the rod about got jerked out of my hand," he said. "Those two fish there made a world of difference. They were typical big fish for Florida, and that's what you need here - a big one and a limit."
For more information about the Power-Pole Citrus Slam, go to www.bassmaster.com.


as The Japan Stationery Co., Ltd.
Pentel Co., Ltd. (ぺんてる株式会社, Penteru Kabushiki Gaisha) is a privately held Japanese company which produces stationery products. The name is a combination of the English words pen and tell (as in, telling a story). Pentel is also the inventor of non-permanent marker technology. Most Pentel products are manufactured in Japan, Taiwan and France. Yukio Horie, who was the President of the company until his death in 2010, invented the fibre-tipped (felt-tip) pen in the 1960s.
Pentel produces a wide range of products, mainly writing instruments such as pens, erasers, and markers.
Pentel has recently launched the "Pentel Pocket Brush", a "brush pen" that is refillable, using replaceable ink cartridges like fountain pens.
Brush pens (designed and recommended for calligraphy) have also gained popularity among comic book artists, who choose them to ink their works instead of dip pens or traditional brushes. One of those artists using Pentel is Neal Adams.
^ "Pentel Corporate Report", Pentel Corporation, January 2014.
^ 「ぺんてる」の社名の由来とは? Pentel Co., Ltd. history. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
^ History of pen and writing instruments About Inventors site. Retrieved March 11, 2007.
^ Pentel catalog as of 2011.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pentel.


European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Johannes Hahn shakes hand with Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Andrei Galbur (R) in Chisinau, Moldova, July 10, 2017.
Preparing for the Eastern Partnership Summit that will take place on November 24 in Brussels, European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Johannes Hahn visited Chișinău, Moldova, on July 10 to participate at the informal dialogue focused on strengthening cooperation on energy efficiency between the EU and Eastern Partnership countries.
"The EU will continue to support partner countries in their efforts to become more energy efficient as a top priority, for the benefit of citizens across the region," Hahn said ahead of the mission.
"Developing and implementing cost-effective energy efficiency policy is key for improving energy security, competitiveness, boosting economic growth, creating jobs – and it contributes to preventing climate change. We are focused on delivering concrete results, with a clear programme for cooperation until 2020 and beyond," he added.
Hahn met with Ministers of Foreign Affairs this morning and was expected to meet this afternoon with Ministers in charge of energy efficiency from the Eastern Partnership countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, the European Commission said on July 10.
The dialogue addressed the regional and global challenges for the region. This afternoon's dialogue, together with representatives of the International Financial Institutions was expected to focus on strengthening cooperation on energy efficiency between the EU and Eastern Partnership countries.


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Environment European Union Recent Media
Will a European plastics ban really help the environment
Over the course of this year, it seems as though the debate on environmental protection has greatly shifted to the issue of plastics, namely the effects of ill-disposed of waste on marine life.
This is no bad thing; the disastrous consequences of plastic rubbish on the oceans are well-documented, and I'd wager few could see the images and videos of marine animals affected by the waste and not feel inclined to ditch the plastic straw next time they get an iced coffee.
While the intentions behind this new focus are, undoubtedly, good, sadly the responses of governments across the world have been rather heavy-handed and reactionary, to say the least. Legislatures, such as that of the US State of California, have begun rushing out legislation which outright prohibits the use of single-use plastic items, such as straws.
With the European Commission now discussing a similar tactic, and with the European Parliament voting in favour of the new plastics strategy, we may soon witness similar restrictions across the EU.
But are further restrictions on single-use plastics really the best route to take, if the EU wishes to reduce its plastic footprint on the oceans? Moreover, what are the externalities of such a measure on the freedom of consumers, and those who rely on plastic items?
Barely Scratching the Surface
While plastic pollution is certainly a matter deserving of debate and action, it's important not to forget just where all the waste is coming from. According to Statista, of the ten countries that contribute the most plastic waste into the oceans, nine are in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, with the United States being the only exception in tenth place.
As such, any reduction in Europe's contribution to the problem will seem rather negligible in comparison to the mountains of plastic entering the oceans from other continents.
The effects of a plastic ban will seem smaller still when we consider the pollutive 'qualities' (for lack of a better word) of many 'environmentally-friendly' or 'green' alternatives to single-use plastic products. For example, the Commission press release on the new plastics strategy states that:
"Member States will have to reduce the use of plastic food containers and drinks cups. They can do so by setting national reduction targets, making alternative products available at the point of sale, or ensuring that single-use plastic products cannot be provided free of charge."
While the alternatives discussed here are often less pollutive at the final stage of the products life, however, overall they often require far more fuel and energy at the production stage. For instance, the paper alternative to a styrofoam drinking cup, while far more biodegradable, produces far more pollution when factors such as production and transportation are taken into account.
In short, the EU's plastic strategy seems to have the potential only to very slightly reduce the pollutive contribution of an entity that already makes up a mere fraction of the global problem.
Of course, this alone hardly constitutes a case against efforts to reduce European plastic waste; even the tiniest reduction in pollution and plastic entering the ocean is progress towards cleaner planet. However, when we consider the costs and effects of a single-use plastic ban on more social factors, such as consumer choice and extra costs to businesses, the trade-off simply doesn't seem worth it.
Better Alternatives
Sadly, the approach of banning or otherwise restricting the use and provision of single-use plastics punishes the many for the acts of a few. Owners of businesses such as cafe, bars, or restaurants will be required to switch from plastic straws and packaging to more-expensive paper or otherwise biodegradable alternatives, driving costs up and profit margins down as a result. This is a burden felt by certain cafes in California follow the aforementioned ban.
Moreover, to impose blanket bans or restrictions on single-use plastics overlook numerous detrimental effects to the consumer. Aside from the likely knock-on effects on prices brought about from the extra costs imposed on businesses, the European Vending and Coffee Association argues that the proposal compromises the ability of service businesses to guarantee proper hygiene as customers are incentivised to bring their own cups.
Rather than imposing unnecessary burdens on producers and consumers alike, the EU should consider a more pragmatic, less reactionary approach. For instance, improving the recycling infrastructure of Europe, and thus increasing the amount of plastic waste which is recycled rather than littered, would go far further at reducing the environmental impact with lessened social and economic implication
Instead of glazing over the real problem with a simple ban, let's look for long-term, practical solutions that don't place the positions of consumers and business owners in jeopardy.
Originally published here


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Emil Maulerant
Corporation Redhogs
Alliance Pandemic Horde
Redhogs
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"An Evening with Silk Sonic" Review
Austin Lentz, Contributor
"An Evening with Silk Sonic" is the most recent studio album released by American R&B duo Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. The album has already been praised by critics after being nominated four times at the 64th Grammy Awards for the song "Leave The Door Open."
We have heard bits and pieces of this album being teased all the way back in March of 2021. The instant hit "Leave The Door Open " left the entire music world clambering for more from the new group by the name of Silk Sonic. The album is only made up of nine songs which can leave some fans wanting and wishing for more. The 31-minute funk and soul extravaganza that "An Evening with Silk Sonic" is tightly compact with an entire journey and story incorporated into the album. With three of the nine songs on the album being released as singles prior to the official release of the album in its entirety, hearing ⅓ of the album prior to the release is a bit disappointing when the first song on the album is an intro that lasts roughly one minute.
Regardless of the length of the album, the funky R&B/Soul vibe that the album gives off is unbelievable and groovy as all heck. Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. work very well together and make it feel as though they have been best friends forever. The charisma that these two give off is severely understated. The group name being "Silk Sonic" is incredibly fitting upon listening to this album. When I listen to this album and close my eyes I immediately picture smooth caramel-like a Werther's Original Caramels commercial. The blending of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak.'s voices is something of legend, it is amazingly beautiful.
After repeated listens of this album the only song that I am not entirely attached to is "777" which is about going to the casino and winning money. It doesn't feel very inspired in comparison to some of the other songs on the album. Yes, it is a fun song with Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. gloating about money and how they are going to buy Las Vegas, but it doesn't do much of anything for me.
My personal favorite song on the album is "Skate" which fits in with the vibe so robustly. The entire roller skating song and theme and feeling around the song is exactly what and want out of a group called "Silk Sonic." Bruno Mars' voice is amazing as usual singing "skate to me, my baby" in the smoothest singing voice of all time. The opening with Anderson .Paak. singing "In a room full of dimes you would be a hundred dollars" makes me sing each and every time the song comes on.
Another song that I thoroughly enjoy on the album is "After Last Night (with Thundercat & Bootsy Collins)." The changing of chords in the background and the number of little one-liners said by Thundercat and Bootsy Collins, really brings the entire song together in total.
Overall I can say that I love this album. Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. have created lightning in a bottle with "An Evening with Silk Sonic." The entire album is great even though it is rather shorter than I would have liked personally. They now have people hooked waiting to hear what this group will put together and produce next. I am sure that this is not the end of "Silk Sonic." Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. have much more in them than roughly eight songs, I wouldn't expect another album for a while, but I would look for a few more singles at some point in the future. Give this album a listen if you have not yet, I highly recommend giving it a chance and listening to it the entire way through. It's only 31 minutes, I'm sure you can give that up.
The 80s vibes being brought from "Silk Sonic" and "An Evening with Silk Sonic" have never been done before in 2021. If the songs on this album had been released in the 80s Bruno and Anderson would have been legends. They are incredibly talented singers and songwriters, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
I give "An Evening with Silk Sonic" a 9.5/10.
An Evening with Silk Sonic
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