text:
The Singapore Road Safety Council Gala Dinner – Speech by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law
1. Mr Bernard Tay, Chairman of the Singapore Road Safety Council & President of the Automobile Association of Singapore, distinguished guests, award recipients, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. I thank the Singapore Road Safety Council for organising this dinner and inviting me and the rest of us. This is a good opportunity to congratulate the Automobile Association (AA) of Singapore on their 110th anniversary.
SAFER ROADS: A COLLECTIVE EFFORT
2. Let me start out by talking a little bit about our partnership with the Road Safety Council, as well as the AA, and what it has meant for our roads. Over the last 10 years, road fatalities, or the number of people who die on the roads, has come down by 30 per cent, even as the number of trips has increased. But still, every road accident which results in a fatality is one too many, period.
3. For us, of particular concern, are those who are more vulnerable on the roads, such as motorcyclists. There are 5,000 casualties just for motorcyclists every year. The Traffic Police has been rolling out policies and measures to intervene, and we have been very fortunate to have the support of the SRSC in this, the Singapore Ride Safe campaign, as well as other measures. Both SRSC and AA Singapore have been critical partners for my Ministry and the Traffic Police, to bring across good road safety practices to try and save lives. In some ways, these are unsung efforts because it is not the sexiest part of what is done out there, but if you think about it – lives saved, limbs saved – it is critical work. It also makes good business sense, because it reduces the amount of disruption to businesses that take place through accidents for a variety of reasons.
4. Today, I will touch on three points. First, the use of technology in a way to make our roads safer. Second, strengthening partnerships with industry stakeholders, and third, the culture of gracious driving on roads.
ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY
5. First, on technology, SRSC and the Traffic Police have worked with the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) to raise road safety awareness. They have started using Virtual Reality for public education. This enables road users to experience dangerous situations without putting them in actual danger.
6. By 2019, all new learner motorists will undergo computer simulation training. Learners will pick up defensive driving skills in a safe and controlled environment, and trials will commence in February 2018 at the three driving schools.
7. And a big announcement is that the Traffic Police will trial an Intelligent Driving Circuit (IDC) at the Singapore Safety Driving Centre (SSDC) in 2021, with full implementation at SSDC in 2023. The IDC is the first in South-East Asia. Intelligent cameras and sensors will be used to assess the learners during their lessons and during the practical test in the circuit. This will result in better outcomes for the learners and more flexibility in scheduling circuit tests. A tester will also no longer be needed in the car.
8. Using technology to conduct driving lessons and tests will enhance the effectiveness of lessons, increase productivity and allow lessons to be taken outside of the current operating hours to better suit learners' schedules. The result of it is that the period of learning can be substantially shortened. That is one aspect, technology. This is only one aspect of technology I am sharing. I am sure it is going to change quite substantially over the next few years.
PARTNERING KEY INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS
9. The second is our partnership with key industry stakeholders. We cannot do what we are doing without key partners like yourselves – SRSC, AA Singapore, the corporates which are here today, and all of us working together to promote safer driving.
10. AA Singapore has been championing this effort and has made tremendous contributions over the years. AA Singapore has been running vocational driving courses to ensure that our heavy vehicle drivers practise good driving habits, as such drivers have been involved in a number of bad accidents over the years. Obviously the heavy vehicles, by their very nature, can cause damage if they are involved in an accident, so this has been very important for us to do. AA Singapore brought in expertise from overseas, people and standards of training, and this has helped to really increase the professionalism in the sector.
11. AA Singapore also teamed up with SRSC for this year's Road Safety Awards with two subsidiaries AA Singapore Academy and AA-SPCS[1] to sponsor the Champion Awards.
12. If you look at one of this year's winners, NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Limited, they took this very seriously and set up a Safety Committee to look at the ground practices and improve them. They invested in regular maintenance of both the vehicle fleet as well as the tracking system through GPS. That gave them the data that allowed them to analyse the rider behaviours. With that, they were able to correct the rider behaviours, train their riders better and equip their riders with a training package, including a 2-week attachment to a Senior rider for road familiarisation. They also gave their riders personal protective equipment – riding gloves, safety vests with reflective stripes.
13. There are many other similar stories from the other companies here today. We thank you for your efforts and that has shown results, because as I said earlier, even with the vast increase in number of riders, the number of fatalities have come down by 30%.
BUILDING A CULTURE OF GRACIOUSNESS AND ROAD SAFETY
14. My third point tonight is really the kind of drivers we want on our roads. Many of us who drive have enough experience with people who are irritated, who are less than gracious, who think that every second matters to an extent where they have to cut ahead. We want to change that culture, and make it a bit more gracious. That is the theme of SRSC's and the Traffic Police's Safer Road campaign this year, which is "Choose Graciousness".
15. As drivers, it is not very difficult if we apply our mind, keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front, but we don't really see that very much. The trouble is that, as many drivers find out, you keep a distance, someone cuts in, unfortunately. It's very simple, you just count three seconds, that should be the distance.
16. Second, signal earlier. All our cars have signals but I think many people forget that their cars have signals. Signalling, changing lanes carefully and giving way to other motorists and pedestrians, particularly. I think if we can instil that culture to a greater extent, it will make us an even safer society, the road safety culture will improve and the number of road accidents should come down.
17. For people who rely on driving for their livelihood, deliveries, how do they manage the pressure of having to deliver on time while at the same time driving safely. We have an example – Mr Ahmad Yusoff Bin Awi – he will receive an award later. He has been driving for many years as a delivery rider with Pizza Hut, 11 years, no accidents. What does he do? He checks his motorcycle regularly. He rides safely. He checks, he is careful, he is conscientious. It takes a little bit of effort, but it is completely doable. We look forward to seeing many more such stories. Really, we are a nation of good drivers, as it shows up in the road statistics. At the margins, there are people who perhaps haven't picked up the best habits and I think we can improve that even more.
18. I thank the sponsors who have donated generously to SRSC. Your contributions go a long way to enhance road safety in Singapore. I hope all of you will continue to support and partner SRSC. Congratulations to the organisers and award recipients. I wish you an enjoyable evening. Thank you and good night.
[1] AA-Singapore Police Co-operative Society ("AA-SPCS"), which provides manpower (driving testers) to the driving schools.


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Louie Carrington, Jr. – BIO
In 1967 Louie's singing group "The Soul Meditations" (At Jack Yates High School) was the first local group to record for Skipper Lee Frazier, the manager of Archie Bell and the Drells. In the summer of 1968, Louie was part of the house band at Ray Barnett*s Cinder Club in Houston for six weeks. During that summer he backed Lou Rawls, The Platters, Johnny Taylor, Bobby Bland and many more. The Groovy Grill was owned by Louie's relatives and was the hang out for many of these artists. In 1971 he received his B.A in Music from Huston-Tillotson University. In 1973 Mildred Jones (formerly with BB King) became his mentor. He has produced more than 9 albums and CD's (Jazz and Gospel) for himself and other musicians. Since 1981 Louie has done 6 major concerts at his church (Trinity East) and 5 major concerts and workshops at Huston-Tillotson University.
In 1985 Louie began touring Europe for 16 years. His tours included Germany, Holland, Norway Switzerland, Casablanca Morocco, Belgium and The Cayman Islands. He has opened shows for Nina Simon, Betty Carter and Michelle Legrand. He has sat in with jazz greats including Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley, Kirk Whalum, Johnny Nash and Roberta Flack. In Austin (1999) Louie was inducted into the Carver Library "Texas Hall of Fame" along with The Gray Ghost (Blues Guitarist), Dooley Wilson (Sam in Casablanca) and the late Barry White from Galveston. His most recent special engagements have been at the Wortham Theater performing for the after party of "Three Mo Tenors", The Carver Center in San Antonio and Jazz at Saint James in Austin with his Trio. He was voted number one for live entertainment in Houston by Fearless Critic Magazine for 2009 and 2010. Last year, Grammy Award-winning vocalist Steve Tyrell sat in with Louie at Tony's. Louie performs at Tony's nightly. Archie Bell performing with Louie in November of 2019 as a special guest. Louie is also a former Trustee of Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas.
www.louiecarrington.com
louie@louiecarrington.com
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Ugly Hero, Good-Looking Villain
Fighter, Mage, Thief
Marvel Cinematic Universe/YMMV
Work, Pages with broken file links, Shinji Mikami,
YMMV • Radar • Quotes • (
File:Recv 372.jpg
Resident Evil Code: Veronica is the fourth Resident Evil game released and the fifth game chronologically.
The game takes place three months after the destruction of Raccoon City; although a setback to Umbrella, they have yet to be toppled and are still producing their bioweapons. Having lost contact with her brother Chris, Claire Redfield attempts to infiltrate an Umbrella facility located in Paris. She is discovered and attempts to escape, only to run out of ammo in the resultant shootout and be captured by a lucky mook. She is promptly flown out to Rockfort Island, an Umbrella prison complex on a small island somewhere in the South Seas.
While she is confined to a solitary cell, however, an attack is made on the island, causing a T-Virus outbreak. Claire becomes aware of this only when an injured guard, by sheer coincidence the same man who managed to capture her in Paris, stumbles down into the solitary cell to seek shelter. In an attack of conscience, the man releases her and tells her that the island is finished, so she's free to go.
Stumbling up the stairs, she finds herself in a small cemetery, and quickly realizes what the disaster is as decaying bodies rip through the sodden earth and start shambling towards her. Fleeing for the comparative shelter of the nearby walled-off yard, she is not pleased when someone in the guard tower opens fire on her. Waiting for a lull in the shooting, she fires back with a recovered pistol and destroys the spotlight, intimidating her assailant into surrender. Said assailant turns out to be a teenaged boy of about Claire's age named Steve Burnside, who explains he's also a prisoner on Rockfort. Claire immediately suggests they team up, well aware of the danger that must be present if the T-Virus has gotten loose, but Steve declares she'll simply slow him down and wanders off alone.
Fortunately for him, he and Claire continually run into each other, and wind up having to help each other against the sole remaining survivor -- the demented Alfred Ashford, former commander of the island. After numerous escapes from the psychotic aristocrat, they finally manage to board a seaplane and escape, just as Alfred detonates the self-destruct system. Unfortunately for them, Alfred also escaped the blaze and seizes control of their plane by remote control, crashing them into a derelict Umbrella facility somewhere in Antarctica.
Meanwhile, Chris Redfield, having been alerted to Claire's location early after she escaped by an email she sent from a computer in a guard station, arrives at Rockfort Island to find it in ruins. Narrowly escaping a confrontation with Albert Wesker, presumed dead in the Mansion Incident, he finally manages to track Claire and Steve's location and sets off to rescue them from Alfred's even crazier sister, Alexia Ashford...
Check out the Shout Out page.
This game includes examples of:
Action Girl: Claire Redfield.
And Your Reward Is Clothes: Averted in the main game, but the Battle Game mode has an alternate version of Claire who wears a tank top, hot pants and go-go boots.
Aristocrats Are Evil: Alfred and Alexia Ashford are of noble birth and completely out of their minds.
Attack of the 50 Foot Whatever: The Gulp Worm and Giant Black Widow.
Ax Crazy: Oh, good Lord, Alfred. Such is what happens when one forms bonds with someone that remained frozen for over a decade.
Back From the Dead: Wesker, having returned from his death in the original game.
Badass:
Badass Abnormal: This is the game that reveals that Wesker's had some enhancements since the first game.
Took a Level In Badass: Claire, to a surprising degree.
Bare Your Midriff: Claire.
Big Bad: Alexia.
Big Brother Instinct: Chris goes all the way to Antarctica to rescue his sister.
Body Horror: Alexia's transformations.
Nosferatu, the product of a failed experiment on the twins' father. Sports bondage, Eyeless Face, razor-tipped Combat Tentacles, exposed beating heart, poisonous breath, etc.
Also, Steve, who's later subjected to the same experiment, but he goes back to human form before dying
Bond Villain Stupidity: Subverted. While Alfred does subject Claire and Steve to an overly elaberate death trap (and gives up on it fairly quickly), he does try to shoot and kill them both before and after. He fails several times.
Boss in Mook Clothing: The very first Bandersnatch. The best weapon the player can use on it is either their pair of M100Ps or their much more valuable explosive-tipped arrows (which a prudent gamer will probably rather save for Tyrant later on). Yes, the player can try to run to its left side where it has no arm, but it can still slap them with its one elastic arm.
Bottomless Magazines: Averted with the Calico M100-P pistols. They have a percentage-based ammo count but still have a factually accurate 100 rounds each.
Brother-Sister Incest/Twincest: Between Alfred and Alexia.
Colon Cancer: Averted. The official title of the game is Resident Evil Code: Veronica, and the X is merely tacked onto the end with no colon.
Creepy Twins: The Ashford twins.
Cutscene Incompetence: When Steve's father, now a zombie, tries to munch on Claire, she apparently forgets all about the weapons she's been carrying around the whole game. Let alone Steve doing nothing for a while, saying how he can't help her. Justified in that he just found out that his dad is dead the hard way. The kid's still human.
Cutscene Power to the Max: Steve vs. Bandersnatch.
Disc One Final Boss: Alfred.
Emergency Weapon: This is the first game in the series where the knife is actually useful since it registers multiple hits as the blade slices through enemies instead of one measly stab.
Evil Brit: The Ashford twins.
Evil Is Hammy
Evil Laugh: About half of Alexia's dialogue, some of which she will turn to a camera that she cannot possibly know anyone is looking at, laugh, and turn it off.
The novel explains it by giving Alexia psychic powers (to the point that the narration from her point of view really gives the impression of her being omnipotent). The fact that she could project herself in an island half around the globe (or the fact that she knows that an agent of Umbrella is there) scares the shit out of Wesker (the novel is based on the original version where Wesker is utterly dominated by Alexia unlike in X).
Alfred does it too, but it's closer to a Noblewoman's Laugh.
Wesker gets one at the end of X.
Exposed to the Elements:
Umbrella's Antarctic facility is clearly no longer heated, but lightly dressed Claire and Steve barely seem to notice. Claire even has an outdoor boss battle in a snowstorm. Oddly, Capcom didn't even get this right as the game is set in December, during the Southern Hemisphere's summer, and Antarctica could be survivable. But the game goes out of its way to show how cold it is.
Claire and Steve crashed at Latitude 82 degrees 17 minutes South and Longitude about 136 degrees East, which puts them in the vicinity of Antarctica's Southeast coast, but they're a good ways inland, so even in the summer we're still talking temperatures of at most -10 degrees C. Exposure is definitely still fatal.
Face Monster Turn: Steve is infected with T-Veronica and attacks Claire until The Power of Love stops him from killing her. He then returns to (almost) normal after being mortally wounded.
Gas Chamber: The Torture Cellar and part of the Training Facility basement.
Giant Space Flea From Nowhere: The Gulp Worm.
Giggling Villain: The Ashford twins.
Glamour Failure: The reason why Wesker wears his sunglasses everywhere is to not show off his gold/red cat eyes.
A God Am I: Alexia.
Glowing Eyes of Doom: Wesker's eyes sometimes flash red Terminator style, and a few of the zombies even have them for some reason.
Goggles.
Guide Dang It: You know the fire extinguisher, the one the you used way back at the very beginning of the game and then left in the security terminal? Well you better take it with you to Antarctica or you're not getting the magnum, which makes the final boss much easier to handle.
Guns Akimbo: The gold lugers, submachine guns, and calico pistols are all paired and are each able to target two different enemies at once.
Gun Fu: Claire went to John Woo's school in between games. Steve must have gone to the same school.
The Heavy: Alfred's the one who drives the plot.
Karma Houdini: Suffice to say, Wesker went on to star in more Resident Evil games...
Late Arrival Spoiler: In the original Dreamcast release, Wesker's return was a big twist that isn't revealed until the player reaches the second disc. In the later Code: Veronica X release, not only is Wesker's face visible on the cover, but he shows up a lot earlier as well. If that wasn't enough, the X version was even sold with a bonus DVD known as Wesker's Report, which was offered as a pre-order bonus.
Late to the Party: Chris only makes it to Rockfort Island after Claire and Steve have already left and the self-destruct has already occurred.
Lethal Joke Item: The knife, for the first time in the series, proves to be a viable weapon against individual zombies or even small groups.
Let's Split Up, Gang!: Claire is Genre Savvy enough now to try and avoid this, but Steve is so moody and confused that he keeps running off on his own anyway.
Lonely Piano Piece: When the Ashford Lullaby was played on the piano.
Lost Forever: You know that fire extinguisher you used early in the game, and then might have left in the metal detector bin? Well you better go get it before the island's self destruct sequence starts, otherwise, you're not going to get the magnum.
Mini Game: The Battle Game available upon completing the main story mode.
Naked on Arrival: Alexia, upon awakening as an adult from her cryogenic tube.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Steve's haircut was altered to lessen his likeness to Leonardo DiCaprio. The irony is that Steve's hair is likened to Leon's now, to the point that some people thought that Steve was Leon.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Wesker brutally mahandles Claire in their first encounter. He later gives Chris an impressive beating in the ending of Code: Veronica X. Both times, he's interrupted before he can finish them off.
Oh Crap: Wesker gets one of these moments in the original version when Alexia mutates in front of him. She follows it up by slapping him down the stairs.
Outrun the Fireball: Chris's escape in both versions.
The Password Is Always Swordfish: The final puzzle of the game is to enter a password which is Veronica. Acts as a Title Drop too.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Wesker, Alexia and Steve.
Sauna of Death: The trap room in the Palace.
Sequel Number Snarl: Code: Veronica was going to be Resident Evil 3. However, since it was originally developed as a Dreamcast exclusive at a time the franchise was still tied to the PlayStation, it was treated more like a side story than a true sequel.
So Long and Thanks For All the Gear: Don't take any big guns when you switch back to Claire, or you won't be able to get them back as Chris.
Staking the Loved One: Steve is forced to kill his father after the latter becomes a zombie.
Still Wearing the Old Colors: Chris is in a S.T.A.R.S. uniform, despite them being disbanded for months.
Talking Is a Free Action: In the original version, Chris kills Alexia, triggering the self-destruct which he barely escapes. X includes a long extra scene while that clock is ticking. Somehow, Chris still barely escapes.
Tank Controls
Too Awesome to Use:
You'd best get used to the pistol and the bowgun, and get used to running out of ammo for both, because you won't start finding enough ammunition for bigger guns to actually stockpile until about the last third of the game.
The Magnum is a one-hit kill against any normal enemy and tears through bosses, but there are only eighteen bullets for it in the entire game. Six of them are inside a Duralumin Case, which means the player can quite easily overlook them.
Tragic Monster: Nosferatu and Mutant Steve.
Updated Rerelease: Code: Veronica X for the Dreamcast (in Japan only), PlayStation 2 and GameCube. Further explored in Code: Veronica X HD for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Villainous Crossdresser: Alfred. Justified in the fact that he has a split personality disorder.
Wave Motion Gun/BFG: The Linear Launcher.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Finding D.I.J.'s Diary in the minigame Battle Game tells the player exactly what the mouse was up to. Fittingly, the mouse is the only peripheral character to get any closure.
Zombie Apocalypse: Subverted. This time, the zombies don't get the great spotlight.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.fandom.com/wiki/Resident_Evil_Code_Veronica?oldid=200567"


text:
Q: How to add onHover event to Google Map Marker? Flutter Web I'm using google_maps_flutter_web flutter's package and I only see onTap, onDrag and onDragged event available in Marker Widget. Are there anyway I could add a callback when I hovering my mouse over the Marker? Because the mouse cursor icon change when it's hovered.
enter image description here

A: There is no built in onHover or onMouseOver methods for Google map Markers on Flutter web and unfortunately, something like this is unlikely to be prioritized (a similar feature request to add an onLongPress callback to markers is currently p5).
But, with a little ingenuity it's possible to implement this ourselves.
1. Wrap your GoogleMap widget with the MouseRegion and LayoutBuilder widgets
The MouseRegion widget will allow us to track the location of the user's mouse.
The LayoutBuilder widget will give us the dimensions of the GoogleMap so we can eventually translate the position of the mouse to a latitude and longitude on the map.
LayoutBuilder(builder: (context, constraints) {
   return MouseRegion(
     child: GoogleMap(
       minMaxZoomPreference: const MinMaxZoomPreference(10, 18)
       mapType: MapType.normal,
       initialCameraPosition: mapModel.initialMapLocation(),
       onMapCreated: (controller) {
          mapModel.onMapCreated(controller));
       },
       markers: markers
       ),
     );
  });

2. Create a variable to store the LatLng value of the mouse position
LatLng? hoverSpot;

void setHoverSpot(LatLng? val) {
    hoverSpot = val;
    notifyListeners();
  }

3. Add an onHover callback to the MouseRegion widget
Whenever the user moves the mouse within the MouseRegion widget, the onHover callback will be called. This callback provides us with a PointerEvent object that holds the position data of the mouse.
This part is a little hairy but stay with me.
Our goal is to convert the local position of the mouse to a LatLng value we can plot on the map. The bulk of the work can be done by the getLatLng method of the GoogleMapController. All we have to do is give it a ScreenCoordinate.
 MouseRegion(
   onHover: (event) async {
     LatLng? position = await mapModel.mapController?.getLatLng(ScreenCoordinate(
      x: ((constraints.maxWidth) * (event.localPosition.dx / (constraints.maxWidth))).round(),
      y: ((constraints.maxHeight) * (event.localPosition.dy / constraints.maxHeight)).round(),
   ));

  mapModel.setHoverSpot(position);

  },
  child: GoogleMap(
      ...
  ),
);

4. Calculate the distance between the hoverSpot and each of your markers
The geolocator package has a distanceBetween method you can use to calculate the distance between 2 points.
Then based on the zoom level, you can determine if the distance is within an acceptable range to indicate the user is actually hovering over a given marker.
  Map<int, int> zoomToDistance = {
    10: 4600,
    11: 2400,
    12: 1250,
    13: 770,
    14: 410,
    15: 180,
    16: 80,
    17: 30,
    18: 15,
  };

  Map<int, double> zoomToMarkerHeight = {
    10: .06,
    11: .03,
    12: .016,
    13: .009,
    14: .005,
    15: .002,
    16: .0008,
    17: .0004,
    18: .0002,
  };

if (hoverSpot != null) {
          double distance = Geolocator.distanceBetween(
            hoverSpot!.latitude,
            hoverSpot!.longitude,
            markerLocation.latitude + zoomToMarkerHeight[currentZoomLevel]!,
            markerLocation.longitude,
          );

          // debugPrint('distance: ' + distance.toString());

          if (distance < zoomToDistance[currentZoomLevel]!) {
            selected = true;
            minDistance = distance;
            showInfoWindow(
                markerId: marker.id,
                latLng: LatLng(location.latitude, location.longitude),
              );
          }
        }

5. Show the info window over the marker
https://gfycat.com/whisperedadmiredivorybilledwoodpecker

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A benefit of choosing a unisex baby name is that, one day, your child can walk into a job or a university interview free of any preconceived gender stereotypes.
There are, however, a few drawbacks: Your daughter might mistakenly have a blue truck emblazoned on a name card when she visits nursery for the first time. Or your son might be handed a pink crown party favour at a birthday party because the hostess guessed wrong.
They aren't for everyone, but these unisex Pregnancy/Baby Names are here to stay.
Names like Parker, Harper and Bailey got their first usages as distinctly boy or baby namess but eventually became gender-neutral due to their popularity. So if you're looking to be a trendsetter – and are sure that your child won't be a victim of unforeseen consequences for it – pick a name you love, regardless of what gender it's supposed to be!


NVA237 is a once-daily dry-powder formulation of the long-acting muscarinic antagonist glycopyrronium bromide in development for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The glycopyrronium bromide in COPD airways clinical study 1 (GLOW1) evaluated the efficacy, safety and tolerability of NVA237 in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD.
Patients with COPD with a smoking history of ≥ 10 pack-years, post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) < 80% and ≥ 30% predicted normal and FEV1/forced vital capacity < 0.70 were enrolled. Patients were randomized to double-blind treatment with NVA237 50 μg once daily or placebo for 26 weeks with inhaled/intranasal corticosteroids or H1 antagonists permitted in patients stabilized on them prior to study entry. The primary outcome measure was trough FEV1 at Week 12.
A total of 822 patients were randomized to NVA237 (n = 552) or placebo (n = 270). Least squares mean (± standard error) trough FEV1 at Week 12 was significantly higher in patients receiving NVA237 (1.408 ± 0.0105 L), versus placebo (1.301 ± 0.0137 L; treatment difference 108 ± 14.8 mL, p < 0.001). Significant improvements in trough FEV1 were apparent at the end of Day 1 and sustained through Week 26. FEV1 was significantly improved in the NVA237 group versus placebo throughout the 24-hour periods on Day 1 and at Weeks 12 and 26, and at all other visits and timepoints. Transition dyspnoea index focal scores and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire scores were significantly improved with NVA237 versus placebo at Week 26, with treatment differences of 1.04 (p < 0.001) and-2.81 (p = 0.004), respectively. NVA237 significantly reduced the risk of first moderate/severe COPD exacerbation by 31% (p = 0.023) and use of rescue medication by 0.46 puffs per day (p = 0.005), versus placebo. NVA237 was well tolerated and had an acceptable safety profile, with a low frequency of cardiac and typical antimuscarinic adverse effects.
Once-daily NVA237 was safe and well tolerated and provided rapid, sustained improvements in lung function, improvements in dyspnoea, and health-related quality of life, and reduced the risk of exacerbations and the use of rescue medication.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by progressive airflow limitation, results in breathlessness and reduced exercise capacity, and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality [1, 2]. The main goals of pharmacotherapy are to prevent and control symptoms, reduce the frequency and severity of exacerbations, improve health status, and increase exercise tolerance . Symptomatic treatment relies to a large extent on the use of bronchodilators , including long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs).
Tiotropium is the most frequently used LAMA worldwide and is an effective bronchodilator. Some patients taking tiotropium may experience adverse events (AEs) such as dry mouth, urinary problems and constipation . Tiotropium has a slow onset of action, with peak effects on lung function achieved after up to 3 hours . NVA237 is a once-daily dry-powder formulation of the LAMA glycopyrronium bromide that is currently in development for the treatment of COPD. In common with other LAMAs, the bronchodilatory effects of NVA237 result from blockade of muscarinic type 1 (M1) and type 3 (M3) receptors, which are involved in transmission of nerve impulses (M1) and promotion of contraction (M3) in airway smooth muscle .
Among patients with moderate-to-severe COPD, once-daily NVA237 provides sustained 24-hour bronchodilation, has a rapid onset of action and is safe and well tolerated [6–8]. All evaluated doses of NVA237 (up to 200 μg) were well tolerated, with doses of 50 or 100 μg once daily having greater efficacy than lower doses [6–8].
The objective of the Phase III glycopyrronium bromide in COPD airways clinical study 1 (GLOW1) was to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of once-daily NVA237 50 μg, compared with placebo, in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD.
Men and women with moderate-to-severe COPD (as defined in the 2008 GOLD guidelines)  were eligible for enrolment if they were ≥ 40 years of age, had a smoking history of ≥ 10 pack-years, post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) of < 80% and ≥ 30% of predicted normal value and post-bronchodilator FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio of < 0.70. Exclusion criteria included lower respiratory tract infection within 6 weeks, concomitant pulmonary disease, history of asthma, lung cancer or long QT syndrome or QTc > 450 ms (males) or > 470 (females), symptomatic prostatic hyperplasia, bladder-neck obstruction, moderate/severe renal impairment, urinary retention, narrow-angle glaucoma and history of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Patients were also excluded if they were participating in a supervised pulmonary rehabilitation programme, had contraindications for tiotropium or ipratropium or had experienced adverse reactions to inhaled anticholinergics.
All patients gave written, informed consent to participate in the study, which was conducted according to the principles of Good Clinical Practice and the Declaration of Helsinki . The study protocol (study NCT01005901) was reviewed and approved by institutional review boards and ethics committees at participating centres.
In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, patients who completed a 7-day pre-screening period and a subsequent 14-day run-in period, were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to 26 weeks of treatment with NVA237 50 μg once daily or placebo administered via a low-resistance single-dose dry-powder inhaler (SDDPI; Breezhaler®). In addition to the study treatment, concomitant medications (inhaled corticosteroids [ICSs], intranasal corticosteroids or H1 antagonists) were permitted in patients who had been stabilized on a recommended and constant dose prior to study entry. Patients were required to cease taking long-acting bronchodilator therapy before beginning the run-in period (with a 48-hour washout period for long-acting β2-agonist [LABA]/ICS combinations and a 7-day washout period for tiotropium) and were instructed to use rescue medication. Patients receiving LABA/ICS combinations were switched to an equivalent dose of the ICS contained in the fixed-dose combination product, with rescue medication available if required. ICS doses had to remain stable during screening (patients failing screening for this reason could be re-screened if the ICS dose was stabilized for 1 month). Patients previously treated with a single-agent ICS continued on their pre-study regimen. During the randomized treatment period all patients continued to receive the same ICS regimen that they received during screening. Patients were provided with a salbutamol/albuterol inhaler to use as rescue medication throughout the study.
Efficacy was based on centralized spirometry and assessed in the full analysis set (FAS), which included all randomized patients who received at least one dose of study drug; patients were analyzed according to the treatment to which they were randomized. Pulmonary function was assessed in accordance with American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society standards , and the spirometry data was reviewed by a pulmonologist to ensure data quality. To reduce variability, the same equipment was used for all measurements and, whenever possible, the same staff member evaluated and coached each patient throughout the study. The spirometer was calibrated every morning before taking measurements. The primary outcome measure was trough FEV1 (mean of the values at 23 h 15 min and 23 h 45 min after dosing) at Week 12. Key secondary outcome measures were breathlessness on the transition dyspnoea index (TDI) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) according to the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) at Week 26, while important secondary outcomes were time to first moderate or severe COPD exacerbation and mean daily rescue medication use over 26 weeks.
At Visit 2, all patients were provided with an electronic patient diary to record morning and evening daily clinical symptoms: cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, sputum volume and colour, night time awakenings and rescue medication use. Designated investigator site staff determined exacerbations by reviewing diary card data with the patient. COPD exacerbations were defined as worsening of two or more major symptoms (dyspnoea, sputum volume or sputum purulence) for at least 2 consecutive days or worsening of any one major symptom together with any minor symptom (colds, fever without other cause, increased cough, increased wheeze or sore throat) for at least 2 consecutive days. Exacerbations were considered to be of moderate severity if they required treatment with systemic corticosteroids or an antibiotic and were considered severe if they also required hospitalization [12, 13]. Patients experiencing an exacerbation were expected to continue in the study if, in the opinion of the investigator, they could safely be returned to their pre-exacerbation concomitant medications. Patients requiring addition of new concomitant COPD medications after an exacerbation or who were receiving intra-muscular depot corticosteroids were withdrawn from the study.
Other efficacy endpoints included trough FEV1 at the end of Day 1 and at Week 26, serial spirometry on Day 1 and at Weeks 12 and 26, and inspiratory capacity (IC) on Day 1 and at Weeks 12 and 26. Serial spirometry was performed in a subset of the FAS, with measurements made over a 12-hour period on Day 1 and during 24 hours at Weeks 12 and 26. Patients practiced the measurement of IC at screening until reproducible results could be obtained. Before undertaking an IC measurement, patients performed normal tidal breathing and then inhaled to their maximum while receiving verbal encouragement.
The safety analysis population included all patients who received at least one dose of study drug, regardless of whether they were randomized. Patients were analyzed according to the treatment they received, irrespective of whether this was the treatment to which they were randomized. Safety was assessed by recording of treatment-emergent AEs and monitoring of vital signs, electrocardiograms and laboratory analyses. AEs were coded using the Medical Dictionary of Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) and summarized by primary system organ class, preferred term, severity and relationship to study drug.
The primary outcome (trough FEV1 at Week 12) was analyzed using a mixed model, with treatment as a fixed effect and baseline FEV1, ICS use and FEV1 reversibility in response to ipratropium as covariates. To reflect the randomization scheme, the model also included baseline smoking status (current/ex-smoker) and region as fixed effects with centre nested within region as a random effect. TDI and SGRQ scores and rescue medication use were analyzed using the same mixed model specified for the primary analysis, with baseline FEV1 replaced as a covariate by baseline dyspnoea index, baseline SGRQ score, and baseline daily rescue medication use, respectively.
Time to the first moderate or severe COPD exacerbation was analyzed using a Cox regression model, including terms for treatment, baseline ICS use, baseline daily total symptom score, number of moderate or severe COPD exacerbations in the year prior to screening, FEV1 reversibility, baseline smoking status and region. Patients who withdrew from the study and did not experience a moderate or severe COPD exacerbation were censored at the date of the last visit or last dose of study medication (whichever was later). Patients who completed the study and did not experience a moderate or severe COPD exacerbation were censored at the completion visit date. The event rate of moderate or severe COPD exacerbation was analyzed by a negative binomial model.
A fixed sequence test procedure was used to handle multiplicity, with superiorities of NVA237 over placebo tested sequentially in three families (primary outcome; key secondary outcomes; important secondary outcomes) using a hierarchical procedure with Hochberg step up adjustment and type one error rate controlled at the 0.05 level within each family. To proceed to the next family of tests in the hierarchy, tests in the previous families had to be statistically significant at the type I error rate of 0.05 after applying the Hochberg step up adjustment. This fixed sequence testing procedure had no impact on the testing of other secondary variables.
For the primary efficacy analysis (trough FEV1 at Week 12), values taken within 6 hours of rescue medication use or 7 days of systemic corticosteroid use were excluded. The last observation of pre-dose trough FEV1 was carried forward (LOCF) for missing values. Similarly, missing values for the assessments of trough FEV1 at Week 26 were also imputed using the LOCF (values of pre-dose trough FEV1 were not carried forward for more than 11 weeks).
A total of 822 patients were randomized to treatment with NVA237 (n = 552) or placebo (n = 270). Approximately 80% of patients completed the study (Figure 1). A higher percentage of discontinuations were due to withdrawal of consent in the NVA237 group (37.3%) than in the placebo group (24.1%) and a higher percentage were due to unsatisfactory therapeutic effect in the placebo group (8.6%) than in the NVA237 group (4.9%) (Figure 1). Baseline demographics and clinical characteristics were well balanced between treatment groups (Table 1).
Least squares mean (LSM) [± standard error (SE)] trough FEV1 at Week 12 was significantly higher in patients receiving NVA237 (1.408 ± 0.0105 L) compared with placebo (1.301 ± 0.0137 L), with LSM treatment difference of 108 ± 14.8 mL (p < 0.001; Figure 2). Trough FEV1 was also significantly higher in the NVA237 group at the end of Day 1 (1.414 ± 0.0075 L) and at Week 26 (1.387 ± 0.0112 L), compared with placebo (1.309 ± 0.0099 L and 1.275 ± 0.0150 L, respectively; both p < 0.001; Figure 2). The treatment difference was 105 ± 10.9 mL at the end of Day 1 and 113 ± 16.5 mL at Week 26 (both p < 0.001).
Trough FEV 1 on Day 1 and at Weeks 12 and 26. Data are least squares means ± standard error; *p < 0.001; Treatment differences: Day 1 = 105 ± 10.9 mL; Week 12 = 108 ± 14.8 mL; Week 26 = 113 ± 16.5 mL.
On Day 1, LSM (± SE) difference in FEV1 between NVA237 and placebo was 93 ± 8.5 mL at 5 minutes and 144 ± 9.7 mL at 15 minutes (both p < 0.001). IC was also significantly higher in patients in the FAS population receiving NVA237, at all timepoints on Day 1 and at Weeks 12 and 26 (all p < 0.001; Table 2). The NVA237-placebo differences for IC by the end of Day 1, Week 12 and Week 26 were 104 mL, 97 mL and 113 mL, respectively (all p < 0.001). Serial spirometry in a subpopulation of patients revealed significantly higher values of FEV1 at all timepoints throughout the 24-hour periods on Day 1 and at Weeks 12 and 26 in patients receiving NVA237 compared with placebo (Figure 3).
Serial spirometry results on Day 1 (a) and at Weeks 12 (b) and 26 (c). All timepoints are statistically significant (p < 0.01).
Patients receiving NVA237 had a significantly (p < 0.001) greater TDI focal score at Week 26 (1.84) compared with placebo (0.80), with a treatment difference of 1.04, which exceeded the 1 point treatment difference considered as clinically important  (Table 3, Figure 4a). In addition, patients receiving NVA237 were 1.7-fold more likely to have a clinically meaningful (≥ 1 point) improvement in TDI focal score compared with placebo (p = 0.001; Figure 4b). Similarly, at Week 12, the proportion of patients with a clinically meaningful improvement in TDI focal score was greater in the NVA237 group than in the placebo group (p = 0.013). Patients receiving NVA237 also had a significantly (p = 0.004) lower (better) SGRQ score at Week 26 (39.50) than those receiving placebo (42.31), with a treatment difference of -2.81, which was statistically significant but did not reach the threshold for clinical relevance (≥ 4 point reduction)  (Table 3). The percentage of patients achieving a clinically meaningful improvement in SGRQ was significantly higher with NVA237 than with placebo (56.8% versus 46.3%; odds ratio [OR] 1.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.138-2.196; p = 0.006).
Dyspnoea on the Transition Dyspnoea Index at Week 26 (a) TDI focal score at Week 26 (b) Patients achieving ≥ 1 point improvement in TDI at Week 26. TDI = Transition Dyspnoea Index (≥ 1 point is the minimum clinically important difference [MCID]).
NVA237 significantly reduced the risk of COPD exacerbations in terms of time to first moderate or severe COPD exacerbation by 31% compared with placebo (hazard ratio [HR] 0.69, 95% CI 0.500-0.949; p = 0.023; Figure 5). During the 26-week study, 93 of 532 patients (17.5%) in the NVA237 group had one or more moderate or severe COPD exacerbation, compared with 63 of 260 patients (24.2%) in the placebo group. Further, there was a significant reduction in the risk of severe COPD exacerbations leading to hospitalization in the NVA237 group versus placebo (HR 0.35, 95% CI 0.141-0.857; p = 0.022). A significant reduction in the percentage of hospitalizations due to COPD exacerbations (1.7% versus 4.2%, OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.129-0.868; p = 0.024) and a numerical reduction in the rate of moderate or severe exacerbations with NVA237 versus placebo (0.43 versus 0.59/year; rate ratio 0.72; p = 0.071) was also observed in the NVA237 group versus placebo. The use of rescue medication was significantly (p = 0.005) lower in patients receiving NVA237 than in those receiving placebo, with a between-group difference of 0.46 puffs/day (Table 3).
Kaplan-Meier plot of the time to first moderate or severe COPD exacerbation.
The incidence of AEs was lower in patients receiving NVA237 (57.5% of patients), compared with placebo (65.2%), largely due to a higher frequency of COPD worsening in the placebo group (Table 3). Other AEs, including those typically associated with anticholinergics (gastrointestinal disturbances, urinary difficulty, urinary retention, dry mouth), occurred at low frequencies in the NVA237 and placebo groups.
Serious adverse events (SAEs) and discontinuations due to AEs were less frequent in patients receiving NVA237 than in those receiving placebo (Table 4). With the exception of serious COPD worsening (less frequent in the NVA237 group), the majority of individual SAEs occurred in similar percentages of patients in the NVA237 and placebo groups. In the NVA237 group there were three serious atrial fibrillation (AF) events, two of which occurred in patients with a medical history of AF (neither was considered related to study treatment) and one of which occurred in a patient with a history of myocardial ischaemia but no history of AF (the event was suspected to be related to study treatment). Two patients receiving NVA237 had serious congestive heart failure events, one of whom had no relevant medical history related to the condition and one of whom had a prior diagnosis of AF. None of the cases of congestive heart failure events was considered to be related to study medication.
The number of deaths was low in the NVA237 group (3 patients, 0.5%) and in the placebo group (3 patients, 1.1%). Two deaths in the NVA237 group occurred during the treatment period and were both due to cancer. The third NVA237 death happened during the 30-day follow-up period and was due to suicide/depression. One death in the placebo group was due to a COPD exacerbation and another was a sudden cardiovascular death. The cause of death could not be determined in one placebo recipient, who experienced abdominal pain, fever and vomiting prior to death. None of the deaths in either treatment group were suspected to be related to study treatment by the investigator.
Notable QTcF intervals (> 450 ms for males, > 470 ms for females) were reported in 4.0% of patients treated with NVA237 and 1.1% of those receiving placebo (Table 4). Changes in QTcF interval from baseline of 30-60 ms or > 60 ms occurred in 11.8% of patients receiving NVA237 and 8.2% of those receiving placebo. No patient in either treatment group had a QTcF interval > 500 ms.
Bronchodilation with LABAs and LAMAs plays a central role in the management of COPD. LABAs have been widely used for many years, while the first LAMA (tiotropium) became available in Europe in 2002 and in the USA and Canada in 2004 . More recently, there has been interest in new LAMAs, such as NVA237 and aclidinium, which are currently in development as long-acting bronchodilators for use in the management of COPD. These new LAMAs would be particularly valuable if they could provide bronchodilation at least equivalent to that of tiotropium, with a low incidence of troublesome adverse effects. The findings of preclinical and early clinical studies, which demonstrated a favourable efficacy and safety profile of NVA237 [6–8, 17], warranted further investigation in Phase III studies.
In the Phase III GLOW1 study, once-daily NVA237 resulted in statistically significant improvement in trough FEV1 at 12 weeks, with a treatment difference of 108 mL. A steady state for improvement in trough FEV1 versus placebo was achieved at the end of Day 1 and sustained throughout the study. NVA237 also resulted in statistically significant increases in TDI score that exceeded the 1 point difference considered clinically important  and significant improvements in SGRQ scores, with 56% patients achieving the 4-point threshold regarded as clinically significant improvement . NVA237 also significantly reduced the risk of moderate or severe COPD exacerbations and was associated with a numerical reduction in the rate of exacerbations. It should be noted that a duration of 26 weeks with the current sample size does not have adequate power to detect statistically significant differences in the rate of exacerbations. Additionally, in the population studied, a majority (> 60%) of the patients had moderate COPD and < 25% of the patients had a history of COPD exacerbations prior to screening. This accounts for the overall low rate of exacerbations observations. It also makes the improvement in the COPD exacerbations observed potentially more significant, since it may be extended to all patients with COPD and not just those with severe/very severe disease and a history of frequent exacerbations. Further, the patients with moderate-to-severe COPD who were enrolled in GLOW1 had a lower rate of exacerbations prior to enrolment (21%) than in the ECLIPSE study, in which 39% of patients with moderate COPD and 52% of those with severe COPD had one or more exacerbations during the previous year . This difference may be due to variations in the definition of exacerbations (in the GLOW1 study a pre-defined criteria needed to be met for an event to be classified as an exacerbation, while the ECLIPSE study had no such criteria), duration and timing of the assessment period (e.g. whether it includes the high-risk winter months), geographic location (since exacerbation frequency may be affected by weather, climate, and air pollution), and the frequency of follow-up .
The improvements in trough FEV1 versus placebo in the GLOW1 study are consistent with previous studies of NVA237 [6, 7] and are similar to those seen at Week 12 in randomized, double-blind studies of tiotropium [20–27]. However, such comparisons require caution due to differences between the studies (for example, patients enrolled in the tiotropium studies had more severely impaired lung function). Several studies of tiotropium have reported a similar percentage (40-60%) of patients achieving a clinically significant improvement in SGRQ scores as in the GLOW1 study [21, 22, 27–30]. Recent studies with tiotropium have also shown improvements in exacerbations, with a significant delay in time to first exacerbation and time to first hospitalization after an exacerbation [29, 31]. NVA237, in the GLOW1 study, showed similar results, with a significantly prolonged time to first moderate/severe exacerbation and severe exacerbations leading to hospitalization. In these respects, NVA237 appears to produce effects which are comparable to tiotropium. However, in other studies tiotropium has been shown to reach a steady state for trough FEV1 only by Day 7 [4, 32], compared to Day 1 with NVA237. Thus, NVA237 has a quicker time to steady state in addition to its faster onset of action . Also, tiotropium has been shown in some studies [21, 28] to result in clinically significant improvements in TDI score in a lower percentage of patients (45%) than NVA237 in the current study (62%).
Patients receiving NVA237 in GLOW1 had a numerically higher frequency of notable QTcF intervals (4.0% of patients), compared with placebo (1.1%). However, no patient in either treatment group had a QTcF interval > 500 ms and the overall results from the study indicated that NVA237 had a good safety profile, with a low frequency of cardiac AEs. Cardiovascular AEs of LAMAs result from blockade of M2 receptors, which are thought to modulate pacemaker activity, atrioventricular conduction and contraction force . The favourable cardiac safety profile of NVA237 may therefore result from its high affinity for M3 receptors and low affinity for M2 receptors, and also from its faster dissociation from the M2 receptor than from the M3 receptor [34, 35].
Hyperinflation, the main contributor to dyspnoea and reduced exercise tolerance (dynamic hyperinflation), is closely associated with IC [36, 37]. An increase in IC after bronchodilator administration signifies a reduction in hyperinflation, which may translate to a reduction in dyspnoea and improved exercise tolerance. In the current study, IC for NVA237 was higher than baseline values at all timepoints (25 min, 1 h 55 min, 3 h 55 min and 23 h 40 min post dose), and was significantly higher than placebo (p < 0.001) in the FAS. It can be hypothesized that the increase in IC with NVA237 allowed for greater expansion to tidal volume and contributed to the reduction in dyspnoea. This observation offers an opportunity to further explore the effect of NVA237 on dyspnoea and exercise capacity.
The results from the GLOW1 study showed that once-daily treatment with NVA237 resulted in significant improvements in FEV1 and health-related quality of life, and significant reductions in dyspnoea, risk of exacerbations and rescue medication use. Improvements in FEV1 were rapid, apparent within 5 minutes of dosing on Day 1 of treatment, and were sustained throughout a 24-hour period from Day 1 up to Week 26. In addition, NVA237 was generally safe and well tolerated, with a low incidence of adverse effects typically associated with antimuscarinic agents.
The study was sponsored by Novartis Pharma AG. The authors were assisted in the preparation of the manuscript by Shilpa Mudgal, a professional medical writer contracted to CircleScience (Macclesfield, UK), and Mark Fedele (Novartis). Writing support was funded by the study sponsor.
AD has received research, consulting and lecturing fees from GlaxoSmithKline, Sepracor, Schering Plough, Altana, Methapharma, AstraZeneca, ONO Pharma, Merck Canada, Forest Laboratories, Novartis Canada/USA, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd, Pfizer Canada, SkyePharma, and KOS Pharmaceuticals. GTF has performed research funded by Novartis and received honoraria for participation in advisory panels pertaining to various COPD medications for Novartis Pharma AG. JAvN has received research support from Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline. KH is a consultant to Boehringer Ingelheim (Japan), AstraZeneca (Japan), and Novartis (Japan). CM, RH, YL, DB and TO are employees of Novartis Pharma AG.
All authors had full access to the data and read and approved the final manuscript. AD was involved in acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript and revising it critically for important intellectual content and provided final approval of the version to be published. GTF made substantial contributions to the current study and publication, participating in the study process, analysis of data, development and revisions of the manuscript and has approved the final manuscript draft. JAvN was involved in the interpretation of data and critical reading and revision of the draft manuscript, and final approval of the manuscript. KH made important contributions to this study, participating in the interpretation for the acquired data, development and critical reading of the draft manuscript, and final approval of the manuscript. CM developed the design, concept of the study and analysis and participated in the interpretation of the study. RH was the clinical study manager and participated in the interpretation of the data. YL contributed to the design of the study and carried out the statistical analysis. DB conceived of the study, participated in its design and contributed to its interpretation. TO participated in the development of the design and concept of the study and in the interpretation of the data.


Are you emotional as you move through this transition?
Are you ready to give up suffering?
In this podcast Sahaj interviews Mandy Walker, divorce expert and mediator. Mandy and Sahaj discuss some of the common mistakes people make when newly entering into the 'divorce' territory. Specifically Mandy speaks about 4 practical suggestions to help take the emotion out of the divorce process, so that you can enter into this territory with a clear head that will enable you to make decisions that are more sound and supportive to your success.


Careers should be exciting. Your job should drive you to wake up every morning and do what you excel at to make a good living out of it. Horses are magnificent creatures and if they occupy a special space in your heart, then why not take up horse training as a career? If you think it's all about the technicalities of dealing with a horse, then think again. A horse trainer is meant not only to train the horse to be better in the field, but he is supposed to understand the horse's requirements and reinforce a positive attitude in the relationship. To be a successful horse trainer, a few key skills and specific knowledge about the job will come in quite handy, and to help you with the same, here's what you should know. Make us proud!
Speed is not directly proportional to your abilities as a horse trainer. As a professional, it's imperative for you to embark on this journey with a clear mindset that patience is paramount to take your career to the next level. Not only with the horse, but you must learn to be patient with yourself as well, and you'll see it pay off in a few weeks. Also, it's essential to have great general knowledge about horses including their behaviour patterns and mindset. This way you will be able to anticipate your horse's next move thus making training easier and more effective.
Horse training is not just a job; it's a passion which drives you to make the most of your day in the field. With horse training, it's never about the money. It's unlikely for you to earn thousands of dollars, but the satisfaction of watching young horses grow into magnificent creatures and training them to always stay on the top of their game is unparalleled. If you love horses immensely, understand them and enjoy spending most of your time around them, horse training is a brilliant career option for you.
There will be times when your horse will not be in good shape and will need support to get back to his brilliance. This is where you come along. From leg injuries to colic cases, as a horse trainer, you must be familiar with the different treatments and know different symptoms of various diseases for immediate attention by the experts. Whether it's sudden behaviour change or loss of appetite, every little thing needs to be focused on for recognising and administering health problems.
Getting angry doesn't work well with horses. Try it for yourself if you don't believe us, and you'll see how you will have to start from scratch. Exercising self-control such as keeping your temper and other emotions under check is mandatory to ensure your horse that you are a trustworthy human.
If you can't develop a trusting and loving relationship with your horse, then all of the above information will be of no use to you. Horses are brilliant, and their instincts are powerful about the humans around them. Be gentle yet authoritative with your horse and make sure that he sees you as a friend and a trustworthy ally for better training sessions.
Once you start working with a horse, you'll gradually understand about blanketing, the need for horse rugs, forage and more. Use these tips to your advantage and be an excellent horse trainer. Good luck!


text:
package org.jfrog.artifactory.client;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonIgnoreProperties;
import org.jfrog.artifactory.client.model.StorageInfo;

/**
 * Created by Eyal BM on 30/11/2015.
 */
@JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
public interface Storage {
    StorageInfo getStorageInfo();
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
QNSA showcases lineup of artists from Queen's and beyond
On Tuesday night, The Mansion became well-versed in lyricism and poetry as slammers and hip-hop artists performed emotional and politically-charged pieces at Queen's Native Student Association's (QNSA) Inspiring a Generation poetry and hip-hop night.Continue...
The real on Busty and the Bass
It was around this time last year, when I first set eyes on the McGill-bred band, Busty and the Bass. I'd never listened to them before and didn't know what to expect but one year later, I was back for more.Continue...
New student exhibit offers creative opportunity for grads
A new gallery has come to campus, made by students, for students.Continue...
Royal Canoe puts on an otherworldly show at The Mansion
Royal Canoe has been pushing the boundaries of sound since 2010. With their array of synthesizers and guitar pedals married with electronically-warped vocals, the Winnipeg band's live performance at The Mansion felt like being transported into the future.Continue...
Clark brings the funk
Toronto-based jazz group After Funk and five-piece collective ART the Band brought the funk to Clark Hall on Saturday, delivering two wildly-energetic and groovy performances.Continue...
Spinning in Kingston
It's Friday night, the week is over and you're ready to dance your sorrows away.Continue...
Van Gogh's madness and mastery in Amsterdam
An afternoon wandering through the Van Gogh Museum was an intimate experience as I came to know the misunderstood genius behind the iconic name — Vincent Van Gogh.Continue...
Kwest installation unveiled for Homecoming
Last Thursday, Queen's kicked off Homecoming with the unveiling of a magnificent, 38-foot-tall installation that marries art and engineering in the Beamish-Munro foyer.Continue...
Walk off the Earth wraps up Homecoming Festivities
Every October, Queen's campus sees an influx of alumni joining students in the annual Homecoming celebrations. On Saturday evening, the buildings on Union St. lit up for the highly-anticipated ReUnion Street Festival — one of the weekend's newer traditions.Continue...
Laruan a force in Queen's art world
Ramolen Laruan, BFA '18, came to Toronto in grade five. While the sciences were her strong suit, her preferred area of study was always the arts.Continue...
Creative Expressions: art as a tool to teach
For the next month, Queen's campus is home to Creative Expressions, an exhibition that collapses the walls of the classroom into the world of visual art.Continue...
Golden treasures illuminate The Belvedere
Standing amidst masterpieces can make you feel minuscule, especially when those works of art call a palace home.Continue...
Remembering Annie Pootoogook
On Sept. 19, Annie Pootoogook was found dead in the Rideau River, near Ottawa. But while her death is still under investigation, her influence on the world of Inuk art is unmistakeable.Continue...
An artistic icon meets an artistic ignoramus
I admit I'm no art connoisseur. A week ago if you had said "Rembrandt" to me, I'd probably reply, "Remember what?"Continue...
An interview with Hollerado
Hollerado's offbeat, catchy indie rock set the house on fire during QPOP!'s Saturday headlining show — literally.Continue...
A wave of indie sweeps over campus
Review: Schumann visits Kingston
When I was seven, I slept through my first symphony orchestra performance.Continue...
Kingston WritersFest showcases well-rounded talent
"The buzz at this year's WritersFest was palpable," said Barbara Bell, artistic director of Kingston WritersFest.Continue...
Q&A with David Mitchell
Last week, Kingston WritersFest hosted contemporary literary talent, including David Mitchell, a best-selling British author known for his works such as Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks.Continue...
The future of fashion
When I first met Jia Zhang, I had an epiphany about the cargo shorts I was wearing.Continue...


Home » Corporate Counsel » Congratulations On Your New Legal Software! Now What?!
Congratulations On Your New Legal Software! Now What?!
You did the research. You compared the different options and features and made your choice. You even got the Purchase Order approved (finally).
Now it's time to move into the implementation phase.
Set the stage for getting everyone affected by the change, from leadership to staff, working on the same page with these 9 tips for a successful software implementation. While the tips are based on our expertise helping implement CounselLink for our Enterprise Legal Management (ELM) clients, organizations of every type and size will find them useful for maximizing their success with new software.
First and foremost, develop a Project Charter/Vision. There is a proven connection between a successful onboarding and having a project team that buys in to the project. If your company's leadership presents a compelling vision for the project and its short- and long-term benefits, the project team will be more engaged. A high level of engagement across departments has been shown to contribute to long-term success. It is highly recommended that senior leadership be present at the initial Requirements Elicitation Meeting(s) to personally communicate the vision and rally the team to get excited and engaged for the changes to come.
Develop success criteria and metrics. Successful customers are able to articulate how they will measure success. They develop metrics to track toward success criteria and celebrate small wins along the way. It is important to establish a baseline for these metrics before starting so that there is a way to gauge progress. Some of the benchmarks our CounselLink clients have used to measure success are: reduced time required to process invoices, reduction in bill amounts, faster bill review, more discounts received, etc. The team may also have project-specific goals such as 100% team participation.
Generate a positive buzz. Change is difficult and not always welcome, but getting people excited about the vision and the role of the new software in achieving goals and improvements can motivate the team and facilitate a smoother conversion.
Be realistic. On the other side of change management, it's good to be realistic and understand that some changes may not equate to improvement for every individual. There may be unwelcome shifts in responsibilities or processes for a few in order to realize improvements for a particular group such as the legal department as a whole.
Get the project team adequately prepared. Make sure that everyone on the team is ready and has the time allotted to put in the work. With a CounselLink implementation, the core project teams – consisting of clients and CounselLink Implementation Consultants – have weekly status meetings, and we recommend that the internal client team also have separate weekly working sessions as the decision-making process begins.
Identify and engage all stakeholders. Engage all groups that will be affected by the onboarding project and the resulting changes in process and technology. You'll need to talk to representatives from each department/team, IT, accounts payable, etc. While the core project team may have a high knowledge level of the tasks performed by everyone, some teams may have developed other processes to accomplish their tasks that the core team isn't aware of. By engaging all stakeholders and users in the process, the team can make sure that all functional needs are being addressed and that any impediments or roadblocks are identified and addressed early.
Improve processes that need updating. The onboarding of new technology is an opportunity to review and revamp old processes. CounselLink Implementation Consultants help our clients take a critical look at which activities work well and where redundancies may be eliminated.
Schedule pre-work and an initial Requirements Elicitation Meeting. Completion of the assigned pre-work before the Requirements Elicitation Meeting begins is important. Having the consultant onsite at the beginning is a great way to start a project, but an onsite can also be scheduled after some or all of the requirements are gathered. CounselLink Consultants take a collaborative approach to determining the best timing for an onsite meeting based on specific needs and the Project Charter/Vision.
Have everyone involved become familiar with the system. Teams that have a working knowledge of the new software system are able to make more informed decisions quickly. In a CounselLink implementation, for example, LexisNexis and the CounselLink Team encourage everyone to get a head start and view the free CounselLink videos provided by LexisNexis University.
Adoption will be key once your implementation is complete. These tips will help pave the way for users of the system to continue to be engaged throughout the software lifecycle.
Kelley Howell is a Senior CounselLink Implementation Consultant for LexisNexis.


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Olynyk's late FT after disputed foul helps Heat stun Hornets
(Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
By STEVE REED
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Kelly Olynyk thought he was fouled. Dwight Howard clearly disagreed.
Charlotte coach Steve Clifford was more concerned about the way his Hornets "butchered" the fourth quarter.
Olynyk scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including a free throw with 0.2 seconds left following Howard's disputed foul, to help the Miami Heat erase a five-point deficit in the final 34 seconds and stun Charlotte 106-105 on Saturday night.
The foul came after Charlotte's Kemba Walker missed on a drive to the basket. Olynyk grabbed the rebound and drove the length of the floor, and Howard appeared to hook Olynyk's right arm on the way to the basket just as Olynyk started to lose control of the ball. Olynyk fell to the ground as the whistle blew, enraging the home crowd.
Olynyk missed the first free throw, but calmly made the second to give the Heat the lead.
Charlotte's inbound heave was deflected away as time expired.
"He had already lost the ball and was falling before I even pushed him," Howard said. "I just thought that it was something that shouldn't have been called at that point in the game. They should have just let the clock run out and let the teams duel it out in overtime."
Olynyk saw it a little different.
"We were just trying to push the ball and make a play and they fouled," Olynyk said.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said his team has worked on that scenario in practice with his point guards, but never with the 7-foot Olynyk.
"I think it surprised them," Spoelstra said.
The crowd stood shouting and booing as officials left the floor.
Clifford was more upset by the fourth-quarter collapse. He called out his team for a "total lack of concentration, intensity and technique" in his opening statement following the game.
Wayne Ellington had 26 points on six 3-pointers and Joe Johnson added 22 points for the Heat.
Nic Batum scored a season-high 26 points and Walker had 22 for Charlotte, which had a two-game winning streak snapped. Howard had 14 points and 15 rebounds.
With Miami trailing 105-100, Johnson got free for a dunk. The Hornets inbounded the ball to Batum, but Josh Richardson stripped the ball and passed it to Johnson, who knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing to tie it.
"I didn't see him," Batum said. "I was facing the (inbounder) and he came in from behind. I had no idea he was behind me. I barely touched the ball. ... I don't have eyes in the back of my head."
The Hornets trailed by eight in the third quarter before Batum got hot. The French shooting guard scored 14 points during a 16-6 run to give the Hornets their first lead since 2-0.
Charlotte stretched the lead to 10, outscoring the Heat 35-17 in the third quarter.
"They just lit us up," Spoelstra said. "It looked a lot like last night. Guys took ownership of it. Our defensive intensity in the fourth quarter was the best part and the most consistent part of it during the game."
Down 10 to start the fourth quarter, Olynyk made three 3-pointers to help cut the lead to three.
Heat: Goran Dragic sat out with a bruised knee. ... The Heat shot 51 percent from the field in the first half to build a 57-48 lead.
Hornets: Howard had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Hornets.
Heat: Wrap up a five-game road trip on Monday night at Houston.
Hornets: Host Sacramento on Monday night.
More AP basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball


Ikea stores are famous for their faux domesticity. They are like giant dollhouses full of sleekly designed Swedish furniture, into which customers can wander and imagine their own homes similarly transformed.
On Monday evening, however, Ikea's domestic idyll was shattered as two men entered a store in the central Swedish city of Vasteras and suddenly began attacking strangers with a knife.
Surrounded by minimalist cabinets and stainless steel appliances, the unnamed assailants set upon the unwitting shoppers, killing a woman and her son.
Ikea's dollhouse had descended into a house of horror.
Calling the attack a "mad event," Vasteras police investigator Per Agren said there didn't seem to be anything connecting the killers to their victims other than their location, according to the Associated Press.
In a phone interview Tuesday morning, Vasteras police spokeswoman Victoria Holmgren told The Washington Post that two men, ages 35 and 23, were arrested on murder charges.
Holmgren did not identify the men but said that they are Eritrean asylum-seekers who were living in a home for refugees in Vasteras.
The younger man was arrested at the shopping center where the stabbing took place, she said. The older man was initially thought to be a victim and taken to a local hospital. Thanks to witness statements, however, he was later identified as the second suspect and placed under arrest. He remains in the hospital in serious condition and has not yet been interviewed by authorities, Holmgren said.
The motive of the attack remained a mystery Tuesday morning.
She added that Vasteras police have been deployed to refugee homes around the city to prevent any possible retaliatory attacks against asylum-seekers.
The incident does not appear to be an act of terrorism. Sweden's security police, which investigates suspected terrorist attacks, told national news agency TT they were not taking up the case, the AP reported.
Whatever the motive, the brutal attack quickly transformed the big box store into a bloody maze.
Police received a call reporting the attack at around 1 p.m. Monday, an otherwise bright and sunny day in Vasteras, a city of about 110,000 people 62 miles west of the capital, Stockholm.
Officers responding to the scene encountered terrified customers running through the store screaming "stabbing spree, stabbing spree," according to Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper.
When police arrived at Ikea's kitchen department, they found a male customer dead and a woman, identified as his mother, seriously wounded. The woman later died at the hospital, police said.
A third man was seriously injured and sent to the hospital, only for police to later learn he was a second suspect.
Authorities realized the mistake after cordoning off the store and interviewing witnesses.
Store manager Mattias Johansson told Swedish newspaper VLT that the victims were "seemingly ordinary visitors" who were stabbed while browsing kitchen accessories.
"You're talking to a guy who right now might have their worst day ever on the job but also as a human being," Johansson told the news media outside his store, according to VLT.
"I can tell you that we have two people who have been confirmed dead on the spot and one seriously injured. I have many colleagues who are unwell, but it is also important to say that no employee is injured.
The double slaying wasn't just a blow to the big box store, which is as known for its environment- and worker-friendly policies as it is for its Swedish meatballs.
It was also a blow to Sweden, a country that has one of the lowest crime rates in Europe but is also currently facing a spate of high-profile attacks.
The southern Swedish city of Malmo has seen a string of startling explosive attacks in recent months, for instance.
In more than a dozen attacks involving devices ranging from Balkan grenades to bombs placed in cars and parks, explosions have wounded two people so far this year in Malmo. No one has been killed, but no one has been arrested, either.
In the most shocking attack, the industrial port city of Gothenburg was terrorized in March when two masked gunmen entered a bar and sprayed a crowd with bullets during a soccer game. Two men — one reportedly tied to a local gang — were killed in the shootout and at least 10 other people were injured.
"Sweden has been shocked by the barbarity and indiscriminate nature of the Gothenburg shootings," the Guardian reported. "The tragedy has also shone a spotlight on a hidden aspect of Swedish society that reads like the subplot of a Stieg Larsson novel, in which poverty, racism and segregation are driving young men from immigrant backgrounds into gangs and gun crime," the Guardian added.
Although the incidents are each different — and much about the Ikea stabbings, in particular, remains unclear — the combined effect has been to set the normally reserved Nordic country on edge.
Immigration, in particular, has become a touchy subject in Sweden, a country that has long prided itself on its tolerance. Germany, France and Sweden have combined to accept a majority of the asylum-seekers flooding into Europe from Africa and the Middle East.
This rise in asylum-seekers has spurred a backlash in Sweden. Last year, the far-right Sweden Democrats party became the third-largest in parliament after pushing for a crackdown on crime and immigration.
Statistics don't show a significant rise in crime, however. Sweden, a country of almost 10 million, reported only 87 instances of lethal violence last year, according to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention. That number is roughly the same as over the previous decade.
In Vasteras, police fear that Monday's attack could unleash reprisals against immigrants.
Revenge attacks are possible but not likely, said Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism expert at the Swedish National Defense College.
"When you have these types of brutal acts of violence, of course it creates tension in the community," Ranstorp said of Monday's Ikea attack. Although Sweden has largely escaped acts of terrorism, more than 300 citizens have left to fight in Iraq or Syria, and roughly 30 neo-Nazis have joined fighting in Ukraine, he said. This flow of fighters creates domestic security concerns for Sweden, too.
"Sweden is a society under tension," Ranstorp said.


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We believe that Naturism is a life philosophy with physical, psychological, environmental and social benefits.
Why Clothes?
The 5 Tibetans
Naturist Bookshelf (Book & Movie Reviews)
Welcome to our Naturist Bookshelf page.
Here are a number of books & movies that we have bought that talk about the Naturist lifestyle or aspects of social nudity.
We will undertake a brief review of these books that may still be available from Amazon.
The book tells a complete story, and features what has become a gloriously disparate cast. In addition to Loxie and Zoot, who run The Koala Bares naturist resort, there are singles, couples and families. It doesn't stop there: we get young and old - from several ethnic backgrounds - thin and fat, shaved and bushy, you name it!
To provide the final element of the real world, we have the local town of Koala Bay. This provides not only a large collection of bit-part actors, but also the primary baddie: Councillor Tex Tyler.
As part of his election campaign, this bigoted anti-nuddy wants to close down the naturist resort. A secondary anti-nuddy is local TV reporter Kylie.
Yarns Without Threads Online review - November 2003 Reviewed by Tim Forcer
I cannot recommend this book enough, apart from supporting the work of Stephen Crowley (a fellow Australian) it is just a good read and as the review above says the depictions are "real world" it would be a great gift for those who are considering Naturism or for a fellow Naturist.
Stephen will even sign the copy for you or hand draw one of his characters on the inside front cover. The cost is very reasonable so do yourself a favour get a copy today.
We have put a link to Stephen's web site and order page just click the image of the book above.
Therapy, Nudity & Joy
(The therapeutic use of nudity through the ages)
By Aileen Goodson PhD
Elysium Growth Press Los Angeles, 1991
As a trained Hypnotherapist and Naturist I was immediately drawn to this title, and I was not disappointed.
This book is a wonderful review of the experiential field of psychotherapy using nudity to achieve significant therapeutic breakthroughs.
The book starts off with the paper by the author "Experiment in Nude Psychotherapy" from 1967. Anyone who has been exposed to the history of the Human Potential Movement will recognise some of the luminaries that weighed into the discussion on the use of social nudity as a therapeutic tool.
To quote the author:
" The goal of Therapy, Nudity & Joy is twofold: first to serve as an introduction to the value of nudity as a therapeutic facilitator, to break through the walls of resistance usually associated with unconventional new thought, especially as it relates to nudity and the sexual/sensual areas of life: second, to encourage and motivate further exploration by researches and therapists in the behavioural sciences."
This is an easy and fascinating read and by looking at this subject as it does from a historical (1960-80's) perspective it provides an insight into the successes and prejudices around this type of therapeutic application.
It also highlights some of the long standing issues confronting society today, being a lack of self-esteem and lack of positive body image and shows a way forward to positively addressing these if we have the courage to appropriate the therapeutic benefits of the "nude experience".
Nudism in Australia
Magnus Clarke
This book is a must read for any Australian Naturist as it documents the history of Naturism/Nudism from its European roots to its uniquely Australian evolution.
One of the topics covered includes the early establishment of Sun (Nudist) clubs and the issues that they faced both from the law and society perceptions.
Magnus Clarke follows this through the eyes of the editors of the Nudist Magazines of the time. It is fascinating the role that the editors and owners of these publications had in the advocacy of the lifestyle in the early days.
Like our American cousins there was great debate as to the distribution of the magazines through the mail and they ran an ongoing risk of obscenity charges. This is regardless of the fact that all the images were airbrushed to conceal genitals.
Then there was the sexual revolution of the 1960's, the new found body freedom that went with those times. In the late 60's there was the first publication of photos of topless models in mainstream magazines.
The first legal clothing optional beaches were proclaimed in the mid 1970's together with the increase in membership of nudist clubs.
In the early 1980's the thought was that by the turn of the new century nudity would be common and society would be totally supportive of nude recreation.
Ahhhh were it so, no one could have foreseen the rise of conservatism that has eroded the advances made in this area.
Today our clothing optional beaches are under attack, women do not have the same right as men to be top free and even breastfeeding in public is frowned upon!
We now pay the price of this increased gymophobia (fear of the naked body) with body image issues effecting both our young women and men.
Although out of print this book is highly recommended and worth the effort to track down.
Nudity -a cultural anatomy
Berg Publishers (2004)
Ruth Barcan, an Australian, has put together a scholarly work that is an important addition to the discussions on nudity in society and she does so using a broad framework.
The book is broken down into four sections followed by the authors own conclusions. These sections are:
1. Nudity/Clothing Dialectic
2. Metaphor of Nudity
3. Unnatural Nature: Mess, Savagery, Perversion, Crime
4. The Nude Republic: Celebrity, "Ordinaryness" and Identity.
The work is full of referenced sources and looks at a number of important areas that makes up society's current attitudes. It is interesting how often Barcan will use the world of Fine Art as a barometer of society comfort with the naked form.
For me, the most thought provoking chapter was Unnatural Nature: Mess, Savagery, Perversion, Crime, to quote the author:
"This chapter is a study of nakedness in some of its perverted, monstrous or criminal guises. It examines, by turn, the "messiness" of hairy nakedness, the uncultivated nakedness of the "savage", the "deviant" undress of the nudist and the criminal nakedness of the pervert." (p143 p2)
Before we get up in arms about the term deviant in relation to nudists what Barcan is referring to is the mindset by society. She goes on to contextualise the use of the word "deviant" from a sociological point of view.
Her discussion on the "savage" was most thought provoking especially the colonial view of the world when it came to the Australian Aboriginals and the South Pacific Islander people whose culture quite appropriately had no issue with their naked state until Europeans came on the scene.
She also quotes the underlying economic bias that influenced the encouragement of "clothing the naked savages."
"It is found in a speech made in 1884 to the Manchester Chamber of Commerce by explorer Henry Morgan Stanley, in which the relations between colonialism, clothing and profit are laid shamelessly bare.
......Stanley's suggestion is that if all the inhabitants of the Congo Basin could be persuaded to buy one Sunday dress each then it would necessitate the sale of 320,000,000 yards of cotton material." (p159)
He then goes on to project the revenue to be generated if material for 2 Sunday dresses and 4 every day dresses could be sold at £16,000,000!
Barcan makes the comment that even today transactional corporations continue to use the same tactic. A contemporary example of "economics of civility" is a French lingerie firm currently (2003) engaged in persuading woman in rural India that they "need" to wear underwear. This project is enhanced by "educational" seminars at Universities and Beauty Salons.
Overall a scholarly work that is well written that fulfills its title by providing a look at nudity in relation to the culture that experiences it and this short review can in no way do it justice.
This book is currently still available through Amazon and would be an excellent addition to the bookshelf of any Naturist who wishes to consider further nudity in it's cultural framework.
A Brief History of Nakedness
Philip Car-Gomm
Reaktion Books Limited 2010
"Here's a suggestion: stop reading and start taking off your clothes." So begins the first line of the Introduction of A Brief History of Nakedness.
In this 280 page hardcover book Car-Gomm reviews the social, religious, political, aspects of nakedness along with discussion of nakedness in the performing arts.
Car-Gomm has published extensively on various aspects of Druidism so unsurprisingly he commences his discussion with nakedness and religion.
He first looks at the Pagan world, Wicca, Druid, Kabbalah, the original Gymnosophists of India, the Jains, the Hindu Naga Babas, Christian and Judaism and then finally Nakedness as its own Spiritual Way.
In the political realm Car-Gomm explores nakedness as a political act. He points out that stripping can can be an active or passive activity.
Being passive it can be a humiliating experience, actively taking your clothes off can be empowering as it can become a potent and provocative means of protest or effecting change as in the example of the legend of Lady Godiva or the Breasts Not Bombs protests.
Car-Gomm then turns his attention to the history of organized Nudism and visits the societal and political landscape of the late 19th and early 20th Century from whence the movement arose, through the liberating 60's and 70's, then to more recent times.
Interestingly there is also a section that is then devoted to "the streaker" and the climate that saw this activity become part of our cultural landscape.
We then look at "the musical that changed everything" - Hair as Car-Gonn reviews nakedness and the stage, TV and in films.
Finally in the postscript, we learn that the inspiration for writing this book came when the author discovered the simple pleasure of baring it all at the age of 49.
To quote: "On the hottest day of the year in 2001, in researching a biography, I found myself walking around one of Britain's oldest naturists resorts, Spielplaz in Hertfordshire, pausing to swim in its pool, and rest in the shade of its magnificent trees, wondering to myself 'Why had it taken me almost half a century to discover this delightful pastime?'
A sentiment that we can both heartily endorse.
Overall 'The Brief History pf Nakedness is an easy and engaging read and you are sure to learn some interesting facts along the way, even if you are well read on the subject.
A contemporary publication it is available from Amazon or local bookshop.
ACT NATURALLY - MOVIE REVIEW
"Getting back to nature never seemed so unnatural."
Watch the trailer.
'Act Naturally' is a fish out of water comedy about two estranged step-sisters who inherit their recently deceased father's nudist resort. Leah Collins (played by Katie L. Hall, who also co-produced and co-wrote the movie) plays the adopted daughter while Charlie Tillerman (Liz Lytle) plays the biological daughter.
This independently produced film directed and co-written by J.P. Riley, it has won accolades in a number of independent film festivals and because of the positive promotion of the Naturist lifestyle it has found a supporter base in the Naturist community.Following a number of successful independent screenings including selected clothing optional cinema sessions. I first heard about this film through an interview of J.P. Riley by Stephane Deschenes on the Naturist Living Show.
Having just watched the pre-theatrical release DVD, which is intended to raise funds to assist the recovery of production costs and to produce a print for theatrical release, I can say that my wife and I enjoyed the film and agree that the overall the Naturist lifestyle is portrayed in a very positive light.
The majority of the film is set in the fictional Bare Lakes Nudist Resort and the story is told through the eyes of the two daughters who are both confirmed "textiles". There are very few "cringe" points and a lot of humour as a Naturist viewer, there is sexual relationship intimated, it is of course not shown, however it is within the storyline so there is no connection between the social nudity and the sex.
This film is fun and well worth the viewing, it is a pity that it has not been picked up for commercial release because it would stimulate discussion about social nudity and perhaps encourage the 30'something demographic, for whom it will have great appeal, to try social nudity.
Also there is a strong body acceptance message in the film which, for me, was the best naturist message to come through.
All in all, this is the best film depicting the lifestyle to date.
4.5 suns / 5
If you wish to purchase the Act Naturally DVD and check it out for yourself, you can do so at the official website at ActNaturallyMovie.com
Please support this independent naturist film by purchasing your own copy of this movie instead of duplicating it or downloading it.
Le Chateau - Facebook Page
We are a married couple that have lived in Sydney, and have now moved to Le Chateau Naturiste in Port Stephens, NSW Australia. We have been actively involved as Naturists, in a social sense, only since August/September 2009 when we first enjoyed a visit to our local "clothes optional" beach. Since then we became regular visitors to Cobblers Beach, enjoyed a number of naturist resorts and now own and run a premium Naturist B&B.
An update: NUDE bathing looks set to continue at T...
Byron nudist beach faces closure amid Aboriginal c...
Go to the official website to purchase your copy of this DVD.
The Koala Bares
Why not buy this clever 120 page naturist comic by Australian naturist Stephen Crowley. * This is an unsolicited advertisement for this fun book.
If you would like your own Wandering Bares sticker to proudly tell "those in the know" of your clothes free preference then send a cheque or money order for $5 plus a self addressed envelope to: J & J Clarke, 619 Murphy Road, Captain Creek, QLD 4677
Naturist Links
Naturist Friendly Resorts
Australian Naturist Federation
Naturist Blog List
Bare Oaks Blog
Volunteer Day and Members' Meeting on Saturday
Naturist Living Show
More Naturism in Paris!
The Academic Naturist
Mazo Beach Observations
Bare Manors
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Daily WOD Schedule – broken down by Divisions – for The 2014 Heart of America Affiliate Team Competition presented by JUNK Brands | 1st Phorm. Opening night heat assignments and heat times will be posted this Friday, October 10th. Heats will be re-assigned throughout the weekend of HOA based on your team's ranking.
4pm-9pm: Early Athlete Check-In at Springfield EXPO Center. Only one team member needs to report, however ALL 6 ATHLETE WAIVERS must be submitted at this time. HOA Athlete Participation Waivers will be emailed to team captains on Wednesday, October 8th.
9am-12:30pm: Athlete Check-In at Springfield EXPO Center. Only one team member needs to report, however ALL 6 ATHLETE WAIVERS must be submitted at this time.


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Barbie Fast Facts
Written by Roneel Narayan on March 17, 2022
Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.
Barbie was named after Ruth Handler's daughter, Barbara, and Ken after her son, Kenneth.
She is from (fictional) Willows, Wisconsin, where she attended high school.
Barbie's official birthday is March 9, 1959, the day she was unveiled to the toy industry during New York Toy Fair.
Barbie first appeared in her iconic black-and-white striped swimsuit.
Barbie was joined by Ken in 1961.
The first Barbie doll was sold for $3.00.
The first Barbie commercial aired during the Mickey Mouse Club in 1959.
Barbie doll's signature colour is Barbie Pink (PMS 219).
Barbie stands 11.5 inches tall.
The best-selling Barbie doll ever was 1992 Totally Hair™ Barbie, which featured floor-length hair.
Barbie has had over 200 inspirational careers including astronaut, pilot, firefighter, journalist, and entrepreneur to name a few.
Barbie travelled into space in 1965, four years before man walked on the moon.
In 1992, Barbie ran for president for the first time and has run in every election year since. In 2016, she ran with the first all-female ticket.
In 1973, Barbie saved lives as a surgeon, at a time when very few women were in the operating room.
In 1985, she took to the boardroom as "Day to Night" CEO Barbie, just as women began to break the glass ceiling.
To encourage more girls to explore the STEM field, Barbie has been a computer engineer, video game developer, Mars explorer, and robotics engineer.
It takes a professional staff of top fashion designers, makeup artists, and the most elite couturiers–more than 100 people in all–to create a Barbie doll and her fashions.
Barbie has been a muse to many artists over the past six decades, including Andy Warhol and Peter Max.
Twiggy was the first celebrity to have a doll in her likeness.
Oscar de la Renta was the first designer collaboration in 1985.
The #1 honour from the Barbie brand is to be immortalized in plastic. The brand has honoured role models from ages 6 to 99.
In 1997, the hit song, "Barbie Girl," by Aqua topped the charts.
In 2014, Jeremy Scott's Moschino show was inspired by Barbie, complete with her dream wardrobe.
Barbie has fans of all ages. The National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention has been driven by doll clubs across the country for over 25 years.
Barbie is the most popular fashion doll ever produced and the No. 1 fashion doll property in the U.S.
A Barbie Dreamhouse is sold every two minutes and was first introduced in 1962.
Barbie is the most diverse fashion doll on the market.
More than 100 dolls are sold every minute, with a total of 58 million sold annually.
Barbie is sold in 150 countries worldwide.
Barbie has products in 45 categories, including food, fitness, and clothing.
The Barbie brand has over 99% brand awareness globally.
The Barbie YouTube channel has over five million subscribers, making Barbie the #1 girls' brand on YouTube.
Barbie has a powerful social media presence with over 14 million fans on Facebook, 267,000 followers on Twitter, and 1.2 million followers on Instagram (@barbie).
Roneel Narayan
Meet the jury members of the Bollywood Hungama Style Icons Awards 2023
Salman Khan makes a SMASHING ENTRY as Tiger in the second half of Pathaan
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Food in dream meaning


"Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza!" Keep your favorite, creepy, animatronic creatures around even after you shut off the game! This Five Nights at Freddy's: Pizza Simulator Pigpatch Pocket Pop! Key Chain measures approximately 1 1/2-inches tall and comes packaged in a window display box. Ages 3 and up.