Home/3Principles, Articles, Clarity of Mind, Inspired Performance, Thriving Under Pressure/Elite Performance Curiosities Explained!
England Rugby, Leicester City FC, Chelsea FC and England Football.
Inspired Performance – Understanding v Overcoming Your Mental Life!
How fascinating to see the England Rugby team achieve unprecedented victories, with pretty much the same team who failed to make the quarterfinals in the World Cup 2015, not even yet a year ago?
How amazing was it to see Leicester City FC promoted to the Premier League 2013-2014 and win it as champions just two seasons later?
How is it that Chelsea FC can be Premier League champions 2014-2015 and fall to 10th just one year later, 2015-2016?
What's with the England football team, two's year on from the World Cup 2014, and again dispatched early from EUFA Euro 2016?
What's really going on here – surely it cannot ALL be down to the coach/manager?
It goes without saying that a coaches/managers experience, character, knowledge, and preferences play a huge part – but where does the actual performance come from and through – the players!
For decades, sportspeople have worked tirelessly using tools, strategies, coping mechanisms, and sheer grit determination to control, manage and manipulate their thinking, both on and off the field, in order to achieve consistent high performance under pressure, but does this really work?
Many times, it was said that Stuart Lancaster's team lacked 'belief' and 'discipline', the same could be said of Roy Hodgson's squad, but what are these mysterious qualities we demand of our players?
An entire sporting culture places these two intangible performance characteristics high on the list of expectations, so surely we must try to understand their true nature, especially if they turn out to be a total misnomer and more of a hindrance and distraction than required attributes.
For 20 years, involved in performance sport, I could see that people struggle with the content of their head chatter, me too! It seems that your only option is to learn to cope the best you can with what's on your mind in any given moment. I lived in a perception/worldview that you need to overcome your mental life in order to perform at your best – but this simply isn't true?
What if there is something you could understand, that would allow you to not be influenced by any noise in your head and move into the zone space, your optimal functioning state, and psychological freedom, more readily?
The England rugby squad spoke recently with such certainty that goes way deeper than conceptually believing they can win! Similarly, Leicester City last season appeared to have cruised past highly experienced teams with a stunning sense of ease and fun to shock the footballing world and win the FA Premiership 2015-2016.
Yet, no such mysterious magic was prevalent in the entire Chelsea camp last season nor was it available to Roy Hodgson and his team of extremely talented footballers at the Euro's, in fact quite the opposite.
Ever felt that inner knowing, a strong sense of confidence and resilience that is undeniable?
Ever considered the incredible intelligence of the design of you, the human being?
How phenomenal is it that two cells make a human being; a digestive system, organs, lungs, and a heart, that all know their function and all work together effortlessly to enable us to perform in life.
Isn't it fascinating that babies instinctively find and use their hands, grow and attempt to crawl, shuffle and walk? How amazing is this physical immune system; when you cut yourself, it starts the healing process all by itself?
There is a life force that is so incredible it goes beyond the human intellect, yet every so often especially when you get quiet, you can feel its presence, its knowing, nature and wisdom.
I invite you to going beyond the conceptual and rational mind, to the space of the intuitive mind, a deeper wisdom, that is in fact practical, and scientific, if you're open to seeing it?
Belief and discipline, are about the form of overcoming, unproductive and uncomfortable feelings/experiences ie, worry, disappointment, fear, judgment etc.
Understanding or a deep realization, looks right underneath these forms, to their root cause – how you get to experience in the first place and then knowing this, access the infinite potential to create in life.
So often I hear sportspeople refer to the notion that, stress and pressure are an inevitable part of being involved in elite and professional sport, it is said to come with the territory – does it?
It is even so much part of our sporting culture, that it is assumed that stress and pressure particles are lurking all around the elite training and competition environments and it's only a matter of time before you get them just like you catch a cold!
This is simply not made of truth; it is an innocent mis-understanding of how the human mind really works and when you get caught up in it, you have to rely on how much belief and discipline you have in the bank to overcome the content of your personal mind.
"When you're the underdog you go out there as if you have nothing to lose, Iceland will be doing that"– Gary Cahill, England Football Squad.
It's no surprise that teams who are not expected to get very far in a competition, come out fearless, uninhibited, and raring to give it their all, we have seen this so many times!
The game itself is the same – so why are teams almost paralyzed, robbed of their speed, rhythm and creativity, just because expectations (outside factors) are different, why does this appear to cause such difficulty for teams, when we know performances come from within?
How is it that teams who are expected to produce results, seem somehow immune to this so-called pressure, and can produce outstanding and phenomenal performances in the moment?
It's about how the human mind operates, (formless), not brain, (form) to help you navigate performance in life.
It appears that there is a mechanism in place for conditions and situations (outside factors) to make you feel the way you do – but there is no such mechanism, it doesn't exist!
It seems that there is a causal relationship between circumstances and your feeling state, or state of mind, but there isn't, correlation is not causation!
It looks like feelings are an inevitable consequence, given the circumstance, this is not true; everyone has a different experience of a win and a loss!
This illusory psychological paradigm of what is often referred to in this work as, 'outside in', brings complexity and struggle. It innocently clutters the mind, is exhausting, and as we can see, full of risk!
You are designed to feel your thinking in the moment, 100% no exceptions!
Human beings think; you are not your thoughts.
It is not a requirement of being human to be influenced by your thinking, you get thousands of thoughts all day, everyday.
You project your experience out into the world; you don't catch it from others or anything!
It is an incredible part of the human design that you are gifted the power of Thought and Consciousness to create your entire experience. When you insightfully and profoundly see this, your mind quiets down! It wouldn't make sense to entertain complex thinking that has you ruminating and distracted from the present moment.
England Rugby and Leicester City are reaping the benefits of a quieter mind and heightened levels of clarity. Players who truly connect as one with the energy behind life, get in touch with a deeper part of them, the space of pure wisdom, untouched by anyone or anything – it brings simplicity, and instinctive and inspired performances.
What coach, manager or athlete wouldn't want any or all of these?
– Coaches/managers and athletes engaging in feedback, unfiltered and unemotional, deeply connected and knowing that it wouldn't occur to either of you to take anything personally.
– Never blaming anyone or anything for the way you feel, on or off the pitch/court – being a victim of circumstance simply wouldn't make sense.
– Sportspeople unburdened by the expectations of performance targets, completely free to create high performance in the moment.
– Time never wasted in states of worry, frustration or disillusionment leading up to and following selection decisions!
– Athletes experiencing optimal functioning most of the time rather than fleetingly feel the zone state.
– It takes no time at all to 'get over' poor performances – it wouldn't occur to you to be self-absorbed, frenetically keeping yourself busy to avoid a low feeling state.
– An upgrade for performance analysis – athletes confident and hungry for information and data to advance skill capability – you absolutely know it says nothing about you as a person.
– National coaches/managers unaffected psychologically and physically by the so-called, 'pressure environment' able to maximize and accelerate recovery, especially enjoying high quality sleep!
– A leader-full team; players who truly understand that poor behaviours come from a low state of mind – members are not re-active, instead have empathy which allows potential conflicts to dissolve immediately.
– A sharp reduction in sportspeople suffering with stress related symptoms, needing to retire early, never realizing their full potential!
This short video clip, 'Inspired Performance', speaks to the importance for coaches/managers to understand their own 'state of mind', as well as that of the athletes, and how this determines behaviours and responses in the moment.
I sincerely hope that you have found this article helpful. Please do get in touch if you're serious about unleashing the boundaries, which keep your team from achieving beyond their imagination.


ChemIDplus - 116314-86-4 - NNQAESZIAYMADQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N - Benzonitrile, 2,3-dihydroxy-5-nitro- - Similar structures search, synonyms, formulas, resource links, and other chemical information.
mouse LDLo oral 1250mg/kg (1250mg/kg) Helvetica Chimica Acta. Vol. 72, Pg. 952, 1989.


text:
Quote of the Day - Lithwick On Not Getting Over Kavanaugh
Dahlia Lithwick's piece in Slate about her refusal to get over Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the US Supreme Court is very, very good and worth reading in its entirety, first and foremost in my opinion because she is the rare mainstream journalist today who refuses to both normalize or be entertained by the Trump regime's atrocities.
"The enduring memory, a year later [after Kavanaugh's rage-filled testimony], is that my 15-year-old son texted—he was watching it in school—to ask if I was 'perfectly safe' in the Senate chamber. He was afraid for the judge's mental health and my physical health. I had to patiently explain that I was in no physical danger of any kind, that there were dozens of people in the room, and that I was at the very back, with the phalanx of reporters. My son's visceral fears don't really matter in one sense, beyond the fact that I was forced to explain to him that the man shouting about conspiracies and pledging revenge on his detractors would sit on the court for many decades; and in that one sense, none of us, as women, was ever going to be perfectly safe again."
It's a nuanced essay, acknowledging that the female members of the court, who all lean more liberal than Kavanaugh, have to at least perform "getting over it" if they ever hope to have even the slim possibility of the vengeful Kavanaugh siding with them on matters of national importance for potential decades to come.
That doesn't mean, however, that we all have to be okay with his presence on the Court, even though - like Lithwich - I despair that the general public largely is by now.
It's also not lost on me that George W. Bush, who lost the popular vote in the 2000 election, appointed two conservatives of his own to the Supreme Court. Trump, loser of the 2016 popular vote, has thus far appointed two.
Angry, sexually-predatory, and entitled man-babies on the Court notwithstanding, that 4 out of 9 members of the nation's high court have been appointed by deeply-unpopular men who lost the national popular vote will one day be more widely acknowledged as a significant erosion of the legitimacy of the court, particularly in terms of public opinion.
If that's not depressing enough, Trump is very soon set to have appointed a full quarter of the nation's federal appeals court judges, the level just below the Supreme Court. These courts and judges generally get far less attention than the Supreme Court, but this statistic is incredibly alarming for many reasons, a key one of which is that the vast majority of federal court cases never actually reach the Supreme Court and Donald Trump is a misogynist white supremacist who lacks the judgment and temperament to be making appointments of such importance.
Related: Gilead of Republicans Stand by Their Man, Kavanaugh
Posted by Fannie Wolfe at 8:30 AM
Labels: Blawgs, Rape Culture, Supreme Court, Well-behaved women
Supercorps Friday and Kara's Big Coming Out Moment
Just two heterosexual gals having a completely heterosexual conversation about their 100% heterosexual friendship:
I know I'm really gay, but in all seriousness, I find it nearly impossible to view Kara coming out to Lena as Supergirl as anything other than Kara professing her longstanding love for Lena. It's actually so obvious it feels silly saying out loud.
If Kara had just said, "I'm Supergirl" and left it at that, and Lena then expressed surprise, and they both moved on, one could maybe buy that this convo was solely a superhero-identity revelation.
But, Kara continues by saying, "I've always been Supergirl." The "always" comment is weird, right? Was there ever a possibility, for instance, that multiple people were pretending to be Supergirl and that Kara was only Supergirl for part of the time Supergirl has been around? No. Of course not. "I'm Supergirl" is clearly a stand-in for "I'm [in love with you.] I've always been [in love with you.]" because that's a somewhat standard line when TV/film characters are finally revealing undying love to a crush.
Also, I haven't fully bought Kara's angst about revealing her identity to Lena. Over the course of the previous four seasons, she has revealed her identity to many people, including those she has known for less time and initially has less reason to trust than Lena. The angst and fear in two canonically-hetero characters appears, on-screen, to stem more from feelings akin to, "Oh shit. I'm 'straight.' You're 'straight.' We're in love and I'm not sure how to handle it."
Lena's reaction, for instance, is hardly measured. She's left speechless, initially, and then goes up in front of a crowd and improvises a super touching speech about her "best friend."
Like the early seasons of Xena, it's clearly a same-sex romance that the powers-that-be are presenting in such a way that can plausibly (I guess?) be read as platonic by some viewers and subtextually queer by others, thus sort-of not fully pleasing or offending either camp.
In conclusion, I'll continue to monitor the situation. Um, for science.
Labels: Femslash Friday, Pop Culture, Supergirl, TV, Yes Please
CNN LGBTQ Townhall
I didn't catch all of last night's CNN LGBTQ Townhall, but I wanted to post about it nonetheless.
First, I want to note that the forum itself was meaningful. It was only in 2008 that, following 8 years of the Bush Administration stoking anti-LGBTQ bigotry for Republican political gain, that frontrunner Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton did not publicly support marriage equality because that political position was not (or was not seen as) political viable for a presidential candidate to hold.
And yes, many LGBTQ people understood that both Obama and Clinton likely supported marriage equality privately and would be supportive once in office. History has proven that to be the case.
To have a slate of Democratic candidates affirming their support of LGBTQ issues in 2019, of which marriage equality is just one of many, is progress in and of itself.
Participating candidates included (in their order of appearance): Cory Booker, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, Julian Castro, and Tom Steyer. Per CNN, Bernie Sanders had originally accepted an invite to participate, but eventually declined due to his recent heart attack.
As far as the content itself, Biden had a couple weird moments and continues to appear confused and easily-rattled when speaking, as in the first debates, including a clip where he stumbles and starts talking about how when he "came out."
Sorry whut? https://t.co/OV08JR0ALa
— Spooky Fannie Werewolfe 🌈 (@fanniesroom) October 11, 2019
I thought Booker, Buttigieg, Warren, Harris, O'Rourke, Klobuchar, and Castro did well, overall (and I refuse to discuss Steyer and his vanity campaign) and any of them (including Biden) would be better than the Trump/Pence shitshow on LGBTQ rights.
In a way, it always feels weird to analyze these debates and townhalls on a super granular level. The networks and foreign agents want Americans to get sucked into infighting about endless candidate dramas even though, meanwhile, to quote comedian John Mulaney, THERE'S A HORSE LOOSE IN THE HOSPITAL.
That's not to say the details don't matter. They do. And those analyses should happen, and the discussions about LGBTQ issues should be driven by LGBTQ advocates, not bad actors on social media or the usual cishet pundits who dominate our national political conversations.
From a big picture standpoint, the 2020 Democratic Primary is going to have to be about finding that balance between pushing our candidates to be the best they can be on the issues, while never losing sight of the fact that profoundly dangerous men are currently in charge of our Executive Branch, Supreme Court, and Senate.
In conclusion, I've watched this clip approximately 57 time and I get approximately 12% more gay every time:
How would I respond to someone who says marriage is between one man and one woman? #EqualityTownHall pic.twitter.com/8uNXqXI5n7
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) October 11, 2019
Talk about this, or whatever, it's Friday!
Labels: Election 2020, LGBT, Politics, Queer Stuff
On Cougar 2020
One of the weirder aspects, and there are many, to the made-up "sex scandal" that a known compulsive liar and fraudster who shall remain nameless is alleging against presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is the fact that literally the only people who would be so offended by a grown woman engaging in consensual sex with a strapping young Marine are people who would never vote for Warren, or any woman, or any Democrat anyway.
I'm reminded of the people who try to "excuse" the actions of Donald Trump, who has admitted on tape to grabbing women's genitals without their consent, by noting that a lot of women - including feminists - like 50 Shades of Grey.
There's this perception that anything that is non-missionary-sex-engaged-in-by-a-man-and-a-woman is deeply scandalous and, worse, vulgar! Consent isn't even part of the equation under this sexual worldview, and so all sex acts and assaults that are deemed "vulgar" are equated with one another.
Anyway, the "statement of fact and belief" is, um, I think the two best things to liken it to would be fanfic written by a 14-year-year old male virgin trying to contemplate the wackiest, kinkiest sex story he can and/or a deep psychosexual fantasy of a conservative Christian grown adult man.
Perhaps the most damning of the "details" is that Warren allegedly ordered a lime green dildo with a rubbery smell, when everyone knows she clearly would have opted for liberty green.
I just, so the story is that Warren is a decisive, experienced dom, but also doesn't come prepared and says "surprise me!" when asked about sex toy preferences? Checks out. 💯🧐
— Spooky Fannie Cougar Werewolfe 🌈 (@fanniesroom) October 3, 2019
Whew. Talk about this, or other stuff!
Labels: Elizabeth Warren, Hellmouths, Wut?
Batwoman and the Case of the Toxic Male Nerddom
Whew, that Batwoman trailer.
The city is hers now. #Batwoman is coming Sundays this fall to The CW! pic.twitter.com/r9qa9TCPRA
— Batwoman (@CWBatwoman) May 16, 2019
Of course, the misogynists are melting down about it, especially that "when it fits a woman" line.
To such people, they're so enraged and entitled that a thing exists that doesn't center them and their likes that they believe it has to not exist at all. They can't just go watch Joker or whatever and be content in their rage-angst, they try to game social media likes, comments, and reviews to tank a show before it even airs. Giving it a fair shot, to them, is out of the question. It was the same with the Ghostbusters reboot.
Anyway, the first episode airs 10/6. I've read the Batwoman comics for many years, and I'm excited about this one.
Posted by Fannie Wolfe at 12:25 PM
Labels: LGBT, Pop Culture, TV
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Quote of the Day - Lithwick On Not Getting Over Ka...
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Fannie Wolfe
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Common courtesy goes a long way in Grenada.
There are about 110,000 people that live in Grenada.
Grenada is one of the world's largest exporters of nutmeg and mace.
How to interpret the graph: The purpose of this graph is to take a snapshot of a country's economy in comparison to other economies. For example, Grenada's Exports rank is higher than (please wait...) of the countries in the dataset. For Exports, FDI and GDP measures, a higher rank (closer to 100%) indicates a stronger economy. Conversely, for Unemployment and Inflation, a lower rank (closer to 0%) indicates a stronger economy.


Vaping can be a pretty difficult thing to do because, with so many flavors on the market, it may be a bit overwhelming deciding which one is the best one. However, this vape juice collection believes that it has a couple of contenders to make this a whole lot harder. American Cowboy Salt E Liquid is the name of the salt e liquid collection that many cannot get enough of. It is also a collection that is brought to us by Juice Man, an already iconic brand adding a couple more juice to their long menu. One of the salt e liquid in this collection is titled Red, and it is certainly going to make you feel as if you are vaping some of the best tobacco that this lovely planet earth has to offer. When you take a pull, you are going to taste the familiar bold flavor making its way in your mouth and just scatter all over the place. It is going to be as if the tobacco leaves were nice and golden when they were chosen to be part of this vape juice that does not compare to any other. The other salt e liquid in this collection is Blue, but blue is not an emotion that you are going to feel when vaping with this blend. It will offer the same rich tobacco flavor, except with a bit of menthol this time. The menthol is going to be a genius touch because it gives you a couple of sweet notes with the icy sensation that just travels down your spine. Both of these vape juices are going to contain some salt based nicotine that will allow for there to be a smooth throat hit, while also enhancing the flavors. With a few salt e liquids in this collection, why not try them both out and you will definitely see what we are talking about. Which one will you pick to vape with first?


text:
C.A.: State Arbitration Law Prevails Over AAA Rules In Disqualification Dispute
Provisions of state law permitting a party to disqualify an arbitrator were not waived where the parties agreed to private arbitration under rules giving the American Arbitration Association power to decide when an arbitrator should be disqualified, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled.
"The provisions for arbitrator disqualification established by the California Legislature may not be waived or superseded by a private contract," Justice M. Kathleen Butz explained in an opinion filed late Wednesday.
Justices Coleman A. Blease and Fred K. Morrison concurred.
The dispute involved a consulting contract between Azteca Construction, Inc.and ADR Consulting, Inc. which called for arbitration under the AAA's Construction Industry Arbitration Rules. Those rules make the AAA the sole judge of whether an arbitrator should be disqualified.
But the California Arbitration Act permits parties to disqualify an arbitrator within 15 days after receiving the arbitrator's disclosure statement. The 2001 revisions to the statute do not require good cause for the disqualification, and make an arbitrator's failure to step down a basis for vacating the arbitration award.
Those provisions take precedence over the terms of the agreement to arbitrate, Butz said, and Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren E. McMaster was wrong to confirm the $39,000 award made by the designated arbitrator, attorney Paul W. Taylor.Azteca, she noted, made a timely objection to Taylor after his disclosure statement revealed he had been employed by the same construction company as ADR's counsel. But the AAA, after conducting an investigation, ruled Taylor should not be disqualified.
Code of Civil Procedure Sec. 1281.91(b)(1) "confers on both parties the unqualified right to remove a proposed arbitrator based on any disclosure required by law which could affect his or her neutrality," Butz explained.
She cited Civil Code Sec. 3513, which provides that anyone may "waive the advantage of a law intended solely for his benefit," but goes on to say that "a law established for a public reason cannot be contravened by a private agreement."
"[T]here is no doubt," she wrote, that the Arbitration Act provisions "were enacted primarily for a public purpose."
She added:
"We need not express an opinion on the correctness of the AAA's refusal to remove Taylor if viewed as a ruling upon a challenge for cause. Under the circumstances here, Azteca had no independent burden to demonstrate that a reasonable person would doubt Taylor's capacity to be impartial."
It was enough, Butz said, that the disqualification was based on matters Taylor was required to disclose under the provisions of the act.
The case is Azteca Construction, Inc. v. ADR Consulting, Inc., 04 S.O.S. 4721.


Design Thinking & Coding for Kids is a fun, family-friendly event that inspires kids and parents to design and program solutions in their world.
Brought to you by Code Club Australia and blueegg, this 2.5 hour workshop combines design thinking and coding for the first time! Kids aged 8-12 can explore problem-solving, innovation, coding and problem-solving to change their world. Throughout the day, parents, carers and kids work together to develop computational skills, critical thinking and entrepreneurial prowess. Kids take a design-thinking approach to their concepts and delve into the world of coding using Scratch. With an emphasis on fun and experimentation, every project promises to be as unique and creative as the minds of its makers!
This event is suitable for kids aged 8-12. Code Club believes in the power of all kids, so this event is open to all kids and skill levels.
We're running two sessions of this activity on Saturday, 27th October.


Screening looks for early signs of cancer or pre-cancerous conditions before any symptoms appear. It can help spot cancers at an early stage, when treatment is more likely to be successful and the chances of survival are much better. Hence, screening has been the core objective of our Cancer Screening program.
The three most commonly occurring cancers in India are those of the breast, uterine cervix and lip/oral cavity. Together, they account for approximately 35% of all cancers in India, and constitute a public health priority. Screening is effective in the prevention and early detection of Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer and Oral Cancer.
To conduct a specialized check-up for males and females mainly in the underprivileged segment.
Create awareness about cancer, its risk factors, importance of cancer detection in the early stage along with need of regular screening.
We also create awareness aboutCancer Insurance Policiesand their benefits.
The screening camps are conducted in urban and rural areas of India to mainly to cover vulnerable and underprivileged section of the population as well as others.
The examination is conducted by qualified medical personnel and technicians of the Indian Cancer Society.
Individual Reports of the Screening camp are sent to the beneficiaries within 15 working days. In case of suspected cases, a call is made to the individuals requesting them to undergo further examination at a hospital. ICS ensures follow-up in order to take maximum number of suspect cases to a logical conclusion. Assistance is provided for the same.


List and describe five benefits of a project office.
Home › Forums › APM PMQ Study Group › List and describe five benefits of a project office.
Marwa Abdalla 3 years, 5 months ago.
Provides administrative support and guidance to PM.
Provide assurance to Sponsor,Stakeholders and PM.
Provide administrative support and guidance to PM: Project office (P.O) relieves the PM from the overburden of the administrative works. That enables PM to focus on his other responsibilities. For example P.O can take care of configuration management and document control, assist PM in meetings preparations, typing minutes of meetings, following up responses…etc.
he gains all the information about the project.
the register forms, and log sheets such as risk and issue logs, change control request forms, etc. as well as the management procedures such as configuration management, change control, quality control…etc.
Provides assurance to PM., Sponsor, and stakeholders: Project office carry out internal audit on the project team and assures the PM that things are in proper place. P.O share audit reports with the sponsor and stakeholders in order to give them assurance that work is conducted in correct manner. For example, PO makes sure that technical review is conducted prior to any official submission and that relevant technical review forms re filled and duly signed.
between projects in the Organisation. That is important as it will assist in avoiding repeating same mistakes along different projects and will lead to saving both time and cost. It will also ensure continual improvement in the organisation since best practices will be adopted. For example early lead time will be considered for the delivery of overseas materials to avoid the delay that occurred in other projects.
another very good answer, enough detail in each point to get good marks in the exam.


Another art exhibition is up on the walls of our beloved cafe and this time we've invited one of our favourite local artists back, Chloe Rodenhurst.
The exhibition comprises of detailed & playful watercolours and ink pieces depicting local landscapes, folk tales and historic Victorian scenes, celebrating the beauty of West Wales and its history. It's a pure delight.
"I like the sort of art that tells a story. Indeed, we have always told stories through our paintings and my work belongs to this folk art tradition. I find the naive style and vibrant colour of Asian art most inspiring and a passion for textiles informs my perspective of the landscapes in which my tales are set. The watercolour and ink paintings I produce usually depict scenes of stunning West Wales focussing on local history such as the Victorian circus travelling from Aberystwyth to Tregaron or Welsh myths and legends like the Devils Bridge saga. I enjoy portraying the superficially incongruent, for example elephants in Aberystwyth, whilst also paying particular attention to the native flora and fauna.
The exhibition will be up until 11th January 2019.
All work is available to purchase: originals, framed prints and a nice collection of greetings cards too.


RRD Partner, Louis J. Rizzo successfully concluded a jury trial in Delaware Superior Court in January. Mr. Rizzo represented a commercial client who disputed the damages claimed by the plaintiff in the suit. Efforts at resolving the dispute through mediation were unsuccessful. Through use of the Offer of Judgment Rule, Mr. Rizzo strategically positioned the matter for trial in a way that would shift risk to the plaintiff. The plaintiff's rejection of the client's reasonable settlement offer put the plaintiff at risk for all of our client's litigation costs, if the plaintiff failed to achieve a damages verdict in excess of the amount of the rejected settlement offer. The jury returned a verdict below the Offer of Judgment amount that our client had tendered. Thus the trial, and the pretrial settlement strategy, were a complete success for RRD's client. The client's reasonable assessment of the amount in dispute was vindicated by the verdict , and the client is now in a position to recover costs against the plaintiff.


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Commander describes 'death to US' as centerpiece of all revolutionary slogans
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – One day before November 4, when Iranians vent their anger with the US by shouting anti-American slogans, Commander of the Iranian Basij (volunteer) Force described "Death to America" as a pivotal slogan since the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
"Since the beginning of the (Islamic) revolution, 'Death to America' has been the axis of all slogans," Brigadier General Mohamad Reza Naqdi told reporters here in Tehran on Sunday.
Pointing to the nationwide rallies that are due to take place on the National Day against Global Arrogance, the commander also asserted that the Iranian nation has a strong motivation for attending this year's rallies given the enemy's media hype against Iran.
On November 4, 1979, and in less than a year after the victory of the Islamic Revolution that toppled a US-backed monarchy, Iranian university students that called themselves "students following the line of (the late) Imam (Khomeini)" seized the US embassy in Tehran.
The students justified the takeover by insisting that the compound had become a center of espionage and planning to overthrow the newly established Islamic system in Iran.
The students who took control of the embassy later published documents proving that the compound was indeed engaged in plans and plots to topple the Islamic system.
Every year on the 13th day of the Iranian month of Aban (November 4), the Iranian nation, particularly the students, hold rallies across the country to mark the day, which was described by the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, as the "second revolution."
Recent revelations of spying and phone tapping by the US against many countries — even its close allies — carried out in large parts in its diplomatic missions, give credence to the Iranian nation's assertions that the US embassy in Tehran was a "den of espionage."
By Tasnim News Agency
'Death to America' chants in Iran, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, Quoted, The Aban 13 (Nov 4) rallies	November 4, 2013
Iran, Greek officials discuss ME developments
Iran not after closing Hormuz Strait: Navy Cmdr.


The Obama administration is planning a series of "game-changing" moves on global nuclear disarmament, according to members of a commission sponsored by Japan and Australia.
"I think it's fair to say that we are pushing at a reasonably open door on all these issues," Gareth Evans of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament told reporters after meetings in Washington with senior U.S. officials.
Mr. Evans, a former Australian foreign minister, outlined priority issues the administration should address to reduce the nuclear threat.
"Everything we heard … was extremely encouraging, and it's extremely important in global terms, because in this, as in frankly so many other areas, U.S. leadership is absolutely critical," Mr. Evans said.
The commission was established by the Australian and Japanese governments to promote cuts in nuclear arsenals and support the next round of talks to review the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, which is slated to begin next year.
Mr. Evans and the commission's other co-chairman, former Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, met with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., National Security Adviser Gen. James L. Jones, Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg and the chairmen of several key congressional committees, including Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"I got a very, very positive impression of serious commitment from President Obama to really do some game-changing things in this area," Mr. Evans told the Australian newspaper.
The White House National Security Council office declined to respond directly to Mr. Evans´ comments.
But a senior administration official told United Press International that the issues the commission had raised were important and a priority for the Obama administration.
"They're under review and we look forward to engaging early and in depth," the official said on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about last week's meetings.
• Ratify the nuclear test ban treaty.
• Revitalize negotiations to cut off access to fissile material for nuclear weapons.
• Successfully conclude a deal with Russia to extend or replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, aimed at further reductions in nuclear weapons.
• Begin a serious dialogue with Russia and China on other issues such as U.S. ballistic missile defenses and U.S. nuclear doctrine.


text:
Q: Can Kate (the text editor) display the number of times that a search term a user has entered in Find/Replace appears in a document? Chromium, for example, displays the number of times that a search term a user has entered in Find appears on a web page.
My use case is simple: when I search in Kate I would like to know how many times my search term appears in the document I am searching.

A: Yes: Switch to Search & Replace mode via Ctrl+R and click on Find All. Then a popup will appear displaying the total number of found matches.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Marquette, MI – December 8, 2016 – The Varsity Marquette Redettes game scheduled for tonight at 7:15 has been cancelled. The Escanaba Esykmos were supposed to travel to Marquette this evening to take on our Redettes, but due to the threat of more sever snowstorms, the game has been called off.
This is currently no scheduled information about a replacement game.
The next Varsity Redettes Basketball game is Tuesday, December 13th at 7:15 PM. Marquette will be playing on the home court against local rivals, the Negaunee Miners. Join us on Fox Sports Marquette for all of the Marquette Redmem and local sports news – 105.1 and 99.9!


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L'NXT North American Championship è un titolo di wrestling di proprietà della WWE ed esclusivo del roster di NXT, ed è detenuto da Wes Lee dal 22 ottobre 2022.

Storia

Nella puntata di NXT del 7 marzo 2018 il General Manager William Regal annunciò la creazione dell'NXT North American Championship. Tale titolo venne assegnato il 7 aprile 2018 a NXT TakeOver: New Orleans in un Six-man Ladder match che vide Adam Cole diventare il primo campione sconfiggendo EC3, Killian Dain, Lars Sullivan, Ricochet e Velveteen Dream. Il titolo venne difeso per la prima volta nella puntata di NXT del 25 aprile 2018 quando il campione Adam Cole sconfisse Oney Lorcan. L'8 luglio 2020, nella seconda serata della puntata speciale NXT The Great American Bash, Keith Lee conquistò l'NXT Championship sconfiggendo Adam Cole in un Winner Takes All match in cui era in palio anche l'NXT North American Championship di Lee, diventando il primo wrestler a detenere entrambi i titoli contemporaneamente (Lee rese vacante l'NXT North American Championship nella puntata di NXT andata in onda il 22 luglio 2020). Il 28 ottobre 2020, nella puntata speciale NXT Halloween Havoc, Johnny Gargano sconfisse Damian Priest in un Devil's Playground match diventando il primo wrestler a conquistare per due volte il titolo, confermando poi tale record dopo aver vinto per la terza volta la cintura sconfiggendo il campione Leon Ruff in un Triple Threat match che comprendeva anche Damian Priest il 6 dicembre 2020 a NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

Il 4 gennaio 2022, durante la puntata speciale NXT New Year's Evil, Carmelo Hayes sconfisse Roderick Strong unificando l'NXT Cruiserweight Championship appena vinto con l'NXT North American Championship che già deteneva, ritirando di fatto la cintura dei pesi leggeri.

Cintura
Il design della cintura è stato rivelato da Triple H il 3 aprile 2018: essa è di cuoio bordeaux di forma lineare con due placche quadrate dorate ai lati con in verticale il logo di NXT in verticale. La placca centrale, sempre dorata, è di forma circolare e all'interno è rappresentato un planisfero inquadrante l'intero continente americano in argento su sfondo nero, mentre in alto è presente il logo di NXT e sotto di esso la scritta "North American Champion" ("Campione del Nord America"). Ad entrambi i lati della cintura, inoltre, è presente una placca pentagonale con all'interno un'altra circolare personalizzabile per ogni atleta.

Albo d'oro
Statistiche aggiornate al   .

Note

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Titoli della WWE

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Portugal fire report in 'censorship' row
Published by http://www.bbc.com
The author of an official report into Portugal's worst-ever forest fire has accused the authorities of "censorship" for ruling that an important chapter cannot be made public.
Xavier Viegas, of Coimbra University's Centre for the Study of Forest Fires, says "nothing can justify the decision to censor" the report into the June fires, according to Publico newspaper.
The wildfires in central Portugal left 64 people dead and more than 200 injured.
The Data Protection Commission insists that only the families of the victims should be allowed to read the 96 pages of Chapter Six, which details how people died in or escaped from the fires, citing the constitutional right to privacy.
But Professor Viegas objects on the grounds that much of the information is already in the public domain – the government itself published some accounts of survivors from the chapter last week, but removed all names and mentioned no deaths.
The professor complains that the "noise about this chapter has diverted attention from the report's contents".
Alternative version
Report author Xavier Viegas says he has prepared a version with all the names omitted that could be published without invading the families' privacy, as it is "important to know how this happened and to learn the relevant lessons".
Some public figures are concerned that any shortcomings in the rescue efforts might not see the light of day.
Opposition MP Telmo Correia is demanding the parliament have full access to the report, in order to check whether there are "any contradictions between the study and the official accounts".
And Nadia Piazza, the head of the Association of Victims of the Pedrogao Grande Fire, also wants the report published, as "there were failings, and these failings need to be made known".
But she told Publico that upsetting details should be omitted, as families are "still in trauma".
30. November 2017 /by Fernando Casillas Bernal
Wildfire closes big stretch of highway through Kootenay National Park
published by http://www.theprovince.com
CANADA: BANFF, Alta. — The highway that winds through British Columbia's Kootenay National Park was closed for much of the day Wednesday as wildfire smoke made for dangerous driving conditions.
Parks Canada said it closed Highway 93 from Castle Junction near the Trans-Canada Highway to the town of Radium Hot Springs some 100 kilometres south.
CTV Calgary reported late Wednesday that the highway had reopened but drivers were being warned that with shifting conditions, there was always the possibility they would be forced to detour again.
Parks incident commander Jane Park said the smoke was extremely dense in some areas.
"The visibility is definitely under 100 metres, some places probably under 50 metres," she said earlier in the day.
The Verdant Creek wildfire burning just west of the Alberta-B.C. boundary has shuttered British Columbia's Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park and closed parts of Banff and Kootenay national parks.
Park said the fire now covers an estimated 110 square kilometres — double previous estimates.
"That's significantly larger than the last estimate mostly due to the fact that we were unable to get to the southern end of the fire to do accurate mapping due to smoke," she said.
The fire has also closed the Sunshine Village resort in Banff to visitors.
Parks Canada ordered the resort to clear out guests nearly two weeks ago to make room for firefighting crews and heavy machinery to fight the Verdant Creek wildfire a couple of kilometres away.
The resort reopened to guests three days later, but Sunshine Village said on Monday that hot, dry and windy weather was making the fire more active in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park.
Park said starting Thursday, firefighters will once again be working out of Sunshine Village, where it is less smoky than the area of Kootenay National Park where they are currently based.
There are about 60 firefighters and 10 helicopters battling the fire, but Park said she is expecting that to increase in the coming days.
USGS on Fire: It's not a matter of "if," it's a matter of "more fire science data please!"
Published by https://www.usgs.gov
USA – It was a catastrophic, often heartbreaking equation at work in northern California these last few months: dryness or drought + vegetation + hotter temperatures + wind = wildfire.
Wine country residents had little warning when wildfires ignited early October, late on a Sunday night, rapidly spreading with wind gusts as high as 50 miles per hour. A 5-year drought left the region parched. And last winter's heavy rains, though a welcome relief, kick-started abundant vegetation growth, which then dried out over the hot, dry summer and early fall.
The fire's toll is tragic and devastating: more than 40 people confirmed dead and thousands of homes and business destroyed over the 100,000 acres burned. We know it's not a question of "if" it will burn, but rather what can we do to better be prepared. Science helps answer this question, and in the process can also saves lives, property and money.
A Hotter, Drier United States
With one month left in 2017, the nation has been ravaged by more than 50,000 wildfires that have burned more than 8.9 million acres, the third-highest number of large wildfire acres in the last 10 years.
"Human caused ignitions, warmer temperatures, dry and wet spells, and accumulation of fuels are some of the factors contributing to longer wildfire seasons, increases in the number of large and long-duration fires, and more severe effects from the wildfires," said Paul Steblein, USGS fire science coordinator. "Such conditions – along with the wildfires that accompany them – are likely to increase in the future."
Yet Steblein is optimistic about our ability to better manage wildfires of the future, in part because of the large cadre of federal, university and other fire researchers committed to science that not only supports the immediate needs of managers during a wildfire, but also will help managers determine the very best ways to manage lands to lessen wildfire risks.
Fire science underlies all the training and tools used by firefighters today. Fire science is also critical to understand the complex and changing situations encountered by communities and land managers, finding ways to address the rising wildfire risk to save lives, property, our wildlands and money.
USGS Science on Fire
"Because USGS is positioned at the crossroads of academia and the federal emergency response agencies, we are able to quickly bring cutting-edge fire science to help firefighters, land-use and crisis managers, and others address real-world fire scenarios," said Steblein.
And, Steblein emphasizes, wildland fires are an important ecosystem process on our planet. For example, many coniferous forests have a natural frequent fire regime of low-intensity fires, which played an important role in reducing hazardous fuels and in rejuvenating the forests. Similarly, in the chaparral shrublands of California, high-intensity crown fires have helped guide the evolution of plant life and ecological communities. In contrast, in many desert habitats, fires occur far less frequently, and often are a more severe disturbance. Today, the natural role of fire in these ecosystems is complicated by the fact that fire often favors non-native and invasive plants, which, in turn, can lead to more frequent and more intense fires to the detriment of native desert plants.
Detailed USGS studies on fire patterns and histories on Department of the Interior lands and forests are foundational to restoring fire cycles that will safeguard human lives and property and benefit the richness of land types across the country. Likewise, Steblein said, USGS's ability to provide timely and accurate data and maps helps managers mitigate the effects of wildfire.
"Not only do we have experienced fire scientists at USGS," said Steblein, "but we also have other researchers who bring their expertise to bear on complex issues surrounding wildfires, such as impaired water and air quality, debris-flow risks and how to manage and lessen the risk of wildfires in urban and wildland areas."
Visit our new USGS fire webpage and read about the projects below to learn how USGS fire science is making a difference:
LANDFIRE! USGS Data Provides Insight into Vegetation, Terrain, Hydrology and More
Management agencies and elected officials need sound information about the effects of large wildfires to make effective policy and make management decisions. The national LANDFIRE data set, a product co-produced by USGS, Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service, does just that. One specific real-time tool of LANDFIRE, the Wildfire Decision Support System, is used by incident-management teams on the front lines of fighting wildfires in the field. LANDFIRE is also used by fire managers before fires to help discern where the highest wildland fire risks are and to take steps to reduce risks in those potential hot spots. The data are also used to reduce risk to areas of specific concern, like areas with giant sequoias, endangered species and even cultural artifacts.
Monitoring Burn Severity Trends Helps Forecast Erosion, Debris-Flows and Flooding in Areas Burned by Wildfire
Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) is an interagency program that maps the burn severity and extent of large fires, 1000 acres or more in the West and 500 acres in the East, across all lands of the United States from 1984 to present. This data has already saved lives by enabling USGS scientists to use it in computer models that forecast potentially catastrophic flooding, debris-flows or mudslides in urban and suburban areas following wildfires.
MTBS data are freely available to many users including policy-makers and others focused on implementing and monitoring national fire management strategies; field management units such as national forests, parks and other federal and tribal lands that benefit from GIS-ready maps and data; other federal land-cover mapping programs such as LANDFIRE, which uses burn severity data in their own efforts; and academic and agency research entities.
MTBS data are generated by leveraging other national programs such as the Landsat satellite program, jointly developed and managed by the USGS and NASA. One of the greatest strengths of the program is the consistency of the data products going back to 1984, which would be impossible without the historic Landsat archive, the largest in the world. Download the MTBS Overview paper here.
GeoMAC Wildland Fire Support Tracks Where Fires are Occurring
In fire emergencies such as the devastating and tragic wildfires in California and elsewhere, accurate, timely information is critical. Such information is available on GeoMAC Wildland Fire Support a site managed by USGS and multiple federal and state partners, that allows citizens, emergency managers, and fire responders to access online maps to track where fires are burning and their perimeters. Visit and use GeoMAC, but people near fires should rely on information from local emergency managers for evacuation or other instructions.
Data are updated daily from incident intelligence sources, GPS data, and infrared imagery from fixed-wing and satellite platforms. GeoMAC users can manipulate map information displays, zoom in and out to show fire information at various scales and detail, including downloading desired perimeter data. Users can display current information on individual fires such as its name, current acreage, the amount of area a fire has grown, and the direction the fire is moving. USGS operates GeoMAC in partnership with the Department of the Interior's Office of Wildland Fire, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, and state agencies. Read more about GeoMAC.
Wildfires Threaten Future Water Supplies in the West
Across the West, wildfires are expected to increase in frequency, size and severity. Not only is fire a threat to life and property, but it can also reduce the quality of water supplies by increasing the amount of sediment entering streams – turning clear mountain waters brown. These impacts can persist for years and require costly restoration.
To determine how future water supplies in the West could be impacted by fire, researchers with the Department of the Interior Northwest Climate Science Center (managed by USGS) modeled future wildfire activity though 2050. Researchers used these projections to produce the first assessment of fire-induced soil erosion for the West – and found that wildfires could double soil erosion in a quarter of western watersheds by 2050. Learn more at the CSC website.
Igniting a New Trend in Public Safety by Using UAS Technology to Study Wildfires
U.S. Geological Survey scientists and partners are taking technology to the next level at Tall Timbers Research Station in North Florida where they are using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, to acquire both fire intensity and emissions data during prescribed burns. This effort combines expertise from multiple USGS partners that could reduce the harmful effects of smoke impacts from use of prescribed burns. Lessening the risk to property and lives during wildfires is a primary purpose of prescribed fires. Yet continued growth of residences and public buildings into forested areas has increased the wildland-urban interface and the consequent risks for property and health from uncontrolled wildfires.
This cutting-edge collaboration, includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Canadian Forest Service and the University of Dayton Research Institute with support from the University of Florida Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research Program.
Learn more about this project here and check out this video to see the UAS in action.
Using Drones in Wildfires Can Save Lives, Money, and Help Reduce the Spread of Wildfires
U.S. federal agencies spent $13 billion from 2006 to 2014 on fighting wildfires. Yet far more than the money spent are the lives lost: 26 percent of firefighter deaths are due to flying over to observe and control wildfire burns. Studies from the USGS and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln show that using drones could help reduce the extreme danger for our nation's firefighters, and also save Americans money. Drones are relatively easy to use and the training needed to fly them not only saves lives and money, but also helps prevent wildfire spread by being able to know exactly where the fire is. After NASA approved the prototype, the FAA gave permission for testing.
The same team also designed a drone prototype that drops ping-pong sized balls injected with a special chemical mix, which ignites a fire as a way to more effectively control burning or prescribe fire management. This kind of management action starts fires to manage or restore landscapes and to protect land from invasive species or an overabundance of fuels. Because these drones can eliminate the need for people to manually set controlled fires, they reduce the human risk, as well as the cost. Although this prototype has many benefits, more testing needs to be done.
Check out this video to learn more!
Wildfire, Climate and Invasive Species: Three Challenges for the Greater Sage-Grouse
USGS research is helping managers in the Great Basin understand the best ways to deal with the effects of more frequent and often larger wildfires on animals like the at-risk greater sage-grouse, a species dependent on sagebrush habitat for food, cover, and breeding. By analyzing 30 years of data, USGS modeled how sage-grouse populations are responding to changes in wildfire, rainfall, and soil temperature in this region. This research demonstrated that if left unchecked, wildfires could cause significant habitat decline and a loss of nearly half of current sage-grouse populations in the next three decades. USGS research provides federal and state management agencies with the science needed to improve effectiveness of rangeland fire suppression and conservation actions to benefit sage-grouse and other wildlife. For more about this project visit the USGS project site.
Permafrost: Wildfires Could Accelerate Degradation of Alaska's Permafrost
In interior Alaska, permafrost is insulated and protected from thaw by a layer of organic soil. In addition to changes in climate, wildfire can alter permafrost conditions by burning the protective soil layer. Given that wildfire frequency and severity is predicted to increase in Alaska, researchers with the DOI Alaska Climate Science Center (managed by USGS) examined the sensitivity of permafrost to wildfire. Focusing on the region's black spruce forests, researchers found that combined with warming temperatures, fire could significantly accelerate the degradation of Alaska's permafrost – particularly in upland forests, which have a thinner soil layer. Learn more at the CSC website.
Linking Atmospheric Rivers to Wildfire Patterns in the Southwest
Last winter, parts of drought-stricken California were besieged by heavy flooding, mudslides, and feet of snow. The cause? A meteorological phenomenon known as an atmospheric river, in which high concentrations of moisture are carried in narrow bands, often from the tropics, up to western North America.
While we know these events can produce heavy precipitation along the West Coast, researchers with the DOI Southwest Climate Science Center (managed by USGS) wanted to see if atmospheric rivers influence wildfire patterns. Results show that atmospheric rivers can increase the area burned by fires in the year following an event, particularly in the most arid parts of the Southwest. This is because the extra precipitation spurs vegetation growth, providing fuel for fires once it dries out. Learn more at the CSC project website.
Do Fires Help Protect Forests from Drought?
Even ancient humans used fire as a tool for food and landscape alteration, but did you know USGS scientists are using it to protect forests from drought? USGS ecologist Dr. Phil van Mantgem tests whether "prescribed fire" can reduce competition for resources like water, nutrients and sunlight among trees in the Sierra Nevada. His studies could help management agencies like the National Park Service make western forests more resilient and resistant to the harmful effects of longer, more severe droughts in the future. Visit the USGS website to learn more.
Fires Becoming Increasingly Frequent at High Elevations in Sierra Nevada
The effects of fire in high-elevation forests can be particularly severe. Fires are historically rare in higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, meaning vegetation may not be adapted to frequent fire activity. Researchers with the DOI Southwest Climate Science Center (managed by USGS) found that the upper elevation extent of fires in California's Sierra Nevada has been increasing over the past 100 years. Researchers hypothesize that this could be due to changes in fire management, temperature, available fuels or ignition frequencies – or a combination of these factors. Whatever the cause, more frequent fires in these subalpine forests could affect their structure, composition, and function. Learn more at the CSC website.
Wildfire Risk for Southern California Communities
Every year, wildfires in southern California cause property and ecological damage, sometimes severely. USGS ecologist Dr. Jon Keeley and partners study the ecological factors, such as invasive grasses, that increase the risk of wildfire damage to homes, people, roads and other infrastructure. This study and other USGS fire research supports science-based decisions to keep people and property safer during California's fire season. Check out this Living with Fire video and visit the USGS project website for more information.
Legendary Lizard-Like Creatures that Can Live in Fire?
Ancient legends tell of mythical fire-dwelling lizards appearing from flames when a fire was lit. The creatures, thought to be immune to fire, were named salamanders, which (no joke) meant "legendary lizard-like creatures that can live in fire." Now we know salamanders are not mythical beings (though they are amazingly awesome), but instead lived in the logs used in fires, causing them to scurry away once the logs were lit. But as USGS scientists can tell you, salamanders and fire still go hand-in-hand: many species, including the frosted flatwoods salamander, rely on fire-dependent ecosystems.
n St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (Florida), USGS scientists work closely with fire managers to help them make the most effective recovery actions of the federally protected frosted flatwoods salamander. During breeding season, females lay eggs on the outskirts of dry wetland basins, but for this to happen, the ground must be clear of plant detritus, like fallen leaves, branches, bark, and stems. Prescribed burns are a critical tool in the recovery plan for the salamander; such fires help clear out accumulated plant litter and other vegetation to provide the best habitat conditions for breeding salamanders. For more information, please visit the USGS project website.
We need a commission to take action on wildfire in the West
Published by http://www.hcn.org/
USA- It's not the way we fight wildfires in the West that's the problem. The problem is the way we manage our fire-dependent forests.
Since 2000, 154 wildfires in the region have cost over $20 million each to control. Many of them cost several times more. Together, these costliest fires, which were less than one-tenth of 1 percent of all Western wildfires in the period, cost more than $9 billion to fight. If you factor in property losses, natural resource damage and environmental impacts, the true costs skyrocket, but they are rarely measured or accounted for. What can't be ignored is that these unprecedented wildfires tell us we need a much better land-management strategy.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the federal government established a commission to recommend ways to prevent future terror attacks. Among other findings, the commission's report faulted leaders for a "failure of imagination," citing a system that was hamstrung by convention.
We face a similar predicament with the West's wildfires. Nearly every summer, the wildfire season exceeds our imaginations, as each "worst-ever" disaster soon eclipses its predecessor. In the past 20 years, most of the 11 Western states have suffered their worst wildfires on record — several states have done so more than once. At a time when firefighting budgets have never been higher, the West is experiencing its worst wildfires since it first organized for fire protection more than a century ago. If the aim is to protect life and property and minimize natural resource damage — and to do so at the lowest possible cost, without compromising firefighter safety — then we are headed down the wrong trail.
We need to be exploring more imaginative approaches. Protection of human communities ultimately matters most, but sometimes we are simply unable to save homes. Despite state-of-the-art gear, training, determination and other resources, firefighters are rarely able to control the worst wildfires until they get some relief in the weather or a break in the fuels. Neither can managers deal with the compounding effects of climate change, deteriorating forest conditions and uncontrolled residential development at the wildland-urban interface. The West remains tethered to an unworkable protection strategy that is stalled at a dangerous impasse, while costs, losses, damages and deaths all keep mounting.
Imagine a credible commission tasked with investigating the West's wildfire problem. Its members would examine the full range of contributing factors. They would probably conclude that the West's wildfire problem is much more than a firefighting challenge — that it is, fundamentally, a failure to manage fire-dependent forest ecosystems at appropriate intensities, intervals and scales. They would find that many of today's worst wildfire disasters are, ironically, occurring in drastically altered forests that tolerated fire better and burned much less severely 100 years ago.
A century of fire suppression and take-the-best-and-leave-the-rest logging has brought us to this place. But in confounding ways, our contemporary budgeting practices, regulatory controls, land management plans and market forces are often at cross purposes with the most effective means to protect the West's fire-prone forests. Here's why:
Budget appropriations provide almost unlimited funding for wildfire control but starve budgets for wildfire mitigation.
On national forests, managers are required by law to meet certain regulatory standards for proposed actions aimed at reducing wildfire risks. Yet in the absence of these actions, wildfire impacts that are often far worse are exempt from any analysis of their effects.
Depending on the way fire-prone landscapes are managed, wildfire risks can become high, but national forest plans don't require that those risks be identified or considered before plans are implemented.
In most places, thinning the forest understory needs to precede prescribed burning. Yet few markets exist for small-diameter trees and deadfall, even when the true cost of wildfires could easily justify subsidizing their removal. We need to develop and encourage more of these markets. As this woody material continues to accumulate, wildfire risks only grow, and the business of firefighting becomes ever more lucrative.
Historian Barbara Tuchman, in her book, The March of Folly, observed that governments often remain stubbornly addicted to a counterproductive course of action. They pursue the unworkable, she said, sacrificing the possible.
We all know that the West's wildfire problem is getting worse, but we have been slow to confront this reality. Unable to envision future threats and explore solutions across the full range of contributory factors, we cling to an untenable position. Bound to convention, we are left to suffer the next unimaginable disaster.
It is time for a commission on wildfire.
Students at SFA continue wildland fire date collection in the Netherlands
Published by http://www.gilmermirror.com
USA – NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Although summer has come to a close, it is the perfect time for Stephen F. Austin State University students to begin planning an adventure for the summer 2018 semester.
For students in SFA's Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, these summer experiences, more often than not, include collecting valuable data that will inevitably be used to guide future land management practices domestically and abroad.
Perhaps one of the best examples of the college's ongoing initiative to create meaningful scholastic experiences for students can be found in Dr. Brian Oswald's work assisting the Netherlands in developing the country's first quantitatively based wildland fire risk assessment.
Since 2012, Oswald, Joe C. Denman Distinguished Professor of fire ecology at SFA, along with students enrolled in SFA's Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, have collaborated with public safety agencies in the Netherlands to collect fire fuel load data that will ultimately be used to develop awildfire spread model that can predict wildfire behavior.
Will Kruckeberg and Jessica Pruneda, both senior fire management majors at SFA, are the latest students to contribute to this growing body of work.
For 10 weeks, Kruckeberg and Pruneda scoured forested and coastal regions of the Netherlands collecting fuel load data to determine the quantity of fuel classes present.
"We would go through and separate the dead and live grasses and document how many dead grasses were in a given plot," Kruckeberg said. "It's a lot of data to collect, but in the end it makes a really good product."
Kruckeberg and Pruneda worked directly for the Instituut Fysieke Veiligheid, an institute for disaster relief and public crisis management in the Netherlands, and they were independently responsible for every aspect of the fieldwork.
"It was a good professional development situation because we had to be self-driven," Kruckeberg said. "It was a good opportunity to learn how to keep going, schedule our own research plots and self-motivate."
In addition to scientific data collection, Pruneda said the opportunity to communicate with Dutch citizens about their work was exciting and meaningful because much of the population is still not aware of the country's growing wildland fire threat.
"I loved how we got asked a lot about what we were doing," Pruneda said. "Many of the people we talked to were confused because they don't think about wildland fires, but we got to explain all of the aspects of the project to them."
Students will continue to play an integral role in collecting fire fuel load data and conducting related research throughout the country into the foreseeable future. This regional data ultimately will be combined to create a national fire model used by safety agencies.
For more information on this project, contact Dr. Brian Oswald at boswald@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-2275.
Read more: The Gilmer Mirror – Students at SFA continue wildland fire date collection in the Netherlands
No one really knows what's in fire retardant – but it's affecting fish and plants
published by https://www.scpr.org
USA: So far this year California has dropped 15 million gallons of fire retardant on burning forests and hillsides across the state.
But here's the thing: No one really knows what it's made of — or its full environmental impact. The ingredients are protected as trade secrets under federal law, but they're affecting plants and animals and humans.
The chemical powder is a flame retardant, used to slow down fast-moving fires to clear the way for ground firefighters. It's considered a vital firefighting tool, but this year California has dropped a new record amount, that's double what it was three years ago.
So, with the increase in drops, what are the repercussions on the environment?
Matt Weiser from News Deeply spoke to A Martinez about the four things worth considering about California's increased use of fire retardant.
NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT IT'S MADE OF
The retardant powder ingredients are protected as trade secrets under federal law.
"But we do know that the main ingredient is some type of ammonia compound," explained Weiser, "mixed with a gelling agent of some sort that is meant to cause this chemical to stick to plants."
IT HAS AN EFFECT ON PLANTS, WILDLIFE AND EVEN HUMANS
Effect on fish
Weiser cited a study that can kill salmon at "less than one percent of the concentration at which it is applied." In other words, fire retardants remain deadly to fish even after they're diluted in their environment.
Effect on plants
Because their main active ingredient is ammonia, a key ingredient in fertilizer, it's been found that these retardants become a powerful fertilizer for plants in the aftermath of fires. This is true for invasive non-native plants in particular.
Many of these plants are "better able to colonize burned areas after a fire," said Weiser. "They actually feed on the ammonia in these retardants and they can crowd out the native plants."
The result of this phenomenon changes the habitat of the affected area considerably.
There are no studies that look into the effect on humans once the retardants are applied. However, they can be harmful to those who mix it.
"These things are usually delivered as a powder and then mixed with water before being pumped onto a plane or a helicopter. If the people mixing them on the ground breathe the power excessively, it can cause health problems."
YOU CAN EXPECT FIRE RETARDANT USE TO INCREASE
"One of the situations we have with a lot of wildfires these days is they're occurring closer and closer to developed areas and that's largely because we're developing in areas that are more likely to burn."
These areas are known as wildland-urban interface. A lot of burning happened in wildland-urban interfaces during the October Sonoma and Napa county fires. The fires that devastated Santa Rosa occurred in areas that had burned in a large fire 50 years ago, but there were no homes there back then.
THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE
An alternative has been developed by a company in Georgia called "Hazard Control Technologies," according to them, their retardant is less harmful than the ones being used now by Cal Fire and the U.S. forest service.
But don't expect to hear about this new Georgia retardant being used by the forest service anytime soon.
"It doesn't meet their testing protocol. The company claims that the test protocol is outdated and needs to be revised."
For PG&E's fate after California fires, watch this case
published by https://www.bloomberg.com
USA: California regulators are about to vote on whether a utility can claw back costs related to wildfires in 2007. Their decision may set a precedent for PG&E Corp., which could face billions in dollars of potential damages from last month's deadly wine country fires.
The California Public Utilities Commission will vote as early as Thursday on San Diego Gas & Electric's request to recoup $379 million in costs from Southern California wildfires. Two judges have recommended rejecting the request by the Sempra Energy unit to pass along some costs to customers, saying the company didn't properly manage its facilities.
The outcome could have repercussions for PG&E, which has seen its market value plummet by more than $7 billion since fire investigators said they were looking at its equipment as a possible cause of fires that tore through California's wine country. Maximum total liabilities for those fires could reach $13 billion, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
"Given the recent, catastrophic wildfires, what happens with San Diego Gas & Electric may be seen as a precedent," said Paul Patterson, an analyst for Glenrock Associates.
Under the California constitution, private utilities can be held legally responsible for damages from wildfires sparked by their equipment – even if they did everything by the book. The concept – known as "inverse condemnation" – is grounded in the idea that utilities can eventually pass along liability costs to its customers as part of the overall expense of providing electricity service.
State officials have yet to determine what sparked the Northern California fires and PG&E says it's too early to speculate on the cause.
PG&E Chief Executive Officer Geisha Williams told investors earlier this month that if probes tie the wildfires to PG&E, the company would contest an effort to use inverse condemnation in courts to make it pay. If PG&E is found legally liable, regulators should allow it to bill customers for costs above its insurance coverage, she said. PG&E says 32 lawsuits related to the wildfires have been filed against the company, according to a filing Monday.
Too Early
PG&E has wildfire insurance of about $800 million. The utility referred questions about the SDG&E case and the issue of inverse condemnation to Williams's comments.
PG&E and the state's other big utility, Southern California Edison, have lobbied regulators in support of SDG&E in its case. SDG&E says it disagrees with the proposed decision to block it from collecting costs. The utility said the fires in Southern California were due to circumstances beyond its control including extreme winds and objects such a cable wire coming into contact with its power lines.
The regulatory judges also failed to recognize that SDG&E incurred costs because of the application by the California courts of inverse condemnation, which assumes the utility can pass along liability costs through rates, said Colleen Windsor, a spokeswoman for SDG&E. Sempra took a $208 million after-tax charge in the third quarter due to the proposed decision.
Investors now are waking up to the realization that utilities in California may end up footing the bill for wildfire damages even if they aren't negligent, said Jonathan Arnold, an analyst at Deutsche Bank AG. "It's one of the things that has weighed on PG&E's stock," he said.
At a recent community meeting in Santa Rosa for wildfire victims, attendees weren't sure whether PG&E was to blame for the fires and thus whether the company should be made to pay up.
"It was the winds," said Toni Tarabbia, a 64-year-old nurse whose house of 15 years was demolished. "It was a freak thing of nature."
Halbert Stone, 62, a software test engineer whose house burned in a Santa Rosa subdivision, said it wouldn't surprise him if PG&E was found to have played a role. Given PG&E's duty as a publicly traded company to maximize profit for shareholders, "they're going to cut corners," Stone said.
PG&E says its doubled its tree trimming budget to about $400 million last year and the utility clears or removes 1.4 million trees a year to reduce fire risk.
Meanwhile, four state lawmakers say they're concerned PG&E may try to get off the hook. They plan to introduce a bill in January that forbids California utilities from passing on wildfire costs not covered by insurance to customers if the companies were negligent in maintaining power lines.
California Governor Jerry Brown has said it's too early to pin liability on any one party. If PG&E is found liable, Brown said during a Nov. 17 interview, "then the question is who's paying for it? The shareholders or the ratepayers? That'll be the story."
It's time that Environment Ministry act to conserve our nature
published by http://thepoint.gm
GAMBIA: We would do no justice to the future generation if we fail in our responsibility as a nation to conserve our natural resources and our nature reserve. It's time to act and the rightful authority to lead in the crusade is the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources.
The depletion of our forest cover is moving at an unprecedented speed, and if we don't act now, history will judge us wrong no matter what we achieve. The next generation will not forgive us for deciding against them; their future; their children's future and the generation to come after them.
Our natural resources particularly the forest cover is on the brink of fading, with unending deforestation, bush fire and unacceptable charcoal burning, which now seem to become the trade of every rural dweller in this country. We believe that more stringent measures have to be taken to ensure that we harness our forest cover wisely so as to meet the demand of the new age.
Kiang had one of the best forest covers in this country, looking back from 20-15 years. But today, because of high economic activity, the dependency is such high on its forest cover; as a result, everything is now turning into a desert. This is not to say that people should not use our forest covers on economic grounds, but we have to do so with limitation and some measure of reservation.
We have to acknowledge that our nation, our nature is facing huge threat, the degrading of natural resources. All but one activity which is charcoal burning is spinning out of control and if the right authorities do not act now, a different story will be narrated in generations to come.
The Department of Forestry should work closely with district authorities across the country to put in place measures to minimise total dependency on our forest cover. This would include reasonable punishment for people found wanting for committing any wrongdoing.
People who wish to be charcoal burners must obtain licenses for a number period and with conditions that must be fulfilled. There is a saying that: in a forest, when one tree is cut, another is planted to replace it. But it seems this is not the case of ours in this country; for we are falling more tress compare to our scale of planting.
Places like Kiang must not be allowed to turn into another Badibou – a place where deforestation becomes the other of the day. Badibou has virtually become a desert and the idea to restore and reforest the area seems no longer exist.
We urge that the Ministry of Environment and the Department of Forest act before it's too late.
Bushfire burns in national park
published by https://coastcommunitynews.com.au
ASUTRALIA: The Bays Community experienced an early start to the bush fire season when a blaze, believed to be deliberately lit, destroyed 10 hectares of Brisbane Water National Park.
NSW Rural Fire Service reported that firefighters from its Central Coast District were on scene to fight the fire which ignited on November 13 at around 5pm.
The bushfire was burning on Spion Kop in the Woy Woy Bay area.
The fire did not threaten properties and was burning in a remote area of Brisbane Water National Park that was only accessible by fire boats.
Rural Fire Services operations officer Mr Frank Overton said the police and fire services investigation unit were still investigating the incident on November 23.
"The extent of the blaze was approximately 10 hectares," Mr Overton said.
"It started 30 metres above the water line at Woy Woy Bay just near Spion Kop but it was nowhere near any walking track.
"It was probably half a kilometre or more away from any track," he said.
"The National Parks and Wildlife Services were in charge of the incident because it was in the National Park and Fire Services firefighters went in by boat and then they had to control the fire using hand tools," he said.
According to Mr Overton, teams of 15 personnel were involved in fighting the fire on each of the two days it took to extinguish.
"It was in a very difficult area, an extremely steep and rocky area, but we had no property anywhere near it and fortunately had north east winds and the conditions were quite mild.
"These sort of fires can pop up at any time through either accident or deliberate or natural causes and if they are not prepared they need to be," he said.
Bays Community Group president Ms Cathy Gleeson said two water bombing helicopters were in action over a two-day period along with National Parks and Wildlife and local firefighters who were ferried over in barges to battle the fire.
"This senseless act was witnessed by some of our vigilant residents who took photographic evidence at the time and reported it immediately to police," Ms Gleeson said.
"This is a great example of neighbourhood watch in action and of how we should look out for each other and for our community," she said.
"I encourage everyone to always be alert and report any suspicious activities within our Bays so that we can possibly avoid this type of destruction from happening again."
Fire retardant use explodes as worries about water, wildlife grow
published by https://ww2.kqed.org
USA: Chemical fire retardants are considered a vital wildland firefighting tool, helping to slow the spread of flames while ground crews move into position. But as their use increases, the harmful side effects of these chemicals are coming under increasing scrutiny.
The chemicals, usually dropped from low-flying aircraft, largely consist of ammonia compounds, which are known toxins to fish and other aquatic life. Studies have shown retardants can kill fish, alter soil chemistry, feed harmful algae blooms and even encourage the spread of invasive plants. Yet there is little regulation of their use, and no safer alternatives on the market.
In California, state firefighting crews have applied 15.3 million gallons of chemical fire retardants so far this year, according to data provided by CalFire, the state's wildland firefighting agency. That's a new record, and double the amount used just three years ago.
CalFire applied 2.7 million gallons of retardant in a single one-week period starting October 9 – also a record. Of that amount, about 2 million gallons were used on the North Bay wildfires, which killed 43 people and burned more than 8,000 structures in October as they swept across several counties north of the San Francisco Bay Area, including Sonoma and Napa.
The growth of retardant use in California has outpaced federal firefighting: In 2016, the United States Forest Service applied 19 million gallons of retardant on all National Forest system lands in the nation, an increase of 55 percent compared to three years earlier.
Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, said chemical fire retardants are overused. They are intended only to slow a fire down so that ground crews have time to reach a fire front and build containment lines. Instead, retardants are being used in place of ground crews, he said.
In many cases where people and structures are not threatened, Ingalsbee said, fires should be allowed to burn rather than spending money on retardants and putting pilots at risk.
"It looks good on TV – 'CNN Drops' is a term firefighters use," Ingalsbee said. "Eventually, the fire burns through that stuff and keeps on trucking. The worst concern is, they cause some significant impacts, particularly to water quality."
In 2014, scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service published a study showing that two fire-retardant formulations are deadly to Chinook salmon, even when heavily diluted in streams.
The chemicals killed salmon at concentrations well below 1 percent of the strength at which the retardants are applied. And the study found the chemicals had lasting effects: Even salmon that survived initially could be killed weeks later when they migrated to salt water, apparently because the chemicals damaged their gills.
"They are sensitive at low amounts compared to what is applied," said Joseph Dietrich, an ecotoxicologist with NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center and lead author of the study. "It's a very low concentration compared to what is in the stock solution that's in a helicopter during a firefighting event."
The retardants evaluated in the study, known by the trade names 259-F and LC–95A, are made by Phos-Chek, the U.S. subsidiary of an Israel-based company called ICL Performance Products. Both retardants are still in use by both the Forest Service and CalFire.
However, CalFire spokesperson Scott McLean said the agency this year has mainly used a different Phos-Chek formulation known as MVP-F. It is advertised as being a safer product, though it has not yet been subjected to similar studies.
CalFire takes its lead in retardant selection from the U.S. Forest Service, which produces a so-called "qualified products list" after testing the chemicals.
Most retardants are delivered as a powder, then mixed with water before being loaded onto aircraft. The water is merely a delivery mechanism.
The primary ingredient in retardants is an ammonium phosphate or sulfate solution – essentially a type of fertilizer. Other ingredients are exempt from public disclosure under federal law as trade secrets. But one is a gelling agent that allows the ammonia solution to cling to plants, temporarily insulating them from heat and flame to deprive an advancing fire of fuel.
McLean said retardants are a vital firefighting tool, and defended their use.
"Aerial application of retardant provides support to firefighters on the fire line that could not be otherwise immediately supported by a vehicle, [a] fire engine," McLean said. "At present, there is no other long-term fire retardant that has met the requirements of the [Forest Service] qualified products list."
Dietrich said it's likely that MVP-F will also be deadly to salmon. The concentration known to be toxic to fish, as reported by the manufacturer, is still less than 1 percent of the concentration at which the retardant is released by aircraft. This means, again, that it can be heavily diluted in the environment and still remain deadly to fish.
The unknown proprietary ingredients in retardants may play a role in this, he said.
"They're definitely enhancing toxicity," Dietrich said. "Whether they are working with ammonia or just causing separate effects that are accumulating, I couldn't say. There is some other source of toxicity that comes into play."
Not much is known about how long retardants linger in the environment. But the compounds most often used are known as "long-term" retardants, because they are designed to cling to plants and remain effective for weeks – until they are either burned off or washed away by heavy rain. In the latter case, the chemicals will then flow into streams and lakes.
A team at the U.S. Geological Survey is engaged in a large research effort to analyze the longevity of these chemicals once applied. The results have not yet been published, and the team leader did not respond to a request for comment.
The Forest Service used fire retardants for decades without analyzing their environmental effects. Then, in 2009, Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, a nonprofit group, sued the agency, blaming retardants for killing 50 endangered steelhead during a fire near Santa Barbara, California.
The lawsuit resulted in a court order requiring the Forest Service to prepare an environmental impact study, which was completed in 2011. The study concluded retardants are potentially harmful to wildlife and water quality, and set parameters on their use to minimize these effects. These included mapping sensitive exclusion zones where retardants may not be used.
Also, fire crews are now trained not to drop retardant within 300ft of water bodies if using an airplane, and within 100ft if applied from a helicopter or fire engine. Fire crews can, however, deviate from these guidelines when life or property are threatened.
Earlier this year, the Forest Service prepared a risk assessment to evaluate the ecological effects of the latest retardant chemicals. It reviewed the same products analyzed in Dietrich's study, as well as others, and acknowledged that toxic effects to fish and plants are possible. But it minimized these concerns by reporting, in the case of fish, that long-term exposure is unlikely in flowing-water environments, and stated that plants would be worse off if they were allowed to burn.
Ingalsbee said even a 300ft buffer may not be enough to protect water and wildlife. Unpredictable fire-fed winds may spread retardant into a stream or lake from much greater distances, he said. Pilot error is also common.
In addition, retardants can alter plant communities long after a fire is extinguished.
Invasive plants are known to aggressively colonize burned areas after a fire. The ammonia in retardants is a potent fertilizer: It can become a kind of junk food for invasive plants, which can quickly crowd out native plants after a fire. As a result, in 2008 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended limiting the use of retardants.
Officials say retardants are made from "food grade" ingredients and pose no danger to people or animals if ingested.
But in the wake of the North Bay fires, Napa County issued an advisory urging residents not to consume fruits and vegetables from backyard gardens that may have been sprayed by fire retardant. Sonoma County offered similar advice on its website. Both urged residents to wash retardants off plants and buildings "as soon as possible." But targeting areas hit by retardant may be difficult in some cases, because a coloring agent in the compound is designed to vanish after exposure to sunlight.
Fortunately for California's wine industry, as much as 90 percent of Napa and Sonoma county grapes had been harvested before the fires swept through. But some vineyards did get hit by retardant drops, and winery owners have said those grapes won't be harvested.
"The bottom line is, it's really not benign at all," Ingalsbee said. "It does have negative effects on native flora and fauna. It does have impacts on water quality and soil."
SVC Commitment by GFMC
International Wildfire Emergency Assistance


text:
HomeComedyRhys James – Wiseboy
Rhys James – Wiseboy
August 16, 2017 Comedy, Comedy Reviews, Edinburgh Fringe 2017
Last time I saw Rhys James I said I was sure he'd get better, and I thought he was great last time I saw him. It's wonderful to be able to say I was right about him, and not just because everyone likes being right. He's the same automatic joke machine as last year, firing out line after line of hilarious stories and musings.
James understands how to make people laugh innately, it's not just in the gags themselves. Every word he speaks is carefully engineered to be funny in each syllable. He's not necessarily an easy comedian to like if you're on the wrong side of thirty, given how sleekly modern he is. Ok, maybe forty, what do I know? James is so obviously a product of the internet age and a lot of his humour will stick especially with the Twitter crowd. He's a delightfully ironic speaker, toying with language to ensure every moment has potential for laughs.
Wiseboy isn't perfect, while James is remarkably confident and hilariously flippant with his crowd, he sometimes gets bogged down speaking with them and throws himself off. Sometimes, when he's taking his time too much you start to feel that familiar, creeping stand-up show worry, that the next thing he's going to say won't be funny and it'll be horribly awkward, but he never disappoints. He's at his best when he builds up momentum, and there's so many riffs and rants that induce this wonderful domino effect from one laugh to the next.
I tried my best to avoid repeating myself here, but it's not like you read the last review is it. Wiseboy is a young comedian going from great to better, and Rhys James remains one to watch, because he's better than half the comics with twice the experience.
★★★★ and a half
Keiran Burnett
Rhys James
Rhys James: Forgives