Husband-and-wife folk/rock duo Martha's Trouble (aka Rob and Jen Slocumb) have purchased a historical Victorian house, originally built in 1910, in downtown Opelika, AL, and have already begun work on rehabbing the abode into a creative studio space in their hometown. The renovation should take approximately five months.
The completed facility will be known as The Sound Wall. The Slocumbs are hoping to provide a small town recording experience in a premiere space. Two studio rooms are planned for the first floor; the rooms can be used for recording, rehearsals, writing sessions, post-editing video, photo shoots, video shoots, and will be available for special events. A gourmet kitchen with a large family-style farm table will allow local chefs to prepare meals on-site for visiting artists and bands. A one-bedroom apartment will be housed upstairs, offering lodging to artists using the studios downstairs or to people who want an inspiring place to stay in town.
1910 Opelika house set to be transformed into The Sound Wall.
"We hope The Sound Wall will become an extension to the already existing and expanding arts community," adds Rob.
Martha's Trouble, called "a hidden gem" by Billboard Magazine, is known for its signature sound of folk and country twang, which has been praised by some of the most influential and well-respected music critics of our time. Martha's Trouble has been listed and featured in the aforementioned Billboard Magazine, as well as USA Today, AOL Music, Sirius XM Satellite Radio and Performing Songwriter. Their songs have received awards and have been featured in the show "Army Wives" and made-for-TV movies on Lifetime and CBS. The duo's band name comes from a Bible story about Martha and Mary, one that they say is a reminder to stop and smell the roses and to keep an eye on the bigger picture and the important things in life.
Late last year, Martha's Trouble offered some new additions to their holiday repertoire with two digital singles, "River" and "White Christmas," which followed on the success of two independent holiday albums, Christmas Lights (2002) and This Christmas (2008). Prior to that, they also released: Jen Coates' Seed Sessions (2014), A Little Heart Like You (2012), Anchor Tattoo (2011), EP (2008), Forget October (2006), Still (2003), Sleeping Dogs (2002), and The Road Ahead (2000).


Social Media Marketing » Blog Archive » How Do You Get Into Facebook And Myspace From Computer Class?
How Do You Get Into Facebook And Myspace From Computer Class?
Computer class blocks all good websites, how do i get to facebook and other blocked websites??
8 Responses to "How Do You Get Into Facebook And Myspace From Computer Class?"


text:
Q: How to upgrade PHP Alpine in Docker Container Basically, i have laravel version 8 and passport version 10 for authentication.
i have a problem when i try to install passport inside nginx terminal.
php artisan passport:install
The Error Said my php version was 7.3.26 while Passport needs php 7.4
Here is my Dockerfile looks like :
FROM composer:2 as vendor

COPY . .

RUN composer install \
    --ignore-platform-reqs \
    --no-interaction \
    --no-plugins \
    --no-progress \
    --no-dev \
    --no-scripts \
    --prefer-dist \
    && find /app -type d -exec chmod -R 555 {} ; \
    && find /app -type f -exec chmod -R 444 {} ; \
    && find /app/storage -type d -exec chmod -R 755 {} ; \
    && find /app/storage -type f -exec chmod -R 644 {} ;

RUN composer dump-autoload

FROM existenz/webstack:7.4-codecasts

EXPOSE 80
EXPOSE 443

COPY --from=vendor --chown=php:nginx /app /www

# https://github.com/docker-library/php/issues/240
RUN apk add --no-cache --repository http://dl-3.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing gnu-libiconv
ENV LD_PRELOAD /usr/lib/preloadable_libiconv.so php

RUN apk -U --no-cache add \
    php7 php7-zip php7-json php7-openssl php7-curl \
    php7-zlib php7-xml php7-phar php7-intl php7-dom php7-xmlreader php7-xmlwriter php7-ctype \
    php7-mbstring php7-gd php7-session php7-pdo php7-pdo_mysql php7-tokenizer php7-posix \
    php7-fileinfo php7-opcache php7-cli php7-mcrypt php7-pcntl php7-iconv php7-simplexml

How can i upgrade my php version to 7.4, or maybe the worst case i have to downgrade laravel and passport version.

A: You can install it using this commands:
FROM php:7.4-fpm-alpine

RUN apk add --update --no-cache libgd libpng-dev libjpeg-turbo-dev freetype-dev

RUN docker-php-ext-install -j$(nproc) gd

ADD php.ini /usr/local/etc/php.ini

Or you can follow this article

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Browse News Categories
Strains & Products
Leafly TV
Los Angeles Files Charges Against Dozens of Unlicensed Cannabis Businesses
Hayley Fox
Skip The Traffic: Sleep, play, eat, and smoke in downtown L.A. for a weekend. (iStock)
LOS ANGELES — After five months of legal commercial cannabis sales in LA, local law enforcement and elected officials announced at a press conference Wednesday that they are cracking down on cannabis businesses operating without a license.
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said that his office has so far filed 36 criminal cases against a total of 140 defendants. The cases are associated with 32 cannabis shops and one delivery service, Feuer said, adding that his office prioritized locations associated with additional types of criminal activity.
"If you're operating an illegal cannabis shop," Feuer said, "you're going to be subject to criminal prosecution."
California Sends 'Several Hundred' Warning Letters to Unlicensed Cannabis Businesses
All of the named defendants face misdemeanor charges, each of which carries a maximum of six months in jail and $1,000 in fines.
While the 32 unlicensed shops are spread throughout the city, nearly a third are in the South LA area, officials said. Los Angeles City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, whose 8th District encompasses a large swath of Southwest LA including Baldwin Hills and Hyde Park, said he hopes other city departments follow Feuer's lead and act aggressively against unlicensed businesses.
Feuer encouraged all LA residents looking to purchase cannabis to do their part to support legal businesses.
Under Measure M, which was passed last year by LA voters and paved the way for the city's current regulatory structure, it's not just the LAPD and Feuer's office who have enforcement power. With City Council authorization, for example, the Department of Water and Power can disconnect utilities being used for unauthorized cannabis activity.
In addition to criminal charges announced today, the City Attorney's Office is also preparing to send cease and desist letters to operators that, based on "preliminary assessments," are operating without the necessary temporary approvals, Feuer said.
Under another local regulatory measure, Proposition D, certain medical marijuana dispensaries were given "limited immunity" to operate before the city lifted a blanket ban on the industry. During that time, the City Attorney's Office helped shut down more than 1,000 illegal shops, Feuer said, warning that his office is going to be "equally aggressive" in the latest round of enforcement.
"Businesses that flout the City's new cannabis law will be held accountable," the city attorney said in a statement. "I urge all property owners and marijuana businesses to follow the law and work with my office and the City's Department of Cannabis Regulation to avoid facing serious criminal consequences."
Since January 2018, the LAPD has seized 6,200 pounds of cannabis and confiscated 29 guns from illegal operators, said Lt. Stacy Spell. Citing limited resources and an effort to spend taxpayer money responsibly, Spell said the LAPD has focused on identifying illegal businesses that also impact the quality of life for residents in the surrounding community, whether from repeated nuisances or outright criminal behavior.
Leafly List: The Best Cannabis Dispensaries in Southern California, Spring 2018
More than 140 permitted dispensaries currently operate in the city of Los Angeles. But the continued vigor of the region's underground market has frustrated many licensed business owners and, some say, cut into the state's expected cannabis revenue.
Feuer encouraged all LA residents looking to purchase cannabis to do their part to support legal businesses, by visiting the Department of Cannabis Regulation's website to view the complete list of legal shops. "If a location is not on that list, I urge residents of our city not to shop there," he said.
Find a Licensed Los Angeles Cannabis Retailer
According to the city attorney's office, locations associated with the filings include:
4874 S. Huntington Drive in El Sereno
12777 San Fernando Road in Sylmar
945 W. Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington
841 Gardena Blvd in Gardena
12737 Glen Oaks Drive in Sylmar
16400 S. Vermont Avenue in Harbor Gateway
10530 S. Broadway in South Los Angeles
1151 Pacific Coast Highway in Harbor City
2601 S. Normandie in Koreatown
21044 Sherman Way #219 in Canoga Park
15238 Saticoy in Van Nuys
11422 S. Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles
8717 Woodman Avenue in Panorama City
14626 Victory Boulevard in Van Nuys
521 S. Alvarado Street near MacArthur Park
930 S. Robertson in Pico-Robertson
10924 S. Main Street in South Los Angeles
10352 Laurel Canyon Blvd in Pacoima
9362 San Fernando Road in Foothill
5611 Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood
5943 York Blvd in Northeast
Dank of Cali, Inc. a Marijuana Delivery Service
15201 Oxnard Street in Van Nuys
1815 W. Jefferson in Jefferson Park
4271 Crenshaw Blvd in Leimert Park
3014 W. Slauson Avenue in South Los Angeles
6515 S. Vermont Avenue in South Los Angeles
9820 San Fernando Road in Pacoima
2214 S. Vermont Avenue in West Adams
3206 W. Vernon in Southwest
adult-use cannabislaw enforcementlegalizationlicensingLos Angeles
Hayley Fox is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. She writes about cannabis legalization, news, crime, and culture in Southern California and beyond. Her work has been published online and in print for Leafly, Rolling Stone, Playboy, VICE, LA Weekly, and others.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Performance audit reports
Our performance audit work contributes to improved public sector administration and accountability through objective reporting on the performance of Australian Government programs and entities.
(-) Remove Governance filter Governance
This page lists completed performance audit reports. View all performance audits in-progress.
Performance audit (Auditor-General Report No. 1 of 2019–20)
Published: Thursday 4 July 2019
Cyber Resilience of Government Business Enterprises and Corporate Commonwealth Entities
The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the management of cyber security risks by three government business enterprises or corporate Commonwealth entities. The entities selected for audit are ASC Pty Ltd, the Australian Postal Corporation and the Reserve Bank of Australia.
ASC Pty Ltd; Australian Postal Corporation; Reserve Bank of Australia
Please direct enquiries through our contact page.
Read published report
Performance audit (Auditor-General Report No. 35 of 2018–19)
Published: Friday 26 April 2019
Governance of the Special Broadcasting Service Corporation
The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of the governance arrangements for the Special Broadcasting Service Corporation (SBS).
Special Broadcasting Service Corporation
Published: Thursday 18 April 2019
Effectiveness of Board Governance at Old Parliament House
The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance board in Old Parliament House.
Published: Monday 17 December 2018
Implementation of the Annual Performance Statements Requirements 2017-18
The objective of the audit was to continue to examine the progress of the implementation of the annual performance statements requirements under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule) by selected entities.
Across Entities
Prime Minister & Cabinet
Published: Thursday 13 December 2018
Implementation of the Australian Government's Workplace Bargaining Framework
The objective of this audit was to assess the Australian Public Service Commission's and selected entities' implementation of the Australian Government's Workplace Bargaining Framework.
Across entities (listed below)
Strengthening Australia's Tourism Industry
The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness to date of the implementation of the Tourism 2020 strategy by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and Tourism Australia.
Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade); Tourism Australia
Please direct enquiries relating to reports through our contact page.
Published: Tuesday 27 September 2016
Confidentiality in Government Contracts: Senate Order for Entity Contracts (Calendar Year 2015 Compliance)
The objective of the audit was to assess the appropriateness of the use and reporting of confidentiality provisions in a sample of Australian Government contracts.
Department of Defence; Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Department of Agriculture and Water Resources; Department of Health
Published: Wednesday 31 August 2016
Corporate Planning in the Australian Public Sector 2015–16
The objective of the audit was to assess progress in implementing the corporate plan requirement under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.


text:
package org.apache.camel.model.dataformat;

import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAccessType;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAccessorType;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlRootElement;

import org.apache.camel.model.DataFormatDefinition;
import org.apache.camel.spi.Label;

/**
 * Represents the RSS {@link org.apache.camel.spi.DataFormat}.
 */
@Label("dataformat,transformation")
@XmlRootElement(name = "rss")
@XmlAccessorType(XmlAccessType.FIELD)
public class RssDataFormat extends DataFormatDefinition {

    public RssDataFormat() {
        super("rss");
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


That's good advice in life for anyone and especially good advice for Doug Fernandez, an anchor with KOAT in Albuquerque, N.M.
Fernandez was introducing a live piece about a shooting and tried to toss it to a reporter on the scene when some technical difficulties popped up. Fernandez tried to move on when the reporter suddenly appeared on the screen, but not before a clearly frustrated Fernandez was caught tossing some papers in the air. It made for the perfect viral moment.
We hope Fernandez likes being the center of attention or else he's probably going to be tossing a whole heck of a lot more papers in the KOAT newsroom.


text:
What Can Conor McGregor Bring to the Table Against Floyd Mayweather?
August 30, 2017 August 25, 2017 by Pro MMA Now Staff
Unless you've been hiding in a nuclear bunker for the past few months, anybody with any remote interest in combat sports knows that Conor 'The Notorious' McGregor challenges Floyd 'Money' Mayweather in Las Vegas on August 26. Even those with no interest in boxing or MMA have been sucked into the hype machine, which pits the respective sport's biggest stars against one another.
The craziest part of the whole showcase is that McGregor comes in with prestige as a UFC champion, but no bouts to his credit. He is a novice in experience terms, fighting the best pugilist of our generation. 0-0 meets 49-0. Under any other circumstances, it's unlikely it would even get sanctioned, but because of McGregor's champion status in a crossover – albeit still very different – sport, it has been allowed to go ahead.
Money could also be a factor in that decision, as this is going to make a lot of money for a lot of people. The buzz behind the matchup hasn't stopped since it was announced. In fact, it has only been compounded by the media tour, sparring controversies, and much more.
Both camps know they're set to clear over a hundred million dollars. It'll make already rich men even richer, and the more eyeballs they can get on this spectacle, the more money they'll make. Getting eyes on potentially uninspiring fights is something both men have been masters of, and they've employed all this experience to build things to a crescendo ahead of the scheduled twelve rounder.
But what are the realistic chances of it being competitive? How can Conor, a newcomer to the world of professional boxing, beat a man who has repeatedly taken on the best in the world and won?
He's not a boxer
It's what many pundits are basing their case against the two-weight UFC champion on, but it could actually be the ace up his sleeve. Mayweather has almost 150 bouts to his credit, through his amateur and professional career, which includes winning a medal in the Olympics and being a five-weight world champion as a professional. He has fought many, many boxers. He has fought nobody with McGregor's background. Boxers he has beaten have differed in style but they all come from the same base and work off the same fundamentals.
McGregor started his martial arts journey in a boxing gym, but he has taken elements from Muay Thai, kickboxing, tae kwon do, and even grappling arts like wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This means that he won't move in a way Mayweather is used to. His set-ups won't the same ones he's used to defending, and his angles and timing will have different nuances.
This doesn't mean he will have found a recipe for success outside the sphere or boxing, but it does mean that Mayweather will have to acclimatise in the early running of the fight to get a feel for his opponent. The Irishman has been sparring day in, day out with 'true' boxers, whereas Mayweather's sparring partners won't have been able to emulate the style that McGregor brings.
It's not just his striking assets that will be different. The grappling facet could also play a big role. The UFC's Jimi Manuwa suggested this would be his best chance. "It's key that Conor gets on the inside and really bullies him," offered the London-based light-heavyweight, who knows Conor's wrestling training will allow him to dictate things when they are wrapped up.
Constantly holding or working to free himself means Mayweather will have to stress himself in ways he's not used to during the 12 rounds.
He has power
Granted this is not a new revelation to 'Money', as he has taken on many big punchers and come out unscathed, but if 'The Notorious' can land on an ageing Floyd, he does have the shots that turn out the lights. The American has made a career out of evading these shots and has shown a great chin in some legendary encounters, but it only takes one. Crazy upsets have happened when one shot can change the entire course of a fight.
In his 21 professional MMA wins, Conor has stopped 18 of those by T/KO. His straight left can cover an abnormal amount of distance, and when it lands people do fall. Regardless of boxer or MMA fighter, a human has the same anatomy and if the right switch is hit, then knockouts happen.
Size and strength
Following on from the previous point, the power in McGregor's shots will no doubt be coming from a frame that will be carrying significantly more weight on the night. McGregor's weight cuts are notable and he has fought as high as 170lbs, whilst Mayweather's highest category has been 154lbs – and even then against Oscar de la Hoya, he came in at just 150lbs.
Their regular weight classes of 145 and 147 are similar, but that doesn't tell the whole story. The rapid dehydration techniques McGregor uses to make weight aren't as prevalent in boxing, so the weight he makes on the scales will be a lot different to what he enters the ring. Mayweather is unlikely to bulk up as much from the scales to the fight. We have weight classes for a reason, as a bigger man's punches are more likely to do damage. Of course, they have to land, but every pound matters when it does land.
Not only does it make a difference in the punching power, but if we refer back to the first point, McGregor's size and strength advantage when working in the clinch will undoubtedly help to tire Floyd and wear him down in a way he's not used to. The close contact and inside hustle element will force 'Money' to bear the weight of his adversary, especially if he is forced against the ropes and into corners.
11 minutes rest
This could go either way. Team McGregor will have left no stone unturned when it comes to conditioning, especially when he has looked to slow down in the past, particularly against Nate Diaz. However, five-minutes rounds and one-minute rests mean McGregor gets just 4 minutes rest in 25 minutes of fighting. In 36 – which is significantly longer, he has a better rest ratio of 11 minutes, with the rounds just three minutes long.
He'll have worked relentlessly on pushing the pace for this timescale, and will have more rest than he's used to. He's also more than a decade younger than Floyd, and Father Time isn't always that kind on the conditioning. The caveat here is that Mayweather has done 12 rounds time after time. He knows he has the stamina. In his last 14 bouts, he has gone the distance 12 times. He knows how to pace a fight and control the tempo, but will McGregor be tamed?
The betting experts at Oddschecker give Mayweather more of an edge in the later rounds, simply because of the familiarity with the longer bouts, so it could serve as a benefit to him, but we're yet to see how the Irishman's gas tank will hold up when he gets much more opportunity to replenish it.
The odds are stacked against the debuting Irishman, and rightfully so, given the monumental task he has ahead of him, but he has shorter odds than some of the experienced boxers that have gone up against the 49-0 Hall of Famer in the past.
His chances are reflecting in his outsider status in the betting lines, but there's always a chance. One thing McGregor has for certain is self-belief, and that can count for a lot when the chips are down.
We're nearing the point where conjecture and predictions won't matter, and that's when both men will leave it all on the line in the ring. The only certainty is that they both leave much more wealthy than when they stepped in.
Categories boxing, MMA, UFC Tags Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather, Mayweather vs. McGregor Post navigation
Freddie Roach says don't count McGregor out
Here's why Conor McGregor defeats Floyd Mayweather; breakdown of new sparring footage with Malignaggi


As we have indicated, receivers need at least four satellites to obtain a position. The use of more satellites, if they are available, will improve the position solution; however, the receiver's ability to make use of additional satellites may be limited by its computational power. The manner by which the receiver uses the additional ranges will generally be the intellectual property of the manufacturer.
Depending on the implementation, user equipment can recover signals from multiple satellites in multiple GNSS constellations.
To determine a fix (position) and time, GNSS receivers need to be able to track at least four satellites. This means there needs to be a line of sight between the receiver's antenna and the four satellites.
Receivers vary in terms of which constellation or constellations they track, and how many satellites they track simultaneously.
For each satellite being tracked, the receiver determines the propagation time. It can do this because of the pseudorandom nature of the signals. To illustrate, refer to Figure 17, which shows the transmission of a pseudorandom code, a series of zeroes and ones. Since the receiver knows the pseudorandom code for each satellite, it can determine the time it received the code from a particular satellite. In this way, it can determine the time of propagation.
An antenna behaves both as a spatial and frequency filter, therefore, selecting the right GNSS antenna is critical for optimizing performance. An antenna must match the receiver's capabilities and specifications, as well as meet size, weight, environmental and mechanical specifications for the intended application.
Each GNSS constellation has its own signal frequencies and bandwidths. An antenna must cover the signal frequencies transmitted by the constellation and bandwidth supported by the GNSS receiver.
Gain is a key performance indicator of a GNSS antenna. Gain can be defined as the relative measure of an antenna's ability to direct or concentrate radio frequency energy in a particular direction or pattern. A minimum gain is required to achieve a minimum carrier- to-power-noise ratio (C/No) to track GNSS satellites. The antenna gain is directly related to the overall C/No of the navigation GNSS receivers. Hence, antenna gain helps define the tracking ability of the system.
The element gain defines how efficient the antenna element is at receiving the signals. In any signal chain, you are only as good as the weakest link, so an antenna element with low element gain might be compensated by an increased low noise amplifier gain. The signal-to-noise ratio or C/No, however, is degraded.
Gain roll-off is a factor of beamwidth, and specifies how much the gain changes over the elevation angle of the antenna. From the antenna's point of view, the satellites rise from the horizon towards zenith and fall back to the horizon. The variation in gain between zenith (directly overhead) and the horizon is known as the gain roll-off. Different antenna technologies have different gain roll-off characteristics.
The phase center of the antenna is the point where the signals transmitted from satellites are collected. When a receiver reports a location fix, that location is essentially the phase center of the antenna.
The electrical phase center of any antenna will vary with the position of the transmitting signal it is receiving by as much as a few millimetres. As GNSS satellites move across the sky, the electrical phase center of the signal received will typically move with the satellite position unless the antenna has been carefully designed to minimize Phase Center Offset (PCO) and Phase Center Variation (PCV). The PCO, with respect to the Antenna Reference Point (ARP), is the difference between the mechanical center of antenna rotation and electrical phase center location. The PCO is also frequency dependent which means that there can be a different offset for each signal frequency. The PCV identifies how much the phase center moves with respect to the satellite elevation angles.
Many users can accept accuracies of less than a metre so these small phase center variations cause a negligible amount of position error. But if you require high precision, such as Real Time Kinematic (RTK) receivers that can achieve position accuracies of 2-4 cm, a few millimetres of phase center error can translate to a 10-15% error in reported position. For RTK survey applications, geodetic grade antennas offer superior PCO/PCV performance.
An antenna has to meet the performance, environmental, mechanical and operational requirements of the intended application. For example, GNSS antennas used for aviation applications should ideally be TSO/FAA certified and be rugged enough to handle extreme temperatures and vibration profiles. Survey rover antennas should be able to survive rough handling by surveyors including a pole drop.
Table 1 highlights some of the important desirable features needed for a GNSS antenna based upon the user's application.


Minor update 2003 by Don Koks.
In 1916, when general relativity was new, Karl Schwarzschild worked out a useful solution to the Einstein equation describing the evolution of spacetime geometry. This solution, a possible shape of spacetime, would describe the effects of gravity outside a spherically symmetric, uncharged, nonrotating object (and would serve approximately to describe even slowly rotating objects like the Earth or Sun). It worked in much the same way that you can treat the Earth as a point mass for purposes of newtonian gravity if all you want to do is describe gravity outside the Earth's surface.
What such a solution really looks like is a "metric," which is a kind of generalization of the Pythagorean formula that gives the length of a line segment in the plane. The metric is a formula that may be used to obtain the "length" of a curve in spacetime. In the case of a curve corresponding to the motion of an object as time passes (a "timelike worldline"), the "length" computed by the metric is actually the elapsed time experienced by an object with that motion. The actual formula depends on the coordinates chosen in which to express things, but it may be transformed into various coordinate systems without affecting anything physical, like the spacetime curvature. Schwarzschild expressed his metric in terms of coordinates which, at large distances from the object, resembled spherical coordinates with an extra coordinate t for time. Another coordinate, called r, functioned as a radial coordinate at large distances; out there it just gave the distance to the massive object.
Once such a star gets smaller than the place where Schwarzschild's coordinates fail (called the Schwarzschild radius for an uncharged, nonrotating object, or the event horizon), there's no way it can avoid collapsing further. It has to collapse all the way to a singularity for the same reason that you can't keep from moving into the future! Nothing else that goes into that region afterward can avoid it either, at least in this simple case. The event horizon is a point of no return.
In 1971 John Archibald Wheeler named such a thing a black hole, since light could not escape from it. Astronomers have many candidate objects they think are probably black holes, on the basis of several kinds of evidence. Typically these are dark objects whose large mass can be deduced from their gravitational effects on other objects, and which sometimes emit X-rays, presumably by giving a phenomenal acceleration to infalling matter. The properties of black holes that we've talked about here are based on general relativity, which is a theory well supported by available evidence. Nevertheless, they are entirely theoretical, and they don't include probable effects due to quantum mechanics. It's doubtful that "simplistic" black holes with the bizarre properties that are described here really exist, and the physical theories that apply to extreme conditions are very difficult to test and evolve. It has been said that new theories are never really accepted as such; it's just that the old guard dies out, and the new generation doesn't know any better. So it is with black holes. Their existence is nowadays taken for granted by young scientists, but it's important to realise than none have ever conclusively been found.


text:
Frank Vandenbroucke
Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
Acqua & Sapone
Miscellaneous In the middle of July, the Unibet.com team and Vandenbroucke reached an amicable arrangement to cancel his contract. (source: cyclingnews.com)
In the middle of September, he signed a contract with the Acqua & Sapone team for the rest of the season. (source: cyclingnews.com)
MrBookmaker.com - Sports Tech
Miscellaneous He will ride for the Unibet.com (ex-MrBookmaker.com) team again next season. (source: cyclingnews.com)
He appealed the ruling from December 2004, however, the court of appeal fined him €250,000 instead of reversing the decision of 200 hours of community service. This ruling was appealed to the Belgian Hof van Cassatie which annulled the fine. (source: cyclingnews.com)
Mr. Bookmaker.com - Palmans
No. 2 Stage 2 in Setmana Catalana (2.1) - 160.8 km - 23 March
No. 6 Paris - Nice (2.HC) - 1125 km - 7-14 March
Tour of Qatar (2.3) - 825 km - 2-6 February
No. 7 Fleche Wallonne (1.HC) - 200 km - 21 April
No. 8 Setmana Catalana (2.1) - 835 km - 22-26 March
Miscellaneous In the beginning of December, he was sentenced by a regional Belgium court to serve 200 hours of community service due to the forbidden drugs found in his home in 2002. (source: cyclingnews.com)
No. 2 Ronde van Vlaanderen (WC) - 255 Km - 6 April
No. 5 Het Volk (1.1) - 200 km - 1 March
No. 8 Tour of Belgium (2.3) - 795 km - 21-25 May
No. 11 Liege - Bastogne - Liege (WC) - 258.5 km - 27 April
No. 12 The World Cup
Miscellaneous He will ride for the Fassa Bortolo team next year. (source: cyclingnews.com)
Domo - Farm Frites
No. 3 Stage 8 in Tour of Poland (2.2) - 19 km (ITT) - 15 September
No. 4 Tour of Poland (2.2) - 1275 km - 9-15 September
Miscellaneous In the end of February, Belgian police found forbidden drugs in his home. He was arrested and taken in for questioning.
He was immediately fired from the Domo-Farm Frites team.
Rumours say that he told the judge that some of the drugs were for his dog.
In the end of March he the Ligue Vélocipédique Belge suspended him for six months due to the drugs found in his home.
In the end of June the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled the suspension "illegal". He is now free to race again.
In the middle of August a disciplinary commission of the Flemish Government banned him from riding in races in Flanders for six months.
He will ride for the new Quick Step team the next 2 seasons.
Lampre - Daikin
Miscellaneous In the end of July Lampre suspended him. The reason was that he didn't show up to training camps and didn't respond to fax, telephone calls or anything else.
In the end of August he held a press conference where he told that it's very unlikely that he will ride again this season.
He will ride for Acqua & Sapone next year
No. 2 The Belgian Championship
No. 7 Ruta del Sol (2.3)
LIEGE - BASTOGNE - LIEGE (WC)
HET VOLK (1.1)
GRAND PRIX D'OUVERTURE LA MARSEILLAISE (1.4)
STAGE 7 IN PARIS - NICE (2.HC)
STAGE 4 IN TROIS JOURS DE LA PANNE (ITT) (2.2)
STAGE 4 IN RUTA DEL SOL (2.3)
Trois Jours de la Panne (2.2)
The Mountain Competition in Vuelta a España
No. 3 The World Cup
Grand Prix E-3 Harelbeke (1.1)
Stage 1 in Paris - Nice (ITT) (2.HC)
No. 4 Paris - Nice (2.HC)
No. 5 A Travers la Belgique (1.2)
No. 7 The World Championship
Paris - Roubaix (WC)
No. 9 Grand Prix Ouest France (1.HC)
No. 12 Vuelta a España
Miscellaneous No. 9 on the UCI Ranking, 31 January
No. 7 on the UCI Ranking, 19 April
PARIS - NICE (2.HC)
GENT - WEVELGEM (1.1)
VOLTA A GALEGA (2.2)
VILLAFRANCA DE ORDIZIA (1.2)
TOUR DE LA REGION WALLONNE (2.4)
THE POINTS COMPETITION IN TOUR DE LA REGION WALLONNE (2.4)
STAGE 4 IN VOLTA A GALEGA (2.2)
STAGE 3 IN TOUR DE LA REGION WALLONNE (ITT) (2.4)
No. 2 Grand Prix Suisse (WC)
Grand Prix Eddy Merckx (1.1) - with Nico Mattan
Fleche Wallone (1.1)
Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne (1.2)
No. 3 Stage 2 in Paris - Nice (2.HC)
No. 6 Liege - Bastogne - Liege (WC)
TOUR DE LUXEMBOURG (2.2)
RUND UM KÖLN (1.3)
TROFEO MATTEOTTI (1.3)
THE YOUNG RIDER COMPETITION IN QUATRE JOURS DE DUNKERQUE (2.1)
STAGE 3B IN TOUR DE LUXEMBOURG (ITT) (2.2)
STAGE 2 IN OSTERREICH RUNDFAHRT (2.5)
No. 2 Quatre Jours de Dunkerque (2.1)
Osterreich Rundfahrt (2.5)
Stage 3 in Tour de France
Stage 16 in Tour de France
No. 3 Stage 4 in Quatre Jours de Dunkerque (ITT) (2.1)
No. 4 Amsterdam Rai Derny Race (1.3)
GRAND PRIX DE L'ESCAUT (1.1)
GRAND PRIX OUEST FRANCE (1.1)
TOUR MEDITERRANEEN (2.4)
BINCHE - TOURNAI - BINCHE (1.4)
THE POINTS COMPETITION IN CRITERIUM INTERNATIONAL (2.2)
THE MOUNTAIN COMPETITION IN OSTERREICH RUNDFAHRT (2.5)
THE POINTS COMPETITION IN OSTERREICH RUNDFAHRT (2.5)
STAGE 6 IN TOUR MEDITERRANEEN (2.4)
THE PROLOGUE IN TOUR DES REGIONS WALLONNES (2.5)
STAGE 2 IN TOUR DES REGIONS WALLONNES (ITT) (2.5)
STAGE 5 IN TOUR DES REGIONS WALLONNES (2.5)
THE PROLOGUE IN OSTERREICH RUNDFAHRT (2.5)
No. 2 Grand Prix de Fourmies (1.1)
Mandel - Leie - Schelde (1.3)
Stage 1 in Criterium International (2.2)
No. 4 Paris - Nice (2.1)
Criterium International (2.2)
Coppa Agostoni (1.2)
No. 7 Grand Prix Schweiz (WC)
No. 11 Leeds International Classic (WC)
GRAND PRIX CHOLET-PAYS DE LOIRE (1.3)
STAGE 1 IN TOUR DE LUXEMBOURG (2.2)
No. 3 Villafranca de Ordizia (1.3)
Stage 5 in Hofbrau Cup (2.4)
No. 7 Criterium International (2.2)
No. 8 San Sebastian - San Sebastian (WC)
STAGE 7 IN TOUR MEDITERRANEEN 1994 (2.4)
No. 2 Villafranca de Ordizia 1994 (1.3)
Overijse 1994 (1.3)
No. 3 Berner Rundfahrt 1994 (1.3)
Clasica Sabinanigo 1994 (1.4)
Stage 2 in Tour du Limousin 1994 (2.3)
No. 4 Cholet 1994 (1.3)
Trofeo Laiguelglia 1994 (1.3)
No. 9 Quatre Jours de Dunkerque 1994 (2.1)
Miscellaneous First year as professional
Belgium riders 2007
All Belgium riders


text:
November 21, 2019 paintingintextDIY, presona Leave a comment
Olivia Furey
Olivia Furey is a multi-disciplinary artist from my home county of Sligo. Her genuine love for art is evident from the moment you meet her; she lives for art, and that energy is infectious; it can be seen most evidently in her captivating performances. For the first time in Painting in Text's history, we have to include a mild spoiler warning. We will be discussing Olivia's performances if you haven't seen her work I do recommend checking her out it will be well worth your time or failing that check out Olivia's YouTube channel which we to link at the bottom of the interview.
Your performance work is really unique, mind if we start with talking about that?
Thanks, Barry. I'm interested in reconstructing the typical set up for a gig. Often in a typical performance, the dynamic of the relationship with the audience is entirely passive – I wanted to confront and challenge the relationship. Speaking as an amateur, the hard part is being the person who gets up on stage and does the performance. In contrast, the audience can chill at the back and enjoy the performance. I'm trying to put the hard work on the audience! I try to interact with the audience as fearlessly as I can.
You described yourself as an amateur, that's interesting.
Punk was an influence. I got into punk I guess in my late teens, early twenties, and it was a big deal for me discovering that. I felt like my skills as a musician didn't measure up, but when I learned about punk rock and DIY ideology, it was inspirational for me. You didn't need classical music training if you had something to say – you can just do it. Even with my painting, it wasn't that I was the most skilled painter, but I would lash on paint and I kind of found my own way to approach it.
That thought process is also seen in the instruments you make for your performance.
I guess I'm quite interested in the idea of deconstructing the instrument, and it reflects on my work in a way that also plays into this lo-fi punk aesthetic. I really don't like to have things overly polished, and I'm approaching these instruments as an amateur – I like to take an instrument that I don't know how to play, and then find my own way of doing it. Which might play into my interest in the history of music. I know that there is a long list of musicians and artists who have approached their work this way, but I don't see it as re-inventing the wheel, I am finding my own unique voice to the area of research. There's definitely an element of investigation to it.
instruments overview, (2019), dimensions variable
There's a sculptural element in the form of pouring paint in different colours on the instruments, which was my way to bring my desire to paint into the work, but then I got to a point where I actually started to be more interested in the function of the work. My background is in painting and zines, so this was the first time it began to not be about how it looked at all! I got interested in things that don't look right, but have a function or sound interesting. It was quite radical for me in my practice.
Come On, You Know How To Play This, (2018), instrument, dimensions variable
Originally my performances had no music involved, it was just the vocal aspect, and I concentrated on playing around with the audience. To tell the truth, those performances were really exciting for me to begin with, but didn't feel right – I felt like I didn't know if I could sustain the work, and I was struggling because my interest in music wasn't involved. But I knew that through those performances, I was taking risks that were going to lead me to do something that I would be really proud of in the future!
The instruments were initially a way for me to step away from the performance. I was struggling with my practice because I wanted both my interest in music and painting to be in my work. I needed to get away from the vocal performances for a while. And I enjoyed making music and working with sound, but still, I knew deep down that there wasn't anything I was doing musically or visually that compared with the intensity of those vocal performances. During a group critique during my MFA, a tutor suggested to me: what if I played music at a gig, then changed during the set and started doing one of those vocal performances! And then about halfway through the second year of my MFA, it all clicked and came together, and I was able to bring the vocal performance and the music aspect together.
I think I'm at a point now where I can be brave enough to have no music in the act on some occasions. For the act to be a spoken word performance, rather than a gig, that's a step I'm happy to take now. So that is something I feel I will be exploring more going forward, while still maintaining the sound art aspect of my work.
Music is obviously hugely important to you.
Music is my favourite thing. I've had an interest in music from a very early age, and I guess because I grew up in a rural area where there wasn't a lot to do, I would read loads and collect CDs.
Wow Zone – Pavement Parody, (2015), oil on board, 20.32 x 20.32cm
Some of my early paintings were appropriations of album covers – when I collected albums, one thing I would really enjoy were the covers. I would spend a lot of time looking at these covers admiring them. It was something I wanted to bring into my work, as well as the idea of making parodies of these things, and thought it could be a fun way to present my message when I wasn't making music.
Breaking Media, (2017), solo exhibition at Mother Macs, Limerick, curated by the Project Motive
Gina Birch Quote painting, (2015), oil on board, 29.7 x 42.0cm
When I was making the zines and paintings, a lot of the statements I was making were about feminism and DIY punk ideologies. The statements I was making in these works were very straightforward and literal. After making the zines for a couple of years I started thinking about the artists I really admire, how a lot of them tend to do more ambiguous works, which was something I wanted to experiment with doing myself, so that was how I started doing the vocals performances the first year of my MFA. I definitely wanted to keep feminism in the work. Gina Birch is an influence on my work, The Raincoats are one of my favourite bands – there was a lot of sexism in the industry when they were performing. Gina would say things that were outspoken and confrontational, in way that's similar to my character in my performances.
Let's talk about that character.
Yeah, that's it: the punk rock outsider, the persona I took on this year, and I've been having a lot of fun with it. Initially, when I started exploring taking on personas in performance, I guess it was a feminist character that I would perform as. I was playing around with different stereotypes that are forced on women.
Olivia performing at Edinburgh College of Art, 2019 (photo by Lizzie Dunn)
Part of me is fascinated in stage presences; I'm interested in the performative element of it. I want to present my music and my performance as a situationist. I want to put so much of myself into it that I'm sweating by the end of the performance! The movement of the performance really shapes this character. There is kind of a structure to it – first there's a part where I am in control of everything I am doing, then it starts to come apart, then there's is a breakthrough where I pull the rug out from under myself and take control of everything in the room on stage and off stage, which involves a lot of intense confrontation and challenges towards the audience; and then I get to a point where the character begins to doubt themselves and tries to win the audience over again, but fails. I don't want it to be just one thing – I don't want it just to be music or just a performance. It's kind of something in between and I quite like being somewhere between the lines.
Olivia Furey + Band (Owen Kilfeather & Angus Morrissey) performing at The Model, 2019
Why did you decide to go under your own name in your performances? Considering how eccentric your character is.
I guess the reason why I go under my own name is because people come expecting to see me playing the music. Still, all of a sudden it shifts and I'm doing something else. The audience is kind of like, oh what's happening? I felt like if I used a stage name, I wouldn't have that.
I did consider taking on Hyper Mundane as a name, and I guess the thing that stopped me was when I tried to change my Facebook page name to Hyper Mundane, but Facebook wouldn't let me… so we can blame Facebook for that!
How do you view the audience in your work?
I guess I'm quite interested in the stage set up and the relationship to the audience. Maybe you could see that in my earlier paintings, when I was making abstract paintings of photos from concerts that focused on the stage and the audience? I think my most recent works which explore ways to reconstruct the set up for a gig feeds back into my interest in stage and venue atmosphere.
I really rely on the audience for the performances to excel – I've done performances before in front of six people and I've done them in front of forty people, and the audience dynamic is always significant. I did the performance at one open mic in Edinburgh where people were completely freaked out and didn't get that it was a performance, and as soon as I finished, they just fled the building! I like to keep some of the performance quite humorous to the end, so to give people a sort of relief, but I like to hold out for as long as possible.
Evil is another project you have been working on – could you talk a bit about that?
Evil was formed during the summer of my MFA, when I came back to Limerick and I wanted to keep performing over the summer, but there weren't any specific places or nights for performance art, so I decided I would set up my own night. I got in touch with some other performance artists based in Limerick that I knew and asked them if they would be interested in being involved. We started with a group chat on Facebook, and as the weeks went on, more and more people got added to the group, and there was so much enthusiasm. From that we decided to do it as a collective – since there wasn't really a platform for performance artists in Limerick as such, we started our own. We had our first event at a venue called Pharmacia, the folks who work there were very accommodating and supportive of what we were doing, and from there, we got a really positive response to it. When I returned to Scotland to finish my MFA, the other members really stepped up regarding organising – it's been a real group effort. We still have the majority of our events at Pharmacia. It's nice to create a space for something that wouldn't fit within the confines of a gig and wouldn't work within a gallery context; an alternative night.
Oliva Furey performing at Pharmacia 2019 (photo by Eilis Walsh)
You can find out more about Olivia Furey's work through her website & YouTube channel, links below
https://oliviafurey.weebly.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIYxOvyPeKAWixZOLARkBEQ
thank you Adrian Mc Hugh for your work editing
→ The Naked Camera: Fionna Murray
← Filling In The Gaps: Blaise Drummond


I grew up in Florida. My parents lost their retirement home to Hurricane Opal. I evacuated from my home for the first time ever last year during a scary hurricane season. Planning (not evacuating) but PLANNING needs to start now for horses. How safe is Tryon, NC if Hurricane Florence heads that way? We used to have hurricane parties, but with climate change, things are not even the least bit funny. If travel is difficult getting in and out of WEG, I wonder what the plan is? I hope they are making plans now, just in case.....because it can get too late, then you are stuck and must shelter in place.
Tryon is located in the foothills of North Carolina. They may be impacted by heavy rains and flooding. Evacuations? No. Tryon is nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains.
Does anyone know how affected the Charlotte airport will be? Supposed to fly in to Charlotte Thursday morning.
The latest says landfall on Thursday noon time or early afternoon, so if that holds up you might have a problem.
Should current forecasts hold, you should be fine arriving Thursday morning in Charlotte. However, things can change. Note: I am not a meteorologist nor have I stayed at a Holiday Inn.
Thanks! Southwest already has a lot of cities possibly going to be affected with Charlotte included. I'm hoping to wake up tomorrow morning to find a weakened storm or a different storm path, for the sake of WEG.
Here's the link to the National Hurricane Center. Scroll down to the hurricane name, and then click on the Warning Cones/Static Images to see their latest. However, there are other models, and it's still hard to say exactly what will happen. To see a better predictor, I watch the Weather Channel for the morning show with Jim Cantore, and wait until he disappears from the show, and you know he's on the move. Then I look at the weather channel FB or the Where is Jim Cantore FB page to see where he's been sighted.
If you click on "Discussion" after you select the storm on the National Hurricane Center site you will get a much more detailed and accurate idea of what is coming than you will find on the Weather Channel. The WC gets their scientific info from NOAA and the NHS.
Hopefully the horses will share their accommodations with their grooms.
The barns are certainly better equipped than the groom's quarters!
Hurricane Florence is tracking toward the East Coast with inevitability rarely seen in storms several days away from landfall. While forecasters were careful to cite "high uncertainty" in recent days, their tone changed after watching the storm's eventual path barely shift from what they had considered to be a worst-case scenario.
Monday morning, as the storm gained strength, the National Hurricane Center was forecasting Florence to become a strong Category 4 storm before making landfall along the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic coast on Thursday.
With each passing flight into the eye of the storm and every new computer model forecast, it has become increasingly unlikely Florence will turn out to sea and spare the Eastern Seaboard from potentially devastating storm surge, flooding and wind. There's even some indication the hurricane will slow or stall out over the Mid-Atlantic later this week, which could lead to a disastrous amount of rain.
While Tyron is located at the base of the mountains, heavy rain can weaken tree roots systems causing trees to fall, there may well be tornados and damaging wind along with the heavy rain. Roads and access to areas can be flooded and washed out, electricity may go out and be out for more than 24 hours. In other words everyone needs to take many precautions and be prepared.
What a mess if it does come ashore in conjunction with WEG. I hope everyone will be safe.
Tryon is indeed quite west. However, Hurricane Hugo had a significant and direct impact on the western part of NC in 1989. It came into Charlotte as a Category 1. I sincerely hope that the hurricane is a non-event. But.... definitely be prepared. Hurricanes CAN and do impact the western part of the state.
Why yes, I know that since a flying tree limb damaged my car during Hugo as I was local to Charlotte at that time. I remember the power outages, winds, rains, etc. It was a real mess and we were nowhere near Charleston.
But you also have to account for changes in topography as the hurricane makes its way inland. Charlotte is located in the piedmont while Tryon is in the foothills.
This is the best description.
I understand and I am well aware of the state's topography. The important point is.... anywhere in the state could be impacted by this storm, coastal - piedmont - sandhills - foothills etc. depending on where and how the storm comes inland.
Bottom line - BE PREPARED.
The latest NY Times story has the landfall at or near the NC/SC border with destructive winds as much as 140 miles into the interior.
Sigh. My father lives less than a mile from the beach just north of Myrtle Beach, across the state line in Sunset Beach NC. So - right on that NC/SC border.
I am going for the 2nd week of WEG and I'm hoping that everyone in the coastal area uses long experience with this to prep for a big hit and that the inland impacts are, hopefully, limited. (Here's hoping, yes?) They left a few weeks ago for Raleigh due to health issues so are relying on neighbors to get their place prepped.
If I continue with my plans to go to the Eventing portion, I am taking my high end rain coat, rain pants, waterproof boots and my wellies. I am also re-treating them with waterproof spray tonight.


text:
LivingSocial Taps eBay Exec for CEO
Daily deals company LivingSocial has just poached an eBay exec to be their next CEO, following January's announcement that longtime head Tim O'Shaughnessy would be resigning.
Your new LivingSocial CEO is Gautam Thakar. Thakar was eBay advertising General Manager since January of 2013, and has served as the CEO of (eBay-owned) Shopping.com since 2011.
"We knew we wanted a new CEO with the ability to drive the business forward with energy, vision and deep e-commerce knowledge. The Board and I met with a number of exceptional candidates, and we all believe that Gautam is the perfect fit for the future of LivingSocial," said O'Shaughnessy.
"LivingSocial is well-positioned to play a growing role in demand generation for both local and national merchants," said Thakar. "This is a huge opportunity that will be realized by delighting consumers with personalized services and experiences at great prices. I am excited to join LivingSocial at this important chapter in its journey and help build on all the accomplishments that Tim and the team have achieved so far."
LivingSocial says that Thakar will officially take the role in mid-August. Apparently, Thakar's hire was a unanimous decision from the company's Board, of which he will join and replace O'Shaughnessy.
Image via Gautam Thakar, LinkedIn
Tags CEO daily deals Gautam Thakar livingsocial Tim O'Shaughnessy
Nancy Pelosi Challenged by Ranchers: Come to Border
Erin Andrews Talks "Dream Job" And Pam Oliver


A game with alternating visual novel segments (where the plot is advanced as you interact with the other characters and sometimes make dialog choices) and escape-the-room puzzle segments.
You're an ordinary college student who gets abducted and wakes up imprisoned with eight other abductees, and together you are forced to play "the nonary game" - you must work together to solve puzzles in order to progress through your prison to an ultimate promised escape. However, if you break any of the nonary game's rules, you will be killed, and the nonary game is structured such that its players can screw each other over and get them killed - leading some to try to defend themselves pre-emptively. Your goal is to escape with your life as well as solve the mystery of who abducted you and why - and which of your fellow abductees can be trusted.
The tone is pretty dark and intense, though there is also humor, hope, and likeable characters. The Zero Escape games are possibly the most intelligent, mature, risk-taking visual novels I've played, dealing with a lot of interesting philosophical and ethical themes. They also play with the standard visual novel format in a few ways, acknowledging the branching stories that require replay to get the "true" ending with an in-game justification.
This second installment is both better and worse than its predecessor. It does more with the format and adds bonuses like solid voice acting and some nice conveniences (such as dialog scrollback and no need to replay puzzles). It also has good twists that keep you guessing through very plausible red herrings as well as solid hints and foreshadowing. But the pacing is arguably worse (though it's hard to talk about pacing in games like these), the characters are less compelling on average, and the puzzles are less interesting and much more poorly integrated. It's definitely still worth a play if you like this kind of game.
I Stopped Playing When: I finished the game and saw all endings.
Four Stars: Great. Not only did I finish the game, I probably played through the whole thing again and/or completed any optional objectives. It's an easy recommendation for any genre fan.


text: Apis


"I have always loved glass and the effect of colour and light playing through glass.
For several years I taught glass painting with solvent based glass paints along with mixed crafts and soap making, etc, for adult education.
Four years ago, I started a course with Maria, first to explore stained glass work, but found my real love has been to work with fused glass as I love exploring different techniques to create original pieces.
Since then I have continued to practice fused glass work and build on my newly found skills, bought my own kiln and now sell my work at craft fairs and online."
You will learn traditional lead and copper foil techniques and glass painting to enable you to produce stained glass panels, lampshades, mirrors, etc. You will also learn kiln formed glass techniques such as fusing and slumping which will enable you to create decorative items such as bowls, dishes, panels and jewellery.
Tools and equipment are provided but learners will need to provide their own glass. The tutor will give advice on where and how to source materials. More advanced students can progress onto larger and more complex projects.
A fee for basic materials will be charged on enrolment, in addition you will need to pay for the materials you use during the course, this is determined by the project you choose but will be approximately £10. Your tutor will advise you when you start the course.


text:
Q: what is the function of /etc/apt/sources.list.d? I added LLVM Debian/Ubuntu nightly packages in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d directory as llvm.list. Then I ran apt-get update, but got the following error
GPG Error: The LLVM Compiler Infrastructure Project llvm-toolchain-trusty InRelease: no public key,can not qulify the signature: NO_PUBKEY 15CF4D18AF4F7421

I thought if I added the source as a file in the directory, it will be seen as a package source. What else do I need to do?

A: The function of the /etc/apt/sources.list.d directory is as follows:
Using the directory you can easily add new repositories without the need to edit the central /etc/apt/sources.list file. I.e. you can just put a file with a unique name and the same format as /etc/apt/sources.list into this folder and it is used by apt.
In order to remove this source again you can just remove that specific file without the need for handling side effects, parsing  or mangling with /etc/apt/sources.list. It's mainly for scripts or other packages to put their repositories there automatically - if you manually add repositories you could add them to /etc/apt/sources.list manually.
This answers your question, however, it won't solve your problem. APT is complaining about a missing GPG key which you have to manually import before you can use your newly added repository (GPG verifies all data cryptographically and needs the public keys of the owners for this).
This can be done calling sudo apt-key add public-key-file or wget -qO - http://example.com/archive.key | sudo apt-key add - where http://example.com/archive.keyis the URL for the public key (which you should verify before using).
In case of llvm, you could issue wget -O - http://llvm.org/apt/llvm-snapshot.gpg.key|sudo apt-key add - (according to http://llvm.org/apt/)
Fore more details see

*

*How to add a GPG key to the apt sources keyring?


text:
ALF (Global Awareness of Life Form)
New revolutionary vision of human existence
.Topics
Cultural void
At the presentation of this new scientific proposal the inconceivable happened: instead of collaborating with the author to fill a gap in academic level, a systematic censorship was imposed upon him. Behavior worthy of a note statement of Einstein: «Two things in the world are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. But on universe I have doubts»
Anyone can get an idea of how this new conception of life is totally unknown. This happens only because the media and cultural institutions in general, occultation of all kinds. An attitude that also affects the university, refusing to agree to analyze indigestible truth to those who, while maintaining the absurd beliefs and privileges and not knowing the cause of their harm, forces humanity to perpetual ignorance about its existential status.
Behavior that includes the university entourage, which is agreement in refusing to consider
indigestible truth
to those who, in order to maintain privileges and absurd convictions and not knowing to be also cause damage to themselves, forcing mankind into perpetual ignorance on their existential status.
A culture, victim of his own presumption, is now induced to diffuse blatant falsehoods in order to prevent to the community to discover the limits of a social system based on unprecedented levels of hypocrisy.
This reportage constitutes an
"indictment"
against the current culture, which betrays its mandate by preventing the community to take cognizance of the true reality in which we are all forced to live. The argument involves each of us, since it regards the spiritual sphere of each individual, however, it is ignored by those who would have the obligation, the duty and even the interest, to promote in every way his knowledge and dissemination.
The project started officially with the work "New Frontiers of Truth" published in Italy by the author in philosophical scientific version in 1993. Submitted to academic and scientific entourage in 1994, was ignored because it judged "not part of the academic context". Published on the Web in 2000 was censored by network and internationally accredited media.
In 2006 he was asked the most reliable journals of science and philosophy, to review a version of the opera purely
"scientific".
These, or have not responded or refused to consider the text, saying that:
these arguments do not fall within their specific competence.
With this behaviour, the leaders of information intend to put the nose ring on culture.
The media lie to the community when they lead people to believe that: there is nothing to add about the existential state of man. For this culture all is written and would serve nothing to investigate farther. In practice they prevent critical to system put in place by their own presumption.
In conclusion they assert that:
the first scientific thesis ever formulated on human life, involving the interests of every person on the planet, not one of their specific life, involving the interests of every person on the planet, is not part of their specific competences.
The Scientific Journals consulted are guilty when not dealing with certain arguments because destabilizing for the system. In this way they highlight the lack of that
"intellectual honesty",
that is needed to assess any serious scientific analysis. In fact these organizations publish what satisfies the interests of certain powers, avoiding carefully as these are not acceptable or disturbing. A kind of information that tends to avoid criticism to a culture that seems increasingly
polluted and corrupted by false beliefs and squalid interests of lobbying.
One sick system of information: principal culprit of the evil deeds perpetrated by men on Earth because from it draw the directive minds of the community.
The enslavement to powers is a plague that has always to prevent to attain the higher level of knowledge necessary to change the current way of understanding human relationships.
Voltaire does not know peace, for the right to freedom of information too often denied.


Planning and Budgeting is the anchor of any good strategic vision. But what makes a plan good? Every good plan starts with collaboration. Individuals have a lot to contribute to a plan, and the more input you can get from those individuals that own the data, the more balanced and believable your plan will be. But it is not just input of data; it is sharing the data and having them understand how their piece fits into the whole plan.
Another aspect of a good plan is that it consolidates data quickly and is driver-based so that changes to drivers do not require everyone to re-enter data and have it consolidated again. This allows you to plan continuously and step away from the annual budgeting cycle into a rolling forecast cycle that is easier to manage and takes less time from those individuals who are involved in creating the plans.
The third main aspect of a good plan is that it is flexible. That means that it is designed to represent the business. Often, companies have several types of businesses they are engaged in, or they have different things they want measured (Sales, utilization, burden rates, profitability, cash flow, etc.). You should be able to model each of these things in a way that makes it easy to collect and summarize information.
This is where Kinetek comes in. Kinetek has extensive experience in creating custom planning and budgeting systems for companies in diverse industries. We work with the leader in planning and budgeting software – Cognos – to deliver web-based, highly collaborative, driver-based plans that consolidate easily and are designed to mirror your business. Our planning models are integrated with your accounting system to allow for comparison of plan to actual as well as to decrease the level of maintenance of the model.
Kinetek has been a platinum partner with Cognos, and our relationship with IBM - their successor - is impeccable. Our planning BI consultants are certified by IBM, and our experience working with IBM Cognos Planning for over a decade means that we have a solid understanding of financial systems and best practices. We work with your management team to make certain that we understand your business and what needs to be measured. We work with your employees to build the planning models so they gain a solid level of expertise with the product. And, finally, we work with the end users to build consensus for the planning model and make it more user-friendly.


text:
require 'spec_helper'
require 'twitter_oauth'
require './app/service_objects/twitter_user_enroller'

describe TwitterUserEnroller, '#request_token' do
  let(:request_token) { double('request_token') }
  let(:twitter_conf) { { key: 'key', secret: 'secret' } }

  it 'returns a new twitter request token' do
    TwitterOAuth::Client.any_instance.stub(request_token: request_token)
    enroller = TwitterUserEnroller.new(twitter_conf)

    result = enroller.request_token

    expect(result).to eq(request_token)
  end
end

describe TwitterUserEnroller, '#authorize_user' do
  let(:twitter_conf) { { key: 'key', secret: 'secret' } }
  let(:request_token) { double(token: 'request_token', secret: 'request_token_secret') }
  let(:access_token) { double(token: 'access_token', secret: 'access_token_secret') }
  let(:twitter_user_info) { { 'screen_name' => 'foo', 'name' => 'bar' } }
  let(:oauth_verifier) { '123' }

  context 'based on a request token and an oauth verifier' do
    it 'asks Twitter for an authorization token' do
      TwitterOAuth::Client.any_instance.stub(authorize: access_token)
      TwitterOAuth::Client.any_instance.stub(info: twitter_user_info)
      enroller = TwitterUserEnroller.new(twitter_conf)

      expect_any_instance_of(TwitterOAuth::Client).to receive(:authorize)
        .with(request_token.token,
              request_token.secret,
              oauth_verifier: oauth_verifier)

      result = enroller.authorize_user(request_token, oauth_verifier)
    end
  end

  context 'based on an authorization token asked to Twitter' do
    it 'creates a user in the database' do
      TwitterOAuth::Client.any_instance.stub(authorize: access_token)
      TwitterOAuth::Client.any_instance.stub(info: twitter_user_info)
      enroller = TwitterUserEnroller.new(twitter_conf)

      result = enroller.authorize_user(request_token, oauth_verifier)

      expect(result['screen_name']).to eq(twitter_user_info['screen_name'])
      expect(result['name']).to eq(twitter_user_info['name'])
      expect(result['token']).to eq(access_token.token)
      expect(result['secret']).to eq(access_token.secret)
    end
  end
end


Unit Farm LED Grow Lights for indoor growing is best for minimal power consumption and high yield. This grow light manufacturer produce high-quality designs and top brand LEDs. UFO Lite, Grow Bar, Cree and Osram, & Epistar LEDs are some of the popular grow lights. SHOP online or visit in-store.


Hello, and welcome to our Fluid Structures Interaction Lab.
In that session, we are going to focus on added mass and added damping.
the dynamics of a solid moving in a fluid domain.
mass and then we will compare its dynamics in air and in water.
free to move in air or in vacuum.
Let's now move to our first experiment.
Here is a set up.
suspended to a linear spring of stiffness close to 50 newton per meter.
an unsteady force sensor is mounted between the hanging arm and the spring.
which is proportional to the mass vertical displacement.
with size dimension close to 3.5 times the diameter of the oscillating mass.
of the added mass in this confined situation.
Let's now look at the behavior of the system in air and in water.
In both cases, we perform a free decay test.
First, the frequency of oscillation is smaller in water.
Second, the system is more damped in water than in air.
black color, and in water, the blue one.
Hertz in air and 2.75 Hertz in water.
the added mass is 1.35 times the mass of an equivalent volume of displaced water.
those results also show that the damping coefficient is ten times higher in water.
Let's now to move to our second experiment.
width 12 millimeter and thickness, 0.1 millimeter.
For mass, close to 1.9 gram per meter.
free to oscillate in air or in vacuum, after an initial perturbation.
the vacuum will be set using a vacuum bell jar, and pump system.
To the left, the ribbon is free to oscillate in here at atmospheric pressure.
the ribbon oscillates in the relative vacuum of 4% of the atmospheric pressure.
impact on the frequency of oscillations, seems to be negligible.
Here is a temporal displacement of the ribbon at 75% of it's length.
In vacuum black color, and in air the blue one.
it's 5% lower at the atmospheric pressure.
which in this situation is rather small, compared with the mass of the ribbon.
section of the ribbon is close to 6% of the mass per unit length of the ribbon.
added damping effect are important for solid moving in water.
unless you work with a solid of very low density.
This experimental session is now over.


Hey there! We're Katie & Alec Dixon, wedding photographers in Birmingham, Alabama. We started our journey together back in 2011 when we met and fell in love on UAB's campus. Our days were spent eating way too much ice-cream and spending every moment we could together. Whether it was Bible studies or in the dorms we were inseparable.
In 2012 we worked on our first wedding together and had no clue at the time what God had in store for our lives! During those next few years we worked hard to learn the craft we love & we began dreaming up a photography business where we could work together. After we got married in 2014 we officially launched Katie & Alec Photography and started living that dream!!
We love working on documenting joy-filled weddings for fun, laid-back couples who believe in marriage. Nothing else bring us quite as much joy! We still can't believe that we get to do what we love most with the person we love most!
bubbly extrovert. laughs a lot. lover of pink, kate spade and diet coke.
dad jokes. Always up for sweets, bowling &alabama football.
magician. teller of dad jokes. obsessed with sweets and alabama football.
Hey y'all!! We're Katie & Alec Dixon, husband-and-wife wedding photographers in Birmingham, Alabama. We started our journey together back in 2011 when we met and fell in love on UAB's campus. Our days were spent eating way too much ice-cream and spending every moment we could together. Whether it was Bible studies or in between classes we were inseperable. Alec was a budding photographer and Katie his love-struck sidekick.
We love working on documenting joy-filled weddings for fun, laid-back couples who believe in marriage. Nothing else bring us quite as much joy! Even now we still can't believe that we get to do what we love most with the person we love most!
Real Couples, Real Weddings, Real Joy.
See our latest work, get expert wedding tips & so much more!!
View our latest work, wedding tips & so much more!!


text:
Katharine Viner
Home Literature Journalism
British journalist and editor
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katharine-Viner
By Sherman Hollar | Last Updated: Jan 1, 2022 | View Edit History
Viner, Katharine
1971 (age 51) Yorkshire England
Katharine Viner, (born 1971, Yorkshire, England), British journalist and editor who became the first woman to serve as editor in chief (2015– ) of The Guardian.
Interested in journalism from her teens, Viner published her first article in The Guardian—one of the United Kingdom's most-influential daily newspapers—in 1987 while still attending Ripon Grammar School in North Yorkshire. After she graduated from Ripon in 1989, she studied English at Pembroke College, Oxford, and then worked briefly for the U.K. edition of Cosmopolitan magazine before joining The Sunday Times newspaper as a features writer in 1994. Three years later she was hired by The Guardian, where she initially specialized in lifestyle coverage. For her work on the paper's Saturday magazine, Guardian Weekend, she was named (2002) Newspaper Magazine Editor of the Year by the British Society of Magazine Editors. During that period she was also on the board of the Royal Court Theatre in London and collaborated with British actor Alan Rickman to compile the one-woman play My Name Is Rachel Corrie (2005) from the writings of an American pro-Palestinian activist who died in 2003 while protesting in the Gaza Strip.
Britannica Explores
100 Women Trailblazers
Meet extraordinary women who dared to bring gender equality and other issues to the forefront. From overcoming oppression, to breaking rules, to reimagining the world or waging a rebellion, these women of history have a story to tell.
After serving (2008–12) as deputy editor of The Guardian, Viner oversaw the highly successful 2013 launch of Guardian Australia, the newspaper's online Australian edition. Under her leadership Guardian Australia saw its number of unique monthly visitors grow to more than five million in less than a year, and the site was widely commended for its coverage of climate change and immigration issues. In mid-2014 Viner became editor in chief of Guardian US, the organization's New York City-based digital edition.
In June 2015 Viner formally replaced Alan Rusbridger as editor in chief of The Guardian. In addition to being the first woman to hold the post, she was only the 12th editor in chief in the newspaper's nearly 200-year history. She was also simultaneously named a director of the Guardian Media Group, of which the Sunday newspaper The Observer was also a part. Viner's experience as a leader in digital media was considered a key factor in her landing the top editorial post at The Guardian, which had experienced increasing growth from its online publications; its main Web site, theguardian.com, was among the most popular English-language newspaper sites in the world.
Sherman Hollar


NORWICH City are pleased to confirm the signing of Cameron Jerome from Stoke City for an undisclosed fee.
The forward, who made 29 appearances in the Premier League last season, moves to Carrow Road on a three-year deal.
"It's a massive club and from my point of view, where I am in my career, I just need to be playing regularly and Norwich have made me feel very welcome," said Jerome.
Neil Adams added: "Cameron brings power and pace to our attacking options.
"He's someone I've been looking at for a long while and I'm delighted he became available to us. He gives us that brute strength as well as power, but he's got much more than that too.
Jerome established himself with successful spells at Cardiff City and Birmingham City, earning him a move to Stoke on a four-year contract in August 2011.
He scored on his debut for the Potters in a 1-1 draw with Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League that September, and went on to net 12 goals in 67 appearances in all competitions while with the club.
The 28-year-old signed for Crystal Palace on a season-long loan in September last year and featured heavily as they recorded a high league finish of 11th place in the top flight.


text:
Posts tagged "mark isham"
There are so many action movie classics that people call the best, but for me, Point Break is a special, unique film that is, without a doubt, my favorite action movie of all time. What compels me about this movie that beyond all others is the intense relationship between the protagonist and antagonist. It creates this amazingly unique dynamic that forges the entire electric, kamikaze adrenalin rush of this film. So, let's delve into Kathryn Bigelow's action classic.
Rookie FBI Agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) goes undercover to infiltrate a cache of Southern California surfers suspected of robbing banks. Utah, a former football player, is assigned to Los Angeles. There, four bank robbers, who wear rubber masks and call themselves "The Ex-Presidents," have executed a series of successful robberies which embarrassingly have the FBI stumped. Utah, and his partner Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) suspect that the robbers are surfers and hatch a plan for catching them, but the deeper Utah gets connected to the charismatic adrenalin driven Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) and the beautiful Tyler Endicott (Lori Petty) the harder it is for him to jump off this tidal wave of danger and excitement.
Point Break absolutely lives up to its premise as being 100% pure adrenalin. The surfing aspect is just the entryway into this, but it remains at the core of the whole film. That elevated experience shared by Bodhi and Johnny, specifically, is what fuses those two characters together, and is treated with great respect by the filmmakers. The skydiving sequences escalate that to another level with breathtaking cinematography that envelopes you in the experience, and make for a radically insane sequence where Johnny jumps out of the plane, without a parachute, to capture the escaping Bodhi. The earlier chase sequence is visceral and intense that really utilizes a rougher style of camera exceptionally well. And of course, the bank robberies are slam banged into a high gear that shows just how proficient and threatening the Ex-Presidents are. It is no wonder why the FBI has not been able to catch them after twenty-seven banks over three years. Wrap all of this up, and you've got a film that goes for the physical thrill of the moment over special effects spectacle. It's really all about the character dynamics and these scenarios of extreme rushes that provide the high octane exhilaration of Point Break.
Beyond just the action, the core of this film's compelling energy are the excellent arcs for both Johnny and Bodhi. You see Special Agent Utah at the start being this fresh from the academy FBI rookie all straight laced and green, but you can see the eagerness underneath that later fuels that adrenalin junkie urge. Johnny and Bodhi become genuinely intertwined in a naturally evolving way that inches Utah further towards that kamikaze impulse. Bodhi's charisma and aura sucks Johnny right in, but it's never manipulative. Everything Bodhi conveys is honest straight to his core, and every word of it energizes Johnny. Most action films have a clear delineation between the protagonist and the antagonist, but here, things are not so clean cut. Once Johnny is caught up in Bodhi's tsunami of pure adrenalin, there's no way out, and he has to ride it out all the way to its heart pounding, violent end. Bodhi will push everything to its absolute breaking point while risking everything and everyone in the process, and there is a price to pay for it.
Quite frankly, this would have to be the movie that made me a serious Keanu Reeves fan. A lot of people give him crap, but I give him a lot of credit. There's a great deal of subtle development of Johnny Utah between Reeves' performance and Bigelow's direction. This all occurs as he further embraces the philosophy of Bodhi and his love for Tyler. Keanu Reeves and Lori Petty have very pure, heartwarming chemistry. Tyler is vibrant and full of brightness that adds glowing life to Johnny. Meanwhile, as the connection between Johnny and Bodhi intensifies, so does the performance of Reeves. Johnny becomes more confident, more determined, and less bound by rules as he is propelled out of control through Bodhi's deadly thrill ride. I feel Reeves becomes more compelling as the third act shifts into high gear, and Johnny has to has to jump right off the deep end after Bodhi.
Kathryn Bigelow's direction really envelopes you into Johnny's mindset whether he's mesmerized, haunted, elated, or burning with conviction. Through all of this Reeves is genuine and sincere in his emotions. You are kept very closely in tuned with Johnny's mindset through successes, failures, and conflicts. Point Break is a film that drives everything right to the edge. Every danger, every extreme, every adrenalin rush is pushed to its insane limits at whatever cost imaginable. Bodhi embraces this without hesitation or a moral compass. He's essentially a barreling freight train unwilling to put on the brakes regardless of what it will cost him.
Patrick Swayze is wickedly good as Bodhi. He envelopes the character entirely in philosophy, conviction, physicality, and spirituality. I love how Bodhi has this ethereal link to the sea, and gains a serenity from surfing while being an extreme adrenalin junkie. Yet, it's not merely about the thrill with the bank robberies. He has a greater purpose by showing the shackled masses living their mundane, slave to the grind lives that the human spirit is thriving within his crew. Swayze is so electrifying with his natural charisma and intense commitment to the character. When I watch this film, I don't perceive Patrick Swayze playing a role. I see Bodhi through and through. Swayze is stunningly excellent here, and I'm still a little sad that he is no longer with us. He was an amazingly talented actor, and this should stand as one of his best, most compelling performances.
Rounding out the main cast is Gary Busey in a great, entertaining role as Angelo Pappas. He can be hilariously funny and quirky, but solidly dramatic in the right moments. It's a really well rounded character portrayed by an actor with the smart talent to balance those elements out perfectly. Plus, there's John C. McGinley as FBI Director Ben Harp. Surely, he might seem like the stereotypical loud mouthed boss slinging insults around to his subordinates, but McGinley's such a strongly talented actor that it never comes off as shallow or tired. Add in a touch of smug arrogance, and the character of Harp works dead-on-the-mark in McGinley's hands.
The musical score by Mark Isham is really fantastic. For one, I love how he captures the enveloping spiritual sense of the sea with smooth, flowing compositions. It's very beautiful work that reflects the philosophies of Bodhi long before he enters the film officially. There is another gorgeous cue that reflects the mystique of Bodhi that's only a few chords, but it's repeated a few times to very magical effect. The action cues are good, yet subtle. Isham never bombards you with pounding percussion.
The soundtrack is energized with songs that capture that Southern California feel from bands such as L.A. Guns, Concrete Blonde, Jimi Hendrix, Public Image Ltd., and capped off with my beloved "Nobody Rides For Free" by Ratt. That song perfectly concludes the film, and reflects the constant energy and excitement that runs through it.
The film really escalates to another level when Johnny realizes who the Ex-Presidents actually are, and that super charges every scene from there on out. The emotions hang on the razor's edge. For Bodhi, it ups the stakes making the adrenalin rush and peril even more appetizing for him. For Johnny, it creates conflict as he has forged a very close bond and kinship with Bodhi, but is soon forced to do whatever is necessary as Tyler is put into imminent peril. Unlike most action movies such as Die Hard where it's very straight forward that this is the bad guy and he's going to die without question, Point Break makes it all far less certain because all of these emotions, some are unexplainable, cloud and complicate the issue. What all of this builds to is possibly my favorite movie ending of all time that entirely departs from all action film expectations.
The relationship between Johnny Utah and Bodhi reaches its apex on a storm soaked beach. Their connection remains electrifying as these two clash, but it's not the fist fight that makes this as great as it is. Johnny finally has Bodhi in handcuffs ready to put him in a cage for life, but it's that spiritual kinship between the two that sparks off something unique. All the groundwork for this ending is laid early on in the film in one scene over a bonfire, and the pay-off is amazing to me. Point Break is my favorite action film not because it has the best action sequences, or because of its pleasantly memorable dialogue. It's because of the culmination of this ending. Everything that these two characters have developed between each other throughout the movie is so smartly interwoven, setup, and punctuated here. It concludes an amazing arc for Johnny Utah who begins as this clean cut rookie FBI Agent who changes into someone driven by impulse, emotion, and that inexplicable sensation he gets out on those waves. He pursues Bodhi down around the world for months on end, but in those final moments with an honest plea from Bodhi that only Johnny can understand fully, you get an ending that breaks a lot of rules in all the right ways. This ending captivates me to no end that I have attempted to homage and replicate in many of my own scripts.
Karthryn Bigelow did not have any real box office success prior to this film, despite turning out some quite good films such as Near Dark and Blue Steel. With Point Break, she really came into fruition with a greatly exciting, fresh, and original summer action picture that really delivered. She shows a great visual style here that pinpoints emotion greatly and really envelopes you into every fiber of this film. Possibly less than half of Bigelow's movies in her thirty year career have actually been box office successes, and that's a horrible shame. I think she is an incredible director who showed a great deal of potential here, which she would capitalize upon in with stunning results in Strange Days. Her collaboration on both pictures with now ex-husband James Cameron really shows through in all the best ways. Point Break shares some common ground with Cameron's work, and even he draws some parallels between the endings of this movie and Terminator 2. Regardless, I will take no credit away from Bigelow who gave us this excellent pure adrenalin rush of a movie which has not been replicated since. I think it goes without saying that I recommend this movie with great passion.
09.20.2013 | Categories: Movie Reviews | Tags: action, adrenalin junkie, adventure, bank robbery, bodhi, crime, criminals, fbi agent, film, gary busey, guns, james cameron, james legros, john c mcginley, johnny utah, kathryn bigelow, keanu reeves, lee tergesen, lori petty, los angeles, love, mark isham, movie, nobody rides for free, patrick swayze, point break, ratt, sky diving, surfing, the ex-presidents, undercover, violence | 1 Comment
"There's a killer on the road. His brain is squirmin' like a toad. Take a long holiday, let your children play. If ya give this man a ride, sweet memory will die. Killer on the road." These are lyrics from The Doors' "Riders on the Storm" which inspired the story for this film for screenwriter Eric Red. The Hitcher is a masterpiece of suspense and tension headed up by an intelligent and brilliant performance by Rutger Hauer, portraying the title character. It's a film that was never a major hit, but remains as a gleaming gem of a horror film.
Transporting a car from Chicago to San Diego, the young Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) picks up hitch-hiker John Ryder (Rutger Hauer) one rainy night hoping he might be able to saved off his own drowsiness. However, this man soon reveals that he is a homicidal psychopath, having already butchered another driver, and threatens Jim with a knife to his throat. Jim, fortunately, is able to eject this killer from his car, but the terror for him has only just begun. Through this American southwest desert landscape, the cunning and methodical Ryder plays a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with Halsey. He even frames Halsey for his murders, forcing Jim to fiercely evade the police at every turn. The only aid Jim receives is from diner waitress Nash (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who eventually becomes caught up in this terrifying, blood-stained fight for survival.
The Hitcher is so effective for two major reasons. Firstly, director Robert Harmon does an amazing job crafting a desolate feeling of isolation which creates an atmosphere of unease. The desert landscape gives the film a sense of barren hopelessness. It is so wide open, but offers no place for escape for Jim Halsey from John Ryder's malicious intent. It's also a film that gives you degrees of suspense and tension. Sometimes, it's low key and subtle just unnerving you enough to setup for something horrifically gruesome. Other times, it's wrapped so tight, it might just choke you.
The other reason is Rutger Hauer. His is a frightening performance on the most realistic level imaginable. His John Ryder is a man of twisted charm wrapped up in the mind of a homicidal psychopath. Those chillingly cold eyes show no soul or humanity behind them, and they are unflinching. They offer no reprieve from his relentless insanity. Yet, Hauer injects so much sadistic, insidious pleasure into this role, engrossing himself deeply and fully into the madness, showing just how much perverse enjoyment Ryder gets out of all of this. There is so much multi-layered dimension constantly showing the sick, depraved gears turning in his head. He's not your ordinary psychopath who is going to murder everyone in sight. After Jim gets the better of him, Ryder becomes intently focused on Jim, and decides to psychologically torment him relentlessly. Ryder doesn't want to kill him. Instead, he provokes Jim repeatedly because he wants Jim to stop him. Ryder is the one who wants to die, but suicide is not in his psychological make-up. He needs someone else to do it for him, and he is entirely incapable of stopping his murder spree until someone does stop him. It is a terrifying, riveting performance filled with immense intelligence by Rutger Hauer, and it is one of his best roles alongside Roy Batty in Blade Runner.
Likewise, C. Thomas Howell is amazing. You can see and feel the intense, paralyzing fear that Ryder puts into Jim Halsey. Howell pours so much into Jim's desperation which drives him to further rash action. There is even one powerful moment, after Ryder has murdered an entire station of police officers, where Jim contemplates suicide to escape what seems like an otherwise inescapable nightmare. You can see the very average, decent person he was slowly get pushed further and further towards his limits. The torment by Ryder forges a seemingly compulsive symbiosis between them. The connection between Ryder and Halsey is brilliantly crafted to intertwine their fates, and build up to an absolutely shocking final twenty minutes. Despite being very familiar with what happens in the truck stop scene, even after all these years, I was still horrified by its outcome. Some might say that not showing the actual shockingly gruesome outcome actually detracts from the film. I say that it works either way, but I can definitely feel the need to have that visceral image of horror going into the final confrontation between Halsey and Ryder. Regardless, the moment still has powerful impact without it.
Jennifer Jason Leigh makes an immediate charming impression. She quickly endears herself with both a warm sensibility and a tough enough edge to give Nash some strength of character. I think that sweet Southern accent really aids these qualities of her performance. Leigh and Howell work very, very well opposite one another, and I think it's refreshing that no romantic connection is forced into the story. Jim and Nash are certainly bonded, to an extent, but their time together doesn't give them the opportunity to get that deeply emotionally involved. Leigh does plenty without that contrivance to build sympathy for Nash.
The only odd thing in the film is that I do find it confusing why the local police immediately believe that Jim is the killer they are looking for. As most of us have, I've watched plenty of police procedural shows over the years, and the last thing an experienced officer does is jump to conclusions without evidence to back them up. Of course, after John Ryder has begun deliberately framing Jim for the murdered police officers, it becomes very easy to grasp this idea, but before then, the cops have no honest reason to dead-set accuse Jim for the murders on the highway and at the service station.
The car chase sequences are amazingly well done. Each one is intense and exciting creating real imminent danger for our protagonists. The filmmakers even go further when a police helicopter begins chasing after Jim and Nash, but the film never loses sight of its true focus. These action scenes flow organically from the plot as Jim runs from the police, or John Ryder tries to run him off the road. Also, the film doesn't go for large amounts of gore, and thus, when something grisly hits, it has so much more impact. The same goes for the violence Ryder inflicts. We don't see every death. There's a good amount that is chillingly implied, or we only see the bloody aftermath. This shows what Ryder is capable of, and sets an atmosphere of impending dread and unpredictable horror. Yet, we do get some gory, violent kills which have immense impact on both the audience and Jim Halsey.
The cinematography is absolutely superb. There is excellent use of composition – both tight and wide – along with smart camera movement, mainly with steadicams, and well chosen angles, all of which complement and enhance the dramatic depth of the film. Director Robert Harmon, his editor, and director of photography do a rock solid job with every shot to tell a competent visual story with plenty of tight suspense and tension.
Mark Isham's primarily electronically based score is excellent as well. It creates a subtle presence that complements the desolate atmosphere, and never oversells any moment of quiet terror. It also deeply highlights the moments of emotional pain and despair with its light, ambient style. The aforementioned action sequences are scored with frenetic intensity, and really ramp up the adrenalin and danger.
The Hitcher feels like a slow, psychotic descent into hell. One would almost welcome death after half of what Ryder puts Halsey through, but Jim shows the will to survive and the desire not to die. Even with cops trying to lock him up and even kill him, being psychologically tormented at every turn, Jim fights to break free of this psychotic web of madness. This is what constantly pushes him forward to either find a way out this deadly game, or to combat Ryder himself. Ultimately, he is pushed so hard to where, as the audience, we won't accept anything less than an intense one-on-one confrontation between them. And because this film is so brilliantly crafted and executed by so many magnificent talents, the ending does not disappoint at all. Truly a fitting end which will leave you feeling the emotional impact straight through the film's sobering end credits score.
Rutger Hauer absolutely plays one of the best villains of cinema here in a film that is one of the best examples of suspenseful terror I've ever witnessed. John Ryder is immensely intelligent, but also a complete sociopath and psychopath. The fact that the film builds that relationship between Ryder and Halsey is really what gives the film its strength and edge. Director Robert Harmon and writer Eric Red did a phenomenal job The Hitcher assembling an immensely talented cast which grounded the film in deep, intense emotion. The suspense couldn't be more masterfully crafted, and the tension is so nerve racking and thick. Every technical and artistic element works in perfect to make this one of the best, most effective psychological horror films I've ever experienced. You will do yourself a real favor by giving this 1986 original a watch. I never saw the remake because, like in so many cases, the original required no improvement or re-invention. The Hitcher is a dead-on classic.
10.30.2012 | Categories: Horror Movies, Movie Reviews | Tags: blood, c. thomas howell, death, desert highway, eric red, film, gore, hitchhiker, horror, jennifer jason leigh, mark isham, movie, murder, psychological, psychopath, review, riders on the storm, robert harmon, rutger hauer, serial killer, sociopath, suspense, the doors, the hitcher, thriller, violence | Leave a comment


text:
module Renalware
  class Version < PaperTrail::Version
  end
end