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Sneaky Pete's 73 Cowgate, Edinburgh EH1 1JW
Open and busy every night
The Natvral
Important Covid status certification info: read before booking
As the frontman of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Kip Berman wrote songs about the thrills and ills of young adult life with the care and concern of a cool older sibling. In the years since he made his last record with his former band, Berman discovered an unvarnished, broken folk rock sound in The Natvral – a marked departure from his previous work.
Recorded over 7 days with producer Andy Savours (My Bloody Valentine, Black Country New Road, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart), his debut solo record Tethers is as raw in sound as it is nuanced and empathetic in its lyricism. Without effect pedals, overdubs or even a metronome, the resulting album feels free and unpretentious, recalling the strident obliqueness of Bob Dylan and Neil Young's sonic primitivism – but drawn from a set of vividly detailed experiences all Berman's own.
Last chance to order Merch before Xmas!
Gigs and clubs are back! Our shows kick off in September
Sneaky Pete's 73 Cowgate, Edinburgh EH1 1JW // Open and busy every night


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The Rise of Superhero Films
Posted on June 30, 2017 May 24, 2021 by
"Wonder Woman." "Iron Man." "The Avengers." "Guardians of the Galaxy." The past decade or so has seen an influx of superhero films based on comic books — major big-studio movies starring the highest-paid actors in the world (think Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Downey, Jr.) and outperforming any other movies released. This week, the world will enjoy a new addition to the superhero film repertoire: "Spider-Man: Homecoming," featuring the work of NYFA alumnus Francesco Panzieri on special effects!
While 1990s blockbusters like "Jurassic Park," "Titanic," and "Braveheart" were standalone epics based on books or historical events, today's highest-grossing films are primarily superhero movies, based on a combination of factors such as escapism, cutting-edge special effects, and an older, wealthier population of comic-book fans.
The most significant, and grim, factor behind the rise of superhero movies has been the economic crash of 2008. There were popular superhero movies prior to this, such as "Spider-man" and Christopher Nolan's excellent "Batman" series reboot, but following the economic downturn — in which many people lost their jobs and homes — superhero movies went into orbit.
People suddenly wanted escapism into a different world where the hero always triumphed and where distinctions between good and bad were easy to tell. Blockbuster epics with tragic endings like "Braveheart," and "Gladiator" fell out of fashion, as no one wanted to compound the grim economic situation with an equally depressing movie. Comic-book superhero movies, in which the hero triumphs over evil, became more appealing to the general public. (While our economic downturn is not as severe as the Great Depression, it's notable that the popularity of comic books in the 1930s mirrors the popularity of superhero movies today.)
With the rise of computers, special effects have become more realistic and believable — something that previously limited superhero movies. Compare the stiff, lumbering shark of "Jaws" — a movie that had exceptional special effects for its day — to the beautifully computer-generated creatures and atmospheres of today's superhero movies.
Special effects designers have a wider range of options to work with, as well as better software and technologies, than they did 20 years ago. Need Captain America to soar to the heavens? Stand the actor in front of the green screen and virtually create the sky behind him. Need Ant-Man to fly through Iron Man's suit and sabotage it? That can be achieved realistically as well.
Whereas "Titanic" required a replica ship, today's computer generated imaging can produce entirely believable superhero action scenes through the digital manipulation of pixels.
The third factor in the popularity of comic-book superhero movies is the older age of the audience. Today's superhero movies — even if they're rated PG-13 — are primarily made for adults who grew up on comic books and now have a disposable income. These adults are mostly Generation X-ers and Millennials who read comic books as children during the 1970s-1990s and now have the money to see films and buy paraphernalia. While kids can beg Mom and Dad to buy movie tickets and Mom might possibly agree, adults can always purchase tickets and attend films — creating a great source of potential viewers who have fond childhood recollections of their comic book superheroes and villains.
What are your favorite superhero films? Let us know in the comments below! And if you're ready to learn more about creating incredible films, study filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. <
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Ring in the New Year with live music by the Backstreet Trio, an all-star show featuring The Voice finalist, Shalyah Fearing, Malah Fearing and our own Kerry Oliver. Enjoy $5 Tito's drinks and $40 bottles of Chandon Brut, plus a social media photo booth.
Call 727.942.5222 for reservations and more information.


Fosterweld is a cool belt buckle company, located in Boise, Idaho. However, the owner was born in Arizona. Did you know that Arizona was the last of the lower 48 to become a state? The flag itself is a representation of our country's symbol. The 13 rays of red and gold represent the 13 colonies of the Union, and Western setting sun. The bottom half of the flag is the same blue as the United States flag, as well as a tribute to the blue in the Union flag. As for the copper star, it was placed on the flag because the state was the largest producer of Copper in the nation. The flag was designed by Colonel Charles W. Harris. Belt not included.


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Nick Schnebelen – An Artist Who Stands Out In The Crowd
One of the first things you discover about Nick Schnebelen is his commitment to his music. He does not tippy-toe or wade in; he plunges right into the deep end. Forceful and determined succinctly describe Nick's approach to guitar-playing and singing.
That's always been the basis for Nick's music, no matter what kind of musical collaboration he's been in.
"I like things that are very potent and simple," he says. "They get straight to the point."
Nick came to widespread attention as a member of Trampled Under Foot, the Kansas City family band that was founded in 2004 won the 2008 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Nick was also singled out for the "Albert King Award" as the best guitarist in the competition.
Joined by younger brother Kris and sister Danielle, TUF enjoyed two highly successful albums produced by Tony Braunagel, "Wrong Side of the Blues" (2011) and "Badlands" (2013), which climbed to the top position on Billboard's Top Blues Album charts. The band was nominated in 2012 as Band of the Year at the Blues Music Awards and won that honor in 2014.
Most people think that's how Nick got started, but his musical roots run far deeper. His mother and father were professional musicians, his grandmother was a big band singer, his grandfather played guitar and his great grandfather was a member of a string band as far back as the 1920s.
"You see, music's been in my blood for generations," he says.
Although Nick has played music from a young age, he blossomed when he attended Kansas City's Paseo Academy of Performing Arts high school, where he studied both classical and jazz forms. "There are different sets of rules for each and as I played in both the classical orchestra and the jazz band, I got a better understanding of how music works," he says.
In 1997, Nick relocated to Philadelphia, where he formed the blues-based jam band K-Floor, and later toured with Buddahead, a British pop band. By 2000, Kris and Danielle joined him in Philadelphia to begin Trampled Under Foot.
The energy of Nick's shows with his solo band was captured in the recording of "Live in Kansas City" in 2017.
All of that has led to his debut solo work "Crazy All By Myself," TBA, 2019 -produced once again by Braunagel and featuring songs written with Gary Nicholson, Jeff Paris and Dave Duncan. The CD flexes with styles ranging from slow blues to soul to funk to rock, with even a dash of rockabilly.
The title cut, a blues co-written with Dave Duncan, cuts deeps lyrically and musically. Nick's stinging guitar work is underpinned by Mike Finnigan's flowing piano at its base while the lyrics paint a picture of a man meeting the realization that he doesn't need a woman to lead him down the path of destruction, that's he's perfectly capable of doing it on his own.
"This CD has so many different styles on it," Nick says, "but it still works. Most of the songs started in my brain and then were expanded lyrically, but they seem to pair up well here so the varied styles don't seem out of place.
"My goal is to continue to write and create new styles for the blues," Nick says. "I want to stand out as an original artist."
Contact: Red House Talent
Chris Hardwick
Chris.redhousetalent@gmail.com
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Nick Schnebelen Band
All Rights Reserved. © NickSchnebelenKC.com


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Marta Jewson
Improvements around Magnolia Marketplace slated for financing through 1-percent sales tax there
By Marta Jewson | October 8, 2013
Improvements to utilities around the new Magnolia Marketplace on South Claiborne will be paid for by an additional 1-percent sales tax on purchases there that should last around 15 years, based on legislation being forwarded to the New Orleans City Council for approval Thursday. Magnolia Marketplace is a 97,829 square-foot development that Stirling Properties hopes to open in March of 2015. The shopping center would sit on the 6.5-acre site near the intersection of South Claiborne Avenue and Toledano Street. The $24 million development — which already has signed leases from seven retailers — would bring a projected $30 million in sales during its first year, according to Aimee Quirk, adviser to the mayor for economic development. That would translate to hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales tax for the city, Quirk told the City Council Economic Development Committee.
Two men robbed at gunpoint on Magazine
Two men were robbed at gunpoint on Magazine Street late Wednesday night, according to an initial police report. The men, ages 26 and 27, were walking on the 3100 block of Magazine Street just after 1 a.m. when they were approached by a man with a gun, the report states. The suspect then fled with a wallet from one and an iPhone from the other. No further details were immediately available.
Amid latest Uptown robberies, police urge university students to use caution
By Marta Jewson | September 1, 2013
As universities begin class again and campuses come to life, the Second District police commander is urging students to exercise caution in light recent robberies of two armed robberes on Wednesday on State and General Pershing Streets, and two carjackings this weekend on Spruce and Jeanette. Early Wednesday morning, around 1 a.m., a woman was walking on State Street near Freret when she was knocked down by a man in a ski mask, according to initial police reports. He implied he had a gun under his shirt, then stole her wallet and cell phone before fleeing the scene, the reports state. Another armed robbery was reported around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday in the 1800 block of General Pershing Street, according to police reports. A 50-year-old woman was approached by two men who pointed a gun at her face, stole her purse and iPhone and then fled, the report states.
Isidore Newman School looks to double preschool enrollment with new building
By Marta Jewson | July 30, 2013
Isidore Newman School hosted parents and community members Tuesday night as the school moves forward with plans to more than double its early childhood facility. Head of School Dale Smith and architect Mac Ball presented the 950-student school's plans to expand enrollment offerings to its youngest attendees. "I think it's safe to say he's a preservationist at heart," Smith said of Ball — one of the reasons he was selected for the job. Since a meeting last November to discuss expansion plans, Smith said the school hired an architect and met with many neighborhood group leaders as well. About 15 people gathered in an auditorium to view site plans and renderings from Waggonner and Ball Architects.
Former Tulane linebacker Trent Mackey found not guilty in armed robbery
One year to the day that former Tulane linebacker Trent Mackey was involved in a drug deal turned armed robbery, the 23-year-old was found not guilty on the two armed robbery charges brought against him. On trial for criminal conspiracy to armed robbery and armed robbery with a firearm, the 12-person jury unanimously ruled he was not guilty on both counts. There was no question as to whether Mackey was at the scene of the armed robbery. He had planned to meet Megan Wales, a fellow Tulane student, at her apartment on 600 Broadway Street that day to buy marijuana from her. The question was whether he helped orchestrate the event, which became much more than a simple drug deal when two men burst into the apartment and one pinned Wales on her apartment floor with a gun to her head.
Witness said he lied to police in former Tulane player Trent Mackey's trial
A defense witness called in the trial of former Tulane football player Trent Mackey said he pointed the finger at Mackey after police told him Mackey had already thrown him under the bus. Mackey, 23, has been charged with armed robbery with a firearm and criminal conspiracy to armed robbery. The charges stem from a July 12, 2012, robbery that the defense says was poorly investigated and pegged on Mackey, while prosecutors have argued that Mackey orchestrated. The state called Robert Murray to testify Thursday morning. He has already been convicted in the case, but when Murray's intent to invoke the Fifth Amendment was revealed, the trial stalled as the state sought a higher court opinion.
Former Tulane linebacker's armed-robbery trial centers on victim's account of drug deal that day
One year ago, Megan Wales was still a 20-year-old Tulane student and a friend and co-worker of Tulane football standout Trent Mackey when a drug deal between them was interrupted by two intruders who burst into her apartment, pinned her to the kitchen floor with a gun to her head and dramatically altered the course of all their lives. Police have since charged Mackey in the robbery as well, and prosecutors this week are describing him as a co-conspirator to the gunmen, an accomplice in touch with them minutes before who conveniently left Wales' apartment door open allowing the men to rush in. Mackey's defense lawyers, however, say the Tulane football star is the victim of an inadequate investigation focused solely on bagging a high-profile conviction, and that Wales was just as complicit in the events of the day and web of lies afterward as Mackey was. Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Truhe kicked off the testimony Wednesday by calling Wales to the stand. She was a cocktail waitress, the soon to be 22-year-old recounted; Mackey was a bouncer, the one who would escort her to her car after closing the bar they both worked at.
arts, books and music
Harry Shearer of The Simpsons, "This is Spinal Tap" and "The Big Uneasy" speaks at Loyola
By Marta Jewson | April 8, 2013
Known for his role as the legendary bassist in "This is Spinal Tap," the voice of more than 20 characters on "The Simpsons," and the flooding documentary "The Big Uneasy," Harry Shearer will speak at Loyola today (Monday, April 8). For more information see the following press release:
Harry Shearer, the legendary bassist in the 1984 rock and roll mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap" and the voice of more than 20 characters on the hit animated sitcom "The Simpsons," will discuss the evolution of his career at a forum at Loyola University New Orleans Monday, April 8 at 5 p.m.
The event is free, open to the public and will take place in Nunemaker Auditorium in Monroe Hall. For those unable to attend in person, the forum will be available via live streaming on Loyola's website. Shearer made his first on-screen appearances in "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars" and "The Robe" in 1953 at age 7. In a career spanning more than 60 years since then, he has worked as a writer, producer, director, actor, radio host, author and voice-over talent.
Bouligny Improvement Association cleans up Lawrence Square Saturday
The Bouligny Improvement Association is asking for volunteers to help spruce up Lawrence Square on Saturday morning (April 6), working alongside neighbors to help clean up the park. The cleanup will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday (April 6). "The city is providing paint and mulch and we're looking forward to a fun morning in the Square. We need wheelbarrows to move mulch and gas-operated leaf blowers," writes organizer Stephanie Easley of the Bouligny Improvement Association. "We hope the spruce up is just a start on improving Laurence Square.
Preservation Resource Center's 'Shotgun House and Art Tour' explores upper Magazine corridor
The Preservation Resource Center has organized a self-guided 'Shotgun House and Art Tour' of seven homes along either side of Magazine Street near Audubon Park onSaturday (April 6). The tours will begin at 10 a.m. from headquarters at Whole Foods Market on Magazine Street. For more information see the following announcement or visit the event webpage:
Shotgun House And Art Tour
5600 Magazine St. (Uptown)
Enjoy a delightful self-guided walkable tour of shotgun homes Uptown. EVENT OVERVIEW
Enjoy a delightful self-guided tour of shotgun homes Uptown, featuring the personal art collections of artists, collectors, and gallery owners.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


It's that time of year again: Fall is right around the corner and the peaks and valleys of the Wasatch Front in Utah are about to present their very best color. For anyone who enjoys nature photography, it is the best time of the year to get outside and create images and memories. It's also a perfect opportunity to capture your very own stunning images by learning from Utah's respected landscape photographer, Wayson Wight, who loves to share local shooting locations and teach skills to improve photography.
Meet-up will be at the Park-and-Ride at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. You will shoot various locations on the East side of the Wasatch Mountains (Park City/Heber side). The group will follow the light at some of the best locations beginning at sunrise and ending sometime in the early afternoon in American Fork Canyon. Starting near the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, you'll work your way down through Midway, onto the Alpine Loop.
Saturday, October 7. Meet at the Park and Ride at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon at 6am sharp. Plan on being back to vehicles sometime early afternoon.
Wayson has spent years shooting northern Utah during the Autumn, and along the way he has gained knowledge of some beautiful places to be and discovered the BEST times for the BEST light to be there. Fall in Northern Utah is spectacular as the aspen, oak, and maple present their brightest red and golden hues of the season. You will get first hand instruction from Wayson while you shoot throughout the day. As you travel and photograph along the Wasatch, he will teach on various nature photography related subject matter; including depth of field, composition, lighting, and technical camera details, with a Q&A session at the end. You will return with memory cards full of great images!
Also, you will receive a high quality, hard-copy, spiral bound tutorial book highlighting the lessons to take with you and reference for future image creating.
Anyone. Most of the subject matter will be directed to beginner to intermediate photographers, however anyone with a passion for photography can benefit from my knowledge of the area and passion for outdoor photography! It will be a relaxed and fun atmosphere spent among like-minded folks who love the outdoors and nature photography.
$199 per student. This will include transportation throughout the day, and lunch will be provided. Take home a spiral-bound tutorial book to refresh and refer to on the concepts discussed during the day. Also, hands on instruction from Wayson throughout the day, tailored to whatever level of photography knowledge you start with.
A $99 deposit (non-refundable) will be required to reserve a spot.
a passion for photography and a good attitude!
If you want to attend, please reserve your spot with an initial $99 deposit, the remaining $100 to be paid on site day of workshop.


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Huw Garmon (ur. 15 października 1966) – walijski aktor filmowy, telewizyjny i sceniczny.

Biografia
Urodził się w 1966 roku w Llangefni na terenie Walii (Wielka Brytania). Jego ojciec, Richard Cyril Hughes był walijskim historykiem i pisarzem. Studiował na Uniwersytecie w Aberystwyth. Jako aktor grywał w produkcja walijsko-języcznych i anglojęzycznych. Głośnym filmem z jego udziałem był nominowany do Oscara Hedd Wyn zrealizowany na podstawie biografii walijskiego poety o tym nazwisku. Inne produkcje z jego udziałem to polsko-brytyjski miniserial Wojenna narzeczona (1997) oraz amerykański film sensacyjny Elita zabójców (2011). W latach 1997–2004 występował regularnie w operze mydlanej Pobol y Cwm. Występował też na deskach teatrów.

W 2010 roku został wykładowcą akademickim na Wrexham Glyndŵr University, gdzie wykłada na temat spektakli teatralnych i telewizyjnych.

Prywatnie jest żonaty i ma trójkę dzieci.

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Linki zewnętrzne

Brytyjscy aktorzy filmowi
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Urodzeni w 1966
Walijczycy

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Saturday CoronaBuzz, March 20, 2021: 28 pointers to updates, useful stuff, research news, and more.
By ResearchBuzz on March 20, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )
Please wear a mask (or even two). Wash your hands. Stay at home if you can. Please be careful. I love you.
Global News: Ontario reports more than 1,800 new COVID-19 cases, 11 deaths. "Ontario is reporting 1,829 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the largest single-day increase since early February, bringing the provincial total to 327,083. Saturday's case count is higher than Friday's which saw 1,745 new infections. On Thursday, 1,553 cases were recorded and 1,508 on Wednesday. It is also the highest daily increase in cases since Feb. 1 when 1,969 new cases were reported."
CNET: Fear and COVID in hotel quarantine: What it's like flying overseas right now. "No one wants to travel internationally right now, especially to Australia, which has one of the toughest quarantines in the world. Yet in late December, just as the disease was peaking worldwide, I traveled to the country of my birth from New York. With a kid in tow, a trip halfway across the world would be a challenge in the best of times, but in a pandemic the hurdles were that much higher. I never envisioned spending New Year's Eve sounding party whistles within earshot of a government guard, but that's only one of the side effects of flying at the height of a global lockdown."
MISINFORMATION / DISINFORMATION
The Manila Times: Tackling misinformation in closed social media spaces. "Big social media companies are starting to take action to curb falsehoods and conspiracy theories in public spaces. But most of the harmful misleading narratives about Covid-19 vaccinations are being shared in messaging platforms, groups or closed spaces. No wonder a December 2020 survey conducted by OCTA Research found that only 25 percent of Metro Manila respondents were willing to get an anti-Covid vaccination. Another survey conducted by Pulse Asia between November and December 2020 showed that only 32 percent of Filipinos wanted to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, and 47 percent did not want to get vaccinated at all because of safety concerns."
ACTIVISM / PROTESTS
BBC: Covid: Anti-lockdown protests as MPs call for law change. "Thousands are attending anti-lockdown demonstrations in central London, as MPs urge the government to change the law to allow peaceful protest. Crowds marched from Hyde Park to Westminster, with at least 13 arrests by police, mostly for Covid breaches."
BBC: Covid: Rich states 'block' vaccine plans for developing nations. "Wealthy countries – including the UK – are blocking proposals to help developing nations increase their vaccine manufacturing capabilities, documents leaked to BBC Newsnight show. Several poorer countries have asked the World Health Organization to help them. But richer nations are pushing back on provisions in international law that would enable them to achieve this."
New York Times: Why Child Care Staff Had to Show Up While Teachers Worked Remotely. "Over the last year, some educators, school officials and teachers' union leaders in New York and across the country have declared that teachers are not babysitters, and that schools are not child care centers. The sentiment has been meant to convince the public that teachers should not be responsible for supervising children just so that parents can return to work. But while some educators have been able to work from home for much, if not all, of the pandemic, child care centers have emerged as substitute schools for many thousands of American children for whom online learning is not an option."
WORLD / FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
FEMA: COVID-19 Funeral Assistance. "Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, FEMA will provide financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020. We are working with stakeholder groups to get their input on ways we can best provide this assistance, and to enlist their help with outreach to families and communities. FEMA will begin to implement COVID-19 funeral assistance in April."
CNN: White House shifts ad campaign strategy to reflect growing concern over conservatives' vaccination reluctance. "Reluctance among conservatives to get vaccinated against Covid-19 has caused growing concern inside the White House, according to people familiar with the matter, even as President Joe Biden's administration rapidly scales up nationwide efforts to administer shots. The topic has been the subject of several high-level conversations between administration advisers and health experts, including at the presidential level, the officials said."
AP: Now vaccinated, justices gather privately at Supreme Court. "The Supreme Court is returning to a little bit of normal following a year disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the justices met in person Friday for a regularly scheduled private conference, court spokesperson Kathy Arberg said. The justices have been holding conferences by phone since the court closed to the public in March of last year. Before Friday, the justices last met in person for a private conference on March 6, 2020."
BBC: Covid: France and Poland increase lockdown measures as infections surge. "France and Poland have reintroduced partial lockdowns as both countries battle a sharp rise in Covid infections in recent weeks. Some 21 million people in 16 areas of France, including the capital Paris, are affected as the country fears a third wave. In Poland, non-essential shops, hotels, cultural and sporting facilities are closed for three weeks."
The Tribune: Census Goes Online For The First Time In History. "The Department of Statistics will be conducting an exercise from April to July to establish a listing database that will allow for the digital and online census taking. #During the listing exercise, all buildings and dwellings in New Providence, Grand Bahama and the Family Islands will be listed by enumeration district. The listing will be compiled to create a comprehensive national register of households, which will be utilised during the official census exercise."
Reuters: Greece to hand out self-testing kits as COVID-19 cases stay high. "Greece will start distributing free do-it-yourself COVID-19 tests next month, the government said on Saturday, as it seeks to alleviate pressure on a healthcare system facing a stubbornly high level of new infections. Everyone with a social security number will be entitled to four of the test kits per month, and they will be distributed at pharmacies."
STATE / LOCAL GOVERNMENT
New York Times: U.S. Rushes to Expand Covid Vaccine Eligibility in a 'Race Against Time'. "Officials in at least 20 states have committed in recent days to opening coronavirus vaccine appointments to all adults in March or April, part of a fast-moving expansion as states race to meet President Biden's goal of universal eligibility by May 1."
BBC: Covid-19: Mumbai to roll out compulsory testing in crowded places. "The Indian city of Mumbai is to roll out mandatory coronavirus tests in crowded places as the country grapples with a rise in infections. The local government said rapid tests would be done randomly in areas such as shopping centres and train stations. A refusal to be tested will 'amount to an offence', it said."
The Mercury News: Exclusive: Slack messages between Bay Area health officers show early COVID chaos, confusion. "Just over one year ago, as the coronavirus pandemic surged through California, Bay Area health officers debated what would become one of the earliest in a series of unprecedented decisions to shut down public life for the nearly 8.5 million people in the region: Whether — and to what extent — they should shut down mass gatherings."
Coeur D'Alene Press: COVID-19 shuts down Idaho Legislature. "The business of the state came to an abrupt halt Friday, as the Idaho Legislature recessed for at least two weeks in response to several lawmakers testing positive for COVID-19. Most committee meetings were quickly canceled. Two committees — House Education and Senate State Affairs — met briefly but quickly adjourned."
WSVN: Miami Beach to enforce 8 p.m. curfew, block most eastbound traffic on causeways due to spring break crowds. "The City of Miami Beach will enforce an 8 p.m. curfew in South Beach's entertainment district and block most eastbound traffic to the city starting at 10 p.m., officials said. Interim City Manager Raul Aguila, who announced the emergency measures alongside Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber at a press conference, Saturday afternoon, said they will go into effect Saturday night due to overwhelming spring break crowds."
New York Times: Mixed Virus Data Has Some Experts Questioning Pace of N.Y.C. Reopening. "Daily coronavirus cases reported in the city and state appear to have reached a plateau after a post-holiday spike, death rates and hospitalization rates related to the virus are on the decline, and more people are receiving the vaccine. But not everyone agrees that reopening is safe, partly because the presence of variants that are more contagious, and possibly deadlier, complicate the short-term outlook."
BBC: Covid-19: Pakistan's PM Imran Khan tests positive. "The 68-year-old is 'self-isolating at home', the minister, Faisal Sultan, tweeted. Mr Khan, a former captain of the national cricket team who became prime minister in August 2018, received a vaccination two days ago."
CNN: International spectators will be refused entry into Japan for Tokyo 2020. "International spectators will be refused entry into Japan for this summer's Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee said in a statement on Saturday. Any tickets bought by overseas residents for the postponed Games, scheduled to begin on July 23, will be refunded."
New York Times: Children in elementary schools don't need to be kept six feet apart, the C.D.C. said.. "The three-foot rule also now applies to students in middle schools and high schools, as long as community transmission is not high, officials said. When transmission is high, however, these students must be at least six feet apart, unless they are taught in cohorts, or small groups that are kept separate from others, and the cohorts are kept six feet apart."
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis: COVID-19 transmission rare in schools with masking, distancing, contact tracing. "In-school COVID-19 transmission is rare – even among close school contacts of those who test positive for the virus – when schools heed public health precautions such as mandatory masking, social distancing and frequent hand-washing, according to results of a pilot study in Missouri aimed at identifying ways to keep elementary and secondary schools open and safe during the pandemic. A close contact is anyone who has been within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes in a 24-hour period with someone infected with COVID-19."
New York Times: Your Pandemic Tech Habits. "I wrote last week about our pandemic-altered year of technology, and I asked On Tech readers to tell us what you loved or loathed about a more virtual life…. Here is a taste of readers' views on technology that has helped them cope. The responses have been lightly edited."
Nintendo Wire: No Man Is an Island: How Animal Crossing: New Horizons brought us together over the last year. "Early 2020 ended up having more in store than just Animal Crossing: New Horizons, however, and by March the COVID-19 pandemic had made its way to nearly every country on earth, prompting stay-at-home orders and quarantines across large parts of the globe in hopes of keeping as many people as possible healthy and alive. As timing would have it, while the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world to hunker down in their homes, Tom Nook was inviting players to get away from the turmoil with his Deserted Island Getaway package."
Medical XPress: Children with adrenal insufficiency are 10 times more likely to die from COVID-19. "Children with adrenal insufficiency—a condition in which the adrenal gland does not function properly—are at more than 10 times higher risk for COVID-19 complications and death compared with children with normal adrenal glands, according to a study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting."
CNN: Inside why all lawmakers still aren't vaccinated after months of access to shots on the Hill. "As the political fight over vaccinations continues around the country, CNN has learned that several members of Congress still have not been vaccinated despite having had access to the vaccine on Capitol Hill since December. Through a House-wide survey and interviews, CNN has contacted offices on Capitol Hill to try to get a clearer picture about where gaps in vaccinations still exist."
Axios: WashPost journalists writing scoopy book on Trump's COVID-19 response. "Washington Post journalists Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta will be out June 29 with 'Nightmare Scenario,' a scoopy narrative of President Trump's chaotic response to the pandemic."
Yahoo News: Poll: 50% of unvaccinated Trump voters say they will 'never' get inoculated for COVID. How Biden hopes to change their minds.. "Last week, all the living former U.S. presidents, Democratic and Republican, joined together for an ad campaign touting the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines — except Donald Trump. At the same time, a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll found that a full 50 percent of unvaccinated 2020 Trump voters now say they will 'never' get vaccinated for COVID-19, up 6 percent from last month."
CoronaBuzz is brought to you by ResearchBuzz. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment, send resource suggestions, or tag @buzz_corona on Twitter. Thanks!
Balkan Terrorism and Foreign Fighters, University of New Mexico Sports, Microsoft Power Platform, More: Saturday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, March 20, 2021
Kannada Movies, Landscapes of Injustice, Journalists of Color, More: Sunday ResearchBuzz, March 21, 2021


The Randolph Township Community Services Department provides transportation to and from medical appointments and shopping. This program is offered to permanent residents age 60 and above and disabled adults 18 and above who receive Social Security disability benefits.
Advanced notice is required for Dial-A-Ride.
Call 973.989.7084 to make reservations.
Curb to curb transportation to local shopping centers is available twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays. Arrangements for transportation must be made by phone at least 24 hours in advance. Suggested donation $1.00.
Curb to curb transportation to and from doctors' offices and physical therapy sessions is available Monday through Thursday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.; Morristown and Parsippany appointments are from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It is best to call and schedule a ride as soon as you have made a medical appointment. Suggested donation $1.00.
To ensure transportation is available, passengers are encouraged to contact the office as soon as they have a scheduled medical appointment. No transportation appointments will be made with the driver. All appointments must be made through the office at 973.989.7084.
The driver will call at the end of the day on the day before your medical appointment to let you know your pick up time. Passengers should be ready 15 minutes before scheduled pick up time.
Passengers are advised to bring a light snack or drink with them in the event that they have to wait for return home transportation.
Please make every effort to keep your scheduled medical appointment. If you are unable to make it, it is the responsibility of the passenger, family member or contact person to notify the office if an appointment is cancelled or changed. This should be done immediately when you cancel your appointment.
If you are having a medical procedure involving anesthesia, you must have an aide with you on the bus. The driver will only pick up and drop off the aide at your residence.
"Will call passengers," who go shopping once in a while, are asked to call the day before if you would like to go. If you call on the day of, you must call no later than 8:45 a.m.
Please be ready for pick up by 9:00 a.m. for shopping. Our routes change each day depending upon who will be shopping.
Passengers using the program must be able to walk to the vehicle and depart unassisted, unless accompanied by an assistant.
Passengers must be watching for the township vehicle and come out as quickly as possible so that the driver can keep to his/her schedule and not keep other passengers waiting. The driver will pull up to your house and beep twice and if you do not come out, the bus/car will leave.
Passenger walkways on township vehicles must remain clear at all times. No packages, arms or legs in the aisles please.
Passengers needing to stop at the bank are asked to let the driver know when they enter the bus. Stops will only be made at those banks which are on the way to the designated shopping center for that day. No stops will be made on the return trip.
Three (3) grocery bags are permitted per person. It is the responsibility of each individual to carry their own bags. No personal shopping carts are allowed on the bus.
India Brook Village Tenants: For all types of transportation, the pick-up/drop-off location is the area between the two buildings where the flag pole is located.
If we have bad weather (snow or heavy rain) and the schools are closed, shopping will be canceled and medical appointments will be decided on an individual basis.


text:
CrowdStrike Closes $100 Million Series D Financing Round
The go-to company to stop breaches exceeds $1 billion in valuation; validates AI cloud-based endpoint protection as the new standard for endpoint security
Irvine, CA – May 17, 2017 – CrowdStrike® Inc., the leader in cloud-delivered next-generation endpoint protection, today announced that the company has completed a $100 million Series D financing round, led by existing investor Accel. Other CrowdStrike investors CapitalG (formerly Google Capital) and Warburg Pincus are also participating in this round, along with new investor March Capital Partners and Telstra, a CrowdStrike customer. Following the closing of this round, the company's total funding raised is $256 million with a valuation of over $1 billion dollars.
This round of funding will accelerate CrowdStrike's explosive global growth and help the company meet the spiking demand for its CrowdStrike Falcon® platform, the new standard for endpoint protection. As organizations are looking to replace their antivirus (AV) with more effective and forward-looking solutions, CrowdStrike's cloud-based endpoint protection platform has emerged as the clear choice for customers around the world, displacing many legacy technologies and next-generation AV point products. With endpoint deployments in 176 countries, CrowdStrike Falcon processes 40 billion security events a day, aggregating one of the biggest threat databases in the industry.
CrowdStrike is the leader in applying artificial intelligence/machine learning to endpoint security, providing unmatched prevention of malware and malware-free attacks on and off the network. By running its artificial intelligence/ machine learning algorithms in the cloud and on the endpoint, CrowdStrike's prevention engine sets a new standard in the industry for highly effective protection and ensures minimal false positives and extremely low performance overhead on the endpoint.
"CrowdStrike's rapid market penetration has been one of the most impressive things we've seen. Accel was one of the company's first investors, and the company's emergence as a leader in the next generation of enterprise security is why we wanted to lead this round and support the world-class CrowdStrike leadership team," said Sameer Gandhi, partner at Accel. "The investment will enable CrowdStrike to build on the incredible momentum the company has experienced globally and expand its presence in domestic and international markets to meet the demand for its platform and services."
CrowdStrike has significantly increased its core customer base, and expanded operations in EMEA, APAC, and Latin America. CrowdStrike's corporate growth and fast-yielding financial performance include:
476 percent growth in new endpoint protection platform (EPP) subscriptions, year-over-year
382 percent growth in endpoint protection platform (EPP) subscriptions for Fortune 500 customers, year-over-year
400 percent growth in the number of $1 million or greater transactions, year-over-year
253 percent growth in endpoint protection platform (EPP) sensors deployed, year-over-year
More than 10 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies worldwide leverage CrowdStrike's technology and services
"I couldn't be more pleased to deepen our relationships with existing investors and add another high-caliber firm like March Capital to our team. As we continue to drive our revolutionary platform to market, this substantial financial backing will allow us to expand engineering, sales, marketing, and operational resources to maintain our position as the industry leader in endpoint security and grow at an even faster rate," said George Kurtz, CrowdStrike's co-founder and chief executive officer. "I can't think of more powerful validation for our technology and vision than having our existing investors deciding to double down on their backing and being the only company in our industry that is funded by three customers."
To learn more about the funding, read a blog post from George Kurtz, co-founder and chief executive officer of CrowdStrike.
Mark Sherman, managing director of Telstra Ventures
"As one of CrowdStrike's first customers, we have been impressed by the innovation and effectiveness of the Falcon platform. CrowdStrike has played an important role as part of Telstra's security program. Also we have already successfully introduced CrowdStrike to some of our business customers and we are excited to strengthen our partnership through this investment."
Jamie Montgomery, co-founder of March Capital
"At March Capital, we are looking for industry outliers and true innovators who are ready to establish themselves as the market leaders in their respective industries. CrowdStrike is the embodiment of a successful innovator in cybersecurity – impressive sales and growth trajectory, unique and compelling approach to solving the security challenge, and a highly experienced and talented management team. We couldn't be more thrilled to invest in their success."
Gene Frantz, partner at CapitalG
"Prior to investing in CrowdStrike, we evaluated the entire endpoint protection market and found CrowdStrike's approach and technology to be absolutely best-in-class in offering an end-to-end platform, fully powered by the cloud, coupled with security services and threat intelligence for a complete approach to endpoint protection. CrowdStrike brings forward a compelling combination of strategic vision, differentiated technology, and high product efficacy – all delivering long-term business value for customers and the company itself."
CrowdStrike is the leader in cloud-delivered next-generation endpoint protection. The CrowdStrike Falcon® platform offers instant visibility and protection across the enterprise and prevents attacks on endpoints on or off the network. CrowdStrike Falcon deploys in minutes to deliver actionable intelligence and real-time protection from day one. Falcon seamlessly unifies next-generation AV with best-in-class endpoint detection and response, backed by 24/7 managed hunting. Its cloud infrastructure and single-agent architecture take away complexity and add scalability, manageability, and speed. CrowdStrike Falcon protects customers against all cyber attack types, using sophisticated signatureless artificial intelligence/machine learning and Indicator-of-Attack (IOA) based threat prevention to stop known and unknown threats in real-time. Powered by the CrowdStrike Threat Graph™, Falcon instantly correlates 40 billion security events from across the globe to immediately prevent and detect threats.
Ilina Dimitrova


Global professional services group Russell Bedford has added Spielman Koenigsberg & Parker LLP (SKP) of New York as a member of its U.S. network. This move comes soon after the addition of new firms in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Founded in 1955, SKP is a six-partner CPA firm with more than 50 professional and support staff. The firm's clients range from high-net-worth individuals and entrepreneurs, start-ups and family businesses to professional practices, investment funds and major international corporations. The firm is known for its services to organizations and individuals in the creative and performing arts and entertainment sector.
In addition to its audit, accounting and tax consultancy services, SKP has gained a market-leading reputation for its forensic accounting practice, as well as its specialist practice in the outsourcing of licensing and royalty accounting and management.


eGobbler, a threat group recently targeted iOS users from the U.S. alongside various European Union Countries through numerous massive malvertising attacks for almost a week and utilized Chrome for iOS vulnerability to sidestep the browser's built-in in pop blocker.
The said threat group utilized "8 individual campaigns and more than 30 fake creatives" all through their push, with every one of the fake ad crusades having life spans of somewhere in the range of 24 and 48 hours.
As per the Confiant researchers who found and observed eGobbler's iOS-targeted attacks, approximately 500 million users' sessions were somehow exposed to this extensive scale coordinated campaign pushing counterfeit promotions i.e. fake ads.
As found by Confiant's specialists eGobbler's campaigns more often than not remain active for a maximum limit of 48 hours, quickly pursued by brief times of hibernation which unexpectedly end when the next attack begins.
Some of them are even seen to have used landing pages facilitated on .world domains utilizing pop-ups to hi-jack users' sessions and divert the unfortunate casualties to vindictive pages, as this technique helps the attackers in phishing as well as in malware dropping purposes.
Anyway this campaign was not the first of its kind designed by the eGobbler malvertising group to explicitly target iOS users, as in November 2018, Confiant observed one more campaign kept running by the ScamClub group which figured out how to capture approximately 300 million iOS user sessions and diverted them all adult content and gift voucher tricks.
Be that as it may, as Confiant said in their report, "This really was a standout campaign compared to the others that we track based not only on the unique payload, but the volumes as well?"
They later included that "With almost half a billion user sessions impacted, this is among the top three massive malvertising campaigns that we have seen in the last 18 months."


When Kaylin MacKenzie crunched the numbers, buying a condo in her favourite neighbourhood made sense.
It was practicality and convenience that sold Kaylin MacKenzie on becoming a condo owner. After years of renting, she'd realized that finding a place she loved wasn't easy. "When I started crunching the numbers I realized that renting a place I would really like was not going to cost that much less than owning a place," she says. "Fortunately, I had some money saved for a down payment, so I figured why not buy and put that money towards myself, versus throwing it away every month?" With her target firmly planted on north end living, she found a spot that suits her life pretty perfectly.
A Dartmouth condo won over this couple with big windows, access to outdoors and neighbourhoody vibes.
How music, California and mid-century style inspired the vibe of this couple's first home.
Home stager and decorator Joanne Abrahams breaks down how she made one small space feel big, bright and inviting.
Against all odds, Jeremy Walker falls in love with a charming condo—perfect for entertaining— in downtown Dartmouth.


text:
Niepold ist der Familienname folgender Personen:

 Anne Niepold (* 1982), belgische Akkordeonistin und Komponistin
 Gerd Niepold (1913–2007), deutscher General


text:
Can we all just agree that student politics is a total farce?
The NUS is an embarrassment
Jamie McGowan
The biggest lie in the UK's educational institutions today is that student politics actually matter. Whilst our pretentious SU reps are busy making diplomatic communications about their position on Brexit or taking their international solidarity stance against Israel, perhaps it is high time we realise the sheer pointlessness of their actions.
The truth is that students do not attend university to have their views on global politics represented. We attend university to learn, and in order to learn we must have our intellect challenged by a vast diversity of ideas. The rise of censorship and political correctness has restricted our educational abilities immensely.
Student Union democracy itself is a joke, and the figures for SU elections convey this clearly. At my university, Strathclyde, not even 20% of students turned out to vote at the elections at a University of over 23,000 students – and even at that only around 1,300 students actually voted for the current President, just under 6% of the university. This is the case even at university unions which claim to be far more engaged, such as at Leeds which had a turnout of 24%, Cardiff a mere 16%. Yet, despite all this, our Student Unions and the NUS have the audacity to claim that they represent the political views of the entire student population. Utterly bizarre.
The heavily criticised NUS president, Malia Bouattia
At Durham University, there is a triumphant change in demographic. The election of Tom Harwood as SU President sufficiently embarrassed our out of touch NUS and exposed the pointless nature of student politics. Ordinarily, student election campaigns are filled with pledges to take stances against Israeli forces, Trump, Brexit and many other entirely subjective opinions. Tom, however, had some policies in mind which were far more important. This included a pledge to erect a 217ft statute of our glorious NUS leader Malia Bouattia on top of Durham Cathedral. He even pledged that he would 'defeat Isis' and use his almighty NUS power to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The satirical nature of this campaign only showed student politics to be what it is; a downright disservice to true democracy.
On a more serious note, academia is facing a very real and threatening problem in the UK: education is being politicised. Recently, the University of Strathclyde passed a policy to censor any groups which are against abortion, claiming that their existence would violate 'safe space' policy. Similar situations have been seen in other institutions, such as at Cardiff Uni where there was an attempt to censor feminist Germaine Greer due to her unpopular views on transgender theory. All this censoring is a restriction on education and, frankly, a waste of resources. And the NUS has a reputation for wasting resources, particularly when half the time they are not even sure what they are meant to be protesting.
The rise of censorship and 'safe space' policy has turned education into a game of niceties and a disdain for controversy. Naturally, the consequence of this is that academic freedom – that is, the freedom of study and debate – is at stake. The beauty of a free democracy is that intellectual theory can be challenged and debated. Should these concepts be wrong or unpopular, they will be sufficiently exposed and ridiculed. When we are failing to do this within our educational institutions, we are putting the future of our free society at stake.
If you were a shareholder of a company, you would elect a company director on the basis that they would act in the best internal interests of the company; be that in its organisation, its events, profits, administration etc. I expect the same of a student's union. I am quite certain that the pointless politicking of the NUS does not act in my best interests, and I do not expect my publicly funded university to be acting contrary to my interests and spending £50,000 on annual NUS membership fees, thanks.
The intention of a Student's Association should not be to take political stances. It should rather enable students to take their own informed stances, and expose them to a diverse range of political opinion. Perhaps it is time that our student leaders stopped acting like some sort of sovereign parliament. Perhaps it is time our student leaders focussed more on organising events, balls, and academic debates, rather than poking their nose at international affairs in Europe and the Middle East.
Perhaps it is time Student Unions started acting like a Union of Students instead of creating a haven for authoritarian progressivism.
There is something quite romantic about academic freedom. University becomes an intellectual hub; a crucible of thought and an exchange of ideas. To re-establish this vision, students must start campaigning for political neutrality. Let's end the dictatorship of the thin-skinned and chronically offended, and create a platform for open debate.
University of Strathclyde rugby players raise over £28,000 for charity by shaving their heads
Chloe Imrie
Shaving the day one head at a time
Things you'll know if you've studied a year abroad in Norway
Poppy Joy Watson
You'll learn how to slip over gracefully on ice
Editorial applications are open for The Tab Strathclyde
The Tab
You can sign up to be a writer, too
Craig David is coming to Glasgow
Let me fill you in on it
Apply for The Tab Fellowship at Strathclyde
There are ten spots
25 most inspirational women in Glasgow
Who run the world? Glaswegian girls
Where to eat out in Glasgow
Pawel Latoszek
It's time to move to Bath St
Vote: What will you miss the most about Strathclyde?
Probably not the hills
Vote: What's the worst thing about Strathclyde?
You can't say Glasgow students
Introducing The Tab Strathclyde Power List
Making friends and influencing people
Glasgow is the best city in the UK to be a student
Katie McEvinney
Who can refuse a munchie box?
Everything you'll recognise from your commute to Strathclyde
Natasha McMeekin
There's nothing like running for the bus to wake you up
Why you should join The Tab Strathclyde next term
Rose Bernard
You know you wanna
Thousands march to Reclaim The Night in Glasgow's West End
Shannon McGarrity
The campaign aims to raise awareness of sexual violence in the city
Your complete guide to being a Glasgow uni wanker
Anela Hasa, Katie McEvinney, Shannon McGarrity & Laura
You just need to convince yourself you're better than everyone else
Society style: Photography club
Chenxin's coat game is on point
It is forecasted to snow in Glasgow this weekend
Justin Bowie
There could even be blizzards
Strathclyde's best Yaks
Yik Yak game = strong
40 students walked out of their classes for 'Day of Solidarity'
It was to support migrants and international students


text:
"""
==================================================
Test Images and Image Creation (:mod:`mango.data`)
==================================================

.. currentmodule:: mango.data

Functions for generating images with content.

Functions
=========

.. autosummary::
   :toctree: generated/

   fill_annular_circular_cylinder - Voxels which lie inside an annular circular cylinder are assigned a specified fill value.
   fill_box - Voxels which lie inside a box are assigned a specified fill value.
   fill_circular_cylinder - Voxels which lie inside a circular cylinder are assigned a specified fill value.
   fill_ellipsoid - Voxels which lie inside an ellipsoid are assigned a specified fill value.

   createCheckerDds - Creates a 3D checker-board :obj:`Dds` image.
   chi_squared_noise - Creates a :obj:`mango.Dds` of Chi-Squared distributed noise.
   gaussian_noise - Creates a :obj:`mango.Dds` of Gaussian (Normal) distributed noise.
   gaussian_noise_like - Creates a :obj:`mango.Dds` of Gaussian (Normal) distributed noise.

"""

from ._factory import *

__all__ = [s for s in dir() if not s.startswith('_')]


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text:
Niharika Shenoy
Pehli Udaan — Vignettes of Indian wildlife in a picture book
Pehli Udaan, written by Amit Kumar and illustrated by Prashant Soni
'Pehli Udaan' is an illustrated anthology of stories of the wild, transporting you to remote jungles of Central India to witness the exciting, sometimes dangerous encounters between people, prey and predators.
Amit Kumar's thrilling accounts of a mother bear protecting her cubs, of elephants coming to the rescue in a safari gone astray and a bird's first flight, are filled with vivid details that are brought to life in Prashant Soni's beautiful black and white illustrations.
Picture Courtesy — Prashant Soni
Prashant Soni talks about the challenges of illustrating this book during the lockdown, tips to handle burnout, how one can create drama in illustrations and what to keep in mind when illustrating wildlife and subjects in natural surroundings. (Translated from Hindi)
Me — Tell us about how this book came about.
Prashant — Sushil bhai* had sent the stories to me, somewhere in January 2020— I had sent him some of my sketches of tigers some time ago, perhaps that's why he thought that I would be the right illustrator to work on these stories.
And then in March the lockdown was announced. I have never seen such a time in my life — to be cooped up at home all day and to see the streets outside silent and deserted. I have seen a day's curfew but to live in that prolonged state of restrictions and isolation! Its influence was so deep that my mind was not in my work. I have really struggled to work on this book.
*Sushil Shukla of Ektara — Takshila's Centre for Children's Literature & Art
Me — But to your credit, the illustrations are fantastic — in spite of the struggle that you experienced…
Prashant — Well, that's because I reworked the ones I was dissatisfied with. (laughs)
Me — When you first read the stories, what were your thoughts?
Prashant — It is wonderful that such stories are being written in Hindi. There has not been much work on stories with these themes and settings — stories of shikar, stories of the jungle.
This is the first time I have worked on such a book. I think this is a lovely accomplishment by Amit ji ( the writer), the stories are so vivid that the images come to your mind instantly and you feel "I want to make a picture of this!"
I also love working in black and white…I am quite happy with many of the illustrations in this book.
Me— How much time did it take to make this book?
Prashant — Around 5–6 months. It was really a time of distress, not just for me but everyone, everywhere in the world I think. There was also no phone call from the publishers demanding that the work be finished and sent.
Me — Did you have a lot of back and forth with the publishers?
Prashant — Not really .They gave me a lot of space, time and room to experiment. They told me, "You can go ahead and draw what you like."
Me — What was your process of illustrating this book?
Prashant — At first, the book was supposed to have only 6 stories, and then three more stories were added. I had sent in the sketches I had made for one story and that decided the illustration style for me –realistic illustrations that would have to be composed within the page. There are no flat cuts in any of the illustrations.
Once I found the kind of illustration that would work well, I stopped sending in sketches and worked on the roughs on my own, I figured out what layout would be suitable and I gave the final touches.
Me — What aspects can illustrators keep in mind when illustrating wildlife?
Prashant — The Jungle has richness to it, isn't it? There is a silence, a calm atmosphere, and there are animals absorbed in their day to day living, lurking in the undergrowth, hunting prey. There is an entire atmosphere which lies in the little details. It would be good to capture that.
Me — Have you visited the places mentioned in the stories?
Prashant — No. I think visiting jungles, wildlife reserves is a kind of disturbance to the natural world. I don't like that. I have gone to forests very few times — all of us have at some point or the other, I guess.
There are some amazing TV channels — Discovery, Nat Geo, and I watch a lot of the programs aired on these channels. In these, you can have a very close look at the jungle. Whatever connection and fondness I have for wildlife is through these TV channels. I respect nature a lot. Everybody loves nature, but to respect it, that's a different thing altogether…
Me — Indeed. What kind of research did you have to make while working on this book?
Prashant — I saw some reference images on the internet. But you never make an exact copy of what you find. Also, you will not find reference pictures that fit the story you are illustrating! So you take a call, build a visual from different photos, make a layout ready, then you study the animals… Study is a continuous process whether working on commissioned work or not. You refer the photographs once or twice, do a couple of sketches then you get a grasp on the form, and anatomy of animals. Since I have been in this field for a while, it doesn't take very long.
Me — Tell us more about the illustrations…
Prashant — I have used an ink pen for the lines, ink wash for tone, and in some places Rotring pens (0.3 and 0.5). I love working with a Rotring pen…I also love black and white, it's very good at creating drama.
Me — Speaking of drama, how can illustrators bring that out in the artwork?
Prashant — There is some action in the illustration that draws your attention, apart from the details already mentioned in the story.
You show the incidents through gesture, body language, movement and see to it that there is some exaggeration in it — when you exaggerate the text in the visual — you can recreate any emotion in the illustration.
In every story you read there are thousands of illustrations that can be based on the details, you choose the one that can create the most drama — it is not an abstract process in that sense, you have the written word to rely on as a limit, you get wonderful images running through your mind because of what you read.
Me — Are there illustrations in this book that are close to your heart?
Prashant — Yes, there are some that I really like, my first favorite is the bear attack (laughs)
There is that illustration with the tigress resting after having killed the deer…you know tigers never immediately eat their prey, they kill it and then they rest for a bit, catch their breath — I really liked how that one is illustrated. This was one of the illustrations that I redid.
Then there is that double spread on Page 8, 14 and 15. I guess you could say I like all the illustrations with tigers in them (laughs).
Me — I love the composition in the illustrations…
Prashant — This is probably the influence of those wildlife documentaries on discovery channel, NatGeo etc — they have amazing camerawork. There are film makers, wild life photographers who make amazing documentaries — if you have an interest in wildlife photography, you should watch these channels, each program better than the other, it will obviously influence the artist…I have a very strong interest in composition — they keep the camera in a certain spot at a certain angle, frame the shot for the movie…
Me — How did you get into this field?
Prashant — From my interest and passion for art, it naturally followed...
I used to work at a medical store and one day I was sketching on the prescription pad… You know whenever medical representatives come; they give these prescription pads free. I used to sketch on them…so there I was sketching, and a person associated with an NGO that made textbooks and study material came to the shop and saw my work — he told me 'why don't you come and participate in a workshop with us?" So that's where it began. I have not looked back since. Those were my first illustrations. Whenever I got a chance to attend such workshops, I took them.
I have been working as a full time illustrator with Vidya Bhawan Education resource centre since 16 years. My first freelance illustration project was with the government in 2000, then I continued in this field.
I used to paint too in between — I have had 2–3 shows, exhibitions too but even during that time, I was always illustrating…I don't get to paint these days so I mainly illustrate.
Me — How did you get interested in illustration?
Prashant — Since childhood, there was always an inclination towards books in our home. Beautiful Russian books translated to Hindi! I knew about illustration ever since I was a child because I'd seen illustrators' names mentioned on books and magazines.
It was also a culture of comic books at that time. In my hometown, Nathdwara there were children's libraries. This was our entertainment. We didn't have TV in our houses; The TV came much later…In Nathdwara, we had a library called sahitya mandal and they used to stock up on a lot of comics. Every month there would be a good collection of children's books. It was always crowded…you know how ration shops have queues? Kids used to line up like that outside the library! (laughs)
It was all great fun…Now the form of entertainment has changed. I don't really see most people around me that interested in books, which is sad. The demand for books is low and the illustrator does not get paid well.
Me — So you think books are important…
Prashant — Of course… Books are the best medium to understand the world around you. You get so many things from books — information you could never even have thought of. Things that parents cannot give, books can.
Me — Do you think going to an art college is important to be a professional illustrator?
Prashant — Well, I have not studied art. It wasn't schooling but passion that got me here. In fact, the first certificate I have actually got is from Riyaaz.
Going to Art school doesn't always mean that the student automatically becomes an artist — there are so many Fine Art graduates that I have seen who don't know to draw, don't understand basic anatomy, don't sketch outdoors…Maybe college can give the right space and atmosphere. I don't really know since I never went to one.
Also, not all colleges have good teachers…I was lucky to come across one sir who made beautiful work in terracotta. He used to come around to the medical store too. My journey into painting began because of him.
I could say the same about illustration — the people associated with this field met me. My career really took off thanks to all these helpful people.
Me — Tell us about your time at Riyaaz.
Prashant — I have been illustrating since 2000 and some of my work had been published in Chakmak magazine, this was when I got acquainted with Sushil Shukla. When Riyaaz was started, Sushil bhai told me about it and asked me to join. It has been a great experience. For me it was a wonderful chance to learn from masters who have years of experience in illustration and Fine Art.
In Riyaaz, the importance of the context in which the text is based was explained rather well . Context becomes really important in fleshing out the detailing — it adds a real authenticity to the visual that you create.
With your detailing you can mesmerize the viewer into taking in more from the illustration — he will spend some seconds in engaging with the picture, but if your illustration falls flat, if there is nothing in it that can catch the attention of the reader, they will just move on to the next thing.
Me — What do you enjoy most in book illustration?
Prashant — I love making picture books that are completely illustrated, the ones with little text. They are very enjoyable to make! But if you are an illustrator, you have to do all kinds of work– Like in this book there are more stories but less illustrations — 'Pehli Udaan' is for slightly older children.
Illustration is challenging. You could get just about anything and you have to make it work. Sometimes you get a creative block…
Me — What do you do when you get a creative block?
Prashant — I Rest. Completely (laughs)
In office, I get a lot of work, sometimes so much work that I go a little crazy thinking about it, 700–800 illustrations but you have to do it.
In the beginning, it was alright because I was young (I'm talking about 8–10 years ago) and that was the age for it (laughs) but now I sometimes refuse freelance work when work pressures from my day job become overwhelming.
Now the volume of work is a little more manageable.
Me — How do you handle the pressure of having a full time illustration job and freelancing at the same time?
Prashant — At office, you are working on the material handed out to you and then you have only Sundays left. Then you also get holidays. Work on freelance projects in whatever free time you can manage!
Sometimes I get very tired, and then I don't worry about anything — the other person's disappointment, stress about deadlines, delaying work, anger, phone calls, what will they think, what won't they think. I remove all such thoughts from my mind and I rest.
Actually, I have learnt these things from Atanu da, he has delayed work and given the finished art after months of having received them but whatever work he does finally give publishers — the patience, passion and high quality he puts in each and every illustration is worth the wait I think.
I would definitely want to do good quality work and honor deadlines at the same time but sometimes it is just not possible. So you have to try and dodge them and get more time if possible — Many publishers also fail to realize that it is not possible to work that fast.
The publishers receive stories as a finished piece and then start seeking illustrators. They don't ask illustrators how much time they need and the poor illustrator, he is dead (laughs). He earns his livelihood from it, at the same time he wants to be creative and show artistry…and ends up working under a lot of pressure.
I am very clear about how much time I can devote now, I tell the ones giving me freelance work right in the beginning — I have a job, I have a family…I can only accept work that have longer deadlines.
Me — Do you have any advice for people wanting to get into this field?
Prashant — Well, any field that you get into will demand hard work. Those who are passionate and deeply interested will do things with a sense of enjoyment and they should definitely come into this field.
Those who work without any real interest, or who do it just for the heck of it might not last very long. I think it happens naturally. It's a demanding field and only those who hang on because of genuine love will continue to work at it.
I think whoever wants to make this a career would have to understand that an illustrator will have to do all kinds of work — every time you may not get a picture book to work on, sometimes you get textbooks, sometimes other material, illustration is an entire world in itself — those who are in love with illustration will do everything with enjoyment, after making every book, he or she will think that - in my next book, I will do it this way –so in their mind, this thought process keeps continuously happening, so their body of work also keeps increasing.
Slowly one begins to see a mastery in their work, an improvement, a better standard of quality — and then after a long time has passed, they forge a style of their own, a way of artistic representation unique only to them.
Me — So when do you decide that your illustration is complete and you won't fiddle with it anymore?
Prashant — Well it happens when you are working on the piece, if it is not going too well, you redo it…or keep it.
I had a lot of time on my hands while working on this book — I was at home, my kids would be up to some mischief or the other with school being closed. I couldn't really get a quiet, good space to make art in.
I would feel that I want to rework on the art. As an artist you are sometimes dissatisfied with the kind of work that you make, what others think and say about it comes much later…
Before anyone else, you yourself decide whether something is taking a good shape, going the way you had visualized, because the book is a sort of collection and you see all illustrations as an entire work — and then you see that one picture is being discordant– all the others are great fun but this particular illustration is a little annoying and not really getting on well with the other. So then change it again…you have to be in the process to know it, I think.
Me — Do you have time to work on personal projects and outdoor sketching?
Prashant — No I don't get enough time.
Well, the entire day you are sketching on the job, which is not the same of course, but still you are in touch with the craft.
Sometimes I do a little study. I reference images on the internet — to get the anatomy right, to take the context of things into consideration.
Me — Tell us about illustrators that inspire you.
Prashant — The first person I would mention is Atanu Roy, I really like his work — every picture of his is entertaining and enjoyable. I keep waiting for what he will come up with next!
I grew up reading books illustrated by Atanu da, Jagadeesh Joshi. NBT books by Pulak biswas, Micky Patel…Their work is inspiring.
'Pehli Udaan', published by Jugnoo Prakashan is available here and here . 'Pehli Udaan' has been featured in the Parag honour list 2021 — a curated collection of noteworthy books in English and Hindi.
For work -related queries you could get in touch with Prashant Soni — sprashant.soni@gmail.com
The idea behind this series of interviews is to give readers a glimpse into the world of children's publishing and picture book illustration in India — what illustrators actually do and how they work their magic. Stay tuned!
Read the interviews with children's book illustrators Ishita Biswas , Sunita , Deepa Balsavar, Bhargav Kulkarni, Ruchi Mhasane, Ashok Rajagopalan, Priya Sebastian, Karen Haydock, Archana Sreenivasan, Atanu Roy
Children's book illustrator, translator and copywriter based in Bangalore. www.niharikashenoy.blogspot.com
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Indian Publishing
Illustrator Interview
Kids Book Illustration
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text:
Sir Jenison William Gordon, 2nd Baronet (1747 – 9 May 1831 in Ewerby, Lincolnshire) succeeded his father, Sir Samuel Gordon, 1st Baronet, in 1780.

In October 1781 he married Harriet Frances Charlotte Finch (d. 1821), second daughter of the Hon. Edward Finch Hatton, who in turn was the youngest son of Daniel Finch, 7th Earl of Winchilsea and 2nd Earl of Nottingham. Debrett, in 1815, states that Sir Jenison Gordon had his seat at Haverholm (sic) Priory, Lincolnshire.

In 1783 he served as High Sheriff of Lincolnshire. He is also listed as having served as a Deputy Lieutenant for the North Division of Kesteven in 1830.

Sir Jenison Gordon died at Haverholme Priory, in May 1831. He and Lady Harriet had no children, and so the Gordon baronetcy of Newark-upon-Trent became extinct. His estates, which at the time were described by The Times as "extensive", passed to George William Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea and 5th Earl of Nottingham. During his occupancy of Haverholme Priory, Sir Jenison had made substantial additions and improvements to the house, "and in a style corresponding to the circumstances of the place".

References

1747 births
1831 deaths
Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain
High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire
Deputy Lieutenants of Lincolnshire


When I was a bit younger, the adjective "simple" wouldn't necessarily be a desirable characteristic for activities or things in my life. I'm guessing when I thought of "simple" I also thought "boring" or "yawn." That was also around the same time when I didn't mind if a dinner took 2 hours to prepare or if a dessert had 50 different steps.
Things are very different right now. I have found that I really appreciate simple and/or easy things. A really great but simple haircut. Clothing that only looks like I spent time coordinating a cute outfit. Books that quickly draw you in and keep you engaged. Simple but tasty and nutritious meals (more on that in a second).
And being around easy to talk/relate to people. Friends are harder to come by when you get older. I'm sure this will change, but right now I'm past the point of wanting to go to a party and meet a bunch of new people. I love being social, but if I get that opportunity I want to spend it with people where the friendships are easy. It was hard moving back to Wichita from Durham. When you move back to your hometown, people assume you have a group of friends to easily plug back into. That might be partly true, but those friends got used to you not being there or maybe your just don't click like you did.
I have had a saving grace during this transitional time of life though, Club Read. Every Sunday afternoon a group of long time friends and family would get together, hang out, watch football, eat great food, and just generally enjoy each others company. Josh and I were graciously invited into the fold. Even though football is 100% not my thing, I looked forward to Club Read every Sunday. They were with us while we tried to find our footing again in Wichita, while I was pregnant, after Isla was born, and now as we figure life out as new parents. It has been a beautiful picture of community that I am so grateful for.
Simple, healthy, quick and delicious. This salad is my current favorite. It has everything you want for a summer salad. Not too heavy, but full of zesty flavors. The dressing has raw garlic which gives it a zippy spice that I just love. You make it on the grill which is even better because you can just throw it on when your protein isn't almost done.
Here's to simple and easy.
Rinse your kale and remove the stalks. Be sure to dry the kale leaves well.
To make the dressing: Use a microplane grater to grate the garlic cloves into a small bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Whisk together until incorporated. Set aside.
Brush the olive oil onto both sides of the bread.
Place the kale leaves and bread directly onto the grill grates. Grill for approximately a minute and then give everything a good flip. Grill for another minute or until the kale leaves and bread begins to char. Remove from grill and let set for a minute on a sheet pan.
Cut grilled bread into crouton sized pieces.
In a large bowl, throw in your grilled kale leaves. Drizzle the dressing over the kale and toss well.
Split the salad between serving plates or bowls and top with croutons. Enjoy!


Behold! It is James, your contact person for this kickstarter campaign! And an agent of the Undersea Realm!
Yesterday, I talked about our Stretch Goals and issued a challenge to see if we could unlock another goal or two prior to the end of the campaign. Well, you sure showed this Aquatic Ambassador that humanity is up to the challenge!
Since yesterday's post, together we managed to unlock FOUR Stretch Goals, bringing our total (thus far) up to THIRTEEN! A remarkable accomplishment that will add new monsters, a new scenario, more art, and a new Add On opportunity to our project list!
Yesterday saw us add a boatload of new backers. I want to take a moment to highlight some key Update posts that new backers may want to check out (and existing backers may want to read as a refresher!).
COMPLETE PLAYTEST MANUSCRIPT PREVIEW - PARTS 1-6: Read the entire manuscript for the game now! Remember, though, there are still some minor edits, development and proofing that need to be done. But, you can consider this about 95% finished.
Jan. 20 update - REWARD TIERS: your best starting point for figuring out which Backer Reward Level to choose to help support this project.
Jan. 21 update - ADD ON REWARDS: the important companion piece to the Reward Tiers topic.
This new ADD ON is a physical, printed card deck featuring the Quip quotes and Cinematic powers featured in Appendix I and II of the manuscript. If you look at the complete reward tier chart (below), you'll see that all backers receiving the PDF version of They Came from Beneath the Sea! will receive a Print-and-Play PDF version of these cards. That means you'll be able to make your own deck at home.
HOWEVER, if you want a printed, physical deck - you can ADD ON +$15 to your Pledge Total and confirm your selection in BackerKit during our post-campaign process.
IMPORTANT - This ADD ON reward, the Quip & Cinematic Card Deck, can ONLY BE ADDED to Reward Tiers that are receiving the HARDCOVER rulebook for They Came from Beneath the Sea! This card deck will be added to the shipment containing your hardcover rulebook - if you are not receiving the hardcover rulebook as part of your rewards, there's no shipment to add it to.
If you want to add the Quip & Cinematic Card Deck - the physical, printed deck - to your rewards, you must be pledged to the MAIN CAST reward tier (or higher).
Again, the step-by-step process for adding additional rewards is included in THIS UPDATE.
Yesterday, the Gentleman Gamer himself, Matthew Dawkins, hosted a LIVE! Q&A about They Came from Beneath the Sea! If there's any Qs you still had about this game, check out this video to get some As.
And, if you want to see (and follow along with) an awesome Actual Play campaign run by Matthew Dawkins for the folks at Red Moon Roleplaying, check out the first episode in their Terror at Make-Out Point game using They Came from Beneath the Sea!
Now that we've annihilated all the Stretch Goals I'd laid out in yesterday's post, it's time to throw up some final challenges, and see if we can add these final additional content rewards.
At $45,000 in funding - SUPPLEMENTAL SWIMMING SAVAGES! - A boatload of new threats and challenges will be created and released as a Threat File! PDF, added on to the rewards list for all backers receiving the They Came from Beneath the Sea! rulebook PDF.
At $47,500 in funding - A NEW SCENARIO - One final adventure to be had with a new scenario PDF, added on to the rewards list for all backers receiving the They Came from Beneath the Sea! rulebook PDF.
Tomorrow, a final countdown post detailing the Final Checklist and What Comes Next.
Francesco Paparelli, Rudy C Westray, Jr, and 5 more people like this update.
Yay! Been hoping for cards! Will need to wait until backerkit though as still feeling the post Christmas money dip! Automatic add on though!


Following the relaxing of a ban on political activities, General Chalermchai Sitthisart warns that social media may be used to spread fake news in the run up to the election.
Born to Myanmar parents, Mong was showered with praise upon his triumphant return from a paper plane contest in Japan in 2009 and assured that Thai citizenship was on its way.
A Thai official said Ko-ee Meeme was granted citizenship because he was born on the ancestral land of Myanmar's ethnic Karen located in Thailand.


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MainBlogsFundamentally FreundThe Real Lack of Intelligence
The Real Lack of Intelligence
With the indecisive conclusion to the fighting in Lebanon, the finger-pointing is now well under way, as Israel's political echelons try to duck responsibility for their abject failure to win the war.
Some have sought to suggest that the reason Israel did not succeed in eviscerating Hizbullah was a lack of intelligence, in effect trying to shift the blame away from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz and on to the army and the security forces instead.
But as a retired senior US military official has pointed out, the blame for the Lebanon debacle rests squarely Israel's political leadership.
Read this excerpt from today's Washington Times:
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney said Mossad knew details three years ago about Hezbollah's Katyusha and other rockets.
"They knew what they had," he said.
He said Israel's war plan was undermined by political leaders, not by a lack of intelligence.
"Israel's plan was that if they were fired upon, they would respond with a [leadership] decapitation program and massive air and ground campaigns into Lebanon," Gen. McInerney said.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not order the decapitation plan and was slow to carry out the ground campaign.
"It was not the intelligence," he said. "There's no question they did not take the heart out of Hezbollah."
So, did the military campaign in Lebanon fail to achieve its objectives? Absolutely.
And who is it that "owns" that failure? Israel's weak-kneed political leadership.
No matter how hard they might try to pin the blame on others, Olmert and Peretz have demonstrated through their inaction where the real lack of intelligence can truly be found.


text:
'My Mission Was to Win': Coco Tops Venus at Australian Open
It was the most anticipated match of Day 1 at the first major tennis tournament of the decade, and it did not disappoint
Published January 19, 2020 • Updated on January 20, 2020 at 4:57 am
AP Photo/Dita Alangkara
Everyone had the same question when the Australian Open draw was revealed: What were the odds that Coco Gauff and Venus Williams would face each other again in the first round at a Grand Slam tournament?
"I was a bit shocked," Gauff said, "I'm sure everyone was a bit shocked."
Gauff, 15, played Williams, 39, to begin her first appearance in the main draw at Melbourne Park, just like what happened at Wimbledon last year. And, just like at the All England Club, the youngest woman in the field got the better of the oldest woman in the field, with Gauff beating Williams 7-6 (5), 6-3 on Monday.
"I definitely was more confident this time. I think I was used to playing on big courts, so the crowd — I guess the size of the crowd didn't startle me as much as last time," Gauff said. "Definitely a bit more positive coming into this match."
It was the most anticipated match of Day 1 at the first major tennis tournament of the decade, and it did not disappoint. The first set, in particular, was intriguing, with Gauff repeatedly pulling ahead, only to have Williams — who already had won four of her seven Grand Slam singles trophies by the time Gauff was born — rebuff her.
It wasn't until her fourth set point that Gauff finally pulled it out. She quickly grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second and never let that edge go.
Gauff already has demonstrated all sorts of terrific qualities on a tennis court, from her big, gutsy serves to an ability to track down opponents' shots. Now you can add stick-to-it-iveness to the list.
The match was held in Margaret Court Arena, one of three stadiums with a retractable roof, and that was a good thing. The air quality was fine, but a heavy storm that arrived in the afternoon suspended nine matches on outside courts in progress and postponed more than 20 others entirely.
Among the players who got a chance to play — and win — were Roger Federer, defending champion Naomi Osaka, 23-time major champion Serena Williams, and 2018 Australian Open winner Caroline Wozniacki, who is retiring after this tournament.
Serena, who is 38, did what her older sister couldn't: defeat a teen.
Other than a brief second-set blip, Serena had very little trouble getting past 18-year-old Anastasia Potapova of Russia 6-0, 6-3 to begin her latest bid for a 24th Grand Slam singles championship.
Serena took the last three games of the match, then declared with a laugh: "I started out well today. Ended well."
Her most recent major trophy came in Australia in 2017; that also had been her last title of any sort until this month, when she won a hard-court tuneup in Auckland, New Zealand.
Gauff beamed Monday while discussing a dance routine she did with Serena that went viral on social media.
There were laughs about her love of TikTok and her self-deprecating discussion of a propensity for procrastination when it comes to schoolwork.
She is, after all, still just a 15-year-old.
One with lofty goals, though.
"I mean, my mission is to be the greatest. That's my goal, to win as many Grand Slams as possible," said Gauff, whose best friend and doubles partner, 18-year-old American qualifier Caty McNally, upset 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur of Australia 6-1, 6-4 at night.
"But for today," Gauff added, "my mission was to win."
She and Venus Williams combined for far more unforced errors, 71, than winners, 42.
One key was that Williams ended up with 41 of those miscues, 11 more than Gauff.
Another was that Williams, long one of the most feared servers on tour, was outdone in that category by her opponent on this day. Not only did Gauff face only two break points, saving one, but she often came up with the goods at the most crucial moments, pounding an ace at 115 mph, say, or hitting a risky second serve at a high velocity to the perfect spot to draw a no-good return.
All the while, Gauff was not shy about celebrating the biggest of points with a loud "Come on!" and a series of fist pumps.
Otherwise, she had her game face on, betraying little emotion, including when she walked out onto the court with earbuds in place after getting a pre-match peck on the cheek from her father, Corey, who also serves as Gauff's coach.
Gauff is ranked 67th, and Williams, a former No. 1, is 55th. Williams was playing in a Grand Slam tournament's main draw for the 85th time, a record for the professional era, but this also was her first match of 2020, because of a hip injury that sidelined her at the start of January.
This is Gauff's third major, but she sure is precocious.
"She clearly wants it and works very hard and is extremely mature for her age," Williams said. "The sky's the limit for her."
Ranked 313th, Gauff became the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon history, then made it all the way to the fourth round, generating a ton of buzz, before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep. She backed that up with a run to the third round at the U.S. Open, then won her first WTA singles title later in the way.
The forehand that might have been the biggest question mark with her game after her breakthrough, seemed improved, yes, but still was a weakness Williams could test.
Another question entering this season had to be how Gauff would handle being someone everyone gears up for, someone everyone knows about, and someone who might need to deal with the pressure to perform and live up to the ever-growing and enormous expectations.
"I guess I came to the realization that I need to play my game, not worry about what people think of me," Gauff said.
"I still have a lot more to, I guess, become like one of those 'big names,'" she continued, making air quotes with her fingers. "I feel like I still have a lot to improve."
Australian OpenVENUS WILLIAMS


Treat your taste buds: Explore Design District restaurants.
The Design District in Dallas is one of the city's trendiest neighborhoods. As the name suggests, the Design District is home to Dallas' design industry, which is responsible for everything from elegant dresses to contemporary art, and those sensibilities carry over into your dining choices. Enjoy options from Dallas' legendary authentic Mexican cuisine to fabulous gourmet dishes surrounded by arts and culture. As this district combines both Southern and progressive influences, you can find authentic Texas BBQ right alongside fresh vegan fare. The area is also known for its breweries, many of which offer tasting tours. The Design District boasts a vibrant nightlife, offering a slew of bars, late-night restaurants, and gallery events.