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Hardware History
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This week at HQ, we've started doing something called "deep work". The people at Do Lectures, whose book we're reading this month about writing good email newsletters, recommend it as a way to not be distracted by all the things that pop up in our lives now thanks to our phones and the web and all that. It's good! We're going to persist.
Our deep work mechanics at this stage are that I've set an alarm on my phone that goes off at 2pm, and again at 5pm, and in that window, we try not to use our phones and turn off the WiFi on our laptops.
One of the main jobs we have at the moment is to think more about sales and marketing. We haven't especially done any yet, apart from talking about our work to people who mostly already know us, so we'd like to broaden our audience a bit – hence reading about writing better newsletters. Would you like to sign up for our newsletter? We thought we'd start with our homepage, which hasn't been changed since we wrote it, really, back in 2016. (Not proud of that!). So, we're working on that.
During that exercise, we were flung off into a lovely exercise of pulling things off our shelves, and arranging it — or knolling it — on our big work table. It was really satisfying to see how Museum in a Box has evolved.
Here's a wobbly panorama of the whole scene to start with. Packaging, Box inserts, the Box and its various design branches, the "brain" which is all the hardware/software inside, our progress bar, and the sound elements, from volume knob selection to amplifier design.
You can see the Box insert cards, from the very first idea of a scribbled "Updates" card, to our current TRY ME! cards, which give people who've bought a Make Your Own kit something to play before they've finished their collections.
These are the various elements of the "brain". From earliest at the top, to most recent at the bottom. Exciting to see Adrian's very first comp of our physical progress bar, which we developed because the Box took about 30 seconds to start up. Now it takes about 12 seconds!
And finally, we have about ten hardware versions we consider to be major milestones in the design. It's not quite Dyson's 5,000 iterations, but we aren't as rich as him, so, there's that. It's still really satisfying to track the design evolution and how we've continually synthesised feedback and technical considerations.
We've parcelled all the iterations up into their own labelled boxes on the shelves instead of them being all over the place, which I find comforting.
Possibly the best bit is that Charlie's also made an awesome 3D model of the table with all the bits and bobs on it!
Museum in a Box Archive by charlescattelkillick on Sketchfab
Tags archiving, deep work, design, hardware, HQ
audio design manufacturing myomb packaging shipping shop
New Year, New Box, New You!
Post author By Charlie Cattel-Killick
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"Radically better"
As we move into 2020 we want to take a moment to talk about the latest version of the Box, version 1.3. We've dedicated much of the last year to developing it, and we LOVE it!
Behold version 1.3! Think it doesn't look much different? Think again and look under the hood…
At the beginning of 2019 we sent 40 boxes around the world in our pilot. Following the feedback from that, and coupled with a wish list we had already built up, we identified a number of ways we could improve the Box.
At the same time we set ourselves the ambitious goal to build 1000 boxes by the end of the year. Building large numbers of the previous design wasn't ever going to be practical, it was made up of a tangle of wires that we had to hand-wire ourselves and it relied on a variety of components ordered online from a multitude of suppliers. The Boxes were also subject to the occasional injury when transported around the world, so it's suffice to say we had our work cut out!
Some of the ways we sought to improve the design included:
Better audio – louder and clearer!
Faster assembly time
Fewer parts
More durable design
Logging boops offline
And so we started work in the spring; Adrian worked on designing the PCB as a neat home for all the components that were previously crammed into the box, George developed the awesome instructional graphics on the board and worked on software improvements, and Charlie designed a new acrylic 'skull' and mapped out the positions for the electronics and how they would be mounted inside the Box. So here it is…
The new PCB…
We LOVE the new PCB and it has a few important features worth talking about. Importantly there's no wires. Previous Boxes included a large micro-USB extension cable, aux jack, and loads of wires which got in the way. Now the jacks are tiny components that sit at the back of the board and are devoid of the tangled wires that criss crossed older versions. This means we no longer have to hand solder anything (Yay!) and the boxes will be far more durable, reliable, consistent.
The 'Brain' of the Box is now a neat stack of three separate boards: A Raspberry Pi 3A+ sits at the bottom, then there's our main custom board and progress LED board (affectionately known as 'Blinky Lights') which slots in a right-angle socket; and finally we have a stacking header and plastic standoffs which raises the reader high above the main PCB just underneath the surface of the box. Primed and ready for Booping!
Our beautiful board (note the handy prompts to help you understand what's what!)
There's now a REAL-TIME CLOCK (RTC) too. Previously if a Box wasn't on WiFi we had no way of logging when a Boop had happened because the Pi doesn't keep track of time when it's not online. So this new RTC allows us to timestamp a Boop and log it next time the Box is connected to a WiFi network.
Testing the board and speakers for the first time
Then there's the DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER (D.A.C.). As the board says the D.A.C. 'converts digital audio into analog sound for the amp'. This along with our super swanky and loud speakers make for waaaay better audio, that is free of static and incredibly clear. This alone makes the experience of using a Museum in a Box, particularly in noisy environments, so much better.
1000 custom made speakers!
The new speakers not only pack a punch but also weigh a lot less which in turn makes them far easier to mount. V1.3 is almost half the weight of previous versions which will reduce both the cost of postage and it's environmental impact when shipped around the world.
The new Skull…
A comparison of the Box design evolution from 2018 to 2019
With our new PCB came the challenge of mounting it inside the 'Skull'. Past versions required us to fix bits to the sides, top, and base with an opening on the underside. This was fastened by screws in the feet and some t-nuts that were an incredible pain to mount and often came loose!
MiaB team visit ProtoLabs
The advice we kept receiving when talking enclosures was to injection mould it. The main benefits of that being a moulded enclosure is 'preassembled' and ready to put the electronics straight in. It's also very scalable and would allow us to integrate snap fittings into the design for mounting components inside.
To explore this we did a lot of research into moulding and a bunch of work CADing and prototyping different enclosures. We also took a team trip to visit Protolabs in Telford and learned a great deal from the brilliant people there and received an exciting factory tour of their setup. We attained quotes but ultimately decided not to go with injection moulding for two reasons:
1. The upfront tooling cost is very high and hard to justify for the small batches we planned to initially produce.
2. The overall aesthetic of the Box has become part our identity. The ability for us to easily modify the design, and teach others to build the Box (such as our amazing Verizon volunteers!) feels much more appropriate for our scale and values.
So, having decided to stick with our laser cut look we needed to find a neat way to mount the PCB inside the Skull. The solution was to switch from a bottom opening to a front loading Box. We created a neat groove on the back panel for the PCB to slide into and sit neatly in the middle of the box, lining up with openings at the back for the micro-USB and aux jacks. The Box can now be opened, the PCB removed, and replaced in mere moments!
Get in the groove! The ledge the PCB slots and rests into, lining up with the aux & power jacks on the skull.
The extra front and back panels are held in place and made removable by using some neat snap rivets which can be removed from the outside. We used these rivets for speaker mounting too where before we'd faffed about with tiny nuts and bolts and a laser-cut stand.
Blinky Lights – We use these to indicate that the Box is 'warming up' and 'ready to go!'
Other new features include a new progress LED board which is slicker and uses some recycled acrylic offcuts for the shims that we sent to the PCB manufacturers European Circuits. We spent a long time looking for the perfect light pipes to use with surface mount LEDs but ultimately decided to stick with through hole LEDs and our big green green LED. Why? Because they look bright and amazing!
A new Box deserves new packaging to go with it. We revisited a previous design using a more compact container and an insert that conceals the power plug and various admin and try me cards so all you see when unboxing is your shiny new Box!
The new packaging which we tested by passing the box around the office like a rugby ball!
Finally there's the latest version of the software. We'll talk about this in more depth another day but we're chuffed that the Box now boots up waaay quicker than it used to and includes more audio guidance when working through steps like WiFi and updates.
The new assembly time…
With our new design manufactured we decided to assemble the first 20 Boxes. We were blown away to discover that assembly now takes ~7.5 minutes per Box – a 2000% increase from the old design!
George and Charlie building 20 boxes in 2.5 hours!
In future this saving will enable us to fulfil orders quicker than ever before. The Box was intentionally designed for disassembly and as a result we proudly no longer use glue during the assembly process. The Box will now be much easier for people to disassemble and recycle at the end-of-life and we will share a breakdown of the parts and materials inside the Box in due course to make safe and appropriate disposal even easier.
Assembling our first batch of v1.3 Boxes in HQ
And so with our shiny new Box design came our first test…
First boot up of v1.3… we figured out the Zeus print, eventually!
So there you have it, our new Box and the culmination of over nine months hard work. I hope that proves an interesting insight into some of the design decisions we made in developing v1.3. We love it and we hope you do too!
Our shop is now online so you can buy your very own v1.3 Box with a Make Your Own kit now! Kits are available in Individual, Educator, Small Org and Large Org options and colours include CMYK, Transparent, and Plywood.
Box colours include: Cyan, Yellow, Transparent, Plywood, Magenta, and Black
Have a wonderful New Year from all at Museum in a Box.
📦🎁🎅🎄🧦🎉🛠🏺🏛🔌💡🔉🌰
Tags boxes, Christmas, design, Design for Disassembly, electronics, make your own, making, manufacturing, new year, open, pcb, shop, transparency
brain design
Technology is a tool, not our master
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When people see and try a Museum in a Box for the first time, after they've been charmed by the magic and wizardry, they'll often ask how does it work?
Once we start down that line of conversation, it also doesn't take too long before people ask have you patented this?
The fun part is, we tell people exactly how it works. It's a combination of Near Field Communication (NFC), a Raspberry Pi, and a few other bits and bobs, which we happily explain.
Illustration of main components, by Charlie Cattel-Killick, February 2018
We've also made boxes out of transparent acrylic so you can see exactly how it works. I was chuffed when I handed one of our transparent boxes to my nephew, Alex, and he was able to identify, describe, and connect each of the hardware components into the whole. And I'm not just saying that because he's family. I was genuinely impressed.
A transparent box alongside one of our early physical prototypes for our new internal layout
In one of our recent commissions, with Monroe County History Center, we loved hearing that they thought a transparent Box in particular would be of interest to their community. The commission was about developing reminiscence collections for folks suffering from dementia and their carers, and quite a few of the men in the programme had an engineering background, so we hoped there'd be interest in the device itself, as well as the 1960s.
We also want to make our design available in an open format so students can literally make their own boxes too. I suspect we'll end up doing this with one of our early designs which maker spaces or classrooms may have the components to hand to fabricate their own Box. As we're marching towards higher production volumes, that's meant developing internals that are much quicker to assemble, and can be made in large volumes. We are developing a Make Your Own kit version this year, so far focussed on the content side of things – like choosing and digitising objects, writing and recording their stories – but we've always hoped to extend Make Your Own to include the hardware piece too.
That brings me to our newest design innovation, which relates to our new and improved printed circuit board (PCB). Instead of us hand-crafting the internals – because I should never be making wiring looms! – we've now got a super-slick, all-encompassing PCB which incorporates and unifies the amplifier, digital-to-analog audio conversion, power for the Box, our physical progress bar, and allows us to add a real-time clock to help us manage and record when objects are booped.
As Adrian and I chipped away on the PCB layout, I found myself unable to recognise or interpret what all the wiring bits actually were, and needed Adrian to label them for me. Then it dawned on me. Why not label them for everyone? Why not explain transparently exactly what each bit does? So, I designed cheeky labels for each of the main components, so you can familiarise yourself with it all.
Our shiny new annotated PCB!
Blinky lights!!!!
We've also redesigned how the Box opens up, to make it easier to pull the guts out and have a look. People – often men, interestingly – tell us "but you could just do this with a phone", and we nod politely and say yes, you could. But, a) that's just another screen in your life, b) you can't just pull your phone apart to understand how it works, c) we want the Box itself to be part of the experience, and d) it is also an educational element of the whole idea.
I'm still not sure if we'll patent the hardware design, but I at least wanted to establish a state of the art on the annotation-on-the-thing idea with this blog post. That might mean we get totally stiffed by some giant megacorp, which would obviously SUCK, but, I prefer to radiate generous intent.
Tags cross-curricular, design, open, pcb, transparency
audio brain commission design
Our First Upgrade!
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The Jewish Museum London (JML) commissioned a Box from us last year, about remembering Jewish people who served in WWI and WWII.
They got in touch with us again this year to see about doing an upgrade of their Box – our first upgrade!
Since we delivered the initial commission, the Box's core design has seen some important changes, and in fact, we declared V1.0 of the physical design back in February this year. We've also been gradually improving the software that runs the core Box interactions, so this was a good chance to upgrade the code on the JML Box while we were poking around.
Physical upgrades
The plywood 'skull' has been simplified with the speaker and power jacks now exposed on the back of the box, along with access to one of the Pi's USB ports. (We're not sure what we want to do with that yet. One idea is to incorporate a microphone into the mix.)
Most of the previous perforations across the older 'skull' have now been filled in, to focus the sound (so it doesn't just bounce around inside the box), and most importantly,
We've replaced the old tiny stereo speakers with one beefy new mono one (see below)!
Our beefy new speakers!
So, to do the upgrade, we took back the museum's old Box, gutted it, reusing what we could before cutting them a new V1.0 Box in plywood, reconstructing it with the new sound components, and handing it back.
Jewish Museum team checking out the box
The original 2017 box
The upgraded box!
There were two other important aspects of the upgrade: the audio clips and the software. The museum had tested their Box in schools and found the audio was too long. We've been evaluating this challenge across all the Collections we've made, and developing a much better understanding about audio duration and content types that work really well with young children. Our main conclusion is – perhaps unsurprisingly – if clips are too long people begin to disengage and switch off. Therefore, the museum trimmed some of their lengthier tracks down and we republished them to the Box.
Now, with WiFi!
It's now possible to configure each Box in situ to get on to a WiFi network, so we made the cheeky addition inside the shiny new packaging – a WiFi card! The card allows the box to connect to a local WiFi network with the assistance of a smartphone, tablet or computer.
The upgrade gave us the opportunity to test the new wifi configuration out in the wild for the first time as well as update the shortened audio tracks onsite using the museum's WiFi. Once the box was online, and after a little troubleshooting had been done, the box automatically pulled down and updated the new audio tracks!
What WiFi means for the future
Upgrading the Jewish Museum London's box has been a great testbed for us to learn how we can retro-fit and improve upon older boxes as well as provide on-site updates to content without the need for physical intervention from us- this is an exciting development that's heading towards our long term goal, where we can offer subscriptions to people who have Boxes. Say you like Natural History" and you subscribe, every month (or so), you get a new set of things delivered from museums all over the world, and your Box just knows about the new set of things because we've been able to update it in the background.
Huge thanks to the JML crew for inquiring about the upgrade and for being patient while we figured out a method of best practice!
Tags design, Jewish Museum London, upgrade, wifi
archive brain design packaging prototype sludge
All boxed up [update]
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Our brains have done a fair bit of milage recently with George travelling to LA for the Communicating the Museum conference and Charlie flying over to Belfast to talk at the Digital Tech, Young People & Heritage conference at Ulster Museum and also exhibiting at the British Museum's 3D Imaging in Cultural Heritage conference.
In preparation we've spent a bit of time working on new packaging for what we refer to as the 'starter box' because it contains: the brain, an introductory print, and a mains plug; everything you need to get started! Previous versions have been bulky and wasted space which can make travelling with the box more challenging than it need be. We wrote exactly a year ago (gosh!) about our visit to MOO HQ where we worked on packaging ideas with their product design team and having now spent some time designing a new box we wanted to share a brief overview of our packaging evolution and developments:
Statues of Women in London – December 2015
December 2015: Early brain prototype combined with the statues of women around London set. We later decided to separate the brain into an independent starter box because the variation of possible 3D prints and postcards in the box is so great. This gives us more freedom now when packaging up each unique collection.
MOO Box – November 2016
November 2016: An experiment developed with Moo Ltd using their plotter machine and a square brain. This included a space for a set of NFC cards.
February 2017: Starter box comprised of many laser cut layers of card. Solid but used an unnecessary amount of material, was heavy and there was a great deal of wasted space.
An object box made for the Jewish Museum London's 'Hearing History' set
Render of a foam insert design – July 2017
July 2017: Stacked foam insert, the brain sits above the starter introductory print and plug. We liked this foam design but for small quantities we'd need to laser cut and stack multiple layers which is both time consuming and costly.
Development of a card insert – October 2017
October 2017:
In this new design the brain sits above the insert, when you remove the brain the plug and print tucked away underneath are revealed.
We adapted the foam design to allow for the slightly bulkier Rasperry Pi plug. Doing this means we could easily change the plug type and send a starter box to almost anywhere in the world without the need for an adapter… it's the small things that count!
The box is made out of three parts: the box itself (a), the insert (b) and the tray (c) glued to the underside of the insert. The real challenge was designing an insert that works with the many different plug adapters of the Raspberry Pi universal plug!
Raspberry Pi power adapter
The packaging is a great improvement on the older bulky and heavy box making it much better for sending in the post. Having travelled around with this new box however, we're now thinking we can make it smaller still!
Hopefully this has been a brief but insightful overview for any packaging nerds out there!
Tags box, charlie, design, design notes, packaging, revisit
design prototype workshop
Making smaller brains
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We've made about 20 prototype boxes now and have learned a great deal from each one. We wanted to highlight one particular box we made a couple of months ago where we experimented with a smaller form and what making it has taught us.
The design of the box or 'skull' (the plywood/acrylic case that contains the tech) as we refer to it is dictated by two things: the form factor of the Raspberry Pi in question and all the features we feel necessary for the product to have.
Early on we were creating boxes with the Pi 2 which required a dongle to connect the box to the internet but several months ago we switched to the Pi 3 which features built-in WiFi saving space within the skull. Raspberry Pi also make the 'Zero' which is about half the size of the Pi 3, we liked the idea of a small box which would be more transportable and also not require mains power connection so we designed a smaller square brain inspired by the recorder box we made back in October.
Our prototype recording box which inspired the square brain design
I (Charlie) got to work with the layout of the hardware inside the box trying out a new method of speaker mount while Adrian worked his tech wizardry to figure out what hardware to adapt and then got cutting! The square brain featured several changes from the regular rectangle namely:
a power on/off button
push button volume control
No LED progress bar
an internal battery charged via a Pi charger board and micro USB cable
A single speaker mounted to one side
We tested the box at Nottingham's Explorers Fair (we'll share a post on that soon) where we had it set up alongside the standard rectangular box. Seeing the two side-by-side it was clear the rectangle with its larger surface area provided more of a platform for the children to place multiple objects on top of however the square allowed them to pick the box up and put it to their ear or sit down on the the floor with it.
Getting hands on with the square design at Nottingham's Explorers Fair
Despite working well and having great mobility the square box also had some obvious limitations:
the Pi Zero only allowed us one speaker, so the sound wasn't as good
the clicky volume buttons weren't as effective or efficient as a dial
the lack of our physical progress bar didn't help people understand they had to wait a bit
larger objects might not balance well on the smaller top
The square design with its illuminated power button and push button volume controls
We do love the smaller form factor but when you put the two designs side-by-side the larger rectangular box has a greater presence, not to mention more room for fiddly cables and components. It was a great thing to prototype and has since influenced alterations for our bigger boxes. This won't be the last you see of square boxes however, I've had some fun recently prototyping a bigger 'Design-for-Disassembly box, but all that is for another day.
Tags design, ExplorersFair, PiZero, raspberry pi, squarebrain, update
Beyond the brain
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Before I get rambling, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Charlie and I'm the latest addition to the Museum in a Box crew. I spent some time with George and Tom as a visiting researcher shortly after their transition to the new Bloomsbury HQ in the spring; but now spring has sprung and summer is done I'm lucky enough to have joined as Junior Designer and officially one of the team. On with the post!
It's been a while since we've written about the various goings on at Museum in a Box so I'd like to take a moment to break down a few developments of late.
Up until now the product has revolved around two parts: the Brain (the box) and the artefacts, either 3D prints or 2D postcards. The interaction too has remained relatively unchanged with an object placed on the box triggering audio which provides context to its origins and history. The audio content that plays has often been a unique script written and narrated by one of the team, however as a great deal of our focus is on the box being used within the classroom, providing information around an object is only half the interaction. Seeing as each box is powered by a Raspberry Pi we've begun to explore new ways that we can use that to ramp up the fun that users can have with the box.
A box that listens?
When we consider how the box may be used in the classroom one important factor is how it can act as an intermediary between pupil and teacher. We've seen how well school pupils react and get stuck-in with the box and its objects, so finding a way for that to fit in with lesson plans and teaching is important. In response we've started work on a new component, a recorder box which will contain a microphone and aims to compliment the box and its objects.
We've had the idea of being able to record to the brain in our minds for some time and we've been asked again and again if a record feature is on the cards. Seeing as it had come up in discussion so often we thought it was time to crack on with a spot of prototyping!
Mocking up a cardboard record interface
We begun by mocking up a few cardboard interfaces with various button configurations, as well as postcards which could control what mode the box was in but ultimately decided that if the recorder box is plugged in, and an object is placed on the brain, it will switch to 'record mode' and announce just that. The box will then issue a count down and allow the user to record their own description of the object with the options to replay, delete and save their recording. This new recording will now play every time that object is 'booped' unless a newer recording is made.
A render considering what form a record box could take.
The recorder box will alter the way we think of the content associated with any given object, instead of it being a predetermined description, by plugging in the recorder the user can create their own customised audio. With the object descriptions essentially in flux the recorder will lend itself very well to classroom activities where teachers could set unique tasks to objects that pupils can then record over with their own responses.
We're now starting to talk to teachers, and understand who the product is serving and how we see the record box working both inside and outside the classroom: whether it's museum staff creating activities for visitors or parents recording stories for friends and family, we're super excited to be prototyping this new tool and will keep you updated as things develop.
Tags design, recording, update
Our first branded hardware!
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Over the past nine months or so, we've been able to show Museum in a Box to hundreds of people, either in our office or at events, and the response has been fantastic.
It's also been ongoing informal user research, and we've had the chance to watch people figure out how to use it. We've varied our description of the mechanics and amount of setup, and observed (very casually) little sticking points. One of the main things we noticed is that it wasn't clear when the Brain was ready to go. The Raspberry Pi 2 takes a while to start up and get ready to read an object, about 30 seconds, actually. So, we've added a physical progress bar to the box to help people know when it's ready. It even says READY!
Adrian soldered the first version, which you can see here. We also adjusted the layout of the box to simplify it a bit. All you really need to know about is power, volume and when it's ready.
And we put a BIG GREEN LIGHT at the end, which is fun.
I've also been thinking about what kind of simple instructions we'll need to include in a box that doesn't have us driving it. Hopefully something like this, with just three steps would be good.
And then, Adrian took a very exciting step and ordered us our very own Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to drive the progress bar from now on.
It's possible I'm overexcited about the progress bar, but, I love it!
Tags brain, design, electronics, pcb, progress bar, UI
Big Stuff Arrangements
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One of my favourite things about museums in boxes is that whoever is looking at the stuff can arrange them however they like.
Even in our very first version, on the very first day, all we did was arrange the stuff. It was interesting to arrange them by the date they were made, and the date they were acquired by the museum. We also mapped them geographically too.
Here's the display we made that day:
We're working on our first commission – Woo! – and it's a set of Big Stuff from the British Museum. You can obviously arrange them by size, but also when they were made, and when they were acquired. (Note that the human-sized figure is the box commissioner's wife, and not part of the British Museum's collection.)
Fun to think about how these sorts of arrangements could be transformed into different information. At the moment, our boxes have a single point of contact, but there could be many. Maybe you can arrange the objects to get different stories.
Tags arrangement, commission, design, objects, thinking out loud


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Madrid Open: Ashleigh Barty through to final after beating Swiatek
World No.1 Ashleigh Barty won the battle when the last two champions of the French Open clashed and she beat Poland's Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-4 in the third round of the Madrid Open.
Barty won in Paris in 2019 and Swiatek in 2020 and both players went into the clash with long unbeaten runs on clay, with Barty not losing her last 19 matches, while Swiatek 18.
Swiatek started out better of the two and raced into a 3-0 lead, but she failed to beat the Australian's serve and although Barty's first serve wasn't at her best, she still won almost 80 per cent of her service points, Xinhua news agency reports.
The No.1 seed will now meet Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals after the No.9 seed reached the quarterfinals in Madrid for the sixth time in her career with the three-time winner taking a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over Veronika Kudermetova, while No.8 seed Belinda Bencic moved into the last eight after injury forced her rival, Ons Jabeur to retire trailing 7-6(2), 4-3.
On the first day of the men's competition, Russia's Aslan Karatsev opened his debut Mutua Madrid Open campaign on Monday by hitting 24 winners on his way to a 7-5, 6-4 victory against Ugo Humbert, which set up a second-round tie against No.7 seed Diego Schwartzman.
British number one Daniel Evans beat Jeremy Chardy in a marathon 7-6(6), 6-7(7), 6-2 match, which lasted two hours and 46 minutes.
Lloyd Harris continued his excellent form against Top-20 ranked opponents with a tense, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) win over Bulgaria's No.13 seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Harris wasted three match points while 5-2 up in the third set, but then fought back from 2-3 down in the decisive tie-break.
Meanwhile, big-serving John Isner hit 28 aces on his way to a 6-4, 7-6(6) win over Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic.
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Half centuries from Andy McBrine and Harry Tector helped Ireland defeat West Indies in a nail-biting third and final One-day International by two wickets to clinch the series 2-1 at the Sabina Park here on Monday (IST).
Set a modest target of 213 to win in 50 overs, the tourists survived a dramatic late batting collapse after McBrine (59) and Tector (52) had patiently scored their half-tons, to secure a famous series win.
Ireland lost four late wickets after being 190/4 and seemingly cruising to their required target. But the visitors held their nerve to complete one of the highest-profile series wins in the history of Irish cricket and collect 10 further ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League points to go to the third spot in the standings.
Earlier the West Indies had suffered a collapse of their own, losing six wickets for just 29 runs to leave their first innings in tatters after Shai Hope's early half-century, with McBrine taking 4/28.
And while all-rounder Jason Holder inspired the tail to wag to lift the West Indies to 212 all out from 44.4 overs, it wasn't a high enough target to deny Ireland, with McBrine and Tector hitting half-centuries in what proved to be a nervy second innings.
Ireland's five-wicket win in the second ODI on January 13 had set up a winner-takes-all series finale. And it was the West Indies who got off to a flier in the deciding ODI at Sabina Park, as Shai Hope brought up the fastest half-century of his ODI career, reaching the landmark off just 37 balls.
But Hope's departure in the 11th over sparked a collapse as the home side lost three wickets for four runs to heap the pressure on the middle order, with Craig Young and McBrine doing the damage with the ball.
And when McBrine struck for the third time to have captain Kieron Pollard caught in the slips for 19, it looked like the West Indies were in danger of posting an uncompetitive total.
A rear-guard effort, inspired by Holder (44), Akeal Hosein (23) and Odean Smith (20 not out) helped West Indies past 200. But Young returned to the attack to pick up his third wicket of the game to bring the innings to a close, finishing with figures of 3/43.
A famous series win was within reach for Ireland, but their run-chase got off to the worst possible start when William Porterfield fell to the very first ball of the innings, caught on the boundary off Alzarri Joseph.
McBrine and Paul Stirling steadied the ship, with the latter taking the attack to the West Indies and ensuring that Ireland would always be ahead of the required rate with his 44 off 38 balls, featuring five fours and a six.
McBrine and Tector added a further 79 runs for the third wicket, with McBrine continuing his outstanding contribution with a 59 off 100 balls before falling to Odean Smith to leave Ireland 152/3.
The Irish seemed to be cruising to a comfortable win, but the wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, and when Tector was trapped LBW to Roston Chase for 52 — his third half-century of the series — West Indies saw a ray of hope that they may be able to pull off a turnaround.
A huge heave saw Gareth Delany caught for a breezy 10 from five, and a catch in the slips by Holder accounted for George Dockrell to leave Ireland eight-down with five runs still required to win.
But Ireland's tailenders Mark Adair and Craig Young held their nerve to get the team across the line, with Young's delicate cut for four sealing the two-wicket win.
Brief scores: West Indies 212 in 44.4 overs (Shai Hope 53, Jason Holder 44; Craig Young 3/43, Andy McBrine 4/28) lost to Ireland 214/8 in 44.5 overs (Paul Stirling 44, Andy McBrine 59, Harry Tector 52; Akeal Hosein 3/59, Roston Chase 3/44) by two wickets.
'Stuff of dreams': Cummins after Australia's dominating 4-0 Ashes win over England
After clinching the 2021-22 Ashes series 4-0, Australia skipper Pat Cummins on Sunday called the triumph against England a 'stuff of dreams', adding that the five-match series brought so many positives for his side.
Showing their sheer dominance, fast bowlers — Pat Cummins (3-42), Scott Boland (3-18), Cameron Green (3-21) helped Australia thrash England by 146 runs in the fifth and final Test on Day 3, to win the Ashes series 4-0 and to retain the urn.
"It is really the stuff of dreams. Pretty crazy. To be at the end of a 5-match series with so many positives and 4-0, yeah really pumped. I am really happy as a captain. We have had some 15 players used in this series, some tough calls. Certainly feels like we are on to something big," said Pat Cummins in the post-match presentation.
The 28-year old Cummins alos hailed his teammates and added that his team is looking forward to playing lots of Test cricket.
"Cam Green with bat and ball has been outstanding. Scotty Boland was fantastic. And hope the old pros continue their good work. I am super excited for overseas Test cricket. One thing in the pandemic we haven't done is not play too much of Test cricket. So looking forward to adapt. Thanks for your (support) despite these tough times. We had an absolute ball," he said.
Talking about the celebration, the pacer said: "Nobody is going to take the urn off me tonight. Did not expect the game to get over today, now have a week off, will enjoy with a couple of beers and listen to Head talking about his tons [smiles]. He calls himself the wheelie bin as he reckons when he's close-in, he is like a keeper [on Head's celebrations after a catch]."
The Ashes, 5th Test: Australia 37-3 at stumps on Day 2, lead England by 152 runs
Australia were 37-3 in their second innings at stumps, leading England by 152 runs on the second day of the fifth and final Ashes Test, here on Saturday.
Steven Smith (17 not out) and night watchman Scott Boland (3 not out) were at the crease when play ended on Day 2 of the day-night Test.
After bowling out England for 188 in their first innings, Australia lost the wickets of David Warner (0), Usman Khawaja (11), Marnus Labuschagne (5) in the third session.
Earlier, resuming the day at 241/6, Australia added 62 more in the morning session, getting bowled out for 303 in their first innings.
Brief scores: Australia 303 & 37-3 in 19 overs (Steven Smith 17 not out, Usman Khawaja 11; Mark Wood 1/9) vs England 188 (Chris Woakes 36, Joe Root 34; Pat Cummins 4/54, Mitchell Starc 3/53) lead by 152 runs.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Sea-levels will keep rising even with the Paris Agreement, latest findings show
What will the world look like with 1.5°C of warming? That has been the focus of investigation in three recently published studies led by the University of Southampton.
The Paris Agreement, aiming to hold global average temperatures to 'well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C' does not take into account the longevity of sea-level rise.
These new studies indicate that early climate change mitigation can reduce sea-level rise by approximately 0.40-0.50m by 2100 and 1.0-2.0m by 2300. This approximately halves the land area exposed by 2300 compared with a non-mitigation scenario.
Between 1.5% and 5.4% of the world's population may be exposed to coastal flooding by 2300. Moreover, low-lying deltas are particularly vulnerable to the effects of sea-level rise.
To generate a range of scenarios of sea-level rise, the project team used an innovative climate modelling approach which reflected different magnitudes and rates of long term climate change.
The team found significant benefits of mitigating for climate change, particularly in the immediate future.
The lead author of the first study, Dr Philip Goodwin, lecturer in Ocean and Earth Science at the University of Southampton, found that climate change mitigation was very important in reducing sea-level rise in a centennial timescale. This paper, published in Earth's Future, is titled 'Adjusting Mitigation Pathways to stabilize climate at 1.5 and 2.0 °C rise in global temperatures to year 2300'.
Dr Goodwin said: "We compared the amount that sea-levels could rise by analysing mitigation scenarios for 1.5°C and 2.0°C. This indicated that by 2100, sea-levels could rise to 0.40m and 0.46m respectively, and by 2300, 1.00m and 1.26m. Compared with a non-mitigation scenario, mitigation reduced sea-level rise by 3.2m by 2300."
Lead-author of the other two studies focussing on climate change is Dr Sally Brown, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton.
Dr Brown's papers, 'Quantifying land and people exposed to sea-level rise with no mitigation and 1.5 and 2.0 °C rise in global temperatures to year 2300' and 'What are the implications of sea-level rise for a 1.5°C, 2°C and 3°C rise in global mean temperatures in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and other vulnerable deltas?' featured in Earth's Future and Regional Environmental Change, respectively.
Dr Brown said: "Around 100 million people are exposed to flooding today and this could approximately double by 2100, and increase three fold by 2300, even taking account of climate change mitigation. Adaptation in coastal, and particularly delta areas, is challenging given the geographic scale, and continued efforts to reduce risk by governments and other national and international organisations is required."
Many areas of the world are already sensitive to extreme water levels, such as delta regions, home to millions of people world-wide. An equivalent of a 1.5°C rise in sea-level will mean more extremes and is likely to lead to more wide spread and deeper flooding unless adaptation is undertaken.
Dr Ivan Haigh, co-author of the studies and Associate Professor in Coastal Oceanography at the University of Southampton, said: "The implications of sea-level rise has important consequences for society for hundreds of years to come. Extreme water levels affect thousands of people around the world today, and this will increase with sea-level rise.
"These papers make an important contribution to determine who what or will be subject to long-term flood risk even under stringent climate change mitigation."
1.) 'Adjusting Mitigation Pathways to stabilize climate at 1.5 and 2.0 °C rise in global temperatures to year 2300', published in Earth's Future, is available online: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2017EF000732.
2.) 'Quantifying land and people exposed to sea-level rise with no mitigation and 1.5 and 2.0 °C rise in global temperatures to year 2300', published in Earth's Future, is available online: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2017EF000738.
3.) 'What are the implications of sea-level rise for a 1.5°C, 2°C and 3°C rise in global mean temperatures in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and other vulnerable deltas?', published in Regional Environmental Change, is available online: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-018-1311-0.
Sally Brown
Affiliate Member of the Tyndall Centre


text:
The United States demands the release of Janine Anez and other politicians detained in Bolivia
Posted byBolivian Thoughts March 28, 2021 Posted inBolivia, Crime and Violence, Drug war - narcotraffick, Politics, Social UnrestTags:authoritarianism, corruption in public office, democracy in peril, government failures, political persecution
Cedric Manwaring, Sunday Vision:
Washington. – a secretary The state of the united states, Anthony BlinkOn Saturday, I requested the release of the former interim president of Bolivia Janine Anise And two of his former ministers, expressed concern at "signs of undemocratic behavior" Bolivia.
In a statement, Blinken expressed the strongest reaction so far from the US President's administration, Joe BidenTo the arrest of three Bolivian politicians two weeks ago on charges of "sedition, terrorism and conspiracy."
"The United States is deeply concerned about the increasing indications Undemocratic behavior The politicization of the legal system in Bolivia after the arrest and pre-trial detention of former officials of the interim government, "the US Secretary of State said.
Without mentioning Anez or the detained former ministers, Alvaro Coimbra and Rodrigo Guzmán, the head of US diplomacy who at all times referred 'Former officials' Or former officials of the interim government that emerged after what the current Bolivian executive branch considers to be the 2019 coup.
"We ask the Bolivian government to make clear its support for peace, democracy and national reconciliation, by releasing former officials detained while conducting an independent and transparent investigation into human rights and due process issues," Blinken said.
He added that these arrests "are not consistent with Democratic Ideals of BoliviaAnd "they distort the extraordinary efforts of so many voters, candidates, and workers in Bolivia" that turned the October 2020 elections and the subnational elections held this month into a "democratic success."
Blinken added that there are doubts about the "legality" of the aforementioned arrests because they are "based on baseless accusations, clear violations of due process of law in their implementation and the highly politicized nature of the Bolivian government's monitoring work."
The head of the US diplomacy affirmed that he still hopes to maintain a "strong and respectful relationship" with the government of the current Bolivian president Luis Arce. Both the Bolivian authorities and the demonstrators are acting on this issue with "peace, restraint and respect."
He also stressed that his position coincides with that of "the European Union, the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Bolivia, and the Bolivian and international human rights organizations."
Blinken's position comes nearly two weeks after the secretary general appointed Organization of American States (Organization of American States) Luis Almagro demanded the release of Anez and the two former ministers, in part because he considered that "the Bolivian judicial system is not in a position to provide the minimum guarantees of fair trial and impartiality."
During a meeting this week in Mexico, both Arce and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Almagro urged not to interfere in the internal affairs of the two countries.
Ones and his cabinet members were accused of "sedition and terrorism" during the 2019 crisis after the failed elections that led to Evo Morales resigning from the presidency of Bolivia, which he considers the current CEO coup.
Alongside them and with two prominent military leaders, there are also operations against other opposition political leaders and many former army and police officers wanted for justice.
https://www.sundayvision.co.ug/the-united-states-demands-the-release-of-janine-anez-and-other-politicians-detained-in-bolivia/
Reactivation – Reactivación
Lithium and lies – Litio y mentiras


Jesus is determined to follow God's will despite the hardships. He is a model for us to stay strong, to keep on keeping on, even when friends and family disagree with what we do or say. We are following God's plan for us: to grow and to become more like Him. What difficulties are you dealing with today? God knows what you are going through. He understands. He is with you.
David continues to plea for God's help. Although I pray daily, it is sometimes not my first go-to in time of need. I sometimes forget to pray for God to put His hand over my mouth so I do not say meanness. I want to complain to others and feel validated. Is prayer the last solution in times of trouble? Sometimes. How about you?
We are all running the race of living a Christian life. The destination – Heaven. It's a lifelong race that involves peaks and valleys and sometimes sludge along the way. To make it to the end, I need the daily discipline to stay in shape. But temptations pull me away from spending time with God: getting to work, a few extra minutes of sleep, wanting to be a couch potato, the news, household chores, errands, the demands of others. Endurance to keep running comes from listening to others who've run before me, readings such as our Lenten meditation booklets, from my time in the Word, and my newfound written prayers to Jesus. Let's run this race together, shall we?
Jesus predicts his betrayal and yet continues doing God's will by going through with his crucifixion. How hard that must have been! It is heartbreaking when a loved one betrays us. How could this happen after all we have done, given, been? I found my way through the craziness by making God the center of my life. People, jobs, things – can all be taken away from us – and we spin out of control. As the sun is the center of our galaxy which all things revolve and which if taken away would cause disarray, the Son is our center from which our life revolves and thankfully, cannot be taken away.


text:
The word out of Sundance - so far
Out of the threads of conversation still emerging from 2013's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, one of them has been concentrated on just how many projects have zeroed in on sex.
There's the biopic about adult actress Linda Lovelace starring Amanda Seyfried - a mesmerizing clip for which has been circulating on the Interwebs - and offerings from James Franco that include a "meta-documentary" called "Interior. Leather Bar." (which is directed by Franco and Travis Mathews) and another documentary called "Kink" (which Fanco produced).
While Sundance has been home to boundary-pushing projects before, says the Los Angeles Times, this is a particularly sex-focused slate of cinema.
Franco suggested to the paper that the topic has become a new frontier for filmmakers to explore storytelling, and the Times says that others have agreed.
"There is no single explanation for what's prompted the flowering of sex-themed movies," the Times says. "But in interviews around Sundance, many of the people responsible for the films agreed with Franco that we've entered a new era. Now that the taboos have been broken, it's about character and storytelling."
So perhaps it's no coincidence that some of the buzziest projects are also those that have gotten attention for their more adult fare:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's feature directorial debut: In his next film, "Don Jon's Addiction," Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the star, writer and director. It sees Gordon-Levitt portray a porn-addicted Don Juan-type, and he does "everything but tap dance ... I think he does amazingly well," Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum has said of the comedy. "This is a story that I think shouldn't work as well as it does ... there's a certain charm to this thing that carries it through." Relativity Media has reportedly snapped up the film for $4 million.[EW.com: An interview with Joseph Gordon-Levitt on "Don Jon's Addiction"]
Harry Potter's all grown-up: Along with Gordon-Levitt, Daniel Radcliffe is getting praise for stretching himself with his Sundance feature, "Kill Your Darlings." The 23-year-old actor portrays Allen Ginsberg in the period film about the Beat Generation, and it's a role that definitely pushes the audience to see the "Harry Potter" star in a new - and, well, more sexual - light. "If there was ever a guidebook for actors looking to break free from billion-dollar movie franchises, 'Daniel Radcliffe' would be the title of Chapter One," Moviefone said in a review. "Radcliffe shines as a younger version of the beatnik icon." [Moviefone]
"The best movie and the worst movie," all in one: Naomi Watts and Robin Wright star in "Two Mothers" as two best friends and moms who happen to be sleeping with one another's sons. According to New York Magazine's review, "95 percent of the movie is comprised of the following: swimming, staring and sex-having." But is it any good? It seems the jury's out on that. It is, however, being called "the most fun you can have at Sundance." [New York Magazine's Vulture]
Not everything is so saucy. There's "Austenland," a comedy about a woman obsessed with "Pride & Prejudice" who decides to visit a Jane Austen-themed vacation destination to find the man of her dreams. The Hollywood Reporter called it "clever," adding that the "funny, reasonably romantic and wholly commercial" film, written and directed by Jerusha Hess, "should hold fans over until someone musters the nerve to do another straight-on remake of 'Pride and Prejudice.'"
And last but certainly not least is "Fruitvale," one of EW's movies to watch coming out of the festival. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer, the film chronicles the shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant (played by Jordan) in Oakland in 2009.
Spencer plays Grant's mother, a role she called "the toughest ... I've ever had to play" in an interview with ABC News. "His family said they didn't see Michael B. Jordan up there. They saw Oscar." The film's reportedly been picked up by The Weinstein Company, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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looks dumb
January 24, 2013 at 8:42 am | Report abuse | Log in to Reply
Hey guys if u are interested in information Technology and want solutions of your problems then visit http://funbird.co.uk/ this site also contains information about food, health, entertainment and much more.
Glorifying a girl known for giving head...nice
January 23, 2013 at 2:47 pm | Report abuse | Log in to Reply
Daughts.
January 23, 2013 at 12:59 pm | Report abuse | Log in to Reply
EMailsForwardToStore
he is 1 of the worst actors and we have no use for him either. unprofessional
January 22, 2013 at 10:12 am | Report abuse | Log in to Reply
I think Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of the worst actors out there. He seems to me to be just an untallented character actor and is single retardo.
sundunce-
daz it girl..
mams comments are directed to that fat white woman
its the daily script...
they will flirt like your in....then by afternoon say she is NOT for us–as an example–or mammy is out
comment–etc.
will attempt to make you feel in? then pull the rug out in the afternoon....acting is basically awful
Sokman
I thiught all Sundance movies were about gay cowboys eating pudding?


Good news, space geeks: The International Space Station (ISS) will keep orbiting Earth for at least another decade.
The Obama administration said Wednesday that it granted NASA approval to extend its ISS program through 2024.
The announcement comes one day before the leaders of the world's space programs gather for an annual conference in Washington, D.C. It's still unclear how many of NASA's global ISS partners will choose to keep using (and financing) the station.
NASA's decade-long extension will also add more certainty to the burgeoning commercial space industry. With the space shuttle gone and its replacement years away, NASA has been largely relying on Russian spacecraft to get its astronauts and equipment aboard the ISS. However, SpaceX, an American commercial space venture launched by PayPal billionaire Elon Musk, has been awarded a $1.6 billion NASA contract to ferry cargo to and from the ISS — and it's already flown two successful missions. Another American company, Orbital Sciences, is set to launch its second ISS mission this week. With the ISS's life extended, those companies will be more certain their services will be required by NASA in the future as the agency increasingly relies on commercial spacecraft for quick sorties from Earth to the station and back again.


text:
Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round schedule announced
Third-seeded Blue Jackets to face second-seeded Penguins in best-of-seven series starting Wednesday
Blue Jackets News | Read the Article on BlueJackets.com
The best-of-seven series will begin on Wednesday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena with Game Two scheduled for Friday, April 14 at 7 p.m. The series shifts to Columbus' Nationwide Arena on Sunday, April 16 at 6 p.m. Game Four will be played on Tuesday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. The complete series schedule follows:
Huntington Green Seats will be available for the opening round. Tickets, priced at $50, will go on sale two hours prior to game time with purchases limited to two tickets per customer. Huntington Green Seats must be purchased in person at the Big Lots Box Office at Nationwide Arena.
News regarding the potential on-sale of any last-minute playoff tickets will be shared through the Blue Jackets Flag Bearer e-newsletter and via @BlueJacketsNHL on Twitter. Fans may subscribe to Flag Bearer by visiting the Fan Zone section of BlueJackets.com. Any tickets that are made available will be on sale at the Big Lots Box Office at Nationwide Arena, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, the FOX Sports Ohio Blue Line at The Mall at Tuttle Crossing, online at BlueJackets.com and Ticketmaster.com, or by phone at (800) 745-3000.


Description: Starting with the 76th chassis delivered from AC Cars in Thames Ditton, England, to Shelby American in Venice, California, the Cobra skin had evolved slightly to incorporate a number of minor updates. The new bodywork featured simple yet striking side vents to help remove engine heat. To this day, the side vents help visually identify the 289 "Mark II" Cobra from its predecessor. Most notable, however, was the introduction of the newly developed Ford 289 c.i. V8 motor. While Shelby had been busy selling and racing the first Cobra Roadster, Ford occupied themselves with the development of the 260 engine into a unit that displaced 289 cubic inches and developed 11 more horsepower in stock trim. Customers buying a Cobra 289 from Shelby American could, however, have something a little more special; optional modifications yielded as much as 370 bhp from the new Cobra. At the time, Shelby American claimed that the 289-powered Cobra was the fastest production car in the world!
Exoto's Cobra 289 Roadster finished in authentic black on black interior features factory options that only became available with the 289: front grille guard and rear bumper guard, adjustable "wind wings" (side windows), sun visors, competition seat belts, and white side wall tires. This item features the optional hard top that is a rare and sought after item now. Though the original fibreglass roof was originally supplied in a matte finish, many owners had their hard tops repainted with a high lustre finish as shown on this exacting replica.
We have models that could have possible listed on ebay for sale. Please let us know if you are interested in anything from the list. Most of these are mint in box condition, the list is big so check with us on the availability of individual items. Price would be favorable.
Remember! Your bid is a contract! After 4 days, an Unpaid Item (UPI) Dispute will be filed with eBay if I have not received your payment and/or you have not made contact with me. This can result in a "Strike" against your account and the relisting of your purchase if payment is not received.
I use eBay's Global Shipping Program, which ships by Priority Mail International and includes tracking and insurance. Also included in the quoted shipping price is an estimate of the Customs charges for your country, which you will be required to pay.
If you would prefer First Class International and pay your own Customs charges, let me know before bidding so that I can adjust the shipping option. Be aware that First Class International does not provide tracking.
I do ship worldwide. If you do not see your country listed as a participant in eBay's Global Shipping Program, contact me prior to bidding for a shipping quote.
No return unless not as described.
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I don't like Jane Austen, either! Stewing in the cognitive distortions of the characters is in infuriating.
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Thank you so much!When people start questioning my future trip to Iran, I'll be sure to direct them here!


As I run through the woods I can hear them behind me. Yelling. Screaming. Trying to find me so they can go forth with their evil plan. As I run, I can hear him calling my name. I desperately search for him. I know that if I can just find him, I will be safe. The evil men are getting closer, closer. I can hear him calling me still. I can feel him near by. Oh why can't I just find him? Why is all this happening? The darkness, it surrounds me. The beams from flashlights grow closer still. My name... he is calling. I'm coming. I'm coming. When out of nowhere, my foot catches something. Pain surges through my chest as I hit the ground. His voice, his warm, loving, friendly voice seems to fade. Don't leave me! I am here! A hand grabs my foot. I turn around. The evil ones have gotten me. Their laughing faces close in. Closer. Closer. Until I only see darkness. Fear engulfs me. I know I am beat.


For me, Crocodiles represent everything I love about life-affirming Rock'n'Roll: they bring light out of darkness; they match reckless noise with the most beautiful melodies; they catch you off guard whilst sounding like the most perfect kind of right for the right here, right now.
They remind me of all the things I've loved but they also make me hungry for what I've not yet tasted. The claustrophobia and pain of the recent past is dealt with bravely and the road ahead is wide and open. It is all my favorite records playing at once; the trick to it being the truth; the truth being that great, life-affirming music must be bittersweet; anger is an energy that can be churned to positive.
We who face the demons of derailment out to destroy dreams must harness the hate and turn it back on itself—it is from this that great art is begat. And so these songs rage and chime at once, in organized chaos, like life.
Charles and Brandon have been making music together since they were 18. They met in the dirty glow of San Diego sun and now split their lives between New York City and London. Their music has grown up over the last decade just as they have. New blood in the form of producer Sune Rose Wagner of Raveonettes fame oversaw this recent endeavor and it was a quick, natural Los Angeles creation. Duncan Mills mixed for the third time, to maintain their catalogue lifeline.
Crimes Of Passion kicks off with "I Like It In The Dark," which could be their best to date; a joyous hymn to atheism and closes with the aching beauty of "Un Chant D'Amour," a simple and direct ode to heartbreak. These songs bookmark an album bursting with sounds inspired by the likes of the Soft Boys, Street Hassle era Lou Reed, the Notorious Byrd Brothers, the Jackson 5 and even Glenn Branca. This is certainly the most fully realised Crocodiles album to date.
It is a sadly accepted impression that life is cooler in song, on screen, in art, or in poetry, but it is far superior when the creative process is fed back into real life and an album like Crimes Of Passion is born.
SISU is Sandra Vu. The LA-based singer/multi-instrumentalist layers airy, harmony-laden vocals over dreamy synthwave, which has been described as "Smithsian shoegaze" (Village Voice) and "Nightmarish Beach House" (Santa Barbara Independent). Though she's a seasoned drummer (Dum Dum Girls, The Raveonettes, Boredoms, Dirty Beaches), she's stepped out from behind the kit to center stage for SISU, opening on tour dates for Cat Power, Marnie Stern, DIIV, and Metronomy.
"Blood Tears", SISU's first full-length album (due September 2013), builds on the recently released "Light Eyes" EP (April 2013), offering a bigger sound and a heightened sense of drama. As Vu explains, "These are pop songs with un-pop sounds." SISU is defined by contrast and juxtaposition, and Vu finds a particular challenge and joy in combining opposites—soft and hard, loud and quiet, abrasive and smooth—to arrive at this aesthetic.
Writing songs for the album was catharsis for Vu, who used the process to overcome a period of disillusionment in between bands. "Blood Tears" is about relationships and the creative process—the necessity of pain for growth or creation," she says. "Sometimes you have to kill a part of yourself to become stronger." The new single "Harpoons" is a declaration of this power and independence found in divorcing yourself from the past. Both aggressive and sublime, it's quintessential SISU. From this experience, Vu found her voice, naming it SISU, the Finnish word for "extreme perseverance."
"Blood Tears" is the second release under the MONO PRISM umbrella—a collective of artists and springboard for music, film, and print projects. David South, SISU's touring bassist, heads MONO PRISM, directed SISU's first music video, "Two Thousand Hands," and creates the band's live visuals. It was these immersive audiovisual experiences that caught Cat Power's attention, which lead to SISU supporting her on numerous dates earlier this year.
Vu wrote, played, and produced "Blood Tears" with bandmates Ryan Wood (co-producer), Nathanael Keefer (drums), and Lars Stalfors (Chelsea Wolfe, The Soft Pack, The Mars Volta) mixed the album. Julianna Medeiros (Dum Dum Girls) joins SISU live on synth and backup vocals.
With a rooted affinity for black-leather noise, synth-strewed weirdness and layered, wall-of-sound pop, Young Boys is a story that crisscrosses the continent. Formed by David "Legs" McDaniel who, after traveling across the country looking for love and a place to call home, hooked up with fellow scum Ethan Miller, Lee Lichtsinn, James Ralph and Michael Stasiak to solidify ranks in New York City.
Now knee-deep in NYC grime and projected through technicolor static, Young Boys come armed with a few of out-of-tune guitars a large synthesizer and a certain, crunchy cohesion. The current five piece's slobbering stance on classic garage punk balladry has awarded them gigs alongside Crocodiles, Sleigh Bells, Dengue Fever, Cold Cave, Howling Hex and gathered praise from the likes of NME and The Village Voice.
Holloweyed is honored to release Young Boys' debut longplayer; the six-song wave of growing deconstruction, New York Sun follows the group's 2010 split with California noise enthusiasts FM Face for Digitalis, a 7" of "Bring Em Down" for Chicago imprint, Rococo Records & New York on vinyl (w/ download card) and digital formats.
Young Boys are currently finishing the next album.


http://runforefoot.com/forefoot-running-prevent-medial-calf-pain/Forefoot running is associated with mechanical patterns that reduce overloading and may prevent calf strain pain.
Landing on the forefoot, just under the toes, is the best application to prevent calf pain.
Forefoot runners have a mechanical advantage over heel strike runners and this advantage involves less knee extension and ankle dorsiflexion upon touchdown. Now researchers are identifying these mechanical mechanisms behind medial calf pain prevention.
Researchers have historically overlooked the effect of foot strike on medial calf pain, focusing instead on issues such as poor flexibility, longitudinal arch height, training volume and running experience, but that is changing because medial calf pain is tied to foot strike, specifically, a heel strike landing.
Miller et al. (1977) found that ankle dorsiflexion coupled with knee extension –both are characteristics of heel striking– at touchdown was a risk factor for medial calf pain.
It turns out that the medial calf musculature stretches immediately with ankle dorsiflexion and knee extension at touchdown, shown above (Ishikawa et al. 2007). Even worse, is the possibility that the calf is unable to absorb impact when stretched at touchdown and can lead to increased strain on the calf.
In forefoot running, characterized by ankle plantarflexion and knee flexion at touchdown, the calves absorb more impact than in heel strike running, implying that increased impact absorption reduces the likelihood of calf pain during running.
Arguably, the physiological effects of heightened impact absorption may lead to increased demands on the calves and researchers speculate that a sudden increase in calf loading may lead to calf pain. In this case however, the pain is only short-term, if forefoot running is learned properly, and does not create an aversive state on the calves because they do not undergo rapid stretching at touchdown as compared with heel strike running.
These results, like those from other studies, indicate a specific link between foot strike and increased medial calf pain, implying that forefoot running may benefit those struggling to cope with medial calf pain.
Finally, proper forefoot striking technique relies heavily on footwear. It's best to wear a flat, barefoot-like running shoe because running shoes with thick heels facilitate heel strike (Lieberman et al. 2010).
DEVITA , P., and J. STRIBLING . Lower extremity joint kinematics and energetics during backward running. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 23: 602–610, 1991.
Ishikawa M., Pakaslahti J and Komi PV. Medial gastrocnemius muscle behavior during running and walking. Gait & Posture, 2007; 25:380-84.
Lieberman DE, Venkadesan M, Werbel WA, et al. Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners. Nature. 2010;463:531-535.
Miller WA. Rupture of the musculotendinous juncture of the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle. Am J Sports Med. 1977;5:191-193.
MORTON , C. Running backward may help athletes move forward. Phys. Sportsmed. 14:149–152, 1986.


Toddlers often squeal upon first seeing the ocean, jumping up and down as the tide tickles their toes. Older kids charge forward into the waves with a whoop. But every now and then, a little girl stands on the shoreline with arms outstretched, as if to embrace the sweep of sky and water. Her expression is one of awe and outright joy.
That would be Alice Rice, the beguiling heroine of Kevin Henkes' Junonia (HarperCollins Children's Books), a sweet and gentle story set on Sanibel Island.
An only child growing up in Wisconsin, Alice looks forward every year to the winter week when she returns with her parents to the beach cottage called Scallop. Because she will turn 10 while at the beach, Alice has high expectations as they cross the bridge to the island and spot the first pelican.
But some things have changed at Sanibel this year. Not all of the usual neighbors are on hand, and Alice's beloved "Aunt Kate'' – her mother's college roommate — has decided to stay in the cottage next door because she is bringing her new boyfriend and his 6-year-old daughter Mallory. Alice reluctantly makes friends with the younger child, taking her shelling and patiently identifying their discoveries. Alice hopes this will be the year she at last finds the rare junonia shell – now that would be a real birthday present.
But Mallory disrupts Alice's birthday party, and Alice experiences a jumble of emotions as she turns 10. She is growing up, and it's not quite what she expected.
Henkes, who has written and illustrated many best-selling picture books (Chrysanthemum, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse) as well as the award-winning Olive's Ocean for older readers, writes lyrically of natural wonders and childhood feelings. He finds the extraordinary in the ordinary.
The deceptively simple illustrations that begin each chapter complement Alice's small adventures on Sanibel, where Henkes and his family vacation annually. He says it is a special place. And Junonia is a special book.
Because I started writing this blog a year ago this week, I at first thought I'd do a "State of the Blog" post and thank all the readers and writers out there that have made "On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever" so worthwhile and fun, etc., etc. But then I got lost in a lupus fog, and when the mist cleared, I'd forgotten what I was going to write beyond that.
I did remember that my first post was about Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me, which had just won the prestigious Newbery Award for best children's book, and its parallels with Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, which also won the Newbery in 1963. The time-travel tale was my favorite when I was a kid, just as it is of Miranda, the 12-year-old heroine of Stead's story, which has its own mysterious elements. Middle-grade magical realism. Loved it.
This year's winner of the Newbery, Clare Vanderpool's Moon Over Mainfest, is as different as can be from When You Reach Me but equally engaging. In 1936 Kansas, 12-year-old Abilene Tucker hops off a train to spend the summer in her father's small hometown while he works a railroad job in Iowa. Always before, Abilene has tagged along with her dad from town to town, job to job. She tries to be optimistic about again being the new girl among strangers and hopes to find out more about her dad's boyhood.
But Manifest has changed over the years, from a thriving immigrant mining community to a dusty, rundown place. Abilene knows the country's suffering from a Great Depression, but she thinks it's more like a big rut, and Manifest has fallen hard. But then she finds a cigar box with some hidden letters and mementos that hint at intriguing secrets from World War I, including a possible spy, the Rattler.
Was the spy for real? Through old newspaper clippings by Miss Hattie, and stories told by the Hungarian medium, Miss Sadie, at her divining parlor, Abilene and two new friends find out about the town's past and the adventures of pals Ned and Jinx. There's bootleggers, the KKK, a flu epidemic. Where does Abilene's dad fit in?
This is Vanderpool's first novel, but you'd never know it. Drawing on family stories and research, she crafts a rousing historical novel with characters to care about. Love it.
I also love serendipity. I don't know Vanderpool, but she lives in Wichita, where I lived for five years many moons ago, and I've even been through Frontenac — on which Manifest is based — on my way to a writing conference at Pittsburg State University. It's in Crawford County, the southeast part of the state, and the green, hilly landscape looks more like Ireland than the plains west of Wichita.
Vanderpool also used to work at Wichita's wonderful independent bookstore, Watermark Books, which was one of my favorite haunts. I went to my first big BEA convention– then known as ABA — with the staff from Watermark, driving to Dallas in a white convertible. I wouldn't have become a book reviewer and a writer if not for Watermark and Wichita. Congratulations to Clare Vanderpool on her terrific first novel, and thanks to her for reminding me of my Kansas adventures.
Open Book: I bought an e-book copy of Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (Random House Children's Book). Wish it had been a hardcover from Watermark.
I've been reading a lot more than writing the last couple weeks, not just books but everyone else's lists of best books, favorite books, recommended reading, etc. Consequently, my own TBR list grows ever longer, and I will be writing to Santa about that.
But it occurs to me as I start wrapping up books for holiday gifts, there's no way I'm going to be able to blog about all the recent titles I want to recommend before the year's up. If you follow this blog, you already know many of my 2010 favorites. If you don't, check the archives. Here, though, are the late arrivals deserving of ribbons and bows.
An Object of Beauty, by Steve Martin (Grand Central Publishing): Martin's artful novel about the art world — auctions, galleries, artists, aesthetes, collectors, dealers — draws on his own experience as an experienced collector. Narrator Daniel relates the rise of the lovely Lacey, as charming as she is ambitious, as she deftly navigates New York's social circles and art scene from the late 1990s to the present. Photographs of many of the art works in play are embedded in the text, making the hardcover book a most desirable object.
The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer: Activities and Amusements for the Curious Paper Artist, by Emily Winfield Martin (PotterCraft/Crown Publishing): This one's for my fellow Caroline Cousins, with whom I played catalog paper dolls for years. Both Meg and Gail are far craftier than I, but we all like playing with scissors and paper, and the whimsical dolls, costumes and nifty projects in this book are ready-made for rainy afternoons and let's-pretend. We might share with the kids in the family.
Bloody Crimes, by James Swanson (Morrow): This one's for my brother, who read Swanson's Manhunt, about the search for President Lincoln's assassin. Here, he continues the dramatic saga of the closing days of the Civil War, as Confederate Jefferson Davis flees the Yankees and Lincoln's body is carried home to Illinois on a 13-day funeral train.
I Still Dream About You, by Fannie Flagg (Random House): Mom and I are sharing Flagg's new novel, a warm-hearted mystery/comedy of manners as the real-estate market collapses in Birmingham, Ala. Maggie, a former beauty queen with a seemingly perfect life, plans to end it all before fellow agents Brenda and Ethel help her battle rival Babs, "the Beast of Birmingham." Humor, romance, secrets from the past. No wonder's it's an "Okra Pick" by Southern booksellers.
It's a Book, by Lane Smith (Roaring Books Press): For children ages 6-11, and for all of us readers in a digital age, here's a sweet reminder to the wonder of turning pages. No batteries needed.
The Kneebone Boy, by Ellen Potter (Feiwel and Friends): My inner child has no problem declaring love for a witty, well-written tale for middle-graders. Otto, Clara and Max Hardscrabble know that people think they're a peculiar trio because of their unusual family history. They also prove irresistible as they have unexpected adventures in London and a seaside village while perhaps solving the puzzle of their missing mother. Think Lemony Snicket meets Joan Aiken. Clever.
Rogue Island, by Bruce DeSilva (Forge/TOR): My sources tell me DeSilva's debut mystery will hit home for all us ink-stained wretches, especially beat reporters, who have toiled in the newspaper trenches over the years. Liam Mulligan is an investigative reporter for a Rhode Island daily, which means he also covers cops, trend stories and dog tales at the behest of a city editor who makes Lou Grant seem like a cuddly puppy. There's so much crime and corruption afoot, Mulligan's reports on a series of neighborhood arsons fight for space above the fold. Read all about it!
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Bailey (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill): In the night silence of her isolated sick room, Bailey can hear the sound something very small crunching celery. It is her new companion, a wild snail, dining on a wilted flower on her bedside table. Bailey, totally bedridden by a mysterious motor neuron disease, becomes enchanted by the gastropod, closely observing its routines as time creeps by, well, like a snail. This small book, thoughtful and eloquent, belongs on the shelf with Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Open Book: Let's see. I received an ARC of Bloody Crimes, a review copy of The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, won the The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer as part of a Facebook promotion, and bought copies of An Object of Beauty, I Still Dream About You, It's a Book, The Kneebone Boy and Rogue Island. More to come.
Who knew? Years before Nancy Drew ever cracked a case, Zora Neale Hurston was solving mysteries in early 20th-century Eatonville, Florida. At least that's the way writers Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon have imagined it in their engaging new novel for middle-graders, Zora and Me, narrated by Zora's best friend, Carrie Brown.
The summer before fourth grade, Zora, Carrie and their pal Teddy set out to solve the murder of a wandering minstrel/turpentine worker named Ivory. Was he killed by the mythical, shape-shifting gator-man who prowls the swamp and who Zora claims to have seen standing on Mr. Pindar's porch, his big ol' gator snout perched on a man's shoulders? Or is human evil responsible for the death that's upsetting both the blacks and whites in segregated Central Florida? How does Zora's penchant for storytelling fit into the mix?
Zora and Me is fiction, but with the blessings of the Zora Neale Hurston Estate, Bond and Simon have created a spunky, curious heroine who could well have grown up to be the celebrated writer, anthropologist and folklorist. They've done their homework, borrowing the local color of Hurston's childhood — Joe Clarke's storefront, the Blue Sink, the Loving Pine, Lake Maitland — to paint a vibrant story, much like one Zora might have told.
Zora was always an unreliable narrator when it came to details of her real life, not one to let facts necessarily get in the way of a good story. I expect she's smiling with approval of Zora and Me.
Open Book: I wrote numerous stories about Zora Neale Hurston, her life and works, during my years at the Orlando Sentinel, and interviewed scholars, biographers, family members and fans. I highly recommend Valerie Boyd's 2003 biography, Wrapped in Rainbows, for further reading. I borrowed a copy of Zora and Me (Candlewick Press) from the Orange County Library.
Because Winn-Dixie is closing its Clermont store, I immediately thought of Kate DiCamillo because she grew up in Clermont and because her award-winning kids' book Because of Winn-Dixie is set in that small Florida town near Orlando. Not as it is now, with sprawling subdivisions and modern supermarkets in shopping plazas, but back 30 or 40 years ago, when Highway 50 sliced through the groves of orange trees and dusty roads and pretty lakes, and kids walked to school and made magic of mundane things.
Kate has been making magic with words for more than a decade now. A University of Florida grad, she kicked around Central Florida for several years, then moved to Minneapolis and worked in the children's section of a book warehouse. She wrote Because of Winn-Dixie during a long, cold Minnesota winter when she was homesick for Florida and wanted a dog. Her apartment didn't allow pets, so she imagined a big, friendly mutt. A lonely girl named Opal names the stray after the grocery store in which she first rescues him. And then, because of Winn-Dixie, Opal begins to meet people and all sorts of things — some odd, mostly good — begin to happen.
Kate proved to be a winning writer in every way from the start. Because of Winn-Dixie, published in 2000, was a Newbery Honor Book and was Orlando's One Book, One Community 2003 selection. Her second novel for middle-graders and also set in Florida, The Tiger Rising, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her third, the oh-so-wonderful The Tale of Despereaux, "being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread," won the 2004 Newbery, the highest award in children's fiction.
So what does Kate do for an encore — two picture books, six early chapter books starring the toast-loving pig, Mercy Watson, and two more more magical novels, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, about a china rabbit's unexpected voyage of love and self-discovery, and last September's The Magician's Elephant, a dream-like story about an orphan boy, an old soldier, a fortune teller, and a magician who longs to make "true magic" and conjures an elephant instead of lilies.
Kate is a fabulist in the best sense of the word, who long ago discovered the truth in fiction. Coming this fall is a new chapter book written with Alison McGhee, Bink and Gollie, about the comical adventures of two precocious little girls, "one tiny, one tall, both utterly irrepressible." Looking at the cover illustration by Tony Fucile, I'd bet money the tiny one with the fly-away hair is Kate. I recognize the mischievous grin of a girl about to make more magic.
Open Book: Because she is one of my favorite storytellers, I'd write all these things about Kate even if she wasn't a friend. Check out her website, www.katedicamillo.com, watch the video about The Magician's Elephant (Candlewick Press), and be sure to read her most recent journal entry. Wait for the moon.


St. Stephen Lutheran Church is proud and thankful to have several seminarians join us in worship each week. The Rev. Sem. Christopher D. Wendel has been working closely with Pastor Frontz, and preached the Sermon this week. We thank him for sharing with us.
We would also like to apologize to you and Christopher for our slight technical difficulty in the beginning, and we hope that you can enjoy the rest of the Sermon.