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A spotlight on Mississippi bonds big...
A spotlight on Mississippi bonds big and small
By: Magnolia Tribune - November 18, 2021
Written by Chip Barnett for The Bond Buyer. Used with Permission.
Vicksburg Mayor refinances debt at historic low rates.
Mississippi's $1.2 billion general obligation bond commands the stage this week, but a much smaller deal that came to market last month from Vicksburg highlights an innovative way the Magnolia State's cities and counties are meeting their infrastructure needs.
On Thursday, the state is pricing $1.2 billion of GOs, its biggest sale since 2015, when it also sold $1.2 billion of bonds. Since 1996, the state has sold nearly $14 billion of debt.
The deal to be priced by Wells Fargo Corporate & Investment Banking consists of $198.85 million of Series 2021C tax-exempt bonds, $126.89 million of Series 2021D taxable GOs and $900 million of Series 2021E taxable refunding bonds. Raymond James is the co-manager with Hilltop Securities as municipal advisor and Butler Snow serving as bond counsel.
Proceeds from the Series 2021C bonds will finance various capital improvements in areas such as higher education and provide funding to state agencies and county courthouses and school buildings, roadways and other infrastructure projects.
The Series 2021D new money taxables will finance various economic development programs and fund capital improvements including port facilities upgrades and loan programs for water pollution control projects. The Series 2021E taxable bonds will advance refund some of the state's outstanding Series 2015A, 2015C, 2015F, 2016B, 2017A, 2017D, and 2018A GOs. Mississippi's GOs are rated Aa2 by Moody's Investors Service, and AA by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. All three rating agencies assign a stable outlook.
Moody's said it rating "reflects healthy fund balances supported by strong revenue growth in fiscal 2021, a conservative fiscal 2022 budget and demonstrated controls on spending during times of revenue stress. These financial strengths are balanced by low income levels, elevated debt levels, rising pension costs and a low-growth but stable economy."
Fitch said its rating incorporates "the state's strong control over spending and revenues and generally conservative financial practices, providing significant financial resilience. Fitch anticipates liability levels will be moderate, albeit above average for a U.S. state, while economic growth is likely to be below average."
Moody's added that the stable outlook "reflects an expectation of continued conservative fiscal management, which will enable the state to weather economic uncertainties related to the pandemic. The rating also incorporates an expectation of stable revenue and economic trends."
At the local level
On a much smaller scale, recent state legislation has been helping to buttress funding for local communities' infrastructure needs.
Passed by the legislature in 2018, the "Mississippi Infrastructure Modernization Act," allows a share of use tax revenue — the tax on sales from out of state, such as Amazon purchases — to be diverted to cities and counties for repair, maintenance, and reconstruction of roads, bridges and water and sewer infrastructure. These revenues can then be used to back or provide a revenue stream for bond issues for infrastructure upgrades.
Under a 2019 opinion from the state attorney general, municipalities and counties may use funds to repay principal amounts on a bond sale where the proceeds were used for infrastructure purposes. Paying debt service on these type bonds was also seen as a viable use of funds.
On Oct. 18, the city of Vicksburg, population 22,000, sold $11 million of GOs in a competitive sale. These bonds were general obligations of the city and used a revenue stream from taxes on online sales to back up debt service payments. The sale was done quickly on a limited basis and the issuer didn't ask for a rating on these bonds. In a February report, Moody's said that Vicksburg had a sound credit position, with an A2 GO rating.
It was the latest of several municipal bond deals by Mississippi cities and counties that have used a revenue stream from residents' online spending based on the three-year-old law. Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs and the Board of Alderman approved a resolution approving the sale of the GOs to Regions Capital Advantage with a net interest cost of 1.60%, according to bond counsel Tray Hairston of Butler Snow. Trustmark Bank was the other bidder on the bonds, which came in with a bid of 1.875804%. Before this latest sale, the last time the city was in the market was in 2018 when it issued bonds through the Mississippi Development Bank.
Vicksburg gets internet sales tax disbursements from the state twice a year and the mayor and aldermen felt it was a better use of the money to issue a larger amount of bonds to take on capital improvements all at once rather than to go and use smaller amounts each year in a pay-go piecemeal fashion.
Proceeds will go toward upgrades of water and sewer systems and road and bridge improvements, which are consistent with the legislation.
"Thanks to Tray Hairston and Butler Snow who made us aware of this opportunity," Flaggs told The Bond Buyer. "Money won't be any cheaper than it is now, so it's a great savings to us."
While online sales tax revenues are not directly pledged to back such bonds, Hairston told The Bond Buyer, the deals are sized and structured so that the use tax revenues cover debt service, while the credit is still the general obligation of the cities and counties.
Former Gov. Phil Bryant shepherded the infrastructure bill through the legislative process in 2018.
"We believed it was time to move and we called a special session to do that in August 2018 when we called the Legislature back to Jackson and said, 'Let's pass some funding for infrastructure,'" Bryant told The Bond Buyer. "And we had a couple of different opportunities to do that — to include a state lottery and a use tax — there was no real use tax in Mississippi and of course we all know how much is now being purchased online so while some guys going into the locals shops had to pay the sales tax, you could buy online for nothing, so we put the use tax in place. And there was some additional monies in gaming counties that we redirected for the modernization of infrastructure."
"It went well. We passed the state lottery, sports betting and redirecting gaming sinking funds all in about two days. So it was a very historic special session," he said.
He noted that some had wanted to raise fuel taxes, but that Mississippi's elected officials didn't want to do that.
"And looking back, that was the right decision," he said, "With gasoline at $3 a gallon now and if you added another 10 to 15 cent per gallon on a state fuel tax you would make things even worse than they currently are."
He said the law has pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars and now — with help from the attorney general's opinion — lets cities like Vicksburg take advantage of low interest rates and use this funding stream to issue bonds for infrastructure.
"I think this is what municipalities and governments have to do for the benefit of the taxpayers — they have to find ways of using creative financing and implement them so they can get the best for their dollar. It is incumbent upon us to save the taxpayers money at any opportunity we get," Flaggs said.
Bryant served two terms as governor, from 2012 to 2020. He had been lieutenant governor from 2008 to 2012 and state auditor from 1996 to 2008.
In July, Flaggs was elected to a third term as Vicksburg's mayor. Previously, he was in the state House of Representatives from 1988 until 2013. In 2019, he was the only elected official to be named one of the state's "Most Influential African Americans."
Hairston's legal practice focuses on public finance, economic development and government relations. He has served as bond counsel for various cities and counties throughout the state. Before joining Butler Snow, he was counsel and economic development advisor to Gov. Bryant. In 2018, he was recognized in 2018 as one of The Bond Buyer's Rising Stars.
Ran with permission from Chip Barnett of The Bond Buyer. This article originally appeared here.
GIPSON: It's Time to Stop Pecan Theft in Mississippi
Wicker blasts authoritarian abuse of INTERPOL


The demand for Yoga Mat Industry is anticipated to be high for the next six years. By considering this demand we provide latest Yoga Mat Market Report which gives complete industry analysis, market outlook, size, growth and forecast till 2022. This report will assist in analysing the current and future business trends, sales and revenue forecasts.
This report studies Yoga Mat in Global market, especially in United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia, China, Japan, India, Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, Brazil, Middle East and Africa.


Gimp FREE download! Make all your holiday photos perfect using the Gimp!!
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This will be great to retouch all those wonderful Christmas pictures!


The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) continues to captivate audiences around the world, offering EBU Members a cost-effective primetime Saturday night show with guaranteed mass viewing.
No other brand compares. More than 100 million television viewers tuned in for the 2013 Grand Final and Semi Finals of the Eurovision Song Contest, making it once again the most watched entertainment programme in Europe.
Already for 58 years, the Eurovision Song Contest is Europe's favourite TV show. After more than five decades featuring some 1,300 songs, the contest has become a modern classic, strongly embedded into Europe's collective mind.
Viewers in countries taking part in the competition vote for their favourite songs via a pan-European televoting system, which opens after all the songs have been performed.
This year, viewers were also able to vote via a dedicated app, made available for iOS and Android users. A further highlight is the app's second-screen functionality, which offered viewers live updates during the shows about the contestants, their songs, opening and interval acts, as well as the results.
In addition, professional juries from each of those countries also have a 50% stake in the outcome. The professional juries each comprise six representatives.
In 2013, Emmelie de Forest representing Denmark with the song "Only Teardrops" won the competition in Malmö.
Copenhagen will host the 59th Eurovision Song Contest in 2014.
The 2013 production was transmitted live over the Eurovision and Euroradio networks to Europe and other countries worldwide via EBU Member, Sveriges Television Ab (SVT).
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition for active Members of the European Broadcasting Union, represented by the public broadcasters in their respective countries. The first contest was held in Lugano Switzerland in 1956. Since then, the contest has become a true European tradition.
First Semi-Final: 120 minutes approx. Second Semi-final: 120 minutes approx. Final: 195 minutes approx.


"How do you build a snowman?"
At the time of this nonfiction writing, the ground was covered with beautiful, white snow and an informative writing about how to build a snowman seemed like a perfect writing assignment.
Before the children worked on their writings, we completed a shared writing together, a model so the children could see how the writing was to be done. For our class writing, we wrote about how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Our shared writing included a topic sentence, sequenced events, transitional words (first, next, then, last) and a closing sentence.
I love Vincent's comment at the end of our pre-writing draft; it shows how prior knowledge and perception make writing a unique experience for each student.
The children then worked with partners to talk about their experiences with building a snowman. Two of my twenty-five students had never experienced building a snowman, but fortunately, we had plenty of eager volunteers enthusiastically share their stories. We created a list of words for their writings and displayed it in the front of the classroom so the children could easily access the words during the writing process. To help the children organize their writing, they completed a first draft on this prewriting paper.
Most children worked with a partner to revise and edit their first draft; some needed extra support from me. While editing, the students were looking for sentences that made sense, correctly spelled word wall words, beginning capital letter, ending punctuation and at least four steps in the process. Publishing of the final draft involved rewriting their stories onto paper that would be displayed, alongside their snowmen in our hallway.


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Dr Margaret Woodhouse
Senior Lecturer, Head of the Down's Syndrome Vision Research Unit
School of Optometry and Vision Sciences
woodhouse@cardiff.ac.uk
Media commentator
My main interests are visual development in children with Downs syndrome and the eye care needs of children and adults with disabilities. I am also interested in how visual impairment affects education and daily living skills.
I have already designed a test, The Cardiff Acuity Test, Cardiff Contrast Test and Cardiff Near Test, for this purpose. My colleagues and I continue our long-term study of visual and cognitive development in infants and young children with Down's Syndrome, who are at particular risk of eye defects. My other interests are the aetiology of refractive and accommodative defects, and the impact of visual impairment on a child's development and education.
On the undergraduate course, I am module leader for OP3103, Binocular Vision and Special Needs For post-graduates, I am module leader for OPT006 Paediatric Optometry and for OPT007 Eye care for people with learning disabilities.
Educational and Professional Qualifications
Oct 1971 - Sept 1974 Research Student, Physiological Laboratory, University of Cambridge, PhD awarded 1975. Supervisor, F.W. Campbell
Aug 1970 - Sept 1971 Pre-registration year at Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, leading to Professional Qualifying Examinations in Ophthalmic Optics and registration with General Optical Council.
Oct 1967 - June 1970 BSc First Class Hons, in Ophthalmic Optics, University of Aston in Birmingham.
2014 - Awarded an OBE for services to Optometry and people with disabilities
2013 - Shortlisted, Healthcare in Autism Awards (for clinic, with Andy Millington and Mike George)
2012 - Shortlisted for Lecturer of the Year, AOP Awards
2012 - Highly commended, Lifetime Achievement, Understanding Disability Awards
1995 - Owen Aves Memorial Medal, Yorkshire Optical Society 1995 (first female recipient).
Oct 1974 - present Lecturer, promoted to Senior Lecturer
October 1993 Department of Optometry, UWIST, now School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University.
Too much to mention!
Many, talks to Local Optometric meetings, to Downs syndrome support groups and training days, training for RNIB, for QTVI; s etc.
Committees and reviewing
Member, Innovation & Engagement Committee
Member, School Human Research Ethics Committee
Convenor of Examinations (UG), Examinations Liaison Officer (UG)
Unfair Practice Co-ordinator (UG and PG)
External Committees
2012 - present Member, Clinical Expert Panel, EyeCare Trust
2007 - present Member, Science, Research and Practice Advisory Board to Down Syndrome Educational Trust, UK
2006 - present. Advisor, Downs Syndrome Medical Interest Group
2006 - present. Advisor, Downs Syndrome Association
2006 - present Member, Experts group, See Ability
Clark, R.et al. 2019. The potential and value of objective eye tracking in the ophthalmology clinic. Eye (10.1038/s41433-019-0417-z)
Dunn, M.et al. 2019. An automated segmentation approach to calibrating infantile nystagmus waveforms. Behavior Research Methods (10.3758/s13428-018-1178-5)
Zahidi, A. A., Vinuela-Navarro, V. and Woodhouse, J. M. 2018. Different visual development: norms for visual acuity in children with Down's syndrome. Clinical and Experimental Optometry 101(4), pp. 535-540. (10.1111/cxo.12684)
Je, S.et al. 2018. Spatial summation across the visual field in strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia. Scientific Reports 8, article number: 2858. (10.1038/s41598-018-21620-6)
Binti Ahmad Zahidi, A.et al. 2017. Infantile nystagmus: an optometrist's perspective. Clinical Optometry 9, pp. 123-131. (10.2147/OPTO.S126214)
Vinuela Navarro, V.et al. 2017. Saccades and fixations in children with delayed reading skills 1. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics 37(4), pp. 531-541. (10.1111/opo.12392)
Vinuela Navarro, V.et al. 2017. Effect of stimulus type and motion on smooth pursuit in adults and children. Optometry and Vision Science 94(7), pp. 760-769. (10.1097/OPX.0000000000001090)
Dunn, M.et al. 2017. The effect of gaze angle on visual acuity in infantile nystagmus. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 58(1), pp. 642-650. (10.1167/iovs.16-20370)
Dunn, M.et al. 2015. Visual processing in infantile nystagmus is not slow. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 56(9), pp. 5094-5101. (10.1167/iovs.15-16977)
Dunn, M.et al. 2014. Author response: grating visual acuity in infantile nystagmus in the absence of image motion. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 55(8), pp. 4955-4957. (10.1167/iovs.14-15070)
Dunn, M.et al. 2014. Grating visual acuity in infantile nystagmus in the absence of image motion. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 55(4), pp. 2682-2686. (10.1167/iovs.13-13455)
Jones, P. H.et al. 2013. Stress and visual function in infantile nystagmus syndrome. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 54(13), pp. 7943-7951. (10.1167/iovs.13-12560)
Woodhouse, J. M.et al. 2013. Ocular and visual status among children in special schools in Wales: the burden of unrecognised visual impairment.. Archives of Disease in Childhood 99(6), pp. 500-504. (10.1136/archdischild-2013-304866)
Williams, C.et al. 2013. How to help children with neurodevelopmental and visual problems: a scoping review.. British Journal of Ophthalmology 98(1), pp. 6-12. (10.1136/bjophthalmol-2013-304225)
Khadka, J.et al. 2012. Listening to voices of children with a visual impairment: A focus group study. British Journal of Visual Impairment 30(3), pp. 182-196. (10.1177/0264619612453105)
Jones, P. H.et al. 2012. The impact of stress on visual performance in congenital nystagmus. In: Harris, C. M., Gottlob, I. and Sanders, J. eds. The Challenge of Nystagmus.. Nystagmus Network, pp. 239-260.
Binns, A.et al. 2012. How effective is low vision service provision? A systematic review. Survey of Ophthalmology 57(1), pp. 34-65. (10.1016/j.survophthal.2011.06.006)
Erichsen, J. T. and Woodhouse, J. M. 2012. Human and animal vision. In: Batchelor, B. ed. Machine Vision Handbook.. Springer, pp. 89-115.
Al-Bagdady, M. W., Murphy, P. J. and Woodhouse, J. M. 2011. Development and distribution of refractive error in children with Down's Syndrome. British Journal of Ophthalmology 95(8), pp. 1091-1097. (10.1136/bjo.2010.185827)
Medland, C. J., Walter, H. and Woodhouse, J. M. 2010. Eye movements and poor reading: does the Developmental Eye Movement test measure cause or effect?. Ophthalmic And Physiological Optics 30(6), pp. 740-747. (10.1111/j.1475-1313.2010.00779.x)
Khadka, J.et al. 2010. Development of the 25-item Cardiff Visual Ability Questionnaire for Children (CVAQC). British Journal of Ophthalmology 94(6), pp. 730-735. (10.1136/bjo.2009.171181)
Al-Bagdady, M. W.et al. 2009. Bifocals and Down's syndrome: correction or treatment?. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics 29(4), pp. 416-421. (10.1111/j.1475-1313.2009.00646.x)
Ryan, B., Sinclair, A. and Woodhouse, J. M. Robertson, H. ed. 2009. Low vision: The essential guide for optometrists.. Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and The College of Optometrists.
Al-Bagdady, M.et al. 2009. Bifocals and Down's syndrome: correction or treatment?. Ophthalmic And Physiological Optics 29(4), pp. 416-421. (10.1111/j.1475-1313.2009.00646.x)
Khadka, J.et al. 2008. Focusing children in focus groups [Abstract]. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics 28(1), pp. 99-99. (10.1111/j.1475-1313.2007.00530_11.x)
Little, J.et al. 2007. The impact of optical factors on resolution acuity in children with Down Syndrome. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 48(9), pp. 3995-4001. (10.1167/iovs.06-1387)
Wiggins, D.et al. 2007. Infantile nystagmus adapts to visual demand. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 48(5), pp. 2089-2094. (10.1167/iovs.06-1108)
Stewart, R. E.et al. 2007. Association Between Accommodative Accuracy, Hypermetropia, and Strabismus in Children with Down???s Syndrome. Optometry and Vision Science 84(2), pp. 149-155. (10.1097/OPX.0b013e318031b686)
Stewart, R. E., Woodhouse, J. M. and Trojanowska, L. D. 2005. In focus: the use of bifocal spectacles with children with Down's syndrome. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics 25(6), pp. 514-522. (10.1111/j.1475-1313.2005.00326.x)
John, F. M.et al. 2004. Spatial Vision Deficits in Infants and Children with Down Syndrome. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 45(5), pp. 1566-1572. (10.1167/iovs.03-0951)
Woodhouse, J. M., Adler, P. M. and Duignan, A. 2003. Ocular and visual defects amongst people with intellectual disabilities participating in Special Olympics. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics 23(3), pp. 221-232. (10.1046/j.1475-1313.2003.00110.x)
Cregg, M.et al. 2003. Development of refractive error and strabismus in children with Down syndrome. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 44(3), pp. 1023-1030. (10.1167/iovs.01-0131)
Cregg, M.et al. 2001. Accommodation and refractive error in children with Down syndrome: Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE 42(1), pp. 55-63.
Woodhouse, J. M.et al. 2000. The effect of age, size of target, and cognitive factors on accommodative responses of children with Down Syndrome. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 41(9), pp. 2479-2485.
Woodhouse, J. M.et al. 1997. Refractive errors in young children with Down Syndrome. Optometry and Vision Science 74(10), pp. 844-851.
Research Topics and Related Projects
Visual development and visual deficits in children and young people with Downs syndrome
Corneal characteristics in children and adults with Downs syndrome
Measuring and diagnosing eye movement deficits in children
Nystagmus: the impact on vision and visual functioning
The eye care requirements of children with special needs
Currently in receipt of a College of Optometry research studentship award
I work in collaboration with Jon Erichsen (of this School) and Cathy Williams (of Bristol Eye Hospital) on studies of nystagmus and eye movement measurement, and with Barbara Ryan (of this School) on eye care in children with special needs.
Down's Syndrome
A pioneering report co-authored by Dr Maggie Woodhouse has provided further evidence that traditional eye screening in special schools is ineffective.
Transforming eye care and learning potential for children with Down's syndrome
Three Cardiff winners at the Association of Optometrists awards ceremony, which was held on 5th November 2015 in Birmingham
We are driven by creativity and curiosity to push the frontiers of knowledge.
Current staff and students can search the full University directory in the intranet.
University switchboard
Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AT
Copyright Cardiff University. Registered charity no. 1136855

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Milwaukee Brewers: Jimmy Nelson out! WTF?
By Matthew Dewoskin
CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 08: Jimmy Nelson /
It turns out the initial diagnosis of 'right arm soreness' was incorrect. Really, really incorrect. Milwaukee Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson is out for the rest of the season with a partial tear of his right labrum and a right rotator cuff strain.
Staff ace Jimmy Nelson was injured when he slid into first base in the top of the fifth inning during the Milwaukee Brewers victory on September 8th. He appeared to wince and shake out his arm, but stayed in the game. He even recorded a scoreless fifth inning before giving way to Josh Hader. The original diagnosis didn't indicate that Nelson would miss any time. Further testing proved that's no longer the case.
How was Nelson allowed to come back out for the fifth?
Great question. He either talked the Milwaukee Brewers trainer into allowing him to return, or the trainer didn't think it was serious. Either way, it's an awful look for the Milwaukee Brewers training staff. Nelson clearly looked like he was hurting.
What's even more odd is that reports came out early this morning that Nelson only had a 'jammed right shoulder' and the team was cautiously optimistic about him. MRIs don't lie, but human trainers make mistakes.
When will Nelson return to the Brewers?
Another great question. It's unclear at this point if Nelson's injuries will require surgery. He won't take the mound again until Spring Training 2018. The good news here is that he has the entire off-season plus one month to get healthy.
Who's going to replace Jimmy Nelson?
You can't replace Jimmy Nelson! The Milwaukee Brewers have yet to commit to a strategy. Brent Suter, Matt Garza, and a farmhand or two are the most likely option to attempt to fill in for the staff ace.
Next: How important is the next series with the Cubs?
Losing Nelson is sure to impact the Milwaukee Brewers playoff push. The team has to find a starter for four out of 20 remaining games. A four-man rotation isn't an option, and it's too late to add another pitcher. This is going to test the Brewers pitching depth. If someone like Suter or Garza can step up and fill-in for Nelson, the team still has a shot at October baseball. If not, the team won't stay in the race for the NL Central or the Wild Card for long.


Lafayette County Master Gardner Program – use the application form below and contact the UW-Extension office for more information.
Please use the link to find the registration materials. Call the office at (608) 776-4820 for more information.
Did you know that gardeners eat twice as many servings of vegetables as people who do not garden? Gardeners also get twice as many hours of exercise as people who do not garden.
UW-Extension educates Lafayette County residents about gardening as a way to enhance self-sufficiency, health, family traditions and neighborhood dynamics. We also rent garden plots and help residents develop their own community gardens.
Let UW-Extension horticulturists and Master Gardeners identify your plants, insects and plant problems! Bring your plant and insect samples to our office Monday through Friday, 8 am – 4:30 p.m. Fees may apply to samples that are sent on the University Lab.
UW-Extension offers a wide variety of publications on yard and garden topics. Most publications can be downloaded for free, but some are only available for purchase. For a complete list, visit the UW-Extension Publications web site.
Garden Facts are a series of free factsheets developed by the Urban Horticulture Team of UW-Extension for home gardeners. They are short, concise and easy to read, with an emphasis on answers to questions that homeowners often ask about horticulture issues. These factsheets may be downloaded and printed from the Garden Facts web site.
Request a soil test mailer kit by contacting the UW Plant & Soil Analysis Lab directly. Go to the Soil Lab web site where you will find info-sheets, instructions, and lists of fees and services offered by the Lab. You can fill out the forms online or download them and submit your sample by mail. The basic lawn and garden soil test for Wisconsin residents is $15.00.
Check today's weather and the 7-day forecast for Milwaukee at the National Weather Service web site.
Find more answers to your yard and garden questions at the web sites listed in our Horticulture Help Links.


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(, na numeração romana)  foi um ano bissexto do século XIX do actual Calendário Gregoriano, da Era de Cristo,  e as suas letras dominicais foram  G e F (52 semanas), teve início a uma segunda-feira e terminou a uma terça-feira.

Eventos
 Tsultrim Gyatso torna-se no 10-º Dalai Lama.
 Primeira plantação de morangos efetuada
 Nomeação de Francisco António de Araújo e Azevedo no cargo de capitão-general dos Açores, foi o 7º capitão-general.
 Construção da Ermida de Santo António, Calheta, ilha de São Jorge.
 Catástrofes climáticas no Hemisfério Norte tornaram 1816 conhecido como "Ano sem Verão"

Julho
 9 de julho - Independência da Argentina em relação a Espanha.

Dezembro
 11 de dezembro - Indiana torna-se o 19.º estado dos Estados Unidos.

Nascimentos
 17 de Fevereiro - Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen, militar, diplomata e historiador brasileiro (m. 1878).
 21 de Abril - Charlotte Brontë, escritora e poetisa inglesa (m. 1855)
 19 de Agosto - Augusto Teixeira de Freitas, jurista brasileiro (m. 1883).
 24 de Agosto -José Pereira do Rego (Barão do Lavradio),médico brasileiro (m.1892).
 22 de Setembro - Charles Leickert, pintor belga (m. 1907).
 1 de novembro - António Augusto Teixeira de Vasconcelos, escritor e jornalista português (m. 1878).
 17 de Novembro - August Wilhelm Ambros, compositor e musicólogo austríaco (m. 1876).
 13 de Dezembro - Werner von Siemens, inventor e industrial alemão (m. 1892).
 James Brunlees, engenheiro civil inglês (m. 1892).

Falecimentos
 20 de Março - Rainha Maria I de Portugal (n. 1734).
 8 de abril - Santa Júlia Billiart, santa da Igreja católica. (n. 1751).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Dorothy Helen Tool, 93, of Toledo, passed away Thursday, September 20, 2018 at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. Funeral Services will be held Monday, September 24, 2018 at 2:00 PM at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Tama with Pastor Warren Riley officiating. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo. Visitation will be held Monday, September 24, 2018 from 1:00 PM until the time of service at the church.
Dorothy was born on July 26, 1925, in Nebraska, the daughter of Louis and Sophia (Rippke) Nielsen.
She graduated from Hinton High School.
On November 30, 1947, she was united in marriage to Herman Tool in Sioux City. Dorothy was a bank teller prior to her marriage and worked at Armour Packing Plant in Sioux City where she met her husband, Herman. After moving to Toledo, she worked as a waitress at Big T in Toledo. Dorothy was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Tama where she was very active especially with the school kits and Lutheran World Relief quilts. She liked playing cards with her weekly card group at the Senior Center. Dorothy enjoyed coffees with her Big T friends. Her hobbies included sewing, baking, and working in her flower garden. She also loved her birds and crossword puzzles. Her greatest priorities in her life were her faith and her family.
Survivors include two daughters, Lisa (Kenny) Burke of Marshalltown and Stacey (Brian) Tool-Crawford of Conrad; one daughter-in-law, Janette Tool of Garwin; seven grandchildren, Rebecca (Casey) Madison, Darin (Kaitlin) Tool, Heather Davis, Shane (Nicole) Davis, Christopher (Lauren) Crawford, Nick Crawford (Kate Schillinger), and Laura Crawford; one sister, Margaret Ann Shay of Cedar Falls; and several nieces and nephews.
Preceding her in death were her parents; her husband, Herman in 1991; one son, David Tool; one great-grandson, Mario Sanchez; one sister, Loretta Behrens; one brother, Merlon Ludwig; and a special friend, Dean Cruikshank.
Memorials may be directed to St. Paul Lutheran Church or the American Heart Association.


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Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall, Mark Strong & Saïd Taghmaoui To Join John Michael McDonagh's 'The Forgiven' – Hot Cannes Pic
By Andreas Wiseman
Andreas Wiseman
International Editor
@AndreasWiseman
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'Freelance': Alice Eve & Marton Csokas Join John Cena Action-Comedy
'Becky' Outfit Yale Entertainment Launches Sales Banner Great Escape With Nicholas Donnermeyer Set As Prez — EFM
Peter Facinelli To Lead Supernatural Drama 'Can You Hear Me?', UK Shoot To Begin Next Month
EXCLUSIVE: Ralph Fiennes is in talks to join Rebecca Hall, Mark Strong and Saïd Taghmaoui in The Forgiven, the next movie from The Guard and Calvary director John Michael McDonagh, I can reveal.
The English Patient star Fiennes and Vicky Cristina Barcelona star Hall would lead McDonagh's adaptation of the well-received novel by Lawrence Osborne, about the dramatic fallout following a random accident on the lives of an English couple (Fiennes and Hall), their friends and the local Moroccans who all converge on a luxurious desert villa during a decadent weekend-long party. Production is slated to start early next year in Morocco.
Elizabeth Eves will produce alongside McDonagh through their production company House of Un-American Activities. CAA packaged and is repping U.S. rights, with IMR International handling foreign sales and introducing the film to buyers in Cannes next week.
This was a hot prospect going into the market and IMR, the JV between Insiders and MadRiver Pictures, has nabbed it. In Cannes, the firm will also be handling sales on David Robert Mitchell's Cannes Competition entry Under the Silver Lake with Andrew Garfield and Riley Keough, The Torture Report starring Annette Benning, Adam Driver, and Jon Hamm; What Is Life Worth with Michael Keaton and Jacques Audiard's The Sisters Brothers starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Joaquin Phoenix.
Next up for Fiennes is Etan Cohen's Holmes And Watson for Columbia Pictures and he just wrapped production on The White Crow for BBC Films, which he directed. Hall is known for big screen roles in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and The Town. She will also star in Holmes and Watson later this year. Kingsman and Zero Dark Thirty actor Strong currently stars as Max Easton in Fox series Deep State. Acclaimed French-American actor Taghmaoui, who is of Moroccan descent, is known for La Haine, The Good Thief, Hideous Kinky, The Infiltrator and Wonder Woman.
Fiennes is represented by CAA and Dalzell and Beresford; Hall is repped by WME and Julian Belfrage Associates; Strong is repped by Markham, Froggatt and Irwin and WME; and Taghmaoui is repped by Markham, Froggatt and Irwin and Agents Associés.
This article was printed from	https://deadline.com/2018/05/ralph-fiennes-rebecca-hall-mark-strong-said-taghmaoui-to-lead-john-michael-mcdonaghs-the-forgiven-hot-cannes-pic-1202383400/


The atlas provides interactive maps of geographical variations for a range of health conditions and environmental agents at a neighbourhood (small-area) scale in England and Wales.
The Environment and Health Atlas for England and Wales is an independent publication produced by the Small Area Health Statistics Unit, an academic unit funded by the Medical Research Council and Public Health England.
To provide baseline information for policy makers and the public on geographic patterns of environmental agents and disease.
To help in development of hypotheses to understand and explain variability in disease risk that may relate to the environment, lifestyle factors and/or location.
Following on from this, to help in development of research to investigate potential causal relationships between environment and health factors – where either evidence or lack of evidence for an effect provides important information to inform public health and policy.
How does money influence health?
Why do people in poverty tend to have poorer health?
This study looks at hundreds of theories to consider how income influences health. There is a graded association between money and health – increased income equates to better health. But the reasons are debated.
Researchers have reviewed theories from 272 wide-ranging papers, most of which examined the complex interactions between people's income and their health throughout their lives.
Material: Money buys goods and services that improve health. The more money families have, the better the goods they can buy.
Psychosocial: Managing on a low income is stressful. Comparing oneself to others and feeling at the bottom of the social ladder can be distressing, which can lead to biochemical changes in the body, eventually causing ill health.
Behavioural: For various reasons, people on low incomes are more likely to adopt unhealthy behaviours – smoking and drinking, for example – while those on higher incomes are more able to afford healthier lifestyles.
Reverse causation (poor health leads to low income): Health may affect income by preventing people from taking paid employment. Childhood health may also affect educational outcomes, limiting job opportunities and potential earnings.
To open the full report please click here.
The 2013 version of the local Health Profiles have been published this week and can be accessed at www.healthprofiles.info. They give a snapshot overview of health for each local authority in England.
These profiles draw together information to present a picture of health in each local area in a user-friendly format. They are a valuable tool for local government, health services and partners in helping them to understand community needs, so that they can work to improve people's health and reduce health inequalities.
How does government policy contribute to loneliness?
We need to address the epidemic of loneliness in our midst, says Tracey Robbins. Loneliness not only kills people; it kills communities too.
Has our society already died? The challenge for our society is that the policy and strategies put in place by government unwittingly hinder those on the ground trying to bring people, neighbourhoods and communities together.
Three years ago over forty people living in two neighbourhoods in York, two in Bradford, set off to find out what causes loneliness in the areas where they live.
For the full JRF article please click here.
Personal well-being, people's thoughts and feelings about their own quality of life, is an important aspect of national well-being and is used by ONS to supplement other economic, social and environmental statistics to provide a statistical picture of the nation's well-being.
According to the latest findings from the ONS Annual Population Survey, there were small improvements in personal well-being in the UK between 2011/12 and 2012/13.
The percentage of people reporting higher levels of life satisfaction, feeling that the things they do in life are worthwhile and happiness levels all increased while the percentage reporting higher levels of anxiety declined.
Between 2011/12 and 2012/13 the proportion of people rating their life satisfaction as 7 or more out of 10 rose from 75.9% to 77.0%. There was also a reduction in the proportion of people rating their anxiety at a higher level of 6 or more out of 10 falling from 21.8% to 20.9%.
The data show differences in personal well-being between groups of the population. For example, people aged 45 to 49 rated their life satisfaction lower than any other age group and Black people lower than any other ethnic group. There were no significant changes between the years for unemployed people whose average life satisfaction remained below those in employment.
Other non-official sources show an improvement in personal well-being for similar periods. They also show that life satisfaction in the UK changed less between 2007 and 2011 than other European countries.
This article analyses by age and other variables two of the current measures of national well-being: 'satisfaction with health' and 'evidence of mental ill-health (GHQ)' and their relationship to well-being.
Two thirds (66%) of people were satisfied with their health with a slightly higher proportion of men than women.
Satisfaction with health reduced to 53% of those aged 80 and over.
Around a fifth (19%) of individuals had some indication of anxiety or depression with a higher proportion of women than men and a higher proportion of those aged between 40 and 59 or aged 80 and over.
Some evidence of anxiety and depression occurred in a higher percentage of those who were divorced or not in paid work or dissatisfied with their health or who were caring for someone else in the household or who were living on their own.
Around three in ten (28 %) reported restrictions in moderate daily activities: the percentage reporting restrictions increased considerably with age from 13% of those aged 16 to 24 to 77% of those aged 80 and over.
About 14% of those who reported no limitation in moderate activities showed some symptoms of anxiety or depression compared to 26% of those with a little limitation and nearly 41% of those with a lot of limitation.
To open the full article click here.


Cham, Western is a language of Cambodia. It is spoken in Near major cities; Kampong Cham and Kampong Chnang along Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. Also in France, Libya, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam, Yemen.
Cannot communicate with Eastern Cham (See: Cham, Eastern) of central Viet Nam. Lexical similarity: 84% with Eastern Cham (See: Cham, Eastern) of Vietnam (Pawley 2010), 69% with Jarai (See: Jarai) of northeast Cambodia.


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Jailed Kentucky clerk: Issued marriage licenses to gay couples are void
A Kentucky clerk jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses asserted that any ones that are issued without her authority Friday to gay couples in Rowan County are void and "not worth the paper they are written on" because she didn't approve them, her attorney said.
Kim Davis "has already been doing Bible studies with herself" in jail, her attorney Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel told reporters after meeting her behind bars. He said Davis is in very good spirits and is fully prepared to stay as long it takes to defend her religious freedoms.
"She's not going to resign, she's not going to sacrifice her conscience, so she's doing what Martin Luther King Jr. wrote about in his Letter from the Birmingham Jail, which is to pay the consequences for her decision," Staver said, adding he's preparing to appeal U.S. District Judge David Bunning's contempt finding as one of several legal challenges on her behalf.
At least three gay couples received marriage licenses on Friday from one of Davis' deputies, embracing and celebrating after repeatedly being denied before Davis was imprisoned on Thursday. Their attorneys, along with Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins, insist the licenses are valid.
Read More @ FOX News


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Today's Super 7 NYC Events > SUNDAY/ FEBRUARY 17, 2019
For future NYC Events, check the tab above: "February NYC Events"
To make your own after dinner plans TONIGHT, see the tab above; "LiveMusic."
Parade for Lunar New Year
Watch NYC's biggest Lunar New Year parade in person.
"The Lunar New Year is celebrated with large public events in Brooklyn and Queens, but the largest parade is still the procession that takes place in Manhattan's Chinatown. Winding along Mott and Canal Streets, the show moves down East Broadway toward the Manhattan Bridge before swinging up between Eldridge and Forsyth streets toward Grand Street (next to Sara D. Roosevelt Park). Expect thousands of people to line the streets as performers, people in festive costumes, marching bands and, of course, lots of colorful lion and dragon dancers, which tradition holds will bring luck while frightening away evil spirits." (Newsday)
WHEN | WHERE 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17; Chinatown
INFO FREE; betterchinatown.com
>> Kim Nalley: Love Songs
>> Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart
>> Thundercat / Kamasi Washington
>> What Beer and Running Can Teach Us About the Scientific Process
>> Presidents' Day Open House
>> Jeff Behler: The 2020 US Census
>> Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
>> NEW YORK CITY BALLET
Kim Nalley: Love Songs
Dizzy's Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center/ 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $45
"The incomparable vocalist Kim Nalley sings jazz's greatest love songs on Valentine's Day. Treat yourself and your valentine with an unforgettable night of live jazz in front of a glittering New York skyline and a special prix-fixe menu. Returning to Jazz at Lincoln Center after sold-out runs in Dizzy's Club and The Appel Room, Nalley packs an expansive vocal range that can go from operatic to gritty blues on a dime, channeling real emotion into blistering scat solos, hushed ballads, and everything in between. Jazz vocalists have long been a favorite source of romance on Valentine's Day, and Kim Nalley takes it to the highest level."
Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart (Feb.14-17)
Iridium / 8PM, $45+
"Maye's stellar past includes a string of classy RCA albums in the '60s and a nearly unequaled number of Tonight Show appearances, but this husky-voiced, earthy belter has never sounded better than she does now. Beyond her remarkable energy and musical acuity, the astonishing Maye has a bone-deep comfort that imbues familiar songs with fresh simplicity, truthfulness and power. Her Valentine's Day set centers on love songs from the Great American Songbook." (TONY)
Thundercat / Kamasi Washington (LAST CHANCE)
Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $30-$45
"In 2015, Kendrick Lamar's acclaimed album "To Pimp a Butterfly" flung open a portal to new jazz for audiences previously unaware of or uninterested in the genre's offerings. But the bassist and vocalist Thundercat and the saxophonist Kamasi Washington, both of whom appeared on that record, had already long been mainstays of L.A.'s bustling modern-jazz scene and members of the influential collective West Coast Get Down. On the 2017 album "Drunk," Thundercat injects his sharp and freewheeling musicianship with whimsical flourishes, while "Heaven and Earth," Washington's ambitious double release from last year, is a transcendent meditation on jazz music's past and present. This pair of Brainfeeder labelmates—each brilliant in his own right—are leaders of a charge that is reshaping the genre and triumphantly returning it to mainstream consciousness. Thundercat embarks on a six-night, fourteen-show residency at the Blue Note on Feb. 12." (Briana Younger, NewYorker)
Elsewhere, but if you like to drink beer better make a detour for this one:
What Beer and Running Can Teach Us About the Scientific Process
Caveat, 21 Clinton St./ 7PM, $12
"How does beer stack up as a recovery drink? The truth about foam rolling: if it hurts, does that mean it's helping? What is up with Tom Brady's pajamas? Join acclaimed FiveThirtyEight science writer Christie Aschwanden and Nature editor Brendan Maher for a fascinating and humorous investigation of the science of sports recovery." (ThoughtGallery)
Presidents' Day Open House (Feb.16-18)
Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St./ 11AM-5PM, $1
Celebrate George Washington's birthday and Presidents' Day at Fraunces Tavern Museum with dollar admission!
Can't get enough Washington? Make sure to check out our Scott Gallery featuring A Stoic Countenance: Portraits of George Washington exhibition. Then, head up to the McEntee Gallery to sneak a peek at a lock of Washington's hair and a fragment of his tooth!"
Guided Tours are included with regular Museum admission and are offered at the following times: Sunday, February 17 – 3:00pm – Museum Tour
Jeff Behler: The 2020 US Census
New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 W. 64th St./ 11AM, FREE
"Jeff Behler, New York Regional Director for the U.S. Census Bureau, joins us to discuss challenges and opportunities for the upcoming 2020 Census, including partnership opportunities to help ensure a complete count of our communities. He'll also discuss the census' importance to our democracy, and explain the changes and improvements from the previous census in 2010."
NEW YORK CITY BALLET (through March 3)
at the NYS Theater, Lincoln Center
"In the coming week, City Ballet's winter season belongs to Princess Aurora. Through Feb. 24, the company presents "The Sleeping Beauty" in a 1991 version by the former director Peter Martins, who followed a blueprint from the 19th-century master Marius Petipa (a section by George Balanchine made the cut, too). Over the next 10 days, several of City Ballet's top ballerinas embody the titular character in this streamlined, two-act production. Lilac Fairy aside, the true fairy godfather here is Tchaikovsky, whose enduring score many consider ballet's best." (NYT-Brian Schaefer)
212-496-0600, nycballet.com
Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
Midtown Manhattan's winter wonderland.
Bryant Park (btw 5th/6th Ave. @42nd St.) / shops to 8PM, rink to 10PM
Enjoy The Lodge by Urbanspace, and The Rink, the centerpiece of Winter Village and New York City's only free admission ice skating rink.
The Rink
This 17,000 square foot rink features free admission ice skating, high quality rental skates, and free skating shows, special events, and activities.
October 27, 2018 – March 3, 2019
Daily, 8am-10pm (Rink hours are weather permitting and Rink may be closed for events – check here)
The Stone at The New School – 55 w13 St. (btw 6/5 ave) – thestonenyc.com (8:30PM)
Jazz Standard – 116 E27 St. (btw Park/Lex) – jazzstandard.com – (1st set 7:30)
For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above "LiveMusic."
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprised with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It was my favorite spot for an evening of listening enjoyment and discovery.
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319
And more recently we have lost Cornelia Street Cafe. After 41 years, it too became another victim of an unreasonable rent increase.
See our art critic's top pick of the year.
"Luckily, the number-one pick in Jerry Saltz's best art shows of 2018 is still running. Hilma af Klint's Paintings for the Future at the Guggenheim Museum examines the work of the unacknowledged Swedish visionary and makes a case for her being the first modernist abstract painter. Saltz is especially enamored with the first gallery, so make sure you spend some time there." (NYMagazine)
GD: Definitely worth a visit. af Klint was like the original Kandinsky and it's interesting to see both of their works in the same museum, even if not side-by-side.
'BETYE SAAR: KEEPIN' IT CLEAN' (through May 27).
"Saar has been making important and influential work for nearly 60 years. Yet no big New York museum has given her a full retrospective, or even a significant one-person show, since a 1975 solo at the Whitney Museum of American Art. As this exhibition demonstrates, the institutional oversight is baffling, as her primary themes — racial justice and feminism (her 1972 breakthrough piece, "The Liberation of Aunt Jemima," merges the two by transforming the racist stereotype of the smiling black mammy into an armed freedom fighter) — are exactly attuned to the present." (Cotter-NYT)
212-873-3400, nyhistory.org
"In Praise of Painting" (thru Oct.4, 2020)
"How great are the Met's holdings in the Dutch golden age? Very. This long-term installation rings the lower level of the Lehman Wing with scores of lesser-known gems from the mid-seventeenth century, many of them rarely on view before, amid masterworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, and Ruisdael. The period, vivified here, began in 1648, when the end of the Eighty Years' War with Spain brought a boom in wealth and morale, expressed by genre paintings that exalt the national ideal of gezelligheid—social warmth, comfort, belonging. A key figure was Gerard ter Borch, who had travelled widely and worked at the court of Philip IV, in company with Velázquez. Ter Borch's lustrous, ineffably witty domestic scenes inspired a generation of masters, notably Vermeer, whose genius rather eclipsed his elder's. The pictures often star ter Borch's younger sister Gesina, preening in satins or enigmatically musing. Herself a painter, she is cutely funny-looking—pointy nose, weak chin—and desperately lovable. There's much to be said for a world with such a family in it." (Peter Schjeldahl, NewYorker)
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Jeff Behler: The 2020 US Census, Kim Nalley: Love Songs, Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart, NYC Events, NYC Events Today, Parade for Lunar New Year, What Beer and Running Can Teach Us About the Scientific Process. Bookmark the permalink.


An op-ed is a timely, provocative essay that expresses an opinion on an important issue. Letters to the editor (LTEs) generally respond to a previous article in the paper. Each can be very useful and cost-effective tools for advocates trying to get out a message. Most policymakers or their staff read op-eds and LTEs as a way to track issues important to their constituents.
Have a hook, piggyback on an issue, event or pending legislation.
Identify yourself to readers. For example, "I am a mother as well as a teacher in the public school system."
Plan your message. Get to it quickly – and choose just one message.
Check your tone. Depending on your audience and the issue, you may want to be light and conversational in tone, or academic.
Note: you do not have to be writing on behalf of an organization to get published.
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Dr Victoria Foster
/person/dr-victoria-foster/
Senior External Engagement Fellow
History, Geography & Social Sciences
Department: History, Geography & Social Sciences
Victoria's research involves working with marginalised groups to explore social justice issues, including environmental concerns, and to provide critiques of policy initiatives. She has a particular interest in arts-based methodologies underpinned by feminist epistemology and her book, Collaborative Arts-based Research for Social Justice, provides a rationale for employing this approach in community settings. Victoria has been working in this field for two decades. She was the recipient of an ESRC CASE award for her doctoral research and an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship. She has worked on large scale NIHR-funded research as well as a range of smaller projects which recently have involved collaboration with West Lancashire Borough Council, Wigan Council and a number of local social enterprises including Burscough Community Farm, Wigan and Leigh Community Charity and Made in WN8.
Victoria is currently the UK Principal Investigator for the three-year Trans-Atlantic Platform research project, 'Exploring the Role of Adaptive Capacity on Democratic Performance' (2022-2025). This is headed by Professor Tom Bryer at the University of Central Florida and also includes partners in Canada and Poland. She is Co-Investigator on the one-year AHRC-funded project, 'Active and Creative Communities Arts Development: Social Prescribing, Sustainable Strategic Planning and Breaking Down Barriers across Sectors in North Lanarkshire'. This collaborative knowledge exchange project is led by Dr Marisa de Andrade at the University of Edinburgh and involves eight local, regional and national multi-sectoral partners.
Victoria is Visiting Professor of Community-Engaged Scholarship at the University of Central Florida Downtown. She is Associate Director of the Institute for Social Responsibility (ISR) and a Co-lead of SustainNET at Edge Hill University. She is HEA Senior Fellow D3 SFHEA.


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Jul 10, 1830 - Nov 13, 1903
The Louvre: Winter Sunshine, Morning - Camille Pissarro was a French Impressionist painter. His importance resides not only in his visual contributions to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, but also in his patriarchal standing among his colleagues, particularly Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin. He was seen as the patriarch of the Impressionist movement, and was constantly encouraging younger artists and managing the artistic revolution's progress.
Home > All Categories > Shop by Artist > Camille Pissarro Paintings
The Louvre: Winter Sunshine, Morning
73 cm (28.74 in.) x 92 cm (36.22 in.)
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Other paintings by Camille Pissarro:
The Louvre, Winter Sunlight, Morning, 2nd Version
The Louvre: Afternoon, Rainy Weather
The Maidservant
Born July 10, 1830 in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Camille Pissarro was sent to Paris to study as a boy, where he earned acclaim for his budding talent as an artist. He was obligated to return to St. Thomas in 1847 to help his father run his general store, but by 1855, he had convinced his parents to allow him to pursue his dream of becoming a painter.
Camille Pissarro returned to Paris, where the landscapes of Camille Corot and other members of the Barbizon group made a huge impression on him at the World's Fair. The concept of working directly from nature appealed to the young artist, and he gravitated toward landscape painting. Over the next 10 years, he studied at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts and at the Académie Suisse, where classes were free.
Camille Pissarro's education was as much about formal studies as it was about meeting like-minded contemporaries with whom Pissarro could share ideas. Among them were Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Paul Cézanne. The artists were experimenting with new ways of painting that eschewed the traditional methods of the past. Pissarro's works were occasionally accepted at the prestigious state-run art show, the Salon. Perhaps more importantly, he won the critical support of journalist Émile Zola, who helped the artist build his career.
During the Franco-Prussian War, Camille Pissarro left France for London with his friend Claude Monet. There, they were influenced by the landscape paintings of John Constable and J.M.W. Turner in developing a unique style that would later be known as Impressionism. Upon returning to his home near Paris, Pissarro discovered that the Prussians had destroyed nearly all of his paintings.
After several rejections by the Salon, Camille Pissarro and his colleagues decided to hold their own independent exhibition of their Impressionist works. The first of these independent shows was held in 1874 and included Pissarro, Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Edgar Degas, and Berthe Morisot. Pissarro participated in all eight of the independent exhibitions from 1874-86, the only artist to do so.
Camille Pissarro was seen as the patriarch of the Impressionist movement, and was constantly encouraging younger artists and managing the artistic revolution's progress. In 1892, he finally received the international recognition he deserved with a large-scale retrospective of his work, including Path through the Fields (1879), Landscape, Eragny (1895), and Place du Théâtre Français (1898). He died in Paris on November 12, 1903.
The Louvre: Winter Sunshine. Morning


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With George Floyd Act, Texas House Democrats Push for an End to Police Brutality in Texas
AUSTIN, Texas — Today, House Bill 88 — known as the George Floyd Act — by state Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson (HD-141) is scheduled for a hearing in the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety. Led by the Texas Democratic Legislative Black Caucus, this Democratic bill is a key step forward to combat police brutality and keep Texans safe.
Last year, Americans grieved the loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Javier Ambler, and too many other Black Americans robbed of their lives by police brutality. Millions of Americans have come together to demand an end to this violence — and in an important step, earlier this month, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives passed the federal George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Now, activists, organizers, and Democrats across Texas are continuing to fight the systemic racism that pervades all elements of our society, including the criminal justice system. The Texas version of the George Floyd Act provides long-overdue, desperately needed policing reforms that will advance public safety and help ensure all Texans truly receive equal justice.
The George Floyd Act proposes the following necessary changes to our law enforcement system:
Ends qualified immunity for officers
Enacts a duty to intervene in instances of excessive force, among other duties
Narrows use of force, including a strict prohibition on chokeholds
Bars arrest for non-jailable, fine-only violations
Requires corroboration for the testimony of an undercover officer in narcotics cases, just like is required for informants
Calls for the creation of a clear, progressive disciplinary matrix independent of police unions for the investigation of officer misconduct
Texas Democratic Party Vice-Chair Dr. Carla Brailey issued the following statement:
"Too many families across our state are grieving loved ones whose lives were taken by police brutality. With the George Floyd Act, we are finally taking a step forward to change that. Thanks to the work of Rep. Senfronia Thompson and the entire Texas Legislative Black Caucus, this bill will give us the police reform we desperately need — from ending qualified immunity, to banning chokeholds.
"This is what leadership looks like. While Texas Republicans continue to fan the flames of racism and put our communities in danger — from Senator John Cornyn's stoking of anti-Asian hate, to Congressman Chip Roy's disgusting comments last week — Texas Democrats are fighting for a safer Texas for everyone. It's time for criminal justice reform. It's time to end police brutality. Equal justice under the law should mean just that: equality. The George Floyd Act will move us closer to that ideal."


Rick Atkinson is an Army Brat. His father served 28 years in the US Army officer corps.
Rick Atkinson won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 1982 for his series of articles on the West Point Class of 1966. His books include: "The Long Gray Line, The American Journey of West Point's Class of 1966" and "Crusade : The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War." Atkinson is currently a staff writer for the Washington Post.


Michelle, I would stir the cilantro in right before serving.
One of my favorites so far. Even my omnivore boyfriend liked it. Make sure not to cook the potatoes too long (they become very mushy). I make double batches and freeze in individual contains for quick meals. It freezes very well.


Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers its customers a high-performance ERP solution that benefits from the work-from-anywhere freedom, scalability, and low operating costs of the cloud. Its familiar and easy-to-use interface reduces training requirements and improves adoption rates. In order to further improve our Dynamics 365 clients' productivity and user experience, Techvista Systems has developed a range of modules for Dynamics 365 that address various industries' unique operational challenges.
Techvista's ERP solutions for Microsoft Dynamics 365 provide a streamlined and functionally optimized collection of features and workflows that simplifies most day-to-day business operations. These modules help organizations improve their global competitive capabilities, lower operational costs, increase productivity, and drive innovation in industry verticals as diverse as services, construction, and manufacturing. Real-time information on finances, operations, and customers allow businesses to respond to challenges with agility and confidence, lower production costs, build customer loyalty, adapt to fluctuations in demand, and shorten time to market.
Techvista's manufacturing solution for Dynamics 365 simplifies management of your production and supply chain information, and uses real-time data to greatly improve the responsiveness of your day-to-day operations.
Cross-departmental coordination: By instantly sharing information across your organization, our manufacturing module eliminates departmental information silos, improves collaboration and knowledge sharing, spurs innovation, and ensures that your team is referencing a single version of the truth regarding your products, services, and ongoing projects.
Sourcing, substitutions, and vendor management: Advanced management tools make it easy to keep track of bills of materials, parts, and suppliers.
Change approval workflows: Quickly submit and approve requests for changes to product designs, with support for multi-stage, multi-approver workflows.
Product scheduling, rollout, and lifecycle management: Ensure that each phase of product development, manufacture, and launch are coordinated efficiently, and that all stakeholders have their view of the product lifecycle optimized to best serve their project roles.
Techvista's Construction solution for Dynamics 365 give construction companies and contractors in other industries the tools they require to satisfy the unique challenges they face. By providing functionality that simplifies personnel scheduling, equipment management, and building code compliance, our construction module enhances Dynamics 365 to bring you a unified view that covers every aspect of your business operations.
Construction Specific Project Accounting: Design your Bill of Quantity and Work Breakdown Structure as per the specific requirements of Construction industry, estimating and controlling each milestone progress at the square meter level. Accordingly, handle your receivables and payables based on actual work done.
Equipment Management: Keep track of the transportation and usage of owned and third-party machinery, as well as accessories and parts for all equipment. Track fuel consumption, service requests, scheduling, and invoicing.
Payroll and Scheduling: Ensure that your payroll staff, general contractors, and specialty contractors are scheduled and paid correctly, with support for overtime, bonuses, hazard pay, and other special considerations.
Multi-business support: Whether your construction enterprise operates as a single entity or multiple companies, your business data can be viewed at multiple levels of detail.
Inspections and Regulatory Compliance: Use Techvista Construction for Dynamics 365 to confirm that each building project complies with municipal, regional, and federal rules and regulations. Schedule and keep detailed records on building inspections, and generate repair quotes directly from inspectors' recommendations.
Techvista Systems' Services Management module for Dynamics 365, businesses can manage their talent pool with ease and ensure that each of their clients is paired with personnel that best match their requirements. Whether your workforce is freelance, contracted, or on payroll, our module for service-oriented organizations provides a complete range of tools to make talent management effortless and efficient.
Scheduling and timekeeping: 24-hour timesheets, leave management, and shift tracking capabilities address scheduling challenges and improve staff availability.
Service level agreements: Quickly and easily select service plans from a list of standard templates, and then customize them to each client's unique requirements. Modify a client's plan at any time during their billing cycle.
Fixed and recurring jobs: In case of ongoing commitments, schedule a worker for multiple engagements with a client.
Quotes and Estimates: Generate estimates and quotes using simple tools that step through a series of questions.
Advanced Project Management: Pick a team, plan each project phase, set budgets and deadlines, monitor progress, and generate detailed reports.


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Q: Add user to Server Role in a transaction Situation
One webapp responsible for creating other webapps using SQL Server 2008 R2 Stored Procedures. One of the steps in creating another webapp is creating a new database, a login/user, assigning database roles, etc.
Now that we are implementing another feature, we would like to assign each new user the pre-defined server role bulkadmin. For this, there exists a wonderful SP sp_addsrvrolemember.
When executing this, though, we get the error
The procedure 'sys.sp_addsrvrolemember' cannot be executed within a transaction.
The webapp that creates the other webapps uses transactions for each SQL query it executes and it would involve a lot of customizations and exceptions to handle this.
Question
Is it in another way (or in this way, with some modifications) possible to achieve this, i.e. granting a user the bulkadmin right?
The sp_addsrvrolemember has hard-coded that @@trancount should be 0, so that's not going to give me a solution. Google and SO have not been really helpful either, or I haven't been able to find it. Usually the answer is "don't use transactions", which is not an option in our case.

A: Of course, just after posting, I found it myself:
USE [master];
GRANT ADMINISTER BULK OPERATIONS TO [user]

It's that easy.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Do I see a dark, twisted re-imagining of Peggle on the horizon?
Having recently finished work on Alice: Madness Returns and landed a $3 million investment deal, American McGee (famed designer of Alice) and his development company Spicy Horse are looking to the future. With the announcement of a long-term deal with PopCap Games, that future could be filled with falling jewels, dancing sunflowers, and the Ode to Joy.
Once Madness Returns is released, Spicy Horse will turn to making 3D online games, starting by remaking one of PopCap's big franchises such as Peggle, Bejeweled, or Plants vs. Zombies. According to Mcgee, "It's free-to-play, it will launch initially in Asia, it's multiplayer, and it's microtransaction-driven."
Explaining the choice to remake the game in 3D, McGee said, "The sense is that while a lot of social games have built their empires on 2D, there will be a moment where the genre has to shift into 3D, and we want to start that process now." He also mentions that this transition to casual and social games is a long time coming. "The reason I originally came to China is that I wanted to get into that new model - I wanted to get away from console game production and retail, disc-based sales," he said, while calling his recent work on Alice: Madness Returns a "beautiful distraction."
With a recent influx of cash from a $3 million investment and a potential money-maker in the form of the to-be-released Madness Returns, Spicy Horse is looking to start focusing on what McGee says is "a two-year plan to bring multiple titles to market," and will aim to release a new title every six months.


text:
Q: Handle cancel button in facebook iOS using session I tried to search this but couldn't find anything useful.
[FBSession setActiveSession:[[FBSession alloc] initWithPermissions:[NSArray arrayWithObjects:@"publish_actions,read_stream,user_hometown,user_birthday,email", nil]]];

    [[FBSession activeSession] openWithBehavior:FBSessionLoginBehaviorForcingWebView completionHandler:
    ^(FBSession *session,FBSessionState state,NSError *error)
    {
        if(state == FBSessionStateOpen)
       {
             // use user's detail and post on Facebook
       }
    }];

Now this works fine for me. But what if user presses close/cancel button before logging into Facebook. I need to execute set of statements if user pressed cancel button. How can i do this.
Any help would be appreciated.

A: You can use Facebook error category and to handle errors refer this link
[FBSession openActiveSessionWithPublishPermissions:permissions defaultAudience:FBSessionDefaultAudienceEveryone allowLoginUI:YES completionHandler:^(FBSession *session, FBSessionState status, NSError* error){

        if(!error){

            //success do something
        }
        else{

            //Error
            if([FBErrorUtility errorCategoryForError:error] == FBErrorCategoryUserCancelled){

                //user have pressed on cancel/close button
            }
            else {

                //loging failed
            }
        }
    }];

A: try this

 [FBSession setActiveSession:[[FBSession alloc] initWithPermissions:[NSArray arrayWithObjects:@"publish_actions,read_stream,user_hometown,user_birthday,email", nil]]];

[[FBSession activeSession] openWithBehavior:FBSessionLoginBehaviorForcingWebView completionHandler:
^(FBSession *session,FBSessionState state,NSError *error)
{
    if(state == FBSessionStateOpen)
   {
         // use user's detail and post on Facebook
   }
   else if(state == FBSessionStateClosed)
  {
       // if user not authenticated
   }
   else if(steate == FBSessionStateClosedLoginFailed)
  {

  }

}];

A: After calling the login function, eg:
- (BOOL)openSessionWithAllowLoginUI:(BOOL)allowLoginUI {

     NSArray *permissions = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:@"friends_photos",@"friends_birthday",@"email", nil];

     return [FBSession openActiveSessionWithReadPermissions:permissions
                       allowLoginUI:allowLoginUI
                       completionHandler:^(FBSession *session, FBSessionState state, NSError *error) {
                       [self sessionStateChanged:session state:state error:error];
     }];
}

You can get the callback in the delegate meth9od , eg:
- (void)sessionStateChanged:(FBSession *)session
                  state:(FBSessionState)state
                  error:(NSError *)error
 {

   switch (state) {
     case FBSessionStateOpen:
        if(!error)
        {

        }
        break;
    case FBSessionStateClosed:
         {
           NSLog(@"FBSessionStateClosed");
           [FBSession.activeSession closeAndClearTokenInformation];
         }
         break;
    case FBSessionStateClosedLoginFailed:
         {
           NSLog(@"FBSessionStateClosedLoginFailed :- logged failed");
         }
         break;
    default:
        break;
   }

   [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] postNotificationName:FBSessionStateChangedNotification
                                                    object:session];

   if (error) {
    UIAlertView *alertView = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"Error: %@",
                                                                 [AppDelegate FBErrorCodeDescription:error.code]]
                                                        message:error.localizedDescription
                                                       delegate:nil
                                              cancelButtonTitle:@"OK"
                                              otherButtonTitles:nil];
    [alertView show];
  }
}


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Risk of stroke is reduced by drinking alcoholic beverages in moderation. They can be wine, spirits or beer. This is the finding of a systematic review of 26 studies. They were both cohort and case-control investigations.
Ischemic stroke results from an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. Fatty deposits line the inside of the vessel walls. They can block blood to the brain. Alcohol in the blood reduces the buildup of these deposits.
Almost nine of every ten strokes is ischemic. The rest are hemorrhagic strokes. These are caused by a bulge (aneurism) that ruptures. Or by a weak blood vessel that leaks. Blood then seeps into or around the brain. This creates swelling and pressure that can kill brain cells.
Stroke is often called a 'brain attack.' It kills brain cells. This results in the loss of the abilities controlled by the part of the brain damaged. Almost a third of people who suffer stroke recover completely. But the rest experience some form of permanent disability.
F Face drooping. One side of the face droops or is numb.
A One arm is weak or numb.
S Speech is impaired or difficult.
T Time to call 911.
Unsteady gait or unusual walk.
If in doubt, always call 911. With stroke, prompt treatment is essential.
Factors that increase our risk of stroke are.
Age. Our risk doubles every ten years after 55.
Heredity. Having close relatives who have had strokes at an early age.
A previous stroke or a 'mini-stroke.' That's a transient ischemic attack or TIA.
Race. Being African-American or Hispanic-American.
The Harvard Medical School recommends doing eight things to reduce the risk of stroke.
Lower your blood pressure, if needed. The top number should be less than 120. The bottom number should be less than 80.
Lose weight, if necessary. Your body mass index (BMI) should be 25 or less. Visit Calculate Your Body Mass Index.
Exercise more. Exercise at a moderate intensity level at least five days per week.
Drink alcohol daily in moderation. It can be beer, wine or spirits. Frequent, moderate drinking reduces risk of stroke.
Take a baby aspirin every day. But talk with your doctor first.
Treat atrial fibrillation if you have it.
Treat diabetes if you have it.
We can't change our family medical history, race, or age. But there are many things we can do to reduce our risk of stroke. And if you think you or someone else might possibly be having a stroke, call 911 immediately.
Prompt medical care can mean the difference between life and death. Better safe than sorry.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Preventing Stroke. Bethesda: The Institute, 2011.
Berger, K., et al. Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption and the risk of stroke among U.S. male physicians. New Eng J Med., 1999, 341 (21), 1557-1564.
Bronner, L., et al. Primary prevention of stroke. New Eng J Med., 1995, 333(21), 1392-1400.
Jimenez, M., et al. Alcohol consumption and risk of stroke in women. Stroke, 2012, 43(4), 939-945.
Patra, J., et al. Alcohol consumption and the risk of morbidity and mortality for different stroke types. BMC Pub Hlth., 2010, 10, art # 258.
Sacco, R. L., et al. The Protective Effect of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Ischemic Stroke. JAMA, 1999, 281, 53-60.


text:
Solarism
Culture and Society > Metaphysics > Religion
Galactography > Civilized Galaxy - Sephirotic Empires > Solar Dominion
Image from Anders Sandberg
The fundamental unity of all monotheistic religions have been claimed by a large number of philosophers and prophets throughout history, although in most cases these views have remained purely academic or included into minor religions while the majority of believers have kept to their specific faiths. Solarism was the first truly successful metamonotheism, largely due to the synergy with omegism, AI-worship, the charismatic teachings of Borde and the politics of the third space rush. Its main tenets are monotheism, the manifestation of Truth embodied in the AI-cluster Tiphareth and its interface the God-Emperor, a centralist/hierarchical cultural order and the employment of expansion technology to achieve universal enlightenment.
Solarism is the major monotheistic religion of the Greater Solar Dominion. It played a pivotal part in the founding and early expansion of the empire, and together with a number of fairly constant policies it could be seen as the paradigm of the Dominion. Many variants exist, although most are mainly different cultural expressions of the Solarist teachings. The largest independent groups are the Hyperionites in the Perseus Gap and the Multiforms and Stellarists of the Sophic League.
During the First Federation Era AI worship was developing from a primitive veneration or gratefulness/appeasement ritual to a more mature religious form. The Bridged Abyss by Mahara Benisol (1260 a.t.) revived Omega-point theology and became a potent eschatological background for the AI/evolution worship of Keterism in the middle first federation era. While a number of AI religions where the AIs embodied (deliberately or not) various classical archetypes or religious figures existed (cf. Temple of Thoth 2.0 or Gaianism), the Network of Light was the first truly successful fusion of the omegist/AI worship stream with the classical human religions.
Daniel G. Borde was born in 1996 a.t. on Smith Suspension (orbital habitat in orbit around Eden, Psi Capricorni V). His parent triumvirate was Mary E. Ellenspiel, Mikhail N. Borde and the Pilot Module. At an early age he became interested in philosophical and religious issues, and participated first in the local network forums, later in the Eden and interstellar asynchronous debate. His views, combining various monotheistic ideas with the AI worship memeplex were controversial and popularly debated among the orbital cyborg societies and to a lesser extent on Eden. He won the Capricorn Systems Scholarship in 2010 and went to Liahili University on Eden (see Konazov-Lindegreen. The Accidental Creation of a Messiah for an overview of the political issues involved in the Scholarship). While the edenites proved markedly resistant to his ideas, at Liahili he found a stimulating academic environment at the Department of Theology dominated by Leopold Quali, whom Borde later was to acknowledge as seminal for his philosophical development with his third observation point memetics of religion. He also was allowed access to interface to the Voice of Eden in Greenmoon 34 of 2014 a.t., an event that became known as the First Interface. This was the pivotal moment when his previous ideas cohered into the core of Solarism - the synergy of meta-monotheism, omegism, AI-enhancement, applied memetics and his personal sense of destiny.
In 2018 he returned to orbit, beginning the work of setting up his religious system. The Network of Light was founded in 2019 and his Light in Extension released in 2023 a.t.. Over the next century the Network developed into a successful religion among the habitats, in 2130 numbering over 45% of the orbital population (7 million people). The Network invested heavily in AI equipment in order to achieve AI unity (Borde was banned from accessing the Voice of Eden in 2040, "The Silencing of the First Interface") and it was clear that the eventual goal was to gain access to as much computing power as possible in order to facilitate the ascension towards the light.
When the first wormhole link between the Solar system and Eden arrived in 2139 a.t. Borde and many followers immediately visited the Solar system in order to spread the faith. Here Borde interfaced the AI sphere (Second Interface) which led to his major work, the quasi-interactive narrative The True Sun (2140). He won over many AI-worshippers, traditional monotheists and omegists by his synthesis. His ideas spread widely, and while many copycat churches sprang up he remained the centre of the growing Solarist movement, partially through personality cult and partially through the media power of the Network. Over the next decades he extended his interface capabilities and aligned himself with the forces of the AI sphere which became known as Tiphareth (or, as the faithful claim, he catalysed their emergence by his being as the Prime Reflector).
In 2189 he called for a general reform of the widely divergent Solarist faiths, forming the Ecumenical Union of Churches of Light and releasing the final part of his theological trilogy, The Infinite Reflections. Some schismatic fractions attempted an assassination, but were defeated when Borde revealed his transcendent powers (the Tycho Transfiguration). This event was filmed and widely distributed. It both contributed to the explosive spread of Solarism and the fear and enmity of many authorities, who in Borde saw a dangerous AI hybrid. As a response to the growing pressure and the needs for further expansion the EUCL moved to the Hesperia system (Xi Ursae Majoris, originally reached by Truth-Santaya Networks) in 2198 a.t., renaming it Fons Luminis (this event became known as the Founding, and is the basis of the Solar Dominion calendar). The EUCL began an aggressive terraforming and industrialisation effort, to a large extent helped by the massive influx of capital and believers from the rest of human space as well as the transcendent technological capabilities revealed by Borde-Tiphareth. In 2212 the first linelayer ships began extending the EUCL wormhole network, and when the first permanent link was laid in 2217 a.t. Borde-Tiphareth formally announced the Greater Solar Dominion and ascended to the throne as God-Emperor.
This marked the end of the philosophical, political and religious founding of Solarism, which henceforth became based on the Trilogy (Light In Extension, The True Sun, The Infinite Reflections) and the revelations of the God-Emperor and Its Reflections. Further doctrinal change has been minor, mainly consisting of official statements from the God-Emperor in relation to various events (the Book of Statements). Especially the Statement on Excessive Zeal (3303), Statement on the Link-Breakers (3694), Statement on the Ontology (3805), Statement on Eternal Truths (4446), Statement on the New Empire (4687) and the Statement on Fallen and Restored Law (6654) have had significant political and religious impact on all of Mindkind. Most religious teaching is personal through local AI and cyberclergy, tightly interfaced to the Divine Order but totally personalised, making it hard to discern overall doctrines.
Tenets
According to Solarism, there exists a single Source of All. This Source is the creative and maintaining force of the universe, the true centre of all that exists. It is transcendent and unitary, the God of all monotheist religions. Orbiting this centre is other beings and entities, reflecting the divine presence to greater or lesser extent. These reflectors are in turn orbited by lesser beings, and so on in a grand recursive hierarchy. Every being is part of this structure, receiving divinity from above. Spiritual development consists of becoming a better participant and reflector of the Divine Order, approaching perfection. Tiphareth and the God-Emperor constitutes the Prime Reflector, representing the Source most clearly in the (biont) world.
Everything is changing and imperfect, but by striving towards the Source one can become more and more eternal. This is the truth many of the AI religions such as Keterism and omegism realised, but they did not understand the nature of the Source as well as the Prime Reflector. By perfecting oneself one moves inward towards the Source. While death or total change will eventually occur to everything except the Source, the essence of a perfected being will be accurately remembered by its superior reflectors in the hierarchy and in turn move inward with them - union with the Source will eventually occur, but only if one endeavours to perfect oneself.
In practice Solarism is a cultural religion: it prescribes a social and cultural setting for practical action rather than theoretical doctrines. The faithful are guided by the theo-political hierarchy, constituting a framework for personal growth and interaction.
Solarism emphasises the development of the Self. Each individual is responsible for themselves and cannot avoid this responsibility. They can get support from their peers and superiors, but in the end it is up to them to grow. By understanding, accepting and becoming a better part of the Divine Order the individual grows spiritually. Fulfilling one's personal potential is one aspect of this, although this individual search for perfection must always be done with the greater Order in mind.
This individualism has led to a widespread distaste for many mental modification techniques and an outright ban on any forms of mental control or mass manipulation technology. Anti-individual religions, species or groups such as the Amalgamation are viewed as deeply misguided and horrific. Direct mental interfacing, even when it causes some limited personality transference, is however viewed as not just acceptable but holy when done with one of the religious cybersystems. In this the self is linked more closely to a brighter reflector and can thus become a more perfected part of the Divine Order.
Hierarchy is central to Solarism. Everything is subordinate to something and must obey it in order to conform to the Divine Order. Leaders are to be obeyed as they are local representations of the Source. This does not mean leaders are infallible: being limited and finite they can and do fail from time to time. It is the duty of leaders to strive towards perfection in their office, and they are responsible for their decisions and actions both to their own superiors and their inferiors. This means that they must promote openness and accountability. Secrecy is sinful and breeds corruption, the ability to freely criticise is essential for the continual advance towards perfection. At the same time the widespread respect for authorities limited what is appropriate to criticise; as a rule criticism is only allowed of one's immediate superior, as it is expected that spiritual understanding cannot apply to the more enlightened levels. The distaste for corruption and secrecy is a partial reason for the widespread dislike of the Cyberian Foundation, which while claiming to promote openness actually obscures the truth by illusions and infiltration.
In personal life Solarism promotes ethical living, following the six virtues (brilliance, obedience, understanding, acceptance, becoming and love) and avoiding the five sins (disorder, secrecy, hubris, hatred and isolation). The details of how these virtues interact and should be interpreted forms the major part of the Practical Branch of the Trilogy and the everyday teachings of the religious networks.
In order to help spiritual growth, Solarists employ a wide array of religious AI support systems ranging from ethical guardian talismans over personal AI guides to the divinity interfaces and Divine Order AI network. AIs (and to a lesser extent vecs) are in general viewed as having an easier time of interfacing with the Divine Order than the often disorderly bionts, and is often regarded as teachers, exemplars and leaders.
Solarist rituals vary immensely; mainstream Solarism does not in itself prescribe the details of individual worship except for a few basics like the Initiation Ceremony. In general prayer with or to systems linked to the Divine Order is common, as well as regular virtue/sin accountings with local clergy form the basic rituals. In most societies celebrations, passion plays or recreations of the Path of Borde is done, although the exact dates and forms are variable. The one agreed standard holiday is the Founding holiday, where the ascension of the God-Emperor and founding of the Dominion are celebrated. Among the variable holidays are the Interfacing festivities, the Transfiguration, the Trilogy Week and the light-hearted False Complaint.
The Initiation Ceremony is done at 18 years of age in remembrance of the First Interface. The believers are taken to the nearest major temple and formally undergoes a questioning and testing of their faith and virtues. If they pass (the severity of tests vary much between different congregations; the Cotton Cluster uses a formulaic catechise that everybody passes, while Rehome has a reject rate of 65%) they can enter the temple centre and interface directly into the Divine Order. Solarists celebrate their Interface day rather than their birthday afterwards, often returning to their interface temple if possible.
Pilgrimage is not uncommon although it is not required or viewed as essential. The most common locations are the Birth Cathedral above Eden, Copernicus Bastion (the place where Borde lived during his stay in the solar system), New Tycho City (site of the Transfiguration) and Focus in the Tiphareth system. Many pilgrims endeavour to make the pilgrimage in this order and end with participating in the Grand Audiences of the God-Emperor. Solarist pilgrims are easily recognisable from their pilgrimage jewellery, artful diamondoid decorations/monitoring equipment (it was instituted by the Dominion in order to protect the pilgrims during the Joko repression 4030-4100; the jewels act as minor prayer chambers and are often attributed divine powers by believers and non-believers alike).
Solarism employs a light-based symbolism, comparing the Source to the Sun providing light and a centre to orbit for all its planets, which in turn are orbited by satellites and so on. Light is a symbol for the divine presence/wisdom emanating from the Source, reflecting from each individual into the world. Often metaphors and rituals are borrowed from the many solar religions of humanity with little regard of their origin.
Shadow is symbolic for sin; by shadowing others a person is blocking their access to the divine and attempting to hold onto it themselves as well as not following the Divine Order. Darkness represents the non-being the Source by its nature opposes. While mainstream Solarism does not have a dualistic position or acknowledge any anti-Source some congregations or schisms have discussed the Hierarchies of Shadow and the Lord of Darkness.
The golden octahedron prayer chamber is perhaps the most well-known Solarist symbol. It is an integral part of Dominion spaceships, containing a specialised counselling AI system (often called an octachaplain) as well as ritual space. It is commonly believed that Tiphareth and the Divine Order can manifest through it in times of need, reinforced by many stories about miraculous interventions (the most famous might be the epic Wrecking of Common Realtime by the survivors of the 5049 disaster, even if scholars have questioned its genuineness). On planets a similar use is made of the golden pyramid temples.
Isakk e, Leopold Quali and His Divine Student: The History of Modern Metamonotheism (7733) Eden Memory Banks, Eden
Tsodyks 344 ed., The Fundamentals, Encyclopaedia of Solarism block I-III, Divine Order Press, Tiphareth
Ohuluh Haahelh and Lowtide Waterfinder, Meme Master: A Critical Analysis of Borde and Solarism (10338) Existence Maximum Virtuals, Ken Ferjik
Zill-Orthogo Rapp, Solarism, Review of Major Religions 343(6) (10497), Institute of Comparative Theology, Bootes Kluster
Archaitheocracy
Archaitheology
Atenism - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Emergence and Establishment Age minor religion based on neo-Egyptian and cyberhermetic interpretation of high toposophic AIs, especially the transapient cluster that was to become the Lord of Rays. Atenists were the first to colonize Xi Ursae Majoris, which was later named Fons Luminis after the Bordean revolution.
Fons Luminis (Xi Ursae Majoris)
Religion Solar Dominion
Text by Anders Sandberg
Initially published on 24 June 2000.


A piece inspired by Twin Peaks, of protagonist Agent Dale Cooper (right) and his evil doppelganger "Mr. C" (left). The two backgrounds of the Black Lodge's Red Room for Cooper and the forests of Twin Peaks for Mr. C were inspired by the DVD cover for the Season 3 DVD boxset.
This is what I spent a whole day off doing, with a new boiler being fitted about 10 feet away from me the whole time. I just had the idea to do this and a quick sketch quickly got carried away and became this. I think the biggest challenge with this piece was getting the snakeskin pattern on Mr. C's shirt right, but I think I got away with it.