text:
category : international, Newspaper headline
category : international / Newspaper headline
06 April 2021 - 10:06
Judiciary Determined to Fight Corruption, Support Production
In a virtual meeting with judicial officials from around the country, Judiciary Chief Hojjatoleslam Seyed Ebrahim Raisi said that the duty of the judiciary is to support production and more than 2,000 production units have been activated by Judiciary efforts.
TEHRAN (Iran News) – In a virtual meeting with judicial officials from around the country, Judiciary Chief Hojjatoleslam Seyed Ebrahim Raisi said that the duty of the judiciary is to support production and more than 2,000 production units have been activated by Judiciary efforts.
He referred to the motto of the year "Production, Support and Elimination of Obstacles" by the Leader of the Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, and said: "When the Leader announces a slogan all institutions must work to achieve this, the judiciary must be involved in any area where it is possible to remove barriers to production and support production."
"Our colleagues activated more than two thousand production units, which deserves appreciation and thanks," he said.
Raisi said that the duty of the judiciary is to support production and remove its obstacles.
"Last year, my colleagues tried to save more than a thousand production units from closure," said the chief of the judiciary.
He noted: "We are confident that with the efforts of our colleagues, the support of production and the fight against corruption to support production will come to an end."
Raisi stated: "One of the important areas of production in the judiciary is fighting corruption; because economic corruption hinders production prosperity, and if there are bribery and special privileges somewhere, the prosperity of production will not take place."
Emphasizing that economic security must be created for production prosperity, Raisi added: "Economic security depends on the fight against economic corruption. One of the important obstacles to production is the smuggling of the goods, and it is our duty to fight it."
Touching upon the talks on the JCPOA, he that Iran will not reverse its remedial measures on the nuclear deal until the US removal of all sanctions and verification of its measures by Tehran.
"Today, the clear policy and strategy of the Islamic Republic towards the U.S. is that it should lift all sanctions and we should verify them and then return to the nuclear deal undertakings," Raisi said.
"Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Khamenei) did not declare this strategy in a closed-door room but in the presence of all people of Iran, and no other strategy is acceptable," he added.
Raisi referred to certain analyses which say that the new U.S. administration is different from the Trump government, and said the Americans have always been after implementing arrogant plots against the Iranian nation and if they claim that they have changed this policy, they should prove it in practice.
Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi Corruption Iran Judiciary Chief support production
Medics say three more demonstrators have been killed after Sudanese security forces fired live rounds and teargas in further protests against the country's military rulers.
Terrorism is a phenomena which threatens nations and governments and through the decades it has occurred in different forms and recently some version of it, economic terrorism, is dominating the world and makes the people in the world suffer of it.


text:
FATIH MOSQUE
Fatih Mosque is located in the central district of Istanbul, which is also called "Fatih." The Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II built the mosque between 1463 and 1470 after the conquest of Constantinopolis in 1453. The Ottomans started to build new complexes after they moved the capital city from Edirne.
According to the records, the Twelve Apostles Church was located where the Romans emperors were buried, including Constantine the Great, in the city's center. Then, Sultan Mehmed preferred to build his mosque over there.
The mosque is a classical Ottoman architecture sample with a library, school, kitchen, bath, hospital, and caravanserai. The Fatih Mosque is the first imperial mosque of the Ottomans in Istanbul.
You can book Istanbul Old City Tour with Romos Travel.
ALL TOURS IN ISTANBUL
Visit and see the most famous highlights of Istanbul city
ALL ISTANBUL TOURS
Suggested Istanbul Tours
Or please click below to go back to 'Istanbul' Page
Back to ISTANBUL

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
West Annex News
What is the West Annex?
Archive for December, 2010|Monthly archive page
Alahambra Theatre, Bloor Street, Brian Burke, Brunswick Avenue, cities, condominiums, Dupont Street, Heritage, homophobia, Honest Ed's, Jane Jacobs, Peter Munk, Public space, Royal St. George's construction, School of Global Affairs, Spadina Crescent, Toronto politics, University of Toronto, Wynn Group, Yorkville
The weekly wrap for December 31, 2010
In This week in the neighbourhood on December 31, 2010 at 12:01 AM
"Then and Now" by Erik Mauer | 1 Spadina Crescent
Beautiful, poignant, historic. 1 love T.O. collects photographs from Erik Mauer's brilliant "Then & Now" project. [1loveT.O.]
A 29-storey hotel and condominium for Dupont and Brunswick? Perry King reports that the Wynn Group is moving forward with its application for rezoning 328 to 374 Dupont Street. [Annex Gleaner]
"He's not sure that Burke's speech will make any difference to the clowns who have been hissing things about his sexuality at him for years." Mary Rogan looks at Brian Burke's visit to Royal St. George's College to talk about homophobia. [GQ]
The city's Heritage Preservation Department employs only one person to conduct heritage evaluations. Josh OKane investigates the sad state of heritage preservation in Toronto. [Open File Toronto]
A condo explosion is on the horizon for Yorkville . Matthew Harris documents the pending construction projects. [blogTO ]
The Alahambra Theatre stood across the street from Honest Ed's. GBC uncovers photos of the old theatre before its demolition in 1985 to make way for a Swiss Chalet. [Lost Toronto]
Older, whiter ridings are given disproportionate representation to the detriment of those younger and more diverse. John Michael McGrath exposes the inequities of Toronto's unequal wards. [Open File]
In 2005, Jacobs wrote Bloomberg "come on, do the right thing. The community really does know best." Jaret Murphy reviews "The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs". [City Limits]
"The main entrance of the Heritage Mansion will be reserved only for senior staff and visitors." Gerald Caplan uncovers some quirks in the deal Peter Munk struck with U of T for his School of Global Affairs. [rabble]
No front door for you. The future Peter Munk School of Global Affairs | Image courtesy of SimonP/Wikimedia Commons
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Every Friday, the Weekly Wrap collects articles from around the web about or of interest to residents of the West Annex.
For columns from previous weeks, see the Weekly Wrap archive.
Visit Erik Mauer's entire "Then and Now" photoset.
Brave New Annex: "Toronto's postering problem – Bloor Street West"
In uncategorized on December 29, 2010 at 11:24 PM
What we thought was free speech and a sign of vitality is apparently a scourge, according to the video below, posted to YouTube by the Rob Ford Challenge Channel.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Selected quotes from the postering bylaw debate at City Council on May 18, 2005, courtesy of the Toronto Public Space Committee:
"Our first principle has to be about freedom of speech. This is an issue that no City Council should take lightly. The Supreme Court of Canada has said that postering is an appropriate expression of free speech." ~ Mayor David Miller
"Posters make our city filthy and dirty." ~ Councillor Rob Ford
See more about the battle over the right to poster in Toronto on the Toronto Public Space Committee website.
business, Rob Ford, Toronto politics
Customer or citizen?
In The Maven on December 28, 2010 at 12:19 PM
image by ItzaFineDay
By The Maven | We hear a lot about customer service from our newly in favour conservative politicians lately. Rob Ford likes to talk about the provision of services by the City to its citizens as customer service. And he wants good customer service. Who wouldn't?
I wrote in a previous post about the fallacy of trying to run government like a business. The problem is that many businesses are poorly run… more poorly run than government. For instance, it has been shown that private health insurance in the United States is far more expensive to provide than public insurance here in Canada.
But that is not my point today. Today I want to talk about citizenship and consumership. You see, these business oriented politicians just don't get it.
Consumers' relationship with business is very different from a citizen's relationship with government. As consumers, we are offered pre-packaged items to purchase or not. If we don't like it, we have the option of not purchasing it or purchasing a competitive item… except for the unusual example of a licensed monopoly.
Of course, that isn't the case with government services where we don't usually have competing provision of services (public vs private schools might be an example of an exception).
But really there is a further and more important distinction. In a very important sense, we own government. Not on a one-to-one basis. We cannot go in to a government office and ask for exceptional consideration or new rules to our liking. But we can, through the democratic process – whether at election time, by lobbying our councillor individually or by community activism — direct the provision of services.
It is our right to help establish goals for our city/community/body politic by making our desires and needs known to politicians and others in our community. We can and should be directing the provision of services on the planning and macro implementation level.
By defining ourselves as consumers we become passive ingestors of services and not acting directors. And this is exactly what conservative activists and politicians want.
They wish to see a diminution in government services because they are ideologically opposed to the intrusion of government into their daily lives. Why? Because they have the resources to purchase whatever services they need and they do not want to be paying the taxes necessary to subsidize the service provision to the rest of us. As well, of course, they wish to decrease the possibility of any threat to their own power.
By re-badging the political discussion from 'what do we want our government to do for us' to 'how best can we purchase/consume what the government is selling to us' conservative politicians are reducing our collective autonomy to control our environment. Only through government does the average citizen have any modicum of control over our society.
And it is just this possibility (because right now citizens' control or input to society is only potential and not terribly well realized) that some politicians wish to deny the citizenry.
Do not accept being referred to as consumers of government services. We are not consumers, we are citizens. And we have the right and the possibility to exercise control over the bureaucracy if we choose to. We do not have to accept mere attempts to make the bureaucracy more efficient. Rather we can alter its terms.
Having said this, I understand the anger of the average citizen over our government services. No one wants to pay more taxes than we have to. And there is waste in the bureaucracy. Much of the bureaucracy has been allowed to deteriorate in their provision of services exactly because of the rhetoric that we need to run things more like a business. Right now our government is being run like Bell Canada or Rogers Cable.
We don't have to accept this. We can demand that government be run on behalf of us, the citizenry. We can demand that a civilized society desires a sensitive and citizen-centric bureaucratic focus. To do less is to allow the bureaucracy to whither to the point that we do indeed become simple consumers.
No one likes to pay taxes. But collective provision of community services is much cheaper –and therefore efficient—that private provision of services. This is true for health care, public transportation, schools…
Taxes suck. But they are much cheaper than going out and buying stuff on your own.
Visit ItzaFineDay's photostream on Flickr.
Rob Ford, Toronto politics
Running Toronto like a business or why the Model T seems more contemporary than Rob Ford
In The Maven on December 26, 2010 at 8:32 PM
Photo by Sam Javanrouh
By The Maven | So our new mayor wants to run Toronto more like a business. That's why citizens have now become customers. And our civil servants are now customer service representatives. Well, we shouldn't be surprised. This the current mantra of all conservative politicians (and a good many liberals as well). We all want efficiency and an end to waste. We all want to pay less in taxes — all the while maintaining a high level of services, of course.
So we figure the efficiency of the market place is the way to go. After all, if business doesn't cut costs they won't turn a profit and so will go under. So, obviously, that is the model that is most efficient.
Except, no. Not always. Maybe even not most of the time.
Just which business would Ford like to emulate? Perhaps he has Nortel in mind. That great innovative telecommunications giant that was the darling of the business community. Oh no, wait, they went bankrupt. Perhaps he has Bell Canada in mind. You know, the people who brought us efficient telephone lines and great internet service. What, not happy with the service you get from Bell? How about Rogers?
I know: the Canadian banks have done very well in these uncertain times. We would all like our government run like a bank. Except, maybe not all the service charges and miscellaneous fees for everything.
Just which business do you have in mind Rob Ford?
Toronto is huge. It will only become more efficient if its provision of services is broken down in to smaller units and the bureaucrats give up on their one size fits all mentality. Numerous studies have shown economies of scale break down when a business, government, or any organization gets so large that it sags under the weight of its own size. That is why amalgamation didn't save money. That is why when Parks and Recreation attempts to take over local community organizations (eg: community run hockey arenas) they become less functional and cost more.
Visit Sam Javanrouh's photostream on Flickr.
Bloor Street West
In uncategorized on December 25, 2010 at 9:00 AM
Bateman's Bicycle Company, Continental, Curbside Cycle, cycling, Sweet Pete's, tires
Ask the Bike Maven: What are the best tires for winter cycling in the city?
In Ask the Bike Maven on December 22, 2010 at 8:56 AM
Photo by Nikolas Masse
By The Bike Maven | Ah, the joys of winter cycling: the slush, the salt, the snot; the unplowed bike lanes; the frozen fingers…and worse.
If you are thinking the Bike Maven does not enjoy riding his bike in the winter, you would be correct. Once the snow flies, my steel single speed commuter and the carbon fibre road bike I ride for fitness and recreation are cleaned and lubed and put away until the spring.
Copenhagen Chic by Mikael Colville-Andersen
But that doesn't mean you should put your bike away too. There are many reasons to cycle all four seasons. They do it in Copenhagen and all over Scandinavia, so why not Toronto? Cycling is still the fastest way to get around the traffic-choked streets. It saves you money; it's good for the planet. And cycling's health benefits, to relieve stress, maintain leg strength, and to build cardiovascular fitness know no season.
And Toronto is blessed with many winter days with clear dry roads, which makes cycling a natural. It's when the streets aren't clear and dry that you have to consider whether to leave the bike at home, or to invest in some winter cycling tires to help keep you safe and upright through the worst of winter road conditions.
But what kind of tire to buy? For snow on top of pavement, a narrow tire with widely spaced treads are best. The narrow width helps cut through the snow, and the tread gives you traction on snow's uneven surface to stop you from spinning out. The wide tread self clears of snow. For wet and/or icy conditions however, the recommendation is just the opposite: a wide, untreaded slick tire is best to keep maximum amount of rubber in contact with the ice surface.
If money isn't a concern and you own an extra set of rims and quick-release hubs, you can install a snow tire on one set of rims and an ice tire on the other, and swap them out as conditions demand. But if you're like most people, you don't have the money or the space to keep multiple rims around, and you need a good compromise tire that will perform reasonably well in both snowy and icy conditions.
The inverted tread of the Continental Town & Country tire
When it comes to winter tires, my favourite multi-purpose tire is the Continental Town and Country, which sports a brilliant inverted tread design. On dry pavement or ice, the tire runs like a slick on the continuous ring of rubber that runs down the centre of the tire (the "contact patch"). In dirt, slush, or snow, the inverted tread provides added traction. In my opinion, the Town and Country is the best all-season multi-purpose tire. What a shame it is available only in the 26 inch size most commonly used by mountain bikes and some hybrids.
A word here first about tire sizes. You'll see the size of a bike tire embossed into the rubber or printed on the tire's sidewall, expressed as something like "26 x 1.9" or "700 x 28". The first number refers to the diameter of your rim, and the second number refers to the tire's width. So in the first example above, the 26 x 1.9 means a tire is 26 inches in diameter and 1.9 inches wide. Most mountain bikes and many hybrids take 26 inch tires. The tire described as 700 x 28 means it is 700mm in diameter and 28mm wide. Most road bikes, including touring and cyclecross bikes, and some hybrids take 700mm tires. But there are many exceptions to the general rule.
For road bikes, many turn to cyclecross tires, or a combination of tires for snowy roads. Generally, the choice is a knobby cyclecross tire up front and a slick tire at the rear. The late Sheldon Brown was an advocate of mixing tire types this way. His classic and comprehensive article on tire and tubes is worth a read. But remember, this particular tire set up will help you in snow, but not ice. In Toronto, where snow is cleared reasonably quickly from arterial roads at least, snow isn't the main concern. Because our weather goes through repeated cycles of thaws and freezes, ice is the biggest challenge to Toronto urban cyclists. And for ice, many cyclists consider studded tires.
I haven't ridden studded tires myself, but my friend Richard Fink has been riding them for almost 45 years. Richard put together his first set of studded tires in 1967 by putting industrial rivets into the 26 inch tires of his CCM bike when he was just a boy. "Things worked great for 50 miles" Richard says. With the hill formed by the old Lake Iroquois shoreline standing between Richard's home in Cedarvale and his office at Bathurst and Dupont, Richard faces some daunting bike-handling challenges when the roads are icy. He now runs 700mm Nokian studded tires from Finland on his winter ride, a Lightspeed touring bike. But even with studded tires, an experienced winter cyclist like Richard still reports at least one fall every winter.
The website Peter White Cycles has one of the best run-downs about studded tires that I've read. If you're thinking of investing in studded tires, devote some time to giving the entire article a careful reading. "Riding on ice with studded tires is like walking on ice that's been lightly covered with sand" says White. "It's pretty safe. You're not likely to fall unless you do something stupid. You're not going to have the same traction you would have on dry pavement. But you're going to have far more than you would with regular tires on ice. Keep in mind that there's ice down there and you'll be fine. Try to be a hero, and you'll probably pay a price." And keep in mind that on clear roads with no snow or ice, your studded tires will be noisy, slow, and won't handle as well as a conventional tire. The studs will wear fast on pavement. Since these tires will run you upwards of $200 a pair, you want to get as much mileage from them as possible.
Both Schwalbe and Nokian both make good quality carbide-studded tires for both 26inch and 700cm tires. But the narrowest studded road tire that I've come across is the 700 x 32 Nokian A10. That width will fit many cycle-cross, touring, and hybrid bikes, but not a pure racing road bike; there won't be adequate clearance in the front fork or at the rear brakes.
Nokian A10 700 x 32 studded tires from peterwhitecycles.com
Where to source your tires? Your first choice should be to patronize your LBS: local bike shop. Both Curbside Cycle and Sweet Pete's carry the Schwalbes, and the obliging Rob Bateman is always willing to order in special items. But if you can't find what you want in our West Annex LBS's, try Mountain Equipment Co-Op for Continental Town and Country and Schwalbe, Duke's Cycles for Nokian, and Urbane Cyclist for slicks and cyclecross tires. You can also try mail order with the aforesaid Peter White Cycles. I've also had good luck with probikekit.com, a mail order company based in the U.K. which offers good selection, great prices and prompt delivery on tires, parts and accessories. But if you're going the mail order route, take care. If in doubt, order the same size tire that you're now running on your bike, or seek advice from your local bike shop. They'll help you measure the clearance in your front fork and back brakes, to make sure you can handle a wider tire.
Schwalbe studded tires for sale at Curbside Cycle
A final word, and that's about tire pressure. Automobile snow tires improve traction in two ways: they have an aggressive tread design that grips and then self-clears of snow, and they are made with a special rubber compound that keeps the tire soft and pliable even in sub-zero conditions, helping adhesion to snow and ice. Bicycle tires have no such special compounds. For each degree below zero, your bike tire becomes harder and stiffer. To compensate, many, including the City of Toronto cold weather cycling page recommend that you release some air pressure from your tire. Release only a little air at a time, and try out how your bike handles, until you find what works for you. But remember, don't go below the minimum pressure marked on your tire's sidewall, or you'll risk a pinch flat.
These tips, together with a modicum of common sense should keep you out from under the streetcars this winter. Enjoy your ride, and don't forget to wave if you see Don Cherry.
The Bike Maven is a Serotta-certified bicycle fitter who lives, works, and cycles in the Annex.
For other articles by this author, visit The Maven archive.
Visit Nikolas Masse's and Mikael Colville-Andersen's photostreams on Flickr.
Annex, Bloor Cinema, Bloor Street, Brunswick Avenue, Christie Street, Curbside, cycling, Dupont Street, Faema Building, Green Room, Harbord Collegiate, Heritage, Japanese restaurant, Kenzo Ramen, LBGTQ, left-wing kooks, Outer Layer, Restaurants, Sweet Pete's, Torontoist
In Eating & Drinking, Heritage & History, Reviews, This week in the neighbourhood on December 17, 2010 at 1:01 AM
"Does the Annex really need another budget-friendly Japanese restaurant?" Apparently yes. Gizelle Lau loves the fresh ingredients and home made stock at Kenzo Ramen. [Toronto Life]
Kenzo Ramen | 372 Bloor Street West
"We wanted to bring in city bikes from Holland that are upright, fashionable, and can function as your car." Wyndham Bettencourt-McCarthy profiles Eric Kamphof, manager of Curbside Cycle. [torontoist]
"The Green Room . . . a place so dirty that a health inspector found even its license completely covered in cockroach feces." David Topping calls out the Green Room as one of torontist's Villains of 2010. [torontoist]
Beer was still 15 cents a glass and big old homes yet to be gentrified were cheap rooming houses. Jim Henshaw recalls David French and the Annex theatre scene of the early 1970's. [Legion of Decency]
Still looking for the perfect gift for that left-wing bike-riding pinko kook in your life? Get your commemorative T-shirts from Biking Toronto and buttons from spacingtoronto. The buttons are also available locally at the Outer Layer, Curbside Cycle, and Sweet Pete's.
First came the stagecoach stop in 1876. Eric Murtrie explores Brunswick Avenue at Bloor, and environs. [spacingtoronto]
They tested Model Ts on the roof. Matt Bubbers uncovers the storied history of the Faema Building (and former Ford automobile plant) at the corner of Dupont and Christie. [Sympatico.ca Autos]
"You get to the point when you see so much pain in people's lives, you have to do something." Eileen Donnelly profiles Harbord Collegiate Institute teacher Michael Ericson's work to establish a shelter for Toronto's homeless LBGTQ youth. [The Toronto Observer]
"One of Toronto's oldest cinemas has been nestled in the Annex for almost a century." Tracey Chen recounts the history of the Bloor Cinema, AKA the Madison Picture Palace. [Heritage Toronto]
The Madison Picture Palace, now the Bloor Cinema | Courtesy of City of Toronto Archives
Albany Avenue, Bloor Street, coffee, cycling, David's Tea, gentrification, Java Junction, Sweet Pete's Bicycle Shop, un-gentrification
Arrivals & Departures: David's Tea and Sweet Pete's Bicycle Shop
In Arrivals & Departures on December 14, 2010 at 11:05 PM
The last week saw two new arrivals on the Bloor-Annex commercial strip, David's Tea, and Sweet Pete's Bicycle Shop – the B-Side.
DavidsTea | 424 Bloor Street West
David's Tea opened December 11th at 424 Bloor Street West, just east of Howland Avenue, in the premises formerly occupied by Alex Cuts (now re-located to the second floor of 386 Bloor Street West). This Canadian chain began as a single store in Montreal in 2008 and has since exploded into 41 locations, the Annex location being the fifth to open in Toronto in under two years.
The upscale store sports a slick, modern interior with halogen lighting throughout. There is minimal seating — one table at the front and two at the back of the shop — but there is a long bar to stand and try samples of some of the over 120 different loose teas proffered by eager staff. The tea selection ranges from black, green, and white teas to exotic pu'erh cakes.
The tea bar
Thirty-three of the teas are caffeine-free herbal or rooibos blends.
A tea shop seems a natural addition to java junction, the aggregation of coffee shops clustered around the intersection of Bloor Street West and Albany Avenue. But All Things Tea, an independent tea shop with a similar offering of teas and tea paraphernalia recently pulled the plug on their 476 Bloor Street West shop. They too offered minimal seating and as a result never attracted the same crowds that flock to the local coffee shops to meet, talk, and surf. Like All Things Tea, DavidsTea lacks a patio, much-desired in local coffee shop culture.
It will be interesting to see if this successful chain's business model translates to the Annex.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sweet Pete's Bicycle Shop — the B-Side
Sweet Pete's Bicycle Shop | 517 Bloor Street West
Sweet Pete's opened on December 8, 2010 at 517 Bloor Street West, in the former premises of The Tap Bar and Grill. In this second Sweet Pete's location, the shop is making a strong bid to go head-to-head with nearby Curbside Cycle for the city bike/urban commuter bicycle market. But where Curbside features mostly European bikes from Batavus, Pashley, Biomega and others, Sweet Pete's focuses on bikes from North American companies like Kona, Trek, and Opus who have of late jumped on the Euro-style commuter bicycle bandwagon.
The shop interior is sleek and welcoming, with exposed steel beams, bare brick walls, "eco-friendly wood flooring" (according to Sweet Pete's website) and subtle lighting. Classic jazz plays on the sound system.
Most welcome is the large workshop in the back, where Sweet Pete's will offer bike tune-ups and repairs. Since Curbside stopped providing repairs to all but the bikes they sell, ex-Curbside mechanic Rob Bateman's Bicycle Co. has been the go-to place for tune-ups and repairs in the neighbourhood. But in the busy summer months, Bateman is sometimes a victim of his own excellent reputation, and his 29A Barton Avenue shop can get overwhelmed with work.
Mechanics' work area
Sweet Pete's has thoughtfully left The Tap's signature sign, a neon beer stein with animated keg tap, intact above their own sign, in a nice tip of the hat to the memory of the long-time Annex institution.
In Arrivals & Departures we document the changes in the commercial/retails strips of the West Annex on Bloor, Bathurst, and Dupont Streets, and think about these changes in the context of Jane Jacobs' observation that popularity on retail strips can lead to commercial monocultures, and Max Fawcett's thesis that the Annex is un-gentrifying.
Adam Vaughan, Bloor Street, Curbside Cycle, cycling, Don Cherry, Rob Ford
Here's Don Cherry's new bike
In Reviews on December 11, 2010 at 7:28 PM
Gillian Goerz, sales manager at Curbside Cycle shows off the pink Pashley bicycle intended for Don Cherry
Torontonians who were taken aback by Don Cherry's bizarre, hate-filled screed against pinkos and cyclists during Mayor Ford's investiture ceremony at City Hall on Tuesday, December 7 were cheered to read the open letter to Don Cherry penned by Curbside Cycle. "We'd like to take a little egg off your face and allow you to (literally) do a bit of backpedalling" it said. "We'd like to give you a bicycle, in a blushing shade of ironic pink."
Curbside is giving the pugnacious hockey commentator a stylish Pashley Tube Rider — Double Scoop. Pashley is England's longest established bicycle manufacturer, having produced sturdy, handsome bicycles for rural and urban commuters for over 80 years at their manufacturing facility in Stratford-on-Avon.
Custom bike painter Noah Rosen of Velocolour is donating a paint job* for the bike's fenders in a suitably Cherryesque fashion. An online poll will determine whether the fenders — now turquoise — will be painted in a pinstripe, pink floral or pink plaid design in tribute to the belligerent bigot's sartorial excesses. Earlier today Curbside reported that the plaid fenders are ahead in the voting. The poll closes Monday morning, December 13th so vote now.
Gillian Goerz, Curbside's sales manager said this morning that the shop has yet to hear from Cherry to make arrangements to accept their gift.
Curbside Cycle | 412 Bloor Street West
Curbside Cycle is located at 412 Bloor Street West in the West Annex, the pinkest of the pink heart of Toronto. The area is represented by NDP members in both the federal parliament and the provincial legislature, and its city counselor Adam Vaughan is considered Mayor Rob Ford's number one nemesis and possible rival for mayor in 2014.
Started in a tent in front of the Brunswick House about fifteen years ago, Curbside Cycle draws a city-wide clientele with its extensive selection of bicycles, clothing and accessories geared to the needs of urban bicycle commuters.
Don Cherry is a former professional hockey player and coach. He played a single game in the NHL, and despite coaching the Boston Bruins of the NHL during the heyday of Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, never won a Stanley Cup. Cherry parlayed this distinguished career into a now 30-year gig as the dominant hockey commentator with the national public broadcaster, the CBC. Cherry lives in Mississauga, Ontario.
12 Dec. '10 | This article was revised to add the recap of Don Cherry's NHL career.
13 Dec. '10 | * Noah Rosen has donated the custom paint job for the bike's fenders. Incorrect information appeared in the original version of this article. Thanks to Gillian Goerz for the correction.
Bloor Cinema, Don Cherry, Harbord Street, Leafs, Rob Ford, Stephen Harper, streetcar. Jane Beecroft, Tranzac Club
The weekly wrap for December 7, 2010
In Coming events, This week in the neighbourhood on December 7, 2010 at 12:01 PM
"More successful as a basher than a builder". Allan Gregg on the PM's Soviet-style monitoring system revealed in Lawrence Martin's Harperland: The Politics of Control [Literary Review of Canada]
Two millionaire phonies bring their faux-joe-lunchbox shtick together today at City Hall. Don Cherry will place chains of office around Rob Ford's neck [thestar.com]
Membership doubles, angel investor helps out. Derek Flak and Sarah Green on the progress of the Tranzac Club bailout [blogTO and NOW]
The Life and Death of the Harbord Streetcar. James Bow traces the wandering route of the now-abandoned line. [Transit Toronto]
City dwellers emit just 30% of the carbon of their country counterparts. Shanta Bartley discovers why it's greener in the city than the country. [New Scientist]
The Dragon of City Hall. Susan Oppenheim profiles local hero Jane Beecroft of the Community History Project. [Annex Gleaner]
Free Japanese film screenings at Bloor Cinema. The Japanese Foundation of Toronto presents free film screenings at the Bloor Cinema from December 9-12, 2010. [Toronto Freebies]
Who is Toronto's biggest embarrassment, the Leafs or Rob Ford? Toronto Mike asks you to cast your vote for our civic Hall of Shame. [TorontoMike]
Bloor Cinema | 506 Bloor Street West
Enter your email address to subscribe to the West Annex news and receive notifications of new posts by email. We will never share your email address with others.
Follow @westannexnews
RT @lisackaplan: THREAD: Today I went to the public library for the first time in a long time. A woman came up to me and asked me to help h… 2 weeks ago
cp24.com/news/toronto-m… #LowTaxCity 2 weeks ago
What? twitter.com/CBCToronto/sta… 3 weeks ago
RT @blogTO: There's more to park life in Toronto than Trinity Bellwoods #parks #Toronto #DufferinGrove blogto.com/city/2019/06/d… 3 weeks ago
cbc.ca/player/play/15… Greed and opportunism of politicians and suits who sat in the prime seats to get in the bac… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 3 weeks ago
Who let Paul Shaffer on the stage and go on so? #Raptors https://t.co/jUAvjP9h5Z 3 weeks ago
Doors Open Toronto May 26 & 27, 2012 | The Cathedral of St. Alban the Martyr, 100 Howland Avenue
Jean Sibelius Square Park official opening Sunday, June 10, 2012 at 3:30PM
Sibelius, St. Alban's Squares to face further attacks by off-leash advocates
Ask the Bike Maven: bike fitting 101
Ask the Bike Maven
At the galleries
Election diaries
Royal St. George's construction
The Maven
The West Annex
This week in the neighbourhood
Toronto politics


Reports are prepared by Public Works and approved by the County Council every year which are supposed to identify areas with inadequate public facilities - transportation (roads), water, and sewer, also known as "Basic Services". When an area is identified as "inadequate", for example, when an intersection is rated "F", that is supposed to stop development in the area that would cause further problems, for example, send more traffic to that failed intersection. Unfortunately, there are numerous way to get around the restrictions, including going to a hearing and arguing that the proposed development will not make the situation worse. That usually involves a bunch of mumbo-jumbo from a paid "expert", while the opposing community can't afford to hire their own "expert".
Every year, these reports are posted online, but disappear the next year, thus not allowing anyone to do a study on the progression of a problem over time. The following are from the archives.
Copies of the 2011, 2014, and 2017 reports (very large) can be found at Planning - follow the instructions at the bottom to go to the County's FTP site.


The COOMET Quality Forum was established as a COOMET structural body in 2002 and supports the implementation of the ISO/IEC 17025 standard to the NMI-COOMET members in accordance with the Mutual Recognition of national measurement standard and of calibration and measurement certificates issued by national metrology institutes (MRA) requirements.
The aim of the QF is the harmonization of understanding of the requirements of the ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO Guide 34 standards and its implementation in the NMI – COOMET-members, balanced expansion of quality management systems in metrology and activities coordination in COOMET.
Organization of Workshops (problems concerning the implementation and application of the ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO Guide 34 standards).


Five titles have been shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize, including Autofellatio by James Maker which began as a self-published e-book before finding a publisher.
Maker's title, published by Big Fib, joins three other titles from indies: Love, Hope & High Heels by Clare Campbell (Tollington Press); Homo Jihad by Timothy Graves (Paradise Press); and London Triptych by Jonathan Kemp (Myriad Editions). Julian Corkle is a Filthy Liar by D J Connell (Blue Door) completes the list.
The Polari First Book Prize awards debuts which explore the queer experience and is open to poetry, prose, fiction or non-fiction published in the UK in English during the year of submission. Self-published books or e-books are also eligible.
Rachel Holmes, head of literature and spoken word at the Southbank Centre, said: "This is a very strong list of robustly diverse voices and genres". Paul Burston, chair of judges, added: "The shortlist reflects the wealth and range of queer literary talent and the changing face of publishing today."
The winner will be announced at the Polari fourth birthday celebration on 21st November, at the Southbank Centre. The Polari First Book Prize is named after the gay literary salon' Polari, founded in 2007.


The team at AJ Conveyor and Laundry Systems has extensive experience in implementing RFID uniform and linen tracking systems.
The UHF-RFID solution provides comprehensive control, as well as providing full accountability for uniforms and linens.
The UHF-RFID solution is fully compatible with all major inventory tracking systems.
Advanced UHF-RFID systems have the capability of scanning 1000 uniforms in 10 seconds, compared with scanning traditional barcodes which requires 50 minutes for the same quantity.
The UHF-RFID system can also be integrated with the automated wardrobe system, providing full accountability for laundry and cleaning services.
Contact AJ Conveyor and Laundry Systems at 908-789-9990 for the right solution for your application.


Why does it appear the Timezone is the wrong time?
I was trying to update my timezoe when I noticed after selecting UTC New York -4:00 that is should be UTC New York -5:00. I had to look it up and double check before I posted his question... is this by design in the UniFi Controller software?
Re: Why does it appear the Timezone is the wrong time?
Daylight Saving Time started today.
Thanks for reply. That makes perfect sense.


international politics, anti-satellite warfare and dangers inside and outside the U.S.
should hold the seat instead.
Mont. The interview took place Mar. 19.
What drew you to higher education?
and was so inspired by the teachers I had there.
travel writing-I love travel writing.
when we move to the Midwest.
West, especially the contemporary American West.
hot dish, for the record.
Rights This image may not be reproduced without the express written consent of Augustana University, Sioux Falls, SD, USA 57197.


Forgive the over confidence, but that would be us: Action Heating & Cooling Services, LLC!
Outagamie County, Wisconsin, homeowners have been turning to us to satisfy their geothermal heating and cooling needs for a number of years, now.
If you've been thinking of "going geothermal" but have put it off, you can certainly trust us on this: given today's shifting economy, there's never been a better time to learn more about the savings a geothermal heating and cooling system can provide.
Then contact Action Heating & Cooling Services, LLC for the very best geothermal system installation and service in Outagamie County - and beyond! Oh ... and talk about trust: We install geothermal heating and cooling systems by WaterFurnace. That's a name that resounds in the geothermal industry.


text:
Tommye Barie
Tommye Barie is a recently retired partner of one of the 100 largest full-service accounting and consulting firms in the US. After more than thirty years as an audit and assurance partner, and as her last charge before retirement, she launched the Firm's Client Advisory Services practice.
Tommye recently joined Succession Institute as a Senior Consulting Shareholder where she works with CPA firms, other small businesses, and CPA State Societies primarily in the areas of succession management, strategy, change management, conflict resolution, team building, people development and leadership.
Tommye has a proven track record of leadership and visioning with various organizations. Her thought leadership on culture, strategy and innovation led to Tommye being recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in the accounting profession, as published in Accounting Today. Additionally, the Michigan Society of CPAs recognized her with their Outstanding Visionary Award.
During 2014-2015 she served as Chair of the Board of the American Institute of CPAs and she previously served as Chair of the Florida Institute of CPAs. She currently serves on the Board of Advisors for Stetson University's College of Business and she serves on the College of Business Advisory Board for University of South Florida. Additionally, Tommye is actively involved in the international accounting profession and currently represents the United States as a board member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
Tommye is a graduate of Stetson University and resides in Sarasota, Florida.


News that two of the leading Omani banks are holding merger talks has reignited speculation that a long-expected wave of mergers among the Gulf banks may finally be about to take place.
On 31 July, Bank Dhofar and National Bank of Oman said that they were starting to hold discussions about a merger that would create a bank with assets of just under US$20bn. While much negotiation will be needed before any deal is agreed, investors' initial reaction has been that the deal makes strategic sense and that, as in much of the rest of the region, Oman has more banks than its approximately 4.5m population needs.
Bank Dhofar held merger talks with another Omani bank Bank Sohar in 2016, but the negotiations ended without agreement, and expectations that this would prove a catalyst for further mergers have since been disappointed, with the notable exception of National Bank of Abu Dhabi's merger with First Gulf Bank last year. However, in Oman and elsewhere in the region, there have been signs of renewed interest in deals.
Oman Arab Bank and Alizz Islamic Bank have been holding talks about a possible merger for the last two months. Elsewhere, Kuwait Finance House has made an overture to Ahli United Bank in Abu Dhabi about a deal that would create an institution with assets of nearly US$100bn of assets, a year after an earlier attempt at a merger fell through. If created, the bank would be a leader in Islamic finance and the sixth largest bank in the region.
Investors have long pointed to the fact that the Gulf has an unusually high concentration of banks per head of population as a reason for consolidation. The United Arab Emirates has 46 banks to serve only 11m people, and Bahrain has more than 100 banks for a population of little more than 1m. Added to that is a sense that the economic and regulatory regime also increasingly require a strategic response. Volatility in the oil price has put pressure on many banks in recent years. Meanwhile compliance costs are on the rise across the region and, as elsewhere, the need to invest in expensive technology strongly suggests that some of the smaller banks will increasingly struggle to compete.
Yet others warn further patience may be needed, in particular because the attitude of government to the sector. Government has a much more "hands-on" attitude than in Western markets, and many say that it is more interested in orderly markets and corporate harmony than in maximising profitability. They also point to the fact that negligible levels of taxation means that returns on capital are higher than they otherwise would be, and that the number of banks in obvious distress remains low.
So a gradual increase in deals does seem likely, but perhaps the long-awaited deal spree will have to wait rather longer.


text:
<?php namespace Cmsable\Controller\SiteTree\Plugin;

use FormObject\Form;
use FormObject\FieldList;
use FormObject\Validator\ValidatorInterface;

use Cmsable\PageType\PageType;
use Cmsable\Model\SiteTreeNodeInterface;

interface PluginInterface{

    public function setPageType(PageType $type);

    public function modifyFormFields(FieldList $fields, SiteTreeNodeInterface $page);

    public function modifyFormValidator(ValidatorInterface $validator, SiteTreeNodeInterface $page);

    public function modifyFormActions(FieldList $actions, SiteTreeNodeInterface $page);

    public function fillForm(Form $form, SiteTreeNodeInterface $page);

    public function prepareSave(Form $form, SiteTreeNodeInterface $page);

    public function finalizeSave(Form $form, SiteTreeNodeInterface $page);

    public function processPageTypeLeave(SiteTreeNodeInterface $page, $oldPageTypeId);

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
American Psycho The Musical on Broadway- My Upfront Review
Last night I was sitting in row D on the left side of the orchestra at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City for the fifth preview of An American Psycho The Musical. And what a special night at the theater it was.
American Psycho originally played a very short 2 month sold out run at London's Almeida Theatre from December 2013 through early February 2014. My understanding is that the original lead actor, Matt Smith, had other commitments and could only play the role of Wall Street investment banker Patrick Bateman for a limited time only before beginning work on another project.
American Psycho the Musical tells the story of the 26 year old, Harvard educated Patrick who is a rising star at Wall Street firm Pierce and Pierce. We get to witness Patrick's daily life in his office and as he goes out and about town to the hottest restaurants and clubs only the "biggest earners" can get into as well as his "dark side", which is a murdering serial killer.
In this production of American Psycho The Musical the role of Patrick Bateman is played by the very talented Benjamin Walker. Previously he played on Broadway in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Inherit the Wind and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Broadway mainstay talents Alice Ripley and Jennifer Damiano play the roles of Patrick's mother and secretary Jean. Helene York plays Patrick's girlfriend Evelyn. The cast of 16 doesn't skip a beat in this 2 hour and 40 minute production beautifully directed by veteran Rupert Goold who was director for King Charles III, Macbeth and Enron on Broadway. If you've seen Enron on Broadway then you should enjoy all the technology used on stage in American Psycho The Musical. It's got a very modern and "hip" feel that captures the storyline extremely well. Very cool stuff.
Duncan Sheik, who recently had his Spring Awakening revival play on Broadway has written both Music and Lyrics. There are 23 songs in this musical which include 5 songs written that were popular in the 1980's by other song writers of time. They include "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", "True Faith", "In the Air Tonight", "Hip to be Square" (one of my favorite Huey Lewis and the News hits) and "Don't You Want Me". These songs fit perfectly as they help portray the time period well for sure.
The Book of this musical was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and is based on the 1991 novel by Brett Easton Ellis. If you've seen the film American Psycho then you'll easily recall that it starred Christian Bale and Reese Witherspoon.
I've seen 28 of the shows playing on Broadway and American Psycho The Musical is in a category all its own right now. The subject matter, although "violent in nature" manages to "sprinkle in" a good amount of humor as we begin to understand what is going on in Patrick's mind. All in all, and I've been in the Broadway Show ticket selling business for 39 years now, I sincerely think this show will appeal to not only the everyday theatergoer but to the younger generation as Broadway continues to strive for the young people to support theatre in New York City.
Right now American Psycho the Musical is offering reduced prices while the show is in previews. I'm sure these discounts will be discontinued after its official opening night on April 20, 2016. If you need help obtaining reasonably priced American Psycho the Musical tickets please consider a call to Applause-Tickets, the local expert ticket service located right here in New York City. We're open 24/7 to assist. I hope you enjoyed this blog post review of American Psycho the Musical. I really enjoyed the show and know that you will too.
Rich Gladstone
Applause-Tickets
723 7th Avenue, suite 902
Email me personally at rich@applause-tickets.com or call me at 212-307-7050 anytime
Facebook Page Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
Posted by Broadway Ticket Man at 12:29 PM No comments:
Fun Home Tickets on Broadway- Specially Priced Tickets Available Now
I saw the intensely dramatic musical called Fun Home last year at the intimate Circle in the Square Theatre on West 50th Street in New York City. And it is one of the finest shows I've ever seen in my nearly 60 years.
Fun Home won 5 Tony Awards including the Best Musical 2015 Tony Award and was selling out every performance for nearly a year or so at this very small, intimate Broadway Theatre. The show is starting to discount tickets for many performances (it's less expensive on weekdays) so I thought I'd let our Applause Ticket News readers in on this news.
Fun Home is a serious musical, based on the Alison Bechdel "graphic memoir" which tells the story of Alison (at the 3 different ages in her life), her brothers, mom and "troubled" father in what is one of the most dysfunctional families you can imagine. We get to see the action through her "grown-up eyes". Michael Cerveris stars as the dad. Michael is an accomplished singer, guitarist and actor and he has done several stage musicals including Stephen Sondheim's Passion, Road Show, Assassins and Sweeney Todd. The entire cast is a really wonderful group of talented actors for sure.
The music and lyrics, direction, score and book of Fun Home all won Tony Awards in 2015. They're all superb and I know that everyone my company sends to see this show really enjoys it. It's very powerful. A serious subject matter but one I think people can appreciate after seeing this great show.
The show takes place in "the round"which allows every seat to be really close to all the action on the stage. There's no need to purchase a premium ticket when you'll be sitting near all the actors.
Right now my company, Applause-Tickets is offering reduced pricing for Fun Home tickets through June 12, 2016. We also feel once a show starts to reduce prices then it's more likely than not to stay on discount. If this show sounds like one you may want to see, we welcome your call to Applause-Tickets. We are open for business 24/7 and look forward to assisting you in obtaining Fun Home tickets or the Broadway Show of your choosing.
I hope you found this blog post helpful and look forward to hearing from you somewhere down the road.
Applause-Tickets.com
Phone 212-307-7050 or 800-451-9930
Email me personally at rich@applause-tickets.com
On Facebook we can be found at Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
Posted by Broadway Ticket Man at 1:00 PM No comments:
Broadway Shows to Start Previews
If you're a fan of Broadway Theater, then you'll be excited to know that three new shows will begin playing preview performances in New York City this coming week. They are:
The Father starring Frank Langella and Kathryn Erbe in a play written by Florian Zeller. The story line is a very interesting one as we have a look at Andre who is a retired dancer who lives with his daughter and her husband. Or could he be a retired engineer about to receive a visit from his daughter and boyfriend? Andre can't seem to find his watch as well as he seems to be forgetting things lately. Sounds interesting, right?
The Father begins previews on Tuesday March 22, 2016 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in the heart of the theatre district. The official "opening night" for The Father will be on April 14, 2016. The Father has previously played in Paris and London.
If you are interested in The Father tickets, please consider a call to my company Applause-Tickets today. We'd love to help you.
On March 24, 2016, a new show called American Psycho will begin playing previews at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on west 45th Street in New York City. American Psycho comes to New York City from a completely "sold out" run in London. American Psycho has music and lyrics written by Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) with a book written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.
American Psycho stars Alice Ripley, Benjamin Walker and Jennifer Damiano. The show takes place in the 1980's during an era of "excess" on Wall Street. The show tells us all about a Wall Street banker by the name of Patrick Bateman who has it all-youth, looks, money and everything else in between. During the day we witness Patrick and his many friends indulging in swanky restaurants, the hottest nightclubs and designer labels. But at night-time, we get to witness a much "different" Patrick, one who has a much more "sinful"life to live.
American Psycho originally played in London in 2014 and we expect this to be one of the hit shows of the season. The show will open to critics reviews on April 21, 2016.
Right now, my company Applause-Tickets.com has discounted tickets off of our regular list prices, at least until the opening night reviews are filed.
The third new show to start playing next week on Broadway is called Waitress, a new show that stars Jessie Mueller, who was fantastic in the role of Carole King in a show called Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, a few years back. Jessie's an incredibly talented singer-actress and tickets for Waitress have been selling really well since they went on sale several months ago.
Based on the 2007 film of the same name, which follows a pregnant waitress named Jenna who is unhappily married in the Deep South. Jenna meets a newcomer to the area and takes a chance on possibly her "last attempt" at happiness.
The music is really quite good and diverse and was written by pop singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. American Repertory originally developed Waitress in 2013 and produced a sold-out run in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the summer of 2015.
Waitress begins previews on March 25 with an opening night set for April 24th at New York's Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Waitress tickets are also selling extremely well so if you need assistance in obtaining tickets, you've come to the right place. Consider a call to the wonderful customer service people at Applause-Tickets, you'll be so glad you did.
I hope you enjoyed my blog post on these 3 shows. Broadway is bustling with new productions to see. If you'd like to "take in" a show or two please call us right here in New York City when you get a moment. We'd love to help you.
Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
Facebook Page can be found at Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
Broadway and Off Broadway Discount Ticket Update From Applause-Tickets
Dear Friends of Broadway and Off Broadway,
If you're planning a visit to see one of the dozens of live shows playing both on and off Broadway in the near future, my company Applause-Tickets would like to make you aware of the many possibilities to reduce the usual prices at all levels of the theater. Here's an updated list of Broadway and Off Broadway ticket offers. They are:
On Your Feet
Something Rotten
Hughie
The Crucible
Paramour
Finding Neverland
Fully Committed
The King and I
She Loves Me
Shuffle Along
Cagney the Musical
Gazilion Bubble Show
The Fantasticks
New York Spectacular with the Radio City Rockettes
I would love to her from you, your family, friends and business colleagues whenever your plans may include a visit to Broadway and Off Broadway in New York City. It's been a very busy and exciting two years both on and off Broadway filled with lots of exciting shows to see. I hope you found this blog post helpful. Please call me personally if I can be of service.
On Facebook Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
Web site www.applause-tickets.com
Posted by Broadway Ticket Man at 10:00 AM No comments:
Hamilton Tickets in New York CIty
Here are a few of the critics "snippets" of their reviews of the mega-hit Broadway Show called Hamilton on Broadway. Have a look for yourself and see what they're saying. In all my 39 years in the Broadway Show ticket sales business, I've never seen a show with nearly the demand as Hamilton tickets in New York has. Never, not even a close second for sure.
"HISTORIC. HAMILTON IS BREWING UP A REVOLUTION. This is a show that aims impossibly high and hits its target. It's probably not possible to top the adrenaline rush." -BEN BRANTLEY, THE NEW YORK TIMES
"HAMILTON is one of the most exhilarating experiences I've had in the theater. Bold, rousing, sexy, tear-jerking and historically respectful — the sort of production that asks you to think afresh about your country and your life." —David Brooks, The New York Times
"HAMILTON is the most exciting and significant musical of the decade. Sensationally potent and theatrically vital, it is plugged straight into the wall socket of contemporary music. This show makes me feel hopeful for the future of musical theater." —Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
Sensational! In order to dislike it you'd pretty much have to dislike the American experiment. A beautiful and moving musical." – New York Magazine
"A groundbreaking, one-for-the-ages tale of one of America's founding fathers. Lin-Manuel Miranda's HAMILTON is an amazing, thrillingly multi-layered new musical." – Entertainment Weekly
If you need assistance with obtaining Hamilton tickets, you can call Applause-Tickets, 24/7 at 800-451-9930 or 212-307-7050 right here in New York City.
Cheers and good luck to Hamilton on Broadway at this years Tony Awards show of 2016.
On Facebook we can be seen at Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service, Inc.
Cagney The Musical to Play Off Broadway- Previews Begin on March 16, 2016
I'm pleased to inform Applause Ticket News readers that a new Off Broadway show called Cagney The Musical will begin previews at New York City's Westside Theater on West 43rd street in the Theatre District. The show is a production of the York Theater Company and originally played a "sold out" run in a limited engagement at the Theatre at St. Peter's in the Spring of 2015.
Cagney The Musical is a 6 character musical that stars Robert Creighton (who also wrote the Music & Lyrics). His musical writing partner is Christopher McGovern. The Book of this musical has been written by Peter Colley who tells us the story of James Cagney, the "rough and tough" star in hit movies of his time that include The Public Enemy and Angels With Dirty Faces and so many others. Although Mr. Cagney starred in many films he was a very capable stage "song and dance man" in the vaudeville era.
Cagney The Musical follows the life of the legendary actor from the New York City streets to his incredible popularity in Hollywood movies. This musical has fantastic tap dancing all throughout the show that combines some original music along with musical classic tunes written by George M. Cohan that include, "Give My Regards to Broadway", "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Grand Old Flag". Characters in the show include movie stars Bette Davis, Bob Hope, Errol Flynn and Greta Garbo.
Applause Ticket News readers and clients will have access to reduced prices for Cagney The Musical while the show is in previews prior to it's opening night reviews. If you think you want to obtain Cagney The Musical tickets for yourself, friends, family or business colleagues please contact our team at Applause Tickets when you have a few minutes to discuss. We'd love to help you anytime your plans include any of the fabulous Broadway and Off Broadway Shows whenever your plans include the theater.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post from Applause Ticket News.
Cheers and good luck to Cagney The Musical Off Broadway.
Applause Tickets
Facebook Fans can see our page at Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 Starring Josh Groban Arrives on Broadway on October 6, 2016
I'm pleased to announce to Applause Ticket News readers that singing sensation (4 multi-platinum selling albums), songwriter, actor and record producer Josh Groban (35 years old), will make his Broadway debut playing in the role of Pierre, a high society aristocrat, old fashioned Russian and Denee Benton will play the role of Natasha in The Great Comet at New York's Imperial Theatre.
I saw this show, which was playing Off Broadway in a pop-up venue in the Meatpacking District of New York City in the summer of 2013. It was set up like a Russian dinner cabaret including drinks and food being served during the performance, something I'm sure that will not take place in a large Broadway Theater like the Imperial Theatre for sure. Although I'm quite sure you'll be able to buy some food and drink during intermission of this show, so not to worry.
The show, called Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812, which is based on Leo Tolstoy's War & Peace (volume 2, Part 5), nearly 70 pages or so of his book. The time is 1812 before Napoleon invades Russia as the city is burning. It tells the story of Natasha who is newly engaged and Anatole who are having an affair. Friends and family members including Pierre, basically an upper class old fashioned Russian who dislikes the action of this brash young couple and although he ordinarily wouldn't necessary be bothered by their actions at this point in his life, now contemplates how he might intervene and put the couple on the right track to behave appropriately.
This musical adaption of some of the story of Tolstoy's War & Peace is going to be a fantastic, extremely unique Broadway theatrical experience, unlike any other seen before in the history of Broadway. Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 has Music and Libretto written by Dave Malloy with excellent direction by Rachel Chavkin. The score includes nearly 30 songs and the show has 10 characters. The music is a unique blend of "electro-pop opera" which manages to merge Russian folk music with classical music at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed it as it keeps the story moving at a very active pace.
Charles Isherwood of The New York Times called it "a vibrant, transporting new musical". Time Out New York magazine gave it "five out of five stars". Some other critics gave the show outstanding reviews as well. Could you ask for anything more?
I expect that Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 tickets will go on sale shortly. I have personally been getting lots of phone calls asking for tickets. Please call Applause Tickets if you are interested in seeing this show and we will take all your contact information then get back to you when tickets go on sale (which we expect to be soon).
The Great Comet is already an anticipated hit show for the next 2016-2017 Broadway season, especially considering that Josh Groban will be starring in the show. Along with this season's blockbuster mega-hit Hamilton and some other fabulous Broadway shows, we expect the next several years to be exciting ones for the entire Broadway community.
Cheers and best of luck to the The Great Comet. If you need assistance in obtaining Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 tickets we'd love to assist you, your friends and family. Kindly call us 24/7 for help.
I hope you've found this blog post helpful.
Check out our Facebook Page at Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
website: www.applause-tickets.com
Posted by Broadway Ticket Man at 2:40 AM No comments:
Frank Langella Returns to Broadway in The Father on Broadway
One of my favorite actors has always been Frank Langella. Whether starring in a movie or on stage, he always gives a terrific performance. Mr. Langella is a Three-time Tony Award winner (nominated 6 times) and Oscar nominee who will be performing in Manhattan Theatre Club's production of The Father this Spring.
Beginning on March 22, 2016, Mr. Langella, who recently turned 78 years old, will play the role of Andre, a retired dancer who is living with his adult daughter and son-in-law. Or could he have been an engineer whose daughter is living in London with her new boyfriend? Is he possibly losing control of his grasp of reality? He seems to be forgetting things for sure.
The Father will play at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on west 47th Street in the theater district in New York City for a limited engagement. It has received fantastic reviews in London and in Paris and won the Moliere Award for "new work in the theater", which is France's most prestigious honor.
On stage Mr. Langella will be accompanied by Kathryn Erbe (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Brian Avers (The Lieutenant of Inishmore), Charles Borland (A Man for All Seasons), Hannah Cabell (A Man for All Seasons) and Liz Wisan (Other Desert Cities). This is truly a group of very talented actors and I'm looking forward to seeing a preview performance of The Father soon.
My company Applause Tickets has the ability to help theatergoers obtain discounted The Father tickets as we have an inside track on how to get the best seats at the most reasonable prices. The Father will open to critics reviews on April 12, 2016 and it's possible for these reduced rates to not be available any longer. We anticipate the critics giving The Father excellent reviews.
Should you want to discuss obtaining The Father tickets in New York City, we'd love for you to give us a call at 212-307-7050 or 800-451-9930. Applause Tickets is open for business 24/7 and we'd love to assist you when your plans include The Father tickets or some of the other exciting Broadway Shows currently playing in New York City.
I truly hope you found this blog post on The Father enjoyable. If I can assist you planning a trip to the theater, give me a call when you get a few minutes.
Take care, Rich Gladstone
Email me at rich@applause-tickets.com
Become friends with us on Facebook at Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
Jessica Lang and Gabriel Byrne Return to Broadway in Long Day's Journey Into Night on April 3, 2016
The Eugene O'Neill classic play, Long Day's Journey Into Night is being revived again by Roundabout Theatre Company. The show will help to celebrate Roundabout Theatre Company's 50th Anniversary and begin preview performances at New York City's American Airlines Theatre on April 3, 2016.
Long Day's Journey Into Night is a 5 character semi-autobiographical play that tells the story of the Tyrone's, a dysfunctional family and is told over the course of one summer's day at their Connecticut vacation home. The family is poised for collapse. The father is an actor past his prime that constantly dominates his sons, alcoholic Jamie and destructive Edmund, and Edmund's once-beautiful mother that is dealing with an addition to morphine.
Long Day's Journey Into Night is an American masterpiece for sure and this revival of the show stars Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Jessica Lang (one of my favorites) along with Gabriel Byrne (Tony nominee), Michael Shannon (Oscar nominee) as well as Tony Award winner John Gallagher, Jr.
Eugene O'Neill has won a Pulitzer Prize 4 times. The show is being directed by Jonathan Kent (Faith Healer, Man of La Mancha).
If you think you might want to obtain Long Day's Journey Into Night tickets, I hope you'll consider calling our team at Applause-Tickets.com today to discuss how we can secure the very best seats and at the "most reasonable" prices you'll be able to find. The show is "on discount" until it officially opens to critics reviews.
Applause-Tickets is a personal ticket service, licensed by the NY State Division of Licensing and are open to serve you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We can be reached in New York City at 212-307-7050 or 800-451-930 and would love to talk with anyone interested in obtaining Long Day's Journey Into Night tickets.
I hope you found this blog post helpful and that you'll consider "sharing" with friends, family and business colleagues if it makes sense for you to do so.
Enjoy Long Day's Journey Into Night or the Broadway show of your choosing.
Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service, Inc.
Facebook: Become friends of ours at Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
Waitress The Musical Begins Previews on Broadway March 25, 2016
If you've had a chance to see the incredibly talented Jessie Mueller in the hit Broadway show called Beautiful, The Carole King Musical, well get ready once again as Jessie will return in a new musical called Waitress which will start performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theater in New York City.
Based on the Adrienne Shelly 2007 film with the same name, Waitress tells the story of Jenna (played by Jessie Mueller), a small town waitress who makes incredibly delicious pies. She's stuck in a small town and in a loveless marriage to Earl. Jenna has to deal with an unexpected pregnancy as well and is upset that she may never get to fulfill her dream of opening up her own pie shop. Jenna enters a baking contest in a nearby town and meets a good looking doctor while there. Could happiness be just around the corner for Jenna?
Waitress first played a sold out run at Boston's Loeb Drama Center and was produced by American Repertory Theater. A mostly all female creative team includes Singer-Songwriter Sara Bareilles who wrote the Music and Lyrics ( I bought the album and its terrific). In 2007 Sara became known for her hit "Love Song", one of many terrific songs from the album entitled "Little Voice". The album reached # 1 in 22 countries. She's also had some other hit songs which include "Brave" and King of Anything". To date Sara has received 5 Grammy nominations. The Book of the show was written by Jessie Nelson who is best known for writing the story for I Am Sam and Corrina, Corrina, 2 very well known films. Direction of Waitress is by Diane Paulus. Ms. Paulus recently won a 2013 Tony Award for Best Director of Pippin, one of my favorite musicals of all time. It was a beautiful and fun show to experience.
WBUR Radio, a local Boston station said "What's not to like? Sex, sass, sisterhood and pie: WAITRESS HAS IT ALL."
The Boston Globe said "Jessie Mueller is TERRIFIC" and called it "THEATRICAL MAGIC!"
And Variety can be quoted as saying "DELICIOUS! Waitress is a fairy tale that's not simply about getting Prince Charming, but also getting its heroine to clean up her own messes, take action and discover her worth."
Although we've had nearly two amazing years in a row on Broadway, filled with tons of talent and great, exciting shows to see, this current season should make this years Tony Awards one of the best for sure. Waitress will make a "beautiful" addition to the current Broadway Show listings.
Right now the show is selling really well and we expect it to really "take off" after the critics come into review Waitress on April 24, 2016. If you're considering buying Waitress tickets in the near future, you may want to consider a call to my company Applause-Tickets. We have "special prices" to offer prior to the first performance as well as while the show is in previews. If the show opens and garners very positive reviews, we expect the special prices will go away.
I hope you enjoyed reading my blog post on Waitress, a new and exciting musical about to thrill audiences at the Brooks Atkinson Theater in New York City. If we can help with seating and excellent prices, we hope you'll consider calling Applause-Tickets soon.
Applause-Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
Facebook: Check us out at Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
American Psycho The Musical Comes to Broadway
On March 24, 2016 American Psycho The Musical will begin preview performances at the Schoenfeld Theater on West 45th Street in New York City with an opening night scheduled for April 20, 2016.
The story takes place in the 1980's and tells us about Patrick Bateman, an extremely good looking, successful businessman who pursues his wildest dreams late at night. And these dreams are far from the usual ones that most people have, thats for sure.
After a sold-out run in London that began in 2013, I can easily say I'm personally looking forward to seeing this show and its tremendously talented cast The novel was originally written by Bret Easton Ellis in 1991 and made into a film in 2000 which starred Christian Bale.
The Book of American Psycho The Musical was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Glee), with Music and Lyrics by Tony and Grammy Award-winner Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and Direction by Robert Goold (King Charles III).
The cast has several talented actors which include Benjamin Walker (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), Alice Ripley (Tony Award-winner for Next to Normal), one of my favorite all-time shows, Helene Yorke (Bullets over Broadway), Jennifer Damiano (Next to Normal) and Drew Moerlein, who is making his Broadway debut in the show.
Critics from The Evening Standard, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Daily Mirror and The New York Times have all said very positive things about the show. I'm not sure if the show has undergone any changes since the London production but intend on seeing a preview of the show as soon as it starts playing on March 24th.
If you're interested in purchasing discount American Psycho The Musical tickets during its run on Broadway, we'd love for you to call our excellent team at Applause-Tickets 24/7 for assistance. We'll offer you seats in every seating and price category and at considerably reduced prices. We expect this offer may "go away" after the critics write their reviews on April 20th. If the reviewers say great things about the show as we expect, the show will "sell out" every performance right after opening night. And then the prices will most likely be raised.
I hope this blog post was helpful to you and that you'll consider using Applause-Tickets.com whenever your plans include going to see a Broadway, London or just about any show you may want to attend.
Cheers to all you theater lovers out there.
On Facebook you may want to have a look at Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
The Radio City "Rockettes New York Spectacular" Tickets Go On Sale on March 3, 2016
After an extremely successful run of the Rockettes New York Spectacular in the Spring of 2015, it has just been announced by Madison Square Garden Entertainment (owner of Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden and the Beacon Theater) that the show will play again but is being scheduled to play from June 15 through August 7, 2016. This years production will feature the world famous Radio City Rockettes of course and the show will be moved from the Springtime to play a run that will take advantage of the very busy summer tourist season in New York City.
In the Spring of 2015, the "Spring Spectacular" sold over 300,000 tickets in its first year and was extended due to heavy demand, This new production of The Rockettes New York Spectacular this summer will play 75 performances with the fun concept of "celebrating New York in the summertime". I thoroughly enjoyed last years show and can't imagine that the cast and creative team wouldn't do another fabulous job exciting both New Yorkers and tourist visitors alike to attend the show. Radio City will put on a lavish production for sure and heavily advertise the show all over the world.
The theme of this years Rockettes New York Spectacular will tell the story of 2 youngsters that get separated from their parents and how they experience New York City coming to life seeing all the wonderful things the city has to offer. They, of course, are reunited with their family in the end.
My company Applause-Tickets will be happy to assist you in obtaining the best seats at the most reasonable prices if you're considering purchasing Rockettes New York Spectacular tickets in 2016. There is never any pressure to buy and we have an "inside track" with lots of inventory in every price category. The theater allocates inventory to us so we always have great options to offer.
At Applause-Tickets, we cater to the ticket buyers needs for Broadway Shows, Concerts and Sporting Events and offer our service to thousands of of out-of-town visitors as well as many clients in and around the New York City area.
I hope you found this blog post helpful and that you'll consider using Applause-Tickets service whenever your plans include purchasing Rockettes New York Spectacular tickets or the show of your choosing. Applause-Tickets is open 24/ to serve you, your family, friends and colleagues.
Tickets for the Rockettes New York Spectacular go on sale at 10am on Thursday March 3, 2016. Cheers and best wishes to our friends at the 2016 Rockettes New York Spectacular.
Web site: www.applause-tickets.com
Become Facebook friends with us at Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
Are Hamilton Tickets on Broadway Too Expensive?
So are these tickets too expensive? You bet they are? At least for the time being, that's for sure.
In all of my 39 years as a licensed ticket broker and even after launching my own ticket service at Applause-Tickets.com 28 years ago, although we've had several past Broadway Shows that were "mega hit's- shows like The Phantom of the Opera, The Producers, The Book of Mormon, Wicked, Jersey Boys, Pajama Game and many others, I'd have to say that I cannot recall a show that has created the intense demand like Hamilton tickets on Broadway has. In my opinion, it really defies basic logic.
Although I'd be one of the first to certainly say that Hamilton on Broadway is truly one of the finest musical shows ever to play on Broadway, the question I find myself asking when clients call Applause-Tickets to purchase Hamilton tickets is- wouldn't it make sense to consider seeing another show with much better seating and much lower pricing than to pay for just 1 Hamilton ticket? For instance, right now the current market value for a seat just to "get in" to see Hamilton ranges from $425.00 to $550.00 (sometimes more during peak tourist times), and that's for a seat in the rear mezzanine (the top of the theater). Better seats cost considerably more.
What I'm getting at is really quite simple. When I first bought a ticket, I took my family and we sat in the rear mezzanine, paying only 100.00 per ticket back in July 2015. I have to ask myself, even though the show opened up to very positive reviews, are Hamilton tickets really worth 5 times what they were several months ago? Could anything we purchase in life be worth that much more than it was a short time ago?
Now, don't get me wrong, I run a licensed ticket broker business and I'm all for selling tickets to any event that our clients want to see but I'm also a regular person too and I try to help Applause-Tickets clients "get the best value for their money". Many clients are visiting New York and ask us to arrange for them to see 2, 3 and sometimes up to 5 shows during their visit. In fact, when you think about it, these clients can actually see probably 2 or 3 shows for what they would pay for 1 Hamilton ticket. And with much better seating options. Right now we are seeing these clients inquire about purchasing Hamilton tickets but in general, they opt to see other shows with better seating and pricing. They will eventually get to see Hamilton but at another time. The show will be playing here for many more years to come. So what's the rush? Sure it may be a while till prices go down but like everything else in life "whatever goes up, eventually comes down", doesn't it?
For those people that only want to purchase Hamilton tickets and don't mind spending allot of money for a show ticket, if you need assistance we welcome you to call our team at Applause-Tickets.com anytime you would like. Believe it or not, we're open 24/7 and always have someone able to capably assist you. Here's a brief synopsis of Hamilton that we have on our web site. We can be reached at 212-307-7050 to offer lots of Hamilton ticket options. I coach you to shop around and can guarantee our seating and pricing will be better than the hundreds of ticket companies that are offering Hamilton tickets.
For those clients that prefer to wait for a more "reasonably priced" Hamilton ticket, you may want to visit Applause's up-to-date list of Broadway Shows. There are many excellent choices like Finding Neverland, An American in Paris, Kinky Boots, The Lion King, Jersey Boys, Wicked and many more shows that are soon to begin performances on Broadway very soon. We have lots of great live theater to discuss with you if you have a few minutes.
At Applause-Tickets, we know clients have literally hundreds of ticket buying options but if you simply take a moment and consider a call to Applause-Tickets, we can shed some light on how to obtain the best seats for the best shows and at the most reasonable prices as well.
Whether your plans include purchasing Hamilton tickets or one of the nearly 30 terrific Broadway Shows, we'd love an opportunity to work with you in the near future. Please call me personally if I can ever help. We're right here in New York City at 212-307-7050 or 800-451-9930.
On Facebook you can check out Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
American Psycho The Musical on Broadway- My Upfron...
Fun Home Tickets on Broadway- Specially Priced Tic...
Broadway and Off Broadway Discount Ticket Update F...
Cagney The Musical to Play Off Broadway- Previews ...
Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 Starri...
Frank Langella Returns to Broadway in The Father o...
Jessica Lang and Gabriel Byrne Return to Broadway ...
Waitress The Musical Begins Previews on Broadway M...
The Radio City "Rockettes New York Spectacular" Ti...


Which one of these do you think is the case?
1) Her sponge is thicker than 1.5mm; it's thick enough that she doesn't bottom it.
2) Her sponge is 1.5mm but she doesn't hit hard enough to bottom it.
She was our club head coach for two years. She gave me two black Challenger Attack rubbers Butterfly made specifically for her. The sponge thickness is 1.9mm and that's what she's used all these years, and still does.
When I wrote the first post of this thread in 2008, it was firmly established public opinion on the forum that she played with 1.5 mm, so I accepted it, naively perhaps, as a fact. Now, my feeling based on my own experience about this is that no pro would play with a rubber less than 1.8 mm thick for a block and attack game, in order to avoid bottoming out (which means loss of control; I doubt very much if professional players would "employ" it).
A shakehand version of Gao's style will work (also based on personal experience) with a Tibhar Defense Plus blade using Friendship 799 Mystery (comes only in 1.8 mm) on the BH and Friendship 105 Legend (1.9 mm) on the forehand. Both rubbers have a disruption factor similar to that of Challenger Attack. The 799 Mystery is grippier than the Challenger Attack and can be closed well when blocking with it, which prevents bottoming out of the ball. The 105 Legend is even spinnier and a lot faster (similar speed as 802-40, slightly spinnier than it, much more disruption effect). The blade has two thin balsa medial plies which help to take the pace off when blocking and to accelerate when hitting. The set-up as a whole is light-weight (125-130 grams).
The side-spin left-side block or punch that are typical for penholder play, and very effective, initially tend to feel odd when performed with shakehand. The punch is perhaps better replaced by a short drive or active block. It feels more natural when a little topspin is added and is as effective as the penholder stroke for cutting the sideline.
Another alternative for Challenger Attack is DHS 652 in 2.0 mm for the FH, and/or DHS 651 in 2.0 mm for the BH. These rubbers are heavier, but have similar speed, spin, and disruption.
As for alternative blades, I haven't been able to find any oversized ALL- blades. Oversized DEF+ blades that are fast and rigid enough to use with SP are rare. Joola Chen Weixing is one (it is heavy), Andro Fibercomp another. They are slightly more rigid than the Tibhar blade, and a bit faster, but not by much. TSP Defense Classic is a bit faster still.
Kees, when you were playing like Gao Jun (I don't know to what degree you meant that), did you use the grip I described and illustrated a few posts up? It's very comfortable and I'm using it, but it will be some time before the backhand feels natural. And as I said, the stroke repertoire on the left has to change. Do you have any thoughts about it?
With a penholder blade, I have my fingers more like He Zhiwen, thumb and index finger apart by an inch or so, to make the blade stable under high impact. But my daughter holds hers like Gao does, fingers close together, forefinger crooked around the handle-end, almost as with a japanese penhold grip. I have told her not to do it, but she can't get rid of it, so we let her; especially as I can't see negative effects. We block differently, though: my blocks are more like punches, hers more like rolls, also like Gao. Her backhand stroke (conventional attack) looks less stable than mine, but she seldom misses. I've seen Gao do the same kind of whipping, seemingly very loose; compared to that, He's stroke (and mine) is more like an ax-swing. Maybe it is a male vs female thing... power vs agility? I don't know. In my experience, the Chinese generally don't fuss a lot about this kind of technical detail; they recognize that there are different approaches and styles - if one works for you, it works, that's it.
Gao Jun's grip has been working well for me on the right side.
I've been less happy with the left side grip until yesterday. I had not believed the following (because my limited experience had been with other cpen grips like He's), but I saw it clearly enough in a video of her (can't remember what moment of what video) and I started playing with it: for a shot on the left side the blade lays down on the second (middle) segment of the middle finger. I had previously dismissed it as I thought it must be bad form and was letting just the first segment lay down like this, and that never felt secure enough. Did I make this clear?
It works, side to side, rolling smoothly without the "hitch" or delay of which I spoke above (02MAY14) and without the awkward arm and body twisting required by what I called the "thumb anchored grip".
Lifting the thumb's first segment off of the wood, while still holding the blade's edge with the part of the thumb between its first and second segment, is widely seen with c-pen players when they play a left-side stroke, or even a left-side active block. As long as the thumb doesn't actually let go of the blade entirely, it is technically correct, I think.
With a J-pen handle a player can relax the grip of the thumb entirely when performing left-side strokes and hence has a better (freer) swing on the left side. The trade-off for that is a less free manipulation of the ball over the table.
Thank you Kees. Ah, I love feeling a little more sure about it.
I'm continuously tempted to try a spinnier rubber but then it would be harder to aim straight. Oh, I often wish to respond in kind to inverted players, but making them run from side to side is sweet revenge.
The alternative is to play with the thumb deeper and to keep that knuckle always above the blade face. If you try to do that, and try to close the blade on the far backhand, and rotate the handle to point more downward and move your index finger farther out, you will understand the reason for the "wide pincer".
I'll say it another way: That thumb knuckle defines two notches in the side of the thumb where the blade edge can be consistently indexed: outer (beside the thumbnail) and inner (the one closer to the V between forefinger and thumb). Holding the blade in the outer notch could be called true (handwriting) penhold, (calligraphy) brush-hold, chopsticks-hold, while using the inner notch is much more common, especially among males it seems.
I can tell you that being unable to commit to one or the other could leave you playing *on* the knuckle, risking injury. Can't be as stable either.


text:
Scranton's Mancuso receives multiple weekly honors
Matthew Mancuso
Senior forward Matthew Mancuso received a series of prestigious honors for his performances in a pair of University of Scranton men's basketball games last week.
Mancuso picked up four honors in three days after posting his career-highs in both points and rebounds Saturday in a 96-89 win at Cabrini. That came just three days after Mancuso had established a new high game for rebounds.
The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) recognized Mancuso as the Division III National Player of the Week. It is the first time a Royal has been chosen for the award, which is in its sixth season.
Mancuso had 38 points and 22 rebounds against Cabrini. The 38 points was the most since Bill Bessoir scored 40 in a 1984 game against Drew. It was the first time in nearly 27 years, since Matt Cusano in the 1992-93 season, that a Scranton player grabbed that many rebounds in a game.
Earlier in the week, Mancuso shared team scoring honors with 19 points and also grabbed 17 rebounds when Scranton went to Wilkes and delivered a 91-62 pounding to the Colonels, who had been unbeaten.
Mancuso was also chosen National Jesuit Player of the Week, selected to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week as one of the top five Division III performers in the nation and named Landmark Conference Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week.
For the week, Mancuso shot 17-for-30 (56.7 percent) from the floor, 4-for-5 (80.0 percent) from beyond the arc and 19-for-25 (76.0 percent) from the line. In addition to his 57 points and 39 rebounds, he had 7 assists, 4 steals and 4 blocked shots.
The 6-foot-7 forward is averaging 20.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 53.3 percent from the floor and 79.5 percent from the line.
Two District 2 graduates again supported Mancuso in leading the team.
Logan Bailey, a redshirt sophomore from Scranton Prep, was 8-for-12 from the floor while scoring 20 points against Cabrini. Jackson Danzig, a sophomore from Abington Heights, was 3-for-6 on 3-pointers while finishing with 19 points and 7 rebounds.
Bailey and Danzig each shared team scoring honors with Mancuso against Wilkes with 19 points.
Scranton (4-1) is off until hosting York Wednesday at 7 p.m.
MORE ROYALS: Read all the details from Scranton's impressive win over Wilkes. http://www.nepabasketball.com/2018-19/articles/MGameScrantonWilkes.


Chinese website Feelcars.com has published an extensive in-depth gallery of MG GT pictures following the car's unveiling to the Chinese motoring media.
The pictures show the GT in slavish detail, with everything from switchgear to alloys revealed. A range of models from across the GT range is represented here – the cars with daytime running lights being the top model, while the fog-light equipped car representing the base.
As previously revealed the GT will feature a 1.4 litre turbo-charged petrol, with 154bhp and 173ft lbs of torque, while media sources in China have claimed that the MG will begin exporting the GT to the UK in 2015.
If this comes to the UK, i really hope they have bigger wheels, and different bumper treatment, I also think that the full width rear light will not do it any favours as it will get cmpared to hideously ugly Ford Scorpio.


Tenharim language. Evangelism tools, church planting resources, Christian songs and audio bible study materials. Download free MP3s.
Audio Bible readings of whole books of specific, recognized, translated Scripture with little or no commentary. (A65356).
Audio Bible readings of whole books of specific, recognized, translated Scripture with little or no commentary. (A65355).
Audio-visual Bible lessons in 40 sections with pictures. Contains Bible overview from creation to Christ, and teaching on the Christian life. For evangelism and church planting. (C32291).
Book 1 of an audio-visual series with Bible stories of Adam, Noah, Job, Abraham. For evangelism, church planting and systematic Christian teaching. (A65354).


text:
A smart Approach to Electric Vehicles
If the smart fortwo is a city car—and, arguably, it is—then it makes perfect sense for the vehicle to be an electric car.
Flexible Turning
If the smart fortwo is a city car—and, arguably, it is—then it makes perfect sense for the vehicle to be an electric car. And the people at Daimler have invested in excess of €200-million to upgrade their plant in Hambach France, to produce variants of the fortwo including one that is powered with a 55-kW electric motor. The plant started producing the smart fortwo electric drive last week.
The factory is producing the vehicle right along with its internal-combustion engine models.
The motors are source from Bosch and the 17.6-kWh batteries are from Evonik.
ZF Gets Big Orders for Innovative Transmission This eight-speed was designed from the start with electrification in mind
The Unstately (But Remarkable) Performance of Bentley Who knew that a Bentley could be so brisk—and bold?
The car is said to go from 0 to 60 km/h in 4.8 seconds, have a maximum speed of 125 km/h, and have a range of some 145 km (that would be 0 to 37 mph, a top speed of 77.6 mph and a range of 90 miles).
There are both coupe and cabriolet versions of the EV. There is an interesting approach to pricing taken by the company. That is, there is a straight-up purchase or the ability to purchase the car then rent the battery for a monthly fee.
So while the coupe can be purchased for €23,680 including battery, the "sale&care" (we don't know why they don't put spaces between the words and ampersand, but we also don't know why the name of the company isn't capitalized, either) EV coupe can be purchased for in addition to a monthly battery rental of €65.
Said Dr. Annette Winkler, head of smart, about the new vehicle and the investment in the factory, "With the new smart electric drive we are further expanding our leading position in urban mobility and making fully electric driving accessible to everyone. For this—and for the successor generation to the current smart—we are making significant investments in the Hambach site. And I am convinced that this is money extremely well invested."
The plant has been producing the fortwo since 1998. They've produced in excess of 1.3-million vehicles since.
Cadillac Creates More Luxury: the XT5
Paul Spadafora, chief engineer, Cadillac XT5, had, in his estimation, a fantastic opportunity as he and his team set about to develop Cadillac's all-new midsize crossover vehicle for a number of reasons, one of which is the simple fact that this is one of the hottest segments going in the auto industry, so if you want to be in the game, you have to play hard against the likes of the Audi Q5 and the Mercedes GLE-Class.
Making the Case for Lithium-ion Batteries
Lithium-ion batteries have become the technology of choice for EVs, and falling costs and rising energy levels could keep them on top for nearly two decades.
Clean And 'Ezee'
There's a new type of steam engine in town that claims diesel fuel economy, near-zero emissions, massive torque output, and low production cost. The auxiliary power unit market is its first target, but cars and trucks aren't far behind.