text:
A survey of India and Pakistan
The Valley of the shadow
Why Kashmir remains at daggers drawn
A STRETCH of the main road from Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir's summer capital, to Anantnag is lined with workshops that fashion the local willow into cricket bats. There is something cheering about these little enterprises making a living from South Asia's favourite pastime in the region's most contested territory.
The cheer quickly dissipates. Gulam Qadir (not his real name) says he shifted his stock from road level to the first floor of his shop because counter-insurgents, former anti-Indian militants who have changed sides, have been harassing him. Sometimes they just demand free bats; when angry, they "take up these sticks and beat us," Mr Qadir claims, gesturing towards the stacks of unfinished planks. He wants what almost everyone in the Kashmir Valley seems to want, azadi—independence. But like most businessmen, Mr Qadir has a pragmatic streak. "Before azadi, we want a relaxed atmosphere," he says, "which is not happening."
Mr Qadir and his fellow Kashmiris are caught up in one of the world's most intractable disputes. There is a legal side to it, there is a fiendishly complex issue of self-determination, there is a regional tussle that involves China as well as India and Pakistan, and then there are the realities on the ground, kept rigid by the power of the gun. These forces pull in different directions. But India is happier with the status quo than are the other main players, Pakistan and the Kashmiri people, and it is with India that a solution must start.
The Kashmir problem is part of the aftermath of partition. The Hindu maharaja of Kashmir wanted independence, but hurriedly acceded to India in 1948 after Pakistani tribesmen invaded his realm. The principle that Kashmiris be allowed to determine their own future was established at the beginning. India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, struck a deal with the maharaja, but thought that his (mostly Muslim) subjects should be the the true masters of Kashmir. A 1948 UN Security Council resolution, designed to end the first hostilities between India and Pakistan, calls for the withdrawal of Pakistani forces, followed by a plebiscite allowing Kashmiris to choose between joining India or Pakistan. It never happened. The state remains divided into zones of Indian, Pakistani and—because the Pakistanis let them have it and China occupied a chunk on its own—Chinese control. Pakistan regards union with the rest of Kashmir as "the unfinished business of partition". India, for its part, deems the state an integral part of its territory. China says it will talk about its slice once the other two have reached a deal.
India might have won a plebiscite had it not governed Kashmir so badly. Nehru had an ally in Kashmir's most popular leader, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, who thought of himself as a Kashmiri first and a Muslim second, and preferred Indian secularism to Pakistani sectarianism. It was a rocky relationship. Abdullah flirted with independence, and the central government never reconciled itself to the autonomy it had granted Kashmir. India's best friend in the state was imprisoned twice for a total of 18 years between 1953 and 1975. He won Kashmir's first genuinely free election in 1977. Yet in 1984 his son, Farooq, was dismissed as chief minister by Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi. There followed a period of obtuse and thuggish rule by the central government, a flawed election in 1987 that gave a more obedient Farooq another spell in power, and the outbreak of violence two years later.
It has been an ugly war that does none of the parties involved much credit. The 400,000 or so troops that India keeps in Kashmir have often shown the same brutality as their foes. So far, about 24,000 people have died in the decade-long insurgency, say the police. The militants say 60,000. Either way, more have been killed than in all three Indo-Pakistani wars put together.
Pakistan insists on sorting out the mess by holding the plebiscite as envisaged in the UN resolutions. That would bring more self-determination than at present, but not much. Jammu & Kashmir's population of 9m-10m is far from being all Muslim (see map). The Kashmir Valley has become almost all Muslim. Jammu has a Hindu majority and Ladakh a Buddhist one. It is a safe bet that in a plebiscite both would vote to remain with India but be dragged into union with Pakistan by the overall Muslim majority. In that event the Kashmir problem might well go on, with oppressor and oppressed swapping identities.
More important, the UN-mandated plebiscite does not offer Kashmiris what most of them really want: azadi. A 1995 poll found that 72% of the Valley's inhabitants wanted independence. Being mostly Muslims does not make them Pakistanis. Their separate identity is based on place, kinship and culture as much as on religion.
In India's view, Kashmiris would become loyal citizens again if only Pakistan would stop interfering. It sees the insurgency as a proxy war, which would end as soon as Pakistan stopped giving militants money and weapons and letting them infiltrate Kashmir across the line of control. Most militants, India claims, are foreign zealots imported from other holy wars, such as that in Afghanistan. It regards separatist political groups, two dozen of which are grouped under the All Parties Hurriyet Conference, as stooges of Pakistan.
Pending a diplomatic solution, India thinks the war is going well. "We are happy," says C.S Pokharia, deputy inspector-general of the Border Security Force, which keeps order in Kashmir. Fewer militants are infiltrating from Pakistan, and "the killing of militants during encounters is quite favourable."
Mr Pokharia has some grounds for smugness. After a period when militants ruled the roost in big towns like Srinagar and even ran a parallel administration, the government now has the upper hand. Militants have been pushed out of the towns and the bazaars bustle again, though there are still sporadic shoot-outs even in the middle of Srinagar. The security forces are trying harder to target combatants and spare civilians. Elections in 1996, which were boycotted by the separatists, replaced direct rule from Delhi with a government headed by Farooq Abdullah.
Normality is relative. Srinagar still looks like a city dumped inside a maximum-security prison, with guns poking through piles of sandbags on nearly every corner. Tourism, Kashmir's biggest industry, is still way below its pre-insurrection peak. Without the money spent by soldiers and their families, the economy would be flat on its back. And the war is far from over. The militants lie lower but strike harder, sometimes at the security forces, sometimes at innocents who happen to be Hindus. Casualties among security forces last year just fell short of the 1995 record.
The security forces have become choosier, but no less brutal. Ravi Nair, head of the South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre, says that captured foreign militants are summarily executed in faked "encounters". Detainees are routinely tortured. Kashmir is still subject to laws that permit security forces to shoot suspects and destroy property. And when they abuse their powers, there is no redress. Parveena Ahanger speaks for the parents of 300 missing children, including her son, who disappeared in 1991 after the National Security Guard arrested him: "Not one person has been found, not one person has been punished."
Why peace is hard to do
Competing claims of sovereignty and self-determination can never be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Even modest ambitions, such as a lessening of violence, have been frustrated because every concession has been looked upon as a surrender of principle. It is unlikely that the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers bent their principles in Lahore. Compromises offered by either country always fall short of the other side's minimum demands. Thus India might accept the line of control as the permanent border, and Pakistan is willing to talk about holding a plebiscite in Kashmir by region rather than for the whole state, which would allow the parts populated by Hindus and Buddhists to vote to remain with India. But the crunch issue for both countries remains the disposition of the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley.
Mr Sharif is as close to being soft on Kashmir as any Pakistani leader is likely to get. Looking over his shoulder are Islamic fundamentalists, who have already branded his meeting with Mr Vajpayee a betrayal of Kashmir; the armed forces, whose budgets depend on continued tension with India; and Inter-Services Intelligence, the part of the armed forces thought to be arming and training fighters both in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
In India, there are two distinct schools of thought on Kashmir. The weightier one, to which Mr Vajpayee and probably his electoral rival, Sonia Gandhi, belong, argues that there can be no compromise over the sovereignty of Indian-held Kashmir. But there are others who see merit in giving Pakistan some say in the affairs of the Valley—though such creative solutions are unlikely to be tried for years to come.
There need not be a grand settlement for things to improve in Kashmir, but two things will have to happen: Pakistan will have to squeeze the supply of violence and India will have to discourage the demand for it. If violence inside Kashmir goes down, India could reduce its security forces in the interior.
Will Pakistan rein in the rebels? It denies giving them anything other than moral and diplomatic support, and claims to have limited power to curb them. It probably exaggerates its impotence. It has a large army along the line of control, which it uses selectively. The mujahideen of Lashkar-e-Taiba, one of the main guerrilla groups, mill about their office in Lahore impressively armed in full view of the police. Mr Sharif is under intense pressure from the United States—which controls the flow of money to Pakistan's bankrupt economy—to reduce tensions with India. But he is also on the hit-list of one of the extremist Islamic groups, and may be reluctant to provoke such groups further. India's behaviour towards its Kashmiri citizens should not depend on the number of terrorists infiltrating across the border. Farooq Abdullah's National Conference government in Kashmir, which had a flimsy mandate to begin with, has lost whatever popularity it had because of its clumsy administration and its failure to fulfill its promise to win back some of Kashmir's autonomy. Moreover, Kashmiris feel they are being ruled not by a popularly elected government but by policemen who behave more like an occupation force. Secessionist leaders, who represent an important slice of public opinion, play hardly any part in politics. The All Parties Hurriyet Conference is not an impressive body. Its two dozen members agree on little except opposition to Indian rule. Its leaders, fearing harassment by Indian forces, have little contact with the people they claim to represent.
Mehbooba Mufti, a member of the state assembly from the Congress party, thinks the government should open an "unconditional dialogue" with militant groups and their political representatives. So far the separatists have held out for tripartite talks with India and Pakistan—"the only kind we will accept," says Yaseen Malik, leader of the pro-independence Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front. But Ms Mufti reckons that even hardened separatists would agree to talk to the government on its own. "Militant boys want a normal life—with honour, not with surrender," says Ms Mufti. She may be wrong. But if India is to prevail over the separatists, it will have to persuade rather than simply punish them.
This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline "The Valley of the shadow"


text:
From da Vinci to Bosch, the 10 Most Googled Paintings of 2020
The list of artworks is based on data from 155 different countries.
by Hakim Bishara March 1, 2021 March 2, 2021
Visitors at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France crowding to see Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" Thomas Ricker/Flickr
With access to museums and galleries restricted since the COVID-19 pandemic started, millions around the world have resorted to the internet to quell their thirst for fine art. So what major artworks have they been Googling since the virus took hold of the globe last year? A new study has the answers.
Using the online analytics tool Ahrefs, the arts and crafts tutorials website Diys.com mined the 10 most Googled paintings in the world in 2020. Based on data from 155 different countries, the company quantified the average global search volume of each painting per month.
The list consists of famous masterpieces from the Western canon of art history. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" ranks first among the most searched paintings of last year with over one million online searches on average each month. Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" comes second, with almost half the monthly average search volume (454,500). In third is da Vinci's Last Supper (343,000).
Grant Wood, "American Gothic" (1930) (via Wikimedia Commons)
The ranking continues with other ubiquitous masterpieces by Western artists like Edvard Munch's "The Scream" (1893), Grant Wood's "American Gothic" (1930), and Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" (c. 1508–1512).
The list is noticeably white and male, a damning testament to the historical marginalization of women and artists of color in Western art. Even immensely popular artists like Frida Kahlo and Hilma af Klint don't make it to the top 10.
See the full lists of 10 most Googled paintings in 2020 here (the figures represent the monthly average number of global online searches):
Leonardo da Vinci, "Mona Lisa" (c. 1503–19) (1,024,000 views monthly)
Pablo Picasso, "Guernica" (1937) (454,500 views monthly)
Leonardo da Vinci, "The Last Supper" (1495–1498) (343,000 views monthly)
Edvard Munch, "The Scream" (1893) (241,000 views monthly)
Diego Velázquez , "Las Meninas" (1656) (140,000 views monthly)
Grant Wood, "American Gothic" (1930) (136,000 views monthly)
Michelangelo, "Creation of Adam" (c. 1508–1512) (105,150 views monthly)
Johannes Vermeer, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (1665) (86,000 views monthly)
Salvador Dali, "The Persistence of Memory" (1931) (78,400 views monthly)
Hieronymus Bosch, "The Garden of Earthly Delights" (1503–1515) (58,000 views monthly)
There Are Now Not One But Two Documentaries About the Salvator Mundi Saga
After Diplomatic Squabble, Italy Agrees to Lend France Its Leonardos for Major Exhibition
Mona Lisa, Revisited: History's Symbol and Muse
Tagged: Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa
Hakim Bishara
Hakim Bishara is a staff writer for Hyperallergic. He is also a co-director at Soloway Gallery, an artist-run space in Brooklyn. Bishara is a recipient of the 2019 Andy Warhol Foundation and Creative Capital...	More by Hakim Bishara

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Bridge House is a well-established independent day and boarding school for girls and boys from Playschool to Grade 12 and is situated in a beautiful country setting just outside Franschhoek in the Western Cape. Boarding is offered from Grade 5 to Grade 12 in modern home-from-home boarding houses on the campus. The school is a member of ISASA and writes the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) Matric exams with a 100% pass rate to date Excellent facilities (sport and cultural) are available. Committed to nurturing a 'can do' attitude, Bridge House excels in recognising the spirit of individualism within a framework of integrity, humility, wisdom and inspiration.


text:
Appeal after Kes statue vandalised
CCTV released at CEX to aid investigations into fatal crash
POLICE in Barnsley have released CCTV footage at a town centre store hours before a man died in a fatal crash on the M1 in a bid to help with investigations.
On October 24, emergency services were called to the M1 northbound, just before junction 38, at 7.05pm.
It is reported that Daniel Pietkiel, 33, was in the carriageway when he was struck by a white Toyota Hiace. He died at the scene.
Earlier that day, Daniel was seen at a CEX shop in the Alhambra Centre and police are keen to speak with residents who may have seen him.
A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police said: "Since the incident, we have been working hard to piece together Daniel's movements that day, and the day before to determine how he came to be in the carriageway.
"We are now releasing some CCTV footage of Daniel from the day before his death and appealing for the public's help to assist us as our investigation continues.
"Daniel was seen at a CEX shop in the Alhambra at October 23 between 9.30am and 10.30am.
"Did you see him after he left the store, later in the day or in the moments leading up to his death?
"Can you help us build up a picture of the events leading up to the tragic collision?
"If you saw Daniel on October 23, witnessed the collision, or were driving along this stretch of the M1 with dash cam footage on that evening, please do get in touch."
The incident number to quote is 787 of October 24. You can also submit dash-cam footage via email to enquiries@southyorks.pnn.police.uk, quoting the incident number in the email subject.
Headline: Diamond couple toast anniversary
Hospital charity issue thanks to 'Sensational Six'
College bags top industry accreditation
Shoplifting offences on the rise


text:
Star File
Kevin Daniels
After graduating from Juilliard, Kevin Daniels made his Broadway debut in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and originated the role of Earvin "Magic" Johnson in Magic/Bird. Regional credits include Up Against the Wind and Journey to Justice. On the small screen, the California native has appeared in Modern Family, Chuck, Law & Order and Brothers & Sisters.
Related Buzz
Game Over! Magic/Bird to End Broadway Run
Tony Eligibility Rulings Made for Newsies, Evita, Death of a Salesman and More
Watch the Stars of Magic/Bird Celebrate a Ballsy Opening Night
Tug Coker & Kevin Daniels on Balling, Broadway and Becoming the Stars of Magic/Bird
Photo Op
Hoop Dreams Come True! Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and the Cast of Magic/Bird Score Big on Opening Night
Broadway Ink
Squigs Scores With a Sporty Portrait of the Stars of Magic/Bird


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text:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!--
  ~ Copyright 2016-2019 Juliane Lehmann <jl@lambdasoup.com>
  ~
  ~ Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  ~ you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
  ~ You may obtain a copy of the License at
  ~
  ~ http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
  ~
  ~ Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
  ~ distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
  ~ WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
  ~ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  ~ limitations under the License.
  ~
  -->

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Office worker meeting at a fancy office 10 is a photo of acworks author. This photo includes business office meeting meeting Office worker tags. To download photo (S, L, M sizes) you need to register the account and log in.


After weeks of bad press and attacks from GOP elites Donald Trump is still deadlocked with Hillary Clinton in Ohio and Pennsylvania according to the latest Quinnipiac poll.
A new Quinnipiac University swing state poll puts Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in Florida, the two candidates in a dead heat in Ohio, and showing Pennsylvania is too close to call, while showing that Bernie Sanders still polls higher than Clinton over Trump in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The poll conducted from June 8-19, surveyed 975 Florida voters with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points; 971 Ohio voters with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points; and 950 Pennsylvania voters with a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.


text:
Q: What is more sophisticated way to assign to tensor in tensorflow 2.x I was just wondering that if there is a better way of updating tensor in tf2. Let's say that I have tensor_a = tf.ones(4,5,5) (batch_size, H, W) and I would like to replace all the values of second sample by zeros(index=1). This is how I manage to do it without using Eager execution mode:
tensor_a = tf.ones([4,5,5])
tensor_b = tf.zeros([1,5,5])
index=1
tensor_a = tf.concat([tensor_a[:index], tensor_b, tensor_a[index+1:]], axis=0)

I know that there exists tf.tensor_scatter_nd_update() function but I'm not familiar with meshgrids and in my opinion they look a little bit ugly for simple slice assignment operation. Also in some cases it would be handy to update slices with many indexes (like samples 0,1 and 2 to zeros) at once.

A: Tensorflow operations are a bit messy sometimes.
import tensorflow as tf

tensor = tf.ones([4, 5, 5])

tensor = tf.tensor_scatter_nd_update(
    tensor, [[1]], tf.zeros_like(tf.gather(tensor, [1]))
)

<tf.Tensor: shape=(4, 5, 5), dtype=float32, numpy=
array([[[1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.]],
       [[0., 0., 0., 0., 0.],
        [0., 0., 0., 0., 0.],
        [0., 0., 0., 0., 0.],
        [0., 0., 0., 0., 0.],
        [0., 0., 0., 0., 0.]],
       [[1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.]],
       [[1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.],
        [1., 1., 1., 1., 1.]]], dtype=float32)>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Good lord my happy puppy enthusiasm goes to 11 today. "Newplacenewpeopleawesomeprojectsohboyohboyohboyohboy YAYYYY!!!!" Must occasionally remember to breathe. Red Hat intern orientation is over now, and I'm starting to Get Stuff Done (TM). More on this later when I emerge from today's meetings with a better sense of what exactly I'm doing.
It's great to be catching up with everything I've missed from being computer-crippled from RSI. Granted, I'm catching up slowly, since I'm still limiting my keyboard usage so I don't have a relapse. But I finally got to see Gary's pictures from SugarCamp Paris (it looks like great fun! I wish I'd been there - I miss everyone!) and listen to Diana's chaos variation mp3s all the way through. I haven't yet refreshed my memory on LaTeX or Scribus, but when I figure out projects I have to do anyway that I can make Better Looking Through Good Typography, that problem will be solved.
In the meantime, I will continue to approximate an overjoyed corgi who's learned how to type at 130wpm.


Pastors say the economy continues to have a negative impact on their churches despite stabilized giving, according to a survey by LifeWay Research.
Although the offerings in most American churches have met or exceeded budget requirements in 2011, the economy is still having a negative impact on local congregations.
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) declared in September that the recession that began in December 2007 ended in June 2009.


Esports is set to play a big part at the 2017 edition of GiGse (April 26 – 28, Marriott Marquis Marina, San Diego) with sessions looking at how the gambling sector can gain a market share of the economy.
It will look at this relationship both in terms of igaming and casinos. Day 1's Talking Heads session, entitled 'Our relationship with esports – we're moving in together!' will feature the likes of Adam Steinberg, Senior Vice President, Spectrum Gaming Group; Kingsley Edwards, Founder and CEO, Leet; Seth Schorr, CEO, Fifth Street Gaming and Dan Kelly, Principal, The Factory Network.
The debates will include how operators can refine their casino based esports offering, how to monetise the tournament industry as well as posing the question of whether there is a conversion between on-premise esports activity and casino revenue?
When it comes to Las Vegas and casinos, there is unmatched potential for these to be used to hold mid-level esports tournaments in their venues. Only yesterday it was announced that Esports Arena, in partnership with Allied Esports, is re-vamping a 30,000 square foot nightclub space in the Luxor on the Strip for a dedicated esports venue.
Nearby in the downtown part of the city, Millennial Esports has its 200 seater venue at the Neonopolis. This is a company which recently saw a $2m cash injection.
GiGse offers a solid opportunity to prepare gaming brands for the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead. With a focus on 'unconventional thinking' it will explore the technology, innovations and potential regulatory hurdles facing all gaming brands operating in North America.
Esports Insider says: The likes of Seth Schoor are extremely well placed to discuss how esports and casinos can work best together. As the Chairman of the Downtown Grand he's seen the potential of these two linking up for some time, and if you happen to be in San Diego for GiGse 2017 stop by and listen.


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text:
function at = auct(crit,y,z,tt)
%AUCT Compute area under curve for survival model at given time
%
%  Description
%    A = AUCT(CRIT,Y,Z,TT) Compute are under curve for survival model
%    at given time using criteria vector CRIT (where larger value
%    means larger risk of incidence), observed time vector Y,
%    censoring indicator matrix Z at times TT (0=event, 1=censored)
%    and a time vector TT.
%
%  Reference
%    L. E. Chambless, C. P. Cummiskey, and G. Cui (2011). Several
%    methods to assess improvement in risk prediction models:
%    Extension to survival analysis. Statistics in Medicine
%    30(1):22-38.
%
% Copyright (C) 2012 Ernesto Ulloa, Aki Vehtari

% This software is distributed under the GNU General Public
% License (version 3 or later); please refer to the file
% License.txt, included with the software, for details.

ip=inputParser;
ip.addRequired('crit',@(x) ~isempty(x) && isreal(x) && all(isfinite(x(:))))
ip.addRequired('y', @(x) isreal(x) && all(isfinite(x(:))))
ip.addRequired('z', @(x) isreal(x) && all(isfinite(x(:))))
ip.addRequired('tt', @(x) isreal(x) && all(isfinite(x(:))))
ip.parse(crit,y,z,tt)

for i=1:size(tt,2)
  comp=bsxfun(@times,bsxfun(@and,y(:,i)<=tt(i),1-z(:,i)),bsxfun(@or,bsxfun(@and,y(:,i)<=tt(i),z(:,i)),y(:,i)>=tt(i))');
  conc=bsxfun(@times,bsxfun(@gt,crit(:,i),crit(:,i)'),comp);
  at(i,1)=sum(conc(:))./sum(comp(:));
end

end


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25 Outdoor Halloween Decorations - Porch Decorating Ideas for .
How To Paint A Wood Deck Or Front Porch (We Did Subtle Stripes .
How to Decorate a Front Porch in the Primitive Country Style | Home .
The warm and rustic charm of country primitive style lends itself particularly well to outdoor decorating. Primitive country is distinguished from . Before deciding what to put where, or even what color paint to use, remove everything from the porch and give it a good cleaning. Trying to decorate around existing clutter is hard..
50 Ways to Decorate with Turquoise .. A palette of punchy teal and yellow gives the front porch of our 2015 Idea Cottage in Seagrove, Florida, big personality. . Give outdoor chores a happy spin by adding a fresh coat of turquoise paint to storage spaces (this shed is painted Sea Wave and Ultra White by Valspar, and the..
Inspiring Ways to Perk Up Your Patio With Just Paint (or Chalk .
Beautifully Decorated Backyards That Are Sure To Inspire. Picnic Table DecorationsOutdoor Table DecorOutdoor Patio LightingOutdoor PrivacyBackyard PrivacyOutdoor IdeasOutdoor SpacesOutdoor Living RoomsPoured Concrete Patio. prettiest outdoor space to inspire your outdoor decor..
Well if there is one thing that I have noticed while exploring different style porches is that bringing the inside out is a big trend in decorating your porch! Here's a great example of just that. With a few outside rugs, a few mismatched pieces of furniture unified by paintsome pretty folding chairs and loving touches this perfect..
Dress up a plain porch floor with this durable brushed-on outdoor "rug"! . how to paint a design on your porch floor, decks patios porches, flooring, painting, When the first row is done do the next starting this time with the oval so that the pattern is . paint a rug on concrete floor | . final decorative finish and a border..
Apr 26, 2015 . A neutral color is equally appealing. You don't have to paint your front door a bright color to make your. BHG. This may be the inside of a foyer instead of the outside, but why not do the exact same thing on the exterior? The addition of a mirror to a small, dark'ish porch is the perfect way to capture more light..
May 19, 2015 . One of the fastest ways to up your home's curb appeal is by painting your front door a bright and welcoming color. It's also a great way to try out a bold color without the risk (or labor) involved in painting your entire exterior in a more daring tone. Keep in mind that bold doesn't always mean bright,..
See how a bare back porch came alive in the pages of HGTV Magazine with the addition of color, color, and more color! Pinterest; Facebook · Twitter · Email. By: Jennifer Berno DeCleene. From: HGTV Magazine. Related To: Outdoor Rooms Porches HGTV Magazine Design 101. Entertaining Space. Hooper says "the rest of..
Porch Design and Decorating Ideas | Vintage trunks, Porch designs .
22 Things to Put on a Porch. Vintage TrunksCurtains On PorchPorch RugsIdeas For CurtainsOutdoor Curtains For PatioPatio PillowsOutdoor RugsBeach CurtainsPrivacy Curtains. Love columns/railings & ceiling paint Porch Design and Decorating Ideas : Outdoors : Home & Garden Television. Outdoor living space Love..


Music. Admired and shared by all humans, it has shaped cultures and revolutionised social changes. There is a somewhat magical feeling that comes from music as it enchants millions of people evoking emotion over them all. Whilst music has been around for centuries it is only in recent decades that studies have been conducted on the impact and influence it has on human life. The most recent research that has captured the attention of many is how music can act as a therapy for multiple reasons. Here we look into the 5 incredible benefits of music therapy.
There have been multiple studies that have shown how music therapy can help reduce anxiety and stress levels. Our emotions can often mimic the music we are listening to. More often than not, music with a gentle familiar melody creates a feeling of calm and comfort. Further research shows that calming music can help lower the stress hormone, cortisol that is responsible for suppressing the immune system. Chronic signs of stress can have a detrimental effect on your overall health, contributing to mental health issues, cardiovascular disease and sleep disorders.
Listening to uplifting and upbeat music can help boost your mental awareness. Applied Cognitive Psychology completed a study that looked at the effect of background music on people. They found that studying or working on a task to background music led to better memory skills than those who completed the same task with just background noise.
Similar to the above benefit when working on a physical task such as housework or exercise music with a quick tempo and energising lyrics can help quicken your speed to complete the task. This in turn can also make you work harder because you feel more motivated due to the music.
According to a study in the Journal of Neuroscience, middle-aged to older adults who spent their childhood playing musical instruments responded better to speech sounds. There is also an intriguing connection between music and memory which can benefit you in later life. When we listen to a song or piece of music that is familiar our brain then reflects back to that memory where you may see a flash of the place or person that reminds you of the song. Furthermore, this research has been carried into patients who suffer from Dementia as studies show those who have endured significant memory loss can still recall songs from their past.
Music is designed to benefit you in the ways you see fit. It is a versatile concept that you can implement into different aspects of your life to see the advantages. Whether it be through an instrumental playlist to help you study to calming music to help with relaxation. Music is a therapy with multiple benefits.


Not quite on this day, but five years ago tomorrow, I took the photo above, across the cleared 'brownfields' of the Hungate redevelopment area.
At that time, it gave us a fine view of the side of the Rowntree Wharf building. It's more commonly photographed from its end, where it looks like it's just sailed up the Foss, rising out of the water between that river and Wormald's Cut alongside.
This photo reminds us of how much has changed in that area in the five years since. When I first took photos of this area it still had some of the mid-20th century buildings on it, then these were gradually cleared, and building work started on the area off camera to the left. In 2011 that seemed to have stalled, and not much was happening here.
I think that the area in the foreground in the photo above is where the Peasholme Centre used to be — that may be some of the rubble from it. We mentioned its replacement a couple of days ago. Since then, and completed only recently, is the Hiscox building, which I covered on these pages when it was under construction.
Rowntree Wharf looked rather splendid that evening, with all the light on it. I've tried to find a more recent view on Google Street View, this isn't quite right, but is the nearest I could manage. It's all changed round here, hasn't it.


Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she's not too pleased when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new friends, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he's taken – and Anna might be too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she's been waiting for?
I'm not the world's biggest fan of contemporary romance. A book that is about regular humans falling in love usually won't spark my interest unless it has something that seems extra special to me. With Anna and the French Kiss, the fact that the book is set in Paris (my favouritest place in the whole wide world) is what sparked my interest. If a book has anything to do with Paris (or even France as a whole) I am completely sold. Plus, I'd seen quite a lot of people raving about how good the book is so I'd picked it up as soon as I'd spotted it in a bookshop. I'd prepared myself to enjoy the book since I was in the mood for something light-hearted and I really wasn't disappointed.
Sweet and undeniably cute, Anna and the French Kiss has definitely made me think twice about contemporary romance. I'll definitely give the genre a chance since I enjoyed this book so much. There was always something going on with the incredibly likeable characters in Anna's story and I just had to keep going through the book because it was just sooooo good. I love Perkins' writing and I will definitely reading Anna's companion novels!
Have you read Lola and the boy next door? It's as good as this one.
Anna always gets such fabulous reviews… I'm always split between wanting to save it and wanting to devour it immediately!


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Microsoft to hike Cloud Services prices in Europe, Canada, and Australia starting Aug 1
by Abhinav Mishra
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has officially confirmed it'll be hiking prices for its business cloud products which include Azure, Office 365, CRM Online along with Enterprise Mobility Suite. The price increase will affect consumers in most parts of Europe, Canada, and Australia starting next month, though the company has not revealed its pricing strategy in the United States.
The information was tipped off in an email conversation between Aidan Finn, a Hyper-V Most Valuable Professional and technical sales lead for a distributor in Dublin, which revealed Microsoft's plans to bump the prices by as much as by 26 percent in Australia, while the European Union and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members' countries will see Azure prices up by 11 percent.
According to Finn, Microsoft says that currency fluctuations have eventually led to this decision. Hence, US pricing may not be immediately affected if the US dollar stays strong compared to the Euro.
"Microsoft periodically assesses our pricing to ensure there is reasonable alignment with the market. In light of the rapid evolution of the market for cloud services and evolving local dynamics, we can confirm that as of August 1, 2015, we will adjust prices for most enterprise cloud products within the EU/EFTA region," Microsoft told ZDNet, confirming that UK pricing remains unaffected.
In addition, Fin also said that Office 365 prices will go up by 8-10 percent, while CRM Online and Enterprise Mobility Suite will see a price hike of 10 percent and 26 percent respectively. "The changes will not affect existing annuity volume licensing agreements but will apply to most enterprise cloud products under new or renewing contracts, " confirms a Microsoft spokesperson.
The price hike will take effect starting August 1, which by coincidence is also the date when the company's client-access licensing prices will rise by 13 percent for on-premise products.
Notably, the price hike will take place right after the global rollout of the forthcoming Windows 10 on July 29. The company has already announced that Windows 10 will get a price tag of $129, while its price in the UK will be £99.99 for the stand-alone version of Windows 10 Home, while its Eurozone price will be €135.
Windows 10 Home will cost £99 in the UK, and €135 in the eurozone
These are indeed crunch times for Microsoft. The company released 3 builds of its Windows 10 in a span of a single week while the Redmond giant is reportedly to deliver the RTM Build 10176 to OEMs on Monday July 13.


FreeBookNotes found 7 sites with book summaries or analysis of Under the Dome A Novel. If there is a Under the Dome A Novel SparkNotes, Shmoop guide, or Cliff Notes, you can find a link to each study guide below.
Among the summaries and analysis available for Under the Dome A Novel, there are 1 Short Summary and 6 Book Reviews.
Depending on the study guide provider (SparkNotes, Shmoop, etc.), the resources below will generally offer Under the Dome A Novel chapter summaries, quotes, and analysis of themes, characters, and symbols.
Sites like SparkNotes with a Under the Dome A Novel study guide or cliff notes. Also includes sites with a short overview, synopsis, book report, or summary of Stephen King's Under the Dome A Novel.
Sites with a short overview, synopsis, book report, or summary of Under the Dome A Novel by Stephen King.
Sites with a book review or quick commentary on Under the Dome A Novel by Stephen King.
Horror News reviews focus on the quality of the title, giving only a cursory plot synopsis and keeping most of the book's secrets intact. Reviews will provide a strong emphasis on the quality of dialogue, pacing, and scare factor for horror fans.
FreeBookNotes has 84 more books by Stephen King, with a total of 437 study guides.


Get your kids to smile this summer over soapy shapes created with Hippo Bubble Fun Machine! This cute, lime green hippo machine has a yellow rotating bubble wand wheel with circle and star shapes inside its mouth.
Fill its tummy with the included bubble solution, press the blue button on its belly, and watch with amusement as bubbles blow out from its mouth. Place this adorable plastic animal outside and have a wonderful bubble blowing, bubble catching, bubble popping time with the kids!


How do I? Get the most from my inherited IRA?
How Do I? Report interest from savings bonds?
FAQ: Can I deduct the costs incurred doing charitable work?
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How Do I ... Convert a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?
How Do I? Convert my traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?
How Do I? Net capital gains and losses for year-end tax planning?
FAQ: How much proof is enough, when contributing used clothing to charity?
FAQ: What if I owe taxes and can't pay the full amount?
FAQ: How does a 60-day loan from an IRA work?
FAQ: What if I receive an incorrect information return?
How do I: Calculate gain on the sale of collectibles?
FAQ: What is a Spousal IRA?
FAQ….Can a married couple own a sole proprietorship?
Could you be personally liable for your company's employment tax obligations?
Should your company operate as an LLC?
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Gear & Tools
Tips & Tactics
Firearms & Weapons
Laws You Should Know
Gas Prices to Drop Even Further?
Christopher Koga
According to writer CNBC Krysia Lenzo, there's a really good chance that gas prices are going to drop even further before year's end and into January. That being the case, there hasn't been a better time to stock up if you also happen to have a reliable way to keep your gas fresh for years.
Thanks to a global supply glut that has sent oil prices tumbling, average U.S. gasoline prices could drop to $2 a gallon by this weekend.
"We are looking at a likelihood of a $1.79 to $1.99 gallon winter bottom for unleaded regular. That is the launch pad from which we will take off in the late first or early second quarter," said Tom Kloza, co-founder and global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service.
Although it is likely that U.S. oil prices are approaching their bottom, it may still take two to three weeks before consumers feel the full effect of declining prices. There is a correlation between oil and gas prices, but what consumers pay at the pump depends on refinery and distribution costs, federal taxes, corporate profits and their location. The cheapest gasoline is found in states with larger supplies of gasoline and lower state taxes such as South Carolina, Alabama and Arkansas. Continue Reading
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Spring is finally here, and it's time to think about Easter decoration ideas to bring the spirit of spring in your home! The time has come for you to bring the energy and sunshine into your home with these Easter decorating ideas.
A thorough springtime setting is a perfect environment if you wish to entertain your whole family this Easter. In this way, they will not only feel the spring vibe inside, but they will also be sensing the new beginning in spring.
To achieve the traditional Easter decor in your household, feel free to check out our guides here. We came up not only with themed tableware but also with homemade accessories and beautiful displays perfect for Springtime.
Check out our easter home decoration ideas down below.
Our experts believe that the best place to begin your new decoration ideas is with the table setting. It's time to bring the aesthetic value of spring in mealtime.
You can pick from vintage-style touches along with some floral and vintage designs glassware. To get impressive reactions and feedback from your guests, a charming display of spring flowers will do the magic. This will be an outstanding masterpiece in your home this Spring!
To make your home feel the fresh vibe of Eastertide, you can add some traditional Easter extras like painted eggs in bowls, teacups, just to name a few. There are so many ways to achieve the Easter theme in your home, but these easter home decoration ideas will surely finish off your egg-stra exceptional Easter theme!
Decorating with eggs can never be wrong as Easter cannot be completed with the presence of the easter eggs. This simple yet elegant table display from Ideal Home is ideal for those homeowners who wish to attain a subtle dining room centrepiece.
To achieve the modern country look, the Ideal Home suggested selecting a ceramic design. Then to highlight the shells' delicate pattern and textures, make sure to layer them up with a mixture of different eggs.
You will never run out of ideas when it comes to coming up with Easter dress-up ideas for your tabletop. This modern country look prepared by our source is indeed pure pared-black elegance!
The experts suggested to dress your table up in a similar way without going overboard with lambs, bunnies and such designs. This will make your home environment feel like a garden-fresh.
Of course, this tip has to be on our top five list! Adding an extra special touch on your table setting with personalised name cards can never go wrong.
To bring an auxiliary dimension to your scheme, warm-toned cutlery will do the trick. This will provide an appealing glow for the new seasons.
What's the point of bringing the spirit of spring in without the presence of the flowers around your house? You can make your own airy garland just like the one in the picture from Ideal Home.
After picking the seasonal flowers, leaves and ferns of your choice, you can hang it up as this will bring the spring vibe to your home.
For our last easter home decoration tip, we decided to end it with a bunny-inspired napkin. You don't have any idea on how to fold your own napkin bunnies?
We've got you covered! You can watch the tutorial here courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens on YouTube. Napkin bunnies will add a fun touch to your Easter table setting.
There you have it! We hope these five easter decoration ideas guide will help you bring the spirit of spring in your home.


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Mountain High Acquisitions Corp. Pivots its Focus to Hemp Industry, Signs Binding Letter of Intent with California-based CBD company
(SCOTTSDALE, AZ) January 8, 2020 – MOUNTAIN HIGH ACQUISITIONS CORP. (OTCQB: MYHI), announces it has signed a binding letter of intent to acquire GPS Associates, LLC a California based company engaged in the formulation, manufacture and sale of CBD products under the retail brand name "Zen Drops" and to its white label customers. Closing of the acquisition is subject to due diligence, MYHI Board approval, and completion of definitive agreements—all of which are expected to occur within the next 45 days.
"Now is the time to be focused on the Hemp space," said MYHI CEO Alan Smith. "In the past 12 months we have seen several key indicators that have compelled us to pivot from our previous focus on providing resources to licensed operators in the cannabis space to operating directly in the hemp industry."
"With the 2018 Farm Bill hemp became a legal agricultural commodity in the U.S. In the last quarter of 2019, the Department of Agriculture released its guidelines for regulating this new crop and shortly thereafter banking restrictions on hemp companies were eased by federal and state banking regulators. All of this momentum, combined with the tremendous market interest in hemp-derived CBD globally, makes us confident that this is the right decision for MYHI. We're now positioning the company to pursue current opportunities in the hemp industry while remaining poised for coming opportunities in a future federally-legal cannabis industry."
About GPS Associates, LLC
GPS is a privately owned California company engaged in the formulation, manufacture and sale of CBD products primarily under their own retail brand "Zen Drops" and for its white label customers. The company operates from a cGMP facility located in Santa Ana, Calif. The company's team of professionals includes physiologists, chemists, herbalists and botanists with a commitment to using organic, raw herbs in combination with organic CBD to produce the purest, most effective end products. For more information visit www.zen-drops.com.
About MYHI
Mountain High Acquisitions Corp. (OTCQB: MYHI) is a holding company focused on the acquisition and development of businesses and other assets within the hemp industry. www.mountainhighac.com
Press Releases may include forward-looking statements. In particular, the words "believe," "may," "could," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "propose," "plan," "intend," and similar conditional words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Any statements made in this news release about an action, event or development, are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the company. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof. The company takes no obligation to update or correct its own forward-looking statements, except as required by law or those prepared by third parties that are not paid by the company.


During the school year, CCB offers tutoring for elementary students in the Birchwood neighborhood once per week. We want to love the many children in our neighborhood and want to give them a safe place to be befriended and supported in their schoolwork. Our hope is also to get to know more of the families in our community. If you are interested in tutoring for your child, or if you are interested in volunteering, please contact Ryan Wynne.


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The Killing Lessons
By: Saul Black
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Format: Other
When the two strangers turn up at Rowena Cooper's isolated Colorado farmhouse, she knows instantly that it's the end of everything. For the two haunted and driven men, on the other hand, it's just another stop on a long and bloody journey. And they still have many miles to go, and victims to sacrifice, before their work is done.
For San Francisco homicide detective Valerie Hart, their trail of victims--women abducted, tortured and left with a seemingly random series of objects inside them--has brought her from obsession to the edge of physical and psychological destruction. And she's losing hope of making a breakthrough before that happens.
But the murders at the Cooper farmhouse didn't quite go according to plan. There was a survivor, Rowena's ten-year-old daughter Nell, who now holds the key to the killings. Injured, half-frozen, terrified, Nell has only one place to go. And that place could be even more dangerous than what she's running from.
In this extraordinary, pulse-pounding debut, Saul Black takes us deep into the mind of a psychopath, and into the troubled heart of the woman determined to stop him.
As 'Glen Duncan' my writing style has been ironic, digressive, oblique, parenthetical - and my previous books (werewolves excepted) have not been particularly 'plot-driven'. I knew that if I was going to attempt a thriller I was going to have to develop a more economical style and concentrate a lot more on pushing the story forward in a dramatic, suspenseful way. So I decided to give myself a new identity, to pretend to myself that I was a different kind of writer and see if that helped. Psychologically, it did. Of course the boundary between two writerly selves is permeable: Granted 'Saul Black' has no patience with essayistic asides, jokes and literary allusions, but for all that 'Glen Duncan' doesn't quite manage keep his trap shut.
The chase is still cut to, but not, I hope, at the expense of psychological depth, decent sentences and fresh metaphors. It turns out I rather like having an alter-ego. It's a bit like being in disguise, which has always appealed. What worries me, now that Saul Black is up and running with serial killers, is the potential discovery that he has even worse habits than Glen Duncan... Website
A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Saul Black (aka British author, Glen Duncan) delivers THE KILLING LESSONS, a dark, and shocking psycho-crime suspense literary thriller, which will leave your head spinning! Making it difficult sleep after reading this one, with heart-pounding adrenaline. As the mutilated bodies mount and the objects collected inside them scream, sicko-- a poor little girl barely escapes, injured, collapses and lands on a cabin door in the remote woods in the snow. The man at the cabin is crippled, can barely walk; no phone, electricity, and a bridge washed out. Grieving his late loving wife, and all the while an alcoholic detective cop in San Francisco, is fighting against all odds, desperately trying to track down two serial killers before their next kill. Flashing back and forth with three powerful parallel storylines, crossing several genres, Black's writing is pure spellbinding! Set in the brutal cold harsh winter of snow, in a small town of Ellinson, pop. 697, outside of Colorado, two armed and dangerous men turn the Cooper family house into a blood bath. A mother, Rowena is left for dead, and her thirteen-year-old son, Josh, upstairs with his headphones listening to music, oblivious to the events unfolding downstairs. Nell, the ten-year-old daughter, happens to be outside feeding the deer, and hears a gunshot and rushes into the farmhouse, while the men are upstairs. Her mother did not have time to get to the gun to defend herself, and she knows there is no time for her daughter to save them, without being harmed. The mother tells Nell to run as fast as she can. All Nell can see is blood everywhere and the man, is soon following her out into the woods- her red coat. She fears for her life. She has to escape. She has to get help for her mother and brother. She has to stay alive. She always carries her bracelet in her pocket; her mother gave her to protect herself, handed down for generations. The Old Mystery Guy lived in a remote cabin across the ravine. His name was Angelo Greer. He had moved in the previous week, to the derelict place over the bridge, a mile east of the Coopers. They had not met him. The bridge was not safe and had been closed for more than two years. He walks with a stick, an author, which is grieving the love of his late wife who died of cancer. A woman is found dead, raped and mutilated with a piece of a crystal unicorn inserted in her body in the California area. SFPD homicide detective Valerie Hart links this crime and another Bay Area slaying to a string of murders of women in several states across the western U.S., in each of which the killers—DNA evidence suggests there are two --all with an embedded object. Detective, Valerie has issues, from being an alcoholic and a love life gone wrong. Carla is an FBI agent, which does not get along with Valeria, (undermining her efforts) causing further problems,a nemesis, and her ex- fiancé cop, Nick –all to distract her. However, Valerie is tenacious and will stop at nothing to catch these cold-hearted killers. Meanwhile, most of the book is about the two sadistic serial killers and their demons traveling across country in an RV. Monsters created by horrific child abuse, Xander/Leon and Paulie -on a mission; to rape, torture, and murder aided by some elements where letters of the alphabet are involved. Flashing back and forth from the Xander-Leon/Paulie, to Nell/ Angelo, to Valeria/Carla/Nick, a race against time as poor Nell and Angelo will break your heart (this was my favorite part), as they try to help one another, both at a disability, before the killers come to get them for an explosive ending. THE KILLING LESSONS is one fast-paced, edgy, disturbing, twisted, and terrifying dark crime, cop, psycho-thriller combined with characters you root for, and some you want dead soon, rather than later. Mind-blowing, entertaining; film worthy and can only imagine the cast of stars. Gives new meaning to edge-of-your seat in all categories. Loved, loved the author/recluse, Angelo and Nell. Priceless. The sacrifices he made to try and save Nell (she can identify one of the guys), all the while talking to his dead wife. I found myself skipping over the violent scenes with the killers, and the cops, rushing to get back to the cabin to learn the fate of these two stranded victims.
"All fear was, in the end, fear of death. Once you knew you were dying, there was nothing left to fear. It gave you the last great gift; infinite courage."
I am all for reinvention; however, in this case, not needed, as no matter the name chosen for the book cover; It is Killer. It Rocks.
Oh, BTW, did I mention, Black's writing is captivating! Can't wait to see what's next.
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Vol. V, No. 3, Winter 1992
Fox Hunting and Fish Gigging
Conversations with Seaman and Swiney Rayfield
Shannon County, Missouri
Fox Hunting: Seaman Rayfield
OZW: Seaman, what is fox hunting? Seaman Rayfield: The term "fox hunting" is misleading and confusing. I've hunted foxes all my life and I never killed a fox. It's really just a fox chase. It's just listening to your dogs on the chase. No true fox hunter ever killed a fox. You go to hear those dogs run. You build a fire, socialize with your fellow fox hunters, and listen to the dogs run. Fox hunters take pride in their dogs. Each dog has a different "mouth," and every hunter knows his own dogs' mouths, as well as the different mouths in the pack.
OZW: How do you know that?
SR: It's just something you learn. Sometimes you can see them run. But as a rule, you just know by listening. Every hunter knows his own dog's mouth. That's what it means to be a fox hunter.
And you know where each dog is in the pack, on the chase--whether he's ten foot ahead, or ten foot behind. You'll know if that dog's a-carrying the lead, by the change in his mouth.
OZW: How does the note change as the dog goes ahead or falls behind?
SR: It will change a little by the aggressiveness. If he's going ahead, its a more eager, more excited. You can visualize the drama of the chase in your mind by what you hear.
OZW: How do you describe the differences in dogs' mouths?
SR: There are fine mouthed dogs and coarse mouthed dogs. They will keep their own mouths all right on the chase, but they vary the voice. You can tell if they're paralleling, or coming toward you, forging into the lead, whatever. Nothing else quite like it. All the dogs together, it's kind of like a chorus, always changing. And every hunter listens for his own dogs, to know how they're a-doing.
There may be more than one pack out there at a time. We'll say, "a pack is coming up Sutton's Creek," and "another pack is coming over Coot Mountain," "another one is coming up Granny Holler," and so on. Each one sounds different. We know all the places. They all have names, and we can tell within a hundred yards where the packs are.
OZW: You mentioned "fine mouthed" and "coarse mouthed." What's the difference?
SR: There will be fine, clear mouths, and then there will be high tenor mouths, and some like a coon dog mouth, low and coarser. Some have a raspy mouth, some a long mouth, some a Iow, bawling mouth, some a sharp mouth. You'll never claim another hunter's dog as yours. I guess each hunter thinks his hound has just a little the best mouth!
OZW: How big is a pack?
SR: Could be any size, like a covey or flock of birds. My dad liked to have five to seven hounds. Then we would hunt with fellows who would bring two, three, four more. Sometimes we would wind up with twenty, twenty-five dogs in the pack.
OZW: Could you hunt with a single dog?
SR: Yes. But if a hunter went out with just one dog, he might be out to kill the fox. And he would be out in the daytime. Back in the Depression of the thirties, some men needed to hunt for money. A red fox skin might bring from eighteen to twenty-five dollars, a lot of money back then. Some of the boys had to pay their taxes, buy a little sugar, or something. And red foxes got scarce back then, just like the deer. It wasn't just sport. But Dad never did hunt to kill, and neither did I.
OZW: Will a fox hound chase other animals?
SR:If a hound chases anything but foxes, we call it "trashing." If he chases rabbits, deer, a coon, we say he's chasing trash. You can usually tell. His mouth changes some. You can also tell by the terrain he's covering, and by how fast he's a-running. He will chase a red fox faster than a deer or a rabbit. Foxes run faster.
I'll tell you a little stow about trashing. During deer season a couple years ago, the law picked up the dogs of several of my friends, all charged with "running at large" during deer season. Dogs aren't supposed to be out running uncontrolled during deer season. The judge asked Jerry Platt, "Jerry, was your dogs running at large during deer season?" Jerry said, '1 don't know what 'at large' is, but if it makes a track, my dogs'll run it!"
OZW: Where do you find foxes?
SR: Well, it's a funny thing. Red foxes actually like to be near fox hounds! Used to be, I would ride a horse from the north end of Shannon County to the south end, and there would be fox hunters and fox hounds all the way. And there were foxes around those hounds. Now in a lot of that country nobody lives anymore. There are no hounds, and no foxes. You keep hounds, and pretty soon there will be foxes a quarter, half a mile away. I don't know how to explain it. I live in the city limits of Eminence, have always had dogs, and I've always had a den of red foxes nearby, from two hundred yards to a half mile of my dog pen. They come right up near the pen at night. My neighbor called me yesterday and said, "There's a gray fox sitting out here right now, right by my dogs." His dogs were penned up, but that fox was just a-sitting there.
OZW: If not many foxes are left out there anymore, where do you go to chase them now?
SR: Hunting has mostly gone to pens. Deer hunters resent fox hounds running out in the open, any dogs out that might run a deer. Deer lay down a good scent, especially in fall and winter. The public doesn't like for dogs to run deer. So fox hunters have built pens. There are hundreds of pens, most of them east of the Mississippi.
Pens are a dedicated, private area. You pay five dollars a night per dog, and you can run as long as you want. Sometimes there will be fifteen or twenty of us on a given night. Most field trials for fox hounds are held in pens now.
The Conservation Department goes along with pens, because in that kind of hunting the dogs don't run at large--that is, out in the open country. They're not bothering the other man's sport.
We have one pen here in Shannon County, several hundred acres. Jim Smith--he bought sixty foxes out of Minnesota.
OZW: Sixty? That's a lot of foxes!
SR: He got them for only ten dollars apiece from a fox farm that raised them for fur. But they went out of business. You know, so much opposition to using fur. They were raised in small pens. Jim put them in a fifty acre pen to start with. Take some pups in with them. At first they're so gentle they follow the pups around! But then, in those big hunting pens, they go wild. Those foxes are a cross between a red and a silver fox--they call them "gingers."
OZW: How many pens in Missouri and Arkansas?
SR: About thirty-five, I would say. Some of them in Arkansas run up to 2000 acres.
OZW: Can a group of hunters, or a club, reserve a pen?
SR: Oh yes. This pen down here, its just an open house two nights a week. You can reserve it--say "I'm coming with twenty dogs," or "I've got friends coming from out of state--we want to reserve it." It's a good way to go around, visit friends, have races in different places.
OZW: Is there much pressure from animal rights groups on fox hunters?
SR: Not around here. There is on trappers, but not hunters. It may come to that. But we take good care of them in these pens. In Florida, there are lots of fox pens, and nobody bothers them there yet.
OZW: How many fox hounds are there in Shannon County?
SR: I would say about 250 hounds. About a hundred in the Eminence area alone. Probably thirty hunters keep hounds in Shannon County. At a coffee table in the restaurant sort of reserved for us fox hunters, they won't let you talk about much else but a fox race! Everyone doesn't hunt in pens, you understand. A lot of those dogs will run in the open.
OZW: Seaman, how did you learn fox hunting?
SR: I went with my dad, horsebacking. Fox hunting and riding seem to go together. They're big sports here. I'd put on behind my dad when I was just a little fellow. The dogs would trail along behind. Not very many foxes then, and we might ride four, five miles before the dogs would pick up a scent.
Most every little holler had somebody a-living in it, and they'd get the message to folks like us, "there's a fox den here, and they're getting our chickens." Not a lot of social life back then. So the word would go around, and a half dozen men would meet in that area, and have a big fox race. The foxes seemed to run better then. No deer, and the foxes wouldn't leave out of the country.
OZW: All you fox hunters are dog breeders and keepers. Is fox hound behavior entirely instinctive, or is it trained?
SR: It's entirely instinctive. They'll run a fox the first time they smell it.
There are several strains of fox hounds, and each hunter thinks his breed is a little the best. I keep July hounds myself. There are Walker dogs, and Triggs. They were named for Colonel Trigg of Kentucky--as is Trigg County. He was a Virginian, came over to Kentucky. Walker, Trigg, and Goodman hounds were all named for their developers. Julys came from the name of a hound. Two famous Irish hounds named "June" and "July" came over. June came in heat, jumped out a barn window and hung herself. July was a very strong breeding dog, became very famous. Now thousands of July hounds. Julys came from Ireland and Walkers from England, so you know they would disagree!
OZW: What about Blue Ticks?
SR: Blue Ticks are coon dogs. Coon dogs and fox dogs are entirely different.
OZW: Seaman, it's great to talk to you. Our readers will appreciate your sharing this special knowledge!
SR: My pleasure.
Swiney Rayfield: Gigging
OZW:Swinney, in fox hunting, the object has little to do with foxes. What's the object in gigging?
SR: The object of gigging is to kill the fish, run that gig right through him, and get him into the fry pan. Gigging is a lot different from rod and reel fishing or fly fishing. It's pretty much a country boy's sport. Most giggers grow up with it from a boy.
OZW: What kinds of fish are gigged?
SR: When I started, years ago, we gigged bass in the rivers. What we called jack salmon, too--walleyes. Boy were they good! I suppose it was illegal, but we didn't know it. No game warden around then. At one time spoon bill, or paddle fish, were legal for the gigger. We used to kill them .by the boat load in these rivers [Current and Jack's Fork]. What we used to call "shovel bill catfish," up to about twenty pounds.
We wouldn't get the real big ones like are in the Osage River. I suppose they came up from the Mississippi. The rivers were full of them. In the winter we could see to gig them in thirty feet of water.
Now, bass and all other game fish caught on reel and rod are off limit to giggers. Rough fish have become the target--drum, red horse, carp, most of the sucker family that wouldn't be taken with artificial lures. Bottom-running fish.
OZW: Where do you find the fish?
SR: They congregate in the big, deep holes of water. 'Course, the holes are not as big or deep as before the rivers choked with gravel, before the timber was cut; so the fish are not as big as they once were.
In the daytime, when the sun gets high, we can see them easy in ten, twenty feet of this clear water. We put the gig way down in the water, then--punch 'em! When they're shoaling, we get them in that shallower water.
OZW: The gigging I've seen is at night.
SR: When I was a boy, we used pine torches. We split pine, like you'd make a pine post, all that resin. You'd split that good, tie it into torches about three foot long and a foot in diameter. We scattered them along the creek bank in the daytime, for lighting at night to fish by.
Suckers shoal when the dogwood blooms, about April. We waded the creeks, and gigged on the rivers from boats.
OZW: How did you light the boats at night?
SR: We called it "fire fishing." We'd put a fire jack in the middle of the boat, put clay mud down. For the jack, take an old worn-out wagon wheel rim, or tire rim, to make a circle about sixteen inches in diameter. You'd have two of those. Then stand those torches up, anchored in the jacks. You'd light your torches and float the boat downstream crossways of the current to give maximum light ahead of you. Pole the boat, have three or four giggers along, haul in those shoaling suckers.
We'd go upstream in the daytime, and would tow the boat from the bank. Then drift down at night. We'd light those torches on the bank, or in the boat, and drift with the current, managing the boat with poles. Used to be it would take all day and all night to kill us a mess of fish. Planning how you're going to do it is a big part of fishing--like talking about it afterward!
OZW: When did electric lights and gas mantles come in?
SR: Torches were used until the late thirties. Then a Baker Burner, a gasoline jet affair, factory-made, four or five inches in diameter. It got real hot, started generating. Next, we graduated to the incandescent gas mantle. Now, they've got sophisticated--electric generators run by gasoline engines. They light up the rivers with two, three thousand watts of power. The gigger stands in the shadow, and the suckers can't see him.
OZW: Did you gig a lot when you were a boy?
SR: Yes. Dad would take us out maybe around noon, then come back and get us the next morning. But usually there would be an older man who would take a boy with him, or a group of boys. There was an old bachelor named Tom Edd. It was easy to get him to go along. He was an old gigger, seemed always to have time. We learned from him.
OZW: Do you see young people out gigging now?
SR: After they become men, yes. But first, they court the girls. When they get married, they're able to settle down to a different sport, an outdoor sport.
OZW: What about the skill needed to gig a fish?
SR: Takes lots of practice, like any skill. You have to allow for the movements of the current and the boat, lead a fish if he's running and compensate for the refraction of the water. A novice tends to gig behind and above the fish, because the refraction tricks him. You have to lead a fish just so.
OZW: How deep is the water where the current runs fast?
SR: Three or four foot. But you learn how to do it, just like a lure fisherman learns how to cast a lure to a spot.
OZW: Is gigging a skill that needs to be learned from youth?
SR: Boys may spend a lot of time gigging. Few adults would fish enough to get the hang of it. It's like flying--lots of time, to get the feel of it in the seat of your pants. There are so many adjustments to make for balance, boat movement, fish movement, current, and refraction; you can't think of all those things at once. It has to get automatic.
OZW: Do newcomers to the Ozarks pick up gigging, or does it remain a thing mostly done by natives?
SR: Newcomers will take a gig, cast it a few times, then sit down and are content to watch.
OZW: Does gigging have a future? Are the sons and grandsons of giggers carrying it on?
SR: My sons are not, but many are. I've pretty much quit. Things have got sophisticated, with fancy equipment, and lots more people out. The last time I went, seems like there were about four boats in every hole of water. Not the same experience it used to be.
OZW: Where is the increase coming from?
SR: Well, it's an easy way to get a mess of fish, and a lot to brag about. People plan big on this every year in the fall. It's a seasonal event. Used to be, the ones who lived on the river were the ones who fished. We lived on the river, and while we fished two or three nights a week, we fished only a short stretch of water, unless we made a big expedition of it. Now with good roads, trailers, and boat motors, people cover a lot more territory.
OZW: Why the fall gigging season? Why does the gigging begin at noon and end at midnight?
SR: It's what the game fishermen left us. In the early days of the Conservation Department [begun in 1937] they closed gigging down all together. Said it was disruptive to the game fish, what with gigging bass, walleyes, and the like. Then we formed a giggers association in Shannon and Reynolds Counties. Every kind of fishermen it seems formed associations for political action, so we formed one too. Went up to Rolla, met with I.T. Bode, the Conservation Department Superintendent in open meeting, represented to him that it was a sport with us. But the fly fishermen and bait casters outvoted us pretty bad; said if we had to have a season, let it be January, February, and March! Well, that wasn't very desirable. So we finally got the last three months of the calendar year. Now we have the last two weeks in September too. The noon to midnight time is so we won't disturb the early morning fishing of the bass and trout folks. That was all right with us.
OZW: Are most bass and trout fishermen outsiders?
SR: Yes. Most of us here on the rivers are live baiters--we use worms, minnows, crawdads. Not many of us use artificial lures.
OZW: Why is that?
SR: We've learned it's the best way to catch fish. We fish to put food on the table.
OZW: So it's a thing that hangs on from the past, when people hunted and fished for food more than for recreation?
SR: Right. My dad wasn't a hunter or a fishermen, but I remember he would go shoot a mess of squirrels to put on the table that night. Same about fishing. He'd take me and Tom Edd to the river to put out a trot line, do some gigging, then put the cleaned meat in the cold water of the spring. It would keep for two or three days.
OZW: Your mother, Anna Swiney Rayfield, was a great cook. I know she served famous meals family style in her hotel in Eminence. Did she serve fish caught in the rivers?
SR: Mom would put anything on the table I would bring home. It was illegal--you weren't supposed to sell game fish that way--but no one ever objected. One time when Boss Green was prosecuting attorney, Bill DeSpain was probate judge, and Ben Searcy was defense lawyer, they were all eating dinner at mother's. Some city people eating there too. A friend of mine, Tom Morgan, had killed a little illegal deer, and he brought in two hams--hind quarters. I'd gone coon hunting and brought in a couple of coons--they was legal, I believe. It was all family style, and one of the city fellas kept saying "pass the meat, pass the meat," and "what kind of meat is this anyway?" All three of those officials knew what kind of meat it was; and directly Ben Searcy grinned and said, "If you like it, why don't you just go ahead and eat it, and shut your mouth?
OZW: Is gigging a social event?
SR: Yes. It's common to gather on a gravel bar at midnight, clean the fish, roll them in cornmeal, and drop them into a gas-fired cooker of hot fat. Break out some beer, and socialize. But it was real uncommon in the past.
OZW: How much do women participate?
SR: Maybe half the parties will have women, But it's more of man's sport. It's work for a woman. The gig and pole is heavy. I don't know of any woman who gigs. Might run the motor though.
OZW: How long is a gigging pole?
SR: Twelve to fourteen feet. We used to make them by hand, taper them from thick at the top to slender where the gig is fitted on, for strength. Now you can buy them at the lumber yard. Usually white pine. We used to make them out of the native yellow pine. It was heavy and strong. I'd say it would weigh maybe three pounds. But in the winter, when ice would freeze on it, it would be heavier.
OZW: What is a gig like?
SR: A gig is like a fork, with usually three prongs, each of them sharp pointed and barbed.
Some big gigs have four prongs.
OZW: Are gigs durable? Do they need to be replaced often?
SR: Some people throw a gig to death, with that heavy pole. Spread the prongs in every direction. It's pretty easy to break a gig. You can take a broke one to blacksmith and he'll repair it--but it will never be the same again. I don't gig like that. i swing it down 'til I line up with the fish, then I just punch it. I don't break gigs. If I'm gigging against a solid rock bottom, I just "plink" the fish.
OZW: Is gig making a highly specialized craft?
SR: Yes, it takes a lot of skill to make a fine gig. The master gig maker here was Erb Eller-man. He made gigs throughout a long life of blacksmithing. I've had an Ellerman gig for fifty years. The prongs are only about four inches long, but it's still the best gig I ever had. But you can buy gigs at the store.
OZW: Do gigs vary a good deal in size?
SR: The biggest gig I ever saw was a monster--four prongs, probably six inches wide with six inch prongs. Erb EIlerman made any size you wanted. He had no pattern. I had Erb to make me a little creek gig once, four pronged, that wasn't more than three inches wide. I made a little pole about the size of my thumb, and I'd slide that down between the roots of a tree along the bank and a bass would come along or yellow sucker or hog sucker. When he came under that gig, I'd punch him! I couldn't pull the gig with the fish on it back up through the roots, so I'd reach my other hand down and get him. I always liked little gigs and slender poles, because I handle them light.
OZW: What did you pay Ellerman for a custom gig?
SR: Oh, at one time, a dollar. The most lever paid him was fifteen dollars. Toward the end, people wanted an Ellerman gig, and would pay forty, fifty dollars. Erb's hands got so bad with rheumatism he couldn't lift that eight pound hammer any more, so he told his wife just where to hit, and she helped him a lot that way. rd say he was eighty.
OZW: What would you like to say to wrap this up?
SR: A trout fishermen, say, is a sophisticated fishermen. A gigger has no sophistication at all! [laughter] If a trout fishermen catches a small mouth bass on a fly, that's trash to him. But to a gigger, there's no trash fish. He will kill about anything, and eat about anything, that lives in the river. We used to gig eels here, lots of eels. Gigging is meat fishing. Not many people are going to come down from St. Louis for that. To run these rivers at night, you have to know them by heart.
Copyright -- OzarksWatch
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