Dorsal Fins have released a new video for 'High Low, and announced their Digital Zodiac album tour, kicking off in March 2017.
Full tour and ticket details above.
Of the single, co-frontwoman Ella Thompson explains "High Low is a meditation on the extremes of the world. Ups and downs, love and war and our connection to one another." The video was directed by Tim Hillier and features the band exploring the Warburton Redwood Forest in a hyper-pixelated dreamstate. Watch it via the image below.
For a band that is adored for its eclecticism, finding a characteristic that unites each song from Digital Zodiac might seem difficult, but there is no doubt that what defines this record is its sense of wholeness. To say it sounds like a well-maintained machine denies the album of its visceral, human flourishes, but the moving parts within Digital Zodiac function so harmoniously that there's something stunning about their mechanics — it truly sounds like nine moving as one.
Dorsal Fins is Jarrad Brown, Ella Thompson, Richard Bradbeer, Sam Raines, Rob Muinos, Olaf Scott, Ross Beaton, Lachlan O'Kane and Liam McGorry.


Burger King has unleashed yet another polarizing menu item.
Following in the hallowed steps of the beloved Chicken Fries, the infuriatingly good Angry Whopper, and the horrifying Mac n' Cheetos is: the Whopperrito.
"We know Tex-Mex is growing a lot ... and there are not that many national chains that sell burritos," company president Alex Macedo told Business Insider's Hayley Peterson.
It began as a test item in franchises in Ohio and Pennsylvania, garnering enough success to bring it to the national level.
But will it have the same success nationally? We managed to get our hands on some ahead of the national release on August 15.
The first glimpse of the much-awaited Whopperrito, which will be rolled out nationwide on August 15.
The Whopperrito is, on paper, a burrito with Whopper ingredients and some spices thrown in; a mythical hybrid that should never exist. A chimera of quick-service restaurants; the most unholy of menu marriages. Cutting in, however, it actually appears... appetizing.
The ground beef within looks to be actually ground beef, not the mealy Taco Bell corollary. Hints of cumin and pepper waft up from the fresh burrito. Recognizable seasonings that aren't just black pepper on a fast-food item? This is a refreshing development.
It's a decent size; large enough to be a satisfying meal, but not bloated or monolithic.
Back at the studio, we get a closer look.
Despite being wrapped in a very thin flour tortilla, the sandwich magically avoids the sogginess by which Burger King is often plagued. How? I don't know, but I'm not asking.
Let's see what's inside first. The shockingly well-seasoned ground beef, large amounts of tomato, onion, and lettuce, and... pickles? The pickles inside are an odd and unexpected note - not sure they really work with the "Tex-Mex" flavors, but since they're essential Whopper components, their presence is required.
Well, it tastes… exactly like a Whopper — unsettling initially, but not bad. A dash of "Tex-Mex" spices — likely cumin, some pepper — thrown into the ground beef give a slight bite and flavor that has more depth than I expected. The seasoning lingers in the mouth, and although a tad on the salty side, the taste is surprisingly savory and full.
The cheese sauce isn't overdone, either - often a major mistake. There's just enough to give it a rich burrito taste without drowning the beef or vegetables in a cheesy lava floe. Most importantly, it doesn't taste like nauseatingly fake nacho cheese — huge plus. The lettuce, onion, and tomato give a satisfying crunch to almost every bite.
The veggies also lighten up the meal - I was expecting a very heavy, overwhelming burrito, but instead it's filling without the usual post-burrito lethargy. The portion size is quite manageable.
Also shockingly mess-free, apart from a few drips from the bottom. It's well wrapped and crafted.
I'll admit, I came into this expecting a sopping, cheese-laden torpedo; I stand corrected. The Whopperrito, despite how unappealing it may sound, is a delicious and flavorful item that exceeds expectations. Is it anything resembling true Mexican food? Of course not. If you're looking for that, why are you in a Burger King? Otherwise, this is definitely worth a try.


We are pleased to announce that Temple has hired a Cantor for the High Holy Days, Gabriel Fleischer. Hazzan Fleischer is a third-generation Hazzan from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has previously served as a High Holiday Cantor for other congregations, including five years at an Albany shul. Hazzan Fleischer will arrive in Rochester a few days before the holidays to finalize coordination with Rabbi Berg. Because of the distance he will travel, he will stay in Rochester between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Chazzan Fleischer, like other candidates, provided audio files demonstrating his singing voice. During the interview process it became apparent that he enjoys collaboration with rabbis on and off the bimah and is extremely receptive congregant participation. His style is a lot Ashkenazic and with little bit of Sephardic influence.
Thank you to the Cantorial Search Committee for its diligent and thoughtful work in seeking candidates, conducting reference checks, and holding interviews. The committee used input from the congregational survey to establish criteria for its process to evaluate candidates. Rabbi Berg conducted telephone interviews with each candidate who was selected for an interview by the committee, and then the committee conducted interviews via Skype. This tool served as a great way to connect with candidates … from the US or abroad.
Cantorial Search Committee: Judy Levy, Rabbi Berg, Lisa Klein, Jonathan Papkin, Maxine Manjos, Scott Bauman, Allison Helms, and Annette Shapiro. The committee engaged the Ritual Committee for the interviews and selection. The committee will resume meeting to discuss cantorial needs and options post-High Holidays.
← Seventh Annual TBD Golf Tournament and Barbeque!


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KMS invests in infrastructure and workforce
Barnsley-based KMS Transport is redeveloping its substantial general haulage site, and investing in future services and its workforce.
The site, the base depot for 70 vehicles, is being equipped with new offices, an HGV workshop and a testing station. The latter will ensure that the vehicles are well maintained with minimal downtime.
"We strive for a completely resilient service and that means compliant, roadworthy vehicles, which are back on the road as soon as possible. Those high standards are vital across our day-to-day operations. Our Rotherham TPN depot and warehouse has just been re-accredited to the BRC
AA standard," says KMS business development manager Chris Deighan.
"We have also been investing in our drivers and trying to address the gender balance in order to bring new people into the industry," he says. "We currently have two new female drivers who had C category licences and we are putting through their C+Es. Other female applicants are waiting to join us as Class 2 replacements."
Despite the current challenges, he says, KMS staff have been superb and loyal, and customers have been fantastic. "Our clients have been very understanding and cooperative during all the issues UK supply chains have had.
"We've also had a big increase in sales enquiries, which suggests that companies are looking for a quality provider to work in partnership with them. This is a period where we all need to work together to deliver the best possible outcomes, and keep the UK economy moving."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Working Mass
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Rail Workers, Socialists Seek Right Track in Wake of Biden Sellout
Posted byWorking Mass December 14, 2022 Posted inUncategorized
By Henry De Groot
WORCESTER, MA — Dozens of railroad workers, socialists, union members, and community supporters rallied in front of Union Station on Tuesday, two weeks after Congress voted to impose a contract which rail workers had voted down.
The rally was part of a national day of action called by SMART-TD, the largest rail union, and organized with the support of Railroad Workers United (RWU), the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and the Independent Socialist Group (ISG).
"Preventing us from exerting our right to strike as union workers, Congress has imposed this contract which was voted down by most of the freight rail workers in the United States," said freight conductor Nick Wurst at the rally.
Wurst condemned the contract, pointing out that not only does it not include any paid sick time, but it also does not adequately address healthcare costs, vacation time, or the rising cost of living.
"For all these reasons it was voted down. There is a massive crisis going on in freight railroading — a crisis of not enough workers [and] people working too many hours and far away from home, unable to schedule doctor's appointments."
"The fight is far from over. We are going to continue to organize within our unions and in our workplaces," Wurst promised, looking already to 2025 when the new contract expires. Wurst is active in RWU and ISG.
Other railroad workers speaking at the rally pointed to the injustice of denying those who worked through the pandemic something as basic as paid sick time, including at Keolis, a French multinational contracted by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to operate the Commuter Rail. Workers also expressed solidarity with the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) in the United Kingdom, a militant rail worker union which has taken strike action this week, reading out a statement of solidarity sent by RMT members.
Earlier this fall, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, a former union leader and Boston mayor, brokered a tentative agreement between the 12 rail unions and the major freight carriers. Railroad workers are covered under the 1920s-era Railway Labor Act (RLA), a law which imposes greater restrictions on strike action than the National Labor Relations Act covering most other private-sector workers.
The agreement brokered by Walsh on behalf of the Biden administration did not include paid sick days, one of the railroad workers' main demands. In part for this reason, four unions representing about 55% of the workers voted to reject the tentative agreement. After a "cooling off" period mandated by the RLA, these unions eventually set a strike date of December 9.
With the strike threatening to disrupt an economy already wracked by supply chain woes at an estimated cost of $2 billion per day, Biden and Congress were quick to intervene. On November 28, Biden called on Congress to impose the contract without modification or delay. On December 2, Congress voted to force Walsh's tentative agreement on the workers, denying their right to strike, with Democrats attempting to cover their anti-labor action by pushing a symbolic bill to add in paid sick days which was all but doomed to wither in the face of the Senate's filibuster.
Members of Worcester, MetroWest, and Boston DSA turned out alongside local union members — including from @MassNurses and @massteacher — to support railroad workers at the @smartunionworks rally in Worcester today ✊🏽 pic.twitter.com/XB8KhBISKv
— 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗦𝗔 🌹 (@WorcDSA) December 13, 2022
Speaking at the rally for Worcester DSA, Cory Bisbee, who is on the organizing committee for the union drive in his workplace, called out the failure of Congress to stand with workers.
"Democrats seem to think that unions just exist to provide votes and volunteers, donations and photo-ops," he said. "But when it comes down to the wire… they know what side they're on, and it's not on our side."
Earlier this month, RWU and DSA worked together to put together a last-minute rally to confront Biden for his betrayal of railroad workers when he flew into Boston and met with Prince William in Dorchester.
From RWU to DSA, to union members and other community supporters, Boston turned out in NUMBERS today to condemn Biden and Congress for overriding railroad workers and forcing a contract down their throats.@DemSocialists stand with @railroadworkers! 🌹✊🏽 https://t.co/Ou9RhGXDAa
— 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗦𝗔 🌹 (@WorcDSA) December 2, 2022
Billionaire Speed-Ups
Chuck Abbate, a veteran of the industry and a conductor on the commuter rail, spoke with Working Mass about how decades of deregulation have led the industry to a crisis and how workers plan to fight back. Abbate is a member of SMART-TD and also active in RWU.
As Abbate tells it, "many years ago, staffing wasn't an issue… If you go back 40 years to the Staggers Rail (deregulation) Act, the unions were starting to wane and had to concede to certain things."
But unions "crossed the Rubicon" from retreat to capitulation in the 1990s, at the same time that financialization of the industry took a front seat, as "the Wall Street types started controlling [company operations]."
In 2009, Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway spent $26 billion to buy the 77% of BNSF, the country's largest rail company, that it did not already own. With eyes only for increased profits, company leadership drawn not from operations but from the financial side of the business began to introduce the "precision scheduled railroading" (PSR) model, similar to the extreme Taylorism found in Amazon warehouses. Under the PSR system, workers are on a points system for attendance, and are penalized for missing work regardless of whether they are sick or attending a funeral.
BNSF and its main competitor, Union Pacific Railway, have a duopoly on freight rail which stretches from Vancouver to Houston and Los Angeles to Chicago. BNSF alone hauls enough coal to generate around one quarter of the electricity produced in the United States. Two other mega-railroad companies, Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, are currently engaged in a pending merger worth a combined $27 billion. For Abbate, "the super-sized railroads have too much power and too much control over the economy. They're too big."
Abbate recalls that this process escalated after the 2007-08 financial crisis, with some 40,000 job cuts from then until the pandemic so railroads could be run "mean and lean." Cuts were coupled with "a real mass exodus of people, even upwards of 10-15 years [seniority], 'cause they're not gonna live like this anymore."
"I mean myself I've missed a lot of Christmases," he relayed. "That's just what it is. But now it's at this level that I've never seen."
And Wall Street's overhaul of railroads has meant more than just missed holidays or funerals as unjust as that is. In 2013 a 73-car train carrying crude oil derailed in the Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic, setting off an explosion and fire which destroyed half the town center.
For Abbate, "once again that comes from not having proper staffing, not having proper safety equipment, and 47 people were incinerated in that crash which was totally avoidable. And the fact that the head of that railroad, Ed Burkhardt, never went to jail is disgraceful… The heads of these companies need to go to prison. Blood is on their hands."
The Lac-Mégantic disaster was just among the most horrific examples of what happens when cost-cutting CEOs erode staffing levels.
Working-Class Fight Back
Abbate reflected on the increased militancy among rail workers, feelings which have only escalated in the last two weeks. "I remember Occupy Wall Street 10 years ago. Maybe this is the second time around. Everything has come to a point — the cutting of workers, relocating workers — you didn't have that [before]. Life was much more normal."
"This goes back to these CEOs, they never worked on the ground, they don't have bloody knuckles, they never changed a knuckle on a train in a snowstorm or anything like that, what we do. They've lived in this little ivory tower, but I think at this point it's starting to come in on them."
As to what changes need to be made, Abbate feels that "the laws are basically rigged in favor of business. There needs to be a refutation of the RLA, because management is never going to negotiate in good faith because they hold all the cards and they've held them for years. If it comes to wildcatting, so be it."
And Abbate is not alone in his consternation. In 2020 he joined Railroad Workers United. According to Wurst, only one of the 12 railroad unions has an active reform caucus, BMWED, so RWU serves as a "cross-union solidarity organization," a mega-caucus of sorts which has been organizing since 2008. As Nick sees RWU, "it's about all of us, from the bottom up changing things, reclaiming our unions."
Just spoke to Eddie Hall, a BLET member out of Tucson, who appears to have just won an unbelievable upset election against incumbent Dennis Pierce. Official results should be out tomorrow or the next day — but an absolute stunning outcome. https://t.co/xPSmHjj5ep
— Jonah Furman (@JonahFurman) December 12, 2022
But while RWU has done a solid job organizing the militant wing of the railroad unions, the lack of a reform movement in 11 of the 12 unions indicates that the railroad workers' movement is still in the early stages of a revival. Still, with the recent contract dispute things are developing fast; just this week the old-guard president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), one of the two Teamster-affiliated rail unions, was ousted by a relatively unknown challenger in a union election.
Workers Respond to Biden, Walsh's Strike-Breaking
Biden has presented himself as the most pro-labor president in U.S. history, and it is certainly true that compared to the low bar set by Clinton and Obama — not to mention Bush or Trump — he is a modest improvement. The first two years of his administration have seen not-insignificant progress made in the field of worker rights, including raising the minimum wage for federal contractors and calling for rule changes in the classification of "gig workers."
Socialists know that these reforms are not enough, but we also know that it is false to draw an equivalency between a faux-progressive president and proto-fascist one. And we should remember that the gains that have been won under Biden were won by the massive support for Bernie Sanders' democratic socialist program, which forced Biden to make concessions to the left.
While progressives have had a mixed relationship with Biden during his first two years, his administration's move to deny railroad workers the right to strike marks the obvious limit of how far the Democratic Party establishment is willing to go to cover its left flank. While Democrats did push a bill including sick leave after voting to adopt the tentative agreement, this bill was all but predestined to fail and was an obvious attempt at symbolic performance — corporations get the goodies; workers get theater.
For Abbate, "corporations run the government, so whether you're a Republican or Democrat, it's the same can of beans. One is slightly [the] lesser of evils," he said, placing most of the blame on the Republicans for the failure of sick leave to pass. But Abbate was also incensed with Manchin and Sinema, pointing out that "Manchin owns a fucking coal mine, he's the most unfriendly labor Democrat. [With] the Democratic Party, Wall Street is running the show."
Cutting closer to home for Abbate is weighing Labor Secretary Walsh's role in the rail dispute.
Speaking at a panel "The New Power of Labor" in Boston earlier this fall, Walsh declared "there's no reason to be afraid of labor" and that he has "no problem" with the rich getting richer, before recalling his tenure as Boston's mayor when he ran the city "just like a business."
At the panel Walsh had outlined how he secured the tentative agreement, as "[Rail company administrators and union representatives] came to the [U.S. Department of Labor's] Frances Perkins Building in Washington, D.C. We had messaging, we had two rooms set up for them, and we had meetings going back and forth. We got them to talk again. I gave them a little bit of food… and after 20 straight hours of continually going back and forth in some tough negotiations and tough conversations, at 5 o'clock in the morning," Walsh recounted, "we had a framework of a tentative agreement just a few hours before the deadline."
With this tentative agreement, President Biden declared it an "important win for our economy," and the media celebrated that a strike was averted. But the rank-and-file of the unions had a different view.
Abbate relayed that he "was actually excited that [Walsh] had been picked by Biden for Labor [Secretary], and then you want to shove this down our throats? He worked in unions that had all these goodies, in the trades. So the hypocrisy is just jaw-dropping."
A Split In the "Squad"
More complicated for socialists is reckoning with the votes of three of DSA's four members in Congress, who made the decision to vote for the legislation which forced the tentative agreement on rail workers. The votes by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, and Jamaal Bowman — Rashida Tlaib voted no — to back the legislation has sparked controversy within DSA and the wider socialist and progressive left, leading to debates about how DSA should respond and a wider conversation about socialist elected strategy.
Before the vote, DSA's National Political Committee, the organization's highest leadership body between conventions, put out a statement which held that "any member of Congress who votes yes on the tentative agreement is siding with billionaires and forcing a contract on rail workers that does not address their most pressing demand of paid sick days." In a follow up statement after the vote, the NPC wrote:
We are proud of DSA member Rep. Rashida Tlaib's vote against the TA, and for sick days. Any vote by Congress to impose a bad contract on workers sides with the boss, and contradicts democratic socialist values.
We disagree and are disappointed with the decision of DSA members Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Cori Bush to needlessly vote to enforce the TA.
The NPC's statement reaffirmed DSA's commitment to rail workers and announced that the NPC would host a "mass call" with membership to address the issue.
Some, including Labor Notes' Jonah Furman, The Intercept's Ryan Grim, and Jacobin's Micah Uetricht have pointed out that squad members were encouraged to vote "yes-yes" by some members of RWU and by others in the labor movement.
The most succinct explanation of the squad and CPC vote maneuvering that went down on the rail contract. https://t.co/DdGvjDeouU
— Jonah Furman (@JonahFurman) December 2, 2022
Railroad workers getting smeared this week as "naive" for believing they had a chance to win their sick day fight is among the most infuriating spectacles I've witnessed in DC. If you joined that frenzy, you owe it to the workers to read their perspective https://t.co/6E2O18WTGW
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) December 11, 2022
I don't think progressives in Congress did everything right during rail negotiations. But it's worth noting that engineer @RossGrooters says here that the Squad should be commended, not condemned. "They've stuck their necks out for railroad workers." https://t.co/CiRYSQztIh pic.twitter.com/nePkX7VT8I
— Micah Uetricht (@micahuetricht) December 2, 2022
Others have condemned the votes as strike-breaking and a betrayal of socialist values, with Seattle DSA launching a petition calling for an investigation and accountability, including potential disciplinary action. The petition also calls for the NPC to hold a participatory town-hall including the DSA members in Congress and railroad workers.
For Wurst, "the actions of AOC, Bowman, and Bush are not surprising at all. They fell in line with the rest of the Democratic Party… …It makes it very clear that workers everywhere need our own party where we have real democratic control and accountability over policy and over the members who run for and win office."
Some 20 chapters — including Cleveland, Providence, and Portland — have signed the Seattle petition, as have a handful of YDSA chapters, the AfroSocialists & Socialists of Color Caucus, the Marxist Unity Group caucus, and the Reform & Revolution caucus. In response to the NPC's second statement, Seattle DSA released a follow-up letter which asks for clarity on whether the NPC's mass call will follow Seattle's proposed participatory format.
Letter to @DemSocialists NPC on the need for a town hall to hold @AOC @CoriBush @JamaalBowmanNY accountable for voting to ban the railroad strike. We need a serious debate on how to change our electoral strategy to ensure this doesn't happen again 🌹✊🌍https://t.co/Eh7bANB1oC
— Seattle DSA🌹 (@SeattleDSA) December 12, 2022
Some comrades have even called for DSA to expel the three members in Congress, most notably Seattle City Councilor Kshama Sawant, who is a member of both Socialist Alternative and DSA. In response, DSA's social democratic North Star caucus has all but called for the expulsion of Sawant from the DSA for entryism, attacking Socialist Alternative as an "ultraleft cult."
Openly organizing for your ultraleft cult within DSA is an expellable offense. Entryism is forbidden by our by-laws. Disagreeing with ultraleft positions on things is *not* an expellable offense in a democratic socialist organization. pic.twitter.com/wnMhYnXB1v
— DSA North Star ✴🌹 (@DSANorthStar) December 13, 2022
While DSA's bylaws do allow for members to be expelled for participating in democratic-centralist organizations, they do not require expulsion. If comrades were expelled — either for their votes in Congress or for being dual members — it would be an escalation of internal factional disputes which until now have mostly been a war of tweets and resolutions.
Btw, our bylaws are not for an auto proscription on demcent. It says they *may* be expelled. Btw, it also includes being in "substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of the organization". Not scabbing is the most basic principle. pic.twitter.com/0DwoVPW9o1
— Petrograd Parker 🍻 (@centristmarxist) December 14, 2022
As for the future of the railroad workers, what is clear is that resistance to unfair working conditions will continue, led largely by workers organized in Railroad Workers United. Whatever way RWU decides to keep up the fight, socialists will be ready for the long-haul.
Henry De Groot is the managing editor of Working Mass and a member of Boston DSA.
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text:
A crowded midseason: A guide to what's on TV…
Things To DoEntertainment
A crowded midseason: A guide to what's on TV this winter and spring
5b2f3d1b-7fbe-4211-a447-3bd43e0ed2b8
By Washington Post and Hank Stuever |
PUBLISHED: January 3, 2014 at 8:28 a.m. | UPDATED: July 15, 2021 at 9:41 a.m.
If this year's TV mid-season has anything going for it, it's quantity. I'm not sure I've seen a more crowded field of new series and special presentations in January and February (and continuing on into March and April). Here's my attempt to at least make some sense of the coming flood, which abates a bit during the Sochi Olympics. I've included short reviews of some shows I've already watched (Fox's 'Rake,' starring Greg Kinnear and the CW's 'The 100,' about post-apocalyptic teens, are among the best so far), as well as dates for some annual events – the Golden Globes, the Super Bowl and Oscar night. Sunday, Jan. 5 'Blood, Sweat and Heels' (Bravo at 9 p.m.) Follows a group of black women described as 'movers and shakers' in the New York fashion, real estate and media scenes. The usual. Tuesday, Jan. 7 'Intelligence' (CBS at 9 p.m.; moves to its regular time Monday, Jan. 13, at 10 p.m.) 'Lost's' Josh Holloway returns to series TV in this espionage drama as Gabriel, an intelligence agent who is the first human to have a supercomputer implanted in his brain. He can mentally sort through heaps of data with a wink-blink of his pretty eyes. 'CSI's' Marg Helgenberger stars as his boss at a clandestine government cybersecurity agency; Meghan Ory plays a tough Secret Service agent assigned to protect Gabriel from an array of foreign bad guys who want the billion-dollar science project inside his head. Complicating things is Gabriel's heartsick obsession with his wife, who turned out to be a terrorist. So there you have it. Holloway is pretty much his usual simmering self, as is Helgenberger. The technology in the show displays the very latest in what-the-. . .?, as far as TV's hyperactive imagination goes. (If we'd had the Internet in 1974, this is what 'The Six Million Dollar Man' might've looked like.) On the whole, 'Intelligence' trafficks in the usual request to suspend your disbelief and then some, but it's also mildly intriguing – especially in the idea that its macho lead character is also treated as a vulnerable prize who needs to be protected at all costs. Grade: C+
_ 'Killer Women' (ABC at 10 p.m.) The show's title and advertising seemed to suggest something much saucier and violent, but this lady-cop drama (co-produced by 'Modern Family's' Sofia Vergara) is a fairly straightforward and briskly perfunctory affair about a gutsy Texas Ranger named Molly (Tricia Helfer), who chases after criminals while trying to put her own life back together. She wants a divorce from her politician husband, and she's having secret trysts with a handsome DEA agent. ('Dangerously handsome,' the press release insists. Hmm, if you say so.)
Like all shows filmed and set in Texas, 'Killer Women' is cooked through with too much yee-haw sauce and a whole lot of urban-cowgirl chic, but Helfer ('Battlestar Galactica') ably carries off the assignment and keeps the momentum going. 'Killer Women' is one belt notch tighter and better than some of ABC's already-forgotten fall dramas. Grade: B- '100 Days of Summer' (Bravo at 10 p.m.) A group of self-absorbed, 30-something Chicago strivers mate and grate during the city's much-welcomed months of sunshine. 'American Experience: The Poisoner's Handbook' (PBS, check local listings) A documentary about Charles Norris, who in 1918 became New York's first official medical examiner and developed forensic techniques that sent otherwise-elusive criminals to the electric chair. 'Being Mary Jane' (BET at 10 p.m.) New series based on the TV movie starring Gabrielle Union as a busy news anchor who juggles family and work. 'Escaping the Prophet' (TLC at 10 p.m.) This six-part docu-series follows former Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints member Flora Jessop as she helps others break away from Warren Jeffs' strict religious community. Wednesday, Jan. 8
'Mind of a Man'(GSN at 8 p.m.) It may sound like the premise for an 'SNL' sketch, but in this actual game show, two female contestants try to figure out the male thought process, aided by a panel of celebrities. 'The 40th Annual People's Choice Awards' (CBS at 9 p.m.) Favorite movie, music and TV performances, as selected by those of you who voted online. 'Chasing Shackleton' (PBS, check local listings) Five adventure-seekers follow the treacherous 1914 Antarctic journey of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew. A three-part docu-series. 'Chicago P.D.' (NBC at 10 p.m.) Creator Dick Wolf ('Law and Order') spins off his 'Chicago Fire' into a drama about an intelligence unit that investigates the Windy City's biggest crimes, contrasted with the work of the uniformed beat officers in the same precinct. Thursday, Jan. 9
'The Spoils of Babylon'(IFC at 10 p.m.) Tobey Maguire stars in this comedy spoof of those sprawling, 1970s miniseries based on tawdry bestselling novels about the rich and powerful – in this case, 'The Spoils of Babylon,' written by one Eric Johnrosh (Will Ferrell), who exhumes the film reels of the never-aired series (the networks deemed it 'too long') that he directed himself.
So that's the set-up. The cast includes a whole lot of familiar faces – Kristen Wiig, Molly Shannon, Michael Sheen, Tim Robbins, Haley Joel Osment, Val Kilmer, David Spade and so on. Though I admire the show's commitment to form in satirizing an entire genre, something about 'Babylon's' overall shtick wears immediately thin. Part of the joke is that 'The Spoils of Babylon' was utterly unwatchable, and that's why the network never showed it; it seems they achieved that goal a little too well. Grade: D Friday, Jan. 10
'Enlisted' (Fox at 9:30 p.m.) It's a comedy about three Army brothers (Geoff Stults, Chris Lowell, Parker Young) stationed at a rear-detachment base in Florida. 'Enlisted' was originally scheduled to premiere in November; in The Post's fall season guide, yours truly negatively compared the show to old 'Beetle Bailey' comic strips and gave it a C+. But having seen some more episodes, I think they've charmed their way up to at least a Grade: B- '$10 Million Bigfoot Bounty' (Spike at 10 p.m.) The sasquatch pursuit never ends. Actor Dean Cain hosts this weekly competition show in which hunters must deliver proof of the elusive creature. 'Helix' (Syfy at 10 p.m.) A team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention travels to the Arctic and finds something that could wipe out all of us. Billy Campbell ('The Killing'; 'Once and Again') stars in this drama/thriller. Saturday, Jan. 11 'When Calls the Heart' (Hallmark at 9 p.m.) A new original series about a young teacher (Erin Krakow) who leaves big-city life to teach in a small frontier prairie town in the 19th century. Sunday, Jan. 12 'The 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards' (NBC at 8 p.m.) Tina Fey and Amy Poehler return to host this loosey-goosey night of film and TV honors. 'True Detective' (HBO at 9 p.m.) Highly touted eight-episode crime drama stars Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as Louisiana detectives investigating a macabre murder that has obsessed them for nearly two decades. The narrative hopscotches around from 2012 to 1995 to 2002. Monday, Jan. 13 'Chozen' (FX at 10:30 p.m.) An animated comedy about a gay white rapper (voiced by 'SNL's' Bobby Moynihan) who goes by the name Chozen, fresh out of prison and now seeking another chance at fame. 'Don't Trust Andrew Mayne' (A&E at 10 p.m.) In this goofy reality show, a magician uses his talent to assist people seeking revenge on others. 'Bitten' (Syfy at 10 p.m.) Based on Kelley Armstrong's novels, in which a young woman leaves behind her werewolf pack (and the man who turned her into a howler) for a new life in the big city. 'American Experience: 1964? (PBS, check local listings) Documentary (based on Jon Margolis' book 'The Last Innocent Year)' explores a pivotal 12 months in American politics and culture. 'Friday Night Tykes' (Esquire at 9 p.m.) A 10-part docu-series about the super-serious world of the Texas Youth Football Association, where the players are all 8- and 9-year-old boys. 'Building Wild' (National Geographic Channel at 9 p.m.) Two home-building experts tackle jobs from clients who want to build cabins in challenging locations. 'Inside Job' (TNT at 9 p.m.) Job-seeking execs live together and vie for a six-figure corporate position in this reality show – but one of them is a mole who is spying on the others' behavior. 'Save Our Business' (TNT at 10 p.m.) Yet another show where a successful entrepreneur administers advice and tough love to struggling business owners. Wednesday, Jan. 15 'Crazy Hearts: Nashville' (A&E at 11 p.m.) Reality series follows a group of musicians trying to make it in country music. Moves to its regular slot at 10 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16. Thursday, Jan. 16 'Under the Gunn' (Lifetime at 9 p.m.) Tim Gunn calls in former 'Project Runway' winners to provide guidance to young designers in a new fashion competition. 'SWV Reunited' (WEtv at 10 p.m.) The '90s R&B trio get its act together (after a tense breakup 15 years ago) in hopes of a comeback. Or maybe just getting a reality series will suffice? 'Tabloid' (Investigation Discovery at 10 p.m.) Jerry Springer hosts this look into some of the wildest stories and claims found in supermarket tabloids. Friday, Jan. 17 'The Square' (Netflix) From the filmmaker of 'StartUp.com' and 'The Control Room,' a documentary about Cairo's Tahrir Square during the 'Arab Spring' uprising. 'The Diamond Collar' (OWN at 10 p.m.) Reality series about James 'Head' Guiliani, a former associate of Mafia man John Gotti who now runs a dog-grooming parlor in Brooklyn. Saturday, Jan. 18
'June in January' (Hallmark at 7 p.m.) In this new movie, a busy bride-to-be (Brooke D'Orsay) has her ideal June wedding all planned out, but her husband is transferred and she has to move her special day to January. 'Flowers in the Attic' (Lifetime at 8 p.m.) A new movie version of V.C. Andrews' popular mystery/horror novel, starring Heather Graham, Ellen Burstyn and Kiernan Shipka ('Mad Men's' Sally Draper). 'My Gal Sunday' (Hallmark Movie Channel at 9 p.m.) Adventures of husband-wife crime solvers (Rachel Blanchard and Cameron Mathison), based on short stories by Mary Higgins Clark. 'HitRECord on TV' (Pivot at 10 p.m.) Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt brings his online project to TV, in which Web users collaborate on short films and videos around an assigned theme. 'Mom's Got Game' (OWN at 10 p.m.) Reality series follows former WNBA basketball star Pamela McGee and her 25-year-old son, JaVale McGee, a center for the Denver Nuggets. Sunday, Jan. 19 '#RichKids of Beverly Hills'(E! at 10 p.m.) This docu-series follows a clique of fancy kids who gain Internet notoriety by promoting their every action and thought on social media. You can only hope one of them is named Ja'mie, but probably not. 'Looking' (HBO at 10:30 p.m.) A new dramedy about three gay men in San Francisco who are at different stages of life and emotional issues. Monday, Jan. 20 'The Powerpuff Girls: Dance Pantsed' (Cartoon Network at 7:30 p.m.) Fifteen years after their debut, the heroic Powerpuff Girls return with a new special and a new computer-generated animation style. Original characters/voices return to do battle with Mojo Jojo; Ringo Starr provides the voice of Townsville's 'flamboyant mathematician.' 'Klondike' (Discovery at 9 p.m.) Richard Madden (Robb Stark from 'Game of Thrones') stars as one of two adventurers who head for the Yukon in 1890 during the gold rush. It's Discovery's first original miniseries drama. Tuesday, Jan. 21 'American Masters: Salinger' (PBS, check local listings) Television premiere of Shane Salerno's 2013 documentary about the reclusive author, with 15 minutes of new material included. (That might not be such great news: 'While some of the stories are interesting, the film is much longer than it needs to be,' The Post's Stephanie Merry said in her review when the film played in theaters last fall.) Wednesday, Jan. 22 'Broad City' (Comedy Central at 10:30 p.m.) Upright Citizens Brigade alums Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer bring their critically acclaimed online series to Comedy Central. 'The Wahlburgers' (A&E at 10:30 p.m.) Brothers Mark and Donnie Wahlberg head back to Boston to join forces with their brother Paul and open a hamburger restaurant. 'Treasure King' (Reelz at 10 p.m.) Accompanied by his comely 'Gallery Girls,' globe-trotting collector Richie Marcello seeks to buy and sell pop-culture treasures and memorabilia that were thought to be lost. Thursday, Jan. 23 'Rake' (Fox at 9 p.m.) Greg Kinnear happily and believably sinks his pearly whites into this amiably sharp drama (based on a hit Australian series) about a criminal defense attorney who finds trouble everywhere: He's up to his ears in gambling and IRS debts, drinks way too much, lives in a ratty apartment above a restaurant and is hopelessly in love with the prostitute he pays for conversation and backgammon games. His therapist is also his ex-wife.
'House' comparisons will surely abound, but 'Rake' is easily one of the more confident network dramas to come our way of late. It's a procedural (in an episode shared with critics last year, Kinnear's character – Keegan Deane – defends a cannibal against murder charges), but it's just unorthodox enough to make me eager to see more. Grade: B+ Friday, Jan. 24 'Mitt' (Netflix) Straight off the bill at the Sundance Film Festival, this documentary follows the unsuccessful Romney presidential campaign of 2012 and tries to get into the mind and personality of the man himself. Saturday, Jan. 25 'Black Sails' (Starz at 9 p.m.) At first glance, this is a sprawling, big-budget pirate drama series that somehow manages to feel too cheap. 'Black Sails' follows several bands of Caribbean-based pirates in 1715, 'the golden age of pirating.' When the British Navy starts to crack down on these legendary criminals, the pirate Capt. Flint (Toby Stephens) allies with the daughter of New Providence Island's crime kingpin to chase after the ultimate treasure. There's a whole lot else going on in just the first episode, with too many indistinguishable characters; at times 'Black Sails' feels like it wants to be taken seriously as a complicated, premium cable drama (a la 'Game of Thrones') . At other times, it feels more like cheesier, more niche material (a la 'Spartacus'). I'll watch a few more episodes, but walking the plank seems more tempting. Grade: C- 'Lizzie Borden Took an Ax' (Lifetime at 8 p.m.) Christina Ricci stars in this made-for-TV movie as the infamous woman charged with ax-murdering her parents in 1892. Sunday, Jan. 26 'The 56th Annual Grammy Awards' (CBS at 8 p.m.) LL Cool J returns to host the music industry's biggest awards night. Monday, Jan. 27 'Herblock: The Black and the White' (HBO at 9 p.m.) Documentary about the prolific Washington Post editorial cartoonist. 'The 2014 Breakthrough Prizes' (Science Channel at 9 p.m.) An awards show for scientists in which six researchers each get $3 million grants as prizes. Hosted by Kevin Spacey. Tuesday, Jan. 28 'The Capones' (Reelz at 10 p.m.) Docu-series about a 'larger-than-life' family (translation: yells and fights with one another a lot) who run a pizzeria and claim to be distantly related to the famous mobster. Wednesday, Jan. 29 'Hawking' (PBS, check local listings) A new one-hour documentary about the famed physicist. 'Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond' (BBC America at 10 p.m.) Four-part miniseries drama about the real-life inspiration for the 007 character – a sophisticated maverick whose life was upended by World War II. Saturday, Feb. 1 'Oscar' (TCM at 8 p.m.) A documentary about the history of the Academy Awards. Sunday, Feb. 2 'Super Bowl LXVIII' (Fox) Lots of Roman numerals, a Bruno Mars halftime show, the spendy Madison Avenue commercials and – oh, right _a professional football championship game. And don't forget 'Puppy Bowl' (Animal Planet at 3 p.m.) and, for some reason, 'Kitten Bowl' (Hallmark at noon). Tuesday, Feb. 4 'American Experience: The Amish – Shunned' (PBS, check local listings): Documentary explores the worlds of women and men who found themselves banished from their Amish communities. Thursday, Feb. 6 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' (NBC at 11:35) Jay says goodbye. (For the second time.) Friday, Feb. 7 – Sunday, Feb. 23 'XXII Olympic Winter Games' (NBC) From Sochi, Russia. Will it be as grim as some people expect it to be? Sunday, Feb. 9 'The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles' (CBS at 8 p.m.) All-star concert will commemorate 50 years (exactly) since the Fab Four appeared on Ed Sullivan's show. Monday, Feb. 17 'Star Crossed' (CW at 8 p.m.) Two Baton Rouge teens experience some angsty, sci-fi themed 'Romeo and Juliet'-type issues because the boy (Matt Lanter) belongs to an alien race of refugees called the Atrians and the girl (Aimee Teegarden) is the daughter of the commander tasked with keeping the aliens in line. As part of an integration effort, the gorgeous Atrian teens (who come with their own natural neck and face tattoos) are bused in every day to a local high school, where they try to fit in. 'Star Crossed' hews hard to outsider themes and a nominally relevant exploration of civil rights history – amped up in CW's instinctive flair for stylish (and predictable) teen melodrama. One imagines the screenplay being written in purple ink and very loopy handwriting, intercepted by the English teacher wearing the 'Battlestar Galactica' T-shirt. Grade: C+ Monday, Feb. 24 'The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon' (NBC at 11:35) The affable host reboots his late-night talk show, now from New York instead of Burbank, Calif. (And the Roots are sticking with him.)
_ 'Late Night With Seth Meyers' (NBC at 12:35) And after that, the 'Saturday Night Live' writer and 'Weekend Update' anchor takes over Fallon's old spot. Wednesday, Feb. 26 'Mixology' (ABC at 9:30 p.m.) This new comedy is set in a bar called the Mix, where 10 single people have random encounters and conversations in their unending quest for love. If I understand the concept correctly, the entire season (however long it lasts) takes place on a single night. Thursday, Feb. 27 'Review' (Comedy Central at 10 p.m.): Andy Daly stars as a 'life critic,' who reviews experiences instead of arts and culture. Saturday, March 1 'The 2014 Independent Spirit Awards' (IFC at 10 p.m.): The casual, Oscar-eve awards show for the cool movies that cool people liked. Hosted by Patton Oswalt. Sunday, March 2 'The 86th Annual Academy Awards' (ABC at 8 p.m.) It's Oscar night! Get ahold of yourselves! Thursday, March 6 'Sirens' (USA at 10 p.m.) Denis Leary co-produces this new comedy about three EMT dudes in Chicago. Sunday, March 9 'Resurrection' (ABC at 9 p.m.) The residents of Arcadia, Mo., react to the fact that a young boy who died 32 years ago has returned – unchanged – from the dead. (Not to be confused with the excellent French miniseries 'The Returned,' but it looks a little bit like it.) Tuesday, March 11 'Mind Games' (ABC at 10 p.m.) Steve Zahn and Christian Slater star as Clark and Ross Edwards, two brothers who run an agency that helps clients fix their problems through psychological manipulation and influence. (Zahn plays the goofy, genius one.) Wednesday, March 19 'The 100? (CW at 9 p.m.) A refreshingly taut and well-executed futuristic sci-fi series about a group of 100 jailed juvenile delinquents who are banished from an orbiting space-station colony and sent to live on Earth – 97 years after a nuclear apocalypse. They've barely crash-landed when things get pretty 'Lord of the Flies,' but a determined young woman (Eliza Taylor) tries her best to stick to the group's real mission: Locate a mountain bunker and determine whether or not the rest of the humans on the dying space station above can join them on land. What they discover – along with mutant deer – is that Earth is not as depopulated as they were led to believe. I realize that sounds like a lot to chew on, but 'The 100? does an excellent job of launching a CW-style take on bigger-budgeted adventure series like 'Lost' or 'Terra Nova' or 'Revolution,' with a little 'Hunger Games' thrown in. But unlike 'Terra Nova' and 'Revolution,' it's got characters you can actually care about. Maybe I've been too eager for an addictive sci-fi series that doesn't feel instantly dumb, but I raced through the first several episodes of 'The 100? with pleasure. Grade: A- Tuesday, March 25 'Story of the Jews' (PBS, check local listings) Author Simon Schama explores Jewish culture and history in this five-part (two-night) documentary series. Monday, March 31 'Friends With Better Lives' (CBS at 9 p.m.) A new sitcom about six pals, premiering after the one-hour 'How I Met Your Mother' series finale. Takes over the 8:30 p.m. slot on April 7. Wednesday, April 1 'TripTank' (Comedy Central at 10:30 p.m.) Yet another venue for edgy, animated shorts. Sunday, April 6 'The 49th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards' (CBS at 8 p.m.) Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan will return as hosts. Tuesday, April 15 'The Address' (PBS, check local listings) Ken Burns' film about a small boys school in Vermont where the students memorize, practice and recite the Gettysburg Address. Waiting in The Wings These shows haven't been given an air date as of press time, but they're expected sometime before May . . . 'The Red Road' (Sundance Channel) Drama series about a small-town cop who also patrols a nearby Indian reservation. 'Game of Arms' (AMC) Reality series about competitive arm-wrestling. 'Turn'(AMC) Drama about spies in the Revolutionary War. 'Gang Related' (Fox) Cop drama. An elite LAPD officer has a past with Latino gangs. 'Surviving Jack' (Fox) Comedy set in the 1990s about a father and his teenage son. 'Us and Them' (Fox) Comedy starring Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel as young lovers. 'Crisis' (NBC) Drama in which a bus carrying children of the Washington, D.C. elite – including the president's son – is taken hostage. Gillian Anderson stars. 'The Night Shift' (NBC) Drama about the overnight staff at a San Antonio hospital. 'About a Boy' (NBC) Comedy based on Nick Hornby's novel. 'Growing Up Fisher' (NBC) Jenna Elfman and J.K. Simmons star in this comedy about a family going through divorce. 'Penny Dreadful' (Showtime) Described as a 'psychosexual' horror series about the origin of monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein) in Victorian England. 'Salem' (WGN) More witches.
Hank Stuever
More in Things To Do
Vatican's Sistine Chapel is brought to life in Mentor
Music Box Supper Club set to launch Immersive Sound Listening Parties
Even with a mermaid-centric plot, historical fantasy 'The King's Daughter' can't find its sea legs


Immanuel's Veins is the latest thriller from the prolific Ted Dekker. It is the story of Toma Nicolescu, a warrior in the service of Catherine the Great, and his mission to protect the Cantemir family in Moldavia. Complications arise in the form a duke, one Vlad van Valerik, and his entourage. With this conflict, Dekker explores the heights and depths to which love can take us. We, along with Toma, learn the high cost of love. In fact, is the central theme of the book is a question: What is sacrificial love? And is it a price we are willing to pay?
I found Immanuel's Veins to be a fun, quick read. Dekker's talent for creating a fast-paced, suspenseful narrative is in full force. It was romantic—sensual, even—without being tawdry. The trappings of 18th century Moldavia are pitch-perfect, but as the story steamrolls ahead to its conclusion, I felt that some of the supporting characters suffered in their depictions. I would have liked a little more depth, a little more time to get to know Toma's compatriot, Alek, better. Other than this, the only real narrative weakness for me was Dekker's attempt to tie the story in with his Books of History Chronicles, as this felt a little forced, a little tacked-on. It would have been better as a stand-alone narrative. All-in-all a compelling story, with central characters you care about, and a satisfying conclusion. I would recommend it.
For a chance to win a Spread the Love t-shirt from Thomas Nelson, please comment below. Thanks for reading!


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Husky sells B.C. refinery for $215 million to focus on upstream Canadian and U.S. assets
The sale of the 12,000-barrel-a-day light oil refinery comes as Husky continues a strategic review of its retail and commercial fuels business
Husky Energy said on Friday it would sell its Prince George Refinery to Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure for $215 million in cash.Postmedia
Husky Energy is selling its Prince George, B.C., oil refinery to Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure for an initial payment of $215 million so it can focus on assets in Canada and U.S. as well as offshore production, the company said.
The cash deal is due to close this year and will also include an adjustment for inventory and a contingent payment of as much as $60 million over two years, the Calgary-based company said in a statement.
"We continue to deliver on Husky's five-year plan, outlined at our investor day in May, with an ongoing focus on capital discipline, consistent execution and increased margins," Husky CEO Rob Peabody said in the statement. "The plan is aimed at further enhancing the resiliency of the company."
The sale of the 12,000-barrel-a-day light oil refinery comes as Husky continues a strategic review of its retail and commercial fuels business. Husky also owns refineries in the U.S. at Lima and Toledo, Ohio and Superior, Wisconsin, according to its website. The Superior refinery is undergoing repairs from a fire and won't reopen until next year, the company reported earlier.
Husky said it would use the cash from the sale to strengthen its balance sheet and return value to shareholders. It's also entering a five-year off-take agreement with Tidewater for refined products from the Prince George refinery. Tidewater is keeping all of the facility's staff, Husky said.
Calgary-based Tidewater says it plans to finance the deal through an increase of an existing credit facility of up to $600 million and a $100 million second lien term loan, according to Bloomberg. Tidewater sees the pact adding more than 50 per cent to 2020 distributable cash flow per share, the news agency reported.
Tidewater focuses on natural gas processing, fractionation, liquids upgrading, transportation, storage, and marketing, according to its website. Its core operations are in the Deep Basin area of western Alberta, Edmonton, and Montney regions of Alberta and B.C., it said.
Several linked projects and assets across Canada's west and the U.S. comprise what Husky calls its Integrated Corridor. These include thermal projects to heat and extract oil from tar sands at Lloydminster on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border, as well as at Cold Lake and Ft. McMurray, Alberta.
Its Lloydminister assets include an asphalt refinery and an oil upgrader that turns heavy oil into synthetic crude, and a 35 per cent share in 1,900 km of pipeline through the area. It has 4.1 million barrels of oil storage at Hardisty, Alberta, and a string of plants that produce 260 million litres of ethanol a year, according to its website.
Husky's resource plays are weighted 70 per cent gas as a hedge against its heavy crude output and refineries, it said.
Husky's offshore production includes the Jeanne d'Arc basin off Newfoundland and Labrador as well as gas projects in Chinese and Indonesian waters, its website shows.
• Email: cmcclelland@postmedia.com
One of last Trans Mountain challenges struck down as court rules pipeline in national interest
Clause in U.S.–China trade deal offers big opportunity for the oilsands
WatchIndigenous group says it will 'remain peaceful' in blocking access to Coastal GasLink worksite
WatchTrans Mountain's make-or-break moment at hand with Supreme Court to hear B.C. case attempting to halt expansion
Group cleaning up abandoned oil wells says Alberta government rules are inadequate
Cold blast sweeping across Western Canada means lower prices for oilsands producers
'Very good news for Canada': Work to resume on long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline
RCMP limits access to protest camps, meets with chiefs opposed to $6.6-billion Coastal GasLink
Husky Energy's spiral continues as analysts downgrade stock
WatchEncana gets shareholders' approval to move headquarters to United States
Coastal GasLink pipeline will be built despite protests, B.C.'s Horgan says


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About »
Mike Richard, General Manager
Mike is the General Manager of Greer Commission of Public Works. He has more than 30 years of experience in utilities, joining Greer CPW in March of 2017 from the Sylacauga Utilities Board in Alabama.
He Holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kentucky and a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Alabama at Birmingham. Mike also holds a Professional Engineering license.
During his career, he has been involved with many professional and civic organizations including the American Public Gas Association (APGA), American Public Power Association (APPA), Rotary and Habitat for Humanity.
Mike lives in Greer with his wife Cindi. They have a son Alex, and a daughter, Caity-lyn.
Fredia Snow, Administration Manager
Fredia Snow is the Administration Manager who assists the General Manager and Commissioners as well as manages the Customer Service Department. Fredia started her career at CPW in 1999 as a CSR, became the Customer Service Supervisor in 2001, and then the Customer Service Manager in 2007. In 2015, Fredia was named Executive Assistant and she started her current role in 2018.
Fredia is a member of American Public Power Association (APPA) and SC Utility Billing Association (SCUBA), where she served as President for 2010-2011. She served on the Board of Greer Relief for six years and was instrumental in developing Greer CPW's assistance program, "Caring People Working Together". Fredia earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Limestone College.
Fredia lives in Greer, with her husband, Erick and their two children, Devin and Ericka.
Alison Rauch, Public Information Coordinator
Alison Rauch is the Public Information Coordinator for Greer CPW and joined the team in May 2016. Alison manages internal and external communications, social media, marketing and coordinates educational events related to the utilities. She takes pride in being a bridge between Greer CPW and customers. Alison previously worked for WACH- TV in Columbia as a Producer/Reporter and CN2 News in Rock Hill as a Reporter. During her time at CN2 News, the cable TV station was selected for several Radio and Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC) awards and was nominated for 2 Regional Emmy Awards in 2012 and 2014. In 2014, the station brought home the statuette for "Television News Programming Excellence", a first for the station.
Alison is the Secretary of the Greer Centennial Lions Club and 2018 recipient of the Melvin Jones Fellowship award, board member with Greer Community Ministries, Partnership for Tomorrow and can be found volunteering with Make-A-Wish and Girls Who Hike. She is also a Leadership Greer Class 37 graduate and recipient of the Leadership Greer 2017 President's Award.
Alison earned her Bachelor of Arts Mass Communication degree from Winthrop University and is originally from Columbia. She currently lives in Greer and in her spare time can be found exploring new hiking trails.
Make sure to follow Greer CPW on all social media platforms - Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @greercpw
Ken Holliday, Human Resources Manager
Ken Holliday is the Human Resource Manager and has been with the organization since 2002. Prior to coming to Greer, Ken was the Public Works Director for the City of Seneca.
Ken is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management and is past President of the Board for the SC Municipal Human Resource Association. He is a member of the SC Public Risk Management Association. He previously served on the SC Local Government Assurance Group Insurance Board.
Ken is a member of the Greer Lions Club, and he enjoys teaching Sunday School and serving as deacon at Fairview Baptist Church. Ken previously served as Minister of Youth at Seneca Baptist Church for 12 years.
Ken received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Administrative Management from Clemson University in 1981, and his Master of Science in Management from Southern Wesleyan University in 2003.
He resides in Greer, SC with his wife, Candy. They have three children and two grandchildren Landon and Judson. Lindsay and husband Justin reside in Colorado; Matt and wife Katelin reside in Aynor, SC; and Brad and wife Kayla reside in Lyman, SC.
Marc Regier, Operations Manager
Marc joined Greer Commission of Public Works in April 2017 and is the Operations Manager. He most recently served as the Information Services Director and Utilities Director for the City of Newberry for the past 9 years.
Regier graduated from Newberry College with a Bachelors of Science degree and after several years of high level IT contracting away from the Midlands, found himself back in Newberry.
Marc and his wife Katie have 4 children: Chloe, Caleb, Camilla and Christian.
In his spare time, Marc enjoys playing soccer and traveling with family.
Mark Harvey, Engineering and Planning Manager
Mark is responsible engineering, long-term system planning and expansion, permitting, right-of-way and easements, project design and management, Geographic Information Systems, utility coordination, and system rehabilitation planning within each utility.
Mark holds a Professional Engineering license. He also holds both a bachelor of science in civil engineering and a master of engineering in environmental engineering systems from Clemson University. Mark is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Water Environment Federation.
Tony Farr, Electric Operations Manager
Tony Farr has been the Manager of Electric Operations since March 1990. Tony is responsible for electric system operations, outage management, electric system expansion and rehabilitation planning, backup emergency power generators, and regulatory compliance. Tony joined CPW in 1985 and previously served as Energy Manager.
While at CPW, Tony led the expansion of the electric system from 6,500 customers to over 19,000 customers, and he oversaw the construction of four new substations to include Country Club Road, Hammett Bridge Road, Highway 101 and Victor Hill Road.
Under Tony's leadership, CPW enjoys industry-leading electric reliability and has received the coveted Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) Platinum member designation from American Public Power Association through 2020. He has been instrumental in developing CPW's outage management system, fiber network and GIS systems.
Tony is an active member of Washington Baptist Church and serves as a Deacon. He is past President of the South Carolina Association of Municipal Power Systems (SCAMPS). Tony is a University of South Carolina graduate, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He is also a graduate of Leadership Greer.
Tony lives in Greer, South Carolina with wife, Missy and their two sons, Alex and Adam.
Rob Rhodes, Gas Operations Manager
Robert Rhodes is the Gas Operations Manager for CPW. His responsibilities include managing the construction, operation and maintenance of the natural gas system. Rob has worked in the natural gas industry for 42 years, and has been with CPW for 40 years.
Rob holds certifications as a Corrosion Technologist with the National Association of Corrosion Engineers, Master Gas Fitter, and Master HVAC with the Municipal Association of South Carolina.
He is past chairman of the South Carolina Utility Coordinating Committee, Greenville Area Utility Coordinating Committee, and the Carolina's Section of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers. He is currently Past Chairman and a member of the Board of Directors for the Carolinas Public Gas Association.
Rob is a also a member of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers, American Public Gas Association, Southern Gas Association, Carolinas Public Gas Association, International Codes Council and the National Fire Protection Association.
Rob lives in Lyman, South Carolina with his wife Donna. They have a daughter, Lauren, and a son, Nicholas.
Ronnie Turner, Water - Wastewater Operations Manager
Ronnie Turner is the Water-Wastewater Operations Manager for CPW. He is responsible for the overall management, operation, and maintenance of CPW's water distribution, sewer lines, lift stations, manholes and wastewater treatment plant. Ronnie has more than 40 years experience in the water distribution and wastewater treatment industry. Under his leadership, our water and sewer field services teams and environmental treatment plant operators set the standard in the industry.
Ronnie holds an "A" Biological Wastewater Operators Certification with the SC Environmental Certification Board. He is a member of the South Carolina Section of the American Water Works Association (SCAWWA) and the Water Environment Association of SC (WEASC) and a member of the Blue Ridge Foothills Chapter.
Ronnie served in the SC Army National Guard for 14 years. He has an Associate's Degree in Engineering.
Brad Nelson, Water Treatment Plant Manager
Brad Nelson has been CPW's Water Treatment Plant Manager since 2007 and has been involved in the drinking water industry for 40 years. Brad worked for American Water Systems in Southern California (16 years) and Spartanburg Water System (13 years) before joining Greer CPW. Brad is licensed as an "A" level water treatment operator, an "A" level Biological Wastewater Treatment Operator, and an "A" level Water Distribution Operator. Brad is also an active member of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the South Carolina Water and Environmental Association (WEASC), South Carolina Rural Water Association (SCRWA), and currently serving as chairman of the Spartanburg County Water Manager's Association. Brad was voted by his peers as South Carolina Water Treatment Operator of the Year in 2000. Under Brad's management, CPW's water treatment plant was awarded the South Carolina Area Wide Optimization Award for drinking water quality for 10 consecutive years.
Brad lives in Inman, South Carolina with his wife Sandra.
Charles E. Reynolds, Finance Manager
Charles "Chuck" Reynolds is CPW's Finance Manager. In this role, Chuck manages financial matters for the utility, including financial reports, debt issuance, grants management, and rate planning and management. He is also responsible for several other departments, including IT, Warehousing and Facilities, and Vehicle Maintenance. Chuck joined CPW in 2001 as the General Accounting Manager, was appointed as Finance Manager in 2006, and was promoted to his current role in 2015.
Chuck has over 25 years of experience in finance and accounting in public utilities, petroleum and convenience stores, and higher education. His expertise includes accounting and financial management, strategic planning, rate management and planning, capital project planning, grants management, debt issuance and management, and rating agency management.
Chuck is currently on the Board of Directors of the Piedmont Municipal Power Agency (PMPA) and the Board of Directors of the Catawba Owners' Group. He has also served as a volunteer member of the Board of Directors' of Greer Relief and Resources Agency, serving as Chair, vice-Chair and Treasurer.
Chuck earned his Master of Business Administration from Gardner-Webb University and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of South Carolina.
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text:
Van R. Butler Reopening Plan
WCSD Reopening Information
Student Intent Survey - 2020-2021 School Year
PikMyKid
School & District Info
Butler Bear News
First Grade Team
Second Grade Team
Third Grade Team
Fourth Grade Team
Fifth Grade Team
Free & Reduced Meal Information
Online Meal Payment
FOCUS-Parent Portal
Maude Saunders Elementary
Mossy Head Elementary
Paxton School
Van R. Butler Elementary
Walton High School
West DeFuniak Elementary
Van R. Butler Elementary Home of the Bears - Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Year 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Bay School Teacher and ESP of the Year
Bay School is very excited to introduce our Teacher Of The Year and E.S.P. Of The Year for the 2020-2021 school year!
These amazing members of our Bay family deserve to be recognized for EPIC jobs that they do each and every day!
Teacher of the year - Mrs.Heather Motter
E.S.P. of the year - Ms. Susan Floyd
COOPERATION is the WARRIOR WAY
As the new year begins, the WMS PE department continues its "Warrior Way" character education program. Perhaps now more than ever, the way we treat people matters. This month, our tribe is focused on COOPERATION. Please take the time to reinforce this concept at home. Together, we can inspire our Warriors to be the very best versions of themselves they can be.
Re-Opening Update for Parents 1/15/21
I want to officially welcome you back to school from the Christmas and New Year's Holidays! I hope 2021 is off to a promising start for both you and your family.
In the spirit of transparency, the Walton County School District would like to continue providing our updated COVID-19 data. Even after our holiday break and with 90% of students now enrolled in our brick and mortar settings, we are holding steady with both positive cases and exposures.
Today's Data
Overall Data to Date
(8/17/20 – 1/15/21)
Positive COVID-19 Cases
of School District Students and/or Employees
Quarantined Due to On Campus Exposure
Quarantined Due to Off Campus Exposure (Community/Family Exposure)
Schools Involved in Positive Cases and/or Exposure
We believe our lower numbers are a result of the strong collaboration among families, students, and staff, and we hope to continue in this same manner. In that regard, we would like to once again remind everyone of our top COVID-19 preventive measures.
Please social distance. All schools are announcing this reminder at the beginning of the day and during special events. You may also notice increased signage at schools and at athletic events.
Mask are required for the school bus and are strongly encouraged at school, especially when social distancing isn't feasible.
Please wash and sanitize your hands throughout the day. All schools and buses have additional hand sanitizing stations for this purpose.
Please stay home when you are sick. Staff will continue mandatory screening each day, and students may be randomly screened throughout the day.
As we begin planning the remainder of the second semester, we appreciate your understanding as we navigate through our many spring events and school traditions. Please know it is our wish that all events and plans continue as normal. As educators charged with the safety of students, please understand that all future event decisions will be individually weighed based on updated COVID-19 information and data.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns related to safety or COVID-19, please do not hesitate to ask. Safety is, and will always remain, our number one priority.
Here's to a great second semester and a healthy 2021!"
WCSD Top 3 Teacher of the Year Nominees
We are so elated that the following teachers have been selected first, by their colleagues at their school sites, and then secondly, have been designated as the top 3 from that distinguished group to compete and be observed by a non-bias committee to be selected as the Walton County School District Teacher of the Year.
Christin Barnhart – South Walton High School
Leslie Coone – Mossy Head School
Hannah Gomillion – Van R. Butler Elementary School
A committee looked over all the applications, accomplishments, and skills of those who were selected at their school sites. Now this committee is going to do a formal visit to the classrooms of Ms. Barnhart, Ms. Coone, and Ms. Gomillion, to see all that was written on paper, in real-time. The interaction that these teachers will have with their students, the engagement the student will be involved in, will help determine which of these three very phenomenal teachers will represent WCSD at the state level as Teacher of the Year.
We have had some great winners in past years and know this year's winner is not going to be an exception to that greatness. We, the teachers, support staff, principals, and community, are excited to have this kind of representation on the wonderful campuses we have in Walton County.
Congratulations to the site-based winners on every campus!
We are glad to say that at 90% brick and mortar, our students are really getting the full effect of being educated by these teachers.
Congratulations and good luck to those who have been selected in the top 3 and are now in the running for Walton County School District's Teacher of the Year."
WISE Center Professionals of the Year
Congratulations to Matthew Cotton and Elizabeth Pulley, for being selected as teacher of the year and ESP of the year. Matthew Cotton teaches 6-12 science at the Walton In"10"sity School of Excellence. He began his career in Walton County as a paraprofessional and after earning his degree from the University of West Florida, earned the position of science instructor at the Magnet program. He has been instrumental at developing our school based behavior program via LiveSchool and mentoring teachers with various forms of virtual learning.
Preparing the Whole Child for a Life of Success!
Our District Mission is: Preparing the whole child for a life of Success"! This too was on display at WHS Monday night with the FBLA students competing in the District Competition against other FBLA teams in the northern part of the state. Mrs. Harless leads this team with High Expectation as they have received Statewide entry for their exhibition of Business Concepts, skills, and practices. Good luck to these students for starting early at becoming the Future Business Leaders of America; Walton County is a hub for this kind of Innovative Learning and a wonderful place not only to live, worship, raise a family, but to work. We believe these students will play a great part in the continued Economic Development that's happening in our county. Superintendent Hughes stopped in to encourage these students.
Walton High School Academic Meet, "The Place To Be."
Walton High School was "The Place To Be" last night as some of the brightest and well rounded students in the WORLD put to competition their Academic Knowledge displayed and put to test at our Academic Team Meet! Wow…..Is an understatement of what these students know, have learned, and are able to supply under the pressure of a time clock/limit, in the presence of their peers, teachers and viewed by parents through technology. EPIC may not give justice to the level of awesomeness these students exemplify in this setting. Thanks teachers and sponsors for making it happen for these students; times that will forever be treasured even during the challenges of a pandemic!
PS Teachers and ESP of the Year
Paxton School would like to recognize their ESP, Elementary, and Secondary Teachers of the Year.
MSE Announces Teacher and ESP of the Year
Maude Saunders is proud to announce our 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Kris Ascetta and our ESP of the Year, Mrs. Roslyn Chatman. Mrs. Ascetta has taught first grade at MSE for two years and currently serves as the grade level chairperson. Mrs. Chatman supports the staff and students at MSE daily as she works with students and teachers across grade levels. Congratulations, Mrs. Ascetta and Mrs. Chatman!
National Mentoring Month
National Mentoring Month is a time to focus national attention on the importance of mentors, and to reflect on how each of us — individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities and nonprofits — can help grow the mentoring movement and the positive effects it has on young people.
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text:
'use strict';

module.exports = 'baz qux';

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


In this post we'll be giving our review of the turbo ultralite professional hair dryer made by Solano.
To start this is has been my first and only time that I've ever used a Solano blow dryer so I was ready to get this bad boy out of the box and test it out.
Let's get into my overall thoughts of this dryer shall we?
I wanted to go for something more light weight which is what attracted me to this dryer from Solano.
As technology keeps advancing every year it seems the hair dryers are getting small/lighter but packing in more features, kind of like cell phones I guess you could say.
Having specific drying technologies has become a must for me and is pretty much common across the board for blow dryers nowadays so Solano did a good job making sure to keep up with what's expected.
These different technologies affect things like how our hair looks after being dried and minimizes damage to the hair when being dried so they're one on the major key components when looking for a hair dryer.
The "far infrared heat" is a first for me and I can't really talk about it too much because I'm not sure of how it works but it does sound promising because it's designed to, "dries hair from the inside out for overall healthier hair".
The 2 heat 3 speed settings is a good variety of settings for changing things up per person for varying hair types or different hairstyles.
This hair dryer works great for people who have an issue holding heavier types of dryers for a long period of time or someone who is looking for a more quiet type.
For those who have that type of hair that takes forever to dry then this hair dryer maybe to 'lightweight' in terms of drying power for you.
This would work better for those who have a more thin type of hair that usually dries somewhat easy but you're looking to focus more on the quality of how it dries rather than how quick.
For the weight and the way this hair dryer leaves my hair looking I find it to be a solid hair dryer. Since I have longer thicker hair it does take it a bit of time to dry my hair which doesn't surprise me.
This is why I'm looking into trying one of Solanos more powerful hair dryers next.


Curious about Prince Fielder's net worth in 2019? Check out how much Prince Fielder is worth today.
Wondering how much Prince Fielder is worth? Or maybe you're curious about Prince Fielder's salary this year? People always ask us - How much money does Prince Fielder have or make? Fortunately for you, we've got the details on Prince Fielder's net worth for 2019. In 2019, Prince Fielder's net worth was estimated to be $60 Million, with a salary of $23 Million.


Q: When is the home open for tours?
A: The house is open for tours Thursday-Sunday, 10 a.m.—4 p.m.
A: Tickets are available at the door or online at mspmag.com/hometour for $10. You can also purchase tickets at the posted outlets.
Q: Do you offer guided tours?
A: There are no guided tours during the regular hours of the Showcase Home tour. However, we do offer designer-led tours on Thursdays at 10 AM. You can learn more about designer-led tours and purchase your tickets in the Purchase Tickets tab.
Q: Can I bring my stroller inside the home?
A: Unfortunately, strollers are not permitted inside the home for safety reasons.
Q: Can I bring my wheel chair inside the home?
A: Unfortunately, the home is not wheelchair accessible.
Q: Can I bring food or drink inside the home?
A: We're sorry, food and beverages are not permitted inside of the home.
Q: May I take photos or video inside of the home?
A: No street parking is available at the home. A shuttling service is provided for guests to tour the home. Shuttles will begin running from Lord Fletcher's 15 minutes prior to the home opening on General Tour Days. You can find more information about the shuttle service on the Directions page. Please be aware of signs that post parking restrictions.


Net Income Statement - Summarizes the income generated, the expenses incurred, and the net income earned by the business during a period of time.
Statement of Cash Flows - Summarizes all the sources and uses of cash by the business during a period of time.
Statement of Owner Equity - Shows how net worth changed from the beginning to the end of the year.
Forms for preparing each of these statements are found in this publication. Several supplemental schedules also are provided, on whichassets and liabilities can be listed and subtotals of their values carried forward to the statements. Most of the information can be taken from the same sources used to prepare a farm income tax return, plus a listing of assets owned and liabilities owed.
Tables and worksheets are presented in the accompanying "pdf" file that you can access by clicking here or on the icon above.


text:
Q: Fragments, viewpagers, Async task I have a view pager holding 3 fragments each fragment contains an async task that loads different urls for json data that is loaded into a custom listview in each fragment.
may problem is the view pager loads two fragments at a time, this delays the loding process, the progress dialogs from the next fragment are loaded in the current fragment.
how can solve my problem.

A: Dont load the three pages simulatneouly when the fragment is selected load the page.
@Override
public void setUserVisibleHint(boolean isVisibleToUser) {
    if(this.isVisible()){
        if (!isVisibleToUser) {
        // TODO your async task .
        }

    }
    super.setUserVisibleHint(isVisibleToUser);
}

A: set setOffscreenPageLimit for View Pager
mPager.setOffscreenPageLimit(3);

where mPager is object of ViewPager.Hope this will help

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
19 November 2021 – 9 April 2022
Families & Young People
As we slowly emerge from a period of deep change and challenge, Winter 2021/22 at Shakespeare's Globe continues our endeavour to bring us together in a shared exploration of who we are, why we are and what on earth we can do about it.
From three thrilling productions of some of Shakespeare's most thought-provoking plays, to a new family-friendly Christmas show and a packed programme of Half Term events for young people and their grownups, we're exploring big questions with plenty of heart, lots of humour and heaps of humanity.
Winter 2021/22 at the Globe
#PLAYBYCANDLELIGHT
Our Women & Power festival returns and is louder than ever as we raise and celebrate voices of women from all backgrounds.
Young Actors & Youth Theatre
Our Young Actors Short Courses and Globe Youth Theatre are perfect for aspiring actors and academics.
Our family festival returns in Spring 2022 with a packed programme of activities for February half term.
Read all blogs relating to our Winter 2021/22 season.
News Sep 21
Announcing our Winter 2021/22 season
Delve into Shakespeare's world with our Winter 2021/22 programme of events
MORE ABOUT THE SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE...
Shakespeare's Globe is home to two very different performance spaces – the outdoor Globe Theatre and the indoor Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) SAFETY MEASURES


text:
Interpol // The Other Side Of Make-Believe
Matador Records
Coming July 15th: the first album from Interpol in four years, The Other Side of Make-Believe. If fate didn't quite ordain the circumstances for Interpol's seventh album, it was at least fortunate that the band had happily concluded their Marauder cycle on stage in front of 30 thousand-odd Peruvian fans. Rather than be sent scrambling like so many other musicians on tour or promoting new music, when lockdown clamped in March 2020, Interpol quickly got into a productive mood. Coming from a group whose early work was characterized by Polish knife-wielders and incarcerated serial killers, you might expect Interpol's pandemic record to be an emotional tar pit - doubly so, given the presence of towering producer-engineer duo Flood and Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Depeche Mode) on the boards. But Banks felt the call to push in a "counterbalancing" direction, with paeans to mental resilience and the quiet power of going easy. "The nobility of the human spirit is to recover and rebound," he says. "Yeah, I could focus on how f***ed everything is, but I feel now is the time when being hopeful is necessary, and a still-believable emotion within what makes Interpol Interpol."
Mr. Credit
Something Changed
Renegade Hearts
Gran Hotel
Big Shot City
Go Easy (Palermo)
Category: Album, Interpol, Rock


Cross-correlation of gravitational-wave (GW) data streams have been used to search for stochastic backgrounds, and the same technique was applied to look for periodic GWs from the low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) Sco X-1. Recently a technique was developed which refines the cross-correlation scheme to take full advantage of the signal model for periodic gravitational waves from rotating neutron stars. By varying the time window over which data streams are correlated, the search can "trade off" between parameter sensitivity and computational cost. We describe prospects for using this cross-correlation method to search LIGO and Virgo data for periodic GWs from systems with partially-known parameters, such as supernova remnants without an associated known pulsar, the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, and LMXBs.


City Living - convenience, security and on-site parking - perfect for a busy executive. Located on the Sixth Floor of Six Dundonald Street this residence will wow you with its bright and airy ambience! Contemporary floor to ceiling windows invite you to enjoy panoramic city-scape views while inside, slick European-style design accommodates your every need. The living area has extra space for dining and is open plan to an efficient well-designed kitchen with an adjacent powder room and laundry. The bedroom comfortably fits a king size bed and benefits from a stylish modern bathroom and walk-in closet. Six Dundonald has an on-site supervisor, secure entry control to the building and elevators which access both the apartment and the underground parking garage. Unit 605 has a dedicated parking spot as well as private storage space. This apartment is ideal for professionals who love a city lifestyle or downsizers who want a manageable home in Bermuda.


1. Slave World Book 2: The Initiation is nearly midway through. I hope to write THE END on it very, very soon.
2. A spark of an idea has finally hit me on Natascha's next story. Will be outlining this week.
3. The Duke's next tale is on the block as soon as SW2 is done.
4. I still haven't given up on doing another Master's book. I have a great idea for part 7, just drawing a blank on where to take part 8. If nothing comes, I may just write part 7 and make it the finale.
5. I have ideas percolating on two new series. Yes, TWO! One I know will be hot, hot, hot...perhaps some of the hottest yet. The second is still in the infancy stage and just roiling around trying to figure out how to take off.
Hope you've enjoyed the stories I've put out so far...and considering May is Masturbation Month, I don't doubt some of you may have used them to celebrate this fine, upstanding holiday. Not that May should be any different than any other month of the year. National Masturbation Year is celebrated in my home each and every year.


text:
De Amerikaanse film (vaak metonymisch aangeduid met Hollywood) heeft sinds het begin van de twintigste eeuw een groot effect op de ontwikkeling van de film in de rest van de wereld gehad. De Amerikaanse filmgeschiedenis beslaat vier grote perioden: het stommefilmtijdperk, de klassieke Hollywoodfilm, Nieuw Hollywood en de hedendaagse periode (na 1980).

In 1878 liet Eadweard Muybridge de kracht van fotografie zien door beweging te vangen in een foto. In 1894 werd in New York met gebruikmaking van Thomas Edisons kinetoscoop 's werelds eerste commerciële filmtentoonstelling gehouden. Het jaar daarop vond in New York de eerste commerciële filmvertoning plaats en de Amerikanen waren de pioniers in de ontwikkeling van de geluidsfilm in de volgende decennia.

Aanvankelijk was de Amerikaanse filmindustrie gevestigd in New York, maar omdat de belichtingstechnieken nog beperkt waren en er daarom veel gebruikgemaakt moest worden van daglicht werd naar een zuidelijkere locatie gezocht. Halverwege de jaren twintig was Picture City in Florida de beoogde locatie, maar het idee werd als gevolg van de verwoestende orkaan van 1928 losgelaten. Uiteindelijk werd gekozen voor het Californische Hollywood.

Regisseur D.W. Griffith speelde een centrale rol in de ontwikkeling van beeldtechnieken, en Citizen Kane (1941) van Orson Welles wordt vaak door recensenten genoemd als de beste film aller tijden. Amerikaanse filmacteurs als John Wayne en Marilyn Monroe zijn iconen geworden, terwijl de producent en ondernemer Walt Disney een leidende rol had op het gebied van tekenfilms en merchandising. De grote filmstudio's van Hollywood zijn de primaire leverancier van 's werelds commercieel succesvolste films, zoals Star Wars (1977) en Titanic (1997), en de producten uit Hollywood domineren de wereldwijde filmindustrie.

Literatuur
 Brownstein, Ronald (1990). The power and the glitter: the Hollywood-Washington connection. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0394569385

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Worries about the new GCSE structure subside as the proportion of passes increases.
Concerns about the tougher structure of the re-vamped GCSE examinations has subsided considerably as the proportion of students meeting the pass mark has increased. Education reforms have left the exams as a tougher challenge for students this year in comparison to previous cohorts. However, this year's pupils have risen to the challenge set to them, and the pass rate has risen.
The overhaul of the tradition marking system, which has always previously run from A* to U, has meant that students this year have received marks ranging from 9 to 1.
About 90 percent of the GCSE examinations taken by pupils this year were part of the tougher format. GCSE reforms have generated more complex content being made part of the syllabus, as well as less coursework being available to students which have placed further importance on final exams.
The proportion of students meeting the pass mark has increased by 0.5 percent with this cohort, making the overall pass rate of 66.9 percent.
In addition, while girls have continued to perform better than boys in their attainment at GCSE level, the disparity between boys and girls has decreased with boys making strides towards the girls' higher grades.
Amongst the more than half a million students who took GCSEs this year, only 732 entrants made a sweep of all top-grades, showing how difficult it is to achieve highly in this new syllabus.
The government intended these reforms to place the level of education in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland on par with the most rigorous schooling formations in the world, such as Finland and Singapore.
There has been a government-led drive to increase the standard of education across the UK, for the economy to benefit when these children taking the tougher GCSEs eventually enter the workforce.
However, it is not all good news as a spokesperson for the National Education Union has tempered over-exuberance about this year's results, stating that "success is being rationed" due to fewer students receiving top grades this year.
In addition, students are warning that the new formation of the GCSEs has placed significantly more stress on them and has been damaging for their mental health.
Due to there being little or no past papers available for students to make use of this year, many felt unprepared for their end of year examinations, meaning that they experienced a lot of anxiety in the build-up to their exams.
This year's cohort may leave the public wondering whether academic success is worth the mental adversity young people are being put through to achieve highly.


text:
function varargout = splitting(on_off)
%SPLITTING   CHEBFUN splitting option.
%   SPLITTING('ON') allows the CHEBFUN constructor to split the interval by a
%   process of automatic subdivision and edge detection. This option is
%   recommended when working with functions with singularities or jumps.
%
%   SPLITTING('OFF') disables this kind of automatic splitting, and is
%   recommended for working with functions that are complicated but still
%   smooth. Even with splitting off, breakpoints may still be introduced by the
%   MAX, MIN, ABS, CEIL, FLOOR, and ROUND commands. One may switch freely back
%   and forth between the two modes during a Chebfun computation.
%
%   SPLITSTATE = SPLITTING(...) will return the current state splitting option
%   (as a string), before any changes are applied.
%
%   SPLITTING by itself, displays a string detailing the current splitting
%   state. By default, this is OFF.
%
% See also CHEBFUNPREF.

% Copyright 2015 by The University of Oxford and The Chebfun Developers.
% See http://www.chebfun.org/ for Chebfun information.

if ( nargout > 0 && nargin == 0 )
    % Return current splitting state:
    splitState = chebfunpref().splitting;

elseif ( nargin == 0 )
    % Display splitting state:
    switch ( chebfunpref().splitting )
        case 1
            disp('SPLITTING is currently ON.')
        case 0
            disp('SPLITTING is currently OFF.')
    end

else
    % Throw a warning:
    warning('CHEBFUN:splitting:deprecated', ...
        ['The syntax ''splitting on'' is deprecated.\n', ...
        'Please see CHEBFUNPREF documentation for further details.']);
    % But only throw it once:
    warning('off', 'CHEBFUN:splitting:deprecated');

    if ( nargout > 0 )
        splitState = chebfunpref().splitting;
    end

    if ( strcmpi(on_off, 'on') )
        chebfunpref.setDefaults('splitting', true);

    elseif strcmpi(on_off, 'off')
        chebfunpref.setDefaults('splitting', false);

    else
        error('CHEBFUN:splitting:UnknownOption',...
            'Unknown splitting option: only ON and OFF are valid options.')
    end

end

if ( nargout > 0 )
    onOffStr = {'off', 'on'};
    varargout{1} = onOffStr{splitState+1};
end

end