text:
Safe (again) - South Melbourne 3 Dandenong Thunder 0
George Gerondaras did an admirable job at right-back.
Photo: Cindy Nitsos.
The most blessed thing about this win is not only the fact that it secures our Victorian top-flight tenure for another year, but that it does so with a nice, clean, and unambiguous three games to spare. Say what you want about the squad's calibre, its erratic performances, and its baffling inability to score goals at regular intervals - when comparing 2019's team to last year's, this year's side is officially at least three points better than what was dished up last year.
That's no claim to fame for a club like ours, which will almost certainly miss the finals for a second year running, but you've got to acknowledge even incremental improvement where you can find it.
We looked sharp from the start - Gerrie Sylaidos launching a looping shot which the Thunder keeper was just awake enough for - and took the lead about ten minutes in after a (let's call it a) right-footed cross from Pep Marafioti was bunted in - just - by Billy Konstantinidis. There was confusion in the stands about whether the goal had crossed the line, but there were no complaints from the opposition defenders, even though one of our marshals behind that goal later claimed online that the ball had not crossed the line.
Apart from a ten minute patch in the first half - predictably arriving after about 25 minutes - Thunder didn't really cause us too many problems in the opening 45 minutes, while we wasted more chances. Pep Marafioti hit a right foot(!) shot off a turn on the edge of the box that cannoned off the crossbar, and that was just one of the chances we didn't get full value for.
The second half was pretty good from us, but without having yet put away the second goal, and with Thunder's season on the line, there were bound to be some nervous moments. We got two or three big ones, and somehow managed to dodge all of them. A long-range shot which drifted wide; a goal called back late (albeit correctly) for offside; and a soft header from a tight angle which should've been harmless, but Roganovic had slipped, managing to at least palm the ball away for a corner.
What would've happened had we conceded an equaliser with 15 or so to play? Who knows, but I wouldn't have been thinking good thoughts. Luckily for us, Kosta Stratomitros headed home a Sylaidos corner for the second week running, and that killed off the Thunder resistance on and off the pitch. There had been a reasonable and quite sweary presence of Thunder fans in the stands, but perhaps not as many would've been had Preston not been playing North Sunshine in a championship decider. Once the second goal left, those fans started to leave, and missed Marcus Schroen's close range goal for 3-0.
The man of the match probably went to George Gerondaras, who played a good game at right-back in place of Ben Djiba for some reason or other. Gerondaras put in some very timely tackles during the first half, as well as one poor one which got him a yellow. Ironically, it was probably that yellow which saved him from getting a yellow later on after he attempted a very blatant form of time-wasting and slowing down of the play; either that, or the referee took pity on George's youth and inexperience. Still, it was an impressive performance, give or take the odd nervous and rushed moment.
But the thinking person's man of the match though probably goes to Jake Marshall, who kept Brandon Barnes very quiet. Shut down Barnes, who's been single-handedly keeping Thunder's season alive, and you're halfway to getting a result over his team.
Finals prognostication (status: enjoy it while it lasts)
I bet a few you didn't think this was at likely to be a possibility before last Sunday afternoon. Probably most of you still don't think we're a chance, and that's fair enough too.
Some of you may not even want a finals appearance, thinking perhaps that we'd be ripe for humiliation should be make it - or maybe you're a club financier who would hate to make a late run to the finals, which would only result in several win bonuses and a finals game (or heaven forbid, two) where we wouldn't get the gate.
The sums are pretty straightforward: barring some colossal screw up by Gully and/or Hume in their remaining three games, the best we could possibly manage in 2019 is sixth. To do that, we'd need to "run the table" to borrow a phrase from American football parlance - that is, we'd need to win every game.
That's not going to happen, especially when you consider our erratic form up to this point, our poor goal difference, and the fact that sixth placed Oakleigh has a game in hand.
Just be happy (or less unhappy) that I can omit the bottom three teams from this screen-cap.
Oakleigh away on Friday night. They're undefeated in the league for like, forever at the moment. Quite possible that a few more South people than usual will be streaming this one.
Match day revenue idea for the social club?
Flying off the production line (just don't ask where...)
Congratulations to the under 20s, who managed to secure their championship with a comfortable win over Thunder on Sunday. While I'm sure the boys would've wanted to go through the season undefeated, at least the previous week's loss to Hume allowed the team to win the championship on home turf.
I watched the first half of the curtain-raiser, as has become my late season mini-habit, from inside the scoreboard control room, and the second half from inside the social club - well, I watched the last portion of the second half in the social club once someone with authority and the requisite know-how put the stream on the screens inside the social club, while I enjoyed a burger (quite good, and also delivered quickly), and not-so-much-enjoyed a slice of galaktobouriko (too custardy and runny, instead of the proper firmer texture, courtesy of skimping on the semolina I'm guessing here; also deficient in syrup for my liking).
Speaking of the social club, what's going on in there? They've upped the prices of the souvlaki from $8 to $10 because of an increase in the cost of lamb (according to a notice at ye olde ordering station), but one food critic sitting at my table also noted that the souv had seemingly shrunk in size from the usual offering - and the large chips was also a much diminished serve compared to what was produced so far this season.
In addition to all that, one thing which came to my attention courtesy of, well, being told about it, was the periodic inability of people to buy booze at the bar because one of the main people manning the register and bar area was underage, and thus not licensed to serve alcohol to patrons. I mean, good on the kid for following the rules, but the social club operators have really got to sort this out by the start of next year.
South Melbourne, NPL under 20 champions for 2019. Photo: Luke Radziminski.
Anyway, back to the under 20s. They got a warm reception from the crowd during the early part of the second half of the senior game as they walked in front of the grandstand.
Of course while we're all very happy for the boys on their deserved title, quite a few people will be asking how many if any of them will end up playing senior football for the club in the near future.
My answer to that would be, well, who knows? It's very hard for any club to create teams made up mostly or even significantly of its youth products, and the higher up the divisions that team is, the harder it is. Perhaps with the lower senior men's wage budget, there may be more room for our youth products to come through.
Either that, or we'll do what we normally do - let them wander across the cursed earth of Victorian for a few years, before picking them up again down the track after they've played for Bentleigh or someone like that.
Already with the rumours about who we're signing next year! Hold off until the season is officially over you ghouls!
Labels: 2019 season, Dandenong Thunder, George Gerondaras, Match Reports, SMFC Under 20s
Existential malaise - Hume City 3 South Melbourne 1
This post is late because I only just managed to get back home via public transport after to walk into the wind after the game back to the station.
If last season was a nightmarish, self-inflicted disaster of a season, it was still possible to view it as an aberration; an overdue or ahead-of-schedule correction to several pretty good years - good years which perhaps existed in spite of good club stewardship rather than because of it.
With four games to go in a second consecutive below mediocre season, we're now wondering at best where and when this meandering operation will end. Will it end in eventual relegation, if not this year or next, then in the year after? No one can really see a way out of this torpor at the moment, and it's a torpor which extends throughout the club. On field it has been an erratic shambles, and off-field there seems to be no energy, no drive, no purpose. That this has happened in a 60th anniversary year - which so far has been celebrated mostly via occasional commemorative merchandise - has some fans particularly concerned.
Worst of all, it seems as if a good portion of those most rusted on South fans have thrown in the towel, if not permanently, than at least for the remainder of this season. Our fan base post-NSL has been cleaved off, then chipped away, and now perhaps we're at the stage where those remaining are being weathered away. I've long maintained that boasts about club loyalty are just that, and that everyone has a breaking point. Now we're seeing people who would seldom miss a game home or away finding better things to do. Even more concerning, a good deal of those still attending often do so with regret and a kind of self-loathing.
Anyway, from a superficial perspective, the fact that there were four goals in this game at least points towards an extant entertainment factor. The reality though is that the game was a mess. A gale force wind blowing straight down the ground made play extremely difficult. At least we got the nominal benefit of that wind during the first half, not that it actually did us any good. We created three or four pretty good chances, failed to take any of them, and for the rest of the time sent in a whole bunch of wayward crosses that sailed out of play. Of course all this was made worse by the fact that Hume scored into the breeze, with a free kick no less. That was pretty much the game right there, because if we couldn't keep the home team out when they were going against the wind, how were we going to do it when they were kicking with it?
The answer was that we couldn't. We conceded two more goals, which probably looked worse from the other end of the field where I was standing then closer to the action. I suppose it was nice of us to score a goal from a corner a - Gerrie Sylaidos corner - when the game was already done, and by which time most of the behind the goals crew had already left. And at least we fought the game out, which is more than can be said for the tail-end of last season. But the bigger problems remain, and we can only that we'll have a chance to solve them in NPL rather than in NPL 2 (or whatever they remain the the tier below us next season).
There's an old Dr Katz joke about the three most dangerous parts of flying being takeoff, landing, and the bit in the middle, and that's pretty much our situation at the moment. Neither the forwards, defenders, or midfielders are adequately doing their job, though I will be gentler on the defenders for having to put up with a rudderless central midfield operation. There has not been a settled lineup all season, only some of which can be put down to injury, and far more towards recruitment. We can't even keep the nerve of hanging on to the same goalkeeper during a recent undefeated streak, where even if Josh Dorron's performances have been a little iffy, than at least he has been no worse than Nikola Roganovic.
But anyway, that's short term stuff. Who's going to coach us next year? Who would stay? Who would even want to come to us in this state?
Next game / Relegation battle (status: sadly still in play)
Another week, another mixed bag of results for us on this front.
After leading 2-1 at one point during the first half, Kingston lost 5-2 to Gully. The day before, Pascoe Vale had lost 2-1 to Knights. That's the good news.
With four games to go, only a complete South Melbourne catastrophe and simultaneous turnaround in form from either of the bottom two would see us land in 13th or 14th.
Unfortunately for us, a finish in the relegation playoff spot still remains in play. That's thanks to our three game win-less streak, as well as Dandenong Thunder picking up a point at home to Avondale on the weekend.
It could've been worse - Thunder had an early lead, and late on in the piece Brandon Barnes missed what was by his standards a very gettable chance.
So this week's game against Thunder is obviously huge. This is especially the case for Thunder, who need to win the game in order to have any chance of getting out of the bottom three.
A draw for us should be enough to save us in 2019.
Not much better news on this front, though at least our seniors are still in with a chance at finals. Last night they lost 3-1 to Bulleen, but considering our very young cohort and the fact that we had to use an outfielder and chief scorer as a goalkeeper as a starter, it could've been worse. First choice keeper was seriously injured last week, and our backup walked out during the week or before that. We even managed to take the lead yesterday and didn't look too bad in general play, in what was a turnover fest in the first half. Second half Bulleen managed to compose themselves and keep us at bay. Sofia Sakalis seems to have a lot on her shoulders, with almost everything useful having to go through her this year, but you hope she'll get a lot out of this season because of it.
I haven't really been watching much other NPL this season, and certainly not Hume games, but has that chanting group of theirs been there all season? It seems unlikely to me. Didn't notice them at the earlier fixture between our sides this year. Maybe it's only a special occasion thing. If that's the case, it's nice to think that we still warrant that kind of respect and/or attention. Special props also to the gaggle of teenagers chanting "fuck South Melbourne" and thumping the lid of a bin. You the real deal, not like us who had to be pleaded with to chant by Hume goalkeeper Michael Weier.
Labels: 2019 season, Hume City, Match Reports, SMFC Women
Something which I only just became aware of
One really important thing to note about tomorrow's game against Hume - the senior match is on at 5:30, and that will be followed by the under 20s match at 7:45.
The season starts now - South Melbourne 1 Melbourne Knights 1
Everyone seemed fascinated by this pink-purple sky, with some of ours
fans forgetting their troubles momentarily to take photos of the unreal sky.
Photo: Luke Radziminski.
Walking into the social club on Sunday, and seeing the trophy cabinets empty of all their trophies and associated paraphernalia, I was little bit concerned. Where was everything? Had we been robbed by people so careful so as to not break the glass cases? Did we melt down the silver - assuming there were any precious metals in the trophies - to pay off debt collectors?
Well actually it was because everything had been taken out because the social club had been used to film some television show about WAGs. Still, nothing had been put back in by game day Sunday, so there's three or four us squinting at photos of what the cabinet layouts used to look like, arranging display boxes, putting the trophies back in, and worst of all, hopelessly trying to put the various pennants in.
Instead of having convenient hooks from which to hang the pennants, the pennants almost invariably required to be screwed into tiny-and-very-difficult-to-access-without-Olympic-gymnast-contortions holes in the ceilings of the cabinets. And you'd thought the social club's kitchen layout was messed up! I would love to meet whoever was responsible for choosing tiny screw holes instead of well-placed hooks.
But at least we got most of the stuff back in there (on way or another) before most of the visiting Cros turned up to shame us for our empty trophy cabinets. Still, at least we have our NSL championship trophies, unlike another club - just don't ask me where our NSL Cup trophies are
Speaking of the social club kitchen, I know I get to the ground pretty early compared to most people, but the arrival of my hamburger was very fast this week regardless of this fact, and I'm sure we're all really happy for me. I sat down to enjoy my burger (and later washed it down with a tasty beverage), and then watched the women's game being played outside but watched by me on the big screen (when it was eventually put on), only to see that we were already 2-0 down to the mighty 2019 Calder side, and thus pretty much already cooked.
Credit to our girls - and they mostly are girls, age-wise - they put in a good fight, and even tried to cheat their way to an own goal via a handball (which was easily spotted by the referee), but they were outclassed and out-muscled. Worse, it looks like we may have lost our starting keeper Erin Hudson, who came off midway through the second half with what looked like a serious arm injury - she was replace by an outfielder in goal, which didn't really result in a shellacking any worse than I would've thought we'd have copped before the game.
It does help keep the scoreline somewhat respectable when your backpass(?) floats over the makeshift keeper's head, bounces onto the sodden yet still springy turf and somehow up into the crossbar, staying out. But that and the late goal we pinched were just about the only things that went right for our senior women on the day - it's been that kind of season, and yet they're still in with a shot at the finals.
The rain came down throughout the senior men's game, but managed to avoid hitting Row H, which is all I really cared about. Now some people said this was a terrible game, the worst ever derby between two sides, but I felt that was a bit harsh. The game was played in difficult conditions, by two fairly ordinary teams, but it was attacking and entertaining. I don't think anyone was bored by what was on display on Sunday. Unimpressed? Sure, why not, that's their right - people are overly cynical these days and just as prone to nostalgia as they've always been - but I don't expect miracles of skill from NPL players and teams (or maybe I've subconsciously lowered my standards since the end of the Chris Taylor glory days).
The players are there (for at least some of us) to entertain us as well as try and get points, and on Sunday they did that. Gerrie Sylaidos put us ahead after 16 seconds with a nice low drive from distance, and that was nice. Of course all one could think of after that was how long would it take for Knights to equalise, and the answer was ten minutes, with pretty much their first meaningful foray forward. The game ebbed and flowed after that - we had the better of the first half, Knights the better of the second, but neither side dominated an entire half, nor were they able to prevent their opponents from creating chances against the run of play.
Each team had a candidate for miss of the season in this match. For us, it was Billy Konstantinidis inexplicably refusing to stick a toe out to tap in a Brad Norton cut-back that was rolling right in front of him in the six yard box. For Knights, it was Gian Albano blasting a loose ball over the bar from from eight yards out directly in front, with the whole goal at his mercy. There were too many close calls to count apart from that, but thankfully we managed to walk away with a point, because we could've ended up with less.
Apart from surviving a nervous finish, the other highlight was getting to pig out on leftover Krispy Kreme doughnuts that the women's team hadn't finished, and getting called a fat bastard (or words to that effect) for my troubles. I regret nothing.
Hume away on Saturday night
Relegation battle (status: nearly safe)
Being typically bold in my prognoses and estimations of the future, I'm prepared to call it... almost. Look, it's no longer a question of misplaced optimism or even that chewed out phrase "mathematical possibility". We're pretty much safe. It would take a monumental disaster for us to fall into the bottom three even from this far out, and trhe chasing pack would have to climb over a couple of other sides to get there first in any regard.
Kingston's win over the Bergers on Monday night is irrelevant to us. They're still on the bottom of the table, twelve points behind us, with just 15 points up for grabs. More relevant to us, Pascoe Vale and Dandy Thunder both lost, and are eleven points behind us. While it's not beyond the realms of possibility that we could fail to take any points from our remaining games, it would still require either Paco or Thunder to go on the kind of run that their form thus far this season has suggested they will not.
Those two teams also play each other on the run home, so one or both will probably be knocked out by the result of that game by that stage, with their best hope likely being getting into the playoff spot and facing what could be a very weak NPL 2 team.
Of course from our point of view, such things are nothing to be proud of, especially for a second season in a row - but it could be worse.
Blessed technicalities
On the terraces I was having a chat with everyone's second or third favourite viking (depending on whether you're a Hagar the Horrible fan or not), about whether a team had ever been relegated from this competition despite reaching the 28 point tally that we have already accrued this season. And the answer is, "short answer 'yes' with an 'if,' long answer 'no' with a 'but.'". In 2014, Werribee City finished in 12th place, in what would later become but was not in that season the playoff spot. It is also worth noting that while officially Werribee and Port finished on 28 points apiece, the video tape of the game they played against each other in the final round of that season went missing almost immediately, and thus one is tempted to not consider the resultant points tallies anything resembling a legitimate outcome.
Retro/commemorative jerseys
The club is close to releasing some retro style jerseys - see the details below if you're into that kind of thing.
Out 60th year anniversary tops by @Kappa_Australia are nearly ready to go. Register your interest with @smfc or me to secure your limited edition top. 1-20 will be available in a beautiful frame only, 21-100 will be top only. Full pricing details to be released over the next week pic.twitter.com/qyItSpKhXI
— Tony Margaritis (@sthmel) July 17, 2019
Match programs
I have added a couple of programs from 1979, and several away programs from season 1999-2000. More stuff will be added as the weeks go by, I hope.
Dead but alive, alive but dead
Tuned into the Kingston vs Bergers game on Monday night. Kingston scored a rank dodgy early goal through Chris Irwin, and managed to keep the Bergers to few meaningful chances for the rest of the game. That's about all I could really say of this game, which was neither a great nor poor spectacle, and had little influence on whatever it is that South is trying to accomplish this season.
We didn't want him!
85' GGOOOOOOOOOOOOAL CAVS!!
Oliver Minatel the trailer as Sergio Camargo comes up the left side and swings the ball through!#HFX 0-1 #CavsFC#TakeTheHill #CanPL #CanPLxOneSoccer pic.twitter.com/AGmbIyEKGQ
— Cavalry FC (@CPLCavalryFC) July 13, 2019
Labels: 2019 season, doughnuts, Match Reports, Melbourne Knights, SMFC Women
Mental health day - Green Gully 0 South Melbourne 0
If Football Victoria still had a prize for photo of the year, I'd submit this, but you
know the PC wowsers wouldn't allow a pic of a man having a durry to win any
accolades, being obsessed with anodyne wholesomeness. Photo: Luke Radziminksi
Well it seems a good number of you took the advice I dished out last week and took a mental health day last Saturday, perhaps anticipating that we would be crunched by a superior team. Or maybe you were told by people at the club that it was in your best interests to stay away for a while. Or maybe you were tired from staying up all night watching the cricket world cup for some stupid reason.
Not that I have official data to back up the following claim, but this was the lowest crowd I can remember attending a fixture between these two sides at this ground since, like, I can remember attending. But then I remembered that most games this season have felt that way, especially as the season has wore on, and I was less alarmed and more placated that we actually just collectively continuing towards our ethnic senior soccer death spiral; although giving it the name of "death spiral" gives it too much balletic street-cred.
But those who did attend managed to at least see our side put in if not a remarkable than at least a creditable performance, of the sort that makes you upset with getting only a point where before the game you were contemplating sacrificing animals to petty ancient gods for us to get a mere point.
As to what caused us to put in what was for 2019 an above average performance.. I don't know. Was it the possible formation change? Was there even a formation change? I couldn't tell. There were some players not in their usual arrangement, and some players on the field with players they have usually not been on the field with this year, but that could go for a lot of games. Also the sun was in our eyes, and there was a pre-season warmth that kind of distracted a little from precise analysis of the action.
I will say that part of what was responsible for the improvement compared to several recent weeks was Gully's performance. They looked very good against Avondale the week before, but were a bit less sharp on Saturday. It's also possible that Gully played right into our hands with their style of play, playing a high line and being willing to attack. In cases such as that, this season has shown us that as long as we don't concede, this kind of situation suits us just fine, as it allows us to counter-attack via the wings and in this case also up the middle with long balls over the top of the high line.
Melvin Becket sends the ball wide of the goal and wide of
former South keeper Jerrad Tyson. Photo: Cindy Nitsos
Unfortunately, we were unable to score from any of the four or so pretty good chances created in the first half. Pep Marafioti delayed shooting, approached the keeper, did not pass the ball to an open Peter Skapetis, and then took a shot straight into former South custodian Jerrad Tyson. Skapetis himself was more unfortunate then incompetent when his initial shot was blocked by an almost stranded Tyson, before the quick follow-up shot from the save hit the one Gully player in the way of the goal. Ben Djiba made an enterprising run on the right, but was unable to get either a shot away nor pass the ball to a waiting striker. Finally, Melvin Becket did all the hard work dribbling his way to the six yard box, only to stumble over his own feet and place his off-balance shot wide.
Having witnessed all that, one assumed that our comeuppance was near, especially within the last four minutes of the first half; but that comeuppance did not arrive. Sure, we were not as good in the second, and certainly did not find the space behind Gully's defence that we did in the first. But for all Gully's improvement, they were seldom able to seriously threaten our back four. I think they only managed the one shot on target for the whole game, and thankfully Josh Dorron was able to keep it out - a long range free kick from Jay Davies curled towards the top right hand corner, but Dorron was able to extend his large frame and palm the ball away.
Not the first lemon tree to be spotted at an NPL ground.
Photo. Luke Radziminski.
Some of our defensive efforts were a bit more acrobatic than perhaps necessary, bringing out calls from me and Dave of "I see you know your judo well, sir", which while funny (of course) didn't fit, because judo is about throws and not acrobatic kicking. We perhaps could've made a better stab at taking all three points if we made more than one substitution, but we didn't, even though there were players like Gerrie Sylaidos who were completely gassed with about ten to play. One hopes that the reluctance to make more than one change was due to tactical considerations and not we can't afford to pay the players this week considerations.
But we could've also made a better play at getting all three points if we were a little bit smarter in the second half, and not so much trying to second guess ourselves. I'm thinking here of the mess of a free kick concocted by Billy Konstantinidis and Marcus Schroen from a good position. True, the defensive wall was a bit close for my liking, and true again that free kick taking is a hard enough business, but elaborate games of misdirection are best left to people in better leagues; in the NPL, just let someone take the shot without too much showboating and get on with the game.
Anyway the refereeing was good, until such time as the ref needed to make difficult decisions, and then his performance went down the gurgler. For those who care about such things, it was our first scoreless draw since midway through 2017, and it also continued our unbeaten run at Green Gully Reserve, which has been going since we beat Gully in the first round in 2013. More importantly, we got a point out of the whole thing, and I got a match program because Gully is one of the two clubs still producing those things.
It was interesting to see the lack of sponsor boards at Green Gully. Now we won't get into the ins and outs of who's a paid sponsor at Lakeside and who might only be there as decoration (or even if we have that many sponsors from outside the circle of the board); but knowing that these things happen at clubs lower down the food-chain, I always wondered how many sponsor boards at NPL clubs were actually from active sponsors.
Under such circumstances, one wonders if there's scope for putting in decorative/club themed boards instead, or at least keeping some redundant sponsor boards for a heritage role... Buddy's Mobile Disco at least deserves more than it's current fate of paint and rust decay with its face turned away from the ground and toward the north wind.
The Knights at home on Sunday afternoon. They'll be coming off a midweek Dockerty Cup game against Bulleen.
Relegation battle (status: ongoing, gentlest of easing)
Not much changed on the relegation avoiding front this week - which is broadly good news for us, because it means that the teams in the bottom three who are trying to get out of the relegation and playoff spots are running out of time to do so.
Nearer to us, Port lost to Hume, the Dandy derby was a draw, and Pascoe Vale beat Kingston 2-0 to make it highly improbable that Kingston will be able to make it up to 11th. So we have a 10 point buffer to 12th (and 13th) with a maximum of 18 points up for grabs.
In our remaining games, it's the one against Dandy Thunder that'll likely be crucial. Let's hope we get some points on the board before then so that it's not crucial. Thunder are also due to play Pascoe Vale in the run home, so someone's going to have to take points off someone there.
Deckchairs on the Titanic
What is even this? I'm not going to pretend that I have any idea anymore how our football operations work, who does what, and what exactly it is they do. It's like people who work in offices - what do they do? So many buildings, so many offices, so many people in offices doing what, I don't know. Anyway back to the matter at hand. In summary, board member Andrew Mesourouni, previously in charge of junior football, is now in charge of the senior men's football department. Former general manager of the club Peter Kokotis, who was appointed football manager (senior men) last November, has now been put in charge of the juniors in conjunction with Mike Valkanis. Except that the latest article says "We welcome Peter back to the club." - so was Peter with us or wasn't he?
NCIP is gone
So it's gone. Now what? Will any major ethnic club officially revert to an older name? I can't really see that happening - especially those with a hankering to get into the mooted second division - but there's certainly more scope for blended branding incorporating old and new. I can also see some fans taking matters into their own hands, which will no doubt lead to some very mature outcomes. After all, freedom of expression for you is also freedom of expression for someone else; and has often been the case, it only take a minority of people to cause a fuss, and then for the rest of the club to either actively or passively condone the said fuss.
But I'm thinking of this stuff like it's current. Surely everyone has moved on, grown up, got a new hobby.
For our part, there's discussion about whether we should go back to South Melbourne Hellas, bring back the old logo, etc. I think most of our extant supporters are comfortable enough with the South Melbourne FC branding, and the possible use of 'Hellas' to augment that as a nickname or some such. I'd be in favour of an updated logo along the lines of the current commemorative badge, if for no other reason than that I've disliked the current one for a long time.
The most important thing though is that whatever the club and its members decide to do, it's now our choice, and not someone else's, which was one of the main points of my gripe about the NCIP in the first place.
What's happening with the Puskas film?
A few people asked about this a little while back, and I can't really provide a definitive answer. All that I know for sure is that quite a few interviews were done, that there seems to be a good story there, and after that... silence. Is money an issue? Is it competing projects? Have the boys fallen out among themselves?
If there's issues with getting the project going to the next stage - whatever that stage may be - I'm sure there's people that can help. Because as much as there's South fans wanting to know what's happening with the film, I'm guessing the people who've already been interviewed would also be asking what's going on with the film - and for them, it's not a just a movie, it's the story of an amazing moment in their lives.
You know, I actually got around to watching Rob, Cam and Tony's previous sports documentary The Galahs the other day, and I can see what they'd like to do with the Puskas film. Hopefully whatever's holding up production of the Puskas film is easy to enough to resolve, because it's a great story with much broader appeal than Harry Beitzel's Irish adventure, and a lot more archival footage to play with among other things.
Not setting the couch on fire, yet
Watched Kingston at home to Pascoe Vale last night, in a real ordinary relegation six-pointer. It was good news for Pascoe Vale, but bad news for Kingston and people who inexplicably like Monday night football. Most frustrating of all was of course the fact that we've only been able to take three points off either team, but that assumes we're so much better than those teams and deserve to have taken more points off them. Thankfully there were also the last couple of SVU episodes with Dani Beck filling in for Olivia Benson to distract from the torpor of what was going on at The Grange.
Holy shit, @OliverMinatel is on a fucking train! And to think we couldn't even get a banner for him on @yarratrams... no wonder he left us for bigger and better things! https://t.co/mdavFqb2rj
— dj ēļřāffő (@dvrf1878) July 8, 2019
Labels: 2019 season, Green Gully, Jerrad Tyson, Kingston City, Match Reports, Melvin Becket, Pascoe Vale
Four more points 'til safety - South Melbourne 1 Pascoe Vale 0
I will say these things about this game.
First, if there are people still at South who are finding themselves unable to cope with the let's call it garbage football on display, then you should probably stay home. I don't mean that as an insult - I'm serious. The loss against Kingston was clearly too much for some people to take, to the point where it's hurting their mental well-being. Anyone still here watching South in 2019 has more than proven their loyalty (and their stupidity), so if you need a week's break or more, by all means, take it. If you can't deal with the club until such point that it mathematically avoids relegation, by all means, stay away.
In those kinds of cases, I wouldn't even recommend watching the game on the live stream. What good could that possibly do? Putting my Dr Phil hat and noting that "opinions expressed during the show are educational and informational in nature and are directed only at the individual show guests based on their specific and unique circumstances", if you've found yourself in an unhealthy situation, the best thing to do is to change your environment.
Look, if you're sticking around because you want to prove your worthiness in terms of loyalty, there's nothing left to prove. And even if there were something to prove, who's left that's both paying attention and actually cares about your vain and frankly stupid notions of dedication to this cause. It's like those idiotic competitions where people lay their hand on a car, and the last person still in contact with the vehicle wins the car; except there's about 250 people with their hand on the potential prize, and the prize actually doesn't exist.
All of this neglects the fact that there was a game on, and we won it! Remarkable stuff and completely deserved, if by completely deserved one means being the only team which managed to score a goal, which is the usual way of judging these things. The game was not great, but compared to the previous week's game, at least it was entertaining. It even passably resembled football, which is more than can be said for whatever the Kingston game was.
As has been our usual habit this season, we started off brightly enough, and then after about half an hour decided to withdraw into our shells and begin falling apart. In a wonderful act of mercy, Pascoe Vale started neither their talismanic striker Davey Van 't Schip - who had moved to Essendon Royals as part of Paco's week-long act of seppuku - and also had long-time South Melbourne aerial bane Joey Youssef on the bench.
When the deadlock was broken by this year's club golden-boot-in-waiting Giuseppe Marafioti, I did not celebrate with the fullest of gusto. Not because I was not happy or because I was caught off-guard, but because like others in Row H (the most sensible row, last bastion of sanity) I thought it was offside, and was frantically waiting for the linesman's flag. Thankfully it never came up, and then all we had to deal with was the saga of the last 40 odd minutes and Pascoe Vale having to throw everything they had at us and certainly equalising and then I suppose it was a 50/50 shot at them winning the game.
And yet despite South blowing several unbelievably good counter-attacking chances, Pascoe Vale could not find the back of the net. In the second half in particular, they got the first part of the attacking sequence down pat, beginning long sweeping two/three pass movements which cut through our near non-existent forward press and our doughnut shaped midfield.
Which when writing it like that, makes one perhaps realise that it's not so much Marcus Schroen's or any other player's fault that the central midfield is ineffective, but rather the blame should go on whoever thought it was wise to sign a team made up of a million wingers.
Anyway, despite attacking us for a good deal of the second half, they could not quite find a way through, not through the early season whipping boy Perry Lambropoulos (replacing an injured Brad Norton), not through the young Ben Djiba, not through whatever central defensive pairing we fielded on the day, not through Kristian Konstantinidis who came on as a sub for the re-injured Kosta Stratomitros, and not through the flying header, diving puncher, long thrower excitement machine that is Josh Dorron in goals, whom it seems we have put in as a permanent temporary solution until the end of the year.
OK, some of that is a lie. Paco did get through on one very real occasion, where they scrambled the ball across the goal line and probably onto the outside of the right-hand goal post, but that's as close as they got, and you really couldn't get much closer, and that's including the goal line clearance we had to effect in the first half after a timid shot over a semi-stranded Dorron was headed away by someone in a blue shirt.
At the end of the game with three more points in the bag, it didn't seem like too many of the South players were over the moon with the result, which could be a good thing in that they perhaps think that the job of avoiding relegation is not done, or that they thought they should've done better; or maybe bad because morale is so cooked that not even an arsey win can rejuvenate the side. For their part quite a few of Paco's players looked devastated, and if they do go down I suppose they might be missed, but not as much as when they had a wood-fired pizza van at the ground, which was some time ago now.
Green Gully away on Saturday afternoon. If the quality of the game between Avondale and Gully last week is anything to go by, we're screwed. Hope to see you there.
Relegation battle (status: ongoing, survival nominally within unconvincing grasp)
The method by which we got our win aside, this was a pretty good week. In addition to our beating Pascoe Vale, Kingston also lost, which gives us a twelve point gap to the automatic relegation positions - a four match gap, with just seven games to play. Dandenong Thunder however managed to beat Bentleigh courtesy of several screamers, so while the gap between ourselves and the playoff spot is ten points - three and a bit games - Thunder are capable of scoring enough goals to win games, and we still have to play them towards the end of the season.
You'd like to think we'll at least crawl over the line a bit more convincingly than we did last year, but last year's near death experience will have everyone nervous until safety is actually secured, and filled with impotent rage after that.
One other thing
When it comes to how many touches of the ball or how long you should hold on to it before you pass or shoot it, there is no right answer except to say whatever looks good in hindsight to the average mug punter is usually the best way to go. especially in this godforsaken competition. Still, I had to have an awful, unnatural, and unbecoming spiteful chuckle at one moment in the first half, where Pep Marafioti was forced on to his right foot and he took about three baby elephant stumbling touches trying to get set up to hit a cross on his wrong foot, a cross which didn't come off. Now I have neither a right nor a left foot, but it's interesting (and I'm going to sound like a hopelessly old geezer footy radio commentator now) to see how one-sided so many players are in this comp which is just one step below the 'elite'.
Our other teams
Got to Lakeside's operations room early enough to watch the first half of the under 20s in their top of the table clash, which they ended up winning 3-1. That's about eighteen games undefeated now, but don't ask me which players should be brought into the seniors.
Photo: Luke Radziminksi
The senior women had an important 4-4 draw against Alamein. Important, because Alamein are one of three sides in this competition who are clearly better than everyone else, including us, and yet we managed to take a point off them despite fielding what looked on the highlights like a team that was about half the size of their opponents.
Credit for the draw must go in part to goalkeeper Erin Hudson (pictured right), who pulled off a cracker of a penalty save in the final moments of the game. It could well be a handy point in the race for the last finals spot.
Did not see that coming
A few weeks ago I noted that I expected nothing to happen to Melbourne Knights for some appalling fan behaviour during (and as it turns out, immediately after) our recent cup loss against them.
Well, as it turns out, something did happen, and the net result is a fine and a three point deduction for Knights, and a $500 fine for us for being in the vicinity of nonsense which apparently occurred in the tunnel after full time.
I'm trying to figure out what's prompted this action by Football Victoria. Is the fact that it happened on the prominent stage of an FFA Cup qualifier instead of the black hole of normal league play? Is it because it happened right in front of them and they couldn't ignore it? Or is it symbolic of a turn towards the more punitive tribunal regimes of older days, when massive fines and point deductions were handed out freely by the federation.
Because while Knights got done over for racist chants, flares, and an incident in the players race, Football Victoria's press release also noted that other clubs also received hefty punishment for serious incidents. If that's the case, it may be worth keeping an eye out (as we all should) in case some of our fans are getting close to the edge in terms of what's acceptable fan behaviour. It's not like we haven't been docked points for our own fan transgressions.
Anyway, the three point deduction sees Knights drop down several spots, including below us. It's doubtful that Knights will get dragged into a relegation battle - as opposed to some recent seasons, they're too good on field this year to really worry about that - but it might cause some classic comedy capers when it comes time to sort out the bottom slots of the top six. Funniest of all of course would be if we somehow jagged a bullshit goal late against Heidelberg to secure that sixth spot by a point over Knights (because our goal difference is garbage), but that assumes the fanciful idea that we're even going to get one more win for the season.
Thanks to one of the blokes who hosts Preston's show on FNR (I forget his name, how embarrassment), I've added three South vs Preston match programs ranging from 1989-1991 to South of the Border's match program collection.
Thanks also to the Jakarta Casual who helped us add a home program against George Cross from 1989, and Todd Giles for the home program against Newcastle KB United from 1979.
All of these can be found in the usual place.
Me and George Cotsanis at the Goals and Glory
exhibition at Deakin's Waterfront campus, with a
couple of the display panels behind us.
Photo: Roy Hay
Goals and Glory exhibit
Last Friday I went to the Goals and Glory exhibition at Deakin University's Waterfront campus in Geelong. Accompanied by local amateur soccer historian George Cotsanis, it was an interesting trip, which included bumping into Roy Hay, who was of course involved with setting up the exhibition.
Made up of photo collage style display panels along with artefacts placed within glass cabinets, the exhibition performs two core functions: displaying the breadth of the Australian soccer experience, and also acting as a means of raising awareness of the Schwab and Shorrock Collections hosted at Deakin University.
The display panels give an overview of a wide variety of topics, among them: youth, women's, and Indigenous soccer; Australia at the World Cup; notable players; the role of local clubs, in this case clubs from and its surrounds; Laurie Schwab and Les Shorrock; as well as the potential to use the resources in the collection for genealogical histories. The display panels also had QR codes adjacent to them, allowing for more in-depth analysis of the displays for those tech savvy enough to use them.
Within the glass cabinets there were more objectively precious and/or fragile artefacts, such as Victorian Soccer Federation (and predecessor group) minutes, but also items loaned for the exhibit such as World Cup match balls, jerseys and so forth - predominantly it seems from the Didulica family. There is a timeline of Australian soccer on a television screen, and the audio component of commentary from Australian national team games piped in through the exhibit.
I can't say for you whether it's worth the drive down to Geelong to see the exhibit - you may spend 20 minutes in there, or you may end up spending an hour there like George and I did, in part because we bumped into Roy, but also because we were happy enough to look at several of the display panels several times and discuss their importance or value to the exhibition. For example, George was able to point out the different people he interviewed on The Pioneers show he hosted on FNR. I was able to discuss the photogenic properties of Oscar Crino, especially in a medium - soccer photography - which doesn't necessarily have the same aesthetic qualities of other sports, because soccer is about the simultaneous movement of the ball and player - maybe gifs are the natural artistic form for soccer aesthetics?
Feedback I've seen from more historically minded soccer followers seemed to be impressed with the exhibit. For me, having some experience of seeing university exhibits, this was one of the better ones I've come across. The exhibition is free, and is open on weekdays until July 29th. There is scope for groups from outside Geelong to have the exhibition displayed in their own space, as it is equipped to be a travelling exhibition; though how it would be localised for your own region would need to be discussed with the exhibition's organisers, as would shipping.
And Roy, sorry about not signing the guest book, but there wasn't a pen anywhere near the guest book!
Peter Griffin was right: The Godfather does insist upon itself.
Labels: 2019 season, Erin Hudson, George Cotsanis, Match Reports, Pascoe Vale, Roy Hay, SMFC Women
Safe (again) - South Melbourne 3 Dandenong Thunder...
Existential malaise - Hume City 3 South Melbourne ...
The season starts now - South Melbourne 1 Melbourn...
Mental health day - Green Gully 0 South Melbourne ...
Four more points 'til safety - South Melbourne 1 P...


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Upscale Dining at Orlando's Theme Parks
Visitors might be surprised to find some of the best restaurants in the country are actually in and around Orlando's theme parks.
Even though the incidence of giant smoked turkey legs has decreased, people don't generally associate dining at theme parks with tablecloths and table service. For those who crave such a thing—fish tacos at Margaritaville, chicken nuggets galore at every Disney park—the (pardon the expression) bulk of restaurants at Disney and Universal remains fast and extremely casual. But in and around the theme parks, there are actually some truly stunning dining options from around the world, including a few of the best restaurants you'll find anywhere.
Indian and African flavors come alive at Sanaa, as zebras and giraffes roam just outside the windows. (©Walt Disney World)
Not surprisingly, the variety of tastes and influences that make up African cooking can be found at the restaurants of the Animal Kingdom resort. Jiko–The Cooking Place, in the Jambo Lodge, specializes in African and sub-continent spices; start with the Taste of Africa dips and warm bread, and wrap up with Ghanaian chocolate and Kenyan coffee pot de crème. Across the hall is Boma – Flavors of Africa, a bountiful buffet that pleases just about everyone. Sanaa, in the Kidani Village, is a cozy space, with 9-foot-tall windows that look out on the resort's animal-filled savanna and features African specialties with Indian inspirations.
Epcot's Italy Pavilion is home to two full-service restaurants and a cozy wine cellar. (Courtesy Tutto Italia)
Less frantic than in-park options, Trattoria Al Forno at Disney's Boardwalk Resort serves from breakfast to late-night dinner, making mozzarella, ciabatta and fresh pasta daily. Il Mulino New York Trattoria, at the Swan Resort, is an upscale spin-off of the New York City restaurant, focusing on Italy's Abruzzi cuisine.
Tutto Italia Ristorante feels like a big restaurant in Rome or Milan, just transplanted to Epcot's Italy Pavilion, and one of Epcot's best. If you can't get a seat, the wine cellar next door offers many of the same menu selections in an intimate atmosphere.
The feel of the Genoa seaside is stunningly recreated at Universal's Portofino Bay Hotel, satisfying appetites for all things Italian at the upscale Bice Ristorante and the more casual Mama Della's. And nestled in-between Universal's two parks parks, Vivo Italian Kitchen at CityWalk serves robust house-made pasta, interesting cocktails and a two-pound cannoli for dessert.
Time dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel for the 9 pm fireworks. (©Walt Disney World)
Epcot excels in Mexican cuisine. The San Angel Inn, set inside an Aztec pyramid, overlooks a starry sky and the Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride. The menu goes beyond the typical tacos and such, offering special and regional dishes that are difficult to find in the United States. Outside on the lagoon, La Hacienda de San Angel is a primo spot for watching fireworks through the tall windows while enjoying pork confit carnitas; the taco sampler with pork, beef, battered fish and chicken; short ribs with chimichurri, fried-shrimp tacos and acres of margaritas.
The Silk Road
Capa is inside the Four Seasons' stunning penthouse with panoramic views of Walt Disney World. (©Four Seasons Orlando)
Head to the 17th floor of the Four Seasons Resort for an award-winning combination of atmosphere and food at Capa, a Spanish-styled steakhouse that des everything right, from tapas to cocktails.
Gracious service, modern Asian decor, and a beautifully lit sushi bar distinguish Tokyo Dining at Epcot's Japan Pavilion, with near-perfect sushi and quintessentially Japanese service. Along the waterfront at Epcot, Spice Road Table ushers guests into a cool interior, where small plate and full-sized Moroccan dishes reign.
Closer to Home
STK serves high-end steaks and lambchops in a sexy atmosphere at Disney Springs. (©Roberto Gonzalez)
Disney's resort hotels are home to some of the finest dining in the country, let alone Orlando. One of Walt Disney World's top dining experiences, California Grill on the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort offers spectacular nighttime fireworks views and even more splendid Californian hand-crafted cuisine.
Victoria & Albert's, in the Grand Floridian Resort, has been awarded AAA's Five Diamond Award for 16 straight years, and it is an E-ticket culinary ride of the highest caliber. Very expensive tables are booked six months in advance, and for epicures, it's a bargain. Down the Grand Floridian's Victorian walkway to the edge of Seven Seas Lagoon, Narcoossee's is a more casual option if you couldn't book that V&A seat, but still an impressive way to experience fine dining. Artist Point, a beautiful room in the stunning Wilderness Lodge resort, takes inspiration from Yellowstone National Park and serves splendid fish from the Pacific Northwest.
But you don't have to leave the parks. The Hollywood Brown Derby is an oasis of civility in the middle of Disney's Hollywood Studios, recreating the grand style and tastes of Old Hollywood. At Epcot's Canada Pavilion, Le Cellier Steakhouse evokes the look and feel of a wine cellar, one serving fine steaks and authentic poutine.
At Universal Studios, San Francisco seafood treats abound at the casually elegant Lombard's Seafood Grille, while Mythos at Islands of Adventure, with a mostly Mediterranean menu, is one of the most magical dining rooms anywhere, carved out of the very rock of a cavernous grotto. At the nearby Hard Rock Hotel, fine cuts of prime beef and a New York steakhouse atmosphere is served at The Palm.
And the new epicenter of dining, Disney Springs, features STK, a "modern steakhouse and chic lounge", bringing Vegas/Miami sexy to the Orlando dining scene with an outdoor patio and reimagined American steakhouse cuisine.
Celebrity Chefs at Orlando Theme Parks
Emeril Lagasse brings a taste of New Orleans to CityWalk at this elegant restaurant. (©Emeril's Orlando)
Seven of the Orlando area's top chefs have been nominated as James Beard Award semi-finalists, but you might not recognize their names—yet. However, Orlando is alive with celebrity chefs you will know.
California's own Wolfgang Puck has a four-in-one location at Disney Springs West Side in the form of his Grand Café, which offers an open kitchen spotlighting his famous wood-fired pizzas, a much more formal Dining Room upstairs, the very casual Express for "grab and go" delights, and a sushi bar.
A short walk from Wolfgang's is the Celtic delights of Kevin Dundon's Raglan Road Irish Pub, transplanted direct from Dublin with great fish and chips as well as Dundon's inventive interpretations of classic Irish dishes. Directly across the path, seekers of ultra-hip pan-Asian cuisine such as Indonesian goring, Korean buri-bop and Singapore laksa, and some of the best sushi in town, can find it at Morimoto Asia, helmed (when he's in town) by the Iron Chef himself.
Coming soon to the burgeoning Disney Springs is Homecoming: Florida Kitchen and Southern Shine, a 200-seat restaurant from Oprah's former private chef, Art Smith, focusing on his takes on traditional Southern cooking. And South of the border will be represented by Tablas Fronteras, a hand-crafted, fresh guacamole, carne asada paradise from six-time James Beard award winner Rick Bayless.
Upstairs from Les Chefs de France, a stronghold of French cooking at Epcot's France Pavilion developed by three legendary chefs—Paul Bocuse, Gaston Lenôtre, and Roger Vergé—is the superlative Monsieur Paul, perfect for classic Parisian cuisine and conversation.
Fine dining is represented by one of the founders of celebrity chef-dom, Emeril Lagasse, who epitomizes the new face of New Orleans at the best restaurant in CityWalk at his namesake Emeril's with Louisiana-style food with a creative flair. And unique takes on Asian cookery can be found at his Tchoup Chop at the nearby Royal Pacific Resort.
The Next Course
The rebuild of Downtown Disney into Disney Springs is offering an almost countless stream of new premium restaurants. The perennial Fulton's Crab House will now be called Paddlefish after a massive renovation; The Edison, a lavish "Industrial Gothic"-style restaurant, bar and nighttime destination is on the way, as is a newly observatory-themed Planet Hollywood.
Categories: Metropoly
Tags: African, best, Bice, Boma, California Grill, Capa, Dining Springs, disney, emerils, Il Mulino, Italian, Jiko, Le Cellier, Mexican, Monsieur Paul, Morimoto Asia, Orlando, Parks, Raglan Road, restaurants, San Angel Inn, Sanaa, Silk Road, STK, Tchoup Chop, Theme, Trattoria Al Forno, Tutto Italia Ristorante, Upscale, Victoria & Albert's, Vivo Italian Kitchen, Wolfgang Puck
Cochlear Implant Success: When Hearing Aids No Longer Help
From the Editor: Mulling It Over

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I've posted this coupon before, but am re-posting because the weather is going to start cooling down later this week. The cooler weather may mean you may need a FREE coffee to warm you up. I usually just get Americanos, but my co-worker says if you're going to The Crooked Cup, you've got to get the chai. Here's why.
Are you in charge of buying coffee for your office? Or, do you just really like Starbucks coffee? If so, you can visit Starbucks online to get $15 OFF orders of $60 or more. You could even use this as an excuse to buy that espresso maker you've been eyeing! Simply use code: RMN15 at checkout. This code expires on 7/25/2014.
The Crooked Cup is Fort Collins' newest coffee shop (located next to Jay's Bistro downtown), and they have some great coupon offers available right now. I visited once and used a Buy One Get One FREE coupon (more on that below). I enjoyed it, but decided to have my co-worker, Katie, blog about her experience instead. She is a chai tea latte snob/freak, and can and will NOT stop talking about how great the Crooked Cup's chais are.
Katie is my guest blogger and the Digital Marketing Specialist at Valpak of Northern Colorado. We're currently trying to get her to add Chai Tea Latte Expert to her resume.
The Crooked Cup is located in the heart of Old Town and is quickly becoming my favorite place to grab a chai tea latte, with cinnamon….get the cinnamon. I ventured into The Crooked Cup after attending the Andy Warhol exhibit on my birthday, and thought to myself: I deserve a chai. I had never been there before and was expecting the usual run of the mill Starbucks-like experience. However, I found the atmosphere to be more inviting than expected, the service was great, and I kid you not, this is home to the best chai tea latte I've ever had!
The Crooked Cup offers some yummy-sounding menu options such as the "ButterBeer", an original "Crooked Specialty" that mixes butterscotch and caramel into one delightful latte. They also have a quiet, small (yet modern) coffee shop- ambiance, and are in a great location. There is FREE Wi-Fi and may become my newest Sunday blogging spot….unlimited access to their amazing chai.
I did not use a coupon when I ventured in; my phone had died a few minutes before, leaving me Valpak app-less. However, if you find yourself in the neighborhood and if your phone is in a better condition than mine, I suggest checking out their Valpak.com listing for a coupons. In addition to the Buy One Get One, they also have a $1 OFF any item of any size at any time coupon and an offer for 20% OFF your entire purchase.
If I haven't mentioned this already…get the chai tea latte. If you aren't a chai fan, try one of their many other specialties.


text:
Q: Kotlin Android app failing to launch E/AndroidRuntime: FATAL EXCEPTION: main Here is the sample code of the Kotlin app:
override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)
    val inputbox0 : EditText = findViewById<EditText>(R.id.inputbox)
    val inputbox1 : EditText = findViewById<EditText>(R.id.inputbox2)
    val inputbox2 : EditText = findViewById<EditText>(R.id.inputbox3)
    val inputbox3 : EditText = findViewById<EditText>(R.id.inputbox4)

    var iboxstring0 = inputbox0.toString().toInt()
    var iboxstring1 = inputbox1.toString().toInt()
    var iboxstring2 = inputbox2.toString().toInt()
    var iboxstring3 = inputbox3.toString().toInt()

    var users = 0
    var ecpm = 0
    var minutes = 0
    var adsShown = 0
    var dailyincome = 0
    var dailyincomestr = dailyincome.toString()
    fun calc(){
        dailyincome = users/1000*ecpm* minutes*adsShown
    }
    val button: Button = findViewById<Button>(R.id.calcbut)
    val textView : TextView = findViewById(R.id.displayview)
    button.setOnClickListener(){
        users = iboxstring0
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        adsShown = iboxstring3
        textView.setText("")
        calc()
        textView.append(dailyincomestr)

      }
   }
}

Here are the errors I am getting:

2020-02-22 21:33:49.531 10157-10157/com.example.admobincomecalculator
  E/AndroidRuntime: FATAL EXCEPTION: main
      Process: com.example.admobincomecalculator, PID: 10157
      java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{com.example.admobincomecalculator/com.example.admobincomecalculator.MainActivity}:
  java.lang.NumberFormatException: For input string: "
  androidx.appcompat.widget.AppCompatEditText{c91444c VFED..CL. ......I.
  0,0-0,0 #7f07004a app:id/inputbox}"
          at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:3260)
          at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:3396)
          at android.app.servertransaction.LaunchActivityItem.execute(LaunchActivityItem.java:83)
          at android.app.servertransaction.TransactionExecutor.executeCallbacks(TransactionExecutor.java:135)
          at android.app.servertransaction.TransactionExecutor.execute(TransactionExecutor.java:95)
          at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:2009)
          at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:107)
          at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:214)
          at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:7319)
          at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
          at com.android.internal.os.RuntimeInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(RuntimeInit.java:492)
          at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:934)
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  ......I. 0,0-0,0 #7f07004a app:id/inputbox}"
          at java.lang.Integer.parseInt(Integer.java:615)
          at java.lang.Integer.parseInt(Integer.java:650)
          at com.example.admobincomecalculator.MainActivity.onCreate(MainActivity.kt:21)
          at android.app.Activity.performCreate(Activity.java:7783)
          at android.app.Activity.performCreate(Activity.java:7772)
          at android.app.Instrumentation.callActivityOnCreate(Instrumentation.java:1299)
          at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:3235)
          at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:3396)
          at android.app.servertransaction.LaunchActivityItem.execute(LaunchActivityItem.java:83)
          at android.app.servertransaction.TransactionExecutor.executeCallbacks(TransactionExecutor.java:135)
          at android.app.servertransaction.TransactionExecutor.execute(TransactionExecutor.java:95)
          at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:2009)
          at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:107)
          at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:214)
          at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:7319)
          at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
          at com.android.internal.os.RuntimeInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(RuntimeInit.java:492)
          at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:934)

The error in android studio
Please help me to Solve these error.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Barrancas (Spanish for canyons, ) is a Chilean village located in Pichilemu, Cardenal Caro Province.

Populated places in Pichilemu

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


We are pleased to confirm that we can offer you our cleaning services in Barkingside IG6.
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Barkingside is a place in Redbridge and a historic place of Essex.


Our Yeovil Community Day is for anyone experiencing poor mental health who would benefit from attending and participating in group activities or people who just want advice and information. We provide a welcoming place where people can socialise with other people that may be in a similar situation to them, be involved in fun activities or access information, guidance, reassurance and support.
This project is run by the users of the group who plan and organises various activities and help make decisions about how the drop in day is run. The project is not funded through external means but by South Somerset Mind so there are opportunities to be involved in fundraising activities raising much needed funds.
The Community Day runs every Wednesday 9.30am-3.30pm at the Methodist Church, Yeovil (BA20 1JZ). Our helpful and friendly Support Worker, Annie, is also available on the day to offer emotional support and information regarding our services plus signposting to other agencies and services.
Different creative activities are available each week (across a 4/5 week rolling schedule). Our afternoon Art groups are facilitated by experienced art tutors.
If you would like to attend one of these creative sessions, we ask for a small payment of £2 to cover the cost of materials.
There is also internet access available on site.


Those present were: Eric Upmeyer, Brent Patterson, Deb Rundlett, Kim Johnson and Lori Smith. Excused: Tina Nelson, Jeff Mangold and Matt Salger. Also present was Virginia Holsten.
Minutes of the December meeting were approved. Motion by Upmeyer, 2nd by Johnson.
Treasurer's report was approved. Motion by Johnson, 2nd by Rundlett.
· Painting project is continuing. With that, several small issues have been discovered that need to be addressed. Schoonovers have been caulking areas as needed. Emergency lights that have never worked will be replaced. The double doors downstairs will be repaired rather than replaced.
· Two computers are in the budget for this year. Twelve of the current monitors have been donations. We will obtain quotes for replacing those monitors with newer, energy efficient models.
· Virginia reported that the summer reading program will be revised a bit this year due to fair scheduling and other conflicts. No extra programs will be held in June but July will have a program every week including the Zoo visit, a magician and science program and the Sky Zone trip.
· Virginia indicated that the new phone system has been installed and is working satisfactorily.
· Virginia reported that Better World Books has revised their book acceptance standards. Books must now be pre-screened and they will only accept certain titles. The library will no longer be able to accept all books from patrons. Our patrons will now need to recycle the books themselves.
Meeting adjourned, motion by Rundlett, 2nd by Upmeyer.


text:
package com.orientechnologies.orient.core.index;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map.Entry;

import com.orientechnologies.orient.core.db.record.ODatabaseRecord;
import com.orientechnologies.orient.core.id.ORID;
import com.orientechnologies.orient.core.id.ORecordId;
import com.orientechnologies.orient.core.metadata.schema.OProperty;
import com.orientechnologies.orient.core.metadata.schema.OProperty.INDEX_TYPE;
import com.orientechnologies.orient.core.record.impl.ODocument;
import com.orientechnologies.orient.core.record.impl.ORecordBytes;
import com.orientechnologies.orient.core.serialization.serializer.stream.OStreamSerializerListRID;
import com.orientechnologies.orient.core.serialization.serializer.stream.OStreamSerializerString;
import com.orientechnologies.orient.core.type.tree.OTreeMapDatabaseLazySave;

/**
 * Handles indexing when records change.
 *
 * @author Luca Garulli
 *
 */
public abstract class OPropertyIndex implements Iterable<Entry<String, List<ORecordId>>> {
	protected OProperty																					owner;
	protected OTreeMapDatabaseLazySave<String, List<ORecordId>>	map;

	/**
	 * Constructor called when a new index is created.
	 *
	 * @param iDatabase
	 *          Current Database instance
	 * @param iProperty
	 *          Owner property
	 * @param iClusterIndexName
	 *          Cluster name where to place the TreeMap
	 */
	public OPropertyIndex(final ODatabaseRecord<?> iDatabase, final OProperty iProperty, final String iClusterIndexName) {
		owner = iProperty;
		map = new OTreeMapDatabaseLazySave<String, List<ORecordId>>(iDatabase, iClusterIndexName, OStreamSerializerString.INSTANCE,
				OStreamSerializerListRID.INSTANCE);
	}

	/**
	 * Constructor called on loading of an existent index.
	 *
	 * @param iDatabase
	 *          Current Database instance
	 * @param iProperty
	 *          Owner property
	 * @param iRecordId
	 *          Record Id of the persistent TreeMap
	 */
	public OPropertyIndex(final ODatabaseRecord<?> iDatabase, final OProperty iProperty, final ORID iRecordId) {
		owner = iProperty;
		init(iDatabase, iRecordId);
	}

	/**
	 * Constructor called on 2 steps loading of an existent index.
	 *
	 * @param iDatabase
	 *          Current Database instance
	 * @param iProperty
	 *          Owner property
	 */
	public OPropertyIndex(final ODatabaseRecord<?> iDatabase, final OProperty iProperty) {
		owner = iProperty;
	}

	public abstract INDEX_TYPE getType();

	public abstract ORID getRID();

	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
	public List<ORecordId> get(Object iKey) {
		final List<ORecordId> values = map.get(iKey);

		if (values == null)
			return Collections.EMPTY_LIST;

		return values;
	}

	public abstract void put(final Object iKey, final ORecordId iValue);

	/**
	 * Populate the index with all the existent records.
	 */
	public void rebuild() {
		Object fieldValue;
		ODocument doc;

		clear();

		final int[] clusterIds = owner.getOwnerClass().getClusterIds();
		for (int clusterId : clusterIds)
			for (Object record : map.getDatabase().browseCluster(map.getDatabase().getClusterNameById(clusterId))) {
				if (record instanceof ODocument) {
					doc = (ODocument) record;
					fieldValue = doc.field(owner.getName());

					if (fieldValue != null)
						put(fieldValue.toString(), (ORecordId) doc.getIdentity());
				}
			}

		lazySave();
	}

	public void remove(final Object key) {
		map.remove(key);
	}

	public void load() throws IOException {
		map.load();
	}

	public void clear() {
		map.clear();
	}

	public void lazySave() {
		map.lazySave();
	}

	public ORecordBytes getRecord() {
		return map.getRecord();
	}

	public Iterator<Entry<String, List<ORecordId>>> iterator() {
		return map.entrySet().iterator();
	}

	protected void init(final ODatabaseRecord<?> iDatabase, final ORID iRecordId) {
		map = new OTreeMapDatabaseLazySave<String, List<ORecordId>>(iDatabase, iRecordId);
		try {
			map.load();
		} catch (IOException e) {
			throw new OIndexException("Can't activate index on property");
		}
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
The Obamas
The Clintons
The Bushes
Tag Archives: paid advertising
Who Doesn't Love A Newt? Why Gingrich Should Win the Presidency
With friends like these, who needs enemies? While Newt Gingrich has been touting the virtues of the 11th commandment (Thou Shall Not Speak Ill of a Fellow Republican), and reminding everyone how much he respects his competitors for the party nomination, they have unleashed a barrage of negative advertising in Iowa designed to blunt his momentum there. As this New York Times graphic indicates, much of the negative advertising has been paid for by so-called SuperPacs who, in theory, cannot coordinate their expenditures with any candidate. But this does not prevent them from spending money on a candidate's behalf. The L.A. Times reports: "According to the Center for Responsive Politics' Open Secrets website, which tracks political spending, the pro-Romney group Restore Our Future has spent $2.5 million attacking Gingrich, $1.4 million of it in the last week. That makes Gingrich by far the most besieged candidate of the 2012 presidential cycle. Even President Obama has generated only $1.28 million in spending on negative ads, though far more will come in the general election. One ad analysis company, Kantar Media, said that Iowa airwaves had been clogged with more than 1,200 anti-Gingrich messages in the last several weeks."
So far the ads appear to have hit their target; Newt's polling numbers in Iowa have dropped, although his decline has not yet been matched by a corresponding polling climb by either Paul or Romney; the three are now in a scrum at the top with each drawing between 15-25% depending on the poll. While he waits for his own shadow SuperPac-backed advertising to make an impact in Iowa through media buys, Gingrich has been forced to rely on free media to fight back against the paid advertising onslaught. Critics, however, are suggesting that Newt has already waited too long in responding in kind to the negative attacks.
Meanwhile, the Republican establishment has made it as clear as can be that they would rather eat chicken with their fingers alongside the hired help than see Newt become president. Yesterday George "Poppy" Bush unofficially endorsed Mitt Romney for Club President while taking a thinly veiled shot at the Newtster. ( As Jack Goodman points out, the photos from this endorsement session may not play as well as Romney would hope outside the country club set. Here Poppy and the Silver Fox doze while Mitt regales them with tales from his days "roughing it" in Paris. "So that's when I realized Chub had short-sheeted me – goldarn that rascal!")
Poppy's endorsement came on the heels of George Will's blistering editorial characterizing Newt as the anti-conservative candidate. Will's is but the latest salvo from pundits and party leaders essentially saying that Newt is unelectable. At this point it seems as if those sentiments are fueled as much by fear that Newt might win the nomination than by any rational reading of the polls, but no matter – they are sticking by their claim.
Is there anyone who would like to see Newt win this thing (besides those Tea Party crazies who appear ready to vote for him)? Why yes – the nation's artists! Cartoonists are salivating at the prospect of replacing the relatively bland Obama with their dream caricature. And songwriters can dust off all those old Newt protest songs that were in vogue two decades ago! (Hat tip to Sally…) .
So, in the spirit of giving, let's all raise up our tails and give Newt a holiday salute!
Posted in More, People and tagged Gingrich, Newt Gingrich; 2012 republican nomination, paid advertising on December 23, 2011 by Matthew Dickinson.	1 Comment
Channeling My Psychic Energy From Last Night's Debate: The Key Takeaways
Are Extremists Less Electable? Some Perspective On Last Night's Debate – And Tonight's
Amy for America! (But Maybe Not For Democrats)
Me and Julián Down By The New Hampshire Backyard
Can Hick Throw The Race For A Loop(er)?
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American National Election Studies
Electoral College map at Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
General Social Survey: America's Research Project
National Journal Online
Pollster.com
Real Clear Politics: Polling
Roll Call: Congress.com
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
The Diageo Hotline Poll
The Library of Congress: Thomas (legislative info)
The White House on the Web


text:
Lady Saints struggle with last games of the regular season
The Lady Saints played their last home game of the season Sunday against Otero, and played No. 1 Butler on Monday. The Lady Saints played four games in two days and went 1-3, only beating Otero 4-3.
After a four-game winning streak, the Lady Saints faced Otero at home Sunday. It was also sophomore recognition at the softball field. The Lady Saints were down or tied for a majority of the game, but in the seventh inning Lady Saint Rachel Shockley pulled a double and a walk-off win of 4-3.
The second game followed the pattern of the first game for the first couple of innings. In the third, Otero took a solid lead 4-2 and did not let it go. The Lady Saints did not score again until the seventh and errors had given Otero a few more runs by that time. The Lady Saints lost 9-4 and faced Colby the next day.
The first match against Butler was lost 7-1. The Lady Saints only run came from Shockley who was driven home by Stephanie Mark in the sixth inning.
Although Butler won the first match, the Lady Saints gave Butler a hard time in the second. Butler took an early lead in the first two innings, 2-0. The Lady Saints scored three runs in the third innings and gave them their first and only lead of the match up, 3-2. Butler scored five runs and the Lady Saints only manage to drive one making the score 7-4 going into the sixth inning. Due to a home run Butler stacked another two more runs to make the game 9-4 going into the seventh. The Lady Saints managed to get two more runs, but it wasn't enough and they lost 9-6.
The Lady Saints regular season ends with a record of 31-24 and finished second in the Jayhawk West. The Lady Saints will play Garden on Saturday to start off the Region VI tournament in Wichita.
Crusader photo/Jose Medrano
Becky Allen hits a fly ball down the center during the Lady Saints first match against Otero on Sunday. The first game was won 4-3 but they lost the second 9-4. The Lady Saints will begin regional play this weekend.
Jayhawk Western Division
Rachel Shockley
Stephanie Mark
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All ink tells a story
Gross! Or is it?


text:
Q: What is the word that means a person has confused two terms with one another? Is there a better verb than "confuse" in this passage:

Joe has confused the terms A, B, and C. When describing B he used the attributes of A. Also, Joe used attributes of C when discussing A.

A: Also, you may use 'conflate'. Conflate has a much better sense here than 'confuse' imo. Even though 'conflate' is defined as 'confuse' it has a secondary meaning of 'to bring together, to fuse'. The first meaning doesn't have a negative connotation, but the the second meaning of 'confusion' does (i.e. that you are conflating in error things that should not be conflated).

A: equivocate means to describe something in an ambiguous way such that it may lead one into confusing one for the other.  This may be on purpose or by accident.  We don't know which Joe was doing, because the phrase itself is ambiguous as to his intent.


Great news! luminesce® Radiant Skin Brightener is now available in Canada and the U.S. (Flawless Skin Brightener). Developed by board certified Dermatologist, Dr. Nathan Newman, this lightweight, non-greasy and synergistic formula boosts youthful radiance and awakens the transformation of your beautiful skin.
What are the white specks in the product?
The Flashwhite Unisphere ingredient in the formula is the white particles made of titanium dioxide and other natural extracts that help to brighten the skin. These beads assist in the delivery of two natural extracts, vitamin C-rich cucumber and lemon extract, to maximize the lightening action over time.
How do I use Radiant Skin Brightener before or after luminesce® Rejuvenation Serum?
Lather face with Youth Restoring Cleanser. Rinse and pat dry. Apply Luminesce Rejuvenation Serum. Apply one pump of Radiant Skin Brightener gel to your fingertips. Dab gel on areas of focus and then massage evenly over entire face in a circular motion until dry. For maximum results, use morning and night. Always use sunscreen. Follow with Daily Moisturizing Complex or Advanced Night Repair.
Typically it takes 4-6 weeks to notice a change with best results noticed in 90 days.
Though Instantly Ageless® is certainly the most popular product at the moment, it's not the only product worthy of your attention!
Check out the rest of the product line in the links to the right. You can purchase any of these products directly from my Jeunesse Global™ website.
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text:
TRAVEL DIARY | Dubai & Abu Dhabi / October 14, 2016 by EUREKA CALHOUN
Living internationally for the majority of my childhood instilled a thirst for exploring the world. I recently was blessed with the opportunity to quench an ultimate cultural thirst by visiting the dazzling Dubai and Abu Dhabi with longtime friend Sheila known to the crew as Sheila E. When we first booked the trip my first thought was, it will be a hot desert with many locals in traditional garb with some English here and there. Well to my surprise I was shocked but in a good way. It was not at all what I was expecting......Dubai is LIT!!!
Getting there was half the fun. The 15 hour overnight flight on Qatar Airways from NYC gave a sense that this trip was going to be one for the record books. Each seat was provided with an in-flight goodie bag of essentials, a television with the latest movies and documentaries for our viewing pleasure, and some of the tastiest plane food EVER....talk about yummy!. I can definitely understand why Qatar Airways was named one of the "World's Best Airlines" in 2015 by Skytrax. Courtesy and hospitality are important virtues in the Arab world. The friendliness and warm pre welcome provided was the perfect cultural introduction.
Day 1 we arrived in Dubai around 1pm and was greeted by our amazing tour guide Abdul. We had the remainder of the day at our leisure but Abdul was kind enough to offer us a mini tour of the modern Dubai. He showed us how to ride the metro along with metro etiquette. We strolled through the Dubai mall which is one of the biggest in the world. We stopped for henna tattoos and ended the night with a water fountain show in front the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. The first day was a wonderful and FREE experience and next time I plan on treating myself to reservations at one of the restaurants along the fountain to get the full experience.
Dubai has pretty much gone from dirt roads to a large metropolis in about 12 years and keeps growing and growing; there are cranes everywhere you look. Many people think it's all from oil money but Dubai really does not have that much money from oil. The government has build their infrastructure through business trade and tourists. Many worldwide companies have set up offices in Dubai and encourage people from around the world to work abroad in Dubai. Hey, if Trump becomes president I will immediately apply for teaching positions available and will be on the next plane to the United Emirates!
Day 2 we met Abdul to embark on a short city tour of the historic sites and vibrant cosmopolitan life of Dubai. Our first stop was the famous landmarks Jumeirah Mosque and the beautiful sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel.
We also ventured into Al Bastakiya, Dubai's inspiring old quarter for a quickie lunch break at the charming XVA Cafe. The cafe is a interesting establishment located in a courtyard. It used to be the home of a super wealthy family that is now a cafe, hotel, and art gallery.
Our guide Abdul explaining the history of the Arbain traditional style of dress in the gorgeous courtyard.
Heading to the next destination.......
Then we took a water taxi called abra to one of the largest street shopping areas in Dubai. The taxi or old wooden boat that looked like it maybe should have been retired a while ago took us across the Dubai Creek to the glistening gold and spice souk.
Jumeirah Mosque
Day 3 our journey started at the world's tallest building the Burj Khalifa. It's a 830m-tall tower connected and situated above the Dubai mall, dominating the skyscraper-filled skyline. It makes total sense that Dubai would be home to the world's tallest building. Only in Dubai- that's something you will find yourself constantly saying and that is not a bad thing. That's just the attitude there, bigger and better!
Making a quick trip to the observation deck on the Burj Khalifa provided amazing views of Dubai and the surrounding area. The Burj Khalifa almost looks unreal and the views show how much construction has already taken place and how much room there is for growth.
The heat x 10,000000 in Dubai officially knocked me down for the 1, 2, 3 count and this was the only way I could take a pic at that point.
Image courtesy of Google.
We also journeyed to the Dubai Marina and the Palm Jumeirah with the famous resort Atlantis. The Atlantis in Dubai is a manmade island that has become a potent symbol of the Emirates, housing some of the most expensive real estate in the world. Honestly, by the time we arrive my jack lag had taken over and I decided to stay on the bus to catch some zzzz.......pimp down, lol! My apologies for no pics but Sheila and I went out the night before to engage in the nightlife and I forgot I'm not in my early 20's and my body needs REST nowadays!
Our last stop ended at the Souk Madinat Jumeirah. A colorful and vibrant market with winding passageways that lead you through a real Arabic bazaar. The bazaar gave me the ambience of higher end boutiques, with local artisans and beautiful views towards the canals of the Madinat Jumeirah resort and stunning vista of the Burj Al Arab. To say our days were jammed packed is understatement.
By day 4 my body was like what in the world are you doing to us. I was beyond exhausted and needed a leisure morning at my new favorite spot, Jumeirah Beach!
Even though Dubai is quite westernized, my spirit was longing to engage in a traditional virtue of the Arab world. After a much needed morning relaxing on the beach, I was looking forward to my favorite part of the trip.......the desert safari bbq in the middle of the sand dunes.
Around 4pm we meet our safari guide who droves us through the dunes leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the city. Friendly FYI, make sure you have a strong stomach before embarking because riding through the hills and valley of the sand will cause last night's dinner to make a special appearance.
Just when I felt like I was about to hurl, we stopped at the crest of the high dune to watch the amazing sunset. To see the sun casting its orange glow over the vast expanse of the rippling sand was sheer perfection.
After our mini photo shoot, we hopped back into our ride and headed towards a shimmering mirage in the distance with flickering lights where the camp of a traditional Arabian welcome awaited us.
Peace signs with the ride or die Sheila E.
The open Bedu tent camp conjured in my mind images of the Arabian nights and the seating was the traditional low cushions in the warm desert sand. A feast of grilled meats, fresh salads and delectable Arab sweets was served under a galaxy of stars while we were entertained by the bewitching belly dancer swaying to the melodic sounds of Arabian music.
Day 5 at the crack of dawn we caught an early morning bus for a 2 hour trek to the capital of the United Arab Emirates and the residence of the Federal National Council (one of the world's largest producers of oil) Abu Dhabi! First stop was the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, specially designed by late Sheikh Zayed Ben Sultan al Nahyan. He wanted the mosque to be visible from all directions so he had it built with the rise of 11 meters above sea level and 9.5 meters above street level. All in all, it took almost 12 years and more than 38 contracting companies and 3,500 workers to build this beauty. WOW! It was built as a reminder of the past for the younger generation.
Walking up to the majestic Grand Mosque, I was mesmerized by oplenance of the all-white marble temple. Once inside, you'll see the massive courtyard that has 1,048 columns that are adorned with exquisite hand painted flowers. And when you look down on the floor, you'll see this huge floral artwork sprawled all over the courtyard. The entire structure is marble and for a minute, I felt like a queen in my own little palace!
Prior to our tour, it was stressed beforehand we must adhere to the Grand Mosque's strict dress code- Men have to wear long trousers and no sleeveless shirts, women have to cover their arms from the wrists with a long-sleeved shirt, cover their hair, décolleté and neck with a headscarf and long trousers covering their ankles, and NO tight clothing!
The mosque is large enough to accommodate over 40,000 worshipers. The main prayer hall can accommodate over 7,000 worshipers. There are two smaller prayer halls, with a 1,500-capacity each, one of which is the female prayer hall!
Featured on the Qibla wall is the name of all 99 names of God (Allah) in traditional Kufic calligraphy, designed by the prominent UAE calligrapher, Mohammed Mandi Al Tamimi.
The main prayer hall houses the world's largest hand-knotted carpet. The intricate Islamic medallion design was made by third generation carpet maker and artist, Dr. Ali Khaliqi. The predominantly wool carpet was hand-crafted by approximately 1,200 artisans. Its creation was a two year project, the design took approximately 8 months, the knotting 12 months and the remaining time to transport, trim and weave the pieces together. The final single piece carpet is 5,700 square meters, about 70% being wool and the rest of 30% is cotton.
This is one of the grandest chandeliers I've ever seen. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque actually has seven crystal chandeliers studded with Swarovski Crystals situated inside its halls and foyers, all of which were made and shipped from Germany by Faustig. This one is the largest and weighs approximately 12 tons! The entire place is a work of art which is why I count this as the highlight of my day tour in Abu Dhabi and one the greatest experiences to date.
This one of the four blue coloured chandeliers of similar design and size located in the foyer of the entrances.
Below located on the shores of the Arabian Gulf, overlooking its own private natural bay, is the the entry and back of the Emirates Palace.
I think the best way to describe Dubai as an international Las Vegas. It's a huge melting pot of people and culture and there is no shortage of glitz and glamor but with the heat index of 1 trillion. Only 20% of the population is native citizens, where the rest are from other countries from around the world. Many people living in Dubai are from India, the UK and even the US. It is hard to tell that you are in a country halfway around the world when English is the common language. It's hard to explain the energy and how unreal everything is there. This was an amazing trip and I feel so blessed to check mark Dubai and Abu Dhabi off the bucket list. I'm looking forward to returning to my new adoptive home soon. Please make plans to visit because the world awaits you in the United Arab Emirates!!
Bazaar, souk, Travel diary, Arabian culture, shopping Burj Al Arab Hotel, Souk Madinat, Dubai Mall, Dubai Creek, Jumeirah beach, Dubai, Burj Khalifa, Jumeriah Mosque, Qatar Airways, Sheikh Zayed Mosque November 14, 2016


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By offering a range of children's services, we support an individual from the first few months of life to young adulthood.
We partner with families, early intervention centers, and school systems. Together, we develop and improve the child's skill set and reduce the maladaptive behaviors that interfere with his or her learning.
Our Children's Services employ the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), proven to teach skills that children need to live as independently as possible. ABA Services are provided by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) who are licensed practitioners. They oversee a team of skilled paraprofessional Behavior Therapists.
Some of ABA's tools and strategies include positive reinforcement, discrete trial training, incidental teaching, task analysis, and shaping. We tailor our services to each child's needs.