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Tuxera Joins Linux Foundation
Provider of interoperable file systems collaborates with semiconductor and consumer electronics manufacturers on Linux
SAN FRANCISCO, February 8, 2011 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced that Tuxera is its newest member.
Tuxera's high-performance, commercially licensed products power tens of millions of consumer electronics devices and are built on important Linux file system technology. The company is joining The Linux Foundation to collaborate with the increasing number of semiconductor and consumer electronics manufacturers who are using Linux to build next-generation devices and who require interoperable file systems. Tuxera will participate in the MeeGo project, among other initiatives.
"Joining The Linux Foundation is a natural step for Tuxera. Our roots are firmly planted in the Linux and file system communities and our membership will extend this work to include collaboration with the rapidly growing number of consumer electronics manufacturers running Linux in its various forms," said Mikko Välimäki, Tuxera CEO.
"Tuxera developers have been contributing to the Linux community for more than ten years. We are highly committed to extending this role to support the growing number of consumer electronics manufacturers who need reliable, optimized, high-performance interoperable file system solutions in their Linux-based devices," commented Szabolcs Szakacsits, Tuxera CTO and President.
"Tuxera brings fundamental expertise to The Linux Foundation, expertise that will help advance the state of the art for Linux in future consumer devices," said Amanda McPherson, vice president of marketing and developer programs. "We're looking forward to Tuxera's formal collaboration in The Linux Foundation."
Tuxera will also attend the upcoming Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit April 6-8, 2011 in San Francisco. Every year The Linux Foundation hosts the Annual Collaboration Summit in order to bring together key representatives from its corporate member companies and the Linux community to work on strategic initiatives, projects, and workgroups that span the areas of technical, legal and business.
About Tuxera
Tuxera is the leading provider of file systems that allow music, pictures, videos and other content to be ported across devices. With Tuxera file systems inside, users experience plug and play interoperability with their laptops, digital cameras, set-top-boxes, mobile phones and other consumer electronics. Building on the success of open source, Tuxera's industry-standard NTFS and exFAT solutions for Android, Linux, Mac OS X and other platforms have over 30 million installations. Close collaboration with Microsoft ensures reliable compatibility and helps Tuxera to set the standard in high-performance, low power use for embedded and mobile solutions. Tuxera's customers include leading hardware, software, and consumer electronics companies. For more information, please visit www.tuxera.com.
About The Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux. Founded in 2007, the organization sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and promotes, protects and advances the Linux operating system by marshaling the resources of its members and the open source development community. The Linux Foundation provides a neutral forum for collaboration and education by hosting technical events, including LinuxCon, and generating original Linux research and content that advances the understanding of the Linux platform. Its web properties, including Linux.com, reach approximately two million people per month. The organization also provides extensive Linux training opportunities that feature the Linux kernel community's leading experts as instructors. Follow The Linux Foundation on Twitter.
Trademarks: The Linux Foundation, Linux Standard Base, MeeGo and Yocto Project are trademarks of The Linux Foundation. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds.
February 8, 2011 /by The Linux Foundation
https://linuxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/lf_logo.svg 0 0 The Linux Foundation https://linuxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/lf_logo.svg The Linux Foundation2011-02-08 00:00:002017-08-22 09:59:59Tuxera Joins Linux Foundation
Copyright © 2020 The Linux Foundation®. All rights reserved. The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our Trademark Usage page. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Bylaws | Antitrust Policy | Good Standing Policy


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See Bheemilli Beach Photo Gallery11+ Images
Bheemilli Beach
Visakhapatnam | Andhra Pradesh | India
Quick facts of Bheemilli Beach
Nearest Airport: Vishakhapatnam
Nearest Railway Station: Visakhapatnam
/ India / Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam / Bheemilli Beach
Bheemilli Beach, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Bheemli, a famous beach, is named after Bhimunipatnam, situated at the place where the river Gosthani meets the Bay of Bengal, very quiet and safe to swim.
Bheemli, a famous beach, is named after Bhimunipatnam situated at the place where the river Gosthani meets the Bay of Bengal. Bheemli beach is spread over the entire length of the Bhimli-Visakhapatnam road. This beach is very quiet and safe to swim. Some evidence of Buddhist culture, dating back to around the second century, have been found on the Pavuralakonda hill or the Narsinhswami hill. The remains of a fort and a cemetery built in the seventeenth century add a unique charm to the beauty of the place and make it the main site of tourist attraction. The region was a Dutch colony in the colonial period. Today there are many villages in the area where people work for fishing. There are pine trees and many small temples near the beach. Bheemli beach offers tourists a calm and comfortable environment.
19 Other Major Attractions in Visakhapatnam
Araku Valley, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Araku Valley is a famous hill station in Visakhapatnam district in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The city has a rich cultural and traditional past.
★★★ 767 Interested Visakhapatnam
Borra Caves, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Borra Caves at Anantagiri Hills in Visakhapatnam are considered to be one of the largest caves in India, features beautiful small and large speleothems.
★★★★ 864 Interested Visakhapatnam
Rishikonda Beach, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Rishikonda Beach is considered to be the most beautiful beach in Vizag. Its expansion of golden sand and tidal waves make it very popular among tourists.
Buddhist Excavation, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Havi Konda, Thotla Konda, Bojjanakonda, and Salihundam in Vizag are places of Buddhist excavations. This holy place has exposed many stupas and antiquities.
Ross Hill Church
Ross Hill is also known as Kanyamarikonda, is the highest peak among the peaks of the Eastern Ghats offers a beautiful view of the beaches, harbor, Churches.
Katiki Waterfalls, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Katiki Waterfall in Visakhapatnam is a major tourist destination, located near Borra Caves, known as the most attractive waterfall in the Araku Valley.
Kailasagiri, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
The Beautiful Kailasagiri Hill gets its name from Kailas, the abode of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Gorgeous sculptures of both these deities, seen on this hill.
Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Kambalakonda is a wildlife sanctuary and evergreen forest, house of many species of flora and fauna, and endangered species such as leopards, snakes and birds.
Submarine Museum, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
The Submarine Museum is located on Ramakrishna Beach, the only museum of its kind in the entire Asian continent, and that is why it is a famous tourist place.
★★ 428 Interested Visakhapatnam
Simhachalam Temple, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Very popular Sinhachalam Temple is built on the top of the hill called Sinhachalam or Lion's Hill, dedicated to Lord Narasimha, the ninth incarnation of Vishnu.
Dolphins Nose, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Dolphin's nose situated between Yarada Beach and Gangavaram Port is one of the Popular Tourist Places to visit in Visakhapatnam, a paradise for nature lovers.
Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park is situated at the Kambalakonda Reserve Forest in Visakhapatnam. It is the home of endangered and exotic species of animals.
★ 250 Interested Visakhapatnam
VUDA Park Taraka Rama, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
The Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority is a popular attraction in Visakhapatnam, an ideal spot for a late evening snack, especially if you are with kids.
Ramakrishna Beach, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Ramakrishna Beach is a famous beach in Visakhapatnam situated on the banks of the Bay of Bengal and is known for its sunrise, red sunset, and water sports.
Bojjannakonda, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Bojjannakonda is a small group of six rock-cut caves in Vizag that date back to the 4th Century. The caves have beautifully carved statues of Gautam Buddha.
Yarada Beach, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Yarada Beach is situated amidst beautiful greenery and soft golden sand. You can also get a beautiful view of the sunset from this beach with peace and comfort.
War Memorial, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Vizag's War Memorial is famous as Victory over the sea situated near Ramakrishna Beach. Several missiles, a fighter plane, and a tank placed in this memorial.
Gangavaram Beach, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Gangavaram Beach is one of the most scenic beaches in the town, this one with palm trees and picture-perfect scenes, attracts many films and TV serial makers.
Matsyadarshini Aquarium, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Matsyadarshini aquarium in Visakhapatnam preserved the fishes of countless species of seawater and freshwater marine species, located on the Ramakrishna beach.
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Agatti Island, Lakshadweep, India
Aksa Beach, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Alappuzha Beach, Alleppey, Kerala
Anjuna Beach, Goa, India
Astaranga Beach, Konark, Odisha

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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EDITOR'S NOTE: Superiorland Yesterdays is prepared by the reference staff at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette.
MUNISING — No records were set Sunday at the 14th annual Blue Cross-Blue Shield of the Michigan Pictured Rocks Road Race, but the winner was happy anyway. "The weather was great. It couldn't be better," said Tom Moris, 25, of Dresser, Wis., a student at the University of Wisconsin-Steven's Point. In college competition, he was the indoor 5,000-meter national champion and 10,000-meter outdoor champion in 1988. Though he has competed in two marathons, this 11-mile Pictured Rocks course is the longest road race he has attempted. In this first effort on the course, he logged a winning time of 58:25, about a minute shy of record holder Andy Jones' 57:22, set in 1987. This year, both top women traveled north from Ann Arbor. Ann Boyd, 25, finished in 1:09:30, followed by Lynne Robins, 34, in 1:12:59. Corey Oas of Munising was the youngest racer, finishing top in the the 10 and under age group at 2:07:29.
TRENARY — Mrs. Alice Brown and Mrs. Fred Desotelle are visiting relatives in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Rodgers have gone to Rochester, Minn., where Mrs. Rodgers will undergo surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Mr. and Mrs. George Sawaya, Wayne, and Joe Zarek, Detroit, have returned to their home after spending the weekend with Mrs. Sawaya's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Webber, and daughter, Cynthia, who had been visiting there the past week. Potluck supper and reception for the new minister and his wife, the Rev. and Mrs. Everett Erickson, at the Trenary Methodist Church Sunday at 6 p.m. Anyone wanting further information may call Mrs. William Bucholtz. The public is invited. The regular worship services will follow the reception.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Superiorland Yesterdays is prepared by the reference staff at the Peter White Public Library in ...


Through a variety of poses, yoga helps the mind and body learn to work together for maximum benefit in breath-linked movements. Yoga's centering experience creates tremendous physical health benefits including: increased flexibility, range of motion and muscle toning.
Yoga is more than meditation and exercise, it's the process of harmonizing one's mind, body and soul.
Our health club's comprehensive yoga program offers classes for every level. From challenging Power Yoga to restorative Moonlight Yoga, Basics to Pop Yoga, all the Yoga classes at Woodside will energize, test and develop your balance, strength and flexibility. Our experienced teachers will guide you through basic yoga techniques and challenging postures through breath and concentration.
While all yoga supports you physically, emotionally, and spiritually, Woodside's special yoga offerings allow you to focus on furthering your potential and bringing new yoga experiences into your wellness plan.
For those looking to enhance their yoga practice with individualized instruction from experienced Woodside Yoga Teachers in Kansas City. $100/hour private instruction | $175/hour semi-private. Contact Katie Swetala for more information on our health club's private yoga lessons.
Woodside requires 200 hours (RYT) with Yoga Alliance or a Level IV Yogafit training certification and a minimum of two years teaching experience for all Yoga Teachers to ensure that members of our health club receive the best yoga instruction and experience possible.


In a place full of pure white light, Aria tries to keep her nerve as Veena manipulated the white vines twisting around her hand.
She took a single sharp breath and mentally prepared herself for whatever came next.
The vines seemed soft and limp as they coiled. They almost looked like foxtails.
The eight vines of light hit Aria simultaneously.
In her left and right thighs, ankle, stomach, both arms, small of the back and her neck.
As soon as they touched her, they seemed to crawl under her skin. As soon as they did, Aria's body began to jolt.
What had she done? It was an uncomfortable feeling that far exceeded being tickled. Her thoughts were blown away, and her consciousness filled with that same white.
If she relaxed for even a moment, she would fall into that white abyss. That was the feeling she had.
If nothing else, she had to keep a grip of her mind.
But that fighting spirit eroded every time the vines moved.
Aria desperately resisted as she glared at Veena.
But even as she was saying that her will to resist was slowly being eroded.
Even if Aria didn't know exactly what kind it was, this was indeed some sort of magic.
It was a magic that increased a person's sensitivity so much that even the brush of a single hair would overwhelm the senses.
She did her best to resist it as she turned her body this way and that. As a knight, she has trained in the arts of resisting mind influencing magic, so extracting information would be hard.
That only makes sense. Since she's the captain of an intelligence gathering team, any confidential information she held would be leaked if she was captured and subjected to thought control or mind manipulation, if she had no training in how to resist it.
It might not be a perfect resistance, but it's something she has worked on herself through training both mind and body.
Because she overcame such harsh personal training, she shouldn't be defeated by any sort of mind interference magic.
But, on the flipside, that means that she isn't using magic of her own to counter mind interference magic, but concentration and willpower. Then, the answer is to simply introduce enough stimuli to blow away that mental fortitude. She could have used torture or drugs, but Veena didn't want to resort to that.
Her voice is being lost in amongst her heavy breathing. Her body jerks and twists, her defiant attitude is being lost as she sobs slightly with tears in her eyes.
Having finally got the reaction she wanted, Veena withdrew those tendrils and cast a new magic.
This was the mind interfering magic.
Aria's body that had become limp after the vines were withdrawn suddenly jerked back to life. Veena had taken control of her mind remotely. There was no light left in her eyes as she began to talk in an almost mechanical tone of voice.
Aria continues to answer indifferently.
The worst possible scenario, Veena thought to herself.
As soon as the Order began to pursue her with any real vigour, it wouldn't take long for them to find her and destroy the current life she had worked hard to preserve.
She had been deprived of her name, her standing, her home, her belongings and her future as a noblewoman. But, alongside Yua, she had finally decided to start a new life.
For her, this was the worst news.
But, at least, she had gotten the information she needed.
Veena released the mind-controlling magic she had applied to Aria with a flick of her finger, and she began breathing heavily as the light returned to her eyes.
Aria understood what had just happened, but still stared at Veena as she fought to regain her senses.
Aria thought for only a brief moment, then asked.
Veena tilted her head. Such an obvious thing, that's what she wanted to ask? Considering her priorities, shouldn't she be asking about the Dragon instead?
Veena answered in a way that only gave the barest of information to Aria.
Veena talked about Yua's health and happiness, but that's not the kind of answer that Aria was expecting.
All Aria knew is that Yua had been kidnapped. The question she asked was to confirm whether or not Yua was still alive at all.
But for Veena, who was aware that Yua was the instigator in their flight from the academy, thought that Aria was simply asking about her health.
With this difference in perspective, Aria was slightly confused.
It was only a matter of time before magical tentacles came into play. Although I can't say I was expecting it.


6.7L, V12 Engine, 6 Speed Transmission, Rear Wheel Drive, 453Bhp At 5350 Rpm.
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Rare 2005 Phantom Series 1. Super Premium Upholstery, Loan Available, Please Call For Viewing. Price Inclusive GST.


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Magna says USMCA could eventually offer relief as U.S. tariffs continue to dent profit
Published February 22, 2019 Updated February 22, 2019
Don Walker, CEO of Magna International, addresses shareholders during the company's 2013 annual general meeting in Toronto on May 10, 2013.
Fernando Morales/The Globe and Mail
The head of Magna International Inc. says U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum continue to dent the auto parts maker, but suggested President Donald Trump's move to rev up production lines on U.S. soil could give it an advantage.
"I think the tariffs continue to hurt us," chief executive Don Walker said Friday, citing higher costs.
"It's mainly hurting our U.S. plants right now, because it's very difficult to get offsets for that."
The U.S. slapped tariffs of 25 per cent and 10 per cent on steel and aluminum imports, respectively, from Canada in June, prompting retaliatory tariffs by Canada.
However, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, signed in November but still awaiting ratification, encourages auto companies to invest or expand in the U.S. and Canada. It requires that 40 per cent of a car's content be made where auto workers earn at least $16 an hour and sets a higher threshold for North American content.
"I think, logically, the more production is brought into the States, the better it should be for Magna because we're the biggest supplier here. We have a big footprint by a large amount over anybody else," Walker told a conference earnings call with investors to discuss the company's latest results.
The Ontario-based company has about 25,000 employees in the U.S., 23,000 in Canada and 28,000 in Mexico, placing it in the middle of ongoing uncertainty around the tariffs and the trade deal.
Just how soon the renewed trade agreement can be implemented remains up in the air.
It likely can't be passed until the tariffs are lifted, said Gordon Giffin and Jim Blanchard — former U.S. ambassadors to Canada — and former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Gary Doer at a panel in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Meanwhile, a number of Democrats and Republicans maintain they won't support the trade pact in its current form.
Magna estimates the U.S. tariffs will cost it between US$45 million and US$50 million in 2019, following a US$30-million hit in the last two quarters.
A spokeswoman said the number could go down, "depending on mitigation efforts," or up if the U.S. follows through on threats to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 per cent from 10 per cent.
"I'm not a big fan of tariffs in general," Walker said. "There's higher tariffs between the U.S. and China, so the input costs go up a little bit."
U.S. tariffs against China have triggered a tit-for-tat trade war affecting hundreds of billions of dollars in goods over the past year.
"There are so many moving pieces right now. It's hard to tell what's going to happen," Walker said.
Magna incurred an impairment charge of US$60 million last quarter related to its transmission supply business's joint venture with Ford in Europe.
"This impairment reflects future volume declines for manual transmissions, which Magna previously mentioned was experiencing demand headwinds," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Peter Sklar in a research note.
Magna raised its dividend Friday as it reported its fourth-quarter profit fell from the same period a year earlier.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, said it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 36.5 cents per share, up from 33 cents per share.
The increased payment to shareholders came as Magna said it earned $456 million or $1.37 per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31. That compared with a profit of $559 million or $1.54 per share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Sales totalled $10.14 billion, up from $9.68 billion.
On an adjusted basis, Magna said it earned $1.63 per share for the quarter, up from $1.58 per share a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.59 per share, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.


text:
// https://gist.github.com/wpm/f745ea6478507c6eb72f

var Promise = require('bluebird');

/**
 * Periodically poll a signal function until either it returns true or a timeout is reached.
 *
 * @param signal function that returns true when the polled operation is complete
 * @param interval time interval between polls in milliseconds
 * @param timeout period of time before giving up on polling
 * @returns true if the signal function returned true, false if the operation timed out
 */
function poll(signal, interval, timeout) {

    function pollRecursive() {
	return signal() ? Promise.resolve(true) : Promise.delay(interval).then(pollRecursive);
    }

    return pollRecursive()
        .cancellable()
        .timeout(timeout)
        .catch(Promise.TimeoutError, Promise.CancellationError, function () {
	    return false;
	});
}

module.exports = {
    poll: poll
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: PHP calculate delivery charges depending on postal code I'm trying to change some PHP code for an online shop and I having trouble changing a if/elseif part of the code. It should check if the country=x and postal code =y charge so many euro. There is a else if the country is not X to charge an international rate.
The problem is that is charging every buyer the rate for postal codes included in the elseif declaration :(
if($_SESSION["usuario_alta"]["paisID"]==73)
{
  if($_SESSION["usuario_alta"]["provinciaID"]==24 )
  {
    $_SESSION['compra_gastos_envio'] = 10.50*$_sMULTI;
    echo "10.50€ x $_sMULTI = ".$_SESSION['compra_gastos_envio']."€";
  }
  elseif($_SESSION["usuario_alta"]["provinciaID"]==35 || 43)
  {
    $_SESSION['compra_gastos_envio'] = 4.50*$_sMULTI;
    echo "4.50€ x $_sMULTI = ".$_SESSION['compra_gastos_envio']."€";
  }
  else
  {
    $_SESSION['compra_gastos_envio'] = 8.50*$_sMULTI;
    echo "8.50€ x $_sMULTI = ".$_SESSION['compra_gastos_envio']."€";
  }
}
else
{
  $_SESSION['compra_gastos_envio'] = str_replace(",",".",$_SESSION["usuario_alta"]["gastos"])*$_sMULTI;
  echo $_SESSION["usuario_alta"]["gastos"]." x $_sMULTI = ".$_SESSION['compra_gastos_envio']."€";
}

I'm quite sure the answer is trivial, but I have been trying to google for a solution with no success for a while now.
Thanks!

A: elseif ($_SESSION["usuario_alta"]["provinciaID"] == 35 || 43)

This doesn't work, you can't compare to two values at once. Write it like:
elseif ($_SESSION["usuario_alta"]["provinciaID"] == 35 || $_SESSION["usuario_alta"]["provinciaID"] == 43)

or
elseif (in_array($_SESSION["usuario_alta"]["provinciaID"], array(35, 43)))

A: I think the problem is this line:
} elseif($_SESSION["usuario_alta"]["provinciaID"]==35 || 43){

This resolves to if $_SESSION[][] is equal to 35 OR if 43. Since 43 is greater than 0, 43 evaluates to true, which will cause the elseif to always be executed unless the preceeding if condition was true.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


MIAMI x x x x x x x x x x ?
Here is the thing about BA... the people are awesome. The city has a really unique mix of European style architecture and sensibility mixed with Latin flavor. Its one of a kind. The history of course is that Buenos Aires used to be one of the greatest cities in the world especially before the Great Depression. The colonial influence is everywhere and evokes a sense of faded grandeur and nostalgia. The people certainly have a lot of pride in the history of their city. Modern history is not as friendly... when Peron was elected after WWII and moved the country to the left, the economy started to collapse. Then a series of corrupt and repressive leaders followed, culminating in total finanacial collapse in 2001. When I visited in 2006 the place was still incredibly cheap, and probably was one of the reasons I loved it. These days their economy is recovering again and prices have too unfortunately.
The sense of fashion in the streets is sweet, all the young people have dyed hair, designer jeans, girls wear knee high boots and miniskirts. The main walk street, Florida, is overflowing with cheap clothes outlets, all small-time individual designers. The nightlife is CRAZY, clubs go every night all night until the sun comes up, its similar to Barcelona in that sense, there are lots of trendy wine bars, and most importantly there are incredible and cheap steak houses all over the city. There is nothing like the all-natural grass-fed beef from the Argentinian pampa paired with a nice Malbec from Mendoza, all for less than $20. Mix in a colorful and crazy soccer scene, Tango shows, great public transit, and you have the best city in the world.
The only knocks really are two big ones for me.... the lack of a nice warm clean sandy beach for surfing and kiteboarding, and the fact that snowboarding in the Andes is an airplane ride away. Not have having easy access to my favorite things to do is a bit of a roadblock. I think, in fact, that these two things are pretty big reasons I'm not sure I could ever live there.... but ... I am tempted anyway.
Rio, rio, rio. What to say. Visually, it lives up to the hype. The postcard city can't be contained in a single photograph, the steep hills rising up from the long golden sand beaches flanked by skycrapers makes for lots of ooo'ing and aah'ing when you ride up the gondola or visit the big Jesus statue. The party is legendary and the "don't care" attitude of the people on and off the beach makes for a very fun and relaxed atmposphere. Yet, I can't say I loved it. I think its the fact that there are so many poor desperate people in the favelas, and it leads to a feeling that the city isn't safe, especially at night. The beaches are only beautiful on the surface, before you notice the streams of run-off that smell like sewage. And the beaches are almost too big in a sense, especially Copacabana. It leads to a feeling of being lost of a mega-beach... whereas my favorite beaches in the world are cozy and you get to know the people after a week. At the copa, you will never get to know the constant flow of people at the mega-beach. Ipanema was nicer, its a smaller beach, more upscale, and better in every sense. But it too felt a little big, a little touristy, and unfortunately a little expensive. And the one soccer game I went to was at the Maracana, the mega-soccer stadium that holds an unbelievable 200,000 people. It was perhaps 1/4 full and felt a little empty. All in all, Rio is a place that I feel would be amazing if I had someone to lead me through it, but as a solo traveler, I felt it was a little tough to get to know. Those knocks aside, Rio is Rio. The partying is crazy, the beaches are pretty, the surf is big, the food is outstanding, and the people are very fun.
Stay tuned for my update in 2012 when I get back from the rest of the world.....!!!!


General education classrooms provide opportunities for all students to learn alongside their peers. VPI classrooms have one teacher and one instructional assistant per class.
All children are able to be part of their community and develop a sense of belonging and become better prepared for life in the community as children and adults.
It encourages the involvement of parents in the education of their children and the activities of their local schools.
It provides all children with opportunities to develop friendships with one another. Friendships provide role models and opportunities for growth.
Inclusion classrooms secure opportunities for students with disabilities to learn alongside their non-disabled peers in general education classrooms. VPI-I classrooms have one teacher, one instructional assistant and one PDD teacher per class.
Children with varying abilities are often better motivated when they learn in classes surrounded by other children.
It allows children to work on individual goals while being with other students their own age.
It fosters a culture of respect and belonging. It also provides the opportunity to learn about and accept individual differences.


When sewing a pattern that calls for underwires, you'll want to sew everything as normal, and that includes adding the wire casing (also called channeling).
Underwire casing isn't absolutely necessary but it does a couple of great things: It finishes and hides the seam that joins the cup to the frame of the bra. And more importantly, it stabilizes that seam, which helps to prevent your cup from wiggling around to places you don't want it to go. Most underwire casing is soft against the skin but also very stable, far more stable than simple seam tape or a serged finish.
I personally love wearing a mix of soft and wired bras. I designed the Watson exclusively as a easy going, wireless bra. It's soft and stretchy with a very forgiving fit, but that also means it's not going to do the same things as a very supportive wired bra.
Underwires help control the shape of the cups and how much they lift, simply because they are the strongest component in the entire bra.
Wires, along with a firm-fitted band, can help balance the weight of your breasts, which is particularly good if you experience shoulder pain.
Would you like more fitting tips? Every other week I tackle a bra fit question or alteration in my newsletter, The Lingerie Maker.
Amy, I'm so glad to see you posting blogs again. Welcome back!
Welcome back! I am looking forward to your fitting posts and tips. I am learning firsthand the challenges.
I've been scouring the whole of the internet for this exact information. Thank you so much – and now I feel so much more confident about the Harriet I'm working on!
Thank you for the information, it is very useful. I have not made yet my mind if I want wires or not. I have even a bra with one cup with wire and the other cup without wire. It is interesting to see that the main difference is the way the breast sits in the cup of the bra; the one with the bra keeps the shape, the other one tries to sprawl in its own shape.
It is very difficult for me to find a confortable bra, this is the reason why I am considering of sewing my bras and have arrived to your page (I am something like 100-105 B or C).
One technical question, that may be you can help me with: I am always (with or without wires) pulling my bras down because it is like they get stuck under my breasts. It gets unconfortable, and I don't know what is the technical problem of my bras.
Hi Bego, I hope I can convince you how fun it is to make your own bras! If I had to venture a guess, it is is likely that you are wearing a band that is too big and a cup that is too small. This is actually the most common fitting problem I see. If you lift your arms and your band moves with you, then it is too big. Your cups should full encase your breast tissue and lift them up off the band. When the cups are too small and the band too big, the breasts actually start to fill in part of the band (making it feel tighter than it is), or in your case try to slide underneath your breasts. You can definitely find a bra that fits or make one that fits, but you may need to try a new style or brand that offers smaller bands and larger cups.
Here is a great blog post from the UK bra brand Curvy Kate that I often recommend people watch. It can help you determine if your bra fits.
I would like to try one of your patterns out. Which one is suitable for using padding and is wireless?
Hi Emily, umm neither really. The Watson is wireless but is drafted for lightweight stretch fabrics in the cups and foam/padding is not one of those. The Harriet could be lined with foam but requires a couple of pattern alterations. However, it is not wireless. You could leave out wires as I have mentioned here in this post, but the cup is not as supportive and I personally find that it doesn't have the greatest shape without wires.
I'm really not a fan of underwires, but because of my bra size it's very difficult to find a bra without them. Sometimes I just want something pretty and lacy not necessarily supportive!


Getting your gamepad to work in Steam Games isn't always straightforward. Here's a reliable solution.
I recently downloaded the game Hyperlight Drifter, and was at a loss for how to make my Logitech F310 controller work. I came across numerous solutions, foremost being "If your game works in Steam's Big Play Mode, It Will Work in the Game," which wasn't the case for me. I finally found a solution that did work though, and thought I'd post it here.
* During configuration, clicking down on the circular directional paddles as buttons caused the rest of the configuration to get messed up, so I had to skip those two buttons (not needed for Hyper Light Drifter). Your controller might not have this issue.
* Click the button to "Copy Mapping String"
* Right click on the program icon and right click on "Show Package Contents"


Firstly like yourself I'm fully for the boys getting loads of touches with maximum playing time , having played two seasons without the rule and then being made to introduce at start of this season I've seen teams change from playing exciting passing football to long balls from a defender to two big strikers unmarked .
I feel good coaches will always develop there players to play the right way , but with taking away the presure on defenders is that not losing key development points "composure" "control" "creativity" the more we change the less the boys are prepared when moving to either 9 v 9 or 11 v 11 ?
Hi Daniel, it is interesting that you have seen your team move from passing to long ball after the rule, the opposite of what was intended, what do you put that down to?
I understand your point about preparing the boys for when they move up to 9v9 or 11v11 matches, but for me that is part of their development. The work we do with them now will prepare them to take on greater challenges when they are older. Moving from 5v5 with the retreat rule to 7v7 without it is a longer version of a training drill. The process of most training drills is to start with an easy game, non-opposed, and then introduce progressions that slowly make the game more difficult. I think of the retreat rule as a progression. Does that make sense?
Hi mike , firstly I agree with all your points and especially more for the younger age groups.
Are team has always played a passing style football and we haven't changed but I've seen teams change .
This season we as a team have focused on being able to win our 1 v 1 / attacking space.
I feel with constantly drilling your players to pass ,pass pass,when faced with situations on the pitch when the pass isn't on being able to beat your defender is a must , even more inportant when moving to 9 a side /bigger pitches.
Retreat lines been good but know we move to the Offside rule ?
I think the offside rule starts in 9v9 football, so under 11 age group.
An environment where the player is encouraged to try what they feel is right in any given circumstance is probably the ideal right?


text:
Jury Viola Competition
Irina von Bismarck Germany
Irina von Bismarck was born in St.Petersburg, Russia. Her musical career began at the age of 6 when she started to play the violin and piano. She graduated from the St.Petersburg Conservatory under Prof. Alexei Ludewig (senior).
Wolfgang Klos Austria
Wolfgang Klos was born in 1953 in Vienna, Austria. In 1977 he obtained his diploma with honor by unanimous decision together with the award of distinction from the Minister of Science at the then College of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. While in high school at the Theresianische Akademie, where he passed his A-Level in 1971, he studied simultaneously at the former Academy for Music and Performing Arts Vienna and Law at the University of Vienna. His repeated encounters with Ernst Krenek and Max Rostal, who was also his teacher, had a lasting influence on his artistic development. The winner of a great number of competitions combines the skills of a soloist and the competence for chamber music and orchestral performance with a strong engagement in pedagogic and socio-cultural tasks: 1975-77 member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, 1977-81 soloist for viola at the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, 1981 -89 soloist for viola with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra; 1977-89 Professor at the Provincial Conservatory of Vorarlberg; 1984-89 adjunct faculty, as of 1989 full professor for viola at the Music University of Vienna.
Lilach Levanon Israel
Considered as one of Israel's prominent string pedagogues, Violist Lilach Levanon raised a whole generation of Israeli violists, many of them won international competitions and awards (such as Tertis, Baden-Baden, Bled); performed as soloists and are members of Israel`s leading orchestras (Israel Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Israeli Opera/ Rishon LeZion Symphony Orchestra, among others).
Sheng Li China
Sheng Li is currently a Professor of Viola at Shanghai Conservatory of Music and advisor for Master's degree pursuers, as well as the principal professor at Shanghai Conservatory of Music-Royal Academy of Music united college. Under the guidance of Professor Shen Xidi, he graduated from SCM with a master's degree in Viola in 2002 and became a faculty member of his alma mater ever since. He is a young backbone teacher of SCM and one of the founders and members of the Quartet of the middle school affiliated with SCM.
Maxim Rysanov United Kingdom
British-Ukranian musician Maxim Rysanov studied conducting with Alan Hazeldine at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where he also received his education as a violist. He also participated in masterclasses with Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Jorma Panula and most recently has been mentored by Oleg Caetani. Maxim's conducting engagements have included the La Verdi Orchestra Milan, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Spanish Radio Orchestra (RTVE), Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Dala Sinfonietta, Danubia Symphony Budapest, London Mozart Players, Scottish Ensemble, Southbank Sinfonia, Riga Sinfonietta, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, I Musici Montreal, Detmold Chamber Orchestra, Musica Viva (Moscow), Voronezh Youth Orchestra, Kiev Soloists, Częstochowa Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra Charts, Budapest Festival Academy Orchestra, Classic FM Orchestra (Bulgaria), Baltic Neopolis Chamber Orchestra, Georgian National Symphony Orchestra, Plovdiv Philharmonic, Sofia Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Sofia Philharmonic, Royal College of Music String Orchestra, Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, Badische Philharmonie, Vivaldi Orchestra Morbegno, Homecoming Festival Ensemble, Aurora Festival Orchestra, Dubrovnik Festival Ensemble, Utrecht Festival Ensemble and the Beijing Viola Competition Final.
Lars Anders Tomter Norway
Lars Anders Tomter is one of today's most outstanding violists. The Giant of the Nordic Viola (The Strad) was born at Hamar, Norway. He began to play the violin at the age of eight and also took up the viola. Both instruments he studied with Professor Leif Jørgensen at the Oslo Music Conservatory and the Norwegian State Academy. He then continued his studies with Professor Max Rostal and with Sándor Vegh. He was awarded a special prize for his interpretation of Bartók's Viola Concerto at the International Viola Competition in Budapest in 1984 and then went on to win the Maurice Vieux International Competition in Lille in 1986.
Alexander Zemtsov Germany
Alexander Zemtsov is one of the most versatile musicians of his generation and has achieved recognition as a soloist, conductor, chamber musician and teacher. Alexander Zemtsov held professorships at some of the finest conservatories in Europe: the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the Vienna Konservatorium and current professor at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne and the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne. Many of his students are members of, often section leaders in, major orchestras around the world as well as frequent winners of international competitions.


The whole Terry Jones-book- burning mess brings once again to the forefront the proliferation of the radical fringe elements in society these days. And I am not talking about just religion either ! It exists and is growing out of control in all parts of society; religious and secular. The right and the left have been pushing apart for several years now and they have both ramped up the rhetoric. Their words and speeches are filled with dialogue and catch phrases that are tinged with hate.
The Glenn Beck- Sarah Palin- Tea Party group is especially troubling to me. Their rhetoric scares me because there is no compromise in their viewpoints. Nancy Pelosi and her gang on the liberal left are just as bad with their uncompromising ways. And here we are, the true silent majority,( the moderates ), stuck in the middle and looking for a way out to a better and kinder America.
What can be done to bring these two radically opposing groups together ? Well the answer is surprisingly simple, and dates back to the very beginning of our great country. It is called compromise ! Yes, the old give and take method of interacting with others to solve common problems. It is the only way to break the recent grid lock and get things done. And if you don't think this is necessary just look at the voting in the Senate and the House of Representatives recently. The votes are almost always along party lines. Compromise built this country and has sustained it for over 200 years and it is the only way for us to go foward today.
I see the same unyielding attitudes in the "Ground Zero Mosque" controversy in New York City. Over the weekend there were demonstrations and counter-demonstrations. All this does is raise tensions and animosity ! At one point they showed two opposing individuals screaming at each other. I could almost see great Odin shaking his head in disgust. For there is no wisdom used in such actions. Only through calm interactions can a compromising solution be found.
The one thing my mind cannot come to grips with, is why have we come to this point ? What has made us so hard and unyielding that we cannot give a little to get a little. Have we really become so cold and unfeeling as a people that we cannot see the views of others. I hope not !


Ackroyd is a prolific and talented writer of many works of fiction and many non-fiction books. Here are some that I have read, with links if they have been reviewed on this blog.
Milton in America: a strange but fun account of the great man travelling.
The central character of this novel.is Herr Oberman, a famous archaeologist who has made a fortune as a merchant and now is spending it on his passion, trying to prove that the site he is excavating is Homeric Troy. But his methods allow for no alternative interpretations of the evidence and if you doubt his word, even when it is evident that he is lying, things happen. Thus, when an American archaeologist disputes his dating and attacks his methods the man sickens and dies and his body is disposed of without investigation. And when an English paleographer discovers inscriptions that prove that the inhabitants of this city wrote in a pre-Greek script the young man is in peril.
A bit of a slow burner. The character of Oberman, a compelling and dangerous fantasist, drives the story. As it progresses he dominates more and more. He even browbeats the authorities into accepting as unfortunate a suspicious death. Soon we are convinced that anyone who stands in the way of his monomaniacal vision of the truth will be destroyed. And so by the end of this book I was hooked by the incredibly exciting question of whether Oberman's young wife, the protagonist, would be killed by this man who was being revealed as a psychopath. Intrigue at the start turned into unputdownability.
Thomas McNulty leaves famine torn Ireland for America where he and another boy, handsome John Cole, become dancers in a saloon bar before joining the U.S. Cavalry to fight against Indians. They also become lovers. This last fact is given with extraordinary subtlety with a simple paragraph on page 33 "And then we quietly fucked and then we slept." How fabulously matter of fact.
Narrated by Thomas, this is a gay love story set against the background of the endless prairies of the wild west and the killing grounds of the American Civil War.
If I gave ratings on this blog this book would have the full five wows.
A novel based on M Benoit's research carried out whilst he was a monk.
Father Andrei has discovered something about the Bible which is a secret many of the RC hierarchy would kill to keep a secret ... and he is thrown from the window of a train. Father Nil, his best mate at the monastery, attempts to follow in his footsteps, reconstructing his research from a cryptic note he found clutched in his friend's dead hand (which the French scene of crime officers had somehow overlooked). With the mysterious Society of St Pius V, a gang of 12 high placed clerics who have been prepared to murder for the church and a blond, scarred Mossad agent who also happens to be a concert pianist and the best operative of the secret service of Moslem Hamas not to mention an ex-Nazi cardinal all trying to prevent Father Nils from uncovering the secret (though mostly prepared to let him find it provided he dies immediately afterwards) this is one of the less credible imitators of the Da Vinci Code.
As if worried that the thrills of modern day conspiracy ridden Rome will be insufficient the author intersperses his narrative with the power struggle following the death of Jesus (apparently Peter disembowelled Judas) and some of the shenanigans of the Knights Templar.
An enjoyable easy to read thriller but the blurb on the back compares it with The Name of the Rose which is so much better.
On the other hand, the author's research is clearly interesting. It is probably fair to say that at this distance and given the evidence we have at present there is no possibility of knowing more about the beloved disciple. This lack of evidence and necessary inconclusiveness might leave other people frustrated, hence the need to novelise the story. But for me I think I would have preferred the mystery.
The most interesting thing I learnt was that, according to the author, there is no evidence that Nazareth as a place existed in the time of Jesus and that all translations of Jesus of Nazareth should probably be read as Jesus the Nasorean referring to sect of Judaism linked to the Essenes.
This is a strange book in many ways. It reminded me of The Chronicle of a Death Foretold in three ways: first it lets you know from the first page that all five sisters are going to kill themselves, secondly it is written as if a report many years after the event and includes the relation of interviews with some of the key players in the tragedy, third there is a sense in which the whole community is to blame for the events. However, it takes place over a year rather than a day and, crucially, rather than being written by a single narrator who was involved on the sidelines in the events it is written as if on behalf of several teenage boys (the author uses the first person plural) which is quite disconcerting (it reminded me of Then we came to the end by Joshua Ferris).
The story starts with the unsuccessful suicide of the youngest of five sisters; on her return from hospital the parents host the first ever party for the five sisters and the neighbouring kids but during the rather stilted festivities the youngest goes upstairs to throw herself from her window onto some railings. Things are more or less normal for a while: the remaining girls go to school and the boys fantasise about them. Then there is a high school prom and the four sisters are allowed out with strict restrictions; when the eldest returns home late the girls are immured within the house. No more school. No more anything. Total imprisonment. And the fantasies of the boys outside grow stronger.
It is a strongly written book. There is a great deal of pathetic fallacy; even the house, like the House of Usher, decays. But the power of the writing lies in the accuracy and the detail of the descriptions of this normal suburb outside post-industrial town.
In the end it is more about teenage boys growing up in modern suburbia than about the girls.
"Her eyes watered and she was a foot taller than any of her sisters, mostly because of the length of her neck which would one day hang from the end of a rope." (p 26) It isn't exactly subtle foreshadowing but these foreshadows chill.
This is a wonderful novella. The aged Mary, close to death, is reflecting on the terrible events that led to the crucifixion and death of her son. The son whom she sees as the flesh and blood little boy she bore, nursed, weaned, nurtured, and in whom she took such joy. The boy who died.
Now she is being 'looked after' and closely supervised by two men who ask her questions, hoping that the story she tells will corroborate their beliefs that her son was the Son of God.
A great story and told with beautiful detail. But what marks this tiny fiction out as extraordinary, leading to a Booker prize nomination in 2013, is the perfection of the prose. Toibin writes like an angel.
I thought the idea for this book was brilliant. Following her divorce from obnoxious Vince, Laura goes to work for Anthony, an author, who lives in a delightful Victorian villa writing short stories about the lost objects he has found. After he dies leaving her the house she sets to work with a special teenager and the gorgeous gardener to find the people who have lost the collected things and bring them back together. The lost things in the keeper's collection each provoke a short story which helps to showcase the author's ability to write short stories. These puncture the narrative.
The interleaved story is that of Eunice who works for Bomber, a publisher, who loves dogs.
Each character is introduced with a potted biography as if they too are the subjects of short stories. Why waste a good back story?
There is a lot of humour in the book. Perhaps it aspires to be "a searing satire on the saccharine cliches of contemporary commercial fiction" (p 248). But it reminded me more of a sitcom from the 1970s, perhaps Are You Being Served, with the stock characters, the cliched situations and the rather obvious humour. A lot of the time she makes fun of the 'lower orders', especially those who are less well educated. The pretensions of the local pub and its customers are mocked with withering scorn. Sometimes the humour moves from biting to spiteful.
The men in Laura's life illustrate class warfare at it most snobbish. Having had a scholarship to a "local girls' school" (presumably private) Laura met unsuitable Vince who sold cars. She divorces him after he has an affair with "Selina from 'Servicing'. Her next love is Anthony who writes short stories and lives in a delightful Victorian house with a study. He is so much more her sort of thing. After he dies she pursues Freddy who is only the gardener (but he used to have an IT business so he's a bit brighter than he seems). Vince is essentially an unpleasant oik and is given the full comeuppance treatment when he rocks up half way through the book. In a few pages he whirls from angry to wheedling to sleazy to desperate to infuriated to sneering; he's clearly unstable and so undignified. His reward, in a scene of pure slapstick, is having rancid milk splashed over his "designer polo shirt" and being hit in the face. These are not nuanced characters.
I suspect I am not the target audience for this book. I like my literature to be challenging, to make me think. Many of the (often 5 star) reviews say that the book is heart-warming, whimsical, romantic and I agree that it is all of these. A great deal of life is represented here: a gay man, a man suffering from Alzheimer's, a Down's syndrome girl (who is psychic) and lots and lots of dogs. There are a lot of lovely cups of tea.
Sixteen year-old Sabine is packed off to her grandmother's house in Ireland so that her mother can move in with yet another man. Sabine, without internet or much television or even telephone contact, buried deep in the countryside with an unbending grandmother, a dying grandfather and little else but mud and horses, struggles to cope. Will she run away or will she learn how to love an alien way of life?
Stable boys and family secrets abound in this story. But the plot is not really the point. There is a strong cast of characters: Joy the ironically named grandmother, ungainly and awkward as a teenager and stiff and buttoned-up as an old lady; Sabine the rebellious teenager with a particularly fine line in saying things that her others and then feeling ashamed and sorry; Kate the feckless mother, never able to hold down a relationship, not even with mother or daughter; Annie, with a special line in depression. The male characters are less convincing, acting mostly as opportunities for the women to develop. Thom is an impossibly wonderful shoulders to cry on despite his back-story, and grandfather just lies there dying, despite his.
The unsolved mystery at the heart of the story is: since none of the family seem to do any work, how on earth do they fund the wages of all those who work for them?
This is a beautifully balanced novel with plenty of action, plenty of sadness, and plenty of humour.
This book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005 and was chosen by the New York Times Book Review as one of the top six novels of the year. Her first novel was voted one of the 100 greatest novels of all time by the Observer.
An old preacher with heart disease is writing a letter to his young son. He recounts the story of his life and his family and tries to explain himself, while at the same time offering advice.
His father was the preacher in town before him and his grandfather before that, though they were very different characters and almost always argued. He married and had a wife and child who died and then, in his sixties, married again to have the little boy to whom he is writing. His boyhood friend grew up to become preacher in a neighbouring church and have a rather larger family of whom was a boy of mischief with a bad reputation who got into trouble and had to leave town.
Then half way through the book this boy returns. And the narrator is afraid that this bad boy will, from pure devilry and spite, steal his wife and child after he has died.
A book which raises profound moral questions narrated by a saint who struggles to be good.
I thought that it was beautifully written but not very exciting. There were mysteries that drove me on. What exactly was the nature of the feud between the narrator's grandfather and his father? What exactly had the bad boy done? It wasn't much to motivate but the reward was perfect prose.
And then, at the very end, in the only bit that is arranged as a separate chapter, we discover at least some of the truth. And in the last two pages there were tears in my eyes and it was sore to swallow. It was one of those books that had none of the superficial gaudinesses but will linger as a taste (and a lump) at the back of my throat for years.
There were so many beautiful lines that this small selection seems ungracious.
This story alternates between the descendants of these two women. Each generation is given a chapter of about twenty pages. Thus the book is essentially made up of short stories, linked by the ancestry of the protagonists. This story is then intended to encapsulate the society in which they grow. Thus, on the American side of the 'pond', we have a slave, followed by a runaway in Baltimore whose wife is kidnapped under runaway slave legislation and reenslaved, followed by a convict working on a chain gang, followed by a gospel singer, followed by an angry young man who works for the NAACP and becomes a drug addict, followed by a failing PhD student. This makes the people become representative; they are icons. But it is extraordinarily difficult, in twenty pages, to introduce a character and give them a potted biography and link them to their parents and show how they reflect the history of their time and at the same time turn them into a meaningful character. At the start I was prepared to invest in the characters; they felt real. Towards the end the characters seemed just another shell rolling off the production line. They felt superficial and contrived.
The story heads towards a resolution which, despite the little twist, one knows from almost the start that it will reach.
It is important to tell the history of colonialism, slavery and racism. Wicked things were done by ordinary men and women; terrible things were suffered by ordinary men and women. Somehow people survived. The problem with this book as fiction is that it became didactic. It was a little like watching a Brecht play. I wanted to become involved in the emotional life of the characters, I wanted to suffer with them, rage with them, triumph with them, love with them. But the instruction always kept me at arms length.
"Anna said 'there won't be no violence in this house'. Five minutes later, Daly kicked Eurias in the shins, and Anna spanked him so hard he winced every time he sat down that day." (p 121) A rare moment of humour. There aren't many laughs in this book.
A review of the audiobook by the Book Chatter blog points out the two-part structure of the book in which "The first half reads like a fable. It is vibrant with the culture of the African people. The story-telling is itself true to the culture of these people, full of their belief systems. ... The second half becomes more straight forward in its manner of relating the stories of the characters, as we get closer to modern day."
But Book Chatter seems to love the book for its informative aspect: "Gyasi depicts a beautifully functioning African culture that becomes fractured by the slave trade. The horrors of slavery and it's aftermath are put in perspective with this broadly sweeping novel. We are still dealing with the aftermath today, and Gyasi bravely posits the question of where will it end." Well, yes. As an academic work, as the PhD that Marcus is trying to write at the end of the book. But as a novel?
I discussed this book in my reading group. We identified the themes of fire (very explicit, although there were some mentions to its that some of us had overlooked) and scarring. There were a lot of characters with physical scars. There were clearly a lot of issues that could be discussed. But my reading group is made up of aspiring writers and what the book is about are of less interest to us than how it was written. We were intrigued how the prose changed from village rustic in the early chapters to more modern in the later chapters though we were uncertain whether we could distinguish individual voices. Despite the Book Chatter review mentioned above, we failed to appreciate why the book is divided into two halves except in so far as the American Civil War and the emancipation proclamation took place between the two halves. We agreed that there were passages which demonstrated that this young writer really could write. But our verdict was that she had set herself too large a challenge with the structure of this book. There were so many characters who were started but for whom there was insufficient opportunity to develop to their full potential. We wanted more depth.
This is a murder mystery set in a drought-ridden small town in the back of beyond in Australia. Luke Hadler, his wife Karen and six year old Billy had been found head, gunned down. The evidence suggests that Luke, a farmer beset by debt, killed Karen and Billy (but not 13 month old baby Charlotte) before driving away and committing suicide.
Aaron Falk takes leave from his job with the finance police to attend the funeral of childhood friend Luke in the town from which he was chased twenty years ago following the death of a teenage girlfriend; he and Luke had both lied about their alibis. Was this crime anything to do with what happened twenty years ago? Falk and local bobby Raco start an unofficial investigation.
And the lack of water pervades everything.
This was a classic murder mystery with some delightful misdirection but clues were provided in time for the reader to work it out.
Aaron Falk reappears in Force of Nature.
You can tell it's good when you catch yourself reading it when you should be doing other things.
This strange story is told in the form of a monologue. Jean-Baptiste Clemence, lawyer turned 'judge penitent' does the Ancient Mariner thing with someone he meets in an Amsterdam bar and, over five nights, reveals the story of his life.
Despite its brevity (92 pages in the Penguin edition) it is quite difficult to read because it is a monologue and so the intensity is unrelieved. But the turning point in the life of Monsieur Clemence comes on page 44, thus conforming almost exactly to the 'turning point at the 50% mark' theory.
His last completed novel, published the year before he won the Nobel Prize for Literature and four years before his death at 47.
Fry takes us through the earlier Greek myths, including the creation, but not including the labours of Hercules, the siege of Troy and its Oresteian and Odyssean aftermaths, or the story of Theseus etc. Perhaps there was just too much.
But what he has given us is his own retelling of some of the less-well-known stories. The ones that lurk in the corners of the cultural subconscious (or did for those of us with some sort of traditional British education). As such it enlightened many dark pockets of my ignorance. I had heard of Pygmalion, the sculptor who fell in love with the statue he had carved, the classical reference underpinning the GBS play that metamorphosed into My Fair Lady, but I had never read the story. I was dimly aware of the story of Hero and Leander, one of whom drowned swimming the Hellespont, but I knew no details. Again and again Fry fleshed out the bare bones of my knowledge. And told me how these stories had passed into our culture by, for example, citing the poems by Byron or Keats or the passages in Shakespeare that had referred to them.
There was a huge western European culture built around these ideas. Young people today are ignorant of much of it (although the themes are often reprised without their knowledge in computer games, sci-fi serials, and soap operas). It is sad that so much cultural heritage is slipping away although of course it was only available to the public-school educated elite and there is a great deal of wonderful culture that is replacing it. I was ashamed of my ignorance. After all, I am a few months older than him, we had similar educations (although I wasn't expelled) and our times at Cambridge overlapped. But I studied science and that is a huge culture in itself. Life is too short for everything.
The real joy of this book is the way that Fry writes. He retells these stories of Gods and mortals in the most human way possible. For example, Ganymede is such a beautiful youth that both men and women are lovestruck on meeting him. "When they got home they wrote and instantly tore up poems that rhyme 'thighs' with 'eyes', 'hips' with 'lips', 'youth' with 'truth', 'boy' with 'joy' and 'desire' with 'fire'." (p 306) It is the "instantly tore up" that makes the imagery so quotidian, so mundane, and so real you can touch it, poke it, prod it and squish it. These are humans. "A compound of village gossip, nosy neighbour and over-solicitous best friend, Echo found it impossible to hold her tongue." (p 333) I know Echo. She lives down the street.
And then there is the erudition. Legend, we are told, "derives from the gerundive of the Latin legere, meaning 'to be read'. Interestingly, the absolute origin of the verb legere and its supine form lectum bears the meaning of 'gather' - as in 'college' and 'collect'." (p 403 & fn) This single example will have to suffice for the learning that is displayed on every single page of this brilliant book.
And then perhaps you can move to the Viking gods who are just as much fun.
I am delighted that the series has been continued with Heroes.
This is a compendium of stories, most of them one or two pages long, set in London. It is arranged historically, starting in 950 and ending in 2007, although the 2007 story seems to relate to 1665 and the 950 story could apply to 1705. I rather wish it had been arranged geographically so that I could have gone to the many places mentioned and read about them while watching.
Because it is mostly about places in London. He tells us about the reason Scotland Yard is so named, of the snuff obsessive who lined on Essex Street, and the entrance, near Waterloo, of the station to the railway of the dead. Many of these tales I didn't know and I would love to wander London armed with this book to guide me.
One bit annoyed me. Towards the end of the book the author goes on and on about the destruction of old buildings in the name of progress; he is positively rude about the men and women who have to make decisions about whether to allow demolitions to permit new growth. I respect the opinion of this author but I felt its repetition was out of place in this book.
The page numbers are placed in the margins rather than at the foot or head of each page. I quite like that!


text:
Bob Griese Dan Marino Devin McCourty Bill Belichick Matt Patricia Jim Caldwell Adam Gase Stephen M. Ross Ryan Tannehill Rob Gronkowski Sports Coaching NFL football Professional football Football Sports team management changes Sports transactions Sports business NFL Super Bowl
'Whirlwind': Flores goes from Super Bowl champs to Dolphins
The new Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores speaks during a news conference on Monday, Feb. 4, 2019, in Davie, Fla. Hours after his team won the Super Bowl, New England Patriots linebackers coach Flores has been hired as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
The new Miami Dolphin's head coach Brian Flores speaks during a news conference on Monday, Feb. 4, 2019, in Davie, Fla. Hours after his team won the Super Bowl, New England Patriots linebackers coach Flores has been hired as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. They decided on Jan. 11. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
The new Miami Dolphin's head coach Brian Flores, left, poses for a portrait with his family, wife, Jennifer, daughter Liliana, son Miles, center, and son Maxwell, left, before he speaks during a news conference on Monday, Feb. 4, 2019, in Davie, Fla. Hours after his team won the Super Bowl, New England Patriots linebackers coach Flores has been hired as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)


German Chancellor Angela Merkel met European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Monday for an exchange of views, Merkel's spokesman said, as part of her regular informal meetings with leaders of European institutions.
"To do that we have to strengthen investment capability with the help of additional structural policies", she said, adding that the fund would be phased in gradually and then evaluated in terms of its effectiveness.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel endorsed French President Emmanuel Macron's idea for a joint European defense force in a long Sunday interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
She said that while solidarity among members of the single currency bloc was important, "solidarity among euro partners should never lead to a debt union, rather it must be about helping others to help themselves".
The League and 5 Star each need to renegotiate treaties on budgets, migration and a variety of different points with the European Union. Merkel did not say if her concerns had been addressed.
"For a successful economy we have to sustainably stabilize the euro".
She proposed offering short-term credit lines to stricken countries, but maintained strict conditions for support: "always subject to special conditions of course, for a limited amount and with complete repayment". "Those are totally new notes from Mrs. Merkel".
Merkel also said that a future EMF would be organized on an intergovernmental basis and national parliaments of member countries would have oversight.
The official said: "It is a positive move which testifies to the European commitment of the chancellor and of her government".
Merkel congratulated Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in a phone call on Saturday and invited him for talks in Berlin, her office said. League leader Matteo Salvini, Italy's new interior minister, has said that Italians "aren't the slaves" of European Union powerhouses Germany and France.