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Executive Principals and Principal
Julie Slater - Chief Executive Principal
Julie Slater is the Chief Executive Principal - Secondary for Outwood Grange Academies Trust, and a National Leader of Education. She has a proven track record of leading an 'Outstanding' school as Principal at Outwood Grange Academy and has consi...
Dr. Phil Smith - Executive Principal
Dr Philip Smith is an Executive Principal. Dr Smith has a degree in Theoretical Physics, a Masters in School Leadership and a Doctorate in the Transformational Leadership of Schools. He was the Principal of Outwood Academy Portland from January ...
Carolyn Blundell - Associate Executive Principal
Carolyn Blundell is an Associate Executive Principal who has responsibility for the southern academies within the Trust. Carolyn is as a National Leader of Education and led, with Martyn Oliver, Outwood Academy Adwick on its journey from requiring...
Andy Scruby - Principal
Having joined the teaching profession in 2004, I feel extremely privileged to be the Principal at Outwood Academy Adwick. My role is to lead the school to ensure all students receive an excellent learning experience with opportunities to thrive a...
Danielle Sheehan - Regional Vice Principal
My name is Danielle Sheehan and I am excited to be undertaking the role of Vice Principal across the Southern Region. My remit is to ensure all schools are collaborative learning schools. I wholeheartedly believe that when students learn from one...
Gavin Swinscoe - Regional Vice Principal
Regional Vice Principal
Emma Ferrarelli - Associate Vice Principal Deep Learning
With a passion for high quality teaching and learning I joined Outwood Academy Adwick in 2019. I am proud to have the opportunity to lead on Deep Learning as Associate Vice Principal. I have been part of the Outwood family since 2014 as Assista...
Hannah Smith - Associate Vice Principal Deep Learning
I am extremely proud to have joined the OGAT family here at Adwick in 2019. I started my teaching career at Holgate School in Barnsley in 2008 having qualified with a degree in Physical Education and Youth Sport from Sheffield Hallam University. ...
Rebecca Bawamia - Vice Principal Deep Experience
I completed a degree in PE, Sport and Dance at Liverpool John Moores University and graduated in 2009. I spent a short time at Outwood Academy Valley before moving to Outwood Academy Adwick in 2011 as a teacher of PE. Since then, I have lead on a ...
Victoria Gray - Vice Principal Deep Support
I began my career in 2005 after successfully completing a PGCE in Business Education. Since 2005 I have undertaken numerous leadership positions, including Head of Department and Assistant Principal across Doncaster and Scunthorpe schools. I am cu...
Lucy Cooper - Assistant Principal
Nick Tweedale - Assistant Principal
I completed a degree in History at the University of Hull and graduated in 2007. I then completed my PGCE at the University of Leeds. I have worked at a number of schools as Head of History before joining Outwood Academy City in April 2017. At Out...
Nick Veal - Assistant Principal
Emma Addy - Associate Assistant Principal
I first joined Outwood Academy Adwick in September 2010, where I completed my PGCE placement. I returned as a Newly Qualified Teacher in September 2011, teaching Business Studies and Information Communication Technology. I went on to teach across ...
Kristina Carpenter - Associate Assistant Principal
I began my career in 2013 after successfully completing a PGCE in Music Education. Since 2013 I have taught and developed music in a number of schools, recently gaining international Musical Futures Champion School status. Furthermore, I have und...
Victoria Swiffen-Laing - Associate Assistant Principal
I studied a BA Hons degree with QTS in Physical Education at Liverpool John Moores University. I knew from a young age I wanted to be a teacher and help transform young lives. I have worked in the Outwood family for four years, firstly working in ...
Lyndsey Conyers - Business Manager
Aalok Kanwar - Associate Director of Science
After completing my teacher training and NQT year with Teach First in 2013 and then being 2nd in Department at Wingfield Academy in Rotherham, I joined OGAT in Sept. 2015 as HoD at Outwood Academy Carlton. After 2 years I secured an Associate Dire...
Amanda Heeley-Gardner - Regional Director of Maths
Since qualifying as a teacher in 2003 Amanda worked in schools in West Yorkshire for 11 years. Amanda held leadership positions in Maths departments for 9 of those years and with a Year 11 focus the teams achieved record results year on year. Whil...
Claire Attrill - Regional SEND Officer
Claire Attrill has a degree in human psychology and a Post Graduate Certificate in Special Educational Needs Coordination. She has worked with children and young people with special educational needs over the past 10 years across a variety of sect...
Jessica Thomas - Associate Director of MFL
Jessica is Associate Director of MFL, supporting the delivery of languages across the Trust. She is also a GCSE Spanish examiner for AQA. Prior to joining the Trust in 2018, she was Head of Modern Foreign Languages at a school in Dudley, West Midl...
Louise Walker - Associate Director of English
I began my teaching career in Halifax as an NQT in 2004, before being promoted to second in English and Head of department. In 2012, I joined OGAT as Head of English at Outwood Academy Adwick before being promoted to the role of Associate Director...
Louise Whilde - Associate Director of Humanities
Louise is an Associate Director of Humanities and passionate History specialist working in Humanities across Outwood Grange Academies Trust. She has a BA in History from the University of Liverpool. Prior to this role Louise was a successful Head ...
Sam Wigfield - Associate Director of English
Samantha Wigfield began her teaching career in 2009. In 2010 she joined OGAT and eventually became Head of English at Outwood Academy Valley. In 2014 she was promoted to Associate Director of English. She works as part of a strong and effective gr...
Stacey Atkins - Associate Director of Maths
Stacey qualified as a Maths teacher in 2003. In her 4th year of teaching she successfully became an Advanced Skills teacher and worked in a variety of schools for Nottinghamshire County Council to help raise the quality of maths teaching across th...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Less talk, more action on gender diversity
by Claire Beale August 11, 2016
The industry needs to keep the heat up on diversity, keep it boiling and spitting until we always notice when there's a lack of it, says Claire Beale.
Here's a thing. Any idea what the following people have in common: Alex Lubar at McCann, Leo Rayman at Grey, Jon Sharpe at Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, Xavier Rees at Havas London, Charlie Rudd at Ogilvy & Mather, Gareth Collins at Fallon and Bill Scott at Droga5?
They're all running some of London's biggest advertising agency brands. They all took up their roles within the last year-ish. They have all stepped up to be agency chief executives for the first time.
And they're all men.
But wait. If you're generous enough to include the interesting but (in ad agency terms) tiny Sunshine in the mix, we can add the brilliant Mel Exon to that list of new CEOs. Jesus, let's do it: let's put little Sunshine alongside the big agency beasts because, heck, they hired a smart woman and she certainly deserves to stand alongside the others (and once she gets going, I'm betting Sunshine won't be quite so little).
Then, last week, Proximity promoted Gabrielle Ludzker to CEO. So it's not an all-male line-up after all, then. Phew. But, God, it's still a shameful picture.
Now, I'll be honest, we almost didn't notice. Isn't it interesting, we thought, that so many new agency chiefs have been minted in such a short space of time; it's quite a moment for the industry, let's start planning a feature on this new wave of industry leaders. And – embarrassingly – it wasn't until we began to gather our list of the new agency chiefs that we properly realised there was only one woman among them. We just hadn't spotted it before because we weren't looking for it.
That's the problem with diversity – you need to keep looking. Which is why we need to keep the heat up high on the Kevin Roberts saga, keep it boiling and spitting until we always notice when there's a lack of diversity and always question why and always push for positive change.
So I make no apologies for the inclusion of yet more coverage of Roberts' dangerous and offensive comments in this week's issue. For a moment, we wondered whether the world has had enough of Roberts and his ridiculous remarks. After all, it's a story that has been played out in full in the national media, generating meaty headlines and superficial commentary. But talking and writing about it – and who hasn't jumped in to add a few easy words of condemnation? – doesn't change a damn thing.
The danger is that, the more we talk about it, we think things are properly changing, improving. Yet when you stop and think about the fact that the ad industry has just appointed a whole new generation of leaders with barely a woman among them, it's clear how very far we still have to go. A massive opportunity to rebalance has just been collectively missed. Shame on us.
claire.beale@haymarket.com
@clairebeale
Agencies Advertising
After ten years of iPhone, is it the beginning of the end for smartphones?
R&D is the future of our industry. Can you measure that on a timesheet?
Life after Kevin Roberts: the end of 'dinosaur' leaders?
Pregnant Man has final word on Kevin Roberts' sexism spat
Six ways to rewrite gender in adland after the Kevin Roberts debacle
Proximity names Ludzker as UK CEO as Dodds takes European MD role


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CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/6
Convention on the Elimination of A ll Forms of Discrimination against Women
Committee on the Elimination of Discriminationagainst Women
Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of Angola adopted by the Committee at its fifty fourth session (11 February – 1 March 2013)
1.The Committee considered the sixth periodic report of Angola (CEDAW/C/AGO/6) at its 1113th and 1114th meetings on 20 February 2013 (see CEDAW/C/SR.1113 and 1114). The Committee's list of issues and questions is contained in CEDAW/C/AGO/Q/6, and the responses of the Government of Angola are contained in CEDAW/C/AGO/Q/6/Add.1.
2.The Committee appreciates that the State party submitted its sixth periodic report which, in general, followed the Committee's guidelines for the preparation of reports, although it lacked references to the Committee's general recommendations and certain sex-disaggregated data. The Committee expresses its appreciation to the State party for the written replies to the list of issues and questions raised by the pre-session working group, its oral presentation, and the further clarifications provided in response to the questions posed orally by the Committee.
3.The Committee commends the State party for its high-level delegation, which was headed by Ms. Ana Paula da Silva Sacramento Neto, Secretary of State for Family and Promotion of Women. The delegation included representatives from various ministries and from the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva. The Committee appreciates the constructive dialogue that took place between the delegation and the members of the Committee.
B.Positive aspects
4.The Committee welcomes the enactment of the Law on the Participation of Women in Political life, in 2005 and the Law against Domestic Violence, in 2011.
5.The Committee also notes with satisfaction that the State party ratified:
(a)The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in 2007;
(b)The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, in 2007;
(c)The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, in 2005.
C.Principal areas of concern and recommendations
6. While reaffirming that the Government has the primary responsibility and is particularly accountable for the full implementation of the obligations of the State party under the Convention, the Committee stresses that the Convention is binding on all branches of the State apparatus and invites the State party to encourage the Parliament, in line with its procedures, where appropriate, to take the necessary steps with regard to the implementation of the present concluding observations between now and the State party's next report under the Convention.
Visibility of the Convention
7.While noting that, according to the State party's Constitution, international conventions on human rights are directly applicable by the tribunals, the Committee is concerned that, in legal practice, the application of the Convention has been limited and the Convention has not been given sufficient visibility as the legal basis for measures, including legislation and policy measures, for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and the promotion of gender equality in the State party.
8. The Committee recommends that the State party take all appropriate measures to ensure that the Convention and the Committe e's general recommendations are sufficiently known and applied by all branches of Government, the Parliament and the judiciary as a framework for all laws, court decisions and policies on gender equality and the advancement of women.
9.While noting the State party's current process to carry out judicial reform, the Committee is concerned about the lack of effective access to justice for women which is due to multiple factors.
10. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Enhance women's awareness of the i r rights and the means to enforce them and ensure that information on the Convention is provided to all women and men ;
(b) Finalize, without delay, the judicial reform to put an end to impunity and ensure that women have effective access to justice and facilitate such access by, for example, removing all impediments women may face in gaining access to justice and raising awareness of women and men in order to eliminate the stigmatization faced by women who claim their rights;
(c) Take all appropriate measures to ensure that the Convention and the Committee's general recommendations are made an integral part of the training for judges, lawyers, prosecutors, police and other law enforcement officers.
Legislative framework
11.While noting the ongoing legislative reform, the Committee is concerned about delays in finalizing it. The Committee reiterates its concern about the lack of full domestication of the Convention as part of the State party's law and about the existence of remaining discriminatory provisions.
12. The Committee recommends that the State party a ccelerate the process of legal reform , within a clear and precise time frame, with a view to bring ing domestic provisions in line with the Convention and ensuring that all discriminatory provisions are reviewed and repealed, in order to achieve de jure equality and thereby facilitate de facto equality of women with men, in compliance with the State party's obligations under the Convention.
National machinery for the advancement of women
13.The Committee is concerned about the low percentage of the national budget allocated to the machinery for the advancement of women and the delay in adopting the National Gender Policy and the Land Reform Programme. The Committee notes that the empowerment of women is a means to advance democracy, to combat poverty and to achieve sustainable development, and expresses its concern about the limited participation of women in decision-making in development initiatives.
14. In accordance with its general recommendation No. 6 (1988) and the guidance provided in the Beijing Platform for Action on the necessary conditions for the effective functioning of national mechanisms, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Raise awareness among decision-makers that the empowerment of women is essential as a mean s to advance democracy, combat poverty and achieve sustainable development;
( b) Significantly increase the financial resources of the national machinery for the empowerment of women at national and local levels;
(c) Provide the national machinery for the advancement of women with the necessary human and technical resources for its effective functioning in all areas of women empowerment at national and local levels ; this should, in particular, include technical capacity-building activities and capacity for enhanced cooperation with civil society;
(d) Enhance coordination among existing mechanisms for the advancement of women and promotion of gender equality;
( e ) Adopt without delay the National Gender Policy and the Land Reform Programme , i ncorporate in them a result-oriented approach, including specific indicators and targets , and establish a monitoring mechanism to regularly assess the impact and effectiveness of the se policies ;
( f ) I ncrease the representati on of women at de cision-making, policymaking and implementation levels in institutions and mechanisms for development .
Temporary special measures
15.While welcoming the measures taken in favour of women to provide flexible working hours for pregnant women and to improve the conditions of retirement for women, the Committee is concerned that no other temporary special measures have been introduced or are being planned as part of a necessary strategy to accelerate the achievement of substantive equality of women with men in areas where women are underrepresented or disadvantaged.
16. The Committee encourages the State party to use temporary special measures, in accordance with article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention, and as interpreted in the Committee's general recommendation No. 25 (2004) on temporary special measures, in all areas covered by the Convention where women are underrepresented or disadvantaged , in particular as regard the inclusion of women in decision-making . To that end, it recommends that the State party:
(a) Implement temporary special measures in various forms, such as outreach and support programmes, quotas and other pro-active and result-oriented measures aimed at achieving substantive equality of women with men in all areas, and encourage their use both in the public and private sectors;
(b) Raise awareness among members of Parliament, government officials, employers and the general public about the necessity of temporary special measures.
Stereotypes and harmful practices
17.The Committee expresses its deep concern at the persistence of adverse cultural norms, practices and traditions as well as patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and society. It notes that stereotypes contribute to the persistence of violence against women as well as harmful practices, including early marriage, polygamy, female genital mutilation, levirate, and acts of violence against women of the San Community and against children or old women considered to be witches. The Committee expresses its deep concern that the State party has not taken sufficient sustained and systematic action to eliminate stereotypes and negative cultural values and harmful practices.
18. Recalling that combating negative gender stereotypes is one of the most important requirements for social advancement, the Committee urges the State party to:
(a) Put in place, without delay, a comprehensive strategy, in conformity with articles 2(f) and 5(a) of the Convention, to eliminate stereotypes and harmful practices that discriminate against women, such as early marriage, polygamy, female genital mutilation, levirate, and acts of violence against women of the San Community and against children or old women considered to be witches . Such measures should include concerted efforts, with in a clear timeframe, in collaboration with civil society, the school system, the media and traditional leaders, to educate and raise awareness about negative gender stereotypes , targeting women and girls as well as men and boys at all levels of society;
(b) Adopt legal provisions prohibiting polygamy, early marriages, female genital mutilation and levirate, and include adequate sanctions for violations of these provisions .
19.While welcoming the existence of campaigns against gender-based violence and the adoption in 2011 of Law 25/11 against Domestic Violence, the Committee remains concerned about:
(a)The absence of a comprehensive strategy on violence against women; the persistence of violence against women, including rape, domestic violence, and sexual harassment at school, in the workplace and in the public sphere, as well as the persistence of impunity;
(b)The lack of effective implementation of Law 25/11 against Domestic Violence; the lack of information on the existence of legal provisions explicitly criminalizing marital rape and the absence of legal provisions prohibiting sexual harassment;
(c)The tendency of the State party to encourage women to opt for mediation rather than legal action for cases of domestic violence;
(d)The lack of sufficient data on cases of gender-based violence reported, on prosecution and conviction rates in relation to violence against women and on the number, capacity and resources of shelters, counselling and rehabilitation services;
(e)Cases of abuse and acts of violence, including sexual violence, perpetrated by the State party's securityforces duringexpulsionproceedingsagainstmigrant women;
(f)The absence of sufficient measures taken to provide remedies and health-care services to women victims of violence, including sexual violence, during the conflicts with the União Nacional Para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) and the Frente de Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda (FLEC).
20. The Committee urges the State party to:
(a) Adopt and implement a n ational strategy to fight against all forms of violence against women;
(b) Significantly increase its awareness-raising and education efforts, targeted at both men and women, with the support of civil society organizations, in order to combat violence against women;
( c ) Ensure the effective implementation of Law 25/11 against Domestic Violence ; ensure that marital rape is explicitly criminalized ; adopt leg al provisions which prohibit sexual harassment at school, in the workplace and in the public sphere and ensure that the provisions include adequate sanctions ;
(d) Encourage women to opt for legal action rather than mediation for cases of domestic violence whenever it is justified ;
( e ) Collect data on cases of gender-based violence, including on the number of complaints, prosecutions and convictions, and the sentences imposed on perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence , a s well as on the number, capacity and resources of shelters, counseling and rehabilitation services for women victims of such violence ;
( f ) Protect asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant women from all forms of violence, investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of such acts, including members of the State party's security forces, and establish mechanisms for redress and rehabilitation; respect the domestic law and treaties to which the State party adheres with regards to the expulsion of migrants, taking into account the vulnerability of migrant women;
( g ) Ensure the implementation of Security Council r esolution 1325 (2000) , in connection with that of the Convention, and ensure that women victims of sexual crimes committed during the conflict s with the União Nacional Para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) and the Frente de Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda (FLEC) receive appropriate reparations and rehabilitation.
Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution
21.While noting the programme to facilitate the reintegration of children exploited in prostitution and the rehabilitation programme for women sex workers, the Committee remains concerned about reports that the State party is a source and destination country for human beings trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour. The Committee is also concerned about the absence of a comprehensive law and strategy aimed at combating trafficking in human beings. It is further concerned that prostitution continues to thrive, owing to the poverty of women and girls.
(a) Carry out a study to investigate the scope, extent and root causes of trafficking in human beings and forced prostitution, particularly of women and girls, including through the collection and analysis of data on trafficking and exploitation of women in prostitution;
(b) A dopt a law aimed at combating trafficking in human beings and amendments to the Penal Code and ensure that they fully comply with article 6 of the Convention and strengthen mechanisms for the investigation, prosecution and punishment of trafficking offenders;
(c) Increase international, regional and bilateral cooperation with countries of origin, transit and destination to prevent trafficking through information exchange and to harmonize legal procedures aimed at the prosecution and punishment of traffickers;
(d) Address the root causes of prostitution of women and girls, including poverty, in order to eliminate the ir vulnerability to sexu al exploitation and trafficking, and strengthen efforts for the rehabilitation and social reintegration of victims;
(e) Ratify the United Nations Convention against T ransnational O rganized C rime and the Protocol thereto to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and c hildren , as well as the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention).
Participation in political and public life
23.The Committee welcomes the representation of women in the National Assembly (34.1 per cent) and in ministerial positions (29 per cent) and the enactment of the Law on Political Parties of 1 July 2005 requiring that political parties include a 30 per cent quota for women candidates on electoral lists. However, the Committee reiterates its concern about the remaining low participation of women in other areas of political and public life, including at high levels of decision-making, in the judiciary and in the civil service at national, provincial and municipal levels.
(a) Ens ure that women and men have equa l access to all areas of political and public life, including at high levels of decision-making , in the judiciary and the civil service at national, provincial and municipal levels;
(b) Implement awareness-raising activities for the society as a whole about the importance of women's participation in decision-making and develop targeted training and mentoring programmes on leadership and negotiation skills for women in the public sector .
25.The Committee is concerned about the high number of women without national identity cards, which may prevent them from exercising their rights and gaining access to loans.
26. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that all women receive national identity cards.
27.The Committee welcomes the efforts undertaken to increase the budget allocated to education, the school enrolment and attendance rates of children, and the literacy rate among women in rural areas. However, it remains concerned about the low school enrolment and attendance rates of girls, the high dropout rate, including due to early pregnancy and early marriage, the lack of education facilities and qualified teaching professionals, the existence of gender stereotypes in school textbooks and the high illiteracy rate among women, in particular in rural areas.
(a) Raise awareness among communities, families, students, teachers and officials, especially men, about the importance of women's and girls' education;
(b) Ensure de facto equal access of girls and young women to all levels of education and retain girls in schools , including by eliminating the indirect cost s of schooling, providing incentives for parents to send their daughters to school , eliminating the practice of early marriage and enabling young women to stay in school during pregnancy and to return to school after giving birth;
(c ) Allocate adequate resources to education to increase the number of teachers and to improve the quality of teacher training and of school facilities;
(d ) Undertake a revision of educational textbooks to eliminate gender stereotypes;
(e ) Strengthen adult literacy programmes, especially for women in rural areas.
29.While noting the audit carried out in 2010 on the equality of women and men in the workplace, the Committee is concerned about the persistent discrimination against women in the labour market, in particular with regard to the wage gap, and the occupational segregation of women in the public and private sectors. The Committee is also concerned about the low level of women in formal employment, the concentration of women in the informal sector with no legal protection, social security or other benefits, and the lack of nation-wide micro-credit programmes.
(a ) Reduce the wage gap between women and men , including by addressing occupational segregation of women in the public and private sectors and promoting women's access to higher pa id jobs and decision-making positions, and monitor the implementation of these measures;
(b) Provide a regulatory framework for the informal sector, with a view to providing women in this sector with access to social security and other benefits;
( c) Expand women 's access to micro-finance and microcredit at low interest rates so as to enable them to engage in income-generating activities and to start their own businesses .
31.While welcoming the adoption of the 2009 Executive plan for primary health care, the 2007-2013 Investment Plan for the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality and the 2012-2014 National Strategy on HIV/AIDS, the Committee is concerned about:
(a)The limited access to basic health-care services, in particular for rural women; the existence of sociocultural factors that prevent women from accessing these services; the lack of adequate health infrastructure and the insufficient human and financial resources allocated to the health sector;
(b)The high maternal mortality rate, due, inter alia, to the lack of extended obstetrical care and the low number of births attended by skilled personnel;
(c)The very high fertility and teenage pregnancy rates and the high number of cases of vescico-vaginal fistula; the low use of contraceptives and the lack of information provided to women on sexual and reproductive health and rights, including family planning;
(d)The criminalization of abortion (art. 144 of the Penal Code) except if pregnancy is harmful to the mother's life, although the delegation indicated that, in practice, abortion is allowed in cases of rape and risks for the development of the child;
(e)The disproportionately high number of women living with HIV/AIDS and the lack of effective implementation of the 2012-2014 National Strategy on HIV/AIDS throughout the State party.
32. In line with its general recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health, the Committee calls on the State party to:
( a ) Increase access for women and girls , in particular rural women, to basic health - care services and address the obstacles to women's access to health care, including sociocultural norms ;
(b) Increase the funding allocated to health care, and the number of health - care facilities and of trained health - care providers and medical personnel;
( c) Strengthen the maternal and infant mortality reduction programme, and eliminate the causes of such mortality, which include limited access to obstetrical care and the low number of births attended by skilled personnel;
(d) P revent vescico-vaginal fistula through nutritional programmes and adequate obstetric services for pregnant women , and provide medical support to women affected by it ;
(e) Widely promote education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, in particular by undertaking large-scale awareness-raising campaigns about available contraceptive methods; increase access to safe and affordable contraceptive services throughout the State party and ensure that women do not face barriers in accessing information on family planning;
(f) Address teenage pregnancies by integrating effective and age-appropriate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights in curricula ;
(g) Consider removing punitive legislative provisions imposed on women who undergo abortion , in line with the Committee's general recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health , and b roadening the conditions under which abortion can be legally available , including when pregnancy i s harmful to the mother's health and in instances of rape and incest ;
(h) Develop operational plans to ensure the effective implementation , monitoring and evaluation of the 2012-2014 National Strategy on HIV/AIDS, including at municipal levels.
Disadvantaged groups of women
33.While welcoming the adoption in 2012 of the national programme to support rural women and of the National Strategy for Combating Poverty, the Committee remains deeply concerned about the widespread poverty among rural women and the limited impact of economic growth on women's development in the State party.
(a) Pay special attention to the need s of women who face multiple forms of discrimination, including rural women, to ensure that they have access, without discrimination, to health, education, clean water, sanitation and income generating activities ;
(b) Integrate a gender perspective into the National Strategy for Combating Poverty , taking account of the specific needs of rural women , and e nsure the effective implementation of this Strategy .
Marriage and family relations
35.The Committee is concerned about the discriminatory provision in article 24 of Law 68/76 authorizing, on an exceptional basis, the marriage of girls at 15 and boys at 16 years of age. The Committee is also concerned about the persistence of the practices of polygamy and early marriage. It is further concerned about the application of customary law that discriminates against women with regard to inheritance of land.
(a) Withdraw the discriminatory provision in article 24 of Law 68/76 authorizing, on an exceptional basis, the marriage of girls at 15 and boys at 16 years of age , and raise the legal age of marriage to 18 for girls and boys ;
( b ) Sensitize traditional leaders on the importance of eliminating discriminatory practices such as polygam y and early marriage and put an end to the application of customary law that discriminates against women with regard to land inheritance ;
(c ) Carry out awareness-raising and education programmes, target ing both women and men , in cooperation with civil society organizations, on the elimination of discrimination against women in marriage and family relations.
National human rights institution
37.While noting the existence of an Ombudsman, the Committee is concerned about the absence of an independent national human rights institution.
38. The Committee recommends that the State party consider establishing an independent national human rights institution in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights ( Paris Principles ), or another specialized body to consider, issue opinions and make recommendations on complaints submitted by women alleging violations of their human rights.
39.The Committee is concerned at the general lack of updated statistical data. It notes that updated data disaggregated by sex, age, race, ethnicity, geographical location and socioeconomic background are necessary for an accurate assessment of the situation of women, to determine whether they suffer from discrimination, for informed and targeted policymaking, and for the systematic monitoring and evaluation of progress achieved towards the realization of women's substantive equality in all areas covered by the Convention.
40. The Committee calls upon the State party to develop a gender indicator system to improve the collection of data disaggregated by sex and other relevant factors necessary to assess the impact and effectiveness of policies and programmes aimed at mainstreaming gender equality and enhancing women's enjoyment of their human rights. In this regard, the Committee draws the State party's attention to it s general recommendation No. 9 (1989) on statistical data concerning the situation of women and encourages the State party to seek technical assistance from relevant United Nations agencies and to enhance its collaboration with women's associations that could assist in securing the collection of accurate data.
Amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention
41. The Committee encourages the State party to accept, without delay, the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention concerning the meeting time of the Committee .
42. The Committee calls upon the State party to utilize the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, in its efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention.
43. The Committee calls for the integration of a gender perspective in accordance with the provisions of the Convention in all efforts aimed at the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
Dissemination and implementation
44. The Committee recalls the obligation of the State party to systematically and continuously implement the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It urges the State party to give priority attention to the implementation of the present c oncluding o bservations and recommendations between now and the submission of the next periodic report. The Committee therefore requests the timely dissemination of the c oncluding o bservations, in the official language of the State party, to the relevant S tate institutions at all levels (national, regional, local), in particular to the Government, the ministries, the Parliament an d to the judiciary, to enable their full implementation. It encourages the State party to collaborate with all stakeholders concerned, such as employers' associations, trade unions, human rights and women's organizations , universities and re search institutions, media, etc. It further recommends that its c oncluding o bservations be disseminated in an appropriate form at the local community level, to enable their implementation. In addition, the Committee requests the State party to continue to disseminate the Convention, its Optional Protocol and jurisprudence, and the c ommittee's g eneral r ecommendations to all stakeholders.
Ratification of other treaties
45. The Committee notes that the adherence of the State party to the nine major international human rights instruments * would enhance the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms in all aspects of life. The Committee therefore encourages Angola to consider ratifying the treaties to which it is not yet a party, i.e., the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Follow-up to concluding observations
46. The Committee requests the State party to provide, within two years, written information on the steps undertaken to implement the recommendations contained in paragraphs 1 4 (b), (c) and (e) and 3 4 (b) above.
47. The Committee recommends that the State party avail itself of international cooperation , including technical assistance , to develop a comprehensive programme aimed at the implementation of the above recommendations as well as the Convention as a whole. The Committee also calls upon the State party to further strengthen its cooperation with specialized agencies and programmes of the United Nations system. The Committee recommends, in particular, that the State party strengthen its cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the State party through, for instance, the re-opening of an OHCHR country office and the signing of a comprehensive agreement aimed at human rights promotion and protection.
Preparation of the next report
48. The Committee invites the State party to submit the seventh periodic report by March 2017.
49. The Committee requests the State party to follow the h armonized guidelines on reporting under the international human rights treaties, including guidelines on a common core document and treaty-specific documents ( HRI/ GEN/2/Rev.6, chap. I ) ).


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Collected by Laur Miller
Bahnhofstrasse 25, 7001 Chur, Switzerland
I didn't even realize that the Bernina Express scenic train journey was on the UNESCO World Heritage list until I arrived at the small northern Italian town of Tirano to start the trip. There are several different routes from which travelers may...
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
Lasseter Hwy, Uluru NT 0872, Australia
Uluru, or Ayer's Rock as many know it, is one of the most recognized landmarks anywhere in the world. This strange giant rock in the middle of the Australian Outback has long kindled imaginations, going back millennia. It may be an important...
The Galapagos Islands are known around the world for the famous, endemic wildlife found there. An amazing eighty-percent of all land-based animals on the archipelago are only found there, thanks to its isolation from the rest of the world. Of all...
Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico
A brilliant work of architecture and astronomy, the Pyramid of Kukulkán at Chichén Itzá is so precisely engineered that on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, the sun casts shadows that slither like snakes and seem to descend...
Salisbury SP4 7DE, UK
Stonehenge is definitely worth a day trip. We lucked out and was able to get a combined tour of Stonehenge and Bath. More for the money.
Athens 105 58, Greece
You can't miss the Parthenon, the majestic ruin towering above Athens. Originally painted in vivid hues, this feat of architecture, engineering, and artistry is still as awe-inspiring as it was almost 2,500 years ago. Le Corbusier, pioneer...
Photo by LASZLO ILYES/Flickr
Dharmapuri, Forest Colony, Tajganj, Agra, Uttar Pradesh 282001, India
The Taj Mahal is referred to as "the jewel of Muslim art in India," by UNESCO in its listing on the World Heritage Site registry. The Mughal ruler Shah Jahan had the truly magnificent white marble...
Photo by https://unsplash.com/photos/O-rlY0RW9vU
Iguazú Falls
Misiones Province, Argentina
Certain things in life are simply impossible to adequately capture in a mere photograph. Iguazú Falls is definitely one of them, and above is my best effort to convey the epic expanse of 'The Devil's Throat.' Situated on the border of...
Photo by Massimo Pizzotti / age fotostock
Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia
Crowds may swarm upon it daily from sunrise onwards, but exposure hasn't dulled the impact of the largest religious monument in the world. Commissioned by King Suryavarman II in the 12th century as the centerpiece of the mighty Khmer empire,...
The Great Wall of China runs more than 21,000 kilometers (over 13,000 miles), not as one continuous wall but rather as fortified wall sections. Some of the sections date back more than 2,500 years, though only 8.2 percent of the existing wall is...
Photo by Harold Hofer/unsplash
Croatia's oldest and biggest national park, Plitvice is a four-season playground known for its pristine forests, stunning waterfalls, and dozens of turquoise lakes. To see it all, trek along the wooden pathways that twist through...
381 01 Český Krumlov, Czechia
Cesky Krumlov is located in southern Czech Republic and has a delightful town bound by an oxbow in the Vltava River. Opposite the town lies Cesky Krumlov Castle, which allows the visitor to experience an "on top of the world" view over the...


February 23, 2018 // Franchising.com // Springfield, PA - BirthdayPak is now in Austin, capital of Texas and the fastest growing large city in the United States! The BirthdayPak of Austin franchise is owned and operated by Heather and Dean Bridges. Together, they will be introducing BirthdayPak to the upscale businesses in the metropolitan area, while bringing birthday wishes to affluent women living local to those businesses. Welcome to BirthdayPak, Heather and Dean!
Dean was looking for a business that he and Heather could manage in their retirement. "We were looking at a couple of different franchise opportunities, but when we heard about BirthdayPak we knew it was the right choice for us", says Dean. Both Heather and Dean have an impressive background in B2B sales, and together they have accumulated more than 50 years as sales professionals.
Unlike other co-op direct mail franchises, such as Money Mailer and Valpak, BirthdayPak only works with a limited number of upscale businesses such as restaurants, day spas, salons and boutiques. BirthdayPak is only sent to affluent female consumers about to celebrate their birthday and live close to the businesses featured in their BirthdayPak.
The engagement begins with the arrival in the mailbox of the beautifully printed and highly-personalized BirthdayPak during the recipient's birthday month. Once the BirthdayPak is opened, women find up to eight personalized promotional gift cards, not coupons, and instructions for a simple online activation process. Once activated, the gift cards can be used to celebrate with family and friends.
BirthdayPak is expanding nationwide through franchising. There are a limited number of markets available. If you, or someone you know, has an interest in learning more about this exciting business opportunity, please visit www.BirthdayPakFranchise.com, call 888-206-0083 or email Franchising@BirthdayPak.com.


One of Facebook's most underrated acquisitions is Onavo, which it bought in 2013. The company was highlighted in a recent Wall Street Journal report on how Facebook, to maintain its influence over the years, has been vigilantly acquiring or copying potential threats to its own products.
Why it matters: Facebook is notorious for building copycat apps and features in an attempt to stifle up-and-coming social media services, though its standalone apps have largely flopped. A year ago, it made headlines when Instagram, which it owns, released a copy of "Stories," one of ephemeral messaging app Snapchat's signature features. Since there, some have speculated that Instagram has successfully stolen some of Snapchat's users—a problem for newly-public parent company Snap.
The company was founded in 2010 in Tel Aviv by Guy Rosen and Roi Tiger, and it originally provided apps that helped users manage and shrink their mobile device data, and a tool for app makers to track ad downloads. Now, it offers Protect, an app that lets users route their Internet usage through Onavo's servers for online privacy (also known as a VPN, or virtual private network).
It eventually raised a total of $13 million in funding from investors like Sequoia Capital's Israel fund and Li-Ka Shing's Horizons Ventures. It sold to Facebook for a reported mere $120 million (at least compared to the billions it later spent on Oculus and WhatsApp).
Both companies originally explained the acquisition as a way to bolster Facebook's Internet.org initiative, which aims to bring Internet access to people in regions like Africa and Latin America.
Onavo's tech is the basis for a system Facebook has built that gives it insight into what people are doing on their smartphones and detect up-and-coming apps and trends, according to the WSJ. This "early bird" system reportedly guided Facebook's decision to acquire messaging app WhatsApp in early 2014 as well as its live-video strategy. It's also how it noticed Houseparty, a group video chat popular among teens.


text:
Wild Bill on Netflix Instant: British thuggery with a pulse
Guy Ritchie is to modern-day British gangster cinema what Ed Sheeran is to teenage girls with cherubic hobo fetishes. When Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was released in 1998, a subgenre that had birthed such classics as Get Carter (1971) and The Long Good Friday (1980) was reanimated on a global stage.
…a lesson the King of Cockney taught us in Get Carter.
No doubt highly influenced by Tarantino's hyperreal stylization, Ritchie followed up his raucous debut with another cult-classic, Snatch. Since, however, his schtick has devolved into half-assed attempts like Revolver (most notable for Andre 3000 giving the worst performance by a rapper since Ice-T in Leprechaun in the Hood); the unwatchable remake of Lina Wertmüller's glorious sexistential 1974 film Swept Away (most notable for Madonna's performance in the worst movie starring a pop singer this side of Gigli); and those Sherlock Holmes movies—which conjure a video game idea Michael Bay thought up while taking a shit.
Q: What's cooler than being cool? A: Never acting again, Three Stacks.
That said, Ritchie deserves credit for his better "Mockney" efforts, and perhaps more so for the wave of UK crime cinema they've inspired. Sure, the movement has spawned its fair share of overstylized, horribly written filth that many a Brit no doubt loathe being associated with. Specifically, I'm referring to just about anything Jason Statham has ever done (full disclosure: I have lapped up every Statham movie on Netflix Instant with the guilty-pleasure-induced appetite of a middle-aged housewife with a box of Franzia and a Lifetime marathon).
But there have also been some absolutely brilliant films added to the canon. Sexy Beast (2000) is a genre-bending classic that features Ben Kingsley's turn as one of the greatest big-screen villains of all-time. Terence Stamp killed it in the paternal revenge thriller The Limey (1999). And of course no one's kicking Layer Cake out of bed for eating crumpets.
Don Logan: All-around nice guy.
While Snatch—and at least six Statham-led movies—are currently on Netflix Instant, so is another fantastic, lesser-known modern British gangster flick:
There's a storm brewing throughout Wild Bill, a film about a "nutter" who's just come home from eight years in the pen and is reintroduced to his two slum-living boys. Our titular antihero (played by Charlie Creed-Miles, aka Billy Kimber from Peaky Blinders) is a small-time crook with a larger than life reputation.
In many ways, Bill's disposition is much like that of Nicolas Cage's in Joe (another film titled after—and focused mainly on the psyche of—its lead). Both men are ex-cons with unpredictable temperaments who could snap at any given moment. And as in Joe, much of Wild Bill's tension lies in the fact that we know from the outset that Bill—at first feeble and aimless upon his release from prison—will once again go wild. The questions that drive the story are simply when, and to what consequence?
Pressure is added to these questions when Bill is unwittingly forced into a parental role he's clearly not cut out for. Initially, he takes the responsibility as if he were Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa. He uses the free lodging that his older, mature son has provided as a haven for pot smoking, drunkenly passing out on the couch, and consorting with a kind-hearted hooker.
"Can we fix you some sandwiches?"
Reality soon hits Bill like a swift kick in the bollocks when a street gang from his past starts making threats on his family. From here, it's on Bill to see what extent he'll go to in righting a heretofore unremarkable and wasted existence.
A large part of what makes Wild Bill an exceptional British gangster flick is that it draws elements from both Guy Ritchie and another British filmmaking stud, Danny Boyle. It's got the fast-paced, street-tough humor of a Ritchie flick, but also the more real-world-savvy emotional core found in the breadth of Boyle's work (and the comedic flair of Trainspotting). In short, unlike what Ritchie detractors—and haters of other Mockney offshoots—might argue, it's not simply style for style's sake.
Familiar faces from Wild Bill 's motley crew.
Another similarity Wild Bill shares with both Trainspotting and those better Ritchie films is its use of a colorful ensemble cast. Director Dexter Fletcher employs a who's who of talented B-list British crime actors. Leo Gregory and Marc Warren (both familiar from Green Street Hooligans) play Bill's shifty nemesis and a cracked-out dad, respectively. Neil Maskell (Kill List—also on Netflix Instant, and totally worth the watch), plays one of Gregory's cronies. Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock, Snatch, Layer Cake) makes a brief cameo. Andy Serkis—Hollywood's favorite CGI stand-in—sheds his Gollum and Planet of the Apes makeup to play a menacing crime boss. And Iwan Rheon provides a comedic turn as a petty crack dealer who thinks he's a badass rasta (hard to reconcile when pitted against his role as Ramsay Snow the Castrator on Game of Thrones).
Iwan Rheon, aka Ramsay Snow.
The only debatable setbacks in this film would be that it's not really as much of an all-out "gangster" flick as some of the aforementioned titles, and it also leans a bit heavily on heartfelt drama (a taboo subject on this here blog) as it comes to a close. Still, there's more than enough smashing of pint glasses, soccer hooligan head-butting and general badassery to appease those looking for a proper follow-up to Lock, Stock and Snatch. And beyond that, it's just a bloody damn good film, spearheaded by the underused Charlie Creed-Miles' magnificent work.
GRADE: B+/A-
Tags Andre 3000, Andy Serkis, Bad Santa, Ben Kingsley, best, best netflix instant 2015, best of Netflix, best on Netflix, best show on netflix instant, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Kimber, british films, british gangster movies, british movies, Charlie Creed-Miles, crime movies, Dexter Fletcher, Don Logan, Ed Sheeran, ex-con movies, game of thrones, gangster movies, Get Carter, Green Street Hooligans, Guy Ritchie, Jason Flemyng, Jason Statham, joe, joe movie, Kill List, Layer Cake, Leo Gregory, Leprechaun in the Hood, Lina Wertmüller, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Michael Caine, my cocaine, Neil Maskell, netflix gangster movies, nicolas cage, Nicolas Cage Joe, Peaky Blinders, quentin tarantino, Ramsay Snow, Revolver movie, Sexy Beast, snatch movie, Terence Stamp, The Limey, The Long Good Friday
Best of the Bleak: Eighteen Top Lesser-Known Crime, Thriller and Horror Netflix Instant Titles from 2014
Consider this post a witches' brew. The contents started as a liquid composed of every crime, thriller and horror feature on Netflix Instant. Then I cranked up the heat and gave it a year-long simmer, meticulously skimming away the fat and nasty bits. After that, I spent the next three months tasting and testing till I finally had a small saucepan of the darkest, most delectable demi-glace. I then took that shit and poured it over the finest unicorn liver and paired it with a nice barrel of chianti. And now… Dinner is served, cabrones!
Wait. Did you catch all that?
Essentially what I'm saying is that I spent a year combing through Reddit subthreads, countless hours watching every imaginable film and series on Netflix Instant, and three months writing about my favorite lesser-known titles (along with the help of my partner-in-crime, Adam Fox). I've now condensed all this research into a list of 18 of the best horror, crime and thriller features that you may have not seen on Netflix Instant.
Are a few things missing? Sure. No list is definitive, and that's what next year is for. But consider this a damn good menu, with every item coming highly recommended by the chef himself.
Here's the list, graded and alphabetically ordered, with titles linking back to our initial long-form posts:
Bittersweet revenge. That's what Dwight (Macon Blair), a dumpster-diving hobo, is after when he hears the man who killed his parents is getting out of prison. Blue Ruin delivers as one of the most beautifully shot, darkly comical and poignant films of 2013. If you liked Shotgun Stories or are simply a fan of revenge and vigilante justice flicks, look no further. B+/A-
A charming Irishman enters the life of a teenage breakdancer who lives with her drunk mom and foul-mouthed sister in the slums of East London. Michael Fassbender (pre-Magneto fame) provides one of his best ever performances as a boozy savior who seems too good to be true. This film creates a riveting wave of suspense, despite being the only title on this list devoid of much action or overt violence. A-
Idiocracy and the 1970 hippie-slaughter-fest Joe meet Network in Bobact Goldthwait's blacker-than-black satire on American media culture and narcissism. Bill Murray's brother, Joel, is phenomenal as an everyman who finally hits his breaking point and goes on a monstrous killing spree… inspired by human compassion. B+/A-
Fucking hell, this is a bleak one. Director Matteo Garrone takes a page from Alejandro González Iñárritu's book and intertwines four slum tales, using the gang-ridden streets of Naples as his canvas. Ranked by A.O. Scott as the sixth-best film of 2008, I'd highly recommend this to fans of Amores Perros and City of God. B+
This fast-paced Norwegian thriller tells the story of an art thief who gets in over his head by stealing from a special ops manhunter. Said manhunter is Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who brings all his kingslaying charm to what is perhaps the most throughly entertaining movie I watched all year. A-
Like I said, "mostly lesser-known" titles. If you haven't seen Martin McDonagh's brilliantly wry flick about a pair of hitmen (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) holidaying in the "fucking fairytale" town of Bruges, consider this a must-watch. For those who have seen it, I cannot urge you strongly enough to seek out The Guard, starring Brendan Gleeson as a Bad Lieutenant-esque Irish cop. (I'm quite eagerly anticipating director John Michael McDonagh's follow-up, Calvary, which hits Netflix DVD queues on Jan. 6). A-
The best lesser-known movie on Netflix Instant. Period. A Mexican man is deported back home from the States, only to find his nation in ruinous drug violence. So what does he do? Break bad and become a narco hitman, of course. Rarely is sociopolitical commentary as entertaining to watch as in director Luis Estrada's masterpiece. My top recommendation on this list—which would explain why I wrote a fucking novella on it (see link). A
I Saw the Devil
I didn't write about Oldboy because if you're reading this, chances are you've seen it thirteen times. I Saw the Devil continues in the tradition of Park Chan-Wook's gut-wrenchingly violent Vengeance Trilogy and is, with perhaps the exception of Oldboy, the best film made in the landscape of prolific gore-horror that is South Korean cinema. Alongside El Infierno and Tell No One, this rounds out my top three recommendations within this list. A-/A
This Swedish kiddie vampire tale makes Twilight look like Sesame Street. If for some reason you haven't seen this, please do—it's arguably one of the best horror movies ever made. A
The Man from Nowhere
At what what point do I just give up and dedicate my entire blog to South Korean revenge movies? That's a question this grim story of a mysterious Asian Jason Bourne putting his life on the line to save a young girl brings to mind. While not quite as devastatingly sinister as The Vengeance Trilogy, director Lee Jeong-beom's 2010 flick is every bit as good—and much more action-packed. B+/A-
Aside from Let the Right One In, it could be argued that this devilish, little vampire road movie is the best bloodsucker flick since Dusk Till Dawn. It's basically a much smarter, more artfully crafted and fully realized version of The Walking Dead. Oh, and while we're on the subject of vamps, do me a fucking favor and skip that hipster trash that hipster critics are raving about, Only Lovers Left Alive. I consider Jim Jarmusch a god among directors, but that was his most pretentious bit of bullshit ever. On a more upbeat note, keep an eye out for the Iranian flick A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, which I nominate for best horror-film title of 2014. As for Stake Land… A-
Tell No One
Michael Caine named this 2006 French mystery thriller as one of the top ten movies ever made. While I don't fully agree, I also wouldn't call that hyperbole. This story—about a doctor who uncovers a secret about his dead wife—somehow manages the task of being both one of the most beautiful love stories and most action-packed thrillers in recent memory. One of my top three picks on this list. A
The Taking of Deborah Logan
The found-footage genre finds new life in this jump-out-your-seat scary flick about a lady with Alzheimer's who becomes possessed by demonic forces. While my smug, Masshole co-writer Adam Fox may disagree, I'd easily call this one of the best horror movies of 2014. B+/A-
An Australian survivalist chick winds up at the dinner party from hell as a cast and crew of mumblecore jag-offs redeem themselves by creating one of the best slasher films in years. If there was any justice in this world, Dwight Twilley would win an Oscar for "Looking for the Magic"—which director Adam Wingard uses immaculately here. B+/A-
Did I just give a shout-out to Adam Fox? He's the guy who's been writing up Black Mirror for this here site. Charlie Brooker's series of seven (so far) unrelated stories is a menacingly bleak futuristic take on technology, dystopia and human fallibility. So far we've posted on Fifteen Million Merits (B+), a glimpse of what happens when The Running Man meets American Idol in hell; and The National Anthem (A-), which deals with a British prime minister deciding whether he should follow through on a terrorist threat to fuck a pig.
If you haven't watched Happy Valley yet, perhaps it's for some of the same reasons that it took me so long to get around to it: The marquee image on Netflix displays an unknown, middle-aged actress in a British cop uniform. Meanwhile, there are several other British series plastered on the same page containing well-known actors in their prime, like Idris Elba, Cillian Murphy and Benedict Cumbertwat. So why should you choose Happy Valley, a show about a small-town detective who gets involved in a high-stakes kidnapping case? Let the record state that I am not comparing it to Breaking Bad… but it is the best show I've seen since the best show ever made ended. That's why. A
The Fall: Season One
The Fall is perhaps one of the most intelligent cop shows on TV this side of True Detective, and now that Rust and Marty are out of the picture, Gillian Anderson's lead as icy investigator Stella Gibson is perhaps the best character in the genre. The only downfall of this first season—which trails a sadistic Belfast serial killer—is that it left us with an asshole of a cliffhanger. Quit dicking around, BBC—deliver the goods! A-
Peaky Blinders: Season One
"When you walk through the garden…". That was the line that Tom Waits opened episodes of The Wire with. "Take a little walk to the other side of the tracks" is the line Nick Cave opens Peaky Blinders with, and his "Red Right Hand" is the best intro song to any show since David Simon's deservedly heralded series. There's also a lot of other awesome shit happening here, like Cillian Murphy—as the leader of a Birmingham street gang—slashing people's faces with razor-embedded scally caps. Blinders isn't the most highbrow fare, but its first season is one of the most entertaining pieces of television I've seen in years. The second season falls a little short, but that's another story for another time. A-
NOTE: A big year-end thanks to everyone who's patronized this site, commented on it and given their support over the past three months. It means the fucking world. Also, a huge thanks to my man Adam Fox for helping me keep the ship afloat. We've got much more in store for 2015!
Tags adam fox, Adam Wingard, Amores Perros, best dark shows on netflix instant, best foreign movies on netflix, best horror movies on netflix instant, best lesser-know movies on netflix instant, best netflix thrillers, best of Netflix, best of netflix instant, Best of the Bleak, best on Netflix, best show on netflix instant, best slasher movies on netflix instant, best suspense movies on netflix, best thrillers on netflix streaming, best vampire movies on netflix, blue ruin, british shows, Cillian Murphy, City of God, Dwight Twilley, Eighteen Top Lesser-Known Crime, El Infierno, Fish Tank, gangster movies, god bless america, Gomorrah, Happy Valley, Headhunters, I Saw the Devil, idiocracy, In Bruges, joe movie, joel murray, let the right one in, movies, Park Chan-wook, Peaky Blinders, Peaky Blinders Season One, Reddit, Sam Adams, sam peckinpah, Silence of the Lambs, South Korea, stake land, Tell No One, The best of Netflix Instant if bleak, The Fall, The Man from Nowhere, The Taking of Deborah Logan, Thriller and Horror Netflix Instant Titles from 2014, thrillers, Walter White, You're Next
The best of Netflix Instant if bleak, thrilling cinema is your ASMR: Part I
Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) has quickly become the Internet's answer to Klonopin. Unfortunately, I don't happen to be among those lulled into a happy place by videos of 15-year-old girls whispering about how it feels to wash their hands with a bar of texturized chamomile soap. No, my go-to for bedtime relaxation comes more in the form of films and shows that rely heavily on, say, depictions and existential conversations predicated upon bodily dismemberment.
The title of an ASMR video I would watch
Why? I have no clue. And for the moment, this isn't about why (although I'm sure I'll have to tackle that at some point). The underlying crux of this blog series is to foster a space for recommending and discussing some of the best and most gruesomely soothing films/shows out there. If you consider Winter's Bone, True Detective and The Descent to be among the past decade's seminal moving-picture achievements—and are simply craving more, but don't where to turn—then welcome.
If you're as obsessed with these genres as I am, you likely know that spending half an hour on Google attempting to find something that fits within their parameters is, nine times out of ten, an exercise in futility.
To that point, I'm simply sick and tired of every "Best on Netflix you might not have seen" list trying to convince me that Drinking Buddies, Don Jon and Prince Avalanche aren't somehow going to make me head to Hollywood and craft a Buffalo Bill-style human-skin coat out of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the Duplass Brothers and Diablo Cody.
Seriously, I will wear that shit in public to boycott the premiere of Greta Gerwig and John Kransinki's newest project about a couple of upper-middle class white people who wear flannel and resolve emotional issues to the tune of ten Kimya Dawson songs and then learn something about themselves. (It's still in the works, but I believe they've tentatively titled it We Are Here Now and Were There.)
Yeah, yeah, go fuck yourself.
I digress. What we're talking about here is your dark minds benefiting from the rotten fruits of my labor. Said "labor" being perhaps an unhealthy amount of man-hours browsing reddit subpages over the past year to provide you with some of the sickest, most brilliant diamonds in the rough that you can access through Netflix Instant. Why this specific portal, you ask? Because everyone and their grandmother's fuckin' cousin has it, I respond.
So, without further ado, I think it's time we talk about Kevin… er, shows and movies. Let's talk about shows and movies. Here's our genre for the first installment:
BBC (BADASS BASTARDS AND COPPERS):
Fuck, I thought at first. Cillian Murphy as the leader of a Birmingham street gang that slashes peoples' eyes via razor-embedded scally caps? It all sounded good outside of Cillian Murphy. While he was great in 28 Days Later (and sure, he was Scarecrow in the Dark Knight films), the guy is prettier than the love child of a young Rob Lowe and Kiera Knightley donning a powder blue bunny suit. So, me asks, how the fuck is Cillian gonna pull this off?
No worries, mate. By the end of the first season, I'd rather cross paths with Bane in a dark alley than serve the menacing Thomas Shelby with an improper shoeshine. Oh, and speaking of Bane, Tom Hardy enters in the forthcoming Season 2. My knickers are already wet.
The baddest pretty boy since Gosling in Drive !
About that title: Yeah, it sounded pretty goofy to me at first—as it might to many Yank viewers. Rest assured, Peaky Blinders is not about a middle-school boy with a hot neighbor and a pair of binoculars.
So how would I sum it all up? It's essentially a hybrid of Sons of Anarchy and Boardwalk Empire, with a little splash of Gangs of New York. Thomas Shelby is Jax Teller, if Jax Teller operated out of Birmingham in the early 20th Century. He's a young, dashing, masterfully calculating gang leader who couldn't tell you what fear was if it bit him in the ass. But along with the calculation, there's some stoicism, which is why I also see a bit of Nucky Thompson in him. And if this show catches on, a whole new wave of Jimmy Doherty-esque haircuts will be lurking around a hipster cocktail lounge near you.
Party like it's 1919…
As for drawbacks, it's completely overstylized—almost to the point of camp—but that's also what makes it kind of fun. Why not play a Nick Cave ditty as a smartly-dressed chap walks through the streets with flames billowing at his back while obsequious townfolk quiver in his wake? This is exactly what Hell on Wheels was trying to pull off (and "Red Right Hand" is one of the best intro songs since The Wire tapped Tom Waits). Perhaps Peaky Blinders ain't as highbrow as the first two seasons of Boardwalk (let's be realistic, that show went to shit), but it is some bloody and fiendishly good fun.
SEASON ONE GRADE: A-
Many bemoan the downfall of the American version of The Killing after that horrible cliffhanger in the first season. Fair enough, but I stuck with the show simply because, well, it was gloriously dark. And I have yet to encounter better cinematographic use of a geographical environment this side of Breaking Bad or Twin Peaks. Oh, and Holder was just one hilarious, bad-ass honky.
The man, the myth, the Holder
The reason I bring up The Killing is because of how strikingly similar it is in theme and general aura to Happy Valley. Detective Catherine Cawood is a slightly mentally off-kilter, divorced female cop with a dark past and a son who intermittently hates her. She also lives in a town that is perpetually gray, is constantly trying to quit smoking, likes sleeping with married men and is, despite her uncontrollable moodswings, highly efficient and always right when everyone else doubts her. Sarah Linden, anyone? (Speaking of striking similarities to other shows, there's this turtley little weasel of an accountant who looks like Wormtail from Harry Potter and is the embodiment of Walter White back in his Mr. Chips days. Great character.)
Unlike The Killing, the six-episode-long Season One of Valley delivers. I mean, it fucking delivers. And between involuntary smack injections, basement rape (yeah, that stuff's hard even for me to watch) and dousing children with gasoline, grimness is Happy Valley's oh-so-sunny calling card.
It ain't exactly, "Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?"
While we're on the subject of female-detective BBC shows, if you're choosing between this and Top of the Lake, take the advice of the great Bob Dylan, babe, and don't think twice. Apart from one great character, Top of the Lake is pretty much the bottom of the well when it comes to BBC cop series.
Final note on why you should watch Happy Valley: The fella that plays the pseudo-psycopathic Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) is the second-coming of Tom Hardy. Guy has serious acting chops, and he's certainly the sexiest sexual deviant psychokiller since Jamie Dornan in The Fall. Speaking of which…
SEASON ONE GRADE: A
Perhaps the hardest thing to get past in the first episode of The Fall is just how flawlessly fucking fair Gillian Anderson's skin is. That skin is fairer than a cup of tea sipped quietly by Monet in a field of wheat on a fine spring day. I mean c'mon, she was Scully before Vince Gilligan was out of his screenwriting diapers. … But yeah, after that Duplass Brothers skin-coat thing, maybe I've been talking about skin too much. Fun fact: Did you know that Ed Gein lived 30 minutes from where I'm writing this? (Don't worry, I don't have an epidermal fixation or any skeletons in my closet. I'm just being tongue-in… whatever-you-call-that-space-beside-the-teeth-where-there-used-to-be-flesh.)
"Why yes, I believe that is me in The Birth of Venus."
Moving on, The Fall is yet another grim, tension-riddled cop-thriller with a bad-ass female lead investigating a spate of killings. (For whatever reason, feminism seems to be alive and well in the cop-vs.-serial killer genre.) While there are any number of comparisons that could be made between The Fall, The Killing and Happy Valley (the mood-setting bleakness of Belfast, say), this show does women coppers the service of a portrayal that's the exact opposite of that "off-kilter and mentally distressed" blueprint.
Gillian Anderson is brilliant, and her icy depiction of investigator Stella Gibson leaves little room for sentiment, nonsense or anything other than heady police work. That's good. Because the sadist she's tracking (Jamie Dornan) is a perverted family man who gets off on choking his victims to death and then scrapbooking about them with artwork that is unsettlingly exquisite.
As the body count piles and the investigation deepens, the tension rises to a pitch that makes The Fall arguably as engrossing as True Detective. Of the three shows I've discussed, this one is probably the best. The only disappointment is that Season One is criminally brief (5 episodes) and ends with an asshole of a cliffhanger.
And by the way, John Oliver can shove it. Jamie Dornan is so my Christian.
Final note: Consider all three of the aforementioned shows as far superior to BBC-via-Netflix Instant alternatives like Luther, Sherlock and Top of the Lake. British Stringer Bell, er, Idris Elba is great in Luther, but the show lacks the depth of Happy Valley and The Fall, and the entertainment value of Peaky Blinders. And by "depth," I'm talking about that intangible quality that distinguishes a great cable show like Breaking Bad or The Wire from, say, a regular-channel favorite like Law & Order (again, another topic I'll save for a rainy day). As for Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch exudes a particular brand of smug that just pisses me off, and his Holmes offends my boyhood notions of a beloved literary character. The show is also completely overstylized—just not in a good way, like the way Peaky Blinders makes me eager to sew razor blades into my cap.
Tags ASMR, BBC, BBC cop shows, BBC crime shows, BBC shows, BBC shows on Netflix, best of Netflix, best on Netflix, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Cillian Murphy, cop shows, crime movies, detective shows, drive, gangsters, Gillian Anderson, Happy Valley, horror, horror films, indie movies, jimmy doherty, kiera knightley, movies, Netflix Instant, nick cave, nick cave and the bad seeds, Peaky Blinders, police shows, red right hand, rob lowe, ryan gosling, Sarah Linden, Silence of the Lambs, stephen holder, the 28th hour, The Descent, The Fall, the killing, the wire, thrillers, Tom Hardy, tom waits, True Detective, TV, Vince Gilligan, Walter White, Winter's Bone


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The Scouting Tour
March is definitely the most exciting period of the year for us, leaving out the finals in July, of course. The reason is very simple: one of the first things we do the minute March begins is pack our bags, drive to the nearest airport et voila, our trip to visit schools begins. We travel to meet with the graduating students and see what they are up to, to understand what is happening out there with young creativity, have a little taste of what we will receive. Perhaps even meet with a future finalist, or believe that we have met one before our opinions get crushed by the decisions of the juries in April...
In the past we've been travelling literally all over the world. We've been to Japan to visit schools in Tokyo, Kobe and Kyoto. We've travelled to India to meet with students in New Delhi. We went to Iceland, Denmark, the United States, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Brazil, Israel, Spain... we even went to Cuba, where at that time it was hard for students to even have fabrics to work with, aside from the fact they didn't even have glass on the windows. We are always willing to travel further and go to schools that at the moment we are just in touch with via phone and via email. Always willing to discover new places and meet with new people. The fact is that we simply cannot do this every single year. Sometimes we just can't afford enough time to travel really far and two weeks are already too much for us to stay away from the office. Sure, today with technology one can handle a lot of work using tablets and wireless connections, but still it's not like being there in person, like our job would require.
So this year we travelled for a week before being forced back to office work. It has been a very intense week though, even if we went to London and Antwerp only. We had the chance to meet with very interesting talents and of course we also spent a few evenings with friends. Some of you - we've already received comments about this on our Facebook page - wrote us that it's unfair we met only with students from these schools and that it feels like those we met are going to be privileged in the selections... We've been hearing this again and again and would like to reassure everybody about it. There's no relation between meeting us in person during the scouting tour and being selected as a finalist in April, and for a very simple reason: we're not the judges involved in the selection. Barbara is just one of several, so what she likes might not match the individual tastes of the other members of the jury, and vice versa. We've met designers we utterly loved who later did not convince one single juror, except for Barbara. There is always a long list of "favourites though not chosen" at the end of April and we actually write an article about it each year. So please, if by the end of April you'll read the list of finalists for ITS 2012 and see people coming from the schools we've visited don't think "ha! of course! it's the guys they met in person!" because it really does not work that way.
One final thing before we begin our brief report of the tour. We would like to thank the DIESEL team composed of Vladimiro, Marina and Alice, it was a pleasure to have them with us during the whole tour! A big thank you goes also to Fabio Talpo from YKK who attended all of our meetings with accessories designers giving them great tips on possible zipper and fastening uses and to designer Kei Kagami, accessories juror and consultant for YKK who joined us too in viewing a number of accessories students.
We landed in London on Sunday 4 March afternoon, welcomed by a snow storm we hadn't expected. Luckily it lasted only that day, soon to be replaced by a very, very lucky series of sunny days. Our first school was the Royal College of Art in Kensington Gore where Wendy Dagworthy (Fashion Dept. Dean), Heather Holford (Fashion Dept. Tutor & Project Manager) welcomed us as usual making us feel at home, though we always happen to be at the school in a hectic period for them, when they are as well interviewing new candidates who apply to enter the course. This means we are in a room interviewing their students and they are in another room interviewing potential new RCA students...
We'd love to describe each and every person we met, but that would take so many words and this article would turn out to be so long that the writer might be asked to shorten it. So we'll just focus on a few of the people we met. And we cannot but speak about Alex Mullins. We had first met Alex two years ago when he was doing his BA at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, and some things about him haven't changed while others indeed have. Alex has a tremendous ability to research and experiment with graphics, treatments, combinations, etc... A single outfit can include a huge variety of references, graphics, fabrics & colour combinations, always showing his own surreal outlook on reality. He can combine apparently clashing themes, which isn't easy at all. We were fascinated by him two years ago, and still are today. At Royal College we also met a past finalist who decided to get back to school to improve his already excellent technique. We've already seen this happen in the past (with Adrian Sommerauer, for instance) and this time it was the turn of ITS#FIVE finalist Hiroaki Kanai. Several years' experience as a freelance designer and now the menswear course by Professor Ike Rust have definitely shaped Hiroaki into an even more mature and talented designer since the last time we met him. We'll see if the jury decides to include him in the "exclusive" club of the finalists being selected more than once... The jewellery students we saw there were equally interesting, one for all was Emma Montague. Last year we didn't have the chance to have her enrol because she had broken her arm just a few days before our interview. But this year, wow, we were blown away by her ideas and how she developed them in jewellery!!
After our first day at Royal College of Art we took a cab and headed to Aitor Throup's studio. We hadn't seen Aitor for a very long time and had never been to his new studio. He's got an amazing space now, that really fits perfectly his work and allows him to organise and follow each step of the process, since everything is done internally here (a bit like us...), from conceiving the idea to nailing it down on paper, turning it into paper cutting, right down to the final product. Aitor Throup designs will all come from over here, this is the space where each piece is conceived and is sent out to the world, not before an amazingly accurate check of every single detail. You can smell revolution in here, and as usual we could go on for hours talking about what we saw, but everyone will understand in June. So if you are looking for excitement in fashion, wait until then.
We also had a wonderful dinner with other long-time friends of ITS like designer Elisa Palomino, Head of Print Design and a true legend at Central Saint Martins Natalie Gibson and Mandi Lennard, the founder and head of Mandi Lennard Publicity. Also our former Head of Press Office Manuela Spiga, who now works at Marangoni London, joined us! Thanks girls for the lovely evening together!!
We must thank MA Fashion Course Director Darren Cabon, MA Fashion Artefacts Course Director Dai Rees and Creative Pattern Cutting Course Director Dennic Chunman who took awesome care of us during our stay at London College of Fashion to meet with their fashion and accessories/artefacts students. Among the several very interesting projects we saw there were the jewellery pieces by Octavia Xiao Zi Yang. Her collection "Joinery in Jewels" is inspired by Asian joinery used in timber architecture and furniture for about 7,000 years in history. Each part of the jewels can be removed thanks to the peculiar construction of the piece, giving the possibility to change parts according to trends and taste. There's a picture showing Marina from DIESEL modelling while Octavia is mounting one of her items around her neck... Equally interesting was the footwear project by Nuo Chen. From YKK's point of view it was even more interesting since it was a collection of deconstructed, transformable shoes. We had never seen the reversible concept applied to shoes, but Nuo found a very smart technique that plays with the inner and outside parts of the shoes interchanging them easily, thus radically transforming the whole shoe into a completely different version.
When we finished our interviews at LCF we went round the corner where jewellery prodige and ITS#SEVEN finalist Tomasz Donocik was waiting for us to dine together. We really can't help it, when we're with Tomasz we automatically switch to "fun" mode since it's impossible not to have fun with him... In the rare moments of seriousness, we had the chance to see a prototype of the gloves collection he developed in collaboration with former finalist Thomasine Barnekow and the result is breathtaking... Also amazing was the new collection of scarves that Tomasz is developing together with designer Emma Shipley, a former RCA with an incredible hand drawing skills.
The following day we finally had the opportunity to see for the first time the new building of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, located in King's Cross. A wonderful new space with lots of light coming in and a grand entrance... apparently there's plenty of room for everyone but at the Fashion Department not everyone's so happy about the change. Leaving aside the history and the location (Soho) of the old building, there's still a lot to do before fashion can really call the new building their home. By the way, we're not interested in the box but in the content, and we did find substance! One for all was Yong Kyun Shin, finalist at ITS#NINE who has now graduated from Professor Louise Wilson's MA course. In 2010 Yong had obsessively padded hundreds of hair clips using them to create shapes on his outfits. He probably thought it wasn't complicated enough, so this time he decided to go for springs, not just in one size but in several different sizes. And he didn't just cover them in fabric, he used them to drape, add tension... in other words, a terribly complicated job with a wonderful final result! Another fascinating project was that of Craig Green, whom we also had already met in the past, when he was in his BA. Very graphic, with a very strong signature style, Craig is very 'tactile' in what he does, experimenting with unusual materials, fabrics and stuff and is able to put his creativity to the test also with hats and footwear, for instance. He aims at launching his own personal line and we believe won't be difficult for Craig to set himself apart from the rest of the pack.
We also met with professor Caroline Broadhead's BA jewellery students at CSM. The new jewellery department at King's Cross seemed really wonderful to us, and we were happy to see many students asking us questions about ITS, eager to enrol and take the chance. In the middle of the jewellery lab we met with students like Charlotte Le Hardy and her wonderful idea of transforming traditional sayings like "walls have ears" into pieces of jewellery, and graduate Tomono Hirai with her pieces inspired by animal horns and fangs. We'd also like to thank Caroline Broadhead for the interesting chat we had at the end of the interviews, it's a totally different thing being able to meet somebody in the flesh rather than just being in touch from afar.
Our time in London ends with Central Saint Martins, and we fly to Antwerp for our final stop at the Hogeschool Antwerpen where designer Walter Van Beirendonck (Head of the Fashion Department and 3rd year Design Bachelor) together with beautiful Yvonne De Cock (Graphics teacher for all 4 years) warmly welcomed us, as usual. Our interviews started out with a big "BANG!" thanks to the beauty of Marius Janusauskas' work which left us utterly breathless and ready to clap our hands when he finished presenting his final collection... Another great project we saw among several ones was that of Umit Esbulan, with his sportswear concept mixed with lace and crochet resulting in a very elegant and tailored look. During our interviews finalists Jantine Van Peski, Tabitha Osler and Marisa Leipert, who now teaches at the school, stopped by to say hello, and, what an incredible surprise!!! Both Jantine and Marisa are expecting a baby, and they were just so beautiful in their pregnancy... as you can easily see in the pictures here!
This Scouting Tour week rushed by real quick but we managed to do so much in these few days and meet a lot of people who hopefully will all enrol in ITS. Luckily, we also had the chance to spend some time with past finalists, though never as much as we'd like to. It was a great pity, for example, not to be able to catch up with Daniel Ivarsson, Tomasz Donocik's "alter ego" in a way, who recently moved to Antwerp to work for a new company... but it was a great pity not having the time to meet with loads of other finalists like Justin Smith, Yang Du, Weronika Lesniak, Ali Forbes, Una Burke... way too many to mention them all. But we are trying to work out something for May, to meet with everyone...
As we emphasized in the beginning, we were able to talk about just a few of the designers we met, so we'd like to apologise to everyone else who isn't mentioned here. You were so many, but you can be sure you're all in our minds, and we will never forget what a privilege we had meeting you. If we do have a quality, is that we remember people's faces and projects years after we've met them.


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Samsung Galaxy Note 10: the camera phone you've been waiting for?
By Kerrie Hughes
Can Samsung's latest offering top the charts as the best new camera phone for creatives?
Samsung has finally unveiled its hotly anticipated Galaxy Note 10 models, and early impressions suggest the Note Plus may well cement itself as one of the best camera phones (opens in new tab) on the market.The tech giant has revealed two new models, a standard Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus, the latter of which comes with a noticeably larger 6.8-inch Infinity-O AMOLED display (which brings with it an impressive 94.7% screen-to-body ratio) and a subtle but winning update to its camera system.
The phone was revealed at Samsung's Unpacked event, along with news of a new laptop: the Galaxy Book S (opens in new tab).
Both models share the same 10MP front-facing camera and multi camera setup on the rear – a combination of a 16MP ultra-wide lens, 12MP regular lens and a 12MP telephoto lens. But where the 10 Plus really shines is via Samsung's new patented DepthVision camera, which offers improved bokeh-style blur in both photos and video footage and more accurate results when measuring distances.
The best smartphone in 2019: be more creative on the move (opens in new tab)
The Galaxy Note 10 models also see added support for the Note series' unique S Pen stylus, which is already able to control a number of smartphone functions such as the camera shutter. New motion gesture support allows users to change which camera is being used and the level of zoom. Specifically, air drawing with the pen in a clockwise arc motion clockwise and counter-clockwise while holding a button will zoom the cameras both in and out.
A new novel AR Doodle feature also allows you to write text or draw on images and videos in the viewfinder. Add all of this up and you're looking at a new way to take incredibly creative photos on your phone.
Preorders for the Galaxy Note 10 are available now in certain regions, including the US, where you'll get $100 store credit for ordering early. The official release date is 23 August in the US and UK, and the standard Galaxy Note 10 price is set at $945/£899.
If you haven't got a spare £900 lying around, the arrival of the Note 10 means we're already seeing some amazing deals on it's the model it has superseded, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – still a brilliant camera phone in its own right. If you're not bothered about having the latest shiny new device, there are some incredible offers to be had right now:
Today's best Samsung Galaxy Note 9 deals
Sim Free
(opens in new tab) upfront
at Mobiles.co.uk (opens in new tab)
at Carphone Warehouse (opens in new tab)
Kerrie Hughes
Kerrie Hughes is Editor at Creative Bloq. One of the original CB crew, Kerrie joined the team back in 2013 after moving from her role as staff writer on 3D World. Since then she's written regularly for other creative publications. Kerrie's work for Creative Bloq involves managing the team and the site's content, developing and maintaining commercial partnerships, and finding innovative ways to bring Creative Bloq's audience the content they're looking for.
I can't keep my eyes off this freaky AI mod


1) Jimmy Kimmel was seen at the World Series sitting with Ben Affleck and Affleck's best buddy...who also happens to have a fictional feud with Kimmel. Who is this actor?
3) Matthew McConaughey marked National First Responders Day in a special way. The Oscar winner took a trip to his native Texas to spend the day with the first responders on the front line of Hurricane Harvey relief. What bourbon does McConaughey plug?
4) HBO is now hiring a professional on all their shows, whose job it is to make sure nothing inappropriate happens during the filming of love scenes. They're calling these people "Intimacy Coordinators" Name the HBO show about Baltimore cops.
5) Rumor has it "The Simpsons" is planning on dropping Apu. But the people who call Apu a racist stereotype say that outright dumping him is cowardly. If this true, the place where Apu works will need a new manager. Where does Apu work?


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Feature History The Spanish Earth The Travel Show
Documentary War
It was a war that caught the eyes of politicans media and creatives around the world. What began as the Spaniards wars was co-opted by fascists and communists of the worlds seeking to show the merit of their might.
The Spanish Earth: Hemingway and the Spanish Civil War
Ernest Hemingway narrates the opening of a The Spanish Earth, a film he wrote with John Dos Passos to bring the realities of the Spanish Civil War to a worldwide audience. It was created with the support of the left-leaning Republican, democratically elected government in Spain who were in conflict with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy backed Nationalist forces under Francisco Franco.
The Travel Show: Taiwan Overview
taiwanese culture
taiwanese history
chinese civil war
This clip provides an overview of Taiwan's geography, culture, and history. It explains that Taiwan is a unique and travel-friendly destination in Asia and shows where the island is located in relation to China. It discusses Taiwan's fractious relationship with mainland China and offers an overview of Tainan, including its history. It mentions that Tainan is the the island's oldest city and was the port of entry conquerors, such as the Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese.


Join us for Rum & Rumba. Saint Street Inn is ringing in 2019 with a Bango! Lafayette's premier Congolese Rumba band, Boma Bango, provides live entertainment leading up to the big moment when we'll toast in the new year. All night we'll be serving a preview of our new dinner menu with several exciting new items, as well as a special cocktail menu and wine list to pair with the food & music.
Restaurant opens at 6 p.m. Call 534-8112 for reservations.


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