As of today, at least 36 have died as a result of the warehouse fire in Oakland where artists lived, worked, and gathered.The City of Oakland has the power to prevent these tragedies. It is not acceptable for owners to continue to profit off buildings that are not up to code, racking up tens of thousands in fines for code violations. The owner of the warehouse was fined often, but never truly held accountable.
The warehouse had been on the radar of the city of Oakland for years and as late as November, a building inspector came to the building but "couldn't gain access." There was no follow up plan.
The building owner had a string of complaints and long list of violations over the years. It has been reported the owner has 17 properties. The landlord collected rent for the warehouse and the venue operator collected money from the tenants living there, month after month, year after year.
In a gentrifying city with the 4th highest rents in the country, making do in unsafe housing is a choice people make in order to stay in the city, in order to retain their creative and community networks, in order to make art for a living. This is a choice no one should have to make. No one should have to chose between safety and affordability.
Cities can and must support a code enforcement department that does no harm, and works in the best interest of residents. There are programs in other cities where tenants can pay a reduced rent to the city instead if a landlord does not correct a violation, providing incentive to make repairs. There are code enforcement departments that hire local community members and tenant advocates, helping to provide better community oversight and protections against retaliation. If a building must be red-tagged, cities can provide or incentivize temporary housing and ensure a right-to-return for tenants temporarily displaced. Code enforcement departments must use red-tagging as a last resort, doing everything they can first to legalize units if they are habitable or could easily be made habitable.
Artists and community members should not be punished with crackdowns on underground spaces and evictions. Instead, development of city-owned property could be prioritized to support the arts, and the city could do more to support land trusts as a model for long-term affordability and community ownership. The city planning department can put a priority on bringing buildings up to code, without eviction. The city's lack of leadership is already fueling a wave of artist displacement in Los Angeles and Baltimore. The City of Oakland has lost much already with the warehouse fire, "cracking down" and punishing residents is a horrifying response to this loss. Instead of helping to drive artists out of the community, it could support artists by developing communal art spaces that are safe and deeply affordable. Oakland and other cities in California must pursue solutions to bring the community together over this tragedy, not tear it apart.
Real solutions to the housing crisis are needed now. Many Californians, not just in Oakland, are living in overcrowded, uninhabitable conditions and are paying more than half their income in rent. Meanwhile cities primarily produce luxury market-rate housing (if they produce any at all), lack strong anti-displacement policies, and code enforcement departments don't prioritize the needs of tenants.
Does the proposed solution focus the state's limited resources on meeting the most-pressing housing needs, i.e. people who don't have a home or low and moderate income families paying an astronomical portion of their income for housing?
Does the proposed solution support creation of jobs paying family-supporting wages?
Does the proposed solution require all communities to take responsibility for making their housing accessible to people at various income levels, especially local workers?
Does the proposed solution protect the state's natural beauty and support its climate change goals?
Does the proposed solution support existing and long term residents to remain in their community?
These principles were endorsed Monday 12/5/16 by a broad coalition of labor, environment, tenant, and community organizations. To read the full principles and policy framework, click here.
A petition to sign on to this platform, is available here.


As the realm of animation continues to evolve with time, so too does the breadth of its target audiences, reaching a point where violent and disturbing animated films engineered for adults -- outside the safe space of Japanese anime -- have found the means to flourish. The works of Ralph Bakshi and the Richard Adams/Martin Rosen team paved the way for these works to discover the right audiences, but it's taken incremental bravery and pushing of boundaries to reach a climate where the likes of Birdboy can take flight. Originating as a short film, this creation from Pedro Rivero and Alex Vasquez blends drugs, depression, and murder in an almost post-apocalyptic environment populated by animals, one that doesn't try to transcend the line separating children's entertainment and that designed for adults. Birdboy telegraphs hauntingly beautiful images and characterizations around its narrative of ruined innocence that won't soon be forgotten, though the widespread, overly ambitious nature of its social commentary prevents it from completely sticking its landing.
On a remote island that was once a fishing community, peace and prosperity flourished among animals of all species, largely hinged on a recently-built industrial factory that kept its population employed. A mysterious explosion has decimated the island, though, leaving the mice to largely fend for themselves and salvage for valuables amid the trash rubble of the aftermath. The tone has obviously shifted in the town, observed directly in young student Dinky's household, in which her devout Christian parents disparage her studies and attitude. As she plots to flee the island along with the other students, a murdered drug dealer's elusive son -- Birdboy -- struggles with an addiction to several different substances that seem to keep his darker tendencies under control. Elsewhere, the film offers a glimpse at other families coping with the post-incident environment, such as a fisherman trying to make a living in fishless waters and a father-child mice duo scouring the violent wasteland for scrap metal.
Alberto Vasquez and his art department render haunting water-locked landscapes and nightmarish imagery in Birdboy, where deceptively soft and calming shades that bring life to the island are interrupted by brash reds and acidic greens jumping out from oppressive shadows. Lighthouses, garbage-dump mountains, and almost Miyazaki-like cavern sanctuaries for forest life form into a mesmerizing portrait of a once beautiful place rendered unnerving and ominous, something that also carries over into the delicately detailed mammals and avian creatures alike. In fact, the nuances of the animation makes sure that those watching will pick up on the sadness and futility within both the characters and their surroundings, and while the world's rendering is indeed beautiful, that lack of joy radiates from every character through their strung-out eyes and despondent expressions. Perhaps the closest thing to joy can be spotted when Birdboy gets a much-needed fix and collapses on a pier, whereas there's a gradient of anger, fear, and viciousness observed throughout the children's trials.
The visual adventure of Birdboy does mesmerize from start to finish, but it isn't always reliable or symbolically comprehensible, and that applies to many of the film's most provocative visions. Directors Vasquez and Rivero establish early on that heavily-shadowed imagery featuring manipulated versions of the setting's creatures is tied to drug use or otherwise hallucinatory elements, and that grows complicated as these elements -- such as a large spider escaping from a person's nose and expanding in size -- begin to enter the physical world. For the most part, drawing distinctions between fantasy and reality isn't difficult with Birdboy, but the film's insistently metaphorical ambitions and varied world connections muddy things enough to make one second-guess the authenticity of what they're seeing. The consequences of those sequences typically latch onto enough perspective to figure out what's really happened, and personal interpretation fills in the rest of those gaps. This is certainly a stimulating viewing experience, one that doesn't hold the audience's hand while guiding them through its environment.
Birdboy, which also carried the subtitle The Forgotten Children, is also rather dark, to a degree where it's difficult to express whether I genuinely enjoyed where the narrative took me and made me feel, largely because of this absence of tonal variety. Those who appreciate bravery through the medium of animation should find something to be impressed with in its patchwork of dark tales, in which the storytelling addresses the reliance on antidepressant pills, paying for the sins of one's parents, and the violence that seems from desperation and competition over the means to feed one's family. Quite a bit of death occurs in the story, and the directors don't turn away from it, allowing blood to spill, claws to scrape, and bullets to pass through bodies … or heads. A few moments get to Watership Down levels of hack-'n-slash brutality, but these animals have been anthropomorphized in ways that elevate hardships, especially those within the lawless realm of mice salvagers among the factory wasteland. Except for Birdboy and his ability to fly, these are human characters in animal skin, and their suffering is felt through that lens.
None of the bleakness of Birdboy lacks purpose, though, as nearly every facet of the film comments on grievances one might have with the spectrum of society, stemming from industrialization and pouring into the desperation of class inequality and abusing substances to block out reality. To the filmmakers' credit, each of the topics explored requires some additional mental legwork to reach their meaning, such as how drugs factor into Birdboy's inner demons and how cutthroat mice reveal what they do about the ugliness of desperation, which keeps its takedowns from appearing heavy-handed. Birdboy critiques so many ugly elements of society that it can also appear imprecise and broad-stroked, which doesn't pair well with the unyielding austerity of their surface narrative, overburdening it with pessimistic aspirations that are given only the faintest sparkles of hope in a nihilistic conclusion. Salvaging optimism from the rubble of what transpires is a challenge, and the splendor of visuals and thematic intent can only go so far toward making such a harrowing journey worth taking.


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Rick Santorum Drops Out of the Race
By dskriloff on April 11, 2012 No Comment
Photo by Gage Skidmore
Rick Santorum announced today that he is officially suspending his campaign for the Republican nomination. The former senator did not cite specific reasons for his departure in his speech on Tuesday. Although a spokesperson for the campaign later said the major reason was Santorum's concern about the health of his daughter Bella.
The end to Santorum's campaign comes ahead of the primaries in his home state of Pennsylvania on April 24 as well as several other states, where he was expected to face an uphill battle against Mit Romney. In his announcement, Santorum stopped short of endorsing Romney, but a spokesperson for Santorum said there are plans for the two to discuss an official endorsement at some point soon.
mit romnet, presidential campaign, republican, rick santorum, rockland county
Rick Santorum Drops Out of the Race added by dskriloff on April 11, 2012

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Denver unicorn Ibotta shows massive scale in alternative data
5 months ago by Jon Marino in Startups
Rewards app Ibotta ($IBOTTA) is worth a lotta money - the Denver-based startup cemented unicorn status earlier this week and has the alternative data trends to match, including massive workforce growth, app ratings, and growing social traction.
For a while now, the company has been scaling up - as its job postings show. Job postings have risen 45% this year alone.
A look at the next chart proves that the company's scale is for real - Ibotta doubled headcount since 2017, according to the number of staffers who affiliate their current employer as the company on LinkedIn ($NASDAQ:MSFT), and grew 13% so far in 2019.
Ibotta reeled in a nine-figure funding round led by Koch Industries' ($KOCH) investing arm earlier this week and will use it to continue staffing up - so it's likely both of the charts above will continue to reflect growth.
But the company, which provides people phone-based rewards to use with e-commerce sites and legacy brick-and-mortar retailers alike, has been enticing users onto its platform at hyper-speed - reportedly hitting the 20-million-download-mark. Our Apple App Store Count, the next metric, reflects nearly three-fold growth over the course of the year.
The primary marketing behind Ibotta is that utilizing the app to draw up-to-date discounts from top shopping and e-commerce companies saves consumers money. In fact, it's saved them more than a half-billion bucks, which we can track with our App Traction Data. In this case, it follows how much cash is saved by Ibotta users, which has steadily grown in 2019.
Last but not least is Ibotta's social data - and even here, Ibotta has a lotta clout. The company's Facebook ($NASDAQ:FB) Talking About Count reflects continued engagement - leading right up to its unicorn-status fundraising.
The business of digital dating: A special report
Bumble vs. Tinder vs. Match - who will win the dating app race?
Tinder was the most-used app in July according to Facebook
facebook talking about


The time has gone while insurance used to be a privilege of riches and poor masses hardly had any say in this regard. With change in lifestyles and fast paced cutthroat competition in life, insurance has taken an important position in our lives. It became possible due to awareness campaigns about insurance from life insurance to health insurance to various other insurance options. Most of the insurance companies now offer market linked insurance plans besides traditional choices to buy insurance policies. Such drastic changes in approaches towards lifestyle and convincing approaches offer sustainability. You can therefore give an economically viable accustomed lifestyle to your near and dear ones with life insurance policies. That is why everybody wants to explore such options.
Major insurance companies which had their presence in the metropolitan cities can now be seen in even remote areas. Purnia city of Bihar has witnessed the presence of almost all major and minor insurance companies catering to the insurance related needs of local inhabitants. Here is a detailed list of insurance companies working in in and around Purnia district headquarters.


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Management of Multi-drug Resistant Urinary Tract Conditions Among Recent Migrants in Ambulatory Care Settings in the United States
Keren Paul, University of LynchburgFollow
Urinary tract conditions among refugees, asylees, and recent international migrants have displayed distinct patterns of diagnostic prevalence and multi-drug resistance, as studied in Europe, which could possibly inform the approach of ambulatory care providers in their empiric management as well as assessment in the United States. Appropriate initial antibiotic therapy can reduce mortality, and hospitalizations in the immigrant population who are likely at risk for MDR UTIs.
A literature search on PubMed, MEDLINE and Cochrane Database for research done in developed nations: Europe, Australia, Canada, United States in the years of 2010-2020 was performed. Preference was given to RCTs, Meta-analyses, Epidemiologic Studies, and studies that established quantitative analysis. We identify the importance of epidemiologic studies in answering our question and evidence ratings are given as such after assessment using the Critical Skills Appraisal Took.
There is moderate to significant evidence for the presence of multi-drug resistant gram negative bacilli in immigrant communities of refugees, with specific patterns of resistance. Given America's current migrant trends, diagnosis and treatment of multi-drug resistant (MDR) urinary tuberculosis can be missed, and should be correlated with urinanalysis, history and physical exam findings, as a matter of practice in ambulatory care settings. There is utility in ordering nucleic acid amplification tests and ultrasounds in the ambulatory care setting to assess for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Urinary schistosomiasis is sub-diagnosed and is more prevalent among immigrants than foreseen. Immigrants are likely to be more resistant to Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole and carry Extended Spectrum Beta-lactamase E.coli, Carbapenem resistant A.bauminii. Research shows that an insightful and multi-faceted approach can be used to encourage appropriate antibiotic usage for migrants at first visit in an ambulatory care setting, as healthcare providers show appropriate cultural awareness towards the need of migrants, although the need is not met, especially in the case of MDR gram negative hospitalizations.
The problem of inappropriate antimicrobial therapy, given the current scenario of a much higher and hidden prevalence of multi-drug resistant carrier rate among migrants, including refugees, puts this population at risk for increased mortality, increased hospital stays, and reduced confidence. Meta-analyses, and epidemiologic studies indicate strong patterns that can be taken up by the medical community serving the immigrant population in the United States through diligent history taking with regards to journey, complete blood count findings, refugee status, and physical exam findings in the treatment of urinary tuberculosis, urinary schistosomiasis, and multi-drug resistant gram-negative bacteriuria. This study is unable to provide a comprehensive correlation to antibiotic resistance with increased length of stay in the developed nation.
Keywords: Immigrant, Urinary tract infection, treatment, Gram-negative bacteria.
Paul, Keren (2021) "Management of Multi-drug Resistant Urinary Tract Conditions Among Recent Migrants in Ambulatory Care Settings in the United States," Lynchburg Journal of Medical Science: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1 , Article 54.


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Lutherion (производное от слов Martin Luther и therion — греч. «чудовище», «зверь», «Антихрист») — немецкая готик-метал-группа. Название коллектива, по словам лидера группы Артауда Сета, отражает «сущность современного европейского язычества, именуемого христианством».

История группы
Группа была образована в 2009 году как реорганизованный музыкальный коллектив Garden of Delight. Фактически, Lutherion — это те же Garden of Delight с несколько изменённым составом, однако участники группы позиционировали себя как вполне самостоятельную команду, порвавшую с историей GOD.

В 2009 году группа записала альбом «Kosmogenesis», получивший благосклонные отзывы критиков и одобрительно встреченный публикой. Тем не менее, проекту так и не удалось «выйти из тени Garden of Delight»: он не воспринимался публикой как самостоятельный. Уже спустя год участники группы в том же составе организовали другой коллектив под названием Merciful Nuns, исполняющий классический готик-рок в духе Sisters of Mercy, поздних Joy Division и ранних Garden of Delight. В начале 2011 года Артауд Сет в интервью музыкальному журналу Dominion заявил, что не предполагает возвращения к работе в рамках проекта Lutherion.

Дискография

Студийные альбомы
 2009 — Kosmogenesis

Синглы
 2009 — Nebelthron
 2009 — Sodomie
 2009 — Psychonaut

Примечания

См. также
Garden Of Delight

Готик-метал-группы Германии
Музыкальные коллективы, появившиеся в 2009 году
Музыкальные коллективы, распавшиеся в 2011 году

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Yes, MOLD is a dirty four letter word and nothing pretty to look at. We have mold spores all around us every day, and everywhere we go but it gets to a whole new level when the growth starts to be noticable on your walls, ceilings, furniture, etc. This is the point where some serious decisions needs to be made as to WHAT SHOULD I DO?
It's a nightmare to discover mold. Whether you are a homeowner, property manager, tenant, or employee, the presence of mold can create a sense of panic. Take a deep breath, and educate yourself on the safe approach to cleaning mold. Think the presence of mold isn't a crucial issue? Please keep reading!
The first things you should do when you discover concentrated mold growth is to move yourself and others to a safe distance from the area, determine the source of moisture causing the mold growth, call a professional that is certified and licensed to do mold cleaning, then consider finding out what type of mold it is. There are a multitude of kinds of mold that could be present, and different strands have different tells. There are a variety of appearances in color that each type reflects, different damage by each type can occur, and each strand can cause assorted health effects to the people that come in contact with the mold.
So how can you determine the type of mold that you have discovered? The safest, most efficient way is to contact a mold cleaning professional near you. While DIY mold testing kits are available at hardware stores, approaching the mold without professional services leaves you with the risk of it spreading. Without knowing whether the mold is within acceptable limits, properly discarded of, and surfaces left cleaned, leaves your home or business at high risk.
ServiceMaster Quality Services can provide you with the help you need immediately! We are certified mold cleaners/remediators in the Louisiana, and will leave you with guaranteed peace of mind, knowing that your mold issue will be taken care of efficiently and effectively. As we say at ServiceMaster Quality Services, "TRY US, LOVE US, STAY WITH US"
Don't hesitate! Act quickly when you have found the presence of mold to reduce the risk of it spreading or affecting your health. Mold can grow and appear within a 48 hour time period. That's the length of the average weekend!
Hopefully you never run into this type of situation but if you do you now at least know that their are companies, like ServiceMaster Quality Services that knows what you are going through and how to properly remedy the mold situation. If you liked this piece please consider joining us on our social media sites and send us your email so we can keep you in touch with other important issues regarding your possible cleaning needs.


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Home » OTHER SPORTS » BASKETBALL » NBA: The Skills That Have Made LeBron an All-Time Great
NBA: The Skills That Have Made LeBron an All-Time Great
November 23, 2020 March 18, 2020 by Brad Taningco
There is no question at this point that LeBron James is one of the greatest NBA players of all-time. His remarkable list of accolades (three-time NBA champion and Finals MVP, four-time MVP, multiple-time All-Star and First-Team All-NBA, etc.) speaks for itself.
Even as a teenager, LeBron showed that he possessed a variety of skills that could one day make him an all-time great. But throughout his illustrious career, he has only continued to add to his already unprecedented skill set.
Many SBOTOP NBA fans certainly appreciate LeBron's greatness. So with the league still in uncharted territory, now is as good a time as any to take a loot back at all the skills that make King James true basketball royalty.
Magical Passing
James was hailed as a phenom during his high school years, with many predicting that he would go on to become the next Michael Jordan. However, that wasn't quite the most accurate comparison as young James more resembled another NBA legend: Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
Even at a very young age, James displayed some preternatural vision and passing ability that very few players in NBA history possessed. That, combined with his impressive 6-foot-8 frame, made him just about the closest thing to Magic since Magic himself.
And so it proved as James has been one of, if not the best passer in the NBA over the course of his career. He averaged 5.9 assists per game as a 19-year-old rookie and has been over 6.0 assists every year since.
With his significant size, he could see the entire court over smaller defenders. And as he grew smarter and wiser with time and experience, his passing has become even more dangerous. He's been able to systematically slice through opposing defences with his pinpoint passes, especially when he's been afforded enough space and shooting alongside him.
Of all the skills and gifts that make James one of the greats, it's the sheer brilliance of his passing that truly makes him special. He's showcased it once again this season in Los Angeles, where he's essentially playing point guard and averaging a career-best 10.6 assists per game.
James' ability to orchestrate virtually the entire offence like Magic did back in the day was a major reason why the Lakers are title favourites.
Unstoppable Finishing
Aside from James' passing, his overall physical tools have also helped make him so unique. He was an absolute physical specimen even in high school, where he already had a body capable of competing in the NBA. Until his time with the Lakers, he hardly even got injured. People with his combination of size, strength, and speed really should not exist.
Almost as soon as James came into the league, he made great use of those physical gifts in terms of his finishing around the rim. He could blow by his defenders thanks to his great quickness and agility, and once he got to the rim, he'd use his size, strength, and freakish athleticism to finish past big shot-blockers.
LeBron was already one of the league leaders in terms of finishing during his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. While his powerful dunks stood out, his touch and feel around the rim were also impeccable. But it was during his time with the Miami Heat where he truly reached that next level.
Not only did he improve upon his already imposing body, but he also refined his skill and knowledge of the game, which made him close to unstoppable in the painted area. It got to the point where he shot over 56 per cent from the field in back-to-back seasons (2012-13 and 2013-14), which is unheard of for a perimeter player.
It was also around this time where James developed his post-up game. Not only did he dominate from the post with his scoring, but it also unleashed more of his passing as he would pick out open shooters once opposing defences would double-team him.
James has understandably fallen off a bit physically at age 35 and is no longer the same elite finisher that he was in his prime. But make no mistake, he was still making NBA 2020 highlights as one of the very best in the league when it comes to getting a bucket from up close.
Much-improved Shooting
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James shoots the ball against Milwaukee Bucks center Robin Lopez
James is one of the most complete basketball players of all-time, but perhaps his biggest weakness as a player has always been his shooting. There were doubts about his ability to be a consistent shooter when he came into the league, and they persisted during his first few years with the Cavs.
He was an average to slightly below-average 3-point shooter for the first handful of years and has never cracked 80 per cent from the free-throw line for his entire career.
Since he was so dominant in the paint, the best way to defend James was to force him to be a jump shooter. And for the early part of his career, it worked.
But despite being an amazingly gifted player, James also had a tremendous work ethic. So slowly but surely, he worked on his shot and made it better, to the point where his mechanics were as good as any in the league, according to an NBA scout.
Once again, it all came together for him in Miami. He set a career-high of 40.6 per cent on 3-pointers in the 2012-13 season as his jump shot became much more consistent.
Granted, his shooting has never quite gotten up to the elite level of his finishing, which to this day remains the most effective part of his arsenal. But if opposing defences decided to dare James to beat them from the perimeter, he could make them pay. If he had his jump shot going on a given game, he was virtually unstoppable.
It goes without saying that there is so much more to LeBron James than these three skills. He is an unbelievable all-around player who can do just about anything on a basketball court. But in telling the story of LeBron's career, these three skills are the ones that stand out in terms of making him one of the all-time greats.
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Volunteer with the YMCA at one of our special events throughout the year.
To get started as a volunteer with the YMCA.
The YMCA hosts several one-day special events throughout the year where volunteers are always needed. These events include fundraisers or community service awareness efforts to support the Y's initiatives. Special events are a great opportunity for large groups to volunteer together, but work on different tasks that are of interest to them.
Healthy Kids Week: For those with a passion for healthy living, this volunteer opportunity allows individuals to connect with the community and build relationships with a wide variety of people from all walks of life. As a volunteer during Healthy Kids Week, you are helping to instill positive healthy behaviors in young people with the hopes those behaviors will carry over into adulthood.
YRUN: Whether you are chasing a personal best in the 10k, aiming to complete your first 5k or spending a morning enjoying a one mile run or walk with your family, the Y Run is an opportunity to celebrate your commitment to healthy living. As a volunteer, you will assist with registration, direct participants and be part of celebrating a great physical accomplishment for many.
Bunk Bed Builds: Across the Twin Cities, too many boys and girls go without a bed to sleep on and this can affect their happiness and overall health. With YMCA partner Sleep in Heavenly Peace, you will assist with building, assembling and delivering top-notch bunk beds to children and families in need.
Get Summer: The YMCA Get Summer program provides free summer memberships to teens ages 14-18. As a Get Summer volunteer, you will build relationships with youth and community while assisting in making programs such as health and wellness classes, career workshops and leadership development run successfully.
Veterans Pancake Breakfasts: As a volunteer, you will help serve veterans and military services members in their community by cooking pancakes, preparing events and interacting with the members who attend.
Camp Clean-Up Weekends: Roll up your selves, bring the family and help get camp ready for summer and winter. Each year, every YMCA camp is in need of volunteers to help with projects that will prepare the camps for summer and winter sessions.
Lakefront Music Fest: It takes more than 500 people to produce a safe and fun Lakefront Music Fest! As a volunteer for the Lakefront Music Fest, you will be key to the success of this event by assisting with check-in, ticketing and guiding guests.
Prairie Burn Music Festival: This festival would not be successful without the hard work of our volunteers. As a volunteer, you will assist with registration, overnight camping for guests and more as well as receive complimentary admission to the festival and an exclusive volunteer t-shirt.
Welcoming Week: The face of our community is constantly changing and Welcoming Week is an annual initiative dedicated to helping all newcomers in our communities feel welcomed. As a volunteer, you will support YMCA staff in hosting a successful event for newcomers by helping to build relationships and assist in making programs and events run smoothly.
Holiday Events: Join various YMCA locations across the Greater Twin Cities celebrate the holidays with members. Different locations have activities ranging from Christmas tree sales to potluck dinners where volunteers can help support.
See here for a full list of event volunteer opportunities.


I guess some of you are already back to work and others, like me, are getting ready to start the 2nd term next Monday.
I love creating lesson plans based on the seasons, festivities and other events that my pupils really enjoy because they are part of their everyday life.
Visual resources are amazing to make sure your pupils connect with you. That is why I liked the "I like Winter" song video to start my lesson plan with.
It is a great way to start a conversation about what activities we can do, what food we eat and what clothes we wear in winter.
Next, i focus on the winter clothes. First we look at some clothes flashcards and then we classify them in 3 groups: cold weather, hot weather and anytime.
To reinforce the names of the winter clothing, there is this cute chant I found. It is not a common chant, it is a kind of conversation chant. It is called "Snow day!"An extra activity would be to invent a third paragraph in small groups and then they can share them.
I made this worksheet to make sure my pupils are able to recognise the winter clothing we have been focusing on. Projecting the task on the smartboard, we do it orally all together. Then, they have to do it individually on the paper.
Something quite fun after watching the story is to draw a huge mitten and role play the story. Children love pretending to be animals, specially if they are fluffy and cute!
To finish this winter lesson plan, each pupil is given two templates to make their own mittens! We decorate them as colourful as we can to make sure we don't lose them in the snow.


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Akin Omotoso
Film director, Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Co-producer, Associate producer
Nigeria, South Africa
http://www.rififipictures.com
Akin Omotoso was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, and studied at the University of Cape Town.
He is a Nigerian-born South African actor, writer, producer and filmmaker.
Akin Omotoso studied drama at the University of Cape Town where he won the Fluer du Cap for most promising student. He also won the Standard Bank Artist of the year award in 2007. Television works includes directing on A Place Called home, (for which he won best director at the south african film and television awards) and the number one drama on South African television Soul City. Akin has Produced and Directed three feature films God is African, the award winning Man on Ground (official selection Toronto and Berlin) and Tell Me Sweet Something in cinemas in 2015.
His acting credits include the films "Lord of War" (2005), "Blood Diamond" (2006), "Shake Hands with the Devil" (2007). After directing a series of short films he made his first feature, "God Is African" (2003) and the shorts "Rifle Road" (2005), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, "Gathering the Scattered Cousins" (2006), a documentary tribute to his late mother, and "Jesus and the Giant" (2008).
Biography 2011 (Shnit Film Festival 2011)
Akin studied Drama at the University Of Cape Town, winning the Fleur Du Cap Most Promising Student Award along the way. He has since led a triple life as an actor, director and producer. His acting credits include a four year stint of South Africa's most popular soap opera ?Generations'. He also starred in Andrew Niccol's "Lord Of War" and is due to be seen soon in "Shake Hands With The Devil" directed by Roger Spottiswoode.
As a producer he has produced the award winning feature film "Gums And Noses" which won Best South African Film 2004 and also a Best Actor award for the lead actor Anthony Coleman at the New York Independent Film Festival. For South African Television he has produced the internationally acclaimed show ?Sorted'. He has directed four short films of which ?Rifle Road' was selected for screening at the Cannes Films Festival in 2005. His debut feature film "God Is African" enjoyed success at numerous film festivals worldwide picking up a nomination at The Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles for Best First Time Feature. His documentary "Gathering The Scattered Cousins" is dedicated to his late mother and screened at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival.
He has his own production company called T.O.M PICTURES and he is based in Johannesburg South Africa. In 2007 he was awarded the prestigious STANDARD BANK YOUNG ARTIST AWARD FOR FILM. His short film "Jesus And The Giant" was selected for screening at The Toronto Film Festival in 2008. His documentary on Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka called "Wole Soyinka: Child Of The Forest" was released to critical acclaim in 2008. He has recently completed his second feature film called MAN ON GROUND which will premiere at The Toronto Film Festival 2011.
Shake Hands with the Devil (2007).... Paul Kagame
Blood Diamond (2006).... Peacekeeper
Lord of War (2005).... General Solomon
Crossing the Line (2005) (TV).... Zondi
"Generations" (1993) TV Series.... Khaya Motene (2000-)
A Reasonable Man (1999).... Photographer
Operation Delta Force 5: Random Fire (1999).... Vice Consul Williams
"Double Shift" (1998) TV Series.... Macdonald
1997 - The Kiss Of Milk, doc /
1998 - The Nightwalkers, doc /
1999 - The Caretaker, doc /
2000 - God is African, lm /
2003 - God Is African (2003)
2005 - Rifle Road, cm /
2006 - Gathering the Scattered Cousins (doc)
2008 - Jesus and the Giant, cm /
2009 - Wole Soyinka: Child of the Forest, doc /
1994 - "Soul City", TV Series
2015 - Tell Me Sweet Something
Gums and Noses (2004) (co-producer)
Man on Ground (2011)
Tell Me Sweet Something (2015)
God Is African (2003)
www.shnit.org/index.php/made-in-south-africa-za.html
www.rififipictures.com/#!page4/cfvg
Akin Omotoso nasce nel 1974 a Ibadan in Nigeria e frequenta il corso di arte drammatica all'università di Cape Town. Esordisce alla regia con una serie di cortometraggi. Nel 2000 scrive, dirige e produce il suo primo lungometraggio God is African. Nel 2003 fonda la casa di produzione T.O.M. Pictures con cui produce Gums & Noses che riceve numerosi premi. Nel 2005 partecipa al Festival di Cannes con il cortometraggio Rifle Road mentre il suo documentario Gathering the Scattered Cousins é selezionato al Toronto Film Festival nell'anno successivo. Attualmente é impegnato nella realizzazione di vari film e progetti televisivi.
2006 - Gathering the Scattered Cousins, doc /
2011 - Man on Ground, lm.
2015 : Tell Me Sweet Something, lm
www.festivalcinemaafricano.org/index.php?pag=vis_film&id_film=837
Ghost and the House of Truth (The)
Naked Reality
Tell Me Sweet Something
Jimmy goes to Nollywood
Man on Ground
Bull On The Roof (The)
Wole Soyinka: Child of the Forest
Behind the rainbow (Will Power Consume the Dream?)
In the Shadow of a Saint
Jesus and the Giant
Shake Hands with the Devil
Gathering the Scattered Cousins
Lord of War
God is African
A reasonable man
Rififi Pictures
T.O.M. Pictures
Jeu de Paume : le réalisateur Akin Omotoso
11th Durban FilmMart (DFM 2020)
From friday 04 to sunday 13 september 2020
IREP international Documentary Film Festival 2018
From thursday 22 to sunday 25 march 2018
Oshana Film Festival 2017
From friday 17 to tuesday 21 march 2017
Berlinale 2017 (67th Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin)
From thursday 09 to sunday 19 february 2017
Joburg Film Festival 2016
From friday 28 october to saturday 05 november 2016
Festival International du Film de Toronto (TIFF 2016)
From thursday 08 to sunday 18 september 2016
Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) 2015
From thursday 16 to sunday 26 july 2015
"African Perspectives": AfricAvenir presents "Man On [...]
Nollywood Week Paris 2013
From thursday 30 may to sunday 02 june 2013
Cinema Africa! 2012
From sunday 11 to thursday 22 november 2012
Lights, Camera, AFRICA!!! (LCA) 2012 Film Festival
From saturday 29 september to monday 01 october 2012
AMAA 2012
Berlinale 2012 (62st Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin)
Shnit International Short film festival 2011
From wednesday 05 to sunday 09 october 2011
From thursday 20 to sunday 23 january 2011
Encontro de Cinema Negro Brasil África e Caribe 2010
From monday 08 to sunday 14 november 2010
Festival de cinéma de Trinité et Tobago (TTFF 2010)
From wednesday 22 september to tuesday 05 october 2010
African Diaspora Film Festival 2009
From friday 27 november to tuesday 01 december 2009
Amaa 2017 Jury Statement
AfricAvenir relève "Un homme à terre" (Man On [...]
Saint Saro-Wiwa in Cannes


Nadine Bernacki, Dave Carson, Erik Coverdale, Beatrice Ekoko, F. Ross Englefield, Jeffrey Ponsford, Pauline Prowse, Bill Thompson, Patti Turnbull.
Congratulations to all elected members, and kind thanks to those who supported them.
Since inception in 2012, HARE has had many accomplishments. We created our Mission and Vision to promote renewable energy in Hamilton. We have reviewed opportunities in this area through a partnership with the Green Energy Co-operative of Ontario (GECO). We incorporated as a Non-Profit in September 2012 and have since grown to our membership to over 70 individuals. We have created (and now passed) our bylaws for the Corporation and have hosted our first Annual General Meeting.
We are now eager to explore new areas and to listen to our membership and citizens of Hamilton for great ideas for 2013 and beyond.
Our keynote speaker for the event was Tom Chessman, Vice President of Hamilton Renewable Power Inc. and Manager of Energy Initiatives for the City of Hamilton. His excellent, and often eye-opening, presentation covered several of the incredible works in renewable energy and energy conservation going on throughout the City of Hamilton.
Mr. Chessman explained that the current successes began as a Council Mandate in 2005, moved relatively slowly through the Office of Energy Initiatives creation in 2006 to the Corporate Energy Policy and Energy Commodity Policy in 2007. Since then, the effort has steadily gained momentum.
The slate of ongoing, future and completed projects is truly impressive. These include efforts in heating, cooling, lighting, water conservation, waste water management and renewable energy.
The City has created various District Heating and Cooling Loops. These use a 'pooling' concept to allow multiple nearby buildings to share heating and cooling systems. This results in the option for higher-efficiency units and a much greater efficiency in energy use. Chessman's team continually monitors these facilities to find further efficiencies as well as ways to expand and duplicate the efforts in other areas of the city.
Through subsidies and incentives, energy-efficient lighting retrofits have become an excellent opportunity. Projects have now been completed in libraries, arenas, fire stations, the Wentworth Operating Centre and Hamilton Convention Centre. Due to the significant increase in energy efficiency, these retrofits pay for themselves very quickly, and create a sort of 'green profit' afterwards from the energy and cost savings.
Both energy efficiency and power production are occurring at the Wentworth Wastewater Treatment Plant. The City installed energy-efficient pumping systems to reduce energy costs. Through the award-winning bio-methane facility, Hamilton is able to convert methane, a waste product of the water treatment process, to Natural Gas for sale to Union Gas.
From the renewable energy pilot partnership with Horizon Energy, further district energy projects, efficiency monitoring and automation systems, it is clear that the City is embracing as many options as possible and providing world-class solutions.
They report that since efforts began in 2006, the City has saved an accumulated total of $27-million in energy savings and avoided costs. These efforts have resulted in energy consumption for 2012 being 14% lower than in 2005.
There are many projects planned for 2013, and the above does not cover all the excellence that is already occurring. Stay tuned for more posts on the City of Hamilton's efforts.
Following Tom's keynote, Kevin Epp from GECO provided an update on their efforts.
HARE wasn't the only renewable energy community group that partnered with GECO. They also connected with partners in Halton Region, London, Durham Region, Wellington County, Oxford County and Chatham-Kent. There are now a total of 504 members in GECO across all these areas, with 70 in Hamilton. The numbers and diversity both provide a very stable base for GECO and renewable energy projects in Ontario.
The FIT 2.0 window closed on January 18th, 2013, and on behalf of all the GECO partners, submitted 12.9 megawatts of project proposals. 1.5 megawatts of these are in Hamilton.
With all submissions now in the hands of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), we now will wait for about 4-6 months while they decide which of the submitted proposals will earn an OPA contract.
‹ See you at the FGM this Sunday, Jan 27th!
Great work Ross! You really are so great at this!


18th century. Centre pedimented block; 2 storeys and raised basement; 2. 3. 2 sash window facade with slight centre projection; Doric columned porch approached up flight of entrance steps; steep hipped slate roof has tall stone chimneys placed symmetrically; moulded stone caves and concealed gutter. Lower supporting wings connected by short screen walls; 2 storeys, 4 sash windows widely spaced; hipped slate roof. The walls have recently been covered with yellow roughcast giving the place a modern appearance.
Interior contains a fine panelled room on ground floor; another smaller panelled room in one of the wings. Architect, possibly William Adam.


text:
Fleta Monaghan, Education Director
828-776-2716| gallery@310art.com |https://310art.com/
July 20 @ 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
July 22 @ 9:30 am - January 06 @ 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
Capture the Beauty of Nature with Ink & Light: Nature Printing on Paper & Fabric
July 27 @ 10:00 am - July 28 @ 5:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
August 05 @ 9:30 am - January 20 @ 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
Next Level Wire Wrapping Fun! with Lorelle Bacon
August 08 @ 10:00 am - 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
August 19 @ 9:30 am - February 03 @ 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
September 02 @ 9:30 am - February 17 @ 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
September 16 @ 9:30 am - March 02 @ 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
October 07 @ 9:30 am - March 23 @ 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
October 21 @ 9:30 am - April 06 @ 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
November 04 @ 9:30 am - April 20 @ 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
November 18 @ 9:30 am - May 04 @ 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
December 02 @ 9:30 am - May 18 @ 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More
December 16 @ 9:30 am - June 01 @ 4:00 pm 310 ART at Riverview Station Learn More


Wollongong Aluminium Supply has been supplying the building, contruction and home improvement from our premises at 79 Gipps Street Wollongong, since 1986. Our philosophy of stocking aluminium products in line with our customer's requirements has ensured that our customers are supplied in an efficient and professional manner.
Recognising the need for personalised service has been the focus of our business objective which has distinguished us in areas of quality, on-time deliveries and competitive pricing.
Wollongong Aluminium Supply's trading hours are Monday to Friday 8.00am - 4.30pm.


Sir, – I would like to inform the good people of Midlothian East Ward that I will be standing in the local council Election as an Independent candidate. Why independent? The reason is simple. I do not want to be used as a political pawn of any political party. I believe in having my own independence to decide what is best for the communities I hope to represent after May 4.
Members of the public are tired of seeing the petty squabbles going on at a local level with the major political parties trying to get one over each other (turning council meetings into a mini Westminster) rather than concentrating on the local issues that should be their priority.
Our communities are under severe strain from recent cuts and there are more to come affecting all parts of the services.
Most of the sitting councillors have had over 10 years to change things around but it is time for a change; new blood and new thinking. I feel I can help bring that change.
Let the political parties argue the rights or wrongs of Brexit and Scottish Independence through the media, on your doorstep and in Midlothian House. Although important, this in my view is not for the local elections where it should be all about your local community. This election is what I, or any other candidate, can do for you and to represent your views. It should be about issues; including community policing, raising attainment in education, local planning issues, environmental issues (like the dumping of rubbish), more council houses, local infrastructure, developer contributions being better negotiated for your community, waiting lists at doctors' surgeries, care in the community, supporting local voluntary community groups, etc.


CISCO* studies show that 52% of customers prefer self-service systems, even more going for stores where the lines aren't as long.
For many chains, having around three people in line at any given time is the norm. It's when the number starts to break that threshold for a cash register or some other important location in the store that something needs to be done.
Of course, business owners know what happens next: you open another register, you incentivize your cashiers, and you hook up new bar code scanners.
Customers can give you a call.
Cashiers can fill you in.
Special sensors can send you an alert.
You can have video surveillance cameras at your sales points.
There are drawbacks to each of those methods. Neither customers nor employees have a good reason to tell you about the problem—it's easier for customers to just go somewhere else next time, while cashiers can't do their job and keep an eye on the store at the same time. External sensors tend to perform poorly when the number of people you have really starts to accumulate.
That leaves video surveillance cameras, though they force you to hire someone to sit there and watch the feeds. And even that option doesn't really work for chains with tens or hundreds of feeds coming in.
So do you turn to cameras featuring video analytics?
There are certainly plenty of companies out there offering similar services. Our queue detector started taking over the retail market this year, only after we took the time to evaluate existing solutions and identify the mistakes they've been making.
Here's the bottom line: video analytics need to be precise, accessible, and understandable (!) no matter how large the business.
Going beyond accuracy (are there three people in line or 33?) to build a user-friendly solution is critical. The user has to be able to gather and analyze data, all without getting bogged down in the details.
Ivideon is no longer just a video surveillance and security system; it's a tool owners and managers of businesses large and small (stores, banks, restaurants, cafes, and any other sales points) can leverage to analyze company processes. How often do lines form? How many people walk through the front door every day? How many decide against stopping in? What's the average receipt? What are people buying? How are they buying it?
It can use practically any camera to accurately identify queues.
A single camera can monitor up to seven service points or cash registers.
Reports from all locations are accessed in an easy-to-use web interface.
All data is encrypted to maintain user security.
Can lines make you money? Some business owners are of the opinion that there's nothing wrong with lines—customers tend to make off-the-cuff purchases when they're standing in them.
But experience shows that even customers who make those purchases tend to go with a store that isn't as busy in the future.
Inzhenernaya Santekhnika, a plumbing supply store, modified their video surveillance system using our queue detector, resulting in a 7% boost** to revenue. That wouldn't have happened if customers had just made random purchases and gone back to their normal lines.
The cost of rolling out the video surveillance system, including all necessary hardware, came to around $8000, while upkeep runs the store $470 a month. At that rate, the system will pay for itself in less than a year.
Dodo Pizza is Russia's largest pizzeria chain. Each new location is outfitted with video surveillance, always including one in the kitchen that provides a live feed of the pizzas being made.
Those cameras help monitor employees at work, keep an eye on the cash registers, and make sure nothing untoward happens in the general customer area. Best of all, Dodo has saved big*** on rolling out motion detectors—they already had cameras set up in their pizzerias. The Ivideon detector can be connected via the cloud without any added hardware.
The solution to the queue problem we came up with starts at just 800 rubles a month. That number includes the cost of a motion detector, a cloud archive, and an online broadcast from the camera (optional). The fact that the solution is housed in the cloud means that you can use absolutely any camera. The only caveat is that you'll need a computer outfitted with Ivideon Server, a free program, if your camera doesn't have built-in Ivideon firmware.
Access to the detector interface is available to all users who have added a camera in the Queues section of their Ivideon web application and selected an applicable service plan.
If you have any questions about the detector or Ivideon in general, feel free to send us an email sales@ivideon.com or call us at +7 800 555 42 97.


Edmond wrote the letter to his father-in-law, George Washington Fairbanks (1799-1864)—a member of the clergy in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Through the merciful Providence of our Heavenly Father, I am in the enjoyment of good health. Our regiment and company as a general rule have good health at this time—better than at any time before. We have a pleasant situation at present and our duties are not very dangerous or laborious. In all, I think we have abundant reasons to be thankful that our situation is no worse.
One year ago tomorrow since I volunteered and although during the past eleven months I have endured some privations, undergone many exposures and hardships, and forfeited the comforts and blessings of home and fields, and all that to me (save my God and my country!) is worth living for. Yet my patriotism is in no wise abated on account of these privations nor my confidence weakened in our final triumph. It is true our success has not been as great as many hoped it would have been, yet we feel encouraged to believe the end is not very far distant.
It would afford me great pleasure to visit home and friends some time this fall but do not suppose I could get leave of absence at the present. I feel more anxious about coming on account of the failing condition of your health as I might in a short time be able to so some things that would add to the comfort of our families during the winter. Yet I cannot tell what I may be able to do. In all events, I trust your failing health may be restored and that you may live many years to enjoy the reward of your labor—both temporal and spiritual. For I assure you, dear Pa, that your failing strength has been the greatest source of solicitude with me since I have been in the army.
Elle's letter of the 2nd August came to hand yesterday. Was glad to learn that you were all as well as what you were. Lieutenant Steven's health has not been good for several months past and I think it is possible that he will not remain much longer in the service if I can get out. He has done but very little duty in the past six months and I don't think he will do much soon. I will close this short letter hoping and trusting as ever in the mercy and goodness of God, to preserve us in sickness and in health, to be with us, and sustain us in life and death.


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Q: WebRequest to Sharepoint site using Access Token returns 403 I need to create web request to specific page in SharePoint Online using Access Token in order to get certain Header information, but I keep getting 403 and I'm not sure why. After toying with access requests some more, I managed to only get 403 using clientContext, and 401 using Postman.
I can get response from grah api in my app and with postman using access token, but the problem is I need to do a web request to get real web page headers like SpRequestDuration and SPIISLatency.

*

*I've followed steps to create my Azure AD and application.

*I request user login to get authentication code for my application
loginScopes = [
'User.Read.All',
'Directory.Read.All',
'Group.Read.All',
'Sites.Read.All',
'Reports.Read.All'
'offline_access',
'https://www.sharepoint.com/AllSites.FullControl'
];

const encodedScopes = encodeURIComponent(loginScopes.join(' '));
const encodedRedirectUri = encodeURIComponent(redirectUri);
let url = `https://login.microsoftonline.com/organizations/oauth2/v2.0/authorize?
response_type=code&
client_id=${clientId}
&redirect_uri=${encodedRedirectUri}
&scope=${encodedScopes}
&prompt=select_account`;

return url;

After this returns authentication code I create ConfidentialClientApplication with authority : 'https://login.microsoftonline.com/organizations' and with my application clientId, secret, redirect etc.
With newly created ConfidentialClientApplication I acquire token silently with scope '{tenantUrl}/AllSites.FullControl' and user from token cache.
Now with access token I successfully create ClientContext, which retrieves data from sharepoint site and I can easily make a graph API request and everything will be fine. But the problem is with creating a WebRequest to a specific site (example. {tenantUrl}/SitePages/Forms/ByAuthor.aspx)
var manager = new AuthenticationManager();
var clientContext = manager.GetAzureADAccessTokenAuthenticatedContext(tenantUrl, accessToken);
clientContext.Load(clientContext.Site);
clientContext.Load(oWebsite.Lists);
clientContext.ExecuteQuery(); // Works fine

var request = clientContext.WebRequestExecutorFactory.CreateWebRequestExecutor(clientContext,{tenantUrl}/SitePages/Forms/ByAuthor.aspx).WebRequest;

request.Method = "GET";
//request.Headers.Add("Authorization", $"Bearer {accessToken}");

clientContext.ExecutingWebRequest += delegate (object sender, WebRequestEventArgs e)
{
    e.WebRequestExecutor.WebRequest.Headers.Add("Authorization", "Bearer " + accessToken);
};
await request.GetResponseAsync(); // Throws 403

A: I am having the same problem. It seems you cannot access anything outside of a Microsoft API with an access token.

A: As Steve mentioned, it is not possible to get request from site using access token. We managed to solve the problem by fetching and using FedAuth and rtFa cookies.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Last time, I talked about assessing whether a potential sponsor would make a good match for your nonprofit by analyzing where your organization can meet a business's needs for corporate altruism.
As discussed in the Sponsorship Strategy whitepaper, the next step after determining whether your nonprofit would be a good fit for a potential sponsor is to arrange a face-to-face meeting with a key contact at the business.
Now this part's important: Your first meeting isn't a pitch meeting! It's an opportunity for you to gather as much information as you can about your sponsor in order to develop that powerful pitch at a later date—when the time is right.
There's a principle of psychology that you should be thinking about while heading into your first meeting with a potential sponsor. And that principle is this: we all love to be listened to.
We love when people hear our concerns, and even more when they ask us questions about them.
We love to tell people what we think is wrong with the world; even better, we loved to be asked, "How would you fix it?" We all have ideas about what would improve the state of things.
And we all want to talk about the things we love. We want to gush about what excites us, or inspires us, or drives us to do better.
But most of all, we love to talk about ourselves.
Your potential sponsor is no different. Businesses, and the decision-makers you'll be asking to join in sponsor partnerships with you, are the same. They want to be heard. And you're waiting to listen.
Every business owner or decision-maker has dreams about what the business could become, what it strives to accomplish, and what new lead or market would break open a new ceiling.
You should enter your informational meeting having done some research beforehand about the business and who they serve—e.g. their target demographic. Some businesses sell directly to consumer groups; other businesses stay out of the consumer arena and sell to other businesses. Once you know who this business is seeking out in the market, you can ask some deep-dive questions that get to the root of what they want in an ideal sponsor relationship.
Don't prepare anything in advance. Come ready with a notebook and pen to write and listen—nothing else.
When your potential sponsor expresses a need or frustration, repeat it back and ask why it frustrates them, and what they see as potential solutions. You're seeking ways that you can provide those solutions. Be understanding about what troubles them.
Don't talk too much—just enough to ask questions and get your potential sponsor talking about themselves. The more comfortable they feel opening up to you, the more they'll reveal about what's missing in their current situation, which in turn can reveal openings for your organization.
Never, ever interrupt. Wait to ask another question until your contact has finished talking. They may say something you didn't expect when given the freedom to do so without interruption.
Another to-do item to complete before your meeting: research what other organizations this business or corporation has sponsored in the past. What are those previous partners' missions, goals, and cultures?
Once you've got your own idea, ask the business for their feelings about their past relationships.
In your meeting, create a welcoming environment where the potential sponsor can tell you all about their dreams for partnering with a nonprofit. Ask about those past sponsorships, and what worked or didn't work. All of this is excellent fodder for preparing a personalized, effective pitch.
What needs and expectations does this business or foundation have walking into a sponsor partnership? Think budget, payment plans, duration of the sponsorship, etc.
What are their goals for themselves in partnering up with a nonprofit organization? How do they envision a partnership boosting their business?
Ask what their ideal sponsorship plan would look like. What's their sponsorship wish list, in a perfect world?
What have their past relationships been like? What did they like, or didn't like? What would they have changed?
Now you're ready to take everything you've learned and look for intersections between your potential sponsor's needs, and what you have to offer—and develop it into a killer pitch. That's coming up next in our post on Pitching for a Yes, #1: Exploring Your Value-Add!
To continue reading about this subject, download the free Sponsorship Strategies eBook.
We are an auction company out of Michigan and have recently started working with an organization that would like to be able to have an online bidding app available for their silent auction this December. I just have a couple of questions and asked that you give me a call at your convenience. One I would like to know what payment option is available…do they pay online when they bid or do they have an option to bid from their table at the event and pay after? Two I would like to know how we go about getting the results in to our system as the organization will need an amount that the silent auction grossed as soon as it is over. Thanks for your time and i look forward to hearing from you.
Hi Dawn, thank you for reaching out! I am going to go ahead and get your inquiry out to the Area Marketing Manager for Michigan – expect a follow up shortly. If you should have any other further questions, please feel free to reach out directly through sales@greatergiving.com.


Harrods has this cute blinged out mini sequin stocking decorations for your Christmas tree. Harrods has the stockings in gold and red. The stockings have a faux-fur trim. They are 13 centimeters (5.12 inches tall). The stockings cost 4.95 pounds each, which is about $7.98 U.S. You can find them here on harrods.com.


In a highly unusual decision that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says "ignores 65 years of precedent," a federal judge has held that the memories of SEC attorneys and information from their interview notes are discoverable. The SEC lawyers appear to have interviewed three key witnesses during the investigation without taking their sworn testimony, thereby avoiding the creation of a verbatim transcript. In a February 4, 2013 Order, Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins of the Northern District of California rejected the SEC's argument that its attorneys' memories and notes about these interviews were protected by the work product doctrine and ordered full responses to interrogatories regarding the interviews.


text:
Cyber Chicken
Cyber Chicken is 2.5D side-scrolling, rollicking adventure featuring 8', 375 pounds of cybernetic poultry as a futuristic killing machine on a quixotic mission to save the World from itself. A satirical romp across pop culture and modern life, the comic-book styled game features weapon-based gameplay, platforming elements and puzzles in a metrovania-designed World.
The story follows Cyber Chicken as he sets out to suppress a cyberpunk revolt in the dystopian New York City of the future. Cyber Chicken soon realizes he's been played the fool and must confront intergalactic forces spanning dimensions of time. From his mayhem-laced adventures into modern day New York City, Cyber Chicken reveals a grand conspiracy involving the likes of Big Bucks Coffee, The Fakebook and the intergalactic leader himself, GW!
Though humor is at the core, the experience is layered with rich and varied influences from literary, film, comic and video game classics, including Don Quixote, Brave New World, Terminator, Blade Runner, Batman, Duke Nukem and Super Metroid.
Terminate enemies with Cyber Chicken's upgradeable multi-weapon arsenal and skillset with over 45 upgrades.
Double-jump, dash, ground-stomp and wall-jump your way through over 13 levels in a semi-open world – upgrading to unlock new areas.
Buy and upgrade using credit – but make sure to pay back your debts in time, or face the wrath of "The Collector"! (Get defeated, and he will repossess upgrades to repay your debt)
Enjoy a fully voice acted cast and soundtrack featuring 40 original tracks.
Rebindable input with support for mouse and keyboard or controller.
2 GHz Dual Core CPU
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460, AMD Radeon HD 4850
2.5 GHz Quad Core CPU
NVIDIA GeForce 500, AMD Radeon HD 5000 or higher
© Groupees LLC / WHOA! 2016. All rights reserved. This game is a source of parody, satire, and humor and is for entertainment purposes only. The people, locations, companies and events depicted are entirely FICTIONAL. We're serious, there really is no such thing as a cybernetic poultry terminator from the future! Any resemblance to real people, places and companies is purely coincidental. Honest! Take for instance, 'The Fakebook'… that just sounds kinda cool, right? Not buying it? Well, then we absolutely insist that any non-coincidental resemblance should be viewed as our saying we think there's something amusing here. So yea, the game is definitely not endorsed by whomever might resemble Ronald Dump or Big Bucks Coffee, though we're not adverse to product placement opps in sequel products! Keep in mind, that's one way to ensure we don't make fun of you next time! Interested parties please contact us.
Plug-in Digital


text:
NYWIFT Blog
Terry's Picks: ReFrame Stamp, Women Directors, Binge Watch
Terry's Picks
| nywift
ReFrame Stamp: The ReFrame organization has created the ReFrame Stamp in partnership with IMDBpro, a badge of honor for film and TV projects that hire women in at least half of eight key production positions – writer, director, producer, lead actor, co-lead, speaking parts, department heads and crew – with double points for women of color in key responsibilities. 12 of the top 100 films of 2017 made the mark.
Women Directors: Variety's roundtable of women TV directors – including Jodie Foster, Tracee Ellis Ross and Lesli Linka Glatter – discuss some of the challenges they've faced.
Binge Watch: I am binge watching AMC's Dietland this summer. Great performance by Joy Nash.
nywift
New York Women in Film & Television supports women calling the shots in film, television and digital media.
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Recap: NYWIFT Talks with Julie Taymor and Kimberly Guerrero About "The Glorias" and Getting Out the Vote
NYWIFT blogger Kristin Reiber Harris reflects on our powerful conversation with the team behind The Glorias, including Julie Taymor's creative process, the celebration of Native voices, and how we as women live in constant dialogue with our former selves.
All In: The Fight for Democracy – A Conversation with Lisa Cortés (Part II)
The second part of Christina Kiely's two-part interview with All In: The Fight for Democracy co-director Lisa Cortés, conducted on Zoom in anticipation of her participation at the NYWIFT 2020 Creative Workforce Summit: Documentary Makers, Industry and Funders in Conversation next week.
All In: The Fight for Democracy – A Conversation with Lisa Cortés (Part I)
All In: The Fight for Democracy is the essential new documentary the LA Times called "an eloquent history lesson on voting rights." Co-directed by Lisa Cortés and Liz Garbus, the film tells the painful history of voter suppression in America as it traces the story of gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and her 2018 run in Georgia. Oscar-nominated producer NYWIFT Member Lisa Cortés (Precious, The Apollo, Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion) joined NYWIFT Board Member Christina Kiely to discuss All In: The Fight for Democracy, why it matters so much right now, how they pulled it off during the pandemic, and why Stacey Abrams's story needed to be the spine of the film – apart from the fact that we love her.
Cynthia's Picks: All In, WFPF Submissions, Production Resumes
All In: If you haven't seen All In: The Fight for Democracy yet on Amazon, do it – it's a must-see, especially now. Filmmakers Liz...