Liberal Resistance > Blog > Blog > Who's Guarding the Pigeon Coop?
Who's Guarding the Pigeon Coop?
The day after the Democrats won control of the House of Representatives, Trump abruptly fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions and appointed Matthew Whitaker, a Trump loyalist, to run the FBI and oversee the Trump-Russia investigation. That's problematic.
That's like putting the python in charge of a pigeon coup to "oversee" the little birds who keep mysteriously missing.
Whitaker has echoed the President's propaganda calling the Mueller investigation a "witch hunt". He has made the Machiavellian suggestion that funds for Mueller's investigation be cut off as a way to bring the investigation to a standstill without actually firing Mueller.
Whitaker, is a rather ridiculous choice. We are, after all, talking about a shamelessly partisan loyalist, with a strange, far-right worldview, and with close ties to a witness who's testified in an ongoing federal investigation.
Whitaker has bashed the federal courts. He's condemned an investigation he's now overseeing – and won't recuse himself from, despite calls from 18 state attorneys general. He's already decided what the outcome of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe should be.
Complicating matters, Matthew Whitaker is the first attorney general – acting or permanent – to ever hold the position without having been confirmed to the Justice Department by the Senate. Many experts have made a very credible case that the president's appointment of Whitaker is plainly illegal.
It appears that Trump put Whitaker in charge for the corrupt purposes of obstructing justice and avoid being impeached and tried for treason… among the long list of his other crimes.
Whitaker is a bit of a wacko. He doesn't believe the United States should have a federal government.
Five years ago, Whitaker stated his view that the federal government has no authority over state governments, and that the states should be able to violate federal law at will. Now, as Acting Attorney General, he's in charge of enforcing federal law in all fifty states… but will he enforce federal laws that conflict with state laws?
We can take some comfort in the hope that as soon as Trump is impeached and convicted of treason, his tenure as president will be declared illegitimate and every appointment, every executive order and every bill he has signed declared illegal and null starting with the removal of Acting Attorney General Mathew Whitaker and justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh from the Supreme Court.
To make matters much worse.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says he is going to block a bill to protect Robert Mueller by not allowing it to come up for a vote in the Senate.
McConnell says. "It's not necessary. The Mueller investigation is not under threat. The president's said repeatedly he's not going to dismiss the Mueller investigation. He's said repeatedly it's going to be allowed to finish.
McConnel said that also happens to be his view. As you can imagine, we speak frequently, and there's never been any indication that the president wants to dismiss Mueller or the investigation. It's going to be allowed to finish. McConnell is lying.
McConnell is lying. He knows that Trump is lying. In fact, everyone knows that Trump has every intention of quashing the investigation one way or another. Trump will do what he needs to do to end the Trump-Russia investigation because Trump is guilty. McConnell the rest of the Trump Republicans in Congress are co-conspirators willing to shield Trump's treason with the Russians and let his crimes go unpunished… just to stay in power.
If Whitaker doesn't recuse himself and has any involvement in Mueller's probe, we will expose it, including whether he made any commitments to Trump, is serving as a back channel, or interfering in the probe.
He will be held accountable. There must be no ambiguity about that.
The Democrats won the House Representatives.
They will do what they can to protect the Mueller investigation and launch their own independent investigations. Democrats will probably proceed with the impeachment of President Trump at some point; however, they won't be sworn in until January 3 of next year.
Trump is trying desperately to the end the Mueller investigation before Democrats take control of the House of Representatives because Trump is guilty and desperate.
Trump made Whitaker the acting AG to kill the investigation… one way or another. With Trump Republicans in control of Congress, Trump has for the past two years proved time and again that Republicans will not hold the president accountable no matter how egregious his crimes, which puts the president above the law.
This America people need a definitive answer to one question. Did Trump conspire with Putin to rig the election and are Republicans in Congress involved in the cover up?
We know the Russians launched a massive cyber-attack on our election process to help Trump win. We know the Trump campaign was in direct communication with the Russians. But did Trump himself conspire with Putin to rig the election in his favor? Is Trump a Russian asset controlled by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin? Is Trump sacrificing American interest to advance Russian interests. Is Trump giving aid and comfort to the enemy?
The future of America depends on knowing the full extent of the crimes Trump is guilty of, so that as a nation we can act accordingly. Trump must be brought to justice and his illegitimate presidency ended.
In the future, the checks and balances in our government must be strengthened so this can never happen again. We the People must have the National Recall. We must have the means to vote and recall public officials on the Federal level for just cause including and especially the President of the United States of America. The minute Trump obstructed justice by firing FBI director, James Comey to try and stop the Trump-Russia investigation and he refused to make his taxes public we should have had national recall election.
What can we do here and now to protect the Muller investigation?
But protesting in the streets is simply not enough.
A few fleeting headlines in the media are not enough. The way to stop Trump from shutting down the Mueller investigation is to actually shut down Bank of America.
The best way to protest is by taking advantage of smartphone technology. Using our smartphones to social network and to call in solidarity, we can bring enough protesters to phones to isolate Bank of America Merrill Lynch and disrupt their communications.
In America, we have a God-given, inalienable, Constitutional right to use the public phone system to call Bank of America as do some 7.5 billion consumers around the world who have mobile phones.
Peacefully calling from the safety of our own phones, we can put business as usual at the bank on hold non-violently and convince Republicans in Congress to join Democrats in impeaching Trump in order to keep Bank of America from going under. No one wants to see Bank of America go belly up… so we can all get real reasonable and find a satisfactory solution.
Don't worry about Trump's White Nationalists calling a "liberal" bank on Wall Street… there are no liberal banks on Wall Street.
Bank of America is a Wall Street icon, a corporate monster operating internationally. They are responsible for the Housing Market Fraud in 2008 that bankrupted millions of Americans and has added some $10 trillion dollars to national debt. Bank of America is a key player in the shadow government that controls our government. We can break up this gigantic corporate monopoly; and, at the same time, force the Republicans in Congress to impeach Trump… for fear of losing Bank of America and having the phone protest spread to other Wall Street Banks.
Call in solidarity until we have a large enough gathering of callers to disrupt business at Bank of America Merrill Lynch worldwide.
Kill two birds with the same phone calls. We can break up Bank of America Merrill Lynch and protect the Mueller investigation at the same time.
Take your money out of Bank of America. You don't want your money in Bank of America Merrill Lynch when the avalanche hits, and there is a run on the bank, and it's too late.
Demonstrate out front of the nearest branch of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Make the news, help spread the word, and turn customers away.
Call anonymously risk free. You don't need to travel anywhere or take time off work and lose pay. You don't risk being tear gassed, beaten by riot police, attacked by dogs, blasted with high power pressure water hoses, shot with rubber bullets, or arrested and carted off to jail. You don't need to fear being attacked, run over, killed or injured by Trump's army of armed and violent followers. Just call Bank of America and pray for them ow wish them good day.
Take a stand; join the Resistance. Organizing your own Call Squad to boycott the nearest Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Activate people on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Get the message out. Use your smartphone to network and help the Phone Protest go viral on the Internet activating thousands, millions of protesters around the globe to join in calling and cut off their communications with the outside world.
Financial markets hate uncertainty. Even Trump Republicans with money in Bank of America Merrill Lynch will join the protest the minute they get the bad news. They will join us on the phones flooding the bank with angry calls and complaints wanting their money out of the bank… to be safe. They will be the first to unload their stock.
The Phone Protest can produce instant results when enough people call. Bank of America will call on Congress to meet our demands to stop the calls from putting them out of business, and Trump Republicans will want to dump Trump to save Bank of America from going bankrupt… and avoid a meltdown on Wall Street.
The Phone Protest against Bank of America will turn Trump radioactive.
In order to speak to power, We the People must first be in a position of power.
Take it to the phones and shut down Bank of America until our voices are heard in Congress loud and clear. We won the House of Representatives, and now we are going to win the war against Trump.
We start winning by making Bank of America lose money. We win when Congress faces the threat of losing Bank of America if they don't protect the Mueller investigation.
Flood the phones with calls to Bank of America Merrill Lynch to pay them back for the Housing Market crash of 2008. Drown out their communications non-violently and put their business on hold peacefully, cost them a bloody fortune from a safe distance. Rain down a hurricane of calls on them. Force the break-up Bank of America and their stock brokers Merrill Lynch. Shut them down until Republicans in Congress protect the Mueller investigation and join Democrats in impeaching Trump… or Congress loses Bank of America Merrill Lynch and faces the public backlash from a stock market crash on Wall Street.


text:
HYUNDAI REDESIGN
New 2022 Hyundai Elantra Specs, Interior, Release Date
Elantra / By alsulifan
New 2022 Hyundai Elantra Specs, Interior, Release Date – 2022 Hyundai Elantra may come as an excellent accessory for the athletic sedan vehicle class, with several fascinating changes and enhancements in technological innovation. You will find not envisioned changes beneath the hood, apart from the brand new engine for the Athletic cut model.
2022 Hyundai Elantra Redesign
It is for certain that this maker has created an attempt to create a stylish and vision-finding automobile, over a useful and sleek vehicle. They may have not created a blunder in this portion, however. 2022 Hyundai Elantra is a good vehicle, with specifics that remember wonderful types in this particular class. Nevertheless, you must see new info on the leading stop, with newly designed front side lamps and changes from the model of the vehicle. The producer provides new supplies, creating a lot of light-weight automobiles for less dangerous and sleek driving a car. We could not state that the product seems like Ford Focus, although aspires to be much like that design.
2022 Hyundai Elantra Exterior
There exists a modern-day and incredibly innovative cabin inside the 2022 Hyundai Elantra this time around. Combined with the regular 5-inches touch-screen from the middle, the larger trims might get a 7-" version with lots of driving a car asst. designs. In addition to that, drivers will have a portable interconnection and fantastic leisure solutions. In terms of the design, it can be desirable and present day, as just before, with substantial enhancements and information. Specifically wonderful will probably be a Sport cut model, with appear to be on athletic vehicles.
2022 Hyundai Elantra Interior
2022 Hyundai Elantra Engine
It is actually for certain that this company is not going to have a chance with regards to the driver within the 2022 Hyundai Elantra. For your regular product, they will likely utilize a 2.-liter 4-tube which produces 147 horsepower and 132 lb-ft. of torque. Not just that, you will get this engine to get a basic design, but also several much more toned models. Nonetheless, in addition to that, they may give a 1.4-liter turbocharged several-tube edition with 128 horsepower and 156 lb-toes of torque.
The only real our company is unsure in is which often transmission is going to be applied together with one of those particular two. The initial choice is a numerous-rate intelligent transmission, whilst the next choice is CVT transmission. There are gossips which they could try out with all the probability that they can push a new 1.6-liter turbo petroleum engine having 201 horsepower and 195 lb-toes of torque. This kind of edition, although, ought to can be found in the Athletic model.
2022 Hyundai Elantra Release Date And Price
It can be anticipated the 2022 Hyundai Elantra is going to be in the marketplace after 2020, to the price associated with $20,000. The Athletic toned edition which we called a few times over will certainly charge close to $27,000. Nonetheless, it continues to a significantly reduced price than normal with this class.
Categories Select Category 45 (3) Accent (1) Azera (15) Creta (25) Elantra (41) Genesis (33) Ioniq (4) Kona (55) Nexo (1) Palisade (50) RM20 (1) Santa Cruz (35) Santa Fe (66) Sonata (55) Tucson (57) Veloster (26) Venue (21) Veracruz (1)
New 2022 Hyundai Genesis Horsepower, Redesign, Price
New 2022 Hyundai Genesis G70 Redesign, Changes, Review
New 2022 Hyundai Kona N Release Date, Interior, Price
New 2022 Hyundai Tucson Changes, Review, For Sale
New 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Review, Specs, Release Date

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Chris Brown and Joyner Lucas join forces on "Stranger Things," a Netflix-inspired single in anticipation of their forthcoming joint project Angels & Demons.
"Stranger Things" is part of a larger Angels & Demons project, which features a half-angel-half-demon being on the cover. A video for the single is scheduled to arrive tonight (Feb. 25). Photos taken at the shoot seem to show the duo going back-and-forth in a studio, surrounded by neon lights.


These popular games had players clutching their controllers.
National Video Game Day is Sept. 12 — that makes it a great time to celebrate one of America's favorite indoor pastimes. It's no secret that video games can mean big money. Here's a look at history's most successful console video game franchises.
Arguably the most popular and easily identifiable character in video game history, Mario first appeared in the original "Donkey Kong" arcade game in 1981. The Nintendo mascot has appeared in more than 200 games in a franchise that has sold more than half a billion copies, with the original "Super Mario Bros." alone selling 40 million units since it debuted in 1985, according to the company.
Starting with a Game Boy game in 1996, the Pokémon brand went on to become one of the best-selling franchises of all time, with more than 200 million units sold, according to Tech Times. In fact, Pokémon spawned a mega franchise, which includes anime, trading cards, one of history's most popular TV shows and several films. The Pokémon Company is a joint venture of Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures Inc.
Verified by Guinness as the best-selling first-person shooter game in history, the Call of Duty franchise was released by Activision in 2003. According to Statistic Brain, the game has sold more than 250 million copies since.
In 2009, "Modern Warfare 2" earned $550 million in a mere five days, according to the Telegraph. The latest game in the franchise, "Infinite Warfare," had sold over 7 million units as of July 2017. While experts predicted sales would be higher, reviews for the game were surprisingly low.
The Wii series was created to boost sales of the first Wii console, which was released in 2006. As of June 2016, Nintendo had sold more than 100 million Wii units worldwide, according to Statista. The series includes the original Wii Sports, which was shipped with the first Wii consoles.
In 2012, Nintendo launched Wii U with less than stellar results. According to Fortune, Nintendo hoped the console would sell 100 million units. As of 2016, the prediction was off by 90 million.
"The Sims" by EA is the granddaddy of all life simulation games. The franchise has sold 175 million units since it was first released in 2000, and "The Sims 3" alone sold 10 million copies, according to Overmental. With four central games and several expansions, it is one of the most successful PC gaming franchises of all time.
According to the Sims site, fans can expect a new release this year: "The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs" arrives November 2017.
"Tetris" is much beloved among gamers. Called the best-selling game in history by Forbes, "Tetris" has sold 495 million copies since it debuted in 1984, with the original Game Boy version remaining the best seller at 35 million copies.
In July 2016, producers announced that the upcoming Tetris film would actually be a sci-fi trilogy.
The most successful racing franchise in history, EA's "Need for Speed" has sold 150 million copies, according to Gamespresso. The game even spawned a movie.
Further, "Need for Speed: Most Wanted" sold 16 million copies by itself. In June 2017, creators announced a new game featuring an increased focus on car customization,"Need for Speed: Payback," which is due out in November.
Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has sold 150 million games, according to Overmental. The franchise now includes comic books, manga, movies and cartoons.
Released in 1991, the original game served as Sega's flagship game during the 1990s console wars. The franchise's best-selling game, "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," sold more than 6 million copies, according to VGChartz.
With 14 games and numerous spin-offs, the legendary Final Fantasy franchise has roots dating back to 1987 and has sold 110 million copies, according to VentureBeat. "Final Fantasy XV," was released in September 2016, and sold almost 5 million units on PlayStation 4 alone.
The franchise is the most successful in the history of Square Enix.
Officially licensed by FIFA, this popular soccer game comes out with a new version every year. Since FIFA debuted in 1993, it has sold more than 100 million copies, according to Techphlie. The latest version, "FIFA 18," will be available to soccer fans later this month on Sept. 29 on all major platforms.
The Warner Bros. LEGO franchise — which has sold 165 million units, according to Fast Company — features both original games and licensed titles like "Indiana Jones," "Batman," "Harry Potter," "Star Wars" and more.
"LEGO Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens" was released in June 2016. In total, the LEGO Star Wars games have sold more than 33 million copies, according to an article by Deadline.
Named after legendary football Hall of Famer, Super Bowl-winning coach and longtime NBC Sports commentator John Madden, Madden NFL revolutionized sports gaming. This EA Sports game sold over 100 million copies and has generated $4.2 billion in sales, according to Fox News. It has also ranked among the top 10 games by revenue every year a new edition is released.
Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed is one of the most successful video game franchises. First released in 2007, the franchise consists of nine main action-adventure games and has sold at least 93 million units to date, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A 10th edition, "Assassin's Creed Origins," is set for release on Oct. 27. According to DualShockers, a strong showing at E3 2017 leads Ubisoft execs to believe the game will generate more sales than the previous "Syndicate" release.
Another soccer game franchise, Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) might be able to catch its FIFA competitor after a few good years. So far, PES — called "Winning Eleven" in Japan — has sold 86.8 million games, according to Konami. And the latest version, "Pro Evolution Soccer 2017," has been downloaded more than 10 million times to date.
The Tom Clancy franchise goes all the way back to 1990 with the release of "Red Storm Rising." More than a quarter century later, "Splinter Cell" remains the best-selling game of the franchise, selling more than 3 million units as of July 2017, according to VGChartz. Released in March, "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands" has already sold more than 3 million units.
The first open-world game, 1986's "The Legend of Zelda" helped define the action-adventure genre. Released in 2017, "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" boasts more than 4 million sales, according to VGChartz. Additionally, a 2017 USA Today article notes that Nintendo is currently developing a mobile game to bring Zelda to the smartphone market.
Racing franchise Gran Turismo features 10 major installments, which have sold a combined 76.5 million copies, according to developer Polyphony Digital. The best-selling installment in this Sony series is "Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec," which sold 14.98 million copies for PlayStation 2, according to VGChartz. "Gran Turismo Sport" will be available for PlayStation 4 in October of this year.
Originally developed as a Java-based computer game, legendary sandbox game "Minecraft" is available on both mobile devices and consoles. Microsoft bought the franchise — which has sold 70 million copies, according to Hexus — for $2.5 billion in 2014. According to The Verge, Minecraft will be getting a "Super Duper Graphics Pack" with 4K resolution this fall.
One of Japan's most popular role-playing games, "Dragon Quest" by Square Enix was first released in 1986. As of 2016, the franchise had sold 66 million copies, according to Entertainment Weekly. In July of this year, "Dragon Quest XI" was released on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo 3DS and has already sold more than 3 million copies.
See which popular movies were based on novels.


DR. ROD PANTONY B.A., B.ED., LL.B., J.D.
I can tutor: Algebra, Geometry, Business and 20 other subjects.
I can tutor: Business Administration, E-Business, Entrepreneurship and 6 other subjects.
I can tutor: Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Finance and 9 other subjects.
I can tutor: Business English, ESL English as a Second Language, Sociology of Culture and 14 other subjects.
I can tutor: Business, Information Systems, Environmental Policy and 12 other subjects.


text:
Sandbox and Decentraland investors switch to RobotEra
Disclaimer: The 'Industry Talk' section contains contributions and insights from people active in the crypto world and is not part of the editorial content of Cryptonews.com.
Sandbox and Decentraland have done incredibly well in 2021. They shaped the GameFi industry while it was still new and had a market cap of €5 and €10 billion at their peak.
And yet, despite institutional investors getting into this trend in 2021, both metaverse games have struggled over the past 12 months.
According to DappRadar, the two games combined have only had 20,000 users in the last month and have even been called "empty metaverses" by critics.
It looks like the void left by the two games will soon be filled by a new pre-sale crypto game.
RobotEra is our top pick for new crypto games and offers investors multiple ways to play as well as earn active and passive income.
See the RobotEra presale here
What is RobotEra?
RobotEra is a new pre-sale crypto project that combines gaming to make money with metaverse world building and NFT ownership.
Players of the game must rebuild the destroyed planet Taro. Players do this by emulating robot characters who farm land in the metaverse, increasing its value.
RobotEra players can get their hands on both active and passive income via the native token TARO. This can be done in several ways. For example, they can participate in quests, participate in community events and concerts, grow sacred trees, mine and strike. This is only a small part of the possibilities.
No coding knowledge is required to play this new crypto game. The planet Taro can be built with building tools that are included in the game and are very easy to use. Players can not only create infrastructure, but also add 3D scenes, sounds and other user interaction.
The developers of RobotEra believe that the opportunities to earn TARO tokens in the game will increase as players build and shape the game.
For example, players can request admission tickets for admission to events, concerts and museums. Additionally, they can sell ad space to advertisers, and they can sell things they've built as NFTs, for example.
Robot characters allow players to explore and search for rewards. In addition, they enable players to cultivate land and thus find resources. Land can also be improved to become more valuable and sold at a profit.
Players who stake TARO tokens also gain influence in the DAO body, the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). In this way, they influence the development of the game in the future.
A future development that is currently in the pipeline is the creation of a virtual and augmented reality functionality. This will be launched in the first half of 2023.
See the pre-sale of TARO here
TARO Presale Info
RobotEra's pre-sale launched in mid-November. Still, this new crypto has already raised over $250,000 in funds from investors at a pre-sale price.
Like all other crypto pre-sales, TARO is currently offering tokens at a lower price to attract investors to the platform.
Currently, the TARO token is pre-sale and is in the first phase. One token costs €0.02, but this will increase to €0.025 in the second phase. It is therefore already an increase of 25% compared to the current phase. In the third phase, it will even be a 60% increase when the token costs $0.032.
Only 15% of the total amount of TARO will be sold during the pre-sale. This is about 270 million of the 1.8 billion tokens. Each phase will sell 90 million tokens. This will give € 6.9 million. The tokens are released immediately after the pre-sale.
RobotEra, an LBank Labs project, will release 3% of the remaining tokens for the token's IEO.
In addition, the DAO gets 33% of the remaining tokens, the P2E prize pool 25%, the ECO fund gets about 9%, the team behind the game 10%, advisors 3% and Lbank 2%.
The team behind RobotEra has been verified on Know Your Customer by CoinSniper and the TARO token, and the smart contract structure has been audited by SharkTeam.
How do I buy TARO during pre-sale?
To purchase RobotEra's native token TARO, investors can go to RobotEra's website to purchase the token. In addition, information can also be found in the RobotEra Telegram group.
Bitcoin Price Prediction – 15 Billion Traded
RTV Stichtse Vecht – Subject Council Committee Stichtse Vecht


text:
This has been a strange year, filled with new endeavors and enterprising ways of navigating life. This selection of books reflects the changes in our times, and the growth we have achieved. Happy new year!
1. "The Alchemist's Mirror" by Liz Delton
2. "The Brass Queen" by Elizabeth Chatsworth
3. "The Christmas Curse" by Ruby Moone
4. "The Girls With No Names" by Serena Burdick
5. "Lament of Midnight: Salvation's End" by Ashley Grant
6. "The Maw and Other Time-Traveling Lizard Tales" by Gervera Bert Piedmont
7. "The Migration of Darkness" by Peter Payack
8. "Print in the Snow" by E.V. Svetova
9. "Traveller" by Caitriona Page
10. "Viktor" by R.D. Trimble


At Mrs Bouquets we deliver throughout the local area including the local funeral directors. We can provide same day delivery on all orders placed before 2pm, including national and international delivery.
Please allow extra time when ordering bespoke funeral flowers as not all arrangements are able to be sent the same day. Please contact us for more information.


Congratulations to MHS senior Nathalie Perry for being recognized as a Commended Student in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended Students are recognized for the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). We at MHS are so proud of Nathalie for this wonderful accomplishment. Congratulations Nathalie!


Article included in repository with permission of the publisher. To view the entire publication archive or for information about submitting an article, see the publisher's website.
With the increasing numbers of Saudi students marching into American colleges, the academic achievement and social integration of this student group is essential for the ultimate goal of their matriculation with their intended college degrees. Building upon the self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1986) as a construct of student academic achievement, the article reports a qualitative study about the case of Saudi students at Riverside State University. After initial site observations and document reviews were conducted, primary data were collected from open ended interviews with students, administrators, and professors at RSU. The findings revealed that various aspects of self-efficacy are either agents or influences given the circumstances of the case. It offers recommendations showing how various aspect of the theory can be utilized to increase Saudi students' self-efficacy and consequently their achievement level.


And the storm you're working through.
From a time that's come to pass.
The smell of Autumn there.
These times will come to pass.
I hope that moss will cover my closed lids.
But I know I have to go I cannot stay.
And through seasons and through years I will last.
But you in different ways.
You were eighteen years old.
Like I craved a happy start.
What if I just lay here?
Happy, when I meet you there.
I gasp and choke, but none I find.


Well, this is blunt. This is one of the Rev. Canon Kendall Harmon's early posts at his TitusOneNine blog, reacting to the statement released yesterday by the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops.
Cue the finale of the "Lord of the Rings" soundtrack and sing along with "Into the West."
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
"Then Frodo kissed Merry and Pippin, and last of all Sam, and went abroad; and the sails were drawn up, and the wind blew, and slowly the ship slipped away down the long grey firth; and the light of the glass of Galadriel that Frodo bore glimmered and was lost. And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed on into the West, until at last one night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise."
So why is this Anglican traditionalist so upset, if so many of the mainstream press reports about the meeting -- especially the early Associated Press coverage -- have things right? I mean, the headline in the conservative Washington Times bluntly states: "Episcopal bishops back off support for gays."
But this is the rare case where conservative Episcopalians are all waking up this morning, hitting the Internet and then most of them are (please sit down) having to speak words that they never expected to say under these circumstances: "The New York Times gets it."
Bishops of the Episcopal Church on Tuesday rejected demands by leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion to roll back the church's liberal stance on homosexuality, increasing the possibility of fracture within the communion and the Episcopal Church itself.
In a voice vote, all but one bishop supported a resolution, called "A Response to Questions and Concerns Raised by Our Anglican Communion Partners." Several conservative bishops who are considering leaving the Episcopal Church were not in attendance. The resolution affirmed the status quo of the Episcopal Church, both theological conservatives and liberals said.
There is all kind of commentary out there in the usual places, too many to list on this busy morning. But you can always start with Stand Firm on the right and Episcopal Cafe or Episcopal Life on the left.
At the moment, there is some interesting silence or near silence on the left.
What we may be watching is a moment of confusion among the progressives, between those who are in favor of being candid and those who are in favor of strategic silence and yet another via media Anglican compromise. After all, the compromises always push -- slowly -- in the direction of change and away from tradition.
With that in mind, I would suggest that those seeking reaction on the left turn to the Inclusive Church weblog, where the Rev. Scott Gunn's reaction to the bishops' statement was, amazingly enough, not all that different from that of Harmon. In fact, there are links in this blunt Gunn post that hint at a candid, honest dialogue about what might happen next.
This is one of those moments where there is candor on the honest left, candor on the right and a large fog bank in the middle, where the lawyers and Episcopal Church establishment are taking their time and, perhaps, trying to run out the clock. Perhaps they are hoping that the Global South bishops will make the first big move, which might allow the ecclesiastical strategists in England to make the final ruling.
This story is, sadly, going to run on and on and on. Once again, repeat after me: The Africans pray, the Americans pay and the British write the resolutions.
Gunn had this to say, in a weblog posting that I quoted in my Scripps Howard News Service column today. Click here if you want to see that piece.
SSB's are happening all over the place, with official sanction of diocesan authorities in a few places. Now I happen to believe that SSB's are completely in line with Christian practice and belief. And I long for the day when we can celebrate these blessed moments publicly as a church. But we're trying to have it both ways here. We're doing them, but we're saying that they're not sanctioned.
As a province, I think we [the Episcopal Church] should do one of two things. We should either come out and say what we're doing and why (with strong biblical and theological support), or we should stop doing it. If we take the first option, let's face the consequences, if any. It is neither honest nor helpful to do something and then say we're not doing it. It smacks of the worst kind of American imperialism to tell the primates that we've honored their requests, when we really haven't.
Please use the comments pages to post the URLs of the best news reports and commentary pieces that you have seen today. And, as a personal note, let me know if you find anyone who is starting to sing "Into the East."
Older PostIs it news that some women want to stay home?


We will have events for everyone. Kids can build their own solar system, and everyone can view the Sun, Moon, planets and other celestial sights first-hand through the CSM Observatory telescopes.
For information on times and places for these events, see the Schedule page.
Astronomical observing begins when the conference begins, at 12 noon. Expert members of San Mateo County Astronomical Society and CSM faculty and staff will be on hand to guide visitors thru the sky ....all day long.
Equipment for solar viewing of both prominences & sunspots, will be set up downstairs by building 36, and on the 4th floor observatory. Watch first hand, as we enter the next solar cycle !
Nighttime observing takes place until midnight, and includes views thru 8" to 20" telescopes from the rooftop observatory, and SMCAS member scopes located in building 36 courtyard. Jupiter will be high in the sky! There will also be CCD imaging thru the 140mm TEC observatory refractor, and viewing thru the 20" RC Systems Ritchey-Chretien telescope.
In addition to Jupiter, highlights will include the Ring Nebula, the colorful Albireo, M13, The Summer Triangle, The Milky Way, M27, M11, and much MUCH more. All adults and kids are welcome!
Bring a jacket, some curiosity, and all questions. And of course, we'll turn on KCSM Jazz 91 and listen to some Ron Carter, Miles, and Mr. Armstrong.
This event has been cancelled due to illness with the presenter. Instead, we will be offering "Black Holes", an all-dome video in the CSM Planetarium.
Make a Planisphere - Kids cut out and construct a paper Planisphere, a rotating star map displaying the constellations.
Astro-Theatre - Astronomy movies presented using CSM's built-in digital projectors, large screens and excellent sound system.
How Telescopes Work - A demonstration of the optical principles by which telescopes operate.
Professor Darryl Stanford will present several planetarium shows during AANC-Con with our Evans & Sutherland D3 SP2 digital star projector. We'll see the current sky from San Mateo, galaxies, planets, and more.
Dean Drumheller is College of San Mateo's Astronomy Lab Technician. He's the guy who keeps this place humming. His background is in photography as well as amateur astronomy and has imaged everything from factory equipment to weddings, photojournalism to astrophotography.
Dean has spent many years eclipse chasing from Hawaii, to Bolivia and Venezuela. His past written works include a monthly column on astrophotography he produced for the Santa Cruz Astronomy Club.
Dean's photographs have been published in both Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines. Putting photography and astronomy together is a perfect match for Dean, who will be assisting Darryl with the planetarium shows and running the observatory.
Supported by KCSM Jazz 91 and San Mateo County Astronomical Society, "Jazz Under The Stars" is a monthly star party held on CSM's rooftop observatory. "Jazz" night is the Saturday closest to first quarter moon.
Visitors enjoy great views of the lunar landscape through our telescopes. We also check out some star clusters and a planet or two, all to the great music of KCSM FM 91.
September's event is set to coincide with AANC-Con. 2007, on Sept. 29th.
For more information, see the Chabot Telescope Makers Workshop website.
For more information, see the ASP Pacific Project Family Astro Activities website.
For more information, see the AANC Awards website.


Diamond Jacks is an Austrian Rockband founded in 2014.
Guitarists Andy Abraham (Voc) and Martin Sobotnik teamed up to start an adventure extraordinaire heading for cool Riffs, melodic Leads and great SONGS!
Together with Robert Mueller (Bass) and Nico Bernhardt (Drums) the fun of playing modern classic Rock Music has just started.
Diamond Jacks recorded their debut album "On the Rocks" in the heart of Vienna in 2015.
….and there is a lot more to come!
Buy Now – get more Rock for your bucks!
Martin Sobotnik on Debut Album "On the Rocks" coming soon!


text:
Bolton completes Prima Nova acquisition
BOLTON Bhd announced today that it has, through wholly-owned subsidiary Majestic Focus Sdn Bhd, completed the acquisition of the remaining 500,000 ordinary shares of RM1 each in Prima Nova Harta Development Sdn Bhd for a total of RM28.04 million.
The acquisition will enable Bolton, via Majestic Focus, to have full control of Prima Nova and to consolidate 100 per cent of the future results of Prima Nova, the group said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.
This was in line with the group's focus on its core business of property development and to enhance the group's future development earnings, it said.
Prima Nova has created a strong brand under "Taman Tasik Prima" for its middle to high-end residential properties in Puchong with a 345-acre mixed develpment, it added.
Bolton said Taman Tasik Prima's future development will include mixed residential and commercial development of about 3,000 units of terrace houses, low- and medium-cost flats, service apartments, showroom shops and a retail mall with a net lettable area of 250,000 square feet.
It will be developed over the next seven years with expected gross development value and gross development cost of RM650 million and RM500 million respectively.
Posted by Kimberg at 11:03 AM 0 comments
Sunway City eyeing stronger overseas presence
PETALING JAYA: Sunway City Bhd (SunCity) expects earnings contribution from its offshore property development to increase to 30% by 2015 from less than 5% now.
To achieve this target, the company recently established a new international property development division headed by managing director Ngian Siew Siong while former chief operating officer Ho Hon Sang has been appointed managing director of the local property development division.
Ngian said SunCity was focusing on developing its presence in China, India and emerging markets such as Vietnam.
Ngian said China was one of the biggest foreign markets for SunCity and it was looking at opportunities in tier one and tier two cities.
MD Ngian Siew Siong (right) says SunCity is focused on developing its presence in China, India and emerging market. With him is Ho Hon Sang
"China, with its fast growing middle class and high urbanisation, will make up more than 50% of our total foreign earnings in the coming years," he said.
SunCity has two projects in China. Its maiden project – the 17-acre Sunway Guanghao project in Jiangyin – is expected to be launched by June.
Comprising medium-end condominiums and specialty shops, the project has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM492mil.
The Sunway Guanghao project is a 39:26:35 joint venture between SunCity, SunwayMas Sdn Bhd and Shanghai Guanghao Real Estate Development Group Co Ltd.
Its second project is in Tianjin. SunCity will be signing a 60:40 joint venture agreement with Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co Ltd (SSTEC) to undertake the development of 110 acres within the Tianjin Eco-City project.
The eco-themed integrated project by SunCity will have an estimated GDV of RM5bil. It is expected to begin next year for completion in five years.
SSTEC, a 50:50 joint venture between a Chinese consortium led by Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Co Ltd and a Singapore consortium led by Keppel Group, is involved in the development of the 7,500-acre Tianjin Eco-City.
In India, the company's inaugural project is Sunway Opus Grand Residency located in Ameenpur, Hyderabad. Comprising more than 3,000 units of condominiums on 30 acres, it will be launched by year-end.
Prices are expected to start from RM200 per sq ft. The 50:50 joint venture with Opus Developers and Builders Pte Ltd has an expected GDV of RM1.2bil.
Ngian said SunCity had another development on a 14-acre site near Hyderabad. The RM380mil project comprises 1,500 condominiums priced from RM208 per sq ft.
Apart from these projects in China and India, the company is on the look-out for suitable land in Ho Chi Minh City. It also plans to undertake a joint-venture with Australand to develop 123 acres of industrial property near Sydney, worth about RM800mil.
Ho said SunCity had 10 ongoing projects in Malaysia and aimed to hit the RM1bil sales mark in the financial year ending Dec 31. It reported RM410mil sales last year.
The company will be launching RM1.47bil worth of projects this year including the RM250mil Sunway Rymba Hills, comprising 80 bungalows, in the Sunway Damansara township in Selangor.
Also in the pipeline is Sunway Velocity, an integrated development which consists of serviced apartments, shopping mall and retail space in Kuala Lumpur.
Earlier this month, SunCity proposed to dispose its entire interest in selected properties to a real estate investment trust to be set up by the company and listed on Bursa Malaysia.
The proposed properties include Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, Pyramid Tower Hotel, Menara Sunway, Sunway Carnival Mall, Sunway Hotel Seberang Jaya, Suncity Ipoh Hypermarket and Sunway Tower.
It said proceeds from the asset disposal would be used to acquire land bank, working capital, future business expansion and to repay SunCity's borrowings.
For the 18-month period ended Dec 31, 2009, SunCity recorded a revenue of RM1.6bil and pre-tax profit of RM1.2bil.
Excluding a revaluation gain of RM804.9mil, adjustment for depreciation of RM10.6mil and upfront fees of RM10.5mil for banking facilities, the company's pre-tax profit stood at RM428.4mil.
The revaluation gain was attributed to Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall's fair value gain of RM680.4mil, Sunway Carnival Mall's RM58.5mil gain and 20 other investment properties' gain of RM66mil.
YTL wants to make it a dozen Spa Villages
YTL Corp Bhd plans to open six new spas under the "Spa Village" brandname over the next three years, building up its leisure and hospitality portfolio.
The Spa Village is the world's only spa to base its therapies on the healing heritage of the Baba-Nyonya — a unique combination of Chinese and Malay influences.
YTL operates six Spa Villages currently — in Pangkor Laut, Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands, Tanjong Jara, Malacca and Tembok, Bali. All the spas have their own signature treatments.
YTL vice-president of spa division Chik Lai Ping, said business has been sustaining well despite the global financial turmoil.
"The spa continues to act as an amenity to the guests in the resort. We have a lot of followers that travel to all our YTL hotels and resorts to explore the uniqueness we have created for each space. Some travellers stay in the resort because of its Spa Village," Chik told Business Times via email.
Chik said time and research are invested far in advance before a spa is developed. She did not elaborate on the investment costs involved.
The first Spa Village was officially launched by the late Luciano Pavarotti in September 2002 at Pangkor Laut Resort in Perak.
"Ever since we opened it, we have won many awards and recognition including Pangkor Laut Resort being named 'Number One in the World' by Condé Nast Traveller in 2003," Chik said.
British newspaper, The Sunday Telegraph placed the spa among the World's Top 25 Spas.
In 2003, it also won first place in British Conde Nast Traveller's Awards for Best Overseas Destination Spa, beating venerable places like Les Sources des Caudalie in Bordeaux, France and Clinique La Prairie in Switzerland.
Labels: Resort Property
TAK seeks partners for US$4b China project
PRIVATELY-HELD Teo A. Khing Designs Sdn Bhd (TAK) is looking for Malaysian companies to participate in the development of China's US$4 billion (RM12.8 billion) Tianjin Horse City project.
TAK was recently awarded the project to design, construct and manage China's first race course, together with its partners Meydan City Corp and Tianjin Farm Group.
"We are participating by taking some stake in the project. At the moment, we do not yet know how much. Maybe we will participate by sharing our know-how (of the horse racing industry) without investing money into it. Then, from there, it will turn into equity…we don't know yet," TAK managing director Teo Ah Khing told reporters in Dubai last week, in conjunction with the Malaysia Services Exhibition (MSE) 2010 there.
MSE 2010 ran between April 13 and 15 and showcased some 150 Malaysian companies from eight service industries.
Fresh from its success in delivering the iconic Meydan Race Course Grandstand in Dubai, the company is currently scouting for other Malaysian companies to take part in the Tianjin Horse City development.
The Meydan Race Course consists of a dramatic grandstand for 80,000 spectators, a Royal Enclosure, the world's first luxury trackside hotel, a Bubble Restaurant, the Falcon Carpark, a Turf and Dirt track.
"At the peak of the Meydan project we had about 3,000 Malaysians working with us. There are many Malaysian companies behind us," Teo said.
He said he managed to speak to "a few companies" during the MSE 2010, and is looking forward to further discussions with them. He declined to reveal the companies he had had discussions with.
"They (the project promoters) have no need for money, but what they do need is expertise. The whole idea is to bring the whole knowhow of the horse racing and locate it there in Tianjin," Teo said.
Work on the development is expected to start by the end of the year.
According to media reports, Tianjin Horse City will be established in Ninghe County, Tianjin and include five-star to seven-star luxury hotels, a clubhouse, commercial offices and residential facilities.
The project is expected to develop a horse industry economy that will establish a production franchise across China.
Labels: China


text:
A discografia de álbuns da cantora Madonna consiste em 14 álbuns de estúdio, seis compilações, três trilhas sonoras, três álbuns ao vivo e três álbuns remixados. Em 1982 Madonna assina contrato com a Sire Records, propriedade da Warner Bros. Records. Após o sucesso dos seus dois primeiros singles "Everybody" e "Burning Up", ela assinou um acordo para gravação de álbuns em 1983. Seu primeiro LP lançado pela Sire foi o auto-intitulado álbum de estreia, Madonna, lançado em 1983. No pico, o álbum alcançou a posição de número oito na Billboard 200 e ganhou cinco vezes o certificado de platina pela Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). O próximo álbum foi Like a Virgin, lançado em 1984. O álbum liderou as paradas em muitos países e ganhou certificado de diamante pela RIAA. True Blue, seu terceiro álbum de estúdio, foi lançado no ano de 1986. Com este, a artista emplacou suas 5 musicas de trabalho no top 5 da "Billboard Hot 100", com 3 delas atingido o pico de numero 1. True Blue se tornou seu disco de inéditas mais vendido ao redor do mundo, com 25 milhões de cópias comercializadas. Em 1987, ela lançou dois álbuns que alcançaram status de platina nos Estados Unidos: trilha-sonora Who's That Girl e sua primeira coletânea de remixes You Can Dance. A trilha-sonora contém faixas de outros artistas, mas é considerada um "álbum de Madonna" pela Billboard 200 e pela Warner Bros. Records. Like a Prayer, seu quarto álbum de estúdio, lançado em 1989, tornou-se o seu terceiro álbum número um na Billboard 200, e lhe rendeu três singles a alcançarem o top 3 da "Bilboard Hot 100", tendo a "faixa-título", alcançado a posição de número um. Like a Prayer é o seu trabalho com maior aclamação crítica até hoje, chegando a ser considerado o "mais próximo que o pop chegou da arte" pela revista Rolling Stone.

Madonna entra nos anos 1990 lançando I'm Breathless, com canções inspiradas no filme de 1990 Dick Tracy. Em novembro do mesmo ano lança sua primeira coletânea de greatest hits, intitulada The Immaculate Collection. O álbum foi o segundo LP de Madonna a ganhar certificado de diamante pela RIAA. No Reino Unido, se tornou o álbum de uma cantora feminina mais vendido de todos os tempos. Com mais de 30 milhões de cópias vendidas, The Immaculate Collection é a compilação mais vendida da história por um artista solo. Após seu contrato com a Sire acabar em 1991, ela fechou um novo acordo de gravação e negócios com a Warner Bros. e Time Warner, no valor de USD 60 milhões. Também fundou a Maverick Records, que se tornou sua gravadora principal. O primeiro trabalho lançado pelo Maverick foi seu quinto álbum de estúdio, Erotica, em outubro de 1992. Erotica ganhou dois certificados de platina nos Estados Unidos, e totalizou aproximadamente 6,7 milhões de cópias vendidas no mundo todo. Em 1994, lança Bedtime Stories, seu sexto álbum de estúdio, que ganhou três certificados de platina pela RIAA. Something to Remember, coleção de baladas lançada em 1995, alcançou o top 10 em vários países e vendeu cerca de 9 milhões de cópias pelo mundo. Seu terceiro álbum de trilha sonora, do musical Evita, foi lançado em 1996. O disco-duplo foi certificado cinco vezes platina pela RIAA, reconhecendo 2.5 milhões de cópias vendidas nos Estados Unidos (isso porque a trilha sonora é um disco-duplo e ultrapassa o tempo de 100 minutos de duração, com isso a RIAA contou cada unidade vendida como duas). O sétimo álbum de estúdio de Madonna, Ray of Light, foi lançado em 1998 e debutou em número 2 na Billboard 200, com 371 mil cópias vendidas apenas na primeira semana, tornando-se a maior estreia em vendas da história do chart na era Nielsen SoundScan até então. O álbum trouxe a artista de volta ao páreo e tornou-se um dos mais vendidos daquele ano e de sua carreira, com mais de 20 milhões de exemplares comercializados até a atualidade. O trabalho angariou uma grande ovação da crítica especializada e rendeu à Madonna diversos prêmios, incluindo quatro Grammy Awards.

No ano 2000, a artista lançou seu oitavo disco de estúdio, Music, que debutou direto em número um na Billboard 200, convertendo-se no quarto de sua carreira e o primeiro em 11 anos a atingir o pódio, feito que não conquistava desde Like a Prayer. Ele também liderou as paradas de vários países europeus. Em 2003 é lançado seu nono material, American Life, que se tornou o quinto disco número um de Madonna no chart americano de vendas de álbuns, a Billboard 200. O álbum vendeu mais de 5 milhões de cópias e ganhou certificado de platina pela RIAA. Em 2004 ela vendeu suas ações da Maverick Recors para a Warner Music Group após um processo entre as duas empresas. Confessions on a Dance Floor, lançado em 2005, foi considerado seu "álbum de retorno", estreando em número um nos Estados Unidos e em 40 países garantindo-lhe  um lugar no Guinness Book. No ano de 2007, Madonna assinou um contrato de 10 anos com a Live Nation, no valor de USD 120 milhões. Seu contrato com a Warner Bros. termina com seu décimo primeiro álbum de estúdio, Hard Candy, lançado em 2008, estreou no número um em mais de 37 países; e se tornou o sétimo álbum número um de Madonna no Billboard 200, e Celebration, lançado em 2009, sua terceira compilação de greatest hits. Em 2012 lançou seu décimo segundo álbum de inéditas, MDNA, alcançando o topo de 49 países no iTunes durante as primeiras doze horas, número inigualável na época, e respectivamente estreando no topo da parada de álbuns americana, com 359 mil cópias vendidas na primeira semana. Em 2015 após uma série de vazamentos, lançou seu 13º álbum de estúdio, Rebel Heart, estreando na segunda posição da parada Billboard 200 e no top 5 de mais de 30 países.

Madonna vendeu mais de 300 milhões de obras musicais no mundo todo, tornando-a a cantora mais bem sucedida da história. Ela também é a segunda cantora que mais vendeu nos Estados Unidos, com 64 milhões de cópias certificadas, ficando atrás apenas de Barbra Streisand. No Reino Unido, ela se estabeleceu como a artista solo com mais álbuns em número um, com 12 álbuns. No Brasil Madonna é a artista internacional líder em vendas.

Álbuns

Álbuns de estúdio

Álbuns ao vivo
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2" width="33"| Ano
!rowspan="2" width="215"| Detalhes do álbum
!colspan="10"| Melhor posição
!rowspan="2" width="150"| Vendas
!rowspan="2" width="150"|  Certificações
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
!width="25"|EUA

!width="25"|AUS

!width="25"|AUT

!width="25"|CAN

!width="25"|FRA

!width="25"|HOL

!width="25"|ALE

!width="25"|ITA

!width="25"|SUI

!width="25"|RU
|-
|align="center"|2006
|I'm Going to Tell You a Secret<small>
Lançamento: 20 de junho de 2006
Gravadora: Warner Bros.
Formatos: CD, DVD, download digital
|align="center"| 33
|align="center"| 1
|align="center"| 12
|align="center"| 4
|align="center"| 8
|align="center"| 4
|align="center"| 8
|align="center"| 1
|align="center"| 7
|align="center"| 18
|align="left"|<small>

: 85.000
|align="left"|<small>
 ABPD:
 BVMI:
 ARIA:
 SNEP:
|-
|align="center"|2007
|The Confessions Tour<small>
Lançamento: 30 de janeiro de 2007
Gravadora: Warner Bros.
Formatos: CD, DVD, download digital
|align="center"| 15
|align="center"| 1
|align="center"| 2
|align="center"| 2
|align="center"| 1
|align="center"| 2
|align="center"| 2
|align="center"| 1
|align="center"| 2
|align="center"| 7
|align="left"|<small>

: 148.000
|align="left"|<small>
 BVMI:
 ABPD:
 ARIA:
 IFPI Áustria:
|-
|align="center"|2010
|Sticky & Sweet Tour<small>
Lançamento: 30 de março de 2010
Gravadora: Warner Bros.
Formatos: CD, DVD, Blu-ray, download digital
|align="center"| 10
|align="center"| 3
|align="center"| 3
|align="center"| 3
|align="center"| 6
|align="center"| 4
|align="center"| 11
|align="center"| 2
|align="center"| 5
|align="center"| 17
|align="left"|<small>

: 82.000
|align="left"|<small>
 BVMI:
 ARIA:
 SNEP:
|-
|align="center"|2017
|Rebel Heart Tour<small>
Lançamento: 15 de setembro de 2017
Gravadora: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Formatos: CD, DVD, Blu-ray, download digital
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"| 20
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"| 20
|align="center"| 14
|align="center"| 8
|align="center"| 4
|align="center"| 30
|align="center"| 42
|align="left"|<small>
|align="left"|<small>
|-
|align="center"|2021
|Madame X: Music from the Theater Xperience<small>
Lançamento: 8 de outubro de 2021
Gravadora: Warner
Formatos: streaming, download digital
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"|  —
|align="center"|  —
|align="left"|<small>
|align="left"|<small>
|-

|}

Compilações

Trilhas sonoras

Outras compilações

Álbuns remixados

Ver também
Singles de Madonna
Videografia de Madonna
Álbuns mais vendidos do mundo

 Notas
<div class="reflist4" style="height:325px; overflow: auto; padding: 3px" >

 Não incluídas as vendas antes de 25 de maio de 1991. Depois disso as vendas foram monitoradas pela Nielsen SoundScan através dos Estados Unidos.
 Esse EP é considerado um álbum em alguns países e single em outros.
 Padrão mundial: 1-CD. Padrão EUA: 2-CD (contadas como duplas unidades). Álbuns com mais de 100 minutos de duração, a RIAA certifica duas vezes.
 "Everybody" não entrou no Billboard Hot 100, mas alcançou a posição sete da Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.
 "Burning Up" entrou no Hot Dance Club Play como disco dupla-face, com "Physical Attraction" como B-side.
 "Holiday" foi lançado no Reino Unido em três datas diferentes: em 17 de janeiro de 1984 ancançando a posição seis, depois re-lançado em 30 de junho de 1985 quando alcançou a posição número dois e pela última vez em 4 de junho de 1991, como EP adicional version The Holiday Collection. Chegou a posição de número cinco no Billboard 100.
 "Lucky Star" foi classificado como disco dupla-face no Hot Dance Club Play com "Holiday" de B-side.
 "Borderline" foi originalmente certificado na posição cinquenta e seis no Reino Unido, mas conseguiu um novo pico, chegando a posição dois, quando re-lançado em janeiro de 1986.
 "Crazy for You" foi re-lançado no Reino Unido como "Crazy For You (Remix)" em 24 de fevereiro de 1991. Foi o segundo single da The Immaculate Collection. Ambos os lançamentos alcançaram o número dois.
 "Into the Groove" foi lançado como B-side de "Angel" Nos Estados Unidos, Canadá e Austrália. Por isso, "Into the Groove" não pode entrar no Hot 100 Singles Sales. Alcançou o número um no Hot Dance Club Play quando foi listado como dupla-face do single "Angel".
 Um vinil maxi DJ-set da compilação remix You Can Dance classificado na Billboards Hot Dance Club Play como "You Can Dance (LP Cuts)".
 "Oh Father" foi lançado no Reino Unido em 27 de dezembro de 1995 como o segundo single deSomething to Remember.
 "Keep It Together" foi lançado como "A-side" na Austrália junto com "Vogue". Depois, a Warner Bros. decidiu "Vogue" para single ao notar um potencial sucesso
 "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" foi originalmente lançada apenas no Japão, em 10 de março de 1986. Uma versão de remix feita por David Reitzas foi lançada em 1995.
"Beautiful Stranger" e "American Pie" não foram comercializadas nos Estados Unidos.
 "Hollywood" não entrou na Billboard Hot 100 ou na Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Chart.
"Nothing Fails" não entrou na Billboard Hot 100 ou na Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Chart. Foi considerado um EP na Austrália e foi apenas aceitavél para a ARIA Albums Chart. Alcançou a posição seis na ARIA Dance Albums em dezembro de 2003.
"Love Profusion" não entrou na Billboard Hot 100 ou Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Chart. Foi lançado originalmente na Austrália, Itália e Reino Unido em 21 de novembro de 2003. Depois foi lançado na América do Norte e França em 16 de março de 2004.
 "Hung Up" foi número um nos seguintes países: Austrália, Áustria, Belgica, Canadá, Chile, Colômbia, Dinamarca, Estônia, Finlândia, França, Alemanha, Grécia, Hungria, Indonésia, Israel, Itália, Japão, Letônia, Luxemburgo, México, Países Paixos, Noruega, Romênia, Rússia, Sérvia, África do Sul, Espanha, Suécia, Suíça, Turquia, Ucrãnia, Reino Unido (total de quarenta e cinco países, um recorde).
 "Get Together" e "Jump" não entraram na Billboard'' Hot 100 mas entraram na Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Chart nas posições seis e cinco, respectivamente. "Get Together" também chegou a posição oitenta e quatro na extinta Pop 100.
</div>

Referências

Bibliografia

Discografia
Madonna
Madonna

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
using System;
using System.IO;
using UnityEngine;
using UnityEditor;
using System.Net.Sockets;

namespace AmplifyColor
{
	public class PhotoshopHandler
	{
		private readonly PhotoshopProtocol _photoshopProtocol;
		private readonly BackBufferHandler _backBufferHandler;
		private readonly LUTWriter _lutWriter;
		private readonly ToolSettings _settings;
		private readonly CameraCollection _cameraCollection;

		public PhotoshopHandler( PhotoshopProtocol photoshopProtocol, BackBufferHandler backBufferHandler, LUTWriter lutWriter, ToolSettings settings, CameraCollection cameraCollection )
		{
			_photoshopProtocol = photoshopProtocol;
			_backBufferHandler = backBufferHandler;
			_lutWriter = lutWriter;
			_settings = settings;
			_cameraCollection = cameraCollection;
		}

		public void SendToPhotoshop()
		{
			ImageResult imageResult;

			if ( _backBufferHandler.ReadBackBuffer( out imageResult ) )
			{
				if ( _settings.AddLut )
				{
					Texture2D luttexture = _cameraCollection.GetCurrentEffectTexture();

					if ( _settings.ApplyColorGrading && luttexture != null )
					{
						if ( !imageResult.AddLUTFromTexture( _settings.LUT, luttexture ) )
						{
							_settings.Message = "Couldnt add the LUT to the image. Try changing the lut size or settings";

							return;
						}
					}
					else
					{
						if ( !imageResult.AddLUT( _settings.LUT ) )
						{
							_settings.Message = "Couldnt add the LUT to the image. Try changing the lut size or settings";

							return;
						}
					}
				}

				if ( SendImage( imageResult ) )
				{
					_photoshopProtocol.SendJSCommand( "app.activeDocument.bitsPerChannel = BitsPerChannelType.SIXTEEN;" +
								"takeSnapshot();" +
								" function takeSnapshot ()" +
								" { var desc = new ActionDescriptor();" +
								" var sref = new ActionReference(); sref.putClass(charIDToTypeID(\"SnpS\"));" +
								"desc.putReference(charIDToTypeID(\"null\"), sref);" +
								"var fref = new ActionReference();" +
								" fref.putProperty(charIDToTypeID(\"HstS\")," +
								" charIDToTypeID(\"CrnH\")); " +
								"desc.putReference(charIDToTypeID(\"From\"), fref );" +
								" executeAction(charIDToTypeID(\"Mk  \"), desc, DialogModes.NO );} " );

					ToolSettings.Instance.Message = "Sent";
				}
				else
				{
					ToolSettings.Instance.Message = "Error sending the image to Photoshop";
				}
			}
			else
			{
				_settings.Message = "No camera selected";
			}
		}

		public void ReadFromPhotoshopTools()
		{
			LUTResult lutResult;

			if ( ReadLUT( out lutResult ) )
			{
				_lutWriter.SaveLUT( lutResult );
				lutResult.Release();
			}
		}

		public bool ReadLUT( out LUTResult lutResult )
		{
			_photoshopProtocol.SendJSCommand( "takeSnapshot();" +
												 " function takeSnapshot ()" +
												 " { var desc = new ActionDescriptor();" +
												 " var sref = new ActionReference(); sref.putClass(charIDToTypeID(\"SnpS\"));" +
												 "desc.putReference(charIDToTypeID(\"null\"), sref);" +
												 "var fref = new ActionReference();" +
												 " fref.putProperty(charIDToTypeID(\"HstS\")," +
												 " charIDToTypeID(\"CrnH\")); " +
												 "desc.putReference(charIDToTypeID(\"From\"), fref );" +
												 " executeAction(charIDToTypeID(\"Mk  \"), desc, DialogModes.NO );} " );

			var rulerunits = _photoshopProtocol.SendJSCommand( "app.preferences.rulerUnits;" );
			_photoshopProtocol.SendJSCommand( "app.preferences.rulerUnits = Units.PIXELS;" );
			_photoshopProtocol.SendJSCommand( string.Format( "app.activeDocument.crop(new Array(0,0,{0},{1}), 0, {0}, {1})", ToolSettings.Instance.LUT.Width, ToolSettings.Instance.LUT.Height ) );

			ImageResult imageData;
			_photoshopProtocol.ReceiveImage( "", out imageData );

			_photoshopProtocol.SendJSCommand( "revertToLastSnapshot(); " +
												 "function revertToLastSnapshot() " +
												 "{ var docRef = app.activeDocument; " +
												 "var hsObj = docRef.historyStates; " +
												 "var hsLength = hsObj.length; " +
												 "for (var i=hsLength - 1;i>-1;i--) { " +
												 "if (hsObj[i].snapshot) { " +
												 "docRef.activeHistoryState = docRef.historyStates[i]; break; } } }" );

			_photoshopProtocol.SendJSCommand( string.Format( "app.preferences.rulerUnits = {0};", rulerunits ) );

			lutResult = null;

			if ( imageData != null )
			{
				lutResult = imageData.GetLUT( _settings.LUT );
				ToolSettings.Instance.Message = "Done.";
				return true;
			}

			ToolSettings.Instance.Message = "Error reading LUT from Photoshop Image.";
			return false;
		}

		public bool SendImage( ImageResult imageResult )
		{
			if ( imageResult == null )
			{
				return false;
			}

			_photoshopProtocol.SendImage( imageResult );

			return true;
		}
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Man stabbed in Seaton
A MAN is in hospital after an alleged stabbing opposite the police station in Seaton. A police spokesman said the 24year-old from Honiton is in a stable condition following an incident in Queen Street, around 9.20pm. Town councillor Mark Fisher was passin
A MAN is in hospital after an alleged stabbing opposite the police station in Seaton.
A police spokesman said the 24year-old from Honiton is in a stable condition following an incident in Queen Street, around 9.20pm.
Town councillor Mark Fisher was passing by with his wife and children when he saw men arguing and scuffling - but had not thought it was serious. Ten minutes later he saw a police car.
He said: "The whole area was cordoned off."
Resident Larry Garner is calling on more policing in the area at night.
He said: "There's hardly any police around on a Friday and Saturday, and if there's an incident police have to come from Honiton or surrounding area."
Inspector Jim Gale said: "We were on the scene practically instantly. Resources in Seaton have rarely been as good as they are now.
"We have had operations lately for burglaries and a significant increase in police presence over the last three weeks. I'm very happy with how it was dealt with."
Police said a 45-year-old man from Seaton was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) and for an alleged assault on a police officer while under arrest.
The alleged offender was later released on police bail to return to Heavitree Road police station in Exeter on June 11.
Police enquiries are continuing and anyone who witnessed the incident who has not already spoken to police is asked to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting police reference KT/09/272


Creation to Media construction, 3rd variation offers scholars with a realistic framework for all facets of media construction by way of addressing the technological and aesthetic alterations that experience formed the undefined. supplying either hands-on guide and theoretical info, it offers a valid foundation for the innovations, operations, and philosophies of media construction within the new electronic surroundings.
Those interviews disguise the profession thus far of Neil Jordan (b. 1950), simply the main popular filmmaker operating in modern Irish cinema. Jordan all started as a fiction author, successful the celebrated parent Fiction Prize for his first actual ebook of brief tales, evening in Tunisia, in 1976. His movie debut was once made in the course of the top of the concerns in eire, and he addresses the sectarian violence head-on in his first day trip, Angel (1982).
Dramaturgy, in its many kinds, is a basic and essential portion of modern theatre. In its earliest definition, the notice itself capability a accomplished conception of "play making. " even though it first and foremost grew out of theatre, modern dramaturgy has made huge, immense advances lately, and it now permeates every kind of narrative types and buildings: from opera to functionality artwork; from dance and multimedia to filmmaking and robotics.
This creation to theatre layout explains the theories, innovations, and instruments of useful layout paintings for the undergraduate scholar. via its a number of illustrated case experiences and research of keywords, scholars will construct an realizing of the layout strategy and have the ability to: determine the basics of theatre layout and scenography realize the function of person layout components equivalent to surroundings, dress, lights and sound enhance either conceptual and analytical considering speak their very own knowing of complicated layout paintings hint the traditions of level layout, from Sebastiano Serlio to Julie Taymor.
Seth looked at the window. " BLinKufanEYE "No. I didn't hear—" A pigeon slammed into the window with a loud thunk. It fell away in a flurry of feathers. " Harland asked. Seth stared at the clear pane of glass. Yes, exactly like that. "Huh. I could've sworn I just saw that ten seconds ago. " He shook his head. " Odd. Very odd. "Another year here and you'll be out," Harland said. " Seth sat back. " "So you're saying . . " "Play ball at the reception Thursday. Smile, be nice. Try to keep your foot out of your mouth.
He gripped the wheel and shook his head, clearly surprised. "The Nizari hardly exist. " He seemed to be at a loss for words. "I'm so very sorry, Miriam. " He looked out his window, jaws flexing. "I could understand a beating, but drowning? " she cried. "No man should have a right to beat a woman! What gives a man that right? " They were the strongest words she had ever spoken in Samir's hearing. He mumbled his agreement, but her words obviously stung his ears. She sat next to him, as she frequently did when they were alone, for the rest of the trip.
Well, you'll have to forgive me, but I'm not built for a system like this one. " Harland nodded. "Baaron's got some of the faculty on his side. " BLinKHfonEYE Seth looked out the window. "I'm thinking about dumping the program. " "Maybe I should have done it before. I talked to my mom last night. " Harland hesitated. "The best thing you can do for your mother is finish your doctorate. " Seth stared at the window and sighed. " "That was part of it. " Seth smiled. " "Ah, yes, the higher-being theory.


text:
Q: Euler-Arnold equation In https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.05765, I came across the Euler-Arnold equation which is equation (2.8) reproduced here for convenience:
\begin{equation}
G_{ab}\frac{dv^b}{ds}-f_{ca}\,^d\,G_{de}\,v^cv^e=0. \tag{2.8}
\end{equation}
My question is: Is the Euler-Arnold equation, just the geodesic equation written in frame basis?
I tried to recast the geodesic equation written in world indices in terms of frame basis and I obtain is the following:
\begin{equation}
\frac{dv^{a}}{ds}+\omega_{\mu \,b}\,^{a} e^{\mu}\,_{c}\, v^{b} v^{c}=0
\end{equation}
wherein, if I use the Maurer-Cartan equations:
\begin{equation}
\omega_{\mu b}\,^a=\frac{1}{2}f_{cb}\,^a\,e^c\,_{\mu}
\end{equation}
to recast spin connection in terms of structure constants, I do not obtain any thing similar to the Euler-Arnold equation.
Since, the paper is supposed to first solve the geodesic equation and then proceed from there, but they seem to be solving the Euler-Arnold equation instead.
Therefore,  I finally want to know is that what is the relevance of Euler-Arnold equation in relation to the geodesic equation?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Catholic Community of St. Christopher
Christian Services
Funeral Mass Planning & Information
Parish Life Commission
Job Postings & Resumes
Resources & Development
We Share Online Giving
Church Sacraments
Priest's Corner
About Us / FAQs
My St. Chris
Our community was started in 1937 by Father Leo Lindeman at the intersection of 16th and Lynhurst with 201 parishioners. At that time Speedway, Indiana was a quiet town close to the Indianapolis 500 facility. Today, that intersection is extremely busy on the Westside of Indianapolis. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, the parish offers a place of peace and refreshment reminding us that in the city there is a place and time to stop and pray.
Since 1937 the parish has grown to be a community of over 1,900 households, some 6,500 individuals. As you read in our vision and mission statements, we are a community that centers itself on the celebration of the Eucharist. Each Sunday we gather to remember and to retell a story, the story of God's faithful love for all people, of Jesus' redeeming love for all people, and of our mission to witness, to proclaim, and to help bring about God's incredible plan of saving love for all people.
For our parishioners, the website guides us to the many ministries and activities that help us live our vocations to be a life-giving sign and sacrament of Jesus' saving presence in the world. As you click on the five areas of ministry you see the many ways in which we serve or can be invited to serve. As you click on the calendar, you will see the many activities that take place here each day.
We hope you find our website informative. You are invited to join our community of prayer for Eucharist on Sundays, great feasts, and weekdays as well.
In Christ's peace,
Fr. Paul Shikany, Pastor
Fr. Jude Meril Sahayam, Associate Pastor
In the News Subscribe to our news with RSS
Master Plan feasibility study for a potential capital campaign
Parish Registrations
Online Giving!
Loading events…
Resources and Activities for Families
Archdiocese of Indianapolis
Daily Readings (Follow this link then click on the calendar)
Substance Abuse Ministry (SAM)
Live Video of Special Services (password from parish office required)
The mission of Saint Christopher Parish is to participate in Christ's mission of evangelization by witnessing and sharing in the mission of Jesus who calls us to love God with our whole hearts and to love neighbors, even as God loves us.
All content copyright © 2012, Saint Christopher Catholic Church


Sniper Elite is an Action-Adventure, Tactical, Third-person Shooter, Single and Multiplayer video game by Rebellion Development. It is a very first game in the series of Sniper Elite that was released on 30 September on different platforms such as Microsoft Windows, Mac, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii, etc. In this game, the player can take on the role of the main character named as Karl Fairburne who is a German-born American secret agent. The game contains several WWII weapons such as submachine guns, pistol anti-attack arms, and bombs, etc. that the player can use in during the gameplay. The game offers multiple missions, and in each mission, the player aim is to defeat all the enemy creatures and complete his task to progress. The game also offers stealth element that allows the player to reach his target silently. One of the best features of the game is the option of realistic ballistics that provides various factors such as bullet drop, berthing, and wind strength. During the gameplay, the player can collect all the useful resources, rescue his agents and face lots of well-programmed enemy creatures. Sniper Elite provides engaging and quite addictive gameplay, dynamic background music, well-written storyline and brilliant graphics details. Do try it out, you'll enjoy it.


Scrivener is foremost a project oriented tool. Unlike database style software, which handles file management for you, and often only lets you have one database to work with. Scrivener lets you create and work with many projects, even at the same time. These projects are stored in your user folder (usually) as ordinary files and folders. On a Mac, they will look like and act like single file, but they are really just a folder with a lot of files in them. One Windows, you'll interact with the .scrivx file, but the whole folder is the project. It must move together, and be copied together when making backups.
One of the most important things that any writer can do is keep their work backed up. Scrivener offers some powerful features out of the box that will help you keep your work automatically backed up. By default, every time you close your project for the session, a backup will be created in the a special backup folder. These will be rotated out as new ones are created, to save space. In addition to this, you can still utilise tools to manually backup your projects to any location you prefer, including Internet storage devices like Dropbox and SugarSync. I definitely recommend continuing to keep your projects backed up manually, even with an automatic backup system around, as intentionally created backups in a separate location will give you further redundancy, and keep important milestones from "rolling off" the backup list if they get too old. Remember backups aren't just for when your computer fails you, they are also for when a you realise something isn't working out with a particular line of reasoning or narrative you took, and you'd like to go back to an earlier revision.
With all of these backups floating around, it can sometimes get a little confusing. Which project file contains the latest version of your work? Sometimes the datestamps that Scrivener helpfully places into backup names do not accurately reflect this information, because the datestamp is only added when you create the backup, and doesn't change even when you edit it, being a part of the file name. This can get even more confusing when you are working on more than one computer and use the backup feature to transfer projects between computers.
Here are some strategies you can use to help keep things from getting overwhelming. By "live" projects, I mean stuff you are working on or have worked on in the past, to differentiate from backups of those projects you've created.
As with all advice, you needn't follow it all precisely, but take what you will and adopt it to your own methods. I like to keep my working projects scattered all over my home folder, organised into folders according to their kind. Projects relating to Scrivener itself might all be found in a sub-folder called "Scrivener Work"; projects for my fiction projects might be in "Working", under a sub-folder called "Writings", projects with old journal entries in "Archive/Writings/Journal"; you get the idea. Others might like to keep all of their Scrivener projects in one location, such as "Documents/Scrivener Projects". Many just keep everything in Documents, since that is where Scrivener starts you off by default.
If a project file doesn't have a datestamp, then it is a working project.
If it is possible to open the current working project: Open it and immediately save a manual backup, suffixing the name with "-BAD". This way I'll have a copy just in case, but I know from the name that I should only use it if the situation really warrants it. This helps differentiate it from ordinary backups.
If it is not possible to open the project for whatever reason, I compress it to a zip archive, and suffix the name with "-DOUBLEPLUSBAD" using the operating system or a tool for making zip files. With files like that, I know it won't open and if I need to get data out of it, I'm going to have to do some rooting around in the project itself.
Now at this point I have a .zip file with the last working copy of the project in it. So I'm safe to delete the entire "bad_project.scriv" project folder. With the working project completely removed from the working areas, I go into my backup archives and locate a copy that will suffice for restoration. This is the only time I open backup files.
As soon as I identify a candidate, I close the project; and in the Finder I make a duplicate of the project, move it to the working areas, and remove the datestamp.
Following these instructions, the topology has not changed, only the internal composition. There is still only one file on my hard drive that does not have a datestamp---the working project file---and everything else has a datestamp or a suffix.
These rules can be altered to accommodate a workflow where one uses the backup system to transfer files from one computer to another. If you use Scrivener Backup Project To feature to create zipped copies of your project to Dropbox, on the second computer you can use a modified set of instructions like the above to keep your drives clean and logical. If you do use this feature for transfer, you might want to keep a separate folder just for transfers, but that is up to you.
I take things a step further in transfer situations. When I start working on a new computer, I let the network sync down the latest .zip backup that was created when I closed out for the day on the other machine. I first delete the working project from that computer. I don't need it any longer because I have a backup on the shared location. I then copy the last available zipped project (using the datestamp) out of the shared folder area, decompress it, and remove any suffix naming if necessary. On a Windows machine, you can just open the .zip file right off of your sharing area and drag the new project copy out of the .zip window. Since Macs don't ask where you wish to extract the contents of the .zip to, you need to copy the .zip to the target location, first.
Hopefully these simple tricks will help you keep your projects logical, and a retain a clear separation between transfer files, backups, and working projects. It's a little extra work, but not too much, and in the long run it avoids the mess of having a proliferation of dated projects all over your drive, sometimes with multiple appended datestamps, and no good indication of which one you should be editing.
One final piece of advice for Windows users: like I said at the top, the whole folder that ends in ".sciv" is your project. It is a cohesive bundle of files and folders that all must stay together to work together. It is not a good idea to put auxiliary files into this folder. As tempting as it might be to put compiled versions of your manuscript or bits of research data you don't want to import into the project, it's just not a good idea to do. We take pains to keep what you put in there safe, but since whatever you put in there is by definition not expected to be there, it is categorically less safe than storing it alongside the ".scriv" folder.


text:
Classifieds | Network | Store | Books | Magazine | 360 Update | Festivals | Workshops | Resources | Forums | About Us | Contact
HOW-TO, Techniques, & Best Practices Channel
An Adventure in High Definition Filmmaking
By Jon Firestone
posted Oct 19, 2008, 11:40
Working with the HD Format
Jon Firestone is the director of "The Short Way In, (www.theshortwayin.com) " a television series about independent film and getting into the industry. He cofounded Thomas-Firestone Productions, and developed and taught the 3D graphics program at the Colorado Film School. Jon works as a freelance cinematographer and director in Denver, Colorado.
While working on a recent film being shot in super 16 using an Arri SR3 from Panavision, a friend of mine commented on how much more professional most film shoots are compared to HD shoots. I looked around, and aside from the format itself, many other things were different. The number of camera crew was larger and more experienced than most HD shoots I had worked on recently. We had a DP, a camera operator, an AC and a 2nd AC for one. The camera was also completely decked out with matte box, follow focus, gear head tripod, video assist and prime lenses, as well as a good zoom lens. We also had a nice decked out grip truck, a great gaffer, and a generator truck. In addition, we had a very involved script supervisor and a rigorous slating and logging procedure, which of course is crucial for syncing the sound in post. Format aside, the entire approach was different. Now this isn�t always true, but in many cases the same mentality that chooses to shoot in HD also chooses to compromise on other things that contribute to production value, from experience, and size of crew to skimping on gear.
Heath Firestone is on Camera and Jon Firestone is looking at the monitor.
Complicating things further, I�ve been in several situations where a second camera was added at the last minute, without the thought of beefing up the crew and gear sufficiently to really support it, with the mentality that �Tape is Cheap�. It�s not that there is anything wrong with multi-camera shoots. In fact, there are many advantages of shooting with multiple cameras, including improved continuity, and providing greater coverage, but there are some pitfalls as well. Lighting can take considerably longer when trying to hide the lights from both cameras and still provide good lighting from both angles. Also, the cameras can get in each other�s way, and usually I�d rather have one good shot than two compromised shots. Adding a second camera will not necessarily speed things up because the crew is often split up and the setups become more complicated.
On the set of "The Shadow Walkers," Jon Firestone (Camera) and Zach Ankenman (Sound), courtesy of Mostly Films.
It�s been a few years since I began working with HD, but I continue to work on both film and digital projects. HD has evolved considerably, and there are a few things that I�ve learned along the way. I am excited about the evolution of the formats and the growing availability of the technology. With this though, I should mention that not all HD is created equal, and while the newer low cost HD solutions are great, they lag behind the professional formats in several ways. But while they lag behind somewhat in quality, they excel in workflow.
HD as a Format for the Big Screen
Professional HD brought us several steps closer to that elusive film look. George Lucas and others showed us that the format can be a viable format for the big screen. But the cost of the specially rigged Panavision cameras they used is still very high, and didn�t exactly kick HD down into the price range of the masses. Nor did it knock film from its lofty position as king of the format hill. What it did do was help change the approach of video camera companies to begin offering features that create more cinematic images. While there have been significant improvements over traditional video, HD still lags behind 35mm film in resolution and dynamic range. But digital acquisition is improving in quality and price at an incredible rate, and it�s only a matter of time before the quality of digital acquisition will no longer be a major issue.
Pictured above left: HVX200 at 50mm with no lens adapter.
Pictured above right: HVX200 with P+S Technik Mini35 adapter and a Zeiss Super Speed 50mm Prime Lens.
There are several characteristics generally associated with the cinematic look of film.
Gamma Settings
In order to match the cadence of film many HD cameras can shoot natively at 24 frames per second. Shooting with a 48 frame per second shutter is supposed to give a similar look to a 180 degree shutter on a film camera. Film sensitivity rolls off at either end of the spectrum, whereas video tends to clip. In order to emulate this many cameras have gamma settings which try to emulate the gamma curves of film, making the image behave more like it would with film. The resolution of HD is closer to that of film, however, HD can sometimes look almost too detailed for some, so turning down the sharpness somewhat is commonly done to give a more organic look.
Lighting HD is in some ways easier than film and in others more difficult. With HD you generally know what you are getting. I tend to rely on scopes and zebras, as well as a calibrated monitor when it comes to HD instead of a light meter. HD does not have as much dynamic range as most film stocks, so keeping lighting within the range of the HD camera is key. Primarily this means trying to avoid very high contrast situations. I like to use Ultra Contrast filters to help reduce contrast in uncontrolled daytime exteriors.
Setting up the Red Rock Micro M2 adapter for the test with a Nikon 50mm still photography lens.
One of the most distinct looks of 35mm film comes from the lenses that are used, and the shallow depth of field that is inherent with 35mm. The size of the image plane on 35mm is many times larger than that of a 2/3 inch CCD, and the difference is even greater between 35mm and the 1/3 inch chips on most of the newer inexpensive HD cameras. This larger image plane generally means that it will have a shallow depth of field. While this makes focusing more difficult, it gives a nice separation of the subject from the background. Fortunately, there are several lens adapters that connect 35mm lenses to HD cameras.
On a project I am currently in production on, I got a chance to test two of the more popular 35mm adapters on the market on a Panasonic HVX200. The first was the relatively inexpensive Red Rock Micro M2, and the other was the P+S Technik Mini35 adapter. The process of adapting a 35mm lens to these cameras is not as simple as adding a step-up ring. In order for the lens to behave as it would and have the same focal lengths as it would with film, the adapters have to translate the 35mm image plane down to a 1/3� image plane. However this process allows any imperfections in the ground glass to become very visible, so to make these imperfections less noticeable they spin the ground glass. This process slightly softens the image, but in a fairly aesthetic way. You also lose about a stop or so of light going through these adapters.
The primary difference between these two adapters is that the M2 flips the image upside down, in the process. The image quality is similar and both work well, but the inverted image of the M2 causes some workflow issues. This generally includes using monitors with image flipping capability, and doing a flip in post. In the case of the project I am working on, we chose to rent the Mini35 adapters because the workflow improvement of not having to deal with a flipped image justified the extra expense. However, JVC introduced two new HDV cameras at NAB which have built-in image flipping capability to compensate for the use of this sort of lens adapter. So maybe the other camera companies will take note and add this functionality to their camera lines, which would make the M2 more convenient.
The M2 costs between $1295 and $1750 depending on the setup and can be configured using still photography lenses or PL mount cinematography lenses. The Mini35 is primarily a rental unit, and costs around $10,000 to buy. It also only accepts PL mount lenses. Both units work well, and the selective depth of field definitely adds to the cinematic look.
Possibly one of the most important steps in achieving the desired look of a film is in the post production process. It helps that most cameras are including cinema style gamma settings now, and there are also great post production tools that help get the desired look. You can do a lot just with the color correction tools available in your editing software. You can do even more with software specifically designed for color correction; I personally really like Magic Bullet for emulating different film looks and processes. It�s not only the capability of the tools, but the ability of the user, so it is a good idea to use someone with the right equipment and experience if possible, especially when doing a film out. A good color corrector will know tricks that will help for example when increasing the contrast creates banding, they will have techniques to hide the banding. Also, having the right monitors, with proper calibration, and even the proper lighting in the room can make a difference. I prefer to color correct on a nice, calibrated CRT monitor, especially when working on nighttime shots. LCDs have trouble getting really dark blacks, and while they are improving in this way, CRTs still have a distinct advantage here.
One of the reasons that film often seems more professional is that in many ways it is. Throughout the entire process, film is generally handled by professionals with years of experience, where HD is a fast growing ever changing field, where having the same amount of experience is unlikely. There is also an established workflow with film, and the workflow with HD is constantly evolving. But HD is here to stay, and will get better with time. It has some distinct advantages over film, which have drawn the interest of directors like Robert Altman, James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez and George Lucas. Whether because of potential cost advantages or advantageous workflows, HD has something to offer over film. Film though is certainly not dead, and will likely have a long life. It offers a great image quality, a huge market of trained professionals, and has a proven workflow as well as established distribution and storage options. In my experience, when working with HD if you want it to look more cinematic, then treat it with the same respect you would film.
This article may not be reprinted in print or internet publications without express permission of StudentFilmmakers.com.
Check out this article in the July 2006 print edition of StudentFilmmakers magazine, page 6.
Click here to get a copy of the July 2006 Edition, so you can read and enjoy all of the excellent articles inside.
Discounts from the cover price!
Sign Up for a 1-Year Subscription (12 Edition) >>
Sign Up for a 2-Year Subscription (24 Editions) >>
Back Issues are also available while copies last. Go to www.studentfilmmakers.com/store >>
About StudentFilmmakers Magazine and StudentFilmmakers.com
Learn about the Latest, Cutting-Edge Technologies and Techniques at StudentFilmmakers.com and StudentFilmmakers Magazine, the #1 Educational Resource for Film and Video Makers covering various topics with special focus on: Development, Pre-Production, Production, Post Production, Distribution. Article categories include: Cinematography, Lighting, Directing, Camerawork, Editing, Audio, Animation, Special FX, Screenwriting, Producing, and more. Watch, upload, and share your films and videos in the video section at: www.studentfilmmakers.com/videos. Network and connect with filmmakers around the globe using the Filmmakers Social Networking Site at: networking.studentfilmmakers.com. Share your ideas, post your questions, and find answers in the online interactive forums moderated by experts at: www.studentfilmmakers.com/bb. StudentFilmmakers.com (www.studentfilmmakers.com) also produces and hosts film, video, and screenwriting festivals and contests, as well as educational workshops and seminars. Get the magazine, read the e-newsletter, and participate in the online portal and resource with free tools for film and video makers of all levels around the globe. Shop online at the StudentFilmmakers.com Online Store. Discounts for everyone ~ you do not have to be a student in school. With the technology changes coming faster and faster, we are all students.
StudentFilmmakers magazine would like to hear from you!
Click here to share your comments and feedback about the magazine, monthly editions, your favorite articles, and your favorite topics.
We always welcome and appreciate your Reader Comments. View them here, and send yours to the editorial team today!
Jump to... Forums Upload Videos Magazines Tech Focus Industry News Classifieds Workshops Submit News Resource Links Film Schools eNews Signup Contact Us
Join Our Mailing List for New and Updated Information!
EXPLORE SITES ON STUDENTFILMMAKERS.COM
FEATURED VIDEO CONTESTS
Video Contest Forums
Video Contest News
Writers Page
Add Our Banner Code
Camera News and Updates
Entertainment Technology News
Production and Distribution News
On Campus News
Continuing Education News and Workshops for Professionals
Documentary News
Music & Sound News
Tradeshow News
Production Cafe
Production Sound
FORUMS Continued...
Stunts and FX
Videos: 5 Min. or Less
Videos: 10 Min. or Less
Videos: 25 Min. or More
Filmmaking Books
Follow Our Networks:
To Advertise or Sponsor contact:
Kim Welch: (917) 743.8381
Jody Michelle Solis: (646) 509.3160
StudentFilmmakers.com © 2004-2017. All rights reserved.
400 N. Saint Paul St., Suite 750, Dallas TX 75201 Contact Us


Funding is available to undertake a doctorate at the University of Oxford on: 'Mass communication before printing: coin circulation in the Roman world' to be supervised by Professor Chris Howgego and Professor Andrew Wilson.
The deadline for applications is 11 January 2019. The doctorate would commence in October 2019.