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Evening Picnic – Live Music & BBQ
« Introduction to Wood Burning
Shuttle to Lutsen Mountains »
Join us for a picnic style event outside at the Bluefin Bay Ice Rink from 6-8 pm! The ice rink is located behind the tennis courts, next to the playground near Guest Services. Additional seating will be available.
The event will feature:
Live Music with Adam Moe
BBQ + Bar (Cash or room charge only)
Nordic (Cross-Country) Ski Tour
An event every 2 weeks that begins at 9:00 am on Sunday, repeating until March 27, 2023
An event every week that begins at 10:00 am on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, repeating until March 31, 2023
An event every week that begins at 10:00 am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, repeating until March 31, 2023
An event every week that begins at 1:00 pm on Thursday, repeating until March 30, 2023
One event on February 5, 2023 at 10:00 am
One event on February 19, 2023 at 10:00 am
One event on March 5, 2023 at 10:00 am
Bonfire Hike
One event on April 1, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Guided Snowshoe Tour to Leveaux Mountain
An event every 2 weeks that begins at 9:00 am on Wednesday, repeating until March 29, 2023


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A Rapid Peak in Gamma Power Signals Critical Period Plasticity in the Developing Mouse Visual Cortex
REH-DISSERTATION-2015.pdf (24.19Mb)
Reh, Rebecca Kiefer 0000-0002-1621-2150
Reh, Rebecca Kiefer. 2015. A Rapid Peak in Gamma Power Signals Critical Period Plasticity in the Developing Mouse Visual Cortex. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.
Experience sculpts neural circuits during discrete windows of postnatal development termed critical periods. This process allows the brain to adapt to its environment and efficiently allocate resources. However, maladaptive experience can also be consolidated early in life, reducing the effectiveness of interventions in adulthood. Critical periods across the cortex open and close at different times during postnatal development; the timing of these windows is set by the balance of excitation and inhibition. Cortical rhythms, particularly in the gamma power band (30-80 Hz), are sensitive to shifts in this balance. However, initial changes in oscillatory activity following sensory deprivation remain unknown. Rhythmic activity is disrupted in many neurological disorders, including autism and schizophrenia; a deeper understanding of the role oscillations play in developing circuits will inform disease treatment.
In this work we use EEG recording in mice to assess changes in cortical oscillations during a classic critical period paradigm, ocular dominance plasticity. Deprivation of visual input induces a rapid rise in rhythmic activity at 40 Hz over the visual cortex which persists for up to two hours. This increase in gamma power only occurs when mice are in the critical period for ocular dominance plasticity; adult mice do not show a change, suggesting that the rise in gamma may signal a plastic cortical state. To confirm this, we correlated the rise in gamma with plasticity in several mouse models with shifted critical periods. Finally, selectively manipulating rhythmic activity in adult mice was able to restore cortical plasticity, suggesting that the rise in gamma power is playing an active role in the plasticity process.
Taken together, our data reveal EEG gamma power to be a robust indicator of the early stages of critical period plasticity, and may serve as a useful biomarker to assess the plastic capacity in human cortex. In addition, direct modulation of gamma power using techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation or learned entrainment may have therapeutic benefit for the restoration of function in adults.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Latavius Murray becomes Raiders first 1000-yard rusher in five years
By Levi Damien@LeviDamien Dec 24, 2015, 6:19pm PST
Share All sharing options for: Latavius Murray becomes Raiders first 1000-yard rusher in five years
Coming the Raiders' Thursday night game against the Chargers, Latavius Murray was 44 yards away from reaching 1000 rushing yards on the season. On the Raiders' first two possessions, he already had 39 yards, capped off by a 22-yard run for a touchdown.
The Raiders stopped the Chargers on their second drive to force a punt and give the Raiders the ball back for their third series with just over a minute left in the first quarter. Murray picked up three yards on first down. Then the next play, he was tackled for a three yard loss to put him back at 5 yards away from 1000 yards.
The next series, he started with a 4-yard run on first down. A few plays later, he ran up the middle for three yards and officially went over 1000 yards. He had a run of 9 yards on the next play just to put the milestone behind him.
So, in his first season as the full time starter, Murray becomes the Raiders first 1000-yard rusher since Darren McFadden rushed for 1157 yards in 2010.
Murray is fifth in the NFL in rushing and leads the AFC. He is currently a Pro Bowl alternate.
Welcome to Game Day: Raiders vs Chargers
The Morning After: Raiders vs Chargers
Latavius Raiders 1st 1000-yard rusher in 5 years
CWood speech to teammates "It's bigger than me"


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Roads to close in Mendhams for bridge work
Special to the Daily Record
MENDHAM TWP. – Work began Tuesday on the replacement of the 117-year-old, single-lane Combs Hollow Road bridge and work is scheduled to start next week on the Hardscrabble Road bridge
Both Combs Hollow and Hardscrabble roads will be closed during construction, with detours installed, according to a press release from Morris County.
The Combs Hollow Road bridge, a small single-span structure with stone masonry substructures, was built around 1900. The 16-foot wide bridge has average daily traffic of about 200 vehicles, the release said.
The new structure will be a precast concrete culvert with stone facing. The roadway curb-to-curb width will be expanded to two lanes totaling 26 feet. The contractor on the project is Konkus Corp. of Branchburg, which won a bid construction contract for $299,762. The project is being financed by county government funds.
The new Combs Hollow Road bridge is expected to open in early September in time for the start of the school year. Currently, a detour takes traffic to Doby Road, South Road, Ironia Road, Mountainside Road, and to Calais Road.
Work is expected to start next Monday on the Hardscrabble Road bridge, which was partially closed in the spring due to structural defects, the release said.
Colonnelli Brothers Inc. of Hackensack is the contractor on the project for a bid price of $147,470. While the road is closed, a detour will take traffic to Jockey Hollow Road/Leddel Road to Tempe Wick Road.
The small arch bridge, which runs along the border of Mendham Borough and Mendham Township, has structural problems that has caused its partial closure and requires emergency repairs, the release said.
An inspection by the Morris County Bridge Division found that the bridge has developed a large foundational crack and the parapet wall has partially failed.
The stone masonry arch bridge is just six-feet long and 30-feet wide. It carries an average of 450 vehicles daily over a tributary to the Passaic River.


I am going to begin a new campaign of the Dark Eye very soon and I am putting out a feeler to see if I can find some interested players. I am looking for around 4 to no more than 5 people who are interested in playing in the Dark Eye. No experience with the game is required. The game will be using the iconic characters from the core rules but no prior knowledge of those characters is required either. We will attempt to play at least 2 games a month depending on availabilty. I will be attempting to put something together on a virtual tabletop for ease of use, once again depending on the location of the interested players.
If this is something that interests you please let me know by responding to this post or on this forum in a private message. Thanks.
Any chance you could run a game on www.rpol.net?
I would be 100% in if so!


god!!! his soooo cute!!!!!!!!what a wonderfull babyface!!!!!!!!
Wooow fantastic!!!!!! I love you Alex!!
You always get great Alex.I love you o much.Please come to Turkey.
So sweet , so cute , so kind !!!! A great Person !!! I`m a big big big fan of Alexander !!! I just love his songs !!!


Speed Cameras on the M25 Motorway - Do the speed cameras on the M25 motorway actually work?
Driving into London this morning between the M4 Junction and Watford J20 on the M25 I was wondering if the speed cameras on the M25 actually work?
I do that journey on the M25 a few times a month and the speed some cars go through the overhead speed cameras and on other parts of the M25 either the drivers think or know the cameras work or they are not worried about getting a speeding ticket.
I mean some drivers are clearly doing over 80 mph. Seems crazy to me.
Has anyone reading this had a speeding ticket from one of the overhead cameras on the M25?


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Iran has to stop the crackdown of peaceful Ahwazi demonstrations and release the detainees
Ahwaz Human Rights Organization condemns the arrest of Ahwazi Arabs who have been peacefully demonstrating against racism and discrimination for the past week in different cities of Ahwaz / Arabistan.
By April 2, 2018, a week had passed since peaceful Ahwaz uprising against racism, marginalisation and continued persecution and discrimination exercised by Iranian government and its media, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) . The Iranian authorities responded to the demands of masses by sending anti-riot forces and have turned Ahwaz to a military barrack.
In recent days, military reinforcements have been dispatched from Lorestan province (North of Ahwaz) and neighbouring provinces. Internal security units and riot police were seen heading towards the area as protests continued in various cities of Ahwaz where rallies continued to the night and people protested against the authorities' practices and demanded the release of political prisoners.
According to the reports of the Ahwazi human rights organization, raids were carried out in various cities and about 100 Arab citizens, including women and girls, were arrested on charges of participating in peaceful protests. The names will be published as soon as they are confirmed.
The protests started after Arabs were insulted on national television. On the second day of the Newruz, on March 23, Channel 2 broadcasted a children's show with a national music "Ey Iran" in the background to show Iran's ethnic diversity, but the Ahwazi Arabs were not on the map, and instead a Luri male and female doll was placed on Ahwaz's map.
Ahwazi Arabs who have been witnessing government's efforts for demographic change for years through forced migration of marsh Arabs out of marshlands following oil projects, and influx of immigrants from central areas of Iran to Ahwaz for job opportunities in heavily industrialised and polluted Arab cities in short felt threaten as each day they become more of a minority in their own homeland.
Arab activists initially launched an online campaign on websites, and applications such as Telegram and Instagram to demand an apology from the Arab Ahwazi people by radio and television officials but there was no response. The Ahwaz deputies in the Iranian parliament and the council of experts, including Ayatollah Abbas Ka'abi, also called on government agencies to apologise, but none of the government officials took the responsibility.
For these reasons and other evidence such as the accumulation of problems and water and air pollution crises and the continuation of plans to eliminate the Arab people of Ahwaz, people been taking the streets for the past week .
The first protests began with a gathering of thousands of Arab citizens in the city of Ahwaz, on Wednesday morning March 28, 2018, in front of IRIB building( Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) in Ahwaz demanding an apology.
In the following days, the protests spread to other cities such as Abadan, Muhammerah, Ma'ashour, Falahiya, Khawain, Koura, Shaiban, Al Ain, Qal'at Kanaan, Kut Abdullah, and other regions to denounce the anti-Arab wave of racism in Ahwaz particularly and in Iran generally.
In several rallies Iranian security forces backed by units of riot police and the Revolutionary Guard Corps , attacked the demonstrations, threw teargas and beat demonstrators to disperse them.
Demonstrations continued until the early hours of Sunday, amid reports that Farhani Street was closed and cordoned off by security forces, police and riot police and the arrest of a large number of unknown youths.
Security forces have launched raids in various cities and the number of detainees has so far reached more than 100.
On the sixth day of protests, in a video recorded by a citizen journalist we see a security force taking off an Arab man's #Kufieh and #Agal from his head at a checkpoint. Other shapes of racism has been witnessed in different cities. Ahwazi Arabs who have been wearing their traditional clothes in the street as a sign of protest say they feel threatened when they go out wearing #Dishdasheh these days.
The Ahwazi Human Rights Organization condemns these practices and this repressive behaviour and demands that the Iranian authorities respect the right of the people for a peaceful assembly to express their demands in accordance with the laws and international treaties and most importantly calls for the release of all detainees.
AHRO calls upon United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and all other human rights organisations to report on the matter and pressure Iranian government to stop its destruction of indigenous marsh Arabs lands and source of income in Iran and put an end to systematic discrimination and racism practiced by the Iranian government and its media IRIB.
Ahwaz Human Rights Organization


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You are here: Home / Latest / Should We Forget About the 2021 Alaska Cruise Season?
Should We Forget About the 2021 Alaska Cruise Season?
The Alaska Cruise season is becoming ever more unlikely now that Canada is tightening its travel regulations, COVID-19 vaccination requirements, and PCR testing regime. Without Canada, the Alaskan cruise season will be unlikely to take place.
On January 29, the Government of Canada announced new rules on international travel, in addition to the multi-layered approach on COVID-19 already in place.
The government and Canada's airlines have agreed to suspend all flights to and from Mexico and Caribbean countries until April 30, 2021, while travelers from the U.S. are only allowed to enter Canada for essential travel, and with negative PCR tests taken 72 hours before entering the country.
Why Canada Is Imperative for Alaskan Cruises
But why is Canada important for the Alaska season? Any passengers transported between U.S. ports must do so on vessels built in the U.S., owned by U.S. companies, sailing under the U.S. flag, and adhere to U.S. Coast Guard regulations.
This law, which is called the passenger services act, requires a foreign-flagged vessel to leave the U.S. at least once on a cruise that starts and ends in U.S. ports. Failure to comply would be costly. Fines are $762 per passenger on board. For Serenade of the Seas with 2,500 passengers, this would cost around $2 million.
Cruise ship sailing in Alaska surrounded by mountains and glaciers
Barring a change in the law by the U.S. government to exempt the ships from complying with the Passenger Services Act, the cruise industry needs Canada for Alaska to happen. But this is not the only issue that needs to be overcome.
The provincial government of British Columbia, in name of Premier John Horgan, made it clearthat travel will only be allowed once the vaccines are effectively distributed. With the current issues we're seeing with distribution, this could be many months away.
Worth Reading: When is the Best Time to Cruise Alaska?
Why Are Cruises Important to Alaska?
Cancellation of the Alaskan season would be a severe blow to many local Alaskan businesses. While cruise companies are often criticized for their Alaska cruises, we cannot deny the economic benefits.
In 2017, one in 10 jobs in the state of Alaska was connected to tourism. The number of visitors to Alaska grew from 1.5 million in 2010 to 2.2. million in 2019. Of those, 1.33 million traveled to Alaska by cruise ship.
Estimates state that in 2018, the cruise industry accounted for $1.24 billion in direct expenditures in Alaska, with a total employment impact of 22,447 jobs and over $1.15 billion in wages in the state.
Photo: Copyright Cruise Hive
Also Read: 13 IDEAL Things to Do in Sitka, Alaska
Where Do The Cruise Lines Stand Right Now?
Cruises from mainland USA to Alaska are unlikely to happen in the next 2-3 months due to soaring COVID cases, the lack of follow-up instructions by the CDC, and the uncertainty regarding travel to and from Canada. However, many cruise lines are still counting of having at least a portion of a cruise season in Alaska:
Carnival Cruise Line – Carnival cruise is currently only planning on sailing with Carnival Freedom from May 4, 2021. Voyages onboard Carnival Miracle to Alaska have been canceled as these do not align with the CDC's requirement of not having cruises longer than 7-days.
Holland America Cruise Line -The largest operator in Alaska, Holland America Line, has so far pushed any sailing to mid-may for Noordam, Koningsdam, and Nieuw Amsterdam. Voyages on board Oosterdam, Zuiderdam, and Eurodam will not sail until mid-June, at a minimum.
Princess Cruises– As with cruises worldwide, Princess Cruises has canceled all voyages until mid-May. This includes all Alaska Cruises.
Royal Caribbean – Royal Caribbean is planning on sailing from May 21, 2021, from Vancouver to Alaska. Two ships are currently scheduled to sail: Radiance of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas.
Whether we will see some cruises departing in May seems unlikely when we look at the various reports we've seen in the last week or so.
We do know that a, at least partial, cruise season in Alaska will not only be critical to the cruise industry but, most of all, the communities in Alaska that depend on the 1.33 million yearly visitors for their incomes.
Main Photo Credit: Nenad Basic / Shutterstock
The Alaska Cruise season is becoming ever more unlikely now that Canada is tightening its travel regulations, COVID-19 vaccination requirements, and PCR testing regime. Without Canada, the Alaskan cruise season will be unlikely to take place. On January 29, the Government of Canada announced new rules on international travel, in addition to the multi-layered approach […]


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Just the right size for pickled walnuts. A time consuming pickle but well worth making.
Perfect for foods - herbs, spices, sauces, crab apple jelly, tomato chutney, jams, preserves, honey and curds.
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A major issue when setting up multi-projector tiled displays is the spatial non-uniformity of the color throughout the display's area. Indeed, the chromatic properties do not only vary between two different projectors, but also between different spatial locations inside the displaying area of one single projector. A new method for calibrating the colors of a tiled display is presented. An iterative algorithm to construct a correction table which makes the luminance uniform over the projected area of one single projector is presented first. This so-called intra-projector calibration uses a standard camera as a luminance measuring device and can be processed in parallel for all projectors. Once the color inside each projector is spatially uniform, the set of displayable colors — the color gamut — of each projector is measured. On the basis of these measurements, the goal of the inter-projector calibration is to find an optimal gamut shared by all the projectors. Finding the optimal color gamut displayable by n projectors in time O(n) is shown, and the color conversion from one specific color gamut to the common global gamut is derived. The method of testing it on a tiled display consisting of 48 projectors with large chrominance shifts was experimentally validated.


CHICAGO, Nov. 14 /CSRwire/ – The Health Product Declaration® Collaborative (HPDC) announced the formation of a new strategic partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The announcement was made during the 2018 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. The two nonprofit organizations have been working together since the inception of the HPD Open Standard initiative in 2012 to advance transparency and material health practices in the building industry.
USGBC and HPDC plan to expand their collective efforts to accelerate the global development and use of healthier materials in buildings and communities.
USGBC's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building project types, from new construction to interior fit-outs and operation & maintenance, LEED provides a framework that project teams can apply to create healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement.
HPDC's Health Product Declaration (HPD) Open Standard is an industry open-standard specification for the accurate, reliable and consistent reporting of product contents and associated health information, for products used in the built environment. Manufacturers follow the Standard to report their product information and can then publish their reports to make them publicly and freely accessible. Over 4,200 HPD reports are currently available in the HPD Public Repository, representing over 10,000 building products.
Broadening the Common Framework for Practice through Open Standards – Community-developed standards, such as the HPD Open Standard and LEED, have been instrumental in catalyzing interest and participation in transparency reporting and material health practice. Working with ecosystem partners, USGBC and HPDC will continue efforts to increase the effectiveness of these standards as catalysts for change.
Information Technology – Information technology (IT) is a crucial tool for integrating transparency and material health with the routine practices of design professionals and manufacturers. The strategic partnership will support a collaborative approach among ecosystem participants to build a cohesive, connected set of IT and platform offerings that enable both design professionals and manufacturers to easily and effectively use information resources to inform their decisions.
Education and Credentialing – Design professionals are critical decision makers in selecting and specifying products, and need more options and access to education in material health practice. USGBC and HPDC will work with ecosystem partners to increase the depth and breadth of education offerings and extend their availability to serve the broad population of global design and manufacturing professionals.
Communication and Support – USGBC and HPDC will work with ecosystem partners to create engaging forums for communication, problem solving and interaction among design and manufacturing practitioners. The end result desired is more rapid learning and growth of the community of practice, especially focused on outreach to global design professionals and manufacturers.
USGBC and HPDC welcome new organizations to join the ecosystem of partners and collaborate to expand transparency and material health research, tools, standards, certification, education and practice.
For more information, view the full set of FAQs.
HPDC is a not-for-profit, member association with over 250 organizational members, representing the full spectrum of the building industry: architects, designers, building owners, manufacturers, consultants, tool developers, and others who all share a common purpose to improve the transparency of information and the material health of the built environment. The organization continuously improves the building industry's performance through transparency, openness and innovation in the practices of reporting, disclosure, specification and selection of building products. For more information, visit hpd-collaborative.org.


After graduating in applied mathematics from the Faculty of Science of the Palacký University in Olomouc, Jan Procházka completed his academic education in economics at the Faculty of Business and Economics of the Mendel University in Brno, majoring in finance.
His long-term focus is on the transport sector, energy, and capital markets, on which he himself has been working since 2003. He was the Director of the Prague branch and the Principal Analyst of the investment management company CYRRUS, a.s. where he also participates in corporate finance projects - corporate restructuring, business valuation and IPOs. Since 2012, he is the CEO of the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation (EGAP).


Quarantines have been used since Biblical times to separate the sick from the well (mostly lepers--cool disease to study, but not to have), but the term comes from the Latin word for forty. 14th century Venice required incoming ships to hang out in their harbor for forty days to avoid bringing plague into the city.
(Again, cool to study, not to have).
You have no idea how thrilled I am to write about bubonic plague in my current WIP- fleas, festering buboes, and bodies piled in towers. Yay!
That said, I think I need someone to quarantine me. I'm currently a walking petri dish--I've threatened my students with coughing all over them if they don't act like angels this week. So far they've complied, mostly because I look like walking death.


The University of Toronto Faculty of Information is pleased to host the International Conference on Preservation of Digital Objects (iPRES2012) in Toronto, Canada in October 2012. iPRES2012 will be the ninth in the series of annual international conferences that bring together researchers and practitioners from around the world to explore the latest trends, innovations, and practices in preserving our digital heritage.
Digital Preservation and Curation continues to evolve from a niche activity to an established practice and research field that involves many disciplines and communities. iPRES2012 will re-emphasise that preserving our scientific and cultural digital heritage requires integration of activities and research across institutional and disciplinary boundaries to adequately address the challenges in digital preservation.
iPRES2012 will continue the legacy of previous conferences by further strengthening the link between digital preservation research and practitioners in memory institutions and scientific data centres.
iiPRES 2012 invites submissions of full and short papers reporting on novel and previously unpublished work. Full papers report innovative research work, while short papers present new relevant challenges and work in progress. All papers will be peer-reviewed by at least 3 members of the Program Committee. The accepted papers will be published in the iPRES2012 proceedings.
Submissions are encouraged for a special session for posters that report on emerging issues or work in progress, and also for demonstrations of innovative systems and solutions.
All contributions will be peer-reviewed.  Accepted short-papers, posters and demos will also be published in the iPRES2012 proceedings.
More information, including instructions for submission, will available at the iPRES2012 homepage.
For further details please check http://ipres.ischool.utoronto.ca  regularly.


(12:56)__RSPTN__: So, here's a problem, Sonja stopped responding to me.
(12:56)__RSPTN__: She sent me a single question mark, I replied, she hasn't responded since. I've whiched her and she's still active.
(12:57)ThatOneVampChick: Maybe you should follow up? She's probably distracted.
(12:58)__RSPTN__: But we don't have time to fritter away waiting for her, either! Dammit, how were our estimates so far off?
(12:58)ThatOneVampChick: I don't know! We should have had until Christmas - you're absolutely certain, right?
(??:??)SecundaSonja: Hey, Luke, can you check something for me?
(??:??)SecundaSonja: Check October. Is it just me, or are things further ahead than they should be?
(??:??)SecundaSonja: Nonsense but consistent with the data. Athena noticed the trend about six minutes back and we've been scanning across since then. It looks like the rate of inconsistency increases as either our vantage point or the point being viewed moves ahead in time.
(??:??)pwnz0rz: isthis a red flag?
(??:??)SecundaSonja: I think the task force needs to know, but... if we've noticed it, they should soon enough, right?
(??:??)SecundaSonja: It's not like we're particularly far ahead.
(??:??)SecundaSonja: We concur. Alright, red flag away.
(??:??)SecundaSonja: Yes, we're definitely looking at the same events.
(??:??)pwnz0rz: rapsutin dies in october, gaia goes hog wild but the palnet survives 2 months????
(??:??)SecundaSonja: ...I'm sorrry, "[censored] cheetos"? What even?
(??:??)pwnz0rz: dose this mean we built our fleet... with angery gaians on the lose?
(??:??)SecundaSonja: Oh my gods. Scrying.
(??:??)SecundaSonja: This makes no kind of sense. But... yes. Yes, that happened.


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Urquhart Castle: The legendary ruins on the banks of Loch Ness
September 9, 2017 Bojan Ivanov
The famed Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands is known worldwide for its legendary monster Nessie. Though sightings have been reported, many of these have turned out to be hoaxes, and the existence of this creature has never been conclusively proven.
Nessie is among the ranks of entities like Bigfoot and chupacabras, mythical animals known as cryptids by the pseudoscience of cryptozoology. The first reported photograph of Nessie from 1934, which later was proven to be a hoax, started the craze.
Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness Author: Wknight94 – CC BY-SA 3.0
The rumors and stories of people who claim to have seen a monster in the lake's waters, as well as a few films and articles, have immortalized the creature and attracted many visitors in the following decades, thus helping the local economy which is predominately based on tourism.
The Grant tower. Author: Wknight94 – CC BY-SA 3.0
Since 1934, many visitors have come to Loch Ness in the hope of seeing the monster or taking a proper photograph of it. Scientists, adventurers, and ordinary tourists are all on the lookout for Nessie. In addition to being surrounded by breathtaking nature, the region is rich in history. The picturesque ruin of Urquhart Castle is one of the symbols of Loch Ness and is the main area where settings of the monster have been reported. While Nessie may be a product of fantasy, the remains of the castle are certainly real.
The oldest remains are from the 13th century/ Author: Whatlep – CC BY-SA 2.0
Although partially in ruins, Urquhart Castle tells its history and the history of Scotland and the region. Every stone on the fortified structure seems like it is vibrantly alive and has something to say.
The view from the lake/ Author: dave conner – CC BY 2.0
The castle complex is probably more than 1000 years old. During this period it had many ups and downs and witnessed many battles and dramatic historic events. It reached its peak in medieval times and throughout the centuries became the greatest stronghold in the Highlands.
The ruined parts of the gatehouse/Author: Wknight94 – CC BY-SA 3.0
The earliest evidence and written documents about the castle are from the beginning of the 13th century. The castle got its renowned appearance between the 13th and 16th century's, when the main construction, the detailed adaptation for military purposes and the strong fortifying of the structure were made.
However, facts show that the area was populated much earlier. Archaeological discoveries indicate that the nearby area around the castle have been inhabited since 2000 BC. It is believed that a fort of some kind has existed on this spot since ancient times, and there is some debate among scientists whether this was the site of fort visited by the abbot and missionary St. Columba in the 6th century.
The gatehouse/ Author: HARTLEPOOLMARINA2014 – CC BY-SA 3.0
Positioned on a rocky peninsula it had very strategic importance. Over a period of more than 300 years, the Scots and the Englishmen often fought for the castle. The possession of the castle periodically was transferred from one side to another. Putting their own flag on the top of the Grant Tower wasn't only a matter of prestige, but ruling the castle meant ruling the whole region.
The drawbridge
After every siege, the fortification was repaired, and new structures were added. Conquering the fortification wasn't an easy task. The soldiers who were defending their positions inside the castle could resist the attacks for months because supplies for them were provided with boats. When the conflict between England and Scotland ended, the castle was used as a residential complex. Later it became the scene of a ferocious battle between two Scottish clans. After that, it was abandoned and forgotten. The grandiose structure very quickly fell into decline for it had lost its strategic importance.
The foundation of the chapel in the center/ Author: Paul Allison – CC BY-SA 2.0
At the end of the 17th century, the ruins for a while served as a garrison for the supporters of the new Protestant monarchy during the English Civil War. They successfully held off the attack of the Jacobite troops. When they left their fortified positions, they destroyed much of the surviving buildings to prevent the castle becoming a Jacobite stronghold. The southwest side of the Grant Tower was destroyed during the storm in the early 18th century. In the years that followed, locals used the stones for building their houses in the nearby villages and artists came to admire the beauty of the romantic ruins.
View from the Grant Tower/ Author: Mike Pennington – CC BY-SA 2.0
Today at the site can be seen the foundation of a chapel, the remains of the kitchen and the Great Hall, as well the ruined Grant Tower, drawbridge and gate house. There is also one medieval stone throwing machine, a relic of the military tactics from the past. The legendary castle and the legendary lake, and maybe the legendary monster, definitely saw several great legendary battles that happened in the past.
« Lemp Brewery – Where when and how lager beer was born in America
The tallest unfinished building in the world, North Korea's Hotel of Doom. »


text:
· Posted on Jul. 12, 2016
These Designers Are Making Hospital Gowns Fashionable To Empower Sick Kids
"It's not easy being a teen and it's even tougher to be a teen suffering with a serious illness."
by Tanya Chen
BuzzFeed Staff, Canada
A group of Canadians are aiming to redesign hospital wear for sick children and teens to help make them "feel more like themselves while undergoing treatment."
Rethink Canada / youtube.com
The collaborative effort between nonprofit organization Starlight Children's Foundation Canada and several local fashion designers has just launched at a hospital in Ontario. Their hopes are to bring these new stylish gowns to hospitals across the country, and beyond.
Rethink Canada
About 100 newly designed gowns were given to children and teens at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) over the last two days. The project is called "Warb+Robes."
"We had to see if these [gowns] would actually make a difference for the teens who donned them," Trevor Dicaire, the senior vice president of development at Starlight told BuzzFeed News.
Dicaire said they were "blown away" by the patients' reactions as they changed into their new gowns at the hospital.
He said it was almost as if their "personalities transformed" once they were wearing their new gowns.
"Seeing the smiles, hearing the giggles, watching the excitement… I knew we had to bring this program to as many hospitalized teens in Canada as possible," he said.
Ward+Robes is already in talks with more than 130 hospitals across the country. Their goal is to have gowns for every one of them.
Although the task may be challenging, the mission is quite simple: To service the young and teen populations in hospitals, who are often underserved
"It's not easy being a teen and it's even tougher to be a teen suffering with a serious illness," Dicaire said.
"We felt this was a perfect program to provide them with a sense of hope, empowerment and individuality," he added.


A couple of Sundays ago, Robert Perala graced us with his (virtual) presence on West of The Rockies, delivering a fascinating and mind-opening interview. Mr. Perala is a well-known and unique clairvoyant, having experienced paranormal encounters from a young age. A messenger of sorts, Robert has received a wealth of information from extra-terrestrials over time, in turn sharing that information with the world. He describes some of his amazing experiences to us, explaining their message and what their greater purpose is. In essence, it boils down to this: the world is currently a pretty bad place (to say the least), and we need to bring people back together again. Peace and spirituality are at the core of Perala's motives – alien encounters may not immediately evoke thoughts of peace in most people's minds, but give this interview a listen, and you may well come to change yours.
The interview also covers discussion of Plaedians, Grays, Robert's work with David Icke, and much much more. In fact, he is also a musician, and we had the honour of premiering his song, "Til We Meet Again," live on the show!
Robert will be MCing this year's Contact In The Desert event again, as well as holding a lecture titled, "Extraterrestrials and The Divine Intelligence." If you haven't already, be sure to check out the Contact In The Desert website. If you live in the area (and even if you don't), you should certainly consider going – it's a truly great event, with an epic line-up of speakers!
Once again, a massive shout-out to Susan von Seggern, providing us with ever-amazing interviewees! Hats off to you.
Posted on May 13, 2015 by Genevieve Yu Wey and filed under SUM1.


text:
require "feedjira"
require "httparty"

require_relative "../repositories/story_repository"
require_relative "../repositories/feed_repository"
require_relative "../commands/feeds/find_new_stories"

class FetchFeed
  def initialize(feed, parser: Feedjira, client: HTTParty, logger: Logger.new($stdout))
    @feed = feed
    @parser = parser
    @client = client
    @logger = logger
  end

  def fetch
    raw_feed = fetch_raw_feed

    if raw_feed == 304
      feed_not_modified
    else
      feed_modified(raw_feed)
    end

    FeedRepository.set_status(:green, @feed)
  rescue StandardError => e
    FeedRepository.set_status(:red, @feed)

    @logger&.error "Something went wrong when parsing #{@feed.url}: #{e}"
  end

  private

  def fetch_raw_feed
    response = @client.get(@feed.url).to_s
    @parser.parse(response)
  end

  def feed_not_modified
    @logger&.info "#{@feed.url} has not been modified since last fetch"
  end

  def feed_modified(raw_feed)
    new_entries_from(raw_feed).each do |entry|
      StoryRepository.add(entry, @feed)
    end

    FeedRepository.update_last_fetched(@feed, raw_feed.last_modified)
  end

  def new_entries_from(raw_feed)
    finder = FindNewStories.new(raw_feed, @feed.id, @feed.last_fetched, latest_entry_id)
    finder.new_stories
  end

  def latest_entry_id
    return @feed.stories.first.entry_id unless @feed.stories.empty?
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus Juniperus ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa, throughout parts of western, central and southern Asia, east to eastern Tibet in the Old World, and in the mountains of Central America. The highest-known juniper forest occurs at an altitude of  in southeastern Tibet and the northern Himalayas, creating one of the highest tree lines on earth.

Description

Junipers vary in size and shape from tall trees,  tall, to columnar or low-spreading shrubs with long, trailing branches. They are evergreen with needle-like and/or scale-like leaves. They can be either monoecious or dioecious. The female seed cones are very distinctive, with fleshy, fruit-like coalescing scales which fuse together to form a berrylike structure (galbulus),  long, with one to 12 unwinged, hard-shelled seeds. In some species, these "berries" are red-brown or orange, but in most, they are blue; they are often aromatic and can be used as a spice. The seed maturation time varies between species from 6 to 18 months after pollination. The male cones are similar to the other Cupressaceae, with 6 to 20 scales.

In hardiness zones 7 through 10, junipers can bloom and release pollen several times each year. Different junipers bloom in autumn, while most pollinate from early winter until late spring.

Many junipers (e.g. J. chinensis, J. virginiana) have two types of leaves; seedlings and some twigs of older trees have needle-like leaves  long, on mature plants the leaves are overlapping like (mostly) tiny scales, measuring . When juvenile foliage occurs on mature plants, it is most often found on shaded shoots, with adult foliage in full sunlight. Leaves on fast-growing 'whip' shoots are often intermediate between juvenile and adult.

In some species (e.g. J. communis, J. squamata), all the foliage is of the juvenile needle-like type, with no scale leaves. In some of these (e.g. J. communis), the needles are jointed at the base, while in others (e.g. J. squamata), the needles merge smoothly with the stem.
The needle leaves of junipers are hard and sharp, making the juvenile foliage very prickly to handle. This can be a valuable identification feature in seedlings, as the otherwise very similar juvenile foliage of cypresses (Cupressus, Chamaecyparis) and other related genera are soft and not prickly.

Junipers are gymnosperms, which means they have seeds, but no flowers or fruits. Depending on the species, the seeds they produce take 1–3 years to develop. The impermeable coat of the seed keeps water from getting in and protects the embryo when dispersed. It can also result in a long dormancy that is usually broken by physically damaging the seed coat. Dispersal can occur from being swallowed whole by frugivores and mammals. The resistance of the seed coat allows it to be passed down through the digestive system without being destroyed along the way. These seeds last a long time, as they can be dispersed long distances over the course of a few years.

Classification

Sections
The genus has been divided into sections in somewhat different ways. A system based on molecular phylogenetic data from 2013 and earlier used three sections:
 Section Caryocedrus – 1 species with large, blue, woody, 3-seeded cones; native to the Mediterranean
 Section Juniperus –  14 species with blue or red seed cones, often with 3 seeds; 12 species native to the eastern hemisphere, one endemic to North America, and one species, J. communis, circumboreal
 Section Sabina – about 60 species with variously coloured seed cones with 1 to 13 seeds; species about equally divided between the eastern and western hemispheres Juniperus sect. Sabina was further divided into clades.

A new classification of gymnosperms published in 2022 recognised the sections as three separate genera:  Arceuthos for section Caryocedrus, Sabina for section Sabina, and Juniperus sensu stricto for section Juniperus.

Species

Juniperus sect. Caryocedrus
One species:
Juniperus drupacea – Syrian juniper

Juniperus sect. Juniperus
Needle-leaf junipers; the adult leaves are needle-like, in whorls of three, and jointed at the base. Species:
Juniperus sect. Juniperus subsect. Juniperus – cones with 3 separate seeds; needles with one stomatal band
Juniperus communis – common juniper
Juniperus communis subsp. alpina – alpine juniper
Juniperus conferta, syn. Juniperus rigida var. conferta (Parl.) Patschke – shore juniper
Juniperus rigida – Temple juniper or needle juniper
Juniperus sect. Juniperus subsect. Oxycedrus – cones with 3 separate seeds; needles with two stomatal bands
Juniperus brevifolia – Azores juniper
Juniperus cedrus – Canary Islands juniper
Juniperus formosana – Chinese prickly juniper
Juniperus lutchuensis, syn. Juniperus taxifolia var. lutchuensis (Koidz.) Satake – Ryukyu juniper
Juniperus oxycedrus – Western prickly juniper, cade juniper
Juniperus macrocarpa – large-berry juniper
Juniperus sect. Juniperus subsect. Caryocedrus – cones with 3 seeds fused together; needles with two stomatal bands

Juniperus sect. Sabina
Scale-leaf junipers; adult leaves are mostly scale-like, similar to those of Cupressus species, in opposite pairs or whorls of three, and the juvenile needle-like leaves are not jointed at the base (including in the few that have only needle-like leaves; see below right).

Old World species

Juniperus chinensis – Chinese juniper
Juniperus convallium – Mekong juniper
Juniperus excelsa – Greek juniper
Juniperus foetidissima – stinking juniper
Juniperus indica – Himalayan black juniper
Juniperus komarovii – Komarov's juniper
Juniperus phoenicea – Phoenicean juniper
Juniperus pingii – Ping juniper
Juniperus procera – East African juniper
Juniperus procumbens – Ibuki juniper
Juniperus pseudosabina – Xinjiang juniper
Juniperus recurva – Himalayan juniper
Juniperus sabina – Savin juniper
Juniperus saltuaria – Sichuan juniper
Juniperus semiglobosa – Himalayan pencil juniper
Juniperus seravschanica – Pashtun juniper
Juniperus squamata – flaky juniper
Juniperus thurifera – Spanish juniper
Juniperus tibetica – Tibetan juniper

New World species

Juniperus angosturana – Mexican one-seed juniper
Juniperus ashei – Ashe juniper
Juniperus arizonica – redberry juniper, roseberry juniper
Juniperus barbadensis – West Indies juniper
Juniperus bermudiana – Bermuda juniper
Juniperus blancoi – Blanco's juniper
Juniperus californica – California juniper
Juniperus coahuilensis – Coahuila juniper
Juniperus comitana – Comitán juniper
Juniperus deppeana – alligator juniper
Juniperus durangensis – Durango juniper
Juniperus flaccida – Mexican weeping juniper
Juniperus gamboana – Gamboa juniper
Juniperus grandis – Sierra juniper
Juniperus horizontalis – creeping juniper
Juniperus jaliscana – Jalisco juniper
Juniperus maritima, syn. Juniperus scopulorum – seaside juniper
Juniperus monosperma – one-seed juniper
Juniperus monticola – mountain juniper
Juniperus occidentalis – western juniper
Juniperus osteosperma – Utah juniper
Juniperus pinchotii – Pinchot juniper
Juniperus saltillensis – Saltillo juniper
Juniperus scopulorum – Rocky Mountain juniper
Juniperus standleyi – Standley's juniper
Juniperus virginiana – eastern juniper, eastern redcedar
Juniperus virginiana subsp. silicicola – Southern juniper
Juniperus zanonii (proposed)

Additional species
, Plants of the World Online accepts the following additional species to those listed above:
Juniperus canariensis Guyot & Mathou
Juniperus coxii A.B.Jacks.
Juniperus deltoides R.P.Adams
Juniperus gracilior Pilg.
Juniperus mairei Lemée & H.Lév.
Juniperus morrisonicola Hayata
Juniperus mucronata R.P.Adams
Juniperus navicularis Gand.
Juniperus poblana (Martínez) R.P.Adams
Juniperus polycarpos K.Koch
Juniperus przewalskii Kom.
Juniperus saxicola Britton & P.Wilson
Juniperus taxifolia Hook. & Arn.
Juniperus tsukusiensis Masam.
Juniperus turbinata Guss.

Ecology
Juniper plants thrive in a variety of environments. The junipers from Lahaul valley can be found in dry, rocky locations planted in stony soils. Grazing animals and the villagers are rapidly using up these plants. There are several important features of the leaves and wood of this plant that cause villagers to cut down these trees and make use of them. Additionally, the western juniper plants, a particular species in the juniper genus, are found in woodlands where there are large, open spaces. Junipers are known to encompass open areas so that they have more exposure to rainfall. Decreases in fires and a lack of livestock grazing are the two major causes of western juniper takeover. This invasion of junipers is driving changes in the environment. For instance, the ecosystem for other species previously living in the environment and farm animals has been compromised. When junipers increase in population, there is a decrease in woody species like mountain big sagebrush and aspen. Among the juniper trees themselves, there is increased competition, which results in a decrease in berry production. Herbaceous cover decreases, and junipers are often mistaken for weeds. As a result, several farmers have thinned the juniper trees or removed them completely. However, this reduction did not result in any significant difference on wildlife survival. Some small mammals found it advantageous to have thinner juniper trees, while cutting down the entire tree was not favorable.

Some junipers are susceptible to Gymnosporangium rust disease and can be a serious problem for those people growing apple trees, an alternate host of the disease.

Juniper is the exclusive food plant of the larvae of some moths and butterflies, including Bucculatrix inusitata, juniper carpet, Chionodes electella, Chionodes viduella, juniper pug, and pine beauty. Those of the tortrix moth Cydia duplicana feed on the bark around injuries or canker.

Cultivation

Junipers are among the most popular conifers to be cultivated as ornamental subjects for parks and gardens. They have been bred over many years to produce a wide range of forms, in terms of colour, shape and size. They include some of the dwarfest (miniature) cultivars. They are also used for bonsai. Some species found in cultivation include:

Juniperus chinensis
Juniperus communis
Juniperus horizontalis
Juniperus × pfitzeriana
Juniperus procumbens
Juniperus rigida
Juniperus scopulorum
Juniperus squamata

Toxicity
In drier areas, juniper pollen easily becomes airborne and can be inhaled into the lungs. This pollen can also irritate the skin and cause contact dermatitis. Cross-allergenic reactions are common between juniper pollen and the pollen of all species of cypress.

Monoecious juniper plants are highly allergenic, with an Ogren Plant Allergy Scale (OPALS) rating of 9 out of 10. Completely male juniper plants have an OPALS rating of 10, and release abundant amounts of pollen. Conversely, all-female juniper plants have an OPALS rating of 1, and are considered "allergy-fighting".

Uses

Ethnic and herbal use
Most species of juniper are flexible and have a high compression strength-to-weight ratio. This has made the wood a traditional choice for the construction of hunting bows among some of the Native American cultures in the Great Basin region. These bow staves are typically backed with sinew to provide tension strength that the wood may lack.

Ancient Mesopotamians believed that juniper oil could be used to ward off the evil eye.

Embalming vessels in the burial chambers from a 26th Dynasty embalming workshop at Saqqara have shown the usage of Juniper oil/tar.

Some Indigenous peoples of the Americas use juniper in traditional medicine; for instance the Dineh (Navajo), who use it for diabetes. Juniper ash has also been historically consumed as a source of calcium by the Navajo people.

Juniper is traditionally used in Scottish folkloric and Gaelic Polytheist saining rites, such as those performed at Hogmanay (New Year), where the smoke of burning juniper, accompanied by traditional prayers and other customary rites, is used to cleanse, bless, and protect the household and its inhabitants.

Local people in Lahaul Valley present juniper leaves to their deities as a folk tradition. It is also useful as a folk remedy for pains and aches, as well as epilepsy and asthma. They are reported to collect large amounts of juniper leaves and wood for building and religious purposes.

General use

Juniper berries are a spice used in a wide variety of culinary dishes and are best known for the primary flavoring in gin (and responsible for gin's name, which is a shortening of the Dutch word for juniper, jenever). A juniper-based spirit is made by fermenting juniper berries and water to create a "wine" that is then distilled. This is often sold as a juniper brandy in eastern Europe.  Juniper berries are also used as the primary flavor in the liquor Jenever and sahti-styles of beers.  Juniper berry sauce is often a popular flavoring choice for quail, pheasant, veal, rabbit, venison, and other game dishes.

A tea can be made from the young twigs.

Dense and rot resistant, the irregular trunks of junipers have been used as fence posts and firewood. Stands that produce enough wood for specialty uses generally go under the common name "cedar," including Juniperus virginiana, the "red cedar" that is used widely in cedar drawers and closets. The lack of space or a hyphen between the words "red" and "cedar" is sometimes used to indicate that this species is not a true cedar (Cedrus).

Juniper in weave is a traditional cladding technique used in Northern Europe, e.g. at Havrå, Norway.

Juniper berries are steam distilled to produce an essential oil that may vary from colorless to yellow or pale green. Some of its chemical components are terpenoids and aromatic compounds, such as cadinene, a sesquiterpene.

References

Further reading
Adams, R. P. (2004). Junipers of the World: The genus Juniperus. Victoria: Trafford.
Farjon, A. (2001). World Checklist and Bibliography of Conifers. Kew.
Farjon, A. (2005). Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

External links

 Junipers of the world
 Gymnosperm Database – Juniperus
 Arboretum de Villardebelle Photos of cones and foliage of selected species

Juniperus

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Photo credit: (Getty Images)
Bee Quammie - Sep 10
Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus & Lana Del Rey assemble in 'Charlie's Angels' teaser
The superstar trio preview their new single 'Don't Call Me Angel.'
Calling all angels! A new song from the upcoming Charlie's Angels movie is on the way, and today we got a sneak peek at the video featuring Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, and Lana Del Ray.
"Don't Call Me Angel" is the name of the collaboration between these three pop princesses, and if the 7-second teaser shared by Miley and Ariana is anything to go on, it's going to be pure fire.
Decked out in thigh-high boots (hey, Ari), pretty lacy things (looking lovely, Lana), and the return of low-rise jeans (thanks, Miley), the trio turn a mansion's corridor into their personal runway as they strut their stuff while wearing gorgeous black angel wings. Directed by frequent Grande collaborator Hannah Lux Davis — the woman behind the 'Thank U, Next' and '7 Rings' videos, to name a few — the music video promises to pack a punch. 'Hot Girl Summer' may be coming to an end, but 'Charlie's Angels Autumn' is on the way.
While the full single and music video drops this Friday, we can't help but wonder how this will compare to other iconic Charlie's Angels songs, like "Independent Women Pt. 1" by Destiny's Child, the official theme for 2000's Charlie's Angels. Both songs seem to be about asserting power, so we're here for all the "the future is feminine" vibes — and we're clearly not the only ones, with fans already living for it on social media.
— 🎼douglas🎼 (@_douglasjardim) September 10, 2019
What else — or who else — might we see in the video? Given that the reboot promises a major punch of girl power (Elizabeth Banks stars in and directs), don't be surprised if Ariana, Miley and Lana take on the role of secret agents, showing their would-be suitors that they're more than just sugar, spice, and everything nice. Or maybe the reboot's stars, Kristen Stewart, Ella Balinska, and Naomi Scott will show up and give us a mega mash-up of Angel power. All together now: Angels, assemble!
While we await the official video, we'll be practicing our struts to keep up with this talented trio. Charlie's Angels hits theatres November 15, 2019.
Tags: ariana grande Charlie's Angels etalk lana del rey miley cyrus trending


Phonations | Efficient, user-friendly, powerful, the rythmo band tradition brought into the digital universe, offering the best of both worlds.
Right click here if you want to download an HD version of the video for testing purposes.
Our current product is a dubbing system that uses rythmo band technology. This technology has been used in France and Canada since the 1960's but has joined the digital world only 10 years ago. Rythmo band technology has always been the most efficient dubbing technology due to its perfect synchronization with the picture. With the help of the scrolling text, the image and precise and easy audio cues, voice actors can read more lines per hour than with the ADR system.
By using the Sony 9 pin protocol, a serial cable and a video reference signal, our product synchronizes with audio recording software (Pro Tools, Cubase, etc.). The image and rythmo band will run, while the audio will be managed in the audio software that also controls the transport actions (play, record, etc.). The system is very precise and user-friendly.
The rythmo band scrolls at a steady speed under the image. When the text touches the red synchronization bar, this is a sign for the voice actor to start talking. When the text has completely scrolled under the red bar, this cues the voice actor to finish his sentence.
Our product is compatible with Cappella and .DetX files or you can simply import MS Word® .DocX files. More file formats will be supported in near future (Mosaic, VoiceQ, DubStudio, Synchronos, Annotation Edit, etc.).
The internal rhythm of the sentence is not necessarily linear, which makes it possible to respect the rhythm and intonation of speech (prosodic saliences).
The font is customizable to adapt to the user's needs and experience (Script, cursive, etc.).
Unlike the ADR system, the rythmo band does not cue the voice actor with a countdown, but rather allows them to see the start and end points of their performance. It also allows them to see the flow and the rhythm of the conversation. This allows a longer recording sequence which saves a lot of studio time.
Compatible with Pro Tools versions 7 to 10 with Machine Control plugin for Sony 9 pin protocol support.
A collaborative work environment and forum providing access to documentation and support material for different users.
A game version of the application which will allow you to have a lot of fun with this professional user-friendly tool.
Support: Various levels of support contracts are available. Our support service guarantees the proper functioning of the application. Our team of experts will be there to answer your questions and help you solve any issues you may experience. It is also possible to work with a local company who will take care of the support for you in your time zone and your area. This company will take care of level 1 support and our team will be there to solve your level 2 and up support requirements.
Additional development (adding new features and functionalities) for all your customized needs.
Phonations was created in 2012 by the partnership of Martin Delille and Guy Desdames with the intention of developing software and services for audiovisual post-production and dubbing industry, at the service of the global community. Phonations specializes in the synchronization of sound tracks and the image, using the rythmo band technology.
Martin Delille created an R&D lab for two major companies: Chinkel and Dubbing Brothers. A computer science and electronics graduate, Martin wears two hats at Phonations: Lead developer and post-production expert. Between 2006 and 2008, Martin fully redesigned the Cappella software to make it more ergonomic and efficient. Despite the updates made by Chinkel, Martin's 2008 version, which is more stable, is still used by the majority of Cappella users. Martin speaks French, English, German and Spanish, has attended several dubbing sessions in Germany and Italy as well as in United States and is dedicated to make his product usable and available to the international community.
Guy Desdames created the Orphée machine in 1988 as a first step to modernize dubbing writing equipment. The machine shrunk the hardware from the size of a piano to the size of a printer. In 1990, he developed the first NTSC rythmo band machines for North America (in Toronto and Montreal). In 2006, he received funding to develop a tapeless hybrid machine using digital video files in the dubbing writing process. On top of his engineering feats, he has done just about everything there is to do in the dubbing business, serving as author, actor and dubbing director on different productions. He has also organized and presented numerous industry events to publicize, promote and bring progress to the dubbing industry.
Grégoire Parcollet created Cappella, the first rythmo band based software in the world for lip-synching specialists and dubbing writers, between 1996 and 1998 and founded Chinkel, a dubbing studio using this technology. The economic advantages of digital technology in the dubbing and post-production industry enabled him to penetrate the dubbing market. Winner of the 2001 Talents competition, sponsored by Microsoft, for Nestor Technologies, he also created enterprise management software called CROM, specifically for audio-visual businesses. He is currently the Managing Director of the Woods Media Group, specializing in localization, production and programming services for the global market.
Thomas Ayoub is a young developer studying computer science at IUT d'Orsay. At the age of 14 he won the Junior Chess championship in Paris; he is an amateur photographer and an avid rollerblade fan.


Louth's Cattle Market came to life with the excited chattering of young voices last Wednesday (February 6) when children from three local primary schools were invited along to learn about agriculture and rural life.
The stimulating visit gave Year 5-6 pupils from Utterby, North Thoresby and North Somercotes the opportunity to learn all about where our food comes from, how farm animals are bred, and even the chance to take part in an exhilarating 'mock auction' to round off their visit.
Rosie Cosgrove, from Louth Young Farmers, introduces North Thoresby Primary Academy pupils to a little lamb!
A firm favourite amongst the youngsters was the chance to climb aboard a £140,000 tractor, kindly loaned by Lincolnshire Motors.
Oliver said: "I decided to organise this day as I feel education around food production is very limited, if available at all, to the younger generations.
One pupil made herself at home in one of the tractor wheels!
"With this being the only day of its kind in the area, I think it is going to have a great benefit to all students and schools attending.
"With the Louth (Cattle) Market having been saved, it was a good opportunity to utilise the facilities that are here.
"Part of the saving of the market was finding a different way of utilising it and make sure we're using it more than just one day a week, so we've found a way that is also educational at the same time, so we've been able to kill two birds with one stone.
"I've organised it all, and as much hard work as it's been, I think it's all paid off in the end.
Pupils took the opportunity to climb aboard a tractor, kindly provided by Lincolnshire Motors.
"We've had positive feedback, and hopefully we can do similar events in the future.
Jayne Lawrence, who brought along pupils from North Thoresby Primary Academy, said her pupils had really embraced the event.
The youngsters were asked to identify fruit and vegetables.
Victoria Cass, Y6 teacher at North Somercotes Primary Academy, added: "It's been really nice to see the children that come from farming backgrounds shine, particularly the children who don't find the academic side of school quite as easy.
"To see them being proud of it is good, because we are in a community where farming still is a big deal, and it's nice for the other children to see that, and understand the importance of it.
Pick up this week's Leader for more pictures from the event.


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← A "rolling world premiere" at the Fringe: The Trophy Hunt
Those who can, teach: a new theatre company debuts at the Fringe →
'Hello everybody, my name is TJ' – 25 years of Fringe for TJ Dawe
Posted on August 12, 2019 by Liz Nicholls
TJ Dawe in Operatic Panic Attack. Photo supplied.
"Hello everybody. Thanks for coming. My name's TJ. I'm here to tell you a story…."
It's been 25 years since an underachieving West Coast actor, fresh from theatre school, discovered something unexpected and empowering about the Canadian showbiz. It was called the Fringe; there was a string of them across the country.
And here's the thing that changed everything for the wry, spectacled, star soloist of the Fringe circuit, it was "a world of people who almost exclusively create their own work," performed for theatre audiences who "want something new, something that plays with them in a way they'd never been played with before…."
In the summer of 1994, TJ Dawe found himself unexpectedly with his U Vic pals touring Canadian Fringes, Montreal to Victoria. He'd been cast in Daniel MacIvor's Never Swim Alone, directed and stage managed by David Cheoros (who would later move to Edmonton and become the director of our monster Fringe for a time). "It was life-changing," he says, musing on the improbability of his total immersion, and "the paths that all come back to that first tour."
Though the Vancouver Fringe was on the same block as his high school, the 20-year-old artist who would become the highest-profile solo star of the ever-expanding Canadian summer festival season, had never even seen a Fringe show. Dawe remembers his frustratingly lean "middle-of-the-pack" theatre school years, where he worked hard, but never felt the same visceral attachment to Shakespeare as he did to the Marx Brothers. "They don't exactly allow you to improvise your way through Shakespeare and Caryl Churchill," he sighs. "In retrospect it's so clear…. I was being trained to be an auditioning actor when what I really wanted to do was to tell, to write and perform, my own stories."
And as Edmonton Fringe audiences have known first hand — Tired Clichés arrived here in 1999, followed closely by Labrador and The Slipknot (Dawe's breakthrough hit) — that's exactly what he's been doing ever since.
In honour of his 25th anniversary of Fringe touring, the nomadic storyteller arrives at Where The Wild Things Fringe with his most-performed show, The Slipknot, and a new show, Operatic Panic Attack. Plus, of course, his usual assortment of backstage collaborations in directing, dramaturgical, writing, including Charlie Ross's One-Man Star Wars and One-Man Avengers, newcomer Rodney Decroo's Didn't Hurt, and Mark Meer's new solo play Fear And Loathing And Lovecraft, adapted from the obscure cult novel The Damned Highway.
Dawe is typically self-deprecating. "I didn't study 'dramaturgy' formally," he says. "For me, it just comes down to asking questions, probing…. 'O, that's interesting; tell me more about that'." That's his technique, too, when it comes to mentoring people creating solo shows. "We're often unaware of the most outstanding and obvious aspects of ourselves. Asking questions gives them another perspective." His view of directing is similarly open-ended: "I'm the sounding board, there to give feedback and ask questions."
The Slipknot has all the signatures of early Dawe, with its intertwined trio of stories about iffy jobs he's had, and the way he lets the anecdotal strings out then gradually, skillfully reels them back into to a single track. "It's still fun to do," he says genially, on the phone from Wells, B.C. where he's been performing the show at an arts festival. "Not an emotionally taxing show. A lot of jokes and stories. Verbal acrobatics. A happy ending."
Operatic Panic Attack is much different, Dawe thinks. For one thing, "it's a straight-up story, without a weave of philosophical or theoretic threads." The new show, which premiered at the Orlando Fringe this spring, had its origins in his 11-minute contribution to a Vancouver autobiographical story slam, The Flame.
For another, it ventures into the "deep and emotional territory," as he puts it, that make it hard to do, "painful but cathartic…." Dawe uses the word "healing" a lot.
"For the last 10 years the shows I've done are a lot more emotional, more personal," he says. "The risks are bigger, it can be scary. But that's what makes the pay-off greater." In early shows, The Slipknot among them, he avoiding referring to himself onstage by name, his own or any other. As of 2008, and Totem Figures, "I used my own real name … an unwritten contract with the audience that I'm telling them what really happened, that I'm sticking to the truth, I'm exploring the real details of my life — without fudging anything to make a better story. I'm not letting myself off the hook."
After all, that show, he says, was "a sort of overview of my life…. If I had my own Mount Rushmore or Sergeant Pepper album cover, what would be on it?"
"And that's what I've done ever since," says Dawe. "'Hello. My name's TJ….' When I receive love from the audience, I know it's for the real me." A New York collaborator on a pop-culture parody called 6 Chick Flicks (Dawe was dramaturg), marvelled that the offstage and onstage Dawe, whether in a restaurant or a rehearsal hall, seemed exactly the same to her, in rhythm and energy. Dawe was mightily pleased. "That's exactly what I'm going for."
The shows of the last decade all power up the sense of "you are not alone" in the audience. "Men in particular have a tendency to regard asking for help as a sign of weakness."
Marathon "was me learning about my 'social blind spot', an inclination to exclude myself, to project non-belonging into social situations." Burn Job, which was his discovery of 'holotropic breathing', "showed me how much I'd rejected my inner child." In Medicine Dawe revealed his "intrusive visions, of a disturbing nature. A form of anxiety."
As you'll discover in Operatic Panic Attack, that "real me" wasn't an opera buff when the college-age Dawe got cast in a non-singing role as a supernumerary in a Pacific Opera production of Verdi's Macbeth. "I'd never seen an opera; I'd never been interested enough…. But the $75 seemed like a fortune to me."
Luckily he knew the Shakespeare play from theatre school. "I could decipher a lot of the Italian in the soliloquies. It didn't seem like the warbling nonsense opera often seems to people who don't know it…. After it was done, I missed it." He got more non-singing opera gigs after that, in heavy-hitters like Carmen, The Elixir of Love, (Atom Egoyan's) Salomé, Il Trovatore.
There it is, right in the title: panic. "I had a fling with one of the chorus members," says Dawe of his opera debut lo these many years. "And it led to a long panic attack : anxiety about sex…. I'd had panic attacks growing up but didn't know that's what they were. The shame, the sexual anxiety as a university student when people are having sex a lot and I wasn't, the anxiety about the dream of being an actor and it really was not going well: it all came to a head at 21."
"It's a horrific feeling; I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy," says Dawe. "And it's so isolating. I thought I was a one-in-a-million freak. And that makes the pain and stress of panic even worse…. The show is a message of solidarity to the younger version of me. Seeing someone talk about this onstage and not be booed off, or struck by lightning — it would have meant the world to me."
Dawe, an empathetic collaborator on both sides of the border, has a long resumé of projects that involve adapting web and screen projects for the stage. He's been in L.A. helping movie star Richard Dreyfuss fashion a one-man career retrospective for the stage. It debuted in London, with plans to tour. He's working with Mom Truths on a small-scale stage version of their popular podcast.
Meanwhile, there's the Edmonton Fringe, and a schedule of tight squeezes and near misses (just like yours). Dawe has two of his own shows, a high-contrast pair, to perform in Edmonton. And he's had a hand in four other Fringe productions. "I can't wait to see it," he says of Meer's Fear And Loathing And Lovecraft. "He's such a brilliant and fluent character player…. No one but Mark could do this. With his love of horror and genre fiction, he instantly and effortlessly creates an environment…."
That's the spirit of collaboration, generous and curious, that's kept a soloist at the Fringe and on the road for 25 years.
This entry was posted in Features, Fringe 2019, Previews and tagged 12thnight.ca, Edmonton Fringe 2019, Fringe circuit, solo shows, storytellers, TJ Dawe. Bookmark the permalink.


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Counter Culture / May 19, 2021
New 10% stamp duty for those bulk buying property in Ireland
Photo by Brett Jordan
The Dàil is set to approve a new 10 per cent stamp duty today, however, as it stands apartments would be exempt from the higher duty.
Last night, the cabinet came to an agreement around a higher stamp duty rate for those buying more than ten houses within a 12 month period.
Additionally, new planning guidelines will entail that all new build houses should be available for at least two years after they are built.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said last night that the new stamp duty is to "provide a very significant disincentive" to those buying large parts of housing estates in bulk.
Minister Paschal Donohoe says Govt plans to impose a 10% stamp duty tax on bulk purchases of ten or more houses | https://t.co/rWECYN7PZc pic.twitter.com/gqc7fs0I5c
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) May 18, 2021
The new measures should come into place on Thursday following a vote today in the Dàil, however, according to the Irish Times, there were concerns expressed by members of the Green Party because apartments will be exempt from the higher rate.
Moreover, the new measures would not apply in cases where a contract has already been signed. The government's plans for housing came up against significant backlash in the Dàil as Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said stamp duty should be set at at least 15 per cent and Eoin Ó Broin described the plan as "an absolute cop out".
Elsewhere on District: Extraterrestrial: Exploring alienation and identity in Ireland.


Review – ETUDE HOUSE My Beauty Tool Secret Brush 130 Contour is a Contour Brush used to make a seamlessly sculpted, slimming appearance for your face. If your powdered makeup products are leaving flecks behind, a light sweep of the Contour Brush can easily wipe away the excess too.
Contour Brush used to make a seamlessly sculpted, slimming appearance for your face. If your powdered makeup products are leaving flecks behind, a light sweep of the Contour Brush can easily wipe away the excess too.
Contour Brush used to make a seamlessly sculpted, slimming appearance for your face.
If your powdered makeup products are leaving flecks behind, a light sweep of the Contour Brush can easily wipe away the excess too.
1. Swirl the Contour Brush around in your bronzer powder or a dark powder.
2. Gently apply it on your jawline, on the sides of your nose and under your chin. This will make your face look more sculptured and slim.


As children, my brother and I would heavily debate the merits of creamy vs. crunchy peanut butter; I was partial to extra crunchy, while he preferred his smooth as Skippy. Children these days have much more to debate than just the crunch. Many other nut and seed butters have entered the market, made from nuts such as walnuts and cashews and seeds such as sunflower, pumpkin or even watermelon. Some varieties are flavored with honey, vanilla or sea salt; others include chocolate, making them reminiscent of a popular peanut butter cup or hazelnut spread.
How do these new products, which are often more costly, stack up against traditional peanut butter?
In a nutshell, all nut and seed butters, including those made from peanuts, can be good sources of healthy fats, protein and fiber, along with vitamins A and E for skin, zinc for immunity, magnesium for stress management, iron for energy, and potassium for muscles.
A large study done by Harvard Medical School, among other researchers, showed that people who eat a daily serving of nuts were 20 percent less likely to die of any health cause, 29 percent less likely to die of heart disease and 11 percent less likely to die from cancer over a 30-year follow-up period.
Although all nut and seed butters have most of the nutrients and health benefits mentioned above, each variety has its own distinct nutrition profile along with its own distinct flavor. This means you should choose the one you like best or, even better, eat a variety, so your body obtains different nutrient combinations. Remember, a serving size is two tablespoons.
When shopping, avoid any product with partially hydrogenated oils (also known as trans fats), added sugar (who needs that?) or too much added salt. Small amounts of hydrogenated oils are added to some products to ensure the oil from the nuts doesn't separate and rise to the top of the jar. You can stir a separated nut butter, so skip these unhealthy oils. Nut butters made with raw nuts are the healthiest, because these nuts have gone through the least amount of processing. An organic label ensures no chemical pesticides were sprayed on the nuts. Check nutrition fact panels for products with chocolate so you know exactly what you are eating: a healthful snack or decadent dessert.
■Peanut butter is highest in protein and generally high in all of the nutrients. It tends to be less expensive and more widely available than many of the alternative products. Peanuts, which are technically a legume, not a nut, are a known and common allergen.
■Almond butter could be called peanut butter on steroids because it has all of the same nutrients, most in higher quantities. Its protein count is close to that of peanut butter, and it is higher in heart-healthy fats, calcium (seven times as much as peanut butter), fiber, vitamin E (three times as much as peanut butter), iron (two times as much as peanut butter) and magnesium, and it is also the lowest in natural sugars. All this nutrition comes with a price, though, because it is generally more expensive than peanut butter.
■Sunflower seed butter is a safe choice for those allergic to peanuts and tree nuts (including almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, macadamias and hazelnuts). It has the most magnesium, making it beneficial for stress management, flexibility, muscle strength and the heart. Sunflower butter usually has a few more calories per serving than other varieties, a slightly lower amount of protein and no calcium. Many brands add sugar, so read the labels carefully or take five minutes to make your own.
■Cashew butter is the sweetest of the bunch, even without any added sugar, so it is no surprise that it is the highest in carbohydrates. It provides less protein and fiber per serving than the ones above and can be quite pricey, so dollar for dollar it isn't the most nutritious. It does provide magnesium, phosphorous and high amounts of copper for the immune system, so it can deliver important nutrients while satisfying a sweet tooth.
■Walnut butter provides the most omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for brain health but do not provide any vitamin A.
■Pumpkin seed butter provides the most zinc. Pumpkin seeds also blend well with almonds and walnuts.
■Sesame seed butter/tahini delivers more calcium than almond butter, and also plenty of copper and selenium to prevent cancer.
■Macadamia nut butter is deliciously creamy and the highest in fat.
■Hazelnut butter has a rich, fairly distinct flavor, is low in natural sugars but also low in calcium.
■Watermelon seed butter is harder to find but gaining a following. It is low in fiber and vitamins but high in protein and iron.
All of these nut and seed butters work well on bread or toast, in oatmeal and smoothies, as a snack on an apple or banana slice, or to bind baked goods.
Making your own is incredibly easy: Blend 1 cup of raw or lightly roasted nuts or seeds, ½ teaspoon of coconut, walnut or olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt. Add a dash of pumpkin spice for a seasonal treat.
There are many high-quality brands on the market, including products by Whole Foods' 365 Everyday, Justin's, Trader Joe's, Kirkland Signature, Barney Butter, Thrive Market, Maranatha, Artisana, Once Again and Sunbutter.
Seidenberg is co-founder of Nourish Schools, a D.C.-based nutrition education company, and co-author of Super Food Cards, a collection of healthful recipes and advice.


The Brotherhood is a band of consecrated men doing Kingdom work. Christian men undergirding the programs of the church to deepen the spirituality of men and win lost souls to Christ. We come together every 1st Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.


text:
namespace skywalker {

class Network;

class Group {
 public:
  Group(uint64_t node_id, uint32_t group_id, const GroupOptions& options,
        Network* network, Cluster* cluster);
  ~Group();

  bool Recover();
  void Start(RunLoop* io_loop, RunLoop* callback_loop,
             RunLoop* learn_loop, RunLoop* clean_loop, RunLoop* master_loop);

  void SetNewMembershipCallback(const NewMembershipCallback& cb);
  void SetNewMasterCallback(const NewMasterCallback& cb);

  void Sync();

  bool OnPropose(uint32_t machine_id, const std::string& value, void* context,
                 const ProposeCompleteCallback& cb);

  bool OnPropose(uint32_t machine_id, const std::string& value, void* context,
                 ProposeCompleteCallback&& cb);

  void OnContent(Content&& content);

  bool ChangeMember(const std::vector<std::pair<Member, bool>>& value,
                    void* context, const ProposeCompleteCallback& cb);
  void GetMembership(std::vector<Member>* result, uint64_t* version) const;

  bool GetMaster(Member* i, uint64_t* version) const;
  bool IsMaster() const;
  void RetireMaster();

  void StartGC();
  void StopGC();

 private:
  void TryBeMaster();
  void TryBeMasterInLoop();
  bool NewPropose(ProposeHandler&& f);
  void ProposeComplete(uint64_t instance_id, const Status& result,
                       void* context);

  const uint64_t node_id_;
  Config config_;
  Instance instance_;

  bool use_master_;
  bool retrie_master_;
  uint64_t lease_timeout_;
  uint64_t now_;
  MembershipMachine* membership_machine_;
  MasterMachine* master_machine_;
  ProposeCompleteCallback propose_cb_;
  TimerId timer_;

  std::mutex mutex_;
  std::condition_variable cond_;
  bool propose_end_;
  Status result_;

  ProposeQueue propose_queue_;
  RunLoop* io_loop_;
  RunLoop* master_loop_;

  // No copying allowed
  Group(const Group&);
  void operator=(const Group&);
};

}  // namespace skywalker

#endif  // SKYWALKER_PAXOS_GROUP_H_


text:
Modern Sefardim, Shabbat in Morocco, and the Possible Messages of the Current Attacks on Jews
In the Morocco of my mother-in-law's days (1940s-1960s), shemirat Shabbat stood as the rule, not the exception.
And Moroccan Jews kept Shabbat happily. It held enjoyment & meaning for them.
Living within a traditional Muslim society also meant belief in one God stood as the norm.
Religious customs, regular sessions of prayer times throughout the day, modest dress & behavior for both men & women, hospitality...this gave the Moroccan Galut a platform to embrace the fundamentals of Jewish tradition.
The moderate climate also enabled abundant harvests of a wide variety of fruits, legumes, and vegetables, which thus enabled a tremendous amount of generosity in feeding the poor.
Even when the secularizing French influence infiltrated both the Jewish & non-Jewish societies of Morocco, it lacked Eastern Europe's rabid craze for the destruction of everything religious.
Making Room for Religion
Even today, you see how less-religious Sefardim tend to give way to the more religious.
For example, during the blessing said during a bris milah, you'll see very secular-looking Sephardi women suddenly cover their hair out of respect for the blessings.
When attending religious weddings—including the not-terribly-religious weddings, even the most secular women make some attempt at tsniyut, whether it's being technically covered up with long pants & long sleeves, or a longer-than-usual skirt.
Normally bare-headed men don a kippah.
In fact, in a wedding with a lot of bare-headed guests, kippahs get passed out to anyone who needs, and everyone dons one. No considers it religious coercion.
In fact, I recently attending a wedding on my husband's side in which the bride's gown showed an appalling lack of tsniyut (as did most of the female guests)...but the initial dancing hosted by the secular-looking DJs featured a mechitzah smack in the middle of the dance floor!
And everyone respected the mechitzah (for as long as it lasted).
BTW, the mechitzah (pleasantly) shocked me because when I first came to Eretz Yisrael around 30 years ago, the solid dati-leumi committed to weddings with separate dancing, but no mechitzah.
So all the more so with this family, a very tepid dati-leumi, I felt sure there would be mixed dancing all the way.
But much to their credit, the first part of the wedding not only featured separate dancing, but also a mechitzah on the dance floor.
When I expressed my joyful shock, one of my older kids told me this has become the norm; most weddings among this crowd feature a mechitzah on the dance floor.
And frum pop songs blared out from the speakers, including chassidish ones.
And everyone loved it, singing along & raising their hands prayerfully to shout, "Hashem Melech, Hashem malach, Hashem yimloch l'olam va'ed!" (Hashem is King, Hashem has always been King, Hashem will remain King forever & ever.)
As another example of mixing: In the slideshow of the new couple projected onto the walls, posed next to his really nice yet extremely immodest kallah stood the chatan...wearing long thick tzitzit.
And a kippah, of course.
(In case you're wondering how the chuppah ceremony is conducted with such a revealing kallah at these secular-religious Sefardi weddings, the kallah usually wears some kind of covering under the chuppah only. Or her veil remains long enough to cover—even if it's a see-thru veil. And the rav acting as mesader kiddushin takes tactful care not to face her.)
Wait a Minute...WHO was Throwing Rocks Again?
At the same time, today's Sefardi communities developed a reputation for patience & acceptance of those seemingly less religious.
I wondered how it all went together back in Morocco's religiously devoted days of yore.
So I very nicely & sensitively asked my mother-in-law whether there were Jews who transgressed Shabbat in Morocco when she lived there.
"Yes," she said. "A few. But only inside their home. Never publicly."
"So there was never public desecration of Shabbat in Moroccan?"
"No," she said firmly.
She also indicated that the minority of Shabbat transgressors didn't want to take their Shabbat transgression to the street.
In other words, they weren't unhappy living amid a shomer Shabbat society, even if they did not believe it for themselves.
Intrigued by this complete (and correct) reversal of today's norm, I said, "What would have happened if they'd violated Shabbat on the street?"
"They'd throw rocks at them."
Oho, I thought. So it's not just those "fanatic charedim"...or so I assumed.
"Really?" I said. "In Morocco, the Jews threw rocks at Sabbath violators?"
My mother-in-law's eyes widened & she went speechless as did a double-take. "No!" she said when she'd recovered from the apparently shocking insinuation. She managed to stammer, "Not the Jews—the Arabs."
Now it was my turn for a double-take. "What—the Arabs?"
"Yeah," she said.
"Wait, let me get this straight," I said. "In Morocco, if a Jew would have violated Shabbat publicly, the ARABS would throw rocks at them?"
"Because they knew the Jews shouldn't be doing that."
If a Jew in Morocco walked out of his house smoking a cigarette or getting into a car on Shabbat, his NON-Jewish society would stone him on the spot.
The connection between obvious transgression & negative consequence back then & there was obvious to all.
In fact, even if you don't personally approve of it, it's hard to label that as Jew-hatred or antisemitism because the goyim in that situation were davka making sure Jews observed Judaism...as opposed to so many other times throughout history when the goyim tried to force Jews to violate Judaism.
And in addition to the basic respect these Shabbat-transgressors had for their Jewish society, the threat of stones zooming their way also kept their desecrations from crossing into the public sphere (a dynamic that ultimately weakens everyone & brings harsher judgement on a populace).
What Might These Nasty, Sometimes Lethal Hits be Hinting?
For millennia, our Neviim & Sages have been telling us that Jew-hatred is merely the stick used to keep us in line with our unique, holy, and unparalleled role in rectifying the world & achieving personal greatness in the This World & the World to Come.
The surrounding nations are a type of polishing-sifting mechanism for Am Yisrael.
Only rarely do the surrounding societies remind us to return to the framework of halacha in such an obviously pro-Torah manner, as the Moroccan Muslims did when they attacked Jews who publicly desecrated their own religion of Judaism.
Usually, it's much less targeted & much more anti-Torah than that.
(For example, throwing rocks at Jews for doing things like living in Eretz Yisrael or going to daven at the Kotel.)
It doesn't mean we cannot defend ourselves.
It doesn't mean the haters are blameless. They're wicked & will face harsh consequences for their Jew-hating actions.
But it does mean we should also look beyond the stick (even as we struggle to dodge or fend off the stick).
As we find ourselves hit once again by a wave of attacks by Yishmael, we can look at what might be going on beneath the surface.
Once again, the attacks come as hits from behind or from the side—unexpected, short & to-the-point, yet lethal (or almost lethal, depending).
One thing that comes to mind is the nasty little barbs people sometimes shoot at others.
While the offender usually minimizes the nasty barb as "cute," "clever," "funny," or "S/He deserved it," the victim often feels slapped in the face, gutted, humiliated, enraged, etc.
With comment sections & social media, nasty little comments have reached an all-time high, spreading faster & farther than ever—before an audience of hundreds, thousands, or even millions—and staying there theoretically forever.
Another message might be about all the seemingly "little" breaches people make in halacha.
The skirts that are just a bit too short, the shirt that's just a tad too tight. (Men shouldn't wear tight pants either: https://dinonline.org/2016/02/26/tight-clothes-for-men/.)
The hair-covering that's not completely appropriate (because, hey, the main thing is covering the hair).
The one little look at something online not completely appropriate or even absolutely forbidden.
How many men glance at something online when they could be glancing at something in limud?
And as sincere & heartfelt as one's simple love of Hashem may be, all the "little" breaches mentioned in the weddings above are as appalling as the sincerely observed mitzvot in those same venues are meritorious.
(Probably, there are also other ideas I'm not thinking of.)
In so many situations, the Yetzer Hara comes through the back door, sneaking up from behind or to the side of a person looking the other way.
Then the Yetzer delivers that stab, that bullet.
Needless to say, I'm talking to myself as much as anyone else. I also struggle with all sorts of stuff.
Of course, as far as practical protection goes, normal security methods should be implemented & strengthened.
But throughout Jewish history, our greatest Sages have always emphasized the need to invest in good soul-searching & teshuvah when faced with Jew-hatred.
The Beautiful Rose Garden that is You
Whenever we speak of self-scrutiny (cheshbon hanefesh), we must emphasize the importance of doing this with love & compassion.
We should feel GOOD about seeking out what we need to strengthen.
And taking baby steps in the right direction is absolutely fabulous. Generally, you don't need to make grand gestures unless you really feel willing & able to do so.
It shouldn't be depressing or "Oh no, not this AGAIN..."
It should be like weeding a beautiful rose garden.
You are the rose garden in all your glorious beauty—and you just need to do your lovely gloriousness a favor by pulling out a few pesky weeds.
If even that's too much (and for some people, based on their personality & traumatic experiences, it really might be too much), people are also free to dance & sing songs of praise to Hashem as a response.
Simply davening or saying Tehillim are also wonderful responses.
And that's it.