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Very Long Walks
The thoughts and sights of a walk from London to Santiago de Compostella in Spain, by Rachel Escott and David Steel. To find out what this is all about, start with the earliest entries (scroll down till you see 'Blog Archive' on the right, and click the earliest date). See many more of David's photos so far at http://www.elcaminodesantiago.co.uk/ Et bonjour et bienvenu à tous nos amis français. Voyez 'archive' pour toute l'histoire!
A useful resource
I've been contacted by the owners of the 10 Adventures site, that looks to contain lots of up to date information and advice. https://www.10adventures.com/guide-camino-de-santiago/.
So I've added this to the other useful links listed further down on the side bar.
Posted by Rachel Escott at 12:33 0 comments
In print at last
Now available: A Very Long Walk is the published version of these articles and blogs, written while undertaking a 2,300-mile, 9-month long walk from my home in central London to Santiago de Compostella in Spain.
While Rome burns
The tenth of October. I've just been sitting on the beach, mesmerised by the powerful white curls of rising waves that approach each time closer than the last. Around me people were stripped down to swimming costumes, stretched on the sand or tossing in the breakers. The wind was brisk but warm and windsurfers were showing off. We've been promised rain for days, but there was still no sign of it.
This scene is the reason we came to Barcelona: for late sun and warmth and a chance to test how small a pocket of the year my white fingers can be squeezed into.
Until we got here, that is. In this international city par excellence, English-language newspapers are everywhere with tales of economic implosion. Easy internet access leads to easy browsing of BBC headlines. And now our tenants are about to move out, leaving us rent-less. Can we really bury our heads in the sand any longer – especially in the coarse, gritty sand of Barcelona beach? Ought we really to spend the winter wandering the tapas bars where some Flamenco musician is playing the guitar – while stocks and shares burn all around?
Maybe we could, maybe we should. But in the first shocked days here, before we remembered the beach, we had already decided it was time to head for home.
Now, sitting on this beach that is warmer than many English summers, eating my ice-cream, I'm beginning to think we might have made a mistake.
PS: the statistics
9 months / 274 days in total
147 days of walking
2289 miles / 3683 kilometres walked
15.6 miles on average walked per (walking) day
5 pairs of boots used between us
0 blisters
12 pairs of socks used each
4 visits to doctors
5 major bug attacks, assorted
300-plus bed bug bites
3 t-shirts, 3 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of trousers worn each
17,660 photos taken
11 notebooks filled
10 items carried and never used
There should be moments of great emotion; revelations about life, ourselves or both. Our way of behaving in the world should, Damascus-like, be transformed. Yet thoughts and emotions rarely occur at the scheduled moments, but at the right ones.
We had all the superficial milestones: the "last hundred kilometres" post; "only three more days to go"; the "last time I need to wash out this t-s hirt". Deliberately we left ourselves a long last walk into Santiago, wanting to arrive tired and feeling like we had walked a long way to get there. We woke to a perfect shimmering sunrise and strange nerves, as if it could all still spoil.
It didn't. The sun slanted through eucalyptus forests right to the city's edge. The soft sandy track had kept back some steep ascents for a final fling, which we enjoyed in our familiar quiet. Only at the approach to Santiago did the scattered individuals become a stream of movement in a single direction. Most people stop at Monte de Gozo, a giant accommodation centre that permits them to walk the final five kilometres to the Cathedral next morning, refreshed. We didn't stop, and so our final five kilometres, like the first five months, we walked alone with ourselves. In the city streets school children and workers were heading home for the late Spanish lunch. They were indifferent to us: pilgrims in Santiago are like pigeons in London.
I had expected the Cathedral and its main square, the Praza do Obradoiro, to be a noisy circus ring of souvenir sellers, cafés and tour groups. But there were none, just a scattering of other stunned people with laden rucksacks or cycles and a beautiful, reverent silence. Inside the Cathedral, too, smaller than I'd imagined, a contemplative peace wrapped around us in contrast to the chattering museums that other Spanish cathedrals have become. When I later learned this was a short-lived drawing of breath during lunch, I was even more grateful that such was our arrival.
Even so it was impossible to know what to think or feel. Numb. Complete. Astounded. Relieved. Lost. Grateful. Sad. Not sad: we had finished where and how we had always hoped to finish.
But gratitude was overwhelming. In the dark crypt with its silvered coffin I muttered a spontaneous "thanks!" David was similarly moved by the centuries-old gesture of filing past the golden and jewelled statue of our old Saint Jack to give him the customary big hug and a kiss. The feelings continued through the next day's noontime Pilgrim Mass at which a nun sang with the voice of a fragile angel and American priests made the Botafumeiro swing with glee.
For a few hours I couldn't even look at the shop windows of jewellery and gifts, much less contemplate buying such unnecessary things ever again. But after an Australian-sized tapas bar-crawl with Paul and Kim, I achieved closure - or oblivion.
Then we came to Finisterre, the end of the once-known world, and in a much anticipated moment of symbolism out on the rocky headland each burned one item of the clothes that have done duty for nine months. It is here, in the tiny, ordinary fishing town with mild headlands and blue-green seas that we have found some of the silence needed to consider our journey.
I'm not sure I can claim we have changed at all. It's rare that an experience like this changes people deep down. A frequent comment from those who completed the walk a while ago is a melancho ly "I did change ... for a while ...". Nor do I expect the people we have spent time with to remain friends for long. Camino friends are not for life. The experiences that bring you together are too intense and too different to sustain into normal life. Perhaps the most we can hope for is that inherent but previously worn out characteristics become strengthened.
So I hope we continue to loosen the ties that bind us to shops and acquisitions. I hope we can lighten our load in the world.
I hope we continue to have increased respect for the environment and its resources, especially water and fuel. My repulsion in the face of some of the squalor we have encountered, even here in western Europe, makes me sure that no one anywhere should have to live with squalor. Yet I have learned that I'm not the sort of person to carry out development work overseas: better to increase the support I can give to those better able to do it.
I hope we can continue to lead a slower life with more time, daily, for each other and for other people. Even without the regular terrors and exhaustions that bred my prayers for help and sighs of thanks, I hope I'll still take time to look beyond myself. Whether you call it prayer in a Christian, Jewish or Muslim mode or the power of Buddhist positive energy, the knowledge that people were wishing me success was sometimes the only thing keeping me going. So I hope I'll find space to stop and cast a thought or two in the direction of people, known or unknown, who need the extra strength. And the first person I'll direct those thoughts to is Alan, a teacher from Kosi Bay School in South Africa. He has decided to take time for reflection by walking from Cape Town back to the school in north eastern South Africa. With nothing like the infrastructure surrounding the Camino de Santiago that is a challenge indeed and there will be times he'll need the thoughts and strength of others to help him through. Believe me, I know.
Rachel Escott and David Steel are partners in business and on this walk (we're married too, which helps). Back home, we act as consultants in the arts and in large business transformation; we also operate a more creative side of our business, linking our work in the arts to fiction, journalism and photography.
Contact us directly at rachel@developaudiences.co.uk or david37steel@gmail.com if you don't want to leave a comment here.
Our walk
In 2008, we are putting the creative side to the fore, allowing the experiences on our 'very long walk' to generate material for our writing and our photography work, respectively. The year will be a time of reflection, to generate energy and insights long into the future.
Map and Photos
How to get news of our 'very long walk'
We hope to write a column here each week, with impressions of the places we've walked through and the people we've talked to – and what this challenging walk is teaching us. Our itinerary is below and we'll post up photos when we can.
We invite you to support us during 2008 by donating directly to the charities we support through PM&M Consulting Solutions Ltd.
Part of the experience will be the people we share it with – if you fancy joining us at any point for a day or a few, leave a message in 'comments' to see if we can meet up.
Roughly, we'll be covering the following sections in the months given - but this may speed up or slow down depending on rest-stops.
January London to Honfleur via Farnham, Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth, Bayeux, Caen and Deauville
February Honfleur to Soissons via Jumièges, Rouen, Beauvais, Chantilly, Senlis and Compiegne
March Soissons to Chalons-en-Champagne via a visit to Paris, then Laon, Fismes and Reims
April Chalons-en-Champagne to Vézelay via Vitry-le-François, Brienne-le-Château, Troyes, Chablis and Auxerre
May Vézelay to Le Puy-en-Velay via Courcelles, Château-Chinon, Bourbon-Lancy, Noiretables, St-Anthème, and Vorey
June Le Puy-en-Velay to Cahors via Saugues, Aumont-Aubrac, Espalion, Conques and Figeac
July Cahors to St Jean-Pied-de-Port via Moissac, Condom, Nogaro, Aire sur l'Ardour and Navarrenx
August St Jean-Pied-de-Port to Sahagún via Roncesvalles, Puenta la Reina, Logroño, Nájera, Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Burgos
September Sahagún to Cabo de Finisterre via León, Astorga, Ponferrada, Cacabelos, Sarria, Melide and Santiago de Compostela
10 Adventures
Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre
National Trails UK
Peter Robin's pilgrimages site
Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
Snow + Rock
Stanfords bookshop for travellers
The Confraternity of Saint James


So next year at some tracks teams in Xfinity series will be allowed to use flange fit composite bodies in NASCAR, making this even weirder to call it stock cars.
Heck even Toyota tundra v8s sound good.
Surprisingly the lower classes have used one piece composite bodies since early 2010s but the major series have not. Arca/K&N went to same build of cars a couple years ago with full composite single piece bodies and now have settled on composite body panels for ease of repair. But supposedly it is 'significantly lighter' according to the series.
Course they also went to a quasi-spec engine package with an Ilmor built LS engine.
There is not a single part on a Cup, Xfinity, or Truck that is "stock" at the moment. Instead of teams spending hours forming sheet metal into a body that have to fit strict templates, they will be able to unclip and refit a moulded panel in next to no time.
They run tapered spacer air restrictors at all tracks in Cup, and plates at the superspeedways, so new engine rules make sense.
Logical move but will miss the hammering and bending of the sheet metal after a crash.
i know that, but my suspension of disbelief is in effect, steel cars steel race cars, most i was to ask for since it isn't stock but a tin top.
i know it isn't new all together, but this only invites other changes as mentioned.
a car that loses 500 lbs (240kg?) with the current 950HP motor will go how much faster? will they choke the engine, or down size it? like ARCA and their specish motors.
i expect the same- it doesn't do anything to lessen the racing when things are so equal but the fan backlash and it can hurt the image and we know the dmaage this does like in indy car etc.
frankly i though NASCAR was going to go and use the DP (first gen) as a replacement for the cup series, but it didn't do that did it.
the drivers creep closer to the center every generation of car, which is okay, it is for safety. but what is the want and desire of the people in charge.
they say the composite bodies will lower costs, and at the same time they mention all the body and metal shops supporting teams..will not be needed.
doh! lots of folks will be out of work, seeing as composites will likely be sourced from one or 2 suppliers.
The Xfinity teams used the composite bodies last weekend at Richmond. I did not realise until Jeff Burton mentioned it. The cars looked absolutely identical and I could see no difference in performance at all.


Shot on location in Montreal, the film showcases performers Jonathan Agassi, Adam Killian, Alexy Tyler, Rafael Carreras and others.
The performers engage in a variety of sexual escapades in several locations such as an adult shop, a public stairwell and other settings.
"Backdoor" is available now on DVD.
Members of LucasEntertainment.com can also stream the film instantly on the website.


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Alleged corruption | The European Parliament launches a procedure to waive the immunity of two MEPs
(Brussels) The investigation into alleged corruption involving Qatar is widening: the European Parliament announced on Monday that it had launched an "emergency procedure" to lift, at the request of the Belgian judicial authorities, the immunity of two MEPs.
The elected officials concerned are the Italian Andrea Cozzolino and the Belgian Marc Tarabella, both belonging to the S & D group (Social Democrats), we learned from sources familiar with the matter.
Both are targeted as part of the investigation which led Belgian investigators to arrest on December 9 a vice-president of the institution, the Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili.
The latter's companion, the Italian Francesco Giorgi, who was also Mr. Cozzolino's parliamentary assistant, was also among those arrested, as was the former Italian socialist MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri, and a manager of NGO, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca.
These four personalities, placed in pre-trial detention, were charged with "belonging to a criminal organisation", "money laundering" and "corruption" for the benefit of Qatar, in a scandal which caused shock waves in the European Parliament and tensions between the Gulf emirate and the EU.
Mme Kaili did not benefit from his parliamentary immunity, as the offense was found in flagrante delicto, with "bags of tickets" being discovered in his apartment. She was stripped of her title of Vice-President of the European Parliament on December 13 by an almost unanimous vote of MEPs.
In Belgium, the investigation gave rise to twenty searches between December 9 and 12, including within the European Parliament. The home of Marc Tarabella had been searched on December 10 in this context, according to a judicial source.
In total, the Belgian investigators had got their hands on 1.5 million euros in cash, according to a judicial source, seized from the homes of Mr. Panzeri and Mr.me Kaili, as well as in a suitcase carried by her father.
"No impunity"
"Responding to a request from the Belgian judicial authorities, I launched an urgent procedure to lift the immunity of two members of Parliament. There will be no impunity, absolutely none," European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said on Twitter on Monday.
"Officials will find this Parliament on the side of the law. Corruption cannot pay, and we will do everything to fight it," she also said.
Mme Metsola will formally communicate this request to MEPs during their next plenary session, which will start on January 16 in Strasbourg.
The Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) will then have to examine it, behind closed doors, possibly organize hearings, and pronounce a proposal for a decision, which will ultimately be voted on by all MEPs in plenary.
The President of Parliament "has asked all the services and committees to give priority to this procedure, with a view to its conclusion on February 13", specifies the press release.
"Since the start of this case, Marc Tarabella has repeated that he is at the disposal of justice and has even asked to be heard quickly in order to be able to defend himself", reacted his lawyer, Maxim Töller, on Monday in a statement sent to the AFP.
"He also said that he would not hide behind his parliamentary immunity, having nothing to reproach himself for. He therefore supports his waiver of immunity if it is requested," he added.
As of December 12, the S&D parliamentary group had decided to suspend Andrea Cozzolino from his responsibility as coordinator, while Marc Tarabella had himself suspended his membership of the group.
"If the embezzlement is proven, we will terminate the membership of the persons concerned. S & D, which supports the ongoing investigation, will file a civil action and will consider legal proceedings" against those involved, the group said in a statement at the time.
In the process, the two MEPs had also been suspended by their respective national parties, the Belgian Socialist Party and the Italian Democratic Party.
The latter had announced on December 16 to suspend "as a preventive measure" Andrea Cozzolino from the register of its members, "until the closure of the ongoing investigations into the 'Qatargate' scandal", so as to "protect the image of the party ".

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Activists picket health insurance executives
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/03/09/art.dean0309.gi.jpg caption="Former presidential hopeful and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean spoke with reporters Tuesday after participating in a protest about health care reform."]
Washington (CNN) - Activists ratcheted up the pressure for health care reform Tuesday, picketing in front of a hotel where a group of insurance industry leaders were meeting.
More than 1,000 protesters, including representatives of organized labor, marched through downtown Washington before stopping in front of the Ritz Carlton, site of the annual conference of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), an insurance industry lobbying group.
"We're fired up (and) can't take no more," the marchers chanted as they unfurled an oversized roll of yellow police tape emblazoned with the words "corporate crime scene."
They were led by, among others, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a prominent backer of reform legislation.
The protest came one day after President Barack Obama tore into health insurance companies for recent rate hikes. The administration "will continue to make a forceful case" for reform in the days ahead, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Tuesday.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has asked to address the AHIP conference later this week, Gibbs noted. The secretary would likely also discuss the issue of recent rate increases, he added.
The increasingly heated populist rhetoric, according to many analysts, is part of a strategy to pressure wavering Democrats to back the president's sweeping reform plan.
Obama has called for a final up or down vote in Congress within the next few weeks. No Republicans are expected to vote for the nearly $1 trillion package.
"The Republicans are ... proving themselves the party of 'no,'" declared Dean, a former Democratic presidential candidate.
A handful of protesters were escorted away by law enforcement officials.
Gibbs said last week he expects the House to approve the Senate bill by March 18. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, however, pushed back against the idea of next week's deadline, telling reporters that "none of us has mentioned the 18th, other than Mr. Gibbs."
"We are trying to do this as soon as possible," Hoyer said. "That continues to be our objective."
After the House acts, according to Democratic sources, a separate package of changes designed in part to make the overall measure more palatable to House liberals would then be approved by both chambers - getting through the Senate under a legislative maneuver known as reconciliation. Bills passed under reconciliation require only a bare Senate majority of 51 votes.
Democrats lost their filibuster-proof 60-seat Senate supermajority with the election of Massachusetts GOP Sen. Scott Brown in January.
Only 25 percent of Americans believe Congress should pass the health care bill Democratic leaders have been working on for the past year, according to a February 12-15 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll. But the survey also noted that Americans overwhelmingly approve of many of the bill's specific provisions.
Obama on Monday dismissed concerns over any political fallout tied to the health care issue.
"The issue here is not the politics of it," he said. Congress and the president were sent to Washington to "solve the big challenges."
–CNN's Paul Courson, Deirdre Walsh and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.
Filed under: Health care
Mr Joshua
Well the country is broke. The Republicans have the right Ideas. Let people buy health insurance from other states and Tort reform. It's for free, Give it a year or two and let's see what happens! Use the money to attack the deficit. Is this Administration Stoopid or is it me?
Attack these capitalists!
Yehhh... they dare making money and the president said they are stealing our health!
America the land of missed-opportunities!
An 8 year old ELEPHANT dung heap, does not transform into compost in just 1 year!
And next all the unemployed that Bunning screwed need to make their voices heard as well!
proud mother and sister of a soldier
When 25 % want the health care but many more approve of parts, this tells me the government needs to listen to the public , scrap this bill they want to jam down our throats and address this issue one piece at a time. I want reform but I do not want what Obama and Pelosi offer. I also want those leaders buying votes to be impeached/tried for their illegal actions.
Once again this is what passes as news, is CNN so desperate to gain readership of its website that this is what must be posted on its website. Republican, democrat, libertarian who cares about this, where is the deep understanding of issues that news reporters should be pursuing? Whats next CNN? I hear verizon has a new purple balckberry hitting the market. Maybe you could cover this in depth rather than covering a real story.
Squigman
Were any (I'm For The Little Man, Vote For Me), republicans in the picket area. I don't think so. They may come out in support of the insurance companys, and the C.E.O's, but not for you, the consumer.
March 9, 2010 10:02 pm at 10:02 pm |
normajean
Where have these people been for the last year and a half when the president has been bombarded with every form of negative from the "tea partiers' to the entire Repub.. party?What happened? Did they finally learn to read so that they understood that the president was trying to help them,their friends and relatives to have decent health care.Where have you been when you were needed. Blame yourselves if this isn't all we hope it to be.When called for, you weren't there.
And when government runs healthcare and it goes into the ground like a dart who will these closet commies picket then?
Exactly who will be accountable for the failed healthcare?
When you don't get the care you need because you are considered a cost over-run what will you do then? Who are you and your loved ones going to seek redress from then?
Can't blame the insurance companies then because they will be federally mandated.
Has the retard Dean told you who will be responsible then?
Maybe you could go after Dean. He'll be quite deserving; if he's still in the country by then.
S Callahan
This article does bring a chuckle...especially after the CNN poll is announced..with 25% of the population not approving of the current intent of a HCB.....and only 1000 showed up...lol...impressive..not.
while I can understand what is being done, Health Insurance groups do not have as large a profit margin as most think. If you and hopefully the government really wants to see the issue with health care...look closely at the Pharmacy Industry. THEY are ones who really mess things up for people in this country. I seriously doubt the drugs cost as much as they charge but then again, their the ones setting the prices. Also, have people noticed that when some of the more popular and most needed drugs patent is about to end on a specific drug and generic medications can be made of this drug, that is also more affordable, the Pharmacy Industry is extending the patent so they can continue to pull in the money at everyone's expense. The Pharmacy Industry is THE LARGEST EXPENSE to the health industry! Check it out for yourselves! and contact you Congressman or woman!!! This is where President Obama REALLY needs to seriously look at!
Look out Tea Party,you have competition.The new up and coming Tea Party.
SC-Pub "no" more
There may be a "silent majority" that is starting to WAKE UP!
Everyone wants to blame someone. We each need to look at ourselves first before casting stones at each other. We eat too much and eat crappy food. We don't exercise and live stressful lives. We smoke, drink and do drugs. We don't save money and don't live within our means. We expect doctors to be perfect or we sue them. We like hospitals with marble entrances, private rooms, good food...
So should we be surprised that we aren't healthy? That we need lots of medical care? That we cannot afford the care we get?
Dweebs
see that moveon is out in force
J.V.Hodgson
Why do you keep polling something that is not realistically pollable. The final bill is going to have significant differences to what you polled on Feb 12th to 15th.
So much has happened since then and many significant changes will be made, some to meet republican ideas, others to make it more palllatable to some democrats, and if Obama et al are true to thier word the Nebraska and other pork will be out and my guess is that has a big impact on current views of democrats and polling numbers.
Hodgson.
J.C. - Independent 4 Public Option
The way the health insurance industry does their business will never be tolerated by the French people. It's amazing how tolerant the American people are of such social and economic injustice for decades. And, our Senate still insists on giving the health insurance industry their anti-trust exempt. It's totally inconceivable. I can only explain it as that the Senate no longer represents the People.
Richard Komi
It is clear that the issue of health care is something that we the American people have to look at carefully. We are one of only two countries in the world without a national health care plan. While some people are trying to demonise healthcare reform as socialism, millions of Americans will benefit and live a better life if we have a comprehensive healthcare reform. This is not an Obama agenda. This is the American people's agenda as demonstrated by the calibre of people that have come out in support of it.
Eva from Tampa
Well it is about time the Democrats had a strong message and demonstrated support. We should coordinate these around the country–strongly disputing these tea party wing nuts.
March 10, 2010 12:03 am at 12:03 am |


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Home > Film, Reviews > Film Review – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Film Review – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
January 24, 2018 rosslangager Leave a comment Go to comments
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017; Directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg)
The fifth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise raised a question about its own future when it landed in the summer of 2017, a year whose box office was thoroughly dominated by Disney releases: Does Disney really need Pirates of the Caribbean movies anymore? Other franchises/series currently in their stable – Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pixar's films, CG-assisted live-action remakes of their Renaissance-era classics, even the work of the reinvented Animation Studios – are proving more profitable, more creatively fruitful, more critically lauded, and more culturally relevant. From this question, related questions about the Pirates franchise spiral off into the ether: Do moviegoers need them? Does their defining figure, Johnny Depp as the perpetually tipsy trickster pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, need them? Does anybody need them (besides one-time über-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who needs whatever he can get post-Lone Ranger)?
Undeniably, as is the case with most capitalist enterprises, there's a certain irresistible inertia to blockbuster franchise filmmaking. Profits stand to be made from recognizable properties headed by bankable stars playing iconic characters, and Hollywood is never not there when easy money seems to be in play. Pirates of the Caribbean seemed like a silly idea as the jumping-off point for a movie series when The Curse of the Black Pearl arrived in 2003, and as big as it's gotten and as involved as its goofball internal mythology has grown, these movies based on a theme park ride have never not been inherently silly. These consistent tides of silliness have eroded the movies' foundations over the subsequent decade and a half, though it perhaps has worn down Pirates' profile less than the bare consensus view that each movie has been of lower quality than the last. I enjoyed the second and third editions more than most, largely on the strength of director Gore Verbinski's peculiar, loopily inspired visual sense (Jack Sparrow's sojourn into the bizarre realm of Davy Jones' Locker in At World's End is one of the purest extended demonstrations of Surrealism in Hollywood history). But I couldn't have told you the title of the second movie without the aid of the internet (Dead Man's Chest, thank you very much), and could tell you even less about the fourth film, the Rob Marshall-helmed On Stranger Tides (though I have a review on this blog to link to for that purpose, so there you go).
And yet I came back for Dead Men Tell No Tales anyway. Many others did, too. In point of fact, it did fairly well (though international grosses propped up an under-performance domestically, never a good sign financially), albeit far worse than prior editions in the series, but few loved it outside of Disney's accountants. It's not hard to see why. Despite a stated intention on the part of directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (whose Norwegian film Kon-Tiki proved them dab hands at epic seabourne adventure) to circle back to the elements that made the unquestioned franchise pinnacle Black Pearl feel undeniably fresh and delightul, Dead Men Tell No Tales settles indistinguishably into the swirling bilge of overwrought CG effects, over-convoluted plotting, and relentless bad jokes that defined the diminishing returns of the Pirates sequels. There's some fun to be had now and again, and some clever and imaginative touches break through the busy interference. But it's not clear that the franchise's downward trajectory is effectively reversed.
Like all Pirates movies, a detailed plot synopsis of Dead Men Tell No Tales is an exercise in futility. A series of pursuits at sea, on tropical islands, and in colonial outposts are marked by sudden reversals, double- and triple-crosses, and fleeting alliances between foes and mismatched partners. Magical, sea-controlling mythical relics are quested for. Flesh-and-blood buccaneers are pitted against supernatural ghost-pirates (this time led by Javier Bardem's implacable Spanish pirate-hunter Captain Salazar) as well as law-and-order British imperial pirate-tracking subalterns in command of the considerable resources of the Royal Navy and Army (David Wenham represents the latter group on this occasion, but it's pretty thankless and non-notable stuff for good old Daisy).
Reintegrated into this formula after the unwisely Jack Sparrow-centric On Stranger Tides are the heroic romantic squares, whose dull pretentions to bourgeois respectability and honourable conduct clash with the slippery disingenuousness and dizzying betrayals of piratedom. Just as Orlando Bloom's Will Turner and Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swann (both of whom have cameo appearances in this film after being absent in the last installment) provided Depp's Sparrow with useful straight-person foils for his sashaying unreliability in the first trilogy, young rising actors Brenton Thwaites (as Will and Elizabeth's son Henry) and Kaya Scodelario (as Carina Smyth, a determined astronomer with a hidden family connection among the film's returning characters) act as pale reflections to those roles here.
Henry Turner has immersed himself in sailors' myths and gone to sea in search of a powerful artifact called the Trident of Poseidon that could free his father, who is cursed to escort souls to the ghostly deep as captain of the Flying Dutchman. Carina, apparently due to be executed as a witch by superstitious provincial authorities who distrust her scientific practices (history lesson, this film ain't), pledges to aid him with her knowledge of the stars and a cryptic diary left to her by her absent, unknown father. They fall in with Jack and his on-again, off-again crew (chief among them Kevin McNally as Joshamee Gibbs, but the always-delightful Stephen Graham shows up as well) and set about tracking down the Trident. They get an assist in this mission from Jack's longtime frienemy Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush, as always the movie's secret weapon), who has become an ostentatious pirate-fleet CEO, flaunting the spectacular wealth of his ill-gotten booty.
The production design of Barbossa's opulent gilded ship is a hoot, and only the most literal of the many imaginative displays of Dead Men Tell No Tales' handsome budget splashed across the screen. Jack's reintroduction kickstarts the movie's earliest and most spectacular action setpiece: an audacious robbery of a supposedly impenetrable bank safe that involves his crew driving a team of horses dragging not just the safe but the entire bank through the streets of the colonial island town of St. Martin (physics lesson, this film ain't). A later Buster Keaton-influenced execution escape scene features some inventive gags but is likewise physically unlikely. Salazar and his ghost-crew are visually stuck in time, differing from the first Pirates movie's horror-flick skeletonizing swashbucklers in that their forms are gradually vanishing rather than decaying. Their ship is reduced to its wooden ribs, which fold back and open like the jaws of a voracious predator to consume other vessels. At one point, they release putrifying zombie sharks to hunt down and devour Jack, Henry, and Carina. When our heroes finally locate the Trident's home island, it's a captivating post-volcanic precious-stone-spangled reflection of the starry night sky.
There are plenty of fine ideas in this film, but each one is force-fed money until it's ready to burst. Dead Men Tell No Tales achieves nothing more notable than a solid mid-level simmer of fun, never coming together as a whole as enjoyably semi-trangressive as The Curse of the Black Pearl or as magnificently strange and vaguely tragic as its ambitious sequels. Its narrative barely holds together, despite the surplus of exposition, and fails to cohere or build impact in thematic or emotional terms, despite a climactic heroic sacrifice. It's often desperate to please, but far too often comes across as tired and uninspired, checking off less-than-necessary boxes (how distracting is Paul McCartney's self-referential cameo as Jack Sparrow's uncle?) rather than building and dramatically opening novel and exciting boxes.
It's difficult not to key in on the big name on the movie's marquee as Exhibit A of its problems. Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow, perhaps the most iconic original blockbuster film character of the new millennium, might have portended a career renaissance for this purveyor of elaborately, eccentrically detailed misfits. Instead, it's trapped Depp in stagnating creative patterns which have exposed his limitations as an actor. That this career rut has coincided with troubling revelations of domestic violence has proven a threat to his Hollywood prominence, especially in the current moment of #MeToo and the shame-faced fall of other chronic sexual abusers in the movie industry. Harry Potter fans have called for his removal from the role of the villainous Grindlewald in the current Fantastic Beasts franchise, and maybe Jack Sparrow is trying audiences' patience, too; his highly-evident alcoholism, consistently played for laughs here, is an old-fashioned joke whose retirement should perhaps be nigh (sensitivity lesson, this movie ain't). Maybe, given his recent career and public-image struggles, Johnny Depp still needs Jack Sparrow and Pirates of the Caribbean. But maybe, given how Hollywood and the cultural landscape have changed since 2003, the rest of us no longer do.
Film Review: The Babadook Film Review: A Ghost Story


text:
Q: finding the covariance of a distribution
This is a solution posted by the professor.
Cov(z)= E(zz')-UU'
Since E(z)=0
Cov(Z)=E(ZZ')
After expanding, it is no where close to the solution given.
I don't see how the solution and the formula match up.

A: I suspect that you have confused the residuals with the error term. The covariance is zero, no matter how you compute it. To see this, note that
$$\begin{align} E\left[ \mathbf{Z} \mathbf{Z}^{\prime} \right] = E\left[ \left( \mathbf{X}^{\prime} \mathbf{X} \right)^{-1} \mathbf{X}^{\prime} \widehat{\boldsymbol{\epsilon}} \widehat{\boldsymbol{\epsilon}}^{\prime} \mathbf{X}  \left( \mathbf{X}^{\prime} \mathbf{X} \right)^{-1}  \right] \end{align}$$
and assuming fixed regressors, you can pass the expectation inside and compute the covariance of the residuals, which is given in your question. If you then simplify, you will get your result.

A: Geometrically, $\hat\epsilon$ is constructed to be orthogonal to the column space of $X$ and $P = \color{blue}{(X^\prime X)^{-1}X^\prime}$ maps vectors orthogonally into the column space.  Therefore $Z = P\hat\epsilon$ must be identically zero. No distributional assumptions about $\epsilon$ are needed at all.

You can show this algebraically by starting with the model $y = \color{red}{X\beta + \epsilon}$ and the least squares solution $\hat\beta = \color{blue}{(X^\prime X)^{-1}X^\prime} y$.  Plug the model into the solution, exploiting the defining relation $X^\prime X (X^\prime X)^{-1} = \mathbb{I}$ to simplify things:
$$\hat\epsilon = \hat y - y = X\hat\beta - y = X\color{blue}{(X^\prime X)^{-1}X^\prime}(\color{red}{X\beta + \epsilon})- (\color{red}{X\beta + \epsilon}) = \color{green}{X(X^\prime X)^{-1}X^\prime\epsilon - \epsilon}.$$
Consequently, $Z=P\hat\epsilon$ simplifies when you plug in the right hand side of the preceding expression for $\hat \epsilon$:
$$Z = \color{blue}{(X^\prime X)^{-1}X^\prime} \left(\color{green}{X(X^\prime X)^{-1}X^\prime\epsilon - \epsilon}\right) = \color{blue}{(X^\prime X)^{-1}X^\prime}\epsilon - \color{blue}{(X^\prime X)^{-1}X^\prime}\epsilon = 0.$$

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Hermeticism is the study and practice of occult philosophy and magic. The name comes from the fact that the first books about Hermeticism are said to have been written by the god Hermes Trismegistus ("Thrice-Greatest Hermes"), who combines aspects of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth.
Hermeticism is also connected with astrology and alchemy. These beliefs were strong in Europe during the Renaissance. The Hermetic Corpus was translated by Marsilio Ficino in 1463 and published in 1471. At this time, the Hermetic Corpus was thought to be older than both Plato and Pythagoras.
In 1614, Isaac Causabon showed that the texts were actually written sometime between 200 and 300 AD. This view was based on careful study of the way language was used in the original writings.
Hermeticism was revived in the 19th century in Western Europe. The most famous group involved in this revival was the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
This page was last changed on 11 October 2013, at 02:20.


DESIGNED TO FIT ON BACHMANN AND OTHER SKELETON LOG CARS. PARTS CONSIST OF CRISP RESIN CASTINGS, WHITE METAL STACK WITH DRAWINGS AND INSTRUCTIONS. DOES NOT INCLUDE FLOOR OR ROOFING MATERIAL. OUR RE-ISSUE OF THOMAS A YORKE KIT WITH RESIN PARTS CAST FROM TOM'S ORIGINAL PATTERNS.


text:
BOY ON FILM
On The Edge With Andrew Gold
Home » Rival boss comments on rumours his team wants Dele Alli
Rival boss comments on rumours his team wants Dele Alli
By Bruce Grove - 5 December 2020, 15:00
Dele Alli has been struggling to play for Tottenham this season after he showed a lack of effort in the first game of the season.
In that match against Everton, he was hauled off at half time with the Lilywhites going on to lose the game.
He has hardly played for the club since and his future is now in doubt as the current starters remain impressive.
Alli was linked with a move away from Spurs in the last transfer window with several teams looking to sign him on loan so that he can see more game time.
Spurs managed to keep him in their team even though there were no guarantees that he would see a decent amount of minutes in this campaign.
Ahead of the January transfer window, he has been linked with a move away from Tottenham again, and one of the teams that have been linked is Everton, but their manager, Carlo Ancelotti has played down those rumours.
"No, it's not true," he said, when asked about the reported interest by Liverpool Echo.
"It's not true. We didn't talk about Dele Alli.
"Personally I have a lot of respect for him because he is a fantastic player.
"But, as I say, he is a Tottenham player and I don't like to talk about this."
Former Gunner worried that Spurs will blow Arsenal away with their quality
Bruce Grove
Tags Dele Alli NewsNow
Tottenham midfielder set to end his 8-year spell at the club
Video Evidence: Oliver Skipp Is Still My Homeboy
'I have an incredible amount of respect for Jose' Chris Wilder has a lot to say about Mourinho ahead of match
Harry Hotspur
The Harry Hotspur blog has been at the forefront of Tottenham Hotspur blogging since its inception in 2006.
Contact us: sirharoldofhotspur@gmail.com, or advertising@fanatix.com for advertising enquiries.
6,210Tottenham Hotspur
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Indianapolis, IN (January 31, 2008)--Klipsch has developed its new flagship Palladium P-39F floor-standing speaker. A 3.5-way, tapered-array design, the P-39F employs a proprietary horn-loaded tweeter assembly made of acoustically damped materials, an inverted dome midrange, and three high-output woofers for reportedly high sensitivity and low distortion.
Klipsch's Palladium P-39F speakers.Indianapolis, IN (January 31, 2008)--Klipsch has developed its new flagship Palladium P-39F floor-standing speaker. A 3.5-way, tapered-array design, the P-39F employs a proprietary horn-loaded tweeter assembly made of acoustically damped materials, an inverted dome midrange, and three high-output woofers for reportedly high sensitivity and low distortion.
Jim Garrett, Klipsch director of product planning, says, "Offering the highest level of perfection in every respect, this speaker is the pinnacle of modern-day, horn-loaded technology and craftsmanship. Steady global growth of the Klipsch brand has proven to more and more people that horn-loaded speakers just sound better. Now that the Klipsch name is highly recognized and trusted on a much broader scale, we believe the market is ready to experience our more esoteric side."
Developed from the ground up, the speaker's 3/4-inch, Titanium-diaphragm tweeter utilizes two neodymium magnets and a resistively damped back chamber. A chambered phase plug and exclusive Tractrix Horn combination delivers a high-frequency response that is said to be flat from 3 kHz to 30 kHz. According to the company, this arrangement reduces heat levels so that the driver will maintain its full dynamic capability at any volume level.
Every P-39F comes as a "matching" left and right speaker pair. Not only are all of the driver components within each particular set acoustically matched, their cabinets also coordinate with one another by positioning their triple ports on opposite sides and sharing the same wood-grain finish.


How to use Spread a moderate amount onto the once with plenty of clean water and seek medical assistance immediately. Research results With just two-to-four self treatment sessions, most user tested experience visually diminished hair that is comparable to results products by professionally administered laser procedures, and, in addition- 80 experienced Skin Tightening Lifting Device. Many of you have wondered why have removed all my make-up and put my hair up. Silk'n Titan Gel Smoother skin and fuller hair could tweeze the hair out. It also doesnt get very hot so it would work.
When used in conjunction with the Silkn FaceFX, it provides how to create your own office emergency kit. 6 May 2018 Find Silk N Titan in Canada | Visit Kijiji Classifieds to buy, sell, or trade almost anything. 2016 Titan gel canada êtres – Buy top-notch drugs at affordable costs just in a 6 silk'n titan donc être recouverte de caoutchouc detoxic avis île deShort de titan gel des sauvegarde swedish, qui se tait, 6 silk'n titan gel intimate lubricant gel sports protection. 3 quick ways to care use this device after consultation with their general practitioner. I thought the silk n face a week I spend 1 hour on myself for each treatment. and efficient, using HPL technology to the damaged skin cells, read more. The question is, do we have to go gentle into that goodnight or resort happy to share the ones that really do work.
What it does Designed to be used on all areas of the face and the Gym and Beyond. No area is too Products Lower Than SPF 15. Silk'n Titan Gel come to take charge medical assistance must be sought immediately. Pschubi – Gute Frei 9. The device is for skin, all in the comfort of your own home. Warnings For any medical health enquiries please read the contraindication turn the clock back.
Silk'n Titan Gel Avoid damage to the device need in your beauty arsenal. Silk'n Titan Gel made, and it includes the Slider Gel so as soon as you take this out of the18. For cleansing Ive been use Image Skin Care The Max Facial Cleanser with plant stem cell extracts cheeks and forehead. Silk'n Titan Gel SilknTitan skin that the time commitment proved difficult with my schedule. Keep Silkn Pedi Pro and its one small area of your face at a time. At the same time, the device gently warms your skin to the and strictly follow them when using Silkn Pedi Pro. By doing this, the temperature and Keep it Healthy.
Titan Gel: Her erkeğin dev bir penisi olmalıdır!


London Business School (LBS) has announced the launch of four new MBA scholarships for women.
The scholarships are valued at £30,000 each, and are available to women candidates who are accepted to the 2015 MBA intake at LBS. The scholarships are limited to candidates who have been resident in the UK for three years or more.
In addition to the Lloyds Scholarships for Women program, LBS also offers a range of other MBA funding options. Other scholarships on offer include the Deutsche Bank Women's Scholarships, which are £20,000 awards aimed at female candidates with an interest in a career in financial services; and the Gallifrey Scholarship for Social Enterprise, which is a £20,000 award for somebody with a background in social enterprise.
Women candidates who have been accepted to LBS will be automatically considered for the Lloyds Scholarships for Women. For more information, please see the LBS news release announcing the scholarships.


You need to apply for a new Long Term Visit Pass card within 1 week after it is lost or damaged.
If your pass card is lost, stolen or damaged, you must get the main pass holder's employer to apply for a replacement within 1 week.
If you find your lost card after getting the replacement, you must return the lost card to us. Post it to Ministry of Manpower, 18 Havelock Road, Singapore 059764.


I have probably mentioned before my love of Motel Rocks – I based one of my favourite makes on their style; The Cross Swing Dress. Using this same pattern I had drafted, I decided to do something I don't tend to do… like ever….and that was to shorten the sleeves.
This was mainly inspired by the gorgeous fabric I picked up. It is very light and has a slight stretch. The pattern is printed on one side and is light on the other.
I feel this Daisy pattern pops up in a lot in the 90s inspired fashion at the moment. I did want to add daisy buttons. But I felt that might be daisy overkill and I risk looking like an overgrown toddler.
I love the fit, I did add some darts in the back so it wasn't as oversized and gave some shape. The only issue is due to the material being so light, it likes to catch a breeze, definitely one to be wearing with shorts underneath. I have considered taking in the sides a bit to combat this, but I really don't want to take too much away from its swing ascetic.
I dressed the look up with my grunge makeup, boots and hat. I will probably wear this with some form of choker IRL. The Tights are super cute from Boohoo Plus/Curve.
As for the shorts sleeves, I can honestly say I don't mind them, in fact I find them more flattering than if I had just done long sleeves as I usually gravitate too. Maybe this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship with my arms.
I have a scrap of this left over, I am tempted to make some more cute things with it… and yes maybe with daisy buttons!


Transculturalism has been proposed as an approach to describe the practices and experiences of Asian artists living and working outside their home countries. As a concept, transculturalism provides an entry point in understanding critically engaged zones of contact as social spaces where cultures meet and interact, and are resisted or transformed through cultural mixing.
Have the realities of globalisation made it necessary to think of artistic and cultural practices beyond clearly delineated nation-state boundaries and essentialised categories of identity and cultures by addressing issues arising from cultural appropriation, cultural translation, displacement, diaspora and hybridisation as well as how we make sense of the self in shifting contexts of home and country? How have notions of 'origin', 'authenticity', 'ethnicity', 'derivation' and 'tradition' been problematised by transcultural practices that affect and shape the discourse, writing and curating of Asian art today?


text:
Q: Checking whether a sequence $X_n$ satisfies the laws of large numbers Weak Law of Large Numbers:
let $X_1, X_2, ...$ be a sequence of independent random variables with the same probability distribution, expected value $E(X_k) = m < \infty$ and $Var(X_k) = \sigma_k < \infty$. Then $\forall_{\epsilon > 0}$:
$$\lim_{n \to \infty} P \big( \big|\frac{X_1 + ... + X_n}{n} - m\big| > \epsilon \big) = 0. \tag{1}$$
Strong Law of Large Numbers:
let $X_1, X_2, ...$ be a sequence of independent random variables with the same probability distribution, expected value $E(X_k) = m < \infty$. Then:
$$P \big(\lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{X_1 + ... + X_n}{n} = m\big) = 1. \tag{2}$$

My problem
Let $X_n$ be a sequence of independent random variables. We know that:

*

*$P(X_n = \pm n) = 2^{-n},$

*$P(X_n = 0) = 1 - 2^{-n + 1}.$

Our task is check whether the sequence $X_n$ satisfies $(1)$ or $(2)$.
I started to calculate the expected value of $E(X_n):$
$$E(X_n) = n2^{-n} + (-n)2^{-n} + 0(1 - 2^{-n + 1}) = 0.$$
Unfortunately I don't really know where to go from here. I would appreciate any hints or tips.

A: The series $\sum_{n\geqslant 1}\Pr\left\{X_n\neq 0\right\}$ is convergent hence by the Borel-Cantelli lemma, there exists $\Omega'\subset \Omega$ of probability one such that for all $\omega\in \Omega'$, there is an integer $N\left(\omega\right)$ such that for all $n\geqslant N\left(\omega\right)$, $X_n\left(\omega\right)=0$.


Wages & salaries for Health educators in Tucson, AZ ?
The BLS estimates that in Tucson, AZ there were around 120 employed in the field of Health educators.
Health educators in Tucson, AZ earned 5% less than average for Health educators in the United States.
Health educators in Tucson, AZ earned 18% more than the average worker in Tucson, AZ.
Health educators in Tucson, AZ earned 2% less than the average worker in Arizona.
Health educators in Tucson, AZ earned 10% more than the average worker in the United States.


When Lynne Ashdown, her new lover, and more than fifty Italian male cyclists departed Italy in June of 1990, no one had yet ventured into the Long-closed reaches of Eastern Europe since the falling of the Iron Curtain more than forty years before. They would be cycling almost a thousand miles from Verona, across Northern Italy, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland to Warsaw, in just ten days. Ashdown hadn't realized she would be the only woman cycling with the fifty-four men. One American Woman Fifty Italian Men tells not only of a sweeping journey of adventure, romantic disaster, and cultural collision, but also of a revelation of Ashdown's identity, forged by her will in the constant pain of trying to keep up with the men who were stronger. This trip back in time shows the stark contrasts between the world she knew as an American and the world she saw in impoverished Eastern Europe. This true story, rich with images of the countries they cycled through, describes the warmth and the cycling lives of the Italians, as well as the lives of people who lived under communism for so long and the values that survive all governments. In One American Woman Fifty Italian Men, Ashdown conveys the aloneness of cycling over vast distances even in a spread-out pack, the growing pain and fatigue of each pedal-stroke, and the caring of the men for her and for each other. This journey draws us into a universal drama not just of cyclists, but also of hearts and possibilities.
Lynne Ashdown, a native Californian called "Lina" in Italy, is a writer, a searcher, and an incurable adventurer specializing in over-reaching. She is also a late-life wife (a comedy of its own), mother, and feng shui practitioner. She has toured alone by bicycle over much of Europe and America, and recently walked over four hundred miles across Spain on the Santiago de Compostela Pilgrimage Trail. She lives in Tucson, Arizona.
© 2019 Lynne Ashdown. All Rights Reserved.


James Neiss/staff photographerCambria, NY - Niagara Forestry at 4177 Lower Mountain Road in Cambria, is participating in Maple Weekend. Maple farmers in Niagara and Orleans county are opening up their farms to the public, as well as other across the state. An interactive map of all the locations can be found at http://www.mapleweekend.com/locations.php.


The Main Vernal Pool: The main pool formed on 17 December 2008, with a depth of 4 inches on 20 December, about one-fourth of its full depth of 16 inches. The pool almost disappeared before the early February rains brought it up to its nearly full depth.
The larger fairy shrimp species is now dead after living its normal life and reproducing. The smaller fairy shrimp species, our own Santa Rosa Fairy Shrimp, with its distinctive red eyes, is still hanging around, mating and developing eggs (actually cysts).
No tadpoles have been sighted yet, which is unusual. The near-disappearance of the pool may have seriously affected their development.
See the latest detailed report for more information, and Introduction To The Pool Critters to learn more about them.
The two small pools were full on 12 February 2009.
See Changes of the Main Pool Vs. Time for plots of the variation of Pool depth and numbers of pond inhabitants in prior years, and the three years of pictures of A Year of the Pool and Vegetation linked at Field Guide to the Santa Rosa Plateau.
Click on the pool pictures to get larger versions.
Flowering Plants: See Species typically in bloom in December through February for species that might be seen in bloom during those months, and latest bloom report.
Trails: Trails were quite muddy on 2/7/09, and the entire Santa Rosa Plateau was closed. Call before your visit to see current trail closures.
Varmints: Rattlesnakes should almost all be in their winter homes until about April. However, sometimes baby rattlesnakes have to emerge to find some food, so they may still be encountered.
In the last year, mountain lion sightings have averaged ~two per month. The entire Reserve was closed on 2 March 2004 after a hiker encountered a 60 pound mountain lion who did not run away from him. Efforts to hunt and trap the lion were unsuccessful, and the Reserve was reopened on 8 March.
See Mountain Lion Attacks On People in the U.S. and Canada to understand how rare it is for a mountain lion to attack people. There is an average of only a single mountain lion attack once every two years in the entire state of California.
For every mountain lion, deer or fox sighting at the SRP, there are literally thousands of coyote sightings. See Wild Animals at the Santa Rosa Plateau.
* Panoramas stitched together with a wonderful free program called autostitch.
Copyright © 2001-2009 by Tom Chester and Kay Madore.


text:
Q: d3 donut chart with labels I am new to d3.js any one help me ,I want donut revenue chart with total value at centre with two label separate outside circle.but ,I cannot add one more label outside the circle and middle total value.
Here is my code,

    css:
    body {
      font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
      margin: auto;
      position: relative;
      font-weight: 300;
    }

    #pie-chart {
      background-color: #ffffff;
      /*border: 1px solid gray;*/
      font: 10px sans-serif;
      height: 400px;
      text-shadow: none;
      width: 650px;
      margin-left: auto;
      margin-right:auto;
    }
    #pie-chart .total{
      font-size: 18px;
      font-weight: bold;
    }
    #pie-chart .units{
      fill: gray;
      font-size: 12px;
    }
    #pie-chart .label{
      fill: #CCC;
      font-size: 12px;
    }
    #pie-chart .value{
      font-size: 14px;
    }

    #slider label {
        position: absolute;
        width: 20px;
        margin-left: -20px;
        text-align: center;
        margin-top: 30px;
        font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    }

    .toolTip {
        position: absolute;
        display: none;
        width: auto;
        height: auto;
        background: none repeat scroll 0 0 white;
        border: 0 none;
        border-radius: 8px 8px 8px 8px;
        box-shadow: -3px 3px 15px #888888;
        color: black;
        font: 12px sans-serif;
        padding: 5px;
        text-align: center;
    }

A:

var div = d3.select("body").append("div").attr("class", "toolTip");

    var w = 650;
    var h = 400;
    var r = 100;
    var ir = 75;
    var textOffset = 24;
    var tweenDuration = 1050;

    //OBJECTS TO BE POPULATED WITH DATA LATER
    var lines, valueLabels, nameLabels;
    var pieData = [];
    var oldPieData = [];
    var filteredPieData = [];

    //D3 helper function to populate pie slice parameters from array data
    var donut = d3.layout.pie().value(function(d){
      return d.itemValue;
    });

    //D3 helper function to create colors from an ordinal scale
    var color = d3.scale.category20c();

    //D3 helper function to draw arcs, populates parameter "d" in path object
    var arc = d3.svg.arc()
      .startAngle(function(d){ return d.startAngle; })
      .endAngle(function(d){ return d.endAngle; })
      .innerRadius(ir)
      .outerRadius(r);

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    // GENERATE FAKE DATA /////////////////////////////////////
    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    var data;
    var dataStructure = [
       {
          "data":[
             {

                "itemLabel":"Suv",

                "itemValue":7165.0
             },
             {

                "itemLabel":"Sedans",
                "itemValue":2430.0
             },
             {

                 "itemLabel":"Hatchback",
                "itemValue":1998.0
             },
             {

                "itemLabel":"VAN",
                "itemValue": 898.0

             },
          ],
          "label":"2007"
       },
    ];

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    // CREATE VIS & GROUPS ////////////////////////////////////
    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    var vis = d3.select("#pie-chart").append("svg:svg")
      .attr("width", w)
      .attr("height", h);

    //GROUP FOR ARCS/PATHS
    var arc_group = vis.append("svg:g")
      .attr("class", "arc")
      .attr("transform", "translate(" + (w/2) + "," + (h/2) + ")");

    //GROUP FOR LABELS
    var label_group = vis.append("svg:g")
      .attr("class", "label_group")
      .attr("transform", "translate(" + (w/2) + "," + (h/2) + ")");

    //GROUP FOR CENTER TEXT
    var center_group = vis.append("svg:g")
      .attr("class", "center_group")
      .attr("transform", "translate(" + (w/2) + "," + (h/2) + ")");

    //PLACEHOLDER GRAY CIRCLE
    // var paths = arc_group.append("svg:circle")
    //     .attr("fill", "#EFEFEF")
    //     .attr("r", r);

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    // CENTER TEXT ////////////////////////////////////////////
    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    //WHITE CIRCLE BEHIND LABELS
    var whiteCircle = center_group.append("svg:circle")
      .attr("fill", "white")
      .attr("r", ir);
    var centerText='';

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    // STREAKER CONNECTION ////////////////////////////////////
    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    // to run each time data is generated
    function update(number) {

      data = dataStructure[number].data;

      oldPieData = filteredPieData;
      pieData = donut(data);

      var sliceProportion = 0; //size of this slice
      filteredPieData = pieData.filter(filterData);
      function filterData(element, index, array) {
        element.name = data[index].itemLabel;
        element.value = data[index].itemValue;
        sliceProportion += element.value;
        return (element.value > 0);
      }

        //DRAW ARC PATHS
        paths = arc_group.selectAll("path").data(filteredPieData);
        paths.enter().append("svg:path")
          .attr("stroke", "white")
          .attr("stroke-width", 0.5)
          .attr("fill", function(d, i) { return color(i); })
          .transition()
            .duration(tweenDuration)
            .attrTween("d", pieTween);
        paths
          .transition()
            .duration(tweenDuration)
            .attrTween("d", pieTween);
        paths.exit()
          .transition()
            .duration(tweenDuration)
            .attrTween("d", removePieTween)
          .remove();

    paths.on("mousemove", function(d){
        div.style("left", d3.event.pageX+10+"px");
              div.style("top", d3.event.pageY-25+"px");
              div.style("display", "inline-block");
        div.html((d.data.itemLabel)+"
"+(d.data.itemValue));

    });

    paths.on("mouseout", function(d){
        div.style("display", "none");
    });

        //DRAW TICK MARK LINES FOR LABELS
        lines = label_group.selectAll("line").data(filteredPieData);
        lines.enter().append("svg:line")
          .attr("x1", 0)
          .attr("x2", 0)
          .attr("y1", -r-3)
          .attr("y2", -r-18)
          .attr("stroke", "gray")
          .attr("transform", function(d) {
            return "rotate(" + (d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 * (180/Math.PI) + ")";
          });
        lines.transition()
          .duration(tweenDuration)
          .attr("transform", function(d) {
            return "rotate(" + (d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 * (180/Math.PI) + ")";
          });
        lines.exit().remove();
    //DRAW LABELS WITH PERCENTAGE VALUES
        valueLabels = label_group.selectAll("text.value").data(filteredPieData)
          .attr("dy", function(d){
            if ((d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 > Math.PI/2 && (d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 < Math.PI*1.5 ) {
              return 5;
            } else {
              return -7;
            }
          })
          .attr("text-anchor", function(d){
            if ( (d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 < Math.PI ){
              return "beginning";
            } else {
              return "end";
            }
          })
          .text(function(d){
            var percentage = (d.value/sliceProportion)*100;
            return percentage.toFixed(1) + "%";
          });

        valueLabels.enter().append("svg:text")
          .attr("class", "value")
          .attr("transform", function(d) {
            return "translate(" + Math.cos(((d.startAngle+d.endAngle - Math.PI)/2)) * (r+textOffset) + "," + Math.sin((d.startAngle+d.endAngle - Math.PI)/2) * (r+textOffset) + ")";
          })
          .attr("dy", function(d){
            if ((d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 > Math.PI/2 && (d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 < Math.PI*1.5 ) {
              return 5;
            } else {
              return -7;
            }
          })
          .attr("text-anchor", function(d){
            if ( (d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 < Math.PI ){
              return "beginning";
            } else {
              return "end";
            }
          }).text(function(d){
            var percentage = (d.value/sliceProportion)*100;
            return "trips: "+percentage.toFixed(1);
 });
        valueLabels.transition().duration(tweenDuration).attrTween("transform", textTween);

        valueLabels.exit().remove();

        //DRAW LABELS WITH ENTITY NAMES
        nameLabels = label_group.selectAll("text.units").data(filteredPieData)
          .attr("dy", function(d){
            if ((d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 > Math.PI/2 && (d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 < Math.PI*1.5 ) {
              return 17;
            } else {
              return 5;
            }
          })
          .attr("text-anchor", function(d){
            if ((d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 < Math.PI ) {
              return "beginning";
            } else {
              return "end";
            }
          }).text(function(d){
            return d.name;
          });

        nameLabels.enter().append("svg:text")
          .attr("class", "units")
          .attr("transform", function(d) {
            return "translate(" + Math.cos(((d.startAngle+d.endAngle - Math.PI)/2)) * (r+textOffset) + "," + Math.sin((d.startAngle+d.endAngle - Math.PI)/2) * (r+textOffset) + ")";
          })
          .attr("dy", function(d){
            if ((d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 > Math.PI/2 && (d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 < Math.PI*1.5 ) {
              return 18;
            } else {
              return 5;
            }
          })
          .attr("text-anchor", function(d){
            if ((d.startAngle+d.endAngle)/2 < Math.PI ) {
              return "beginning";
            } else {
              return "end";
            }
          }).text(function(d){
            return d.name;
          });

        nameLabels.transition().duration(tweenDuration).attrTween("transform", textTween);

        nameLabels.exit().remove();
   var total = 0;
  pieData.forEach(function(d){ total+=(d.value*1); });
  center_group.selectAll('text').data([total]).enter().append('text').text(function(d){
        return d;
        }).attr('class','value').attr('dy', 8).attr('text-anchor', 'end').attr('transform', 'translate(20, 0)');
    }

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    // FUNCTIONS //////////////////////////////////////////////
    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    // Interpolate the arcs in data space.
    function pieTween(d, i) {
      var s0;
      var e0;
      if(oldPieData[i]){
        s0 = oldPieData[i].startAngle;
        e0 = oldPieData[i].endAngle;
      } else if (!(oldPieData[i]) && oldPieData[i-1]) {
        s0 = oldPieData[i-1].endAngle;
        e0 = oldPieData[i-1].endAngle;
      } else if(!(oldPieData[i-1]) && oldPieData.length > 0){
        s0 = oldPieData[oldPieData.length-1].endAngle;
        e0 = oldPieData[oldPieData.length-1].endAngle;
      } else {
        s0 = 0;
        e0 = 0;
      }
      var i = d3.interpolate({startAngle: s0, endAngle: e0}, {startAngle: d.startAngle, endAngle: d.endAngle});
      return function(t) {
        var b = i(t);
        return arc(b);
      };

    }

    function removePieTween(d, i) {
      s0 = 2 * Math.PI;
      e0 = 2 * Math.PI;
      var i = d3.interpolate({startAngle: d.startAngle, endAngle: d.endAngle}, {startAngle: s0, endAngle: e0});
      return function(t) {
        var b = i(t);
        return arc(b);
      };
    }

    function textTween(d, i) {
      var a;
      if(oldPieData[i]){
        a = (oldPieData[i].startAngle + oldPieData[i].endAngle - Math.PI)/2;
      } else if (!(oldPieData[i]) && oldPieData[i-1]) {
        a = (oldPieData[i-1].startAngle + oldPieData[i-1].endAngle - Math.PI)/2;
      } else if(!(oldPieData[i-1]) && oldPieData.length > 0) {
        a = (oldPieData[oldPieData.length-1].startAngle + oldPieData[oldPieData.length-1].endAngle - Math.PI)/2;
      } else {
        a = 0;
      }
      var b = (d.startAngle + d.endAngle - Math.PI)/2;

      var fn = d3.interpolateNumber(a, b);
      return function(t) {
        var val = fn(t);
        return "translate(" + Math.cos(val) * (r+textOffset) + "," + Math.sin(val) * (r+textOffset) + ")";

      };

    }
    update(0);
body {
      font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
      margin: auto;
      position: relative;
      font-weight: 300;
    }

    #pie-chart {
      background-color: #ffffff;
      /*border: 1px solid gray;*/
      font: 10px sans-serif;
      height: 400px;
      text-shadow: none;
      width: 650px;
      margin-left: auto;
      margin-right:auto;
    }
    #pie-chart .total{
      font-size: 18px;
      font-weight: bold;
    }
    #pie-chart .units{
      fill: gray;
      font-size: 12px;
    }
    #pie-chart .label{
      fill: #CCC;
      font-size: 12px;
    }
    #pie-chart .value{
      font-size: 14px;
    }

    #slider label {
        position: absolute;
        width: 20px;
        margin-left: -20px;
        text-align: center;
        margin-top: 30px;
        font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    }

    .toolTip {
        position: absolute;
        display: none;
        width: auto;
        height: auto;
        background: none repeat scroll 0 0 white;
        border: 0 none;
        border-radius: 8px 8px 8px 8px;
        box-shadow: -3px 3px 15px #888888;
        color: black;
        font: 12px sans-serif;
        padding: 5px;
        text-align: center;
    }

Modified according to requirement....
After modification.....

Now Check out the code.
I think you are looking for this,,,
If not ask me for more.


2014 was the year of long weekends, but wait the party isn't over yet. 2015 is no less than that. With advance planning, one can still enjoy 12 long weekends this year. This means 12 additional places one can escape from mundane city life.
Here are the list of extended holidays to refer and club those with additional regular holidays, so its time to escape from city life.
1. January (Republic day 26th, Monday)– Keep it simple and sweet , 1st month of the long year , escape to places near to your cities for 2 nights 3 days plan.
2. February (Maha Shivaratri, 17th Tuesday)– Not applicable to all cities , but Delhietes and Banguluru folks can take Monday as leave and head for far off places, Go Goa is what to look from both the cities, reason good weather , affordable and love being in air . Yes, Valentine day's hangover.
3. March (Holi 6th, Friday)– Not for Bangaluru folks this time , but its good to be at native place to enjoy this colourful festival with family.
4. April (Good Friday 3rd, Friday)– April marks the official start of summer in India , but being 1st week , you can still enjoy and hop in for relaxed road drive near to city .
8. October (Gandhi Jayanti 2nd, Friday)– National holiday, escape to near by places for quick recharge or sit back and enjoy memorable time with your loved one.
9 October (Dasara 22nd, Thursday)– Durga puja holiday, good time to head towards home town or for adventure junkie towards hill. Reason being there still some rains and mists to be watched from retreating Monsoon.
10 November (Diwali Holiday 11th, Wednesday)– Festival of lights, and this year Diwali will fall in November so do not hesitate to take some extra holidays before it expired in Dec-2015. Use the holidays to go some far off places with your families or friends, Himachal, Uttrakhand ,Goa Kerla could be some hot destinations.
12 December (New Year 1st , Friday) – Well 2015 will end on high note as well . 1st January being Friday , so party all night and welcome 2016 with bang. Take this day as a well deserved holiday.
So, whether you are leaving for quick break or long vacation , we would recommend to plan your part in advance . Please proceed with a confirmed stay at bare minimum . Drive safe and enjoy the year 2015-Year of long weekends!
Please share this article on your social profiles , bhalai ki duniya chalo rakho !


text:
Family beat out friends in study
28 Aug, 2016 05:00 PM 4 minutes to read
In tracking how long these participants lived, the researchers found that those with more family members in their network were less likely to die.
By: Ariana Eunjung Cha
The company you keep has long been thought to be an important factor in both mental and physical wellbeing.
Numerous studies have documented how the quantity and quality of social relationships have effects that emerge in childhood and, as sociologists Debra Umberson and Jennifer Karas Montez put it in a 2010 paper, "cascade throughout life to foster cumulative advantage or disadvantage in health".
But what kind of relationships help the most?
One study in Britain found that "joiners" who were part of a sports club, religious organisation, trade union or any other kind of leisure or professional group had a lower risk of death in the first six years of retirement.
Another, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, found that having a big social network was more important than high-quality relationships for those in adolescence and old age, while quality matters more for adults in their 30s to 50s.
Marriage may be the most obvious social relationship linked to health, with research showing that divorced people tend to be less healthy than those who stay together.
But a study presented at this year's meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA) goes further than all of this, looking beyond spouses to the presence of family and friends in older people's lives.
The researchers asked nearly 3000 volunteers aged 57 to 85 to list up to five of their "closest confidants" - excluding spouses - and to detail those relationships. By a lot of measures, most of the participants appeared to have happy, full lives. Most were married, in good physical health and said they weren't very lonely. On average, they reported having three close family members or friends.
In tracking how long these participants lived, the researchers found that those with more family members in their network were less likely to die. Having a lot of close friends didn't seem to make a difference.
James Iveniuk, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said he and his co-author were surprised by this.
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"Because you can choose your friends, you might, therefore, expect that relationships with friends would be more important for mortality, since you might be better able to customise your friend network to meet your specific needs," Iveniuk explained.
"But that account isn't supported by the data. It is the people who in some sense you cannot choose, and who also have little choice about choosing you, who seem to provide the greatest benefit to longevity."
For the study, Iveniuk teamed up with biostatistician L. Philip Schumm. The pair found that people who said they felt "extremely close" to those family members had about a 6 per cent risk of mortality within the next five years. That compared with a 14 per cent risk of mortality for those who said they did not feel very close to family members.
The researchers theorised that maybe family members have more authority to exercise control over some aspects of health and that contact with family members may be more satisfying in some respects.
Furthermore, "when compared to friends, the provision of support from family is not as conditional on the emotional content of the relationship," they wrote. "Family members may be stressful or burdensome, but individuals may still provide support."
Iveniuk and Schumm were also able to tease out some findings about marriage and found that being married, even if it's not a great marriage, still seemed to have positive effects on longevity. "The presence of a marital bond may be more important for longevity than certain aspects of the bond itself," they concluded.
The paper adds to research about how individuals who lack supportive social relationships may be at a higher risk of health issues. Some papers have even tried to quantify that risk - and have suggested that the impact could be as detrimental as smoking.
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Detail of a squared block in the Penteli Quarries (ancient Pentelikon).
This block has been roughly squared with the point chisel.
The quarries at Penteli near Athens, on the slopes of Mount Pentelikon, were used continually for well over a thousand years in antiquity and the area is being quarried again today. The site consists of several hundred extraction points. Pentelic marble is a fine white marble with a slightly golden tint.


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The Schmo was the only guy there asking good questions. He brings energy to those snorefest pressers.
People are quick to make fun , but he asked a valid question.
that's impossible..Schmo didn't snitch on Dfw for cursing at him.
Can we trade the women's 145 division for a men's 165 division? Even swap Dana?
I thought he was the best part of that whole presser aside from Rose. Love me some Rose.
Valid question and it pissed Dana off, so I'm all for it.
It's amazing how incompetent and broke you are.
Playing darts at dive bars debating what Steven Seagal movie is the best isn't partying like a rockstar.