text:
ANSIBLE_METADATA = {'metadata_version': '1.1',
                    'status': ['preview'],
                    'supported_by': 'community'}

DOCUMENTATION = '''
---
module: ovirt_datacenter_facts
short_description: Retrieve facts about one or more oVirt/RHV datacenters
author: "Ondra Machacek (@machacekondra)"
version_added: "2.3"
description:
    - "Retrieve facts about one or more oVirt/RHV datacenters."
notes:
    - "This module creates a new top-level C(ovirt_datacenters) fact, which
       contains a list of datacenters."
options:
    pattern:
      description:
        - "Search term which is accepted by oVirt/RHV search backend."
        - "For example to search datacenter I(X) use following pattern: I(name=X)"
extends_documentation_fragment: ovirt_facts
'''

EXAMPLES = '''
# Examples don't contain auth parameter for simplicity,
# look at ovirt_auth module to see how to reuse authentication:

# Gather facts about all data centers which names start with C(production):
- ovirt_datacenter_facts:
    pattern: name=production*
- debug:
    var: ovirt_datacenters
'''

RETURN = '''
ovirt_datacenters:
    description: "List of dictionaries describing the datacenters. Datacenter attribues are mapped to dictionary keys,
                  all datacenters attributes can be found at following url: http://ovirt.github.io/ovirt-engine-api-model/master/#types/data_center."
    returned: On success.
    type: list
'''

import traceback

from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleModule
from ansible.module_utils.ovirt import (
    check_sdk,
    create_connection,
    get_dict_of_struct,
    ovirt_facts_full_argument_spec,
)

def main():
    argument_spec = ovirt_facts_full_argument_spec(
        pattern=dict(default='', required=False),
    )
    module = AnsibleModule(argument_spec)

    if module._name == 'ovirt_datacenters_facts':
        module.deprecate("The 'ovirt_datacenters_facts' module is being renamed 'ovirt_datacenter_facts'", version=2.8)

    check_sdk(module)

    try:
        auth = module.params.pop('auth')
        connection = create_connection(auth)
        datacenters_service = connection.system_service().data_centers_service()
        datacenters = datacenters_service.list(search=module.params['pattern'])
        module.exit_json(
            changed=False,
            ansible_facts=dict(
                ovirt_datacenters=[
                    get_dict_of_struct(
                        struct=d,
                        connection=connection,
                        fetch_nested=module.params.get('fetch_nested'),
                        attributes=module.params.get('nested_attributes'),
                    ) for d in datacenters
                ],
            ),
        )
    except Exception as e:
        module.fail_json(msg=str(e), exception=traceback.format_exc())
    finally:
        connection.close(logout=auth.get('token') is None)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()


text:
Probiotics could give cesarean section babies a healthier start
It's a controversial idea, but early research is promising, and some parents are forging ahead
Isobel Whitcomb • February 20, 2019
Babies born via C-section are more likely to develop type I diabetes, obesity, allergies, and inflammatory bowel disease compared to vaginally delivered babies. (Wayne Evans | Pexels License)
Disease Protection—From the Gut
Rachael Rettner • December 31, 2008
More bugs, healthier people
JoAnna Klein • December 1, 2014
Drinking to Your Health with Probiotic Yogurt?
Adam T. Hadhazy • April 30, 2008
Man's true best friend?
Christine Kelly • October 26, 2012
The question lingered in Laura's mind as she watched her colicky baby, J.D., cry for weeks on end: Did his tummy troubles have anything to do with his cesarean section delivery?
Laura, who asked her last name not be used, had heard from friends that babies benefit from bacteria they receive during vaginal birth that come from their mothers' birth canal and other body fluids. She had also heard babies born via C-section sometimes develop health issues as a result of missing out on these bacteria.
As J.D. got older and still didn't feel better, Laura decided to give her son probiotics — a controversial idea whose time may be coming, according to new research. Within a few days, J.D. seemed better, Laura says, and she became another parent in the growing ranks of converts to infant probiotics. "It was a lot of relief."
Probiotics didn't end J.D.'s tummy troubles entirely — whenever Laura had to put him on antibiotics, or supplement his diet with formula, the symptoms would reemerge. However, the drugs did seem to help, she says.
"I was so thankful to have something that was a simple solution," she says. "I don't need a prescription. I don't need to go to the doctor for it. It's readily available to me."
Like J.D., one in three babies in the U.S. is delivered via C-section. This intervention can be life-saving for both moms and babies, but studies suggest that children delivered via C-section may be more likely to develop obesity, allergies, type I diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease later in life.
More parents are becoming aware of the role of the gut microbiome in their children's health, says Jenifer Lightdale, a pediatric gastroenterologist at UMass Memorial Medical Center. So some C-section parents, like Laura, are turning to probiotics in the hopes of improving their babies' health — and they may be on the right track, according to a recent Finnish study published in the journal Microbiome. Still, many pediatricians have their doubts.
Thirteen years ago, a cohort of about 1,200 Finnish moms brought their babies into the world, some vaginally, some via C-section. Researchers at the University of Helsinki gave half of these new mothers special infant probiotics and half a placebo. The scientists have been studying the health of these babies — now preteens — since. So far, the researchers say, results look promising for C-section babies.
They found the C-section babies who didn't receive probiotics had much lower proportions of beneficial bacteria than vaginally born babies. Probiotics corrected this difference, but only in babies who were also breastfed. This caveat may have to do with the fact that breast milk contains important food for bacteria, called prebiotics, while most formula does not.
Not all microbes in probiotics are equally beneficial, explains Tommi Vatanen, a microbiologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand who was not involved in the study. Every type of microbe performs a different function and interacts with the body differently.
Some strains of bacteria found in the infant gut are "immunomodulatory" — that means they interact directly with the immune system. These bacteria are particularly important during infancy, when "the long-term programming of the immune system happens," says Katri Korpela, an immunobiologist at University of Helsinki and the study's lead author. During this time, "the immune system is constantly talking with the microbes in the gut."
Missing out on this immune education could be what leads to later health problems. According to an earlier study also based on Korpela's group of babies, those born via C-section were almost 70 percent less likely to develop a food allergy before the age of five, and almost 60 percent less likely to develop eczema if they had received a probiotic compared to other C-section babies. This difference wasn't seen in the vaginally born babies, which suggested to researchers that allergy risk has something to do with the effects of C-section.
Given these results, should parents of C-section babies rush to buy probiotics? Korpela says the potential benefits clearly outweigh the risks. But Adam Ratner, a pediatric gastroenterologist at New York University Langone Health, isn't so sure.
"It's not like anything bad is going to happen… Except when it does, right?" Ratner says.
In October of 2014, for example, an eight-day old baby delivered via C-section at Yale New Haven Hospital, died in intensive care after being given several doses of probiotics contaminated with mold.
Probiotics aren't regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Ratner and other doctors point out. Lack of regulation makes it more likely that pathogens and fungus could be inadvertently introduced to probiotics during the production process, as was the case at Yale New Haven.
It's important to recognize that in this incident, the baby was premature and immunocompromised, says Josef Neu, a neonatologist at University of Florida Health. Probiotics are most likely harmless in healthy babies brought to full term, he adds.
The more likely problem is that probiotics purchased by consumers don't contain the live, beneficial bacteria the label advertises. The mothers involved in Korpela's study benefited from rigorously controlled probiotic strains. That's not what consumers get when they pick up an infant probiotic at their local grocery store, says NYU's Ratner.
Lack of regulation isn't the only issue with infant probiotics. No one really has a complete understanding of what the ideal infant probiotic should contain, says Stacy Kahn, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Boston Children's Hospital. Although evidence points to the importance of immunomodulatory bacteria, there are many more strains of bacteria whose functions are a complete mystery to us.
"I don't know that we have a well-defined community that we know will be universally beneficial and without risk," Kahn says. "We don't know what strains, we don't know for how long."
This lack of knowledge is all the more of a reason to continue studying probiotics, she says, following children like those in Korpela's cohort as they continue to grow.
But Korpela doesn't plan to spend a lifetime waiting around for data. Her baby daughter is just five weeks old and already getting probiotics. "It's a very easy thing for me to do, I think," Korpela explains during our interview as her daughter coos and trills like a dove in the background. "I mean, I think I might not if I didn't see such clear beneficial results."
babiesprobiotics

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This is a comprehensive history of a legendarily proud and passionate but lonely people. Much of Europe once knew them as "child-devouring cannibals" and "bloodthirsty Huns" but it was not long before the Hungarians became steadfast defenders of Christendom and fought heroic freedom struggles against the Tartars, the Turks and, among others, the Russians. Paul Lendvai tells how, despite a string of catastrophes and their linguistic and cultural isolation, the Hungarians have survived as a nation-state for more than 1000 years. He traces Hungarian politics, culture, economics and emotions from the Magyars' dramatic entry into the Carpathian Basin in 896 to the brink of the post-cold War era. Lendvai brings to life the short-lived revolutionary triumphs of 1848-9 and 1918-19; the traumatic Treaty of Trianon (1920) which deprived Hungary of Transylvania and other historic Magyar lands; and the successive Nazi and Communist tyrannies. These are among the episodes that have formed the consciousness of the Hungarian people. Through anecdotes of heroes and traitors, victors and victims, geniuses and impostors, Lendvai conveys the multifaceted interplay, on the grand stage of Hungarian history, of progressivism and economic modernisation versus intolerance and narrow-minded nationalism. This work is a blend of narrative, irony and humour, occasional anger without taboos or prejudices. It also offers an authoritative key to understanding how and why this corner of Europe produced such a galaxy of great scientists, artists and entrepreneurs.
Paul Lendvai fled to Vienna in 1957, months after the Soviet repression of the rising in his native Hungary. For twenty-two years he worked for the Financial Times, then became head of Radio Austria International. His previous books include 'Blacklisted: A Journalist's Life in Central Europe'.


Jo. Balthasaris Wernheri JCti Potentiss. Polon Regi Et Elect. Sax. A Consiliis Avlae, Atqve Jvstitiae, Consistorii Ecclesiastici Directoris, Facvltatis Jvridicae Ordinarii, Et Decretalivm In Academia Vitembergensi P. P. Compendivm Jvris Qvo Germani Hodie Ac Inprimis Saxones In Foro Vtvntvr : Inserta Est Locis Convenientibvs Ordinatio Processvs Recognita Sax. Elect. Nec Non Praemissa Libro IV. Svccincta Introdvctio In Praxin, Et Svb Finem Index Poenarvm In Dicta Ordin. Constitvtarvm Adjectvs / A Jo. Frider. Wernhero D. Facvlt. Jvrid. Viteb. Assessore Extraord. Cvr. Prov. Et Conist. Eccl. Advoc.
Vorlageform des Erscheinungsvermerks: Vitembergae. Apvd Christ. Theoph. Lvdovicvm. MDCCXXVIII.


text:
In New Online Ad, Perry is a "Champion"
Despite poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign continues. Today, it released a new 60-second web ad emphasizing Perry's never-give-up attitude.
by Reeve Hamilton Jan. 12, 2012 4 PM Central
Gov. Rick Perry rallying supporters in an early morning gathering of his team of Texas volunteers on Jan. 3, 2012. Credit: Bob Daemmrich
Despite poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign is pressing on. Today, it released a 60-second web ad emphasizing Perry's never-give-up attitude.
"I have never quit a day in my life," Perry says in the ad. "I have never quit in the face of adversity, and I'm not just about to quit on the future of America. I am going to stay in this race and stay in this fight because our children and this country are worth the fight."
The slickly produced spot, titled "Champion," also features cameos from former President Ronald Reagan, late baseball great Babe Ruth and the official state flag of South Carolina, where Perry is campaigning in the hope of a strong result in the Palmetto State's Jan. 21 primary.
Here's the ad:


LED has rapidly replaced neon, fluorescent and other incumbent light sources for lighting channel letter signs. LEDs offer better performance, longer life, and a more environmentally friendly solution to traditional light sources. ILT develops a suite of LED products for channel letter illumination. Whether you are designing a new sign or retrofitting an existing one, ILT has a solution to fit your needs and your budget. Need help with a layout? Contact us today!


EQM is focused on ensuring the optimal performance of your manufacturing and production facilities and its equipment.
We can design and print labels for fruit and other products. We also supply labellers.
We have a range of labellers for all types of products including labels and labellers for fruit & vegetables.
Get your products moving. We're conveyor specialists.
EQM has a wide range of conveyor solutions for all processing lines.
We have band driven, roller driven, chain driven and belt driven conveyor solutions.
We are New Zealand's leading supplier of power transmission, electric drive products and conveyor systems.
EQM Industrial has developed vast experience and expertise in a wide range of conveyor and gearbox equipment. We stock many reputable brands such as STM, ABI, DAGU, Teco, Challenge and Dix. We have a huge range of food handling and packing equipment suitable for all food processing types; from meat and dairy through to produce and snack.
Drive products include a range of motors and gearboxes. We also stock speed controllers, bearings and housings.
Move products include our conveyor systems range and componentry for conveyors.
Pack products include labelling technology and components. This includes pallet strapping solutions, weighing and filling solutions, packing line solutions and fans.
EQM can design, manufacture and install turnkey conveyor and packing solutions for the food industry and beyond.
Our equipment is across three categories - Drive, Move and Pack.
EQM Industrial has completed a large number of projects across New Zealand - many within the food sector but also others across all types of industry.


After three months, I finally had to do it: go to the hairdresser. I have a short cut, and when the hair in the neck starts to become unmanageable and starts to bother me, I have to go, no more excuses. The last time I went was during my vacation, so this was the first time ever I had my hair cut in Japan. Part of the reluctance can be ascribed to the fact that this kind of service is very expensive in Japan – the cheapest price I have seen anywhere was 2500 YEN, and that's just the cut, washing not included!
The proprietor looked somewhat unhappy, sat me down and reached for his catalogues. In Asia, long hair is de rigueur for women, unless you are a really old crone and thus beyond redemption. Women my age and below must have at least a chin length cut. I also flipped through some catalogues, all the models looked like twelve year olds, all sporting hairstyles that were young, trendy, and probably took hours to do… Hence, nothing for me. My approach to hairstyling is: wash, brush, air dry. If it isn't properly styled within five minutes, it's a waste of time, so I tend to have those very short, self-styling cuts. Once the hairdresser got over his shock and chose a style (essentially the one I had but significantly shorter), he took to work. We did some chatting – as much as I can do it with my limited vocabulary – and work proceeded nicely. Also here, as in other Asian countries, the washing happened after the cut, probably to remove all those annoying little stray hairs that are usually left somewhere.
I am happy to say that I like my new old haircut, the whole affair was unspectacular and easy – but the biggest surprise came at the very end: I received a hefty discount of almost 40 % – and the owner said for the rest I should go out and treat myself to something nice to eat!
lol ^^ "… armed with the essential phrases on a piece of paper"!
I remember my own experience in Braunschweig!
Oh my goodness, you made me remember it as well, it made me laugh out loud! it is several minutes that I am laughing ….


text:
Brazil has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1960. The award is handed out annually by the United States-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature length motion picture produced outside the U.S. that contains primarily non-English language dialogue. It was not created until the 1956 Academy Awards, in which a competitive Academy Award of Merit was created for non-English speaking films, and has been given annually since.

, 51 Brazilian films have been submitted for the award. Four of these submissions resulted in nominations for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, but none of them won. Orfeu Negro, a Portuguese language film shot in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus, won the award at the 1959 ceremony, but it was submitted by the French government and thus France was credited as the only recipient of the award.

Statistics

Films directed by Carlos Diegues (also known as Cacá Diegues) have been chosen to represent Brazil at the Academy Awards six times, more than any other director. He is followed by Nelson Pereira dos Santos, which had four of his films selected. None of their films, however, managed to achieve an Oscar nomination. Three films by Bruno Barreto were submitted, although his biggest success, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, the second highest-grossing film in the history of Brazilian cinema, was not chosen. Four Days in September got nominated in 1998. Suzana Amaral's 1987 film Hour of the Star was the only Brazilian submission by a female director until The Second Mother, directed by Anna Muylaert, was submitted as the Brazilian's entry for the 88th Academy Awards.

Submissions
Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by the Brazilian government for Academy Award consideration. The Brazilian nominee is selected annually by a committee assembled by the Ministry of Culture (formerly the Ministry of Education and Culture).

See also
 List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best Foreign Language Film
 List of Academy Awards nominations for Brazilian films
 Cinema of Brazil

Notes

References

Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award submissions by country
Academy Award

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Listening to Judas Maccabaeus this morning I realized how powerful a force music has been in my life.
The previous winter I had taken a graduate course in psychology at the University of Maine. The course was taught by Geoff Thorpe. It met for three hours one afternoon per week. Coincidentally, Geoff lived on Phillips Lake just up the road from our house. My driver would drop me off at the university and Geoff took me home at the end of the class. It was about an hour's drive which gave us plenty of time to visit. On the way home one afternoon Geoff mentioned that he was going to choir practice that evening. I asked Geoff about the group with which he sang. That's how I learned of the Acadia Choral Society.
The Acadia Choral Society sang two concerts a year, one in December and one in May. As the summer passed I kept telling myself that I needed to call Shirley Smith, the director. Geoff had given me Shirley's phone number months ago. Finally, in August, I picked up the phone.
Shirley named the three works that would be on the program in December. I was already familiar with one of them, and I knew I'd be able to find recordings of the other two.
This was such an unexpected question that I was taken aback.
Shirley and I chatted for a bit more. She asked if I'd like to ride with her to choir rehearsals. I thanked her and told her that I'd be riding with Geoff.
The second Tuesday after Labor Day rehearsals began. The first thing Shirley did was pass out cassette tapes.
"You're singing soprano, right?" said Shirley, offering me one of the tapes. It turned out Shirley made a recording for each section of the chorus. She'd play a professional recording of each work while playing the notes sung by each section on her digital keyboard. This was perfect for me. It made learning the music much easier.
I loved choir rehearsals. We didn't just learn the music and sing it, there was much more involved. Shirley taught us about the music during rehearsals. Sometimes she would bring in recordings of other works for comparison to the works we were singing. She taught us breathing exercises. She taught us that there is no long A in Latin.
"No, stop," said Shirley. "There is no long a in Latin." We had done it again. "It's not kyri-a," and she stressed the long a sound at the end, the way we had just sung it. "It's kyri-eh," she said, making a soft e sound at the end of the word.
The next time I was in the office, I had an idea. Photocopying the necessary letters from a large-print calendar, I made a little sign. When I was done, I had the words 'There is no A in Latin' on two pieces of paper. I took them home, stapled them to two pieces of cardboard, and stapled the cardboard to a small stick. In the end, it looked like the kind of sign protesters carry.
At the next choir rehearsal, I waited. Sure enough, when we sang the Kyrie, enough of us sang it with the long a for Shirley to stop us in exasperation. "Okay," she began.
Interrupting her I said, "Here Shirley, this might help," and I handed over my little sign. Laughing, she held up the sign and the entire chorus broke into laughter. For the rest of the rehearsals that little sign lay on the piano, ready for deployment should we forget how to pronounce Kyrie.


The eye-popping, jewel-toned rooms at stylish Hotel Luxus.
Hotel Luxus' sceney, flora-spangled eatery Madre.
Hotel De' Ricci's gorgeous grape-escape is perfect for vino enthusiasts.
Foodies will love the plush H'All Tailor Suite helmed by Michelin-starred chef Riccardo di Giacinto.
Luxuriously modern Palazzo Scanderbeg is perfect for apartment living.
GKK Exclusive Private Suites' Movie Suite is kitted with a mega TV and Dolby audio system.
With its perfect temps and charming wisteria in full bloom, spring in Roma is one of the best times to visit, before scorching heat and the inevitable tourist hordes engulf the capital come June. Should you be seeking an intimate place to bed down, check into one of these covetable cribs.
Rome may be home to some of the world's finest enotecas, but who gives a jot when you've got an underground tasting room, guest-relations staff doubling as sommeliers, bottle-filled minibars and rooms kitted with Coravins at your fingertips? This eight-suite grape escape is the go-to for oenophiles looking for a true taste of the city, with the option of personalised visits to wineries upon request. Better yet, the residence boasts an equally intoxicating Mid-Century decor across eight swoon-worthy boudoirs. The spacious, terraced and terracotta-hued suite is our pick.
Fourteen minimalist chambers rocking parquet flooring, contemporary art, four-poster beds and modern accents are a feast for the eyes, while owner and Michy-spangled pan-man Riccardo di Giacinto's on-site culinary temple All'Oro tickles tastebuds with trad-meets-mod Italian eats. The gourmet breakfast comprising the region's finest gastronomic treats (think creamy formaggio and salumi), and served with bubbles is truly diet-derailing. You are in Rome, after all.
Insta-snapping stylistas bed-down at this bold, boutique boîte repping a prime situ in Rome's boho Monti nabe. Between the eye-popping, jewel-toned rooms, second-floor city vistas, art tomes, sceney, flora-spangled eatery Madre, and the pretty pastel edifices of the locale's surrounding streets, you'll have more photo opps to capture than you can shake a selfie stick at.
Minutes from the Spanish Steps, this smart six-suite nook is smartly outfitted in calming blues and Fendi fabrics for stylish respite from the tourist hordes. Shack up in the Private Movie Suite kitted with a mega TV and Dolby audio system, or the Gran Suite Spa with a marble-clad, waterfall spa room and you'll be tempted to stay all day.
This former C.16th palazzo was a pasta museum before being converted into a luxuriously modern 11-suite townhouse, perfect for extended stays in the city. Okay, so the exquisite Poltrona Frau chairs, Cappellini sofas, Persian carpets and contemporary art may look straight out of a design showroom, but with mega living rooms, piazza vantages, breezy terraces, multiple bedrooms and bathrooms (or a bi-level annex apartment with its own entrance entirely), we'll happily call this place home.
For more swish stays and city insight, snap up the LUXE Rome guide.


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RANTrospective Review: Waiting for Guffman
by aaronrants.In Film Reviews, Retrospective Rants.2 Comments on RANTrospective Review: Waiting for Guffman
Following the success of his most recent film The Big Sick, Judd Apatow stated that he didn't "think critics have a great respect for the effort it takes to make people piss their pants laughing. They think it's more honorable to show someone in torment, but being able to do that doesn't make you more of an artist than being able to make 'The Naked Gun.' It's not hard to make people cry. Kill a dog." Whether or not you think that Apatow's films are as impressive as the newest drama hitting theaters, he certainly does have a point. The ability to elicit a genuine emotional response from an audience is remarkable, and not something possessed by many filmmakers. Waiting for Guffman, the 1996 film from Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, does exactly that and proves itself to be an unconventional, frequently uncomfortable, and consistently hysterical experience.
Guffman follows the citizens of a sleepy little town in Missouri, called Blaine. In the grand tradition of sleepy little towns line Fargo North Dakota (as well as the chronologically later but thematically relevant Scranton Pennsylvania, Dibley England, and Pawnee Indiana) life in Blaine is simple. The big cheese in town is a travel agent who has never left Blaine. The dentist is an awkward man who fancies himself a standup comedian. The girl who works at the local Dairy Queen doesn't seem to see a world much larger than the Dairy Queen. The Mayor attends an annual Mayor's convention. The town's claims to fame are the stools they made for a former president and a supposed alien landing. Things there are simple, and nobody seems to have a problem with that.
Enter Corky St. Claire, played hysterically by director and Co Writer Christopher Guest. Corky is a flamboyant theatre director who left the acting/directing scene in New York to come back home to Blaine. The plot follows Corky as he gathers a cast for a play celebrating the town's sesquicentennial anniversary. The cast universally delivers wonderful performances, with every single character simultaneously feeling like an insane caricature, and eerily like somebody you used to know from your hometown. Particularly amusing was Eugene Levy as Dr. Allen Pearl, who is perhaps the most awkward man ever to exist.
The vast majority of the film's humor comes from the strength of these performances, as well as the stellar editing. When something as mundane as side character drinking water causes me to burst out laughing, you know that the director has created a remarkable mood to prime the audience. In fact, almost all of the "jokes" are in the style of a side character drinking water. On very few occasions was there ever a legitimate punch line to a joke set up previously. However, as opposed to the vast majority of Adam Sandler's oeuvre, the format succeeds wildly in Guffman. The laughs come from watching a monotone-voiced dentist try to sing in an audition. It comes from watching a man who clearly thinks of himself as a master of the theater stumble over his words and call the city council "bastard people." It comes from awkward pauses in dialogue, from stiff dancing, and from watching actors at the top of their respective games embody real people on the screen for 84 minutes.
In a cinematic landscape filled with miserable people going through terrible pain and loss, it is incredibly refreshing to watch a movie that reminds you its okay to laugh. Waiting for Guffman is, at its heart, a small story about small people in a small town. These people are happy. They say dumb things, and make fools of themselves on a makeshift stage set up in a high school gymnasium. In a different kind of film, this might be depressing. In Waiting for Guffman, it's an excuse to just have fun. Allow yourself, just as every character in the film does, to forget that this is not Broadway, it doesn't have to be.
It's been years since I've seen this movie. I'm now honestly inspired to see it again. Great review, as always!
RANTrospective?
Why, I do believe I have seen what you did there!
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Eric Johnson concludes his series on Philippians by encouraging us to be content in every season. No matter what situation we face in life, God gives us strength to be content as we give our burdens to Him and enter into His peace. Keep God at the core of everything in life, because He will provide according to His riches and ownership!


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Posts in Category: Featured Blogs
Posts to highlight.
I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. I left the country the morning after Michael Brown was killed and only heard bits and pieces with my jet lagged mind over in Europe. I still haven't got my head around what went on in Ferguson and continues to happen. And I'm back home now in Los Angeles observing a strange media era that resembles the seventies in a way with ethnically based TV shows like Goldbergs, Black-ish, and the upcoming The McCarthys touted on billboards all over town. Then I'm spending a lot of time in public elementary schools (part of a job that I don't talk of much, but is becoming a larger, more impactful part of my life) observing a huge diversity of socioeconomic class and cultures, sometimes fretting over difficulties I see. But what got me this morning was catching up on the Sunday LA Times and reading this article on a film called, Dear White People, by filmmaker Justin Simien.
Here's the passage that raised my hackles:
part of what has also set "Dear White People" apart is the distinctive diversity of influences behind it. Although Simien has been sure to acknowledge leading African American predecessors such as Spike Lee or John Singleton — he introduced an academy screening of Lee's debut, "She's Gotta Have It," in Los Angeles over the summer — he has also made references to filmmakers Wes Anderson, Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman, Fritz Lang and a host of others.
The article goes on to talk about how African-American millennials aren't just influenced by black culture:
"I think the difference in our generation, the sort of African American millennial, is we were not only influenced by black culture, we just weren't," said producer Lena Waithe…
Okay… Where did jazz come from? Where did hip-hop come from? How did Chuck Berry or Ray Charles get their twang? Who did Jimi Hendrix reinterpret for his biggest hit?
First, it's just insulting for the writer to posit that a people which encompasses 14% of the US population, rich as "its" cultural expression may be, would only be influenced by what was produced by that minority. Secondly, it's sad that an artist would get seduced into such an oppositional statement as Ms. Waithe's claim. (But I fully understand how something can come across as much more simple minded in an out of context quote.)
The affliction of racism gets into us all as it limits our thinking an tries to explain what's always been there as new. Sorry for that rather generic statement.
But, Dear White People, progress is not in applauding people or yourself for stepping out of a box that was imaginary in the first place.
I'm looking forward to seeing the film. And I hope it reflects a richness that the LA Times writer or editor failed to truly reflect.
(And hopefully now that my hackles have raised, more writing will come!)
What Choice?
On July 7, 2013	by Jason Luckett	With	0 Comments	- Featured Blogs
I sat down with a cup of coffee this afternoon to listen to the latest Radiolab podcast. As it plays, recent photos stream across the TV monitor of my blended family, my colleagues and collaborators. These are random shots of life. We're at my Filipino/Italian nephew's birthday. I see snaps of my nonagenarian friend, Lennie Bluett, who'd informed Clark Gable on the set of "Gone with the Wind" that there were segregated toilets on the set in Culver City, embracing Angela Davis the activist and educator at the memorial of my good friend Leo Branton, the lawyer who delivered the closing argument leading to her acquittal in 1972. I see the rhythm section from a recent recording session. I see my friends Ossie and Haize performing with me. I see photos from my friend Aimee's visit with her baby Echo and more mixed babies in a mixed community. I see a photo of me meeting Grace Lee Boggs. It's just so beautiful.
And then I hear this. It breaks my heart. OK, it's an Appalachian story, so prejudge that as you may (though probably not a good idea…). It's about a mother and two daughters, all "apparently white," though two identify as black and one emphatically does not.
Listen. I'll write more later. I have to run out to Inglewood to meet my white mother at her black best friend's home for Sunday dinner. I'm so grateful for the nourishment I've received from this community. It's helped me transcend experiences I've had that resonate with this story.
Sweet Breakfast Cereal
On May 31, 2013	by Jason Luckett	With	1 Comments	- Featured Blogs
When my girlfriend showed me this yesterday, I admit to thinking, "Wow, they've really done it!" It's not the first commercial to show interracial families or visibly mixed kids. But something in the quiet, direct dialogue, the clear relationships, and familial care in this really got me. I hate to even spoil it for you by describing how the kid's concern for her father totally hit home for me. So watch it now before I wax melancholic:
Sure, the little girl is over the top on the cuteness scale. (She's a throwback to Shirley Temple: overwhelmingly sweet, though watching that creative mind turning is irresistible.) But what I'm feeling are the conversations overheard – or in which she's been included – about the higher risk of heart disease for blacks, especially men. I remember the strange feeling I had wondering why my dad was more likely to have high blood pressure and heart disease than my mom. Would he develop sickle-cell anemia? Why do only black people get that?
I'm not surprised by the hateful comments that forced General Mills to shut down comments on the YouTube post. I'm glad that some people are. That's collective evidence of some change.
What inspires me is that there was even a choice made to use an intact, thoughtful family who is unambiguously mixed to sell cereal. Sure, it wasn't as big of a "Julia Moment" for me as when I heard candidate Obama talk about the feelings of bias in his own home with his own blood relatives five years ago. But it was pretty stunning to see the portrayal of a normal family, not cast as exotic or comic relief where normal life problems are examined and racial particularities are an implied fact of life.
A Radical Welcome on King's Birthday
On January 16, 2012	by Jason Luckett	With	0 Comments	- Featured Blogs
On the day we as a nation celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, I'm thinking about how I spent his actual birthday on Sunday. My white Atlanta-born girlfriend – a woman who was in her mother's womb as she made sandwiches for black families coming to ATL for MLK's funeral – and I rolled out of bed and hurried out to All Saint's Episcopal Church in Pasadena for a talk on King and the transformative God. The lecture wasn't as promised, but rather the speaker, the African-American Episcopal priest, Stephanie Spellers, spoke on "radical welcoming," welcoming "the other" into your community, uncomfortably adapting to them rather than asking them to conform to your rules alone. She spoke while needling us that the Episcopal Church is the whitest and richest church in the US.
We left later church service – where this Hawaiian-born, Irvine-raised mulatto knew the more of the Negro spirituals being sung than his ATL-bred partner – for lunch with my Filipina ex-stepmother. She is the head of what I call my extended Southern California family; especially now that no close relatives of my nuclear family are on this coast.
At Full House Seafood in Chinatown, we celebrated the 71st birthday of the 12th of 13 children with at least four generations present. I get a little confused, but I know my four-year-old step-nephew is the uncle of the five-year-old son of my ex-stepmom's niece's daughter. The eldest present were the 6th child of the 13 and her white ex-military husband. The youngest was the wisest-looking one-year-old I've ever seen who had clear designs on my woman.
My Italian/Filipino-American step nephew chased me around with poppers for a few minutes before we shopped in Chinatown for a bamboo steamer for my mother to take back to her small town in New Hampshire. Leaving Chinatown we saw the stirrings of a potential fight between a middle-aged Latino homeless-looking man and a young tattooed Aryan-looking man. After some face-on-face hateful speech, they both eventually walked away. I don't advise getting into the face of an angry Aryan on a Sunday in Chinatown.
We drove back to our place on the busy road in a beautiful canyon for a short break.
A couple hours later we headed down to the Leimert Park area to Bryant Temple AME Church to hear the wonderful singer, Dwight Trible do a Martin Luther King celebration concert. We arrived late, so I listened behind the window while my girlfriend went to the restroom. From where I stood I could see my reflection in the pane and a woman who would not look away from me. I don't know if she was mentally disturbed or just disturbed by me, but looking at her face and my pale reflection made me feel extremely white even as I listened to a dreadlocked woman quote and discuss my favorite speech – the "Mountain Top" speech.
We finally took our seats.
The crowd and the band were diverse, though I often find myself scanning for cultural tourists when I'm in a majority black setting, especially a church where so many members are dressed formally. I wonder if I am with my multi-culti hippie crew when I roll in and play music or support my friends onstage.
So to bring it back to the unsuspected start: this is the radical welcome and its partner, the radical seeker. As a biracial person in an era when claiming both is an option, you have no choice but to participate in a dynamic where your existence makes some uncomfortable. If you choose to claim your whole self and ancestry, you necessarily have to put yourself in positions where you will feel uncomfortable, perhaps a cultural tourist.
The woman may have stared at me, but the community embraced me at Bryant Temple AME.
I awkwardly sit in my extended Southern California family; I even remember horrible things being said in the home my father shared with my stepmother when they were together. But we continue to show up for each other, welcoming each other into our lives easing awkwardness with familiarity and love.
I know there's a special excitement when I show up at All Saints because I'm young and darker than a lot of the congregation. But we're getting to know each other better all the time.
My girlfriend and I were back home by eight. We had dinner with leftovers from the crazy chicken en Español. We watched a British sci-fi television series and danced around the living room to music from a melancholy Scottish band. I felt myself radically welcoming her. It's in relationships, political, community, and personal that we create community from chaos.


The Maryland Visitors Network is a guide for tourism, travel, lodging, attractions, real estate agencies and more, organized by topic, region, towns, counties and geography in MARYLAND. If you are on your cell phone browse visnetmp.com. Harford County businesses: Add your free link here!
Many of the County Links on the left will keep you specifically in or near Harford County in Maryland. We add new listings and links on a regular basis so bookmark this page and check back often.
The county's oldest town, Havre de Grace, is located at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and has a long maritime history. It was founded in 1658, but achieved prominence during the War of 1812 when Lt. John O'Neill led the town militia against a British attack. In recognition of his bravery, he became the first lighthouse keeper when Concord Point Lighthouse was built in 1827. It is still one of the nation's oldest continuously working lighthouses.
The Susquehanna Canal was an important part of life in Havre de Grace in the 1840s. Step back to that period of time by visiting the Susquehanna Museum, housed in an old lock house. Decoys of wildfowl have been used for centuries by hunters. Now a respected form of art, decoys are displayed at the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum.
The county seat in Harford County is Bel Air, where two important historic homes are found. Tudor Hall was built in 1852 and was the home of a famous American actor named Junius Brutus Booth. The mansion at the Liriodendron Foundation was built in 1898 and still retains many of its original features.
An impressive garden is found in Monkton. Ladew Topiary Gardens was designed by the late Harvey Ladew and is now open for all to see. His property includes 15 garden rooms, a manor house, and dozens of topiary figures, which are shrubs trimmed into different ornamental shapes.
At the Aberdeen Proving Ground is the U. S. Army Ordnance Museum, where visitors can see army weapons, combat vehicles, and Anzio Annie, a huge German railway gun from World War II. The proving ground is also the home of a large number of bald eagles.
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The representative of the Fund also called it "critical", especially for Ukraine.
Ukraine has made significant progress in achieving the objectives of the cooperation program with the IMF, but for its successful continuation is necessary to avoid politicization of the issue concerning the formation of gas prices.
This statement was made on Friday during a briefing in Washington, the head of the European Department at the IMF's Paul Thomsen, writes UKRINFORM.
"Ukraine has made significant progress in a very difficult situation, particularly in addressing macroeconomic challenges," said the IMF representative.
He noted that much has been done, including one of the key areas – pricing of the domestic energy market. At the same time, he said, recently this question is again beginning to be politicized.
If Ukraine will create anti-corruption court, the raising of tariffs for communal services for the population can be postponed. About the speaker Andriy Parubiy talks with the IMF and Venice Commission.
"We are concerned that the price of energy has again become a political issue. In our opinion, it is very important that Ukraine returned to the policy of depoliticization of the decision-making process in the issue of energy prices," – said Thomsen.
The representative of the Fund also called "critical", especially for Ukraine, to continue the program of cooperation with the International monetary Fund.
Earlier it was reported that until the end of spring 2018 may occur, the revision of the program increased funding of the International monetary Fund for Ukraine. Kiev will receive the next tranche of the loan, subject to the successful implementation of reforms within the next month or two. Among these reforms is the adoption of the law on the independent anti-corruption court, reform of the energy sector and ensuring that fiscal policy aimed at achieving the objectives of the program.


Hamburgers really are a favorite meal for most families. They are suitable for get-togethers, barbecues, special attractions, or any old occasion. But you do not need for everyone your household those frozen patties from your store. Even for the barbeque, they are able to turn into dry, hard, or rubbery chunks of meat that closer resemble a hockey puck than something you want to sink your teeth into. If you want to build a juicy, thick burger containing your family telling all the neighbors, there really are a few things you need to get ready a tasty burger.
If you want to know steps to make the perfect hamburger patty that can generate rave reviews, you should select the right meat to do the job. You want a meat choice which will be brimming with flavor, contains little fat, and still embodies a juicy, robust taste when biting into. Ground beef chuck, sirloin steak tips, or short ribs are the good choices when designing a tasty burger. If you do not have a very butcher inside your local market that could grind the meat for you personally, you might want to look into investing in a meat grinder or possibly a food processor of your own.
If you're using a food processor you will need to chop the meat into small chunks and put them into the freezer to chill. If you position the pieces side by side over a baking sheet within the freezer until they're just firm however, not frozen, after that you can take them out and utilizing the "pulse" option on the food processor, mix them up. When you make your patties, you want to remove any large chunks or grizzle. Be sure to refrigerate until prepared to cook.
The less you handle the meat along with your hands better - for safety and health sake and then for sparing the meat from being melted by the heat of your respective hands. Remember to avoid flattening the patty while cooking, because this too can make the patty denser and you will lose those yummy juices from inside the meat. If you want to combine moisture on your burger, you can mince onions, mushrooms or mild chili peppers. Soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce can also be one or two favorites for added a little extra taste and moisture for your burgers.
Remember to spice up your burgers. Simple hamburger recipes include garlic and onion salt but virtually any spice inside your kitchen can be utilized depending for the taste you desire to deliver. When grilling your burgers, cook each side from a couple of minutes. And that is steps to make a hamburger your family will rave about.
Let your family top each burger with whatever condiments that like. Serve having a side salad, potato salad, or macaroni salad for the full hearty meal that can have your mates inviting themselves onto enjoy along with you.


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Renault rebels will fight garages
Renault UK dealers are opposing the manufacturer's suggestion that they should assist companies opening independent service points in their territories.
One Renault UK dealer, who asked not to be named, says: "Renault wants us to support these outlets by providing parts but many of us are refusing to do this. We cannot see any advantage and do not believe this concept could work satisfactorily. We would have no control over these independents."
AM sister organisation Sewells Information & Research revealed Renault UK's plans to increase its market penetration. Renault wants 49 new satellite points by the end of the year, 11 sub-dealers and five authorised repairers.
Sewells' forecast changes to network sizes include a growth of service-authorised repairers among most manufacturers, led by Fiat with 16, Volvo (14), and Ford and Peugeot (10 apiece). Latest block exemption rules encourage independent firms to provide servicing in competition with a manufacturer's dealer network. The EU wants to break down the traditional link between sales and servicing because it believes this will stimulate greater competition and benefit consumers.
But it seems Renault's retail network is preparing to stymie any competition from independents. "Aftersales is an important component of our turnover and profit, as it is for many dealers. If anyone opens a service point in our area, we will do all we can to put it out of business," says a senior retail executive. "Other Renault dealers feel equally strongly and it looks as though good new independents may only take business from other non-franchised service providers."
Four years ago, following the tie-up with Nissan, Renault decided to create 50 to 65 'hub' territories in the UK with one dealer group operating all outlets for both carmakers. It set an example by merging the Nissan-owned Aprite chain with Renault Retail, its own network.
According to Renault dealers, there is little enthusiasm among the network to follow suit, despite the apparent advantage of higher sales as a way to cut costs per unit sold.


will be sent soon by a court. This is to secure the total loan as the monthly payments are minimal.
Any advice Is there anything I can do. .
It's not an unusual scenario when a CCJ is in place and only small payments are being made.
How much was the judgement for?
The advice I give and draft letters provided are drawn from personal experience and career training and are given freely and without liability.
Please make your own decisions with care and if necessary seek qualified legal advice. I will not advise by private message. If you'd like me to look at your post please tag me in your post by typing @nemesis45;.
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The total debt was 8000 pnds. Paying 20 nds per month by STO.
Is there a way of paying a part of the debt to get the Second charge on the house released.and the debt written off.
They did offer paying the full amount in three installments within 3 months.This was some time back.
But can not afford it.
How would I negotiate a payment to satisfy above.
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Brimsdown rail station has received a Certificate of Merit at this year's Enfield In Bloom competition, thanks to the dedication of station adopter, Avril Nanton and Ticket Office Clerk, Dawn Norton.
The station, on London Liverpool Street – Hertford East railway line, won the accolade in the 'Best Public Building' category.
Avril and Abellio Greater Anglia employee, Dawn, planted stunning floral displays on the platform this year to welcome visitors who arrive by rail.
Avril, a keen gardener, is now planting a range of bulbs ready for the Spring which include narcissi, anemone, hyacinth and tulips. Approaching her role with great pride, Avril has also branched out into helping to clean parts of the station to ensure that the garden area is looking its best and is filling tubs and baskets with many of her homegrown plants.
Dawn has decorated Brimsdown station's Ticket Office with a host of plants and flowers to create a warm welcome to rail passengers.


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← The Only Choice. Flash Fiction.
Escape. Flash Fiction. →
Through the Cracks. Short Story.
"Hey, was that there before?"
"That big crack over there in the rock, it's new isn't it?"
Sarah turned and looked to where Harry was pointing, "Yeah, maybe. I never noticed it before anyway." She turned back and took another bite of her sandwich.
"Look at the size of it though, it's huge!"
Sarah swallowed her food, "so?"
There was silence. She looked behind herself and found she was alone, "Harry?" there was no answer. A faint breeze picked up, carrying with it the rustle of the trees and the sound of the children playing in the nearby playground.
"C'mon Harry this isn't funny, I only get half an hour for lunch, I don't want to waste it because you're dicking around. I already gave up a fancy lunch in the office to have lunch with you. Stop messing around Harry!"
Harry picked himself up off the ground, as he stood he brushed off his jeans with his hands, well, that was stupid. Thankfully no one had actually seen him go on his ass, he was sure it looked hilarious. He wasn't even sure how he'd managed to do it, he was leaning into the weird crack in the rock, it seemed impossibly deep and then somehow he'd lost his footing. Obviously he'd gotten turned around during the fall, he looked up, expecting to see Sarah laughing at him, but she wasn't there. He frowned, "Sarah? Where are you? I'm not that boring am I?" he glanced down at himself, looking for injuries, he hadn't hurt himself during the fall, not really, and he didn't have any memory gaps, at least not that he could tell. "Sarah?" There was nothing. He took a few steps forward, their stuff was gone too, their food and his coffee were no longer on the stone bench Sarah had been sitting on. Sure he'd been distracted by the crack in the wall, but not enough to not notice her leaving. Maybe she was hiding, getting ready to jump out at him, it wouldn't be the first time she'd done that. He turned in a slow circle, scanning the trees. There was no sign of her. Sighing he pulled out his phone, getting ready to ring her. No service. He sighed, "Ok, I get it, very funny. C'mon I want to have my lunch, I've to be back soon…Sarah?" He felt a thin thread of unease winding its way through his stomach. Something wasn't right about this place, but he couldn't quite place it. Somewhere a bird cawed, causing him to jump. He shook his head and chuckled, he was just being stupid. Sarah was around here somewhere. Maybe he'd gotten all turned around when he fell, he turned and froze, there was just rock behind him, as it had been every day before today. No cracks, nothing at all. He ran his hand over the rock, it was smooth and cold despite the heat of the sun. He must have gotten disorientated or hit his head when he fell. Sure this place looked almost identical to their usual spot, but then there were so many of these little seating areas dotted about the park, he must have wandered away without realising it. Sarah was probably freaking out too, he glanced around but couldn't see any obvious place he'd have come from. After a second of indecision he started walking towards the path. It was the same as he always remembered, a slight curve through some trees, then into a large seating area. This was a large square that had been cut into the rock, the floor had been slightly smoothed, around it were benches, the square had one exit in each side, a path meandering from each one into the trees. The square was completely empty, normally there were always one or two people here at the very least. He stood in the middle of the square, trying to remember the last time he had seen it empty. He turned and looked at the path he had just come from, it was definitely the path that he always took. The feeling of unease grew deeper, something strange was happening but he couldn't figure out what, there was no logical explanation. Sarah wouldn't just leave him lying there if he was knocked out and that didn't explain what had happened to the other people. Maybe this was a dream or some kind of delusion brought about by a knock on the head. He pinched the back of his hand, wincing at the pain of it. What ever was happening he wasn't dreaming.
Harry started walking again, he couldn't just stay standing around in the park forever. He'd get to the bottom of what was happening one way or another. He walked down the small path that brought him out into a larger part of the park. As he walked out from behind the screen of trees he stopped. Everything was overgrown, he hadn't noticed it so much when it was just trees, but he could see it clearly now, the concrete paths still meandered through the park, but now the neatly maintained grass was growing rampant, it was at least three feet tall, if not taller and mixed throughout were tall weeds. Another gust of wind came, rattling its way through the trees, with it he realised what was missing. Sound. Sure there were birds calling out to one another and the lazy, low buzz of bees, but beyond that there was nothing. No children laughing and screaming in the playground, no dogs barking, not even the sound of traffic from the city that surrounded it. A ripple of goose bumps made its way up and down his body. Where the hell was he? After a minute he started to follow the path, after all he had no other options and he knew how to get back to where he had first appeared.
When he reached the street he paused, abandoned cars littered the road, some were parked, most seemed to have just been left. Some of the shops had smashed windows, but for the most part everything looked intact. There were no bodies and not much in way of rubbish, though he could see plants starting to take hold in the cracks of the pathways. He raised his hands to his mouth "Hello!" the noise of his voice seemed impossibly loud as it echoed off the buildings around him, almost as soon as he had shouted he regretted it. It felt wrong to be making so much noise here, like it would attract the wrong kind of attention, though he had no idea as to what that might be. Suddenly he felt very exposed standing out in the open like this. He quickly moved over to the doors of a shopping centre, they had been left open and pools of water had gathered on the tile floor, the carpet at the entrance was sodden and covered in green moss. Most of the shops had their shutters open, though without the lights it was eerily dark inside and Harry was reluctant to go in any further. The skylights in the ceiling provided a good amount of light in the main part, but each of the shops looked like a large, looming maw, ready to consume those unwary enough to enter. Harry jumped as he heard something, a faint noise, like someone shuffling their way across concrete. He froze, trying to listen over the sound of his own heart booming in his ears. What ever it was, it sounded like it was coming from outside. He peeked around the entrance and scanned the street, he couldn't see anyone or anything. Maybe it was just an animal, with the city apparently abandoned they'd have to be breeding like crazy, though he had yet to actually see anything larger than a bird. His stomach grumbled sullenly, he wished he had just sat down and eaten his lunch before this had all started, it might not have prevented it but at least he wouldn't be hungry now. He moved deeper into the shopping centre, scanning all around him as he did so. Everything seemed to be in surprisingly good condition, things were damp and a little mouldy but nothing as bad as he would have expected. Up ahead he knew there was a supermarket and hopefully some canned food he could eat. He walked in the middle of the thoroughfare, not wanting to get too close to any of the shops. He turned the corner and saw the supermarket up ahead. He stopped ten feet from the entrance, visions of zombies lurching after him suddenly came to mind. He took a deep breath and told himself he was being ridiculous, then stopped. Was it though? He was in another world completely unlike his own where humans had apparently just vanished, leaving behind nothing, not even corpses. He could see food stacked up inside, another thought struck him, the entire place should stink of rot and decay but it didn't, it smelled a little musty, but nothing close to what it should be like. He moved a little closer to the food, fruit was stacked in containers against the wall, none of them appeared to be rotting, where were the animals? The flies? The mould? Anything at all. He gently reached out and prodded an apple, he expected his finger to just sink into the flesh, the apple was hard. His finger knocked it from the pile and it fell to the ground, it bounced once or twice then rolled further into the darkness. Harry took a step back, then looked around himself, he felt like he was being watched. There was something off about the food, it wasn't rotting, he couldn't eat any of it, it could be dangerous and the stuff in cans might be no better. He could deal with the hunger for a little while. Besides, it was getting time to figure out how to get home. He started to turn, then paused, he spotted a row of newspapers, without moving too much closer he scanned the headlines. They seemed like normal enough articles, nothing about disease or war. Most of the headlines were gossipy and inconsequential, one talked about some singer he was vaguely aware of and something about their twitter beef over an award. The only one that seemed to be in any way of note proclaimed "The Hunt for the Woodsman Killer Continues!", it made him feel a bit uneasy and he had no interest in reading into it further. He turned from the display and Harry walked out of the shopping centre quickly, scanning the shops as he passed, the feeling of being watched was only growing stronger with each passing second. He paused at the entrance then carefully peered out at the street, it was empty as far as he could see, and there was no sign of anyone in the other shops. He stepped outside into the street, feeling very exposed.
Back in the park Harry walked along the familiar path, the feeling of being watched was still there but not as strong, every few feet he looked around himself, it was the only way to keep himself calm. He tried to keep his breathing slow and steady, he could feel panic bubbling just under the surface and he knew he couldn't give in. Part of him was still curious as to where this place was and what happened, but the curiosity wasn't strong enough to keep him there. He glanced behind himself and froze, someone was standing in the tall grass, watching him. It was a man of about average height, he was too far away to make out his face correctly, but something felt wrong about it. Harry's heart was beating heavily in his chest, "Hello?" The man didn't respond, nor did he move. "I'm just passing through ok. I won't give you any trouble." The man just kept watching him. Harry took a step backwards, not taking his eyes off the man, the man didn't move. Unsure what to do, Harry turned and started walking, picking up the pace a little. He glanced behind himself again, the man hadn't moved from his spot. Harry felt himself relax a little, maybe he'd just be left alone and he could get back to where everything was sane and normal again. Back to the real world. Just before he reached the trees he looked back, the man was gone. There was no sign of him. Harry felt a sudden, sick feeling in his stomach, at least before he knew where the man was, whatever his intentions had been. He took a slow breath, he needed to stay calm, rational. The man had probably been following him for a while now and could have attacked him at any point. He was probably just some guy trying to survive after what ever had happened here. Heart still thudding in his chest he turned and walked into the trees.
Back at the rock, he ran his hands over it again, trying to find where the crack had been. It had been here, he knew it was, it had to be and it had to be how he had gotten here, it was the only thing he could think of that made sense. There was a faint sound behind him, Harry spun, the man was standing at the end of the path. Harry moaned, now that the man was closer he could see what was wrong with him. His face was blank, where there should have been eyes or a mouth was smooth skin, someone had drawn on top of the mans face crudely adding eyes, red lips and small black dots around the nose for nostrils. From a distance it was realistic enough that you wouldn't notice it. Harry's back hit the cold rock and he realised he had been backing away from it, it took a step towards him, then another. The man raised his hands slowly, Harry saw he was wearing oddly misshapen gloves, gingerly the man plucked at the fingers of one and pulled it away. Harry's stomach clenched as he saw the mans fingers, each one had a thin, sharp blade along the length of it, they glittered in the sunlight and seemed to be part of the mans flesh. The man took another step forward, Harry saw that the mans fake mouth was doing something, stretching out, shifting. After a second he realised the man, the thing, what ever it was was trying to smile. Harry moaned as a slit appeared on the mans face, stretching out the fake lips, revealing rows of sharp, inwardly hooked teeth. It lunged at him, the blades sunk into his flesh, Harry started to scream and he wouldn't stop for a long, long time.
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