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New Release! 'Ava's Manor: A Solitaire Story' for Uken Games and Mighty Kingdom
By Anthony Valterra
New Brunette Games client Uken Games, in partnership with Mighty Kingdom, recently released Ava's Manor: A Solitaire Story, to great success in the app stores. Ava's Manor is a decorating game, but instead of a match-3 or collapse puzzle, it's powered by a TriPeaks solitaire game mechanic. A terrific cast of characters and an engaging storyline make this a winner and shows that there is more flexibility in the narrative puzzle genre than you might think. Brunette Games was brought in to consult on the storyline and characters as well as write narrative ad content and provide VO. We're all very proud of the game's performance already.
While Dexter, Amanda, and I handled the bulk of the consulting work, with Andy delivering on the VO, it's no coincidence that both title character Ava and BG founder Lisa Brunette are mystery novelists.
Here's the official app store description - be sure to check it out!
Romance? Decorating? Solitaire? YES! Get ready for all of this and more in Ava's Manor! Renovate and decorate the Manor and gardens while discovering mysterious clues, unwind and relax with solitaire and dabble in a romantic love story all in this FREE solitaire game!
Help Ava save her Great Uncle's Manor by renovating and restoring it to its former glory. Brush off your interior design skills as you choose how to decorate the house and gardens, making into your own masterpiece! Play Tripeaks Solitaire and unlock epic boosters to blast through those puzzling levels! Stimulate your mind and train your brain with these unique solitaire card puzzles and express your inner creativity at the same time with DIY renovation and decor! Now you can work both your left brain and your right at the same time all while unwinding to relax!
Discover hidden treasures, collect clues and uncover secrets as you restore exciting new rooms in the Manor! Experience the mystery and romance as the story plot twists keep you guessing at every turn! Sit back and relax with this Solitaire puzzle game and start the renovation makeover of your dreams!
RENOVATE, expand & decorate your Manor with tons of decor and furniture to choose from! Personalize your style!
RELAX with calming Tripeaks Solitaire and solve addicting levels with your card skills! Conquer unique levels and unlock powerful boosters along the way!
ROMANCE is in the air as Ava encounters new love interests while struggling to move on from an ex back home. What's a story without a little romance?!
MYSTERY awaits you as you unlock the secrets of Ava's Manor and uncover her family's story. Not even this mystery writer can anticipate these plot twists!
DISCOVER clues to the story and the strange disappearance of Ava's Uncle Marvin.
FRIENDS new and old are ready to help you and Ava restore the Manor, including your sassy BFF, Serena and trusty canine companion, Marlowe!
STORY seems to be Ava's forte as an accomplished mystery novelist, but will inspiration strike as she finds herself in a mystery of her own?
Solve relaxing TriPeaks Solitaire puzzles and show off your interior design skills by furnishing and decorating the Manor Gardens, Foyer, Bedrooms, Library and more! Thousands of design options and styles give you the freedom to explore your creativity!
Ava's Manor will be updated with more solitaire puzzles to solve, more ways to decorate and more romantic story chapters regularly! Stay tuned for updates and let us know your feedback!
What are you waiting for? Come join Ava and friends on this exciting story, unleash your creativity, and start your home makeover now!
Enjoying Ava's Manor? Learn more about the game!
Facebook: facebook.com/AvasManor
Tags: app games, Ava's Manor, Ava's Manor: A Solitaire Story, Brunette Games, casual games, game writing, mobile games, mystery games, narrative design, phone games, romance games, solitaire, TriPeaks solitaire, Uken Games
'Power of Storytelling in Blockbuster Casual Games' - A Data-Driven Collaboration with Om Tandon
Brunette Games Founder Lisa Brunette recently co-authored an article with popular industry analyst Om Tandon of UX Reviewer on the subject of why and how narrative fuels the rise of many blockbuster casual mobile games. "Power of storytelling in blockbuster casual games" is part of a series in which Om takes a deep dive into what makes top tier games in this space tick. In part 1, Om looked at how to crack the match-3 code, part 2 featured an interview with the Playrix team behind the Gardenscapes and Homescapes phenomenon, and here in part 3, Om interviews Lisa.
You can read the full article at GameRefinery, but here's an excerpt:
It's like the old saying goes: Trying to design a major hit game is like trying to capture lightning in a bottle. If there were one sure formula, everyone would have a hit, right? While many ingredients make a game popular with players - from a well-designed match-3 puzzle to the right blend of customization and progression pacing in the decorating element - it's our opinion at Brunette Games that a quality story is key.
With so many match-3 games on the market, and so many decorating games as well, story could be one of the key distinguishing factors you have at your disposal.
Tags: Brunette Games, casual games, data, match 3, match-3, mobile games, narrative, Om Tandon, story, storytelling in games, UX Reviewer
The Top 5 Games on Our Roster - and the Stories They Tell
In our work with casual mobile game developers, we like to talk about three main aspects of storytelling: conflict, mystery, and connection. Through these three narrative elements, we've worked to push the genre forward, and that's evident in the top five games on our roster. I'll break each one down for you.
1. Matchington Mansion, Firecraft
When a developer in stealth mode reached out to me in early 2017 to help design a match-3 game, I had no idea what an impact it would have on my career. But today Matchington Mansion is still the top-performing game we've had the privilege to work on.
We pushed innovation on this title in several ways. First, we introduced conflict - something many casual mobile games at that point tended to avoid - by adding to the cast list a conniving casino developer named Rex Houston. Upping the ante is the fact that as a blood relative of the mansion's deceased owner, he arguably has more claim to its inheritance than you do.
There's also a mystery. You're given the mansion by a bestselling author whose books you helped popularize (you're a New York editor). You uncover the author's long-ago forbidden romance as you set to the task of renovating the old, crumbling mansion.
The connection comes in with the character relationships - you meet neighbors, a contractor, a gardener, the delivery boy - and rather than merely introducing new features, these characters engage you with their foibles. They're part of the story. Connection's also there as a visual tie between the match-3 gameplay and the story. The tile icons in the match-3 thematically link to the story, such as pillow tiles while Tiffany is fluffing pillows in the living room. This sounds obvious now, as so many games link them, but it was an innovation at the time.
Fun Fact: 'Matchington Mansion' was originally just a placeholder, internal name for the game, but I argued it would make the perfect game name. Don't you agree?
2. Lily's Garden, Tactile Entertainment
In early 2018, I flew to Copenhagen to work onsite with the Tactile Entertainment team. I was a huge fan of their Bee Brilliant collapse mechanic games, so the opportunity to work on a narrative sequel was exciting.
With Lily's Garden, the important innovation was to step a bit beyond the "bad guy" antagonist trope and instead focus on a love triangle, with a romantic sit-com storyline. As far as conflict goes, we still offer many:
The antagonizing force of the time-limited contract Lily must fulfill in order to inherit her great aunt's home and garden
Lily's cousin Larry, who has his grimy mitts all over the place her great aunt wanted her to have
The setup of Lily's bad luck streak, which instantly makes her a relatable character
The mysteries aren't trapped in the past, but rather set in the present. Will Lily fall for scrappy neighbor Luke, or come under the sway of her ex? Will she keep Larry out of her inheritance? Will she be able to fix up the garden in time to fulfill her great-aunt's dying wish? Who was this Great-Aunt Mary, anyway?
The connection is first and foremost to the woman whose gift sets the stage for everything else, Lily's great-aunt. Her quirky, warm spirit comes through as Lily restores the home and garden to its former glory. After that, it's friends and love interests... when family doesn't get in the way. Another innovation? The diverse cast, which includes characters of color and a wider array of sexual orientation than you normally see in casual games, especially if you include the viral ads.
Fun Fact: Very little of the content in the famously viral Lily's Garden ads actually appears in the game.
3. Choices: Stories You Play, Pixelberry Studios
Interactive novels can make a tough go of it, and we've been involved in more than one project that's never quite gained traction. But Pixelberry's Choices is an exception, here at No. 3 on our list for performance.
Veil of Secrets was a huge innovation for Choices as its first book in the mystery genre. So for both conflict and mystery, it pushed the boundaries even within a format that had already proved its success. What I tried to do with this title as remote scriptwriter was deepen the villains, giving them a bit of nuance... if not outright sympathy, then at least an awareness of what shaped them. That was a tough call for WASP-y New England characters, a world I have very little first-hand knowledge of, but luckily, my experience as a lover of the mystery genre came in handy.
All of the Choices books excel at connection, with a wide variety of dating and intimacy moments available to players. It was gratifying to write in that space, for a team that values diversity.
Fun Fact: In the premium scene in Chapter 1, your bestie Kate explains that she and Tanner met when he took cover from the rain in her bakery one night. They spent all night flirting... and eating cupcakes. Serious girl fantasy, right? Or maybe that's just me.
4. Bingo Bash, GSN
Early in the evolution of casual games, we used to encounter a lot of resistance from designers who feared that more story in a game would mean too many words. Our next top-performer proves that narrative needs scant wordage to steal the show.
In late 2017, we were tasked with the seemingly impossible: Write a love story in 27 characters or less per chapter. The tiny tale would appear in a new room within the Bingo Bash app, just in time for Valentine's Day. 'Dear Diary' was, I think, the first of its kind, another innovation in the casual mobile game space. While for a long time narratives were paired only with match-3 decorating games, Bingo Bash: Dear Diary showed story could be hybridized with other types of gameplay. These days, we're seeing narrative meshed with solitaire and other genres as well.
The 'Dear Diary' bingo room had conflict in the form of the obstacles the would-be couple encounters, mystery in the question of whether they'd ever work things out, and connection when they end up together - and married, before you can say, "Bingo!"
Fun Fact: I turned this '27 characters or less' restriction into a classroom assignment when I taught narrative design at a local university. Dexter Woltman, now Brunette Games writer/designer but then my student, wrote a micro romance story... about a rock. You can see why we hired him.
5. Sweet Escapes, Redemption Games
Speaking of Dexter's quirky sense of humor, the game in the No. 5 spot on our roster really takes the cake in that regard, and all credit to him for the achievement. Sweet Escapes definitely pushes innovation in the area of casual mobile game comedy. Between the Redemption Games team's hilarious animations and Dexter's laugh-out-loud dialogue, the title has gained a huge fan following. It's even spawned fan fiction.
Sweet Escapes has connection in spades. The game also traffics in interesting conflict, with an inspector who seems to be thwarting our heroes' attempts to win the highly prized Sweetstakes trophy... or is he (mystery)? It's been a year and some months since the game's initial release, and the mystery has only deepened. It now involves a crusty ol' pirate named Snackbeard.
Fun Facts: Yes, Scoops really has held all of those jobs. And no, he doesn't wear the same scarf every day.
What's Ahead?
With all of this past innovation behind us, what do we see in the future? It's a question we don't take lightly here at Brunette Games.
One of the best HOPAs ever created, by Artogon and Big Fish.
Personally, I have yet to see the dark, edgy content in casual mobile games that was a regular feature of the hundreds of hidden-object puzzle adventure games I worked on at Big Fish back in 2011-2016. Those games had me on the edge of my seat, and the jump scares at least in one case actually made me jump - in the middle of a cubicle pod at work. While those games were at times dark enough to require a warning label even though they were still casual fare, most of what passes for story on mobile today falls squarely in the cheery camp. When there are mysteries, they tend to be a bit 'Scooby Doo' in tone. A notable exception are two titles we consult on for G5 Entertainment - Homicide Squad and the just-released Crime Mysteries. But the rest have all been light and bright.
Does it matter that we're playing on the phone now instead of PC download? I don't think so. While designers often come to us because they want to compete with the top-performing games above, we think the real competition lies elsewhere - on Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO... We'd like to work with you to tell stories no one can put down, or scroll past. Ready?
YOU SHOULD ALSO CHECK OUT
Redemption Games' Scoops: From Fan Favorite to Fan Fiction
Narrative Design 101: Do We Need Stories? How Do We Make Them Work in Games?
Tags: Bingo Bash, Brunette Games, casual games, Choices, Choices Veil of Secrets, conflict, connection, Dear Diary bingo room, evolution of mobile gaming, free-to-play games, game writing, hidden object puzzle adventure games, Lily's Garden, Matchington Mansion, mobile games, mystery, narrative design, Sweet Escapes, Veil of Secrets


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Nevada to play Ohio in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl game
Third bowl visit to Boise for a bowl game for the Wolf Pack
Sports | December 10, 2019
The Wolf Pack on the field at the 2011 Kraft Bowl game. The Wolf Pack has played in 11 bowl games since 2005 and 14 bowl games overall since it moved to Division I-A/FBS in 1991.
The Nevada football team today accepted an invitation from the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and will take on Ohio in the Jan. 3 game on at Albertson's Stadium in Boise, Idaho.
This is Nevada's second-straight bowl berth and the Wolf Pack is currently on a two-game winning streak in bowl games. Nevada toppled Arkansas State 16-13 in overtime last year at the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl, and the Pack beat Colorado State 28-23 in the first Arizona Bowl in 2015.
"We are excited for this great opportunity to play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl," said Nevada's third-year head coach Jay Norvell. "Ohio had a great season and is a really good football team. We are looking forward to the challenge of playing them. I'm thrilled for our seniors to have a chance to play in one more game in their careers."
Kickoff for the game on Jan. 3 is 12:30 p.m. PT and it will be televised on ESPN. Tickets for the game range from $20-50 and Wolf Pack fans are urged to purchase tickets from the Nevada ticket office to help the department meet its obligations for the game. Nevada will have tickets available on Monday at NevadaWolfPack.com, over the phone at (775) 229-5513 and in person at the ticket office at Lawlor Events Center.
Ohio finished second in the Mid-American Conference's East Division with a 5-3 mark and ended the year with a 6-6 mark overall. This is the first-ever meeting between Nevada and Ohio.
Nevada (7-5 overall, 4-4 Mountain West) became bowl eligible on Nov. 9 with a road victory against then-No. 24 San Diego State and then notched win No. 7 on the road at Fresno State. The Wolf Pack is looking for back-to-back eight-win seasons for the first time since 2009-10.
Born in 1997, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl debuted as the Humanitarian Bowl. Nevada has twice previously competed in the game, falling to Miami in 2006 and to Maryland in the 2008 edition of the game.
"We are thrilled to welcome back two teams who have an exciting history in our bowl game," said Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Executive Director Kevin McDonald. "Any time you can host a first-time meeting between two programs it adds a unique element to the game, especially two teams with such rich postseason traditions."
Late Pack rally not enough in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
This is Nevada's fifth bowl appearance since joining the Mountain West in 2012. In addition to the 2015 and 2018 Arizona Bowls, Nevada also played in the 2014 New Orleans Bowl and the 2012 New Mexico Bowl.
The Wolf Pack has played in 11 bowl games since 2005 and 14 bowl games overall since it moved to Division I-A/FBS in 1991. Nevada also played in the Salad Bowl in 1948 and the Harbor Bowl in 1949. The Pack's overall record in bowl games is 6-10.
More information on the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, including travel information, can be found on the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl website.
Wolf Pack's fourth-quarter comeback thwarted by Ohio, 30-21
Nevada set to graduate 21 student-athletes this winter
University joins Redfield Foundation, Eddy House to serve homeless youth
Nevada Humanities presents 'The Constitution: What it Means to Me' salon in Reno
Condemning hate and bias with student journalism
University Arts Building wins architecture design honors across the country
National spotlight shines on Nevada alumnus Capt. Ken Collins and the U.S. Navy Band
Servicemen and women recently highlighted in CBS News' behind-the-scenes video
University-trained firefighter volunteers to help Australia
Rangeland Ecology and Management Program student and Bureau of Land Management Nevada firefighter Matt Petersen joins international taskforce
Plant, caterpillar, parasitoid interaction studied for 22 years by biologists in College of Science
Nevada Consolidated Copper Company Records
Records can be found in the University Libraries Special Collections and University Archives department. They contain materials highlighting the history of copper mining in northeast Nevada.
William Tate to present lecture on relationship of place, race and STEM education
Free public Discover Science Lecture Series to be held at Davidson Mathematics and Science Center
What is the impeachment process?
U.S. government political scientist breaks down the impeachment process
Scaling-up at the DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library
Redesigned space, enhanced support structure, experiential learning key to the development of new knowledge
Initiative to involve students, faculty and community partners; first 24-hour facility for at-risk youth in Reno

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Custom built home in upscale Drewry Hills was taken down to the studs in 2003 and completely remodeled, leaving only 1 original bedroom and 2 original bathrooms on main floor. Original home built by John C Williams, remodeled by Archwood. Custom curved staircase & book shelves in 2 story foyer, Tennessee flagstone walkway & porch. Decorative crown molding, wood arches & interior transoms. With renovation, all new windows, new kitchen appliances, HVAC 2003 down-2017 up. 5 beds or 4 with office. New paint!


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La unicameral Asamblea Nacional (Assemblée Nationale) es el único órgano legislativo de Níger. La Asamblea Nacional se encarga de proponer y elaborar leyes, y se le requiere la aprobación de toda legislación en el país.

Historia
La Asamblea Nacional se estableció a través de las reformas al Consejo Constitucional de la Colonia de Níger durante el período colonial francés. Funcionó a partir de 1958 hasta la independencia en 1960, hasta el Golpe de Estado de 1974 en Níger. Durante el curso del gobierno militar, desde 1974 hasta 1991, un cuerpo consultivo (el Alto Consejo de la República de Níger) fue reformado para convertirse en un órgano análogo a la Asamblea Nacional. Esto funcionó durante el período de la Convenión Constitucional de la Segunda República de Níger (1991–1993) y fue reconstituido como Asamblea Nacional en la Tercera República (1993–1996). Tras el Golpe de Estado de 1996 en Níger la Asamblea Nacional fue suspendida de nuevo, y reinstaurada en 1997 bajo la Cuarta República. De nuevo, tras el Golpe de Estado de 1999 en Níger, la Asamblea Nacional fue suspendida, pero esta vez se reconstituyó en un año bajo la Quinta República de Níger (1999–presente).

Véase también
Política de Níger

Referencias

Enlaces externos

National Página web de la Asamblea de Níger

Política de Níger
Niamey
Congresos y Parlamentos unicamerales

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Updated 25 January, 2020 - 16:45 Ed Whelan
Art Before the Pharaohs: 10,000 BC Paintings Found in Egypt
In Egypt, a number of mysterious inscriptions and examples of rock art have been found in the Sinai. It is estimated that some of the images could be 12,000 years old. The find is providing insights into the prehistoric past of the region.
The inscriptions were found by a person who was exploring some caves in the deserts of South Sinai and who notified the relevant authorities. The site is "located about 40 miles (60 kilometers) southeast of Sarabit el-Khadem and 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Saint Catherine" reports Egypt Today . The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities sent a team to document the discoveries.
Rock Art Discovered in Egyptian Cave
The inscriptions were found, according to Mostafa al-Waziry, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, in a cavern "located in a difficult region called al-Zaranij" reports Egypt Independent . They were found in a large sandstone rock shelter that is 10 feet (3 meters) high and 20 feet (60 meters) wide. It appears that the cave was at one time used by nomadic Bedouin as shelter.
The cavern where the rock art was found had been used as a shelter. (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Facebook)
A large number of images were found in the cave. Some of them were engraved onto the roof of the cave. Others were found on blocks of stone that had fallen onto the floor of the cavern. Hisham Hussein, head of the archaeological mission, is quoted by Egypt Today as saying that the "discovered inscriptions depict many different scenes dating back to different eras".
Mysterious Inscriptions and Images
The inscriptions and images were inscribed onto the rock and then painted. They are all a dark reddish color but many have faded and are quite hard to make out. The experts have divided the rock art into three broad categories based on the images that they represent and their styles.
All of the rock art was a dark red color but had faded. (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Facebook)
The first type of rock art is the oldest and date back some 7,000 to 12,000 years ago and were made thousands of years before the pyramids were built. They are primarily found on the ceiling of the cavern. These are "mainly of animals such as donkeys and mules" reports Egypt Today . These are drawn in a realistic way and they are in proportion.
Ten Mysterious Examples of Rock Art from the Ancient World
Debate over 7,000-year-old rock art in barren Sahara Desert that may depict people swimming
Ancient Expressions: The World's Oldest Works of Prehistoric Art
The first type of rock art in the caverns was of animals. (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Facebook)
The Styles of Rock Art
There handprints also to be found all over the cave from the same era. Somewhat similar handprints have also been found in the Western Desert of Egypt. However, Newsweek quotes Professor John Darnell of Yale University, "the hands from the Sinai site appear to be of a different style, and possibly later in date" than these examples.
Rock art of handprints were all over the cave. (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Facebook)
The second category of rock art probably come from the Chalcolithic or Copper Age 3,500 to 2,300 BC. These are mostly stick-like red images of females and animals. Professor Darnell told Newsweek, the "red-painted imagery is not as commonly found as incised images and text". They were not made in a naturalistic way and the proportions of their bodies are not in harmony.
A Tradition of Egyptian Rock Art
The third type of rock carvings is different from the previous two. They show people on a howdah. This is a type of bed or carriage that is carried by a camel and was used to transport members of the elite in the Middle East, until relatively recently. These images probably are no older than the first millennium BC.
Egypt has a long history of rock art . Professor Darnell stated that they often reveal the "complex tradition of human interactions with the landscape" according to Newsweek. The different types of images and inscriptions can help researchers to better understand the history of the Sinai. The group will continue to search for rock art and other ancient inscriptions, which is part of a wider survey of the area, which began in 2019.
The recently documented caves and rock art. (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Facebook)
Top image: Ancient rock art discovered in Egypt.(Enhanced) Source: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Facebook.
By Ed Whelan
South Sinai
My name is Edward Whelan and I graduated with a PhD in history in 2008. Between 2010-2012 I worked in the Limerick City Archives. I have written a book and several peer reviewed journal articles. At present I am a... Read More
19 January, 2023 - 13:53 Sahir
Mystery Nessglyph Riddle Alludes to Roman Military's Horned Deity Cult
The mystery of the Nessglyph riddle continues to elude archaeologists, and they've now requested public intervention and help. The curious rock carving on a piece of red sandstone, found last summer...
Read more about Mystery Nessglyph Riddle Alludes to Roman Military's Horned Deity Cult
30 November, 2022 - 02:00 Sahir
600 Rock Carvings Found by Clever Inquiry and Torchlight
Three friends in Norway have a remarkable way of spending in their spare time. Armed with torches, they go looking for prehistoric rock carvings, and with singular success. So far, they have helped...
Read more about 600 Rock Carvings Found by Clever Inquiry and Torchlight
23 September, 2022 - 22:56 ashley cowie
Ancient Dreamtime Myths Unraveled in Australian Rock Shelter Art
Archaeologists working with Aboriginal artists in Australia have interpreted rock shelter art with extraordinary findings. This artistic blend of astronomy, mythology and the Dreamtime is like no...
Read more about Ancient Dreamtime Myths Unraveled in Australian Rock Shelter Art
6 August, 2022 - 14:58 Rafael Videla E...
The Alien Petroglyphs of Chile's Valle del Encanto
The Enchanted Valley, known as el Valle del Encanto in Spanish, is one of the most well-known rock art sites in Chile. Home to a varied set of petroglyphs, pictographs and so-called cup-marked stones...
Read more about The Alien Petroglyphs of Chile's Valle del Encanto
29 July, 2022 - 22:58 Sahir
8,000-Year-Old Neolithic Temple Discovered in Saudi Arabia
The once magnificent capital of the Kingdom of Kindah, Al-Faw south west of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia has been the subject of a project spearheaded by the Saudi Heritage Commission, headed by a Saudi...
Read more about 8,000-Year-Old Neolithic Temple Discovered in Saudi Arabia
1 June, 2022 - 18:59 ashley cowie
The Ice Age Art Gallery Just Got Excavated at Cueva de Ardales
Last year mainstream archaeologists struggled to accept that almost 70,000 years ago someone painted rock art in Cueva de Ardales, a cave in modern day Spain. Now, a team of researchers has shown...
Read more about The Ice Age Art Gallery Just Got Excavated at Cueva de Ardales


Some five years ago, there were news about companies trying and making waterless washing machine. They tried to develop a machine using steam, ozone, or plastic pellets versions. But so far, they are not available to the general public, or cost far more than you can pay. The question how to clean clothes without water, however, remains to be answered.
Laundry may be one of your least favorite days in the week. But the fact of the matter is we have to do laundry every now and then. Can you really do a waterless laundry at home without using some expensive machine? Well, it is possible with the use of a couple of hacks and tricks.
Laundry seems like an eternity. You wait for an open washing machine, wait some more for the clothes to be done, and after what feels like an eternity, your clothes are finally clean, but you still need to fold and put them away. If you hate washing, try some of the tricks and tips below.
Why do we wash clothes?
Before we get to the tips for how to clean clothes without water, we need to ask why clothes washing in the first place. When you talk about workout clothes and how to clean them, the most obvious answer is because they smell. Clothes that have been worn for a day, gone another round or two, they smell. When we wear clothes, sweat and oils from our skin ends up in the clothes. And even more importantly, gets carried along with them. These bacteria, breaking down the oils and dead skin cells, cause smells in the clothes.
The big aspect of washing clothes is killing off bacteria, and the smell they cause. But contrary to what you may believe, soap and water is not the only way to kill bacteria. These hacks will clean your clothes in a pinch. However, we still recommend that you wash your clothes once in a while. Think of these hacks more as an emergency way of cleaning clothes.
We all know denim requires more washing and ironing. It is a unique fabric. But the good news is because of that uniqueness, denim can be cleaned in the freezer. All you have to do is throw your jeans in a Ziploc bag, and then into the freezer. Leave them overnight. The cold temperature will kill the bacteria, and won't ruin your jeans in the process. The next morning, they are fresh and ready to wear.
Getting an oil stain on your clothes is not something you want to happen. But when it happens, it happens. But there is something you can do to correct the problem. Try to blot up as much of the stain as possible. After that, generously dust some baby powder over the stain. Wait for 30 minutes, and then dust off the baby powder. The powder will soak up all the oily mess, and your clothes will be clean for wearing.
You will be surprised by the number of people wearing makeup at the gym. Yes, there are women who cannot do their workout unless they have some lipstick on. But no matter whether you are the gym or somewhere else, makeup on your clothes is a problem. The simple solution is rubbing alcohol to get it out. Place a sheet of paper towel behind the stain, and then use alcohol soaked in cotton ball to dab out the stain. If needed, repeat the process inside the clothing. Let it dry, and then you can wear it again.
If there is one thing you are guaranteed to get when you work out is sweat stains. It is inevitable. You sweat while you exercise, and some of that sweat remains on your clothes. Try using lemon juice to get the stains out. Not only your clothes will be clean, they will smell fresh, and you can wear them again in the gym. Sprinkle some salt over the stain, and then squeeze lemon over it. Rub until it comes out.
This is one of the oldest tricks in the book. And yes, it is effective. Now, if you spill an entire glass of red wine over your shirt, nothing will help you clean it. However, if there is a stain or two, rub some white wine against it. The process does not work the other way around.


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Editor's note: The spaniel world lost a remarkable man on February 25th, 2013, with the passing of Glenn DeMott. He was well known for his spritely Timberdoodle springers who, trained and handled by Glenn, achieved success in field trials, earned national recognition and whose offspring continue to bring joy to their families from coast to coast. Glenn's springers were a passion he shared with our readers when he wrote Hunting Adventures with a Most Gifted Spaniel.
Gone too soon, this touching eulogy penned by his brother, Paul, celebrates Glenn's humility, integrity and courage.--Loretta
Remembering Glenn DeMott
by Paul DeMott
On behalf of Glenn's brothers, I would like to make a few remarks. I will focus on three qualities of Glenn's life: the first quality I think made Glenn an interesting man; the second quality made him an admirable man and the third quality made him a most fortunate man.
Glenn was an interesting man because he pursued those things that caught his interests with such passion, enthusiasm and dedication. One could see that throughout his life.
As an example, I think we all know that Glenn was an avid fisherman, to say the least. He caught that love as a youngster when we lived along the coast of New Jersey and he would go out surf fishing with his older brothers. He developed that interest as a young boy. I can remember that as an elementary school student, Glenn would read through stacks of old Outdoor Life and Field and Stream magazines. He would then fill spiral bound notebooks with his notes on the tips, techniques and strategies of the very best fisherman. He would practice casting in the backyard so he could place lures and baits at just the right spot. He further developed and put his knowledge and skills to work fishing locally on the Olentangy and Scioto rivers, fishing for walleye in Lake Erie, catching Northern Pike on family fishing trips to the wilderness of Northern Ontario and Maine.
Over time, Glenn became the consummate fisherman.
Some of you may be surprised to know that fishing involves knowledge and skill. I think most of my friends think when you fish you just show up, put your line in the water and hope for the fish to bite. Such friends have never gone fishing with Glenn.
I remember going with him once to fish for trout in the Mad River when Glenn was in college at Wittenburg University. Glenn scouted out the Mad River for the best places to go. He figured out which rods to use, what fishing line to use, what size hooks to use and what baits to use. He gave me some brief tips and instructions on the nuances of how to catch trout.
On opening day, we went to the first spot on his list and found about a dozen other fishermen who had the same idea. When we asked how the fishing was, they all grumbled that they had been there for some time and had not yet caught anything.
We started fishing and, within about an hour, caught our limit of trout for the day. The other fisherman could not figure out what was going on. I did well but, of course, Glenn caught more fish than I did. In all the times that I went fishing with Glenn, I cannot remember ever catching more fish than he did.
I am quite sure I would have remembered if I ever had.
I learned from talking with people yesterday at the visitation that I have described the generic "fishing with Glenn" story. You show up. You catch more fish than anyone else around you. You limit out. You leave behind other fishermen who are thinking, "what the heck?"
When Glenn finished college, he ended up going to graduate school at Oregon State in fisheries biology.
He moved to the small coastal town of Depoe Bay where he started doing scientific research for his Fisheries Biology degree and where he ended up spending years as a charter boat captain taking tourists out on the ocean to catch salmon, halibut, red snapper and many varieties of deep sea fish.
I remember visiting Glenn at Depoe Bay. He lived in a very small house that was one step up from a shack. And, of course, being a charter boat captain is not a job that will make you rich. Still, I think, Glenn loved the years he spent on the Oregon coast because he was doing what he was so passionate about and sharing that passion with others.
Needless to say, in typical Glenn fashion, he quickly became a legend among charter boat captains on the Oregon coast.
Most charter boat captains approached their jobs the way it had been done for generations. Glenn introduced new cutting edge technologies, new tactic and new techniques. Most charter boats would go out for a full day of fishing. Glenn would take a full party out in the morning and fish until everyone on his boat caught the legal limit of fish and then he would do the same thing with a second party in the afternoon. He ended up revolutionizing the charter boat industry along the Oregon coast.
Glenn brought the same passion and energy to all of his endeavors.
Glenn loved fishing. He loved hunting. He loved breeding, training and competing with his dogs. He loved playing table tennis, which is a whole another story. He enjoyed sharing these passions with other people and, over the years, developed a wide variety of friendships with people who shared similar interests.
Glenn was an interesting person because of the passion he brought to his endeavors.
Glenn was an admirable person because of the personal integrity and honesty he exhibited throughout his life.
As many of you know, Glenn worked for over twenty years in pharmaceutical sales. His career ended when he took on his last employer as a whistleblower, playing a key role in exposing illegal activities of one of the largest corporations in America. He was one of just seven key whistleblowers whose efforts resulted in his former employer paying 2.3 billion dollars in civil and criminal fines to the United States government.
My son, Paul Jr., told me that after learning of Glenn's death he googled Glenn's name and he found numerous news accounts of Glenn's activities as a whistleblower. He also noticed the comments to these stories, in which people expressed admiration for what Glenn had done, frequently using terms such as a "modern day hero".
A "modern day hero"? I don't think the term "modern day hero" is really adequate to convey what Glenn did.
What Glenn did took incredible courage, involved incredible sacrifice and much suffering, much stress and much anxiety. It required strength of character when people are trying to tear you down so that you will give up, and incredible tenacity to keep on going during times when there was little hope of success.
Having watched Glenn, I cannot say that the role of "modern day hero" is one that I would encourage anyone to pursue. It is a role that can only be thrust upon a person and a person can either rise to the occasion or let it pass by.
Glenn rose to the occasion and did the right thing. That is something for which he and those who loved him can claim immense pride.
There is, however, a much deeper story about Glenn's character that can be told.
I am a lawyer so I helped Glenn locate the right firm to represent him in litigation he undertook.
I remember on one occasion spending the better part of the day speaking with two lawyers from a firm that was considering taking on his case. A good part of the day was spent on the nitty-gritty details of his whistleblowing case, but another part of the day was spent listening to Glenn, in response to lawyer's questions, describe his long career in pharmaceutical sales.
I learned a lot about Glenn that day.
There are at least three things about pharmaceutical sales which make it a difficult field in which to maintain one's integrity.
First, it is highly regulated so there is a large and complex body of law one must follow. Second, it is highly competitive and third, it involves a great deal of money. These combine to create an environment where cutting corners, violating ethics and engaging in illegal activity become common place, indeed almost expected. Such acts can earn for the individual representative thousands of dollars and for companies that encourage it, literally billions of dollars.
Glenn, to a truly remarkable degree, in small ways and in large ways avoided that temptation. Moreover, he not only avoided wrongdoing, but he took a stand against it, whenever encountered, throughout his career, not just at the end.
As I listened to Glenn describe his career, I was impressed how Glenn, right down to the smallest detail, always followed the law and did the right thing. Glenn followed the law even when it was probably not that important.
An example involved a physician who wanted to take expired prescription drug samples with him on a mission trip to distribute in a third world country. That sounds reasonable enough and it is not something that the government is going to get bent out of shape about. However, due to the strict regulations of prescription samples, there was a right way and a wrong way to fulfill this good intention. Glenn knew the law and he made sure this particular doctor complied with it. He did not want his doctor to get into trouble with the FDA. Glenn's fidelity to the law, however, was ultimately based on his understanding that the rules were there to protect the patients and that is what motivated him.
One story Glenn told the lawyers particularly stands out in my mind.
Early in his career, Glenn was representing a particular prescription drug that was addictive and commonly abused as a street drug on the black market. Glenn's market area was one of the top rated sales areas in the United States for this particular drug. This meant that his sales exceeded what his company predicted they should be, given the demographics of the region. For a pharmaceutical rep, that is a good thing and that is how they are compensated.
Glenn became aware, however, that the reason for his high sales volume of the drug was that a large percentage of the prescriptions were ending up in the illegal sales market as street drugs. The evidence of this was found, in part, in the local drug rehab facilities in which many of the patients were addicted to the drug.
This situation would be easy for a representative to rationalize. It is not my fault that my drug is being abused and besides, there is nothing I can do about it. This is a problem for someone else to solve.
That is not the approach Glenn took.
He decided that something needed to be done. So he arranged a meeting of the local medical community, described the problem to the physicians with whom he worked and together, he worked with them to devise systems and protocols to make certain prescriptions were used for their intended purposes and did not supply the black market. After the plans were successfully implemented, two things happened: the local drug rehab centers had a steep decline in patients who were addicted to this drug and Glenn's sales of this particular drug tanked.
The local medical community gave Glenn an award for his efforts and he was written up in the paper. The story could have ended there, but it then took an interesting turn.
The doctors he served were so impressed, indeed astonished, that a pharmaceutical salesman would do what he did, they decided to reward him in a different way. So they started choosing the other drugs that Glenn represented over the competition and wrote prescription for them when appropriate. While his sales of the one drug went down, all of a sudden, Glenn's overall sales skyrocketed.
Glenn continued to work in pharmaceutical sales for the next twenty years or so. Every year throughout his entire career through several different companies, in different territories and with different medications, Glenn was ranked as one of the top ten or twenty salesman in the United States. Glenn had never struck me as the type of person who would make a great salesmen and his success honestly puzzled me at times. Looking back, I think his remarkable success was at least in part attributable to the niche he filled. He was a pharmaceutical representative with impeccable integrity who doctors could trust because Glenn would put the interests of their patients above his own.
That is a quality of his life that deserves our admiration.
Finally, I would like to talk about aspects of Glenn's life that made him a most fortunate man. Glenn was certainly fortunate to have his wife, Lori, who, nineteen years ago, made a vow to Glenn to love him in the good times and the bad times, in sickness and health, in wealth and in poverty until death do they part. She has fulfilled that vow, which is no small accomplishment for anyone in the world in which we live and for that, she deserves high praise. In doing so, all of us who have observed, have seen Lori give Glenn an extra measure of love, patience, loyalty and hope. For that, Glenn was most fortunate.
Glenn, like all of us had his strengths and his faults; his successes and his failures.
Ultimately, Glenn was a most fortunate man, however, because he got the most important thing right: he followed and put his faith in a loving, graceful and forgiving God. As a result, we know that we and Glenn can rely on those great promises of scripture.
John 3:16 - For God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten son, so that everyone who believes him shall not perish but have eternal life.
So we can today celebrate and be confident that Glenn is now safely on the other side in the everlasting arms of his loving, graceful and forgiving God.
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Artist EPK
Michael J Thomas
"The album is rife with catchy melodies and invigorating grooves, but it's Thomas' warm, inviting tone that is the "driving" force behind the proceedings, lending every track its verve and buoyancy…Thomas, who is also a skilled vocalist, plays with a singer's sense of rhythm and time. "
— Brian Zimmerman, Jazziz
Like most independent artists seeking to get higher profile gigs and build a following beyond their home region, Michael J. Thomas is intimately familiar with the uphill battles he faces in an industry that loves to pigeonhole performers as one thing or another. Fortunately for adventurous music fans who groove on mixed playlists, the Destin, Florida based saxophonist, vocalist, composer and producer is – as per the title of his fresh and eclectic new full length album – Driven to make music his way and embrace the future on his own terms.
The ten-song set burst out of the gate jolted by a wave of national airplay for the first single, "Baby Coffee," earning Billboard most-added honors in its debut week, followed by an add at SiriusXM's Watercolors, leading the saxophonist-vocalist to sign a distribution deal for the project with Perry Music Group/Sony Music. Baby Coffee charted #1 on three charts including Billboard (4 consecutive weeks), USA Today (Mediabase), and Smooth Jazz Top 20 with Allen Kepler.
From this point on, Thomas is all about that forward momentum. With widespread critical acclaim and high impact airplay and sales stats, his debut album City Beat put Thomas on the map and became one of the genre's hottest independent releases of 2010. The title track hit #1 on Canadian based Smooth Jazz Now's singles chart and hit the Billboard Smooth Jazz Airplay chart. In addition to the album receiving airplay on terrestrial and internet stations throughout the world, five tracks were put in regular rotation on The Weather Channel. In addition, his song "Amante Del Vino" was weaved into the plot of the film "Contagion," starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet.
Expanding his artistic scope significantly, Thomas earned comparisons to the legendary vibe of the late Michael Jackson for his lush pop vocals on his 2011 single "I Think About Amy," which was released on Woodward Avenue Records and hit #16 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Airplay chart and #12 on the SmoothJazz.com IndieStar chart. Also in 2011, he teamed up with two-time Grammy winning producer Paul Brown (George Benson, Luther Vandross, Al Jarreau) to produce Thomas and Wallace's song "Without You," featuring R&B vocalist Wendy Moten (who has done duets with, among others, Michael McDonald and Peabo Bryson).
Though surrounded by country music while growing up in the small town of Cecilia, Kentucky, Michael J. Thomas' parents thankfully filled his childhood with a steady stream of legendary R&B/pop artists who would later become muses – Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson, and Prince. Thomas studied piano at the age of seven and switched to saxophone in seventh grade—shortly after discovering contemporary jazz artists like Yellowjackets and Dave Grusin on a Technics demo disc that came with a stereo his dad purchased. It was in his high school jazz band rehearsal one late evening when all of his ear training and emulation of other saxophonists finally came together. The band was performing a run-through of Jimi Hendrix' "Purple Haze" that had a transcribed alto sax solo that Thomas deviated from. He says, "For some reason it all came together in an instant while taking the solo lead.  It finally clicked and I could improvise.  The band and the Director were so impressed that they stopped playing the song and clapped for me.  It was really at that moment, that my musical journey began."
By his senior year in high school, he was performing in the All-State Jazz Band and was honored with a John Philip Sousa Award. He earned a music scholarship to the University of Kentucky, but left school early to pursue his professional career. Thomas was 19 when he joined the Jive Rockets, which opened for the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy, and Bill Haley's Original Comets. While gaining a foothold in contemporary urban jazz since moving to Destin, Thomas' busy gig schedule allows him to both play sax and sing in a wide array of genres.
While holding down a residency as the in-house talent (with a repertoire of hundreds of songs in all genres) five nights a week at Destin's Ruth's Chris Steak House since 2006, Thomas has built a solid regional following via gigs at other local venues, private shows, festivals and concerts. He has performed four times at the Seabreeze Jazz Festival in nearby Panama City Beach, on bills featuring genre superstars Dave Koz, Richard Elliot, Boney James, Brian Culbertson, Kirk Whalum, Peter White, Rick Braun, Joyce Cooling, Steve Cole, Euge Groove, Mindi Abair, and Nick Colionne. Earlier in his local career, Thomas was named Best of the Emerald Coast in the "Best Musician/Vocalist/Band" category of Emerald Coast Magazine and "Best Musician In Destin" by Destin Magazine.
Perhaps Paul Brown, who worked with Thomas on the Moten single, said it best about the multi-faceted artist and performer: "Michael J. Thomas is an excellent and dedicated musician. He is a very fine and intuitive player and has one of the best soprano sax sounds I've ever recorded. I think he's a rising star with a great career in front of him."
Thomas says, "I think what makes me unique as an artist is my songwriting and my desire to try new things, new sounds, new approaches to production while mixing it up with different genres and now alternating between tunes with lead vocals and a lead sax line. Although my voice and the alto, tenor or soprano are the driving force of every track, my sound is more about straightforward emotional songs and melodies than about prolonged improvisations or trying to overdo it with crazy notes. While Shannon and I keep the production organic in the studio, Driven is truly a collaborative effort made possible by the time and talent given to me by these great musicians – and the power of modern technology to connect us across the miles."
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Grand Capital is actively expanding its presence in Africa. Less than in two weeks we opened three offices in the continent: one in South Africa and two in Nigeria. We're pleased to announce that citizens of Botswana now also have an opportunity to visit our official representative office. A new Grand Capital office opened in the country's capital city, Gaborone.
receive assistance in a deposit of withdrawal of funds.
Office address: unit 7, plot 97, International Commerce Park, Gaborone, Botswana.


text:
«Снежная королева» () — научно-фантастический роман американской писательницы Джоан Виндж, изданный в 1980 году и удостоенный в 1981 году премий «Хьюго» и Локус. Роман открывает одноимённый цикл.

Сюжет
Роман является своеобразным ремейком одноимённой сказки Ханса Кристиана Андерсена. Действие романа происходит на планете Тиамат, на которой смена времён года происходит раз в 150 лет. Зима подходит к концу. Снежная Королева — Ариенрод, которая правит планетой, должна уступить место Королеве Лета, которую должны избрать, а саму её должны бросить в океан. Не желая гибнуть, Ариенрод придумала план, для исполнения которого заранее имплантировала свои клетки-клоны в несколько суррогатных матерей, не подозревающих об этом.

Выжил единственный клон — Мун. По ходу сюжета двадцатилетняя девушка, не подозревающая правду о своём происхождении, пытается спасти своего любимого — Спаркса, попавшего под чары Снежной Королевы, сделавшей его своим фаворитом. Её приключения повторяют путь Герды из сказки Андерсена.

Роман относят к жанру «женской фантастики». В нём большое внимание уделяется внутреннему миру героев.

Продолжения
Роман был впервые опубликован в 1981 году. Для его обложки была использована работа Майкла Уэлана. На волне успеха было выпущено два романа-продолжения. Роман «World's End» («Конец света») был опубликован в 1984 году, в 1985 году номинировался на премию «Локус». Третий роман, «The Summer Queen» («Летняя королева»), вышел в 1991 году и в 1992 году номинировался на премии «Хьюго» и «Локус». Кроме того, в 2000 году был издан роман-приквел «Tangled Up in Blue» («Запутавшаяся в синеве»), действие которого идёт параллельно роману «Снежная королева».

Награды и номинации
 Премия «Небьюла» за лучший роман: 1980 год (номинация)
 Премия «Хьюго» за лучший роман: 1981 год (победитель)
 Премия «Локус» за лучший научно-фантастический роман: 1981 год (победитель)

Русскоязычные переводы
Роман на русском языке издавался дважды — в переводе Ирины Тогоевой:

Другие романы серии на русском языке не выходили

Примечания

Ссылки

Романы на английском языке
Фантастические романы на английском языке
Произведения Джоан Виндж
Адаптации произведений Ханса Кристиана Андерсена
Романы, удостоенные премии «Локус»
Романы 1980 года


text:
Maurice Ravel Sonatina 2nd movement:
Marcelle Meyer
A transfer from the LP, with the LP noise, but the playing is extraordinarily beautiful.
1. Modéré
2. Minuet 3. Vif
Monique Haas
Here is the entire Sonatina played by another great French pianist of that generation who knew the authentic tradition, first hand.
I've never been a great fan of Ravel's orchestral music and was a relatively late convert to his piano music. A lot of that might have been due to the abuse of his music by interpreters who either made it sound like an electric sewing machine or who went to the opposite extreme and slathered it with romantic schmaltz*. When you hear the authentic tradition you realize that the usual, dialectic between those poles simply doesn't apply. The clarity isn't colorless, the rhythm isn't either the what's typically taken to be rubato nor is it metronomic. Trying to describe it, I find I don't have the vocabulary. Which would be the point of doing it with music, after all.
* In his book The Compleat Conductor, Gunther Schuller documents the horrific distortion of Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe by some of the most famous conductors of the past century. While he documents similar distortions practiced on other great composers' music, the mistreatment of that work (including tacking on of a corny ending that I'd expect Ravel would have been made sick to hear) is incredible.
Note: I have no idea why the word comes out in italics when you use the accents. I tried to fix it and couldn't figure it out.
[Anthony McCarthy]
It's time for Elizabeth Warren (by Suzie)
[P]rotecting consumers, ensuring that they aren't the victims of predatory financial practices, is something voters can relate to. And choosing a high-profile consumer advocate to lead the agency providing that protection — someone whose scholarship and advocacy were largely responsible for the agency's creation — is the natural move, both substantively and politically. Meanwhile, the alternative — disappointing supporters yet again by choosing some little-known technocrat — seems like an obvious error.
That's from the Nobel Prize-winning Paul Krugman, arguing for Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner doesn't get along with her, all the better. Obama needs to hear differing views, and not just from Republicans.
Warren, a Harvard law professor, has excellent credentials. When Sen. Chris Dodd questioned whether she could be confirmed, I got flashbacks to the question of whether Hillary Clinton could be elected. For more on her background and views, read this in Guernica.
P.S. My blogmate, Anthony McCarthy, supported Warren in a post Jan. 24. I don't know the vacationing Echidne's views on the subject.
Posted by Suzie at 8/06/2010 08:06:00 PM
Elena Kagan confirmed (by Suzie)
My headline was going to be "Senate Confirms 2nd Jewish Lesbian to Court," but the Save the Males website beat me to it. It continues:
The confirmation of the unsightly Solicitor General signals that the Illuminati satanic cult that governs America intends to use government institutions to enslave Americans.
When I'm searching for feminist views on the news, I wish I had a choice to exclude the extreme-even-to-extremists sites that hate women, and in this case, Jews. An example: "elena kagan" "feminist" but not "misogynist."
Friday critter blogging (by Suzie)
Camouflage kitty.
On a serious note, someone left two old pet carriers by my church's door last Sunday, with a couple of cans of cat food and a note explaining that the owners couldn't keep them. Inside, kittens nestled in old towels with bowls of water. A woman who fosters cats took them home, but she can't keep them indefinitely. During this recession, I worry about humans, of course, but I'm also sad to see all the abandoned animals.
Posted by Suzie at 8/06/2010 12:35:00 AM
Emmanule Chabrier
Feuillet d'Album
Another great French pianist I wasn't familiar with until happening across her on YouTube. I can name several male pianists of the period who are, or at least were household names who couldn't hold a candle to her. I'd guess we know at least one of the reasons.
Oldies But Goodies: Twelfth
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Arabian Knights
A Few Economics Posts
Which might be worth reading:
The Goddess Of Less-Than-Free Markets
is about health care as a marketable good and the problems markets have in delivering it efficiently and equitably. (For more on this, check out my Alternet article)
And here is my take on the way the Freakonomics guyz treat prostitution. At least one of the authors thought prostitution was an unserious topic.
Alien Thoughts
(This is a draft I found. For want of anything better I'm going to post it now, even though I have no idea what the events were that triggered my rant.)
Just wondering what an alien from outer space would have made of yesterday's news coverage and entertainment in the U.S.. Two women the focus of so much attention: Hillary Clinton and Britney Spears, and both of them found so very wanting. Would that alien have called home and told how ill-behaved the egg-bearing sex of humans is? Dominating the news like that! Out of control!
I'm imagining the alien sort of following my day, watching television, listening to the radio, surfing websites and reading comments threads on various political blogs, and I'm imagining what the alien might conclude from this condensed visit to our world. It would have to be somewhat humanoid, wouldn't it? Otherwise the chasm would be hard to cross. But suppose it came from a planet with some similarities, what would it think of this experience?
Now that I really get into this story, I can see the poor alien deciding that women are the criminal sex, the sex always in trouble, but also the sex which hogs all the media limelight. It might have wondered why the women who work in the media all look like elongated lamp-posts with a pair of balloons stuck roughly midway up when the men who work in the media appear to come from a wide distribution of shapes and sizes. Perhaps all the good women, the ones not covered in the outrage-stories, perhaps those women look like breasted lamp-posts? Yes, that seems logical.
No. That's a bad beginning. I'm not going to let an alien badmouth the ladies of the Fox News. Aliens should know better than that. But the alien could study some statistics on the numbers of famous women or of women hailed as geniuses or of women leading countries, or the statistics on income and occupations, showing the scarcity of women in the most delectable positions and their abundance among the poor. The alien could then look at the main religions, just to find out what the role of priestesses on this planet might be. Then a light bulb would appear in the alien's conversation bubble!
No. That turns too grim and boring too fast. Perhaps the alien could make friends with a young and eager conservative guy and ask him for answers to some of the questions the media coverage provoked? For instance, what is all the fuss about Hillary Clinton? And the young and eager conservative guy could explain, in great detail, that Hillary Clinton is pure evil. She kills people and stuff. And she used to be an egg-layer.
Then he could explain how women are the egg-laying part of the species, proven by research to be uninterested in most everything else but egg-laying (and being coy and salivating over rich, old, bald guys), and how it's very important that the number and spacing of the eggs must be controlled by the other part of the species, because otherwise we get Britney Spears and the end of this civilization on this planet. Or something like that? Then the alien and the conservative guy could go out for a few beers and to watch a stripper or two.
Or if the eager-guy conservative happens to be a fundie, he could tell the alien all about the bearded guy who also came from outer space and who decreed that the egg-layers must be modest, humble and docile. When they are not, the media rips them a new asshole.
Nah. That doesn't work, because what if the alien has no sex at all? Or even worse, what if the alien is a female alien? It might then conclude that our society is fairly contemptuous of its female half and at the same time almost oblivious of this contempt. Then the alien could just blow this place up.
Oh dear. I got all emotional there, didn't I?
I (don't) swear (by Suzie)
My mother didn't like the use of vulgar language. As a writer, she thought it was unnecessary. My father swore occasionally, sometimes invoking "dogs' blood and cholera." No car trip was complete without him shouting "Jesus Christ" from time to time. Early on, I wanted to be a journalist, and mainstream newspapers avoid curses and vulgarities. I rarely use them, unless I've hurt myself.
All of this is related to Echidne's post below on "suck jobs" as well as the fact that I'm about to eat a mamey. It's pronounced ma-MEE. I freeze when trying to say the word, lest I sound like I want to eat a mommy or that I'm using the preterite of mamar, to suck.
As far as I can tell, vulgarities involving sex are all gendered, and women don't end up on top, a phrase that also is gendered. Various uses of screw, f***, blow, suck and anal sex reinforce the idea that the one being penetrated (assumed to be a woman or a gay man considered to be acting like a woman) has lost power or control, as in being raped, or has been cheated, tricked, put down, or put in her/his place. Son of a bitch and bastard reflect poorly on mothers. And motherf***** often gets shortened to mother.
I don't care for this s***. I lean more toward damnation although I don't believe in it. What about you?
Oldies But Goodies: Eleventh
This one is good but don't watch the video. It is better without it.
Jacques Brel and Ne Me Quitte Pas
Suck Jobs
An old post which still might get this blog banned. If it already wasn't, of course. Which it is, in federal offices. Heh.
Who Threatens The Family?
(Re-posted from here)
I couldn't fall asleep right away last night and started thinking about the peripheral things that lurk in my snakebrain, one being the repeated echo of the term "patriarchal family" and the dangers it finds itself in. In the wingnut world the dangers the patriarchal family faces are much more serious than global warming, even more serious than the Islamofascistterrorists, because as Dinesh D'Sousa told us, if only we kept the patriarchal family safe we wouldn't get attacked. Get thee into your burqa, woman!
So. As I began to say, I did a squirrel wheel thought exercise with the dangers that supposedly threaten the patriarchal family: abortion, homosexuals wanting to get married, single mothers having children, lesbians having children without a father, mothers having jobs. Notice something very interesting? Nothing a heterosexual man might do is construed as a threat to the patriarchal family. Even extramarital sex and such is just fun and games for the men, but a real problem when women join in without the proper feelings of guilt and the needed societal shaming.
It's only the women and the gays and the lesbians which threaten the family. Taken at face value, the wingnuts are perfectly fine with divorced men not paying child maintenance or not seeing their children ever again. They are also perfectly fine with heads of patriarchal households who abuse or beat their spouses or children. I am not saying that this would be what heterosexual men do as a rule or even very often. But these things do happen, especially in a patriarchal family, and the religious and conservative right seldom gets its panties into a wad about them.
It is not really a defense of the family or the marriage these people are interested in, because if they truly were we would see much more writing about the nasty underbelly of the patriarchal family and its bad effects on the children, say. It is purely a defense of patriarchy, the costs be damned, and the attack is framed as one against "the family" because most everybody likes the idea of protecting something they think of as the family.
Oldies But Goodies: Tenth
Janis Joplin. Try listening to her after listening to someone homogenized and made appealing. It's a stunning experience. But so are many of her songs. This one is "Little Girl Blue."
A Composer Who Has Gone Into Unjustified Eclipse [Anthony McCarthy]
Ben Weber is a rare name in American music that should be better known today. In his book, American Music since 1910, Virgil Thomson said that he wrote "Music of great sincerity and emotional depth couched in a modified serialism easily acceptable". I first became aware of him through "New Music for the Piano," an important collection of pieces which was issued as a set of LPs played by the composer-pianist Robert Helps, in the 1960s and in a printed collection found langishing on may a university library shelf. The Humoreske Op. 49 is a quirky, engaging piece of music. I also played his Bagatelles, his very easy and tenderly melancholic Lyric Piece
I studied, though never played his wonderful Sonata da Camera for violin and piano*. I've always been at a loss to understand why he isn't more often played and much better known. The passacaglia in the second movement would make an excellent stand alone piece.
There are two fascinating YouTubes of Weber's music posted by Leland Pitts**
The Rapsodie Concertante for Viola & Small Orchestra
The notes say that the piece was a commission by the great violist Walter Trampler and M-G-M Records, as they point out, it's hard to imagine a major recording company doing something like that these days. Trampler was also the violist in the recording released of Weber's String Quartet No. 2, Op. 35, re-released on CRI-New World, Gay American Compsers Vol 2.
The second YouTube is of his
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
i. Deciso, non tanto allegro
ii. Andante con rubato
iii. Allegro
There is a decent discography of Ben Weber's music which is, I believe, available through The American Music Center library, though most of it isn't performed. It's such engaging and interesting music that I don't understand why that's true. Perhaps that's not a situation that will continue. One of Weber's students, the composer Roger Trefousse has worked to honor his teacher and to promote the playing of his music.
You can a recording of his piece, mentioned in the review, ''Fantasia on the Name of Ben Weber, at his website.
* There was a recording of the Sonata made in the 1950s by no less than Alexander Schneider, violin and Mieczyslaw Horszowski. It's obvious that performers of that rank believed his music was worth playing. The commitment required to learn pieces this challenging by musicians of that quality is usually a pretty good indication of substance. I looked and haven't found that performance has be re-released.
** Leland Pitts' YouTube channel, posting mostly unavailable performances of fine but little known music (with some fascinating period art work) is one of the most worthwhile things I've ever seen on the web. I am very grateful for it.
And Now For Something A Little Bit Different [Anthony McCarthy]
Since early in this blogging gig I've had fun poking holes in and fun at various items in the newspaper announcing various findings in the social sciences, most often using Kevin Lewis' column in the Ideas section of the Sunday Boston Globe as a jumping off point. Today he has something that I'm going to take seriously. Here it is:
The reckless toddler gender gap
In the nature vs. nurture debate, you can add another notch to the nurture side. Researchers asked parents of toddlers to react to imaginary scenarios of their child engaging in reckless behavior. Although there wasn't much difference in how mothers and fathers reacted, there was a difference based on the sex of the child. With boys, parents reacted with anger and discipline, but with girls, the reaction was generally disappointment and a concern for safety. Underlying these differences was a belief that boys are inherently predisposed to reckless behavior, while girls can learn to follow rules, suggesting that parents are imposing gender norms from a very young age.
Morrongiello, B. et al., "Understanding Gender Differences in Children's Risk Taking and Injury: A Comparison of Mothers' and Fathers' Reactions to Sons and Daughters Misbehaving in Ways that Lead to Injury," Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology (July-August 2010).
One of the reasons I'm going to take this seriously is because I believe the last sentence is entirely true, we are subjected to the socially constructed gender expectations of our parents and other adults from almost as soon as they know which kind of genitalia we had at birth. While that kind of gender conditioning varies in its content and strength from person to person, it is certainly widespread enough to constitute a major factor in the individual lives of people and in the societies in which they live. It has determined our laws and the application of those, as well as the whole gamut of rules and codes of conduct. And those social expectations aren't universal or set in stone. They can be recognized and changed, through conscious decision and through unconscious rebellion against the tyranny of gender role assignments. Laws and rules change in time. What has feminism, and, indeed, the entire history of civil rights struggle, been except a refusal to remain restricted and downtrodden by social and legal role assignments.
But, presumably, we are supposed to take this conclusion seriously, that babies are very early subjected to these role models and patterns of thinking by the people who have the greatest effect in forming their thinking. Presumably social scientists are supposed to take it seriously. My question is why they don't. If this conclusion is valid, and I believe it is, then it overturns every assumption of all "hard wired", genetically determined, finding in the social sciences. You can't look at behavior as if the people behaving are unconditioned in exactly this way. You certainly can't ignore the learned expectations, most of them quite unconsidered and automatic, when they report on their mental states or their imagined reactions, as this study depends on. Though I've extremely skeptical that they exist, the possible methods of the social sciences would be unable to tease out any "genetically based gender differences" from the socialization of study subjects. Taken seriously, this study would render huge parts of recent social, behavioral and cognitive science orthodoxy useless.
I have a relative who can't get through the morning without checking a half dozen weather reports. One snowy morning as they fretted over the rather varied prophesies of the TV and radio weathermen, I asked who they believed when those gave different predictions. There wasn't an answer. I seem to recall hearing somewhere that the greatest accuracy of weather prediction outside of 48 hours was something like 11%. Given the range of vectors and possibilities, I doubt the social sciences do that well and in any given individual, their best guesses are likely to be entirely wrong.
Six Moon Dance And Friends
I own quite a few fantasy and science fiction books which ask questions about gender relations. Some of those I've written about before, but the topic is of endless interest to me.
The tricks a writer can use to discuss gender in the without-initial-rules world of alternative reality are not that many. A book could discuss gender the way it is perceived by our current societies, or it could side-step that by having gender be something different altogether (either nonexistent, temporary or officially accepted as multitudinous). This side-stepping was most famously done by Ursula le Guin in The Left Hand of Darkness, but many other applications of that principle apply.
Another way to address the topic is by reversals or by assigning the traditional female roles to men and vice versa. Melanie Rawns tried that in her trilogy Exiles (which still lacks the third book), but I found the reversal unconvincing, perhaps, because the society otherwise looked too much like something from our own history books (with the exception of the magic, naturally). I kept asking how it was that women had so successfully turned men into househusbands in that world.
Sheri S. Tepper's Six Moon Dance is a more believable attempt at a reversal, because Tepper lets us learn, as the book advances, why and how the power balance of gender changed on her imaginary planet, and also because the resulting balance still favors men in many, if not most things. To give you a flavor of the book, here is the opening:
"It's all right," Mouche's mother said. "Next time we'll have a girl."
Mouche knew of this because his father told him. "She said it was all right. She said next time..."
But there had been no next time. Why the inscrutable Hagions decided such things was unknown. Some persons profited in life, producing daughter after daughter; some lost in life, producing son after son; some hung in the balance as Eline and Darhos did, having one son at the Temple, and then a daughter born dead at the Temple, and then no other child.
The reason daughters are so valuable for farmers like Mouche's parents is that there are fewer women than men on this agricultural low-technology planet. Brides cost a lot of money to acquire but are necessary for the continuation of the family line. Farmers who have daughters get lots of money for them, money, which can be invested in the farm and which can be used to buy brides for the family's sons. Thus, daughters equal wealth in this society, even though the family line is centered on the sons.
Poor Mouche. His family has no daughters, the farm is going under, and he is a pretty boy. His parents need money. What to do? They are going to sell him to a Hunk School.
You will have to read the book to find out what a Hunk School might be. Then you will also learn why married men wear face veils on that planet and in what sense the arrangement benefits or does not benefit women or men. It's all quite interesting, providing weird distorted echoes of our society and perhaps letting us see the latter with greater clarity.
A third way of examining the power balance between the sexes might be the one which Barbara Hambly used in her Sisters of the Raven and its sequel Circle of the Moon. The gender rules in her book are initially fairly easy to recognize as what one might call the traditional Mediterranean ones, with covered women and strong male dominance in the public sphere, though she also adds borrowings from other cultures into the mix.
These rules are not changed in the book. What does change is one of the sources for the male power: magic. In the past, Hambly tells us, magic was a purely male ability. Not all men had it, but no women did. It was the men with magic who called in the annual rains, the rains on which the survival of the desert society depicted in the books depended. Then, suddenly, male magic dies and the whole society faces possible death.
At the same time, a few women here and there realize that they now have magical skills. These skills don't appear to obey the old rules, however, and they come into existence at the same time as the death of men's magic.
This setting looks to me like an interesting opening for studying gender power relations, even if it unfortunately sets that power up as a zero-sum game. Hambly doesn't really take that topic very far, perhaps, because she is more interested in the other topics of the books. But I'm hoping that she one day writes a third book on that imaginary society and tells us how it all went.
Here is my last thought on this topic: I think the best way to discuss gender in speculative fiction would be to take the existing sexual power relationships and their justifications and to apply that whole network to two groups of creatures which are clearly not men and women but still somehow linked in the sense of mutual survival. Doing that could throw some real light on the questions.
(Originally from here)
Maurice Ravel Sonatina 2nd movement: Minuet Mar...
Emmanule Chabrier Feuillet d'Album Marcelle Mey...
A Composer Who Has Gone Into Unjustified Eclipse [...
And Now For Something A Little Bit Different [Anth...


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World's First Helicopter – Today in History: September 14
September 14, 2018 • Great Depression and World War II 1929-1945, Igor Sikorsky, Invention and Technology, Stratford
Igor Sikorsky's first helicopter ascent, Stratford
On September 14, 1939, the VS-300, the world's first practical helicopter, took flight at Stratford, Connecticut. Designed by Igor Sikorsky and built by the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Corporation, the helicopter was the first to incorporate a single main rotor and tail rotor design. Piloted by Sikorsky, the September 14 tethered flight lasted just a few seconds. The first free flight took place on May 13, 1940. The innovative 28-foot diameter, three-blade rotor allowed for variable pitch of the blades with a blade speed of 250 to 300 mph. The concepts demonstrated in the VS-300 provided the basis for the first production helicopters and became the standard for helicopter manufacturing across the world. On June 27, 1931, Sikorsky submitted a patent application (no. 1,994,488) for a direct lift aircraft, which included all the major engineering features of the VS-300. The patent was granted on March 19, 1935. Presented to Henry Ford and included in his Edison Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, on October 7, 1943, the VS-300 today remains on display at the Henry Ford Museum.
Igor Sikorsky and the first successful helicopter built in America, Stratford – Connecticut Historical Society
Henry Ford Museum. "Donating the VS-300," 2016. Link.
"Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives," 2016. Link.
Sikorsky, Igor I. Patent Number 1,994,488 - Direct Lift Aircraft. 1994488. Nichols, CT, issued March 19, 1935. Link.
Mangan, Gregg. On This Day in Connecticut History. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2015.
Bradley International Airport Transforms Windsor Locks into Regional Gateway
Charles Goodyear and the Vulcanization of Rubber
The Blake Rock Crusher – Today in History: June 15
Providing Bundles for Britain and News for America
Alfred Carlton Gilbert, Inventor of the Erector Set – Today in History: February 15
An Orderly & Decent Government: Crisis and Recovery, 1929-1964
Elizabeth Bentley Born – Today in History: January 1
New Haven Gives the Lollipop its Name – Today in History: October 13
Frank Duryea Drives the First Automobile in Connecticut
Winning the Great War without Some Books


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Islanders Earn Failing Grades at Midseason
January 17, 2017 by Gil Martin
The New York Islanders have reached the halfway mark of the 2016-17 season and so far, the results have been very disappointing. The Isles were expected to build on back-to-back 100-point seasons and continue to develop around their young core. Instead, the team has struggled to find consistency in nearly all aspects of the game and find themselves in last place in the Eastern Conference.
Here is a breakdown of all aspects of the Islanders' performance thus far this season. Players are graded on both their performances and how well they have met expectations.
Forwards:
John Tavares remains the most reliable offensive weapon the Islanders have. When the captain struggles, the Islanders offense has trouble scoring. The Isles are just 4-9-3 when Tavares fails to register a point this season.
Josh Bailey has quietly played well on Tavares' wing. He leads the team with 23 assists and has shown good vision and hockey sense.
Josh Bailey has helped the Isles top line (James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports)
Anders Lee has been the team's most reliable goal scorer after scoring only one goal until Thanksgiving. He is also a Cy Young candidate with 15 goals and just five assists. Lee is most effective when he uses his size to create havoc in front of the opposing net.
After the top line, things get much shakier for the Islanders. Brock Nelson is third on the team with 23 points, but often disappears for long stretches. Ryan Strome is best suited to play center but usually finds himself on the wing. Strome frustrates the coaching staff by playing on the perimeter too often. Strome also needs to improve his play without the puck.
Andrew Ladd was signed to a big free-agent contract last July but hasn't lived up to the hype. The veteran forward is on pace for 16 goals and 24 points, hardly worth his $5.5 million cap hit. More importantly, he has been a non-factor in too many games. Jack Capuano demoted Ladd to the third or even fourth line for several games due to his poor play.
Jason Chimera was the other big free-agent signing. Chimera has also been a non-factor in too many games. He is on pace for 14 goals, closer to his career average but well behind last season's 20-goal campaign with Washington.
Shane Prince and Alan Quine have shown glimpses of skill but also lack consistency. Every once in a while, you remember they're in the lineup when they make a nifty play. Still, there are too many games when it's hard to remember if they were in the lineup or a healthy scratch.
The energy line of Casey Cizikas, Nikolay Kulemin and Cal Clutterbuck has done its job and even added occasional offense. Kulemin has been a solid replacement for the departed Matt Martin. The line is still difficult to play against even if they are a bit less physical than they were a year ago.
Rookie Anthony Beauvillier has shown glimpses of the offensive ability that encouraged the team to keep him in the NHL. He is a hard worker but still needs to improve his play without the puck to fully earn the trust of his coaches. Beauvillier should see more ice time in the second half of the season unless the Isles make a major move to get back into the playoff race.
Overall, the Isles rank 9th in the league in goals-for-per-game after a slow start. The lack of consistent secondary scoring has hurt the team all season. More importantly, the team still lacks an offensive threat who can take the pressure off Tavares.
Defensemen:
This unit has provided more offense than expected this season, but they have also had too many lapses in their own zone.
The top pairing of Nick Leddy and Travis Hamonic have poor plus/minus ratings (minus-8 and minus-14) and poor Corsi numbers as well. Leddy is on pace for 14 goals and 42 points. Hamonic provides major minutes while usually facing the opponent's top line, but this duo's play in their own end has to improve.
Thomas Hickey provides clutch offense and is heady, but his lack of size occasionally causes problems. Johnny Boychuk hasn't been as productive offensively as the team expected. Boychuk, Leddy and Hamonic are all locker room leaders.
Thomas Hickey has scored clutch goals for the Isles. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Dennis Seidenberg has been a useful pickup on the third pairing. Nobody expected him to get off to such a strong start offensively. Seidenberg is also a plus-15 while no other player on the team is better than plus-8.
Calvin de Haan got off to a good start, but he's coughed up too many pucks in his own end in recent games. He needs to be more consistent.
Injuries have kept young defensemen like Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock from making much of an impact. Scott Mayfield has provided an offensive spark whenever called upon but his play without the puck has kept him from sticking with the big club on a permanent basis.
Overall, this unit has turned the puck over too often and had long stretches where they struggled to clear the puck out of their own zone.
Goalies:
The team's decision to keep three goalies backfired in a big way. Jaroslav Halak got most of the action early in the season but he was never happy with the three-goalie rotation and his play was inconsistent at best. Halak's 3.23 GAA and .904 save percentage were well below the league average. He was waived and sent to Bridgeport after taking offense at some comments made by the coaching staff.
Thomas Greiss has been the team's most consistent goalie this season. The team seems to feed off his unflappable demeanor. The Islanders will rely heavily on Greiss in the second half of the season. His play has been even better since Halak was sent down to the AHL.
Thomas Greiss has been the Isles best goalie (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)
J.F. Berube didn't see any action at all until December 10th. The lack of practice and game action hampered his development and reduced his trade value. He will now serve as Greiss' backup for the second half. Berube has shown flashes but is unproven at the NHL level.
General manager Garth Snow made a mistake by holding on to three goalies for another season. The time to trade Halak was after the World Championships where the veteran proved he was healthy and could still play. Instead, all three goalies got hurt and Halak's value dropped as we got deeper into the season.
Overall, the goaltending was not spectacular in the first half, but the goalies were not always to blame. Poor team defense left the netminders out to dry on too many occasions in the first half of this season. The result is that the Isles are 26th in the league in goals allowed-per-game.
Special Teams:
The Islanders special teams have been a problem all season. The penalty kill started off strong in the first few games but has been very inconsistent since then. After falling down near the very bottom of the league, the Isles are now 21st in the league at killing penalties.
The power play has also struggled and is 26th with a disappointing 14 percent success rate. Again, the lack of a consistent scoring threat outside Tavares and maybe Lee has hurt the power play.
The team really misses Frans Nielsen who contributed to both special teams units in recent years. The Islanders have not found an adequate replacement for the versatile Dane.
Grade: C-
Outlook:
The Islanders have lots of room for improvement. The team's lack of consistency and failure to put together enough strings of strong games or even strong periods has been frustrating.
The Isles are 10 points out of a playoff spot with half a season remaining. The good news is the team should be able to play better and they do have a few games in hand right now on most of the competition.
The bad news is that they play in the league's strongest division and need to pass a lot of teams to qualify for the playoffs. Reaching the postseason for a third time has to be considered a long shot. Clearing out cap space and giving some younger players a chance to show what they can do will become a greater priority as we get closer to the trade deadline. This season has been a major disappointment. The second half will determine whether or not it was a completely wasted campaign.
Gil Martin
Long time hockey writer and author of the new book, "Ice Wars: The Complete History of New York's Greatest Modern Sports Rivalry." It tells the story behind every game between the Rangers and Islanders dating back to 1972 and features profiles of more than 80 players from both teams and quotes from more than 50 exclusive interviews from players, coaches and broadcasters from both teams.
Categories Editor's Choice, New York Islanders Tags John Tavares, Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy, Thomas Greiss, Top Story


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Q: Extending Java application with user plugins I am interested in extending my application with plug-ins. I made the Application to download videos from websites but it needs a valid URL to do this. The users could create a new plug-in for specific URL/domain and feed my application with valid URL.
I was doing this using jar files and URLClassLoaders. The problem with this approach is, that loaded classes have elevated privileges when they should only have permission to read from an URL.
Which is the best way to extend Java Application with plug-ins?

A: Check out OSGi, this is what eclipse uses to manage plugins. There are various implementations to choose from--eclipse has its own. OSGi will manage the classloader issues that can be complex.

A: OSGi might be the way to go, but it might also be a bit too advanced/complex for what you want to do. I used JPF in a small project a couple of years ago. I liked it.
http://jpf.sourceforge.net/

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