text:
School Cook Fired After Serving Students Kangaroo Meat Chili
Offbeat 8:56 AM PDT, October 21, 2018 - Inside Edition Staff
8:56 AM PDT, October 21, 2018 - Inside Edition Staff
A Nebraska school cook has been fired after outrage he sparked by serving students an exotic meat.
Kangaroo, to be exact. And, while Kevin Frei contends he had nothing but the kids' well-being in mind, the parents of the Potter-Dix school district were apparently horrified enough to call for his resignation.
In a letter, the school district wrote Wednesday that Frei mixed the kangaroo meat with beef in a chili he served Oct. 10, USA Today reports.
According to superintendent Mike Williams, Frei believed the meat--which has been touted for its leanness and flavors--would give the chili a nutritional boost.
While Williams assured parents that the meat was safe and subject to proper government standards, he believes the choice was not Frei's to make.
"On behalf of Potter-Dix Public Schools, I apologize for the anxiety and any harm that this has caused individual students and/or families. We will make sure that something like this never occurs again," Williams wrote.
Kangaroo Spotted Bounding Down South Carolina Highway
Walk This Way: Baby Kangaroo Emerges From Mom's Pouch to Take Its First Steps
Couple Has 17 Kangaroos in Their Home: 'I've Woken Up to One on My Head'
Meet the Couple that Lives with 17 Kangaroos


Start your engines! .Cars, .Car, and .Auto domains are now exclusively available for trademark owners for a limited time. .Cars, .Car, and .Auto domains present a unique opportunity for dealerships and other automotive businesses to secure more relevant and memorable web addresses.


1.Q: Is there compulsory to put the new picture in a certain place?
A: No there is no designed place for new pictures in the media library, so we may choose our own folder for this, but we must be aware to use a common place because the folder numbers is quite big. Also we must know the purpose of the folder before doing anything.
2.Q.When editing a page and publishing it, the modifications are not visible, why?
A: When the user clicks publish, the program may tell you that the publishing was successful even if the version published is not the same with the version we have worked at. For this to not happen we must unlock the page version prior to publishing.
3.Q: After we upload a picture on a sitecore page, even if it may look good in the media library, when we are in the content editor the image looks bad, why?
A: Recent uploaded images may appear bad in the content editor if we don't hit the save button. It is not always but it happens often, so we have to click save and then Sitecore will understand better that the new picture is the right one that needs to be showed.
4.Q: Would it be possible to avoid anchorlink anchors to be transformed into links by Sitecore?
A: In Sitecore, text lines don't have to be transformed into links, but there is another way to make an anchor. We must put the cursor above the thing that is out anchor's destination, with no text highlighting. After that we should click the hyperlink button to make the anchor and then go on with the rest. This is the right procedure to avoid text transforming into an undesired link.
5.Q:What is the best place for our Word and PDF documents?
A: Word, PDF, Excel, Power Point documents will have their place where the images are, in the media library, so they don't have a particular folder, they must be placed wherever we place the pictures.
6.Q:Why we are unable to make new folders in media library?
A: The method in the editing window with the "Insert Sitecore Media" button (the one that looks like landscape) that appears to us in a dialog box doesn't work. We must do something else instead. After we save what we have done until now we will terminate the editing window and click on "Media Library" which we will find in the top right corner of the display and looks like a little blue bar with a white arrow. From here we will create a new folder, we must also publish it prior to inserting pictures on it. To return to our page we must hit "Content Editor" from the blue bar, the new folder will be visible on the next use of "Insert Sitecore Media".
7.Q: What is the meaning of the sea watchtower image that appears at Sitecore log in?
A.Q: This image appears because you are not logged in to the Content Editor, but to the developer tool to the Desktop. The button from the bottom left corner of the display must be pushed(it has the "Sitecore" label on it), then we must hot the "Log off" button for returning to the login part. From here the login procedure will be normal: we must hit "Content Editor", insert the user and password then "Login".
8.Q:When a page is verified with the Page Editor button on the intranet, a picture that we didn't really put there could appear, why does it appear?
A: We don't have to change this. It is a standard for the size and placement of pictures given by the Sitecore Intranet Portal and the place where a standardized picture should be found is showed.
9.Q: When we make cloned items in Sitecore 6.4, modify the template to an edited copy is it true that the parent of the clone's inheritance will be damaged?
A: Since we can think that clones are not fully fledged items so modifying a template is not damaging the contruction of the clone.
10.Q:How can we access pages in the way that they behave like folders?
A: First we must make sure that add AspxExtension is set to false in LinkManager. An then we have to map the wildcard extension into ISS. According to what version of IIS we do have there are many ways of doing this.
11.Q:In what way is the use of XSL better than C# in Sitecore?
A: XSLT has advantages over other languages in the way that it gives you the possibility to customize or reuse a large variety of pages or various structures for source documents or other structure. For doing this a rule-based processing model will be used, a thing not liked by most people because of the apparent difficulty that is has on first use. Even if this seems hard at first, it can be viewed like a long term investment. XLST has no performance issues, if a website appears to have performance problems, it must be from other reason.
12.Q:what is the purpose to use a CMS?
A: This is not a hard question, but we don't have to focus on managing web content as the strength of a CMS because this is not the entire picture. Content Management Systems give us much more than content management, like giving us the possibility to get the content ownership outside of the subject matter experts. This thing is known to have impact on all CSM platforms like Sitecore, Umbraco, Interwoven, Drupal, Ektron, WordPress or others.
13.Q:How do we implement Sitecore?
A: Sitecore CMS uses the .NET technology, so if our company is a Microsoft shop, Sitecore will fit great. Sitecore is better than many other platforms based on .NET like Sharepoint or Opentext.
Before we choose Sitecore or any CMS we have to consider our processes and workflows. We must to see where will we put our content and how will we publish it, what strategy and what architecture do we have, what needs to be changed etc. After we get answers to these questions (which was not really easy) we can employ a consultant if we have the required money to help us further.
After pre-implementation we have to implement our Sitecore CMS platform. The first phase is gather our staff and make some training to become certified. Being more than a simple paper, the certification helps our team to be more in the know of the Sitecore terminology. If this phase is skipped we will have to do it anyway later ata higher cost so it's better to save money now.
14.Q: What do we know about these three parts of CMS implementation: Development, content and training?
Content: Now that we have a Content Management System we can begin the content architecture implementation and putting content in the Sitecore tree. This job has to be done by one content team and not by the content owners.
Training: Not only that we have to make the website, content and applications, but we must also begin the introduction of the Sitecore CMS the users of the company. This implies having a lot of meetings, training and talking about the purpose and the advantages of CMS. We also have to see end-user training as very important.
15.Q: What is the meaning of Sitecore?
A: Sitecore is a software platform that is good for making and updating full featured and dynamic websites of every possible type. It has the advantages of scalability, flexibility and can very well integrate in systems, marketing organizations and investments giving the visitors a very dynamic experience.
16.Q: What is the difference between these Content Management Systems: Sitecore, Umbraco and Episerver?
A: Episerver has a lot of positive feedback. Sitecore has the enterprise level and the price is also at the enterprise level. Sitecore is developer friendly, extensible and has a big community is case we look for support, it has a content structure as a tree of nodes, it is known to lead the content management market and is highly rated by many companies. Umbraco has many similarities with Sitecore being constructed on ASP.NET but is a little cheaper. It also has a great community. Actually we will choose one of these depending on taste, money and the style that we have when working.
17.Q: How is the deployment of an already made Sitecore 6.2 site to a new environment?
a) We must set the new environment: SQL server, IIS, security etc.
b) We have to take out the local databases and stop IIS.
c) In the new environment we must move the root solution folder and every other stuff.
d) The databases must be out in the new SQL server.
e) The IIS website has to be made the website folder pointed.
f) The file ConnectionStrings.config has to be changed.
h) We must click go!
Sitecore Intaller is optional, we don't have to use it if we don't want. When Installing, we should consider these things also: We have to move the data folder out of the webroot because otherwise people can download our license file with the simple command: website/data/license.xml; we have to make a .config include file for the settings of our machine; we must deploy our updates through packages to the new environment; we must assure to maintain the Sitecore version.
18.Q: How do we manage errors in the case we us multiple Sitecore websites?
When we make a multiple-site project in Sitecore we have to use webconfig' error ErrorPage, LayoutNotFoundUrl, LinkItemNotFoundUrl, ItemNotFoundUrl, this is for a single site. If we want to show a different error page for every site we can store the error page URL's of every site like attributes for the elements of /configuration/sitecore/sites/site from web.config with the extending of the Sitecore.Sites.SiteContext class. For ItemNotFoundUrl we can use a file or item as a 404 page.
When 404 is managed with items we can add a processor for the pipeline httpRequestBegin and the context item will become th 404 item if we have a null context item.In the case of files overriding Sitecore.Pipelines.HttpRequest.ExecuteRequest.HandleItemNotFound(), also Sitecore.Resources.Media.MediaRequestHandler.DoProcessRequest(), after that we will update the references of the file web.config.
For ErrorPage we sould do the overriding of Sitecore.Pipelines.RenderLayout.SecurityCheck.Process and after that update the web.config reference. For LayoutNotFoundUrl the overriding must be done to Sitecore.Pipelines.HttpRequest.ExecuteRequest.HandleLayoutNotFound and update the web.config reference.For LinkItemNotFoundUrl we can add a processor for the piepeline renderField to replace the initial value of the setting with the corresponding value of the context site.
19.Q: What is the purpose of the "shared" checkbox that we find if we add a field to the template?
A: When checking this box, the field has a single value regardless of the parent item version. When setting the shared property, if we modify the value of the field it would be seen also in all the versions or languages. Using shared fields is not a recommended option because they don't relate to workflow.
20.Q: How can create only one form for many pages in Sitecore?
A: Usually Sitecore makes one new form for every new page. For doing one form for multiple pages we must access "Presentation/Layout" where we will hit "Form Interpreter". Now everything depends on the WFFM versions use (1 or 2). If we use 2 we can find the "FormID" field for our selected form. We have to add the same rendering for each page in which we want to see the form. When using version 1 there is this "FormID" parameter along with Sitecore ID, this ID has to be copied along with the similar renderings for the other pages.
21.Q:Which is the usual maintenance process that we must make on a Sitecore server?
a) The IIS, the System logs and Sitecore mucst be checked for errors.
b) We must test the response times regarding the capacity problems within ISS logs.
a) The links database has to be reconstructed if we update the content constantly.
b) The search indexes has to be reconstructed in the case we use Lucene search and update content constantly.
c) When moving or deleting much content we must be aware of the fragmentation.
a) The logging can be changed to fit our needs for example the initial value is Warn but this level can be increased.
b) We must assure about the installation of the performance counters.
c) The cache of Sitecore can be modified to fit the memory installed on the server.
d) People using version 6.0 should upgrade to 6.1 at least because version 6 makes a lot if useless traffic and it affects the performance very much.
22.Q: Can we copy fields if we make new version in Sitecore?
a) If we use "Translate" we can obtain the view of two item versions in two sides, being able to makes changes between them, we can't do the copying automatically but there is the advantage of not having to modify the versions all the time.
b) There is another method like writing some event handlers to communicate with the Sitecore API. Then the old version values have to be copied to the new version.
23.Q:Whatis the way to get in the settings of Sitecore programmatically?
A: There is a good way by accessing the code. We can find the settings that we look for in the data folder. We also may see the Sitecore Configuration Settings class with the property of static DataFolder: string dataFloder=Sitecore.Configuration.Settings.DataFloder.
24.Q:How can we move, delete or select several items in the content editor of Sitecore 6?
A: Normally it is impossible, but there are some indirect ways to do this, for batch copying we can copy the Presentation Configuration to several different page links (with the aid of "copy to") but for many people that doesn't really work. We are lucky that something new came out:Sitecore Rocks that is available for download. With it we can process several items by hildin Ctrland then use the operations from the context menu.
25.Q: In Sitecore 6.4 fast query, is it possible to have relative path beginning with the item that the query is running from?
A:There isn't any way of operating fast query from the item context.
What are the components of FRD ?
How to draw use case diagram?


Get the most out of your Shocker RSX with the TechT L7 Bolt System! Also works on the newer Shocker XLS!
Our L7 Bolt System for the Shocker RSX Paintball Marker is designed to be the BEST of the BEST!!! It takes an already great paintball marker and takes it up a notch (or two!) in performance. The L7 Bolt Upgrade reduces the moving mass inside the gun. This reduction in weight naturally produces less kick, and allows you to lower the pressure the gun runs at! This means you will be softer on brittle paint, and that means less ball breaks! It also means the gun will be more quiet because it's shooting the same velocity but at a lower pressure. The more quiet your gun is, the harder it will be for the other team to locate you when your shoot, and that means even more wins for you! Not to mention smiles for miles! After all, who doesn't like winning more? This upgrade makes a great addition to any Shocker RSX or XLS!
Smaller Bolt Head = Increased Firing Chamber Volume = Reduced Operating Pressure = Quieter Sound Signature & SOFTER On BRITTLE Paint = Enemy Can't Hear YOU & Less Barrel Brakes = MORE Wins = AWESOME!!!
Works on the Shocker RSX and XLS!
Comments: Works very well. XLS was set at between 275 and 300 FPS. With L7, XLS chrono at 328 FPS. Turned regulator out about 1 full turn to shoot between 276 and 292 FPS. Can't wait to play more and break the setup in.


text:
662 F. 2d 617 - Hernandez v. Southern Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Pension Trust
662 F2d 617 Hernandez v. Southern Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Pension Trust
America HERNANDEZ, Plaintiff-Appellant,
SOUTHERN NEVADA CULINARY AND BARTENDERS PENSION TRUST,
Defendant-Appellee.
Argued and Submitted May 7, 1981.
Decided Nov. 27, 1981.
Harold M. Hecht, Lehman & Nelson, Las Vegas, Nev., for plaintiff-appellant.
Dennis M. Sabbath, Ashleman, Sabbath & Rohay, Las Vegas, Nev., for defendant-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.
Before BROWNING, Chief Judge, NORRIS, Circuit Judge, and TASHIMA,* District Judge.
TASHIMA, District Judge:
This is an appeal from summary judgment granted in favor of defendant Southern Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Pension Trust (the "Trust") after both parties had made cross-motions for summary judgment. The facts are not in dispute.
Appellant filed suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. ("ERISA") (all subsequent statutory references are to ERISA, as codified in 29 U.S.C.), seeking a declaration that she is entitled to receive her husband, Mario Hernandez', pension benefits under the Southern Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Pension Plan (the "Plan"), which is administered by the Trust, and to recover statutory damages under § 1132(c) for appellee's alleged failure to provide an accounting as required by § 1025 and for attorneys' fees under § 1132(g).
The district court found, on uncontroverted facts, that appellant was not entitled to her deceased husband's retirement benefits because Mario Hernandez ("Hernandez") himself never became eligible to receive benefits under the Plan. The court held that although Hernandez' accrued benefits had become 100% vested, "this vested right is not an immediate right" and, since Hernandez died before attaining normal retirement age, the right never "ripened into a pension." It also determined that since Hernandez had no right to pension benefits, his widow had no right to the information required to be furnished by § 1025. We agree with the decision of the district court and affirm.
Appellant is the widow of Hernandez who died on October 16, 1977, at the age of 61 years 9 months. Hernandez was a participant in the Plan and had elected a "joint and survivor option," naming appellant as his joint beneficiary. At the time of his death, he had a 100% vested interest in his accrued pension benefits, as defined by the Plan.
Upon her husband's death, appellant submitted a claim for pension benefits under the Plan as her husband's beneficiary under his "joint and survivor annuity benefit." The claim was denied by appellee on the ground that Hernandez never became eligible for benefits under the Plan because he failed to attain the "normal retirement age" of 62. Appellee also refused to supply appellant with an accounting of the pension benefits earned by Hernandez, although she requested the information on two occasions.
The Plan (Art. III, § 1) provides that an employee shall be eligible to retire on a "regular pension" if he has attained age 62 and has at least 10 years of "pension credit." It is undisputed that under the vesting provisions of the Plan (Art. IV, § 5), Hernandez' "pension credits" had become 100% vested.
With respect to the "joint and survivor annuity benefit," the Plan (Art. VI, § 1) provides:
"An Employee eligible for a Regular Retirement Pension shall receive a monthly benefit for life. Should an Employee predecease his spouse, his spouse will continue to receive 50% of the amount payable to the Employee for the lifetime of the spouse...."
I. Standard of Review
Our role in reviewing the grant of summary judgment is to determine whether there is any genuine issue of material fact and, if there is none, to determine whether the substantive law was correctly applied. E. g., Program Engineering, Inc. v. Triangle Publications, Inc., 634 F.2d 1188, 1192-93 (9th Cir. 1980); Yazzie v. Olney, Levy, Kaplan & Tenner, 593 F.2d 100, 102 (9th Cir. 1979). Here, the facts are not in dispute; the questions on appeal are purely legal.
The primary issue presented is whether, under ERISA, the widow of an employee who has elected a "joint and survivor annuity option" and whose right to receive "accrued benefits" has become vested is entitled to receive those benefits after his death, even though the employee died prior to reaching the normal retirement age under the Plan and, thus, never commenced receiving any benefits.
II. Appellant's Entitlement to "Accrued Benefits"
Appellant contends that ERISA contains different minimum vesting standards for "accrued retirement benefits" than for "normal retirement benefits". Although she concedes that the right to "normal retirement benefits" does not become "non-forfeitable" until the employee-participant satisfies both a 10-year service requirement and attains normal retirement age (in this case 62), appellant claims that "accrued retirement benefits" vest and become non-forfeitable as soon as a participant in the Plan has performed the required years of service.
ERISA's minimum vesting standards are contained in § 1053(a), which provides in relevant part:
"Each pension plan shall provide that an employee's right to his normal retirement benefit is nonforfeitable upon attainment of normal retirement age and in addition ... an employee who has at least 10 years of service has a nonforfeitable right to 100 percent of his accrued benefit derived from employer contributions." (Emphasis added.)
"Normal Retirement Benefit" is defined in § 1002(22) as
"the greater of the early retirement benefit under the plan, or the benefit under the plan commencing at normal retirement age...."
"Accrued Benefit" is defined in § 1002(23) to mean
"in the case of a defined benefit plan, the individual's accrued benefit determined under the plan and, ... expressed in the form of an annual benefit commencing at normal retirement age...."
Appellant is correct in stating that ERISA's minimum vesting provisions require that the Plan provide that an employee-participant's right to receive his "accrued retirement benefit" become "vested" and "non-forfeitable" when he satisfies its 10-year service requirement. See Hummell v. S.E. Rykoff & Co., 634 F.2d 446, 449-50 (9th Cir. 1980); Hepple v. Roberts & Dybdahl, 622 F.2d 962, 964-965 (8th Cir. 1980). However, she misconceives the nature of the right which becomes vested.
In claiming that she is entitled to receive her deceased husband's benefits as his beneficiary, even though he never attained "normal retirement age," appellant implicitly argues that Hernandez had a right to receive his accrued retirement benefits at anytime after he satisfied the 10-year service requirement and before he reached 62, the normal retirement age. However, ERISA gives an employee-participant no vested right to receive pension benefits until he reaches normal retirement age. § 1053(a); Hurn v. Retirement Fund Trust of Plumbing, etc., 648 F.2d 1252, 1253-54 (9th Cir. 1981); Spitzler v. New York Post Corp., 476 F.Supp. 386, 389-90 (S.D.N.Y.1979), aff'd, 620 F.2d 19 (2d Cir. 1980); Riley v. MEBA Pension Trust, 452 F.Supp. 117, 120 (S.D.N.Y.1978), aff'd, 586 F.2d 968 (2d Cir. 1978); see Capocci v. General Motors Corp., 444 F.Supp. 1306, 1307-08 (D.Haw.1978). Moreover, other provisions of ERISA and its legislative history indicate that Congress never intended to impose upon a plan a requirement that any benefits be payable before age 65. Riley v. MEBA Pension Trust, supra, 452 F.Supp. at 120; see § 1056(a); H.R.Conf.Rep.No.93-1280, 93d Cong., 2d Sess., reprinted in 3 (1974) U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 5038, 5062. Accordingly, we hold that ERISA's minimum vesting provisions require only that, once an employee-participant satisfies his pension plan's length of service requirement, his right to receive his vested pension benefits mature on his reaching the normal retirement age contained in the plan.
Moreover, the fact that her husband elected the "joint and survivor annuity benefit" is of no help to appellant. As the district court stated:
"Plaintiff's right, if any, to receive funds under the Joint and Survivor Option is a derivative right only and does not arise unless and until the employee-participant becomes eligible for a pension."
The Plan merely allows an employee who is entitled to benefits to elect to receive payment of those benefits in the form of a joint and survivor annuity. The provisions of the joint and survivor option of the Plan (Art. VI) are in accord with the applicable provisions of ERISA, which require only that if a plan provides for benefits to be paid as annuities, it must also provide the option for payment of such benefits in the form of a qualified joint and survivor annuity. § 1055(a). No independent, vested rights for a non-participating spouse are created by election of the joint and survivor option. See Carpenters Pension Trust, etc. v. Kronschnabel, 460 F.Supp. 978, 981-82 (C.D.Cal.1978), aff'd, 632 F.2d 745 (9th Cir. 1980).
Appellant's argument, that she is entitled, as Hernandez' joint and survivor beneficiary, to receive his pension benefits even though he never reached normal retirement age, is without merit.
III. There Has Been No Impermissible Forfeiture
Appellant contends that appellee's refusal to pay her her joint and survivor benefits has resulted in a forfeiture prohibited by § 1053(a)(3)(A), which provides:
"A right to an accrued benefit derived from employer contributions shall not be treated as forfeitable solely because the plan provides that it is not payable if the participant dies ...."
Appellant would have us interpret this provision so as to make it applicable only if a pension plan contains an express provision stating that vested accrued benefits are not payable if the participant dies before reaching normal retirement age. The Plan contains no such specific, negative provision.
As pointed out above, however, the Plan (Art. III, § 1) clearly requires a participant to reach age 62 before any benefits are payable. The Plan (Art. V, § 1) further provides, "Benefit payment shall be payable commencing with the first day of the first month which follows the date on which the employee has fulfilled all of the conditions for entitlement to benefits." These provisions are sufficient to meet the requirement of § 1053(a)(3)(A), i. e., the Plan "provides that it (accrued benefits) is not payable if the participant dies" before normal retirement age. The purpose of this statute is not to require specific, mandatory language in pension plans, but to permit such plans to provide for non-payment in the described circumstance. This contention is without merit.
IV. Appellant's Right to an Accounting
Appellant contends that as the beneficiary of Hernandez, she was entitled to a statement from the administrators of the Plan of the total benefits which Hernandez had accrued and the non-forfeitable pension benefits, if any, which had accrued, because § 1025 requires that such information be furnished to a "plan participant or beneficiary." She argues that since her claim had not been denied at the time she made the demand for information, she was a "beneficiary" entitled to an accounting under § 1025, since "beneficiary" is defined in § 1002(8) as "a person designated by a participant, or by the terms of an employee benefit plan, who is or may become entitled to a benefit thereunder." (Emphasis added.)The district court ruled that as a result of the failure of Hernandez to qualify as a recipient of pension benefits, appellant was not a beneficiary as defined in § 1002(8). We agree. Appellee had no duty to provide information to appellant because she was not entitled to benefits and would never in the future become entitled to benefits; therefore, she was not one who "may become entitled to a benefit" under § 1002(8). Cf. Nugent v. Jesuit High School, 625 F.2d 1285, 1285-86 (5th Cir. 1980) (former employee, terminated without vested benefits, not a "participant" in pension plan).
The district court's grant of summary judgment is AFFIRMED.
Honorable A. Wallace Tashima, United States District Judge, Central District of California, sitting by designation

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
2014 Germany Trip - Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) (UNESCO World Heritage)
Location: Cologne, Germany
Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:
List of all 2014 Germany Trip | Cologne itinerary | Cologne places I went to
To say that Cologne Cathedral is one of the most recognizable churches in the world is an understatement; it is a symbol of Cologne itself. It impresses onto visitors even before they stepped out of Cologne's main train station, the structure dominating the view when one looks out of the glass wall. Check out the top sights of Germany on the Internet and it is not difficult to find it within any top 10 list of sights in Germany.
Exterior view of Cologne Cathedral
This is the view when approaching from Cologne Main Terminal. Notice the scaffolding. The cathedral is in a constant state of repair.
Despite its long history – construction began in 1248 – it was an interestingly recent building as work was halted in 1473 and only restarted in 1842, then completed in 1880. The Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, had acquired the relics of The Three Kings, one of the holiest relics in Christianity and subsequently passed them to Archbishop of Cologne, Rainald of Dassel in 1164. It was imperative that they were properly housed and the archbishop planned for the Cologne Cathedral.
The foundation stone was laid in 1248 and work progressed slowly for over a century before it was halted in 1473. Most of the structures were left in the state of work in progress, including the sight of a large crane on the south tower that became a landmark of Cologne for the next 400 years. Construction only restarted in the 19th century with the onset of enthusiasm for Middle Ages and the discovery of the original plan for the façade. Two-thirds of the budget was raised among the population and the rest was covered by the Prussian state. Work proceeded in 1842 and finally the church was completed in 1880, celebrated as a national event.
With most of Cologne was bombarded to rubbles during World War II, it was miraculous that the cathedral remained standing after suffering 14 direct hits. Ironically its easily recognizable twin spires were used as a landmark by Allied planes for bombing runs. As age and war wore the structure down consistently, constant maintenance is required to keep the cathedral in good shape. One would always see the ungainly sight of palisades on the exterior in any one corner whenever they visit.
View from the museum's direction
The exterior of Cologne Cathedral is filled with details. Each arch boasts sculptures that tells a story.
Close up of a section of an arch
Another sculpture - the difference in color is perhaps because the sculptures are reconstructed?
The sign and the cathedral
Why does the door handle looks sad?
Another angle of the entry arch
The detailed architecture extends to the top
The crowd in front of the cathedral
The interior of the cathedral was swarming with people in each of my visit, rightfully earning itself as one of the most visited landmark in Germany. Even so, the number was dwarfed by the sheer size of the building, its tall ceiling and multifaceted stained glass windows looming over mortal men as a humbling reminder.
Having visited a few Germany churches, Cologne Cathedral strike me as relatively unadorned on the inside, its complicated architectures on the exterior drawing more attention. That is not to say it was without attractive elements within – its stained glass windows were mesmerizing, adding vibrancy to the dim interior – however the lack of a ceiling mural did reduce the impact one received upon stepping into the church.
The crowd within the church usually gathered around a few areas, notably in the Treasury where the treasures of the church were stored. There was the Shrine of Three Kings in its Treasury, a golden church like edifice believed to house the remains of the Three Wise Men, which was the original reason for the construction of this church. Going towards the High Altar, one would witness the altar with a single marble altar top. Beyond these, some people (like me) would just wander around to enjoy the atmosphere of being surrounded by a building that survived uncountable destructive forces.
Way of the Cross, 14th station, Christ laid on a tomb - there are a few artwork throughout the church related to Way of the Cross, and this is the one close to the main entrance.
The long nave
And the long aisle
Jesus Christ (and it is not an exclamation)
Altar of the Poor Clares is actually a spectacular artwork, one which I did not realize at first. This piece of altarpiece is actually a winged piece, which means that it can be folded and unfolded (currently fully unfolded). It has 3 different transformations, showing the high level of craftsmanship and attention to detail by medieval artisans.
Overall I spent relatively more time examining the exterior of the church than its interior, those sculptures that seemed to follow me with their gazes when I was walking outside mesmerizing me more than the colorful windows within. Nevertheless it has to be said that whether inside or outside, there was not a moment when I was not impressed. If I were to return to Cologne in the future, I would definitely visit Cologne Cathedral again.
Environment: A UNESCO Heritage List building in the old town area
Suitable for: History buffs, UNESCO hunters and art appreciators
Visit worthiness: 10/10
Historical value: 5.0/5.0
Architectural value: 5.0/5.0
Photographic value: 5.0/5.0
Landmark value: 5.0/5.0
Entrance Fee: free
Opening Hours: (May - Oct) 6.00 a.m. - 9.00 p.m.
(Nov - Apr) 6.00 a.m. - 7.30 p.m.
Best Moment to Visit: Early in the day when there are less people
Length of Visit: 1 - 2 hours (not inclusive of tower climb)
Website: http://www.koelner-dom.de/index.php?id=2&L=1
Contact: -
Address: Domkloster 4, 50667 Köln, Germany.
Wikipedia - Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral website - Way of the Cross
Cologne Cathedral website - Altar of the Poor Clares
By konshoe - February 20, 2016
Labels: architecture - gothic, entry - free, environment - city center, environment - historic, environment - worship, location - Germany, trip - 2014 Germany, trip - UNESCO
Location: Cologne Cathedral, 50667 Cologne, Germany
2014 Germany Trip - Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom)...
2014 Germany Trip - 1 Day Trip to Cologne (Köln)


text:
Q: Delete OneToOne relationship We have the following mapping:
@Entity
public class A {
    private B b;

    @OneToOne
    public B getB() {
        return b;
    }
}

When we delete an object of class A it must not delete the referenced object B. At the moment we get an exception when we try to delete A because of the existing relationship to B. How is the correct mapping?

A: You should disable cascade delete
@OneToOne(cascade = {})

or you can try
@OneToOne(orphanRemoval=false)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;

public class Camera : MonoBehaviour {

	// Use this for initialization
	void Start () {

	}

	// Update is called once per frame
	void Update ()
	{
		MoveUp();
	}

	void MoveUp ()
	{
		transform.Translate(Vector3.up * (Player.MoveSpeed - 0.02f));
	}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
FT chief agrees to pay back six-figure pay rise after staff complaints with money to go towards 'women's development fund'
FT chapel issues list of demands around pay and transparency with warning of 'widespread anger' among staff
Television Journalism
BBC will not appeal Sir Cliff Richard privacy ruling but asks for Government review into law on reporting criminal probes
By Freddy Mayhew Twitter
The BBC will not formally appeal a High Court privacy ruling made against it for revealing a police investigation into singer Sir Cliff Richard in an afternoon news bulletin.
However the corporation has said it will write to the Government to ask for a review of the law around the reporting of criminal investigations and the naming of those under investigation.
No-one at the BBC is to be fired over coverage of a police raid on Sir Cliff's Berkshire home in August 2014, which included footage shot from a helicopter of officers entering the house, according to a spokesperson.
BBC news director Fran Unsworth has said Mr Justice Mann's ruling on 18 July in favour of the 77-year-old singer marked a "dramatic shift against press freedom".
The two-month trial has already cost the BBC about £1.9m, including £210,000 in damages and an agreement to cover Sir Cliff's court costs.
In a statement today the BBC said legal advice it had received on the prospects of a successful appeal was "not promising" and that the legalities were "complex".
The corporation said it believed the judge had "erred in law" in finding that broadcasters and journalists normally have no right to name someone under criminal investigation, but that it was difficult to isolate this principle from the ruling.
"At best, an appeal could recognise that the judge made an error of law on the important issue of the media being able to name suspects, but is unlikely to overturn his overall decision given all the other factual findings made against the BBC," it said.
"This would still leave much uncertainty about what the media can legitimately report. At worst, the Court of Appeal could endorse the findings of the trial judge."
The BBC said appealing would "inevitably mean an expensive legal cul de sac and one that would simply prolong Sir Cliff's distress".
It said: "Instead the BBC is writing today to ask the Government to consider a review of the law in this important area to protect the right to properly and fairly report criminal investigations, and to name the person under investigation.
"There is a fundamental principle of press freedom at stake here and one upon which we believe Parliament, as our lawmakers, should decide."
BBC director general Tony Hall said in an email to staff following today's announcement that it was not in the public's interest for the corporation to mount a challenge against the ruling.
He reiterated concerns that the principle of whether someone under police investigation could be named by the media was "very hard to isolate" from the judgement.
He said: "So an appeal, which will be costly, may well not succeed in providing clearer guidance from the higher courts on the principle."
Hall revealed the BBC tried hard to explore a settlement with Sir Cliff before the case went to court, but that it could only have been reached if it the corporation conceded that it was unlawful to have identified Sir Cliff in its reports.
"We couldn't do that," he said. "It goes against a fundamental principle – namely that the media should be able to identify subjects of police investigations, independently of the police, when they consider it to be in the public interest to do so.
"That's a fundamental tenet of journalism and it felt to us then, and still does today, that it's a principle we have to stand up for."
He said the BBC remained "very concerned" about the judge's ruling, which Mr Justice Mann himself acknowledged was "capable of having a significant impact on press reporting".
National Union of Journalists general secretary Michelle Stanistreet, said: "This judgement poses a significant threat to journalists' ability to report on criminal trials in future.
"It is disappointing that there will be no formal appeal. However, in the light of the legal advice and financial constraints our public service broadcaster is under following the last woeful licence fee settlement, the BBC's decision is an understandable one.
"This is an issue of broader concern to all who care about journalism and the ability of journalists to do their jobs well. The NUJ therefore welcomes the call for an urgent review and clarification of the law in light of this judgement."
The BBC has already sent its letter asking for a review to the Attorney General and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
A spokesperson said it considered a review to be the best approach, even if its appeal costs were met by another party.
The police investigation into Sir Cliff related to an historical allegation of child sex abuse. He was never arrested or charged and the case was later dropped.
A recent Yougov poll of of more than 1,600 UK adults found only one in 20 (5 per cent) believed the media should be able to name someone who is under investigation by police but has not yet been arrested or charged, as in the case of Sir Cliff.
The BBC statement in full:
The BBC is already on record in saying that we are sorry for the distress that Sir Cliff has been through. We say so again today. We fully appreciate the impact this has had on him. There are lessons for the BBC in how we reported this story and we will think very carefully about our approach in the future – both in tone and style. We recognise there are things we got wrong – even if all the facts we reported were right.
Despite this, the judgment creates new case law and represents a dramatic shift against press freedom. In his ruling, the judge himself stated "the case is capable of having a significant impact on press reporting". It raises significant questions over how the media can report investigations in the future – and creates huge uncertainty over what might qualify as being in the public interest.
We accept the BBC and the rest of the media have a duty to be sensitive to the rights and position of those who are under investigation, and in some cases there will be little public interest in naming individuals. However, this ruling will limit the long-standing ability of journalists to report on police investigations – many cases of which have resulted in further complainants coming forward. It will make it harder to scrutinise the conduct of the police and it will undermine the principle of the public's right to know. These concerns have been widely echoed by many other media organisations.
With these significant principles at stake, the BBC has taken legal advice from very experienced counsel on the prospects of a successful appeal. The advice we have received is not promising. The legalities are complex, but essentially even though we are advised and believe that the judge erred in law in finding that broadcasters and journalists normally have no right to publish the name of a person who is the subject of a criminal investigation, it will be very difficult to persuade the Court of Appeal to isolate this issue of principle from the judge's broader findings in this case. The judgment has been written in a way that makes the two indivisible.
At best, an appeal could recognise that the judge made an error of law on the important issue of the media being able to name suspects, but is unlikely to overturn his overall decision given all the other factual findings made against the BBC. This would still leave much uncertainty about what the media can legitimately report. At worst, the Court of Appeal could endorse the findings of the trial judge.
Given this advice the BBC will not be appealing. It would inevitably mean an expensive legal cul de sac and one that would simply prolong Sir Cliff's distress. Instead the BBC is writing today to ask the Government to consider a review of the law in this important area to protect the right to properly and fairly report criminal investigations, and to name the person under investigation. There is a fundamental principle of press freedom at stake here and one upon which we believe Parliament, as our lawmakers, should decide.
Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Wire
BBC agrees to pay Sir Cliff Richard legal bills but denied permission to appeal High Court privacy ruling
Media will have to 'walk on eggshells' as result of Sir Cliff privacy ruling against the BBC, lawyers say
Sir Cliff Richard says BBC focused on 'preserving exclusive story' at expense of his privacy as he wins £210,000 damages in High Court battle
BBC was 'obsessive' in scooping rivals on police raid at Cliff Richard's home but coverage was 'serious invasion' of singer's privacy, court hears
5 thoughts on "BBC will not appeal Sir Cliff Richard privacy ruling but asks for Government review into law on reporting criminal probes"
HackedOff says:
"Surely an organization such as the BBC must have legal advice available to its journalists, either in-house or outside on retainer?"
I'm sure it does. But the fact is, there is no law in existence which precluded the BBC from airing what it did, which was a factually accurate news report about a matter of unequivocal public interest.
The ruling by this High Court judge is precedent-setting. It has no basis in law and it is a frightening attack on the public's right to know.
The raid on Cliff's property involved a large number of police officers and was freely visible to hundreds, if not thousands, of members of the public who either lived nearby or were simply walking or driving past. What this judge has ruled is that members of the public who observe massive police operations taking place in public places are no longer allowed to know what those police are doing. Which is ludicrous and outrageous.
grahampearson says:
Surely an organization such as the BBC must have legal advice available to its journalists, either in-house or outside on retainer? Despite this little thing called the Human Rights Act with the bit about privacy rights for individuals, no-one thought to seek advice?
Unsworth should be sacked for her almost spur of the moment decision to name Sir Cliff which is now going to cost the license fee payer millions.
Dan Johnson should be sacked for his less than honest dealings with SYP.
And whoever entered the footage for the scoop of the year award should be shown the door.
Munro and Smith should be demoted for their "evasive" evidence given in court.


In an effort to increase health literacy, this pilot study examined the use of short television clips in health literacy curriculum.
During a self-selected optional orientation for a low-income high school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 55 students were shown three short clips from the television show ER to teach basic topics in cardiology. Each short clip was followed by a presentation of health education material, specifically chest pain, heart attacks, and congestive heart failure.
Information assessed from an open-ended survey administered at the end of the session found the mean age of the study was 14.6 years old. Forty-nine percent of the sample was female, 73 percent of the sample was White, and 27 percent of the sample was Black.
Ninety-one percent noted that they enjoyed the experimental curriculum.
The use of two minutes of video total seemed to contribute to the acceptability of the curriculum.
Video usage did not detract from learning and acquiring health information. Twenty-four responses (92.3%) of spontaneously generated verifiable statements were judged accurate by two independent coders.
On average 2.9 examples of medical content were recorded per participant.
This research shows the feasibility of incorporating brief clips from popular television programming to engage students and provide context for health-related lessons.


text:
package com.kissthinker.factory;

import org.junit.Test;
import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;

/**
 * @author David Ainslie
 *
 */
public class FactoryTest
{
    /** */
    @Test
    public void create()
    {
        String string = Factory.create(String.class, "blah");
        assertEquals(string, "blah");
    }
}


text:
John Prebble
The Wednesday Play: Mr Douglas (BBC Drama, Michael Goodliffe)
Original Publicity: The Wednesday Play with Michael Goodliffe as Mr Douglas: The year is 1761, and the London crowd is out in the streets in force...
The Three Hostages (BBC Thriller, Barry Foster)
In one off period thriller The Three Hostages, written by John Prebble and based on the novel by John Buchan, we are in 1924 where Richard...
Zulu (1964, Michael Caine, Stanley Baker)
The epic battle at the British outpost of Rorke's Drift in South Africa in 1879 is recreated in this lavish historical drama. Though Zulu warriors outnumbered...
Bothwell (BBC-2 1979, Brian Cox, Marc Harrison)
Drama about the Earl of Bothwell. production details UK / BBC-2 (BBC Scotland) / 1×75 minute episode / Broadcast 15 May 1979 Writer: John Prebble /...


text:
Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough
121 min, Rated R, Color, Available on videocassette
This adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's infatuated exposé of the scandalous goings-on among celebrities wants so badly to be shocking and is actually so naïve that you begin to feel some affection for its silly sleaziness. The picture lacks the nerve to be crudely flamboyant, and so it isn't the smashing trash it should have been, but it has its moments, such as George Hamilton, as a celebrated stud, luring a virgin named January Wayne (Deborah Raffin) into his lecher's pad, which is equipped with red couches, blazing fires, and a Sinatra record at the ready. Brenda Vaccaro is entertainingly spunky as a Helen Gurley Brownish editor, and David Janssen gives a surprisingly energetic performance as a Norman Mailer-like brawling writer. The others include Kirk Douglas, and Alexis Smith and Melina Mercouri, who have an excruiating lesbian scene. Guy Green directed, unevenly, from a too-sober script by Julius J. Epstein. Howard W. Koch produced, for Paramount.
US (1985): Thriller/Mystery
This thriller doesn't offer the pleasures of style, but it does its job. It catches you in a vise-it's scary, and when it's over you feel a little shaken. Jeff Bridges plays the San Francisco newspaper publisher-editor who is tried for the murder of his rich wife, who owned the paper; Peter Coyote is the D.A. prosecuting him; and Glenn Close is the radiantly blond woman lawyer who defends him, and falls in love with him. She's the star of the movie; we feel an immediate, empathic connection with her excitement. Good thrillers have an electric current running through them; here it runs through her performance, and then charges the film's last section. Working from a script by Joe Eszterhas that's smart, pared down, and efficient, the director, Richard Marquand, sets up the situations and delivers the payoffs; he doesn't show much in the way of imagination or devotion to craft, but he gets distinctively pungent performances. Bridges is marvellously hooded; you can't read his emotions. (This is some of the best work he has done.) And Coyote's D.A. has a suggestion of something rancid and vindictive. As the profane, hard-drinking private investigator who tracks down witnesses for the defense, Robert Loggia provides a few puckish curlicues and walks off with his scenes. Also with Leigh Taylor-Young, Marshall Colt, and, as a final surprise witness, Karen Austin, in an intense scene that has a porno queasiness about it. Columbia.
US (1957): Musical/Dance
96 min, No rating, Black & White, Available on videocassette and laserdisc
Elvis Presley, convicted of manslaughter and shorn by a jailhouse haircut, sings and plays the guitar to entertain the prison inmates. At one point, he strips to the waist and the guards flog him, though not for his singing. Richard Thorpe directed this package, shrewdly designed to give satisfaction to the new raunchy rock generation. The story ends happily, and the movie made millions, though Presley never begins to suggest the vitality that he showed in documentary footage. With Judy Tyler, Dean Jones, and Mickey Shaughnessy. Script by Guy Trosper, from a story by Ned Young. MGM.
UK (1939): Adventure
A forgettable, generally forgotten Hitchcock gothic, from a Daphne du Maurier novel, full of Cornwall shipwrecks and smuggling and murder in the time of good King George IV. The picture is dominated by Charles Laughton (with a false beak) as an evil, bound-to-go-mad rake; his flamboyant ghoulishness appears to have paralyzed Hitchcock, whose staging of the wild flights from assassins, the midnight escapes, the prowlings up and down corridors, over roofs, through barnyards, and over moors is almost shockingly uninspired. With Maureen O'Hara, who is a very dim heroine here, Emlyn Williams enjoying himself playing a sinister scamp, and Leslie Banks, Robert Newton, and Marie Ney. The picture was produced (by Erich Pommer) on a large scale; the Regency costumes seem to overpower the performers and the inn is packed with crowds of actors impersonating violent, hard-drinking louts-Graham Greene said that they were "reminiscent of the noisier characters in Shakespeare acted at a girls' school." Written by Sidney Gilliat, Joan Harrison, and J.B. Priestley.
US (1975): Horror
It may be the most cheerfully perverse scare movie ever made. Even while you're convulsed with laughter you're still apprehensive, because the editing rhythms are very tricky, and the shock images loom up huge, right on top of you. The film belongs to the pulpiest sci-fi monster-movie tradition, yet it stands some of the old conventions on their head. Though JAWS has more zest than an early Woody Allen picture, and a lot more electricity, it's funny in a Woody Allen way. When the three protagonists are in their tiny boat, trying to find the shark that has been devouring people, you feel that Robert Shaw, the malevolent old shark hunter, is so manly that he wants to get them all killed; he's so manly he's homicidal. When Shaw begins showing off his wounds, the bookish ichthyologist, Richard Dreyfuss, strings along with him at first, and matches him scar for scar. But when the ichthyologist is outclassed in the number of scars he can exhibit, he opens his shirt, looks down at his hairy chest, and with a put-on artist's grin says, "You see that? Right there? That was Mary Ellen Moffit-she broke my heart." Shaw squeezes an empty beer can flat; Dreyfuss satirizes him by crumpling a Styrofoam cup. The director, Steven Spielberg, sets up bare-chested heroism as a joke and scores off it all through the movie. The third protagonist, acted by Roy Scheider, is a former New York City policeman who has just escaped the city dangers and found a haven as chief of police in the island community that is losing its swimmers; he doesn't know one end of a boat from the other. But the fool on board isn't the chief of police, or the bookman, either. It's Shaw, the obsessively masculine fisherman, who thinks he's got to prove himself by fighting the shark practically single-handed. The high point of the film's humor is in our seeing Shaw get it; this nut Ahab, with his hypermasculine basso-profundo speeches, stands in for all the men who have to show they're tougher than anybody. The shark's cavernous jaws demonstrate how little his toughness finally adds up to. This primal-terror comedy quickly became one of the top-grossing films of all time. With Lorraine Gary; Murray Hamilton; Carl Gottlieb, who co-wrote the (uneven) script with Peter Benchley, as Meadows; and Benchley, whose best-seller novel the script was based on, as an interviewer. Cinematography by Bill Butler; editing by Verna Fields; music by John Williams. Produced by Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown, for Universal. (Spielberg didn't direct the sequels-the 1978 JAWS 2, the 1983 JAWS 3-D, and the 1987 JAWS THE REVENGE.)
For a more extended discussion, see Pauline Kael's book When the Lights Go Down.
Jazz on a Summer's Day
US (1959): Musical
The 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, with Anita O'Day, Big Maybelle, Dinah Washington, Gerry Mulligan, Thelonious Monk, Chico Hamilton, Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden, and other joys. Bert Stern's camera style infectiously conveys the festival's happy, lazy-day atmosphere; the America's Cup observation trials, which are also going on, are an unstressed part of the film's visual texture. In the evening, when Mahalia Jackson, with her majestic chest tones, sings the word "soul," she defines it for all time. This is one of the most pleasurable of all concert films. Aram Avakian edited.
Jean de Florette
France (1986): Drama
The setting is Provence in the early 1920s. As the hunchback Jean de Florette, an educated, nature-loving city fellow who has learned about farming from books, Gérard Depardieu wears "GOOD MAN" in capital letters across his wide brow; in smaller letters we can read "He has poetry in his soul." Jean has a devoted wife (Elisabeth Depardieu), who used to sing in opera, and a delicate little daughter named Manon. And for slightly over two hours we watch him trudge across the land he has inherited hauling two barrels of water that are fastened across his hump. When there's no rain, his plants shrivel and his rabbits die, and it's agonizing for us, because we know that there's a spring of fresh mountain water on the land. His neighbors-the prosperous, greedy old peasant César Soubeyran (Yves Montand) and César's dull-witted nephew, Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil)-have hidden the spring under a load of cement, so that Jean will be forced to sell out to them. Adapted from the first volume of Marcel Pagnol's two-part novel The Water of the Hills, published in 1963 (it was derived from a picture he made in 1952), JEAN DE FLORETTE was followed by MANON OF THE SPRING. The director, Claude Berri, who did the adaptation with Gérard Brach, aimed for fidelity to the novel; he said that it was his task to give the material "a cinematic rhythm," but "there was no need for imagination." That's what he thinks. The widescreen cinematography is by Bruno Nuytten. In French.
UK (1941): Drama
This English comedy is a small joy, and it doesn't turn up nearly often enough. Barbara Mullen gives a lovely, delicately toned performance as the Scottish peasant who might have been a prim, lonely spinster forever if she hadn't come into an inheritance and taken a trip to prewar Vienna. The surrounding material isn't in a class with Mullen (who was actually American-born), but it's inoffensive, with Michael Redgrave, ingratiating as a British businessman, Albert Lieven as a rotter of a count, Wilfrid Lawson, Googie Withers, and Kay Hammond. Directed by Harold French, from a play by Aimee Stuart.
US (1972): Western/Adventure
Robert Redford doing a self-consciously cool version of a strong, silent Western loner. The movie crawls through the wilderness at a snail's pace and is stretched out with ponderous lore. It celebrates tooth-and-claw revenge while featuring the kind of pithy dialogue that produces bellyache: "Keep your nose to the wind and your eye to the skyline." Directed by Sydney Pollack; written by John Milius and Edward Anhalt. With Will Geer and Allyn McLerie. Warners.
For a more extended discussion, see Pauline Kael's book Reeling.
A dazzling romantic melodrama. Bette Davis is impulsive, complex Julie, the Southern belle who destroys her chances for happiness by perversely flouting convention. William Wyler produced and directed this sumptuous, moss-hung evocation of pre-Civil War New Orleans, with its great balls where tradition decreed that unmarried ladies dress in white-and where Julie's red dress wrecks her life. It's hard to know which is Davis's "big scene" in the movie-the painful, flamboyant error of her appearance in red, or the breathtaking moment of her apology in white. The material was already dated but was brought out of mothballs and refurbished because of the popularity of the novel Gone with the Wind, which the production beat to the screen; without the zing Davis gave it, it would have looked very mossy indeed. She took the Academy Award as Best Actress. With Henry Fonda, George Brent, Margaret Lindsay, Richard Cromwell, John Litel, Donald Crisp, Spring Byington, Eddie Anderson, Henry O'Neill, Irving Pichel, and Fay Bainter (Best Supporting Actress). The script by Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel, and John Huston (based on a play by Owen Davis, Sr.) has some remarkable passages. Cinematography by Ernest Haller; music by Max Steiner. Warners.
Italy (1953): Comedy
Luigi Zampa directed this 16-minute film adapted from Pirandello's La Patente, a satirical comedy about a man who tries to capitalize on his own bad luck. It stars the great clown Totò, who died in 1967. Off stage and screen he was Antonio, Prince De Curtis, and his titles included Prince of Byzantium, Cilicia, Macedonia, Thessaly, and Ponte; Duke of Cyprus and Epirus; Count of Drivasto and Durazzo, Noble Knight of the Holy Roman Empire. No wonder he looked at us with those tired eyes that had seen everything. Here, he is Don Rosario, who tries to be officially certified as the local jinx, so that people will pay him to stay away from them, and he is a world and a style unto himself. In Italian.
Jinxed!
Bette Midler rates better material than this frazzled screwball romance. Even the movies it was lifted from (such as THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN) are bad. Midler is a great mischief, and she turns even moderately amusing lines into zingers, but the situations don't go anywhere. She plays an entertainer in the casinos at Lake Tahoe and Reno who lives with a sadistic gambler (Rip Torn)-he likes to beat her up. Though Midler has her spandex pants and her wiggle-walk and the lewd twinkle in her eyes, the character has been so thinly conceived that all she can do is play comic mannerisms. She invents like a crazy dynamo and she turns the movie into a one-woman comedy show, but you can see what the effort is costing her and she carries only part of it. There's a good frantic routine: between the stanzas of a rowdy medley that she's singing onstage, she bumps and grinds her way to the wings where her new lover (Ken Wahl), a young blackjack dealer, is standing, and without losing her rhythm she hisses out the procedures of a plan to murder the hateful sadist. Ken Wahl doesn't prosper in this picture; the camera seems to zero in on his handsome, clear-eyed face just when he's pleading for the director's help. He has been turned into a TV-style hunk. And Midler's platinum hairdo bleaches out her rosiness and her radiance. Don Siegel directed, from a script by Bert Blessing (a pseudonym for Frank Gilroy, who wrote THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN), which was then reworked by David Newman; it suggests a sprinkling of James M. Cain novels. With Val Avery, Jack Elam, and Benson Fong. MGM/United Artists.
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling
US (1986): Drama/Comedy
Richard Pryor produced, directed, and is the star of this semi-autobiographical movie, which opens with Jo Jo the cokehead comedy star preparing to freebase and bursting into flame. Then, as he lies swathed in bandages in the burn ward, he thinks back over how he got there. But Pryor doesn't have the skills to tell his story in this form. As a standup entertainer, he sees the crazy side of his sorrows; he transforms pain and chaos into comedy. As a moviemaker, he's a novice presenting us with clumps of unformed experience. It isn't even raw; the juice has been drained away. He was himself-demons, genius, and all-in RICHARD PRYOR-LIVE IN CONCERT and, though to a lesser extent, in RICHARD PRYOR LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP. Here, trying to be sincere, he's less than himself. With E'lon Cox as the 8-year-old Jo Jo, Carmen McRae as his grandmother, Diahnne Abbott as his mother, Scoey Mitchlll as his father, Paula Kelly and Billy Eckstine as the grown-up Jo Jo's friends, Fay Hauser, Barbara Williams, Debbie Allen, and Tanya Boyd as his wives, and Art Evans, Wings Hauser, Marlene Warfield, and J.J. Barry. The script was written by Rocco Urbisci, Paul Mooney, and Pryor. Cinematography by John Alonzo; production design by John DeCuir. Columbia.
Sweden (1971): Biography
114 min, Rated PG, Color
The Swedish writer-director Bo Widerberg (ELVIRA MADIGAN, ADALEN 31) made this life of the Swedish emigrant to America-a troubadour-who became a member of the Industrial Workers of the World and was convicted of murder and executed. There are some pretty period re-creations here, but it's a sadly shallow movie. It looks exactly like Widerberg's Swedish films, and the dreamy, pastoral look seems all wrong for the subject; the imagery has no strength or moral outrage-everything is subtly off. Widerberg doesn't catch the Wobblies' spirit or humor; the U.S. here is an idyllic fascist country. Thommy Berggren plays the young hero-martyr who was celebrated in the ballad by Alfred Hayes and Earl Robinson. Many of the American locations had to be faked in Sweden; the dialogue is mainly in English. Released by Paramount.
John and Mary
92 min, Rated PG, Color
Dustin Hoffman picks up Mia Farrow at a singles bar. It's meant to be a magical modern romance; there's no magic but it's clever and dexterous, in a wispy sort of way. It leaves a bad aftertaste, though, because you can feel the presence of regiments of technicians hiding behind the butterfly's wing and trying to make it iridescent. John has a block-not a sexual one but reservations about opening his life to feeling; the understanding little Mary sticks around until the block is overcome. Remember when that man in THE GRADUATE told Hoffman to go into plastics? Well, he did when he made this one. With Michael Tolan and Tyne Daly. Directed by Peter Yates, from John Mortimer's script, based on a novel by Mervyn Jones; music by Quincy Jones. 20th Century-Fox.
For a more extended discussion, see Pauline Kael's book Deeper into Movies.
Johnny Belinda
Jane Wyman, previously known as a giddy second-string blonde, surprised audiences with her touching performance as the brunette deaf-mute Belinda and won an Academy Award. The setting is an island off Nova Scotia, where a poor, proud farmer, appropriately named McDonald (Charles Bickford), lives with his acidulous sister (Agnes Moorehead) and his afflicted daughter, who is generally regarded as an idiot. Along comes a kindly young doctor (Lew Ayres), who teaches her sign language and encourages her to comb her hair, and she becomes presentable enough to attract a leering local bully (Stephen McNally, better known as Horace McNally), who rapes her. She has a baby-Johnny Belinda. This Jerry Wald production might have been as exasperating as the Broadway play by Elmer Harris that it's based on, but the director, Jean Negulesco, managed to provide an atmosphere in which the hokey, tearjerking elements are used for more than mere pathos-an example of technique over subject matter. With Jan Sterling as an unscrupulous tart, Rosalind Ivan, Dan Seymour (sometimes mistaken for Zero Mostel), and Mabel Paige. Cinematography by Ted McCord. Warners.
Lana Turner, in her dimpled prime, as the débutante who falls in love with a handsome, arrogant racketeer (the uniquely unconvincing Robert Taylor, with a mustache). Turner does her usual highly emotional, mannered substitute for acting; she's almost as stylized a bad actress as Crawford but much softer, more infantile. Taylor looks tired; his face seems tight and he's less handsome than we're supposed to think. This glossy, full-dress gangster melodrama from MGM doesn't add up to anything much, but it can be watched without pain. Best known for Van Heflin's ingratiating, picture-stealing performance as Taylor's friend; actually, he's more like Taylor's pet-a weak but lovable puppy dog. With Barry Nelson, Edward Arnold, Robert Sterling, Diana Lewis, Paul Stewart, Connie Gilchrist, Henry O'Neill, Charles Dingle, and Glenda Farrell. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, from a script by James Edward Grant and John Lee Mahin.
Johnny Handsome
US (1989): Crime/Action
Walter Hill directed this hog-wild revenge melodrama, in which Mickey Rourke plays a hoodlum Elephant Man-a deformed boy mocked by the world and forced into a life of crime. Ellen Barkin, in a cartoon performance, is the degenerate slut who jeers the loudest. The only sanity here is in some of the acting. Rourke does a fine, competent job, but the movie is stolen clear away by Morgan Freeman and Forest Whitaker as antagonists-a tough-minded veteran police detective and a warm, idealistic prison doctor. Whitaker believes that if he performs plastic surgery on the kid and makes him handsome he'll go straight. Freeman listens to Whitaker and grins in wonder: how can anyone be this innocent? It's tickling to see the two together; their scenes crackle. Other moments are redeemed by Elizabeth McGovern as a working-class girl, Scott Wilson as Rourke's only buddy, David Schramm as a money launderer, and Raynor Scheine as a gun dealer. Ken Friedman's screenplay (which is based on a novel by John Godey) is a tortuous reworking of Joan Crawford's 1941 vehicle A WOMAN'S FACE (which was a remake of a Swedish film with Ingrid Bergman); the big change is that the new film's slant is cruelly kinky. (It's as if A WOMAN'S FACE were redone, with the Crawford character once again surgically transformed and all-only now in the last scene somebody throws acid at her.) Set in New Orleans. Tri-Star.
For a more extended discussion, see Pauline Kael's book Movie Love.


text:
package com.seewo.binlogsql.vo;

import lombok.Data;

import java.util.List;

/**
 * @author linxixin@cvte.com
 * @since 1.0
 */
@Data
public class RowVo {
    private List<ColumnItemDataVo> value;
}


text:
VRI volunteers have been learning new skills while building innovative shedding that is unique to the Latrobe Valley, using a material that lets in natural light while cutting energy costs. The sheds are part of a ReActivate Latrobe Valley project to create a workshop space to run recycling and repair programs, with long-term plans to teach digital fabrication. The sheds are being clad with Ampelite, a strong, lightweight and opaque polycarbonate sheeting that lets in the light but stops UV and acts as an insulator. Project coordinator Kyle Bush said this was the first building in the Latrobe Valley to be constructed with the innovative material, and hoped for it to become talking point for the community. "This is a demonstration project in a way as it's unique building material. It looks like a greenhouse but it keeps cool inside on hot sunny days," Mr Bush said. "The people working on it will have skills no-one else in the Valley will have. It's built by the community for the community." More than 20 volunteers and job seekers have been part of the construction and the sheds should be finished and ready to use in the middle of 2019. "This has been a great way for unemployed people to use their skills for something visible that has become a showpiece," Mr Bush said. "And for those people without skills, we've been teaching them labouring, how to use power tools, cutting and measuring and basic building skills. This is great way to lead to jobs." ReActivate co-director Joh Lyons said the sheds were built with community funding and money raised from VRI activities. "This provides an accessible space for people to try new things at a low risk, as with high unemployment and high costs of education, we need these spaces for people to learn from one another," she said. "This is space where people can solve problems by learning by doing."
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/6vw4HdPJmTwUKT8teC8K4L/1d71ebf9-25f1-438e-9dae-f5fffec2548d.JPG/r3_453_5998_3840_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
January 3 2019 - 10:02AM
VRI volunteers learn workplace skills on innovative shed project
Michlelle Slater
ReActivate Latrobe Valley project coordinator Kyle Bush and volunteer builder Jacob Haysom. photograph michelle slater
VRI volunteers have been learning new skills while building innovative shedding that is unique to the Latrobe Valley, using a material that lets in natural light while cutting energy costs.
The sheds are part of a ReActivate Latrobe Valley project to create a workshop space to run recycling and repair programs, with long-term plans to teach digital fabrication.
The sheds are being clad with Ampelite, a strong, lightweight and opaque polycarbonate sheeting that lets in the light but stops UV and acts as an insulator.
Project coordinator Kyle Bush said this was the first building in the Latrobe Valley to be constructed with the innovative material, and hoped for it to become talking point for the community.
"This is a demonstration project in a way as it's unique building material. It looks like a greenhouse but it keeps cool inside on hot sunny days," Mr Bush said.
"The people working on it will have skills no-one else in the Valley will have. It's built by the community for the community."
More than 20 volunteers and job seekers have been part of the construction and the sheds should be finished and ready to use in the middle of 2019.
"This has been a great way for unemployed people to use their skills for something visible that has become a showpiece," Mr Bush said.
"And for those people without skills, we've been teaching them labouring, how to use power tools, cutting and measuring and basic building skills. This is great way to lead to jobs."
ReActivate co-director Joh Lyons said the sheds were built with community funding and money raised from VRI activities.
"This provides an accessible space for people to try new things at a low risk, as with high unemployment and high costs of education, we need these spaces for people to learn from one another," she said.
"This is space where people can solve problems by learning by doing."
Discuss "VRI volunteers learn workplace skills on innovative shed project"


If we talk about custom ERP system, most of the companies would think about the tough time they may undergo for designing and implementing the solutions and they easily end up with any packaged shelf software. But do companies actually will have any trouble if considering Customized ERP Solution for their operations? answer for this is 100% NO . Custom ERP will be an asset for any companies as it is designed specifically for their business operations and requirements.
Packaged solutions available in the market have its own advantages but it doesn't mean that those solutions would fit for our business. Most of these solutions guarantee customizations, but if we make a minor change on the way it is designed would typically leads to several more. Several issues have been facing by companies who choose shelf software and they actually change their workflow according to the software!!
We already know our business workflow like interaction between departments, task to be carried out in every department, best practices we follow in our business operations etc.. Then what restrict us in going for customized solutions? There are a lot of benefits companies would get in considering customized solutions. here's few things..
If you choose a shelf ERP system considering the designing and implementation effort, it might end up with a bigger price tag software that doesn't fit your company's needs. If we are investing on something it should give us ROI soon or in near future and here's the role of custom ERP comes. It actually serve you as you needed in a very low-cost and you don't have to look over the huge expenses such as license cost, pay for user, up-gradation cost etc..
If a new ERP system is implemented in any company, users needs to change their workflow according to the solution being implemented.But if you choose a customized ERP solution, it only automates your manual works and nothing to look over in changing the workflow of the organization or users.
Custom ERP often delivers better performance than other solutions. Software architecture is designed from the ground up for maximum performance, which yields better application availability. If there is a ramp up or change in your business, you easily adjust and integrate the modules to handle the surge. A shelf product can unlikely to be able to achieve these results.
We know exactly how it actually works because,we designed it. When working on complex or specific tasks, the first thing that matters is the user interface. With out of box customization, you can understand easily what are all the elements on the screen because there's nothing available in the system which you're not using.
It gives complete visibility into your all operational processes, across various departments of an organization such as Finance/Accounts, Human Resource Management, Manufacturing, Marketing/Sales, Supply Chain/Warehouse Management etc..
It automate the workflow from one department or function to another and ensures that all the department activities are well tracked with a single reporting system to analyze the statistics and nothing to doubt about missing out anything.
Business is all about getting the actual values of the past and acting on it. Statistics and analytics are most important that really help to make better decision. We can customize the reports in a way how it actually want and can also integrate and collaborate own business intelligence tool to get more stats and insights.


An elegant slim curved lever on a round rose. The arched lever handle features a sleek curve, thinning out towards the end for a comfortable and ergonomic grip. The three point fixing provides secure and easy installation. A contemporary door handle that features a sophisticated and chic design. Comes with a 10 year mechanical guarantee and is Fire door rated. Suitable for domestic and commercial use.


text:
Patricia A. McKillip's essential DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES is excellent
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized	allie mccarn, b&n sci-fi & fantasy blog, barnes and noble, chris kammerud, collection, dreams of distant shores, fantasy, gary k wolfe, joel cummingham, Locus, patricia a mckillip, review, strange horizons, Thomas Canty, worlds without end
Patricia A. McKillip at Westercon 64 in the Fairmont San Jose Hotel on Saturday 2 July 2011 (Stephen Gold/Wikimedia Commons)
At the B&N SCI-FI & FANTASY BLOG, Joel Cunningham recommends Patricia A. McKillip's new collection DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES.
Winner of a World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, Patricia McKillip's books are beloved for their timelessness—her fantasy novels are simultaneously classical and subversive, lyrical and filled with life and energy. Her latest release is a short fiction collection, assembling short pieces that range from an ecological fairy tale novella to a story of witches and mermaids. It's both essential for fans and a lovely introduction to her work.
Gary K. Wolfe in the June, 2016 LOCUS praises the collection and author.
For a career of more than 40 years, Patricia McKillip hasn't been particularly prolific in short fiction, but her generous output of first-rate novels (most recently KINGFISHER, reviewed here last month) has more than satisfied a devoted readership. Still, a rare new story collection is something to look forward to, especially when, as with DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES, it includes three previously unpublished tales, a long novella all but unavailable since its original 1994 publication, an essay by McKillip on high fantasy, and an appreciative and sharply insightful afterword by Peter Beagle. Part of the reason a collection like this is especially intriguing is that, as McKillip herself points out in her essay, the romantic epic conventions of high fantasy have so often been the basic stuff of her novels, and watching her simultaneously manipulate, celebrate, invert, and challenge those conventions is a large part of her appeal. But there are other forms of fantasy, perhaps more gemlike, that she also seems drawn to, and even though the present collection offers us only six stories in addition to the novella and the non-fiction pieces, it's enough to make you wonder what more she might be able to do in this area.
For WORLDS WITHOUT END, Allie McCarn lauds the work.
Every time I have read one of Patricia A. McKillip's novels, I have been struck by her poetic language and the vibrancy of her fantastical worlds. Therefore, I was delighted to have a chance to read and review an advance review copy of her latest collection of short fiction, DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES (to be published June 14, 2016). The book collects seven works of short fiction, one essay by McKillip, and a warm and insightful afterword by Peter S. Beagle. McKillip's essay is about her style of writing high fantasy, which involves simultaneously following and breaking the rules of the genre. I enjoyed the glimpse into her writing process, and I think the balance between tradition and originality that she describes is one of the things that has kept drawing me back to her fiction.
The short fiction in DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES, though, is far from traditional high fantasy. There are no queens, courts and heroes, and the stories take place in worlds not unlike our own. I thought the title itself was a remarkably accurate description of the contents within, since each tale felt like a dream permeated by a different style of magic. The vein of strangeness that runs through every work ties the collection of stories together.
In closing, this was an excellent collection of short fiction by Patricia A. McKillip. Each of the stories takes place in a different world, with a different tone and approach to the supernatural. With such a range, from the surreality of "Weird" to the Victorian painters of "Gorgon in the Cupboard", I expect it will please fantasy fans with a variety of tastes. As for me, I have enjoyed visiting each of McKillip's DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES.
Chris Kammerud of STRANGE HORIZONS reviews the book.
In Patricia A. McKillip's latest collection of stories, DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES, we encounter our fair share of so-called witches, mermaids, heroes, and heroines. We are, it would seem, on familiar ground, and so, perhaps, we may think we already know the shape these stories will take. We've seen it all before, haven't we? High fantasy has, over the last forty years, on occasion, run the risk of going the way of American fast food, of giving rise in its oft-epic success to a kind of monoculture—the latter producing endless fields of the same old boring potatoes, the former producing endless fields of the same old magical orphans.
McKillip, thankfully, while possessing the deepest reverence for the rules of high fantasy, also finds those rules rather boring and in constant need of breaking.
"At its best," McKillip says, "fantasy rewards the reader with a sense of wonder about what lies within the heart of the commonplace world." It's a worthy goal of all stories, whatever genre. And, at its best, DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES does this, managing to show us, tucked inside the commonplace forms of fantasy, glimpses of things which remain timeless, nameless, and true.
For more info on DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty
THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT and HANNU RAJANIEMI: COLLECTED FICTION are standout SF/F collections
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized	b&n sci-fi and fantasy blog, barnes and noble, collection, fantasy, hannu rajaniemi, hannu rajaniemi: collected fiction, kate elliott, review, sam reader, science fiction, short stories, the very best of kate elliott
For the B&N SCI-FI & FANTASY BLOG, Sam Reader declares HANNU RAJANIEMI: COLLECTED FICTION and THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT as standout SF/F collections.
Hannu Rajaniemi: Collected Fiction by Hannu Rajaniemi
You may already know Rajaniemi from his buzzy Jean le Flambeur series (The Quantum Thief, The Fractal Prince, The Causal Angel); if that's the case, rest assured that his Collected Fiction offers the same fantastical quality, but in a dozen different flavors. If you're new to his charms, this is an excellent place to start: Rajaniemi writes post-singular fairy tales about computer-dragon romances, technologically-uplifted cats and dogs, and haunted space stations. If you like your science fiction lavish and the science part a little outlandish, this is definitely the book for you.
Standout stories: "Tyche and the Ants", "Elegy for a Young Elk"
The Very Best of Kate Elliott by Kate Elliott
Kate Elliott is an amazing person. Full stop. Her writing is gorgeously toned and filled with evocative imagery. She's been a well-respected, prolific fantasy author for decades, and she's no slouch with science fiction, either. (Also, she used to fight in the SCA in full freaking armor.) The Very Best collects all the short stories from her illustrious career in one volume, from performances of Shakespeare on alien worlds, to the reflective thoughts of a prisoner hung at the gates of a city. Her stories are exciting, unsettling, and brimming with sensory detail.
Standout stories: "My Voice is in My Sword", "The Gates of Joriun"
Hopefully these collections will help kickstart your summer of short stories. If you think I missed any, feel free to suggest your own in the comments.
Read the rest of Reader's selections at B&N SCI-FI & FANTASY BLOG.
For more info on HANNU RAJANIEMI: COLLECTED FICTION, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Lius Lasahido
For more on THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Julie Dillon.
Design by Elizabeth Story.
THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT provides an excellent introduction to the reliably fantastic writer
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized	b&n sci-fi & fantasy blog, barnes & noble, barnes and noble, collection, elizabeth story, essays, fantasy, joel cunningham, julie dillon, kate elliott, review, short stories, the very best of kate elliott
On the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Joel Cunningham reveals top picks for the week of February 10 including THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT.
Elliott is known for her expansive fantasies, from the seven-book Crown of Stars series to the recently completed Spiritwalker trilogy, but this collection proves she's equally adept at writing short fiction. Collecting stories set in worlds both familiar (including the settings of the Spiritwalker books and her Jaran quartet) and new, as well as non-fiction essays about writing, it makes an excellent introduction to the work of one of epic fantasy's most reliably fantastic writers.
Read the rest of Cunningham's selection at Barnes & Noble.
WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY FINE is a great stocking stuffer
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized	b&n book blog, barnes & noble, barnes and noble, daryl gregory, elizabeth story, gift ideas, horror, nicole hill, novella, review, stocking stuffer, we are all completely fine
On the B&N Book Blog, Nicole Hill included Daryl Gregory's We Are All Completely Fine on her list of five great stocking stuffer books.
This book is more than fine. It's twisted, odd, touching, and stupendous. When a mysterious psychiatrist gathers together survivors of supernatural trauma for a support group, things are going to get bumpy. And they do it quickly when you have a monster hunter in the room alongside a cranky elder who survived life as a cannibal buffet item. As you might expect, the disparate stories these souls have to tell aren't so unrelated after all.
Learn about Hill's other four selections on the B&N Book Blog.
For information on We Are All Completely Fine, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story.
THE MADONNA AND THE STARSHIP is featured by Barnes & Noble
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized	barnes and noble, elizabeth story, humor, James Morrow, joel cunningham, parody, satire, science fiction, the madonna and the starship
In his June Sci-Fi/Fantasy Roundup for Barnes & Noble, Joel Cunningham can't wait for the new James Morrow The Madonna and the Starship.
Morrow is one of those writers who comes up with ideas so good, I can't help but read every one of his books. From the mind that brought you Towing Jehovah (in which God's massive corpse is found floating in the Atlantic, triggering a massive cover-up by the Catholic Church) and Shambling Toward Hiroshima (did you know Godzilla was produced as a propaganda film to scare the Japanese into surrendering during WWII, lest the U.S. unleash its devastating secret weapon: an army of giant, mutant iguanas? No?) comes the story of a hack writer who is the only one who can stop a looming alien invasion—by writing a television show that makes the inherent absurdities of religious faith seem wholly logical.
For more on The Madonna and the Starship, visit the Tachyon page.
LOVECRAFT'S MONSTERS and COLD IN JULY sightings
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized	anthology, barnes and noble, cold in july, crime, elizabeth story, Ellen Datlow, horror, joe lansdale, Joe R. Lansdale, john coulthart, lovecraft's monsters, movie tie-in, seattle, short stories, texas noir, third place books
Two more Tachyon titles were discovered out in the world.
First, Lovecraft's Monsters caught at the Ledgewood Barnes & Noble by Anthony Cardno.
And another Cold in July sighting, courtesy of Joshua Kendall. This time at Third Place Books in Seattle.
Share your sightings of Tachyon books by replying to this post or via Twitter @TachyonPub. We're always curious where these creatures are found in the wild—be it bookstores, libraries, or even airports!
For more information on Lovecraft's Monsters, visit the Tachyon site.
Cover and illustration by John Coulthart.
For more info on Cold in July, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story
BEYOND THE RIFT is One of the Five Overlooked SF/F/H Books of 2013
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized	barnes and noble, collection, elizabeth story, Hugh Sicotte, paul di filippo, Peter Watts, review, science fiction, short stories, speculator
According to Paul Di Filippo on his Speculator column for Barnes and Noble, the new Peter Watts collection Beyond the Rift is one of five "good books flying below the 'what's hot' cultural radar. Worthy books that don't receive their share of coverage in a review ecosystem with too few slots and a bias toward preordained bestsellers."
Canadian author Peter Watts is a biologist by training and a visionary by inclination. His novels are hard-edged yet coolly psychedelic extrapolations of our gene-modded future. Possessing the stern moral acuity of James Tiptree, he also exhibits the intellectual zest of Arthur C. Clarke. His afterword to his new story collection, Beyond the Rift, is one of the best essays in recent memory about the nature of the kind of science fiction that mates these qualities. Watts is expert at inhabiting the mind of the Other, whether it's a Cambellian shape-shifting alien in "The Things," a future soldier high on techno Rapture in "A Word for Heathens," or a deep-sea dweller with mysterious origins in "Home." His killer opening sentences ("First Contact was supposed to solve everything"; "Wescott was glad when it finally stopped breathing") are rabbit holes to strange futures.
For more on Beyond the Rift, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Hugh Sicotte. Design by Elizabeth Story.


.45LC 4 5/8 in Blue. 100th Anniversary John Wayne (see Home page for more history and details) This special edition was an overwhelming success. Specially serialized 3500 units were produced in the original configuration between July and December 2007.
This was a big departure for TALO. Advertised on a National scale in American Rifleman. Really nice engraving pattern designed by the artist, Lee Griffiths.
Special box sleeve, & label.
TALO made later 1000 each Stainless guns and a .32 Mag version. All have sold out.


Apple has quietly updated the official website of Apple Watch to add information more specific features of the device. Now we have new sections that best describe operation of the clock and the functions which take default.
These new sections are three, for the time being only visible on the American website: Timekeeping, New ways to connect and Health & Fitness. In the first, for example, have descriptions of all the watchfaces that we have available (lunar, solar system, analog watches…) and discovered us that each theme will have several viewing options.
The New section ways to connect is dedicated to the sending personalized messages: drawings made with our finger, touches, our heart rate, or animated emoticons. It is not anything new, but that are appreciated more detailed descriptions.
Finally, the section Health & Fitness tells us how Apple Watch will encourage us to maintain healthy habits get up once every hour, walk for 30 minutes or not pass us with daily calories. Of course, we can configure all such notices for setting us custom targets.
This update is a sign that although we are not going to see in a few months, Apple is busy working around the clock to make your Watch arrives in time to the stores. Each time is less to have one of the most interesting year beginning in the world of Apple Since the presentation of the iPhone in January 2007.


text:
'use strict';

var InstanceResource = require('./InstanceResource');
var utils = require('../utils');

/**
 * @class Strength
 *
 * @description
 * Encapsulates a Password Strength resource of a {@link PasswordPolicy}. For full documentation of the this resource, please see
 * [REST API Reference: Password Strength](https://docs.stormpath.com/rest/product-guide/latest/reference.html?#password-strength).
 *
 * This class should not be manually constructed. It should be obtained from one of these methods:
 * - {@link PasswordPolicy#getStrength PasswordPolicy.getStrength()}
 *
 * @augments {InstanceResource}
 *
 * @param {Object} passwordStrengthResource
 * The JSON representation of this resource, retrieved the Stormpath REST API.
 */
function Strength() {
  Strength.super_.apply(this, arguments);
}

utils.inherits(Strength, InstanceResource);

module.exports = Strength;


text:
<?php
/*
 * Plugin Name: Apache Authentification
 * Description: Enable the user Apache Authentification via .htacess file.
 * Version: 1.0
 * Author: Thibaud
 * Author URI: mailto:thibaud@we-studio.ch
*/

// Encrypt password on save
add_filter('acf/update_value', function( $value, $post_id, $field ) {

	$passwords 		= array();
	$repeatField 	= 'apache_authentification_users';
	$passField 		= 'apache_authentification_users_password';
	$passFieldKey = 'field_59229bff31988';

	if( $field['name'] != $repeatField )
		return $value;

	if( have_rows( $repeatField, 'option' ) ):
		while ( have_rows( $repeatField, 'option' ) ) : the_row();
			array_push( $passwords, get_sub_field( $passField, 'option' ) );
		endwhile;
	endif;

	foreach ( $value as $key => &$user )
		if ( $user[$passFieldKey] != $passwords[$key] )
			$user[$passFieldKey] = base64_encode( sha1( $user[$passFieldKey], true ) );

	return $value;

}, 10, 3);

// Add new users to .htpasswd
add_action('acf/save_post', function() {

	$htpasswd 		= ABSPATH . '.htpasswd';
	$page 				= 'acf-options-restricted-access';
	$enabled		 	= 'apache_authentification_enabled';
	$repeatField 	= 'apache_authentification_users';
	$nameField 		= 'apache_authentification_users_name';
	$passField 		= 'apache_authentification_users_password';

	if ( !strpos( get_current_screen()->id, $page ) )
		return;

	$file = @fopen( $htpasswd, 'w' );

	if ( !$file || !is_writeable( $htpasswd ) || !file_exists( $htpasswd ) ) :
		update_field( $enabled, false, 'option' );
		flush_rewrite_rules();
		return;
	endif;

	if ( have_rows( $repeatField, 'option' ) ) :
    while ( have_rows( $repeatField, 'option' ) ) : the_row();

	    $username = trim( get_sub_field( $nameField, 'option' ) );
	    $password = trim( get_sub_field( $passField, 'option' ) );

			if ( $username && $password && current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ):
				$content .= $username . ':{SHA}' . $password . PHP_EOL;

			endif;
    endwhile;
	endif;

	fwrite( $file, $content );
	fclose( $file );

	flush_rewrite_rules();

}, 20);

// Enable / Disable mode by rewrite .htaccess
add_filter('mod_rewrite_rules', function( $rules ) {

	$htpasswd = ABSPATH . '.htpasswd';
	$enabled 	= 'apache_authentification_enabled';

	if ( !ws_get_field( $enabled, 'option' ) )
		return $rules;

	$content  = PHP_EOL;
	$content .= '# Apache Authentification' . PHP_EOL;
	$content .= 'AuthType Basic' . PHP_EOL;
	$content .= 'AuthName "Password Protected Area"' . PHP_EOL;
	$content .= 'AuthUserFile ' . $htpasswd . PHP_EOL;
	$content .= 'Require valid-user' . PHP_EOL;
	$content .= '# END Apache Authentification' . PHP_EOL;
	$content .= PHP_EOL;

	return $content . $rules;

});


The anticipated inquiry into sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) has been halted because of the election and no further submissions are being accepted.
Following publication by NHS England of the Next Steps on the NHS Forward View, the House of Commons Health Committee announced an inquiry into STPs. However, as the current Health Committee will cease to exist on the dissolution of Parliament on 3 May, no further submissions are being accepted. It will be for the new Committee in the next Parliament to decide whether to proceed with the inquiry. If it does so, a new deadline for written submissions will be set. Submissions which have already been sent will be made available to the new Committee.
How effective have STPs been in joining up health and social care across individual footprints, and in engaging parts of the system outside the acute healthcare sector, for example local authorities, public health, mental health and voluntary sector partners?
What governance, management and leadership arrangements need to be created to enable STP planning and implementation to be carried out effectively?
What legislative, policy and/or other barriers are there to effective STP governance and implementation, and what needs to be done by national bodies and national leaders in the NHS to support the implementation of STPs?
How far do STPs signal a move away from the purchaser/provider split?
What public engagement will be necessary to enable STPs to succeed, and how should that engagement be undertaken?
What impact will STPs have on the delivery of care to patients?
Are the demands being made of STP plans through the NHS Mandate and the NHS Shared Planning Guidance deliverable with the financial resources available? If not, what are the priority areas for additional resources to make STPs successful?
Looking across all 44 STPs, are there any major areas where the content of the plans needs to be tested for credibility and realism? Are there any major gaps? For example, are proposals in some plans to reduce bed capacity credible?; are the NHS efficiency estimates in STPs robust?; is the workforce available to enable the implementation of STPs?; or is the timescale on which the changes proposed in STPs realistic?
Deadline for submissions: Submissions should not exceed 3000 words, and should reach the Committee by Tuesday 9 May.
SHOULD BUDGET BILLIONS FOR SOCIAL CARE PUT A SPRING IN OUR STEP?