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Al Jazeera Investigations
Go to aljazeera.com
UK universities do not probe bulk of sexual misconduct reports
Oxford professors abused position with sexist and drunken conduct
Glasgow University accused of failing to recognise misconduct
Students and staff have accused the university of failing to protect them from misconduct by a former lecturer.
Students and early-career staff have accused Glasgow University of failing to properly protect them against misconduct by a former lecturer, including from alleged "grooming" and sexual harassment, Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit has found.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, six women made allegations of misconduct over the behaviour of Ian Shaw, who was a lecturer in the geography department at Glasgow University before he left to teach at Leeds University in 2020. He denies all wrongdoing.
Esther, who along with the other women Al Jazeera spoke to asked for her surname to be withheld, said she was finishing her PhD at an English university when she met Shaw at a conference in 2018. He praised her research and tried to persuade her to move to Glasgow so he could mentor her future career.
She alleges Shaw proceeded to increase the intensity of his contact with her to the point where it became grooming and sexual harassment.
"It [was] intellectual, then emotional, then became sexual", she said.
But she says Glasgow University failed to take her allegations seriously.
The Glasgow story is one part of Degrees of Abuse, a two year investigation by Al Jazeera's Investigations Unit (I-Unit), which reveals how British universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, and Warwick deal with complaints of sexual harassment, sexist, drunken behaviour, and coercive control.
Last week, Al Jazeera revealed how two Oxford professors have been accused of abusing their position of authority with sexist and drunken conduct.
As partof the investigation, Al Jazeera also filed Freedom of Information requests with more than 100 universities in the UK, revealing that the vast majority of sexual complaints caseswere not investigated.
Do you have information on wrongdoing or want to share another tip? Contact Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit on +974 5080 0207 (WhatsApp/Signal), or find other ways to reach out on our Tips page.
'Amazing eyes'
Esther told Al Jazeera that Shaw began to send her increasingly personal messages, including "You were in my head and dreams last night" and commenting on her "amazing eyes".
He made similar compliments to a junior departmental colleague, Emma, saying "Your eyes are so piercing, I feel you can see my ancestors".
Emma told Al Jazeera: "I remember thinking either this guy is the most sweetest caring person I've ever met and I've made the best friend for life, or he's in love with me."
Several of Shaw's students said that unlike other lecturers, Shaw held long meetings in his office with the door closed and sometimes locked, which he said was for privacy but made them feel increasingly uncomfortable.
One student, supervised by Shaw for her PhD, said: "I felt very much like a sexualised object in that room. And I had to play that role in order to succeed."
Another student said the conversations would typically move quickly from discussing her academic work to Shaw talking about his personal life, including his mental health and his marriage.
A third student, who was struggling with her work and her home situation says that over a period of months, Shaw turned their teaching relationship into something more intimate and sinister. "It became an emotional dependency", she said, "he wanted to be seen as a protector but it was a control thing".
Anna Bull is among the leading academics in the UK researching sexual misconduct in higher education. In early 2021 she wrote a report on "grooming and boundary-blurring behaviours by academic staff". It was based on accounts from students in universities across the UK.
She told Al Jazeera that university policies on ethical behaviour rarely make specific mention of crossing boundaries or grooming as being unacceptable.
While she will not comment on individual cases, she told Al Jazeera that crossing boundaries or grooming would mean turning the professional teaching and learning relationship into an intimate, personal relationship through their inappropriate behaviour, disclosures or questions.
"Certainly, in my research, students have used the word 'grooming' themselves; [for example] if their lecturer might be telling a student that they are special and talented. And then there's the absolutely classic one, starting to disclose material about their personal life or their sex life," she said.
'Not taken seriously'
Four women registered complaints about Shaw's behaviour withGlasgow University's Senate office – the university's senior academic body – which assigned academics from other departments, alongside Human Resources staff, to investigate the cases.
Three women accused him of sexual harassment.
They included Esther, whofiled a complaint in 2019 after Shaw suggested she sleep on his hotel room floor at a conference, go away together to work on a project, and offered to read her application for a job at Glasgow University in advance, when he was on the hiring committee.
"He scared me at that point," Esther said. "I thought that if I'd got a job based on this situation, I would never be free of him."
Glasgow University handled the complaints separately. In July 2020, the university replied to Esther and said it had identified "some serious concerns and recommendations to address these". The reply contained the same language as that sent to another student.
However the university did not give either women any further details.
"I feel the whole experience of being sexually harassed and groomed was not taken seriously at all," Esther said. "I feel these processes are there to protect the institution, not the victim."
The lecturer, Emma, also complained about Shaw.
"I wanted to get it out into the open," she said. "All this weird ambiguous flirting was starting to get unhealthy. And I thought a good way to deal with that would be to sit down and have a conversation [with him] about it".
Emma says that after repeated failed attempts to discuss the issues informally with Shaw, he reacted by removing her from joint research projects. She then filed a complaint with the university, accusing him of victimisation and exclusion but not of sexual harassment.
At the hearing of Emma's complaint in June 2020, she was told the investigating panel had not upheld her allegations against Shaw.
However, at that hearing Emma also heard – for the first time – that Shaw had made counter-allegations against her, in which he said that her messages, when she was trying to discuss their working relationship, amounted to bullying and harassment.
The panel told Emma they had upheld Shaw's complaint, and that disciplinary action might be taken against her but the threat was later withdrawn.
Emma said, "I was just destroyed because, it just looked like they not even read the evidence that I'd put in".
She then filed a second complaint, this time accusing Shaw of sexually harassing her. At the hearing of that second complaint, in December 2020, Emma discovered the chair of the investigating panel had not been made aware that Shaw had faced three other similar complaints. Emma's second complaint against Shaw was also dismissed.
Anna Bull says it is a mistake for universities to deal with complaints individually because it does not recognise the nature of misconduct such as grooming, crossing boundaries, and sexual harassment, which is often a pattern of behaviour. "From the evidence I've got, it's likely that staff will target multiple other students and staff rather than just one," Bull said.
In reply to Al Jazeera, Shaw said the allegations against him were upsetting and untrue, and called them part of a campaign of bullying and abuse that caused him to leave Glasgow University.
"I would like to stress that during my time at the University of Glasgow I was subjected to two full official HR investigations regarding these allegations and the outcome of both investigations was no further action against me but a colleague was found guilty of bullying and harassment against me."
Glasgow University said it could not address individual cases such as those relating to Shaw but that it takes "all allegations of sexual misconduct or harassment extremely seriously".
"Any form of harassment is totally unacceptable within and across our community, and any alleged issues of this kind are fully investigated and, where founded, acted upon in accordance with the University's disciplinary procedures.
The university also said it was providing more training for managers investigating student and staff cases which relate to harassment or misconduct.
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Thought for the week: STOP MAKING STUPID PEOPLE FAMOUS.
I have long thought that many heavy use armored vehicles (tanks, self propelled guns, missile launchers, etc.) should use the same basic chassis. The US does that with the Stryker wheeled vehicle, but it doesn't extend as far as it does to other systems in my opinion. The Russians "stole" my idea...but it didn't work out all that well for them when the new tank went on display during their Victory Day Parade (was May Day Parade in the USSR).
The first major tank to be developed in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union abruptly grounded to a halt during a rehearsal for Moscow's big May 9 Victory Day parade, Reuters reports.
I'm sure you heard about the "draw Mohammed" contest in Garland, TX and the two jihadis who showed up to the party. So it's not news that you haven't heard of. Some people such as Donald Trump, the comb-over king of New York thought that it was a bad idea. I think that Pamela Geller needs to have streets named after her. What a great idea. It wouldn't fly in the blue urban hells, but in Free America (and there are still significant portions of the country that are), it plays well.
Jihadis are neither loved nor respected in Free America (the area that shows up red on the electoral map). Muslims are usually tolerated to the extent that they hold themselves accountable to the same laws as the rest of the nation upholds...you can't honor-kill people who you don't like and bury them in the back yard, men can't beat their wives (avoiding their faces as proscribed by the Quran), and if somebody draws a cartoon of the long dead prophet of Islam, you can't kill them either.
The map showing areas where jihadis are not loved is provided for reference (above-right). I realize that it's coincidental, but Hillary is not loved in any of those areas either. Make of that what you will because at this point, what difference does it make?
Americans are wondering whether or not the Federal Bureau of Investigation is a wholly owned asset of the Democratic Party. Since the FBI answers to Barack Obama, one can answer that it naturally is...just the same as the Internal Revenue Service (paragon of political virtue) is. The FBI did take all references to Islamic Terrorists out of their OPFOR exercises - which makes absolutely no sense.
A Kazakh official involved in brokering a controversial mining deal for a major Clinton Foundation donor is behind bars for his role in the transaction, undercutting a Clinton campaign "fact-check" that attempted to dismiss ethical questions about the former president's ties to the lucrative contract.
Former President Bill Clinton RESPONDS.
Hillary for America and the Clinton-aligned group Media Matters pushed back on allegations that the Clintons had used their political clout to drum up millions in foundation donations and speaking fees by furthering the financial interests of friends in the wake of Tuesday's publication of Peter Schweizer's Clinton Cash.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Friday the Department of Justice will launch a federal civil rights investigation into the practices of the Baltimore Police Department.
I find it interesting that of the people involved in the death of the criminal, the principal suspects and the sergeant (supervisor) are black (African-American/American-African or whatever). Moreover all senior officials at the City of Baltimore are black (same caveat disclaimer). AG Lynch is also black. So is the President of the United States (only half-black but he repudiates his white half) and his fact-finder, the tax cheater, and holy man, Reverend Al Sharpton. So why do I have a nagging suspicion that this will end up being a "white problem"?


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The Naval Historical Collection, housed in the library of the Naval War College at Newport, is the main repository for documents relating to the naval history of Aquidneck Island. In this issue of Newport History, Evelyn M. Cherpak recounts the story of Newport's Women Officers School by delving into five large photographic albums from this collection. Scholars studying the Old Stone Mill in Touro Park usually debate its controversial origins, but Marian Mathison Desrosiers here explores a different angle. Using wills, court cases, and other primary documents, she unravels the mill's ownership by the Arnold, Pelham, and Banister families. John O. C. McCrillis, a long-time resident of New Haven, Connecticut, lived at Newport for over twenty-five years during his younger days. Here, he recalls a visit in the 1930s to the house of two of Newport's legendary "locals," Timmy "the Woodhooker" Sullivan and his sister Julia.
Yarnall, James L. (2006) "Editor's Note," Newport History: Vol. 75 : Iss. 255 , Article 1.


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In case you missed it, here's what happened in Montreal on Feb. 9
Busy day? Here's what you might have missed.
Crossing Sherbrooke St. in the snow near Victoria Ave. in Westmount on Jan. 8, 2018. Pierre Obendrauf / Montreal Gazette
Busy day? Here's what you might have missed.
Weather warning: More snow and freezing rain this weekend
If you thought we had hit peak precipitation with Wednesday's snowfall — which left roads around Montreal in a mess — think again. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Montreal, Longueuil, Laval and Châteauguay this weekend. A mix of snow and freezing rain will hit southern Quebec, with 12 cm of snow expected Saturday followed by freezing rain on Sunday. Light snow will begin Friday evening, intensifying late Saturday morning. Snow will resume Sunday morning, then comes freezing rain in the afternoon or evening, with 2 to 5 cm expected. Precipitation should end Sunday night.
Student says anti-Semitism still an issue in McGill student government
The McGill student at the centre of anti-Semitic allegations says he's certain the climate within student government will improve, after a report into the incident was made public this week. Noah Lew and two other students were voted off the Students' Society of McGill University last October after they were identified as having pro-Israel viewpoints. They were since reinstated. A report made public this week by Spencer Boudreau concluded he could not determine if students who organized against the three board members had anti-Semitic intentions. Boudreau, a retired professor of education and former ombudsperson for students, however, said he understood why the students felt they were targeted because they are Jewish. After criticism from several Jewish groups both on and off campus, Boudreau issued a clarification to the report, saying he could not determine if the vote was motivated by anti-Semitism, but he acknowledged there were "in fact anti-Semitic effects felt by members of the Jewish community."
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
Mayor Plante says hearings will accommodate anglo seniors
Mayor Valérie Plante says her administration wants to hear from as many seniors as possible, including anglophones, when the city holds public consultations later this month on how to make Montreal a more senior-friendly city. The Plante administration announced last month its plan to consult the public as the city develops a new, three-year Plan d'action municipal pour les personnes ainées 2018-2020. That plan is slated to be adopted by city council in May. But the consultation plan has met with criticism over an apparent lack of effort to encourage participation by anglophone or immigrant seniors, many of whom are more comfortable in English than French. Questioned about the issue Friday, Plante said anglophone seniors will be accommodated "because the process to us is very important and we want everybody to feel included and language cannot be a (barrier to) participating."
P.K. Subban is back in Montreal and reminding us why we miss him
It's been more than a year. We really should all have come to terms with the trade by now. Easier said than done. Case in point: P.K. Subban was back in Montreal on Friday, and you better believe he visited the Montreal Children's Hospital. Not only that, he convinced his teammates to join him on the excursion and somehow talked them into what might be described as dancing. (The less said about their moves, the better.) In other P.K. Subban news, he leads the team currently second in the western conference with 43 points. The Predators play the Habs, led by Max Pacioretty and his 33 points, on Saturday. You're not crying, it's just very dusty in here.
Nashville Predators' P.K. Subban gives young fans a thrill during warmup at the Bell Centre on March 2, 2017. Pierre Obendrauf / Montreal Gazette
What your birthdate says about your chances of getting the flu
This year's tough flu season is now hitting its peak, although there are early signs that the virus activity might be slowing down. In its weekly FluWatch report, the Public Health Agency of Canada says there were 29,037 laboratory-confirmed cases of flu across the country as of Feb. 3 — nearly 54 per cent attributed to an aggressive H3N2 strain — with more than 3100 hospitalization and 130 deaths. The flu season has been more severe than usual because it involves the dreaded H3N2, a strain of the influenza A virus that causes more health complications and is more difficult to prevent, health experts say. This strain was responsible for 78 per cent of hospitalizations and deaths. And strikes the hardest (69 per cent) in adults age 65 and older.
 P.K. Subban is back in Montreal and reminding us why we... Patients group blames Quebec's bad management for nursing crisis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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December 19: Reign game breakdown
Ontario Reign December 19, 2015 0 CommentsGame storyOntario ReignPostgame notes
Reign game breakdown
The Reign scored with 26 seconds remaining in regulation but eventually fell in a shootout 3-2 to visiting rival San Diego (14-10-0-1) on Saturday night. In a battle of the top two teams in the Pacific Division and, of course, a battle between the Kings and Ducks affiliates, the Reign (15-4-2-1) lost in their first shootout attempt of the season, as Mike Sgarbossa beat Peter Budaj in the third round to end it. Nick Ritchie scored San Diego's two regulation goals, which held up until Kris Newbury's tally late in the third. Justin Auger had the other Ontario goal, his fifth of the season. The Reign were without Michael Mersch (still up with Kings) and Adrian Kempe (with Sweden prepping for upcoming World Junior Championships) in a defeat that snapped their four-game winning streak.
Kris Newbury, on the Gulls' Brian McGrattan: We don't like each other. I don't like anyone on that team, so just leave it at that.
–Kris Newbury – The veteran centerman was playing in his fifth game since returning from a broken foot that forced him to miss 12 games. He had one goal in those first four games of his return, but his game-tying tally with 26 seconds left in regulation was his biggest yet this season. Newbury banked a Jonny Brodzinski rebound off the back of Gulls goalie Anton Khudobin while positioned behind the net for the equalizer. Newbury centered what was consistently the Reign's best line of the night with Sean Backman and new linemate Valentin Zykov.
–Anton Khudobin – The Gulls goalie stopped 27 shots, went toe-to-toe with the Reign's Peter Budaj all night, and stuffed all three Ontario shooters in the skills competition (misses by Backman and Newbury) for the win. The Reign either outshot or broke even after each regulation period (12-8 ONT in first, 8-8 tie in second, 7-1 ONT in third), so he had plenty of work on the second night of a back-to-back after defeating San Jose on Friday. The back-to-back games marked his first two with the Gulls since clearing waivers and being sent down by the Ducks earlier this week (he went 3-3-0-1 with Anaheim). On Saturday, Khubodin was the Gulls' top penalty killer and staved off multiple threats from the Zykov-Newbury-Backman line as the Reign finished 0-for-6 on the man advantage.
–Nick Ritchie – The Ducks' first pick at 10th overall in the 2014 draft really looked like he doesn't belong in the AHL. Ritchie netted two goals, the first in the opening period after a Brandon Montour shot went off the boards behind Budaj and right to the 20-year-old winger at the side of the net. Ritchie's second goal came off an uncharacteristic turnover by Reign center Nic Dowd. Ritchie's initial chance off the turnover was denied by Budaj, but the Reign were caught out of position and Ritchie made them pay on his third attempt during the cluster, lifting a high shot past a flailing Budaj. Ritchie has played in 11 games with Anaheim this season, most recently on Dec. 6, and the goal-scorer certainly shined on AHL ice in Ontario.
–Newbury's savvy play to throw the puck off Khudobin's back with 26 seconds set the Reign up for overtime. It was the second time in as many games that they tied to score in the waning moments with Budaj pulled (see 2-1 OT win over San Jose last Sunday) and Newbury's play salvaged the point against a tough opponent.
Stat fact
–0 – Fights in the rivalry game, a surprise considering the last three meetings contained a combined five fights along with one call for persisting a fight. By Reign-Gulls standards, this one was quite tame and the linesmen kept any after-the-whistle antics under control.
This and that off-ice
It was Teddy Bear Toss night at Citizens Business Bank Arena so after Auger's goal in the first period both teams exited the ice early and the remaining 3:32 on the clock was played after a fresh Zamboni cut and before the start of the second period.
The Reign host the Bakersfield Condors on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in what will be their last game before heading into a five-day holiday break (no practice, no games) next week.
Justin AugerNic DowdOntario ReignOntario Reign InsiderPeter BudajSan Diego Gulls
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Brett Sutter
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#56 | 6′ 5″ | 233 lb | Age: 23
Birthplace: Sauble Beach, ON, CAN
MacDermid was signed by the Kings as an unrestricted free agent on Sept. 12, 2012.
VIEW KURTIS MACDERMID POSTS
Birthplace: Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN
Handedness: Right
Amadio was selected by the Kings in the third round (90th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft.
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Born: DOB: 9/23/1995
Birthplace: HELSINKI, FINLAND
Lintuniemi played in 27 games for the HIFK U18 team in Helsinki at 15-years-old, as well as seven games with the Finland U16 team. He made his professional hockey debut with the Monarchs in 2015, and has since begun playing for the Reign.
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Birthplace: CALGARY, AB
Drafted in 2005 by the Calgary Flames, Sutter was traded to the Reign in 2016. He is the son of LA Kings head couch Darryl Sutter, and the eighth member of the Sutter family to play in the NHL.
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Cosa mi lasci di te (I Still Believe) è un film sentimentale del 2020 diretto da Andrew e Jon Erwin. Il film è basato sulla vera storia del cantante Jeremy Camp e del suo incontro con la sua prima moglie, Melissa. La vicenda è stata raccontata nel libro autobiografico intitolato I Still Believe.

Il film è prodotto della Kingdom Story Company, il quinto lungometraggio degli Erwin Brothers, distribuito sotto la casa cinematografica Lionsgate. È stato presentato per la prima volta all'ArcLight Hollywood il 7 marzo 2020 ed è stato distribuito nelle sale cinematografiche statunitensi il 13 marzo 2020. Ha ricevuto recensioni contrastanti da parte della critica, che ha elogiato il film per aver raffigurato la fede in mezzo alla sofferenza, ma ha criticato la trama e i personaggi. Lionsgate ha distribuito il film in on demand il 27 marzo 2020 su Amazon Prime, a causa della pandemia di COVID-19.

Trama
A Lafayette, Indiana, nel settembre 1999, Jeremy Camp parte per il Calvary Chapel College di Murrieta, in California. La sera del suo arrivo, si reca ad un concerto della band cristiana canadese, the Kry, dove incontra il cantante, Jean-Luc LaJoie, che diventa rapidamente amico di Jeremy, che viene da lui per un consiglio musicale.

Dopo il concerto, Jeremy incontra Melissa Henning, una studentessa della sua scuola e amica di Jean-Luc, che la ama, ma lei non ricambia il sentimento. La coppia si conosce e inizia rapidamente a frequentarsi, provocando una spaccatura tra Jeremy, Melissa e Jean-Luc. Di conseguenza, Melissa termina la sua relazione con Jeremy, il quale ritorna dalla sua famiglia in Indiana per le vacanze di Natale. Pochi giorni dopo, Jeremy riceve una telefonata da Jean-Luc, dicendo che Melissa è malata e chiede a Jeremy di tornare in California.

Al suo arrivo, Jeremy visita Melissa in ospedale, che gli dice che le è stato diagnosticato un cancro allo stadio 3C nel suo fegato. Dice anche a Jeremy che lo ama. Lui dice lo stesso e le chiede di sposarlo. Lei accetta. Durante questo periodo, Jeremy inizia a farsi un nome come cantautore cristiano. Melissa scopre che il cancro si è diffuso alle ovaie e che ha bisogno di un intervento chirurgico che la lascerà sterile. Ma, il giorno dell'intervento, Melissa si sveglia con Jeremy, che le dice che l'intervento è stato annullato perché ora non ha il cancro. Sei mesi dopo, Jeremy e Melissa si sposano. Tutto sembra perfetto fino a dopo la luna di miele, quando Melissa si sveglia per il dolore. Jeremy la porta in ospedale, dove scoprono che il suo cancro è tornato e che non si può fare altro per lei.

Man mano che Melissa si indebolisce, Jeremy inizia a mettere in discussione la sua fede in Dio. In ospedale, Jeremy canta una canzone che ha scritto (Walk by Faith) durante la luna di miele. Melissa muore poco dopo. Jeremy si arrabbia con Dio e sceglie di abbandonare la sua carriera musicale, facendo a pezzi la sua chitarra. Al suo interno, trova una nota che Melissa gli ha lasciato da trovare dopo la sua morte, dicendogli che la sofferenza non danneggia la fede, ma la rafforza e questo lo incoraggia a continuare a scrivere canzoni.

Due anni dopo, Jeremy esegue una canzone che ha scritto dopo la morte di Melissa (I Still Believe) sulla sua sofferenza, ma alla fine ha ritrovato la fede. Dopo il concerto, incontra una ragazza di nome Adrienne, che dice a Jeremy che ha perso qualcuno vicino a lei, ed era arrabbiata con Dio, e le sue canzoni le hanno cambiato la vita. Il film termina con Jeremy che promette di condividere la storia di Melissa, credendo che Dio lo userà per cambiare la vita. I titoli di coda rivelano che Jeremy e Adrienne si sono sposati nel 2003 e hanno tre figli.

Cast
 KJ Apa nel ruolo di Jeremy Camp
 Britt Robertson nel ruolo di Melissa Lynn Henning-Camp
 Gary Sinise nel ruolo di Tom Camp, il padre di Jeremy
 Shania Twain nel ruolo di Teri Camp, la madre di Jeremy
 Melissa Roxburgh nel ruolo di Heather Henning, la sorella di Melissa
 Nathan Parsons nel ruolo di Jean-Luc Lajoie, un amico comune, interessato a Melissa
 Abigail Cowen nel ruolo di Adrienne Liesching-Camp, la seconda moglie di Jeremy

Produzione
Il film è il primo progetto di un accordo concluso tra Erwin Brothers e Lionsgate dopo il successo del loro film I Can Only Imagine nel 2018. È anche il primo film prodotto da Kingdom Story Company, uno studio cinematografico fondato dagli Erwin Brothers, Kevin Downes e Tony Young.

Jeremy Camp è stato attivamente coinvolto nella produzione del film, mentre il cantautore Bart Millard dei MercyMe (la cui storia di vita è stata raccontata in I Can Only Imagine) ha fatto da produttore esecutivo.

Casting

KJ Apa è stato annunciato come la star del film, interpretando Jeremy Camp, e Gary Sinise è stato annunciato per il ruolo del padre di Camp, al CinemaCon nell'aprile 2019. Lo stesso mese è stato annunciato che Britt Robertson sarebbe stata la co-protagonista come Melissa Camp, affiancata da Shania Twain come la madre di Camp, Melissa Roxburgh come sorella di Melissa e Nathan Parsons come Jean-Luc Lajoie, cantante della band The Kry.

Il co-regista Andrew Erwin ha riferito di sperare che il cast, in particolare Apa e Robertson, avrebbero attratto persone anche non cristiane.

Musica
Il compositore John Debney è stato ingaggiato per scrivere la colonna sonora del film, mentre KJ Apa ha interpretato diverse canzoni scritte da Jeremy Camp durante il periodo della sua vita rappresentato nel film, tra cui "I Still Believe", "Walk per fede" e "This Man". John Debney compone per la terza volta la colonna sonora di un film cristiano, dopo La passione di Cristo nel 2004 e The Young Messiah nel 2016.

Riprese
Le riprese sono iniziate a Mobile, in Alabama, a maggio e si sono concluse a luglio 2019.

Il cineasta del film, Kristopher Kimlin, aveva collaborato con gli Erwin Brothers nelle loro produzioni passate, Mamma che notte!, Woodlawn e Una canzone per mio padre.

Differenze rispetto al libro
Il film è ispirato al libro di Jeremy Camp uscito nel 2013 negli USA. Rispetto al testo, vi sono alcuni importanti cambiamenti apportati dagli sceneggiatori. I principali sono:
 Nel film Jean-Luc è innamorato di Melissa e questo crea delle tensioni con Jeremy perché i due si ritrovano rivali in amore. La situazione è reale ma non coinvolge Jean-Luc bensì Jason, un amico di Melissa che non compare nel film.
 La scoperta della lettera nella chitarra non viene citata nel libro.
 Il matrimonio tra Jeremy e Melissa non è avvenuto su una spiaggia.
 Nel film non si specifica che in realtà l'incontro con Adrienne avviene perché anche lei è la cantante di una band musicale.
 Rispetto a quanto riportato nel libro, il film non sottolinea il grande legame di Jeremy con la madre.

Versione italiana
La produzione italiana presenta dei dialoghi pesantemente modificati a tal punto da cambiare significativamente le motivazioni dietro le scelte dei personaggi. Nella versione inglese i protagonisti nominano spesso Dio, sia come ragione dietro alcune scelte sia durante normali e ordinarie conversazione. Ad esempio, Melissa dice a Jeremy che ha promesso alla sorella e a Dio di rimanere single, ma nella versione italiana Melissa lo ha promesso alla sorella e a sé stessa. Oppure, al primo appuntamento con Jeremy, Melissa dice che il Dio che ha creato trecento miliardi di stelle nella Via Lattea ha creato anche il suo destino; nella versione italiana chi ha creato il suo destino è l'Universo.

Nei dialoghi italiani Dio non viene mai citato e viene spesso sostituito da parole come "Universo", "vita" o "destino". Non viene nemmeno mai menzionato che Jeremy Camp è un cantautore cristiano e scrive canzoni cristiane, e solo dalla coreografia del film si può intuire che la fede sia parte delle loro vite mentre nei dialoghi originali la fede e Dio sono spesso menzionati. Il significato del titolo originale del film stesso, "I Still Believe" (Ci credo ancora, in Italiano), è di fatto completamente diverso nella traduzione "Cosa mi lasci di te".

Colonna sonora

La colonna sonora del film è stata pubblicata digitalmente da Capital Records il 6 marzo 2020 e includeva le interpretazioni di KJ Apa delle canzoni di Camp "This Man", "I Still Believe", "My Desire" e "Right Here", così come le nuove versioni di "I Still Believe" e "Walk by Faith" eseguite da Jeremy Camp, e due brani con dialoghi del film.

Distribuzione
Negli Stati Uniti, la pellicola è stata distribuita a partire dal 13 marzo 2020 dalla LionsGate. In Italia, prevista per il 19 marzo seguente, è stata rinviata per la chiusura di tutte le sale cinematografiche italiane a seguito del decreto legge contro l'epidemia da COVID-19 e viene distribuita direttamente su Prime Video dal 17 aprile 2020.

Valutazione
Il film è stato valutato PG (film per tutti) dalla Motion Picture Association of America per "materiale tematico".

Video on demand
A causa delle chiusure dei cinema a causa delle restrizioni sulla pandemia di COVID-19, Lionsgate e Kingdom Story Company hanno annunciato che il 19 marzo il film avrebbe avuto una prima uscita on demand il 27 marzo negli Stati Uniti e in Canada, appena due settimane dopo il film debutto teatrale.

Accoglienza

Incassi
Nel primo fine settimana di programmazione, il film ha incassato 9.5 milioni di dollari negli Stati Uniti, piazzandosi secondo nella classifica del botteghino alle spalle di Onward - Oltre la magia.

Risposta critica
Sul sito Rotten Tomatoes, I Still Believe detiene un tasso di approvazione del 51% sulla base di 43 recensioni, con una valutazione media di 6/10. Su Metacritic, il film ha un punteggio medio ponderato di 41 su 100, basato su 12 critici, indicando "recensioni contrastanti". Il pubblico intervistato da CinemaScore ha dato al film un voto medio di "A" su una scala da A+ a F, e PostTrakha riferito di aver ricevuto in media 4,5 stelle su 5.

Note

Collegamenti esterni

Film sentimentali
Film drammatici
Film biografici sui musicisti
Film basati su eventi reali

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text:
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Creative interpretation
Living Symbols of Kilmartin Glen, Kilmartin Museum, Argyll
Currently on display at Kilmartin Museum is a multimedia installation by John Was and Aaron Watson. Living Symbols of Kilmartin Glen was made in collaboration with the community of Kilmartin Glen, and explores the interpretation of prehistoric rock art. Contributors included foresters, scallop divers, charity groups, artists and school children.
The venue was carefully considered. The 'Dark Room' contains a dynamic audiovisual film that evokes the mystery of prehistoric motifs. In contrast, the 'Light Room' features over sixty sculptures by local people, each accompanied by titles and descriptions. They convey themes such as hope, family, achievement, death etc.
The sculptures present a privileged insight into the inspirations of the modern inhabitants which is in stark contrast to the ambiguity of the ancient symbols. While many of the modern sculptures bear figurative images, their meaning could not be deciphered without explanations provided by their creators.
Living Symbols of Kilmartin Glen was commissioned by Kilmartin Museum and funded by Creative Scotland.
Aaron Watson 6 August 2014
Links of Noltland, Westray, Orkney
Aaron Watson 1 October 2014
Aaron Watson 1 May 2014
info@monumental.uk.com
Clients include-
University of Aberdeen - Bells of Lazonby - University of Bristol - Cadw - University of Cambridge - Campbeltown Museum - University of Chester - University of Edinburgh - English Heritage - Environment Agency - The Heights of Abraham - Historic Scotland - University of Huddersfield - Input Group - Kilmartin Museum - University of Manchester - Penrith and Eden Museum - University of Reading - University of Southampton - University of York - Tullie House Museum


Category: Independent, Craft, Regional Brewery with a 44,800 Barrels of Annual Output.
By the time America's fledgling craft beer industry had embarked on its second decade of relevant existence, it had already embraced the brewing styles of Germany and Great Britain, but no whites, blondes, dubbels, witbiers, tripels, or abbeys from Belgium. Then comes Rob Tod, the man who gave us Allagash, a brewery from Portland, ME which specializes in Belgian beer styles which, back in 1994, were very hard to find in the US. Allagash White (Witbier) was the first brew produced in the then 15-barrel brewery. Rob Tod still owns the brewery, and he along with his employees have brought many other Belgian style beers. The brewery has since expanded its portfolio to scotch ales, stouts, and fruit beers, but their core competency remains with the Belgians. Today, Allagash is available around the country at both pubs and package stores. Each and every beer is double fermented, once at the usual process (top fermented ales) and, along with final conditioning, in the bottle itself afterward. This is a process sometimes known as methode champenoise, the same process by which sparkling wine (or Champagne) is produced. Some brewers are driven by money, drive sales by producing beer not within their brand texture, and devalue the legitimacy of their business. The guys at Allagash however, know that what makes a great brewery isn't selling a lot of beer, it's selling good beer. They currently offer up to six perennials, seven seasonals, and a good amount of limiteds one-offs, and keg/cask only releases, all similar in style origin. Just about all of their beer is received with great praise, and over the years, New England's original Belgian style brewery has also become one of its most distinguished and respected.
Please see review above. This is a cask conditioned, limited production beer which is secondary fermented in aging barrels directly supplied from Jim Beam, giving this strong ale a whiskey like aroma and feel. Very strong with a considerable warming effect. Based on the original tripel. Made all year around, this beer is distributed in fifths and kegs, and goes great with dessert.
Brewed only once a year, this fruity, spicy, and tart Strong Ale is crafted with hand picked red wine grapes, giving it a sweeter flavor with a nice warming effect. It can be further cellared in the bottle for up to two years and goes great with stronger cheese and fatty meats.
This beer is brewed in similar fashion to the Victor Strong Ale, with Chardonnay grapes giving this beer a golden color with strong aromas and a somewhat fruity character and finish. Cellared for up to two years, this beer goes great with fish and robust cheese.
This foamy, light bodied, fruity and crisp beer features a rich, tall foam head, a golden hazy appearance, and clove like aromas. The Flagship brew of Allagash, this beer is produced all year round and comes in kegs and 12 oz bottles. Great with Maine cuisine (aka, seafood) and lighter cheeses.


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Daniel Loh: US Stock Tip: Apple exactly follow our Plan!
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text:
Q: Optimal lossy compression of images I have a lot of images/documents, where I want quite a low filesize, without throwing away to much information, or cause generation loss with future compression.
A) Documents, business cards etc where I want to be able to read or OCR the text.
Also some information like color-resolution might be less important.
B) Regular photos (Holidays etc.) Where I want to preserve sufficient details.
(But the filesize from the camera is probably much larger than needed)
Are there any tools that can assist me with doing this?
(29 April) More about finding the optimal size/loss than which technique is most efficient.

A: If it's possible for you to sort the documents and photos, I would suggest a 256-color PNG for the documents (you can do this with IrfanView) without dithering, afterwards use PNG Optimizer on the results.
If used on scanned documents, they will, without even resizing, shrink from ~20 MB bitmaps to ~400 KB pngs.
I have no suggestion for the photos.

A: In addition to user129552's suggestion, most photos (genuine photos, not scanned documents, logo images, etc.) are optimally compressed using JPEG. But you should avoid recompressing JPEGs that were already compressed at medium or low quality settings, as it will significantly increase compression artifacts and lower the quality:compression ratio.
If the images are logos or other graphics suitable for vector graphics, then obtaining the vector original, autotracing a hi-res raster image, or having it professionally hand-traced would provide the best quality with minimal file size. You can replace a 25MB hi-res image with a 256kb SVG or AI file.
If you have access to the original lossless or high-quality lossy image, you can also try Google's WebP format:

WebP is a new image format that provides lossless and lossy
  compression for images on the web. WebP lossless images are 28%
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  in size compared to JPEG images at equivalent SSIM index. WebP
  supports lossless transparency (also known as alpha channel) with just
  22% additional bytes. WebP also supports features such as animation,
  ICC color profile, XMP meta-data and tiling.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
ACÉPO's Commitment
ACÉPO wishes to reiterate that schools in Ontario's French-language public school boards are, first and foremost, caring environments whose raison d'être is based on inclusion, respect and open-mindedness. 2021 was a stark reminder that teaching thousands of young people comes with tremendous responsibility. Let us remember the atrocities committed in residential schools, contribute to the ongoing truth and reconciliation work, and ensure we eliminate systemic racism from the school environment.
1. A Delicate Balance
ACÉPO was proud to unveil its new strategic plan last year, following in-depth consultation with its members, partners and communities. No effort was spared to ensure an inspiring plan that would propel French-language education to new heights. However, along came a global pandemic that disrupted our plans, made school management so much more complex and forced the Association and its member school boards to redirect their focus.
In 2021, ACÉPO continued to skillfully juggle its strategic objectives with the emergencies and new realities arising from COVID-19, while concentrating its efforts on increasing its political influence in order to prepare for the post-pandemic era.
Since the beginning of 2021, ACÉPO has adopted a different tone in its interactions with government. ACÉPO had to be more assertive with regard to the teacher shortage, on-line learning and school infrastructure. Legal proceedings are being considered with regard to some of these issues.
While always favouring collaboration, ACÉPO asserts itself and states its needs clearly. It strives to attain the delicate balance between maintaining constructive relationships with the government and upholding Francophones' rights, with the continued aim of making political partners aware of both the needs and the impressive achievements of French-language public education in Ontario.
Denis M. Chartrand, President, ACÉPO
2. Perseverance and Determination
Never before has the Association had so many meetings with the Minister and Deputy Minister of Education, the Ministry's senior management, key education stakeholders and its partners. ACÉPO got involved to the maximum extent possible in order to facilitate communication and decision making between stakeholders and French-language public school boards. On many issues, including those related to the pandemic, it became the primary intermediary between the Ministry and school boards.
Teaching Staff Shortage
In February, following about 100 hours of meetings, the Working Group on Teacher Shortage of which ACÉPO is a member, submitted 37 recommendations to the Minister of Education. In November, thanks in part to ACÉPO's advocacy, the government finally launched the Comité de mise en œuvre de la stratégie sur le recrutement et la rétention du personnel enseignant de langue française. As a committee member, and aware of the great challenges school boards face daily due to the lack of qualified teachers, the Association's goal is to speed up decision making to ensure the recommendations are implemented as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, several initiatives stemming from the recommendations were put forward in 2021. A pilot project aimed at recruiting teachers trained in France was launched by the Ministry. ACÉPO actively participates in this project and its international recruitment strategy. The government also launched an accelerated Technological Education teacher training program, in collaboration with the University of Ottawa. It should be recalled that such training had been unavailable in French for over 7 years, despite the Ontario government's launch of a skilled trades training strategy in 2019. For years now, ACÉPO and the Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord de l'Ontario (CSPGNO) have been alerting policy makers to the need to offer this training in French once again, and it would seem that the advocacy has finally paid off.
Between the numerous meetings held and written submissions, some of ACÉPO's demands were heard, including the return to regular semesters in high schools and the allocation of the second COVID-19 funding instalment to school boards. However, others are still pending. Additional efforts are required to safeguard the mental health of school staff and students, and to provide school boards with more flexibility to recruit retired teaching staff. Also, despite the Association's multiple requests to the Ministry regarding reasonable advance notice, school boards are still too often pushed to the wall with imposed decisions that are communicated at the last minute. The Ministry's refusal to delay the implementation of certain initiatives, despite the crisis environment in which all school boards in the province have been operating for almost two years, seems to suggest a disturbing trend toward the politicization of certain decisions. ACÉPO will continue to insist on a healthy separation between the political and the operational levels.
Public Education in Ontario
Ontario's public education system has a new name – " L'école publique en Ontario " – and a new, unifying visual identity. A new strategy was implemented to shine a greater light on French-language public school boards and their association. This initiative is an excellent example of collaboration between ACÉPO and its four member boards.
In 2021, the offer of ongoing training for school trustees and student trustees was enhanced by Lunch & Learn sessions addressing timely topics, such as the modernisation of the Official Languages Act, remote learning, the influence of social media, and mental health. These sessions complemented the talks and workshops offered in January as part of the Public Education Symposium organized in conjunction with the Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA). Despite the fact the Symposium was held virtually, a great number of school trustees attended talks on systemic racism, the teacher shortage, COVID-19 and the students' experience during the pandemic, among other topics.
3. Building a Better Future
ACÉPO has pledged to contribute fully to the truth and reconciliation work undertaken by our country. Schools must be environments where each student is welcomed and supported with kindness and respect. It is our collective duty to ensure the atrocities committed in residential schools are not forgotten.
ACÉPO will devote special attention to the teaching of our country's Aboriginal history; strengthening its ties with Ontario's Aboriginal communities; combating stereotypes and preconceptions; and supporting the five calls to action in the area of First Nations education that were developed by young leaders of the Assembly of First Nations in 2019.
Inclusive Work and Learning Environments
During ACÉPO's 2021 Annual General Meeting, the Association presented school board chairpersons with plaques reaffirming the pluralistic nature of Ontario's French-language public school boards.
ACÉPO also proceeded with the establishment of a committee on diversity and inclusion in order to create a forum for discussing issues that are fundamental to public school boards' mission and vision, while allowing the Association to share centrally available information on these same issues, always with a view to helping school boards access centrally available resources without needlessly duplicating their efforts.
4. Political Influence and Strategic Alliances
ACÉPO is redoubling its efforts to expand its political influence in order to seek allies within the government, among members of Parliament and key stakeholders in Education and Francophonie.
2021 Advocacy Event
ACÉPO's advocacy event was part of its government relations strategy. It kicked off in June with a meeting with the Minister of Education and his parliamentary assistant, and ended in August with a discussion with the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. By the end of the event, ACÉPO had met 30 members of Parliament, including 12 Conservatives, 11 NDP and 7 Liberals.
Two and a half years after the Association's first such event, it is obvious this advocacy work has yielded results. Politicians have a better understanding of ACÉPO and French-language public school boards, and have demonstrated a genuine desire to work with us. As a result of the respect earned by ACÉPO among Conservative decision makers in the last few years, 40% of the members of Parliament met were members of the governing party and half of them were Ministers.
Thanks to the approach taken in presenting key priorities, ACÉPO obtained the support of new allies who have offered their help in taking these issues forward. With less than six months before the provincial election, ACÉPO will ramp up its efforts to expand its political influence in order to win wider support within the government, among members of Parliament and key education stakeholders. One of ACÉPO's first actions for 2022 will consist of organizing another advocacy event to discuss election platforms with each party.
Maintaining Virtual Learning Under the Management of School Boards
Since the government's announcement in July 2020 to entrust the mandate of on-line learning to the Groupe Média TFO, ACÉPO, together with the Association franco-ontarienne des conseils scolaires catholiques (AFOCSC) and the Conseil ontarien des directions de l'éducation de langue française (CODELF), are calling for respect of Francophones' constitutional rights.
During multiple meetings held over the past 18 months, ACÉPO has continued to demonstrate an openness to collaborating with the Ministry and TFO to find a solution that respects these rights. In an effort to avoid reinventing the wheel and to achieve economies of scale, the model proposed by ACÉPO and AFOCSC would rely on the seasoned teams from Centre franco and the French-Language Virtual Learning Consortium of Ontario (CAVLFO), and on a partnership with TFO to enhance the production of digital content.
Though it is difficult to know how the on-line learning file will be resolved, ACÉPO remains steadfast in its willingness to find a solution that meets the needs of students attending French-language schools, while respecting Francophones' right to manage their schools.
The June 12, 2020 Supreme Court of Canada decision in British Columbia confirms that children of the linguistic minority across the province must benefit from an educational experience that is substantively equivalent to that of children of the majority. This ruling represents the biggest breakthrough in the area of French-language education in minority settings since the creation of French-language school boards.
In light of the ruling, ACÉPO has undertaken a long-term project that will allow it to position public French-language education very favourably for generations to come.
School Democracy
ACÉPO took advantage of Local Government Week to raise awareness among the general public and politicians on the importance and the role of school boards and trustees. ACÉPO video Nos réussites, sont vos réussites was sent to all MPPs. Highlighting the exceptional work that school boards do for Francophone students and communities, it reiterates that school trustees are elected by universal suffrage, and ensure nonpartisan governance, decisions that are adapted to local realities and a system that is focussed on students' needs.
Through the Canadian School Boards Association, of which ACÉPO is a member, we are taking part in an in-depth study of the impact of the loss of local democratic voices. This research will draw comparisons between provinces that have eliminated their school boards and those that still have them. The study's results will allow ACÉPO to have evidence-based discussions on the critical role of school boards and their trustees.
University by, for and with Francophones in Northern Ontario
An enhanced offering of French-language educational programs and services, from early childhood through to postsecondary, is essential for the sustainability of Francophone communities in Ontario. Following the elimination of French-language programs at Laurentienne University, ACÉPO has expressed its support for the creation of a university by, for and with Francophones in the Greater Sudbury area. All Francophone students should have access to nearby French-language postsecondary and university education that offers a range of courses that is as comprehensive as possible.
5. Labour Relations and Organizational Development
A Consolidated Labour Relations Team
This year, François Laperle joined ACÉPO as the new Director of Labour Relations and Organizational Development. François has accumulated over 25 years of management experience and served 14 years in Ontario's French-language education systems, the past 7 as Executive Director of Human Resources at the Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario. He has also been actively involved in the various central bargaining tables since the introduction of the 2014 School Boards Collective Bargaining Act.
In July, it was Catherine Chereau-Sharp's turn to become an ACÉPO employee as Labour Relations Officer. Catherine has worked in various human resources positions for over 20 years, including 11 years at the Conseil scolaire Viamonde.
Their combined wealth of experience and knowledge are a great asset for ACÉPO and the labour relations support it provides to French-language public school boards and Consortium Centre Jules-Léger.
Principals/Vice-Principals Discussion Table
In December 2021, 18 months after the start of the discussion process, a central agreement was reached at the school principals and vice-principals table. The discussions involved the 3 provincial principals' associations, the 4 school board associations, and the Crown. Over 40 days were devoted to direct discussion and/or preparation to ensure the success of the process, which focused on school principals and vice-principals' working conditions. The agreement reached meets the expectations of all parties and is to be ratified by school boards during the first months of 2022.
Operationalizing the Integration of Consortium Centre Jules-Léger
Together with AFOCSC, ACÉPO has continued to make its expertise available to Consortium Centre Jules-Léger (CCJL) in order to facilitate the transition of current CCJL employees into the provincial bargaining structure. Indeed, at the request of CCJL, ACÉPO's labour relations team supported CCJL's management team on establishing the first collective agreements that will fall under the application of the 2014 School Boards Collective Bargaining Act. This delicate transition will represent an important milestone for CCJL.
Provincial Disputes
ACÉPO has continued to play an important role in the application and interpretation of collective agreements during the past year. The late signing of the collective agreements in 2020, combined with the effects of the pandemic, resulted in a substantial increase in the number of central disputes filed in 2021. ACÉPO is involved in all disputes concerning a union present in one of its school boards or the CCJL. The table below presents the disputes filed since September 1, 2019.
Table of disputes filed from September 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021
ACÉPO
AFOCSC
OPSBA
OCSTA
Unions TOTAL
AEFO 3 4 n/a n/a 7
CUPE 3 16 58 91 168
OSSTF 0 0 2 0 2
Associations TOTAL 6 20 60 91 177
In 2022, ACÉPO will continue to collaborate with other school board associations, school boards and union groups in order to identify satisfactory solutions for all parties to reduce the number of filed disputes.
The constraints imposed by the pandemic significantly increased public school boards' workloads, while limiting resources to advance other priorities. ACÉPO has continued to play its leadership role during the pandemic by providing school boards with turnkey solutions, such as draft policies and legal opinions, in order to facilitate the work of our member school boards.
6. Income and Expenditures
ACÉPO's audited financial statements present fairly the Association's financial position as at August 31, 2021.
©2023 Rapport annuel 2021


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Storm Front (Dresden Files) Mass Market Paperback – April 1, 2000
by Jim Butcher (Author)
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In the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series, Harry Dresden's investigation of a grisly double murder pulls him into the darkest depths of magical Chicago…
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"Fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Tanya Huff will love this series."—Midwest Book Review
"Superlative."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"One of the most enjoyable marriages of the fantasy and mystery genres on the shelves."—Cinescape
"Butcher...spins an excellent noirish detective yarn in a well-crafted, supernaturally-charged setting. The supporting cast is again fantastic, and Harry's wit continues to fly in the face of a peril-fraught plot."—Booklist (starred review)
"What's not to like about this series?...It takes the best elements of urban fantasy, mixes it with some good old-fashioned noir mystery, tosses in a dash of romance and a lot of high-octane action, shakes, stirs, and serves."—SF Site
"A tricky plot complete with against-the-clock pacing, firefights, explosions, and plenty of magic. Longtime series fans as well as newcomers drawn by the SciFi Channel's TV series based on the novels should find this supernatural mystery a real winner."—Library Journal
"What would you get if you crossed Spenser with Merlin? Probably you would come up with someone very like Harry Dresden, wizard, tough guy and star of [the Dresden Files]."—The Washington Times
A martial arts enthusiast whose résumé includes a long list of skills rendered obsolete at least two hundred years ago, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher turned to writing as a career because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives mostly inside his own head so that he can write down the conversation of his imaginary friends, but his head can generally be found in Independence, Missouri. Jim is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera novels, and the Cinder Spires series, which began with The Aeronaut's Windlass.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
I heard the mailman approach my office door, half an hour earlier than usual. He didn't sound right. His footsteps fell more heavily, jauntily, and he whistled. A new guy. He whistled his way to my office door, then fell silent for a moment. Then he laughed.
Then he knocked.
I winced. My mail comes through the mail slot unless it's registered. I get a really limited selection of registered mail, and it's never good news. I got up out of my office chair and opened the door.
The new mailman, who looked like a basketball with arms and legs and a sunburned, balding head, was chuckling at the sign on the door glass. He glanced at me and hooked a thumb toward the sign. "You're kidding, right?"
I read the sign (people change it occasionally), and shook my head. "No, I'm serious. Can I have my mail, please?"
"So, uh. Like parties, shows, stuff like that?" He looked past me, as though he expected to see a white tiger, or possibly some skimpily clad assistants prancing around my one-room office.
I sighed, not in the mood to get mocked again, and reached for the mail he held in his hand. "No, not like that. I don't do parties."
He held on to it, his head tilted curiously. "So what? Some kinda fortune-teller? Cards and crystal balls and things?"
"No," I told him. "I'm not a psychic." I tugged at the mail.
He held on to it. "What are you, then?"
"What's the sign on the door say?"
"It says 'Harry Dresden. Wizard.'"
"That's me," I confirmed.
"An actual wizard?" he asked, grinning, as though I should let him in on the joke. "Spells and potions? Demons and incantations? Subtle and quick to anger?"
"Not so subtle." I jerked the mail out of his hand and looked pointedly at his clipboard. "Can I sign for my mail please?"
The new mailman's grin vanished, replaced with a scowl. He passed over the clipboard to let me sign for the mail (another late notice from my landlord), and said, "You're a nut. That's what you are." He took his clipboard back, and said, "You have a nice day, sir."
I watched him go.
"Typical," I muttered, and shut the door.
My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. I'm a wizard. I work out of an office in midtown Chicago. As far as I know, I'm the only openly practicing professional wizard in the country. You can find me in the yellow pages, under "Wizards." Believe it or not, I'm the only one there. My ad looks like this:
HARRY DRESDEN—WIZARD
LOST ITEMS FOUND. PARANORMAL INVESTIGATIONS.
CONSULTING. ADVICE. REASONABLE RATES.
NO LOVE POTIONS, ENDLESS PURSES, PARTIES,
OR OTHER ENTERTAINMENT.
You'd be surprised how many people call just to ask me if I'm serious. But then, if you'd seen the things I'd seen, if you knew half of what I knew, you'd wonder how anyone could not think I was serious.
The end of the twentieth century and the dawn of the new millennium had seen something of a renaissance in the public awareness of the paranormal. Psychics, haunts, vampires—you name it. People still didn't take them seriously, but all the things Science had promised us hadn't come to pass. Disease was still a problem. Starvation was still a problem. Violence and crime and war were still problems. In spite of the advance of technology, things just hadn't changed the way everyone had hoped and thought they would.
Science, the largest religion of the twentieth century, had become somewhat tarnished by images of exploding space shuttles, crack babies, and a generation of complacent Americans who had allowed the television to raise their children. People were looking for something—I think they just didn't know what. And even though they were once again starting to open their eyes to the world of magic and the arcane that had been with them all the while, they still thought I must be some kind of joke.
Anyway, it had been a slow month. A slow pair of months, actually. My rent from February didn't get paid until the tenth of March, and it was looking like it might be even longer until I got caught up for this month.
My only job had been the previous week, when I'd gone down to Branson, Missouri, to investigate a country singer's possibly haunted house. It hadn't been. My client hadn't been happy with that answer, and had been even less happy when I suggested he lay off of any intoxicating substances and try to get some exercise and sleep, and see if that didn't help things more than an exorcism. I'd gotten travel expenses plus an hour's pay, and gone away feeling I had done the honest, righteous, and impractical thing. I heard later that he'd hired a shyster psychic to come in and perform a ceremony with a lot of incense and black lights. Some people.
I finished up my paperback and tossed it into the DONE box. There was a pile of read and discarded paperbacks in a cardboard box on one side of my desk, the spines bent and the pages mangled. I'm terribly hard on books. I was eyeing the pile of unread books, considering which to start next, given that I had no real work to do, when my phone rang.
I stared at it in a somewhat surly fashion. We wizards are terrific at brooding. After the third ring, when I thought I wouldn't sound a little too eager, I picked up the receiver and said, "Dresden."
"Oh. Is this, um, Harry Dresden? The, ah, wizard?" Her tone was apologetic, as though she were terribly afraid she would be insulting me.
No, I thought. It's Harry Dresden the, ah, lizard. Harry the wizard is one door down.
It is the prerogative of wizards to be grumpy. It is not, however, the prerogative of freelance consultants who are late on their rent, so instead of saying something smart, I told the woman on the phone, "Yes, ma'am. How can I help you today?"
"I, um," she said. "I'm not sure. I've lost something, and I think maybe you could help me."
"Finding lost articles is a specialty," I said. "What would I be looking for?"
There was a nervous pause. "My husband," she said. She had a voice that was a little hoarse, like that of a cheerleader who'd been working a long tournament, but had enough weight of years in it to place her as an adult.
My eyebrows went up. "Ma'am, I'm not really a missing-persons specialist. Have you contacted the police or a private investigator?"
"No," she said, quickly. "No, they can't. That is, I haven't. Oh dear, this is all so complicated. Not something someone can talk about on the phone. I'm sorry to have taken up your time, Mr. Dresden."
"Hold on now," I said quickly. "I'm sorry, you didn't tell me your name."
There was that nervous pause again, as though she were checking a sheet of written notes before answering. "Call me Monica."
People who know diddly about wizards don't like to give us their names. They're convinced that if they give a wizard their name from their own lips it could be used against them. To be fair, they're right.
I had to be as polite and harmless as I could. She was about to hang up out of pure indecision, and I needed the job. I could probably turn hubby up, if I worked at it.
"Okay, Monica," I told her, trying to sound as melodious and friendly as I could. "If you feel your situation is of a sensitive nature, maybe you could come by my office and talk about it. If it turns out that I can help you best, I will, and if not, then I can direct you to someone I think can help you better." I gritted my teeth and pretended I was smiling. "No charge."
It must have been the no charge that did it. She agreed to come right out to the office, and told me that she would be there in an hour. That put her estimated arrival at about two-thirty. Plenty of time to go out and get some lunch, then get back to the office to meet her.
The phone rang again almost the instant I put it down, making me jump. I peered at it. I don't trust electronics. Anything manufactured after the forties is suspect—and doesn't seem to have much liking for me. You name it: cars, radios, telephones, TVs, VCRs—none of them seem to behave well for me. I don't even like to use automatic pencils.
I answered the phone with the same false cheer I had summoned up for Monica Husband-Missing. "This is Dresden, may I help you?"
"Harry, I need you at the Madison in the next ten minutes. Can you be there?" The voice on the other end of the line was also a woman's, cool, brisk, businesslike.
"Why, Lieutenant Murphy," I gushed, overflowing with saccharine, "it's good to hear from you, too. It's been so long. Oh, they're fine, fine. And your family?"
"Save it, Harry. I've got a couple of bodies here, and I need you to take a look around."
I sobered immediately. Karrin Murphy was the director of Special Investigations out of downtown Chicago, a de facto appointee of the Police Commissioner to investigate any crimes dubbed unusual. Vampire attacks, troll maraudings, and faery abductions of children didn't fit in very neatly on a police report—but at the same time, people got attacked, infants got stolen, property was damaged or destroyed. And someone had to look into it.
In Chicago, or pretty much anywhere in Chicagoland, that person was Karrin Murphy. I was her library of the supernatural on legs, and a paid consultant for the police department. But two bodies? Two deaths by means unknown? I hadn't handled anything like that for her before.
"Where are you?" I asked her.
"Madison Hotel on Tenth, seventh floor."
"That's only a fifteen-minute walk from my office," I said.
"So you can be here in fifteen minutes. Good."
"Um," I said. I looked at the clock. Monica No-Last-Name would be here in a little more than forty-five minutes. "I've sort of got an appointment."
"Dresden, I've sort of got a pair of corpses with no leads and no suspects, and a killer walking around loose. Your appointment can wait."
My temper flared. It does that occasionally. "It can't, actually," I said. "But I'll tell you what. I'll stroll on over and take a look around, and be back here in time for it."
"Have you had lunch yet?" she asked.
She repeated the question.
"No," I said.
"Don't." There was a pause, and when she spoke again, there was a sort of greenish tone to her words. "It's bad."
"How bad are we talking here, Murph?"
Her voice softened, and that scared me more than any images of gore or violent death could have. Murphy was the original tough girl, and she prided herself on never showing weakness. "It's bad, Harry. Please don't take too long. Special Crimes is itching to get their fingers on this one, and I know you don't like people to touch the scene before you can look around."
"I'm on the way," I told her, already standing and pulling on my jacket.
"Seventh floor," she reminded me. "See you there."
I turned off the lights to my office, went out the door, and locked up behind me, frowning. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take to investigate Murphy's scene, and I didn't want to miss out on speaking with Monica Ask-Me-No-Questions. So I opened the door again, got out a piece of paper and a thumbtack, and wrote:
Out briefly. Back for appointment at 2:30. Dresden
That done, I started down the stairs. I rarely use the elevator, even though I'm on the fifth floor. Like I said, I don't trust machines. They're always breaking down on me just when I need them.
Besides which. If I were someone in this town using magic to kill people two at a time, and I didn't want to get caught, I'd make sure that I removed the only practicing wizard the police department kept on retainer. I liked my odds on the stairwell a lot better than I did in the cramped confines of the elevator.
Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face.
Publisher  :  Roc; 1st edition (April 1, 2000)
Mass Market Paperback  :  372 pages
Lexile measure  :  830L
Item Weight  :  7.6 ounces
Dimensions  :  4.19 x 0.94 x 7.5 inches
#366 in Private Investigator Mysteries (Books)
#1,387 in Romantic Fantasy (Books)
#2,328 in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy (Books)
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Customer Review: Urban Fantasy Crime Noir Thriller
TH Leatherman
Jim Butcher is a bestselling author and martial arts enthusiast. His resume includes a long list of skills rendered obsolete at least 200 years ago, and he turned to writing because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives with his family in Independence, Missouri.
12,658 global ratings
5.0 out of 5 stars The first leg on a wild ride.
In the first Harry Dresden novel, Jim Butcher introduces the reading audience to Chicagoland's paranormal activity and the only man who can protect it. Haunted human skulls check, coca-cola swilling hero check. Hopeless causes against evil baddies check.
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 2, 2022
I'm making this review based mostly off the series as a whole. I've read/listened to this series multiple times and appreciate it more every time.
Jim Butcher is an awesome writer; teamed up with James Marsters vocal acting is just *chefs kiss* wonderful and they just get better as the series continues.
This is, of course, the first book of the series. If… when (cause if you're into this kind of stuff you won't be able to stop)… you get through them and come back you'll plainly see the growth and development of Jim's writing, Jame's reading and Harry along with all the other characters that tag along on his adventures. You'll see it along the way, I just mean it's glaring if you start over.
In general this series sets the bar pretty high and you might not be able to appreciate another series in comparison! I'm just sayin. I've seen some advertisements for other series that claim if you like Dresden Files you'll love this. It's the other way around.
Hands down this is my favorite adult series.
You'll fall in love, love to hate, mourn what could've been and what is lost. You'll laugh at subtle jokes, beg for mercy and cheer for victories.
I don't want to leave any spoilers but I'll say, this IS an adult series, not really spicy but definitely adult. It is an emotional rollercoaster especially as you get deeper.
Jim pulls from a lot of lore from all around the world. Some you may know and some you may not and some he gives his own little spin to but not so much it pulls you from the story.
He's built a world that is full of magic based in reality and you *almost* think… maybe… Nah that's silly. (That'll be a little funnier later)
Don't forget the novellas. There are several short stories that aren't pertinent to the main series but they are definitely fun little reads that get little mentions throughout the series.
Also, if you happened to watch the tv show based off Harry just well you know it's only *based* off this series.
Cthulhu Neal
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic handed down
My father showed me the Dresden Files back when there were only four books in the series. Now, it has exploded into a set of over a dozen. I've spent my entire life, just about with these books and endlessly discussing characters and plot with my father all the while. I lost him this year to cancer. It was not the disease but the cure. He was a strong, determined, stubborn, smart-ass man who always put those he loved first and fought to the end to better their lives. He was my Harry Dresden. In reading these books now shortly after his passing, I am so thankful for having this work of art that will stand the test of time in my life and cherish them even more. Here's to all the Harry Dresdens out there; not all magicians use a staff and blasting rod.
Sneaky Burrito
4.0 out of 5 stars series is off to a good start
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 24, 2014
I've previously read and enjoyed Jim Butcher's "Codex Alera" series, and the Dresden Files came highly recommended from some online acquaintances (whose opinions I trust in such matters), so when I saw the Kindle deal for the first seven Dresden books, I took the bait. I'm glad I did.
I've read a number of hardboiled detective novels (from back in the day) and I could see some of that influence here. Actually, that influence was stronger in "Storm Front" than it was in some of the later Dresden books (I'm up through #4 right now). I think Butcher was still trying to find his voice in this book. He's decent at the detective novel thing (clues planted in appropriate places, red herrings, etc.), but I found later books -- where there's more of a character focus, as well as more supernatural elements -- more fun to read.
One detail I like is Dresden's interference with electronic devices. The hardboiled detective style doesn't work as well, I think, with modern conveniences like the internet, cell phones, etc. But Dresden exists in the modern world and so the existence of technology has to be addressed. And I appreciate the choice that was made. Plus, it makes things more difficult for Dresden (unreliable car, making bargains with Bob the skull to get information, etc.). He's got wizardly powers but he's still sometimes at a disadvantage.
The first-person narrative works, in my opinion. I already knew that Dresden was going to make it out of the whole thing alive, because there are more than a dozen additional books in the series (a lot of times, first-person narration suffers from lack of tension because authors don't kill off the POV characters). But even if Dresden isn't going to die, there could still be consequences. In this first book, we know Dresden is already under a cloud of suspicion/distrust from his fellow wizards, plus he has mundane allies who could suffer. So there's still tension, despite the first-person POV.
There are a lot of what you might call tropes of the hardboiled detective genre in this book (house by the lake, mysterious woman coming to Dresden's office to offer him a job -- that he needs to take due to monetary reasons, mobsters, pesky reporters, etc.). I can't decide if Butcher is paying homage to the genre or just recycling ideas (or maybe a little of both), but he manages to keep the plot moving so you don't have a lot of time to focus on such details. Honestly, the same can be said for the supernatural side of things -- a wizard with a staff, potions, fairies, vampires, etc. In this case, I think the mash-up generally works.
One thing I will definitely say for Butcher's books (both "Codex Alera" and the four Dresden books I've read so far) is that they're very easy to read -- they're over before you know it! (I mean that in a good way. Also, the books are not terribly long.) Early on, I noticed a tendency for Butcher to use too many "-ly" adverbs, but these either became less noticeable or were dropped. The first murder scene is described in such a way that makes it anatomically impossible, but I'm willing to let that slide.
I'm not so sure how I feel about Dresden's attitude towards women -- these stories definitely have their sexist moments. Nary a female character is introduced that we don't hear about her build, her clothes, etc. Dresden also has something of a protective hero complex. On the one hand, sexism is a longstanding feature of the hardboiled detective story. On the other hand, I wonder if it's a little bit of the author's personality coming through. There's something of a fixation on cheerleaders (and one reference to a football team), suggesting certain difficulties during the teenage years for one or both of them (i.e., Dresden and Butcher).
One thing I wished for was more focus on the characters in this book. (That does come in later volumes and I'm glad for it.) It is clearly established that Harry Dresden is carrying around a lot of baggage from a not-too-pleasant past, but he doesn't want to talk about it. In this volume, we *are* introduced to the supernatural world, including fairies, vampires, various magical tools, and more. It is possible that this introduction took the place of some of the characterization that would normally be involved in a series like this. And we did need an introduction to those elements because they come back again and again in later volumes.
The book is set in Chicago, a place I've never been. I'm not all that sure it matters that I haven't visited there; Butcher keeps it pretty generic other than some broad references to neighborhoods, the Great Lakes, etc. It probably would have been just as easy to set these books somewhere else. On the other hand, there's nothing that leads me (admittedly, with my lack of knowledge of the area) to believe this *couldn't* have taken place in Chicago (geographically-speaking, anyway). At any rate, the setting is believable enough for my purposes.
I've been told by a couple of online acquaintances that you can skip the first two Dresden books and start right in with the third. However, I think to do that, you'd be missing out on some key early worldbuilding. I feel like this book contributes less to the ongoing storyline about Dresden's past than books 2-4, but I also think that Butcher was setting things up for later. Also, of course, he had to provide something that was basically self-contained because he wouldn't have been able to predict the reaction/popularity of the series.
All-in-all, I'm glad I took the plunge to get into this series. I expect I'll finish the books I got on promo in a week or two and have to pay full price for the rest of them. I'd say this was a decent effort but also that later books show definite improvement. 3.5 stars.
Chris Edwards
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy meets detective novel.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 29, 2023
Passed by it at Barnes and picked it up. Barely set it down since. Read a lot of fantasy but first time reading a detective novel. Very well-written. Buying the next book tomorrow. I'm a fan.
Tommye (The Fantasy Review)
3.0 out of 5 stars A great, fast-paced plot
This Storm Front book review might never have happened, I tried to read Storm Front by Jim Butcher last year and I had to put it down after a few chapters. I've never liked urban fantasy. All those classic mystery books bored the hell out of me.
And Harry Dresden was a bit of a dick who said and thought a lot of thing about women that made me wince.
Over the past year I have heard that later on in the series, the world gets far deeper and more interesting. That in itself was enough to get me to at least finish the first book, considering how short it is!
The plot itself began brilliantly
I actually quite enjoyed this book! We are introduced to three separate issues almost immediately, and from there we watch as Harry Dresden tries to figure them all out.
The plot was engrossing and made the book difficult to put down – I suppose it goes with the genre, but there was always something at the end of a chapter that made me want to start on the next one!
Harry Dresden is a bit of a dick
Everyone knows that. He's also witty and deeply cares about doing the right thing. A main character who has flaws he needs to iron out, or flaws that make his character more realistic, is an interesting character. I wouldn't have him any other way.
The only reason I only rated this book 3 stars is because it's a solid book, but not a great book. I don't think it's trying to pretend that it is. I have heard from other reviewers that future books become great, but the first few are introductions to the character, to the magic, to the world.
This leads me on to my only criticism of this book: setting
We are told it is Chicago. That's all I know. I never felt fully engrossed in the place itself, as it is never mentioned really. I put that down to the author focusing on introducing Harry Dresden and making the plot as exciting as possible.
Perhaps we will get more of the setting in future books, and then look back on Storm Front as a bit of a prologue for what's to come.
5.0 out of 5 stars Came recommend
It you are a fan of Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series or of Dean Koontz Odd Thomas Series you should probably give this book a shot!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the shitshow that is Harry Dresdens life!
Some things I worked out straight away, like that the two cases were connected and who the evil doer was, but the author did a really good job of tying up loose ends and used the story to flesh out more of the side characters. Some stories can concentrate so much on the plot that it can leave characters, other than the lead, feeling very hollow. This book ticked all the boxes for me and I look forward to making my way through the rest of the series. From what I can tell there are 17 books to the series, so I will be pacing myself not to binge and then run the risk of not finishing the whole lot, so fair warning to anyone else wanting to start these books, there will be a lot of material to read!
2.0 out of 5 stars Ok but not hooked
New to this author, I have wanted to read this series for awhile but over priced compared to most books on Amazon and being I am also a member of unlimited books I refuse to pay over £4 for a book on here (these books are over £5) plus it's a big series so would be costly.I come across the first book on offer and having seen the tv series I got it. (Because books are always better)
It was interesting Harry is a wizard (not potter) a grown man and struggling to make money as a PI. Works with a detective sometimes (kind of reminds me of tv series Bones but with magic or Tv series medium kind of, maybe a little of both with magic) but it felt short for me maybe it will build with friends the bartender Mac and Morgan.there was a kind of slow burn love interest with susan, but it was just a date with the reporter (I guess she could start working for him) that was my problem there was no team it was just a lonely man not great for the first book not got me hooked enough to read on, if it was on unlimited I would or a pound maybe,so will wait for 99p offer to continue.sorry jim
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly magical murder mystery with a lead it's sometimes slightly hard to love.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 8, 2022
Storm Front follows wizard PI Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden as he investigates a double murder performed with magic.
The concept of a wizard private detective is a lot of fun in and of itself. Harry Dresden is a (mostly) fun character to follow, compellingly carrying us through the story whilst also displaying a snarky sense of humour. The magic system seems solid and the displays of magic are all great. The mystery is compelling and the stakes continuously rise throughout, making for a very tense experience.
Now, my few problems ... Yeah, they're with Harry. He's not totally awful—like I said, he's a fun narrator—but he's also a self-confessed chauvinist who thinks of women largely in terms of needing to protect them. When one of the lead characters is a badass female police lieutenant, you can see how this is a problem. Harry also takes this protective instinct to downright stupid levels and keeps a lot of vital information to himself for no good reason.
I'd recommend this book to fans of both fantasy and detective stories. Despite my problems with the protagonist, I love this book and think it's a ton of fun.
Xercies
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining but a bit flawed
First of all I'll get to the good parts: the book is fast, funny, and has an interesting premise to it. The main characters are entertaining enough, and the central plot drives along at a good clip. If you like the combination of fantasy and mystery, this is a good read.
The bad is that the mystery was a bit predictable. There wasn't really any suspects or other things, so it became a bit obvious to me who actually did it, i was just waiting for thr main character to catch up
Also it's a bit "bloky" all the women are attractive and seen in that way. The main character is a gentleman and believes in the right order of things gender wise...it gets a bit much but that's definitely a personal thing.


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